The Mamluk Sultanate's Last Stand: Why Egypt Fell to the Ottomans

In 1517, the Ottoman Empire conquered Cairo, ending the 267-year rule of the Mamluk Sultanate. This episode tells the story of that last stand through the eyes of Sultan Tuman Bay II, the final Mamluk ruler who fought to the bitter end. We cover the Battle of Marj Dabiq in 1516, where the Mamluk army was shattered by Ottoman artillery and gunpowder tactics. We explore the internal decay of the Mamluk state: the black market in Circassian slave-soldiers, the devastating plague of 1492, and the collapse of the spice trade after Vasco da Gama's voyages. We discuss Selim I's cold calculation in securing the Hejaz and the caliphate, and how the Mamluks' reliance on cavalry charges proved futile against Ottoman cannons. The episode also touches on the cultural legacy — how Mamluk architecture and scholarship survived under Ottoman rule, and why the Mamluks themselves remained a powerful elite within the empire for centuries. A focused look at a pivotal moment in the rise of gunpowder empires. #MamlukSultanate #OttomanEmpire #SelimI #TumanBayII #BattleOfMarjDabiq #BattleOfRidaniya #Cairo1517 #GunpowderEmpires #CircassianSlaves #SpiceTrade #VascoDaGama #Hejaz #Caliphate #MamlukArchitecture #16thCentury #History #FexingoHistory #Colonialism Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo