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Dear
colleagues, dear friends,
I would like to speak in one's lecture of the most
thrilling and perhaps also very special structures of
the history, the Circassians participated which and
glorious have written capital. First, goes around the
Circassians period of the Mamluken Empire which ruled in
Egypt in Syria and in Palestine for several
centuries. How it came to that well that absolute power
performed Circassians elite in the fourteenth and
in the fifteenth century over these Arabian areas?
Saying briefly we want to try this here.
The north western Caucasus in which the Circassians
people have lived for prehistoric period was run down by
the Mongol Hordes in the early thirteenth century. The
Mongolian Empire which contained everything between
Peking and Poland and between Siberia and the Persian
golf disintegrated into several partial states shortly
after the death of Genghis Khan. The empire of the
Golden Horde then resulted for the Caucasus in the
complete East-European room, in west Siberia and
in today's west Kazakhstan and altogether northern;
on the other hand, in Iran and in east Anatolia this set
empire the Il-hane against that southern the
Caucasus. Mamluken’s state, which had established
itself in the complete east of the Mediterranean
Sea between southeast Anatolian and Egypt also was set
against the Il-haniden but allied with the Golden Horde
against this.
Mamluk is in Arabic 'slave'; there was slave trade in
the Orient into the Ottoman time. The Ayyubies-Dynasty
which ruled in Egypt formed a large their army by
import of non-Muslim boys, their army since the ninth
century mainly from non-Muslim Turks from Central-Asia
and the Ottomans formed their elite units like also the
Abbasies with capital in Baghdad from children from
Balkan families in much later time. Muslims were not
allowed in principle to be traded as slaves. Slaves of
many peoples, e.g. Mongols and Chinese, Greek and
Russians, Armenian and Osseten, reached Egypt and Abaza
read. The two largest slave groups were the members of
Turkish-kiptschakischen Peoples from Ukraine from
today's south Russia or the north Caucasus and the
Circassians. Their heathendom, their physical
suitability, their faithfulness and their purposefulness
made the hard and primitive conditions allegedly under
which these peoples lived the Turks and the Circassians
the most sought-after soldiers.
This was the social and economic conditions in the room
between the Ukraine and the Caucasus so much, the
families often handed in their own children both instead
of tax and because they couldn't feed them themselves at
that time. The Mongols used their campaigns for
collecting slaves mainly; also otherwise kidnappings
very often took place between the ethnic groups because
earned sums the slaves great. In the Middle-East, the
life of Mamluk slaves often got much better than in
their old native country because the Islamic was the
most progressive society of the world at that time. You
reached after they were brought up to be Muslims in the
barracks in which they were brought up to be elite
soldiers in extremely Spartan way. Most Mamluken were
released at a certain time and the most talented under
them could to the highest positions do in the empire
reached; So one could Mamluk be a very big chance of the
to who.
Turkish Military slaves weren't only fetched by the
Ayyubies to Egypt and the Abbasies to Iraq; there were
they also in large numbers at the Samanies in
Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and east Iran and at the Guriden
in north India. The Central-Asian Turks seized the power
in these two states now; so the state ruled over by
Turkish elite resulted for the Ghasnavies by the year
1000 and at 1200 the Sultanate of the slave kings of
Delhi. In Egypt the Mamluken got particularly strong
between 1250 and 1260 that them first, then beat the
shamanist Mongols of the Il-hani Empire and saved
the complete Islamic world through this the
Christian Crusades. Like in the two states mentioned
above, this way the slaves imported to Egypt also came
to the power.
The Egyptian Mamluken were an elite which only dealt
with aggressive things and didn't mix with the local
people; increasingly more new Mamluken were fetched here
from the south East European steppe and no Arab women
were married either.
The Mamluk-Army was organized after ethnic membership in
different barracks; the kiptschakischen Turks belonged
to the regiment of the Bahriyya, the Circassians
belonged to the regiment of the Burciyya, this at 1280
of the Sultan Kala'Un was founded. Within the first 130
years of the state, exactly the half of the mamlukischen
power, the Kiptschak-Turkish Faction was at the power.
The different regiments were competing namely under each
other. The Circassians were very dreaded of the other
Mamluken because they were alleged for ambitious and
tended to the power over.
The competition ended in favour of the Circassians when
the Circassians Sultan Barkuk attained the power and
ruled over for 17 years in 1382. At that time, the
purchase kiptschakischer slaves had already decreased
anyway since the much kiptschakischen Turks had already
gone in to the Islam; the empire of the Golden Horde
which became less reliable source for the supplying of
slaves through this to one disintegrated at that time,
too. Mamlukenreich was only bought now Circassians
through which these elite were strengthened still
further. The Circassians were very solidarity under each
other and appointed members of their people to all
offices. So Al-Kalqaschandi wrote in the year 1412 that
most commanders and soldiers were Circassians at his
time and that only very few Turks had been left.
Being is interesting the royal Successions at the
Circassians period: It was hardly ever bequeathed by the
father on his physical son; mostly, it went from the
gentleman on his released slave who was then followed by
his released slave. The conquest of Cyprus in 1426 has
to be mentioned to military actions. The Circassians
Mamlukenreich was often threatened after were of by the
Ottomans which swallowed its vassal states in Elbistan,
Diyarbakir etc. at first and also completely
incorporated it at the end themselves. The another one,
the Safawies were in Iran and a more thirdly the
Portuguese who attained a position of power in the
Indian ocean and threatened Domination of the Mamluken
in the Spice-Trade to that one of this time another
enemy. The Ottoman Sultan Selim I. conquers Syria and
Egypt in the year 1517. Through this the power of the
Circassians Mamluken came to an end. However, their
administrative and military structures were continued
approximately that is also under the Ottomans up to the
eighteenth century; then the recruitment of Circassians
from its native country went on and disappeared after
and after, too. The Circassians also had become Muslims
and could be no more slaves in principle by then.
I thank you for the attention, which you have given to
this topic, which comes as ours from a completely
different society. |
