Only two hundred kilometres from the throne of the Ottoman Sultan — less than the distance between Alexandria and Cairo — the Egyptian army under the command of "Ibrahim Pasha" camped.. and arranged its ranks and its soldiers, in preparation for entering Constantinople.. the heart of the Ottoman state and the capital of the caliphate.

And the Ottoman Sultan trembled in terror, and his limbs shook, and he rushed to beg for help from the states of Europe, but they were busy with the Belgian Question as we said, so none aided him except Russia.. and its emperor "Alexander I" agreed.. to protect the Ottoman state from the Egyptian army, but with conditions.. which the Ottoman Sultan "Mahmud II" accepted without a moment's hesitation.. and they signed under that a treaty.. which history has preserved for us under the name "Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi."

This treaty stipulated the exchange of assistance between the two parties.. if either of them was attacked by any other party.. and "Alexander" exempted the Ottoman Sultan in the treaty from sending forces, since they had no army now and wanted someone to rescue them in the first place.. but he stipulated that Turkey, in the event of any war against Russia.. would close the Dardanelles Strait to any ships other than Russian ships.

They signed the treaty, and then "Alexander" asked the Ottoman Sultan for a huge sum of money, in exchange for the equipment and the preparation of the forces that would move.. so "Mahmud" agreed to pay the sum in Ottoman state currency.. but the Russian emperor told him mockingly.. that if "Ibrahim Pasha's" horse strayed too far while grazing in the grass, there would be no Ottoman state at all.. and its currency would not be worth more than wooden domino pieces.. so "Mahmud II" signed for him a cheque for a staggering sum by the standards of that time, in gold currency.

And a few hours later, the ships of the Russian fleet ploughed through the sea, and anchored in the Bosphorus, and carried out a successful landing of thousands of soldiers of the Russian Empire, to secure Constantinople and protect the Sultan.

As soon as the states of Europe saw the Russian fleet in the Bosphorus.. anxiety blew through them, and they feared that Russia would exploit the situation, and conclude some agreement with "Mohamed Ali" later, granting it freedom of movement in the maritime passages there.. so they sent their consuls at once.. to offer the Ottoman Sultan defence against the Egyptian army.. on condition that he distance himself from the Russians.. and the Ottoman Sultan again agreed without hesitation.. and this time, the English army landed in Constantinople alongside the Russian army.. to protect the Ottoman sultanate.

And with the intervention of Europe and the English landing, "Mahmud II" asked Russia to withdraw.. but "Alexander I" refused to withdraw, and brandished before the Ottoman Sultan the treaty he had signed.. and said that he would not withdraw unless the Egyptian army withdrew from Anatolia.

And England and France sent to "Ibrahim" Pasha asking him to withdraw, and Europe brandished the threat of fighting.. but "Ibrahim" refused, and declared his complete readiness to fight the four states.

The Ottoman state, England, France, and Russia.

And since "Ibrahim" was not the kind of man who took things as a joke, he proved his position with a practical experiment.. so he broke up his camp, and moved another thirty kilometres, in the direction of Constantinople.

And here.. and with the greatest activity, the consuls of the European states went about calming "Mohamed Ali".. and trying to reach a settlement between him and the Ottoman Sultan.. and persuading "Mohamed Ali Pasha" to settle the dispute.. and we had good diplomatic relations with France at the time, so France asked "Mohamed Ali" to content himself with "Sidon" and "Tripoli" and "Jerusalem" and "Nablus" and withdraw from the rest of the territories.. but "Mohamed Ali" refused the French proposal, so it threatened him with severing relations with Egypt, and he in turn agreed to sever relations, and ordered "Ibrahim Pasha" to advance toward Constantinople.

And on April 24, of the year 1833, and at a distance of only 70 kilometres, from the legs of the Ottoman Sultan's throne, the Egyptian army under the command of "Ibrahim Pasha" halted for the second time, and camped to rest the horses, before an anticipated violent battle.

And here, everyone realised how serious and dangerous the matter was, and Europe and the Ottoman state agreed to "Mohamed Ali's" conditions.. and the Ottoman Sultan signed with Egypt on May 4, 1833 AD, corresponding to 14 Dhu al-Hijja 1248 AH, an agreement humiliating to the Ottoman state, called the "Agreement of Kutahya".. under which the Ottoman state ceded the whole of Syria, and the Ottoman Sultan confirmed to "Mohamed Ali" the governorship of Egypt, Crete, and the whole of natural Syria including Lebanon, Palestine, and Adana, and the governorship of "Ibrahim Pasha" over Jeddah, and the annulment of the firman of rebellion and excommunication, and the confirmation of "Ibrahim" in his previous title "Amir of Jeddah."

