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diff --git a/17332-8.txt b/17332-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1423ce8 --- /dev/null +++ b/17332-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,9064 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of History Of Egypt From 330 B.C. To The +Present Time, Volume 12 (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 12 (of 12) + +Author: S. Rappoport + +Release Date: December 17, 2005 [EBook #17332] +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 + + + + + +HISTORY OF EGYPT + +From 330 B.C. to the Present Time + + +By S. RAPPOPORT, Doctor of Philosophy, Basel; Member of the Ecole +Langues Orientales, Paris; Russian, German, French Orientalist and +Philologist + +VOL. XII. + +Containing over Twelve Hundred Colored Plates and Illustrations + +THE GROLIER SOCIETY + +PUBLISHERS, LONDON + + +[Illustration: Spines] + +[Illustration: Cover] + +[Illustration: Frontispiece] COLLECTION OF VASES, MODELLED AND PAINTED +IN THE GRAND TEMPLE PHILAE ISLAND. + + +[Illustration: 001.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + + +[Illustration: 002.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + + +_MODERN EGYPT_ + + +_EGYPT DURING THE CRUSADES--RISE OF THE OTTOMAN POWER--NAPOLEON +IN EGYPT--THE RULE OP THE KHEDIVES--DISCOVERING THE SOURCE OF THE +NILE--ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH AND DISCOVERY._ + + +_Spread of Muhammedanism--Spirit of the Crusades--The Fati-mite +Caliphs--Saladin’s brilliant reign--Capture of Damietta--Conquests of +Beybars--Mamluks in power--Wars with Cyprus--Turkish misrule--Napoleon +invades Egypt--Battle of the Pyramids--Policy of conciliation--Nelson +destroys the French fleet--Napoleon in Syria--Battle at Mount +Carmel--Napoleon returns to France--Negotiations for surrender--Kléber +assassinated--French army surrenders--Rise of Mehemet Ali-Massacre of +the Mamluks--Egyptian army reorganized--Ibrahim Pasha in Greece--Battle +of Navarino-Revolt against Turkey-Character of Mehemet Ali--Reforms +under his Rule--Ismail Pasha made Khedive--Financial difficulties +of Egypt--England and France assume control--Tewfik Pasha becomes +Khedive--Revolt of Arabi Pasha--The Mahdist insurrection--Death of +General Gordon--Kitchener’s campaign against the Dervishes--Prosperity +of Egypt under English control--Abbas Pasha becomes Khedive--Education, +courts, and government of modern Egypt--The Nile; its valley, branches, +and delta--Ancient irrigation systems--The Suez Canal, its inception and +completion--The great dam at Aswan--Ancient search for the sources of +the Nile--Modern discoveries in Central Africa--The Hieroglyphs--Origin +of the alphabet--Egyptian literature--Mariettas discoveries--The +German Egyptologists--Jeremiah verified--Maspero, Naville, and +Petrie--Palæolithic man--Egyptian record of Israel--Egypt Exploration +Fund--The royal tombs at Abydos--Chronology of the early kings--Steles, +pottery, and jewelry-The temples of Abydos--Seals, statuettes, and +ceramics._ + + +[Illustration: 003.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + + + + +CHAPTER I--THE CRUSADERS IN EGYPT + + +_The Ideal of the Crusader: Saladin’s Campaign: Richard I. in Palestine: +Siege of Damietta: St. Louis in Egypt: The Mamluks: Beybars’ Policy._ + + +The traditional history of the Christian Church has generally maintained +that the Crusades were due solely to religious influence and sprang from +ideal and moral motives: those hundreds of thousands of warriors who +went out to the East were religious enthusiasts, prompted by the pious +longings of their hearts, and Peter the Hermit, it was claimed, had +received a divine message to call Christendom to arms, to preach +a Crusade against the unbelievers and take possession of the Holy +Sepulchre. That such ideal reasons should be attributed to a war like +the Crusades, of a wide and far-reaching influence on the political and +intellectual development of mediæval Europe, is not at all surprising. +In the history of humanity there have been few wars in which the +combatants on both sides were not convinced that they had drawn their +swords for some noble purpose, for the cause of right and justice. That +the motives prompting the vast display of arms witnessed during the +Crusades, that the wanderings of those crowds to the East during two +centuries, and the cruelties committed by the saintly warriors on their +way to the Holy Sepulchre, should be attributed exclusively to ideal +and religious sources is therefore quite natural. It is not to be +denied that there was a religious factor in the Crusades; but that the +religious motive was not the sole incentive has now been agreed upon +by impartial historians; and in so far as the motives animating the +Crusaders were religious motives, we are to look to powerful influences +which gradually made themselves felt from without the ecclesiastical +organisations. It was by no means a movement which the Church alone had +called into being. On the contrary, only when the movement had grown +ripe did Gregory VII. hasten to take steps to enable the Church to +control it. The idea of a Crusade for the glory of religion had not +sprung from the tenets of Christianity; it was given to mediaeval Europe +by the Muhammedans. + +History can hardly boast of another example of so gigantic a conquest +during so short a period as that gained by the first adherents of Islam. +Like the fiery wind of the desert, they had broken from their retreats, +animated by the promises of the Prophet, and spread the new doctrine far +and wide. In 653 the scimitar of the Saracens enclosed an area as large +as the Roman Empire under the Cæsars. Barely forty years elapsed after +the death of the Prophet when the armies of Islam reached the Atlantic. +Okba, the wild and gallant leader, rode into the sea on the western +shore of Africa, and, whilst the seething waves reached to the saddle +of his camel, he exclaimed: “Allah, I call thee as witness that I should +have carried the knowledge of Thy name still farther, if these waves +threatening to swallow me would not have prevented me from doing so.” + Not long after this, the flag of the crescent was waving from the +Pyrenees to the Chinese mountains. In 711 the Saracens under General +Tarik crossed the straits between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, +and landed on the rock which has since been called after him, “the hill +of Tarik,” Jebel el-Tarik or Gibraltar. Spain was invaded and captured +by the Moslems. For awhile it seemed as if on the other side of the +Garonne the crescent would also supplant the cross, and only the victory +of Charles Martel in 732 put a stop to the wave of Muhammedan conquest. + +Thus in a brief period Muhammedanism spread from the Nile Valley to the +Mediterranean. Muhammed’s trenchant argument was the sword. He gave a +distinct command to his followers to convince the infidels of the +Power of truth on the battle-field. “The sword is a surer argument than +books,” he said. Accordingly the Koran ordered war against unbelievers: +“The sword is the key to heaven and hell; a drop of blood shed in the +cause of Allah, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months +of fasting and prayer; whoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven, +and at the day of judgment his limbs shall be supplied with the wings +of angels and cherubim.” Before the battle commenced, the commanders +reminded the warriors of the beautiful celestial houris who awaited the +heroes slain in battle at the gates of Paradise. + +The first efforts having been crowned with success, the Moslems soon +became convinced of the fulfilment of the prophecy that Allah had given +them the world and wished them to subdue all unbelievers. Under the +Caliph Omar, the Arabs had become a religious-political community of +warriors, whose mission it was to conquer and plunder all civilised and +cultured lands and to unfurl the banner of the crescent. They believed +that “Paradise is under the shadow of the sword.” In this belief the +followers of Muhammed engaged in battle without fear or anxiety, spurred +to great deeds, reckless in the face of danger, happy to die and pass +to the delights of Paradise. The “holy war” became an armed propaganda +pleasing to Allah. It was, however, a form of propaganda quite unknown +and amazing to Christendom. In the course of two centuries the crescent +had supplanted the cross. Of what avail was the peaceful missionary’s +preaching if province after province and country after country were +taken possession of by the new religion that forced its way by means of +fire and sword? + +Was it not natural that Christian Europe should conceive the idea +of doing for their religion what the Moslems did for Islam! and that, +following the example of Moslems in their “holy war,” Christians should +emulate them in the Crusades? + +It must not be forgotten also that the Arabs, almost from the first +appearance of Muhammedanism, were under the refining and elevating +influences of art and science. While the rest of Europe was in the +midnight of the Dark Ages, the Moorish universities of Spain were the +beacon of the revival of learning. The Christian teacher was still +manipulating the bones of the saints when the Arab physician was +practising surgery. The monachal schools and monasteries in Italy, +France, and Germany were still grappling with poor scholastic knowledge +when Arab scholars were well advanced in the study of Aristotle and +Plato. Stimulated by their acquaintance with the works of Ptolemy and +Euclid, Galenus and Hippocrates, they extended their researches into the +dominions of astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. + +[Illustration: 007.jpg ARABIC DECORATIVE PAINTING] + +The religious orders of the knights, a product of the Crusades, found +their antitype in similar organisations of the Moslems, orders that had +exactly the same tendencies and regulations. Such an order established +for the spread of Islam and the protection of its followers was that of +the Raabites or boundary-guards in the Pyrenean peninsula. These knights +made a vow to carry, throughout their lives, arms in defence of the +faith; they led an austere existence, were not allowed to fly in battle, +but were compelled either to conquer or fall. Like the Templars or the +Hospital Knights their whole endeavour was to gain universal dominion +for their religion. The relation existing between the Moslems and +the Christians before the Crusades was much closer than is generally +imagined. Moslem soldiers often fought in the ranks of the Christian +armies; and it was by no means rare to see a Christian ruler call +upon Moslem warriors to assist him against his adversary. Pope Gregory +rescued Rome from the hands of his imperial opponent, Henry of Germany, +only with the aid of the Saracen soldiers. + +When, therefore, the influence of Muhammedanism began to assert itself +throughout the south of Europe, it was natural that in a crude and +stirring age, when strife was the dominant passion of the people, the +idea of a holy war in the cause of faith was one in which Christian +Europe was ready to take an example from the followers of Islam. The +political, economical, and social state of affairs, the misery and +suffering of the people, and even the hierarchy and the ascetic spirit +of the time certainly made the minds of the people accessible to the +idea of war; the spirit of unrest was pervasive and the time was ripe, +but the influence of Islam was a prominent factor in giving to it an +entirely religious aspect. + +But even in the means employed to incite the Christian warriors and +the manner in which the Crusades were carried on, there is a great +similarity between the Christian and the Muhammedan procedure. The +Church, when espousing the cause of the Crusader, did exactly what +Muhammed had done when he preached a holy war. The Church addressed +itself to the weaknesses and passions of human nature. Fallen in +battle, the Moslem, so he was told, would be admitted--be he victor +or vanquished--to the joys of Paradise. The same prospect animated +the Crusader and made him brave danger and die joyfully in defence of +Christianity. “Let them kill the enemy or die. To submit to die for +Christ, or to cause one of His enemies to die, is naught but glory,” + said Saint Bernard. Eloquently, vividly, and in glowing colours were +the riches that awaited the warriors in the far East described: immense +spoil would be taken from the unbelievers. Preachers did not even shrink +from extolling the beauty of the women in the lands to be conquered. +This fact recalls Muhammed’s promise to his believers that they would +meet the ever-beautiful dark-eyed houris in the life after death. To the +material, sensual allurements, the Church added spiritual blessings and +eternal rewards, guaranteed to those who took the red cross. During the +Crusades the Christians did their utmost to copy the cruelties of the +Moslems. That contempt for human life, that entire absence of mercy and +the sense of pity which is familiar in all countries where Islam has +gained sway is characteristic also of the Crusades. + +Although the narrative of the Crusades belongs rather to the history of +Europe than of any one country, it is so closely intertwined with the +history of Egypt at this period that some digression is necessary. About +twenty years after the conquest of Jerusalem by the Turks, in 1076, the +Holy Sepulchre was visited by a hermit of the name of Peter, a native of +Amiens, in the province of Picardy, France. His resentment and sympathy +were excited by his own injuries and the oppression of the Christian +name; he mingled his tears with those of the Patriarch, and earnestly +inquired if no hope of relief from the Greek emperors of the East could +be entertained. The Patriarch exposed the vices and weakness of the +successors of Constantine. “I will rouse,” exclaimed the hermit, “the +martial nations of Europe in your cause;” and Europe was obedient to the +call of the hermit. The astonished Patriarch dismissed him with epistles +of credit and complaint; and no sooner did he land at Bari than Peter +hastened to kiss the feet of the Roman pontiff. Pope Urban II. received +him as a prophet, applauded his glorious design, promised to support it +in a general council, and encouraged him to proclaim the deliverance +of the Holy Land. Invigorated by the approbation of the pontiff, this +zealous missionary traversed with speed and success the provinces of +Italy and France. He preached to innumerable crowds in the churches, the +streets, and the highways: the hermit entered with equal confidence the +palace and the cottage; and the people of all classes were impetuously +moved by his call to repentance and arms. + +The first Crusade was headed by Godefroy de Bouillon, Duke of Lower +Lorraine; Baldwin, his brother; Hugo the Great, brother of the King of +France; Robert, Duke of Normandy, son of William the Conqueror; Raymond +of St. Gilles, Duke of Toulouse; and Bohemond, Prince of Tarentum. +Towards the end of 1097 A.D. the invading force invested Antioch, and, +after a siege of nine months, took it by storm. Edessa was also captured +by the Crusaders, and in the middle of the summer of 1098 they reached +Jerusalem, then in the hands of the Fatimites. + +El-Mustali b’Illah Abu’l Kasim, son of Mustanssir, was then on the +throne, but he was only a nominal ruler, for El-Afdhal, a son of +El-Gemali, had the chief voice in the affairs of the kingdom. It was the +army of Kasim that had captured Jerusalem. The city was besieged by the +Crusaders, and it surrendered to them after forty days. Twice did new +expeditions arrive from Egypt and attempt to retake the city, but with +disastrous results, and further expeditions were impossible for some +time, owing to the internal disorders in Egypt. Mustali died after +a reign of about four years; and some historians record, as a truly +remarkable circumstance, that he was a Sunnite by creed, although he +represented a Shiite dynasty. + +The next ruler, El-Amir, was the five-year-old son of Mustali, and +El-Afdhal conducted the government until he became of age to govern. +His first act was to put El-Afdhal to death. Under El-Amir the internal +condition of Egypt continued unsatisfactory, and the Crusaders, who had +been very successful in capturing the towns of Syria, were only deterred +from an advance on Egypt by the death of their leader, Baldwin. In +a.h. 524, some of the surviving partisans of El-Afdhal, it is said, +put El-Amir to death, and a son of El-Afdhal assumed the direction of +affairs, and appointed El-Hafiz, a grandson of Mustanssir as caliph. +Afdual’s son, whose name was Abu Ali Ahmed, perished in a popular +tumult. The new caliph had great trouble with his next three viziers, +and at length abolished the office altogether. After reigning twenty +years, he was succeeded by his licentious son, Dhafir, whose faults led +to his death at the hand of his vizier, El-Abbas. + +For the ensuing six years the supreme power in Egypt was mainly the bone +of contention between rival viziers, although El-Faiz, a boy of five, +was nominally elected caliph on the death of Dhafir. El-Abbas was +worsted by his rival, Tataë, and fled to Syria with a large sum of +money; but he fell into the hands of the Crusaders, was returned to +Tataë, and crucified. + +[Illustration: 013.jpg ENAMELLED GLASS CUP FROM ARABIA] + +The last of the Fatimite caliphs, El-Adid, in 555 a.h., was raised to +the throne by Tataë, but his power was merely the shadow of sovereignty. +Tataë’s tyranny, however, became so odious that the caliph had him +assassinated a year after his accession, but he concealed the fact that +he had instigated the murder. The caliph appointed Tataë’s son, El-Adil, +as vizier in his stead. The governorship of Upper Egypt was at this time +in the hands of the celebrated Shawir, whom El-Adil dispossessed, but +in a test of battle, El-Adil was defeated and put to death. In his turn, +Shawir yielded to the more powerful Ed-Durghan, and fled to Damascus. +There he enlisted the aid of the Atabeg Sultan Nur ed-Din, who sent his +army against Ed-Durghan, with the result that Shawir was reinstated in +power in Egypt. He thereupon threw off his promised allegiance to Nur +ed-Din, whose general, Shirkuh (who had led the Damascenes to Egypt), +took up a strategic position. Shawir appealed for aid to the Crusaders, +and with the help of Amaury, King of Jerusalem, Shawir besieged his +friend Shirkuh. Nur ed-Din was successfully attacking the Crusaders +elsewhere, and in the end a peace was negotiated, and the Damascenes +left Egypt. + +Two years later, Nur ed-Din formulated a plan to punish the rebellious +Shawir. Persecuted by Shirkuh, Nur ed-Din sent him with his army into +Egypt. The Franks now joined with Shawir to defend the country, hoping +thereby to baffle the schemes of Nur ed-Din. The Christian army was +amazed at all the splendour of the caliph’s palace at Cairo. Shawir +retreated to entice the invaders on, who, advancing beyond their base, +were soon reduced to straits. Shirkuh then tried to come to terms with +Shawir against the Christians as a common foe, but without success. +He next thought of retreating, without fighting, with all his Egyptian +plunder. Persuaded at length to fight, he defeated the Franks and +finally came to terms with Shawir, whereby the Franco-Egyptian alliance +came to an end, and he then left Egypt on receiving an indemnity, Shawir +still remaining its ruler. + +[Illustration: 015.jpg GATE OF EL FUTUH AT CAIRO] + +The peace, however, did not last long, and Nur ed-Din sent Shirkuh again +with many Frankish free-lancers against the ill-fated country. On the +approach of the army towards Cairo, the vizier set fire to the ancient +city of Fostât, to prevent it from falling into the hands of the +invaders, and it burned continually for fifty days. El-Adid now sought +aid of Nur ed-Din, who, actuated by zeal against the Franks, and by +desire of conquest, once more despatched Shirkuh. In the meantime +negotiations had been opened with Amaury to raise the siege of Cairo on +payment of an enormous sum of money. But, before these conditions +had been fulfilled, the approach of the Syrian army induced Amaury +to retreat in haste. Shirkuh and Saladin entered the capital in +great state, and were received with honour by the caliph, and +with obsequiousness by Shawir, who was contriving a plot which was +fortunately discovered, and for which he paid with his life. Shirkuh +was then appointed vizier by El-Adid, but, dying very shortly, he was +succeeded in that dignity by his nephew Saladin (A.D. 1169). + +Saladin inaugurated his reign with a series of brilliant successes. +Egypt once again took an important place among the nations, and by the +wars of Saladin it became the nucleus of a great empire. Military glory +was never the sole aim of Saladin and his successors. They continued +to extend to letters and the arts their willing patronage, and the +beneficial effects of this were felt upon the civilisation of the +country. Though ruler of Egypt, Saladin gained his greatest renown +by his campaigns against the Crusaders in Syria. The inability of Nur +ed-Din’s son, El-Malik es-Salih Ismail, to govern the Syrian dominions +became an excuse for Saladin’s occupation of Syria as guardian of the +young prince, and, once having assumed this function, he remained in +fact the master of Syria. He continued to consolidate his power in these +parts until the Crusaders, under Philip, Count of Flanders, laid siege +to Antioch. Saladin now went out to meet them with the Egyptian army, +and fought the fierce battle of Ascalon, which proved to be disastrous +to himself, his army being totally defeated and his life endangered. +After this, however, he was fortunate enough to gain certain minor +advantages, and continued to hold his own until a famine broke out in +Palestine which compelled him to come to terms with the Crusaders, and +two years later a truce was concluded with the King of Jerusalem, and +Saladin returned to Egypt. + +In the year 576 a.h., he again entered Syria and made war on +Kilidj-Arslan, the Seljukide Sultan of Anatolia, and on Leon, King of +Armenia, both of whom he forced to come to terms. Soon after his return, +Saladin again left Egypt to prosecute a war with the Crusaders, since it +was plain that neither side was desirous of remaining at peace. Through +an incident which had just occurred, the wrath of the Crusaders had been +kindled. A vessel bearing fifteen hundred pilgrims had been wrecked +near Damietta, and its passengers captured. When the King of Jerusalem +remonstrated, Saladin replied by complaining of the constant inroads +made by Renaud de Châtillon. This restless warrior undertook an +expedition against Eyleh, and for this purpose constructed boats at +Kerak and conveyed them on camels to the sea. But this flotilla was +repulsed, and the siege was raised by a fleet sent thither by El-Adil, +the brother of Saladin, and his viceroy. A second expedition against +Eyleh was still more unfortunate to the Franks, who were defeated and +taken prisoners. On this occasion the captives were slain in the valley +of Mina. Saladin then threatened Kerak, encamped at Tiberias, and +ravaged the territory of the Franks. He next made a futile attempt to +take Beirut. He was more successful in a campaign against Mesopotamia, +which he reduced to submission, with the exception of Mosul. While +absent here, the Crusaders did little except undertake several forays, +and Saladin at length returned towards Palestine, winning many victories +and conquering Aleppo on the way. He next ravaged Samaria, and at last +received the fealty of the lord of Mosul, though he did not succeed in +actually conquering the city. + +In the year 1186 war broke out again between Saladin and the Christian +hosts. The sultan had respected a truce which he had made with +Baldwin the Leper, King of Jerusalem, but the restless Renaud, who had +previously attacked Eyleh, had broken through its stipulations. His +plunder of a rich caravan enraged Saladin, who forthwith sent out orders +to all his vassals and lieutenants to prepare for a Holy War. In the +year 1187 he marched from Damascus to Kerak, where he laid close siege +to Renaud. At the same time a large body of cavalry was sent on +towards Nazareth under his son El-Afdhal. They were met by 730 Knights +Hospitallers and Templars, aided by a few hundred foot-soldiers. +Inspired by the heroic Jacques de Maillé, marshal of the Temple, +they defied the large Saracen army. In the conflict which ensued, the +Crusaders immortalised themselves by fighting until only three of their +number were left alive, who, after the conflict was over, managed to +escape. + +Soon after this, Saladin himself approached with a great army of eighty +thousand men, and the Christians with all their forces hastened to meet +him upon the shores of Lake Tiberias. The result of this battle proved +to be the most disastrous defeat which the Christians had yet suffered. +They were weakened by thirst, and on the second day of the conflict a +part of their troops fled. But the knights nevertheless continued to +make a heroic defence until they were overwhelmed by numbers and forced +to flee to the hills of Hittûn. A great number of Crusaders fell in +this conflict, and Guy de Lusignan, King of Jerusalem, and his brother, +Renaud de Châtillon, were among the prisoners of war. The number of +those taken was very great, and Saladin left an indelible stain upon +a reign otherwise renowned for mercy and humanity by allowing the +prisoners to be massacred. Tiberias, Acre, Nabulus, Jericho, Ramleh, +Cæsarea, Arsûr, Jaffa, Beirut, and many other places now fell into the +hands of the conqueror. + +[Illustration: 019.jpg ARAB DRINKING-VESSELS] + +Tyre successfully resisted Saladin’s attacks. Ascalon surrendered on +favourable conditions, and, to crown all, Jerusalem itself fell a prey +to his irresistible arms. The great clemency of Saladin is chronicled +on this occasion by Christian historians, but the same was an offence to +many of the Moslems and is but little referred to by their historians. + +Tyre was now again besieged and was on the point of capture when the +besieged were relieved by the arrival of Conrad, son of the Marquis +of Monferrat. The defence was now fought with such vigour that Saladin +abandoned it and made an attack upon Tripoli, but with no better +success, although he succeeded in forcing Bohemond, Prince of Antioch, +and ruler of Tripoli, to submit on terms favourable to himself. After +this, Saladin took part in the defence of the ever-memorable siege of +Acre, which called forth deeds of gallantry and heroism on both sides, +and which lasted for two years, during which it roused the interest +of the whole of the Christian world. The invading army were in time +reinforced by the redoubtable Richard Coeur de Lion, King of England, +and Philip II. of France, and, breaking down all opposition, they +captured the city, and floated upon its walls the banners of the cross +in the year 1191 A.D. Unfortunately for the good name of the Christians, +an act of ferocious barbarity marred the lustre of their triumph, for +2,700 Moslems were cut down in cold blood in consequence of the failure +of Saladin to fulfil the terms of the capitulation; and the palliative +plea that the massacre was perpetrated in the heat of the assault can +scarcely be urged in extenuation of this enormity. While many historians +have laid the blame on King Richard, the historian Michaud believes +it rather to have been decided on in a council of the chiefs of the +Crusade. + +After a period of rest and debauchery, the army of the Crusaders, led on +by King Richard, began to march towards Jerusalem. Saladin harassed his +advance and rendered the strongholds on the way defenceless and ravaged +the whole country. Richard was nevertheless ever victorious. His great +personal bravery struck terror into the Moslems, and he won an important +victory over them at Arsûr. Dissensions now broke out among chiefs of +the Crusaders, and Richard himself proved to be a very uncertain +leader in regard to the strategy of the campaign. So serious were +these drawbacks that the ultimate aim of the enterprise was thereby +frustrated, and the Crusaders never attained to their great object, +which was the re-conquest of Jerusalem. At the time when the Christian +armies were in possession of all the cities along the coast, from Jaffa +to Tyre, and the hosts of Saladin were seriously disorganised, a treaty +was concluded and King Richard sailed back on the return journey to +England. The glory acquired by Saladin, and the famous campaigns of +Richard Cour de Lion, have rendered the Third Crusade the most memorable +in history, and the exploits of the heroes on both sides shed a lustre +on the arms of both Moslems and Christians. + +Saladin died about a year after the conclusion of this peace, at +Damascus, A.D. 1193, at the age of fifty-seven. With less rashness and +bravery than Richard, Saladin possessed a firmer character and one far +better calculated to carry on a religious war. He paid more attention to +the results of his enterprises; more master of himself, he was more +fit to command others. When mounting the throne of the Atabegs, Saladin +obeyed rather his destiny than his inclinations; but, when once firmly +seated, he was governed by only two passions,--that of reigning and +that of securing the triumph of the Koran. On all other subjects he +was moderate, and when a kingdom or the glory of the Prophet was not +in question, the son of Ayyub was admired as the most just and mild of +Muhammedans. The stern devotion and ardent fanaticism that made him take +up arms against the Christians only rendered him cruel and barbarous +in one single instance. He displayed the virtues of peace amidst the +horrors of war. “From the bosom of the camps,” says an Oriental poet, +“he covered the nations with the wings of his justice, and poured upon +his cities the plenteous showers of his liberality.” During his reign +many remarkable public works were executed. The Muhammedans, always +governed by fear, were astonished that a sovereign could inspire them +with so much love, and followed him with joy to battle. His generosity, +his clemency, and particularly his respect for an oath, were often the +subjects of admiration to the Christians, whom he rendered so miserable +by his victories, and of whose power in Asia he had completed the +overthrow. Previous to his death, Saladm had divided the kingdom +between his three sons; El-Afdhal received Damascus, Southern Syria, +and Palestine, with the title of sultan; El-Aziz obtained the kingdom of +Egypt, and Ez Zahir the princedom of Aleppo. + +El-Aziz undertook a campaign against Syria, but was defeated and obliged +to retreat to Cairo on account of a mutiny among his troops. El-Afdhal +pursued him, and had already pressed forward as far as Bilbeis, when +El-Adil, who had hitherto espoused his cause, fearing that he might +become too powerful, forced him to conclude a peace. The only advantage +he obtained was that he regained possession of Jerusalem and the +southern part of Syria. Soon after, El-Adil prevailed upon his nephew +Aziz, with whom he stood on friendly terms, to renew the war and to +take Damascus; El-Afdhal was betrayed, and only Sarchod was left to him, +whereas El-Adil occupied Damascus and forced Aziz to return to Egypt +again (June, 1196). After Aziz’s death, in November, 1198, El-Afdhal was +summoned by some of the emirs to act as regent in Egypt. Others called +upon El-Adil to adopt the same course. El-Afdhal, however, became master +of Egypt, and besieged Damascus, reinforced by his brother Zahir, who +feared his uncle’s ambition no less than himself. The agreement between +the brothers, however, did not last long; their armies separated, and +El-Afdhal was obliged to raise the siege and retreat to Egypt. He was +pursued by his uncle, and forced, after several skirmishes, to surrender +the capital and content himself once more with Sarchod and one or two +towns on the Euphrates (February, 1200). El-Adil ruled for a short time +in the name of El-Aziz’s son; he soon came forward as sultan, forced +Zahir to recognise him as his suzerain, and appointed his son El-Muzzain +as governor of Damascus; the towns which belonged to him in Mesopotamia +were distributed among his other sons, and he thus became, to a certain +extent, the overlord of all the lands conquered by Saladin. His son, +El-Ashraf, later became lord of Chelat in Armenia, and his descendant, +Masud, Kamil’s son, obtained possession of happy Arabia; so that the +name Malik Adil was pronounced in all the Moslem chancels from the +borders of Georgia to the Gulf of Aden. + +[Illustration: 025.jpg VASE IN THE ABBOTT COLLECTION, NEW YORK] + +El-Adil was so much engaged with wars against the Moslem princes,--the +princes of Nissibis and Mardin,--and also with repulsing El-Afdhal, who +wished to recover his lost kingdom, that he was unable to proceed with +any force against the Crusaders; he took unwilling measures against them +when they actually broke the peace, and was always ready to conclude +a new treaty. He took Jaffa by storm when the pilgrims, armed by Henry +VI., came to Palestine and interfered with the Moslem devotions, and +when the chancellor Conrad thereupon seized Sidon and Beirut, El-Adil +contented himself with laying waste the former town and hindering +the capture of the fortress Joron; Beirut he allowed to fall into +the enemy’s hands. Still later he permitted several attacks of the +Christians--such as the devastation of the town Fuah, situated on the +Rosetta arm of the Nile--to pass unnoticed, and even bought peace at +the expense of the districts of Ramleh and Lydda, which had formerly +belonged to him. It was not until the year 1206 that he acted upon the +offensive against the regent, John of Ibelin, and even then he contented +himself with slight advantages and concluded a new truce for thirty +years. + +Shortly before his death, El-Adil, like his brother Saladin, narrowly +escaped losing all his glory and the fruits of so many victories. Pope +Honorius III. had successfully aroused the zeal of the Western +nations for a new Crusade. Numerous well-armed and warlike-minded +pilgrims--among whom were King Andreas of Hungary and Duke Leopold of +Austria--landed at Acre in 1217, and King John of Jerusalem led them +against the Moslems. El-Adil hastened from Egypt to the scene of action, +but was forced to retreat to Damascus and to give up the whole of the +southern district, with the exception of the well-fortified holy town, +to be plundered by the Christians. In the following spring, whilst +El-Adil was in Syria, a Christian fleet sailed to Damietta, and besieged +the town. The attacking forces were composed of Germans and Hungarians, +who had embarked at Spalato on the Adriatic for St. Jean d’Acre, where +they spent a year in unfortunate expeditions and quarrels with the +Christians of Syria. They were joined by a fleet of three hundred boats +furnished by North Germans and Frisians, who, leaving the banks of +the Rhine, had journeyed there by way of the Straits of Gibraltar, +prolonging the journey by a year’s fighting in Portugal. + +The Christians then in Palestine had persuaded the Crusaders to begin +with an attack on Egypt, and they had therefore chosen to land at +Damietta. This was a large commercial town to the east of one of the +arms of the Nile, which was defended by three walls and a large tower +built on an island in the middle of the Nile, from which started the +chains that barred the river. + +The Frisian sailors constructed a castle of wood, which was placed +between the masts of two ships, and from which the Crusaders were able +to leap to the tower, and thus they were able to blockade and starve +the town. The siege was long, and an epidemic breaking out among the +besiegers carried off a sixth of their number. The sultan tried to +succour the besieged by floating down the stream corpses of camels, +which were stuffed with provisions, but the Christians captured them. He +then offered to give the Crusaders, on condition they would depart, +the True Cross and all he possessed of the kingdom of Jerusalem; but +Pelagius, the papal legate,--a Spanish monk who had himself named +commander-in-chief,--rejected the offer. + +El-Adil was so stunned by the news of the success of the Christians +that he died a few days after (August, 1218). El-Kamil, however, was not +discouraged; he not only defended Damietta, but also harassed the enemy +in their own camp by means of hordes of Bedouins. Not until he was +forced, by a conspiracy of his troops in favour of his brother El-Faiz, +to fly to Cairo, did the Christians succeed in getting across the Nile +and completely surrounding Damietta. Order was soon restored in +Egypt, owing to the arrival of Prince Muzzain, who had taken over the +government of Damascus on the death of his father. The rebels were +chastised, and both brothers proceeded towards Damietta: they could not +succeed, however, in raising the siege, and the garrison diminished +daily through hunger, sickness, and constant attacks, and the fortress +soon fell into the hands of the Crusaders, almost without a blow +(November 5, 1219). The Crusaders pillaged the town, taking from it four +hundred thousand gold pieces. The Italians also settled there, and +made it the seat of their commerce with Egypt. This conquest caused +excitement in Europe, and the Pope called Pelagius “the second Joshua.” + +[Illustration: 027.jpg PUBLIC FOUNTAIN, CAIRO.] + +If the Franks had been more at peace among themselves, they might +easily have pushed forward to Cairo after the fall of Damietta. But the +greatest discontent prevailed between the papal legate, Pelagius, and +King John of Brienne, so that the latter soon after left Egypt, while +Pelagius was forced to wait for reinforcements before he could get away +from Damietta. + +El-Kamil, meanwhile, reinforced his army with the help of the friendly +Syrian princes, and, by destroying the channels and dams of the Nile +canals, so endangered the Christian camp that they were soon forced +to sue for peace, and offered to quit Damietta on the condition of an +unmolested retreat. El-Kamil, equally anxious for peace, accepted these +conditions (August, 1221). Scarcely had the Æyubites thus warded off: +the threatening danger when they proceeded to fall out among themselves. + +After the death of El-Kamil, who in the end was generally regarded as +overlord, a new war broke out, in March, 1238, between his son El-Adil +II., who was reigning in Egypt, and his brother Ayyub, who occupied +Damascus. Ayyub conquered Egypt, but, in his absence, his uncle Ismail, +Prince of Balbek, seized upon Damascus and made a league with the Franks +in Palestine and several of the Syrian princes. Through this unnatural +league, Ismail, however, estranged not only the Moslem inhabitants of +Syria, but also his own army. Part of the army deserted in consequence +to Ayyub, who was thus enabled easily to subdue the allied army (1240). +Another coalition was formed against him a few years later, and this +time Da’ud of Kerak was one of the allies. Ayyub sent a strong army of +Egyptians, negroes, and Mamluks under the future sultan, Beybars, +to Syria. The Syrian troops fought unwillingly against their +fellow-believers in the opposite ranks, and the wild Chariz-mites, +who had also joined the ranks, inspired them with terror, so that they +deserted the field of battle in the neighbourhood of Gaza (October, +1244). The Christians, left to themselves, were not in a position to +resist the enemy’s attacks; and the Egyptians made themselves masters +of Jerusalem and Hebron, and in the following year obtained Damascus, +Balbek, Ascalon, and Tiberias. In 1248 Ayyub came again into Syria, in +order to chastise El-Malik en-Nasir, Prince of Aleppo, who had seized +upon Hemessa when he heard of the coming Crusaders under Saint Louis. +To this end he made peace with the natives of Aleppo, and returned to +Jerusalem in order to make the necessary preparations for defence. The +pilgrims, however, succeeded in landing, for Emir Fakhr ed-Din, the +Egyptian commander, had taken to flight after a short skirmish, and the +fortress was allowed to fall into the hands of the enemy (June, 1249). +Ayyub now established a firm footing in the town of Cairo--which his +father had founded--in a district intersected by canals, and harassed +the Christian camp with his light cavalry. Louis was expecting +reinforcements, but they did not arrive until the inundations of the +Nile made any advance into the interior almost impossible. At last, on +the 21st of December, the Christian army arrived at the canal of +Ashmum Tanah, which alone separated them from the town of Mansuria. +The Egyptians were now commanded by Emir Fakhr ed-Din. Ayyub had died +a month before, but his wife, Shejret ed-Durr, kept his death a secret +until his son Turan Shah should arrive from Mesopotamia. Fakhr ed-Din +did everything in his power to retrieve his former error. He attacked +the Christians when they were engaged in building a dam across +the canal, hindering their work on the southern bank with his +throwing-machines, destroying their towers with Greek fire; and when, in +spite of all discouragements, their toilsome work was nearly finished, +he rendered it useless by digging out a new basin, into which he +conducted the water of the Ashmum canal. + +On the 8th of February, 1250, the French crossed the canal, but, instead +of collecting there, as the king had commanded, so as to attack the +enemy _en masse_, several troops pressed forward against the Egyptians, +and many, including the Count of Artois, the king’s brother, were killed +by the valiant enemy under Beybars. The battle remained long undecided, +for the Egyptians had barricaded Cairo so well that it could only be +stormed at the cost of many lives, and after the capture the army needed +rest. The Egyptians took advantage of this delay to bring a fleet up +in the rear of the Egyptian ships, which, in combination with the fleet +stationed near Mansuria, attacked and completely destroyed them. As soon +as they were masters of the Nile, the Egyptians landed troops below the +Christian camp, which was thus completely cut off from Damietta, and +soon suffered the greatest hardships from lack of provisions. Under +these circumstances, Louis opened negotiations with Turan Shah, and +when these proved fruitless, nothing remained for him but to return to +Damietta. Although they began their retreat by night, they did not thus +escape the vigilance of the Egyptians. The fugitives were overtaken on +the following morning, and so shut in by the enemy that resistance was +impossible. A large portion of the army was cut to pieces, in spite of +their surrender; the rest, together with the king and his brother, were +taken prisoners and brought in triumph to Cairo. Turan Shah treated the +king with consideration and hastened to conclude peace with the Bahritic +Mamluks,--so called because they had been brought up on the Nile (Bahr), +on the island Rhodha,--as soon as the ransom money of his prisoners +was assured. The Bahrites grumbled at this peace because it left the +Christians in Palestine in possession of their towns, and they forthwith +murdered Turan Shah, with the help of Shejret ed-Durr, whom he had +maltreated (May 2, 1250). + +After Turan Shah’s death, his mother was proclaimed sultana, and the +Mamluk Aibek became general of the army. Later, when the caliph of +Baghdad revolted against the rule of a woman, Aibek assumed the title +of sultan and married Shejret ed-Durr. He ruled again after some time +in the name of a young descendant of Kamil, so as to be able to fight +against the Ayyubids in Syria, who, with En-Nasir at their head, had +taken possession of Damascus, with an appearance of right. A battle took +place between Aibek and the Syrians (February, 1251), which was decided +in favour of Aibek in consequence of the treachery of the Turks under +Nasir. Aibek again assumed the title of sultan after the victory, but +was soon after to be murdered by the Mamluks, who were unwilling to be +subject to any control. He anticipated their plot, however, and slew +their leader, the Emir Aktai, putting his followers to flight. He then +demanded the diploma of investiture and the insignia of his office +from the caliph, and also pressed the Prince of Mosul to grant him his +daughter in marriage. His own wife, unable to endure such perfidy, had +him murdered in his bath (April 10, 1257). + +[Illustration: 032b] + +When Beybars first ascended the throne, he assumed the name of Sultan +Kahir (the over-ruler), but afterwards, when he was informed that this +name had always brought misfortune to its bearer, he changed it to that +of Sultan Zahir (the Glorious). + +Now that he was absolute master of Syria and Egypt, Beybars tried to +obliterate the remembrance of the misdeeds he had formerly been guilty +of by means of undertakings for the general good and for the furtherance +of religion. He had the mosques repaired, founded pious institutions, +designed new aqueducts, fortified Alexandria, had all the fortresses +repaired and provisioned which the Mongols had razed to the ground, had +a large number of great and small war-ships built, and established a +regular post between Cairo and Damascus. In order to obtain a semblance +of legitimacy, since he was but a usurper, Beybars recognised a nominal +descendant of the house of Abbas as caliph, who, in the proper course +of things, ought to invest him with the dominions of Syria and Egypt. +Beybars bade his governors receive this descendant of the house of the +Prophet with all suitable marks of honour, and invited him to come to +Egypt. When he approached the capital, the sultan himself went out to +meet him, followed by the vizier, the chief cadi, and the chief emirs +and notabilities of the town. Even the Jews and Christians had to take +part in the procession, carrying respectively the Tora and the Gospel. +The caliph made his entrance into Cairo with the greatest pomp, rode +through the town amidst the shouts of the multitude, and proceeded to +the citadel, where Beybars had appointed him a magnificent dwelling. +Some days afterwards the caliph had a reception of the chief cadi, the +most celebrated theologians and lawyers of Egypt, and many notables of +the capital. The Arabs who formed his escort and an eunuch from Baghdad +testified to the identity of the caliph’s person, the chief cadi +recognised their assertion as valid, and was the first to do homage to +him as caliph. Thereupon the sultan arose, took the oath of allegiance +to him and swore to uphold both the written laws of the Koran and +those of tradition; to advance the good and hinder the evil, to fight +zealously for the protection of the faith only, to impose lawful taxes, +and to apply the taxes only to lawful purposes. After the sultan had +finished, homage was done by the sheiks, the emirs, and the other chief +officers of the kingdom. The caliph invested the sultan with power over +all the kingdoms subject to Islam, as well as over all future conquests, +whereupon the people of all classes were admitted to do homage likewise. +Then command was sent out to all the distant princes and governors to do +homage to the caliph, who has assumed the name of El-Mustanssir, and to +place his name beside that of the sultan in their prayers and also on +their coins. + +Beybars’ treatment of his viziers, governors, and other important emirs, +one or other of whom he either imprisoned or executed on every possible +occasion, was merciless, but he proceeded even more shamelessly against +Malik Mughith, Prince of Kerak and Shaubek, whom he feared so much as +one of the bravest descendants of the house of Ayyub that he stamped +himself publicly as a perjured assassin, in order to get him out of +the way. Beybars had at first, without any declaration of war, in fact, +without any notification of it in Egypt, suddenly sent a detachment of +troops under the leadership of Emir Bedr ed-Din Aidimri, which took the +fortress Shaubek by surprise, and placed the Emir Saif ed-Din Bilban +el-Mukhtasi in it as governor. In the next year, in order to win over +Mughith, he liberated his son Aziz, whom Kotuz had captured at Damascus +and imprisoned at Cairo; he also assured Mughith of his friendly +intentions towards him and repeatedly urged him to arrange a meeting. +El-Malik el-Mughith did not trust Beybars, and invented all kinds of +reasons not to accept his invitations. Beybars resolved at last to calm +the fears of his intended victim by means of a written oath. The fears +of Mughith, however, were not allayed, and he hesitated to fall in with +the wish of the sultan and to appear at his court. The following year, +when the sultan came to Syria and again urged a meeting, he was at a +loss for an excuse, and was forced either to acknowledge his mistrust +or risk everything. He sent his mother first to Gaza, where she was +received with the greatest friendliness by the sultan, and sent back +laden with costly presents; on her return to Kerak, corrupted by the +hospitality and generosity of the sultan, she persuaded her son to wait +on him, as did also his ambassador Alamjad with equal zeal. Finally he +set out from Kerak--when he had made his troops do homage to his son +El-Malik el-Aziz--on a visit to the sultan, who wras then in Tur. The +sultan rode out to meet him as far as Beisan. Malik Mughith wished to +dismount when he perceived the sultan, but he would not permit this, and +rode beside Mughith till he reached his own tent. Here he was separated +from his followers, thrown into chains, and brought into the citadel +of Cairo (a.h. 660). In order to palliate this crime, the sultan made +public the correspondence of the Prince of Kerak with the Mongols, which +it was thought would stamp the former as a traitor to Islam. The judges +whom he brought with him, and amongst whom we find the celebrated +historian Ibn Khallikan, who was then chief judge of Damascus, declared +him guilty, but we only have historical proof of the sending of his son +into Hulagu’s camp to beg that his province might be spared, at a time +when all the princes of Syria, seized with panic, threw themselves at +the feet of the Mongolian general. Be that as it may, he none the less +committed a piece of treachery, since he had sworn not to call him to +account for his former crimes. Beybars hoped, now that he had disposed +of Malik Mughith, that the fortress Kerak would immediately surrender to +his emissary, Emir Bedr ed-Din Beisari, but the governor of the fortress +feared to trust the promises of a perjurer and offered resistance. +Beybars therefore set out for Syria with all the necessary siege +apparatus, constructed by the best engineers of Egypt and Syria. The +garrison saw the impossibility of a long resistance and capitulated. + +The son of Malik Mughith, El-Malik el-Aziz, a boy of twelve, was +honoured as prince and taken to Egypt, as also Mughith’s family. His +emirs and officials were treated with consideration, but the prince was +later thrown into prison. Nothing certain is known with regard to the +death of Mughith. According to some reports, because he offended the +wife of Beybars, when as a wandering Mamluk he once was staying with +him, he was delivered over to the sultan’s wives and was put to death by +them; another account says that he died of hunger in prison. + +After the conquest of Shekif, the sultan made an attack on the province +of Tripoli because Prince Bok-mond, Governor of Antioch and Tripoli, +was his bitterest enemy and the truest ally of the Mongolians, and had, +moreover, at the time of Hulagu’s attack on Syria, made himself master +of several places which till then had belonged to the Mussulmans. The +whole land was wasted, all the houses destroyed, all Christians who fell +into the hands of the troops were murdered, and several strongholds in +the mountains conquered. Laden with rich booty, the Moslem army set out +for Hemessa. From here Beybars proceeded towards Hamah and divided the +army into three divisions; one division, under the Emir Bedr ed-Din +Khaznadar (treasurer), was to take the direction of Suwaidiya, the port +of Antioch; the second, under Emir Izz ed-Din Ighan, struck the route +towards Der-besak; the third, which he led himself, proceeded in a +straight line over Apamaa and Schoghr towards Antioch, which was the +meeting-place for the two other emirs, and would so be shut in from the +north, the west, and the south. On the 16th May the sultan found himself +in front of the town, which contained a population of over one hundred +thousand. Fighting soon ensued between the outposts of the sultan and +the constable who advanced against him at the head of the militia. The +latter was defeated, and the constable himself taken prisoner. On the 3d +of Ramadhan the whole army had united and preparations were made for +the siege. Meanwhile the sultan had already attempted to persuade the +imprisoned constable to return to the town and enduce them to surrender, +and to leave his own son behind as a hostage. But when several days had +passed in fruitless discussions, at last the sultan gave the word for +the attack. In spite of the resistance of the Christians, the walls +were scaled on the same day, and the garrison retired thereupon into the +citadel; the inhabitants were massacred or taken prisoner and all the +houses plundered. No one could escape, for Beybars had blocked all the +entrances. On the next day the garrison, women and children included, +which numbered eight thousand, surrendered on account of lack of water +and meal. The chiefs apparently made their escape during the confusion +and fled into the mountains. The garrison only saved their lives by +surrendering. Beybars had them chained and distributed as slaves amongst +his troops; he then had the other prisoners and the rest of the booty +brought together, and proceeded with the lawful distribution. When +everything had been settled, the citadel was set on fire, but the +conflagration was so great that the whole town was consumed. + +Beybars died soon after his return from Asia Minor (July 1, 1277). +According to some reports his death was occasioned by a violent fever; +other accounts say that he died in consequence of a poison which he had +prepared for an Ayyubid and which he accidentally took himself. He had +designated the eldest of his sons as his successor, under the name +of El-Malik es-Said, and in order to give him a strong support he had +married him to the daughter of the Emir Kilawun, one of his best and +most influential generals. In spite of all this, however, es-Said was +not able to maintain himself on the throne for any length of time. + +Kilawun conspired against his master, and was soon able to ascend the +throne under the title of El-Malik el-Mansur. His fame as a warrior was +already established, and he added to his successes during his ten +years’ reign. His first task was to quell disturbances in Syria, and he +despatched an army thither and captured Damascus. In the year 680 of +the Hegira he took the field in person against a large force of Tatars, +defeated them, and raised the siege of Rahabah. Eight years later he +laid siege to Tripoli, then rich and flourishing after two centuries of +Christian occupation, and the town was taken and its inhabitants killed. +Other expeditions were undertaken against Nubia, but the Nubians, after +they had been twice defeated, appear to have re-established themselves. + +[Illustration: 038.jpg COURT IN THE MORISTAN OF THE KILAWUN] + +The fortress of Acre was at this time the only important stronghold +still retained by the Christians, and for its conquest Kilawun was +making preparations when he died, on the 10th of November, 1290. +Kilawun, says the modern historian Weil, has been unduly praised by +historians, most of whom lived in the reign of his son. He was certainly +not so bloodthirsty as Beybars, and he also oppressed his subjects less. +He, too, cared more for the increase and establishment of his kingdom +than for justice and good faith. He held no agreement sacred, if he +could get any advantage by breaking it, as was shown by his behaviour +towards the Crusaders and the descendants of Beybars. The most beautiful +monument which he left behind him was a huge building outside Cairo, +which included a hospital, a school, and his own tomb. The hospital was +so large that every disease had a special room allotted to it; there +were also apartments for women, and large storerooms for provisions and +medical requirements, and a large auditorium in which the head doctor +delivered his lectures on medicine. The expenses were so great--for +even people of wealth were taken without compensation--that special +administrators were appointed to oversee and keep an account of the +necessary outlay. Besides these officers, several stewards and overseers +were appointed to control the revenues devoted to the hospital by +different institutions. Under the dome of the tomb the Koran and +traditional charters were taught, and both teachers and scholars +received their payment from the state. A large adjacent hall contained +a library of many works on the Koran, tradition, language, medicine, +practical theology, jurisprudence, and literature, and was kept in good +condition by a special librarian and six officials. The school building +contained four audience-halls for the teachers of the Islamite schools, +and in addition to these a school for children, into which sixty poor +orphans were received without any charge and provided with board, +lodging, and clothes. + +Khalil, the son of Kilawun, who succeeded him, with the title of +El-Malik el-Ashraf, was able to begin operations in the spring of 1291 +against Acre, and on the 18th of May, after an obstinate resistance, the +town was taken by storm. Those who could not escape by water were either +cut down or taken prisoner; the town was plundered, then burnt, and the +fortifications razed to the ground. + +[Illustration: 043.jpg WINDOW IN THE MAUSOLEUM OF KILAWUN] + +After the fall of Acre, towns such as Tyre, Sidon, Beirut, and others, +which were still in the hands of the Christians, offered no resistance, +and were either deserted by their inhabitants or given up to the enemy. +El-Ashraf, now that he had cleared Syria of the Crusaders, turned his +arms against the Mongols and their vassals. He began with the storming +of Kalat er-rum, a fortress on the Upper Euphrates in the neighbourhood +of Bireh, the possession of which was important both for the defence of +Northern Syria and for attacks on Armenia and Asia Minor. In spite of +many pompous declarations that this was only the beginning of greater +conquests in Asia Minor and Irak, he retired as soon as the Ilkhan +Kaikhatu sent a strong detachment of troops against him. Later on he +threatened the Prince of Armenia-Minor with war, and obliged him to hand +over certain border towns. He also exchanged some threatening letters +with Kaikhatu. But neither reigned long enough to make these threats +good, for Kaikhatu was soon after dethroned by Baidu, and Baidu in +his turn by Gazan (1295), after many civil wars which had continually +hindered him from carrying on a foreign war. El-Ashraf was murdered in +1294, whilst hunting, by the regent Baidara, whom he had threatend to +turn out of his office. Kara Sonkor, Lajin, El-Mansuri, and some of the +other emirs had conspired with Baidara in the hope that, when once the +deed was accomplished, all the chiefs in the kingdom would applaud their +action, since El-Ashraf had slain and imprisoned many influential emirs, +and was generally denounced as an irreligious man, who transgressed +not only against the laws of Islam, but also against those of nature. +Baidara, however, immediately proceeded to mount the throne, and a +strong party, with the Emir Ketboga at its head, was formed against him. +Ketboga called upon El-Ashraf’s Mamluks to take vengeance, pursued the +rebels, and killed Baidara. He then returned to Cairo, and, after long +negotiations with the governor of the capital, Muhammed, a younger +brother of El-Ashraf, was proclaimed sultan, with the title of El-Malik +en-Nasir. + +Muhammed en-Nasir occupies such an important place in the history of +these times that the other Moslem princes may easily be grouped around +him. He was only nine years old when he was summoned to be ruler of the +kingdom of the Mamluks. Naturally he was the sultan only in name, and +the real power lay in the hands of Ketboga and Vizier Shujai. These two +lived in perfect harmony so long as they were merely occupied with +the pursuit of their rivals,--not only the friends and followers of +El-Ashraf’s murderer, but also the innocent ex-vizier of El-Ashraf, +because he had treated them with contempt and was in possession of +riches for which they were greedy. He shared the fate of the king’s +assassins, for, in spite of the intercession of the ladies of the royal +harem, he ended his life on the gallows. But as soon as the two rulers +had got rid of their enemies and appeased their own avarice, their +peaceful union was at an end, for each wished to have complete control +over the sultan. Shujai had the Mamluks of the late sultan on his side; +while Ketboga, who was a Mongol by birth, had with him all the Mongols +and Kurds who had settled in the kingdom during Beybars’ reign. A Mongol +warned Ketboga against Shujai, who had made all necessary preparations +to throw his rival into prison, and he immediately was attacked by +Ketboga and defeated after several attempts. + +Ketboga’s ambition was not yet fulfilled, although he was now supreme +ruler. He first demanded homage as regent; as he met with no opposition, +he conceived the idea of setting the sultan, Nasir, aside; and he hoped +to carry out his plan with the assistance of Lajin and Kara Sonkor, +El-Ashraf’s murderers, and their numerous following. He had the pardon +of these two emirs proclaimed, whereupon they left their hiding-places +and joined Ketboga, for it was to their interest also that the sultan +should be put out of the way. This _coup d’état_ was a complete success +(December, 1294), but in spite of these plans, Ketboga’s reign was both +unfortunate and brief. The old emirs were vexed with him because he +raised his own Mamluks to the highest posts of honour, and the clergy +were displeased because he received favourably a number of Mongols, +although they were heathens. The people blamed him for the severe famine +which visited Egypt and Syria and which was followed by a terrible +pestilence. Several emirs, with Lajin again at their head, conspired +against him, and forced their way into his tent while he was on the way +to Syria; overpowering the guard, they attempted to get possession of +his person. He managed to escape, however, and so saved his life and +liberty, but Lajin obtained possession of the throne, with the agreement +of the other emirs. In spite of his advantages, both as man and as pious +Moslem, and in spite of his brilliant victories over the princes of +Armenia, Lajin was murdered, together with his successor, and Nasir, who +was then living in Kerak, was recalled as sultan (January, 1299). + +Nasir was still too young to reign alone; he had to let himself be +ruled by the emirs who had already assumed a kind of regency before his +return. At the head of these emirs stood Sellar and Beybars Jashingir. +Distrust and uneasiness existed between these two, one of whom was +regent and the other prefect of the palace, for each wanted to assume +the chief power; but soon their private intrigues were put into the +background by a common danger. The Ilkhan Gazan was actively preparing +for war against the Mamluk kingdom because the Governor of Aleppo +had fallen upon Mardin, a town belonging to the Mongols, and brutally +maltreated the inhabitants; also because the refugees from Egypt and +Syria assured him that the moment was favourable for extending his +dominion over these lands. + +The internal history of Egypt at this period offers nothing but tedious +strifes between different emirs, and specially between the two most +powerful, Beybars and Sellar, who would have often brought it to open +warfare had not their friends and followers intervened. They agreed, +however, on one point, namely, to keep the sultan as long as possible +from taking over the reins of government, and to keep him as secluded +as possible in order to deprive him of all influence. Whilst Sellar +was wasting immense sums, the sultan was in fact almost starving. When +Sellar went on a pilgrimage to Mecca, he paid the debts of all the +Moslems who had retired to this town; he further distributed ten +thousand malters of fruit amongst the poor people in the town, and so +much money and provisions that they were able to live on it for a whole +year. He also treated the inhabitants of Medina and Jiddah in an equally +generous way. The sultan, who was hunting in Lower Egypt, at the +same time tried in vain to obtain a small loan from the Alexandrian +merchants, to buy a present for his wife. Finally, his vizier, who had +granted him two thousand dinars ($5,060), was accused on Sellar’s return +of embezzling the public money, was led round the town on a donkey, and +beaten and tortured so long that he succumbed under his torments. + +In the year 1307, when Nasir was twenty-three years old, though still +treated as a child, he attempted, with the help of the Emir Bektimur, +who commanded the Mamluks in the palace, to seize the persons of his +oppressors. The plan failed, for they had their spies everywhere, and +the only result was that the sultan’s faithful servants were banished to +Syria, and the sultan himself