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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 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 as governor after his replacement by Çeşteci Ali Pasha after only one year).
Governors ruled from the Cairo Citadel in Cairo. They ruled along with their divan (governmental council), consisting of a kadı (judge) and defterdar (treasurer). The title "beylerbey" refers to the regular governors specifically appointed to the post by the Ottoman sultan, while the title "kaymakam", 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 wālis of the Egypt Eyalet 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). 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" 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.
No. | Governor | Start | End | Title | Identity notes[N 1] | Tenure notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yunus Pasha | ![]() |
1517 | 1517 | Beylerbey | [1][2] | Governorship revoked for corruption |
2 | Hayır Bey | No picture available | 1517 | 1522 | Beylerbey | [1][2][3][4] | Died in office |
3 | Çoban Mustafa Pasha | No picture available | 1522 | 1523 | Beylerbey | [1][2][5][6][7] | Put down a small Mamluk revolt[3] |
4 | Hain Ahmed Pasha | No picture available | 1523 | 1524 | Sultan | [1][2][3][7] | Rebelled, declared himself sultan; was executed[3][7] |
5 | Güzelce Kasım Pasha (1st) | No picture available | 1524 | 1525 | Beylerbey | [1][2][8] | |
6 | Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha | ![]() |
1525 | 1525 | Beylerbey | [1][9] | Remained for 3 months, organized the civil and military system of Ottoman Egypt[9] |
7 | Güzelce Kasım Pasha (2nd) | No picture available | 1525 | 1525 | Beylerbey | [1][2] | |
8 | Hadım Süleyman Pasha (1st) | ![]() |
1525 | 1535 | Beylerbey | [1][2] | |
9 | Divane Hüsrev Pasha | No picture available | 1535 | 1537 | Beylerbey | [1][2] | |
10 | Hadım Süleyman Pasha (2nd) | ![]() |
1537 | 1538 | Beylerbey | [1][2] | |
11 | Davud Pasha | No picture available | 1538 | 1549 | Beylerbey | [1][2][10] | Long-standing feud with Rüstem Pasha;[10] died in office |
– | Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha | ![]() |
1549 | 1549 | Kaymakam | [11][12] | Served only a few months[12] as acting governor[11] |
12 | Semiz Ali Pasha | No picture available | 1549 | 1553 | Beylerbey | [1][2][10] | Appointed to another position in Constantinople |
13 | Dukakinzade Mehmed Pasha | No picture available | 1553 | 1556 | Beylerbey | [1][2][13][14] | Used to sing in public with a guitar; executed for violating sharia[13] |
14 | Iskender Pasha | No picture available | 1556 | 1559 | Beylerbey | [1][2][14][15] | Had many public works built between Bab Zuweila and Bab al-Khalq[16] |
15 | Sofu Hadım Ali Pasha | No picture available | 1559 | 1560 | Beylerbey | [1][2][17] | Also known as Sufi Ali Pasha[17] or Hadım Ali Pasha;[1][2] died in office[1] |
16 | Kara Şahin Mustafa Pasha | No picture available | 1560 | 1563 | Beylerbey | [1][2][18] | Founder of the Ridwan dynasty, former governor of Gaza |
17 | Müezzinzade Ali Pasha | ![]() |
1563 | 1566 | Beylerbey | [1][2][13] | Also known as Sufi or Sofu Ali Pasha[13] |
18 | Mahmud Pasha | No picture available | 1566 | 1567 | Beylerbey | [19][20] | Built the Mosque of Mahmud Pasha and assassinated in office by gunfire[20] |
19 | Koca Sinan Pasha (1st) | ![]() |
1567 | 1569 | Beylerbey | [1][2][10] | |
20 | Çerkes Iskender Pasha | No picture available | 1569 | 1571 | Beylerbey | [1][2][21][22][23] | Known locally as al-Faqih, "the jurist"[24] |
21 | Koca Sinan Pasha (2nd) | ![]() |
1571 | 1573 | Beylerbey | [1][2][10] | |
22 | Hüseyin Pasha Boljanić | No picture available | 1573 | 1574 | Beylerbey | [1][25][26][27] | Of a mild disposition, but thieves multiplied during his short term[25] |
23 | Hadim Mesih Pasha | No picture available | 1574 | 1580 | Beylerbey | [1][2][13][25] | Put to death many thieves, stunting robbery in the region for centuries[25] |
24 | Hadım Hasan Pasha | No picture available | 1580 | 1583 | Beylerbey | [1][2][28] | Jailed in Constantinople[28] |
25 | Damat Ibrahim Pasha | No picture available | 1583 | 1585 | Beylerbey | [1][2] | |
