Ikiwa na makao yake Misri, Masultani wa Mamluk waliendeleza na kuharakisha ubunifu mwingi ulioletwa na Ayyubid huko Palestina. Kwa kweli, Mamluk walikuwa miongoni mwa nasaba muhimu zaidi za Waislamu katika historia ya Palestina ya zama za kati. Walipata umaarufu na uhalali, na kuacha athari ya kudumu katika kuzuia kusonga mbele kwa Wamongolia wa kutisha kuelekea Mashariki ya Karibu katika Vita vya ‘Ain Jalut huko Palestina mwaka 1260 – ambavyo vilikuwa mara ya kwanza kwa jeshi la Kimongolia kupata kushindwa kubwa – na kwa kuondoa uwepo wa Wakristo Walatini (Makruseda) huko Palestina na sehemu nyingine kando ya pwani ya Palestina, Lebanon na Syria. Ushindi mkubwa wa kijeshi wa Mamluk huko Palestina ulikuja miaka miwili tu baada ya Wamongolia kuiteka na kuupora mji wa Baghdad, mji mkuu wa Ukhalifa wa Abbasid.

Based in Egypt, the Mamluk Sultans maintained and accelerated many of the innovations ushered in by the Ayyubids in Palestine. In fact, the Mamluks were one of the most important Muslim dynasties in the history of medieval Palestine. They gained fame and legitimacy and produced lasting impact in stopping the terrifying Mongol advance into the Near East at the Battle of ‘Ain Jalut in Palestine in 1260 – which was the first time that the Mongol army had suffered a major defeat – and for eradicating the Latin Crusader presence in Palestine and elsewhere along the Palestinian, Lebanese and Syrian coasts. The Mamluk’s spectacular military successes in Palestine came only two years after the Mongol capture and sacking of Baghdad, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate.

Ingawa tawala za kijeshi kamwe hazikuwa za kimapinduzi, chini ya watawala wa Mamluk waliodumu kwa muda mrefu al-Quds ilipanuliwa kwa kiasi kikubwa na ilibaki kuwa kitovu muhimu cha mkoa wa Filastin, ambao ulitajwa na mwanahistoria wa Afrika Kaskazini Ibn Khaldun, ambaye, katika kitabu chake cha Muqaddimah cha mwaka 1377, aliripoti kwamba kodi za mkoa wa Filastin zilikuwa dinari 310,000 za dhahabu pamoja na ratli 300,000 za mafuta ya mzeituni (imenukuliwa kutoka kwa Le Strange 1890, 2010: 45). Rosen-Ayalon anaelezea nafasi muhimu ya Yerusalemu katika Filastin ya Mamluk:

Although military dynasties are never revolutionary, under the longlasting Mamluk rulers al-Quds was expanded significantly and remained central to the province of Filastin, which was mentioned by North African historian Ibn Khaldun, who, in his 1377 Muqaddimah, reported Filastin province taxes as 310,000 gold dinars plus 300,000 ratls of olive oil (cited in Le Strange 1890, 2010: 45). Rosen-Ayalon describes the pivotal position of Jerusalem in Mamluk Palestine:

Hakuna shaka yoyote kwamba Jerusalem ilichukua nafasi kuu wakati wa utawala wa Mamluk. Kwa karibu karne tatu, maisha yaliendelea kwa amani na maelewano mjini humo, ambao ukawa kitovu cha mijini chenye shughuli mbalimbali ... Jerusalem ikawa mji wa uhamisho ambao kwao walipelekwa makamanda wa Mamluk wasiotakiwa ... Hivyo, mji ulinufaika sana na ushiriki wao binafsi katika mambo yake. Ukageuzwa kuwa mji wa zama za kati uliopangwa vizuri, ukiwa na miundombinu yote iliyohitajika, huduma na majengo ya umma. Hata leo, 'Mji wa Kale' – Jerusalem ndani ya kuta – unaakisi alama ulioipata wakati wa utawala wa Mamluk.

There can be no doubt as to the predominant role of Jerusalem during the Mamluk period. For nearly three centuries, life developed harmoniously in the city, which became an urban center of varied activity ... Jerusalem became a city of exile to which were banished undesirable [Mamluk] commanders ... Thus, the city profited from much of their personal involvement in its affairs. It was transformed into an organized medieval city, provided with all the necessary installations, services and public buildings. Even today, the ‘Old City’ – Jerusalem within the walls – reflects the stamp it acquired during the period of Mamluk domination.