was more oppressed than ever. It was two +years before he succeeded in deceiving his tyrants. He expressed the +wish to make a pilgrimage to Mecca; this was granted, as the emirs saw +nothing dangerous in it, and, moreover, as a religious duty, it could +not be resisted. As soon as he reached the fortress Kerak, with the +help of those soldiers in his escort who were devoted to his cause, +and having deceived the governor by means of false letters, he obtained +possession of the fortress, and immediately declared his independence of +the guardianship of Sellar and Beybars. Sellar and Beybars, on hearing +this, immediately summoned the sultan to return to Cairo; but, even +before they received his answer, they realised that their rule was over, +and that either they must quit the field, or Nasir must be dethroned. +After long consideration amongst themselves, they proceeded to the +choice of another sultan, and the choice fell on Beybars (April, 1309). +Beybars accepted the proffered throne on the condition that Sellar also +retained his place. He confirmed the other emirs also in their offices, +hoping thereby to gain their support. + +[Illustration: 049.jpg INTERIOR OF THE MOSQUE, KILAWUN] + +The change of government met with no resistance in Egypt, where the +majority of the emirs had long been dependent on Beybars and Sellar. +In Syria, on the other hand, the emirs acting as governors refused to +acknowledge Beybars, partly from devotion to Nasir’s race, and partly +because the choice had been made without their consent. Only Akush, +Governor of Damascus, who was an old friend of Beybars, and like him a +Circassian, took the oath of allegiance. The governors of Aleppo, Hamah, +and Tripoli, together with the governors of Safed and Jerusalem, called +upon Nasir to join them, and, with the help of his other followers, +to reconquer Egypt. The cunning sultan, who saw that the time for open +resistance had not yet arrived, since Egypt was as yet too unanimous, +and Damascus also had joined the enemy, advised them to deceive Beybars +and to take the oath of allegiance, which they could break later, as +having been obtained by force. He himself feigned to submit to the new +government, and even had the prayers carried on from the chancel in +Beybars’ name. Beybars was deceived, although he knew with certainty +that Nasir carried on a lively intercourse with the discontented +emirs. He relied chiefly on Akush, who kept a strict watch over Nasir’s +movements. The spies of Akush, however, were open to corruption, and +they failed later to take steps to render Nasir harmless at the right +moment. Beybars believed Nasir to be still in Kerak, when he was well +on the way to Damascus; and when he finally received news of this, the +rebellion had already gone so far that some of the troops who had been +sent out against the sultan had already deserted to his side. The only +possible way of allaying the storm was for Beybars to put himself at the +head of his troops, and, joining forces with Akush, to offer battle +to Nasir. The necessary courage and resolution failed him. Instead of +having recourse to the sword, he applied to the caliph, who declared +Nasir an exile, and summoned all believers to listen to the Sultan +Beybars--whom he had consecrated--and to take part in the war against +the rebel, Nasir. But the summons of the caliph, which was read in all +the chancels, had not the slightest effect. The belief in the caliph had +long disappeared, except in so far as he was considered a tool of the +sultan on whom he depended. Even Beybars’ party mocked the caliph’s +declaration, and wherever it was read manifestations were made in favour +of the exile. Beybars, also, was now deserted by Sellar, and he at +length was obliged to resign. Beybars was then seized and throttled by +Nasir, and Sellar was starved to death. + +Nasir, who now came to the throne, had grown suspicious and treacherous +on account of the many hardships and betrayals endured by him during +his youth. He was, however, favourable to the Christians, and to such an +extent that he received anonymous letters reproaching him for allowing +Moslems to be oppressed by Christian officials. He found them to be +experienced in financial matters, for, in spite of all decrees, they +had never ceased to hold secretaryships in different states: they were, +moreover, more unscrupulous than born Muhammedans, who always had +more respect for law, custom, and public opinion. Certainly the sultan +considered the ministers in whom he placed great confidence less +dangerous if they were wow-Moslems, since he was their only support, +whereas comrades in religion could always find plenty of support and +might easily betray him. + +Nasir died on the 6th of June, 1341, at about fifty-eight years of age, +after a reign of forty-three years. His rule, which did not actually +begin until he mounted the throne for the third time, lasted thirty-two +years. During this period he was absolute ruler in the strongest sense +of the word; every important affair was decided by him alone. The emirs +had to refer all matters to him, and were a constant source of suspicion +and oversight. They might not speak to each other in his presence, +nor visit each other without his consent. The mildest punishment for +breaking such decrees was banishment to Syria. Nasir inspired them with +fear rather than with love and respect, and, as soon as it was known +that his illness was incurable, no one paid any further attention to +him. He died as a pious Moslem and repentant sinner in the presence +of some of his servants. His burial, which took place by night, was +attended by a few emirs, and only one wax candle and one lamp were +carried before the bier. As one of his biographers justly remarks, the +rich sultan, whose dominion had extended from the borders of Abyssinia +to Asia Minor and up the Euphrates as far as Tunis, and the father of +a large family, ended his life like a stranger, was buried like a poor +man, and brought to his grave like a man without wife or child. Nasir +was the last sultan who ruled over the Bahritic Mamluk kingdom with a +firm hand. After his death we read of one insurrection after another, +and the sultans were either deposed or became mere slaves of the emirs. +Abu Bekr, whom Nasir had appointed his successor, did not hold his own +for quite two months, because he maltreated the discontented emirs +and put his favourites in their places. An insurrection, with the Emir +Kausun at its head, was formed against him; he was dethroned and his +six-year-old brother Kujuk was proclaimed sultan in his stead. The +dethroned sultan was banished to Upper Egypt, whither his elder brother +Ahmed should have been brought; Ahmed, however, refused to leave his +fortress of Kerak, and, finding support among the Syrian emirs, he +conspired against Kausun, who was at this moment threatened also with an +insurrection in Cairo. After several bloody battles, Kausun was forced +to yield, and Ahmed was proclaimed sultan (January, 1342). Ahmed, +however, preferred a quiet, peaceful life to the dangerous post +of sultan, and not until he had received the most solemn oaths of +allegiance did he proceed to his capital, where he arrived quite +unexpectedly, so that no festivities had been prepared. After some time, +he had all the Syrian emirs arrested by his Mam-luks, because they tried +to usurp his powers; he then appointed a regent, and himself returned to +Kerak, taking with him everything he had found in the sultan’s palace, +and there he remained in spite of the entreaties of the faithful emirs, +and lived simply for his own pleasure. + +The natural consequence of all this was Ahmed’s deposition in June, +1342. His brother Ismail, a good-hearted youth of seventeen years, sent +troops to Kerak to demand an oath of allegiance from Ahmed, but +they could effect nothing, as the fortress was well fortified and +provisioned, and, moreover, many of the emirs, both in Syria and Egypt, +were still in league with Ahmed. Not until fresh troops had been sent, +and Ahmed himself betrayed, did they succeed in taking the fortress; +and Ahmed was put to death in 1344. Ahmed’s death made such a deep +impression upon the weak sultan that he fell into a fit of depression +which gradually increased until he died in August of the following year. + +[Illustration: 055.jpg FRIEZE IN MOSQUE OF SULTAN HASAN] + +His brother and successor, Shaban, was an utter profligate, cruel, +faithless, avaricious, immoral, and pleasure-loving. Gladiators +played an important part at his court, and he often took part in their +contests. Horse-racing, cock-fights, and such like amusements occupied +him much more than state affairs, and the whole court followed his +example. As long as Shaban did not offend the emirs, he was at liberty +to commit any atrocities he pleased, but, as soon as he seized their +riches and imprisoned and tortured them, his downfall was certain. +Ilbogha, Governor of Damascus, supported by the other Syrian emirs, +sent him a list of his crimes and summoned him to abdicate. Meanwhile an +insurrection had broken out in Cairo, and, although Shaban expressed +his willingness to abdicate, he was murdered by the rebels in September, +1346. His brother Haji met with a similar fate after a reign of fifteen +months, though some accounts affirm that he was not murdered but only +exiled. + +Haji was succeeded by his brother Hasan, who was still a minor; the +emirs who ruled in his name competed for the highest posts until +Baibagharus and his brother Menjik carried off the victory. These two +ruled supreme for a time. The so-called “black death” was ravaging +Egypt; many families were decimated, and their riches fell to the state. +The disease, which differed from the ordinary pest in the blood-spitting +and internal heat, raged in Europe and Asia, and spread the greatest +consternation even amongst the Moslems, who generally regarded disease +with a certain amount of indifference, as being a divine decree. +According to Arabic sources, the black death had broken out in China and +from there had spread over the Tatar-land of Kipjak; from here it took +its course towards Constantinople, Asia Minor, and Syria on the one +hand, and towards Greece, Italy, Spain, France, and Germany on the +other, and was probably brought to Egypt from Syria. Not only men, +but beasts and even plants were attacked. The ravages were nowhere +so fearful as in Egypt; in the capital alone in a few days as many +as fifteen or twenty thousand people were stricken. As the disease +continued to rage for two years, there was soon a lack of men to plough +the fields and carry on the necessary trades; and to increase the +general distress, incursions were made by the tribes of Turcomans +and Bedouins, who plundered the towns and villages. Scarcely had this +desperate state of affairs begun to improve when court intrigues sprang +up afresh, and only ended with the deposition of the sultan in August, +1351. He was recalled after three years, during which his brother had +reigned, and he was subsequently deposed and put to death in March, +1361. Finally the descendants of Nasir, instead of his sons, began to +rule. First came Muhammed Ibn Haji, who, as soon as he began to show +signs of independence, was declared to be of unsound mind by his chief +emir, Ilbogha; then Shaban, the son of Husain (May, 1363), who was +strangled in March, 1377; and finally Husain’s eight-year-old son Ali. +After repeated contests, Berkuk and Berekeh, two Circassian slaves, +placed themselves at the head of the government. Berkuk, however, wished +to be absolute, and soon put his co-regent out of the way (1389). He +contented himself at first with being simply regent, and, even when Ali +died, he declared his six-year-old brother Haji, sultan. The following +year, when he discovered a conspiracy of the Mamluks against him, and +when many of the older emirs were dead, he declared that it was for the +good of the state that no longer a child, but a man capable of directing +internal affairs and leading an army against the enemy, should take over +the government. The assembly, whom he had bribed beforehand, supported +him, and he was appointed sultan in November, 1382. + +The external history of Egypt during this time is but scanty. She +suffered several defeats at the hands of the Turcomans in the north of +Syria, lost her supremacy in Mecca through the influence of the princes +of South Arabia, and both Alexandria and several other coast towns were +attacked and plundered by European fleets. This last event occurred +in Shaban’s reign in 1365. Peter of Lusignan, King of Cyprus, had, in +league with the Genoese, the Venetians, and Knights of Rhodes, placed +himself at the head of a new Crusade, and since his expedition was a +secret even in Europe,--for he was thought to be advancing against the +Turks,--it was easy for him to take the Egyptians by surprise, and all +the more so because the Governor of Alexandria happened to be absent at +the time. The militia tried in vain to prevent their landing, and the +small garrison held out for but a short time, so that the prosperous and +wealthy town was completely sacked and many prisoners were taken before +the troops arrived from Cairo. + +[Illustration: 059.jpg INSIDE THE MOSQUE OF HASSAN] + +The Christians living in Egypt suffered from this attack of the King of +Cyprus. They had to find ransom money for the Moslem prisoners and to +provide means for fitting out a new fleet. All negotiations with Cyprus, +Genoa, and Venice were immediately broken off. This event, however, had +the effect of reconciling the Italian traders again with Egypt, and an +embassy came both from Genoa and Venice, expressing regret at what had +happened, with the assurance that the government had had no hint of the +intentions of the King of Cyprus. Genoa also sent back sixty prisoners +who had fallen to them as their share of the Alexandrian booty. As +Egypt’s trade would also be at a standstill if they had no further +negotiations with the Franks, who imported wood, metal, arms, oil, +coral, wool, manufacturing and crystal wares in exchange for spices, +cotton, and sugar, the former trade relations were re-established. The +war with Cyprus continued, however; Alexandria was again threatened +and Tripoli was surprised by the Cyprian fleet, whereupon a number of +European merchants in Egypt were arrested. In the year 1370, after the +death of Peter of Lusignan, peace and an exchange of prisoners were +finally brought about. After this peace the Egyptians were able to +concentrate their whole force against Leo VI., Prince of Smaller +Armenia, who was brought as a prisoner to Cairo; and with him the +supremacy of the Christians in this land was at an end: henceforth Egypt +was ruled by Egyptian governors. + +Faraj, Berkuk’s son and successor, had to suffer for his father’s +political mistakes. He had scarcely ascended the throne when the +Ottomans seized Derenda, Albustan, and Malatia. Preparations for war +were made, but given up again when it was seen that Bayazid could not +advance any farther south. Faraj was only thirteen years old, and all +the old intrigues amongst the emirs broke out again. In Cairo they +fought in the streets for the post of regent; anarchy and confusion +reigned in the Egyptian provinces, and the Syrians wished to revolt +against the sultan. When at last peace was re-established in Egypt, and +Syria was reduced, the latter country was again attacked by the hordes +of Tamerlane. + +Tamerlane conquered the two important cities of Aleppo and Hemessa, and +Faraj’s forces returned to Egypt. When the sultan’s ally, Bayazid, was +defeated, Faraj concluded a peace with Tamerlane, at the price of +the surrender of certain lands. In 1405 Tamerlane died, and Faraj was +collecting troops for the purpose of recovering Syria when domestic +troubles caused him to flee from Egypt, his own brother Abd el-Aziz +heading the insurrection. In the belief that Faraj was dead, Aziz was +proclaimed his successor, but three months later Faraj was restored, +and it was not until 1412 that he was charged with illegal practices and +beheaded, his body being left unburied like that of a common malefactor. +The fact that criminal proceedings were brought against the sultan is +evidence of a great advance in the spirit of civilisation, but the +event must be regarded more as a proof of its possibility than as a +demonstration of its establishment. + +[Illustration: 063.jpg MOSQUE OF BERKUK] + +The Caliph El-Mustain was then proclaimed sultan, but after some months +he was dethroned and his former prime minister, Sheikh Mahmudi, took +over the reins of government (November, 1412). Although Sheikh had +obtained the throne of Egypt so easily, he experienced great difficulty +in obtaining the recognition of the emirs. Newruz, Governor of Damascus, +in league with the other governors, made a determined resistance, and +he was obliged to send a strong army into Syria to put down the rebels. +Newruz, after suffering one defeat, threw himself into the citadel of +Damascus and capitulated, when Sheikh had sworn to keep the terms of +the capitulation. Newruz’s ambassadors, however, had not a sufficient +knowledge of Arabic to perceive that the oath was not binding, and +when Newruz, trusting to this oath, appeared before Sheikh, he was +immediately thrown into chains, and afterwards murdered in prison +because the cadis declared the oath was not binding. In the next year +(1415) Sheikh was obliged to make another expedition against Syria to +re-conquer some of the places of which the smaller princes had taken +possession during the civil war. One of these princes was the Prince +Muhammed of Karaman, who had taken the town of Tarsus. Sheikh was +summoned by Muhammed’s own brother to overcome him, which he easily +succeeded in doing. Many other princes were forced to submit, and +finally the town of Malatia, which the Turcoman Husain had stormed, was +recaptured. The war against Husain and the Prince of Karaman was to have +been continued, but Sheikh was forced to return home, owing to a wound +in his foot. As soon as certain misunderstandings between Sheikh and +Kara Yusuf had been cleared up, another army was despatched into Asia +Minor, for Tarsus had been recaptured by the Prince of Karaman, who had +driven out the Prince of Albustan, whom Sheikh had installed. Ibrahim, +the sultan’s son, took command of this army, and occupied Caasarea, +Nigdeh, and Kara-man. Whilst he was occupied in the interior of Asia +Minor, the Governor of Damascus had defeated Mustapha, son of the Prince +of Karaman, and the Prince Ibrahim of Ramadhan, near Adana, which latter +town, as well as Tarsus, he had re-conquered. + +The Prince of Karaman, who now advanced against Caasarea, suffered a +total defeat. Mustapha remained on the field of battle, but his father +was taken prisoner and sent to Cairo, where he lingered in confinement +until after the death of the sultan. + +[Illustration: 065.jpg THE TOMB OF BERKUK] + +Once again was Syria threatened by Kara Yusuf, but he was soon forced +to return to Irak by the conspiracy of his own son, Shah Muhammed, who +lived in Baghdad. As soon as this insurrection was put down, Kara +Yusuf was obliged to give his whole attention to Shah Roch, the son of +Tamerlane, who had raised himself to the highest power in Persia, and +was now attempting to re-conquer the province of Aderbaijan. Kara Yusuf +placed himself at the head of an army to protect this province, +but suddenly died (November, 1420) on the way to Sultania, and his +possessions were divided among his four sons, Shah Muhammed, Iskander, +Ispahan, and Jihan Shah, who all, just as the descendants of Tamerlane +had done, immediately began to quarrel among themselves. + +The sultan was already very ill when the news of Kara Yusufs death +reached him. The death of Ibrahim, his son, whom he had caused to be +poisoned, on his return from Asia Minor, weighed heavily upon him +and hastened his death, which took place on January 13, 1421. He +left immense riches behind him, but could not obtain a proper burial; +everything was at once seized by the emirs, who did not trouble +themselves in the least about his corpse. He had been by no means a good +sultan; he had brought much misery upon the people, and had oppressed +the emirs. But in spite of all he had many admirers who overlooked his +misdeeds and cruelty, because he was a pious Moslem; that is, he did +not openly transgress against the decrees of Islam, favoured the +theologians, and distinguished himself as an orator and poet; he also +founded a splendid mosque, a hospital, and a school for theology. His +whole life abounds in contrasts. After he had broken his oath to Newruz, +he spent several days in a cloister to make atonement for this crime, +and was present at all the religious ceremonies and dances. Although he +shed streams of blood to satisfy his avarice, he wore a woollen garment, +and bade the preachers, when they mentioned his name after that of +Muhammed, to descend a step on the staircase of the chancel. Under a +religious sultan of this stamp, the position of the non-Muhammedans was +by no means an enviable one. The Jews and Christians had to pay enormous +taxes and the old decrees against them were renewed. Not only were they +forced to wear special colours, but the length of their sleeves and +head-bands was also decreed, and even the women were obliged to wear a +distinctive costume. + +[Illustration: 067.jpg A TITLE-PAGE OF THE KORAN OF THE TIME OF SHABAN] + +Sheikh appointed his son Ahmed, one year old, as his successor, and +named the emirs who were to act as regents until he became of age. +Tatar, the most cunning and unscrupulous of these emirs, soon succeeded +in obtaining the supreme power and demanded homage as sultan (August +29, 1421); but he soon fell ill and died after a reign of about three +months. He, too, appointed a young son as his successor and named the +regents, but Bursbai also soon grasped the supreme power and ascended +the throne in 1422. He had of course many insurrections to quell, but +was not obliged to leave Egypt. As soon as peace was restored in Syria, +Bursbai turned his attention to the European pirates, who had long been +harassing the coasts of Syria and Egypt. They were partly Cypriots and +partly Catalonians and Genoese, who started from Cyprus and landed their +booty on this island. Bursbai resolved first to conquer this island. +He despatched several ships with this object in view; they landed at +Limasol, and, having burnt the ships in the harbour and plundered the +town, they returned home. The favourable result of this expedition much +encouraged the sultan, and in the following year he sent out a large +fleet from Alexandria which landed in Famagosta. This town soon +surrendered and the troops proceeded to plunder the neighbouring places, +and defeated all the troops which Prince Henry of Lusignan sent out +against them. When they had advanced as far as Limasol, the Egyptian +commander, hearing that Janos, the King of Cyprus, was advancing with +a large army against him, determined to return to Egypt to bring his +enormous booty into safety. In July, 1426, a strong Egyptian fleet set +out for the third time, landed east of Limasol, and took this fortress +after a few days’ fighting. The Moslem army was, however, forced to +retreat. But the Cypriots scattered instead of pursuing the enemy, and +the Mamluks, seeing this, renewed their attack, slew many Christians +and took the king prisoner. The capital, Nicosia, then capitulated, +whereupon the Egyptian troops returned to Egypt with the captive king +and were received with great jubilation. The King of Cyprus, after +submitting to the greatest humiliations, was asked what ransom he could +pay. He replied that he possessed nothing but his life, and stuck to +this answer, although threatened with death. Meanwhile, Venetian and +other European merchants negotiated for the ransom money, and the +sultan finally contented himself with two hundred thousand dinars (about +$500,000). Janos, however, was not set at liberty, but sent to Cyprus +as the sultan’s vassal. After the death of Janos in 1432, his son, John +II., still continued to pay tribute to Egypt, and when he died (1458) +and his daughter Charlotte became Queen of Cyprus, James II., the +natural son of John II., fled to Egypt and found a friendly reception at +the sultan’s court. + +[Illustration: 069.jpg PRAYER-NICHE IN THE MOSQUE OF THE SULTAN MAHMUDI] + +The sultan then ruling was Inal, and he promised to re-install James as +King of Cyprus. Meanwhile messengers arrived from the queen, offering a +higher tribute, and Inal allowed himself to be persuaded by his emirs +to acknowledge Charlotte as queen, and to hand James over to +her ambassadors. But as soon as the ambassadors had left the +audience-chamber, a tumult arose; the people declared that the sultan +had only the advantage of the Franks--especially of Prince Louis of +Savoy--in view, and they soon took such a threatening attitude that +Inal was forced to declare himself for James again and renew his former +preparations. In August, 1460, an Egyptian fleet bore James to Cyprus, +and with the help of the Egyptian troops he soon obtained the island, +with the exception of the fortress Cerines, which Queen Charlotte still +had in her power. The majority of the Egyptian troops now returned to +Egypt, and only some hundred men remained with James. Later, when the +Genoese declared themselves on the side of Charlotte, fresh troops had +to be sent out from Egypt, but, as soon as James had taken Famagosta and +had no further need of them, he dismissed them (1464). + +Bursbai despised no means by which he might enrich himself; he +appropriated the greater part of the inheritance of the Jews and +Christians; he even taxed poor pilgrims, in spite of the fact that he +was a pious Moslem, prayed much, fasted, and read the Koran. He turned +Mecca into a money-market. At the very moment when pious pilgrims +were praying for the forgiveness of their sins, one of his heralds was +proclaiming: “Whoever buys wares and does not pay toll for them in Egypt +has forfeited his life.” That is to say, all wares bought in Mecca or +Jiddah had to go out of their way to Egypt in order to be laid under +toll in this land. + +[Illustration: 071.jpg ORNAMENTAL PAGE FROM A KORAN OF THE FOURTEENTH +CENTURY] + +In appointing his son Yusuf to the consulship, Bursbai counted on the +devotedness of his Mamluks, and the Emir Jakmak, whom he appointed as +his chief adviser, and, in fact, Yusuf’s coronation, in June, 1438, met +with no resistance. After three months, however, Jakmak, feeling +himself secure, quietly assumed the sultan’s place; at first he had much +resistance to put down, but soon his prudence and resolution established +him safely in spite of all opposition. As soon as the rebels in the +interior had been dealt with, Yusuf, as a good Muhammedan, wished to +attack the Christians, and chose the island of Rhodes as the scene of +the Holy War, hoping to obtain this island as easily as Bursbai had +obtained the island of Cyprus. But the Order of St. John, to whom this +island belonged, had its spies in Egypt, so that the sultan’s intentions +were discovered and preparations for defence were made. The only +result of the sultan’s repeated expeditions was the devastation of some +unimportant coast towns; all attempts on the capital failed, so that +the siege was soon raised and peace concluded with the chief master of +Rhodes (1444). + +Jakmak’s relations with the foreign chiefs were most friendly. He +constantly exchanged letters and gifts with both Sultan Murad and Shah +Roch. The sons of Kara Yelek and the princes of the houses of Ramadhan +and Dudgadir submitted to him; also Jihangir, Kara Yelek’s grandson and +Governor of Amid, tried to secure his friendship, as did the latter’s +deadly enemy, Jihan Shah, the son of Kara Yusuf. + +[Illustration: 073.jpg MOSQUE OF KAIT BEY, CAIRO] + +Jakmak’s rule was mild compared with that of Bursbai, and we hear less +of extraordinary taxes, extortions, executions, and violence of the +Mamluks. Although he was beloved by the people and priests on account +of his piety, he could not secure the succession of his son Osman, in +favour of whom he abdicated fourteen days before his death (February, +1453). Osman remained only a month and a half on the throne; he made +himself odious to the emirs who did not belong to his Mamluks. The +Mamluks of his predecessors conspired against him, and at their head +stood his own Atabeg, the Emir Inal, a former Mamluk of Berkuk. +Osman was warned, but he only mocked those who recommended him to +watchfulness, since he believed his position to be unassailable. He +had forgotten that his father was a usurper, who, although himself a +perjurer, hoped to bind others by means of oaths. His eyes were not +opened until he had lost all means of defence. He managed to hold out +for seven days, after which the citadel was captured by the rebels, and +he was forced to abdicate on the 19th of March. Inal became, even more +than his predecessors had been, a slave to those Mamluks to whom he owed +his kingdom. They committed the greatest atrocities and threatened +the sultan himself when he tried to hold them in check. They plundered +corpses on their way to the grave, and attacked the mosques during the +hours of service in order to rob the pilgrims. + +They were so hated and feared that, when many of them were carried off +by the plague, their deaths were recorded by a contemporary historian as +a benefit to all classes of society. + +In the hour of his death (26th February, 1461), Inal appointed his son +Ahmed as his successor, but the latter was no more able to maintain +himself on the throne than his predecessors had been, in spite of his +numerous good qualities. He was forced to submit in the strife with his +emirs, and on the 28th of June, 1461, after a reign of four months and +three days, he was dethroned, and the Emir Khosh Kadem, a former slave +of the Sultan Sheikh, of Greek descent, was proclaimed in his stead. +Khosh Kadem reigned for seven years with equity and benignity, and under +one of his immediate successors, El-Ashraf Kait Bey, a struggle was +begun with the Ottoman Turks. On the death of Muhammed II., dissensions +had arisen between Bayazid II. and Jem. Jem, being defeated by Bayazid, +retired to Egypt, which led to the invasion and conquest of Syria, +hitherto held by the Sultan of Egypt. On surrendering Tarsus and Adana +to Bayazid, Kait Bey was suffered to end his days in peace in A.D. 1495. +After many dissensions, the brave and learned El-Ghuri ascended the +throne, and Selim I., the Turkish sultan, soon found a pretext for an +attack upon the Mamluk power. A long and sanguinary battle was fought +near Aleppo, in which El-Ghuri was finally defeated through treachery. +He was trampled to death by his own cavalry in their attempt to escape +from the pursuing Ottomans. With his death, in A.D. 1516, Egypt lost her +independence. Tuman Bey, a nephew of the deceased, fiercely contested +the advance of the Ottomans, but was defeated and treacherously killed +by the Turks. + +[Illustration: 076.jpg WADI FEIRAN, IN THE SINAI PENINSULA] + +A long period of Turkish misrule now opened for the ill-fated country, +though some semblance of conciliation was attempted by Selim’s +appointment of twenty-four Mamluk beys as subordinate rulers over +twenty-four military provinces of Egypt. These beys were under the +control of a Turkish pasha, whose council was formed of seven Turkish +chiefs, while one of the Mamluk beys held the post of Sheikh el-Beled or +Governor of the Metropolis. + +[Illustration: 077.jpg MAUSOLEUM OF EL-GHURI] + +For nearly two centuries the Turkish pashas were generally obeyed in +Egypt, although there were frequent intrigues and quarrels on the part +of competing Mamluk beys to secure possession of the coveted post +of Sheikh el-Beled. Towards the middle of the eighteenth century the +authority of the Turkish pashas had become merely nominal, while that +of the beys had increased to such an extent that the government of Egypt +became a military oligarchy. The weakness of the Turks left the way open +for the rise of any adventurer of ability and ambition who might aspire +to lead the Mamluks to overthrow the sovereignty of the Porte. + +In the year 1768 the celebrated Ali Bey headed a revolt against the +Turks, which he maintained for several years with complete success. A +period of good but vigorous government lasted Curing the years in which +he successfully resisted the Ottoman power. Ali’s generals also gained +for him considerable influence beyond the borders of Egypt. Muhammed Abu +Dhahab was sent by him to Arabia and entered the sacred city of Mecca, +where the sherif was deposed. Ali also despatched an expedition to the +eastern shores of the Red Sea, and Muhammed Bey, after his successes in +Arabia, invaded Syria and wrested that province from the power of the +sultan. The victorious soldier, however, now plotted against his master +and took the lead in a military revolt. As a result of this, Ali Bey +fell into an ambuscade set by his own rebellious subjects, and died from +poisoning m 1786. Thus terminated the career of the famous Mamluk, a man +whose energy, talents, and ambition bear a strong resemblance to those +of the later Mehe-met Ali. + +Muhammed Bey, the Mamluk who had revolted against Ali Bey, now tendered +his allegiance to the Porte. To the title of Governor of the Metropolis +was also added that of Pasha of Egypt. He subdued Syria, and died during +the pillage of Acre. + +[Illustration: 080b.jpg Bonaparte in Egypt] + + From painting by M. Orange + +After his death violent dissensions again broke out. The Porte supported +Ismail Bey, who retained the post of Governor of the Metropolis (Sheikh +el-Beled) until the terrible plague of 1790, in which he perished. + +His former rivals, Ibrahim and Murad, now returned; and eight years +later were still in the leadership when the news was brought to Egypt +that a fleet carrying thirty thousand men, under Bonaparte, had arrived +at Alexandria on an expedition of conquest. + +[Illustration: 080.jpg] + + +[Illustration: 081.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + + + + +CHAPTER II.--THE FRENCH IN EGYPT + + +_Napoleon’s campaign: Battles of the Pyramids and of Abukir: Siege of +Acre: Kléber’s administration: The evacuation of Egypt._ + + +At the close of the eighteenth century Egypt’s destiny passed into the +hands of the French. Napoleon’s descent upon Egypt was part of his +vast strategic plan for the overthrow of Great Britain. He first of all +notified the Directory of this design in September, 1797, in a letter +sent from Italy. Late in the same year and during 1798 vast preparations +had been in progress for the invasion of England. Napoleon then visited +all the seaports in the north of France and Holland, and found that a +direct invasion of England was a practical impossibility because the +British held command over the sea. The suggested invasion of Egypt was +now seriously considered. By the conquest of Egypt, it was contended, +England would be cut off from the possession of India, and France, +through Egypt, would dominate the trade to the Orient. From Egypt +Napoleon could gather an army of Orientals and conquer the whole of the +East, including India itself. On his return, England would prove to be +too exhausted to withstand the French army at home and would fall a +prey to the ambitions of the First Consul. The Directory assented to +Bonaparte’s plans the more readily because they were anxious to keep +so popular a leader, the idol of the army, at a great distance from the +centre of government. While the preparations were in process, no one +in England knew of this undertaking. The French fleet lay in various +squadrons in ports of Italy, from which thirty thousand men were +embarked. + +Bonaparte arrived at Toulon on May 9, 1798. His presence rejoiced the +army, which had begun to murmur and to fear that he would not be at the +head of the expedition. It was the old army of Italy, rich and covered +with glory, and hence had much less zeal for making war; it required all +the enthusiasm with which the general inspired his soldiers to induce +them to embark and proceed to an unknown destination. On seeing him at +Toulon, they were inflamed with ardour. Bonaparte, without acquainting +them with their destination, exhorted the soldiers, telling them that +they had great destinies to fulfil, and that “the genius of liberty, +which had made the republic from her birth the arbitress of Europe, +decreed that she should be so to the most remote seas and nations.” + +[Illustration: 083 BEDOUINS IN THE DESERT] + +The squadron of Admiral Brueys consisted of thirteen sail of the line, +and carried about forty thousand men of all arms and ten thousand +seamen. It had water for one month and provisions for two. It sailed on +the 19th of May, amid the thunders of the cannons and the cheers of the +whole army. Violent gales did some damage to a frigate on leaving the +port, and Nelson, who was cruising with three sail of the line in search +of the French fleet, suffered so severely from the same gales that he +was obliged to bear up for the islands of St. Pierre to refit. He was +thus kept at a distance from the French fleet, and did not see it pass. +It steered first towards Genoa to join the convoy collected in that +port, under the command of General Baraguay d’Hilliers. It then sailed +for Corsica, to call for the convoy at Ajaccio commanded by Vaubois, and +afterwards proceeded to the sea of Sicily to join the division of Civita +Vecchia, under the command of Desaix. + +Bonaparte’s intention was to stop at Malta, and there to make by the +way a bold attempt, the success of which he had long since prepared by +secret intrigues. He meant to take possession of that island, which, +commanding the navigation of the Mediterranean, became important to +Egypt and could not fail soon to fall into the hands of the English, +unless they were anticipated. + +Bonaparte made great efforts to join the division from Civita Vecchia; +but this he could not accomplish until he was off Malta. The five +hundred French sail came in sight of the island on June 9th, twenty-two +days after leaving Toulon. This sight filled the city of Malta with +consternation. The following day (June 10th) the French troops landed +on the island, and completely invested Valetta, which contained a +population of nearly thirty thousand souls, and was even then one of +the strongest fortresses in Europe. The inhabitants were dismayed and +clamoured for surrender, and the grand master, who possessed little +energy, and recollected the generosity of the conqueror of Rivoli at +Mantua, hoping to save his interest from shipwreck, released one of +the French knights, whom he had thrown into prison when they refused to +fight against their countrymen, and sent him to Bonaparte to negotiate. +A treaty was soon concluded, by which the Knights of Malta gave up to +France the sovereignty of Malta and the dependent islands. Thus France +gained possession of the best harbour in the Mediterranean, and one of +the strongest in the world. It required the ascendency of Bonaparte to +obtain it without fighting; and it necessitated also the risk of losing +some precious days, with the English in pursuit of him. + +The French fleet weighed anchor on the 19th of June, after a stay of +ten days. The essential point now was not to fall in with the English. +Nelson, having refitted at the islands of St. Pierre, had returned on +June 1st to Toulon, but the French squadron had been gone twelve days. +He had run from Toulon to the roads of Taglia-mon, and from the roads +of Tagliamon to Naples, where he had arrived on June 20th, at the very +moment when Bonaparte was leaving Malta. Learning that the French had +been seen off Malta, he followed, determined to attack them, if he +could overtake them. At one moment, the English squadron was only a few +leagues distant from the immense French convoy, and neither party was +aware of it. Nelson, supposing that the French were bound for Egypt, +made sail for Alexandria, and arrived there before them; at not finding +them, he flew to the Dardanelles to seek them there. By a singular fate, +it was not till two days afterwards that the French expedition came in +sight of Alexandria, on the 1st of July, which was very nearly six weeks +since it sailed from Toulon. Bonaparte immediately sent on shore for the +French consul. He learned that the English had made their appearance +two days before, and, supposing them to be not far off, he resolved that +very moment to attempt a landing. It was impossible to enter the harbour +of Alexandria, for the place appeared disposed to defend itself; +it became necessary, therefore, to land at some distance on the +neighbouring coast, at an inlet called the Creek of the Marabou. The +wind blew violently and the sea broke with fury over the reefs on the +shore. It was near the close of the day, but Bonaparte gave the signal +and resolved to go on shore immediately. He was the first to disembark, +and, with great difficulty, four or five thousand men were landed in +the course of the evening and the following night. Bonaparte resolved +to march forthwith for Alexandria, in order to surprise the place and +to prevent the Turks from making preparations for defence. The troops +instantly commenced their march. Not a horse was yet landed: the staff +of Bonaparte, and Caffarelli himself, notwithstanding his wooden leg, +had to walk four or five leagues over the sands, and came at daybreak +within sight of Alexandria. + +That ancient city no longer possessed its magnificent edifices, its +innumerable houses, and its immense population. Three-fourths of it was +in ruins. The Turks, the wealthy Egyptians, the European merchants dwelt +in the modern town, which was the only part preserved. A few Arabs lived +among the ruins of the ancient city: an old wall, flanked by towers, +enclosed the new and the old town, and all around extended those sands +which in Egypt are sure to advance wherever civilisation recedes. The +four thousand French led by Bonaparte arrived there at daybreak. Upon +this sandy beach they met with Arabs only, who, after firing a few +musket-shots, fled to the desert. Napoleon divided his men into three +columns. Bon, with the first column, marched on the right towards the +Rosetta gate; Kléber, with the second, marched in the centre towards the +gate of the Catacombs. + +The Arabs and the Turks, excellent soldiers behind a wall, kept up a +steady fire, but the French mounted with ladders and got over the old +wall. Kléber was the first who fell, seriously wounded on the forehead. +The Arabs were driven from ruin to ruin, as far as the new town, and +the combat seemed likely to be continued from street to street, and +to become sanguinary, when a Turkish captain served as a mediator for +negotiating an arrangement. Bonaparte declared that he had not come to +ravage the country, or to wrest it from its ruler, but merely to deliver +it from the domination of the Mamluks, and to revenge the outrages which +they had committed against France. He promised that the authorities of +the country should be upheld; that the ceremonies of religion should +continue to be performed as before; that property should be respected. +On these conditions, the resistance ceased, and the French were masters +of Alexandria. Meanwhile, the remainder of the army had landed. It +was immediately necessary to decide where to place the squadron +safely--whether in the harbour or in one of the neighbouring roads;--to +form at Alexandria an administration adapted to the manners of the +country; and also to devise a plan of invasion in order to gain +possession of Egypt. + +At this period the population of Egypt was, like the towns that covered +it, a mixture of the wrecks of several nations,--Kopts, the survivors of +the ancient inhabitants of the land; Arabs, who conquered Egypt from +the Kopts; and Turks, the conquerors of the Arabs. On the arrival of +the French, the Kopts amounted at most to two hundred thousand: +poor, despised, brutalised, they had devoted themselves, like all the +proscribed classes, to the most ignoble occupations. The Arabs formed +almost the entire mass of the population. Their condition was infinitely +varied: some were of high birth, carrying back their pedigree to +Muhammed himself; and some were landed proprietors, possessing traces +of Arabian knowledge, and combining with nobility the functions of the +priesthood and the magistracy, who, under the title of sheikhs, were the +real aristocracy of Egypt. + +[Illustration: 091.jpg THE PROPHET MUHAMMED] + + The original of the illustration (upon the opposite page) is + to be seen in a finely illuminated MS. of the ninth century, + A. D., preserved in the India Office, London. The picture is + of peculiar interest, being the only known portrait of + Muhammed, who is evidently represented as receiving the + divine command to propagate Muhammedanism. + +In the divans, they represented the country, when its tyrants wished +to address themselves to it; in the mosques, they formed a kind of +university, in which they taught the religion and the morality of the +Koran, and a little philosophy and jurisprudence. The great mosque of +Jemil-Azar constituted the foremost learned and religious body in the +East. Next to these grandees came the smaller landholders, composing the +second and more numerous class of the Arabs; then the great mass of the +inhabitants, who had sunk into the state of absolute helots. These last +were hired peasants or fellahs who cultivated the land, and lived in +abject poverty. There was also a class of Arabs, namely, the Bedouins +or rovers, who would never attach themselves to the soil, but were the +children of the desert. These wandering Arabs, divided into tribes +on both sides of the valley, numbered nearly one hundred and twenty +thousand, and could furnish from twenty to twenty-five thousand horse. +They were brave, but fit only to harass the enemy, not to fight him. The +third and last race was that of the Turks; but it was not more numerous +than the Kopts, amounting to about two hundred thousand souls at most, +and was divided into Turks and Mamluks. The Turks were nearly all +enrolled in the list of janizaries; but it is well known that they +frequently had their names inscribed in those lists, that they might +enjoy the privileges of janizaries, and that a very small number of them +were really in the service. Very few of them composed the military force +of the pasha. This pasha, sent from Constantinople, was the sultan’s +representative in Egypt; but, escorted by only a few janizaries, he +found his authority invalidated by the very precautions which Sultan +Selim had formerly taken to preserve it. That sultan, judging that +Egypt was likely from its remoteness to throw off the dominion of +Constantinople, and that a clever and ambitious pasha might create there +an independent empire, had, as we have seen, devised a plan to frustrate +such a motive, should it exist, by instituting a Mamluk soldiery; but it +was the Mamluks, and not the pasha, who rendered themselves independent +of Constantinople and the masters of Egypt. + +Egypt was at this time an absolute feudality, like that of Europe in +the Middle Ages. It exhibited at once a conquered people, a conquering +soldiery in rebellion against its sovereign, and, lastly, an ancient +degenerate class, who served and were in the pay of the strongest. + +Two beys, superior to the rest, ruled Egypt: the one, Ibrahim Bey, +wealthy, crafty, and powerful; the other, Murad Bey, intrepid, +valiant, and full of ardour. They had agreed upon a sort of division +of authority, by which Ibrahim Bey had the civil, and Murad Bey the +military, power. It was the business of the latter to fight; he excelled +in it, and he possessed the affection of the Mam-luks, who were all +eager to follow him. + +Bonaparte immediately perceived the line of policy which he had to +pursue in Egypt. He must, in the first place, wrest that country from +its real masters, the Mam-luks; it was necessary for him to fight them, +and to destroy them by arms and by policy. He had, moreover, strong +reasons to urge against them; for they had never ceased to ill-treat the +French. As for the Porte, it was requisite that he should not appear to +attack its sovereignty, but affect, on the contrary, to respect it. +In the state to which it was reduced, that sovereignty was not to be +dreaded, and he could treat with the Porte, either for the cession of +Egypt, by granting certain advantages elsewhere, or for a partition of +authority, in which there would be nothing detrimental; for the French, +in leaving the pasha at Cairo, and transferring to themselves the power +of the Mamluks, would not occasion much regret. As for the inhabitants, +in order to make sure of their attachment, it would be requisite to win +over the Arab population. By respecting the sheikhs, by flattering their +old pride, by increasing their power, by encouraging their secret desire +for the re-establishment of their ancient glories, Bonaparte reckoned +upon ruling the land, and attaching it entirely to him. By afterwards +sparing persons and property, among a people accustomed to consider +conquest as conferring a right to murder, pillage, and devastate, he +would create a sentiment that would be most advantageous to the French +army. If, furthermore, the French were to respect women and the Prophet, +the conquest of hearts would be as firmly secured as that of the soil. + +Napoleon conducted himself agreeably to these conclusions, which +were equally just and profound. He immediately made his plans for +establishing the French authority at Alexandria, and for quitting the +Delta and gaining possession of Cairo, the capital of Egypt. It was +the month of July; the Nile was about to inundate the country. He was +anxious to reach Cairo before the inundation, and to employ the time +during which it should last in establishing himself there. He ordered +everything at Alexandria to be left in the same state as formerly; that +the religious exercises should be continued; and that justice should be +administered as before by the cadis. His intention was merely to possess +himself of the rights of the Mamluks, and to appoint a commissioner to +levy the accustomed imposts. He caused a divan, or municipal council, +composed of the sheikhs and principal persons of Alexandria, to be +formed, in order to consult them on all the measures which the French +authority would have to take. He left three thousand men in garrison in +Alexandria, and gave the command of it to Kléber, whose wound was liable +to keep him in a state of inactivity for a month or two. He directed a +young Frenchman of extraordinary merit, and who gave promise of becoming +a great engineer, to put Alexandria in a state of defence, and to +construct there all the necessary works. This was Colonel Cretin, +who, in a short time, and at a small expense, executed superb works at +Alexandria. Bonaparte then ordered the fleet to be put in a place of +security. It was a question whether the large ships could enter the port +of Alexandria. A commission of naval officers was appointed to sound the +harbour and make a report. Meanwhile, the fleet was anchored in the road +of Abukir, and Bonaparte ordered Brueys to see to it that this question +should be speedily decided, and to proceed to Corfu if it should be +ascertained that the ships could not enter the harbour of Alexandria. + +After he had attended to all these matters, he made preparations for +marching. A considerable flotilla, laden with provisions, artillery, +ammunition, and baggage, was to run along the coast to the Rosetta +mouth, enter the Nile, and ascend the river at the same time as the +French army. He then set out with the main body of the army, which, +after leaving the two garrisons in Malta and Alexandria, was about +thirty thousand strong. He had ordered his flotilla to proceed as high +as Ramanieh, on the banks of the Nile. There he purposed to join it, and +to proceed up the Nile parallel with it, in order to quit the Delta and +to reach Upper Egypt, or Bahireh. There were two roads from Alexandria +to Ramanieh; one through an inhabited country, along the sea-coast and +the Nile, and the other shorter and as the bird flies, but across the +desert of Damanhour. Bonaparte, without hesitation, chose the shorter. +It was of consequence that he should reach Cairo as speedily as +possible. De-saix marched with the advanced guard, and the main body +followed at a distance of a few leagues. They started on the 6th of +July. When the soldiers found themselves amidst this boundless plain, +with a shifting sand beneath their feet, a scorching sun over their +heads, without water, without shade, with nothing for the eye to rest +upon but rare clumps of palm-trees, seeing no living creatures but small +troops of Arab horsemen, who appeared and disappeared at the horizon, +and sometimes concealed themselves behind sand-hills to murder the +laggards, they were profoundly dejected. They found all the wells, which +at intervals border the road through the desert, destroyed by the Arabs. +There were left only a few drops of brackish water, wholly insufficient +for quenching their thirst. + +[Illustration: 097.jpg STREET DOGS] + +They had been informed that they should find refreshments at Damanhour, +but they met with nothing there but miserable huts, and could procure +neither bread nor wine; only lentils in great abundance, and a little +water. They were obliged to proceed again into the desert. Bonaparte saw +the brave Lannes and Murat take off their hats, dash them on the sand, +and trample them under foot. He, however, overawed all: his presence +imposed silence, and sometimes restored cheerfulness. The soldiers would +not impute their sufferings to him, but grew angry with those who took +pleasure in observing the country. On seeing the men of science stop to +examine the slightest ruins, they said they should not have been there +but for them, and revenged themselves with witticisms after their +fashion. Caffarelli, in particular, brave as a grenadier, and +inquisitive as a scholar, was considered by them as the man who had +deceived the general and drawn him into this distant country. As he had +lost a leg on the Rhine, they said, “He, for his part, laughs at this: +he has one foot in France.” At last, after severe hardships, endured at +first with impatience, and afterwards with gaiety and fortitude, they +reached the Nile on the 10th of July, after a march of four days. At +the sight of the Nile and of the water so much longed for, the soldiers +flung themselves into it, and, bathing in its waves, forgot their +fatigues. Desaix’ division, which from the advance-guard had become the +rear-guard, saw two or three hundred Mamluks galloping before it, whom +they dispersed by a few volleys of grape. These were the first that had +been seen, which warned the French that they would speedily fall in with +the hostile army. The brave Murad Bey, having received the intelligence +of the arrival of Bonaparte, was actually collecting his forces around +Cairo. Until they should have assembled, he was hovering with a thousand +horse about the army, in order to watch its march. + +The army waited at Ramanieh for the arrival of the flotilla. It rested +till July 13th, and set out on the same day for Chebreiss. Murad Bey was +waiting there with his Mamluks. The flotilla, which had set out +first and preceded the army, found itself engaged before it could be +supported. Murad Bey had a flotilla also, and from the shore he joined +his fire to that of his light Egyptian vessels. The French flotilla had +to sustain a very severe combat. Perrée, a naval officer who commanded +it, displayed extraordinary courage; he was supported by the cavalry, +who had come dismounted to Egypt, and who, until they could equip +themselves at the expense of the Mamluks, had taken their passage +by water. Two gunboats were retaken from the enemy, and Perrée was +repulsed. + +At that moment the army came up; it was composed of five divisions, and +had not yet been in action with its singular enemies. To swiftness and +the charge of horse, and to sabre-cuts, it would be necessary to +oppose the immobility of the foot-soldier, his long bayonet, and masses +presenting a front on every side. Bonaparte formed his five divisions +into five squares, in the centre of which were placed the baggage and +the staff. The artillery was at the angles. The five divisions flanked +one another. Murad Bey flung upon these living citadels a thousand or +twelve hundred intrepid horse; who, bearing down with loud shouts and +at full gallop, discharging their pistols, and then drawing their +formidable sabres, threw themselves upon the front of the squares. +Encountering everywhere a hedge of bayonets and a tremendous fire, they +hovered about the French ranks, Fell before them, or scampered off in +the plain at the utmost speed of their horses. Murad Bey, after losing +a few of his bravest men, retired for the purpose of proceeding to the +point of the Delta, and awaiting them near Cairo at the head of all his +forces. + +This action was sufficient to familiarise the army with this new kind of +enemy, and to suggest to Bonaparte the kind of tactics which he ought to +employ with them. He pursued his march towards Cairo, and the flotilla +ascended the Nile abreast of the army. It marched without intermission +during the following days, and, although the soldiers had fresh +hardships to endure, they kept close to the Nile, and could bathe every +night in its waters. + +The army now approached Cairo, where the decisive battle was to be +fought. Murad Bey had collected here the greater part of his Mamluks, +nearly ten thousand in number, and they were attended by double the +number of fellahs, to whom arms were given, and who were obliged to +fight behind the intrenchments. He had also assembled some thousands +of janizaries, or spahis, dependent on the pasha, who, notwithstanding +Bonaparte’s letter of conciliation, had suffered himself to be persuaded +to join his oppressors. Murad Bey had made preparations for defence +on the banks of the Nile. The great capital, Cairo, is situated on the +right bank of the river, and on the opposite bank Murad Bey had pitched +his tent, in a long plain extending from the river to the pyramids of +Gizeh. + +On the 21st of July, the French army set itself in motion before +daybreak. As they approached, they saw the minarets of Cairo shooting +up; they saw the pyramids increase in height; they saw the swarming +multitude which guarded Embabeh; they saw the glistening arms of ten +thousand horsemen resplendent with gold and steel, and forming an +immense line. + +[Illustration: GATHERING DATES] + +The face of Bonaparte beamed with enthusiasm. He began to gallop before +the ranks of the soldiers, and, pointing to the pyramids, he exclaimed, +“Consider, that from the summit of those pyramids forty centuries have +their eyes fixed upon you.” + +In the battle of the Pyramids, as it was called, the enemy’s force +of sixty thousand men was almost completely annihilated. The Mamluks, +bewildered by European tactics, impaled themselves upon the bayonets +of the French squares. Fifteen thousand men of all arms fell upon the +field. The battle had cost the French scarcely a hundred killed and +wounded; for, if defeat is terrible for broken squares, the loss is +insignificant for victorious squares. The Mamluks had lost their +best horsemen by fire or water: their forces were dispersed, and the +possession of Cairo secured. The capital was in extraordinary agitation. +It contained more than three hundred thousand inhabitants, many of whom +were indulging in all sorts of excesses, and intending to profit by the +tumult to pillage the rich palaces of the beys. + +The French flotilla, however, had not yet ascended the Nile, and there +was no means of crossing to take possession of Cairo. Some French +traders who happened to be there were sent to Bonaparte by the sheikhs +to arrange concerning the occupation of the city. He procured a few +light boats, or djerms, and sent across the river a detachment of +troops, which at once restored tranquillity, and secured persons and +property from the fury of the populace. + +Bonaparte established his headquarters at Gizeh, on the banks of the +Nile, where Murad Bey had an imposing residence. A considerable store +of provisions was found both at Gizeh and at Embabeh, and the soldiers +could make amends for their long privations. No sooner had he settled +in Cairo than he hastened to pursue the same policy which he had already +adopted at Alexandria, and by which he hoped to gain the country. +The essential point was to obtain from the sheikhs of the mosque of +Jemil-Azar a declaration in favour of the French. It corresponded to +a papal bull among Christians. On this occasion Bonaparte exerted his +utmost address, and was completely successful. The great sheikhs issued +the desired declaration, and exhorted the Egyptians to submit to the +envoy of God, who reverenced the Prophet, and who had come to deliver +his children from the tyranny of the Mamluks. Bonaparte established a +divan at Cairo, as he had done at Alexandria, composed of the principal +sheikhs, and the most distinguished inhabitants. This divan, or +municipal council, was intended to serve him in gaining the minds of the +Egyptians, by consulting it, and learning from it all the details of the +internal administration. It was agreed that similar assemblies should +be established in all the provinces, and that these subordinate divans +should send deputies to the divan of Cairo, which would thus be the +great national divan. + +Bonaparte resolved to leave the administration of justice to the cadis. +In execution of his scheme of succeeding to the rights of the Mamluks, +he seized their property, and caused the taxes previously imposed to +continue to be levied for the benefit of the French army. For this +purpose it was requisite that he should have the Kopts at his disposal. +He omitted nothing to attach them to him, holding out hopes to them of +an amelioration of their condition. He sent generals with detachments +down the Nile to complete the occupation of the Delta, which the army +had merely traversed, and sent others towards the Upper Nile, to take +possession of Middle Egypt. Desaix was placed with a division at the +entrance of Upper Egypt, which he was to conquer from Murad Bey, as +soon as the waters of the Nile should subside in the autumn. Each of +the generals, furnished with detailed instructions, was to repeat in +the country what had been done at Alexandria and at Cairo. They were to +court the sheikhs, to win the Kopts, and to establish the levy of the +taxes in order to supply the wants of the army. Bonaparte was also +attentive to keep up the relations with the neighbouring countries, +in order to uphold and to appropriate to himself the rich commerce of +Egypt. He appointed the Emir Hadgi, an officer annually chosen at Cairo, +to protect the great caravan from Mecca. He wrote to all the French +consuls on the coast of Barbary to inform the beys that the Emir Hadgi +was appointed, and that the caravans might set out. At his desire the +sheikhs wrote to the sherif of Mecca, to acquaint him that the pilgrims +would be protected, and that the caravans would find safety and +protection. The pasha of Cairo had followed Ibraham Bey to Belbeys. +Bonaparte wrote to him, as well as to the several pashas of St. Jean +d’Acre and Damascus, to assure them of the good disposition of the +French towards the Sublime Porte. The Arabs were struck by the character +of the young conqueror. They could not comprehend how it was that the +mortal who wielded the thunderbolt should be so merciful. They called +him the worthy son of the Prophet, the favourite of the great Allah, and +sang in the great mosque a litany in his praise. + +Napoleon, in carrying out his policy of conciliating the natives, was +present at the Nile festival, which is one of the greatest in Egypt. +It was on the 18th of August that this festival was held. Bonaparte +had ordered the whole army to be under arms, and had drawn it up on the +banks of the canal. An immense concourse of people had assembled, who +beheld with joy the brave man of the West attending their festivals. + +It was by such means that the young general, as profound a politician as +he was a great captain, contrived to ingratiate himself with the people. +While he flattered their prejudices for the moment, he laboured +to diffuse among them the light of science by the creation of the +celebrated Institute of Egypt. He collected the men of science and the +artists whom he had brought with him, and, associating with them some of +the best educated of his officers, established the institute, to which +he appropriated a revenue and one of the most spacious palaces in Cairo. + +The conquest of the provinces of Lower and Middle Egypt had been +effected without difficulty, and had cost only a few skirmishes with the +Arabs. A forced march upon Belbeys had been sufficient to drive Ibrahim +Bey into Syria, where Desaix awaited the autumn for wresting Upper Egypt +from Murad Bey, who had retired thither with the wrecks of his army. + +Fortune was, meanwhile, preparing for Bonaparte the most terrible of all +reverses. On leaving Alexandria, he had earnestly recommended to Admiral +Brueys to secure his squadron from the English, either by taking it into +the harbour of Alexandria, or by proceeding with it to Corfu; and he had +particularly enjoined him not to leave it in the road of Abukir, for it +was much better to fall in