Jazzar Pasha
![Portrait of Jazzar Pasha, 1775](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Jezzar_Pasha%2C_cropped.jpg)
After the Ottomans defeated and killed Zahir, they appointed al-Jazzar as their garrison commander in Acre. He pacified the Galilee and Mount Lebanon, which had been dominated by Zahir's kinsmen and the Druze forces of Yusuf Shihab, respectively. In 1776 or 1777, he was appointed governor of Sidon, but relocated the provincial capital to Acre, which he strongly fortified. In the following years, he defeated his erstwhile Shia Muslim ally, Nasif al-Nassar, consolidating his control over Jabal Amil (modern southern Lebanon). In 1785, al-Jazzar was appointed to his first of four terms as governor of Damascus, each time gaining more influence in the province's affairs in opposition to his rivals from the Azm family. In 1799, with the help of the British navy, al-Jazzar defended Acre from Napoleon, forcing the latter to withdraw from Palestine in disarray. His successful defense of Acre earned him prestige in the empire and made him well known in Europe.
Al-Jazzar died in office in 1804. He was ultimately succeeded in Acre by his mamluk Sulayman Pasha al-Adil; until his suppression of a mamluk revolt in 1789, al-Jazzar had appointed mamluks to senior posts in his military and administration. Al-Jazzar attempted to develop the areas under his control by improving road security and maintaining order. However, his domestic military expeditions and stringently enforced and exploitative taxation policies precipitated high emigration, although the cities of Acre and Beirut prospered. The former became a powerful regional center rivaling Damascus and until today contains many architectural works commissioned by al-Jazzar, such as its walls, the el-Jazzar Mosque and the Khan al-Umdan caravanserai. Provided by Wikipedia
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1by Ahmed Al-Jazzar, Behzad Javaheri, Matt Prideaux, Alan Boyde, Cheryl L. Scudamore, Chahrazad Cherifi, Eric Hay, Mark Hopkinson, Michael Boyd, Martine Cohen-Solal, Colin Farquharson, Andrew A. PitsillidesGet full text
Published 2016-12-01
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