Muhammad Ali of Egypt: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Line 5:

{{Infobox royalty

| name = Muhammad Ali Pasha

|title title = [[Khedive]]

| image = ModernEgypt, Muhammad Ali by Auguste Couder, BAP 17996.jpg

| caption = Portrait by [[Auguste Couder]], 1840

| succession = [[List of monarchs of the Muhammad Ali dynasty|Pasha of Egypt]]

| reign = 17 May 1805 – 220 MarchJuly 1848

| predecessor = [[Hurshid Pasha]]

| successor = [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim Pasha]]

Line 28:

| issue = {{plainlist|

* Princess Tawhida Hanim

* [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt]]

* [[Tusun Pasha|Prince Ahmed Tusun Pasha]]

* [[Isma'il Kamil Pasha| Prince Isma'il Kamil Pasha]]

Line 34:

* [[Sa'id of Egypt|Sa'id Pasha of Egypt]]

* Prince Abd al-Halim Bey

* Prince Muhammad Ali Pasha Al Sahgheer

* Princess Zaynab Hanim

* Prince Muhammad Abd al-Halim Pasha}}

Line 51:

|{{tree list}}

*'''[[French campaign in Egypt and Syria]]'''

**''' [[Battle of Al Khankah]]'''

*'''[[Muhammad Ali's rise to power]]'''

*'''[[Anglo-Turkish War (1807–1809)]]'''

**[[Alexandria expedition of 1807|Alexandria expedition]]

*'''[[Wahhabi War]]'''

**[[Battle of Mecca (1813)|Battle of Mecca]]

**[[Siege of Taif (1814)|Siege of Taif]]

**[[Battle of Byssel]]

**[[Expedition to Najd (1817–1818)|Expedition of Najd]]

*'''[[Turco-Egyptian conquest of Sudan (1820–1824)]]'''

*[[History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty|Ahmad Revolt]]''

Line 70:

*'''[[Syrian Peasant Revolt (1834–1835)]]'''

**[[Peasants' revolt in Palestine]]

***[[Siege of Jerusalem (1834)|Siege of Jerusalem]]

***[[Battle of Hebron]]

***[[Siege of Al-Karak (1834)|Siege of Al-Karak]]

**[[Alawite revolt (1834–1835)|Alawite Revolt]]

**[[1834 looting of Safed]]

*'''[[Expedition to Najd (1836)]]'''

Line 79:

*'''[[Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841)]]'''

**[[Oriental Crisis of 1840]]

**[[Bombardment of Beirut (1840)|Bombardment of Beirut]]

**[[Battle of Sidon (1840)|Battle of Sidon]]

**[[Battle of Acre (1840)|Battle of Acre]]

{{tree list/end}}

|-

Line 91:

{{Campaignbox Muhammad Ali of Egypt}}

'''Muhammad Ali{{efn|{{lang-sq|Mehmet Ali}};<ref>{{cite journal |date=January–June 1841 |title=Mohammed Ali |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EHsAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA65 |journal=Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine |volume=49 |issue=303 |pages=65–82 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> {{lang-ar|محمد علي|Muḥammad ‘Alī}}; {{Lang-tr|Kavalalı Mehmed Ali}}. The spelling of Muhammad Ali's first name in both Arabic and [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]] was consistent: {{lang|ar|محمد}} ({{transl|ar|Muḥammad}}). This is the name by which he was known to his Egyptian subjects, and the name used uniformly in Egyptian and Arabic language historical scholarship. However, given his original status as a commander in the [[Military of the Ottoman Empire|Ottoman military]], his first name is often rendered as {{lang|ota-Latn|Mehmed}}, which is the standard rendition of that name in [[Ottoman Turkish language|Ottoman Turkish]], or {{lang|sq|Mehmet}} in [[Albanian language|Albanian]]. Current English-language historical scholarship is divided as to which is preferable, with the majority opinion favoring the former. Typically, historians accentuating the Egyptian character of his rule opt for {{lang|ar-Latn|Muhammad}}, whilst those accentuating the Ottoman character opt for {{transl|ota|Mehmed}} or {{lang|sq|Mehmet}}. This distinction is an issue for those writing in the Latin alphabet, but not in Arabic.<ref name="Fahmy">{{Cite book |title=All the Pasha's Men: Mehmed Ali, his Army and the Making of Modern Egypt |author=Khalid Fahmy |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1998}}</ref>}}''' (4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849) was anthe [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] [[Albanians|Albanian]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Özavcı |first=Hilmi Ozan |title=Dangerous Gifts: Imperialism, Security, and Civil Wars in the Levant, 1798-1864 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-19-885296-4 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Lbo0EAAAQBAJ}}

*p. 93: {{quote|In the meanwhile, the Albanian commander Mehmed Ali came to shine amid the limelight of politics and became immensely popular among the inhabitants. As his biographer tells us, Mehmed Ali was a man who had mastered 'the art of staging spectacles and of influencing audiences'.}}

*pp. 97–98: {{quote|The French consul believed that '[the] Albanian has more character and would probably be less sensitive to the advice and the means of seduction of our enemies'.}}</ref> governor[[viceroy]] and military commandergovernor who wasbecame the ''[[de facto]]'' ruler of [[History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty|Egypt]] from 1805 to 1848, widely considered the founder of modern [[Egypt]]. At the height of his rule, he controlled Egypt, [[Turco-Egyptian Sudan|Sudan]], [[Hejaz]], [[Najd]], the [[Levant]], [[Crete]] and parts of [[Greece]].