with an enemy when under sail than to receive +him at anchor. A warm discussion had arisen on the question whether +the ships of 80 and 120 guns could be carried into the harbour of +Alexandria. As to the smaller ships, there was no doubt; but the larger +would require lightening so much as to enable them to draw three feet +less water. For this purpose it would be necessary to take out their +guns, or to construct floats. On such conditions, Admiral Brueys +resolved not to take his squadron into the harbour. The time which he +spent, either in sounding the channels to the harbour, or in waiting for +news from Cairo, caused his own destruction. + +Admiral Brueys was moored in the road of Abukir. This road is a very +regular semicircle, and his thirteen ships formed a line parallel to +the shore, and so disposed that he believed no British ship could pass +between him and the shore, if an attack were made. + +Nelson, after visiting the Archipelago, and returning to the Adriatic, +Naples, and Sicily, had at length obtained the certain knowledge of +the landing of the French at Alexandria. He immediately steered in that +direction in order to seek and put to flight their squadron. He sent a +frigate to look out for it, and to reconnoitre its position. The English +frigate, having made her observations, rejoined Nelson, who, being +informed of all the particulars, immediately stood in for Abukir, and +arrived there August 1, 1798, at about six o’clock in the evening. +Admiral Brueys was at dinner. He immediately ordered the signal for +battle to be given; but so unprepared was the squadron to receive the +enemy, that the hammocks were not stowed away on board any of the ships, +and part of the crews were on shore. The admiral despatched officers to +send the seamen on board, and to demand part of those who were in the +transports. He had no conception that Nelson would dare to attack him +the same evening, and conceived that he should have time to receive the +reinforcements for which he had applied. + +Nelson resolved to attack immediately, and to push in between the French +ships and the shore at all hazards. “Before this time to-morrow” said +he, “I shall have gained a peerage or Westminster Abbey.” + +The number of vessels was equal on both sides, namely, thirteen ships +of war. The engagement lasted upwards of fifteen hours. All the crews +performed prodigies of valour. The brave Captain Du Petit-Thouars had +two of his limbs shot off. He ordered snuff to be brought him, +and remained on his quarter-deck, and, like Brueys, waited till a +cannon-ball despatched him. The entire French squadron, excepting the +two ships and two frigates carried off by Villeneuve, was destroyed. +Nelson had suffered so severely that he could not pursue the fugitives. +Such was the famous battle of Abukir, the most disastrous that +the French had ever sustained, and involved the most far-reaching +consequences. The fleet which had carried the French to Egypt, which +might have served to succour or to recruit them, which was to +second their movements on the coast of Syria,--had there been any to +execute,--which was to overawe the Porte, to force it to put up with +false reasoning, and to oblige it to wink at the invasion of Egypt, +which finally, in case of reverses, was to convey the French back to +their country,--that fleet was destroyed. The French ships were burned. +The news of this disaster spread rapidly in Egypt, and for a moment +filled the army with despair. Bonaparte received the tidings with +imperturbable composure. “Well,” he said, “we must die in this country, +or get out of it as great as the ancients.” He wrote to Kléber: “This +will oblige us to do greater things than we intended. We must hold +ourselves in readiness.” The great soul of Kléber was worthy of +this language: “Yes,” replied Kléber, “we must do great things. I am +preparing my faculties.” The courage of these men supported the army, +and restored its confidence. + +Bonaparte strove to divert the thoughts of the soldiers by various +expeditions, and soon made them forget this disaster. On the festival of +the foundation of the republic, he endeavoured to give a new stimulus to +their imagination; he engraved on Pompey’s Pillar the names of the first +forty soldiers slain in Egypt. They were the forty who had fallen in +the attack on Alexandria; and the names of these men, sprung from the +villages of France, were thus associated with the immortality of Pompey +and Alexander. + +Bonaparte, after the battle of the Pyramids, found himself master of +Egypt. He began to establish himself there, and sent his generals into +the provinces to complete their conquest. Desaix, placed at the entrance +of Upper Egypt with a division of about three thousand men, was directed +to reduce the remnants of Murad Bey’s force in that province. It was in +the preceding year (October, 1798), at the moment when the inundation +was over, that Desaix had commenced his expedition. The enemy had +retired before him, and did not wait for him till he reached Sediman; +there, on October 7th, Desaix fought a sanguinary battle with the +desperate remainder of Murad Bey’s forces. Two thousand French had to +combat with four thousand Mamluks and eight thousand fellahs, intrenched +in the village of Sediman. The battle was conducted in the same manner +as that of the Pyramids, and like all those fought in Egypt. The fellahs +were behind the walls of the village, and the horse in the plain. The +field of battle was thickly strewn with slain. The French lost three +hundred men. Desaix continued his march during the whole winter, and, +after a series of actions, reduced Upper Egypt as far as the cataracts. +He made himself equally feared for his bravery and beloved for his +clemency. In Cairo, Bonaparte had been named Sultan Kebir, the Fire +Sultan. In Upper Egypt, Desaix was called the “Just Sultan.” + +Bonaparte had meanwhile marched to Belbeys, to drive Ibrahim Bey into +Syria, and he had collected by the way the wrecks of the caravan of +Mecca, plundered by the Arabs. Returning to Cairo, he continued to +establish there an entirely French administration. Thus passed the +winter between 1798 and 1799 in the expectation of important events. +During this interval, Bonaparte received intelligence of the declaration +of war by the Porte, and of the preparations which it was making against +him with the aid of the English. Two armies were being formed, one at +Rhodes, the other in Syria. These two armies were to act simultaneously +in the spring of 1799, the one by landing at Abukir near Alexandria, the +other by crossing the desert which separates Syria from Egypt. Bonaparte +was instantly aware of his position, and determined, as was his custom, +to disconcert the enemy and to forestall any offensive movement by a +sudden attack. He could not cross the desert which parts Egypt from +Syria in summer, and he resolved to avail himself of the winter for +destroying the assemblages of troops forming at Acre, at Damascus, +and in the principal towns. Djezzar, the celebrated pasha of Acre, was +appointed seraskier of the army collected in Syria. Abd Allah Pasha of +Damascus commanded its advanced-guard, and had proceeded as far as the +fort of El Arish, which is the key to Egypt on the side next to Syria. +Bonaparte resolved to act immediately. He was in communication with the +tribes of the Lebanon. The Druses, Christian tribes, the Mutualis, and +schismatic Muhammedans offered him assistance, and ardently wished for +his coming. By a sudden assault on Jaffa, Acre, and some other badly +fortified places, he might in a short time gain possession of Syria, +add this fine conquest to that of Egypt, make himself master of +the Euphrates, as he was of the Nile, and thus command all the +communications with India. + +[Illustration: 112.jpg A FOUNTAIN AT CAIRO] + +Bonaparte commenced his march very early in February at the head of +Kléber’s, Régnier’s, Lannes’s, Bon’s, and Murat’s divisions, about +thirteen thousand strong. He arrived before the fort El Arish on +February 15th, and, after a slight resistance, the garrison surrendered +themselves prisoners, to the number of thirteen hundred men. Ibrahim +Bey, having attempted to relieve it, was put to flight, and, after a +severe march across the desert, they reached Gaza. They took that place +in the sight of Djezzar Pasha, and found there, as in the fort of El +Arish, a great quantity of ammunition and provisions. From Gaza the army +proceeded to Jaffa (the ancient Joppa), where it arrived on March 3rd. +This place was surrounded by a massive wall, flanked by towers, and it +contained a garrison of four thousand men. Bonaparte caused a breach +to be battered in the wall, and then summoned the commandant, who only +answered by cutting off the head of the messenger. The assault was made, +and the place stormed with extraordinary intrepidity, and given up +for thirty hours to pillage and massacre. Here, too, was found a +considerable quantity of artillery and supplies of all kinds. There +were some thousands of prisoners, whom the general could not despatch to +Egypt, because he had not the ordinary means for escorting them, and he +would not send them back to the enemy to swell their ranks. Bonaparte +decided on a terrible measure, the most cruel act of his life. +Transported into a barbarous country, he had adopted its manners, and he +ordered all the prisoners to be put to death. The army consummated with +obedience, but with a sort of horror, the execution that was commanded. + +Bonaparte then advanced upon St. Jean d’Acre, the ancient Ptolemais, +situated at the foot of Mount Carmel. It was the only place that could +now stop him. If he could make himself master of this fortress, Syria +would be his. But the ferocious Djezzar had shut himself up there, with +all his wealth and a strong garrison, and he also reckoned upon support +from Sir Sidney Smith, then cruising off that coast, who supplied him +with engineers, artillerymen, and ammunition. It was probable, moreover, +that he would be soon relieved by the Turkish army collected in Syria, +which was advancing from Damascus to cross the Jordan. Bonaparte +hastened to attack the place, in hopes of taking it, as he had done +Jaffa, before it was reinforced with fresh troops, and before the +English had time to improve its defences. The trenches were immediately +opened. The siege artillery sent by sea from Alexandria had been +intercepted by Sir Sidney Smith, who captured seven vessels out of the +nine. A breach was effected, and dispositions were made for the assault, +but the men were stopped by a counterscarp and a ditch. They immediately +set about mining. The operation was carried on under the fire of all +the ramparts, and of the fine artillery which Sir Sidney Smith had taken +from the French. The mine was exploded on April 17th, and blew up only +a portion of the counterscarp. Unluckily for the French, the place had +received a reinforcement of several thousand men, a great number of +gunners trained after the European fashion, and immense supplies. It was +a siege on a large scale to be carried on with thirteen thousand men, +almost entirely destitute of artillery. It was necessary to open a new +mine to blow up the entire counterscarp, and to commence another covered +way. + +Bonaparte now ordered Kléber’s division to oppose the passage of the +Jordan by the army coming from Damascus. The enemy was commanded by Abd +Allah Pasha of Damascus, and numbered about twenty-five thousand men +and twelve thousand horse. A desperate battle was fought in the plain of +Fouli, and for six hours Kléber, with scarcely three thousand infantry +in square, resisted the utmost fury of the Turkish cavalry. Bonaparte, +who had been making a rapid march to join Kléber, suddenly made his +appearance on the field of battle. A tremendous fire, discharged +instantaneously from the three points of this triangle, assailed the +Mamluks who were in the midst, drove them in confusion upon one another, +and made them flee in disorder in all directions. Kléber’s division, +fired with fresh ardour at this sight, rushed upon the village of Eouli, +stormed it at the point of the bayonet, and made a great carnage among +the enemy. In a moment the whole multitude was gone, and the plain was +left covered with dead. During this interval the besiegers had never +ceased mining and countermining about the walls of St. Jean d’Acre. The +siege of Acre lasted for sixty-five days. Bonaparte made eight desperate +but ineffectual assaults upon the city, which were repulsed by eleven +furious sallies on the part of the besieged garrison. It was absolutely +necessary to relinquish the enterprise. The strategic point in the East +was lost. + +[Illustration: 116b.jpg Cairo--Eskibieh Quarter] + +For two months the army had been before Acre; it had sustained +considerable losses, and it would have been imprudent to expose it to +more. The plague was in Acre, and the army had caught the contagion at +Jaffa. The season for landing troops approached, and the arrival of a +Turkish army near the mouths of the Nile was expected. By persisting +longer, Bonaparte was liable to weaken himself to such a degree as +not to be able to repulse new enemies. The main point of his plan was +effected, since he had rendered the enemy in that quarter incapable of +acting. He now commenced his march to recross the desert. + +Bonaparte at length reached Egypt after an expedition of nearly +three months. It was high time for him to return; for the spirit +of insurrection had spread throughout the whole Delta. His presence +produced everywhere submission and tranquillity. He gave orders for +magnificent festivities at Cairo to celebrate his triumphs in Syria. He +had to curb not only the inhabitants, but his own generals and the army +itself. A deep discontent pervaded it. They had been for a whole year +in Egypt. It was now the month of June, and they were still ignorant of +what was passing in Europe, and of the disasters of France. They +merely knew that the Continent was in confusion, and that a new war was +inevitable. Bonaparte impatiently waited for further particulars, that +he might decide what course to pursue, and return, in case of need, to +the first theatre of his exploits. But he hoped first to destroy the +second Turkish army assembled at Rhodes, the very speedy landing of +which was announced. + +This army, put on board numerous transports and escorted by Sir Sidney +Smith’s squadron, appeared on July 11th in sight of Alexandria, and +came to anchor in the road of Abukir, where the French squadron had been +destroyed. The point chosen by the English for landing was the peninsula +which commands the entrance to the road, and bears the same name. The +Turks landed with great boldness, attacked the intrenchments sword +in hand, carried them, and made themselves masters of the village of +Abukir, putting to death the garrison. The village being taken, it was +impossible for the fort to hold out, and it was obliged to surrender. +Marmont, who commanded at Alexandria, left the city at the head of +twelve hundred men to hasten to the assistance of the troops at Abukir. +But, learning that the Turks had landed in considerable numbers, he did +not dare to attempt to throw them into the sea by a bold attack, and +returned to Alexandria, leaving them to establish themselves quietly in +the peninsula of Abukir. + +[Illustration: 119.jpg CAIRO FROM THE LEFT BANK OF THE NILE] + +The Turks amounted to nearly eighteen thousand infantry. They had no +cavalry, for they had not brought more than three hundred horses, but +they expected the arrival of Murad Bey, who was to leave Upper Egypt, +skirt the desert, cross the oases, and throw himself into Abukir with +two or three thousand Mamluks. + +When Bonaparte was informed of the particulars of the landing, he +immediately left Cairo, and made from that city to Alexandria one of +those extraordinary marches of which he had given so many examples in +Italy. He took with him the divisions of Lannes, Bon, and Murat. He had +ordered Desaix to evacuate Upper Egypt, and Kleber and Régnier, who were +in the Delta, to approach Abukir. He had chosen the point of Birket, +midway between Alexandria and Abukir, at which to concentrate his +forces, and to manouvre according to circumstances. He was afraid that +an English army had landed with the Turks. The next day, the 7th, he was +at the entrance of the peninsula. + +Bonaparte made his dispositions with his usual promptitude and decision. +He ordered General D ‘Estaing, with some battalions, to march to the +hill on the left, where the one thousand Turks were posted; Lannes to +march to that on the right, where the two thousand others were; and +Murat, who was at the centre, to make the cavalry file on the rear of +the two hills. D’Estaing marched to the hill on the left and boldly +ascended it: Murat caused it to be turned by a squadron. The Turks, at +sight of this, quitted their post, and fell in with the cavalry, which +cut them to pieces, and drove them into the sea, into which they chose +rather to throw themselves than to surrender. Precisely the same thing +was done on the right. Lannes attacked the two thousand janizaries; +Murat turned them, cut them in pieces, and drove them into the sea. +D’Estaing and Lannes then moved towards the centre, formed by a village, +and attacked it in front. The Turks there defended themselves bravely, +reckoning upon assistance from the second line. A column did in fact +advance from the camp of Abukir; but Murat, who had already filed upon +the rear of the village, fell sword in hand upon this column, and drove +it back into Abukir. D’Estaing’s infantry and that of Lannes entered the +village at the charge step, driving the Turks out of it, who were pushed +in all directions, and who, obstinately refusing to surrender, had no +retreat but the sea, in which they were drowned. + +From four to five thousand had already perished in this manner. +The first line was carried: Bonaparte’s object was accomplished. He +immediately followed up his success with desperate fighting to complete +his victory on the moment. The Turks, affrighted, fled on all sides, and +a horrible carnage was made among them. They were pursued at the point +of the bayonet and thrust into the sea. More than twelve thousand +corpses were floating in the bay of Abukir, and two or three thousand +more had perished by the fire or by the sword. The rest, shut up in the +fort, had no rescue but the clemency of the conqueror. Such was that +extraordinary battle in which a hostile army was entirely destroyed. +Thus, either by the expedition to Syria, or by the battle of Abukir, +Egypt was delivered, at least for a time, from the forces of the Porte. + +Having arrived in the summer before the inundation, Bonaparte had +employed the first moments in gaining possession of Alexandria and the +capital, which he had secured by the battle of the Pyramids. In the +autumn, after the inundation, he had completed the conquest of the +Delta, and consigned that of Upper Egypt to Desaix. In the winter he had +undertaken the expedition to Syria, and destroyed Djezzar’s Turkish army +at Mount Tabor. He had now, in the second summer, just destroyed the +second army of the Porte at Abukir. The time had thus been well spent; +and, while Victory was forsaking in Europe the banners of France, she +adhered to them in Africa and Asia. The tricolour waved triumphant over +the Nile and the Jordan, and over the places which were the cradle of +the Christian religion. + +Bonaparte was as yet ignorant of what was passing in France. None of the +despatches from the Directory or from his brothers had reached him, +and he was a prey to the keenest anxiety. With a view to obtaining some +intelligence, he ordered brigs to cruise about, to stop all merchantmen, +and to gain from them information of the occurrences in Europe. He +sent to the Turkish fleet a flag of truce, which, under the pretext of +negotiating an exchange of prisoners, was for the purpose of obtaining +news. Sir Sidney Smith stopped this messenger, treated him exceedingly +well, and, perceiving that Bonaparte was ignorant of the disasters of +France, took a spiteful pleasure in sending him a packet of newspapers. +The messenger returned and delivered the packet to Bonaparte. The latter +spent the whole night in devouring the contents of those papers, +and informing himself of what was passing in his own country. His +determination was immediately taken, and he resolved to embark secretly +for Europe, and on August 22nd, taking with him Berthier, Lannes, Murât, +Andréossy, Marmont, Berthollet, and Monge, and escorted by some of his +guides, he proceeded to a retired spot on the beach, where boats were +awaiting them. They got into them and went on board the frigates, _La +Muiron_ and _La Carrère_. They set sail immediately, that by daylight +they might be out of sight of the English cruisers. Unfortunately +it fell calm; fearful of being surprised, some were for returning to +Alexandria, but Bonaparte resolved to proceed. “Be quiet,” said he, “we +shall pass in safety.” Like Cæsar, he reckoned upon his fortune. Menou, +who alone had been initiated into the secret, made known in Alexandria +the departure of General Bonaparte, and the appointment which he had +made of General Kléber to succeed him. This intelligence caused a +painful surprise throughout the army. The most opprobrious epithets +were applied to this departure. They did not consider that irresistible +impulse of patriotism and ambition, which, on the news of the disasters +of the republic, had urged him to return to France. They perceived only +the forlorn state in which he had left the unfortunate army, which had +felt sufficient confidence in his genius to follow him. + +Kléber was not fond of General Bonaparte, and endured his ascendency +with a sort of impatience, and now he was sorry that he had quitted the +banks of the Rhine for the banks of the Nile. The chief command did +not counterbalance the necessity of remaining in Egypt, for he took no +pleasure in commanding. + +[Illustration: 124.jpg STATUE OF GENERAL KLEBER AT STRASBURG] + +Kléber, however, was the most popular of the generals among the +soldiery. His name was hailed by them with entire confidence, and +somewhat cheered them for the loss of the illustrious commander who had +just left them. He returned to Cairo, assumed the command with a sort of +ostentation, and took possession of the fine Arabian mansion which his +predecessor had occupied in the Ezbekieh Place. But it was not long +before the solicitudes of the chief command, which were insupportable +to him, the new dangers with which the Turks and the English threatened +Egypt, and the grief of exile, which was general, filled his soul with +the most gloomy discouragement. + +Kléber, together with Poussielgue, the administrator of the army, at +once prepared and addressed despatches to the Directory, placing the +condition of the troops, the finances, and the number of the enemy in +the most melancholy light. These despatches fell into the hands of the +English, and the duplicate reports found their way into the hands of +Bonaparte himself. Bonaparte had left instructions with Kléber to meet +every possible contingency during his absence, even to the necessity of +an evacuation of Egypt. “I am going to France,” said he, “either as a +private man or as a public man; I will get reinforcement sent to you. +But if by next spring (he was writing in August, 1799) you have received +no supplies, no instructions; if the plague has carried off more than +fifteen hundred men, independently of losses by war; if a considerable +force, which you should be incapable of resisting, presses you hard, +negotiate with the vizier: consent even, if it must be so, to an +evacuation; subject to one condition, that of referring to the French +government; and meanwhile continue to occupy. You will thus have gained +time, and it is impossible that, during the interval, you should not +have received succour.” + +The instructions were very sound; but the case foreseen was far from +being realised at the time when Kléber determined to negotiate for the +evacuation of Egypt. Murad Bey, disheartened, was a fugitive in Upper +Egypt with a few Mamluks. Ibrahim Bey, who, under the government of +the Mamluks, shared the sovereignty with him, was then in Lower Egypt +towards the frontier of Syria.. He had four hundred horse. Djezzar +Pasha was shut up in St. Jean d’Acre, and, so far from preparing a +reinforcement of men for the army of the grand vizier, he viewed, on the +contrary, with high displeasure, the approach of a fresh Turkish army, +now that his pashalik was delivered from the French. As for the grand +vizier, he was not yet across the Taurus. The English had their troops +at Mahon, and were not at this moment aggressive. At Kléber’s side was +General Menou, who viewed everything under the most favourable colours, +and believed the French to be invincible in Egypt, and regarded the +expedition as the commencement of a near and momentous revolution in the +commerce of the world. Kléber and Menou were both honest, upright men; +but one wanted to leave Egypt, the other to stay in it; the clearest and +most authentic returns conveyed to them totally contrary significations; +misery and ruin to one, abundance and success to the other. + +In September, 1799, Desaix, having completed the conquest and +subjugation of Upper Egypt, had left two movable columns for the pursuit +of Murad Bey, to whom he had offered peace on condition of his becoming +a vassal of France. He then returned to Cairo by the order of Kléber, +who wished to make use of his name in those negotiations into which +he was about to enter. During these proceedings, the army of the grand +vizier, so long announced, was slowly advancing. Sir Sidney Smith, who +convoyed with his squadron the Turkish troops destined to be transported +by sea, had just arrived off Dami-etta with eight thousand janizaries, +and on the first of November, 1799, the landing of the first division +of four thousand janizaries was effected. At the first tidings of this +disembarkation, Kléber had despatched Desaix with a column of three +thousand men; but the latter, uselessly sent to Damietta, had found the +victory won,--the Turkish division having been completely destroyed by +General Verdier,--and the French filled with unbounded confidence. +This brilliant achievement ought to have served to encourage Kléber; +unfortunately, he was swayed at once by his own lack of confidence and +that of the army. In this disposition of mind, Kléber had sent one +of his officers to the vizier (who had entered Syria), to make new +overtures of peace. General Bonaparte, with a view to embroiling the +vizier with the English, had previously entertained the idea of setting +on foot negotiations, which, on his part, were nothing more than a +feint. His overtures had been received with great distrust and pride. +Kléber ‘s advances met with a favourable reception, through the +influence of Sir Sidney Smith, who was preparing to play a prominent +part in the affairs of Egypt. This officer had largely contributed to +prevent the success of the siege of St. Jean d’Acre; he was proud of it, +and had devised a _ruse de guerre_ by taking advantage of a momentary +weakness to wrest from the French their valuable conquest. With this +view, he had disposed the grand vizier to listen to the overtures +of Kléber. Kléber, on his part, despatched Desaix and Poussielgue as +negotiators to Sir Sidney Smith; for, since the English were masters of +the sea, he wished to induce them to take part in the negotiation, +so that the return to France might be rendered possible. Sir Sidney +manifested a disposition to enter into arrangements, acting as “Minister +Plenipotentiary of His Britannic Majesty,” and attributing to himself +a power which he had ceased to hold since the arrival of Lord Elgin +as ambassador at Constantinople. Poussielgue was an advocate for +evacuation; Desaix just the reverse. The conditions proposed by Kléber +were unreasonable: not that they were an exorbitant equivalent for what +was given up in giving up Egypt, but because they were not feasible. +Sir Sidney made Kléber sensible of this. Officers treating for a mere +suspension of arms could not include topics of vast extent in their +negotiation, such as the demand for the possession of the Venetian +Islands, and the annulment of the Triple Alliance. But it was urgently +necessary to settle two points immediately: the departure of the wounded +and of the scientific men attached to the expedition, for whom Desaix +solicited safe-conduct; and secondly, a suspension of arms, for the army +of the grand vizier, though marching slowly, would soon be in presence +of the French. It had actually arrived before the fort of El Arish, +the first French post on the frontiers of Syria, and had summoned it to +surrender. The negotiations, in fact, had been going on for a fortnight +on board _Le Tigre_, while floating at the pleasure of the winds off the +coasts of Syria and Egypt: the parties had said all they had to say, and +the negotiations could not be continued to any useful purpose without +the concurrence of the grand vizier. Sir Sidney, availing himself of a +favourable moment, pushed off in a boat which landed him on the coast, +after incurring some danger, and ordered the captain of _Le Tigre_ to +meet him in the port of Jaffa, where Poussielgue and Desaix were to be +put ashore, if the conferences were to be transferred to the camp of the +grand vizier. + +At the moment when the English commodore reached the camp, a horrible +event had occurred at El Arish. The grand vizier had collected around +him an army of seventy or eighty thousand fanatic Mussulmans. The +Turks were joined by the Mamluks. Ibrahim Bey, who had some time before +retired to Syria, and Murad Bey, who had descended by a long circuit +from the cataracts to the environs of Suez, had become the auxiliaries +of their former adversaries. The English had made for this army a sort +of field-artillery, drawn by mules. The fort of El Arish, before which +the Turks were at this moment, was, according to the declaration of +General Bonaparte, one of the two keys of Egypt; Alexandria was the +other. + +The Turkish advanced-guard having reached El Arish, Colonel Douglas, +an English officer in the service of Turkey, summoned Cazals, the +commandant, to surrender. The culpable sentiments which the officers had +too much encouraged in the army then burst forth. The soldiers in the +garrison at El Arish, vehemently longing, like their comrades, to leave +Egypt, declared to the commandant that they would not fight, and that he +must make up his mind to surrender the fort. + +[Illustration: 130.jpg A MODERN FANATIC] + +The gallant Cazals indignantly refused, and a struggle with the +Turks ensued. During this contest, the recreants, who insisted on +surrendering, threw ropes to the Turks; these ferocious enemies, once +hoisted up into the fort, rushed, sword in hand, upon those who had +given them admission into the fort, and slaughtered a great number +of them. The others, brought back to reason, joined the rest of the +garrison, and, defending themselves with desperate courage, were most of +them killed. A small number obtained quarter, thanks to that humane and +distinguished officer, Colonel Douglas. + +It was now the 30th of December: the letter written by Sir Sidney Smith +to the grand vizier, to propose to him a suspension of arms, had not +reached him in time to prevent the melancholy catastrophe at El Arish. +Sir Sidney Smith was a man of generous feelings: this barbarous massacre +of a French garrison horrified him, and, above all, it made him +fearful of the rupture of the negotiations. He lost no time in sending +explanations to Kléber, both in his own name and that of the grand +vizier, and he added the formal assurance that all hostility should +cease during the negotiations. + +Kléber, when informed of the massacre of El Arish, did not manifest as +much indignation as he ought to have done; he was aware that, if he was +too warm upon that subject, all the negotiations might be broken off. +He was more urgent than ever for a suspension of arms; and, at the +same time, by way of precaution, and to be nearer to the theatre of +the conferences, he left Cairo, and transferred his headquarters to +Salahieh, on the very border of the desert, two days’ march from El +Arish. + +In the meantime, Desaix and Poussielgue, detained by contrary winds, +had not been able to land at Gaza till the 11th, and to reach El Arish +before the 13th. + +The evacuation and its conditions soon became the sole subject of +negotiation. After long discussions it was agreed that all hostility +should cease for three months; that those three months should be +employed by the vizier in collecting, in the ports of Rosetta, Abukir, +and Alexandria, the vessels requisite for the conveyance of the French +army; by General Kléber, in evacuating the Upper Nile, Cairo, and the +contiguous provinces, and in concentrating his troops about the point of +embarkation; that the French should depart with the honours of war; +that they should cease to impose contributions; but that, in return, +the French army should receive three thousand purses, equivalent at that +time to three million francs, and representing the sum necessary for its +subsistence during the evacuation and the passage. The forts of Katieh, +Salahieh, and the Belbeys, forming the frontier of Egypt towards the +desert of Syria, were to be given up ten days after the ratification; +Cairo forty days after. + +The terms of the convention being arranged, there was nothing more to +be done but sign it. Kléber, who had a vague feeling of his fault, +determined, in order to cover it, to assemble a council of war, to which +all the generals of the army were summoned. The council met on the 21st +of January, 1800. The minutes of it still exist. Desaix, although deeply +grieved, was swept along by the torrent of popular opinion, gave way +to it himself, and affixed his signature on the 28th of January to the +convention of El Arish. + +Meanwhile preparations were being made for departure; Sir Sidney Smith +had returned to his ship. The vizier advanced and took possession, +consecutively, of the entrenched positions of Katieh, Salahieh, and +Belbeys, which Kléber, in haste to execute the convention, faithfully +delivered up to him. Kléber returned to Cairo to make his preparations +for departure, to call in the troops that were guarding Upper Egypt, to +concentrate his army, and then to direct it upon Alexandria and Rosetta +at the time stipulated for embarkation. + +While these events were occurring in Egypt, the English cabinet had +received advice of the overtures made by General Kléber to the grand +vizier and to Sir Sidney Smith. Believing that the French army was +reduced to the last extremity, it lost no time in sending off an express +order not to grant any capitulation unless they surrendered themselves +prisoners of war. These orders, despatched from London on the 17th of +December, reached Admiral Keith in the island of Minorca in the first +days of January, 1800; and, on the 8th of the same month, the admiral +hastened to forward to Sir Sidney Smith the instructions which he had +just received from the government. He lost no time in writing to Kléber, +to express his mortification, to apprise him honestly of what was +passing, to advise him to suspend immediately the delivery of the +Egyptian fortresses to the grand vizier, and to conjure him to wait +for fresh orders from England before he took any definite resolutions. +Unfortunately, when these advices from Sir Sidney arrived at Cairo, the +French army had already executed in part the treaty of El Arish. + +Kléber instantly countermanded all the orders previously given to the +army. He brought back from Lower Egypt to Cairo part of the troops that +had already descended the Nile; he ordered his stores to be sent up +again; he urged the division of Upper Egypt to make haste to rejoin him, +and gave notice to the grand vizier to suspend his march towards Cairo, +otherwise he should immediately commence hostilities. The grand vizier +replied that the convention of El Arish was signed; that it must be +executed; that, in consequence, he should advance towards the capital. +At the same instant, an officer sent from Minorca with a letter from +Lord Keith to Kléber, arrived at the headquarters. Kléber, fired with +indignation at the demand for surrender, caused Lord Keith’s letter +to be inserted in the order of the day, adding to it these few words: +“Soldiers, to such insults there is no other answer than victory. +Prepare for action.” + +Agents from Sir Sidney had hastened up to interpose between the French +and the Turks, and to make fresh proposals of accommodation. Letters, +they said, had just been written to London, and, when the convention of +El Arish was known there, it would be ratified to a certainty; in this +situation, it would not be right to suspend hostilities, and wait. To +this the grand vizier and Kléber consented, but on conditions that were +irreconcilable. The grand vizier insisted that Cairo should be given up +to him; Kléber, on the contrary, that the vizier should fall back to the +frontier. Under these conditions, fighting was the only resource. + +On the 20th of March, 1800, in the plain of Heliopolis, ten thousand +soldiers, by superiority in discipline and courage, dispersed seventy +or eighty thousand foes. Kléber gave orders for the pursuit on the +following day. When he had ascertained with his own eyes that the +Turkish army had disappeared, he resolved to return and reduce the towns +of Lower Egypt, and Cairo in particular, to their duty. + +He arrived at Cairo on the 27th of March. Important events had occurred +there since his departure. The population of that great city, which +numbered nearly three hundred thousand inhabitants, fickle, inflammable, +inclined to change, had followed the suggestions of Turkish emissaries, +and fallen upon the French the moment they heard the cannon at +Heliopolis. Pouring forth outside the walls during the battle, and +seeing Nassif-Pasha and Ibrahim Bey, with some thousand horse and +janizaries, they supposed them to be the conquerors. Taking good care +not to undeceive the inhabitants, the Turks affirmed that the grand +vizier had gained a complete victory, and that the French were +exterminated. At these tidings, fifty thousand men had risen in Cairo, +at Bulak, and at Gizeh, and Cairo became a scene of plunder, rapine, and +murder. + +[Illustration: 137.jpg CITADEL OF CAIRO] + +During these transactions, General Friant arrived, detached from +Belbeys, and lastly Kléber himself. Though conqueror of the grand +vizier’s army, Kléber had a serious difficulty to surmount to subdue an +immense city, peopled by three hundred thousand inhabitants, partly in +a state of revolt, occupied by twenty thousand Turks, and built in the +Oriental style; that is to say, having narrow streets, divided into +piles of masonry, which were real fortresses. These edifices, receiving +light from within, and exhibiting without nothing but lofty walls, had +terraces instead of roofs, from which the insurgents poured a downward +and destructive fire. Add to this that the Turks were masters of the +whole city, excepting the citadel and the square of Ezbekieh, which, +in a manner, they had blockaded by closing the streets that ran into it +with embattled walls. + +In this situation, Kléber showed as much prudence as he had just +shown energy in the field. He resolved to gain time, and to let the +insurrection wear itself out. The insurgents could not fail at length +to be undeceived respecting the general state of things in Egypt, and to +learn that the French were everywhere victorious, and the vizier’s army +dispersed. Nassif-Pasha’s Turks, Ibrahim Bey’s Mamluks, and the Arab +population of Cairo could not agree together long. For all these +reasons, Kléber thought it advisable to temporise and to negotiate. + +While he was gaining time, he completed his treaty of alliance with +Murad Bey. He granted to him the province of Sai’d, under the supremacy +of France, on condition of paying a tribute equivalent to a considerable +part of the imposts of that province. Murad Bey engaged, moreover, to +fight for the French; and the French engaged, if they should ever quit +the country, to facilitate for him the occupation of Egypt. Murad Bey +faithfully adhered to the treaty which he had just signed, and began +by driving from Upper Egypt a Turkish corps which had occupied it. The +insurgents of Cairo obstinately refused to capitulate, and an attack by +main force was, therefore, indispensable for completing the reduction of +the city, during which several thousand Turks, Mamluks, and insurgents +were killed, and four thousand houses were destroyed by fire. Thus +terminated that sanguinary struggle, which had commenced with the battle +of Heliopolis on the 20th of March, and which ended on the 25th of +April with the departure of the last lieutenants of the vizier, after +thirty-five days’ fighting between twenty thousand French on one side, +and, on the other, the whole force of the Ottoman empire, seconded by +the revolt of the Egyptian towns. + +In the Delta all the towns had returned to a state of complete +submission. Murad Bey had driven from Upper Egypt the Turkish detachment +of Dervish Pasha. The vanquished everywhere trembled before the +conqueror, and expected a terrible chastisement. Kléber, who was humane +and wise, took good care not to repay cruelties with cruelties. The +Egyptians were persuaded that they should be treated harshly; they +conceived that the loss of life and property would atone for the crime +of those who had risen in revolt. Kléber called them together, assumed +at first a stern look, but afterwards pardoned them, merely imposing a +contribution on the insurgent villages. Cairo paid ten million francs, +a burden far from onerous for so large a city, and the inhabitants +considered themselves as most fortunate to get off so easily. Eight +millions more were imposed upon the rebel towns of Lower Egypt. The +army, proud of its victories, confident in its strength, knowing that +General Bonaparte was at the head of the government, ceased to doubt +that it would soon receive reinforcements. Kléber had in the plain of +Heliopolis made the noblest amends for his momentary faults. + +He entered upon a second conquest, showing clemency and humanity on +all sides, and everywhere he laboured hard to encourage the arts and +industries and agriculture. He assembled the administrators of the army, +the persons best acquainted with the country, and turned his attention +to the organisation of the finances of the colony. He restored the +collection of the direct contributions to the Kopts, to whom it had +formerly been entrusted, and imposed some new customs’ duties and taxes +on articles of consumption. He gave orders for the completion of the +forts constructing around Cairo, and set men to work at those of Lesbeh, +Damietta, Burlos, and Rosetta, situated on the sea-coast. He pressed +forward the works of Alexandria, and imparted fresh activity to the +scientific researches of the Institute of Egypt, and a valuable mass of +information was embodied in the great French work, the “Description +de l’Egypte.” From the cataracts to the mouths of the Nile, everything +assumed the aspect of a solid and durable establishment. Two months +afterwards, the caravans of Syria, Arabia, and Darfur began to appear +again at Cairo. + +But a deplorable event snatched away General Kléber in the midst of his +exploits and of his judicious government. He was assassinated in the +garden of his palace by a young man, a native of Aleppo, named Suleiman, +who was a prey to extravagant fanaticism. + +With Kléber’s death, Egypt was lost for France. Menou, who succeeded +him, was very far beneath such a task. The English offered to make good +the convention of El Arish, but Menou refused, and England prepared for +an invasion, after attempting vainly to co-operate with the Turks. + +Sir Ralph Abercrombie, who had been appointed as British commissioner, +landed with the English army alone at Abukir. After fierce skirmishing, +the French and English met on the plains of Alexandria. In the frightful +conflict which ensued, Sir Ralph Abercrombie was slain, but the battle +ended with the retreat of the French. Damietta surrendered on April +19th. The French were now divided, while Menou hesitated. General +Hutchinson took the place of the deceased British commander. A great +battle was fought at Cairo, which was won by the British, and the +capital itself now fell into their hands. General Hutchinson then +closed in upon Alexandria; and, after hard fighting, Menou at length +surrendered. The French troops were allowed to return to France with all +their belongings, except the artillery, August 27, 1801. + + + + +CHAPTER III.--THE RULE OF MEHEMET ALI + + +_Mehemet’s rise to power: Massacre of the Mamluks: Invasion of the +Morea: Battle of Navarino: Struggle with the Porte: Abbas Pasha, +Muhammed Said, and Ismail Pasha: Ismail’s lavish expenditure: Foreign +bondholders and the Dual Control._ + + +From the beginning of the eighteenth century, the destiny of Egypt +was the destiny of one man; he aided the political movements, and +accelerated or retarded social activity; he swayed both commerce and +agriculture, and organised the army to his liking; he was the heart and +brain of this mysterious country. Under the watchful eyes of Europe, +attentive for more than forty years, this Macedonian soldier became the +personification of the nation under his authority, and, in the main, the +history of the country may be summed up in the biography of Mehemet Ali. +If we consider the events of his life, and the diverse roads by which +he reached the apogee of his fortunes, reviewing the scenes, now sombre, +now magnificent, of that remarkable fate, we obtain a complete picture +of Egypt itself, seen from the most intimate, real, and striking point +of view. + +According to the most authentic accounts, Mehemet Ali was born in 1768 +(a. h. 1182), at Cavala, a seaport in Turkey in Europe. He was yet +very young when he lost his father, Ibrahim Agha, and soon after this +misfortune, his uncle and sole remaining relative, Tussun-Agha, was +beheaded by order of the Porte. Left an orphan, Mehemet Ali was adopted +by the Tchorbadji of Praousta, an old friend of his father, who brought +him up with his own son. The boy spent his early youth in the discharge +of unimportant military duties, where, however, he frequently found +opportunity to display his intelligence and courage. He was even able to +render many services to his protector in the collecting of taxes, which +was always a difficult matter in Turkey, and occasionally necessitated a +regular military expedition. + +Anxious to reward Mehemet for all his services, and also doubtless +desirous of a still closer connection, the aged Tchorbadji married him +to his daughter. This was the beginning of the young man’s success; he +was then eighteen years old. Dealings with a French merchant of Cavala +had inspired him with a taste for commerce, and, devoting himself to it, +he speculated with much success, chiefly in tobacco, the richest product +of his country. + +This period of his life was not without its influence upon Egypt, for we +know how strenuously the pasha endeavoured to develop the commercial and +manufacturing industries. + +The French invasion surprised him in the midst of these peaceful +occupations. The Porte, having raised an army in Macedonia, ordered the +Tchorbadji to furnish a contingent of three hundred men, who entrusted +the command of this small force to his son Ali Agha, appointing Mehemet +Ali, whose merit and courage he fully appreciated, as his lieutenant. +The Macedonain recruits rejoined the forces of the pasha-captain, and +landed with the grand vizier at Abukir, where was fought that battle +which resulted in victory for France and the complete defeat of the +sultan’s army. Completely demoralised by this overthrow, Ali Agha left +Mehemet Ali in command of his troops, and quitted the army. + +It is well to consider in a brief survey the state of the country at +the moment when the incapacity of General Menou compelled the French to +withdraw from Egypt. Arrayed against each other were the troops of the +sultan, numbering four thousand Albanians and those forces sent from +England under the command of Admiral Keith, on one side; and on the +other were the Mamluks striving for supremacy; and it was a question +whether this powerful force would once more rule Egypt as before the +French invasion, or whether the country would again fall under the +dominion of the Porte. + +There was occasion for anxiety among the Mamluks themselves; their +two principal beys, Osman-Bardisi and Muhammed el-Elfi, instead of +strengthening their forces by acting in concert, as Murad Bey and +Ibrahim Bey had done before the French occupation, permitted their +rivalry for power so completely to absorb them that it was finally the +means of encompassing their ruin and that of their party. + +The first pasha invested with the viceroyalty of Egypt after the +departure of the French troops was Muhammed Khusurf, who faithfully +served the Porte. His government was able and zealous, but the +measures he employed against his haughty antagonists lacked the lofty +intelligence indispensable to so difficult a task. Muhammed Khusurf, +whose rivalry with Mehemet Ali had for some years attracted European +attention, found himself at last face to face with his future opponent. + +Mehemet Ali, by dint of hard work and the many important services +rendered to his country, had passed through successive stages of +promotion to the rank of serchime, which gave him the command of three +or four thousand Albanians. Foreseeing his opportunity, he had employed +himself in secretly strengthening his influence over his subordinates; +he allied himself with the Mam-luks, opened the gates of Cairo to them, +and, joining Osman-Bardisi, marched against Khusurf. He pursued the +viceroy to Damietta, taking possession of the town, conducted his +prisoner to Cairo, where he placed him in the custody of the aged +Ibrahim Bey, the Nestor of the Mamluks (1803). + +At this moment, the second Mamluk bey, Muhammed el-Elfi, returned from +England, whither he had accompanied the British to demand protection +when they evacuated Alexandria in March of the same year, and landed +at Abukir. This arrival filled Bardisi with the gravest anxiety, for +Muhammed el-Elfi was his equal in station, and would share his power +even if he did not deprive him of the position he had recently acquired +through his own efforts. These fears were but too well founded. Whilst +Bardisi was securing his position by warfare, el-Elfi had gained the +protection of England, and, as its price, had pledged himself to much +that would compromise the future of Egypt. + +Far from openly joining one or other of the rival parties, Mehemet Ali +contented himself with fanning the flame of their rivalry. The rank +of Albanian captain, which gave him the air of a subaltern, greatly +facilitated the part he intended to play. He worked quietly and with +unending perseverance. Flattering the ambitions of some, feeding +the resentment of others, winning the weak-minded with soft words, +overcoming the strong by his own strength; presiding over all the +revolutions in Cairo, upholding the cause of the pashas when the Mamluks +needed support, and, when the pasha had acquired a certain amount of +power, uniting himself with the Mamluk against his allies of yesterday; +above all, neglecting nothing which could secure him the support of the +people, and making use for this end of the sheikhs and Oulemas, whom +he conciliated, some by religious appearances, others by his apparent +desire for the public good, he thus maintained his position during the +numerous changes brought about by the respective parties. + +At length, in the beginning of March, 1805, as the people were beginning +to weary of disturbances as violent as they were frequent, Mehemet Ali +promised the sheikhs to restore peace and order if they would assure him +their co-operation and influence. He then incited a revolt against the +Oulemas, besieged Kourshyd Pasha in the citadel, made himself master of +Cairo in the space of a few days, and finished his work by expelling +the Mamluks. The Albanians and Oulemas, completely carried away by his +valour and manouvres, proclaimed him pasha immediately. Always prudent, +and anxious to establish his claims upon the favour of the Porte, +Mehemet Ali feigned to refuse. After considerable hesitation, which +gave way before some costly gifts, or possibly on consideration of the +difficulties hitherto experienced in establishing the authority of the +pashas, the Turkish government determined to confirm the choice of +the Egyptian people. Mehemet Ali received, therefore, the firman of +investiture on July 9,1805; but during the ensuing seven months he +governed in Lower Egypt only, Alexandria still being under the authority +of an officer delegated by the sultan. As for Upper Egypt, it had +remained the appanage of the Mamluk beys, who had contrived to retain +possession of the Saïd. + +Mehemet Ali had no sooner been proclaimed than Elfi, who had reorganised +his party in Upper Egypt, did all in his power to overthrow the +new pasha. He first offered to assist Kourshyd to regain his former +position; he promised his allegiance to the Porte on condition of the +dismissal of Mehemet Ali, and then turned his attention to England. He +found difficulty in obtaining her concurrence by promising to give up +the chief ports of Egypt. These negotiations, suspended the first time +by M. Dro-vetti, the French consul at Alexandria, co-operating with the +pasha, were again renewed some time after through the influence of +the English ambassador, who, in the name of his country, demanded the +re-establishment of the Mamluks, guaranteeing the fidelity of Elfi. The +Porte at once sent a fleet to Egypt bearing a firman, appointing Mehemet +Ali to the pashalic of Salonica. At this juncture, the viceroy, feeling +sure of the support of the sheikhs, who had assisted him to his present +position, only sought to temporise. He soon received the further +support of the Mamluk beys of Bardisi’s party, who forgot their personal +grievances in the desire to be revenged upon the common foe; at the same +time, twenty-five French Mamluks, urged thereto by M. Drovetti, deserted +the ranks of Elfi’s adherents and joined Mehemet Ali. + +The Pasha of Egypt possessed a zealous partisan in the French ambassador +at Constantinople. The latter, perceiving that the secession of +the Mamluks made the regaining of their former power an absolute +impossibility, pleaded the cause of Mehemet Ali with the Porte, and +obtained a firman re-establishing his viceroyalty, on condition of his +payment of an annual tribute of about $1,000,000. + +The power of Mehemet Ali was beginning to be more firmly established, +and the almost simultaneous deaths of Osman-Bardisi and Muhammed el-Elfi +(November, 1806, and January, 1807) seemed to promise a peaceful future, +when, on March 17th, the English, displeased at his reconciliation with +the Porte, arrived in Egypt. Their forces numbered some seven or eight +thousand men, and it was the intention to stir up the Mamluks and +render them every assistance. A detachment of the English forces, led +by General Fraser, took possession of Alexandria, which the English +occupied for six months without being able to attempt any other +enterprise. The remainder of the troops were cut to pieces at Rosetta by +a small contingent of Albanians: thus ended the expedition. The viceroy, +who at the beginning of the campaign had displayed really Oriental +cruelty, and sent more than a thousand heads of English soldiers to +Cairo to decorate Rumlieh, finished his operations by an act of European +generosity, and delivered up his prisoners without demanding ransom. The +plan of defence adopted by the pasha was the work of Drovetti, to whom, +consequently, is due some of the glory of this rapid triumph. + +Mehemet Ali, having nothing further to fear from the English, who +evacuated Egypt in September, 1807, began to give scope to his ambitious +schemes, when the easily disturbed policy of the Porte saw fit to send +the wily pasha against the Wahabis, who threatened to invade the Holy +Places. Before obeying these injunctions, the viceroy deemed it wise, +previous to engaging in a campaign so perilous, to ensure Egypt against +the dangers with which, in the absence of the forces, she would be +menaced. + +[Illustration: 151.jpg MOSQUE OF MEHEMIT ALI] + +But Egypt had no more powerful enemies than the Mamluks, who, since +1808, had kept the country in a constant state of agitation. Mehemet Ali +therefore determined to put an end to this civil war, root and branch, +and to exterminate completely this formidable adversary. He did not +hesitate in the choice of means. War would not have succeeded; murder, +therefore, was the only alternative, and the viceroy adopted this +horrible means of accomplishing his designs. He invited the entire +Mam-luk corps to a banquet, which he proposed to give in the Citadel +Palace in honour of the departure of Tussun Pasha for Mecca. This palace +is built upon a rock, and is reached by perpendicular paths. On May 1st, +the day fixed upon for the festivity, Mehemet Ali received his guests +in great splendour and with a cordiality calculated to dispel any +suspicions the Mamluks might have entertained. At the conclusion of +the banquet, as they were returning home, they were fired upon in the +narrow pass, where retreat and resistance were perfectly impossible. +Thus, after having defeated the bravest troops in the world, they died +obscurely, ingloriously, and unable to defend themselves. Hassan Bey, +brother of the celebrated Elfi, spurred his horse to a gallop, rode over +the parapets, and fell, bruised and bleeding, at the foot of the walls, +where some Arabs saved him from certain death by aiding his flight. The +few who escaped massacre took refuge in Syria or Dongola. + +Whilst this horrible drama was being enacted in Cairo, similar scenes +were taking place in those provinces whose governors had received +stringent commands to butcher every remaining Mamluk in Egypt. THUs +nearly all perished, and that famous corps was destroyed for ever. + +Although Mehemet Ali had no doubt whatever as to the intentions which +had prompted the Porte to organise the expedition against the Wahabis, +he hastened to prepare for this lengthy war. Mehemet himself was in +command of an army in the Hedjaz when Latif Pasha arrived, bearing a +firman of investiture to the pashalic of Egypt. Luckily, Mehemet Ali on +his departure had left behind him, as vekyl, a trustworthy man devoted +to his interests, namely, Mehemet Bey. This faithful minister pretended +to favour the claims of Latif Pasha, and then arrested him, and had him +publicly executed. + +From this moment the real reign of Mehemet Ali begins. Possessed of a +fertile country, he promptly began to consider the ways and means of +improving the deplorable state of its finances, and to grasp all the +resources which agriculture and commerce could yield for the realisation +of his ambitious schemes. Nothing must be neglected in the government of +a country for so many years the scene of incessant warfare; the labourer +must be made to return to the field he had deserted during the time +of trouble; political and civil order must be reestablished so as to +reassure the inhabitants, and secure the resumption of long abandoned +industries. + +The most important matter was to restrain the depredations of the +Bedouins, and, to assure the obedience of these hitherto unsubdued +tribes, he kept their sheikhs as hostages: at the same time he checked +the delinquencies of the Kopts, in whose hands the government of the +territories had been from time immemorial. A sure and certain peace thus +having been ensured to the interior of the country, the pasha turned his +attention to another enterprise, the accomplishment of which is always +somewhat difficult after a lengthy crisis. He wished to encourage and +regulate the payment of taxes without hindering the financial operations +of private individuals. To this end, he re-established the custom of +receiving tribute in kind, and to support the payment of this tribute he +organised the export trade. A thousand vessels built at his own expense +ploughed the waters of the Nile in all directions, and conveyed Egyptian +produce to the shores of the Mediterranean, where huge warehouses stored +the goods destined for foreign countries. + +Mehemet Ali preserved a continual intercourse with foreign merchants, +and the country owed many fortunate innovations to these relations: +agriculture was enriched by several productions hitherto unknown. +A Frenchman, M. Jumel, introduced improvements in the production of +cotton, whilst M. Drovetti, the pasha’s tried friend, helped to further +the establishment of manufactories by his advice and great experience of +men and things. Before long, cotton mills were built, cloth factories, a +sugar refinery, rum distillery, and saltpetre works erected. The foreign +trade despatched as much as seven million _ardebs_ of cereals every +year, and more than six hundred thousand bales of cotton. In return, +European gold flowed into the treasury of this industrious pasha, and +the revenues of Egypt, which hitherto had never exceeded $150,000,000, +were more than doubled in 1816. + +The very slight success which Mehemet Ali had obtained when commanding +the irregular forces during the expedition against the Wahabis decided +him to put a long-cherished idea into execution, namely, to organise an +army on European lines. Henceforth this became the sole occupation of +the enterprising pasha and the exclusive goal of his perseverance. +The Nizam-Jedyd was proclaimed in the month of July, 1815, and all the +troops were ordered to model themselves after the pattern of the French +army. + +This large undertaking, which in 1807 had cost Selim III. his life, +proved almost as fatal to Mehemet Ali. A terrible insurrection broke +out amongst the alien soldiers, who principally composed the army; the +infuriated troops rose against the tyrant and the unbeliever, the palace +was pillaged, and the pasha had scarcely time to seek the shelter of his +citadel. His only means of saving his life and recovering his authority +was solemnly to promise to abandon his plan. Mehemet Ali therefore +deferred his military schemes and awaited the opportunity to test its +success upon the natives, who would be far more easily managed than the +excitable strangers, brought up as they were on the old traditions of +the Okaz and the Mamluks. The war which still raged in Arabia gave +him the means of ridding himself of the most indomitable men, whom he +despatched to Hedjaz under the command of Ibrahim Pasha, his eldest son. + +Now came success to console Mehemet Ali for the failure of his +reformatory plans. After a long series of disasters, Ibrahim succeeded, +in the year 1818, in taking Abd Allah Ibn-Sonud, the chief of the +Wahabis, prisoner. He sent him to the Great Pasha, a name often applied +to Mehemet Ali in Egypt, at Cairo, bearing a portion of the jewels +taken from the temple at Mecca. The unfortunate man was then taken +to Constantinople, where his punishment bore testimony to the victory +rather than the clemency of his conquerors. + +In reward for his services, the sultan sent Ibrahim a mantle of honour +and named him Pasha of Egypt, which title conferred on him the highest +rank among the viziers and pashas, and even placed him above his own +father in the hierarchy of the dignitaries of the Turkish Empire. At the +same time Mehemet Ali was raised to the dignity of khan, an attribute +of the Ottomans, and the greatest distinction obtainable for a pasha, +inasmuch as it was formerly exclusively reserved for the sovereigns of +the Crimea. + +[Illustration: 157.jpg THE COTTON PLANT] + +After destroying Daryeh, the capital of Nedj, Mehemet Ali conceived +the idea of extending his possessions in the interior of Africa, and +of subduing the country of the negroes, where he hoped to find much +treasure. He accordingly sent his son, Ishmail Pasha, with five thousand +men, upon this expedition, which ended most disastrously with the murder +of Ishmail and his guard by Melek Nemr, and the destruction of the +remainder of his forces. + +In the year 1824, Sultan Mahmud, realising the impossibility of putting +down the Greek insurrection by his own unaided forces, bent his pride +sufficiently to ask help of his vassal Mehemet Ali. Mehemet was now in +possession of a well-drilled army and a well-equipped fleet, which were +placed at the service of the sultan, who promised him in return the +sovereignty of Crete, the pashalic of Syria, and possibly the reversion +of Morea for his son Ibrahim. The Greeks, deceived by their easy +successes over the undisciplined Turkish hosts, failed to realise +the greatness of the danger which threatened them. The Egyptian fleet +managed, without serious opposition, to enter the Archipelago, and, in +December, 1824, Ibrahim, to whom Mehemet Ali had entrusted the supreme +command of the expedition, established his base in Crete, within +striking distance of the Greek mainland. The following February he +landed with four thousand regular infantry and five hundred cavalry at +Modon, in the south of Morea. + +The Greeks were utterly unable to hold their own against the +well-disciplined fellaheen of Ibrahim Bey, and, before the