pasha, highest honorary title in official usage in the Ottoman Empire and with slight variation in the states formed from its territories, where it is sometimes still employed (although Turkey formally abolished it in 1934 and Egypt in 1953). The designation, which is a personal rather than a hereditary distinction, was given under the Ottoman rulers to individuals of both civilian and military status, notably ministers, provincial governors, and army officers.

Zaghlul Pasha, Saad, c.1850-1927, Egyptian nationalist leader, founder of the Wafd party. He suffered both arrest (1882) and exile (1919) for his attempts to end foreign domination in Egypt. Having founded (1919) the Wafd party, he became premier in 1924, but the opposition of Great Britain and the Egyptian court soon forced him to resign. The last year of his life he served as president of the Egyptian parliament.

Tewfik Pasha (Muhammad Tewfik), 1852-92, khedive of Egypt (1879-92). He acceded to office when his father, Ismail Pasha, was deposed. In 1880, Tewfik accepted joint French-British control over the nation's finances. This act provoked a nationalist uprising that forced Tewfik to appoint a cabinet hostile to the European powers. The British and the French, however, quickly compelled the cabinet to resign. Later, in 1882, Great Britain, alarmed by renewed agitation, bombarded Alexandria and landed troops. France had refused to support this action and ended participation in Egyptian affairs, thus leaving Great Britain in sole control. Tewfik, who was generally Western in his outlook, devoted much attention to educational and legal reforms. He was succeeded as khedive by his son Abbas II.

Osman Nuri Pasha, 1837-1900, Turkish general. He fought in the Crimean War of 1854-56 and in Lebanon, Crete, and Arabia in the 1860s and 70s. He was made muşir [marshal] for his successes (1876) in Serbia. In the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 he gallantly defended Pleven in Bulgaria but was ultimately forced to surrender to the Russians. He served almost continuously as war minister from 1878 to 1885.

Nahas Pasha (Mustafa Nahas Pasha), 1876-1965, Egyptian statesman, leader (1927-52) of the Wafd party. He was premier five times between 1928 and 1952. During World War II the British forced (1942) King Farouk to appoint Nahas as head of a government favorable to the Allies. When he became premier for the last time (1951), he denounced the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of alliance, which he had signed as premier in 1936. Agitation against the British led to rioting in Cairo in Jan., 1952, and Nahas was dismissed by the king. After the king's abdication later in the year, Nahas supported the new Egyptian government, but he was subsequently forced to disband the Wafd. He and his wife were imprisoned in 1953. After their release in 1954 he retired into private life.

Mustafa Nahas Pasha: see Nahas Pasha.

Mithat Pasha: see Midhat Pasha.

Midhat Pasha, 1822-83, Turkish politician. As governor of Bulgaria he succeeded within the few years of his tenure (1864-69) in raising the country from misery to relative prosperity. Schools, roads, and granaries were built from funds obtained by local taxation. His hostility to Pan-Slavism caused the Russian ambassador at Constantinople to secure his transfer to Baghdad. He was briefly grand vizier (chief executive officer) in 1872. In 1876, at the head of the reforming party, he led the revolution that deposed Sultan Abd al-Aziz. The new sultan, Murad V, was in turn shortly deposed because of his insanity, and Abd al-Hamid II succeeded. Late in 1876, as grand vizier, Midhat secured the promulgation of the first Turkish constitution, but as soon as Abd al-Hamid regained control over the situation he sent Midhat into exile. After being recalled as governor of Syria, Midhat was charged with the murder of Abd al-Aziz, imprisoned, and strangled.

Kemal Pasha, Mustafa: see Atatürk, Kemal.

Ismail Pasha, 1830-95, ruler of Egypt (1863-79), son of Ibrahim Pasha. He succeeded his uncle Said Pasha as ruler. Ismail used the Egyptian cotton crop, enormously enhanced in value by the American Civil War, to obtain credits for grandiose schemes, including irrigation projects, schools, palaces, the construction of the Suez Canal, and the extension of Egyptian rule in Sudan. Much of the money was wasted, and the country was seriously involved in debt. In 1875, Ismail was forced to sell to Great Britain his stockholdings (some 44%) in the Suez Canal, and in 1876 he was obliged to place the finances of Egypt under the control of a debt commission that represented the French and British bondholders. His attempt to throw off foreign control in 1879 was answered by the Ottoman sultan's deposing him in favor of his son Tewfik Pasha. In 1866, Ismail received the title khedive (viceroy), which his successors also enjoyed.

Ibrahim Pasha, 1789-1848, Egyptian general. He was the eldest son of Muhammad Ali, governor of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire. Ibrahim conducted (1816-19) largely successful campaigns against the Wahhabis in Arabia. He fought (1825-28) against the insurgent Greeks, but the landing of French troops forced him to withdraw from the country. After Muhammad Ali turned against the Ottoman sultan, Ibrahim conquered (1832-33) Syria. His attempts to apply to Syria the reforms that his father had introduced in Egypt caused a series of disorders. Warfare with the Turks was resumed in 1838, but British and Austrian military intervention on Turkey's behalf compelled Ibrahim to evacuate to Egypt. In 1848 he was regent of Egypt during his father's insanity.

