tiles


Note:  Do not rely on this information. It is very old.

Mamelukes

Mamelukes, a body of Egyptian cavalry, so called (Arab, mamluk = "purchased slave") because the original members were slaves of various nationalities sold by Jenghiz Khan to the Sultan of Egypt in the 13th century. They soon (about 1250) seized the government, and made one of themselves sultan or Mameluke Bey. Their rule was maintained until 1517, when they were overpowered by the Turkish sultan Selim I., after which they formed part of the Egyptian army until in 1811 Mehemet Ali had most of them massacred, because they were too powerful.