Key Facts
- Campaign period
- November 1770 – May 1773
- Key alliance
- Ali Bey al-Kabir and Daher al-Umar of northern Palestine
- Damascus held
- ~10 days before Abu al-Dhahab's withdrawal
- Jaffa recaptured
- February 1773
- Ali Bey defeated
- 1 May 1773, captured and died days later
Strategic Narrative Overview
Ali Bey's veteran general Abu al-Dhahab led Egyptian forces into southern Palestine and then captured Damascus in mid-1771. However, just ten days after taking the city, Abu al-Dhahab abruptly withdrew his troops to Egypt and subsequently deposed Ali Bey. Ali Bey fled to Daher al-Umar in Acre. The two allies retook Jaffa in February 1773, and in March 1773 Ali Bey launched an expedition to reclaim Egypt, but was defeated by Abu al-Dhahab's forces.
01 / The Origins
Ali Bey al-Kabir, the Mamluk strongman who had seized effective control of Egypt, sought to expand his power beyond Egypt's borders. Allying with Daher al-Umar, the autonomous ruler of northern Palestine, he challenged Ottoman suzerainty in the Levant. The campaigns reflected broader regional instability and the weakening of Ottoman provincial control, as ambitious local rulers exploited the empire's declining grip on its Arab territories in the late eighteenth century.
03 / The Outcome
Ali Bey was captured on 1 May 1773 and died within days, ending his bid to restore Mamluk dominion. Daher al-Umar retained his position in northern Palestine for a time, but Abu al-Dhahab launched his own Syrian campaign in March 1775, moving to absorb Daher's domains with tacit Ottoman backing. The episode reaffirmed Ottoman suzerainty over the Levant while demonstrating the fragility of Mamluk power outside Egypt.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Ali Bey al-Kabir, Daher al-Umar, Abu al-Dhahab.
Side B
2 belligerents
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.