Dabour Hub EGEgyptian Curriculum 2026/2027
Destroying the popular leadership

Destroying the popular leadership

Point 6 of 7 — Lesson 12: The Rise of Muhammad Ali and the Consolidation of His Power in EgyptQuestion bank: 0 questions (0 with pictures)

06Destroying the popular leadership

Why he got rid of it

  • Muhammad Ali realised the strength of the popular leadership and the restrictions it had placed on him when he accepted the waliya.
  • He grew wary of Omar Makram's rising standing among the people.
  • He saw the need to monopolise rule without popular guardianship.
  • He was helped by the division among the popular leaders over Omar Makram's standing, his rivals secretly intriguing against him.

The crisis of 1808

  • The Nile flood fell low (August 1808); conditions worsened, prices rose and the government increased taxes.
  • The people complained to the ulema, and the ulema asked Muhammad Ali to relieve the crisis by not collecting the assessed taxes.
  • He rebuked them, because they had not done for the people what he had found they did for themselves when the ulema exempted the multazims from the tax on the surplus of their iltizam — so he put them in a difficult position before the people.

The exile of Omar Makram

  • Muhammad Ali exploited the crisis to issue decisions on taxes and property that gave him control and sole rule.
  • By the terms of his appointment, Omar Makram's consent was required, but he refused to deliberate.
  • His rivals seized the opportunity and set Muhammad Ali against him, so he was dismissed from the naqaba of the ashraf and exiled to Damietta (1809), and Muhammad al-Sadat was appointed in his place.
  • Al-Sadat became a pliant tool in Muhammad Ali's hands.

📝 Question bank for this point

0 questions linked to this point only, 0 of them with pictures.