Tahir Pasha (Egypt)

Tahir Pasha Pojani or Thir Pasha born in Kavala as the son of Ahmed Bey and Zohra Khanum, older sister to Muhammad Ali of Egypt - (died May 29 1803) was the Albanian commander of bashi-bazouks under Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha. He rebelled and assumed government of Cairo, becoming the acting Ottoman governor of Egypt on 6 May 1803. He was beheaded by a Janissary soldier within a month of acting as governor when he was unable to pay the troops their outstanding pay.

Albanian commander

Ottoman Albanian troops were sent by the Ottoman sultan in 1801 to fight against the French invasion of Ottoman Egypt under Napoleon, which had occurred in 1798. Tahir Pasha was the commander of the Albanian troops sent by the Ottoman sultan in 1801 to fight against the French.

Although successful in ousting the French with significant help from the British, the Albanian troops, led by the other Albanian commander, his maternal Uncle Muhammad Ali, chose to remain in Egypt and gain influence for themselves.

Cairo seized

In accordance with the Treaty of Amiens, the British evacuated Alexandria in March 1803 leaving a power vacuum in Egypt. Muhammad Bey al-Alfi had accompanied the British to lobby them to help restore the power of the Mamelukes. In their attempts to return to power, the Mamelukes took Minia and interrupted communication between Upper and Lower Egypt.

About six weeks later, the legitimate Ottoman governor of Egypt Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha, finding himself in a financial bind and unable to pay all the troops under his command, attempted to disband his Albanian mercenaries or Albanian bashi-bazouks (or Arnauts) without pay in order to be able to pay his regular other Otomans soldiers. The Albanians, led by Tahir Pasha, refused to disband, and instead surrounded the house of the ''defterdar'' (finance minister), who appealed in vain to Hüsrev Pasha to satisfy their claims. Instead, the Pasha commenced an artillery bombardment from batteries located in and near his palace on the insurgent soldiers who had taken the house of the ''defterdar'', located in the Ezbekia. The citizens of Cairo, accustomed to such occurrences, immediately closed their shops and armed themselves. The tumult in the city continued all day, and the next morning a body of troops sent out by Hüsrev Pasha failed to quell it.

Tahir Pasha then repaired to the citadel, gaining admittance through an embrasure, and from there began a counter bombardment of the pasha's forces over the roofs of the intervening houses. Soon thereafter, Tahir descended with his guns to the Ezbekia and then laid close siege to the governor's palace. The following day, Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha fled with his women, servants, and regular troops to Damietta along the Nile.

Acting Ottoman Governor of Egypt

After Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha fled, Tahir assumed the government. The local judges confirmed him as ''kaymakam'' (acting governor) on 6 May 1806, largely because his Albanian troops were very loyal to him.

On May 19 there was a disturbance that resulted in the arrest beheading of Master Malati, also known as Moallem Malati, a Coptic Orthodox Church scribe of Ayyoub Bey El-Defterdar. He was one of the Mamluks of Muhammad Bey Abu al-Dhahab and was made general manager of a department to look after national problems when the French under Napoléon Bonaparte occupied Egypt. After the French left, the rulers of Egypt assumed the responsibility to protect Master Gergis El-Gohary, Master Wasef, and Master Malati. Malati was beheaded at Bab Zoweila in Cairo and subsequently canonized by the Coptic Orthodox Church.

Manipulated by his maternal Uncle Muhammad Ali, two Janissary chiefs confronted him for their jamakiya pay that he was unable to pay. The two drew their swords and rushed at Tahir, and one beheaded him.

A prolonged battled then ensued between the Albanians and other Ottoman troops, creating a chasm between the two leading forces. For a time, Mameluks oscillated between the two factions and also considered regaining power on their own behalf. His maternal Uncle Muhammad Ali, one of the regimental commanders, became the leader of the Albanians. Realizing he had a weaker position than the other Ottomans, Ali entered into an alliance with the Mameluke leaders Ibrahim Bey and Osman Bey al-Bardisi.

The two men that killed Tahir Pasha were sentenced to death.

Funerary complex

In 1819 a funerary complex with a domed mausoleum was established in Cairo of 15th century Mamluk style architecture that was dedicated to Tahir and other family members. It is described in ''Islamic Art in the 19th Century'' as the first initiative of Mamluk revival in the 19th century.''

Notes

References

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18th-century Albanian people
19th-century Albanian people
19th-century Ottoman governors of Egypt
Albanians from the Ottoman Empire
People from the Ottoman Empire of Albanian descent
Albanian Pashas
Egyptian people of Albanian descent
Ottoman military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars