When Sultan Saleh Nigm Eddin Ayub died in 1249 AD during his war with the Crusaders in the city of Mansoura, his wife Shagarat El-Dur managed to hide the news of his death and sent for his son Turanshah who was in Palestine.

Turanshah came in a hurry and led the army to victory over Louis IX. However, he gained the hatred of his step-mother and the Mamlukes of his father so they conspired to kill him.

After his murder, Shagarat El-Dur became Sultana of Egypt but she abdicated for her husband Ezz Edin Aybak under the pressure of the Abbaside Caliph and the people of Egypt.

The Mamlukes were a class of slaves bought to join Arab armies. They were of Turkish, Circassian, Roman, Russian and European origins. They lived as a separate class and their number grew at the end of the Ayubbide reign. They seized the opportunity to ascend the throne of Egypt.

The Mamluke reign is divided into two eras; the era of Bahari (sea) Mamlukes as their barracks were overlooking the Nile, and the era of the Burgi (tower) Mamlukes as their barracks were in the towers of the citadel. The Mamluke reign ended when the Ottomans occupied Egypt in 1517AD. Twenty-seven Bahari Mamluke sultans and twenty-eight Burgi Mamluke sultans ruled Egypt.

Bahari Mamlukes :
- Sultan Ezz Eddin Aybak (1250-1257)
- Sultan Nur Eddin ben Aybak (1257-1259)
- Sultan Muzafar Seif Eddin Qutuz (1259-1260)
- Sultan Zahir Rukn Eddin Bybars (1260-1277)
- Sultan Said Nasser Eddin Baraka (1277-1279)
- Sultan Adel Badr Eddin Salamish (1279)
- Sultan Mansour Seif Eddin Qalawoon (1279-1290)
- Sultan Ashraf Salah Eddin Khalil (1290-1293)
- Sultan Nasser Mohamed Ben Qalawoon (first time) (1293-1294)
- Sultan Adel Zeen Eddin Katubgha (1294-1296)
- Sultan Mansour Hossam Eddin Lagin (1296-1298)
- Sultan Nasser Mohamed Ben Qalawoon (second time) (1298-1309)
- Sultan Muzafar Rukn Eddin Bybars (1309)
- Sultan Nasser Mohamed Ben Qalawoon (third time) (1309-1340)
- Sultan Mansour Seif Eddin Ben Mohamed (1340-1341)
- Sultan Ashraf Alladin Ben Mohamed (1341-1342)
- Sultan Nasser Shahab El-Dein Ben Mohamed (1342)
- Sultan Saleh Emad Eddin Ben Mohamed (1342-1345)
- Sultan Kamil Seif Eddin Ben Mohamed (1345-1346)
- Sultan Muzafar Zein Eddin Ben Mohamed (1346-1347)
- Sultan Nasser Hassan Ben Mohamed (first time)(1347-1351)
- Sultan Salah Eddin Saleh Ben Mohamed (1351-1354)
- Sultan Nasser Hassan Ben Mohamed (second time) (1354-1361)
- Sultan Salah Eddin Mohamed Ben Hagi (1361-1363)
- Sultan Ashraf Zeen Eddin Ben Hassan (1363-1376)
- Sultan Mansour Aladin Ben Shaban (1376-1381)
- Sultan Salih Zeen Edin Hagi (1381-1382)

Circassian (Burgi) Mamlukes : 
- Sultan Zaher Barqooq (1382-1399)
- Sultan Farag Ben Barqooq (first time) (1399-1405)
- Sultan Abd El-Aziz Ben Barqooq (1405)
- Sultan Farag Ben Barqooq (second time) (1405-1412)
- Sultan Muyaid Sheikh (1412-1421)
- Sultan Ahmed Ben Muyaid (1421)
- Sultan Zaher Tatar (1421)
- Sultan Nasser Mohamed Ben Tatar (1421)
- Sultan Ashraf Barsbay (1422-1438)
- Sultan Aziz Gamal Ben Barsabay (1438)
- Sultan Zaher Gaqmaq (1438-1453)
- Sultan Mansour Osman Ben Gaqmaq (1453)
- Sultan Ashraf Inal (1453-1460)
- Sultan Muayaid Ahmed Ben Inal (1460)
- Sultan Zaher Khoshkadam (1461-1467)
- Sultan Seif Eddin Yalbai (1467)
- Sultan Zaher Tamarbagha (1467)
- Sultan Khair Bey (1467)
- Sultan Ashraf Qaitbay (1468-1496)
- Sultan Ashraf Mohamed Ben Qaitbay (first time)(1496-1497)
- Sultan Qansuh Khumsamaah (1497)
- Sultan Ashraf Mohamed Ben Qaitbay (second time)(1497-1498)
- Sultan Qansuh Ashrafi (1498-1500)
- Sultan Ganblat (1500-1501)
- Sultan Adel Tumanbay I (1501)
- Sultan Ashraf Qansuh Ghori (1501-1516)
- Sultan Tumanbay II (1517)

Sultan Tumanbay II was hanged by the Ottoman Sultan Selim I when Ottoman armies entered Egypt and eliminated the Mamluke rule.