Egyptian conscripts were barred from promotion above captain’s rank

Evidence

As a rule Egyptians, referred to as evlad-ɩ Arab, were not allowed to be promoted beyond the rank of yüzabşi (captain) and very few of them were even promoted to that rank in the first place. As for the ranks of mülazim evvel and mülazim sani (lieutenant and second-lieutenant, respectively), half of them had to be “Turks” and the other half “Arabs.” Before signing the orders promoting men to these ranks, Ibrahim Pasha had to inquire if the nominees were from “those who can be promoted to these ranks, since it is against the rules to have more than four Arab lieutenants per battalion.” Nominations for promotions to upper ranks, on the other hand, usually stated the place of birth of the candidate, to make it clear that he was a “Turk.” Otherwise, it would be stated clearly that the candidate was a mamluk. These guidelines were strictly followed and Mehmed Ali insisted that his son not promote “Arabs” to senior ranks even if he was in short supply of “Turkish” officers. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1328

Categorization

• XREF: Concrete mechanism of ethnic stratification in the army — core to the reader’s interest in how the modern Egyptian army was born and how its command structure performed.