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, soldiers of predominantly Kipchak Turkish/Cuman, and Circassian slave origin. While Mamluks were purchased, their status was above ordinary slaves, who were not allowed to carry weapons or perform certain tasks. Mamluks were considered to be "true lords", with social status above freeborn Egyptian Muslims. Though it declined towards the end of its existence, at its height the sultanate represented the zenith of Egyptian and Levantine political, economic, and cultural glory in the Islamic era.Àdàkọ:Peacock term Kennedy, Hugh N. The Historiography of Islamic Egypt (C. 950-1800), (Brill Academic Publishers, 2001), 69. [1] Isichei, Elizabeth (1997). A History of African Societies to 1870. Cambridge University Press. pp. 192.