All the Pasha's Men
Mehmed Ali, his Army and the Making of Modern Egypt

Khaled Fahmy offers a new interpretation of modern Egyptian history and the rise of Egyptian nationalism in a theoretically informed study.

Khaled Fahmy (Author)

9780521560078, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 November 1997

356 pages
23.5 x 16 x 3.2 cm, 0.695 kg

' … Khaled Fahmy orients the focus of his research away from Mehmed Ali's character and towards one of his great achievements: the founding of a modern army in Egypt … The book makes extensive use of the Egyptian national archives and itemizes much detailed information, but the over-riding argument is forthright. Egypt's new army did not give vent to an emergent tide of pent-up nationalism against the Ottomans 'as soldiers far from rushing enthusiastically to join the colors and defend the nation, came to view conscription as a heavy tax exacted by an already oppressive and intolerant regime' … Fahmy's study makes both interesting and stimulating reading which is certain to provoke much discussion.' The Historical Association

While previous scholarship has viewed Mehmed Ali Pasha as the founder of modern Egypt, Khaled Fahmy offers a new interpretation of his role in the rise of Egyptian nationalism, locating him in the Ottoman context as an ambitious Ottoman reformer. Basing his work on previously neglected archival material, the author demonstrates how Mehmed Ali sought to develop the Egyptian economy and to build up the army, not as a means of gaining Egyptian independence from the Ottoman Empire, but to further his own ambitions for hereditary rule over the province. In its analysis of nation-building and the construction of state power, the book makes a significant contribution to the larger theoretical debates. It will therefore be essential reading for students in the field, as well as for Ottomanists, military historians and those interested in the development of the modern nation-state.

Introduction
1. Between Sultan and vali: Syria and the nature of Mehmed Ali's military expansion
2. The birth of an army: conscription and resistance
3. From peasants to soldiers: discipline and training
4. Beyond the facade of order: the performance of the army
5. Behind the lines: daily life in the camps
6. The army and the Egyptian nation
7. The Egyptian vali, the Ottoman Pashas and the British Lord
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], Asian history [HBJF]