We are still with the Ottoman state, and the great scholar "Mohamed Ali" is looking for a pretext to march on Syria, when his son "Ibrahim Pasha" hands him the solution on a golden platter.

A group of Egyptian peasants, about 6,000 of them.. with the introduction of compulsory conscription.. decided to flee military service and not hand themselves over to the army.. so "Ibrahim Pasha" tried gentleness with them at times, then decided that the peasants who did not want to, or could not, or were afraid to fight.. he would use them to grow the crops the army needed for its supplies.. but they refused anyway.. so he tried severity another time.. and threatened them with imprisonment.. but they refused to hand themselves over to the nearest military unit, so he ordered them brought by force.

When these peasants learned of "Ibrahim" Pasha's decision.. they fled from Egypt altogether.. and headed for Syria.. and there they went to Damascus, where its governor welcomed them.. and sent most of them to Acre.. to work in menial jobs without pay, in exchange for their residence, their food, and protection from "Ibrahim," who wanted to conscript them into the army.

History has preserved this story for us under the name "the Peasants' Affair".. and because of it.. the golden opportunity presented itself to "Mohamed Ali".. so he wrote to the governor of Damascus, asking him with sudden kindness.. to return the peasants who had fled conscription.. or else "something whose consequences would not be praised" would happen.. a message that carried gentleness within it but was provocative.. and it drove the Ottoman governor of Syria to reject "Mohamed Ali's" request absolutely...

And as a result, "Mohamed Ali" issued his orders to his son at once, and at dawn on October 14, 1831 AD, corresponding to 7 Jumada al-Ula 1247 AH, the Egyptian army moved under the command of "Ibrahim Pasha," crossing the Egyptian border; in a campaign complete in its forces and its pillars.. with no intention of turning back.. without the permission or the knowledge of the Ottoman state.. for the first time since the martyrdom of the hero Sultan al-Ashraf "Tuman Bay".. 314 years before.. toward Palestine...

And the Egyptian army's march on Palestine was closer to a stroll.. because the towns had no sufficient Ottoman military garrisons.. and the Ottoman state relied, in guarding Palestine, on Lebanon and "Acre".. Acre the strong, with its terribly fortified walls and high towers, and its long-range artillery, Acre that had defied the strong French commander "Napoleon Bonaparte" himself, who had failed to storm it, and who was sent back empty-handed, dragging the tails of disappointment, 33 years before.

When "Ibrahim Pasha" reached the walls of Acre.. its ruler sent him a serious message.. but one that carried a great deal of mockery.. telling him that Acre was impossible to breach.. that he would never be able to enter it.. and that, to spare blood, the six thousand cowardly peasants who had fled conscription were subjects of the Ottoman Sultan.. and their presence in Acre was like their presence in Cairo.. so if he wished.. he could take them and leave for Cairo.

But the bullet had already been fired and the wheel had turned and there was no going back.. so "Ibrahim Pasha" replied to him: "I have come to take the six thousand to Cairo, and one on top of them."

And by the one he meant the extra that he would also ship to Cairo.. "Abdullah Pasha" himself.. the governor of Acre.

One of "Mohamed Ali Pasha's" traits was that he was enamoured of history.. and was constantly learning from the mistakes of those who came before him.. and he knew specifically why "Bonaparte" had failed to take Acre.. so he issued his orders, and in parallel with "Ibrahim's" advance, units of the Egyptian fleet moved — frigates, ships, assault boats, and troop transports.. and they besieged Acre from the sea, so that no naval reinforcement could reach it from the Ottoman state.. while at the same time "Ibrahim" imposed on it a tight land siege.. that made it impossible for a fly to enter or leave it without the Egyptian army spotting it.

