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world, overran a large portion of Asia and Africa, and even carried his victorious arms into the confines of Europe, subduing large and powerful kingdoms, and making them tributary and subordinate to the nation over which he reigned. More than five hundred years elapsed, and Egypt, under the successors of this monarch, or controlled by an oligarchy of twelve governors, maintained its supremacy among the kingdoms of the earth, when its independence was destroyed by Persian arms; and as a province of Persia, or of the Roman empire, it remained for centuries, until its conquest by the Saracens, led on by Amru, a follower of Mahommed, and one of the most politic and warlike of the believers of the great prophet. At the close of the twelfth century, the renowned Saladin ascended the throne of the Pharoahs. The battles which he fought with the mailed crusaders, who at successive periods endeavored to wrest the holy city from the grasp of the infidels, the mighty resistance which their combined forces, amounting to three hundred thousand warriors, met with before the walls of Ptolemais, better known by its modern name of Acre, and his fierce encounters with the lion-hearted king of England, have given him an imperishable name; while his encouragement of literature and schools, which, amid the clash of arms, and the din of contest, he did not forget to promote, added a mild lustre to his reign. It was under this monarch that the foundation was laid for the ultimate sway of the Mamlouks; and as we shall find it necessary, in the course of our article, to mention this remarkable class of men, we will here notice their origin.

As was often done in former ages, Saladin, in reality a usurper, who did not place entire reliance upon the loyalty of his native troops, encircled his person with a band of foreigners, composed of slaves, purchased or made captives in the provinces bordering on the southern shores of the Caspian Sea. This body-guard, whose descendants subsequently, and for a long space of time ruled the destinies of Egypt, were called Mamlouks, The introduction of these men, by successive monarchs, was continued upon a large scale. Their power was increased, and many new privileges were conferred upon such of their number as distinguished themselves in the field, until they made themselves so formidable by their military prowess, as to bid defiance to the reigning power, which Ibeg, one of their number, at length usurped; and the Mamlouk dynasty swayed the affairs of Egypt, during a period of one hundred and twenty years. It was then doomed to expire, and another usurper, springing from a new class of slaves, laid the foundation for a new race of kings. Of the many young men annually taken by force, or purchased and brought into Egypt, numbers came from that portion of Western Asia now denominated Circassia. These were distributed throughout the country in forts, and were called Borghites, or garrison troops, to distinguish them from those who served in the field. Boreck, one of their captains, a man eminently wise and brave, supported by their strength, which had increased even more rapidly than that of the Mamlouks, finally seized the sovereign power, and thus established a second dynasty of slaves, which was perpetuated until the conquest of Egypt by the Turks, in 1517, when it was reduced by their victorious arms to the condition of mere province.

We have thus hastily and very briefly reviewed some of the prominent revolutions which the government of Egypt underwent for centuries down to the period of its subjection to the Ottoman Porte; and our object in

doing this, has been as well to show the declining power of its native inhabitants, the intellectual darkness which gradually stole over a people once so enlightened, and the growing facility with which a powerful and ambitious man, particularly the head of a fierce band of warriors, could leap into the throne, and for a time at least, wield the destinies of this distracted nation, as to present the vast, and apparently the insurmountable difficulties to be overcome in rebuilding its political fabric upon the wise and firm basis, which, in the earliest ages, had so eminently distinguished Egypt from the other nations of the earth. Every successive generation had for many centuries multiplied the numbers and power of the Mamlouks and Borghites, while the strength and influence of the native Egyp tians were continually weakened; and while the latter were gradually deprived of all participation in administering the more important departments of the government, foreigners, whom their ancestors had originally introduced as slaves, had unriveted their chains, until they finally trod upon the necks of their former masters.

While this devoted country was thus groaning under the successive hor. rors of despotism and anarchy, no improvement in the condition of its miserable population could have been expected. Confusion and chaos reigned throughout every portion of its political organization. Every department of its civil administration was swayed by dark-minded, blood-thirsty tyrants, whose sole object was the acquisition of power, which was in part accomplished by wrenching from the defenceless beings over whom they ruled enormous taxes, enforcing payment at the point of the sword. Throughout the vast extent of this land, possessing as rich a soil as any of which the world could boast, its native inhabitants were loaded with the accumulated evils of cruel exactions and the most abject poverty. Oppressions of every nature were heaped upon them, and until they could again rise to their legitimate position as rulers, no improvement in their laws, no advancement in the scale of that progressive civilization which was gradually spreading over the nations of Europe, could have been anticipated with the slightest degree of hope or confidence; and, when the Turks, after many fierce and bloody battles, had finally completed their conquest of the land of the pyramids, it seemed in little danger of being worse governed by them than it had been, for ages previous, by its domestic usurpers.

