There are evidences that the modern cards were introduced to Europe by the traders from the Mamelukes of Egypt in the late 1300s. The Mameluke deck contained 52 cards comprising four “suits”: polo sticks, coins, swords, and cups. Each suit contained ten “spot” cards (cards identified by the number of suit symbols or “pips” they show) and three “court” cards named malik (King), na’ib malik (Viceroy or Deputy King), and thani na’ib (Second or Under-Deputy). The Mameluke court cards showed abstract designs not depicting persons There are some evidence to suggest that earlier Chinese cards brought to Europe may have pass through Persia, and subsequently influenced the Mameluke cards.
This set of cards is designed by the graphic designers of Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt. c. 1500. According to a passage in Ibn Taghri Birdi’s HISTORY OF EGYPT, 1382-1469 A.D., the future sultan al-Malik al-Mu’ayyad won a large sum of money in a game of cards 5. In these playing cards the suits were coins, cups, swords, and polo sticks.