While previous scholarship has viewed Mehmed Ali Pasha as the founder of modern Egypt, Khaled Fahmy offers a new interpretation of his role in the rise of Egyptian nationalism, locating him in the Ottoman context as an ambitious Ottoman reformer. Basing his work on previously neglected archival material, the author demonstrates how Mehmed Ali sought to develop the Egyptian economy and to build up the army, not as a means of gaining Egyptian independence from the Ottoman Empire, but to further his own ambitions for hereditary rule over the province. In its analysis of nation-building and the construction of state power, the book makes a significant contribution to the larger theoretical debates. It will therefore be essential reading for students in the field, as well as for Ottomanists, military historians and those interested in the development of the modern nation-state.

Khaled Fahmy offers a new interpretation of modern Egyptian history and the rise of Egyptian nationalism in a theoretically informed study.
Reviews
' ... Khaled Fahmy orients the focus of his research away from Mehmed Ali's character and towards one of his great achievements: the founding of a modern army in Egypt ... The book makes extensive use of the Egyptian national archives and itemizes much detailed information, but the over-riding argument is forthright. Egypt's new army did not give vent to an emergent tide of pent-up nationalism against the Ottomans 'as soldiers far from rushing enthusiastically to join the colors and defend the nation, came to view conscription as a heavy tax exacted by an already oppressive and intolerant regime' ... Fahmy's study makes both interesting and stimulating reading which is certain to provoke much discussion.' The Historical Association



Book Information
ISBN 9781009077965
Author Khaled Fahmy
Format Paperback
Page Count 352
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 498g
Dimensions(mm) 234mm * 156mm * 19mm