^ %\ A It, \V\ * \ \ J7- h-.- ^ " J VN (Qornell UniueraUg ffiihrarg Sttjaca, New fork ! FROM C«V.P-.Yming 1 / :^ a-. Cm ^*> Vk-W--;'V*p* ffiKnniiK RSfrY LIBRARY 31924 092 911 753 ;r f^ 7/-' : - : X' ?«'*< A14I+ m Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924092911753 French Soldiers at Karnak After the painting by M. Georges Uairm ,rt! 4~ , .t, '1, History of Egypt From 330 B. C. to the Present Time By S. RAPPOPORT, Doctor of Philosophy, Basel ; Member of the Ecole Langues Orientales, Paris ; Russian, German, French Orientalist and Philologist a I CONTAINING OVER TWELVE HUNDRED COLORED PLATES AND ILLUSTRATIONS Volume III. LONDON THE GROLIER SOCIETY PUBLISHERS Erg^^g^BSBSe^^FFHHFg^ES^^S^SeEEBBB^gK&a lEtoition Rationale Limited to One Thousand Copies for England and America (Np. 2.5.3. Copyright, igo4 By The Grower Society CONTENTS CHAPTER I. THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT PAGE The Ideal of the Crusader — Saladin's Campaign — Richard I. in Pales- tine — Siege of Damietta — St. Louis in Egypt — The Mamluks — Beybars' Policy .... 3 CHAPTER II. THE FRENCH IN EGYPT Napoleon's campaign — Battles of the Pyramids and of Abukir — Siege of Acre — K16ber's administration — The evacuation of Egypt . . 81 CHAPTER III. THE RULE OP MEHEMET ALI Mehemet's rise to power — Massacre of the Mamluks — Invasion of the Morea — Battle of the Navarino — Struggle with the Porte — Abbas Pasha, Muhammed Said, and Ismail Pasha — -Ismail's lavish expendi- ture — Foreign bondholders and the Dual Control .... 143 CHAPTER IV. THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT Ismail deposed — Tewfik Pasha — Revolt of Arabi Pasha — Lord Wolseley and the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir — The Mahdist Rising — General Gor- don in the Sudan — Death of Gordon — The Sudan abandoned and re-conquered — Battle of Omdurman — Khartum College — Financial Stability — Abbas II. — Education, Law, and the improved condition of the Fellaheen — The Caisse de la Dette 191 CONTENTS CHAPTER V. THE WATERWAYS OP EGYPT PAGE The White and Blue Niles — The Barrage — Clearing the Sudd — The Suez Canal — Ancient and modern irrigation — The Dam at Aswan — The modern exploration of the Nile 235 CHAPTER VI. THE DECIPHERMENT OF THE HIEROGLYPHS The Rosetta Stone — The Discoveries of Dr. Thomas Young — The classi- fication of the Egyptian Alphabet by Champollion — Egyptian Love- songs and the Book of the Dead 291 CHAPTER VII. THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY Mariette, Wilkinson, Bunsen, Brugsch, and Ebers — Erman's speech on Egypt — The Egyptian Exploration Fund — Maspero's investiga- tions — The Temple of Bubastis — Ancient record of " Israel " — American interest in Egyptology 319 CHAPTER VIII. IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT The Royal Tombs at Abydos — Reconstruction of the First and Second Dynasties — The Ten Temples at Abydos — The statuette of Khfi - fui — Pottery and Pottery Marks — The Expedition of the University of California ........... 357 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE French Soldiers at Karnak Frontispiece Ornament from the porch of Hasan . . . . . . . 3 Arabic Decorative Painting 7 Enamelled glass cup from Arabia ....... .13 Gate of El Futuh at Cairo 15 Arab Drinking-Vessels •-........ 19 Vase in the Abbott Collection 25 Public Fountain, Cairo 27 Court in the Moristan of Kilawun ........ 3,0 Window in the Mausoleum of Kilawun ....... 43 Interior in the Mosque of Kilawun 49 Tombs of the Mamluks 53 Frieze in Mosque of Sultan Hasan 55 Inside the Mosque of Hasan 59 Mosque of Berkuk ........... 63 The Tomb of Berkuk .... 65 A Title-Page of the Koran of the Time of Shaban 67 Prayer-Niche in the Mosque of the Sultan Mahmudi . . . .6!) Ornamental page from a Koran of the fourteenth century . . .71 Mosque of Kait Bey, Cairo 73 Wadi Feiran, in the Sinai Peninsula ........ 76 Mausoleum of El Ghuri 77 Bonaparte in Egypt ........... 81 Bedouins in the Desert 83 The old harbour of Alexandria ......... 85 Water-Carriers 89 The Prophet Muhammed (from a ninth century MS.) .... 91 Street Dogs 97 Gathering Dates 101 Khedive's Palace at Bulak 105 vii viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE The Ataka Mountains in the Gulf of Suez 107 Bas-Relief on Granite Wall at Karnak 110 A Fountain at Cairo 112 Cairo from the left bank of the Nile H 9 Statue of General Kleber at Strasburg 124 A Modern Fanatic 130 Citadel of Cairo 137 Arabic Geometric Decoration 143 Mehemet Ali 143 Mosque of Mehemet Ali in the Citadel 151 Courtyard of the House of Quasim Bey • 154 The Cotton Plant 157 A Distinguished Egyptian Jew 161 Mosque of Muad at Cairo 165 A Muhammedan Praying Priest 169 Egyptian Harem 173 Harbour of Bulak 179 A Fellah Plowing 185 Arabs at a Desert Spring 187 Part of Cairo, showing the Mulqufs on the Houses of Modern Egypt . 190 Tombs of Beni Hasan 191 The Khedive Tewfik 195 Palace of the Khedive at Alexandria 201 Osman Digna 204 Mosque of the Holy Ibrahim at Desuk 207 Lord Kitchener of Khartum 210 Slave Boats on the Nile 218 Viscount Cromer (Sir Evelyn Baring) 223 Bazar in Aswan 227 Mosque of El Ghuri at Cairo 232 Crocodiles and Hippopotamus in the Nile 235 The Plain of Thebes 237 The Harbour at Suez 240 The Nile Barrage 241 Scale of the Nilometer 245 A Modern Sakieh 247 Hieroglyphic Record of an Ancient Canal 251 Ferry from Egypt to Syria 254 Remains of the Canal of Omar 255 Ferdinand de Lesseps 259 The opening of the Suez Canal 263 Approach to Philae 269 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ix PAGE The Main Stream of the Nile 277 Examples of Phoenician Glass 291 Jean Francois Champollion 296 Phoenician Jewelry 308 House of Mariette at SaqqSra 319 The Great Hall of Abydos 321 Propylon at Denderah 322 Types of Egyptian columns 324 Ruins at Luxor ............ 336 The Lotus Flower (Nymphjea Lotus) 347 The word " Israel " in Hieroglyphs 351 A Sealing discovered at Abydos 357 Ebony Tablet of King Aha-Mena 366 Tomb of Zer, 4700 b. c 368 Tomb of Zet, Circa 4700 b. c 372 Tablet of Den-Setui, 4600 b. c 379 Architectural drawing, 4600 b. c 380 Ivory Panel of Den-Setui, 4600 b. c 381 Stairway in Tomb of Azab 382 Tomb of Mersekha, showing wooden floor ...... 384 Stele of King Qa 386 Stone Chamber of Khasekhemui . 389 Gold-capped vases and gold bracelets . 391 Wall of Dsirtasen 1 395 Ivory Statuette of First Dynasty King 397 Ivory Statuette of Khufui 398 Carved Ivory Lion 399 Ancient Egyptian Arrows 400 Miscellaneous copper objects ......... 401 Ivory comb, 4800 b. c 402 Corn-grinder and three-sided bowl 402 Types of Prehistoric and First Dynasty Pottery 403 Pottery Marks 404 Pottery forms from Abydos 404 Types of Sealings 405 A sealing showing Jars 406 Accounts on Pottery, 4600 b. c 407 Unique instance of a dissected burial 408 MODEEN EGYPT EGYPT DURING THE CRUSADES RISE OF THE OTTOMAN POWER NAPO- LEON IN EGYPT THE RULE OF THE KHEDIVES DISCOVERING THE SOURCE OF THE NILE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY. Spread of Muhammedanism — Spirit of the Crusades — The Fati- mite Caliphs — Saladin's brilliant reign — Capture of Damietta — Conquests of Beybars — Mamluks in power — Wars with Cyprus — Turkish misrule — Napoleon invades Egypt — Battle of the Pyramids — Policy of conciliation — Nelson destroys the French fleet — Napoleon in Syria — Battle at Mount Carmel — Napoleon returns to France — Negotiations for surrender — KISber assassinated — French army surrenders — Rise of Mehemet Ali — Massacre of the Mamluks — Egyptian army reorganized — Ibrahim Pasha in Greece — Battle of Navarino — Revolt against Turkey — Character of Mehemet Ali — Reforms under his Rule — Ismail Pasha made Khedive — Financial difficulties of Egypt — England and France assume control — Tewfik Pasha becomes Khedive — Revolt of Arabi Pasha — TJie Mahdist in- surrection — Death of General Gordon — Kitchener's campaign against ( 2 ) the Dervishes — Prosperity of Egypt under English control — Abbas Pasha becomes Khedive — Education, courts, and government of modern Egypt — The Nile ; its valley, branches, and delta — Ancient irrigation systems — The Suez Canal, its inception and completion — The great dam at Aswan — Ancient search for the sources of the Nile — Modern discoveries in Central Africa — The Hieroglyphs — Origin of the alphabet — Egyptian literature — Mariettas discoveries — The German Egyptologists — Jeremiah verified — Maspero, Naville, and Petrie — Palaeolithic man — Egyptian record of Israel — Egypt Ex- ploration Fund — The royal tombs at Abydos — Chronology of tJie early kings — Steles, pottery, and jewelry — The temples of Abydos — Seals, statuettes, and ceramics. CHAPTER I THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT The Ideal of the Crusader : Saladiu's Campaign : Richard I. in Palestine : Siege of Damietta : St. Louis in Egypt : The Mamluks : Beybars' Policy. rpHE traditional history of the Chris- tian Church has generally main- tained that the Crusades were due solely to religious influence and sprang from ideal and moral motives : those hundreds of thousands of war- riors who went out to the East were religious enthusiasts, prompted by the pious longings of their hearts, and Peter the Hermit, it was claimed, had received a divine message to call Christendom to arms, to preach a Crusade against the unbelievers and take possession of the Holy Sepulchre. That such ideal reasons should be ORNAMENT FROM THE PORCH OF HASAN. THE CEUSADEKS.IN EGYPT j attributed to a war like the Crusades, of a wide and far- reaching influence on the political and intellectual devel- opment of mediaeval Europe, is not at all surprising. In the history of humanity there have been few wars in which the combatants on both sides were not con- vinced that they had drawn their swords for some noble purpose, for the cause of right and justice. That the motives prompting the vast display of arms witnessed during the Crusades, that the wanderings of those crowds to the East during two centuries, and the cruelties com- mitted by the saintly warriors on their way to the Holy Sepulchre, should be attributed exclusively to ideal and religious sources is therefore quite natural. It is not to be denied that there was a religious factor in the Cru- sades; but that the religious motive was not the sole incentive has now been agreed upon by impartial his- torians ; and in so far as the motives animating the Cru- saders were religious motives, we are to look to powerful influences which gradually made themselves felt from without the ecclesiastical organisations. It was by no means a movement which the Church alone had called into being. On the contrary, only when the movement had grown ripe did Gregory VH. hasten to take steps to enable the Church to control it. The idea of a Crusade for the glory of religion had not sprung from the tenets of Christianity; it was given to mediaeval Europe by the Muhammedans. History can hardly boast of another example of so gigantic a conquest during so short a period as that gained by the first adherents of Islam. Like the fiery SPEEAD OF MUHAMMEDAJSTISM 5 wind of the desert, they had broken from their retreats, animated by the promises of the Prophet, and spread the new doctrine far and wide. In 653 the scimitar of the Saracens enclosed an area as large as the Roman Empire under the Caesars. Barely forty years elapsed after the death of the Prophet when the armies of Islam reached the Atlantic. Okba, the wild and gallant leader, rode into the sea on the western shore of Africa, and, whilst the seething waves reached to the saddle of his camel, he exclaimed: " Allah, I call thee as witness that I should have carried the knowledge of Thy name still farther, if these waves threatening to swallow me would not have prevented me from doing so." Not long after this, the flag of the crescent was waving from the Pyre- nees to the Chinese mountains. In 711 the Saracens under General Tarik crossed the straits between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, and landed on the rock which has since been called after him, " the hill of Tarik," Jebel el-Tarik or Gibraltar. Spain was invaded and captured by the Moslems. For awhile it seemed as if on the other side of the Garonne the crescent would also supplant the cross, and only the victory of Charles Martel in 732 put a stop to the wave of Muhammedan conquest. Thus in a brief period Muhammedanism spread from the Nile Valley to the Mediterranean. Muhammed's trenchant argument was the sword. He gave a distinct command to his followers to convince the infidels of the power of truth on the battle-field. " The sword is a surer argument than books," he said. Accordingly 6 THE CRUSADEKS IN EGYPT the Koran ordered war against unbelievers: " The sword is the key to heaven and hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of Allah, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting and prayer; whoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven, and at the day of judg- ment his limbs shall be supplied with the wings of angels and cherubim." Before the battle commenced, the com- manders reminded the warriors of the beautiful celestial houris who awaited the heroes slain in battle at the gates of Paradise. The first efforts having been crowned with success, the Moslems soon became convinced of the fulfilment of the prophecy that Allah had given them the world and wished them to subdue all unbelievers. Under the Caliph Omar, the Arabs had become a religious-political community of warriors, whose mission it was to conquer and plunder all civilised and cultured lands and to un- furl the banner of the crescent. They believed that " Paradise is under the shadow of the sword." In this belief the followers of Muhammed engaged in battle with- out fear or anxiety, spurred to great deeds, reckless in the face of danger, happy to die and pass to the delights of Paradise. The " holy war " became an armed prop- aganda pleasing to Allah. It was, however, a form of propaganda quite unknown and amazing to Christendom. In the course of two centuries the crescent had sup- planted the cross. Of what avail was the peaceful mis- sionary's preaching if province after province and coun- try after country were taken possession of by the new religion that forced its way by means of fire and sword? ARABIC ENLIGHTENMENT 7 Was it not natural that Christian Europe should con- ceive the idea of doing for their religion what the Mos- lems did for Islam? and that, following the example of Moslems in their " holy war," Christians should emulate them in the Crusades? It must not be forgotten also that the Arabs, almost from the first appearance of Muhammedanism, were under the refining and elevat- ing influences of art and sci- M^m^^M^mS^M^'i :W;^ -&-pt ■fA^rXitJ ' ' ■ ence. While the rest of Europe ',. /«< ^» r ' was in the midnight of the ,,' • . ', 3g-| Dark Ages, the Moorish uni- ; ^V^^^r i versities of Spain were the [ *lfc»J> beacon of the revival of learn- ', 'CStC mm ing. The Christian teacher i|f§§f was still manipulating the bones of the saints when the Arab physician was practising -- ,, f" ¥ ~^w surgery. The monachal schools ' " J "' ' ''*!, J AKAEIC DECOHATIVE PAINTING. and monasteries in Italy, France, and Germany were still grappling with poor scholastic knowledge when Arab scholars were well ad- vanced in the study of Aristotle and Plato. Stimulated by their acquaintance with the works of Ptolemy and Euclid, Galenus and Hippocrates, they extended their researches into the dominions of astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. The religious orders of the knights, a product of the Crusades, found their antitype in similar organisations of the Moslems, orders that had exactly the same tend- 8 THE CEUSADEES IN EGYPT encies and regulations. Such an order established for the spread of Islam and the protection of its followers was that of the Eaabites or boundary-guards in the Pyre- nean peninsula. These knights made a vow to carry, throughout their lives, arms in defence of the faith; they led an austere existence, were not allowed to fly in battle, but were compelled either to conquer or fall. Like the Templars or the Hospital Knights their whole endeavour was to gain universal dominion for their religion. The relation existing between the Moslems and the Chris- tians before the Crusades was much closer than is gen- erally imagined. Moslem soldiers often fought in the ranks of the Christian armies; and it was by no means rare to see a Christian ruler call upon Moslem warriors to assist him against his adversary. Pope Gregory res- cued Rome from the hands of his imperial opponent, Henry of Germany, only with the aid of the Saracen soldiers. "When, therefore, the influence of Muhammedanism began to assert itself throughout the south of Europe, it was natural that in a crude and stirring age, when strife was the dominant passion of the people, the idea of a holy war in the cause of faith was one in which Christian Europe was ready to take an example from the followers of Islam. The political, economical, and social state of affairs, the misery and suffering of the people, and even the hierarchy and the ascetic spirit of the time certainly made the minds of the people acces- sible to the idea of war; the spirit of unrest was per- vasive and the time was ripe, but the influence of Islam MOSLEMS AND CBUSADEKS 9 was a prominent factor in giving to it an entirely- religious aspect. But even in the means employed to incite the Chris- tian warriors and the manner in which the Crusades were carried on, there is a great similarity between the Chris- tian and the Muhammedan procedure. The Church, when espousing the cause of the Crusader, did exactly what Muhammed had done when he preached a holy war. The Church addressed itself to the weaknesses and pas- sions of human nature. Fallen in battle, the Moslem, so he was told, would be admitted— be he victor or van- quished—to the joys of Paradise. The same prospect animated the Crusader and made him brave danger and die joyfully in defence of Christianity. " Let them kill the enemy or die. To submit to die for Christ, or to cause one of His enemies to die, is naught but glory," said Saint Bernard. Eloquently, vividly, and in glow- ing colours were the riches that awaited the warriors in the far East described: immense spoil would be taken from the unbelievers. Preachers did not even shrink from extolling the beauty of the women in the lands to be conquered. This fact recalls Muhammed 's promise to his believers that they would meet the ever-beautiful dark-eyed houris in the life after death. To the material, sensual allurements, the Church added spiritual bless- ings and eternal rewards, guaranteed to those who took the red cross. During the Crusades the Christians did their utmost to copy the cruelties of the Moslems. That contempt for human life, that entire absence of mercy and the sense of pity which is familiar in all countries 10 THE CKUSADEKS IN EGYPT where Islam has gained sway is characteristic also of the Crusades. Although the narrative of the Crusades belongs rather to the history of Europe than of any one country, it is so closely intertwined with the history of Egypt at this period that some digression is necessary. About twenty years after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Turks, in 1076, the Holy Sepulchre was visited by a hermit of the name of Peter, a native of Amiens, in the province of Picardy, Prance. His resentment and sympathy were excited by his own injuries and the oppression of the Christian name; he mingled his tears with those of the Patriarch, and earnestly inquired if no hope of relief from the Greek emperors of the East could be entertained. The P'atriarch exposed the vices and weakness of the successors of Constantine. " I will rouse," exclaimed the hermit, " the martial nations of Europe in your cause; " and Europe was obedient to the call of the her- mit. The astonished Patriarch dismissed him with epis- tles of credit and complaint; and no sooner did he land at Bari than Peter hastened to kiss the feet of the Roman pontiff. Pope Urban H. received him as a prophet, ap- plauded his glorious design, promised to support it in a general council, and encouraged him to proclaim the deliverance of the Holy Land. Invigorated by the appro- bation of the pontiff, this zealous missionary traversed with speed and success the provinces of Italy and France. He preached to innumerable crowds in the churches, the streets, and the highways : the hermit entered with equal confidence the palace and the cottage; and the people THE FIEST CRUSADE 11 of all classes were impetuously moved by his call to repentance and arms. The first Crusade was headed by Godefroy de Bouil- lon, Duke of Lower Lorraine; Baldwin, his brother; Hugo the Great, brother of the King of France; Robert, Duke of Normandy, son of William the Conqueror; Ray- mond of St. Gilles, Duke of Toulouse; and Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum. Towards the end of 1097 a. d. the invading force invested Antioch, and, after a siege of nine months, took it by storm. Edessa was also captured by the Crusaders, and in the middle of the summer of 1098 they reached Jerusalem, then in the hands of the Eatimites. El-Mustali bTllah Abu'l Kasim, son of Mustanssir, was then on the throne, but he was only a nominal ruler, for El-Afdhal, a son of El-Gemali, had the chief voice in the affairs of the kingdom. It was the army of Kasim that had captured Jerusalem. The city was besieged by the Crusaders, and it surrendered to them after forty days. Twice did new expeditions arrive from Egypt and attempt to retake the city, but with disastrous results, and further expeditions were impossible for some time, owing to the internal disorders in Egypt. Mustali died after a reign of about four years; and some historians record, as a truly remarkable circumstance, that he was a Sunnite by creed, although he represented a Shiite dynasty. The next ruler, El-Amir, was the five-year-old son of Mustali, and El-Afdhal conducted the government until he became of age to govern. His first act was to put 12 THE CBUSADERS IN EGYPT El-Afdhal to death. Under El-Amir the internal con- dition of Egypt continued unsatisfactory, and the Cru- saders, who had been very successful in capturing the towns of Syria, were only deterred from an advance on Egypt by the death of their leader, Baldwin. In a. h. 524, some of the surviving partisans of El-Afdhal, it is said, put El- Amir to death, and a son of El-Afdhal as- sumed the direction of affairs, and appointed El-Hafiz, a grandson of Mustanssir as caliph. AfdhaPs son, whose name was Abu Ali Ahmed, perished in a popular tumult. The new caliph had great trouble with his next three viziers, and at length abolished the office altogether. After reigning twenty years, he was succeeded by his licentious son, Dhafir, whose faults led to his death at the hand of his vizier, El- Abbas. For the ensuing six years the supreme power in Egypt was mainly the bone of contention between rival viziers, although El-Paiz, a boy of five, was nominally elected caliph on the death of Dhafir. El-Abbas was worsted by his rival, Tatae, and fled to Syria with a large sum of money; but he fell into the hands of the Crusaders, was returned to Tatae, and crucified. The last of the Eatimite caliphs, El-Adid, in 555 a. d., was raised to the throne by Tatae, but his power was merely the shadow of sovereignty. Tatae 's tyranny, however, became so odious that the caliph had him assas- sinated a year after his accession, but he concealed the fact that he had instigated the murder. The caliph ap- pointed Tatae 's son, El-Adil, as vizier in his stead. The governorship of Upper Egypt was at this time in the THE SULTAN NUR ED -DIN 13 hands of the celebrated Shawir, whom El-Adil dispos- sessed, but in a test of battle, El-Adil was defeated and put to death. In his turn, Shawir yielded to the more powerful Ed-Durghan, and fled to Damascus. There he enlisted the aid of the Atabeg Sultan Nur ed-Din, who ENAMELLED GLASS CUP FROM ARABIA. gent his army against Ed-Durghan, with the result that Shawir was reinstated in power in Egypt. He thereupon threw off his promised allegiance to Nur ed-Din, whose general, Shirkuh (who had led the Damascenes to Egypt), took up a strategic position. Shawir appealed 14 THE CEUSADEKS IN EGYPT for aid to the Crusaders, and with the help of Amaury, King of Jerusalem, Shawir besieged his friend Shirkuh. Nur ed-Din was successfully attacking the Crusaders else- where, and in the end a peace was negotiated, and the Damascenes left Egypt. Two years later, Nur ed-Din formulated a plan to pun- ish the rebellious Shawir. Persecuted by Shirkuh, Nur ed-Din sent him with his army into Egypt. The Pranks now joined with Shawir to defend the country, hoping thereby to baffle the schemes of Nur ed-Din. The Chris- tian army was amazed at all the splendour of the caliph's palace at Cairo. Shawir retreated to entice the invaders on, who, advancing beyond their base, were soon reduced to straits. Shirkuh then tried to come to terms with Shawir against the Christians as a common foe, but with- out success. He next thought of retreating, without fighting, with all his Egyptian plunder. Persuaded at length to fight, he defeated the Pranks and finally came to terms with Shawir, whereby the Pranco-Egyptian alli- ance came to an end, and he then left Egypt on receiving an indemnity, Shawir still remaining its ruler. The peace, however, did not last long, and Nur ed-Din sent Shirkuh again with many Prankish free-lancers against the ill-fated country. On the approach of the army towards Cairo, the vizier set fire to the ancient city of Postat, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the invaders, and it burned continually for fifty days. El-Adid now sought aid of Nur ed-Din, who, actuated by zeal against the Pranks, and by desire of conquest, once more despatched Shirkuh. In the meantime negotiations SALADIN AT CAIRO 15 had been opened with Amaury to raise the siege of Cairo on payment of an enormous sum of money. But, before these conditions had been fulfilled, the approach of the GATE OF EL FUTUH AT CAIKO. Syrian army induced Amaury to retreat in haste. Shir- kuh and Saladin entered the capital in great state, and were received with honour by the caliph, and with obse- quiousness by Shawir, who was contriving a plot which 16 THE CRUSADEKS IN EGYPT was fortunately discovered, and for which he paid with his life. Shirkuh was then appointed vizier by El-Adid, but, dying very shortly, he was succeeded in that dignity by his nephew Saladin (a. d. 1169). Saladin inaugurated his reign with a series of brilliant successes. Egypt once again took an important place among the nations, and by the wars of Saladin it became the nucleus of a great empire. Military glory was never the sole aim of Saladin and his successors. They con- tinued to extend to letters and the arts their willing patronage, and the beneficial effects of this were felt upon the civilisation of the country. Though ruler of Egypt, Saladin gained his greatest renown by his cam- paigns against the Crusaders in Syria. The inability of Nur ed-Din's son, El-Malik es-Salih Ismail, to govern the Syrian dominions became an excuse for Saladin 's occu- pation of Syria as guardian of the young prince, and, once having assumed this function, he remained in fact the master of Syria. He continued to consolidate his power in these parts until the Crusaders, under Philip, Count of Flanders, laid siege to Antioch. Saladin now went out to meet them with the Egyptian army, and fought the fierce battle of Ascalon, which proved to be disastrous to himself, his army being totally de- feated and his life endangered. After this, however, he was fortunate enough to gain certain minor advantages, and continued to hold his own until a famine broke out in Palestine which compelled him to come to terms with the Crusaders, and two years later a truce was concluded with the King of Jerusalem, and Saladin returned to Egypt. SAL A DIN'S CAMPAIGNS 17 In the year 576 a. h., he again entered Syria and made war on Kilidj-Arslan, the Seljukide Sultan of Anatolia, and on Leon, King of Armenia, both of whom he forced to come to terms. Soon after his return, Saladin again left Egypt to prosecute a war with the Crusaders, since it was plain that neither side was desirous of re- maining at peace. Through an incident which had just occurred, the wrath of the Crusaders had been kindled. A vessel bearing fifteen hundred pilgrims had been wrecked near Damietta, and its passengers captured. When the King of Jerusalem remonstrated, Saladin replied by complaining of the constant inroads made by Renaud de Chatillon. This restless warrior undertook an expedition against Eyleh, and for this purpose con- structed boats at Kerak and conveyed them on camels to the sea. But this flotilla was repulsed, and the siege was raised by a fleet sent thither by El-Adil, the brother of Saladin, and his viceroy. A second expedition against Eyleh was still more unfortunate to the Franks, who were defeated and taken prisoners. On this occasion the captives were slain in the valley of Mina. Saladin then threatened Kerak, encamped at Tiberias, and ravaged the territory of the Franks. He next made a futile attempt to take Beirut. He was more successful in a campaign against Mesopotamia, which he reduced to submission, with the exception of Mosul. While ab- sent here, the Crusaders did little except undertake sev- eral forays, and Saladin at length returned towards Palestine, winning many victories and conquering Aleppo on the way. He next ravaged Samaria, and at 18 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT last received the fealty of the lord of Mosul, though he did not succeed in actually conquering the city. In the year 1186 war broke out again between Sal- adin and the Christian hosts. The sultan had respected a truce which he had made with Baldwin the Leper, King of Jerusalem, but the restless Renaud, who had previ- ously attacked Eyleh, had broken through its stipula- tions. His plunder of a rich caravan enraged Saladin, who forthwith sent out orders to all his vassals and lieutenants to prepare for a Holy War. In the year 1187 he marched from Damascus to Kerak, where he laid close siege to Renaud. At the same time a large body of cavalry was sent on towards Nazareth under his son El-Af dhal. They were met by 730 Knights Hospital- lers and Templars, aided by a few hundred foot-soldiers. Inspired by the heroic Jacques de Maille, marshal of the Temple, they defied the large Saracen army. In the conflict which ensued, the Crusaders immortalised them- selves by fighting until only three of their number were left alive, who, after the conflict was over, managed to escape. Soon after this, Saladin himself approached with a great army of eighty thousand men, and the Chris- tians with all their forces hastened to meet him upon the shores of Lake Tiberias. The result of this battle proved to be the most disastrous defeat which the Chris- tians had yet suffered. They were weakened by thirst, and on the second day of the conflict a part of their troops fled. But the knights nevertheless continued to make a heroic defence until they were overwhelmed by THE CRUSADERS MASSACRED 19 numbers and forced to flee to the bills of Hittun. A great number of Crusaders fell in this conflict, and Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, and his brother, Renaud de Chatillon, were among the prisoners of war. The number of those taken was very great, and Saladin left an indelible stain upon a reign otherwise re- ARAB DRINKING - VESSELS. nowned for mercy and humanity by allowing the pris- oners to be massacred. Tiberias, Acre, Nabulus, Jericho, Ramleh, Caesarea, Arsur, Jaffa, Beirut, and many other places now fell into the hands of the conqueror. Tyre successfully resisted Saladin 's attacks. Ascalon sur- rendered on favourable conditions, and, to crown all, 20 THE CKUSADEKS IN EGYPT Jerusalem itself fell a prey to his irresistible arms. The great clemency of Saladin is chronicled on this occa- sion by Christian historians, but the same was an offence to many of the Moslems and is but little referred to by their historians. Tyre was now again besieged and was on the point of capture when the besieged were relieved by the ar- rival of Conrad, son of the Marquis of Monferrat. The defence was now fought with such vigour that Saladin abandoned it and made an attack upon Tripoli, but with no better success, although he succeeded in forc- ing Bohemond, Prince of Antioch, and ruler of Tripoli, to submit on terms favourable to himself. After this, Saladin took part in the defence of the ever-mem- orable siege of Acre, which called forth deeds of gallantry and heroism on both sides, and which lasted for two years, during which it roused the interest of the whole of the Christian world. The invading army were in time reinforced by the redoubtable Richard Coeur de Lion, King of England, and Philip II. of Prance, and, breaking down all opposition, they captured the city, and floated upon its walls the banners of the cross in the year 1191 a. d. Unfortunately for the good name of the Christians, an act of ferocious barbarity marred the lus- tre of their triumph, for 2,700 Moslems were cut down in cold blood in consequence of the failure of Saladin to fulfil the terms of the capitulation; and the palliative plea that the massacre was perpetrated in the heat of the assault can scarcely be urged in extenuation of this enormity. While many historians have laid the blame KICHAKD I. IN PALESTINE 21 on King Richard, the historian Michaud believes it rather to have been decided on in a council of the chiefs of the Crusade. After a period of rest and debauchery, the army of the Crusaders, led on by King Richard, began to march towards Jerusalem. Saladin harassed his advance and rendered the strongholds on the way defenceless and ravaged the whole country. Richard was nevertheless ever victorious. His great personal bravery struck terror into the Moslems, and he won an important vic- tory over them at Arsur. Dissensions now broke out among chiefs of the Crusaders, and Richard himself proved to be a very uncertain leader in regard to the strategy of the campaign. So serious were these draw- backs that the ultimate aim of the enterprise was thereby frustrated, and the Crusaders never attained to their great object, which was the re-conquest of Jerusalem. At the time when the Christian armies were in posses- sion of all the cities along the coast, from Jaffa to Tyre, and the hosts of Saladin were seriously disorganised, a treaty was concluded and King Richard sailed back on the return journey to England. The glory acquired by Saladin, and the famous campaigns of Richard Coeur de Lion, have rendered the Third Crusade the most memorable in history, and the exploits of the heroes on both sides shed a lustre on the arms of both Moslems and Christians. Saladin died about a year after the conclusion of this peace, at Damascus, a. d. 1193, at the age of fifty- seven. With less rashness and bravery than Richard, 22 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT Saladin possessed a firmer character and one far bet- ter calculated to carry on a religious war. He paid more attention to the results of his enterprises; more master of himself, he was more fit to command others. When mounting the throne of the Atabegs, Saladin obeyed rather his destiny than his inclinations; but, when once firmly seated, he was governed by only two passions,— that of reigning and that of securing the tri- umph of the Koran. On all other subjects he was mod- erate, and when a kingdom or the glory of the Prophet was not in question, the son of Ayyub was admired as the most just and mild of Muhammedans. The stern devotion and ardent fanaticism that made him take up arms against the Christians only rendered him cruel and barbarous in one single instance. He displayed the virtues of peace amidst the horrors of war. " From the bosom of the camps," says an Oriental poet, " he cov- ered the nations with the wings of his justice, and poured upon his cities the plenteous showers of his liberality." During his reign many remarkable public works were executed. The Muhammedans, always governed by fear, were astonished that a sovereign could inspire them with so much love, and followed him with joy to battle. His generosity, his clemency, and particularly his respect for an oath, were often the subjects of admiration to the Christians, whom he rendered so miserable by his vic- tories, and of whose power in 'Asia he had completed the overthrow. Previous to his death, Saladin had divided the kingdom between his three sons; El-Afdhal received Damascus, Southern Syria, and Palestine, with THE SONS OF SALADIN 23 the title of sultan; El- Aziz obtained the kingdom of Egypt, and Ez Zahir the princedom of Aleppo. El- Aziz undertook a campaign against Syria, but was defeated and obliged to retreat to Cairo on account of a mutiny among his troops. El-Afdhal pursued him, and had already pressed forward as far as Bilbeis, when El-Adil, who had hitherto espoused his cause, fearing that he might become too powerful, forced him to con- clude a peace. The only advantage he obtained was that he regained possession of Jerusalem and the southern part of Syria. Soon after, El-Adil prevailed upon his nephew Aziz, with whom he stood on friendly terms, to renew the war and to take Damascus; El-Afdhal was betrayed, and only Sarchod was left to him, whereas El-Adil occupied Damascus and forced Aziz to return to Egypt again (June, 1196). After Aziz's death, in November, 1198, El-Afdhal was summoned by some of the e mir s to act as regent in Egypt. Others called upon El-Adil to adopt the same course. El-Afdhal, however, became master of Egypt, and besieged Damascus, rein- forced by his brother Zahir, who feared his uncle's ambi- tion no less than himself. The agreement between the brothers, however, did not last long; their armies sep- arated, and El-Afdhal was obliged to raise the siege and retreat to Egypt. He was pursued by his uncle, and forced, after several skirmishes, to surrender the capital and content himself once more with Sarchod and one or two towns on the Euphrates (February, 1200). El-Adil ruled for a short time in the name of El- Aziz's son; he soon came forward as sultan, forced Zahir to recognise 24 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT him as his suzerain, and appointed his son El-Muzzain as governor of Damascus; the towns which belonged to him in Mesopotamia were distributed among his other sons, and he thus became, to a certain extent, the over- lord of all the lands conquered by Saladin. His son, El-Ashraf, later became lord of Chelat in Armenia, and his descendant, Masud, Kamil's son, obtained pos- session of happy Arabia; so that the name Malik Adil was pronounced in all the Moslem chancels from the borders of Georgia to the Gulf of Aden. El- Adil was so much engaged with wars against the Moslem princes,— the princes of Nissibis and Mardin,— and also with repulsing El-Afdhal, who wished to re- cover his lost kingdom, that he was unable to proceed with any force against the Crusaders ; he took unwilling measures against them when they actually broke the peace, and was always ready to conclude a new treaty. He took Jaffa by storm when the pilgrims, armed by Henry VI., came to Palestine and interfered with the Moslem devotions, and when the chancellor Conrad there- upon seized Sidon and Beirut, El- Adil contented himself with laying waste the former town and hindering the capture of the fortress Joron; Beirut he allowed to fall into the enemy's hands. Still later he permitted several attacks of the Christians— such as the devastation of the town Fuah, situated on the Rosetta arm of the Nile— to pass unnoticed, and even bought peace at the expense of the districts of Ramleh and Lydda, which had formerly belonged to him. It was not until the year 1206 that he acted upon the offensive against the regent, John of SIEGE OF DAMIETTA 25 Ibelin, and even then he contented himself with slight advantages and concluded a new truce for thirty years. Shortly before his death, El-Adil, like his brother Saladin, narrowly escaped losing all his glory and the fruits of so many victories. Pope Honorius III. had successfully aroused the zeal of the Western nations for a new Crusade. Numerous well-armed and warlike- minded pilgrims— among whom were King Andreas of Hungary and Duke Leopold of Austria— landed at Acre in 1217, and King John of Jerusalem led them against the Moslems. El-Adil hastened from Egypt to the scene of action, but was forced to retreat to Damascus and to give up the whole of the southern district, with the ex- ception of the well-fortified holy town, to be plundered by the Christians. In the following spring, whilst El- Adil was in Syria, a Christian fleet sailed to Damietta, and besieged the town. The attacking forces were com- posed of Germans and Hungarians, who had embarked at Spalato on the Adriatic for St. Jean dAcre, where they spent a year in unfortunate expeditions and quarrels with the Christians of Syria. They were joined by a fleet of three hundred boats furnished by North Germans and Frisians, who, leaving the banks of the Rhine, had journeyed there by way of the Straits of Gibraltar, pro- longing the journey by a year's fighting in Portugal. The Christians then in Palestine had persuaded the Crusaders to begin with an attack on Egypt, and they had therefore chosen to land at Damietta. This was a large commercial town to the east of one of the arms of the Nile, which was defended by three walls and a 26 THE CBUSADERS IN EGYPT large tower built on an island in the middle of the Nile, from which started the chains that barred the river. The Frisian sailors constructed a castle of wood, which was placed between the masts of two ships, and from which the Crusaders were able to leap to the tower, and thus they were able to blockade and starve the town. The siege was long, and an epidemic breaking out among the besiegers carried off a sixth of their number. The sultan tried to succour the besieged by floating down the stream corpses of camels, which were stuffed with provisions, but the Christians captured them. He then offered to give the Crusaders, on condition they would depart, the True Cross and all he possessed of the king- dom of Jerusalem; but Pelagius, the papal legate,— a Spanish monk who had himself named commander-in- chief,— rejected the offer. El-Adil was so stunned by the news of the success of the Christians that he died a few days after (August, 1218). El-Kamil, however, was not discouraged; he not only defended Damietta, but also harassed the enemy in their own camp by means of hordes of Bedouins. Not until he was forced, by a conspiracy of his troops in fa- vour of his brother El-Faiz, to fly to Cairo, did the Chris- tians succeed in getting across the Nile and completely surrounding Damietta. Order was soon restored in Egypt, owing to the arrival of Prince Muzzain, who had taken over the government of Damascus on the death of his father. The rebels were chastised, and both brothers proceeded towards Damietta: they could not succceed, however, in raising the siege, and the garrison dimin- FALL OP DAMIETTA 27 ished daily through hunger, sickness, and constant at- tacks, and the fortress soon fell into the hands of the Crusaders, almost without a blow (November 5, 1219). The Crusaders pillaged the town, taking from it four hundred thousand gold pieces. The Italians also settled there, and made it the seat of their commerce with Egypt. This conquest caused excite- ment in Europe, and the Pope called Pelagius " the second Joshua." If the Franks had been more at peace among them- selves, they might easily have pushed forward to Cairo after the fall of Dami- etta. But the greatest dis- content prevailed between the papal legate, Pelagius, and King John of Brienne, so that the latter soon after left Egypt, while Pelagius was forced to wait for rein- forcements before he could get away from Damietta. El-Kamil, meanwhile, reinforced his army with the help of the friendly Syrian princes, and, by destroying the channels and dams of the Nile canals, so endangered the Christian camp that they were soon forced to sue for peace, and offered to quit Damietta on the condition of an unmolested retreat. El-Kamil, equally anxious for PUBLIC FOUNTAIN, CAIRO. 28 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT peace, accepted these conditions (August, 1221). Scarcely had the Ayyubites thus warded off the threat- ening danger when they proceeded to fall out among themselves. After the death of El-Kamil, who in the end was generally regarded as overlord, a new war broke out, in March, 1238, between his son El-Adil II., who was reign- ing in Egypt, and his brother Ayyub, who occupied Da- mascus. Ayyub conquered Egypt, but, in his absence, his uncle Ismail, Prince of Balbek, seized upon Damas- cus and made a league with the Franks in Palestine and several of the Syrian princes. Through this unnatural league, Ismail, however, estranged not only the Moslem inhabitants of Syria, but also his own army. Part of the army deserted in consequence to Ayyub, who was thus enabled easily to subdue the allied army (1240). Another coalition was formed against him a few years later, and this time Da'ud of Kerak was one of the allies. Ayyub sent a strong army of Egyptians, negroes, and Mamluks under the future sultan, Beybars, to Syria. The Syrian troops fought unwillingly against their fel- low-believers in the opposite ranks, and the wild Chariz- mites, who had also joined the ranks, inspired them with terror, so that they deserted the field of battle in the neighbourhood of Gaza (October, 1244). The Christians, left to themselves, were not in a position to resist the enemy's attacks; and the Egyptians made themselves masters of Jerusalem and Hebron, and in the following year obtained Damascus, Balbek, Ascalon, and Tiberias. In 1248 Ayyub came again into Syria, in order to SAINT LOUIS IN EGYPT 29 chastise El-Malik en-Nasir, Prince of Aleppo, who had seized upon Hemessa when he heard of the co min g Cru- saders under Saint Louis. To this end he made peace with the natives of Aleppo, and returned to Jerusalem in order to make the necessary preparations for defence. The pilgrims, however, succeeded in landing, for Emir Eakhr ed-Din, the Egyptian commander, had taken to flight after a short skirmish, and the fortress was allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy (June, 1249) . Ayyub now established a firm footing in the town of Cairo— which his father had founded— in a district intersected by canals, and harassed the Christian camp with his fight cavalry. Louis was expecting reinforcements, but they did not arrive until the inundations of the Nile made any advance into the interior almost impossible. At last, on the 21st of December, the Christian army arrived at the canal of Ashmum Tanah, which alone separated them from the town of Mansuria. The Egyptians were now commanded by Emir Fakhr ed-Din. Ayyub had died a month before, but his wife, Shejret ed-Durr, kept his death a secret until his son Turan Shah should arrive from Mesopotamia. Fakhr ed-Din did everything in his power to retrieve his former error. He attacked the Christians when they were engaged in building a dam across the canal, hindering their work on the southern bank with his throwing-machines, destroying their tow- ers with Greek fire ; and when, in spite of all discourage- ments, their toilsome work was nearly finished, he ren- dered it useless by digging out a new basin, into which he conducted the water of the Ashmum canal. 