The Bahri Mamluks ( Arabic : المماليك البحرية , romanized : al-Mamalik al-Baḥariyya ), sometimes referred to as the Bahri dynasty , were the rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt from 1250 to 1382, following the Ayyubid dynasty . The members of the Mamluk ruling class were purchased as slaves ( mamluks ) and manumitted , with the most powerful among them taking the role of sultan in Cairo . While several Bahri Mamluk sultans tried to establish hereditary dynasties through their sons, these attempts were ultimately unsuccessful, with the role of sultan often passing on to another powerful Mamluk.
54-517: The Bahri Mamluks were of mostly Kipchak Turkic origin. Fourteen of eighteen sultans between 1279 and 1390 belonged to the Qalawunid lineage. After 1382/1390, they were succeeded by a second Mamluk regime, the Burji Mamluks , who were largely of Circassian origin. The name Bahri or Bahriyya means 'of the river', referring to the location of their original barracks on Roda Island in
108-771: A confederation that existed in the Middle Ages inhabiting parts of the Eurasian Steppe . First mentioned in the eighth century as part of the Second Turkic Khaganate , they most likely inhabited the Altai region from where they expanded over the following centuries, first as part of the Kimek–Kipchak confederation and later as part of a confederation with the Cumans . There were groups of Kipchaks in
162-596: A message to the Sultan of Egypt, Al-Nasir Muhammad , to come to fight the Mongols. The Sultan left Egypt with an army to engage the Mongols in Syria, and arrived while the Mongols were attacking Hama. The Mongols had reached the outskirts of Damascus on April 19 to meet the Sultan's army. The Mamluks then made their way to the plain of Marj al-Saffar , where the battle would take place. The battle commenced on 2 Ramadhan 702 in
216-635: A rebellion in Syria that was led by Sunqur al-Ashqar in 1280, and also defeated another Mongol invasion in 1281 that was led by Abaqa outside Homs . After the Mongol threat passed he recaptured Tripoli from the Crusaders in 1289. His son Khalil captured Acre , the last Crusader city, in 1291. The Mongols renewed their invasion in 1299, but were again defeated in 1303 in the Battle of Shaqhab . The Egyptian Mamluk Sultans entered into relations with
270-618: A result and remained a Mamluk capital thereafter. The Mamluks were powerful cavalry warriors mixing the practices of the Turkic steppe peoples from which they were drawn and the organizational and technological sophistication and horsemanship of the Arabs. In 1260 the Mamluks defeated a Mongol army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in present-day Israel and eventually forced the invaders to retreat to
324-793: A village named Kipchak in Crimea . Qypshaq, which is a development of "Kipchak" in the Kazakh language , is one of the constituent tribes of the Middle Horde confederation of the Kazakh people. The name Kipchak also occurs as a surname in Kazakhstan . Some of the descendants of the Kipchaks are the Bashkirian clan Qipsaq. Radlov believed that among the current languages Cuman is closest to
378-767: Is explainable by assuming that the historical Kipchaks' modern descendants are Kazakhs , whose men possess a high frequency of haplogroup C2's subclade C2b1b1 (59.7 to 78%). Lee and Kuang also suggest that the high frequency (63.9%) of the Y-DNA haplogroup R-M73 among Karakypshaks (a tribe within the Kipchaks) allows inferrence about the genetics of Karakypshaks' medieval ancestors, thus explaining why some medieval Kipchaks were described as possessing "blue [or green] eyes and red hair. A genetic study published in Nature in May 2018 examined
432-510: Is likely "early and medieval Turkic peoples themselves did not form a homogeneous entity and that some of them, non-Turkic by origin, had become Turkicised at some point in history." The Yenisei Kirghiz are among those suggested to be of turkicised or part non-Turkic origin. According to Lee & Kuang, who cite Chinese historical descriptions as well as genetic data, the turcophone "Qirghiz" may have been of non-Turkic origin, and were later Turkified through inter-tribal marriage. Gardizi believed
