a district of ancient Greece, in the northern part of the Isthmus of Corinth, was bounded on the S. by the Saronic Gulf, on the W. by Corinth and the Corinthian Gulf, on the N. by Boeotia, and on the N.E. by Attica. It extended along the coast for about 25 miles; and its extreme breadth was estimated by Strabo to be 120 stadia. With the exception of the "White Plain," in which Megaris stands, the district is crowded with rugged chains of hills. The Geranecian Mountains extend eastward from the shores of the Corinthian Gulf, sending out offshoots through the entire country, and sinking gradually as they approach the Saronic Gulf. Originally Megaris was inhabited by Eolians and Ionians, and formed part of Attica. It subsequently fell under the dominion of the Dorians. As it contained no town of any importance except Megara, the history of that city is the history of the district. (See Megara.)

MEHMET ALI, or MOHAMMED ALI, or MOHAMMAD 'Alee, Pasha of Egypt, was born in 1769,—rose by military energy to the pashalic of Cairo in 1806,—seized upon Syria in 1830,—but was deprived of it by the sultan in 1840, after the intervention of the European powers, when the pashalic of Egypt was made hereditary in his family. He administered the affairs of Egypt till 1848, and died in 1849, aged eighty years. (For a full account of his career, see the article Egypt.)