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Подразделение мамлюков джулбан в военно-политической системе Черкесского султаната (1382–1517)
In the Circassian Sultanate the high-rank amirs of the mamluk army formed the basis of the political elite, while the army was the pillar and guarantor of the authority of the ruler. The main part of this army was formed by the corps of military slaves, purchased, raised and trained by the sultan – julban. The julban corps as sultan’s personal faction and guards had some privileges, and sultans compromised with their increasing demands and rebellious conduct. Using their almost complete impunity, julban terrorized the residents of Cairo, officials of the mamluk administration, attacked the amirs and rebelled against their master. By the middle of the 15th ct., the julban unit began to show itself as a disruptive force, negatively affecting both the authority of the sultan and the state of the mamluk army.
The study deals with the revolt that broke out in 1468 illuminating the dynamics of julban’s position in the Mamluk political system. The careful analyses of the relevant evidence of the Mamluk chronicles proves that the non-dynastic system of succession showed resistance both to attempts to establish dynasties in which julban was an active player and to the attempts of the julban themselves to put their leader on the throne.
The article is based on Arabic sources of the 15th – early 16th ct. This material made it possible to trace the gradual changes that took place in the status of the julban. A drop in discipline in the ranks of the julban became one of the factors that determined the defeat of the Mamluks during the confrontation with the Ottomans.