The
Battle of Konya was fought in December 21, 1832, between
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Western Asia...
and the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
, just outside the city of
KonyaKonya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the capital of the Konya Province, and had a city population of 980,973 in 2008 while the provincial population was 1,959,082 in the same year.-Etymology:Konya, also spelled in some historic English texts as Konia or Koniah, was known...
in modern-day
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
. The
EgyptiansEgyptians is the name of the nationality and Mediterranean North African ethnic group native to Egypt....
were led by
Ibrahim PashaIbrahim Basha , a 19th century general of Egypt. He is better known as the son of Muhammad Ali of Egypt...
, while the Ottomans were led by
Reşid Mehmed PashaReşid Mehmed Pasha, also known as Kütahı was a prominent Ottoman general and Grand Vizier in the first half of the 19th century, playing an important role in the Greek War of Independence.- Early life :...
. The Egyptians were victorious.
Prelude
The Egyptian campaign to occupy
SyriaGreater Syria , also known simply as Syria, is a term that denotes a region in the Near East bordering the Eastern Mediterranean Sea or the Levant....
began on October 29, 1831, starting the
First Turko-Egyptian WarThe First Turko-Egyptian War was brought about by Muhammad Ali Pasha's demand for control of Syria as reward for his assistance against Greece....
. Two
armiesAn army An army An army (from Latin armata "armed (things)" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based Military of a nation. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
set out from Egypt, one by land under General Ibrahim Yakan, and the other by sea, landing at
JaffaJaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa is located south of Tel Aviv, Israel on the Mediterranean Sea...
, under
Ibrahim PashaIbrahim Basha , a 19th century general of Egypt. He is better known as the son of Muhammad Ali of Egypt...
. The Egyptians rapidly occupied
JerusalemJerusalem is the capital of Israel and its largest city in both population and area, with a population of 747,600 residents over an area of if disputed East Jerusalem is included...
and the coastal regions of
PalestinePalestine is a conventional name used, among others, to describe a geographic region between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, and various adjoining lands.As a geographical term, Palestine can also refer to 'ancient Palestine,' an area...
and
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
, except for
AcreAcre also Akko, is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel. It is situated on a low promontory at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , Acre had a population of 46,000 at the end of 2007...
, which had impregnable walls and a strong
garrisonGarrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, of more than 50 men, but now often simply using it as a home base. The station is usually a city, town, fort, castle or similar...
of about 3,000 hardened fighters with much artillery. Acre, under the Ottoman Paha Abdullah Elgazar, held out against a long and bloody
siegeA siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. The term derives from sedere, Latin for "to sit"....
before finally falling to the Egyptians on May 27, 1832.
The final battle of the campaign of 1831/1832, came at
KonyaKonya is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the capital of the Konya Province, and had a city population of 980,973 in 2008 while the provincial population was 1,959,082 in the same year.-Etymology:Konya, also spelled in some historic English texts as Konia or Koniah, was known...
on December 18-21, 1832. Several minor clashes between advanced elements and scouting parties of the two armies took place on December 18 and 19, and the main battle described below was on December 21.
Opposing armies
Egyptian Forces: Ibrahim Pasha commanded a total of about 50,000 men in all of
Greater SyriaGreater Syria , also known simply as Syria, is a term that denotes a region in the Near East bordering the Eastern Mediterranean Sea or the Levant....
, including recent Syrian recruits and about 7,000 Arab
auxiliariesAn auxiliary force is a group affiliated with, but not part of, a military or police organization. In some cases, auxiliaries are armed forces operating in the same manner as regular soldiers...
and
irregularsIrregular military refers to any non-standard military. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used....
. The regular forces were organised into ten
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of the Combat Arms they are the backbone of armies...
brigadeA brigade is a military unit that is typically composed of two to five regiments or battalions, depending on the era and nationality of a given army. Usually, a brigade is a sub-component of a division, a larger unit consisting of two or more brigades; however, some brigades are classified as a...
s, twelve
cavalryCavalry were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat. Cavalry were historically the second oldest and most mobile of the combat arms...
brigades and the
artilleryArtillery is a military combat Arm that employs weapons capable of discharging large projectiles in combat. They are generally capable of adding considerable fire power to the military capability of an armed force...
and
engineersA military engineer is primarily responsible for the design and construction of offensive, defensive, and logistical structures for warfare. Other duties include the layout, placement, maintenance and dismantling of defensive minefields and the clearing of enemy minefields and the construction...
