Sulayman Pasha al-Adil
Sulayman Pasha al-Adil (c. 1760s – August 1819; given name also spelled Suleiman or Sulaiman) was the Ottoman governor of Sidon Eyalet between 1805 and 1819, ruling from his Acre headquarters.
Moreover, he oversaw a policy of non-interference with his deputy governors, such as Muhammad Abu-Nabbut and Mustafa Agha Barbar, and diplomacy with the autonomous sheikhs of the various Levantine regions where he held authority, including Emir Bashir Shihab II and Musa Bey Tuqan.
The revolt personally offended Jazzar since he treated Sulayman and Salim deferentially, guaranteed their careers and enabled them to grow wealthy.
[6] In 1801, Sulayman reestablished ties with Jazzar, who welcomed his return warmly, treating him "like a lost son", according to historian Michael Winter.
[9] Abu Marraq had provoked the ire of the Sublime Porte by failing to carry out imperial orders to march against Wahhabi tribesmen invading the southern Syrian Desert regions.
[2] The siege against Jaffa was one of the few military actions undertaken by Sulayman,[2] unlike Jazzar, who faced and suppressed numerous rebellions by local forces in Palestine and Mount Lebanon and forcibly exacted heavy tolls on the population.
[11] In the case of the latter, he lent his support to different rival factions (namely the Jarrar, Tuqan and Nimr families) at different stages,[12] and often played the role of peacemaker in times of conflict between them.
[11] Sulayman also appointed a local strongman, Mas'ud al-Madi of Ijzim, the mutasallim of the Atlit coast that covered the area between Jaffa and Acre.
[14] Sulayman's inner circle consisted of Ali Pasha (died 1814), Haim Farhi (his Jewish vizier and financial adviser) and Ibrahim Awra (his Melkite chief scribe).
In effect, Farhi and Sulayman were careful not to lose total control over the cotton trade, while significantly easing the pressure on merchants and the peasant suppliers.
Sulayman assembled what was left of his troops, including Maghrebi, Kurdish, Turkish, Arab and Albanian soldiers, while Emir Bashir brought with him a multi-confessional force of Sunni and Shia Muslim, Druze and Christian warriors from Lebanon and the coalition mobilized at Tiberias.
By the time they crossed the Jordan River and reached Quneitra, Kunj Yusuf sent them a request to withdraw on account of the Wahhabis' sudden retreat to the Hejaz.
Sulayman had received an approval from the Sublime Porte (Ottoman imperial government) to replace Kunj Yusuf, who had consistently failed to undertake his duty as amir al-hajj and lead the annual Hajj caravan to Mecca (due to Wahabbi raids).
In response to the May massacre, Sulayman, whose treasury had considerably grown due to grain sales to England, purchased hundreds of mamluks in the summer of 1812.
The mamluks also played no role in the 200-strong infantry, which was commanded by the Albanian officer Muhammad Agha al-Nu'man of Tyre, nor with the roughly 700 artillerymen of Acre.
[10] He was twice briefly reappointed wali of Damascus, including in 1816 after Silahdar died, but this was an interim post to be held only until the arrival of the newly appointed governor, Salih Pasha.
Through diplomatic relations, particularly his relationship with the Tuqan family, Sulayman was able to collect these funds and thus boost his authority over the central mountainous areas of Palestine, which were officially outside of Sidon's jurisdiction.
Sulayman traditionally backed the Tuqans, although his scribe Ibrahim al-Awra asserted that he started to lean towards the side of the Jarrars and Abd al-Hadis, likely in order to create a balance of power in Nablus that he could still influence and manage, rather than encourage a strong singular Nabulsi authority.
The agreement entailed a large payment of blood money from the Tuqans to the other families, but with the understanding that Musa Bey would remain mutasallim of Nablus.
[28] Sulayman ensures domestic security along the main roads of Sidon Eyalet partly due to the construction of watchtowers at several points along the highways.
Towards the end of his rule, Sulayman attempted to improve the navigability of the roads by widening the mountainous path through Ras al-Naqoura and constructing a bridge over the Zahrani River.
