An Ottoman pasha of Egypt, Mohammed Ali (1769-1849) was often known as the father of modern Egypt because of the economic, social, and political changes set in motion during his almost half century of personal rule.

Mohammed Ali, the son of humble Turkish parents, was born in the Aegean seaport of Kavalla in Macedonia. His father was a town watchman. The young Mohammed Ali worked as a tax collector and tobacco merchant before becoming an officer in an Albanian regiment which the Ottoman sultan sent to Egypt in 1799 to repulse Napoleon's invasion and occupation.

Mohammed Ali, with the support of his Albanian troops, acted skillfully and shrewdly in balancing his Ottoman and Mamluk rivals for power in the several years of anarchy following the withdrawal of the European troops. He secured the support of native Egyptian religious, notable, and guild leaders, had himself proclaimed pasha in 1805, and left...