Mehmed Ali

Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha c. 1770–1849 often dubbed the founder of modern Egypt was one of the most important figures in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Born in what is now Greece and seemingly headed for an everyday existence as a tobacco trader he joined the Ottoman army at the age of thirty and went on to become both the leader of Egypt for nearly fifty years and the founder of a dynasty that ruled for a century after his death. In this insightful and wellconstructed biography Khaled Fahmy assesses the renowned ruler’s life and his significant contribution to Egyptian Ottoman and Islamic history. Examining the unprecedented economic military and social policies that he introduced in Egypt as well as Mehmed Ali’s intricate relationship with his family Fahmy provides a fresh assessment of this towering nineteenthcentury personality.