The Mamluks in Iraq are mostly Christian slaves converted to Islam, trained in a special school, then assigned to military and administrative duties.

From 1747, they have presided, with short intermissions, over several decades in the history of Ottoman Iraq.

The Mamluk ruling elite, composed principally of officers from Georgia, had succeeded in asserting autonomy from their Ottoman overlords, and restored order and some degree of economic prosperity in the region.

Daud Pasha, the current Mamluk ruler of Iraq, has initiated important modernization programs that include clearing canals, establishing industries, reforming the army with the help of European instructors, and founding a printing press.

The existence of the autonomous Iraqi regime, a long-time source of anxiety at Istanbul, becomes even more threatening to the Porte when Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt begins to claim Syria.

In 1830, the Sultan decrees Daud Pasha’s dismissal, but the emissary carrying the order is arrested at Baghdad and executed.