ABSTRACT
To the southwest of the Mongol Empire lay the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt and Syria. To the early Mamluk Sultanate, the Mongols of the Ilkhanate were the primary and most threatening enemy, while the Jochid Ulus was an important ally. The ruling elite of the Mamluk Sultanate was composed of men who had arrived there as mamluks. Hostilities between the two powers continued, both as full-on military battles and in ways that Reuven Amitai dubbed a cold war, until the peace agreement of 1323. Young male slaves were imported by traders and purchased by amirs or the sultan, after which they were converted to Islam and received military training. The way Kitbugha became sultan attests to the integration of Mongol mamluks into the military and ruling elite.
