The Ottoman Empire's governors of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

from 1517 to 1805 were at various times known by different but synonymous titles, among them ''

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the I ...

'',

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, or, more generally, ''

wāli ''Wāli'', ''Wā'lī'' or ''vali'' (from ''Wālī'') is an administrative title that was used in the Muslim world (including the Rashidun, Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates and the Ottoman Empire) to designate governors of administrative divis ...

''. Furthermore, the Ottoman sultans very often changed positions of their governors in rapid succession, leading to complex and long lists of incumbents (this being the main reason for a political crisis in 1623, where the local Ottoman soldiers successfully sued to keep

Kara Mustafa Pasha Kara Mustafa Pasha (; ; "Mustafa Pasha the Courageous"; 1634/1635 – 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman nobleman, military figure and Grand Vizier, who was a central character in the Ottoman Empire's last attempts at expansion into both Centr ...

as governor after his replacement by Çeşteci Ali Pasha after only one year). Governors ruled from the

Cairo Citadel The Citadel of Cairo or Citadel of Saladin () is a medieval Islamic-era fortification in Cairo, Egypt, built by Salah ad-Din (Saladin) and further developed by subsequent Egyptian rulers. It was the seat of government in Egypt and the residenc ...

in Cairo. They ruled along with their

divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

(governmental council), consisting of a ''

kadı A kadi (, ) was an official in the Ottoman Empire. In Arabic, the term () typically refers to judges who preside over matters in accordance with sharia Islamic law; under Ottoman rule, however, the kadi also became a crucial part of the imperi ...

'' (judge) and '' defterdar'' (treasurer). The title "''

''" refers to the regular governors specifically appointed to the post by the

Ottoman sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

, while the title "''

kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by #Names, many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been reta ...

''", when used in the context of Ottoman Egypt, refers to an acting governor who ruled over the province between the departure of the previous governor and the arrival of the next one. Although almost all governors were succeeded and preceded by a ''kaymakam'' due to the traveling distance from their old post to Egypt, only the most notable are included in this list. Below is a list of Ottoman ''

s'' of the

Egypt Eyalet Ottoman Egypt was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire after the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–1517), conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517. The Ottomans administered Egypt as a Eyalet, province (''eyalet'') of their empir ...

of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 ( the Ottoman conquest of Egypt) to 1805 (the beginning of the Muhammad Ali dynasty; see

list of monarchs of the Muhammad Ali dynasty Monarchs of the Muhammad Ali dynasty reigned over Egypt from 1805 to 1953. Their rule also extended to Sudan throughout much of this period, as well as to the Levant, and Hejaz during the first half of the nineteenth century. The Muhammad Ali ...

). Governors of Egypt after 1805 are not included in this list because, although they were still nominally and officially Ottoman governors of the province, they assumed the monarchical title "

Khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...

" that was unrecognized by the central Ottoman government and passed the role in a hereditary fashion. Acting governors (''kaymakams'') are not included in the numbering.

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* * * * * * __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:List of Ottoman governors of Egypt

Ottoman governors of Egypt The Ottoman Empire's governors of Egypt from 1517 to 1805 were at various times known by different but synonymous titles, among them ''beylerbey'', viceroy, governor, governor-general, or, more generally, ''wāli''. Furthermore, the Ottoman sult ...

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

See also

Notes

References

Main sources