end of +the year, the whole of the Peloponnesus, with the exception of a few +strongholds, was at the mercy of the invader, and the report was spread +that Ibrahim intended to deport the Greek population and re-people the +country with Moslem negroes and Arabs. + +The only barrier opposed to the entire extinction of the Greek +population was their single stronghold of Missolonghi, which was now +besieged by Rashid Pasha and the Turks. If Ibrahim had joined his forces +with the besieging army of the Turks, Missolonghi could hardly have +resisted their combined attack, and the Greek race would have been in +danger of suffering annihilation. + +Meanwhile the Great Powers of Europe were seriously concerned with +this threatened destruction of the Greeks. England proposed a joint +intervention in defence of Greece on the part of the Powers, but Russia +desired to act alone. A huge army was gradually concentrated upon the +Turkish frontier. The Greek leaders now offered to place Greece +under British protection, and the Duke of Wellington was sent to St. +Petersburg to arrange the terms of the proposed joint intervention. A +protocol was signed at St. Petersburg April 4, 1826, whereby England +and Russia pledged themselves to cooperate in preventing any further +Turco-Egyptian agression. A more definite agreement was reached in +September, aiming at the cutting off of Ibrahim in Morea by a united +European fleet, thus forcing the Turks and Egyptians to terms. On July +6,1827, a treaty was signed at London, between England, France, and +Russia, which empowered the French and English admirals at Smyrna to +part the combatants--by peaceful means if possible, and if not, by +force. + +Admiral Codrington at once sailed to Nauplia. The Greeks were willing to +accept an armistice, but the Turks scorned the offer. At about this +time an Egyptian fleet of ninety-two vessels sailed from Alexandria and +joined the Ottoman fleet in the bay of Navarino (September 7th). Five +days later Admiral Codrington arrived and informed the Turkish admiral +that any attempt to leave the bay would be resisted by force. French +vessels had also arrived, and Ibrahim agreed not to leave the bay +without consulting the sultan. A Greek flotilla having destroyed a +Turkish flotilla, Ibrahim took this as a breach of the convention and +sailed out to sea, but Codrington succeeded in turning him back. Ibrahim +now received instructions from the Porte to the effect that he should +defy the Powers. A new ultimatum was at once presented and the +allied fleet of the European Powers entered the bay of Navarino. The +Turco-Egyptian fleet was disposed at the bottom of the bay in the form +of a crescent. Without further parleying, as the fleet of the English +and their allies approached, the Turks and Egyptians began to fire, and +a battle ensued, apparently without plan on either side: the conflict +soon became general, and Admiral Codrington in the _Asia_ opened a +broadside upon the Egyptian admiral, and quickly reduced his vessel to +a wreck. Other vessels in rapid succession shared the same fate, and the +conflict raged with great fury for four hours. When the smoke cleared +off, the Turks and Egyptians had disappeared, and the bay was strewn +with fragments of their ships. + +[Illustration: 161.jpg A DISTINGUISHED EGYPTIAN JEW] + +Admiral Codrington now made a demonstration before Alexandria, and +Mehemet Ali gladly withdrew his forces from co-operating with such a +dangerous ally as the sultan had proved himself to be. Before the French +expedition, bound for the Morea, had arrived, all the Egyptian forces +had been withdrawn from the Peloponnesus, and the French only arrived +after the Anglo-Egyptian treaty had been signed August 9, 1828. + +Mehemet Ali’s chief ambition had always been to enlarge the circle +of regeneration in the East. In Morea he had failed through European +intervention. He felt that his nearer neighbour, Syria, which he had +long coveted, would be an easier conquest, and he made the punishment of +Abdullah Pasha of Acre, against whom he had many grievances, his excuse +to the Porte. In reality it was a case of attacking or being attacked. +Through a firman of the Divan of Constantinople, which had been +published officially to the European Powers, he knew that his secret +relations with Mustapha Pasha of Scodra had become known. He knew also +that letters had been intercepted in which he offered this pasha money, +troops, and ammunition, while engaging himself to march on the capital +of the empire, and that these letters were now in the hand of the Sultan +Mahmud. He wras also informed that the Porte was preparing to send a +formidable army to Egypt; and his sound instinct taught him what to do +in this position. + +Ibrahim Pasha was appointed commander-in-chief of the invading army, +which was composed of six regiments of infantry, four of cavalry, +forty field-pieces, and many siege-pieces. Provisions, artillery, and +ammunition were on board the men-of-war. Thousands of baggage camels and +ambulances were being collected ready for departure when cholera broke +out. Coming from India, after having touched along the coasts of the +Persian Gulf, it had penetrated into the caravan to Mecca, where the +heat and dearth of water had given it fresh intensity. It raged in the +Holy Town, striking down twenty thousand victims, and touched at Jeddah +and Zambo, where its effects were very dire. Passing through Suez, it +decimated the population, and in August it reached Cairo and spread to +Upper and Lower Egypt. The army did not escape the common scourge, and +when about to invade Syria was overtaken by the epidemic. Five thousand +out of ninety thousand perished. All preparations for the expedition +were abandoned until a more temperate season improved the sanitary +conditions. + +About the beginning of October, 1831, the viceroy gave orders to his son +to prepare for departure, and on November 2d the troops started for +El Arish, the general meeting-place of the army. Ibrahim Pasha went +to Alexandria, whence he embarked with his staff and some troops +for landing. Uniting at El Arish, the army marched on Gaza and took +possession of that town, dispersing some soldiers of the Pasha of Acre. +Thence it turned to Jaffa, where it met with no resistance, the Turkish +garrison having already evacuated the town. + +At this time the army which had sailed from Alexandria was cruising +about the port of Jaffa, and Ibrahim Pasha landed there and took over +the command of the army, which advanced slowly on St. Jean d’Acre, +seizing Caiffa to facilitate the anchoring of the fleet, which had +landed provisions, artillery, and all kinds of ammunition. After six +months’ siege and ten hours’ fighting, Ibrahim Pasha obtained possession +of St. Jean d’Acre, under whose walls fell so many valiant crusaders, +and which, since the repulse of Napoleon, had passed for all but +impregnable. Abdullah Pasha evinced a desire to be taken to Egypt, and +he landed at Alexandria, where he was warmly welcomed by the viceroy, +who complimented him on his defence. + +Hostile in everything to Mehemet Ali, the Porte seized every opportunity +of injuring him. When Sultan Mahmud learned of the victory of the +viceroy’s troops in Syria, he sent one of his first officers to enquire +the reason of this invasion. The viceroy alleged grievances against the +Pasha of Acre, to which his Highness replied that he alone had the right +to punish his subjects. + +The eyes of Europe were now fixed upon the Levant, where a novel +struggle was going on between vassal and suzerain. Authority and liberty +were again opposing each other. The Powers watched the struggle with +intense interest. The viceroy protested against bearing the cost of +the war, and demanded the investiture of Syria. Mehemet Ali was then +declared a rebel, and a firman was issued against him, in support of +which excommunication an army of sixty thousand men advanced across Asia +Minor to the Syrian boundaries, while a squadron of twenty-five sail +stood in the Dardanelles ready to weigh anchor. + +[Illustration: 165.jpg MOSQUE OF MUAD AT CAIRO] + +The Porte forbade the ambassadors of the Powers to import ammunition +into Egypt, for it feared that the viceroy might find a support whose +strength it knew only too well. But the viceroy had no need of this, +for his former connections with Europe had put him in a position of +independence, whereas the Porte itself was obliged to fall back on this +support. Russia, the one of the three Great Powers whose disposition +it was to support the authority of the sultan, lent him twenty thousand +bayonets, whilst Ibrahim Pasha made his advance to the gates of +Constantinople. + +Immediately after the taking of St. Jean d’Acre Ibrahim Pasha, following +up his successes, had turned towards Damascus, which town he entered +without a blow being struck, the governor and the leading inhabitants +having taken flight. The commander-in-chief established his headquarters +under the walls of the conquered country, and then marched in three +columns on Horns. The battle of Horns (July 8, 1832) demonstrated the +vast superiority of the Egyptian troops. On both sides there were about +thirty thousand regular soldiers, but the Egyptians were the better +organised, the better disciplined, and the more practised in the arts of +war. When it is remembered that at Horns the Turks lost two thousand men +killed, and 2,500 taken prisoners, while the Egyptian casualties were +only 102 killed and 162 wounded, one is not astonished at the enthusiasm +with which Ibrahim Pasha wrote after the battle: “I do not hesitate to +say that two or three hundred thousand of such troops would cause me no +anxiety.” + +It is not surprising that the beaten pashas were so struck with terror +that in their flight they abandoned sixteen more pieces of artillery and +all the ammunition they had managed to save from their defeat. They +fled as if they could not put sufficient distance between themselves and +their redoubtable enemy. + +This battle foretold the result of the Syrian campaign. The population +of Syria seemed to call for the domination of the conqueror; the viceroy +protested his submission to the Porte and his desire for peace, and +meanwhile Ibrahim Pasha marched forward. + +The Porte counted on its fleet to guard the Dardanelles, but it needed +an army and a commander to oppose Ibrahim Pasha, who again defeated the +Turks at Oulon-Kislak. He then advanced towards the plains of Anatolia, +where he met Rashid Pasha. + +It was now December, 1830, and the atmosphere was heavy with a thick +fog. The armies opened fire on each other on December 21st, with the +town of Koniah in the background. The grand vizier was at the head of +close on sixty thousand men, while the Egyptian army only comprised +thirty thousand, including the Bedouins. The fighting had continued for +about six hours when Rashid Pasha was taken prisoner; the news of his +capture spread along the Turkish lines and threw them into disorder, +and the Egyptians remained masters of the field, with twenty pieces of +mounted cannon and some baggage: the Turks had lost only five hundred +men, while the Egyptian losses were but two hundred. + +The battle of Koniah was the last act in the Syrian drama. The sultan’s +throne was shaken, and its fall might involve great changes in the +politics of the world. Ibrahim Pasha was only three days’ journey from +the Bosphorus, and the way was open to him, with no Turkish army to +fight and the whole population in his favour. In Constantinople itself +Mehemet Ali had a powerful party, and, if the West did not interfere, +the Ottoman Empire was at an end. However, European diplomacy considered +that, in spite of its weakness, it should still weigh in the balance of +the nations. + +Trembling in the midst of his harem, Sultan Mahmud cried for help, and +Russia, his nearest neighbour, heard the call. This was the Power that, +either from sympathy or ambition, was the most inclined to come to his +aid. The Emperor Nicholas had offered assistance in a letter brought +to the sultan by the Russian General Mouravieff, and a Russian squadron +appeared in the Bosphorus with eight thousand men for disembarkment. The +Russians, however, agreed not to set foot on shore unless Mehemet +Ali should refuse the conditions that were being proposed to him. The +viceroy refused the conditions, which limited his possessions to +the pashalics of Acre, Tripoli, and Seyd, and which seemed to him +incompatible with the glory won by his arms. + +The sultan did not wish to give up Syria, but that province was no +longer his. The sword of Ibrahim had severed the last bonds that +fastened it to him, and he was obliged to yield it, as well as the +district of Andama. On his side, the viceroy acknowledged himself a +vassal of the Porte, and agreed to make an annual payment of the monies +he received from the pashas of Syria. This peace was concluded on May +14, 1833, and was called the peace of Kutayeh, after the place where +Ibrahim signed it. + +It was impossible that the convention of Kutayeh should be more than an +armistice. The pasha benefited by it too greatly not to desire further +advantages, and the sultan had lost so much that he must needs make +some attempt at recovery. Mahmud’s annoyance was caused by the fact +and nature of the dispossession rather than by its material extent. The +descendant of the Os-manlis, ever implacable in his hatreds, who had +allowed Syria, the cradle of his race, to be wrested from him, now +awaited the hour of vengeance. Mehemet Ali knew himself to be strong +enough to carry a sceptre ably, and he realised that there would be no +need for his numerous pashalics to pass out of his family. Henceforth +his mind was filled with thoughts of independence and the rights of +succession. + +[Illustration: 169.jpg A MUHAMMEDAN PRAYING PRIEST] + +The viceroy and the sultan continued to strengthen their forces, and a +conflict occurred near Nezib on June 24, 1839. The Egyptians completely +routed their adversaries, despite the strenuous resistance of the +Imperial Guard, who, when called upon to surrender, cried in the same +words used at Waterloo, “Khasse sultanem mamatenda darrhi tuffenguini +iere Koimas.” (“The guards of the sultan surrender arms only to death”). + +Greatly elated, Ibrahim flung himself into the arms of his companion in +glory, Suleiman Pasha. His prediction was verified: “This time we will +go to Constantinople, or they shall come to Cairo.” They set out +for Constantinople; but the viceroy was again generous. Through the +mediation of Captain Caillé, aide-de-camp to Marshal Soult, who, in the +name of France, demanded a cessation of hostilities, Mehemet Ali desired +his son not to proceed into Asia Minor; so the general halted before +Aintab, the scene of his victories, as he had done on a former occasion +before Kutayeh. + +Consumptive and exhausted with his excesses, Mahmud, whose virtue lay +in his ardent love of reforms, died before his time, but this untimely +demise at least spared him the knowledge of the Nezib disaster and the +treason of his fleet, which passed into the hands of the viceroy. Hafiz +Pasha, routed by Ibrahim, was arraigned on his return to Constantinople +for leading the attack before receiving the official mandate; but the +Turkish general produced an autograph of his defunct master. The sultan +had been false to the last, and deceived both European ambassadors and +the ministers of the empire, by means of mysterious correspondence, +combined with his protestations for the maintenance of peace. + +It was while Mehemet Ali was organising the national guard of Egypt, +and arranging the military training of the workmen employed in his many +factories, that the unlucky treaty of July 15, 1840, which gave the +whole of Syria to the Sublime Porte, was concluded. Four Western Powers +had secretly met in London and agreed to deprive the sovereign of the +Nile of his conquests, and fling him again at the foot of the throne, +which he had treated as a plaything. Mehemet Ali haughtily protested +against the desecration of his rights, and France, his faithful ally, +with hand on sword-hilt, threatened to draw it against whosoever should +touch Egypt. England and Austria covered the Syrian sea-coast with their +sails and guns. Beyrut, Latakia, Tortosa, Tripoli, Saida, Tyre, St. Jean +d’Acre were bombarded and fell. This formidable coalition despatched +Lord Napier to Alexandria as negotiator. Mehemet Ali accepted the +overtures, and a convention guaranteed to him, as Pasha of Egypt, +rights of succession unknown to all other pashalics of the empire. The +hatti-sherif of January 12, 1841, consolidated this privilege, with, +however, certain restrictions which were regarded as inadmissible by +France, the viceroy, and the cabinets. A new act of investiture, passed +on June 1, 1841, confirmed the viceroy in the possession of Egypt, +transmissible to his male heirs, and also in the government of Nubia. +Mehemet Ali asked no more, France declared herself satisfied, and, to +prove it, became once more a member of the European league by the treaty +of July 15, 1841, which, without being directly connected with the +European question, dealing as it did with the claims of Turkey upon +the Dardanelles, implied, none the less, accordance upon the Eastern +situation. As a token of reconciliation, the Ottoman Porte soon raised +its former rival, Mehemet Ali, to the rank of sadrazam. + +The political history of Mehemet Ali was now at an end. All the results, +good or bad, of his career, had reached fulfilment. As a vanquished +conqueror he had been able to remain firm in the midst of catastrophe; +his fatherly ideas and feelings had been his salvation. Had he been +absolutely heroic, he would have considered it a duty, for his courage +and his name’s sake, to carry the struggle on to the bitter end, and to +perish in the whirlpool he had raised. He showed that he desired to act +thus, but in his children’s interests he refrained, and this was, we +believe, the only influence of importance which made him give way. It +is true that there was not much difference between a throne crumbling to +ruins, or one built thereon; such as it was, however, it seemed +firmly secured to his children, and it was for them to strengthen the +foundations. The pasha considered this a fitting reward for his labours; +as for himself, he was over seventy years of age, and ready to lay down +his burdens. + +[Illustration: 153.jpg EGYPTIAN HARMEM] + +A man without learning and surrounded by barbarian soldiers, Mehemet Ali +appears before the world as nature made him. Dissimulation, diplomacy, +and deceit, coupled with capability, great courage, genius, and much +perseverance, brought him to the head of the government of Egypt. To +gain his ends he flattered the powerful Ulemas who were the nation’s +representatives to the sultan, but, once having obtained his object, he +dismissed them. + +Though a clever politician, he was a bad administrator. Being +alternately blindly confident and extremely suspicious, he did not +choose well the men he employed as his auxiliaries, and, being a Turk +and a devout Mussulman, Mehemet Ali wished to give back to the Turks +the power they had lost. He only took account of the results of any +undertaking, without paying any attention to the difficulties surmounted +in its execution, and this characteristic made him commit many +injustices. It was his habit to treat men as levers, which he put aside +when he had no further use for them. He was quick of apprehension, and +of very superior intelligence, and his whole character was a mixture of +generosity and meanness, of greatness and littleness. + +Mehemet Ali was an affable, an easy business man, and dominated by a +desire to talk. He enjoyed relating the incidents of his past life, and, +when not preoccupied by affairs of importance, his conversation was full +of charm. The foreigners who visited him were always much impressed with +his superiority, while his lively humour, his freedom, and that air of +good nature he knew so well how to adopt, all captivated his visitors. +The expression of his face was exceedingly mobile, and quickly +communicated itself to the men who surrounded him, who were in constant +observation of his moods, so that one could judge of the state of mind +of the viceroy by the calm or disturbed appearance of his servants. + +When Mehemet Ali was anxious, his look became fierce, his forehead +wrinkled, and his eyes shone with anger, while his speech was broken +and his manner brusque and imperious. As regards those in his service, +Mehemet Ali was by turns severe or gentle, tolerant or impatient, +irascible, and surprisingly forbearing. He was jealous of the glory of +others, and desired all honours for himself. He was an enemy of all that +was slow. He liked to do everything, to decide everything, and worked +night and day. All letters, notices, and memoranda that referred to +his government, he read himself or had them read to him. Picked men +translated French and English political newspapers into Turkish, and +he encouraged discussion on all subjects of high interest, although +generally imposing his own opinion. He did not always keep strictly to +his word. He was a stoic, and great pain could not destroy his habitual +gaiety, and when very ill he would still speak affably to those around +him; but illnesses with him were rare, for his health was, as a rule, +excellent. He was very careful about his appearance, and was fond +of women without being their slave; in his youth his life had been +dissolute. He was above the prejudices of his nation, and prayed very +often, although a fatalist. + +At the age of forty-five he learned to read, and he held European +learning in great esteem, confessing it superior to that of Turkey; but +he continued to regard European scientists and artists only as salaried +foreigners, whom he hastened to replace by natives as soon as he +considered the latter sufficiently enlightened. Mehemet Ali made one +great mistake, with which his nearest servants reproach him, and that +is with not having introduced into his family learned men from Europe, +picked men devoted to his cause, and well versed in the special things +of which his country was in need. + +Had they been brought into a close contact with the viceroy, and +admitted unreservedly to all the privileges the Turks enjoyed, these men +would have adopted Egypt as their country. They would have spoken the +language and have become the’ sentinels and safeguards necessary for the +maintenance of useful institutions which the Turks either refused or did +not understand. + +During the administration of Mehemet Ali, public hygiene was not +neglected, and a sanitary council watched over the health of the +country. Measures were taken to increase the cleanliness and sanitation +of the towns; military hospitals were built, and a lazarette was +established at Alexandria, whilst vaccine was widely used. In the +country the planting of many trees helped the atmosphere, and Egypt, +which Europeans had hitherto regarded as the seat of a permanent +plague epidemic, became more and more a healthy and pleasurable +resort. Mehemet, whose aims were always for the furthering of Egyptian +prosperity, profited by the leisure of peace to look after the +industrial works. Two great projects that occupied his attention were +the Nile dams and the construction of a railway from Suez to Cairo. + +The actual condition of the canalisation of Egypt, while vastly improved +by the viceroy, was still far from complete. Canals, partial dams, and +embankments were attempted; fifty thousand draw-wells carried the +water up to a considerable height, but the system of irrigation was +insufficient. + +The railway from Cairo to Suez was an easier, though not less important, +work. The road crossed neither mountain, river, nor forest, while a +series of little plains afforded a firm foundation, requiring very +few earthworks. Its two iron arms stretched out into the desert, and +steam-engines could traverse the distance from the Nile to the Red Sea +in three hours. + +Suez would thus become a suburb of Cairo, and thus, being brought closer +to Egypt, would regain her trade. This enterprise, just as the former +one, gave promise of bringing to Egypt the two sources of national +wealth and prosperity: agriculture and trade. + +[Illustration: 179.jpg HARBOR OF THE BULAK] + +The agricultural unity which Mehemet Ali constituted enabled him to +bring about improvements which with private proprietorship would have +been impossible. The fellah, careless of to-morrow, did not sow for +future reaping, and made no progress, but when Mehemet Ali undertook +the control of agricultural labour in Egypt, the general aspect of +the country changed, though, in truth, the individual condition of the +fellah was not improved. Besides the work of irrigation by means of +canals, dykes, and banks, and the introduction of the cultivation of +indigo, cotton, opium, and silk, the viceroy had also planted thousands +of trees of various kinds, including 100,000 walnut-trees; he ordered +the maimours, or prefects, to open up the roads between the villages, +and to plant trees. He wished the villages, towns, and hamlets to be +ornamented, as in Europe, with large trees, under whose shelter the +tired traveller could rest. + +In the various districts were vast tracts of land which for a long time +the plough had not touched. Concessions of these lands were made to +Franks, Turks, Greeks, and Armenians, which concessions were free, and +for a term of seven or eight years, while the guarantees were exempt +from taxes. + +During the closing years of his life, between 1841 and 1849, Mehemet +occupied himself with improvements in Egypt. He continued to prosecute +his commercial speculations, and manufacturing, educational, and other +schemes. The barrage of the Nile, which has only been finished during +the British occupation, was begun under his direction. In 1847 he +visited Constantinople, and was received with the rank of a vizier. In +the year 1848 symptoms of imbecility appeared, and his son Ibrahim +was declared his successor. After a reign of only two months he died. +Mehemet Ali’s death occurred on the 3rd of August, 1849. His direct +successor was his grandson, Abbas Pasha, who held the sceptre of +Egypt as the direct heir of Ibrahim Pasha. This prince took but little +interest in the welfare of his country. He had in him no spark of the +noble ambition of his predecessor, and no trace of his genius, and he +showed no desire for progress or reforms. He was a real prince of the +ancient East, suspicious, sombre, and careless of the destiny of the +country entrusted to his care. He liked to withdraw to the privacy of +his palace, and, isolated in the midst of his guards, to live that life +of the distrustful and voluptuous despots of the East. The palace of +Bar-el-Beda, which he had built on the road to Suez in the open desert, +a palace without water, lifting its head in the solitude like a silent +witness of a useless life and tragic death, impresses the traveller with +astonishment and fear. + +Abbas Pasha was weak in his negotiations with the European Powers, and +this was well for Egypt, as their representative was able to hold in +check his silent hostility to Western civilisation. Such guardianship +is useful when exercised over a prince like Abbas Pasha, but it tends +to become troublesome and baneful when it attempts to interfere with the +government of an active and enlightened sovereign animated by just and +generous intentions. + +Muhammed Said, the successor of Abbas Pasha, was born in 1822, nine +years later than his nephew Abbas. He was brought up in Europe by French +professors, and M. Kornig, a distinguished Orientalist, remained with +his pupil and became his secretary. He not only instructed him in all +branches of knowledge becoming to his rank, but also developed in him +a love of European civilisation and noble sentiments, of which he gave +proof from the moment of his accession. He was imbued with liberal +principles, which in an Eastern potentate give proof of great moral +superiority, and in this respect Muhammed Said wras second to no prince +in Europe. He worked for the emancipation of his subjects and the +civilisation of Egypt, and was not content to produce that superficial +civilisation which consists in transplanting institutions that the mass +of the people could not understand. Said Pasha endeavoured to pursue his +father’s policy and to carry out his high aims. He had not, however, +the strength of character nor the health necessary to meet the serious +difficulties involved in such a task, and he will be chiefly remembered +by his abolition of the more grinding government monopolies, and for the +concession of the Suez Canal. + +After his death Said Pasha was succeeded in the vice-royalty by his +nephew, Ismail Pasha, who was proclaimed viceroy without opposition +early in the year 1863. Ismail, the first who accepted the title of +khédive from the sultan, was born on December 31, 1830, being the second +of the three sons of Ibrahim, and grandson of Mehemet Ali. He had been +educated at the Ecole d’Etat Major at Paris, and when Ahmed, the eldest +son of Ibrahim, died in 1858, Ismail became the heir to his uncle Said. +He had been employed, after his return to Egypt, on missions to the +sovereign pontiff; the emperor, Napoleon III.; and the Sultan of Turkey. +In the year 1861 he was despatched with an army of 18,000 men to +quell an insurrection in the Sudan, which undertaking he brought to a +successful conclusion. On ascending the throne he was much gratified +to find that, on account of the scarcity of cotton, resulting from the +Civil War in America, the revenues had very considerably increased from +the export of the Egyptian cotton. At this date the cotton crop was +worth $125,000,000, instead of $25,000,000, which was the normal value +of the Egyptian output. It was a very serious misfortune to Egypt that +during his sojourn abroad Ismail had learned many luxurious ways, and +had also discovered that European nations were accustomed to make +free use of their credit in raising sums of money for their immediate +advantage. From this moment Ismail started upon a career which gave to +Egypt, in the eyes of the world, a fictitious grandeur, and which made +him one of the most talked-of rulers among the cabinets and peoples of +the European countries. He began by transferring his own private debts +to the state, and thereafter looked upon Egypt merely as his private +estate, and himself as the sovereign landholder. Without any sense of +his responsibility to the Egyptians themselves, he increased his +own fame throughout Europe in the sumptuous fashion of a spendthrift +millionaire. He deemed it necessary for his fame that Egypt should +possess institutions modelled upon those of European countries, and he +applied himself with energy to achieve this, and without any stint of +expense. By burdening posterity for centuries to come, Ismail, during +the two decades subsequent to his accession, always had a supply of +ready money with which to dazzle European guests. During his entire +reign Egypt swarmed with financiers and schemers of every description, +to whom the complacent Ismail lent an only too willing ear. + +In the year 1866, in return for an increase of tribute, he obtained from +the sultan a firman giving him the title of khédive (Turkish, _khidewi_, +a king), and changing the law of succession to that of direct descent +from father to-son; and in 1873 he obtained a new firman, purchased +again at an immense cost to his subjects, which rendered him practically +independent of the sultan. Ismail projected vast schemes of internal +reform. He remodelled the system of customs and the post-office, +stimulated commercial progress, and created the Egyptian sugar industry. +He introduced European improvements into Cairo and Alexandria; he +built vast palaces, entertained visitors with lavish generosity, and +maintained an opera and a theatre. By his order the distinguished +composer, Verdi, produced the famous opera “Aïda” for the entertainment +of his illustrious guests on the occasion of their visit to Egypt during +the festivities connected with the opening of the Suez Canal. On this +occasion Mariette Bey ransacked the tombs of the ancient Egyptian kings +in order to reproduce in a lifelike manner the costumes and scenery +appropriate for the occasion. + +[Illustration: 185.jpg A FELLAH PLOWING] + +The opening of this canal gave Ismail much prominence in the courts of +Europe. He was made a Grand Commander of the Bath, and the same year +visited Paris and London, where he was received by Queen Victoria and +welcomed by the lord mayor. In 1869 he again visited London. By his +great power of fascination and lavish expenditure he was ever able to +make a striking impression upon the foreign courts. During the opening +of the canal, when Ismail gave and received royal honours, treating +monarchs as equals, and being treated by them in like manner, the +jealousy of the sultan was aroused. Ismail, however, contrived +judiciously to appease the suspicions of his overlord, Abdul Aziz. + +In the year 1876 the old system of consular jurisdiction for foreigners +was abolished, and the system of mixed courts was introduced, by which +European and native judges sat together to try all civil cases, without +respect to nationality. + +In the year 1874 Darfur, a province in the Sudan west of Kordofan, +was annexed by Ismail. He also engaged in a disastrous war against the +Abyssinians, who had ever shown themselves capable of resisting the +inroads of Egyptians, Muhammedans, Arabs, and even of European invaders, +as was proven by the annihilation of a large Italian army of invasion, +and the abandonment of the campaign against Abyssinia by the Italians in +the closing years of the nineteenth century. + +[Illustration: 187.jpg ARABS AT A DESERT SPRING] + +It was true that Ismail had attempted to carry out the great schemes of +his grandfather for the regeneration of the Orient, and it is possible +that, if the jealousy of European Powers had not prevented the army of +Ibrahim Bej from controlling immense territories in Syria and Anatolia, +which they had won by conquest, that the regeneration of the Orient +might have been accomplished at least a century earlier. No people would +have benefited more by the success of Mehemet Ali’s policy than the +Christian people who to-day are under the rule of the barbarous Turks. +With the regeneration of the Orient, the trade of European nations in +the East would have been very largely increased. + +The policy of regeneration, wisely begun by Mehemet Ali, was resumed +within Egypt itself in a spendthrift manner by his grandson Ismail. +Every act of his reign, with its ephemeral and hollow magnificence, +moved towards the one inevitable result of foreign intervention. The +price of all the transient splendour was the surrender by slow degrees +of the sovereignty and independence of Egypt itself. The European Powers +of late have withdrawn their interest in the betterment of the native +populations in the Asiatic dominions of the sultan, and have concerned +themselves exclusively with the immediate interests of commerce and the +enforcement of debts contracted to European bondholders. All progress in +the later history of Egypt has originated in the desire of the European +Powers to see Egypt in a position capable of meeting her indebtedness to +foreign bondholders. + +In so far as the cry raised of “Egypt for the Egyptians” was a protest +against forcing the Egyptians to pay for an assumed indebtedness +which was at least four times greater than anything they had actually +received, no movement was ever more just and righteous than the protest +of the fellaheen against foreign control, a movement which has been +chiefly associated with the name of Arabi Pasha. The issue of Ismail’s +financial troubles was most ignominious and disastrous to Egypt, +after nearly a hundred years of heroic struggles to keep pace with the +progress of modern Europe. Had Ismail modelled his career upon that of +his illustrious grandfather, rather than that of Napoleon III., +with which it shows many striking parallels, it is probable that the +advantage secured to Egypt through the British occupation might have +resulted in political and financial independence. When the crash came, +and the order for his deposition was sent by the sultan, Ismail resigned +the khedivate in complete submission; and, taking away with him a large +private fortune and a portion of the royal harem, he spent the remainder +of his life in retirement at Naples and Constantinople, and was buried +with solemn pomp in the royal cemetery at Cairo. + +[Illustration: 190.jpg PART OF CAIRO, SHOWING THE MULQUFS ON THE HOUSES +OF MODERN EGYPT] + +[Illustration: 191.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + + + + +CHAPTER IV--THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT + + +_Ismail deposed: Tewfik Pasha: Revolt of Arabi Pasha: Lord Wolseley and +the Battle of Tel-el-Kebir: The Mahdist Rising: General Gordon in the +Sudan: Death of Gordon: The Sudan abandoned and re-conquered: Battle of +Onidurman: Khartum College: Financial Stability: Abbas II.: Education, +Law, and the improved condition of the Fellaheen: The Caisse de la +Dette_ + + + +The official deposition of Ismail Pasha by the sultan of Turkey, Abdul +Hamid, occurred on June 26, in the year 1879, and his son Tewfik assumed +the khedivate, becoming practically the protégé of England and Egypt. To +understand how this came to pass, it is necessary to review the account +of the financial embarrassments of Ismail. In twelve years he had +extracted more than $400,000,000 from the fellaheen in taxes. He had +borrowed another $400,000,000 from Europe at the same time, of which +nominal sum he probably received $250,000,000 in cash. The loans were +ostensibly contracted for public works. Possibly ten per cent, of the +borrowed money was profitably laid out. The railways were extended; +Upper Egypt was studded with sugar factories,--most of them doomed to +failure,--and certain roads and gardens were made about the city of +Cairo. + +The remainder of this enormous sum of money was spent in purchasing +a change in the law of succession, and the new title of khédive; in +disastrous Abyssinian campaigns; in multiplying shoddy palaces, and in +personal extravagance, which combined Oriental profusion with the +worst taste of the Second Empire. Useless works engaged the corvee; +the fellaheen were evicted from vast tracts, which became ill-managed +estates; and their crops, cattle, and even seed were taken from them +by the tax-gatherers, so that they died by hundreds when a low Nile +afflicted the land. The only persons who flourished in Ismail’s time +were foreign speculators and adventurers of the lowest type. As these +conditions became more serious, the khédive attempted to find some means +of protection against the concession-monger. He adopted a suggestion of +the wise Nubar Pasha, and instituted the mixed tribunals for adjudging +civil cases between natives and foreigners. + +The Powers agreed to the establishment of these tribunals, and intended +to enforce the decisions of the courts, even in case that Ismail +himself were the delinquent. When later the khédive repudiated the mixed +tribunals, this action precipitated his fall. It became increasingly +difficult for the khédive to meet his accumulated obligations. The price +of cotton had fallen after the close of the American war, and there was +less response from the impoverished people to the Cour-bash, which in +1868 was still more strictly enforced; and soon this enforcement by the +mixed tribunal of debts due to foreigners by an agricultural population, +who lived by borrowing, and were accustomed to settle their debts +by haggling, aggravated the misery of the fellaheen, and led to that +universal despair which was to give strength and significance to +the Arabist revolt. It was no uncommon procedure for the Levantine +money-lender to accompany the tax-gatherer into the provinces with +a chest of money. He paid the taxes of the assembled and destitute +fellaheen, who in return were obliged to give mortgages on their crops +or holdings. + +The desperate state of Egyptian finance, which led to the sale of the +precious Suez Canal shares, at last opened the eyes of the bondholders. +Mr. G. T. Goschen (Viscount Goschen) and M. Joubert were deputed to +Egypt on behalf of the foreign creditors. The accounts were found to be +in a state of wild confusion, with little or no chance of learning +the actual facts controlling the financial situation. The minister of +finance, or “Mufet-tish,” Ismail Pasha Sadeck, was now arrested and +banished to Dongola. + +There was an immediate prospect of a dual control by England and France. +Commissioners were appointed to constitute a caisse, or court, for +receiving the interest due to the bondholders. The great mass of the +debt was then unified, but the Goschen and Joubert arrangement was found +to be too severe for the impoverished country. A low Nile and a famine +resulted in a demand for an investigation into the administration, +and the following year Ismail was obliged to authorise a commission +of inquiry. The waste, extravagance, and wholesale extortion from the +peasantry revealed by this report made a deep impression upon Europe, +and Ismail was forced to disgorge the estates which he had received from +the fellaheen. + +In the meantime, the khédive was not inactive in taking measures +to prevent the advent of a confirmed foreign control. He created a +constitutional ministry, upon whom the responsibility rested for the +different branches of the administration. He likewise fomented an +outburst of feeling among the Moslems against the foreign element in +the constitutional ministry. This was intended to strengthen the +pro-Egyptian element in the government, and Ismail thus hoped to +demonstrate to the European Powers the uselessness of attempting to +subordinate the Egyptians to foreign methods of finance and control. +Ismail subsequently dismissed the ministry, and soon afterwards the +controllers themselves. Knowing well the jealousy which existed between +England and France, he believed that there was a chance that he might +successfully play off one Power against the other. If the Moslems had +not been so severely oppressed by taxation, and Ismail had acted with +courage and firmness, it is probable that he might have held his own, +and Egypt might have refused to again accept the dual control. + +Bismarck now intervened, and hinted to the sultan that he would receive +the support of the Powers, and Abdul Hamid immediately sent a telegram +to the Egyptian government that Ismail Pasha was deposed from the +khedivate. At this moment his courage gave way, and Ismail surrendered +his throne to his son Tewfik. + +[Illustration: 195.jpg THE KHEDIVE TEWFIK] + +Tewfik had the misfortune to enter upon a doleful heritage of an empty +treasury, a starving people, and an army ready to mutiny. There were now +two parties in Egypt. The military movement was of the least importance. +The superior posts in the army had been occupied by Circassians since +the days of Mehemet Ali. + +196 THE BRITISH INFLUENCE IN EGYPT + +Slave boys were bought and trained as officers. The number and quality +of the Circassians had deteriorated, but they still held the most +important posts. The fellaheen officers, under Arabi, who had been +brought to protest against reductions in the military establishment, now +claimed that the Circassians should make way for the Egyptians. Together +with this military dissatisfaction was also a strong civil movement +towards national reform, which included a number of serious and sensible +administrative reforms, which have since been carried out. Arabi Pasha +was the leader of the National Party, and had hopes of convincing +fair-minded people of the justice of their cause; but many influences, +some good and some bad, were at work simultaneously to divert him from +constitutional methods towards making his appeal to the violent and +fanatical element. + +Just at this time a divergence between English and French views in +dealing with the situation had manifested itself, having its root in +earlier history. France, now as in 1840, was aiming at the policy of +detaching Egypt from the control of the unprogressive Turks; England +aimed at the maintenance of the much talked of integrity of the Ottoman +Empire. The French premier, Gambetta, was determined that there should +be no intervention on the part of the Turks. He drafted the “Identic +Note” in January, 1881, and induced Lord Granville, the English Foreign +Secretary, to give his assent. This note contained the first distinct +threat of foreign intervention. The result was a genuine and spontaneous +outburst of Moslem feeling. All parties united to protest against +foreign intervention, joined by the fellaheen, who now saw an +opportunity of freeing themselves from foreign usurers, to whom they +had become so unjustly indebted. Riots broke out in Alexandria in 1881. +Gambetta was replaced by the hesitating Freycinet, who looked upon the +intervention with alarm, and upon Germany with suspicion. England was +thus at the last moment left to act alone. Past experience had taught +her that the destiny of Egypt lay in the hands of the dominant sea-power +of the Mediterranean, and that Egypt must not be neglected by the +masters of India. After a vain attempt to bring about mediation through +Dervish Pasha, the special commissioner of the Porte, it was discovered +that the Nationalist Party was too little under control to be utilised +in any further negotiations. Ahmed Arabi Pasha had greatly increased his +influence, and had finally been appointed Minister of War. On the 11th +of June there was serious rioting, in which many Greeks and Maltese, +four Englishmen, and six Frenchmen were slain. Arabi now stepped forward +to preserve order, being at this moment practically the dictator of +Egypt. While endeavouring to maintain order, he also threw up earthworks +to protect the harbour of Alexandria, and trained the guns upon the +British fleet. The admiral in charge, Sir Beauchamp Seymour, who was +waiting for the arrival of the Channel Squadron, sent word to the +Egyptians to cease the construction of fortifications. The request was +not fully assented to, although it was reinforced by an order from +the Porte. An ultimatum was presented on July 10, commanding Arabia to +surrender the forts. The terms were refused, and eight ships and five +gunboats prepared for action on the following day. At the same time the +French fleet retired upon Port Said. + +The first shot was fired on July 11th, at seven o’clock in the morning, +by the Alexandrians, and in reply an iron hail rained upon the forts of +the Egyptians from the guns of the British fleet. Arabi’s troops +fought well and aimed correctly, but their missiles were incapable of +penetrating the armour of the ironclads. One fort after another was +silenced. Lord Charles Beresford, in command of the gunboat _Condor_, +led a brilliant attack upon Fort Marabout. The firing re-opened on +the next day, and a flag of truce was soon displayed. After some +unsatisfactory parleying the bombardment was resumed, and when a second +flag of truce was unfurled it was discovered that Arabi Pasha had +retreated to Kefr-el-Dowar, fourteen miles away from Alexandria. On +his departure the city was given over to plunder and destruction. The +convicts escaped from the prison, and, joining forces with the Arabs, +looted and burned the European quarters. Two thousand persons, mostly +Greeks and Levantines, were slain, and an enormous quantity of property +destroyed. Admiral Seymour then sent a body of sailors on land, who +patrolled the streets and shot down the looters, and order was thus +finally restored in Alexandria. The khédive, who was forced to fly for +his life to an English steamer, was reinstated in the Ras-el-Tin Palace, +under an escort of seven hundred marines. The British admiral was +afterwards severely criticised for not having put a stop to the rioting +before it assumed such serious proportions. + +Arabi’s army of 6,000 was now increased by recruits flocking in from +every port in Egypt. After considerable pressure had been brought to +bear upon the khédive, Tewfik issued a proclamation dismissing Arabi +from his service. To enforce the submission of the Arabists, an English +army of 33,000 men was gradually landed in Egypt, under the command of +Sir Garnet Wolseley, with an efficient staff, including Sir John Adye, +Sir Archibald Alison, Sir Evelyn Wood, and General Hamley. An Indian +contingent also arrived under General Macpherson. + +Sir Garnet, after making a feint to land near Alexandria, steamed to +Port Said and disembarked, moving up the Suez Canal in order to join +forces with the Indian contingent, who were advancing from Suez. +Fighting took place over the control of the canal at the Mahsameh and +Kassassin Locks, and at the latter place the British cavalry won an +important victory over the Egyptian advance-guard. Arabi’s stronghold +was at Tel-el-Kebir, and the English were very anxious to win a +decisive victory before the troops which the sultan was sending from +Constantinople under Dervish and Baker Pasha should arrive. On September +12, 1882, preparations had been completed for an advance, and the army +of 11,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, with sixty pieces of artillery, +moved forward during the night to within a mile of Arabi’s lines. The +Egyptians had 20,000 regulars, of which number 2,500 were cavalry, with +seventy guns, and they were also aided by 6,000 Bedouins. Though well +situated, the army of Arabi was taken by surprise, and the following +day, in response to the various flanking movements of the British, +directed by Wolseley, and the direct charge of the Highlanders, they +made but a very indifferent defence. In a brief space of time the +Egyptians were in full retreat, Arabi fleeing to Cairo. The Indian +contingent occupied Zagazig, and General Drury-Lowe rode with his +cavalry for thirty-nine miles, and entered Cairo on the evening of the +14th. Arabi made a dignified surrender, and with him 10,000 men also +gave themselves up. + +The Nationalist movement was now at an end, the various garrisons +surrendering one after another, and the greater part of the British army +left Egypt, 12,000 men remaining behind to maintain order. The Egyptian +government wished to try Arabi as a rebel in a secret tribunal. It was +generally believed that this would have meant a death sentence. Mr. +Wilfrid Blunt, a distinguished British Liberal and a friend of Arabi, +who had often expressed his sympathy with the cause of the Nationalists +in their endeavour to free Egypt from the slavery of the foreign +bondholder, now raised a vigorous protest in favour of an open trial. He +personally contributed to the defence of Arabi, and his efforts led to +the commutation of the sentence of death to that of perpetual exile +in Ceylon--a sentence which was subsequently very much modified. Arabi +Pasha returned to Egypt in the year 1902, after an exile which had +lasted about nine years. + +[Illustration: 201.jpg PALACE OP THE KHEDIVE AT ALEXANDRIA] + +The difficult task of readjusting the government of Egypt was then +undertaken. Proposals were made to France for a modification of the +dual control, in which France was offered the presidency of the Debt +Commission. France, however, refused to accept the compromise, and the +British government finally determined upon independent action. In place +of the officials through whom the two governments had hitherto exercised +the control, a single financial adviser was appointed, who was not +allowed to take part in the direct administration of the country. The +outline of this adjustment was given in a circular note addressed by +Lord Granville to the Powers. He declared that an army would remain in +Egypt as long as it was required; representative institutions were to +be created; the Egyptian army and gendarmery were to be placed in the +hands of Englishmen; the Diara estates were to be economically managed; +foreigners were to be placed upon the same footing as natives in regard +to taxation. The other Powers, including Turkey but excluding France, +accepted the agreement. The office of financial adviser was given to Sir +Edgar Vincent. + +The important work of the reconstruction of Egypt now began in earnest. +Sir Benson Maxwell set about establishing an effective means for the +impartial administration of justice, and Colonel Moncrieff undertook the +responsibility for the work of irrigation. Mr. Clifford Lloyd created a +police system, reorganised the prisons and hospitals, and set free the +untried prisoners. Baker Pasha formed a provincial gendarmery, and Sir +Evelyn Wood organised an army of six thousand men. + +In the year 1883, while this work of reconstruction was proceeding, a +religious insurrection, which had originated two years previously, was +forced upon the notice of the government. It has already been related +that the Ismailian sect of the Muhammedans had introduced the doctrine +of a coming Messiah, or Mahdi, who was to be the last of the imans, and +the incarnation of the universal soul. + +Not a few impostors had exploited this doctrine to their own advantage, +and some of the Arabian tribes were firmly convinced that the Mahdi had +come, and that the Mahdis who had appeared to their kinsmen elsewhere +were merely clever charlatans. In the year 1881 Muhammed Ahmet, a +religious leader among the Moslem Arabs in the Central African provinces +of Kordofan and Darfur, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi, and called upon +the Muhammedans to initiate a holy war. + +The Mahdi’s continued advances were rendered possible by the precarious +state of affairs in Egypt. After a settlement was effected in 1883, +Hicks Pasha, an officer of courage and ability, who had retired from +the Indian army, gathered 11,000 men at Omdurman to quell the Mahdist +insurrection. With this force he started up the Nile and struck across +the desert to El-Obeid, where his troops were decoyed into a ravine, and +after three days’ fighting his whole army was annihilated by the Mahdist +army numbering about 300,000 men. The entire Sudan then revolted against +Egypt. The redoubtable Osman Digna appeared with the Hadendowa Arabs +off the coast of the Red Sea, and harassed the Egyptian garrison. Osman +defeated Captain Moncrieff and an army of 3,000 Bashi-Bazouks led by +Baker Pasha. Egypt, under the advisement of the British government, then +attempted to withdraw from the Sudan. It was decided that the western +provinces of Kordofan and Dafur should be abandoned, but that important +centres like Khartum on the Nile should be preserved, at least for +a time. Here all the Egyptian colonists were to congregate. If the +revolting Arab tribes, called by the general name of Dervishes, would +not come to friendly terms with the settlers, then, in time, it was +decided that Khartum itself, and every other locality in the Sudan, +should be entirely relinquished, except the ports of the Red Sea. + +General Gordon was sent to Khartum to make terms with the Mahdi and +prepare for eventualities. The evacuation of this place was almost +immediately decided upon by the British Cabinet, and Gordon arrived on +February 18, 1884, but, being unsupported by European troops, he found +the position an exceedingly difficult one to maintain. The Mahdi scorned +his overtures, and Osman Digna was daily closing in upon the Egyptian +port of Suakin. + +[Illustration: 204.jpg OSMAN DIGNA] + +The British then determined to act with vigour. Sinkitat had fallen on +February 8th, and to protect Tokar and Suakin they landed four thousand +men and fought a fierce battle with nine thousand Hadendowas at El - Teb +February 28, 1884. The Egyptian garrison of Tokar, when the British army +arrived, was found to have compromised with the Mahdists. Later on was +fought the battle of Tamai against Osman Digna, during which a body +of Arabs rushed the British guns and broke up the formation of their +square. The British were on the point of defeat, but they managed to +recover the lost guns, and scatter the Hadendowas. + +General Gordon’s situation was now extremely critical. It was hoped that +an army might advance from Suakin across the desert to Berber, and then +ascend the Nile to Khartum. In the meantime, Gordon urgently called for +help, and, after interminable delays, in the autumn of 1884, an English +army under Lord Wolseley started up the Nile to relieve him. The troops +of Wolseley were aided by a camel corps of one thousand men, who were +organised to make a rush across the desert. On the 16th of January, +1885, the camel troops came up with the enemy and fought the decisive +battle of Matammeh. The Mahdist troops were mown down by rifles and +Gatling-guns as soon as they were within short range. Immediately after +the battle, Sir Charles Wilson determined to use the Egyptian flotilla +to make an immediate advance. The steamers were protected, and a small +relief force started on January 24th. They came in sight of Khartum on +the 28th, but were fired upon from every side. At this moment, a native +called from the bank that the city had fallen, and that the heroic +Gordon had been killed. + +A history of Egypt would be incomplete without some account of that +leader whose bravery, humanitarian views, and understanding of the +Oriental character have made him famous among the pioneers of Christian +civilisation in Asia and Africa. Fresh from his laurels won in the +service of the Chinese government in suppressing the Tai-peng rebellion, +Gordon returned to England in 1871. In 1874 he accepted a position from +Egypt, with the consent of the British government. He journeyed to Cairo +and up the Nile to take up the command as governor of the Equatorial +Provinces in succession to Sir Samuel Baker. There he laboured with +incessant energy to put down the slave-trade and to secure the welfare +of the natives. He established a series of Egyptian outposts along the +Abyssinian frontier and made a survey of Lake Albert Nyanza. Returning +to Cairo in 1874, after some delay, he was appointed by Ismail Pasha as +governor-general of the whole of the Egyptian Sudan. A war followed +with Abyssinia, and, after the army, led by Egyptian officers, had been +beaten twice, Gordon went to Massowah to negotiate with the Abyssinian +monarch, Atti Johannes. He next proceeded to Khartum, and vigorously +undertook the suppression of the slave-trade. + +[Illustration: 207.jpg MOSQUE OF THE IBRIHAM AT DESUK] + +Gordon’s death at Khartum, in 1884, is one of the greatest tragedies of +modern history. Supported neither by Egypt nor by the English army, of +a different religion from all his followers, pressed on all sides by the +Mah-dist forces, Gordon gallantly kept his few faithful followers at his +side, and, with incessant activity and heroism, protected the remaining +Egyptian colonists of the cities along the Nile, over which he still +held control. He had called upon the British government to send aid +across the desert from Suakin via Berber, but this request had been +denied him. Berber then fell, and he was cut off to the north by many +hundred miles of territory occupied by Mahdists. On January the +1st, nearly a month before the long-delayed succour approached the +beleaguered city, the provisions had given out. He had written on +December 14th that, with two hundred men, he could have successfully +kept up the defence. As his army had been starving since the 5th of +January, it is difficult to understand how he managed to hold out till +January the 26th. On this date, two days before the relief expedition +approached, the Mahdi’s troops attacked Khartum, and, finding Gordon’s +men too weak to fight, the defences were cut down, and the heroic Gordon +was killed by a shot at the head of the steps of the palace. + +Upon learning of the death of Gordon, the relief expedition retreated, +finding that the object of their advance had proved to be a hopeless +one. A general evacuation was begun, and Dongola and the whole country +south of Wady Haifa surrendered. The Mahdi, soon after winning Khartum, +died, and was succeeded by the Califa Abdulla at Taashi. This change +facilitated the Anglo-Egyptian retreat. About the same time Slatin +Bey surrendered in Darfur and embraced Muhammedan-ism, and Lupton Bey, +following his example, also adopted the religion of Islam, and yielded +in Bahr-el-Ghazel. Emin Pasha alone retained his authority, derived +originally from Egypt, in the province of Equatoria. Sir H. M. Stanley +afterwards made his famous journey “Through Darkest Africa” and rescued +this famous pasha. This noted explorer died May 9, 1904. + +In the autumn of 1885, the dervish Emir of Dongola, Muhammed el-Kheir, +advanced upon the Egyptian frontier. On December 30th he was met by the +Egyptian troops under Sir Frederick Stephenson. The Egyptian troops, +unaided by Europeans, attacked the dervishes at Ginnis and totally +defeated them, winning two guns and twenty banners. It was a source of +much gratification that the Egyptian fellaheen had proved themselves so +courageous and well disciplined in the encounter with the fierce hosts +of the desert. + +[Illustration: 210.jpg LORD KITCHENER OF KHARTUM] + +In October, 1886, Wad en Nejumi, the victor of El-Obeid, was sent by the +califa to invade Egypt. The advance of this army was delayed by trouble +within the Sudan; but the califa, having at length beaten his enemies, +in the year 1889 sent large reinforcements northwards to carry on +the campaign against Egypt with vigour. The Egyptian troops, with one +squadron of hussars, fought a decisive engagement with Wad en Nejumi on +August 3rd of the same year. The dervish leader, many of his emirs, and +twelve hundred Arab warriors were slain; four thousand more were taken +prisoners, and 147 dervish standards were captured. + +The ever-increasing progress of Egypt during the next ten years, +together with the accounts received from escaped prisoners of the +reign of terror and inhumanity which obtained in the Sudan, brought +the question of the reconquest of the lost provinces once more into +prominence. The Italians had met with a fearful disaster in fighting +against the Abyssinians at the battle of Adowa on March 1,1896. They +were holding Kassala within the ex-Egyptian territory by invitation +from England, and a reason was presented for attacking the dervishes +elsewhere in order to draw off their army from Kassala. With the +appointment of Sir Henry Kitchener, on March 11,1896, as sirdar of the +Egyptian army, the final period of hostilities was entered upon between +Egypt and the independent Arabs of the Central African Provinces. + +General Kitchener was ordered to build a railroad up the Nile, and to +push forward with a well-organised Egyptian army, whose chief officers +were Englishmen. The whole scheme of the invasion was planned with +consummate forethought and deliberation, the officials and advisers +in charge of the enterprise being chosen from the most tried and able +experts in their several provinces. Lieut.