The Islamic state that ruled from 1250 to 1517 CE with its capital in Cairo, Egypt. It was governed by a military caste of mamluks (freed slave-soldiers) and led by a sultan. At its greatest extent, the Mamluk sultanate extended from Libya in the west up the Nile valley, and to the east to Mecca, Medina and the Hijaz, Sinai, Palestine, Syria and parts of Anatolia. Trade flourished, and Cairo became one of the wealthiest cities in the world, a center of artistic and intellectual activity. The Mamluk army was successful against the Mongols and the European Crusaders, especially during the reign of the first two great Mamluk sultans, Baybars and Qala’un.

The Mamluks directed their architectural efforts mostly to mosques and madrasas. One outstanding example is the Complex of Sultan Hasan, Cairo (1356-63). A new glass-making technique, “Mamluk glass”, produced clear vessels that were gilded and decorated with opaque, colored glass paste. The fashion for inlaid brass, introduced during the Seljuk period, peaked between 1300 and 1500. Inlaid brass became an alternative to pure silver and gold vessels, and it was in demand by sophisticated patrons. One of the greatest examples was produced during the Mamluk sultanate: the “Font of Saint Louis” (late 13th/early 14th c., Musée du Louvre). Web resources here, here and here.

Tile with epigraphic blazon of Sultan  Qaitbay. Mamluk Egypt. Late 15th c. Kuwait National Museum, Kuwait City.