Vassal Mamluk rulers of Egypt and Syria in the service of the Ottomans

Abstract

The fall of the Mamluk Sultanate under the onslaught of the Ottoman invasion in 1516-1517 turned the entire course of events both in Egypt and throughout the Muslim world. However, the establishment of direct Turkish rule on the territory of the former Mamluk possessions was preceded by a short transitional period of vassalage. The Ottoman Sultan Selim I Yavuz (1512-1520) appointed in Egypt and Syria two devoted to him Mamluk emirs Khair-bek and Janbirdi al-Ghazali, whose actions infl the further strengthening of the power of the Turks in the Middle Eastern provinces. The main purpose of the study is to identify the reasons for such an abrupt change in the policy of the Ottomans in Egypt and Syria. The author examines in detail the period of rule of the vassal Mamluk emirs and tries to determine how their actions infl the decision of the High Porte to appoint their own governors and remove the Mamluks from power. Using the historical and genealogical method, the author begins with a description of the events of the Ottoman-Mamluk war of 1516-1517. During the confl both emirs showed far-sightedness and went over to the side of the Ottomans. Therefore, they earned the special favor of Sultan Selim. However, later, while in power, both Khair-bek and Janbirdi al-Ghazali showed a tendency to arbitrariness, which served as an alarm signal for the Ottomans. Moreover, after the death of Selim, Janbirdi openly opposed the Ottomans. The result of the reign of both commanders, therefore, was an even greater strengthening of the Turks and the further weakening of the Mamluks in the Islamic world.