Anatomy of a Rebellion in Sixteenth-Century Egypt: A Case Study of Ahmed Pasha's Governorship, Revolt, Sultanate, and Critique of the Ottoman Imperial Enterprise

Abstract

This article is a study of the brief tenure, rebellion, and sultanate of Egypt’s Ottoman governor Ahmed Pasha (d.1524). It investigates the context of the rebel- lion, its aftermath and impact in Egypt and the Ottoman Empire as an event that showcases a critique of and challenge against the Ottoman imperial enterprise in the Arab lands following the region’s conquest from the Mamluks in 1517. Despite its historical significance, the rebellion has remained in the scholarly margins in sixteenth century Ottoman historical studies. This episode illuminates the theme of opposition to Ottoman imperialism with a focus on the opposition against the administrative implementation of the “Ottoman way” in Egypt following the demise of the Mamluk Sultanate. One of the goals here is to interpret the complex political context that resulted with the revolt. This context connects the empire’s “center” to its “periphery,” allowing us to revisit the socio-political dynamics of Egypt during the first decades of Ottoman rule. A case study of Ahmed Pasha’s revolt thus brings nuance to the state/”center”-oriented narratives that obfuscate the socio-political dynamics of the province/”periphery” by doing a comparative analysis of histories written in Egypt. State-centered narratives typically voice a swift and seamless transi- tion into Ottoman rulership in former Mamluk-ruled territories. As demonstrated in this article, Ahmed Pasha presented a powerful voice of dissent and an ideological critique of, and challenge against, Ottoman sovereignty as well as the implementation of the “Ottoman way” in Egypt.