Chapter 5
EGYPT IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM
During the Crusades, when Saladin became sultan of Egypt, one of his
early projects was to organize an army to defend his new lands. Among
his army was a personal bodyguard of 500 yellow-clad Mamluks. These
were mercenaries: Kurds, Turks, and Arabs or Bedouin nomads.
The wordmamlukin Arabic is the past participle of the word to “own,”
that is, “owned.” The use of mercenaries, particularly of Turks as mer-
cenaries, had started under Khalif Mutasim, more than 400 years earlier.
The Mamluk system was a variation of the common system of hiring
foreign mercenaries, supported by a special class of merchants. These
merchants traveled through the Asian steppes, buying boys ages 10–12
from their parents. The youths of the steppes were preferred because they
were natural riders, born to the saddle, and already trained in the basics
of the bow and sword.
The arrangement differed from simple slavery, as we would understand
the English word. The boys came of their own will and were not chained
or otherwise bound.The promise of a life in Egypt, to these boys, was
the promise of life in the adventurous center of civilization—what we in
the west call “the big city”!
Once in Egypt, they were sold to prominent men and trained in the use
of the bow, lance, sword, and mace on horseback. They also received
whatever other education their owner thought appropriate. When they
were old enough to fight in battle, they were freed and armed. However,
because of the tradition of Arab countries, these freedmen were under a