By these methods he soon established confidence in his administration, and all classes of the people seemed satisfied with the arrangements which he adopted. The want of confidence, and unhappy tumults, which the injustice and oppression to which we have adverted had occasioned in Egypt, were happily, by his means, removed. In short, to so great a degree were peace and security every where established, that the weakest and most timorous could travel to and from Grand Cairo with the greatest safety. By his wisdom and prudence he gained the concurrence and good will of the chief men among the people, as well as of the officers belonging to the Chávushes, cavalry and janissaries, as well as of the city-guards or militia. And, in order to do away with all grounds of discontent and opposition, he called a general meeting, at which the whole of the nobles, princes, inspectors, revenue-officers, and six companies of feudatory troops were present; to whom, in the most earnest manner, he expressed himself thus: “His majesty is by no means disposed to permit tyranny and oppression to exist anywhere within his dominions. Ever since the moment that I, his servant, came into possession of this government, to which I was preferred, it has been my study, in obedience to his will, to remove oppression, tyranny, and injustice; and to afford peace, safety, and happiness to the people in the different departments in Egypt. This is in accordance with the express wish of his majesty, who is every way opposed to injustice and oppression, as well as to every kind of invasion of the rights and privileges of the people. In confirmation of this, I need only repeat to you his own words.” Here he produced the emperor’s commission, which he caused to be read aloud, and which ran thus: “Behold, we have relieved you from those burdens which the governors, revenue-officers, and other functionaries, have been in the habit of imposing on you; it is, therefore, the duty of the people to break off all friendly intercourse with those persons who have been convicted of such base practices.” The whole of the assembled multitude, on hearing the emperor’s sentiments read to them, expressed, in return, their best wishes for his well-being. Those in this assembly who had been in the habit of acting corruptly were, for their own sakes, silent and assumed the appearance of being content; but it was only because they were unable to effect any opposition. Such, however, was the general impression made on this occasion on the mind of the people, particularly by the mildness and meekness manifested by the vezír, that they remained, for a time, afterwards quiet; but the peace was not of long duration. The mercenary tribe who had been deprived of the power of exercising tyranny and injustice on the people, collected together, and falling on those persons who had succeeded them in the revenue department, slew them without mercy. Determined on further resistance to the new arrangements, they entered into a sort of confederacy, whereby they bound themselves not to desist from their demands until they had obtained acquiescence in them.
Information of these things having been communicated to the vezír, he instantly called together his great men, and represented to them the state of matters with respect to those desperadoes who had just been guilty of shedding innocent blood, and now had formed themselves into a confederacy in opposition to the will of the emperor. Therefore, said he, let the whole of them be collected into the maidán or square, in order that the thing may be properly investigated. This was accordingly done. On the same occasion, also, the various troops were brought into the maidán and formed into companies in front of the fortress immediately opposite to the refractory multitude. The Páshá intimated to the latter that whosoever among them wished to be obedient to the emperor, should pass over to the side where his military stood, and join himself to one or other of his divisions or companies. The confederates cried out, that they were not rebels: that they deprecated the idea of being unfaithful to the emperor. “Our wages,” continued they, “not having been sufficient to maintain our existence, we could not have lived, unless we had imposed extra contributions on the people: our actual poverty was the cause.” The Páshá, not satisfied with these declarations (altogether foreign to the purpose for which they had been assembled), and wishing to find out the secret of their confederacy, as well as a confession of their guilt, thought that if he permitted them, now that they were fully in his power, to retire to their own homes, he could not so easily, afterwards, effect his purpose, nor secure the ringleaders amongst them; he therefore told them, that though he should keep them all night standing on their feet where they were, he would not let them move a step till they delivered up to him their ringleaders. He then ordered the guns on the batteries to be directed against them, and assured them that their destruction was inevitable if they did not instantly comply with his wishes. This method of dealing had the desired effect. After hearing the Páshá’s speech, wherein he pointedly informed them that unless they gave up the principal ringleaders, and especially those amongst them who had been guilty of the late murders, the cannon and musketry would open a fire upon them without delay; and seeing preparations for carrying his threat into effect, and that it only awaited the páshá’s command, their danger became too apparent to admit of disguise. They were astonished by the situation in which they were placed, and delivered over a certain number from amongst them to the páshá, and afterwards retired, but full of rage and fury.
