Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517)

TheOttoman–Mamluk War of 1516–1517was the second major conflict between theEgypt-basedMamluk Sultanateand theOttoman Empire, which led to the fall of the Mamluk Sultanate and the incorporation of theLevant, Egypt, and theHejazas provinces of the Ottoman Empire.The war transformed the Ottoman Empire from a realm at the margins of the Islamic world, mainly located inAnatoliaand theBalkans, to a huge empire encompassing much of thetraditional lands of Islam, including the cities ofMecca,Cairo,Damascus, andAleppo. Despite this expansion, the seat of the empire's political power remained inConstantinople.
The relationship between the Ottomans and the Mamluks had been adversarial since theFall of Constantinopleto the Ottomans in 1453; both states vied for control of thespice trade, and the Ottomans aspired to eventually take control of theHoly CitiesofIslam.An earlier conflict,which lasted from 1485 to 1491, had led to a stalemate. Having vanquished theSafavidPersians at theBattle of Chaldiranin 1514, sultanSelim Iwas eager to conquer theMamluk Sultanate, which ruled inSyriaandEgypt.Thus freed of other concerns, by 1516, the Ottoman Empire turned its full might against theMamluksto complete the Ottoman conquest of theMiddle East.
Sultan Selim alleged that the Mamluks were Muslim oppressors and that they were allied with theShiaSafavids. Based on these accusations, a fatwa appeared, stating: “Whoever helps people who are misled, he is also a heretic."
The Mamluks drafted farmers and peasants from rural areas as soldiers for their upcoming war with the Ottomans. In response, these men fled to avoid being drafted. This led to shortages in rural workers required for food production and a shortage of bread, resulting in a near famine that devastated towns from Cairo to Anatolia.
Both theOttomansandMamluksassembled 60,000 soldiers.However, only 15,000 Mamluk soldiers were trained warriors: the rest were mere conscripts who did not even know how to fire a musket. As a result, most of theMamluksfled, avoided the front lines, and even committed suicide. In addition, as had happened with theSafavidsin theBattle of Chaldiran, the blasts of the Ottoman cannons and guns scared the Mamluk horses, which raced uncontrollably in every direction.
The war consisted of several battles. The Mamluk army was rather traditional, mainly consisting of cavalry using bows and arrows, whereas the Ottoman army, and especially theJanissaries, was quite modern, usingarquebuses.The Mamluks remained proud in their tradition and tended to disdain the usage of firearms.
The Ottomans first captured the city ofDiyarbekirin southeasternAnatolia.TheBattle of Marj Dabiq(24 August) was decisive, and the Mamluk rulerKansuh al-Ghuriwas killed.The Ottomans apparently outnumbered the Mamluks by a factor of 3 to 1.Syria fell under the rule of the Ottomans with this single battle.
TheBattle of Yaunis Khanoccurred nearGaza(28 October) and was again a defeat for the Mamluks.
Al-Ghuri's successor as Mamluk sultan,Tuman Bay, frantically recruited troops from various classes of society andBedouins, and attempted to equip his armies with some quantity ofcannonsand firearms, but all at the last minute and on a limited scale.Finally, at the doorstep of Cairo, theBattle of Ridaniya(24 January) took place, in which the Ottoman commanderHadım Sinan Pashalost his life.In this battle, Selim I and Tuman Bay faced each other. The firearms and guns deployed by Tuman Bay turned out to be almost useless, as the Ottomans managed an attack from the rear.
The campaign had been supported by a fleet of about 100 ships that supplied the troops during their campaign to the south.
A few days later, the Ottomans captured and sacked Cairo,capturing CaliphAl-Mutawakkil III.Tuman Bay regrouped his troops inGiza, where he was finally captured and hanged at the gate of Cairo.
The Ottoman fleet ofSelman Reiswas already stationed in the Red Sea by 1517. FearingPortuguese fleetsthe blockade onBab Al Mandabto continue.Selman's fleets aimed to clash with the Portuguese to free the trade route with India and to protect the holy land ofHejaz. Despite the ongoing war with the Mamluks, the Ottomans defendedJeddah in December 1517, the last garrison of the Mamluk regime.
WhileJeddahbecame a directBeylerbeylikto theOttoman Empire, eight years later, the Sharif ofMecca, Barakat ibn Muhammad, also submitted to the Ottomans, placing the holy cities ofMeccaandMedinaunder Ottoman rule as avassal state.
Consequently, Ottoman power was extended as far as the southern reaches of theRed Sea, although control ofYemenremained partial and sporadic.
Mamluk culture and social organization persisted at a regional level, and the hiring and education of Mamluk "slave" soldiers continued, but the ruler of Egypt was an Ottoman governor protected by an Ottomanmilitia.The fall of the Mamluk Sultanate effectively put an end to thePortuguese–Mamluk naval war, but the Ottomans then took over the attempts to stop Portuguese expansion in theIndian Ocean.
The conquest of the Mamluk Empire also opened up the territories ofAfricato the Ottomans. During the 16th century, Ottoman power expanded further west of Cairo, along the coasts of northern Africa. The corsairHayreddin Barbarossaestablished a base inAlgeria, and later accomplished theConquest of Tunisin 1534.
Following his capture in Cairo, Caliph Al-Mutawakkil III was brought to Constantinople, where later tradition claims he ceded his office ascaliphto the Ottomans.This established theOttoman Caliphate, with the sultan as its head, thus transferring religious authority from Cairo to the Ottoman throne.
Cairo remained in Ottoman hands until the 1798French conquest of Egypt, whenNapoleon Iclaimed to eliminate the Mamluks.
The conquest of the Mamluks was the largest military venture any Ottoman Sultan had ever attempted. In addition, the conquest put the Ottomans in control of two of the largest cities in the world at the time- Constantinople and Cairo. Not since the height of the Roman Empire had theBlack,Red,Caspian, andMediterraneanseas been governed by a single empire.
The conquest of Egypt proved extremely profitable for the empire as it produced more tax revenue than any other Ottoman territory and supplied about 100% of all food consumed. However,MeccaandMedinawere the most important of all the cities conquered since it officially made Selim and his descendants the Caliphs of the entire Muslim world until the early 20th century.