The Mameluke is a heavy mercenarycavalry unit in Age of Empires III that can be randomly trained from Saloon or sent from the Home City; most European civilizations may acquire Mamelukes. In contrast to Age of Empires II, the Mameluke in Age of Empires III rides a white horse instead of a camel.
The Mameluke boasts some of the highest hit points for a cavalry unit (1450 in any age, without upgrades). This is far greater than even the two other non-Lancer hand cavalry mercenaries (namely, Stradiots and Hackapells), though their attack is lower than both (around that of a Hussar). Naturally, this excessive durability allows them to best even anti-cavalry units, such as Rodeleros and Pikemen.
"Mamelukes got their name from an Arabic word meaning "slave" or "owned." They were formed as a core soldiery of slave warriors, like the janissaries, valued because they had no allegiances except to their sultan. Eventually they grew so powerful that they installed themselves as the rulers of Egypt. Comprised originally of Turks and Mongols, and later to include Circassians and Georgians, the mamelukes were powerful soldiers and rulers in the Middle East for hundreds of years. Napoleon fought and defeated the mamelukes in the late eighteenth century when he attacked Cairo, later raising his own mameluke regiments. Rustam, a Georgian mameluke and one of Napoleon's personal bodyguards, came from these regiments.
Mamelukes fought mounted with sword and shield. They adopted firearms much later - too late, perhaps, to maintain their military power."
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