"The author brings together a wealth of information which has, until
now, only been available in highly specialized academic journals and
scholarly books" - David Nicolle
"An astonishing array of themes and characters" - John Man
The Mamluks were, at one distinct point in history, the greatest body of
fighting men in the world and the quintessence of the mounted warrior -
reaching near perfection in their skill with the bow, lance and sword.
Their story embraces many of the great themes of medieval military
endeavor: the Crusaders and the deadly contest between Islam and
Christendom, the Mongols and their vision of World Dominion, Tamerlane
the Scourge of God and the rise of the Ottoman Empire whose own slave
soldiers, the Janissaries, would be the Mamluks' final nemesis.
They entered the Islamic world as unlettered automatons and through a
total application to the craft of the warrior they became more than
soldiers. After a bloody seizure of power from their masters, the
descendants of Saladin, they developed a martial code and an honor
system based on barracks brotherhood, a sophisticated military society
that harnessed the state's energies for total war and produced a series
of treatises on cavalry tactics, martial training, mounted archery and
scientific and analytical approaches to warfare that more than compare
to Sun Tzu's Art of War, the Western Codes of Chivalry and the Bushido
in their complexity, beauty of language and comprehensive coverage of
the bloody business of war.
Their story embraces many of the great themes of medieval military
endeavor: the Crusaders and the deadly contest between Islam and
Christendom, the Mongols and their vision of world dominion, Tamerlane
and the rise of the Ottoman Empire whose own slave soldiers, the
Janissaries, would be the Mamluks' final nemesis.
