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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/
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