Editing Murad Bey

{{Short description|Egyptian ruler}}
{{for|the Bey of Tunis|Murad I Bey}}
{{family name hatnote|Murad|Bey||lang=Ottoman Turkish}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Murad Bey
| image              = Mourad-Bey ag1.png
| native_name        = مراد بك
| native_name_lang   = ar
| birth_date         = 1750
| birth_place        = [[Tiflis]], [[Kingdom of Kartli|Kartli]]
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1801|04|22|1750}}
| death_place        = [[Egypt]]
}}
'''Murad Bey''' ({{circa}} 1750 – 22 April 1801) was an Egyptian [[Mamluk]] chieftain ([[Bey]]), [[cavalry]] commander and joint ruler of Egypt with [[Ibrahim Bey (Mamluk)|Ibrahim Bey]].<ref name="Goldschmidt" /> He is often remembered as being a cruel and extortionate ruler, but an energetic courageous and fighter.<ref name="Goldschmidt" />

The title given to him, "Bey", denotes an aristocratic status broadly indicative of "Lordship", subject to the cultural norms of the Ottoman Empire. More specifically, the cultural norms of the Egyptian province in the Ottoman Empire, since Egypt enjoyed varying degrees of autonomy throughout the Ottoman period. 

==Biography==
[[File:Murad Bey by Dutertre in Description de l Egypte 1809.jpg|thumb|Murad Bey by Dutertre in ''[[Description de l'Egypte]]'', 1809]]
While many Georgian and foreign historians claim Murad was of Georgian origin and born in [[Tbilisi]],<ref name="EFRNW">Mikaberidze, Alexander, "Murad Bey", in: Gregory Fremont-Barnes (ed., 2006), ''The Encyclopedia of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars'', Vol. 2, p. 663. ABC-CLIO, Inc.</ref><ref>The Life of J. D. Åkerblad: Egyptian Decipherment and Orientalism, By Fredrik Thomasson, p.80, Hotei Publishing, Netherlands</ref> several others believe he was a [[Circassians|Circassian]].<ref>J. Christopher Herold: ''Bonaparte in Egypt'', pages 70 and 252. New York 1962/2009</ref> In 1768, he [[Black Sea slave trade|was sold]] to the (Circassian) Mamluk [[Abu al-Dhahab]], regent of [[Ottoman Egypt]].

After the death of his master in 1775, Murad Bey was in command of the Mamluk army, whereas [[Ibrahim Bey (Mamluk)|Ibrahim Bey]] was in charge of the administrative duties of Egypt.<ref name=Pawly>{{cite book|last=Pawly|first=Ronald|title=Napoleon's Mamelukes|year=2012|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=9781780964195|pages=5–6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T3YWVpusV88C&q=Murad+bey+french&pg=PA6}}</ref> They survived through the persistent Ottoman attempts at overthrowing the Mamluk regime and civil strifes.<ref name="EFRNW"/> They served as [[kaymakam]]s (acting governors) in Egypt on occasion, although they effectively held ''de facto'' power for decades, even over the appointed [[Ottoman governor of Egypt]].<ref name="JabartiPhilipp1994-2/93">{{cite book|author1='Abd al-Rahman Jabarti|author2=Thomas Philipp|author3=Moshe Perlmann|title=Abd Al-Rahmann Al-Jabarti's History of Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw9hcgAACAAJ|volume=2|year=1994|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart|page=93}}</ref><ref name="JabartiPhilipp1994-2/138">{{cite book|author1='Abd al-Rahman Jabarti|author2=Thomas Philipp|author3=Moshe Perlmann|title=Abd Al-Rahmann Al-Jabarti's History of Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw9hcgAACAAJ|volume=2|year=1994|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart|page=138}}</ref><ref name="JabartiPhilipp1994-2/156">{{cite book|author1='Abd al-Rahman Jabarti|author2=Thomas Philipp|author3=Moshe Perlmann|title=Abd Al-Rahmann Al-Jabarti's History of Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw9hcgAACAAJ|volume=2|year=1994|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart|page=156}}</ref>

