The Mamluk sultanate (also stylized Mameluk, Mamluq, Mamaluke, Mameluk, and Marmeluk because of how the Arabic was translated) was a medieval caliphate with a unique governmental system where they would recruit slaves to serve as soldiers and eventually rise to leadership positions. The word “Mamluk” originated from Arabic, meaning “slave” with a literal translation of “possessed”. This term is derived from the past participle of malaka (“to possess”), which stems from the Proto-Semitic root m-l-k, signifying “king” (through a connection of “rule”). Interestingly, this same root gave rise to the Hebrew and Arabic words for king, melekh and malik. The term mamluk was also adopted by the Portuguese as mameluco, referring to the first-generation children of Europeans and Native Americans.
