[3] Attempts at the restitution of stolen property and the bringing of legal charges against rioters spurred on further disagreement between Muslim and Christian residents.

[4] The massacre is considered by historians to be particularly important in Aleppine history since it represents the first time that disturbances pitted Muslims against Christians in the region.

Yet, an individual head tax was introduced for Muslim residents during the Egyptian occupation of Syria in the 1830s, under Muhammad Ali Pasha, and was continued even after the Ottoman forces regained control of the region.

The already apparent class distinction became more dramatic with Muhammad Ali Pasha's modernization efforts and led to the increasing social discontinuity that set the stage for conflict between the Muslim and Christian communities.

[6] The Muslim population of the city was badly hit by inflation as a result of the foreign merchandise that flooded the market after Syria was integrated into the world economy.

[citation needed] The ease of commercial restrictions upon Christians spurred on discontent among Muslims, for they perceived this to be a threat to their traditional economic advantages in the region.

[12] General reforms occurring within the Ottoman Empire as it attempted to modernize, specifically census-taking and the forced conscription of citizens, also led to increased tensions and feelings of insecurity for the Muslim residents of Aleppo.

[14] On the evening of Wednesday, October 17, 1850, Aleppian residents protesting against the looming threat of conscription marched to the palace of Mustafa Zarif Pasha, the governor of Aleppo.

Pasha barred the gates to his residence and refused to hear their demands, so the protesters then sought out 'Abdallah al-Babinsi, the leader of the city's janissary faction.

Although he refused to lead the movement, some accounts of his interactions with the mob state that his remarks carried an implicit approval of the rioters' actions.

The rioters then advanced to the predominantly Christian quarters of Judeida and Saliba, located in the northern part of Aleppo, where they began to loot and pillage both churches and private homes.

These demands included requests that there would be no conscription, that only recoverable plunder could be returned, that the ringing of church bells and carrying of crosses in religious processions would cease, and that Christians would be prohibited from owning slaves.

Before addressing these internal problems, however, the troops were tasked with fighting off the nomadic Bedouin groups that had gathered around the city with the expectations of easily raiding Aleppo, because of its recent chaos.

The Bedouins quickly retreated, but because of his rumored connections with them, 'Abdallah was removed from his position as acting governor and replaced by his rival, Yusuf Sharayyifzadah, the leader of the ashraf faction in the city.

On November 5, the troops used artillery guns purchased from Britain to bombard the centers of insurgency, destroying several quarters and killing more than 5,000 individuals.

Even the house-to-house searches yielded few results, a fact that can largely be attributed to the traditional Muslim respect for the privacy of the individual.

Additionally, The Events highlighted the increased ability of the State to exert its power and influence in the territories under its control through the modernization of its army, as exemplified by its successful suppression of the rioters through the use of British-bough artillery.

Some perceived the riot to be a collaboration between Abdallah al-Babinsi and Yusuf Sharayyifzadah to bolster their political prestige[7] but this conspiracy cannot be proved true or untrue.