Sehemu kubwa ya muundo wa mijini wa Jerusalem ndani ya kuta ilianzia Zama za Kati, na makaburi yake mengi yaliyosalia yanashuhudia utukufu wa mji huu wa zama hizo ... Inaonekana kwamba Jerusalem haikuzungukwa na kuta, au, angalau, sehemu chache tu za kuta na malango ya zamani (yaliyoharibiwa na Ayyubid) ndizo zilizobaki, zikitoa mpaka wa kufaa kuzunguka mji wenye amani. (Rosen-Ayalon 1998: 518)

Most of the urban fabric of Jerusalem within the walls dates back to the Middle Ages, whose numerous surviving monuments bear witness to the glory of this medieval city ... Apparently, Jerusalem was not enclosed with walls, or, at most, only sectors of the previous walls and gates (destroyed by the Ayyubids) remained, providing a convenient frame around the peaceful city. (Rosen-Ayalon 1998: 518)

Wasomi wa Mamluk wa Kipalestina (wengi wao wakiwa "wahamishwa"), wacha Mungu kwa kujionyesha na wenye ujasiriamali mkubwa katika al-Quds, wakikumbusha Origen na wasomi wa Kigiriki wa Kaisarea-Palaestina miaka elfu moja iliyopita, walikuwa nguvu iliyoendesha kupanda kwa kushangaza na upanuzi wa ajabu wa mji wa Yerusalemu katika karne ya 13 na 14.

The Palestinised (mostly ‘exiled’), demonstratively devout Mamluk and highly enterprising elite in al-Quds – with echoes of Origen and the Greek-speaking elite in Caesarea-Palaestina a millennium earlier – became a driving force in the spectacular rise and phenomenal urban expansion of Jerusalem in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Baada ya Waumayya, Wamamluk ndio walioacha athari ya kudumu zaidi juu ya al-Quds/Yerusalemu, mji ambao, kwa karibu miaka 300, ulistawi sana chini ya utawala wa Wamamluk. Hawa wa mwisho walileta utulivu uliokaribishwa katika eneo hilo, hivyo mji ukakua na kuwa 'mji usio na kuta' – isipokuwa kuta zinazouzunguka Haram al-Sharif (Patakatifu Tukufu) – jambo la ajabu na la kipekee kabisa kwa mji mkuu wa zama za kati wa ukubwa, umuhimu na kitovu kama wa Yerusalemu. Baada ya kushindwa kwa mara ya kwanza kwa kubwa kwa Wakristo wa Kilatini (Crusaders) mwaka 1187, kuta za al-Quds zilikuwa zimebomolewa kwa kiasi kikubwa na Waayyubi kama hatua kali ya kujihami iliyolenga kuzuia kuzingirwa kwa uharibifu mwingine wa mji huo na Wakristo hao. Hata hivyo, 'mji huu usio na kuta' wa zama za kati ulikua kwa kujiamini na kwa namna ya ajabu chini ya Wamamluk katika karne ya 13 na 14. Ingawa hija ya kila mwaka kwenda Makka ilikuwa daima wajibu wa lazima wa kidini kwa Waislamu, mji wa al-Quds ulikuwa kwa muda mrefu kitovu cha ibada kubwa ya Kiislamu na kituo cha hija ya Kiislamu, kwa muda mrefu kabla ya Wakristo hao, na katika karne ya 10 al-Maqdisi, mwanahistoria Mpalestina aliyezaliwa Yerusalemu, anautaja mji huo kama 'Iliya mwenye fadhila' (Iliya al-Fadila) (al-Maqdisi 2002: 135). Baadaye, fasihi ya Fada'il al-Quds ('Sifa au Fadhila za Yerusalemu') pia ilichukua nafasi muhimu katika juhudi za Waislamu za kuwashinda Wakristo hao na kuurejesha Yerusalemu kutoka mikononi mwao.

