IH^_^

icki( '^icic ^^^ '^^^ '^^^ ^^-^ ^^^ "^^^ ^^^

M m

r\r '\

O i

n ^''

0

t

r- CU„

^^

I

rz. D

uu

,IJ

O

, LJ

\ J \ J

V y ^

m, W>

I I

^ 1

UC-NRLF

NiLe.

l.^]^-f<<^-J<.fl

HOTSS FOR TRAVSLLSKS m SGYFT.

w

11' —

C^7

v_^

70 -9 0

M€m wmmmER mMomuL

i<^^. .^^^

^K^-

wm^.

^^x.

m^t

^^^

t^ -.. V

THE NILE

llotes for Craklkrs in ^gjipt,

THE NILE.

Jioba for iJratielkra in CgDnt.

BY

E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, M.A, Litt.D., D.Litt., D.Lit.,

FORMERLY TYKWHITT HEBREW SCHOLAR, AND SCHOLAR OF CHKISt's COLLEGE,

CAMBRIDGE, KEEPER OF THE EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES,

BRITISH MUSEUM.

NINTH EDITION

WITH MAPS, PLANS OF TEMPLES, AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS.

LONDON:

TIIOS. COOK & SON (EGYPT), Ltd.

LUDGATE CIRCUS.

CA IR 0 : TIIOS. COOK & SON (EGYPT), Ltd.

1905.

\EHtcred at Stationeii IlalL]

HARRISON AND SONS,

PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HIS MAJESTY,

ST. martin's lane, LONDON.

INTRODUCTION.

Having for some years felt the insufficiency of the information given by Dragomans to travellers on the Nile, and finding with one or two striking exceptions how limited is their knowledge of facts relating to the history of the antiquities in Upper Egypt, Messrs. Thos, Cook and Son have arranged with Dr. E. A. Wallis Budge to compile the following pages, which they have much pleasure in presenting to every passenger under their Nile arrangements on their Tourist Steamers and Dahabiyahs. In this way passengers will no longer be liable to be misled (unintentionally) by Dragomans, but will be able at their leisure to prepare themselves for what they have to see, and thus by an agreeable study add to the interest with which their visits to the various places are made.

4^7695

EGYPTOLOGICAL WORKS

BY

E. A. WALLIS BUDGE, M.A., Eitt.D., D.Litt., I). Lit.,

KEEI'RR OK THE EGYPTIAN AND ASSYRIAN AN'l K^UITIES IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM.

The Book of the Dead. In three Volumes. Vol. I. The Complete Egyptian Texts printed in hieroglyphic type ; Vol. II. Vocabulary ; Vol. III. Translation. Illustrated by three large coloured fac- similes of sections of papyri, and eighteen plates in black and white. Demy 8vo. Price of the complete work £,2. \os. Vols. I. and II. (not sold separately) £1 ; Vol. III. (sold separately) ;^i 5 J. net.

The Book of the Dead. The papyrus of Ani, in the British Museum. With translation and transliteration, and a series of introductory chapters on the religion of the ancient Egyptians. 4to. Half-morocco, £\ \os.

The Book of the Dead (Papyri of Hunefer, Anhai, Nu, Queen Netchemet, Kerasher, etc.). Folio. £2. \os.

Egyptian Religion. Crown 8vo. 3^. dd. net.

Egyptian Magic. Crown 8vo. 31. 6af. net.

Egyptian Language. Crown Svo. 35-. dd. net.

The Book of the Dead. With over 400 illustrations. English trans- lation. 3 Vols., 3^. dd. each.

The Rosetta Stone. 2 Vols. y. 6d. -each.

The Decree of Canopus. 3^^. 6d.

A History of Egypt in 8 Vols. 3x. 6d. each.

Vol. I. Egypt in the Neolithic and Archaic Periods.

Vol. II. Egypt under the Great Pyramid Builders.

Vol. III. Egypt under the Amenemhats and Hyksos.

Vol. IV. Egypt and her Asiatic Empire.

Vol. V. Egypt under Rameses the Great.

Vol. VI. Egypt under the Priest-kings, and Tanites, and Nubians.

Vol. VII. Egypt under the Saites, Persians, and Ptolemies.

Vol. VIII. Egypt under the Ptolemies and Cleopatra VII. With full Index to the whole work.

First Steps in Egyptian. Demy 8vo. gs. net.

An Egyptian Reading Book for Beginners. \Vith a Vocabulary. Demy 8vo. 15.V. net.

The Dwellers on the Nile. 8vo. 3^.

The Sarcophagus of Ankhnesneferabra. On text.s from the sarcophagus of this Queen, with translations, vocabulary, etc. 4to. ys. dd.

The Mummy, or Chapters on Egyptian Archaeology. 8vo. i-zs, dd. Many illustrations.

Catalogue of the Egjrptian Antiquities in the Harrow School Museum. 8vo. 3^.

Catalogue of the Egyptian Antiquities in the Fitzwilliam Museum. Cambridge. 8vo. \os. dd.

The Martyrdom and Miracles of St. George of Cappadocia.

Coptic texts with English translation. 105. 6d.

St. Michael the Archangel. Three Encomiums in the Coptic texts, with translations. Imperial Svo. 15^. net.

The Earliest-known Coptic Psalter. The text in the dialect of Upper Egypt, edited from the Unique Papyrus Codex Oriental 5000 in the British Museum. Imperial 8vo. i$s. The Edition is strictly limited to 350 copies.

LONDON : KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & Co., Ltd., Paternoster House, Charing Cross Road.

PREFACE TO THE NINTH EDITION.

The short descriptions given in the present work of the principal Egyptian monuments on each side of the Nile were first drawn up in accordance with suggestions made by my friend the late Mr. J. M. Cook ; they are not in any way intended to form a " Guide to Egypt." They were written for the use. of those travellers who have very few weeks to spend in Egypt, and who wish to carry away from that country some of the more important facts connected with the fast-perishing remains of one of the most interesting and ancient civilizations that has been developed on the face of the earth. They have been, however, added to considerably, and modified in the light of modern discoveries in Egypt.

Those who are able to make a stay of two or three months in the country, and to visit sites in the Delta which are off the beaten track, and Mount Sinai, and to journey up the Nile beyond Khartum so far south as Gondokoro, will find the Egyptian remains, both ancient and modern, more fully treated in the " Handbook for Egypt and the Siidin," which I have written for Messrs. Thos. Cook and Son. Experience has shown that the

PREFACE.

greater numl^er of travellers in Egypt are more interested in the remains and civilization of the ancient Egyptians than in the history of Egypt under the rule of the Persians, Ptolemies, Romans, Arabs, and Turks. It is for this reason that no attempt has been made to describe, otherwise than in the briefest manner possible, its history under these foreign rulers, and only such facts connected with them as are absolutely necessary for a general understanding of its monuments have been inserted. In addition to such descriptions, a few chapters have been added on the history of the country during the rule of the Pharaohs, and on its people, and their buildings, their religion, and their methods of writing. The lists of hieroglyphic characters and their phonetic values, printed on pp. 191- 198, will, it is hoped, be useful to those who may wish to spell out the royal names on tombs, and temples, and the commoner words which occur in the inscriptions.

In transcribing Arabic names of places, the system in general use throughout Europe has been employed, but well-known names like '' Cairo," " Luxor," etc., have not been altered. Similarly, the ordinary well- known forms of Egyptian proper names such as " Rameses," '' Amenophis," " Hophra," etc., have been used in preference to the more correct transcriptions, " Ra-messu," " Amen-hetep," and " Uah-ab-Ra."

The dates assigned to the Egyptian kings are those of the late Dr. Heinrich Brugsch, who based his calcu- lations on the assumption that the average duration of

PREFACE XI

a generation was thirty-three years. Hence it will be readily understood that the date assigned to Rameses II. (VkC. 1333), for instance, is only approximately correct. In recent years many attempts have been made to reduce the length of the historic period of Egypt, and to prove that the reigns of the historic kings of Egypt were considerably antedated by the early Egyptologists. Recent excavations, however, have shown that the dynastic Egyptians and their predynastic ancestors occupied the Nile Valley for many thousands of years, and even if Manetho's list of kings were to be proved incorrect in every particular, and the total years of the reigns of the dynastic kings to be reduced by 1500 years, the great antiquity of Egyptian civilization is a fact which cannot be gainsaid.

In the last three editions of '' The Nile," con- siderable alterations and additions have been made. As a result of recent excavations many of the articles have been entirely re-written, and a brief description of the antiquities between Wadi Haifa and Khartum has been included. So much general interest has been aroused in the Copts and Muhammadans, that additional chapters on the religious history of these peoples have been added. In deference to many suggestions, the summary of the events which have taken place in Egypt under British influence has been considerably amplified, and the short chapter on " Progress in Egypt " will prove to what excellent purpose Lord Cromer has toiled in that land. The

Xll PREFACE.

notes on the history and development of the idea of the Mahdi among the Muhammadans, will, it is hoped, explain to the reader, who has not found time to examine into the Arabic sources, how religious fanaticism, acting on the minds of people who have been the victims of a long course of systematic misgovernment and oppression, has overthrown kings and deluged whole countries with blood.

In compiling certain sections of this work for facts and figures I have drawn frequently from Lord Cromer's official Despatches, and from the reports and works of Sir William Garstin, K.C.M.G., Major H. G. Lyons, R.E., and other officials in the service of the Egyptian Government. The works of Sir F. R. Wingate, K.C.B., etc., Sir Rudolf von Slatin Pdsha, K.C.B., Father Ohrwalder, and Mr. Charles Royle have supplied many facts concerning Mahdism and the reconquest of the Sudan, and from Edward Lane's " Modern Egyptians " I have derived much information concerning phases of modern Egyptian life which have now passed away.

In former editions of this work descriptions were given of the principal antiquities which were ex- hibited in the rooms of the Egyptian Museum at Gizah, but the frequent rearrangement of the collections made useless all attempts to indicate the places in which they were to be found. Now that the antiquities have been removed and arranged in the new Egyptian Museum at Cairo, and Professor Maspero has written and published an account of the

PREFACE. XUl

collection under his charge, it is unnecessary to do more than to refer the reader to the official " Guide to the Cairo Museum." For the convenience, how- ever, of those who are interested in the history of the National Egyptian Collection of Egypt, and of those who purchase small antiquities in the Museum, the general archaeological and other notes which appeared in former editions of " The Nile " have been reprinted.

E. A. Wallis Budge.

November 22, 1904,

CONTENTS.

I'AGE

Map of Egypt

Introduction by Messrs. Thos. Cook & Son ...

V.

Preface to the Ninth Edition ...

ix.

Egyptian History and its sources

I

Tablet of Abydos

5

„ SakHra

8

„ Karnak

9

Annals ...

9

Historical Stelae

lO

Decrees

TO

Biblical Notices

lO

Tell al-'Amarna Tablets

14

Greek and Roman Writers

.. i8

Predynastic Period

21

Historical Summary —

Dynastic Period —

Ancient Empire

23

Middle Empire...

•• 30

New Empire

40

Persians...

49

Macedonians ......

.. 49

Ptolemies

.. 49

Romans...

•• 53

The Byzantines

•• 59

Muhammadans...

62

Turkish Rule ...

73

French Rule

74

Muhammad 'Ali

75

British Rule

81

XVI

CONTENTS.

Dates assigned to the Egyptian Dynasties by Egypto

legists Progress in Egypt under British Rule The Country of Egypt The Nomes of Egypt The Ancient Egyptians

The Nile

The Barrages Aswan Dam Asyut Dam

The Oases

Ancient Egyptian Buildings, Sculpture, Painting, etc

Egyptian Writing

A list of the Principal Hieroglyphic Signs

The Rosetta Stone — Translation

Arabic Alphabet

Coptic Alphabet

Egyptian Months

The History of Aahmes, son of Abana

The Religion and Gods of Egypt

The Modern Egyptians

Sketch of Coptic History

The Arabs and Muhammadanism :-

Muhammad the Prophet . . .

The Hijra ...

Al-Kur'an

Islam % Belief in God

Angels

Resurrection

Predestination

Prayer

Almsgiving

Fasting

Pilgrimage to Mecca

CONTENTS

The Ka*aba

Polygamy and Divorce

Murder, Theft ...

Festivals ...

Ramadan ...

Sects

The Mahdi

The Mahdi of the SMsin

The Khalifa

Birth, Marriage, Death

Call to Prayer

Weights and Measures Alexandria

The Pharos

Library and Museum

Serapeum ...

Pompey's Pillar ...

Cleopatra's Needles

Catacombs

Damanh<ir

Kafr az-Zayyat ... Tanta ...

Benha el-'Asal

Rosetta Stone ...

Suez and the Suez Canal

Ganaffa

Fa'id

Nefisha

Ismalliya ...

WadiTtirailat

Ab6 Sftwer

Al-Mahsama

Tell al-Maskhtita ...

Al-Kassasin

Tellal-Kabir

xvn

PAGE

XVlll

CONTENTS.

Abu Hammad Abtl al-Akhdar . . • Zakazik Khata'na ... San al-Hagar

Tanis

Burden Balbes Anshas

MashtM as-Suk .. Shabin al-Kanatir.. Nawa

Kalyiib .. Cairo

Coptic Churches .. Mosques ... Mosque of 'Amr . . ,

„ Ahmad ibn TiiMn ...

„ Hakim

„ Al-Azhar

„ Sultan Hasan ...

„ Barkuk

„ Mu'ayyad

„ K^'it Bey

Al-Gh^ri

„ Sittah Zenab ... ...

„ Al-Hasanen ...

Tombs of the Khahfs

„ MamMks

The Citadel

Joseph's Well

The Library

Ezbekiyeh Garden

The Nilometer at Roda ...

