Were slave soldiers effective? Mamluks btfoed the mongol-frank

>>2225179
It has little to do with slave vs. free (or professional vs. levy) and everything to do with training, logistics, and discipline. There were plenty of Middle Eastern slave soldiers who were subpar, and sometimes you had an army group that was an elite fighting force. The Mamluks were good because the state, and thus the army, was centered around a close-knit group of slaves who trained together as a unit for years with the numbers and resources to support thousands at a time.

Was the victory at Ain Jalut really that impressive? The Mongols weren't lead by any well known commander (who wasn't even Mongolian), and Mongol forces were only 10-12k. Yes it stopped the Mongolian advance, but the real reason is because Mongke had died and the Mongols had a shit succession process.

>>2225201
op here
No ain jalut is unfair for mongols
I am talking about the other battles led by baibars

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>>2225179
Mamluks are probably the most underrated in history
>btfoed the crusaders
>btfoed the Mongols
>btfoed the Ottomans(until they were too autistic to take up "dishonorable" firearms)

But to answer your question OP: Slave soldiers only worked in the Islamic world because they were valued as a privaledged class. In a paradoxical sort of way, since the Islam in a way almost glorifies slavery ( all Muslims are commanded to be literal "slaves" of Allah) . In that sense, the mamluks, while bought as slaves were more akin to Knights and nobility than poor shackled laborers as slaves were in most contexts. So based on this i'd say, no , slaves do not make good soldiers .

>>2225309
They had similar origins, with knights starting out as household servants to the nobility. Mamluk/Ghulam could have become synonymous with a freeborn but duty-bound warrior like knight or samurai.

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>>2225179
the ottomans took this islamic slave soldier thing even further created the janissaries which dominated europe and the middle east in 14-15th century