486-549: Is mentioned as a country ( nāḥiyat ) of the Kīmāk , 'of which inhabitants resemble the Ghūz in some customs'. In the 9th century Ibn Khordadbeh indicated that they held autonomy within the Kimek confederation. They entered the Kimek in the 8th- or beginning of 9th century, and were one of the seven original tribes. In the 10th-century's Hudud al-'Alam it is said that the Kimek appointed
540-758: Is now Turkey ), to protect Byzantine from foreign invasions. When the Ottomans conquered the lands they lived in, these Kipchaks intermixed with the Turkmen and were assimilated among Turks. The Kipchaks who settled in Western Anatolia during the reign of Nicea Emperor III. John Doukas Vatatzes are the ancestors of a community called Manav living in Northwest Anatolia today. Another Kipchak migration in Anatolia dates back to
594-509: Is often referred to as the Kipchak branch. The languages in this branch are mostly considered to be descendants of the Kipchak language, and the people who speak them may likewise be referred to as Kipchak peoples. Some of the groups traditionally included are the Manavs , Karachays , Siberian Tatars , Nogays , Bashkirs , Kazakhs , Kyrgyz , Volga Tatars , and Crimean Tatars . There is also
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#1732776507467648-596: The Alans after convincing the Kipchaks to desert them through pointing at their likeness in language and culture. Nonetheless, the Kipchaks were defeated next. Under khan Köten , Kipchaks fled to the Principality of Kiev (the Ruthenians), where the Kipchaks had several marriage relations, one of which was Köten's son-in-law Mstislav Mstislavich of Galicia. The Ruthenians and Kipchaks forged an alliance against
702-507: The Battle of Shaqhab , took place on April 20 through April 22, 1303 between the Mamluks and the Mongols and their Armenian allies near Kiswe, Syria , just south of Damascus. The battle has been influential in both Islamic history and contemporary time because of the controversial jihad against other Muslims and Ramadan related fatwas issued by Ibn Taymiyyah , who himself joined
756-457: The Battle of Wadi al-Khazandar that same year, and Damascus quickly surrendered to him. After sending raiding parties as far south as Gaza, Ghazan withdrew from Syria. In 1303, Ghazan sent his general Qutlugh-Shah with an army to recapture Syria. The inhabitants and rulers of Aleppo and Hama fled to Damascus to escape the advancing Mongols. However, Baibars II was in Damascus and sent
810-842: The Circassian Emir Barquq . He was expelled in 1389 but returned to power in 1390, setting up an era where the sultanate was controlled by the Burji Mamluks . On a general level, the military during the Bahri dynasty can be divided into several aspects: Following As-Saleh, the Burji dynasty took over the Mamluk Sultanate under Sayf-ad-Din Barquq in 1389–90 C.E. ( Tokhara Yabghus , Turk Shahis ) Kipchaks The Kipchaks or Qipchaqs , also known as Kipchak Turks or Polovtsians , were Turkic nomads and then
864-647: The Crimea and Kipchak regions in the Isfendiyarids Beylik. The Kipchak–Cuman confederation spoke a Turkic language ( Kipchak languages , Cuman language ) whose most important surviving record is the Codex Cumanicus , a late 13th-century dictionary of words in Kipchak, Cuman, and Latin . The presence in Egypt of Turkic-speaking Mamluks also stimulated the compilation of Kipchak/Cuman-Arabic dictionaries and grammars that are important in
918-463: The Golden Horde who converted to Islam and established a peace pact with the Mongols in 1322. Sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad married a Mongol princess in 1319. His diplomatic relations were more extensive than those of any previous Sultan, and included Bulgarian , Indian , and Abyssinian potentates, as well as the pope , the king of Aragon and the king of France . Al-Nasir Muhammad organized