The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities

366 366 367 369 369 370 372 372 372 372 372 373 373 374

375 380 380 380 381 381 382

383 3^3 3^3 383 383 383 384 384 385 385

385 386 386 387

CONTENTS. xix

PAGE

Heliopolis ... ... ... ... ... ... 409

The Pyramids of Gizah ... ... ... ... 411

The Great Pyramid ... ... ... ... 413

The Second Pyramid 418

The Third Pyramid ... ... ... ... 419

The Sphinx ... ... ... ... ... ... 423

The Temple of the Sphinx ... ... ... ... 425

The Tomb of Numbers ... ... ... ... 425

Campbell's Tomb ... ... .. ... ... 425

The Pyramids of Abu-Roash 426

The Pyramids of Abusir 426

Bedrashen, Memphis, and Sakkara 427

The Statue of Rameses II. ... ... ... ... 430

Sakkara... ... ... ... ... ... ... 431

The Step Pyramid ... ... ... ... ... 431

Pyramid of Unas .. . ... ... ... ... 432

Pyramid of Teta ... ... ... ... ... 433

Pyramid of Pepi I. ... ... ... ... 433

The Serapeum ... ... ... ... ... 434

The Tomb of Thi 436

Mariette's House ' 439

The Pyramids of Dahshur .... ... ... ... 440

The Quarries of Ma'sara and Turra ... ... ... 449

Upper Egypt — Cairo to Asw^n by railway ... ... 449

The Pyramids of Lisht ... ... ... ... 453

The Pyramid of Medum ... ... ... ... 453

Atfih 454

Wasta and the Fayyum, Lake Moeris ... ... 455

Pyramid of Hawara ,. ... ... ... ... 356

Beni Suvvef ... ... ... ... ... ... 458

Ahnas and Herakleopolis 459

Maghaghah 460

Oxyrrhynchus ... ... ... ... ... .. 460

Behnesa ... ... ... ... ... ... 460

Cynopolis .., ... ... .. ... ... 460

XX CONTENTS.

PAGE

Kulfisna

460

Samallut

... 460

Convent of the Pulley

... 461

Minyah...

... 462

Beni Hasan, Speos Artemidos, Tombs, etc. .

... 463

Roda

... 472

Antinoe...

••• 473

Ashmiinen

... 4-73

Al-Barsha

... 474

Melawi

••• 475

Haggi Kandil and Tell al-'Amarna ...

••• 475

Gebel Abu Fedah

... 478

Manfaiat

... 478

Asyiit

... 478

Abu Tig

... 480

Tahtah

.. 480

Suhag

... 480

The White and Red Monasteries

480-483

Akhmim, Menshah, Girgeh

... 483

Abydos ...

... 484

Temple of Seti I. ...*

... 487

Temple of Rameses II. ....

... 490

Farshut

... 493

NagHamadi

..• 493

Kasr es-Sayyad...

•• 493

Kena

• 493

1 he Temple of Denderah

.. 494

Kuft

... 497

KCls ...

... 498

Nakada

.. 498

Luxor and Thebes

... 500

The Temple of Luxor

... 504

The Temple at Karnak

... 511

The Temple at Kurna

... 522

The Ramesseum , .

... 523

CONTENTS.

The Colossi of Amenophis III.

Medinet Habii

The Temple of Rameses III.

Der al-Bahari

Hatshepset

The Tomb of Hatshepset

The 'I'emple of Menthu-hetep III.

Der al-Medinet

Drah Abu'l-Nekka

Asasif ...

Shekh Abd al-Kurna

Kurnet Murrai ... Tomb of Rekh-ma- Ra . . .

TombofNekht

The Tombs of the Kings —

Tomb of Min-Nekht

Tomb of Sen-nefer

Tomb of Ra-men-kheper-senb

Tomb of Pehsukher

Tomb of Mentu-her-khepesh-f

Tomb of Amu-netcheh . . .

Tomb of Mai

Tomb of Nefer-hetep

Tomb of Kha-em-hat

Tomb of Amen-em-heb . . .

Tomb of Heru-em-heb

Tomb of Amen-em-apt ...

Tombs of the Queens Tombs of the Kings —

Tomb of Thothmes I.

Tomb of Hatshepset

Tomb of Thothmes III.

Tomb of Amen-hetep II.

Tomb of Thothmes IV. ...

Tomb of Amen-hetep III.

XXll

CONTENTS.

Tomb of Ai

Tomb of Rameses I.

Tomb of Seti I

Tomb of Rameses 11.

Tomb of Amen-Meses

Tomb of Menephthah

Tomb of Seti II

Tomb of Set-nekht

Tomb of Rameses III. ...

Tomb of Rameses IV. . . .

Tomb of Rameses VI. -XII

Tomb of Bai

The Discovery of Royal Mummies at Der el-Bahari Luxor to Aswan : — Arment...

Gebelen

Esneh ...

El-Kab

Tomb of Aahmes, son of Abana Tomb of Aahmes, son of Pen-nekheb Tomb of Paheri Tomb of Sebek-nekht . . . Hierakonpolis ...

Edfu

Hagar Silsila

Kom Ombo Aswan ... Elephantine The First Cataract Aswan Dam

Philse

The Nile between the First and

Dabad

Kartassi

WadiTafah

Second Cataracts

CONTENTS.

Kalabshah

Bet el- Wall

Dendur . . .

Gerf-Hussen

Dakkeh...

Kubban

Kiirta ...

Miharrakah

Wadi Sebtia

Korosko

Amada ...

Derr

Abii-Simbel

Map of the Country south of Wadi Halfah

WadiHalfah

Wadi Halfah to Khartiim

Sfidan Military Railway

Sarras, Semnah, Kummah

Mughrat Wells, Akashah, Ferket, Koshah

Amarah Sadenga, Suarda, Gebel Diish, Soleb, Sesebi

Tombos

Al-Hafir, New Donkola or Kasr Don kola

Old Donkola

Abu Otis, Al-Dabbah, Ktea Kurru, Zuma, Tankassi Marawi and Gebel Barkal

Nuri

Fourth Cataract Abu Hamed

Berber

Atbara

Island of Meroe Ad-Damar Zedat

Sai,

Dalgo,

XXIV CONTENTS.

PAGE

Mukhmir

.. 670

Hamadab

...

.. 671

Pyramids of Meroe

...

.. 671

Shendi

..

• 675

Naga

..

. 676

Ben Naga

. 676

Musawwarat as-Sufra . . .

• 677

Omdurman

. 678

Khartum and Tuti Island

. 682

List of Hieroglyphic names of Kings

. 689

Index

• 729

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

EGYPTIAN HISTORY.

The history of Egypt is the oldest history known to us. It is true that the earliest of the Babylonian kings whose names are known lived very little later than the earliest kings of Egypt, nevertheless our knowledge of the early Egyptian is greater than of the early Babylonian kings. A large portion of Egyptian history can be constructed from the native records of the Egyptians, and it is now possible to correct and modify many of the statements upon this subject made by Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and other classical authors. It is important to note, too, that, as the result of excavations which have been carried on in several parts of Upper Egypt by Europeans and natives during the last 15 years, we have now gained a general idea of the character of the civilization which pre- ceded that of the Dynastic Period ; and it is right to assert that the beginnings of the civilization of the Nile Valley date from the latter part of the Neolithic Period. The native and other documents from which Egyptian history is obtained are : —

I. Lists of Kings found in the Turin Papyrus, the Tablet of Abydos, the Tablet of Sakkara, and the Tablet of Karnak. The Turin Papyrus contained a

B

2 ;N(;iTE,Sci?'.GR TRAVKLL'ET^S IN EGYPT.

complete list of kings, beginning with the god-kings and continuing down to the end of the rule of the Hyksos, about B.C. 1700. The name of each king during this period, together with the length of his reign in years, months and days, was given, and it would have been, beyond all doubt, the most valuable of all documents for the chronology of the oldest period of Egyptian history, if scholars had been able to make use of it in the perfect condition in which it was discovered. When it arrived in Turin, however, it was found to be broken into more than one hundred and fifty fragments. The joining of the fragments of the papyrus was undertaken by Seyffarth, who produced a roll from them on which were twelve columns, with from twenty-six to thirty names in each column. A subsequent examina- tion of the fragments proved that Seyffarth had no com- petent knowledge of the hieratic character, and the joining was in many cases the result of guesswork. So far back as 1824, Champollion recognized the true value of the frag- ments, and placed some of them in their chronological order. Its evidence is of the greatest importance for the history of the Xlllth and XlVth dynasties, because in this section the papyrus is tolerably perfect ; for the earlier dynasties it is of very little use.

On the monuments each Egyptian king has usually five names, or titles : — i. As the successor of Horus ; this title is really the name of the king's " double." 2. As lord of the shrines of the South and North, which were called Nekhebet and Per-Uatchet respectively. 3. As the Horus of gold. 4. As the king of the South and North united. 5. As son of Ra.

The Horus title or Ka name of the king was usually

written in a rectangular space.

or titles of the king were preceded by ^^ , Mv. , ^

, and the other names

SOURCES OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 3

and ^\ respectively. The titles Nos. 4 and 5 are commonly called " prenomen '' and " nomen," and each is written in a " cartouche " ( | .■*■ Thus the prenomen of

Thothmes III. is ( © t^^^ Q 1 Ra-men-Kheper, and his

m

iAf\

nomen is ( (^7^ (T| ] Tehuti-mes. Ra-men-Kheper means

something like "Ra (the Sun-god) establishes becoming or existence"; Tehuti-mes means "born of Thoth," or "Thoth's son." These names are quite distinct from

his titles. Before the prenomen comes the title 4^^

sii/en bat, f " King of the South and North," and after

it comes ^^ sa Rd, "son of the Sun," preceding the

nomen. Each prenomen has a meaning, but it is at times difficult- to render it exactly in English. Every king styled himself king of "the South and North," and, from the IVth dynasty every king called himself "Son of Ra," "son of the Sun." The first title is sometimes varied by " Beautiful god, lord of the two earths." As examples of the royal titles, other than those contained in the prenomen and

* Cartouche is the name which is usually given to the oval which the name of a royal person is enclosed.

t The ordinary word for "king" is i '^ suteii. The word Pharaoh, nj;")S, which the Hebrews called the kings of Egypt, is derived from the Egyptian ^ -' per da otherwise written ^^ ^

B 2

4 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

nomen, may be mentioned the following : — Thothmes III. _. is styled " Horus, mighty bull, diademed with law,

the lord, maker of things, Ra-men-kheper." This is his KA name. He is also called :

0

^f? ^^ ^^^> "Lord of the Shrine of the Vulture, i.e., Nekhebet, Lord of the Shrine of the Urseus, i.e., Per-Uatchet, mighty of terror in

the lands " ; ^ /^ ^ T "^ '!^ > " Horus, exalted

one of the white crown, beloved of Ra " ;

fV ® n 9 7;? Ill

^ ^-=> cr^ 9 ^ ^^=^ , " Golden

f^. oo A J} 111 in'

Horus, mighty of valour, smiter of the Nine Bows," etc. In the earliest times the kings were named after some attribute possessed by them ; thus Mena, the first king of Egypt, is the "firm" or "established." In the Turin Papyrus only the prenomens of the kings are given, but its statements are confirmed and amplified by the other lists.

The Tablet of Abydos''^ was discovered by Diimichen in the temple of Osiris at Abydos, during M. Mariette's excavations there in 1864. This list gives us the names of seventy-six kings, beginning with Mena or Menes, and ending with Seti I., the father of Rameses II.; it is not a complete list, and it would seem as if the scribe who drew up the list only inserted such names as he considered worthy of living for ever.

* See pp. 6, 7. There is a duplicate in the British Museum (Northern Egyptian Gallery, No. 117).

TABLET OF ABYDOS.

The kings whose names are given on the Tablet of Abydos are : —

Dynasty I.

1. Mena.

2. Teta.

3. Ateth.

4. Ata.

5. Hesepti (read Semti

6. Merbap.

7. Hu (or, Nekht).

8. Qebh (read Sen).

Dynasty II.

9. Betchau.

10. Kakau.

11. Ba-en-neter.

12. Uatch-nes.

13. Senta.

Dynasty III.

14. Tchatchai.

15. Nebka.

16. Tcheser-sa.

17. Teta.

18. Setches.

19. Ra-nefer-ka.

Dynasty IV.

20. Seneferu.

21. Khufu (Cheops),

22. Tet-f-Ra.

23. Khaf'Ra (Chephren).

24. Men-kau-Ra

(Mycerinus).

25. Shepseskaf.

Dynasty V.

26. Userkaf.

27. Sahu-Ra.

28. Kakaa.

29. Nefer-f-Ra.

30. Usr-en-Ra.

31. Men-kau-Heru,

32. Tetka-Ra.

33. Unas.

Dynasty VL

34. Teta.

35. Userka-Ra.

36. Meri-Ra.

37. Mer-en-Ra.

38. Nefer-ka-Ra.

39. Mer-en-Ra-sa-emsaf.

40. Neterka-Ra.

41. Menka-Ra.

Dynasties VII-X.

42. Neferka-Ra.

43. Neferka-Ra-nebi.

44. Tetka-Ra-maa- ....

45. Neferka-Ra- Khentu.

46. Mer-en-Heru.

47. Senefer-Ka.

48. Ka-en-Ra.

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

^

yggi-^i;i^£g-^^i?j^(Ma^

KEB-^ I :JS]-^ ^IK^^B^

• <

(j(B:i^i^i@jjjo-^^iiy'(M>i!i-^i

lii(57ffl>^ {!j(*T3)-^^l]:iJ^g^i1 ^

\ <

IgSI-^-WO^^llJ^iglll^

W(z3l-*M^ffi^>^lW^II^

•1

n

m

\:j^^\'j<^m^^']rjk^^

KEI-^Wi^^^lW^D^

i'jdUi^iti^^Mith^m'^

-C3

f:ie3^W®11^^11J^^Bl^

Ijy (TTgl ^ I J^^-^ ^IIJJ^B IS'

{'4(nBM'J^M^^ll%<^^

c

'J^E^^

W^tD^

^^^

fm-^

-^lU^Si-^

u^rr^^^

i^M'J^^-^UH'J^Si-^

jUm^t'^m^t^

i^idi^^i'j^M

i^om^

^]p^^

^ii'j<^^

i^^^^irh^^

mm^-^

0^^

j)t^

i^'MS^

Ia/^MD^

^Hth^^

i^m-^^n^^B-^

W@3(^

mljS^^

spgia^f^@a-^,

^^^

j^jirh^^

H^Kj)-»^ll^[@IC^

H@gi^

*— ♦« h — —

:^EE5

sii^i^na-^

-<!ii:^^Bi^

,^M^^^

'J^^^JQlth^M^

w^^si^

■^l]^^^!!-^

I@i3j^^lli:/,@lig=!5»

f1ES33M33ES^

lillM^gM^l^l:^

gfild^l-^

w^i^

filQH^^

P^J-

^llJ^^Bll:*

-<l]^.f^l)^

Q3^^lll*@iil^

|;^C$H3]'^

^ W^D-^i'J^l^^

y^^N^^^

^ll:j^II^.

