Ibrahim Pasha spent three months in Egypt, actively engaged in improving the condition of that province, which he found “ailing, but amenable to the skill and zeal of a clever doctor.”[68] The first move was to punish those who had assisted Ahmed Pasha in his treachery, several Arab chiefs being publicly hanged, so that the Arab people “began to weep for fear.”[69] Ibrahim next relieved many individuals who suffered under injustice, receiving in person crowds of petitioners, and relieving as many as possible. Among these acts of mercy were the release of 300 debtors from prison and the satisfaction of their creditors.[70] He improved the appearance of Cairo by restoring several buildings that had fallen into disrepair, particularly mosques and schools, and also built some new ones at his own expense. To erect such buildings has always been considered an act of piety, so that sultans, vizirs, and even the favorites of sultans have acquired merit in this fashion, as the numerous mosques and religious foundations of Turkey testify. Ibrahim was thus following the usual custom. He further drew up some rules for education, and for the care of orphans.[71] But the two main accomplishments of Ibrahim’s sojourn in Egypt were the reëstablishment of the law and the placing of the treasury on a better basis. Ahmed Pasha, and probably several of his predecessors, had ignored and weakened the law of the land, which Ibrahim undertook to restore. He enforced the local laws and also some of the general Koranic laws which had been neglected; but he seems to have moderated and lightened them to suit the needs and desires of the people, “for” says Solakzadeh, uttering a sentiment so un‐Turkish that one is inclined to attribute it to the Greek vizir rather than to the Ottoman chronicler, “the best things are the golden mean.” He further states that the ideal striven for was uniform rule for all the inhabitants of Egypt.[72] The province was a rich one even before the days of great dams, and one of the most important of the grand vizir’s duties was to see that the taxes were properly gathered and placed in the treasury at Cairo, and that a suitable tribute was sent annually to the Porte. Ibrahim built two great towers to contain the treasure. With Ibrahim Pasha on this expedition was the Imperial defterdar or treasurer, Iskender Chelebi, who calculated that Egypt could pay annually 80,000 ducats to the Porte, after deducting the cost of administration.[73] Ibrahim’s final act in Egypt was to appoint Suleiman Pasha, the Beylerbey of Damascus to the office of governor of Egypt. He seems to have chosen this man for his economical disposition, for Solakzadeh says “he watched, and shut his eyes to those who desired to spend money, and then appointed Suleiman Pasha.”