Mamluk ideological and diplomatic relations with Mongol and Turkic rulers of the Near East and Central Asia (658--807/1260--1405)

The Mamluk sultans legitimated their rule through the conscious promotion of Islamic themes. Chief among them were the waging of holy war, a dispensation from the Abbasid caliphs, the special relationship of the Mamluk sultan to the H&dotbelow;ijaz, and Mamluk patronage of religious architecture. These themes formed the ideology of Mamluks as Guardians of the Faith.; This ideology was created in response to the dominant ideologies of the day. In particular, the Chinggis Khanid model of a Divinely-Mandated dynasty was extraordinarily influential throughout the Near East and Central Asia, and had a profound effect on the Mamluk sultans. As non-Mongol former slaves, the Mamluks were unable to lay claim to the awe-inspiring Chinggis Khanid legacy, and responded to the Chinggisid challenge through the use of religious ideology and the notion of Guardianship.; The Mamluks wrestled with Chinggis Khanid ideology and its legacy from 658/1260 to 807/1405. This period can be divided into five phases: (1) 658–690/1260–1291: The Mamluks established the ideology of Guardianship to respond to the challenges of the Golden Horde and the Ilkhanids. (2) 690–716/1291–1317: Ilkhanid conversion to Islam forced the Mamluks to modify their basis for legitimacy through the concept of a hierarchy of conversion, in which the Mamluks enjoyed senior status because they had converted first. (3) 716–741/1317–1341: In face of the continued Ilkhanid challenge in the arena of legitimate Muslim rule, the Mamluk sultan al-Nās&dotbelow;ir Muh&dotbelow;ammad began to promulgate the notion of Mamluk regional supremacy, which depended on al-Nās&dotbelow;ir's image in the H&dotbelow;ijaz. During this phase al-Nās&dotbelow;ir also addressed the question of dynastic power through his marriage to a Chinggisid princess. (4) 741–792/1341–1392: After the collapse of the Ilkhanid state and the death of al-Nās&dotbelow;ir, the Mamluks began a period of hollow regional supremacy. Although Ilkhanid successors entered into vassalage to the Mamluk sultans, the internal disarray of the sultanate meant that Mamluk power was fragile at best. (5) 792–807/1392–1405: The military campaigns of Timur forced the Mamluks to resurrect the abandoned ideal of Guardianship, but Timur's occupation of Damascus and humiliation of the Mamluks marked a turning point in Mamluk notions of legitimate kingship.