Syria’s forests were essential for building Mehmed Ali’s naval fleet.

Evidence

After sending his troops to Syria and after undertaking what could only be taken as a blatant act of rebellion against the authority of the Sultan, Mehmed Ali was still hoping to acquire Syria and to be pardoned by Mahmud at the same time. Documents abound showing how Mehmed Ali in 1832 still thought that he could get away with his act and that he could, in effect, both have his cake and eat it too. While besieging the fortress of Acre for eight months during which numerous letters were sent from Istanbul urging him to desist and warning him of the consequences if he did not, he was still pleading for forgiveness from the Sultan and asking to be given Syria without being declared a rebel. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 258 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

Related

• Egypt’s acute timber shortage drove Mehmed Ali to covet Syria’s forests. (similarity 0.93)
• Mehmed Ali hoped to gain Syria while remaining a pardoned Ottoman vassal (similarity 0.89)
• Mehmed Ali sought Syria and a Sultan’s pardon simultaneously (similarity 0.88)
• The Sultan’s denial of Syria turned Mehmed Ali toward outright defiance (similarity 0.87)
• The military build-up of the early 1820s was long preparation for invading Syria. (similarity 0.86)
• Mehmed Ali conducted rebellion while still begging the Sultan’s pardon (similarity 0.85)
• Mehmed Ali repeatedly petitioned for the eyalet of Damascus between 1812 and 1815. (similarity 0.85)
• Mehmed Ali’s ambivalence toward the Sultan stemmed from his imperial ambitions (similarity 0.82)
• Mehmed Ali’s Syrian campaign ran from 1831 to 1840. (similarity 0.80)
• Mehmed Ali borrowed from the Ottomans as much as from the French (similarity 0.79)
• Syria was Mehmed Ali’s primary conquest target from his career’s start (similarity 0.78)

Broader Connections

• Mehmed Ali hoped to gain Syria while remaining a pardoned Ottoman vassal #expands (0.50)
• Mehmed Ali sought Syria and a Sultan’s pardon simultaneously #expands (0.50) — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 258