Mehmed Ali: From Ottoman Governor to Ruler of Egypt

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 well-constructed biogra...