The Pasha's officers might have had different origins and social backgrounds from the men they led. They also might have formed conflicting factions and cliques. They were, however, extremely loyal to the Pasha and to members of his family. The stipulation that no evlad-ɩ Arab be promoted to senior ranks might have created a rift between soldiers and officers and weakened the link that the officers might have had with the land on which they were serving: that stipulation, however, was crucial for the creation of a loyal officer corps. By inviting "Ottomans" to be employed in his service, by opening schools in which young men from various parts of the Ottoman world were given subsidized and sometimes even free education, by employing these men in his bureaucracy and army and by further promoting those people up to the higher ranks of the military, Mehmed Ali succeeded in founding an elite which was deeply dependent on the Pasha and firmly loyal to him.

Builds on: "Ethnic quotas barred Egyptians from senior military ranks."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1377