Islam Museum Islam Museum islam.museum
Search ⌕ ARENUR
Accessibility
Text size 100%

Saved on this device only — nothing is sent anywhere.

Amir silah (grand master of the armour; Mamluk office)

أمير سلاح (كبير حملة السلاح في المملكة المملوكية)

Amir silah, 'grand master of the armour', was an office of the Mamluk kingdom. He was in charge of the armour-bearers and supervised the arsenal, bearing the sultan's arms in public ceremonies and conveying them to him in battle; under the Circassians he was the second office among the highest amirs 1.

Depth

At a glance

Era
The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
Region
Egypt & Nile · Levant & Iraq
Review
Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it

Politics, governance and authority

Overview

Amir silah, 'grand master of the armour', was an office of the Mamluk kingdom. 2

Duties

The holder was in charge of the armour-bearers (silahdariyya) and supervised the arsenal (silahkhana). It was his duty to bear the sultan's arms in public ceremonies and to convey them to him in battle and on other occasions. 2

Rank

In the early Mamluk period the office was not very high; compare the amir majlis. Under the Circassians it was the second office among the highest amirs of the kingdom, and the amir silah had the right of sitting as ra's al-maysara in the sultan's presence. 1

People and things also explored

Ahl al-Diwan (those paid from the state register of soldiers and officers, and the rules of their conditions and distribution)· Ahl al-Hall wa al-Aqd (those who loose and bind: the men of power whose choice confirms the imam)· Ahl al-Mahalla (the people of a quarter, their imam, call to prayer, and their part in the oath and blood money where a body is found)· Islamic management· Experience versus service, and self-development· The nominal group technique· Leadership and the leader's six roles· Situational leadership

Sources

  1. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 1 p. 467-468
  2. Encyclopaedia of Islam, 2nd edition (Leiden: Brill, 1954–2008), 13 volumes , vol. 1 p. 467
Cite this page

islam.museum contributors. “Amir silah (grand master of the armour; Mamluk office)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/concept/amir-silah/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-25.

Improve this page on GitHub · Report an error · JSON

Wing

Ideas

Beliefs, concepts, sciences and schools, explained in plain words. Related

Ahl al-Diwan (those paid from the state register of soldiers and officers, and the rules of their conditions and distribution)

Diwan is a Persian loan-word meaning a collection of sheets and writings, in which the army and those given grants were written; for the jurists it is the register in which the names of those in state service who receive a stipend from the public treasury are recorded, and the office that keeps it. Umar ibn al-Khattab was the first to set up the diwan, according to two accounts. The people of the diwan are of several kinds: soldiers, on conditions that are regulatory, such as puberty, freedom, Islam, health and fitness for fighting; holders of office, such as governors, judges, scholars, collectors, imams and muezzins; and the needy. The Companions differed on preference in distribution: Abu Bakr and Ali made it equal, while Umar and Uthman preferred by precedence in Islam, and Umar added kinship to the Prophet; Abu Hanifa and Ahmad followed the latter view.