And although "Mohamed Ali Pasha" wanted the rule of these regions to be hereditary for him and his family forever, yet with the Ottoman state's concession, he in turn gave up the condition of heredity.. and sent to "Ibrahim" ordering him to withdraw, so "Ibrahim Pasha" broke up his camp for the last time, and withdrew from Anatolia.

The Ottoman Sultan was seething from the terrible humiliation he had been subjected to, and the difficult situation, and the humiliating agreement that Egypt had forced him to sign.. so as soon as "Ibrahim" withdrew.. he began to build a new army.. and this time.. Europe stood beside him with all the strength it possessed.. because it had become clear that a new great power was emerging on the scene, and that it had been able to achieve great victories that Europe itself had failed to achieve, despite the fact that this great power was still newborn, and it was also clear that if "Mohamed Ali" replaced the Ottoman state in Europe, he would not be a pushover or weak like the House of Othman.. and that would threaten Europe entirely, and sweep away its interests in the East.. and its trade routes in a dangerous way.

And accordingly Europe pushed forward its best officers and commanders, to train and build a new army for the Ottoman state.. and this time, the European forces rid "Mahmud" of the Janissaries completely.. and began training new soldiers.. of a high degree of efficiency and fitness, armed with the best armament imaginable.. to the point that it supplied him with forces from its own forces, to be under his command, and to fight in his ranks.

And over the course of 6 whole years.. the Ottoman state went about building a huge, fearsome army, with terrible military capabilities, and intensive European training manoeuvres.. and the new Ottoman army alarmed Austria itself, so it sent to England warning it of the consequences of the Ottomans possessing that army, but England reassured it that "Mahmud II" was an ally of Europe from now on.. and had realised that the danger came to him from Egypt.

And at the same time, the Ottoman Sultan sent his scribes and his preachers to incite the people of Syria against the rule of "Mohamed Ali".. and to stir people up against him, and indeed a revolution broke out several times in Palestine, which "Ibrahim Pasha" put down, until the moment came and the hour of truth arrived.

The year 1839.

The year in which the European military men and the Ottoman state decided that the Ottoman army had become ready and prepared for war.

And on the first of March of the year 1839, the Ottoman Sultan "Mahmud II" seized on the outbreak of a new revolution among the people of Palestine, against the Egyptian system of compulsory conscription, and moved nearly a quarter of a million soldiers with their full equipment and munitions and artillery and cavalry, and their modern, advanced European rifles.. an army the like of which the Ottoman state had never possessed, to the point that some historians said of it:

"The Ottoman sultanate never, since Europe first raised its head in the East, enjoyed an army stronger, or better, or better trained, or better equipped than that army."

And the fearsome army marched across Anatolia, under the command of Serasker "Hafiz Pasha," after "Rashid Pasha" had died in Cairo in captivity.. and he had specific, strict instructions.. to recover Syria, and storm Cairo and take control of Egypt, and get rid of "Mohamed Ali" and his son "Ibrahim," whatever the cost.

And the matter reached "Ibrahim Pasha," so he asked "Mohamed Ali" for permission to cross the border, and stop the Ottoman army, but "Mohamed Ali" asked him to wait, so that Egypt would not appear in any way whatsoever, in the guise of the aggressor.

And at "Gaziantep" on the Syrian border, the Ottoman army camped, and arrayed its artillery and dug anti-cavalry trenches.. and in the last ten days of June of the same year, the Ottoman Sultan declared war on the Egyptian state, and only then did "Mohamed Ali" issue his order to his son "Ibrahim" Pasha, to attack the Ottoman forces.

"Ibrahim" in turn moved, and his soldiers reached the front line.. after a long journey, under the rays of the scorching June sun, which had exhausted his soldiers, while the Ottomans at "Gaziantep" had been resting for more than a month.

And the two hosts massed, and Serasker "Hafiz Pasha" stood face to face, at the head of a quarter of a million soldiers, among them forty thousand Ottomans, and the rest from the far reaches of Europe.. against 40 thousand Egyptian soldiers, under the command of one of the most brilliant military commanders the world has known throughout its history, since the nineteenth century.

