Mehmed Ali’s revenue extraction and resource mobilization enabled his invasion of Syria

Evidence

The problem, however, was that although the Pasha might have thought that he was rejuvenating the Empire by showing the officials in Istanbul how to run it, by the late 1820s he had practically managed to create in Egypt another center of power. For while Cairo commanded a smaller proportion of the overall revenue of the Empire, it was being turned into a more efficient and vibrant centre which diverted more and more resources away from Istanbul. It was this ability of Mehmed Ali’s government to extract more revenue and to mobilize the resources of his province that enabled him to invade Syria. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1545