Eighteenth century Egypt was officially part of the Ottoman Empire, having been conquered in 1517. Prior to that, she had been ruled by the Mamluks, a dynasty of slave warriors, who had themselves seized control in 1250. The Ottoman conquest had not seen the destruction of the Mamluks, who had retained control of large parts of the country within the new Ottoman system. By the start of the eighteenth century, the Mamluks had regained most of their former power.
The Mamluks were not a unified force. Different Mumluk households fought for control over Egypt, and even when the Qazdagli faction was victorious (by about 1765), the fighting did not stop. Finally, in 1775, the winner of a particularly bitter conflict died, and the Mamluks descended into chaos. The followers of the two factions split into two main factions, that themselves each had at least two leaders. By 1778 the faction that included Ibrahim Bey and Murad Bey was victorious, at which point they then started fighting between themselves. Over the next few years they were constantly making and breaking peace agreements, before finally coming to a more permanent understanding in 1785. Unfortunately, by this time Murad Bey had so often threatened the foreign merchants upon whose taxes he depended, that after yet another attack on the merchants of Alexandria in1786, they appealed to Istanbul.
The government in Istanbul was already considering launching an expedition to regain control of what was one of their most valuable possessions. This expedition arrived in July 1786, but could only drive Murad Bey and Ibrahim Bey from Cairo. They took refuge in Upper Egypt, their enemies were returned to power, while the Ottoman commander was recalled in 1787. For four years the two factions remained in balance – Murad and Ibrahim dominated the south, while Ismaâ??il Bey ruled in Cairo. The status quo was ended dramatically in 1791 when the plaque swept through Cairo, killing Ismaâ??il and most of his supporters. Murad and Ibrahim returned to Cairo in August 1791 with the Sultan's pardon.
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