raharris1973
Well-known member
What if Sultan Abdulaziz yielded a territory instead of the Khedival title to Ismail of Egypt in return for crushing the Cretan revolt and increased tribute?
From the wikipedia page on Ismail Pasha of Egypt:
What if the Ottoman Sultan, Abdulaziz, pridefully refused to give in on recognizing the Egyptian ruler's title promotion from Wali to Khedive, but instead offered the Egyptian Wali hereditary governance of some additional territory in return for his military support and tribute money to the Ottoman budget?
Or alternatively,
What if Egyptian Khedive Ismail Pasha, seeking to leverage military support for the Sultan in Crete, and his willingness to pay a higher regular tribute [from his his Civil War era cotton sales windfall, and expected Suez Canal dues] decided what he wanted most from the Sultan was additional territory for his dynasty's domain, regardless of whether the Sultan called him Wali or Khedive or Charlie, or Bill, or late for dinner?
Possible territories in question might be:
a) Libya - It is adjacent to Egypt in Africa, and certainly closer to the Egyptian center of power than the Turkish one at the straits. It actually consists of three provinces - Cyrenaica, Fezzan, and Tripoli. It helps Ismail Pasha 'round out' his large northeast African domain. It is not worth all that much by itself, but looks good on a map, and for the Sultan, seems hardly a sacrifice.
b) Hijaz, Asir, Yemen - It is right across the Red Sea from Egypt and easily could be drawn to have a land connection with Egypt via Sinai. It would make a semi-coherent geographic set, enclosing Ismail Pasha's Red Sea empire that has enclaves on the African Red Sea coast. This area is far from the straits and Anatolia, and difficult to administer. However, its religious significance makes it a substantial sacrifice to the Sultan and the Ulema in the capital, and because of pilgrimage, its revenue and revenue potential is nontrivial.
c) Palestine - more specifically, Sinai/ aka Governorate of Arish & Akaba, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Sanjak of Acre, Sanjak of Beirut (actually south of Beirut city) - It is a coastal strip with a string of ports and olive and citrus growing areas coastal connected to Egyptian Sinai and the Nile delta, fairly naturally divided off from the other Ottoman domains by the Jordan river and Gulf of Aqaba. It has the assets and liabilities of attracting global including western tourist revenue (and consular representation/presence) and *interest* as shown in the lead up to the late Crimean war Russo-French wrestling match over the keys to the Holy Places.
What would have happened differently in the remainder of the 19th century, if any of these three territories, Libya, western Arabia (Hijaz-Yemen), or Palestine, had been transferred from direct Ottoman control to Egyptian vassal control in 1867? Especially when, as a consequence of poor Egyptian finances and internal disorders, Britain occupies Egypt in 1882, and thus occupies, or disposes of, the recently acquired Egyptian territory.
From the wikipedia page on Ismail Pasha of Egypt:
After the death of Sa'id, Isma'il was proclaimed Khedive on 19 January 1863, though the Ottoman Empire and the other Great Powers recognized him only as Wāli. Like all Egyptian and Sudanese rulers since his grandfather Muhammad Ali Pasha, he claimed the higher title of Khedive, which the Sublime Porte had consistently refused to sanction. Finally, in 1867, Isma'il succeeded in persuading the Ottoman SultanAbdülaziz to grant a firman finally recognizing him as Khedive in exchange for an increase in the tribute, because of the Khedive's help in the Cretan Revolt between 1866 and 1869. Another firman changed the law of succession to direct descent from father to son rather than brother to brother, and a further decree in 1873 confirmed the virtual independence of the Khedivate of Egypt from the Porte.
What if the Ottoman Sultan, Abdulaziz, pridefully refused to give in on recognizing the Egyptian ruler's title promotion from Wali to Khedive, but instead offered the Egyptian Wali hereditary governance of some additional territory in return for his military support and tribute money to the Ottoman budget?
Or alternatively,
What if Egyptian Khedive Ismail Pasha, seeking to leverage military support for the Sultan in Crete, and his willingness to pay a higher regular tribute [from his his Civil War era cotton sales windfall, and expected Suez Canal dues] decided what he wanted most from the Sultan was additional territory for his dynasty's domain, regardless of whether the Sultan called him Wali or Khedive or Charlie, or Bill, or late for dinner?
Possible territories in question might be:
a) Libya - It is adjacent to Egypt in Africa, and certainly closer to the Egyptian center of power than the Turkish one at the straits. It actually consists of three provinces - Cyrenaica, Fezzan, and Tripoli. It helps Ismail Pasha 'round out' his large northeast African domain. It is not worth all that much by itself, but looks good on a map, and for the Sultan, seems hardly a sacrifice.
b) Hijaz, Asir, Yemen - It is right across the Red Sea from Egypt and easily could be drawn to have a land connection with Egypt via Sinai. It would make a semi-coherent geographic set, enclosing Ismail Pasha's Red Sea empire that has enclaves on the African Red Sea coast. This area is far from the straits and Anatolia, and difficult to administer. However, its religious significance makes it a substantial sacrifice to the Sultan and the Ulema in the capital, and because of pilgrimage, its revenue and revenue potential is nontrivial.
c) Palestine - more specifically, Sinai/ aka Governorate of Arish & Akaba, Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Sanjak of Acre, Sanjak of Beirut (actually south of Beirut city) - It is a coastal strip with a string of ports and olive and citrus growing areas coastal connected to Egyptian Sinai and the Nile delta, fairly naturally divided off from the other Ottoman domains by the Jordan river and Gulf of Aqaba. It has the assets and liabilities of attracting global including western tourist revenue (and consular representation/presence) and *interest* as shown in the lead up to the late Crimean war Russo-French wrestling match over the keys to the Holy Places.
What would have happened differently in the remainder of the 19th century, if any of these three territories, Libya, western Arabia (Hijaz-Yemen), or Palestine, had been transferred from direct Ottoman control to Egyptian vassal control in 1867? Especially when, as a consequence of poor Egyptian finances and internal disorders, Britain occupies Egypt in 1882, and thus occupies, or disposes of, the recently acquired Egyptian territory.