IV. FROM THE TURKISH CONQUEST TO 1918 The penultimate stage of the history of Palestine was reached in 1516 when the war between Sultan Selim the Grim and the Mameluke rulers of Egypt resulted in the transference of the country to the victorious Turks. This change of rulers produced little change in the administration or condition of the country. Local governors were appointed from Constantinople where reve nues were annually sent ; various public works were undertaken such as the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem by Suleiman the Magnificent in ; but on the whole Palestine ceases from this point to have a history till the coming of the 19th century. Its annals record little save the sanguinary quarrels of local sheikhs and the oppression of the peasants by them or by the officials. The most interesting personality in a dreary period is that of the Druse prince Fakhr-ed-din (1595-1634) whose establishment of a Lebanese kingdom which included northern Palestine as far as Acre in defiance of the Turkish sultan, and his dilettante cultivation of art, a consequence of temporary exile in Italy, deserve passing notice. The order imposed by the Turks on a turbulent country did not endure. The German botanist Leon hard Rauwolf, who visited Palestine in 1575 has left a vivid description of the difficulties that beset even so simple a journey as that from Jaffa to Jerusalem. He found Jaffa in ruins. A safe conduct had to be obtained from the governor of Ramleh before the party could proceed. At Yazur they were stopped by an official who extorted heavy blackmail on the ground that the sultan had given him charge of the "holy places" and had for bidden him to admit anyone to them without payment. Further on they had a scuffle with certain "Arabians" and at last, after accomplishing the passage of the "rough and stony" road that led to Jerusalem they were obliged to dismount before the city gate till they should receive licence from the governor to enter.
Towards the close of the 18th century a chief named Dhahir el Amir rose to power in Acre. To him fled from Egypt an Albanian slave named Ahmad, who bore the surname of "el-Jazzar" (the butcher) on account of the obedient skill with which he had rid his Mameluke master of numerous rivals. He had, however, in curred punishment for indiscipline and so took refuge with the Palestinian chief. After five years his former master died and el-Jazzar returned to Egypt. Soon Dhahir el-Amir revolted against the Turkish Government and el-Jazzar on account of his long residence with and full knowledge of his protector was com missioned to quell the rebellion. He succeeded and was installed as
governor of Acre in Dhahir's place. He had crude aesthetic tastes and Acre owes some public buildings to him, but he was also capricious and tyrannical and lived up to his surname. Till 1791 there was a colony of French merchants with factories and offices at Acre; el-Jazzar that year summarily ordered them to quit the town. In 1798 Napoleon Bonaparte after conquering Egypt invaded Palestine in pursuit of his scheme of stirring up revolt against the Turk in Syria and conquering the Near and Middle East at the head of an adventurer army with a French core. He defeated el-Jazzar and besieged him in Acre, while a relieving column of Turks and local Arab irregulars was completely de feated by his lieutenant, General J. B. Kleber near Mount Tabor. But the timely arrival of British warships commanded by Admiral Sir Sidney Smith saved Acre. A final attempt to storm the town was repulsed and Napoleon withdrew to Egypt.
El-Jazzar died in 1806; his successor Suleiman ruled mildly but in 1814 he died and Acre became the prey of the fanatic Abdallah Pasha. He caused his Jewish secretary to be murdered; but the Jew, anticipating his doom and determined that his employer should pay dearly for his crime, had secretly arranged that after his own death an inventory of Abdallah's property should fall into the hands of the Government, which had claims on the estates of el-Jazzar and of Suleiman. The Government pressed its claims : Abdallah refused to pay and was besieged in Acre. He called upon Mohammed Ali Pasha the powerful governor general of Egypt to mediate. Mohammed Ali settled the dispute but Abdallah refused to discharge his claims for the arbitration and to hand over political refugees from Egypt. The Egyptian had long feared the sultan's jealousy and Abdallah's conduct gave him an excuse for taking the offensive. In Nov. 1831 he attacked Abdallah by land and sea. Acre was stormed next May and by the end of July all Syria was lost to the sultan. The campaigns waged by the Albanian satrap of Egypt against his master and their international consequences are described elsewhere (see TURKEY, EGYPT, MOHAMMED ALI). Palestine, which had wel comed the new ruler, soon found it had exchanged King Log for King Stork. A rising in 1834 was ruthlessly suppressed. Finally in 184o the appearance of the British, Austrian and Russian fleets off Beirut and the advance of a Turkish army from the north led to a general revolt in which Palestine joined. Acre surrendered and the Egyptians hastily evacuated the whole country.