April 15, 1277, Baybars stood on a slope overlooking the plain of Elbistan. The ground,
as far as the eye could see, was littered with the bodies of thousands of dead Mongols. The Battle of
Elbistan was over and once again, Baybars and his mighty Mamluk army were victorious. His invasion
of Mongol-held Anatolia was going as planned. He had annihilated the main Mongol army in
the region and his march on the Seljuk capital, Kayseri - Caesarea, was now unopposed. This was
another triumph to add to the many others that had accumulated throughout the career of this
warrior sultan. He was the hero of Ayn Jalut, he defeated all Mongol attacks on his domains,
he conquered much of the Crusader States and reduced them to insignificance, and launched an
offensive campaign into the Mongol-occupied region of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum.
Baybars had plans for the future, but these never materialized because he would be dead
months after his victory at Elbistan. Baybars I is one of the most famous and illustrious among the
rulers of the Mamluk Sultanate. However, Baybars was not born into royalty. He was enslaved at a
young age and sold to the Ayyubid rulers of Syria and Egypt. Torn away from his home and family,
he had to strive to survive in a foreign land. He distinguished himself as a soldier in the
service of his masters and ascended the ranks of the Ayyubid military. He played a major role
in the overthrow of the last Ayyubid sultan in 1250 and seized the throne from another
Mamluk sultan a decade later and reigned for seventeen years. This is his story.
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Baybars was born in the Kipchak Steppe between 1220-1229 into one of the Kipchak
tribes inhabiting this region. The Kipchaks (referred to as Cumans in Europe and Polovtsi
by the Russians) were a confederation of pagan nomadic Turkic tribes that inhabited the steppes
of Southern Russia and Ukraine. They were renowned for their military prowess and skills and served
as mercenaries or slave soldiers in the armies of both Muslim and Christian kingdoms and empires.
Baybars’s tribe fled westward in the wake of the Mongol invasions of the 1220s and 1230s and sought
refuge in the Crimean Peninsula, which was then controlled by a Turkmen tribal chief, Anas Khan.
Feeling secure, the refugees let their guard down only to be treacherously attacked by Anas
Khan. Many of them were killed and enslaved. Baybars was among the young captives who were
transported by way of Sivas in Anatolia to the slave markets of Ayyubid Syria.
Little is known about the details of Baybars’ journey to the Middle East, his education, and his
training. However, one can reconstruct the process based on the descriptions given in the many
chronicles, biographical dictionaries, and martial arts manuals that survive from the Mamluk period.
Mamluks were treated much differently than other slaves. These boys were
destined to become elite soldiers, officers, governors, and members of the ruler’s court.
They established strong relationships with their patrons and underwent some formal education and
training in the martial and equestrian arts. The slaves were freed at the end of their training and
enrolled in the sultan’s army or the retinue of an amir as professional full-time soldiers and were
paid from the treasury. These mamluk soldiers were elite heavy cavalrymen who fought both as
shock cavalry and mounted archers. They excelled at close combat using the lance and other melee
weapons such as swords, maces, and axes and could deal death from a distance firing their composite
bows from horseback, making them some of the most versatile warriors of the Middle Ages.
This versatility allowed them to successfully fight nomadic armies composed primarily of
mounted archers, such as those fielded by the Mongols and to fight on equal terms
with heavier foes such as the Frankish knights of the Crusader States and the
heavy cavalrymen fielded by the Kingdom of Georgia and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.
The sources do not tell us what Baybars looked like as a youth, but later descriptions state
that he was tall, swarthy, had a powerful voice, and blue eyes one of which had a tiny white spot.
He was first sold to someone by the name of Imad al-Din al-Sa’igh for the low price of 800 dirhams.
He was promptly returned to the merchant due to the white spot in his eye. Baybars was then
taken to Hamah, where the local ruler, al-Malik al-Mansur Muhammad almost purchased him. However,
his mother convinced him not to buy Baybars because “there was something evil in his eye.”
He was eventually purchased by an amir, Ala al-Din Aydakin al-Salihi al-Bunduqdar, an officer in the
army of al-Salih Ayyub, the future sultan of Egypt. Aydakin, who was already on shaky terms
with his overlord, incurred al-Salih’s anger when he married another amir’s concubine. The
sultan banished him and confiscated his property, including his mamluks. This is how Baybars came to
pass into the service of al-Salih Ayyub. He would eventually join his elite regiment, the Bahriyya.
