Muhammad Pasha al-Azm

Muhammad Pasha al-Azm
Monarch Mustafa III (1757–1774)
Abdul Hamid I (1774–1789)
Wali of Damascus
In office
1771–1772
Preceded by Uthman Pasha al-Kurji
Succeeded by Hafiz Mustafa Pasha Bustanci
In office
1773–1783
Preceded by Hafiz Mustafa Pasha Bustanci
Succeeded by Mehmed Pasha al-Kurji
Wali of Sidon
In office
1763–1770
Preceded by Nu'man Pasha
Succeeded by Darwish Pasha al-Kurji
Personal details
Died 1783
Damascus, Damascus Eyalet, Ottoman Empire
Nationality Ottoman
Children Abdullah Pasha al-Azm
Parents As'ad Pasha al-Azm (father)
Religion Islam

Muhammad Pasha al-Azm was the Ottoman governor of Sidon Eyalet (1763–1770)[1] and Damascus Eyalet (1771–72 and 1773–83). He was a member of the prominent al-Azm family, the son of a former governor As'ad Pasha al-Azm.[2]

During Muhammad Pasha's time in office, Damascus was experiencing a peak in its prosperity, although its political clout in the Levant was being overshadowed by the rulers of Acre, first Zahir al-Umar and then Jezzar Pasha. 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, and the Suq al-Jadid (New Market) between the Suq al-Arwam and the Citadel of Damascus. 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.[3]

Muhammad Pasha's death in 1783 largely marked the end of the al-Azm family's political dominance in Ottoman Syria, although the family continued to be influential well after the end of Ottoman rule in 1917.[4] Muhammad Pasha's son, Abdullah Pasha, was the last governor of Damascus from the al-Azm family.

References

  1. Joudah, Ahmad Hasan. Revolt in Palestine in the Eighteenth Century: The Era of Shaykh Zahir Al-ʻUmar. (1986) Kingston Press
  2. Burns, 2005, p. 246.
  3. Burns, 2005, pp. 246-247.
  4. Khoury, 2003, p. 18.

Bibliography

Regnal titles
Preceded by
Hafiz Mustafa Pasha Bustanji
Wali of Damascus
1773–83
Succeeded by
Muhammad Pasha al-Kurji
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Uthman Pasha al-Kurji
Wali of Damascus
1771–72
Succeeded by
Hafiz Mustafa Pasha Bustanji
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Nu'man Pasha
Wali of Sidon
1763–70
Succeeded by
Darwish Pasha al-Kurji
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