972-452: The Golden Horde . The confederation or tribal union which Kipchaks entered in the 8th- or beginning of 9th century as one of seven original tribes is known in historiography as that of the Kimek (or Kimäk). Turkic inscriptions do not mention the state with that name. 10th-century Hudud al-'Alam mentions the "country of Kīmāk", ruled by a khagan (king) who has eleven lieutenants that hold hereditary fiefs. Furthermore, Andar Az Khifchāq
1026-516: The Hijri calendar, or April 20, 1303. Qutlugh-Shah's army was positioned near a river. Hostilities began when Qutlugh-Shah's left wing attacked the Mamluk's right wing with his brigade of 10,000 soldiers. The Egyptians reportedly suffered heavy casualties. The Mamluk center and left wings under the command of the emirs Salar and Baibars al-Jashnakir, together with their Bedouin irregulars, then engaged
1080-684: The Juéyuèshī (厥越失) in Chinese sources; however, Zuev (2002) identified 厥越失 Juéyuèshī (< MC * kiwat-jiwat-siet ) with toponym Kürüshi in the Ezhim river valley (Ch. Ayan < MCh. 阿豔 * a-iam < OTrk. Ayam ) in Tuva Depression . Linguist Bernard Karlgren and some Soviet scholars (e.g. Lev Gumilyov ) attempted to connect the Kipchaks to the Qūshé ~ Qūshí (屈射), a people once conquered by
1134-593: The Kara-Khanid Khanate in 1017–18. It is unknown whether the Cumans conquered the Kipchaks or were simply the leaders of the confederacy of the Kipchak–Turkic tribes. What is certain is that the two peoples gradually mingled politically and that, from the second half of the 12th century onwards, the names Cumans and Kipchaks became interchangeable to refer to the whole confederacy. The Mongols defeated
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#17327765074671188-557: The Kimek confederation , with which they expanded to the Irtysh , Ishim and Tobol rivers. They then appeared in Islamic sources. In the 9th century Ibn Khordadbeh indicated that they held autonomy within the Kimek confederation. They entered the Kimek in the 8th- or beginning of 9th century, and were one of seven original tribes. In the 10th-century Hudud al-'Alam it is said that
1242-631: The Kingdom of Georgia , the Mongols had sacked Baghdad in 1258, followed by the taking of Aleppo and Damascus in 1260. Later that same year, the Mongols had experienced their first major defeat at the Battle of Ain Jalut , which eventually forced the Mongols out of Damascus and Aleppo and back across the Euphrates . Nearly 40 years later, the Ilkhan Ghazan once again invaded Syria, retaking Aleppo in 1299. Ghazan defeated Mamluk forces at
1296-920: The Lviv and Kamianets-Podilskyi areas of what is now Ukraine. The literary form of the Cuman language became extinct in the 18th century in the region of Cumania in Hungary . Cuman in Crimea, however, became the ancestor of the central dialect of Crimean Tatar . Mongolian linguistic elements in the Kipchak–Kimek confederation remain "unproven"; though that confederation's constituent Tatar tribe possibly had been Mongolic speakers who later underwent Turkification. The Kipchaks practiced Tengrism . Muslim conversion occurred near Islamic centres. Some Kipchaks and Cumans were known to have converted to Christianity around
1350-668: The Mamluks were in part drawn from Kipchaks and Cumans. In 1239–1240, a large group of Kipchaks fleeing from the Mongols crossed the Danube . This group, which has an estimated population of over 10 thousand, wandered for a long time to find a suitable place to settle in Thrace . John III Doukas Vatatzes , who wanted to prevent Kipchaks invasion of Byzantine lands and to benefit from their military capabilities, invited Kipchaks in Byzantine service. He settled some of them in Anatolia (what
1404-576: The Mishar dialect of the Tatar language . Especially the regional Mishar dialects of Sergachsky district have been named as "faithfully close to original Kipchak". Kipchak confederations Kipchak ancestry ( Tokhara Yabghus , Turk Shahis ) Battle of Shaqhab [REDACTED] Ilkhanate Armenian–Byzantine Wars Armenian–Mongol Campaigns Armenian–Mamluk Wars The Battle of Marj al-Saffar (or Marj al-Suffar ), also known as
1458-590: The Pontic–Caspian steppe , China, Syr Darya and Siberia . Cumania was conquered by the Mongol Empire in the early 13th century. The Kipchaks interpreted their name as meaning "hollow tree" (cf. Middle Turkic : kuv ağaç ); according to them, inside a hollow tree, their original human ancestress gave birth to her son. Németh points to the Siberian qıpčaq "angry, quick-tempered" attested only in
