Qasim Pasha al-Ahmad (died 1834) was the chief of the
Jamma'in subdistrict of
Jabal Nablus during the
Ottoman and
Egyptian
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
periods in Palestine in the mid-19th century.
[Doumani, 1995, p.]
46
/ref> He also served as the '' mutassalim'' (tax collector) of Jerusalem
Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...
between 1832 and 1833. Qasim headed the Qasim clan, a prominent rural family of Jabal Nablus.[Baer, 1982, p.]
291
/ref>[Beinin, 2001, p]
33
/ref> He led the peasants of Palestine
Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...
in their revolt
Rebellion is an uprising that resists and is organized against one's government. A rebel is a person who engages in a rebellion. A rebel group is a consciously coordinated group that seeks to gain political control over an entire state or a ...
against the Egyptian rule of Ibrahim Pasha in 1834. Following the revolt's suppression, he was captured and executed by the authorities.
Early life and background
Qasim was born in Beit Wazan
Beit Wazan () is a Palestinian village in the Nablus Governorate of the State of Palestine, in the northern West Bank, located 4.5 kilometers west of Nablus. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), the village had a p ...
, the throne village of the Qasim clan. The Qasim clan formed the eastern branch of the Bani Ghazi tribe in the Jamma'in subdistrict. The western branch were known as the Rayyan clan and were based in Majdal Yaba
Majdal Yaba () was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict, northeast of Ramla and east of Jaffa. A walled Jewish settlement name Migdal Aphek (; Ancient Greek: ''Αφεχού πύργος'') stood at the same site as early as th ...
. In the centuries-long intermittent civil feuds in Palestine between the Qays and Yaman factions, the Qasim were part of the Yamani coalition.[Macalister and Masterman, 1906, p]
36
/ref>
Growth of influence
In the 19th century, Qasim, along with Ahmad al-Qasim Jarrar, of the Jarrar family, led a local struggle against the Tuqan family
The Tuqan clan (; also variously romanized as ''Toukan'', ''Touqan'', ''Tukan'', and ''Tokan'') is a prominent Palestinian people, Palestinian and Jordanian people, Jordanian political and business family. During the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman era, t ...
under Musa Bey Tuqan's leadership for dominance over Nablus
Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...
, the commercial center of Jabal Nablus. In the early 1820s, Musa Bey and his forces, buoyed by some troops of Sulayman Pasha, the Ottoman governor 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 ...
, besieged Qasim at the village of Sarra, southwest of Nablus. Qasim led all of his men in a strong charge against Musa's forces, breaking the siege and causing Musa and Sulaiman's troops to disperse and flee to Nablus. According to local accounts, Qasim personally killed 295 men with his sword, not counting anyone who he may have shot with his rifle.
Sulaiman was replaced by Abdullah Pasha, who was on friendlier terms with Qasim. He appointed him as the ''mutasallim'' (tax collector) of Nablus. Musa Bey died in 1823. Following his death, Qasim moved to Nablus and purchased the Sha'riwiyya soap factory. Nabulsi soap was a valuable commodity produced in the city and owning a factory that produced it allowed Qasim to accumulate both wealth and influence in the city and its environs.
Peasants' revolt and execution
In 1831, the ruler of Ottoman Egypt, Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...
rebelled against the Ottoman Sultan and sought to dethrone the Othomans, he dispatched his son Ibrahim Pasha in a campaign in the Levant to pave the way for Constantinople. Acre fell that year as did much of Palestine. Initially, relations between Ibrahim Pasha and Qasim were good. Qasim contributed peasant irregulars to Ibrahim Pasha's war effort in Syria in 1832. The latter was an adviser to Ibrahim Pasha continued to serve as chief of Jabal Nablus. Three of his sons were given the position of ''mutasallim'': Muhammad al-Qasim in Nablus, Yusuf in Jerusalem and Uthman in Jaffa.[Macalister and Masterman, 1906, p]
37
/ref>
Relations soured between the two men when Husayn Abd al-Hadi was given the position of ''mutasallim'' of Nablus. Abd al-Hadi and Qasim had been allies prior to the appointment as members of the Yaman confederation. General hostility to Egyptian rule in Palestine was also growing due to additional taxes and army conscription
Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it conti ...
orders imposed by Ibrahim Pasha. Qasim rallied the peasants and rural chiefs of Jabal Nablus and led the 1834 peasants' revolt against Ibrahim Pasha.
By June 1834, the rebels were in control of most of Palestine. Muhammad Ali arrived in Palestine and began negotiations to end the revolt with various rebel leaders. Qasim requested a pardon from Ibrahim Pasha so that he could negotiate an end to the fighting himself. Ibrahim agreed and with guarantees of safety by Abd al-Hadi, Qasim met with Ibrahim in late June. The latter admonished Qasim for his betrayal of Muhammad Ali, to which Qasim responded with an apology and an explanation that his hand was forced. By the end of the meeting, the two reconciled and Ibrahim reappointed Qasim as ''mutassalim'' of both Nablus and Jerusalem. The peace unraveled after the arrest of several Jerusalemite notables on Muhammad Ali's orders, which made Qasim believe the truce was a ruse to demobilize the rebels while reinforcements arrived from Egypt.[Rood, pp. 132-133.]
Ibrahim Pasha's forces, backed by reinforcements from Egypt, launched an offensive against Jabal Nablus, defeating Qasim's men at Zeita, forcing them to withdraw to Deir al-Ghusun
Deir al-Ghusun () is a Palestinian people, Palestinian town in the Tulkarm Governorate, located eight kilometers northeast of the city of Tulkarm in the northern West Bank, Palestine. The town is near the Green Line (Israel), Green Line (border be ...
.[Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, pp]
135
nbsp;136 There many of Qasim's forces defected in response to a request by Abd al-Hadi. Qasim had several of the defectors killed,[Macalister and Masterman, 1906, p]
39
/ref> and his forces were routed in the village. Qasim and his sons escaped,[Rustum, 1938, p. 75] and Ibrahim's forces pursued them to Hebron
Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...
. The latter was leveled by Egyptian forces, but Qasim evaded capture again and sought safety in al-Karak
Al-Karak (), in English sources often simply Karak, is a city in Jordan known for its medieval castle, the Kerak Castle. The castle is one of the three largest castles in the region, the other two being in Syria. Al-Karak is the capital city of ...
.[Rood, p. 134.] He was sheltered by Duwaikhi al-Samir, but after al-Karak was leveled by Ibrahim's forces, Duwaikhi handed Qasim over.
Qasim was executed in Damascus in late 1834, while his sons Muhammad and Yusuf were executed in Acre. His other sons Uthman and Mahmud were exiled to Egypt. Mahmud later succeeded his father as ''mutasallim'' of the Jamma'in subdistrict. Qasim remained a popular figure among the peasantry of Jabal Nablus, who petitioned that Mahmud replace Sulayman Abd al-Hadi as ''mutasallim'' of Nablus.
References
Bibliography
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1834 deaths
19th-century executions by Egypt
19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire
Arab people from Ottoman Palestine
Political people from the Ottoman Empire
People of the peasants' revolt in Palestine
People from Jamma'in
Palestinian rebels