[3] Major Mamluk monuments typically consisted of multi-functional complexes which could combine various elements such as a patron's mausoleum, a madrasa, a khanqah (Sufi lodge), a mosque, a sabil, or other charitable functions found in Islamic architecture.

[10] Continuing a practice started by the Ayyubids, much of the land occupied by former Fatimid palaces in Cairo was sold and replaced by newer buildings, becoming a prestigious site for the construction of Mamluk religious and funerary complexes.

Architects also experimented with the placement of different elements of a building complex (like the domed mausoleum chamber or the minaret) in order to enhance the visual impact of their monuments in an urban setting.

[15] The defeat of the Mongols and of the last Crusader states in the Levant in the second half of the 13th century resulted in a relatively long period of peace within the Mamluk empire, which in turn brought economic prosperity.

[16] One of the most important architectural achievements of this period is the funerary complex of al-Mansur Qalawun (who reigned between 1279 and 1290), which was built in 1284–1285 over the remains of a former Fatimid palace at Bayn al-Qasrayn, in the heart of the city.

Under his reign Cairo expanded in multiple directions and new districts, such al-Darb al-Ahmar and the area below and west of the Citadel, filled up with palaces and religious foundations built by his emirs (Mamluk commanders and officials).

Al-Nasir Muhammad also carried out some of the most significant works inside the Citadel, erecting a new mosque, a palace, and a grand domed throne hall known as the Great Iwan.

Craftsmen were recruited from many regions of the Mamluk empire to work on the highly costly project, which may account for the apparent influence of Iranian (Ilkhanid) and Anatolian Seljuk architecture in some elements of the building.

[28]: 183, 222–230  At the beginning of the Burji period, Barquq (r. 1382–1399, with interruption) built his own major funerary complex at Bayn al-Qasrayn, which resembled the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hasan in many ways, although much smaller.

In the late Mamluk period new complexes were generally more restrained in size and were given increasingly complicated and irregular layouts, as architects had to contend with the limited spaces available to build in crowded cities.

[38] Building continued under the last Mamluk sultan, Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghuri (r. 1501–17), who commissioned his own complex (1503–5) and conducted a major reorganization and reconstruction of the Khan al-Khalili district.

[7][8][45][46] Mamluk architecture is distinguished by the construction of multi-functional buildings whose floor plans became increasingly complex due to the limited available space in cities and the desire to make monuments visually dominant in their urban surroundings.

These could include charitable functions and social services, such as a mosque, khanqah (Sufi lodge), madrasa, bimaristan (hospital), maktab or kuttab (elementary school), sabil (kiosk for dispensing free water), or hod (drinking trough for animals); or commercial functions, such as a wikala or khan (a caravanserai to house merchants and their goods) or a rabʿ (a Cairene apartment complex for renters).

The fine stucco mihrab of the Madrasa of al-Nasir Muhammad, for example, resembles contemporary Iranian stuccowork under the Ilkhanids in artistic centers like Tabriz.

The rich stuccowork on that same building's minaret, on the other hand, appears to include Andalusi or Maghrebi craftsmanship alongside local Fatimid motifs.

[68][69] The minarets of the Mausoleum of Salar and Sanjar al-Jawli (1303) and of the Madrasa of Sunqur Sa'di (circa 1315), are better-preserved and have a similar style, except that their shape is more slender and the shaft of the second tier is octagonal, prefiguring later changes.

[66][67] The minaret of the al-Maridani Mosque (circa 1340) is the first one to have an entirely octagonal shaft and the first one to end with a narrow lantern structure consisting of eight slender columns topped by a bulbous stone finial.

[71][65] A double lantern summit had previously appeared in one of the original minarets of the Madrasa-Mosque of Sultan Hasan in the mid-14th century, but was not repeated until this late period.

On the interior, the transition between the base of the round dome and the walls of the square chamber below were initially accomplished through multi-tiered squinches and later with muqarnas-carved pendentives.

However, the overall façade of a building was often composed of other elements such as windows, a sabil and maktab, and general decoration, which attenuated the prominence of the entrance portal in comparison to other architectural styles like those of Syria.

Some, like that of Qalawun's complex (1285) and Sanjar and Salar's Mausoleum (1303), were decorated with features like marble paneling but were not architecturally emphasized in their proportions or position in the overall façade of the building.

[92][93] Residential buildings in Cairo were in turn organized into close-knit neighbourhoods called a harat, which in many cases had gates that could be closed off at night or during disturbances.

Mamluk architectural complexes and their institutions were protected by waqf agreements, which gave them the status of charitable endowments or trusts which were legally inalienable under Islamic law.

Since charity is one of the fundamental pillars of Islam, these charitable projects publicly demonstrated the sultan's piousness, while madrasas in particular also linked the ruling Mamluk elite with the ulama, the religious scholars who also inevitably acted as intermediaries with the wider population.

Their charitable constructions strengthened their symbolic role as pious protectors of orthodox Sunni Islam and as sponsors of ṭuruq (Sufi brotherhoods) and of the local shrines of saints.

[34] The sultans did regularly maintain or restore major religious sites such as the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount) in Jerusalem and the mosques of Medina and Mecca.

[116] Another religious construction, the Mosque of Ala al-Din Altunbugha al-Nasiri, was built in 1318 and is still mostly Ayyubid in style except for the more elaborate entrance portal and minaret.

[116] Towards the late 14th century Aleppo's prosperity increased more definitively as silk road trade routes were diverted through it, turning it into an entrepot for eastern caravans from Iran and Venetian merchants from the west.

[116] Monumental entrance portals with muqarnas carvings became a standard feature of Mamluk architecture in the city, and stonemasons experimented with new decorative ideas and flourishes.

Its most remarkable feature is an elaborate marble mosaic pavement that scholar Bernard O'Kane believes is from the original Mamluk construction and which Doris Behrens-Abouseif describes as comparable to the best examples in Cairo.