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Follow Egypt from the Ottoman conquest and the Qanun-name through the Mamluk beys and Ali Bey al-Kabir to Napoleon's invasion and the power vacuum of 1801.

Use the timeline below to navigate through major events and milestones.

Ottoman Egypt · 1517–1805
Eyalet-i Mısır

Ottoman Egypt

From Selim I's incorporation of Egypt as an Ottoman province and the administrative order of the Qanun-name through the rise of the Mamluk beylicate and Ali Bey al-Kabir's bid for independence, Napoleon's invasion and the corps of savants who launched Egyptology, to the French withdrawal and the power vacuum from which Muhammad Ali would emerge in 1805. Slide across three centuries of the Ottoman province on the Nile.

1517 AD
Ottoman Province
1 / 6
In the year of Our Lord

1517 AD

Ottoman Province
  • Political

    Egypt becomes an Ottoman province

    After Selim I's conquest, Egypt is governed as an Ottoman eyalet under a pasha sent from Istanbul, its grain and revenues feeding the empire.

6 milestones
Full Chronicle

Ottoman Egypt

From Selim I's incorporation of Egypt as an Ottoman province and the administrative order of the Qanun-name through the rise of the Mamluk beylicate and Ali Bey al-Kabir's bid for independence, Napoleon's invasion and the corps of savants who launched Egyptology, to the French withdrawal and the power vacuum from which Muhammad Ali would emerge in 1805. Slide across three centuries of the Ottoman province on the Nile.

  1. Ottoman Province

    • Egypt becomes an Ottoman province

      After Selim I's conquest, Egypt is governed as an Ottoman eyalet under a pasha sent from Istanbul, its grain and revenues feeding the empire.

  2. Ottoman Province

    • The Qanun-name of Egypt

      The grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha issues a great administrative code organising the government, taxation, and military of the new province.

  3. Rise of the Beys

    • The Mamluk beylicate eclipses the pasha

      As Istanbul's grip loosens, the Mamluk beys and rival regimental factions become the real masters of Egypt, reducing the Ottoman governor to a figurehead.

  4. Mamluk Resurgence

    • Ali Bey al-Kabir's bid for independence

      The Mamluk leader Ali Bey al-Kabir seizes control of Egypt, expels the Ottoman governor, and briefly rules as an independent sultan.

  5. The French Invasion

    • Napoleon invades Egypt

      Napoleon Bonaparte lands in Egypt and shatters the Mamluk cavalry at the Battle of the Pyramids, bringing French rule and a corps of scholars.

  6. The Power Vacuum

    • The French withdrawal and the struggle for Egypt

      A joint Ottoman–British campaign forces the French army to evacuate Egypt, leaving a three-way struggle for power among Ottomans, Mamluks, and Albanian troops.