Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–41)

Last updated
Second Egyptian–Ottoman War
Part of Campaigns of Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Date1839–1841
LocationThe Levant (mainly modern-day Lebanon)
Result

Egyptian military victory

Egypt renounces claim to Syria, Britain recognises Muhammad Ali and his descendants as legitimate rulers of Egypt
Belligerents

Ottoman-aligned powers:

Flag of the Ottoman Empire.svg Ottoman Empire

Egypt-aligned powers:

Flag of Muhammad Ali.svg Eyalet of Egypt

The Second Egyptian–Ottoman War or Second Turko–Egyptian War lasted from 1839 until 1841 and was fought mainly in Syria, whence it is sometimes referred as the (Second) Syrian War.

Ottoman Syria parts of modern-day Syria or Greater Syria which were subjected to Ottoman rule

Ottoman Syria refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the Levant, usually defined as the region east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south of the Taurus Mountains.

Contents

In 1839, the Ottoman Empire moved to reoccupy lands lost to Muhammad Ali in the First Turko-Egyptian War. The Ottoman Empire invaded Syria, but after suffering a defeat at the Battle of Nezib appeared on the verge of collapse. On 1 July, the Ottoman fleet sailed to Alexandria and surrendered to Muhammad Ali. Britain, Austria and other European nations, rushed to intervene and force Egypt into accepting a peace treaty. From September to November 1840, a combined naval fleet, made up of British and Austrian vessels, cut off Ibrahim's sea communications with Egypt, followed by the occupation of Beirut and Acre by the British. On 27 November 1840, the Convention of Alexandria took place. British Admiral Charles Napier reached an agreement with the Egyptian government, where the latter abandoned its claims to Syria and returned the Ottoman fleet.

Ottoman Empire Former empire in Asia, Europe and Africa

The Ottoman Empire, also historically known in Western Europe as the Turkish Empire or simply Turkey, was a state that controlled much of Southeast Europe, Western Asia and North Africa between the 14th and early 20th centuries. It was founded at the end of the 13th century in northwestern Anatolia in the town of Söğüt by the Oghuz Turkish tribal leader Osman I. After 1354, the Ottomans crossed into Europe, and with the conquest of the Balkans, the Ottoman beylik was transformed into a transcontinental empire. The Ottomans ended the Byzantine Empire with the 1453 conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed the Conqueror.

Muhammad Ali of Egypt Ottoman Albanian commander and Wali of Egypt and Sudan

Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was an Ottoman Albanian commander who rose to the rank of Pasha, and became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan with the Ottomans' temporary approval. Though not a modern nationalist, he is regarded as the founder of modern Egypt because of the dramatic reforms in the military, economic and cultural spheres that he instituted. He also ruled Levantine territories outside Egypt. The dynasty that he established would rule Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt and Sudan until the 1952 coup d'état led by Muhammad Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Battle of Nezib

The Battle of Nezib or Battle of Nisib or Battle of Nizib was fought on 24 June 1839 between Egypt and the Ottoman Empire. The Egyptians were led by Ibrahim Pasha, while the Ottomans were led by Hafiz Osman Pasha, with Helmuth von Moltke the Elder playing an advisory role, in command of the Ottoman artillery.

Origins

The war was the climax of the long power-struggle between the Ottoman Empire and the Pasha of Egypt, Mehmet Ali, which had reached a point of crisis that threatened to destabilize the whole of the Levant.

History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty Later period of Ottoman Egypt

The history of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty (1805–1953) spanned the later period of Ottoman Egypt, the Khedivate of Egypt under British patronage, and the nominally independent Sultanate of Egypt and Kingdom of Egypt, ending with the Revolution of 1952 and the formation of the Republic of Egypt.

Levant Geographic and cultural region consisting of the eastern Mediterranean between Anatolia and Egypt

The Levant is an approximate historical geographical term referring to a large area in the Eastern Mediterranean, primarily in Western Asia. In its narrowest sense, it is equivalent to the historical region of Syria. In its widest historical sense, the Levant included all of the eastern Mediterranean with its islands; that is, it included all of the countries along the Eastern Mediterranean shores, extending from Greece to Cyrenaica.

On June 29, 1839 an invading Ottoman army (accompanied by Moltke the Elder) was destroyed in Syria by Mohamed Ali's general Ibrahim Pasha at the Battle of Nezib, putting him in possession of the whole of Syria. This threatened to place Constantinople itself and the rule of the entire Eastern Mediterranean within his grasp. A few days after the battle the Ottoman Sultan, Mahmud II, died, leaving his Empire in the hands of his 16-year-old heir Abdülmecid. Meanwhile, the Ottoman fleet had defected to Mohamed Ali. Britain, Russia and Austria were all pledged to support the tottering Ottoman Empire and to force Mehmet Ali (who had the support of France and Spain) to withdraw from Syria.

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt Ottoman politician and general

Ibrahim Pasha was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, the Wāli and unrecognised Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He served as a general in the Egyptian army that his father established during his reign, taking his first command of Egyptian forces when he was merely a teenager. In the final year of his life, he succeeded his still living father as ruler of Egypt and Sudan, due to the latter's ill health. His rule also extended over the other dominions that his father had brought under Egyptian rule, namely Syria, Hejaz, Morea, Thasos, and Crete. Ibrahim pre-deceased his father, dying 10 November 1848, only four months after acceding to the throne. Upon his father's death the following year, the Egyptian throne passed to Ibrahim's nephew, Abbas.

