Muhammad Ali's rise to power
| Muhammad Ali's rise to power | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Ottoman wars in Africa and Muhammad Ali's campaigns | |||||||||
Massacre of the Mamelukes by Horace Vernet, 1819 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
| Ottomans | Albanian mercenaries | Mamluks | British Empire | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Koca Pasha | Muhammad Ali Pasha | Muhammad Alfi | Alexander Mackenzie-Fraser | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | 6,000 Albanian mercenaries | Unknown | 5,000 | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | 3,000 Turkish-Egyptian Mamluks |
950+ killed 200+ wounded 400 captured | ||||||
Muhammad Ali rose to power in Egypt following a long, four-way civil war between the Ottoman Empire, "Egyptian" Mamluks who had ruled Egypt for centuries, and Albanian mercenaries in the service of the Ottomans. The conflict ended in victory for the Albanians (from Rumelia) led by Ali.
The four-way struggle occurred following the French invasion of Egypt by Napoleon. After the French were defeated, a power vacuum was created in Egypt. The Mamluks had governed Egypt before the French invasion and still retained power in the region. However, Egypt was officially a part of the Ottoman Empire and many Ottoman troops who had been sent to evict the French were still present.