Muhammad Ali as Ruler of Egypt - Essay Example

? Day Month Year Muhammad Ali Pasha Introduction Egypt lies at the heart of Northern Africa and has been a powerful force in the region for centuries. Numerous rulers have come and gone through the generations, but few rulers have enjoyed the long reign and grip on power that Mohammed Ali and his family held for nearly 150 years. During this time, many wars were fought, struggles lost, and domestic reforms implemented. Through it all, Egypt has remained largely a poor and densely populated country, with a strong central government that allows for little input from the people. Leaders, such as Muhammad Ali Pasha, ruled as they saw fit, with minimal interference, for centuries. Many of the policies enacted were of benefit to the common person, while others were not. This paper will take a broad look at Egypt, before and after Mohammed Ali Pasha, and attempt to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of his reign throughout the region. Egypt before Muhammad Ali Egypt is rich with over 5,000 years of history. In retrospect, the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha is a small blip in time, as Egypt has seen many rulers come and go through the years. Beginning in the 1500’s, the Ottoman Empire stretched into Egypt. Prior to this, Cairo was the center of Egyptian civilization and the country was quite a powerful independent state. It yielded a great deal of influence in the region. This all changed, however, with the conquering of the city by the Ottoman army (Moshe 337). Prior to Muhammad Ali Pasha, Istanbul was, in essence, calling all of the shots for Egypt. Because of this, Arabic was not even the dominant language of the era. While the Ottoman Empire allowed Egypt to function as a sort of autonomous state with the Empire, the reality was that Egypt was not in firm control of its own destiny. This reality continued, largely unchecked, until the arrival of Ali Pasha in the early 19th century. It was during that time that Muhammad Ali Pasha immediately began to turn the army into a force that could keep the Ottoman Empire from dictating Egyptian affairs, while reinstituting many parts of Egyptian culture that had been lost. He actually became fixated on attempting to take over the entire Ottoman Empire himself. At this time, Ali Pasha began to shift the language back to Arabic from Turkish, and he began to institute a number of military and administrative reforms designed to create a technological Egypt moving forward (Colvin 258). Muhammad Ali as Ruler of Egypt As described, Egypt has a fascinating history. Perhaps, however, modern day Egypt can be said to have started with the rule of Mohammed Ali Pasha. Even though he was of Albanian descent, he came to rule Egypt from 1805-1848. In fact, even after his reign, the family maintained a tight grip on the country until the Egyptian Revolution in 1952. This period of time in Egypt’s history was quite groundbreaking. Thanks to Ali Pasha, there were a great many reforms made to the military and economic structure of Egypt. In addition, his control over the country saw many cultural advances to take place as Egypt began to become a major player throughout the region, and, indeed, the world (Moshe 338). Prior to becoming the ruler of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha was a soldier. Apparently, however, he was not just an average soldier, but was so good that he got noticed throughout Turkey and began to rise through the ranks. Upon settling in Egypt, he increased the technology used by the army in the country, and used that labor to also create new schools and to improve the infrastructure throughout the country. His most notable contribution in this area was to implement a network of irrigation projects that had previously been neglected (Moshe 339). He did all of this with minimal interference from the current Sultan. In fact, he rarely even consulted with the Sultan; rather he was so respected among the people that he set out on his own to accomplish these great feats. Upon reflection, it can be said that Muhammad Ali Pasha was a visionary leader. He wanted to take the country of Egypt and move it forward in history to a place that was much better than its current state. He did this by receiving mountains of advice from close advisors, all in an effort to expand Egypt’s reach and power throughout the region, in addition to implementing new agricultural technologies that would benefit not only Egypt, but surrounding countries as well. All of these great feats did not happen overnight. In fact, as he came to power in 1805, he spent the first few years squashing different rebellions that sought to unseat him as the leader. This did not leave him with much time to focus on his dreams for the country. During this time, however, the various rebellions ended up strengthening not only his grip on power, but also his resolve to move Egypt further towards regional dominance. Once his leadership was firmly established, very