Mamluk or Mamaluk were non-Arab, ethnically diverse enslaved mercenaries, slave-soldiers, and freed slaves who were assigned high-ranking military and administrative duties, serving the ruling Arab and Ottoman dynasties in the Muslim world.
Ottoman Mamluk lancers, early 16th century. Etching by Daniel Hopfer (c. 1526–1536), British Museum, London
Mail and plate armour with full horse armor of an Ottoman Mamluk horseman (circa 1550), Musée de l'Armée, Paris
A Muslim Greek Mamluk portrayed by Louis Dupré (oil on canvas, 1825)
A Mamluk nobleman from Aleppo (Ottoman Syria, 19th century)
History of slavery in the Muslim world
The history of slavery in the Muslim world began with institutions inherited from pre-Islamic Arabia. The practices of keeping slaves in the Muslim world nevertheless developed in radically different ways in different Muslim states based on a range of social-political factors, as well as the more immediate economic and logistical considerations of the Arab slave trade. As a general principle, Islam encouraged the manumission of Muslim slaves as a way of expiating sins, and many early converts to Islam, such as Bilal, were former slaves. However, Islam never banned the practice, and it persisted as an important institution in the Muslim world through to the modern era.
Bilal ibn Ribah (pictured, atop the Kaaba) was an Ethiopian slave, emancipated on Muhammad's instruction, and appointed by him to be the first official muezzin.
13th-century slave market in Yemen
Dhows were used to transport goods and slaves to Oman.
A depiction of slaves being transported across the Sahara desert
