The Mamluk instructor assigned by Jaqmaq to be the Bosporus Army's instructor was named Ismail Ah.
Unlike other Mamluks, according to him and Jaqmaq, he was a relatively rare Greek-descended Mamluk.
"So, there are non-Circassian Mamluks?" Barbara, her face veiled, asked on behalf of her husband, raising a question both of them were quite curious about as they were about to board the ship for their return journey.
"Reporting to Your Highness, within the Sultanate now commonly known as the 'Burji Dynasty' by outsiders, Circassians do indeed make up the vast majority.
However, exceptions always exist, such as the remaining Turk and Kipchak-descended Mamluks from the previous 'Bahri Dynasty,' which is a typical example.
Furthermore, the Sultanate merely prefers people from the Caucasus; it does not mean that non-Caucasian ethnic groups cannot become Mamluks."
"Then, Mr. Ah, for what reason did you become a Mamluk?" Manuel, with one foot already on the deck, paused and took up the conversation, continuing to ask.
To the confusion of this monarch, who was, in a sense, of the same ethnic group, Ah seemed to recall something from the past, lowering his head and softly replying, "This was about ten years ago, on the Matrega border, which is an area where Circassians and Greeks live mixed together.
When I was young, I, whose ancestors lived there, accidentally fell into the hands of the Genoese, became a slave, and was sold to Egypt.
Then, through numerous trials, I became the Mamluk instructor I am today."
Although his tone was very calm, Manuel could still keenly sense the emotional fluctuations in his words.
"Would you like to go back to your hometown to see it? You should know that not only Matrega, or Phanagoria, but the entire Tauris Peninsula is now under the Autocratic State's rule." He extended an olive branch to this Greek-descended Mamluk.
Ah was stunned, then politely declined, "No, Your Majesty, the past is already past; let the past be the past."
Since the other party was like that, Manuel did not insist, but Caesar also promised that if he wanted to go back to Phanagoria to see, he could return home at any time.
Another half an hour passed, and after Badars and other guards helped Caesar move the luxuries and various documents and monographs he had purchased in Egypt onto the ship, they finally set sail on the caravel, beginning their return journey.
On the ship, after coaxing his children to sleep, Manuel found a quiet spot by himself and began to read the military books he had acquired in Alexandria this time.
Although he hadn't bought many things, all the truly useful ones were accounted for.
For example, the book in his hand, "Collection of Archery" written by Muhammad Ibn 'Ali al-Sughayyir, clearly and systematically presented the techniques and fundamentals of Mamluk archery training; and another Mamluk military treatise by his side, "Problem Management" (Nihayat al-Su'l), even more detailedly provided suggestions and key points for using various cold weapons.
Although after reading them through, he found that they more or less had the suspicion of "borrowing" from East Rome and Abbasid golden age literature, the parts of these monographs that addressed the military development of the current era were still very valuable for reading and absorption.
And their emphasis on systematic and standardized training, combined with a grassroots officer and non-commissioned officer system, to gain an advantage on the battlefield through stronger mobility, higher discipline, and even more advanced battlefield communication, made his thinking much clearer.
After finishing his thoughts, Manuel couldn't help but feel surprised at himself, chuckling, "Did I come to Alexandria this time for a pilgrimage or an academic visit? Never mind, let's just say it was both."
In the following days, apart from a brief half-day stop in Crete during the return journey to adjust the ship, Manuel mostly stayed on board.
Besides studying a few academic works with his wife and trusted aides, he would sometimes invite Ah, the Mamluk, to discuss the key points of these Mamluk military treatises and how to put them into practice.
From the above, perhaps others might think that Manuel's mission for this trip had ended.
But he knew very well that he still had to visit several more places.
Around early August, Manuel and his entourage first arrived at Rhodes, the headquarters of the Knights Hospitaller.
Since the Knights Hospitaller forcibly occupied the entire island of Rhodes in 1310, this island, located in a strategic position in the Aegean Sea, and its surrounding Dodecanese region became the main components of the Knights Hospitaller State.
Although most Romans intensely disliked the shameless actions of these Catholic knights who, without declaring war, occupied imperial territory, they also had to admit that these knights had indeed managed this once pirate and bandit-ridden island in an orderly fashion.
At least when the caravel Manuel was on docked in the island's port, all he saw was a vibrant and well-organized scene.
And after a few turns around the port, one could also see the Greek islanders getting along quite harmoniously with the foreign Catholic knights, completely unlike certain Venetian-ruled colonies full of exploitation and division.
They were all Latin Catholics, so why was the difference between people greater than the difference between dogs and people? He couldn't help but mock in his heart a certain scoundrel regime that had long plagued the Eastern Mediterranean.
However, the relative prosperity of Rhodes, for a small island with scarce resources, was actually not normal.
The resources and funds needed to support the army, maintain livelihoods, and develop the economy could not be provided by a small island, not to mention that the Knights sometimes granted tax exemptions to win over the populace.
There were two main reasons why Rhodes could be relatively prosperous: firstly, the Knights Hospitaller, as a military order spread throughout the Catholic world, owned land in various Catholic countries.
The Order also established various branches to manage and coordinate these assets, and sometimes the Pope would occasionally allocate a sum of Vatican funds as a reward to commend their achievements against infidels.
As for the second reason, it was—plunder.
Among Muslims, the Knights Hospitaller had a notorious nickname: the Rhodes Pirate Group.
One of the favorite things for the Order, whose headquarters were located on an Aegean Sea island, was to use "holy war" as a pretext to plunder nearby Muslim merchant ships.
Sometimes even orthodox ships would become their targets; if it weren't for Manuel's extensive commercial cooperation with Venice, the Knights Hospitaller's financiers, the Bosporus merchant fleet passing through the Aegean Sea would have been plundered beyond recognition.
Facing this existence with mixed reputation, Manuel, after some deliberation, finally chose to use Venetian channels to try to negotiate with them, to prevent them from disrupting his Black Sea trade route arrangements.
With this thought, accompanied by his attendants, the un-disguised Caesar Manuel stood in the grand Grand Master's Palace, his expression solemn as he pushed open the door to the Grand Master's office, preparing to begin negotiations with the current Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, Antonio Fluvian De Riviere.