Khedive (/kəˈdiːv/kə-DEEV;Ottoman Turkish:خدیو,romanized: hidiv; borrowed from Persian: خدیو, romanized:xædīv) was anhonorific title ofClassical Persian origin used for thesultans andgrand viziers of theOttoman Empire, but most famously for theviceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.[1]
It is attested in Persian poetry from the 10th century and was used as an Ottoman honorific from the 16th. It was borrowed intoOttoman Turkish directly from Persian.[1] It was first used in Egypt, without official recognition, byMuhammad Ali Pasha, the ethnically Albanian governor ofOttoman Egypt andTurco-Egyptian Sudan from 1805 to 1848. The initially self-declared title was officially recognized by the Ottoman government in 1867 and used subsequently byIsma'il Pasha of Egypt and his dynastic successors until 1914.[2] The term enteredArabic in Egypt in the 1850s.[1]
This title is recorded in English since 1867, borrowed from Frenchkhédive, in turn fromOttoman Turkishخدیوhidiv, fromClassical Persianخدیوxædīv ("lord").[2]
Following the1798 French invasion of Egypt andNapoleon's defeat of Egyptian forces, which consisted largely of the rulingMamluk military caste, theOttoman Empire dispatched troops fromRumelia (theBalkan provinces of the Ottoman Empire) under the command of Muhammad Ali Pasha to restore the Empire's authority in what had hitherto been an Ottoman province. However, upon the French defeat and departure,Muhammad Ali seized control of the country and declared himself ruler of Egypt, quickly consolidating an independent local powerbase. After repeated failed attempts to remove and kill him, in 1805, theSublime Porte officially recognized Muhammad Ali asPasha andWāli (Governor) of Egypt. However, demonstrating his grander ambitions, he claimed for himself the higher title of Khedive, as did his successors,Abbas I,Sa'id I andIbrahim Pasha.
TheMuhammad Ali dynasty's use of the title Khedive was not sanctioned by the Ottoman Empire until 1867[2] when SultanAbdülaziz officially recognized it as the title of Ismail Pasha. Moreover, the Porte accepted Ismail's alteration of the royal line of succession to go from father to son, rather than brother to brother, as was the tradition in the Ottoman Empire, and Arab dynasties. In May 1879, theUnited Kingdom andFrance began pressuring the Ottoman SultanAbdülhamid II to depose Ismail Pasha, and this was done on June 26, 1879. The more pliableTewfik Pasha, Ismail's son, was made his successor as the new Khedive. Ismail Pasha left Egypt and initially went into exile toNaples, but was eventually permitted by Sultan Abdülhamid II to retire to hisPalace of Emirgan[3] on theBosphorus inConstantinople. There he remained, more or less a state prisoner, until his death. He was later buried inCairo.
After the nationalistUrabi Revolt of 1882, Britain invaded Egypt in support of Tewfik Pasha, and established anoccupation over the country. During this period, the Muhammad Ali Dynasty under Tewfik Pasha and his sonAbbas II continued to rule Egypt and Sudan using the titleKhedive, whilst still under nominal (de jure) Ottoman sovereignty until 1914.[2]
Abbas II of Egypt was deposed by the British in 1914, and Egypt was declared aprotectorate of Britain, theSultanate of Egypt, which was ruled by Abbas's uncleHussein Kamel under the title of Sultan.
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| Preceded by | Style of the Egyptian sovereign 1867–1914 | Succeeded by |
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