War in Syria

John Parker, West Strand, 1842. First edition. NAPIER, Charles Sir. War in Syria. London: John Parker, West Strand 1842. 8vo., 19 x 12 cm. [xlviii, 300; xii, 333], bound without the advertisements. Full polished calf, spines gilt, small chip to upper hinge spine of volume 2, some slight spine discoloration, hinges very tender and starting to separate. VERY RARE FIRST EDITION of an eye-witness account of the Egyptian-Ottoman War of 1839-1841. Ref:
Blackmer 1179

The war and diplomatic crisis that illustrated a pattern of politics by which no major changes would be made in the Middle East unless countenanced by Europe

"In 1839, the Ottoman Empire moved to reoccupy lands lost to Muhammad Ali in the First Turko-Egyptian War. The Ottoman Empire invaded Syria, but after suffering a defeat at the Battle of Nezib appeared on the verge of collapse. On 1 July, the Ottoman fleet sailed to Alexandria and surrendered to Muhammad Ali. Britain, Austria and other European nations, rushed to intervene and force Egypt into accepting a peace treaty. From September to November 1840, a combined naval fleet, made up of British and Austrian vessels, cut off Ibrahim's sea communications with Egypt, followed by the occupation of Beirut and Acre by the British. On 27 November 1840, the Convention of Alexandria took place. British Admiral Charles Napier reached an agreement with the Egyptian government, where the latter abandoned its claims to Syria and returned the Ottoman fleet.

Napier, without reference to his admiral or the British government, personally negotiated a peace with Muhammad Ali. The treaty guaranteed Muhammad Ali and his heirs the sovereignty of Egypt, and pledged to evacuate Ibrahim's beleaguered army back to Alexandria, if Muhammad Ali in turn renounced all claims to Syria, submitted to the Sultan and returned the Ottoman fleet. 'I do not know if I have done right in settling the eastern question', Napier wrote on 26 November to Lord Minto, the First Lord of the Admiralty.[8] Stopford repudiated the arrangement immediately when he had heard the news; the Sultan and the British ambassador were furious, and several of the Allied powers declared it void. Nevertheless, the formal treaty later concluded and confirmed on 27 November was essentially a ratification of Napier's original, and his friend Lord Palmerston congratulated Napier