Rejecting the Ottomans, Revisiting the Mamluks

Abstract

This article queries the sociopolitical implications of a wave of popular interest in the legacy of the Mamluk dynasty (1250–1517) in post-2013 Egypt. Although the era’s sultans have traditionally been derided in mainstream culture as tyrannical ‘foreign’ leaders, they have recently been reframed as the last nationalist rulers before the Ottoman invasion. This revised characterization underpins the newfound fascination with their socio-political legacy, which has manifested in various cultural productions, including a new television series, Mamalik al-Nar (Kingdoms of Fire). In this article, we analyze the show’s content, its popularity in Egypt, the debates it has generated on social media and the regional production and distribution networks in which it is embedded. Through this analysis, we argue that the series—and the Mamluk ‘revivalism’ to which it is connected—is part of an unresolved debate about what it means to be Egyptian today.