In the second half of the fifteenth century, tensions increased between the Ottoman Empire and the Mamluk realm about the supremacy over Eastern Anatolia. In this conflict, new war techniques like the usage of firearms and canons plaid a vital role. However, the Mamluks were disadvantaged in the availability of the necessary resources and lacked specialists. Therefore, we observe an influx of European experts into the Mamluk realm where they served as interpreters and diplomats to European powers or as instructors for the Mamluk army about how to build and use the new arms. Still the full role of these Europeans is understudied. Little is known, as well about their personal mobility and how they actually came to the Mamluk Empire. When did they convert to Islam to serve in the army or administration? The present contribution will therefore gather the available information in Arab historiography and travel accounts of European pilgrims as well as biographies of Europeans like Ludevico de Varthema who served in the Mamluk army prior to returning to Europe. These texts and memoires will be scrutinized as well in order to see how the Ottoman and Mamluk Empires are depicted by these experts prior to their decisive conflict in 1516/17. By doing so the contribution will shed light as well on the process of "Ottoman-like" military and administrational reforms in the Mamluk Sultanate which actually meant that it became increasingly part of a Transottoman periphery.