Walker/Life on the Farm, 4. Remnants of a “Feudal” Past: The Mamluk Estate

The Mamluks were a Muslim dynasty of emancipated military slaves that controlled much of the eastern Mediterranean from their capital in Cairo in the 13th to early 16th centuries. For the first century of their rule, their priority in Egypt and Syria was security of the pilgrimage route and defense from internal and external threats. In Bilād al- Shām this meant the investment in travel infrastructure; development of the pigeon post; pacifying rebels (particularly Bedouin); and expanding its network of castles and garrisons. After signing a peace treaty with the Il Khānid Mongols in 1323, which secured the eastern border, the Mamluk sultans shifted much of their attention to domestic concerns: lavish building projects and the arts; the provision of public services through endowments (awqāf ); and the construction of roads, water systems, and caravanserais.