Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517)
Encyclopedia
The Ottoman–Mamluk War of 1516–1517 was a conflict between the Egyptian
Mamluk Sultanate
and the Ottoman Empire
, which led to the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate and the incorporation of Syria
, Egypt
and the Arabian Peninsula
as provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The war transformed the Ottoman Empire from a realm at the margin of Islamic lands, mainly located in Anatolia
and the Balkans
, to a huge Empire encompassing the traditional lands of Islam
, including the historical cities of Mecca
, Cairo
, Damascus
and Aleppo
. It continued to be ruled however from Constantinople
.
, and the Ottomans aspired to eventually taking control of the Holy Cities of Islam
. An earlier conflict, the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1485–1491)
had led to a stalemate.
The Ottoman Sultan Selim I
had just vanquished the Persians at the Battle of Chaldiran
in 1514. He then redeployed against the Mamluks, who ruled in Syria
and Egypt
, in order to complete the Ottoman conquest of the Middle East
.
. The Mamluks remained proud in their tradition and tended to disregard the usage of firearms.
. The Battle of Marj Dabiq
(24 August 1516) was decisive, in which the Mamluk ruler Kansuh al-Ghuri was killed. The Ottomans apparently outnumbered the Mamluks by a factor of 3 to 1. Syria fell under the rule of the Ottomans with this single battle.
The Battle of Yaunis Khan
occurred near Gaza
(1516) and was again a defeat for the Mamluks.
After the death of the Mamluk Sultan, the new Sultan, Tuman Bay
, frantically recruited troops from various classes of society and Bedouins, and attempted to equip his armies with some amount of cannons and firearms, but all at the last minute and on a limited scale. Finally, at the doorstep of Cairo
, the Battle of Ridaniya (24 January 1517) took place, in which the Ottoman commander Hadım Sinan Pasha
lost his life. In this battle, Selim I and Tuman Bay faced each other. The firearms and guns deployed by Tuman Bay turned out to be almost useless, as the Ottomans managed an attack from the rear. Tuman Bay was finally captured and hanged at the gate of Cairo.
The campaign had been supported by a fleet of about 100 ships which supplied the troops during their campaign to the south.
A few days later, Cairo was captured and sacked by the Ottomans. As a consequence the Sharif of Mecca
also submitted to the Ottomans, placing the holy cities of Mecca
and Medina
under Ottoman rule. Ottoman power extended as far as the southern reaches of the Red Sea
, although control of Yemen
remained partial and sporadic.
. The fall of the Mamluk Sultanate effectively put an end to the Portuguese–Mamluk naval war
, but the Ottomans then took over the attempts to stop Portuguese expansion in the Indian Ocean
.
The conquest of the Mamluk Empire would also open up the territories of Africa
to the Ottomans. During the 16th century, Ottoman power would expand further west of Cairo, along the coasts of Northern Africa. The corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa established a base in Algeria
, and later accomplished the Conquest of Tunis
in 1534.
Cairo
would remain in Ottoman hands until the 1798 French conquest of Egypt, when Napoleon I
claimed to eliminate the Mamluks.
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
Mamluk Sultanate
Mamluk Sultanate (Cairo)
The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was the final independent Egyptian state prior to the establishment of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in 1805. It lasted from the overthrow of the Ayyubid Dynasty until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. The sultanate's ruling caste was composed of Mamluks, Arabised...
and the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
, which led to the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate and the incorporation of Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and the Arabian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula is a land mass situated north-east of Africa. Also known as Arabia or the Arabian subcontinent, it is the world's largest peninsula and covers 3,237,500 km2...
as provinces of the Ottoman Empire. The war transformed the Ottoman Empire from a realm at the margin of Islamic lands, mainly located in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, to a huge Empire encompassing the traditional lands of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
, including the historical cities of Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
and Aleppo
Aleppo
Aleppo is the largest city in Syria and the capital of Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 2,301,570 , expanding to over 2.5 million in the metropolitan area, it is also one of the largest cities in the Levant...
. It continued to be ruled however from Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
.
Background
The relationship between the Ottomans and the Mamluks had long been adversarial: both states vied for control of the spice tradeSpice trade
Civilizations of Asia were involved in spice trade from the ancient times, and the Greco-Roman world soon followed by trading along the Incense route and the Roman-India routes...
, and the Ottomans aspired to eventually taking control of the Holy Cities of Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
. An earlier conflict, the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1485–1491)
Ottoman–Mamluk War (1485–1491)
An Ottoman-Mamluk war took place between 1485–1491, when the Ottoman Empire invaded the Mamluk Sultanate territories of Anatolia and Syria. This war was an essential event in the Ottoman struggle for the domination of the Middle-East. After multiple encounters however, the war ended in a stalemate...
had led to a stalemate.
The Ottoman Sultan Selim I
Selim I
Selim I, Yavuz Sultân Selim Khan, Hâdim-ül Haramain-ish Sharifain , nicknamed Yavuz "the Stern" or "the Steadfast", but often rendered in English as "the Grim" , was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to...
had just vanquished the Persians at the Battle of Chaldiran
Battle of Chaldiran
The Battle of Chaldiran or Chaldoran occurred on 23 August 1514 and ended with a victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire of Persia . As a result, the Ottomans gained immediate control over eastern Anatolia and northern Iraq...
in 1514. He then redeployed against the Mamluks, who ruled in Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
and Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, in order to complete the Ottoman conquest of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
.