30 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT On the 8th of February, 1250, the French crossed, the canal, but, instead of collecting there, as the king had commanded, so as to attack the enemy en masse, several troops pressed forward against the Egyptians, and many, including the Count of Artois, the king's brother, were killed by the valiant enemy under Beybars. The battle remained long undecided, for the Egyptians had barri- caded Cairo so well that it could only be stormed at the cost of many lives, and after the capture the army needed rest. The Egyptians took advantage of this delay to bring a fleet up in the rear of the Egyptian ships, which, in combination with the fleet stationed near Mansuria, attacked and completely destroyed them. As soon as they were masters of the Mle, the Egyptians landed troops below the Christian camp, which was thus com- pletely cut off from Damietta, and soon suffered the greatest hardships from lack of provisions. Under these circumstances, Louis opened negotiations with Turan Shah, and when these proved fruitless, nothing remained for him but to return to Damietta. Although they began their retreat by night, they did not thus escape the vigi< lance of the Egyptians. The fugitives were overtaken on the following morning, and so shut in by the enemy that resistance was impossible. A large portion of the army was cut to pieces, in spite of their surrender; the rest, together with the king and his brother, were taken prisoners and brought in triumph to Cairo. Turan Shah treated the king with consideration and hastened to con- clude peace with the Bahritic Mamluks,— so called be- cause they had been brought up on the Mle (Bahr), on THE MAMLUKS 31 the island Bhodha,— as soon as the ransom money of his prisoners was assured. The Bahrites grumbled at this peace because it left the Christians in Palestine in pos- session of their towns, and they forthwith murdered Turan Shah, with the help of Shejret ed-Durr, whom he had maltreated (May 2, 1250). After Turan Shah's death, his mother was proclaimed sultana, and the Mamluk Aibek became general of the army. Later, when the caliph of Baghdad revolted against the rule of a woman, Aibek assumed the title of sultan and married Shejret ed-Durr. He ruled again after some time in the name of a young descendant of Kamil, so as to be able to fight against the Ayyubids in Syria, who, with En-Nasir at their head, had taken pos- session of Damascus, with an appearance of right. A battle took place between Aibek and the Syrians (Feb- ruary, 1251), which was decided in favour of Aibek in consequence of the treachery of the Turks under Nasir. Aibek again assumed the title of sultan after the vic- tory, but was soon after to be murdered by the Mamluks, who were unwilling to be subject to any control. He anticipated their plot, however, and slew their leader, the Emir Aktai, putting his followers to flight. He then demanded the diploma of investiture and the insignia of his office from the caliph, and also pressed the Prince of Mosul to grant him his daughter in marriage. His own wife, unable to endure such perfidy, had him mur- dered in his bath (April 10, 1257). When Beybars first ascended the throne, he assumed the name of Sultan Kahir (the over-ruler), but after- 32 THE CKUSADERS IN EGYPT wards, when he was informed that this name had always, brought misfortune to its bearer, he changed it to that of Sultan Zahir (the Glorious). Now that he was abso- lute master of Syria and Egypt, Beybars tried to ob- literate the remembrance of the misdeeds he had formerly been guilty of by means of undertakings for the general good and for the furtherance of religion. He had the mosques repaired, founded pious institutions, designed, new aqueducts, fortified Alexandria, had all the for- tresses repaired and provisioned which the Mongols had razed to the ground, had a large number of great and small war-ships built, and established a regular post between Cairo and Damascus. In order to obtain a sem- blance of legitimacy, since he was but a usurper, Beybars: recognised a nominal descendant of the house of Abbas as caliph, who, in the proper course of things, ought to invest him with the dominions of Syria and Egypt. Bey- bars bade his governors receive this descendant of the house of the Prophet with all suitable marks of honour, and invited him to come to Egypt. When he approached the capital, the sultan himself went out to meet him, followed by the vizier, the chief cadi, and the chief emirs, and notabilities of the town. Even the Jews and Chris- tians had to take part in the procession, carrying respect- ively the Tora and the Gospel. The caliph made his entrance into Cairo with the greatest pomp, rode through the town amidst the shouts of the multitude, and pro- ceeded to the citadel, where Beybars had appointed him a magnificent dwelling. Some days afterwards the caliph had a reception of the chief cadi, the most celebrated BEYBAES' POLICY 33 theologians and lawyers of Egypt, and many notables of the capital. The Arabs who formed his escort and an eunuch from Baghdad testified to the identity of the caliph's person, the chief cadi recognised their assertion as valid, and was the first to do homage to him as caliph. Thereupon the sultan arose, took the oath of allegiance to him and swore to uphold both the written laws of the Koran and those of tradition; to advance the good and hinder the evil, to fight zealously for the protection of the faith only, to impose lawful taxes, and to apply the taxes only to lawful purposes. After the sultan had finished, homage was done by the sheiks, the emirs, and the other chief officers of the kingdom. The caliph in- vested the sultan with power over all the kingdoms sub- ject to Islam, as well as over all future conquests, where- upon the people of all classes were admitted to do homage likewise. Then command was sent out to all the distant princes and governors to do homage to the caliph, who has assumed the name of El-Mustanssir, and to place his name beside that of the sultan in their prayers and also on their coins. Beybars' treatment of his viziers, governors, and other important emirs, one or other of whom he either impris- oned or executed on every possible occasion, was merci- less, but he proceeded even more shamelessly against Malik Mughith, Prince of Kerak and Shaubek, whom he feared so much as one of the bravest descendants of the house of Ayyub that he stamped himself publicly as a perjured assassin, in order to get him out of the way. Beybars had at first, without any declaration of war, 34 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT in fact, without any notification of it in Egypt, sud- denly sent a detachment of troops under the leadership of Emir Bedr ed-Din Aidhnri, which took the fortress Shaubek by surprise, and placed the Emir Saif ed-Din Bilban el-Mukhtasi in it as governor. In the next year, in order to win over Mughith, he liberated his son Aziz, whom Kotuz had captured at Damascus and imprisoned at Cairo; he also assured Mughith of his friendly inten- tions towards him and repeatedly urged him to arrange a meeting. El-Malik el-Mughith did not trust Beybars, and invented all kinds of reasons not to accept his invita- tions. Beybars resolved at last to calm the fears of his intended victim by means of a written oath. The fears of Mughith, however, were not allayed, and he hesitated to fall in with the wish of the sultan and to appear at his court. The following year, when the sultan came to Syria and again urged a meeting, he was at a loss for an excuse, and was forced either to acknowledge his mis- trust or risk everything. He sent his mother first to Gaza, where she was received with the greatest friend- liness by the sultan, and sent back laden with costly presents ; on her return to Kerak, corrupted by the hos- pitality and generosity of the sultan, she persuaded her son to wait on him, as did also his ambassador Alamjad with equal zeal. Finally he set out from Kerak— when he had made his troops do homage to his son El-Malik el- Aziz— on a visit to the sultan, who was then in Tur. The sultan rode out to meet him as far as Beisan. Malik Mughith wished to dismount when he perceived the sul- tan, but he would not permit this, and rode beside MUGHITH IMPRISONED 35 Mughith till he reached his own tent. Here he was sepa- rated from his followers, thrown into chains, and brought into the citadel of Cairo (a. h. 660). In order to palliate this crime, the sultan made public the correspondence of the Prince of Kerak with the Mongols, which it was thought would stamp the former as a traitor to Islam. The judges whom he brought with him, and amongst whom we find the celebrated historian Ibn KhaUikan, who was then chief judge of Damascus, declared him guilty, but we only have historical proof of the sending of his son into Hulagu's camp to beg that his province might be spared, at a time when all the princes of Syria, seized with panic, threw themselves at the feet of the Mongolian gen- eral. Be that as it may, he none the less committed a piece of treachery, since he had sworn not to call him to account for his former crimes. Beybars hoped, now that he had disposed of Malik Mughith, that the fortress Kerak would immediately surrender to his emissary, Emir Bedr ed-Din Beisari, but the governor of the fortress feared to trust the promises of a perjurer and offered resistance. Beybars therefore set out for Syria with all the necessary siege apparatus, constructed by the best engineers of Egypt and Syria. The garrison saw the impossibility of a long resistance and capitulated. • The son of Malik Mughith, El-Malik el-Aziz, a boy of twelve, was honoured as prince and taken to Egypt, as also Mughith 's family. His emirs and officials were treated with consideration, but the prince was later thrown into prison. Nothing certain is known with re- gard to the death of Mughith. According to some 36 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT reports, because he offended the wife of Beybars, when as a wandering Mamluk he once was staying with him, he was delivered over to the sultan's wives and was put to death by them; another account says that he died of hunger in prison. After the conquest of Shekif, the sultan made an attack on the province of Tripoli because Prince Boh- mond, Governor of Antioch and Tripoli, was his bitterest enemy and the truest ally of the Mongolians, and had, moreover, at the time of Hulagu's attack on Syria, made himself master of several places which till then had be- longed to the Mussulmans. The whole land was wasted, all the houses destroyed, all Christians who fell into the hands of the troops were murdered, and several strong- holds in the mountains conquered. Laden with rich booty, the Moslem army set out for Hemessa. From here Beybars proceeded towards Hamah and divided the army into three divisions; one division, under the Emir Bedr ed-Din Khaznadar (treasurer), was to take the direction of Suwaidiya, the port of Antioch; the second, under Emir Izz ed-Din Ighan, struck the route towards Der- besak; the third, which he led himself, proceeded in a straight line over Apamaa and Schoghr towards Antioch, which was the meeting-place for the two other emirs, and would so be shut in from the north, the west, and the south. On the 16th May the 'sultan found himself in front of the town, which contained a population of over one hundred thousand. Fighting soon ensued be- tween the outposts of the sultan and the constable who advanced against him at the head of the militia. The DEATH OF BEYBAES 37 latter was defeated, and the constable him self taken pris- oner. On the 3d of Ramadhan the whole army had united and preparations were made for the siege. Mean- while the sultan had already attempted to persuade the imprisoned constable to return to the town and enduce them to surrender, and to leave his own son behind as a hostage. But when several days had passed in fruitless discussions, at last the sultan gave the word for the at- tack. In spite of the resistance of the Christians, the walls were scaled on the same day, and the garrison retired thereupon into the citadel; the inhabitants were massacred or taken prisoner and all the houses plun- dered. No one could escape, for Beybars had blocked all the entrances. On the next day the garrison, women and children included, which numbered eight thousand, surrendered on account of lack of water and meal. The chiefs apparently made their escape during the confusion and fled into the mountains. The garrison only saved their lives by surrendering. Beybars had them chained and distributed as slaves amongst his troops; he then had the other prisoners and the rest of the booty brought together, and proceeded with the lawful distribution. When everything had been settled, the citadel was set on fire, but the conflagration was so great that the whole town was consumed. Beybars died soon after his return from Asia Minor (July 1, 1277). According to some reports his death was occasioned by a violent fever; other accounts say that he died in consequence of a poison which he had prepared for an Ayyubid and which he accidentally took 38 THE CEUSADEES IN EGYPT himself. He had designated the eldest of his sons as his successor, under the name of El-Malik es-Said, and in order to give him a strong support he had married him to the daughter of the Emir Kilawun, one of his best and most influential generals. In spite of all this, however, es-Said was not able to maintain himself on the throne for any length of time. Kilawun conspired against his master, and was soon able to ascend the throne under the title of El-Malik el-Mansur. His fame as a warrior was already estab- lished, and he added to his successes during his ten years' reign. His first task was to quell disturbances in Syria, and he despatched an army thither and captured Da- mascus. In the year 680 of the Hegira he took the field in person against a large force of Tatars, defeated them, and raised the siege of Rahabah. Eight years later he laid siege to Tripoli, then rich and flourishing after two centuries of Christian occupation, and the town was taken and its inhabitants killed. Other expeditions were undertaken against Nubia, but the Nubians, after they had been twice defeated, appear to have re-established themselves. The fortress of Acre was at this time the only im- portant stronghold still retained by the Christians, and for its conquest Kilawun was making preparations when he died, on the 10th of November, 1290. Kilawun, says the modern historian Weil, has been unduly praised by historians, most of whom lived in the reign of his son. He was certainly not so bloodthirsty as Beybars, and he also oppressed his subjects less. He, too, cared more COUKT IN THE MOKISTAN OF KILAWTJN. THE HOSPITAL AT CAIRO 41 for the increase and establishment of his kingdom than for justice and good faith. He held no agreement sacred, if he could get any advantage by breaking it, as was shown by his behaviour towards the Crusaders and the descendants of Beybars. The most beautiful monument which he left behind him was a huge building outside Cairo, which included a hospital, a school, and his own tomb. The hospital was so large that every disease had a special room allotted to it; there were also apartments for women, and large storerooms for provisions and med- ical requirements, and a large auditorium in which the head doctor delivered his lectures on medicine. The expenses were so great— for even people of wealth were taken without compensation— that special administra- tors were appointed to oversee and keep an account of the necessary outlay. Besides these officers, several stewards and overseers were appointed to control the revenues devoted to the hospital by different institutions. Under the dome of the tomb the Koran and traditional charters were taught, and both teachers and scholars received their payment from the state. A large adjacent hall contained a library of many works on the Koran, tradi- tion, language, medicine, practical theology, jurispru- dence, and literature, and was kept in good condition by a special librarian and six officials. The school building contained four audience-halls for the teachers of the Islamite schools, and in addition to these a school for children, into which sixty poor orphans were received without any charge and provided with board, lodging, and clothes. 42 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT Khalil, the son of Kilawun, who succeeded him, with the title of El-Malik el-Ashraf, was able to begin opera- tions in the spring of 1291 against Acre, and on the 18th of May, after an obstinate resistance, the town was taken by storm. Those who could not escape by water were either cut down or taken prisoner; the town was plun- dered, then burnt, and the fortifications razed to the ground. After the fall of Acre, towns such as Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and others, which were still in the hands of the Christians, offered no resistance, and were either deserted by their inhabitants or given up to the enemy. El-Ashraf, now that he had cleared Syria of the Cru- saders, turned his arms against the Mongols and their vassals. He began with the storming of Kalat er-rum, a fortress on the Upper Euphrates in the neighbourhood of Bireh, the possession of which was important both for the defence of Northern Syria and for attacks on Armenia and Asia Minor. In spite of many pompous declarations that this was only the beginning of greater conquests in Asia Minor and Irak, he retired as soon as the Hkhan Kaikhatu sent a strong detachment of troops against him. Later on he threatened the Prince of Ar- menia-Minor with war, and obliged him to hand over certain border towns. He also exchanged some threat- ening letters with Kaikhatu. But neither reigned long enough to make these threats good, for Kaikhatu was soon after dethroned by Baidu, and Baidu in his turn by Gazan (1295), after many civil wars which had contin- ually hindered him from carrying on a foreign war. El- Ashraf was murdered in 1294, whilst hunting, by the MURDER OF EL-ASHRAF 43 regent Baidara, whom he had threatended to turn out of his office. Kara Sonkor, Lajin, El-Mansuri, and some of the other emirs had conspired with Baidara in the WINDOW IN THE MAUSOLEUM OF KILAWUN. hope that, when once the deed was accomplished, all the chiefs in the kingdom would applaud their action, since El-Ashraf had slain and imprisoned many influential 44 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT emirs, and was generally denounced as an irreligious man, who transgressed not only against the laws of Islam, but also against those of nature. Baidara, however, immediately proceeded to mount the throne, and a strong party, with the Emir Ketboga at its head, was formed against him. Ketboga called upon El-Ashraf 's Mamluks to take vengeance, pursued the rebels, and killed Baidara. He then returned to Cairo, and, after long negotiations with the governor of the capital, Muhammed, a younger brother of El-Ashraf, was proclaimed sultan, with the title of El-Malik en-Nasir. Muhammed en-Nasir occupies such an important place in the history of these times that the other Moslem princes may easily be grouped around him. He was only nine years old when he was summoned to be ruler of the kingdom of the Mamluks. Naturally he was the sultan only in name, and the real power lay in the hands of Ketboga and Vizier Shujai. These two lived in perfect harmony so long as they were merely occupied with the pursuit of their rivals,— not only the friends and follow- ers of El-Ashraf 's murderer, but also the innocent ex- vizier of El-Ashraf, because he had treated them with contempt and was in possession of riches for which they were greedy. He shared the fate of the king's assassins, for, in spite of the intercession of the ladies of the royal harem, he ended his life on the gallows. But as soon as the two rulers had got rid of their enemies and ap- peased their own avarice, their peaceful union was at an end, for each wished to have complete control over the sultan. Shujai had the Mamluks of the late sultan KETBOGA'S AMBITION 45 on his side; while Ketboga, who was a Mongol by birth, had with him all the Mongols and Kurds who had settled in the kingdom during Beybars' reign. A Mongol warned Ketboga against Shujai, who had made all neces- sary preparations to throw his rival into prison, and he immediately was attacked by Ketboga and defeated after several attempts. Ketboga 's ambition was not yet fulfilled, although he was now supreme ruler. He first demanded homage as regent; as he met with no opposition, he conceived the idea of setting the sultan, Nasir, aside; and he hoped to carry out his plan with the assistance of Lajin and Kara Sonkor, El-Ashraf 's murderers, and their numerous following. He had the pardon of these two emirs pro- claimed, whereupon they left their hiding-places and joined Ketboga, for it was to their interest also that the sultan should be put out of the way. This coup d'etat was a complete success (December, 1294), but in spite of these plans, Ketboga 's reign was both unfortunate and brief. The old emirs were vexed with him because he raised his own Mamluks to the highest posts of hon- our, and the clergy were displeased because he received favourably a number of Mongols, although they were heathens. The people blamed him for the severe famine which visited Egypt and Syria and which was followed by a terrible pestilence. Several emirs, with Lajin again at their head, conspired against him, and forced their way into his tent while he was on the way to Syria; overpowering the guard, they attempted to get posses- sion of his person. He managed to escape, however, and 46 THE CEUSADEES IN EGYPT so saved his life and liberty, but Lajin obtained posses- sion of the throne, with the agreement of the other emirs. In spite of his advantages, both as man and as pious Moslem, and in spite of his brilliant victories over the princes of Armenia, Lajin was murdered, together with his successor, and Nasir, who was then living in Kerak, was recalled as sultan (January, 1299). Nasir was still too young to reign alone; he had to let himself be ruled by the emirs who had already as- sumed a kind of regency before his return. At the head of these emirs stood Sellar and Beybars Jashingir. Dis- trust and uneasiness existed between these ,two, one of whom was regent and the other prefect of the palace, for each wanted to assume the chief power; but soon their private intrigues were put into the background by a common danger. The ILkhan G-azan was actively pre- paring for war against the Mamluk kingdom because the Governor of Aleppo had fallen upon Mardin, a town be- longing to the Mongols, and brutally maltreated the inhabitants; also because the refugees from Egypt and Syria assured him that the moment was favourable for extending his dominion over these lands. The internal history of Egypt at this period offers nothing but tedious strifes between different emirs, and specially between the two most powerful, Beybars and Sellar, who would have often brought it to open warfare had not their friends and followers intervened. They agreed, however, on one point, namely, to keep the sultan as long as possible from taking over the reins of govern- ment, and to keep him as secluded as possible in order NASIR ASSERTS HIS AUTHORITY 47 to deprive him of all influence. Whilst Sellar was wast- ing immense sums, the sultan was in fact almost starving. When Sellar went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, he paid the debts of all the Moslems who had retired to this town; he further distributed ten thousand malters of fruit amongst the poor people in the town, and so much money and provisions that they were able to live on it for a whole year. He also treated the inhabitants of Medina and Jiddah in an equally generous way. The sultan, who was hunting in Lower Egypt, at the same time tried in vain to obtain a small loan from the Alexandrian mer- chants, to buy a present for his wife. Finally, his vizier, who had granted him two thousand dinars ($5,060), was accused on Sellar 's return of embezzling the public money, was led round the town on a donkey, and beaten and tortured so long that he succumbed under his tor- ments. In the year 1307, when Nasir was twenty-three years old, though still treated as a child, he attempted, with the help of the Emir Bektimur, who commanded the Mamluks in the palace, to seize the persons of his op- pressors. The plan failed, for they had their spies every- where, and the only result was that the sultan's faithful servants were banished to Syria, and the sultan himself was more oppressed than ever. It was two years before he succeeded in deceiving his tyrants. He expressed the wish to make a pilgrimage to Mecca; this was granted, as the emirs saw nothing dangerous in it, and, moreover, as a religious duty, it could not be resisted. As soon as he reached the fortress Kerak, with the help of those 48 THE CKUSADERS IN EGYPT soldiers in his escort who were devoted to his cause, and having deceived the governor by means of false let- ters, he obtained possession of the fortress, and immedi- ately declared his independence of the guardianship of Sellar and Beybars. Sellar and Beybars, on hearing this, immediately summoned the sultan to return to Cairo; but, even before they received his answer, they realised that their rule was over, and that either they must quit the field, or Nasir must be dethroned. After long con- sideration amongst themselves, they proceeded to the choice of another sultan, and the choice fell on Beybars (April, 1309). Beybars accepted the proffered throne on the condition that Sellar also retained his place. He confirmed the other emirs also in their offices, hoping thereby to gain their support. The change of government met with no resistance in Egypt, where the majority of the emirs had long been dependent on Beybars and Sellar. In Syria, on the other hand, the emirs acting as governors refused to acknowl- edge Beybars, partly from devotion to Nasir's race, and partly because the choice had been made without their consent. Only Akush, Governor of Damascus, who was an old friend of Beybars, and like bim a Circassian, took the oath of allegiance. The governors of Aleppo, Hamah, and Tripoli, together with the governors of Safed and Jerusalem, called upon Nasir to join them, and, with the help of his other followers, to reconquer Egypt. The cunning sultan, who saw that the time for open resist- ance had not yet arrived, since Egypt was as yet too unanimous, and Damascus also had joined the enemy, INTERIOR OP THE MOSQUE OF KILAWI7N. BEYBARS AND NASIB, 51 advised them to deceive Beybars and to take the oath of allegiance, which they could break later, as having been obtained by force. He himself feigned to submit to the new government, and even had the prayers carried on from the chancel in Beybars' name. Beybars was deceived, although he knew with certainty that Nasir carried on a lively intercourse with the discontented emirs. He relied chiefly on Akush, who kept a strict watch over Nasir 's movements. The spies of Akush, however, were open to corruption, and they failed later to take steps to render Nasir harmless at the right mo- ment. Beybars believed Nasir to be still in Kerak, when he was well on the way to Damascus ; and when he finally received news of this, the rebellion had already gone so far that some of the troops who had been sent out against the sultan had already deserted to his side. The only possible way of allaying the storm was for Beybars to put himself at the head of his troops, and, ."joining forces with Akush, to offer battle to Nasir. The necessary cour- age and resolution failed him. Instead of having re- course to the sword, he applied to the caliph, who de- clared Nasir an exile, and summoned all believers to listen to the Sultan Beybars— whom he had consecrated —and to take part in the war against the rebel, Nasir. But the summons of the caliph, which was read in all the chancels, had not the slightest effect. The belief in the caliph had long disappeared, except in so far as he was considered a tool of the sultan on whom he depended. Even Beybars' party mocked the caliph's declaration, and wherever it was read manifestations 62 THE CKUSADEKS IN" EGYPT were made in favour of the exile. Beybars, also, was now deserted by Sellar, and lie at length was obliged to resign. Beybars was then seized and throttled by Nasir, and Sellar was starved to death. Nasir, who now came to the throne, had grown sus- picious and treacherous on account of the many hard- ships and betrayals endured by him during his youth. He was, however, favourable to the Christians, and to such an extent that he received anonymous letters re- proaching him for allowing Moslems to be oppressed by Christian officials. He found them to be experienced in financial matters, for, in spite of all decrees, they had never ceased to hold secretaryships in different states: they were, moreover, more unscrupulous than born Mu- hammedans, who always had more respect for law, cus- tom, and public opinion. Certainly the sultan considered the ministers in whom he placed great confidence less dangerous if they were wow-Moslems, since he was their only support, whereas comrades in religion could always find plenty of support and might easily betray him. Nasir died on the 6th of June, 1341, at about fifty- eight years of age, after a reign of forty-three years. His rule, which did not actually begin until he mounted the throne for the third time, lasted thirty-two years. During this period he was absolute ruler in the strongest sense of the word; every important affair was decided by him alone. The emirs had to refer all matters to him, and were a constant source of suspicion and oversight. They might not speak to each other in his presence, nor visit each other without his consent. The mildest Tombs of the Mamluks DEATH OF NASIR 53 punishment for breaking such decrees was banishment to Syria. Nasir inspired them with fear rather than with love and respect, and, as soon as it was known that his illness was incurable, no one paid any further attention to him. He died as a pious Moslem and repentant sinner in the presence of some of his servants. His burial, which took place by night, was attended by a few emirs, and only one wax candle and one lamp were carried before the bier. As one of his biographers justly remarks, the rich sultan, whose dominion had extended from the bor- ders of Abyssinia to Asia Minor and up the Euphrates as far as Tunis, and the father of a large family, ended his life like a stranger, was buried like a poor man, and brought to his grave like a man without wife or child. Nasir was the last sultan who ruled over the Bahritic Mamluk kingdom with a firm hand. After his death we read of one insurrection after another, and the sultans were either deposed or became mere slaves of the emirs. Abu Bekr, whom Nasir had appointed his successor, did not hold his own for quite two months, because he maltreated the discontented emirs and put his favourites in their places. An insurrection, with the Emir Kausun at its head, was formed against him; he was dethroned and his six-year-old brother Kujuk was proclaimed sul- tan in his stead. The dethroned sultan was banished to Upper Egypt, whither his elder brother Ahmed should have been brought; Ahmed, however, refused to leave his fortress of Kerak, and, finding support among the Syrian emirs, he conspired against Kausun, who was at this moment threatened also with an insurrection in 54 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT Cairo. After several bloody battles, Kausun was forced to yield, and Ahmed was proclaimed sultan (January, 1342). Ahmed, however, preferred a quiet, peaceful life to the dangerous post of sultan, and not until he had received the most solemn oaths of allegiance did he pro- ceed to his capital, where he arrived quite unexpectedly, so that no festivities had been prepared. After some time, he had all the Syrian emirs arrested by his Mam- luks, because they tried to usurp Ms powers; he then appointed a regent, and himself returned to Kerak, tak- ing with him everything he had found in the sultan's palace, and there he remained in spite of the entreaties of the faithful emirs, and lived simply for his own pleasure. The natural consequence of all this was Ahmed's deposition in June, 1342. His brother Ismail, a good- hearted youth of seventeen years, sent troops to Kerak to demand an oath of allegiance from Ahmed, but they could effect nothing, as the fortress was well fortified and provisioned, and, moreover, many of the emirs, both in Syria and Egypt, were still in league with Ahmed. Not until fresh troops had been sent, and Ahmed himself betrayed, did they succeed in taking the fortress; and Ahmed was put to death in 1344. Ahmed's death made such a deep impression upon the weak sultan that he fell into a fit of depression which gradually increased until he died in August of the following year. His brother and successor, Shaban, was an utter prof- ligate, cruel, faithless, avaricious, immoral, and pleasure- loving. Gladiators played an important part at his court, SHABAN MTJEDEEED 55 and lie often took part in their contests. Horse-racing, cock-fights, and such like amusements occupied him much more than state affairs, and the whole court followed his example. As long as Shaban did not offend the emirs, he was at liberty to commit any atrocities he pleased, but, as soon as he seized their riches and imprisoned and tortured them, his downfall was certain. Ilbogha, Gov- mmmmttmmmw^ i m(>xz '*&&&&&&b&&&&}t}Xfr&&&&)?rJtfM&&H&&&**&&K* ^^J^i^i*^ ernor of Damascus, supported by the other Syrian emirs, sent him a list of his crimes and summoned him to abdi- cate. Meanwhile an insurrection had broken out in Cairo, and, although Shaban expressed his willingness •to abdicate, he was murdered by the rebels in September, 1346. His brother Haji met with a similar fate after a reign of fifteen months, though some accounts affirm that he was not murdered but only exiled. 66 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT Haji was succeeded by his brother Hasan, who was still a minor; the emirs who ruled in his name competed for the highest posts until Baibagharus and his brother Menjik carried off the victory. These two ruled supreme for a time. The so-called " black death " was ravaging Egypt; many families were decimated, and their riches fell to the state. The disease, which differed from the ordinary pest in the blood-spitting and internal heat, raged in Europe and Asia, and spread the greatest con- sternation even amongst the Moslems, who generaUy regarded disease with a certain amount of indifference, as being a divine decree. According to Arabic sources, the black death had broken out in China and from there had spread over the Tatar-land of Kipjak; from here it took its course towards Constantinople, Asia Minor, and Syria on the one hand, and towards Greece, Italy, Spain, Erance, and Germany on the other, and was prob- ably brought to Egypt from Syria. Not only men, but beasts and even plants were attacked. The ravages were nowhere so fearful as in Egypt; in the capital alone in a few days as many as fifteen or twenty thousand people were stricken. As the disease continued to rage for two years, there was soon a lack of men to plough the fields and carry on the necessary trades; and to in- crease the general distress, incursions were made by the tribes of Turcomans and Bedouins, who plundered the towns and villages. Scarcely had this desperate state of affairs begun to improve when court intrigues sprang up afresh, and only ended with the deposition of the sultan in August, 1351. He was recalled after three years, BEKKUK BECOMES SULTAN 57 during which his brother had reigned, and he was sub- sequently deposed and put to death in March, 1361. Fi- nally the descendants of Nasir, instead of his sons, began to rule. First came Muha mm ed Ibn Haji, who, as soon as he began to show signs of independence, was declared to be of unsound mind by his chief emir, Hbogha; then Shaban, the son of Husain (May, 1363), who was stran- gled in March, 1377; and finally Husain 's eight-year-old son Ah. After repeated contests, Berkuk and Berekeh, two Circassian slaves, placed themselves at the head of the government. Berkuk, however, wished to be absolute, and soon put his co-regent out of the way (1389). He contented himself at first with being simply regent, and, even when Ali died, he declared his six-year-old brother Haji, sultan. The following year, when he discovered a conspiracy of the Mamluks against him, and when many of the older emirs were dead, he declared that it was for the good of the state that no longer a child, but a man capable of directing internal affairs and lead- ing an army against the enemy, should take over the government. The assembly, whom he had bribed before- hand, supported him, and he was appointed sultan in November, 1382. The external history of Egypt during this time is but scanty. She suffered several defeats at the hands of the Turcomans in the north of Syria, lost her supremacy in Mecca through the influence of the princes of South Arabia, and both Alexandria and several other coast towns were attacked and plundered by European fleets. This last event occurred in Shaban 's reign in 1365. Peter 58 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT of Lusignan, King of Cyprus, had, in league with the Genoese, the Venetians, and Knights of Rhodes, placed himself at the head of a new Crusade, and since his expe- dition was a secret even in Europe,— for he was thought to be advancing against the Turks,— it was easy for him to take the Egyptians by surprise, and all the more so because the Governor of Alexandria happened to be ab- sent at the time. The militia tried in vain to prevent their landing, and the small garrison held out for but a short time, so that the prosperous and wealthy town was completely sacked and many prisoners were taken before the troops arrived from Cairo. The Christians living in Egypt suffered from this attack of the King of Cyprus. They had to find ransom money for the Moslem prisoners and to provide means for fitting out a new fleet. All negotiations with Cyprus, Genoa, and Venice were immediately broken off. This event, however, had the effect of reconciling the Italian traders again with Egypt, and an embassy came both from Genoa and Venice, expressing regret at what had happened, with the assurance that the government had had no hint of the intentions of the King of Cyprus. Genoa also sent back sixty prisoners who had fallen to them as their share of the Alexandrian booty. As Egypt's trade would also be at a standstill if they had no further negotiations with the Franks, who imported wood, metal, arms, oil, coral, wool, manufacturing and crystal wares in exchange for spices, cotton, and sugar, the former trade relations were re-established. The war with Cyprus continued, however; Alexandria was again INSIDE THE M08QDE OF HASAN. TAMERLANE 61 threatened and Tripoli was surprised by the Cyprian fleet, whereupon a number of European merchants in Egypt were arrested. In the year 1370, after the death of Peter of Lusignan, peace and an exchange of prisoners were finally brought about. After this peace the Egyp- tians were able to concentrate their whole force against Leo VI., Prince of Smaller Armenia, who was brought as a prisoner to Cairo; and with him the supremacy of the Christians in this land was at an end: henceforth Egypt was ruled by Egyptian governors. Earaj, Berkuk's son and successor, had to suffer for his father's political mistakes. He had scarcely ascended the throne when the Ottomans seized Derenda, Albustan, and Malatia. Preparations for war were made, but given up again when it was seen that Bayazid could not ad- vance any farther south. Earaj was only thirteen years old, and all the old intrigues amongst the emirs broke out again. In Cairo they fought in the streets for the post of regent; anarchy and confusion reigned in the Egyptian provinces, and the Syrians wished to revolt against the sultan. When at last peace was re-estab- lished in Egypt, and Syria was reduced, the latter coun- try was again attacked by the hordes of Tamerlane. Tamerlane conquered the two important cities of Aleppo and Hemessa, and Faraj's forces returned to Egypt. When the sultan's ally, Bayazid, was defeated, Faraj concluded a peace with Tamerlane, at the price of the surrender of certain lands. In 1405 Tamerlane died, and Faraj was collecting troops for the purpose of recov- ering Syria when domestic troubles caused him to flee 62 THE CRUSADEKS IN EGYPT from Egypt, his own brother Abd el-Aziz heading the insurrection. In the belief that Faraj was dead, Aziz was proclaimed his successor, but three months later Faraj was restored, and it was not until 1412 that he was charged with illegal practices and beheaded, his body- being left unburied like that of a common malefactor. The fact that criminal proceedings were brought against the sultan is evidence of a great advance in the spirit of civilisation, but the event must be regarded more as a proof of its possibility than as a demonstration of its establishment. The Caliph El-Mustain was then proclaimed sultan, but after some months he was dethroned and his former prime minister, Sheikh Mahmudi, took over the reins of government (November, 1412). Although Sheikh had obtained the throne of Egypt so easily, he experienced great difficulty in obtaining the recognition of the emirs. Newruz, Governor of Damascus, in league with the other governors, made a determined resistance, and he was obliged to send a strong army into Syria to put down the rebels. Newruz, after suffering one defeat, threw himself into the citadel of Damascus and capitulated, when Sheikh had sworn to keep the terms of the capitu- lation. Newruz 's ambassadors, however, had not a suf- ficient knowledge of Arabic to perceive that the oath was not binding, and when Newruz, trusting to this oath, appeared before Sheikh, he was immediately thrown into chains, and afterwards murdered in prison because the cadis declared the oath was not binding. In the next year (1415) Sheikh was obliged to make another WAR WITH SYRIA 63 expedition against Syria to re-conquer some of the places of which the smaller princes had taken pos- session during the civil war. One of these princes was the Prince Muhammed of Karaman, who had taken the town of Tarsus. Sheikh was summoned by Muhammed 's own brother to overcome him, which he easily succeeded in doing. Many other princes were forced to submit, and MOSQUE OF BERKDK. finally the town of Malatia, which the Turcoman Husain had stormed, was recaptured. The war against Husain and the Prince of Karaman was to have been continued, but Sheikh was forced to return home, owing to a wound in his foot. As soon as certain misunderstandings be- tween Sheikh and Kara Yusuf had been cleared up, an- other army was despatched into Asia Minor, for Tarsus 64 THE CEUSADEKS IN EGYPT had been recaptured by the Prince of Karaman, who had driven out the Prince of Albustan, whom Sheikh had installed. Ibrahim, the sultan's son, took command of this army, and occupied Csesarea, Nigdeh, and Kara- man. Whilst he was occupied in the interior of Asia Minor, the Governor of Damascus had defeated Musta- pha, son of the Prince of Karaman, and the Prince Ibrahim of Ramadhan, near Adana, which latter town, as well as Tarsus, he had re-conquered. The Prince of Karaman, who now advanced against Csesarea, suffered a total defeat. Mustapha remained on the field of battle, but his father was taken prisoner and sent to Cairo, where he lingered in confinement until after the death of the sultan. Once again was Syria threatened by Kara Tusuf, but he was soon forced to return to Irak by the conspiracy of his own son, Shah Muhammed, who lived in Baghdad. As soon as this insurrection was put down, Kara Yusuf was obliged to give his whole attention to Shah Roch, the son of Tamerlane, who had raised himself to the highest power in Persia, and was now attempting to re-conquer the province of Aderbaijan. Kara Yusuf placed himself at the head of an army to protect this province, but sud- denly died (November, 1420) on the way to Sultania, and his possessions were divided among his four sons, Shah Muhammed, Iskander, Ispahan, and Jihan Shah, who all, just as the descendants of Tamerlane had done, immediately began to quarrel among themselves. The sultan was already very ill when the news of Kara Yusuf 's death reached him. The death of Ibrahim, SHEIKH MAHMUDI 65 his son, whom he had caused to be poisoned, on his return from Asia Minor, weighed heavily upon him and hastened his death, which took place on January 13, 1421. He left immense riches behind him, but could not obtain a proper burial; everything was at once seized by the emirs, who did not trouble themselves in the least about %?%wm ®S$§i ^ Off ^"#W i -^n*W S-ass ??®*.--~ JZ—=s^ THE TOMB OF BERKUK. his corpse. He had been by no means a good sultan; he had brought much misery upon the people, and had oppressed the emirs. But in spite of all he had many admirers who overlooked his misdeeds and cruelty, be- cause he was a pious Moslem; that is, he did not openly transgress against the decrees of Islam, favoured the theologians, and distinguished himself as an orator and €6 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT poet; he also founded a splendid mosque, a hospital, and a school for theology. His whole life abounds in contrasts. After he had broken his oath to Newruz, he spent several days in a cloister to make atonement for this crime, and was present at all the religious ceremonies and dances. Although he shed streams of blood to satisfy his avarice, he wore a woollen garment, and bade the preachers, when they mentioned his name after that of Muhammed, to descend a step on the staircase of the chancel. Under a religious sultan of this stamp, the position of the non-Muhammedans was by no means an enviable one. The Jews and Christians had to pay enor- mous taxes and the old decrees against them were re- newed. Not only were they forced to wear special colours, but the length of their sleeves and head-bands was also decreed, and even the women were obliged to wear a distinctive costume. Sheikh appointed his son Ahmed, one year old, as his successor, and named the emirs who were to act as re- gents until he became of age. Tatar, the most cunning and unscrupulous of these emirs, soon succeeded in ob- taining the supreme power and demanded homage as sultan (August 29, 1421) ; but he soon fell ill and died after a reign of about three months. He, too, appointed a young son as his successor and named the regents, but Bursbai also soon grasped the supreme power and as- cended the throne in 1422. He had of course many insurrections to quell, but was not obliged to leave Egypt. As soon as peace was restored in Syria, Bursbai turned his attention to the European pirates, who had long been PIRACY SUPPRESSED 67 harassing the coasts of Syria and Egypt. They were partly Cypriots and partly Catalonians and Genoese, who started from Cyprus and landed their booty on this island. Bursbai resolved first to conquer this island. He despatched several ships with this object in view; they landed at Limasol, and, having burnt the ships in the harbour and plundered the town, they returned home. The favourable result of this expedition much encour- A TITLE - PAGE OF THE KOBAN OF THE TIME OP SHABAN. aged the sultan, and in the following year he sent out a large fleet from Alexandria which landed in Famagosta. This town soon surrendered and the troops proceeded to plunder the neighbouring places, and defeated all the troops which Prince Henry of Lusignan sent out against them. When they had advanced as far as Limasol, the Egyptian commander, hearing that Janos, the King of Cyprus, was advancing with a large army against him, determined to return to Egypt to bring his enormous 68 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT booty into safety. In July, 1426, a strong Egyptian fleet set out for the third time, landed east of Limasol, and took this fortress after a few days' fighting. The Mos- lem army was, however, forced to retreat. But the Cyp- riots scattered instead of pursuing the enemy, and the Mamluks, seeing this, renewed their attack, slew many Christians and took the king prisoner. The capital, Nicosia, then capitulated, whereupon the Egyptian troops returned to Egypt with the captive king and were received with great jubilation. The King of Cyprus, after submitting to the greatest humiliations, was asked what ransom he could pay. He replied that he possessed nothing but his life, and stuck to this answer, although threatened with death. Meanwhile, Venetian and other European merchants negotiated for the ransom money, and the sultan finally contented himself with two hun- dred thousand dinars (about $500,000). Janos, however, was not set at liberty, but sent to Cyprus as the sultan's vassal. After the death of Janos in 1432, his son, John H., still continued to pay tribute to Egypt, and when he died (1458) and his daughter Charlotte became Queen of Cyprus, James IE., the natural son of John IE., fled to Egypt and found a friendly reception at the sul- tan's court. The sultan then ruling was Inal, and he promised to re-install James as King of Cyprus. Mean- while messengers arrived from the queen, offering a higher tribute, and Inal allowed himself to be persuaded by his emirs to acknowledge Charlotte as queen, and to hand James over to her ambassadors. But as soon as the ambassadors had left the audience-chamber, a tumult JAMES II. IN CYPRUS 69 arose; the people declared that the sultan had only the advantage of the Franks— especially of Prince Louis of Savoy— in view, and they soon took such a threatening PRATER -NICHE IN THE MOSQUE OF THE SULTAN MAHMUDI. attitude that Inal was forced to declare himself for James again and renew his former preparations. In August, 1460, an Egyptian fleet bore James to Cyprus, and with the help of the Egyptian troops he soon obtained 70 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT the island, with the exception of the fortress Cerines, which Queen Charlotte still had in her power. The majority of the Egyptian troops now returned to Egypt, and only some hundred men remained with James. Later, when the Genoese declared themselves on the side of Charlotte, fresh troops had to be sent out from Egypt, but, as soon as James had taken Eamagosta and had no further need of them, he dismissed them (1464). Bursbai despised no means by which he might enrich himself; he appropriated the greater part of the inherit- ance of the Jews and Christians; he even taxed poor pilgrims, in spite of the fact that he was a pious Moslem, prayed much, fasted, and read the Koran. He turned Mecca into a money-market. At the very moment when pious pilgrims were praying for the forgiveness of their sins, one of his heralds was proclaiming: " Whoever buys wares and does not pay toll for them in Egypt has forfeited his life." That is to say, all wares bought in Mecca or Jiddah had to go out of their way to Egypt in order to be laid under toll in this land. In appointing his son Yusuf to the consulship, Burs- bai counted on the devotedness of his Mamluks, and the Emir Jakmak, whom he appointed as his chief adviser, and, in fact, Yusuf 's coronation, in June, 1438, met with no resistance. After three months, however, Jakmak, feeling himself secure, quietly assumed the sultan's place; at first he had much resistance to put down, but soon his prudence and resolution established him safely in spite of all opposition. As soon as the rebels in the interior had been dealt with, Yusuf, as a good Muham- SIEGE OF EHODES 71 medan, wished to attack the Christians, and chose the island of Rhodes as the scene of the Holy War, hoping to obtain this island as easily as Bursbai had obtained the island of Cyprus. But the Order of St. John, to whom this island belonged, had its spies in Egypt, so that the sultan's intentions were discovered and prep- arations for defence were made. The only result of the sultan's repeated expeditions was the devastation of ORNAMENTAL PAGE FROM A KORAN OP THE FOURTEENTH CENTTJRY. some unimportant coast towns; all attempts on the capi- tal failed, so that the siege was soon raised and peace concluded with the chief master of Rhodes (1444). Jakmak's relations with the foreign chiefs were most friendly. He constantly exchanged letters and gifts with both Sultan Murad and Shah Roch. The sons of Kara Yelek and the princes of the houses of Ramadhan and Dudgadir submitted to him; also Jihangir, Kara Yelek 's 72 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT grandson and Governor of Amid, tried to secure his friendship, as did the latter 's deadly enemy, Jihan Shah, the son of Kara Yusuf. Jakmak's rule was mild compared with that of Burs- bai, and we hear less of extraordinary taxes, extortions, executions, and violence of the Mamluks. Although he was beloved by the people and priests on account of his piety, he could not secure the succession of his son Os- man, in favour of whom he abdicated fourteen days before his death (February, 1453). Osman remained only a month and a half on the throne; he made him- self odious to the emirs who did not belong to his Mam- luks. The Mamluks of his predecessors conspired against him, and at their head stood his own Atabeg, the Emir Inal, a former Mamluk of Berkuk. Osman was warned, but he only mocked those who recommended him to watchfulness, since he believed his position to be unas- sailable. He had forgotten that his father was a usurper, who, although himself a perjurer, hoped to bind others by means of oaths. His eyes were not opened until he had lost all means of defence. He managed to hold out for seven days, after which the citadel was captured by the rebels, and he was forced to abdicate on the 19th of March. Inal became, even more than his predecessors had been, a slave to those Mamluks to whom he owed his kingdom. They committed the greatest atrocities and threatened the sultan himself when he tried to hold them in check. They plundered corpses on their way to the grave, and attacked the mosques during the hours of service in order to rob the pilgrims. MOSQUE OF KAIT BEY, CAIBO. SELIM I. AJtfD THE MAMLUKS 75 They were so hated and feared that, when many of them were carried off by the plague, their deaths were recorded by a contemporary historian as a benefit to all classes of society. In the hour of his death (26th February, 1461), Inal appointed his son Ahmed as his successor, but the latter was no more able to maintain himself on the throne than his predecessors had been, in spite of his numerous good qualities. He was forced to submit in the strife with his emirs, and on the 28th of June, 1461, after a reign of four months and three days, he was dethroned, and the Emir Khosh Kadem, a former slave of the Sultan Sheikh, of Greek descent, was proclaimed in his stead. Khosh Kadem reigned for seven years with equity and benignity, and under one of his immediate successors, El-Ashraf Kait Bey, a struggle was begun with the Ottoman Turks. On the death of Muhammed II., dis- sensions had arisen between Bayazid II. and Jem. Jem, being defeated by Bayazid, retired to Egypt, which led to the invasion and conquest of Syria, hitherto held by the Sultan of Egypt. On surrendering Tarsus and Adana to Bayazid, Kait Bey was suffered to end his days in peace in a. d. 1495. After many dissensions, the brave and learned El-Ghuri ascended the throne, and Selim I., the Turkish sultan, soon found a pretext for an attack upon the Mamluk power. A long and sanguinary battle was fought near Aleppo, in which El-Ghuri was finally defeated through treachery. He was trampled to death by his own cavalry in their attempt to escape from the pursiding Ottomans. With his death, in a. d. 1516, Egypt 76 THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT lost her independence. Tuman Bey, a nephew of the de- ceased, fiercely contested the advance of the Ottomans, but was defeated and treacherously killed by the Turks. A long period of Turkish misrule now opened for the ill-fated country, though some semblance of concilia- tion was attempted by Selim's appointment of twenty- 1 - " : - ■ '--."