;Status
Wilayah/Unrecognised Khedivate (1805–1867) From 1805 to 1867, Egypt remained legally a nominal Ottoman province governed by a
Wāli on behalf of the
Ottoman Sultan, although it was
de facto virtually independent, with its wālis styling themselves as
Khedives. Despite their legally subservient status, Egypt's wālis enjoyed far more political power than their descendants, who were to rule the country as nominally independent sultans and kings decades later. Throughout the 19th century, the legal fiction of Ottoman
suzerainty was nonetheless symbolically maintained through Egypt's payment of an annual
tribute. Moreover, although the Muhammad Ali Dynasty became a
hereditary monarchy in 1840, each new ruler had to receive a
firman (Arabic word for decree) from the Ottoman Sultan appointing him as Wāli in order to be
formally invested with his office. Until 1866, Egypt's laws of succession followed the principle of
agnatic seniority, which means that the reigning wāli always had to be the eldest male member of the dynasty. Rulers thus inherited the throne based on their age, not on their
degree of proximity. This explains why none of
Ibrahim Pasha's successors was directly succeeded by his own son. }
Khedivate (1867–1914) On 8 June 1867, Ottoman Sultan
Abdülaziz formally recognized
Isma'il Pasha by the title
Khedive, which ranked higher than that of
Vizier but lower than that of
Caliph. The Khedivate of Egypt was still nominally a subject of the Ottoman Sultan, and its rulers were still technically appointed and dismissed by an imperial
firman. Nevertheless, the Khedive actually exercised most sovereign powers, including the appointment of his
council of ministers, the rector of
Al-Azhar, and high-ranking military and naval officers. He could also sign treaties with foreign powers and borrow money for the state treasury. On 17 May 1866, the rule of succession in Egypt
was changed from one based on
agnatic seniority to one based on male
primogeniture in the direct line of Isma'il Pasha. After the British occupied the country in 1882, the Khedive's exercise of power was limited greatly on the advice of the
British agent and consul general, who became the
de facto ruler of the country. }
Sultanate (1914–1922) On 19 December 1914,
Abbas Helmi II was deposed by the
British government while he was on a visit to
Vienna due to his anti-British stance. The British severed Egypt's nominal ties to the
Ottoman Empire, thus ending the country's status as a khedivate. Prime Minister
Hussein Rushdi Pasha served as acting head of state until Abbas Helmi II's half-uncle
Hussein Kamel was chosen as the country's new monarch. For a brief while, the British had considered putting an end to the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and installing
Aga Khan III as ruler. Hussein Kamel took the title of
Sultan of Egypt (preceded by the
style of
Sa Hautesse or
His Highness), thereby putting him on an equal footing with the
Ottoman Sultan. However, the end of nominal Ottoman
suzerainty over Egypt did not result in genuine independence; the Sultanate of Egypt was a
British protectorate where real power lay in the hand of the
High Commissioner.
Kingdom (1922–1953) On 28 February 1922, the United Kingdom issued a
declaration through which it unilaterally ended its protectorate over Egypt. As a result, Sultan
Fuad I promulgated a decree on 15 March 1922 whereby he adopted the title of
King of Egypt. It has been reported that the title change was due not only to Egypt's newly independent status as the Kingdom of Egypt, but also to Fuad I's desire to be accorded the same title as the newly installed rulers of the newly created kingdoms of
Hejaz,
Syria and
Iraq. } ==See also==