This was because the establishment of this Mamluk state marked a departure from the old, quiet, and passive policy of Nubia, and the beginning of a new era of active interest in Nubian affairs. Consequently, relations between the two countries began to take on a violent military character. This military aspect involved the subjugation of Nubian kings and an interest in the Crusades, to the extent that they became immersed in the Crusades that saw the Mamluks in Egypt engaged in the Levant.

The participation of the Nubians in this conflict was through their disruption of Mamluk trade that traversed the Eastern Desert on its way to the ports of Aidhab and Suakin, trade that grew and flourished in the Mamluk era.

This obstruction by the Nubians was, for the Mamluks, a serious challenge, or an acknowledgment of the importance that international trade had acquired in Egypt's economic life during the Mamluk period. These relations also took on a crusading character.

The Mamluks in Egypt recognized this latent crusading danger from the south, where Nubia lay, and they realized the possibility of the Nubians stabbing Egypt in the back while it was preoccupied with the remaining remnants of the Crusaders in the Levant.

Therefore, we find that Egyptian royal campaigns followed one another violently into Nubia. We find that Sultan Baybars exploited the ongoing conflict within the Nubian royal house over succession to the throne when Prince Shakmanda presented himself at Sultan Baybars' court at this time, one of those claiming the throne of Makuria. This was after this individual had sought refuge with Sultan Baybars, denouncing his assistance and support in returning to the throne of Nubia. This was an important development in the history of Nubian-Egyptian relations, as this political asylum in Egypt opened the door for the rulers of Egypt to interfere in Nubian political affairs. Furthermore, on the other hand, the struggle for the Nubian throne ensured that the Mamluk sultans had local elements upon whom they could rely to extend their political influence into those lands. This was after Shakmanda claimed that his uncle