Khedivate of Egypt
Khedivate of Egypt الخديوية المصرية (Arabic) Hıdiviyet-i Mısır (Ottoman Turkish) | |||||||||||||||||
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| 1867–1914 | |||||||||||||||||
Coat of arms
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| Anthem: (1871–1914) Salam Affandina | |||||||||||||||||
Egypt and its expansion in the 19th century. | |||||||||||||||||
| Status | Largely independent vassal state of the Ottoman Empire | ||||||||||||||||
| Capital | Cairo | ||||||||||||||||
| Common languages | Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, Albanian, Greek, French, English[a] | ||||||||||||||||
| Religion | Sunni Islam (official), Coptic Christianity (minority) | ||||||||||||||||
| Government | Constitutional monarchy | ||||||||||||||||
| Khedive | |||||||||||||||||
• 1867–1879 | Isma'il Pasha | ||||||||||||||||
• 1879–1892 | Tewfik Pasha | ||||||||||||||||
• 1892–1914 | Abbas II | ||||||||||||||||
| British Consul-General | |||||||||||||||||
• 1883–1907 | Evelyn Baring | ||||||||||||||||
• 1907–1911 | Eldon Gorst | ||||||||||||||||
• 1911–1914 | Herbert Kitchener | ||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||||||||
• 1878–1879 (first) | Nubar Pasha | ||||||||||||||||
• 1914 (last) | Hussein Roshdy Pasha | ||||||||||||||||
| Historical era | Scramble for Africa | ||||||||||||||||
• Established | 8 June 1867 | ||||||||||||||||
• Suez Canal opened | 17 November 1869 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1881–1882 | |||||||||||||||||
• British invasion in the Anglo-Egyptian War | July – September 1882 | ||||||||||||||||
| 18 January 1899 | |||||||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 19 December 1914 | ||||||||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||||||||
• Total | 5,000,000 km2 (1,900,000 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||||
| Population | |||||||||||||||||
• 1882[b] | 6,805,000 | ||||||||||||||||
• 1897[b] | 9,715,000 | ||||||||||||||||
• 1907[b] | 11,287,000 | ||||||||||||||||
| Currency | Egyptian pound | ||||||||||||||||
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The Khedivate of Egypt was an autonomous tributary state of the Ottoman Empire established and ruled by members of the dynasty of Muhammad Ali. Following the defeat and expulsion of Napoleon's forces from Egypt in 1801, Muhammad Ali and his successors had already ruled Ottoman Egypt with a significant degree of autonomy. In 1867, the Ottoman sultan granted Muhammad Ali's grandson, Isma'il Pasha (r. 1863–1879), the title of Khedive along with near-total autonomy over internal affairs, certain diplomatic privileges, and the order of succession.
Isma'il and his successors continued the trend initiated by Muhammad Ali to reform and modernise the Egyptian state, following the example of European nations. Among the major projects of this era was the completion of the Suez Canal, which opened in 1869. Egypt's territorial control and sphere of influence was also expanded along the Red Sea and in northeastern Africa, reaching its limit when Isma'il attempted to take control of Equatoria and suffering reversals in Sudan after the outbreak of the Mahdist revolution in 1881.
The Khedives' reform projects were costly and incurred serious foreign debts, which in turn allowed the European powers to increase their influence over Egyptian affairs. Nationalist Egyptian sentiment developed in opposition to this and led to the Urabi revolution, which occurred between 1879 and 1882 during the reign of Isma'il's successor, Tawfiq Pasha (r. 1879–1892). The revolution was suppressed when the British invaded and took control of Egypt in 1882. In 1914, the formal connection to the Ottoman Empire was ended and Britain established a protectorate called the Sultanate of Egypt.