Ottoman–Mamluk War (1485–1491)

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Ottoman-Mamluk War
(1485–1491)
Part of the
Ottoman wars in the Near East

Map of Asia Minor. Cilicia in light pink in southern Anatolia.
Date1485–1491
Location
Anatolia, Syria
Result

Status quo ante bellum

Belligerents
Ottoman Empire Mamluk Sultanate
Commanders and leaders
Bayezid II Qaitbay
Strength
Around 60,000 men Unknown, but less than the Ottoman Turks

The Ottoman-Mamluk war took place from 1485 to 1491, when the

went to war in 1516–17
; in that war the Ottomans defeated and conquered the Mamluks.

Background

The relationship between the Ottomans and the Mamluks was adversarial: both states vied for control of the

Uzun Hassan and Karamanids to cooperate, leading to the invasion and eventual annexation of the Karaman Beylik by Mehmed.[2][3]

When

Ramadanids, and from there passed into Mamluk domains. Although the Mamluks declined to offer him any military support, this act aroused the hostility of Bayezid, which was further fanned when the Mamluks seized an Ottoman ambassador who was returning from Deccan with an Indian ambassador and gifts for the Ottoman Sultan.[1][4]

Operations

The conflict began when

Dulkadirids, attacked the Mamluk city of Malatya, with the support of Bayezid. The Mamluks fought back and although they lost the first battle, they would eventually defeat Alaüddevle and his Ottoman allies.[5]

1485 Ottoman offensive

Bayezid launched a land and sea attack on the Mamluks in 1485.

Janissaries, were dispatched by Bayezid under his own son-in-law Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha, but the combined Ottoman army was again defeated before Adana on 15 March. Karagöz Mehmed fled the field, while Hersekzade Ahmed was taken captive, and Cilicia returned to Mamluk control.[6][7]

1487 Ottoman offensive

In 1487, the Ottomans again sent a major army consisting of a great number of regular army units and Janissaries, supported by the fleet and the forces of Dulkadir, and led by the

Grand Vizier Koca Davud Pasha. Davud Pasha however avoided operations against the Mamluks, instead focusing his troops in suppressing revolts by the Turgudlu and Vasak tribes, securing his rear.[6]

1488 Ottoman offensive

Musée de l'Armée
.

In 1488, the Ottomans launched a major attack, from both land and sea: the navy was led by Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha, released from captivity, and the army by the governor of

Alexandretta, hoping to intercept the Mamluk forces as they came up from Syria, while the Ottoman army, numbering some 60,000 men, secured control of Cilicia. Another great storm however destroyed the fleet, and the Mamluks were able to advance into Cilicia.[7][9][10] The two armies met at Ağaçarıyı near Adana on 26 August 1488. Initially, the Ottomans made good progress on their left, but their own right flank was driven back. When the Karaman soldiers fled the battlefield, the Ottomans were forced to retreat, conceding the field and the victory to the Mamluks.[10][11]

The Ottoman army withdrew to Karaman to regroup, suffering more casualties to attacks by the Turkmen tribes. Most of its provincial commanders were recalled to Constantinople and imprisoned in the

Rumeli Hisar. In the meantime, the Mamluks laid siege to Adana, which fell after three months. Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha was able to achieve a minor victory in destroying a Mamluk detachment, but Cilicia was securely in Mamluk hands. More importantly, the Ottomans' Turkmen allies began to turn to the Mamluks, including Alaüddevle, thus restoring a line of Mamluk-oriented buffer states along the border.[9][10][12]

1490 Mamluk offensive

In 1490, the Mamluks would again return to the offensive, advancing into Karaman and laying siege to

Gülek Pass in the Taurus Mountains, leaving the Cilician plain to the Mamluks.[10]

Analysis

The Ottomans were able to prevail on the Mamluks at sea, but on land the Mamluks successfully resisted the Ottomans, thanks to their string of fortresses in

Bozkurt of Dulkadir centered on Elbistan and Maras.[1] The Ottomans were a stronger military power, but were weakened by internal dissensions and the lack of a strong centralized leadership by the Sultan Bayezid, who remained in Constantinople.[12]

Throughout the conflict, the Mamluk army was characterized by the usage of brilliant nomadic cavalry in addition to a conventional army, whereas the Ottomans relied on a conventional army only, with light cavalry combining with infantry units.[12]

Impact on Spain and the Nasrids

The

Fall of Granada
in 1492.

Aftermath

With famine and plague spreading, a peace treaty was eventually sealed in May 1491, with the Mamluks remaining a powerful entity against the Ottomans, although they were financially exhausted. The boundaries between the two powers remained essentially unchanged.[1][3][9]

The opposition between the Ottomans and the Mamluks remained in stalemate during the beginning of the 16th century, until Mamluk power was dramatically challenged by the incursion of the

Portuguese-Mamluk War.[13] The Ottoman Empire would ultimately take over the Mamluk Sultanate in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War of 1516–1517
.

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e Brummett 1993, pp. 52ff
  2. ^ Finkel 2006, pp. 65, 83, 90
  3. ^ a b Shaw 1976, p.73
  4. ^ Finkel 2006, pp. 81–83, 90–91
  5. ^ Finkel 2006, pp. 90–91
  6. ^ a b c Finkel 2006, p. 91
  7. ^ a b Uyar & Erickson 2009, p. 68
  8. ^ Brummett 1993, p. 46
  9. ^ a b c Chase 2003, pp. 102ff
  10. ^ a b c d Finkel 2006, p. 92
  11. ^ Uyar & Erickson 2009, pp. 68–69
  12. ^ a b c Uyar & Erickson 2009, p. 69
  13. ^ Brummett 1993, p. 24

Sources

  • Brummett, Palmira Johnson (1993). Ottoman Seapower and Levantine Diplomacy in the Age of Discovery. SUNY series in the Social and Economic History of the Middle East. Albany, NY:
    OCLC 613499540
    . Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  • Chase, Kenneth Warren (2003). Firearms: A Global History to 1700. Cambridge; New York:
    OCLC 51022846
    . Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  • Finkel, Caroline (2006). Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire 1300–1923. London:
    OCLC 65203332
    .
  • Har-El, Shai (1995). Struggle for Domination in the Middle East: The Ottoman-Mamluk War, 1485–1491. The Ottoman Empire and its Heritage. Vol. 4. Leiden; New York:
    OCLC 31434541
    . Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  • OCLC 725935950
    . Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  • Uyar, Mesut;
    OCLC 435778574
    . Retrieved June 16, 2013.
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