Battle of Konya
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- Date:
- December 21, 1832
- Participants:
- EgyptOttoman Empire
- Key People:
- Ibrahim PashaMahmud II
Battle of Konya, (21 December 1832), conflict fought between the Muslim armies ofEgypt andTurkey. It was an important moment both in the rise of Egypt, which, under Viceroy Muhammad Ali, was modernizing its armed forces and its economy, and in theinexorable decline of theOttoman Empire.
Muhammad Ali in theory ruled Egypt on behalf of the Ottoman sultan and had sent his sonIbrahim Pasha to fight for the Ottomans in theGreek War of Independence in the 1820s. In 1831, seeing the weakness of the Ottoman regime and seeking compensation for the expense and losses of the campaign in Greece, Ibrahim Pasha led an army from Egypt into Ottoman-ruled Syria. By mid1832 Ibrahim had won control of Syria andLebanon, but Ottoman SultanMahmud II refused to grant the Egyptians authority over these provinces. So Ibrahim resumed his advance, crossing into Turkey.
Mahmud sent an army under his grand vizier Reshid Pasha to confront the invaders outsideKonya. The Ottoman army was far larger, but the Egyptian forces were better led, trained, anddisciplined. The battle was fought in winterfog. Egyptian guns won an openingartillery duel, firing accurately toward the sound of the enemycannon. An outflanking movement bycavalry andinfantry, commanded by Ibrahim in person, punched in the Ottoman left flank. Reshid Pasha blundered into the midst of Egyptian soldiers and was captured. An attempt to organize an Ottoman counterattack failed in the face of Egyptian cannon fire and at nightfall the Ottoman forces fled. The road toConstantinople was open, but intervention by the European powers prevented Ibrahim from completing his victory. However, the Ottomans were forced toconcede Egyptian control of Syria.
Losses: Egyptian, 262 dead, 530 wounded of 27,000; Ottoman, 3,000 dead, 5,000 captured of 50,000.