Old Albanian and mamluk troops were accused of sabotaging the reform

Evidence

A short while later the new nizami troops had another chance to prove themselves to the Pasha. On 22 March 1824 a big explosion took place in a powder magazine inside the Citadel in which more than 4,000 people were killed. There were rumors that the explosion was caused by some of the old troops of Albanians and mamluks who were not pleased at the Pasha’s introduction of the nizami troops. This posed a grave danger to the Pasha whose position was being compared to that of Sultan Selim when he attempted to get rid of the Janissaries seventeen years before. A single battalion of the new troops, however, rushed to the scene, isolated the powder magazine, and quickly brought the situation under control. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 459

Categorization

• XREF: The parallel drawn between Ali and Sultan Selim III facing his Janissaries ties directly to the reform-vs-old-corps theme of Fahmy’s train-your-own-troops account.