The correct answer is Mamluks. After the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258 CE, the Abbasid Caliphate lost its political authority in Baghdad. A few years later, in 1261 CE, the Abbasid caliphal line was restored in Cairo under the... Read More
The correct answer is Mamluks. After the Mongol destruction of Baghdad in 1258 CE, the Abbasid Caliphate lost its political authority in Baghdad. A few years later, in 1261 CE, the Abbasid caliphal line was restored in Cairo under the protection of the Mamluk Sultanate. Although an Abbasid caliph was present in Cairo, real political and military authority remained with the Mamluk sultans.
The Mamluk Sultan Baybars played an important role in restoring the Abbasid caliphate in Cairo. He brought Al-Mustansir to Cairo and recognized him as Abbasid Caliph in 1261 CE. This restoration gave the Mamluk government additional religious and political legitimacy.
However, the Abbasid caliphs in Cairo did not regain the extensive authority that their predecessors had exercised in Baghdad. They largely served a symbolic and religious role, while the Mamluk sultans controlled the army, government, taxation, foreign relations, and other major affairs of the state.
The Mongols had destroyed Baghdad and ended Abbasid political rule there, but they did not control the Abbasid government in Cairo during this later period. The Ottomans became dominant in Egypt much later, in 1517 CE. The Greeks were also not the ruling power over the Cairo-based Abbasid Caliphate.
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