Ottomans · 1517
Battle of Ridaniya
Egypt fell and the Mamluk sultanate ended. The last Abbasid caliph of Cairo was taken to Istanbul, the Ottomans became guardians of Makkah and Madinah, and later sultans claimed the title of caliph.
Key facts
- When
- 1517
- Where
- Cairo, Egypt
- Sides
- Ottomans vs Mamluks
- Commanders
- Selim I vs Tuman Bay II
- Result
- Ottoman victory
- Type
- Ottomans
- Chapter
- 5. The Ottomans
Who led it
- Selim I1470 to 1520
In eight years he defeated the Safavids at Chaldiran and destroyed the Mamluk sultanate, bringing Syria, Egypt, Makkah and Madinah under Ottoman rule.
The wider picture: Three gunpowder empires
Mehmed II took Constantinople in 1453. Selim I conquered Egypt in 1517 and the caliphate passed to the Ottomans. Suleiman won at Mohacs in 1526, and a second siege of Vienna failed in 1683. Further east, Safavid Iran and the Mughals of India ruled at the same time.
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