The Egyptian Issue and the Sectarian Conflict in Syria and Mount Lebanon (1839-1861 AD)

Abstract

This study aims to shed light on two important topics in Arab and Ottoman history. The first one is the Egyptian issue, which refers to the conflict that took place between the governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, and the Ottoman Empire over the rule of the province of Syria, and this conflict lasted for a decade (1831-1841 AD). The study focuses in particular on the end of the Egyptian rule in the province of Syria, and the policy of the Ottoman Empire to expel the Egyptians from the Syrian lands during the reign of Sultan Abdul Majid I (1839-1861 AD). On this topic, the study attempts to address the following questions: 1 -What were the reasons that led Muhammad Ali Pasha, the governor of the Ottoman Empire, to separate from the Empire؟ 2 -What is the stance of the European countries towards the Egyptian issue؟ 3 -What are the most important results achieved by the Treaty of London (1840 AD)؟ 4 -How did the Egyptians evacuate the province of Syria؟ Second, the sectarian conflict in Syria and Mount Lebanon began after the Egyptians left the province of Syria and Mount Lebanon (1841 AD). One of the most important drivers of this conflict was the Egyptian politics during the Egyptians’rule over the state of Syria. This research discusses the reasons that led to the sectarian conflict between the "Druze and Maronites", and it expolores the Ottoman state's stance towards the revolutions that broke out from Mount Lebanon in (1842 AD) and extended to the mandate of Syria, and until the implementation of the Basic Law on Mount Lebanon in (1861 AD). On this topic, the study attempts to answer the following questions: 1 -What are the causes of the conflicts between the Maronite and Druze sects, and does it have any relation to the Egyptian policy? 2 -What is the position of the European countries and the Ottoman Empire regarding the sectarian conflict in Mount Lebanon? 3 -Did the "Qaymaqam" system for managing mixed areas in Lebanon (1842 AD) find a solution to the problem of sectarian conflict in Mount Lebanon? This research was based on a group of unpublished and published documents, some Arab and Arabized sources and previous studies related to the two research topics in question. Keywords: the Ottoman state - the state of Syria - Muhammad Ali Pasha - the revolutions of Mount Lebanon - the sectarian conflict