-Col. E. P. C. Girouard, a +brilliant young Canadian, undertook the work of railroad reconstruction. +Col. L. Bundle was chief of the staff, and Major R. Wingate head of the +Intelligence Department, ably assisted by the ex-prisoner of the califa, +Slatin Bey. The army consisted in the beginning almost entirely of +Egyptian and Sudanese troops, together with one battalion of the North +Staffordshire Regiment. There were eight battalions of artillery, eight +camel corps, and sixty-three gunboats which steamed up the Nile. + +After some sharp skirmishing, the advance was made to Dongola, when the +English battalion was sent home disabled, and in time was replaced by a +strong English brigade under General Gatacre. Early in 1897, a railroad +had been thrown across the desert from Wady Haifa towards Abu Hamed, +obviating the need of making an immense detour around the bend of the +Nile near Dongola. The califa had, by this time, organised his defence. +The Jaalin tribe had revolted against him at Metammeh, and had sought +for help from the Egyptians, but before the supply of rifles arrived, +the dervishes under the Emir Mahmud stormed Metammeh and annihilated the +whole tribe of the Jaalin Arabs. + +The van of the army of invasion, both the flying corps and the flotilla +of gunboats, advanced upon Abu Hamed towards the end of August. +Major-General Hunter carried the place by storm. Berber was found to be +deserted, and was occupied on September 5th. Hunter burned Adarama and +reconnoitred on the Atbara. The gunboats bombarded Metammeh and reduced +the place to ruins. The sirdar, General Kitchener, then went on a +mission to Kassala, where he found the Italians anxious to evacuate. +He thereupon made an agreement whereby the Egyptians should occupy +the place, which was accordingly accomplished under Colonel Parsons on +Christmas Day, 1897. Disagreements among the dervishes prevented them +from making any concerted defence, and early in 1896 Kitchener renewed +the advance and captured the dervish stores at Shendy on March 27th. The +zeriba or camp of Mahmud was attacked and stormed with great loss to the +dervishes on the 5th of April. + +On the date scheduled beforehand by Lord Kitchener, just after the +annual rains had refreshed the country, the Anglo-Egyptian army made its +final advance upon Khartum. There were ten thousand British troops and +fifteen thousand Egyptians. The forces were concentrated at Wady Hamed, +sixty miles above Omdurman, from which point they bombarded the city +with shells filled with deadly lyddite, and the mosque and tomb of the +late Mahdi were destroyed. At length the entire army advanced to within +four miles of Khartum. On September 2nd the cavalry and a horse battery +reached Kasar Shanbal. From this point they saw the whole army of the +califa, consisting of from forty to fifty thousand men, advancing to +confront them from behind the hills. The Anglo-Egyptians advanced to +meet the dervishes disposed in the form of a horseshoe, with either end +resting upon the banks of the river. At intervals along the whole line +of the army were field-pieces and Maxims, and the gunboats were within +reach to aid in shelling the enemy. The British soldiers then built +a square sand rampart called a zarilea, and their Egyptian allies dug +defensive trenches. + +On the front and left the dervishes came on in great strength, but, when +the Maxims, the field-guns, and the repeating rifles opened fire upon +them, at a comparatively close range, a frightful havoc was the result. +All who remained to fight were immediately shot down, and the whole +field was cleared in fifteen minutes. The dervishes retreated behind the +hills, and were joined by fresh forces. General MacDonald, in making +a detour with a body of Lancers, was suddenly beset by two thousand +dervish riflemen, who fiercely charged him on three sides. Quickly +forming a square, he succeeded by desperate efforts in repelling the +enemy, until he was reinforced by Kitchener, who perceived his desperate +situation. + +The calif then attacked the extreme left wing of the army, but was again +driven off. The Anglo-Egyptians were now in a position to deliver the +main attack upon the dervish defences. The troops of the califa +fought with heroic bravery, fearlessly advancing within range of the +Anglo-Egyptian fire, but each time they were mown down by the cross fire +of the Maxims and rifles. Vast numbers were slain, and some divisions +of the dervishes suffered complete annihilation. They left ten thousand +dead upon the field, and ten thousand wounded. The rest fled in all +directions, a scattered and straggling force, with the califa himself. +The Anglo-Egyptians lost but two thousand men. Few prisoners were taken, +for, in almost every instance, the dervishes refused to surrender, and +even when wounded used their swords and spears against the rescuers of +the ambulance corps. All the fighting was over by midday, and in the +afternoon General Kitchener entered Omdurman, and the army encamped in +the vicinity. Slatin Bey was duly installed as governor in the name +of the Egyptian khédive. The European prisoners of the califa were now +released, and on Sunday, the 4th of September, the sirdar and all his +army held a solemn service in memory of General Gordon near the spot +where he was killed. + +Bodies of men were now sent out on all sides to pacify the country, and +the sirdar, who had been elevated to the peerage as Lord Kitchener of +Khartum, started on an expedition up the Nile in a gunboat, in order to +settle the difficult question arising from the occupation of Pashoda by +a French corps under Major Marchand. The ability and strategy of this +French commander were of a very high order. The general plan of the +expedition had been in accord with French military traditions, based +upon former attempts in India and America to separate the British +colonial dominions, or to block the way to their extension by +establishing a series of military outposts or forts at certain strategic +points chosen for this purpose. Had the French designs under Desaix in +India, or of the army of occupation in the Mississippi Valley in the +eighteenth century, been supported by a powerful fleet, there is no +doubt that British colonisation would have suffered a severe setback. If +Major Marchand remained in Fashoda, the route to all the upper regions +of the Nile would be cut off from any English or Egyptian enterprise. +Accordingly, Lord Kitchener ran the risk of grave international +complications by advancing upon Fashoda to meet Major Marchand. +Fortunately, a temporary agreement was entered upon that the home +governments should decide the question at issue, and Lord Kitchener then +hoisted the Anglo-Egyptian flag south of the French settlement, and the +officers fraternised over glasses of champagne. + +It is now believed that Russia would have aided France if it had come +to a war, but the French government thought the affair not of sufficient +importance to warrant an international struggle over the retention of +Fashoda, and the respective spheres of influence of France and Great +Britain were finally agreed upon early in the following year by the +Niger Convention, which left the whole of the ex-Egyptian provinces +under British protection, as far south as the Equatorial Lakes, and as +far west as the border line between Darfur and Wadai. + +The calif was subsequently pursued from place to place in the desert, +and was at length overtaken by Colonel Wingate at Om Dubreikat. The +dervish leader fought a desperate fight; and, refusing to fly, was slain +with all his personal followers on November 26, 1899. + +The total cost of these campaigns had been incredibly small, not +amounting in all to the total of $12,000,000, and the railroad, the cost +of which is here included in the expenditure, is of permanent value to +Egypt. + +After the re-occupation of Khartum, it was again, as in Gordon’s time, +made the seat of government, the dervish capital having been located +across the Nile at Omdurman. For a memorial to Gordon, $500,000 was +enthusiastically raised in England. The memorial took the practical +form of an educational establishment for the natives of the Sudan, the +foundation-stone of which was laid by Lord Cromer in January, 1900. +The school is intended to be exclusively for Muhammedans, and only the +Moslem religion is to be taught within its walls. + +Though the Mahdism, of which the late califa had been the leading +spirit, had degenerated into a struggle of slave-traders versus +civilisation, the calif at least showed conspicuous courage in the +manner in which he faced his death. For the last twenty years, during +which the revolts of the dervishes had troubled the outlying provinces +of the Egyptian dominions, trade had been almost at a standstill; large +numbers of blacks had been enslaved; an equal number probably had been +slaughtered, and whole regions depopulated. The total population was cut +down during these years to one-half of what it previously had been, and +it was of vital importance to Egypt to reconquer all the lost provinces +which lay upon the banks of the river Nile. If the prosperity of +Egypt is to rest upon a sound basis, and not be subjected to periodic +overthrow at the hands of the hostile inhabitants of the south, it is +essential that the Upper Nile should be under the control of those who +are responsible for the welfare of the country. Egypt is the gift of the +Nile, and the entire population of Egypt is dependent upon this river. +To secure prosperity for the country and to develop Egyptian resources +to the fullest extent, the rulers of Egypt must also be the rulers of +the Nile. When the Anglo-Egyptian expedition under Kitchener set out to +reconquer the Sudan, the development of Egypt had been progressing in +all directions at a rapid rate. Having greater interests to defend, less +indebtedness to meet, and greater facilities for meeting the taxes due +the home government, no less than the foreign bondholders, the time was +ripe in which to take that great step towards securing the prosperity of +Egypt in the future by finally destroying the community of slaveholders, +which, under the sanction of Mahdism, brutally tyrannised over the +non-Muhammedan population. + +[Illustration: 218.jpg SLAVE BOATS ON THE NILE] + +From the beginning of the British occupation, the English have been +engaged in persevering efforts at reform in every branch of the +administration. The reforms which they instituted in the different +departments of the army, finance, public works, and the police system +were not at first popular. The native officials found out that they +could not use methods of extortion; the upper classes, the pashas, and +the wealthy landowners also discovered that they were not at liberty +to do as they pleased, and that the English inspectors of irrigation +strictly regulated the water-supply. It has since been fully +demonstrated that the curtailing of their privilege to make use of +the water when and how they chose is more than compensated by improved +conditions. + +During the fifteen years previous to 1898, the population of Egypt had +increased by about three million, or forty-three per cent. It was then +ten million; it is now nearly eleven million. Within the boundaries of +the irrigated land Egypt has always been a very populous country. By +the effort to expand this area of irrigation, the way was prepared for +a considerable increase in the total population. There are sections of +this land where the density of the population averages from seven to +eight hundred or even a thousand persons to the square mile. In early +times, the population was still greater, as the irrigation area was +increased by the great reservoir of Lake Mceris. When Omar made a census +(A.D. 640), there were to be found six million Kopts, exclusive of the +aged, the young, and the women, and three hundred thousand Greeks: this +would imply, even at that decadent period, a total population of fifteen +million. + +The increased prosperity shown by the railroads is most satisfactory. +Two hundred and twelve miles of new railroad have been constructed, +and an enormous development of the railroad and telegraph business has +resulted. Since the year 1897 railroad development has been very rapid, +and, with the line to the Sudan, amounted in 1904 to some two thousand +miles. From the Sudan railway it is intended ultimately to extend a +railroad system through the heart of Africa, from Cairo to Capetown. + +Great progress has been made in all departments of public works. +Hundreds of agricultural roads have been built, and the mileage of +canals and drains has been largely increased to the very great benefit +of the Egyptian peasant. + +The quantity of salt sold was doubled between 1881 and 1897, while the +price has been reduced nearly forty per cent. The tonnage of the port of +Alexandria increased from 1,250,000 pounds to 2,549,739 between 1881 and +1901. This increase was paralleled by a like increase in Alexandria’s +great rival, Port Said. + +Sir Evelyn Baring (Viscount Cromer) was appointed consul-general and +financial adviser to Egypt in January, 1884, succeeding in this position +Sir Edward Malet. Sir Evelyn was nominally the financial adviser, but +practically the master of Egypt. The khédive never ventured to oppose +the carrying out of his wishes, since the British army of occupation was +ever at his beck and call to lend its weight to the commands which he +issued to the government under the appearance of friendly advice. + +The most serious obstacle to the progress of Egypt has been the +authority of the mixed administrations, the chief of which is the Caisse +de la Dette. The main object of these administrations is to secure for +European bondholders payment of the debts incurred by Egypt chiefly +under the incredibly profligate government of Ismail Pasha. The Caisse +de la Dette has commissions from six of the Powers. It receives from the +tax-gatherer all the taxes apportioned to the payment of the interest +for foreign indebtedness. Its influence, however, extends much farther, +and the Caisse exercises the right of prohibiting expenditure on the +part of the Egyptian government until its own demands for current +interest have been complied with. It further has the right to veto any +loan which the Egyptian government might be willing to raise, however +urgent the necessity might be, unless it can be demonstrated that there +is not the least likelihood that payment of the shareholders whom the +Caisse represents will be in the least degree affected. If all that the +Caisse claimed as belonging to its jurisdiction were really allowed to +it by the Anglo-Egyptian government, the Caisse or International Court +might exercise an arbitrary control over Egyptian affairs. It has many +times seriously attempted to block the progress of Egypt with the sole +aim of considering the pockets of the foreign shareholders, and in +entire disregard to the welfare of the people. + +Added to this tribunal is the Railway Board and the Commissions of +the Daira and Domains. The Railway Board administers the railroads, +telegraphs, and the port of Alexandria. The Daira and Domains +Commissions administer the large estates, mortgaged to the holders of +the loans raised by Ismail Pasha under these two respective names. The +Daira Estate yielded a surplus over and above the amount of interest +on the debt paid, for the first time, in 1890. The Domain Estate had +to face a deficit until the year 1900. Until these respective dates the +Egyptian government itself was obliged to pay the deficit due to the +bondholders. + +[Illustration: 223.jpg VISCOUNT CROMER (SIR EVELYN BARING)] + +In the year 1884, the Convention of London was signed by the European +Powers, which was, however, for the most part, oppressive and unjust to +the Egyptians. The amount of money raised by taxation, which was allowed +to be spent in one year, was limited to the definite sum of $25,927,890. +Fortunately for Egypt, the London Convention had one clause by which +$44,760,000 could be utilised for the development of the country. With +this sum the indemnities of Alexandria were paid, defects in the payment +of interest were made good, and a small sum was left wherewith to +increase irrigation and other useful works. The criminal folly of +the former lavish expenditure was now demonstrated by a brilliant +object-lesson. This small sum, when kept out of the hands of the +rapacious bondholders, and applied to the development of the rich soil +of Egypt, was found to work wonders. From the moment when the finances +of Egypt were for the first time used to develop what is naturally the +richest soil in the world, progress towards betterment grew rapidly into +the remarkable prosperity of to-day. For a time, however, the government +was obliged to use extreme parsimony in order to keep the country from +further falling under the control of the irresponsible bondholders. +Finally, in the year 1888, Sir Evelyn Baring wrote to the home +government that the situation was so far improved that in his judgment +“it would take a series of untoward events seriously to endanger +the stability of Egyptian finance and the solvency of the Egyptian +government.” The corner had been turned, and progressive financial +relief was at length afforded the long-suffering Egyptian people in the +year 1890. After several years of financial betterment, it was decided +to devote future surpluses to remunerative objects, such as works of +irrigation, railway extension, the construction of hospitals, prisons, +and other public buildings, and in the improvement of the system of +education. Great difficulty was experienced in making use of this +surplus, on account of technical hindrances which were persistently +placed in the way of the Egyptian government by the Caisse de la Dette. +These difficulties are now almost entirely removed. + +In 1896 it was decided, as has been narrated, to be for the interest of +Egypt to start a campaign against the dervishes. Appeal was made to the +Caisse de la Dette to raise additional funds for the necessary +expenses of the projected campaign. The Caisse, following its universal +precedent, immediately vetoed the project. England then made special +grants-in-aid to Egypt, which both aided the Egyptian government and +greatly strengthened her hold upon Egypt. By means of this timely +assistance, Egypt was enabled successfully to pass through the period of +increased expenditure incurred by the reconquest of the Sudan. + +During the lifetime of Khedive Tewfik, who owed his throne to the +British occupation, there had been little or no disagreement between the +British and Egyptian authorities. In the year 1887 Sir Henry Drummond +Wolff prepared a convention, in accordance with which England promised +to leave Egypt within three years from that date. At the last moment +the sultan, urged by France and Russia, refused to sign it, and the +occupation which these two Powers would not agree to legalise even for +a period of three years was now less likely than ever to terminate. The +following year Tewfik dismissed Nubar Pasha, who had, by the advice of +the foreign Powers, stood in the way of reforms planned by the English +officials. + +Tewfik died in 1892, and was succeeded by Abbas Hilmi Pasha, called +officially Abbas II. He was born in 1874, and was barely of age +according to Turkish law, which fixes magistracy at eighteen years of +age in the case of the succession to the throne. He came directly from +the college at Vienna to Cairo, where his accession was celebrated +with great pomp; and the firman, confirming him in all the powers, +privileges, and territorial rights which his father had enjoyed, was +read from the steps of the palace in Abdin Square. For some time the +new khédive did not cooperate with cordiality with Great Britain. He was +young and eager to exercise his power. His throne had not been saved for +him by the British, as his father’s had been, and he was surrounded +by intriguers, who were scheming always for their own advantage. He at +first appeared almost as unprogressive as his great-uncle, Abbas I., +but he later learned to understand the importance of British counsels. +During his visit to England in 1899 he frankly acknowledged the great +good which England had done in Egypt, and declared himself ready +to cooperate with the officials administering British affairs. This +friendliness was a great change from the disposition which he had shown +in previous years, during the long-drawn-out dispute between himself and +Sir Evelyn Baring regarding the appointment of Egyptian officials. The +controversy at one time indicated a grave crisis, and it is reported +that on one occasion the British agent ordered the army to make a +demonstration before the palace, and pointed out to the young ruler the +folly of forcing events which would inevitably lead to his dethronement. +The tension was gradually relaxed, and compromises brought about which +resulted in harmony between the khédive and the British policy of +administration, and no one rejoiced more than Abbas Hilmi over the +victory of Omdurman. + +[Illustration: 227.jpg BAZAR IN ASWAN] + +Agricultural interests are dearer to the heart of the khédive than +statecraft. He rides well, drives well, rises early, and is of +abstemious habits. Turkish is his mother tongue, but he talks Arabic +with fluency and speaks English, French, and German very well. + +An agreement between England and Egypt had been entered upon January 19, +1899, in regard to the administration of the Sudan. According to this +agreement, the British and Egyptian flags were to be used together, +and the supreme military and civil command was vested in the +governor-general, who is appointed by the khédive on the recommendation +of the British government, and who cannot be removed without +the latter’s consent. This has proved so successful that the +governor-general, Sir Reginald Wingate, reported in 1901: + +“I record my appreciation of the manner in which the officers, +non-commissioned officers, soldiers, and officials,--British, Egyptian, +and Sudanese,--without distinction, have laboured during the past year +to push on the work of regenerating the country. Nor can I pass over +without mention the loyal and valuable assistance I have received from +many of the loyal ulemas, sheiks, and notables, who have displayed a +most genuine desire to see their country once more advancing in the path +of progress, material success, and novel development.” + +In 1898 there were in all about 10,000 schools, with 17,000 teachers +and 228,000 pupils. Seven-eighths of these schools were elementary, +the education being confined to reading, writing, and the rudiments +of arithmetic. The government has under its immediate direction +eighty-seven schools of the lowest grade, called kuttabs, and +thirty-five of the higher grades, three secondary, two girls’ schools, +and ten schools for higher or professional education,--the school of +law, the school of medicine, with its pharmaceutical school and its +school for nursing and obstetrics, polytechnic schools for civil +engineers, two training-schools for schoolmasters, a school of +agriculture, two technical schools, one training-school for female +teachers, and the military school. In addition to the schools belonging +to the Ministry of Public Instruction, there were under the inspection +of that department in 1901 twenty-three primary schools of the higher +grade, with an attendance of 3,585, and 845 schools of the lowest grade, +with 1,364 teachers and an attendance of 26,831 pupils. There are +187 schools attached to various Protestant and Catholic missions, and +forty-three European private schools. + +The Koptic community supports one thousand schools for elementary +education, twenty-seven primary boys’ and girls’ schools, and one +college. The teaching of the Koptic language in the schools is now +compulsory; the subjects taught, and the methods of teaching them, are +the same as in vogue in other countries. Fifty per cent, of the Koptic +male population can read and write well. The indigenous tribunals of the +country are called Mehkemmehs, and are presided over by cadis. At +the present time they retain jurisdiction in matters of personal law +relating to marriage succession, guardianship, etc. Beyond this sphere +they also fulfil certain functions connected with the registration +of title of land. In matters of personal law, however, the native +Christians are subject to their own patriarchs or other religious +leaders. + +In other matters, natives are justiciable before the so-called native +tribunals, established during the period of the British occupation. +These consist of forty-six summary tribunals, each presided over by a +single judge, who is empowered to exercise jurisdiction in matters up to +$500 in value, and criminal jurisdiction in offences punishable by fine +or by imprisonment of three years or less. Associated with these are +seven central tribunals, each chamber consisting of three judges. +There is also a court of appeal in Cairo, one-half of its members +being Europeans. In criminal matters there is always a right to appeal, +sometimes to the court of appeal, sometimes to a central tribunal. +In civil matters an appeal lies from a summary tribunal to a central +tribunal in matters exceeding $500 in value, and from the judgment of +a central tribunal in the first instance to the court of appeal in all +cases. The prosecution in criminal matters is entrusted to the parquet, +which is directed by a procurer-general; the investigation of crime +is ordinarily conducted by the parquet, or by the police under its +direction. Offences against irrigation laws, which were once of such +frequent occurrence and the occasion of injustice and lawlessness, are +now tried by special and summary administration tribunals. + +The capitulations or agreements concerning justice entered into by all +the Great Powers of Europe and the Ottoman Empire, relative to the trial +and judgment of Europeans, include Egypt as an integral part of the +Turkish Empire. Foreigners for this reason have the privilege of being +tried by European courts. But if one party in a case is European and +another Egyptian, there are special mixed tribunals, established in +1876, consisting partly of native and partly of foreign judges. These +tribunals settle civil and also some criminal cases between Egyptians +and Europeans, and in 1900 penal jurisdiction was conferred upon them in +connection with offences against the bankruptcy laws. + +There are three mixed tribunals of the first class, with a court of +appeal, sitting at Alexandria. Civil cases between foreigners of the +same nationality are tried before their own consular courts, which also +try criminal cases not within the jurisdiction of the mixed +tribunals, in which the accused are foreigners. By this well organised +administration of justice, crime has steadily decreased throughout +Egypt, and the people have learned to enjoy the benefit of receiving +impartial justice, from which they had been shut off for many centuries. + +About sixty per cent, of the inhabitants of modern Egypt belong to +the agricultural class--the fellaheen. The peasantry are primitive +and thrifty in their habits, and hold tenaciously to their ancient +traditions. They are a healthy race, good-tempered and tractable, and +fairly intelligent, but, like all Southern nations breathing a balmy +atmosphere, they are unprogressive. Centuries of oppression have not, +however, crushed their cheerfulness. There is none of that abject misery +of poverty among the Egyptians which is to be seen in cold countries. +There is no starvation amongst them. Food is cheap, and a peasant can +live well on a piastre (five cents) a day. A single cotton garment is +enough for clothing, and the merest hut affords sufficient protection. +The wants of the Egyptians are few. Their condition, now freed from +forced labour, called the “Courbash,” as also from injustice, crushing +taxation, and usury, which characterised former administrations, +compares favourably with the peasantry of many countries in Europe, and +is equal, if not superior, to that of the peasantry of England itself. + +Under the British protection there has been a renewal of the Koptic +Christian race. They are easily to be distinguished from their +Muhammedan countrymen, being lighter in colour, and resembling the +portraits on the ancient monuments. They are a strong community in Upper +Egypt, whither they fled from the Arab invaders, and they there hold +a large portion of the land. They live mostly in the towns, are better +educated than other Egyptians, and are employed frequently in the +government service as clerks and accountants. + +Koptic is still studied for church purposes by the Kopts, who both by +their physiognomy and by their retention of the old Egyptian institution +of monasticism are the only true descendants having the social +and physical heredity of the ancient Egyptians. Four of the oldest +monasteries in the world still survive in the Natron Valley. + +[Illustration: 232.jpg MOSQUE OF EL GHURI AT CAIRO] + +In spite of their distinguished social ancestry, the Kopts are by no +means a superior class morally to the fellaheen, who are in part the +descendants of those ancient Egyptians who renounced the Christian +religion, the language and institutions of the Egyptian Christians, and +accepted Muhammedanism and the Arabic language and institutions. + +The creed of the Kopts is Jacobite. They have three metropolitans and +twelve bishops in Egypt, one metropolitan and two bishops in Abyssinia, +and one bishop in Khartum. There are also arch-priests, priests, +deacons, and monks. Priests must be married before ordination, but +celibacy is imposed upon monks and high dignitaries. The Abyssinian +Church is ruled by a metropolitan, and bishops are chosen from amongst +the Egyptian-Koptic ecclesiastics, nor can the coronation of the King of +Abyssinia take place until he has been anointed by the metropolitan, and +this only after the authorisation by the Patriarch of Alexandria. + +[Illustration: 235.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + + + + +CHAPTER V.--THE WATER WAYS OF EGYPT + + +_The White and Blue Niles: The Barrage: Clearing the Sudd: The Suez +Canal: Ancient and modern irrigation: The Dam at Aswan: The modern +exploration of the Nile._ + + +Between the Sudan and the Mediterranean the only perennial stream is +the Nile, a word probably derived from the Semitic root nahal, meaning +a valley or a river-valley, and subsequently a “river,” in a pre-eminent +and exclusive sense. The ancient Egyptians called it the Ar or Aur +(Koptic, Iaro), or “black”; hence the Greek word [...] allusion to the +colour, not of the water, but of the sediment which it precipitated +during the floods. In contrast to the yellow sands of the surrounding +desert, the Nile mud is black enough to have given the land itself its +oldest name, Kem, or Kemi, which has the same meaning of “black.” At +Khartum, where the White Nile joins the Blue Nile, the main branch has +a fall from its upper level in the region of the tropical lakes, four +thousand feet above the sea, to twelve hundred feet, while traversing +a distance of twenty-three hundred miles. From Khartum to the sea the +distance through which the waters of the Nile wend their way is about +eighteen hundred and forty miles. During the greater part of this course +the flow is level, the average descent being about eight inches per +mile. If it were not, therefore, for the obstruction met with in the +Nubian section, the course of the Nile would be everywhere navigable. +Although no perennial affluents enter the main stream lower down +than Khartum, the volume of the Nile remains with little diminution +throughout the entire distance to the Mediterranean. During the period +of low water the amount of water in different localities is still +uniform, notwithstanding all the irrigation, infiltration, and +evaporation constantly taking place. The only explanation which has been +given to this phenomenon is that there are hidden wells in the bed of +the Nile, and from their flow the waste is ever renewed. + +As the earth revolves from west to east, the waters of the Nile tend +to be driven upon the right bank on the west, where the current is +constantly eating away the sandstone and limestone cliffs. For +this reason the left side of the river is far more fertile and well +cultivated than the right bank. Below Ombos the valley is narrowly +constructed, being but thirteen hundred yards in width, the cliffs +overhanging the river on either side, but at Thebes it broadens out to +nine or ten miles, and farther up, in the Keneh district, the valley is +twelve or fifteen miles in width. The river here approaches within sixty +miles of the Red Sea, and it is believed that a branch of the Nile once +flowed out into the sea in this direction. + +[Illustration: 237.jpg THE PLAIN OF THEBES] + +Seventy miles below Keneh the Nile throws from its left bank the Bahr +Yusef branch, a small current of 350 feet in breadth, which flows for +hundreds of miles through the broader strip of alluvial land between the +main stream and the Libyan escarpments. In the Beni-Suef district this +stream again bifurcates, the chief branch continuing to wind along the +Nile Valley to a point above the Delta, where it joins the main +stream. The left branch penetrates westward through a gap in the +Libyan escarpments into the Fayum depression, ramifying into a thousand +irrigating rills, and pouring its overflow into the Birket-el-Qarum, or +“Lake of Horns,” which still floods the lowest cavity and is a remnant +of the famous ancient Lake Moris. The Fayum, which is the territory +reclaimed from the former lake, is now an exceedingly productive +district, a sort of inland delta, fed like the marine delta by the +fertilising flood-waters of the Nile. + +The traveller Junker wrote of this district in 1875: “I found myself +surrounded by a garden tract of unsurpassed fertility, where there was +scarcely room for a path amid the exuberant growths; where pedestrians, +riders, and animals had to move about along the embankments of countless +canals. Now a land of roses, of the vine, olive, sugar-cane, and cotton, +where the orange and lemon plants attain the size of our apple-trees, it +was in primeval times an arid depression of the stony and sandy Libyan +waste.” + +North of the Fayum the Nile flows on to Cairo, where the narrow water +way allowed to its course by the two lines of cliffs widens, and the +cliffs recede to the right and left. There is thus space for the waters +to spread and ramify over the alluvial plain. Nearly all this portion +of Egypt has been covered by the sediment of the Nile, and from the +earliest times there have been numerous distinct branches or channels of +the river running out by separate openings into the sea. As several of +these branches have been tapped to a great extent for irrigation, all +except two have ceased to be true outlets of the Nile. In the Greek +period there were seven mouths and several [...Greek...], or “false +mouths.” The two remaining mouths are those of Rosetta and Damietta, and +these were always the most important of the number. They branched off +formerly close to the present spot where Cairo stands, a little below +Memphis; but during two thousand years the fork has gradually shifted to +about thirteen miles lower down. + +The triangular space enclosed by these two branches and the sea-coast +was called by the Greeks the delta, on account of the likeness in +shape to the Greek letter of that name A. At the head, or apex, of the +triangle stands the famous barrage, or dam, begun in 1847 by Mehemet +Ali, for the twofold purpose of reclaiming many thousand acres of waste +land, and of regulating the discharge and the navigation through the +Delta. The idea was originated by a Frenchman in his service named +Linant Bey. This engineer desired to alter the course of the river and +build a weir at a point farther to the north, where the contour of land +seemed to favour the design more than that of the present locality. +Mehemet Ali thought his plans too costly, and accepted in preference +those of Mougel Bey. Unexpected difficulties were encountered from the +very beginning. Mehemet was exceedingly anxious to hurry the work, and +Mougel Bey had only made a beginning, when an exceptionally high Nile +carried away all the lime in the concrete base. Mehemet Ali did not +live to see the completion of this work. The object, could it have been +realised, was to hold up the waters of the Nile during the eight months +of the ebb, and thus keep them on a level with the soil, and at the same +time to supply Lower Egypt with an amount of water equal to that which +came down during flood-time. It was hoped to cover the very large +expenditure by the additional land which it was expected would come +under irrigation, and by doing away with the primitive _shadoofs_ +and setting free for productive enterprise the numerous army of the +agricultural labourers who spent the greater part of their time in +slowly raising up buckets of water from the Nile and pouring them into +the irrigating channels. + +[Illustration: 240b.jpg Harbour at Suez] + +The barrage is a double bridge, or weir, the eastern part spanning the +Damietta branch of the Nile, the western part the Rosetta branch. The +appearance of the structure is so light and graceful that the spectator +finds it hard to conceive of the difficulty and the greatness of the +work itself. Architecturally, the barrage is very beautiful, with +a noble front and a grand effect, produced by a line of castellated +turrets, which mark the site of the sluice gates. There are two lofty +crenellated towers, corresponding with the towers over the gateway of +a mediaeval baronial castle. The sluices are formed of double cones of +hollow iron, in a semicircular form, worked on a radii of rods fixed to +a central axis at each side of the sluice-gate. They are slowly raised +or let down by the labour of two men, the gates being inflected as they +descend in the direction of the bed of that part of the river whose +waters are retained. The working of the barrage was never what it was +intended to be. After the year 1867 it ceased to be of any practical +utility, and was merely an impediment to navigation. Between the +years 1885--90, however, during the British occupation, Sir Colon +Scott-Moncrieff successfully completed the barrage at a cost of +$2,500,000, and now the desired depth of eight feet of water on the +lower part of the Nile can always be maintained. + +[Illustration: 241.jpg THE NILE BARRAGE] + +It proved to be of the greatest advantage in saving labour worth +hundreds of thousands of dollars a year, and in the irrigation and +navigation facilities that had been contemplated as among the benefits +which would naturally accrue from its successful completion. + +Compared with the advance of the land seaward at the estuary of the +Mississippi and the Ganges, the advance of the Nile seaward is very +slow. This is accounted for by the geological theory that the Delta +of the Nile is gradually sinking. If this is so, the tendency of the +periodical deposit to raise the level of the Delta will be counteracted +by the annual subsidence. These phenomena account for the gradual burial +of Egyptian monuments under the sand, although the actual level of the +sea above what it formerly was is quite unappreciable. + +The periodical rise in the Nile, recurring as regularly as the +revolutions of the heavenly bodies, necessarily remained an unsolved +mystery to the ancients, for until the discovery of the tropical +regions, with their mountainous lakes and deluging rains, it was +impossible to learn the occasion of this increase. It is now known that +the Blue Nile, flowing out of the mountainous parts of Abyssinia, is the +sole cause of the periodic overflow of the Nile. Without the tropical +rains of the Ethiopian tablelands, there would be no great rise nor any +fertilising deposits. Without the White Nile, which runs steadily from +the perennial reservoirs of the great Central African lakes, the Lower +Nile would assume the character of an intermittent wady, such as the +neighbouring Khor Baraka, periodically flushed by the discharge of +the torrential downpours from Abyssinia. Though there is a periodical +increase in the flow of the upper waters of the White Nile, yet the +effect of this, lower down, is minimised by the dense quantities of +vegetable drift, which, combining with the forest of aquatic growth, +forms those vast barriers, known by the name of _sudd_, which not only +arrest navigation but are able to dam up large bodies of water. + +The sudd, it is supposed, stopped the advance of the Roman centurions +who were sent up the Nile in the days of Nero. Sir Samuel Baker was +the one who first pointed out the great disadvantage of allowing the +vegetable matter to accumulate, both to merchants and to those who were +employed to suppress the slave-trade. In the year 1863 the two branches +of the White Nile were blocked above their junction at Lake No. Once +blocked, the accumulation rapidly increased from the stoppage of outlet, +forming the innumerable floating islands which at this part of the Nile +customarily float down-stream. A marsh of vast extent had been +formed, and to all appearance, as Baker narrates, the White Nile had +disappeared. Baker cut through fifty miles of the sudd, and urged the +khédive to reopen the Nile. The work was successfully undertaken by +Ishmail Ayub Pasha, and the White Nile became clear for large vessels +when Gordon reached Khartum in 1874. It is practically impossible to +keep the central provinces of the Nile open to civilisation unless +the course of the Nile is free. Yet in 1878 the obstruction had been +renewed, and during the occupation of these provinces by the rebel +dervishes under the Mahdi and the califa the Nile was completely +blocked, as formerly, at Lake No. The alarming failure of the Nile flood +in 1899--1900 was generally attributed to this blockade, and in +1899 fifty thousand dollars was placed at the disposal of the +governor-general for reopening the White Nile by removing the vast +accumulation of sudd which blocked the Bahr-el-Jebel from Lake No almost +as far as Shambeh. The work was started under the direction of Sir +William Garstin in 1899. In 1900 the greater part of the sudd had been +removed by the strenuous labours of Major Peake, and the Nile again +became navigable from Khartum to Rejaf. The sudd was found to be piled +up and of almost as close a structure as peat. It was sawn out in blocks +ten feet square and carried away by gunboats. In the years 1901--02 +further progress was made, and twenty thousand dollars appropriated +for the work; and by means of constant patrolling the sudd is now +practically absent from the whole course of the White Nile. + +The discharge of the flood waters from the Upper Nile begins to make +itself felt in Lower Nubia and Egypt in the month of June, at first +slightly, and after the middle of July much more rapidly, the river +continuing to rise steadily till the first week in October, when it +reaches high-water mark, nearly fifty-four or fifty-five feet at the +Egyptian frontier, and twenty-five or twenty-six feet at Cairo. A +subsidence then sets in, and continues till low-water level is again +reached, usually about the end of May. The floods are then much higher +and confined to a narrower space in the Nubian section of the Nile, +while they gradually die out in the region of the Delta, where the +excess seawards is discharged by the Rosetta and Damietta branches. In +place of the old Nilometers, the amount of the rise of the Nile is now +reported by telegraph from meteorological stations. + +It is popularly supposed that at every rise the plains of the Delta are +inundated, but this is not the case. The actual overflow of the banks +of the river and canals is the exception, and when it happens is most +disastrous. The irrigation of fields and plantations is effected by +slow infiltration through the retaining dykes, which are prevented +from bursting by the process of slow absorption. The first lands to be +affected are not those which are nearest to the dyke, but those which +are of the lowest level, because the waters, in percolating through +under the ground, reach the surface of these parts first. In Manitoba +during a dry season sometimes the roots of the wheat strike down deep +enough to reach the reservoir of moisture under ground. In Egypt this +underground moisture is what is counted upon, but it is fed by a special +and prepared system, and is thus brought to the roots of the plants +artificially. + +[Illustration: 245.jpg SCALE OF THE NILOMETER] + +An analysis of the Nile alluvium, which has accumulated in the course of +ages to a thickness of from three to four feet above the old river-bed, +shows that it contains a considerable percentage of such fertilising +substances as carbonate of lime and magnesia, silicates of aluminum, +carbon, and several oxides. Where the water has to be raised to higher +levels, two processes are used. The primitive shadoof of native origin +figured on a monument as far back as 3,300 years ago, and the more +modern sakieh was apparently introduced in later times from Syria and +Persia. The shadoof is used on small farms, and the sakieh is more often +used for larger farms and plantations. These contrivances line the whole +course of the Nile from Lower Egypt to above Khartum. The shadoof will +raise six hundred gallons ten feet in an hour, and consists of a pole +weighted at one end, with a bucket at the other; when the water is +raised the weight counterbalances the weight of the full bucket. The +sakieh, which will raise twelve hundred gallons twenty or twenty-four +feet in an hour, is a modified form of a Persian wheel, made to revolve +by a beast of burden; it draws an endless series of buckets up from the +water, and automatically empties them into a trough or other receptacle. +In former times these appliances were heavily taxed and made the +instruments of oppression, but these abuses have been reformed since +Egypt came under a more humane form of government. + +Another interesting feature of the water ways of Egypt is the +intermittent watercourses. The largest of these is the Khor Baraka +(Barka), which flows out towards Tapan, south of Suakin. It presents +some analogy to the Nile, and in part was undoubtedly a perennial stream +250 miles long, and draining seven or eight thousand square miles. At +present its flat sandy bed, winding between well-wooded banks, is dry +for a great part of the year. This route is extensively used for the +caravan trade between Suakin and Kassala. During September the water +begins to flow, but is spasmodic. After the first flood the natives +plant their crops, but sometimes the second flow, being too great, +cannot be confined to the limits prepared for it, and the crops are +carried away and the sowing must of necessity be started again. + +[Illustration: 247.jpg A MODERN SAKIEH] + +The canals of Egypt are of great aid in extending the beneficial +influence of the inundations of the Nile. In Lower Egypt is the +Mahmudiyeh Canal, connecting Alexandria with the Rosetta branch, and +following the same direction as an ancient canal which preceded it. + +Mehemet Ali constructed this canal, which is about fifty miles long and +one hundred feet broad. It is believed that twelve thousand labourers +perished during its construction. Between the Rosetta and the Damietta +branches of the Nile there are other canals, such as the Manuf, which +connects the two branches of the river at a point not far from the +Delta. East of the Damietta branch are other canals, occupying the +ancient river-beds of the Tanitic and Pelusiac branches of the Nile. +One of these is called the canal of the El-Muiz, from the first Fatimite +caliph who ruled in Egypt, and who ordered it to be constructed. +Another is named the canal of Abul-Munegga, from the name of the Jew who +executed this work under the caliph El-’Amir, in order to bring water +into the province of Sharkiyah. This last canal is connected with the +remains of the one which in ancient times joined the Nile with the Red +Sea. After falling into neglect it has again in part been restored and +much increased in length as the Sweet Water Canal. + +Further mention may also be made of the great canal called the +Bahr-Yusef, or River Joseph, which is important enough to be classed as +a ramification of the Nile itself. As has been mentioned, this water way +runs parallel with the Nile on the west side below Cairo for about 350 +miles to Farshut, and is the most important irrigation canal in Egypt. +It is a series of canals rather than one canal. Tradition states that +this canal was repaired by the celebrated Saladin. Another tradition, +relating that the canal existed in the time of the Pharaohs, has +recently been proved to be correct. + +Egypt possesses not only the greatest natural water way in the world, +but also the greatest artificial water way--the Suez Canal. Before the +opening of this canal there were in the past other canals which afforded +communication between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean. These ancient +canals differed in one respect from the Suez Canal, since they were all +fed by the fresh waters of the Nile. One of these still remains in use, +and is called the Fresh Water Canal. According to Aristotle, Strabo, and +Pliny, Sesostris was the first to conceive and carry out the idea of a +water connection between the two seas, by means of the Pelusiac branch +of the Nile from Avaris to Bubastis, and by rendering navigable the +irrigation canal which already existed between Bubastis and Heroopolis. +It is believed by some that the fragment bearing the oval of Ramses II. +found near the course of the present canal affords confirmation of this +assertion. + +The first authentic account of the carrying out of the conception of +an inter-sea water way is to be found in the time of Pharaoh Necho II., +about the year 610 B.C. Herodotus records of Necho that he was “the +first to attempt the construction of the canal to the Red Sea.” This +canal tapped the Nile at Bubastis, near Zagazig, and followed closely +the line of modern Wady Canal to Heroopolis, the site of which lies in +the neighbourhood of Toussun and Serapeum, between the Bitter Lakes and +Lake Tinseh. At that date the Red Sea reached much farther inland than +it does now, and was called in the upper portion the Heroopolite Gulf. +The expanse of brackish water, now known as the Bitter Lakes, was then, +in all probability, directly connected with the Red Sea. The length +of this canal, according to Pliny, was sixty-two miles, or about +fifty-seven English miles. This length, allowing for the sinuosity of +the valley traversed, agrees with the distance between the site of old +Bubastis and the present head of the Bitter Lakes. The length given +by Herodotus of more than one thousand stadia (114 miles) must be +understood to include the whole distance between the two seas, both by +the Nile and by the canal. Herodotus relates that it cost the lives of +120,000 men to cut the canal. He says that the undertaking was abandoned +because of a warning from an oracle that the barbarians alone, meaning +the Persians, would benefit by the success of the enterprise. + +[Illustration: 251.jpg HIEROGLYPHIC RECORD OF AN ANCIENT CANAL] + +The true reason for relinquishing the plan probably was that the +Egyptians believed the Red Sea to have been higher in altitude than the +Nile. They feared that if the canal were opened between the Nile and +the Red Sea the salt water would flow in and make the waters of the Nile +brackish. This explanation would indicate a lack of knowledge of locks +and sluices on the part of the Egyptians. + +The work of Necho was continued by Darius, the son of Hystaspes (520 +B.C.). The natural channel of communication between the Heroopolite +Gulf and the Red Sea had begun to fill up with silt even in the time of +Necho, and a hundred years later, in the time of Darius, was completely +blocked, so that it had to be entirely cleaned out to render it +navigable. The traces of this canal can still be plainly seen in the +neighbourhood of Shaluf, near the south end of the Bitter Lakes. The +present fresh-water canal was also made to follow its course for some +distance between that point and Suez. Persian monuments have been found +by Lepsius in the neighbourhood, commemorating the work of Darius. On +one of these the name of Darius is written in the Persian cuneiform +characters, and on a cartouche in the Egyptian form. Until this date it +therefore appears that ships sailed up the Pelusiac branch of the Nile +to Bubastis, and thence along the canal to Heroopolis, where the cargoes +were transhipped to the Red Sea. This inconvenient transfer of cargoes +was remedied by the next Egyptian sovereign, who bestowed much care on +the water connection between the two seas. + +Ptolemy Philadelphus (285 B.C.), in addition to cleaning out and +thoroughly restoring the two canals, joined the fresh-water canal with +the Heroopolite Gulf by means of a lock and sluices, which permitted the +passage of vessels, and were effective in preventing the salt water from +mingling with the fresh water. At the point where the canal joined the +Heroopolite Gulf to the Red Sea, Ptolemy founded the town of Arsinoë, a +little to the north of the modern Suez. + +The line of communication between the two seas was impassable during +the reign of Cleopatra (31 b.c.). It is believed by some that it was +restored during the reign of the Roman emperor Trajan (98-117). During +this period the Pelusiac branch of the Nile was very low, the water +having almost completely deserted this formerly well-filled course. +If Trajan, therefore, undertook to reopen the water way, he must have +tapped the Nile much higher up, in order to reach a plentiful supply of +water. The old canal near Cairo, which elsewhere joined the line of +the former canal on the way to the Bitter Lakes, was once called “Amnis +Trajanus,” and from this it has been inferred that Trajan was really the +builder, and that during his reign this canal was cleaned and rendered +navigable. As there is no further evidence than the name to prove that +Trajan undertook so important an enterprise, the “Amnis Trajanus” was +probably constructed during the Arabic period. + +When Amr had conquered Egypt, according to another account, the caliph +Omar ordered him to ship rich supplies of grain to Mecca and Medina, +because during the pilgrimages these cities and often the whole of +Hedjaz suffered severely from famine. As it was extremely difficult to +send large quantities of provisions across the desert on the backs +of camels, it is supposed that to facilitate this transportation Omar +ordered the construction of the canal from a point near Cairo to the +head of the Red Sea. On account of his forethought in thus providing for +the pilgrims to the Hedjaz, Omar received the title of “Prince of the +Faithful” (Emir el-Momenéen), which thenceforth was adopted by his +successors in the caliphate. One hundred and thirty-four years after +this time, El-Mansur, the second caliph of the Abbasid dynasty, is said +to have closed the canal to prevent supplies from being shipped to one +of the descendants of Ali who had revolted at Medina. Since that time it +is probable that it has never been reopened, although there is a report +that the Sultan Hakim rendered it available for the passage of boats in +the year A.D. 1000, after which it was neglected and became choked with +sand. While not thereafter used for navigation, there were parts which +during the time of the annual inundation of the Nile were filled with +water, until Mehemet Ali prevented this. The parts filled during the +inundation extended as far as Sheykh Hanaydik, near Toussun and the +Bitter Lakes. + +The old canal which left the Nile at Cairo had long ceased to flow +beyond the outskirts of the city, and the still more ancient canal from +the neighbourhood of Bubastis, now known as the Wady Canal, extended +only a few miles in the direction of the isthmus as far as Kassassin. +During the construction of the Suez Canal the need of supplying the +labourers with fresh water was imperative. The company, therefore, +determined in 1861 to prolong the canal from Kassassin to the centre of +the isthmus, and in the year 1863 they brought the fresh-water canal as +far as Suez. In one or two places the bed of the old canal was cleared +out and made to serve the new canal. The level of the fresh-water canal +is about twenty feet above that of the Suez Canal, which it joins at +Ismailia by means of two locks. The difference of level between it and +the Red Sea is remedied by four locks constructed between Nefeesh and +its terminus at Suez. Its average depth of water at high Nile is six +feet, and at low Nile three feet. + +A canal from Bulak, near Cairo, passing by Heliopolis and Belbeys, and +joining the Wady Canal a few miles east of Zagazig, restores the line +of water communication between the Nile and the Red Sea as it existed +perhaps in the time of Trajan, and certainly as it was in the time of +the Caliph Omar. The improvement of this canal as a means of transit is +local and external only. + +Napoleon Bonaparte was the first in modern times to take up the subject +of a water connection between the two seas. In 1798 he examined the +traces of the old canal of Necho and his successors, and ordered +Monsieur Lepère to survey the isthmus and prepare a project for uniting +the two seas by a direct canal. The result of this French engineer’s +labours was to discover a supposed difference of thirty feet between +the Red Sea at high tide and the Mediterranean at low tide. As this +inequality of level seemed to preclude the idea of a direct maritime +canal, a compromise was recommended. + +Owing to the exertions of Lieutenant Waghorn, the route through +Egypt for the transmission of the mails between England and India was +determined upon in 1839. The Peninsular and Oriental Company established +a service of steamers between England and Alexandria, and between Suez +and India. In spite of this endeavour nothing was actually accomplished +with regard to a canal until 1846, when a mixed commission was appointed +to enquire into the subject. This commission entirely exploded the error +into which Lepère had fallen in reporting a difference of level between +the two seas. + +A plan was projected in 1855 by M. Linant Bey and M. Mougel Bey, under +the superintendence of M. de Les-seps, who had already received a firman +of concession from Said Pasha. This plan recommended a direct canal +between Suez and Pelusium, which should pass through the Bitter Lakes, +Lake Tinseh, Ballah, and Menzaleh, and connecting with the sea at each +end by means of a lock. A fresh-water canal from Bulak to the centre of +the isthmus and thence through Suez, with a conduit for conveying water +to Pelusium, was also proposed. This project was in 1856 submitted to +an international commission company composed of representatives from +England, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Prussia, and Spain, +and the following modification was suggested: that the line of the canal +to the north should be slightly altered and brought to a point seventeen +and a half miles west of Pelusium, this change being determined upon +from the fact that the water at this point was from twenty-five to +thirty feet deep at a distance of two miles from the coast, whereas at +Pelusium this depth of water was only to be found at a distance of +five miles from the coast. It was suggested that the plan for locks +be abolished, and the length of the jetties at Suez and Port Said be +diminished. Various other details of a minor character were determined, +and this project was finally accepted and carried through by the Suez +Canal Company. + +[Illustration: 259.jpg FERDINAND DE LESSEPS] + +In 1854 M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, whose father was the first +representative of France in Egypt after the occupation, and who was +chosen consul at Cairo (1831--1838), obtained a preliminary concession +from Said Pasha, authorising him to form a company for the purpose of +excavating a canal between the two seas, and laying down the connections +on which the concession was granted. This was followed by the drawing up +and revision of the project mentioned above, and by the renewal in +1856 of the first concession with certain modifications and additions. +Meanwhile the British government, under the influence of Lord +Palmerston, then foreign secretary, endeavoured for various political +reasons to place obstacles in the way of the enterprise, and so far +succeeded in this unworthy attempt as to prevent the sultan from giving +his assent to the concessions made by the viceroy of Egypt. Nothing, +however, could daunt the intrepid promoter, M. de Lesseps. He declared +his motto to be “Pour principe de commencer par avoir de la con-fiance.” + Undeterred by intrigues, and finding that his project met with a +favourable reception throughout the Continent of Europe, he determined, +in 1858, to open a subscription which would secure funds for the +undertaking. The capital, according to the statistics of the company, +approved in the firman of the concession, was to consist of forty +million dollars in shares of one hundred dollars each. More than half +of this amount was subscribed for, and eventually, in 1860, Said Pasha +consented to take up the remaining unallotted shares, amounting to more +than twelve million dollars. Disregarding the opposition of the English +government, and ignoring the Sublime Porte, which was influenced by +England, M. de Lesseps began his work in 1859, and on the 25th of April +of that year the work was formally commenced, in the presence of M. de +Lesseps and four directors of the company, by the digging of a small +trench along the projected line of the canal, on the narrow strip of +land between Lake Menzaleh and the Mediterranean. This was followed +by the establishment of working encampments in different parts of the +isthmus. + +Although the first steps were thus taken, incredible difficulties +prevented de Lesseps from pushing forward with his work. Towards the +close of 1862 the actual results were only a narrow “rigole” cut from +the Mediterranean to Lake Tinseh, and the extension of the freshwater +canal from Rasel-Wady to the same point. The principal work done in 1863 +was the continuation of the fresh-water canal to Suez. At this point a +fresh obstacle arose which threatened to stop the work altogether. +Among the articles of the concession of 1856 was one providing that +four-fifths of the workmen on the canal should be Egyptians. Said Pasha +consented to furnish these workmen by conscription from different parts +of Egypt, and the company agreed to pay them at a rate equal to about +two-thirds less than was given for similar work in Europe, and one-third +more than they received in their own country, and to provide them with +food, dwellings, etc. In principle this was the _corvée_, or forced +labour. The fellaheen were taken away from their homes and set to work +at the canal, though there is no doubt that they were as well treated +and better paid than at home. The injustice and impolicy of this clause +had always been insisted upon to the sultan by the English government, +and when Ismail Pasha became viceroy, in the year 1863, he saw that +the constant drain upon the working population required to keep twenty +thousand fresh labourers monthly for the canal was a loss to the country +for which nothing could compensate. In the early part of 1864 he refused +to continue to send the monthly contingent, and the work was almost +stopped. + +By the consent of all the parties, the subjects in dispute were +submitted to the arbitrage of the French Emperor Napoleon III., who +decided that the two concessions of 1854 and 1856, being in the nature +of a contract and binding on both parties, the Egyptian government +should pay an indemnity equal to the fellah labour and $6,000,000 for +the resumption of the lands originally granted, two hundred metres only +being retained on each side of the canal for the erection of workshops, +the deposit of soil, etc., and $3,200,000 for the fresh-water canal, and +the right of levying tolls on it. The Egyptian government undertook to +keep it in repair and navigable, and to allow the company free use of +it for any purpose. The sum total of these payments amounted to +$16,800,000, and was to be paid in sixteen instalments from 1864 to +1879. + +The company now proceeded to replace by machinery the manual labour, +and, thanks to the energy and ingenuity of the principal contractors, +Messrs. Borel and Lavalley, that which seemed first of all to threaten +destruction to the enterprise now led to its ultimate success. Without +the machinery thus called into action, it is probable that the canal +would never have been completed when it was. The ingenuity displayed +in the invention of this machinery, and its application to this vast +undertaking, constituted one of the chief glories in the enterprise of +M. de Lesseps. + +The work now proceeded without interruption of any kind; but at the end +of the year 1867 it became evident that more money would be needed, and +a subscription was opened for the purpose of obtaining $20,000,000 by +means of one hundred dollar shares, issued at $600 a share, and bearing +interest at the rate of five dollars a share. When more money was needed +in 1869, the government agreed to renounce the interest on the shares +held by it for twenty-five years, and more bonds were issued. + +By help of these subventions and loans the work was pushed onward with +great vigour. The sceptical were gradually losing their scepticism, +and all the world was awakening to see what an immense advantage to +civilisation the triumph of de Lesseps’ engineering enterprise would be. + +[Illustration: 263.jpg THE OPENING OF THE SUEZ CANAL] + +The great Frenchman had shown consummate skill as an organiser, but +still more perhaps as an astute diplomatist, who knew how to upset +the machinations of his numerous and powerful opponents by judicious +counter-strokes of policy. By the beginning of 1869, the great labours +of the company had very nearly reached their completion. The waters, +flowing from the Mediterranean, first entered into the Bitter Lakes on +March 18, 1869. Ismail Pasha was present to watch the initial success of +the grand undertaking, and predicted that in a very short space of time +the canal would be open to the ships of all the world. The first steamer +which made the passage was one which carried M. de Lesseps on board, +and which steamed the whole length of the canal September, 1869, in an +interval of fifteen hours. This was a great triumph for the intrepid and +persevering engineer, whose enterprise had been scoffed at by many men +of the greatest European fame, and the completion of which had been +delayed by incredible obstacles arising from jealousy or want of funds. +By this time the unworthy tactics of the former Palmerston ministry of +Great Britain in opposition to a scheme of such universal helpfulness +to commerce had been succeeded by an official interest in the success +of the enterprise which grew from sentiment, in the first instance, to +a willingness later to buy up all the shares held by the Egyptian +government. M. de Lesseps gave formal notice early in September that the +canal would be opened for navigation on November 17, 1869. The khédive +made costly preparations in order that the event might become an +international celebration. Invitations were sent to all the sovereigns +of Europe. The sultan refused to be present, but the Empress Eugenie +accepted the invitation in the name of the French people. The Austrian +emperor, the Prussian crown prince, and Prince Amadeus of Italy also +took part in the festivity. The initial ceremony was on November 15th, +at Port Said. Emperor Francis Joseph landed at midday, and was received +with pomp and magnificence by the Khedive Ismail. There were splendid +decorations in the streets and triumphal arches were