Obverse. Photo © acsaerch.info
  • 1 Para 1769, KM# 113, Egypt, Eyalet / Khedivate, Mustafa III, Ali Bey al-Kabir
  • 1 Para 1769, KM# 113, Egypt, Eyalet / Khedivate, Mustafa III, Ali Bey al-Kabir
Description

Mustafa III (1717–1774) was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1757 to 1774. He was a son of Sultan Ahmed III (1703–30), and his consort Mihrişah Kadın. He was succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I (1774–89).

Ali Bey al-Kabir (1728–1773) was a Mamluk leader in Egypt. Nicknamed Jinn Ali ("Ali the Devil") and Bulut Kapan ("Cloud-Catcher"), Ali Bey rose to prominence in 1768 when he rebelled against his Ottoman rulers, making the Egypt Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire independent for a short time. His rule ended following the insubordination of his most trusted general, Abu al-Dahab, which led to Ali Bey's downfall and death.

The Eyalet of Egypt operated as an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 to 1867. It originated as a result of the conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17) and the absorption of Syria into the Empire in 1516. Egypt always proved a difficult province for the Ottoman Sultans to control, due in part to the continuing power and influence of the Mamluks, the Egyptian military caste who had ruled the country for centuries.

Obverse

Tughra in Mustafa III name.

A tughra (Ottoman Turkish: طغرا‎ tuğrâ) is a calligraphic monogram, seal or signature of a sultan that was affixed to all official documents and correspondence. It was also carved on his seal and stamped on the coins minted during his reign. Tughras served a purpose similar to the cartouche in ancient Egypt or the Royal Cypher of British monarchs, every Ottoman sultan had his own individual tughra.

مصطفى خان بن احمد مظفر دائما

Reverse

Legend "Struck in Egypt" and the accession year in Hejira (AH1171) below. "A" of Ali Bey on the top left side.

In 1768, Ali Bey deposed the Ottoman governor Rakım Mehmed Pasha and assumed the post of acting governor. He stopped the annual tribute to the Sublime Porte and in an unprecedented usurpation of the Ottoman Sultan's privileges had his name struck on local coins in 1769 (alongside the sultan's emblem), effectively declaring Egypt's independence from Ottoman rule. In 1770 he gained control of the Hijaz and a year later temporarily occupied Syria, thereby reconstituting the Mamluk state that had disappeared in 1517. However, a few days after a major victory over Governor Uthman Pasha al-Kurji by the allied forces of Zahir al-Umar and Ali Bey's forces on 6 June 1771, Abu al-Dhahab, the commander of his troops in Syria, refused to continue the fight after an Ottoman agent stirred up mistrust between him and Ali Bey, and hastily returned to Egypt. As a result, Ali Bey lost power in 1772. The following year, he was killed in Cairo.

علىـ
ضرب في
مصر
١١٧١

Edge

1 Para

Eyalet, Revolt of Ali Bey
KM# 113
Characteristics
Material Billon
Weight 0.35 g
Diameter 15 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Misr Mint

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