Ali Ridha Pasha Ali Ridha Pasha ( also Ali Riza Pasha ) led the Ottoman army in 1831 against the " mamluk " governor in Baghdad after Dawud Pasha refused to relinquish his office . Ali Ridha Pasha captured the city and Dawud ending the " mamluk " rule in Baghdad . Baghdad fell in September 1831 after a ten - week long blockade of the city which caused mass famine . While Ali Ridha Pasha was able to capture Baghdad and unseat Dawud Pasha , he still had to deal with the " mamluks " who remained in Baghdad . In order to preserve his power and pacify the " mamluks " , he gave many of them positions in his government . In the days following his conquest of Baghdad , Ali Ridha Pasha published a " firman " , or decree , which made him the governing authority over the cities of : Baghdad , Aleppo , Diyarbakr , and Mosul . The " firman " eventually covered all cities in Iraq . Ali Ridha Pasha then marched his army south to Basra where he occupied the province ending " mamluk " rule in 1834 . Ali Ridha Pasha ' s conquest of Baghdad and Basra brought the provinces under direct rule from Istanbul and subjected them to " Tanzimat " reforms . Ali Ridha Pasha replaced " mamluk " governor Dawud Pasha and exiled him to Brusah . After Dawud ' s departure from the city , Ali Ridha was credited with the return of trade and end to crime . For a short time he was able to control the mafia that was able to control these regions and especially Karbala in the vacuum of a region without government . He promised appointments and estates to " mamluk " notables and continued past privileges of the East India Company . Ali Ridha Pasha was a member of a Shiite - influenced Bektashi order , and sympathized with the Shiites living in Iraq . When trying to appoint a governor in Karbala , he came into conflict with the Shiite mafia who murdered or drove away governors they disliked . Karbala is an important shrine town in Iraq because Imam Husayn , the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad is buried there . Along with the religious significance of the city is the economic significance and power of being able to levy taxes on pilgrims and earn a significant profit for the local government . In the summer of 1835 , Ottoman Ali Ridha Pasha attempted to attack the town of Karbala with an army of 3 , 000 , but was to weak to continuously occupy the city and compromised with the mafia . Apart from trouble continuously controlling Karbala , Ali also had to deal with the British who wanted to remain the imperial power of the Awadh government and the Iraqis ' communication link to the outside world . Ali Ridha Pasha appointed ‘ Abdu ’ L - Wahhab in charge of the city of Baghdad . In 1842 after eleven years of governing Ali Ridha Pasha was replaced by Muhammad Najib Pasha . Ali Ridha Pasha was transferred from Baghdad to Syria . Ali Ridha Pasha ' s personality is more of a mystery than his political and military achievements . His personality is recounted in a Judeo - Iraqi folksong as very courageous and is even likened to that of a lion , but he was most likely admired by Jews because he replaced Dawud Pasha and redistributed land to people living in Karbala . A different account of Ali Ridha Pasha is given by a traveler named J . B . Fraser who visit Iraq in the mid - 1800s . Fraser describes Ali Ridha Pasha as “ a fat man about fifty years of age , clad in a fur beneesh , with a fez upon his head . ” The description of Ali Ridha Pasha continues with Fraser explaining “ His mind is not more attractive than the casket which enshrines it . He is weak of judgment , infirm of purpose , irresolute in action , gross in his appetites , selfish and avaricious .