little stood in his way as he set out to implement various domestic policies, and began to lay siege to other countries within the region of Northern Africa. A timeline of major events can be recreated by closely examining the history of Egypt during this time period. As Colvin states, from 1803 to 1811 he established his personal power and destroyed all potential opposition within the country (249). In essence, this process was deemed complete with the massacre of all former rulers and the Mamluks. This took place in the Cairo Citadel and really served to solidify the power base of Ali Pasha and silence once and for all any remaining critics or obstacles to his supreme authority (Colvin 250). Over the course of the next 15 years, from 1812 to 1827, Muhammad Ali Pasha worked diligently to ramp up his army and navy. He did that by massively increasing the size of the ground forces currently in Egypt, while at the same time building up a navy unlike any the region had ever seen. It was obvious by this time that Ali Pasha had his eyes on a strong and continuous reign of power over all of Egypt (Grant 955). It was during this time frame, from 1811 to 1818, that Egypt swept through the region and completely suppressed the Wahhabis presence throughout the Arabian Peninsula. In addition, under the direction of Ali Pasha, Egypt took back control of Mecca and Medina. This was done for the Ottoman Sultan, and it earned Ali Pasha great praise. So, by 1818, a mere 13 years into the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha, Egypt was well on its way back to regional dominance (Colvin 250). The capture of Mecca was a particularly notable event in Egypt’s history and will be discussed further in a moment. Another interesting piece of military history during this time took place from 1820 to 1822. This is when Ali Pasha directed his armed forces to conquer many of the regions along the Nile, which included the area of land that is Sudan today. He continued this path of destruction by suppressing the Greek Revolt and capturing the city of Athens. Perhaps he was trying his luck a bit too much, however, as soon after his fleet was “destroyed at the battle Navarino by a joint British, French and Russian fleet” (Colvin 251). It was in 1831 that he overtook Syria and claimed it for himself. This was another major feat that will be discussed briefly elsewhere in this essay. During this time, the Ottoman Army was still a force to be reckoned with. Muhammad Ali Pasha would not be deterred, however, and in 1832 the Egyptian army defeated the Ottoman army that was based at Konya. They kept going and eventually made it as far as Konya. Ali Pasha apparently had his sights set on Istanbul, but he was stopped short of there only by the Russian troops (Makdisi 772). In 1838, the Egyptian forces defeated the Ottomans once more in Nezib. It was the victory that resulted in many members of the Ottoman changing allegiances and joining the Egyptian side. Gradually, during this time, a combination of Western forces began to grow weary about the rapid expansion of Egyptian territory and influence in the region. In 1841, they forced Egypt to give up Syria after ten years of rule (Colvin 250). Domestic Policies of Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali Pasha was not only focused on military expansion. He took great pride in Egypt and saw many areas that needed improvement. During the time period of 1805-1848, Muhammad Ali Pasha began a period of domestic reform. His reform efforts were not slow in the making. He implemented various domestic policies at a rapid pace, the likes of which had rarely been seen in the modern world. Muhammad Ali Pasha needed the support of the people in order to grow the military to the point that he did. In order to accomplish, he began by essentially restructuring much of Egyptian society. In 1820, one of his great visions was accomplished: The establishment of the Nizam-I Jefid army. This was a new model for the army. In order to accomplish this, Ali Pasha relied on a great deal of foreign experts to enter into the country and begin to teach the military forces how to change their tactics. These experts were, at first, largely from Italy, but a French military mission also arrived in 1824. This was good timing for Ali Pasha as he found a ready pool of labor in the French instructors. With the loss of the Napoleonic wars, many personnel in the French military found themselves unemployed, so Ali Pasha jumped at the prospect of having them come to Egypt for a season or two (Stanley 110). To support all of this military expansion and provide for the rising number of families entering into the region, Ali Pasha ordered a series of schools to be built in the 1820s that would educate all members of the army and navy. This would enable him to attract even more intellectuals from abroad to come to Egypt, thereby furthering his efforts at massive domestic reform. He did not stop at that, however, as he opened many branches of those