Khedive
- For the HMS Khedive, see USS Cordova.
A khedive (from Persian: "lord"; Arabic: خديوي ) is a title of high, ministerial rank in the Ottoman Empire, first, and nearly exclusively, used by Muhammad Ali Pasha and his subsequent line of dynastic successors, who ruled Egypt and Sudan from 1805 to 1914.
Muhammad Ali Pasha (c. 1769 - 1849) assumed the title when he took power in 1805. As a general (with the high rank of pasha) of the Ottoman Empire, he had driven Napoleon Bonaparte from Egypt and set himself as a practically independent Monarch in all but name. Officially, he and his succeeding heirs held the title as as Ottoman Governor (also known as Viceroy) tributary of Egypt and Sudan to the Ottoman Empire, though in reality the writ of the Porte (the Ottoman court) did not extend to Egypt after Muhammad Ali seized power in 1805. The Empire did not recognize the dynasty's claim to the title until 1867. In 1914, Khedive Abbas II was deposed and his uncle, Husayn, became sultan in his place, ending the khedival style of the Egyptian rulers. Muhammad Ali's dynasty, however, continued through Husayn until 1952.
Etymology
This title, known for its use by the Muhammad Ali Dynasty of Egypt and Sudan, is recorded in English since 1867, derived via the French khédive from Turkish khidiv, from Persian khidiw "prince," derivative of khuda "master, prince," from Old Persian khvadata- "lord," from the compound khvat-data-, literally "created from oneself," from khvat- (from the Proto-IndoEuropean root swe-tos "from oneself," ablative of base s(w)e-; see idiom) + data- "created."
Egypt from Muhammad Ali to Abbas II
Following the French invasion of Egypt in 1798, and Napoleon's defeat of the Mamluks, the Ottoman Empire dispatched Albanian troops under the command of Muhammad Ali to restore the Empire's authority in what had hitherto been an Ottoman province. However, upon the French defeat and departure, Muhammad Ali seized control of the country and declared himself ruler of Egypt, quickly consolidating an independent local powerbase. After repeated failed attempts to remove and kill him, in 1805, the Porte officially recognized Muhammad Ali as Pasha and Wali (Governor) of Egypt. However, demonstrating his grander ambitions, he claimed for himself the higher Ottoman title of Khedive, as did his successors, Ibrahim Pasha, Abbas I and Sa'id I.
The Muhammad Ali Dynasty’s use of the title Khedive was not sanctioned by the Ottoman Empire until 1867 ,when Sultan Abd-ul-Aziz officially recognized it as the title of Ismail Pasha. Moreover, the Porte accepted Ismail's alteration of the royal line of succession to go from father to son, rather than brother to brother as was the tradition in the Arab World and the Ottoman Empire. In 1879, the Great Powers forced the abdication and exile of Ismail in favor of his son Tewfik who succeeded him as Khedive.
After the nationalist Urabi Revolt of 1882, Britain invaded Egypt in support of Tewfik, and would continue to occupy and dominate the country for decades. During this period, the Muhammad Ali Dynasty under Tewfik and his son Abbas II continued to rule Egypt and Sudan using the title Khedive, whilst still nominally under Ottoman sovereignty. With the outbreak of the First World War, Abbas sided with the Ottoman Empire, which had joined the war on the side of the Central Powers, and was subsequently deposed by the British, who declared Egypt a protectorate. Abbas was replaced by his uncle Husayn who took the sovereign title Sultan, thereby ending the use of the title Khedive.
See also
- Wali
- Muhammad Ali of Egypt
- Ismail Pasha
- Muhammad Ali Dynasty
- [[Egypt under Muhammad Ali and his successors]
- Rulers and heads of state of Egypt
- The status of the Khedive In Muslim countries nominally under Ottoman rule, there was a conflict between the Khedive (representing the Ottoman empire) and the local governments which arose to excercise real power. This divide could become deeply entrenched as was manifested during the British invasion of Egypt in 1882. The Egyptian public was so polarized between the khedive and local government that they could not uniformly support either entity and maintain their real independence.
Sources and references
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Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia; from the article "Khedive". Image Credit.
