IOWC Winter Speaker Series - Dr. Veysel 艦im艧ek
The Ottoman-Egyptian War of 1831-33: An Assessment
Dr. Veysel 艦im艧ek
Institute of Islamic Studies
This talk will examine the first armed conflict between central Ottoman forces and armies of Mehmed Ali Pasha, the ambitious and skillful governor of Egypt. After establishing his unchallenged authority in the province, Mehmed Ali Pasha (d. 1848) gradually expanded his military and fiscal power in the early 19th century. His relations with Ottoman sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808-1839), whose concurrent European-inspired administrative-military reforms had been underway since 1826, deteriorated after the conclusion of the Greek Revolution. Subsequently, Ottoman central authority and Mehmed Ali Pasha fought two successive wars in 1831-33 and 1839-41. Both conflicts were rapidly 鈥渋nternationalized鈥� by the Great Powers鈥� direct and indirect involvement, and they decisively re-shaped the Middle East for the next century and beyond.
The diplomatic aspects of 鈥淔irst Ottoman-Egyptian War鈥� and Great Powers鈥� involvement have arguably been better studied by the historians of the 鈥淓astern Question鈥�. By using multi-lingual and multi-archival sources, this paper, however, will attempt to provide a detailed political and military account for the conflict. It will also offer a closer examination on the pivotal battles of Homs, Beylan, and Konya that ended disastrously for the Ottomans by studying indigenous historical material as well as the physical geography of the conflict zones.