Editing History of Egypt (section)

== Muhammed Ali Dynasty ==
{{Main | Muhammad Ali dynasty }}
[[File:Egypt under Muhammad Ali Dynasty map en.png|thumb|Map of Egypt under [[Muhammad Ali dynasty]]]]

The expulsion of the French in 1801 by [[Ottoman Turks|Ottoman]], [[Mamluk]], and British forces was followed by four years of anarchy in which Ottomans, Mamluks, and [[Albanians]] — who were nominally in the service of the Ottomans – wrestled for power. Out of this chaos, the commander of the Albanian regiment, [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]] ([[Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha]]) emerged as a dominant figure and in 1805 was acknowledged by the [[Sultan]] in [[Istanbul]] as his [[viceroy]] in Egypt; <!--[[Muhammad Ali's seizure of power]] -->the title implied subordination to the Sultan but this was in fact a polite fiction: Ottoman power in Egypt was finished and Muhammad Ali, an ambitious and able leader, established a [[dynasty]] that was to rule Egypt until the revolution of 1952. After 1882 the dynasty became a British puppet.<ref>M. Abir, "Modernisation, Reaction and Muhammad Ali's 'Empire'" ''Middle Eastern Studies'' 13#3 (1977), pp. 295–313 [https://www.jstor.org/stable/4282660 online]</ref>

Muhammad Ali's primary focus was military: he annexed [[Northern Sudan]] (1820–1824), [[Syria]] (1833), and parts of [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]] and [[Anatolia]]; but in 1841 the European powers, fearful lest he topple the Ottoman Empire itself, forced him to return most of his conquests to the Ottomans. He kept the Sudan and his title to Egypt was made hereditary. A more lasting result of his military ambition is that it required him to modernize the country. Eager to adopt the military (and therefore industrial) techniques of the great powers, he sent students to the West and invited training missions to Egypt. He built industries, a system of canals for irrigation and transport, and reformed the civil service.<ref name="Nejla M. Abu Izzeddin 1973, p 2">Nejla M. Abu Izzeddin, ''Nasser of the Arabs'', published c. 1973, p 2.</ref>

The introduction in 1820 of long-staple cotton, the Egyptian variety of which became notable, transformed its agriculture into a cash-crop [[monoculture]] before the end of the century. The social effects of this were enormous: land ownership became concentrated and many foreigners arrived, shifting production towards international markets.<ref name="Nejla M. Abu Izzeddin 1973, p 2" />