-<ll)!ih(giBi=^

^H'J^I}^

d^^i'J^^'J]*^<^^

ld^^l{'J^^^Ull'J<^Br>,

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

49. Neferka-Ra-tererel.

50. Neferka-Heru.

5 1 . Neferka-Ra-pepi-senb.

52. Seneferka annu. 53 kau-Ra.

54. Neferkau-Ra.

55. Neferkau-Heru.

56. Neferka-ari-Ra.

Dynasty XL

57. Neb-khem-Ra.

58. Seankhka-Ra.

Dynasty XII.

59

60

61

Sehetep-ab-Ra (Amenemhat I.).

Kheper-ka-Ra (Usertsen I.).

Nub-kau-Ra

(Amenemhat II.).

62. Kheper-kha-Ra

(Usertsen II.).

63. Kha-kau-Ra

(Usertsen III.).

64. Maat-en-Ra

(Amenemhat III.).

65. Maa-kheru-Ra

(Amenemhat IV.).

Dynasty XVIII.

66. Neb-pehtet-Ra.

67. Tcheser-ka-Ra

(Amen-hetep I.).

68. Aa-kheper-ka-Ra

(Thothmes I.).

69. Aa-kheper-en-Ra

(Thothmes II.).

70. Men-kheper-Ra

(Thothmes III.).

71. Aa-kheperu-Ra

(Amen-hetep IL).

72. Men-kheperu-Ra

(Thothmes IV.).

73. Neb-Maat-Ra

(Amen-hetep III.).

74. Tcheser-kheperu-Ra-

setep-em-Ra (Heru-em-heb).

Dynasty XIX.

75. Men-pehtet-Ra

(Rameses I.).

76. Men-maat-Ra (Seti I.).

The Tablet of Sakkara was discovered at Sakkara

by Mariette, in the grave ot Thunurei *=> V , , ,

iJlJ w] ' ^^0 Hved during the reign of Rameses II.

In spite of a break in it, and some orthographical errors, it

is a valuable list } it gives the name? of forty-seven kings,

SOURCES OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 9

and it agrees very closely with the Abydos list. When complete it contained fifty-three names of kings. It is a curious fact that it begins with the name of Mer-ba-pen, the sixth king of the 1st dynasty.

The Tablet of Karnak was discovered at Karnak by Burton, and was taken to Paris by Prisse. It was drawn up in the time of Thothmes III., and contains the names of sixty-one of his ancestors. They are not arranged in any chronological order, but the tablet is of the highest historical importance, for it records the names of some of the rulers from the Xlth to the XVIIth dynasties, and gives the names of those of the Xlth dynasty more completely than any other list. The tablets of Abydos, Sakkara, and Karnak supply the names of about loo kings, />., about one-third of the number of royal names which existed in the Turin Papyrus.

II. Annals of Egyptian Kings inscribed upon the walls of temples, obelisks, and buildings. The narrative of such inscriptions is very simple, and practically these records merely represent itineraries in which the names of conquered and tributary lands and peoples are given ; incidentally facts of interest are noted down. As the day and month and regnal years of the king by whom these expeditions were undertaken are generally given, these inscriptions throw much light on history. The lists of tribute are also useful, for they show what the products of the various countries were. The poetical version* of the history of the famous battle of Rameses II. against the Kheta by the poet Pen-ta-urt is a pleasant variety of historical narrative. The inscription on the Stele of Piankhi, the Ethiopian conqueror of Egypt, in the Egyptian Museum at Cairo, is decidedly remarkable for the minute details of his fights, the speeches made by

* See the notice of the official Egyptian account under Abu Simbel.

lO NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

himself and his conquered foes, and the mention of many facts * which are not commonly noticed by Egyptian annalists. The vigour and poetical nature of the narrative are also very striking.

III. Historical Stelae and Papyri, which briefly relate in chronological order the various expeditions undertaken by the king for whom they were made. Egyptian kings occasionally caused summaries of their principal conquests and of the chief events of their reign to be drawn up ; examples of these are {a) the stele of Thothmes III., preserved in the Egyptian Museum at Cairo, and {b) the last section of the great Harris Papyrus, in which Rameses III. reviews all the good works which he has brought to a successful issue to the, glory of the gods of Egypt and for the benefit of her inhabitants. This wonder- ful papyrus measures 135 feet by 17 inches, and was found in a box in the temple at Medinet Habu, built by Rameses III. ; it is now in the British Museum. (No. 9900.)

IV. Decrees, Scarabs, Statues of Kings and Private Persons, which are fruitful sources of information about historical, religious, and chronological subjects.

V. Biblical notices about Egypt and allusions to events of Egyptian history.

The earliest recorded contact between the Hebrews and the Egyptians is mentioned in (^eneses xii. 10-20, where we are told that Abram went down to live in the land of Egypt,

* For example, it is stated that when Piankhi had taken possession of the storehouses and treasury of Nemart (Nimrod) his foe, he went afterwards into the stables, and found that the horses there had been kept short of food. Bursting into a rage, he turned to Nimrod and said, "By my life, by my darling Ra, who revives my nostrils with life, to have kept my horses hungry is more heinous in my sight than any other offence which thou hast committed against me." Mariette, Monuments Divers, pi. 3, 11. 65, 66.

SOURCES OF KGYPTIAN HISTORY. TI

because there was a famine in the land. The Patriarch probably entered the country by the old caravan road which ran from Syria to the northeast of the Delta, and sojourned in the district round about Tanis, where grain was to be had in abundance, and where the fertility of the land was proverbial. This portion of the Delta was inhabited by a mixed population of Egyptians and temporary, or perman- ent, dwellers from the Eastern Desert and Syria, from time immemorial. Famines were frequent in Syria and Palestine, and the Hebrews and other nomad tribes must often have been compelled to send to Egypt for grain, and the trading transactions which existed between the Egyptians and the desert peoples must have been considerable. If the gener- ally accepted chronology be correct, Abram probably visited Egypt under the Xllth dynasty, at the time when so much was being done for the irrigation of the country, and when the power of the Egyptians over the dwellers in the Eastern Desert and in the peninsula of Sinai was renewed in a very effective manner.

From the history of Joseph many side-lights on the social conditioii of Egypt may be gleaned. In the first place, it is seen that a famine in Syria first compelled the Patriarch Jacob to send his sons into Egypt to buy corn, and in so doing he was following the example of his great ancestor Abram. When Joseph's brethren sold him to the proprietors of a caravan on its way to Egypt, they did what it has been the custom of Orientals in the desert to do from time immemorial, and every detail of the story has found innumerable parallels in the histories of free-born desert men who have been kidnapped and taken to Egypt and sold as slaves there. The description of Potiphar, Joseph's master, the incident of the love turned to hate of his mis- tress, the prison life, the interpreting of the dreams of the butler and baker, and the rapid rise of the young Hebrew to power as the wazir or prime minister of the king of the

12 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

district, are most accurately described, and every part of the narrative proves how intimately life in the Delta was known and understood by its writer. That Joseph should marry Asenathj the daughter of a priest of Heliopolis, was as natural for a high official in his position, as it was for the king to make him take the Egyptian name of " Zaphnath- paaneah," which means something like, " God spake, and

It is of course impossible to assign a date to the period dur- ing which Joseph lived in Egypt, but the facts of his his- tory are older than the recension of them with which we are familiar. The arrival of Joseph in Egypt and the settlement of his father and brethren in Goshen may well have taken place under the rule of the Hyksos, /.^., some time before B.C. 1700, and a good deal may be said in favour of this view. On the other hand, the names of Potipherah, and Asenath, and Zaphnath-paaneah all belong to a period some 700 years later, i.e., to the time of the XXIInd dynasty; certainly the Egyptian inscriptions contain no evidence which would show that they were used during the period of the Hyksos," or during that immediately following. It is also impossible to identify the famine in Egypt which took place under Joseph's rule, for severe famines of the kind have taken place in the country with terrible frequency from time immemorial. The earhest seven years' famine mentioned by tradition is that which the inscription on the rock on the island of Sahel in the First Cataract says took place in the reign of Tcheser, a king of the Ilird dynasty, about B.C. 4000 ; this famine was caused by a succession of low Niles, and the lack of food was so absolute that the people sank down through exhaustion in the streets, and died where they dropped. Of the awful seven years' famine which lasted from a.d. 1066-72, many details are known. A cake cost 15 dinars (the dinar =10 shillings), an egg i

SOURCES OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 1 3

dinar, a dog 5 dinars, a cat 3 dinars, and a house was exchanged for 20 lbs. of flour. Passengers in the streets were caught by hooks let down from upper windows, drawn up, killed and eaten ; and human flesh was sold in public. In I2CI another awful famine began, and the people habitually ate human flesh ; parents killed and cooked their children^ and a wife was found eating her husband raw. The plague came in the following year, and at Alexandria a Muhamma- dan religious official said the funeral prayers over 700 per- sons. In connexion with the history of Joseph, and as an instance of the influence of Egyptian customs on the Hebrews, it may be noted that when Jacob died, Joseph " commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his " father : and the physicians embalmed Israel (Genesis 1. 2). '' And forty days were fulfilled for him ; for so are fulfilled " the days of those which are embalmed : and the Egyptians " mourned for him threescore and ten days." In accordance with the oath which Joseph sware to Jacob, and with Pharaoh's permission, Joseph and his brethren carried their father " into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the ** cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought " with the field for a possession of a burying place of Ephron *' the Hittite, before Mamre" (Genesis 1. 13). Finally, " Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old : and " they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt " ; and in Joshua xxiv. 32, we read that the bones of Joseph were buried at Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. The Hebrews maintained a steady intercourse with the Egyptians for centuries, and always regarded them with consideration ; this is clear from the command, " Thou " shalt not abhor an Egyptian, because thou wast a stranger in his land " (Deut. xxiii. 7). From i Kings iii. i, we learn that " Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of " Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her

14 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

" into the city of David." The kings of Egypt became alHes of the Hebrews, for Solomon received help from Pharaoh against the Canaanites (i Kings ix. t6), but after the division in the kingdom of David, Shishak {i.e.^ Shashanq I.) invaded Palestine, went up against Jerusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the Lord and the king's house, and the shields of gold which Solomon had made (i Kings xiv. 25, 26), that is to say, he supported the house of Israel under Jeroboam against the house of Judah under Rehoboam. The prophecies against Egypt are numerous (see Isaiah xix., xx., xlv. 14; Jeremiah xliii. 8-13 ; xliv. 30, xlvi.; Ezekiel xxix.-xxxii. ; Joeliii. 19 ; Zechariah x. 11, etc.), and they throw much light upon the relations which existed between the kings of that country and Palestine in the eighth and seventh centuries before Christ. The New Testament supplies very little information about Egypt, but in the Apocryphal Gospels are preserved a number of interesting traditions of the sojourn of the Holy Family in the region of Heliopolis, and of the miracles which were wrought by the Child, and Egyptian literature of the Christian period is full of legends of the wanderings of Mary the Virgin, who is said to have journeyed up the Nile with our Lord nearly so far as Luxor. Both traditions and legends are often improbable, but the light which they throw upon the social condition of Egypt is considerable, and the narratives themselves are valuable material for the study of Egyptian Christianity.

VI. The Tell al-Amarna Tablets, or the collection of about 320 documents written in cuneiform on clay which were found at Tell al-Amarna, the site of the town built by Khu-en-aten or Amenophis IV., about 180 miles south of Memphis. The Berlin Museum acquired 160, a large number being fragments, the British Museum 86, and 55 are in the Museum in Cairo. These documents were probably written between the years b.c. i 500-1450.

SOURCES OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 1 5

The Tell al-Amarna tablets supply entirely new informa- tion concerning the political relations which existed between the kings of Egypt and the kings of Western Asia, and prove that an important trade between the two countries existed from very early times. They also supply facts con- cerning treaties, alliances, religious ceremonies, etc., which cannot be derived from any other source, and they give us for the first time the names of Artatama, Artashumara, and Tushratta, kings of Mitani (the Mathen of the Egyptian inscriptions), and of Kadashman-Bel (?), king of Karaduni- yash. They mention also two kings of Babylonia called Burraburiyash and Kurigalzu. The dialect in which most of these inscriptions are written has a close affinity with the language of the Old Testament.

The first conquest of Syria by the Egyptians took place in the reign of Amasis 1., B.C. 1700. Thothmes I., B.C. 1633, conquered all Palestine and Syria, and set up a tablet at Ruthen to mark the boundary of Egypt. Thothmes III., B.C. 1600, marched through Palestine and Syria and made himself master of all the country from Gaza to the Euphrates. At Tunip he established the Egyptian religion, and at Ruthen, in the 33rd year of his reign, he set up a tablet by the side of that of Thothmes I. The cuneiform tablets call him

D.P. Ma-na - akh - bi - ir - ya a very close imitation of the pronunciation of this king's

prenomen Men-Kheper-Ra fotf^ ^'1 .