. Much of this force was spread out on his supply lines, and only 27,000 regular troops were available at the battle of Konya. However, these were the most experienced and disciplined of his army. At the battle, Ibrahim had 20 infantry
battalionA battalion is a military unit of around 1000-1500 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
s, 28 cavalry
squadronA squadron is a small unit or formation of cavalry, armour, aircraft , or warships.-Army and Marines:A cavalry squadron , typically consists of four troops.-United States:...
s, and 48
gunIn military parlance, a gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm...
s.
Ottoman Forces: Reshid Pasha commanded an army of 80,000 from various Ottoman provinces, including many
AlbaniansAlbanians are a people from southeast Europe who live in Albania and neighboring countries. They speak the Albanian language. About half of them live in Albania, with other large groups residing in Kosovo, the Republic of Macedonia, Serbia, and Montenegro...
and
BosniansThe Bosniaks or Bosniacs are a South Slavic ethnic group, living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a smaller autochthonous population also present in the Sandžak, Croatia, and the Republic of Macedonia. Bosniaks are typically characterized by their tie to the Bosnian historical region,...
. At the battle Reshid had a total of about 54,000 men, of which about 20,000 were irregulars: 54 infantry battalions, 28 cavalry squadrons, and 100 guns.
Field and order of battle
The main battle took place on December 21, 1832, astride the Konya-Istanbul road, just north of the ancient
walled townA defensive wall is a fortification used to defend a city or settlement from potential aggressors. In ancient to modern times, they were used to enclose settlements...
of Konya, which, in 1832, had a population of about 20,000. The battlefield is bounded on the west by hills and on the east by
marshIn geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland which is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, and other herbaceous plants. Woody plants will be low-growing shrubs. A marsh is different from a swamp,...
es and
swampA swamp is a wetland featuring temporary or permanent inundation of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a substantial number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types...
s, with a
plateauIn geology and earth science, a plateau, also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain...
about two miles (3 km) wide in between. The Egyptian army had its back to the town and faced North, and the Ottoman army approached from the North astride the road, facing South. December 21 was an intensely
fogFog is a cloud that is in contact with the ground. A cloud may be considered partly fog; for example, the part of a cloud that is suspended in the air above the ground is not considered fog, whereas the part of the cloud that comes in contact with higher ground is considered fog...
gy day.
Ibrahim's army was organised into three rows astride the road. The first row consisted of the 13th and 18th Infantry Brigades with three
artillery batteriesIn military organizations, an artillery battery is a unit of guns, mortars, rockets or missiles so grouped in order to facilitate better battlefield communication and command and control, as well as to provide dispersion for its constituent gunnery crews and their systems...
under Selim Elmansterly. The second row, five hundred paces behind the first, consisted of the 12th and 14th Infantry Brigades with two artillery batteries under Soliman Elfaransawy (Elfaransawy = "the Frenchman" the former Colonel Sèves). The third row, consisted of the Guards Brigade and one artillery battery in reserve and the 1st and 2nd Cavalry Brigades, under Selim bey. Ibrahim posted two battalions in
square formationAn infantry square is a combat formation an infantry unit formed in close order assumes when threatened with cavalry attack.-Very early history:...
at the flanks to guard against
encirclementEncirclement is a military term for the situation when a force or target is isolated and surrounded by enemy forces.This situation is highly dangerous for the encircled force: at the strategic level, because it cannot receive supplies or reinforcements, and on the tactical level, because the units...
.
Reshid's army was organised into four rows advancing astride the road. Leading the advance were two regular cavalry brigades and the Guards Infantry brigade in open formation. These were followed by a second row of two infantry and two cavalry brigades, then a third and fourth row each consisting of an infantry brigade. Large numbers of irregulars made up the rear. Artillery was distributed amongst the army.