And on the night of June 21, of the year 1839, the battle began.. and our history with the Ottomans, with the exception of the Battle of Ridaniya which they won by treachery, as the sole exception that confirms the rule, is that they attack Egypt, and are defeated and withdraw.. and we advance and they are defeated and withdraw, but this time, the situation was completely different.. withdrawal was not in the reckoning of the Ottoman forces, with their exceptional training and their fearsome equipment.. and the shells of the advanced, glowing Ottoman artillery rivalled the pale silver light of the moon.. and the heavy shells of the Ottoman artillery plunged down on the Egyptian cavalry brigades, and killed many soldiers.

And "Ibrahim Pasha" himself was struck by dozens of shrapnel fragments, and blood flowed from his brow until it turned his grey beard red, and he fell from atop his horse.. so "Suleiman Pasha the Frenchman" ordered his division to cover him, and advanced boldly, and dismounted from his horse, and rescued "Ibrahim," then issued the order to withdraw.

And the Egyptian army withdrew for the first time in history, in a confrontation with the Ottomans, to the edge of the town of Nezib.

Serasker "Hafiz Pasha" ordered the pursuit of "Ibrahim".. but the German commanders with him warned him of the consequences of that, because they had studied "Ibrahim's" history well, and Ibrahim very often feigned withdrawal in order to lure his opponent into an ambush.. and "Hafiz Pasha" was convinced.. and calmed down until the next morning.. and then the Ottoman army advanced slowly and with extreme caution, over the course of three nights.. during which they made sure that there were no ambushes of any kind.. and they prepared on the night of the 23rd.. for the final battle.

And on the morning of June 24, of the same year, the two armies stood once again face to face.. and the legs of "Ibrahim Pasha's" wounded horse moved, as he raised his sword, giving the signal to attack.. and behind him the Egyptian cavalry surged forward, so that the national military doctrine would meet modern European techniques and equipment, and civilisation would clash with savagery, and advancement with backwardness, and chivalry with baseness, and nobility with meanness, and light with darkness.. and the breath of history was held, as it watched the hooves of the Egyptian horses strike the ground and strike sparks with their horseshoes, in the Turkish town of "Nezib," in the province of Gaziantep.

And the two armies engaged in a huge, terrifying battle, and blood flowed over the sands, and this time too the Ottoman army did not withdraw.

It was crushed, crushed at the hands of "Ibrahim Pasha," and suffered a grievous, terrifying defeat, and a true catastrophe, for the Egyptian army almost annihilated the Ottoman army utterly down to the last soldier, and only 20 thousand Ottoman soldiers remained alive, and "Ibrahim" took prisoner 12 thousand officers and soldiers.. with enormous Ottoman weapons and equipment.. the like of which had never been seized before.

And the Ottoman army fell, and collapsed completely.. and the Ottoman state effectively became without any forces, or armies to protect it.

And for the second time, in less than six years, the road lay open before the Egyptian army to the heart of the caliphate and the capital of the sultanate.

To Constantinople.

And the Ottoman Sultan "Mahmud II" was in Constantinople; he had been pacing his council chamber back and forth the whole time since the army's departure.. and he had ordered that he be informed of the results of the battle and its developments the whole time, from hour to hour.. and during that time he had lit and smoked his pipe hundreds of times.. so with chain smoking, and anxiety and tension and nervous pressure, his immunity deteriorated, and he was stricken with acute pneumonia.. so when the news of the annihilation of his entire army reached him.. his face flushed.. and his breaths came one after another, and he was unable to catch them, and he collapsed before his throne a lifeless corpse, devoid of spirit.

And the Ottoman fleet set out, tearing across the calm page of the Mediterranean, to the Egyptian city of Alexandria, and the citadel of al-Ashraf "Qaitbay" trained its artillery on it, and the ships of the Egyptian fleet moved against it.. but the commander of the Ottoman fleet raised the white flag and sent an envoy in a boat.. requesting a meeting with "Mohamed Ali Pasha".. and when the Egyptian naval forces escorted him to "Mohamed Ali".. he bowed before him, and offered him allegiance as the new Sultan.. and placed the fleet of the Ottoman state under his command.

So with Cairo's crushing blows, the Ottoman state was left without an army, nor a fleet.. nor even a Sultan.

For the second time time steals us away.. and the story grows long.. so we will continue the tale at a later time, God willing.

And there remains more to say.. with greetings and peace and al-Fatiha for the soul of the commander "Ibrahim".. who led his army from victory to victory.

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- Previous posts in the first comment.

- The images are of the statue of "Ibrahim Pasha" and "Suleiman Pasha the Frenchman."

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