The word Mamluk is derived from a verb "to own" which was used for white male slaves captured in war or purchased. The Bahris were Turk and Mongol slaves who were owned by Sultan Salih, then later appointed to be generals. They inherited the throne after the Sultan’s death. In both of the Mamluk dynasties, the throne was primarily passed through means of murder and usurpation, not inheritance. The reign of a sultan rarely lasted more that six years during this period. In spite of the chaotic political circumstances, this was a period in which architecture flourished and new forms evolved.

The first great Mamluk Sultan was Baybars al-Bunduqdari who completed the removal of the Crusaders and protected Egypt from the Mongols. Al-Bunduqdari restored power to the Abbasid caliphs in Cairo. His mosque, the Mosque of Sultan Baybars, is no longer intact; only the outer walls remain. The mosque is much like the mosque of al-Hakim with its projecting portals and corner towers. The mosque has only one minaret, which sits above the North portal. The arcade was supported by both columns and brick piers and had stilted and pointed arches. Keel-shaped arches were used as decorative niches on the façade of the entrance, a tradition that would be continued.

The madrasa and tomb of the Sultan Qala‘un complex, built between 1284 and 1285, is an interesting solution to the limited and irregular space allotted in an urban setting. The complex contained a mosque, madrasa, and a maristan, or hospital, which was almost completely destroyed. Earlier mosques were built in regular forms with panoramic views, however, during the Abbasid period, the city became so congested and crowded that the plans of new buildings were forced to change from the traditional form to fit on the site. The public nature of madrasas in the urban setting made decorated facades desirable to compensate for the irregularity in its form. Like many, the façade of the Sultan Qala‘un complex was heightened to tower over the streets like a cliff. Verticality was emphasized in the tall and decorated minarets. Tall, narrow windows placed closely together gave the illusion that the buildings were longer and more spacious than they really were. The complex facades also embodied some Romanesque influence with double rounded arched windows with oculi above framed by deeply recessed pointed archivolts (molded bands that were carried around an arch). This gave the façade plasticity that was usually lacking in Islam.

The interior of the madrasa was also altered to accommodate the irregularity of the site, however, even in the irregular plan it reflects formal unity and symmetry. The major focus for mosque, mausoleum, and madrasa alike is a large open central space. Large iwans, open porches off a court, created order and symmetry and a focus within the building. The abnormality of the plan could be and was altered by varying the size of the iwans. By manipulating the arcades and iwans, an internal façade could be created to offset the external one. The interior was also altered to create an orientation towards Mecca.

Another important monument of the Bahri Mamluk dynasty is the Mosque Complex of Sultan Hasan built between 1356 and 1363. The complex contains a Friday mosque, a madrasa for the four rites of Islamic law, and a domed mausoleum. The Mosque of Sultan Hasan has been praised as one of the major monuments in the Islamic world although Sultan Hasan was not even one of the major rulers of Egypt. He came to power as a child so his regents acted under his authority. The Sultan was killed in 1361 and the mosque was never completed. In fact, Sultan Hasan isn’t even buried in his great monument. After he was killed, his body was hidden and never found again. It was more than a century before Cairo’s greatest mausoleum was actually used for an amir that was eventually buried there.

The Mosque and Madrasa of Sultan Hasan was built on a very prestigious site, the location of a former palace, and a centerpiece of the panoramic view from al-Qasr al-Ablaq. The importance of the site made it necessary to build an enormous and magnificent structure. The madrasa housed each of the four Sunni rites. For the first time in Cairo, the madrasa also had the status of a congregational mosque for the Friday sermon. Built for four hundred students, the Mosque of Sultan Hasan is the largest of Cairo’s mosques. The building and decoration cost so much that the work was left incomplete.

Like most other mosque in urban settings, the structure is tall, towering 113 feet above the street. The mosque is freestanding with three individual façades. The façade, as seen from the Citadel, shows the dome over the mausoleum flanked by a minaret on each side. The dome collapsed in 1661 and has been replaced in modern days but does not accurately represent the original dome. Of the two minarets, only one stands today, the highest minaret of medieval Cairo at about 275 feet. The second collapsed in 1659 and was replaced shortly after with an inferior structure. The portal of the Mosque of Sultan Hasan is also remarkable in that it is the largest in Cairo. Reaching to 66 feet above the floor, the portal is recessed and covered with muqarnas, a stalactite type vault. The portal is also set at an angle from the rest of the building, maybe to face the citadel or to correspond with the street.