Isma'il Pasha (1830 – 1895), also romanized as Ismail Pasha, was the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 until his removal in 1879. Pasha's reign was marked by the rapid modernization due to heavy investments in industrial and economic development as well as urbanization.[1] Among his achievements, he presided over the ten-year construction of the Suez Canal, ordered the construction of the Khedivial Opera House, and covered Egypt in railway lines.[2]
Biography[]
Seemingly interested in establishing greater freedom for all, Ismail Pasha put an end to forced labor in Egypt, despite French insistence that it was necessary to finish work on the Suez Canal. One detractor was the American business man and Templar Albert Hawkins, who had an unfinished railway to an uninhabited area near the new canal built using unauthorized forced labor to both take speculators' money and to make the Khedive look like he had no control.[3] Around the same time, the Khedive also had to deal with assassination attempts, such a bomb that had been placed in his theater box.[2]
On 1 November 1869, Pasha entertained guests at the inauguration of the Khedivial Opera House, including equestrienne Pierrette Arnaud, with whom he discussed hippodromes, and guest of honor Empress Eugenie of France. Unknown to the Khedive, Albert Hawkins attempted to assassinate him with a disguised explosive placed under his chair, though Pierrette smuggled it out of the opera house and neutralized it before it could cause any harm.[3]
However, his influence came to an end by 1879 as he acquired a massive amount of debts. As a result, he was replaced by his son due to his sale of the canal and his other work to England.[4]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑
Isma'il Pasha of Egypt on Wikipedia
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot – Chapter 1
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot – Chapter 2
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: The Engine of History – The Resurrection Plot – Chapter 25