school to specialize in the arts and the sciences. This became of great benefit not only to the military, but to civilians as well as they began to see a revitalization of culture and a return to educational prominence (Colvin 252). One great reform in the area of education came in form of establishing a prestigious medical school for its time. This particular school was constructed and opened in 1826. This began a succession of schools that focused on the areas of veterinary science, agriculture, pharmaceutics, mineralogy, engineering, and a host of other subjects. This rapid expansion of the educational system continued throughout the decade. After this, Ali Pasha ordered the reformation of entire primary and secondary school system in Egypt (Colvin 252). This was a time of great enlightenment in Egypt as Ali Pasha ushered in modern innovation and technological advances into Egyptian society. It is largely as a result of these advances that many do claim Muhammad Ali Pasha to be the founder of modern day Egypt and the chief architect of many of its economic advances to this day. Muhammad Ali Pasha also felt that the country of Egypt could benefit from knowledge contained elsewhere in the world. With this in mind, he frequently sent his top advisors abroad to study. Their task was to learn specific skills that could prove useful to further domestic reform efforts within Egypt. Many of these educational ‘missions’ were stretched to Paris. In so doing, the stated goal was for his advisers to “become experts in the French language and to acquire Western techniques and learning, so that on their return they could translate important texts into Turkish and Arabic and take part in teaching in the new schools, translating what the foreign experts were teaching” (Colvin 251). This was a masterful idea implemented by Ali Pasha because it would serve to preserve the knowledge being taught today for future generations of Egyptians to benefit from. Prior to these educational reforms, Egypt really only had a ruling class, and very few others were able to attain too much prominence in society. This gradually began to change, however, once people were freer to gain a well-rounded education. In essence, a new class of elites was formed. For example, Azhari Shaikh was an imam who went on one of the first education missions. He ended up becoming on the great translators in history and encouraged the preservation of ancient texts, as well as new teachings taking place in Egypt. He became a central figure in the resurgence of the Arabic language and contributed a lot to the development of new literature in the region. Writing and reading became two disciplines that Egyptians became proud of and attempted to perfect. It was this focus on educational reform that returned the country to prominence throughout North Africa (Hunter 147). The Taking Over of Mecca As mentioned in the previous section, one of Ali Pasha’s goals during his grip on regional power was to retake control of Mecca from the Ottoman Empire. This occurred in 1813 and is commonly known at the Battle of Mecca. Led largely by forces under the control of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Ottoman Army, under control of Diriyah, eventually surrendered after several days of fighting. That was a significant event in the history of the Middle East, and particularly for the Islam religion as a whole (Moshe 338). Mecca is vitally important to all Muslims, as it is the center of the Islamic faith. It is here that the Great Mosque is located and Muslims worldwide come to worship every year. When under Ottoman control, this legacy was in jeopardy and it was important that the area be recaptured. It is also important to note that Muhammad Ali Pasha also helped to recapture the holy city of Medina, which is where the Prophet Muhammad died in 632. Overall, this was a great military victory for Ali Pasha as it served to further the goodwill among the citizenry in Egypt and throughout the Middle East. Campaigns on Greater Syria and Anatolia While largely free of Ottoman control, Egypt still assisted the Empire militarily from time to time in order to maintain important alliances. When the combined forces were defeated in Greece (discussed in the next section), Muhammad Ali Pasha lost out on valuable economic and military aid that had been promised for the assistance he provide to Turkey and the Ottoman Empire as a whole. It made him more than a bit upset and, it appears, Syria bore the brunt of that anger. The invasion of Syria and Anatolia really began in 1832 with the army and navy beginning by quickly capturing Jerusalem, and portions of Palestine and Lebanon. Ali Pasha had his sights on squashing the Ottoman army at Syria in retaliation for the denial of that important aid previously mentioned. The Ottoman army was gradually weakened until the Egyptian military was able to officially occupy Damascus on June 14, 1832. This continued until battles raged throughout Syria and Anatolia, resulting mostly