Jar, 14th century; Mamluk
Syria
Composite body, underglaze-painted in cobalt blue and black
on white slip, transparent glaze; H. 13 1/4 in. (33.7 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Edward C. Moore Collection,
Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 (91.1.130)
The Battle of Ayn Jalut marked the limit of Mongol expansion
into the Middle East. It happened about ten years after the
rise to dominance of the Mamluks over the weakening Ayyubid
dynasty of their former warrior-slaves. The sultanate came
to be called by historians "Mamluk," which in Arabic
means "owned." The Mamluks were non-Muslims of Turkic
and Caucasian (southwest Russia) origin. They were brought
to the Middle East by Islamic rulers, trained as cavalry soldiers,
and converted to Islam. By the mid-13th century, they dominated
their former masters and, with the support of a caste of warrior-slaves,
ruled Egypt and Syria.
