‘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 endeavour: 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 endeavour: 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.

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• List of Maps and Illustrations
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword by John Man
• Key Events Timeline
• The Sultans and Khans
• A Note on Transliteration, Titles and Dates
• Maps
• 1 Strangers from a Strange Land: The Mamluk Enigma
• 2 Under Siege: Steppe People and Crusaders
• 3 To Power: The Birth of the Mamluk Sultanate
• 4 Prester John Cometh: The Mongol War Begins
• 5 Bloodless Battles and Bloody Drills: Building the War Machine
• 6 Dubious Allies and Untrustworthy Friends: Baybars's Last Campaigns
• 7 The Pattern of Power: The Qalawunids
• 8 Triumph and Discord: The End of Outremer
• 9 Victory and New Enemies: The End of the Ilkhanate
• 10 Enemies Without and Within: The Rise of the Ottomans and Tamerlane
• 11 Riding with the Ghosts of the Past: The Dynasty Falls
• Epilogue: The Devil’s Tricks: The Fate of the Mamluks
• Bibliography
• Plate Section