He was a military commander in an Albanian Ottoman force sent to recover Egypt from [[French campaign in Egypt and Syria|French occupation]] under [[Napoleon]]. Following Napoleon's withdrawal, Muhammad Ali rose to power through a series of political maneuvers, and in 1805 he was named ''[[Wāli]]'' (governor) of Egypt and gained the rank of [[Pasha]].

Line 99:

As ''Wāli'', Ali attempted to modernize Egypt by instituting dramatic reforms in the military, economic and cultural spheres. He also initiated a violent purge of the [[Mamluk]]s, consolidating his rule and permanently ending the Mamluk hold over Egypt.

Militarily, Ali [[Wahhabi War|recaptured the Arabian territories]] for the sultan, and [[Egyptian conquest of Sudan (1820–1824)|conquered Sudan]] of his own accord. His attempt at suppressing the [[Greek War of Independence|Greek rebellion]] failed decisively, however, following an intervention by the European powers at [[Battle of Navarino|Navarino]]. In 1831, Ali [[Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–1833)|waged war against the sultan]], capturing Syria, crossing into [[Anatolia]] and directly threatening [[Constantinople]], but the European powers forced him to retreat. [[Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841)|After a failed Ottoman invasion of Syria in 1839, he launched another invasion of the Ottoman Empire]] in 1840; he defeated the Ottomans again and opened the way towards a capture of Constantinople. Faced with another European intervention, he accepted a brokered peace in 1842 and withdrew from the Levant; in return, he and his descendants were granted hereditary rule over Egypt and Sudan. [[Muhammad Ali dynasty|His dynasty]] would rule Egypt for over a century, until the [[1952 Egyptian Revolution|revolution of 1952]] when King [[Farouk of Egypt|Farouk]] was overthrown by the [[Free Officers Movement (Egypt)|Free Officers Movement]] led by [[Mohamed Naguib]] and [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]], establishing the [[History of republican Egypt|Republic of Egypt]].

== Early life ==

Line 106:

[[File:Kavala, Greece Mohammed Ali House 76.jpg|thumb|left|Muhammad Ali's birthplace in [[Kavala]], now in northeastern Greece.]]

Muhammad Ali was born in the [[Sanjak of Kavala]] (modern-day [[Kavala]]), in the [[Rumelia Eyalet]], to an [[Albanians|Albanian]] family from [[Korçë County|Korça]] region.

Muhammad Ali was born in the [[Sanjak of Kavala]] (modern-day [[Kavala]]), in the [[Rumelia Eyalet]], to an [[Albanians|Albanian]] family from [[Korçë|Korça]]. He was the second son of a [[Bektashi Order|Bektashi]] [[Albanians|Albanian]] tobacco and shipping merchant named Ibrahim Agha, who also served as an Ottoman commander of a small unit in their hometown.<ref name="Aksan">{{cite book |last=Aksan |first=Virginia |author-link=Virginia H. Aksan |title=Ottoman Wars, 1700–1860: An Empire Besieged |publisher=Routledge |year=2013 |orig-year=2007 |pages=306–307 |isbn=978-0-582-30807-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UaesAgAAQBAJ |quote=Born in the late 1760s, at Kavala in Macedonia, Mehmed Ali was the son of an Albanian Ottoman soldier.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Kia |first1=Mehrdad |title=The Ottoman Empire: A Historical Encyclopedia [2 volumes] |date=2017 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-61069-389-9 |page=87 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UgUmDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA87 |language=en |quote=His father... was the commander of a small army unit that served the governor of Kavala}}</ref><ref name="Elsie2012">{{Cite book |title=A Biographical Dictionary of Albanian History |author=Robert Elsie |publisher=I.B. Tauris |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-78076-431-3 |page=303 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pgf6GWJxuZgC&pg=PA303}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kiel |first=Machiel |author-link=Machiel Kiel |title=Ottoman Architecture in Albania, 1385–1912 |volume=5 |series=Islamic art series |publisher=Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture |year=1990 |isbn=978-92-9063-330-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2xYzAAAAIAAJ |page=163 |quote=The father of the famous viceroy of Egypt, Muhammed Ali, was a citizen of Korçë.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Katsikas |first=Stefanos |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c30_EAAAQBAJ |title=Islam and Nationalism in Modern Greece, 1821–1940 |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=193 |isbn=978-0-19-065200-5 |language=en}}</ref> His mother was Zeynep, the daughter of Çorbaci Husain Agha, another Muslim Albanian [[Ottoman Ayan|notable]] in Kavala.<ref name="Stanton2012">{{cite book |last1=Stanton |first1=Andrea |title=Cultural Sociology of the Middle East, Asia, and Africa: An Encyclopedia |date=2012 |publisher=SAGE |isbn=978-1-4129-8176-7 |page=165 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GtCL2OYsH6wC&pg=PA165}}</ref> When his father died at a young age, Muhammad was taken and raised by his uncle Husain Agha with his cousins.<ref name="Stanton2012" /> As a reward for Muhammad Ali's hard work, his uncle gave him the rank of "[[Bolukbashi]]" for the collection of taxes in the town of Kavala.<ref name="Elsie2012" /> Muhammad Ali later [[cousin marriage|married his cousin]] [[Amina Hanim]], a wealthy widow. She was the daughter of Ali Agha and Kadriye (Zeynep's sister).

