As was shown above, the crucial turning point came during the Greek war when he first agreed to send some of his newly trained troops to fight alongside the Sultan's forces; after suffering from the major disaster of Navarino in 1827, he seems to have decided not to assist the Sultan any more and to engage in his own military exploits instead, even if these were at the expense of the Sultan himself.

XREF: Builds directly on loc 239 ('Navarino destroyed the Ottoman fleet in under three hours') and loc 226 ('The Greek campaign permanently poisoned future Ottoman-Egyptian military cooperation'). QUESTION: Was Mehmed Ali's decision to abandon the Sultan triggered primarily by military loss or by political calculation about British reactions? Builds on: "Three Ottoman slights hardened Mehmed Ali toward final rupture."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1667