This book focuses on the Mansuriyya regiment, the mamluks of sultan al-Mansur Qalawun. It traces the lives of these mamluks during the career of their master Qalawun (ca. 1260-1290), the period they ruled the Sultanate of Egypt and Syria de jure or de facto (1290-1310), and their aftermath, during the third reign of sultan al-Nasir Muhammad b. Qalawun (1310-1341). Based on dozens of contemporary Arabic sources, the book traces the political and military events of the turbulent Mansuriyya period, as well as the basic military-political principles and socio-political practices that evolved during this period. It suggests that the Mansuriyya period marks the beginning of the demilitarization, or politicization, of the Mamluk sultanate.

Research on the Mamluk period has so far remained relatively silent about the Mamluk descendants, who are often referred to by the Arabic term awlād al-nās (roughly: children of the elite). After Ulrich Haarmann's fundamental theses, research on this group seems to have paused, in comparison to the study dedicated to other social groups of Mamluk society. This volume brings together the results of an international conference and presents the state of the art in approaching the Mamluk descendants, whose emic perception as a group and social roles were far more differentiated and variable than previously assumed. The contributions shed light on the status of the Mamluk descendants from a variety of viewpoints, including historiographies, archival material, and artifacts produced by Mamluk descendants.

An original and unique work that will fill a huge gap in the field of military history, and be of interest to both scholars and general readers. It is a picture of the universal role of cavalry in warfare from earliest times to the present - and future. This book covers the role of horses and essential mobility in 'shock action', in warfare in the classical world, in the major civilizations of China and India, Steppe cavalry, in the middle ages with Islamic and European conflict, the 'social politics' in Christendom with knightly valor, and war with non-Christian forces including the Muslim invasion of Europe, Islamic Spain, and conflict with the Mongols. The early modern period covers the Asia and North Africa and the Ottomans - a major field of warfare continuing up to the modern period - and the time is notable for the introduction of horses in the Americas - a new phase in cavalry history. The modern period from Napoleon to the First World War is the history of the mobility of cavalry in European warfare and in imperial expansion and empire-building, but the concept of cavalry 'redundancy' arises in the maelstrom of 1914-1918 with artillery bombardment, trench warfare, and the role of infantry. The long 'transition' period leading up the present and future is fascinating for both cavalry and infantry, with the development of tanks and armor. And here is a fascinating and original concept of cavalry 'transformation' and not cavalry 'survivalism', with modern and post-modern development of drone warfare - from horses to drones - as a 'new cavalry' for reconnaissance and combat.

Ibn Taymiyya (1263–1328) of Damascus was one of the most prominent and controversial religious scholars of medieval Islam. He called for jihad against the Mongol invaders of Syria, appealed to the foundational sources of Islam for reform, and battled against religious innovation. Today, he inspires such diverse movements as Global Salafism, Islamic revivalism and modernism, and violent jihadism. This volume synthesizes the latest research, discusses many little-known aspects of Ibn Taymiyya’s thought, and highlights the religious utilitarianism that pervades his activism, ethics, and theology.

This volume provides translations of texts on the Mamluk Sultan Qalāwūn (1279-90) and his son al-Malik al-Ashraf (1290-93), which cover the end of the Crusader interlude in the Syrian Levant. Translated from the original Arabic, these chronicles detail the Mamluk perception of the Crusaders, the Mongol menace, how this menace was confronted, and a wealth of materials about the Mediterranean basin in the late thirteenth century. Treaties, battles, sieges and embassies are all revealed in these chronicles, most of which have not been translated previously. The translated texts provide a range of historical records concerning Qalāwūn and al-Ashraf, and include the court perspective of Ibn `Abd al-Ẓāhir, the later biography by his nephew Shafī`, and the writings of the Mamluk historian Baybars al-Mansūrī.

The Mamluk Sultanate represents an extremely interesting case study to examine social, economic and cultural developments in the transition into the rapidly changing modern world. On the one hand, it is the heir of a political and military tradition that goes back hundreds of years, and brought this to a high pitch that enabled astounding victories over serious external threats. On the other hand, as time went on, it was increasingly confronted with "modern" problems that would necessitate fundamental changes in its structure and content. The Mamluk period was one of great religious and social change, and in many ways the modern demographic map was established at this time. This volume shows that the situation of the Mamluk Sultanate was far from that of decadence, and until the end it was a vibrant society (although not without tensions and increasing problems) that did its best to adapt and compete in a rapidly changing world.

Mamluk Cairo, a Crossroads for Embassies offers an up-to-date insight into the diplomacy and diplomatics of the Mamluk sultanate with Muslim and non-Muslim powers. This rich volume covers the whole chronological span of the sultanate as well as the various areas of the diplomatic relations established by (or with) the Mamluk sultanate. Twenty-six essays are divided in geographical sections that broadly respect the political division of the world as the Mamluk chancery perceived it. In addition, two introductory essays provide the present stage of research in the fields of, respectively, diplomatics and diplomacy. With contributions by Frédéric Bauden, Lotfi Ben Miled, Michele Bernardini, Bárbara Boloix Gallardo, Anne F. Broadbridge, Mounira Chapoutot-Remadi, Stephan Conermann, Nicholas Coureas, Malika Dekkiche, Rémi Dewière, Kristof D’hulster, Marie Favereau, Gladys Frantz-Murphy, Yehoshua Frenkel, Hend Gilli-Elewy, Ludvik Kalus, Anna Kollatz, Julien Loiseau, Maria Filomena Lopes de Barros, John L. Meloy, Pierre Moukarzel, Lucian Reinfandt, Alessandro Rizzo, Éric Vallet, Valentina Vezzoli and Patrick Wing.