Khedive of Egypt from the time of his father's abdication in 1879; a man of simple tastes and religious disposition, friendly and loyal to the English; Arabi Pasha's insurrection, closed at Tel-el-Kebir, the Mahdi's rising and capture of Khartoum, occurred during his reign, which, however, also witnessed Egypt's steadily increasing prosperity under English rule (1852-1892).