From the Ilhanid-Mamlukid Rivalry to Ottoman-Mamlukid Rivalry: The Historical Background of Restoration of the Hedjaz Waterways

Abstract

It is a widely known fact that geography has special effect on historical events. The actors of this effect are the political organizations which were set up on these geographies. Throughout history, there was a rivalry originating from the geopolitics of Iran, Egypt and Anatolia. This can be recognaized from the rivalry between Mamlukid and Ottoman States which emerged after the collapse of the Ilhanids, as from the rivalry between the Mamlukids of Egypt and the Ilhanids of Iran. Religious inclinations had a primary importance on "The Restoration of Hedjaz Waterways" as it was effective in the Ilhanid-Mamlukid competition. Essentially, struggles between states, along the history, had mostly religious incentives, although these seem to be depended relied on political, social, economical and geographic albases. Religious motives also appears in the Ilhanid-Mamlukid and Ottoman-Mamlukid relations.