Conscript soldiers resisted the Pasha’s project and undermined his army’s power

Evidence

The problem with this argument insofar as it pertains to the army, besides the obvious one of lumping together the entire rural population of Egypt under the general rubric of “fellahin,” is that the population of Egypt, far from enthusiastically flocking to serve in the army, was in fact very resentful of military service and strongly resisted serving in the army. … Recognizing that the scale of this resistance was alarming, that it was not localized but was widespread throughout Egypt, and that the rural population went out of their way to make this resistance obvious, it is still commonplace to argue that this was only a temporary reaction caused above all by “the fellah’s strong attachment to his land and the unfamiliarity of military life to him.” — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 92 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Rulers used foreign mercenaries to suppress rebellious subjects; The army’s story centers on conscripted men, not the commanding Pasha; Failed Albanian training and slave losses forced reliance on conscripted fellahin. (+14 more)

Related

• Albanian resistance and Sudan failures forced Mehmed Ali to conscript Egyptians (similarity 0.93)
• Egyptian conscripts served Mehmed Ali’s army entirely against their will (similarity 0.92)
• Fellahin resistance to Mehmed Ali’s conscription was pervasive. (similarity 0.91)
• Egyptian conscripts resisted the Pasha’s army through desertion and self-mutilation (similarity 0.91)
• Egyptian peasants strongly resisted conscription into Mehmed Ali’s army. (similarity 0.90)
• Egyptian peasants strongly resisted conscription into the modern army (similarity 0.89)
• Over 30,000 Egyptians rebelled against Mehmed Ali’s conscription in 1824 (similarity 0.89)
• Egyptian peasants maimed themselves to escape conscription into Mehmed Ali’s army (similarity 0.88)
• Mehmed Ali’s conscripted soldiers resisted his modernizing project (similarity 0.87)
• Hospitalized Egyptian soldiers violently resisted medical authority. (similarity 0.86)
• Egyptian peasants overwhelmingly resisted conscription despite ideological appeals, via open rebellion (similarity 0.85)
• Albanian resistance and Sudanese failures forced conscription on Mehmed Ali (similarity 0.85)
• Egyptian peasants universally hated conscription into Mehmed Ali’s army (similarity 0.85)
• Conscription arose only after Albanian insubordination and failed Sudanese recruitment (similarity 0.85)
• Egyptian peasants blinded and mutilated themselves to evade conscription. (similarity 0.85)

Broader Connections

• Egyptian peasants strongly resisted conscription into Mehmed Ali’s army. #corroborates (0.85) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 92
• Egyptian peasants strongly resisted conscription into the modern army #corroborates (0.75)
• Albanian resistance and Sudan failures forced Mehmed Ali to conscript Egyptians #expands (0.60)
• Albanian troops resisted discipline because they regarded Mehmed Ali as first among equals #expands (0.55)