JBO'C's Historical Reference |
The Mamluk |
The MamlukJBOC: Mamluk is a term for a purchased person recruited as a warrior caste in Egypt. At a point the Mamluks supplanted the old order and established a new order with themselves in charge. The older group were the Bahri Mamluk who were of Kipchak Turk origin from what is now the south the the Russian Federation. They domintaed Egypt for 140 years until they were supplanted by the Burji Mamluk. Bahri translates as 'of the River' and the Burji as 'of the Fort or tower' but the distinction between the two groups is that the Bahri were of Kipchak origin and the Burji Mamluk were of Circassian origin. Both were primarily Christians purchased to be soldiers. They were both forced to convert to Islam. However the Kipchak who were Altaic Ponto-Caspian Turks were from slightly north of the Circassians. The Kipchak are identifiable today as the Cumen and also as a component part of the Kharchin Mongols. The Circassians who came from Chechnya, Dagestan and the northern part of Georgia are not Turks at all but rather are from a distinct North Caucasian group. Thus the Bahri and Burji Mamluks appear to most historians as minor variations of a homogeneous group there were very seperate and distinct in language and ethnicity to each other. Oddly enough two sultans in the Burji line were Greek but that was a passing abberation. (Zahir Sayf-al-din Khushkadam and Zahir Timurbugha were Greek) |
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