1223-1277
Mamluk Sultan

Mongol Menace. Al-Zahir Baybars, or Baybars I, (reigned 1260-1277) was the most prominent of Mamluk Sultans and the real founder of the Mamluk state. He was born in 1223 when the Mongols were attacking central Asia in their westward drive. Baybars was sold as a slave (some say he joined the Mamluks on his own) and arrived in Egypt around 1240 to begin his career in the service of one of the last Ayyubid Sultans. He began to distinguish himself as early as 1250 when he fought in the battle of al-Mansura against the armies of Louis IX. In 1260, he commanded the vanguard against the Mongol army at the battle of Ain Jalut in northern Palestine. A brilliant military strategist and untiring military campaigner, he was able to consolidate Mamluk control over Egypt and Syria where he rebuilt the fortresses and citadels that had been destroyed...