raised. Meanwhile +salutes were exchanged between the batteries and the ships of war in the +harbour. At night there were gorgeous illuminations and fireworks. The +khédive gave a grand ball on his own yacht, at which the Emperor of +Austria and all the distinguished guests were in attendance. The French +empress then arrived in Alexandria, and was received by Ismail and +Francis Joseph with salutes of guns and the acclamations of the people. +The next day the French imperial yacht Aigle, with the empress on board, +proceeded to steam up the canal, being followed by forty vessels. They +reached Ismailia after eight hours and a half, and were there met by +vessels coming from the south end at Suez. On November 19th the fleet +of steamers, led by the French imperial yacht, set out for Suez. They +anchored overnight at the Bitter Lakes, and on November 21st the whole +fleet of forty-five steamers arrived at Suez and entered the Red Sea. +The empress, accompanied by the visiting fleet, returned on November +22nd, and reached the Mediterranean on the 23rd. + +England, the country which more than any other had opposed the progress +of the canal, derived more benefit than any other country from its +completion. In 1875 the British government bought 176,600 shares from +the khédive for a sum of nearly $20,000,000; and at the present time the +value of these shares has risen more than fourfold. By this acquisition +the British government became the largest shareholder. Of the shipping +which avails itself of this route to the East, which is shorter by six +thousand miles than any other, about eighty per cent, is British. In +1891, of 4,207 ships, with a grain tonnage of 12,218,000, as many as +3,217 of 9,484,000 tons were British. + +Extensive works were undertaken in 1894 for the widening of the canal. +Illuminated buoys and electric lights have been introduced to facilitate +the night traffic, so that, proceeding continuously, instead of stopping +overnight, ships can now pass through in less than twenty hours in place +of the thirty-five or forty hours which were formerly taken to effect +the passage. These greater facilities postponed the need of discussing +the project for running a parallel canal to the East which some time ago +was thought to be an impending necessity on account of the blockage of +the canal by the number of vessels passing through its course. + +By the Anglo-French Convention of 1888, the canal had acquired an +international character. Both the water way itself and the isthmus for +three miles on either side were declared neutral territory, exempt from +blockade, fortification, or military occupation of any kind. The passage +is to remain open for all time to ships of all nations, whether they are +war-ships or merchantmen or liners, or whether the country to which they +belong is engaged in war or enjoying peace. Within this convention was +included the fresh-water canal which supplies drinking water to Ismailia +and Port Said, and all the floating population about the banks of +the Suez Canal. On April 8, 1904, by the terms of a new Anglo-French +Colonial Treaty, it has been jointly agreed that the provisions of the +Convention of 1888 shall remain in force for the next thirty years. + +Egypt was the scene of the earliest of all advances in engineering +science. The system of irrigation, which originated in the days of the +oldest Egyptian dynasties, has remained practically the same through all +the intervening centuries until very recent times. During every period +of vigorous government the rulers of Egypt paid special attention to +irrigation canals and sluices, through which the flood waters could +be brought to some hitherto uncultivated area. The famous barrage, +projected early in the nineteenth century and only rendered efficient +for what it was intended since the British occupation, made very little +alteration in the actual supply of water during the seasons of low water +in the Nile. The most serious problem is how to ward off the periodical +famine years, of which there has been record from the earliest ages, +and of which the Book of Genesis has left an account in the history of +Joseph and the seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Without +creating such a vast reservoir in the upper waters of the Nile, that the +storage there retained can be available in years of low water to fill +the river to its accustomed level, it is impossible to prevent +the calamity occasioned by leaving many districts of Egypt without +cultivation for one or more seasons. With the desire of accomplishing +this, Sir Benjamin Baker, the leading authority on engineering works in +Egypt, prepared a scheme for reserving a vast storage of water in Upper +Egypt at Aswan. It was also decided to follow up the enterprise with +another to be undertaken at Assiut. + +On February 20,1898, the khédive approved of a contract with Messrs. +John Aird and Company, which settled the much-debated question of the +Nile reservoir and the scheme for the great dam at Aswan. The government +was able to start the undertaking without any preliminary outlay. It was +agreed that the company should receive the sum of $800,000 a year for +a period of thirty years. Aswan, six hundred miles south of Cairo, was +selected as an advantageous site because the Nile at that place flows +over a granite bed, and is shut in on either side by granite rocks, +which, when the course of the river is barred, would form the shores of +the artificial irrigation lake. + +Before this work started, there had been a long controversy as to the +effect produced by the rising waters upon the renowned temple on the +Isle of Philæ. Lord Leighton, the president of the Royal Academy, had +vigorously protested against allowing the destruction of this famous +ancient ruin. In the modification of the plans caused by this protest, +it was hoped that no serious harm would result to this well-preserved +relic of ancient Egyptian religion and art. + +[Illustration: 269.jpg APPROACH TO PHILAE] + +The enterprise was put through with great rapidity, the project +fully realising the designs of its inaugurators. By aid of this great +structure, 2,500 square miles have been added to the area of the 10,500 +miles hitherto subject to cultivation. Its value to the country is at +the least worth $100,000,000. The dam extends for one and a quarter +miles, and possesses 180 openings, each of which is twenty-three feet +high, and will altogether allow the outpour of fifteen thousand tons of +water per second. Navigation up and down the Nile has not been impeded, +since, by a chain of four locks, vessels are able to pass up and down +the river. Each lock is 260 feet long and thirty-two feet wide. During +flood-time the gates of the dam are open; while the flood is subsiding +the gates are gradually closed, and thus, in a long season of low water, +the reservoir is gradually filled up for use through a system of canals, +whereby the waters can be drawn off for irrigation and the main flow of +the Nile can be increased. The lake thus formed is nearly three times +the superficial area of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, and the waters are +held back for a distance of 140 miles up the course of the river. The +reservoir is filled during the months of January and February, and from +April to the end of August the water is let out for irrigation purposes +from the bottom of the reservoir, thus enabling the sediment, which +is of such value, to be carried out through the sluices. Four or five +waterings are allowed to percolate from it to the various regions which +are thus brought under cultivation, and besides this the main supply of +the river itself is artificially increased at the same time. + +The dam has been constructed of granite ashlar taken from quarries near +Aswan. These quarries are the very same from which the ancient obelisks +were hewn. The amount of rock used was about one million tons in +weight. In building the dam it was found to be very difficult to lay the +foundation, since the bottom of the river proved to be unsound, although +in the preliminary reports it had been declared to be of solid granite. +In some instances it was found necessary to dig down for forty feet, in +order to lay a perfectly secure foundation on which the heavy wall could +be superimposed. This required much additional labour, and great risk +and damage was encountered during the progress of the work at the date +of the impending rise of the waters of the Nile. Rubble dams were +raised to ward off the waters from the point where it was necessary to +excavate. The holes were gradually filled with solid blocks of granite; +then the base of the structure, one hundred feet in width, was laid, +and the massive piers, capable of resisting the immense pressure of +the water during the height of the floods, were raised, and the whole +edifice was at length completed with great rapidity by the aid of +many thousand workmen, just before the rise in the Nile occurred. The +official opening of the dam took place on the 10th of December, 1902. + +The dam at Aswan is the greatest irrigation project ever yet undertaken, +but is by no means the last one likely to be executed in relation to +the waters of the Nile. A smaller dam is to be constructed at Assiut, +in order to supply a system of irrigation in the neighbourhood of that +city, and also to carry water across to thousands of acres between this +region and Cairo. This project is planned somewhat after the design of +the barrage which is below Cairo. + +It is impossible to forecast what engineering skill may have in +store for the future of Egypt. One may hope, at least, that the most +prosperous days of the Pharaohs, the Ptolemies, and the Romans will be +reproduced once more for the modern Egyptians, as an outcome of the +wise administration which has originated through the occupation of the +country by the English, as an international trust held for civilisation. +By aid of British initiative, Egypt now controls a vast empire in +equatorial Africa and the Sudan, and the great water ways of this +immense territory are being gradually brought under such control that +the maximum advantage to all the population will be the necessary +result. The whole Nile is now opened to commerce. The British have +guaranteed equal rights, and what has been called the policy of the +“open door,” for the commerce of all nations. + +The history of the modern exploration of the Nile is closely associated +with the history of Egypt in modern times. The men who first +visited Egypt and ascended the Nile valley were in almost every case +Indo-Euro-peans. The early Egyptians were familiar perhaps with the +Nile as far as Khartum, and with the Blue Nile up to its source in Lake +Tsana, but they showed little or no interest in exploring the White +Nile. In 457 B.C., Herodotus entered Egypt, and ascended the Nile as +far as the First Cataract. He then learned many things about its upper +waters, and made enquiries about the territories which lay beyond. +He heard that the source was unknown; that there was a centre of +civilisation in a city of the Ethiopians, in the bend of the Nile at +Meroë (Merawi of to-day), but about the regions beyond he was unable to +learn anything. Eratosthenes, the earliest geographer of whom we +have record, was born in 276 b. c. at Cyrene, North Africa. From the +information he gathered and edited, he sketched a nearly correct route +of the Nile to Khartum. He also inserted the two Abyssinian affluents, +and suggested that lakes were the source of the river. + +When Rome extended her domains over Egypt, in 30 B.C., the interest of +the Romans was aroused in the solution of the problem of the discovery +of the source of the Nile. Strabo set out with Ælius Gallus, the Roman +Governor of Egypt, on a journey of exploration up the Nile as far as +Philæ, at the First Cataract. About 30 B.C. Greek explorers by the names +of Bion, Dalion, and Si-mondes were engaged in active exploration of the +Nile above the First Cataract and perhaps south of Khartum, according to +the account of Pliny the Elder, writing in 50 A.D. The Emperor Nero, in +A.D. 66, sent an expedition up the Nile, and its members journeyed as +far as the modern Fashoda and perhaps even beyond the White Nile. +Their advance was impeded by the sudd, and, after writing discouraging +reports, their attempt was abandoned. Among the Greek merchants who +traded on the East African coast was one named Diogenes, who had been +informed by an Arab that by a twenty-five days’ journey one could gain +access to a chain of great lakes, two of which were the headwaters of +the White Nile. They also said that there was a mountain range, named +from its brilliant appearance the Mountains of the Moon. He was informed +that the Nile formed from the two head streams, flowed through marshes +until it united with the Blue Nile, and then it flowed on until it +entered into well-known regions. Diogenes reported this to a Syrian +geographer named Marinus of Tyre, who wrote of it in his _Geography_ +during the first century of the Christian era. The writings of Marinus +disappeared, it is supposed, when the Alexandrian Library was scattered, +but luckily Gladius Ptolemy quoted them, and thus they have been +preserved for us. Ptolemy wrote, in 150 A.D., the first clearly +intelligible account of the origin of the White Nile, the two lakes, +Victoria and Albert Nyanza, and the Mountains of the Moon. But no less +than 1,740 years elapsed before justice could be done to this ancient +geographer, and his account verified. It was Sir Henry M. Stanley who +discovered the Ruwanzori mountain range, corresponding to the classical +Mountains of the Moon, and who thus justified Ptolemy’s view of +the topography of Africa. For many years after Ptolemy, the work of +exploring the sources of the Nile was entirely discontinued, and the +solution of the problem was still wrapped in impenetrable mystery. + +The first modern explorer of any consequence who came from Great Britain +was a Scotchman named Bruce. In 1763 he travelled through many ports +of Northern Africa and visited the Levant, and subsequently Syria and +Palestine. Wherever he went he drew sketches of antiquities, which are +now preserved in the British Museum. Landing in Africa in 1786, he went +up the Nile as far as Aswan. From there he travelled to the Red Sea and +reached Jiddah, the port of Hajas. He then returned to Africa, stopping +at Massawra, and from there penetrated into the heart of Abyssinia. +The emperor received him with favour and suffered him to reach the Blue +Nile, which to the mind of Bruce had always been considered as the main +stream of the Nile. Having determined the latitude and longitude, he +went down the Blue Nile as far as the site of Khartum, where the waters +of the White Nile join with those of the Blue Nile. He next proceeded +to Berber, and crossed the desert to Korosko, returning, after a three +years’ journey, in the year 1773. In journeying through France many +learned men took a great interest in the story of his explorations, but +he was bitterly disappointed to hear that he had not been the first to +reach the sources of the Blue Nile. Partly for this reason he delayed +publishing his travels for seventeen years after his return. Bruce was a +truthful and accurate writer, but nevertheless his book was received on +all sides with incredulity. Although received at the British court, he +was not given any special honours or decorations. He first pointed out +the great importance to England of controlling the Egyptian route to +India, and he also secured for English merchants a concession on the Red +Sea. + +In 1812, John Ludwig Burckhardt, of Swiss nationality, the first among +Europeans, made a pilgrimage to Mecca and then travelled up the Nile +to Korosko, after which he crossed the desert to Berber and Shendy. +His death occurred after his return to Cairo, and he left a valuable +collection of Oriental manuscripts to the University of Cambridge, +England, which were published after his death. + +In 1827, a Belgian, named Adolphe Lisiant, ascended the White Nile to +within 150 miles of Khartum. The expedition which he led was aided by +an English society, called the “African Association,” which became +afterwards a part of the Royal Geographical Society. Many explorers +visited the White Nile between 1827 and 1845. In 1845, John Pethrick, a +Welshman, explored the Nile for coal and precious metals in the interest +of Mehemet Ali. After the death of this pasha, Pethrick visited El-Obeid +in Kordofan as a trader, and remained there for five years. In 1853 +he ventured upon an enterprise relating to the ivory trade. For this +purpose he travelled backwards and forwards upon the White Nile and the +Bahr-el-Ghazal for a period of six years, reaching some of the important +affluents of the Bahr-el-Ghazal, the Jur and the Jalo, or the Rol. +Returning to England, he was commissioned to undertake a relief +expedition to help Captains Speke and Grant, who had set out upon their +journey of exploration, and in the year 1861 he returned to Central +Africa. Interest in the slave-trade deterred him from following the +directions under which he had been sent out, namely, to bring relief +to Speke and Grant. Sir Samuel Baker anticipated him in relieving the +expedition, and this so angered Speke that he attempted to have Pethrick +deprived of his consular position. Pethrick died in 1882. + +When Lieutenant Richard Francis Burton had completed his famous journey +through Hedjaz to the sacred city of Mecca, he called at the port of +Aden at the southwest extremity of Arabia. While there, he made friends +with the authorities, and persuaded them to allow him to penetrate +Africa through Somaliland, which is situated to the southwest of +Abyssinia. He hoped by an overland journey westbound to strike the Nile +at its headwaters. John H. Speke accompanied Burton on his journey, and +thus gained his first experience of African exploration. Unfortunately +this expedition was not a success, for the Somali were so suspicious +of the object of the travellers that they forced them to return to the +coast. + +[Illustraton: 277.jpg THE MAIN STREAM OF THE NILE] + +Once more, in 1856, the same party started farther south from Zanzibar. +Hearing of a great inland lake, they pressed forwards to make an +exploration, but were prevented by the Masai tribes. Burton was now laid +up with fever, and Speke formed a large party and crossed the Unyamivezi +and Usukuma. On July 30, 1858, they were fortunate enough to cross one +of the bays of the southern half of Lake Victoria Nyanza. They struck +northwards, and, on August 3rd, gained sight of the open waters of the +great lake. Speke did not realise the vast area of the lake at this +time, and put down its width at about one hundred miles. As he had +promised Burton to return at a certain pre-arranged date, he went back +to the coast. Burton, however, was unreasonable enough to be displeased +with Speke’s discovery, and the two fell into strained relations. On +arriving at the coast, Speke at once went back to England, and there +raised funds to make a longer and more complete exploration. He was +naturally anxious to learn more about the great lake in the middle of +the continent, and, besides this, he thought that he could demonstrate +to the satisfaction of the scientific world that this vast basin of +water was the source of the White Nile. Captain James A. Grant asked +leave to accompany Speke, and became his efficient lieutenant. Grant was +a good shot, a matter of importance, for it was almost certain that +the party would have to confront the danger of being surrounded by wild +beasts and hostile natives. He was also a good geologist and painted +well in water-colours, and proved himself to be a capable lieutenant +to the leader of the party. The Indian government sent the expedition a +quantity of ammunition and surveying instruments. + +The party started from Zanzibar for the interior in October, 1860. At +Usugara they were detained by the illness of Captain Grant and some of +the Hottentot retainers. A number of the instruments were now sent back +in order to lighten the burdens, and among other things was returned the +cumbrous photographic apparatus, which was the only kind in use in the +sixties. At Ugogo serious trouble arose with the native chiefs, who +demanded tolls from the party. Many of the remaining porters here +deserted, and others were frightened by the hostility of the local +tribes. When at length they reached the Unyamivezi most of the beasts of +burden had died, and half of the stores they had intended to bring with +them were found to have been stolen by the natives. The Arabs here told +Speke that there was another lake besides the Victoria, whose waters, +according to some, were reported to be salty. + +Fierce internecine wars were now being waged between the tribes of the +locality, which made any thought of progress, so long as they lasted, +an impossibility. Speke, having successfully endeavoured to negotiate a +peace between the chief Mouwa and the Arabs of the region, resolved upon +the bold enterprise of pushing on without Grant and the supplies +towards Buzina, the nearest country ruled by Bahima chiefs. The venture, +however, was a fruitless one, and he bravely struggled to reach Usui. +In this he succeeded, remaining there till October, 1861, when he went +through the region of the Suwaroras, who demanded excessive tolls +for permission to pass through their territory. Proceeding into the +wilderness, they were met by envoys from Rumanika, a king whose court +they intended to visit, and who had heard in advance of their impending +journey. The messengers of the king received them well and brought them +to the court. Rumanika now desired them to remain at his capital until +he had sent word before them that the party intended to go to Uganda. +Grant, about this time, was laid up with an ulcerated leg; and, when the +time came for moving forward, Speke was obliged to set out for Uganda +alone, which place he entered on January 16, 1862. He became a close +friend of the royal family and the chief men, and his beard was a +constant source of admiration and conversation. + +The illness of Grant prevented him from joining the party at Uganda till +the end of May, and on July 7th of the same year, after many delays, +they obtained leave from the king to leave Uganda. By July the 28th, +Speke had reached the Ripon Falls, where the Victoria Nyanza branch of +the Nile flows out of the great lake at the head of Napoleon Gulf. These +falls were called after the Marquis of Ripon, who was then the +president of the Royal Geographical Society. At this time, Grant, still +convalescent, was moving by a more direct route towards Ungaro. Speke +met him again on the way thither, and they finished their journey +together. After suffering vexatious impositions from the monarch, +Speke asked leave to go and visit a new lake which the natives called +Lutanzige, but was refused permission. He then sent Bombay, his servant +and interlocutor, along the course of the Nile towards the outposts +of Pethrick. The messenger returned with hopeful news that there was +a clear course open to them in that direction. The whole party then +journeyed down the Kafu River to the point where it enters the Nile. +On the way thither, they came to the Karuma Falls, and were obliged +to march across swampy ground. Finally they met a Sudanese black named +Mu-hammed Wad-el-Mek, who was dressed like an Egyptian and who spoke +Arabic. Muhammed first of all told them that he had come from Pethrick, +but it was later discovered that he was in the employment of Doctor +Bono, a trader from Malta. The Sudanese was not anxious that the +party should proceed, and told them stories about the impossibility of +ascending the river at that time, during the month of December. It was +difficult to dissuade Speke, however, and on January 12, 1863, he set +out for a place which is now called Affudu. There the party paused for +awhile in order to kill enough game to feed the native servants. On the +1st of February, having forced some of the natives into their service as +porters, they descended the Nile to its confluence with the Asua River. +They next crossed this river, and proceeded onwards to the Nile Rapids, +and from thence skirted the borders of the Bari country. On February 15, +1863, they made an entrance into Gondokoro, where the whole party was +filled with joy to meet Sir Samuel Baker, who had arrived there on the +way out to relieve them. They all advanced together to Khartum, after +which Speke and Grant returned to England, in the spring of 1863. Thus +was the task of the discovery of the sources of the Nile, which had +baffled the seekers for many centuries, at length completed. Speke was +received by the Prince of Wales (King Edward VII.), but the satisfaction +of being allowed to place an additional motto on his coat-of-arms was +the only recognition which he received for his services. + +As a result of Speke’s discoveries, the Victoria Nyanza took its place +on the maps of Africa, and a fair conception had been obtained of the +size and shape of Lake Albert Nyanza. + +[Illustration: 283.jpg THE FERRY AT OLD CAIRO] + +The whole course of the White Nile was also revealed with more or less +accuracy, and all the mysterious surmises as to the great flow of the +Nile from some unknown headwaters of enormous extent were now solved. +It was only necessary to fill in the details of the map in regard to +the great lakes and the rivers which flowed into them, and further to +investigate the extensive territory between the lakes and the Egyptian +settlements to the north. Sir Samuel Baker was the man who more than +any other helped to supply the details of the work already accomplished. +From Cairo he started on a journey up the course of the Nile. When he +had reached Berber, he chose the course of the At-bara, or Blue Nile, +the branch which receives the floods of water from the Abyssinian +table-lands. He travelled up the western frontier of Abyssinia, +proceeding as far as the river Rahad, a river flowing into the Blue Nile +from the Egyptian side. From this point Baker turned backwards towards +Khartum, which he reached in June, 1862, where he made a stay of some +duration. He now made up his mind to search for Speke, and went up the +White Nile as far as Gondokoro, where the meeting with Speke took place. +Baker left this place March 26, 1863, but met with almost insuperable +obstacles in trying to make further advance. The porters deserted, the +camels died, and the ammunition and the presents intended to ease the +way through the territory of native princes had to be all abandoned. +Thus disencumbered, his party ascended the White Nile until they reached +the Victoria affluent. The Bauyno tribes now prevented his intended +advance to the Albert Nyanza. Baker, however, had the good fortune to be +well received by the chieftain Kamurasi, and, as he was at this moment +suffering from a severe attack of fever, the friendliness of this +Central African chieftain was probably the means of saving his life. The +king graciously received Baker’s present of a double-barrelled gun, and +then sent him onward with two guides and three hundred men. The party +now managed to push their way to the shores of the Albert Nyanza. They +first arrived at a place called Mbakovia, situated near the south-east +coast, and on March 16, 1864, they saw for the first time the great lake +itself, which they now named the Albert Nyanza. After a short stay at +Mbakovia, they proceeded along the coast of the lake until they reached +Magungo, where the Victoria branch of the Nile flows into the Albert +Nyanza. Continuing the journey up the source of the Victoria Nile, they +discovered the Murchison Falls. When they set out for the Karuma Falls +the porters deserted, and after many desperate adventures they at length +returned to Khartum in May, 1865. Baker then went on to Berber, and +crossed the desert to Suakin on the Red Sea. He returned to England +late in the year 1865, and was received with honour and decorated by the +queen with a well-earned knighthood. + +In the year 1869 Baker entered the service of the Egyptian government, +and was commissioned by the viceroy to subdue the regions of Equatorial +Africa, and annex them to the Egyptian Empire. To succeed in this +enterprise he waged many a war with African tribes like the Boni. On +several occasions these conflicts had been forced upon him; on +other occasions Baker Pasha was the aggressor, owing to his fixed +determination to extend on all sides the limits of the Egyptian Sudan. +With all the rulers, however, who treated him well, he remained on terms +of loyalty and friendship; and, in time, he inspired them with respect +for his fairness and liberality. Baker Pasha scattered the slave-traders +on all sides, and, for the time being, effectually broke up their power. +The slave-traders of the Sudan were of Arab nationality, and were in +the habit of advancing farther, year by year, upon the villages of the +defenceless Africans, and spreading their ravages into the heart of +Africa. They always attacked the less warlike tribes, and, upon breaking +into a negro settlement, would carry off the whole population, except +the aged or sick. The slaves were herded together in vast numbers by +help of logs of wood sawn in two, with holes cut large enough to enclose +the neck of a slave, and the two sides of the log afterwards securely +fastened again, thereby yoking together a row of these unfortunate +beings. Every year, out of five hundred thousand or more slaves, at +least half the number perished.. The markets for the slaves were the +cities of the Muhammedans all through North Africa, Syria, Turkey, and +Persia. The death-dealing hardships to the slaves were for the most part +endured on the long journey to Cairo, or, when the trade was suppressed +there, to points north of the Sudan, such as Tripoli, or certain ports +on the Red Sea. Those who were hardy enough to reach the slave-markets +were usually well treated by their Muhammedan masters. During the time +of Baker Pasha’s administration, while he was pursuing the slave-traders +and establishing Egyptian outposts, the whole course of the Nile from +the Great Lakes became well known to the civilised world, though after +this period Baker Pasha did not make any further voyages of discovery +into unknown parts. + +During the years of 1859 and 1860, an adventurous Dutch lady of fortune, +Miss Alexandrine Tinné, journeyed up the Nile as far as Gondokoro, and +in 1861 she commenced to organise a daring expedition to find the source +of the Bahr-el-Ghazel, and explore the territory between the Nile basin +and Lake Chad. She started from Khartum, and ascended the Bahr-el-Ghazel +as far as the affluent Bahr-el-Hamad. She then crossed overland as far +as the Jur and Kosango Rivers, and reached the mountains on the outlying +districts of the Nyam-Nyam country. Here the members of the expedition +suffered from black-water fever, and only with the greatest difficulty +were they able to return to Khartum, where they arrived in July, 1864. +In 1868 Miss Tinné, nothing-daunted, started for Lake Chad from Tripoli, +with the intention of closing in upon the Nile from the eastern sources +of the affluents of the Bahr-el-Ghazel. On reaching Wadi-Aberjong, +however, this brave-hearted woman was waylaid by the fierce Tuaregs, and +was beheaded August 1, 1868. + +In the sixties, Georg Schweinfurth, a native of Riga, in the Baltic +provinces of Russia, set out to explore Nubia, Upper Egypt, and +Abyssinia for botanical purposes. Subsequently the Royal Academy of +Science in Berlin equipped him for an expedition to explore the region +of the Bahr-el-Ghazel. He entered the Sudan by Suakin on the Red Sea, +and crossed the desert to Berber, reaching Khartum on November 1, 1868. +The following January he set out along the course of the White Nile, +passed Getina, and examined the vegetation (sudd) which had drifted +down from all the affluents of the White Nile. He prolonged his stay +for three years on the Bahr-el-Ghazel, solely absorbed in scientific +studies, and, unlike his predecessors, he was unconcerned with reforms +and attempts to suppress the slave-trade. + +Schweinfurth penetrated so far into the heart of Africa that he reached +the Congo basin and explored the upper waters of the Welle River, and on +his return to Europe he published a work, in 1873, called “The Heart +of Africa.” In this book he tried to demonstrate that the area of the +Victoria Nyanza was taken up by a chain of five lakes. + +About this time, in the same year, the famous Henry Morton Stanley +returned to London from his adventurous discovery and relief of Dr. +David Livingstone. The distinguished missionary and explorer died not +long afterwards, and the fame of his brilliant discoveries and heroic +life aroused great sympathy and interest in African exploration. The +great river which Livingstone had explored was believed by him to have +been the Nile, but was more correctly thought by others to have been the +Congo River. On account of the interest aroused in Livingstone, the _New +York Herald_ and the _Daily Telegraph_ of London decided to send Stanley +on a fully equipped expedition to solve the many problems relating to +the heart of Africa about which the civilised world was still in the +dark. + +Stanley chose the route of Zanzibar, and, landing there, he went up the +course of the river and crossed the country to the Victoria Nyanza by +the way of Unyamwezi. He reached the lake by the end of February, +1875. On March the 8th he set out to explore the shores of the lake, and +mapped the whole region, including its bays, islands, and archipelagoes, +with a considerable amount of accuracy. He also examined Napoleon Gulf, +and reached as far as Ripon Falls, at which point the waters of the lake +flow towards the Albert Nyanza. He then verified the accuracy of Speke’s +supposition that the Victoria Nyanza really was the main source of the +White Nile. Stanley set out from Uganda at the end of the year 1875, +and travelled across the country to the Congo. About the same time +three English surveyors, Colonels Purdy, Colston, and Sidney Enser, +made several topographical reports on much of the territory between +the Bahr-el-Ghazel, the Shari, and the Nile. Later on, in 1876, General +Gordon sent Romolo Gesei, an Italian in the service of the khédive, +to navigate and to explore Lake Albert Nyanza. In the following year +Colonel Mason, an American, surveyed the lake, of which he made an +accurate topographical chart. + +In the year 1880, Mr. E. G. Ravenstein, an eminent geographer, made some +valuable surveys of eastern equatorial Africa, which had the effect +of inciting the Royal Geographical Society to send out, in 1882, an +expedition under Joseph Thomson, a brilliant young African explorer, in +order to find out a direct route to the Victoria Nyanza. Thomson set out +from Momhasa early in the year 1883, but he never succeeded in realising +the purpose of his mission. + +Emin Pasha, as we have seen, was the governor appointed by the khédive +to rule the Egyptian equatorial provinces. He made a few discoveries, +such as the Semliki River, which was called by him Divern. Whilst he +was engaged in travelling through the Bahr-el-Ghazel district, the +revolt of the Mahdi occurred, and Emin Pasha was isolated from the outer +world. In the year 1886 Doctor Junker returned to Europe from Emin, and +roused great interest by his account of the adventures of the pasha, +whom most people had believed to have died, but whom they now learned +had set up an independent sovereignty in the heart of Africa, awaiting +anxiously the advent of a relief expedition. Then Henry M. Stanley +volunteered to go out on a relief expedition to bring Emin Pasha home. + +Stanley avoided the route through the German colony on the East, and +started upon his ever memorable relief expedition by the Congo +route. The veteran adventurer succeeded in relieving Emin Pasha, and, +furthermore, he discovered the Mountains of the Moon, called by the +natives Ruwenjori, on May 24, 1888. He also traced to its sources +the Semliki River, and explored Lake Albert Edward and a gulf of the +Victoria to the south-west. The remainder of this famous journey, +for the success of which he was knighted as Sir Henry M. Stanley, was +outside the basin of the Nile, and is recorded in his book, “Through +Darkest Africa.” + +In 1900, Dr. Donaldson Smith, an American, made an important journey +through the countries between the north end of Lake Rudolf and the +Mountain Nile. + +[Illustration: 290b.jpg EXAMPLES OF PHOENECIAN PORCELAIN] + + + + +CHAPTER VI--THE DECIPHERMENT OF THE HIEROGLYPHS* + + *The early portion of this chapter is selected, by kind + permission of Dr. Henry Smith Williams, from his “History + of the Art of Writing,” Copyright, 1902 and 1903. + +_The Rosetta Stone: The Discoveries of Dr. Thomas Young: The +Classification of the Egyptian Alphabet by Champollion: Egyptian +Love-songs and the Book of the Dead_ + + +Conspicuously placed in the great hall of Egyptian antiquities, in the +British Museum, is a wonderful piece of sculpture known as the Rosetta +Stone. A glance at its graven surface suffices to show that three sets +of inscriptions are recorded there. The upper one, occupying about +one-fourth of the surface, is a pictured scroll, made up of chains of +those strange outlines of serpents, hawks, lions, and so on, which are +recognised, even by the least initiated, as hieroglyphics. The middle +inscription, made up of lines, angles, and half-pictures, one might +suppose to be a sort of abbreviated or shorthand hieroglyphic. The +third, or lower, inscription, is manifestly Greek, obviously a thing of +words. If the screeds above be also made of words, only the elect have +any way of proving the fact. + +Fortunately, however, even the least scholarly observer is left in +no doubt as to the real import of the thing he sees, for an obliging +English label tells us that these three inscriptions are renderings of +the same message, and that this message is a “decree of the Priests +of Memphis conferring divine honours on Ptolemy V., Epiphanes, King +of Egypt, B.C. 195.” The label goes on to state that the upper +transcription (of which, unfortunately, only parts of the last dozen +lines or so remain, the slab being broken) is in “the Egyptian language, +in hieroglyphics, or writing of the priests”; the second inscription in +the same language, “in demotic, or the writing of the people”; and the +third “in the Greek language and character.” + +Then comes a brief biography of the Rosetta Stone itself, as follows: +“This stone was found by the French in 1798 among the ruins of Fort St. +Julian, near the Rosetta mouth of the Nile. It passed into the hands +of the British by the treaty of Alexandria, and was deposited in the +British Museum in the year 1801.” There is a whole volume of history +in that brief inscription, and a bitter sting thrown in, if the reader +chance to be a Frenchman. Yet the facts involved could scarcely be +suggested more modestly. They are recorded much more bluntly in a graven +inscription on the side of the stone, which runs: “Captured in Egypt by +the British Army, 1801.” No Frenchman could read those words without a +sinking of the heart. + +The value of the Rosetta Stone depended on the fact that it gave +promise, even when originally inspected, of furnishing a key to the +centuries-old mystery of the hieroglyphics. For two thousand years the +secret of these strange markings had been forgotten. Nowhere in the +world--quite as little in Egypt as elsewhere--had any man the slightest +clue to their meaning; there were even those who doubted whether these +droll picturings really had any specific meaning, questioning whether +they were not merely vague symbols of esoteric religious import and +nothing more. And it was the Rosetta Stone that gave the answer to these +doubters, and restored to the world a lost language and a forgotten +literature. + +The trustees of the British Museum recognised that the problem of the +Rosetta Stone was one on which the scientists of the world might +well exhaust their ingenuity, and they promptly published a carefully +lithographed copy of the entire inscription, so that foreign scholarship +had equal opportunity with British to try to solve the riddle. How +difficult a riddle it was, even with this key in hand, is illustrated by +the fact that, though scholars of all nations brought their ingenuity +to bear upon it, nothing more was accomplished for a dozen years than +to give authority to three or four guesses regarding the nature of the +upper inscriptions, which, as it afterwards proved, were quite incorrect +and altogether misleading. This in itself is sufficient to show that +ordinary scholarship might have studied the Rosetta Stone till the end +of time without getting far on the track of its secrets. The key was +there, but to apply it required the inspired insight--that is to say, +the shrewd guessing power--of genius. + +The man who undertook the task had perhaps the keenest scientific +imagination and the most versatile profundity of knowledge of his +generation--one is tempted to say, of any generation. For he was none +other than the extraordinary Dr. Thomas Young, the demonstrator of the +vibratory nature of light. + +Young had his attention called to the Rosetta Stone by accident, and +his usual rapacity for knowledge at once led him to speculate as to the +possible aid this tri-lingual inscription might give in the solution of +Egyptian problems. Resolving at once to attempt the solution himself, he +set to work to learn Koptic, which was rightly believed to represent the +nearest existing approach to the ancient Egyptian language. His amazing +facility in the acquisition of languages stood him in such good stead +that within a year of his first efforts he had mastered Koptic and +assured himself that the ancient Egyptian language was really similar +to it, and had even made a tentative attempt at the translation of the +Egyptian scroll. His results were only tentative, to be sure, yet they +constituted the very beginnings of our knowledge regarding the meaning +of hieroglyphics. Just how far they carried has been a subject of ardent +controversy ever since. Not that there is any doubt about the specific +facts; what is questioned is the exact importance of these facts. For +it is undeniable that Young did not complete and perfect the discovery, +and, as always in such matters, there is opportunity for difference of +opinion as to the share of credit due to each of the workers who entered +into the discovery. + +Young’s specific discoveries were these: (1) that many of the pictures +of the hieroglyphics stand for the names of the objects actually +delineated; (2) that other pictures are sometimes only symbolic; (3) +that plural numbers are represented by repetition; (4) that numerals are +represented by dashes; (5) that hieroglyphics may read either from +the right or from the left, but always from the direction in which the +animals and human figures face; (6) that proper names are surrounded +by a graven oval ring, making what he called a cartouche; (7) that the +cartouches of the preserved portion of the Rosetta Stone stand for the +name of Ptolemy alone; (8) that the presence of a female figure after +such cartouches, in other inscriptions, always denotes the female +sex; (9) that within the cartouches the hieroglyphic symbols have a +positively phonetic value, either alphabetic or syllabic; and (10) that +several different characters may have the same phonetic value. + +Just what these phonetic values are, Doctor Young pointed out in the +case of fourteen characters, representing nine sounds, six of which +are accepted to-day as correctly representing the letters to which he +ascribed them, and the three others as being correct regarding their +essential or consonantal element. It is clear, therefore, that he was on +the right track thus far, and on the very verge of complete discovery. +But, unfortunately, he failed to take the next step, which would have +been to realise that the same phonetic values given the alphabetic +characters within the cartouches were often ascribed to them also when +used in the general text of an inscription; in other words, that the +use of an alphabet was not confined to proper names. This was the great +secret which Young missed, but which his French successor, Jean François +Champollion, working on the foundation that Young had laid, was enabled +to ferret out. + +[Illustration: 296.jpg JEAN FRANCOIS CHAMPOLLION] + +Young’s initial studies of the Rosetta Stone were made in 1814; his +later publications bore date of 1819. Champollion’s first announcement +of results came in 1822; his second and more important one in 1824. By +this time, through study of the cartouches of other inscriptions, he had +made out almost the complete alphabet, and the “Riddle of the Sphinx” + was practically solved. He proved that the Egyptians had developed a +relatively complete alphabet (mostly neglecting the vowels, as early +Semitic alphabets did also) centuries before the Phoenicians were heard +of in history. + +Even this statement, however, must in a measure be modified. These +pictures are letters and something more. Some of them are purely +alphabetical in character, and some are symbolic in another way. +Some characters represent syllables. Others stand sometimes as mere +representatives of sounds, and again, in a more extended sense, as +representatives of things, such as all hieroglyphics doubtless were +in the beginning. In a word, this is an alphabet, but not a perfected +alphabet such as modern nations generally use. + +The word “hieroglyphic” is applied, as we have seen, to various forms of +picture writing; but the original interpretation which the Greeks, who +invented it, put upon the word was the “holy writing” of the Egyptians. +The earliest Greek travellers who went to Egypt, when that country was +finally opened up to the outside world, must have noticed the strange +picture scrolls everywhere to be seen there on the temple walls, on +obelisks, on statues, and mummy-cases, as well as on papyrus rolls, +which were obviously intended to serve the purpose of handing down +records of events to future generations. + +It is now known that this writing of the Egyptians was of a most +extraordinary compound character. Part of its pictures are used as +direct representations of the objects presented. Here are some examples: + +[Illustration: 298.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + +Again the picture of an object becomes an ideograph, as in the following +instances: + +Here the sacred ibis or the sacred bull symbolises the soul. The bee +stands for honey, the eyes for the verb “to see.” Yet again these +pictures may stand neither as pictures of things nor as ideographs, but +as having the phonetic value of a syllable. Such syllabic signs may be +used either singly, as above, or in combination, as illustrated below. + +But one other stage of evolution is possible, namely, the use of signs +with a purely alphabetical significance. The Egyptians made this +step also, and their strangely conglomerate writing makes use of the +following alphabet: + +[Illustration: 299.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + +In a word, then, the Egyptian writing has passed through all the stages +of development, from the purely pictorial to the alphabetical, but with +this strange qualification,--that while advancing to the later stages it +retains the use of crude earlier forms. As Canon Taylor has graphically +phrased it, the Egyptian writing is a completed structure, but one from +which the scaffolding has not been removed. + +The next step would have been to remove the now useless scaffolding, +leaving a purely alphabetical writing as the completed structure. +Looking at the matter from the modern standpoint, it seems almost +incredible that so intelligent a people as the Egyptians should have +failed to make this advance. Yet the facts stand, that as early as +the time of the Pyramid Builders, say four thousand years B.C.,* the +Egyptians had made the wonderful analysis of sounds, without which the +invention of an alphabet would be impossible. + + * The latest word on the subject of the origin of the + alphabet takes back some of the primitive phonetic signs to + prehistoric times. Among these prehistoric signs are the + letters A, E, I, O, U, (V), F and M. + +They had set aside certain of their hieroglyphic symbols and given them +alphabetical significance. They had learned to write their words with +the use of this alphabet; and it would seem as if, in the course of a +few generations, they must come to see how unnecessary was the cruder +form of picture-writing which this alphabet would naturally supplant; +but, in point of fact, they never did come to a realisation of this +seemingly simple proposition. Generation after generation and century +after century, they continued to use their same cumbersome, complex +writing, and it remained for an outside nation to prove that an alphabet +pure and simple was capable of fulfilling all the conditions of a +written language. + +Thus in practice there are found in the hieroglyphics the strangest +combinations of ideographs, syllabic signs, and alphabetical signs or +true letters used together indiscriminately. + +It was, for example, not at all unusual, after spelling a word +syllabically or alphabetically, to introduce a figure giving the idea +of the thing intended, and then even to supplement this with a so-called +determinative sign or figure: + +[Illustration: 301.jpg DETERMINATIVE SIGNS] + +Here Queften, monkey, is spelled out in full, but the picture of a +monkey is added as a determinative; second, Qenu, cavalry, after being +spelled, is made unequivocal by the introduction of a picture of a +horse; third, Temati, wings, though spelled elaborately, has pictures +of wings added; and fourth, Tatu, quadrupeds, after being spelled, has +a picture of a quadruped, and then the picture of a hide, which is the +usual determinative of a quadruped, followed by three dashes to indicate +the plural number.* + + * Another illustration of the plural number is seen in the + sign Pau, on page 298, where the plural is indicated in the + same manner. + +These determinatives are in themselves so interesting, as illustrations +of the association of ideas, that it is worth while to add a few more +examples. The word Pet, which signifies heaven, and which has also the +meaning up or even, is represented primarily by what may be supposed +to be a conventionalised picture of the covering to the earth. But +this picture, used as a determinative, is curiously modified in the +expression of other ideas, as it symbolises evening when a closed flower +is added, and night when a star hangs in the sky, and rain or tempest +when a series of zigzag lines, which by themselves represent water, are +appended. + +[Illustration: 302a.jpg HIEROGLYPHICS] + +As aids to memory such pictures are obviously of advantage, but this +advantage in the modern view is outweighed by the cumbrousness of the +system of writing as a whole. + +Why was such a complex system retained? Chiefly, no doubt, because the +Egyptians, like all other highly developed peoples, were conservatives. +They held to their old method after a better one had been invented. But +this inherent conservatism was enormously aided, no doubt, by the fact +that the Egyptian language, like the Chinese, has many words that have +a varied significance, making it seem necessary, or at least highly +desirable, either to spell such words with different signs, or, having +spelled them in the same way, to introduce the varied determinatives. + +Here are some examples of discrimination between words of the same sound +by the use of different signs: + +[Illustration: 302b.jpg HIEROGLYPHICS] + +Here, it will be observed, exactly the same expedient is adopted which +we still retain when we discriminate between words of the same sound by +different spelling, as to, two, too; whole, hole; through, threw, etc. + +But the more usual Egyptian method was to resort to the determinatives; +the result seems to us most extraordinary. After what has been said, the +following examples will explain themselves: + +[Illustration: 303.jpg HIEROGLYPHICS] + +It goes without saying that the great mass of people in Egypt were never +able to write at all. Had they been accustomed to do so, the Egyptians +would have been a nation of artists. Even as the case stands, a +remarkable number of men must have had their artistic sense well +developed, for the birds, animals, and human figures constantly +presented on their hieroglyphic scrolls are drawn with a fidelity which +the average European of to-day would certainly find far beyond his +skill. + +Until Professor Petrie* published his “Medum,” and Professor Erman +his “Grammar,” no important work on Egyptian hieroglyphic writing had +appeared in recent years. + + * The information as to the modern investigation in + hieroglyphics has been obtained from F. L. Griffith’s paper + in the 6th Memoir of the Archaeological Survey on + Hieroglyphics from the collections of the Egypt Exploration + Fund, London, 1894-95. + +Professor Petrie’s “Medum” is the mainstay of the student in regard to +examples of form for the old kingdom; but for all periods detailed and +trustworthy drawings and photographs are found among the enormous mass +of published texts.* + + *To these may now be added the 105 coloured signs in Beni + Hasan, Part III., and still more numerous examples in the + Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund (Archaeological + Survey), for the season 1895-96. + +There is an important collection of facsimiles at University College, +London, made for Professor Petrie by Miss Paget. A large proportion of +these are copied from the collections from Beni Hasan and El Bersheh; +others are from coffins of later periods, and have only paleographical +interest; and others are from earlier coffins in the British Museum. +But the flower of the collection consists in exquisite drawings of +sculptured hieroglyphics, sometimes with traces of colour, from the tomb +of Phtahhotep at Saqqâra, supplemented by a few from other tombs in +the same neighbourhood, and from the pyramid of Papi I. These were all +copied on the spot in 1895--96. + +The only critical list of hieroglyphics with their powers published +recently is that of Erman, printed in his “Grammar.” The system by +which he classifies the values--obscured in the English edition by +the substitution of the term of “ideograph” for _Wortzeichen_ +(word-sign)--displays the author’s keen insight into the nature of +hieroglyphic writing, and the list itself is highly suggestive. + +In the case of an altogether different system of ancient writing +that has come down to us,--the old cuneiform syllabary of the +Assyrians,--dictionaries, glossaries, and other works of a grammatical +character have been preserved to the present day. Documents such as +these are, of course, of material aid in regard to obscure texts, but in +the case of the Egyptian writing the only surviving native word-list +is the Sign Papyrus of Tanis,* which is, unfortunately, of the Roman +Period, when the original meanings of the signs had been well-nigh +forgotten. + + * Egypt Exploration Fund, Ninth Memoir, 1889-1890. This is + an extra volume, now out of print. + +It has its own peculiar interest, but seldom furnishes the smallest hint +to the seeker after origins. The famous “Hieroglyphics of Horapollo” + occasionally contains a reminiscence of true hieroglyphics, but may +well be a composition of the Middle Ages, embodying a tiny modicum of +half-genuine tradition that had survived until then. + +Scattered throughout Egyptological literature there are, as may +be imagined, many attempts at explaining individual signs. But any +endeavour to treat Egyptian hieroglyphics critically, to ascertain +their origins, the history of their use, the original distinction or the +relationship of signs that resemble each other, reveals how little is +really known about them. For study, good examples showing detail and +colouring at different periods are needed, and the evidence furnished +by form and colour must be checked by examination of their powers in +writing. + +In investigating the powers of the uses of the signs, dictionaries give +most important aid to the student. The key-words of the meanings, viz., +the names of the objects or actions depicted, are often exceedingly rare +in the texts. Doctor Brugsch’s great Dictionary (1867-82) frequently +settles with close accuracy the meanings of the words considered in it, +supplying by quotations the proof of his conclusions.* + + * There has been in preparation since 1897 an exhaustive + dictionary, to be published under the auspices of the German + government. The academies of Berlin, Gottingen, Leipsig and + Munich have charge of the work, and they have nominated as + their respective commissioners Professors Erman, Pietsch- + mann, Steindorff, and Ebers (since deceased). This colossal + undertaking is the fitting culmination of the labours of a + century in the Egyptian language and writing. The collection + and arrangement of material are estimated to occupy eleven + years; printing may thus be begun about 1908. + + Despite its uncritical method of compilation, Levy’s bulky + Vocabulary (1887-1804), with its two supplements and long + tables of signs, is indispensable in this branch of + research, since it gives a multitude of references to rare + words and forms of words that occur in notable publications + of recent date, such as Maspero’s excellent edition of the + Pyramid Texts. There are also some important special + indices, such as Stern’s excellent “Glossary of the Papyrus + Ebers,” Piehl’s “Vocabulary of the Harris Papyrus,” Erman’s + “Glossary of the Westcar Papyrus,” and Doctor Pudge’s + “Vocabulary” of the XVIIIth Dynasty “Book of the Dead.” + Schack’s Index to the Pyramid Texts will prove to be an + important work, and the synoptic index of parallel chapters + prefixed to the work is of the greatest value in the search + for variant spellings. + +In 1872, Brugsch, in his “Grammaire Hiéroglyphique,” published a useful +list of signs with their phonetic and ideographic values, accompanying +them with references to his Dictionary, and distinguishing some of the +specially early and late forms. We may also note the careful list in +Lepsius’ “Ægyptische Lesestucke,” 1883. + +Champollion in his “Grammaire Egyptienne,” issued after the author’s +death in 1836, gave descriptive names to large numbers of the signs. +In 1848, to the first volume of Bunsen’s “Egypt’s Place in Universal +History,” Birch contributed a long list of hieroglyphics, with +descriptions and statements of their separate phonetic and ideographic +values. De Rougé, in his “Catalogue des signes hiéroglyphiques de +l’imprimerie nationale,” 1851, attached to each of many hundreds of +signs and varieties of signs a short description, often very correct. +He again dealt with the subject in 1867, and published a “Catalogue +Raisonné” of the more usual signs in the first _livraison_ of his +“Chrestomathie Egyptienne.” Useful to the student as these first lists +were, in the early stages of decipherment, they are now of little +value. For, at the time they were made, the fine early forms were mostly +unstudied, and the signs were taken without discrimination from texts +of all periods; moreover, the outlines of the signs were inaccurately +rendered, their colours unnoted, and their phonetic and ideographic +powers very imperfectly determined. Thus, whenever doubt was possible +as to the object represented by a sign, little external help was +forthcoming for correct identification. To a present-day student of the +subject, the scholarly understanding of De Rougé and the ingenuity of +Birch are apparent, but the aid which they afford him is small. + +As a result of recent discoveries, some very interesting researches have +been made in Egyptian paleography in what is known as the _signary_.* +We reach signs which seem to be disconnected from the known hieroglyphs, +and we are probably touching on the system of geometrical signs used +from prehistoric to Roman times in Egypt, and also in other countries +around the Mediterranean. + + * The information regarding the alphabet here given is + derived from the Eighteenth Memoir of the Egypt Exploration + Fund, 1899-1890. + +How far these signs are originally due to geometrical invention, or how +far due to corruption of some picture, we cannot say. But in any case +they stood so detached from the hieroglyphic writing and its hieratic +and demotic derivations, that they must be treated as a separate system. +For the present the best course is to show here the similarity of forms +between these marks and those known in Egypt in earlier and later times, +adding the similar forms in the Karian and Spanish alphabets. The usage +of such forms in the same country from about 6000 B.C. down to 1200 +B.C., or later, shows that we have to deal with a definite system. And +it seems impossible to separate that used in 1200 B.C. in Egypt from the +similar forms found in other lands connected with Egypt from 800 B.C. +down to later times: we may find many of these also in the Kretan +inscriptions long before 800 B.C. The only conclusion then seems to +be that a great body of signs--or a _signary_--was in use around the +Mediterranean for several thousand years. Whether these signs were +ideographic or syllabic or alphabetic in the early stages we do not +know; certainly they were alphabetic in the later stage. And the +identity of most of the signs in Asia Minor and Spain shows them to +belong to a system with commonly received values in the later times. + +What then becomes of the Phoenician legend of the alphabet? Certainly +the so-called Phoenician letters were familiar long before the rise of +Phoenician influence. What is really due to the Phoenicians seems to +have been the selection of a short series (only half the amount of the +surviving alphabets) for numerical purposes, as A = 1, E = 5, I = 10, N += 50, P = 100. + +[Illustration: 309.jpg TABLE OF COMPARATIVE SYMBOLS] + +This usage would soon render these signs as invariable in order as our +own numbers, and force the use of them on all countries with which the +Phoenicians traded. Hence, before long these signs drove out of use +all others, except in the less changed civilisations of Asia Minor and +Spain. According to our modern authorities this exactly explains the +phenomena of the early Greek alphabets; many in variety, and so diverse +that each has to be learned separately, and yet entirely uniform in +order. Each tribe had its own signs for certain sounds, varying a good +deal; yet all had to follow a fixed numerical system. Certainly all did +not learn their forms from an independent Phoenician alphabet, unknown +to them before it was selected. + +The work of Young and Champollion, says Doctor Williams,* gives a new +interest to the mass of records, in the form of graven inscriptions, and +papyrus rolls, and cases and wrappings, which abound in Egypt, but which +hitherto had served no better purpose for centuries than to excite, +without satisfying, the curiosity of the traveller. + + * History of the Art of Writing, Portfolio I., plate 8. + +Now these strange records, so long enigmatic, could be read, and within +the past fifty years a vast literature of translations of these Egyptian +records has been given to the world. It was early discovered that the +hieroglyphic character was not reserved solely for sacred inscriptions, +as the Greeks had supposed in naming it; indeed, the inscription of the +Rosetta Stone sufficiently dispelled that illusion. But no one, perhaps, +was prepared for the revelations that were soon made as to the extent of +range of these various inscriptions, and the strictly literary character +of some of them. + +A large proportion of these inscriptions are, to be sure, religious in +character, but there are other extensive inscriptions, such as those on +the walls of the temple of Karnak, that are strictly historical; telling +of the warlike deeds of such mighty kings as Thûtmosis III. and +Ramses II. Again, there are documents which belong to the domain of +belles-lettres pure and simple. Of these the best known example is the +now famous “Tale of Two Brothers”--the prototype of the “modern” short +story. + +Up to the middle of the nineteenth century, no Egyptologist had +discovered that the grave-faced personages who lie in their mummy-cases +in our great museums ever read or composed romance. Their literature, +as far as recovered, was of an eminently serious nature,--hymns to the +divinities, epic poems, writings on magic and science, business letters, +etc., but no stories. In 1852, however, an Englishwoman, Mrs. Elizabeth +d’Orbiney, sent M. de Rougé, at Paris, a papyrus she had purchased in +Italy, and whose contents she was anxious to know. Thus was the tale of +the “Two Brothers” brought to light, and for twelve years it remained +our sole specimen of a species of literature which is now constantly +being added to. + +This remarkable papyrus dates from the thirteenth century B.C., and was +the work of Anna, one of the most distinguished temple-scribes of his +age. Indeed, it is to him that we are indebted for a large portion of +the Egyptian literature that has been preserved to us. This particular +work was executed for Seti II., son of Meneptah, and grandson of Ramses +II. of the nineteenth dynasty, while he was yet crown prince. + +The tale itself is clearly formed of two parts. The first, up to the +Bata’s self-exile to the Valley of the Cedar, gives a really excellent +picture of the life and habits of the peasant dwelling on the banks +of the Nile. The civilisation and moral conditions it describes are +distinctly Egyptian. Were it not for such details as the words spoken by +the cows, and the miraculous appearance of the body of water between the +two brothers, we might say the ancient Egyptians were strict realists +in their theory of fiction. But the second part leads us through marvels +enough to satisfy the most vivid of imaginations. It is possible, +therefore, that the tale as we have it was originally two separate +stories. + +The main theme of the story has occupied a great deal of attention. Its +analogy to the Biblical narrative of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife comes at +once into the reader’s mind. But there is just as close a similarity +in the Greek tales, where the hero is killed or his life endangered +for having scorned the guilty love of a woman, as in the stories of +Hippolytus, Peleus, Bellerophon, and the son of Glaucus, not to +mention the extraordinary adventure of Amgiad and Assad, sons of Prince +Kamaralzaman, in the _Thousand and One Nights_. + +The religions of Greece and Western Asia likewise contain myths that can +be compared almost point for point with the tale of the two brothers. +In Phrygia, for example, Atyo scorns the love of the goddess Cybele, +as does Bata the love of Anpu’s wife. Like Bata, again, he mutilates +himself, and is transformed into a pine instead of a persea tree. +Are we, therefore, to seek for the common origin of all the myths and +romance in the tragedy of Anpu and Bata that was current, we know not +how long, before the days of King Seti? + +Of one thing we may be sure: of this particular type the Egyptian tale +is by far the oldest that we possess, and, if we may not look to the +valley of the Nile as the original home of the popular tale, we may +justly regard it as the locality where it was earliest naturalised and +assumed a true literary form. + +Analogies to the second part of the tale are even more numerous and +curious. They are to be found everywhere, in France, Italy, Germany, +Hungary, in Russia and all Slavonic countries, Roumania, Peloponnesia, +in Asia Minor, Abyssinia, and even India. + +Of late years an ever-increasing accumulation of the literature of every +age of Egyptian history has either been brought to light or for +the first time studied from a wider point of view than was formerly +possible. In making a few typical selections from the mass of this +new material, none perhaps are more worthy of note than some of the +love-songs which have been translated into German from Egyptian in +“Die Liebespoesie der Alten Ægypten,” by W. Max Muller. This is a very +careful edition of the love-songs on the recto (or upper surface) of the +Harris Papyrus 500, and of similar lyrics from Turin, Gizeh, and Paris. +The introduction contains an account of Egyptian notions of love and +marriage, gathered from hieroglyphic and demotic sources, and a chapter +is devoted to the forms of Egyptian verse, its rhythm and accent. The +interesting “Song of the Harper,” which is found on the same Harris +Papyrus, is also fully edited and collated with the parallel texts from +the Theban tombs, and compared with other writings dealing with death +from the agnostic point of view. The following extracts are translated +from the German: + + LOVE-SICKNESS + + I will lie down within doors + For I am sick with wrongs. T + hen my neighbours come in to visit me. + With them cometh my sister, + She will make fun of the physicians; + She knoweth mine illness. + + + THE LUCKY DOORKEEPER + + The villa of my sister!