The inequality between the ruling classes and the Egyptian people was
especially flagrant in Mameluk times, when the country was ruled by former
slaves of Asian origin who were mostly unable to speak Arabic. Two big re-
volts against Arab foreign rule are recorded, one in 725–33, the other in 832,
which were both bloodily crushed, after which the cruelties of the Abbasids
against the people were exacerbated.