Mamluk Playing Cards - Yomna Ismail

The what

Before playing cards reached Europe, they were played in Egypt during the Mamluk era. The design, size, and deck composition were quite different from what we use today (not to mention they were also much prettier). This got me thinking: What would those cards look like if they were designed with modern standards in mind?

The why

A couple of things would need to be changed. For example, changing the size of the card would also mean changing the layout and composition. This would’ve been inevitable since the standard ones also rely on the symmetry of the elements to communicate the numbers no matter how they’re held. So…

The how

The most practical solution was to simplify the composition to make it all fit within the 3 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches card. Some finer details were discarded during the process, but this allowed more space to include the numbers and the deputy names at the top of the card.

Deputies? What deputies?

Here’s a little historical fact: The Mamluk cards didn’t feature King, Queen, and Prince like modern cards. Instead, they had 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Deputies. The card value was indicated by the symbols drawn rather than written numbers.

The end

Although many changes were made to the cards to fit modern standards, they were designed to still maintain their original beauty. The redesign focused mainly on aesthetics rather than functionality, as they’re meant for collecting. These cards can interest collectors, tourists, art lovers, history geeks, and many more!