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Military Slavery System of Ancient Arabs & Turks –Faith and Lust- Two deadly

combination for Mass killing and Genocide:

By: Bipin Shah

Introduction:

In my previous article, we reviewed the events that were started in northern China and how

it affected the destiny of millions of people throughout the central Asia including Indian sub

continent. The Han dynasty of China had to build a massive wall structure to fend off the

attacking coalition of nomadic tribes of Xiongnu, Ruanruan and Xianbei. In a broad brush,

these were considered ancestral tribes of modern Turk, Mongolian, Magyar, Chinese and

various tribes of central Asian states of Kyrgyzstan, China, Turkmenistan, Hazara of

Afghanistan, Huns of sub continents, and Uyghur of Western China.

This defensive structure of the “Great Wall “was built by the Chinese was subsequently

fortified and improved. See details on this links.

https://www.academia.edu/4660423/Early_Hunic_Invaders_of_Central_Asia_that_influence

d_the_history_of_India_China_And_Eurasia_the_Erection_of_Great_Wall_and_Dark_Period_

of_Indian_History

The confederacy tactics developed by these ancient Xiongnu and Xianbei people per Chinese

annals was very effective against an urbanized agriculture based society. This confederacy

included mongoloid and Caucasoid tribal elements of Northern Eurasia and interacted and

cross breaded with each other. “Rouran” group was one of the original groups of confederacy

of the Mongolian origin. Chinese annals refer them with many other names like Juan-Juan,

Ruru-Ruru etc. These mixed nomadic groups reemerged as Eurasian Avars during 4th

through

6th

century AD. Their power was broken up by another confederacy of Gokturks Turks of

mixed Caucasian origin. The military coalition of Nomadic tribes was passed on to new and

evolving clans of central Asia after 8th century AD.

Turks of Central Asia:

Gokturk Khaganate was established by Ashina Turks in medieval Inner Asia. The Ashina Turks,

under the leadership of Bumin Qaghan and his sons, succeeded the Rouran Khaganate during

6th

Century AD. They retained the main power in the Mongolian plateau and established a

stronger empire, which rapidly expanded to rule huge territories of the Central Asia. Please

see the map. This Khaganate after moving west towards Central Asia interacted extensively

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with various dynasties based in north China and India, and for significant periods exercised

considerable control over the lucrative Silk Road trade near Tarim basin, Bactria and

Khorasan controlling goods to west from east and reverse. This first Turkic Gokturk dynasty

collapsed in 581 AD, and fifty years later Kutlugh established the Second Gokturk Empire

(683-734 AD), also referred to as the Turkic Khaganate, which controlled much of the eastern

portion of the former Turkic Khaganate and produced the Orkhon inscriptions. The Orkhon

inscription was originally found in the Orkhon Valley in Mongolia written in Old Turkic

alphabet in the early 8th century AD. They were erected in the honor of two Turkic princes,

Kul Tegin and his brother Bilge Khagan. The inscription that exists in Ankara, Turkey is the

replica of the original Orkhon inscription. The Orkhon inscription relates to the legendary

origins of the Turks, the golden age of their history, their subjugation by the Chinese, and

their liberation by Bilge Khagan. From here, we will take a departure of this early brief history

of Turkic origin people and straight go to the subject matter of the article and that is Mamluk

system of military service.

Orkhon Inscription of Gokturk Replica Turkish tribes controlling Eurasia & Hindu Frontier 700 AD

Mamluk Soldiers: Bounded by Islamic Faith and rewarded with Lust and

Plunder during the military campaigns:

“Mamluk” in Arabic means the property. For Royals and Aristocrats, it meant captured Men,

women and children. They can be used as slaves very similar to the way Roman empires used

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them. Please read or watch TV series “Spartacus”. These slaves were the “soldiers of fortune”

or in modern terms “Bonded Mercenaries”. Today, the mercenaries can quit the job when the

contract expires but during the Mamluk period, it was perpetual with no way out. The

captured women were used as sex slaves for harem and a separate class of Eunuchs who

were incapable of fighting or producing children was assigned the guard duty to maintain the

sanctity of the Royal harems for sultans. This should give the readers the clear picture of

Islamic Society of middle ages.

