other · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Ottoman Egypt

1517 CE – 1805 CE · capital Cairo

Egypt as an Ottoman province for nearly three centuries, ruled by pashas from Istanbul while the old Mamluk elite kept real power.

Origins

Sultan Selim I destroyed the Mamluk Sultanate at Marj Dabiq in 1516 and Ridaniya in January 1517, then hanged the last Mamluk sultan Tumanbay at Cairo. Egypt became a province of the Ottoman Empire, governed under the law code issued by Suleiman's grand vizier Ibrahim Pasha in 1525.

Rule and society

A pasha appointed from Istanbul governed with regiments such as the Janissaries, but Mamluk households re-emerged as beys holding key offices. Egypt supplied grain and tax revenue to Istanbul and controlled the coffee and spice trade of the Red Sea. Al-Azhar remained the leading centre of Sunni learning. In 1768 Ali Bey al-Kabir briefly declared independence.

Decline and legacy

Bonaparte's invasion in 1798 and the French occupation of Egypt shattered Mamluk power. In the turmoil after the French left, Muhammad Ali was recognised as governor in 1805, beginning Egypt under Muhammad Ali.

Lineage

Mamluk Sultanate 1250 CE – 1517 CEOttoman EgyptEgypt under Muhammad Ali 1805 CE – 1867 CE

Connections (5)

Ottoman Egypt was a province of Ottoman Empire1517 CE – 1805 CE
Hawwara emirate was a vassal of Ottoman Egypt1580 CE – 1769 CE
Hawwara emirate was conquered by Ottoman Egypt1769 CE
Ottoman Egypt was conquered by French occupation of Egypt1798 CE – 1801 CE
French occupation of Egypt was conquered by Ottoman Egypt1801 CE

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Cite this page

APA: The Epoch Institute. (2026). Ottoman Egypt. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ottoman-egypt
MLA: “Ottoman Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ottoman-egypt. Accessed .
Chicago: The Epoch Institute. “Ottoman Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ottoman-egypt.
Harvard: The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Ottoman Egypt’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/ottoman-egypt (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