Buhhaira province was exempted from conscription to grow army rice.
Evidence
There are various letters from the Pasha that show that this was a prime concern of his; see, for example, his letter of 23 June 1823 in which he was referring to the initial conscription order on Lower Egypt when it was decided that Buhhaira province be exempted from conscription to allow it to grow the rice needed for the army, S/1/47/ 131 on 6 Za 1240/23 June 1823. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 558
Categorization
Category: Factual Claims
- XREF: Part of the reader’s interest in the scope and logic of the army’s growth: conscription was deliberately balanced against the agricultural needs that supplied the army itself.