Mamluk Caliphate

The Mamluk Caliphate is a state in Brazilian Mapping's Alternate History of Europe that was founded in 1474 by the Sultanate of the same name.

Mamluk Sultanate
The Mamluk Sultanate was founded in 1250 as a rebellion from the Ayyubid Empire; within few years, the latter had been reduced to a small piece of land around Hisn Kayfa. The Mamluks expelled the Crusaders for good, and by 1444 owned Egypt, Cyrenaica, Hejaz and Syria. During the Crusade of Varna (1443-1446) the Ottomans, a long standing rival of the Mamluks, were forced to retreat their forces to Anatolia; the Mamluk sultan saw that as an opportunity and quickly attacked the falling Beylik, which within few months collapsed due to internal pressure. With their greatest rival gone, the Mamluks began expansion, annexing Libya, Rhodes, Tripoli, Hisn Kayfa and subjugating Tunis.

Mesopotamian War
In 1470, the Mamluk Sultanate attacked the Qara Qoyunlu horde to their east. After losing the Battle of Antioch, the Horde began to collapse; soon it was overran by the Mamluks and rebels. The Sultanate annexed Kurdistan and formed puppet states in Armenia and Baghdad; the sultan saw this as the "last step to conquer the Arab world". In 1474, as the Golden Horde was attacked by Polish-Lithuanian forces, the only other foremost Islamic power was gone; the Mamluks then elevated their sultan to the title of caliph, forming the Mamluk Caliphate.

Caliphate
The first act of the newly-declared caliph was to attack Cyprus and the tribes to the south of Egypt. The former, however, was quickly occupied by Rum and Byzantium on a joint effort. However, theexpansion in the Upper Nile was successful.