Protectors or Praetorians?: The Last Mamluk Sultans and Egypt's Waning as a Great Power

by Carl F. Petry

This analysis of state policy under the last two Mamluk rulers enables modern readers to observe a pivotal era in the history of Egypt and southwest Asia. Beset with external threats and internal dissent, the Mamluk Sultanate confronted profound challenges in its waning years. The author depicts how each monarch differed in his responses to the bureaucratic and military dilemmas he faced. al-Ashraf Qaytbay remained a stalwart conservator of traditional soldierly values. He would be revered by later generations as an exemplary officer and pious believer. Qansuh al-Ghawri, however, exhibited little regard for hallowed traditions, military or religious. Burdened by irremedial bankruptcy and endemic sedition, he initiated the first steps toward innovation since the architects of the Mamluk system founded the regime during the thirteenth century. The contrasting styles of these two sultans is examined in the context of the foreign and domestic events that shaped their reigns. The strategies that they devised to deal with endemic crises decisively influenced the nature of bureaucratic procedures in Egypt, influence that is still evident in its government today.

280 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[Anubis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like the book Twilight of Majesty, this book covers the last 2 great Sultans of the Mamluk Sultanate.

While Twilight is more of a narrative history, Protectors or Praetorians dives deeply into the behind the scenes of the Sultanate, to see mostly not what it did, but how it worked.

It's a bit of a drier read than Twilight of Majesty or the Mamluk Sultanate by the same author, and feels like a much more scholarly work.

However, the detail of it can't be beat on the subject in the English language, so i will highly recommend it.