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The Franciscans in the Mamluk Sultanate from 1330 to 1516With the fall of the Latin States in the East in 1291, the Franciscans found refuge in Cyprus. However, as soon as the time seemed propitious, they called on the Papacy to help them get back their homes in Syria. In 1333, they returned to the Holy Land and Beirut for good. The Mamluk sultans granted them privileges, which insured their protection, and maintained conditions that allowed them to accomplishing their duties without hindrance. The European powers also supported the presence of the Franciscans in the East, because it often strengthened their interests and objectives, as different as these may have been. This paper studies the question of the Franciscan presence in the Mamluk sultanate during the fourteenth to fifteenth centuries; their role in the organization of pilgrimages; and their relationship with city authorities.