Mamluk Art of Warfare (1250-1375) - (Handbook of Oriental Studies: Section 1; The Near and Middle East) by Mehdi Berriah (Hardcover)

About the Book

In Mamluks Art of Warfare, Mehdi Berriah sheds light on the mechanisms around which the conduct and practice of warfare of the Mamluk army, one of the most successful in the medieval Near East in the 13th-14th centuries, was structured.

Book Synopsis

In Mamluks Art of Warfare, Mehdi Berriah sheds light on the mechanisms around which the conduct and practice of warfare of the Mamluk army were articulated. The Mamluks made it one of the most efficient in the medieval Near East in the 13th-14th centuries, which allowed them to repel the triple danger (Mongols, Franks and Armenians) that threatened the territories of dār al-Islām in the Near East. Of servile origin, coming mainly from the Eurasian steppes and the Caucasus, the Mamluks were recruited above all for war. This was their reason for being, their politico-religious legitimacy coming exclusively from their military exploits. From a large corpus combining chronicles (Arabic, Latin, Armenian and Persian), didactic sources and archaeological works, Mehdi Berriah offers the first book explaining, in detail, the military successes of the Bahri Mamluks on different fronts against their three main enemies, and their quasi-invincibility on land, which ultimately allowed the sultanate to establish itself as the leading power in the region at the end of the 8th/14th century.

About the Author

Mehdi Berriah is researcher in Islamic Studies and Islamic History at the French Institute in the Near East (Ifpo) since September 2023. Previously, he was Assistant Professor for many years at the Vrije Universiteit of Amsterdam at the Faculty of Religion and Theology. His research and publications focus on military history and furūsiyya, the political, social and intellectual history of the medieval Islamic Near East. His work also deals with medieval and contemporary Muslim thought and theology, Ibn Taymiyya, jihād ideology and Islamic law of war.