Muhammad Ali Pasha
Governor of Egypt who built a modern army, schools and factories.
Era 11 of 12 · Station eleven
Colonialism & Renewal
In July 1798 a French army landed near Alexandria, and within a month it had taken Cairo. Over the next century and a half, European powers governed or strongly influenced most of the Muslim world, from Algeria and India to Indonesia and Central Asia. It was also an age of Muslim response, with armies that resisted, scholars who argued for reform, and new schools, newspapers and movements for independence.
Who led, and when
Six who shaped the era
Key figures are listed here, since no single state ruled the era.
Abd al-Qadir al-Jaza'iri
Scholar and leader who resisted the French conquest of Algeria, and who protected Christians in Damascus in 1860.
Imam Shamil
Led the peoples of Dagestan and Chechnya in a long resistance to Russian expansion.
Jamal al-Din al-Afghani
Travelled widely, urging Muslims to unite, study modern science and resist foreign domination.
Muhammad Abduh
Egyptian scholar and Grand Mufti who worked to reform al-Azhar and education.
Muhammad Iqbal
Poet and philosopher of South Asia whose work called for spiritual and intellectual renewal.
The lands of the era
From Egypt to Libya
These lands show the pattern of the age: foreign conquest, local resistance and new ideas of reform. Similar stories unfolded from Morocco to Indonesia.
- EgyptNapoleon, then Muhammad Ali
- AlgeriaFrench conquest from 1830
- The North CaucasusShamil's long resistance
- IndiaBritish rule, reform and new colleges
- LibyaItalian invasion from 1911
This map is a simple sketch to help you picture where events took place. Positions, distances and borders are approximate, so please use it for reference only, not as an accurate map.
At a glance
The era in six facts
The years, the people, the places, and what the era left behind.
- Years
- c. 1800–1950c. 1800 to 1950, from Napoleon's landing in Egypt in 1798 to the first wave of independence in the 1940s.
- Leading figures
- Muhammad Ali, Abd al-Qadir, Imam Shamil, al-Afghani, Abduh and Iqbal, with many other scholars, soldiers and teachers.
- Centres
- Cairo, Istanbul, Delhi and Aligarh, where reformers taught, wrote and published.
- Lands
- Across the Muslim world, from Morocco and West Africa through the Middle East and Central Asia to South and South-East Asia.
- Turning points
- Napoleon's landing in 1798, the French conquest of Algeria from 1830, the Ottoman reforms from 1839, and the new borders after the First World War.
- Legacy
- Many modern borders and national movements date from these years, along with modern schools, printing presses and lasting debates about reform.
Key moments
Six stops on the road
- 1Napoleon's army lands near Alexandria and takes Cairo.
- 2France lands at Algiers, and the conquest of Algeria begins.
- 3The Edict of Gülhane opens an age of reform in the Ottoman Empire.
- 4Britain and France agree in secret how to divide influence over Ottoman Arab lands.
- 5Indonesia declares independence on 17 August.
- 6India and Pakistan become independent states.
The chapters
Read the era, in six parts
Six short chapters take you through the era in order.
- 01Napoleon in Egypt and Muhammad Ali1798–1849A French landing and a new governor set Egypt on a path of reform.Read
- 02Resisting the empires: Abd al-Qadir, Imam Shamil and Omar al-Mukhtar1830s–1931Three leaders carry on long resistance to foreign rule.Read
- 03Reform in the Ottoman world and India1839–1900New laws, schools and colleges try to meet the demands of a changing world.Read
- 04Voices of renewal: al-Afghani, Abduh and Iqballate 19th to early 20th centuryThree thinkers call for unity, learning and spiritual renewal.Read
- 05The First World War and the new borders1914–1923The Ottoman Empire is defeated, and new states are drawn across its former lands.Read
- 06Towards independence1920s–1950Movements across Asia and Africa press for self-rule, and some win it.Read
Rihla · a journey to play
A journey for this era is on the way
There is no journey for this era yet.
Sources
Sources for this era
The books, lectures and maps behind this page are listed on our Sources page.
- Classical history
- Modern study
- Lecture series
- Map & atlas
How we choose sources
Classical histories first, checked against trusted modern scholarship. Approximate dates carry a “c.”
Athar’s sources