Amenophis II., b.c. 1566, marched to Ni on the Euphrates, and slew seven kings in Ruthen, and brought their bodies to Egypt. Amenophis III. was not a great conqueror in the strict sense of the word, but he was pro- claimed conqueror of Kadesh, Tunip, Sankar, and north- western Mesopotamia, to which country he was in the habit

I 6 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

of going to shoot lions. Now we know from a scarab that

a lady called Thi ( J lj(] W ^ 1 » the daughter of luaa

Egypt to become the wife of Amenophis in the tenth year of his reign. We know also that she became the "great Queen of Egypt," and as she is depicted with a fair com- plexion and blue eyes, there is no doubt that she is to be identified with the lady called Ti -^ '^f ?:£ g:g, in the inscriptions on the Tell al-Amarna tablets, who came from the country to the north-east of Syria. Thi was the mother of Amenophis IV., the " heretic king." Besides this lady, we learn from the tablets that Amenophis married at least five other ladies from Mesopotamia, viz., a sister and two daughters of Kadashman-Bel (?), king of Karaduniyash, and a sister and daughter of Tushratta, king of Mitani ; but none of these ladies was acknowledged as " Queen of

Egypt." Tushratta's sister was called Kilkipa ""^ /^^^/)' in cuneiform ^ »^ >^yy^ I^ ^ ^ Gi-lu-khi-pa, and his daughter Tatum-khipa. In the time of Amenophis III. a Mesopotamian princess was honoured by marriage with the king of Egypt, but when Kadashman-Bel (?) wished to marry an Egyptian princess, Amenophis replied haughtily, "the daughter of the king of the land of Egypt hath never been given to a nobody"; yet in the reign of Khu-en-aten we learn that an Egyptian princess was given in marriage to Burraburiyash, king of Karadu- niyash, a proof that the Egyptian power was waning in Mesopotamia. The greater number of the tablets are addressed to "the king of Egypt," either Amenophis III. or his son Amenophis IV., and they reveal a state of disorganization and rebelhon in the Egyptian dependencies in Palestine and Syria which cannot be understood unless we assume that for some years before the death of Amen-

SOURCES OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 17

ophis III. the Semitic peoples of Western Asia were being encouraged to reject the rule of the Egyptians by their kinsfolk living in Egypt.

It will require time to settle all the historical and philological difficulties which are raised by these tablets, but the examination of them already made has thrown most valuable light upon the social condition of Egypt and of the neighbouring countries. One of the tablets is written in the language of Mitani, and others are inscribed with cuneiform characters in a language which is at, present unknown ; and some of them have dockets in hieratic which state from what country they were brought. The discovery of these tablets shows that there must have been people at the court of Amenophis III. who understood the cuneiform characters, and that the officers in command over towns in Phoenicia subject to the rule of Egypt could, when occasion required, write their despatches in cuneiform. The following is a list of the Tell al-Amarna Tablets in the Museum at Cairo : —

I. Letters from Kadashman-Bel (?).

9. Letter from Ashur-uballit, King of Assyria, B.C. 1400.

10. Letter from Amenophis III. to Tarhundaradush, King of Arzapi.

11, 12, 14. Letters from the King of Alashiya. 40. Letter from Aziru.

60, 61, 62, 63, 65, 78, 79, 83. Letters from Rib-Adda.

94. Letter from Zatadna.

96. Letter from Namyawiza.

98, 99. Letters from Abu-Milki.

100. Letter from Shuardata.

T09. Letter from Milkili.

115. Letter from Biridiwi.

116, 117. Letters from Shubandi. 118, 121. Letters from Widya.

124. Letter from Yabni-ili.

125, Letter from Arzawya.

c

1 8 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

127. Letter from Dashru.

131. Letter from Sham u- Adda.

138. Letter from the lady .^ ^tl W "iiV T^^

150. Letter from Nurtuwi ....(?)

151. Letter from the governor of the city of Nazima.

152. Letter from Ara of the city of Kumiti,

153. Letter from Pu-Addu.

154. Letter from Addu-asharid.

195. Letter from Bayawi.

196. Letter from Aba . . . . zi. 239. Part of a legend.

5, 17, 18, 20, 197-209. Letters from unknown writers.

From the Annals of the Kings of Assyria we learn that Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal marched against Egypt; Tirhakah defeated Sennacherib at Eltekeh, but was defeated by Esarhaddon, the son of Sennacherib, who drove him back into Ethiopia. Esar- haddon's son, Ashurbanipal, also attacked Tirhakah and defeated him. Tanut-Amen, the Tandamanie of the Assyrian texts, attempted to re-assert the Nubian supremacy, but he was obliged to flee before the Assyrian army, and Ashurbanipal marched up the Nile so far south as Thebes, and looted the city. Egypt was divided by Esarhaddon into twenty-two provinces, over some of which Assyrian viceroys were placed. A fragment of a Babylonian tablet states that Nebuchadnezzar IL marched into Egypt.

VI L The Greek and Roman writers upon Egypt are many; and of these the best known are Herodotus, Manetho, and Diodorus Siculus. Herodotus devotes the whole of the second and the beginning of the third book of his work to a history of Egypt and the Egyptians, and his is the oldest Greek treatise on the subject known to us. In spite of the attacks made upon his work during the last few years, the evidence of the hieroglyphic inscriptions

SOURCES OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY. 1 9

which are being deciphered year after year shows that on the whole his work is trustworthy. A work more valuable than that of Herodotus was the Egyptian history of Manetho (still living in b.c. 271) of Sebennytus, who is said by Plutarch to have been a contemporary of Ptolemy I. ; his work, now lost, appears to have been written during the reign of Ptolemy 11. Philadelphus (b.c. 286-247). According to words put into his mouth, he was chief priest and scribe in one of the temples of Egypt, and he appears to have been perfectly acquainted with the ancient Egyptian language and literature. He had also had the benefit of a Greek education, and was therefore peculiarly fitted to draw up in Greek for Ptolemy Philadelphus a history of Egypt and her religion. The remains of the great Egyptian history of Manetho are preserved in the polemical treatise of Josephus against Apion, in which a series of passages of Egyptian history from the XVth to the XlXth dynasties is given, and in the list of the dynasties, together with the number of years of the reign of each king, given by Africanus and Eusebius on his authority. At the beginning of his work Manetho gives a list of gods and demi-gods who ruled over Egypt before Menes, the first human king of Egypt; the thirty dynasties known to us he divides into three sections : — I.-XI., XH.-XIX., and XX.-XXX. Diodorus Siculus, who visited Egypt about b.c. 57, wrote a history of the country, its people and its religion, based chiefly upon the works of Herodotus and Hekataeus. He was not so able a writer nor so accurate an observer as Herodotus, and his work contains many fanciful statements. Other important ancient writers on Egypt are Strabo,''*" Chaeremon,t Josephus,{ Plutarch§ and Horapollo.||

According to Manetho, there reigned over Egypt before

^ About A.D. 15. t About A.D. 50. X About a.d. 75. § About A.D. 100. I! About A.D. 400.

C 2

20 NOT?:S FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Mena, or Menes, the first mortal king of that country, a number of beings who may be identified with the Shesu Heru, or "followers of Horus"; of their deeds and history very little is known. During their rule Egypt was divided into two parts, each ruled by its own king ; and the whole of Upper and Lower Egypt was divided into a large series of small, independent principalities, which were united under one head in the person of Menes. The kings of Egypt following after the mythical period of Manetho are divided into thirty dynasties. For the sake of convenience, Egyptian history is divided into three periods : — I. the Ancient Empire, which includes the first eleven dynasties; 11. the Middle Empire, which includes the next nine dynasties (Xllth-XXth) ; and, III. the New Empire, which includes the remaining ten dynasties, XXIst-XXXth, one being Persian. The rule of the Saite kings was followed by that of the Persians, Macedonians, Ptolemies and Romans. The rule of the Arabs, which began a.d. 641, ended a.d. 1517, when the country was conquered by the Turks ; since this time Egypt has been nominally a pashalik of Turkey.

The date assigned to the first dynasty is variously given by different scholars : by Champollion-Figeac it is B.C. 5867, by Bockh 5702, by Bunsen 3623, by Lepsius 3892, by Lieblein 3893, by Mariette 5004, and by Brugsch 4400. Much confusion has been introduced into Egyptian chrono- logy by the attempt to make it square with Archbishop Ussher's dates, which have been, unfortunately, printed in the Authorised Version of the Bible, and by the well- meaning endeavours of those who would limit the existence of ancient Egyptian civilization to a period of two or three thousand years. Brugsch's system of chronology is an extremely good one for all practical purposes, and his dates, with a few modifications, which are the result of new facts are adopted throughout this book.

21

HISTORICAL SUMMARY.

THE PREDYNASTIC PERIOD.

According to Manetho, the reigns of the gods and demi-gods lasted in Egypt about 12,843 years, and according to Panodorus only about 1,183^ years. The gods and demi-gods are probably nothing more than a long series of petty chiefs or kings who reigned over very limited areas in different parts of Egypt, many being, no doubt, contemporaneous. After these came the Ne/c^es- or Manes, who are said to have reigned for 5,813 years, and with some of these we are no doubt justified in identifying the Shemshu Heru, or " Followers of Horus," a class of beings who are frequently mentioned in Egyptian texts, and who seem to have introduced a higher grade of civilization into Egypt. Of some of these followers of Horus the tombs have undoubtedly been found at Abydos and other places in Upper Egypt, and their rule appears to have lasted until the time when Mena or Menes made himself sole king of Egypt. All the evidence on the subject now forthcoming proves that all Egypt was, before the time of Menes, divided into two entirely distinct and independent kingdoms. The kingdom of the Upper Country, or of the South, probably extended from the Fayyiim to Silsila, and that of the Lower Country, or of the North, included the Delta, and most likely a small portion of Middle Egypt. The title of the Ruler

of the South was " Suten," which is indicated by I or more fully I , and the title of the North was " Bat,"

I /VWNAA

which is indicated by the hornet {not the bee) \M\^ and may be of Libyan origin. King Menes, in order to show

22 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

that he was lord both of the South and of the North, prefixed both signs 4\^ to his name, and all his successors followed his example. One of the commonest names for Egypt is " Taui " ^^ i.e., the " Two Countries," and the countries referred to are those of the South and North. The Suten of the South wore the White Crown /), and the Bat of the North wore the Red Crown >/ ; the union of these YJ symbolized the sovereignty of both countries, just as 4=\^ did. The early kings, who were Lords of both the South and the North, prefixed to their names the title _^^ ,

which indicated that they were Lords of the famous shrine and city of the goddess Nekhebet in the South, and of the shrine and city of the goddess Uatchet in the North. It is probable that at a very early period the Sutens and Bats of Egypt were formerly crowned, or acknowledged to be legal kings, by the priesthood of Nekhebet and of Uatchet

respectively, and that the kings who prefixed the tide _u^

to their names intended this fact to be understood. In fact, the title indicates that the kings who bore it were chosen to reign by the goddesses Nekhebet and Uatchet, just as in dynastic times the titles " chosen of Ra," "chosen of Amen," " chosen of Ptah " proclaimed that the kings who adopted them had been elected to rule by Ra, and Amen, and Ptah, either by some motion made by the figures of the gods which were enshrined within their sanctuaries, or by declarations made on their behalf by the high priests. Another early royal title, of which an example occurs on the ivory plaque of king Aha, now in the Cairo Museum, is

m^ \. About the meaning of this there can be little

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 23

doubt, and we are justified in assuming that it is something like ** chosen of the Hawk-god, chosen of the Serpent-god," or " lord of the shrine of the hawk, lord of the shrine of the serpent," and that king Aha employed it to symbolize his rule over the South and the North. The names of a number of kings of Egypt who probably lived in the Predynastic Period have been found in recent years on objects from very early tombs, but until definite positions can be assigned to them it is better to omit their names from the list of the kings of Egypt.

DYNASTIC PERIOD-ANCIENT EMPIRE.

Dynasty /., from This.

B.C.

4400. Mena, the first dynastic king of Egypt, founded Memphis, having turned aside the course of the Nile, and established a temple service there. He has been identified by some with a king whose Horus name was Aha.

4366. Teta wrote a book on anatomy, and continued buildings at Memphis.

4333. Ateth, or Ata.

4300. Ata.

4266. Semti f 1^^^ ] . Some papyri say that the

64th Chapter of the Book of the Dead was "found" in his time. Semti was a devotee of the " God on the Staircase," i.e.^ Osiris, and he appears to have reformed the cult of Seker, the old god of the dead of Memphis.

4233. Mer-pe-ba.

4200. Hu or Nekht

4166. Sen, whose name has been wrongly read as Qebh

24 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Dynasty II., from This.

B.C.

4133- Neter-baiu,* in whose reign an earthquake swallowed up many people at Bubastis. In his

reign the sign '^^ was first used to indicate the

union of the South with the North.

H etep-Sekhemui. 4100. Kakau, in whose days the worship of Apis at Memphis, and that of Mnevis at Heliopolis, was continued. 4066. Ba-en-neter, in whose reign, according to John of Antioch, the Nile flowed with honey for eleven days. During the reign of this king the suc- cession of females to the throne of Egypt was declared valid.

Uatch-nes.

Per-ab-sen. 4000. Sent. Sepulchral stelae of this king's priests are preserved at Oxford and at Cairo.

Ka-Ra.

Nefer-ka-Ra.

Nefer-ka-Seker, in whose reign an eclipse appears to be mentioned.

Hetchefa.

Tchatchai.

Dynasty III, from Memphis.

Neb-ka.

3900. Tcheser, the builder of the famous ''Step Pyramid "

at Sakkara. An inscription on the Island of

Sahal says that a seven years' famine took

place in his reign. His tomb was discovered at

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 25

B.C. Bet Khallaf by Mr. John Garstang in 1901. 3900. Tcheser worked the turquoise mines of Sinai, and his Horus name is inscribed on a rock at Wadi Maghara. Tcheser-Teta. Ahtes. Setches.

Nefer-ka-Ra Huni. The Prisse Papyrus says that this king was succeeded by Seneferu.

Dynasty IV., from Memphis.

3766. Seneferu. Important contemporaneous monuments of this king exist. During his reign the copper mines of Wadi Maghara were worked. He built the pyramid of Medum. His wife's name was Merti-tef-s.

3733. Khufu (Cheops) vanquished the people of Sinai; he built the first pyramid of Gizeh. His son Herutataf was famous for his learning, and tradition ascribes the discovery of a Chapter of the Book of the Dead to him. In the reign of Khufu, Teta the magician flourished. A tradition of the XVIIIth dynasty indicates that in the reign of this king the Sphinx was buried in desert sand. Ra-tet-f Assa. In his reign an Egyptian officer went to the country of the Pigmies, and brought back a pigmy to dance before the king and to amuse him.

3666. Kha-f-Ra (Chephren), the builder of the second pyramid at Gizeh. He performed some work in connexion with the Sphinx. 3633. Men-kau-Ra (Mycerinus), the builder of the third pyramid at Gizeh. The fragments of his coffin are in the British Museum. Some copies of the Book

26 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

B.C.