—■* * '-'-■. ■■■-- ' gjRS -=-~ IE U-: ,.;'-:« ; -■ - ■ -"'■ - "•i^.^ a -:^„ ^> ff '^M^H^- ■ jjBlLf^".'--. W^ ' ■ ■ L *v - \ 1 In >^i_/* j§f- £; ff^ * \f^MijM S (jfiL^Kr:,' B H_:~" 'fh 1 ,«r-:S?J ".*•' J ■■-.'■ r 1 . -"-■•' "-)■-:- --:.V^*". -^ -~ ■"^®v^^p WADI FEIRAN, IN THE SINAI PENINSULA. four Mamluk beys as subordinate rulers over twenty- four military provinces of Egypt. These beys were under the control of a Turkish pasha, whose council was formed of seven Turkish chiefs, while one of the Mamluk beys held the post of Sheikh el-Beled or Governor of the Metropolis. For nearly two centuries the Turkish pashas were generally obeyed in Egypt, although there were frequent intrigues and quarrels on the part of MAUSOLEUM OF EL-GHUEI. TUEKISH MISEULE 79 competing Mamluk beys to secure possession of the coveted post of Sheikh el-Beled. Towards the middle of the eighteenth century the authority of the Turkish pashas had become merely nominal, while that of the beys had increased to such an extent that the govern- ment of Egypt became a military oligarchy. The weak- ness of the Turks left the way open for the rise of any adventurer of ability and ambition who might aspire to lead the Mamluks to overthrow the sovereignty of the Porte. In the year 1768 the celebrated Ali Bey headed a revolt against the Turks, which he maintained for several years with complete success. A period of good but vig- orous government lasted during the years in which he successfully resisted the Ottoman power. Ali's generals also gained for him considerable influence beyond the borders of Egypt. Muhammed Abu Dhahab was sent by him to Arabia and entered the sacred city of Mecca, where the sherif was deposed. Ali also despatched an expedition to the eastern shores of the Red Sea, and Muhammed Bey, after his successes in Arabia, invaded Syria and wrested that province from the power of the sultan. The victorious soldier, however, now plotted against his master and took the lead in a military revolt. As a result of this, Ali Bey fell into an ambuscade set by his own rebellious subjects, and died from poisoning in 1786. Thus terminated the career of the famous Mamluk, a man whose energy, talents, and ambition bear a strong resemblance to those of the later Mehe- met Ali. 80 THE CKUSADERS IN EGYPT Muhammed Bey, the Mamluk who had revolted against Ali Bey, now tendered his allegiance to the Porte. To the title of Governor of the Metropolis was also added that of Pasha of Egypt. He subdued Syria, and died during the pillage of Acre. After his death violent dissensions again broke out. The Porte supported Ismail Bey, who retained the post of Governor of the Metropolis (Sheikh el-Beled) until the terrible plague of 1790, in which he perished. His former rivals, Ibrahim and Murad, now returned; and eight years later were still in the leadership when the news was brought to Egypt that a fleet carrying thirty thousand men, under Bonaparte, had arrived at Alexandria on an expedition of conquest. Bonaparte in Egypt After the painting by M. Orange ^^^^^ ^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^ ^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^ M tari^ ' .* ^,^.i."!r- '.iJW-'/i. | .i.'.ii.' SEES gggS! ' - ■ ■ ■ .J. ' . ■ .■ .i. ■ ",».? ^.»v. ORNAMENTAL GIRDLING OF THE MORISTAN OP KILWUN. CHAPTER n THE FRENCH IN EGYPT Napoleon's campaign : Battles of the Pyramids and of Abukir : Siege of Acre : K16ber's administration : The evacuation of Egypt. T the close of the eighteenth century- Egypt's destiny passed into the hands of the French. Napoleon's descent upon Egypt was part of his vast strategic plan for the overthrow of Great Britain. He first of all notified the Directory of this design in September, 1797, in a letter sent from Italy. Late in the same year and during 1798 vast preparations had been in progress for the invasion of England. Napo- leon then visited all the seaports in the north of Prance and Holland, and found that a direct invasion of England was a practical impossibility because the British held command over the sea. The suggested invasion of Egypt was now seriously considered. By the conquest of Egypt, it was contended, England would be cut off from the possession of India, and France, through Egypt, would 81 82 THE FKENCH IN EGYPT dominate the trade to the Orient. From Egypt Napoleon could gather an army of Orientals and conquer the whole of the East, including India itself. On his return, Eng- land would prove to be too exhausted to withstand the French army at home and would fall a prey to the ambi- tions of the Eirst Consul. The Directory assented to Bonaparte's plans the more readily because they were anxious to keep so popular a leader, the idol of the army, at a great distance from the centre of government. While the preparations were in process, no one in Eng- land knew of this undertaking. The French fleet lay in various squadrons in ports of Italy, from which thirty thousand men were embarked. Bonaparte arrived at Toulon on May 9, 1798. His presence rejoiced the army, which had begun to murmur and to fear that he would not be at the head of the expe- dition. It was the old army of Italy, rich and covered with glory, and hence had much less zeal for making war; it required all the enthusiasm with which the gen- eral inspired his soldiers to induce them to embark and proceed to an unknown destination. On seeing him at Toulon, they were inflamed with ardour. Bonaparte, without acquainting them with their destination, ex- horted the soldiers, telling them that they had great destinies to fulfil, and that " the genius of liberty, which had made the republic from her birth the arbitress of Europe, decreed that she should be so to the most remote seas and nations." The squadron of Admiral Brueys consisted of thirteen sail of the line, and carried about forty thousand men of THE VOYAGE TO EGYPT 83 all arms and ten thousand seamen. It had water for one month and provisions for two. It sailed on the 19th of May, amid the thunders of the cannons and the cheers of the whole army. Violent gales did some damage to a frigate on leaving the port, and Nelson, who was cruising with three sail of the line in search of the French fleet, suffered so severely from the same gales that he was BEDOUINS IN THE DESERT. obliged to bear up for the islands of St. Pierre to refit. He was thus kept at a distance from the French fleet, and did not see it pass. It steered first towards Genoa to join the convoy collected in that port, under the com- mand of General Baraguay d'Hilliers. It then sailed for Corsica, to call for the convoy at Ajaccio commanded by Vaubois, and afterwards proceeded to the sea of Sicily to join the division of Civita Vecchia, under the command of Desaix. 84 THE FEENCH IN EGYPT Bonaparte's intention was to stop at Malta, and there to make by the way a bold attempt, the success of which he had long since prepared by secret intrigues. He meant to take possession of that island, which, command- ing the navigation of the Mediterranean, became impor- tant to Egypt and could not fail soon to fall into the hands of the English, unless they were anticipated. Bonaparte made great efforts to join the division from Civita Vecchia; but this he could not accomplish until he was off Malta. The five hundred French sail came in sight of the island on June 9th, twenty-two days after leaving Toulon. This sight filled the city of Malta with consternation. The following day (June 10th) the French troops landed on the island, and completely in- vested Valetta, which contained a population of nearly thirty thousand souls, and was even then one of the strongest fortresses in Europe. The inhabitants were dismayed and clamoured for surrender, and the grand master, who possessed little energy, and recollected the generosity of the conqueror of Rivoli at Mantua, hoping to save his interest from shipwreck, released one of the French knights, whom he had thrown into prison when they refused to fight against their countrymen, and sent him to Bonaparte to negotiate. A treaty was soon con- cluded, by which the Knights of Malta gave up to France the sovereignty of Malta and the dependent islands. Thus France gained possession of the best harbour in the Mediterranean, and one of the strongest in the world. It required the ascendency of Bonaparte to obtain it without fighting; and it necessitated also the risk of NELSON PURSUES NAPOLEON 87 losing some precious days, with the English in pursuit of him. The French fleet weighed anchor on the 19th of June, after a stay of ten days. The essential point now was not to fall in with the English. Nelson, having refitted at the islands of St. Pierre, had returned on June 1st to Toulon, but the French squadron had been gone twelve days. He had run from Toulon to the roads of Taglia- mon, and from the roads of Tagliamon to Naples, where he had arrived on June 20th, at the very moment when Bonaparte was leaving Malta. Learning that the French had been seen off Malta, he followed, determined to at- tack them, if he could overtake them. At one moment, the English squadron was only a few leagues distant from the immense French convoy, and neither party was aware of it. Nelson, supposing that the French were bound for Egypt, made sail for Alexandria, and arrived there before them; but not finding them, he flew to the Dardanelles to seek them there. By a singular fate, it was not till two days afterwards that the French ex- pedition came in sight of Alexandria, on the 1st of July, which was very nearly six weeks since it sailed from Toulon. Bonaparte immediately sent on shore for the French consul. He learned that the English had made their appearance two days before, and, supposing them to be not far off, he resolved that very moment to attempt a landing. It was impossible to enter the harbour of Alexandria, for the place appeared disposed to defend itself; it became necessary, therefore, to land at some distance on the neighbouring coast, at an inlet called the 88 THE FKENCH IN EGYPT Creek of the Marabou. The wind blew violently and the sea broke with fury over the reefs on the shore. It was near the close of the day, but Bonaparte gave the signal and resolved to go on shore immediately. He was the first to disembark, and, with great difficulty, four or five thousand men were landed in the course of the even- ing and the following night. Bonaparte resolved to march forthwith for Alexandria, in order to surprise the place and to prevent the Turks from making prepara- tions for defence. The troops instantly commenced their march. Not a horse was yet landed: the staff of Bona- parte, and Caffarelli himself, notwithstanding his wooden leg, had to walk four or five leagues over the sands, and came at daybreak within sight of Alexandria. That ancient city no longer possessed its magnificent edifices, its innumerable houses, and its immense popula- tion. Three-fourths of it was in ruins. The Turks, the wealthy Egyptians, the European merchants dwelt in the modern town, which was the only part preserved. A few Arabs lived among the ruins of the ancient city: an old wall, flanked by towers, enclosed the new and the old town, and all around extended those sands which in Egypt are sure to advance wherever civilisation recedes. The four thousand Erench led by Bonaparte arrived there at daybreak. Upon this sandy beach they met with Arabs only, who, after firing a few musket-shots, fled to the desert. Napoleon divided his men into three col- umns. Bon, with the first column, marched on the right towards the Rosetta gate; Kleber, with the second, marched in the centre towards the gate of the Catacombs. WATER-CARRIERS NAPOLEON AT ALEXANDEIA 89 The Arabs and the Turks, excellent soldiers behind a wall, kept up a steady fire, but the French mounted with ladders and got over the old wall. Kleber was the first who fell, seriously wounded on the forehead. The Arabs were driven from ruin to ruin, as far as the new town, and the combat seemed likely to be continued from street to street, and to become sanguinary, when a Turkish captain served as a mediator for negotiating an arrange- ment. Bonaparte declared that he had not come to rav- age the country, or to wrest it from its ruler, but merely to deliver it from the domination of the Mamluks, and to revenge the outrages which they had committed against France. He promised that the authorities of the country should be upheld; that the ceremonies of religion should continue to be performed as before; that property should be respected. On these conditions, the resistance ceased, and the French were masters of Alex- andria. Meanwhile, the remainder of the army had landed. It was immediately necessary to decide where to place the squadron safely— whether in the harbour or in one of the neighbouring roads;— to form at Alex- andria an administration adapted to the manners of the country; and also to devise a plan of invasion in order to gain possession of Egypt. At this period the population of Egypt was, like the towns that covered it, a mixture of the wrecks of several nations,— Kopts, the survivors of the ancient inhabitants of the land; Arabs, who conquered Egypt from the Kopts; and Turks, the conquerors of the Arabs. On the arrival of the French, the Kopts amounted at most to 90 THE FRENCH IN EGYPT two hundred thousand: poor, despised, brutalised, they had devoted themselves, like all the proscribed classes, to the most ignoble occupations. The Arabs formed almost the entire mass of the population. Their condition was infinitely varied: some were of high birth, carrying back their pedigree to Muhammed 1 himself; and some were landed proprietors, possessing traces of Arabian knowl- edge, and combining with nobility the functions of the priesthood and the magistracy, who, under the title of sheikhs, were the real aristocracy of Egypt. In the divans, they represented the country, when its tyrants wished to address themselves to it; in the mosques, they formed a kind of university, in which they taught the religion and the morality of the Koran, and a little phi- losophy and jurisprudence. The great mosque of Jemil- Azar constituted the foremost learned and religious body in the East. Next to these grandees came the smaller landholders, composing the second and more numerous class of the Arabs; then the great mass of the inhab- itants, who had sunk into the state of absolute helots. These last were hired peasants or fellahs who cultivated the land, and lived in abject poverty. There was also a class of Arabs, namely, the Bedouins or rovers, who would never attach themselves to the soil, but were the children of the desert. These wandering Arabs, divided into tribes on both sides of the valley, numbered nearly 1 The original of the illustration upon the opposite page is to be seen in a finely illuminated MS. of the ninth century, A. D., preserved in the India Office, London. The picture is of peculiar interest, being the only known portrait of Muhammed, who is evidently represented as receiving the divine command to propagate Muhammedanism. CONDITIONS IN EGYPT 93 one hundred and twenty thousand, and could furnish from twenty to twenty-five thousand horse. They were brave, but fit only to harass the enemy, not to fight him. The third and last race was that of the Turks; but it was not more numerous than the Kopts, amounting to about two hundred thousand souls at most, and was divided into Turks and Mamluks. The Turks were nearly all enrolled in the fist of janizaries; but it is well known that they frequently had their names inscribed in those lists, that they might enjoy the privileges of janizaries, and that a very small number of them were really in the service. Very few of them composed the military force of the pasha. This pasha, sent from Con- stantinople, was the sultan's representative in Egypt; but, escorted by only a few janizaries, he found his au- thority invalidated by the very precautions which Sultan Selim had formerly taken to preserve it. That sultan, judging that Egypt was likely from its remoteness to throw off the dominion of Constantinople, and that a clever and ambitious pasha might create there an inde- pendent empire, had, as we have seen, devised a plan to frustrate such a motive, should it exist, by instituting a Mamluk soldiery; but it was the Mamluks, and not the pasha, who rendered themselves independent of Con- stantinople and the masters of Egypt. Egypt was at this time an absolute feudality, like that of Europe in the Middle Ages. It exhibited at once a conquered people, a conquering soldiery in rebellion against its sovereign, and, lastly, an ancient degenerate class, who served and were in the pay of the strongest. 94 THE FEENCH IN EGYPT Two beys, superior to the rest, ruled Egypt: the one, Ibrahim Bey, wealthy, crafty, and powerful; the other, Murad Bey, intrepid, valiant, and full of ardour. They^ had agreed upon a sort of division of authority, by which Ibrahim Bey had the civil, and Murad Bey the military, power. It was the business of the latter to fight; he excelled in it, and he possessed the affection of the Mam- luks, who were all eager to follow him. Bonaparte imm ediately perceived the line of policy which he had to pursue in Egypt. He must, in the first place, wrest that country from its real masters, the Mam- luks; it was necessary for him to fight them, and to destroy them by arms and by policy. He had, moreover, strong reasons to urge against them; for they had never ceased to ill-treat the French. As for the Porte, it was requisite that he should not appear to attack its sov- ereignty, but affect, on the contrary, to respect it. In the state to which it was reduced, that sovereignty was not to be dreaded, and he could treat with the Porte, either for the cession of Egypt, by granting certain ad- vantages elsewhere, or for a partition of authority, in which there would be nothing detrimental; for the French, in leaving the pasha at Cairo, and transferring to themselves the power of the Mamluks, would not occa- sion much regret. As for the inhabitants, in order to make sure of their attachment, it would be requisite to win over the Arab population. By respecting the sheikhs, by flattering their old pride, by increasing their power, by encouraging their secret desire for the re-es- tablishment of their ancient glories, Bonaparte reckoned THE FRENCH POLICY 95 upon ruling the land, and attaching it entirely to him. By afterwards sparing persons and property, among a people accustomed to consider conquest as conferring a right to murder, pillage, and devastate, he would create a sentiment that would be most advantageous to the French army. If, furthermore, the French were to re- spect women and the Prophet, the conquest of hearts would be as firmly secured as that of the soil. Napoleon conducted himself agreeably to these con- clusions, which were equally just and profound. He immediately made his plans for establishing the French authority at Alexandria, and for quitting the Delta and gaining possession of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It was the month of July; the Nile was about to inundate the country. He was anxious to reach Cairo before the inundation, and to employ the time during which it should last in establishing himself there. He ordered everything at Alexandria to be left in the same state as formerly; that the religious exercises should be con- tinued; and that justice should be administered as before by the cadis. His intention was merely to possess him- self of the rights of the Mamluks, and to appoint a com- missioner to levy the accustomed imposts. He caused a divan, or municipal council, composed of the sheikhs and principal persons of Alexandria, to be formed, in order to consult them on all the measures which the French authority would have to take. He left three thou- sand men in garrison in Alexandria, and gave the com- mand of it to Kleber, whose wound was liable to keep m'm in a state of inactivity for a month or two. He 96 THE FEENCH IN EGYPT directed a young Frenchman of extraordinary merit, and who gave promise of becoming a great engineer, to put Alexandria in a state of defence, and to construct there all the necessary works. This was Colonel Cretin, who, in a short time, and at a small expense, executed superb works at Alexandria. Bonaparte then ordered the fleet to be put in a place of security. It was a question whether the large ships could enter the port of Alex- andria. A commission of naval officers was appointed to sound the harbour and make a report. Meanwhile, the fleet was anchored in the road of Abukir, and Bona- parte ordered Brueys to see to it that this question should be speedily decided, and to proceed to Corfu if it should be ascertained that the ships could not enter the harbour of Alexandria. After he had attended to all these matters, he made preparations for marching. A considerable flotilla, laden with provisions, artillery, a mm unition, and baggage, was to run along the coast to the Rosetta mouth, enter the Nile, and ascend the river at the same time as the French army. He then set out with the main body of the army, which, after leaving the two garrisons in Malta and Alexandria, was about thirty thousand strong. He had ordered his flotilla to proceed as high as Ramanieh, on the banks of the Nile. There he purposed to join it, and to proceed up the Nile parallel with it, in order to quit the Delta and to reach Upper Egypt, or Bahireh. There were two roads from Alexandria to Ramanieh; one through an inhabited country, along the sea-coast and the Nile, and the other shorter and as the bird flies, but A DESERT MAKCH 97 across the desert of Damanhour. Bonaparte, without hesitation, chose the shorter. It was of consequence that he should reach Cairo as speedily as possible. De- saix marched with the advanced guard, and the main body followed at a distance of a few leagues. They started on the 6th of July. When the soldiers found themselves amidst this boundless plain, with a shifting sand beneath their feet, a scorching sun over their heads, without water, without shade, with nothing for the eye to rest upon but rare clumps of palm-trees, seeing no living creatures but small troops of Arab horsemen, who appeared and disappeared at the horizon, and sometimes concealed themselves behind sand-hills to murder the lag- gards, they were profoundly dejected. - They found all the wells, which at intervals street dogs. border the road through the desert, destroyed by the Arabs. There were left only a few drops of brack- ish water, wholly insufficient for quenching their thirst. They had been informed that they should find refreshments at Damanhour, but they met with nothing there but miserable huts, and could procure neither bread nor wine; only lentils in great abundance, and a little water. They were obliged to proceed again into the desert. Bonaparte saw the brave Lannes and Murat take off their hats, dash them on the sand, and trample them under foot. He, however, overawed all: his pres- ence imposed silence, and sometimes restored cheerful- 98 THE FRENCH IN EGYPT ness. The soldiers would not impute their sufferings to him, but grew angry with those who took pleasure in observing the country. On seeing the men of science stop to examine the slightest ruins, they said they should not have been there but for them, and revenged them- selves with witticisms after their fashion. Caffarelli, in particular, brave as a grenadier, and inquisitive as a scholar, was considered by them as the man who had deceived the general and drawn him into this distant country. As he had lost a leg on the Rhine, they said, " He, for his part, laughs at this: he has one foot in France." At last, after severe hardships, endured at first with impatience, and afterwards with gaiety and fortitude, they reached the Nile on the 10th of July, after a march of four days. At the sight of the Nile and of the water so much longed for, the soldiers flung themselves into it, and, bathing in its waves, forgot their fatigues. Desaix' division, which from the advance- guard had become the rear-guard, saw two or three hun- dred Mamluks galloping before it, whom they dispersed by a few volleys of grape. These were the first that had been seen, which warned the French that they would speedily fall in with the hostile army. The brave Murad Bey, having received the intelligence of the arrival of Bonaparte, was actually collecting his forces around Cairo. Until they should have assembled, he was hover- ing with a thousand horse about the army, in order to watch its march. The army waited at Ramanieh for the arrival of the flotilla. It rested till July 13th, and set out on the same ENGAGEMENT WITH MURAD BEY 99 day for Chebreiss. Murad Bey was waiting there with his Mamluks. The flotilla, which had set out first and preceded the army, found itself engaged before it could be supported. Murad Bey had a flotilla also, and from the shore he joined his fire to that of his light Egyptian vessels. The French flotilla had to sustain a very severe combat. Perree, a naval officer who commanded it, dis- played extraordinary courage; he was supported by the cavalry, who had come dismounted to Egypt, and who, until they could equip themselves at the expense of the Mamluks, had taken their passage by water. Two gun- boats were retaken from the enemy, and Perree was repulsed. At that moment the army came up; it was composed of five divisions, and had not yet been in action with its singular enemies. To swiftness and the charge of horse, and to sabre-cuts, it would be necessary to oppose the immobility of the foot-soldier, his long bayonet, and masses presenting a front on every side. Bonaparte formed his five divisions into five squares, in the centre of which were placed the baggage and the staff. The artillery was at the angles. The five divisions flanked one another. Murad Bey flung upon these living citadels a thousand or twelve hundred intrepid horse; who, bear- ing down with loud shouts and at full gallop, discharging their pistols, and then drawing their formidable sabres, threw themselves upon the front of the squares. En- countering everywhere a hedge of bayonets and a tremendous fire, they hovered about the French ranks, fell before them, or scampered off in the plain at the 100 THE FKENCH IN EGYPT utmost speed of their horses. Murad Bey, after losing a few of his bravest men, retired for the purpose of proceeding to the point of the Delta, and awaiting them near Cairo at the head of all his forces. This action was sufficient to familiarise the army with this new kind of enemy, and to suggest to Bonaparte the kind of tactics which he ought to employ with them. He pursued his march towards Cairo, and the flotilla as- cended the Mle abreast of the army. It marched without intermission during the following days, and, although the soldiers had fresh hardships to endure, they kept close to the Mle, and could bathe every night in its waters. The army now approached Cairo, where the decisive battle was to be fought. Murad Bey had collected here the greater part of his Mamluks, nearly ten thousand in number, and they were attended by double the number of fellahs, to whom arms were given, and who were obliged to fight behind the intrenchments. He had also assembled some thousands of janizaries, or spahis, de- pendent on the pasha, who, notwithstanding Bonaparte's letter of conciliation, had suffered himself to be per- suaded to join his oppressors. Murad Bey had made preparations for defence on the banks of the Nile. The great capital, Cairo, is situated on the right bank of the river, and on the opposite bank Murad Bey had pitched his tent, in a long plain extending from the river to the pyramids of Gizeh. On the 21st of July, the French army set itself in motion before daybreak. As they approached, they saw the min arets of Cairo shooting up; they saw the pyra- BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS 101 mids increase in height; they saw the swarming mul- titude which guarded Embabeh; they saw the glistening arms of ten thousand horsemen resplendent with gold and steel, and forming an immense line. The face of Bonaparte beamed with enthusiasm. He began to gallop before the ranks of the sol- diers, and, pointing to the pyramids, he ex- claimed, " Consider, that from the summit of those pyramids forty centuries have their eyes fixed upon you." In the battle of the Pyramids, as it was called, the ene- my's force of sixty thousand men was almost completely an- nihilated. The Mam- luks, bewildered by European tactics, impaled themselves upon the bayonets of the French squares. Fifteen thousand men of all arms fell upon the field. The battle had cost the French scarcely a hundred killed and wounded; for, if defeat is terrible for broken squares, the loss is insignificant for victorious squares. The Mamluks had lost their best GATHEEINO DATES. 102 .THE FRENCH IN EGYPT horsemen by fire or water: their forces were dispersed, and the possession of Cairo secured. The capital was in extraordinary agitation. It contained more than three hundred thousand inhabitants, many of whom were in- dulging in all sorts of excesses, and intending to profit by the tumult to pillage the rich palaces of the beys. The French flotilla, however, had not yet ascended the Nile, and there was no means of crossing to take pos- session of Cairo. Some French traders who happened to be there were sent to Bonaparte by the sheikhs to arrange concerning the occupation of the city. He pro- cured a few light boats, or djerms, and sent across the river a detachment of troops, which at once restored tranquillity, and secured persons and property from the fury of the populace. Bonaparte established his headquarters at Gizeh, on the banks of the Nile, where Murad Bey had an imposing residence. A considerable store of provisions was found both at G-izeh and at Embabeh, and the soldiers could make amends for their long privations. No sooner had he settled in Cairo than he hastened to pursue the same policy which he had already adopted at Alexandria, and by which he hoped to gain the country. The essential point was to obtain from the sheikhs of the mosque of Jemil-Azar a declaration in favour of the French. It corresponded to a papal bull among Christians. On this occasion Bonaparte exerted his utmost address, and was completely successful. The great sheikhs issued the de- sired declaration, and exhorted the Egyptians to submit to the envoy of God, who reverenced the Prophet, and THE EEENCH IN MIDDLE EGYPT 103 who had come to deliver his children from the tyranny of the Mamluks. Bonaparte established a divan at Cairo, as he had done at Alexandria, composed of the principal sheikhs, and the most distinguished inhabitants. This divan, or municipal council, was intended to serve him in gaining the minds of the Egyptians, by consulting it, and learning from it all the details of the internal ad- ministration. It was agreed that similar assemblies should be established in all the provinces, and that these subordinate divans should send deputies to the divan of Cairo, which would thus be the great national divan. Bonaparte resolved to leave the administration of jus- tice to the cadis. In execution of his scheme of succeed- ing to the rights of the Mamluks, he seized their property, and caused the taxes previously imposed to continue to be levied for the benefit of the French army. For this purpose it was requisite that he should have the Kopts at his disposal. He omitted nothing to attach them to him, holding out hopes to them of an amelioration of their condition. He sent generals with detachments down the Nile to complete the occupation of the Delta, which the army had merely traversed, and sent others towards the Upper Nile, to take possession of Middle Egypt. Desaix was placed with a division at the entrance of Upper Egypt, which he was to conquer from Murad Bey, as soon as the waters of the Nile should subside in the autumn. Each of the generals, furnished with detailed instructions, was to repeat in the country what had been done at Alexandria and at Cairo. They were to court the sheikhs, to win the Kopts, and to establish the levy 104 THE FEENCH IN EGYPT of the taxes in order to supply the wants of the army. Bonaparte was also attentive to keep up the relations with the neighbouring countries, in order to uphold and to appropriate to himself the rich commerce of Egypt. He appointed the Emir Hadgi, an officer annually chosen at Cairo, to protect the great caravan from Mecca. He wrote to all the French consuls on the coast of Barbary to inform the beys that the Emir Hadgi was appointed, and that the caravans might set out. At his desire the sheikhs wrote to the sherif of Mecca, to acquaint him that the pilgrims would be protected, and that the caravans would find safety and protection. The pasha of Cairo had followed Ibraham Bey to Belbeys. Bonaparte wrote to him, as well as to the several pashas of St. Jean d'Acre and Damascus, to assure them of the good disposition of the French towards the Sublime Porte. The Arabs were struck by the character of the young conqueror. They could not comprehend how it was that the mortal who wielded the thunderbolt should be so merciful. They called him the worthy son of the Prophet, the favourite of the great Allah, and sang in the great mosque a litany in his praise. Napoleon, in carrying out his policy of conciliating the natives, was present at the Nile festival, which is one of the greatest in Egypt. It was on the 18th of August that this festival was held. Bonaparte had or- dered the whole army to be under arms, and had drawn it up on the banks of the canal. An immense concourse of people had assembled, who beheld with joy the brave man of the West attending their festivals. <> : r*" V t~ T( ■•, ■.; ; Courtyard of the House of Quasim Bey FOREIGN TRADE 155 of the country, the pasha turned his attention to another enterprise, the accomplishment of which is always some- what difficult after a lengthy crisis. He wished to en- courage and regulate the payment of taxes without hin- dering the financial operations of private individuals. To this end, he re-established the custom of receiving tribute in kind, and to support the payment of this trib- ute he organised the export trade. A thousand vessels built at his own expense ploughed the waters of the Nile in all directions, and conveyed Egyptian produce to the shores of the Mediterranean, where huge warehouses stored the goods destined for foreign countries. Mehemet Ali preserved a continual intercourse with foreign merchants, and the country owed many fortunate innovations to these relations: agriculture was enriched by several productions hitherto unknown. A Frenchman, M. Jumel, introduced improvements in the production of cotton, whilst M. Drovetti, the pasha's tried friend, helped to further the establishment of manufactories by his advice and great experience of men and things. Be- fore long, cotton mills were built, cloth factories, a sugar refinery, rum distillery, and saltpetre works erected. The foreign trade despatched as much as seven million ardebs of cereals every year, and more than six hundred thousand bales of cotton. In return, European gold flowed into the treasury of this industrious pasha, and the revenues of Egypt, which hitherto had never exceeded $150,000,000, were more than doubled in 1816. The very slight success which Mehemet Ali had ob- tained when commanding the irregular forces during the 166 THE RULE OF MEHEMET ALI expedition against the Wahabis decided him to put a long-cherished idea into execution, namely, to organise an army on European lines. Henceforth this became the sole occupation of the enterprising pasha and the exclu- sive goal of his perseverance. The Nizam-Jedyd was pro- claimed in the month of July, 1815, and all the troops were ordered to model themselves after the pattern of the French army. This large undertaking, which in 1807 had cost Selim III. his life, proved almost as fatal to Mehemet AM. A terrible insurrection broke out amongst the alien sol- diers, who principally composed the army; the infuriated troops rose against the tyrant and the unbeliever, the palace was pillaged, and the pasha had scarcely time to seek the shelter of his citadel. His only means of saving his life and recovering his authority was solemnly to promise to abandon his plan. Mehemet Ali therefore deferred his military schemes and awaited the oppor- tunity to test its success upon the natives, who would be far more easily managed than the excitable strangers, brought up as they were on the old traditions of the Okaz and the Mamluks. The war which still raged in Arabia gave him the means of ridding himself of the most in- domitable men, whom he despatched to Hedjaz under the command of Ibrahim Pasha, his eldest son. Now came success to console Mehemet Ali for the failure of his reformatory plans. After a long series of disasters, Ibrahim succeeded, in the year 1818, in taking Abd Allah Ibn-Sonud, the chief of the Wahabis, prisoner. He sent him to the Great Pasha, a name often applied IBRAHIM APPOINTED PASHA 157 to Mehemet Ali in Egypt, at Cairo, bearing a portion of the jewels taken from the temple at Mecca. The un- fortunate man was then taken to Constantinople, where his punishment bore testimony to the victory rather than the clemency of his conquerors. In reward for his services, the sultan sent Ibrahim a mantle of honour and named him Pasha of Egypt, which title con- ferred on him the high- est rank among the viziers and pashas, and even placed him above his own father in the hierarchy of the digni- taries of the Turkish Empire. At the same time Mehemet Ali was raised to the dignity of khan, an attribute of the Ottomans, and the greatest distinction ob- tainable for a pasha, inasmuch as it was formerly ex- clusively reserved for the sovereigns of the Crimea. After destroying Daryeh, the capital of Nedj, Me- hemet Ali conceived the idea of extending his possessions in the interior of Africa, and of subduing the country of the negroes, where he hoped to find much treasure. He accordingly sent his son, Ishmail Pasha, with five thousand men, upon this expedition, which ended most THB COTTON PLANT. 158 THE EULE OF MEHEMET ALI disastrously with the murder of Ishmail and his guard by Melek Nemr, and the destruction of the remainder of his forces. In the year 1824, Sultan Mahmud, realising the im- possibility of putting down the Greek insurrection by his own unaided forces, bent his pride sufficiently to ask help of his vassal Mehemet All Mehemet was now in possession of a well-drilled army and a well-equipped fleet, which were placed at the service of the sultan, who promised him in return the sovereignty of Crete, the pashalie of Syria, and possibly the reversion of Morea for his son Ibrahim. The Greeks, deceived by their easy successes over the undisciplined Turkish hosts, failed to realise the greatness of the danger which threatened them. The Egyptian fleet managed, without serious opposition, to enter the Archipelago, and, in December, 1824, Ibrahim, to whom Mehemet Ali had entrusted the supreme command of the expedition, established his base in Crete, within striking distance of the Greek main- land. The following February he landed with four thou- sand regular infantry and five hundred cavalry at Modon, in the south of Morea. The Greeks were utterly unable to hold their own against the well-disciplined fellaheen of Ibrahim Bey, and, before the end of the year, the whole of the Pelo- ponnesus, with the exception of a few strongholds, was at the mercy of the invader, and the report was spread that Ibrahim intended to deport the Greek population and re-people the country with Moslem negroes and Arabs. THE GREEK EXPEDITION 159 The only barrier opposed to the entire extinction of the Greek population was their single stronghold of Missolonghi, which was now besieged by Rashid Pasha and the Turks. If Ibrahim had joined his forces with the besieging army of the Turks, Missolonghi could hardly have resisted their combined attack, and the Greek race would have been in danger of suffering anni- hilation. Meanwhile the Great Powers of Europe were seri- ously concerned with this threatened destruction of the Greeks. England proposed a joint intervention in de- fence of Greece on the part of the Powers, but Russia desired to act alone. A huge army was gradually con- centrated upon the Turkish frontier. The Greek leaders now offered to place Greece under British protection, and the Duke of Wellington was sent to St. Petersburg to arrange the terms of the proposed joint intervention. A protocol was signed at St. Petersburg April 4, 1826, whereby England and Russia pledged themselves to co- operate in preventing any further Turco-Egyptian agres- sion. A more definite agreement was reached in Septem- ber, aiming at the cutting off of Ibrahim in Morea by a united European fleet, thus forcing the Turks and Egyptians to terms. On July 6, 1827, a treaty was signed at London, between England, France, and Russia, which empowered the French and English admirals at Smyrna to part the combatants — by peaceful means if possible, and if not, by force. Admiral Codrington at once sailed to Nauplia. The Greeks were willing to accept an armistice, but the Turks 160 THE RULE OF MEHEMET ALI scorned the offer. At about this time an Egyptian fleet of ninety-two vessels sailed from Alexandria and joined the Ottoman fleet in the bay of Navarino (September 7th). Five days later Admiral Codrington arrived and informed the Turkish admiral that any attempt to leave the bay would be resisted by force. French vessels had also arrived, and Ibrahim agreed not to leave the bay without consulting the sultan. A Greek flotilla having destroyed a Turkish flotilla, Ibrahim took this as a breach of the convention and sailed out to sea, but Codrington succeeded in turning him back. Ibrahim now received instructions from the Porte to the effect that he should defy the Powers. A new ultimatum was at once pre- sented and the allied fleet of the European Powers en- tered the bay of Navarino. The Turco-Egyptian fleet was disposed at the bottom of the bay in the form of a crescent. Without further parleying, as the fleet of the English and their allies approached, the Turks and Egyp- tians began to fire, and a battle ensued, apparently with- out plan on either side : the conflict soon became general,, and Admiral Codrington in the Asia opened a broadside upon the Egyptian admiral, and quickly reduced his vessel to a wreck. Other vessels in rapid succession shared the same fate, and the conflict raged with great fury for four hours. When the smoke cleared off, the Turks and Egyptians had disappeared, and the bay was strewn with fragments of their ships. Admiral Codrington now made a demonstration be- fore Alexandria, and Mehemet Ali gladly withdrew his forces from co-operating with such a dangerous ally as ANGLO- EGYPTIAN TREATY 161 the sultan had proved himself to be. Before the French expedition, bound for the Morea, had arrived, all the Egyptian forces had been withdrawn from the Pelo- A DISTINGUISHED EGYPTIAN JEW. ponnesus, and the French only arrived after the Anglo- Egyptian treaty had been signed August 9, 1828. Mebemet Ali's chief ambition had always been to enlarge the circle of regeneration in the East. In Morea he had failed through European intervention. He felt 162 THE EULE OF MEHEMET ALI that his nearer neighbour, Syria, which he had long cov- eted, would be an easier conquest, and he made the pun- ishment of Abdullah Pasha of Acre, against whom he had many grievances, his excuse to the Porte. In reality it was a case of attacking or being attacked. Through a firman of the Divan of Constantinople, which had been published officially to the European Powers, he knew that his secret relations with Mustapha Pasha of Seodra had become known. He knew also that letters had been intercepted in which he offered this pasha money, troops, and a mm unition, while engaging himself to march on the capital of the empire, and that these letters were now in the hand of the Sultan Mahmud. He was also in- formed that the Porte was preparing to send a formidable army to Egypt; and his sound instinct taught him what to do in this position. Ibrahim Pasha was appointed commander-in-chief of the invading army, which was composed of six regiments of infantry, four of cavalry, forty field-pieces, and many siege-pieces. Provisions, artillery, and ammunition were on board the men-of-war. Thousands of baggage camels and ambulances were being collected ready for depar- ture when cholera broke out. Coming from India, after having touched along the coasts of the Persian Grulf, it had penetrated into the caravan to Mecca, where the heat and dearth of water had given it fresh intensity. It raged in the Holy Town, striking down twenty thousand victims, and touched at Jeddah and Zambo, where its effects were very dire. Passing through Suez, it deci- mated the population, and in August it reached Cairo INVASION OF SYEIA 163 and spread to Upper and Lower Egypt. The army did not escape the common scourge, and when about to in- vade Syria was overtaken by the epidemic. Five thou- sand out of ninety thousand perished. All preparations for the expedition were abandoned until a more tem- perate season improved the sanitary conditions. About the beginning of October, 1831, the viceroy gave orders to his son to prepare for departure, and on November 2d the troops started for El Arish, the general meeting-place of the army. Ibrahim Pasha went to Alexandria, whence he embarked with his staff and some troops for landing. Uniting at El Arish, the army marched on Gaza and took possession of that town, dis- persing some soldiers of the Pasha of Acre. Thence it turned to Jaffa, where it met with no resistance, the Turkish garrison having already evacuated the town. At this time the army which had sailed from Alex- andria was cruising about the port of Jaffa, and Ibrahim Pasha landed there and took over the command of the army, which advanced slowly on St. Jean d'Acre, seizing Caiffa to facilitate the anchoring of the fleet, which had landed provisions, artillery, and all kinds of ammuni- tion. After six months' siege and ten hours' fighting, Ibrahim Pasha obtained possession of St. Jean d'Acre, under whose walls fell so many valiant crusaders, and which, since the repulse of Napoleon, had passed for all but impregnable. Abdullah Pasha evinced a desire to be taken to Egypt, and he landed at Alexandria, where he was warmly welcomed by the viceroy, who compli- mented him on his defence. 164 THE KULE OF MEHEMET ALI Hostile in everything to Mehemet Ali, the Porte seized every opportunity of injuring him. When Sultan Mahmud learned of the victory of the viceroy's troops in Syria, he sent one of his first officers to enquire the reason of this invasion. The viceroy alleged grievances against the Pasha of Acre, to which his Highness replied that he alone had the right to punish his subjects. The eyes of Europe were now fixed upon the Levant, where a novel struggle was going on between vassal and suzerain. Authority and liberty were again opposing each other. The Powers watched the struggle with in- tense interest. The viceroy protested against bearing the cost of the war, and demanded the investiture of Syria. Mehemet Ali was then declared a rebel, and a firman was issued against him, in support of which excommunication an army of sixty thousand men advanced across Asia Minor to the Syrian boundaries, while a squadron of twenty-five sail stood in the Dardanelles ready to weigh anchor. The Porte forbade the ambassadors of the Powers to import ammunition into Egypt, for it feared that the viceroy might find a support whose strength it knew only too well. But the viceroy had no need of this, for his former connections with Europe had put him in a posi- tion of independence, whereas the Porte itself was obliged to fall back on this support. Russia, the one of the three Great Powers whose disposition it was to support the authority of the sultan, lent him twenty thousand bayonets, whilst Ibrahim Pasha made his ad- vance to the gates of Constantinople. DAMASCUS SUBMITS 165 Immediately after the taking of St. Jean d'Acre, Ibrahim Pasha, following up his successes, had turned towards Damascus, which town he entered without a MOSQUE OF Jin AD AT CAIRO. blow being struck, the governor and the leading inhab- itants having taken flight. The co mm ander-in-chief es- tablished his headquarters under the walls of the con- quered country, and then marched in three columns on .