User:Calthinus/Marsot on Albanians in Egypt

Good contextual info be integrated into Muhammad Ali, Albanians in Egypt and pages on Albanian regiments in the Ottoman Emp:

Marsot p32 Egypt in the reign of Muhammad Ali

Useful generally for Albanians in Egypt ...while Nicolas Turc called him [M Ali] by his proper title of Albanian Major ('Binbashi Arnaut'). Muhammad Ali very rapidly gained further recognition as an able and efficient commander, and rose rapidly in the ranks until he became second-in-command of the entire Albanian contingent, not only that from Kavala.

All the Albanians in the Ottoman forces in Egypt formed a bloc within the army that was distinct and separate from the rest of the men... The Albanians were 'mercenaries' of the Ottomans form at least the second half of the seventeenth century, and were on occasion used to balance the unreliable janissaries and other ojakat. Because they were irregulars, they tended to retain their tribal structure...

This part instead probs belongs on Albanophobia: The Albanians spoke little Turkish and disliked the Ottoman janissaries, who in turn despised the Albanians as lawless rabble and 'treated them like servants'. According to Jabarti, the Albanians were more uncouth and unruly than the Ottomans. 'Most of them do not fast the month of Ramadan', he wrote in disguist, 'and no one can tell what belief they adhere to or what sect or what other. The easiest thing for them to do is kill, to seize the property of others and to disobey their superiors and generals... May God eradicate them all', he ended viciously.

Albanian-ness as central to the early life of Muhammad Ali of Egypt and to his rise. Italics are mine, do not reproduce. Because of the tribal character of the Albanian troops and the demise of their superior officers, none but an Albanian could lead these troops, and this, as well as his qualities and charisma, accounts for Muhammad Ali's swift rise in rank...

The fact that Muhammad Ali was an Albanian, a member of the linguistic and ethnic minority group within the Ottoman family, is significant. The Albanians spoke a different language than Turkish, yet they were Muslims, and were not members of the despised Arab fellahin. Much like the Cherkess, who formed much of the Ottoman fighting elite, they were mountain people, fierce, undisciplined, aggressive and valorous.

Might not be best to reproduce the fact that Ottoman stereotyping of Albanians (and Circassians) is alive and well in the writing of at least one Egyptian scholar. Continuing...

They had no cultural identity other than the Ottoman one. That last factor may help us understand why Muhammad Ali patterned himself as an Ottoman gentleman, acquired the manners and exquisite politeness of a man brought up in court, and clung to his Ottoman identity even when he despised, or claimed to despise, the Ottomans. He obviously had a love-hate relationship with the Ottomans and feared a loss of identity, which would explain his ambivalence

(p33)

towards them and his hesitation to make any radical break with the Ottoman system of government. Finally, it also explains his attempt to revive Ottoman culture ihn Egypt, publishing the classics of the golden age... so that his supporters could continue a polished cultural tradition and not feel divorced from their roots -- their Ottoman roots. Muhammad Ali could have identified with the 'speakers of Arabic', the inhabitants of Egypt, as did his son Ibrahim, but, as a member of one minority group, it was too much of a step for him to join another and he preferred to cling to his Ottoman identity. Much later in his reign he decided to break with the Ottomans, in political terms; but by then he had little choice left.

Temporary page for reference. Will be deleted in a few months probably.