3633. of the Dead say that the 64th chapter of that work was compiled during the reign of this king. Shepses-ka-f.

Dynasty V., from Elephantine.

User-ka-f, 3533* Sahu-Ra, the builder of a pyramid at Abusir. Kakaa.

Ra-nefer-ari-ka. Ra-shepses-ka. Ra-nefer-f, 3443. Ra-en-user, the builder of a pyramid at Abusir. Men-kau-Heru. He built a pyramid at Abusir. 3366. Tet-ka-Ra. He built a pyramid at Abusir. The Precepts of Ptah-hetep were written during the reign of this king. 3333- Unas, whose pyramid at Sakkara was explored in 1 88 1 by Prof. Maspero. The walls of the corridors and chambers of this pyramid are inscribed with religious texts of a most important character.

Dynasty VI., from Memphis,

3266. Teta, the builder of a pyramid at Sakkara. Ra-user-ka.

3233. Ra-meri, Pepi I. In his reign lived Una, a man of humble birth, who began life in the royal service as a " crown bearer" ; he was next made overseer of the workmen, and was soon after sent to Turra to bring back a block of stone for the sarcophagus of the king. He was then made governor of the troops, and was set at the head of an expedition against the Aamu and the Herusha. On five different occasions did Una wage war successfully against Egypt's foes, and having

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 27

B.C.

3233. wasted their countries with fire and sword, he returned to Memphis crowned with glory. The inscription is of the greatest importance for the history of the period, and is interesting as showing that a man of very humble birth could attain to the highest dignities at the Egyptian court. He built a pyramid at Sakkara.

3200. Mer-en-Ra, Mehti-em-sa-f.

3166. Nefer-ka-Ra, Pepi II. Ra-mer-en-meht-em-sa-f. Ra-neter-ka.

3133 (?). Nit-aqert (Nitocris), "the beautiful woman with rosy cheeks."

Dynasties VII.— XL According to Manetho we have : —

Vllth Dynasty. l^^rom Memphis; 70 kings in 70

days. Vlllth Dynasty. From Memphis ; 27 kings in 146

years. IXth Dynasty. From Herakleopolis ; 19 kings in

409 years. Xth Dynasty. From Herakleopolis; 19 kings in

185 years. Xlth Dynasty. From Thebes ; 16 kings in 43 years. The Tablet of Abydos gives the following selection of royal names: —

Ra-neter-ka. Ra-men-ka. 3133. Ra-nefer-ka.

3000. Ra-nefer-ka- Nebi. Scarabs of this king exist. 2966. Ra-tet-ka-maa — . . . 2933. Ra-nefer-ka-Khentu. 2900. Mer-en-Heru.

28 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

B.C.

2866. Senefer-ka.

2833. Ra-en-ka. Scarabs of this king exist.

2800. Ra-nefer-ka-tererl.

2766. Heru-nefer-ka.

2733. Ra-nefer-ka-Pepi-senb.

2700. Ra-nefer-ka-Annu.

2666. Ra- . . . -kau.

2633. Ra-nefer-kau.

2600. Heru-nefer-kau.

2533. Ra-nefer-ari-ka.

Dynasty IX. ^ from Herakleopolis.

Khati, the Akhthoes of Manetho. The successors

of this king may have been : — Ra-maa-ab. Ra-sekha-en. Ra-nub-taui. Ra-aa-hetep. Ra-kha-user. The above five names are found on scarabs, and each has

the title neter nefer, | T " beautiful god," prefixed to it ;

it is possible that they may be later than the Xlllth dynasty.

Dynasty X, jrom Herakleopolis.

Ra-ka-meri, who was greatly helped in his wars by the princes of Siut (Asytit), Khati I., Tefaba, and Khati IL

Dynasty XI.^ from Dio spoils, or Thebes.

It is not at present possible to arrange in chronological order the names of the kings of this dynasty, although several of th^m are well known. Names common to some

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 29

of them are Antefa and Menthu-hetep. Some of the kings appear to have ruled for long periods, but their reigns were on the whole uneventful ; the burial place of the kings of this dynasty is at Drah abu'l-Nekkah.

Antefa, who bore the titles of erpa d and ha.

Neb-hetep, Menthu-hetep I. He worked the

granite quarries in the First Cataract, and the

quarries in Wadi Hammamat. Ra-neb-taui, Menthu-hetep II. He also

worked the quarries in Wadi Hammamat. Ra-neb-kheru, Menthu-hetep III. His temple

at Der al-Bahari was excavated by Messrs. Naville

and Hall in 1903 and 1904. He built a pyramid

tomb at Thebes. It has been customary to include among the kings of

the Xlth dynasty the following : — Antef-aa I. His coffin is in the Louvre. Antef-aa II. His coffin is in the Louvre. Antef-aa III. His coffin is in the British Museum. Antef-aa IV. His favourite dog was called Behuka. Antef-aa V. His tomb, with its two obelisks, was

discovered by Mariette. These kings, with the exception of Antef-aa IV.,

probably reigned in the period between the Xlllth

and XVIIth dynasties. Antef-aa IV., whose Horus

name was Uah-ankh Y jT , was the son of Heru-

nekht-neb-tep-nefer ^s^^'^'"^ f?\ A A"tef-5a, and the grandson of Heru-seankh-ab-taui, son of Ra-Menthu-hetep ^[1 '^'0'^'^'^^^ %

30 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS -IN EGYPT.

B.C.

2500. Se-ankh-ka-Ra. This king is known to us through an inscription at Hammamat, which states that he sent an expedition to the land of Punt ; this shows that at that early date an active trade must have been carried on across the Arabian desert between Egypt and Arabia. His officer Hennu set out with 3,000 men and dug wells at Atahet and Aaheteb. Se-ankh-ka-Ra appears to have been the immediate predecessor of the Xllth dynasty.

MIDDLE EMPIRE.

Dynasty XII., from Diospolis, or Thebes.

2466. Amenemhat I. ascended the throne of Egypt after hard fighting; he conquered the Uaua, a Libyan tribe that lived near Korosko in Nubia, and wrote a series of instructions for his son Usertsen I. The story of Senehet was written during this reign.

2433. Usertsen I., the Sesonchosis of Manetho, made war against the tribes of Ethiopia; he erected granite obelisks and built largely at Heliopolis. He and his father built pyramids at Lisht, a necropolis situated about 30 miles south of Cairo.

2400. Amenemhat II. Khnemu-hetep, son of Nehera, whose tomb is at Beni-hasan, lived during the reign of this king.

2366. Usertsen II. He built a pyramid at Illah^n. In his reign a party of 37 Aamu visited Egypt, bringing eye-paint with them.

2333. Usertsen III. He built a pyramid at Dahshfir.

2300. Amenemhat III. During this king's reign special attention was paid to the rise of the Nile, and canals were dug and sluices^ made for irrigating the

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 3 1

B.C.

2360. country ; in this reign the famous Lake Moeris, in the district called by the Arabs Al-Fayyum,* was made. The rise of the Nile was marked on the rocks at Semneh, about thirty-five miles above the Second Cataract, and the inscriptions are visible to this day. He built a pyramid at Havvara, and the Labyrinth. The famous Sphinxes which were usurped by the Hyksos kings were made for him, and some attribute the making of the Sphinx at Gizeh to his reign.

2266. Amenemhat IV. Sebek-neferut-Ra. Ra-au-ab.

2233. Dynasties XIII -X VII. The so-called Hyksos Period.

According to Manetho these dynasties were as follows : — Dynasty XIIL, from Thebes, 60 kings in 453 years. XIV., „ Xois,t 76 „ „ 484 » „ XV., Hyksos, 6 „ „ 260 „

XVL, „ 10 „ „ 251 „

„ XVn., from Thebes, 10 „ „ 10 „ The Hyksos made their way from the countries in and to the west of Mesopotamia into Egypt. They joined with their kinsmen, who had already settled in the Delta, and succeeded in defeating the native kings; it is thought that Joseph arrived in Egypt towards the end of this period. The name Hyksos is derived from the Egyptian

J^j M\(|P J^^l ^'•?« Shaa^"^ i.e., "princes of the Shasu," or nomad tribes on the east and north-east of Egypt.

* In Arabic ^\ , from the Coptic 9IOJUL, " the lake." t A town in the Delta.

32 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Dynasty XIIL, from Thebes.

Ra-khu-taui. His name is found on the Tablet of

Karnak. Ra-sekhem-ka. A stele of this king is in the

British Museum. Ra-Amen-em-hat. Ra-sehetep-ab I. Aufna. Ameni-Antef-Amen-em-hat. A granite table of

offerings dedicated by this king was found at

Karnak. Ra-semen-ka. Ra-sehetep-ab II.

ka.

Ra-netchem-ab. Ra-Sebek-hetep. Ren-seneb. Ra-au-ab.

Ra-setchef-

Sebek-hetep I. This king carried out works at

Bubastis. The heights of the Nile during the first

four years of his reign are recorded on the rocks

at Kummeh in the Second Cataract.

Ra-user-

Mer-Mashau. Two statues of this king were

found at Tanis by Mariette.

Ra- -ka.

Ra-user-set (?).

Sebek-hetep II. His name is found on the

Tablet of Karnak. Nefer-hetep. He restored the sanctuary of the

temple of Abydos. Ra-Hethert-sa.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 33

Sebek-hetep III. Two gray granite statues of this king lie on the Island of Argo, between the Third and Fourth Cataracts.

Ra-kha-ka I.

Sebek-hetep IV.

Sebek-hetep V.

Aa-ab I.

Ai.

Ana.

Ra-seankh-nefer-utu.

Ra-mer-sekhem-an-ren.

Ra-s- -ka- -Heru-a.

Ra-seuatch-en. [Six names wanting.] Ra-kha-ka II.

Ra-

Ra-mer-kheper.

Ra-mer-kau, or Sebek-hetep VI. A statue of

this king was found at Karnak. [Three names wanting.] [Ra]- . . . -mesu. Aba.

Ra- -uben.

[Four names wanting.]

Ra-Nehsi. A statue of this king was found by

Mariette at Tell-Mukdam in the Delta. Ra-kha-kheru. Ra-neb-f-

Aa-ab II. This king is mentioned on a stele in the British Museum.

P

34 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Dynasty XIV., from Xdis^ a city in the Delta.

Ra-seheb.

Ra-mer-tchefa.

Ra-sta-ka.

Raneb-tchefa.

Ra-uben I.

Ra-senefer-[ab].

Ra- -tchefa.

Ra-uben II.

Ra-aut-ab.

Ra-her-ab.

Ra-neb-senu.

[Name wanting.]

Ra-seuah-en.

Ra-sekheper-ren.

Ra-tet-kheru.

Ra-seankh-[ka].

Ra-nefer-Tem.

Ra-sekhem- ....

Ra-ka-

Ra-nefer-ab.

Ra-a-

Ra-nefer-ka-

Ra-smen-

Ra-mer-sekhem.

[Two names wanting.]

Ra-senefer-[ab].

Anab. Mariette found a stele of this king at Abydos.

[Two names wanting.]

Sebek-em-sa-f. A statue of this king was found at Abydos, and his funeral scarab, made of basalt set m gold, is in the British Museum.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 35

Sebek-em-sau-f. This king is mentioned on a

large limestone cone in the British Museum. Ra-sesuser-taui.

Ra-neb-ati-

Ra-neb-aten-

Ra-smen-[Ra].

Ra-seusert-a.

Ra-sekhem-Uast.

Ra-user-

Ra-user-

Dynasties XV. and XVI., Hyksos or Shepherd Kings.

The Hyksos kings, according to Manetho, were : —

Salatis, who reigned 19 years.

Bnon, who reigned 44

Pachnan, who reigned 61

Staan, who reigned 50

Archies, who reigned 49

Aphobis, who reigned 61 Josephus, quoting Manetho, says that the Hyksos kept possession of Egypt for 511 years, and JuHus Africanus declares that the period was 518 years; but it is impossible for the total of the reigns of the XVth dynasty to amount to either of these numbers of years. The chief jrod of the

Hyksos was Set I ^ T^» or Sutekh 1 <S 2 wI'

The Hyksos kings of whom remains exist are : — Ra-aa-user Apepa. Ra-aa-qenen Apepa. Set-aa-pehpeh Nubti. Ra-seuser-en Khian.

D 2

36 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

To this period may belong the kings : — Uatchet. Ipeq-Heru. Senbmaiu.

Dynasty X VI L, from Thebes.

Ra-seqenen I. Tau-aa.

Ra-seqenen II. Tau-aa-aa.

Ra-seqenen III. Tau-aa-qen. He died in battle, and is probably the king who succeeded in inflicting a crushing defeat on the Hyksos.

Karnes.

Ra-senekht-en, who was, perhaps, succeeded by Aahmes-sapaar.

Dynasty X VIII., from Thebes.

B.C.

1700. Aahmes I., who re-established the independence of Egypt. He reconquered the tribes of the Eastern Desert and Syria, and made an expedition into Ethiopia.

1666. Amen-hetep (Amenophis) I.

1633. Tehuti-mes (Thothmes) I.

1 600. Tehuti-mes (Thothmes) II. Son of Thothmes I. and Mut-nefert.

1550. Hat-shepset, daughter of Thothmes I. and Queen Aahmes, and sister and wife of Thothmes H. She sent an expedition to Punt. The architect Sen-Mut built for her the famous temple Tcheser

TcHESERU V^ ^=^ , i.e., the "Holy of Holies," III

commonly known as the "Temple of Der al-

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 37

B.C. Bahari." Her tomb was opened by Mr. Theodore N. Davis in 1904.

1550. Tehuti-mes (Thothmes) III., the son of Thoth- mes II. by the lady Aset, made at least thirteen expeditions into Mesopotamia and other countries, and returned laden with spoil. On the death of his aunt Hat-shepset, he caused her name to be obliterated in several places on the walls of her temple. He was one of the greatest kings that ever ruled over Egypt. The best summary of the conquests of Thothmes III. is given on a stele in the Museum in Cairo. The text is a speech of the god Amen-Ra addressed to Thothmes. After describing the glory and might which he has attached to his name, he goes on to mention the countries which he had made his son Thothmes to conquer. The countries enumerated include Tchah and Ruthen in northern Syria, Phoenicia and Cyprus, Mathen or Mitani on the borders of Mesopotamia by the Euphrates, the countries along the Red Sea, the land of Nubia and the countries lying to the south of it, and the northern parts of Africa. Although Thothmes wasted and destroyed these lands, it cannot be said that he was suc- cessful in imposing the yoke of Egypt upon them permanently, for history shows that on the accession to the throne of each of his successors it was necessary to re-conquer them. Many of the phrases are stereotyped expressions which we find repeated in the texts of other kings. This monument was found at Karnak, on the site of the famous temple of Amen of the Apts, and shows marks of erasures made by the order of Amenophis IV., the king who vainly tried to upset the national religion of Egypt.