At about noon the advancing Ottoman's artillery opened fire when the front lines were about apart. With the heavy fog, the
rangeright|thumb|250 px|The path of this projectile launched from a height y0 has a range d.In physics, a projectile launched with specific initial conditions in a uniform gravity field will have a predictable range...
was spotty, and the Egyptian artillery held their fire until they could guess the Ottomans' positions from the sound of their cannonade, and so could find their range more precisely. As the artillery exchange thundered on, Ibrahim advanced with his
scoutReconnaissance is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information. Militarily, its shorthand Canadian and British form is recce , its American usage form is recon...
s to a
wellA water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
east of the road to survey the Ottoman positions. During a momentary lifting of the fog, he noticed a gap in the Ottoman formation between their cavalry and infantry on their left flank, to the East. He rapidly called his
reserveA military reserve, tactical reserve, or strategic reserve is a group of military personnel or units which are initially not committed to a battle by their commander so that they are available to address unforeseen situations or exploit suddenly developing...
s (the Guards Brigade and the two cavalry Brigades) and personally led them into this gap between the road and the marshes, causing confusion in the Ottoman left flank by this sudden onslaught, as some of their cavalry was trapped and scattered in the foggy marshes. As the Ottoman left flank collapsed, the grand vizier Reshid Pasha personally moved to their midst to rally them, but in the foggy confusion found himself surrounded by Egyptians and captured. The capture of their supreme commander deepened the confusion amongst the Ottomans, and some units lost cohesion and broke ranks as the Egyptian artillery and cavalry advanced around their left flank to their rear, enveloping the now disorganised units and continuing a relentless slaughter from three directions, South, East and North. As night fell, the new Ottoman commander managed to rally some units and organised a desperate counter-attack from the West against the Egyptian left flank, but this failed as the Egyptian centre wheeled to face them with an organised
barrageA barrage is a line or barrier of exploding artillery shells, created by the co-ordinated aiming of a large number of guns firing continuously. Its purpose is to deny or hamper enemy passage through the line of the barrage, to attack a linear position such as a line of trenches or to neutralize...
of artillery and as this attack broke, the remaining Ottomans scattered.
Aftermath
Konya was Ibrahim's greatest victory. He lost 262 dead and 530 wounded, whereas the Ottomans lost 3,000 dead and over 5,000 taken prisoner, including many senior
officerAn officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
s. The Egyptians remained in possession of the field and took 46 guns, and the Ottoman army was scattered. Nothing remained between Ibrahim's army and
IstanbulIstanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province...
after the battle. However, it was time for
politicsPolitics is a process by which groups of people make decisions. The term is generally applied to behavior within civil governments, but politics has been observed in all human group interactions, including corporate, academic and religious institutions...
, and Ibrahim's father, Muhammad Ali parleyed with Sultan Mahmoud and with the
European PowersA great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess economic, military, diplomatic, and cultural strength, which may cause other smaller nations to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions of...
, and ended up signing the Peace Agreement of Kutahya at the
Convention of KutahyaThe Convention of Kutahya, also known as the Peace Agreement of Kutahya, ended the First Turko-Egyptian War in May 1833.-Overview:Muhammad Ali of Egypt, ostensibly only a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire, had taken his newly-reformed military into a war against the Ottoman Sultan, Mahmud II, in...
, whereby the Sultan ceded greater Syria to Muhammad Ali for his lifetime, and ceded Egypt's rule to Muhammad Ali's dynasty in perpetuity, with nominal vassalhood to the Ottoman Sultan, but de facto independence. This dynasty only ended in July, 1952 with the abdication of
King FaroukFarouk I of Egypt , was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936. He was considered the first native Egyptian monarch for millennia despite his mixed roots...
after the army coup led by
Colonel Gamal Abd el NasserGamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970. He led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which removed King Farouk I and heralded a new period of industrialization in Egypt, together with a profound advancement of Arab nationalism, including a short-lived...
.
As a postscript to Konya, it should be added that seven years later, the Ottoman
Sultan MahmoudMahmud II
was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, the son of Sultan Abdul Hamid I. His reign is notable mostly for the extensive legal and military reforms he instituted...
abrogated the Peace of Kotahiya and attacked the Egyptian forces again, but was again routed by the Egyptians at the battle of Nizib, on the frontier between Turkey and Syria, on June 24, 1839.