After the Umayyads, the Mamluks had the most lasting impact on al-Quds/Jerusalem, which had, for nearly 300 years, so prospered under Mamluk rule. The latter brought welcome stability to the region, so that the city grew and became a ‘city without walls’ – with the exception of the walls surrounding the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) – something extraordinary and totally unique for a medieval capital city of the size, importance and centrality of Jerusalem. After the first major defeat of the Latin Crusaders in 1187 the walls of al-Quds had been largely demolished by the Ayyubids as a drastic defensive measure designed to prevent another destructive siege of the city by the Crusaders. However, this medieval ‘city without walls’ grew confidently and spectacularly under the Mamluks in the 13th and 14th centuries. Although the annual pilgrimage, Hajj, to Mecca was always a mandatory religious duty for Muslims, the city of al-Quds had long been a focus of intense Islamic devotion and the centre of Islamic pilgrimage, long before the Crusaders, and in the 10th century al-Maqdisi, the Jerusalem-born Palestinian historian, refers to the city as ‘virtuous Iliya’ (Iliya al-Fadila) (al-Maqdisi 2002: 135). Subsequently the Fada’il al-Quds (‘Merits or Virtues of Jerusalem’) literature also played an important role in the Muslim efforts to defeat the Crusaders and recapture Jerusalem from them.

Fadhail al-Quds, fasihi ya Kiislamu, pamoja na mapambano dhidi ya Wakrusadi wa Kilatini, vilizidisha ukali wa ibada ya Kiislamu, na kuongeza idadi ya mahujaji wa Kiislamu waliokwenda Yerusalemu. Pia, kwa Waislamu wa zama za kati, maji safi yanayotiririka, usafi, nyumba za kuogea na chemchemi daima zilikuwa miongoni mwa mambo muhimu zaidi katika ustawi wa mji mtakatifu. Nyumba za kuogea za Kiarabu ni kitu ambacho wapiganaji wa Kifaransa walikichukua na kukipeleka Ulaya. Chini ya Wamamluk, al-Quds ilipitia mchakato mkubwa wa ujenzi na ikawa kitovu cha maisha ya mijini na elimu huko Palestina, pamoja na madrasa nyingi, uzuri wa usanifu majengo, nyumba za kuogea, chemchemi nzuri, minara ya msikiti na nyumba za kulala wageni kwa mahujaji. Fahari ya Hammam al-ʿAyn, mojawapo ya nyumba za kuogea zilizopendeza zaidi huko Yerusalemu na iliyobaki ikifanya kazi kwa muda mrefu zaidi, katika historia yake ya miaka 700, bado inaweza kuonekana leo (Asali 1990). Waislamu mahujaji walimiminika mjini baada ya ukombozi wake kutoka kwa Wakrusadi. Kisanii, mojawapo ya enzi zenye mvuto mkubwa zaidi katika historia ya Yerusalemu ni ile ya kipindi cha Wamamluk, na majengo na masoko yake yenye mifumo ya rangi ya waridi, nyeusi na nyeupe yanatokana na enzi hii (Irving 2011: 96).

The Islamic Fada’il al-Quds literature and the struggle with the Latin Crusaders heightened the intensity of Islamic devotion, and increased the number of Muslim pilgrims to Jerusalem. Also, for medieval Muslims, clean running water and hygiene, bath houses and fountains had always been among the most important elements in the prosperity of the sacred city. The Arab bath houses are something the Frankish knights picked up and took back to Europe. Under the Mamluks, al-Quds underwent an intensive process of construction and became the focus of urban life and learning in Palestine, with numerous madrasahs, architectural splendour, bath houses, beautiful fountains, minarets and hostels for pilgrims. The splendour of Hammam al-ʿAyn, one of the most exquisite bathhouses in Jerusalem and the longest to remain in operation, throughout its 700-year history, can still be seen today (Asali 1990). Muslim pilgrims flocked to the city after its liberation from the Crusaders. Architecturally one of the most spectacular eras of Jerusalem’s history is that of the Mamluk period, and its distinctive pink, black and white patterned buildings and markets date from this era (Irving 2011: 96).