And in Constantinople the situation suddenly caught fire, and chaos prevailed in the court of the Ottoman Sultan "Mahmud II," with the profound turmoil that struck the Ottoman state from "Ibrahim's" march toward Syria.. so "Mahmud" issued his orders, and immediately moved units of the Ottoman army, to join the Ottoman "Othman Pasha," the governor of Aleppo.. and indeed the Ottoman army forces joined the Aleppo garrison.. so "Ibrahim" left some units of the Egyptian army to continue the siege of Acre.. and headed to meet "Othman Pasha".. and indeed the Egyptian army under "Ibrahim's" command met.. the Ottoman army under the command of "Othman Pasha" at a place called "al-Zarra'a" south of Homs.. and there the Ottoman army was defeated before the Egyptian army.. and retreated.. but "Ibrahim" did not pursue it.. he withdrew in turn.. to return to Acre and continue its siege.

And "Mohamed Ali" had introduced into the Egyptian army a new arm.. for the first time there was anything like it in the Egyptian army.. the first ancestor in the modern era of the "Military Technical College" we know today.. the engineers' corps.. and "Ibrahim" called on these army engineers.. and they studied the walls of Acre with precision and care. Then they announced to "Ibrahim Pasha".. that there was a part of the eastern wall weaker than the rest of the fortress walls.. and if that part fell.. the stones would begin to come apart and loosen.. and by a simple geometric progression.. the seaward part of the fortress would weaken as well.

And the engineers' corps was right, because as soon as "Ibrahim" concentrated the fire of his artillery on that exact part of the walls.. a breach opened in it, for the first time in the history of Acre's impregnable walls.. so "Ibrahim" ordered the fleet to bombard the fortress from the sea as well.. and while "Abdullah Pasha," the governor of Acre, was trying to fend off the fire of the Egyptian fleet, "Ibrahim Pasha" stormed Acre from the eastern side by land.. and defeated its garrison ignominiously.. and fulfilled his promise.. and seized the fugitive peasants.. and took prisoner along with them the governor of Acre himself, "Abdullah Pasha".. and shipped him to Cairo.. after the city had submitted to him by force.

"Ibrahim" did not stop at the conquest of Acre.. he marched on Lebanon.. and there he entered it exactly as you enter your own home, and sat and rested with his soldiers, and they recharged their energy and recovered their strength.. The secret of entering Lebanon so simply, without fighting.. is that the Lebanese were allies of the Egyptians.. and "Bashir al-Shihabi" the Great.. Prince of Lebanon, was a personal friend of "Mohamed Ali Pasha".. and they were waiting for the Egyptian army and receiving it.. and worse for the Ottoman state.. the Lebanese joined the Egyptians.. under the command of "Ibrahim Pasha" and Prince "Bashir," and they moved together toward Damascus to fight the Ottoman state.

"Mahmud II" was seized with panic as "Acre" fell and Lebanon left his obedience so openly.. so he issued a firman declaring "Mohamed Ali" and "Ibrahim Pasha" traitors.. rebels against the state.. and when that proclamation did nothing, he followed it with a supplementary firman that the two were infidels.. that they had rebelled against the Caliph of the Muslims.. and that their blood was licit and fighting them was jihad in the way of God.. and he issued his orders at once, and a huge army moved from Turkey.. under the command of "Serasker Hussein Pasha," supported by cavalry units and artillery batteries, and sniper battalions, with advanced English sniper rifles.. and forces amounting to 4 times the Egyptian forces.. with enormous equipment and ammunition.. enough for them for months of continuous fighting.

And "Mahmud II's" orders to Serasker "Hussein Pasha" were categorical.. defeat the Egyptian army, and capture "Ibrahim Pasha".. and then march on Cairo.. and defeat its garrison.. and capture "Mohamed Ali Pasha" himself.. and send him alive to Constantinople.. so that he might be executed publicly before all eyes.. so they would see the fate of whoever fights the Ottomans.

And the Ottoman army arrived and camped at Homs, and the Egyptian army drew near it.. and it halted and camped in turn.. and "Ibrahim Pasha" sent to "Serasker Hussein Pasha" asking him to retreat and withdraw, to spare blood.. so "Hussein Pasha" replied to him mockingly:

"My steed has not drunk water in a long time.. and I cannot force it to drink water.. for it has resolved to drink its fill from the water of the Nile."