26 | Defterdar Sinan Pasha | No picture available | 1585 | 1587 | Beylerbey | [1][2][3][29] | Dismissed after being unable to collect enough taxes[29] |
27 | Kara Üveys Pasha | No picture available | 1587 | 1590 | Beylerbey | [3][30][31][note 1] | Died in office[31] |
28 | Hadım Hafız Ahmed Pasha | No picture available | 1590 | 1594 | Beylerbey | [1][2] | Appointed governor of Bursa |
29 | Kurd Mehmed Pasha | No picture available | 1594 | 1596 | Beylerbey | [1][2] | |
30 | Emir Mehmed Pasha | No picture available | 1596 | 1598 | Beylerbey | [1][2][21][24][32][33] | Known as al-Sharif and seyyid, often visited the Al-Hussein Mosque[24] |
31 | Hızır Pasha | No picture available | 1598 | 1601 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][34] | |
32 | Yavuz Ali Pasha | No picture available | 1601 | 1603 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][35][36][note 2] | Appointed as Grand Vizier[35][36] |
33 | Maktul Hacı Ibrahim Pasha | No picture available | 1604 | 1604 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][37][38] | Murdered in a sepahi mutiny[39][40][41] |
34 | Hadım Mehmed Pasha | No picture available | 1604 | 1605 | Beylerbey | [1][33][41][note 3] | Attempted to get the mutiny under control, but failed[41] |
35 | Yemenli Hasan Pasha | No picture available | 1605 | 1607 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][42][43] | Previously the beylerbey of Yemen Eyalet (1580–1604)[42][43] |
36 | Öküz Mehmed Pasha | ![]() |
1607 | 1611 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][44][45][46][47] | Known as "kul kıran" (slavebreaker) for putting down sipahi mutiny[44][45][46][47] |
37 | Sofu Mehmed Pasha | No picture available | 1611 | 1615 | Beylerbey | [1][2][21][33][note 4] | Not to be confused with Grand Vizier Sofu Mehmed Pasha[2] |
38 | Nişancı Ahmed Pasha | No picture available | 1615 | 1618 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33] | Head of Janissaries (1615); not the same as Grand Vizier Nişancı Ahmed Pasha |
39 | Lefkeli Mustafa Pasha | No picture available | 1618 | 1618 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][48] | Left governance mostly in the hands of his family, corruption ensued[48] |
40 | Cafer Pasha | No picture available | 1618 | 1619 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][49] | Educated in various sciences and formerly governor of Yemen[49] |
41 | Hamidi Mustafa Pasha | No picture available | 1619 | 1620 | Beylerbey | [1][49] | Also known as Ispartalı Mustafa Pasha,[2] dismissed for anti-merchant policies[33][50] |
42 | Mere Hüseyin Pasha | No picture available | 1620 | 1622 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][51] | Dismissed after the flooding of the Nile caused a drought[52] |
43 | Biber Mehmed Pasha | No picture available | 1622 | 1622 | Beylerbey | [1][33][53][54] | Dismissed after 75 days;[53] also known as Pır[1] or Babür;[2] former wali of Budin[53] |
44 | Silahdar Ibrahim Pasha | No picture available | 1622 | 1623 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][53] | Drought led to his dismissal and successor accused him of financial fraud[53] |
45 | Kara Mustafa Pasha (1st) | No picture available | 1623 | 1623 | Beylerbey | [1][3][33][55] | Not the same as Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha[1] |
46 | Çeşteci Ali Pasha | No picture available | 1623 | 1623 | Beylerbey | [1][2][3][33][56][57] | Soldiers restored Kara Mustafa Pasha[33][56][57] |
47 | Kara Mustafa Pasha (2nd) | No picture available | 1624 | 1626 | Beylerbey | [1][2][3][33][56] | Soldiers, angry at the rapid change in governors, restored him[3][33][56] |
48 | Bayram Pasha | No picture available | 1626 | 1628 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][58] | Invested and speculated heavily in local merchants and businesses[58] |
49 | Tabanıyassı Mehmed Pasha | No picture available | 1628 | 1630 | Beylerbey | [1][2][33][59] | Only appeared 6 times in public, but was well-liked[60] |
50 | Koca Musa Pasha | No picture available | 1630 | 1631 | Beylerbey | [1][3][33][61] | Army forced his resignation after his brutality and murder of a local bey[3][62][63] |
51 | Halil Pasha | No picture available | 1631 | 1633 | Beylerbey | [1][33][64][note 5] | Known for his "gentle, impartial, and prosperous administration"[64] |