1512-689: The Ruthenian camp was massacred. The nomadic Kipchaks were the main targets of the Mongols when they crossed the Volga in 1236. The defeated Kipchaks mainly entered the Mongol ranks, while others fled westward. Köten led 40,000 families into Hungary, where King Bela IV granted them refuge in return for their Christianization. The refugee Kipchaks fled Hungary after Köten was murdered. After their fall, Kipchaks and Cumans were known to have become mercenaries in Europe and taken as slave warriors. In Egypt ,
1566-554: The Siberian Sağay dialect (a dialect of Khakas language ). Klyashtorny links Kipchak to qovı , qovuq "unfortunate, unlucky"; yet Golden sees a better match in qıv "good fortune" and adjectival suffix -čāq . Regardless, Golden notes that the ethnonym's original form and etymology "remain a matter of contention and speculation". On the Kipchak steppe , a complex ethnic assimilation and consolidation process took place between
1620-744: The Xianbei . Chinese histories only mentioned the Kipchaks a few times: for example, Yuan general Tutuha 's origin from Kipchak tribe Ölberli, or some information about the Kipchaks' homeland, horses, and the Kipchaks' physiognomy and psychology. The Kipchaks were first unambiguously mentioned in Persian geographer ibn Khordadbeh 's Book of Roads and Kingdoms as a northernly Turkic tribe, after Toquz Oghuz , Karluks , Kimeks , Oghuz , J.f.r (either corrupted from Jikil or representing Majfar for Majğar ), Pechenegs , Türgesh , Aðkiš, and before Yenisei Kirghiz . Kipchaks possibly appeared in
1674-601: The Xiongnu ; however, Golden deems this connection unlikely, considering 屈射's Old Chinese pronunciation * khut m-lak and Eastern Han Chinese * kʰut źa ~ kʰut jak/jɑk (as reconstructed by Schuessler, 2009:314,70). The relationship between the Kipchaks and Cumans is unclear. While part of the Turkic Khaganate, they most likely inhabited the Altai region. When the Khaganate collapsed, they became part of
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1728-434: The 11th and 13th centuries. The western Kipchak tribes absorbed people of Oghuz , Pecheneg , ancient Bashkir , Bulgar and other origin; the eastern Kipchak merged with the Kimek , Karluk , Kara-Khitai and others. They were all identified by the ethnonym Kipchak . Groups and tribes of possible Mongolic or para-Mongolic extraction were also incorporated into the eastern Kipchak conglomerate. Peter Golden argues that
1782-510: The 11th century, at the suggestion of the Georgians , as they allied in their conflicts against the Muslims. A great number were baptized at the request of Georgian King David IV , who also married a daughter of Kipchak Khan Otrok . From 1120, there was a Kipchak national Christian church and an important clergy. Following the Mongol conquest, Islam rose in popularity among the Kipchaks of
1836-542: The 8th-century Moyun Chur inscription as Türk-Qïbchaq , mentioned as having been part of the Turkic Khaganate for fifty years; even so, this attestation is uncertain as damages on the inscription leave only -čq (𐰲𐰴) (* -čaq or čiq ) readable. It is unclear if the Kipchaks could be identified with, according to Klyashtorny, the [ Al ] tï Sir in the Orkhon inscriptions (薛延陀; pinyin: Xuè-Yántuó ), or with
1890-660: The Chinese for some other ancient Turkic tribes, such as the Yenisei Kirghiz , while the Tiele (to whom the Qun belonged) were not described as foreign looking, i.e. they were likely East Asian in appearance. It is noted that "Chinese histories also depict the Turkic-speaking peoples as typically possessing East/Inner Asian physiognomy , as well as occasionally having West Eurasian physiognomy." Lee and Kuang believe it
1944-450: The Kimek appointed the Kipchak king. The Kimek confederation, probably spearheaded by the Kipchaks, moved into Oghuz lands, and Sighnaq in Syr Darya became the Kipchak urban centre. Kipchak remnants remained in Siberia , while others pushed westwards in the Qun migration. As a result, three Kipchak groups emerged: The early 11th century saw a massive Turkic nomadic migration towards the Islamic world. The first waves were recorded in
