Marmelukes in Egypt

Here's another string of connections. One new thing that leads to another and another.

First, I was listening to the January 7, 2008 archive of Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC. I was originally interested in another story, but spotted one titled 'How the West Discovered Ancient Egypt'. The keyword in all this is 'mirage'. One reason, it's the title of the book of the guest being interviewed—Nina Burleigh. The meaning for the title is multi-layered. That alone calls for another listen.


Another reason is to hear again about the Mamelukes. Very curious. I'll just say: White boys taken from their homeland and bred to be slave soldiers in the Middle East and North Africa. Their name translates to 'possessed' or 'owned'. I say 'white boys' not to be derogatory; they were boys taken from The Caucasus, which is where the inaccurate term 'Caucasian' comes from.

Wiki on Mamluk

This is another example of how history is not told completely. More and more, people are telling the rest of the story, though. This is something to look into more.