B A S 



if he eftablifhtd a pacha in Egypt with the fame authoHty 

 which was pofleffcd by the pachas in other provinces, the 

 diilance from the capital wnuld be a ftrong temptation to 

 revolt. For preventing this inconvenience, he projcfted 

 fnch a form of government, that the power being diftvibuted 

 among the different members of tlie ilatc, (liould prcferve 

 fuch an equilibrium as fliould keep them all dependent upon 

 himfelf. The remnant of the Mamlouks who had efcaped 

 his firft maffacre, appeared proper for this purpofe ; and he 

 next cilabli(hcd a divan or council of regency, compofcd of 

 the pacha and the cliiefs of the feven military corps. The 

 office of the pacha was, as we have obferved, to notify to 

 this council the orders of the Porte, to expedite the tribute 

 to Conflantinoplc, to watch over the fafety of the country 

 againft foreign enemies, and to counteraft the ambitious 

 views of the diflerent parties. On the other hand, the mem- 

 bers of the council polTcircd the right of rejedling the orders 

 of the pacha on afii^ning their realons, and even of depofing 

 him ; and it was necelTary tiiat they (hould ratify all civil 

 or polit'cal ordinances. It was alio agreed, that the 24 

 governors or beys of the provinces, fliould be chofen from 

 the Mamlouks. This form of government has not ill cor- 

 rel'ponded with the views of bclim, fince it has fubfillcd 

 about two centuries ; but within the laft; 50 years, the 

 porie having relaxed its vigilance, innovations have taken 

 place, and the power of the Mamlouks has fuperfeded 

 and almoft annihilated tl'.at of the Turks. In order to re- 

 ftrain the pachas, the porte had fuffered the divan to extend 

 its porter, till the chiefs of the Janizaries and Azabs were 

 left without controul. Hence Ibrahim, one of the Kiayas, 

 or veteran colonels of the Janizaries, about the year 1746, 

 rendered himfelf in reality mafter of Egypt ; and the orders 

 of the fultan vanillied before thofe of Ibrahim. About 

 the year 1766, Ali Bey (fee Ali Bey) rendered himfelf 

 abfolute mafter of the country. Since the revolution of 

 Ibrahim Kiava, and the revolt of Ali Bey, the Ottoman 

 power has become more precarious m Egypt than in any 

 other province ; fo that though the porte ftill retains there 

 a pacha, this pacha, confined and watched in the cartle of 

 Cairo, is rather the prifoner of the Mamlouks than the 

 reprefentative of the fultan. He is depofed, exiled, or ex- 

 pelled at pleafure ; and on the mere fummons of a herald 

 clothed in black, called " Caracoulouk," he muft defccnd 

 from his high llation, or be depofed. Som.e pachas, chofen 

 cxprelsly for that purpofe by the porte, have endeavoured 

 by fccrct intrigues to recover the power foimcrly annexed 

 to their title ; but the beys have rendered all fuch attempts fo 

 dangerous, that tliey now fubmit quietly to their three years' 

 captivity, and confine themfelves to the peaceable enjoyment 

 of their falary and emoluments. 



After fultan Sehm I. had taken Syria from the Mamlouks, 

 he fubjeftcd that province, like the reft of the empire, to the 

 government of pa>.bas, or viceroys, as the term fignifies. (See 

 Syria.) In each province the pacha, being the image ol the 

 fultan, is, like him, an abfolite defpot. Aii power is united in 

 hisperfon; he is chief both o: the mih'tary and of the finances, 

 of the police and of the criminal juftiee. He has the power 

 of hfe and death ; he has the power of making peace and 

 war ; and in a word, he can do every thing. Thefe powers 

 in their unlimited extent belong only to the pacha with three 

 tails. The power of the pacha v;ilh two tails is not fo confider- 

 able, nor his department fo extcnfive ; he cannot put any one 

 to death without a legal trial ; he is, like another, chief of 

 the armed force of his department ; but when he takes the 

 field, he is obliged to unite his ftandards to thofe of tlie 

 pacha with three tails, and to march under his orders. The 

 jnain objcft of fucb power vefted wjtii the pacha, is to 



B A S 



coUeiTt the tribute and to tranfmit the revenue to thcic 

 mafter. This duty fulfilled, no other is required from him ; 

 the means employed by the agent to accompliih it is a mat- 

 ter of no concern : thofe means are left to his difcretion ; 

 ar.d fuch is the nature of his fituation, that he cannot be 

 delicate in his choice of them ; for he can neither advance, 

 nor even maintain himfelf, but in proportion as he can pro. 

