Soldiers of fortune;: The story of the Mamlukes

by John Bagot Glubb

London. 1973. Hodder and Stoughton. 24x16. 480p.

Genres: History, Middle East

480 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb, KCB, CMG, DSO, OBE, MC (a.k.a. "Glubb Pasha") was a British Army officer who was for many years seconded to the Arab Legion of the Trans-Jordan (later The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan), which he ultimately commanded until dismissed by King Hussein in March 1956. He wrote many books after his retirement, primarily on the history of the Middle East and on Military History.

Reviews

[Bryn Hammond · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always like John Bagot Glubb. I only don't dare put four because I've forgotten too much.

[Paul A · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll start my admitting a personal bias - the Mamluke Sultanate is my favorite historical civilization, simply because of the unprecedented and unusual system by which it obtained its rulers. That is to say, they purchased their future rulers from the steppes as slaves, raised them as soldiers, and followed them as sultans. The story of the Mamluks is a story of the best and worst of what Medieval Egypt had to offer, a no-holds-barred arena where anyone, regardless of what social rank they start with, has an opportunity to seize power so long as he (or she) has the will to take it. As such, Sir John Glubb recounts the story of each of these extraordinary people in an extremely detailed manner that reads surprisingly easily, given the length of time it covers. Overall, a fascinating book and one I'd recommend to anyone who's interested in the fierce warriors of Islam who fought the Mongols to a standstill.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An old-school history of the slave-soldiers who carved out an empire and defended Islam from the Crusaders and the Mongols in the 13th to the early 16th centuries in Egypt and Syria. Not academic by modern standards but a ripping good read, with plenty of battles and bloody betrayals to keep your interest.

[Jeff Lewonczyk · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit I didn't get all the way through this, in part because I was reading it as research for a project. Glubb admits out of the gate that he's neither a seasoned historian nor writer, but rather a hobbyist-retiree, and, while this book is passionately comprehensive in its depiction of an often-overlooked historical empire, it's also quite often a slog, without enough differentiation being given to each leader and era - it becomes overwhelming after a while. Still, with so few resources on the Mamluke Empire in English, this book holds an important place.

[Glenn Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came away impressed with the amount of research done for this book. I knew very little about the Mamluk era of Egypt. I know a great deal more as a result of this book on the 267 year period of the Mamluks. The Mamluks were Turks who ruled over Egypt from the time of the Mongol period to the start of the Ottoman Empire. Starting off strong, honst and ethicval, by the end, the reign lacked all of the above. Since the military never invested in R&D, it was overrun by the Southern Tribes, the Portugese, the Genoese, the Ottomans and others. The Ottomans finally conqured and killed the last Mamluke Sultan and made it a province of the Ottoman Empire, which survived until Napolean conqured it for a 3 year period.