The Sultan ordered two Egyptian campaigns which Mehmed Ali joined reluctantly

Evidence

But to argue that these considerations were decisive in shaping Mehmed Ali’s policy of expansion is to ignore the fact that two of these campaigns were ordered by his Sultan, and that Mehmed Ali agreed to comply with these orders only reluctantly and after considerable hesitation. Moreover, that some economic benefits could be reaped from annexing a certain province does not mean that military occupation was cost-free, and neither Marsot nor Lawson show anything resembling a calculated economic assessment done by Mehmed Ali or Ibrahim weighing the costs and the benefits of military annexation. In fact, when something resembling this assessment was carried out it was to show that the costs of maintaining the army in the annexed provinces far outweighed the revenue accruing from them. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 200

Categorization

Category: Factual Claims

• XREF: Directly relevant to the reader’s interest in the Ottoman-Egyptian relationship and the Ottoman Pashas’ role in commanding campaigns.

Related

• Economic assessments showed Egypt’s annexed provinces cost more than they returned (similarity 0.87)
• Two of Mehmed Ali’s campaigns were reluctant responses to Sultanic orders (similarity 0.87)
• Economic gain was not the driving motive behind Mehmed Ali’s expansion (similarity 0.80)
• Mehmed Ali initially expected to fight Persia for the Sultan, not the Morea. (similarity 0.79)