Barsbay launched a series of naval expeditions against Cyprus to stop piracy and Crusader raids. He captured King Janus of Cyprus and forced the island into a vassal relationship with the Mamluk Sultanate that lasted for decades.

Because Mamluk property could often be confiscated upon death, rulers and amirs used the 'Waqf' (pious endowment) to build madrasas or hospitals. By making their descendants the 'supervisors' of these trusts, they could legally pass on wealth to their children.

The office of the Muhtasib was built around the principle of Hisba. It empowered the state to intervene in public life to ensure that weights were accurate, food was clean, and public behavior was in accordance with Islamic law.

While Saladin recaptured the city, it was the Mamluks (particularly Al-Nasir Muhammad) who built most of the elegant arcades (Mawazin) and madrasas that surround the Dome of the Rock today.

In a rare turn of events, the Caliph al-Musta'in was actually named Sultan for a brief few months in 1412 after the deposition of Faraj. However, the military amirs soon tired of a Caliph with actual power and deposed him in favor of Muayyad Shaykh.

Mamluk craftsmen were masters of 'Inlay.' They produced magnificent basins, candlesticks, and boxes made of brass, intricately carved and then inlaid with delicate patterns of silver and gold wire.

Al-Qalqashandi's work is a monumental source for historians. It details every aspect of the Mamluk administration, including diplomatic protocols, geography, and the exact titles used for foreign rulers.

The Mahmal was a beautifully decorated symbolic litter carried by a camel. It represented the Sultan's sovereignty over the Hijaz and was the center of a grand parade that left Cairo for Mecca every year.

While Egypt remained Shafi'i, the Mamluk ruling class increasingly patronized the Hanafi school, which was the official school of the Turks and later the Ottomans. This led to the construction of grand Hanafi madrasas in the Citadel area.

Mamluk history is filled with short-lived reigns. Often, an Amir would install a child of the deceased Sultan to act as a placeholder while rival factions fought for control, only to depose the child once a strongman emerged.