The Hijaz campaign, for example, besides being a response to the Sultan's order to subdue the Wahhabi rebellion, is seen as serving a number of the Pasha's own aims. Among these were the desire to get rid of the turbulent and undisciplined mamluk and Albanian troops in his army, the hope to get Syria as a reward for helping the Sultan in his war against the Wahhabi rebels, and the desire to win fame and prestige in the Muslim world for capturing the holy cities of Islam from the rebellious Wahhabis who were seen in Istanbul as heretics and whose rising power in Arabia had allegedly caused the annual pilgrimage to cease.

Pays off: "Chronological narratives fabricate a purposeful arc in Mehmed Ali's career."

Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed…, loc. 192