 cure money. The place he holds depends on the favour of 

 the vifier, or fome other great officer ; and this can only be 

 obtained and fecured by bidding higher than his competi. 

 tors. He mull therefore raife money to pay the tribute, 

 and alfo to indemnify himfelf for all he has paid, fupport his 

 dignity, and make a provifion in cafe of accidents. Ac- 

 cordingly, the tirft care of a pacha, on entering on his go- 

 vernment, is to devife methods to procure money, and the 

 quickeft are invariably the beft. The eftablifhed mode of 

 colkcling the miri and the cuftoms, is to appoint one or 

 more principal farmers, for the current year, who, in order 

 to facilitate the coUeftion, divide it into lefter farms, which 

 are again fuhdivided, even to the fmallell villages. The pa.- 

 cha lets thefe employments to the beft bidder, wifliing to 

 draw as much money from them as poffible. The farmers, 

 who, on their fide, have no objetl in taking them but gain, 

 ftrain every nerve to augment their receipt. Hence an avi- 

 dity in thefe delegates always bordering on difhonefty ; 

 hence thofe extortions to whicli they are the more eallly in- 

 clined as they are fare of being fupported by autliority ; and 

 hence, in the very heart of the people, a faflion of men in- 

 terefted in multiplyiiig impufitions. The pacha may applaud 

 himfelf for penetrating into the moll hidden fourees of pri- 

 vate profits, by the clear-fighted rapacity of his fubalttrns ; 

 but what is the confcquenee ? The people, denied the en- 

 joyment of the fruit of their labour, reftrain their induftry 

 to the fupply of their neceffary wants. The luilbandman 

 only fows to preferve himfelf from ftarving : the artift la- 

 bours ojily to fupport his family ; if he has any furplus, he 

 carefully conceals it. Thus the arbitrary power of the ful- 

 tan, tratifmitted to the pacha, and to all his fubJelcgates, 

 by giving a free courfe to extortion, becomes tlie main 

 fpruig of a tyranny which circulates through every claf^, 

 whillt its effcL'ts, by a reciprocal re-attlon, are every wliere 

 fatal to agriculture, the arts, commerce, population ; in a 

 word, to every thing which conftitutes the pcv.xr of tlie 

 ftate, or, which is the fame thing, the power of the fultan 

 himfelf. 



This power is not fubjecl to lefs abnfes in the army. Per- 

 petually urged by the neceffity of cbtaining money, on 

 whicii his fafety ant' tranquillity depend, the pacha has re- 

 trenched, as far as poffible, the ufcai military eftabbfliment. 

 He dlminifhes the number of his troops, IclTens their pay, 

 winks at their diforders ; and difciplinc is no more. 



It fometixes happens that the pachas, who are fultans in 

 their provinces, have perfonal hatreds agauift each other. To 

 gratify thefe, they avail themfelves of their power, and 

 wage fccret or open war ; the ruinous confequences of which 

 are I'ure to be felt by the fubjeds of the fultan. 



It alfo happens that thefe pachas are tempted to appro- 

 priate to themfelves the power of which they are the depo- 

 fitaries. The porte, in order to counteract their ambitious 

 views, often changes the refidence of the pachas, that they 

 may not have time to form conneftions in the country ; but 

 as all the confequences of a bad form of government have 

 a mifchievous tendency, the pachas, uncertain of to-morrow, 

 treat their provinces as mere tranfient poffdlions, and take 

 care to make no improvement for the benefit of their fuc- 

 ccffors. On the contrary, they halten to exhauft them of 

 the produce, and to reap in ouc day, if pofiible, the fruit 



