MUHAMMAD ALI OF EGYPT: (1769-1849) Wali of Egypt, Sudan and Crete. Considered the Founder of modern Egypt. Muhammad ...

MUHAMMAD ALI OF EGYPT: (1769-1849) Wali of Egypt, Sudan and Crete. Considered the Founder of modern Egypt. Muhammad Ali, of Albanian Ottoman origin, was the Governor and the de facto Ruler of Egypt from 1805 to 1848. Rare A.L.S., by Muhammad Ali, a very attractive signature with flourish, one page, 4to, in Arabic. Untranslated. Bearing alongside the signature the ink seal of the Viceroy. Small overall minor age wear. G Muhammad Ali was a military Commander of an Albanian Ottoman force which was sent to recover Egypt from French occupation under Napoleon Bonaparte. Following Napoleon's withdrawal, Muhammad Ali rose to power, and in 1805 he was named Wali or Viceroy of Egypt and gained the rank of Pasha. He initiated a violent purge of the Mamluks, ending with their hold over Egypt. In 1831 Muhammad Ali waged war against the Sultan, capturing Syria, and directly threatening Constantinople but the European powers forced him to retreat. Same happened in 1840, defeating the Ottomans, and again about to capture Constantinople, but accepted peace in 1842 after a European intervention, withdrawing from the Levant, but obtaining in return that he and his descendants were granted hereditary rule over Egypt and Sudan. The dynasty he established would rule Egypt until the Revolution of 1952.