Hurshid Pasha

Hurşid Ahmed Pasha (died 30 November 1822) was an Ottoman general and Grand Vizier during the early 19th century.

Early life

He was born in the Caucasus and was of Georgian descent. He was taken to Constantinople as a youth, converted to Islam and enrolled in the Janissaries. There he acquired the favour of Sultan Mahmud II and occupied several high positions.

Egypt

Appointed mayor of Alexandria after the French evacuated Egypt in 1801, he was named governor of Egypt in 1804 at Muhammad Ali's behest. Allied with Britain's diplomatic representative, Hurshid tried to get Muhammad Ali and his Albanians removed from Egypt, bringing in the deli (lit. "madmen") light cavalry from Syria to counterbalance them. Muhammad Ali managed to win the Delis to his side and, backed by a demonstration of ulema and guild leaders in Cairo, had himself named governor of Egypt in May 1805. Hurshid, abandoned by his troops, was besieged in the Cairo Citadel, which he left only after he saw the Ottoman firman investing Muhammad Ali as Egypt's governor.