EGYPT IN THE WORLD OF ISLAM 79allowed the Ottomans to continue their control much longer than might
have otherwise occurred.
CHRONOLOGY
1169–93 Saladin’s reign in Egypt and the beginning of Mamluk
influence
1250 Turan Shah, last Ayoubid caliph, is murdered by the Mamluks,
their first great political act.
1260 (date approximate) Mamluks under Sultan Baybars (and oth-
ers) defeat Mongol attacks on Syria.
1280s Sultan Qalaoon defeats more Mongols and eliminates Acre,
the last crusader outpost.
1300s The Mamluk system is solidified and the Mamluk army be-
comes the political master of the sultans.
1400 Mongols defeat the Mamluks and destroy Damascus.
1400s Mamluk effectiveness degrades as they become more political
and less military.
1515 The Ottomans defeat the Egyptians at the Battle of Marj Dabiq,
thus bringing Egypt under the Turkish throne.
1580s Mamluks reassert authority by mutinies against the Ottoman
viceroys.
1600–1700 Egypt is actually independent, although nominally a Turkish
province.
1799 French defeat the Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids.
1805 Mehmet Ali takes control of Egypt and is tacitly recognized
in Constantinople.
1817 Mehmet campaigns in Arabia against the Wahhabis.
1821 Mehmet campaigns in Greece during the Greek civil wars.
1827 A Western fleet destroys Mehmet’s fleet at Navarino Bay.
NOTE
- See Chapter 8 for a complete history of the Assassin sect.