[2][3][4] Muhammad Ali Pasha of Egypt is recorded as planning to extend his rule to the Ottoman Empire's Syrian provinces as early as 1812, secretly telling the British consul of his designs on the territory that year.

[2] This desire was left on hold, however, as he consolidated his rule over Egypt, modernizing its government administration, public services, and armed forces, and suppressing various rebellions, including Mamluk and Wahhabi uprisings—on behalf of Sultan Mahmud II.

[2] His son, Ibrahim Pasha, won quick victories at the head of a conscript army and controlled nearly the entire Peloponnesian peninsula within 10 months of his arrival in February 1825.

[10] On 21 November 1832, the Egyptian forces occupied the city of Konya in central Turkey, within striking distance of the imperial capital of Constantinople.

[10] The Sultan organized a new army of 80,000 men under Reshid Mehmed Pasha,[10] the Grand Vizier, in a last-ditch attempt to block Ibrahim's advance towards the capital.

Wary of Russia’s expanding influence in the Ottoman Empire and its potential to upset the balance of power, French and British pressure forced Muhammad Ali and Ibrahim to agree to the Convention of Kütahya.

[2] In 1839, Sir Moses Montefiore visited Muhammad Ali in Egypt and put forward a large-scale scheme for Jewish settlement that would regenerate Palestine.