Mehmed Ali’s victories rested on naked force of his modern army

Evidence

Nevertheless, and on a pure military level, the fact remains that the victories his armies managed to accomplish on the battle front were swift, stunning and highly successful. One can argue that this impressive accomplishment was made possible by the relatively feeble government in Istanbul that was caught unawares and was not quick or flexible enough to face this challenge coming from unexpected quarters. Above all, however, it was made possible by relying on naked force. It was the modern army that Mehmed Ali started to build in 1820–1 that enabled him to expand his sphere of influence to cover such wide areas of the Ottoman Empire. How Mehmed Ali was able to create that army and have it trained, paid and supplied in a manner that made these successive victories possible is the story of the following chapters. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 267