Baybars was able to quickly distinguish himself through his prowess, intelligence,
and leadership qualities. He was promoted and rewarded by his master until he was
one of the leading officers in the regiment. In 1239, Al-Salih Ayyub made a bid for the
Egyptian throne after the death of his father, al-Kamil. He occupied Damascus and invaded Egypt.
His army was reportedly 6,000-strong and composed of tribesmen and mercenaries, mostly Turkmens,
Kurds, and Khwarazmians in addition to al-Salih’s guard of mamluks. Most of his troops deserted him
leaving him with loyal mamluks. He was imprisoned by his cousin in Kerak for six months. During his
incarceration a slave, also named Baybars often conflated with the future sultan, shared his cell,
along with his favorite concubine, Shajar al-Durr, also a Kipchak Turk. Al-Salih’s other mamluks
remained waiting outside Kerak either for their master’s release or the opportunity to rescue him.
Al-Salih was released from prison in 1240 and seized the sultanate. Based on his experiences,
he started purchasing mamluks in large numbers and based his power on these loyal and elite soldiers.
He created several regiments of which the Bahriyya and the Jamdariyya were the most powerful and
elite. As an officer of the Bahriyya regiment, Baybars and his comrades were in close association
with their patron and many of them held some of the most important positions at the royal court.
Baybars was also a veteran of many battles prior to his rise to the throne. He may have been at the
Battle of Gaza/La Forbie in 1244 where al-Salih Ayyub and his mamluks and Khwarazmian allies
inflicted a crushing defeat on the allied army the Crusader States and the Ayyubids of Syria.
Al-Salih then defeated the Khwarazmians, who had rebelled against him in 1246 in
a battle near Homs. The sources do not explicitly mention if Baybars was there.
It was at the Battle of Mansura in 1250 that Baybars really distinguished himself.
Baybars was effectively in command of the Bahriyya during this battle. The sultan
had died from medical complications during the campaign. The Bahriyya regiment’s commander Faris
al-Din Aqtay, was dispatched to Hisn Kayfa to bring back al-Salih’s heir, Turanshah. Initially,
it seemed as though the Battle of Mansoura would be a crusader victory. Robert of Artois and a
contingent of knights forded the Ashmum canal at a lightly guarded point with the help of a
Bedouin guide. He launched a surprise attack on the Egyptian military camp which was about
2-3 miles away from Mansura forcing most of the forces that were stationed there to withdraw and
killing Fakhr al-Din, the commander of the army. The crusaders then proceeded to enter Mansura
through gates that had been left open . Baybars and the Bahriyya rallied the other retreating
units and restored order and stationed them at various points in the city. Robert and his men
advanced deep into Mansura, all the while suffering attacks from the alleys and the
rooftops. When they got to the palace, they were met by the Bahriyya, arrayed in battle formation.
The heavily armored mamluks were more than a match for the attacking crusaders. Robert of Artois died
in the fighting along with hundreds of knights . Shortly after the debacle at Mansura, Louis IX and
the remainder of his army attempted to withdraw to Damietta. About two months after the battle,
the crusaders suffered another devastating defeat at the Battle of Fariskur on April 6.
By this time Turanshah had arrived to take command the Egyptian army. The crusader army was
destroyed; those soldiers and knights who were not killed were taken prisoner along with the king.
Turanshah did not reign long. He despised the Bahriyya for their power and influence in Egypt
and sought to replace them with his own mamluks and supporters. He even threatened to execute
their leaders and to confiscate their property and wealth. The Bahriyya did not wait and struck
pre-emptively. They attacked him in his camp and a mamluk injured the sultan’s hand with
his sword. Turanshah fled to a wooden tower near the Nile. The mamluks set fire to the
tower forcing him out. Turanshah attempted to make a run for the river but was wounded by a
spear thrust to the ribs. He made it to the water, but his pursuers were close behind,
and fired arrows at him from the riverbank. Some accounts state that it was Baybars himself who
waded into the river to deal the killing blow to the hapless monarch as he begged for his life.
Turanshah’s assassination ushered in a decade of chaos in Egypt. Initially, the Bahriyya raised
Shajar al-Durr as the sultana. However, a female on the throne of Egypt did not sit well with the
Abbasid caliph in Baghdad. Izz al-Din Aybak, an officer of middling rank was raised to the
position of atabak and sultan, only to be replaced five days later by al-Ashraf Musa, a six-year-old
scion of the house of Ayyub. Al-Ahsraf was the titular sultan of Egypt until 1254,
with Aybak as the regent and true power behind the throne. During this time Baybars supported
his commanding officer Aqtay in furthering his interests and those of his fellow Bahriyya.