One of the aggressive group of nomad was Kipchak Turks and they were called under many

different names by different people, kimak, Karluk, Tatar, Kazak etc. This were the tribal

confederacy originating in Kimak Khanate as shown in the map while Gokturk were

controlling farther to the east, generally sometimes also referred as Tatars.

Initially, Mamluk started out as a soldiers of fortune or mercenaries with Khwarezmid

dynasty of Persia which was a Sunni Muslim dynasty of Turkic origin after the fall of Sassanian

Empire. Although Mamluk army flew the Turkish flags of Sultans, the cadre consisted of many

Baltic and Central Asian nationalities of Thracians, Circassian and Georgian as per the

Ghazanivad historians that described them. Ferishta also identifies their nationalities of

soldiers while describing the attack on Somnath of Gujarat. Ghazni himself the son to Turkish

slaves gradually encroached on Caliphate conquered and held territories of Persia and

Afghanistan.

Conversion to Islam by Central Asian Turkish Tribes:

When Arabs Muslim armies invaded Persia, the Sassanians and Hindu Shahi kingdoms of

Afghanistan fell after decade old struggle. Ghazni snatched the territories from caliph by

killing his loyal Amir Suri who was converted to Islam from Hinduism. Mamluk Turks took

over from fallen Ghazni and the weakened caliphate after the rise of Ghuri dynasty. Al of

them had a slave origin with military training.

This time they attracted the soldiers of fortunes from Albania, Ionian Greeks and Khorasani

nationals due to famine situation prevailing in central Asia. These ancestral Turks of modern

Turkish ethnicities had embraced Islam during Islamic caliphates and were competing for

power created by the fallen Sassanian held territories.

Initially, the Turk’s embrace of Islam was not done by their choice but with the force by

Caliph’s army. Another motivating driver was that the Turks found them financially rewarding

in a tough economic time. When Islam first attacked the Turkic Hindi Shahi kingdom, the Turkish

men, women, and children were taken slaves from central Asia. The slavery system was

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controlled and handled by armies of Arabia and the slaves were traded in the markets under

the control of Muslim Arabs.

Babylonian and Bagdad Slave market controlled by Arabs

This was the first embrace and conversion to the Islam from their earlier adoption of

Hinduism, Buddhism or Zoroasterism of central Asia.

Military Skills of Turkish Tribes:

From Time Immemorial, the central Asia produced the best military horses. Aryans derived

their might from these horses with Iron Age chariots and weapons. The Scythians and

Persians developed their horse riding skills and shooting the arrow backward as described by

the historian Strabo. In early history, the employed military technique provided strategic

victory and control of the land. The Mongols adopted the same skills of their ancestors and

developed the fast moving cavalry that gave them the advantage of combat speed and large

control of the territories.

The Gokturk, Kipchak and other Turkish tribes eventually emerged as the dominant group in

the region due to their ancestral knows how and experience based military factors. Their skill

in archery and their strong built central Asian Horses that carried the extra weight of armored

soldiers distinguished the Turks from the other groups. These factors would prove to be an

even bigger military advantage when these Turkish chiefs began expanding their power into

India. Rajput warriors, in spite of their undeniable and certified braveries could not match

their domestic horses to the massive and stronger breed of Central Asian horses. This built up

stronger momentum during the military attack and Indian elephants lost their effectiveness

against this military advantage of speed.

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Thus the military slavery system of Mamluk that was established earlier by Muslim Arabs and

quickly copied by Turkish Tribes with superior military training became decisive. The other

central Asian groups like Mongols and Moguls of India copied and employed the same

military technique with the exception of introduction of Guns and Gun powder during 16th

century AD.

This became lethal cocktails of conquest for invaders. The defenders, the brave Rajputs of

India who once threw Arabs out of Indian soil ended up with the suicide mission for the

Rajput kingdoms of India. This partially explains why Turkish invaders were able to dominate

India during the middle ages fueled by religious and fanatic enthusiasm. Even the Arabs failed

to match the same skills of Turks during the 8th

century AD when they were trounced by

Gurjara Pratihara kings of India and Ghazni and other Afghan tribes during later period.

Why Turks carry the torch of Islam that was the religion of nomadic Arabs is an interesting

subject of the research. One can argue that an economic incentive trumps the faith but the

training imparted to Mamluk involved the complete religious indoctrination. The central Asia

in middle ages became the home of many Turkish clans and some of their history still remains

sketchy.