* 166 THE RULE OF MEHEMET ALI Horns. The battle of Homs (July 8, 1832) demonstrated the vast superiority of the Egyptian troops. On both sides there were about thirty thousand regular soldiers, but the Egyptians were the better organised, the better disciplined, and the more practised in the arts of war. When it is remembered that at Homs the Turks lost two thousand men killed, and 2,500 taken prisoners, while the Egyptian casualties were only 102 killed and 162 wounded, one is not astonished at the enthusiasm with which Ibrahim Pasha wrote after the battle: " I do not hesitate to say that two or three hundred thousand of such troops would cause me no anxiety." It is not surprising that the beaten pashas were so struck with terror that in their flight they abandoned sixteen more pieces of artillery and all the ammunition they had managed to save from their defeat. They fled as if they could not put sufficient distance between them- selves and their redoubtable enemy. This battle foretold the result of the Syrian campaign. The population of Syria seemed to call for the domination of the conqueror; the viceroy protested his submission to the Porte and his desire for peace, and meanwhile Ibrahim Pasha marched forward. The Porte counted on its fleet to guard the Darda- nelles, but it needed an army and a commander to oppose Ibrahim Pasha, who again defeated the Turks at Oulon- Kislak. He then advanced towards the plains of Ana- tolia, where he met Rashid Pasha. It was now December, 1830, and the atmosphere was heavy with a thick fog. The armies opened fire on each THE BATTLE OF KONIAH 167 other on December 21st, with the town of Koniah in the background. The grand vizier was at the head of close on sixty thousand men, while the Egyptian army only comprised thirty thousand, including the Bedouins. The fighting had continued for about six hours when Rashid Pasha was taken prisoner; the news of his capture spread along the Turkish lines and threw them into dis- order, and the Egyptians remained masters of the field, with twenty pieces of mounted cannon and some bag- gage: the Turks had lost only five hundred men, while the Egyptian losses were but two hundred. The battle of Koniah was the last act in the Syrian drama. The sultan's throne was shaken, and its fall might involve great changes in the politics of the world. Ibrahim Pasha was only three days' journey from the Bosphorus, and the way was open to him, with no Turk- ish army to fight and the whole population in his favour. In Constantinople itself Mehemet Ali had a powerful party, and, if the West did not interfere, the Ottoman Empire was at an end. However, European diplomacy considered that, in spite of its weakness, it should still weigh in the balance of the nations. Trembling in the midst of his harem, Sultan Mahmud cried for help, and Russia, his nearest neighbour, heard the call. This was the Power that, either from sympathy or ambition, was the most inclined to come to his aid. The Emperor Nicholas had offered assistance in a letter brought to the sultan by the Russian General Mouravieff, and a Russian squadron appeared in the Bosphorus with eight thousand men for disembarkment. The Russians, 168 THE RULE OF MEHEMET ALI however, agreed not to set foot on shore unless Mehemet Ali should refuse the conditions that were being proposed to him. The viceroy refused the conditions, which lim- ited his possessions to the pashalies of Acre, Tripoli, and Seyd, and which seemed to him incompatible with the glory won by his arms. The sultan did not wish to give up Syria, but that province was no longer his. The sword of Ibrahim had severed the last bonds that fastened it to him, and he was obliged to yield it, as well as the district of Andama. On his side, the viceroy acknowledged himself a vassal of the Porte, and agreed to make an annual payment of the monies he received from the pashas of Syria. This peace was concluded on May 14, 1833, and was called the peace of Kutayeh, after the place where Ibrahim signed it. It was impossible that the convention of Kutayeh should be more than an armistice. The pasha benefited by it too greatly not to desire further advantages, and the sultan had lost so much that he must needs make some attempt at recovery. Mahmud's annoyance was caused by the fact and nature of the dispossession rather than by its material extent. The descendant of the Os- manlis, ever implacable in his hatreds, who had allowed Syria, the cradle of his race, to be wrested from him, now awaited the hour of vengeance. Mehemet Ali knew himself to be strong enough to carry a sceptre ably, and he realised that there would be no need for his numerous pashalies to pass out of his family. Henceforth his mind was filled with thoughts of independence and the rights of succession. EGYPTIAN VICTORY 169 The viceroy and the sultan continued to strengthen their forces, and a conflict occurred near Nezib on June 24, 1839. The Egyptians completely routed their ad- A MtJHAMMBDAlT PBATING PBIEST. versaries, despite the strenuous resistance of the Impe- rial Guard, who, when called upon to surrender, cried in the same words used at Waterloo, " Khasse sultanem 170 THE EULE OF MEHEMET ALI mamatenda darrhi tuffenguini iere Koimas " (" The guards of the sultan surrender arms only to death "). Greatly elated, Ibrahim flung himself into the arms of his companion in glory, Suleiman Pasha. His pre- diction was verified: " This time we will go to Constan- tinople, or they shall come to Cairo." They set out for Constantinople; but the viceroy was again generous. Through the mediation of Captain Caille, aide-de-camp to Marshal Soult, who, in the name of France, demanded a cessation of hostilities, Mehemet Ali desired his son not to proceed into Asia Minor; so the general halted before Aintab, the scene of his victories, as he had done on a former occasion before Kutayeh. Consumptive and exhausted with his excesses, Mah- mud, whose virtue lay in his ardent love of reforms, died before his time, but this untimely demise at least spared him the knowledge of the Nezib disaster and the treason of his fleet, which passed into the hands of the viceroy. Hafiz Pasha, routed by Ibrahim, was arraigned on his return to Constantinople for leading the attack before receiving the official mandate; but the Turkish general produced an autograph of his defunct master. The sultan had been false to the last, and deceived both European ambassadors and the mini sters of the empire, by means of mysterious correspondence, combined with his protes- tations for the maintenance of peace. It was while Mehemet Ali was organising the national guard of Egypt, and arranging the military training of the workmen employed in his many factories, that the unlucky treaty of July 15, 1840, which gave the whole MEHEMET ALI SATISFIED 171 of Syria to the Sublime Porte, was concluded. Four Western Powers had secretly met in London and agreed to deprive the sovereign of the Nile of his conquests, and fling him again at the foot of the throne, which he had treated as a plaything. Mehemet Ali haughtily pro- tested against the desecration of his rights, and France, his faithful ally, with hand on sword-hilt, threatened to draw it against whosoever should touch Egypt. England and Austria covered the Syrian sea-coast with their sails and guns. Beyrut, Latakia, Tortosa, Tripoli, Saida, Tyre, St. Jean d'Acre were bombarded and fell. This formi- dable coalition despatched Lord Napier to Alexandria as negotiator. Mehemet Ali accepted the overtures, and a convention guaranteed to him, as Pasha of Egypt, rights of succession unknown to all other pashalics of the em- pire. The hatti-sherif of January 12, 1841, consolidated this privilege, with, however, certain restrictions which were regarded as inadmissible by France, the viceroy, and the cabinets. A new act of investiture, passed on June 1, 1841, confirmed the viceroy in the possession of Egypt, transmissible to his male heirs, and also in the government of Nubia. Mehemet Ali asked no more, France declared herself satisfied, and, to prove it, became once more a member of the European league by the treaty of July 15, 1841, which, without being directly connected with the European question, dealing as it did with the claims of Turkey upon the Dardanelles, implied, none the less, accordance upon the Eastern situation. As a token of reconciliation, the Ottoman Porte soon raised its former rival, Mehemet Ali, to the rank of sadrazam. 172 THE RULE OF MEHEMET ALI The political history of Mehemet Ali was now at an end. All the results, good or bad, of his career, had reached fulfilment. As a vanquished conqueror he had been able to remain firm in the midst of catastrophe; his fatherly ideas and feelings had been his salvation. Had he been absolutely heroic, he would have considered it a duty, for his courage and his name's sake, to carry the struggle on to the bitter end, and to perish in the whirlpool he had raised. He showed that he desired to act thus, but in his children's interests he refrained, and this was, we believe, the only influence of importance which made him give way. It is true that there was not much difference between a throne crumbling to ruins, or one built thereon; such as it was, however, it seemed firmly secured to his children, and it was for them to strengthen the foundations. The pasha considered this a fitting reward for his labours; as for himself, he was over seventy years of age, and ready to lay down his burdens. A man without learning and surrounded by barbarian soldiers, Mehemet Ali appears before the world as nature made him. Dissimulation, diplomacy, and deceit, coupled with capability, great courage, genius, and much perse- verance, brought him to the head of the government of Egypt. To gain his ends he flattered the powerful TJlemas who were the nation's representatives to the sultan, but, once having obtained his object, he dismissed them. Though a clever politician, he was a bad adminis- trator. Being alternately blindly confident and extremely EGYPTIAN HABEM. CHARACTER OF MEHEMET ALI 175 suspicious, he did not choose well the men he employed as his auxiliaries, and, being a Turk and a devout Mussul- man, Mehemet Ali wished to give back to the Turks the power they had lost. He only took account of the results of any undertaking, without paying any attention to the difficulties surmounted in its execution, and this charac- teristic made him commit many injustices. It was his habit to treat men as levers, which he put aside when he had no further use for them. He was quick of appre- hension, and of very superior intelligence, and his whole character was a mixture of generosity and meanness, of greatness and littleness. Mehemet Ali was an affable, an easy business man, and dominated by a desire to talk. He enjoyed relating the incidents of his past life, and, when not preoccupied by affairs of importance, his conversation was full of charm. The foreigners who visited bim were always much impressed with his superiority, while his livery humour, his freedom, and that air of good nature he knew so well how to adopt, all captivated his visitors. The expression of his face was exceedingly mobile, and quickly communicated itself to the men who surrounded him, who were in constant observation of his moods, so that one could judge of the state of mind of the viceroy by the calm or disturbed appearance of his servants. When Mehemet Ali was anxious, his look became fierce, his forehead wrinkled, and his eyes shone with anger, while his speech was broken and his manner brusque and imperious. As regards those in his service, Mehemet Ali was by turns severe or gentle, tolerant or 176 THE RULE OE MEHEMET ALI impatient, irascible, and surprisingly forbearing. He was jealous of the glory of others, and desired all honours for himself. He was an enemy of all that was slow. He liked to do everything, to decide everything, and worked night and day. All letters, notices, and mem- oranda that referred to his government, he read him- self or had them read to him. Picked men translated French and English political newspapers into Turkish,, and he encouraged discussion on all subjects of high interest, although generally imposing his own opinion. He did not always keep strictly to his word. He was a stoic, and great pain could not destroy his habitual gaiety, and when. very ill he would still speak affably to those around him; but illnesses with him were rare,, for his health was, as a rule, excellent. He was very careful about his appearance, and was fond of women without being their slave; in his youth his life had been dissolute. He was above the prejudices of his nation,, and prayed very often, although a fatalist. At the age of forty-five he learned to read, and he held European learning in great esteem, confessing it superior to that of Turkey; but he continued to regard European scientists and artists only as salaried for- eigners, whom he hastened to replace by natives as soon as he considered the latter sufficiently enlightened. Mehemet Ali made one great mistake, with which his nearest servants reproach him, and that is with not having introduced into his family learned men from Europe, picked men devoted to his cause, and well versed in the special things of which his country was in need. DOMESTIC EEFOEMS 177 Had they been brought into a close contact with the viceroy, and. admitted unreservedly to all the privileges the Turks enjoyed, these men would have adopted Egypt as their country. They would have spoken the language and have become the sentinels and safeguards necessary for the maintenance of useful institutions which the Turks either refused or did not understand. During the administration of Mehemet Ah, public hygiene was not neglected, and a sanitary council watched over the health of the country. Measures were taken to increase the cleanliness and sanitation of the towns; military hospitals were built, and a lazarette was es- tablished at Alexandria, whilst vaccine was widely used. In the country the planting of many trees helped the atmosphere, and Egypt, which Europeans had hitherto regarded as the seat of a permanent plague epidemic, became more and more a healthy and pleasurable resort. Mehemet, whose aims were always for the furthering of Egyptian prosperity, profited by the leisure of peace to look after the industrial works. Two great projects that occupied his attention were the Nile dams and the construction of a railway from Suez to Cairo. The actual condition of the canalisation of Egypt, while vastly improved by the viceroy, was still far from complete. Canals, partial dams, and embankments were attempted; fifty thousand draw-wells carried the water up to a considerable height, but the system of irrigation was insufficient. The railway from Cairo to Suez was an easier, though not less important, work. The road crossed neither 178 THE EULE OF MEHEMET ALI mountain, river, nor forest, while a series of little plains afforded a firm foundation, requiring very few earth- works. Its two iron arms stretched out into the desert, and steam-engines could traverse the distance from the Nile to the Red Sea in three hours. Suez would thus become a suburb of Cairo, and thus, being brought closer to Egypt, would regain her trade. This enterprise, just as the former one, gave promise of bringing to Egypt the two sources of national wealth and prosperity: agriculture and trade. The agricultural unity which Mehemet Ali consti- tuted enabled him to bring about improvements which with private proprietorship would have been impossible. The fellah, careless of to-morrow, did not sow for future reaping, and made no progress, but when Mehemet Ali undertook the control of agricultural labour in Egypt, the general aspect of the country changed, though, in truth, the individual condition of the fellah was not improved. Besides the work of irrigation by means of canals, dykes, and banks, and the introduction of the cultivation of indigo, cotton, opium, and silk, the viceroy had also planted thousands of trees of various kinds, including 100,000 walnut-trees; he ordered the maimours, or prefects, to open up the roads between the villages, and to plant trees. He wished the villages, towns, and hamlets to be ornamented, as in Europe, with large trees, under whose shelter the tired traveller could rest. In the various districts were vast tracts of land which for a long time the plough had not touched. Con- cessions of these lands were made to Franks, Turks, DEATH OF MEHEMET ALI 181 Greeks, and Armenians, which concessions were free, and for a term of seven or eight years, while the guarantees were exempt from taxes. During the closing years of his lif e, between 1841 and 1849, Mehemet occupied himself with improvements in Egypt. He continued to prosecute his commercial specu- lations, and manufacturing, educational, and other schemes. The barrage of the Nile, which has only been finished during the British occupation, was begun under his direction. In 1847 he visited Constantinople, and was received with the rank of a vizier. In the year 1848 symptoms of imbecility appeared, and his son Ibrahim was declared his successor. After a reign of only two months he died. Mehemet Ali's death occurred on the 3rd of August, 1849. His direct successor was his grand- son, Abbas Pasha, who held the sceptre of Egypt as the direct heir of Ibra him Pasha. This prince took but little interest in the welfare of his country. He had in him no spark of the noble ambition of his predecessor, and no trace of his genius, and he showed no desire for progress or reforms. He was a real prince of the ancient East, suspicious, sombre, and careless of the destiny of the country entrusted to his care. He liked to withdraw to the privacy of his palace, and, isolated in the midst of his guards, to live that life of the distrustful and volup- tuous despots of the East. The palace of Bar-el-Beda, which he had built on the road to Suez in the open desert, a palace without water, lifting its head in the solitude like a silent witness of a useless life and tragic death, impresses the traveller with astonishment and fear. 182 THE EULE OF MEHEMET ALI Abbas Pasha was weak in his negotiations with the European Powers, and this was well for Egypt, as their representative was able to hold in check his silent hos- tility to Western civilisation. Such guardianship is use- ful when exercised over a prince like Abbas Pasha, but it tends to become troublesome and baneful when it at- tempts to interfere with the government of an active and enlightened sovereign animated by just and generous intentions. Muhammed Said, the successor of Abbas Pasha, was born in 1822, nine years later than his nephew Abbas. He was brought up in Europe by French professors, and M. Kornig, a distinguished Orientalist, remained with his pupil and became his secretary. He not only in- structed him in all branches of knowledge becoming to his rank, but also developed in him a love of European civilisation and noble sentiments, of which he gave proof from the moment of his accession. He was imbued with liberal principles, which in an Eastern potentate give proof of great moral superiority, and in this respect Muhammed Said was second to no prince in Europe. He worked for the emancipation of his subjects and the civilisation of Egypt, and was not content to produce that superficial civilisation which consists in transplant- ing institutions that the mass of the people could not understand. Said Pasha endeavoured to pursue his father's policy and to carry out his high aims. He had not, however, the strength of character nor the health necessary to meet the serious difficulties involved in such a task, and he will be chiefly remembered by his abolition ISMAIL PASHA 183 of the more grinding government monopolies, and for the concession of the Suez Canal. After his death Said Pasha was succeeded in the vice- royalty by his nephew, Ismail Pasha, who was proclaimed viceroy without opposition early in the year 1863. Ismail, the first who accepted the title of khedive from the sul- tan, was born on December 31, 1830, being the second of the three sons of Ibrahim, and grandson of Mehemet ALL He had been educated at the Ecole d'Etat Major at Paris, and when Ahmed, the eldest son of rorahim, died in 1858, Ismail became the heir to his uncle Said. He had been employed, after his return to Egypt, on missions to the sovereign pontiff; the emperor, Napoleon HL; and the Sultan of Turkey. In the year 1861 he was despatched with an army of 18,000 men to quell an insurrection in the Sudan, which undertaking he brought to a successful conclusion. On ascending the throne he was much grat- ified to find that, on account of the scarcity of cotton, resulting from the Civil War in America, the revenues had very considerably increased from the export of the Egyptian cotton. At this date the cotton crop was worth $125,000,000, instead of $25,000,000, which was the nor- mal value of the Egyptian output. It was a very serious misfortune to Egypt that during his sojourn abroad Ismail had learned many luxurious ways, and had also discovered that European nations were accustomed to make free use of their credit in raising sums of money for their immediate advantage. From this moment Ismail started upon a career which gave to Egypt, in the eyes of the world, a fictitious grandeur, and which 184 THE RULE OF MEHEMET ALI made Mm one of the most talked-of rulers among the cabinets and peoples of the European countries. He began by transferring his own private debts to the state, and thereafter looked upon Egypt merely as his private estate, and himself as the sovereign landholder. Without any sense of his responsibility to the Egyptians them- selves, he increased his own fame throughout Europe in the sumptuous fashion of a spendthrift millionaire. He deemed it necessary for his fame that Egypt should possess institutions modelled upon those of European countries, and he applied himself with energy to achieve this, and without any stint of expense. By burdening posterity for centuries to come, Ismail, during the two decades subsequent to his accession, always had a supply of ready money with which to dazzle European guests. During his entire reign Egypt swarmed with financiers and schemers of every description, to whom the compla- cent Ismail lent an only too willing ear. In the year 1866, in return for an increase of tribute, he obtained from the sultan a firman giving him the title of khedive (Turkish, hhidewi, a king), and changing the law of succession to that of direct descent from father to son; and in 1873 he obtained a new firman, purchased again at an immense cost to his subjects, which rendered him practically independent of the sultan. Ismail pro- jected vast schemes of internal reform. He remodelled the system of customs and the post-office, stimulated com- mercial progress, and created the Egyptian sugar indus- try. He introduced European improvements into Cairo and Alexandria; he built vast palaces, entertained vis- ISMAIL IN ENGLAND 185 itors with lavish generosity, and maintained an opera and a theatre. By his order the distinguished composer, Verdi, produced the famous opera " Aida " for the enter- tainment of his illustrious guests on the occasion of their visit to Egypt during the festivities connected with the opening of the Suez Canal. On this occasion Mariette Bey ransacked the tombs of the ancient Egyptian kings A FELLAH PLOWING. in order to reproduce in a lifelike manner the costumes and scenery appropriate for the occasion. The opening of this canal gave Ismail much promi- nence in the courts of Europe. He was made a Grand Commander of the Bath, and the same year visited Paris and London, where he was received by Queen Victoria and welcomed by the lord mayor. In 1869 he again visited London. By his great power of fascination and 186 THE EULE OE MEHEMET ALI lavish expenditure he was ever able to make a striking impression upon the foreign courts. During the opening of the canal, when Ismail gave and received royal honours, treating monarehs as equals, and being treated by them in like manner, the jealousy of the sultan was aroused. Ismail, however, contrived judiciously to appease the suspicions of his overlord, Abdul Aziz. In the year 1876 the old system of consular juris- diction for foreigners was abolished, and the system of mixed courts was introduced, by which European and native judges sat together to try all civil cases, without respect to nationality. In the year 1874 Darfur, a province in the Sudan west of Kordofan, was annexed by Ismail. He also en- gaged in a disastrous war against the Abyssinians, who had ever shown themselves capable of resisting the in- roads of Egyptians, Muhammedans, Arabs, and even of European invaders, as was proven by the annihilation of a large Italian army of invasion, and the abandonment of the campaign against Abyssinia by the Italians in the closing years of the nineteenth century. It was true that Ismail had attempted to carry out the great schemes of his grandfather for the regeneration of the Orient, and it is possible that, if the jealousy of European Powers had not prevented the army of Ibrahim Bey from controlling immense territories in Syria and Anatolia, which they had won by conquest, that the re- generation of the Orient might have been accomplished at least a century earlier. No people would have benefited more by the success of Mehemet Ali's policy than the < a « THE EEGENERATION OP EGYPT 189 Christian people who to-day are under the rule of the barbarous Turks. With the regeneration of the Orient, the trade of European nations in the East would have been very largely increased. The policy of regeneration, wisely begun by Mehemet All, was resumed within Egypt itself in a spendthrift manner by his grandson Ismail. Every act of his reign, with its ephemeral and hollow magnificence, moved towards the one inevitable result of foreign intervention. The price of all the transient splendour was the surren- der by slow degrees of the sovereignty and independence of Egypt itself. The European Powers of late have withdrawn their interest in the betterment of the native populations in the Asiatic dominions of the sultan, and have concerned themselves exclusively with the imme- diate interests of commerce and the enforcement of debts contracted to European bondholders. All progress in the later history of Egypt has originated in the desire of the European Powers to see Egypt in a position capa- ble of meeting her indebtedness to foreign bondholders. In so far as the cry raised of " Egypt for the Egyp- tians " was a protest against forcing the Egyptians to pay for an assumed indebtedness which was at least four times greater than anything they had actually re- ceived, no movement was ever more just and righteous than the protest of the fellaheen against foreign control, a movement which has been chiefly associated with the name of Arabi Pasha. The issue of Ismail's financial troubles was most ignominious and disastrous to Egypt, after nearly a hundred years of heroic struggles to keep 190 THE RULE OF MEHEMET ALI pace with the progress of modern Europe. Had Ismail modelled his career upon that of his illustrious grand- father, rather than that of Napoleon III., with which it shows many striking parallels, it is probable that the advantage secured to Egypt through the British occupa- tion might have resulted in political and financial inde- pendence. When the crash came, and the order for his deposition was sent by the sultan, Ismail resigned the khedivate in complete submission; and, taking away with him a large private fortune and a portion of the royal harem, he spent the remainder of his life in retirement at Naples and Constantinople, and was buried with solemn pomp in the royal cemetery at Cairo. PAKT OF CAIRO, SHOWING THE MULQUFS ON THE HOUSES OF MODERN EGTPT. TOMES OF BENI HASAN. CHAPTER IV THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT Ismail deposed : Tewflk Pasha : Revolt of Arabi Pasha : Lord Wolseley and the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir : The Mahdist Rising : General Gordon in the Sudan : Death of Gordon : The Sudan abandoned and re-conquered : Battle of Omdurman : Khartum College : Financial Stability : Abbas II. : Education, Law, and the improved condition of the Fellaheen: The Caisse de la Dette. I HE official deposition of Ismail Pasha by the sultan of Turkey, Abdul Hamid, oc- curred on June 26, in the year 1879, and his son Tewfik assumed the khedivate, becoming practically the protege of Eng- land and Egypt. To understand how this came to pass, it is necessary to review the account of the financial embarrassments of Ismail. In twelve years he had ex- tracted more than $400,000,000 from the fellaheen in taxes. He had borrowed another $400,000,000 from Europe at the same time, of which nominal sum he 191 192 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT probably received $250,000,000 in cash. The loans were ostensibly contracted for public works. Possibly ten per cent, of the borrowed money was profitably laid out. The railways were extended; Upper Egypt was studded with sugar factories,— most of them doomed to failure,— and certain roads and gardens were made about the city of Cairo. The remainder of this enormous sum of money was spent in purchasing a change in the law of succession, and the new title of khedive; in disastrous Abyssinian campaigns; in multiplying shoddy palaces, and in per- sonal extravagance, which combined Oriental profusion with the worst taste of the Second Empire. Useless works engaged the corvee; the fellaheen were evicted from vast tracts, which became ill-managed estates ; and their crops, cattle, and even seed were taken from them by the tax-gatherers, so that they died by hundreds when a low Nile afflicted the land. The only persons who flourished in Ismail's time were foreign speculators and adventurers of the lowest type. As these conditions be- came more serious, the khedive attempted to find some means of protection against the concession-monger. He adopted a suggestion of the wise Nubar Pasha, and in- stituted the mixed tribunals for adjudging civil cases between natives and foreigners. The Powers agreed to the establishment of these tri- bunals, and intended to enforce the decisions of the courts, even in case that Ismail himself were the delin- quent. "When later the khedive repudiated the mixed tribunals, this action precipitated his fall. THE CAISSE DE LA DETTE 193 It became increasingly difficult for the khedive to meet his accumulated obligations. The price of cotton had fallen after the close of the American war, and there was less response from the impoverished people to the Cour- bash, which in 1868 was still more strictly enforced; and soon this enforcement by the mixed tribunal of debts due to foreigners by an agricultural population, who lived by borrowing, and were accustomed to settle their debts by haggling, aggravated the misery of the fellaheen, and led to that universal despair which was to give strength and significance to the Arabist revolt. It was no un- common procedure for the Levantine money-lender to accompany the tax-gatherer into the provinces with a chest of money. He paid the taxes of the assembled and destitute fellaheen, who in return were obliged to give mortgages on their crops or holdings. The desperate state of Egyptian finance, which led to the sale of the precious Suez Canal shares, at last opened the eyes of the bondholders. Mr. G. T. Goschen (Vis- count Goschen) and M. Joubert were deputed to Egypt on behalf of the foreign creditors. The accounts were found to be in a state of wild confusion, with little or no chance of learning the actual facts controlling the financial situation. The minister of finance, or " Mufet- tish," Ismail Pasha Sadeck, was now arrested and ban- ished to Dongola. There was an immediate prospect of a dual control by England and France. Commissioners were appointed to constitute a caisse, or court, for receiving the interest due to the bondholders. The great mass of the debt was 194 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT then unified, but the G-oschen and Joubert arrangement was found to be too severe for the impoverished country. A low Nile and a famine resulted in a demand for an investigation into the administration, and the following year Ismail was obliged to authorise a commission of inquiry. The waste, extravagance, and wholesale extor- tion from the peasantry revealed by this report made a deep impression upon Europe, and Ismail was forced to disgorge the estates which he had received from the fellaheen. In the meantime, the khedive was not inactive in taking measures to prevent the advent of a confirmed foreign control. He created a constitutional ministry, upon whom the responsibility rested for the different branches of the administration. He likewise fomented an outburst of feeling among the Moslems against the foreign element in the constitutional ministry. This was intended to strengthen the pro-Egyptian element in the government, and Ismail thus hoped to demonstrate to the European Powers the uselessness of attempting to subordinate the Egyptians to foreign methods of finance and control. Ismail subsequently dismissed the ministry, and soon afterwards the controllers themselves. Know- ing well the jealousy which existed between England and France, he believed that there was a chance that he might successfully play off one Power against the other. If the Moslems had not been so severely oppressed by tax- ation, and Ismail had acted with courage and firmness, it is probable that he might have held his own, and Egypt might have refused to again accept the dual control. ISMAIL DEPOSED 195 Bismarck now intervened, and hinted to the sultan that he would receive the support of the Powers, and Abdul Hamid immediately sent a telegram to the Egyp- tian government that Ismail Pasha was deposed from the khedivate. At this moment his courage gave way, and Ismail surrendered his throne to his son Tewfik. THE KHEDIVE TEWFIK. Tewfik had the misfortune to enter upon a doleful heritage of an empty treasury, a starving people, and an army ready to mutiny. There were now two parties in Egypt. The military movement was of the least im- portance. The superior posts in the army had been oc- cupied by Circassians since the days of Mehemet ALL 196 THE BKITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT Slave boys were bought and trained as officers. The number and quality of the Circassians had deteriorated, but they still held the most important posts. The fella- heen officers, under Arabi, who had been brought to pro- test against reductions in the military establishment, now claimed that the Circassians should make way for the Egyptians. Together with this military dissatisfaction was also a strong civil movement towards national re- form, which included a number of serious and sensible administrative reforms, which have since been carried out. Arabi Pasha was the leader of the National Party, and had hopes of convincing fair-minded people of the justice of their cause; but many influences, some good and some bad, were at work simultaneously to divert him from constitutional methods towards making his appeal to the violent and fanatical element. Just at this time a divergence between English and French views in dealing with the situation had mani- fested itself, having its root in earlier history. France, now as in 1840, was aiming at the policy of detaching Egypt from the control of the unprogressive Turks; England aimed at the maintenance of the much talked of integrity of the Ottoman Empire. The French premier, G-ambetta, was determined that there should be no in- tervention on the part of the Turks. He drafted the " Identic Note " in January, 1881, and induced Lord Granville, the English Foreign Secretary, to give his assent. This note contained the first distinct threat of foreign intervention. The result was a genuine and spontaneous outburst of Moslem feeling. All parties AEABI PASHA AS DICTATOR 197 united to protest against foreign intervention, joined by the fellaheen, who now saw an opportunity of freeing themselves from foreign usurers, to whom they had be- come so unjustly indebted. Riots broke out in Alex- andria in 1881. Gambetta was replaced by the hesitating Freycinet, who looked upon the intervention with alarm, and upon Germany with suspicion. England was thus at the last moment left to act alone. Past experience had taught her that the destiny of Egypt lay in the hands of the dominant sea-power of the Mediterranean, and that Egypt must not be neglected by the masters of India. After a vain attempt to bring about mediation through Dervish Pasha, the special commissioner of the Porte, it was discovered that the Nationalist Party was too little under control to be utilised in any further negotia- tions. Ahmed Arabi Pasha had greatly increased his influence, and had finally been appointed Minister of War. On the 11th of June there was serious rioting, in which many Greeks and Maltese, four Englishmen, and six Frenchmen were slain. Arabi now stepped forward to preserve order, being at this moment practically the dictator of Egypt. While endeavouring to maintain order, he also threw up earthworks to protect the har- bour of Alexandria, and trained the guns upon the British fleet. The admiral in charge, Sir Beauchamp Seymour, who was waiting for the arrival of the Channel Squadron, sent word to the Egyptians to cease the construction of fortifications. The request was not fully assented to, although it was reinforced by an order from the Porte. An ultimatum was presented on July 10, commanding 198 THE BEITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT Arabi to surrender the forts. The terms were refused, and eight ships and five gunboats prepared for action on the following day. At the same time the French fleet retired upon Port Said. The first shot was fired on July 11th, at seven o'clock in the morning, by the Alexandrians, and in reply an iron hail rained upon the forts of the Egyptians from the guns of the British fleet. Arabi 's troops fought well and aimed correctly, but their missiles were incapable of penetrating the armour of the ironclads. One fort after another was silenced. Lord Charles Beresford, in com- mand of the gunboat Condor, led a brilliant attack upon Fort Marabout. The firing re-opened on the next day, and a flag of truce was soon displayed. After some un- satisfactory parleying the bombardment was resumed, and when a second flag of truce was unfurled it was discovered that Arabi Pasha had retreated to Kefr-el- Dowar, fourteen miles away from Alexandria. On his departure the city was given over to plunder and de- struction. The convicts escaped from the prison, and, joining forces with the Arabs, looted and burned the European quarters. Two thousand persons, mostly Greeks and Levantines, were slain, and an enormous quantity of property destroyed. Admiral Seymour then sent a body of sailors on land, who patrolled the streets and shot down the looters, and order was thus finally restored in Alexandria. The khedive, who was forced to fly for his life to an English steamer, was reinstated in the Ras-el-Tin Palace, under an escort of seven hun- dred marines. The British admiral was afterwards LOED WOLSELEY AT POET SAID 199 severely criticised for not having put a stop to the rioting before it assumed such serious proportions. Arabi's army of 6,000 was now increased by recruits flocking in from every port in Egypt. After considerable pressure had been brought to bear upon the khedive, Tewnk issued a proclamation dismissing Arabi from his service. To enforce the submission of the Arabists, an English army of 33,000 men was gradually landed in Egypt, under the command of Sir Garnet iWolseley, with an efficient staff, including Sir John Adye, Sir Archibald Alison, Sir Evelyn Wood, and General Hamley. An Indian contingent also arrived under Gen- eral Macpherson. Sir Garnet, after making a feint to land near Alex- andria, steamed to Port Said and disembarked, moving up the Suez Canal in order to join forces with the Indian contingent, who were advancing from Suez. Fighting took place over the control of the canal at the Mahsameh and Kassassin Locks, and at the latter place the British cavalry won an important victory over the Egyptian advance-guard. Arabi's stronghold was at Tel-el-Kebir, and the English were very anxious to win a decisive victory before the troops which the sultan was sending from Constantinople under Dervish and Baker Pasha should arrive. On September 12, 1882, preparations had been completed for an advance, and the army of 11,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, with sixty pieces of artillery, moved forward during the night to within a mile of Arabi's lines. The Egyptians had 20,000 regulars, of which number 2,500 were cavalry, with seventy guns, and 200 THE BEITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT they were also aided by 6,000 Bedouins. Though well situated, the army of Arabi was taken by surprise, and the following day, in response to the various flanking movements of the British, directed by Wolseley, and the direct charge of the Highlanders, they made but a very indifferent defence. In a brief space of time the Egyp- tians were in full retreat, Arabi fleeing to Cairo. The Indian contingent occupied Zagazig, and General Drury- Lowe rode with his cavalry for thirty-nine miles, and entered Cairo on the evening of the 14th. Arabi made a dignified surrender, and with him 10,000 men also gave themselves up. The Nationalist movement was now at an end, the various garrisons surrendering one after another, and the greater part of the British army left Egypt, 12,000 men remaining behind to maintain order. The Egyp- tian government wished to try Arabi as a rebel in a secret tribunal. It was generally believed that this would have meant a death sentence. Mr. Wilfrid Blunt, a distinguished British Liberal and a friend of Arabi, who had often expressed his sympathy with the cause of the Nationalists in their endeavour to free Egypt from the slavery of the foreign bondholder, now raised a vig- orous protest in favour of an open trial. He person- ally contributed to the defence of Arabi, and his efforts led to the commutation of the sentence of death to that of perpetual exile in Ceylon — a sentence which was subsequently very much modified. Arabi Pasha re- turned to Egypt in the year 1902, after an exile which had lasted about nine years. GOVERNMENT READJUSTED 201 The difficult task of readjusting the government of Egypt was then undertaken. Proposals were made to France for a modification of the dual control, in which France was offered the presidency of the Debt Commis- sion. France, however, refused to accept the com- promise, and the British government finally determined upon independent action. In place of the officials through PALACE OF THE KHEDIVE AT ALEXANDRIA. whom the two governments had hitherto exercised the control, a single financial adviser was appointed, who was not allowed to take part in the direct administration of the country. The outline of this adjustment was given in a circular note addressed by Lord Granville to the Powers. He declared that an army would remain in Egypt as long as it was required; representative insti- tutions were to be created; the Egyptian army and gen- darmery were to be placed in the hands of Englishmen; 202 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT the Diara estates were to be economically managed; for- eigners were to be placed upon the same footing as natives in regard to taxation. The other Powers, including Tur- key but excluding France, accepted the agreement. The office of financial adviser was given to Sir Edgar Vincent. The important work of the reconstruction of Egypt now began in earnest. Sir Benson Maxwell set about establishing an effective means for the impartial admin- istration of justice, and Colonel Moncrieff undertook the responsibility for the work of irrigation. Mr. Clifford Lloyd created a police system, reorganised the prisons and hospitals, and set free the untried prisoners. Baker Pasha formed a provincial gendarmery, and Sir Evelyn iWood organised an army of six thousand men. In the year 1883, while this work of reconstruction was proceeding, a religious insurrection, which had orig- inated two years previously, was forced upon the notice of the government. It has already been related that the Ismailian sect of the Muhammedans had introduced the doctrine of a coming Messiah, or Mahdi, who was to be the last of the imans, and the incarnation of the universal soul. 1 Not a few impostors had exploited this doctrine to their own advantage, and some of the Arabian tribes were firmly convinced that the Mahdi had come, and that the Mahdis who had appeared to their kinsmen else- where were merely clever charlatans. In the year 1881 Muhammed Ahmet, a religious leader among the Moslem Arabs in the Central African provinces of Kordofan and *See Volume XI., page 375. THE MAHDIST EEVOLT 203 Darfur, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi, and called upon the Muhammedans to initiate a holy war. The Mahdi 's continued advances were rendered pos- sible by the precarious state of affairs in Egypt. After a settlement was effected in 1883, Hicks Pasha, an officer of courage and ability, who had retired from the Indian army, gathered 11,000 men at Omdurman to quell the Mahdist insurrection. "With this force he started up the Nile and struck across the desert to El-Obeid, where his troops were decoyed into a ravine, and after three days' fighting his whole army was a nnihil ated by the Mahdist army numbering about 300,000 men. The entire Sudan then revolted against Egypt. The redoubtable Osman Digna appeared with the Hadendowa Arabs off the coast of the Red Sea, and harassed the Egyptian garrison. Osman defeated Captain Moncrieff and an army of 3,000 Bashi-Bazouks led by Baker Pasha. Egypt, under the advisement of the British government, then attempted to withdraw from the Sudan. It was decided that the western provinces of Kordofan and Dafur should be abandoned, but that important centres like Khartum on the Nile should be preserved, at least for a time. Here all the Egyptian colonists were to congregate. If the revolting Arab tribes, called by the general name of Dervishes, would not come to friendly terms with the settlers, then, in time, it was decided that Khartum itself, and every other locality in the Sudan, should be entirely relinquished, except the ports of the Red Sea. General Gordon was sent to Khartum to make terms with the Mahdi and prepare for eventualities. The 204 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT evacuation of this place was almost immediately decided upon by the British Cabinet, and Gordon arrived on Feb- ruary 18, 1884, but, being unsupported by European troops, he found the position an exceedingly difficult one to maintain. The Mahdi scorned his overtures, and Osman Digna was daily closing in upon the Egyptian port of Suakin. The British then determined to act with vigour. Sinkitat had fallen on February 8th, and to protect Tokar and Suakin they landed four thousand men and fought a fierce battle with nine thousand Hadendowas at El - Teb February 28, 1884. The Egyptian garrison of To- kar, when the British army arrived, was found to have compromised with the Mahdists. Later on was fought the battle of Tamai against Osman Digna, dur- ing which a body of Arabs rushed the British guns and broke up the formation of their square. The Brit- ish were on the point of defeat, but they managed to recover the lost guns, and scatter the Hadendowas. General Gordon's situation was now extremely crit- ical. It was hoped that an army might advance from Suakin across the desert to Berber, and then ascend the OSMAN DIGNA. GORDON AT KHARTUM 205 Nile to Khartum. In the meantime, Gordon urgently; called for help, and, after interminable delays, in the autumn of 1884, an English army under Lord Wolseley started up the Nile to relieve him. The troops of Wolse- ley were aided by a camel corps of one thousand men, who were organised to make a rush across the desert. On the 16th of January, 1885, the camel troops came up with the enemy and fought the decisive battle of iMatammeh. The Mahdist troops were mown down by rifles and G-atling-guns as soon as they were within short range. Immediately after the battle, Sir Charles Wilson determined to use the Egyptian flotilla to make an im- mediate advance. The steamers were protected, and a small relief force started on January 24th. They came in sight of Khartum on the 28th, but were fired upon from every side. At this moment, a native called from the bank that the city had fallen, and that the heroic Gordon had been killed. A history of Egypt would be incomplete without some account of that leader whose bravery, humanitarian views, and understanding of the Oriental character have made him famous among the pioneers of Christian civ- ilisation in Asia and Africa. Fresh from his laurels won in the service of the Chinese government in sup- pressing the Tai-peng rebellion, Gordon returned to England in 1871. In 1874 he accepted a position from Egypt, with the consent of the British government. He journeyed to Cairo and up the Nile to take up the com- mand as governor of the Equatorial Provinces in succes- sion to Sir Samuel Baker. There he laboured with 206 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT incessant energy to put down the slave-trade and to secure the welfare of the natives. He established a series of Egyptian outposts along the Abyssinian frontier and made a survey of Lake Albert Nyanza. Returning to Cairo in 1874, after some delay, he was appointed by Ismail Pasha as governor-general of the whole of the Egyptian Sudan. A war followed with Abyssinia, and, after the army, led by Egyptian officers, had been beaten twice, Gordon went to Massowah to negotiate with the Abyssinian monarch, Atti Johannes. He next proceeded to Khartum, and vigorously undertook the suppression of the slave-trade. Gordon's death at Khartum, in 1884, is one of the greatest tragedies of modern history. Supported neither by Egypt nor by the English army, of a different religion from all his followers, pressed on all sides by the Mah- dist forces, Gordon gallantly kept his few faithful fol- lowers at his side, and, with incessant activity and heroism, protected the remaining Egyptian colonists of the cities along the Nile, over which he still held control. He had called upon the British government to send aid across the desert from Suakin via Berber, but this re- quest had been denied him. Berber then fell, and he was cut off to the north by many hundred miles of territory occupied by Mahdists. On January the 1st, nearly a month before the long-delayed succour approached the beleaguered city, the provisions had given out. He had written on December 14th that, with two hundred men, he could have successfully kept up the defence. As his army had been starving since the 5th of January, it is JI|S?" i " i F r """ '-'■"^ly THE SUDAN ABANDONED 209 difficult to understand how lie managed to hold out till January the 26th. On this date, two days before the relief expedition approached, the Mahdi's troops at- tacked Khartum, and, finding Gordon's men too weak to fight, the defences were cut down, and the heroic Gordon was killed by a shot at the head of the steps of the palace. Upon learning of the death of Gordon, the relief ex- pedition retreated, finding that the object of their ad- vance had proved to be a hopeless one. A general evac- uation was begun, and Dongola and the whole country south of Wady Haifa surrendered. The Mahdi, soon after winning Khartum, died, and was succeeded by the Califa Abdulla at Taashi. This change facilitated the Anglo-Egyptian retreat. About the same time Slatin Bey surrendered in Darfur and embraced Muhammedan- ism, and Lupton Bey, following his example, also adopted the religion of Islam, and yielded in Bahr-el-Ghazel. Emin Pasha alone retained his authority, derived orig- inally from Egypt, in the province of Equatoria. Sir H. M. Stanley afterwards made his famous journey " Through Darkest Africa " and rescued this famous pasha. This noted explorer died May 9, 1904. In the autumn of 1885, the dervish Emir of Dongola, Muhammed el-Kheir, advanced upon the Egyptian fron- tier. On December 30th he was met by the Egyptian troops under Sir Frederick Stephenson. The Egyptian troops, unaided by Europeans, attacked the dervishes at Ginnis and totally defeated them, winning two guns and twenty banners. It was a source of much gratification that the Egyptian fellaheen had proved themselves so 210 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT courageous and well disciplined in the encounter with the fierce hosts of the desert. In October, 1886, Wad en Nejumi, the victor of El- Obeid, was sent by the califa to invade Egypt. The LORD KITCHENER OF KHARTUM. advance of this army was delayed by trouble within the Sudan; but the califa, having at length beaten his ene- mies, in the year 1889 sent large reinforcements north- wards to carry on the campaign against Egypt with vigour. The Egyptian troops, with one squadron of BECONQUEST OF THE SUDAN 211 hussars, fought a decisive engagement with Wad en Nejumi on August 3rd of the same year. The dervish leader, many of his emirs, and twelve hundred Arab warriors were slain; four thousand more were taken prisoners, and 147 dervish standards were captured. The ever-increasing progress of Egypt during the next ten years, together with the accounts received from escaped prisoners of the reign of terror and inhumanity which obtained in the Sudan, brought the question of the reconquest of the lost provinces once more into prom- inence. The Italians had met with a fearful disaster in fighting against the Abyssinians at the battle of Adowa on March 1, 1896. They were holding Kassala within the ex-Egyptian territory by invitation from England, and a reason was presented for attacking the dervishes else- where in order to draw off their army from Kassala. With the appointment of Sir Henry Kitchener, on March 11, 1896, as sirdar of the Egyptian army, the final period of hostilities was entered upon between Egypt and the independent Arabs of the Central African Provinces. General Kitchener was ordered to build a railroad up the Nile, and to push forward with a well-organised Egyptian army, whose chief officers were Englishmen. The whole scheme of the invasion was planned with con- summate forethought and deliberation, the officials and advisers in charge of the enterprise being chosen from the most tried and able experts in their several provinces. Lieut.-Col. E. P. C. Girouard, a brilliant young Canadian, undertook the work of railroad reconstruction. Col. L. Bundle was chief of the staff, and Major R. Wingate 212 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT head of the Intelligence Department, ably assisted by the ex-prisoner of the califa, Slatin Bey. The army con- sisted in the beginning almost entirely of Egyptian and Sudanese troops, together with one battalion of the North Staffordshire Regiment. There were eight battalions of artillery, eight camel corps, and sixty-three gunboats which steamed up the Nile. After some sharp skirmishing, the advance was made to Dongola, when the English battalion was sent home disabled, and in time was replaced by a strong English brigade under General Gatacre. Early in 1897, a rail- road had been thrown across the desert from Wady Haifa towards Abu Hamed, obviating the need of making an immense detour around the bend of the Nile near Don- gola. The califa had, by this time, organised his defence. The Jaalin tribe had revolted against him at Metammeh, and had sought for help from the Egyptians, but before the supply of rifles arrived, the dervishes under the Emir Mahmud stormed Metammeh and annihilated the whole tribe of the Jaalin Arabs. The van of the army of invasion, both the flying corps and the flotilla of gunboats, advanced upon Abu Hamed towards the end of August. Major-General Hunter car- ried the place by storm. Berber was found to be de- serted, and was occupied on September 5th. Hunter burned Adarama and reconnoitred on the Atbara. The gunboats bombarded Metammeh and reduced the place to ruins. The sirdar, General Kitchener, then went on a mission to Kassala, where he found the Italians anxious to evacuate. He thereupon made an agreement whereby ADVANCE TO KHAETUM 213 the Egyptians should occupy the place, which was ac- cordingly accomplished under Colonel Parsons on Christ- mas Day, 1897. Disagreements among the dervishes pre- vented them from making any concerted defence, and early in 1896 Kitchener renewed the advance and cap- tured the dervish stores at Shendy on March 27th. The zeriba or camp of Mahmud was attacked and stormed with great loss to the dervishes on the 5th of April. On the date scheduled beforehand by Lord Kitchener, just after the annual rains had refreshed the country, the Anglo-Egyptian army made its final advance upon Khartum. There were ten thousand British troops and fifteen thousand Egyptians. The forces were concen- trated at Wady Hamed, sixty miles above Omdurman, from which point they bombarded the city with shells filled with deadly lyddite, and the mosque and tomb of the late Mahdi were destroyed. At length the entire army advanced to within four miles of Khartum. On September 2nd the cavalry and a horse battery reached Kasar Shanbal. From this point they saw the whole army of the califa, consisting of from forty to fifty thou- sand men, advancing to confront them from behind the hills. The Anglo-Egyptians advanced to meet the der- vishes disposed in the form of a horseshoe, with either end resting upon the banks of the river. At intervals along the whole line of the army were field-pieces and Maxims, and the gunboats were within reach to aid in shelling the enemy. The British soldiers then built a square sand rampart called a zarilea, and their Egyp- tian allies dug defensive trenches. 214 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT On the front and left the dervishes came on in great strength, but, when the Maxims, the field-guns, and the repeating rifles opened fire upon them, at a compara- tively close range, a frightful havoc was the result. All who remained to fight were immediately shot down, and the whole field was cleared in fifteen minutes. The der- vishes retreated behind the hills, and were joined by fresh forces. General MacDonald, in making a detour with a body of Lancers, was suddenly beset by two thousand dervish riflemen, who fiercely charged him on three sides. Quickly fo rmin g a square, he succeeded by desperate efforts in repelling the enemy, until he was reinforced by Kitchener, who perceived his desperate situation. The califa then attacked the extreme left wing of the army, but was again driven off. The Anglo-Egyptians were now in a position to deliver the main attack upon the dervish defences. The troops of the califa fought with heroic bravery, fearlessly advancing within range of the Anglo-Egyptian fire, but each time they were mown down by the cross fire of the Maxims and rifles. Vast numbers were slain, and some divisions of the der- vishes suffered complete a nnihil ation. They left ten thousand dead upon the field, and ten thousand wounded. The rest fled in all directions, a scattered and straggling force, with the califa himself. The Anglo-Egyptians lost but two thousand men. Few prisoners were taken, for, in almost every instance, the dervishes refused to sur- render, and even when wounded used their swords and spears against the rescuers of the ambulance corps. All the fighting was over by midday, and in the afternoon THE BATTLE OP OMDURMAN 215 General Kitchener entered Omdurman, and the army- encamped in the vicinity. Slatin Bey was duly installed as governor in the name of the Egyptian khedive. The European prisoners of the califa were now released, and on Sunday, the 4th of September, the sirdar and all his army held a solemn service in memory of General Gordon near the spot where he was killed. Bodies of men were now sent out on all sides to pacify the country, and the sirdar, who had been elevated to the peerage as Lord Kitchener of Khartum, started on an expedition up the Nile in a gunboat, in order to settle the difficult question arising from the occupation of Fashoda by a French corps under Major Marchand. The ability and strategy of this French commander were of a very high order. The general plan of the expedition had been in accord with French military traditions, based upon former attempts in India and America to separate the British colonial dominions, or to block the way to their extension by establishing a series of military out- posts or forts at certain strategic points chosen for this purpose. Had the French designs under Desaix in India, or of the army of occupation in the Mississippi Valley in the eighteenth century, been supported by a powerful fleet, there is no doubt that British colonisation would have suffered a severe setback. If Major Marchand remained in Fashoda, the route to all the upper regions of the Nile would be cut off from any English or Egyp- tian enterprise. Accordingly, Lord Kitchener ran the risk of grave international complications by advancing upon Fashoda to meet Major Marchand. Fortunately, a 216 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT temporary agreement was entered upon that the home governments should decide the question at issue, and Lord Kitchener then hoisted the Anglo-Egyptian flag south of the French settlement, and the officers frater- nised over glasses of champagne. It is now believed that Russia would have aided France if it had come to a war, but the French govern- ment thought the affair not of sufficient importance to warrant an international struggle over the retention of Fashoda, and the respective spheres of influence of France and Great Britain were finally agreed upon early in the following year by the Niger Convention, which left the whole of the ex-Egyptian provinces under Brit- ish protection, as far south as the Equatorial Lakes, and as far west as the border line between Darfur and Wadai. The califa was subsequently pursued from place to place in the desert, and was at length overtaken by Colo- nel Wingate at Om Dubreikat. The dervish leader fought a desperate fight; and, refusing to fly, was slain with all his personal followers on November 26, 1899. The total cost of these campaigns had been incredibly small, not amounting in all to the total of $12,000,000, and the railroad, the cost of which is here included in the expenditure, is of permanent value to Egypt. After the re-occupation of Khartum, it was again, as in Gordon's time, made the seat of government, the dervish capital having been located across the Nile at Omdurman. For a memorial to Gordon, $500,000 was enthusiastically raised in England. The memorial took the practical form of an educational establishment for THE COLLEGE AT KHARTUM 217 the natives of the Sudan, the foundation-stone of which was laid by Lord Cromer in January, 1900. The school is intended to be exclusively for Muhammedans, and only the Moslem religion is to be taught within its walls. Though the Mahdism, of which the late califa had been the leading spirit, had degenerated into a struggle of slave-traders versus civilisation, the califa at least showed conspicuous courage in the manner in which he faced his death. For the last twenty years, during which the revolts of the dervishes had troubled the outlying provinces of the Egyptian dominions, trade had been almost at a standstill; large numbers of blacks had been enslaved; an equal number probably had been slaugh- tered, and whole regions depopulated. The total popu- lation was cut down during these years to one-half of what it previously had been, and it was of vital impor- tance to Egypt to reconquer all the lost provinces which lay upon the banks of the river Nile. If the prosperity of Egypt is to rest upon a sound basis, and not be sub- jected to periodic overthrow at the hands of the hostile inhabitants of the south, it is essential that the Upper Nile should be under the control of those who are respon- sible for the welfare of the country. Egypt is the gift of the Nile, and the entire population of Egypt is de- pendent upon this river. To secure prosperity for the country and to develop Egyptian resources to the fullest extent, the rulers of Egypt must also be the rulers of the Nile. When the Anglo-Egyptian expedition under Kitchener set out to reconquer the Sudan, the devel- opment of Egypt had been progressing in all directions 218 THE BEITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT at a rapid rate. Having greater interests to defend, less indebtedness to meet, and greater facilities for meeting the taxes due the home government, no less than the for- eign bondholders, the time was ripe in which to take that great step towards securing the prosperity of Egypt in the future by finally destroying the community of slaveholders, which, under the sanction of Mahdism, SLAVE BOATS ON THE NILE. brutally tyrannised over the non-Muhammedan popula- tion. From the beginning of the British occupation, the English have been engaged in persevering efforts at re- form in every branch of the administration. The reforms which they instituted in the different departments of the army, finance, public works, and the police system were not at first popular. The native officials found out that they could not use methods of extortion; the upper classes, the pashas, and the wealthy landowners also IMPROVED CONDITIONS 219 discovered that they were not at liberty to do as they pleased, and that the English inspectors of irrigation strictly regulated the water-supply. It has since been fully demonstrated that the curtailing of their privilege to make use of the water when and how they chose is more than compensated by improved conditions. During the fifteen years previous to 1898, the popu- lation of Egypt had increased by about three million, or forty-three per cent. It was then ten million; it is now nearly eleven million. Within the boundaries of the irri- gated land Egypt has always been a very populous coun- try. By the effort to expand this area of irrigation, the way was prepared for a considerable increase in the total population. There are sections of this land where the density of the population averages from seven to eight hundred or even a thousand persons to the square mile. In early times, the population was still greater, as the irrigation area was increased by the great reservoir of Lake Mceris. When Omar made a census (a. d. 640), there were to be found six million Kopts, exclusive of the aged, the young, and the women, and three hundred thousand Greeks: this would imply, even at that deca- dent period, a total population of fifteen million. The increased prosperity shown by the railroads is most satisfactory. Two hundred and twelve miles of new railroad have been constructed, and an enormous development of the railroad and telegraph business has resulted. Since the year 1897 railroad development has been very rapid, and, with the line to the Sudan, amounted in 1904 to some two thousand miles. From 220 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT the Sudan railway it is intended ultimately to extend a railroad system through the heart of Africa, from Cairo to Capetown. Great progress has been made in all departments of public works. Hundreds of agricultural roads have been built, and the mileage of canals and drains has been largely increased to the very great benefit of the Egyp- tian peasant. The quantity of salt sold was doubled between 1881 and 1897, while the price has been reduced nearly forty per cent. The tonnage of the port of Alexandria in- creased from 1,250,000 pounds to 2,549,739 between 1881 and 1901. This increase was paralleled by a like increase in Alexandria's great rival, Port Said. Sir Evelyn Baring (Viscount Cromer) was appointed consul-general and financial adviser to Egypt in Janu- ary, 1884, succeeding in this position Sir Edward Malet. Sir Evelyn was nominally the financial adviser, but prac- tically the master of Egypt. The khedive never ventured to oppose the carrying out of his wishes, since the Brit- ish army of occupation was ever at his beck and call to lend its weight to the commands which he issued to the government under the appearance of friendly advice. The most serious obstacle to the progress of Egypt has been the authority of the mixed administrations, the chief of which is the Caisse de la Dette. The main ob- ject of these administrations is to secure for European bondholders payment of the debts incurred by Egypt chiefly under the incredibly profligate government of Ismail Pasha. The Caisse de la Dette has commissions THE CAISSE DE LA DETTE 221 from six of the Powers. It receives from the tax-gath- erer all the taxes apportioned to the payment of the interest for foreign indebtedness. Its influence, how- ever, extends much farther, and the Caisse exercises the right of prohibiting expenditure on the part of the Egyp- tian government until its own demands for current in- terest have been complied with. It further has the right to veto any loan which the Egyptian government might be willing to raise, however urgent the necessity might be, unless it can be demonstrated that there is not the least likelihood that payment of the shareholders whom the Caisse represents will be in the least degree affected. If all that the Caisse claimed as belonging to its juris- diction were really allowed to it by the Anglo-Egyptian government, the Caisse or International Court might exercise an arbitrary control over Egyptian affairs. It has many times seriously attempted to block the prog- ress of Egypt with the sole aim of considering the pockets of the foreign shareholders, and in entire disregard to the welfare of the people. Added to this tribunal is the Railway Board and the Commissions of the Daira and Domains. The Railway Board administers the railroads, telegraphs, and the port of Alexandria. The Daira and Domains Commissions administer the large estates, mortgaged to the holders of the loans raised by Ismail Pasha under these two re- spective names. The Daira Estate yielded a surplus over and above the amount of interest on the debt paid, for the first time, in 1890. The Domain Estate had to face a deficit until the year 1900. Until these respective dates 222 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT the Egyptian government itself was obliged to pay the deficit due to the bondholders. In the year 1884, the Convention of London was signed by the European Powers, which was, however, for the most part, oppressive and unjust to the Egyptians. The amount of money raised by taxation, which was allowed to be spent in one year, was limited to the defi- nite sum of $25,927,890. Fortunately for Egypt, the London Convention had one clause by which $44,760,000 could be utilised for the development of the country. With this sum the indemnities of Alexandria were paid, defects in the payment of interest were made good, and a small sum was left wherewith to increase irrigation and other useful works. The criminal folly of the former lavish expenditure was now demonstrated by a brilliant object-lesson. This small sum, when kept out of the hands of the rapacious bondholders, and applied to the development of the rich soil of Egypt, was found to work wonders. From the moment when the finances of Egypt were for the first time used to develop what is naturally the richest soil in the world, progress towards betterment grew rapidly into the remarkable prosperity of to-day. For a time, however, the government was obliged to use extreme parsimony in order to keep the country from further falling under the control of the irresponsible bondholders. Finally, in the year 1888, Sir Evelyn Bar- ing wrote to the home government that the situation was so far improved that in his judgment " it would take a series of untoward events seriously to endanger the stability of Egyptian finance and the solvency of the FINANCIAL STABILITY 223 Egyptian government." The corner had been turned, and progressive financial relief was at length afforded the long-suffering Egyptian people in the year 1890. After several years of financial betterment, it was de- ,^"-^ VISCOUNT CROMER (SIR EVELYN BARING). cided to devote future surpluses to remunerative objects, such as works of irrigation, railway extension, the con- struction of hospitals, prisons, and other public budd- ings, and in the improvement of the system of education. Great difficulty was experienced in making use of this 224 THE BEITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT surplus, on account of technical hindrances which were persistently placed in the way of the Egyptian govern- ment by the Caisse de la Dette. These difficulties are now almost entirely removed. In 1896 it was decided, as has been narrated, to be for the interest of Egypt to start a campaign against the dervishes. Appeal was made to the Caisse de la Dette to raise additional funds for the necessary expenses of the projected campaign. The Caisse, following its uni- versal precedent, immediately vetoed the project. Eng- land then made special grants-in-aid to Egypt, which both aided the Egyptian government and greatly strengthened her hold upon Egypt. By means of this timely assistance, Egypt was enabled successfully to pass through the period of increased expenditure in- curred by the reconquest of the Sudan. During the lifetime of Khedive Tewfik, who owed his throne to the British occupation, there had been little or no disagreement between the British and Egyptian authorities. In the year 1887 Sir Henry Drummond "Wolff prepared a convention, in accordance with which England promised to leave Egypt within three years from that date. At the last moment the sultan, urged by France and Russia, refused to sign it, and the occu- pation which these two Powers would not agree to legalise even for a period of three years was now less likely than ever to terminate. The following year Tewfik dismissed Nubar Pasha, who had, by the advice of the foreign Powers, stood in the way of reforms planned by the English officials. ABBAS II. 225 Tewfik died in 1892, and was succeeded by Abbas Hilmi Pasha, called officially Abbas II. He was born in 1874, and was barely of age according to Turkish law, which fixes magistracy at eighteen years of age in the case of the succession to the throne. He came directly from the college at Vienna to Cairo, where his accession was celebrated with great pomp; and the firman, con- firming him in all the powers, privileges, and territorial rights which his father had enjoyed, was read from the steps of the palace in Abdin Square. For some time the new khedive did not cooperate with cordiality with Great Britain. He was young and eager to exercise his power. His throne had not been saved for him by the British, as his father's had been, and he was surrounded by in- triguers, who were scheming always for their own advantage. He at first appeared almost as unprogressive as his great-uncle, Abbas I., but he later learned to under- stand the importance of British counsels. During his visit to England in 1899 he frankly acknowledged the great good which England had done in Egypt, and de- clared himself ready to cooperate with the officials ad- ministering British affairs. This friendliness was a great change from the disposition which he had shown in pre- vious years, during the long-drawn-out dispute between himself and Sir Evelyn Baring regarding the appoint- ment of Egyptian officials. The controversy at one time indicated a grave crisis, and it is reported that on one occasion the British agent ordered the army to make a demonstration before the palace, and pointed out to the young ruler the folly of forcing events which would 226 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT inevitably lead to his dethronement. The tension was gradually relaxed, and compromises brought about which resulted in harmony between the khedive and the British policy of administration, and no one rejoiced more than Abbas Hilmi over the victory of Omdurman. Agricultural interests are dearer to the heart of the khedive than statecraft. He rides well, drives well, rises early, and is of abstemious habits. Turkish is his mother tongue, but he talks Arabic with fluency and speaks English, French, and German very well. An agreement between England and Egypt had been entered upon January 19, 1899, in regard to the admin- istration of the Sudan. According to this agreement, the British and Egyptian flags were to be used together, and the supreme military and civil command was vested in the governor-general, who is appointed by the khedive on the recommendation of the British government, and who cannot be removed without the latter 's consent. This has proved so successful that the governor-general, Sir Reginald Wingate, reported in 1901: " I record my appreciation of the manner in which the officers, non-commissioned officers, soldiers, and officials,— British, Egyptian, and Sudanese,— without distinction, have laboured during the past year to push on the work of regenerating the country. Nor can I pass over without mention the loyal and valuable assistance I have received from many of the loyal ulemas, sheiks, and notables, who have displayed a most genuine desire to see their country once more advancing in the path of progress, material success, and novel development." BAZAR IN ASWAN. EDUCATION 229 In 1898 there were in all about 10,000 schools, with 17,000 teachers and 228,000 pupils. Seven-eighths of these schools were elementary, the education being con- fined to reading, writing, and the rudiments of arithmetic. The government has under its immediate direction eighty-seven schools of the lowest grade, called kuttabs, and thirty-five of the higher grades, three secondary, two girls' schools, and ten schools for higher or professional education,— the school of law, the school of medicine, with its pharmaceutical school and its school for nursing and obstetrics, polytec hni c schools for civil engineers, two training-schools for schoolmasters, a school of agri- culture, two technical schools, one training-school for female teachers, and the military school. In addition to the schools belonging to the Ministry of Public In- struction, there were under the inspection of that depart- ment in 1901 twenty-three primary schools of the higher grade, with an attendance of 3,585, and 845 schools of the lowest grade, with 1,364 teachers and an attendance of 26,831 pupils. There are 187 schools attached to various Protestant and Catholic missions, and forty- three European private schools. The Koptic community supports one thousand schools for elementary education, twenty-seven primary boys' and girls' schools, and one college. The teaching of the Koptic language in the schools is now compulsory; the subjects taught, and the methods of teaching them, are the same as in vogue in other countries. Fifty per cent, of the Koptic male population can read and write well. The indigenous tribunals of the country are called 230 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT Mehkemmehs, and are presided over by cadis. At the present time they retain jurisdiction in matters of per- sonal law relating to marriage succession, guardian- ship, etc. Beyond this sphere they also fulfil certain functions connected with the registration of title of land. In matters of personal law, however, the native Chris- tians are subject to their own patriarchs or other relig- ious leaders. In other matters, natives are justiciable before the so-called native tribunals, established during the period of the British occupation. These consist of forty-six summary tribunals, each presided over by a single judge, who is empowered to exercise jurisdiction in matters up to $500 in value, and cr imin al jurisdiction in offences punishable by fine or by imprisonment of three years or less. Associated with these are seven central tri- bunals, each chamber consisting of three judges. There is also a court of appeal in Cairo, one-half of its members being Europeans. In criminal matters there is always a right to appeal, sometimes to the court of appeal, some- times to a central tribunal. In civil matters an appeal lies from a summary tribunal to a central tribunal in matters exceeding $500 in value, and from the judg- ment of a central tribunal in the first instance to the court of appeal in all cases. The prosecution in criminal matters is entrusted to the parquet, which is directed by a procurer-general; the investigation of crime is ordi- narily conducted by the parquet, or by the police under its direction. Offences against irrigation laws, which were once of such frequent occurrence and the occasion THE LEGAL SYSTEM 231 of injustice and lawlessness, are now tried by special and summary administration tribunals. The capitulations or agreements concerning justice entered into by all the Great Powers of Europe and the Ottoman Empire, relative to the trial and judgment of Europeans, include Egypt as an integral part of the Turkish Empire. Foreigners for this reason have the privilege of being tried by European courts. But if one party in a case is European and another Egyptian, there are special mixed tribunals, established in 1876, consist- ing partly of native and partly of foreign judges. These tribunals settle civil and also some criminal cases be- tween Egyptians and Europeans, and in 1900 penal jurisdiction was conferred upon them in connection with offences against the bankruptcy laws. There are three mixed tribunals of the first class, with a court of appeal, sitting at Alexandria. Civil cases between foreigners of the same nationality are tried be- fore their own consular courts, which also try criminal cases not within the jurisdiction of the mixed tribunals, in which the accused are foreigners. By this well or- ganised administration of justice, crime has steadily decreased throughout Egypt, and the people have learned to enjoy the benefit of receiving impartial justice, from which they had been shut off for many centuries. About sixty per cent, of the inhabitants of modern Egypt belong to the agricultural class— the fellaheen. The peasantry are primitive and thrifty in their habits, and hold tenaciously to their ancient traditions. They are a healthy race, good-tempered and tractable, and fairly 232 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT intelligent, but, like all Southern nations breathing a balmy atmosphere, they are unprogressive. Centuries of oppression have not, however, crushed their cheerfulness. There is none of that abject misery of poverty among the MOSQUE OP EL GHURI AT CAIEO. Egyptians which is to be seen in cold countries. There is no starvation amongst them. Pood is cheap, and a peasant can live well on a piastre (five cents) a day. A single cotton garment is enough for clo thin g, and the THE FELLAHEEN 233 merest hut affords sufficient protection. The wants of the Egyptians are few. Their condition, now freed from forced labour, called the " Courbash," as also from in- justice, crushing taxation, and usury, which character- ised former administrations, compares favourably with the peasantry of many countries in Europe, and is equal, if not superior, to that of the peasantry of England itself. Under the British protection there has been a re- newal of the Koptic Christian race. They are easily to be distinguished from their Muhammedan countrymen, being lighter in colour, and resembling the portraits on the ancient monuments. They are a strong community in Upper Egypt, whither they fled from the Arab in- vaders, and they there hold a large portion of the land. They live mostly in the towns, are better educated than other Egyptians, and are employed frequently in the government service as clerks and accountants. Koptic is still studied for church purposes by the Kopts, who both by their physiognomy and by their re- tention of the old Egyptian institution of monasticism are the only true descendants having the social and phys- ical heredity of the ancient Egyptians. Four of the oldest monasteries in the world still survive in the Natron Valley. In spite of their distinguished social ancestry, the Kopts are by no means a superior class morally to the fellaheen, who are in part the descendants of those ancient Egyptians who renounced the Christian religion, the language and institutions of the Egyptian Christians, and accepted Muhammedanism and the Arabic language and institutions. 234 THE BEITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT The creed of the Kopts is Jacobite. They have three metropolitans and twelve bishops in Egypt, one metro- politan and two bishops in Abyssinia, and one bishop in Khartum. There are also arch-priests, priests, dea- cons, and monks. Priests must be married before ordi- nation, but celibacy is imposed upon monks and high dignitaries. The Abyssinian Church is ruled by a met- ropolitan, and bishops are chosen from amongst the Egyptian-Koptic ecclesiastics, nor can the coronation of the King of Abyssinia take place until he has been anointed by the metropolitan, and this only after the authorisation by the Patriarch of Alexandria. cbocodii.es and a hippopotamus IN THE NILE. CHAPTER V THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT The White and Blue Niles : The Barrage ; Clearing the Sudd : The Suez Canal : Ancient and modern irrigation : The Dam at Aswan : The modern exploration of the Nile. : ETWEEN the Sudan and the Mediter- ranean the only perennial stream is the Nile, a word probably derived from the Semitic root nahal, meaning a valley or a river-valley, and subsequently a " river," in a pre-eminent and exclusive sense. The ancient Egyptians called it the Ar or Aur (Koptic, Iaro), or "black"; hence the Greek word /ie'\a? m allusion to the colour, not of the water, but of the sediment which it precipitated during the floods. In contrast to the yellow sands of the surrounding desert, the Nile mud is black enough to have given the land itself its oldest name, Kern, or Kemi, which has the same meaning of " black." At Khartum, where the White Nile joins the Blue Nile, the main branch has a fall from its upper level in the region of the tropical lakes, four 235 236 THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT thousand feet above the sea, to twelve hundred feet, while traversing a distance of twenty-three hundred miles. Prom Khartum to the sea the distance through which the waters of the Nile wend their way is about eighteen hundred and forty miles. During the greater part of this course the flow is level, the average descent being about eight inches per mile. If it were not, there- fore, for the obstruction met with in the Nubian section, the course of the Nile would be everywhere navigable. Although no perennial affluents enter the main stream lower down than Khartum, the volume of the Nile re- mains with little diminution throughout the entire dis- tance to the Mediterranean. During the period of low water the amount of water in different localities is still uniform, notwithstanding all the irrigation, infiltration, and evaporation constantly taking place. The only ex- planation which has been given to this phenomenon is that there are hidden wells in the bed of the Nile, and from their flow the waste is ever renewed. As the earth revolves from west to east, the waters of the Nile tend to be driven upon the right bank on the west, where the current is constantly eating away the sandstone and limestone cliffs. For this reason the left side of the river is far more fertile and well cultivated than the right bank. Below Ombos the valley is narrowly constructed, being but thirteen hundred yards in width, the cliffs overhanging the river on either side, but at Thebes it broadens out to nine or ten miles, and farther up, in the Keneh district, the valley is twelve or fif- teen miles in width. The river here approaches within THE BAHB, YUSEF 237 sixty miles of the Red Sea, and it is believed that a branch of the Nile once flowed out into the sea in this direction. Seventy miles below Keneh the Nile throws from its left bank the Bahr Yusef branch, a small current of 350 feet in breadth, which flows for hundreds of miles through the broader strip of alluvial land between the THE PLAIN OF THEBES. main stream and the Libyan escarpments. In the Beni- Suef district this stream again bifurcates, the chief branch continuing to wind along the Nile Valley to a point above the Delta, where it joins the mam stream. The left branch penetrates westward through a gap in the Libyan escarpments into the Fayum depression, ramifying into a thousand irrigating rills, and pouring its overflow into the Birket-el-Qarum, or " Lake of 238 THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT Horns," which still floods the lowest cavity and is a rem- nant of the famous ancient Lake Mceris. The Fayum, which is the territory reclaimed from the former lake, is now an exceedingly productive district, a sort of inland delta, fed like the marine delta by the fertilising flood- waters of the Nile. The traveller Junker wrote of this district in 1875: " I found myself surrounded by a garden tract of un- surpassed fertility, where there was scarcely room for a path amid the exuberant growths; where pedestrians, rid- ers, and animals had to move about along the embank- ments of countless canals. Now a land of roses, of the vine, olive, sugar-cane, and cotton, where the orange and lemon plants attain the size of our apple-trees, it was in primeval times an arid depression of the stony and sandy Libyan waste." * North of the Fayum the Nile flows on to Cairo, where the narrow water way allowed to its course by the two lines of cliffs widens, and the cliffs recede to the right and left. There is thus space for the waters to spread and ramify over the alluvial plain. Nearly all this por- tion of Egypt has been covered by the sediment of the Nile, and from the earliest times there have been numer- ous distinct branches or channels of the river running out by separate openings into the sea. As several of these branches have been tapped to a great extent for irrigation, all except two have ceased to be true outlets of the Nile. In the Greek period there were seven mouths and several ^evSoa-ronara , or " false mouths." The two *Dr. Wilhelm Junker's "Travels in Africa." THE DELTA 239 remaining mouths are those of Rosetta and Damietta, and these were always the most important of the number. They branched off formerly close to the present spot where Cairo stands, a little below Memphis; but during two thousand years the fork has gradually shifted to about thirteen miles lower down. The triangular space enclosed by these two branches and the sea-coast was called by the Greeks the delta, on account of the likeness in shape to the Greek letter of that name A. At the head, or apex, of the triangle stands the famous barrage, or dam, begun in 1847 by Mehemet Ali, for the twofold purpose of reclaiming many thousand acres of waste land, and of regulating the discharge and the navigation through the Delta. The idea was originated by a Frenchman in his service named Linant Bey. This engineer desired to alter the course of the river and build a weir at a point farther to the north, where the contour of land seemed to favour the design more than that of the present locality. Mehemet Ah thought his plans too costly, and accepted in prefer- ence those of Mougel Bey. Unexpected difficulties were encountered from the very beginning. Mehemet was exceedingly anxious to hurry the work, and Mougel Bey had only made a beginning, when an exceptionally high Nile carried away all the lime in the concrete base. Me- hemet Ali did not live to see the completion of this work. The object, could it have been realised, was to hold up the waters of the Nile during the eight months of the ebb, and thus keep them on a level with the soil, and at the same time to supply Lower Egypt with an amount of 240 THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT water equal to that which came down during flood-time. It was hoped to cover the very large expenditure by the additional land which it was expected would come under irrigation, and by doing away with the primitive sha- doofs and setting free for productive enterprise the nu- merous army of the agricultural labourers who spent the greater part of their time in slowly raising up buckets of water from the Nile and pouring them into the irri- gating channels. The barrage is a double bridge, or weir, the eastern part spanning the Damietta branch of the Nile, the western part the Rosetta branch. The appearance of the structure is so light and graceful that the spectator finds it hard to conceive of the difficulty and the great- ness of the work itself. Architecturally, the barrage is very beautiful, with a noble front and a grand effect, produced by a line of castellated turrets, which mark the site of the sluice gates. There are two lofty crenel- lated towers, corresponding with the towers over the gateway of a mediaeval baronial castle. The sluices are formed of double cones of hollow iron, in a semicir- cular form, worked on a radii of rods fixed to a central axis at each side of the sluice-gate. They are slowly raised or let down by the labour of two men, the gates being inflected as they descend in the direction of the bed of that part of the river whose waters are retained. The working of the barrage was never what it was in- tended to be. After the year 1867 it ceased to be of any practical utility, and was merely an impediment to navi- gation. Between the years 1885—90, however, during the N w D 1/3 o en < w K h THE BAEBAGE 241 British occupation, Sir Colon Scott-Moncrieff success- fully completed the barrage at a cost of $2,500,000, and now the desired depth of eight feet of water on the lower part of the Nile can always be maintained. It proved to be of the greatest advantage in saving labour worth hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and in the irri- gation and navigation facilities that had been contem- plated as among the benefits which would naturally accrue from its successful completion. THE NILE BARRAGE. Compared with the advance of the land seaward at the estuary of the Mississippi and the Ganges, the ad- vance of the Mle seaward is very slow. This is ac- counted for by the geological theory that the Delta of the Nile is gradually sinking. If this is so, the tendency of the periodical deposit to raise the level of the Delta will be counteracted by the annual subsidence. These phenomena account for the gradual burial of Egyptian monuments under the sand, although the actual level 242 THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT of the sea above what it formerly was is quite unap- preciable. The periodical rise in the Nile, recurring as regularly as the revolutions of the heavenly bodies, necessarily remained an unsolved mystery to the ancients, for until the discovery of the tropical regions, with their moun- tainous lakes and deluging rains, it was impossible to learn the occasion of this increase. It is now known that the Blue Nile, flowing out of the mountainous parts of Abyssinia, is the sole cause of the periodic overflow of the Nile. Without the tropical rains of the Ethiopian tablelands, there would be no great rise nor any fertilis- ing deposits. Without the White Nile, which runs steadily from the perennial reservoirs of the great Cen- tral African lakes, the Lower Nile would assume the character of an intermittent wady, such as the neigh- bouring Khor Baraka, periodically flushed by the dis- charge of the torrential downpours from Abyssinia. Though there is a periodical increase in the flow of the upper waters of the White Nile, yet the effect of this, lower down, is minimised by the dense quantities of vegetable drift, which, combining with the forest of aquatic growth, forms those vast barriers, known by the name of sudd, which not only arrest navigation but are able to dam up large bodies of water. The sudd, it is supposed, stopped the advance of the Roman centurions who were sent up the Nile in the days of Nero. Sir Samuel Baker was the one who first pointed out the great disadvantage of allowing the vege- table matter to accumulate, both to merchants and to CLEARING THE SUDD 243 those who were employed to suppress the slave-trade. In the year 1863 the two branches of the White Nile were blocked above their junction at Lake No. Once blocked, the accumulation rapidly increased from the stoppage of outlet, forming the innumerable floating islands which at this part of the Nile customarily float down-stream. A marsh of vast extent had been formed, and to all appearance, as Baker narrates, the White Nile had disappeared. Baker cut through fifty miles of the sudd, and urged the khedive to reopen the Nile. The work was successfully undertaken by Ishmail Ayub Pasha, and the White Nile became clear for large vessels when Gordon reached Khartum in 1874. It is practically impossible to keep the central provinces of the Nile open to civilisation unless the course of the Nile is free. Yet in 1878 the obstruction had been renewed, and during the occupation of these provinces by the rebel dervishes under the Mahdi and the califa the Nile was completely blocked, as formerly, at Lake No. The alarming failure of the Nile flood in 1899—1900 was generally attributed to this blockade, and in 1899 fifty thousand dollars was placed at the disposal of the governor-general for re- opening the White Nile by removing the vast accumu- lation of sudd which blocked the Bahr-el-Jebel from Lake No almost as far as Shambeh. The work was started under the direction of Sir William Garstin in 1899. In 1900 the greater part of the sudd had been removed by the strenuous labours of Major Peake, and the Nile again became navigable from Khartum to Rejaf. The sudd was found to be piled up and of almost as close a struc- 244 THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT ture as peat. It was sawn out in blocks ten feet square and carried away by gunboats. In the years 1901—02 further progress was made, and twenty thousand dollars appropriated for the work; and by means of constant patrolling the sudd is now practically absent from the whole course of the White Nile. The discharge of the flood waters from the Upper Nile begins to make itself felt in Lower Nubia and Egypt in the month of June, at first slightly, and after the middle of July much more rapidly, the river continuing to rise steadily till the first week in October, when it reaches high-water mark, nearly fifty-four or fifty-five feet at the Egyptian frontier, and twenty-five or twenty- six feet at Cairo. A subsidence then sets in, and con- tinues till low- water level is again reached, usually about the end of May. The floods are then much higher and confined to a narrower space in the Nubian section of the Nile, while they gradually die out in the region of the Delta, where the excess seawards is discharged by the Rosetta and Damietta branches. In place of the old Nilometers, the amount of the rise of the Nile is now reported by telegraph from meteorological stations. It is popularly supposed that at every rise the plains of the Delta are inundated, but this is not the case. The actual overflow of the banks of the river and canals is the exception, and when it happens is most disastrous. The irrigation of fields and plantations is effected by slow infiltration through the retaining dykes, which are prevented from bursting by the process of slow absorp- tion. The first lands to be affected are not those which THE INUNDATION 245 are nearest to the dyke, but those which are of the lowest level, because the waters, in percolating through under the ground, reach the surface of these parts first. In Manitoba during a dry season sometimes the roots of the wheat strike down deep enough to reach the reser- voir of moisture under ground. In Egypt this under- ground moisture is what is counted upon, but it is fed by a special and prepared system, and is thus brought to the roots of the plants artificially. An analysis of the Nile alluvium, which has accumulated in the course of ages to a thickness of from three to four feet above Ifche old river-bed, shows that it contains a Considerable percentage of such fertilising Substances as carbonate of lime and mag- nesia, silicates of aluminum, carbon, and several oxides. Where the water has to foe raised to higher levels, two processes are used. The primitive shadoof of native origin figured on a monument as far back as 3,300 years ago, and the more modern sakieh was apparently introduced in later times from Syria and Persia. The shadoof is used on small farms, and the sakieh is more often used for larger farms and plantations. These contrivances line the whole course of the Nile from Lower Egypt to above Khartum. The shadoof will raise six hundred gallons ten feet in an hour, and consists of a pole weighted at one end, with a bucket at the other; when the water is raised the weight ^?T*<2 ksa4*l = = 3(te«| ==: ga s* — = — HflfcW = ■=M = Lpy ^ SCALE OF THE NILOMETEB. 246 THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT counterbalances the weight of the full bucket. The sakieh, which will raise twelve hundred gallons twenty or twenty-four feet in an hour, is a modified form of a Persian wheel, made to revolve by a beast of burden; it draws an endless series of buckets up from the water, and automatically empties them into a trough or other receptacle. In former times these appliances were heavily taxed and made the instruments of oppression, but these abuses have been reformed since Egypt came under a more humane form of government. Another interesting feature of the water ways of Egypt is the intermittent watercourses. The largest of these is the Khor Baraka (Barka), which flows out towards Tapan, south of Suakin. It presents some anal- ogy to the Nile, and in part was undoubtedly a perennial stream 250 miles long, and draining seven or eight thou- sand square miles. At present its flat sandy bed, winding between well-wooded banks, is dry for a great part of the year. This route is extensively used for the caravan trade between Suakin and Kassala. During September the water begins to flow, but is spasmodic. After the first flood the natives plant their crops, but sometimes the second flow, being too great, cannot be confined to the limits prepared for it, and the crops are carried away and the sowing must of necessity be started again. The canals of Egypt are of great aid in extending the beneficial influence of the inundations of the Nile. In Lower Egypt is the Mahmudiyeh Canal, connecting Alexandria with the Rosetta branch, and following the same direction as an ancient canal which preceded it. A MODERN SAKIEH. THE CABALS 249 Mehemet Ali constructed this canal, which is about fifty miles long and one hundred feet broad. It is be- lieved that twelve thousand labourers perished during its construction. Between the Rosetta and the Damietta branches of the Nile there are other canals, such as the Manuf, which connects the two branches of the river at a point not far from the Delta. East of the Damietta branch are other canals, occupying the ancient river-beds of the Tanitic and Pelusiac branches of the Nile. One of these is called the canal of the El-Muiz, from the first Fatimite caliph who ruled in Egypt, and who ordered it to be constructed. Another is named the canal of Abul- Munegga, from the name of the Jew who executed this work under the caliph El- 'Amir, in order to bring water into the province of Sharkiyah. This last canal is con- nected with the remains of the one which in ancient times joined the Nile with the Red Sea. After falling into neglect it has again in part been restored and much in- creased in length as the Sweet Water Canal. Further mention may also be made of the great canal called the Bahr-Yusef, or River Joseph, which is im- portant enough to be classed as a ramification of the Nile itself. As has been mentioned, this water way runs parallel with the Nile on the west side below Cairo for about 350 miles to Farshut, and is the most important irrigation canal in Egypt. It is a series of canals rather than one canal. Tradition states that this canal was re- paired by the celebrated Saladin. Another tradition, relating that the canal existed in the time of the Pharaohs, has recently been proved to be correct. 