Mehmed Ali had to bend military law to build a loyal elite

Evidence

Besides the time and financial constraints that he was under, restrictions placed on him by his having only a limited pool of experts to draw on, and the fact that he sometimes had to contravene the law to avert certain serious situations, the Pasha was also in desperate need to create an elite around himself and his family. This reciprocal dependence prompted him to bestow favors that were sometimes undeserved and occasionally to turn a blind eye to mistakes committed by members of his elite. In his attempt to strengthen his rule and found a dynasty Mehmed Ali had to play his cards delicately and avoid unnecessarily antagonizing some members of his entourage only so as to uphold the letter of the law. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 922

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the theme of dynastic founder patronage logic, and functionally to how nascent states build officer corps loyalties analogous to patronage dynamics seen in other ruler-building projects.