But in tracing its history from that period down to the time Mohammed Ali became invested with its sovereignty, marking, as we glance along, a space of some three hundred years, the numerous tyrants that rapidly succeeded each other in the government of the conquered province, causing by their cruelties, internal convulsions, intestine wars-ending, perhaps, in hurling one ruler from his seat, and exalting a rival despot in his place, whose power would soon disappear before the swords of a faction mightier than his own,—we cannot but perceive that these have been as gloomy, if not the darkest, and most dreary ages in the annals of Egyptian history. And for the purpose of clearly presenting the broad and just foundation upon which the claims of Mohammed to the government of Egypt are based, we trust that our readers will not be wearied if, in enforcing our views upon this point, we notice the leading events which characterized the rule of the Sublime Porte over its subordinate province, from the period of its conquest down to the appointment of the present pasha. This we promise to accomplish with all possible brevity; and, although the condition of Egypt, as we have described it under the

sway of the Mamlouks and Borghites, discloses a picture extremely revolting, yet the main features presented in the government of its Turkish masters are still more disgusting and horrible. In examining this branch of our subject, it will appear that the sultan has never, except perhaps during short periods, exercised more than a mere nominal sovereignty ever the nation which he now calls upon the great powers of Europe to assist in subjecting to his sway; but, that its government has, in fact, been administered by viceroys, elevated by intrigue or open armed power, leading oftentimes to bloodshed, who, through the influence of a weighty name, and supported by numerous military adherents, have violently seized upon the sovereignty, maintaining it by the sword, and in open defiance of the Turkish monarch.

As the form of government established in Egypt by the Turks was somewhat peculiar, its general outline may not be uninteresting. It consisted of a divan or council, composed of the heads or commanders of the seven military bodies, over which the pasha or viceroy always presided. Twenty-four beys, composed at first mostly, and afterwards entirely, of Mamlouks, presided over as many provinces or districts, into which the nation was divided; and from these were chosen the remaining grand officers of the nation, consisting of the sheik el belled, or governor of Grand Cairo; the janizary aga, or commander of the janizaries; the defturder, or accountant-general; the emir el hadgi, or conductor of the caravan; the emir el said, or governor of Upper Egypt; and the sheik el beklim, or governor of the sheirfs.

It was during the sixteenth century, and when Soliman the First, of Turkey, was involved in war with the great European powers, that the beys of Egypt began to exercise a power which, in a short time, rendered them too formidable to be successfully resisted. Intrusted as they then were with the collection of the revenues of their respective districts, it was in their power to levy them promptly, and, if necessary, with severity; to delay their collection for a ruinous length of time, or even to remit them altogether. Placed in control of the very source from whence the government derived its support and maintained its military establishment, the pasha and the members of the divan assiduously courted their favor; while they, in turn, ministered to the rapacity of the divan and its head, until, by a silent and gradual acquisition of power, they had, in a short time, obtained the almost unlimited control of public affairs. Whenever a vacancy occurred in the head of a province, the most influential bey had his favorite Mamlouk appointed to fill it; and in this manner, the most powerful of these chiefs, grasping fresh patronage at every stride, secured a still greater share in administering the government, until, at length, the Mamlouks became, as they had formerly been, the only efficient soldiers in the state. Seizing upon circumstances like these, and rising step by step to the consummation of his wishes, veiling his designs until they were ripe for execution, and concealing his object until strong enough to grasp and retain it, Ibrahim, one of the veteran colonels of the janizaries, succeeded, about the middle of the last century, in making himself master of Egypt. By lavishing presents upon the officers and soldiers of his corps, he had endeared them to him, until they were devotedly attached to his interests; and, when Rodoan, the most powerful of the Azab colonels, espoused his cause, his political ascendancy was rendered complete. Compared with the power of Ibrahim Bey, that of the pasha dwindled into

insignificance; his authority was utterly disregarded; that of the sultan was treated with contempt; while the daring and rebellious bey, inde. pendent of all earthly sovereigns, relying only upon his fierce warriors, wielded the absolute government of Egypt. At his death, eight Mamlouk beys, who were his enfranchised slaves, united, and after slaying Rodoan, assumed the administration of the government, which they managed through the influence of a cabal, and for the period of ten years maintained their independence, defying the Sublime Porte, and inflicting upon the poor natives all the miseries of a wretched and most cruel govern

ment.