250 THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT Egypt possesses not only the greatest natural water way in the world, but also the greatest artificial water way— the Suez Canal. Before the opening of this canal there were in the past other canals which afforded com- munication between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. These ancient canals differed in one respect from the Suez Canal, since they were all fed by the fresh waters of the Nile. One of these still remains in use, and is called the Fresh Water Canal. According to Aristotle, Strabo, and Pliny, Sesostris was the first to conceive and carry out the idea of a water connection between the two seas, by means of the Pelusiac branch of the Nile from Avaris to Bubastis, and by rendering navigable the irrigation canal which already existed between Bubastis and Heroopolis. It is believed by some that the frag- ment bearing the oval of Ramses II. found near the course of the present canal affords confirmation of this assertion. The first authentic account of the carrying out of the conception of an inter-sea water way is to be found in the time of Pharaoh Necho II., about the year 610 b. c. Herodotus records of Necho that he was " the first to attempt the construction of the canal to the Red Sea." This canal tapped the Nile at Bubastis, near Zagazig, and followed closely the line of modern Wady Canal to Heroopolis, the site of which lies in the neighbourhood of Toussun and Serapeum, between the Bitter Lakes and Lake Tinseh. At that date the Red Sea reached much farther inland than it does now, and was called in the upper portion the Heroopolite Gulf. The expanse of brackish water, now known as the Bitter Lakes, was THE ANCIENT SUEZ CANAL 251 then, in all probability, directly connected with the Red Sea. The length of this canal, according to Pliny, was sixty-two miles, or about fifty-seven English miles. This length, allowing for the sinuosity of the valley traversed, agrees with the distance between the site of old Bubastis and the present head of the Bitter Lakes. The length given by Herodotus of more than one thousand stadia (114 miles) must be understood to include the whole distance between the two seas, both by the Nile and HIEROGLYPHIC RECORD OF AN ANCIENT CANAL. by the canal. Herodotus relates that it cost the lives of 120,000 men to cut the canal. He says that the under- taking was abandoned because of a warning from an oracle that the barbarians alone, meaning the Persians, would benefit by the success of the enterprise. The true reason for relinquishing the plan probably was that the Egyptians believed the Red Sea to have been higher in altitude than the Nile. They feared that if the canal were opened between the Nile and the Red Sea the salt water would flow in and make the waters of the Nile 252 THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT brackish. This explanation would indicate a lack of knowledge of locks and sluices on the part of the Egyptians. The work of Necho was continued by Darius, the son of Hystaspes (520 b. c). The natural channel of com- munication between the Heroopolite Gulf and the Eed Sea had begun to fill up with silt even in the time of Necho, and a hundred years later, in the time of Darius, was completely blocked, so that it had to be entirely cleaned out to render it navigable. The traces of this canal can still be plainly seen in the neighbourhood of Shaluf, near the south end of the Bitter Lakes. The present fresh-water canal was also made to follow its course for some distance between that point and Suez. Persian monuments have been found by Lepsius in the neighbourhood, commemorating the work of Darius. On one of these the name of Darius is written in the Per- sian cuneiform characters, and on a cartouche in the Egyptian form. Until this date it therefore appears that ships sailed up the Pelusiac branch of the Nile to Bubastis, and thence along the canal to Heroopolis, where the cargoes were transhipped to the Red Sea. This in- convenient transfer of cargoes was remedied by the next Egyptian sovereign, who bestowed much care on the water connection between the two seas. Ptolemy Philadelphus (285 b. a), in addition to clean- ing out and thoroughly restoring the two canals, joined the fresh- water canal with the Heroopolite Gulf by means of a lock and sluices, which permitted the passage of vessels, and were effective in preventing the salt water TRAJAN'S CANAL 253 ( from mingling with the fresh water. At the point where the canal joined the Herbopolite Gulf to the Red Sea, Ptolemy founded the town of Arsinoe, a little to the north of the modern Suez. The line of communication between the two seas was impassable during the reign of Cleopatra (31 b. a). It is believed by some that it was restored during the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan (98—117). During this period the Pelusiac branch of the Nile was very low, the water having almost completely deserted this for- merly well-filled course. If Trajan, therefore, undertook to reopen the water way, he must have tapped the Nile much higher up, in order to reach a plentiful supply of water. The old canal near Cairo, which elsewhere joined the line of the former canal on the way to the Bitter Lakes, was once called " Annus Trajanus," and from this it has been inferred that Trajan was really the builder, and that during his reign this canal was cleaned and rendered navigable. As there is no further evidence than the name to prove that Trajan undertook so important an enterprise, the " Amnis Trajanus " was probably con- structed during the Arabic period. fWhen Amr had conquered Egypt, according to an- other account, the caliph Omar ordered him to ship rich supplies of grain to Mecca and Medina, because during the pilgrimages these cities and often the whole of Hedjaz suffered severely from famine. As it was ex- tremely difficult to send large quantities of provisions across the desert on the backs of camels, it is supposed that to facilitate this transportation Omar ordered the 254 THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT construction of the canal from a point near Cairo to the head of the Red Sea. On account of his forethought in thus providing for the pilgrims to the Hedjaz, Omar received the title of " Prince of the Faithful " (Emir el- Momeneen), which thenceforth was adopted by his suc- cessors in the caliphate. One hundred and thirty-four years after this time, El-Mansur, the second caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, is said to have closed the canal to prevent supplies from being shipped to one of the de- scendants of Ali who had revolted at Medina. Since that time it is probable that it has never been reopened, al- though there is a report that the Sultan Hakim rendered it available for the passage of boats in the year a. d. 1000, after which it was neglected and became choked with sand. While not thereafter used for navigation, there were parts which during the time of the annual inun- dation of the Nile were filled with water, until Mehemet Ali prevented this. The parts filled during the inunda- tion extended as far as Sheykh Hanaydik, near Toussun and the Bitter Lakes. The old canal which left the Nile at Cairo had long ceased to flow beyond the outskirts of the city, and the still more ancient canal from the neighbourhood of Bu- bastis, now known as the Wady Canal, extended only a few miles in the direction of the isthmus as far as Kas- sassin. During the construction of the Suez Canal the need of supplying the labourers with fresh water was imperative. The company, therefore, determined in 1861 to prolong the canal from Kassassin to the centre of the isthmus, and in the year 1863 they brought the fresh- ^3 < < u s, w D b5 I* ^ mau ^ eyes. I pau birds. Again the picture of an object becomes an ideograph, as in the following instances: Mi *>—6a soul W . pet to see. Here the sacred ibis or the sacred bull symbolises the soul. The bee stands for honey, the eyes for the verb '" to see." Yet again these pictures may stand neither as pictures of things nor as ideographs, but as having the phonetic value of a syllable: pa the cJC__>^ mefi to fill. 1/ g pet fhe sky or heaven. fu to protect. 0\+f ^ a tnaie. P=j pet Hie sky. —^^pet heaven _ earth. _____ I _c* g^ . P 6 * heaven earth _ hell. P° npt to ,ee O^nrf fro open out. 5ge®_ P et to see - cxA P * to extend- pef a kind of unguent. Such syllabic signs may be used either singly, as above, or in combination, as illustrated below. THE EGYPTIAN ALPHABET 299 But one other stage of evolution is possible, namely, the use of signs with a purely alphabetical significance. The Egyptians made this step also, and their strangely conglomerate writing makes use of the following al- phabet : ■k 1 i » ! T ' m A sh - & mm^, \/ D ^r?» k u« i <=> -2» r, I & e V ou tn b — >- t J a b P I o h kb C2> dz >c=— f, w — p s In a word, then, the Egyptian writing has passed through all the stages of development, from the purely pictorial to the alphabetical, but with this strange quali- fication,— that while advancing to the later stages it re- tains the use of crude earlier forms. As Canon Taylor has graphically phrased it, the Egyptian writing is a completed structure, but one from which the scaffolding has not been removed. The next step would have been to remove the now useless scaffolding, leaving a purely alphabetical writing as the completed structure. Looking at the matter from the modern standpoint, it seems almost incredible that 300 THE HIEROGLYPHS so intelligent a people as the Egyptians should have failed to make this advance. Yet the facts stand, that as early as the time of the Pyramid Builders, say four thousand years b. c., 1 the Egyptians had made the wonderful anal- ysis of sounds, without which the invention of an alpha- bet would be impossible. They had set aside certain of their hieroglyphic symbols and given them alphabetical significance. They had learned to write their words with the use of this alphabet; and it would seem as if, in the course of a few generations, they must come to see how unnecessary was the cruder form of picture-writing which this alphabet would naturally supplant; but, in point of fact, they never did come to a realisation of this seemingly simple proposition. Generation after genera- tion and century after century, they continued to use their same cumbersome, complex writing, and it remained for an outside nation to prove that an alphabet pure and simple was capable of fulfilling all the conditions of a written language. Thus in practice there are found in the hieroglyphics the strangest combinations of ideographs, syllabic signs, and alphabetical signs or true letters used together indis- criminately. It was, for example, not at all unusual, after spelling a word syllabically or alphabetically, to introduce a figure giving the idea of the thing intended, and then even to 1 The latest word on the subject of the origin of the alphabet takes back some of the primitive phonetic signs to prehistoric times. Among these pre- historic signs are the letters A, E, I, O, U, (V), F and M. Other signs are seen in the diagram on page 309. DETERMINATIVE SIGNS 301 supplement this with a so-called determinative sign or figure: *^_«**iy? e/7 = 500, etc. This usage would soon render these signs as invariable in order as our own numbers, and force the use of them on all countries with which the Phoenicians traded. Hence, before long these signs drove out of use all others, except in the less changed civilisations of Asia Minor and Spain. According to our modern authorities this exactly explains the phe- nomena of the early Greek alphabets ; many in variety, and so diverse that each has to be learned separately, and yet entirely uniform in order. Each tribe had its own signs for certain sounds, varying a good deal; yet all had to follow a fixed numerical system. Certainly all did not learn their forms from an inde- pendent Phoenician alpha- bet, unknown to them be- fore it was selected. EGYPT fnSHs, l«t Ojn. xwkDn mie KARIA SPAIN A 4A/1" 4tf(X 5 lAS^ V 9 ? ??9* i?9 e , & < > ** £* f * < J**, f> & 3 £E3e ■ SE0 mf 1 9 M HB* B i J UK DO an d n Dn ana * t I I i f t i i l K/ w (^ i n/^iii o O o O C JO YKV VY VYyv VV yyv'i iYHV CD? rr T T ®H>

t cob 2 ) c 1 o J ) 5 l«C t> A A A d ^ F £A ^t=AA XX ^*A v I I 2 . z ^ Y YV ® Y © ® t \ 1 V V u X k v i h l( K. k K 1 1A /»AT r , /^Ar i IV A CA M Aa >r iM m w itfv/K s Si" N4/ M/Vt r\ h'M r h i P 1= rrr Tt f>t-f F>rPr (>rp s> * $ s *<7S A\* M M * MM* s *S mill miuy my ►Hm.i^s| i my <-N T -r T T t tt X* X+ x+X XHK dp NAVA v\ wv « 1 £ IF A r< > (XJ XJ rd IX X X X '& «■ * X * * OK tf >*- T ki < a Z 310 THE HIEROGLYPHS The work of Young and Champollion, says Doctor Williams, 1 gives a new interest to the mass of records, in the form of graven inscriptions, and papyrus rolls, and cases and wrappings, which abound in Egypt, but which hitherto had served no better purpose for centuries than to excite, without satisfying, the curiosity of the traveller. Now these strange records, so long enigmatic, could be read, and within the past fifty years a vast literature of translations of these Egyptian records has been given to the world. It was early discovered that the hieroglyphic character was not reserved solely for sacred inscriptions, as the Greeks had supposed in naming it; indeed, the in- scription of the Rosetta Stone sufficiently dispelled that illusion. But no one, perhaps, was prepared for the reve- lations that were soon made as to the extent of range of these various inscriptions, and the strictly literary char- acter of some of them. A large proportion of these inscriptions are, to be sure, religious in character, but there are other extensive inscriptions, such as those on the walls of the temple of Karnak, that are strictly historical; telling of the warlike deeds of such mighty kings as Thutmosis III. and Ramses II. Again, there are documents which belong to the do- main of belles-lettres pure and simple. Of these the best known example is the now famous " Tale of Two Broth- ers "—the prototype of the " modern " short story. Up to the middle of the nineteenth century, no Egypt- ologist had discovered that the grave-faced personages who lie in their mummy-cases in our great museums ever 1 History of the Art of Writing, Portfolio L, plate 8. THE TALE OE THE TWO BROTHERS 311 read or composed romance. Their literature, as far as recovered, was of an eminently serious nature,— hymns to the divinities, epic poems, writings on magic and sci- ence, business letters, etc., but no stories. In 1852, how- ever, an Englishwoman, Mrs. Elizabeth d'Orbiney, sent M. de Rouge, at Paris, a papyrus she had purchased in Italy, and whose contents she was anxious to know. Thus was the tale of the " Two Brothers " brought to light, and for twelve years it remained our sole specimen of a species of literature which is now constantly being added to. This remarkable papyrus dates from the thirteenth century b. c, and was the work of Anna, one of the most distinguished temple-scribes of his age. Indeed, it is to him that we are indebted for a large portion of the Egyp- tian literature that has been preserved to us. This par- ticular work was executed for Seti II., son of Meneptah, and grandson of Ramses II. of the nineteenth dynasty, while he was yet crown prince. The tale itself is clearly formed of two parts. The first, up to the Bata's self -exile to the Valley of the Cedar, gives a really excellent picture of the life and habits of the peasant dwelling on the banks of the Nile. The civ- ilisation and moral conditions it describes are distinctly Egyptian. Were it not for such details as the words spoken by the cows, and the miraculous appearance of the body of water between the two brothers, we might say the ancient Egyptians were strict realists in their theory of fiction. But the second part leads us through marvels enough to satisfy the most vivid of imaginations. It is 312 THE HIEROGLYPHS possible, therefore, that the tale as we have it was orig- inally two separate stories. The main theme of the story has occupied a great deal of attention. Its analogy to the Biblical narrative of Joseph and Potiphar's wife comes at once into the read- er's mind. But there is just as close a similarity in the Greek tales, where the hero is killed or his life endangered for having scorned the guilty love of a woman, as in the stories of tHippolytus, Peleus, Bellerophon, and the son of Glaucus, not to mention the extraordinary adventure of Amgiad and Assad, sons of Prince Kamaralzaman, in the Thousand and One Nights. The religions of Greece and Western Asia likewise contain myths that can be compared almost point for point with the tale of the two brothers. In Phrygia, for example, Atyo scorns the love of the goddess Cybele, as does Bata the love of Anpu's wife. Like Bata, again, he mutilates himself, and is transformed into a pine instead of a persea tree. Are we, therefore, to seek for the common origin of all the myths and romance in the tragedy of Anpu and Bata that was current, we know not how long, before the days of King Seti? Of one thing we may be sure : of this particular type the Egyptian tale is by far the oldest that we possess, and, if we may not look to the valley of the Nile as the original home of the popular tale, we may justly regard it as the locality where it was earliest naturalised and assumed a true literary form. Analogies to the second part of the tale are even more numerous and curious. They are to be found everywhere, EGYPTIAN POETRY 313 in France, Italy, Germany, Hungary, in Russia and all Slavonic countries, Roumania, Peloponnesia, in Asia Minor, Abyssinia, and even India. Of late years an ever-increasing accumulation of the literature of every age of Egyptian history has either been brought to light or for the first time studied from a wider point of view than was formerly possible. In making a few typical selections from the mass of this new material, none perhaps are more worthy of note than some of the love-songs which have been translated into German from Egyptian in " Die Liebespoesie der Alten iEgypten," by W. Max Muller. This is a very careful edition of the love-songs on the recto (or upper surface) of the Harris Papyrus 500, and of similar lyrics from Turin, Gizeh, and Paris. The introduction contains an account of Egyptian notions of love and marriage, gathered from hieroglyphic and demotic sources, and a chapter is devoted to the forms of Egyptian verse, its rhythm and accent. The interesting " Song of the Harper," which is found on the same Harris Papyrus, is also fully edited and collated with the parallel texts from the Theban tombs, and compared with other writ- ings dealing with death from the agnostic point of view. The following extracts are translated from the German: LOVE - SICKNESS I will lie down within doors For I am sick with wrongs. Then my neighbours come in to visit me. With them cometh my sister, She will make fun of the physicians ; She knoweth mine illness. 314 THE HIEROGLYPHS THE LUCKY DOORKEEPER The villa of my sister ! — Her gates (are) in the midst of the domain — (So oft as) its portals open, (So oft as) the bolt is withdrawn, Then is my sister angry : were I but set as the gatekeeper ! I should cause her to chide me ; (Then) I should hear her voice in anger, A child in fear before her ! THE UNSUCCESSFUL BIRD - CATCHER The voice of the wild goose crieth, (For) she hath taken her bait ; (But) thy love restraineth me, I cannot free her (from the snare) ; (So) must I take (home) my net. What (shall I say) to my mother, To whom (I am wont) to come daily Laden with wild fowl ? 1 lay not my snare to-day (For) thy love hath taken hold upon me. The most ardent interest that has been manifested in the Egyptian records had its origin in the desire to find evidence corroborative of the Hebrew accounts of the Egyptian captivity of the Jewish people. 1 The Egyptian word-treasury being at last unlocked, it was hoped that much new light would be thrown on Hebrew history. But the hope proved illusive. After ardent researches of hosts of fervid seekers for half a century, scarcely a word of reference to the Hebrews has been found among the 1 The only inscription relating directly to the Israelites will be found described in Chapter VII. EGYPTIAN LITERATURE 315 Egyptian records. If depicted at all, the Hebrew cap- tives are simply grouped with other subordinate peoples, not even considered worthy of the dignity of names. Nor is this strange when one reflects on the subordinate position which the Hebrews held in the ancient world. In historical as in other matter, much depends upon the point of view, and a series of events that seemed all- important from the Hebrew standpoint might very well be thought too insignificant for record from the point of view of a great nation like the Egyptians. But the all-powerful pen wrought a conquest for the Hebrews in succeeding generations that their swords never achieved, and, thanks to their literature, succeeding generations have cast historical perspective to the winds in viewing them. Indeed, such are the strange mutations of time that, had any scribe of ancient Egypt seen fit to scrawl a dozen words about the despised Israelite captives, and had this monument been preserved, it would have out- weighed in value, in the opinion of nineteenth-century Europe, all the historical records of Thutmosis, Ramses, and their kin that have come down to us. But seemingly no scribe ever thought it worth his while to make such an effort. It has just been noted that the hieroglyphic inscrip- tions are by no means restricted to sacred subjects. Nevertheless, the most widely known book of the Egyp- tians was, as might be expected, one associated with the funeral rites that played so large a part in the thoughts of the dwellers by the Nile. This is the document known as " The Chapters of the Coming-Forth by Day," or, as 316 THE HIEROGLYPHS it is more commonly interpreted, " The Book of the Dead." It is a veritable book in scope, inasmuch as the closely written papyrus roll on which it is enscrolled measures sometimes seventy feet in length. It is vir- tually the Bible of the Egyptians, and, as in the case of the sacred books of other nations, its exact origin is ob- scure. The earliest known copy is to be found, not on a papyrus roll, but upon the walls of the chamber of the pyramid at Saqqara near Cairo. The discovery of this particular recension of " The Book of the Dead " was made by Lepsius. Its date is 3333 b. c. No one supposes, however, that this date marks the time of the origin of " The Book of the Dead." On the contrary, it is held by competent authority that the earliest chapters, essen- tially unmodified, had been in existence at least a thou- sand years before this, and quite possibly for a much longer time. Numerous copies of this work in whole or in part have been preserved either on the walls of temples, on papyrus rolls, or upon the cases of mummies. These copies are of various epochs, from the fourth millennium b. c, as just mentioned, to the late Roman period, about the fourth century a. d. Throughout this period of about four thousand years the essential character of the book remained unchanged. It is true that no two copies that have been preserved are exactly identical in all their parts. There are various omissions and repetitions that seem to indicate that the book was not written by any one person or in any one epoch, but that it was originally a set of traditions quite possibly handed down for a long period by word of mouth THE BOOK OF THE DEAD . 317 before being put into writing. In this regard, as in many- others, this sacred book of the Egyptians is closely com- parable to the sacred books of other nations. It differs, however, in one important regard from these others in that it was never authoritatively pronounced upon and crystallised into a fixed, unalterable shape. From first to last, apparently, the individual scribe was at liberty to omit such portions as he chose, and even to modify somewhat the exact form of expression in making a copy of the sacred book. Even in this regard, however, the anomaly is not so great as might at first sight appear, for it must be recalled that even the sacred books of the Hebrews were not given final and authoritative shape until a period almost exactly coeval with that in which the Egyptian " Book of the Dead " ceased to be used at all. A peculiar feature of " The Book of the Dead," and one that gives it still greater interest, is the fact that from an early day it was the custom to illustrate it with graphic pictures in colour. In fact, taken as a whole, " The Book of the Dead " gives a very fair delineation of the progress of Egyptian art from the fourth millen- nium b. c. to its climax in the eighteenth dynasty, and throughout the period of its decline; and this applies not merely to the pictures proper, but to the forms of the hieroglyphic letters themselves, for it requires but the most cursory inspection to show that these give op- portunity for no small artistic skill. As to the ideas preserved in " The Book of the Dead," it is sufficient here to note that they deal largely with the 318 THE HIEKOGLYPHS condition of the human being after death, implying in the most explicit way a firm and unwavering belief in the immortality of the soul. The Egyptian believed most fully that by his works a man would be known and judged after death. His religion was essentially a religion of deeds, and the code of morals, according to which these deeds were adjudged, has been said by Doctor Budge, the famous translator of " The Book of the Dead," to be " the grandest and most comprehensive of those now known to have existed among the nations of antiquity." HOUSE OF MARIETTE, SAQQAEA. CHAPTER Vn THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY Mariette, Wilkinson, Bunsen, Brugsch, and Ebers : Erman's speech on Egypt- ology : The Egypt Exploration Fund : Maspero's investigations : The Temple of Bubastis : Ancient record of " Israel " : American interest in Egyptology. JCCOMP ANTING Napoleon's army of inva- sion in Egypt was a band of savants rep- resentative of every art and science, through whom the conqueror hoped to make known the topography and antiquities of Egypt to the Euro- pean world. The result of their researches was the famous work called " Description de l'Egypte," pub- lished under the direction of the French Academy in twenty-four volumes of text, and twelve volumes of plates. Through this magnificent production the Western world received its first initiation into the 319 320 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY mysteries of the wonderful civilisation which had flour- ished so many centuries ago, on the banks of the Nile. Egypt has continued to yield an ever-increasing harvest of antiquities, which, owing to the dry climate and the sand in which they have been buried, are many of them in a marvellous state of preservation. From the correla- tion of these discoveries the new science of Egyptology has sprung, which has many different branches, relating either to hieroglyphics, chronology, or archaeology proper. The earliest and most helpful of all the discoveries was that of the famous Rosetta Stone, found by a French artillery officer in 1799, while Napoleon's soldiers were excavating preparatory to erecting fortifications at Fort St. Julien. The deciphering of its trilingual inscriptions was the greatest literary feat of modern times, in which Dr. Thomas Young and J. F. Champollion share almost equal honours. Jean Frangois Champollion (1790—1832) is perhaps the most famous of the early students of Egyptian hiero- glyphs. After writing his " De l'eeriture hieratique des anciens egyptiens ' ' at Paris, he produced in 1824 in two volumes, his " Precis du systeme hieroglyphique des anciens egyptiens," on which his fame largely depends, as he was the first to furnish any practical system of deciphering the symbolic writing, which was to disclose to the waiting world Egyptian history, literature, and civilisation. Champollion wrote many other works re- lating to Egypt, and may truly be considered the pioneer of modern Egyptology. While much of his work has been superseded by more recent investigations, he was AUGUSTUS MARIETTE 321 so imbued with the scientific spirit that he was enabled securely to lay the foundation of all the work which followed. The distinguished French savant, Augustus Mariette, (1821—1881) began his remarkable excavations in Egypt j ' -; S 1 j...|| ' i IB -- |; 1 "■■ J^^KvI^iTOmK ' "' ! T' :: ^§ i - - BB "■"% ■ ■ ^mIkM | i ' ■ m f i ^_^ssg5B8^^ii- l -- -. 1. >;■■•■„■ . ii m. i'i i 'SHE Hi I 11 § ,, ■[ u III 1 1 s I'i i I . .;. ; : j- >/<§> T'" : lP';'' IIS 1 '"' : .> ■■;; :v a= -,. ' It'K! K?0 | 'i'i „!/'■ -'" i i'!^ [■!.■ ■ J ■ ■' -M ■ ■ i ■mi'"-- 1 ' '" 9 3 1 ii 'ill 1 ) 'm ■4 B Ifj -:.-- tf ■■ ~-r THE GREAT HALL OF ABYDOS. in the year 1850. The series of discoveries inaugurated by him lasted until the year 1880. Mariette made an ever-memorable discovery when he unearthed the famous Serapeum which had once been the burial-place of the 322 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY sacred bulls of Memphis, which the geographer Strabo records had been covered over by the drifting sands of the desert even in the days of Augustus. The Serapeum was in the neighbourhood of the Sphinx, and, on account of its great height, remained in part above the ground, and was visible to all passers-by; while everything else in the neighbourhood except the great Py- ramid of Khufui was totally buried under the sand. Mariette worked his way along the passage between the Great Sphinx and the other lesser sphinxes which lay concealed in the vicin- ity, and thus gradu- ally came to the opening of the Serapeum. In November, 1850, his labours were crowned with brilliant success. He discovered sixty-four tombs of Apis, dating from the eighteenth dynasty until as late as the reign of Cleo- patra. He likewise found here many figures, images, ancient Egyptian ornaments and amulets, and memorial stones erected by the devout worshippers of antiquity. Fortunately for Egyptian archaeology and history, nearly all the monuments here discovered were dated, and were thus of the highest value in settling the dates of dynas- ties and of the reigns of individual monarchs. Mariette afterwards discovered a splendid temple in the same PEOFYLON AT DENDEEAH. THE BULAK MUSEUM 323 place, which he proved to have been the famous shrine of the god Sokar-Osiris. He was soon appointed by the Egyptian Viceroy, Said Pasha, as director of the new museum of antiquities which was then placed at Bulak, in the vicinity of Cairo, awaiting the completion of a more substantial building at Grizeh. He obtained permission to make researches in every part of Egypt; and with varying success he excavated in as many as thirty-seven localities. In some of the researches undertaken by his direction, it is to be feared that many invaluable relics of antiquity may have been destroyed through the care- lessness of the workmen. This is to be accounted for from the fact that Mariette was not always able to be present, and the workmen naturally had no personal in- terest in preserving every relic and fragment from the past. It is also to be regretted that he left no full ac- count of the work which he undertook, and for this reason much of it had to be gone over again by more modern explorers. In the Delta excavations were made at Sais, Bubastis, and elsewhere. Mariette also discovered the temple of Tanis, and many curious human-headed sphinxes, which probably belong to the twelfth dynasty, and represent its kings. He further continued the labours of Lepsius about the necropolis of Memphis and Saqqara. Here several hundred tombs were discovered with the many inscriptions and figures which these contained. One of the most important of these findings— a superb exam- ple of Egyptian art— is the statue called by the Arabs " The Village Chief," which is now in the museum at 324 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY Bulak. Mariette followed out his researches on the site of the sacred city of Abydos. Here he discovered the temple of Seti I. of the nineteenth dynasty. On the walls TYPES OF EGYPTIAN COLUMNS : 1, 2, 3, GEOMETRIC ; 6-11, BOTANICAL ; 4, 6, 12, HATHORIC. are beautiful sculptures which are exquisite examples of Egyptian art, and a chronological table of the Kings of Abydos. Here Seti I. and Eamses II., his son, are repre- sented as offering homage to their many ancestors seated upon thrones inscribed with their names and dates. MARIETTE AT THEBES 325 Mariette discovered eight hundred tombs belonging for the most part to the Middle Kingdom. At Denderah he discovered the famous Ptolemaic temple of Hathor, the goddess of love, and his accounts of these discoveries make up a large volume. Continuing his labours, he excavated much of the site of ancient Thebes and the temple of Karnak, and, south of Thebes, the temple of Medinet-Habu. At Edfu Mariette found the temple of Horus, built during the time of the Ptolemies, whose roof formed the foundation of an Arab village. After per- severing excavations the whole magnificent plan of the temple stood uncovered, with all its columns, inscriptions, and carvings nearly intact. 1 Owing to Mariette 's friendship with the viceroy he was able to guard his right to excavate with strict exclu- siveness. He was accustomed to allow other scholars the right to examine localities where he had been the first one to make the researches, but he would not even allow the famous Egyptologist, also his great friend, Heinrich Brugsch, to make excavations in new places. After his death, conditions were somewhat altered, al- 1 In connection with the architecture of the ancient Egyptian tombs, it is interesting to note that there -was a development of architectural style in the formation of Egyptian columns not dissimilar in its evolution to that which is visible in the case of the Greek and Roman columns. The earliest Egyptian column appears to have been of a strictly geometrical character. This developed into a column resembling the Doric order. A second class of Egyptian column was based upon plant forms, probably derived from the practice of using reeds in the construction of mud huts. The chief botan- ical form which has come down to us is that of the lotus. A more advanced type of decoration utilised the goddess Hathor for the support of the superin- cumbent weight and has its analogy in the decadent caraytides of late Roman times. 326 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY though the general directorship of the excavations was still given exclusively to Frenchmen. The successors of Mariette Bey were Gaston Maspero, E. Grebault, J. de Morgan, and Victor Laret. But as time went on, savants of other nationalities were allowed to explore, with cer- tain reservations. Maspero founded an archaeological mission in Cairo in 1880, and placed at its head, in suc- cessive order, MM. Lebebure, Grebault, and Bouriant. The first of all to translate complete Egyptian books and entire inscriptions was Emanuel de Rouge, who exerted a great influence upon an illustrious galaxy of French savants, who followed more or less closely the example set by him. Among these translators we may enumerate Mariette, Charles Deveria, Pierret, Maspero himself, and Revillout, who has proved himself to be the greatest demotic scholar of France. England is also represented by scholars of note, among whom may be mentioned Dr. Samuel Birch (1813—85). He was a scholar of recognised profundity and also of remarkable versatility. One of the most important edi- torial tasks of Doctor Birch was a series known as "The Records of the Past," which consisted of translations from Egyptian and Assyrio-Babylonian records. Doctor Birch himself contributed several volumes to this series. He had also the added distinction of being the first trans- lator of the Egyptian Book of the Bead. Another English authority was Sir J. Gardner Wil- kinson, who wrote several important works on the man- ners and customs of the ancient Egyptians. Wilkinson was born in 1797 and died in 1875. Whoever would know WILKINSON, BUNSEN, AND BRUGSCH 327 the Egyptian as he was, in manner and custom, should peruse the pages of his Egyptian works. His " Popular Account of the Ancient Egyptians " has been the chief source of information on the subject. German scholars have done especially valuable work in the translation of texts from the Egyptian temples, and in pointing out the relation between these texts and his- torical events. Foremost among practical German archae- ologists is Karl Richard Lepsius, who was born in 1810 at Naumburg, Prussia, and died in 1884 at Berlin. In his maturer years he had a professorship in Berlin. He made excursions to Egypt in an official capacity, and familiarised himself at first hand with the monuments and records that were his life-study. The letters of Lep- sius from Egypt and Nubia were more popular than his other writings, and were translated into English and widely read. Another famous German who was interested in the study of Egyptology was Baron Christian Bunsen (1791— 1867). From early youth he showed the instincts of a scholar, but was prevented for many years from leading a scholar's life, owing to his active duties in the diplo- matic service for Prussia at Rome and London. During the years 1848—67, Bunsen brought out the famous work called " Egypt's Place in Universal History," which Brugsch deemed to have contributed more than any other work in popularising the subject of Egyptology. Heinrich Carl Brugsch was born at Berlin in 1827 and died there in 1894. Like Bunsen, he was a diplomatist and a scholar. He entered the service of the Egyptian 328 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY government, and merited the titles of bey and sub- sequently of pasha. He became known as one of the foremost of Egyptologists, and was the greatest authority of his day on Egyptian writing. He wrote a work of standard authority, translated into English under the title of " The History of Egypt under the Pharaohs." The chronology of Egypt now in use is still based upon the system created by Brugsch, which, though confess- edly artificial, nevertheless is able to meet the difficulties of the subject better than any other yet devised. Among distinguished German Egyptologists must be mentioned Georg Moritz Ebers (1839—96). He is best known by his far-famed novels, whose subjects are taken from the history of ancient Egypt, perhaps the most popular being " An Egyptian Princess." Besides these popular novels and a valuable description of Egypt, Ebers also made personal explorations in the country, and dis- covered at Thebes the great medical papyrus, which is called the Papyrus Ebers. This remarkable document, to which he devoted so much labour, is our chief source of information regarding the practice of medicine as it existed, and would alone keep the name of Ebers alive among Egyptologists. The leading German Egyptologist of to-day is Dr. Adolf Erman, who was born at Berlin in 1854. He is the worthy successor to Brugsch in the chair of Egypt- ology at the University of Berlin, and is director of the Berlin Egyptian Museum. His writings have had to do mainly with grammatical and literary investigations. His editions of the " Romances of Old Egypt " are models ADOLPH ERMAN 329 of scholarly interpretation. They give the original hie- ratic text, with translation into Egyptian hieroglyphics, into Latin and into German. Doctor Erman has not, however, confined his labours to this strictly scholarly type of work, but has also written a distinctly popular book on the life of the ancient Egyptians, which is the most complete work that has appeared since the writings of Wilkinson. The memorable speech of Erman, delivered on the occasion of his election as a member of the Berlin Acad- emy, sets forth clearly the progress made in the science of Egyptology and present-day tendencies. On that oc- casion he said: " Some of our older fellow-specialists complain that we of the younger generation are depriving Egyptology of all its charm, and that, out of a delightful science, abounding in startling discoveries, we have made a philo- logical study, with strange phonetic laws and a wretched syntax. There is doubtless truth in this complaint, but it should be urged against the natural growth of the science, and not against the personal influence of indi- viduals or its development. The state through which Egyptology is now passing is one from which no science escapes. It is a reaction against the enthusiasm and the rapid advance of its early days. " I can well understand to outsiders it may seem as though we had only retrograded during later years. Where are the good old times when every text could be translated and understood? Alas! a better comprehen- sion of the grammar has revealed on every side difficul- 330 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY ties and impediments of which hitherto nothing had been suspected. Moreover, the number of ascertained words in the vocabulary is continually diminishing, while the host of the unknown increases; for we no longer arrive at the meaning by the way of audacious etymologies and still more audacious guesses. " We have yet to travel for many years on the ardu- ous path of empirical research before we can attain to an adequate dictionary. There is indeed an exceptional reward which beckons us on to the same goal, namely, that we shall then be able to assign to Egyptian its place among the languages of Western Asia and of Africa. At present we do well to let this great question alone. As in the Linguistic department of Egyptology, so it is in every other section of the subject. The Egyptian relig- ion seemed intelligently and systematically rounded off when each god was held to be the incarnation of some power of nature. Now we comprehend that we had better reserve our verdict on this matter until we know the facts and the history of the religion; and how far we are from knowing them is proved to us by every text. The texts are full of allusions to the deeds and fortunes of the gods, but only a very small number of these allusions are in- telligible to us. " The time has gone by in which it was thought pos- sible to furnish the chronology of Egyptian history, and in which that history was supposed to be known, because the succession of the most powerful kings had been ascer- tained. To us the history of Egypt has become something altogether different. It comprises the history of her civ- THE GEEMAN EGYPTOLOGISTS 331 ilisation, her art, and her administration; and we rejoice in the prospect that one day it may be possible in that land to trace the development of a nation throughout five thousand years by means of its own monuments and records. But we also know that the realisation of this dream must be the work of many generations. " The so-called ' demotic ' texts, which lead us out of ancient Egypt into the GraBCO-Roman period, were de- ciphered with the acumen of genius more than half a century ago by Heinrich Brugsch, but to-day these also appear to us in a new light as being full of unexpected difficulties and in apparent disagreement with both the older and the later forms of the language. In this im- portant department we must not shrink from a revision of past work. " I will not further illustrate this theme; but the case is the same in every branch of Egyptology. In each, the day of rapid results is at an end, and the monotonous time of special studies has begun. Hence I would beg the Academy not to expect sensational discoveries from their new associate. I can only offer what labor impro- bus brings to light, and that is small discoveries; yet in the process of time they will lead us to those very ends which seemed so nearly attainable to our predecessors." The German school may perhaps be said to have de- voted its time especially to labours upon Egyptian gram- mar and philology, while the French school is better known for its excellent work on the history and archae- ology of ancient Egypt. On these topics the leading au- thority among all the scholars of to-day is the eminent 332 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY Frenchman, Professor Gaston C. C. Maspero, author of the first nine volumes of the present work. He was born at Paris, June 24, 1846. He is a member of the French In- stitute, and was formerly Professor of Egyptian Archae- ology and Ethnology in the College de France, and, more recently, Director of the Egyptian Museum at Bulak. His writings cover the entire field of Oriental antiquity. In this field Maspero has no peer among Egyptologists of the present or the past. He possesses an eminent gift of style, and his works afford a rare combination of the qualities of authority, scientific accuracy, and of popular readableness. Some extraordinary treasures from tombs were dis- covered in the year 1881. At that date Arabs often hawked about in the streets what purported to be genuine works of antiquity. Many of these were in reality imita- tions; but Professor Maspero in this year secured from an Arab a funeral papyrus of Phtahhotpu I., and after considerable trouble he was able to locate the tomb in Thebes from which the treasure had been taken. Brugsch now excavated the cave, which was found to be the place where a quantity of valuable treasures had been secreted, probably at the time of the sacking of Thebes by the As- syrians. Six thousand objects were secured, and they included twenty-nine mummies of kings, queens, princes, and high priests, and five papyri, among which was the funeral papyrus of Queen Makeru of the twentieth dynasty. The mummy-cases had been opened by the Arabs, who had taken out the mummies and in some in- stances replaced the wrong ones. Many mummies of the THE EGYPT EXPLORATION FUND 333 eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties had been removed to this cave probably for safety, on account of its secrecy. Out of the twenty-nine mummies found here, seven were of kings, nine of queens and princesses, and several more of persons of distinction. The place of concealment was situated at a turn of a cliff southwest of the village of Deir-el-Bahari. The explorers managed successfully to identify King Raskamen of the seventeenth dynasty, King Ahmosis I., founder of the eighteenth dynasty, and his queen Ahmo- sis-Nofritari, also Queen Arhotep and Princess Set Am- nion, and the king's daughters, and his son Prince Sa Am- nion. They also found the mummies of Thutmosis I., Thutmosis II. and of Thutmosis III. (Thutmosis the Great), together with Ramses I., Seti I., Ramses XII., King Phtahhotpu II., and noted queens and princesses. In the year 1883 the Egypt Exploration Fund was founded for the purpose of accurate historical investi- gation in Egypt. The first work undertaken was on a mound called the Tel-el-Mashuta, in the Wadi-et-Tumi- lat. This place was discovered to be the site of the ancient Pithom, a treasure-city supposed to have been built by the Israelites for Pharaoh. In the Greek and Roman period the same place had been called Heroopolis. M. Naville also discovered Succoth, the first camping-ground of the Israelites while fleeing from their oppressor, and an inscription with the word " Pikeheret," which he judged to be the Pihahiroth of the Book of Exodus. The next season the site of Zoan of the Bible was explored, a village now termed San. 334 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY Professor W. M. Flinders Petrie started work where a rim of red granite stood up upon one of the many mounds in the neighbourhood. The site of the ancient city had been here, and the granite rim was on the site of a temple. The latter had two enclosure walls, one of which had been built of sun-dried bricks, and was of ex- treme antiquity; the other was built of bricks of eight times the size and weight of modern bricks, and the wall was of very great strength. Dwelling-houses had been built in the locality, and coins and potsherds discovered. These remains Professor Petrie found to belong to peri- ods between the sixth and twenty-sixth dynasties. Stones were found in the vicinity with the cartouche of King Papi from one of the earliest dynasties. There were also red granite statues of Ahmenemhait L, and a black gran- ite statue of Kind Usirtasen I. and of King Ahmenemhait II., and a torso of King Usirtasen II. was found cut from yellow-stained stone, together with a vast number of relics of other monarchs. Parts of a giant statue of King Ramses II. were discovered which must have been ninety- eight feet in height before it was broken, the great toe alone measuring eighteen inches across, and the weight of the statue estimated to be about 1,200 tons. In addi- tion to these relics of ancient monarchs, a large number of antiquities were discovered, with remains of objects for domestic use in ancient Egyptian society. The explorations conducted at Tanis during 1883—84 brought to light objects mainly of the Ptolemaic period, because a lower level had not at that period been reached, but here many invaluable relics of Ptolemaic arts were MASPEBO'S INVESTIGATIONS 335 unearthed. The results of researches were published at this date bearing upon the Great Pyramid. Accurate measurements had been undertaken by Professor Petrie, who was able to prove that during one epoch systematic but unavailing efforts had been made to destroy these great structures. Professor Maspero discovered among the hills of Thebes an important tomb of the eleventh dynasty, which threw light upon obscure portions of Egyptian history, and contained texts of the " Book of the Dead. " The fol- lowing year he discovered the necropolis of Khemnis in the neighbourhood of Kekhrneen, a provincial town in Upper Egypt built on the site of the ancient Panopolis. The remains were all in a state of perfect preservation. In July, 1884, Professor Maspero secured permission from the Egyptian government to buy from the natives the property which they held on the site of the Great Temple at Luxor, and to prevent any further work of destruction. These orders, however, were not carried out till early in 1885, when Maspero began excavating with one hundred and fifty workmen. He first unearthed the sanctuary of Amenhothes ILT., with its massive roof. He brought to light the great central colonnade, and dis- covered a portico of Ramses LT., and many colossi, which were either still erect or else had fallen on the ground. The columns of Amenhothes HI. were next explored, which were found to be among the most beautiful of all specimens of Egyptian architecture. It is believed that Luxor will prove to have been a locality of almost as great a beauty as Karnak. 336 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY During the season of 1884—85 Professor Petrie started excavations at the modern Nehireh, which he learned was the site of the ancient Naucratis. 