33 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

B.C.

1566. Amen-hetep II. Son of Thothmes III. and Hat-

shepset, the daughter of the great queen of the same name.

1533- Tehuti-mes IV. The tomb of this king was opened by Mr. Theodore N. Davis in 1902 and 1903.

150G. Amen-hetep III. warred successfully in the lands to the south of Egypt and in Asia. He made it a custom to go into Mesopotamia to shoot lions, and, while there he married Gilukhipa, a daughter of Shutarna, king of Mitani, a sister and daughter of Tushratta, the king of Mitani, and a sister and two daughters of Kadashman-Bel (?), king of Kara- duniyash; he afterwards made proposals of marriage for another daughter of this latter king called Sukharti. His chief wife was the lady Thi, who was the mother of the " heretic king " Amen- hetep IV., or Khu-en-Aten. Some forty years ago Dr. Birch proposed to read the name of this king " Akh-en-Aten." The importance of the letters and despatches from kings of Babylon, Mesopotamia, and Phoenicia to Amen-hetep III. has already been mentioned. Amen-hetep IV. or Khu-en-Aten ("brilliance, or glory of the solar disk"). He was the founder of the city Khuaten, the ruins of which are called Tell al-Amarna, and of the heresy of the disk- worshippers. The god whom this king delighted

to worship was Aten (1 ^^^^ , i.e., the solar disk,

which was regarded as the source of all things. The religion appears to have been a sort of glori- fied materialism, and the ceremonies connected with it were similar to those of the old Heliopolitan

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 39

B.C. sun-god. In so far as it rejected all other 1450. gods, the Aten religion was monotheistic. He

was succeeded by a few kings who held the same

religious opinions as himself. Tut-ankh-Amen, son of Amen-hetep by a lady

who was not of royal rank. He succeeded by

virtue of his marriage with Ankh-s-en-pa-Aten. Ai. He married a relative of Amen-hetep IV., and

so obtained a right to the throne of Egypt. Heru-em-heb, son of Queen Mut-netchemet.

Dynasty XIX., from Thebes.

[400. Rameses I. He waged a war against the Kheta in Western Syria.

1366. Seti I., son of Rameses I., conquered the rebellious tribes in Western Asia, and built the Memnonium at Abydos. He was famous as a builder, and attended with great care to the material welfare of his kingdom. He is said to have built a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. It is a noteworthy fact that this king is called after the name of the god Set, the chief power of evil in the Egyptian theological system.

1333. Rameses II. subjugated Libya, Nubia, and Meso- potamia. He was a great builder, and a liberal patron of the arts and sciences ; learned men like Pentaurt were attached to his court. He is famous as one of the oppressors of the Israelites, and as the builder of the treasure cities of Pithom and Raamses. The chief event in his reign was his war against the Kheta, a confederation of tribes of Northern Syria. The Kheta suffered severely in the conflict, but they were strong enough to force Rameses to make a treaty with them, in which it

40 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

B.C. was laid down that Egyptian territory in Palestine ended at the Dog River. Rameses II. married a Kheta princess. He completed the canal which joined the Red Sea with the Nile at Bubastis. 1300. Mer-en-Ptah Hetep-her-Maat is thought to have been the Pharaoh of the Exodus ; his mummy was found in the tomb of Amenophis II. at Thebes. In the fifth year of his reign a serious revolt of the Libyan tribes took place.

Seti II. Mer-en-Ptah. Amen-meses. Sa-Ptah Mer-en-Ptah.

NEW EMPIRE.

Dynasty XX,^ from Thebes.

Set-Nekht, a relative of Rameses II.

Rameses III. the Rhampsinitus of Herodotus, the son of Set-Nekht, was famous for his buildings, and for the splendid gifts which he made to the temples of Thebes, Abydos and Heliopolis. In the fifth year of his reign he crushed the Libyan revolt headed by

Tit w ™, and slew 12,000 of his warriors. He

developed a naval force, which, working with his army, defeated the league of Mediterranean peoples who attacked Egypt in the eighth year of his reign. Rameses III. also crushed a second Libyan revolt

headed by Kapur '-' <cr> ] m1^ . A conspiracy

was formed in the harim of Rameses III., the object of which was either to dethrone or murder him ;

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 4 1

B-c. it was unsuccessful, and the ringleaders were either killed or made to commit suicide. His reign repre- sented an era of great commercial prosperity. 1166. Rameses IV., son of Rameses III. The great event of his reign was an expedition to the Wadi Hammamat, undertaken probably with the object of suppressing a revolt. The officers and men em- ployed numbered 8,368, and 900 of them perished between the time the expedition left Thebes and returned to that city.

Rameses V.

Rameses VI. The official Pennut devoted the revenues of an estate to the maintenance of the tomb of this king for ever.

Rameses VII. Rameses VIII.

Rameses IX. In his reign the robbers of the royal tombs at Thebes were prosecuted, and the high priest of Amen usurped much of the royal power, and obtained the king's consent to levy taxes on the people. Rameses X. Rameses XI.

Rameses XII. repaired the temple of Khensu at

Karnak.

About this time was made the copy of the Maxims of Ani,

which is now in the Museum at Cairo ; it was written for

Ani's son Khonsu-hetep, and the following are taken from

it :—

"If a man cometh to seek thy counsel, let this drive

thee to books for information. " Enter not into the house of another ; if a man maketh thee to enter his house it is an honour for thee.

42 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

" Spy not upon the acts of another from thy house.

" Be not the first to enter or to leave an assembly lest thy name be tarnished.

"The sanctuary of God abhorreth noisy declamations. Pray humbly and with a loving heart, whose words are spoken silently. God will then protect thee, and hear thy petitions, and accept thy offerings.

"Consider what hath been. Set before thee a correct rule of life as an example to follow. The messenger of death will come to thee as to all others to carry thee away; yea, he standeth ready. Words will profit thee nothing, for he cometh, he is ready ! Say not, ' I am a child, wouldst thou in very truth bear me away? ' Thou knowest not how thou wilt die. Death cometh to meet the babe at his mother's breast, even as he meeteth the old man who hath finished his course.

"Take heed with all diligence that thou woundest no man with thy words.

" Keep one faithful steward only, and watch his deeds, and let thy hand protect the man who hath charge of thy house and property.

" The man who having received much giveth little, is as one who committeth an injury.

" Be not ungrateful to God, for He giveth thee existence.

" Sit not while another standeth if he be older than thou, or if he is thy superior.

" Whosoever speaketh evil receiveth no good.

"When thou makest offerings to God, offer not that which He abominateth. Dispute not concerning His mysteries. The god of the world is in the light above the firmament, and his emblems are upon earth ; it is unto those that worship is paid daily.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 43

*'When thou hast arrived at years of maturity, and art married and hast a house, forget never the pains which thou hast cost thy mother, nor the care which she hath bestowed upon thee. Never give her cause to complain of thee, lest she lift up her hands to God in heaven, and He listen to her complaint.

" Be watchful to keep silence."

Dynasty XX I.^ from Tanis.

Nes-ba-neb-Tettet, the Smendes of Manetho. He sent 3,000 men to obtain stone from a quarry near Gebelen to repair a portion of the temple of Luxor.

Pa-seb-kha-nut I. He cut his name on one of the black granite sphinxes of Amenemhat III., side by side with the names of kings Apepa and Mer-en-Ptah.

The face of this remarkable monument has given rise to much discussion, and the theories pro- pounded on the subject of the origin of the monu- ment have been many. Mariette believed it to have been made by the so-called Hyksos, or " Shepherd Kings," and saw in the strange features of the face, and short, thick-set lion's body, a proof of their Asiatic origin. Some have seen a likeness to a Turanian original in the features, and others have insisted, probably rightly, that the king for whom the monument was originally made was a foreigner. Judging from the style of the work and the form of the lion's body, we should probably attribute it to a period anterior to b.c. 2000 ; that the name of the so-called Hyksos king Apepa is inscribed upon it proves nothing except that this king, in common with many others, had his name

44 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

li.L"- inscribed on the statue. On the right shoulder, almost effaced, is the name of Apepa; on the left shoulder is the name of Menephthah I. ; on the right-hand side and front of the pedestal are the cartouches of Rameses II. ; and on the breast is the cartouche of Pasebkhanet.

Amen-em-apt.

Sa-Amen, who restored a portion of the temple of Rameses II. at Tanis.

Pa-seb-kha-nut II. His daughter is said to have married Solomon, king of Israel.

Dynasty XXL, from Thebes.

iioo- Her-Heru, the first priest-king. In his reign the looo priest Unu-Amen was despatched to Syria to buy wood for a new boat of the god Amen. Painetchem I., grandson of Her-Heru. Painetchem II. He married the daughter of

Pai-seb-kha-nut I., king of Tanis. Masaherth. Men-kheper-Ra. Pai-netchem III.

Dynasty XXII., Libyans who ruled the country from Bubastis (Tell-Basta).

The founder of the family of the kings of the XXI Ind dynasty was a Libyan called Buillliaua

966. Shabhanq (Shishak) I. (see 1 Kings xiv. 25-28 ; 2 Chron. xii. 2-13) besieged Jerusalem, and hav- ing conquered it, pillaged the Temple and carried away much spoil.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 45

B.C.

933. Uasarken I. >)

900. Thekeleth I. | Under the rule of these kings 866. Uasarken II. I Egypt finally losr most of her

833. Shashanq II. foreign possessions, and the

feebleness of their rule made her an easy prey for the war- like.

Thekeleth II. Shashanq III. 800. Pamai.

Shashanq IV. J

Dynasty XXIII., from Tanis.

766. Peta-Bast.

Uasarkena III. In the reign of this king Piankhi the Ethiopian invaded Egypt, and a full account of his conquest is found on the stele which he set up at Gebel Barkal. The text gives a detailed account of the expedition of this king into Egypt and of his conquest of that country. It was reported to Piankhi in the 21st year of his reign, that the governors of the northern towns had made a league together and had revolted against his authority. He set out for Egypt with his soldiers, and when he arrived at Thebes he made offerings to Amen-Ra, and commanded his soldiers to pay proper homage tl the god. Passing northwards from Thebes he captured city after city, and finally besieged Memphis, which he soon captured, and thus made himself master of Egypt. The details of the capture of the towns, the speeches of the king and of his vassal princes, and the general information contained in the narrative, give this inscription an importance possessed by few others.

Dynasty XXIV., from Sa'is (Sd el-Hagar). 733. Bak-en-ren-f (Bocchoris).

46 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Dynasty XX V., from Ethiopia {Nubia).

B.C.

700. Shabaka. Some think that this king is to be identified with the So of the Bible (see 2 Kings xvii. 4), but there is no satisfactory evidence for so doing. Shabaka's sister was Queen Amenartas, who married the Nubian Prince Piankhi. Shabataka. He was defeated by Sennacherib at the Battle of Altaku, and was subsequently deposed by Tirhakah, who cast him into prison, and is said to have had him murdered.

693. Taharqa (Tirhakah, 2 Kings xix. 9) is famous for having conquered Sennacherib and delivered Heze- kiah; he was, however, defeated by Esarhaddon and Ashurbanipal, the son and grandson of Sennacherib. He was succeeded by Tanuath- Amen, the Tandamanie of the cuneiform inscriptions, who was compelled to flee before Ashurbanipal.

Dynasty XXV I. ^ from Sais.

666. Psemthek I. (Psammetichus) was the son of

Nekau, whom Ashurbanipal had appointed Governor of Sais and^ Memphis. He allowed Greeks to settle in the Delta, and employed Greek soldiers to fight for him. He protected his country by garrisons stationed at Elephantine, Pelusium, Daphnse, and Marea. He added a large gallery, with side chambers, to the Serapeum. 612. Nekau II. (Nccho) defeated Josiah, king of Judah, and was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar II. son of Nabopolassar, king of Babylon. See 2 Kings xxiii. 29 ff ; Jeremiah xlvi. 2. He maintained a large army, which was largely recruited from the Greeks,

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 47

B.C. and he was a great patron of all trading enter- prises. He began to clear out and enlarge the canal between the Nile and the Red Sea, a work which was probably intended to facilitate the movements of his fleets.

596. Psammetichus II.

591. Uah-ab-Ra (Hophra of the Bible, Gr. Apries) marched to the help of Zedekiah, king ol Judah, who was defeated by Nebuchadnezzar II. See Jeremiah xliv. 30. His army rebelled against him, and he was dethroned ; Amasis, a general in his army, then succeeded to the throne.

572. Aahmes or Amasis II. favoured the Greeks, and granted them many privileges; in his reign Naucratis became a great city.

528. Psammetichus III. was defeated at Pelusium by Cambyses the Persian, and taken prisoner ; he was afterwards slain for rebellion against the Persians.

Dynasty XXVII.^ from Persia.

527. Cambyses marched against the Ethiopians and the inhabitants of the Oases. The army which he sent against the Oasis of Siwa (Jupiter Ammon) was overwhelmed by a sand storm in the desert. He is said to have committed suicide.

521. Darius I. (Hystaspes) endeavoured to open up the ancient routes of commerce ; he established a coinage, and adopted a conciliatory and tolerant system of government, and favoured all attempts to promote the welfare of Egypt. He completed the digging of the canal to join the Nile with the Red Sea, which had been begun by Necho. He built a temple at Hebt, in the Oasis of Kharga.

48 NOTES FOR TRAVELT.ERS IN EGYPT.

B.C.

486. Xerxes I., the Great. He suppressed the revolt which

was headed by Khabbesha

(UP]

465. Artaxerxes I., during whose reign the Egyptians

revolted, headed by Amyrtaeus. 425. Darius II. (Nothus), during whose reign the

Egyptians revolted successfully, and a second

Amyrtaeus became king of Egypt. 405. Artaxerxes II.

