Army journals reveal daily soldier behavior behind official edicts

Evidence

In contrast to the very monolithic picture of power that comes across from reading these sources, the Archives, fortunately, also contains very valuable information in the form of the “journals” (yevmiyyet, lit. daily accounts) from the military camps and war fronts that include such documents as roll calls, inventory lists, courts martial, pay rolls and descriptions of marches and of battles. By relying on this diverse array of official documents it is possible to present an integral view of the army which not only avoids the usual concentration on the person of Mehmed Ali that often characterizes the historiography of Egypt during his reign, but also allows one to have a closer look at the every-day performance of that army and the manner in which the soldiers reacted to their officers’ commands and orders. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 27

Categorization

• XREF: Mirrors James Scott’s ‘seeing like a state’ versus reading against the grain of archives, and relates to reader’s interest in army daily performance. — connects to: Military history can be written from the vantage of the common soldier. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 410; Blueprint manuals conceal the messy reality of the army’s daily workings — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 948; Army history written from enlisted soldiers’ view differs sharply from officers’ version — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1695 (+7 more)
• QUESTION: Does the yevmiyyet genre also exist for other Ottoman provincial armies of this era, allowing comparative daily-performance study?
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Military history can be written from the vantage of the common soldier. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 410; Blueprint manuals conceal the messy reality of the army’s daily workings — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 948; Army history written from enlisted soldiers’ view differs sharply from officers’ version — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1695 (+7 more)

Broader Connections

• Military camp journals from the Egyptian Archives reveal soldiers’ reactions to orders #expands (0.93) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 20