After Muhammad's promising success in collecting taxes, he earned the rank of Second Commander under his cousin Sarechesme Halil Agha in the Kavala Volunteer Contingent of [[Albanians|Albanian]] mercenaries that was sent to re-occupy Egypt following General Napoleon Bonaparte's withdrawal.<ref name="Elsie2012" /> In 1801, his unit was sent, as part of a much larger Ottoman force, to re-occupy [[Egypt Eyalet|Egypt]] following a brief [[Napoleonic Campaign in Egypt|French occupation]] that upended Mamluk dominance in Egypt. The expedition, aboard [[xebecs]], landed at [[Aboukir]] in the spring of 1801.<ref>Cleveland, William L, ''A History of the Modern Middle East'', (Boulder: Westview Press, 2009), 65–66</ref> One of his trusted army commanders was Miralay Mustafa Bey, who had married Muhammad's sister Zubayda and was the ancestor of the YakanYeghen family.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Mahmud Sami al-Barudi: Reconfiguring Society and the Self |author=Terri DeYoung |publisher=Syracuse University Press |year=2015 |isbn=978-0-8156-5315-8 |page=161}}</ref>

==Rise to power==

{{main|Muhammad Ali's seizure of power}}

The French withdrawal left a power vacuum in Egypt. [[Mamluk]] power had been weakened, but not destroyed, and Ottoman forces clashed with the Mamluks for power.<ref>Tom Little, ''Egypt'', (New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1958), 57.</ref> During this period of turmoil, Muhammad Ali used his loyal Albanian troops to work with both sides, gaining power and prestige for himself.<ref name="Little57">Little, 57.</ref> As the conflict drew on, the local populace grew weary of the power struggle. In 1801, he allied with the Egyptian leader [[Umar Makram]] and Egypt's [[Grand Imam of al-Azhar]]. During the infighting between the Ottomans and Mamluks between 1801 and 1805, Muhammad Ali carefully acted to gain the support of the general public.<ref>P.J. Vatikiotis, ''The History of Egypt'', (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1985), 51.</ref>

In 1805, a group of prominent Egyptians led by the [[ulama]] (scholars, savants) demanded the replacement of ''Wāli'' (governor) [[Ahmad Khurshid Pasha]] by Muhammad Ali, and the Ottomans yielded. In 1809, though, Ali exiled Makram to [[Damietta]]. According to [[Abd al-Rahman al-Jabarti]], Makram had discovered Muhammad Ali's intentions to seize power for himself.<ref name="Little57" />

Sultan [[Selim III]] could not oppose Muhammad Ali's ascension. By appearing as the champion of the people, Muhammad Ali was able to forestall popular opposition until he had consolidated his power.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}

[[File:Mamluks, Horace Vernet.jpg|thumb|Massacre of the Mamelukes at the Cairo citadel by [[Horace Vernet]].]]

Line 321 ⟶ 322:

* {{cite journal |jstor=10.13169/arabstudquar.36.1.0043 |doi=10.13169/arabstudquar.36.1.0043 |title=Egypt's Age of Transition: Unintentional Cosmopolitanism during the Reign of Muhammad 'Alī (1805–1848) |year=2014 |last1=Marwa El Ashmouni |last2=Katharine Bartsch |journal=Arab Studies Quarterly |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=43–74}}

* [[Khaled Fahmy|Fahmy, K.]]Fahmy, Khaled. ''All the Pasha's men: Mehmed Ali, his army and the making of modern Egypt'' (Cambridge University Press, 1997)

* Hoskins, G. A. (1835), ''[https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74151 Travels in Ethiopia]'', above the second cataract of the Nile: exhibiting the state of that country, and its various inhabitants, under the dominion of Mohammed Ali.

* Hoskins, Halford L. (1932). "Some Recent Works on Mohamed Ali and Modern Egypt". The Journal of Modern History. 4 (1): 93–103.

* {{cite book |first=Z. |last=Karabel |author-link=Zachary Karabell |title=Parting the desert: the creation of the Suez Canal |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |date=2003 |isbn=978-0-375-40883-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/partingdesertcre00kara}}

* Kelly, J. B. "Mehemet ‘Ali's expedition to the Persian Gulf 1837–1840, part I." ''Middle Eastern Studies'' (1965) 1#4 pp: 350–381.