Constantinople capital city of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire, the Latin and the Ottoman Empire

Constantinople was the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–395), of the Byzantine Empire, and also of the brief Crusader state known as the Latin Empire (1204–1261), until finally falling to the Ottoman Empire (1453–1923). It was reinaugurated in 324 from ancient Byzantium as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Emperor Constantine the Great, after whom it was named, and dedicated on 11 May 330. The city was located in what is now the European side and the core of modern Istanbul.

Mahmud II Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until 1839

Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839.

Although the new Sultan's ministers moved to resolve the crisis by offering to cede the rule of Syria to Mehmet, the British, Austrian and Russian ambassadors forced them to rescind this offer and stand firm against him. There was even a possibility of war with France, who looked to Mehmet's success to increase its sphere of influence in the Near East.

The English Historical Review No. 69 from January, 1903, has a letter Palmerston wrote to defend not notifying France about the date of the intervention. [1]

In June 1840 Admiral Sir Robert Stopford, commanding the British Mediterranean Fleet, sent Commodore Charles Napier with a small squadron to the Syrian (now the Lebanese) coast. He was then ordered to proceed to Beirut to compel the Egyptians to withdraw. The situation on the ground was extremely volatile, and called for quick and decisive action; this Napier provided, acting as if his was an entirely independent command.

Robert Stopford (Royal Navy officer) Royal Navy admiral

Admiral Sir Robert Stopford, was a distinguished officer in the Royal Navy whose career spanned over 60 years, from the French Revolutionary Wars to the Syrian War.

Mediterranean Fleet fleet of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom

The British Mediterranean Fleet also known as the Mediterranean Station was part of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between the United Kingdom and the majority of the British Empire in the Eastern Hemisphere. The first Commander-in-Chief for the Mediterranean Fleet was the appointment of General at Sea Robert Blake in September 1654 the Fleet was in existence until 1967.

Beirut City in Lebanon

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. No recent population census has been conducted, but 2007 estimates ranged from slightly more than 1 million to 2.2 million as part of Greater Beirut. Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coast, Beirut is the country's largest and main seaport.

On August 11, 1840, Napier's ships appeared off Beirut and he called upon Suleiman Pasha, Mehmet's governor, to abandon the town and leave Syria, whose population shortly revolted against Mehmet's occupying army. With such a small force, there was little that Napier could do against fifteen-thousand Egyptian troops until September, when Stopford's ships joined up with him. Open war broke out on September 11, when Napier bombarded Beirut and effected a landing at Jounieh with 1,500 Turks and Marines to operate against Ibrahim, who was prevented by the revolt from doing more than trying to hold the coastal cities.

Sidon, Nahr-el-Kelb and Boharsef

Due to the illness of the Brigadier-General of the army, Sir Charles Smith, Napier was instructed to command the land force and made a successful sortie against a force of Albanians at Nahr-el-Kelb (Kelbson). He then, with a mixed squadron of British, Turkish and Austrian ships, bombarded Sidon on September 26 and landed with the storming column. Sidon capitulated in two days. While preparing to attack the Egyptian positions on the heights of Boharsef, Napier received an order to retire from the command of the land forces to make way for Brigadier-General Smith, who had recovered from his illness, and also had received command of the Turkish force in the allied army. To do this, Napier would need to retreat from his position; he decided to disobey the order and continued with the attack against Ibrahim's army. The fighting, on October 9 was furious but victory was secured. Napier then left the land forces to Smith. Meanwhile, the Egyptians had abandoned Beirut on October 3.

Bombardment of Acre

The fleet was then instructed to retake Acre, which was the only coastal position left in Egyptian hands. The Mediterranean Fleet, commanded by Stopford, and supported by small Austrian and Turkish squadrons, moved into position against the western and southern sides of Acre on November 3 and opened fire at 14:00. The ships anchored closer to the shore than expected, at 450–800 metres, and the Egyptian guns were aimed too high. The fire of the ships was devastatingly accurate thanks to the training associated with the Royal Navy's new gunnery school, HMS Excellent. The Egyptians had no opportunity to correct their error; their guns were disabled by direct hits and by the walls of the fortifications falling on their crews. The sailing ships of the line were in two lines with steamers manoeuvring in between. At 16:20 a shell penetrated the main magazine in the south of the city, which exploded killing 1,100 men. The guns ashore fell silent and that night the city was occupied. British losses were light: 18 men killed and 41 wounded. The ships had fired 48,000 rounds.

Resolution of the conflict

Resolution of the conflict between Charles Napier and Mohammed Ali, The Times, Saturday, Apr 18, 1840 Charles Napier and Mohammed Ali, The Times, Saturday, Apr 18, 1840.png
Resolution of the conflict between Charles Napier and Mohammed Ali, The Times, Saturday, Apr 18, 1840

The rapid collapse of Mehmet Ali's power, with the prospect of bloody chaos in Egypt, was not part of the Allies' plan, and Stopford sent Napier to command the squadron at Alexandria and to observe the situation. Here, acting independently again, he appeared before the city with part of his squadron on November 25 and enforced a blockade. Then without reference to his Admiral or the British government he personally negotiated a peace with Mehmet Ali, guaranteeing him and his heirs the sovereignty of Egypt, and pledging to evacuate Ibrahim's beleaguered army back to Alexandria, if Mehmet in turn renounced all claims to Syria, submitted to the Sultan and returned the Ottoman fleet. Stopford and the British ambassador were furious with this outcome. Stopford repudiated it immediately when he had heard the news and several of the Allied powers declared it void. Despite Napier’s long-standing personal friendship with Lord Palmerston, the arrangement was at first denounced by the British government; but the formal treaty later concluded and confirmed by the Sultan used Napier’s original as the basis for negotiations and differed from it only in minor ways.

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References

  1. ↑ https://archive.org/details/englishhistoric08edwagoog

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