The Ottoman strategy for Syria rested on false intelligence about an imminent revolt

Evidence

The Sultan’s policy was therefore based on the principle of avoiding direct confrontation with Ibrahim Pasha’s army and of seeking instead to threaten Syria by land and sea so as to provoke an uprising among the inhabitants there. This policy was based on erroneous and misleading information sent by Hafiz Pasha, Commander-in-Chief of forces in Anatolia, who pointed to the imminence of an uprising against Mehmed Ali’s rule in Syria. The Sultan amassed a sizeable force composed of local Turkish and Kurdish tribesmen from southern Anatolia whose mere presence was hoped to spark such a revolt. In the event, the Syrians were too cowed by Ibrahim’s troops to revolt against Egyptian rule. After a brief period of hesitation and indecision, however, Mehmed Ali finally decided that he could not accept this blatant act from the Ottomans and was not deterred by European calls for restraint. He thus ordered his son to advance against Hafiz Pasha’s troops and to proceed to capture Orfa and Diyarbakɩr after routing the Ottoman army and not to wait for any further commands from him, since “the pot has overflown and there is no need any longer for the spoon.” — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 1387

Categorization

• QUESTION: Worth verifying the reliability of Hafiz Pasha’s intelligence claims and whether any Syrian disaffection genuinely existed beneath Ibrahim’s suppression.