Essad Pasha, 1863-1920, Albanian dictator. Of a prominent Albanian family, he supported the bloodless and reformist Young Turk revolution (1908) in the Ottoman Empire. He was a member of the resulting Turkish parliament. In the First Balkan War he was entrusted (1912) with the defense of Scutari against the Montenegrins, to whom he surrendered the city in 1913. Early in 1914 he welcomed William, prince of Wied, as ruler of the newly independent Albania. Friction soon developed, however, and William was forced to leave in September. Essad Pasha then governed Albania dictatorially and maintained himself, with Italian aid, until defeated (1916) during World War I by the Austrians. He fled abroad and headed an Albanian commission in Paris, where he was assassinated by a fellow countryman.

Enver Pasha, 1881-1922, Turkish general and political leader. He took a prominent part in the Young Turk revolution of 1908, which reestablished the liberal constitution of 1876. By a coup in 1913, Enver Pasha became the virtual dictator. He fought in the Turko-Italian War (1911-12) in Libya and in the Balkan Wars (1912-13). Dissatisfied with the loss of Turkish territory in the Balkan Wars, he helped bring Turkey into World War I as a German ally. When Turkey signed an armistice, he fled to Berlin. Enver Pasha was killed while leading an anti-Soviet expedition in Bukhara; his remains were returned from Tajikistan to his homeland in 1996.

Emin Pasha, 1840-92, German explorer, whose original name was Eduard Schnitzer. A physician, he served (1876-78) under Gen. Charles Gordon in Sudan as a district medical officer. In 1878 he succeeded Gordon as governor of Equatoria, the southernmost province of the Egyptian Sudan. In 1885 he was cut off from the outside world by the Mahdist uprising, and several European explorers—including Sir H. M. Stanley—were sent to rescue him. Although his position was not desperate, he agreed (1889) at length to accompany Stanley to Mombasa. He was murdered while engaged in exploration for Germany in the region of Lake Tanganyika.

Ali Pasha, 1744?-1822, Turkish pasha [military governor] of Yannina (now Ioánnina, Greece), a province of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). He was called the Arslan [lion] of Yannina. His father, governor at Tepelene in S Albania, was murdered, and Ali went to live with the mountain brigands who infested the country. He soon rose to leadership among them, came to the attention of the Turkish government, and as its agent put down the rebellion of a governor at Scutari in Albania. About 1787 he became governor of Yannina, where his power grew until he ruled as a quasi-independent despot over most of Albania and Epirus. He made war on the French along the Adriatic coast and entered an alliance (1814) with Great Britain. Valuing Ali's services, the sultan let him do as he wished until, in 1820, Ali ordered the assassination of an opponent in Constantinople. Sultan Mahmud II ordered Ali deposed. Ali refused to comply, thus keeping Turkish troops engaged against himself while they were needed against the Greeks, who had begun their fight for independence. Ali was assassinated by an agent of the Turks; his head was exhibited at Constantinople. The wild yet cultured court of Ali was described by French and English visitors, notably by Byron in Childe Harold.

orig. Eduard Schnitzer

(born March 28, 1840, Oppeln, Silesia—died Oct. 23, 1892, Kanema, Congo Free State [now Democratic Republic of the Congo]) German physician, explorer, and administrator in Egyptian Sudan. Schnitzer adopted a Turkish name while serving as a medical officer and administrator in the Ottoman government. In 1876 he joined with British forces led by Gen. Charles George Gordon at Khartoum. In 1878 he was appointed governor of Equatoria province. During the Mahdist movement uprising, the Egyptian government abandoned the Sudan (1884), and the isolated Emin was rescued by Henry Morton Stanley in 1888. On an expedition to equatorial Africa, he was killed by Arab slave-traders. Through his scholarly papers and specimen collections, he contributed vastly to the knowledge of African geography, natural history, ethnology, and languages.

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(born 1789, Kavalla, Rumelia—died Nov. 10, 1848, Cairo, Egypt) Egyptian general. After helping train the new Egyptian army, he won military fame in Syria, defeating an Ottoman force, and Syria and Adana were ceded to Egypt, with Ibrahim as governor-general (1833). His administration was relatively enlightened; he created a consultative council and suppressed the feudal regime. Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–39) then sent an Ottoman army to invade Syria, and Ibrahim won his greatest victory in 1839 when the Ottoman fleet deserted to Egypt. However, the European powers, fearing the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire, forced the Egyptians to evacuate the occupied territories. Ibrahim became viceroy of Egypt in 1848 shortly before his death.

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orig. Eduard Schnitzer

(born March 28, 1840, Oppeln, Silesia—died Oct. 23, 1892, Kanema, Congo Free State [now Democratic Republic of the Congo]) German physician, explorer, and administrator in Egyptian Sudan. Schnitzer adopted a Turkish name while serving as a medical officer and administrator in the Ottoman government. In 1876 he joined with British forces led by Gen. Charles George Gordon at Khartoum. In 1878 he was appointed governor of Equatoria province. During the Mahdist movement uprising, the Egyptian government abandoned the Sudan (1884), and the isolated Emin was rescued by Henry Morton Stanley in 1888. On an expedition to equatorial Africa, he was killed by Arab slave-traders. Through his scholarly papers and specimen collections, he contributed vastly to the knowledge of African geography, natural history, ethnology, and languages.

Learn more about Emin Pasha, Mehmed with a free trial on Britannica.com.