The Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society the Mamluks in Egyptian and Syrian Politics and Society

This volume consists of 19 studies by leading historians of the Mamluks. Drawing on primary Arabic sources, the studies discuss central political, military, urban, social, administrative, economic, financial and religious aspects of the Mamluk Empire that was established in 1250 by Mamluks (manumitted military slaves, mostly Turks and Circassians). It was a Sunni orthodox state that had a formidable military, a developed and sophisticated economy, a centralized Arab bureaucracy and prestigious religious and educational institutions. There are special articles about Cairo, Damascus, Jerusalem, Safed and Acre. The last part of the volume describes the Mamluk military class that survived in Egypt (although in a transformed form) under the Ottoman suzerainty after the Empire annexed Egypt and Syria in 1517. With contributions by Reuven Aharoni, Reuven Amitai, Frederic Bauden, Jonathan Berkey, Daniel Crecelius, Joseph Drory, Jane Hathaway, Robert Irwin, Donald Little, Nimrod Luz, Carl Petry, Thomas Philipp, Yossef Rapoport, Andre Raymond, Donald S. Richards, Warren Schultz and Hannah Taragan.

Review:

'Overall, this volume provides informative reading about the medieval Mamluk system and should increase understanding of and, perhaps, provoke further thought about the current state of conflict in that region of the world. The articles will probably be of greatest scholarly value to those individuals seeking to clarify or enhance their own arguments via previous research published on some particular aspect of the Mamluk system.' Emma Hawkins, The Medieval Review, 2006.