Mamluk or slave dynasty:

There were four dynasties referred in the history as “Mamluk or slave dynasty” and they are

listed below in chronological orders of their dates of origination.

1. Khwarezmid Dynasty of Persia (1077–1231 AD)

2. Mamluk Sultanate of Delhi- India (1206–1290 AD, Under Aibak, Khillji etc.)

3. Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt (Cairo) (1250–1517)

4. Mamluk Dynasty of Iraq (1704–1831, under Ottoman Seljuk Turk)

Some were independently concurrent time wise while other developed at different time. We

do not know much about their interconnected relationship; however, we can find connection

through trades, arts and other cultural exchanges.

Mamluk thus became a military caste of central Asia during the middle ages with well trained

armored warrior mounted on strong central Asian horses. Their military tactics varied but

they employed the same strategy of early Xiongnu and proto Turkic tribes of Xianbei. This

involved mounting a surprise, early morning or middle of the night raids on the stationary,

rich and urbanized society to collect ransom monies with a choice of forced conversion and

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tributary status or massacre of the entire population. The loots and booties collected

afterwards were distributed. Those who did not cooperate were either killed in the battle or

captured slaves, along with their women and children. The king or Amir took the larger share

of the loot for personal expenses as well as financing the future expedition of loots

elsewhere. The men and captured children were always separated from the adults and were

given a military and religious training of obedience. On the order of their master, the trained

Mamluk will be willing to kill their own mothers, fathers or next of kins without any remorse.

This idea is so rooted in the religion that Islamic Madrasa have often employed to churn out

21st

century Mamluk soldier of Islam who wear suicide belt for mass killing or plant bicycle

bombs where their master determines the necessity of waging a “Jihad” from all the way to

America to Indonesia with a illusionary dream to restore the hegemony of middle ages.

This if allowed to perpetuate can become the deadly combination of religious ideology mixed

with military training now known as “jihad”. The creation of “Mamluk” warrior castes within

Islam was of critical importance from 9th

through 18th

centuries AD and lasted almost over

1000 years of central Asia’s history. Over this long period, they faced the Mongols, Huns and

Christian crusades. The losses the Mamluk suffered against crusaders and invading Mongols

were quickly reversed. The faith driven ideology provided the fuel to the fighting spirit of

Mamluk armies.

However theses powerful military cast specifically bred for the cause of Islam caused much

turmoil and human right violation of the epic proportion from Levant, Turkey, Armenia,

Persia, Egypt and India.

Mamluk Islamic Warrior Captured slaves for Trades

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This early Islamic society was built with the king or sultan at the top and numerous lords at its

base with each having land revenue rights with requirement to provide soldiers for military

duty on demand by kings. Each Amir or junior lords to the sultan was graded according to its

holding rights and military requirement with a complete loyalty to the sultan. In the military

societies of the middle ages, the higher lords or Amir maintained a large number of Mamluk

soldiers, and the sultan held the most. During the Mamluk Sultanate, succession and the

power struggles to dispute succession were based chiefly on the size of a candidate’s

powerbase, in terms of numbers of men in arms and client lords that he could muster.

The important concept of Mamluk army was that the boys, who had been taken from their

families in their youth and had no ties of kin in their new homelands, were personally

dependant on their master. This gave the Mamluk state or owner a total control and created

perpetual dependency. This ensured a total separation of ancestral ties to the birth of their

land, tribes and families. The tensions present in the tribalism and personal ambition never

materialized due to interdependency. In theory, a Mukluk’s life prepared him only for war

and loyalty to his lord and faith of the Islam.

The slave dynasty or Mamluk politics were bloody and brutal. Mamluk were not supposed to

be able to inherit wealth or power beyond their own generation but attempts to create

lineage did occur and every succession was announced by internecine struggles. Purges of

higher lords and rivals were common and sultans commonly used impalement and crucifixion

to punish those suspected of acts of intrigue.

Let us give you some example that comes to mind regarding the some events of the slave

dynasty of India:

1. Allauddin Khillji the butcher of India killed his own uncle Jallaludin Khillji under the pretext

of arranging the reception and the dinner, entirely driven by personal ambition.

