For while Cairo commanded a smaller proportion of the overall revenue of the Empire, it was being turned into a more efficient and vibrant centre which diverted more and more resources away from Istanbul. It was this ability of Mehmed Ali’s government to extract more revenue and to mobilize the resources of his province that enabled him to invade Syria.

XREF: Builds on the earlier claims about Mehmed Ali's land reform, monopolies, and state expansion multiplying revenue, showing how this fiscal advantage redirected imperial resources toward Cairo and away from the Ottoman capital. Builds on: "State monopolies on staples multiplied Egypt's revenue sixfold."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1545