In 1786, the Ottoman sultan [[Abdülhamid I]] sent [[Kapudan Pasha]] (grand admiral of the [[Ottoman Navy]]) [[Cezayirli Gazi Hasan Pasha]] to drive out Ibrahim and Murad Bey.<ref name="JabartiPhilipp1994-2/181">{{cite book|author1='Abd al-Rahman Jabarti|author2=Thomas Philipp|author3=Moshe Perlmann|title=Abd Al-Rahmann Al-Jabarti's History of Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw9hcgAACAAJ|volume=2|year=1994|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart|page=181}}</ref><ref name="sicilli">{{citation|author=Mehmet Süreyya|editor1=Nuri Akbayar|editor2=Seyit A. Kahraman|title=Sicill-i Osmanî|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=btElAQAAMAAJ|year=1996|publisher=Türkiye Kültür Bakanlığı and Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı|location=Beşiktaş, Istanbul|isbn=9789753330411|language=tr|orig-year=1890}}</ref> Hasan Pasha was fervent and thorough in his efforts and succeeded in the short term, reestablishing direct [[Ottoman Empire]] control over Egypt.<ref name="JabartiPhilipp1994-2/181" /> [[Ismail Bey]] was appointed as new Mamluk leader and [[Shaykh al-Balad]] (civil governor and de facto ruler). However, in 1791, only five years after their expulsion by Hasan Pasha, the [[duumvir]]ate returned to Cairo from hiding in southern Egypt and took back ''de facto'' control.<ref name="JabartiPhilipp1994-2/317–322, 373">{{cite book|author1='Abd al-Rahman Jabarti|author2=Thomas Philipp|author3=Moshe Perlmann|title=Abd Al-Rahmann Al-Jabarti's History of Egypt|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nw9hcgAACAAJ|volume=2|year=1994|publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag Stuttgart|pages=317–322, 373}}</ref> At this time, Murad Bey served as the [[amir al-hajj]] (Commander of the Hajj),<ref>{{Citation|first=Robert|last=Anderson|title=Egypt in 1800: Scenes from Napoleon's Description de L'Egypte|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1F1AAAAMAAJ&q=Emir+Hajj|publisher=Barrie & Jenkins|year=1998|page=89|isbn=9780712620062}}</ref> a position responsible for securing funds and provisions for the yearly [[Hajj]] pilgrimage and protecting it along the desert route to [[Mecca]] and [[Medina]] in the [[Hejaz]].

Murad commanded the Mamluk cavalry and [[janissary]] infantry in the [[Battle of Shubra Khit]] on 13 July 1798, but he was defeated by the French army and withdrew from the fight. Eight days later, on 21 July, he commanded the Mamluk cavalry during the [[Battle of the Pyramids]] alongside Ibrahim Bey and was defeated by [[Napoleon I of France|Napoleon]]. While Ibrahim Bey fled towards the [[Sinai Peninsula]], Murad fled to [[Cairo]] and then [[Upper Egypt]]. He mounted a brief [[guerrilla warfare]] that staved off the armies of [[Louis Desaix]] for a year.<ref name=Pawly/> While pursuing Murad Bey into Upper Egypt, the French discovered the monuments at [[Dendera]], [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]], [[Edfu]], and [[Philae]].

Murad had reportedly offered money to the French forces to leave Egypt. He offered to ally himself with the [[British Empire]] in exchange for allowing them to occupy [[Alexandria]], [[Damietta]], and [[Rosetta]].<ref name=Goldschmidt>{{cite book|last=Goldschmidt|first=Arthur|title=Biographical dictionary of modern Egypt|year=2000|publisher=Rienner|location=Boulder [u.a.]|isbn=9781555872298|page=[https://archive.org/details/00jrgo/page/138 138]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/00jrgo/page/138}}</ref> In 1800, Murad made peace with [[Jean-Baptiste Kléber]]. He agreed to [[garrison]] Cairo.<ref name="EFRNW" /> He was responsible for collecting taxes from Upper Egypt on behalf of the [[French First Republic]]. He was part of the French army at the [[Battle of Heliopolis (1800)|Battle of Heliopolis]], commanding his Mamluks on the French right wing. He deserted the French before the battle and did not participate in the fighting. After the French army was [[Battle of Alexandria (1801)|defeated at Canopus]] by a British army under [[Ralph Abercromby]], the French governor of Cairo, [[Augustin Daniel Belliard]], ordered Murad Bey to assist him in defending the capital. Murad set out to assist the governor but died en route of the [[bubonic plague]].

==See also==
{{Commons category|Murad Bey}}
* [[Ibrahim Bey (Mamluk)]], his career-long partner in ruling Egypt
* [[Nafisa al-Bayda]], his wife who served as his go-between during the French occupation

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bey, Murad}}
[[Category:1750s births]]
[[Category:1801 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century Ottoman governors of Egypt]]
[[Category:19th-century Egyptian people]]
[[Category:Egyptian military personnel]]
[[Category:19th-century deaths from plague (disease)]]
[[Category:Mamluks]]
[[Category:Egyptian nobility]]
[[Category:Political people from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:Ottoman military leaders of the French Revolutionary Wars]]
[[Category:Ottoman governors of Egypt]]
[[Category:Georgians from the Ottoman Empire]]
[[Category:18th-century slaves]]
[[Category:Egyptian slaves]]
[[Category:18th-century slaves from the Ottoman Empire]]