Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Wali of Egypt and Sudan
Died when: 80 years 151 days (964 months)Star Sign: Pisces
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, also known as Muhammad Ali of Egypt and the Sudan (Albanian: Mehmet Ali Pasha, Arabic: ???? ??? ????, ALA-LC: Mu?ammad ‘Ali Basha;
Ottoman Turkish: ???? ??? ???? ??????? ?? ???;Turkish: Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasa; 4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849), was the Albanian Ottoman governor and de facto ruler of Egypt from 1805 to 1848, considered the founder of modern Egypt.
At the height of his rule, he controlled all of Egypt, Sudan, Hejaz and the Levant.He was a military commander in an Albanian Ottoman force sent to recover Egypt from a French occupation under Napoleon.
Following Napoleon's withdrawal, Muhammad Ali rose to power through a series of political maneuvers, and in 1805 he was named Wali (viceroy) of Egypt and gained the rank of Pasha.
As Wali, Muhammad Ali attempted to modernize Egypt by instituting dramatic reforms in the military, economic and cultural spheres.He also initiated a violent purge of the Mamluks, consolidating his rule and permanently ending the Mamluk hold over Egypt.
Militarily, Muhammad Ali recaptured the Arabian territories for the sultan, and conquered Sudan of his own accord.His attempt at suppressing the Greek rebellion failed decisively, however, following an intervention by the European powers at Navarino.
In 1831, Muhammad Ali waged war against the sultan, capturing Syria, crossing into Anatolia and directly threatening Constantinople, but the European powers forced him to retreat.
After a failed Ottoman invasion of Syria in 1839, he launched another invasion of the Ottoman Empire in 1840; he defeated the Ottomans again and opened the way towards a capture of Constantinople.
Faced with another European intervention, he accepted a brokered peace in 1842 and withdrew from the Levant; in return, he and his descendants were granted hereditary rule over Egypt and Sudan.
The dynasty he established would rule Egypt until the revolution of 1952 when King Farouk was overthrown by the Free Officers Movement led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser, establishing the Republic of Egypt.