Editing Eastern question (section)

==Muhammad Ali of Egypt==
{{main article|Muhammad Ali of Egypt}}
[[Image:ModernEgypt, Muhammad Ali by Auguste Couder, BAP 17996.jpg|right|thumb|[[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali Pasha]]]]
Just as the Greek Revolt was coming to an end, the [[Egyptian–Ottoman War (1831–1833)]] broke out in the Ottoman Empire between the Sultan and his nominal [[viceroy]] in [[Egypt]], [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]]. The modern and well trained Egyptians looked as though they could conquer the empire. The Tsar of Russia, in keeping with his policy of reducing the Ottoman Sultan to a petty vassal, offered to form an alliance with the Sultan. In 1833, the two rulers negotiated the [[Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi|Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi]], in which Russia secured complete dominance over the Ottomans. The Russians pledged to protect the Empire from external attacks; in turn, the Sultan pledged to close the Dardanelles to warships whenever Russia was at war. This provision of the Treaty raised a problem known as the "Straits question". The agreement provided for the closure for all warships, but many European statesmen mistakenly believed that the clause allowed Russian vessels. Britain and France were angered by the misinterpreted clause; they also sought to contain Russian [[expansionism]]. The two kingdoms, however, differed on how to achieve their objective; the British wished to uphold the Sultan, but the French preferred to make Muhammad Ali (whom they saw as more competent) the ruler of the entire Ottoman Empire. Russian intervention led the Sultan to negotiate a peace with Muhammad Ali in 1833, but war broke out once again in 1839.<ref>Henry Dodwell, ''The Founder of Modern Egypt: A Study of Muhammad ‘Ali'' (Cambridge University Press, 1967)</ref>

Sultan Mahmud II died the same year, leaving the Ottoman Empire to his son [[Abdulmejid I]] in a critical state: the Ottoman army had been significantly defeated by the forces of Muhammad Ali. Another disaster followed when the entire Turkish fleet was seized by the Egyptian forces. Great Britain and Russia now intervened to prevent the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, but France still continued to support Muhammad Ali. In 1840, however, the Great Powers agreed to compromise; Muhammad Ali agreed to make a nominal act of submission to the Sultan, but was granted hereditary control of Egypt.

The only unresolved issue of the period was the Straits question. In 1841, Russia consented to the abrogation of the Treaty of Unkiar Skelessi by accepting the [[London Straits Convention]]. The Great Powers — Russia, Britain, France, Austria and Prussia — agreed to the re-establishment of the "ancient rule" of the Ottoman Empire, which provided that the Turkish straits would be closed to all warships whatsoever, with the exception of the Sultan's allies during wartime.  With the Straits Convention, the Russian Emperor Nicholas I abandoned the idea of reducing the Sultan to a state of dependence, and returned to the plan of partitioning Ottoman territories in Europe.

Thus, after the resolution of the Egyptian struggle which had begun in 1831, the weak Ottoman Empire was no longer wholly dependent on Russia but was dependent on the Great Powers for protection. Attempts at internal reform failed to end the decline of the Empire. By the 1840s, the Ottoman Empire had become the "[[sick man of Europe]]", and its eventual dissolution appeared inevitable.