Mamelukes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A group of elite soldiers of slave origin in medieval Islamic states; a ruling class in Egypt that dominated from the 13th to 19th centuries; individuals trained as warriors who later became powerful leaders or dynasties in the Arab world
2. Former slave soldiers who became the ruling elite in Egypt; a military group that held significant political power from the Middle Ages onward; warriors originally abducted from various regions, forming a notable historical class
3. Originally enslaved individuals who gained military skills and later commanded respect; a distinct corps that played a crucial role in Islamic governance; a unique blend of military prowess and political influence in the region

Etymology: Mamelukes were not a people who chose the life. They were boys, mostly from the Caucasus and the steppes north of the Black Sea, captured or bought as children and raised as military slaves. Their name comes from the Arabic "mamlūk," meaning "owned" or "one who is possessed," the passive participle of the verb for owning. The irony is built into the word: the men who would one day rule over their masters began as property. Rulers in Egypt and Syria relied on these soldiers because they had no family ties or local factions to divide their loyalty. Over time the mamelukes grew powerful enough to seize the throne themselves, and for centuries they governed Egypt as a military elite. Their origin as bought men mattered less than their discipline and horsemanship. The word also drifted far from its military meaning. In English it came to mean a fool, and a person who follows someone or something blindly and slavishly, as if the old idea of owned obedience had survived in the language.