Tuesday marked the 500th anniversary of the battle of Marj Dabiq, which took place just outside the Syrian town where, according to a tradition adopted by Islamic State, an apocalyptic battle is yet to take place. Akhilesh Pillalamarri explains how the confrontation, in which the Sunni Ottoman empire defeated Mamluk Egypt, shaped the subsequent history of the Middle East:
The Mamluk sultanate had been the dominant power of the Islamic world for three centuries, ruling over a stable heartland in Egypt as well as over the holy cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem, while much of the rest of the Islamic world was fractured and in a chaotic state of warfare in the aftermath of the Mongol invasions. . . .
The Mamluk sultanate collapsed soon [after its defeat at Marj Dabiq, and thereafter] Egypt became an Ottoman province. Additionally, control over the Hejaz passed to the Ottomans, with the sharif of Mecca transferring his allegiance from the Mamluk to the Ottoman sultans. Most importantly, [the Ottoman sultan formally took the title of caliph]. . . .
[Thereafter, the] Ottoman empire became much more resolutely Sunni as a result of gaining control over the caliphate and millions of new Sunni Arab subjects. . . . In religious matters, the empire innovated little and was generally ill-disposed toward Shiites. The caliphate, in fact, became an ever more important institution, a rallying point for Muslims during the spread of European colonialism.
Thus, the conservatism of much of the region and the use of Islam as [the ideological basis for resistance to European influence] date from Ottoman times. On the other hand, the union of imperial Ottoman power and wealth with religious functions also alienated many Arabs from the caliphate. Puritanical reactions culminated in the rise of the Wahhabi movement in central Arabia in the 18th century.
Read more on National Interest: http://nationalinterest.org/print/feature/exactly-500-years-ago-battle-changed-the-middle-east-forever-17445