The capture of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

was the final major engagement of the Ottoman Mamluk War of 1516-1517. The city of Cairo, the capital of the

Mamluk Sultanate The Mamluk Sultanate (), also known as Mamluk Egypt or the Mamluk Empire, was a state that ruled Egypt, the Levant and the Hejaz from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries, with Cairo as its capital. It was ruled by a military caste of mamluks ...

, was sacked and fell into the hands of the Ottoman forces led by Sultan

Selim I Selim I (; ; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute (), was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite lasting only eight years, his reign is ...

during the 27-30 January 1517. Following Cairo's fall and the subsequent execution of the last Mamluk Sultan and member of the

Abbasid dynasty The Abbasid dynasty or Abbasids () were an Arab dynasty that ruled the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 1258. They were from the Qurayshi Hashimid clan of Banu Abbas, descended from Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib. The Abbasid Caliphate is divid ...

: Tuman Bay II, the Mamluk Sultanate was absorbed into the expanding

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Following its conquest, Cairo saw its status reduced from the previously the capital of the Mamluk Sultanate to a provincial city governed from

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. The economic trends from the later years of the Mamluk Sultanate continued under Ottoman rule, with the country being increasingly subject to taxation by the imperial government and its status as a military base to launch further expansion into surrounding lands.

Background

The Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt was a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

dynasty in Egypt (1250–1517). The Mamluks constituted a class of military slaves of either Turkic or Circassian origin. After a coup in 1250, they began ruling in Egypt and they annexed

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

and

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

to their realm. Initially, the relations between the Mamluk Sultanate and the Ottoman Empire in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

and the

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

s were friendly. However during the last years of the 15th century, the competition to control south Turkey (

Çukurova Çukurova (), or the Cilician Plain (''Cilicia Pedias'' in antiquity), is a large fertile plain in the Cilicia region of southern Anatolia. The plain covers the easternmost areas of Mersin Province, southern and central Adana Province, western Os ...

Cilicia Cilicia () is a geographical region in southern Anatolia, extending inland from the northeastern coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. Cilicia has a population ranging over six million, concentrated mostly at the Cilician plain (). The region inclu ...

of the antiquity) deteriorated the relations. Furthermore, during the Ottoman-

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

(

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

) war the

Dulkadirids The Beylik of Dulkadir () was one of the Turkish Anatolian beyliks (principality) established by the Oghuz Turk clans Bayat, Afshar, and Begdili after the decline of Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm. Etymology The meaning of Dulkadir is unclear. ...

, which was a Mamluk vassal, supported the Safavids. After the

Battle of Chaldiran The Battle of Chaldiran (; ) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and Upper Mesopotamia from Safavid Iran. It marked ...

in 1514, Ottoman vizier (later

grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

)

Hadim Sinan Pasha Hadim is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Konya Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,165 km2, and its population is 10,999 (2022). Its elevation is . History The area now known as Hadim was settled by a tribe of Turkmens, Turkm ...

retaliated by annexing Dulkadirid territory (most of South East Anatolia) after the Battle of Turnadag to the Ottoman realm in 1515. The tensions between the two great powers led to conflict. Ottoman Sultan

(reigned 1512-1520) won two decisive battles, the

Battle of Marj Dabiq The Battle of Marj Dābiq (, meaning "the meadow of Dābiq"; ), a decisive military engagement in Middle Eastern history, was fought on 24 August 1516, near the town of Dabiq, 44 km north of Aleppo (modern Syria). The battle was part of t ...

in 1516 and the

Battle of Ridaniya The Battle of Ridaniya or Battle of Ridanieh (; ) was fought on January 22, 1517, in Egypt. The Ottoman forces of Selim I defeated the Mamluk forces under Al-Ashraf Tuman bay II. The Turks marched into Cairo, and the severed head of Tuman bay ...

in 1517.

Conquest of Cairo

After the

battle of Ridaniya The Battle of Ridaniya or Battle of Ridanieh (; ) was fought on January 22, 1517, in Egypt. The Ottoman forces of Selim I defeated the Mamluk forces under Al-Ashraf Tuman bay II. The Turks marched into Cairo, and the severed head of Tuman bay ...

(23 January 1517) Selim encamped on the island of Vustaniye (or Burac) facing Cairo, the capital. But he didn't enter Cairo. Because Tumanbay II the sultan of the Mamluks as well as Kayıtbay another leader of the Mamluks had managed to escape, Selim decided to concentrate on arresting the leaders before entering Cairo. Thus he sent only a vanguard regiment to Cairo on 26 January. Although the regiment was able to enter the capital without much fighting, the same night Tumanbay also secretly came to the capital. With the assistance of some Cairo citizens, he raided the Ottoman forces in the capital and began controlling Cairo. After hearing the news of Tumanbay's presence in Cairo, Selim sent his

Janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...

to the city. After several days' fighting the Ottoman forces entered the city on 3 February 1517. Selim entered the city and sent messages of victory () to other rulers about the conquest of Cairo. Nevertheless, the leaders of the Mamluks were still on the loose.

Aftermath

Tumanbay escaped from Cairo and tried to organize a new army composed of Egyptians together with what was left out of the Mamluk army. His army was smaller in size and capacity compared to the Ottoman army. But he was planning to raid Selim's camp on Vustatiye island. However, Selim heard about his plan and sent a force on Tumanbay to forestall his plans. After some small-scale clashes, Tumanbay was arrested on 26 March 1517. Selim's initial decision was to send Mamluk notables to İstanbul. But after a while, he changed his decision. Tumanbay and the other notable Mamluks were executed on 13 April 1517 at the Bab Zuweila by a former Mamluk commander who had switched sides.Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi Cilt II'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991, p 250.

References

Bibliography

* * {{coord, 30, 04, N, 31, 13, E, display=title Military history of Cairo Conflicts in 1517 Sieges involving the Ottoman Empire Cairo under the Mamluk Sultanate 1517 in the Ottoman Empire 1510s in Egypt Battles involving the Mamluk Sultanate 16th century in Cairo 1517 in the Mamluk Sultanate