Ahmed Urabi
Ahmed Urabi led the first modern Egyptian nationalist movement, and his defeat brought seventy years of British occupation. Born in 1841 in a village in Sharqia province to a family of village notables of fellahin stock, he studied briefly at al-Azhar and entered the army at fourteen, rising to colonel under Said Pasha, who had opened commissions to native Egyptians. Under Ismail and then Tawfiq, promotion above a certain rank was effectively reserved for the Turco-Circassian elite that had governed Egypt since Muhammad Ali. Urabi became the spokesman for Egyptian-born officers resentful of that barrier and of pay arrears. Egypt was by then bankrupt. Ismail's borrowing for the Suez Canal and modernisation had produced a debt the state could not service, and in 1876 an Anglo-French Caisse de la Dette took control of the finances, dictating a budget that cut the army while servicing European bondholders. In September 1881 Urabi led a demonstration of troops to the Abdeen Palace and demanded a constitution, a larger army and the dismissal of the ministry. Tawfiq conceded, and Urabi became minister of war in February 1882 under the slogan Egypt for the Egyptians. Britain and France sent warships to Alexandria. Rioting there in June 1882 killed Europeans and Egyptians, and the British fleet bombarded the city in July. Urabi declared war; the khedive sided with the British. Garnet Wolseley landed at the canal and destroyed Urabi's entrenched army at Tel el-Kebir on 13 September 1882 in a dawn attack lasting under an hour. Urabi was tried, sentenced to death, and exiled to Ceylon instead. He returned in 1901 and died in 1911.
- Lived: 1841 CE – 1911 CE
- Nationality: Egyptian
- Roles: military_leader, nationalist_leader
