i6 THE STORY OF. THE KHEDIVATE.

common reports, he contemplated the occupation of

Constantinople, and aspired either to depose the Sultan and declare himself the Commander of the Faithful, or,

what seems in itself more probable, to assume the posi-

tion of a Turkish Mayor of the Palace. His armies, led by his son Ibrahim, were advancing towards the Bosphorus when their advance jKaSL.stopped.,by^ /Russia, who sent troops to occupy Constantinople.

A temporary truce was established, in virtue of which

Syria remained for the time being a province of

Egypt. I The necessity of upholding the integrity of the Ottoman Empire was at this period accepted

as the guiding principle of European^sJateetaft; and

all the leading powers of Europe, with the exception of France, held that the success of Mahomet Ali, in

his attack on Turkey, would be prejudicial to their own interests. France, however, under the rule of Louis

^ Philippe, espoused the cause of the rebellious Pasha,

and rendered him all the assistance in her power short of armed intervention in his behalf In the coalition

which ultimately led to the restoration of Turkish rule

in Syria, England played the leading part. British

troops and British men-of-war assisted at the bombard-

ment of Beyrout and* the capture of Acre, and thereby knocked on the head the ambition of Mahomet Ali

to become the real, if not the nominal, ruler of the

Ottoman Empire. Finally, in 1841, a treaty of peace

■ was made between Egypt and Turkey, in virtue of

which Syria was evacuated by the Egyptian armies, while Turkey, on the other hand, though retaining