The Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt and Syria reached its peak of power at the turn of the 14th century. The Mamluks were a military caste that had ruled since 1250, and their sultanate was a major center of Islamic power and culture. They were the dominant force in the Eastern Mediterranean and fought against both the Crusaders and the Mongols.

The Mamluk Sultanate was a patron of poetry and learning in the Arab world. It saw the production of a rich corpus of Arabic poetry and historical chronicles. The Mamluk court attracted poets from across the Islamic world, and their patronage influenced the development of the Arabic and Persian poetic traditions.