2. Allauddin himself of Mamluk origin captured a young boy from Bharoach and made him his

homosexual slaves. He also gave him the military training. He named him Mallick Kafur who

was involved in the assault of the fort of Jalore, Annilwara Patan and Bhinmal (Shrimal), killed

and maimed many innocents. Please note that the word “Kafur” comes from the word

“Kafirs” generally reserved for all “Nonbelievers of Islam” like Jews, Hindu and Christians.

Mallick is a title junior to Amir. Kafur thus was of non-Islamic origin when captured. He

employed the same technique of Allauddin that was betrayal of his master and benefactor.

Kafur is believed to have poisoned his master Allauddin and killed him and tries to gain the

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control of power and was in turn killed by Kutubudin Mubarak Shah, another member of

Mamluk order.

3. Razia Sultan, the daughter of Iltutmish was similarly removed by her brother. The list just

goes on with killing of the fathers, brothers and who ever stood in the way of the personal

ambition.

4. Elsewhere, the Mamluk behaved the same way. In Egypt when an opportunity came to

overthrow their masters at the end of the 1240 AD, a time when the Kurdish Ayyubid

dynasty, set up by Saladin in the 1170 AD had reached a mutual understanding of truce

regarding each other’s holy sites, they took the advantage of it. The Mongols and Christians

exploited this opportunity that ended the Mamluk rule over Syria.

Although warfare was the primary concern of these slave soldiers, their contribution to the

Islamic arts and architecture was valuable. Many of the Mamluk sultans were remarkable

builders; a fine example of this was left behind at Sultan Qalawun’s Mausoleum complex in

Cairo, which includes a mosque, a religious school and hospital. The dynasty’s achievements

in the arts of the book, especially of the Qur’an, were very notable.

Sultan Qalawun’s Mausoleum complex, Cairo, Egypt

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Inside view Mamluk Sultan’s Mausoleum Complex

The importance of fighting and training meant that the art of the armor was highly prized;

Mamluk armor was decorated with intricate, helmets, leggings, spurs and shields often

carried inscriptions such as:

“Father of the poor and miserable, killer of the unbelievers and the polytheists, reviver of

justice among all.”

- A similar statement given to all Madrassas student.

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A battalion of Mamluk soldiers ready for the battle

An intricate carving on the handle finely manufactured weapons of war

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Attack against Christian crusader’s fort Attack in Armenia and Levant

Question on origination of Mamluk Military Slavery system and connection to

the faith of the Islam and Modern Day Madrasa

The rise and birth of the Islam can be attributed to constant strife and struggle created by

ambition of Byzantium Empire and Sassanian Empire. The poor nomads of Saudi Arabia and

Yemen providing the camel power to move the silk trades’ products were constantly harassed

and exploited by two neighboring empires. The unexpected collection of levies and taxes paid

to both empires created a rebellious mood among the sandwiched society of the Middle East.

Persian Warrior with Armors Mamluk soldier from Syria Rise of the slave soldiers

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Turkish Khaganate and March of Islam in central Asia

To what extent, the prophet of Islam wanted Islam to be politicized and to what extent the

religion was hijacked by the followers for power, politics and exploits and possible

involvement of early scribes remains an unexplained mystery of the Middle Ages. The most of

the experts conclude that the prophet was a man of peace but the religion was hijacked by

rivals. What started out as a religion of peace and became metamorphic into religion of

domination and conquest is a topic of discussion at different time.

However, Mamluk army conquered Spain and marched east into Persia and threatened Baltic

States and Indian subcontinents. If the crusaders were not called out by Pope Urban or

Chengiz Khan would not have blitzed through the Middle East, the Islam could have become

the world’s dominant religion for some time until it starts breaking down within its seam just

like all other major empires of the world history including Moguls, Mongols and Tamer lane.

It is believed that the Mamluk system started with Arabs caliphate due to shortage of men

soldiers. Some of the Kuranic laws are reflection of the prevailing social and economic

condition of the nomadic Middle East and light population density that existed in the Middle

East. The tribal nomadic people’s life of the desert was difficult and required the considerable

hardship. The water is always a scarce commodity for nomadic tribes of the desert. This tribal

culture required the women to raise the children and maintain the households. While men

attended to main sustenance including the fighting. The Sharia law of allowing polygamy

made some practical sense due to higher “kill and death” rates among those early nomadic

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people who experienced an inhospitable and conflict ridden environment. The surviving

brothers or cousins often would marry the widows and takeover the responsibility of young

children. However, in modern urban life, the sharia’s law does not make any sense and robe

women of equal rights and equal opportunities that are indicated by Taliban’s shooting of the

brave girl of Pakistan-Malala.

