On the expulsion of the French a Turkish force under Mehemet Ali Bey
took possession of the country. Mehemet Ali was made pasha, and being a
man of great ability, administered the country vigorously and greatly
extended the Egyptian territories. At length he broke with the Porte,
and after gaining a decisive victory over the Ottoman troops in Syria in
1839 he was acknowledged by the sultan as viceroy of Egypt, with the
right of succession in his family.
By the Anglo-French agreement of 1904 France formally recognized the
predominant position of Great Britain, and agreed in no way to obstruct
British action in the government of Egypt. The European War of 1914-1916
has again thrown Egypt into the balance, and its political future seems
to be entirely a matter of the fortunes of war and diplomacy.