In 1250, shortly after the victory at Mansura, the Bedouin tribes of Upper Egypt revolted. They
refused to be the subjects of “slaves.” Baybars was sent with a force of 200 mamluks to crush the
rebellion. The underaged, al-Ashraf was deposed only months after being raised to the throne.
That same year Aqtay was invited to the citadel by Aybak and treacherously murdered.
When their leader failed to return, the Bahriyya went to the citadel only to have Aqtay’s head
flung over the wall at them. Many of the Bahriyya, about 700-800 in number, fled to Syria under the
leadership of Baybars. They served the Ayyubid princes al-Mughith of Kerak and then al-Nasir
Yusuf of Damascus as mercenaries. In 1257 Aybak was murdered by Shajar
al-Durr. Having lost the support of all the mamluk factions, she was in turn killed by a
group of Aybak’s concubines. Al-Muizz Aybak’s 15-year-old son was raised to the throne,
but it was his lieutenant Qutuz who held the real reins of power. In 1259 Qutuz seized the
sultanate for himself, using the need for a strong leader against the Mongol invasion as his excuse.
In the meantime, Baybars had led two invasions of Egypt in 1257 and 1258. Despite failing both
times, Baybars and his comrades distinguished themselves against superior numbers.
In 1260 Baybars made his peace with Qutuz. At the Battle of Ayn Jalut in 1260, Baybars led
the vanguard against the Mongols. Once again, he and the Bahriyya distinguished themselves
and were an important element that secured the defeat of the Mongol forces. Baybars and
a group of amirs managed to isolate Qutuz on the return journey to Cairo and murdered him.
It was once again Baybars who struck the killing blow. Baybars was proclaimed the new sultan by his
followers and the entire army followed suit. Baybars spent his entire reign, 1260-1277,
strengthening the Mamluk army and preparing for another inevitable Mongol invasion.
During his reign the regular army increased significantly. The regular army of Egypt under
the Ayyubids had numbered 10,000-12,000 horsemen. Baybars increased it to 30,000-40,000 professional
soldier. Baybars also recruited Turkmen, Bedouin, and Kurdish tribal auxiliaries. He
also established an effective spy network that alerted him of any impending Mongol attacks.
Baybars ensured the army was always in a state of readiness. He held frequent military reviews
to make sure the soldiers all maintained their equipment and were combat ready.
Baybars also continued the struggle with what was left of the Crusader States. He besieged
and conquered Caesarea, Arsuf, Safad, Jaffa, Antioch, and Crac des Chevaliers.
He weakened them so much that his successors Qalawun and his son, al-Ashraf Khalil,
easily finished them off conquering their last two major strongholds: Tripoli and Acre.
All throughout his campaigns, Baybars actively participated in both planning, and personally
leading and fighting in the battles and sieges. Baybars’s last campaign took place in 1277. He
invaded Anatolia, ruled by the Seljuks of Rum who were the vassals of the Mongols.
At the Battle of Elbistan he fought the main Mongol army in the region.
Both armies numbered between 10,000-15,000 men. The Mongols deployed one tumen along with around
3,000 Georgian vassal troops and some Seljuk auxiliaries. The Mongol army was crushed in
the battle. The mamluk soldiers’ more accurate and longer-range archery, their heavy armor,
their superior training, and their larger and stronger war horses all contributed to the outcome
of the battle in which 6,000-10,000 Mongols and Georgians were killed as opposed to a relatively
small number of mamluks. Baybars occupied the Seljuk capital of Kayseri, had himself proclaimed
sultan, and struck coins in his name. Baybars did not live long to bask in his glory or to carry
out any of his future plans. He died in Syria that same year on his return journey to Cairo.
There are several speculations regarding his death. He may have consumed poisoned qumis;
he may have died of a wound he sustained in battle; or he may have succumbed of an illness.
At the time of his death, Baybars left a stable sultanate with a strong army that
was ready for the next major Mongol invasion. He laid down the model for the organization
of the army and its training, which was followed for generations after his death.
Baybars’s story is exemplary of the careers of many slave soldiers of the medieval and early
modern Muslim world. He rose from being a refugee and slave to become a soldier, officer, and then a
ruler. Most of the most successful rulers of the Mamluk sultanate started their careers as slaves
and soldiers, just like Baybars. Even though not every slave soldier became a sultan, many of them
became officers, administrators, and governors. The mamluks, even the rank-and-file, enjoyed a
special status in society and had the opportunity to rise to wealth and power through merit at a
time when climbing the social ladder was not very common among the freeborn peoples of both
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