The messenger conveyed "Serasker Hussein Pasha's" message to "Ibrahim Pasha".. and he did not reply to "Serasker Hussein" at all.. he apparently thought it beneath him to send him a special envoy just to tell him "never mind".. so he broke up his camp.. and the Turks broke up their camp in turn.. and on June 29, 1832 AD, corresponding to 10 Safar 1248 AH, the two armies clashed in the Battle of Homs.. and "Serasker Hussein Pasha" discovered that neither he nor his steed would drink from the Nile, and that there was no place available for drinking at present except the Bab al-Bahr.. and he was defeated at the hands of "Ibrahim Pasha" in a crushing defeat, and withdrew to the northeast.. to Belen.

And "Belen Pass" is a strait that connects the plain of Antioch with the Gulf of Alexandretta on the borders of the "Taurus Mountains."

In short.. this is the dividing line between the lands of Syria and the borders of Turkey itself.

And for the first time the states of Europe gaped in astonishment, and followed the situation closely with the greatest interest.. although they had met "Mohamed Ali" and "Ibrahim" in the Greek war before, yet until this moment, they had imagined that what "Mohamed Ali" was doing was nothing more than a limited rebellion, which the Ottoman state would soon crush with its strong army.. and its modern, advanced weapons.. and nothing kept them from intervening in the matter to support the Ottoman state except a major issue in Europe at the time, which was occupying them intensely, and threatening a European war.

We will tell that story in the course of events.. History has preserved it for us under the name "the Belgian Question."

The important thing is that "Hussein Pasha" had left with him 45000 thousand Ottoman soldiers.. of fighters from all units and arms.. with 160 cannon.. which he arrayed in elevated positions in the "Belen" mountains.. and thus, he was in an elevated, impregnable position.. from which he could bombard the Egyptian forces as they crossed the Belen passes, and annihilate them utterly. This plan was an alternative plan, drawn up by Serasker "Hussein Pasha" in the event of a most negligible possibility, in their belief, that they would be defeated, which he thought over with his military adviser "Thevenin".. and no one but the two of them knew of it.

And in the meantime "Ibrahim Pasha" had laid his hand on Hama and Aleppo, and entered Damascus with ease and facility, and the Ottomans discovered that the Syrian soldiers in Damascus.. were slack and defeatist in fighting "Ibrahim" and his men.. The secret of this is that they considered the Egyptians to be kin, and they were also disgusted with the harsh Ottoman rule.. and they were calling for deliverance at the hands of "Mohamed Ali."

The Turkish historian "Kadir Misiroglu" is one of the strongest supporters and most enamoured admirers of the Ottoman state.. and he justifies all its mistakes and its crimes.. yet even so he could not but write in his book "The Story of the Sons of Othman":

"Our soldiers were not as brave as Ibrahim's soldiers, nor was Serasker Hussein Pasha as shrewd and intelligent as Ibrahim, who advanced at the head of his brave men from the people of Egypt, and inflicted on him a painful defeat the like of which had never been seen before."

And while "Ibrahim" was encamped with the army in Damascus, a special envoy from the Ottoman Sultan reached him, with a message of the utmost importance and gravity.

And the content of the message was that "Mahmud II" was inviting him to repent and turn back.. and to leave obedience to his father and enter obedience to the Ottoman Sultan.. and to withdraw to Cairo without condition or reservation, because he considered the two of them infidels, outside the religion, and apostates against the legitimate authority of the Ottoman Sultan.. so "Ibrahim" picked up his pen and his inkwell, and replied on the back of the very same message, with a terrifying one-line letter:

"I am coming with my brave men to answer you in Constantinople"... and he followed it by moistening the surface of his fist with his ring in the ink.. and sealed the message with his own seal, and sent it with the same envoy back to its sender.

And on the morning of the hot July 29, 1832, the Egyptian army under the command of "Ibrahim Pasha" headed for "Belen".. where the tight, deadly trap that "Serasker Hussein Pasha" had prepared lay.

And the "Belen" massacre is a long story to tell.. so we will continue our talk about it later.

And there remains more to say, God willing.

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- Previous posts in the first comment.

- The image opposite the image of "Mohamed Ali Pasha".. is of the Ottoman Sultan, prince of the addicted.. "Mahmud II."

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