Egypt in the beginning of the ninetieth century was going through a domestic turmoil due to the rule of the “Mamelukes,” who were foreign missionaries originally and became rulers of Egypt, whose state became very weak and divided from inside after centuries. The French military campaign by Napoleon Bonaparte on Egypt from 1798 to 1801 must have left it vulnerable as well, and the rise of the Egyptians against the French occupation must have revived the Egyptianness in the veins of the people, in addition to the international waves of the nation-state awareness inspired by the French Revolution, and so Egypt began a new journey toward the reviving of a nation-state. Mohammed Ali was not originally an Egyptian; he was born in Macedonia in 1769, the same year as Napoleon Bonaparte. His father was a military officer in the Turkish army, and he also became a soldier and was sent with the Turkish military forces to Egypt, which was encouraged by the British, to fight against the French Napoleonic army during their occupation of Egypt from 1798 to 1801, and he participated in the war of liberation against the French, and after liberation he stayed in Egypt, and was promoted after Egypt returned back to Turkish rule in 1801. By that time, Egypt was so divided between the Mamelukes and other forces, and in 1802 the Turkish Sultan appointed “Khesru Pasha” as governor of Egypt, but he was not able to deal with the chaos and almost civil war between the different fractions in Egypt, and soldiers revolted against him. He was replaced by another governor named “Khorshid Pasha,” who was threatened by Mohamed Ali’s power and intelligence and the love of the people and soldiers, so the Sultan appointed “Ali” as a governor of the city of “Jeddah”—now in Saudi Arabia—but Ali refused the order and returned back to Cairo, as he was at that time in Upper Egypt after the fleeing Mamelukes. The people of Egypt supported Ali, asking him to remove “Kurshid” and take his place as ruler of Egypt, and they sent a letter to the Sultan in Istanbul to revoke his decision to appoint “Kurshid” and replace it by appointing “Mohamed Ali.” The Sultan approved their request, although he was forced to do so. And in 1805, Mohamed Ali became officially the legitimate ruler of Egypt. This was one of the first times under the rule of the Ottoman Empire that the Egyptians chose their ruler, incited by the sense of nationhood, and that must have made Mohamed Ali the most powerful leader of Egypt and turned Egypt into an independent state, not merely an estate of the Ottoman Empire, as we shall see later.

The Evolution and the Position of the Global South and Rising Powers

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2025年

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Amr Mohieeldin

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Egypt in the beginning of the ninetieth century was going through a domestic turmoil due to the rule of the “Mamelukes,” who were foreign missionaries originally and became rulers of Egypt, whose state became very weak and divided from inside after centuries. The French military campaign by Napoleon Bonaparte on Egypt from 1798 to 1801 must have left it vulnerable as well, and the rise of the Egyptians against the French occupation must have revived the Egyptianness in the veins of the people, in addition to the international waves of the nation-state awareness inspired by the French Revolution, and so Egypt began a new journey toward the reviving of a nation-state. Mohammed Ali was not originally an Egyptian; he was born in Macedonia in 1769, the same year as Napoleon Bonaparte. His father was a military officer in the Turkish army, and he also became a soldier and was sent with the Turkish military forces to Egypt, which was encouraged by the British, to fight against the French Napoleonic army during their occupation of Egypt from 1798 to 1801, and he participated in the war of liberation against the French, and after liberation he stayed in Egypt, and was promoted after Egypt returned back to Turkish rule in 1801. By that time, Egypt was so divided between the Mamelukes and other forces, and in 1802 the Turkish Sultan appointed “Khesru Pasha” as governor of Egypt, but he was not able to deal with the chaos and almost civil war between the different fractions in Egypt, and soldiers revolted against him. He was replaced by another governor named “Khorshid Pasha,” who was threatened by Mohamed Ali’s power and intelligence and the love of the people and soldiers, so the Sultan appointed “Ali” as a governor of the city of “Jeddah”—now in Saudi Arabia—but Ali refused the order and returned back to Cairo, as he was at that time in Upper Egypt after the fleeing Mamelukes. The people of Egypt supported Ali, asking him to remove “Kurshid” and take his place as ruler of Egypt, and they sent a letter to the Sultan in Istanbul to revoke his decision to appoint “Kurshid” and replace it by appointing “Mohamed Ali.” The Sultan approved their request, although he was forced to do so. And in 1805, Mohamed Ali became officially the legitimate ruler of Egypt. This was one of the first times under the rule of the Ottoman Empire that the Egyptians chose their ruler, incited by the sense of nationhood, and that must have made Mohamed Ali the most powerful leader of Egypt and turned Egypt into an independent state, not merely an estate of the Ottoman Empire, as we shall see later.