The Mamluk Sultanate, ruling Egypt, the Levant, and the Hejaz from mid-13th to early 16th centuries CE, was a state governed by a military caste of Mamluks (freed slave soldiers) led by a sultan. Established in 1250 with the overthrow of the Ayyubid dynasty, the Sultanate was divided into two periods: the Turkic or Bahri (1250–1382) and the Circassian or Burji (1382–1517), named after the ethnicities of ruling Mamluks.

Initially, Mamluk rulers from the regiments of Ayyubid Sultan as-Salih Ayyub (r. 1240–1249) seized power in 1250. They notably defeated the Mongols in 1260 under Sultan Qutuz and Baybars, checking their southward expansion. Under Baybars, Qalawun (r. 1279–1290), and al-Ashraf Khalil (r. 1290–1293), the Mamluks extended their domain, conquering Crusader states, expanding into Makuria, Cyrenaica, the Hejaz, and southern Anatolia. The Sultanate's apex was during al-Nasir Muhammad's reign (r. 1293–1341), followed by internal strife and power shifts to senior emirs.

Culturally, the Mamluks valued literature and astronomy, establishing private libraries as status symbols, with remnants indicating thousands of books.

The Burji period began with Emir Barquq's 1390 coup, marking a decline as Mamluk authority weakened due to invasions, rebellions, and natural disasters. Sultan Barsbay (1422–1438) attempted economic recovery, including monopolizing trade with Europe. The Burji dynasty faced political instability, marked by brief sultanates and conflicts, including battles against Timur Lenk and the conquest of Cyprus. Their political fragmentation hindered resistance against the Ottoman Empire, leading to Egypt's vassalization under Ottoman Sultan Selim I in 1517. The Ottomans retained the Mamluk class as rulers in Egypt, transitioning it into the Ottoman Empire's middle period, albeit under vassalage.