Shajarat al Durr, widow of the last Ayyubid ruler and originally a Turkish or Armenian slave, managed to take power in Egypt on her husband's death. This led to two dynasties of Mamluks - slaves of varied races and nationalities forming a military oligarchy in an alien land, from 1250 to 1517 CE. They cleared Syria and Egypt of the remnants of the Crusaders, and permanently checked the advance of Hulagu's and Timur's armies.