1 Here many Greek inscriptions were found. ' This city was one of great importance and a commercial mart during the reign of Ahmosis, although in the time of the Em- peror Commodus it had wholly dis- appeared. Two temples of Apollo were discovered, one of which was built from lime- stone in the sev- enth century b. c. ; and the other was of white marble, beauti- fully decorated, and dating from the fifth century. Magnificent libation bowls were also discovered here, some of which had been dedicated to Hera, others to Zeus, and others ruins at Luxor. to Aphrodite. The lines of the ancient streets were traced, and a storehouse or granary of the ancient Egyptians was unearthed, also 1 The investigations on this site were continued in the season of 1888-89. CERAMIC ART 337 many Greek coins. Besides these were discovered vo- tive deposits, cups of porcelain, alabaster jugs, limestone mortars; and trowels, chisels, knives, and hoes. Much light was thrown by these discoveries on the progress of the ceramic arts, and many links uniting the Greek pottery with the Egyptian pottery were here for the first time traced. It was learned that the Greeks were the pupils of the Egyptians, but that they idealised the work of their masters and brought into it freer con- ceptions of beauty and of proportion. M. Naville was engaged about this time in contro- versies as to the true site of this ancient Pithom. He also made, in 1886, a search for the site of Goshen. He believed he had identified this when he discovered at Saft an inscription dedicated to the gods of Kes, which Naville identified with Kesem, the name used in the Septuagint for Goshen. Others, however, disagree, and locate the site of Goshen at a place called Eakoos, twelve miles north of Tel-el-Kebir. The explorations of 1885—86 started under the direc- tion of Professor W. M. Flinders Petrie, Mr. F. Llew- ellen Griffith, and Mr. Ernest A. Gardiner. Gardiner set out in the direction of Naucratis, and Petrie and Griffith proceeded to explore the site of Tanis. The mound at which they worked, like many other localities of modern and ancient Egypt, has been known by a variety of names. It is called Tel Parum, or the Mound of the Pharaoh; Tel Bedawi, the Mound of the Bedouins; and Tel Nebesheh, after the name of the village upon this site. There are remains here of an ancient cemeterv 338 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY and of two ancient towns and a temple. The cemetery was found to be unlike those of Memphis, Thebes, or Abydos. It contained many small chambers and groups of chambers irregularly placed about a sandy plain. These were built mostly of brick, but there were other and larger ones built of limestone. A black granite altar of the reign of Ahmenemhait II. was discovered, and thrones of royal statues of the twelfth dynasty. Here were also found a statue of Harpocrates, a portion of a statue of Phtah, with an inscription of Ramses II., a sphinx and tombs of the twentieth century b. c, contain- ing many small relics of antiquity. Professor Petrie went on from here to the site of Tell Def enneh, the Tahpanhes of the Bible, called Taphne in the version of the Septuagint. This proved to be the remains of the earliest Greek settlement in Egypt, and contains no remains from a later period than the twenty- sixth dynasty. It was here that Psammeticus I. estab- lished a colony of the Carian and Ionian mercenaries, by whose aid this monarch had won the throne; and this Greek city had been built as one out of three fortresses to prevent the incursions of the Arabians and Syrians. The city of Tahpanhes or Taphne is referred to in the book of Jeremiah. There were found on this site the remains of a vast pile of brick buildings, which could be seen in outline from a great distance across the plains. The Arabs called this " El Kasr el Bin el Yahudi," that is, " The Castle of the Jew's Daughter." This was found to have been a fort, and it contained a stele with a record of the JEREMIAH VERIFIED 339 garrison which had been stationed there; pieces of an- cient armour and arms were also found in the neighbour- hood. There was likewise a royal hunting-box on this site, and all the principal parts of the settlement were found to have been surrounded by a wall fifty feet thick, which enclosed an area of three thousand feet in length and one thousand in breadth. The gate on the north opened towards the Pelusiac canal, and the south looked out upon the ancient military road which led up from Egypt to Syria. Pottery, bronze-work, some exquisitely wrought scale armour, very light but overlapping six times, were unearthed within this enclosure. There were also Greek vases and other Greek remains, dating in the earlier part of the reign of Ahmosis, who had subse- quently sent the Greeks away, and prevented them from trading in Egypt. Since this Greek colony came to an end in the year 570 b. c, and as the locality was no longer frequented by Greek soldiers or merchants, it is possible to set an exact term to the period of Greek art which these antiquities represent. The Greek pottery here is so unlike that of Naucratis and of other places that it seems to be well ascertained that it must have been all manufactured at Defenneh itself. Outside the buildings of the Kasr, Petrie discovered a large sun-baked pave- ment resting upon the sands, and this discovery was of value in explaining a certain passage of the forty-third chapter of Jeremiah, translated from the Revised Ver- sion as follows: " Then came the word of the Lord to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, Take great stones in thine hand, and hide them in the mortar of the brick- 340 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY work which is at the entry of Pharaoh's house in Tah- panhes in the sight of the men of Judah [i. e. Johannan and the captains who had gone to Egypt] ; and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold I will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the King of Babylon, my servant, and will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall spread his royal pavilion over them. And he shall come and smite the land of Egypt." An alternate reading for " brick- work " is the pavement or square. The pavement which Jeremiah described was evidently the one which Petrie discovered, though he was not able at the time to dis- cover the stones which, according to Jeremiah, had been inserted in the mortar. Outside the camp wall was further discovered the remains of a large settlement, strewn on all sides with bits of pottery and jewelry and a great number of weights. During this season Maspero carried on researches at Luxor, and proceeded to excavate in the neighbourhood of the Great Sphinx. There are many Egyptian pictures which represent the Sphinx in its entirety down to the paws, but the lower parts had for centuries been buried in the accumulations of sand which had covered up all of the ancient site. It had previously been supposed that the Sphinx had been hewn out of a solid mass of rock resembling an immense boulder. Professor Mas- pero 's excavations enabled him not only to verify the accuracy of the old Egyptian paintings of the Sphinx, but also to show that a vast amphitheatre had been hewn out of the rock round the Sphinx, which was not there- MUMMY OF EAMSES II. 341 fore sculptured from a projecting rock. Since the upper rim of this basin was about on the same level with the head of the figure, it became evident that the ancient sculptors had cut the rock away on all sides, and had subsequently left the Sphinx isolated, as it is at the pres- ent day. Maspero dug down during this season to a depth of thirty yards in the vicinity. Professor Maspero 's last official act as Director-Gen- eral of the Excavations and Antiquities of Egypt was his examination of the mummy of Ramses II. found in 1884, in the presence of the khedive and other high dig- nitaries. The mummy of this great conqueror was well preserved, revealing a giant frame and a face expressive of sovereign majesty, indomitable will, and the pride of the Egyptian king of kings. He then unbandaged the mummy of Nofritari, wife of King Ahmosis I. of the eighteenth dynasty, beside which, in the same sarcopha- gus, had been discovered the mummy of Ramses III. The physiognomy of this monarch is more refined and intellectual than that of his warlike predecessor; nor was his frame built upon the same colossal plan. The height of the body was less, and the shoulders not so wide. In the same season Maspero also discovered an ancient Egyptian romance inscribed on limestone near the tomb of Sinuhit at Thebes. A fragment on papyrus had been preserved at the Berlin Museum, but the whole romance was now decipherable. Professor Maspero resigned his office of directorship on June 5, 1886, and was succeeded in the superin- tendency of excavations and Egyptian archaeology by 342 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY M. Eugene Grebault. In the same month Grebault started upon the work of unbandaging the mummy of the Theban King Sekenenra Ta-aken, of the eighteenth dynasty. It was under this monarch that a revolt against the Hyksos, or Shepherd Kings, had originated, in the course of which the Asiatics were expelled from Egypt. The history of this king has always been considered legendary, but from the signs of wounds present in the mummy, it is certain that he had died in battle. 1 In the same season the mummy of Seti I. was unbandaged, and also that of an anonymous prince. The next season the work of clearing away the sand from around the Great Sphinx was vigorously prosecuted by Grebault. In the beginning of the year 1887, the chest, the paws, the altar, and plateau were all made visible. Flights of steps were unearthed, and finally accurate measurements were taken of the great figures. The height from the lowest of the steps was found to be one hundred feet, and the space between the paws was found to be thirty-five feet long and ten feet wide. Here there was formerly an altar; and a stele of Thutmosis IV. was discovered, recording a dream in which he was ordered to clear away the sand that even then was gathering round the site of the Sphinx. M. Naville and Mr. ¥. Llewellen Griffiths explored during the season of 1886—87 the mound of Tel-el- Yehu- dieh (the mound of the Jew). The site is probably that on which was once built the city that Ptolemy Philadel- phus allowed the Jews to construct. The remains of a 1 See Volume IV., page 110. THE TEMPLE AT BUBASTIS 343 statue of the cat-headed goddess Bast, to which there is a reference in Josephus, was also found here. The discovery of tablets of definitely Jewish origin make it clear that the modern name had been given to the place for some reason connected with the colony thus proved to have once been settled there. Naville also made researches at Tel Basta, the site of the Bubastis of the Greeks, the Pi Beseth of the Bible, and the Pi Bast of the Egyptians, which was formerly the centre of worship of the goddess Pasht and her sacred animal, the cat. The whole plan of the ancient temple was soon disclosed, the general outline of which bears much resemblance to that of the great Temple of San. In the division which Naville called the Festival Hall were numerous black and red statues inscribed with the name of Ramses II., but many of which were probably not really erected by this monarch. Here there was also found a standing statue of the Governor of Ethiopia, a priest and priestess of the twenty-sixth dynasty, and many other monuments of the greatest historical inter- est. The hall itself was built of red granite. Another hall, which Naville called the " Hypostyle Hall," possessed a colonnade of such beauty that it would seem to justify the statement of Herodotus, that the tem- ple of Bubastis was one of the finest in Egypt. The col- umns were either splendid red granite monoliths, with lotus-bud or palm-leaf capitals; or, a head of Hathor from which fell two long locks. These columns probably belonged to the twelfth dynasty. In what Naville called the " Ptolemaic Hall " occurs the name Nephthorheb or 344 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY Nectanebo I. of the thirtieth dynasty. The relics of this remarkable temple thus cover a period from the sixth to the thirtieth dynasties, some 3,200 years. During this season Professor Petrie made important discoveries in relation to the obscure Hyksos dominion in Egypt. Many representations of these Shepherd Kings were found, and, from their physiognomy, it was judged that they were not Semites, but rather Mongols or Tatars, who probably came from the same part of Asia as the Mongul hordes of Genghis Khan. Early in 1888 excavations were resumed on the site of the great temple of Bubastis by M. Edouard Naville, Mr. P. LI. Griffiths, and the Count d'Hulst. The inves- tigation again yielded the usual crop of antiquities that was now always expected from the exploration of the famous sites. A third hall was discovered, which had been built in the time of Osorkon I., of red granite in- laid with sculptured slabs. There were also many other monuments and remains of the monarchs, together with much valuable evidence relating to the rule of the Hyksos. Petrie brought to London many beautiful Ptolemaic and Roman portraits, which he had discovered in a vast cemetery near the pyramid which bears the name of King Ahmenemhait III. The portraits are in an excellent state of preservation, and are invaluable as illustrative of the features, manners, and customs of the Greek and Roman periods in Egyptian history. His researches in the neighbourhood of the Fayum at this time commenced to bear fruit; and many ques- THE TEL-EL-AMARNA TABLETS 345 tions were answered regarding the ancient Lake Moeris. It was in this season also that the ever memorable exca- vations conducted at Tel-el-Amarna were first begun. This place is situated in Upper Egypt on the site of the capital, which had been built by Ahmenhotpu IV. Here were discovered many clay tablets in cuneiform char- acters containing documents in the Babylonian language. These were found in the tomb of a royal scribe. The list contained a quantity of correspondence from the kings or rulers of Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Baby- lonia to Ahmenhotpu III. and IV There were Egyptian garrisons in those days in Palestine, and they were ac- customed to keep their royal masters well informed as to what was going on in the country. Among other cities mentioned are Byblos, Smyrna, Appo or Acre, Megiddo, and Ashpelon. During this season many relics of early Christian art were discovered. In many cases * a pagan picture had been in part painted over, and thus given a Christian significance. Two figures of Isis suckling Horus are, with slight alterations, made to represent the Virgin and the Child. A bas-relief of St. George slaying the dragon was discovered, which closely resem- bled that of Horus slaying Set. During the following season of 1888—89, Petrie re- sumed his excavations round the pyramid of Hawara, which was supposed to be the site of the famous Laby- rinth. "Work had been begun here in the season previous, and it was now to be crowned with great success. All the underground passages and secret chambers under 1 See Volume XI., page 248. 346 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY the pyramid were examined, and the inscriptions dis- covered of King Ahmenemhait III. prove that this was without doubt the pyramid of the monarch of that name. It was discovered that the Romans had broken into the recesses of these secret chambers, and many broken Roman ampJiorce were unearthed. Later Professor Pe- trie examined the pyramid of Illahun, which stands at the gate of the Fayum. It is probable that this was on the site of the ancient locks which regulated the flow of the Nile into Lake Moeris. Many of the antiquities here discovered bore inscriptions of King Usirtasen II., and, in the same locality, was discovered the site of an early Christian cemetery dating from the fifth or sixth centuries. A few miles from Illahun, the same inde- fatigable explorer discovered the remains of another town belonging to the eighteenth or nineteenth dynasties. A wall once surrounded the town, and beyond the wall was a necropolis. The place is now called Tell Gurah, and the relics give inscriptions of Thutmosis III. or Tu- tankhamon and of Horemheb. In the same season of 1888—89, Miss Amelia B. Ed- wards, who had been sent out by the Egypt Exploration Fund, brought to a conclusion the excavations which had been carried on for several seasons at Bubastis. It was discovered that the temple itself dated back to the reign of the famous Khufui (Kheops), the builder of the great Pyramid, since an inscription with his name on it was discovered, together with one inscribed to King Khafri (Chephren). The monuments discovered on this site were, for the most part, shipped to Europe and America. THE PYRAMID AT MEDUM 347 The city of Boston, Mass., received a colossal Hathor- head capital of red granite, part of a colossal figure of a king, an immense lotus-bud capital from the Hypo- style Hall of the temple, a bas-relief in red granite from the Hall of Osorken H., and two bas-reliefs of limestone from the tem- ple of Hathor, taken from the ancient Termuther. Specimens recovered from here date from the fourth to the twenty-sec- ond dynasties, and the relics from Termuther are from the last period of the Ptolemies. Early in 1891, Pro- fessor Petrie made his exhaustive examination of the pyramid of Me- dum, which he declared THE L0TDS FLOWER < NTMPH * A L0TU8 -> to be the earliest of all dated Egyptian pyramids, and probably the oldest dated building in the world. Its builder was Snofrui of the third dynasty; and, joined with it, and in a perfect state of preservation, was the pyramid temple built at the same period. From forty to sixty feet of rubbish had accumulated around the buildings, and had to be removed. The front of the tem- ple was thirty feet wide and nine feet high, and a door was discovered at the south end. A wide doorway leads 348 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY to the open court built on the side of the pyramid. In the centre of the court stands the altar of offerings, where there is also an inscribed obelisk thirteen feet high. The walls of the temple are all marked with graffiti of visi- tors who belonged to the twelfth and eighteenth dynas- ties. A statuette was found dedicated to the gods of the town by a woman. The tombs at this place had been rifled in ancient times, but many skeletons of people, who had been buried in a crouching attitude, were discovered, and Petrie con- sidered that these belonged to a different race from that which was accustomed to bury the dead recumbent. A quantity of pottery was also unearthed, dating from the fourth century. The method by which the plan of a pyramid was laid out by the ancient Egyptians was dis- covered in this excavation, and the designs show con- siderable mechanical ingenuity in their execution, and afford a perfect system for maintaining the symmetry of the building itself, no matter how uneven the ground on which it was to be built. In the spring of 1891, M. Naville started an excava- tion on the site of the ancient Heracleopolis Magna at a place now named Hanassieh. He found here many Ro- man and Koptic remains, and further discovered the vestibule of an ancient Egyptian temple. There were six columns, on which Ramses LT. was represented as offering gifts. The name of Menephtah was also noticed, and the architraves above the columns were seen to be cut with cartouches of Usirtasen II. of the twelfth dy- nasty. This temple was probably one of those to the PETRIE'S "NEW RACE" 349 service of which Ramses II. donated some slaves, as is described in one of the papyri of the Harris collection. A stone was discovered by Mr. Wilborn at Luxor, recording a period of seven years' successive failure of the Nile to overflow, and the efforts made by a certain sorcerer named Chit Net to remove the calamity. During the season of 1895, Professor Petrie and Mr. Quibell discovered homes belonging to paleolithic man on a plateau four thousand feet above the Nile. Thirty miles south of Thebes, there are many large and beauti- fully worked flints. Their great antiquity is proved by the fact that they are deeply stained, whereas, in the same locality, there are other flints of an age of five thou- sand years, which show no traces of stains. Close by this site was discovered the abundant re- mains of a hitherto unknown race. This race has noth- ing in common with the true Egyptians, although their relics are invariably found with those of the Egyptians of the fourth, twelfth, eighteenth, and nineteenth dy- nasties. Petrie declares these men to have been tall and powerful, with strong features, a hooked nose, a long, pointed beard, and brown, wavy hair. They were not related to the negroes, but rather to the Amorites or Libyans. The bodies in these tombs are not mummified, but are contracted, though laid in an opposite direction from those discovered at Medum. The graves are open, square pits, roofed over with beams of wood. This an- cient race used forked hunting-lances for chasing the gazelle, and their beautiful flints were found to be like those belonging to an excellent collection already exist- 350 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY ing in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford. They also made an abundant use of copper for adzes, harpoons for spearing fish, and needles for sewing garments. They used pottery abundantly, and its variety is remarkable no less than the quality, which, unlike the Egyptian, was all hand-made and never fashioned by aid of the wheel. They entered Egypt about 3,000 b. c, and were probably of the white Libyan race, and possibly may have been the foreigners who overthrew the old Egyptian empire. The discovery of the name of " Israel " in an Egyp- tian inscription was in a sense, perhaps, the most re- markable event of the year 1895 in archaeology. It was first laid before the public by Professor Petrie, 1 and was treated by Spiegelberg 2 in a communication to the Ber- lin Academy, and by Steindorff. 3 The name occurs in an inscription dated in the fifth year of Merenptah, the successor of Ramses II., and often supposed to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus. It is there written with the determinative of a people, not of a city or country, and reads in our conventional transliteration Ysirdar, but in reality agrees very closely to the Hebrew ^*ntsr, the last portion dar being recognised as the equivalent of el in several words. Merenptah states that " Israel is fekt ( ?) without seed (grain or offspring), Syria (Kharu) has become widows (KJiarut) of or to Egypt." We can form no conclusion from these statements as to the relation 1 Contemporary Review, May 1896. 2 Sitzberichte, xxv., p. 593. 8 Zeitschrif t fur deutsch. Alt. test. Wiss., 1896, p. 330. EGYPTIAN RECORD OF ISRAEL 351 in which the Israelites stood to Pharaoh and to Egypt, except that they are represented as having been power- less. It is pretty clear, however, from the context that they were then in Palestine, or at least in Syria. Stein- dorff suggests that they may have entered Syria from Chaldsea during the disturbed times in Egypt at the end of the eighteenth dynasty, and connects them with the movements of the Khabiri (Hebrews'?) mentioned in the Tel-el- Amarna tablets. On the other hand, it is of course possible, as Professor Petrie points out, that this refer- QOXd THE WORD " ISRAEL " IN HIEROGLYPHS. ence to the Israelites may have some connection with the Exodus itself. M. Clermont Ganneau thinks that the localities mentioned are all in Southern Palestine. 1 M. Edouard Naville found at Thebes many remains of the Punt sculptures. The Puntites appear with their aquiline features, their pointed beards, and their long hair; negroes also of black and brown varieties are rep- resented adjoining the Puntites proper. There are wick- erwork huts, and a figure of a large white dog with its ears hanging down. Long-billed birds also appear flying about in the trees. Their nests have been forsaken and robbed, and the men are represented as gathering incense 1 Revue Arch 6ologi que, xxix., p. 127. 352 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY from the trees. Altogether, much invaluable informa- tion has been gathered concerning the famous people who lived in the Land of Punt, and with whom for a long period the Egyptians held intercommunication. Other discoveries were made near the great temple of Karnak, and the buildings of Medinet-Habu were cleared of rubbish in order to show their true proportions. From its foundation, the Egypt Exploration Fund has received large pecuniary support from the United States, chiefly through the enthusiasm and energy of Dr. W. C. Winslow, of Boston. In 1880 Doctor Winslow, who had been five months in Egypt, returned to Amer- ica deeply impressed with the importance of scientific research in Egypt, and, upon hearing of the Exploration Fund in London, he wrote a letter expressive of his interest and sympathy to the president, Sir Erasmus Wilson, which brought a reply not only from him, but also from the secretary, Miss Edwards, expatiating upon the purpose and needs of the society, and outlining optimistically its ultimate accomplishments. Doctor Winslow was elected honorary treasurer of the Fund for the United States for the year 1883— 84. 1 Many prominent residents became interested and added 1 The American subscriptions from the year 1883 rapidly increased, and by the year 1895 had figured up to $75,800, and the total number of letters and articles written during that time had grown to 2,467. The organisation in America consists of a central office at Boston, together with independent local societies, such as have already been formed in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The Boston office, and any independent local society, which sub- scribes not less than $750 a year, is entitled to nominate a member of the Committee. At the end of July, 1884, Doctor Winslow had forwarded to London $1,332.20. AMERICAN INTEREST IN EGYPT 353 their names to its membership, and have given it their effort and their hearty financial support. Among the distinguished American members have been J. R. Lowell, Gr. W. Curtis, Charles Dudley Warner, and among the chief Canadian members are Doctor Bourinot and Dr. J. William Dawson. The Fund has always preserved amicable relations with the Government Department of Antiquities in Egypt. Excavations are conducted by skilled explorers, and the results published promptly with due regard to scientific accuracy and pictorial embellishment. The an- tiquities found are either deposited in the National Mu- seum at Cairo, or distributed among public museums in the United Kingdom and the United States of America and Canada, in strict proportion to the contribution of each locality. Exhibitions are usually held in London in July of each year. The Fund now consists of three departments, for each of which separate accounts are kept. These depart- ments are: 1. The Exploration Fund, for conducting archeological research generally, by means of system- atic excavations. 2. The Archaeological Survey, for pre- serving an accurate pictorial record of monuments already excavated but liable to destruction. 3. The Grseco-Roman Branch, for the discovery of the remains of classical antiquity and early Christianity. The first work of the Grseco-Roman Branch was to publish the recently discovered Oxyrrhynchos papyri, of which two volumes, containing many important classical and theological texts, were issued in 1898 and 1899 and 354 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY 1900. Among its contents are parts of two odes of Pin- dar, of which one begins with a description of the poet's relation to Xenocritus, the inventor of the Locrian mode of music; a considerable piece of the " Kolax " of Me- nander, one of the two plays upon which the " Eunu- chus " of Terence was based; part of a rhetorical treatise in Doric dialect, which is undoubtedly a work of the Pythagorean school; the conclusion of the eighteenth Keo-ro? of Julius Africanus, dealing with a question of Homeric criticism; and part of a biography of Alcibi- ades. A new light is thrown upon some of the less-known departments of Greek literature by a well-preserved papyrus, which contains on one side a prose mime in two scenes, a work of the school of Sophron, having points of resemblance to the fifth mime of Herondas; while on the other side is an amusing farce, partly in prose, partly in verse. The scene is laid on the shores of the Indian Ocean, and the plot turns upon the rescue of a Greek maiden from the hands of barbarians, who speak a non- Greek language with elements apparently derived from Prakrit. 1 The new Homeric fragments include one of Iliad VI., with critical signs and interesting textual notes. Sappho, Euripides (" Andromache," Archelaus," and " Medea "), Antiphanes, Thucydides, Plato (" Gorgias " and " Republic "), 2Eschines, Demosthenes, and Xeno- phon are also represented. Among the theological texts 1 This is a peculiarly interesting suggestion in view of the fact that there is in the British Museum an unpublished fragment which for some time was con- sidered by Doctor Budge to be a species of Egyptian stenography, but which has also been suggested to be in Pehlevi characters. LONG LOST MANUSCRIPTS 355 are fragments of the lost Greek original of the " Apoc- alypse of Baruch " and of the missing Greek conclusion of the " Shepherd " of Hennas. In the winter of 1898—99, Doctors Grenfell and Hunt conducted excavations for the Grseco-Roman Branch in the Fayum. In 1899—1900, they excavated at Tebtunis, in the Fayum, on behalf of the University of California; and by an arrangement between that university and the Egypt Exploration Fund an important section of the Tebtunis papyri, consisting of second-century b. c. papyri from crocodile mummies, was issued jointly by the two bodies, forming the annual volumes of the Grseco-Roman Branch for 1900—01 and 1901—02. Since 1900 Doctors Grenfell and Hunt have excavated each winter on be- half of the Grseco-Roman Branch,— in 1900—01 in the Fayum, and in 1901—02 both there and at Hibeh, with the result that a very large collection of Ptolemaic papyri was obtained. In the winter of 1902—03, after finishing their work at Hibeh, they returned to Oxyrrhynchos. Here was found a third-century fragment of a collection of sayings of Jesus, similar in style to the so-called " Logia " discovered at Oxyrrhynchos in 1897. As in that papyrus, the separate sayings are introduced by the words " Jesus saith," and are for the most part unre- corded elsewhere, though some which are found in the Gospels {e.g. " The Kingdom of God is within you " and " Many that are first shall be last, and the last shall be first ") occur here in different surroundings. Six say- ings are preserved, unfortunately in an imperfect con- dition. But the new " Logia " papyrus supplies more 356 THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY evidence concerning its origin than was the case with its predecessor, for it contains an introductory paragraph stating that what follows consisted of " the words which Jesus, the Living Lord, spake " to two of His disciples; and, moreover, one of the uncanonical sayings is already extant in part, the conclusion of it, " He that wonders shall reign and he that reigns shall rest," being quoted by Clement of Alexandria from the Gospel according to the Hebrews. It is, indeed, possible that this Gospel was the source from which all this second series of " Logia " was derived, or they, or some of them, may perhaps have been taken from the Gospel according to the Egyptians, to which Professor Harnack and others have referred the " Logia " found in 1897. But the discoverers are disposed to regard both series as collections of sayings currently ascribed to our Lord rather than as extracts from any one uncanonical gospel. ^=v 15 A SEALING DISCOVERED AT ABTDOS. CHAPTER VICE IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT The Royal Tombs at Abydos : Reconstruction of the First and Second Dy- nasties : The Ten Temples at Abydos : The statuette of Khufui : Pottery and Pottery Marks : The Expedition of the University of California. ^OME interesting explorations have been conducted in Egypt by the Exploration Fund during the four years 1900—04, under the guidance of Prof. W. M. Flinders Petrie, whose portrait op den. enthusiasm and patience for the work in this field seem to increase with the years of labour. In the winter of 1899—1900, Professor Petrie and his zealous helpers began their investigation of the royal tombs of the first dynasty at Abydos. Commenting on this undertaking, Professor Petrie writes: " It might have seemed a fruitless and thankless task to work at Abydos after it had been ransacked by 357 358 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT Mariette, and had been for the last four years in the hands of the Mission Amelineau. My only reason was that the extreme importance of results from there led to a wish to ascertain everything possible about the early royal tombs after they were done with by others, and to search even for fragments of the pottery. To work at Abydos had been my aim for years past; but it was only after it was abandoned by the Mission Amelineau that at last, on my fourth application for it, I was permitted to rescue for historical study the results that are here shown. " Nothing is more disheartening than being obliged to gather results out of the fraction left behind by past plunderers. In these royal tombs there had been not only the plundering of the precious metals and the larger valuables by the wreckers of early ages; there was after that the systematic destruction of monuments by the vile fanaticism of the Kopts, which crushed everything beau- tiful and everything noble that mere greed had spared; and worst of all, for history, came the active search in the last four years for everything that could have a value in the eyes of purchasers, or be sold for profit regardless of its source; a search in which whatever was not removed was deliberately and avowedly destroyed in order to en- hance the intended profits of European speculators. The results are therefore only the remains which have escaped the lust of gold, the fury of fanaticism, and the greed of speculators in this ransacked spot. " A rich harvest of history has come from the site which was said to be exhausted; and in place of the dis- KING MENES IDENTIFIED 359 ordered confusion of names without any historical con- nection, which was all that was known from the Mission Amelineau, we now have the complete sequence of kings from the middle of the dynasty before Mena to prob- ably the close of the second dynasty, and we can trace in detail the fluctuations of art throughout these reigns." 1 At the time when Professor Maspero brought his history of Egypt to a close, the earliest known historical ruler of Egypt was King Mena or Menes. 2 Mena is the first king on the fragmentary list of Manetho, and the general accuracy of Manetho was supported by the ac- counts of Herodotus and other ancient writers. For several centuries these accounts were accepted as the basis of authentic history. With the rise of the science of Egyptology, however, search began to be made for some corroboration of the actual existence of Mena, and this was found in the inscriptions of a temple wall at Abydos, which places Mena at the head of the first dy- nasty; and, allowing for differences of language, the records of Manetho relating to the earlier dynasty were established. Mena was therefore accepted as the first king of the first dynasty up to the very end of the nine- teenth century. As a result of Professor Petrie's recent investiga- tions, however, he has been enabled to carry back the line of the early kings for three or four generations. ^'The Royal Tombs of the First Dynasty," Parts I. — IT. (Eighteenth and Twenty-first Memoirs of the Egypt Exploration Fund), London, 1900-1902. 2 See Volume L, page 322, et seq. 360 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT The royal tombs at Abydos lie closely together in a compact group on a site raised slightly above the level of the surrounding plain, so that the tombs could never be flooded. Each of the royal tombs is a large square pit, lined with brickwork. Close around it, on its own level, or higher up, there are generally small chambers in rows, in which were buried the domestics of the king. Each reign adopted some variety in the mode of burial, but they all follow the type of the prehistoric burials, more or less developed. The plain square pit, like those in which the predynastic people were buried, is here the essential of the tomb. It is surrounded in the earlier examples of Zer or Zet by small chambers opening from it. By Merneit these chambers were built separately around it. By Den an entrance passage was added, and by Qa the entrance was turned to the north. At this stage we are left within reach of the early passage-mas- tabas and pyramids. Substituting a stone lining and roof for bricks and wood, and placing the small tombs of domestics farther away, we reach the type of the mas- taba-pyramid of Snofrui, and so lead on to the pyramid series of the Old Kingdom. The careful manner with which all details of a burial were supervised under the first dynasty enables the modern Egyptologist, by a skilful piecing together of evidence, to reconstruct an almost perfect picture of the life of Egypt at the dawn of civilisation. One of our most valuable sources of information is due to the fact that, in building the walls of the royal tombs, there were deposited in certain parts within the walls objects now OS ^_ s r\ %2 O ^» #*• &<«» o Q h a ■< -< WJ n a o 362 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT technically known as deposits. We do not know whether, in selecting these objects, the ancient Egyptian had regard to what he considered their intrinsic value, or whether, as was most probable, it was some religious motive that prompted his action. Often the objects thus deposited come under the designation of pottery, al- though the vases were sometimes shaped of stone and not of clay. Within such vases all kinds of objects were preserved. The jar or vase was closed with a lump of clay, either flat or conical, and the clay was impressed, while wet, with a seal. A detailed and elaborate examination of the relative positions of the tombs, their dimensions, and the objects found in them, compared with the various fragments of historical records of the early dynasties, enables us to reconstruct the exact order of these ancient rulers. This sequence is: By Tombs. Table of Abydos Manetho. B 7 Ka . e a • . . . • • . , B 9 Zeser 1 • • • * • B 10 Narmer • • • • . . B 15 Sma . . • ■ ■ B 19 Mena = Aha Mena . Menes B 14 Bener-ab . . Zer . . . . Teta . Athothis Z Zet . . Atet . Kenkeens Y iMerneit . . Ata . Uenenfes T Den-Setui . Hesepti Usafais X 'Azab-Merpaba Merbap Miebis U Mersekha ptah ? . Semempses Q Qa-Sen . Qebh Bienekhes 1 Ka and Zeser were possibly brothers of Mena. CHRONOLOGY OF THE EARLY KINGS 363 Following the dating tentatively computed by Pro- fessor Petrie, the dates of some of these kings are: B.C. Ka 4900 Mena . . . after . . 4800 Zer 4700 Den-Setui 4600 Qa 4500 Thus we have reconstructed the list of Thinite kings before Mena so far as the facts allow, and perhaps so far as we are ever likely to ascertain them. The facts about the second dynasty, the kings after Qa, must now be studied. In the tomb of Perabsen it was found that there were buried with him vases of three other kings, which are therefore his predecessors. Their names are Hotepahaui, Raneb, and Neteren; and it is certain that Raneb preceded Neteren, as the latter had defaced and re-used a vase of the former. As on statue No. 1, Cairo Museum, these three names are in the above order, and, as the succession of two of them is now proved, it is only reasonable to accept them in this order. From all the available facts it seems that we ought to restore the dynasty thus: Tombs. Seti. Manetho. Hotepahaui Bazau Bokhos Raneb . . . Kakau Kaiekhos Neteren . Baneteren . Binothris Perabsen . Uaznes Tlas (Kbashem) . . Senda Sethenes (Kara) . Khaires Khasekhemui Zaza Neferkheres 364 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT The oldest tomb that we can definitely assign is that marked B 7, the tomb of King Ka. This is a pit with sloping sides; the thickness of the brick walls is that of the length of one brick, and the soft footing of the wall and pressure of sand behind it has overthrown the longer sides. The broken pottery mixed with the sand, which filled it, largely consisted of cylinder jars, like the later prehistoric form; and these had many in- scriptions on them, writ- ten in ink with a brush, most of which showed the name of Ka in the usual panelled frame. There can therefore be no doubt of the attribu- tion of this tomb. The tomb B 9 is per- haps that of King Zeser, who seems to have been a successor of Ka. It is of the same construction as that of Ka. The tomb B 10 appears to be the oldest of the great tombs, by its easternmost position; and the ob- jects of Narmer point to this as his tomb. In both the thickness and the batter of the walls there is a care shown in proportioning the strength of the ends and the sides. The tomb B 15 is probably that of King Sma. Its walls are not quite so thick, being fifty inches at the end. The post-holes in the floor suggest that there were ENLARGED PLAN OP FIRST DYNASTY TOMBS. THE TOMB OF MENA 365 five on the long side, and one in the middle of each end, as in the tomb of Narmer. But along the sides are holes for roofing beams near the top of the wall. These roof beams do not at all accord with the posts ; and this proves that, here at least, the posts were for backing a wooden chamber inside the brick chamber. If this be the case here, it was probably also true in Narmer 's tomb; and hence these brick tombs were only the protective shell around a wooden chamber which contained the burial. This same system is known in the first dynasty tombs, and we see here the source of the chambered tombs of Zer and Zet. Before the age of Mena, the space around the wood chamber was used for dropping in offerings between the framing posts; and then, after Mena, sep- arate brick chambers were made around the wooden chamber in order to hold more offerings. 1 The tomb B 19, which contained the best tablet of Aha-Mena, is probably his tomb; for the tomb with his vases at Naqada is more probably that of his queen Neit- hotep. As both the tombs B 17 and 18 to the north of this contained objects of Mena, it is probable that they were the tombs of some members of his family. 2 The great cemetery of the domestics of this age is the triple row of tombs to the east of the royal tombs; * in all the thirty-four tombs here, no name was found beside that of Aha on the jar sealings, and the two tombs, 1 This chamber was burnt; and is apparently that mentioned by M. Amelineau, Fouilles, in extenso, 1899, page 107. 2 For plan see page 361. 8 For plan see pages 361 and 364. 366 IMPOKTANT EESEAECHES IN EGYPT B 6 and B 14, seen to be probably of the same age. In B 14 were found only objects of Aha, and three of them were inscribed with the name of Bener-eb, probably the name of a wife or a daughter of Mena, which is not found in any other tomb. 1 Prom the time of Mena has come down to us an ebony tablet, as shown in the illustration. This is the most EBONY TABLET OF KING AHA-MENJL. complete of the inscriptions of this king, and was found in two portions in the tombs marked B 18 and B 19. The 1 Professor Petrie's arguments, although borne out by the evidence that he produces, have from time to time been criticised. M. Naville, for example, endeavours to prove that the buildings in the desert are not literally tombs, but rather temples for the cult of their Ka ; and that there ought not to be kings anterior to Mena, particularly at Abydos : " Narmer " is really Boethos, the first king of the second dynasty. According to M. Naville, Boethos, Usaphis, and Miebidos are the only kings as yet identified of the early time. M. Naville also suggests that Ka-R°khem and Ka-Sekhemui are two names for one king. THE SHRINE OP OSIRIS 367 signs upon the tablet are most interesting. On the top line, after the cartouche of Aha-Mena, there are two sacred boats, probably of Sokaris, and a shrine and temenos of Nit. In the line below is seen a man making an offering, and behind him is a bull running over un- dulating ground into a net stretched between two poles, while at the end, standing upon a shrine, is a bird, which appears to be the ibis of Thot. A third line shows three boats upon a canal or river, passing between certain places, and it has been reasonably conjectured that the other signs in this line indicate these places as being Biu, a district of Memphis; Pa She (or " the dwelling of the lake "), the capital of the Fayum; and the Canal of Mer, or Bahr Yusef. So far this tablet contains picture signs, but the fourth line gives a continued series of hier- oglyphics, and is the oldest line of such characters yet discovered. Mr. R LI. Griffiths translates these char- acters as " who takes the throne of Horus." In the north-west corner of the tomb, a stairway of bricks was roughly inserted in later times in order to give access to the shrine of Osiris. That this is not an original feature is manifest: the walls are burnt red by the burning of the tomb, while the stairs are built of black mud brick with fresh mud mortar smeared over the reddened wall. It is notable that the burning of these tombs took place before their re-use in the eighteenth dynasty; as is also seen by the re-built doorway of the tomb of Den, which is of large black bricks over smaller red burnt bricks. It is therefore quite beside the mark to attribute this burning to the Kopts. 368 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT The tomb of King Zer has an important secondary- history as the site of the shrine of Osiris, established in the eighteenth dynasty (for none of the pottery offered there is earlier than that of Amenhothes III.), and vis- ited with offerings from that time until the twenty-sixth dynasty, when additional sculptures were placed here. Afterwards it was despoiled by the Kopts in erasing TOMB OF ZER, 4700 B. C. the worship of Osiris. It is the early state of the place as the tomb of King Zer that we have to study here, and not its later history. The tomb chamber has been built of wood; and the brick cells around it were built subsequently against the wooden chamber, as their rough, unplastered ends show; moreover, the cast of the grain of the wood can be seen on the mud mortar adhering to the bricks. There are THE TOMB OF ZET 369 also long, shallow grooves in the floor, a wide one near the west wall, three narrow ones parallel to that, and a short cross groove, all probably the places of beams which supported the wooden chamber. Besides these there was till recently a great mass of carbonised wood along the north side of the floor. This was probably part of the flooring of the tomb, which, beneath the wood- work, was covered with a layer of bricks, which lay on clean sand. But all the middle of the tomb had been cleared to the native marl for building the Osiris shrine, of which some fragments of sculpture in hard limestone are now all that remain. A strange feature here is that of the red recesses, such as were also found in the tomb of Zet. The large ones are on the west wall, and in the second cell on the north wall. No meaning can yet be assigned to these, except as spirit-entrances to the cells of offerings, like the false doors in tombs of the Old Kingdom. In spite of the plundering of the tombs in various ages, the work of the Egypt Exploration Fund was so thorough that not a few gold objects have been found in the course of recent excavations. By far the most important discovery of recent years was that of some jewelry in the tomb of King Zer. The story of this find is so entertaining, and illustrates so admirably the method of the modern scientific explorer, that we give the account of it in Professor Petrie's own words: " While my workmen were clearing the tomb, they noticed among the rubbish which they were moving a piece of the arm of a mummy in its wrappings. It lay 370 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT in a broken hole in the north wall of the tomb. The party of four who found it looked into the end of the wrappings and saw a large gold bead, the rosette in the second bracelet. They did not yield to the natural wish to search further or to remove it ; but laid the arm down where they found it until Mr. Mace should come and verify it. Nothing but obtaining the complete confidence of the workmen, and paying them for all they find, could ever make them deal with valuables in this careful man- ner. On seeing it, Mr. Mace told them to bring it to our huts intact, and I received it quite undisturbed. In the evening the most intelligent of the party was sum- moned as a witness of the opening of the wrappings, so that there should be no suspicion that I had not dealt fairly with the men. I then cut open the linen bandages, and found, to our great surprise, the four bracelets of gold and jewelry. The verification of the exact order of threading occupied an hour or two, working with a mag- nifier, my wife and Mr. Mace assisting. When recorded, the gold was put in the scales and weighed against sovereigns before the workman, who saw everything. Rather more than the value of gold was given to the men, and thus we ensured their good-will and honesty for the future." The hawk bracelet consists of thirteen gold and four- teen turquoise plaques in the form of the fagade with the hawk, which usually encloses the ha name of the king. The gold hawks have been cast in a mould with two faces, and the junction line has been carefully removed and burnished. The gold was worked by chisel and THE GOLD BRACELETS OF ZET 371 burnishing; no grinding or file marks are visible. In the second bracelet, with the rosette, two groups of beads are united at the sides by bands of gold wire and thick hair. The fastening of the bracelet was by a loop and button. This button is a hollow ball of gold with a shank of gold wire fastened in it. The third bracelet is formed of three similar groups, one larger, and the other smaller on either side. The middle of each group con- sists of three beads of dark purple lazuli. The fastening of this bracelet was by a loop and button. The fourth bracelet is fashioned of hour-glass beads. In this extraordinary group of the oldest jewelry known, we see unlimited variety and fertility of design. Excepting the plain gold balls, there is not a single bead in any one bracelet which would be interchangeable with those in another bracelet. Each is of independent de- sign, fresh and free from all convention or copying. The tomb of Zet 1 consists of a large chamber twenty feet wide and thirty feet long, with smaller chambers around it at its level, the whole bounded by a thick brick wall, which rises seven and a half feet to the roof, and then three and a half feet more to the top of the retain- ing wall. Outside of this on the north is a line of small tombs about five feet deep, and on the south a triple line of tombs of the same depth. And apparently of the same system and same age is the mass of tombs marked W, which are parallel to the tomb of Zet. Later there appears to have been built the long line of tombs, placed askew, in order not to interfere with those which have 1 For plan see page 361. 372 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT been mentioned, and then this skew line gave the di- rection to the next tomb, that of Merneit, and later on to that of Azab. The private graves around the royal tomb are all built of mud brick, with a coat of mud plaster over it, and the floor is of sand, usually also coated over with mud. The first question about these great tombs is how TOMB OP ZBT, CIRCA 4700 B. C. " they were covered over. Some have said that such spaces could not be roofed, and at first sight it would seem almost impossible. But the actual beams found yet remaining in the tombs are as long as the widths of the tombs, and therefore timber of such sizes could be pro- cured. In the tomb of Qa the holes for the beams yet remain in the walls, and even the cast of the end of a beam, and in the tombs of Merneit, Azab, and Mer- sekha are posts and pilasters to help in supporting a THE TOMB OF ZET 373 roof. The clear span of the chamber of Zet is 240 inches, or 220 if the beams were carried on a wooden lining, as seems likely. It is quite practicable to roof over these great chambers up to spans of twenty feet. The wood of such lengths was actually used, and, if spaced out over only a quarter of the area, the beams would carry their load with full safety. Any boarding, mats, or straw laid over the beams would not increase the load. That there was a mass of sand laid over the tomb is strongly shown by the retaining wall around the top. This wall is roughly built, and not intended to be a visible feature. The outside is daubed with mud plaster, and has a con- siderable slope; the inside is left quite rough, with bricks in and out. Turning now to the floor, the basis of it is mud plas- tering, which was whitewashed. On that were laid beams around the sides, and one down the middle: these beams were placed before the mud floor was hard, and have sunk about one-quarter inch into it. On the beams a ledge was recessed, and on this ledge the edges of the flooring planks rested. Such planks would not bend in the middle by a man standing on them, and therefore made a sound floor. Over the planks was laid a coat of mud plaster. This construction doubtless shows what was the mode of flooring the palaces and large houses of the early Egyptians, in order to keep off the damp of the ground in the Nile valley. For common houses a basis of pottery jars turned mouth down was used for the same purpose. A very striking example of this method was unearthed at Koptos. 