Dynasty XXVIII. ^ from Sdis, Amen-rut (Amyrtaeus), reigned six years.

Dynasty XXIX., from Mendes.

399. Naifaaurut I.

393. Haker.

380. P-se-mut.

379. Naifaaurut II.

Dynasty XXX., from Sebennytus.

378. Nekht- Heru-heb, the Nektanebes of classical writers, defeated the Persians at Mendes.

360. Tch-her, the Teos of Manetho's list, surrendered to the Persians. He restored the temple of Khensu- hetep at Thebes.

358. Nekht-n-b-f, the Nektanebos of classical writers, was a great warrior and builder, and all the great temples of Egypt bear witness to his activity in the service of the gods. He opened a new quarry at Turra. He is said to have devoted himself to

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 49

B.C. the pursuit of magic, and to have neglected his empire; when Artaxerxes III. (Ochus) took Pelusium he fled from his kingdom, and the Persians again ruled Egypt. Thus came to an end the rule of the last native king of Egypt.

PERSIANS. 340. Artaxerxes III. (Ochus). 33^- Arses.

336. Darius III. (Codomannus) conquered by Alexander the Great at Issus.

MACEDONIANS.

332. Alexander the Great visited the Oasis of Siwa, and was acknowledged by the god Amen, who was worshipped there, to be the king of Egypt by virtue of his divine birth and achievements. He founded his great city of Alexandria close to the old town of Rakoti, opposite the Island of Pharos. He died of poison at Babylon in June, 323, and his body was taken to Alexandria and buried there. Ptolemy Lagus than became governor of Egypt, and ruled it on behalf of : —

Philip II., Arrhidaeus.

Alexander.

THE PTOLEMIES.

Ptolemy I. Soter, the son of Lagus and Arsinoe, was born B.C. 367. He married Artacama, daughter of Arta-

E

50 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

bazus, in 324, became satrap of Egypt in 325 ; lie married Thais in 323, Eurydice, daughter of Antipater, in 321, and Berenice in 317, and in 304 assumed the title of Soter. He died in 283-2. He was the founder of the Alexan- drian Library.

Ptolemy II. Philadelphus was born about 304. He became king in 287 or 286 ; he married Arsinoe, the daughter of Lysimachus of Thrace, in 285 (?) ; he divorced her in 280 and married his sister Arsinoe XL ; he made his son co-ruler about 267, and died about 246. He built the Pharos, founded the cities of Myos Hormos and Berenice on the Red Sea, caused Manetho, a priest of Sebennytus, to com- pile a history of Egypt, and caused the Hebrew Scriptures to be translated into Greek.

Ptolemy III. Euergetes I. married Berenice II. about 246 ; his daughter Berenice died about 238, and he himself died in 222. He was the founder of the temple of Edfii, and was a great patron of the arts, sciences, and literature. He made an expedition into Persia, and brought back the statues of the gods of Egypt which had been carried there by Cambyses. The Stele of Canopus was set up in the ninth year of his reign. This important stele, preserved in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, is inscribed in hieroglyphic, Greek, and demotic characters, with a decree of the priesthood which was promulgated at Canopus. It sets forth the good deeds of Ptolemy III., and enumerates the benefits which he and his wife Berenice had conferred upon Egypt, thus : — I. Rich gifts and endowments to the temples. 2. Endow- ments for Apis, Mnevis and other sacred animals in Egypt. 3. Restoration of the statues of the gods from Persia to Egypt. 4. The maintenance of a general peace. 5. The remission of taxes during a period of famine. 6. The free distribution of corn, which had been purchased out of the royal revenues in Cyprus, Syria and Phoenicia. In return for these benefits the priests decreerl additional honours for

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 5 1

Ptolemy III. and Berenice, and their ancestors, the appoint- ment of a new order of priests, the creation of a four days' festival, everlasting honours to Berenice, the king's virgin daughter, the setting up of gold statues in the temples, etc. At the same time, the priests decreed a reform in the calendar, i.e.^ they wished to add one day in every fourth year, in order that the winter festivals might always be cele- brated in the winter, and the summer festivals in the summer.

Ptolemy IV. Philopator I. began to reign about 222 ; he, with the help of Sosibius, murdered Berenice, Magas, and Lysimachus in 221 ; he married his sister Arsinoe III. in 217, and caused her to be murdered between 209 and 205. His son Epiphanes was born in 209 or 208, and was made co-regent in 208 ; Ptolemy IV. died probably in the same year.

Ptolemy V. Epiphanes became king of Egypt in 205 ; he was betrothed to Cleopatra, daughter of Antiochus III. of Syria, in 199 ; he was crowned at Memphis in the ninth year of his reign (198) ; he married Cleopatra in 193, and his three children, Philometor, Cleopatra and Euergetes, were born between 186 and 181. In 181 he died of poison. In his reign Coelesyria and Palestine were lost to Egypt. The famous Decree of Memphis, a copy of which is in- scribed on the Rosetta Stone, was promulgated in the ninth year of his reign.

The period of the rule of Ptolemies VI.—IX. is one of difficulty for the historian, and authorities diifer as to its details. According to Dr. Strack, Ptolemy VI. bore the title of Philometor, and Ptolemy VII. that of Eupator. This authority makes Ptolemy VI. the sole ruler of Egypt in 181 ; to marry his sister Cleopatra II. in 172 ; to be made prisoner by Antiochus IV. in 170; to rule conjointly with Cleopatra and Ptolemy IX. Euergetes II. in 169; to be expelled from Egypt by his brother in 164; to return in

E 2

52 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

163 ; to rule with Cleopatra 11. in the same year ; and to die in 146 or 145. Dr. Strack thinks that Ptolemy VII. Eupator was born before 162, and that he reigned for a few weeks over Egypt and Cyprus jointly with Cleopatra II. Ptolemy VIII. Euergetes II. was king in Alexandria, ruling with Cleopatra II. in 170, and in 164 he was king of all Egypt j he married Cleopatra 11. in 145, and ruled with her first with the title of Eupator, and later he and his wife adopted the title of " Euergetai." Ptolemy Memphites was born in 145 (?). Ptolemy VIII. married his niece Cleopatra III. in 143, and ruled, with both Cleopatras, about 133 ; he murdered Memphites and another son in 130, and died in 116. Onias begged permission to build an altar to the god of the Hebrews either from Ptolemy VI. or Ptolemy VII., according to the view taken of the order of succession of the rulers.

Ptolemy IX. Euergetes II. (Ptolemy VIII. ac- cording to Strack) finished the building of the temple of Edfil.

Ptolemy X. Soter II. (Lathyrus) was born in 142 ; he began to reign in 117, and married Selene in 115 ; he was expelled from Egypt and went to Cyprus in 106, and Ptolemy XI. Alexander I. and his mother, Cleopatra III., reigned with the title "Philometores Soteres." Cleopatra III. was murdered by her son in loi. Ptolemy XL died about the year 87, and Ptolemy X. in 81.

Ptolemy XII. Alexander II. was bom about 105 ; he married his stepmother Cleopatra-Berenice in 80, and died in the same year.

Ptolemy XIII. Philopator Philadelphus (Neos Dionysos) was about 95 : he began to reign in 80, but was not crowned until 76 ; his sovereignty was acknowledged in Rome in 59 ; the year following he was driven out of Egypt and he died in 51.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 53

Ptolemy XIV. was born in 6i ; he ruled jointly with his sister Cleopatra the Great in 51, and for a short time with Arsinoe (?) in 48 ; he was drowned in the Nile in 47.

Ptolemy XV. was born in 59;. he ruled jointly with Cleopatra in 47, and was murdered in 44.

Cleopatra VII. Tryphaena, the Great, the illegiti- mate daughter of Ptolemy XIIL, was born in 69, and she became sole ruler of Egypt in 44. She named her son Ptolemy XVI. (Csesarion) co-regent in ^6, and died of poison or by the bite of an asp in 23.

Ptolemy XVI., Caesarion, was born in 47, and died in the year 23, during his flight to Ethiopia. The lengths of the reigns of the Ptolemies were as follows : —

Ptolemy Soter I.

Ptolemy Philadelphus...

Ptolemy Euergetes I...

Ptolemy Philopator ...

Ptolemy Epiphanes

Ptolemy Philometor ...

Ptolemy Euergetes II.

Ptolemy Soter II.

Ptolemy Neos Dionysos

Cleopatra

The dynasty ruled in all 275 years.

Egypt became a province of Rome B.C. 30.

20

years

... 38

25

17

24

35

29

... 36

29

22

ROMANS.

30. Caesar Augustus becomes master of the Roman Empire. Cornelius Gallus is the first prefect of Egypt and Gaius Petronius the second.

54 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

B.C. 23. Under the third prefect, Aelius Gallus, Can-

dace, queen of the Ethiopians, invades Egypt, but is defeated. In the consulship of Marcus Silanus and Lucius Norbanus, Germanicus set out (a.d. 19) for Egypt to study its antiquities. His ostensible motive, however, was solicitude for the province. He sailed up the Nile from the city of Canopus, which was founded by the Spartans because Canopus, pilot of one of their ships, had been buried there, when Menelaus on his return to Greece was driven into a distant sea and to the shores of Libya. "Next he visited the vast ruins of ancient Thebes. There yet remained on the towering piles Egyptian inscriptions, with a com- plete account of the city's past grandeur. One of the aged priests, who was desired to interpret the language of his country, related how once there had dwelt in Thebes 700,000 men of military age, and how with such an army Rhamses conquered Libya, Ethiopia, Media, Persia, Bfactria, and Scythia, and held under his sway the countries inhabited by the Syrians, Armenians, and their neighbours, the Cappa- docians, from the Bithynian to the Lycian Sea. There was also to be read what tributes were imposed on these nations, the weight of silver and gold, the tale of arms and horses, the gifts of ivory and of perfumes to the temples, and the amount of grain and supplies furnished by each people, a revenue as magnificent as is now exacted by the might of Parthia or the power of Rome. But Germanicus also bestowed atten- tion on other wonders. Chief of these were the stone image of Memnon, which, when struck by

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 55

•c. the sun's rays, gives out the sound of a human voice ; the pyramids, rising up Hke mountains amid ahiiost impassable wastes of shifting sand ; raised by the emulation and vast wealth of kings ; the lake {i.e.^ Moeris) hollowed out of the earth to be a receptacle for the Nile's overflow ; and elsewhere the river's narrow channel and pro- found depth which no line of the explorer can penetrate. He then came to Elephantine and Syene, formerly the limits of the Roman empire, which now extends to the Red Sea." — Tacitus^ book ii., §§ 59-61 (Church and Brodribb).

A.D.

14. Tiberius. In his reign Germanicus visited Egypt. The last prefect of Egypt appointed by Tiberius was Avillius Flaccus.

37. Caligula. A riot broke out in Alexandria, and Flaccus was recalled. The mob made an effigy of Caligula, and took it about the streets with a paper cap on its head. In his reign a persecution of the Jews took place.

41. Claudius. Egypt was prosperous, and the Romans greatly developed the trade routes and irrigation of the country.

54. Nero. In his reign Christianity was first preached in Egypt by Saint Mark. The Blemmyes made raids upon the southern frontier of Egypt. The Romans made an expedition to Meroe.

68. Galba. He was murdered.

69. Otho. Reigned three months. 69. Vitellius. He was murdered.

09 Vespasian. He is said to have restored sight to a blind man. He was a tolerant man, and was present at the installation of an Apis Bull at Memphis. Jerusalem destroyed a.d 70.

56 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D.

79. Titus.

82. Domitian causes temples to Isis and Serapis to be built at Rome. During his reign there was a religious fight between the people of Tentyra and Ombos ; an Ombite was caught, killed and eaten by. the people of Tentyra.

96. Nerva.

93. Trajan. The Nile and Red Sea Canal (Amnis Trajanus) re-opened. The Greeks were besieged by the Jews in Alexandria, and were relieved by Marcius Turbo; the Jewish colony was almost annihilated. Turbo built the fortress of Babylon. 117- Hadrian. He founded the city of Andnoopohs in memory of his favourite Antinous, and made a road from it to Berenice on the Red Sea. He visited Egypt twice.

138. Antoninus Pius.

161. Marcus Aurelius caused the famous Itinerary to be made. A revolt of the Bucolic troops took place.

180. Commodus.

193. Pertinax.

Didius Julianus.

Pescennius Niger. 193- Septimius Severus. He visited Egypt. 211. Caracalla visited Egypt, and caused a large number of young men to be massacred at Alexandria.

Geta.

217. Macrinus.

218. Elag-abalus.

222. Alexander Severus.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 57

A.D.

235. Maximinus. 238. Gordianus I.

Gordianus II.

Balbinus.

Pupienus.

Gordianus III.

Philippus. 249. Decius. Christians persecuted. 253- Valerianus. Christians persecuted.

251. Gallus.

252. iEmilianus. 253- Valerianus.

260. Gallienus. Persecution of Christians stayed.

Zenobia, Queen of Pahiiyra, invades Egypt a.d. 268.

261. Macrianus I. Macrianus II.

Quietus. He made a successful expedition against the Blemmyes.

268. Claudius II. In this reign the Romans in Egypt were masters in Alexandria only. The Blemmyes invaded Egypt, and the troops of Zenobia, 70,000 in number, led by Zabdas, marched against Egypt.

270. Quintillus.

270. Aurelian. Zenobia becomes Queen of Egypt for a short time, but is dethroned a.d. 273.

276. Probus. The Blemmyes become masters of the Thebaid.

282. Carus.

283. Carinus.

58 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D.

284. Diocletian. The Romans were obliged to make a contract with the Nobatae to keep the peace in Upper Egypt, and to hold the Blemmyes in check. In 295 Diocletian crushed the rebellion in Alexan- dria headed by L. D. Domitianus, and practically destroyed Alexandria. *' Pompey's Pillar" erected a.d. 302. Persecution of Christians a.d. 304. The Copts date the era of the Martyrs from the day of Diocletian's accession to the throne (August 29). It is thought that " Pompey's Pillar " was set up by the Alexandrians as a mark of gratitude to Diocletian who, in order to relieve distress in Alexandria, had ordered that a portion of the annual tribute of corn from Egypt to Rome should be devoted to the needs of the inhabitants of that city.