Ukuaji mkubwa wa kijamii, kiuchumi na kidini wa mji chini ya Wamamluk unaonekana wazi katika upanuzi wa masoko yake:

The massive socio-economic and religious growth of the city under the Mamluks is evident in the expansion of its marketplaces:

Ujenzi wa masoko kadhaa (suq, wingi aswaq), unaonyesha ongezeko la shughuli za kibiashara za mji huo. Baadhi ya ujenzi huu ulipanua miundo ya awali, ile iliyokuwa kando ya mshipa mkuu wa mji kutoka kaskazini hadi kusini, uliokuwa umeendelea kutoka Cardo ya Kiroma na Kibyzantium ... Masoko mengine yalikuwa uumbaji halisi wa kipindi cha Mamluk. Mfano mashuhuri zaidi ni Suq el-Qattanin, pamoja na lango lake zuri linalofunguka katika Haram al-Sharif. Soko hili, lililojengwa katika nusu ya kwanza ya karne ya kumi na nne, limehifadhiwa vizuri sana hivi kwamba linawakilisha kwa kiwango cha usanifu majengo mfano wa kawaida na wa kitamaduni zaidi wa suq iliyofunikwa ya Mashariki ya Karibu. Kwa kweli, masoko mengi yaliyofunikwa yalifuata mtindo huu kwa karne kadhaa, kama ilivyokuwa kwa "Soko Nyeupe" la Acre la karne ya kumi na tisa, lililofuata mpango huo hasa. (Rosen-Ayalon 1998: 518)

The construction of several markets (suq, plural aswaq), is indicative of the city’s expanding commercial activity. Some of this construction expanded earlier installations, those along the north‒south main artery of the city which had developed out of the Roman and Byzantine Cardo ... Other markets were a true creation of the Mamluk period. The most outstanding example is Suq el-Qattanin with its magnificent portal opening at Haram al-Sharif. This market, dating from the first half of the fourteenth century, is so well preserved that it presents the most typical, classical formula in architectural terms of the Near Eastern covered suq. In fact, most covered marketplaces initiated this style for several centuries, as was the case with the nineteenth century ‘White Market’ of Acre, that followed this same plan exactly. (Rosen-Ayalon 1998: 518)

Katika kipindi kirefu cha utawala wa Mamluk, wanazuoni wakuu wa Kiislamu wa Palestina (ulama) walizunguka kwa uhuru kati ya Palestina, Misri na al-Sham, si tu kwa ajili ya masomo bali pia kwa ajili ya nyadhifa za juu. Kwa mfano, Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalani (1372–1449) alikuwa mwanazuoni mashuhuri wa Kishafi'i wa Kisuni wa zama za kati. Alizaliwa Cairo mnamo mwaka 1372.

During this long Mamluk period, leading Palestinian Muslim scholars (ulama) moved freely between Palestine, Egypt and al-Sham not only to study but also for senior jobs. For instance, Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalani (1372– 1449) was a leading medieval Shafi’i Sunni scholar. Born in Cairo in 1372

Kama Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn ʿAli, alikuwa mwana wa msomi wa Kishafi na mshairi Nur al-Din ʿAli, lakini alijulikana kwa jina la ʿIbn Hajar al-ʿAsqalani kwa sababu familia yake ilitokea katika mji wa ʿAsqalan huko Palestina. Ibn Hajar alisoma fiqhi ya Kiislamu huko Damascus na Jerusalem, kisha akateuliwa kushika wadhifa wa qadi mkuu wa Misri. Ibn Hajar aliandika kazi nyingi juu ya fiqhi (sheria ya Kiislamu), tafsiri, historia, ushairi na fiqhi ya Kishafi, maarufu zaidi ikiwa ni ufafanuzi wake wa Sahih ya Bukhari, uitwao Fath al-Bari (Adamec 2009: 136).

as Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn ‘Ali, he was the son of the Shafi’i scholar and poet Nur al-Din ‘Ali, but he became famous as ‘Ibn Hajar al-ʿAsqalani’ because his family had originated in the city of ‘Asqalan in Palestine. Ibn Hajar studied Islamic jurisprudence in Damascus and Jerusalem and he went on to be appointed to the position of Egyptian chief judge (qadi). Ibn Hajar authored numerous works on fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) interpretation, history and poetry and Shafi’i jurisprudence, the most famous of which was his commentary on the Sahih of Bukhari, entitled Fath al-Bari (Adamec 2009: 136).