Quote:
Originally Posted by Teisani
One thing that intrigues me is coat of arms on the shields of the Turks and Mamluks of Jan Swart van Groningen and Daniel Hopfer. Any idea what it is?
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I can only guess the same as you do. Western artistic depictions can't be taken too literally since the Ottomans were unfamiliar and exotic enemies. Probably there was some general understanding that the Mamluks were slave-soldiers, and the Ottomans recruited from Balkan peoples... so we get this depiction of "Mamelukes" who are more likely Serbians or what have you, or the shield is a generic symbol of the Ottoman union of Muslim/Orthodox lands.