The Knights of Islam - The Wars of the Mamluks 1250 - 1517 written by
James Waterson and published by Greenhill Books - £14.99 - Softcover - Pages 288
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 honour 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.
I should start with the fact that I sadly know little about this part of history, the medieval period of the Middle East. But I can say after reading this book, what an enjoyable and informative book it was to read. The book looks at a number of things such as the rise and power of the Mamluks, a determined and very highly skilled warrior skilled in warfare being able to handle multiple weapons and skills of attack and defence. The book also looks at the relationship between Islam and the Christians and how the strength of the Mamluks had an important but underplayed role in the Middle East. The book answers a lot of excellent questions and explains a number of reasons and possibilities. But whilst I can’t say everything made sense to me, as it is not an area I would call myself an expert in. What it has done is made me want to learn more about Middle Eastern politics and people. I really enjoyed the maps and timelines at the beginning of the book, as a newbie they really helped put the information into perspective. A really informative and excellent read.
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