374 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EYGPT The sides of the great central chamber of Zet are not clear in arangement. The brick cross walls, which subdivide them into separate cells, have no finished faces on their ends. All the wall faces are plastered and white- washed; but the ends of the cross walls are rough bricks, all irregularly in and out. Moreover, the bricks project forward irregularly over the beam line. It seems, then, that there was an upright timber lining to the chamber, against which the cross walls were built the walls thus having rough ends projecting over the beams. The foot- ing of this upright plank lining is indicated by a groove left along the western floor beam between the ledge on the beam and the side of the flooring planks. Thus we reach a wooden chamber, lined with upright planks, which stood out from the wall, or from the backs of the beams. How the side chambers were entered is not shown; whether there was a door to each or not. But as they were intended to be for ever closed, and as the chambers in two corners were shut off by brickwork all round, it seems likely that all the side chambers were equally closed. And thus, after the slain domestics and offerings were deposited in them, and the king in the centre hall, the roof would be permanently placed over the whole. The height of the chamber is proved by the cast of straw which formed part of the roofing, and which comes at the top of the course of headers on edge which copes the wall all around the chamber. Over this straw there was laid one course of bricks a little recessed, and be- yond that is the wide ledge all round before reaching the THE TOMB OF MERNEIT 375 retaining wall. The height of the main chamber was 90.6 inches from the floor level. Having examined the central chamber, the chambers at the sides should be next considered. The cross walls were built after the main brick outside was finished and plastered. The deep recesses coloured red, on the north side, were built in the construction; where the top is preserved entire, as in a side chamber on the north, it is seen that the roofing of the recess was upheld by build- ing in a board about an inch thick. The shallow recesses along the south side were merely made in the plastering, and even in the secondary plastering after the cross walls were built. All of these recesses, except that at the south-west, were coloured pink-red, due to mixing burnt ochre with the white. The tomb of Merneit was not at first suspected to exist, as it had no accumulation of pottery over it; and the whole ground had been pitted all over by the Mission Amelineau making " quelques sondages," without re- vealing the chambers or the plan. As soon, however, as Petrie began systematically to clear the ground, the scheme of a large central chamber, with eight long cham- bers for offerings around it, and a line of private tombs enclosing it, stood apparent. The central chamber is very accurately built, with vertical sides parallel to less than an inch. It is about twenty-one feet wide and thirty feet long, or practically the same as the chamber of Zet. Around the chamber are walls forty-eight to fifty-two inches thick, and beyond them a girdle of long, narrow chambers forty-eight inches wide and 160 to 215 inches 376 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN" EGYPT long. Of these chambers for offerings, Nos. 1, 2, 5, and 7 still contain pottery in place, and No. 3 contains many jar sealings. At a few yards distant from the chambers full of offerings is a line of private graves almost surrounding the royal tomb. This line has an interruption at the south end of the west side similar to the interruption of the retaining wall of the tomb of Zet at that quarter. It seems, therefore, that the funeral approached it from that direction. The chamber of the tomb of Merneit shows signs of burning on both the walls and the floor. A small piece of wood yet remaining indicates that it also had a wooden floor like the other tombs. Against the walls stand pilasters of brick; and, although these are not at pres- ent more than a quarter of the whole height of the wall, they originally reached to the top. These pilasters are entirely additions to the first building; they stand against the plastering and upon a loose layer of sand and peb- bles about four inches thick. Thus it is clear that they belonged to the subsequent stage of the fitting of a roof to the chamber. The holes that are shown in the floor are apparently connected with the construction, as they are not in the mid-line where pillars are likely. At the edge of chamber No. 2 is a cast of plaited palm-leaf mat- ting on the mud mortar above this level, and the bricks are set back irregularly. This shows the mode of finish- ing off the roof of this tomb. Prom the position of the tomb of Den-Setui, it is seen naturally to follow the building of the tombs of 378 IMPOETANT KESEAECHES IN EGYPT Zet and Merneit. It is surrounded by rows of small chambers for offerings, and for the burial of domestics. The king's tomb appears to have contained a large num- ber of tablets of ivory and ebony, for fragments of eight- een were found, and two others are known, making in all twenty tablets from this one tomb. The inscriptions on stone vases are, however, not more frequent than in previous reigns. This tomb appears to have been one of the most costly and sumptuous. The astonishing fea- ture of this chamber is the granite pavement, such con- siderable use of granite being quite unknown until the step pyramid of Saqqara early in the third dynasty. At the south-west corner is a strange annex. A stairway leads down from the west and then turns to the north. At the foot of the first flight of steps is a space for in- serting planks and brickwork to close the chamber, like the blocking of the door of the tomb of Azab. 1 This small chamber was therefore intended to be closed. Whether this chamber was for the burial of one of the royal family, or for the deposit of offerings, it is diffi- cult to determine. Of the various rows of graves around the great tomb there is nothing to record in detail. An ebony tablet, presumably of the time of Den, found among the first dynasty tombs, represents a scene in which a king is dancing before Osiris, the god being seated in his shrine. This tablet is the earliest example of those pictorial records of a religious ceremony which, as we now know, was continued almost without change from the 1 For plan see page 361, and for photograph see page 383. RECORDS OF DEN-SETUI 379 first dynasty to the thirty-third. It is interesting to note on this engraving that the king is represented with the hap and a short stick instead of the oar. It should be noted also that the royal name, Setui, occurs in the lower part of the tablet, so that there is a strong presumption that the tablet is of the time of Den-Setui, and the pre- sumption is almost a certainty when the tablet is com- pared with some sealings found in its vicinity. Mr. P. LI. Griffiths has written at length on this important in- TABLET OF DEN-SETUI, 4600 ij. C. scription. 1 He thinks that this tablet and two others somewhat similar were the brief annals of the time, and record the historic events and the names of government officials. He translates a portion of the inscription as " Opening the gates of foreign lands," and in another part he reads, " The master comes, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt." Moreover, he translates certain 1 Royal Tombs of the first dynasty, Part I : Eighteenth Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London, 1900, pa?e 42. 380 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT signs as " Sheikh of the Libyans," and he identifies a place named Tny as This, or the capital of the nome in which Abydos lay. Of this reign also is an ivory tablet finely polished, but blackened with burning, which has engraved upon it the oldest architectural drawing in the world. The inscription on this precious fragment apparently refers to the great chiefs coming to the tomb of Setui, and a picture of a building in the middle of the inscription may be taken as rep- resenting on the left the tomb chamber of Den-Setui, with a slight mound over it. The up- right strokes represent the steles outside the tombs, adjacent to which is the inclined stairway, while on the right is a diagram of the cemetery, with graves ar- ranged in rows around the tomb, 1 with small steles standing up over the graves. A small piece of still another ivory tablet 2 gives an interesting portrait of Den-Setui. This king flourished about 4600 b. c, so that this is perhaps the oldest por- trait that can be named and dated. It shows the double crown fully developed, and has an additional interest, inasmuch as the crown of Lower Egypt was apparently coloured red, while the crown of Upper Egypt was white ARCHITECTURAL DRAWING, B. C. 4600. 1 The plan of this tomb, as discovered recently, is given on page 377. 2 This tablet is illustrated on page 357. KING AZAB-MERPABA 381 in accordance with the practice that we know existed during the later historic period. Among the many ivory objects found at Abydos is a small ivory panel from a box which seems to have contained the golden seal of judgment of King Den. The engraving of this ivory panel is of the finest description, and bears evidence of the magnificent workmanship of the Egyptians 6,500 years ago. It will be seen that enough of the fragment has been preserved to include the cartouche of the monarch, and the snake at the side is the pic- tograph of judgment. Beneath is the hieroglyph for gold, and at the bottom is a sign which represents a seal cylinder 1 roll- ing over a piece of clay. The tomb of Azab-Merpaba 2 is a plain chamber, with rather sloping sides, about twenty-two feet long and fourteen feet wide. The surrounding wall is nearly five feet thick. The lesser and more irregular chamber on the north is of the same depth and construction, fourteen feet by nine. This lesser chamber had no remains of flooring; it contained many large sealings of jars, and 1 It was for a long time thought that this hieroglyphic character represented a finder ring, but as it is now positively known that finger rings were not in use until long after the time of Den, this explanation had to be abandoned in favour of the more correct interpretation of a seal cylinder. "For plan see page 361. IVORY PANEL OF DEN - SETUI, 4600 b. c. 382 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT seems to have been for all the funeral provision, like the eight chambers around the tomb of Merneit. Around this tomb is a circuit of small private tombs, leaving a gap on the southwest like that of Merneit, and an additional branch line has been added on at the north. All of these tombs are very irregularly built; the sides are wavy in direction, and the divisions of the long trench are slightly STAIRWAY IN THE TOMB AZAB. piled up, of bricks laid lengthwise, and easily over- thrown. This agrees with the rough and irregular con- struction of the central tomb and offering chamber. The funeral of Azab seems to have been more carelessly con- ducted than that of any of the other kings here ; only one piece of inscribed vase was in his tomb, as against eight of his found in his successor's tomb, and many other of his vases erased by his successor. Thus his palace prop- erty seems to have been kept back for his successor's THE DWARF TYPE 383 use, and not buried with Azab himself. In some of the chambers much ivory inlaying was found. The entrance to the tomb of Azab was by a stairway descending from the east, thus according with the sys- tem begun by Den. On the steps, just outside of the door, were found dozens of small pots loosely piled to- gether. These must have contained offerings made after the completion of the burial. The blocking is made by planks and bricks, the whole outside of the planking being covered by bricks loosely stacked, as can be seen in the photograph, the planking having decayed away from before them. The chamber was floored with planks of wood laid flat on the sand, without any supporting beams as in other tombs. The tomb of Mersekha-Semempses * is forty-four feet long and twenty-five feet wide, surrounded by a wall over five feet thick. The surrounding small chambers are only three to four feet deep where perfect, while the central pit is still eleven and one-half feet deep, though broken away at the top. When examined by Pro- fessor Petrie few of the small chambers contained any- thing. Seven steles were found, the inscriptions of which are marked in the chambers of the plan; and other steles were also found here, scattered so that they could not be identified with the tombs. The most interesting are two steles of dwarfs, which show the dwarf type clearly; with one were found bones of a dwarf. In a chamber on the east was a jar and a copper bowl, which shows the hammer marks, and is roughly finished, with the 1 For plan see pages 361 and 377. 384 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT edge turned over to leave it smooth. The small com- partments in the south-eastern chambers were probably intended to hold the offerings placed in the graves; the dividing walls are only about half the depth of the grave. The structure of the interior of the tomb of Mersekha is at present uncertain. Only in the corner by the en- trance was the wooden flooring preserved; several beams (one now in Cairo Museum) and much broken wood was TOME OF MERSEKHA, SHOWING WOOTTRN FLOOR. found loose in the rubbish. The entrance is nine feet wide, and was blocked by loose bricks, flush with wall face, as seen in the photograph. Another looser walling farther out, also seen in the photograph, is probably that of plunderers to hold back the sand. The tomb of King Qa, which is the last of the first dynasty, shows a more developed stage than the others. Chambers for offerings are built on each side of the TOMB OF QA 385 entrance passage, and this passage is turned to the north, as in the mastabas of the third dynasty and in the pyra- mids. The whole of the building is hasty and defective. The bricks were mostly used too new, probably less than a week after being made. Hence the walls have seriously collapsed in most of the lesser chambers; only the one great chamber was built of firm and well-dried bricks. In the small chambers along the east side the long wall PLAN OF TOMB OF QA, CIRCA 4500 E. C. between chambers 10 and 5 has crushed out at the base, and spread against the pottery in the grave 5, and against the wooden box in grave 2. Hence the objects must have been placed in those graves within a few days of the building of the wall, before the mud bricks were hard enough to carry even four feet height of wall. The burials of the domestics must therefore have taken place all at once, immediately after the king's tomb was built, and hence they must have been sacrificed at the funeral. 386 IMPORTANT EESEAECHES IN EGYPT STELE OP KING QA. The pottery placed in the chambers is all figured in posi- tion on the plan. Only three steles were found in the grave of Qa, but these were larger than those of the earlier graves. One of them, No. 48, is the longest and most important inscription that has come down to us from the first dynasty. This lay in a chamber 1 on the west side of the tomb. In the preparation of the stele, the block of stone had been ground all over and edges rounded. On its surface the hieroglyphs were then sketched in red ink, and were finally drawn in black, the ground being then roughly hammered out. There the work stopped, and the final scraping and dressing of the figures was never accom- plished. The reading of the signs is therefore difficult, but enough is seen to show that the keeper of the tomb bore the name of Sabef. He had two titles which are now illegible, and was also " Overseer of the Sed Fes- tival." This scanty information goes to show how little the official titles were changed between the days of the first dynasty and the time of the building of the pyra- mids. The stele of the king Qa was found lying over chamber 3; it is like that found by M. Amelineau, carved in black quartzose stone. Near it, on the south, were dozens of large pieces of fine alabaster bowls. Among various objects found in these chambers should be noted the fine ivory carving from chamber 1 See chamber No. 21 on the plan, page 385. THE TREASURES OF QA 387 23, showing a bound captive; 1 the large stock of painted model vases in limestone in a box in chamber 20; the set of perfect vases found in chamber 21; a fine piece of ribbed ivory; a piece of thick gold-foil covering of a hotep table, patterned as a mat, found in the long chamber west of the tomb ; the deep mass of brown vege- table matter in the north-east chamber; the large stock of grain between chambers 8 and 11; and the bed of currants ten inches thick, though dried, which underlay the pottery in chamber 11. In chamber 16 were large dome-shaped jar sealings, with the name of Azab, and on one of them the ink- written signs of the " King's ka." The entrance passage has been closed with rough brick walling at the top. It is curiously turned askew, as if to avoid some obstacle, but the chambers of the tomb of Den do not come near its direction. After nine steps, the straight passage is reached, and then a lime- stone portcullis slab bars the way, let into grooves on either side; it was, moreover, backed up by a buttress of brickwork in five steps behind it. All this shows that the rest of the passage must have been roofed in so deeply that entry from above was not the obvious course. The inner passage descends by steps, each about five inches high, partly in the slope, partly in the rise of the step. The side chambers open off this stairway by side pas- sages a little above the level of the stairs. The interior structure of the tomb of Qa is rather different from any other. Instead of the timber being 1 The chambers are indicated on the plan on page 385. 388 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT an entirely separate structure apart from the brick, the brick sides seem here to have been very loosely built against the timber sides. Some detail yet remains of the wooden floor. The roofing is distinct in this tomb, and it is evident that there was an axial beam, and that the side beam only went half across the chamber. This is the only tomb with the awkward feature of an axial doorway, and it is interesting to note how the beam was placed out of the axis to accommodate it. The tomb of Perabsen * shows a great change in form since the earlier series. A new dynasty with new ideas had succeeded the great founders of the monarchy; the three reigns had passed by before we can again see here the system of the tombs. Even the national worship was changed, and Set had become prominent. The type of tomb which had been developed under Azab, Mer- sekha, and Qa seems to have given way to the earlier pattern of Zer and Zet. In this tomb of Perabsen we see the same row of small cells separated by cross walls, like those of the early kings; but in place of a wooden central chamber there is a brick chamber, and a free passage is left around it communicating with the cells. What was the form of the south side of that chamber cannot now be traced, as, if any wall existed, it is now entirely destroyed. The entirely new feature is the con- tinuous passage around the whole tomb. Perhaps the object of this was to guard against plunderers entering by digging sideways into the tomb. 1 For plan see page 361. KING KHASEKHEMUI 389 The tomb of Khasekhemui 1 is very different from any of the other royal tombs yet known. The total length of the chamber from end to end is two hundred and twenty-three feet, and the breadth in the middle is forty -■H^^ min^' , »*i .!!■ >up> imi i'j . • . ., ■...,..,., $ , i , i ■* ' jH Jjtt '■V-' ■ .X,. ^^- V Mm,-' ■ 1 .-^:''?v-' : '-" . ■■--i.iid-''->>: : ' : .-.- : ' STONE CHAMBER OP KHASEKHEMUI. feet o-rowing wider towards the northern end. The whole structure is very irregular; and, to add to the confusion, the greater part of it was built of freshly made mud bricks, which have yielded with the pressure and flowed out sideways, until the walls are often double their orig- 1 For plan see page 361. 390 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT inal breadth. It was only owing to this flow of the walls over the objects in the chambers, that so many valuable things were found perfect, and in position. Where the whole of the original outline of a wall had dis- appeared, the form is given in the plan with wavy out- line. The central stone chamber of the tomb of Khasekhe- mui is the most important part of the whole, as it is the oldest stone construction yet known. The chamber is roughly seventeen by ten feet; the depth is nearly six feet. There is no sign of any roof. Nearly all the contents of this tomb were removed by the French investigators in 1897. Among the more interesting objects found were sealings of yellow clay, which were curiously enough of different types at oppo- site ends of the tomb. Copper needles, chisels, axes, and model tools were also found, and a beautiful sceptre of gold and sard was brought to light by Professor Petrie, only an inch or two below a spot that had been cleared by previous explorers. In chamber 2 of the tomb of Khasekhemui were also found six vases of dolomite and one of carnelian. Two of these are shown in the illustration, and each has a cover of thick gold-foil fitted over the top, and secured with a double turn of twisted gold wire, the wire being sealed with a small lump of clay, the whole operation resembling the method of the modern druggist, in fasten- ing a box of ointment. Near these vases were found two beautiful gold bracelets; one, Number 3, is still in a perfect condition; the other, Number 4, has been, THE STELES 391 unfortunately, crushed by the yielding of the wall of the tomb in which it was deposited. Each royal grave seems to have had connected with it two great steles. Two, for instance, were found in the tomb of Merneit, one of which, however, was demol- ished. There were also two steles at the grave of Qa. So far only one stele had been found of Zet, and one of Mersekha, and none appear to have survived of Zer, Den, or Azab. These steles seem to have been placed GOLD - CAPPED VASES AND GOLD BRACELETS. at the east side of the tombs, and on the ground level, and such of them as happened to fall down upon their inscribed faces have generally been found in an excel- lent state of preservation. Hence we must figure to ourselves two great steles standing up, side by side, on the east of the tomb; and this is exactly in accord with the next period that we know, in which, at Medum, Snofrui had two great steles and an altar between them on the east of his tomb ; and Rahotep had two great steles, one on either side of the offering-niche, east of his tomb. Probably the pair of obelisks of the tomb of Antef V., at Thebes, were a 392 IMPORTANT KESEARCHES IN EGYPT later form of this system. Around the royal tomb stood the little private steles of the domestics, placed in rows, thus forming an enclosure about the king. Some of Professor Petrie's most interesting work at Abydos was commenced in November, 1902. In the pre- vious season a part of the early town of Abydos had been excavated, and it was found that its period began at the close of the prehistoric age, and extended over the first few dynasties; the connection between the prehistoric scale and historic reigns was thus settled. The position of this town was close behind the site of the old temples of Abydos, and within the great girdle-wall enclosure of the twelfth dynasty, which stands about half a mile north of the well-known later temples of Seti I. and Ramses II. This early town, being behind the temples, or more into the sandy edge of the desert, was higher up; the ground gently sloping from the cultivated land upward as a sandy plain, until it reaches the foot of the hills, a couple of miles back. The broad result of these new excavations is that ten different temples can be traced on the same ground, though of about twenty feet difference of level; each temple built on the ruins of that which preceded it, quite regardless of the work of the earlier kings. In such a clearance it was impossible to preserve all the structures. Had Petrie and his companions avoided moving the foundations of the twenty-sixth dynasty, they could never have seen much of the earlier work; had they left the paving of the twelfth dynasty in place, they must have sacrificed the objects of the Old Kingdom. THE TEN TEMPLES OP ABYDOS 393 Also, had they only worked the higher levels, and left the rest, the inflow of high Nile would have formed a iriv^: Hfmaxs feet "0 TOMBS or ID I" DYN. I»D r4»aaia GENERAL PLAN OF BUILDINGS AT ABYDOS. pond, which would have so rotted the ground that deeper work could not have been carried on in the future. The only course, therefore, was to plan everything fully, and remove whatever stood in the way of more complete ex- 394 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT ploration. All striking pieces of construction, such as the stone gateways of Papi, were left untouched, and work carried on to deep levels around them; in this way, at the end of the season, the site was bristling with pieces of wall and blocks of stonework, rising ten or fifteen feet above the low level clearances. As the excavations pro- gressed, there was an incessant need of planning and recording all the constructions. Professor Petrie always went about with a large dinner-knife and a trowel in his pocket, and spent much time in cutting innumerable sections and tracing out the lines of the bricks. The top and base level of each piece of wall had to be marked on it; and the levels could then be measured off to fixed points. An outline of some of the principal buildings is given, to show the general nature of the site of the temple of Abydos. This plan is not intended to show all periods, nor the whole work of any one age; but only a selection which will avoid confusion. The great outer wall on the plan was probably first built by Usirtasen I. ; the bricks of the oldest parts of it are the same size as bricks of his foundation deposits, and it rests upon town ruins of the Old Kingdom. But this wall has been so often broken and repaired that a complete study of it would be a heavy task; some parts rest on nineteenth dynasty building, and even Roman patchwork is seen. Its general charac- ter is shown with alternating portions, the first set con- sisting of towers of brickwork built in concave founda- tions, and then connecting walls between, formed in straight courses. The purpose of this construction has SUPERINCUMBENT CIVILISATIONS 395 long been a puzzle. The alternate concave and straight courses are the natural result of building isolated masses, on a concave bed like all Egyptian houses, and then con- necting them by intermediate walls. The hard face across the wall, and the joint to prevent the spread of scaling, are the essential advantages of this construction. . j HJHiMfc I^^J JB -^H MwBRr*'"'?* ^^..- . ■•**.-■ ^^*\ »53KP]jl * - ' ; w WALL OF USIRTASEN I. The corner marked Kom-de-Sultan is the enclosure which was emptied out by Mariette's diggers, because of the abundance of burials with steles of the twelfth to eighteenth dynasties. They have removed all the earth to far below the base of the walls, thus digging in most parts right through the town of the Old Kingdom, which stood here before the great walls were built. The inner two sides of this enclosed corner are later than the outer wall; the bricks are larger than those of Usirtasen, and the base of the wall is higher than his. The causeway 396 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT line indicated through the site by a dotted line from the east to the west gate, is a main feature; but it is later than the sixth dynasty, as the wall of that age cuts it, and it was cut in two by later buildings of the twentieth dynasty. It seems then to begin with Usirtasen, whose gateways it runs through; and to have been kept up by Thutmosis III., who built a wall with granite pylon for it, and also by Ramses II., who built a great portal colon- nade of limestone for the causeway to pass through on entering the cemetery outside the west wall of this plan. To the north of the causeway are seen the tombs of the first dynasty. One more, No. 27, was found beneath the wall of Thutmosis; it was of the same character as the larger of the previous tombs. All of these are far below any of the buildings shown on this outline plan. Of the two long walls, marked vi., the inner is older, but was re-used by Papi., It is probably the temenos of the third dynasty. The outer wall is the temenos of the sixth dynasty, the west side of which is yet unknown, and has probably been all destroyed. The temple of Papi is shown in the middle with the north-west and south sides of the thin boundary wall which enclosed it. The thick wall which lies outside of that is the great wall of the eighteenth dynasty, with the granite pylon of Thutmosis HI. It seems to have followed the line of the sixth dynasty wall on the north. The outline marked xix. shows a high level platform of stone, which was prob- ably for the basement of buildings of Ramses II. Within the area of these temples was discovered quite a number of historical relics. None is more interesting, FIEST DYXASTY ART 397 perhaps, than the ivory statuette of the first dynasty king. This anonymous ruler is figured as wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, and a thick embroidered robe. From the nature of the pattern and the stiff edge represented, it looks as if this robe were quilted with embroidery; no such dress is known on any Egyptian figure yet found. The work belongs to an unconventional school, before the rise of the fixed traditions; it might have been carved in any age and country where good natural work was done. In its unshrink- ing figuring of age and weakness with a subtle character, it shows a power of dealing with individ- uality which stands apart from all the later work. Of greater interest, however, is the ivory statuette of Khufui, which is the first figure of that monarch that has come to light. The king is seated upon his throne, and the inscription upon the front of it leaves no doubt as to the identity of the figure. The work is of extraordinary delicacy and finish ; for even when mag- nified it does not suggest any imperfection or clumsi- ness, but might have belonged to a fife-sized statue. The proportion of the head is slightly exaggerated; as, indeed, is always the case in minute work; but the char- IVORY STATUETTE OF FIRST DYNASTY KING. 398 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT acter and expression are as well handled as they might be on any other scale, and are full of power and vigour. The idea which it conveys to us of the personality of Khufui agrees with his historical position. We see the energy, the commanding air, the indomitable will, and the firm ability of the man who stamped for ever the character of the Egyp- tian monarchy and outdid all time in the scale of his works. No other Egyptian king that we know re- sembled this head; and it stands apart in portraiture, though per- haps it may be compared with the energetic face of Justinian, the great builder and organiser. Two ivory lions were also found in one of the private tombs around that of Zer. It is evident that these lions were used as playing pieces, probably for the well-known pre- ivory statuette or khufui. historic game of Four Lions and a Hare, for the bases of the lions are much worn, as if by sliding about upon a smooth surface, and the pelt of the lion, as originally carved, is also worn off as if by continued handling. The lion shown in the illustration is of a later style than those of Zer or of Mena. Near the place where this was found were a few others. One of them, apparently a lioness, is depicted with a collar, indicating that the animal had been tamed, and yet another had inserted within the head an eye ARROW -HEADS 399 CARVED IVOEY LION. accurately cut in chalcedony. Another valuable object unearthed at Abydos was the sceptre of King Khase- khemui. This consisted of a series of cylinders of sard embellished at every fourth cylinder with double bands of thick gold, and com- pleted at the thinner end with a plain cap of gold, copper rod, now corroded, binding the whole together. During the reign of King Zer the ivory arrow tip began to be commonly used; hundreds were gathered from his tomb, and the variety of forms is greater than in any other reign. Be- sides the plain circular points, many of them have red- dened tips; there are also examples of quadrangular barbed tips, and others are pentagonal, square, or oval. Only the plain circular tips appear in succeeding reigns down to the reign of Mersekha, except a single example of the oval forms under Den. Some flint arrow-heads were also found around the tomb of Zer, mostly of the same type as those found in the tomb of Mena. 1 Two, however, of these arrow-heads, Numbers 13 and 14, are of a form entirely unknown as yet in any other age or country. The extreme top of the head is of a chisel form, and this passes below into the more familiar pointed form. The inference here is almost inevitable, and it seems as if the arrow-heads had been made in this peculiar way with a view to using the arrow 1 For plan see page 361. 400 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT a second time after the tip was broken in attacking an animal. Another curious object dating from this reign and classed among the arrows is a small portion of flint set perpendicularly into the end of a piece of wood. This, in the opinion of Professor Griglioli, is not an arrow at all, but a tattooing instrument. If this explanation be correct, then this instrument is an extremely interesting find, for the fact has been recently brought to light that jn mm ^JePh " > lis EnB ■■W "^■B If ^| ^ BH — M fB^- v " ?sl ifjs •^^KlK Wa Hi -* ffi Iffi ■■!■ ; r- _ H| , ; ^H ■ - fi ■ ■""'« K 4HBW ''^M I B Bt -'KH V •- *^*^B 1 ""da 9| '"" ■'\M d'"^Mtf<:"i I jB M H B '*" BP^S ~' 9 -'■ '?*■] ■■V^al it.^; ''jv'^H-'--""'' ?j£^M ^Sl ■**< s^BK^ife^SS i~- Jfl^Ki a? ■" ■ i*iiHj ■ / >S&CJftp*& MISCELLANEOUS COPPER OBJECTS. of the illustration is seen the outline of a chisel of the time of Zer, very similar to those used in the early pre- historic ages. The same continuity from prehistoric to first dynasty times is shown in the shape of the copper pins dating from Zer, Den, Mersekha, and Qa. At various times quite a considerable number of articles relating to intimate daily life has been discov- ered. An exceedingly fortunate find was that of an ivory comb of crude but careful workmanship, and which, even after the lapse of sixty-seven centuries, has only lost three of its teeth. This comb, according to the inscrip- tion on it, belonged to Bener-ab, a distinguished lady, whose tomb has been already mentioned, and who was either the wife or the daughter of King Mena of the first dynasty. Of the class of domestic objects is the primitive but doubtless quite effective corn-grinder shown in the illus- tration. This was found in an undisturbed tomb in the Osiris temenos, where also was a strangely shaped three- 402 IMPORTANT EESEAECHES IN EGYPT sided pottery bowl, similar in shape to a stone bowl of the same period, but otherwise unknown in antiquity. This three-sided bowl may be regarded as a freak of the workman rather than as having any particular value along the line of evo- lution of pottery forms; and it is in- teresting to note that bowls of this form have been quite recently made by the modern English potters 1 in South Devonshire, as the result of the invent- ive fancy of a village workman. During the course of the excavations at Abydos many thousands of fragments of pottery were collected. Those that appeared to be of historic value were sorted and classified, and, as a result of minute and extended labours, it is now possible for the reader to see at a glance the principal types of Egyptian IVOKT COME, B. C. 4800. CORN- GRINDER AND THREE - SIDED BOWL. pottery from prehistoric times, and to view their relation- ship as a whole. The diagram exhibits an unbroken series of pottery forms from s. d. 76 to b. c. 4400. The forms in the first column are those classified according to the chronological notation devised by Professor Petrie, en- abling a " sequence date " (s. d.) to be assigned to an POTTERY AND POTTERY MARKS 403 object which cannot otherwise be dated. In the second column are forms found in the town of Abydos, and in the last column are those unearthed in the tombs. Most 76 mz 77 78 79 80 • T t w T w N TOMBS OF KINGS BC- • • M U f if -10 -20 -30 -40 ;!»■■ •H-60 ■#70 80 -»90 100 f 110 ft KA MENA ll« II ft iff f ZER ZET MERNEIT DEN AZAB MERSEKHA QA 5000 4900 4800 4700 4600 4500 4400 PERABSEN TYPES OF PREHISTORIC AND FIRST DTNASTT POTTERT. of the large jars bear marks, which were scratched in the moist clay before being baked; some few were marked after the baking. Some of the marks are un- questionably hieroglyphs ; others are probably connected 404 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT POTTERY MARKS. with the signs used by the earlier prehistoric people; and many can scarcely be determined. A typical instance of these pottery marks is shown in the illustration. These signs appear to be dis- tinctly of the time of Mer- sekha, and the fortified enclo- sure around the name may refer to the tomb as the eternal fortress of the king. These marks can be roughly classified into types accord- ing to the skill with which they were drawn. The first example illustrates the more careful workmanship, and the others show more degraded forms, in which the out- line of the hawk and the signs in the cartouche become gradually more debased. It is tolerably certain that what are known as the Mediterranean alphabets were derived from a selec- tion of the signs used in these pottery marks. An undisturbed tomb was found by accident in the Osiris temenos. The soil was so wet that the bones were mostly dissolved; and only fragments of the skull, crushed under an inverted slate bowl, were pre- served. The head had been laid upon a sandstone corn- grinder. Around the sides of the tomb were over two dozen jars of pottery, most of them large. And near the FOTTERT FORMS FROM ABTDOS. THE SEALINGS 405 body were sixteen stone vases and bowls. Some of the forms, such as are shown in the illustration, Nos. 3, 7, 8, are new to us. A strange three-sided pottery bowl 1 was also found here, but since there is no mus'eum in England where such a complete tomb can be placed, it was sent to Philadelphia, in order that the whole series should be arranged as originally found. The sealings, the general description of which has been already given, have come to light in such consid- 108 THREE TYPES OF SEALINGS. erable quantities during the past few years that their study became a special branch of Egyptology. As to the earliest sealings, it was not until the time of Den that a broad informity of style was established. The seals of the second dynasty are generally of a smaller style and more elaborately worked than those of the first dynasty. It is reasonable, therefore, to conclude that the later seals were made in stone or metal rather than in wood. The illustration given of sealing No. 128, of the Egypt Exploration Fund collection, shows a very fair type of 1 See page 402. 406 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT the figuring of men and animals at the time of the first dynasty as a survival of the prehistoric manner of en- graving. Here, then, at the very dawn of history, we find a spirited depiction of the human form, for, rude though it is, there can be no doubt but that it is a rep- resentation of the human figure, and stiff and ungainly though the action of the drawing be, there can be no doubt as to the progressive movement intended by the artist. On a sealing, No. 116, is seen the leopard with the bent bars on his back. The shrine upon the same seal is of the general form, and is like the early huts with reed sides, and an interwoven palm-rib roof. This is a specimen of an intermediate manner of workmanship. The most advanced stage of art in the sealings of the first dynasty, is No. 108. This is the royal seal of King Zer, b. c. 4700, showing him seated and wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. By his side are the royal staff and his cartouches. It was workmanship of this char- acter which survived in Egypt almost as late as Roman times; that is to say, the same style engraving was cur- rent in the Valley of the Nile for forty-six centuries. A particularly interesting sealing is a representation of two jars with the flat seals across their tops. These jars, moreover, are depicted as A SEALING SHOWING JABS. bound around with a network of rope in a manner which corresponds with some frag- ments of rope found around some jars of this character. THE CALIFORNIA EXPEDITION 407 A small fragment of pottery originally forming the base of a brown earthenware dish had inscribed upon it some accounts, and is the oldest of such business records yet found in Egypt. The exact import of the figures is not yet entirely intelligible, but they seem to refer to quantities of things rather than to individuals, as the numbers, although mostly twenty, are sometimes one hundred and two hundred. This interesting frag- ment was found at the tomb of Zet, accounts on pottekt, b. c. and thus establishes the use of arithmetic before 4600 b. c. The expedition supported by Mrs. Hearst, in the name of the University of California, has done some useful work at El-Ahaiwah, opposite Menshiyeh. The main cemetery at this place is an archaic one, containing about a thousand graves or more, of which about seven hundred had already been plundered. Between these plundered graves, about 250 were found untouched in modern times. The graves yielded a good collection of archaic pottery, pearl and ivory bracelets, hairpins, car- nelian, garnet, gold, blue glaze and other beads, etc. About this cemetery was a cemetery of the late New Empire, containing a number of vaulted tombs built of unburned brick. These yielded a large number of neck- laces, and several fine pieces of faience and ivory, and other objects. A second cemetery, farther north, con- tained a few late archaic graves and about fifteen large 408 IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT tombs, usually with one main chamber and two small chambers at each end. These tombs were of two types (1) roofed over with wood, without a stairway, (2) roofed over with a corbelled vault and entered from the UNIQUE INSTANCE OF A DISSECTED BURIAL. west by a stairway. The burials in these tombs are in the archaic position, head to south. Dissected, or sec- ondary, burials occur in these cemeteries, but only rarely. Only one indisputable case was found, as shown in the illustration. THE FUTURE OUTLOOK 409 It would require several volumes adequately to deal with the results of the excavations of the present cen- tury. Further discoveries, all throwing new light upon the life of ancient Egypt, are being made each season, and the number of enthusiastic workers gathered from every nation constantly increases. Notwithstanding the heroic and splendid work of past investigators, for many years to come the valley of the Nile promises to yield important results, not only in actual field work, but also in the close study and better classification of the thou- sands of objects that are continually being brought to light. Six thousand years of history have been unrolled; tomb and tablet, shard and papyrus have told their story, and the vista stretches back to the dawn of human his- tory in that inexhaustible valley watered by the per- ennial overflow of the grandest river in the world. But there is much still to be accomplished by the enthusi- astic spirit, the keen and selective mind, in the study of this ancient land, the cradle and the grave of nations. THE EKD. INDEX Abbas Pasha, 181, 182 Abbas Hilmi Pasha (Abbas II.), Khedive, 225, 228 Abdullah Pasha, 162, 163 Abercrombie, Sir Ralph, 141 Abukir, 106, 109, 117 Abul-Munegga, canal, 249 Abydos, excavations at, 324, 392 Tombs at, 357-392 Plan of buildings at, 393 Temple, 395, 396 Abyssinia, 186, 206 Acre, 20, 42 Agriculture, 178 Aha-Mena, tomb of, 365 Ahmed, sultan, 53, 54 Alexandria, Napoleon captures, 88 Bombarded, 198 Ali Bey, 79 Alphabet, 308, 309 Amnis Trajanus, 253 Anglo-French Colonial Treaty, 267 Anglo-French Convention, 266 Antioch, 36, 37 Ar. See Nile Arabi Pasha, attacks English, 197-199 Defeat and exile, 200 Arabs, 90 Archsological research, 319-408 Army, Egyptian, 166, 195, 196 Aswan, dam at, 268-271 Aur. See Nile Ayyub, 28, 29 Azab-Merpaba, tomb of, 381, 382 B Bahr-Yusef (River Joseph), 237, 249 Baker Pasha, 202, 203 Baker, Sir Samuel, 281, 283-286 Baldwin, 11, 12 Bar-el-Beda, palace, 181 Baring, Sir Evelyn (Viscount Cromer), 220, 223, 225 Barka. See Khor Baraka Barrage, 239, 240, 267 Bast, 343 Bedouins, 90, 154 Beybars, sultan, 30-38 Beybars, Jashingir, sultan, 48-52 Birch, Samuel, 326 Birket-el-Qarum (Lake of Horns), 237 Black-death, 56 Bonaparte. See Napoleon Bonaparte Bruce, explores Nile, 274 Brueys, Admiral, 82, 96, 105-109 Brugsch, H. C, 327, 328 Bubastis, 343, 346 Bunsen, C, 327 Burckhardt, J. L., 275 Bursbai, sultan, 66, 67, 70, 72 Burton, Richard Francis, 276, 279 C Caffarelli, 98 Cairo (Fostat), 14, 100, 102, 135, 136, 139 Caisse de la Dette, 220, 221 Canals, 177, 220, 246-257 Caravans, 104 Cemetery, 338, 408 Census, 219 Champollion, Jean Francois, 296, 306, 320, 321 Charles Martel, 5 Chatillon, Renaud de, 17-19 Cholera, 162 Comb, 401 Convention of London, 222 Corn-grinder, 401 Cotton, 155, 183 Courbash, 233 Courts, 186, 192, 230, 231 Cromer, Viscount. See Sir Evelyn Baring Crusades, 3, 4, 9-11, 16-21, 24-31, 58 Cuneiform writing, 345 D Daira Commission, 221 Dam, at Aswan, 268-271 INDEX Damascus, 165 Damietta, 25-27 Darius, 252 Dead, Book of the, 315-318 Delta, 239-241 Den Setui, tomb of, 378-381 Dervishes, 224 Disaix, 110, 111, 127 Diogenes, 273 Divan, 95, 103 Djezzar, 112-114 Domains Commission, 221 Dongola, 212 Dynasties, ancient, 362, 363 E Ebers, G. M., 328 Edwards, Amelia' B., 346 Egypt Exploration Fund, 333-352, 353 El-Adid, caliph, 12-16 El-Adil, 23-26 El-Adil II., 28 El-Afdhal, 11 El-Amir, caliph, 11, 12 El-Arish, 113, 129-131 El-Hafiz, caliph, 12 El-Muiz canal, 249 El-Mustali b'lllah Abu'l Kasim, caliph, 11 Emin Pasha, 209, 289, 290 Emir el-Momeneen. See Omar England, interests in Egypt, 193, 194, 196, 197, 265 War with Arabi Pasha, 199-200 Assumes control, 201, 202 Eratosthenes, 272 Erman, Adolph, 328-331 Paraj, sultan, 61, 62 Fashoda, 215 Fayum, 238 Fellahs, 90, 231, 233 Festival. See Nile Feudalism, 93 Fostat. See Cairo Fouli, battle of, 115, 116 France, 193, 194, 196, 201 French evacuate Egypt, 132-142 G Gambetta, 196 Gibraltar (Jebel-el-Tarik), 5 Gizeh, 102 Godfrey de Bouillon, 11 Gordon, General, 203-209, 217 Goschen, G. T., 193 Grant, James A., 279-281 Grtbault, E., 342 Greece, 158, 159 Guy de Lusignan, 19 Hasan, sultan, 56 Hathor, temple, 325 Hawara, pyramid of, 345 Heliopolis, battle of, 135 Herachleopolis Magna, 348 Herodotus, 251, 272 Hicks Pasha, 203 Hieroglyphics, key to, 293 Explanation of, 295-305 Horns, battle of, 166 Honorius III., pope, 25 Horus, temple of, 325 Hospital of Beybars, 41 Iaro. See Nile Ibrahim Bey, 94 Ibrahim Pasha, 156-160, 162, 163, 165- 167, 181 Illahun, pyramid of, 346 Irrigation, 177, 219, 240, 244, 245, 267, 270, 271 Ismail Pasha, made Khedive, 183, 184 Reforms of, 184, 185, 189 Extravagance, 185, 189, 191, 192 Deposed, 191, 195 Israel, 350 Jaffa (Joppa), 113 Jebel-el-Tarik. See Gibraltar Jemil-Azar, mosque of, 90, 102 Jeremiah, 330, 340 Jewelry, ancient, 370, 371 Jewish captivity, 314, 315 Joppa. See Jaffa Joubert, 193 K Ka, tomb of, 364 Ketboga, sultan, 44, 45 Khalil, sultan, 42 Khartum, 203, 205, 208, 213 Khor Baraka (Barka), 246 Khufui, statuette of, 397, 398 Khusekhemui, tomb of, 389, 390 Kilawun (Kilwan), sultan, 38-41 Kitchener, Sir Henry, appointed sirdar, 211 Captures Khartum, 213-215 Kiutaye (Kutayeh), 168 Kteber, 89, 95, 110, 115, 123-141 Knights, 7, 8 Koniah, battle of, 167 Perabsen, tomb of, 388 INDEX Peter, the Hermit, 3, 10 Peter of Lusignan, 57, 58 Pethrick, John, 276, 276 Petrie, W. M. F., 334-339, 344-348, 350, 357-359 Philip II., of France, 20 Pithom, 333 Pliny the Elder, 273 Pompey's Pillar, 1 10 Population, density of, 219 Pottery, 402 Ptolemais. See St. Jean d'Acre Ptolemy Philadelphia, 252 Puntites, 351 Pyramids, 100, 101 Qa, tomb of, 384-388 R Raabites, 8 Railway Board, 221 Railways, 177, 178, 192, 219 Ramses II., mummy of, 341 Ramses III., 341 Ravenstein, E. G., 289 Reform, 218 Religious orders, 7, 8 Revenue, 155 Revival of learning, 7 Richard Coeur de Lion, 20, 21 Ripon Falls, 280 River Joseph. See Bahr-Yusef Rosetta Stone, 291-293, 320 Rouge', E. de, 326 Russia, 167 St. Jean d'Acre (Ptolemais), siege of, 114-116, 163 Sakieh, 245, 246 Saladin, 15-22 Salt, 220 Sanitation, 177 Saqqara, 323 Saracens, 5 Schools, 41, 229 Schweinfurth, Georg, 287, 288 Sculpture, 397-399 Seals, 403-406 Sellar, 46-48 Sesostris, 250 Shaban, sultan, 54, 55 Shadoofs, 245 Sheikh Mahmudi, sultan, 62-66 Signary, 307, 308 Slatin Bey, 215 Slave trade, 218, 285, 286 Sma, tomb of, 364 Smith, Donaldson, 290 Smith, Sir Sydney, 114, 115, 122, 128, 131, 133, 134 " Song of the Harper," 313, 314 Speke, John H., 276, 279-281 Sphinx, 340 Stanley, Sir Henry M., 273, 288-290 Statuettes, ivory, 397, 398 Steles, 391 Strabo, 272 Succoth, 333 Sudan, 224 Sudd, 242-244 Suez, 177, 178 Suez Canal, 185, 250, 257, 259-266 Sweet Water Canal, 249 Tahpanhes (Taphne, Tell Defenneh), 338-340 Tamai, battle of, 204 Tamerlane, 61 Tanis, temple of, 323, 334, 337, 338 Tarik, 5 Taxation, 193, 222, 223 Tel Basta, 343 Tel-el-Amarna, 345 Tel-el-Kebir, battle of, 199, 200 Tel-el-Mashuta, 333 Tel-el- Yehudieh, 342 Tell Defenneh. See Tahpanhes Templars, 8 Tewnk Pasha, 191, 195, 224 Thomson, James, 289 Tinn<5, Alexandrine, 286, 287 Tombs, discoveries in, 332, 360-400 Plans of, 361, 364, 377, 384 Trade, 58, 155, 178, 217 Trajan, 253 Tree-planting, 177, 178 Turks, 76, 79, 93, 117-121 "Two Brothers," tale of, 311, 312 U Urban II., pope, 10 Victoria Nyanza, 279, 280, 283, 289 Vincent, Sir Edgar, 202 W Wad en Meoumi, 210 Wady Canal, 254 Wages, 232 Wahabis, 150, 156 White Nile, 283-285 Wilkinson, J. G., 326 Winslow, W. C, 352 Wolfi, Henry Drummond, 224 Wood, Sir Evelyn, 202 INDEX Young, Thomas, 294-297 Z Zer, tomb of, 368 Zeser, tomb of, 364 Zet, tomb of, 371, 373-375 r^r^. *s^V* SV J V^-^ Ar^-J *^— v ,*V V ^ rv. if i A- \ \ >J y"^^- 5HS >S.i <-> ?yf *f ! yA, yY^f'H ^%:^ ■ . __ _