-- + Her gates (are) in the midst of the domain-- + (So oft as) its portals open, + (So oft as) the bolt is withdrawn, + Then is my sister angry: + O were I but set as the gatekeeper! + I should cause her to chide me; + (Then) I should hear her voice in anger, + A child in fear before her! + + + THE UNSUCCESSFUL BIRD-CATCHER + + The voice of the wild goose crieth, + (For) she hath taken her bait; + (But) thy love restraineth me, + I cannot free her (from the snare); + (So) must I take (home) my net. + What (shall I say) to my mother, + To whom (I am wont) to come daily + Laden with wild fowl? + I lay not my snare to-day + (For) thy love hath taken hold upon me. + + +The most ardent interest that has been manifested in the Egyptian +records had its origin in the desire to find evidence corroborative of +the Hebrew accounts of the Egyptian captivity of the Jewish people.* The +Egyptian word-treasury being at last unlocked, it was hoped that +much new light would be thrown on Hebrew history. But the hope proved +illusive. After ardent researches of hosts of fervid seekers for half +a century, scarcely a word of reference to the Hebrews has been found +among the Egyptian records. + + * The only inscription relating directly to the Israelites + will be found described in Chapter VII. + +If depicted at all, the Hebrew captives are simply grouped with other +subordinate peoples, not even considered worthy of the dignity of names. +Nor is this strange when one reflects on the subordinate position which +the Hebrews held in the ancient world. In historical as in other matter, +much depends upon the point of view, and a series of events that seemed +all-important from the Hebrew standpoint might very well be thought too +insignificant for record from the point of view of a great nation like +the Egyptians. But the all-powerful pen wrought a conquest for the +Hebrews in succeeding generations that their swords never achieved, and, +thanks to their literature, succeeding generations have cast historical +perspective to the winds in viewing them. Indeed, such are the strange +mutations of time that, had any scribe of ancient Egypt seen fit to +scrawl a dozen words about the despised Israelite captives, and had +this monument been preserved, it would have outweighed in value, in +the opinion of nineteenth-century Europe, all the historical records +of Thûtmosis, Ramses, and their kin that have come down to us. But +seemingly no scribe ever thought it worth his while to make such an +effort. + +It has just been noted that the hieroglyphic inscriptions are by no +means restricted to sacred subjects. Nevertheless, the most widely known +book of the Egyptians was, as might be expected, one associated with +the funeral rites that played so large a part in the thoughts of the +dwellers by the Nile. This is the document known as “The Chapters of the +Coming-Forth by Day,” or, as it is more commonly interpreted, “The Book +of the Dead.” It is a veritable book in scope, inasmuch as the closely +written papyrus roll on which it is enscrolled measures sometimes +seventy feet in length. It is virtually the Bible of the Egyptians, and, +as in the case of the sacred books of other nations, its exact origin is +obscure. The earliest known copy is to be found, not on a papyrus roll, +but upon the walls of the chamber of the pyramid at Saqqâra near Cairo. +The discovery of this particular recension of “The Book of the Dead” was +made by Lepsius. Its date is 3333 B.C. No one supposes, however, that +this date marks the time of the origin of “The Book of the Dead.” On the +contrary, it is held by competent authority that the earliest chapters, +essentially unmodified, had been in existence at least a thousand years +before this, and quite possibly for a much longer time. Numerous copies +of this work in whole or in part have been preserved either on the walls +of temples, on papyrus rolls, or upon the cases of mummies. These +copies are of various epochs, from the fourth millennium B.C., as just +mentioned, to the late Roman period, about the fourth century A.D. + +Throughout this period of about four thousand years the essential +character of the book remained unchanged. It is true that no two copies +that have been preserved are exactly identical in all their parts. There +are various omissions and repetitions that seem to indicate that the +book was not written by any one person or in any one epoch, but that it +was originally a set of traditions quite possibly handed down for a long +period by word of mouth before being put into writing. In this regard, +as in many others, this sacred book of the Egyptians is closely +comparable to the sacred books of other nations. It differs, however, +in one important regard from these others in that it was never +authoritatively pronounced upon and crystallised into a fixed, +unalterable shape. From first to last, apparently, the individual scribe +was at liberty to omit such portions as he chose, and even to modify +somewhat the exact form of expression in making a copy of the sacred +book. Even in this regard, however, the anomaly is not so great as might +at first sight appear, for it must be recalled that even the sacred +books of the Hebrews were not given final and authoritative shape until +a period almost exactly coeval with that in which the Egyptian “Book of +the Dead” ceased to be used at all. + +A peculiar feature of “The Book of the Dead,” and one that gives it +still greater interest, is the fact that from an early day it was the +custom to illustrate it with graphic pictures in colour. In fact, taken +as a whole, “The Book of the Dead” gives a very fair delineation of the +progress of Egyptian art from the fourth millennium B.C. to its climax +in the eighteenth dynasty, and throughout the period of its decline; and +this applies not merely to the pictures proper, but to the forms of the +hieroglyphic letters themselves, for it requires but the most cursory +inspection to show that these give opportunity for no small artistic +skill. + +As to the ideas preserved in “The Book of the Dead,” it is sufficient +here to note that they deal largely with the condition of the human +being after death, implying in the most explicit way a firm and +unwavering belief in the immortality of the soul. The Egyptian believed +most fully that by his works a man would be known and judged after +death. His religion was essentially a religion of deeds, and the code of +morals, according to which these deeds were adjudged, has been said by +Doctor Budge, the famous translator of “The Book of the Dead,” to be +“the grandest and most comprehensive of those now known to have existed +among the nations of antiquity.” + +[Illustration: 318.jpg TAILPIECE] + + +[Illustration: 318b.jpg PHOENICIAN JEWLERY] + + +[Illustration: 321.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + + + + +CHAPTER VII--THE DEVELOPMENT OF EGYPTOLOGY + + +_Mariette, Wilkinson, Bunsen, Brugsch, and Ebers: Erman’s speech on +Egyptology: The Egypt Exploration Fund: Maspero’s investigations: The +Temple of Bubàstis: Ancient record of “Israel”: American interest in +Egyptology._ + + +Accompanying Napoleon’s army of invasion in Egypt was a band of savants +representative of every art and science, through whom the conqueror +hoped to make known the topography and antiquities of Egypt to the +European world. The result of their researches was the famous work +called “Description de l’Egypte,” published under the direction of the +French Academy in twenty-four volumes of text, and twelve volumes of +plates. Through this magnificent production the Western world received +its first initiation into the mysteries of the wonderful civilisation +which had flourished so many centuries ago, on the banks of the Nile. +Egypt has continued to yield an ever-increasing harvest of antiquities, +which, owing to the dry climate and the sand in which they have been +buried, are many of them in a marvellous state of preservation. From +the correlation of these discoveries the new science of Egyptology +has sprung, which has many different branches, relating either to +hieroglyphics, chronology, or archaeology proper. + +The earliest and most helpful of all the discoveries was that of the +famous Rosetta Stone, found by a French artillery officer in 1799, +while Napoleon’s soldiers were excavating preparatory to erecting +fortifications at Fort St. Julien. The deciphering of its trilingual +inscriptions was the greatest literary feat of modern times, in which +Dr. Thomas Young and J. F. Champollion share almost equal honours. + +Jean François Champollion (1790-1832) is perhaps the most famous of +the early students of Egyptian hieroglyphs. After writing his “_De +l’écriture hiératique des anciens égyptiens_” at Paris, he produced in +1824 in two volumes, his “_Précis du système hiéroglyphique des anciens +égyptiens,_” on which his fame largely depends, as he was the first to +furnish any practical system of deciphering the symbolic writing, which +was to disclose to the waiting world Egyptian history, literature, and +civilisation. Champollion wrote many other works relating to Egypt, and +may truly be considered the pioneer of modern Egyptology. While much of +his work has been superseded by more recent investigations, he was so +imbued with the scientific spirit that he was enabled securely to lay +the foundation of all the work which followed. + +[Illustration: 321.jpg THE GREAT HALL OF ABYDOS] + +The distinguished French savant, Augustus Mariette, (1821-1881) began +his remarkable excavations in Egypt in the year 1850. The series of +discoveries inaugurated by him lasted until the year 1880. Mariette made +an ever-memorable discovery when he unearthed the famous Serapeum which +had once been the burial-place of the sacred bulls of Memphis, which the +geographer Strabo records had been covered over by the drifting sands of +the desert even in the days of Augustus. + +[Illustration: 322.jpg PROPYLON AT DENDERAH] + +The Serapeum was in the neighbourhood of the Sphinx, and, on account of +its great height, remained in part above the ground, and was visible to +all passers-by; while everything else in the neighbourhood except the +great Pyramid of Khûfûi was totally buried under the sand. Mariette +worked his way along the passage between the Great Sphinx and the other +lesser sphinxes which lay concealed in the vicinity, and thus gradually +came to the opening of the Serapeum. In November, 1850, his labours were +crowned with brilliant success. He discovered sixty-four tombs of +Apis, dating from the eighteenth dynasty until as late as the reign of +Cleopatra. He likewise found here many figures, images, ancient Egyptian +ornaments and amulets, and memorial stones erected by the devout +worshippers of antiquity. Fortunately for Egyptian archæology and +history, nearly all the monuments here discovered were dated, and were +thus of the highest value in settling the dates of dynasties and of the +reigns of individual monarchs. Mariette afterwards discovered a splendid +temple in the same place, which he proved to have been the famous shrine +of the god Sokar-Osiris. He was soon appointed by the Egyptian Viceroy, +Said Pasha, as director of the new museum of antiquities which was then +placed at Bulak, in the vicinity of Cairo, awaiting the completion of +a more substantial building at Gizeh. He obtained permission to make +researches in every part of Egypt; and with varying success he excavated +in as many as thirty-seven localities. In some of the researches +undertaken by his direction, it is to be feared that many invaluable +relics of antiquity may have been destroyed through the carelessness of +the workmen. This is to be accounted for from the fact that Mariette was +not always able to be present, and the workmen naturally had no personal +interest in preserving every relic and fragment from the past. It is +also to be regretted that he left no full account of the work which he +undertook, and for this reason much of it had to be gone over again by +more modern explorers. + +In the Delta excavations were made at Sais, Bubastis, and elsewhere. +Mariette also discovered the temple of Tanis, and many curious +human-headed sphinxes, which probably belong to the twelfth dynasty, +and represent its kings. He further continued the labours of Lepsius +about the necropolis of Memphis and Saqqâra. Here several hundred tombs +were discovered with the many inscriptions and figures which these +contained. One of the most important of these findings--a superb example +of Egyptian art--is the statue called by the Arabs “The Village +Chief,” which is now in the museum at Bulak. Mariette followed out his +researches on the site of the sacred city of Abydos. Here he discovered +the temple of Seti I. of the nineteenth dynasty. + +[Illustration: 324.jpg TYPES OF EGYPTIAN COLUMNS: 1, 2, 3, GEOMETRIC ‘, +6-11, BOTANICAL; 4, 5, 12, HATHORIC.] + +On the walls are beautiful sculptures which are exquisite examples of +Egyptian art, and a chronological table of the Kings of Abydos. Here +Seti I. and Ramses IL, his son, are represented as offering homage to +their many ancestors seated upon thrones inscribed with their names and +dates. + +Mariette discovered eight hundred tombs belonging for the most part +to the Middle Kingdom. At Denderah he discovered the famous Ptolemaic +temple of Hâthor, the goddess of love, and his accounts of these +discoveries make up a large volume. Continuing his labours, he excavated +much of the site of ancient Thebes and the temple of Karnak, and, south +of Thebes, the temple of Medinet-Habu. At Edfu Mariette found the temple +of Horus, built during the time of the Ptolemies, whose roof formed the +foundation of an Arab village. After persevering excavations the whole +magnificent plan of the temple stood uncovered, with all its columns, +inscriptions, and carvings nearly intact.* + + * In connection with the architecture of the ancient + Egyptian tombs, it is interesting to note that there was a + development of architectural style in the formation of + Egyptian columns not dissimilar in its evolution to that + which is visible in the case of the Greek and Roman columns. + + The earliest Egyptian column appears to have been of a + strictly geometrical character. This developed into a column + resembling the Doric order. A second class of Egyptian + column was based upon plant forms, probably derived from the + practice of using reeds in the construction of mud huts. The + chief botanical form which has come down to us is that of + the lotus. A more advanced type of decoration utilised the + goddess Hâthor for the support of the superincumbent weight + and has its analogy in the decadent caraytides of late Roman + times. + +Owing to Mariette’s friendship with the viceroy he was able to guard +his right to excavate with strict exclusiveness. He was accustomed to +allow other scholars the right to examine localities where he had been +the first one to make the researches, but he would not even allow the +famous Egyptologist, also his great friend, Heinrich Brugsch, to make +excavations in new places. After his death, conditions were somewhat +altered, although the general directorship of the excavations was still +given exclusively to Frenchmen. The successors of Mariette Bey were +Gaston Maspero, E. Grébault, J. de Morgan, and Victor Laret. But as time +went on, savants of other nationalities were allowed to explore, with +certain reservations. Maspero founded an archaeological mission in Cairo +in 1880, and placed at its head, in successive order, MM. Lebebure, +Grébault, and Bouriant. The first of all to translate complete Egyptian +books and entire inscriptions was Emanuel de Rougé, who exerted a great +influence upon an illustrious galaxy of French savants, who followed +more or less closely the example set by him. Among these translators we +may enumerate Mariette, Charles Deveria, Pierret, Maspero himself, and +Revillout, who has proved himself to be the greatest demotic scholar of +France. + +England is also represented by scholars of note, among whom may be +mentioned Dr. Samuel Birch (1813--85). He was a scholar of recognised +profundity and also of remarkable versatility. One of the most important +editorial tasks of Doctor Birch was a series known as “The Records +of the Past,” which consisted of translations from Egyptian and +Assyrio-Babylonian records. Doctor Birch himself contributed several +volumes to this series. He had also the added distinction of being the +first translator of the Egyptian _Book of the Dead_. + +Another English authority was Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson, who wrote +several important works on the manners and customs of the ancient +Egyptians. Wilkinson was born in 1797 and died in 1875. Whoever would +know the Egyptian as he was, in manner and custom, should peruse +the pages of his Egyptian works. His “Popular Account of the Ancient +Egyptians” has been the chief source of information on the subject. + +German scholars have done especially valuable work in the translation +of texts from the Egyptian temples, and in pointing out the relation +between these texts and historical events. Foremost among practical +German archaeologists is Karl Richard Lepsius, who was born in 1810 at +Naumburg, Prussia, and died in 1884 at Berlin. In his maturer years +he had a professorship in Berlin. He made excursions to Egypt in an +official capacity, and familiarised himself at first hand with the +monuments and records that were his life-study. The letters of Lepsius +from Egypt and Nubia were more popular than his other writings, and were +translated into English and widely read. + +Another famous German who was interested in the study of Egyptology +was Baron Christian Bunsen (1791-1867). From early youth he showed the +instincts of a scholar, but was prevented for many years from leading a +scholar’s life, owing to his active duties in the diplomatic service for +Prussia at Rome and London. During the years 1848--67, Bunsen brought +out the famous work called “Egypt’s Place in Universal History,” + which Brugsch deemed to have contributed more than any other work in +popularising the subject of Egyptology. + +Heinrich Carl Brugsch was born at Berlin in 1827 and died there in 1894. +Like Bunsen, he was a diplomatist and a scholar. He entered the +service of the Egyptian government, and merited the titles of bey +and subsequently of pasha. He became known as one of the foremost of +Egyptologists, and was the greatest authority of his day on Egyptian +writing. He wrote a work of standard authority, translated into English +under the title of “The History of Egypt under the Pharaohs.” The +chronology of Egypt now in use is still based upon the system created by +Brugsch, which, though confessedly artificial, nevertheless is able to +meet the difficulties of the subject better than any other yet devised. + +Among distinguished German Egyptologists must be mentioned Georg +Moritz Ebers (1839-96). He is best known by his far-famed novels, whose +subjects are taken from the history of ancient Egypt, perhaps the most +popular being “An Egyptian Princess.” Besides these popular novels and a +valuable description of Egypt, Ebers also made personal explorations in +the country, and discovered at Thebes the great medical papyrus, which +is called the Papyrus Ebers. This remarkable document, to which he +devoted so much labour, is our chief source of information regarding +the practice of medicine as it existed, and would alone keep the name of +Ebers alive among Egyptologists. + +The leading German Egyptologist of to-day is Dr. Adolf Erman, who was +born at Berlin in 1854. He is the worthy successor to Brugsch in the +chair of Egyptology at the University of Berlin, and is director of +the Berlin Egyptian Museum. His writings have had to do mainly with +grammatical and literary investigations. His editions of the “Romances +of Old Egypt” are models of scholarly interpretation. They give the +original hieratic text, with translation into Egyptian hieroglyphics, +into Latin and into German. Doctor Erman has not, however, confined his +labours to this strictly scholarly type of work, but has also written a +distinctly popular book on the life of the ancient Egyptians, which +is the most complete work that has appeared since the writings of +Wilkinson. + +The memorable speech of Erman, delivered on the occasion of his election +as a member of the Berlin Academy, sets forth clearly the progress +made in the science of Egyptology and present-day tendencies. On that +occasion he said: + +“Some of our older fellow-specialists complain that we of the younger +generation are depriving Egyptology of all its charm, and that, out of +a delightful science, abounding in startling discoveries, we have made +a philological study, with strange phonetic laws and a wretched syntax. +There is doubtless truth in this complaint, but it should be urged +against the natural growth of the science, and not against the personal +influence of individuals or its development. The state through which +Egyptology is now passing is one from which no science escapes. It is a +reaction against the enthusiasm and the rapid advance of its early days. + +“I can well understand to outsiders it may seem as though we had only +retrograded during later years. Where are the good old times when every +text could be translated and understood? Alas! a better comprehension of +the grammar has revealed on every side difficulties and impediments +of which hitherto nothing had been suspected. Moreover, the number of +ascertained words in the vocabulary is continually diminishing, while +the host of the unknown increases; for we no longer arrive at the +meaning by the way of audacious etymologies and still more audacious +guesses. + +“We have yet to travel for many years on the arduous path of empirical +research before we can attain to an adequate dictionary. There is indeed +an exceptional reward which beckons us on to the same goal, namely, +that we shall then be able to assign to Egyptian its place among the +languages of Western Asia and of Africa. At present we do well to +let this great question alone. As in the linguistic department of +Egyptology, so it is in every other section of the subject. The Egyptian +religion seemed intelligently and systematically rounded off when each +god was held to be the incarnation of some power of nature. Now we +comprehend that we had better reserve our verdict on this matter until +we know the facts and the history of the religion; and how far we are +from knowing them is proved to us by every text. The texts are full of +allusions to the deeds and fortunes of the gods, but only a very small +number of these allusions are intelligible to us. + +“The time has gone by in which it was thought possible to furnish the +chronology of Egyptian history, and in which that history was supposed +to be known, because the succession of the most powerful kings had been +ascertained. To us the history of Egypt has become something altogether +different. It comprises the history of her civilisation, her art, and +her administration; and we rejoice in the prospect that one day it may +be possible in that land to trace the development of a nation throughout +five thousand years by means of its own monuments and records. But we +also know that the realisation of this dream must be the work of many +generations. + +“The so-called ‘demotic’ texts, which lead us out of ancient Egypt into +the Græco-Roman period, were deciphered with the acumen of genius more +than half a century ago by Heinrich Brugsch, but to-day these also +appear to us in a new light as being full of unexpected difficulties and +in apparent disagreement with both the older and the later forms of +the language. In this important department we must not shrink from a +revision of past work. + +“I will not further illustrate this theme; but the case is the same in +every branch of Egyptology. In each, the day of rapid results is at an +end, and the monotonous time of special studies has begun. Hence I would +beg the Academy not to expect sensational discoveries from their new +associate. I can only offer what _labor improbus_ brings to light, and +that is _small_ discoveries; yet in the process of time they will +lead us to those very ends which seemed so nearly attainable to our +predecessors.” + +The German school may perhaps be said to have devoted its time +especially to labours upon Egyptian grammar and philology, while the +French school is better known for its excellent work on the history +and archaeology of ancient Egypt. On these topics the leading authority +among all the scholars of to-day is the eminent Frenchman, Professor +Gaston C. C. Maspero, author of the first nine volumes of the present +work. He was born at Paris, June 24,1846. He is a member of the French +Institute, and was formerly Professor of Egyptian Archeology and +Ethnology in the Collège de France, and, more recently, Director of +the Egyptian Museum at Bulak. His writings cover the entire field +of Oriental antiquity. In this field Maspero has no peer among +Egyptologists of the present or the past. He possesses an eminent gift +of style, and his works afford a rare combination of the qualities of +authority, scientific accuracy, and of popular readableness. + +Some extraordinary treasures from tombs were discovered in the year +1881. At that date Arabs often hawked about in the streets what +purported to be genuine works of antiquity. Many of these were in +reality imitations; but Professor Maspero in this year secured from an +Arab a funeral papyrus of Phtahhotpû I., and after considerable trouble +he was able to locate the tomb in Thebes from which the treasure had +been taken. Brugsch now excavated the cave, which was found to be the +place where a quantity of valuable treasures had been secreted, probably +at the time of the sacking of Thebes by the Assyrians. Six thousand +objects were secured, and they included twenty-nine mummies of kings, +queens, princes, and high priests, and five papyri, among which was +the funeral papyrus of Queen Makeru of the twentieth dynasty. The +mummy-cases had been opened by the Arabs, who had taken out the mummies +and in some instances replaced the wrong ones. Many mummies of the +eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties had been removed to this cave +probably for safety, on account of its secrecy. Out of the twenty-nine +mummies found here, seven were of kings, nine of queens and princesses, +and several more of persons of distinction. The place of concealment +was situated at a turn of a cliff southwest of the village of +Deîr-el-Baharî. + +The explorers managed successfully to identify King Raskamen of the +seventeenth dynasty, King Ahmosis I., founder of the eighteenth dynasty, +and his queen Ahmo-sis-Nofrîtari, also Queen Arhotep and Princess Set +Amnion, and the king’s daughters, and his son Prince Sa Amnion. They +also found the mummies of Thûtmosis I., Thûtmosis II. and of Thûtmosis +III. (Thûtmosis the Great), together with Ramses I., Seti I., Ramses +XII., King Phtahhotpû II., and noted queens and princesses. + +In the year 1883 the Egypt Exploration Fund was founded for the purpose +of accurate historical investigation in Egypt. The first work undertaken +was on a mound called the Tel-el-Mashuta, in the Wadi-et-Tumi-lat. +This place was discovered to be the site of the ancient Pithom, a +treasure-city supposed to have been built by the Israelites for Pharaoh. +In the Greek and Roman period the same place had been called Hereopolis. +M. Naville also discovered Succoth, the first camping-ground of the +Israelites while fleeing from their oppressor, and an inscription with +the word “Pikeheret,” which he judged to be the Pihahiroth of the Book +of Exodus. The next season the site of Zoan of the Bible was explored, a +village now termed San. + +Professor W. M. Flinders Petrie started work where a rim of red granite +stood up upon one of the many mounds in the neighbourhood. The site of +the ancient city had been here, and the granite rim was on the site of a +temple. The latter had two enclosure walls, one of which had been built +of sun-dried bricks, and was of extreme antiquity; the other was built +of bricks of eight times the size and weight of modern bricks, and the +wall was of very great strength. Dwelling-houses had been built in the +locality, and coins and potsherds discovered. These remains Professor +Petrie found to belong to periods between the sixth and twenty-sixth +dynasties. Stones were found in the vicinity with the cartouche of King +Papi from one of the earliest dynasties. There were also red granite +statues of Ahmenemhâît I., and a black granite statue of Kind Usirtasen +I. and of King Ahmenemhâît II., and a torso of King Usirtasen II. was +found cut from yellow-stained stone, together with a vast number of +relics of other monarchs. Parts of a giant statue of King Ramses II. +were discovered which must have been ninety-eight feet in height before +it was broken, the great toe alone measuring eighteen inches across, and +the weight of the statue estimated to be about 1,200 tons. In addition +to these relics of ancient monarchs, a large number of antiquities were +discovered, with remains of objects for domestic use in ancient Egyptian +society. + +The explorations conducted at Tanis during 1883-84 brought to light +objects mainly of the Ptolemaic period, because a lower level had not at +that period been reached, but here many invaluable relics of Ptolemaic +arts were unearthed. The results of researches were published at this +date bearing upon the Great Pyramid. Accurate measurements had been +undertaken by Professor Petrie, who was able to prove that during one +epoch systematic but unavailing efforts had been made to destroy these +great structures. + +Professor Maspero discovered among the hills of Thebes an important +tomb of the eleventh dynasty, which threw light upon obscure portions +of Egyptian history, and contained texts of the “Book of the Dead.” + The following year he discovered the necropolis of Khemnis in the +neighbourhood of Kekhrneen, a provincial town in Upper Egypt built on +the site of the ancient Panopolis. The remains were all in a state of +perfect preservation. + +In July, 1884, Professor Maspero secured permission from the Egyptian +government to buy from the natives the property which they held on the +site of the Great Temple at Luxor, and to prevent any further work of +destruction. These orders, however, were not carried out till early in +1885, when Maspero began excavating with one hundred and fifty workmen. +He first unearthed the sanctuary of Amenhôthes III., with its massive +roof. He brought to light the great central colonnade, and discovered a +portico of Ramses II., and many colossi, which were either still erect +or else had fallen on the ground. The columns of Amenhôthes III. were +next explored, which were found to be among the most beautiful of all +specimens of Egyptian architecture. It is believed that Luxor will prove +to have been a locality of almost as great a beauty as Karnak. + +During the season of 1884-85 Professor Petrie started excavations at the +modern Nehireh, which he learned was the site of the ancient Naucratis.* +Here many Greek inscriptions were found. + + * The investigations on this site were continued in the + season of 1888-89. + +[Illustration: 336.jpg ruins at luxor] + +This city was one of great importance and a commercial mart during the +reign of Ahmosis, although in the time of the Emperor Commodus it had +wholly disappeared. Two temples of Apollo were discovered, one of which +was built from limestone in the seventh century B.C.; and the other +was of white marble, beautifully decorated, and dating from the fifth +century. + +Magnificent libation bowls were also discovered here, some of which had +been dedicated to Hera, others to Zeus, and others to Aphrodite. The +lines of the ancient streets were traced, and a storehouse or granary +of the ancient Egyptians was unearthed, also many Greek coins. Besides +these were discovered votive deposits, cups of porcelain, alabaster +jugs, limestone mortars; and trowels, chisels, knives, and hoes. + +Much light was thrown by these discoveries on the progress of the +ceramic arts, and many links uniting the Greek pottery with the Egyptian +pottery were here for the first time traced. It was learned that the +Greeks were the pupils of the Egyptians, but that they idealised the +work of their masters and brought into it freer conceptions of beauty +and of proportion. + +M. Naville was engaged about this time in controversies as to the true +site of this ancient Pithom. He also made, in 1886, a search for the +site of Goshen. He believed he had identified this when he discovered +at Saft an inscription dedicated to the gods of Kes, which Naville +identified with Kesem, the name used in the Septuagint for Goshen. +Others, however, disagree, and locate the site of Goshen at a place +called Fakoos, twelve miles north of Tel-el-Kebir. + +The explorations of 1885-86 started under the direction of Professor +W. M. Flinders Petrie, Mr. F. Llewellen Griffith, and Mr. Ernest A. +Gardiner. Gardiner set out in the direction of Naucratis, and Petrie and +Griffith proceeded to explore the site of Tanis. The mound at which they +worked, like many other localities of modern and ancient Egypt, has been +known by a variety of names. It is called Tel Farum, or the Mound of the +Pharaoh; Tel Bedawi, the Mound of the Bedouins; and Tel Nebesheh, after +the name of the village upon this site. There are remains here of an +ancient cemetery and of two ancient towns and a temple. The cemetery +was found to be unlike those of Memphis, Thebes, or Abydos. It contained +many small chambers and groups of chambers irregularly placed about a +sandy plain. These were built mostly of brick, but there were other and +larger ones built of limestone. A black granite altar of the reign of +Ahmenemhait II. was discovered, and thrones of royal statues of the +twelfth dynasty. Here were also found a statue of Harpocrates, a portion +of a statue of Phtah, with an inscription of Ramses II., a sphinx and +tombs of the twentieth century B.C. containing many small relics of +antiquity. + +Professor Petrie went on from here to the site of Tell Defenneh, the +Tahpanhes of the Bible, called Taphne in the version of the Septuagint. +This proved to be the remains of the earliest Greek settlement in +Egypt, and contains no remains from a later period than the twenty-sixth +dynasty. It was here that Psammeticus I. established a colony of the +Carian and Ionian mercenaries, by whose aid this monarch had won +the throne; and this Greek city had been built as one out of three +fortresses to prevent the incursions of the Arabians and Syrians. The +city of Tahpanhes or Taphne is referred to in the book of Jeremiah. + +There were found on this site the remains of a vast pile of brick +buildings, which could be seen in outline from a great distance across +the plains. The Arabs called this “El Kasr el Bin el Yahudi,” that is, +“The Castle of the Jew’s Daughter.” This was found to have been a fort, +and it contained a stele with a record of the garrison which had been +stationed there; pieces of ancient armour and arms were also found in +the neighbourhood. There was likewise a royal hunting-box on this site, +and all the principal parts of the settlement were found to have been +surrounded by a wall fifty feet thick, which enclosed an area of three +thousand feet in length and one thousand in breadth. The gate on the +north opened towards the Pelusiac canal, and the south looked out upon +the ancient military road which led up from Egypt to Syria. Pottery, +bronze-work, some exquisitely wrought scale armour, very light but +overlapping six times, were unearthed within this enclosure. There were +also Greek vases and other Greek remains, dating in the earlier part +of the reign of Ahmosis, who had subsequently sent the Greeks away, and +prevented them from trading in Egypt. Since this Greek colony came to an +end in the year 570 B.C., and as the locality was no longer frequented +by Greek soldiers or merchants, it is possible to set an exact term to +the period of Greek art which these antiquities represent. The Greek +pottery here is so unlike that of Naucratis and of other places that it +seems to be well ascertained that it must have been all manufactured at +Defenneh itself. Outside the buildings of the Kasr, Petrie discovered a +large sun-baked pavement resting upon the sands, and this discovery was +of value in explaining a certain passage of the forty-third chapter of +Jeremiah, translated from the Revised Version as follows: “Then came the +word of the Lord to Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, saying, Take great stones in +thine hand, and hide them in the mortar of the brick-work which is at +the entry of Pharaoh’s house in Tahpanhes in the sight of the men of +Judah [i.e. Johannan and the captains who had gone to Egypt]; and say +unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold I +will send and take Nebuchadrezzar the King of Babylon, my servant, and +will set his throne upon these stones that I have hid; and he shall +spread his royal pavilion over them. And he shall come and smite the +land of Egypt.” An alternate reading for “brickwork” is the pavement +or square. The pavement which Jeremiah described was evidently the one +which Petrie discovered, though he was not able at the time to discover +the stones which, according to Jeremiah, had been inserted in the +mortar. Outside the camp wall was further discovered the remains of a +large settlement, strewn on all sides with bits of pottery and jewelry +and a great number of weights. + +During this season Maspero carried on researches at Luxor, and proceeded +to excavate in the neighbourhood of the Great Sphinx. There are many +Egyptian pictures which represent the Sphinx in its entirety down to +the paws, but the lower parts had for centuries been buried in the +accumulations of sand which had covered up all of the ancient site. +It had previously been supposed that the Sphinx had been hewn out of a +solid mass of rock resembling an immense boulder. Professor Maspero’s +excavations enabled him not only to verify the accuracy of the +old Egyptian paintings of the Sphinx, but also to show that a vast +amphitheatre had been hewn out of the rock round the Sphinx, which was +not therefore sculptured from a projecting rock. Since the upper rim of +this basin was about on the same level with the head of the figure, it +became evident that the ancient sculptors had cut the rock away on all +sides, and had subsequently left the Sphinx isolated, as it is at the +present day. Maspero dug down during this season to a depth of thirty +yards in the vicinity. + +Professor Maspero’s last official act as Director-General of the +Excavations and Antiquities of Egypt was his examination of the mummy of +Ramses II. found in 1884, in the presence of the khédive and other +high dignitaries. The mummy of this great conqueror was well preserved, +revealing a giant frame and a face expressive of sovereign majesty, +indomitable will, and the pride of the Egyptian king of kings. He +then unbandaged the mummy of Nofritari, wife of King Ahmosis I. of the +eighteenth dynasty, beside which, in the same sarcophagus, had been +discovered the mummy of Ramses ITT. The physiognomy of this monarch is +more refined and intellectual than that of his warlike predecessor; nor +was his frame built upon the same colossal plan. The height of the body +was less, and the shoulders not so wide. In the same season Maspero also +discovered an ancient Egyptian romance inscribed on limestone near the +tomb of Sinûhît at Thebes. A fragment on papyrus had been preserved at +the Berlin Museum, but the whole romance was now decipherable. + +Professor Maspero resigned his office of directorship on June 5, 1886, +and was succeeded in the superintendency of excavations and Egyptian +archeology by M. Eugene Grébault. In the same month Grébault started +upon the work of unbandaging the mummy of the Theban King Sekenenra +Ta-aken, of the eighteenth dynasty. It was under this monarch that a +revolt against the Hyksôs, or Shepherd Kings, had originated, in the +course of which the Asiatics were expelled from Egypt. The history of +this king has always been considered legendary, but from the signs of +wounds present in the mummy, it is certain that he had died in battle. +In the same season the mummy of Seti I. was unbandaged, and also that of +an anonymous prince. + +The next season the work of clearing away the sand from around the Great +Sphinx was vigorously prosecuted by Grébault. In the beginning of the +year 1887, the chest, the paws, the altar, and plateau were all +made visible. Flights of steps were unearthed, and finally accurate +measurements were taken of the great figures. The height from the lowest +of the steps was found to be one hundred feet, and the space between the +paws was found to be thirty-five feet long and ten feet wide. Here there +was formerly an altar; and a stele of Thûtmosis IV. was discovered, +recording a dream in which he was ordered to clear away the sand that +even then was gathering round the site of the Sphinx. + +M. Naville and Mr. F. Llewellen Griffiths explored during the season of +1886-87 the mound of Tel-el-Yehu-dieh (the mound of the Jew). The +site is probably that on which was once built the city that Ptolemy +Philadelphus allowed the Jews to construct. The remains of a statue of +the cat-headed goddess Bast, to which there is a reference in Josephus, +was also found here. The discovery of tablets of definitely Jewish +origin make it clear that the modern name had been given to the place +for some reason connected with the colony thus proved to have once been +settled there. + +Naville also made researches at Tel Basta, the site of the Bubastis +of the Greeks, the Pi Beseth of the Bible, and the Pi Bast of the +Egyptians, which was formerly the centre of worship of the goddess Pasht +and her sacred animal, the cat. The whole plan of the ancient temple was +soon disclosed, the general outline of which bears much resemblance to +that of the great Temple of San. In the division which Naville called +the Festival Hall were numerous black and red statues inscribed with the +name of Ramses II., but many of which were probably not really erected +by this monarch. Here there was also found a standing statue of the +Governor of Ethiopia, a priest and priestess of the twenty-sixth +dynasty, and many other monuments of the greatest historical interest. +The hall itself was built of red granite. + +Another hall, which Naville called the “Hypostyle Hall,” possessed a +colonnade of such beauty that it would seem to justify the statement of +Herodotus, that the temple of Bubastis was one of the finest in Egypt. +The columns were either splendid red granite monoliths, with lotus-bud +or palm-leaf capitals; or, a head of Hâthor from which fell two long +locks. These columns probably belonged to the twelfth dynasty. In what +Naville called the “Ptolemaic Hall” occurs the name Nephthorheb or +Nectanebo I. of the thirtieth dynasty. The relics of this remarkable +temple thus cover a period from the sixth to the thirtieth dynasties, +some 3,200 years. During this season Professor Petrie made important +discoveries in relation to the obscure Hyksôs dominion in Egypt. Many +representations of these Shepherd Kings were found, and, from their +physiognomy, it was judged that they were not Semites, but rather +Mongols or Tatars, who probably came from the same part of Asia as the +Mongul hordes of Genghis Khan. + +Early in 1888 excavations were resumed on the site of the great temple +of Bubastis by M. Edouard Naville, Mr. F. LI. Griffiths, and the Count +d’Hulst. The investigation again yielded the usual crop of antiquities +that was now always expected from the exploration of the famous sites. A +third hall was discovered, which had been built in the time of Osorkon +I., of red granite inlaid with sculptured slabs. There were also many +other monuments and remains of the monarchs, together with much valuable +evidence relating to the rule of the Hyksôs. + +Petrie brought to London many beautiful Ptolemaic and Roman portraits, +which he had discovered in a vast cemetery near the pyramid which bears +the name of King Ahmenemhâît III. The portraits are in an excellent +state of preservation, and are invaluable as illustrative of the +features, manners, and customs of the Greek and Roman periods in +Egyptian history. + +His researches in the neighbourhood of the Fayum at this time commenced +to bear fruit; and many questions were answered regarding the ancient +Lake Mceris. It was in this season also that the ever memorable +excavations conducted at Tel-el-Amarna were first begun. This place is +situated in Upper Egypt on the site of the capital, which had been built +by Ahmenhotpû IV. Here were discovered many clay tablets in cuneiform +characters containing documents in the Babylonian language. These were +found in the tomb of a royal scribe. The list contained a quantity +of correspondence from the kings or rulers of Palestine, Syria, +Mesopotamia, and Babylonia to Ahmenhotpû III. and IV. There were +Egyptian garrisons in those days in Palestine, and they were accustomed +to keep their royal masters well informed as to what was going on in the +country. Among other cities mentioned are Byblos, Smyrna, Appo or Acre, +Megiddo, and Ashpelon. During this season many relics of early Christian +art were discovered. In many cases a pagan picture had been in part +painted over, and thus given a Christian significance. Two figures of +Isis suckling Horus are, with slight alterations, made to represent the +Virgin and the Child. A bas-relief of St. George slaying the dragon was +discovered, which closely resembled that of Horus slaying Set. + +During the following season of 1888-89, Petrie resumed his excavations +round the pyramid of Hawara, which was supposed to be the site of the +famous Labyrinth. Work had been begun here in the season previous, +and it was now to be crowned with great success. All the underground +passages and secret chambers under the pyramid were examined, and the +inscriptions discovered of King Ahmenemhâît III. prove that this was +without doubt the pyramid of the monarch of that name. It was discovered +that the Romans had broken into the recesses of these secret chambers, +and many broken Roman _amphoræ_ were unearthed. Later Professor Petrie +examined the pyramid of Illahûn, which stands at the gate of the Fayum. +It is probable that this was on the site of the ancient locks which +regulated the flow of the Nile into Lake Moris. Many of the antiquities +here discovered bore inscriptions of King Usirtasen II., and, in the same +locality, was discovered the site of an early Christian cemetery dating +from the fifth or sixth centuries. A few miles from Illahûn, the same +indefatigable explorer discovered the remains of another town belonging +to the eighteenth or nineteenth dynasties. A wall once surrounded the +town, and beyond the wall was a necropolis. The place is now called +Tell Gurah, and the relics give inscriptions of Thûtmosis III. or +Tûtankhamon and of Horemheb. + +In the same season of 1888--89, Miss Amelia B. Edwards, who had been +sent out by the Egypt Exploration Fund, brought to a conclusion the +excavations which had been carried on for several seasons at Bubastis. +It was discovered that the temple itself dated back to the reign of +the famous Khûfûi (Kheops), the builder of the great Pyramid, since +an inscription with his name on it was discovered, together with one +inscribed to King Khafrî (Chephren). The monuments discovered on this +site were, for the most part, shipped to Europe and America. + +The city of Boston, Mass., received a colossal Hâthor-head capital of +red granite, part of a colossal figure of a king, an immense lotus-bud +capital from the Hypo-style Hall of the temple, a bas-relief in red +granite from the Hall of Osorken II., and two bas-reliefs of limestone +from the temple of Hâthor, taken from the ancient Termuther. + +[Illustration: 347.jpg THE LOTUS FLOWER NYMPHAEA LOTUS] + +Specimens recovered from here date from the fourth to the twenty-second +dynasties, and the relics from Termuther are from the last period of the +Ptolemies. + +Early in 1891, Professor Petrie made his exhaustive examination of the +pyramid of Me-dum, which he declared to be the earliest of all dated +Egyptian pyramids, and probably the oldest dated building in the world. +Its builder was Snofrui of the third dynasty; and, joined with it, and +in a perfect state of preservation, was the pyramid temple built at the +same period. From forty to sixty feet of rubbish had accumulated around +the buildings, and had to be removed. The front of the temple was thirty +feet wide and nine feet high, and a door was discovered at the south +end. A wide doorway leads to the open court built on the side of the +pyramid. In the centre of the court stands the altar of offerings, where +there is also an inscribed obelisk thirteen feet high. The walls of the +temple are all marked with _graffiti_ of visitors who belonged to the +twelfth and eighteenth dynasties. A statuette was found dedicated to the +gods of the town by a woman. + +The tombs at this place had been rifled in ancient times, but many +skeletons of people, who had been buried in a crouching attitude, were +discovered, and Petrie considered that these belonged to a different +race from that which was accustomed to bury the dead recumbent. A +quantity of pottery was also unearthed, dating from the fourth century. +The method by which the plan of a pyramid was laid out by the ancient +Egyptians was discovered in this excavation, and the designs show +considerable mechanical ingenuity in their execution, and afford a +perfect system for maintaining the symmetry of the building itself, no +matter how uneven the ground on which it was to be built. + +In the spring of 1891, M. Naville started an excavation on the site of +the ancient Heracleopolis Magna at a place now named Hanassieh. He found +here many Roman and Koptic remains, and further discovered the vestibule +of an ancient Egyptian temple. There were six columns, on which Ramses +II. was represented as offering gifts. The name of Menephtah was also +noticed, and the architraves above the columns were seen to be cut with +cartouches of Usirtasen II. of the twelfth dynasty. This temple was +probably one of those to the service of which Ramses II. donated some +slaves, as is described in one of the papyri of the Harris collection. + +A stone was discovered by Mr. Wilborn at Luxor, recording a period of +seven years’ successive failure of the Nile to overflow, and the efforts +made by a certain sorcerer named Chit Net to remove the calamity. + +During the season of 1895, Professor Petrie and Mr. Quibell discovered +homes belonging to paleolithic man on a plateau four thousand feet +above the Nile. Thirty miles south of Thebes, there are many large and +beautifully worked flints. Their great antiquity is proved by the fact +that they are deeply stained, whereas, in the same locality, there are +other flints of an age of five thousand years, which show no traces of +stains. + +Close by this site was discovered the abundant remains of a hitherto +unknown race. This race has nothing in common with the true Egyptians, +although their relics are invariably found with those of the Egyptians +of the fourth, twelfth, eighteenth, and nineteenth dynasties. Petrie +declares these men to have been tall and powerful, with strong features, +a hooked nose, a long, pointed beard, and brown, wavy hair. They were +not related to the negroes, but rather to the Amorites or Libyans. The +bodies in these tombs are not mummified, but are contracted, though laid +in an opposite direction from those discovered at Medum. The graves are +open, square pits, roofed over with beams of wood. This ancient race +used forked hunting-lances for chasing the gazelle, and their beautiful +flints were found to be like those belonging to an excellent collection +already existing in the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford. They also made +an abundant use of copper for adzes, harpoons for spearing fish, and +needles for sewing garments. They used pottery abundantly, and its +variety is remarkable no less than the quality, which, unlike the +Egyptian, was all hand-made and never fashioned by aid of the wheel. +They entered Egypt about 3,000 B.C., and were probably of the white +Libyan race, and possibly may have been the foreigners who overthrew the +old Egyptian empire. + +The discovery of the name of “Israel” in an Egyptian inscription was +in a sense, perhaps, the most remarkable event of the year 1895 in +archæology. It was first laid before the public by Professor Petrie,* +and was treated by Spiegelberg** in a communication to the Berlin +Academy, and by Steindorff.*** + + * Contemporary Review, May 1896. + + ** Sitzberichte, xxv., p. 593. 3. + + *** Zeitschrift fur deutsch. Alt. test. Wiss., 1896, p. 330. + +The name occurs in an inscription dated in the fifth year of Merenptah, +the successor of Ramses II., and often supposed to be the Pharaoh of the +Exodus. It is there written with the determinative of a people, not of +a city or country, and reads in our conventional transliteration +_Ysiràar_, but in reality agrees very closely to the Hebrew [...] the +last portion _aar_ being recognised as the equivalent of _el_ in several +words. Merenptah states that “Israel is fekt (?) without seed (grain or +offspring), Syria (Kharu) has become widows (Kharut) of or to Egypt.” We +can form no conclusion from these statements as to the relation in +which the Israelites stood to Pharaoh and to Egypt, except that they are +represented as having been powerless. It is pretty clear, however, from +the context that they were then in Palestine, or at least in Syria. +Steindorff suggests that they may have entered Syria from Chaldæa +during the disturbed times in Egypt at the end of the eighteenth +dynasty, and connects them with the movements of the Khabiri (Hebrews?) +mentioned in the Tel-el-Amarna tablets. On the other hand, it is of +course possible, as Professor Petrie points out, that this reference +to the Israelites may have some connection with the Exodus itself. +M. Clermont Ganneau thinks that the localities mentioned are all in +Southern Palestine.* + + * Revue Archéologique, xxix., p. 127. + +M. Edouard Naville found at Thebes many remains of the Punt sculptures. +The Puntites appear with their aquiline features, their pointed beards, +and their long hair; negroes also of black and brown varieties are +represented adjoining the Puntites proper. There are wickerwork +huts, and a figure of a large white dog with its ears hanging down. +Long-billed birds also appear flying about in the trees. Their nests +have been forsaken and robbed, and the men are represented as gathering +incense from the trees. Altogether, much invaluable information has been +gathered concerning the famous people who lived in the Land of Punt, and +with whom for a long period the Egyptians held intercommunication. Other +discoveries were made near the great temple of Karnak, and the buildings +of Medinet-Habu were cleared of rubbish in order to show their true +proportions. + +From its foundation, the Egypt Exploration Fund has received large +pecuniary support from the United States, chiefly through the enthusiasm +and energy of Dr. W. C. Winslow, of Boston. In 1880 Doctor Winslow, who +had been five months in Egypt, returned to America deeply impressed with +the importance of scientific research in Egypt, and, upon hearing of the +Exploration Fund in London, he wrote a letter expressive of his interest +and sympathy to the president, Sir Erasmus Wilson, which brought a +reply not only from him, but also from the secretary, Miss Edwards, +expatiating upon the purpose and needs of the society, and outlining +optimistically its ultimate accomplishments. + +Doctor Winslow was elected honorary treasurer of the Fund for the United +States for the year 1883-84.* Many prominent residents became interested +and added their names to its membership, and have given it their effort +and their hearty financial support. Among the distinguished American +members have been J. R. Lowell, G. W. Curtis, Charles Dudley Warner, and +among the chief Canadian members are Doctor Bourinot and Dr. J. William +Dawson. + + *The American subscriptions from the year 1883 rapidly + increased, and by the year 1895 had figured up to $75,800, + and the total number of letters and articles written during + that time had grown to 2,467. The organisation in America + consists of a central office at Boston, together with + independent local societies, such as have already been + formed in New York, Philadelphia, and Chicago. The Boston + office, and any independent local society, which subscribes + not less than $750 a year, is entitled to nominate a member + of the Committee. At the end of July, 1884, Doctor Winslow + had forwarded to London $1,332.20. + +The Fund has always preserved amicable relations with the Government +Department of Antiquities in Egypt. Excavations are conducted by +skilled explorers, and the results published promptly with due regard to +scientific accuracy and pictorial embellishment. The antiquities found +are either deposited in the National Museum at Cairo, or distributed +among public museums in the United Kingdom and the United States of +America and Canada, in strict proportion to the contribution of each +locality. Exhibitions are usually held in London in July of each year. + +The Fund now consists of three departments, for each of which separate +accounts are kept. These departments are: 1. The Exploration Fund, for +conducting archeological research generally, by means of systematic +excavations. 2. The Archæological Survey, for preserving an accurate +pictorial record of monuments already excavated but liable to +destruction. 3. The Græco-Roman Branch, for the discovery of the +remains of classical antiquity and early Christianity. + +The first work of the Græco-Roman Branch was to publish the recently +discovered Oxyrrhynchos papyri, of which two volumes, containing many +important classical and theological texts, were issued in 1898 and 1899 +and 1900. Among its contents are parts of two odes of Pindar, of which +one begins with a description of the poet’s relation to Xenocritus, the +inventor of the Locrian mode of music; a considerable piece of the +“Kolax” of Menander, one of the two plays upon which the “Eunuchus” of +Terence was based; part of a rhetorical treatise in Doric dialect, which +is undoubtedly a work of the Pythagorean school; the conclusion of the +eighteenth Keo-Tcfe of Julius Africanus, dealing with a question of +Homeric criticism; and part of a biography of Alcibiades. A new light +is thrown upon some of the less-known departments of Greek literature by +a well-preserved papyrus, which contains on one side a prose mime in two +scenes, a work of the school of Sophron, having points of resemblance to +the fifth mime of Herondas; while on the other side is an amusing farce, +partly in prose, partly in verse. The scene is laid on the shores of the +Indian Ocean, and the plot turns upon the rescue of a Greek maiden from +the hands of barbarians, who speak a non-Greek language with elements +apparently derived from Prakrit.* + + * This is a peculiarly interesting suggestion in view of the + fact that there is in the British Museum an unpublished + fragment which for some time was considered by Doctor Budge + to be a species of Egyptian stenography, but which has also + been suggested to be in Pehlevi characters. + +The new Homeric fragments include one of Iliad VI., with critical +signs and interesting textual notes. Sappho, Euripides (Andromache, +“Archelaus,” and “Medea”), Antiphanes, Thucydides, Plato (“Gorgias” and +“Republic”), Æschines, Demosthenes, and Xenophon are also represented. +Among the theological texts are fragments of the lost Greek original of +the “Apocalypse of Baruch” and of the missing Greek conclusion of the +“Shepherd” of Hennas. + +In the winter of 1898-99, Doctors Grenfell and Hunt conducted +excavations for the Græco-Roman Branch in the Fayûm. In 1899-1900, they +excavated at Tebtunis, in the Fayûm, on behalf of the University of +California; and by an arrangement between that university and the Egypt +Exploration Fund an important section of the Tebtunis papyri, consisting +of second-century B.C. papyri from crocodile mummies, was issued jointly +by the two bodies, forming the annual volumes of the Græco-Roman Branch +for 1900-01 and 1901-02. Since 1900 Doctors Grenfell and Hunt have +excavated each winter on behalf of the Græco-Roman Branch,--in 1900-01 +in the Fayûm, and in 1901-02 both there and at Hibeh, with the result +that a very large collection of Ptolemaic papyri was obtained. In the +winter of 1902-03, after finishing their work at Hibeh, they returned to +Oxyrrhynchos. Here was found a third-century fragment of a collection of +sayings of Jesus, similar in style to the so-called “Logia” discovered +at Oxyrrhynchos in 1897. As in that papyrus, the separate sayings +are introduced by the words “Jesus saith,” and are for the most part +unrecorded elsewhere, though some which are found in the Gospels (e.g. +“The Kingdom of God is within you” and “Many that are first shall +be last, and the last shall be first”) occur here in different +surroundings. Six sayings are preserved, unfortunately in an imperfect +condition. But the new “Logia” papyrus supplies more evidence concerning +its origin than was the case with its predecessor, for it contains an +introductory paragraph stating that what follows consisted of “the +words which Jesus, the Living Lord, spake” to two of His disciples; and, +moreover, one of the uncanonical sayings is already extant in part, the +conclusion of it, “He that wonders shall reign and he that reigns shall +rest,” being quoted by Clement of Alexandria from the Gospel according +to the Hebrews. It is, indeed, possible that this Gospel was the source +from which all this second series of “Logia” was derived, or they, or +some of them, may perhaps have been taken from the Gospel according to +the Egyptians, to which Professor Harnack and others have referred the +“Logia” found in 1897. But the discoverers are disposed to regard both +series as collections of sayings currently ascribed to our Lord rather +than as extracts from any one uncanonical gospel. + + +[Illustration: 357.jpg PAGE IMAGE] + + + + +CHAPTER VIII.