Abbasid Khalif of 9th

century AD may have started the military service of captured people.

After receiving the military training the tribe’s men became an issue for successive caliphs

due to succession struggle among them. Caliph Al-Mutakavakil was assassinated by some of

the Mamluk soldiers.

How to control them? The consensus opinion was developed after careful deliberation, that

Mamluk soldiers of “non-tribal Arab origin” should be developed for military service. The

young were chosen for the military duties. The earlier term used for slave soldier was

“Ghilmen” but was later changed to “Mamluk” by caliph al-Muwaffaq during 870 AD. Early

Mamluk soldiers were recruited from central Asia and later from Europe during ottoman’s

period.

Armenia and Mamluk Kipchak Turk model Armenian and Kurdish defenders

The major Events of the Turkish history:

The Oghuz confederation of Turkish Tribes migrated westward from the “Jetisu” (land of “Jat

saka” or “Gete” tribe of earlier history) in central Asia after a conflict with Karluk branch of

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Uyghur. The founders of the Ottoman Empire were descendants of the Oghuz Yabgu State.

Khuman tribe that some may suspect of central Asian origin may be also linked to Chauhan of

India and may have originated here. As per the folklores, Bappa Rawal’s son also carried the

name of Kuman and Bappa Rawal is assumed to retire over there in his later life. See my early

article on Bappa Rawal.

https://www.academia.edu/4500576/Bappa_Rawal_Rana_Kumbha_Sisodiya-Guhilots-

Maitrakas_of_India

During the middle ages, the central Asia was in state of flux with the rise and fall of dynasty

of Timor Lane, Huns, Khazar, Tartars, Mongols, various clans of Turks, Eastern Roman empire,

Persian Sassanian empire and the demise of the Gurjara-Pratihara and other Hindu Shahi

dynasty of Afghanistan. It was one of the most uncivilized and turbulent period in Asia. The

violent aspect of Islam acted as an “accelerator” to mass killing and genocides and one has to

wonder, how much the human civilization has lost. The Mamluk soldiers burned the ancient

library of Alexandria, Egypt that was a depository of world’s wisdom and the ancient history.

Kutubudin Aibak Allauddin Khillji Feroz Shah Tug luck

Shams-ud-din Iltutmish Ghiyasuddin Balaban Razia sultan

Sultans of Slave dynasty of India

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Baltic and central Asian origin Islamic Mamluk soldier- slave mercenary

The Armenian genocides, Hindu genocides and Mongolian genocides are unparallel in the

human history and can be compared to repulsive behavior of Hitler for the 20th

century

genocides of the Jews. Some important lessons have to be learned by all.

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Unique Status of Mamluk Soldiers:

In early period of caliphate, the Mamluk had restriction such as they cannot carry the

weapons or perform certain tasks in social setting just like “Free Gladiators” of Rome.

However, during the latter period as Caliphate disintegrated and lost control over their

empire, The Mamluk in Egypt and India started enjoying the status of Royals or lords and that

is very strikingly dissimilar to any other slave system in the history of mankind. Their status

therefore remain far above the ordinary Muslims and very comparable to Indian Royal

Kshatriya or Rajputs.

Later Mamluk were the non-Arab, Turkish foreigners who were recruited as captured slaves

as they did not have any tribal affiliation and their ability to ferment the conspiracy against

the rulers was assumed to be non-existent, at least that was the hypothesis behind it. The

history deviated substantially from this assumption. The old adage works, “what goes around

that comes around.”

Caliph al-Muwaffaq initiated a small scale experiment, combining the efficiency of the steppe

warriors of Asian Turkish and Baltic tribes with improved reliability and he introduced enough

diversification of the nationalities that made conspiracy hatchers jobs extremely difficult and

if detected it was dealt with harsh punishment. It appears that by and large that strategy

worked during the initial rule of all powerful caliphs. As Abbasids caliphate weakened during

internal struggle among Arabs, the Mamluk became a decisive force.

