Muhammad Ali: Egyptian Hero or Ottoman Adventurer?

Well before the Ottoman Empire was dubbed "the Sick Man of Europe," it had fallen from the pinnacle of glory it had achieved in the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.  In the eighteenth century the emerging western states of Austria and Russia rolled back its European borders, and the central government of the sultans lost its ability to control provincial governors and military leaders.  One such rogue leader was Muhammad Ali, about whom you read in Chapter 26.  Nominally the governor of the Ottoman province of Egypt, the brilliant, energetic Muhammad Ali effectively made himself an independent ruler.  Despite resistance from the Ottoman government and its European allies, Muhammad Ali and his successors worked to modernize Egypt and turn it into a state that could compete with the great European powers.  Ultimately they failed, and Egypt was absorbed into the British Empire.  Still, many historians see them as the founders of modern Egypt and Egyptian nationalism.  Use the links below to learn more about Muhammad Ali, his successors, and their legacy.

1. As you know, when Muhammad Ali came to Egypt he confronted the army of Napoleon Bonaparte.  To learn more about the period of French occupation, go to Napoleon in Egypt.
2. You already know something about Muhammad Ali's reform.  To learn more read Islam in Egypt: Muhammad Ali and Muhammad Ali and the Modernization of Egypt.
3. Muhammad Ali and his successors wished to rule from a grand capital.  Consequently, they set about modernizing and beautifying the city of Cairo.  For an overview of these urban projects go to Muhammad Ali's Cairo.  Then take a look at the Alabaster Mosque, one of the most magnificent buildings of the era of Muhammad Ali's dynasty.
4. Muhammad Ali was succeeded by his son and grandson.  To learn more about these Pashas and their achievements read Said Pasha and Ismail Pasha.
5. Said and Ismail presided over one of the most important projects in the history of Western imperialism, the construction of the Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean and Red seas.  For a nineteenth-century account of the project read The Story of the Suez Canal.  For more information go to Suez Canal, and this site devoted to Ferdinand de Lesseps, the designer of the canal.
6. Ismail Pasha was an impatient modernizer who, in order to realize his goals, drove Egypt deep into debt to European investors.  When Egypt faced bankruptcy, France and Britain intervened and took financial control of the state.  Later, nationalist violence over this control prompted Britain to occupy Egypt, which remained part of the British Empire until after World War II.  For one perspective on the occupation of Egypt, read Why Britain Acquired Egypt in 1882, by the Earl of Cromer, Egypt's first British governor.