Week 5

This week during class we held a major discussion about our Zayni Barakat papers.  Many of the issues in the news today is the conflict in the Middle-East between Palestinians and the Israeli.  This is a conflict that arises when territory and leadership is not decided.  In Zayni Barakat the same problems arise for the Sultans rulers in Egypt.  The main focus of my paper was how leadership and authority of the Mamluks were the glue that held the empire together, especially in Egypt.  Like present day in the Middle-East some regions are inhabited by multi-cultural backgrounds each with their own set beliefs and ideas.  The Mamluks had to remain in charge while regulating many aspects of the civilians lives in order to keep the Sultans empire running smoothly.  The Mamluks understood that the citizens were the most important thing to the empire and that peoples needs and beliefs needed to be catered to and respected.  This is an idea that needs to carry on through time so that humans can live harmoniously with one another no matter which plot of land we choose to live.