1998-445: The Kipchak king. The looks of a typical Kipchak are a matter of debate. This is because in spite of their Eastern origins, several sources point at them being white, blue-eyed, and blond. It is important to elaborate, however, that the full range of available data sketches a more complex picture. While the written sources often emphasize a fair complexion the craniometric and genetic data, as well as some historical descriptions, support
2052-411: The Mongols at the battle of Elbistan and sent the Abbasid Caliph with only 250 men to attempt to retake Baghdad, but was unsuccessful. In 1266 he devastated Cilician Armenia and in 1268 he recaptured Antioch from the Crusaders. In addition, he fought the Seljuks , and Hashshashin ; he also extended Muslim power into Nubia for the first time, before his death in 1277. Sultan Qalawun defeated
2106-452: The Mongols suffered many casualties on the hill. The next morning, the Mamluks deliberately opened their ranks to allow the Mongols to flee to the river Wadi Arram. When the Mongols arrived at the river, they were able to receive reinforcements. However, while the Mongols were taking on badly needed supplies of water for themselves and their horses, the Sultan was able to attack them from the rear. The subsequent fighting, which lasted until noon,
2160-413: The Mongols, and met at the Dnieper to locate them. After an eight-day pursuit, they met at the Kalka River (1223). The Kipchaks, who were horse archers like the Mongols, served as the vanguard and scouts. The Mongols, who appeared to retreat, tricked the Ruthenian–Kipchak force into a trap after suddenly emerging behind the hills and surrounding them. The fleeing Kipchaks were closely pursued, and
2214-421: The Mongols. The Mongols continued their pressure on the right flank of the Egyptian army. Many of the Mamluks believed that the battle would soon be lost. The Mamluk left flank, however, had remained steady. Qutlugh-Shah then went to the top of a nearby hill, hoping to watch the victory of his forces. While he was issuing orders to his army, the Egyptians surrounded the hill. This led to heavy, bitter fighting, and
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2268-450: The Nile ( Nahr al-Nil ) in Cairo, at the citadel of Al-Rodah which was built by the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub . The Mamluks formed one of the most powerful and wealthiest empires of the time, lasting from 1250 to 1517 in Egypt , North Africa , and the Levant — Near East . In 1250, when the Ayyubid sultan as-Salih Ayyub died, the Mamluks he had owned as slaves murdered his son and heir al-Muazzam Turanshah , and Shajar al-Durr
2322-420: The area of modern-day Iraq . The defeat of the Mongols at the hands of the Mamluks enhanced the position of the Mamluks in the southern Mediterranean basin . Baibars , one of the leaders at the battle, became the new Sultan after the assassination of Sultan Qutuz on the way home. In 1250 Baibars was one of the Mamluk commanders who defended Mansurah against the Crusade knights of Louis IX of France , who
2376-411: The battle. The battle, a disastrous defeat for the Mongols, put an end to Mongol invasions of the Levant . A string of Mongol victories, starting in 1218 when they had invaded Khwarezm , quickly gave the Mongols control over most of Persia as well as the Abbasid Dynasty of Iraq and the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum of Asia Minor . Incorporating troops from vassal countries such as Cilician Armenia and
2430-514: The image of a people highly heterogenous in appearance. Skulls with East Asian features are often found in burials associated with the Kipchaks in Central Asia and Europe. An early description of the physical appearance of Kipchaks comes from the Great Ming Code (大明律) Article 122, in which they were described as overall 'vile' and having blonde/red hair and blue/green eyes. Han Chinese were not required to marry with Kipchaks. Fair complexion, e.g. red hair and blue or green eyes, were already noted by
