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| author | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:50:57 -0700 |
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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 04:50:57 -0700 |
| commit | 117b7faaab24b60a2d7305915361f461ca76739f (patch) | |
| tree | a9052b9d2ebf7ae79c86ac7ffe7cc4f4890e2958 /17331-h | |
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diff --git a/17331-h/17331-h.htm b/17331-h/17331-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..f41fdb9 --- /dev/null +++ b/17331-h/17331-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,10548 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + History of Egypt, by S. Rappoport, Volume 11 + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd7; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 2em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + pre { font-family: Times; font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of History Of Egypt From 330 B.C. To The +Present Time, Volume 11 (of 12), by S. Rappoport + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: History Of Egypt From 330 B.C. To The Present Time, Volume 11 (of 12) + +Author: S. Rappoport + +Release Date: December 17, 2005 [EBook #17331] +Last Updated: September 8, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF EGYPT *** + + + + +Produced by David Widger + + + + +Character set: ISO-8859-1 + + +</pre> + + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="linkimage-0001" id="linkimage-0001"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/spines.jpg" width="100%" alt="Spines " /> + </div> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0002" id="linkimage-0002"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="100%" alt="Cover " /> + </div> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0003" id="linkimage-0003"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="100%" alt="Frontispiece " /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> Dam at Aswan + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/titlepage.jpg" width="100%" alt="Titlepage " /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + HISTORY OF EGYPT + </h1> + <h3> + From 330 B.C. to the Present Time + </h3> + <h2> + By S. RAPPOPORT, Doctor of Philosophy, Basel + </h2> + <h4> + Member of the Ecole Langues Orientales, Paris; Russian, German, <br /> + French Orientalist and Philologist + </h4> + <h2> + VOL. XI. + </h2> + <h4> + Containing over Twelve Hundred Colored Plates and Illustrations + </h4> + <h3> + THE GROLIER SOCIETY <br /> PUBLISHERS, LONDON + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="linkimage-0004" id="linkimage-0004"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/001.jpg" width="100%" alt="001.jpg Page Image " /> + </div> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0005" id="linkimage-0005"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/002.jpg" width="100%" alt="002.jpg Page Image " /> + </div> + <h2> + <i>THE ROMAN, CHRISTIAN, AND ARABIC PERIODS</i> + </h2> + <p> + <i>THE ROMAN ADMINISTRATION IN EGYPT—THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY—THE + ARIAN CONTROVERSY—THE GROWTH OF MONASTICISM—THE DECLINE OF + ALEXANDRIA—THE ARAB INVASION AND THE SPREAD OF MUHAMMEDANISM—THE + ARAB DYNASTIES.</i> + </p> + <p> + <i>Augustus remodels the government of Egypt—A new calendar + introduced—Egypt surveyed—Dissension between Jews and Greeks + at Alexandria—Strabo’s visit—The Egyptian religion at Rome—Wise + administration of Tiberius—The rise of the Therapeutæ—Lake + Mæris destroyed—The origin of Chemistry—The fable of the + Phoenix—Christianity introduced—Fiscal reforms under Galba—Vespasian + in Egypt—Fall of Jerusalem—The Nile Canal restored—Hadrian’s + voyage up the Nile—Death of Antinous—Christians and Gnostics—Astrology + and Astronomy—Roman roads in Egypt—Commerce and Sports—The + Growth of Christianity—Severus visits Egypt—The massacre of + the Alexandrians—Ammonius Saccas and the Alexandrian Platonists—The + School of Origen—Rise of Controversy—Decline of Commerce—Zenobia + in Syria—Growing importance of the Arabs—Revolt and recapture + of Alexandria—Persecution of the Christians under Diocletian—Introduction + of the Manichean heresy.</i> + </p> + <p> + <i>Constantine the Great converted—Privileges of the clergy—Dogmatic + disputes—Council of Nicæa and the first Nicene Creed—Athanasian + and Arian controversies—Founding of Constantinople—Decline of + Alexandria—Imperial appointments in the Church—Religious riots—Triumphs + of Athanasius—Persecution by Bishop George of Cappadocia—Early + mission work—Development of the monastic system—Text of the + Bible—The monks and military service—Saracenic encroachments—Theodosius + overthrows Paganism—Destruction of the Great Library—Pagan and + Christian literature—Story of Hypatia—The Arabs defeat the + Romans—The Koptic New Testament—Egypt separated from Rome—The + Council of Chalcedon—Paganism restored in Upper Egypt—The + Henoticon—The writings of Hierocles—Relations with Persia—Inroads + of the Arabs—Justinian’s fiscal reforms—Coinage restored—The + Persians enter Egypt. The Life of Muhammed—Amr conquers Egypt—The + legend of Omar and the Great Library—The founding of Fostât—The + Christians taxed—Muhammedan oppression in Egypt—The Ommayad + and Abbasid dynasties—Caliph Harun er-Rashid—Turkish + bodyguards—Rise of the Tulunite Dynasty—Office of Prince of + Princes—Reign of Muhammed el-Ikshid—War with Byzantium—Fatimite + Caliphs—The Ismailians and Mahdism—Reign of Mustanssir—Turkish + Rapacity—End of the Fatimite Rule.</i> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I—EGYPT UNDER THE ROMAN EMPIRE + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB2HCH0001"> CHAPTER II.—THE CHRISTIAN PERIOD IN + EGYPT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkC2HCH0001"> CHAPTER III.—EGYPT DURING THE MUHAMMEDAN + PERIOD </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>List of Illustrations</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0001"> Spines </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0002"> Cover </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0003"> Frontispiece </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0004"> 001.jpg Page Image </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0005"> 002.jpg Page Image </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0006"> 003.jpg Page Image </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0007"> 007.jpg Plan of Alexandria </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0008"> 011.jpg the Nilometer at Elephantine </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0009"> 016.jpg on the Edge of The Desert </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0010"> 018.jpg a Koptic Maiden </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0011"> 022b.jpg Fragments in Wood Painted </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0012"> 024.jpg Temple at Tentyra, Enlarged by Roman + Architects </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0013"> 027.jpg on the Banks of The Nile. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0014"> 029.jpg Bedouin Tent in the Desert </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0015"> 041.jpg Egyptian Threshing-machine </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0016"> 047.jpg an Arab Girl </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0017"> 051.jpg Farming in Egypt </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0018"> 056.jpg Egyptian Threshing Machine </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0019"> 057.jpg Maltese Coin </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0020"> 058.jpg Coin of Cossyra </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0021"> 059.jpg Coin of Nero </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0022"> 063.jpg Ethiopian Arabs </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0023"> 078b.jpg Scene in a Sepuuchral Chamber </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0024"> 080.jpg Harpocrates </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0025"> 081.jpg Coins of Domitian </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0026"> 082.jpg Coin of Nerva </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0027"> 083.jpg Trinity of Isis, Horus and Nephthys + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0028"> 084.jpg Coins of Trajan </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0029"> 086.jpg Egyptian Wig (british Museum) </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0030"> 089.jpg Antoninian Temple Near Sinai </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0031"> 095.jpg Commemorative Coin of Antinous </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0032"> 097.jpg Rose-coloured Lotus </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0033"> 099.jpg Vocal Statue of Amenhothes </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0034"> 100b..jpg the Slumber Song </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0035"> 102.jpg Egyptian Oracle </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0036"> 106.jpg Koptic Charm and Scarabeus </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0037"> 107.jpg Gnostic Gem </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0038"> 108.jpg Gems Showing Symbol of Death and the + Word [Îah Javeh </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0039"> 109.jpg Hadrian’s Egyptian Coins </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0040"> 112.jpg Coins of Antoninus Pius. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0041"> 115.jpg Statue of the Nile </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0042"> 117.jpg Coins of Marcus Aurelius </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0043"> 120.jpg Alexandrian Forms of Writing </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0044"> 122.jpg a Snake-charmer </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0045"> 123.jpg the Sign of Nobility </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0046"> 125.jpg Cartouche of Commodus </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0047"> 126.jpg the Anubis Staff </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0048"> 128.jpg Canopic Jars </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0049"> 130.jpg Religious Procession </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0050"> 131.jpg Shrine </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0051"> 135.jpg Hieroglyphic, Hieratic, and Demotic + Writing </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0052"> 138b.jpg a Native of Aswan </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0053"> 139b.jpg Painting at the Entrance of The + Fifth Tomb </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0054"> 149.jpg a Modern Scribe </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0055"> 151.jpg Symbol of Egypt </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0056"> 155.jpg a Harem Window </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0057"> 158b.jpg Egyptian Slave </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0058"> 59.jpg Coins of Zenobia </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0059"> 161.jpg Coin of Athenodorus </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0060"> 164.jpg Street Vendors in Metal Ware </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0061"> 165.jpg Coin of Domitianus With Latin + Inscription </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0062"> 167.jpg Coin of Severina </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0063"> 169.jpg Coin of Trajan’s Second Legion </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0064"> 179.jpg Symbol of Mithra </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkimage-0065"> 184.jpg Dome Palm of Upper Egypt </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0004"> 187.jpg Page Image </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0005"> 199.jpg the Island of Rhodha </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0006"> 213.jpg Temple of Abu Simbel in Nubia </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0007"> 220.jpg Coin of Constantius </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0008"> 225.jpg a Young Egyptian Wearing the Royal Lock + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0009"> 231.jpg an Egyptian Water-carrier </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0010"> 237.jpg Remains of a Christian Church in the + Temple Of Luxor </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0011"> 243.jpg Temple Courtyard, Medinet Abu </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0012"> 248.jpg Christian Picture at Abu Simbe </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0013"> 250.jpg Manfaloot, Showing the Height of The Nile + In Summer </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0014"> 257.jpg Quarries at Toorah on the Nile </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0015"> 258b.jpg Street and Mosque of Mahdjiar </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0016"> 264.jpg Ramses Ii. And St. Peter </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0017"> 267.jpg the Papyrus Plant </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0018"> 271.jpg Arabs Resting in the Desert </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0019"> 279.jpg Isis As the Dog-star </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0020"> 285.jpg Street Sprinkler at Alexandria </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0021"> 291.jpg Illustrations from Copy of Dioscoride </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0022"> 302.jpg Fortress Near Mount Sinai </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0023"> 307.jpg Pyramid of Medum </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0024"> 313.jpg a Modern House in the Delta at Rosetta + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0025"> 316.jpg Coins of Justinian </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkB0026"> 322.jpg Tailpiece </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0004"> 323.jpg Page Image </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0005"> 325.jpg Coins of Ali abd Omar </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0006"> 329.jpg Old Cairo (fostat) </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0007"> 333.jpg a Modern Kopt </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0008"> 335.jpg Mosque of Amr </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0009"> 337a.jpg Coin of Abu Bekr </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0010"> 337b.jpg Coin of Othman </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0011"> 338.jpg Coin of Malik </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0012"> 339.jpg Citadel of Cairo (fostat). </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0013"> 341.jpg a Crocodile Used As A Talisman </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0014"> 347.jpg Door of an Arabian House. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0015"> 349.jpg a Veiled Beauty </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0016"> 351.jpg Tomb of a Sheikh </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0017"> 356.jpg the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0018"> 359.jpg Sanctuary of the Mosque Of Ibn Tulun + </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0019"> 361.jpg the Mosque of Ibn Tulun </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0020"> 365.jpg Coin of Abu Bekr. </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0021"> 371.jpg Mosque Tomb Near Syene </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0022"> 379.jpg Mosque of Hakim </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#linkCimage-0023"> 383.jpg Mustanssir’s Gate at Cairo </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> <a name="linkimage-0006" + id="linkimage-0006"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/003.jpg" width="100%" alt="003.jpg Page Image " /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER I—EGYPT UNDER THE ROMAN EMPIRE + </h2> + <p> + <i>The Roman dominion on the Nile: Settlement of the Egyptian frontiers: + Religious developments: Rebellions.</i> + </p> + <p> + Augustus began his reign in Egypt in B.C. 30 by ordering all the statues + of Antony, of which there were more than fifty ornamenting the various + public buildings of the city, to be broken to pieces; and it is said he + had the meanness to receive a bribe of one thousand talents from Archibus, + a friend of Cleopatra, that the queen’s statues might be left standing. It + seems to have been part of his kingcraft to give the offices of greatest + trust to men of low birth, who were at the same time well aware that they + owed their employments to their seeming want of ambition. Thus the + government of Egypt, the greatest and richest of the provinces, was given + to Cornelius Gallus. + </p> + <p> + Before the fall of the republic the senate had given the command of the + provinces to members of their own body only; and therefore Augustus, not + wishing to alter the law, obtained from the senate for himself all those + governments which he meant to give to men of lower rank. By this legal + fiction, these equestrian prefects were answerable for their conduct to + nobody but the emperor on a petition, and they could not be sued at law + before the senate for their misdeeds. But he made an exception in the case + of Egypt. While on the one hand in that province he gave to the prefect’s + edicts the force of law, on the other he allowed him to be cited before + the senate, though appointed by himself. The power thus given to the + senate they never ventured to use, and the prefect of Egypt was never + punished or removed but by the emperor. Under the prefect was the chief + justice of the province, who heard himself, or by deputy, all causes + except those which were reserved for the decision of the emperor in + person. These last were decided by a second judge, or in modern language a + chancellor, as they were too numerous and too trifling to be taken to + Rome. Under these judges were numerous freedmen of the emperor, and clerks + entrusted with affairs of greater and less weight. Of the native + magistrates the chief were the keeper of the records, the police judge, + the prefect of the night, and the <i>Exegetes</i>, or interpreter of the + Egyptian law, who was allowed to wear a purple robe like a Roman + magistrate. But these Egyptian magistrates were never treated as citizens; + they were barbarians, little better than slaves, and only raised to the + rank of the emperor’s freedmen. + </p> + <p> + Augustus showed not a little jealousy in the rest of the laws by which his + new province was to be governed. While other conquered cities usually had + a senate or municipal form of government granted to them, no city in Egypt + was allowed that privilege, which, by teaching the citizens the art of + governing themselves and the advantages of union, might have made them + less at the mercy of their masters. He not only gave the command of the + kingdom to a man below the rank of a senator, but ordered that no senator + should even be allowed to set foot in Egypt without leave from himself; + and centuries later, when the weakness of the country had led the emperors + to soften some of the other stern laws of Augustus, this was still + strictly enforced. + </p> + <p> + Among other changes then brought in by the Romans was the use of a fixed + year in all civil reckonings. The Egyptians, for all the common purposes + of life, called the day of the heliacal rising of the dogstar, about our + 18th of July, their new year’s day, and the husbandman marked it with + religious ceremonies as the time when the Nile began to overflow; while + for all civil purposes, and dates of kings’ reigns, they used a year of + three hundred and sixty-five days, which, of course, had a movable new + year’s day. But by the orders of Augustus all public deeds were henceforth + dated by the new year of three hundred and sixty-five days and a quarter, + which was named, after Julius Cæsar, the Julian year. The years from B.C. + 24 were made to begin on the 29th of August, the day on which the movable + new year’s day then happened to fall, and were numbered from the year + following the last of Cleopatra, as from the first year of the reign of + Augustus. But notwithstanding the many advantages of the Julian year, + which was used throughout Europe for sixteen centuries, till its + faultiness was pointed out by Pope Gregory XIII., the Egyptian astronomers + and mathematicians distrusted it from the first, and chose to stick to + their old year, in which there could be no mistake about its length. Thus + there were at the same time three years and three new year’s days in use + in Egypt: one about the 18th of July, used by the common people; one on + the 29th of August, used by order of the emperor; and one movable, used by + the astronomers. + </p> + <p> + By the conquest of Egypt, Augustus was also able to extend another of the + plans of his late uncle. Julius Cæsar, whose powerful mind found all + sciences within its grasp, had ordered a survey to be taken of the whole + of the Roman provinces, and the length of all the roads to be measured for + the use of the tax-gatherers and of the army; and Augustus was now able to + add Egypt to the survey. Polyclitus was employed on this southern portion + of the empire; and, after thirty-two years from its beginning by Julius, + the measurement of nearly the whole known world was finished and reported + to the senate. + </p> + <p> + At Alexandria Augustus was visited by Herod, who hastened to beg of him + those portions of his kingdom which Antony had given to Cleopatra. + Augustus received him as a friend; gave him back the territory which + Antony had taken from him, and added the province of Samaria and the free + cities on the coast. He also gave to him the body of four hundred Gauls, + who formed part of the Egyptian army and had been Cleopatra’s bodyguard. + He thus removed from Alexandria the last remains of the Gallic + mercenaries, of whom the Ptolemies had usually had a troop in their + service. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0007" id="linkimage-0007"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/007.jpg" width="100%" alt="007.jpg Plan of Alexandria " /> + </div> + <p> + Augustus visited the royal burial-place to see the body of Alexander, and + devoutly added a golden crown and a garland of flowers to the other + ornaments on the sarcophagus of the Macedonian. But he would take no pains + to please either the Alexandrians or Egyptians; he despised them both. + When asked if he would not like to see the Alexandrian monarchs lying in + their mummy-cases in the same tomb, he answered: “No, I came to see the + king, not dead men,” His contempt for Cleopatra and her father made him + forget the great qualities of Ptolemy Soter. So when he was at Memphis he + refused to humour the national prejudice of two thousand years’ standing + by visiting the bull Apis. Of the former conquerors, Cambyses had stabbed + the sacred bull, Alexander had sacrificed to it; had Augustus had the + violent temper of either, he would have copied Cambyses. The Egyptians + always found the treatment of the sacred bull a foretaste of what they + were themselves to receive from their sovereigns. + </p> + <p> + The Greeks of Alexandria, who had for some time past very unwillingly + yielded to the Jews the right of citizenship, now urged upon Augustus that + it should no longer be granted. Augustus, however, had received great + services from the Jews, and at once refused the prayer; and he set up in + Alexandria an inscription granting to the Jews the full privileges of + Macedonians, which they claimed and had hitherto enjoyed under the + Ptolemies. They were allowed their own magistrates and courts of justice, + with the free exercise of their own religion; and soon afterwards, when + their high priest died, they were allowed as usual to choose his + successor. The Greek Jews of Alexandria were indeed very important, both + from their numbers and their learning; they spread over Syria and Asia + Minor: they had a synagogue in Jerusalem in common with the Jews of Cyrene + and Libya; and we find that one of the chief teachers of Christianity + after the apostles was Apollos, the Alexandrian, who preached the new + religion in Ephesus, in Corinth, and in Crete. + </p> + <p> + On his return to Rome, Augustus carried with him the whole of the royal + treasure; and though perhaps there might have been less gold and silver + than usual in the palace of the Ptolemies, still it was so large a sum + that when, upon the establishment of peace over all the world, the rate of + interest upon loans fell in Rome, and the price of land rose, the change + was thought to have been caused by the money from Alexandria. At the same + time were carried away the valuable jewels, furniture, and ornaments, + which had been handed down from father to son, with the crown of Upper and + Lower Egypt. These were drawn in waggons through the streets of Rome in + triumph; and with them were shown in chains to the wondering crowd + Alexander Helius and Cleopatra Selene, the children of Cleopatra and + Antony. + </p> + <p> + Augustus threatened a severe punishment to the Alexandrians in the + building of a new capital. Only four miles from the Canopic or eastern + gate of Alexandria he laid out the plan of his new city of Meopolis, on + the spot where he had routed Mark Antony’s forces. Here he began several + large temples, and removed to them the public sacrifices and the + priesthood from the temples of Alexandria. But the work was carried no + farther, and soon abandoned; and the only change made by it in Alexandria + was that the temple of Serapis and the other temples were for a time + deserted. + </p> + <p> + The rest of the world had long been used to see their finest works of art + carried away by their conquerors; and the Egyptians soon learned that, if + any of the monuments of which they were so justly proud were to be left to + them, it would only be because they were too heavy to be moved by the + Roman engineers. Beside many other smaller Egyptian works, two of the + large obelisks, which even now ornament Rome, were carried away by + Augustus, that of Thutmosis IV., which stands in the Piazza del Popolo, + and that of Psammetichus, on Monte Citorio. + </p> + <p> + Cornelius Gallus, the prefect of Egypt, seems either to have + misunderstood, or soon forgotten, the terms of his appointment. He set up + statues of himself in the cities of Egypt, and, copying the kings of the + country, he carved his name and deeds upon the pyramids. On this Augustus + recalled him, and he killed himself to avoid punishment. The emperor’s + wish to check the tyranny of the prefects and tax-gatherers was strongly + marked in the case of the champion fighting-cock. The Alexandrians bred + these birds with great care, and eagerly watched their battles in the + theatre. A powerful cock, that had hitherto slain all its rivals and + always strutted over the table unconquered, had gained a great name in the + city; and this bird, Eros, a tax-gatherer, roasted and ate. Augustus, on + hearing of this insult to the people, sent for the man, and, on his owning + what he had done, ordered him to be crucified. Three legions and nine + cohorts were found force enough to keep this great kingdom in quiet + obedience to their new masters; and when Heroopolis revolted, and + afterwards when a rebellion broke out in the Thebaid against the Roman + tax-gatherers, these risings were easily crushed. The spirit of the + nation, both of the Greeks and Egyptians, seems to have been wholly + broken; and Petronius, who succeeded Cornelius Gallus, found no difficulty + in putting down a rising of the Alexandrians. + </p> + <p> + The canals, through which the overflowing waters of the Nile were carried + to the more distant fields, were, of course, each year more or less + blocked up by the same mud which made the fields fruitful; and the + clearing of these canals was one of the greatest boons that the monarch + could bestow upon the tillers of the soil. This had often been neglected + by the less powerful and less prudent kings of Egypt, in whose reigns the + husbandman believed that Heaven in its displeasure withheld part of the + wished-for overflow; but Petronius employed the leisure of his soldiers on + this wise and benevolent work. In order better to understand the rise of + the Nile, to fix the amount of the land-tax, and more fairly to regulate + the overflow through the canals, the Nilometer on the Island of + Elephantine was at this time made. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0008" id="linkimage-0008"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:30%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/011.jpg" + alt="011.jpg the Nilometer at Elephantine " /> + </div> + <p> + It was under Ælius Gallus, the third prefect, that Egypt was visited by + Strabo, the most careful and judicious of all the ancient travellers. He + had come to study mathematics, astronomy, and geography in the museum, + under the successors of Euclid, Eratosthenes, and Hipparchus. He + accompanied the prefect in a march to Syênê (Aswan), the border town, and + he has left us a valuable account of the state of the country at that + time. Alexandria was the chief object that engaged his attention. Its two + harbours held more ships than were to be seen in any other port in the + world, and its export trade was thought greater than that of all Italy. + The docks on each side of the causeway, and the ship canal, from the + harbour of Eunostus to the Mareotic Lake, were full of bustle and + activity. The palace or citadel on the promontory of Lochias on one side + of the great harbour was as striking an object as the lighthouse on the + other. The temples and palaces covered a space of ground equal to more + than one-fourth part of the city, and the suburbs reached even beyond the + Mareotic Lake. Among the chief buildings were the Soma, which held the + bodies of Alexander and of the Ptolemies; the court of justice; the museum + of philosophy, which had been rebuilt since the burning by Cæsar’s + soldiers; the exchange, crowded with merchants, the temple of Neptune, and + Mark Antony’s fortress, called the Timonium, on a point of land which + jutted into the harbour; the Cæsarium, or new palace; and the great temple + of Serapis, which was on the western side of the city, and was the largest + and most ornamented of all these buildings. Farther off was the beautiful + gymnasium for wrestlers and boxers, with its porticoes of a stadium in + length, where the citizens used to meet in public assembly. From the top + of the temple of Pan, which rose like a sugar-loaf in the middle of the + city, and was mounted by a winding staircase, the whole of this remarkable + capital might be seen spread out before the eye. On the east of the city + was the circus, for chariot races, and on the west lay the public gardens + and pale green palm-groves, and the Necropolis ornamenting the roadside + with tombs for miles along the seashore. Other tombs were in the catacombs + underground on the same side of the city. The banks of the Mareotic Lake + were fringed with vineyards, which bore the famed wine of the same name, + and which formed a pleasant contrast with the burning whiteness of the + desert beyond. The canal from the lake to the Nile marked its course + through the plain by the greater freshness of the green along its banks. + In the distance were the new buildings of Augustus’ city of Nicopolis. The + arts of Greece and the wealth of Egypt had united to adorn the capital of + the Ptolemies. Heliopolis, the ancient seat of Egyptian learning, had + never been wholly repaired since its siege by Cambyses, and was then + almost a deserted city. Its schools were empty, its teachers silent; but + the houses in which Plato and his friend Eudoxus were said to have dwelt + and studied were pointed out to the traveller, to warm his love of + knowledge and encourage him in the pursuit of virtue. Memphis was the + second city in Egypt, while Thebes and Abydos, the former capitals, had + fallen to the size and rank of villages. At Memphis Strabo saw the + bull-fights in the circus, and was allowed to look at the bull Apis + through a window of his stable. At Crocodilopolis he saw the sacred + crocodile caught on the banks of the lake and fed with cakes and wine. + Ptolemais, which was at first only an encampment of Greek soldiers, had + risen under the sovereigns to whom it owed its name to be the largest city + in the Thebaid, and scarcely less than Memphis. It was built wholly by the + Greeks, and, like Alexandria, it was under Greek laws, while the other + cities in Egypt were under Egyptian laws and magistrates. It was situated + between Panopolis and Abydos; but, while the temples of Thebes, which were + built so many centuries earlier, are still standing in awful grandeur, + scarcely a trace of this Greek city can be found in the villages of El + Menshieh and Girgeh (Cerkasoros), which now stand on the spot. Strabo and + the Roman generals did not forget to visit the broken colossal statue of + Amenhôthes, near Thebes, which sent forth its musical sounds every + morning, as the sun, rising over the Arabian hills, first shone upon its + face; but this inquiring traveller could not make up his mind whether the + music came from the statue, or the base, or the people around it. He ended + his tour with watching the sunshine at the bottom of the astronomical well + at Syênê, which, on the longest day, is exactly under the sun’s northern + edge, and with admiring the skill of the boatmen who shot down the + cataracts in their wicker boats, for the amusement of the Roman generals. + </p> + <p> + In the earlier periods of Egyptian history Ethiopia was peopled, or, at + least, governed, by a race of men, whom, as they spoke the same language + and worshipped the same gods as their neighbours of Upper Egypt, we must + call the Kopts. But the Arabs, under the name of Troglodyte, and other + tribes, had made an early settlement on the African side of the Red Sea. + So numerous were they in Upper Egypt that in the time of Strabo half the + population of the city of Koptos were Arabs; they were the camel-drivers + and carriers for the Theban merchants in the trade across the desert. Some + of the conquests of Ramses had been over that nation in southern Ethiopia, + and the Arab power must have further risen after the defeat of the + Ethiopians by Euergetes I. Ethiopia in the time of Augustus was held by + Arabs; a race who thought peace a state of disgraceful idleness, and war + the only employment worthy of men; and who made frequent hasty inroads + into Nubia, and sometimes into Egypt. They fought for plunder, not for + conquest, and usually retreated as quickly as they came, with such booty + as they laid their hands on. To use words which were proverbial while the + Nile swarmed with crocodiles, “They did as the dogs do, they drank and ran + away;” and the Romans found it necessary to place a body of troops near + the cataracts of Syênê to stop their marching northward and laying waste + the Thebaid. While the larger part of the Roman legions was withdrawn into + Arabia on an unsuccessful quest for treasure, a body of thirty thousand of + these men, whom we may call either Arabs, from their blood and language, + or Ethiopians, from their country, marched northward into Egypt, and + overpowered the three Roman cohorts at Elephantine, Syênê, and Philas. + Badly armed and badly trained, they were led on by the generals of + Candace, Queen of Napata, to the fourth cataract. They were, however, + easily driven back when Gallus led against them an army of ten thousand + men, and drove them to Ethiopian Pselchis, now remaining as the modern + village of Dakkeh. There he defeated them again, and took the city by + storm. From Pselchis he marched across the Nubian desert two hundred and + fifty miles to Premnis, on the northerly bend of the river, and then made + himself master of Napata, the capital. A guard was at the moment left in + the country to check any future inroads; but the Romans made no attempts + to hold it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0009" id="linkimage-0009"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/016.jpg" width="100%" + alt="016.jpg on the Edge of The Desert " /> + </div> + <p> + Of the state of the Ethiopie Arabs under Queen Candace we learn but little + from this hasty inroad; but some of the tribes must have been very far + from the barbarians that, from their ignorance of the arts of war, the + Romans judged them to be. Those nearest to the Egyptian frontiers, the + Troglodyte and Blemmyes, were unsettled, wandering, and plundering; but + the inhabitants of Meroë were of a more civilised race. The Jews had + settled in southern Ethiopia in large numbers, and for a long time; + Solomon’s trade had made them acquainted with Adule and Auxum; some of + them were employed in the highest offices, and must have brought with them + the arts of civilised life. A few years later (Acts VIII. 27) we meet with + a Jewish eunuch, the treasurer of Queen Candace, travelling with some pomp + from Ethiopia to the religious festivals at Jerusalem. The Egyptian coins + of Augustus and his successors are all Greek; the conquest of the country + by the Romans made no change in its language. Though the chief part of the + population spoke Koptic, it was still a Greek province of the Roman + empire; the decrees of the prefects of Alexandria and of the upper + provinces were written in Greek; and every Roman traveller, who, like a + schoolboy, has scratched his name upon the foot of the musical statue of + Amenhôthes, to let the world know the extent of his travels, has helped to + prove that the Roman government of the country was carried on in the Greek + language. The coins often bear the eagle and thunderbolt on one side, + while on the other is the emperor’s head, with his name and titles; and, + after a few years, they are all dated with the year of the emperor’s + reign. In the earliest he is styled a Son of God, in imitation of the + Egyptian title of Son of the Sun. After Egypt lost its liberty, we no + longer find any gold coinage in the country; that metal, with everything + else that was most costly, was carried away to pay the Roman tribute. This + was chiefly taken in money, except, indeed, the tax on grain, which the + Egyptian kings had always received in kind, and which was still gathered + in the same way, and each year shipped to Rome, to be distributed among + the idle poor of that great city. At this time it amounted to twenty + millions of bushels, which was four times what was levied in the reign of + Philadelphus. The trade to the east was increasing, but as yet not large. + About one hundred and twenty small vessels sailed every year to India from + MyosHormos, which was now the chief port on the Red Sea. + </p> + <p> + No change was made in the Egyptian religion by this change of masters; + and, though the means of the priests were lessened, they still carried + forward the buildings which were in progress, and even began new ones. The + small temple of Isis, at Tentyra, behind the great temple of Hâthor, was + either built or finished in this reign, and it was dedicated to the + goddess, and to the honour of the emperor as Jupiter Liberator, in a Greek + inscription on the cornice, in the thirty-first year of the reign, when + Publius Octavius was prefect of the province. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0010" id="linkimage-0010"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/019.jpg" width="100%" alt="019.jpg a Koptic Maiden " /> + </div> + <p> + The large temple at Talmis, in Nubia, was also then built, though not + wholly finished; and we find the name of Augustus at Philæ, on some of the + additions to the temple of Isis, which had been built in the reign of + Philadelphus. In the hieroglyphical inscriptions on these temples, + Augustus is called Autocrator Cæsar, and is styled Son of the Sun, King of + Upper and Lower Egypt, with the other titles which had always been given + by the priests to the Ptolemies and their own native sovereigns for so + many centuries. These claims were evidently unknown in Rome, where the + modesty of Augustus was almost proverbial. + </p> + <p> + The Greeks had at all times been forward in owning the Egyptians as their + teachers in religion; and in the dog Cerberus, the judge Minos, the boat + of Charon, and the river Styx of their mythology, we see a clear proof + that it was in Egypt that the Greeks gained their faint glimpse of the + immortality of the soul, a day of judgment, and a future state of rewards + and punishments; and, now that Rome was in close intercourse with Egypt, + the Romans were equally ready to borrow thence their religious ceremonies. + They brought to Rome the Egyptian opinions with the statues of the gods. + They ran into the new superstition to avoid the painful uneasiness of + believing nothing, and, though the Romans ridiculed their own gods, they + believed in those of Egypt. So fashionable was the worship of Isis and + Serapis becoming in Italy, that Augustus made a law that no Egyptian + ceremonies should enter the city or even the suburbs of Rome. His subjects + might copy the luxuries, the follies, and the vices of the Alexandrians, + but not the gloomy devotion of the Egyptians. But the spread of opinions + was not so checked; even Virgil taught the doctrine of the Egyptian + millennium, or the resurrection from the dead when the thousand years were + ended; and the cripple asking for alms in the streets of Rome would beg in + the name of the holy Osiris. + </p> + <p> + Egypt felt no change on the death of Augustus. The province was well + governed during the whole of the reign of Tiberius, and the Alexandrians + completed the beautiful temple to his honour, named the Sebaste, or + Cæsar’s Temple. It stood by the side of the harbour, and was surrounded + with a sacred grove. It was ornamented with porticoes, and fitted up with + libraries, paintings, and statues, and was the most lofty building in the + city. In front of this temple they set up two ancient obelisks, which had + been made by Thutmosis III. and carved by Ramses II., and which, like the + other monuments of the Theban kings, have outlived all the temples and + palaces of their Greek and Roman successors. These obelisks are now + generally known as “Cleopatra’s Needles.” One of them, in 1878, was taken + to London and set up on the Thames Embankment; the other was soon + afterward brought to New York, and is now in Central Park in that city. It + is sixty-seven feet high to its sharpened apex, and seven feet, seven + inches in diameter at its base. On its face are deeply incised + inscriptions in hieroglyphic character, giving the names Thutmosis III., + Ramses II., and Seti II. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0011" id="linkimage-0011"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/022b.jpg" width="100%" + alt="022b.jpg Fragments in Wood Painted " /> + </div> + <p> + The harsh justice with which Tiberius began his reign was at Rome soon + changed into a cruel tyranny; but in the provinces it was only felt as a + check to the injustice of the prefects. On one occasion, when Æmilius + Rectus sent home from Egypt a larger amount of taxes than was usual, he + hoped that his zeal would be praised by Tiberius. But the emperor’s + message to the prefect was as stern as it was humane: “I should wish my + sheep to be sheared, but not to be flayed.” On the death of one of the + prefects, there was found among his property at Rome a statue of Menelaus, + carved in Ethiopian obsidian, which had been used in the religious + ceremonies in the temple of Heliopolis, and Tiberius returned it to the + priests of that city as its rightful owners. Another proof of the equal + justice with which this province was governed was to be seen in the + buildings then carried on by the priests in Upper Egypt. We find the name + of Tiberius carved in hieroglyphics on additions or repairs made to the + temples at Thebes, at Aphroditopolis, at Berenicê, on the Red Sea, at + Philæ, and at the Greek city of Parembole, in Nubia. The great portico was + at this time added to the temple at Tentyra, with an inscription + dedicating it to the goddess in Greek and in hieroglyphics. As a building + is often the work of years, while sculpture is only the work of weeks, so + the fashion of the former is always far less changing than that of the + latter. The sculptures on the walls of this beautiful portico are crowded + and graceless; while, on the other hand, the building itself has the same + grand simplicity and massive strength that we find in the older temples of + Upper Egypt. + </p> + <p> + We cannot but admire the zeal of the Egyptians by whom this work was then + finished. They were treated as slaves by their Greek fellow-countrymen; + their houses were ransacked every third year by military authority in + search of arms; they could have had no help from their Roman masters, who + only drained the province of its wealth; and the temple had perhaps never + been heard of by the emperor, who could have been little aware that the + most lasting monument of his reign was being raised in the distant + province of Egypt. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0012" id="linkimage-0012"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/024.jpg" width="100%" + alt="024.jpg Temple at Tentyra, Enlarged by Roman Architects " /> + </div> + <p> + The priests of the other parts of the country sent gifts out of their + poverty in aid of this pious work; and among the figures on the walls we + see those of forty cities, from Semneh, at the second cataract, to Memphis + and Saïs, in the Delta, each presenting an offering to the god of the + temple. + </p> + <p> + In the third year of this reign Germanicus Cæsar, who, much against his + will, had been sent into the East as governor, found time to leave his own + province, and to snatch a hasty view of the time-honoured buildings of + Egypt. Descending the river to Thebes, and, while gazing on the huge + remains of the temples, he asked the priests to read to him the + hieroglyphical writing on the walls. He was told that it recounted the + greatness of the country in the time of King Ramses, when there were seven + hundred thousand Egyptians of an age to bear arms; and that with these + troops Ramses had conquered the Libyans, Ethiopians, Medes, Persians, + Bactrians, Scythians, Syrians, Armenians, Cappadocians, Bithynians, and + Lycians. He was also told the tributes laid upon each of those nations; + the weight of gold and silver, the number of chariots and horses, the + gifts of ivory and scents for the temples, and the quantity of grain which + the conquered provinces sent to feed the population of Thebes. After + listening to the musical statue of Amenhothes, Germanicus went on to + Elephantine and Syênê; and, on his return, he turned aside to the pyramids + and the Lake of Mceris, which regulated the overflow of the Nile on the + neighbouring fields. At Memphis, Germanicus consulted the sacred bull Apis + as to his future fortune, and met with an unfavourable answer. The manner + of consulting Apis was for the visitor to hold out some food in his hand, + and the answer was understood to be favourable if the bull turned his head + to eat, but unfavourable if he looked another way. When Germanicus + accordingly held out a handful of grain, the well-fed animal turned his + head sullenly towards the other side of his stall; and on the death of + this young prince, which shortly followed, the Egyptians did not forget to + praise the bull’s foresight. This blameless and seemingly praiseworthy + visit of Germanicus did not, however, escape the notice of the jealous + Tiberius. He had been guilty of gaining the love of the people by walking + about without guards, in a plain Greek dress, and of lowering the price of + grain in a famine by opening the public granaries; and Tiberius sternly + reproached him with breaking the known law of Augustus, by which no Roman + citizen of consular or even of equestrian rank might enter Alexandria + without leave from the emperor. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0013" id="linkimage-0013"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:52%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/027.jpg" + alt="027.jpg on the Banks of The Nile. " /> + </div> + <p> + There were at this time about a million of Jews in Egypt. In Alexandria + they seem to have been about one-third of the population, as they formed + the majority in two wards out of the five into which the city was divided. + They lived under their own elders and Sanhedrim, going up at their solemn + feasts to worship in their own temple at Onion; but, from their mixing + with the Greeks, they had become less strict than their Hebrew brethren in + their observance of the traditions. Some few of them, however, held + themselves in obedience to the Sanhedrim in Jerusalem, and looked upon the + temple of Jerusalem as the only Jewish temple; and these men were in the + habit of sending an embassy on the stated solemn feasts of the nation to + offer the appointed sacrifices and prayers to Jahveh in the holy city on + their behalf. But though the decree by Cæsar, which declared that the Jews + were Alexandrian citizens, was engraved on a pillar in the city, yet they + were by no means treated as such, either by the government, or by the + Greeks, or by the Egyptians. + </p> + <p> + When, during the famine, the public granaries seemed unable to supply the + whole city with food, even the humane Germanicus ordered that the Jews, + like the Egyptians, should have no share of the gift. They were despised + even by the Egyptians themselves, who, to insult them, said that the + wicked god Typhon had two sons, Hierosolymus and Judæus, and that from + these the Jews were descended. + </p> + <p> + In the neighbourhood of Alexandria, on a hill near the shores of the Lake + Mareotis, was a little colony of Jews, who, joining their own religion + with the mystical opinions and gloomy habits of the Egyptians, have left + us one of the earliest known examples of the monastic life. They bore the + name of Therapeutæ. They had left, says Philo, their worldly wealth to + their families or friends; they had forsaken wives, children, brethren, + parents, and the society of men, to bury themselves in solitude and pass + their lives in the contemplation of the divine essence. Seized by this + heavenly love, they were eager to enter upon the next world, as though + they were already dead to this. Every one, whether man or woman, lived + alone in his cell or monastery, caring for neither food nor raiment, but + having his thoughts wholly turned to the Law and the Prophets, or to + sacred hymns of their own composing. They had their God always in their + thoughts, and even the broken sentences which they uttered in their dreams + were treasures of religious wisdom. They prayed every morning at sunrise, + and then spent the day in turning over the sacred volumes, and the + commentaries, which explained the allegories, or pointed out a secondary + meaning as hidden beneath the surface of even the historical books of the + Old Testament. At sunset they again prayed, and then tasted their first + and only meal. Selfdenial indeed was the foundation of all their virtues. + Some made only three meals in the week, that their meditations might be + more free; while others even attempted to prolong their fast to the sixth + day. During six days of the week they saw nobody, not even one another. On + the seventh day they met together in the synagogue. Here they sat, each + according to his age; the women separated from the men. Each wore a plain, + modest robe, which covered the arms and hands, and they sat in silence + while one of the elders preached. As they studied the mystic powers of + numbers, they thought the number seven was a holy number, and that seven + times seven made a great week, and hence they kept the fiftieth day as a + solemn festival. On that day they dined together, the men on one side and + the women on the other. The rushy papyrus formed the couches; bread was + their only meat, water their drink, salt the seasoning, and cresses the + delicacy. They would keep no slaves, saying that all men were born equal. + Nobody spoke, unless it was to propose a question out of the Old + Testament, or to answer the question of another. The feast ended with a + hymn of praise. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0014" id="linkimage-0014"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/029.jpg" width="100%" + alt="029.jpg Bedouin Tent in the Desert " /> + </div> + <p> + The ascetic Jews of Palestine, the Essenes on the banks of the Dead Sea, + by no means, according to Philo, thus quitted the active duties of life; + and it would seem that the Therapeutas rather borrowed their customs from + the country in which they had settled, than from any sects of the Jewish + nation. Some classes of the Egyptian priesthood had always held the same + views of their religious duties. These Egyptian monks slept on a hard bed + of palm branches, with a still harder wooden pillow for the head; they + were plain in their dress, slow in walking, spare in diet, and scarcely + allowed themselves to smile. They washed thrice a day, and prayed as + often; at sunrise, at noon, and at sunset. They often fasted from animal + food, and at all times refused many meats as unclean. They passed their + lives alone, either in study or wrapped in religious thought. They never + met one another but at set times, and were seldom seen by strangers. Thus, + leaving to others the pleasures, wealth, and lesser prizes of this life, + they received from them in return what most men value higher, namely, + honour, fame, and power. + </p> + <p> + The Romans, like the Greeks, feeling but little partiality in favour of + their own gods, were rarely guilty of intolerance against those of others; + and would hardly have checked the introduction of a new religion unless it + made its followers worse citizens. But in Rome, where every act of its + civil or military authorities was accompanied with a religious rite, any + slight towards the gods was a slight towards the magistrate; many devout + Romans had begun to keep holy the seventh day; and Egypt was now so + closely joined to Italy that the Roman senate made a new law against the + Egyptian and Jewish superstitions, and, in A.D. 19, banished to Sardinia + four thousand men who were found guilty of being Jews. + </p> + <p> + Egypt had lost with its liberties its gold coinage, and it was now made to + feel a further proof of being a conquered country in having its silver + much alloyed with copper. But Tiberius, in the tenth year of his reign, + altogether stopped the Alexandrian mint, as well as those of the other + cities which occasionally coined; and after this year we find no more + coins, but the few with the head and name of Augustus Cæsar, which seem + hardly to have been meant for money, but to commemorate on some peculiar + occasions the emperor’s adoption by his stepfather. The Nubian gold mines + were probably by this time wholly deserted; they had been so far worked + out as to be no longer profitable. For fifteen hundred years, ever since + Ethiopia was conquered by Thebes, wages and prices had been higher in + Egypt than in the neighbouring countries. But this was now no longer the + case. Egypt had been getting poorer during the reigns of the latter + Ptolemies; and by this time it is probable that both wages and prices were + higher in Rome. + </p> + <p> + It seems to have been usual to change the prefect of Egypt every few + years, and the prefect-elect was often sent to Alexandria to wait till his + predecessor’s term of years had ended. Thus in this reign of twenty-three + years Æmilius Rectus was succeeded by Vetrasius Pollio; and on his death + Tiberius gave the government to his freedman Iberus. During the last five + years Egypt was under the able but stern government of Flaccus Avillius, + whose name is carved on the temple of Tentyra with that of the emperor. He + was a man who united all those qualities of prudent forethought, with + prompt execution and attention to business, which was so necessary in + controlling the irritable Alexandrians, who were liable to be fired into + rebellion by the smallest spark. Justice was administered fairly; the + great were not allowed to tyrannise over the poor, nor the people to meet + in tumultuous mobs; and the legions were regularly paid, so that they had + no excuse for plundering the Egyptians. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Tiberius, in A.D. 37, the old quarrel again broke out + between Jews and Greeks. The Alexandrians were not slow in learning the + feelings of his successor, Caius, or Caligula, towards the Jews, nor in + turning against them the new law that the emperor’s statue should be + honoured in every temple of the empire. They had very unwillingly yielded + a half-obedience to the law of Augustus that the Jews should still be + allowed the privileges of citizenship; and, as soon as they heard that + Caligula was to be worshipped in every temple of the empire, they + denounced the Jews as traitors and rebels, who refused so to honour the + emperor in their synagogues. It happened, unfortunately, that their + countryman, King Agrippa, at this time came to Alexandria. He had full + leave from the emperor to touch there, as being the quickest and most + certain way of making the voyage from Rome to the seat of his own + government. Indeed, the Alexandrian voyage had another merit in the eyes + of a Jew; for, whereas wooden water-vessels were declared by the Law to be + unclean, an exception was made by their tradition in favour of the larger + size of the water-wells in the Alexandrian ships. Agrippa had seen Egypt + before, on his way to Rome, and he meant to make no stay there; but, + though he landed purposely after dark, and with no pomp or show, he seems + to have raised the anger of the prefect Flaccus, who felt jealous at any + man of higher rank than himself coming into his province. The Greeks fell + into the prefect’s humour, and during the stay of Agrippa in Alexandria + they lampooned him in songs and ballads, of which the raillery was not of + the most delicate kind. They mocked him by leading about the streets a + poor idiot dressed up with a paper crown and a reed for a sceptre, in + ridicule of his rather doubtful right to the style of royalty. + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img alt="039 (39K)" src="images/039.jpg" width="100%" /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p> + As these insults towards the emperor’s friend passed wholly unchecked by + the prefect, the Greeks next assaulted the Jews in the streets and + market-place, attacked their houses, rooted up the groves of trees around + their synagogues, and tore down the decree by which the privileges of + citizenship had been confirmed to them. The Greeks then proceeded to set + up by force a statue of the emperor in each Jewish synagogue, as if the + new decree had included those places of worship among the temples, and, + not finding statues enough, they made use of the statues of the Ptolemies, + which they carried away from the gymnasium for that purpose. During the + last reign, under the stern government of Tiberius, Flaccus had governed + with justice and prudence, but under Caligula he seemed to have lost all + judgment in his zeal against the Jews. When the riots in the streets could + no longer be overlooked, instead of defending the injured party, he issued + a decree in which he styled the Jews foreigners; thus at one word robbing + them of their privileges and condemning them unheard. By this the Greeks + were hurried forward into further acts of injustice, and the Jews of + resistance. But the Jews were the weaker party: they were overpowered, and + all driven into one ward, and four hundred of their houses in the other + wards were plundered, and the spoil divided as if taken in war. They were + stoned, and even burnt in the streets, if they ventured forth to buy food + for their families. Flaccus seized and scourged in the theatre + thirty-eight of their venerable councillors, and, to show them that they + were no longer citizens, the punishment was inflicted by the hands of + Egyptian executioners. While the city was in this state of riot, the + Greeks gave out that the Jews were concealing arms; and Flaccus, to give + them a fresh proof that they had lost the rights of citizenship, ordered + that their houses should be forcibly entered and searched by a centurion + and a band of soldiers. + </p> + <p> + During their troubles the Jews had not been allowed to complain to the + emperor, or to send an embassy to Rome to make known their grievances. But + the Jewish King Agrippa, who was on his way from Rome to his kingdom, + forwarded to Caligula the complaints of his countrymen, the Jews, with an + account of the rebellious state of Alexandria. The riots, it is true, had + been wholly raised by the prefect’s zeal in setting up the emperor’s + statue in the synagogues to be worshipped by the Jews, and in carrying + into effect the emperor’s decree; but, as he had not been able to keep his + province quiet, it was necessary that he should be recalled, and punished + for his want of success. To have found it necessary to call out the troops + was of course a fault in a governor; but doubly so at a time and in a + province where a successful general might so easily become a formidable + rebel. Accordingly, a centurion, with a trusty cohort of soldiers, was + sent from Rome for the recall of the prefect. On approaching the flat + coast of Egypt, they kept the vessel in deep water till sunset, and then + entered the harbour of Alexandria in the dark. The centurion, on landing, + met with a freedman of the emperor, from whom he learned that the prefect + was then at supper, entertaining a large company of friends. The freedman + led the cohort quietly into the palace, into the very room where Flaccus + was sitting at table; and the first tidings that he heard of his + government being disapproved of in Rome was his finding himself a prisoner + in his own palace. The friends stood motionless with surprise, the + centurion produced the emperor’s order for what he was doing, and as no + resistance was attempted all passed off quietly; Flaccus was hurried on + board the vessel then at anchor in the harbour on the same evening and + immediately taken to Rome. + </p> + <p> + It so happened that on the night that Flaccus was seized, the Jews had met + together to celebrate their autumnal feast, the feast of the Tabernacles: + not as in former years with joy and pomp, but in fear, in grief, and in + prayer. Their chief men were in prison, their nation smarting under its + wrongs and in daily fear of fresh cruelties; and it was not without alarm + that they heard the noise of soldiers moving to and fro through the city, + and the heavy tread of the guards marching by torchlight from the camp to + the palace. But their fear was soon turned into joy when they heard that + Flaccus, the author of all their wrongs, was already a prisoner on board + the vessel in the harbour; and they gave glory to God, not, says Philo, + that their enemy was going to be punished, but because their own + sufferings were at an end. + </p> + <p> + The Jews then, having had leave given them by the prefect, sent an embassy + to Rome, at the head of which was Philo, the platonic philosopher, who was + to lay their grievances before the emperor, and to beg for redress. The + Greeks also at the same time sent their embassy, at the head of which was + the learned grammarian Apion, who was to accuse the Jews of not + worshipping the statue of the emperor, and to argue that they had no right + to the same privileges of citizenship with those who boasted of their + Macedonian blood. But, as the Jews did not deny the charge that was + brought against them, Caligula would hear nothing that they had to say; + and Philo withdrew with the remark, “Though the emperor is against us, God + will be our friend.” + </p> + <p> + We learn the sad tale of the Jews’ suffering under Caligula from the pages + of their own historian only. But though Philo may have felt and written as + one of the sufferers, his truth is undoubted. He was a man of unblemished + character, and the writer of greatest learning and of the greatest note at + that time in Alexandria; being also of a great age, he well deserved the + honour of being sent on the embassy to Caligula. He was in religion a Jew, + in his philosophy a platonist, and by birth an Egyptian: and in his + numerous writings we may trace the three sources from which he drew his + opinions. He is always devotional and in earnest, full of pure and lofty + thoughts, and often eloquent. His fondness for the mystical properties of + numbers, and for finding an allegory or secondary meaning in the plainest + narrative, seems borrowed from the Egyptians. According to the Eastern + proverb every word in a wise book has seventy-two meanings; and this mode + of interpretation was called into use by the necessity which the Jews felt + of making the Old Testament speak a meaning more agreeable to their modern + views of religion. In Philo’s speculative theology he seems to have + borrowed less from Moses than from the abstractions of Plato, whose + shadowy hints he has embodied in a more solid form. He was the first + Jewish writer that applied to the Deity the mystical notion of the + Egyptians, that everything perfect was of three parts. Philo’s writings + are valuable as showing the steps by which the philosophy of Greece may be + traced from the writings of Plato to those of Justin Martyr and Clemens + Alexandrinus. They give us the earliest example of how the mystical + interpretation of the Scriptures was formed into a system, by which every + text was made to unfold some important philosophic or religious truth to + the learned student, at the same time that to the unlearned reader it + conveyed only the simple historic fact. + </p> + <p> + The Hellenistic Jews, while suffering under severe political disabilities, + had taken up a high literary position in Alexandria, and had forced their + opinions into the notice of the Greeks. The glowing earnestness of their + philosophy, now put forward in a platonic dress, and heir improved style, + approaching even classic elegance, laced their writings on a lofty + eminence far above anything which the cold, lifeless grammarians of the + museum were then producing. Apion, who went to Rome to plead against + Philo, was a native of the Great Oasis, but as he was born of Greek + parents, he claimed and received the title and privileges of an + Alexandrian, which he denied to the Jews who were born in the city. He had + studied under Didymus and Apollonius and Euphranor, and was one of the + most laborious of the grammarians and editors of Homer. All his writings + are now lost. Some of them were attacks upon the Jews and their religion, + calling in question the truth of the Jewish history and the justice of + that nation’s claim to high antiquity; and to these attacks we owe + Josephus’ <i>Answer</i>, in which several valuable fragments of history + are saved by being quoted against the pagans in support of the Old + Testament. One of his works was his <i>Ægyptiaca</i>, an account of what + he thought most curious in Egypt. But his learned trifling is now lost, + and nothing remains of it but his account of the meeting between Androclus + and the lion, which took place in the amphitheatre at Rome when Apion was + there on his embassy. Androclus was a runaway slave, who, when retaken, + was brought to Rome to be thrown before an African lion for the amusement + of the citizens, and as a punishment for his flight. But the fierce and + hungry beast, instead of tearing him to pieces, wagged his tail at him, + and licked his feet. It seems that the slave, when he fled from his + master, had gained the friendship of the lion in the Libyan desert, first + by pulling a thorn out of his foot, and then by living three years with + him in a cave; and, when both were brought in chains to Rome, Androclus + found a grateful friend in the amphitheatre where he thought to have met + with a cruel death. + </p> + <p> + We may for a moment leave our history, to bid a last farewell to the + family of the Ptolemies. Augustus, after leading Selene, the daughter of + Cleopatra and Antony, through the streets of Rome in his triumph, had + given her in marriage to the younger Juba, the historian of Africa; and + about the same time he gave to the husband the kingdom of Mauritania, the + inheritance of his father. His son Ptolemy succeeded him on the throne, + but was soon turned out of his kingdom. We trace the last of the Ptolemies + in his travels through Greece and Asia Minor by the inscriptions remaining + to his honour. The citizens of Xanthus in Lycia set up a monument to him; + and at Athens his statue was placed beside that of Philadelphus in the + gymnasium of Ptolemy, near the temple of Theseus, where he was honoured as + of founder’s kin. He was put to death by Caligula. Drusilla, another + grandchild of Cleopatra and Antony, married Antonius Felix, the procurator + of Judæa, after the death of his first wife, who was also named Drusilla. + These are the last notices that we meet with of the royal family of Egypt. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the news of Caligula’s death (A.D. 41) reached Egypt, the joy + of the Jews knew no bounds. They at once flew to arms to revenge + themselves on the Alexandrians, whose streets were again the seat of civil + war. The governor did what he could to quiet both parties, but was not + wholly successful till the decree of the new emperor reached Alexandria. + In this Claudius granted to the Jews the full rights of citizenship, which + they had enjoyed under the Ptolemies, and which had been allowed by + Augustus; he left them to choose their own high priest, to enjoy their own + religion without hindrance, and he repealed the laws of Caligula under + which they had been groaning. At this time the Jewish alabarch in Egypt + was Demetrius, a man of wealth and high birth, who had married Mariamne, + the daughter of the elder Agrippa. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0015" id="linkimage-0015"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/041.jpg" width="100%" + alt="041.jpg Egyptian Threshing-machine " /> + </div> + <p> + The government under Claudius was mild and just, at least as far as a + government could be in which every tax-gatherer, every military governor, + and every sub-prefect was supposed to enrich himself by his appointment. + Every Roman officer, from the general down to the lowest tribune, claimed + the right of travelling through the country free of expense, and seizing + the carts and cattle of the villagers to carry him forward to the next + town, under the pretence of being a courier on the public service. But we + have a decree of the ninth year of this reign, carved on the temple in the + Great Oasis, in which Cneius Capito, the prefect of Egypt, endeavours to + put a stop to this injustice. He orders that no traveller shall have the + privilege of a courier unless he has a proper warrant, and that then he + shall only claim a free lodging; that clerks in the villages shall keep a + register of all that is taken on account of the public service; and that + if anybody make an unjust claim he shall pay four times the amount to the + informer and six times the amount to the emperor. But royal decrees could + do little or nothing where there were no judges to enforce them; and the + people of Upper Egypt must have felt this law as a cruel insult when they + were told that they might take up their complaints to Basilides, at + Alexandria. The employment of the informer is a full acknowledgment of the + weakness of this absolute government, and that the prefect had not the + power to enforce his own decrees; and, when we compare this law with that + of Alexander on his conquest of the country, we have no difficulty in + seeing why Egypt rose under the Ptolemies and sunk under the selfish + policy of Augustus. + </p> + <p> + Claudius was somewhat of a scholar and an author; he wrote several volumes + both in Greek and in Latin. The former he might perhaps think would be + chiefly valued in Alexandria; and when he founded a new college in that + city, called after himself the Claudian Museum, he ordered that on given + days every year his history of Carthage should be publicly read in one + museum, and his history of Italy in the other; thus securing during his + reign an attention to his writings which their merits alone would not have + gained. + </p> + <p> + Under the government of Claudius the Egyptians were again allowed to coin + money; and in his first year begins that historically important series in + which every coin is dated with the year of the emperor’s reign. The coins + of the Ptolemies were strictly Greek in their workmanship, and the few + Egyptian characters that we see upon them are so much altered by the + classic taste of the die-engraver that we hardly know them again. But it + is far otherwise with the coins of the emperors, which are covered with + the ornaments, characters, and religious ceremonies of the native + Egyptians; and, though the style of art is often bad, they are scarcely + equalled by any series of coins whatever in the service they render to the + historian. + </p> + <p> + It was in this reign that the route through Egypt to India first became + really known to the Greeks and Romans. The historian Pliny, who died in 79 + A.D., has left us a contemporary account of these early voyages. “It will + not be amiss,” he says in his <i>Natural History</i>, “to set forth the + whole of the route from Egypt, which has been stated to us of late, upon + information on which reliance may be placed and is here published for the + first time. The subject is one well worthy of our notice, seeing that in + no year does India drain our empire of less than five hundred and fifty + millions of sesterces [or two million dollars], giving back her own wares + in exchange, which are sold among us at fully one hundred times their cost + price. + </p> + <p> + “Two miles distant from Alexandria is the town of Heliopolis. The distance + thence to Koptos, up the Nile, is three hundred and eight miles; the + voyage is performed, when the Etesian winds are blowing, in twelve days. + From Koptos the journey is made with the aid of camels, stations being + arranged at intervals for the supply of fresh water. The first of these + stations is called Hydreuma, and is distant twenty-two miles; the second + is situate on a mountain at a distance of one day’s journey from the last; + the third is at a second Hydreuma, distant from Koptos ninety-five miles; + the fourth is on a mountain; the next to that is another Hydreuma, that of + Apollo, and is distant from Koptos one hundred and eighty-four miles; + after which there is another on a mountain; there is then another station + at a place called the New Hydreuma, distant from Koptos two hundred and + thirty miles; and next to it there is another called the Old Hydreuma, + where a detachment is always on guard, with a caravansary that affords + lodging for two thousand persons. The last is distant from the New + Hydreuma seven miles. After leaving it, we come to the city of Berenicê, + situate upon a harbour of the Red Sea, and distant from Koptos two hundred + and fifty-seven miles. The greater part of this distance is generally + travelled by night, on account of the extreme heat, the day being spent at + the stations; in consequence of which it takes twelve days to perform the + whole journey from Koptos to Berenicê. + </p> + <p> + “Passengers generally set sail at midsummer before the rising of the + Dog-star, or else immediately after, and in about thirty days arrive at + Ocelis in Arabia, or else at Cane, in the region which bears frankincense. + To those who are bound for India, Ocelis is the best place for + embarkation. If the wind called Hippolus happens to be blowing, it is + possible to arrive in forty days at the nearest mart of India, Muziris by + name [the modern Mangalore]. This, however, is not a very desirable place + for disembarkation, on account of the pirates which frequent its vicinity, + where they occupy a place, Mtrias; nor, in fact, is it very rich in + articles of merchandise. Besides, the roadstead for shipping is a + considerable distance from the shore, and the cargoes have to be conveyed + in boats, either for loading or discharging. At the moment that I am + writing these pages,” continues Pliny, “the name of the king of the place + is Cælobotras. Another part, and a much more convenient one, is that which + lies in the territory of the people called Neacyndi, Barace by name. Here + King Pandian used to reign, dwelling at a considerable distance from the + mart in the interior, at a city known as Modiera. The district from which + pepper is carried down to Barace in boats hollowed out of a single tree, + is known as Cottonara. None of these names of nations, ports, and cities + are to be found in any of the former writers, from which circumstance it + would appear that the localities have since changed their names. + Travellers set sail from India on their return to Europe, at the beginning + of the Egyptian month Tybus, which is our December, or, at all events, + before the sixth day of the Egyptian month Mechir, the same as our ides of + January: if they do this, they can go and return in the same year. They + set sail from India with a south-east wind, and, upon entering the Red + Sea, catch the south-west or south.” + </p> + <p> + The places on the Indian coast which the Egyptian merchant vessels then + reached are verified from the coins found there; and as we know the course + of the trade-wind by which they arrived, we also know the part of Africa + where they left the shore and braved the dangers of the ocean. A hoard of + Roman gold coins of these reigns has been dug up in our own days near + Calicut, under the roots of a banyan-tree. It had been there buried by an + Alexandrian merchant on his arrival from this voyage, and left safe under + the cover of the sacred tree to await his return from a second journey. + But he died before his return, and his secret died with him. The products + of the Indian trade were chiefly silk, diamonds, and other precious + stones, ginger, spices, and some scents. The state of Ethiopia was then + such that no trade came down the Nile to Syênê; and the produce of + southern Africa was brought by coasting vessels to Berenicê. These + products were ivory, rhinoceros teeth, hippopotamus skins, tortoise shell, + apes, monkeys, and slaves, a list which throws a sidelight both on the + pursuits of the natives and the tastes of the ultimate purchasers. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0016" id="linkimage-0016"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/047.jpg" width="100%" alt="047.jpg an Arab Girl " /> + </div> + <p> + The Romans in most cases collected the revenues of a province by means of + a publican or farmer, to whom the taxes were let by auction; but such was + the importance of Egypt that the same jealousy which made them think its + government too great to be trusted to a man of high rank, made them think + its revenues too large to be trusted to one farmer. The smaller branches + of the Egyptian revenue were, however, let out as usual, and even the + collection of the customs of the whole of the Red Sea was not thought too + much to trust to one citizen. Annius Plocamus, who farmed them in this + reign, had a little fleet under his command to collect them with; and, + tempted either by trade or plunder, his ships were sometimes as far out as + the south coast of Arabia. On one occasion one of his freedmen in the + command of a vessel was carried by a north wind into the open ocean, and + after being fifteen days at sea found himself on the coast of Ceylon. This + island was not then wholly new to the geographers of Egypt and Europe. It + had been heard of by the pilots in the voyage of Alexander the Great; + Eratosthenes had given it a place in his map; and it had often been + reached from Africa by the sailors of the Red Sea in wickerwork boats made + of papyrus; but this was the first time it had been visited by a European. + </p> + <p> + In the neighbourhood of the above-mentioned road from Koptos to Berenicê + were the porphyritic quarries and the emerald mines, which were briskly + worked under the Emperor Claudius. The mountain was now named the Claudian + Mountain. + </p> + <p> + As this route for trade became known, the geographers began to understand + the wide space that separates India from Africa. Hitherto, notwithstanding + a few voyages of discovery, it had been the common opinion that Persia was + in the neighbourhood of Ethiopia. The Greeks had thought that the Nile + rose in India, in opposition to the Jews, who said that it was the river + Gibon of the garden of Eden, which made a circuit round the whole of the + land of Cush, or Ethiopia. The names of these countries got misused + accordingly; and even after the mistake was cleared up we sometimes find + Ethiopia called India. + </p> + <p> + The Egyptian chemists were able to produce very bright dyes by methods + then unknown to Greece or Rome. They dipped the cloth first into a liquid + of one colour, called a mordant, to prepare it, and then into a liquid of + a second colour; and it came out dyed of a third colour, unlike either of + the former. The ink with which they wrote the name of a deceased person on + the mummy-cloth, like our own marking-ink, was made with nitrate of + silver. Their knowledge of chemistry was far greater than that of their + neighbours, and the science is even now named from the country of its + birth. The later Arabs called it Alchemia, <i>the Egyptian art</i>, and + hence our words alchemy and chemistry. So also Naphtha, or <i>rock oil</i>, + from the coast of the Red Sea; and Anthracite, or <i>rock fuel</i>, from + the coast of Syria, both bear Egyptian names. To some Egyptian stones the + Romans gave their own names; as the black glassy obsidian from Nubia they + called after Obsidius, who found it; the black Tiberian marble with white + spots, and the Augustan marble with regular wavy veins, were both named + after the emperors. Porphyry was now used for statues for the first time, + and sometimes to make a kind of patchwork figure, in which the clothed + parts were of the coloured stone, while the head, hands, and feet were of + white marble. And it was thought that diamonds were nowhere to be found + but in the Ethiopian gold mines. + </p> + <p> + Several kinds of wine were made in Egypt; some in the Arsinoïte nome on + the banks of the lake Mceris; and a poor Libyan wine at Antiplme on the + coast, a hundred miles from Alexandria. Wine had also been made in Upper + Egypt in small quantities a very long time, as we learn from the + monuments; but it was produced with difficulty and cost and was not good; + it was not valued by the Greeks. It was poor and thin, and drunk only by + those who were feverish and afraid of anything stronger. That of Anthylla, + to the east of Alexandria, was very much better. But better still were the + thick luscious Tæniotic and the mild delicate Mareotic wines. This last + was first grown at Plinthine, but afterwards on all the banks of the lake + Mareotis. The Mareotic wine was white and sweet and thin, and very little + heating or intoxicating. Horace had carelessly said of Cleopatra that she + was drunk with Mareotic wine; but Lucan, who better knew its quality, says + that the headstrong lady drank wine far stronger than the Mareotic. Near + Sebennytus three kinds of wine were made; one bitter named Peuce, a second + sparkling named Æthalon, and the third Thasian, from a vine imported from + Thasus. But none of these Egyptian wines was thought equal to those of + Greece and Italy. Nor were they made in quantities large enough or cheap + enough for the poor; and here, as in other countries, the common people + for their intoxicating drink used beer or spirits made from barley. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0017" id="linkimage-0017"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/051.jpg" width="100%" alt="051.jpg Farming in Egypt " /> + </div> + <p> + The Egyptian sour wine, however, made very good vinegar, and it was then + exported for sale in Rome. During this half-century that great national + work, the lake of Moeris, by which thousands of acres had been flooded and + made fertile, and the watering of the lower country regulated, was, + through the neglect of the embankments, at once destroyed. The latest + traveller who mentions it is Strabo, and the latest geographer Pomponius + Mela. By its means the province of Arsinoë was made one of the most + fruitful and beautiful spots in Egypt. Here only does the olive grow wild. + Here the vine will grow. And by the help of this embanked lake the + province was made yet more fruitful. But before Pliny wrote, the bank had + given way, the pentup waters had made for themselves a channel into the + lake now called Birket el Kurun, and the two small pyramids, which had + hitherto been surrounded by water, then stood on dry ground. Thus was the + country slowly going to ruin by the faults of the government, and + ignorance in the foreign rulers. But, on the other hand, the beautiful + temple of Latopolis, which had been begun under the Ptolemies, was + finished in this reign; and bears the name of Claudius with those of some + later emperors on its portico and walls. + </p> + <p> + In the Egyptian language the word for a year is <i>Bait</i>, which is also + the name of a bird. In hieroglyphics this word is spelt by a palm-branch + <i>Bai</i> and the letter T, followed sometimes by a circle as a picture + of the year. Hence arose among a people fond of mystery and allegory a + mode of speaking of the year under the name of a palm-branch or of a bird; + and they formed a fable out of a mere confusion of words. The Greeks, who + were not slow to copy Egyptian mysticism, called this fabulous bird the <i>Phoenix</i> + from their own name for the palm-tree. The end of any long period of time + they called the return of the phonix to earth. The Romans borrowed the + fable, though perhaps without understanding the allegory; and in the + seventh year of this reign, when the emperor celebrated the secular games + at Rome, at the end of the eighth century since the city was built, it was + said that the phoenix had come to Egypt and was thence brought to Rome. + This was in the consulship of Plautius and Vitellius; and it would seem to + be only from mistakes in the name that Pliny places the event eleven years + earlier, in the consulship of Plautius and Papinius, and that Tacitus + places it thirteen years earlier in the consulship of Fabius and + Vitellius. This fable is connected with some of the remarkable epochs in + Egyptian history. The story lost nothing by travelling to a distance. In + Rome it was said that this wonderful bird was a native of Arabia, where it + lived for five hundred years, that on its death a grub came out of its + body which in due time became a perfect bird; and that the new phonix + brought to Egypt the bones of its parent in the nest of spices in which it + had died, and laid them on the altar in the temple of the sun in + Heliopolis. It then returned to Arabia to live in its turn for five + hundred years, and die and give life again to another as before. The + Christians saw in this story a type of the resurrection; and Clement, + Bishop of Rome, quotes it as such in his Epistle to the Corinthians. + </p> + <p> + We find the name of Claudius on several of the temples of Upper Egypt, + particularly on that of Apollinopolis Magna, and on the portico of the + great temples of Latopolis, which were being built in this reign. + </p> + <p> + In the beginning of the reign of Nero, 55 A.D., an Egyptian Jew, who + claimed to be listened to as a prophet, raised the minds of his countrymen + into a ferment of religious zeal by preaching about the sufferings of + their brethren in Judæa; and he was able to get together a body of men, + called in reproach the Sicarii, or <i>ruffians</i>, whose numbers are + variously stated at four thousand and thirty thousand, whom he led out of + Egypt to free the holy city from the bondage of the heathen. But Felix, + the Roman governor, led against them the garrison of Jerusalem, and easily + scattered the half-armed rabble. By such acts of religious zeal on the + part of the Jews they were again brought to blows with the Greeks of + Alexandria. The Macedonians, as the latter still called themselves, had + met in public assembly to send an embassy to Rome, and some Jews who + entered the meeting, which as citizens they had a full right to do, were + seized and ill-treated by them as spies. They would perhaps have even been + put to death if a large body of their countrymen had not run to their + rescue. The Jews attacked the assembled Greeks with stones and lighted + torches, and would have burned the amphitheatre and all that were in it, + if the prefect, Tiberius Alexander, had not sent some of the elders of + their own nation to calm their angry feelings. But, though the mischief + was stopped for a time, it soon broke out again; and the prefect was + forced to call out the garrison of two Roman legions and five thousand + Libyans before he could re-establish peace in the city. The Jews were + always the greatest sufferers in these civil broils; and Josephus says + that fifty thousand of his countrymen were left dead in the streets of + Alexandria. But this number is very improbable, as the prefect was a + friend to the Jewish nation, and as the Roman legions were not withdrawn + to the camp till they had guarded the Jews in carrying away and burying + the bodies of their friends. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0018" id="linkimage-0018"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:52%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/056.jpg" + alt="056.jpg Egyptian Threshing Machine " /> + </div> + <p> + It was a natural policy on the part of the emperors to change a prefect + whenever his province was disturbed by rebellion, as we have seen in the + case of Flaccus, who was recalled by Caligula. It was easier to send a new + governor than to inquire into a wrong or to redress a grievance; and + accordingly in the next year C. Balbillus was sent from Rome as prefect of + Egypt. He reached Alexandria on the sixth day after leaving the Straits of + Sicily, which was spoken of as the quickest voyage known. The Alexandrian + ships were better built and better manned than any others, and, as a + greater number of vessels sailed every year between that port and Puteoli + on the coast of Italy than between any other two places, no voyage was + better understood or more quickly performed. They were out of sight of + land for five hundred miles between Syracuse and Cyrene. Hence we see that + the quickest rate of sailing, with a fair wind, was at that time about one + hundred and fifty miles in the twenty-four hours. But these ships had very + little power of bearing up against the wind; and if it were contrary the + voyage became tedious. If the captain on sailing out of the port of + Alexandria found the wind westerly, and was unable to creep along the + African coast to Cyrene, he stood over to the coast of Asia Minor, in + hopes of there finding a more favourable wind. If a storm arose, he ran + into the nearest port, perhaps in Crete, perhaps in Malta, there to wait + the return of fair weather. If winter then came on, he had to lie by till + spring. Thus a vessel laden with Egyptian wheat, leaving Alexandria in + September, after the harvest had been brought down to the coast, would + sometimes spend five months on its voyage from that port to Puteoli. Such + was the case with the ship bearing the children of Jove as its figurehead, + which picked up the Apostle Paul and the historian Josephus when they had + been wrecked together on the island of Malta; and such perhaps would have + been the case with the ship which they before found on the coast of Lycia, + had it been able to reach a safe harbour, and not been wrecked at Malta. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0019" id="linkimage-0019"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:46%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/057.jpg" alt="057.jpg Maltese Coin " /> + </div> + <p> + The rocky island of Malta, with the largest and safest harbour in the + Mediterranean, was a natural place for ships to touch at between + Alexandria and Italy. Its population was made up of those races which had + sailed upon its waters first from Carthage and then from Alexandria; it + was a mixture of Phoenicians, Egyptians, and Græco-Egyptians. To judge + from the skulls turned up in the burial-places, the Egyptians were the + most numerous, and here as elsewhere the Egyptian superstitions conquered + and put down all the other superstitions. While the island was under the + Phoenicians, the coins had the head of the Sicilian goddess on one side, + and on the other the Egyptian trinity of Isis, Osiris, and Nepthys. When + it was under the Greek rule the head on the coins received an Egyptian + head-dress, and became that of the goddess Isis, and on the other side of + the coin was a winged figure of Osiris. It was at this time governed by a + Roman governor. The large temple, built with barbarian rudeness, and + ornamented with the Phoenician palm-branch, was on somewhat of a Roman + plan, with a circular end to every room. But it was dedicated to the chief + god of Egypt, and is even yet called by its Greek name Hagia Chem, <i>the + temple of Chem</i>. The little neighbouring island of Cossyra, between + Sicily and Carthage, also shows upon its coins clear traces of its taste + for Egyptian customs. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0020" id="linkimage-0020"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:40%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/058.jpg" alt="058.jpg Coin of Cossyra " /> + </div> + <p> + The first five years of this reign, the <i>quinquennium Neronis</i>, while + the emperor was under the tutorship of the philosopher Seneca, became in + Rome proverbial for good government, and on the coinage we see marks of + Egypt being equally well treated. In the third year we see on a coin the + queen sitting on a throne with the word <i>agreement</i>, as if to praise + the young emperor’s good feeling in following the advice of his mother + Agrippina. On another the emperor is styled the young good genius, and he + is represented by the sacred basilisk crowned with the double crown of + Egypt. The new prefect, Balbillus, was an Asiatic Greek, and no doubt + received his Roman names of Tiberius Claudius on being made a freedman of + the late emperor. He governed the country mildly and justly; and the + grateful inhabitants declared that under him the Nile was more than + usually bountiful, and that its waters always rose to their just height. + But in the latter part of the reign the Egyptians smarted severely under + that cruel principle of a despotic monarchy that every prefect, every + sub-prefect, and even every deputy tax-gatherer, might be equally despotic + in his own department. + </p> + <p> + On a coin of the thirteenth year of the reign of this ruler, we see a ship + with the word <i>emperor-bearer</i>, being that in which he then sailed + into Greece, or in which the Alexandrians thought that he would visit + their city. But if they had really hoped for his visit as a pleasure, they + must have thought it a danger escaped when they learned his character; + they must have been undeceived when the prefect Cæcinna Tuscus was + punished with banishment for venturing to bathe in the bath which was + meant for the emperor’s use if he had come on his projected visit. + </p> + <p> + During the first century and a half of Roman sway in Egypt the school of + Alexandria was nearly silent. We have a few poems by Leonides of + Alexandria, one of which is addressed to the Empress Poppæa, as the wife + of Jupiter, on his presenting a celestial globe to her on her birthday. + Pamphila wrote a miscellaneous history of entertaining stories, and her + lively, simple style makes us very much regret its loss. Chæremon, a Stoic + philosopher, had been, during the last reign, at the head of the + Alexandrian library, but he was removed to Rome as one of the tutors to + the young Nero. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0021" id="linkimage-0021"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:44%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/059.jpg" alt="059.jpg Coin of Nero " /> + </div> + <p> + He is ridiculed by Martial for writing in praise of death, when, from age + and poverty, he was less able to enjoy life. We still possess a most + curious though short account by him of the monastic habits of the ancient + Egyptians. He also wrote on hieroglyphics, and a small fragment containing + his opinion of the meanings of nineteen characters still remains to us. + But he is not always right; he thinks the characters were used + allegorically for thoughts, not for sounds; and fancies that the priests + used them to keep secret the real nature of the gods. + </p> + <p> + He was succeeded at the museum by his pupil Dionysius, who had the charge + of the library till the reign of Trajan. Dionysius was also employed by + the prefect as a secretary of state, or, in the language of the day, + secretary to the embassies, epistles, and answers. He was the author of + the <i>Periegesis</i>, and aimed at the rank of a poet by writing a + treatise on geography in heroic verse. From this work he is named + Dionysius Periegetes. While careful to remind us that his birthplace + Alexandria was a Macedonian city, he gives due honour to Egypt and the + Egyptians. There is no river, says he, equal to the Nile for carrying + fertility and adding to the happiness of the land. It divides Asia from + Libya, falling between rocks at Syênê, and then passing by the old and + famous city of Thebes, where Memnon every morning salutes his beloved + Aurora as she rises. On its banks dwells a rich and glorious race of men, + who were the first to cultivate the arts of life; the first to make trial + of the plough and sow their seed in a straight furrow; and the first to + map the heavens and trace the sloping path of the sun. + </p> + <p> + According to the traditions of the church, it was in this reign that + Christianity was first brought into Egypt by the Evangelist Mark, the + disciple of the Apostle Peter. Many were already craving for religious + food more real than the old superstitions. The Egyptian had been shaken in + his attachment to the sacred animals by Greek ridicule. The Greek had been + weakened in his belief of old Homer’s gods by living with men who had + never heard of them. Both were dissatisfied with the scheme of explaining + the actions of their gods by means of allegory. The crumbling away of the + old opinions left men more fitted to receive the new religion from + Galilee. Mark’s preaching converted crowds in Alexandria; but, after a + short stay, he returned to Rome, in about the eleventh year of this reign, + leaving Annianus to watch over the growing church. Annianus is usually + called the first bishop of Alexandria; and Eusebius, who lived two hundred + years later, has given us the names of his successors in an unbroken + chain. If we would inquire whether the early converts to Christianity in + Alexandria were Jews, Greeks, or Egyptians, we have nothing to guide us + but the names of these bishops. Annianus, or Annaniah, as his name was + written by the Arabic historians, was very likely a Jew; indeed, the + Evangelist Mark would begin by addressing himself to the Jews, and would + leave the care of the infant church to one of his own nation. In the + platonic Jews, Christianity found soil so exactly suited to its reception + that it is only by he dates that the Thérapeute of Alexandria and their + historian Philo are proved not to be Christian; and, again, it was in the + close union between the platonic Jews and the platonists that Christianity + found its easiest path to the ears and hearts of the pagans. The bishops + that followed seem to have been Greek converts. Before the death of + Annaniah, Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Roman armies, and the Jews + sunk in their own eyes and in those of their fellow-citizens throughout + the empire; hence the second bishop of Alexandria was less likely to be of + Hebrew blood; and it was long before any Egyptians aimed at rank in the + church. But though the spread of Christianity was rapid, both among the + Greeks and the Egyptians, we must not hope to find any early traces of it + in the historians. It was at first embraced by the unlearned and the poor, + whose deeds and opinions are seldom mentioned in history; and we may + readily believe the scornful reproach of the unbelievers, that it was + chiefly received by the unfortunate, the unhappy, the despised, and the + sinful. When the white-robed priestesses of Ceres carried the sacred + basket through the streets of Alexandria, they cried out, “Sinners away, + or keep your eyes to the ground; keep your eyes to the ground!” When the + crier, standing on the steps of the portico in front of the great temple, + called upon the pagans to come near and join in the celebration of their + mysteries, he cried out, “All ye who are clean of hands and pure of heart, + come to the sacrifice; all ye who are guiltless in thought and deed, come + to the sacrifice.” + </p> + <p> + But many a repentant sinner and humble spirit must have drawn back in + distrust from a summons which to him was so forbidding, and been glad to + hear the good tidings of mercy offered by Christianity to those who labour + and are heavy laden, and to the broken-hearted who would turn away from + their wickedness. While such were the chief followers of the gospel, it + was not likely to be much noticed by the historians; and we must wait till + it forced its way into the schools and the palace before we shall find + many traces of the rapidity with which it was spreading. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0022" id="linkimage-0022"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/063.jpg" width="100%" alt="063.jpg Ethiopian Arabs " /> + </div> + <p> + During these reigns the Ethiopian Arabs kept up their irregular warfare + against the southern frontier. The tribe most dreaded were the Blemmyes, + an uncivilised people, described by the affrighted neighbours as having no + heads, but with eyes and mouth on the breast; and it was under that name + that the Arabs spread during each century farther and farther into Egypt, + separating the province from the more cultivated tribes of Upper Ethiopia + or Meroë. The cities along the banks of the Nile in Lower Ethiopia, + between Nubia and Meroë, were ruined by being in the debatable land + between the two nations. The early Greek travellers had counted about + twenty cities on each side of the Nile between Syênê and Meroë; but when, + in a moment of leisure, the Roman government proposed to punish and stop + the inroads of these troublesome neighbours, and sent forward a tribune + with a guard of soldiers, he reported on his return that the whole country + was a desert, and that there was scarcely a city inhabited on either side + of the Nile beyond Nubia. But he had not marched very far. The interior of + Africa was little known; and to seek for the fountain of the Nile was + another name for an impossible or chimerical undertaking. + </p> + <p> + But Egypt itself was so quiet as not to need the presence of so large a + Roman force as usual to keep it in obedience; and when Vespasian, who + commanded Nero’s armies in Syria, found the Jews more obstinate in their + rebellion and less easily crushed than he expected, the emperor sent the + young Titus to Alexandria, to lead to his father’s assistance all the + troops that could be spared. Titus led into Palestine through Arabia two + legions, the Fifth and the Tenth, which were then in Egypt. + </p> + <p> + We find a temple of this reign in the oasis of Dakleh, or the Western + Oasis, which seems to have been a more flourishing spot in the time of the + Romans than when Egypt itself was better governed. It is so far removed + from the cities in the valley of the Nile that its position, and even + existence, was long unknown to Europeans, and to such hiding-places as + this many of the Egyptians fled, to be farther from the tyranny of the + Roman tax-gatherers. + </p> + <p> + Hitherto the Roman empire had descended for just one hundred years through + five emperors like a family inheritance; but, on the death of Nero, the + Julian and Claudian families were at an end, and Galba, who was raised to + the purple by the choice of the soldiers, endeavoured to persuade the + Romans and their dependent provinces that they had regained their + liberties. The Egyptians may have been puzzled by the word <i>freedom</i>, + then struck upon the coins by their foreign masters, but must have been + pleased to find it accompanied with a redress of grievances. + </p> + <p> + Galba began his reign with the praiseworthy endeavour of repairing the + injustice done by his cruel predecessor. He at once recalled the prefect + of Egypt, and appointed in his place Tiberius Julius Alexander, an + Alexandrian, a son of the former prefect of that name; and thus Egypt was + under the government of a native prefect. The peaceable situation of the + Great Oasis has saved a long Greek inscription of the decree which was now + issued in redress of the grievances suffered under Nero. It is a + proclamation by Julius Demetrius, the commander of the Oasis, quoting the + decree of Tiberius Julius Alexander, the new prefect of Egypt. + </p> + <p> + The prefect acknowledges that the loud complaints with which he was met on + entering upon his government were well founded, and he promises that the + unjust taxes shall cease; that nobody shall be forced to act as a + provincial tax-gatherer; that no debts shall be cancelled or sales made + void under the plea of money owing to the revenue; that no freeman shall + be thrown into prison for debt, unless it be a debt due to the royal + revenue, and that no private debt shall be made over to the tax-gatherer, + to be by him collected as a public debt; that no property settled on the + wife at marriage shall be seized for taxes due from the husband; and that + all new charges and claims which had grown up within the last five years + shall be repealed. In order to discourage informers, whom the prefects had + much employed, and by whom the families in Alexandria were much harassed, + and to whom he laid the great falling off in the population of that city, + he orders, that if anybody should make three charges and fail in proving + them, he shall forfeit half his property and lose the right of bringing an + action at law. The land had always paid a tax in proportion to the number + of acres overflowed and manured by the waters of the Nile; and the + husbandmen had latterly been frightened by the double threat of a new + measurement of the land, and of making it at the same time pay according + to the ancient registers of the overflow when the canals had been more + open and more acres flooded; but the prefect promises that there shall be + no new measurements, and that they shall only be taxed according to the + actual overflow. In 69 A.D. Galba was murdered, after a reign of seven + months. Some of his coins, however, are dated in the second year of his + reign, according to the Alexandrian custom of counting the years. They + called the 29th of August, the first new year’s day after the sovereign + came to the throne, the first day of his second year. + </p> + <p> + Otho was then acknowledged as emperor by Rome and the East, while the + hardy legions of Germany thought themselves entitled to choose for + themselves. They set up their own general, Vitellius. The two legions in + Egypt sided with the four legions in Syria under Mucianus, and the three + legions which, under Vespasian, were carrying on the memorable war against + the Jews; and all took the oaths to Otho. We find no hieroglyphical + inscriptions during this short reign of a few weeks, but there are many + Alexandrian coins to prove the truth of the historian; and some of them, + like those of Galba, bear the unlooked-for word <i>freedom</i>. In the few + weeks which then passed between the news of Otho’s death and of Vespasian + being raised to the purple in Syria, Vitellius was acknowledged in Egypt; + and the Alexandrian mint struck a few coins in his name with the figure of + Victory. But as soon as the legions of Egypt heard that the Syrian army + had made choice of another emperor, they withdrew their allegiance from + Vitellius, and promised it to his Syrian rival. + </p> + <p> + Vespasian was at Cæsarea, in command of the army employed in the Jewish + war, when the news reached him that Otho was dead, and that Vitellius had + been raised to the purple by the German legions, and acknowledged at Rome; + and, without wasting more time in refusing the honour than was necessary + to prove that his soldiers were in earnest in offering it, he allowed + himself to be proclaimed emperor, as the successor of Otho. He would not, + however, then risk a march upon Rome, but he sent to Alexandria to tell + Tiberius Alexander, the governor of Egypt, what he had done; he ordered + him to claim in his name the allegiance of that great province, and added + that he should soon be there himself. The two Roman legions in Egypt much + preferred the choice of the Eastern to that of the Western army, and the + Alexandrians, who had only just acknowledged Vitellius, readily took the + oath to be faithful to Vespasian. This made it less necessary for him to + hasten thither, and he only reached Alexandria in time to hear that + Vitellius had been murdered after a reign of eight months, and that he + himself had been acknowledged as emperor by Rome and the Western legions. + His Egyptian coins in the first year of his reign, by the word <i>peace</i>, + point to the end of the civil war. + </p> + <p> + When Vespasian entered Alexandria, he was met by the philosophers and + magistrates in great pomp. The philosophers, indeed, in a city where, + beside the officers of government, talent formed the only aristocracy, + were a very important body; and Dion, Euphrates, and Apollonius had been + useful in securing for Vespasian the allegiance of the Alexandrians. Dion + was an orator, who had been professor of rhetoric, but he had given up + that study for philosophy. His orations, or declamations, gained for him + the name of Chrysostom, or <i>golden-mouthed</i>. Euphrates, his friend, + was a platonist, who afterwards married the daughter of the prefect of + Syria, and removed to Rome. Apollonius of Tyana, the most celebrated of + these philosophers, was one of the first who gained his eminence from the + study of Eastern philosophy, which was then rising in the opinions of the + Greeks as highly worth their notice. He had been travelling in the East; + and, boasting that he was already master of all the fabled wisdom of the + Magi of Babylon and of the Gymnosophists of India, he was come to Egypt to + compare this mystic philosophy with that of the hermits of Ethiopia and + the Thebaid. Addressing himself as a pupil to the priests, he willingly + yielded his belief to their mystic claims; and, whether from being + deceived or as a deceiver, whether as an enthusiast or as a cheat, he + pretended to have learned all the supernatural knowledge which they + pretended to teach. By the Egyptians he was looked upon as the favourite + of Heaven; he claimed the power of working miracles by his magical arts, + and of foretelling events by his knowledge of astrology. In the Thebaid he + was so far honoured that at the bidding of the priests one of the sacred + trees spoke to him, as had been their custom from of old with favourites, + and in a clear and rather womanly voice addressed him as a teacher from + heaven. + </p> + <p> + It was to witness such practices as these, and to learn the art of + deceiving their followers, that the Egyptian priests were now consulted by + the Greeks. The oracle at Delphi was silent, but the oracle of Ammon + continued to return an answer. The mystic philosophy of the East had come + into fashion in Alexandria, and the priests were more celebrated as + magicians than as philosophers. They would tell a man’s fortune and the + year that he was to die by examining the lines of his forehead. Some of + them even undertook, for a sum of money, to raise the dead to life, or, + rather, to recall for a time to earth the unwilling spirits, and make them + answer any questions that might be put to them. Ventriloquism was an art + often practised in Egypt, and perhaps invented there. By this the priests + gained a power over the minds of the listeners, and could make them + believe that a tree, a statue, or a dead body, was speaking to them. + </p> + <p> + The Alexandrian men of letters seldom erred by wrapping themselves up in + pride to avoid the fault of meanness; they usually cringed to the great. + Apollonius was wholly at the service of Vespasian, and the emperor repaid + the philosopher by flattery as well as by more solid favours. He kept him + always by his side during his stay in Egypt; he acknowledged his rank as a + prophet, and tried to make further use of him in persuading the Egyptians + of his own divine right to the throne. Vespasian begged him to make use of + his prayers that he might obtain from God the empire which he had as yet + hardly grasped; but Apollonius, claiming even a higher mission from Heaven + than Vespasian was granting to him, answered, with as much arrogance as + flattery, “I have myself already made you emperor.” With the intimacy + between Vespasian and Apollonius begins the use of gnostic emblems on the + Alexandrian coins. The imperial pupil was not slow in learning from such a + master; and the people were as ready to believe in the emperor’s miracles + as in the philosopher’s. As Vespasian was walking through the streets of + Alexandria, a man well known as having a disease in his eyes threw himself + at his feet and begged of him to heal his blindness. He had been told by + the god Serapis that he should regain his sight if the emperor would but + deign to spit upon his eyelids. Another man, who had lost the use of a + hand, had been told by the same god that he should be healed if the + emperor would but trample on him with his feet. Vespasian at first laughed + at them and thrust them off; but at last he so far yielded to their + prayers, and to the flattery of his friends, as to have the physicians of + Alexandria consulted whether it was in his power to heal these unfortunate + men. The physicians, like good courtiers, were not so unwise as to think + it impossible; besides, it seemed meant by the god as a public proof of + Vespasian’s right to the throne; if he were successful the glory would be + his, and if he failed the laugh would be against the cripples. The two men + were therefore brought before him, and in the face of the assembled + citizens he trampled on one and spit on the other; and his flatterers + declared that he had healed the maimed and given sight to the blind. + </p> + <p> + Vespasian met with further wonders when he entered the temple of Serapis + to consult the god as to the state and fortunes of the empire. He went + into the inner sanctuary alone, and, to his surprise, there he beheld the + old Basilides, the freedman of Claudius, one of the chief men of + Alexandria, whom he knew was then lying dangerously ill, and several days’ + journey from the city. He inquired of the priests whether Basilides had + been in the temple, and was assured that he had not. He then asked whether + he had been in Alexandria; but nobody had seen him there. Lastly, on + sending messengers, he learned that he was on his death-bed eighty miles + off. With this miracle before his eyes, he could not distrust the answers + which the priests gave to his questions. + </p> + <p> + From Alexandria Vespasian sent back Titus to finish the siege of + Jerusalem. The Jewish writer Joseph, the son of Matthias, or Flavius + Josephus, as he called himself when he entered the service of the emperor, + was then in Alexandria. He had been taken prisoner by Vespasian, but had + gained his freedom by the betrayal of his country’s cause. He joined the + army of Titus and marched to the overthrow of Jerusalem. Notwithstanding + the obstinate and heroic struggles of the Jews, Judæa was wholly conquered + by the Romans, and Jerusalem and its other fortresses either received + Roman garrisons or were dismantled. The Temple was overthrown in the month + of September, A.D. 70. Titus made slaves of ninety-seven thousand men, + many of whom he led with him into Egypt, and then sent them to work in the + mines. These were soon followed by a crowd of other brave Jews, who chose + rather to quit their homes and live as wanderers in Egypt than to own + Vespasian as their king. They knew no lord but Jahveh; to take the oaths + or to pay tribute to Cæsar was to renounce the faith of their fathers. But + they found no safety in Egypt. Their Greek brethren turned against them, + and handed six hundred of them up to Lupus, the governor of Egypt, to be + punished; and their countryman Josephus brands them all with the name of + Sicarii. They tried to hide themselves in Thebes and other cities less + under the eyes of the Roman governor. They were, however, followed and + taken, and the courage with which the boys and mere children bore their + sufferings, sooner than acknowledge Vespasian for their king, drew forth + the praise of even the time-serving Josephus. + </p> + <p> + The Greek Jews of Egypt gained nothing by this treachery towards their + Hebrew brethren; they were themselves looked down upon by the + Alexandrians, and distrusted by the Romans. The emperor ordered Lupus to + shut up the temple at Onion, near Heliopolis, in which, during the last + three hundred years, they had been allowed to have an altar, in rivalry to + the Temple of Jerusalem. Even Josephus, whose betrayal of his countrymen + might have saved him from their enemies, was sent with many others in + chains to Rome, and was only set free on his making himself known to + Titus. Indeed, when the Hebrew Jews lost their capital and their rank as a + nation, their brethren felt lowered in the eyes of their fellow-citizens, + in whatever city they dwelt, and in Alexandria they lost all hope of + keeping their privileges; although the emperor refused to repeal the edict + which granted them their citizenship, an edict to which they always + appealed for protection, but often with very little success. + </p> + <p> + The Alexandrians were sadly disappointed in Vespasian. They had been among + the first to acknowledge him as emperor while his power was yet doubtful, + and they looked for a sum of money as a largess; but to their sorrow he + increased the taxes, and re-established some which had fallen into disuse. + They had a joke against him, about his claiming from one of his friends + the trifling debt of six oboli; and, upon hearing of their witticisms, he + was so angry that he ordered this sum of six oboli to be levied as a + poll-tax upon every man in the city, and he only remitted the tax at the + request of his son Titus. He went to Rome, carrying with him the nickname + of Cybiosactes, <i>the scullion</i>, which the Alexandrians gave him for + his stinginess and greediness, and which they had before given to + Seleucus, who robbed the tomb of Alexander the Great, at Alexandria, of + its famous golden sarcophagus. + </p> + <p> + Titus saw the importance of pleasing the people; and his wish to humour + their ancient prejudices, at the ceremony of consecrating a new bull as + Apis, brought some blame upon him. He there, as became the occasion, wore + the state crown, and dazzled the people of Memphis with his regal pomp; + but, while thus endeavouring to strengthen his father’s throne, he was by + some accused of grasping at it for himself. + </p> + <p> + The great temple of Kneph, at Latopolis, which had been the work of many + reigns and perhaps many centuries, was finished under Vespasian. It is a + building worthy of the best times of Egyptian architecture. It has a grand + portico, upheld by four rows of massive columns, with capitals in the form + of papyrus flowers. On the ceiling is a zodiac, like that at Tentyra; and, + though many other kings’ names are carved on the walls, that of Vespasian + is in the dedication over the entrance. + </p> + <p> + Of the reign of Titus in Egypt we find no trace beyond his coins struck + each year at Alexandria, and his name carved on one or two temples which + had been built in former reigns. + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:41%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/068.jpg" alt="Egyptian coin of Galba" /> + </div> + <p> + Of the reign of Domitian (81—96 A.D.) we learn something from the + poet Juvenal, who then held a military post in the province; and he gives + us a sad account of the state of lawlessness in which the troops lived + under his commands. All quarrels between soldiers and citizens were tried + by the officers according to martial law; and justice was very far from + being even-handed between the Roman and the poor Egyptian. No witness was + bold enough to come forward and say anything against a soldier, while + everybody was believed who spoke on his behalf. Juvenal was at a great age + when he was sent into Egypt; and he felt that the command of a cohort on + the very borders of the desert was a cruel banishment from the literary + society of Rome. His death in the camp was hastened by his wish to return + home. As what Juvenal chiefly aimed at in his writings was to lash the + follies of the age, he, of course, found plenty of amusement in the + superstitions and sacred animals of Egypt. But he sometimes takes a poet’s + liberty, and when he tells us that man’s was almost the only flesh that + they ate without sinning, we need not believe him to the letter. He gives + a lively picture of a fight which he saw between the citizens of two + towns. The towns of Ombos and Tentyra, though about a hundred miles apart, + had a long-standing quarrel about their gods. At Ombos they worshipped the + crocodile and the crocodile-headed god Savak, while at Tentyra they + worshipped the goddess Hâthor, and were celebrated for their skill in + catching and killing crocodiles. So, taking advantage of a feast or + holiday, they marched out for a fight. The men of Ombos Avere beaten and + put to flight; but one of them, stumbling as he ran away, was caught and + torn to pieces, and, as Juvenal adds, eaten by the men of Tentyra. Their + worship of beasts, birds, and fishes, and even growing their gods in the + garden, are pleasantly hit off by him; they left nothing, said he, without + worship, but the goddess of chastity. The mother goddess, Isis, the queen + of heaven, was the deity to whom they bowed with the most tender devotion, + and to swear by Isis was their favourite oath; and hence the leek, in + their own language named Isi, was no doubt the vegetable called a god by + the satiric Juvenal. + </p> + <p> + At the same time also the towns of Oxyrrhynchos and Cynopolis, in the + Heptanomos, had a little civil war about the animals which they + worshipped. Somebody at Cynopolis was said to have caught an oxyrrhynchus + fish in the Nile and eaten it; and so the people of Oxyrrhynchos, in + revenge, made an attack upon the dogs, the gods of Cynopolis. They caught + a number of them, killed them in sacrifice to their offended fish-god, and + ate them. The two parties then flew to arms and fought several battles; + they sacked one another’s cities in turns, and the war was not stopped + till the Roman troops marched to the spot and punished them both. + </p> + <p> + But we gain a more agreeable and most likely a more true notion of the + mystical religion and philosophy of the Egyptians in these days from the + serious enquiries of Plutarch, who, instead of looking for what he could + laugh at, was only too ready to believe that he saw wisdom hidden under an + allegory in all their superstitions. Many of the habits of the priests, + such as shaving the whole body, wearing linen instead of cotton, and + refusing some meats as impure, seem to have arisen from a love of + cleanliness; their religion ordered what was useful. And it also forbade + what was hurtful; so to stir the fire with a sword was displeasing to the + gods, because it spoilt the temper of the metal. None but the vulgar now + looked upon the animals and statues as gods; the priests believed that the + unseen gods, who acted with one mind and with one providence, were the + authors of all good; and though these, like the sun and moon, were called + in each country by a different name, yet, like those luminaries, they were + the same over all the world. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0023" id="linkimage-0023"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/078b.jpg" width="100%" + alt="078b.jpg Scene in a Sepuuchral Chamber " /> + </div> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0024" id="linkimage-0024"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:20%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/080.jpg" alt="080.jpg Harpocrates " /> + </div> + <p> + Outward ceremonies in religion were no longer thought enough without a + good life; and, as the Greeks said, that beard and cloak did not make a + philosopher, so the Egyptians said that white linen and a tonsure would + not make a follower of Isis. All the sacrifices to the gods had a + secondary meaning, or, at least, they tried to join a moral aim to the + outward act; as on the twentieth day of the month, when they ate honey and + figs in honour of Thot, they sang “Sweet is truth.” The Egyptians, like + most other Eastern polytheists, held the doctrine which was afterwards + called Manicheism; they believed in a good and in a wicked god, who + governed the world between them. Of these the former made himself + threefold, because three is a perfect number, and they adopted into their + religion that curious metaphysical opinion that everything divine is + formed of three parts; and accordingly, on the Theban monuments we often + see the gods in groups of three. They worshipped Osiris, Isis, and Horus + under the form of a right-angled triangle, in which Horus was the side + opposite to the right angle. The favourite part of their mythology was the + lamentation of Isis for the death of her husband Osiris. By another change + the god Horus, who used to be a crowned king of manly stature, was now a + child holding a finger to his mouth, and thereby marking that he had not + yet learned to talk. The Romans, who did not understand this Egyptian + symbol for youthfulness, thought that in this character he was commanding + silence; and they gave the name of Harpocrates, <i>Horus the powerful</i>, + to a god of silence. Horus was also often placed as a child in the arms of + his mother Isis; and thus by the loving nature of the group were awakened + the more tender feelings of the worshipper. The Egyptians, like the + Greeks, had always been loud in declaring that they were beloved by their + gods; but they received their favours with little gratitude, and hardly + professed that they felt any love towards the gods in return. But after + the time of the Christian era, we meet with more kindly feelings even + among the pagans. We find from the Greek names of persons that they at + least had begun to think their gods deserving of love, and in this group + of the mother and child, such a favourite also in Christian art, we see in + what direction these more kindly feelings found an entrance into the + Egyptian religion. As fast as opinion was raising the great god Serapis + above his fellows and making the wrathful judge into the ruler of the + world, so fast was the same opinion creating for itself a harbour of + refuge in the child Horus and its mother. + </p> + <p> + The deep earnestness of the Egyptians in the belief of their own religion + was the chief cause of its being adopted by others. The Greeks had + borrowed much from it. Though in Rome it had been forbidden by law, it was + much cultivated there in private; and the engraved rings on the fingers of + the wealthy Romans which bore the figures of Harpocrates and other + Egyptian gods easily escaped the notice of the magistrate. But the + superstitious Domitian, who was in the habit of consulting astrologers and + Chaldæan fortune-tellers, allowed the Egyptian worship. He built at Rome a + temple to Isis, and another to Serapis; and such was the eagerness of the + citizens for pictures of the mother goddess with her child in her arms + that, according to Juvenal, the Roman painters all lived upon the goddess + Isis. For her temple in the Campus Martius, holy water was even brought + from the Nile to purify the building and the votaries; and a regular + college of priests was maintained there by their zeal and at their cost, + with a splendour worthy of the Roman capital. Domitian, also, was somewhat + of a scholar, and he sent to Alexandria for copies of their books, to + restore the public library at Rome which had been lately burnt; while his + garden on the banks of the Tiber was richer in the Egyptian winter rose + than even the gardens of Memphis and Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + During this century the coinage continues one of the subjects of chief + interest to the antiquary. In 92 A.D., in the eleventh year of his reign, + when Domitian took upon himself the tribunitian power at Rome for a second + period of ten years, the event was celebrated in Alexandria with a + triumphal procession and games in the hippodrome, of all which we see + clear traces on the Egyptian coins. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0025" id="linkimage-0025"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/081.jpg" width="100%" alt="081.jpg Coins of Domitian " /> + </div> + <p> + The coinage is almost the only trace of Nerva (96—98 A.D.) having + reigned in Egypt; but it is at the same time enough to prove the mildness + of his government. The Jews who by their own law were of old required to + pay half a shekel, or a didrachm, to the service of their temple, had on + their conquest been made to pay that sum as a yearly tribute to the + Ptolemies, and afterwards to the emperors. It was a poll-tax levied on + every Jew throughout the empire. But Nerva had the humanity to relieve + them from this insulting tribute, and well did he deserve the honour of + having it recorded on the coins struck in his reign. + </p> + <p> + The coinage of the eleventh year of his successor, Trajan (98-117 A.D.), + is very remarkable for its beauty, its technical skill, and variety, even + more so than that of the eleventh year of Domitian. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0026" id="linkimage-0026"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:29%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/082.jpg" alt="082.jpg Coin of Nerva " /> + </div> + <p> + The coins have hitherto proclaimed, in a manner unmistakably plain to + those who study numismatics, the games and conquests of the emperors, the + bountiful overflow of the Nile, and sometimes the worship of Serapis; but + we now enter upon the most brilliant and most important period of the + Egyptian coinage, and find a rich variety of fables taken both from + Egyptian and Greek mythology. The coins of Rome in this and the following + reigns show the wealth, good taste, and learning of the nation, but they + are surpassed by the coins of Egypt. While history is nearly silent, and + the buildings and other proofs of Roman good government have perished, the + coins alone are quite enough to prove the well-being of the people. Among + the Egyptian coins those of Trajan, Hadrian, and the Antonines equal in + number those of all the other emperors together, while in beauty they far + surpass them. They are mostly of copper, of a small size, and thick, + weighing about one hundred and ten grains, and some larger of two hundred + and twenty grains; the silver coins are less common, and of mixed metal. + </p> + <p> + Though the Romans, while admiring and copying everything that was Greek, + affected to look upon the Egyptians as savages, who were only known to be + human beings by their power of speech, still the Egyptian physicians were + held by them in the highest repute. The more wealthy Romans often sailed + to Alexandria for the benefit of their advice. Pliny the Elder, however, + thought that of the invalids who went to Egypt for their health more were + cured by the sea voyage than by the physicians on their arrival. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0027" id="linkimage-0027"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:23%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/083.jpg" + alt="083.jpg Trinity of Isis, Horus and Nephthys " /> + </div> + <p> + One of Cicero’s physicians was an Egyptian. Pliny the Younger repaid his + Egyptian oculist, Harpocrates, by getting a rescript from the emperor to + make him a Roman citizen. But the statesman did not know under what harsh + laws his friend was born, for the grant was void in the case of an + Egyptian, the emperor’s rescript was bad as being against the law; and + Pliny had again to beg the greater favour that the Egyptian might first be + made a citizen of Alexandria, without which the former favour was useless. + Thus, even in Alexandria, a conquered province governed by the despotic + will of a military emperor, there were still some laws or principles which + the emperor found it not easy to break. The courts of justice, those to + whom the edicts were addressed and by whom they were to be explained and + carried into effect, claimed a power in some cases above the emperor; and + the first article in the Roman code was that an imperial rescript, by + whomsoever or howsoever obtained, was void if it was against the law. As + the lawyers and magistrates formed part of the body of citizens, the + Alexandrians had so far a share in the government of their own affairs; + but this was an advantage that the Egyptians lost by being under the power + of the Greek magistrates. + </p> + <p> + Trajan always kept in the public granaries of Rome a supply of Egyptian + grain equal to seven times the <i>canon</i>, or yearly gift to the poor + citizens; and in this prudent course he was followed by all his + successors, until the store was squandered by the worthless Elagabalus. + One year, when the Nile did not rise to its usual height, and much of the + grain land of the Delta, instead of being moistened by its waters and + enriched by its mud, was left a dry, sandy plain, the granaries of Rome + were unlocked to feed the city of Alexandria. The Alexandrians then saw + the unusual sight of ships unloading their cargoes of wheat in their + harbour, and the Romans boasted that they took the Egyptian tribute in + grain, not because they could not feed themselves, but because the + Egyptians had nothing else to send them. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0028" id="linkimage-0028"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/084.jpg" width="100%" alt="084.jpg Coins of Trajan " /> + </div> + <p> + Alexandria under the Romans was still the centre of the trading world, not + only having its own great trade in grain, but being the port through which + the trade of India and Arabia passed to Europe, and at which the Syrian + vessels touched in their way to Italy. The harbour was crowded with masts + and strange prows and uncouth sails, and the quays always busy with + loading and unloading; while in the streets might be seen men of all + languages and all dresses, copper-coloured Egyptians, swarthy Jews, + lively, bustling Greeks, and haughty Italians, with Asiatics from the + neighbouring coasts of Syria and Cilicia, and even dark Ethiopians, + painted Arabs, Bactrians, Scythians, Persians, and Indians, all gay with + their national costumes. Alexandria was a spot in which Europe met Asia, + and each wondered at the strangeness of the other. + </p> + <p> + Of the Alexandrians themselves we receive a very unfavourable account from + their countryman, Dion Chrysostom. With their wealth, they had those vices + which usually follow or cause the loss of national independence. They were + eager for nothing but food and horse-races. They were grave and quiet in + their sacrifices and listless in business, but in the theatre or in the + stadium men, women, and children were alike heated into passion, and + overcome with eagerness and warmth of feeling. A scurrilous song or a + horse-race would so rouse them into a quarrel that they could not hear for + their own noise, nor see for the dust raised by their own bustle in the + hippodrome; while all those acts of their rulers, which in a more + wholesome state of society would have called for notice, passed by + unheeded. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0029" id="linkimage-0029"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:42%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/086.jpg" + alt="086.jpg Egyptian Wig (british Museum) " /> + </div> + <p> + They cared more for the tumble of a favourite charioteer than for the + sinking state of the nation. The ready employment of ridicule in the place + of argument, of wit instead of graver reason, of nicknames as their most + powerful weapon, was one of the worst points in the Alexandrian character. + Frankness and manliness are hardly to be looked for under a despotic + government where men are forbidden to speak their minds openly; and the + Alexandrians made use of such checks upon their rulers as the law allowed + them. They lived under an absolute monarchy tempered only by ridicule. + Though their city was four hundred years old, they were still colonists + and without a mother-country. They had very little faith in anything great + or good, whether human or divine. They had few cherished prejudices, no + honoured traditions, sadly little love of fame, and they wrote no + histories. But in luxury and delicacy they set the fashion to their + conquerors. The wealthy Alexandrian walked about Rome in a scarlet robe, + in summer fanning himself with gold, and displaying on his fingers rings + carefully suited to the season; as his hands were too delicate to carry + his heavier jewels in the warm weather. At the supper tables of the rich, + the Alexandrian singing boys were much valued; the smart young Roman + walked along the Via Sacra humming an Alexandrian tune; the favourite + comic actor, the delight of the city, whose jokes set the theatre in a + roar, was an Alexandrian; the Retiarius, who, with no weapon but a net, + fought against an armed gladiator in the Roman forum, and came off + conqueror in twenty-six such battles, was an Alexandrian; and no breed of + fighting-cocks was thought equal to those reared in the suburbs of + Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + In the reign of Augustus the Roman generals had been defeated in their + attacks on Arabia; but under Trajan, when the Romans were masters of all + the countries which surround Arabia Nabatæa, and when Egypt was so far + quiet that the legions could be withdrawn without danger to the provinces, + the Arabs could hold out no longer, and the rocky fastness of Petra was + forced to receive a Roman garrison. The event was as usual commemorated on + the coins of Rome; and for the next four hundred years that remarkable + Arab city formed part of the Roman empire; and Europeans now travelling + through the desert from Mount Sinai to Jerusalem are agreeably surprised + at coming upon temples, carved out of the solid rock, ornamented with + Corinthian columns of the age of the Antonines. + </p> + <p> + In the twelfth year of this reign, when Lucius Sulpicius Simius was + prefect, some additions which had been made to the temple at Panopolis in + the Thebaid were dedicated in the name of the emperor; and in the + nineteenth year, when Marcus Rutilius Lupus was prefect, a new portico in + the oasis of Thebes was in the same manner dedicated to Serapis and Isis. + A small temple, which had been before built at Denderah, near the great + temple of Venus, was in the first year of this reign dedicated to the + Empress Plotina, under the name of the great goddess, the Younger Venus. + </p> + <p> + The canal from the Nile near Bubastis to the Bitter Lakes, which had been + first made by Necho, had been either finished or a second time made by + Philadelphus; and in this reign that great undertaking was again renewed. + But the stream of the Nile was deserting the Bubastite branch, which was + less navigable than formerly; and the engineers now changed the greater + part of the canal’s bed. They thought it wiser to bring water from a + higher part of the Nile, so that the current in the canal might run into + the Red Sea instead of out, and its waters might still be fresh and useful + to agriculture. It now began at Babylon opposite Memphis and entered the + Red Sea at a town which, taking its name from the locks, was called + Clysmon, about ten miles to the south of Arsinoë. This latter town was no + longer a port, having been separated from the sea by the continual advance + of the sands. We have no knowledge of how long the care of the imperial + prefects kept this new canal open and in use. It was perhaps one of the + first of the Roman works that went to decay; and, when we find the + Christian pilgrims sailing along it seven centuries later, on their way + from England to the holy sepulchre, it had been again opened by the + Muhammedan conquerors of Egypt. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0030" id="linkimage-0030"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:48%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/089.jpg" + alt="089.jpg Antoninian Temple Near Sinai " /> + </div> + <p> + Writings which some now regard as literary forgeries appeared in + Alexandria about this time. They prophesied the re-establishment of the + Jews at Jerusalem, and, as the wished-for time drew near, all the eastern + provinces of the Roman empire were disturbed by rebellious risings of the + Jews. Moved by the religious enthusiasm which gave birth to the writings, + the Jews of Egypt in the eighteenth year of this reign (116 A.D.) were + again roused into a quarrel with their Greek fellow-citizens; and in the + next year, the last of the reign, they rose against their Roman governors + in open rebellion, and they were not put down till the prefect Lupus had + brought his forces against them. After this the Jews of Cyrene marched + through the desert into Egypt, under the command of Lucuas, to help their + brethren; and the rebellion took the regular form of a civil war, with all + its usual horrors. The emperor sent against the Jews an army followed by a + fleet, which, after numerous skirmishes and battles, routed them with + great slaughter, and drove numbers of them back into the desert, whence + they harassed the village as robbers. By these unsuccessful appeals to + force, the Jews lost all right to those privileges of citizenship which + they always claimed, and which had been granted by the emperors, though + usually refused by the Alexandrians. The despair and disappointment of the + Jews seem in many cases to have turned their minds to the Christian view + of the Old Testament prophecies; henceforth, says Eusebius, the Jews + embraced the Christian religion more readily and in greater numbers. + </p> + <p> + In A.D. 122, the sixth year of the reign of Hadrian, Egypt was honoured by + a visit from the emperor. He was led to Egypt at that time by some riots + of a character more serious than usual, which had arisen between two + cities, probably Memphis and Heliopolis, about a bull, as to whether it + was to be Apis or Mnevis. Egypt had been for some years without a sacred + bull; and when at length the priests found one, marked with the mystic + spots, the inhabitants of those two cities flew to arms, and the peace of + the province was disturbed by their religious zeal, each claiming the bull + as their own. + </p> + <p> + Hadrian also undertook a voyage up the Nile from Alexandria in order to + explore the wonders of Egypt. This was the fashion then, for the ancient + monuments and the banks of this mysterious river offered just as many + attractions at that time as they have done to all nations since the + expedition of Napoleon. That animal-worship, which had remained unchanged + for centuries, a riddle of human religion, was bound to excite the + curiosity of strangers. In this divinisation of animals lay the greatest + contempt for human understanding, and it was a bitter satire on the + apotheosis of kings and emperors. For what was the divinity of Sesostris, + of Alexander, of Augustus, or Hadrian compared with the heavenly majesty + of the ox Apis, or the holy cats, dogs, kites, crocodiles, and god-apes? + Egypt was at this epoch already a museum of the Pharaoh-time and its + enbalamed culture. Strange buildings, rare sculptures, hieroglyphics, and + pictures still filled the ancient towns, even though these had lost their + splendour. Memphis and Heliopolis, Bubastis, Abydos, Saïs, Tanis, and the + hundred-gated Thebes had long fallen into ruin, although still inhabited. + </p> + <p> + The emperor’s escort must have been an extraordinary sight as it steered + up the stream on a fleet of dahabiehs. The emperor was accompanied by + students of the museum, interpreters, priests, and astrologers. Amongst + his followers were Verus and the beautiful Antinous. + </p> + <p> + The Empress Sabina also accompanied him; she had the poetess Julia + Balbilla amongst her court ladies. They landed wherever there was anything + of interest to be seen, and there was more in those days than there is + now. They admired the great pyramids, the colossal sphinx, and the sacred + town of Memphis. This city, the ancient royal seat of the Pharaohs, and + even in Strabo’s time the second town in Egypt, was not yet buried under + the sand of the desert; its disappearance had, however, already begun. + Under the Ptolemies it had given much of the material of her temples and + palaces for the building of Alexandria. The great palace of the Pharaohs + had long been destroyed, but there still remained many notable monuments, + such as the temple of Phtah, the pyramids, the necropolis, and the + Serapeum, and they retained their ancient cult. The town was still the + chief seat of the Egyptian hierarchy and the residence of Apis; for this + very reason the Roman government had destined it to be one of her strong + military stations, for here a legion was quartered. The emperor could walk + through the time-worn avenues of sphinxes which led to the wonderful + vaults where the long succession of divine animals was buried, each like a + Pharaoh, in a magnificent granite sarcophagus. Hadrian could admire the + beautifully sculptured tomb of Di, an Egyptian officer of the fifth + dynasty, with less trouble than we must experience now; for now the + palaces, the pictures of the gods, and almost all the pyramids are + swallowed up in sand. Miserable Arab villages, such as Saqqâra, have fixed + themselves in the ruins of Memphis, and from a thick palm grove one can + look with astonishment upon the torso of the powerful Ramses II. lying + solitary there, the last witness to the glory of the temple of Phtah, + before which this colossus once had its stand. In the neighbourhood of + Memphis lay Heliopolis, the town of the sun-god, with its ancient temple, + and a school of Egyptian wisdom, in which Plato is supposed to have + studied. + </p> + <p> + In Heliopolis the worship of the god Ra was preserved, the centre of which + was the holy animal Mnevis, a rival or comrade of Apis. Cambyses had + partly destroyed the temple and even the obelisks which the Pharaohs had + in the course of centuries erected to the sun-god; nowhere in Egypt + existed so many of these monuments as here and in Thebes. Hadrian saw many + of them lying half-burnt on the ground just as Strabo had done. On the + site of Heliopolis, now green with wheat-fields, only a single obelisk has + remained upright, which is considered as the oldest of all, and was + erected in the twelfth dynasty by Usirtasen I. + </p> + <p> + The royal assemblage had arrived in the course of their journey at Besa, a + place on the right bank of the river, opposite Hermopolis, when a strange + event occurred. This was the death of Hadrian’s favourite, Antinous, a + young Greek from Claudiopolis, who had been degraded to the position of + Ganymede to the emperor on account of his beauty. It is not known where + the emperor first came across the youth; possibly in his native land, + Bithynia. Not till he came to Egypt did he become his inseparable + companion, and this must have been a deep offence to his wife. The + unfortunate queen was delivered in Besa from his hated presence, for + Antinous was drowned there in the Nile. + </p> + <p> + His death was surrounded by mystery. Was it accident? Was he a victim? + Hadrian’s humanity protects him from the suspicion that he sacrificed his + victim in cold blood, as Tiberius had once sacrificed the beautiful + Hypatus in Capri. Had the fantastic youth sacrificed himself of his own + free will to the death divinities in order to save the emperor’s life? Had + the Egyptian priests foreseen in the stars some danger threatening + Hadrian, only to be averted by the death of his favourite? Such an idea + commended itself to the superstition of the time, especially in this land + and by the mysterious Nile. It corresponded, too, with the emperor’s + astrological arts. Was Antinous certain when he plunged into the waves of + the Nile that he would arise from them as a god? Hadrian asserts in his + memoirs that it was an accident, but no one believed him. The divine + honours which he paid to the dead youth lead us to suppose that they + formed the reward of a self-sacrifice, which, according to the custom of + those times, constituted a highly moral action, and was looked upon as + heroic devotion. At any rate, we will assume that this sacrifice sank into + the Nile without Hadrian’s will. Hadrian mourned for Antinous with + unspeakable pain and “womanly tears.” Now he was Achilles by the corpse of + Patroklus, or Alexander by the pyre of the dead Hephaistus. He had the + youth splendidly buried in Besa. This most extraordinary intermezzo of all + Nile journeys supplied dying heathendom with a new god, and art with its + last ideal form. Probably, also, during the burial, far-sighted courtiers + already saw the star of Antinous shining in Egypt’s midnight sky, and then + Hadrian saw it himself. + </p> + <p> + In the mystical land of Egypt, life might still be poetical even in the + clear daylight of Roman universal history in the reign of Hadrian. The + death of the young Bithynian seems to have occurred in October, 130. The + emperor continued his journey as soon as he had given orders for a + splendid town to be erected on the site of Besa, in honour of his friend. + In November, 130, the royal company is to be found amongst the ruins of + Thebes. + </p> + <p> + Thebes, the oldest town in Egypt, had been first put in the shade by + Memphis, and then destroyed by Cambyses. Since the time of the Ptolemies, + it had been called Diospolis, and Ptolemais had taken its place as capital + of the Thebaid. Already in Strabo’s time it was split up. It formed on + either side of the Nile groups of gigantic temples and palaces, monuments, + and royal graves similar to those scattered to-day amongst Luxor, Karnak, + Medinet-Habu, Deir-el-Bahari, and Kurna. