Mehmed Ali created a provincial power center rivaling Istanbul itself

Evidence

In short, Mehmed Ali’s position vis-à-vis the Ottoman Sultan, on the one hand, and the fellah subjects, on the other, is very similar to that of a feudal lord. Above him loomed the authority of the Sultan, an authority that resembled that of a feudal overlord above that of his vassals and an authority that Mehmed Ali could, and did, challenge. Similarly, the Pasha viewed Egypt as his own personal fief. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1550 (#expands, via linked claim)

The question of whether the wars that the governor of Egypt waged during the first third of the nineteenth century were dynastic wars of imperialistic expansion or national wars of independence is central to understanding the whole of Mehmed Ali’s career and, indeed, of the history of Egypt during his reign. If, as Toledano argues, Egypt was very much an Ottoman province, ruled by an Ottoman–Egyptian elite, then Marsot’s claim that, unlike contemporary Ottoman notables “who had merely sought quasi-independence for their provinces but were content to remain within the empire, Muhammad Ali sought independence,” has to be qualified. For even if it is granted that Mehmed Ali was seeking to get rid of the “Ottoman yoke” right from the beginning of his career, the question remains as to the nature of this independence. Could it be viewed as similar to the independence sought by the Greeks during their War of Independence when large sections of the population rose against their Ottoman rulers? Or is it more plausible to link Mehmed Ali’s wars, as Shaw does, with a series of internal wars within the Ottoman Empire that were waged by local governors against central government control? If so, Mehmed Ali would appear, like Ali Pasha of Janina, Davud Pasha of Baghdad, or Amir Bashir of Lebanon as a local governor of an Ottoman province who seized the opportunity of the difficulties that the Ottoman Sultan was facing both internally and externally to try and expand his own local dominions. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 199 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Mehmed Ali’s Egyptian administration was interventionist and unprecedented in the Ottoman Empire.; Ali founded his conscript army in 1820-1 to secure his rule against Istanbul; Historians portray Mehmed Ali’s reforms as a master-planned modernization with independence aims (+7 more)

Related

• Mehmed Ali governed Egypt as a personal fief under a feudal overlord relationship (similarity 0.87)
• Mehmed Ali and his officials thought of themselves as Ottomans, not Egyptians. (similarity 0.87)
• Mehmed Ali’s wars may be internal Ottoman power struggles rather than nationalist bids (similarity 0.87)
• Mehmed Ali’s rule over Egypt resembled feudal lordship between Sultan and subjects. (similarity 0.86)
• Mehmed Ali’s wars against the Sultan were dynastic, not national (similarity 0.86)
• Historians portray Mehmed Ali’s reforms as a master-planned modernization with independence aims (similarity 0.86)
• Mehmed Ali’s quest for independence was a dynastic struggle, not nationalist. (similarity 0.86)
• Mehmed Ali’s army was a personal, dynastic force rather than a national one. (similarity 0.85)
• Egyptian historians narrate Mehmed Ali’s career as a teleological quest for independence (similarity 0.85)
• Ali founded his conscript army in 1820-1 to secure his rule against Istanbul (similarity 0.84)
• Mehmed Ali operated as a feudal lord toward both Sultan and fellahin (similarity 0.84)
• Muhammad Ali sought independent empire, exceeding prior Ottoman governors’ ambitions. (similarity 0.83)
• Muhammad Ali sought Egyptian independence from the Ottomans rather than mere provincial expansion (similarity 0.83)
• Mehmed Ali’s wars were dynastic struggles within the Ottoman Empire, not nationalist campaigns (similarity 0.83)
• Ali’s governorship of Egypt rested on his own power, not the Sultan’s consent (similarity 0.83)

Broader Connections

• Mehmed Ali’s wars may be internal Ottoman power struggles rather than nationalist bids #corroborates (0.70) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 199
• Mehmed Ali governed Egypt as a personal fief under a feudal overlord relationship #expands (0.70) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1550
• Ottoman sultans distrusted Mehmed Ali from his earliest years in power #corroborates (0.60)
• Mehmed Ali engineered a senior officer corps deliberately loyal to himself #expands (0.60)
• Mehmed Ali’s ambivalence toward the Sultan stemmed from his imperial ambitions #corroborates (0.60)
• Balta Liman and the 1841 firman curtailed Mehmed Ali’s power #complicates (0.60)
• Mehmed Ali achieved his goal of hereditary rule #corroborates (0.40) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 127