2484-456: The period of the Chobanids Beylik , which ruled around Kastamonu (a city in Anatolia). Hüsameddin Emir Çoban, one of the Seljuk emirs, crossed the Black Sea and made an expedition to the Kipchak steppes and returned with countless booty and slaves. As a result of the expedition, a few Kipchak families in Crimea were brought to Sinop by sea via Sudak and settled in the Western Black Sea region . In addition, maritime trade intensified with
2538-409: The re-digging of a canal in 1311 which connected Alexandria with the Nile . He died in 1341. The constant changes of sultans that followed led to great disorder in the provinces. Meanwhile, in 1349 Egypt and the Levant in general were introduced to Black Death , which is said to have killed many inhabitants. In 1382 the last Bahri Sultan Hajji II was dethroned and the Sultanate was taken over by
2592-529: The red hair and white skin of the Kipchaks was explained by mixing with the "Saqlabs" (Slavs), while Lee & Kuang note the non-Turkic components to be better explained by historical Iranian-speaking nomads. Russian anthropologist Oshanin (1964: 24, 32) notes that the ‘Mongoloid’ phenotype, characteristic of modern Kipchak-speaking Kazakhs and Qirghiz, prevails among the skulls of the historical Qipchaq and Pecheneg nomads found across Central Asia and Ukraine; Lee & Kuang (2017) propose that Oshanin's discovery
2646-405: The remains of two Kipchak males buried between c. 1000 AD and 1200 AD. One male was found to be a carrier of the paternal haplogroup C2 and the maternal haplogroup F1b1b , and displayed "increased East Asian ancestry". The other male was found to be a carrier of the maternal haplogroup D4 and displayed "pronounced European ancestry". The modern Northwestern branch of the Turkic languages
2700-414: The study of several old Turkic languages. When members of the Armenian diaspora moved from the Crimean peninsula to the Polish -Ukrainian borderland, at the end of the 13th century, they brought Kipchak, their adopted Turkic language, with them. During the 16th and the 17th centuries, the Turkic language among the Armenian communities of the Kipchak people was Armeno-Kipchak . They were settled in
2754-432: The widow of as-Salih became the Sultana of Egypt. She married the Atabeg (commander in chief) Emir Aybak and abdicated, Aybak becoming Sultan. He ruled from 1250 to 1257. The Mamluks consolidated their power in ten years and eventually established the Bahri dynasty. They were indirectly helped by the Mongols ' sack of Baghdad in 1258, which effectively destroyed the Abbasid caliphate . Cairo became more prominent as
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#17327765074672808-512: The Ölberli were pushed westwards due to socio-political changes among the para-Mongolic Khitans , such as the collapse of the Liao dynasty and formation of the Qara Khitai, and attached themselves to the eastern Kipchak confederation where they eventually came to form a part of the ruling strata and elite. Golden identifies the Ölberli with the Qay whom are recorded as the Xi in Chinese sources and Tatabı in Turkic inscriptions, and were of Mongolic or para-Mongolic background - likely stemming from
2862-426: Was later definitely defeated, captured in the Battle of Fariskur and ransomed. Baibars had also taken part in the Mamluk takeover of Egypt . In 1261, after he became a Sultan, he established a puppet Abbasid caliphate in Cairo , and the Mamluks fought the remnants of the Crusader states in Palestine until they finally captured Acre in 1291. Many Tatars settled in Egypt and were employed by Baibars. He defeated
2916-409: Was vicious. By the next day, the battle was over. According to the medieval Egyptian historian Al-Maqrizi , after the battle, Qutlugh-Shah reached the Ilkhan Ghazan at Kushuf, to inform him of the defeat of his forces. It was reported that Ghazan, upon hearing the news, had gone into such a rage that it resulted in a nose bleed. Messages were sent to Egypt and Damascus to tell of the victory, and
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