After these different commotions and disturbances, and during this present year, a certain number of Egyptian troops were ordered to be sent to the aid of his excellency, the commander-in-chief, Murád Páshá, in Anatolia. Mohammed Páshá, on receiving the above firmán, selected the number required from among the most turbulent and disorderly of the tribe of tax-gatherers[20] we have been speaking of, and sent them off under the command of Kansú Beg. During the whole of the struggle carried on with Kalandar Oghlí they manifested the utmost bravery, and were present in almost every engagement till the end of the war, or at least till the rebels were all dispersed. At this period they presented themselves before the commanding-general, and demanded, as the reward of their services, the office of collecting the revenues of Egypt. Murád, anxious to satisfy them, gave them a document by which he put them in possession of the places they wanted, but with no enlargement of powers or authority beyond what were customary from ancient times. On the return of these military tax-gatherers to Egypt they presented the document which Murád Páshá had given to them to Mohammed Páshá, who told them they should be rewarded for their services according to circumstances. “Such of them,” he said, “as had no experience or skill, could not expect the favour they wished. Besides,” continued he, “your wishes are directly opposed to the declared will of the emperor, who, by his firmán, has abolished the practice altogether.” When these ignorant and insolent fellows found themselves thus thwarted in their views and purposes they became exceedingly enraged, began to form plots amongst themselves, and communicated their wicked designs to all the discontented paupers and robbers throughout the country. They craftily enticed the discontented about Aradel, always famous for disloyalty, to join them; they likewise gained over some Kurds and some wretched labourers by promises of money. All these malcontents found means, some way or other, to assemble together at a place called Khánegáh, within two stages of Cairo.
The páshá, hearing of their movements, and being fully aware of the object they had in view, ordered Khoaja Mustafa Beg to advance with a number of troops of various kinds to oppose them. Yúsuf Beg commanded his advance-guard, and Kansú Beg, collector of the revenue, with all those under him, joined the expedition. Mustafa Beg pitched his camp in the plains of Adeleya, not far from Cairo.
The malcontents by this time had themselves properly and regularly organized, and had appointed themselves leaders. No sooner did they hear of an army being sent against them, and of the place where it was encamped, than they, towards evening, sent two hundred horsemen to reconnoiter the camp of Mustafa. Mustafa conjectured this party had the intention of attacking him by night, and not having sufficient force to sustain an attack, he sent word immediately to Egypt, which however did not reach that city till about the fifth hour of the night, when the several public criers announced the danger which threatened Mustafa, calling, at the same time, on every one, on pain of punishment, to rally round their commanders. So promptly was this announcement attended to, that before daylight every military man in Egypt was on his way to Adeleya. On reaching Adeleya they perceived the danger which had been announced in Egypt was by no means an imaginary one. The royalists, in the circumstances in which they found themselves at this juncture of events, thought it would be most advisable to send the six-fingered sheikh, Mohammed Effendí, to speak to the insurgents about the unreasonableness of their conduct; but the rebels turned a deaf ear to all his exhortations and expostulations. They were too sensible of their advantages, and too ardent in pursuit of them, to attend to the worthy priest. He tendered them many good advices, and made them many fine promises, provided they would follow his counsels; but they still remained obstinate, and prepared for battle. The commander, after this fruitless negotiation, removed with his troops to Berkat a l’haj, where he remained till the following day, when he marched against the insurgents. They, in their turn, advanced towards him, and soon both armies stood facing each other. By this time, however, the royalists were greatly increased in numbers by detachments which had joined them from other places; and when the insurgents found themselves opposed by an army far superior to every thing they had anticipated, their courage failed them. They now began mutually to accuse each other for the steps they had taken, each one blaming his neighbour; and at length several of them came to the commander, craving forgiveness. In the most abject manner, they dismounted from their horses, and threw themselves on the ground, supplicating for mercy at his hands. The commander, Mustafa Beg, said he had it not in his power to grant it them, as he should be obliged to carry them all, bound in chains, to Mohammed Páshá, whose province it was both to forgive and set them at liberty, as he pleased. Those who thus submitted, however, met with clemency, and were incorporated with one or other of the military bodies brought against them; but such as remained obstinate, and chose rather to try their strength than submit, met with the fate they deserved: their dead bodies were made into heaps on the field of battle. About forty of them escaped into the desert, but of their life or death nothing more was ever heard. Mustafa Beg now returned to Cairo, bringing with him about forty or fifty of the principal leaders in chains, and presented them before the válí, Mohammed Páshá, as trophies of his victory. Mustafa was highly honoured on account of his success against the insurgents, and the heads of those whom he brought bound in chains were ordered to be cut off on the spot. About as many as were thus put to death were killed by Mustafa himself before he left the scene of action. About three hundred of the insurgents were shipped off at Suez, and sent into Arabia, and the rest of them were, through the intervention of the great men of Egypt, pardoned, and set at liberty, after having promised in the presence of their intercessors every thing that was required of them.
