A pilgrimage to the temples and tombs of Egypt, Nubia, and ...

THE MEMLOOKS. 57
CHAPTER IV.
THE MEMLOOKS. MASSACRE OF THE MEMLOOKS. AMYN BEY.
THE LAST MEMLOOK. MOSQUE OF SULTAN HASSAN. GAMA
TAYLOON. MOSQUE OF AMR.
Cairo, Nov. 7, 1845.
In my last letter, I told you that we had seen
the spot where the Memlooks were massacred
in 1811. That visit rendered me so anxious to
become acquainted with the particulars of the
bloody deed, as well as with the circumstances
which led to the necessity of exterminating the
Memlooks root and branch, that I never rested
until I had gathered from authentic sources here
that which appears to me to be a true and dispas-
sionate account of the affair. As the political
importance of the Memlooks in Egypt, and their
subsequent fall, involves some inevitable allusions
to their origin as a body, I shall make no apology
for giving you a slight preliminary sketch of their
history, which will at the same time aftbrd you
a little insight into the crooked ways of Eastern
politics.