For example, the Fatimid of Egypt bought Armenian, Turkic and Sudanese slaves, who formed

the bulk of their military and often their administration. Similarly, Slave dynasty that

followed Ghuri brought in Khorasani, Circassian (meaning those living near Caucasus

mountain and the people of Baltic origin (Thracians, Turk-Mongols, Afghans, Khorasani and

Persians) to provide the military and administration. The powerful minister of Fatimid was

Badr al-Jamali, who was a Mamluk slave soldier of Armenian origin. Mallick-Kafur, a young

man from Bharoach of Gujarat was captured as a slave by another Turkish origin Slave sultan

Allauddin Khillji. Up on capture, the boy was sodomized and initially utilized as a sex slaves

Khillji and then he gained his favor and became the right hand man with significant power.

These two men will go down in the history with the same status as Hitler, the butchers of

innocents and mass murderers. They killed the people at their whims.

Saladin was a Kurd Muslim and he allowed the increased power to Mamluk to crush the

crusaders. The ottoman empire that controlled much of the central Asia after the fall of

Constantinople used captured young slaves from Albania, Bosnia, Armenia and other Slavic

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speaking countries to form a “Devşirme” or "gathering" of young slaves for the notorious

“Janissary” corps that lasted until the 17th century based on Mamluk military system.

How the military Training was imparted to young slave boys?

1. Acquire the young healthy boys of strong build who had foreign domicile with no social or

political affiliation.

2. During, their austere military training, they were generally trusted and treated well with

healthy diets and necessary comforts.

3. Their first training consisted of strict religious indoctrination of Islam and sharia laws.

4. After graduation, they were given military education and training to help them become

“good Muslim horsemen and fighters.". The real skilled one was promoted to higher position

like Mallick or Amir with necessary privileges.

3. These young soldiers of fortune became a much disciplined force to protect their masters

or ready to give life for their masters in a way similar to the gladiators of Rome. They relied

on the help of their patron for career advancements and likewise the patron’s reputation and

power depended on this recruits. The Mamluk soldier was also "bound by a strong sense of

bonds to his peers within same household of their master.

4. After several centuries of experience, one can say that this military method should be

considered patented or canonized when this is compared with Madrassas training of

extremist terrorist groups. In today’s Madrassas, the young boys are induced by monies to

the parents unlike those old days when slave boys were either bought outright for gold or if

captured as a slave, they were conditionally freed in return for military service and loyalty to

the master.

5. In today’s Madrassas, they received the same educational training and then sent to

training camps for military training. The only difference we find in today’s Madrassas is the

types of the weapons that are used for training. The rocket propelled grenades, suicide belts,

Bombs, AK 47 and booby trap mines replaced the swords, spears and armor of Mamluk. It is

not the one to one personal combat but the death toll and the terror intensity with modern

weapons is much more deadly compared to old method of Mamluk.

References:

1. McGregor, Andrew James (2006). A Military History of Modern Egypt: From the Ottoman

Conquest to the Ramadan War. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 15. ISBN 9780275986018.

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"By the late fourteenth century Circassian from the north Caucasus region had become the

majority in the Mamluk ranks."

2. Relations of the Georgian Mamluk of Egypt with Their Homeland in the Last Decades of the

Eighteenth Century. Daniel Crecelius and Gotcha Djaparidze, Journal of the Economic and

Social History of the Orient, Vol. 45, No. 3 (2002), pp. 320—341. ISSN 0022-4995.

3. István Vásáry (2005) Cumana (Khuman) and Tatars, Cambridge University Press.

4. The Mamluk military society. Variorum Reprints. ISBN 978-0-86078-049-6., Ayalon David.

5. Cairo of the Mamluk: A History of Architecture and Its Culture. by Behrens-Abouseif, Doris,

New York: Macmillan, 2008

6. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mamluk

7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Badr_al-Jamali

8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oghuz_Turks

9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fall_of_Constantinople

10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehmed_II

11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkic_peoples

12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kipchaks

13. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seljuks

14. Putting the Caliph in His Place by Eric Hanne.

15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oghuz_Turks

16. "The Mamluk" (History Today March 2006) by James Waterson.

17. Mamluk study resources: http://mamluk.uchicago.edu/