After succeeding in crushing the insurgents, as above described, and establishing good order everywhere, Mohammed Páshá extended his prudent and capacious mind to every department of government, as well as to other objects of utility. One of his measures was, regulating the coin of Egypt, which had been very much worn and obliterated, and which of course had caused much confusion, and even deception in buying and selling. Another was, rectifying the abuses and unlawful practices carried on between the farmers and the tax-gatherers, which had occasioned, not unfrequently, a deficiency in the public granaries and magazines. A third was—The janissaries and other troops in Egypt having no barracks, and being besides unmarried, he erected, within the fortress, suitable odás for them to live in. By this means the garrison or fortress was always furnished with troops, whilst the inhabitants, at the same time, were screened from the violence of the soldiery. A fourth was—He took charge of the golden and silver girdles or hoops which had been made for defending the pillars of Mecca, and the cistern of pure gold, all which had been sent to Egypt from Constantinople, and forwarded them with proper artists to the place of their destination. These artists not only performed that work without either fee or reward, but rendered several other important services to that holy place. For instance, they enlarged and renewed the pulpit, which was formerly too narrow; they renewed the portico which runs along the cistern; they beautified and adorned the pillars in the centre of that noble edifice, and also its walls; the metaf (or the place round which pilgrims walked in procession) was rendered smooth and equal; they repaired or built anew the court, and carried away the whole of the rubbish and dirt which had for years been accumulating in the vicinity of the sacred temple; they also caused the beds or canals of the waters of Mecca and Arfat to be repaired. A fifth was—The repairs of the wells of Azlam, a place which was about half-way between Mecca and Cairo, where the pilgrims and the well-furnished caravans of Egypt used to meet, which were in a great measure rendered useless by the rebellious Arabs. It would appear that the válí of Egypt, Sheríf Páshá, had, in 1004, opened these wells, commonly called the wells of Ibrahím Páshá, and to prevent their being rendered useless by the Arabs, he built a fortress in their neighbourhood, and placed some few troops in it. This, of course, proved a source of great comfort to pilgrims and other travellers, inasmuch as it served as a place of refreshment and repose. A very heavy rain afterwards demolished this fortress, and the Arabs, to the annoyance of pilgrims, rendered the wells useless. The vezír, whose good deeds we are here recording, rebuilt the demolished fortress, put a garrison in it, and repaired the wells. The sixth was—A work similar to the one we have last mentioned, which he caused to be constructed at Adjerú, between Cairo and Akba. A seventh was—The erection of shops in the vicinity of the great temple in Cairo. The eighth was—The erection of a khánegáh (an edifice for religious purposes), and also of eleemosinary places for sheíkhs, dervishes, and others. On the annual commemoration of Mohammed’s nativity he distributed numerous presents amongst those who read on that occasion. A ninth was—The erection of new houses near the odás which had been built for the janissaries; a huge wall or mass of rock, forty cubits broad and sixty long, having fallen down by accident, the space which these ruins had occupied he caused to be cleared away, erected new houses on it, and filled them with families. A tenth was—The rebuilding of the redoubt or fortress between Cairo and Shám. This building having been demolished by heavy rains, and having also become the haunt of worthless Arabs, he ordered it to be rebuilt, and supplied it with water. An eleventh was—The rebuilding of the fortress or redoubt of Yúnus, which was in a similar condition to the one last mentioned. He also placed a number of paid soldiers in it, and ordered a mosque and a bath to be erected in it. A twelfth was—The rebuilding of the fortress of Beít Khaberín, between Gaza and Balad al Khalíl-rahman; on which also he ordered a mosque and a bath to be erected, and an aqueduct to be constructed. The painted tiles in the dome erected by Sultán Soleímán Khán having become mutilated and loose, he replaced them with new tiles.
This wonderful man, after having governed Egypt for four years and five months, was recalled to Constantinople. Whether at Cairo or journeying, he was in the habit of visiting holy and consecrated places, and of offering up prayers for the emperor; thus gaining to himself advantages in both worlds. After his return to Constantinople, Jouher Khán Sultána, daughter of the grand sultán, thought him worthy of her affections, and the result was that he became the emperor’s son-in-law.
The articles of the treaty of peace between Turkey and Austria, which may be called the treaty of Sidova, was finally ratified and signed by the Ottoman emperor on the 1st of Rajab in this year.
A great earthquake.
The fortress or city of Nova, situate on the sea-coast, belonging to the dominions of the archduke (of Austria), was visited by a tremendous earthquake, which almost entirely overthrew it. Forty-four yúks,[21] the average of the receipt of its custom-house, were expended in erecting a new one. A magazine of salt, which stood on the shore, and near the custom-house, and which brought a revenue of four or five yúks per annum, sustained considerable injury by the shock, inasmuch as it caused the sea to retire to the distance of about a bow-shot.