Trabluslu Ali Pasha
Trabluslu Ali Pasha (dt. Ali Pascha of the Tripolitans ), also Cezayirli Ali Pascha (dt. Ali Pascha of the Algerians ) or Seydi Ali Pascha , (* 18th century in Tripoli ; † February 1804 ) was an Ottoman governor. From 1803/04 he was governor of Eyâlet Egypt .
Life
Origin, youth, conquest of Tripoli
Ali Pascha was born in Georgia and abducted to Istanbul with his brother as part of the boy harvest . Contemporary reports described him as "fair-skinned" with a "huge blond beard". He spoke Turkish as his mother tongue and very little Arabic. Ali Pasha was a slave owned by the governor of Ottoman Algeria ( Cezayir in Turkish ), Mehmed Pasha, but eventually rose to a post in the provincial government.
After getting a ship, Ali Pasha sailed to his hometown Tripoli and briefly wrested control of the province of Tripolitania from the long ruling Qaramanli dynasty for the Ottoman Empire . The province's residents reportedly helped him take control of Tripolitania when they realized he was the legitimate Ottoman governor. However, the men of Ali Pasha sacked Tripoli and angered the population, who eventually reinstated the Qaramanlıs as rulers and ousted Ali Pasha.
Stay in Egypt
Ali Pasha went to Egypt. There he became close friends with the Mamluken emir Murad Bey, who for decades held de facto power over Egypt. Ali Pasha then went on a pilgrimage to Mecca. There it was allegedly discovered that he had sexual intercourse with a boy he abducted from Tripoli, whereupon pilgrims attacked him, cut off his beard and almost killed him.
After the Hajj, Ali Pasha returned to Egypt and stayed as Murad Bey's guest for several years until the French arrived in Egypt and Syria in 1798 . He fought with the Mamluks against the French and fled with them to southern Egypt during French rule. He then returned to Istanbul. After Ali Pasha learned of the overthrow of Governor Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha in 1803 , he asked to be appointed Governor of Egypt. So in June 1803 he was appointed vizier and Ottoman Wālī of Egypt.
Governor of Egypt
By the time Ali Pasha was appointed governor in 1803, Egypt had come under the rule and influence of Ottoman-Albanian troops, originally sent in 1801 by the Ottoman sultan to fight the French occupiers. Although the French were successfully ousted, with considerable help from the British, the Albanian forces, led by Muhammad Ali (who would later take control of Egypt), chose to remain in Egypt. The Albanians pitted the two warring factions in Egypt (the Ottomans and the Mamluks) against each other and eventually came to power.
The Ottoman Sultan Selim III. instructed Ali Pasha to oust the Albanians and Mamluks and to regain Ottoman control of the province. When Ali Pasha arrived in Egypt in July 1803, he found that the Mamluk emir Ibrahim Bey was substituting for him as Kaymakam (acting governor), but that the real power lay with Muhammad Ali. Ibrahim Bey had ruled Egypt with Murad Pasha for many years. When Ali Pasha arrived in Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha refused to recognize Ali Pasha's governorship. Ali Pasha had to rule the north in Alexandria , while Ibrahim Bey ruled the south from Cairo .
Muhammad Ali and his allied Mamluk Emir Al-Bardisi obtained Rosetta , which was held by Ali Pasha's brother, al-Sayyid Ali ( Seyit Ali in Turkish ). The city and its commander had been captured by Al-Bardisi. When Al-Bardisi wanted to move against Alexandria, however, his troops demanded additional pay, which he could not afford. During this time lag, Ali Pasha had the dikes between Lake Abukir and Lake Mareotis demolished, creating a moat around Alexandria. Al-Bardisi and Muhammad Ali were unable to carry out military operations against Alexandria and returned to Cairo.
Egypt's problems were exacerbated by an inadequate Nile flood, resulting in a major food shortage exacerbated by the high taxes that the Mamluk leaders had to resort to to pay their troops. Unrest and violence broke out in the capital, with the Başı Bozuk (militants of the Ottoman army) barely or not at all controlled.
In the meantime, Ali Pasha had received written instructions from the Ottoman Sultan, which he sent to Cairo and circulated there, in an effort to sow discord and distrust between Muhammad Ali Pasha and his Mamluk allies. The Ottoman Sultan announced that the Mamluken-Beys could live peacefully in Egypt with annual pensions and other privileges, provided that power returned to the hands of the Ottoman governor. Many of the Beys agreed. The Mamluks had already become suspicious of their Albanian allies after intercepting letters from Ali Pasha to the Albanians in which he offered them an alliance.
Ali Pasha and 3,000 men advanced towards Cairo to discuss his takeover of control. The Mamluk forces, still fighting with Muhammad Ali Pasha and her Albanian allies, advanced to meet Ali Pasha in Shalakan, forcing the Ottoman governor to retreat to Zufayta.
At this time the Albanians succeeded in confiscating Ali Pasha's transport boats and stealing soldiers, ammunition and luggage. When Ali Pasha found that his advance was blocked and that the retreat to Alexandria was impossible because he was surrounded by the enemy, he tried to fight, but his men refused. He then left his army and went to the Mamluks camp. His army was eventually allowed to withdraw to Ottoman Syria.
death
Ali Pasha was held by the Mamluks. One night the guards discovered a rider who was leaving Ali Pasha's tent at full gallop and was carrying a letter. This gave the Mamluks a welcome excuse to get rid of him. Ali Pasha was sent towards the Syrian border in February 1804, accompanied and guarded by 45 soldiers. About a week later, on February 2, news reached Cairo that he had died in a skirmish with some of his own soldiers.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 'Abd al-Rahman Jabarti, Thomas Philipp, Mosche Perlmann: Abd Al-Rahmann Al-Jabarti's History of Egypt . Volume 3, Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, pp. 394, 423
- ↑ a b c d Mehmet Süreyya: Sicill-i Osmanî . Türkiye Kültür Bakanlığı and Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı, Istanbul 1996, p. 293f.
- ↑ Yılmaz Öztuna: Büyük Osmanlı Tarihi: Osmanlı Devleti'nin siyasî, medenî, kältür, teşkilât ve san'at tarihi . Volume 10, Ötüken Neşriyat AS, 1994, ISBN 975-437-141-5 , pp. 412-416
- ↑ Jabarti, Philipp, Perlmann (1994), p. 426
- ↑ a b c Jabarti, Philipp, Perlmann (1994), p. 424
- ↑ a b c d e Jabarti, Philipp, Perlmann (1994), p. 425
- ↑ Jabarti, Philipp, Perlmann (1994), pp. 380, 394
- ↑ Jabarti, Philipp, Perlmann (1994), p. 428
- ↑ a b Jabarti, Philipp, Perlmann (1994), p. 418
- ↑ Jabarti, Philipp, Perlmann (1994), pp. 421f.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Trabluslu Ali Pasha |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Cezayirli Ali Pasha; Seydi Ali Pasha |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Ottoman governor of Egypt |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 18th century |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Tripoli |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 1804 |