Muhammad Pasha al-Azm was the
Ottoman governor of
Sidon Eyalet
The Eyalet of Sidon (; ) was an eyalet (also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, the eyalet extended from the border with Egypt to the Bay of Kisrawan, including parts of modern Israel and Lebanon.
Depending ...
(1763–1770) and
Damascus Eyalet
Damascus Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It became an eyalet after the Ottomans took it from the Mamluks following the 1516–1517 Ottoman–Mamluk War. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan ...
(1771–72 and 1773–83). He was a member of the prominent
al-Azm family
Al-Azm family ( , ) is a prominent Damascus, Damascene family. Their political influence in Ottoman Syria began in the 18th century when members of the family administered Maarrat al-Nu'man and Hama. A scion of the family, Ismail Pasha al-Azm, wa ...
, the son of a former governor
As'ad Pasha al-Azm.
During Muhammad Pasha's time in office, Damascus was experiencing a peak in its prosperity, although its political clout in the
Levant
The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...
was being overshadowed by the rulers of
Acre
The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
, first
and then
Jezzar Pasha
Ahmed Pasha al-Jazzar (, c. 1720–30s7 May 1804) was the Acre-based Bosniak Ottoman governor of Sidon Eyalet from 1776 until his death in 1804 and the simultaneous governor of Damascus Eyalet in 1785–1786, 1790–1795, 1798–1799, and 1803 ...
. Muhammad Pasha administered the city well and commissioned numerous building projects. Among the new constructions were the Abdullah al-Azm Madrasa near the
Azm Palace
Al-Azm Palace ( ) is a palace in Damascus, Syria, built in 1749. Located north of Al-Buzuriyah Souq in the Ancient City of Damascus, the palace was built in 1749 to be the private residence for As'ad Pasha al-Azm, the governor of Damascus; during ...
, and the Suq al-Jadid (New Market) between the Suq al-Arwam and the
Citadel of Damascus
The Citadel of Damascus () is a large medieval fortified palace and citadel in Damascus, Syria. It is part of the Old city of Damascus, Ancient City of Damascus, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
The location of the curr ...
. He married off one of his daughters to Jezzar Pasha which was intended to signify an alliance between the two governors, although they remained rivals nonetheless.
Muhammad Pasha's death in 1783 largely marked the end of the al-Azm family's political dominance in
Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria () is a historiographical term used to describe the group of divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of the Levant, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Ara ...
, although the family continued to be influential well after the end of Ottoman rule in 1917.
[Khoury, 2003, p. 18.] Muhammad Pasha's son,
Abdullah Pasha, was the last governor of Damascus from the al-Azm family.
References
Bibliography
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{{s-end
1783 deaths
Ottoman governors of Damascus
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
Ottoman governors of Sidon
18th-century people from the Ottoman Empire