in huge victories for the Egyptian forces wherever they went (Grant 955). The result of the occupation of Syria was immediately felt as the Ottoman military entered into a new alliance with Russia. It was a bit too late, however, as Egypt was firmly in control of all of Syria and much of Arabia. Other countries in the region, and stretching into Europe, felt that the Egyptian dominance over the region was expanding way too rapidly, and that the Ottoman Empire was weakening much too quickly. The result, many feared, was that Russia would eventually capitalize on this and begin their own military maneuvers in the region. Several more wars did ensue, but Egypt maintained its control over the region for more than a decade, before largely Western forces forced them to give up the territory eventually (Makdisi 772). The London Treaty In an effort to get the Ottoman Empire to stop its military tactics that they had been employing for the last decades, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia signed the Treaty of London in July 1827. This treaty was designed to get the country of Greece and the Ottoman Empire to stop their fighting. This particular fight had been going on since 1821 and showed no signs of ceasing. Basically, the countries involved in the treaty ultimately decided to side with the Greeks and support them in their efforts to squash the Ottoman rule and return to an independent state. The treaty held that “while the Ottoman Empire should recognize the independence of Greece, the Sultan would be the supreme ruler of Greece” (Mansel 26). The treaty ended up being a moot point, however, as the Ottoman Empire refused to agree to it. They felt that they had a superior navy and would eventually prevail in their fight against the Greek revolt. Since they refused to sign on, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia combined their forces and attacked the Ottoman Navy. This attack occurred at Navarino on October 20, 1827. The result of this battle was the destruction of the Ottoman and Egyptian fleet in the region, and this effectively returned independent rule back to the country of Greece. Naturally, the Egyptian military was impacted during this treaty as Ali Pasha directed his forces to fight with the Ottoman Army. This was a setback for Ali Pasha, but one that he recovered from quite quickly and easily (Mansel 28). Conclusion The entire Ottoman Empire is quite fascinating to study. This one empire stretched vast areas of land during a time when it was not easy to get from place to place. In addition, many regions that the Empire controlled were not easily accessible by sea, requiring a massive military effort to retain control of certain areas. But, keep control they did. For hundreds of years, their power continually increased. What is, perhaps, even more interesting, that’s the fact that Muhammad Ali Pasha was able to put such a dent in this massive empire in such a relatively short period of time, and that he could grow Egypt it a powerful, independent state once again. Even in the midst of serious changes today, Egypt remains a dominant player in Middle Eastern culture and politics. In the previous pages, we have seen Egypt move from being a part of the Ottoman Empire, to becoming an independent state, followed by the expansion of their own territory and the increase of their educational and technological systems. Some would argue that not all of this is owed solely to Muhammad Ali Pasha. Rather one agrees with that or not, it must be noted that the feats undertaken in Egypt during the first 50 years of the 19th century are something to behold. Modern day Egypt owes much to this time period, even if some of the progress made has been lost with the even more repressive regime that has followed Ali Pasha and his family rule of nearly 150 years. Egypt continues to write its own history and the next 100 years will likely prove to be just as fascinating. Works Cited Colvin, Peter. “Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Great Exhibition of 1851, and the School of Oriental and African Studies Library.” Libraries and Culture, 33.3 (1998): 249-259. Print. Ener, Mine. “All the Pasha’s Men: Mehmed Ali, His Army, and the Making of Modern Egypt.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, 121.1 (2001): 102-104. Print. Grant, Jonathan. “The Pasha: How Mehemet Ali Defied the West.” The Journal of Military History, 72.3 (2008): 955. Print. Hunter, Robert. “State-Society Relations in Nineteenth-Century Egypt: The Years of Transition. Middle Eastern Studies, 36.3 (2000): 145-159. Print. Makdisi, Ussama. “Ottoman Orientalism.” The American Historical Review, 107.3 (2002): 768-796. Print. Mansel, Philip. “The Man Who Remade Alexandria.” History Today, 60.12 (2010): 26-31. Print. Moshe, Gammer. “The Imam and the Pasha: A Note on Shamil and Muhammad Ali.” Middle Eastern Studies, 32.4 (1996): 336-342. Print. Stanley, Jean-Daniel. “The Near-Destruction of Giza.” American Scientist, 93.2 (2005): 110. Print. Read More