--IMPORTANT RESEARCHES IN EGYPT + + +_The Royal Tombs at Abydos: Reconstruction of the First and Second +Dynasties: The Ten Temples at Abydos: The statuette of Khûfûi: Pottery +and Pottery Marks: The Expedition of the University of California._ + + +Some interesting explorations have been conducted in Egypt by the +Exploration Fund during the four years 1900-04, under the guidance of +Prof. W. M. Flinders Petrie, whose enthusiasm and patience for the work +in this field seem to increase with the years of labour. In the winter +of 1899-1900, Professor Petrie and his zealous helpers began their +investigation of the royal tombs of the first dynasty at Abydos. +Commenting on this undertaking, Professor Petrie writes: + +“It might have seemed a fruitless and thankless task to work at Abydos +after it had been ransacked by Mariette, and had been for the last four +years in the hands of the Mission Amélineau. My only reason was that +the extreme importance of results from there led to a wish to ascertain +everything possible about the early royal tombs after they were done +with by others, and to search even for fragments of the pottery. To work +at Abydos had been my aim for years past; but it was only after it +was abandoned by the Mission Amélineau that at last, on my fourth +application for it, I was permitted to rescue for historical study the +results that are here shown. + +“Nothing is more disheartening than being obliged to gather results out +of the fraction left behind by past plunderers. In these royal tombs +there had been not only the plundering of the precious metals and the +larger valuables by the wreckers of early ages; there was after that the +systematic destruction of monuments by the vile fanaticism of the Kopts, +which crushed everything beautiful and everything noble that mere greed +had spared; and worst of all, for history, came the active search in the +last four years for everything that could have a value in the eyes of +purchasers, or be sold for profit regardless of its source; a search in +which whatever was not removed was deliberately and avowedly destroyed +in order to enhance the intended profits of European speculators. The +results are therefore only the remains which have escaped the lust +of gold, the fury of fanaticism, and the greed of speculators in this +ransacked spot. + +“A rich harvest of history has come from the site which was said to be +exhausted; and in place of the disordered confusion of names without any +historical connection, which was all that was known from the _Mission +Amélineau_, we now have the complete sequence of kings from the middle +of the dynasty before Mena to probably the close of the second dynasty, +and we can trace in detail the fluctuations of art throughout these +reigns.” * + +At the time when Professor Maspero brought his history of Egypt to a +close, the earliest known historical ruler of Egypt was King Mena or +Menés.** + + * “The Royal Tombs of the First Dynasty,” Parts I.-II. + (Eighteenth and Twenty-first Memoirs of the Egypt + Exploration Fund), London, 1900-1902. + + ** See Volume I., page 322, et seq. + +Mena is the first king on the fragmentary list of Manetho, and the +general accuracy of Manetho was supported by the accounts of Herodotus +and other ancient writers. For several centuries these accounts were +accepted as the basis of authentic history. With the rise of the science +of Egyptology, however, search began to be made for some corroboration +of the actual existence of Mena, and this was found in the inscriptions +of a temple wall at Abydos, which places Mena at the head of the first +dynasty; and, allowing for differences of language, the records of +Manetho relating to the earlier dynasty were established. Mena was +therefore accepted as the first king of the first dynasty up to the very +end of the nineteenth century. + +As a result of Professor Petrie ‘s recent investigations, however, he +has been enabled to carry back the line of the early kings for three or +four generations. + +The royal tombs at Abydos lie closely together in a compact group on a +site raised slightly above the level of the surrounding plain, so that +the tombs could never be flooded. Each of the royal tombs is a large +square pit, lined with brickwork. Close around it, on its own level, +or higher up, there are generally small chambers in rows, in which were +buried the domestics of the king. Each reign adopted some variety in the +mode of burial, but they all follow the type of the prehistoric burials, +more or less developed. The plain square pit, like those in which the +predynastic people were buried, is here the essential of the tomb. It +is surrounded in the earlier examples of Zer or Zet by small chambers +opening from it. By Merneit these chambers were built separately around +it. By Den an entrance passage was added, and by Qa the entrance was +turned to the north. At this stage we are left within reach of the early +passage-mastabas and pyramids. Substituting a stone lining and roof for +bricks and wood, and placing the small tombs of domestics farther away, +we reach the type of the mas-taba-pyramid of Snofrui, and so lead on to +the pyramid series of the Old Kingdom. + +[Illustration: 361.jpg PLAN OF THE ROYAL TOMBS AS ABYDOS] + +The careful manner with which all details of a burial were supervised +under the first dynasty enables the modern Egyptologist, by a skilful +piecing together of evidence, to reconstruct an almost perfect picture +of the life of Egypt at the dawn of civilisation. One of our most +valuable sources of information is due to the fact that, in building the +walls of the royal tombs, there were deposited in certain parts within +the walls objects now technically known as _deposits_. We do not know +whether, in selecting these objects, the ancient Egyptian had regard +to what he considered their intrinsic value, or whether, as was most +probable, it was some religious motive that prompted his action. Often +the objects thus deposited come under the designation of pottery, +although the vases were sometimes shaped of stone and not of clay. +Within such vases all kinds of objects were preserved. The jar or vase +was closed with a lump of clay, either flat or conical, and the clay was +impressed, while wet, with a seal. + +A detailed and elaborate examination of the relative positions of the +tombs, their dimensions, and the objects found in them, compared with +the various fragments of historical records of the early dynasties, +enables us to reconstruct the exact order of these ancient rulers. This +sequence is: + +[Illustration: 362.jpg TABLE OF ANCIENT RULERS]* + + * Ka and Zeser were possibly brothers of Mena. + +Following the dating tentatively computed by Professor Petrie, the dates +of some of these kings are: + +[Illustration: 363a.jpg TABLE OF CHRONOLOGY OF EARLY KINGS] + +Thus we have reconstructed the list of Thinite kings before Mena so +far as the facts allow, and perhaps so far as we are ever likely to +ascertain them. + +The facts about the second dynasty, the kings after Qa, must now be +studied. In the tomb of Perabsen it was found that there were +buried with him vases of three other kings, which are therefore his +predecessors. Their names are Hotepahaui, Raneb, and Neteren; and it +is certain that Raneb preceded Neteren, as the latter had defaced and +re-used a vase of the former. As on statue No. 1, Cairo Museum, these +three names are in the above order, and, as the succession of two of +them is now proved, it is only reasonable to accept them in this order. +From all the available facts it seems that we ought to restore the +dynasty thus: + +[Illustration: 363b.jpg TABLE OF KINGS] + +The oldest tomb that we can definitely assign is that marked B 7, the +tomb of King Ka. This is a pit with sloping sides; the thickness of the +brick walls is that of the length of one brick, and the soft footing of +the wall and pressure of sand behind it has overthrown the longer sides. + +[Illustration: 364.jpg ENLARGED PLAN OF FIRST DYNASTY TOMBS] + +The broken pottery mixed with the sand, which filled it, largely +consisted of cylinder jars, like the later prehistoric form; and these +had many inscriptions on them, written in ink with a brush, most of +which showed the name of Ka in the usual panelled frame. There can +therefore be no doubt of the attribution of this tomb. + +The tomb B 9 is perhaps that of King Zeser, who seems to have been a +successor of Ka. It is of the same construction as that of Ka. The tomb +B 10 appears to be the oldest of the great tombs, by its easternmost +position; and the objects of Narmer point to this as his tomb. In both +the thickness and the batter of the walls there is a care shown in +proportioning the strength of the ends and the sides. The tomb B 15 +is probably that of King Sma. Its walls are not quite so thick, being +fifty inches at the end. The post-holes in the floor suggest that there +were five on the long side, and one in the middle of each end, as in the +tomb of Narmer. But along the sides are holes for roofing beams near the +top of the wall. These roof beams do not at all accord with the posts; +and this proves that, here at least, the posts were for backing a wooden +chamber inside the brick chamber. If this be the case here, it was +probably also true in Narmer’s tomb; and hence these brick tombs were +only the protective shell around a wooden chamber which contained the +burial. This same system is known in the first dynasty tombs, and we see +here the source of the chambered tombs of Zer and Zet. Before the age +of Mena, the space around the wood chamber was used for dropping in +offerings between the framing posts; and then, after Mena, separate +brick chambers were made around the wooden chamber in order to hold more +offerings.* + + *This chamber was burnt; and is apparently that mentioned by + M. Amélineau, Fouilles, in extenso, 1899, page 107. + +The tomb B 19, which contained the best tablet of Aha-Mena, is probably +his tomb; for the tomb with his vases at Naqada is more probably that of +his queen Neithotep. As both the tombs B 17 and 18 to the north of this +contained objects of Mena, it is probable that they were the tombs of +some members of his family. + +The great cemetery of the domestics of this age is the triple row of +tombs to the east of the royal tombs; in all the thirty-four tombs here, +no name was found beside that of Aha on the jar sealings, and the two +tombs, B 6 and B 14, seen to be probably of the same age. In B 14 were +found only objects of Aha, and three of them were inscribed with the +name of Bener-eb, probably the name of a wife or a daughter of Mena, +which is not found in any other tomb.* + + * Professor Petrie’s arguments, although home out by the + evidence that he produces, have from time to time been + criticised. M. Naville, for example, endeavours to prove + that the buildings in the desert are not literally tombs, + but rather temples for the cult of their Ka; and that there + ought not to be kings anterior to Mena, particularly at + Abydos: “Narmer” is really Boethos, the first king of the + second dynasty. According to M. Naville, Boethos, Usaphis, + and Miebidos are the only kings as yet identified of the + early time. M. Naville also suggests that Ka-Sekhem and Ka- + Sekhemui are two names for one king. + +[Illustration: 366.jpg EBONY TABLET OF KING AHA-MENA] + +From the time of Mena has come down to us an ebony tablet, as shown in +the illustration. This is the most complete of the inscriptions of this +king, and was found in two portions in the tombs marked B 18 and B 19. +The signs upon the tablet are most interesting. On the top line, after +the cartouche of Aha-Mena, there are two sacred boats, probably of +Sokaris, and a shrine and temenos of Nit. In the line below is seen a +man making an offering, and behind him is a bull running over undulating +ground into a net stretched between two poles, while at the end, +standing upon a shrine, is a bird, which appears to be the ibis of Thot. +A third line shows three boats upon a canal or river, passing between +certain places, and it has been reasonably conjectured that the other +signs in this line indicate these places as being Biu, a district of +Memphis; Pa She (or “the dwelling of the lake”), the capital of the +Fayum; and the Canal of Mer, or Bahr Yusef. So far this tablet +contains picture signs, but the fourth line gives a continued series of +hieroglyphics, and is the oldest line of such characters yet discovered. +Mr. F. LI. Griffiths translates these characters as “who takes the +throne of Horus.” + +In the north-west corner of the tomb, a stairway of bricks was roughly +inserted in later times in order to give access to the shrine of Osiris. +That this is not an original feature is manifest: the walls are burnt +red by the burning of the tomb, while the stairs are built of black +mud brick with fresh mud mortar smeared over the reddened wall. It is +notable that the burning of these tombs took place before their re-use +in the eighteenth dynasty; as is also seen by the re-built doorway of +the tomb of Den, which is of large black bricks over smaller red burnt +bricks. It is therefore quite beside the mark to attribute this burning +to the Kopts. + +The tomb of King Zer has an important secondary history as the site of +the shrine of Osiris, established in the eighteenth dynasty (for none of +the pottery offered there is earlier than that of Amenhôthes III.), and +visited with offerings from that time until the twenty-sixth dynasty, +when additional sculptures were placed here. + +[Illustration: 368.jpg TOMB OF ZER, 4700 B.C.] + +Afterwards it was despoiled by the Kopts in erasing the worship of +Osiris. It is the early state of the place as the tomb of King Zer that +we have to study here, and not its later history. + +The tomb chamber has been built of wood; and the brick cells around +it were built subsequently against the wooden chamber, as their rough, +unplastered ends show; moreover, the cast of the grain of the wood can +be seen on the mud mortar adhering to the bricks. There are also long, +shallow grooves in the floor, a wide one near the west wall, three +narrow ones parallel to that, and a short cross groove, all probably the +places of beams which supported the wooden chamber. Besides these there +was till recently a great mass of carbonised wood along the north side +of the floor. This was probably part of the flooring of the tomb, which, +beneath the woodwork, was covered with a layer of bricks, which lay +on clean sand. But all the middle of the tomb had been cleared to the +native marl for building the Osiris shrine, of which some fragments of +sculpture in hard limestone are now all that remain. + +A strange feature here is that of the red recesses, such as were also +found in the tomb of Zet. The large ones are on the west wall, and in +the second cell on the north wall. No meaning can yet be assigned to +these, except as spirit-entrances to the cells of offerings, like the +false doors in tombs of the Old Kingdom. + +In spite of the plundering of the tombs in various ages, the work of the +Egypt Exploration Fund was so thorough that not a few gold objects +have been found in the course of recent excavations. By far the most +important discovery of recent years was that of some jewelry in the tomb +of King Zer. The story of this find is so entertaining, and illustrates +so admirably the method of the modern scientific explorer, that we give +the account of it in Professor Petrie’s own words: + +“While my workmen were clearing the tomb, they noticed among the rubbish +which they were moving a piece of the arm of a mummy in its wrappings. +It lay in a broken hole in the north wall of the tomb. The party of four +who found it looked into the end of the wrappings and saw a large gold +bead, the rosette in the second bracelet. They did not yield to the +natural wish to search further or to remove it; but laid the arm down +where _they_ found it until Mr. Mace should come and verify it. Nothing +but obtaining the complete confidence of the workmen, and paying them +for all they find, could ever make them deal with valuables in this +careful manner. On seeing it, Mr. Mace told them to bring it to our huts +intact, and I received it quite undisturbed. In the evening the most +intelligent of the party was summoned as a witness of the opening of +the wrappings, so that there should be no suspicion that I had not dealt +fairly with the men. I then cut open the linen bandages, and found, +to our great surprise, the four bracelets of gold and jewelry. The +verification of the exact order of threading occupied an hour or two, +working with a magnifier, my wife and Mr. Mace assisting. When recorded, +the gold was put in the scales and weighed against sovereigns before +the workman, who saw everything. Rather more than the value of gold was +given to the men, and thus we ensured their good-will and honesty for +the future.” + +The hawk bracelet consists of thirteen gold and fourteen turquoise +plaques in the form of the façade with the hawk, which usually encloses +the _ka_ name of the king. The gold hawks have been cast in a mould +with two faces, and the junction line has been carefully removed and +burnished. The gold was worked by chisel and burnishing; no grinding or +file marks are visible. In the second bracelet, with the rosette, two +groups of beads are united at the sides by bands of gold wire and thick +hair. The fastening of the bracelet was by a loop and button. This +button is a hollow ball of gold with a shank of gold wire fastened in +it. The third bracelet is formed of three similar groups, one larger, +and the other smaller on either side. The middle of each group consists +of three beads of dark purple lazuli. The fastening of this bracelet +was by a loop and button. The fourth bracelet is fashioned of hour-glass +beads. + +In this extraordinary group of the oldest jewelry known, we see +unlimited variety and fertility of design. Excepting the plain gold +balls, there is not a single bead in any one bracelet which would be +interchangeable with those in another bracelet. Each is of independent +design, fresh and free from all convention or copying. + +The tomb of Zet consists of a large chamber twenty feet wide and thirty +feet long, with smaller chambers around it at its level, the whole +bounded by a thick brick wall, which rises seven and a half feet to the +roof, and then three and a half feet more to the top of the retaining +wall. Outside of this on the north is a line of small tombs about five +feet deep, and on the south a triple line of tombs of the same depth. +And apparently of the same system and same age is the mass of tombs +marked W, which are parallel to the tomb of Zet. Later there appears to +have been built the long line of tombs, placed askew, in order not to +interfere with those which have been mentioned, and then this skew line +gave the di-rection to the next tomb, that of Merneit, and later on to +that of Azab. The private graves around the royal tomb are all built of +mud brick, with a coat of mud plaster over it, and the floor is of sand, +usually also coated over with mud. + +[Illustration: 372.jpg TOMB OF ZET, CIRCA 4700 B.C.] + +The first question about these great tombs is how they were covered +over. Some have said that such spaces could not be roofed, and at first +sight it would seem almost impossible. But the actual beams found yet +remaining in the tombs are as long as the widths of the tombs, and +therefore timber of such sizes could be procured. In the tomb of Qa the +holes for the beams yet remain in the walls, and even the cast of the +end of a beam, and in the tombs of Merneit, Azab, and Mer-sekha are +posts and pilasters to help in supporting a roof. The clear span of +the chamber of Zet is 240 inches, or 220 if the beams were carried on +a wooden lining, as seems likely. It is quite practicable to roof +over these great chambers up to spans of twenty feet. The wood of such +lengths was actually used, and, if spaced out over only a quarter of the +area, the beams would carry their load with full safety. Any boarding, +mats, or straw laid over the beams would not increase the load. That +there was a mass of sand laid over the tomb is strongly shown by the +retaining wall around the top. This wall is roughly built, and not +intended to be a visible feature. The outside is daubed with mud +plaster, and has a considerable slope; the inside is left quite rough, +with bricks in and out. + +Turning now to the floor, the basis of it is mud plastering, which was +whitewashed. On that were laid beams around the sides, and one down the +middle: these beams were placed before the mud floor was hard, and have +sunk about one-quarter inch into it. On the beams a ledge was recessed, +and on this ledge the edges of the flooring planks rested. Such planks +would not bend in the middle by a man standing on them, and therefore +made a sound floor. Over the planks was laid a coat of mud plaster. This +construction doubtless shows what was the mode of flooring the palaces +and large houses of the early Egyptians, in order to keep off the damp +of the ground in the Nile valley. For common houses a basis of pottery +jars turned mouth down was used for the same purpose. A very striking +example of this method was unearthed at Koptos. + +The sides of the great central chamber of Zet are not clear in +arrangement. The brick cross walls, which subdivide them into separate +cells, have no finished faces on their ends. All the wall faces are +plastered and whitewashed; but the ends of the cross walls are rough +bricks, all irregularly in and out. Moreover, the bricks project forward +irregularly over the beam line. It seems, then, that there was an +upright timber lining to the chamber, against which the cross walls were +built the walls thus having rough ends projecting over the beams. The +footing of this upright plank lining is indicated by a groove left along +the western floor beam between the ledge on the beam and the side of +the flooring planks. Thus we reach a wooden chamber, lined with upright +planks, which stood out from the wall, or from the backs of the beams. +How the side chambers were entered is not shown; whether there was a +door to each or not. But as they were intended to be for ever closed, +and as the chambers in two corners were shut off by brickwork all round, +it seems likely that all the side chambers were equally closed. And +thus, after the slain domestics and offerings were deposited in them, +and the king in the centre hall, the roof would be permanently placed +over the whole. + +The height of the chamber is proved by the cast of straw which formed +part of the roofing, and which comes at the top of the course of headers +on edge which copes the wall all around the chamber. Over this straw +there was laid one course of bricks a little recessed, and beyond that +is the wide ledge all round before reaching the retaining wall. The +height of the main chamber was 90.6 inches from the floor level. + +Having examined the central chamber, the chambers at the sides should be +next considered. The cross walls were built after the main brick outside +was finished and plastered. The deep recesses coloured red, on the north +side, were built in the construction; where the top is preserved entire, +as in a side chamber on the north, it is seen that the roofing of +the recess was upheld by building in a board about an inch thick. +The shallow recesses along the south side were merely made in the +plastering, and even in the secondary plastering after the cross walls +were built. All of these recesses, except that at the south-west, were +coloured pink-red, due to mixing burnt ochre with the white. + +The tomb of Merneit was not at first suspected to exist, as it had no +accumulation of pottery over it; and the whole ground had been pitted +all over by the Mission Amélineau making “_quelques sondages_,” without +revealing the chambers or the plan. As soon, however, as Petrie began +systematically to clear the ground, the scheme of a large central +chamber, with eight long chambers for offerings around it, and a line of +private tombs enclosing it, stood apparent. The central chamber is very +accurately built, with vertical sides parallel to less than an inch. It +is about twenty-one feet wide and thirty feet long, or practically the +same as the chamber of Zet. Around the chamber are walls forty-eight +to fifty-two inches thick, and beyond them a girdle of long, narrow +chambers forty-eight inches wide and 160 to 215 inches long. Of these +chambers for offerings, Nos. 1, 2, 5, and 7 still contain pottery in +place, and No. 3 contains many jar sealings. + +At a few yards distant from the chambers full of offerings is a line +of private graves almost surrounding the royal tomb. This line has +an interruption at the south end of the west side similar to the +interruption of the retaining wall of the tomb of Zet at that quarter. +It seems, therefore, that the funeral approached it from that direction. + +The chamber of the tomb of Merneit shows signs of burning on both the +walls and the floor. A small piece of wood yet remaining indicates that +it also had a wooden floor like the other tombs. Against the walls stand +pilasters of brick; and, although these are not at present more than a +quarter of the whole height of the wall, they originally reached to the +top. These pilasters are entirely additions to the first building; they +stand against the plastering and upon a loose layer of sand and pebbles +about four inches thick. Thus it is clear that they belonged to the +subsequent stage of the fitting of a roof to the chamber. The holes that +are shown in the floor are apparently connected with the construction, +as they are not in the mid-line where pillars are likely. At the edge of +chamber No. 2 is a cast of plaited palm-leaf matting on the mud mortar +above this level, and the bricks are set back irregularly. This shows +the mode of finishing off the roof of this tomb. + +[Illustration: 377.jpg PLANS OF THE TOMBS OF DEN-SETUI AND OTHERS] + +From the position of the tomb of Den-Setui, it is seen naturally to +follow the building of the tombs of Zet and Merneit. It is surrounded by +rows of small chambers for offerings, and for the burial of domestics. +The king’s tomb appears to have contained a large number of tablets of +ivory and ebony, for fragments of eighteen were found, and two others +are known, making in all twenty tablets from this one tomb. The +inscriptions on stone vases are, however, not more frequent than in +previous reigns. This tomb appears to have been one of the most costly +and sumptuous. The astonishing feature of this chamber is the granite +pavement, such considerable use of granite being quite unknown until the +step pyramid of Saqqâra early in the third dynasty. At the south-west +corner is a strange annex. A stairway leads down from the west and then +turns to the north. At the foot of the first flight of steps is a +space for inserting planks and brickwork to close the chamber, like +the blocking of the door of the tomb of Azab.1 This small chamber was +therefore intended to be closed. Whether this chamber was for the burial +of one of the royal family, or for the deposit of offerings, it is +difficult to determine. Of the various rows of graves around the great +tomb there is nothing to record in detail. An ebony tablet, presumably +of the time of Den, found among the first dynasty tombs, represents a +scene in which a king is dancing before Osiris, the god being seated +in his shrine. This tablet is the earliest example of those pictorial +records of a religious ceremony which, as we now know, was continued +almost without change from the first dynasty to the thirty-third. It is +interesting to note on this engraving that the king is represented with +the _hap_ and a short stick instead of the oar. + +[Illustration: 379.jpg TABLET OF DEN-SETUI, 4600 B.C.] + +It should be noted also that the royal name, Setui, occurs in the lower +part of the tablet, so that there is a strong presumption that the +tablet is of the time of Den-Setui, and the presumption is almost a +certainty when the tablet is compared with some sealings found in its +vicinity. Mr. F. LI. Griffiths has written at length on this important +inscription.* + + * Royal Tombs of the first dynasty, Part I: Eighteenth + Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Fund, London, 1900, page 42. + +He thinks that this tablet and two others somewhat similar were the +brief annals of the time, and record the historic events and the names +of government officials. He translates a portion of the inscription as +“Opening the gates of foreign lands,” and in another part he reads, +“The master comes, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt.” Moreover, he +translates certain signs as “Sheikh of the Libyans,” and he identifies +a place named _Tny_ as This, or the capital of the nome in which Abydos +lay. + +Of this reign also is an ivory tablet finely polished, but blackened +with burning, which has engraved upon it the oldest architectural +drawing in the world. + +[Illustration: 380.jpg architectural drawing, B.C. 4600.] + +The inscription on this precious fragment apparently refers to the great +chiefs coming to the tomb of Setui, and a picture of a building in the +middle of the inscription may be taken as representing on the left the +tomb chamber of Den-Setui, with a slight mound over it. The upright +strokes represent the steles outside the tombs, adjacent to which is the +inclined stairway, while on the right is a diagram of the cemetery, with +graves ar-ranged in rows around the tomb, with small steles standing up +over the graves. + +A small piece of still another ivory tablet gives an interesting +portrait of Den-Setui. This king flourished about 4600 b. c, so that +this is perhaps the oldest portrait that can be named and dated. It +shows the double crown fully developed, and has an additional interest, +inasmuch as the crown of Lower Egypt was apparently coloured red, while +the crown of Upper Egypt was white in accordance with the practice that +we know existed during the later historic period. + +[Illustration: 381.jpg IVORY PANEL OF DEN-SETUI, 4600 B.C.] + +Among the many ivory objects found at Abydos is a small ivory panel from +a box which seems to have contained the golden seal of judgment of King +Den. + +The engraving of this ivory panel is of the finest description, and +bears evidence of the magnificent workmanship of the Egyptians 6,500 +years ago. It will be seen that enough of the fragment has been +preserved to include the cartouche of the monarch, and the snake at the +side is the pictograph of judgment. Beneath is the hieroglyph for gold, +and at the bottom is a sign which represents a seal cylinder* rolling +over a piece of clay. + + * It was for a long time thought that this hieroglyphic + character represented a finger ring, but as it is now + positively known that finger rings were not in use until + long after the time of Den, this explanation had to be + abandoned in favour of the more correct interpretation of a + seal cylinder. + +The tomb of Azab-Merpaba is a plain chamber, with rather sloping sides, +about twenty-two feet long and fourteen feet wide. The surrounding wall +is nearly five feet thick. The lesser and more irregular chamber on +the north is of the same depth and construction, fourteen feet by nine. +This lesser chamber had no remains of flooring; it contained many large +sealings of jars, and seems to have been for all the funeral provision, +like the eight chambers around the tomb of Merneit. Around this tomb is +a circuit of small private tombs, leaving a gap on the southwest like +that of Merneit, and an additional branch line has been added on at the +north. + +[Illustration: 382.jpg STAIRWAY IN THE TOMB AZAB] + +All of these tombs are very irregularly built; the sides are wavy in +direction, and the divisions of the long trench are slightly piled up, +of bricks laid lengthwise, and easily overthrown. This agrees with +the rough and irregular construction of the central tomb and offering +chamber. The funeral of Azab seems to have been more carelessly +conducted than that of any of the other kings here; only one piece of +inscribed vase was in his tomb, as against eight of his found in his +successor’s tomb, and many other of his vases erased by his successor. +Thus his palace property seems to have been kept back for his +successor’s use, and not buried with Azab himself. In some of the +chambers much ivory inlaying was found. + +The entrance to the tomb of Azab was by a stairway descending from the +east, thus according with the system begun by Den. On the steps, just +outside of the door, were found dozens of small pots loosely piled +together. These must have contained offerings made after the completion +of the burial. The blocking is made by planks and bricks, the whole +outside of the planking being covered by bricks loosely stacked, as can +be seen in the photograph, the planking having decayed away from before +them. The chamber was floored with planks of wood laid flat on the sand, +without any supporting beams as in other tombs. + +The tomb of Mersekha-Semempses is forty-four feet long and twenty-five +feet wide, surrounded by a wall over five feet thick. The surrounding +small chambers are only three to four feet deep where perfect, while the +central pit is still eleven and one-half feet deep, though broken away +at the top. When examined by Professor Petrie few of the small chambers +contained anything. Seven steles were found, the inscriptions of which +are marked in the chambers of the plan; and other steles were also found +here, scattered so that they could not be identified with the tombs. +The most interesting are two steles of dwarfs, which show the dwarf type +clearly; with one were found bones of a dwarf. In a chamber on the +east was a jar and a copper bowl, which shows the hammer marks, and +is roughly finished, with the edge turned over to leave it smooth. The +small compartments in the south-eastern chambers were probably intended +to hold the offerings placed in the graves; the dividing walls are only +about half the depth of the grave. + +[Illustration: 384.jpg TOMB OF MERSEKHA, SHOWING WOODEN FLOOR] + +The structure of the interior of the tomb of Mersekha is at present +uncertain. Only in the corner by the entrance was the wooden flooring +preserved; several beams (one now in Cairo Museum) and much broken wood +was found loose in the rubbish. The entrance is nine feet wide, and +was blocked by loose bricks, flush with wall face, as seen in the +photograph. Another looser walling farther out, also seen in the +photograph, is probably that of plunderers to hold back the sand. + +The tomb of King Qa, which is the last of the first dynasty, shows a +more developed stage than the others. Chambers for offerings are built +on each side of the entrance passage, and this passage is turned to the +north, as in the mastabas of the third dynasty and in the pyramids. The +whole of the building is hasty and defective. + +[Illustration: 385.jpg PLAN OF TOMB OF QA, CIRCA 4500 B.C.] + +The bricks were mostly used too new, probably less than a week after +being made. Hence the walls have seriously collapsed in most of the +lesser chambers; only the one great chamber was built of firm and +well-dried bricks. In the small chambers along the east side the long +wall between chambers 10 and 5 has crushed out at the base, and spread +against the pottery in the grave 5, and against the wooden box in grave +2. Hence the objects must have been placed in those graves within a few +days of the building of the wall, before the mud bricks were hard enough +to carry even four feet height of wall. The burials of the domestics +must therefore have taken place all at once, immediately after the +king’s tomb was built, and hence they must have been sacrificed at the +funeral. The pottery placed in the chambers is all figured in position +on the plan. + +[Illustration: 386.jpg STYLE OF KING QA] + +Only three steles were found in the grave of Qa, but these were larger +than those of the earlier graves. One of them, No. 48, is the longest +and most important inscription that has come down to us from the first +dynasty. This lay in a chamber on the west side of the tomb. In the +preparation of the stele, the block of stone had been ground all over +and edges rounded. On its surface the hieroglyphs were then sketched in +red ink, and were finally drawn in black, the ground being then roughly +hammered out. There the work stopped, and the final scraping and +dressing of the figures was never accomplished. The reading of the signs +is therefore difficult, but enough is seen to show that the keeper +of the tomb bore the name of Sabef. He had two titles which are now +illegible, and was also “Overseer of the Sed Festival.” This scanty +information goes to show how little the official titles were changed +between the days of the first dynasty and the time of the building of +the pyramids. The stele of the king Qa was found lying over chamber; +it is like that found by M. Amélineau, carved in black quartzose stone. +Near it, on the south, were dozens of large pieces of fine alabaster +bowls. + +Among various objects found in these chambers should be noted the fine +ivory carving from chamber 23, showing a bound captive; the large stock +of painted model vases in limestone in a box in chamber 20; the set of +perfect vases found in chamber 21; a fine piece of ribbed ivory; a piece +of thick gold-foil covering of a hotep table, patterned as a mat, found +in the long chamber west of the tomb; the deep mass of brown vegetable +matter in the north-east chamber; the large stock of grain between +chambers 8 and 11; and the bed of currants ten inches thick, though +dried, which underlay the pottery in chamber 11. In chamber 16 were +large dome-shaped jar sealings, with the name of Azab, and on one of +them the ink-written signs of the “King’s ka.” + +The entrance passage has been closed with rough brick walling at the +top. It is curiously turned askew, as if to avoid some obstacle, but the +chambers of the tomb of Den do not come near its direction. After nine +steps, the straight passage is reached, and then a limestone portcullis +slab bars the way, let into grooves on either side; it was, moreover, +backed up by a buttress of brickwork in five steps behind it. All this +shows that the rest of the passage must have been roofed in so deeply +that entry from above was not the obvious course. The inner passage +descends by steps, each about five inches high, partly in the slope, +partly in the rise of the step. The side chambers open off this stairway +by side passages a little above the level of the stairs. + +The interior structure of the tomb of Qa is rather different from any +other. Instead of the timber being an entirely separate structure apart +from the brick, the brick sides seem here to have been very loosely +built against the timber sides. Some detail yet remains of the wooden +floor. The roofing is distinct in this tomb, and it is evident that +there was an axial beam, and that the side beam only went half across +the chamber. This is the only tomb with the awkward feature of an axial +doorway, and it is interesting to note how the beam was placed out of +the axis to accommodate it. + +The tomb of Perabsen shows a great change in form since the earlier +series. A new dynasty with new ideas had succeeded the great founders +of the monarchy; the three reigns had passed by before we can again see +here the system of the tombs. Even the national worship was changed, +and Set had become prominent. The type of tomb which had been developed +under Azab, Mer-sekha, and Qa seems to have given way to the earlier +pattern of Zer and Zet. In this tomb of Perabsen we see the same row of +small cells separated by cross walls, like those of the early kings; +but in place of a wooden central chamber there is a brick chamber, and +a free passage is left around it communicating with the cells. What was +the form of the south side of that chamber cannot now be traced, as, if +any wall existed, it is now entirely destroyed. The entirely new feature +is the continuous passage around the whole tomb. Perhaps the object of +this was to guard against plunderers entering by digging sideways into +the tomb. + +[Illustration: 389.jpg STONE CHAMBER OF KHASEKHEMUI] + +The tomb of Khasekhemui is very different from any of the other royal +tombs yet known. The total length of the chamber from end to end is two +hundred and twenty-three feet, and the breadth in the middle is forty +feet, growing wider towards the northern end. The whole structure is +very irregular; and, to add to the confusion, the greater part of it was +built of freshly made mud bricks, which have yielded with the pressure +and flowed out sideways, until the walls are often double their original +breadth. It was only owing to this flow of the walls over the objects +in the chambers, that so many valuable things were found perfect, and +in position. Where the whole of the original outline of a wall had +disappeared, the form is given in the plan with wavy outline. + +The central stone chamber of the tomb of Khasekhemui is the most +important part of the whole, as it is the oldest stone construction yet +known. The chamber is roughly seventeen by ten feet; the depth is nearly +six feet. There is no sign of any roof. + +Nearly all the contents of this tomb were removed by the French +investigators in 1897. Among the more interesting objects found were +sealings of yellow clay, which were curiously enough of different types +at opposite ends of the tomb. Copper needles, chisels, axes, and model +tools were also found, and a beautiful sceptre of gold and sard was +brought to light by Professor Petrie, only an inch or two below a spot +that had been cleared by previous explorers. + +In chamber 2 of the tomb of Khasekhemui were also found six vases +of dolomite and one of carnelian. Two of these are shown in the +illustration, and each has a cover of thick gold-foil fitted over the +top, and secured with a double turn of twisted gold wire, the wire being +sealed with a small lump of clay, the whole operation resembling the +method of the modern druggist, in fastening a box of ointment. Near +these vases were found two beautiful gold bracelets; one, Number 3, +is still in a perfect condition; the other, Number 4, has been, +unfortunately, crushed by the yielding of the wall of the tomb in which +it was deposited. + +[Illustration: 391.jpg GOLD-CAPPED VASES AND GOLD BRACELETS] + +Each royal grave seems to have had connected with it two great steles. +Two, for instance, were found in the tomb of Merneit, one of which, +however, was demolished. There were also two steles at the grave of Qa. +So far only one stele had been found of Zet, and one of Mersekha, and +none appear to have survived of Zer, Den, or Azab. These steles seem to +have been placed at the east side of the tombs, and on the ground level, +and such of them as happened to fall down upon their inscribed faces +have generally been found in an excellent state of preservation. + +Hence we must figure to ourselves two great steles standing up, side by +side, on the east of the tomb; and this is exactly in accord with the +next period that we know, in which, at Medum, Snofrui had two great +steles and an altar between them on the east of his tomb; and Rahotep +had two great steles, one on either side of the offering-niche, east +of his tomb. Probably the pair of obelisks of the tomb of Antef V., at +Thebes, were a later form of this system. Around the royal tomb stood +the little private steles of the domestics, placed in rows, thus forming +an enclosure about the king. + +Some of Professor Petrie’s most interesting work at Abydos was commenced +in November, 1902. In the previous season a part of the early town of +Abydos had been excavated, and it was found that its period began at the +close of the prehistoric age, and extended over the first few dynasties; +the connection between the prehistoric scale and historic reigns was +thus settled. The position of this town was close behind the site of the +old temples of Abydos, and within the great girdle-wall enclosure of the +twelfth dynasty, which stands about half a mile north of the well-known +later temples of Seti I. and Ramses II. This early town, being behind +the temples, or more into the sandy edge of the desert, was higher up; +the ground gently sloping from the cultivated land upward as a sandy +plain, until it reaches the foot of the hills, a couple of miles back. + +The broad result of these new excavations is that ten different temples +can be traced on the same ground, though of about twenty feet difference +of level; each temple built on the ruins of that which preceded it, +quite regardless of the work of the earlier kings. + +In such a clearance it was impossible to preserve all the structures. +Had Petrie and his companions avoided moving the foundations of the +twenty-sixth dynasty, they could never have seen much of the earlier +work; had they left the paving of the twelfth dynasty in place, they +must have sacrificed the objects of the Old Kingdom. + +[Illustration: 393.jpg GENERAL PLAN OF BUILDINGS AT ABYDOS] + +Also, had they only worked the higher levels, and left the rest, the +inflow of high Nile would have formed a pond, which would have so +rotted the ground that deeper work could not have been carried on in the +future. The only course, therefore, was to plan everything fully, and +remove whatever stood in the way of more complete exploration. All +striking pieces of construction, such as the stone gateways of Papi, +were left untouched, and work carried on to deep levels around them; in +this way, at the end of the season, the site was bristling with pieces +of wall and blocks of stonework, rising ten or fifteen feet above +the low level clearances. As the excavations progressed, there was +an incessant need of planning and recording all the constructions. +Professor Petrie always went about with a large dinner-knife and +a trowel in his pocket, and spent much time in cutting innumerable +sections and tracing out the lines of the bricks. The top and base level +of each piece of wall had to be marked on it; and the levels could then +be measured off to fixed points. + +An outline of some of the principal buildings is given, to show the +general nature of the site of the temple of Abydos. This plan is not +intended to show all periods, nor the whole work of any one age; but +only a selection which will avoid confusion. The great outer wall on the +plan was probably first built by Usirtasen I.; the bricks of the oldest +parts of it are the same size as bricks of his foundation deposits, and +it rests upon town ruins of the Old Kingdom. But this wall has been so +often broken and repaired that a complete study of it would be a heavy +task; some parts rest on nineteenth dynasty building, and even Roman +patchwork is seen. Its general character is shown with alternating +portions, the first set consisting of towers of brickwork built in +concave foundations, and then connecting walls between; formed in +straight courses. The purpose of this construction has long been a +puzzle. The alternate concave and straight courses are the natural +result of building isolated masses, on a concave bed like all Egyptian +houses, and then connecting them by intermediate walls. The hard face +across the wall, and the joint to prevent the spread of scaling, are the +essential advantages of this construction. + +The corner marked Kom-de-Sultan is the enclosure which was emptied out +by Mariette ‘s diggers, because of the abundance of burials with steles +of the twelfth to eighteenth dynasties. + +[Illustration: 395.jpg WALL OF USIRTASEN I.] + +They have removed all the earth to far below the base of the walls, thus +digging in most parts right through the town of the Old Kingdom, which +stood here before the great walls were built. The inner two sides of +this enclosed corner are later than the outer wall; the bricks are +larger than those of Usirtasen, and the base of the wall is higher than +his. The causeway line indicated through the site by a dotted line from +the east to the west gate is a main feature; but it is later than the +sixth dynasty, as the wall of that age cuts it, and it was cut in two +by later buildings of the twentieth dynasty. It seems then to begin with +Usirtasen, whose gateways it runs through; and to have been kept up by +Thûtmosis III., who built a wall with granite pylon for it, and also +by Ramses II., who built a great portal colonnade of limestone for the +causeway to pass through on entering the cemetery outside the west wall +of this plan. + +To the north of the causeway are seen the tombs of the first dynasty. +One more, No. 27, was found beneath the wall of Thûtmosis; it was of the +same character as the larger of the previous tombs. All of these are far +below any of the buildings shown on this outline plan. + +Of the two long walls, marked vi., the inner is older, but was re-used +by Papi. It is probably the temenos of the third dynasty. The outer +wall is the temenos of the sixth dynasty, the west side of which is +yet unknown, and has probably been all destroyed. The temple of Papi +is shown in the middle with the north-west and south sides of the thin +boundary wall which enclosed it. The thick wall which lies outside of +that is the great wall of the eighteenth dynasty, with the granite +pylon of Thûtmosis III. It seems to have followed the line of the sixth +dynasty wall on the north. The outline marked xix. shows a high level +platform of stone, which was probably for the basement of buildings of +Ramses II. + +Within the area of these temples was discovered quite a number of +historical relics. None is more interesting, perhaps, than the ivory +statuette of the first dynasty king. This anonymous ruler is figured as +wearing the crown of Upper Egypt, and a thick embroidered robe. + +From the nature of the pattern and the stiff edge represented, it looks +as if this robe were quilted with embroidery; no such dress is known +on any Egyptian figure yet found. The work belongs to an unconventional +school, before the rise of the fixed traditions; it might have been +carved in any age and country where good natural work was done. In its +unshrinking figuring of age and weakness with a subtle character, it +shows a power of dealing with individuality which stands apart from all +the later work. + +[Illustration: 395.jpg IVORY STATUETTE OF FIRST DYNASTY KING] + +Of greater interest, however, is the ivory statuette of Khûfûi, which +is the first figure of that monarch that has come to light. The king is +seated upon his throne, and the inscription upon the front of it leaves +no doubt as to the identity of the figure. The work is of extraordinary +delicacy and finish; for even when magnified it does not suggest any +imperfection or clumsiness, but might have belonged to a life-sized +statue. The proportion of the head is slightly exaggerated; as, indeed, +is always the case in minute work; but the character and expression are +as well handled as they might be on any other scale, and are full of +power and vigour. The idea which it conveys to us of the personality +of Khûfûi agrees with his historical position. We see the energy, the +commanding air, the indomitable will, and the firm ability of the man +who stamped for ever the character of the Egyptian monarchy and outdid +all time in the scale of his works. No other Egyptian king that we know +resembled this head; and it stands apart in portraiture, though perhaps +it may be compared with the energetic face of Justinian, the great +builder and organiser. + +[Illustration: 398.jpg ivory statuette of khufvi.] + +Two ivory lions were also found in one of the private tombs around that +of Zer. It is evident that these lions were used as playing pieces, +probably for the well-known pre-historic game of Four Lions and a Hare, +for the bases of the lions are much worn, as if by sliding about upon a +smooth surface, and the pelt of the lion, as originally carved, is also +worn off as if by continued handling. The lion shown in the illustration +is of a later style than those of Zer or of Mena. Near the place where +this was found were a few others. One of them, apparently a lioness, is +depicted with a collar, indicating that the animal had been tamed, +and yet another had inserted within the head an eye accurately cut in +chalcedony. Another valuable object unearthed at Abydos was the sceptre +of King Khase-khemui. This consisted of a series of cylinders of sard +embellished at every fourth cylinder with double bands of thick gold, +and completed at the thinner end with a plain cap of gold, copper rod, +now corroded, binding the whole together. + +During the reign of King Zer the ivory arrow tip began to be commonly +used; hundreds were gathered from his tomb, and the variety of forms is +greater than in any other reign. Besides the plain circular points, +many of them have reddened tips; there are also examples of quadrangular +barbed tips, and others are pentagonal, square, or oval. Only the plain +circular tips appear in succeeding reigns down to the reign of Mersekha, +except a single example of the oval forms under Den. + +[Illustration: 399.jpg CARVED IVORY LION] + +Some flint arrow-heads were also found around the tomb of Zer, mostly of +the same type as those found in the tomb of Mena. Two, however, of these +arrow-heads, Numbers 13 and 14, are of a form entirely unknown as yet +in any other age or country. The extreme top of the head is of a chisel +form, and this passes below into the more familiar pointed form. The +inference here is almost inevitable, and it seems as if the arrow-heads +had been made in this peculiar way with a view to using the arrow a +second time after the tip was broken in attacking an animal. + +[Illustration: 400.jpg ANCIENT EGYPTIAN ARROWS] + +Another curious object dating from this reign and classed among the +arrows is a small portion of flint set perpendicularly into the end of +a piece of wood. This, in the opinion of Professor Giglioli, is not +an arrow at all, but a tattooing instrument. If this explanation be +correct, then this instrument is an extremely interesting find, for the +fact has been recently brought to light that tattooing was in vogue +in prehistoric times, and there is, moreover, at Cairo, the mummy of +a priestess of the twelfth dynasty having the skin decorated in this +manner. + +Among the domestic articles is an admirable design of pair of tweezers, +made with a wide hinge and stiff points. Of analogous interest are two +copper fish-hooks, which, however, have no barbs. Needles also, which we +know were used in prehistoric days, appear in the relics of the tomb of +Zer and of subsequent rulers. Of the reign of Zer are also found copper +harpoons cut with a second fang, similar forms being found among +the remains of Mersekha and of Khasekhemui. In the centre of the +illustration is seen the outline of a chisel of the time of Zer, very +similar to those used in the early prehistoric ages. The same continuity +from prehistoric to first dynasty times is shown in the shape of the +copper pins dating from Zer, Den, Mersekha, and Qa. + +[Illustration: 401.jpg MISCELLANEOUS COPPER OBJECTS] + +At various times quite a considerable number of articles relating to +intimate daily life has been discovered. An exceedingly fortunate find +was that of an ivory comb of crude but careful workmanship, and which, +even after the lapse of sixty-seven centuries, has only lost three of +its teeth. This comb, according to the inscription on it, belonged to +Bener-ab, a distinguished lady, whose tomb has been already mentioned, +and who was either the wife or the daughter of King Mena of the first +dynasty. + +Of the class of domestic objects is the primitive but doubtless quite +effective corn-grinder shown in the illustration. This was found in +an undisturbed tomb in the Osiris temenos, where also was a strangely +shaped three-sided pottery bowl, similar in shape to a stone bowl of the +same period, but otherwise unknown in antiquity. This three-sided bowl +may be regarded as a freak of the workman rather than as having any +particular value along the line of evolution of pottery forms; and it +is interesting to note that bowls of this form have been quite recently +made by the modern English potters in South Devonshire, as the result of +the inventive fancy of a village workman. + +During the course of the excavations at Abydos many thousands of +fragments of pottery were collected. + +[Illustration: 402a.jpg IVORY COMB, B. C. 4800] + +Those that appeared to be of historic value were sorted and classified, +and, as a result of minute and extended labours, it is now possible for +the reader to see at a glance the principal types of Egyptian pottery +from prehistoric times, and to view their relationship as a whole. The +diagram exhibits an unbroken series of pottery forms from s.d. 76 to +B.C. 4400. + +[Illustration: 402b.jpg CORN-GRINDER AND THREE-SIDED BOWL] + +The forms in the first column are those classified according to the +chronological notation devised by Professor Petrie, enabling a “sequence +date” (s. d.) to be assigned to an object which cannot otherwise be +dated. In the second column are forms found in the town of Abydos, and +in the last column are those unearthed in the tombs. Most of the large +jars bear marks, which were scratched in the moist clay before being +baked; some few were marked after the baking. + +[Illustration: 403.jpg TYPES OF PREHISTORIC AND FIRST DYNASTY POTTERY] + +Some of the marks are unquestionably hieroglyphs; others are probably +connected with the signs used by the earlier prehistoric people; and +many can scarcely be determined. + +[Illustration: 404a.jpg POTTERY MARKS] + +A typical instance of these pottery marks is shown in the illustration. +These signs appear to be distinctly of the time of Mer-sekha, and the +fortified enclosure around the name may refer to the tomb as the eternal +fortress of the king. These marks can be roughly classified into types +according to the skill with which they were drawn. The first example +illustrates the more careful workmanship, and the others show more +degraded forms, in which the outline of the hawk and the signs in the +cartouche become gradually more debased. It is tolerably certain that +what are known as the Mediterranean alphabets were derived from a +selection of the signs used in these pottery marks. + +[Illustration: 404b.jpg POTTERY FORMS FROM ABYDOS] + +An undisturbed tomb was found by accident in the Osiris temenos. The +soil was so wet that the bones were mostly dissolved; and only fragments +of the skull, crushed under an inverted slate bowl, were preserved. The +head had been laid upon a sandstone corn-grinder. Around the sides of +the tomb were over two dozen jars of pottery, most of them large. And +near the body were sixteen stone vases and bowls. Some of the forms, +such as are shown in the illustration, Nos. 3, 7, 8, are new to us. A +strange three-sided pottery bowl was also found here, but since there +is no museum in England where such a complete tomb can be placed, it was +sent to Philadelphia, in order that the whole series should be arranged +as originally found. + +The sealings, the general description of which has been already given, +have come to light in such considerable quantities during the past few +years that their study became a special branch of Egyptology. As to +the earliest sealings, it was not until the time of Den that a broad +uniformity of style was established. The seals of the second dynasty are +generally of a smaller style and more elaborately worked than those of +the first dynasty. It is reasonable, therefore, to conclude that the +later seals were made in stone or metal rather than in wood. + +[Illustration: 405.jpg THREE TYPES OF SEALINGS] + +The illustration given of sealing No. 128, of the Egypt Exploration Fund +collection, shows a very fair type of the figuring of men and animals at +the time of the first dynasty as a survival of the prehistoric manner of +engraving. Here, then, at the very dawn of history, we find a spirited +depiction of the human form, for, rude though it is, there can be no +doubt but that it is a representation of the human figure, and stiff and +ungainly though the action of the drawing be, there can be no doubt as +to the progressive movement intended by the artist. On a sealing, No. +116, is seen the leopard with the bent bars on his back. The shrine upon +the same seal is of the general form, and is like the early huts with +reed sides, and an interwoven palm-rib roof. This is a specimen of an +intermediate manner of workmanship. The most advanced stage of art in +the sealings of the first dynasty, is No. 108. This is the royal seal of +King Zer, B.C. 4700, showing him seated and wearing the crowns of Upper +and Lower Egypt. By his side are the royal staff and his cartouches. It +was workmanship of this character which survived in Egypt almost as late +as Roman times; that is to say, the same style engraving was current in +the Valley of the Nile for forty-six centuries. + +A particularly interesting sealing is a representation of two jars with +the flat seals across their tops. + +[Illustration: 406.jpg A SEALING SHOWING JARS] + +These jars, moreover, are depicted as bound around with a network of +rope in a manner which corresponds with some fragments of rope found +around some jars of this character. + +[Illustration: 407.jpg accounts on pottery, B.C. 4600] + +A small fragment of pottery originally forming the base of a brown +earthenware dish had inscribed upon it some accounts, and is the oldest +of such business records yet found in Egypt. The exact import of the +figures is not yet entirely intelligible, but they seem to refer +to quantities of things rather than to individuals, as the numbers, +although mostly twenty, are sometimes one hundred and two hundred. This +interesting fragment was found at the tomb of Zet, and thus establishes +the use of arithmetic before 4600 B.C. + +The expedition supported by Mrs. Hearst, in the name of the University +of California, has done some useful work at El-Ahaiwah, opposite +Menshiyeh. The main cemetery at this place is an archaic one, containing +about a thousand graves or more, of which about seven hundred had +already been plundered. Between these plundered graves, about 250 were +found untouched in modern times. The graves yielded a good collection of +archaic pottery, pearl and ivory bracelets, hairpins, carnelian, garnet, +gold, blue glaze and other beads, etc. + +About this cemetery was a cemetery of the late New Empire, containing a +number of vaulted tombs built of unburned brick. These yielded a large +number of necklaces, and several fine pieces of faïence and ivory, and +other objects. A second cemetery, farther north, contained a few late +archaic graves and about fifteen large tombs, usually with one main +chamber and two small chambers at each end. These tombs were of two +types (1) roofed over with wood, without a stairway, (2) roofed over +with a corbelled vault and entered from the west by a stairway. The +burials in these tombs are in the archaic position, head to south. +Dissected, or secondary, burials occur in these cemeteries, but +only rarely. Only one indisputable case was found, as shown in the +illustration. + +[Illustration: 408.jpg UNIQUE INSTANCE OF A DISSECTED BURIAL] + +It would require several volumes adequately to deal with the results +of the excavations of the present century. Further discoveries, all +throwing new light upon the life of ancient Egypt, are being made each +season, and the number of enthusiastic workers gathered from every +nation constantly increases. Notwithstanding the heroic and splendid +work of past investigators, for many years to come the valley of the +Nile promises to yield important results, not only in actual field work, +but also in the close study and better classification of the thousands +of objects that are continually being brought to light. + +Six thousand years of history have been unrolled; tomb and tablet, shard +and papyrus have told their story, and the vista stretches back to +the dawn of human history in that inexhaustible valley watered by the +perennial overflow of the grandest river in the world. But there is +much still to be accomplished by the enthusiastic spirit, the keen and +selective mind, in the study of this ancient land, the cradle and the +grave of nations. + +THE END. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of History Of Egypt From 330 B.C. To The +Present Time, Volume 12 (of 12), by S. Rappoport + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF EGYPT *** + +***** This file should be named 17332-8.txt or 17332-8.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/3/3/17332/ + +Produced by David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, +set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to +copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to +protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark. Project +Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you +charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission. 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