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0031" id="linkimage-0031"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/095.jpg" width="100%" + alt="095.jpg Commemorative Coin of Antinous " /> + </div> + <p> + In Hadrian’s time the Rameseum, the so-called grave of Osymandias, on the + western bank of the Nile, the wonderful building of Ramses II., must still + have been in good repair. These pylons, pillars, arcades, and courts, + these splendid halls with their sculpture-covered walls, appear even to + have influenced the Roman art in the time of the emperors. Their reflex + influence has been even seen in Trajan’s forum, in which the chief thing + was the emperor’s tomb. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0032" id="linkimage-0032"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:38%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/097.jpg" alt="097.jpg Rose-coloured Lotus " /> + </div> + <p> + In Alexandria the emperor mixed freely with the professors of the museum, + asking them questions and answering theirs in return; and he dropped his + tear of pity on the tomb of the great Pompey, in the form of a Greek + epigram, though with very little point. He laid out large sums of money in + building and ornamenting the city, and the Alexandrians were much pleased + with his behaviour. Among other honours that they paid him, they changed + the name of the month December, calling it the month Hadrian; but as they + were not followed by the rest of the empire the name soon went out of use. + The emperor’s patronage of philosophy was rather at the cost of the + Alexandrian museum, for he enrolled among its paid professors men who were + teaching from school to school in Italy and Asia Minor. Thus Polemon of + Laodicea, who taught oratory and philosophy at Rome, Laodicea, and Smyrna, + and had the right of a free passage for himself and his servants in any of + the public ships whenever he chose to move from city to city for the + purposes of study or teaching, had at the same time a salary from the + Alexandrian museum. Dionysius of Miletus also received his salary as a + professor in the museum while teaching philosophy and mnemonicsat Miletus + and Ephesus. Pancrates, the Alexandrian poet, gained his salary in the + museum by the easy task of a little flattery. On Hadrian’s return to + Alexandria from the Thebaid, the poet presented to him a rose-coloured + lotus, a flower well known in India, though less common in Egypt than + either the blue or white lotus, and assured him that it had sprung out of + the blood of the lion slain by his royal javelin at a lion-hunt in Libya. + </p> + <p> + The emperor was pleased with the compliment, and gave him a place in the + museum; and Pancrates in return named the plant the lotus of Antinous. + Pancrates was a warm admirer of the mystical opinions of the Egyptians + which were then coming into note in Alexandria. He was said to have lived + underground in holy solitude or converse with the gods for twenty-three + years, and during that time to have been taught magic by the goddess Isis, + and thus to have gained the power of working miracles. He learned to call + upon the queen of darkness by her Egyptian name Hecate, and when driving + out evil spirits to speak to them in the Egyptian language. Whether these + Greek students of the Eastern mysticism were deceivers or deceived, + whether they were led by a love of notoriety or of knowledge, is in most + cases doubtful, but they were surrounded by a crowd of credulous admirers, + who formed a strange contrast with the sceptics and critics of the museum. + </p> + <p> + Among the Alexandrian grammarians of this reign was Apollonius Dyscolus, + so called perhaps from a moroseness of manner, who wrote largely on + rhetoric, on the Greek dialects, on accents, prosody, and on other + branches of grammar. In the few pages that remain of his numerous + writings, we trace the love of the marvellous which was then growing among + some of the philosophers. He tells us many remarkable stories, which he + collected rather as a judicious inquirer than as a credulous believer; + such as of second sight; an account of a lad who fell asleep in the field + while watching his sheep, and then slept for fifty-seven years, and awoke + to wonder at the strangeness of the changes that had taken place in the + meanwhile; and of a man who after death used from time to time to leave + his body, and wander over the earth as a spirit, till his wife, tired of + his coming back again so often, put a stop to it by having his mummy + burnt. He gives us for the first time Eastern tales in a Greek dress, and + we thus learn the source from which Europe gained much of its literature + in the Middle Ages. The Alexandrian author of greatest note at this time + was the historian Appian, who tells us that he had spent some years in + Rome practising as a lawyer, and returned to Egypt on being appointed to a + high post in the government of his native city. There he wrote his Roman + history. + </p> + <p> + In this reign the Jews, forgetful of what they had just suffered under + Trajan, again rose against the power of Rome; and, when Judæa rebelled + against its prefect, Tinnius Rufus, a little army of Jews marched out of + Egypt and Libya, to help their brethren and to free the holy land (130 + A.D.). But they were everywhere routed and put down with resolute + slaughter. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0033" id="linkimage-0033"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/099.jpg" width="100%" + alt="099.jpg Vocal Statue of Amenhothes " /> + </div> + <p> + Travellers, on reaching a distant point of a journey, or on viewing any + remarkable object of their curiosity, have at all times been fond of + carving or scribbling their names on the spot, to boast of their prowess + to after-comers; and never had any place been more favoured with memorials + of this kind than the great statue of Amenhôthes at Thebes. This colossal + statue, fifty-three feet high, was famed, as long as the Egyptian + priesthood lasted, for sending forth musical sounds every morning at + sunrise, when first touched by the sun’s rays; and no traveller ever + visited Thebes without listening for these remarkable notes. The journey + through Upper Egypt was at this time perfectly open and safe, and the legs + and feet of the statue are covered with names, and inscriptions in prose + and verse, of travellers who had visited it at sunrise during the reigns + of Hadrian and the Antonines. From these curious memorials we learn that + Hadrian visited Thebes a second time with his queen, Sabina, in the + fifteenth year of his reign. When the empress first visited the statue she + was disappointed at not hearing the musical sounds; but, on her hinting + threats of the emperor’s displeasure, her curiosity was gratified on the + following morning. This gigantic statue of hard gritstone had formerly + been broken in half across the waist, and the upper part thrown to the + ground, either by the shock of an earthquake or the ruder shock of Persian + zeal against the Egyptian religion; and for some centuries past the + musical notes had issued from the broken fragments. Such was its fallen + state when the Empress Sabina saw it, and when Strabo and Juvenal and + Pausanias listened to its sounds; and it was not till after the reign of + Hadrian that it was again raised upright like its companion, as travellers + now see it. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0034" id="linkimage-0034"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/100b.jpg" width="100%" alt="100b..jpg the Slumber Song " /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img alt="100b-text (8K)" src="images/100b-text.jpg" width="100%" /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + From the painting by P. Grot. Johann +</pre> + <p> + From this second visit, and a longer acquaintance, Hadrian seems to have + formed a very poor opinion of the Egyptians and Egyptian Jews; and the + following curious letter, written in 134 A.D. to his friend Servianus, + throws much light upon their religion as worshippers of Serapis, at the + same time that it proves how numerous the Christians had become in + Alexandria, even within seventy years of the period during which the + evangelist Mark is believed to have preached there: + </p> + <p> + “Hadrian Augustus to Servianus, the consul, greeting: + </p> + <p> + “As for Egypt, which you were praising to me, dearest Servianus, I have + found its people wholly light, wavering, and flying after every breath of + a report. Those who worship Serapis are Christians, and those who call + themselves bishops of Christ are devoted to Serapis. There is no ruler of + a Jewish synagogue, no Samaritan, no presbyter of the Christians, who is + not a mathematician, an augur, and a soothsayer. The very patriarch + himself, when he came into Egypt, was by some said to worship Serapis, and + by others to worship Christ. As a race of men, they are seditious, vain, + and spiteful; as a body, wealthy and prosperous, of whom nobody lives in + idleness. Some blow glass, some make paper, and others linen. There is + work for the lame and work for the blind; even those who have lost the use + of their hands do not live in idleness. Their one god is nothing; + Christians, Jews, and all nations worship him. I wish this body of men was + better behaved, and worthy of their number; for as for that they ought to + hold the chief place in Egypt. I have granted everything unto them; I have + restored their old privileges, and have made them grateful by adding new + ones.” + </p> + <p> + Among the crowd of gods that had formerly been worshipped in Egypt, + Serapis had latterly been rising above the rest. He was the god of the + dead, who in the next world was to reward the good and punish the wicked; + and in the growing worship of this one all-seeing judge we cannot but + trace the downfall of some of the evils of polytheism. A plurality in + unity was another method now used to explain away the polytheism. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0035" id="linkimage-0035"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:20%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/102.jpg" alt="102.jpg Egyptian Oracle " /> + </div> + <p> + The oracle when consulted about the divine nature had answered, “I am Ra, + and Horus, and Osiris;” or, as the Greeks translated it, Apollo, and Lord, + and Bacchus; “I rule the hours and the seasons, the wind and the storms, + the day and the night; I am king of the stars and myself an immortal + fire.” Hence arose the opinion which seems to have been given to Hadrian, + that the Egyptians had only one god, and his mistake in thinking that the + worshippers of Serapis were Christians. The emperor, indeed, himself, + though a polytheist, was very little of an idolater; for, though he wished + to add Christ to the number of the Roman gods, he on the other hand + ordered that the temples built in his reign should have no images for + worship; and in after ages it was common to call all temples without + statues Hadrian’s temples. But there were other and stronger reasons for + Hadrian’s classing the Christians with the Egyptian astrologers. A + Christian heresy was then rising into notice in Egypt in that very form, + taking its opinions from the philosophy on which it was engrafted. Before + Christianity was preached in Alexandria, there were already three + religions or forms of philosophy belonging to the three races of men who + peopled that busy city; first, the Greek philosophy; which was chiefly + platonism; secondly, the mysticism of the Egyptians; and lastly, the + religion of the Jews. These were often more or less mixed, as we see them + all united in the works of Philo-Judæ; and in the writings of the early + converts we usually find Christianity clothed in one or other of these + forms, according to the opinions held by the writers before their + conversion. The first Christian teachers, the apostolic fathers as they + are called, because they had been hearers of the apostles themselves, were + mostly Jews; but among the Egyptians and Greeks of Alexandria their + religion lost much of its purely moral caste, and became, with the former, + an astrological mysticism, and with the latter an abstract speculative + theology. It is of the Egyptian Jews that Hadrian speaks in his letter + just quoted; many of them had been already converted to Christianity, and + their religion had taken the form of Gnosticism. + </p> + <p> + Gnosticism, or Science, for the name means no more, was not then new in + Alexandria, nor were its followers originally Christians. It was the proud + name claimed for their opinions by those who studied the Eastern + philosophy of the Magi; and Egypt seems to have been as much its native + soil as India. The name of Gnostic, says Weber, was generally given to + those who distinguished between belief on authority and gnosis, i.e., + between the ordinary comprehension and a higher knowledge only granted to + a few gifted or chosen ones. They were split up into different sects, + according as they approached more nearly the Eastern theosophy or the + platonic philosophy; but in general the Eastern conception, with its + symbols and unlimited fantasy, remained dominant. The “creed of those who + know” never reached actual monotheism, the conception of one personal god, + who created everything according to his own free will and rules over + everything with unlimited wisdom and love. The god of the Gnostics is a + dark, mysterious being which can only arrive at a consciousness of itself + through a manifold descending scale of forces, which flow from the god + himself. The visible world was created out of dead and evil matter by + Demiurgos, the divine work-master, a production and subordinate of the + highest god. Man, too, is a production of this subordinate creator, a + production subject to a blind fate, and a prey to those powers which rule + between heaven and earth, without free-will, the only thing which makes + the ideas of sin and responsibility possible. Matter is the seat of evil, + and as long as man stands under the influence of this matter, he is in the + hands of evil and knows no freedom. Redemption can only reach him through + those higher beings of light, which free man from the power of matter and + translate him into the kingdom of light. According to the Gnostic + teaching, Christ is one of these beings of light; he is one of the highest + who appeared on earth, and is transformed into a mythical, allegorical + being, with his human nature, his sufferings and death completely + suppressed. The redeemed soul is then as a kind of angel, or ideal being, + brought in triumph into the idealistic realm of light as soon as it has + purified itself to the nature of a spirit, by means of penitence, + chastisements, and finally the death of the physical body. Hence the + Gnostics attached little importance to the means of mercy in the Church, + to the Bible, or the sacraments; they allowed the Church teaching to exist + as a necessary conception for the people, but they placed their own + teachings far above it as mysterious or secret teachings. As regards their + morals and mode of life, the Gnostics generally went to extremes. It was + due to Gnosticism that art and science found an entrance into the Church. + It preserved the Church from becoming stereotyped in form; but, built up + entirely on ideas and not on historical facts, it died from its own + hollowness and eccentricity. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0036" id="linkimage-0036"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:26%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/106.jpg" + alt="106.jpg Koptic Charm and Scarabeus " /> + </div> + <p> + We still possess the traces of the Gnostic astrology in a number of + amulets and engraved gems, with the word <i>Abraxas</i> or rather <i>Abrasax</i> + and other emblems of their superstition, which they kept as charms against + diseases and evil spirits. The word <i>Abrasax</i> may be translated <i>Hurt + me not</i>. To their mystic rites we may trace many of the reproaches + thrown upon Christianity, such as that the Christians worshipped the head + of an ass, using the animal’s Koptic name <i>Eeo</i>, to represent the + name of IAn, or Jahveh. To the same source we may also trace some of the + peculiarities of the Christian fathers, such as St. Ambrose calling Jesus + “the good scarabæus, who rolled up before him the hitherto un-shapen mud + of our bodies;” a thought which seems to have been borrowed as much from + the hieroglyphics as from the insect’s habits; and perhaps from the + Egyptian priests in some cases, using the scarabous to denote the god + Horus-Ra, and sometimes the word <i>only begotten</i>. We trace this + thought on the Gnostic gems where Ave see a winged griffin rolling before + him a wheel, the emblem of eternity. He sits like a conqueror on + horseback, trampling under foot the serpent of old, the spirit of sin and + death. His horse is in the form of a ram, with an eagle’s head and the + crowned asp or basilisk for its tail. Before him stands the figure of + victory giving him a crown; above are written the words Alpha and Omega, + and below perhaps the word [IAH], Jahveh. + </p> + <p> + So far we have seen the form which Christianity at first took among the + Egyptians; but, as few writings by these Gnostics have come down to our + time, we chiefly know their opinions from the reproaches of their enemies. + It was not till the second generation of Gnostic teachers were spreading + their heresies that the Greek philosophers began to embrace Christianity, + or the Christians to study Greek literature; but as soon as that was the + case we have an unbroken chain of writings, in which we find Christianity + more or less mixed with the Alexandrian form of platonism. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0037" id="linkimage-0037"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:34%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/107.jpg" alt="107.jpg Gnostic Gem " /> + </div> + <p> + The philosopher Justin, after those who had talked with the apostles, is + the earliest Christian writer whose works have reached us. He was a Greek, + born in Samaria; but he studied many years in Alexandria under + philosophers of all opinions. He did not, however, at once find in the + schools the wisdom he was in search for. The Stoic could teach him nothing + about God; the Peripatetic wished to be paid for his lessons before he + gave them; and the Pythagorean proposed to begin with music and + mathematics. + </p> + <p> + Not content with these, Justin turned to the platonist, whose purer + philosophy seemed to add wings to his thoughts, and taught him to mount + aloft towards true wisdom. While turning over in his mind what he had thus + learned in the several schools, dissatisfied with the philosopher’s views, + he chanced one day to meet with an old man walking on the seashore near + Alexandria, to whom he unbosomed his thoughts, and by whom he was + converted to Christianity. Justin tells us that there were no people, + whether Greeks or barbarians, or even dwellers in tent and waggons, among + whom prayers were not offered up to the heavenly father in the name of the + crucified Jesus. The Christians met every Sunday for public worship, which + began with a reading from the prophets, or from the memoirs of the + apostles called the gospels. This was followed by a sermon, a prayer, the + bread and wine, and a second prayer. Justin’s quotations prove that he is + speaking of the New Testament, which within a hundred years of the + crucifixion wras read in all the principal cities in which Greek was + spoken. Justin died as a martyr in 163 A.D. + </p> + <p> + The platonic professorship in Alexandria had usually been held by an + Athenian, and for a short time Athenagoras of Athens taught that branch of + philosophy in the museum; but he afterwards embraced the Christian + religion, and then taught Christianity openly in Alexandria. He enjoys + with Justin the honour of being one of the first men of learning who were + converted, and, like Justin, his chief work is an apology for the + Christians, addressed to the emperor, Marcus Aurelius. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0038" id="linkimage-0038"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/108.jpg" width="100%" + alt="108.jpg Gems Showing Symbol of Death and the Word [Îah Javeh " /> + </div> + <p> + Athenagoras confines himself in his defence to the resurrection from the + dead and the unity of the Deity, the points chiefly attacked by the + pagans. + </p> + <p> + Hadrian’s Egyptian coins are remarkable both for number and variety. In + the sixth year of the reign we see a ship with spread sails, most likely + in gratitude for the emperor’s safe arrival in Egypt. In the eighth year + we see the head of the favourite Antinous, who had been placed among the + gods of the country. In the eleventh year, when the emperor took up the + tribunitial power at Rome for a second period of ten years, we find a + series of coins, each bearing the name of the nome or district in which it + was coined. This indeed is the most remarkable year of the most remarkable + reign in the whole history of coinage; we have numerous coins for every + year of this reign, and, in this year, for nearly every nome in Egypt. + Some coins are strongly marked with the favourite opinion of the Gnostics + as to the opposition between good and evil. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0039" id="linkimage-0039"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/109.jpg" width="100%" + alt="109.jpg Hadrian’s Egyptian Coins " /> + </div> + <p> + On one we have the war between the serpent of good and the serpent of + evil, distinguished by their different forms and by the emblems of Isis + and Serapis; on others the heads of Isis and Serapis, the principles of + love and fear; while on a third these two are united into a trinity by + Horus, who is standing on an eagle instead of having an eagle’s head, as + represented on previous coins. + </p> + <p> + The beginning of the reign of Antoninus Pius (A.D. 138) was remarkable as + being the end of the Sothic period of one thousand four hundred and sixty + years; the movable new year’s day of the calendar had come round to the + place in the natural year from which it first began to move in the reign + of Menophres or Thûtmosis III.; it had come round to the day when the + dog-star rose heliacally. If the years had been counted from the beginning + of this great year, there could have been no doubt when it came to an end, + as from the want of a leap year the new year’s day must have been always + moving one day in four years; but no satisfactory reckoning of the years + had been kept, and, as the end of the period was only known by + observation, there was some little doubt about the exact year. Indeed, + among the Greek astronomers, Dositheus said the dog-star rises heliacally + twenty-three days after midsummer, Meton twenty-eight days, and Euctemon + thirty-one days; they thus left a doubt of thirty-two years as to when the + period should end, but the statesmen placed it in the first year of the + reign of Antoninus. This end of the Sothic period Avas called the return + to the phoenix, and had been looked forward to by the Egyptians for many + years, and is well marked on the coins of this reign. The coins for the + first eight years teem with astronomy. There are several with the goddess + Isis in a boat, which we know, from the zodiac in the Memnonium at Thebes, + was meant for the heliacal rising of the dog-star. In the second and in + the sixth year we find on the coins the remarkable word aion, <i>the age</i> + or <i>period</i>, and an ibis with a glory of rays round its head, meant + for the bird phoenix. In the seventh year we see Orpheus playing on his + lyre while all the animals of the forest are listening, thus pointing out + the return of the golden age. In the eighth year we have the head of + Serapis circled by the seven planets, and the whole within the twelve + signs of the zodiac; and on another coin we have the sun and moon within + the signs of the zodiac. A series of twelve coins for the same year tells + us that the house of the sun, in the language of the astrologers, is in + the lion, that of the moon in the crab, the houses of Venus in the scales + and the bull, those of Mars in the scorpion and the ram, those of Jupiter + in the archer and the fishes, those of Saturn in the sea-goat and + aquarius, those of Mercury in the virgin and the twins. On the coins of + the same year we have the eagle and thunderbolt, the sphinx, the bull + Apis, the Nile and crocodile, Isis nursing the child Horus, the + hawk-headed Aroëris, and the winged sun. On coins of other years we have a + camelopard, Horus sitting on the lotus-flower, and a sacrifice to Isis, + which was celebrated on the last day of the year. + </p> + <p> + The coins also tell us of the bountiful overflow of the Nile, and of the + goodness of the harvests that followed; thus, in the ninth, tenth, + thirteenth, and seventeenth years, we see the river Nile in the form of an + old man leaning on a crocodile, pouring corn and fruit out of a + cornucopia, while a child by his side, with the figures 36, tells us that + in those years the waters of the Nile rose at Memphis to the wished-for + height of sixteen cubits. From these latter coins it would seem that but + little change had taken place in the soil of the Delta by the yearly + deposit of mud; Herodotus says that sixteen cubits was the wished-for rise + of the Nile at Memphis when he was there. And we should almost think that + the seasons were more favourable to the husbandman during the reign of an + Antonine than of a Caligula, did we not set it down to the canals being + better cleansed by the care of the prefect, and to the mildness of the + government leaving the people at liberty to enjoy the bounties of nature, + and at the same time making them more grateful in acknowledging them. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0040" id="linkimage-0040"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/112.jpg" width="100%" + alt="112.jpg Coins of Antoninus Pius. " /> + </div> + <p> + The mystic emblems on the coins are only what we might look for from the + spread of the Gnostic opinions, and the eagerness with which the Greeks + were copying the superstitions of the Egyptians; and, while astrology was + thus countenanced by the state, of course it was not less followed by the + people. The poor Jews took to it as a trade. In Alexandria the Jewess, + half beggar, half fortune-teller, would stop people in the streets and + interpret dreams by the help of the Bible, or sit under a sacred tree like + a sibyl, and promise wealth to those who consulted her, duly proportioned + to the size of the coin by which she was paid. We find among the Theban + ruins pieces of papyrus with inscriptions, describing the positions of the + heavens at particular hours in this reign, for the astrologers therewith + to calculate the nativities of the persons then born. On one is a complete + horoscope, containing the places of the sun, moon, and every planet, noted + down on the zodiac in degrees and minutes of a degree; and with these + particulars the mathematician undertook to foretell the marriage, fortune, + and death of the person who had been born at the instant when the heavenly + bodies were so situated; and, as the horoscope was buried in the tomb with + the mummy, we must suppose that it was thought that the prognostication + would hold good even in the next world. + </p> + <p> + But astrology was not the only end to which mathematics were then turned. + Claudius Ptolemy, the astronomer and geographer, was at that time the + ornament of the mathematical school of Alexandria. In his writings he + treats of the earth as the centre of the heavens, and the sun, moon, and + planets as moving in circles and epicycles round it. This had been the + opinion of some of the early astronomers; but since this theory of the + heavens received the stamp of his authority, it is now always called the + Ptolemaic system. + </p> + <p> + In this reign was made a new survey of all the military roads in the Roman + empire, called the <i>Itinerary of Antoninus</i>. It included the great + roads of Egypt, which were only six in number. One was from Contra-Pselcis + in Nubia along the east bank of the Nile, to Babylon opposite Memphis, and + there turning eastward through Heliopolis and the district of the Jews to + Clysmon, where Trajan’s canal entered the Red Sea. A second, from Memphis + to Pelusium, made use of this for about thirty miles, joining it at + Babylon, and leaving it at Scense Veteranorum. By these two roads a + traveller could go from Pelusium to the head of the Red Sea; but there was + a shorter road through the desert which joined the first at Serapion, + about fifty miles from Clysmon, instead of at Sceno Veteranorum, which was + therefore about a hundred miles shorter. A fourth was along the west bank + of the Nile from Hiera Sycaminon in Nubia to Alexandria, leaving the river + at Andropolis, about sixty miles from the latter city. A fifth was from + Palestine to Alexandria, running along the coast of the Mediterranean from + Raphia to Pelusium, and thence, leaving the coast to avoid the flat + country, which was under water during the inundation; it joined the last + at Andropolis. The sixth road was from Koptos on the Nile to Berenicê on + the Red Sea. These six were probably the only roads under the care of the + prefect. Though Syênê was the boundary of the province of Egypt, the Roman + power was felt for about one hundred miles into Nubia, and we find the + names of the emperors on several temples between Syênê and Hiera + Sycaminon. But beyond this, though we find inscriptions left by Roman + travellers, the emperors seem never to have aimed at making military + roads, or holding any cities against the inroads of the Blemmyes and other + Arabs. + </p> + <p> + To this survey we must add the valuable geographical knowledge given by + Arrian in his voyage round the shores of the Red Sea, which has come down + to us in an interesting document, wherein he mentions the several seaports + and their distances, with the tribes and cities near the coast. The trade + of Egypt to India, Ethiopia, and Arabia was then most valuable, and + carried on with great activity; but, as the merchandise was in each case + carried only for short distances from city to city, the traveller could + gain but little knowledge of where it came from, or even sometimes of + where it was going. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0041" id="linkimage-0041"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/115.jpg" width="100%" alt="115.jpg Statue of the Nile " /> + </div> + <p> + The Egyptians sent coarse linen, glass bottles, brazen vessels, brass for + money, and iron for weapons of war and hunting; and they received back + ivory, rhinoceros’ teeth, Indian steel, Indian ink, silks, slaves, + tortoise-shell, myrrh, and other scents, with many other Eastern articles + of high price and little weight. The presents which the merchants made to + the petty kings of Arabia were chiefly horses, mules, and gold and silver + vases. Beside this, the ports on the Red Sea carried on a brisk trade + among themselves in grain, expressed oil, wicker boats, and sugar. Of + sugar, or honey from the cane, this is perhaps the earliest mention found + in history; but Arrian does not speak of the sugar-cane as then new, nor + does he tell us where it was grown. Had sugar been then seen for the first + time he would certainly have said so; it must have been an article well + known in the Indian trade. While passing through Egypt on his travels, or + while living there and holding some post under the prefect, the historian + Arrian has left us his name and a few lines of poetry carved on the foot + of the great sphinx near the pyramids. + </p> + <p> + At this time also the travellers continued to carve their names and their + feelings of wonder on the foot of the musical statue at Thebes and in the + deep empty tombs of the Theban kings. These inscriptions are full of + curious information. For example, it has been doubted whether the Roman + army was provided with medical officers. Their writers have not mentioned + them. But part of the Second Legion was at this time stationed at Thebes; + and one Asclepiades, while cutting his name in a tomb which once held some + old Theban, has cleared up the doubt for us, by saying that he was + physician to the Second Legion. + </p> + <p> + Antoninus made a hippodrome, or race-course, for the amusement of the + citizens of Alexandria, and built two gates to the city, called the gate + of the sun and the gate of the moon, the former fronting the harbour and + the latter fronting the lake Mareotis, and joined by the great street + which ran across the whole width of the city. But this reign was not + wholly without trouble; there was a rebellion in which the prefect + Dinarchus lost his life, and for which the Alexandrians were severely + punished by the emperor. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0042" id="linkimage-0042"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/117.jpg" width="100%" + alt="117.jpg Coins of Marcus Aurelius " /> + </div> + <p> + The coins of Marcus Aurelius, the successor of Antoninus Pius, have a rich + variety of subjects, falling not far short of those of the last reign. On + those of the fifth year, the bountiful overflow of the Nile is gratefully + acknowledged by the figure of the god holding a cornucopia, and a troop of + sixteen children playing round him. It had been not unusual in + hieroglyphical writing to express a thought by means of a figure which in + the Koptic language had nearly the same sound; and we have seen this + copied on the coins in the case of a Greek word, when the bird phoenix was + used for the palm-branch phoenix, or the hieroglyphical word <i>year</i>; + and a striking instance may be noticed in the case of a Latin word, as the + sixteen children or <i>cupids</i> mean sixteen <i>cubits</i>, the + wished-for height of the Nile’s overflow. The statue of the Nile, which + had been carried by Vespasian to Rome and placed in the temple of Peace, + was surrounded by the same sixteen children. On the coins of his twelfth + year the sail held up by the goddess Isis is blown towards the Pharos + lighthouse, as if in that year the emperor had been expected in + Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + We find no coins in the eleventh or fourteenth years of this reign, which + makes it probable that it was in the eleventh year (A.D. 172) that the + rebellion of the native soldiers took place. These were very likely Arabs + who had been admitted into the ranks of the legions, but having withdrawn + to the desert they now harassed the towns with their marauding inroads, + and a considerable time elapsed before they were wholly put down by + Avidius Cassius at the head of the legions. But Cassius himself was unable + to resist the temptations which always beset a successful general, and + after this victory he allowed himself to be declared emperor by the + legions of Egypt; and this seems to have been the cause of no coins being + struck in Alexandria in the fourteenth year of the reign. Cassius left his + son Moecianus in Alexandria with the title of Pretorian Prefect, while he + himself marched into Syria to secure that province. There the legions + followed the example of their brethren in Egypt, and the Syrians were glad + to acknowledge a general of the Eastern armies as their sovereign. But on + Marcus leading an army into Syria he was met with the news that the rebels + had repented, and had put Cassius to death, and he then moved his forces + towards Egypt; but before his arrival the Egyptian legions had in the same + manner put Moecianus to death, and all had returned to their allegiance. + </p> + <p> + When Marcus arrived in Alexandria the citizens were agreeably surprised by + the mildness of his conduct. He at once forgave his enemies; and no + offenders were put to death for having joined in the rebellion. The + severest punishment, even to the children of Cassius, was banishment from + the province, but without restraint, and with the forfeiture of less than + half their patrimony. In Alexandria the emperor laid aside the severity of + the soldier, and mingled with the people as a fellow-citizen in the + temples and public places; while with the professors in the museum he was + a philosopher, joining them in their studies in the schools. + </p> + <p> + Borne and Athens at this time alike looked upon Alexandria as the centre + of the world’s learning. The library was then in its greatest glory; the + readers were numerous, and Christianity had as yet raised no doubts about + the value of its pagan treasures. All the wisdom of Greece, written on + rolls of brittle papyrus or tough parchment, was ranged in boxes on the + shelves. Of these writings the few that have been saved from the wreck of + time are no doubt some of the best, and they are perhaps enough to guide + our less simple taste towards the unornamented grace of the Greek model. + But we often fancy those treasures most valuable that are beyond our + reach, and hence when we run over the names of the authors in this library + we think perhaps too much of those which are now missing. The student in + the museum could have read the lyric poems of Alcæus and Stersichorus, + which in matter and style were excellent enough to be judged not quite so + good as Homer; the tender lamentations of Simonides; the warm breathings + of Sappho, the tenth muse; the pithy iambics of Archilochus, full of noble + flights and brave irregularities; the comedies of Menander, containing + every kind of excellence; those of Eupolis and Cratinus, which were equal + to Aristophanes; the histories of Theopompus, which in the speeches were + as good as Thucydides; the lively, agreeable orations of Hyperides, the + accuser of Demosthenes; with the books of travels, chronologies, and + countless others of less merit for style and genius, but which, if they + had been saved, would not have left Egypt wholly without a history. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0043" id="linkimage-0043"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/120.jpg" width="100%" + alt="120.jpg Alexandrian Forms of Writing " /> + </div> + <p> + The trade of writing and making copies of the old authors employed a great + many hands in the neighbourhood of the museum. Two kinds of handwriting + were in use. One was a running hand, with the letters joined together in + rather a slovenly manner; and the other a neat, regular hand, with the + letters square and larger, written more slowly but read more easily. Those + that wrote the first were called <i>quick-writers</i>, those that wrote + the second were called <i>book-writers</i>. If an author was not skilled + in the use of the pen, he employed a <i>quickwriter</i> to write down his + words as he delivered them. But in order that his work might be published + it was handed over to the <i>book-writers</i> to be copied out more + neatly; and numbers of young women, skilled in penmanship, were employed + in the trade of copying books for sale. For this purpose parchment was + coming into use, though the old papyrus was still used, as an inexpensive + though less lasting writing material. + </p> + <p> + Athenæus, if we may judge from Iris writings, was then the brightest of + the Alexandrian wits and men of learning. We learn from his own pages that + he was born at Naucratis, and was the friend of Pancrates, who lived under + Hadrian, and also of Oppian, who died in the reign of Caracalla. His <i>Deipnosophist</i>, + or table-talk of the philosophers, is a large work full of pleasing + anecdotes and curious information, gathered from comic writers and authors + without number that have long since been lost. But it is put together with + very little skill. His industry and memory are more remarkable than his + judgment or good taste; and the table-talk is too often turned towards + eating and drinking. His amusing work is a picture of society in + Alexandria, where everything frivolous was treated as grave, and + everything serious was laughed at. The wit sinks into scandal, the humour + is at the cost of morality, and the numerous quotations are chosen for + their point, not for any lofty thoughts or noble feeling. Alexandria was + then as much the seat of literary wit as it was of dry criticism; and + Martial, the lively author of the <i>Epigrams</i>, had fifty years before + remarked that there were few places in the world where he would more wish + his verses to be repeated than on the banks of the Nile. + </p> + <p> + Nothing could be lower than the poetic taste in Alexandria at this time. + The museum was giving birth to a race of poets who, instead of bringing + forth thoughts out of their own minds, found them in the storehouse of the + memory only. They wrote their patchwork poems by the help of Homer’s + lines, which they picked from all parts of the Iliad and Odyssey and so + put together as to make them tell a new tale. They called themselves + Homeric poets. + </p> + <p> + Lucian, the author of the <i>Dialogues</i>, was at that time secretary to + the prefect of Egypt, and this philosopher found a broad mark for his + humour in the religion of the Egyptians, their worship of animals and + water-jars, their love of magic, the general mourning through the land on + the death of the bull Apis, their funeral ceremonies, their placing of + their mummies round the dinner-table as so many guests, and pawning a + father or a brother when in want of money. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0044" id="linkimage-0044"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/122.jpg" width="100%" alt="122.jpg a Snake-charmer " /> + </div> + <p> + So little had the customs changed that the young Egyptians of high birth + still wore their long hair tied in one lock, and hanging over the right + ear, as we see on the Theban sculptures fifteen centuries earlier. It was + then a mark of royalty, but had since been adopted by many families of + high rank, and continues to be used even in the twentieth century. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0045" id="linkimage-0045"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:18%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/123.jpg" alt="123.jpg the Sign of Nobility " /> + </div> + <p> + Before the end of this reign we meet with a strong proof of the spread of + Christianity in Egypt. The number of believers made it necessary for the + Bishop of Alexandria to appoint three bishops under him, to look after the + churches in three other cities; and accordingly Demetrius, who then held + that office, took upon himself the rank, if not the name, of Patriarch of + Alexandria. A second proof of the spread of Christianity is the pagan + philosophers thinking it necessary to write against it. Celsus, an + Epicurean of Alexandria, was one of the first to attack it. Origen + answered the several arguments of Celsus with skill and candour. He + challenges his readers to a comparison between the Christians and pagans + in point of morals, in Alexandria or in any other city. He argues in the + most forcible way that Christianity had overcome all difficulties, and had + spread itself far and wide against the power of kings and emperors, and he + says that nobody but a Christian ever died a martyr to the truth of his + religion. He makes good use of the Jewish prophecies; but he brings + forward no proofs in support of the truth of the gospel history; they were + not wanted, as Celsus and the pagans had not considered it necessary to + call it into question. + </p> + <p> + Another proof of the number of Egyptian Christians is seen in the literary + frauds of which their writers were guilty, most likely to satisfy the + minds of those pagan converts that they had already made rather than from + a wish to make new believers. About this time was written by an unknown + Christian author a poem in eight books, named the <i>Sibylline Verses</i> + which must not be mistaken for the pagan fragments of the same name. It is + written in the form of a prophecy, in the style used by the Gnostics, and + is full of dark sentences and half-expressed hints. + </p> + <p> + Another spurious Christian work of about the same time is the <i>Clementina</i>, + or the <i>Recognitions of Clemens</i>, Bishop of Rome. It is an account of + the travels of the Apostle Peter and his conversation with Simon Magus; + but the author’s knowledge of the Egyptian mythology, of the opinions of + the Greek philosophers, and of the astrological rules by which fortunes + are foretold from the planets’ places, amply prove that he was an Egyptian + or an Alexandrian. No name ranked higher among the Christians than that of + Clemens Romanus; and this is only one out of several cases of Christian + authors who wished to give weight to their own opinions by passing them + upon the world as his writings. + </p> + <p> + Marcus Aurelius, who died in 181 A.D., had pardoned the children of the + rebel general Avidius Cassius, but Commodus began his reign by putting + them to death; and, while thus disregarding the example and advice of his + father, he paid his memory the idle compliment of continuing his series of + dates on his own coins. But the Egyptian coinage of Commodus clearly + betrays the sad change that was gradually taking place in the arts of the + country; we no longer see the former beauty and variety of subjects; and + the silver, which had before been very much mixed with copper, was under + Commodus hardly to be known from brass. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0046" id="linkimage-0046"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:22%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/125.jpg" alt="125.jpg Cartouche of Commodus " /> + </div> + <p> + Commodus was very partial to the Egyptian superstitions, and he adopted + the tonsure, and had his head shaven like a priest of Isis, that he might + more properly carry an Anubis staff in sacred processions, which continued + to be a feature of the religious activities of the age. Upper Egypt had + latterly been falling off in population. It had been drained of all its + hoarded wealth. Its carrying trade through Koptos to the Red Sea was much + lessened. Any tribute that its temples received from the piety of the + neighbourhood was small. Nubia was a desert; and a few soldiers at Syênê + were enough to guard the poverty of the Thebaid from the inroads of the + Blemmyes. It was no longer necessary to send criminals to the Oasis; it + was enough to banish them to the neighbourhood of Thebes. Hence we learn + but little of the state of the country. Now and then a traveller, after + measuring the pyramids of Memphis and the underground tombs of Thebes, + might venture as far as the cataracts, and watch the sun at noon on the + longest day shining to the bottom of the sacred well at Syênê, like the + orator Aristides and his friend Dion. But such travellers were few; the + majority of those who made this journey have left the fact on record. + </p> + <p> + The celebrated museum, which had held the vast library of the Ptolemies, + had been burnt by the soldiers of Julius Cæsar in one of their battles + with the Egyptian army in the streets of Alexandria; but the loss had been + in part repaired by Mark Antony’s gift of the library from Pergamus to the + temple of Serapis. The new library, however, would seem to have been + placed in a building somewhat separated from the temple, as when the + temple of Serapis was burnt in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, and again + when it was in part destroyed by fire in the second year of this reign we + hear of no loss of books; and two hundred years later the library of the + Serapium, it is said, had risen to the number of seven hundred thousand + volumes. The temple-keeper to the great god Serapis, or one of the + temple-keepers, at this time was Asclepiades, a noted boxer and wrestler, + who had been made chief of the wrestling-ground and had received the high + rank of the emperor’s freedman. He set up a statue to his father + Demetrius, an equally noted boxer and wrestler, who had been chief priest + of the wrestling-ground and of the emperor’s baths in the last reign. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0047" id="linkimage-0047"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:12%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/126.jpg" alt="126.jpg the Anubis Staff " /> + </div> + <p> + Another favourite in the theatre was Apolaustus of Memphis, who removed to + Rome, where he was crowned as conqueror in the games, and as a reward made + priest to Apollo and emperor’s freedman. + </p> + <p> + The city of Canopus was still a large mart for merchandise, as the shallow + but safe entrance to its harbour made it a favourite with pilots of the + small trading vessels, who rather dreaded the rocks at the mouth of the + harbour of Alexandria. A temple of Serapis which had lately been built at + Canopus was dedicated to the god in the name of the Emperor Commodus; and + there some of the grosser superstitions of the polytheists fled before the + spread of Christianity and platonism in Alexandria. The Canopic jars, + which held those parts of the body that could not be made solid in the + mummy, and which had the heads of the four lesser gods of the dead on + their lids, received their name from this city. The sculptures on the + beautiful temples of Contra-Latopolis were also finished in this reign, + and the emperor’s names and titles were carved on the walls in + hieroglyphics, with those of the Ptolemies, under whom the temple itself + had been built. Commodus may perhaps not have been the last emperor whose + name and praises were carved in hieroglyphics; but all the great buildings + in the Thebaid, which add such value to the early history of Egypt, had + ceased before his reign. Other buildings of a less lasting form were no + doubt being built, such as the Greek temples at Antinoopolis and + Ptolemais, which have long since been swept away; but the Egyptian + priests, with their gigantic undertakings, their noble plan of working for + after ages rather than for themselves, were nearly ruined, and we find no + ancient building now standing in Egypt that was raised after the time of + the dynasty of the Antonines. + </p> + <p> + But the poverty of the Egyptians was not the only cause why they built no + more temples. Though the colossal statue of Amenhôthes uttered its musical + notes every morning at sunrise, still tuneful amid the desolation with + which it was surrounded, and the Nile was still worshipped at midsummer by + the husbandman to secure its fertilising overflow; nevertheless, the + religion itself for which the temples had been built was fast giving way + before the silent spread of Christianity. The religion of the Egyptians, + unlike that of the Greeks, was no longer upheld by the magistrate; it + rested solely on the belief of its followers, and it may have merged into + Christianity the faster for the greater number of truths which were + contained in it than in the paganism of other nations. The scanty + hieroglyphical records tell us little of thoughts, feelings, and opinions. + Indeed that cumbersome mode of writing, which alone was used in religious + matters, was little fitted for anything beyond the most material parts of + their mythology. Hence we must not believe that the Egyptian polytheism + was quite so gross as would appear from the sculptures; and indeed we + there learn that they believed, even at the earliest times, in a + resurrection from the tomb, a day of judgment, and a future state of + rewards and punishments. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0048" id="linkimage-0048"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/128.jpg" width="100%" alt="128.jpg Canopic Jars " /> + </div> + <p> + The priests made a great boast of their learning and philosophy, and could + each repeat by heart those books of Thot which belonged to his own order. + The singer, who walked first in the sacred processions, bearing the + symbols of music, could repeat the books of hymns and the rules for the + king’s life. The soothsayer, who followed, carrying a clock and a + palm-branch, the emblem of the year, could repeat the four astrological + books; one on the moon’s phases, one on the fixed stars, and two on their + heliacal risings. The scribe, who walked next, carrying a book and the + flat rule which held the ink and pen, was acquainted with the geography of + the world and of the Nile, and with those books which describe the motions + of the sun, moon, and planets, and the furniture of the temple and + consecrated places. The master of the robes understood the ten books + relating to education, to the marks on the sacred heifers, and to the + worship of the gods, embracing the sacrifices, the first-fruits, the + hymns, the prayers, the processions, and festivals. The prophet or + preacher, who walked last, carrying in his arms the great water-pot, was + the president of the temple, and learned in the ten books, called + hieratic, relating to the laws, the gods, the management of the temples, + and the revenue. Thus, of the forty-two chief books of Thot, thirty-six + were learned by these priests, while the remaining six on the body, its + diseases, and medicines, were learned by the Pastophori, priests who + carried the image of the god in a small shrine. These books had been + written at various times: some may have been very old, but some were + undoubtedly new; they together formed the Egyptian bible. Apollonius, or + Apollonides Horapis, an Egyptian priest, had lately published a work on + these matters in his own language, named Shomenuthi, <i>the book of the + gods</i>. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0049" id="linkimage-0049"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/130.jpg" width="100%" alt="130.jpg Religious Procession " /> + </div> + <p> + But the priests were no longer the earnest, sincere teachers as of old; + they had invented a system of secondary meanings, by which they explained + away the coarse religion of their statues and sacred animals. + </p> + <p> + They had two religions, one for the many and one for the few; one, + material and visible, for the crowds in the outer courtyards, in which the + hero was made a god and every attribute of deity was made a person; and + another, spiritual and intellectual, for the learned in the schools and + sacred colleges. Even if we were not told, we could have no doubt but the + main point of secret knowledge among the learned was a disbelief in those + very doctrines which they were teaching to the vulgar, and which they now + explained among themselves by saying that they had a second meaning. This, + perhaps, was part of the great secret of the goddess Isis, the secret of + Abydos, the betrayer of which was more guilty than he who should try to + stop the <i>baris</i> or sacred barge in the procession on the Nile. The + worship of gods, before whose statues the nation had bowed with unchanging + devotion for at least two thousand years was now drawing to a close. + Hitherto the priests had been able to resist all new opinions. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0050" id="linkimage-0050"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:14%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/131.jpg" alt="131.jpg Shrine " /> + </div> + <p> + The name of Amon-Ra had at one time been cut out from the Theban monuments + to make way for a god from Lower Egypt; but it had been cut in again when + the storm passed by. The Jewish monotheism had left the crowd of gods + unlessened. The Persian efforts had overthrown statues and broken open + temples, but had not been able to introduce their worship of the sun. The + Greek conquerors had yielded to the Egyptian mind without a struggle; and + Alexander had humbly begged at the door of the temple to be acknowledged + as a son of Amon. But in the fulness of time these opinions, which seemed + as firmly based as the monuments which represented them, sunk before a + religion which set up no new statues, and could command no force to break + open temples. + </p> + <p> + The Egyptian priests, who had been proud of the superiority of their own + doctrines over the paganism of their neighbours, mourned the overthrow of + their national religion. “Our land,” says the author of Hermes + Trismegistus, “is the temple of the world; but, as wise men should foresee + all things, you should know that a time is coming when it will seem that + the Egyptians have by an unfailing piety served God in vain. For when + strangers shall possess this kingdom religion will be neglected, and laws + made against piety and divine worship, with punishment on those who favour + it. Then this holy seat will be full of idolatry, idols’ temples, and dead + men’s tombs. O Egypt, Egypt, there shall remain of thy religion but vague + stories which posterity will refuse to believe, and words graven in stone + recounting thy piety. The Scythian, the Indian, or some other barbarous + neighbour shall dwell in Egypt. The Divinity shall reascend into the + heaven; and Egypt shall be a desert, widowed of men and gods.” + </p> + <p> + The spread of Christianity among the Egyptians was such that their + teachers found it necessary to supply them with a life of Jesus, written + in their own language, that they might the more readily explain to them + his claim to be obeyed, and the nature of his commands. The Gospel + according to the Egyptians, for such was the name this work bore, has long + since been lost, and was little quoted by the Alexandrians. It was most + likely a translation from one of the four gospels, though it had some + different readings suited to its own church, and contained some praise of + celibacy not found in the New Testament; but it was not valued by the + Greeks, and was lost on the spread of the Koptic translation of the whole + New Testament. + </p> + <p> + The grave, serious Christians of Upper Egypt were very unlike the lively + Alexandrians. But though the difference arose from peculiarities of + national character, it was only spoken of as a difference of opinion. The + Egyptians formed an ascetic sect in the church, who were called heretics + by the Alexandrians, and named Docetas, because they taught that the + Saviour was a god, and did not really suffer on the cross, but was + crucified only <i>in appearance</i>. They of necessity used the Gospel + according to the Egyptians, which is quoted by Cassianus, one of their + writers; many of them renounced marriage with, the other pleasures and + duties of social life, and placed their chief virtue in painful + self-denial; and out of them sprang that remarkable class of hermits, + monks, and fathers of the desert who in a few centuries covered Europe + with monasteries. + </p> + <p> + It is remarkable that the translation of a gospel into Koptic introduced a + Greek alphabet into the Koptic language. Though for all religious purposes + the scribes continued to use the ancient hieroglyphics, in which we trace + the first steps by which pictures are made to represent words and + syllables rather than letters, yet for the common purposes of writing they + had long since made use of the <i>enchorial</i> or common hand, in which + the earlier system of writing is improved by the characters representing + only letters, though sadly too numerous for each to have a fixed and + well-known force. But, as the hieroglyphics were also always used for + carved writing on all subjects, and the common hand only used on papyrus + with a reed pen, the latter became wholly an indistinct running hand; it + lost that beauty and regularity which the hieroglyphics, like the Greek + and Roman characters, kept by being carved on stone, and hence it would + seem arose the want of a new alphabet for the New Testament. This was made + by merely adding to the Greek alphabet six new letters borrowed from the + hieroglyphics for those sounds which the Greeks did not use; and the + writing was then written from left to right like a European language + instead of in either direction according to the skill or fancy of the + scribe. + </p> + <p> + It was only upon the ancient hieroglyphics thus falling into disuse that + the Greeks of Alexandria, almost for the first time, had the curiosity to + study the principles on which they were written. Clemens Alexandrinus, who + thought no branch of knowledge unworthy of his attention, gives a slight + account of them, nearly agreeing with the results of our modern + discoveries. He mentions the three kinds of writing; first, the <i>hieroglyphic</i>; + secondly, the <i>hieratic</i>, which is nearly the same, but written with + a pen, and less ornamental than the carved figures; and thirdly, the <i>demotic</i>, + or common alphabetic writing. He then divides the hieroglyphic into the + alphabetic and the symbolic; and lastly, he divides the symbolic + characters into the imitative, the figurative, and those formed like + riddles. As instances of these last we may quote, for the first, the three + zigzag lines which by simple imitation mean “water;” for the second, the + oval which mean “a name,” because kings’ names were written within ovals; + and for the third, a cup with three anvils, which mean “Lord of Battles,” + because “cup” and “lord” have nearly the same sound <i>neb</i>, and + “anvils” and “battles” have nearly the same sound <i>meshe</i>. + </p> + <p> + In this reign Pantonus of Athens, a Stoic philosopher, held the first + place among the Christians of Alexandria. He is celebrated for uniting the + study of heathen learning with a religious zeal which led him to preach + Christianity in Abyssinia. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0051" id="linkimage-0051"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/135.jpg" width="100%" + alt="135.jpg Hieroglyphic, Hieratic, and Demotic Writing " /> + </div> + <p> + He introduced a taste for philosophy among the Christians; and, though + Athenagoras rather deserves that honour, he was called the founder of the + catechetical school which gave birth to the series of learned Christian + writers that flourished in Alexandria for the next century. To have been a + learned man and a Christian, and to have encouraged learning among the + catechists in his schools may seem deserving of no great praise. Was the + religion of Jesus to spread ignorance and darkness over the world? But we + must remember that a new religion cannot be introduced without some danger + that learning and science may get forbidden, together with the ancient + superstitions which had been taught in the same schools; we shall + hereafter see that in the quarrels between pagans and Christians, and + again between the several sects of Christians, learning was often + reproached with being unfavourable to true religion; and then it will be + granted that it was no small merit to have founded a school in which + learning and Christianity went hand in hand for nearly two centuries. + Pantænus has left no writings of his own, and is best known through his + pupil or fellow-student, Clemens. He is said to have brought with him to + Alexandria, from the Jewish Christians that he met with on his travels, a + copy of St. Matthew’s Gospel in the original Hebrew, a work now + unfortunately lost, which, if we possessed it, would settle for us the + disputed point, whether or no it contained all that now bears that + Apostle’s name in the Greek translation. + </p> + <p> + The learned, industrious, and pious Clemens, who, to distinguish him from + Clemens of Rome, is usually called Clemens Alexandrinus, succeeded + Pantænus in the catechetical school, and was at the same time a voluminous + writer. He was in his philosophy a platonist, though sometimes called of + the Eclectic school. He has left an Address to the Gentiles, a treatise on + Christian behaviour called Pedagogus, and eight books of Stromata, or <i>collections</i>, + which he wrote to describe the perfect Christian or Gnostic, to furnish + the believer with a model for his imitation, and to save him from being + led astray by the sects of Gnostics “falsely so called.” By his advice, + and by the imitation of Christ, the Christian is to step forward from + faith, through love, to knowledge; from being a slave, he is to become a + faithful servant and then a son; he is to become at last a god walking in + the flesh. + </p> + <p> + Clemens was not wholly free from the mysticism which was the chief mark of + the Gnostic sect. He thought much of the sacred power of numbers. Abraham + had three hundred and eighteen servants when he rescued Lot, which, when + written in Greek numerals thus, IHT formed the sacred sign for the name of + Jesus. Ten was a perfect number, and is that of the commandments given to + Moses. Seven was a glorious number, and there are seven Pleiades, seven + planets, seven days in the week; and the two fishes and five barley + loaves, with which the multitude were miraculously fed, together make the + number of years of plenty in Egypt under Joseph. Clemens also quotes + several lines in praise of the seventh day, which he says were from Homer, + Hesiod, and Callimachus; but here there is reason to believe that he was + deceived by the pious fraud of some zealous Jew or Christian, as no such + lines are now to be found in the pagan poets. + </p> + <p> + During the reign of Pertinax, which lasted only three months (194 A.D.), + we find no trace of his power in Egypt, except the money which the + Alexandrians coined in his name. It seems to have been the duty of the + prefect of the mint, as soon as he heard of an emperor’s death, to lose no + time in issuing coins in the name of his successor. It was one of the + means to proclaim and secure the allegiance of the province for the new + emperor. + </p> + <p> + During the reign of Commodus, Pescennius Niger had been at the head of the + legion that was employed in Upper Egypt in stopping the inroads of their + troublesome neighbours, who already sometimes bore the name of Saracens. + He was a hardy soldier, and strict in his discipline, while he shared the + labours of the field and of the camp with the men under him. He would not + allow them the use of wine; and once, when the troops that guarded the + frontier at Syênê (Aswan) sent to ask for it, he bluntly answered, “You + have got the Nile to drink, and cannot possibly want more.” Once, when a + cohort had been routed by the Saracens, the men complained that they could + not fight without wine; but he would not relax in his discipline. “Those + who have just now beaten you,” said Niger, “drink nothing but water.” He + gained the love and thanks of the people of Upper Egypt by thus bridling + the lawlessness of the troops; and they gave him his statue cut in black + basalt, in allusion to his name Niger. This statue was placed in his Roman + villa. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0052" id="linkimage-0052"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/139.jpg" width="100%" alt="139.jpg a Native of Aswan " /> + </div> + <p> + But on the death of Pertinax, when Septimus Severus declared himself + emperor in Pannonia, Niger, who was then in the province of Syria, did the + same. Egypt and the Egyptian legions readily and heartily joined his + party, which made it unnecessary for him to stay in that part of the + empire; so he marched upon Greece, Thrace, and Macedonia. But there, after + a few months, he was met by the army of his rival, who also sent a second + army into Egypt; and he was defeated and slain at Cyzicus in Mysia, after + having been acknowledged as emperor in Egypt and Syria for perhaps a year + and a few months. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0053" id="linkimage-0053"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/140b.jpg" width="100%" + alt="140b.jpg Painting at the Entrance of The Fifth Tomb " /> + </div> + <p> + We find no Alexandrian coins of Niger, although we cannot allow a shorter + space of time to his reign than one whole year, together with a few months + of the preceding and following years. Within that time Severus had to + march upon Rome against his first rival, Julian, to punish the praetorian + guards, and afterwards to conquer Niger. + </p> + <p> + After the death of his rival, when Severus was the undisputed master of + the empire, and was no longer wanted in the other provinces, he found + leisure, in A.D. 196, to visit Egypt; and, like other active-minded + travellers, he examined the pyramids of Memphis and the temples at Thebes, + and laughed at the worship of Serapis and the Egyptian animals. His visit + to Alexandria wras marked by many new laws. Now that the Greeks of that + city, crushed beneath two centuries of foreign rule, had lost any remains + of courage or of pride that could make them feared by their Roman master, + he relaxed part of the strict policy of Augustus. He gave them a senate + and a municipal form of government, a privilege that had hitherto been + refused in distrust to that great city, though freely granted in other + provinces where rebellion was less dreaded. He also ornamented the city + with a temple to Rhea, and with a public bath, which was named after + himself the Bath of Severus. + </p> + <p> + Severus made a law, says the pagan historian, forbidding anybody, under a + severe punishment, from becoming Jew or Christian. But he who gives the + blow is likely to speak of it more lightly than he who smarts under it; + and we learn from the historian of the Church that, in the tenth year of + this reign, the Christians suffered persecution from their governors and + their fellow-citizens. Among others who then lost their lives for their + religion was Leonides, the father of Origen. He left seven orphan + children, of whom the eldest, that justly celebrated writer, was only + sixteen years old, but was already deeply read in the Scriptures, and in + the great writers of Greece. As the property of Leonides was forfeited, + his children were left in poverty; but the young Origen was adopted by a + wealthy lady, zealous for the new religion, by whose help he was enabled + to continue his studies under Clemens. In order to read the Old Testament + in the original, he made himself master of Hebrew, which was a study then + very unusual among the Greeks, whether Jews or Christians. + </p> + <p> + In this persecution of the Church all public worship was forbidden to the + Christians; and Tertullian of Carthage eloquently complains that, while + the emperor allowed the Egyptians to worship cows, goats, or crocodiles, + or indeed any animal they chose, he only punished those that bowed down + before the Creator and Governor of the world. Of course, at this time of + trouble the catechetical school was broken up and scattered, so that there + was no public teaching of Christianity in Alexandria. But Origen ventured + to do that privately which was forbidden to be done openly; and, when the + storm had blown over, Demetrius, the bishop, appointed him to that office + at the head of the school which he had already so bravely taken upon + himself in the hour of danger. Origen could boast of several pupils who + added their names to the noble list of martyrs who lost their lives for + Christianity, among whom the best known was Plutarch, the brother of + Heraclas. Origen afterwards removed for a time to Palestine, and fell + under the displeasure of his own bishop for being there ordained a + presbyter. + </p> + <p> + In Egypt Severus seems to have dated the years of his reign from the death + of Niger, though he had reigned in Rome since the deaths of Pertinax and + Julian. His Egyptian coins are either copper, or brass plated with a + little silver; and after a few reigns even those last traces of a silver + coinage are lost in this falling country. In tracing the history of a + word’s meaning we often throw a light upon the customs of a nation. Thus, + in Rome, gold was so far common that avarice was called the love of gold; + while in Greece, where silver was the metal most in use, money was called + <i>argurion</i>. In the same way it is curiously shown that silver was no + longer used in Egypt by our finding that the brass coin of one hundred and + ten grains weight, as being the only piece of money seen in circulation, + was named an <i>argurion</i>. + </p> + <p> + The latter years of the reign of Caracalla were spent in visiting the + provinces of his wide empire; and, after he had passed through Thrace and + Asia Minor, Egypt had the misfortune to be honoured by a visit from its + emperor. The satirical Alexandrians, who in the midst of their own follies + and vices were always clever in lashing those of their rulers, had + latterly been turning their unseemly jokes against Caracalla. They had + laughed at his dressing like Achilles and Alexander the Great, while in + his person he was below the usual height; and they had not forgotten his + murder of his brother, and his talking of marrying his own mother. Some of + these dangerous witticisms had reached his ears at Rome, and they were not + forgotten. But Caracalla never showed his displeasure; and, as he passed + through Antioch, he gave out that he was going to visit the city founded + by Alexander the Great, and to consult the oracle in the temple of + Serapis. + </p> + <p> + The Alexandrians in their joy got ready the hecatombs for his sacrifices; + and the emperor entered their city through rows of torches to the sound of + soft music, while the air was sweetened with costly scents, and the road + scattered with flowers. After a few days he sacrificed in the temple of + Serapis, and then visited the tomb of Alexander, where he took off his + scarlet cloak, his rings, and his girdle covered with precious stones, and + dutifully laid them on the sarcophagus of the hero. The Alexandrians were + delighted with their visitor; and crowds flocked into the city to witness + the daily and nightly shows, little aware of the unforgiving malice that + was lurking in his mind. + </p> + <p> + The emperor then issued a decree that all the youths of Alexandria of an + age to enter the army should meet him in a plain on the outside of the + city; they had already a Macedonian and a Spartan phalanx, and he was + going to make an Alexandrian phalanx. Accordingly the plain was filled + with thousands of young men, who were ranged in bodies according to their + height, their age, and their fitness for bearing arms, while their friends + and relations came in equal numbers to be witnesses of their honour. + </p> + <p> + The emperor moved through their ranks, and was loudly greeted with their + cheers, while the army which encircled the whole plain was gradually + closing round the crowd and lessening the circle. When the ring was + formed, Caracalla withdrew with his guards and gave the looked-for signal. + The soldiers then lowered their spears and charged on the unarmed crowd, + of whom a part were butchered and part driven headlong into the ditches + and canals; and such was the slaughter that the waters of the Nile, which + at midsummer are always red with the mud from the upper country, were said + to have flowed coloured to the sea with the blood of the sufferers. + Caracalla then returned to Antioch, congratulating himself on the revenge + that he had taken on the Alexandrians for their jokes; not however till he + had consecrated in the temple of Serapis the sword with which he boasted + that he had slain his brother Geta. + </p> + <p> + Caracalla also punished the Alexandrians by stopping the public games and + the allowance of grain to the citizens; and, to lessen the danger of their + rebelling, he had the fortifications carried between the rest of the city + and the great palace-quarter, the Bruchium, thus dividing Alexandria into + two fortified cities, with towers on the walls between them. Hitherto, + under the Romans as under the Ptolemies, the Alexandrians had been the + trusted favourites of their rulers, who made use of them to keep the + Egyptians in bondage. But under Caracalla that policy was changed; the + Alexandrians were treated as enemies; and we see for the first time + Egyptians taking their seat in the Roman senate, and the Egyptian religion + openly cultivated by the emperor, who then built a temple in Rome to the + goddess Isis. + </p> + <p> + On the murder of Caracalla in A.D. 217, Macrinus, who was thought to be + the author of his death, was acknowledged as emperor; and though he only + reigned for about two months, yet, as the Egyptian new year’s day fell + within that time, we find Alexandrian coins for the first and second years + of his reign. The Egyptians pretended that the death of Caracalla had been + foretold by signs from heaven; that a ball of fire had fallen on the + temple of Serapis, which destroyed nothing but the sword with which + Caracalla had slain his brother; and that an Egyptian named Serapion, who + had been thrown into a lion’s den for naming Macrinus as the future + emperor, had escaped unhurt by the wild beasts. + </p> + <p> + Macrinus recalled from Alexandria Julian, the prefect of Egypt, and + appointed to that post his friend Basilianus, with Marius Secundus, a + senator, as second in command, who was the first senator that had ever + held command in Egypt. He was himself at Antioch when Bassianus, a Syrian, + pretending to be the son of Caracalla, offered himself to the legions as + that emperor’s successor. When the news reached Alexandria that the Syrian + troops had joined the pretended Antoninus, the prefect Basilianus at once + put to death the public couriers that brought the unwelcome tidings. But + when, a few days afterwards, it was known that Macrinus had been defeated + and killed, the doubts about his successor led to serious struggles + between the troops and the Alexandrians. The Alexandrians could have had + no love for a son of Caracalla; Basilianus and Secundus had before + declared against him; but, on the other hand, the choice of the soldiers + was guided by their brethren in Syria. The citizens flew to arms, and day + after day was the battle fought in the streets of Alexandria between two + parties, neither of whom was strong enough, even if successful, to have + any weight in settling the fate of the Roman empire. Marius Secundus lost + his life in the struggle. The prefect Basilianus fled to Italy to escape + from his own soldiers; and the province of Egypt then followed the example + of the rest of the East in acknowledging the new emperor. + </p> + <p> + For four years Rome was disgraced by the sovereignty of Elagabalus, the + pretended son of Caracalla, and we find his coins each year in Alexandria. + He was succeeded by the young Alexander, whose amiable virtues, however, + could not gain for him the respect which he lost by the weakness of his + government. The Alexandrians, always ready to lampoon their rulers, + laughed at his wish to be thought a Roman; they called him the Syrian, the + high priest, and the ruler of the synagogue. And well might they think + slightly of his government, when a prefect of Egypt owed his appointment + to the emperor’s want of power to punish him. Epagathus had headed a + mutiny of the prætorian guards in Rome, in which their general Ulpian was + killed; and Alexander, afraid to punish the murderers, made the ringleader + of the rebels prefect of Egypt in order to send him out of the way; so + little did it then seem necessary to follow the cautious policy of + Augustus, or to fear a rebellion in that province. But after a short time, + when Epagathus had been forgotten by the Roman legion, he was removed to + the government of Crete, and then at last punished with death. + </p> + <p> + In this reign Ammonius Saccas became the founder of a new and most + important school of philosophy, that of the Alexandrian platonists. He is + only known to us through his pupils, in whose writings we trace the mind + and system of the teacher. The most celebrated of these pupils were + Plotinus, Herennius, and Origen, a pagan writer, together with Longinus, + the great master of the “sublime,” who owns him his teacher in elegant + literature. Ammonius was unequalled in the variety and depth of his + knowledge, and was by his followers called heaven-taught. He aimed at + putting an end to the triflings and quarrels of the philosophers by + showing that all the great truths were the same in each system, and by + pointing out where Plato and Aristotle agreed instead of where they + differed; or rather by culling opinions out of both schools of philosophy, + and by gathering together the scattered limbs of Truth, whose lovely form + had been hewn to pieces and thrown to the four winds like the mangled body + of Osiris. + </p> + <p> + Origen in the tenth year of this reign (A.D. 231) withdrew to Cæsarea, on + finding himself made uncomfortable at Alexandria by the displeasure of + Demetrius the bishop; and he left the care of the Christian school to + Heraclas, who had been one of his pupils. Origen’s opinions met with no + blame in Cæsarea, where Christianity was not yet so far removed from its + early simplicity as in Egypt. + </p> + <p> + The Christians of Syria and Palestine highly prized his teaching when it + was no longer valued in Alexandria. He died at Tyre in the reign of + Gallus. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0054" id="linkimage-0054"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/149.jpg" width="100%" alt="149.jpg a Modern Scribe " /> + </div> + <p> + On the death of Demetrius, Heraclas, who had just before succeeded Origen + in the charge of the Christian school, was chosen Bishop of Alexandria; + and Christianity had by that time so far spread through the cities of + Upper and Lower Egypt that he found it necessary to ordain twenty bishops + under him, while three had been found enough by his predecessor. From his + being the head of the bishops, who were all styled fathers, Heraclas + received the title of <i>Papa</i>, pope or grandfather, the title + afterwards used by the bishops of Rome. + </p> + <p> + Among the presbyters ordained by Heraclas was Ammonius Saccas, the founder + of the platonic school; but he afterwards forsook the religion of Jesus; + and we must not mistake him for a second Alexandrian Christian of the name + of Ammonius, who can hardly have been the same person as the former, for + he never changed his religion, and was the author of the <i>Evangelical + Canons</i>, a work afterwards continued by Eusebius of Cæsarea. + </p> + <p> + On the death of the Emperor Alexander, in A.D. 235, while Italy was torn + to pieces by civil wars and by its generals’ rival claims for the purple, + the Alexandrians seem to have taken no part in the struggles, but to have + acknowledged each emperor as soon as the news reached them that he had + taken the title. In one year we find Alexandrian coins of Maximin and his + son Maximus, with those of the two Gordians, who for a few weeks reigned + in Carthage, and in the next year we again have coins of Maximin and + Maximus, with those of Balbinus and Pupienus, and of Gordianus Pius. + </p> + <p> + The Persians, taking advantage of the weakness in the empire caused by + these civil wars, had latterly been harassing the eastern frontier; and it + soon became the duty of the young Gordian to march against them in person. + Hitherto the Roman armies had usually been successful; but unfortunately + the Persians, or, rather, their Syrian and Arab allies, had latterly risen + as much as the Romans had fallen off in courage and warlike skill. The + army of Gordian was routed, and the emperor himself slain, either by + traitors or by the enemy. Hereafter we shall see the Romans paying the + just penalty for the example that they had set to the surrounding nations. + They had taught them that conquest should be a people’s chief aim, that + the great use of strength was to crush a neighbour; and it was not long + before Egypt and the other Eastern provinces suffered under the same + treatment. So little had defeat been expected that the philosopher + Plotinus had left his studies in Alexandria to join the army, in hopes of + gaining for himself an insight into the Eastern philosophy that was so + much talked of in Egypt. After the rout of the army he with difficulty + escaped to Antioch, and thence he removed to Rome, where he taught the new + platonism to scholars of all nations, including Serapion, the celebrated + rhetorician, and Eustochius, the physician, from Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0055" id="linkimage-0055"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:13%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/151.jpg" alt="151.jpg Symbol of Egypt " /> + </div> + <p> + Philip, who is accused by the historians of being the author of Gordian’s + death, succeeded him on the throne in 244; but he is only known in the + history of Egypt by his Alexandrian coins, which we find with the dates of + each of the seven years of his reign, and these seem to prove that for one + year he had been associated with Gordian in the purple. In the reign of + Decius, which began in 249, the Christians of Egypt were again harassed by + the zeal with which the laws against their religion were put in force. The + persecution began by their fellow-citizens informing against them; but in + the next year it was followed up by the prefect Æmilianus; and several + Christians were summoned before the magistrate and put to death. Many fled + for safety to the desert and to Mount Sinai, where they fell into a danger + of a different kind; they were taken prisoners by the Saracens and carried + away as slaves. Dionysius, the Bishop of Alexandria, himself fled from the + storm, and was then banished to the village of Cephro in the desert. But + his flight was not without some scandal to the Church, as there were not a + few who thought that he was called upon by his rank at least to await, if + not to court, the pains of martyrdom. Indeed, the persecution was less + remarkable for the sufferings of the Christians than for the numbers who + failed in their courage, and renounced Christianity under the threats of + the magistrate. Dionysius, the bishop, who had shown no courage himself, + was willing to pardon their weakness, and after fit proof of sorrow again + to receive them as brethren. But his humanity offended the zeal of many + whose distance from the danger had saved them from temptation; and it was + found necessary to summon a council at Rome to settle the dispute. In this + assembly the moderate party prevailed; and some who refused to receive + back those who had once fallen away from the faith were themselves turned + out of the Church. + </p> + <p> + Dionysius had succeeded Heraclas in the bishopric, having before succeeded + him as head of the catechetical school. He was the author of several + works, written in defence of the trinitarian opinions, on the one hand + against the Egyptian Gnostics, who said that there were eight, and even + thirty, persons in the Godhead, and, on the other hand, against the Syrian + bishop, Paul of Samosata, on the Euphrates, who said that Jesus was a man, + and that the Word and Holy Spirit were not persons, but attributes, of + God. + </p> + <p> + But while Dionysius was thus engaged in a controversy with such opposite + opinions, Egypt and Libya were giving birth to a new view of the trinity. + Sabellius, Bishop of Ptolemais, near Cyrene, was putting forth the opinion + that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were only three names for the one + God, and that the creator of the world had himself appeared upon earth in + the form of Jesus. Against this opinion Dionysius again engaged in + controversy, arguing against Sabellius that Jesus was not the creator, but + the first of created beings. + </p> + <p> + The Christians were thus each generation changing more and more, sometimes + leaning towards Greek polytheism and sometimes towards Egyptian mysticism. + As in each quarrel the most mysterious opinions were thought the most + sacred, each generation added new mysteries to its religion; and the + progress was rapid, from a practical piety, to a profession of opinions + which they did not pretend to understand. + </p> + <p> + During the reigns of Gallus, of Æmilius Æmilianus, and of Valerian (A.D. + 251-260), the Alexandrians coined money in the name of each emperor as + soon as the news reached Egypt that he had made Italy acknowledge his + title. Gallus and his son reigned two years and four months; Æmilianus, + who rebelled in Pannonia, reigned three months; and Valerian reigned about + six years. + </p> + <p> + Egypt, as a trading country, now suffered severely from the want of order + and quiet government; and in particular since the reign of Alexander + Severus it had been kept in a fever by rebellions, persecutions, and this + unceasing change of rulers. Change brings the fear of change; and this + fear checks trade, throws the labourer out of employment, and leaves the + poor of the cities without wages and without food. Famine is followed by + disease; and Egypt and Alexandria were visited in the reign of Gallus by a + dreadful plague, one of those scourges that force themselves on the notice + of the historian. It was probably the same disease that in a less + frightful form had been not uncommon in that country and in the lower + parts of Syria. The physician Aretæus describes it under the name of + ulcers on the tonsils. It seems by the letters of Bishop Dionysius that in + Alexandria the population had so much fallen off that the inhabitants + between the ages of fourteen and eighty were not more than those between + forty and seventy had been formerly, as appeared by old records then + existing. The misery that the city had suffered may be measured by its + lessened numbers. + </p> + <p> + During these latter years the eastern half of the empire was chiefly + guarded by Odenathus of Palmyra, the brave and faithful ally of Rome, + under whose wise rule his country for a short time held a rank among the + empires of the world, which it never could have gained but for an union of + many favourable circumstances. The city and little state of Palmyra is + situated about midway between the cities of Damascus and Babylon. + Separated from the rest of the world, between the Roman and the Parthian + empires, Palmyra had long kept its freedom, while each of those great + rival powers rather courted its friendship than aimed at conquering it. + But, as the cause of Rome grew weaker, Odenathus wisely threw his weight + into the lighter scale; and latterly, without aiming at conquest, he found + himself almost the sovereign of those provinces of the Roman empire which + were in danger of being overrun by the Persians. Valerian himself was + conquered, taken prisoner, and put to death by Sapor, King of Persia; and + Gallienus, his son, who was idling away his life in disgraceful pleasures + in the West, wisely gave the title of emperor to Odenathus, and declared + him his colleague on the throne. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0056" id="linkimage-0056"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:51%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/155.jpg" alt="155.jpg a Harem Window " /> + </div> + <p> + No sooner was Valerian taken prisoner than every province of the Roman + empire, feeling the sword powerless in the weak hands of Gallienus, + declared its own general emperor; and when Macrianus, who had been left in + command in Syria, gathered together the scattered forces of the Eastern + army, and made himself emperor of the East, the Egyptians owned him as + their sovereign. As Macrianus found his age too great for the activity + required of a rebel emperor, he made his two sons, Macrianus, junior, and + Quietus, his colleagues; and we find their names on the coins of + Alexandria, dated the first and second years of their reign. But Macrianus + was defeated by Dominitianus at the head of a part of the army of + Aureolus, who had made himself emperor in Illyricum, and he lost his life, + together with one of his sons, while the other soon afterwards met with + the same fate from Odenathus. + </p> + <p> + After this, Egypt was governed for a short time in the name of Gallienus; + but the fickle Alexandrians soon made a rebel emperor for themselves. The + Roman republic, says the historian, was often in danger from the + headstrong giddiness of the Alexandrians. Any civility forgotten, a place + in the baths not yielded, a heap of rubbish, or even a pair of old shoes + in the streets, was often enough to throw the state into the greatest + danger, and make it necessary to call out the troops to put down the + riots. Thus, one day, one of the prefect’s slaves was beaten by the + soldiers, for saying that his shoes were better than theirs. On this a + riotous crowd gathered round the house of Æmilianus to complain of the + conduct of his soldiers. He was attacked with stones and such weapons as + are usually within the reach of a mob. He had no choice but to call out + the troops, who, when they had quieted the city and were intoxicated with + their success, saluted him with the title of emperor; and hatred of + Gallienus made the rest of the Egyptian army agree to their choice. + </p> + <p> + This was in the year 265. The new emperor called himself Alexander, and + was even thought to deserve the name. He governed Egypt during his short + reign with great vigour. He led his army through the Thebaid, and drove + back the barbarians with a courage and activity which had latterly been + uncommon in the Egyptian army. Alexandria then sent no tribute to Rome. + “Well! cannot we live without Egyptian linen?” was the forced joke of + Gallienus, when the Romans were in alarm at the loss of the usual supply + of grain. But Æmilianus was soon beaten by Theodotus, the general of + Gallienus, who besieged him in the strong quarter of Alexandria called the + Bruchium, and then took him prisoner and strangled him. + </p> + <p> + During this siege the ministers of Christianity were able to lessen some + of the horrors of war by persuading the besiegers to allow the useless + mouths to quit the blockaded fortress. Eusebius, afterwards Bishop of + Laodicea, was without the trenches trying to lessen the cruelties of the + siege; and Anatolius, the Christian peripatetic, was within the walls, + endeavouring to persuade the rebels to surrender. Gallienus in gratitude + to his general would have granted him the honour of a proconsular triumph, + to dazzle the eyes of the Alexandrians; but the policy of Augustus was not + wholly forgotten, and the emperor was reminded by the priests that it was + unlawful for the consular fasces to enter Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + The late Emperor Valerian had begun his reign with mild treatment of the + Christians; but he was overpersuaded by the Alexandrians. He then allowed + the power of the magistrate to be used, in order to check the Christian + religion. But in this weakness of the empire Gallienus could no longer + with safety allow the Christians to be persecuted for their religion. Both + their numbers and their station made it dangerous to treat them as + enemies; and the emperor ordered all persecution to be stopped. The + imperial rescript for that purpose was even addressed to “Dionysius, + Pinna, Demetrius, and the other bishops;” it grants them full indulgence + in the exercise of their religion, and by its very address almost + acknowledges their rank in the state. By this edict of Gallienus the + Christians were put on a better footing than at any time since their + numbers brought them under the notice of the magistrate. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0057" id="linkimage-0057"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/158b.jpg" width="100%" alt="158b.jpg Egyptian Slave " /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img alt="158b-text (4K)" src="images/158b-text.jpg" width="100%" /> + </div> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + From the painting by Siefèrt +</pre> + <p> + When the bishop Dionysius returned to Alexandria, he found the place sadly + ruined by the late siege. The middle of the city was a vast waste. It was + easier, he says, to go from one end of Egypt to the other than to cross + the main street which divided the Bruchium from the western end of + Alexandria. The place was still marked with all the horrors of last week’s + battle. Then, as usual, disease and famine followed upon war. Not a house + was without a funeral. Death was everywhere to be seen in its most ghastly + form. Bodies were left un-buried in the streets to be eaten by the dogs. + Men ran away from their sickening friends in fear. As the sun set they + felt in doubt whether they should be alive to see it rise in the morning. + Cowards hid their alarms in noisy amusements and laughter. Not a few in + very despair rushed into riot and vice. But the Christians clung to one + another in brotherly love; they visited the sick; they laid out and buried + their dead; and many of them thereby caught the disease themselves, and + died as martyrs to the strength of their faith and love. + </p> + <p> + As long as Odenathus lived, the victories of the Palmyrenes were always + over the enemies of Rome; but on his assassination, together with his son + Herodes, though the armies of Palmyra were still led to battle with equal + courage, its counsels were no longer guided with the same moderation. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0058" id="linkimage-0058"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:35%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/159.jpg" alt="159.jpg Coins of Zenobia " /> + </div> + <p> + Zenobia, the widow of Odenathus, seized the command of the army for + herself and her infant sons, Herennius and Timolaus; and her masculine + courage and stern virtues well qualified her for the bold task that she + had undertaken. She threw off the friendship of Rome, and routed the + armies which Gallienus sent against her; and, claiming to be descended + from Cleopatra, she marched upon Egypt, in 268 A.D., to seize the throne + of her ancestors, and to add that kingdom to Syria and Asia Minor, which + she already possessed. + </p> + <p> + Zenobia’s army was led by her general, Zabda, who was joined by an + Egyptian named Timogenes; and, with seventy thousand Palmyrenes, Syrians, + and other barbarians, they routed the Roman army of fifty thousand + Egyptians under Probatus. The unfortunate Roman general put an end to his + own life; but nevertheless the Palmyrenes were unsuccessful, and Egypt + followed the example of Rome, and took the oaths to Claudius. For three + years the coins of Alexandria bear the name of that emperor. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Claudius, his brother Quintillus assumed the purple in + Europe (A.D. 270); and though he only reigned for seventeen days the + Alexandrian mint found time to engrave new dies and to issue coined money + in his name. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Claudius, also, the Palmyrenes renewed their attacks upon + Egypt, and this second time with success. The whole kingdom acknowledged + Zenobia as their queen; and in the fourth and fifth years of her reign in + Palmyra we find her name on the Alexandrian coins. The Greeks, who had + been masters of Egypt for six hundred years, either in their own name or + in that of the Roman emperors, were then for the first time governed by an + Asiatic. Palmyra in the desert was then ornamented with the spoils of + Egypt; and travellers yet admire the remains of eight large columns of red + porphyry, each thirty feet high, which stood in front of the two gates to + the great temple. They speak for themselves, and tell their own history. + From their material and form and size we must suppose that these columns + were quarried between Thebes and the Red Sea, were cut into shape by + Egyptian workmen under the guidance of Greek artists in the service of the + Roman emperors; and were thence carried away by the Syrian queen to the + oasis-city in the desert between Damascus and Babylon. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0059" id="linkimage-0059"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:38%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/161.jpg" alt="161.jpg Coin of Athenodorus " /> + </div> + <p> + Zenobia was a handsome woman of a dark complexion, with an aquiline nose, + quick, piercing eyes, and a masculine voice. She had the commanding + qualities of Cleopatra, from whom her flatterers traced her descent, and + she was without her vices. While Syriac was her native tongue, she was not + ignorant of Latin, which she was careful to have taught to her children; + she carried on her government in Greek, and could speak Koptic with the + Egyptians, whose history she had studied and written upon. In her dress + and manners she joined the pomp of the Persian court to the self-denial + and military virtues of a camp. With these qualities, followed by a + success in arms which they seemed to deserve, the world could not help + remarking, that while Gallienus was wasting his time with fiddlers and + players, in idleness that would have disgraced a woman, Zenobia was + governing her half of the empire like a man. + </p> + <p> + Zenobia made Antioch and Palmyra the capitals of her empire, and Egypt + became for the time a province of Syria. Her religion like her language + was Syriac. The name of her husband, Odenathus, means sacred to the + goddess Adoneth, and that of her son, Vaballathus, means sacred to the + goddess Baaleth. But as her troops were many of them Saracens or Arabs, a + people nearly the same as the Blemmyes, who already formed part of the + people of Upper Egypt, this conquest gave a new rank to that part of the + population; and had the further result, important in after years, of + causing them to be less quiet in their slavery to the Greeks of + Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + But the sceptre of Rome had lately been grasped by the firmer hand of + Aurelian, and the reign of Zenobia drew to a close. Aurelian at first + granted her the title of his colleague in the empire, and we find + Alexandrian coins with her head on one side and his on the other. But he + lost no time in leading his forces into Syria, and, after routing + Zenobia’s army in one or two battles, he took her prisoner at Emessa. He + then led her to Rome, where, after being made the ornament of his triumph, + she was allowed to spend the rest of her days in quiet, having reigned for + four years in Palmyra, though only for a few months in Egypt. + </p> + <p> + On the defeat of Zenobia it would seem that Egypt and Syria were still + left under the government of one of her sons, with the title of colleague + of Aurelian. The Alexandrian coins are then dated in the first year of + Aurelian and the fourth of Vaballathus, or, according to the Greek + translation of this name, of Athenodorus, who counted his years from the + death of Odenathus. + </p> + <p> + The young Herodes, who had been killed with his father Odenathus, was not + the son of Zenobia, but of a former wife, and Zenobia always acted towards + him with the unkindness unfortunately too common in a stepmother. She had + claimed the throne for her infant sons, Herennius and Timolaus; and we are + left in doubt by the historians about Vaballathus; Vopiscus, who calls him + the son of Zenobia, does not tell us who was his father. We know but + little of him beyond his coins; but from these we learn that, after + reigning one year with Aurelian, he aimed at reigning alone, took the + title of Augustus, and dropped the name of Aurelian from his coins. This + step was very likely the cause of his overthrow and death, which happened + in the year 271. + </p> + <p> + On the overthrow of Zenobia’s family, Egypt, which had been so fruitful in + rebels, submitted to the Emperor Aurelian, but it was only for a few + months. The Greeks of Alexandria, now lessened in numbers, were found to + be no longer masters of the kingdom. Former rebellions in Egypt had been + caused by the two Roman legions and the Greek mercenaries sometimes + claiming the right to appoint an emperor to the Roman world; but Zenobia’s + conquest had raised the Egyptian and Arab population in their own opinion, + and they were no longer willing to be governed by an Alexandrian or + European master. In 272 A.D. they set up Firmus, a native of Seleucia, who + took the title of emperor; and, resting his power on that part of the + population that had been treated as slaves or barbarians for six hundred + years, he aimed at the conquest of Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + Firmus was a man of great size and bodily strength, and, of course, + barbarian manners. He had gained great riches by trade with India; and had + a paper trade so profitable that he used to boast that he could feed an + army on papyrus and glue. His house was furnished with glass windows, a + luxury then but little known, and the squares of glass were fastened into + the frames by means of bitumen. His chief strength was in the Arabs or + Blemmyes of Upper Egypt, and in the Saracens who had lately been fighting + against Rome under the standard of Zenobia. Firmus fixed his government at + Koptos and Ptolemais, and held all Upper Egypt; but he either never + conquered Alexandria, or did not hold it for many months, as for every + year that he reigned in the Thebaid we find Alexandrian coins bearing the + name of Aurelian. Firmus was at last conquered by Aurelian in person, who + took him prisoner, and had him tortured and then put to death. During + these troubles Rome had been thrown into alarm at the thoughts of losing + the usual supply of Egyptian grain, as since the reign of Elagabalus the + Roman granaries had never held more than was wanted for the year; but + Aurelian hastened to send word to the Roman people that the country was + again quiet, and that the yearly supplies, which had been delayed by the + wickedness of Firmus, would soon arrive. Had Firmus raised the Roman + legions in rebellion, he would have been honoured with the title of a + rebel emperor; but, as his power rested on the Egyptians and Arabs, + Aurelian only boasted that he had rid the world of a robber. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0060" id="linkimage-0060"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/163.jpg" width="100%" + alt="163.jpg Street Vendors in Metal Ware " /> + </div> + <p> + Another rebel emperor about this time was Domitius Domitiamis; but we have + no certain knowledge of the year in which he rebelled, nor, indeed, + without the help of the coins should we know in what province of the whole + Roman empire he had assumed the purple. The historian only tells us that + in the reign of Aurelian the general Domitianus was put to death for + aiming at a change. We learn, however, from the coins that he reigned for + part of a first and a second year in Egypt; but the subject of his reign + is not without its difficulties, as we find Alexandrian coins of + Domitianus with Latin inscriptions, and dated in the third year of his + reign. The Latin language had not at this time been used on the coins of + Alexandria; and he could not have held Alexandria for any one whole year, + as the series of Aurelian’s coins is not broken. It is possible that the + Latin coins of Domitianus may belong to a second and later usurper of the + same name. + </p> + <p> + Aurelian had reigned in Rome from the death of Claudius; and, + notwithstanding the four rebels to whom we have given the title of + sovereigns of Egypt, money was coined in Alexandria in his name during + each of those years. His coinage, however, reminds us of the troubled and + fallen state of the country; and from this time forward copper, or, + rather, brass, is the only metal used. + </p> + <p> + Aurelian left Probus in the command of the Egyptian army, and that + general’s skill and activity found full employment in driving back the + barbarians who pressed upon the province on each of the three sides on + which it was open to attack. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0061" id="linkimage-0061"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:45%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/165.jpg" + alt="165.jpg Coin of Domitianus With Latin Inscription " /> + </div> + <p> + His first battles were against the Africans and Marmaridæ, who were in + arms on the side of Cyrene, and he next took the field against the + Palmyrenes and Saracens, who still claimed Egypt in the name of the family + of Zenobia. He employed the leisure of his soldiers in many useful works; + in repairing bridges, temples, and porticoes, and more particularly in + widening the trenches and keeping open the canals, and in such other works + as were of use in raising and forwarding the yearly supply of grain to + Rome. Aurelian increased the amount of the Egyptian tribute, which was + paid in glass, paper, linen, hemp, and grain; the latter he increased by + one-twelfth part, and he placed a larger number of ships on the voyage to + make the supply certain. + </p> + <p> + The Christians were well treated during this reign, and their patriarch + Nero so far took courage as to build the Church of St. Mary in Alexandria. + This was probably the first church that was built in Egypt for the public + service of Christianity, which for two hundred years had been preached in + private rooms, and very often in secret. The service was in Greek, as, + indeed, it was in all parts of Egypt: for it does not appear that + Christian prayers were publicly read in the Egyptian language before the + quarrel between the two churches made the Kopts unwilling to use Greek + prayers. The liturgy there read was probably very nearly the same as that + afterwards known as the <i>Liturgy of St. Mark</i>. This is among the + oldest of the Christian liturgies, and it shows its country by the prayer + that the waters of the river may rise to their just measure, and that rain + may be sent from heaven to the countries that need it. + </p> + <p> + We learn from the historians that eight months were allowed to pass + between the death of Aurelian and the choice of a successor; and during + this time the power rested in the hands of his widow. The sway of a woman + was never openly acknowledged in Rome, but the Alexandrians and Egyptians + were used to female rule, and from contemporary coins we learn that in + Egypt the government was carried on in the name of the Empress Severina. + The last coins of Aurelian bear the date of the sixth year of his reign, + and the coins of Severina are dated in the sixth and seventh years. But + after Tacitus was chosen emperor by his colleagues of the Roman senate, + and during his short reign of six months (A.D. 276), his authority was + obeyed by the Egyptian legions under Probus, as is fully proved by the + Alexandrian coins bearing his name, all dated in the first year of his + reign. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0062" id="linkimage-0062"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/167.jpg" width="100%" alt="167.jpg Coin of Severina " /> + </div> + <p> + On the death of Tacitus, his brother Florian hoped to succeed to the + imperial power, and was acknowledged in the same year by the senate and + troops of Rome. But when the news reached Egypt it was at once felt by the + legions that Probus, both by his own personal qualities and by the high + state of discipline of the army under his command, and by his success + against the Egyptian rebels, had a better claim to the purple than any + other general. At first the opinion ran round the camp in a whisper, and + at last the army spoke the general wish aloud; they snatched a purple + cloak from a statue in one of the temples to throw over him, they placed + him on an earthen mound as a tribunal, and against his will saluted him + with the title of emperor. The choice of the Egyptian legions was soon + approved of by Asia Minor, Syria, and Italy; Florian was put to death, and + Probus shortly afterwards marched into Gaul and Germany, to quiet those + provinces. + </p> + <p> + After a year or two, Probus was recalled into Egypt by hearing that the + Blemmyes had risen in arms, and that Upper Egypt was again independent of + the Roman power. Not only Koptos, which had for centuries been an Arab + city, but even Ptolemais, the Greek capital of the Thebaid, was now + peopled by those barbarians, and they had to be reconquered by Probus as + foreign cities, and kept in obedience by Roman garrisons; and on his + return to Rome he thought his victories over the Blemmyes of Upper Egypt + not unworthy of a triumph. + </p> + <p> + By these unceasing wars, the Egyptian legions had lately been brought into + a high state of discipline, and, confident in their strength, and in the + success with which they had made their late general emperor of the Roman + world, they now attempted to raise up a rival to him in the person of + their present general Saturninus. Saturninus had been made general of the + Eastern frontier by Aurelian, who had given him strict orders never to + enter Egypt. “The Egyptians,” says the historian, meaning, however, the + Alexandrians, “are boastful, vain, spiteful, licentious, fond of change, + clever in making songs and epigrams against their rulers, and much given + to soothsaying and augury.” Aurelian well knew that the loyalty of a + successful general was not to be trusted in Egypt, and during his lifetime + Saturninus never entered that province. But after his death, when Probus + was called away to the other parts of the empire, the government of Egypt + was added to the other duties of Saturninus; and no sooner was he seen + there, at the head of an army that seemed strong enough to enforce his + wishes, than the fickle Alexandrians saluted him with the title of emperor + and Augustus. But Saturninus was a wise man, and shunned the dangerous + honour; he had hitherto fought always for his country; he had saved the + provinces of Spain, Gaul, and Africa from the enemy or from rebellion; and + he knew the value of his rank and character too well to fling it away for + a bauble. To escape from further difficulties he withdrew from Egypt, and + moved his headquarters into Palestine. But the treasonable cheers of the + Alexandrians could neither be forgotten by himself nor by his troops; he + had withstood the calls of ambition, but he yielded at last to his fears; + he became a rebel for fear of being thought one, and he declared himself + emperor as the safest mode of escaping punishment. But he was soon + afterwards defeated and strangled, against the will of the forgiving + Probus. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Probus, in A.D. 283, the empire fell to Carus and his + sons, Numerianus and Carinus, whose names are found on the Alexandrian + coins, but whose short reigns have left no other trace in Egypt. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0063" id="linkimage-0063"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:38%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/169.jpg" + alt="169.jpg Coin of Trajan’s Second Legion " /> + </div> + <p> + At this time also we find upon the coins the name of Trajan’s second + Egyptian legion, which was at all times stationed in Egypt, and which, + acting upon an authority that was usually granted to the Roman legions in + the various provinces, coined money of several kinds for their own pay. + </p> + <p> + The reign of Diocletian, beginning in A.D. 285, was one of suffering to + the Egyptians; and in the fourth year the people rose against the Roman + government, and gave the title of emperor to Achilleus, their leader in + the rebellion. Galerius, the Roman general, led an army against the + rebels, and marched through the whole of the Thebaid; but, though the + Egyptians were routed whenever they were bold enough to meet the legions + in battle, yet the rebellion was not very easily crushed. The Romans were + scarcely obeyed beyond the spot on which their army was encamped. In the + fourth year of the rebellion, A.D. 292, Diocletian came to Egypt, and the + cities of Koptos and Busiris were besieged by the emperor in person, and + wholly destroyed after a regular siege. + </p> + <p> + When Diocletian reached the southern limits of Egypt he was able to judge + of the difficulty, and indeed the uselessness, of trying to hold any part + of Ethiopia; and he found that the tribute levied there was less than the + cost of the troops required to collect it. He therefore made a new treaty + with the Nobatæ, as the people between the first and second cataracts were + now called. He gave up to them the whole of Lower Ethiopia, or the + province called Nubia. The valley for seventy miles above Syênê, which + bore the name of the Dodecaschonos, had been held by Augustus and his + successors, and this was now given up to the original inhabitants. + Diocletian strengthened the fortifications on the isle of Elephantine, to + guard what was thenceforth the uttermost point of defence, and agreed to + pay to the Nobatae and Blemmyes a yearly sum of gold on the latter + promising no longer to harass Upper Egypt with their marauding inroads, + and on the former promising to forbid the Blemmyes from doing so. What + remains of the Roman wall built against the inroads of these troublesome + neighbours runs along the edge of the cultivated land on the east side of + the river for some distance to the north of the cataract. But so much was + the strength of the Greek party lessened, and so deeply rooted among the + Egyptians was their hatred of their rulers and the belief that they should + then be able to throw off the yoke, that soon afterwards Alexandria + declared in favour of Achilleus, and Diocletian was again called to Egypt + to regain the capital. Such was the strength of the rebels that the city + could not be taken without a regular siege. Diocletian surrounded it with + a ditch and wall, and turned aside the canals that supplied the citizens + with water. After a tedious siege of eight months, Alexandria was at last + taken by storm in 297, and Achilleus was put to death. A large part of the + city was burnt at the storming, nor would the punishment of the citizens + have there ended, but for Diocletian’s humane interpretation of an + accident. The horse on which he sat stumbled as he entered the city with + his troops, and he had the humanity to understand it as a command from + heaven that he should stop the pillage of the city; and the citizens in + gratitude erected near the spot a bronze statue of the horse to which they + owed so much. This statue has long since been lost, but we cannot be + mistaken in the place where it stood. The lofty column in the centre of + the temple of Serapis, now well known by the name of Pompey’s Pillar,* + once held a statue on the top, and on the base it still bears the + inscription of the grateful citizens, “To the most honoured emperor, the + saviour of Alexandria, the unconquerable Diocletian.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * See Volume X., page 317. +</pre> + <p> + This rebellion had lasted more than nine years, and the Egyptians seemed + never in want of money for the purposes of the war. Diocletian was struck + with their riches, and he ordered a careful search to be made through + Egypt for all writings on alchemy, an art which the Egyptians studied + together with magic and astrology. These books he ordered to be burnt, + under a belief that they were the great sources of the riches by which his + own power had been resisted. Want and misery no doubt caused this + rebellion, but the rebellion certainly caused more want and misery. The + navigation of the Nile was stopped, the canals were no longer kept + cleared, the fields were badly tilled, trade and manufactures were ruined. + Since the rebellions against the Persians, Egypt had never suffered so + much. It had been sadly changed by the troubles of the last sixty years, + during which it had been six times in arms against Rome; and when the + rebellion was put down by Diocletian, it was no longer the same country + that it had been under the Antonines. The framework of society had been + shaken, the Greeks had lessened in numbers, and still more in weight. The + fall of the Ptolemies, and the conquest by Rome, did not make so great a + change. The bright days of Egypt as a Greek kingdom began with the + building of Alexandria, and they ended with the rebellions against + Gallienus, Aurelian and Diocletian. The native Egyptians, both Kopts and + Arabs, now rise into more notice, as the Greek civilisation sinks around + them. And soon the upper classes among the Kopts, to avoid the duty of + maintaining a family of children in such troubled times, rush by thousands + into monasteries and convents, and further lessen the population by their + religious vows of celibacy. In the twelfth year of the reign, that in + which Alexandria rebelled and the siege was begun, the Egyptian coinage + for the most part ceased. Henceforth, though money was often coined in + Alexandria as in every other great city of the empire, the inscriptions + were usually in Latin, and the designs the same as those on the coins of + Rome. In taking leave of this long and valuable series of coins with + dates, which has been our guide in the chronology of these reigns, we must + not forget to acknowledge how much we owe to the labours of the learned + Zoega. In his <i>Numi Ægypti Imperatorii</i>, the mere descriptions, + almost without a remark, speak the very words of history. + </p> + <p> + The reign of Diocletian is chiefly remarkable for the new law which was + then made against the Christians, and for the cruel severity with which it + was put into force. The issuing of this edict in 304 A.D., which was to + root out Christianity from the world, took place in the twentieth year of + the reign, according to the Alexandrians, or in the nineteenth year after + the emperor’s first installation as consul, as years were reckoned in the + other parts of the empire. The churches, which since the reign of + Gallienus had been everywhere rising, were ordered to be destroyed and the + Bibles to be burnt, while banishment, slavery, and death were the + punishments threatened against those who obstinately clung to their + religion. In no province of the empire was the persecution more severe + than in Egypt; and many Christians fled to Syria, where the law, though + the same, was more mildly carried into execution. But the Christians were + too numerous to fly and too few to resist. The ecclesiastical writers + present us with a sad tale of tortures and of death borne by those who + refused to renounce their faith,—a tale which is only made less sad + by the doubt how far the writers’ feelings may have misled their judgment, + and made them overstate the numbers. + </p> + <p> + But we may safely rely upon the account which Eusebius gives us of what he + himself saw in Egypt. Many were put to death on the same day, some + beheaded and some burnt. The executioners were tired, and the hearts of + the pagan judges melted by the unflinching firmness of the Christians. + Many who were eminent for wealth, rank, and learning chose to lay down + their lives rather than throw a few grains of wheat upon the altar, or + comply with any ceremony that was required of them as a religious test. + The judges begged them to think of their wives and children, and pointed + out that they were the cause of their own death; but the Christians were + usually firm, and were beheaded for the refusal to take the test. Among + the most celebrated of the Egyptian martyrs were Peter, Bishop of + Alexandria, with Faustus, Dius, and Ammonius, presbyters under him; the + learned Phileas, Bishop of Thmuis, Hesychius, the editor of the + Septuagint, and the Bishops Pachomius and Theodorus; though the pagans + must have been still more surprised at Philoromus, the receiver-general of + the taxes at Alexandria. This man, after the prefect of Egypt and the + general of the troops, was perhaps the highest Roman officer in the + province. He sat in public as a judge in Alexandria, surrounded by a guard + of soldiers, daily deciding all causes relating to the taxes of Egypt. He + was accused of no crime but that of being a Christian, which he was + earnestly entreated to deny, and was at liberty indirectly to disprove by + joining in some pagan sacrifice. The Bishops of Alexandria and Thmuis may + have been strengthened under their trials by their rank in the church, by + having themselves urged others to do their duty in the same case, but the + receiver-general of the taxes could have had nothing to encourage him but + the strength of his faith and a noble scorn of falsehood; he was + reproached or ridiculed by all around him, but he refused to deny his + religion, and was beheaded as a common criminal. + </p> + <p> + The ready ministers of this persecution were Culeianus, the prefect of the + Thebaid, and Hierocles, the prefect of Alexandria. The latter was + peculiarly well chosen for the task; he added the zeal of the theologian + to the ready obedience of the soldier. He had written against the + Christians a work named <i>Philalethes</i> (the lover of truth), which we + now know only in the answer by Eusebius of Cæsarea. In this he denounced + the apostles as impostors, and the Christian miracles as trifling; and, + comparing them with the pretended miracles of Apollonius of Tyana, he + pronounced the latter more numerous, more important, and better + authenticated than the former by the evangelists; and he ridiculed the + Christians for calling Jesus a god, while the pagans did not raise + Apollonius higher than a man beloved by the gods. + </p> + <p> + This persecution under Diocletian was one of the most severe that the + Christians ever underwent from the Romans. It did not, however, wholly + stop the religious services, nor break up the regular government of the + Church. In the catechetical school, Pierius, whom we have before spoken of + as a man of learning, was succeeded by Theognostus and then by Serapion, + whose name reminds us that the Egyptian party was gaining weight in the + Alexandrian church. It can hardly have been for his superior learning, it + may have been because his opinions were becoming more popular than those + of the Greeks, that a professor with an Egyptian name was placed at the + head of the catechetical school. Serapion was succeeded by Peter, who + afterwards gained the bishopric of Alexandria and a martyr’s crown. But + these men were little known beyond their lecture-room. In the twentieth + year of the reign, on the death of Peter, the Bishop of Alexandria, who + lost his life as a martyr, the presbyters of the church met to choose a + successor. Among their number was Arius, whose name afterwards became so + famous in ecclesiastical history, and who had already, even before he was + ordained a priest, offended many by the bold manner in which he stated his + religious opinions. But upon him, if we may believe a partial historian, + the majority of votes fell in the choice of a patriarch of Alexandria, and + had he not himself modestly given way to the more ambitious Alexander, he + might perhaps have been saved from the treatment which he afterwards + suffered from his rival. + </p> + <p> + When, in the year 305, Diocletian and his colleague, Valerius Maximian, + resigned the purple, Egypt with the rest of the East was given to + Galerius, who had also as Cæsar been named Maximian on his Egyptian coins, + while Constantius Chlorus ruled the West. Galerius in 307 granted some + slight indulgence to the Christians without wholly stopping the + persecution. But all favour was again withdrawn from them by his successor + Maximin, who had indeed misgoverned Egypt for some years, under the title + of Cæsar, before the rank of Augustus was granted to him. He encouraged + private informers, he set townsman against townsman; and, as the wishes of + the emperor are quickly understood by all under him, those who wished for + his favour courted it by giving him an excuse for his cruelties. The + cities sent up petitions to him, begging that the Christians might not be + allowed to have churches within their walls. The history of these reigns + indeed is little more than the history of the persecutions; and when the + Alexandrian astronomers, dropping the era of Augustus, began to date from + the first year of Diocletian, the Christian writers in the same way dated + from the Era of the Martyrs. + </p> + <p> + It can be no matter of surprise to us that, in a persecution which + threatened all classes of society, there should have been many who, when + they were accused of being Christians, wanted the courage to undergo the + pains of martyrdom, and escaped the punishment by joining in a pagan + sacrifice. When the storm was blown over, these men again asked to be + received into the Church, and their conduct gave rise to the very same + quarrel that had divided the Christians in the reign of Decius. Meletius, + a bishop of the Thebaid, was at the head of the party who would make no + allowance for the weakness of their brethren, and who refused to grant to + the repentant the forgiveness that they asked for. He had himself borne + the same trials without bending, he had been sent as a criminal to work in + the Egyptian mines, and had returned to Alexandria from his banishment, + proud of his sufferings and furious against those who had escaped through + cowardice. But the larger part of the bishops were of a more forgiving + nature; they could not all boast of the same constancy, and the repentant + Christians were re-admitted into communion with the faithful, while the + followers of Meletius were branded with the name of heretics. + </p> + <p> + In Alexandria, Meletius soon found another and, as it proved, a more + memorable occasion for the display of his zeal. He has the unenviable + honour of being the author of the great Arian quarrel, by accusing of + heresy Arius, at that time a presbyter of the church of Baucala near + Alexandria, and by calling upon Alexander, the bishop, to inquire into his + belief, and to condemn it if found unsound. Arius frankly and openly + acknowledged his opinions: he thought Jesus a created being, and would + speak of him in no higher terms than those used in the New Testament and + Apostles’ Creed, and defended his opinions by an appeal to the Scriptures. + But he soon found that his defence was thought weak, and, without waiting + to be condemned, he withdrew before the storm to Palestine, where he + remained till summoned before the council of Nicæa in the coming reign. + </p> + <p> + It was during these reigns of trouble, about which history is sadly + silent, when Greek learning was sinking, and after the country had been + for a year or two in the power of the Syrians, that the worship of Mithra + was brought into Alexandria, where superstitious ceremonies and + philosophical subtleties were equally welcome. Mithra was the Persian god + of the sun; and in the system of two gods, one good and the other wicked, + he was the god of goodness. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0064" id="linkimage-0064"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:30%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/179.jpg" alt="179.jpg Symbol of Mithra " /> + </div> + <p> + The chief symbol in his worship was the figure of a young hero in Phrygian + cap and trousers, mounted on a sinking bull, and stabbing it in sacrifice + to the god. In a deserted part of Alexandria, called the Mithrium, his + rites were celebrated among ruins and rubbish; and his ignorant followers + were as ignorantly accused of there slaying their fellow-citizens on his + altars. + </p> + <p> + It was about the same time that the eastern doctrine of Manicheism was + said to have been brought into Egypt by Papus, and Thomas or Hernias. This + sect, if sect it may be called, owed its origin to a certain Majus Mani, + banished from Persia under the Sassanides; this Mani was a talented man, + highly civilised through his studies and voyages in distant lands. In his + exile he conceived the idea of putting himself forward as the reformer of + the religions of all the peoples he had visited, and of reducing them all + to one universal religion. Banished by the Christians, to whom he + represented himself as the divinely inspired apostle of Jesus, in whom the + Comforter had appeared, he returned to Persia, taking with him a book of + the Gospels adorned by extraordinary paintings. Here he obtained at first + the favour of the king and the people, till finally, after many changes of + fortune, he was pursued by the magi, and convicted in a solemn disputation + of falsifying religion; he was condemned to the terrible punishment of + being flayed alive, after which his skin was to be stuffed and hung up + over the gates of the royal city. His teaching consisted in a mixture of + Persian and Christian-Gnostic views; its middle final point was the + dualism of good and evil which rules in the world and in the human breast. + </p> + <p> + According to Mani’s creed, there were originally two principles, God in + His kingdom of light, and the demon with his kingdom of darkness, and + these two principles existed independently of each other. The powers of + evil fell into strife with each other, until, hurled away by their inward + confusion, they reached the outermost edge of their own kingdom, and from + there beheld the kingdom of light in all its glory. Now they ceased their + strife among themselves and united to do battle to the kingdom of light. + To meet them, God created the “original man” who, armed with the five pure + elements, light, fire, air, water, and earth, advanced to meet the hostile + powers. He was defeated, though finally saved; but a part of his light had + thus made its way into the realm of darkness. In order gradually to regain + this light, God caused the mother of life to create the visible world, in + which that light lies hidden as a living power or world-soul awaiting its + deliverance from the bonds of matter. In order to accomplish this + redemption, two new beings of light proceed from God, viz.: Christ and the + Holy Ghost, of whom the former, Christus Mithras, has his abode in the sun + and moon, the latter in the ether diffused around the entire world. Both + attract the powers of light which have sunk into the material world in + order to lead them back, finally, into the everlasting realm of light. To + oppose them, however, the demons created a new being, viz.: man, after the + example of the “original man,” and united in him the clearest light and + the darkness peculiar to themselves, in order that the great strife might + be renewed in his breast, and so man became the point of union of all the + forces in the universe, the microcosm in which two principles ever strive + for the mastery. Through the enticements of the material and the illusions + of the demon, the soul of light was held in bondage in spite of its + indwelling capacity for freedom, so that in heathenism and Judaism the + “son of everlasting light,” as the soul of the universe, was chained to + matter. In order to accomplish this work of redemption more quickly, + Christ finally leaves his throne at God’s right hand, and appears on + earth, truly in human form, but only with an apparent body; his suffering + and death on the cross are but illusions for the multitude, although + historical facts, and they serve at the same time as a symbol of the light + imprisoned in matter, and as a typical expression of the suffering, poured + out over the whole of nature (especially in the plant-world), of the great + physical <i>weltschmerz</i>. Christ, through his teaching and power of + attraction, began the deliverance of the light, so that one can truly say + that the salvation of the world proceeds from rays which stream from the + Cross; as, however, his teachings were conceived by the apostles in a + Jewish sense, and the Gospels were disfigured, Mani appeared as the + comforter promised by Christ to accomplish the victory. In his writings + only is the pure truth preserved. Finally there will be a complete + separation of the light from the darkness, and then the powers of darkness + will fall upon each other again. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkimage-0065" id="linkimage-0065"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:40%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/184.jpg" + alt="184.jpg Dome Palm of Upper Egypt " /> + </div> + <p> + The ignorant in all ages of Christianity seem to have held nearly the same + opinion in one form or other, thinking that sin has arisen either from a + wicked being or from the wickedness of the flesh itself. The Jews alone + proclaimed that God created good and God created evil. But we know of few + writers who have ever owned themselves Manicheans, though many have been + reproached as such; their doctrine is now known only in the works written + against it. Of all heresies among the Christians this is the one most + denounced by the ecclesiastical writers, and most severely threatened by + the laws when the law makers became Christian; and of all the accusations + of the angry controversialists this was the most reproachful. We might + almost think that the numerous fathers who have written against the + Manicheans must have had an easy victory when the enemy never appeared in + the field, when their writings were scarcely answered, or their arguments + denied; but perhaps a juster view would lead us to remark how much the + writers, as well as the readers, must have felt the difficulty of + accounting for the origin of evil, since men have run into such wild + opinions to explain it. + </p> + <p> + Another heresy, which for a time made even as much noise as the last, was + that of Hieracas of Leontopolis. Even in Egypt, where for two thousand + years it had been the custom to make the bodies of the dead into mummies, + to embalm them against the day of resurrection, a custom which had been + usually practised by the Christians, this native Egyptian ventured to + teach that nothing but the soul would rise from the dead, and that we must + look forward to only a spiritual resurrection. Hieracas was a man of some + learning, and, much to the vexation of those who opposed his arguments, he + could repeat nearly the whole Bible by heart. + </p> + <p> + The Bishop Hesychius, the martyr in the late persecution, was one of the + learned men of the time. He had published a new edition of the Septuagint + Old Testament, and also of the New Testament. This edition was valued and + chiefly used in Egypt, while that by Lucianus, who suffered in the same + persecution, was read in Asia Minor from Constantinople to Antioch, and + the older edition by Origen remained in use in Palestine. But such was the + credit of Alexandria, as the chief seat of Christian learning, that + distant churches sent there for copies of the Scriptures, foreign + translations were mostly made from Alexandrian copies, and the greater + number of Christians even now read the Bible according to the edition by + Hesychius. We must, however, fear that these editors were by no means + judicious in their labours. + </p> + <p> + From the text itself we can learn that the early copiers of the Bible + thought those manuscripts most valuable which were most full. Many a gloss + and marginal note got written into the text. Their devotional feelings + blinded their critical judgment; and they never ventured to put aside a + modern addition as spurious. This mistaken view of their duty had of old + guided the Hebrew copiers in Jerusalem; and though in Alexandria a juster + criticism had been applied to the copies of Homer, it was not thought + proper to use the same good sense when making copies of the Bible. So + strong was the habit of grafting the additions into the text that the + Greek translation became more copious than the Hebrew original, as the + Latin soon afterwards became more copious than the Greek. + </p> + <p> + It was about this time, at least after Theodotion’s translation of Daniel + had received the sanction of the Alexandrian church, and when the teachers + of Christianity found willing hearers in every city of Egypt, that the + Bible was translated into the language of the country. We have now parts + of several Koptic versions. They are translated closely, and nearly word + by word from the Greek; and, being meant for a people among whom that + language had been spoken for centuries, about one word in five is Greek. + The Thebaic and Bashmuric versions may have been translated from the + edition by Hesychius; but the Koptic version seems older, and its value to + the Biblical critic is very great, as it helps us, with the quotations in + Origen and Clemens, to distinguish the edition of the sacred text which + was then used in Alexandria, and is shown in the celebrated Vatican + manuscript, from the later editions used afterwards in Constantinople and + Italy, when Christian literature flourished in those countries. + </p> + <p> + The Emperor Maximin died at Tarsus in A.D. 313, after being defeated by + Licinius, who like himself had been raised to the rank of Augustus by + Galerius, and to whom the empire of Egypt and the East then fell, while + Constantine, the son of Constantius, governed Italy and the West. Licinius + held his empire for ten years against the growing strength of his + colleague and rival; but the ambition of Constantine increased with his + power, and Licinius was at last forced to gather together his army in + Thrace, to defend himself from an attack. His forces consisted of one + hundred and fifty thousand foot, fifteen thousand horse, and three hundred + and fifty triremes, of which Egypt furnished eighty. He was defeated near + Adrianople; and then, upon a promise that his life should be spared, he + surrendered to Constantine at Nicomedia. But the promise was forgotten and + Licinius hanged, and the Roman world was once more governed by a single + emperor. The growing strength of his colleague and rival; but the ambition + of Constantine increased with his power, and Licinius was at last forced + to gather together his army in Thrace, to defend himself from an attack. + His forces consisted of one hundred and fifty thousand foot, fifteen + thousand horse, and three hundred and fifty triremes, of which Egypt + furnished eighty. He was defeated near Adrianople; and then, upon a + promise that his life should be spared, he surrendered to Constantine at + Nicomedia. But the promise was forgotten and Licinius hanged, and the + Roman world was once more governed by a single emperor. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img alt="186 (21K)" src="images/186.jpg" width="100%" /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <a name="linkB2HCH0001" id="linkB2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <a name="linkB0004" id="linkB0004"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/187.jpg" width="100%" alt="187.jpg Page Image " /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER II.—THE CHRISTIAN PERIOD IN EGYPT + </h2> + <p> + <i>The Ascendency of the new religion: The Arian controversies: The Zenith + of monasticism: The final struggle of Paganism: The decline of Alexandria.</i> + </p> + <p> + Coming under the Roman sway, the Greek world underwent, not only + politically but also intellectually, a complete change. As the Roman + conquest had worn away all political differences and national divergences, + and, by uniting the various races under the rule of the empire was + bringing to its consummation the work begun by the Macedonian conqueror, + it could not fail to influence the train of thought. On the one hand the + political and ideal structure of Greek life was crumbling and bringing + down the support and guiding principle supplied by the duties of + citizenship and the devotion to the commonwealth. Man was thrown upon + himself to find the principles of conduct. The customary morality and + religion had been shaken in their foundations. The belief in the old gods + and the old religion was undermined. Philosophy endeavoured to occupy the + place left vacant by the gradual decay of the national religion. The + individual, seeking for support and spiritual guidance, found it, or at + least imagined he had found it, in philosophy. The conduct of life became + the fundamental problem, and philosophy assumed a practical aspect. It + aimed at finding a complete art of living. It had a thoroughly ethical + stamp, and became more and more a rival of and opposed to religion. Such + were the tendencies of the Stoic and Epicurean schools. The Roman rule was + greatly favourable to such a development of thought. The Romans were a + practical nation, had no conception of nor appreciation for purely + theoretical problems, and demanded practical lessons and philosophical + investigations which would serve as a guide for life. Thus the political + tendency of the time towards practical wisdom had imparted a new direction + to philosophical thought. Yet, as time went on, a deep feeling of + dissatisfaction seized the ancient world in the midst of all the glories + of the Roman rule. This huge empire could offer to the peoples, which it + had welded into one mighty unit, no compensation for the loss of their + national independence; it offered them no inner worth nor outer fortune. + There was a complete discord running through the entire civilisation of + the Græco-Roman world. The social condition of the empire had brought with + it extreme contrasts in the daily life. The contrasts had become more + pronounced. Abundance and luxury existed side by side with misery and + starvation. Millions were excluded from the very necessaries of existence. + With the sense of injustice and revolt against the existing inequality of + the state of society, the hope for some future compensation arose. The + millions excluded from the worldly possessions turned longingly to a + better world. The thoughts of man were turned to something beyond + terrestrial life, to heaven instead of earth. Philosophy, too, had failed + to give complete satisfaction. Man had realised his utter inability to + find knowledge in himself by his unaided efforts. He despaired to arrive + at it without the help of some transcendental power and its kind + assistance. Salvation was not to be found in man’s own nature, but in a + world beyond that of the senses. Philosophy could not satisfy the cultured + man by the presentation of its ethical ideal of life, could not secure for + him the promised happiness. Philosophy, therefore, turned to religion for + help. At Alexandria, where, in the active work of its museum, all + treasures of Grecian culture were garnered, all religions and forms of + worship crowded together in the great throng of the commercial metropolis + to seek a scientific clarification of the feelings that surged and stormed + within them. The cosmopolitan spirit and broad-mindedness which had + brought nations together under the Egyptian government, which had gathered + scholars from all parts in the library and the museum, was favourable also + to the fusion and reconciliation in the evolution of thought. + </p> + <p> + If Alexandria was the birthplace of that intellectual movement which has + been described, this was not only the result of the prevailing spirit of + the age, but was due to the influence of ideas; salvation could only be + found in the reconciliation of ideas. The geographical centre of this + movement of fusion and reconciliation was, however, in Alexandria. After + having been the town of the museum and the library, of criticism and + literary erudition, Alexandria became once again the meeting-place of + philosophical schools and religious sects; communication had become + easier, and various fundamentally different inhabitants belonging to + distinct social groups met on the banks of the Nile. Not only goods and + products of the soil were exchanged, but also ideas and thoughts. The + mental horizon was widened, comparisons ensued, and new ideas were + suggested and formed. This mixture of ideas necessarily created a complex + spirit where two currents of thought, of critical scepticism and + superstitious credulity, mixed and mingled. Another powerful factor was + the close contact in which Occidentalism or Greek culture found itself + with Orientalism. Here it was where the Greek and Oriental spirit mixed + and mingled, producing doctrines and religious systems containing germs of + tradition and science, of inspiration and reflection. Images and formulas, + method and ecstasy, were interwoven and intertwined. The brilliant + qualities of the Greek spirit, its sagacity and subtlety of intelligence, + its lucidity and facility of expression, were animated and vivified by the + Oriental spark, and gained new life and vigour. On the other hand, the + contemplative spirit of the Orient, which is characterised by its + aspiration towards the invisible and mysterious, would never have produced + a coherent system or theory had it not been aided by Greek science. It was + the latter that arranged and explained the Oriental traditions, loosed + their tongues, and produced those religious doctrines and philosophical + systems which culminated in Gnosticism, Neo-Platonism, the Judaism of + Philo, and the Polytheism of Julian the Apostate. + </p> + <p> + It was the contemplative Oriental mind, with its tendency towards the + supernatural and miraculous, with its mysticism and religion, and Greece + with her subtle scrutinising and investigating spirit, which gave rise to + the peculiar phase of thought prevalent in Alexandria during the first + centuries of our era. It was tinctured with idealistic, mystic, and yet + speculative and scientific colours. Hence the religious spirit in + philosophy and the philosophic tendency in the religious system that are + the characteristic features. “East and West,” says Baldwin,* “met at + Alexandria.” The co-operative ideas of civilisations, cultures, and + religions of Rome, Greece, Palestine, and the farther East found + themselves in juxtaposition. Hence arose a new problem, developed partly + by Occidental thought, partly by Oriental aspiration. Religion and + philosophy became inextricably mixed, and the resultant doctrines + consequently belong to neither sphere proper, but are rather witnesses of + an attempt at combining both. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Baldwin: Dictionary of Philosophy. +</pre> + <p> + These efforts naturally came from two sides. On the one hand, the Jews + tried to accommodate their faith to the results of Western culture, in + which Greek culture predominated. On the other hand, thinkers whose main + impulse came from Greek philosophy attempted to accommodate their + doctrines to the distinctively religious problems which the Eastern + nations had brought with them. From whichever side the consequences be + viewed, they are to be characterised as theosophical rather than purely + philosophical, purely religious, or purely theological. + </p> + <p> + The reign of Constantine the Great, who became sole ruler of the East and + West in 323, after ten years’ joint government with Licinius, is + remarkable for the change which was then wrought in the religion and + philosophy of the empire by the emperor’s embracing the Christian faith. + His conversion occurred in 312, and on his coming to the united + sovereignty the Christians were at once released from every punishment and + disability on account of their religion, which was then more than + tolerated; they were put upon a nearly equal footing with the pagans, and + every minister of the Church was released from the burden of civil and + military duties. Whether the emperor’s conversion arose from education, + from conviction, or from state policy, we have no means of knowing; but + Christianity did not reach the throne before it was the religion of a most + important class of his subjects, and the Egyptian Christians soon found + themselves numerous enough to call the Greek Christians heretics, as the + Greek Christians had already begun to designate the Jewish. + </p> + <p> + The Greeks of Alexandria had formed rather a school of philosophy than a + religious sect. Before Alexander’s conquest the Greek settlers at + Naucratis had thought it necessary to have their own temples and + sacrifices; but since the building of Alexandria they had been smitten + with the love of Eastern mysticism, and content to worship in the temples + of Serapis and Mithra, and to receive instruction from the Egyptian + priests. They had supported the religion of the conquered Egyptians + without wholly believing it; and had shaken by their ridicule the respect + for the very ceremonies which they upheld by law. Polytheism among the + Greeks had been further shaken by the platonists; and Christianity spread + in about equal proportions among the Greeks and the Egyptians. Before the + conversion of Constantine the Egyptian church had already spread into + every city of the province, and had a regular episcopal government. Till + the time of Heraclas and Dionysius, the bishops had been always chosen by + the votes of the presbyters, as the archdeacons were by the deacons. + Dionysius in his public epistles joins with himself his fellow-presbyters + as if he were only the first among equals; but after that time some + irregularities had crept into the elections, and latterly the Church had + become more monarchical. There was a patriarch in Alexandria, with a + bishop in every other large city, each assisted by a body of priests and + deacons. They had been clad in faith, holiness, humility, and charity; but + Constantine robed them in honour, wealth, and power; and to this many of + them soon added pride, avarice, and ambition. + </p> + <p> + This reign is no less remarkable for the religious quarrel which then + divided the Christians, which set church against church and bishop against + bishop, as soon as they lost that great bond of union, the fear of the + pagans. Jesus of Nazareth was acknowledged by Constantine as a divine + person; and, in the attempt then made by the Alexandrians to arrive at a + more exact definition of his nature, while the emperor was willing to be + guided by the bishops in his theological opinions, he was able to instruct + them all in the more valuable lessons of mutual toleration and + forbearance. The followers of early religions held different opinions, but + distinguished themselves apart only by outward modes of worship, such as + by sacrifices among the Greeks and Romans, and among the Jews and + Egyptians by circumcision, and abstinence from certain meats. When Jesus + of Nazareth introduced his spiritual religion of repentance and amendment + of life, he taught that the test by which his disciples wrere to be known + was their love to one another. After his death, however, the Christians + gave more importance to opinions in religion, and towards the end of the + third century they proposed to distinguish their fellow-worshippers in a + mode hitherto unknown to the world, namely, by the profession of belief in + certain opinions; for as yet there was no difference in their belief of + historic facts. This gave rise to numerous metaphysical discussions, + particularly among the more speculative and mystical. + </p> + <p> + At about this time the chief controversy was as to whether Christ was of + the <i>same</i>, or of <i>similar</i> substance with God the Father, this + being the dispute which divided Christendom for centuries. This dispute + and others not quite so metaphysical were brought to the ears of the + emperor by Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, and Arius, the presbyter. The + bishop had been enquiring into the belief of the presbyter, and the latter + had argued against his superior and against the doctrine of the <i>consubstantiality</i> + of the Father and the Son. The emperor’s letter to the theologians, in + this first ecclesiastical quarrel that was ever brought before a Christian + monarch, is addressed to Alexander and Arius, and he therein tells them + that they are raising useless questions, which it is not necessary to + settle, and which, though a good exercise for the understanding, only + breed ill-will, and should be kept by each man in his own breast. He + regrets the religious madness which has seized all Egypt; and lastly he + orders the bishop not to question the priest as to his belief, and orders + the priest, if questioned, not to return an answer. But this wise letter + had no weight with the Alexandrian divines. The quarrel gained in + importance from being noticed by the emperor; the civil government of the + country was clogged; and Constantine, after having once interfered, was + persuaded to call a council of bishops to settle the Christian faith for + the future. Nicæa in Bithynia was chosen as the spot most convenient for + Eastern Christendom to meet in; and two hundred and fifty bishops, + followed by crowds of priests, there met in council from Greece, Thrace, + Asia Minor, Syria, Arabia, Egypt, and Libya, with one or two from Western + Europe. + </p> + <p> + At this synod, held in the year 325, Athanasius, a young deacon in the + Alexandrian church, came for the first time into notice as the champion of + Alexander against Arius, who was then placed upon his trial. All the + authority, eloquence, and charity of the emperor were needed to quell the + tumultuous passions of the assembly. It ended its stormy labours by voting + what was called the Homoousian doctrine, that Jesus was of one substance + with God. They put forth to the world the celebrated creed, named, from + the city in which they met, the Nicene creed, and they excommunicated + Arius and his followers, who were then all banished by the emperor. The + meeting had afterwards less difficulty in coming to an agreement about the + true time of Easter, and in excommunicating the Jews; and all except the + Egyptians returned home with a wish that the quarrel should be forgotten + and forgiven. + </p> + <p> + This first attempt among the Christians at settling the true faith by + putting fetters on the mind, by drawing up a creed and punishing those + that disbelieved it, was but the beginning of theological difficulties. + These in Egypt arose as much from the difference of blood and language of + the races that inhabited the country as from their religious belief; and + Constantine must soon have seen that if as a theologian he had decided + right, yet as a statesman he had been helping the Egyptians against the + friends of his own Greek government in Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + After a reasonable delay, Arius addressed to the emperor a letter either + of explanation or apology, asserting his full belief in Christianity, + explaining his faith by using the words of the Apostles’ Creed, and + begging to be re-admitted into the Church. The emperor, either from a + readiness to forgive, or from a change of policy, or from an ignorance of + the theological controversy, was satisfied with the apology, and thereupon + wrote a mild conciliatory letter to Athanasius, who had in the meantime + been made Bishop of Alexandria, expressing his wish that forgiveness + should at all times be offered to the repentant, and ordering him to + re-admit Arius to his rank in the Church. But the young Athanasius, who + had gained his favour with the Egyptian clergy, and had been raised to his + high seat by his zeal shown against Arius, refused to obey the commands of + the emperor, alleging that it was unlawful to re-admit into the Church + anybody who had once been excommunicated. Constantine could hardly be + expected to listen to this excuse, or to overlook this direct refusal to + obey his orders. The rebellious Athanasius was ordered into the emperor’s + presence at Constantinople, and soon afterwards, in 335, called before a + council of bishops at Tyre, where he was deposed and banished. At the same + council, in the thirtieth year of this reign, Arius was re-admitted into + communion with the Church, and after a few months he was allowed to return + to Alexandria, to the indignation of the popular party in that city, while + Athanasius remained in banishment during the rest of the reign, as a + punishment for his disobedience. + </p> + <p> + This practice of judging and condemning opinions gave power in the Church + to men who would otherwise have been least entitled to weight and + influence. Athanasius rose to his high rank over the heads of the elder + presbyters by his fitness for the harsher duties then required of an + archbishop. Theological opinions became the watchwords of two contending + parties; religion lost much of its empire over the heart; and the mild + spirit of Christianity gave way to angry quarrels and cruel persecutions. + </p> + <p> + Another remarkable event of this reign was the foundation of the new city + of Constantinople, to which the emperor removed the seat of his + government. Rome lost much by the building of the new capital, although + the emperors had for some time past ceased to live in Italy; but + Alexandria lost the rank which it had long held as the centre of Greek + learning and Greek thought, and it felt a blow from which Rome was saved + by the difference of language. The patriarch of Alexandria was no longer + the head of Greek Christendom. That rank was granted to the bishop of the + imperial city; many of the philosophers who hung round the palace at + Constantinople would otherwise have studied and taught in the museum; and + the Greeks, by whose superiority Egypt had so long been kept in + subjection, gradually became the weaker party. In the opinion of the + historian, as in the map of the geographer, Alexandria had formerly been a + Greek state on the borders of Egypt; but since the rebellion in the reign + of Diocletian it was becoming more and more an Egyptian city; and those + who in religion and politics thought and felt as Egyptians soon formed the + larger half of the Alexandrians. The climate of Egypt was hardly fitted + for the Greek race. Their numbers never could have been kept up by births + alone, and they now began to lessen as the attraction to newcomers ceased. + The pure Greek names henceforth become less common; and among the monks + and writers we now meet with those named after the old gods of the + country. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0005" id="linkB0005"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/199.jpg" width="100%" alt="199.jpg the Island of Rhodha " /> + </div> + <p> + Constantine removed an obelisk from Egypt for the ornament of his new + city, and he brought down another from Heliopolis to Alexandria; but he + died before the second left the country, and it was afterwards taken by + his son to Rome. These obelisks were covered with hieroglyphics, as usual, + and we have a translation said to be made from the latter by Hermapion, an + Egyptian priest. In order to take away its pagan character from the + religious ceremony with which the yearly rise of the Nile wras celebrated + in Alexandria, Constantine removed the sacred cubit from the temple of + Serapis to one of the Christian churches; and nothwithstanding the gloomy + forebodings of the people, the Nile rose as usual, and the clergy + afterwards celebrated the time of its overflow as a Christian festival. + </p> + <p> + The pagan philosophers under Constantine had but few pupils and met with + but little encouragement. Alypius of Alexandria and his friend Iamblichus, + however, still taught the philosophy of Ammonius and Plotinus. The only + writings by Alypius now remaining are his <i>Introduction to Music</i>; in + which he explains the notation of the fifteen modes or tones in their + respective kinds of diatonic, chromatic, and enharmonic. His signs are + said to be Pythagorean. They are in pairs, of which one is thought to + represent the note struck on the lyre, and the other the tone of the voice + to be sung thereto. They thus imply accord or harmony. The same signs are + found in some manuscripts written over the syllables of ancient poems; and + thereby scholars, learned at once in the Greek language, in the art of + deciphering signs, and in the science of music, now chant the odes of + Pindar in strains not dissimilar to modern cathedral psalmody. + </p> + <p> + Sopator succeeded Iamblichus as professor of platonism in Alexandria, with + the proud title of successor to Plato, For some time he enjoyed the + friendship of Constantine; but, when religion made a quarrel between the + friends, the philosopher was put to death by the emperor. The pagan + account of the quarrel was that, when Constantine had killed his son, he + applied to Sopator to be purified from his guilt; and when the platonist + answered that he knew of no ceremony that could absolve a man from such a + crime, the emperor applied to the Christians for baptism. This story may + not be true, and the ecclesiastical historian remarks that Constantine had + professed Christianity several years before the murder of his son; but + then, as after his conversion he had got Sopator to consecrate his new + city with a variety of pagan ceremonies, he may in the same way have asked + him to absolve him from the guilt of murder. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Constantine, in 337, his three sons, without entirely + dismembering the empire, divided the provinces of the Roman world into + three shares. Constantine II., the eldest son, who succeeded to the throne + of his father in Constantinople, and Constans, the youngest, who dwelt in + Rome, divided Europe between them; while Constantius, the second son, held + Syria, Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Egypt, of which possessions Antioch on + the Orontes was at that time the capital. Thus Alexandria was doomed to a + further fall. When governed by Rome it had still been the first of Greek + cities; afterwards, when the seat of the empire was fixed at + Constantinople, it became the second; but on this division of the Roman + world, when the seat of government came still nearer to Egypt, and Antioch + rose as the capital of the East, Alexandria fell to be the third among + Greek cities. Egypt quietly received its political orders from Antioch. + Its opinions also in some cases followed those of the capital, and it is + curious to remark that the Alexandrian writers, when dating by the era of + the creation, were now willing to consider the world ten years less old + than they used, because it was so thought at Antioch. But it was not so + with their religious opinions, and as long as Antioch and its emperor + undertook to govern the Egyptian church there was little peace in the + province. + </p> + <p> + The three emperors did not take the same side in the quarrel which under + the name of religion was then unsettling the obedience of the Egyptians, + and even in some degree troubling the rest of the empire. Constantius held + the Arian opinions of Syria; but Constantine II. and Constans openly gave + their countenance to the party of the rebellious Athanasius, who under + their favour ventured to return to Alexandria, where, after an absence of + two years and four months, he was received in the warmest manner by his + admiring flock. But on the death of Constantine II., who was shortly + afterwards killed in battle by his brother Constans, Constantius felt + himself more master of his own kingdom; he deposed Athanasius, and + summoned a council of bishops at Antioch to elect a new patriarch of + Alexandria. Christian bishops, though they had latterly owed their + ordination to the authority of their equals, had always received their + bishoprics by the choice of their presbyters or of their flocks; and + though they were glad to receive the support of the emperor, they were not + willing to acknowledge him as their head. Hence, when the council at + Antioch first elected Eusebius of Æmisa into the bishopric of Alexandria, + he chose to refuse the honour which they had only a doubtful right to + bestow, rather than to venture into the city in the face of his popular + rival. The council then elected Gregory, whose greater courage and + ambition led him to accept the office. + </p> + <p> + The council of Antioch then made some changes in the creed. A few years + later, a second council met in the same place, and drew up a creed more + near to what we now call the Athanasian; but it was firmly rejected by the + Egyptian and Roman churches. Gregory was no sooner elected to the + bishopric than he issued his commands as bishop, though, if he had the + courage, he had not at the time the power to enter Alexandria. But + Syrianus, the general of the Egyptian troops, was soon afterwards ordered + by the emperor to place him on his episcopal throne; and he led him into + the city, surrounded by the spears of five thousand soldiers, and followed + by the small body of Alexandrians that after this invasion of their + acknowledged rights still called themselves Arians. Gregory entered + Alexandria in the evening, meaning to take his seat in the church on the + next day; but the people in their zeal did not wait quietly for the + dreaded morning. They ran at once to the church, and passed the night + there with Athanasius in the greatest anxiety. In the morning, when + Gregory arrived at the church, accompanied with the troops, he found the + doors barricaded and the building full of men and women, denouncing the + sacrilege, and threatening resistance. But the general gave orders that + the church should be stormed, and the new bishop carried in by force of + arms; and Athanasius, seeing that all resistance was useless, ordered the + deacons to give out a psalm, and they all marched out at the opposite door + singing. After these acts of violence on the part of the troops, and of + resistance on the part of the people, the whole city was thrown into an + uproar, and the prefect was hardly strong enough to carry on the + government; the regular supply of grain for the poor citizens of + Alexandria, and for Constantinople, was stopped; and the blame of the + whole thrown upon Athanasius. He was a second time obliged to leave Egypt, + and he fled to Rome, where he was warmly received by the Emperor Constans + and the Roman bishop. But the zeal of the Athanasian party would not allow + Gregory to keep possession of the church which he had gained only by + force; they soon afterwards set fire to it and burned it to the ground, + choosing that there should be no church at all rather than that it should + be in the hands of the Arians; and the Arian clergy and bishops, though + supported by the favour of the emperor and the troops of the prefect, were + everywhere throughout Egypt driven from their churches and monasteries. + During this quarrel it seems to have been felt by both parties that the + choice of the people, or at least of the clergy, was necessary to make a + bishop, and that Gregory had very little claim to that rank in Alexandria. + Julius, the Bishop of Rome, warmly espoused the cause of Athanasius, and + he wrote a letter to the Alexandrian church, praising their zeal for their + bishop, and ordering them to re-admit him to his former rank, from which + he had been deposed by the council of Antioch, but to which he had been + restored by the Western bishops. Athanasius was also warmly supported by + Constans, the emperor of the West, who at the same time wrote to his + brother Constantius, begging him to replace the Alexandrian bishop, and + making the additional threat that if he would not reinstate him he should + be made to do so by force of arms. + </p> + <p> + Constantius, after taking the advice of his own bishops, thought it wisest + to yield to the wishes or rather the commands of his brother Constans, and + he wrote to Athanasius, calling him into his presence in Constantinople. + But the rebellious bishop was not willing to trust himself within the + reach of his offended sovereign; and it was not till after a second and a + third letter, pressing him to come and promising him his safety, that he + ventured within the limits of the Eastern empire. Strong in his high + character for learning, firmness, and political skill, carrying with him + the allegiance of the Egyptian nation, which was yielded to him much + rather than to the emperor, and backed by the threats of Constans, + Athanasius was at least a match for Constantius. At Constantinople the + emperor and his subject, the Alexandrian bishop, made a formal treaty, by + which it was agreed that, if Constantius would allow the Homoousian clergy + throughout his dominions to return to their churches, Athanasius would in + the same way throughout Egypt restore the Arian clergy; and upon this + agreement Athanasius himself returned to Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + Among the followers of Athanasius was that important mixed race with whom + the Egyptian civilisation chiefly rested, a race that may be called + Koptic, but half Greek and half Egyptian in their language and religion as + in their forefathers. But in feelings they were wholly opposed to the + Greeks of Alexandria. Never since the last Nectanebo was conquered by the + Persians, eight hundred years earlier, did the Egyptians seem so near to + throwing off the foreign yoke and rising again as an independent nation. + But the Greeks, who had taught them so much, had not taught them the arts + of war; and the nation remained enslaved to those who could wield the + sword. The return of Athanasius, however, was only the signal for a fresh + uproar, and the Arians complained that Egypt was kept in a constant + turmoil by his zealous activity. Nor were the Arians his only enemies. He + had offended many others of his clergy by his overbearing manners, and + more particularly by his following in the steps of Alexander, the late + bishop, in claiming new and higher powers for the office of patriarch than + had ever been yielded to the bishops of Alexandria before their spiritual + rank had been changed into civil rank by the emperor’s adoption of their + religion. Meletius headed a strong party of bishops, priests, and deacons + in opposing the new claims of the archiepiscopal see of Alexandria. His + followers differed in no point of doctrine from the Athanasian party, but + as they sided with the Arians they were usually called heretics. + </p> + <p> + By this time the statesmen and magistrates had gained a clear view of the + change which had come over the political state of the empire, first by the + spread of Christianity, and secondly by the emperor’s embracing it. By + supporting Christianity the emperors gave rank in the state to an + organised and well-trained body, which immediately found itself in + possession of all the civil power. A bishopric, which a few years before + was a post of danger, was now a place of great profit, and secured to its + possessor every worldly advantage of wealth, honour, and power. An + archbishop in the capital, obeyed by a bishop in every city, with numerous + priests and deacons under them, was usually of more weight than the + prefect. While Athanasius was at the height of his popularity in Egypt, + and was supported by the Emperor of the West, the Emperor Constantius was + very far from being his master. But on the death of Constans, when + Constantius became sovereign of the whole empire, he once more tried to + make Alexandria and the Egyptian church obedient to his wishes. He was, + however, still doubtful how far it was prudent to measure his strength + against that of the bishop, and he chose rather to begin privately with + threats before using his power openly. He first wrote word to Athanasius, + as if in answer to a request from the bishop, that he was at liberty, if + he wished, to visit Italy; but he sent the letter by the hands of the + notary Diogenes, who added, by word of mouth, that the permission was + meant for a command, and that it was the emperor’s pleasure that he should + immediately quit his bishopric and the province. But this underhand + conduct of the emperor only showed his own weakness. Athanasius steadily + refused to obey any unwritten orders, and held his bishopric for upwards + of two years longer, before Constantius felt strong enough to enforce his + wishes. Towards the end of that time, Syrianus, the general of the + Egyptian army, to whom this delicate task was entrusted, gathered together + from other parts of the province a body of five thousand chosen men, and + with these he marched quietly into Alexandria, to overawe, if possible, + the rebellious bishop. He gave out no reason for his conduct; but the + Arians, who were in the secret, openly boasted that it would soon be their + turn to possess the churches. Syrianus then sent for Athanasius, and in + the presence of Maximus the prefect again delivered to him the command of + Constantius, that he should quit Egypt and retire into banishment, and he + threatened to carry this command into execution by the help of the troops + if he met with any resistance. Athanasius, without refusing to obey, + begged to be shown the emperor’s orders in writing; but this reasonable + request was refused. He then entreated them even to give him, in their own + handwriting, an order for his banishment; but this was also refused, and + the citizens, who were made acquainted with the emperor’s wishes and the + bishop’s firmness, waited in dreadful anxiety to see whether the prefect + and the general would venture to enforce their orders. The presbytery of + the church and the corporation of the city went up to Syrianus in solemn + procession to beg him either to show a written authority for the + banishment of their bishop, or to write to Constantinople to learn the + emperor’s pleasure. To this request Syrianus at last yielded, and gave his + word to the friends of Athanasius that he would take no further steps till + the return of the messengers which he then sent to Constantinople. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img alt="207 (55K)" src="images/207.jpg" width="100%" /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + But Syrianus had before received his orders, which were, if possible, to + frighten Athanasius into obedience, and, if that could not be done, then + to employ force, but not to expose the emperor’s written commands to the + danger of being successfully resisted. He therefore only waited for an + opportunity of carrying them into effect; and at midnight, on the ninth of + February, A.D. 356, twenty-three days after the promise had been given, + Syrianus, at the head of his troops, armed for the assault, surrounded the + church where Athanasius and a crowded assembly were at prayers. The doors + were forcibly and suddenly broken open, the armed soldiers rushed forward + to seize the bishop, and numbers of his faithful friends were slain in + their efforts to save him. Athanasius, however, escaped in the tumult; but + though the general was unsuccessful, the bodies of the slain and the arms + of the soldiers found scattered through the church in the morning were + full proofs of his unholy attempt. The friends of the bishop drew up and + signed a public declaration describing the outrage, and Syrianus sent to + Constantinople a counter-protest declaring that there had been no + disturbance in the city. + </p> + <p> + Athanasius, with nearly the whole of the nation for his friends, easily + escaped the vengeance of the emperor; and, withdrawing for a third time + from public life, he passed the remainder of this reign in concealment. He + did not, however, neglect the interests of his flock. He encouraged them + with his letters, and even privately visited his friends in Alexandria. As + the greater part of the population was eager to befriend him, he was there + able to hide himself for six years. Disregarding the scandal that might + arise from it, he lived in the house of a young woman, who concealed him + in her chamber, and waited on him with untiring zeal. She was then in the + flower of her youth, only twenty years of age; and fifty years afterwards, + in the reign of Theodosius II., when the name of the archbishop ranked + with those of the apostles, this woman used to boast among the monks of + Alexandria that in her youth she had for six years concealed the great + Athanasius. + </p> + <p> + But though the general was not wholly successful, yet the Athanasian party + was for the time crushed. Sebastianus, the new prefect, was sent into + Egypt with orders to seize Athanasius dead or alive, wherever he should be + found within the province; and under his protection the Arian party in + Alexandria again ventured to meet in public, and proceeded to choose a + bishop. They elected to this high position the celebrated George of + Cappadocia, a man who, while he equalled his more popular rival in + learning and in ambition, fell far behind him in coolness of judgment, and + in that political skill which is as much wanted in the guidance of a + religious party as in the government of an empire. + </p> + <p> + George was born at Epiphania in Cilicia, and was the son of a clothier, + but his ambition led him into the Church, as being at that time the + fairest field for the display of talent; and he rose from one station to + another till he reached the high post of Bishop of Alexandria. The fickle, + irritable Alexandrians needed no such firebrand to light up the flames of + discontent. George took no pains to conceal the fact that he held his + bishopric by the favour of the emperor and the power of the army against + the wishes of his flock. To support his authority, he opened his doors to + informers of the worst description; anybody who stood in the way of his + grasp at power was accused of being an enemy to the emperor. He proposed + to the emperor to lay a house-tax on Alexandria, thereby to repay the + expense incurred by Alexander the Great in building the city; and he made + the imperial government more unpopular than it had ever been since + Augustus landed in Egypt. He used the army as the means of terrifying the + Homoousians into an acknowledgment of the Arian opinions. He banished + fifteen bishops to the Great Oasis, besides others of lower rank. He beat, + tortured, and put to death; the persecution was more cruel than any + suffered from the pagans, except perhaps that in the reign of Diocletian; + and thirty Egyptian bishops are said to have lost their lives while George + was patriarch of Alexandria. Most of these accusations, however, are from + the pens of his enemies. At this time the countries at the southern end of + the Red Sea were becoming a little more known to Alexandria. Meropius, + travelling in the reign of Constantine for curiosity and the sake of + knowledge, had visited Auxum, the capital of the Hexumito, in Abyssinia. + His companion Frumentius undertook to convert the people to Christianity + and persuade them to trade with Egypt; and, as he found them willing to + listen to his arguments, he came home to Alexandria to tell of his success + and ask for support. Athanasius readily entered into a plan for spreading + the blessings of Christianity and the power of the Alexandrian church. To + increase the missionary’s weight he consecrated him a bishop, and sent him + back to Auxum to continue his good work. His progress, however, was + somewhat checked by sectarian jealousy; for, when Athanasius was deposed + by Constantius, Frumentius was recalled to receive again his orders and + his opinions from the new patriarch. Constantius also sent an embassy to + the Homeritse on the opposite coast of Arabia, under Theophilus, a monk + and deacon in the Church. The Homerito were of Jewish blood though of + gentile faith, and were readily converted, if not to Christianity, at + least to friendship with the emperor. After consecrating their churches, + Theophilus crossed over to the African coast, to the Hexumito, to carry on + the work which Frumentius had begun. There he was equally successful in + the object of his embassy. Both in trade and in religion the Hexumito, who + were also of Jewish blood, were eager to be connected with the Europeans, + from whom they were cut off by Arabs of a wilder race. He found also a + little to the south of Auxum a settlement of Syrians, who were said to + have been placed there by Alexander the Great. These tribes spoke the + language called Ethiopie, a dialect of Arabic which was not used in the + country which we have hitherto called Ethiopia. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0006" id="linkB0006"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/213.jpg" width="100%" + alt="213.jpg Temple of Abu Simbel in Nubia " /> + </div> + <p> + The Ethiopie version of the Bible was about this time made for their use. + It was translated out of the Greek from the Alexandrian copies, as the + Greek version was held in such value that it was not thought necessary to + look to the Hebrew original of the Old Testament. But these well-meant + efforts did little at the time towards making the Hexumitæ Christians. + Distance and the Blemmyes checked their intercourse with Alexandria. It + was not till two hundred years later that they could be said in the + slightest sense to be converted to Christianity. + </p> + <p> + Though the origin of monastic life has sometimes been claimed for the + Essenes on the shores of the Dead Sea, yet it was in Egypt that it was + framed into a system, and became the model for the Christian world. It + took its rise in the serious and gloomy views of religion which always + formed part of the Egyptian polytheism, and which the Greeks remarked as + very unlike their own gay and tasteful modes of worship, and which were + readily engrafted by the Egyptian converts into their own Christian + belief. In the reigns of Constantine and his sons, hundreds of Christians, + both men and women, quitting the pleasures and trials of the busy world, + withdrew one by one into the Egyptian desert, where the sands are as + boundless as the ocean, where the sunshine is less cheerful than darkness, + to spend their lonely days and watchful nights in religious meditation and + in prayer. They were led by a gloomy view of their duty towards God, and + by a want of fellow-feeling for their neighbour; and they seemed to think + that pain and misery in this world would save them from punishment + hereafter. The lives of many of these Fathers of the Desert were written + by the Christians who lived at the same time; but a full account of the + miracles which were said to have been worked in their favour, or by their + means, would now only call forth a smile of pity, or perhaps even of + ridicule. + </p> + <p> + “Prosperity and peace,” says Gibbon, “introduced the distinction of the + vulgar and the ascetic Christians. The loose and imperfect practice of + religion satisfied the conscience of the multitude. The prince or + magistrate, soldier or merchant, reconciled their fervent zeal, and + implicit faith, with the exercise of their profession, the pursuit of + their interest, and the indulgence of their passions; but the ascetics, + who obeyed and abused the rigid precepts of the gospel, were inspired by + the severe enthusiasm which represents man as a criminal and God as a + tyrant. They seriously renounced the business and the pleasures of the + age; abjured the use of wine, of flesh, and of marriage, chastised their + body, mortified their affections, and embraced a life of misery, as the + price of eternal happiness. The ascetics fled from a profane and + degenerate world to perpetual solitude, or religious society. Like the + first Christians of Jerusalem, they resigned the use, or the property, of + their temporal possessions; established regular communities of the same + sex and a similar disposition, and assumed the names of hermits, monks, or + anchorites, expressive of their lonely retreat in a natural or artificial + desert. They soon acquired the respect of the world, which they despised, + and the loudest applause was bestowed on this divine philosophy, which + surpassed, without the aid of science or reason, the laborious virtues of + the Grecian schools. The monks might indeed contend with the Stoics in the + contempt of fortune, of pain, and of death; the Pythagorean silence and + submission were revived in their servile discipline; and they disdained, + as firmly as the Cynics themselves, all the forms and decencies of civil + society. But the votaries of this divine philosophy aspired to imitate a + purer and more perfect model. They trod in the footsteps of the prophets, + who had retired to the desert; and they restored the devout and + contemplative life, which had been instituted by the Essenians, in + Palestine and Egypt. The philosophic eye of Pliny had surveyed with + astonishment a solitary people who dwelt among the palm trees near the + Dead Sea; who subsisted without money, who were propagated without women, + and who derived from the disgust and repentance of mankind a perpetual + supply of voluntary associates. Antony, an illiterate youth of the lower + part of The-baid, distributed his patrimony, deserted his family and + native home, and executed his monastic penance with original and intrepid + fanaticism. After a long and painful novitiate among the tombs and in a + ruined tower, he boldly advanced into the desert three days’ journey to + the eastward of the Nile; discovered a lonely spot, which possessed the + advantages of shade and water, and fixed his last residence on Mount + Colzim near the Red Sea, where an ancient monastery still preserves the + name and memory of the saint. The curious devotion of the Christians + pursued him to the desert; and, when he was obliged to appear at + Alexandria, in the face of mankind, he supported his fame with discretion + and dignity. He enjoyed the friendship of Athanasius, whose doctrine he + approved; and the Egyptian peasant respectfully declined a respectful + invitation from the Emperor Constantine. The venerable patriarch (for + Antony attained the age of 105 years) beheld the numerous progeny which + had been formed by his example and his lessons. The prolific colonies of + monks multiplied on the sands of Libya, upon the rocks of the Thebaid, and + in the cities of the Nile. To the south of Alexandria, the mountain and + adjacent desert of Nitria were peopled by five thousand anchorites; and + the traveller may still investigate the ruins of fifty monasteries, which + were planted in that barren soil by the disciples of Antony. In the Upper + Thebaid, the vacant island of Tabenna was occupied by Pachomius and + fourteen hundred of his brethren. That holy abbot successively founded + nine monasteries of men and one of women; and the festival of Easter + sometimes collected fifty thousand religious persons, who followed his + angelic rules of discipline. The stately and populous city of + Oxyrrhynchos, the seat of Christian orthodoxy, had devoted the temples, + the public edifices, and even the ramparts, to pious and charitable uses, + and the bishop, who might preach in twelve churches, computed ten thousand + females and twenty thousand males of the monastic profession.” + </p> + <p> + The monks borrowed many of their customs from the old Egyptian priests, + such as shaving the head; and Athanasius in his charge to them orders them + not to adopt the tonsure on the head, nor to shave the beard. He forbids + their employing magic or incantations to assist their prayers. He + endeavours to stop their emulation in fasting, and orders those whose + strength of body enabled them to fast longest not to boast of it. But he + orders them not even to speak to a woman, and wishes them not to bathe, as + being an immodest act. The early Christians, as being a sect of Jews, had + followed many Jewish customs, such as observing the Sabbath as well as the + Lord’s day; but latterly the line between the two religions had been + growing wider, and Athanasius orders the monks not to keep holy the Jewish + Sabbath. After a few years their religious duties were clearly laid down + for them in several well-drawn codes. + </p> + <p> + One of the earliest of these ascetics was Amnion, who on the morning of + his marriage is said to have persuaded his young wife of the superior + holiness of a single life, and to have agreed with her that they should + devote themselves apart to the honour of God in the desert. But, in thus + avoiding the pleasures, the duties, and the temptations of the world, + Amnion lost many of the virtues and even the decencies of society; he + never washed himself, or changed his garments, because he thought it wrong + for a religious man even to see himself undressed; and when he had + occasion to cross a canal, his biographer tells us that attendant angels + carried him over the water in their arms, lest, while keeping his vows, he + should be troubled by wet clothes. + </p> + <p> + In the religious controversies, whether pagan or Christian, Rome had often + looked to Egypt for its opinions; Constans, when wanting copies of the + Greek Scriptures for Rome, had lately sent to Alexandria, and had received + the approved text from Athanasius. The two countries held nearly the same + opinions and had the same dislike of the Greeks; so when Jerome visited + Egypt he found the Church holding, he said, the true Roman faith as taught + by the apostles. Under Didymus, who was then the head of the catechetical + school, Jerome pursued his studies, having the same religious opinions + with the Egyptian, and the same dislike to Arianism. But no dread of + heresy stopped Jerome in his search for knowledge and for books. He + obtained copies of the whole of Origen’s works, and read them with the + greatest admiration. It is true that he finds fault with many of his + opinions; but no admirer of Origen could speak in higher terms of praise + of his virtues and his learning, of the qualities of his head and of his + heart, than Jerome uses while he timidly pretends to think that he has + done wrong in reading his works. + </p> + <p> + At this time—the end of the eleventh century after the building of + the city—the emperor himself did not refuse to mark on his Roman + coins the <i>happy renewal of the years</i> by the old Egyptian + astrological fable of the return of the phoenix. + </p> + <p> + From the treatise of Julius Fermicus against the pagan superstitions, it + would seem that the sacred animals of the Egyptians were no longer kept in + the several cities in which they used to be worshipped, and that many of + the old gods had been gradually dropped from the mythology, which was then + chiefly confined to the worship of Isis and Osiris. The great week of the + year was the feast of Isis, when the priests joined the goddess in her + grief for the loss of the good Osiris, who had been killed through + jealousy by the wicked Typhon. The priests shaved their heads, beat their + breasts, tore the skin off their arms, and opened up the old wounds of + former years, in grief for the death of Osiris, and in honour of the + widowed Isis. The river Nile was also still worshipped for the blessings + which it scatters along its banks, but we hear no more of Amon-Ra, Chem, + Horus, Aroëris, and the other gods of the Thebaid, whose worship ceased + with the fall of that part of the country. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0007" id="linkB0007"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:36%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/220.jpg" alt="220.jpg Coin of Constantius " /> + </div> + <p> + But great changes often take place with very little improvement; the fall + of idolatry only made way for the rise of magic and astrology. Abydos in + Upper Egypt had latterly gained great renown for the temple of Bîsû, whose + oracle was much consulted, not only by the Egyptians but by Greek + strangers, and by others who sent their questions in writing. Some of + these letters on parchment had been taken from the temple by informers, + and carried to the emperor, whose ears were never deaf to a charge against + the pagans. On this accusation numbers of all ranks were dragged out of + Egypt, to be tried and punished in Syria, with torture and forfeiture of + goods. Such indeed was the nation’s belief in these oracles and prophecies + that it gave to the priests a greater power than it was safe to trust them + with. By prophesying that a man was to be an emperor, they could make him + a traitor, and perhaps raise a village in rebellion. As the devotedness of + their followers made it dangerous for the magistrates to punish the + mischief-makers, they had no choice but to punish those who consulted + them. Without forbidding the divine oracle to answer, they forbade anybody + to question it. Parnasius, who had been a prefect of Egypt, a man of + spotless character, was banished for thus illegally seeking a knowledge of + the future; and Demetrius Cythras, an aged philosopher, was put to the + rack on a charge of having sacrificed to the god, and only released + because he persisted through his tortures in asserting that he sacrificed + in gratitude and not from a wish thus to learn his future fate. + </p> + <p> + In the falling state of the empire the towns and villages of Egypt found + their rulers too weak either to guard them or to tyrannise over them, and + they sometimes formed themselves into small societies, and took means for + their own defence. The law had so far allowed this as in some cases to + grant a corporate constitution to a city. But in other cases a city kept + in its pay a courtier or government servant powerful enough to guard it + against the extortions of the provincial tax-gatherer, or would put itself + under the patronage of a neighbour rich enough and strong enough to guard + it. This, however, could not be allowed, even if not used as the means of + throwing off the authority of the provincial government; and accordingly + at this time we begin to find laws against the new crime of <i>patronage</i>. + These associations gave a place of refuge to criminals, they stopped the + worshipper in his way to the temple, and the tax-gatherer in collecting + the tribute. But new laws have little weight when there is no power to + enforce them, and the orders from Constantinople were little heeded in + Upper Egypt. + </p> + <p> + But this <i>patronage</i> which the emperor wished to put down was weak + compared to that of the bishops and clergy, which the law allowed and even + upheld, and which was the great check to the tyranny of the civil + governor. While the emperor at a distance gave orders through his prefect, + the people looked up to the bishop as their head; and hence the power of + each was checked by the other. The emperors had not yet made the terrors + of religion a tool in the hands of the magistrate; nor had they yet + learned from the pontifex and augurs of pagan Rome the secret that civil + power is never so strong as when based on that of the Church. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Constantius, in 361, Julian was at once acknowledged as + emperor, and the Roman world was again, but for the last time, governed by + a pagan. The Christians had been in power for fifty-five years under + Constantine and his sons, during which time the pagans had been made to + feel that their enemies had got the upper hand of them. But on the + accession of Julian their places were again changed; and the Egyptians + among others crowded to Constantinople to complain of injustice done by + the Christian prefect and bishop, and to pray for a redress of wrongs. + They were, however, sadly disappointed in their emperor; he put them off + with an unfeeling joke; he ordered them to meet him at Chalcedon on the + other side of the straits of Constantinople, and, instead of following + them according to his promise, he gave orders that no vessel should bring + an Egyptian from Chalcedon to the capital; and the Egyptians, after + wasting their time and money, returned home in despair. But though their + complaints were laughed at, they were not overlooked, and the author of + their grievances was punished; Artemius, the prefect of Egypt, was + summoned to Chalcedon, and not being able to disprove the crimes laid to + his charge by the Alexandrians, he paid his life as the forfeit for his + mis-government during the last reign. + </p> + <p> + While Artemius was on his trial the pagans of Alexandria remained quiet, + and in daily fear of his return to power, for after their treatment at + Chalcedon they by no means felt sure of what would be the emperor’s policy + in matters of religion; but they no sooner heard of the death of Artemius + than they took it as a sign that they had full leave to revenge themselves + on the Christians. The mob rose first against the Bishop George, who had + lately been careless or wanton enough publicly to declare his regret that + any of their temples should be allowed to stand; and they seized him in + the streets and trampled him to death. They next slew Dracontius, the + prefect of the Alexandrian mint, whom they accused of overturning a pagan + altar within that building. Their anger was then turned against Diodorus, + who was employed in building a church on a waste spot of ground that had + once been sacred to the worship of Mithra, but had since been given by the + Emperor Constantius to the Christians. In clearing the ground, the workmen + had turned up a number of human bones that had been buried there in former + ages, and these had been brought forward by the Christians in reproach + against the pagans as so many proofs of human sacrifices. In his Christian + zeal, Diodorus also had wounded at the same time their pride and + superstition by cutting off the single lock from the heads of the young + Egyptians. This lock had in the time of Ramses been the mark of youthful + royalty; under the Ptolemies the mark of high rank; but was now common to + all. Diodorus treated it as an offence against his religion. For this he + was attacked and killed, with George and Dracontius. The mob carried the + bodies of the three murdered men upon camels to the side of the lake, and + there burned them, and threw the ashes into the water, for fear, as they + said, that a church should be built over their remains, as had been + sometimes done, even at that early date, over the bodies of martyrs. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0008" id="linkB0008"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/225.jpg" width="100%" + alt="225.jpg a Young Egyptian Wearing the Royal Lock " /> + </div> + <p> + When the news of this outrage against the laws was brought to the + philosophical emperor, he contented himself with threatening by an + imperial edict that if the offence were repeated, he would visit it with + severe punishment. But in every act of Julian we trace the scholar and the + lover of learning. George had employed his wealth in getting together a + large library, rich in historians, rhetoricians, and philosophers of all + sects; and, on the murder of the bishop, Julian wrote letter after letter + to Alexandria, to beg the prefect and his friend Porphyrius to save these + books, and send them to him in Cappadocia. He promised freedom to the + librarian if he gave them up, and torture if he hid them; and further + begged that no books in favour of Christianity should be destroyed, lest + other and better books should be lost with them. + </p> + <p> + There is too much reason to believe that the friends of Athanasius were + not displeased at the murder of the Bishop George and their Arian + fellow-Christians; at any rate they made no effort to save them, and the + same mob that had put to death George as an enemy to paganism now joined + his rival, Athanasius, in a triumphal entry into the city, when, with the + other Egyptian bishops, he was allowed to return from banishment. + Athanasius could brook no rival to his power; the civil force of the city + was completely overpowered by his party, and the Arian clergy were forced + to hide themselves, as the only means of saving their lives. But, while + thus in danger from their enemies, the Arians pro-hooded to elect a + successor to their murdered bishop, and they chose Lucius to that post of + honour, but of danger. Athanasius, however, in reality and openly filled + the office of bishop; and he summoned a synod at Alexandria, at which he + re-admitted into the church Lucifer and Eusebius, two bishops who had been + banished to the Thebaid, and he again decreed that the three persons in + the Trinity were of one substance. + </p> + <p> + Though the Emperor Julian thought that George, the late bishop, had + deserved all that he suffered, as having been zealous in favour of + Christianity, and forward in putting down paganism and in closing the + temples, yet he was still more opposed to Athanasius. That able churchman + held his power as a rebel by the help of the Egyptian mob, against the + wishes of the Greeks of Alexandria and against the orders of the late + emperor; and Julian made an edict, ordering that he should be driven out + of the city within twenty-four hours of the command reaching Alexandria. + The prefect of Egypt was at first unable, or unwilling, to enforce these + orders against the wish of the inhabitants; and Athanasius was not driven + into banishment till Julian wrote word that, if the rebellious bishop were + to be found in any part of Egypt after a day then named, he would fine the + prefect and the officers under him one hundred pounds weight of gold. Thus + Athanasius was for the fourth time banished from Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + Though the Christians were out of favour with the emperor, and never were + employed in any office of trust, yet they were too numerous for him to + venture on a persecution. But Julian allowed them to be ill-treated by his + prefects, and took no notice of their complaints. He made a law, + forbidding any Christians being educated in pagan literature, believing + that ignorance would stop the spread of their religion. In the churches of + Greece, Asia Minor, and Syria, this was felt as a heavy grievance; but it + was less thought of in Egypt. Science and learning were less cultivated by + the Christians in Alexandria since the overthrow of the Arian party; and a + little later, to charge a writer with Grascizing was the same as saying + that he wanted orthodoxy. + </p> + <p> + Julian was a warm friend to learning and philosophy among the pagans. He + recalled to Alexandria the physician Zeno, who in the last reign had fled + from the Georgian faction, as the Christians were then called. He founded + in the same city a college for music, and ordered the Prefect Ecdicius to + look out for some young men of skill in that science, particularly from + among the pupils of Dioscorus; and he allotted them a maintenance from the + treasury, with rewards for the most skilful. At Canopus, a pagan + philosopher, Antoninus, the son of Eustathius, taking advantage of the + turn in public opinion, and copying the Christian monks of the The-baid, + drew round him a crowd of followers by his self-denial and painful torture + of the body. The Alexandrians flocked in crowds to his dwelling; and such + was his character for holiness that his death, in the beginning of the + reign of Theodosius, was thought by the Egyptians to be the cause of the + overthrow of paganism. + </p> + <p> + But Egyptian paganism, which had slumbered for fifty years under the + Christian emperors, was not again to be awaked to its former life. Though + the wars between the several cities for the honour of their gods, the + bull, the crocodile, or the fish, had never ceased, all reverence for + those gods was dead. The sacred animals, in particular the bulls Apis and + Mnevis, were again waited upon by their priests as of old; but it was a + vain attempt. Not only was the Egyptian religion overthrown, but the + Thebaid, the country of that religion, was fallen too low to be raised + again. The people of Upper Egypt had lost all heart, not more from the + tyranny of the Roman government in the north than from the attacks and + settlement of the Arabs in the south. All changes in the country, whether + for the better or the worse, were laid to the charge of these latter + unwelcome neighbours; and when the inquiring traveller asked to be shown + the crocodile, the river-horse, and the other animals for which Egypt had + once been noted, he was told with a sigh that they were seldom to be seen + in the Delta since the Thebaid had been peopled with the Blemmyes. + Falsehood, the usual vice of slaves, had taken a deep hold on the Egyptian + character. A denial of their wealth was the means by which they usually + tried to save it from the Roman tax-gatherer; and an Egyptian was ashamed + of himself as a coward if he could not show a back covered with stripes + gained in the attempt to save his money. Peculiarities of character often + descend unchanged in a nation for many centuries; and, after fourteen + hundred years of the same slavery, the same stripes from the lash of the + tax-gatherer still used to be the boast of the Egyptian peasant. Cyrene + was already a desert; the only cities of note in Upper Egypt were Koptos, + Hermopolis, and Antinoopolis; but Alexandria was still the queen of + cities, though the large quarter called the Bruchium had not been rebuilt; + and the Serapeum, with its library of seven hundred thousand volumes, was, + after the capitol of Rome, the chief building in the world. + </p> + <p> + This temple of Serapis was situated on a rising ground at the west end of + the city, and, though not built like a fortification, was sometimes called + the citadel of Alexandria. It was entered by two roads; that on one side + was a slope for carriages, and on the other a grand flight of a hundred + steps from the street, with each step wider than that below it. At the top + of this flight of steps was a portico, in the form of a circular roof, + upheld by four columns. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0009" id="linkB0009"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/231.jpg" width="100%" + alt="231.jpg an Egyptian Water-carrier " /> + </div> + <p> + Through this was the entrance into the great courtyard, in the middle of + which stood the roofless hall or temple, surrounded by columns and + porticoes, inside and out. In some of the inner porticoes were the + bookcases for the library which made Alexandria the very temple of science + and learning, while other porticoes were dedicated to the service of the + ancient religion. The roofs were ornamented with gilding, the capitals of + the columns were of copper gilt, and the walls were covered with + paintings. In the middle of the inner area stood one lofty column, which + could be seen by all the country round, and even from ships some distance + out at sea. The great statue of Serapis, which had been made under the + Ptolemies, having perhaps marble feet, but for the rest built of wood, + clothed with drapery, and glittering with gold and silver, stood in one of + the covered chambers, which had a small window so contrived as to let the + sun’s rays kiss the lips of the statue on the appointed occasions. This + was one of the tricks employed in the sacred mysteries, to dazzle the + worshipper by the sudden blaze of light which on the proper occasions was + let into the dark room. The temple itself, with its fountain, its two + obelisks, and its gilt ornaments, has long since been destroyed; and the + column in the centre, under the name of Pompey’s Pillar, alone remains to + mark the spot where it stood, and is one of the few works of Greek art + which in size and strength vie with the old Egyptian monuments. + </p> + <p> + The reign of Julian, instead of raising paganism to its former strength, + had only shown that its life was spent; and under Jovian (A.D. 363—364) + the Christians were again brought into power. A Christian emperor, + however, would have been but little welcome to the Egyptians if, like + Constantius, and even Constantine in his latter years, he had leaned to + the Arian party; but Jovian soon showed his attachment to the Nicene + creed, and he re-appointed Athanasius to the bishopric of Alexandria. But + though Athanasius regained his rank, yet the Arian bishop Lucius was not + deposed. Each party in Alexandria had its own bishop; those who thought + that the Son was of the same substance with the Father looked up to + Athanasius, while those who gave to Jesus the lower rank of being of a + similar substance to the Creator obeyed Lucius. + </p> + <p> + This curious metaphysical proposition was not, however, the only cause of + the quarrel which divided Egypt into such angry parties. The creeds were + made use of as the watchwords in a political struggle. Blood, language, + and geographical boundaries divided the parties; and religious opinions + seldom cross these unchanging and inflexible lines. + </p> + <p> + Every Egyptian believed in the Nicene creed and the incorruptibility of + the body of Jesus, and hated the Alexandrian Greeks; while the more + refined Greeks were as united in explaining away the Nicene creed by the + doctrine of the two natures of Christ, and in despising the ignorant + Egyptians. Christianity, which speaks so forcibly to the poor, the + unlearned, and the slave, had educated the Egyptian population, had raised + them in their own eyes; and, as the popular party gained strength, the + Arians lost ground in Alexandria. At the same time the Greeks were falling + off: in learning and in science, and in all those arts of civilisation + which had given them the superiority. Like other great political changes, + this may not have been understood at the time; but in less than a hundred + years it was found that the Egyptians were no longer the slaves, nor the + Greeks the masters. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Jovian, when Valentinian divided the Roman empire with his + brother, he took Italy and the West for his own kingdom, and gave to + Valens Egypt and the Eastern provinces, in which Greek was the language of + the government. Each emperor adopted the religion of his capital; + Valentinian held the Nicene faith, and Valens the Arian faith; and unhappy + Egypt was the only part of the empire whose religion differed from that of + its rulers. Had the creeds marked the limits of the two empires, Egypt + would have belonged to Rome; but, as geographical boundaries and language + form yet stronger ties, Egypt was given to Constantinople, or rather to + Antioch, the nearer of the two Eastern capitals. + </p> + <p> + By Valens, Athanasius was forced for the fifth time to fly from + Alexandria, to avoid the displeasure which his disobedience again drew + down upon him. But his flock again rose in rebellion in favour of their + popular bishop; and the emperor was either persuaded or frightened into + allowing him to return to his bishopric, where he spent the few remaining + years of his life in peace. Athanasius died at an advanced age, leaving a + name more famous than that of any one of the emperors under whom he lived. + He taught the Christian world that there was a power greater than that of + kings, namely the Church. He was often beaten in the struggle, but every + victory over him was followed by the defeat of the civil power; he was + five times banished, but five times he returned in triumph. The temporal + power of the Church was in its infancy; it only rose upon the conversion + of Constantine, and it was weak compared to what it became in after ages; + but, when the Emperor of Germany did penance barefoot before Pope + Hildebrand, and a king of England was whipped at Becket’s tomb, we only + witness the full-grown strength of the infant power that was being reared + by the Bishop of Alexandria. His writings are numerous and wholly + controversial, chiefly against the Arians. The Athanasian creed seems to + have been so named only because it was thought to contain his opinions, as + it is known to be by a later author. