Mamluks

The Mamluk origins started as soldiers of slaves who had been converted to Islam.

The Dynasty was of great political importance and was extraordinarily long-lived, lasting from the 9th to the 19th century AD.  Mamluks became a powerful military presence in various Muslim societies.

They also were very skilled in the architecture of many of the mosques and castles still standing in the Middle East. Particularly in Egypt, but also in the Levant, Iraq, and India, mamluks held political and military power.

In some cases, they attained the rank of sultans, while in others they held regional power as amirs or beys.

Most notably, mamluk factions seized the sultanate for themselves in Egypt and Syria in a period known as the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517).

The Mamluk Sultanate famously beat back the Mongols and fought the Christian Crusaders.