The Empire of the Sword | The Rise and Fall of the Mamluk Sultanate

They were bought and sold as slaves… but they rose to become kings. This is the story of the Mamluks, the slave soldiers who became the final shield of the Muslim world at one of the darkest moments in Islamic history. When Baghdad fell to the Mongols in 1258, the Abbasid Caliphate collapsed, the great cities of the Muslim world were left in ruins and the Mongol storm moved towards Egypt, Palestine, Makkah and Madinah. But in 1260, at the Battle of Ain Jalut, Sultan Saif ad-Din Qutuz, Baibars and the Mamluk army stood in their way. This documentary explores the dramatic rise of the Mamluks: from the slave markets of Central Asia and the Caucasus to the military barracks of Egypt; from the defeat of the Seventh Crusade and the capture of King Louis IX to the legendary battle that broke the myth of Mongol invincibility. But the same sword that made the Mamluks powerful also became the reason for their decline. Their empire became rich through trade, Cairo became one of the greatest cities of the medieval world and yet internal power struggles, economic shifts, Portuguese naval expansion and their refusal to adapt to gunpowder warfare eventually brought them face to face with the Ottomans. From Ain Jalut to Marj Dabiq, from Qutuz to Baibars, from Qansuh al-Ghuri to the last Mamluk Sultan Tuman Bay, this is the rise and fall of the Slave Kings who saved Islam, ruled Egypt and changed world history. Watch till the end to understand how the Mamluks saved the Muslim world, and why their own system eventually destroyed them. CHAPTERS 00:00 - Intro 02:02 - Born in Chains 05:02 - The Game of Thrones 13:18 - The Shield of Islam 23:12 - Kings Have No Sons 30:52 - The Last Mamluk And if you love history beyond textbooks, subscribe to Dareecha. #Mamluks #BattleOfAinJalut #Baibars #Dareecha