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Athanasius, the Homoousian party chose Peter as his + successor in the bishopric, overlooking Lucius, the Arian bishop, whose + election had been approved by the emperors Julian, Jovian, and Valens. But + as the Egyptian church had lost its great champion, the emperor ventured + to re-assert his authority. He sent Peter to prison, and ordered all the + churches to be given up to the Arians, threatening with banishment from + Egypt whoever disobeyed his edict. The persecution which the Homoousian + party throughout Upper Egypt then suffered from the Arians equalled, says + the ecclesiastical historian, anything that they had before suffered from + the pagans. Every monastery in Egypt was broken open by Lucius at the head + of an armed force, and the cruelty of the bishop surpassed that of the + soldiers. The breaking open of the monasteries seems to have been for the + purpose of making the inmates bear their share in the military service of + the state, rather than for any religious reasons. When Constantine + embraced Christianity, he immediately recognised all the religious + scruples of its professors; and not only bishops and presbyters but all + laymen who had entered the monastic orders were freed from the duty of + serving in the army. But under the growing dislike of military service, + and the difficulty of finding soldiers, when to escape from the army many + called themselves Christian monks, this excuse could no longer be listened + to, and Valens made a law that monastic vows should not save a man from + enlistment. But this law was not easily carried into force in the + monasteries on the borders of the desert, which were often well-built and + well-guarded fortresses; and on Mount Nitria, in particular, many monks + lost their lives in their resistance to the troops that were sent to fetch + recruits. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0010" id="linkB0010"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/237.jpg" width="100%" + alt="237.jpg Remains of a Christian Church in the Temple Of Luxor " /> + </div> + <p> + The monastic institutions of Egypt had already reached their full growth. + They were acknowledged by the laws of the empire as ecclesiastical + corporations, and allowed to hold property; and by a new law of this + reign, if a monk or nun died without a will or any known kindred, the + property went to the monastery as heir at law. One of the most celebrated + of these monasteries was on Tabenna, where Pachomius had gathered round + him thirteen hundred followers, who owned him as the founder of their + order, and gave him credit for the gift of prophecy. His disciples in the + other monasteries of Upper Egypt amounted to six thousand more. Anuph was + at the head of another order of monks, and he boasted that he could by + prayer obtain from heaven whatever he wished. Hor was at the head of + another monastery, where, though wholly unable to read or write, he spent + his life in singing psalms, and, as his followers and perhaps he himself + believed, in working miracles. Sera-pion was at the head of a thousand + monks in the Ar-sinoïte nome, who raised their food by their own labour, + and shared it with their poorer neighbours. Near Nitria, a place in the + Mareotic nome which gave its name to the nitre springs, there were as many + as fifty cells; but those who aimed at greater solitude and severer + mortification withdrew farther into the desert, to Scetis in the same + nome, a spot already sanctified by the trials and triumphs of St. Anthony. + Here, in a monastery surrounded by the sands, by the side of a lake whose + waters are Salter than the brine of the ocean, with no grass or trees to + rest the aching eye, where the dazzling sky is seldom relieved with a + cloud, where the breezes are too often laden with dry dust, these monks + cultivated a gloomy religion, with hearts painfully attuned to the scenery + around them. Here dwelt Moses, who in his youth had been a remarkable + sinner, and in his old age became even more remarkable as a saint. It was + said that for six years he spent every night in prayer, without once + closing his eyes in sleep; and that one night, when his cell was attacked + by four robbers, he carried them all off at once on his back to the + neighbouring monastery to be punished, because he would himself hurt no + man. Benjamin also dwelt at Scetis; he consecrated oil to heal the + diseases of those who washed with it, and during the eight months that he + was himself dying of a dropsy, he touched for their diseases all who came + to the door of his cell to be healed. Hellas carried fire in his bosom + without burning his clothes. Elias spent seventy years in solitude on the + borders of the Arabian desert near Antinoopolis. Apelles was a blacksmith + near Achoris; he was tempted by the devil in the form of a beautiful + woman, but he scorched the tempter’s face with a red-hot iron. Dorotheus, + who though a Theban had settled near Alexandria, mortified his flesh by + trying to live without sleep. He never willingly lay down to rest, nor + indeed ever slept till the weakness of the body sunk under the efforts of + the spirit. Paul, who dwelt at Pherma, repeated three hundred prayers + every day, and kept three hundred pebbles in a bag to help him in his + reckoning. He was the friend of Anthony, and when dying begged to be wrapt + in the cloak given him by that holy monk, who had himself received it as a + present from Athanasius. His friends and admirers claimed for Paul the + honour of being the first Christian hermit, and they maintained their + improbable opinion by asserting that he had been a monk for ninety-seven + years, and that he had retired to the desert at the age of sixteen, when + the Church was persecuted in the reign of Valerian. All Egypt believed + that the monks were the especial favourites of Heaven, that they worked + miracles, and that divine wisdom flowed from their lips without the help + or hindrance of human learning. They were all Homoousians, believing that + the Son was of one substance with the Father; some as trinitarians holding + the opinions of Athanasius; some as Sabellians believing that Jesus was + the creator of the world, and that his body therefore was not liable to + corruption; some as anthropomorphites believing God was of human form like + Jesus; but all warmly attached to the Mcene creed, denying the two natures + of Christ, and hating the Arian Greeks of Alexandria and the other cities. + Gregory of Nazianzum remarks that Egypt was the most Christ-loving of + countries, and adds with true simplicity that, wonderful to say, after + having so lately worshipped bulls, goats, and crocodiles, it was now + teaching the world the worship of the Trinity in the truest form. + </p> + <p> + The pagans, who were now no longer able to worship publicly as they chose, + took care to proclaim their opinions indirectly in such ways as the law + could not reach. In the hippodrome, which was the noisiest of the places + where the people met in public, they made a profession of their faith by + the choice of which horses they bet on; and Christians and pagans alike + showed their zeal for religion by hooting and clapping of hands. Prayers + and superstitious ceremonies were used on both sides to add to the horses’ + speed; and the monk Hilarion, the pupil of Anthony, gained no little + credit for sprinkling holy water on the horses of his party, and thus + enabling Christianity to outrun paganism in the hippodrome at Gaza. + </p> + <p> + During these reigns of weakness and misgovernment, it was no doubt a cruel + policy rather than humanity that led the tax-gatherers to collect the + tribute in kind. More could be squeezed out of a ruined people by taking + what they had to give than by requiring it to be paid in copper coin. + Hence Valons made a law that no tribute throughout the empire should be + taken in money; and he laid a new land-tax upon Egypt, to the amount of a + soldier’s clothing for every thirty acres. + </p> + <p> + The Saracens* had for some time past been encroaching on the Eastern + frontiers of the empire, and had only been kept back by treaties which + proved the weakness of the Romans, as the armies of Constantinople were + still called, and which encouraged the barbarians in their attacks. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * The name <i>Saraceni</i> was given by the Greeks and Romans to + the nomadic Arabs who lived on the borders of the desert. + During the Middle Ages, the Muhammedans, coming from + apparently the same localities, were also called Saracens. +</pre> + <p> + On the death of their king, the command over the Saracens fell to their + Queen Masvia, who broke the last treaty, laid waste Palestine and + Phoenicia with her armies, conquered or gained over the Arabs of Petra, + and pressed upon the Egyptians at the head of the Red Sea. On this, Valens + renewed the truce, but on terms still more favourable to the invaders. + Many of the Saracens were Christians, and by an article of the treaty they + were to have a bishop granted them for their church, and for this purpose + they sent Moses to Alexandria to be ordained. But the Saracens sided with + the Egyptians, in religion as well as policy, against the Arian Greeks. + Hence Moses refused to be ordained by Lucius, the patriarch of Alexandria, + and chose rather to receive his appointment from some of the Homoousian + bishops who were living in banishment in the Thebaid. After this advance + of the barbarians the interesting city of Petra, which since the time of + Trajan had been in the power or the friendship of Rome or Constantinople, + was lost to the civilised world. This rocky fastness, which was ornamented + with temples, a triumphal arch, and a theatre, and had been a bishop’s + see, was henceforth closed against all travellers; it had no place in the + map till it was discovered by Burckhardt in our own days without a human + being dwelling in it, with oleanders and tamarisks choking up its entrance + through the cliff, and with brambles trailing their branches over the + rock-hewn temples. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0011" id="linkB0011"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/243.jpg" width="100%" + alt="243.jpg Temple Courtyard, Medinet Abu " /> + </div> + <p> + The reign of Theodosius, which extended from 379 to 395, is remarkable for + the blow then given to paganism. The old religion had been sinking even + before Christianity had become the religion of the emperors; it had been + discouraged by Constantine, who had closed many of the temples; but + Theodosius made a law in the first year of his reign that the whole of the + empire should be Christian, and should receive the trinitarian faith. He + soon afterwards ordered that Sunday should be kept holy, and forbade all + work and law-proceedings on that day; and he sent Cynegius, the prefect of + the palace, into Egypt, to see these laws carried into effect in that + province. + </p> + <p> + The wishes of the emperor were ably followed up by Theophilus, Bishop of + Alexandria. He cleansed the temple of Mithra, and overthrew the statues in + the celebrated temple of Serapis, which seemed the very citadel of + paganism. He also exposed to public ridicule the mystic ornaments and + statues which a large part of his fellow-citizens still regarded as + sacred. It was not, however, to be supposed that this could be peaceably + borne by a people so irritable as the Alexandrians. The students in the + schools of philosophy put themselves at the head of the mob to stop the + work of destruction, and to revenge themselves upon their assailants, and + several battles were fought in the streets between the pagans and the + Christians, in which both parties lost many lives; but as the Christians + were supported by the power of the prefect, the pagans were routed, and + many whose rank would have made them objects of punishment were forced to + fly from Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + No sooner had the troops under the command of the prefect put down the + pagan opposition than the work of destruction was again carried forward by + the zeal of the bishop. The temples were broken open, their ornaments + destroyed, and the statues of the gods melted for the use of the + Alexandrian church. One statue of an Egyptian god was alone saved from the + wreck, and was set up in mockery of those who had worshipped it; and this + ridicule of their religion was a cause of greater anger to the pagans than + even the destruction of the other statues. The great statue of Serapis, + which was made of wood covered with plates of metal, was knocked to pieces + by the axes of the soldiers. The head and limbs were broken off, and the + wooden trunk was burnt in the amphitheatre amid the shouts and jeers of + the bystanders. A conjectured fragment of this statue is now in the + British Museum. + </p> + <p> + In the plunder of the temple of Serapis, the great library of more than + seven hundred thousand volumes was wholly broken up and scattered. + Orosius, the Spaniard, who visited Alexandria in the next reign, may be + trusted when he says that he saw in the temple the empty shelves, which, + within the memory of men then living, had been plundered of the books that + had formerly been got together after the library of the Bruchium was burnt + by Julius Cæsar. In a work of such lawless plunder, carried on by ignorant + zealots, many of these monuments of pagan genius and learning must have + been wilfully or accidentally destroyed, though the larger number may have + been carried off by the Christians for the other public and private + libraries of the city. How many other libraries this city of science may + have possessed we are not told, but there were no doubt many. Had + Alexandria during the next two centuries given birth to poets and orators, + their works, the offspring of native genius, might perhaps have been + written without the help of libraries; but the labours of the + mathematicians and grammarians prove that the city was still well + furnished with books, beside those on the Christian controversies. + </p> + <p> + When the Christians were persecuted by the pagans, none but men of + unblemished lives and unusual strength of mind stood to their religion in + the day of trial, and suffered the penalties of the law; the weak, the + ignorant, and the vicious readily joined in the superstitions required of + them, and, embracing the religion of the stronger party, easily escaped + punishment. So it was when the pagans of Alexandria were persecuted by + Theophilus; the chief sufferers were the men of learning, in whose minds + paganism was a pure deism, and who saw nothing but ignorance and + superstition on the side of their oppressors; who thought their worship of + the Trinity only a new form of polytheism, and jokingly declared that they + were not arithmeticians enough to understand it. Olympius, who was the + priest of Serapis when the temple was sacked, and as such the head of the + pagans of Alexandria, was a man in every respect the opposite of the + Bishop Theophilus. He was of a frank, open countenance and agreeable + manners; and though his age might have allowed him to speak among his + followers in the tone of command, he chose rather in his moral lessons to + use the mild persuasion of an equal; and few hearts were so hardened as + not to be led into the paths of duty by his exhortations. Whereas the + furious monks, says the indignant pagan, were men only in form, but swine + in manners. Whoever put on a black coat, and was not ashamed to be seen + with dirty linen, gained a tyrannical power over the minds of the mob, + from their belief in his holiness; and these men attacked the temples of + the gods as a propitiation for their own enormous sins. Thus each party + reproached the other, and often unjustly. Among other religious frauds and + pretended miracles of which the pagan priests were accused, was that of + having an iron statue of Serapis hanging in the air in a chamber of the + temple, by means of a loadstone fixed in the ceiling. The natural + difficulties shield them from this charge, but other accusations are not + so easily rebutted. + </p> + <p> + After this attack upon the pagans, their religion was no longer openly + taught in Alexandria. Some of the more zealous professors withdrew from + the capital to Canopus, about ten miles distant, where the ancient + priestly learning was still taught, unpersecuted because unnoticed; and + there, under the pretence of studying hieroglyphics, a school was opened + for teaching magic and other forbidden rites. When the pagan worship + ceased throughout Egypt, the temples were very much used as churches, and + in some cases received in their ample courtyard a smaller church of Greek + architecture, as in that of Medinet Abu. In other cases Christian + ornaments were added to the old walls, as in the rock temple of Kneph, + opposite to Abu Simbel, where the figure of the Saviour with a glory round + his head has been painted on the ceiling. The Christians, in order to + remove from before their eyes the memorials of the old superstition, + covered up the sculpture on the walls with mud from the Nile and white + plaster. This coating we now take away, at a time when the idolatrous + figures are no longer dangerous to religion, and we find the sculpture and + painting fresh as when covered up fourteen hundred years ago. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0012" id="linkB0012"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/248.jpg" width="100%" + alt="248.jpg Christian Picture at Abu Simbe " /> + </div> + <p> + It would be unreasonable to suppose that the Egyptians, upon embracing + Christianity, at once threw off all of their pagan rites. Among other + customs that they still clung to, was that of making mummies of the bodies + of the dead. St. Anthony had tried to dissuade the Christian converts from + that practice; not because the mummy-cases were covered with pagan + inscriptions, but he boldly asserted, what a very little reading would + have disproved, that every mode of treating a dead body, beside burial, + was forbidden in the Bible. St. Augustine, on the other hand, well + understanding that the immortality of the soul without the body was little + likely to be understood or valued by the ignorant, praises the Egyptians + for that very practice, and says that they were the only Christians who + really believed in the resurrection from the dead. The tapers burnt before + the altars were from the earliest times used to light up the splendours of + the Egyptian altars, in the darkness of their temples, and had been burnt + in still greater numbers in the yearly festival of the candles. The + playful custom of giving away sugared cakes and sweetmeats on the + twenty-fifth day of Tybi, our twentieth of January, was then changed to be + kept fourteen days earlier, and it still marks the Feast of Epiphany or + Twelfth-night. The division of the people into clergy and laity, which was + unknown to Greeks and Romans, was introduced into Christianity in the + fourth century by the Egyptians. While the rest of Christendom were + clothed in woollen, linen, the common dress of the Egyptians, was + universally adopted by the clergy as more becoming to the purity of their + manners. At the same time the clergy copied the Egyptian priests in the + custom of shaving the crown of the head bald. + </p> + <p> + The new law in favour of trinitarian Christianity was enforced with as + great strictness against the Arians as against the pagans. The bishops and + priests of that party wrere everywhere turned out of their churches, which + were then given up to the Homoousians. Theodosius summoned a council of + one hundred and fifty bishops at Constantinople, to re-enact the Nicene + creed; and in the future religious rebellions of the Egyptians they always + quoted against the Greeks this council of Constantinople, with that of + Nicasa, as the foundation of their faith. By this religious policy, + Theodosius did much to delay the fall of the empire. He won the friendship + of his Egyptian subjects, as well as of their Saracen neighbours, all of + whom, as far as they were Christian, held to the Nicene creed. Egypt + became the safest of his provinces; and, when his armies had been + recruited with so many barbarians that they could no longer be trusted, + these new levies wrere marched into Egypt under the command of Hormisdas, + and an equal number of Egyptians were drafted out of the army of Egypt, + and led into Thessaly. + </p> + <p> + When the season came for the overflow of the Nile, in the first summer + after the destruction of the temples, the waters happened to rise more + slowly than usual; and the Egyptians laid the blame upon the Christian + emperor, who had forbidden their sacrificing the usual offerings in honour + of the river-god. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0013" id="linkB0013"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/250.jpg" width="100%" + alt="250.jpg Manfaloot, Showing the Height of The Nile In Summer " /> + </div> + <p> + The alarm for the loss of their crops carried more weight in the religious + controversy than any arguments that could be brought against pagan + sacrifices; and the anger of the people soon threatened a serious + rebellion. Evagrius the prefect, being disturbed for the peace of the + country, sent to Constantinople for orders; but the emperor remained firm; + he would make no change in the law against paganism, and the fears of the + Egyptians and Alexandrians were soon put an end to by a most plenteous + overflow. + </p> + <p> + Since the time of Athanasius, and the overthrow of the Arian party in + Alexandria, the learning of that city was wholly in the hands of the + pagans, and was chiefly mathematical. Diophantus of Alexandria is the + earliest writer on algebra whose works are now remaining to us, and has + given his name to the Diophantine problems. Pappus wrote a description of + the world, and a commentary on Ptolemy’s <i>Almagest</i>, beside a work on + geometry, published under the name of his <i>Mathematical Collections</i>. + Theon, a professor in the museum, wrote on the smaller astrolabe—the + instrument then used to measure the star orbits—and on the rise of + the Nile, a subject always of interest to the mathematicians of Egypt, + from its importance to the husbandman. From Theon’s astronomical + observations we learn that the Alexandrian astronomers still made use of + the old Egyptian movable year of three hundred and sixty-five days only, + and without a leap-year. Paul the Alexandrian astrologer, on the other + hand, uses the Julian year of three hundred and sixty-five days and a + quarter, and he dates from the era of Diocletian. His rules for telling + the day of the week from the day of the month, and for telling on what day + of the week each year began, teach us that our present mode of dividing + time was used in Egypt. Horapollo, the grammarian, was also then a teacher + in the schools of Alexandria. He wrote in the Koptic language a work in + explanation of the old hieroglyphics, which has gained a notice far beyond + its deserts, because it is the only work on the subject that has come down + to us. + </p> + <p> + The only Christian writings of this time, that we know of, are the paschal + letters of Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, which were much praised by + Jerome, and by him translated into Latin. They are full of bitter + reproaches against Origen and his writings, and they charge him with + having treated Jesus more cruelly than Pilate or the Jews had done. John, + the famous monk of the Thebaid, was no writer, though believed to have the + gift of prophecy. He was said to have foretold the victory of Theodosius + over the rebel Maximus; and, when the emperor had got together his troops + to march against Eugenius, another rebel who had seized the passes of the + Julian Alps, he sent his trusty eunuch Eutropius to fetch the holy + Egyptian, or at least to learn from him what would be the event of the + war. John refused to go to Europe, but he told the messenger that + Theodosius would conquer the rebel, and soon afterwards die; both of which + came to pass as might easily have been guessed. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Theodosius, in 395, the Roman empire was again divided. + Arcadius, his elder son, ruled Egypt and the East, while Honorius, the + younger, held the West; and the reins of government at once passed from + the ablest to the weakest hands. But the change was little felt in Egypt, + which continued to be governed by the patriarch Theophilus, without the + name but with very nearly the power of a prefect. He was a bold and wicked + man, but as his religious opinions were for the Homoousians as against the + Arians, and his political feelings were for the Egyptians as against the + Greeks, he rallied to his government the chief strength of the province. + As the pagans and Arians of Alexandria were no longer worthy of his + enmity, he fanned into a flame a new quarrel which was then breaking out + in the Egyptian church. The monks of Upper Egypt, who were mostly ignorant + and unlettered men, were anthropomorphites, or believers that God was in + outward shape like a man. They quoted from the Jewish Scriptures that he + made man in his own image, in support of their opinion. They held that he + was of a strictly human form, like Jesus, which to them seemed fully + asserted in the Nicene creed. In this opinion they were opposed by those + who were better educated, and it suited the policy of Theophilus to side + with the more ignorant and larger party. He branded with the name of + Origenists those who argued that God was without form, and who quoted the + writings of Origen in support of their opinion. This naturally led to a + dispute about Origen’s orthodoxy; and that admirable writer, who had been + praised by all parties for two hundred years, and who had been quoted as + authority as much by Athanasius as by the Arians, was declared to be a + heretic by a council of bishops. The writings of Origen were accordingly + forbidden to be read, because they contradicted the anthropomorphite + opinions. + </p> + <p> + The quarrel between the Origenists and the anthropomorphites did not end + in words. A proposition in theology, or a doubt in metaphysics, was no + better cause of civil war than the old quarrels about the bull Apis or the + crocodile; but a change of religion had not changed the national + character. The patriarch, finding his party the stronger, attacked the + enemy in their own monasteries; he marched to Mount Nitria at the head of + a strong body of soldiers, and, enrolling under his banners the + anthropomorphite monks, attacked Dioscorus and the Origenists, set fire to + their monasteries, and laid waste the place. + </p> + <p> + Theophilus next quarrelled with Peter, the chief of the Alexandrian + presbyters, whom he accused of admitting to the sacraments of the church a + woman who had not renounced the Manichean heresy; and he then quarrelled + with Isidorus, who had the charge of the poor of the church, because he + bore witness that Peter had the orders of Theophilus himself for what he + did. + </p> + <p> + In this century there was a general digging up of the bodies of the most + celebrated Christians of former ages, to heal the diseases and strengthen + the faith of the living; and Constantinople, which as the capital of the + empire had been ornamented by the spoils of its subject provinces, had + latterly been enriching its churches with the remains of numerous + Christian saints. The tombs of Egypt, crowded with mummies that had lain + there for centuries, could of course furnish relics more easily than most + countries, and in this reign Constantinople received from Alexandria a + quantity of bones which were supposed to be those of the martyrs slain in + the pagan persecutions. The archbishop John Chrysostom received them + gratefully, and, though himself smarting under the reproach that he was + not orthodox enough for the superstitious Egyptians, he thanks God that + Egypt, which sent forth its grain to feed its hungry neighbours, could + also send the bodies of so many martyrs to sanctify their churches. + </p> + <p> + We have traced the fall of the Greek party in Alexandria, in the victories + over the Arians during the religious quarrels of the last hundred years; + and in the laws we now read the city’s loss of wealth and power. The + corporation of Alexandria was no longer able to bear the expense of + cleansing the river and keeping open the canals; and four hundred <i>solidi</i>—about + twelve hundred dollars—were each year set apart from the + custom-house duties of the city for that useful work. + </p> + <p> + The arrival of new settlers in Alexandria had been very much checked by + the less prosperous state of the country since the reign of Diocletian. We + still find, however, that many of the men of note were not born in Egypt. + Paulus, the physician, was a native of Ægina. He has left a work on + diseases and their remedies. The chief man of learning was Synesius, a + platonic philosopher whom the patriarch Theophilus persuaded to join the + Christians. As a platonist he naturally leaned towards many of the + doctrines of the popular religion, but he could not believe in a + resurrection; and it was not till after Theophilus had ordained him Bishop + of Ptolemais near Cyrene that he acknowledged the truth of that doctrine. + Nor would he then put away or disown his wife, as the custom of the Church + required; indeed, he accepted the bishopric very unwillingly. He was as + fond of playful sport as he was of books, and very much disliked business. + He has left a volume of writings, which has saved the names of two + prefects of Cyrene; the one Anysius, under whose good discipline even the + barbarians of Hungary behaved like Roman legionaries, and the other + Poonius, who cultivated science in this barren spot. To encourage Pasonius + in his praiseworthy studies he made him a present of an astrolabe, to + measure the distances of the stars and planets, an instrument which was + constructed under the guidance of Hypatia. + </p> + <p> + Trade and industry were checked by the unsettled state of the country, and + misery and famine were spreading over the land. The African tribes of + Mazices and Auxoriani, leaving the desert in hope of plunder, overran the + province of Libya, and laid waste a large part of the Delta. The + barbarians and the sands of the desert were alike encroaching on the + cultivated fields. Nature seemed changed. The valley of the Nile was + growing narrower. Even within the valley the retreating wraters left + behind them harvests less rich, and fever more putrid. The quarries were + no longer worth working for their building stone. The mines yielded no + more gold. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Arcadius, his son Theodosius was only eight years old, but + he was quietly acknowledged as Emperor of the East in 408, and he left the + government of Egypt, as heretofore, very much in the hands of the + patriarch. In the fifth year of his reign Theophilus died; and, as might + be supposed, a successor was not appointed without a struggle for the + double honour of Bishop of Alexandria and Governor of Egypt. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0014" id="linkB0014"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/257.jpg" width="100%" + alt="257.jpg Quarries at Toorah on the Nile " /> + </div> + <p> + The remains of the Greek and Arian party proposed Timotheus, an archdeacon + in the church; but the Egyptian party were united in favour of Cyril, a + young man of learning and talent, who had the advantage of being the + nephew of the late bishop. Whatever were the forms by which the election + should have been governed, it was in reality settled by a battle between + the two parties in the streets; and though Abundantius, the military + prefect, gave the weight of his name, if not the strength of his cohort, + to the party of Timotheus, yet his rival conquered, -and Cyril was carried + into the cathedral with a pomp more like a pagan triumph than the modest + ordination of a bishop. + </p> + <p> + Cyril was not less tyrannical in his bishopric than his uncle had been + before him. His first care was to put a stop to all heresy in Alexandria, + and his second to banish the Jews. The theatre was the spot in which the + riots between Jews and Christians usually began, and the Sabbath was the + time, as being the day on which the Jews chiefly crowded in to see the + dancing. On one occasion the quarrel in the theatre ran so high that the + prefect with his cohort was scarcely able to keep them from blows; and the + Christians reproached the Jews with plotting to burn down the churches. + But the Christians were themselves guilty of the very crimes of which they + accused their enemies. The next morning, as soon as it was light, Cyril + headed the mob in their attacks upon the Jewish synagogues; they broke + them open and plundered them, and in one day drove every Jew out of the + city. No Jew had been allowed to live in Alexandria or any other city + without paying a poll-tax, for leave to worship his God according to the + manner of his forefathers; but religious zeal is stronger than the love of + money; the Jews were driven out, and the tax lost to the city. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0015" id="linkB0015"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/258b.jpg" width="100%" + alt="258b.jpg Street and Mosque of Mahdjiar " /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img alt="258b-text (4K)" src="images/258b-text.jpg" width="100%" /> + </div> + <p> + Orestes, the prefect of Alexandria, had before wished to check the power + of the bishop; and he in vain tried to save the Jews from oppression, and + the state from the loss of so many good citizens. But it was useless to + quarrel with the patriarch, who was supported by the religious zeal of the + whole population. The monks of Mount Nitria and of the neighbourhood + burned with a holy zeal to fight for Cyril, as they had before fought for + Theophilus; and when they heard that a jealousy had sprung up between the + civil and ecclesiastical authorities, more than five hundred of them + marched into Alexandria to avenge the affronted bishop. They met the + prefect Orestes as he was passing through the streets in his open chariot, + and began reproaching him with being a pagan and a Greek. Orestes answered + that he was a Christian, and he had been baptised at Constantinople. But + this only cleared him of the lesser charge, he was certainly a Greek; and + one of these Egyptian monks taking up a stone threw it at his head, and + the blow covered his face with blood. They then fled from the guards and + people who came up to help the wounded prefect; but Ammonius, who threw + the stone, was taken and put to death with torture. The grateful bishop + buried him in the church with much pomp; he declared him to be a martyr + and a saint, and gave him the name of St. Thaumasius. But the Christians + were ashamed of the new martyr: and the bishop, who could not withstand + the ridicule, soon afterwards withdrew from him the title. + </p> + <p> + Bad as was this behaviour of the bishop and his friends, the most + disgraceful tale still remains to be told. The beautiful and learned + Hypatia, the daughter of Theon the mathematician, was at that time the + ornament of Alexandria and the pride of the pagans. She taught philosophy + publicly in the platonic school which had been founded by Ammonius, and + which boasted of Plotinus as its pupil. She was as modest as she wras + graceful, eloquent, and learned; and though, being a pagan, she belonged + to neither of the rival Christian parties, yet, as she had more hearers + among the Greek friends of the prefect than among the ignorant followers + of the bishop, she became an object of jealousy with the Homoousian party. + A body of these Christians, says the orthodox historian, attacked this + admirable woman in the street; they dragged her from her chariot, and + hurried her off into the church named Cæsar’s temple, and there stripped + her and murdered her with some broken tiles. She had written commentaries + on the mathematical works of Diophantus, and on the conic sections of + Apollonius. The story of her life has been related in the nineteenth + century by Charles Kingsley in the novel which bears her name. + </p> + <p> + Arianism took refuge from the Egyptians within the camps of the Greek + soldiers. One church was dedicated to the honour of St. George, the late + bishop, within the lofty towers of the citadel of Babylon, which was the + strongest fortress in Egypt; and a second in the city of Ptolemais, where + a garrison was stationed to collect the toll of the Thebaid. St. George + became a favourite saint with the Greeks in Egypt, and in those spots + where the Greek soldiers were masters of the churches this Arian and + unpopular bishop was often painted on the walls riding triumphantly on + horseback and slaying the dragon of Athanasian error. On the other hand, + in Alexandria, where his rival’s politics and opinions held the upper + hand, the monastery of St. Athanasius was built in the most public spot in + the city, probably that formerly held by the Soma or royal burial-place; + and in Thebes a cathedral church was dedicated to St. Athanasius within + the great courtyard of Medinet-Abu, where the small and paltry Greek + columns are in strange contrast to the grand architecture of Ramses III. + which surrounds them. + </p> + <p> + In former reigns the Alexandrians had been in the habit of sending + embassies to Constantinople to complain of tyranny or misgovernment, and + to beg for a redress of grievances, when they thought that justice could + be there obtained when it was refused in Alexandria. But this practice was + stopped by Theodosius, who made a law that the Alexandrians should never + send an embassy to Constantinople, unless it were agreed to by a decree of + the town council, and had the approbation of the prefect. The weak and + idle emperor would allow no appeal from the tyranny of his own governor. + </p> + <p> + We may pass over the banishment of John Chrysostom, Bishop of + Constantinople, as having less to do with the history of Egypt, though, as + in the cases of Arius and Nestorius, the chief mover of the attack upon + him was a bishop of Alexandria, who accused him of heresy, because he did + not come up to the Egyptian standard of orthodoxy. But among the bishops + who were deposed with Chrysostom was Palladius of Galatia, who was sent a + prisoner to Syênê. As soon as he was released from his bonds, instead of + being cast down by his misfortunes, he proposed to take advantage of the + place of his banishment, and he set forward on his travels through + Ethiopia for India, in search of the wisdom of the Brahmins. He arrived in + safety at Adule, the port on the Red Sea in latitude 15°, now known as + Zula, where he made acquaintance with Moses, the bishop of that city, and + persuaded him to join him in his distant and difficult voyage. + </p> + <p> + From Adule the two set sail in one of the vessels employed in the Indian + trade; but they were unable to accomplish their purpose, and Palladius + returned to Egypt worn out with heat and fatigue, having scarcely touched + the shores of India. On his return through Thebes he met with a traveller + who had lately returned from the same journey, and who consoled him under + his disappointment by recounting his own failure in the same undertaking. + His new friend had himself been a merchant in the Indian trade, but had + given up business because he was not successful in it; and, having taken a + priest as his companion, had set out on the same voyage in search of + Eastern wisdom. They had sailed to Adule on the Abyssinian shore, and then + travelled to Auxum, the capital of that country. From that coast they set + sail for the Indian ocean, and reached a coast which they thought was + Taprobane or Ceylon. But there they were taken prisoners, and, after + spending six years in slavery, and learning but little of the philosophy + that they were in search of, were glad to take the first opportunity of + escaping and returning to Egypt. Palladius had travelled in Egypt before + he was sent there into banishment, and he had spent many years in + examining the monasteries of the Thebaid and their rules, and he has left + a history of the lives of many of those holy men and woman, addressed to + his friend Lausus. + </p> + <p> + When Nestorius was deposed from the bishopric of Constantinople for + refusing to use the words “Mother of God” as the title of Jesus’ mother, + and for falling short in other points of what was then thought orthodoxy, + he was banished to Hibe in the Great Oasis. While he was living there, the + Great Oasis was overrun by the Blemmyes, the Roman garrison was defeated, + and those that resisted were put to the sword. The Blemmyes pillaged the + place and then withdrew; and, being themselves at war with the Mazices, + another tribe of Arabs, they kindly sent their prisoners to the Thebaid, + lest they should fall into the hands of the latter. Nestorius then went to + Panopolis to show himself to the governor, lest he should be accused of + running away from his place of banishment, and soon afterwards he died of + the sufferings brought on by these forced and painful journeys through the + desert. + </p> + <p> + About the same time Egypt was visited by Cassianus, a monk of Gaul, in + order to study the monastic institutions of the Thebaid. In his work on + that subject he has described at length the way of life and the severe + rules of the Egyptian monks, and has recommended them to the imitation of + his countrymen. But the natives of Italy and the West do not seem to have + been contented with copying the Theban monks at a distance. Such was the + fame of the Egyptian monasteries that many zealots from Italy flocked + there, to place themselves under the severe discipline of those holy men. + As these Latin monks did not understand either Koptic or Greek, they found + some difficulty in regulating their lives with the wished-for exactness; + and the rules of Pachomius, of Theodorus, and of Oresiesis, the most + celebrated of the founders, were actually sent to Jerome at Rome, to be by + him translated into Latin for the use of these settlers in the Thebaid. + These Latin monks made St. Peter a popular saint in some parts of Egypt; + and in the temple of Asseboua, in Nubia, when the Christians plastered + over the figure of one of the old gods, they painted in its place the + Apostle Peter holding the key in his hand. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0016" id="linkB0016"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:41%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/264.jpg" + alt="264.jpg Ramses II. And St. Peter " /> + </div> + <p> + They did not alter the rest of the sculpture; so that Ramses II. is there + now seen presenting his offering to the Christian saint. The mixed group + gives us proof of the nation’s decline in art rather than of its + improvement in religion. + </p> + <p> + Among the monks of Egypt there were also some men of learning and + industry, who in their cells in the desert had made at least three + translations of the New Testament into the three dialects of the Koptic + language; namely, the Sahidic of Upper Egypt, the Bashmuric of the + Bashmour province of the eastern half of the Delta, and the Koptic proper + of Memphis and the western half of the Delta. To these were afterwards + added the Acts of the council of Nicæa, the lives of the saints and + martyrs, the writings of many of the Christian fathers, the rituals of the + Koptic church, and various treatises on religion. + </p> + <p> + Other monks were as busy in making copies of the Greek manuscripts of the + Old and New Testament; and, as each copy must have needed the painful + labour of months, and often years, their industry and zeal must have been + great. Most of these manuscripts were on papyrus, or on a manufactured + papyrus which might be called paper, and have long since been lost; but + the three most ancient copies on parchment which are the pride of the + Vatican, the Paris library, and the British Museum, are the work of the + Alexandrian penmen. + </p> + <p> + Copies of the Bible were also made in Alexandria for sale in western + Europe; and all our oldest manuscripts show their origin by the Egyptian + form of spelling in some of the words. The Beza manuscript at Cambridge, + and the Clermont manuscript at Paris, which have Greek on one side of the + page and Latin on the other, were written in Alexandria. The Latin is that + more ancient version which was in use before the time of Jerome, and which + he corrected, to form what is now called the Latin Vulgate. This old + version was made by changing each Greek word into its corresponding Latin + word, with very little regard to the different characters of the two + languages. It was no doubt made by an Alexandrian Greek, who had a very + slight knowledge of Latin. + </p> + <p> + Already the papyrus on which books were written was, for the most part, a + manufactured article and might claim the name of paper. In the time of + Pliny in the first century the sheets had been made in the old way; the + slips of the plant laid one across the other had been held together by + their own sticky sap without the help of glue. In the reign of Aurelian, + in the third century, if not earlier, glue had been largely used in the + manufacture; and it is probable that at this time, in the fifth century, + the manufactured article almost deserved the name of paper. But this + manufactured papyrus was much weaker and less lasting than that made after + the old and more simple fashion. No books written upon it remain to us. At + a later period, the stronger fibre of flax was used in the manufacture, + but the date of this improvement is also unknown, because at first the + paper so made, like that made from the papyrus fibre, was also too weak to + last. It was doubtless an Alexandrian improvement. Flax was an Egyptian + plant; paper-making was an Egyptian trade; and Theophilus, a Roman writer + on manufactures, when speaking of paper made from flax, clearly points to + its Alexandrian origin, by giving it the name of Greek parchment. Between + the papyrus of the third century, and the strong paper of the eleventh + century, no books remain to us but those written on parchment. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0017" id="linkB0017"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:27%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/267.jpg" alt="267.jpg the Papyrus Plant " /> + </div> + <p> + The monks of Mount Sinai suffered much during these reigns of weakness + from the marauding attacks of the Arabs. These men had no strong + monastery; but hundreds of them lived apart in single cells in the side of + the mountains round the valley of Feiran, at the foot of Mount Serbal, and + they had nothing to protect them but their poverty. They were not + protected by Egypt, and they made treaties with the neighbouring Arabs, + like an independent republic, of which the town of Feiran was the capital. + The Arabs, from the Jordan to the Red Sea, made robbery the employment of + their lives, and they added much to the voluntary sufferings of the monks. + </p> + <p> + Nilus, a monk who had left his family in Egypt, to spend his life in + prayer and study on the spot where Moses was appointed the legislator of + Israel, describes these attacks upon his brethren, and he boasts over the + Israelites that, notwithstanding their sufferings, the monks spent their + whole lives cheerfully in those very deserts which God’s chosen people + could not even pass through without murmuring. Nilus has left some letters + and exhortations. It was then, probably, that the numerous inscriptions + were made on the rocks at the foot of Mount Serbal, and on the path + towards its sacred peak, which have given to one spot the name of + Mokatteb, or the valley of writing. A few of these inscriptions are in the + Greek language. + </p> + <p> + The Egyptian physicians had of old always formed a part of the priesthood, + and they seem to have done much the same after the spread of Christianity. + We find some monks named <i>Parabalani</i>, who owned the Bishop of + Alexandria as their head, and who united the offices of physician and + nurse in waiting on the sick and dying. As they professed poverty they + were maintained by the state and had other privileges; and hence it was a + place much sought after, and even by the wealthy. But to lessen this abuse + it was ordered by an imperial rescript that none but poor people who had + been rate-payers should be <i>Parabalani</i>; and their number was + limited, first to five hundred, but afterwards, at the request of the + bishop, to six hundred. A second charitable institution in Alexandria had + the care of strangers and the poor, and was also managed by one of the + priests. + </p> + <p> + Alexandria was fast sinking in wealth and population, and several new laws + were now made to lessen its difficulties. One was to add a hundred and ten + bushels of grain to the daily alimony of the city, the supply on which the + riotous citizens were fed in idleness. By a second and a third law the + five chief men in the corporation, and every man that had filled a civic + office for thirty years, were freed from all bodily punishment, and only + to be fined when convicted of a crime. Theodosius built a large church in + Alexandria, which was called after his name; and the provincial judges + were told in a letter to the prefect that, if they wished to earn the + emperor’s praise, they must not only restore those buildings which were + falling through age and neglect but must also build new ones. + </p> + <p> + Though the pagan philosophy had been much discouraged at Alexandria by the + destruction of the temples and the cessation of the sacrifices, yet the + philosophers were still allowed to teach in the schools. Syrianus was at + the head of the Platonists, and he wrote largely on the Orphic, + Pythagorean, and Platonic doctrines. In his Commentary on Aristotle’s + Metaphysics he aims at showing how a Pythagorean or a Platonist would + successfully answer Aristotle’s objections. He seems to look upon the + writings of Plotinus, Porphyry, and Iamblichus as the true fountains of + Platonic wisdom, quite as much as the works of the great philosopher who + gave his name to the sect. Syrianus afterwards removed to Athens, to take + charge of the Platonic school in that city, and Athens became the chief + seat of Alexandrian Platonism. + </p> + <p> + Olympiodorus was at the same time undertaking the task of forming a + Peripatetic school in Alexandria, in opposition to the new Platonism, and + he has left some of the fruits of his labour in his Commentaries on + Aristotle. But the Peripatetic philosophy was no longer attractive to the + pagans, though after the fall of the catechetical school it had a strong + following of Christian disciples. Olympiodorus also wrote a history, but + it has long since been lost, with other works of a second-rate merit. He + was a native of the Thebaid, and travelled over his country. He described + the Great Oasis as still a highly cultivated spot, where the husbandman + watered his fields every third day in summer, and every fifth day in + winter, from wells of two and three hundred feet in depth, and thereby + raised two crops of barley, and often three of millet, in a year. + Olympiodorus also travelled beyond Syênê into Nubia, with some danger from + the Blemmyes, but he was not able to see the emerald mines, which were + worked on Mount Smaragdus in the Arabian desert between Koptos and + Berenice, and which seem to have been the chief object of his journey. + </p> + <p> + Proclus came to Alexandria about the end of this reign, and studied many + years under Olympiodorus, but not to the neglect of the platonic + philosophy, of which he afterwards became such a distinguished ornament + and support. The other Alexandrians under whom Proclus studied were Hero, + the mathematician, a devout and religious pagan, Leonas, the rhetorician, + who introduced him to all the chief men of learning, and Orion, the + grammarian, who boasted of his descent from the race of Theban priests. + Thus the pagans still held up their heads in the schools. Nor were the + ceremonies of their religion, though unlawful, wholly stopped. In the + twenty-eighth year of this reign, when the people were assembled in a + theatre at Alexandria to celebrate the midnight festival of the Nile, a + sacrifice which had been forbidden by Constantine and the council of + Nicsea, the building fell beneath the weight of the crowd, and upwards of + five hundred persons were killed by the fall. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0018" id="linkB0018"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/271.jpg" width="100%" + alt="271.jpg Arabs Resting in the Desert " /> + </div> + <p> + It will be of some interest to review here the machinery of officers and + deputies, civil as well as military, by which Egypt was governed under the + successors of Constantine. The whole of the Eastern empire was placed + under two prefects, the pretorian prefect of the East and the pretorian + prefect of Illyricum, who, living at Constantinople, like modern + secretaries of state, made edicts for the government of the provinces and + heard the appeals. Under the prefect of the East were fifteen consular + provinces, together with Egypt, which was not any longer under one + prefect. There was no consular governor in Egypt between the prefect at + Constantinople and the six prefects of the smaller provinces. These + provinces were Upper Libya or Cyrene, Lower Libya or the Oasis, the + Thebaid, Ægyptiaca or the western part of the Delta, Augustanica or the + eastern part of the Delta, and the Heptanomis, now named Arcadia, after + the late emperor. Each of these was under an Augustal prefect, attended by + a <i>Princeps, a Cornicula-rius, an Adjutor</i>, and others, and was + assisted in civil matters by a <i>Commentariensis</i>, a corresponding + secretary, a secretary <i>ab actis</i>, with a crowd of <i>numerarii</i> + or clerks. + </p> + <p> + The military government was under a count with two dukes, with a number of + legions, cohorts, troops, and wedges of cavalry, stationed in about fifty + cities, which, if they had looked as well in the field as they do upon + paper, would have made Theodosius II. as powerful as Augustus. But the + number of Greek and Roman troops was small. The rest were barbarians who + held their own lives at small price, and the lives of the unhappy + Egyptians at still less. The Greeks were only a part of the fifth + Macedonian legion, and Trajan’s second legion, which were stationed at + Memphis, at Parembole, and at Apollinopolis; while from the names of the + other cohorts we learn that they were Franks, Portuguese, Germans, Quadri, + Spaniards, Britons, Moors, Vandals, Gauls, Sarmati, Assyrians, Galatians, + Africans, Numid-ians, and others of less known and more remote places. + Egypt itself furnished the Egyptian legion, part of which was in + Mesopotamia, Diocletian’s third legion of Thebans, the first Maximinian + legion of Thebans which was stationed in Thrace, Constantine’s second + Flavian legion of Thebans, Valens’ second Felix legion of Thebans, and the + Julian Alexandrian legion, stationed in Thrace. Beside these, there were + several bodies of native militia, from Abydos, Syênê, and other cities, + which were not formed into legions. The Egyptian cavalry were a first and + second Egyptian troop, several bodies of native archers mounted, three + troops on dromedaries, and a body of Diocletian’s third legion promoted to + the cavalry. These Egyptian troops were chiefly Arab settlers in the + Thebaid, for the Kopts had long since lost the use of arms. The Kopts were + weak enough to be trampled on; but the Arabs were worth bribing by + admission into the legions. The taxes of the province were collected by a + number of counts of the sacred largesses, who wrere under the orders of an + officer of the same title at Constantinople, and were helped by a body of + counts of the exports and imports, prefects of the treasury and of the + mints, with an army of clerks of all titles and all ranks. From this + government the Alexandrians were exempt, living under their own military + prefect and corporation, and, instead of paying any taxes beyond the + custom-house duties at the port, they received a bounty in grain out of + the taxes of Egypt. + </p> + <p> + Soon after this we find the political division of Egypt slightly altered. + It is then divided into eight governments; the Upper Thebaid with eleven + cities under a duke; the Lower Thebaid with ten cities, including the + Great Oasis and part of the Heptanomis, under a general; Upper Libya or + Cyrene under a general; Lower Libya or Parastonium under a general; + Arcadia, or the remainder of the Heptanomis, under a general; Ægyptiaca, + or the western half of the Delta, under an Augustalian prefect; the first + Augustan government, or the rest of the Delta, under a <i>Corrector</i>; + and the second Augustan government, from Bubastis to the Red Sea, under a + general. We also meet with several military stations named after the late + emperors: a Maximianopolis and a Dioclesianopolis in the Upper Thebaid; a + Theodosianopolis in the Lower Thebaid, and a second Theodosianopolis in + Arcadia. But it is not easy to determine what villages were meant by these + high-sounding names, which were perhaps only used in official documents. + </p> + <p> + The empire of the East was gradually sinking in power during this long and + quiet reign of Theodosius II.; but the empire of the West was being + hurried to its fall by the revolt of the barbarians in every one of its + widespread provinces. Henceforth in the weakness of the two countries + Egypt and Rome are wholly separated. After having influenced one another + in politics, in literature, and in religion for seven centuries, they were + now as little known to one another as they were before the day when Fabius + arrived at Alexandria on an embassy from the senate to Ptolemy + Philadelphus. + </p> + <p> + Theological and political quarrels, under the name of the Homoousian and + Arian controversy, had nearly separated Egypt from the rest of the empire + during the reigns of Constantius and Valens, but they had been healed by + the wisdom of the first Theodosius, who governed Egypt by means of a + popular bishop; and the policy which he so wisely began was continued by + his successors through weakness. But in the reign of Marcian (450—457) + the old quarrel again broke out, and, though it was under a new name, it + again took the form of a religious controversy. Cyril, the Bishop of + Alexandria, died in the last reign; and as he had succeeded his uncle, so + on his death the bishopric fell to Dioscorus, a relation of his own, a man + of equal religious violence and of less learning, who differed from him + only in the points of doctrine about which he should quarrel with his + fellow-Christians. About the same time Eutyches, a priest of + Constantinople, had been condemned by his superiors and expelled from the + Church for denying the two natures of Christ, and for maintaining that he + was truly God, and in no respect a man. This was the opinion of the + Egyptian church, and therefore Dioscorus, the Bishop of Alexandria, who + had no right whatever to meddle in the quarrels at Constantinople, yet, + acting on the forgotten rule that each bishop’s power extended over all + Christendom, undertook of his own authority to absolve Eutyches from his + excommunication, and in return to excommunicate the Bishop of + Constantinople who had condemned him. To settle this quarrel, a general + council was summoned at Chalcedon; and there six hundred and thirty-two + bishops met and condemned the faith of Eutyches, and further explained the + Nicene creed, to which Eutyches and the Egyptians always appealed. They + excommunicated Eutyches and his patron Dioscorus, who were banished by the + emperor; and they elected Proterius to the then vacant bishopric of + Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + In thus condemning the faith of Eutyches, the Greeks were excommunicating + the whole of Egypt. The Egyptian belief in the one nature of Christ, which + soon afterwards took the name of the Jacobite faith from one of its + popular supporters, might perhaps be distinguished by the microscopic eye + of the controversialist from the faith of Eutyches; but they equally fell + under the condemnation of the council of Chalcedon. Egypt was no longer + divided in its religious opinions. There had been a party who, though + Egyptian in blood, held the Arian and half-Arian opinions of the Greeks, + but that party had ceased to exist. Their religion had pulled one way and + their political feelings another; the latter were found the stronger, as + being more closely rooted to the soil; and their religious opinions had by + this time fitted themselves to the geographical boundaries of the country. + Hence the decrees of the council of Chalcedon were rejected by the whole + of Egypt; and the quarrel between the Chalcedonian and Jacobite party, + like the former quarrel between the Athanasians and the Arians, was little + more than another name for the unwillingness of the Egyptians to be + governed by Constantinople. + </p> + <p> + Proterius, the new bishop, entered Alexandria supported by the prefect + Floras at the head of the troops. + </p> + <p> + But this was the signal for a revolt of the Egyptians, who overpowered the + cohort with darts and stones; and the magistrates were driven to save + their lives in the celebrated temple of Serapis. But they found no safety + there; the mob surrounded the building and set fire to it, and burned + alive the Greek magistrates and friends of the new bishop; and the city + remained in the power of the rebellious Egyptians. When the news of this + rising reached Constantinople the emperor sent to Egypt a further force of + two thousand men, who stormed Alexandria and sacked it like a conquered + city, and established Proterius in the bishopric. As a punishment upon the + city for its rebellion, the prefect stopped for some time the public games + and the allowance of grain to the citizens, and only restored them after + the return to peace and good order. + </p> + <p> + In the weak state of the empire, the Blemmyes, and Nubades, or Nobatæ, had + latterly been renewing their inroads upon Upper Egypt; they had + overpowered the Romans, as the Greek and barbarian troops of + Constantinople were always called, and had carried off a large booty and a + number of prisoners. Maximinus, the imperial general, then led his forces + against them; he defeated them, and made them beg for peace. The + barbarians then proposed, as the terms of their surrender, never to enter + Egypt while Maximinus commanded the troops in the Thebaid; but the + conqueror was not contented with such an unsatisfactory submission, and + would make no treaty with them till they had released the Roman prisoners + without ransom, paid for the booty that they had taken, and given a number + of the nobles as hostages. On this Maximums agreed to a truce of a hundred + years. + </p> + <p> + The people now called the Nubians, living on both sides of the cataract of + Syênê, declared themselves of the true Egyptian race by their religious + practices. They had an old custom of going each year to the temple of Isis + on the isle of Elephantine, and of carrying away one of the statues with + them and returning it to the temple when they had consulted it. But as + they were now being driven out of the province, they bargained with + Maximums for permission to visit the temple each year without hindrance + from the Roman guards. The treaty was written on papyrus and nailed up in + this temple. But friendship in the desert, says the proverb, is as weak + and wavering as the shade of the acacia tree; this truce was no sooner + agreed upon than Maximinus fell ill and died; and the Nubades at once + broke the treaty, regained by force their hostages, who had not yet been + carried out of the Thebaid, and overran the province as they had done + before their defeat. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0019" id="linkB0019"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:21%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/279.jpg" alt="279.jpg Isis As the Dog-star " /> + </div> + <p> + By this success of the Nubians, Christianity was largely driven out of + Upper Egypt; and about seventy years after the law of Thedosius L, by + which paganism was supposed to be crushed, the religion of Isis and + Serapis was again openly professed in the Thebaid, where it had perhaps + always been cultivated in secret. A certain master of the robes in one of + the Egyptian temple came at this time to the temple of Isis in the island + of Philæ, and his votive inscription there declares that he was the son of + Pachomius, a prophet, and successor by direct descent from a yet more + famous Pachomius, a prophet, who we may easily believe was the Christian + prophet who gathered together so many followers in the island of Tabenna, + near Thebes, and there founded an order of Christian monks. These + Christians now all returned to their paganism. Nearly all the remains of + Christian architecture which we meet with in the The-baid were built + during the hundred and sixty years between the defeat of the Nubians by + Diocletian, and their victories in the reign of Marcian. + </p> + <p> + The Nubians were far more civilised than their neighbours, the Blemmyes, + whom they were usually able to drive back into their native deserts. We + find an inscription in bad Greek, in the great temple at Talmis, now the + village of Kalabshe, which was probably written about this time. A + conqueror of the name of Silco there declares that he is king of the + Nubians and all the Ethiopians; that in the upper part of his kingdom he + is called Mars, and in the lower part Lion; that he is as great as any + king of his day; that he has defeated the Blemmyes in battle again and + again; and that he has made himself master of the country between Talmis + and Primis. While such were the neighbours and inhabitants of the Thebaid, + the fields were only half-tilled, and the desert was encroaching on the + paths of man. The sand was filling up the temples, covering the overthrown + statues, and blocking up the doors to the tombs; but it was at the same + time saving, to be dug out in after ages, those records which the living + no longer valued. + </p> + <p> + On the death of the Emperor Marcian, the Alexandrians, taking advantage of + the absence of the military prefect Dionysius, who was then fighting + against the Nubades in Upper Egypt, renewed their attack upon the Bishop + Proterius, and deposed him from his office. To fill his place they made + choice of a monk named Timotheus Ælurus, who held the Jacobite faith, and, + having among them two deposed bishops, they got them to ordain him Bishop + of Alexandria, and then led him by force of arms into the great church + which had formerly been called Caesar’s temple. Upon hearing of the + rebellion, the prefect returned in haste to Alexandria; but his approach + was only the signal for greater violence, and the enraged people murdered + Proterius in the baptistery, and hung up his body at the Tetrapylon in + mockery. This was not a rebellion of the mob. Timotheus was supported by + the men of chief rank in the city; the <i>Honorati</i> who had borne state + offices, the <i>Politici</i> who had borne civic offices, and the <i>Navicularii</i>, + or contractors for the freight of the Egyptian tribute, were all opposed + to the emperor’s claim to appoint the officer whose duties were much more + those of prefect of the city than patriarch of Egypt. With such an + opposition as this, the emperor would do nothing without the greatest + caution, for he was in danger of losing Egypt altogether. But so much were + the minds of all men then engrossed in ecclesiastical matters that this + political struggle wholly took the form of a dispute in controversial + divinity, and the emperor wrote a letter to the chief bishops in + Christendom to ask their advice in his difficulty. These theologians were + too busily engaged in their controversies to take any notice of the danger + of Egypt’s revolting from the empire and joining the Persians; so they + strongly advised Leo not to depart from the decrees of the council of + Chalcedon, or to acknowledge as Bishop of Alexandria a man who denied the + two natures of Christ. Accordingly, the emperor again risked breaking the + slender ties by which he held Egypt; he banished the popular bishop, and + forced the Alexandrians to receive in his place one who held the + Chalcedonian faith. + </p> + <p> + On the death of Leo, he was succeeded by his grandson, Leo the Younger, + who died in 473, after a reign of one year, and was succeeded by his + father Zeno, the son-in-law of the elder Leo. Zeno gave himself up at once + to debauchery and vice, while the empire was harassed on all sides by the + barbarians, and the provinces were roused into rebellion by the cruelty of + the prefects. The rebels at last found a head in Basilicus, the + brother-in-law of Leo. He declared himself of the Jacobite faith, which + was the faith of the barbarian enemies, of the barbarian troops, and of + the barbarian allies of the empire, and, proclaiming himself emperor, made + himself master of Constantinople without a battle, and drove Zeno into + banishment in the third year of his reign. + </p> + <p> + The first step of Basilicus was to recall from banishment Timotheus + Ælurus, the late Bishop of Alexandria, and to restore him to the bishopric + (A.D. 477). He then addressed to him and the other recalled bishops a + circular letter, in which he repeals the decrees of the council of + Chalcedon, and re-establishes the Nicene creed, declaring that Jesus was + of one substance with the Father, and that Mary was the mother of God. The + march of Timotheus to the seat of his own government, from Constantinople + whither he had been summoned, was more like that of a conqueror than of a + preacher of peace. He deposed some bishops and restored others, and, as + the decrees of the council of Chalcedon were the particular objects of his + hatred, he restored to the city of Ephesus the patriarchal power which + that synod had taken away from it. Basilicus reigned for about two years, + when he was defeated and put to death by Zeno, who regained the throne. + </p> + <p> + As soon as Zeno was again master of the empire, he re-established the + creed of the council of Chalcedon, and drove away the Jacobite bishops + from their bishoprics. Death, however, removed Timotheus Ælurus before the + emperor’s orders were put in force in Alexandria, and the Egyptians then + chose Peter Mongus as his successor, in direct opposition to the orders + from Constantinople. But the emperor was resolved not to be beaten; the + bishopric of Alexandria was so much a civil office that to have given up + the appointment to the Egyptians would have been to allow the people to + govern themselves; so he banished Peter, and recalled to the head of the + Church Timotheus Salophaciolus, who had been living at Canopus ever since + his loss of the bishopric. + </p> + <p> + But, as the patriarch of Alexandria enjoyed the ecclesiastical revenues, + and was still in appearance a teacher of religion, the Alexandrians, in + recollection of the former rights of the Church, still claimed the + appointment. They sent John, a priest of their own faith and dean of the + church of John the Baptist, as their ambassador to Constantinople, not to + remonstrate against the late acts of the emperor, but to beg that on + future occasions the Alexandrians might be allowed the old privilege of + choosing their own bishop. The Emperor Zeno seems to have seen through the + ambassador’s earnestness, and he first bound him by an oath not to accept + the bishopric if he should even be himself chosen to it, and he then sent + him back with the promise that the Alexandrians should be allowed to + choose their own patriarch on the next vacancy. But unfortunately John’s + ambition was too strong for his oath, and on the death of Timotheus, which + happened soon afterwards, he spent a large sum of money in bribes among + the clergy and chief men of the city, and thereby got himself chosen + patriarch. On this, the emperor seems to have thought only of punishing + John, and he at once gave up the struggle with the Egyptians. Believing + that, of the two patriarchs who had been chosen by the people, Peter + Mongus, who was living in banishment, would be found more dutiful than + John, who was on the episcopal throne, he banished John and recalled + Peter; and the latter agreed to the terms of an imperial edict which Zeno + then put forth, to heal the disputes in the Egyptian church, and to recall + the province to obedience. This celebrated peace-making edict, usually + called the Henoticon, is addressed to the clergy and laity of Alexandria, + Egypt, Libya, and the Pentapolis, and is an agreement between the emperor + and the bishops who countersigned it, that neither party should ever + mention the decrees of the council of Chalcedon, which were the great + stumbling-block with the Egyptians. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0020" id="linkB0020"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/285.jpg" width="100%" + alt="285.jpg Street Sprinkler at Alexandria " /> + </div> + <p> + But in all other points the Henoticon is little short of a surrender to + the people of the right to choose their own creed; it styles Mary the + mother of God, and allows that the decrees of the council of Nicæa and + Constantinople contain all that is important of the true faith. John, when + banished by Zeno, like many of the former deposed bishops, fled to Rome + for comfort and for help. There he met with the usual support; and Felix, + Bishop of Rome, wrote to Constantinople, remonstrating with Zeno for + dismissing the patriarch. But this was only a small part of the emperor’s + want of success in his attempt at peace-making; for the crafty Peter, who + had gained the bishopric by subscribing to the peace-making edict, was no + sooner safely seated on his episcopal throne than he denounced the council + of Chalcedon and its decrees as heretical, and drove out of their + monasteries all those who still adhered to that faith. Nephalius, one of + these monks, wrote to the emperor at Constantinople in complaint, and Zeno + sent Cosmas to the bishop to threaten him with his imperial displeasure, + and to try to re-establish peace in the Church. But the arguments of + Cosmas were wholly unsuccessful; and Zeno then sent an increase of force + to Arsenius, the military prefect, who settled the quarrel for the time by + sending back the most rebellious of the Alexandrians as prisoners to + Constantinople. + </p> + <p> + Soon after this dispute Peter Mongus died, and fortunately he was + succeeded in the bishopric by a peacemaker. Athanasius, the new bishop, + very unlike his great predecessor of the same name, did his best to heal + the angry disputes in the Church, and to reconcile the Egyptians to the + imperial government. + </p> + <p> + Hierocles, the Alexandrian, was at this time teaching philosophy in his + native city, where his zeal and eloquence in favour of Platonism drew upon + him the anger of the Christians and the notice of the government. + </p> + <p> + He was sent to Constantinople to be punished for not believing in + Christianity, for it does not appear that, like the former Hierocles, he + ever wrote against it. There he bore a public scourging from his Christian + torturers, with a courage equal to that formerly shown by their + forefathers when tortured by his. When some of the blood from his + shoulders flew into his hand, he held it out in scorn to the judge, saying + with Ulysses, “Cyclops, since human flesh has been thy food, now taste + this wine.” After his punishment he was banished, but was soon allowed to + return to Alexandria, and there he again taught openly as before. Paganism + never wears so fair a dress as in the writings of Hierocles; his + commentary on the Golden Verses of the Pythagoreans is full of the + loftiest and purest morality, and not less agreeable are the fragments + that remain of his writings on our duties, and his beautiful chapter on + the pleasures of a married life. In the Facetiæ of Hierocles we have one + of the earliest jest-books that has been saved from the wreck of time. It + is a curious proof of the fallen state of learning; the Sophists had long + since made themselves ridiculous; books alone will not make a man of + sense; and in the jokes of Hierocles the blunderer is always called a man + of learning. + </p> + <p> + Ætius, the Alexandrian physician, has left a large work containing a full + account of the state of Egyptian medicine at this time. He describes the + diseases and their remedies, quoting the recipes of numerous authors, from + the King Nechepsus, Galen, Hippocrates, and Hioscorides, down to + Archbishop Cyril. He is not wholly free from superstition, as when making + use of a green jasper set in a ring; but he observes that the patients + recovered as soon when the stone was plain as when a dragon was engraved + upon it according to the recommendation of Nechepsus. In Nile water he + finds every virtue, and does not forget dark paint for the ladies’ + eyebrows, and Cleopatra-wash for the face. + </p> + <p> + Anastasius, the next emperor, succeeding in 491, followed the wise policy + which Zeno had entered upon in the latter years of his reign, and he + strictly adhered to the terms of the peace-making edict. The four + patriarchs of Alexandria who were chosen during this reign, John, a second + John, Dioscorus, and Timotheus, were all of the Jacobite faith; and the + Egyptians readily believed that the emperor was of the same opinion. When + called upon by the quarrelling theologians, he would neither reject nor + receive the decrees of the council of Chalcedon, and by this wise conduct + he governed Egypt without any religious rebellion during a long reign. + </p> + <p> + The election of Dioscorus, however, the third patriarch of this reign, was + not brought about peaceably. He was the cousin of a former patriarch, + Timotheus Ælurus, which, if we view the bishopric as a civil office, might + be a reason for the emperor’s wishing him to have the appointment. But it + was no good reason with the Alexandrians, who declared that he had not + been chosen according to the canons of the apostles; and the magistrates + of the city were forced to employ the troops to lead him in safety to his + throne. After the first ceremony, he went, as was usual at an + installation, to St. Mark’s Church, and there the clergy robed him in the + patriarchal state robes. The grand procession then moved through the + streets to the church of St. John, where the new bishop went through the + communion service. But the city was much disturbed during the whole day, + and in the riot Theodosius, the son of Calliopus, a man of Augustalian + rank, was killed by the mob. The Alexandrians treated the affair as + murder, and punished with death those who were thought guilty; but the + emperor looked upon it as a rebellion of the citizens, and the bishop was + obliged to go on an embassy to Constantinople to appease his just anger. + </p> + <p> + Anastasius, who had deserved the obedience of the Egyptians by his + moderation, pardoned their ingratitude when they offended; but he was the + last Byzantine emperor who governed Egypt with wisdom, and the last who + failed to enforce the decrees of the council of Chalcedon. It may well be + doubted whether any wise conduct on the part of the rulers could have + healed the quarrel between the two countries, and made the Egyptians + forget the wrongs that they had suffered from the Greeks. + </p> + <p> + In the tenth year of the reign of Anastasius, A.D. 501, the Persians, + after overrunning a large part of Syria and defeating the Roman generals, + passed Pelusium and entered Egypt. The army of Kobades laid waste the + whole of the Delta up to the very walls of Alexandria. Eustatius, the + military prefect, led out his forces against the invaders and fought many + battles with doubtful success; but as the capital was safe the Persians + were at last obliged to retire, leaving the people ruined as much by the + loss of a harvest as by the sword. Alexandria suffered severely from + famine and the diseases which followed in its train; and history has + gratefully recorded the name of Urbib, a Christian Jew of great wealth, + who relieved the starving poor of that city with his bounty. Three hundred + persons were crushed to death in the church of Arcadius on Easter Sunday + in the press of the crowd to receive his alms. As war brought on disease + and famine, they also brought on rebellion. The people of Alexandria, in + want of grain and oil, rose against the magistrates, and many lives were + lost in the attempt to quell the riots. + </p> + <p> + In the early part of this history we have seen ambitious bishops quickly + disposed of by banishment to the Great Oasis; and again, as the country + became more desolate, criminals were sufficiently separated from the rest + of the empire by being sent to Thebes. Alexandria was then the last place + in the world in which a pretender to the throne would be allowed to live. + But Egypt was now ruined; and Anastasius began his reign by banishing, to + the fallen Alexandria, Longinus, the brother of the late king, and he had + him ordained a presbyter, to mark him as unfit for the throne. + </p> + <p> + Julianus, who was during a part of this reign the prefect of Egypt, was + also a poet, and he has left us a number of short epigrams that form part + of the volume of Greek Anthology which was published at Constantinople + soon after this time. Christodorus of Thebes was another poet who joined + with Julianus in praising the Emperor Anastasius. He also removed to + Constantinople, the seat of patronage; and the fifth book of the Greek + Anthology contains his epigrams on the winners in the horse-race in that + city and on the statues which stood around the public gymnasium. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0021" id="linkB0021"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/291.jpg" width="100%" + alt="291.jpg Illustrations from Copy of Dioscoride " /> + </div> + <p> + The poet’s song, like the traveller’s tale, often related the wonders of + the river Nile. The overflowing waters first manured the fields, and then + watered the crops, and lastly carried the grain to market; and one writer + in the Anthology, to describe the country life in Egypt, tells the story + of a sailor, who, to avoid the dangers of the ocean, turned husbandman, + and was then shipwrecked in his own meadows. + </p> + <p> + The book-writers at this time sometimes illuminated their more valuable + parchments with gold and silver letters and sometimes employed painters to + ornament them with small paintings. The beautiful copy of the work of + Dioscorides on Plants in the library at Vienna was made in this reign for + the Princess Juliana of Constantinople. In one painting the figure of + science or invention is holding up a plant, while on one side of her is + the painter drawing it on his canvas, and on the other side is the author + describing it in his book. Other paintings are of the plants and animals + mentioned in the book. A copy of the Book of Genesis, also in the library + at Vienna, is of the same class and date. A large part of it is written in + gold and silver; and it has eighty-eight small paintings of various + historical subjects. In these the story is well told, though the drawing + and perspective are bad and the figures crowded. But these Alexandrian + paintings are better than those made in Rome or Constantinople at this + time. + </p> + <p> + With the spread of Christianity theatrical representations had been + gradually going out of use. The Greek tragedies, as we see in the works of + Æschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides, those models of pure taste in poetry, + are founded on the pagan mythology; and in many of them the gods are made + to walk and talk upon the stage. Hence they of necessity fell under the + ban of the clergy. As the Christians became more powerful the several + cities of the empire had one by one discontinued these popular spectacles, + and horse-races usually took their place. But the Alexandrians were the + last people to give up a favourite amusement; and by the end of this reign + Alexandria was the only city in the empire where tragic and comic actors + and Eastern dancers were to be seen in the theatre. + </p> + <p> + The tower or lighthouse on the island of Pharos, the work of days more + prosperous than these, had latterly been sadly neglected with the other + buildings of the country. For more than seven hundred years, the pilot on + approaching this flat shore after dark had pointed out to his shipmate + what seemed a star on the horizon, and comforted him with the promise of a + safe entrance into the haven, and told him of Alexander’s tower. But the + waves breaking against its foot had long since carried away the outworks, + and laid bare the foundations; the wall was undermined and its fall seemed + close at hand. The care of Anastasius, however, surrounded it again with + piles and buttresses; and this monument of wisdom and science, which + deserved to last for ever, was for a little while longer saved from ruin. + An epigram in the Anthology informs us that Ammonius was the name of the + builder who performed this good work, and to him and to Neptune the + grateful sailors then raised their hands in prayer and praise. + </p> + <p> + In 518 Justin I. succeeded Anastasius on the throne of Constantinople, and + in the task of defending the empire against the Persians. And this task + became every year more difficult, as the Greek population of his Egyptian + and Asiatic provinces fell off in numbers. For some years after the + division of the empire under the sons of Constantine, Antioch in Syria had + been the capital from which Alexandria received the emperor’s commands. + The two cities became very closely united; and now that the Greeks were + deserting Antioch, a part of the Syrian church began to adopt the more + superstitious creed of Egypt. Severus, Bishop of Antioch, was successful + in persuading a large party in the Syrian church to deny the humanity of + Christ, and to style Mary the mother of God. But the chief power in + Antioch rested with the opposite party. They answered his arguments by + threats of violence, and he had to leave the city for safety. He fled to + Alexandria, and with him began the friendship between the two churches + which lasted for several centuries. In Alexandria he was received with the + honour due to his religious zeal. But though in Antioch his opinions had + been too Egyptian for the Syrians, in Alexandria they were too Syrian for + the Egyptians. The Egyptians, who said that Jesus had been crucified and + died only in appearance, always denied that his body was liable to + corruption. Severus, however, argued that it was liable to corruption + before the resurrection; and this led him into a new controversy, in which + Timotheus, the Alexandrian bishop, took part against his own more + superstitious flock, and sided with his friend, the Bishop of Antioch. + Severus has left us, in the Syriac language, the baptismal service as + performed in Egypt. The priest breathes three times into the basin to make + the water holy, he makes three crosses on the child’s forehead, he adjures + the demons of wickedness to quit him, he again makes three crosses on his + forehead with oil, he again blows three times into the water in the form + of a cross, he anoints his whole body with oil, and then plunges him in + the water. Many other natives of Syria soon followed Severus to + Alexandria; so many indeed that as Greek literature decayed in that city, + Syriac literature rose. Many Syrians also came to study the religious life + in the monasteries of Egypt, and after some time the books in the library + of the monastery at Mount Nit-ria were found to be half Arabic and half + Syriac. + </p> + <p> + Justin, the new emperor, again lighted up in Alexandria the flames of + discord which had been allowed to slumber since the publication of Zeno’s + peace-making edict. But in the choice of the bishop he was not able to + command without a struggle. In the second year of his reign, on the death + of Timotheus, the two parties again found themselves nearly equal in + strength; and Alexandria was for several years kept almost in a state of + civil war between those who thought that the body of Jesus had been liable + to corruption, and those who thought it incorruptible. The former chose + Gaianas, whom his adversaries called a Manichean; and the latter + Theodosius, a Jacobite, who had the support of the prefect; and each of + these in his turn was able to drive his rival out of Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + Those Persian forces which in the last reign overran the Delta were + chiefly Arabs from the opposite coast of the Red Sea. To make an end of + these attacks, and to engage their attention in another quarter, was the + natural wish of the statesmen of Constantinople; and for this purpose + Anastasius had sent an embassy to the Homeritæ on the southern coast of + Arabia, to persuade them to attack their northern neighbours. The Homeritæ + held the strip of coast now called Hadramout. They were enriched, though + hardly civilised, by being the channel along which much of the Eastern + trade passed from India to the Nile, to avoid the difficult navigation of + the ocean. They were Jewish Arabs, who had little in common with the Arabs + of Yemen, but had frequent intercourse with Abyssinia and the merchants of + the Red Sea. Part of the trade of Solomon and the Tyrians was probably to + their coast. To this distant and little tribe the Emperor of + Constantinople now sent a second pressing embassy. Julianus, the + ambassador, went up the Nile from Alexandria, and then crossed the Red + Sea, or Indian Sea as it was also called, to Arabia. He was favourably + received by the Homeritæ. Arethas, the king, gave him an audience in grand + barbaric state. He was standing in a chariot drawn by four elephants; he + wore no clothing but a cloth of gold around his loins; his arms were laden + with costly armlets and bracelets; he held a shield and two spears in his + hands, and his nobles stood around him armed, and singing to his honour. + When the ambassador delivered the emperor’s letter, Arethas kissed the + seal, and then kissed Julianus himself. He accepted the gifts which Justin + had sent, and promised to move his forces northward against the Persians + as requested, and also to keep the route open for the trade to Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + Justinian, the successor of Justin in 527, settled the quarrel between the + two Alexandrian bishops by summoning them both to Constantinople, and then + sending them into banishment. But this had no effect in healing the + divisions in the Egyptian church; and for the next half-century the two + parties ranged themselves, in their theological or rather political + quarrel, under the names of their former bishops, and called themselves + Gaianites and Theodosians. Nor did the measures of Justinian tend to + lessen the breach between Egypt and Constantinople. He appointed Paul to + the bishopric, and required the Egyptians to receive the decrees of the + council of Chalcedon. + </p> + <p> + After two years Paul was displaced either by the emperor or by his flock; + and Zoilus was then seated on the episcopal throne by the help of the + imperial forces. He maintained his dangerous post for about six years, + when the Alexandrians rose in open rebellion, overpowered the troops, and + forced him to seek safety in flight; and the Jacobite party then turned + out all the bishops who held the Greek faith. + </p> + <p> + When Justinian heard that the Jacobites were masters of Egypt he appointed + Apollinarius to the joint office of prefect and patriarch of Alexandria, + and sent him with a large force to take possession of his bishopric. + Apollinarius marched into Alexandria in full military dress at the head of + his troops; but when he entered the church he laid aside his arms, and + putting on the patriarchal robes began to celebrate the rites of his + religion. The Alexandrians were by no means overawed by the force with + which he had entered the city; they pelted him with a shower of stones + from every corner of the church, and he was forced to withdraw from the + building in order to save his life. But three days afterwards the bells + were rung through the city, and the people were summoned to meet in the + church on the following Sunday, to hear the emperor’s letter read. When + Sunday came the whole city flocked to hear and to disobey Justinian’s + orders. Apollinarius began his address by threatening his hearers that, if + they continued obstinate in their opinions, their children should be made + orphans and their widows given up to the soldiery; and he was as before + stopped with a shower of stones. But this time he was prepared for the + attack; this Christian bishop had placed his troops in ambush round the + church, and on a signal given they rushed out on his unarmed flock, and by + his orders the crowds within and without the church were put to rout by + the sword, the soldiers waded up to their knees in blood, and the city and + whole country yielded its obedience for the time to bishops who held the + Greek faith. + </p> + <p> + Henceforth the Melchite or royalist patriarchs, who were appointed by the + emperor and had the authority of civil prefects, and were supported by the + power of the military prefect, are scarcely mentioned by the historian of + the Koptic church. They were too much engaged in civil affairs to act the + part of ministers of religion. They collected their revenues principally + in grain, and carried on a large export trade, transporting their stores + to those parts of Europe where they would bring the best price. On one + occasion we hear of a small fleet belonging to the church of Alexandria, + consisting of thirteen ships of about thirty tons burden each, and bearing + ten thousand bushels of grain, being overtaken by a storm on the coast of + Italy. The princely income of the later patriarchs, raised from the + churches of all Egypt under the name of the offerings of the pious, + sometimes amounted to two thousand pounds of gold, or four hundred + thousand dollars. But while these Melchite or royalist bishops were + enjoying the ecclesiastical revenues, and administering the civil affairs + of the diocese and of the great monasteries, there was a second bishop who + held the Jacobite faith, and who, having been elected by the people + according to the ancient forms of the Church, equally bore the title of + patriarch, and administered in his more humble path to the spiritual wants + of his flock. The Jacobite bishop was always a monk. At his ordination he + was declared to be elected by the popular voice, by the bishops, priests, + deacons, monks, and all the people of Lower Egypt; and prayers were + offered up through the intercession of the Mother of God, and of the + glorious Apostle Mark. The two churches no longer used the same + prayer-book. The Melchite church continued to use the old liturgy, which, + as it had been read in Alexandria from time immemorial, was called the + liturgy of St. Mark, altered however to declare that the Son was of the + same substance with the Father. But the Koptic church made use of the + newer liturgies by their own champions, Bishop Cyril, Basil of Cæsaræ, and + Gregory Nazianzen. These three liturgies were all in the Koptic language, + and more clearly denied the two natures of Christ. Of the two churches the + Koptic had less learning, more bigotry, and opinions more removed from the + teachings of the New Testament; but then the Koptic bishop alone had any + moral power to lead the minds of his flock towards piety and religion. Had + the emperors been at all times either humane or politic enough to employ + bishops of the same religion as the people, they would perhaps have kept + the good-will of their subjects; but as it was, the Koptic church, + smarting under its insults, and forgetting the greater evils of a foreign + conquest, would sometimes look with longing eyes to the condition of their + neighbours, their brethren in faith, the Arabic subjects of Persia. + </p> + <p> + The Christianity of the Egyptians was mostly superstition; and as it + spread over the land it embraced the whole nation within its pale, not so + much by purifying the pagan opinions as by lowering itself to their level, + and fitting itself to their corporeal notions of the Creator. This was in + a large measure induced by the custom of using the old temples for + Christian churches; the form of worship was in part guided by the form of + the building, and even the old traditions were engrafted on the new + religion. Thus the traveller Antonius, after visiting the remarkable + places in the Holy Land, came to Egypt to search for the chariots of the + Egyptians who pursued Moses, petrified into rocks at the bottom of the Red + Sea, and for the footsteps left in the sands by the infant Jesus while he + dwelt in Egypt with his parents. At Memphis he enquired why one of the + doors in the great temple of Phtah, then used as a church, was always + closed, and he was told that it had been rudely shut against the infant + Jesus five hundred years before, and mortal strength had never since been + able to open it. + </p> + <p> + The records of the empire declared that the first Cæsars had kept six + hundred and forty-five thousand men under arms to guard Italy, Africa, + Spain, and Egypt, a number perhaps much larger than the truth; but + Justinian could with difficulty maintain one hundred and fifty thousand + ill-disciplined troops, a force far from large enough to hold even those + provinces that remained to him. During the latter half of his reign the + eastern frontier of this falling empire was sorely harassed by the + Persians under their king Chosroes. They overran Syria, defeated the army + of the empire in a pitched battle, and then took Antioch. By these defeats + the military roads were stopped; Egypt was cut off from the rest of the + empire and could be reached from the capital only by sea. Hence the + emperor was driven to a change in his religious policy. He gave over the + persecution of the Jacobite opinions, and even went so far in one of his + decrees as to call the body of Jesus incorruptible, as he thought that + these were the only means of keeping the allegiance of his subjects or the + friendship of his Arab neighbours, all of whom, as far as they were + Christians, held the Jacobite view of the Nicene creed, and denied the two + natures of Christ. + </p> + <p> + As the forces of Constantinople were driven back by the victorious armies + of the Persians, the emperors had lost, among other fortresses, the + capital of Arabia Nabataæ, that curious rocky fastness that well deserved + the name of Petra, and which had been garrisoned by Romans from the reign + of Trajan till that of Valens. On this loss it became necessary to fortify + a new frontier post on the Egyptian side of the Elanitic Gulf. Justinian + then built the fortified monastery near Mount Sinai, to guard the only + pass by which Egypt could be entered without the help of a fleet; and when + it was found to be commanded by one of the higher points of the mountain + he beheaded the engineer who built it, and remedied the fault, as far as + it could be done, by a small fortress on the higher ground. This monastery + was held by the Egyptians, and maintained out of the Egyptian taxes. When + the Egyptians were formerly masters of their own country, before the + Persian and Greek conquests, they were governed by a race of priests, and + the temples were their only fortresses. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0022" id="linkB0022"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:44%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/302.jpg" + alt="302.jpg Fortress Near Mount Sinai " /> + </div> + <p> + The temples of Thebes were the citadels of the capital, and the temples of + Elephantine guarded the frontier. So now, when the military prefect is too + weak to make himself obeyed, the emperor tries to govern through means of + the Christian priesthood; and when it is necessary for the Egyptians to + defend their own frontier, he builds a monastery and garrisons it with + monks. + </p> + <p> + Part of the Egyptian trade to the East was carried on through the islands + of Ceylon and Socotra; but it was chiefly in the hands of uneducated Arabs + of Ethiopia, who were little able to communicate to the world much + knowledge of the countries from which they brought their highly valued + goods. At Ceylon they met with traders from beyond the Ganges and from + China, of whom they bought the silk which Europeans had formerly thought a + product of Arabia. At Ceylon was a Christian church, with a priest and a + deacon, frequented by the Christians from Persia, while the natives of the + place were pagans. The coins there used were Roman, borne thither by the + course of trade, which during so many centuries carried the gold and + silver eastward. The trade was lately turned more strongly into this + channel because a war had sprung up between the two tribes of Jewish + Arabs, the Hexumitæ of Abyssinia on the coast of the Red Sea near Adule, + and the Homeritæ who dwelt in Arabia on the opposite coast, at the + southern end of the Red Sea. The Homeritæ had quarrelled with the + Alexandrian merchants in the Indian trade, and had killed some of them as + they were passing their mountains from India to the country of the + Hexumitae. + </p> + <p> + Immediately after these murders the Hexumitæ found the trade injured, and + they took up arms to keep the passage open for the merchants. Hadad their + king crossed the Red Sea and conquered his enemies; he put to death + Damianus, the King of the Homeritse, and made a new treaty with the + Emperor of Constantinople. The Hexumitæ promised to become Christians. + They sent to Alexandria to beg for a priest to baptise them, and to ordain + their preachers; and Justinian sent John, a man of piety and high + character, the dean of the church of St. John, who returned with the + ambassadors and became bishop of the Hexumitae. + </p> + <p> + It was possibly this conquest of the Homeritae by Hadad, King of the + Hexumitae, which was recorded on the monument of Adule, at the foot of the + inscription set up eight centuries earlier by Ptolemy Euergetes. The + monument is a throne of white marble. The conqueror, whose name had been + broken away before the inscription was copied, there boasts that he + crossed over the Red Sea and made the Arabians and Sabaaans pay him + tribute. On his own continent he defeated the tribes to the north of him, + and opened the passage from his own country to Egypt; he also marched + eastward, and conquered the tribes on the African incense coast; and + lastly, he crossed the Astaborus to the snowy mountains in which that + branch of the Nile rises, and conquered the tribes between that stream and + the Astapus. This valuable inscription, which tells us of snowy mountains + within the tropics, was copied by Cosmas, a merchant of Alexandria, who + passed through Adule on his way to India. + </p> + <p> + Former emperors, Anastasius and Justin, had sent several embassies to + these nations at the southern end of the Red Sea; to the Homeritae, to + persuade them to attack the Persian forces in Arabia, and to the + Hexumitae, for the encouragement of trade. Justinian also sent an embassy + to the Homeritae under Abram; and, as he was successful in his object, he + entrusted a second embassy to Abram’s son. Nonnosus landed at Adule on the + Abyssinian coast, and then travelled inward for fifteen days to Auxum, the + capital. This country was then called Ethiopia; it had gained the name + which before belonged to the valley of the Nile between Egypt and Meroë. + On his way to Auxum, he saw troops of wild elephants, to the number, as he + supposed, of five thousand. After delivering his message to Elesbaas, then + King of Auxum, he crossed the Red Sea to Caisus, King of the Homeritæ, a + grandson of that Arethas to whom Justin had sent his embassy. + Notwithstanding the natural difficulties of the journey, and those arising + from the tribes through which he had to pass, Nonnosus performed his task + successfully, and on his return home wrote a history of his embassies. + </p> + <p> + The advantage gained to the Hexumitæ by their invasion of the Homeritæ was + soon lost, probably as soon as their forces were withdrawn. The trade + through the country of the Homeritae was again stopped; and such was the + difficulty of navigation from the incense coast of Africa to the mouths of + the Indus, that the loss was severely felt at Auxum. Elesbæs therefore + undertook to repeat the punishment which had been before inflicted on his + less civilised neighbours, and again to open the trade to the merchants + from the Nile. It was while he was preparing his forces for this invasion + that Cosmas, the Alexandrian traveller, passed through Adule; and he + copied for the King of Auxum the inscription above spoken of, which + recorded the victories of his predecessor over the enemies he was himself + preparing to attack. + </p> + <p> + The invasion by Elesbæs, or Elesthæus as he is also named, was immediately + successful. The Homeritæ were conquered, their ruler was overthrown; and, + to secure their future obedience, the conqueror set over these Jewish + Arabs an Abyssinian Christian for their king. Esimaphæus was chosen for + that post; and his first duty was to convert his new subjects to + Christianity. Political reasons as well as religious zeal would urge him + to this undertaking, to make the conquered bear the badge of the + conqueror. For this purpose he engaged the assistance of Gregentius, a + bishop, who was to employ his learning and eloquence in the cause. + Accordingly, in the palace of Threlletum, in the presence of their new + king, a public dispute was held between the Christian bishop and Herban, a + learned Jew. Gregentius has left us an account of the controversy, in + which he was wholly successful, being helped, perhaps, by the threats and + promises of the king. The arguments used were not quite the same as they + would be now. The bishop explained the Trinity as the Holy Spirit + proceeding from the Mind or Father, and resting on the Word or Son, which + was then the orthodox view of this mysterious doctrine. On the other hand, + the Jew quoted the Old Testament to show that the Lord their God was one + Lord. It is related that suddenly the Jews present were struck blind. + Their sight, however, was restored to them on the bishop’s praying for + them; and they were then all thereby converted and baptised on the spot. + The king stood godfather to Herban, and rewarded him with a high office + under his government. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0023" id="linkB0023"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/307.jpg" width="100%" alt="307.jpg Pyramid of Medum " /> + </div> + <p> + Esimaphasus did not long remain King of the Homeritæ. A rebellion soon + broke out against him, and he was deposed. Elesbaas, King of Auxum, again + sent an army to recall the Homeritæ to their obedience, but this time the + army joined in the revolt; and Elesbæ then made peace with the enemy, in + hopes of thus gaining the advantages which he was unable to grasp by force + of arms. From a Greek inscription on a monument at Auxum we learn the name + of Æizanas, another king of that country, who also called himself, either + truly or boastfully, king of the opposite coast. He set up the monument to + record his victories over the Bougoto, a people who dwelt between Auxum + and Egypt, and he styles himself the invincible Mars, king of kings, King + of the Hexumito, of the Ethiopians, of the Saboans, and of the Homerito. + These kings of the Hexumito ornamented the city of Auxum with several + beautiful and lofty obelisks, each made of a single block of granite like + those in Egypt. + </p> + <p> + Egypt in its mismanaged state seemed to be of little value to the empire + save as a means of enriching the prefect and the tax-gatherers; it yielded + very little tribute to Constantinople beyond the supply of grain, and that + by no means regularly. To remedy these abuses Justinian made a new law for + the government of the province, with a view of bringing about a thorough + reform. By this edict the districts of Menelaites and Mareotis, to the + west of Alexandria, were separated from the rest of Egypt, and they were + given to the prefect of Libya, whose seat of government was at Parotonium, + because his province was too poor to pay the troops required to guard it. + The several governments of Upper Egypt, of Lower Egypt, of Alexandria, and + of the troops were then given to one prefect. The two cohorts, the + Augustalian and the Ducal, into which the two Boman legions had gradually + dwindled, were henceforth to be united under the name of the Augustalian + Cohort, which was to contain six hundred men, who were to secure the + obedience and put down any rebellion of the Egyptian and barbarian + soldiers. The somewhat high pay and privileges of this favoured troop were + to be increased; and, to secure its loyalty and to keep out Egyptians, + nobody was to be admitted into it till his fitness had been inquired into + by the emperor’s examiners. The first duty of the cohort was to collect + the supply of grain for Constantinople and to see it put on board the + ships; and as for the supply which was promised to the Alexandrians, the + magistrates were to collect it at their own risk, and by means of their + own cohort. The grain for Constantinople was required to be in that city + before the end of August, or within four months after the harvest, and the + supply for Alexandria not more than a month later. The prefect was made + answerable for the full collection, and whatever was wanting of that + quantity was to be levied on his property and his heirs, at the rate of + one solidus for three artabo of grain, or about three dollars for fifteen + bushels; while in order to help the collection, the export of grain from + Egypt was forbidden from every port but Alexandria, except in small + quantities. The grain required for Alexandria and Constantinople, to be + distributed as a free gift among the idle citizens, was eight hundred + thousand artabo, or four millions of bushels, and the cost of collecting + it was fixed at eighty thousand solidi, or about three hundred thousand + dollars. The prefect was ordered to assist the collectors at the head of + his cohort, and if he gave credit for the taxes which he was to collect he + was to bear the loss himself. If the archbishop interfered, to give credit + and screen an unhappy Egyptian, then he was to bear the loss, and if his + property was not enough the property of the Church was to make it good; + but if any other bishop gave credit, not only was his property to bear the + loss, but he was himself to be deposed from his bishopric; and lastly, if + any riot or rebellion should arise to cause the loss of the Egyptian + tribute, the tribunes of the Augustalian Cohort were to be punished with + forfeiture of all property, and the cohort was to be removed to a station + beyond the Danube. + </p> + <p> + Such was the new law which Justinian, the great Roman lawgiver, proposed + for the future government of Egypt. The Egyptians were treated as slaves, + whose duty was to raise grain for the use of their masters at + Constantinople, and their taskmasters at Alexandria. They did not even + receive from the government the usual benefit of protection from their + enemies, and they felt bound to the emperor by no tie either of love or + interest. The imperial orders wrere very little obeyed beyond those places + where the troops were encamped; the Arabs were each year pressing closer + upon the valley of the Nile, and helping the sands of the desert to defeat + the labours of the disheartened husbandmen; and the Greek language, which + had hitherto followed and marked the route of commerce from Alexandria to + Syênê, and to the island of Socotra, was now but seldom heard in Upper + Egypt. The Alexandrians were sorely harassed by Haephasstus, a lawyer, who + had risen by court favour to the chief post in the city. He made + monopolies in his own favour of all the necessaries of life, and secured + his ill-gotten gains by ready loans of part of it to Justinian. His zeal + for the emperor was at the cost of the Alexandrians, and to save the + public granaries he lessened the supply of grain which the citizens looked + for as a right. The city was sinking fast; and the citizens could ill bear + this loss, for its population, though lessened, was still too large for + the fallen state of Egypt. + </p> + <p> + The grain of the merchants was shipped from Alexandria to the chief ports + of Europe, between Constantinople in the east and Cornwall in the west. + Britain had been left by the Romans, as too remote for them to hold in + their weakened condition; and the native Britons were then struggling + against their Saxon invaders, as in a distant corner of the world, beyond + the knowledge of the historian. But to that remote country the Alexandrian + merchants sailed every year with grain to purchase tin, enlightening the + natives, while they only meant to enrich themselves. Under the most + favourable circumstances they sometimes performed the voyage in twenty + days. The wheat was sold in Cornwall at the price of a bushel for a piece + of silver, perhaps worth about twenty cents, or for the same weight of + tin, as the tin and the silver were nearly of equal worth. This was the + longest of the ancient voyages, being longer than that from the Red Sea to + the island of Ceylon in the Indian Ocean; and it had been regularly + performed for at least eight centuries without ever teaching the British + to venture so far from their native shores. + </p> + <p> + The suffering and riotous citizens made Alexandria a very unpleasant place + of abode for the prefect and magistrates. They therefore built palaces and + baths for their own use, at the public cost, at Taposiris, about a day’s + journey to the west of the city, at a spot yet marked by the remains of + thirty-six marble columns, and a lofty tower, once perhaps a lighthouse. + At the same time it became necessary to fortify the public granaries + against the rebellious mob. The grain was brought from the Nile by barges + on a canal to the village of Chaereum, and thence to a part of Alexandria + named Phialæ, or <i>The Basins</i>, where the public granaries stood. In + all riots and rebellions this place had been a natural point of attack; + and often had the starving mob broken open these buildings, and seized the + grain that was on its way to Constantinople. But Justinian surrounded them + with a strong wall against such attacks for the future, and at the same + time he rebuilt the aqueduct that had been destroyed in one of the sieges + of the city. + </p> + <p> + In civil suits at law an appeal had always been allowed from the prefect + of the province to the emperor, or rather to the prefect of the East at + Constantinople; but as this was of course expensive, it was found + necessary to forbid it when the sum of money in dispute was small. + Justinian forbade all Egyptian appeals for sums less than ten pounds + weight of gold, or about two thousand five hundred dollars; for smaller + sums the judgment of the prefect was to be final, lest the expense should + swallow up the amount in dispute. + </p> + <p> + In this reign the Alexandrians, for the first time within the records of + history, felt the shock of an earthquake. Their naturalists had very + fairly supposed that the loose alluvial nature of the soil of the Delta + was the reason why earthquakes were unknown in Lower Egypt, and believed + that it would always save them from a misfortune which often overthrew + cities in other countries. Pliny thought that Egypt had been always free + from earthquakes. But this shock was felt by everybody in the city; and + Agathias, the Byzantine historian, who, after reading law in the + university of Beirut, was finishing his studies at Alexandria, says that + it was strong enough to make the inhabitants all run into the street for + fear the houses should fall upon them. + </p> + <p> + The reign of Justinian is remarkable for another blow then given to + paganism throughout the empire, or at least through those parts of the + empire where the emperor’s laws were obeyed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0024" id="linkB0024"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:26%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/313.jpg" + alt="313.jpg a Modern House in the Delta at Rosetta " /> + </div> + <p> + Under Justinian the pagan schools were again and from that time forward + closed. Isidorus the platonist and Salustius the Cynic were among the + learned men of greatest note who then withdrew from Alexandria. Isidorus + had been chosen by Marinus as his successor in the platonic chair at + Athens, to fill the high post of the platonic successor; but he had left + the Athenian school to Zenodotus, a pupil of Proclus, and had removed to + Alexandria. Salustius the Cynic was a Syrian, who had removed with + Isidorus from Athens to Alexandria. He was virtuous in his morals though + jocular in his manners, and as ready in his witty attacks upon the + speculative opinions of his brother philosophers as upon the vices of the + Alexandrians. These learned men, with Damascius and others from Athens, + were kindly received by the Persians, who soon afterwards, when they made + a treaty of peace with Justinian, generously bargained that these men, the + last teachers of paganism, should be allowed to return home, and pass the + rest of their days in quiet. + </p> + <p> + After the flight of the pagan philosophers, but little learning was left + in Alexandria. One of the most remarkable men in this age of ignorance was + Cosmas, an Alexandrian merchant, who wished that the world should not only + be enriched but enlightened by his travels. After making many voyages + through Ethiopia to India for the sake of gain, he gave up trade and + became a monk and an author. When he writes as a traveller about the + Christian churches of India and Ceylon, and the inscriptions which he + copied at Adule in Abyssinia, everything that he tells us is valuable; but + when he reasons as a monk, the case is sadly changed. He is of the + dogmatical school which forbids all inquiry as heretical. He fights the + battle which has been so often fought before and since, and is even still + fought so resolutely, the battle of religious ignorance against scientific + knowledge. He sets the words of the Bible against the results of science; + he denies that the world is a sphere, and quotes the Old Testament against + the pagan astronomers, to show that it is a plane, covered by the + firmament as by a roof, above which he places the kingdom of heaven. His + work is named <i>Christian Topography</i>, and he is himself usually + called Cosmas Indicopleustes, from the country which he visited. + </p> + <p> + During the latter years of the government of Apollinarius, such was his + unpopularity as a spiritual bishop that both the rival parties, the + Gaianites and the Theodosians, had been building places of worship for + themselves, and the more zealous Jacobites had quietly left the churches + to Apollinarius and the Royalists. But on the death of an archdeacon they + again came to blows with the bishop; and a monk had his beard torn off his + chin by the Gaianites in the streets of Alexandria. The emperor was + obliged to interfere, and he sent the Abbot Photinus to Egypt to put down + this rebellion, and heal the quarrel in the Church. Apollinarius died soon + afterwards, and Justinian then appointed John to the joint office of + prefect of the city and patriarch of the Church. The new archbishop was + accused of being a Manichean; but this seems to mean nothing but that he + was too much of the Egyptian party, and that, though he was the imperial + patriarch, and not acknowledged by the Koptic church, yet his opinions + were disliked by the Greeks. On his death, which happened in about three + years, they chose Peter, who held the Jacobite or Egyptian opinions, and + whose name is not mentioned in the Greek lists of the patriarchs. Peter’s + death occurred in the same year as that of the emperor. + </p> + <p> + Under Justinian we again find some small traces of a national coinage in + Egypt. Ever since the reign of Diocletian, the old Egyptian coinage had + been stopped, and the Alexandrians had used money of the same weight, and + with the same Latin inscriptions, as the rest of the empire. But under + Justinian, though the inscriptions on the coins are still Latin, they have + the name of the city in Greek letters. Like the coins of Constantinople, + they have a cross, the emblem of Christianity; but while the other coins + of the empire have the Greek numeral letters, E, I, K, A, or M, to denote + the value, meaning 5, 10, 20, 30, or 40, the coins of Alexandria have the + letters 1 B for 12, showing that they were on a different system of + weights from those of Constantinople. On these the head of the emperor is + in profile. But later in his reign the style was changed, the coins were + made larger, and the head of the emperor had a front face. On these larger + coins the numeral letters are [A r] for 33. We thus learn that the + Alexandrians at this time paid and received money rather by weight than by + tale, and avoided all depreciation of the currency. As the early coins + marked 12 had become lighter by wear, those which were meant to be of + about three times their value were marked 33. + </p> + <p> + During the period from 566 to 602 Justin II. reigned twelve years, + Tiberius reigned four years, and Mauricius, his son-in-law, twenty; and + under these sovereigns the empire gained a little rest from its enemies by + a rebellion among the Persians, which at last overthrew their king + Chosroes. He fled to Mauricius for help, and was by him restored to his + throne, after which the two kingdoms remained at peace to the end of his + reign. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0025" id="linkB0025"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/316.jpg" width="100%" alt="316.jpg Coins of Justinian " /> + </div> + <p> + The Emperor Mauricius was murdered by Phocas, who, in 602, succeeded him + on the throne of Constantinople. No sooner did the news of his death reach + Persia than Chosroes, the son of Hormuz, who had married Maria, the + daughter of Mauricius, declared the treaty with the Romans at an end, and + moved his forces against the new emperor, the murderer of his + father-in-law. During the whole of his reign Constantinople was kept in a + state of alarm and almost of siege by the Persians; and the crimes and + misfortunes of Phocas alike prepared his subjects for a revolt. In the + seventh year Alexandria rebelled in favour of the young Heraclius, son of + the late prefect of Cyrene; and the patriarch of Egypt was slain in the + struggle. Soon afterwards Heraclius entered the port of Constantinople + with his fleet, and Phocas was put to death after an unfortunate reign of + eight years, in which he had lost every province of the empire. + </p> + <p> + During the first three years of the reign of Heraclius, Theodoras was + Bishop of Alexandria; but upon his death the wishes of the Alexandrians so + strongly pointed to John, the son of the prefect of Cyprus, that the + emperor, yielding to their request, appointed him to the bishopric. + Alexandria was not a place in which a good man could enjoy the pleasures + of power without feeling the weight of its duties. It was then suffering + under all those evils which usually befall the capital of a sinking state. + It had lost much of its trade, and its poorer citizens no longer received + a free supply of grain. The unsettled state of the country was starving + the larger cities, and the population of Alexandria was suffering from + want of employment. The civil magistrates had removed their palace to a + distance. But the new bishop seemed formed for these unfortunate times, + and, though appointed by the emperor, he was in every respect worthy of + the free choice of the citizens. He was foremost in every work of + benevolence and charity. The five years of his government were spent in + lightening the sufferings of the people, and he gained the truly Christian + name of John the Almsgiver. Beside his private acts of kindness he + established throughout the city hospitals for the sick and almshouses for + the poor and for strangers, and as many as seven lying-in hospitals for + poor women. John was not less active in outrooting all that he thought + heresy. + </p> + <p> + The first years of the reign of Heraclius are chiefly marked by the + successes of the Persians. While Chosroes, their king, was himself + attacking Constantinople, one general was besieging Jerusalem and a second + overrunning Lower Egypt. Crowds fled before the invading army to + Alexandria as a place of safety, and the famine increased as the province + of the prefect grew narrower and the population more crowded. To add to + the distress the Nile rose to a less height than usual; the seasons seemed + to assist the enemy in the destruction of Egypt. The patriarch John, who + had been sending money, grain, and Egyptian workmen to assist in the pious + work of rebuilding the church of Jerusalem which the Persians had + destroyed, immediately found all his means needed, and far from enough, + for the poor of Alexandria. On his appointment to the bishopric he found + in its treasury eight thousand pounds of gold; he had in the course of + five years received ten thousand more from the offerings of the pious, as + his princely ecclesiastical revenue was named; but this large sum of four + million dollars had all been spent in deeds of generosity or charity, and + the bishop had no resource but borrowing to relieve the misery with which + he was surrounded. In the fifth year the unbelievers were masters of + Jerusalem, and in the eighth they entered Alexandria, and soon held all + the Delta; and in that year the grain which had hitherto been given to the + citizens of Constantinople was sold to them at a small price, and before + the end of the year the supply from Egypt was wholly stopped. + </p> + <p> + When the Persians entered Egypt, the patrician Nicetas, having no forces + with which he could withstand their advance, and knowing that no succour + was to be looked for from Constantinople, and finding that the + Alexandrians were unwilling to support him, fled with the patriarch John + the Almsgiver to Cyprus, and left the province to the enemy. As John + denied that the Son of God had suffered on the cross, his opinions would + seem not to have been very unlike those of the Egyptians; but as he was + appointed to the bishopric by the emperor, though at the request of the + people, he is not counted among the patriarchs of the Koptic church; and + one of the first acts of the Persians was to appoint Benjamin, a Jacobite + priest, who already performed the spiritual office of Bishop of + Alexandria, to the public exercise of that duty, and to the enjoyment of + the civil dignity and revenues. + </p> + <p> + The troops with which Chosroes conquered and held Egypt were no doubt in + part Syrians and Arabs, people with whom the fellahs or labouring class of + Egyptians were closely allied in blood and feelings. Hence arose the + readiness with which the whole country yielded when the Roman forces were + defeated. But hence also arose the weakness of the Persians, and their + speedy loss of this conquest when the Arabs rebelled. Their rule, however, + in Egypt was not quite unmarked in the history of these dark ages. + </p> + <p> + At this time Thomas, a Syrian bishop, came to Alexandria to correct the + Syriac version of the New Testament, which had been made about a century + before by Philoxenus. He compared the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles with the + Greek manuscripts in the monastery of St. Anthony in the capital; and we + still possess the fruits of his learned labour, in which he altered the + ancient text to make it agree with the newer Alexandrian manuscripts. From + his copy the Philoxenian version is now printed. A Syriac manuscript of + the New Testament written by Alexandrian penmen in the sixth year of + Heraclius, is now to be seen in the library of the Augustan friars in + Rome. At the same time another Syrian scholar, Paul of Tela, in + Mesopotamia, was busy in the Alexandrian monastery of St. Zacchæus in + translating the Old Testament into Syriac, from the Septuagint Greek; and + he closes his labours with begging the reader to pray for the soul of his + friend Thomas. Such was now the reputation of the Alexandrian edition of + the Bible, that these scholars preferred it both to the original Hebrew of + the Old and to the earlier manuscripts of the New Testament. Among other + works of this time were the medical writings of Aaron the physician of + Alexandria, formerly written in Syriac, and afterwards much valued by the + Arabs. The Syrian monks in numbers settled in the monastery of Mount + Nitria; and in that secluded spot there remained a colony of these monks + for several centuries, kept up by the occasional arrival of newcomers from + the churches on the eastern side of the Euphrates. + </p> + <p> + For ten years the Egyptians were governed by the Persians, and had a + patriarch of their own religion and of their own choice; and the building + of the Persian palace in Alexandria proves how quietly they lived under + their new masters. But Heraclius was not idle under his misfortunes. The + Persians had been weakened by the great revolt of the Arabs, who had + formed their chief strength on the side of Constantinople and Egypt; and + Heraclius, leading his forces bravely against Chosroes, drove him back + from Syria and became in his turn the invader, and he then recovered + Egypt. The Jacobite patriarch Benjamin fled with the Persians; and + Heraclius appointed George to the bishopric, which was declared to have + been empty since John the Almsgiver fled to Cyprus. + </p> + <p> + The revolt of the Arabs, which overthrew the power of the Persians in + their western provinces and for a time restored Egypt to Constantinople, + was the foundation of the mighty empire of the caliphs; and the Hegira, or + flight of Muhammed, from which the Arabic historians count their lunar + years, took place in 622, the twelfth year of Heraclius. The vigour of the + Arab arms rapidly broke the Persian yoke, and the Moslems then overran + every province in the neighbourhood. This was soon felt by the Romans, who + found the Arabs, even in the third year of their freedom, a more + formidable enemy than the Persians whom they had overthrown; and, after a + short struggle of only two years, Heraclius was forced to pay a tribute to + the Moslems for their forbearance in not conquering Egypt. For eight years + he was willing to purchase an inglorious peace by paying tribute to the + caliph; but when his treasure failed him and the payment was discontinued, + the Arabs marched against the nearest provinces of the empire, offering to + the inhabitants their choice of either paying tribute or receiving the + Muhammedan religion; and they then began on their western frontier that + rapid career of conquest which they had already begun on the eastern + frontier against their late masters, the Persians. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkB0026" id="linkB0026"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/322.jpg" width="100%" alt="322.jpg Tailpiece " /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <a name="linkC2HCH0001" id="linkC2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <a name="linkCimage-0004" id="linkCimage-0004"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/323.jpg" width="100%" alt="323.jpg Page Image " /> + </div> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + CHAPTER III.—EGYPT DURING THE MUHAMMEDAN PERIOD + </h2> + <p> + <i>The Rise of Muhammedanism: The Arabic Conquest of Egypt: The Ommayad + and Abbasid Dynasties.</i> + </p> + <p> + The course of history now follows the somewhat uneventful period which + introduced Arabian rule into the valley of the Nile. It is only necessary + to remind the reader of the striking incidents in the life of Muhammed. He + was born at Mecca, in Arabia, in July, 571, and spent his earliest years + in the desert. At the age of twelve he travelled with a caravan to Syria, + and probably on this occasion first came into contact with the Jews and + Christians. After a few youthful adventures, his poetic and religious + feelings were awakened by study. He gave himself up to profound meditation + upon both the Jewish and Christian ideals, and subsequently beholding the + archangel Gabriel in a vision, he proclaimed himself as a prophet of God. + After preaching his doctrine for three years, and gaining a few converts + (the first of whom was his wife, Khadija), the people of Mecca rose + against him and he was forced to flee from the city in 614. New visions + and subsequent conversions of influential Arabs strengthened his cause, + especially in Medina, whither Muhammed was forced to flee a second time + from Mecca in 622, this second flight being known as the Hegira, from + which dates the Muhammedan era. In the next year, at Medina, he built his + first mosque and married Ayesha, and in 624 was compelled to defend his + pretensions by an appeal to arms. He was at first successful, and + thereupon appointed Friday as a day of public worship, and, being + embittered against the Jews, ordered that the attitude of prayer should no + longer be towards Jerusalem, but towards his birthplace, Mecca. In 625 the + Muhammedans were defeated by the Meccans, but one tribe after another + submitted to him, and after a series of victories Muhammed prepared, in + 629, for further conquests in Syria, but he died in 632 before they could + be accomplished. His successors were known as caliphs, but from the very + first his disciples quarrelled about the leadership, some affirming the + rights of Ali, who had married Muhammed’s daughter, Fatima, and others + supporting the claims of Abu Bekr, his father-in-law. There was also a + religious quarrel concerning certain oral traditions relating to the + Koran, or the Muhammedan sacred scriptures. Those who accepted the + tradition were known as Sunnites, and those who rejected it as Shiites, + the latter being the supporters of Ali, both sects, however, being known + as Moslems or Islamites. Omar, a Sunnite, obtained the leadership in 634, + and proceeded to carry out the prophet’s ambitious schemes of conquest. He + subdued successively Syria, Palestine, and Phoenicia, and in 639 directed + operations against Egypt. The general in charge of this expedition was + Amr, who led four thousand men against Pelusium, which surrendered after a + siege of thirty days. This easy victory was crowned by the capture of + Alexandria. Amr entered the city on December 22, 640, and he seems to have + been surprised at his own success. He immediately wrote to the caliph a + letter in which he says: + </p> + <p> + “I have conquered the town of the West, and I cannot recount all it + contains within its walls. It contains four thousand baths and twelve + thousand venders of green vegetables, four thousand Jews who pay tribute, + and four thousand musicians and mountebanks.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0005" id="linkCimage-0005"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:29%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/325.jpg" alt="325.jpg Coin of Omar " /> + </div> + <div class="figright" style="width:31%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/326.jpg" alt="326 (33K)" /> + </div> + <p> + Amr was anxious to conciliate and gain the affection of the new subjects + he had added to the caliph’s empire, and during his short stay in + Alexandria received them with kindness and personally heard and attended + to their demands. It is commonly believed that in this period the + Alexandrian Library was dismantled; but, as we have already seen, the + books had been destroyed by the zeal of contending Christians. The story + that attributes the destruction of this world-famous institution to the + Arabian conquerors is so much a part of history, and has been so generally + accepted as correct, that the traditional version should be given here. + </p> + <p> + Among the inhabitants of Alexandria whom Amr had so well received, says + the monkish chronicler, was one John the Grammarian, a learned Greek, + disciple of the Jacobite sect, who had been imprisoned by its persecutors. + Since his disgrace, he had given himself up entirely to study, and was one + of the most assiduous readers in the famous library. With the change of + masters he believed the rich treasure would be speedily dispersed, and he + wished to obtain a portion of it himself. So, profiting by the special + kindness Amr had shown him, and the pleasure he appeared to take in his + conversation, he ventured to ask for the gift of several of the + philosophic books whose removal would put an end to his learned + researches. + </p> + <p> + At first Amr granted this request without hesitation, but in his gratitude + John the Grammarian expatiated so unwisely on the extreme rarity of the + manuscripts and their inestimable value, that Amr, on reflection, feared + he had overstepped his power in granting the learned man’s request. “I + will refer the matter to the caliph,” he said, and thereupon wrote + immediately to Omar and asked the caliph for his commands concerning the + disposition of the whole of the precious contents of the library. + </p> + <p> + The caliph’s answer came quickly. “If,” he wrote, “the books contain only + what is in the book of God (the Koran), it is enough for us, and these + books are useless. If they contain anything contrary to the holy book, + they are pernicious. In any case, burn them.” + </p> + <p> + Amr wished to organise his new government, and, having left a sufficient + garrison in Alexandria, he gave orders to the rest of his army to leave + the camp in the town and to occupy the interior of Egypt. “Where shall we + pitch our new camp?” the soldiers asked each other, and the answer came + from all parts, “Round the general’s tent.” The army, in fact, did camp on + the banks of the Nile, in the vicinity of the modern Cairo, where Amr had + ordered his tent to be left; and round this tent, which had become the + centre of reunion, the soldiers built temporary huts which were soon + changed into solid, permanent habitations. Spacious houses were built for + the leaders, and palaces for the generals, and this collection of + buildings soon became an important military town, with strongly marked + Muhammedan characteristics. It was called Fostât (tent) in memory of the + event, otherwise unimportant, which was the origin of its creation. Amr + determined to make his new town the capital of Egypt; whilst still + preserving the name of Fostât, he added that of Misr,—a title always + borne by the capital of Egypt, and which Memphis had hitherto preserved in + spite of the rivalry of Alexandria. + </p> + <p> + Fostât was then surrounded by fortifications, and Amr took up his + residence there, forming various establishments and giving himself up + entirely to the organisation of the vast province whose government the + caliph had entrusted to him. The personal tax, which was the only one, had + been determined in a fixed manner by the treaty of submission he had + concluded with the Kopts; and an unimportant ground rent on landed + property was added in favour of the holy towns of Mecca and Medina, as + well as to defray some expenses of local administration. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0006" id="linkCimage-0006"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/329.jpg" width="100%" alt="329.jpg Old Cairo (fostat) " /> + </div> + <p> + Egypt was entirely divided into provincial districts, all of which had + their own governor and administrators taken from among the Kopts + themselves. The lands which had belonged to the imperial government of + Constantinople, and those of the Greeks who had abandoned Egypt or been + killed in the war against the Mussulmans, were either declared to be the + property of the new government or given out again as fiefs or rewards to + the chief officers of the army. All these lands were leased to the Koptic + farmers, and the respective rights of the new proprietors or tenant + farmers and of the peasant proprietors were determined by decisive and + invariable rules. Thus the agricultural population enjoyed under the + Mussulmans a security and ease which replaced the tyrannical annoyances + and arbitrary exactions of the Christian agents of the treasury of + Constantinople; for, in fact, little by little, there had disappeared + under these Greek agents the sound principles of the old administration + that had been established by the wise kings of ancient Egypt, and which + the Ptolemies had scrupulously preserved, as did also the first governors + under the Cæsars. + </p> + <p> + After all these improvements in the internal administration, the governor + turned his attention to the question of justice, which until that moment + had been subject to the decision of financial agents, or of the soldiers + of the Greek government. Amr now created permanent and regular tribunals + composed of honourable, independent, and enlightened men, who enjoyed + public respect and esteem. To Amr dates back the first of those <i>divans</i>, + chosen from the élite of the population, as sureties of the fairness of + the <i>cadis</i>, which received appeals from first judgments to confirm + them, or, in the case of wrongful decisions, to alter them. The decrees of + the Arab judges had force only for those Mussulmans who formed a part of + the occupying army. Whenever a Koptic inhabitant was a party in an action, + the Koptic authorities had the right to intervene, and the parties were + judged by their equals in race and religion. + </p> + <p> + One striking act of justice succeeded in winning for Amr the hearts of + all. Despite the terror inspired by the religious persecutions which + Heraclius had carried on with so much energy, one man, the Koptic + patriarch Benjamin, had bravely kept his faith intact. He belonged to the + Jacobite sect and abandoned none of its dogmas, and in their intolerance + the all-powerful Melchites did not hesitate to choose him as their chief + victim. Benjamin was dispossessed of his patriarchal throne, his liberty + and life were threatened, and he only succeeded in saving both by taking + flight. He lived thus forgotten in the various refuges that the desert + monasteries afforded him, while Heraclius replaced him by an ardent + supporter of the opinions favoured at court. The whole of Egypt was then + divided into two churches separated from each other by an implacable + hatred. At the head of the Melchites was the new patriarch, who was + followed by a few priests and a small number of partisans who were more + attached to him by fear than by faith. The Jacobites, on the other hand, + comprised the immense majority of the population, who looked upon the + patriarch as an intruder chosen by the emperor. The church still + acknowledged as its real head Benjamin, the patriarch who had been for + thirteen years a wanderer, and whose return was ardently desired. This + wish found public expression as soon as the downfall of the imperial power + in Egypt permitted its free manifestation. Amr listened to the + supplications that were addressed to him, and, turning out the usurper in + his turn, recalled Benjamin from his long exile and replaced him on the + patriarchal throne. + </p> + <p> + But even here Amr’s protection of the Koptic religion did not end. He + opened the door of his Mussulman town, and allowed them to live in Fostât + and to build churches there in the midst of the Mussulman soldiers, even + when Islamism was still without a temple in the city, or a consecrated + place worthy of the religion of the conquerors. + </p> + <p> + Amr at length resolved to build in his new capital a magnificent mosque in + imitation of the one at Mecca. Designs were speedily drawn up, the + location of the new temple being, according to Arab authors, that of an + ancient pyre consecrated by the Persians, and which had been in ruins + since the time of the Ptolemies. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0007" id="linkCimage-0007"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/333.jpg" width="100%" alt="333.jpg a Modern Kopt " /> + </div> + <p> + The monuments of Memphis had often been pillaged by Greek and Roman + emperors, and now they were once again despoiled to furnish the mosque of + Amr with the beautiful colonnades of marble and porphyry which adorn the + walls, and on which, the Arab historians assure us, the whole Koran was + written in letters of gold. + </p> + <p> + Omar died in 644, and under his successor, Othman, the Arabian conquests + were extended in Northern Africa. Othman dying in 656, the claims of Ali + were warmly supported, but not universally recognised, many looking to + Muawia as an acceptable candidate for the caliphate. This was especially + the view of the Syrian Muham-medans, and in 661 Muawia I. was elected + caliph. He promptly transferred the capital from Medina to Damascus, and + became in fact the founder of a dynasty known as the Ommayads, the new + caliph being a descendant of the famous Arabian chieftain Ommayad. Egypt + acknowledged the new authority and remained quiet and submissive. It + furnished Abd el-Malik, who became caliph in 685, not only with rich + subsidies and abundant provisions, but also with part of his troops. + </p> + <p> + The attachment of the Egyptians to their new masters was chiefly owing to + the gentleness and wisdom of Abd el-Aziz ibn Merwan, who administered the + country after Amr was put to death in 689. He visited all the provinces of + Egypt, and, arriving at Alexandria, he ordered the building of a bridge + over the canal, recognising the importance of this communication between + the town and country. + </p> + <p> + Benefiting by the religious liberty that Mussulman sovereignship had + secured them, the Kopts no longer attended to the quarrels of their + masters. They only occupied themselves in maintaining the quiet + peaceful-ness they had obtained by regular payment of their taxes, and by + supplying men and commodities when occasion demanded it. During the reign + of Abd el-Malik in Egypt the only remarkable event there was the election, + in 688, of the Jacobite Isaac as patriarch of Alexandria. The Koptic + clergy give him no other claim to historical remembrance than the + formulating of a decree ordaining “that the patriarch can only be + inaugurated on a Sunday.” + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0008" id="linkCimage-0008"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/335.jpg" width="100%" alt="335.jpg Mosque of Amr " /> + </div> + <p> + Isaac was succeeded by Simon the Syrian, whom the Koptic church looks upon + as a saint, and for whom is claimed the power of reviving the dead. He + nevertheless died from the effects of poison given him at the altar by + some jealous rival. Arab historians relate how deputies came to Simon from + India to ask for a bishop and some priests. The patriarch refused to + comply with this request, but Abd el-Aziz, thinking that this relation + with India might prove politically useful, gave the order to other and + more docile priests. + </p> + <p> + The patriarchal seat was empty for three years after the death of Simon. + The Kopts next appointed a patriarch named Alexander, who held the office + for a little over twenty years. The Koptic writers who recount the history + of this patriarch mention their discontent with the governor Abd el-Aziz. + The monks and other members of the clergy had grown very numerous in Egypt + and claimed to be exempt from taxation. Abd el-Aziz, whose yearly tax was + fixed, thought it unjust that the poorest classes of the people should be + made to pay while the priests, the bishop, and the patriarch, all + possessing abundance, should be privileged by exemption. He therefore had + a census made of all the monks and put on them a tax of one dinar (about + $2.53), while he exacted from the patriarch an annual payment of three + thousand dinars, or about $7,600. This act of justice was the cause of + many complaints among the clergy, but they were soon suppressed and were + without result. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0009" id="linkCimage-0009"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:30%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/337a.jpg" alt="337a.jpg Coin of Abu Bekr " /> + </div> + <p> + After more than twenty years of a prosperous government of Egypt, Abd + el-Aziz ibn Merwan died at Fostât in the year 708 (a.h. 86) at the very + time when, with many fresh plans for the future, he had completed the + building of a large and magnificent palace called ed-Dar el-mudahaba (the + golden house), and a quarter of the town called Suk el-hammam (the pigeon + market). The Caliph Abd el-Malik felt deeply the loss of this brother, + whose qualities he highly appreciated and whom he had appointed as his + successor. + </p> + <p> + He now named as his heir to the caliphate Walid, his eldest son, and + replaced Abd el-Aziz in the government of Egypt with his second son, Abd + Allah ibn Abd el-Malik. The Kopts hoped to obtain from the new governor + the repeal of the act that exacted yearly tribute from the clergy, but Abd + Allah did not think it fair to grant this unjust discrimination against + the poorer classes of the Egyptians. Those monks who have written the + history of the patriarchs have therefore painted Abd Allah in even blacker + colours than they did his predecessor. For the rest, Abd Allah only held + the reins of government in Egypt until the death of his father, which + occurred a few months later. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0010" id="linkCimage-0010"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:29%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/337b.jpg" alt="337b.jpg Coin of Othman " /> + </div> + <p> + Suleiman succeeded his brother Walid I. The new caliph vigorously put into + execution all the plans his brother had formed for the propagation of the + religion of the Prophet. In the first year of his reign he conquered + Tabaristan and Georgia, and sent his brother Maslama to lay fresh siege to + Constantinople. On his accession to the throne Suleiman placed the + government of Egypt in the hands of Assama ibn Yazid, with the title of + agent-general of finances. + </p> + <p> + The Koptic clerical historians, according to their usual habit, portray + this governor as still worse than his predecessors, but in this case the + Mussulman authorities are in agreement in accusing him of the most + iniquitous extortions and most barbarous massacres. The gravest reproach + they bring against him is that, calling all the monks together, he told + them that not only did he intend to maintain the old regulations of Abd + el-Aziz, by which they had to pay an annual tax of one dinar ($2.53), but + also that they would be obliged to receive yearly from his agents an iron + ring bearing their name and the date of the financial transaction, for + which ring they were to make personal contribution. He forced the wearing + of this ring continually, and the hand found without this strange form of + receipt was to be cut off. Several monks who endeavoured to evade this + strict order were pitilessly mutilated, while a number of them, rebelling + against the payment of the tax, retired into convents, thinking they could + safely defraud the treasury. Assama, however, sent his soldiers to search + these retreats, and all the monks found without rings were beheaded or put + to death by the bastinado. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0011" id="linkCimage-0011"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:45%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/338.jpg" alt="338.jpg Coin of Malik " /> + </div> + <p> + Careful about all that related to the Egyptian revenues, Assama commanded + the keeping up of the various Nilometers, which still served to regulate + the assessment of the ground tax. In the year 718 he learned that the + Nilometer established at Helwan, a little below Fostât, had fallen in, and + hastened to report the fact to the caliph. By the orders of this prince + the ruined Nilometer was abandoned, and a new one built at the meridional + point of the island now called Rhodha, just between Fostât and Gizeh. + </p> + <p> + But of all the financial transactions of Assama, the one that vexed most + the inhabitants of Egypt, and which brought down on him the most violent + and implacable hatred, was the ordinance by which all ascending or + descending the Nile were obliged to provide themselves with a passport + bearing a tax. This exorbitant claim was carried out with an abusive and + arbitrary sternness. A poor widow, the Oriental writers say, was + travelling up the Nile with her son, having with her a correct passport, + the payment of which had taken nearly all she possessed. The young man, + while stretched along the boat to drink of the river’s water, was seized + by a crocodile and swallowed, together with the passport he carried in his + breast. The treasury officers insisted that the wretched widow should take + a fresh one; and to obtain payment for it she sold all she had, even to + the very clothes she wore. Such intolerable exactions and excesses ended + by thoroughly rousing the indignant Egyptians. The malcontents assembled, + and a general revolt would have been the result but for the news of the + death of the Caliph Suleiman (717), which gave birth to the hope that + justice might be obtained from his successor. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0012" id="linkCimage-0012"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/339.jpg" width="100%" + alt="339.jpg Citadel of Cairo (fostat). " /> + </div> + <p> + The next caliph was Omar II., a grandson of Merwan I., who had been + nominated as his successor by Suleiman. In his reign the Muhammedans were + repulsed from Constantinople, and the political movement began which + finally established the Abbasid dynasty at Baghdad. Omar dying in the year + 720, Yazid II., a son of Abd el-Malik, succeeded to the caliphate, and + reigned for four years, history being for the most part silent as to the + general condition of Egypt under these two caliphs. It is recorded that in + the year 720, one of Yazid’s brothers, by name Muhammed ibn Abd el-Malik, + ruled over Egypt. The Kopts complained of his rule, and declared that + during the whole reign of Yazid ibn Abd el-Malik the Christians were + persecuted, crosses overthrown, and churches destroyed. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0013" id="linkCimage-0013"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:28%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/341.jpg" + alt="341.jpg a Crocodile Used As A Talisman " /> + </div> + <p> + Yazid was succeeded, in 724 A.D., by his brother Hisham, surnamed + Abu’l-Walid, the fourth son of Abd el-Malik to occupy the throne of Islam, + who, having been appointed by his brother as his successor, took + possession of the throne on the very day of his death. Muhammed was + replaced in Egypt by his cousin, Hassan ibn Yusuf, who only held office + for three years, resigning voluntarily in the year 730 a.d., or 108 of the + Hegira. The Caliph Hisham replaced him by Hafs ibn Walid, who was deposed + a year later, and in the year 109 of the Hegira the caliph appointed in + his place Abd el-Malik ibn Rifa, who had already governed Egypt during the + caliphate of Walid I. Hisham made many changes in the governorship of + Egypt, and amid a succession of rulers appointed Handhala to the post. He + had already been governor of Egypt under Yazid II. He administered the + province for another six years, and, according to the Christian historians + of the East, pursued the same course of intolerance and tyranny that he + had adopted when he governed Egypt for the first time under Yazid. + </p> + <p> + The Caliph Hisham enjoined Handhala to be gentle with his subjects and to + treat the Christians with kindness, but far from conforming with these + wise and kindly intentions, he overwhelmed them with vexations and + tyrannous acts. He doubled the taxes by a general census, subjecting not + only men but also their animals to an impost. The receipts for the new + duty had to be stamped with the impression of a lion, and every Christian + found without one of these documents was deprived of one of his hands. + </p> + <p> + In the year 746 (a.h. 124), on being informed of these abuses, the caliph + deprived him of the government of Egypt, and, giving him the + administration of Mauritania, appointed as his successor Hafs ibn Walid, + who, according to some accounts, had previously governed Egypt for sixteen + years, and who had left pleasanter recollections behind him. Hafs, + however, now only held office for a year. + </p> + <p> + Nothing of political importance happened in Egypt under the long reign of + Hisham, the only events noticed by the Christian historians being those + which relate solely to their ecclesiastical history. The 108th year of the + Hegira saw the death of Alexander, the forty-third Koptic Patriarch of + Alexandria. Since the conquest of Egypt by Omar, for a period of about + twenty-four years, the patriarchate had been in the hands of the + Jacobites; all the bishops in Egypt belonged to that sect, and they had + established Jacobite bishops even in Nubia, which they had converted to + their religion. The orthodox Christians elected Kosmas as their patriarch. + At that time the heretics had taken possession of all the churches in + Egypt, and the patriarch only retained that of Mar-Saba, or the Holy + Sabbath. Kosmas, by his solicitations, obtained from Hisham an order to + his financial administrator in Egypt, Abd Allah ibn es-Sakari, to see that + all the churches were returned to the sect to which they belonged. + </p> + <p> + After occupying the patriarchal throne for only fifteen months, Kosmas + died. In the 109th year of the Hegira (a. d. 727-28) Kosmas was succeeded + by the patriarch Theodore. He occupied the seat for eleven years. His + patriarchate was a period of peace and quiet for the church of Alexandria, + and caused a temporary cessation of the quarrels between the Melchites and + the Jacobites. A vacancy of six years followed his death until, in the + year 127 of the Hegira (749 a. d.), Ibn Khalil was promoted to the office + of patriarch, and held his seat for twenty-three years. + </p> + <p> + Walid II. succeeded to the caliphate in the year 749. One of his first + acts was to take the government of Egypt from Hafs, in spite of the + kindness of his rule, the wisdom and moderation of which had gained for + him the affection of all the provinces which he governed. He was replaced + by Isa ibn Abi Atta, who soon created a universal discontent, as his + administrative measures were oppressive. + </p> + <p> + In the year 750 the Ommayads were supplanted by the Abbasids, who + transferred the capital from Damascus to Baghdad. The first Abbasid caliph + was Abu’l-Abbas, who claimed descent from Abbas, the uncle of Muhammed. + The caliph Merwan II., the last of the Ommayads, in his flight from his + enemies came to Egypt and sent troops from Fostât to hold Alexandria. He + was now pursued to his death by the Abbasid general Salih ibn Ali, who + took possession of Postât for the new dynasty in 750. The change from the + Ommayad to the Abbasid caliphs was effected with little difficulty, and + Egypt continued to be a province of the caliphate and was ruled by + governors who were mostly Arabs or members of the Abbasid family. + </p> + <p> + Abu’l-Abbas, after being inaugurated, began his rule by recalling all the + provincial governors, whom he replaced by his kinsmen and partisans. He + entrusted the government of Egypt to his paternal uncle, Salih ibn Ali, + who had obtained the province for him. Salih, however, did not rule in + person, but was represented by Abu Aun Abd el-Malik ibn Yazid, whom he + appointed vice-governor. The duties of patriarch of Alexandria were then + performed by Michel, commonly called Khail by the Kopts. This patriarch + was of the Jacobite sect and the forty-fifth successor of St. Mark: he + held the office about three years. He in turn was succeeded by the + patriarch Myna, a native of Semennud (the ancient Sebennytus). + </p> + <p> + In the year 754 Abu’l-Abbas died at the age of thirty-two, after reigning + four years, eight months, and twenty-six days, the Arabian historians + being always very precise in recording the duration of the reign of the + caliphs. He was the first of the caliphs to appoint a vizier, the Ommayad + caliphs employing only secretaries during their administration. The + successor of Abu’l-Abbas was his brother Abu Jafar, surnamed El-Man-sur. + Three years after his accession he took the government of Egypt from his + uncle, and in less than seven years Egypt passed successively through the + hands of six different governors. These changes were instigated by the + mistrustful disposition of the caliph, who saw in every man a traitor and + conspirator, dismissing on the slightest provocation his most devoted + adherents, some of whom were even put to death by his orders. His last + choice, Yazid ibn Hatim, governed Egypt for eight years, and the caliph + bestowed the title of Prince of Egypt (Emir Misri) upon him, which title + was also borne by his successors. + </p> + <p> + These continual changes in the government of Egypt had not furthered the + prosperity and well-being of the inhabitants. Each ruler, certain of + speedy dismissal, busied himself with his personal affairs to the + detriment of the country, anxious only to amass by every possible means + sufficient money to compensate him for his inevitable deposition. + Moreover, each governor increased the taxation levied by his predecessor. + Such was the greed and rapacity of these governors that every industry was + continually subjected to increased taxation; the working bricklayer, the + vender of vegetables, the camel-driver, the gravedigger, all callings, + even that of mendicant, were taxed, and the lower classes were reduced to + eating dog’s flesh and human remains. At the moment when Egypt, unable to + support such oppression longer, was on the verge of insurrection, the + welcome tidings of the death of El-Mansur arrived. + </p> + <p> + Muhammed el-Mahdi, son of El-Mansur, succeeded his father and was the + third caliph of the house of Abbas. He was at Baghdad when his father + expired near Mecca, but, despite his absence, was immediately proclaimed + caliph. El-Mahdi betrayed in his deeds that same fickleness which had + signalised the caliphate of his father, El-Mansur. He appointed a + different governor of Egypt nearly every year. These many changes resulted + probably from the political views held by the caliph, or perhaps he + already perceived the tendency shown by each of his provinces to separate + itself from the centre of Islamism. Perhaps also he already foresaw those + divisions which destroyed the empire about half a century later. Thus his + prudence sought, in allowing but a short period of power to each governor, + to prevent their strengthening themselves sufficiently in their provinces + to become independent. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0014" id="linkCimage-0014"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:34%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/347.jpg" + alt="347.jpg Door of an Arabian House. " /> + </div> + <p> + Egypt remained calm and subdued under these constant changes of + government. Syria and the neighbouring provinces followed suit, and the + Caliph el-Mahdi profited by this peaceful state of things to attack the + Emperor of the Greeks. His second son, Harun, undertook the continuation + of this war, and the young prince displayed such talent and bravery that + he gained brilliant victories, and returned to Baghdad after having + captured several cities from the Greeks, overthrown their generals, and + forced Constantinople to pay an annual tribute of seventy thousand dinars + (about $180,000). The Caliph el-Mahdi rewarded Harun by solemnly naming + him the future successor of his eldest son, Musa el-Hadi, whom he had just + definitely declared his heir to the throne. Shortly after this decision, + el-Mahdi died, in the year 785, having reigned ten years and two months. + </p> + <p> + Musa el-Hadi, his eldest son, succeeded him, being the fourth caliph of + the race of Abbasids. On ascending the throne, he withdrew the government + of Egypt from Fadl ibn Salih, appointing in his place Ali ibn Suleiman, + also a descendant of Abbas. El-Hadi plotted against the claims of Harun to + the succession, but he died before his plans had matured, and Harun became + caliph in the year 786. + </p> + <p> + The reign of Harun er-Rashid was the most brilliant epoch of the empire of + Islamism, and his glory penetrated from the far East to the western + countries of Europe, where his name is still celebrated. + </p> + <p> + Harun seems to have been as reluctant as his father and grandfather were + before him to leave a province too long in the hands of a governor, and he + even surpassed them in his precautionary measures. In the year 171 of the + Hegira, he recalled Ali ibn Suleiman, and gave the government of Egypt to + Musa ibn Isa, a descendant of the Caliph Ali. + </p> + <p> + Thereafter the governors were changed on an average of once a year, and + their financial duties were separately administered. Musa ibn Isa, + however, held the appointment of Governor of Egypt on three separate + occasions, and of his third period Said ibn Batrik tells the following + anecdote: + </p> + <p> + “While Obaid Allah ibn el-Mahdi was ruling in Egypt,” he relates, “he sent + a beautiful young Koptic slave to his brother, the caliph, as a gift. The + Egyptian odalisk so charmed the caliph that he fell violently in love with + her. Suddenly, however, the favourite was laid prostrate by a malady which + the court physicians could neither cure nor even diagnose. The girl + insisted that, being Egyptian, only an Egyptian physician could cure her. + The caliph instantly ordered his brother to send post haste the most + skilful doctor in Egypt. This proved to be the Melchite patriarch, for in + those days Koptic priests practised medicine and cultivated other + sciences. The patriarch set out for Baghdad, restored the favourite to + health, and in reward received from the caliph an imperial diploma, which + restored to the orthodox Christians or Melchites all those privileges of + which they had been deprived by the Jacobite heretics since their union + with the conqueror Amr ibn el-Asi.” + </p> + <p> + If this story be true, one cannot but perceive the plot skilfully laid and + carried out by the powerful clergy, to whom any means, even the sending of + a concubine to the caliph, seemed legitimate to procure the restoration of + their supremacy and the humiliation of their adversaries. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0015" id="linkCimage-0015"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:34%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/349.jpg" alt="349.jpg a Veiled Beauty " /> + </div> + <p> + The year 204 of the Hegira was memorable for the death of the Iman + Muhammed ibn Idris, surnamed esh-Shafi. This celebrated doctor was the + founder of one of the four orthodox sects which recognised the Moslem + religion, and whose followers take the name “Shafites” from their chief. + The Iman esh-Shafi died at Fostât when but forty-three years old. His + dogmas are more especially followed in Egypt, where his sect is still + represented and presided over by one of the four Imans at the head of the + famous Mosque Jam el-Azar, or mosque of flowers. + </p> + <p> + The distance of Egypt from Baghdad, the caliph’s capital, was the cause of + the neglect of many of his commands, and upon more than one occasion was + his authority slighted. Thus it happened that for more than five years the + government of Egypt was in the hands of Abd Allah ibn es-Sari, whom the + soldiers elected, but whose appointment was never confirmed by the caliph. + Abd Allah ibn Tahir, the son of the successful general, had, in the year + a.h. 210, settled at Belbeys in Egypt. With a large number of partisans, + he assumed almost regal privileges. In 211 a.h. he proceeded to Fostât and + there dismissed Abd Allah ibn es-Sari and replaced him by Ayad ibn + Ibrahim, whom he also dismissed the following year, giving the + governorship to Isa ibn Yazid, surnamed el-Jalud. In the year 213, the + Caliph el-Mamun ordered Abd Allah ibn Tahir to retire, and confided the + government of Egypt and also that of Syria to his own brother el-Mutasim, + third son of the Caliph Ilarun er-Rashid. + </p> + <p> + In the year 218 of the Hegira (a. d. 833), Muhammed el-Mutasim succeeded + his brother el-Mamun. He was the first caliph who brought the name of God + into his surname. On ascending the throne, he assumed the title el-Mutasim + b’lllah, that is “strengthened by God,” and his example was followed by + all his successors. + </p> + <p> + From the commencement of this reign, el-Mutasim b’lllah was forced to + defend himself against insurgents and aspirants to the caliphate. In the + year 219 of the Hegira, Kindi, the Governor of Egypt, died, and the caliph + named his son, Mudhaffar ibn Kindi, as his successor. Mudhaffar ibn Kindi, + dying the following year, was succeeded by Musa, son of Abu’l-Abbas, + surnamed esh-Shirbani by some writers, esh-Shami (the Syrian) by others. + In the year 224 Musa was recalled and his place taken by Malik, surnamed + by some el-Hindi (the Indian), by others ibn el-Kindi. A year later the + caliph dismissed Malik, and sent Ashas to Egypt in his place. This was the + last governor appointed by el-Mutasim b’lllah, for the caliph died of + fever in the year 227 of the Hegira. + </p> + <p> + Oriental historians have noticed that the numeral eight affected this + caliph in a singular manner. Between himself and Abbas, the head of his + house, there were eight generations; he was born in the month of Shaban, + the eighth month of the Mussulman year; he was the eighth Abbasidian + caliph, and ascended the throne in the year 218, aged thirty-eight years + and eight months; he reigned eight years, eight months, and eight days, + and died in the forty-eighth year of his age, leaving eight sons and eight + daughters. He fought in eight battles, and on his death eight million + dinars and eighty thousand dirhems were discovered in his private + treasury. It is this singular coincidence which gave him the name Mutamma. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0016" id="linkCimage-0016"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:46%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/351.jpg" alt="351.jpg Tomb of a Sheikh " /> + </div> + <p> + But a sadder fatality exercised its influence over the Caliph Mutamma, for + from him dates the beginning of the decadence of his dynasty, and to him + its first cause may be ascribed. The fact is, Mutasim was uneducated, + without ability, and lacking in moral principles; he was unable even to + write. Endowed with remarkable strength and muscles of iron, he was able, + so Arab historians relate, to lift and carry exceptionally heavy weights; + to this strength was added indomitable courage and love of warfare, fine + weapons, horses, and warriors. This taste led him, even before the death + of his father, to organise a picked corps, for which he selected the + finest, handsomest, and strongest of the young Turkish slaves taken in + war, or sent as tribute to the caliph. + </p> + <p> + The vast nation, sometimes called Turks, sometimes Tatars, was + distributed, according to all Oriental geographers, over all the countries + of Northern Asia, from the river Jihun or Oxus to Kathay or China. That + the Turks and the Arabs, both bent upon a persistent policy of conquest, + should come into more or less hostile contact was inevitable. The struggle + was a long one, and during the numerous engagements many prisoners were + taken on both sides. Those Turks who fell into the hands of the Arabs were + sent to the different provinces of their domain, where they became slaves + of the chief emirs and of the caliphs themselves, where, finding favour in + the eyes of the caliphs, they were soon transferred to their personal + retinue. The distrust which the caliphs felt for the emirs of their court, + whose claims they were only able to appease by making vassals of them, + caused them to commit the grave error of confiding in these alien slaves, + who, barbaric and illiterate as they were, now living in the midst of + princes, soon acquired a knowledge of Muhammedanism, the sciences, and, + above all, the politics of the country. + </p> + <p> + It was not long before they were able to fill the most responsible + positions, and, given their freedom by the caliphs, were employed by the + government according to their abilities. Not only were they given the + chief positions at court, but the government of the principal provinces + was entrusted to them. They repaid these favours later by the blackest + ingratitude, especially when the formation of a Turkish guard brought a + number of their own countrymen under their influence. Ever anxious to + augment his own body-guard, and finding the number of Turks he annually + received as tribute insufficient, el-Mutasim purchased a great many for + the purpose of training them for that particular service. But these youths + speedily abused the confidence shown them by the caliph, who, perceiving + that their insolence was daily growing more insupportable to the + inhabitants of Baghdad, resolved to leave the capital, rebuild the ancient + city of Samarrah and again make it the seat of the empire. + </p> + <p> + At this time the captain of the caliph’s guard was one Tulun, a freedman, + whom fate would seem to have reduced to servitude for the purpose of + showing that a slave might found a dynasty destined to rule over Egypt and + Syria. Tulun belonged to the Toghus-ghur, one of the twenty-four tribes + composing the population of Turkestan. His family dwelt near Lake Lop, in + Little Bukhara. He was taken prisoner in battle by Nuh ibn Assad + es-Samami, then in command at Bukhara. This prince, who was subject to the + Caliph Mamun, paid an annual tribute of slaves, Turkish horses, and other + valuables. In the year 815 a. d., Tulun was among the slaves sent as + tribute to the caliph, who, attracted by his bearing, enrolled him in his + own body-guard. + </p> + <p> + Before long he had so gained the caliph’s confidence that Mamun gave him + his freedom and the command of the guard, at the same time appointing him + Emir es-sitri, prince of the veil or curtain. This post, which was a mark + of the greatest esteem, comprised the charge of the personal safety of the + sovereign, by continually keeping watch without the curtain or rich + drapery which hung before the private apartments, and admitting no one + without a special order. Tulun spent twenty years at the court of el-Mamun + and of his successor, Mutasim, and became the father of several children, + one of which, Ahmed ibn Tulun,* known later as Abu l’Abbas, was the + founder of the Tulunide dynasty in Egypt and Syria. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + * Ahmed ibn Tulun was, according to some historians, born at + Baghdad in the year 220 of the Hegira, in the third year of + the reign of el-Mutasim b’ Illah. Others claim Samarrah as + his birthplace. His mother, a young Turkish slave, was named + Kassimeh, or some say, Hachimeh. Some historians have denied + that Ahmed was the son of Tulun, one of them, Suyuti, in a + manuscript belonging to Marcel, quotes Abu Asakar in + confirmation of this assertion, who pretends he was told by + an old Egyptian that Ahmed was the son of a Turk named Mahdi + and of Kassimeh, the slave of Tulun. Suyuti adds that Tulun + adopted the child on account of his good qualities, but this + statement is unsupported and seems contradicted by + subsequent events. +</pre> + <p> + Before Ahmed ibn Tulun had reached an age to take part in political + affairs, two caliphs succeeded Mutasim b’lllah. The first was his son + Harun abu Jafar, who, upon his accession, assumed the surname el-Wathik + b’lllah (trusting in God). Wathik carried on the traditional policy of + continually changing the governors of the provinces, and, dying in the + year 847, was succeeded by his half-brother Mutawakkil. In the following + year the new caliph confided the government of Egypt to Anbasa, but + dismissed him a few months later in favour of his own son el-Muntasir ibn + el-Mutawakkil, whom two years afterwards the caliph named as his successor + to the throne. El-Muntasir was to be immediately succeeded by his two + younger brothers, el-Mutazz b’lllah and el-Mujib b’lllah. + </p> + <p> + Mutawakkil then proceeded to divide his kingdom, giving Africa and all his + Eastern possessions, from the frontier of Egypt to the eastern boundary of + his states, to his eldest son. His second son, el-Mutazz, received + Khorassan, Tabaristan, Persia, Armenia, and Aderbaijan as his portion, and + to el-Mujib, his third son, he gave Damascus, Hemessa, the basin of the + Jordan, and Palestine. + </p> + <p> + These measures, by which the caliph hoped to satisfy the ambitions of his + sons, did not have the desired effect. Despite the immense concessions he + had received, el-Muntasir, anxious to commence his rule over the whole of + the Islam empire, secretly conspired against his father and meditated + taking his life. Finding that in Egypt he was too far from the scene of + his intrigues, he deputed the government of that country to Yazid ibn Abd + Allah, and returned to his father’s court to encourage the malcontents and + weave fresh plots. His evil schemes soon began to bear fruit, for, in the + year 244 of the Hegira, his agents stirred up the Turkish soldiery at + Damascus to insurrection on the ground of deferred payment. Whereupon the + caliph paid them the arrears, and left Damascus to retire to Samarrah. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0017" id="linkCimage-0017"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/356.jpg" width="100%" + alt="356.jpg the Mosque of Ibn Tulun, Cairo. " /> + </div> + <p> + At length, in the year 861 (a.h. 247), Mutawakkil discovered the scarcely + concealed treachery of his son, and reproved him publicly. Some days later + the caliph was murdered at night by the captain of his Turkish Guard, and + Muntasir, who is commonly supposed to have instigated the crime, was + immediately proclaimed as his successor in the government. + </p> + <p> + The most important event in Egypt during the reign of Mutawakkil was the + falling in of the Nilometer at Fostât. This disaster, was the result of an + earthquake of considerable violence, which was felt throughout Syria. The + caliph ordered the reconstruction of the Nilometer, which was accomplished + the same year, and the Nilometer of the Island of Rhodha was then called + Magaz el-jedid, or the New Nilometer. + </p> + <p> + After reigning scarcely a year, Muntasir himself succumbed, most probably + to poison, and his cousin Ahmed was elected to the caliphate by the + Turkish soldiery, with the title of Mustain. During his brief reign the + Moslems were defeated by the Byzantines at Awasia, and in 866 the Turkish + soldiers revolted against the caliph and elected his brother Mutazz in his + place. Mustain was, however, allowed to retire to Ma’szit. He was + permitted to take an attendant with him, and his choice fell upon Ahmed, + the son of Tulun, already mentioned. Ahmed served the dethroned prince + truly, and had no part in the subsequent murder of this unhappy man. + </p> + <p> + In the meantime the mother of Ahmed had married the influential General + Baik-Bey, and when the latter was given the rulership of Egypt in the year + 868 a. d. (254 a.h.), he sent his stepson as proxy, according to the + custom of the time. On the 23d Ramadhan 254 (15th September, 868), Ahmed + ibn Tulun arrived at Fostât. He encountered great difficulties, and + discovered that at Alexandria and also in other districts there were + independent emirs, who were not directly under the ruler. Soon after his + arrival an insurrection broke out in Upper Egypt. Ahmed showed himself + born to the place; he crushed the uprising and also suppressed a second + revolt that was threatening. By degrees he cleverly undermined the power + of his colleagues, and made his own position in Fostât secure. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0018" id="linkCimage-0018"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:43%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/359.jpg" + alt="359.jpg Sanctuary of the Mosque Of Ibn Tulun " /> + </div> + <p> + When Muaffik was nominated commander-in-chief of the West by his brother + Mustamid (elected caliph in 870), Ahmed managed to secure the good-will of + the vizier of the caliph and thus to obtain the command in Egypt. He kept + the regent in Baghdad in a state of complacency, occasionally sending him + tribute; but, as wars with the Sinds began to trouble the caliphate, he + did not think it worth while to trouble himself further about Baghdad, and + decided to keep his money for himself. Muaffik was not the man to stand + this, and prepared to attack Ahmed, but the disastrous results of the last + war had not yet passed away. When the army intended for Egypt was camping + in Mesopotamia, there was not enough money to pay the troops, and the + undertaking had to be deferred. + </p> + <p> + Ahmed had a free hand over the enormous produce of Egypt. The compulsory + labour of the industrious Kopt brought in a yearly income of four million + gold dinars ($10,120,000), and yet these people felt themselves better off + than formerly on account of the greater order and peace that existed under + his energetic government. It cannot be denied that Ahmed in the course of + years became much more extravagant and luxurious, but he used his large + means in some measure for the betterment of the country. He gave large + sums not only for the erection of palaces and barracks, but also for + hospitals and educational advancement. To this day is to be seen the + mosque of Ibn Tulun, built by him in the newer part of Fostât,—a + district which was later annexed to the town of Cairo. + </p> + <p> + The numerous wars in which Muaffik was involved gave Ahmed the opportunity + of extending his power beyond the boundaries of Egypt. The ruler of the + caliphate of Damascus died in the year 897, and soon after Ahmed marched + into Syria, and, with the exception of Antioch, which had to be taken by + force, the whole country fell into the hands of the mighty emir. The + commanders of isolated districts did not feel themselves encouraged to + offer any resistance, for they had no feeling of faithfulness for the + government, nor had they any hope of assistance from Baghdad. + </p> + <p> + The triumphant march of Tulun was hindered in the year 879 by bad news + from Fostât. One of his sons, El-Abbas, had quarrelled with his father, + and had marched to Barca, with troops which he led afterwards to disaster, + and had taken with him money to the amount of 1,000,000 dinars + ($2,530,000). He thought himself safe from his enraged father there, but + the latter quickly returned to Fostât, and the news of the ample + preparations which he was hastening for the subjection of his rebel son + caused El-Abbas to place himself still farther out of his reach. He + suddenly attacked the state of Ibrahim II. (the Aghlabite), and caused + serious trouble with his soldiery in the eastern districts of Tripolis. + The neighbouring Berbers gave Ibrahim their assistance, and Abbas was + defeated and retreated to Barca in 880. He remained there some time until + an army sent by Ahmed annihilated his troops and he himself was taken + prisoner. + </p> + <p> + The rebellion of his son was the turning-point in Ahmed’s career: Lulu, + his general in Mesopotamia, deserted him for Muaffik, and an endeavour to + conquer Mecca was frustrated by the unexpected resistance of numbers of + newly arrived pilgrims. Ahmed now caused the report to be spread that + Muaffik was a conspirator against the representatives of the Prophet, thus + depriving him of his dignity. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0019" id="linkCimage-0019"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/361.jpg" width="100%" + alt="361.jpg the Mosque of Ibn Tulun " /> + </div> + <p> + The emir had also besieged in vain at Tarsus his former general Jasman, + who had become presumptuous on account of his victory over the Byzantines. + He would eventually have made up for this defeat, but an illness overcame + him while encamped before Tarsus. He obeyed his doctor’s orders as little + as the caliph’s, and his malady, aggravated by improper diet, caused his + death in his fifty-first year at Fostât in 884, whither he had withdrawn. + He left seventeen sons,—enough to assure a dynasty of a hundred + years. Khumarawaih, who inherited the kingdom, had not many of his + father’s characteristics. He was a good-natured, pleasure-loving young + man, barely twenty years old, and with a marked distaste for war. He did, + however, notwithstanding his peace-loving proclivities, fight the caliph’s + forces near Damascus, and defeat them, never having seen a battle before. + The emir fled from the scene in a panic. + </p> + <p> + When Muatadid became caliph in 892, he offered his daughter Katr en-Neda + (Dewdrop) in marriage to the caliph’s son. The Arabic historians relate + that Khuma-rawaih was fearful of assassination, and had his couch guarded + by a trained lion, but he was finally put to death (a.h. 282), according + to some accounts by women, and according to others by his eunuchs. The + death of Khu-marawaih was the virtual downfall of the Tulunid dynasty. + </p> + <p> + The officers of the army then at first made Gaish Abu’l-Asakir (one of + Khumarawaih’s sons) emir; but, when this fourteen-year-old boy seemed + incapable of anything but stupid jokes, they put his brother Harun on the + throne. Every commanding officer, however, did as he liked. Rajib, the + commander of the army of defence, declared himself on the side of the + caliph, and the Syrian emirs gave themselves up to his general, Muhammed + ibn Suleiman, without any resistance. At the close of the year he was + before Fostât, and at the same time a fleet appeared at Damietta. A + quarrel arose amongst Harun’s body-guard, in which the unlucky prince was + killed (904). His uncle Shaiban, a worthy son of Ahmed, made a last stand, + but was obliged to give in to the superior force. + </p> + <p> + Muhammed behaved with his Turks in the most outrageous way in Fostât: the + plundering was unrestrained, and that part of Fostât which Ahmed had built + was almost entirely destroyed. The adherents of the reigning family were + grossly maltreated, many of them killed, and others sent to Baghdad. The + governors changed in rapid succession; disorder, want, and wretchedness + existed throughout the entire country west of the caliph’s kingdom. At + this period the provinces of the empire had already fallen into the hands + of the numerous minor princes, who, presuming on the caliph’s weakness, + had declared themselves independent sovereigns. Nothing remained to the + Abbasids but Baghdad, a few neighbouring provinces, and Egypt. + </p> + <p> + Under the Caliphs Muktadir, Kahir, and Rahdi, Egypt had an almost constant + change of governors. One of them, Abu Bekr Muhammed, ultimately became the + founder of a new dynasty,—the Ikshidite,—destined to rule over + Egypt and Syria. Abu Bekr Muhammed was the son of Takadj, then governor of + Damascus. His father had been chief emir at the court of the Tulunid + princes, and, after the fall of this dynasty, remained in Egypt, where he + occupied a post under the government. Intrigues, however, drove him to + Syria, whither his partisans followed him. He first entered the army of + the caliph, and, capturing the town of Ramleh, was given the governorship + of Damascus as reward. His son Abu Bekr Muhammed did not go to Egypt to + fulfil the duties with which he had been invested, and only retained the + title for one month. He was subsequently reinstated, and this time + repaired thither. But Ahmed ibn Kighlagh, who was then governing Egypt, + refused to retire and was only defeated after several engagements, when he + and his followers proceeded to Barca in Africa. + </p> + <p> + In the year 328 of the Hegira, the caliph Radhi bestowed the honour of + Emir el-Umara (Prince of Princes) upon Muhammed ibn Raik. This officer, + discontented with the government of Palestine, led an army into Syria and + expelled Badra, the lieutenant of Muhammed el-Ikshid. The latter left + Egypt at once, entrusting the government of that country to his brother, + el-Hassan, and brought his forces to Faramah, where the troops of Muhammed + ibn Raik were already stationed. Thanks to the mediation of several emirs, + matters were concluded peacefully, and Muhammed el-Ikhshid returned to + Fostât. Upon his arrival, however, he learnt that Muhammed ibn Raik had + again left Damascus and was preparing to march upon Egypt. + </p> + <p> + This intelligence obliged Muhammed el-Ikshid to return at once to Syria. + He encountered the advance-guard of the enemy and promptly led the attack; + his right wing was scattered, but the centre, commanded by himself, + remained firm, and Muhammed ibn Raik retreated towards Damascus. Husain, + brother of el-Ikshid, lost his life in the combat. Despite the enmity + between them, Muhammed ibn Raik sent his own son to el-Ikshid, charged + with messages of condolence for the loss he had sustained and bearing + proposals of peace. Muhammed el-Ikshid received the son of his enemy with + much respect, and invested him with a mantle of honour. He then consented + to cede Damascus, in consideration of an annual tribute of 140,000 pieces + of gold, and the restoration of all that portion of Palestine between + Ramleh and the frontiers of Egypt. After having concluded all the + arrangements relative to this treaty, Muhammed el-Ikshid returned to Egypt + in the year 329 of the Hegira. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0020" id="linkCimage-0020"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figleft" style="width:37%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/365.jpg" alt="365.jpg Coin of Abu Bekr. " /> + </div> + <p> + The Caliph Rahdi died in the same year (940 a. d.). He was thirty years of + age, and had reigned six years, ten months, and ten days. His brother, Abu + Ishak Ibrahim, succeeded him, and was henceforth known by the name of + Muttaki. A year later Muhammed el-Ikshid was acknowledged Prince of Egypt + by the new caliph. Shortly after, he learnt that his former enemy, + Muhammed ibn Raik had been killed by the Hamdanites; he thereupon seized + the opportunity to recover those provinces he had granted him, and, + marching into Syria, captured Damascus and all the possessions he had + relinquished upon the conclusion of their treaty. Feeling now that his + position was secure, he caused his son Kasim to be recognised by the emirs + and the entire army as his successor. + </p> + <p> + The year 332 of the Hegira was a disastrous one in Baghdad. The office of + Prince of Princes, bestowed according to the caprice of the Turkish + officers upon any of their leaders, was now become a position superior + even to that of caliph. It was held at this time by a Turk named Turun, + who so oppressed the caliph Muttaki that the latter was forced to fly from + his capital and retire to Mosul. He then besought help from the + Hamdanites, who immediately rallied their forces and, accompanied by the + caliph, marched upon Baghdad. They were, however, completely routed by + Turun and obliged to retreat. Muttaki showed his gratitude to the two + princes by conferring a mantle of honour upon them, which, for some time + past, had been the only gift that Islam sovereigns had been able to + bestow. + </p> + <p> + Leaving Mosul, the caliph proceeded to Rakkah, and there was invited by + Turun to return to Baghdad. Seeing that his adherents, the Hamdanites, + were greatly discouraged by their recent reverses, Muttaki resolved to + accept the offer. When Muhammed el-Ikshid heard this, he hastened to + Rakkah and offered the caliph refuge in Egypt. But the caliph refused, + agreeing, however, as Muhammed el-Ikshid promised to supply him with the + necessary funds, not to return to Baghdad and place himself in the power + of Turun. In spite of his promise, when Turun, fearing that the caliph had + found powerful friends, came to him, and, casting himself before Muttaki, + paid him all the homage due to an Islam sovereign, he allowed himself to + be overruled, and accompanied Turun back to Baghdad. Hardly had the + unfortunate caliph set foot in his capital when he was murdered, after + reigning four years and eleven months. Turun now proclaimed Abd Allah + Abu’l Kasim, son of Muttaki, caliph, who, after a short and uneventful + reign, was succeeded by his uncle, Abu’l Kasim el-Fadhl, who was the last + of the Abbasid caliphs whom Egypt acknowledged as suzerains. + </p> + <p> + After Muttaki’s return to Baghdad, Muhammed el-Ikshid remained for some + time in Damascus, and then set out for Egypt. His return was signalised by + the war with Saif ed-Dowlah, Prince of Hamdan. The campaign was of varying + success: After a disastrous battle, in which the Egyptians lost four + thousand men as prisoners, Muhammed el-Ikshid left Egypt with a numerous + army and arrived at Maarrah. Saif ed-Dowlah determined to decide the war + with one desperate effort, and first secured the safety of his treasure, + his baggage, and his harem by sending them to Mesopotamia. Then he marched + upon el-Ikshid, who had taken his position at Kinesrin. + </p> + <p> + Muhammed divided his forces into two corps, placing in the vanguard all + those who carried lances; he himself was in the rear with ten thousand + picked men. Saif ed-Dowlah charged the vanguard and routed it, but the + rear stood firm; this resistance saved el-Ikshid from total defeat. The + two armies separated after a somewhat indecisive engagement, and Saif + ed-Dowlah, who could claim no advantage save the capture of his + adversaries’ baggage, went on to Maubej, where he destroyed the bridge, + and, entering Mesopotamia, proceeded towards Rakkah; but Muhammed + el-Ikshid was already stationed there, and the hostile armies, separated + only by the Euphrates, faced one another for several days. + </p> + <p> + Negotiations were then opened, and peace was concluded. The conditions + were that Hemessa, Aleppo, and Mesopotamia should belong to Saif + ed-Dowlah, and all the country from Hemessa to the frontiers of Egypt + remain in the possession of Muhammed el-Ikshid. A trench was dug between + Djouchna and Lebouah, in those places where there were no natural + boundaries, to mark the separation of the two states. To ratify this + solemn peace, Saif ed-Dowlah married the daughter of Muhammed el-Ikshid; + then each prince returned to his own province. The treaty was, however, + almost immediately set aside by the Hamdanites, and el-Ikshid, forced to + retrace his steps, defeated them in several engagements and seized the + town of Aleppo. + </p> + <p> + Thus we see that the year 334 of the Hegira (a. d. 946) was full of + important events, to which was soon added the death of Muhammed el-Ikshid. + He died at Damascus, in the last month of the year (Dhu’l-Kada), aged + sixty, and had reigned eleven years, three months, and two days. He was + buried at Jerusalem. Muhammed el-Ikshid was a man possessing many + excellent talents, and chiefly renowned as an admirable soldier. Brave, + without being rash, quick to calculate his chances, he was able always to + seize the advantage. On the other hand, however, he was so distrustful and + timid in the privacy of his palace that he organised a guard of eight + thousand armed slaves, one thousand of whom kept constant watch. He never + spent the entire night in the same apartment or tent, and no one was ever + permitted to know the place where he slept. + </p> + <p> + We are told that this prince could muster four hundred thousand men; + although historians do not definitely specify the boundaries of his + empire, which, of course, varied from time to time, we may nevertheless + believe that his kingdom, as that of his predecessors, the Tulunites, + extended over Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Mesopotamia, as far as the + Euphrates, and even included a large portion of Arabia. The Christians of + the East charge him with supporting his immense army at their expense, and + persecuting and taxing them to such an extent that they were forced to + sell many possessions belonging to their Church before they could pay the + required sums. + </p> + <p> + But, if we may credit a contemporary historian more worthy of belief, + these expenses were covered by the treasure Muhammed el-Ikshid himself + discovered. In fact, el-Massudi, who died at Cairo in the year 346 of the + Hegira, relates that el-Ikshid, knowing much treasure to be buried there, + was greatly interested in the excavation of the subterraneous tombs of the + ancient Egyptian kings. “The prince” he adds, “was fortunate enough to + come across a portion of those tombs, consisting of vast rooms + magnificently decorated. There he found marvellously wrought figures of + old and young men, women, and children, having eyes of precious stones and + faces of gold and silver.” + </p> + <p> + Muhammed el-Ikshid was succeeded by his son, Abu’l Kasim Muhammed, + surnamed Ungur. The prince being only an infant, Kafur, the favourite + minister of the late caliph, was appointed regent. This Kafur was a black + slave purchased by el-Ikshid for the trifling sum of twenty pieces of + gold. He was intelligent, zealous, and faithful, and soon won the + confidence of his master. Nobility of race in the East appertains only to + the descendants of the Prophet, but merit, which may be found in prince + and subject alike, often secures the highest positions, and even the + throne itself for those of the humblest origin. Such was the fate of + Kafur. He showed taste for the sciences, and encouraged scholars; he + loaded the poets with benefits, and they sang his praises without measure + so long as he continued his favours, but satirised him with equal vigour + as soon as his munificence diminished. Invested with supreme authority, + Kafur served the young prince with a devotion and fidelity worthy of the + highest praise. His first step was to dismiss Abu Bekr Muhammed, the + receiver of the Egyptian tributes, against whom he had received + well-merited complaints. In his place he appointed a native of Mardin, + also called Muhammed, of whose honesty and kindliness he was well aware. + He then took his pupil to Egypt, which country they reached in the month + of Safar in the year 335 of the Hegira. + </p> + <p> + Saif ed-Dowlah, hearing of the death of Muhammed el-Ikshid, and the + departure of Ungur, deemed this a favourable opportunity to despoil his + brother-in-law; he therefore marched upon Damascus, which he captured; but + the faithful Kafur promptly arrived upon the scene with a powerful army, + and, routing Saif ed-Dowlah, who had advanced as far as Ramleh, drove him + back to Rakkah, and relieved Damascus. The remainder of the reign of Ungur + passed peacefully, thanks to the watchfulness and wise government of + Kafur. + </p> + <p> + In the year 345 of the Hegira, the King of Nubia invaded the Egyptian + territories, advancing to Syene, which he pillaged and laid waste. Kafur + at once despatched his forces overland and along the Nile, and + simultaneously ordered a detachment embarking from the Red Sea to proceed + along the southern coast, attack the enemy in the rear and completely cut + off their retreat. The Nubians, thus surprised on all sides, were defeated + and forced to retreat, leaving the fortress of Rym, now known as Ibrim, + and situated fifty miles from Syênê, in the hands of the Egyptians. No + other events of note took place during the lifetime of Ungur, who, having + reigned fourteen years and ten days, died in the year 349 of the Hegira, + leaving his brother Ali, surnamed Abu’l-Hasan, as his successor. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0021" id="linkCimage-0021"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/371.jpg" width="100%" + alt="371.jpg Mosque Tomb Near Syene " /> + </div> + <p> + The reign of Abu’l-Hasan Ali, the second son of Muhammed el-Ikshid, lasted + but five years. His name, as that of his brother Ungur (Abu Hurr), is but + little known in history. Kafur was also regent during the reign of + Abu’l-Hasan Ali. + </p> + <p> + In the year 352 of the Hegira, Egypt was stricken with a disastrous + famine. The rise of the Nile, which the previous year had been but fifteen + cubits, was this year even less, and suddenly the waters fell without + irrigating the country. Egypt and the dependent provinces were thus + afflicted for nine consecutive years. During this time, whilst the people + were agitated by fear for the future, a rupture took place between + Abu’l-Hasan Ali and Kafur. This internal disturbance was soon followed by + war; and in the year 354 the Greeks of Constantinople, led by the Emperor + Nicepherous Phocas, advanced into Syria. They took Aleppo, then in the + possession of the Hamdanites, and, encountering Saif ed-Dowlah, overthrew + him also. The governor of Damascus, Dalim el-Ukazly, and ten thousand men + came to the rescue of the Hamdanites, but Phocas beat a retreat on hearing + of his approach. + </p> + <p> + Abu’l-Hasan Ali died in the year 355 of the Hegira. The regent Kafur then + ascended the throne, assuming the surname el-Ikshid. He acknowledged the + paramount authority of the Abbasid caliph, Muti, and that potentate + recognised his supreme power in the kingdom of Egypt. During the reign of + Kafur, which only lasted two years and four months, the greater portion of + Said was seized by the Fatimites, already masters of Fayum and Alexandria, + and the conquerors were on the point of encroaching still farther, when + Kafur died in the year 357 a.h. Ahmed, surnamed Abu’l Fawaris, the son of + Abu’l-Hasan Ali, and consequently grandson of Mu-hammed el-Ikshid, + succeeded Kafur. + </p> + <p> + The prince was only eleven years old, and therefore incapable of properly + controlling Egypt, Syria, and his other domains. Husain, one of his + relatives, invaded Syria, but in his turn driven back by the Karmates, + returned to Egypt and strove to depose Ahmed. These divisions in the + reigning family severed the ties which united the provinces of the + Egyptian kingdom. To terminate the disturbances, the emirs resolved to + seek the protection of the Fatimites. The latter, anxious to secure the + long-coveted prize, gladly rendered assistance, and Husain was forced to + return to Syria, where he took possession of Damascus, and the unfortunate + Ahmed lost the throne of Egypt. + </p> + <p> + With him perished the Ikshid dynasty, which, more ephemeral even than that + of the Tulunid, flourished only thirty-four years and twenty-four days. + </p> + <p> + The period upon which this history is now about to enter is of more than + usual interest, for it leads immediately to the centuries during which the + Arabic forces came into contact with the forces of Western Europe. The + town and the coast of Mauritania were then ruled by the Fatimites, a + dynasty independent of the Abbasid caliphs of Baghdad. The Fatimites + belonged to the tribes of Koramah, who dwelt in the mountains situated + near the town of Fez in the extreme west of Africa. In the year 269 of the + Hegira, they began to extend their sway in the western regions of Africa, + pursuing their conquests farther east. The Fatimite caliph Obaid Allah and + his son Abu’l Kasim cherished designs not only upon Egypt, but even aimed + at the destruction of the Abbasid caliphate, these plans being so far + successful as to leave the Fatimites in secure possession of Alexandria, + and more or less in power in Fayum. + </p> + <p> + The Fatimite caliphs had lofty and pretentious claims to the allegiance of + the Moslem world. They traced their descent from Fatima, a daughter of the + Prophet, whom Muhammed himself regarded as one of the four perfect women. + At the age of fifteen she married Ali, of whom she was the only wife, and + the partisans of Ali, as we have seen, disputed with Omar the right to the + leadership of Islam upon the Prophet’s death. Critics are not wanting who + dispute the family origin of Obaid Allah, but his claim appears to have + been unhesitatingly admitted by his own immediate followers. The Fatimite + successes in the Mediterranean gave them a substantial basis of political + power, and doubtless this outward and material success was more important + to them than their claim to both a physical and mythical descent from the + founder of their religion. + </p> + <p> + Some accounts trace the descent of Obaid from Abd Allah ibn Maimun + el-Kaddah, the founder of the Ismailian sect, of which the Carmathians + were a branch. The Ismailians may be best regarded as one of the several + sects of Shiites, who originally were simply the partisans of Ali against + Omar, but by degrees they became identified as the upholders of the Koran + against the validity of the oral tradition, and when, later, the whole of + Persia espoused the cause of Ali, the Shiite belief became tinged with all + kinds of mysticism. The Ismailians believed, for instance, in the coming + of a Messiah, to whom they gave the name Mahdi, and who would one day + appear on earth to establish the reign of justice, and revenge the wrongs + done to the family of Ali. The Ismailians regarded Obaid himself as the + Mahdi, and they also believed in incarnations of the “universal soul,” + which in former ages had appeared as the Hebrew Prophets, but which to the + Muhammedan manifested itself as imans. The iman is properly the leader of + public worship, but it is not so much an office as a seership with + mystical attributes. The Muhammedan imans so far have numbered eleven, the + twelfth, and greatest (El-Mahdi), being yet to come. The Ismailians also + introduced mysticism into the interpretation of the Koran, and even taught + that its moral precepts were not to be taken in a literal sense. Thus the + Fatimite caliphs founded their authority upon a combination of political + power and superstition. + </p> + <p> + Abu’l Kasim, who ruled at Alexandria, was succeeded in 945 by his son, + El-Mansur. Under his reign the Fatimites were attacked by Abu Yazid, a + Berber, who gathered around him the Sunnites, and the revolutionaries + succeeded in taking the Fatimite capital Kairwan. El-Mansur, however, soon + defeated Abu Yazid in a decisive battle and rebuilt a new city, Mansuria, + on the site of the modern Cairo, to commemorate the event. Dying in 953, + he was succeeded by Muiz ad-Din. + </p> + <p> + Muiz came to the throne just at the time when dissensions as to the + succession were undermining the Ikshid dynasty. Seizing the opportunity in + the year 969, Muiz equipped a large and well-armed force, with a + formidable body of cavalry, the whole under the command of Abu’l-Husain + Gohar el-Kaid, a native of Greece and a slave of his father El-Mansur. + This general, on his arrival near Alexandria, received a deputation from + the inhabitants of Fostât charged to negotiate a treaty. Their overtures + were favourably entertained, and the conquest of the country seemed + probable without bloodshed. But while the conditions were being ratified, + the Ikshidites prevailed on the people to revoke their offer, and the + ambassadors, on their return, were themselves compelled to seek safety in + flight. + </p> + <p> + Gohar el-Kaid incurred no delay in pushing his troops forward. He forced + the passage of the Nile a few miles south of El-Gizeh at the head of his + troops, and the Ikshidites suffered a disastrous defeat. To the honour of + the African general, it is related that the inhabitants of Fostât were + pardoned and the city was peaceably occupied. The submission of the rest + of Egypt to Muiz was secured by this victory. In the year 359 a.h. Syria + was also added to his domains, but shortly after was overrun by the + Carmathians. The troops of Muiz met with several reverses, Damascus was + taken, and those lawless freebooters, joined by the Ikshidites, advanced + to Ain Shems. In the meanwhile, Gohar had fortified Cairo (the new capital + which he had founded immediately north of Fostât) and taken every + precaution to repel the invaders; a bloody battle was fought in the year + 361 before the city walls, without any decisive result. Later, however, + Gohar obtained a victory over the enemy which proved to be a decisive one. + </p> + <p> + Muiz subsequently removed his court to his new kingdom. In Ramadhan 362, + he entered Cairo, bringing with him the bodies of his three predecessors + and vast treasure. Muiz reigned about two years in Egypt, dying in the + year 365 a.h. He is described as a warlike and ambitious prince, but, + notwithstanding, he was especially distinguished for justice and was fond + of learning. He showed great favour to the Christians, especially to + Severus, Bishop of El-Ashmunein, and the patriarch Ephrem; and under his + orders, and with his assistance, the church of the Mu’allakah, in Old + Misr, was rebuilt. He executed many useful works (among others rendering + navigable the Tanitic branch of the Nile, which is still called the canal + of Muiz), and occupied himself in embellishing Cairo. Gohar, when he + founded that city, built the great mosque named El-Azhar, the university + of Egypt, which to this day is crowded with students from all parts of the + Moslem world. + </p> + <p> + Aziz Abu-Mansur Nizar, on coming to the throne of his father, immediately + despatched an expedition against the Turkish chief El-Eftekeen, who had + taken Damascus a short time previously. Gohar again commanded the army, + and pressed the siege of that city so vigorously that the enemy called to + their aid the Carmathians. Before this united army he was forced to retire + slowly to Ascalon, where he prepared to stand a siege; but, being reduced + to great straits, he purchased his liberty with a large sum of money. On + his return from this disastrous campaign, Aziz took command in person, + and, meeting the enemy at Ramleh, was victorious after a bloody battle; + while El-Eftekeen, being betrayed into his hands, was with Arab + magnanimity received with honour and confidence, and ended his days in + Egypt in affluence. Aziz followed his father’s example of liberality. It + is even said that he appointed a Jew his vizier in Syria, and a Christian + to the same post in Egypt. These acts, however, nearly cost him his life, + and a popular tumult obliged him to disgrace both these officers. After a + reign of twenty-one years of great internal prosperity, he died (a.h. 386) + in a bath at Bilbeis, while preparing an expedition against the Greeks who + were ravaging his possessions in Syria. Aziz was distinguished for + moderation and mildness, but his son and successor rendered himself + notorious for very opposite qualities. + </p> + <p> + Hakim Abu Ali Mansur commenced his reign, according to Moslem historians, + with much wisdom, but afterwards acquired a reputation for impiety, + cruelty, and unreasoning extravagance, by which he has been rendered + odious to posterity. He is said to have had at the same time “courage and + boldness, cowardice and timorousness, a love for learning and + vindictiveness towards the learned, an inclination to righteousness and a + disposition to slay the righteous.” He also arrogated to himself divinity, + and commanded his subjects to rise at the mention of his name in the + congregational prayers, an edict which was obeyed even in the holy cities, + Mecca and Medina. He is most famous in connection with the Druses, a sect + which he founded and which still holds him in veneration and believes in + his future return to the earth. He had made himself obnoxious to all + classes of his subjects when, in the year 397 a.h., he nearly lost his + throne by foreign invasion. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0022" id="linkCimage-0022"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="figright" style="width:43%;"> + <img width="100%" src="images/379.jpg" alt="379.jpg Mosque of Hakim " /> + </div> + <p> + Hisham, surnamed Abu-Rekweh, a descendant of the house of Ommaya in Spain, + took the province of Barca with a considerable force and subdued Upper + Egypt. The caliph, aware of his danger, immediately collected his troops + from every quarter of the kingdom, and marched against the invaders, whom, + after severe fighting, he defeated and put to flight. Hisham himself was + taken prisoner, paraded in Cairo with every aggravation of cruelty, and + put to death. Hakim having thus by vigorous measures averted this danger, + Egypt continued to groan under his tyranny until the year 411 a.h., when + he fell by domestic treachery. His sister Sitt el-Mulk had, in common with + the rest of his subjects, incurred his displeasure; and, being fearful for + her life, she secretly and by night concerted measures with the emir Saif + ed-Dowlah, chief of the guard, who very readily agreed to her plans. Ten + slaves, bribed by five hundred dinars each ($1,260), having received their + instructions, went forth on the appointed day to the desert tract + southward of Cairo, where Hakim, unattended, was in the habit of riding, + and waylaid him near the village of Helwan, where they put him to death. + </p> + <p> + Within a week Hakim’s son Ali had been raised to the caliphate with the + title of Dhahir, at the command of Sitt el-Mulk. As Dhahir was only + eighteen years old, and in no way educated for the government, Sitt + el-Mulk took the reins of government, and was soon looked upon as the + instigator of Hakim’s death. This suspicion was strengthened by the fact + that his sister had the heir to the throne—who was at that time + governor of Aleppo—murdered, and also the chief who had conspired + with her in assassinating Hakim. She survived her brother for about four + years, but the actual ruler was the Vizier Ali el-Jar jar. + </p> + <p> + Dhahir’s reign offers many points of interest. Peace and contentment + reigned in the interior, and Syria continued to be the chief point of + interest to the Egyptian politics. Both Lulu and his son Mansur, who + received princely titles from Hakim, recognised the suzerainty of the + Fatimites. Later on a disagreement arose between Lulu’s son and Dhahir. + One of the former’s slaves conspired against his master, and gave Aleppo + into the hands of the Fatimites, whose governor maintained himself there + till 1023. In this year, however, Aleppo fell into the power of the Benu + Kilab, who defended the town with great success against Romanus in 1030. + Not till Dhahir’s successor came to the throne in 1036 was Aleppo + reconquered by the Fatimites, but only to fall, after a few years, again + into the hands of a Kilabite, whom the caliph was obliged to acknowledge + as governor until he of his own free will exchanged the city for several + other towns in Syria; but even then the strife about the possession of + Aleppo was not yet at an end. + </p> + <p> + Mustanssir ascended the throne at the age of four years. His mother, + although black and once a slave, had great influence in the choice of the + viziers and other officials, and even when the caliph became of age, he + showed very few signs of independence. His reign, which lasted sixty + years, offers a constant alternation of success and defeat. At one time + his dominion was limited to the capital Cairo, at another time he was + recognised as lord of Africa, Sicily, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and even of the + Abbassid capital, Baghdad. A few days later his dominion was again on the + point of being extinguished. The murder of a Turk by the negroes led to a + war between the Turkish mercenaries and the blacks who formed the caliph’s + body-guard. The latter were joined by many of the other slaves, but the + Turks were supported by the Ketama Berbers and some of the Bedouin tribes, + and also the Hamdanite Nasir ed-Dowlah, who had long been in the Egyptian + service. The blacks, although supported by the caliph’s mother, were + completely defeated, and the caliph was forced to acknowledge the + authority of Nasir ed-Dowlah. He thereupon threatened to abdicate, but + when he learned that his palace with all its treasures would then be given + up to plunder, he refrained from fulfilling his threat. The power of the + Hamdanites and the Turks increased with every victory over the negroes, + who finally could no longer maintain themselves at all in Upper Egypt. The + caliph was treated with contempt, and had to give up his numerous + treasures, one by one, to satisfy the avarice of his troops. Even the + graves of his ancestors were at last robbed of all they contained, and + when, at last, everything had been ransacked, even his library, which was + one of the largest and finest, was not spared. The best manuscripts were + dispersed, some went to Africa, others were destroyed, many were damaged + or purposely mutilated by the Sunnites, simply because they had been + written by the Shiites; still others were burnt by the Turks as worthless + material, and the leather bands which held them made into sandals. + </p> + <p> + <a name="linkCimage-0023" id="linkCimage-0023"> + <!-- IMG --></a> + </p> + <div class="fig" style="width:80%;"> + <img src="images/383.jpg" width="100%" + alt="383.jpg Mustanssir’s Gate at Cairo " /> + </div> + <p> + Meanwhile war between Mustanssir and Nasir ed-Dowlah continued to be waged + in Egypt and Syria, until at last the latter became master of Cairo and + deprived the caliph once more completely of his independence. + </p> + <p> + Soon after, a conspiracy with Ildeghiz, a Turkish general, at its head, + was formed against Nasir ed-Dowlah, and he, together with his relations + and followers, was brutally murdered. Ildeghiz behaved in the same way as + his predecessor had-done towards the caliph, and the latter appealed to + Bedr el-Jemali for help. Bedr proceeded to Acre with his best Syrian + troops, landed in the neighbourhood of Damietta and proceeded towards the + capital, which he entered without difficulty (January, 1075). He was + appointed general and first vizier, so that he now held both the highest + military and civil authority. + </p> + <p> + In order to strengthen his position, he had all the commanders of the + troops and the highest officials murdered at a ball. Under his rule, peace + and order were at last restored to Egypt, and the income of the state was + increased under his excellent government. + </p> + <p> + Bedr remained at his post till his death, and his son El-Afdhal was + appointed by Mustanssir to succeed him. Upon the death of Mustanssir + (1094), his successor El-Mustali Abu’l Kasim retained El-Afdhal in office. + He was afterwards murdered under Emir (December, 1121) because, according + to some, he was not a zealous enough Shiite, but, according to others, + because the caliph wished to gain possession of the enormous treasures of + the vizier and to be absolutely independent. Emir was also murdered + (October 7, 1130), and was succeeded by his cousin, who ascended the + throne under the name of Hafiz, and appointed a son of El-Afdhal as + vizier, who, just as his father had done, soon became the real ruler, and + did not even allow the caliph’s name to be mentioned in the prayers; + whereupon he also was murdered at the caliph’s instigation. After other + viziers had met with a similar fate, and amongst them a son of the caliph + himself, at last Hafiz ruled alone. His son and successor, Dhafir + (1149-1150), also frequently changed his viziers because they one and all + wished to obtain too much influence. The last vizier, Abbas, murdered the + caliph (March-April, 1154), and placed El-Faiz, the five-year-old son of + the dead caliph, on the throne, but the child died in his eleventh year + (July, 1160). Salih, then vizier, raised Adid, a descendant of Alhagiz, to + the caliphate and gave him his daughter to wife, for which reason he was + murdered at the desire of the harem. His son Adil maintained himself for a + short time, and then El-Dhargham and Shawir fought for the post; as the + former gained the victory, Shawir fled to Syria, called Nureddin to his + aid, and their army, under Shirkuh and Saladin, put an end in 1171 to the + rule of the Fatimites. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> END OF VOL. XI. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of History Of Egypt From 330 B.C. 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