The Slave Soldiers Who Defeated the Mongols

How slave soldiers rose to power—then stopped the Mongols at their peak.

INTRO — SLAVES WHO BECAME SULTANS

Few military stories are more absurd — and more impressive — than the Mamluks.

They began as enslaved children, bought from:

• the Kipchak steppe

• the Caucasus

• Central Asian nomads

They were sold into Egypt and Syria, trained in:

• mounted archery

• swordsmanship

• military discipline

• Islamic law

• court politics

And instead of remaining weapons for their masters, they took over the state.

They became:

• Egypt’s ruling class

• elite cavalry

• guardians of the Islamic world

• kings, generals, and scholars

But their greatest achievement?

In 1260, they defeated the Mongols — the army that crushed everything from Korea to Poland.

This is the story of the Mamluks:
slaves → warriors → rulers → Mongol-slayers.

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