No written record survives of how illiterate Egyptian conscripts conceived of the army

Evidence

This obviously is a difficult question since, as has been said in the previous chapter, the overwhelming majority of these soldiers were illiterate and have not left us written records of how they might have conceived of the army and of their role in it. Nevertheless, this is an important question and one that needs to be raised if the nature of that army, and indeed of the Pasha’s regime in general, is ever to be assessed. This chapter is mostly concerned with this question, namely, the alleged national character of the army. It attempts to address it by closely studying the ideas and sentiments of Ibrahim Pasha as the Commander-in-Chief whose views regarding the army, the nature of the wars it waged, and the character of its adversaries are said to have differed from those of his father. In addition to alluding to Ibrahim’s character and his sentiments, this chapter deals with the officer corps that Ibrahim headed which we have seen to have been formed of a motley group of disparate factions. Finally, the chapter tries to come as close as possible to the thoughts and feelings of the soldiers regarding the army and serving in it. Although it casts doubt on the traditional view that saw the army as giving the opportunity for the men to “discover” their true identity as Egyptians and to be able to “call Egypt their own,” the chapter tries to see if it is possible to argue that, nevertheless, whilst lacking strong nationalistic feelings, joining the colors was still a “colorful” experience, as it were, that allowed the soldiers to take pride in their uniform, for example, or that gave them the opportunity to foster links with each other that marked them off from the rest of the population and which in due time would have made them proud of belonging to an institution that cared for and looked after them. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1314

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• QUESTION: Because conscripts left no written accounts, historians must infer soldier mentality from Ibrahim Pasha, officers, and indirect evidence — a notable methodological constraint on the reader’s question.

Related

• The conscript army did not aim at Egyptian national independence. (similarity 0.88)
• The army’s story centers on conscripted men, not the commanding Pasha (similarity 0.83)
• Illiterate conscripted soldiers left no written accounts of their own experiences. (similarity 0.83)
• Because conscript fellahin soldiers were illiterate, only officers’ accounts of battles survive (similarity 0.82)
• Conscripted Egyptian soldiers saw the army as hated brutal coercion (similarity 0.81)
• Bearing arms may not have produced Egyptian national consciousness (similarity 0.81)
• The conscript army founded Egyptian nationalism through surveillance and control, not enlightenment. (similarity 0.80)
• The Egyptian army coerced conscripts for the Pasha’s dynastic wars (similarity 0.80)
• The officer corps served the Pasha’s dynasty rather than any Egyptian nation (similarity 0.80)
• Egyptian conscripts saw their own officers as the enemy rather than the Ottomans (similarity 0.80)
• Egyptian peasant conscripts hated the army so much they deserted and maimed themselves. (similarity 0.79)
• Nationalists claim conscripts discovered an Egyptian identity through warfare (similarity 0.79)
• Egyptian national identity was forged by army discipline, not pre-existing sentiment. (similarity 0.79)
• Fellahin soldiers may have seen the army as a national force (similarity 0.79)
• Egyptian conscripts remained emotionally autonomous despite drill (similarity 0.79)