The Ottomans in Syria: A History of Justice and Oppression

Though the Ottoman state administered vast and complex territories, its capabilities were limited and resources and manpower scarce. The resort of coercion became a vital policy. Dick Douwes examines the Syrian interior during the period from 1785 to 1841 and shows how the empire established independent local power bases and how their rule over the peasantry was based on oppression and extortion. This reached its apogee under the reformist governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, who rebelled against the Sultan and occupied all Syria.