At the expiration of this time, Ali Bey, one of their number, gained the superiority of his rivals, and made himself master of the whole country. The history of this remarkable personage, who, throughout his eventful career, disclosed the most brilliant and striking traits of character, was extraordinary. He was the son of a Circassian peasant, and after being bought or captured as a slave, was taken to Grand Cairo by a Jew, who gave him to the celebrated Ibrahim. His new master, whose quick perception early discovered the talents possessed by his young slave, bestowed upon him the usual education possessed by the higher order of Mamlouks; which, at that period, consisted of the most finished horsemanship, combined with the ready use of the carbine, pistol, and sabre; expertness in throwing the lance; and sometimes, a little reading and writing. In all the exercises of arms he displayed such activity and fire as speedily distinguished him from all his companions, and obtained for him the appella. tion of Djeudali, or Madcap. Upon arriving at manhood, he was enfranchised by his indulgent master; appointed one of the twenty-four beys; and, at the death of his powerful patron, he united with the eight beys we have mentioned, and was the principal instrument in precipitating Rodoan from his elevation. After this was accomplished, and while preparing plans for future aggrandizement, his rising power and growing influence excited the envy and fears of rival usurpers, who united against him; when, to escape beyond the reach of the fierce elements that were gathering for his destruction, he left the country, and retired into voluntary exile. Two years had elapsed, and his name was half forgotten, save by a chosen band of his most faithful followers, when he suddenly appeared in Grand Cairo; slew four of the most powerful beys, banished four others, and from that moment became the head and front of the dominant party. The pasha he immediately expelled, grasped the supreme power, refused to pay the annual tribute, bid defiance to the Turkish sultan, and assumed the high prerogative of coining money in his own name. The Sublime Porte, at that time engaged in the affairs of Poland, and fearful of the vast and lawless pretensions of Russia, which the latter, backed and supported by its giant strength, was putting forth, found it impossible to recover even a nominal sovereignty over the land of the pyramids; and, despairing to effect the subjugation of its mighty vassal by force, the usual methods of Turkish tyranny, poison and the bowstring, were secretly attempted, which Ali, ever watchful and vigilant, contrived to turn with deadly effect against those who bore them. Firmly seated upon the throne he had so successfully usurped, he equipped a strong fleet in the Red Sea, and took possession of Mecca and Djidda; at the latter of which places it was his intention to establish the emporium of Indian commerce, and thus supersede the necessity of a voyage by the Cape of Good Hope.

The more effectually to consummate this noble purpose, he, in 1771, turned his arms against the Turkish power in Syria, marched sixty thou sand men into that country, under the command of Mohammed Bey, his friend, and fought a grand pitched battle with the Turks, in which the Mamlouks were victorious. But the ambitious plans of Ali were thwarted by the treachery of his general; who, bribed by the sultan's gold, commenced a shameful retreat; leaving behind him, in his precipitate flight, his principal military stores, and heavy artillery. After turning his back upon the plains of Syria, no obstacle arrested him until he presented himself before his astounded master in Grand Cairo; who, remembering the former valuable services of his treacherous subject, inflicted upon him no other punishment than that of banishing him to the provinces. There he collected around him numbers of the discontented Mamlouks, until at length his followers swelled into a formidable army; and, determined to be revenged upon the author of his disgrace, and aided in no slight degree by the assistance and encouragement he received from the Ottoman Porte, he marched to the neighborhood of Grand Cairo, where a fiercer battle was fought, in which Ali, after being terribly defeated, fled into Syria. There, with the assistance of Daher, his old ally, he drew around him a small band of warriors, with which he attacked the Turkish army that was marching to seize him; and although it was more than three times the number of his own, the fortunate star, which but once in his life had deserted him, returned, and so furious were the charges he made, that his enemies were put to flight. Elated with his success, and resolved to recover the sovereignty of Egypt, he determined to retrace his steps, and once more try his fortune with Mohammed on the field of battle. Russia, at that time as willing to assist in wresting Egypt from the grasp of the sultan, as she now appears anxious to assist him in retaining it, offered to assist Ali in regaining the throne; promising him the aid of both soldiers and money. But he had grown impatient; and, contrary to the advice of his friends, refused to delay his expedition until the arrival of those re sources; but, placing himself at the head of his troops, marched into the Egyptian territory, where he was met by an army under one of Mohammed's generals, by whom he was defeated, taken prisoner, and afterwards murdered; and thus ended the career of the most remarkable man, with the exception of its present sovereign, who has appeared in Egypt for centuries, and who had long engaged the attention of the politicians of Europe, by whom he was looked upon as an individual likely to produce a beneficial revolution in the distracted country over which he reigned.

The short rule of Mohammed was marked by horrid atrocities. He pretended the most servile submission to the Porte, and sent the long delayed tribute to Constantinople, while he was, in reality, the unlimited and despotic master of Egypt, with power as absolute as that claimed by his predecessor. To revenge himself upon Daher, who, as we before remarked, had been the friend, and at one time the protector of Ali, Mohammed resolved to march into Syria; and, having obtained the permis sion of the Porte for that purpose, he at once proceeded upon the expedi tion, and in a short time commenced the siege of Jaffa. A treaty having been concluded between him and those commanding the forces in defence of the town, in violation of its provisions, and taking advantage of the security into which the inhabitants were lulled, he rushed in with his army, and by his orders the entire population, consisting of men, women, and

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