Finally, on 1 June 1841, the Sultan issued a firman naming Mehmed Ali as governor of Egypt for life and granting his male descendants the hereditary rights of the governorship of Egypt. In addition, though, the firman stipulated that the Pasha reduce the size of his army to 18,000 troops in peace-time. Moreover, the Sultan added that “all the Treaties concluded and to be concluded between my Sublime Porte and the friendly Powers shall be completely executed in the Province of Egypt likewise.”

XREF: Connects to earlier highlights about the Kütahia agreement's annual renewability and Mehmed Ali's hereditary rule achieved through maneuvering (loc 41, 182, 1557). QUESTION: The army reduction to 18,000 and treaty enforcement clauses signal the firman as a settlement mechanism — worth probing how these constraints shaped Egypt's post-1841 military and how the Sultan used the firman to reassert suzerainty.

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 1564