Operations
The war consisted of several battles. The Mamluk army was rather traditional, mainly consisting in cavalry using bows and arrows, whereas the Ottoman army, and especially the Janissaries, was quite modern, using arquebusArquebus
The arquebus , or "hook tube", is an early muzzle-loaded firearm used in the 15th to 17th centuries. The word was originally modeled on the German hakenbüchse; this produced haquebute...
. The Mamluks remained proud in their tradition and tended to disregard the usage of firearms.
Operations in the Levant (1516)
The Ottomans first captured the city of Diyarbekir in southeastern AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. The Battle of Marj Dabiq
Battle of Marj Dabiq
The battle of Marj Dābiq was a decisive military clash in Middle Eastern history, fought on 24 August 1516, 44 km north of Halab , Syria.- Battle preparations :...
(24 August 1516) was decisive, in which the Mamluk ruler Kansuh al-Ghuri was killed. The Ottomans apparently outnumbered the Mamluks by a factor of 3 to 1. Syria fell under the rule of the Ottomans with this single battle.
The Battle of Yaunis Khan
Battle of Yaunis Khan
The Battle of Yaunis Khan was fought on October 28, 1516, between the Ottoman Empire and the Mamelukes. The Ottomans were led by Grand Vizier Hadim Sinan Pasha, and they were victorious....
occurred near Gaza
Gaza
Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...
(1516) and was again a defeat for the Mamluks.
Operations in Egypt (1517)
Tuman bay II
Al-Ashraf Tuman bay better known as Tuman bay II succeeded as Sultan of Egypt during the final period of Mamluk rule in Egypt prior to its conquest by the Ottoman Empire...
, frantically recruited troops from various classes of society and Bedouins, and attempted to equip his armies with some amount of cannons and firearms, but all at the last minute and on a limited scale. Finally, at the doorstep of Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
, the Battle of Ridaniya (24 January 1517) took place, in which the Ottoman commander Hadım Sinan Pasha
Hadım Sinan Pasha
Hadım Sinan Pasha, Hadım Pasha Boroviniç was an Ottoman grand vizier. - Early years :He was a devshirme from the Bosnian noble family named Borovinić. In 1514 he was the Beylerbey of Anatolia. In the battle of Chaldiran against Safavid Persia he was in charge of right flank...
lost his life. In this battle, Selim I and Tuman Bay faced each other. The firearms and guns deployed by Tuman Bay turned out to be almost useless, as the Ottomans managed an attack from the rear. Tuman Bay was finally captured and hanged at the gate of Cairo.
The campaign had been supported by a fleet of about 100 ships which supplied the troops during their campaign to the south.
A few days later, Cairo was captured and sacked by the Ottomans. As a consequence the Sharif of Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
also submitted to the Ottomans, placing the holy cities of Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
and Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
under Ottoman rule. Ottoman power extended as far as the southern reaches of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, although control of Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
remained partial and sporadic.
Consequences
Mamluk culture and social organization persisted at a regional level, and the hiring and education of Mamluk "slave" soldiers continued, but the ruler of Egypt was an Ottoman governor protected by an Ottoman militiaMilitia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
. The fall of the Mamluk Sultanate effectively put an end to the Portuguese–Mamluk naval war
Portuguese–Mamluk naval war
The Portuguese–Mamluk naval war was a naval conflict between the Egyptian state of the Mamluks and the Portuguese in the Indian Ocean, following the expansion of the Portuguese after sailing around the Cape of Good Hope in 1497...
, but the Ottomans then took over the attempts to stop Portuguese expansion in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
The conquest of the Mamluk Empire would also open up the territories of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
to the Ottomans. During the 16th century, Ottoman power would expand further west of Cairo, along the coasts of Northern Africa. The corsair Hayreddin Barbarossa established a base in Algeria
Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria , also formally referred to as the Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of Northwest Africa with Algiers as its capital.In terms of land area, it is the largest country in Africa and the Arab...
, and later accomplished the Conquest of Tunis
Conquest of Tunis (1534)
The conquest of Tunis occurred on 16 August 1534 when Hayreddin Barbarossa captured the city from the Hafsid ruler Muley Hasan.In 1533, Suleiman ordered Hayreddin Barbarossa, whom he had summoned from Algiers, to build a large war fleet in the arsenal of Constantinople...
in 1534.
Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
would remain in Ottoman hands until the 1798 French conquest of Egypt, when Napoleon I
Napoleon I
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...
claimed to eliminate the Mamluks.
See also
- Ottoman–Mamluk War (1485–1491)Ottoman–Mamluk War (1485–1491)An Ottoman-Mamluk war took place between 1485–1491, when the Ottoman Empire invaded the Mamluk Sultanate territories of Anatolia and Syria. This war was an essential event in the Ottoman struggle for the domination of the Middle-East. After multiple encounters however, the war ended in a stalemate...
- Ottoman wars in the Near East
- History of Ottoman Egypt