305- Galerius 1

311 '

-_ . . ^ Persecution of Christians.

305- Maximinus

313 J

313- Licinius.

323

Constantine the Great, the Christian Emperor, in whose reign, a.d. 325, the Council of Nicaea was held. At this council it was decided that Christ and His Father were of one and the same nature, as taught by Athanasius; and the doctrine of

324. Arius, that Christ and God were only similar in nature, was decreed heretical. " Arius was a most expert logician, but perverted his talents to evil purposes, and had the audacity to preach what no one before him had ever suggested, namely, that the Son of God was made out of that which had no prior existence ; that there was

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 59

A.D. a period of time in which He existed not; that, as possessing free will, He was capable of virtue, or of vice ; and that He was created and made." — Sozomen, Eccles. Hist., Bk. I., chap. xv. For the statement of the views of Arius by his opponent Alexander, Bishop of Alexandria, see his letter addressed to the Catholic Church generally, in Socrates, Eccles. Hist., Bk. L, chap. vi. Athana- sius, Archbishop of Alexandria, was charged with having usurped the imperial power by levying a tax on the Alexandrians, and as this act was con- strued by Constantine into part of a scheme to overthrow the Government, and as the Alexandrians themselves sided with Licinius, Constantine's rival, the Emperor founded the city of Byzantium, or Constantinople.

337. Constantius. George of Cappadocia, an Arian, is made Bishop of Alexandria.

361. Julian, the Apostate. He rejected Christianity as the State religion, and in consequence the Pagans attacked the Christians and wrecked their churches, and built temples to the old gods of Greece and Rome.

363- Jovianus.

364- Valens.

379. Theodosius I., the Great, proclaims Christianity the religion of his empire. The Arians and followers of the ancient Egyptian religion were persecuted.

THE BYZANTINES.

395. Arcadius, Emperor of the East. The Anthropomor- phites (the leader of this persecution was Theo-

6o NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. philus, Bishop of Alexandria, who, before he dis- covered that the majority of the Egyptian monks were Anthropomorphites, was himself opposed to this body), who affirmed that God was of human form, destroyed the greater number of their opponents.

408. Theodosius II. In his reign the doctrines of Nestorius were condemned by Cyril of Alexandria. Nestorius, because of the two natures of Christ, in- ferred also two persons, a human and a divine. " In the Syrian school, Nestorius had been taught (a.d. 429-431) to abhor the confusion of the two natures, and nicely to discriminate the humanity of his master Christ from the Divinity of the Lord Jesus. The Blessed Virgin he revered as the mother of Christ, but his ears were offended with the rash and recent title of mother of God, which had been insensibly adopted since the origin of the Arian controversy. From the pulpit of Constantinople, a friend of the patriarch,* and afterwards the patriarch himself, repeatedly preached against the use, or the abuse, of a word unknown to the apostles, unauthorized by the Church, and which could only tend to alarm the timorous, to mislead the simple, to amuse the profane, and to justify, by a seeming resemblance, the old genealogy of Olympus. In his calmer moments Nestorius con- fessed, that it might be tolerated or excused by the union of the two natures, and the communication of their idioms {i.e., a transfer of properties of each nature to the other — of infinity to man, passibility to God, etc.) : but he was exasperated, by con-

* Anastasius of Antioch, who said, " Let no one call Mary Theotokos; for Mary was but a woman ; and it is impossible that God should be born of a woman." — Socrates, Eccles. Hist., Bk. VII., chap, xxxii.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 6 I

A.D. tradiction, to disclaim the worship of a newborn, an infant Deity, to draw his inadequate similes from the conjugal or civil partnerships of life, and to describe the manhood of Christ, as the robe, the instrument, the tabernacle of his Godhead." — Gibbon, Dedifie and Fall, chap. 47. In this reign Hypatia was murdered by the monks in the Church of the Caesareum.

450. Marcianus. The Monophysite doctrine of Eutyches was condemned at the Council of Chalcedon A.D. 45 r. Eutyches, from the one person of Christ, inferred also one nature, viz., the Divine — the human having been absorbed into it. Silko invaded Egypt with his Nubian followers. The Blemmyes and Nobatae agreed with the Romans to keep the peace for 100 yeais. In this reign the Temple of Serapis was burned by the Alexandrians.

457. Leo I. Proterius the bishop was murdered by the Alexandrians, who made Timotheus Achirus their patriarch; he was rejected by the Emperor in favour of Timotheus Salophaciolus.

474- Leo n.

474- Zeno. He issued the Henoticon, an edict which, while affirming the Incarnation, made no attempt to decide the difficult question whether Christ possessed a single or a double nature. The Alexandrians elected Peter Mongus as their patriarch.

491. Anastasius. In this reign Peter Mongus died and the Persians inva(jed Egypt.

518. Justinus I.

527. Justinian. The Monophysites separated from the Melkites, or " Royalists," and chose their own

62 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. patriarch ; they were afterwards called Copts, i2jJi]\.* In this reign Narses was sent to Philae to put an end to the pagan rites and worship which were celebrated there. He imprisoned the priests, and carried off the statues of the gods to Constantinople.

565. Justinus II.

578. Tiberius II.

582. Mauricius.

602. Phocas.

610. Heraclius. The Persians under Chosroes took Egypt, and held the country for ten years ; they were expelled by Herachus a.d. 629. In 639 the Arabs captured Pelusium, and marched against Heliopolis and defeated the Romans there ; they then occupied the country south of Memphis and besieged the fortress of Babylon. This fortress was built by Turbo in ti6, and was captured by 'Amr ibn al-'Asi in 640.

MUHAMMADANS.

632. The Khalifa Abu Bakr.

634. The Khalifa 'Omar.

640. 'Amr ibn al-'Asi conquers Egypt. 'Amr began his expedition against Egypt with about 4,000 men, but the Khalifa Omar sent him reinforcements, and by the time the famous general arrived at 'Arish his army numbered 1 6,000 men. Having

* The name given to the native Christians of Egypt by the Arabs, from KTIXT^IOC for Ayy-nrtoc.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 63

vanquished the garrison at Pelusium, he marched along the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, and passed by way of Bubastis to HeHopolis. A truce of four days was obtained for George, the Makawkas, the governor of Upper Egypt, by the Coptic Patriarch Benjamin, and it seems that the Egyp- tian official, who was a Jacobite Copt, and a hater of the ruling class in Egypt, greatly aided the Arab general. The Arabs moved on towards Memphis, and soon after, under Zuber, 'Amr's colleague, made a general assault upon the fortress of Babylon, scaled the walls, and so became masters of the capital of Upper Egypt. George, the Makawkas, arranged the details of the capitulation, and a capitation tax of two dinars for every male adult, besides other payments. 'Amr then marched on Alexandria, and as the Greeks took to their ships and fled, George, the Makawkas, who had gone to Alexandria after the fall of Babylon, offered to capitulate on the same terms as he had made for that city. 'Amr returned to Memphis, and made the head-quarters of the army at Fostat, near which the modern town of Cairo has grown up. 'Amr refused to possess himself of any land, and he was not even given a site whereon to build a house. One of his most useful works was to re- open the old canal which ran from Belbes through the Wadi Tiimilat to the Bitter Lakes, and thence to the Red Sea ; by this means it was possible to convey corn which had been loaded into ships at Memphis from that city into Yenbo, the port of Medina in Arabia, without transhipment. This canal was in use for about eighty years, when it became silted up. After the second siege of Atex- andria (a.d. 646) the Arabs made Fostat the capital

64 NOTKS FOR TRAVELLKRS IN EGYPT.

A.D. of Egypt. Mr. Butler has proved that Al- Makawkas is no other than Cyrus, who was appointed Patriarch and Governor of Alexandria by Heraclius after the recovery of Egypt from the Persians.

644. 'Othman. The governor of Egypt was 'Abd-Allah ibn Sa'ad.

'UMAYYAD KHALIFAS

Who lived at Al-Fustat. 656. 'Ali. 661. Mu'awiya. 680. Yazid I. 683. Marwan I. 685. 'Abd-al-Malik. 705. Al-Walid I. 715. Suleman.

717. 'Omar ibn 'Abd al-*Aziz. 720. Yazid II. 724. Hisham. 742. Al-Walid III. 744. Yazid III.

Ibrahim.

Marwan II., the last of the 'Ummayyad dynasty, was put to death in Egypt.

THE 'ABBASID KHALiFAS

(Who lived at Hamra al-Kuswa near al-Fustat). 750. As-Saffah. 754. Al-Mansur.

ftlStORICAL SUIMMARY. 6^

A.D.

775- Al-Mahdi.

785. Al-Hadi.

786. Harun ar-Rasbid. 809. Al-Amin.

813. Al-Ma*mun. He visited Egypt and opened the

Great Pyramid. 8^S- Al-Mu'tasim. 842. Al-Wathik. 847. Al-Mutawakkil.

861. Al-Muntasir.

862. Al-Musta'in. 866. Al-Mu'tazz.

TULUNID KHALIFAS.

(Tliis Dynasty lasted 37 years and 4 months.)

868. Ahimad ibn Tulun was born in 835, and came to Egypt in 868 ; he died in 884. He was a man of con- siderable learning, and was renowned for his know- ledge of Arabic grammar and literature ; his power of work was great, and he was just as well as generous. He arrived in Egypt a poor man, and when he died he left behind him a sum of money equal to ^2,500,000, and yet he never increased the taxes on the people. He crushed three rebellions in Egypt, conquered Mesopotamia, and made Egypt an absolutely independent State. In 870 he built the suburb of Al-Katai, which covers an area of one square mile. He built a splendid palace under the old " Dome of the Air," and he supplied it with water by an aqueduct. His famous mosque was

F

66 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. built on the top of the rocky hill of Yeskhur, on the

868 spot where God is supposed to have talked with Moses. It contains true pointed arches, was built of new materials instead of old ones stolen from Christian churches, etc., and its 300 arches and pillars are built of brick. Its total cost was over ^63,000.

833. Abu'1-Jesh Khumaraweyh, the second of Tulun's seventeen sons, succeeded his father. In the battle against the Turkish Governors of Mosul and Anbar he was seized with panic and fled, but his General, Sa'ad al-A'sar, stood firm, and eventually entered Damascus in triumph. Subsequently Khumaraweyh defeated his enemies in two pitched battles. He enlarged the suburb of Al-Katai, and made a beautiful garden of the Medan. He filled his " golden house " with pictures of himself, his wivesj and his singers, and slept upon an air bed, which was laid upon a lake of quicksilver nearly 100 feet square. He was murdered by his slaves at Damascus in 896.

896; Abu'l-'Asakir Jesh murdered three of his uncles, and was himself murdered a few months later. Abu Musa Harun succeeded when a boy of fourteen ; he was murdered by Sheban, son of Tultin, at 'Abbasa, a small town on the Syrian frontier, in 904. On January loth, 905, Muhammad ibn Suleman, the General of the Khalifa of Baghdad, marched into the suburb of Katai, put all the black troops to the sword, burnt their headquarters, and destroyed the beautiful buildings everywhere. For four months murder, lust, and rapine reigned, and then Sheban and all the other descendants of Tulun were deported to Baghdad and kept prisoners.

tllStORiCAL SUMMARY. 67

A.t).

905. Muhanlmad al-Khalanji entered Ai-Fustat; he ruled Egypt for eight months, but was betrayed to the KhaUfa's Government and taken to Baghdad, where he was executed in May, 906.

THE FATIMID KHALIFAS.

910. Tekin al-Khassa»

914. Khubasa, the Fatimid General, captured Alexandria*

915. Dhuka ar-Rumi.

919. Restoration of Tekin.

921. Mahmud ibn Hamal (3 days).

921. Restoration of Tekin (a few days).

921. Hilal ibn Badr.

923. Ahmad ibn Keghalagh.

924. Restoration of Tekin. 933. Muhammad ibn Tekin.

935. Muhammad ibn Tughj became master of Egypt ; he died at Damascus, and was buried in Jerusalem. He is best known as the Ikhshid. Laid out the beautiful " Garden of Kafur " near the modern bazaar of the brassworkers.

946. Abu'l'-IJasim.

961. Abu'l-Hasan 'AH.

965. Abu'1-Misk Kafur, the black tutor of two of the Ikhshids' sons ; he died in 968.

969. Al-Mu4zz was the first Fatimid ruler of Egypt ; he belonged to the Shi'a section, i.e.^ the "freethinkers" among the Muhammadans, who think that the succession to the Prophet's office belonged to 'Ali, the husband of Muhammad's daughter Fatima,

F 2

68 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. and father of Muhammad's only male descendants. 969. He was an able and prudenl ruler. The general of Mu'izz was Gawhar, who founded the new capital Al-Kahira,"^ and built the mosque Al-Azhar. Mu'izz died in 975 975. Al-'Aziz. Cireat peace and prosperity in Egypt. 996. Al-Hakim was a social and religious madman. He founded a hall of science, and established an ob- servatory on the Mukattam Hills. He declared that he was an Incarnation of God, and he founded the sect of the Druzes. He was nmrdered about February 13, 1021.

1021. Zahir died of the plague in 1036.

1036. Maadd or Abu Tamim Ma'add al-Mustansir- bi-Uah ; in his reign Palestine and Syria were lost to Egypt.

1094. Al-Musta'li.

iioi. Abu-*Aiial-Mansur.

1131. Al-Hafiz.

1149. Az-Zafir.

1154. Al-Faiz.

1 160. Al-Adid was the last of the Eatimid Khalifas.

1 169. Salah ad-Din, or Saladin ; born at Tekrit 1137, died 1193. He built the great walls of Cairo and the Citadel, and his architect Karakush excavated the fLimous Well there, which is 280 feet deep. He also built the Gizah Dyke.

J^U)1

69

THE AYYOBID dynasty OF EGYPT.

Saladin's successors were : —

A.D.

T193. Al-*Aziz *Othman, his son.

1198. Al-Mansur Muhammad.

1200. Al-*Adil Seyf ad-Din.

1 218. Al-Kamil Muhammad.

1238. Al-*Adil II.

1240. As-Salih Ayyub, grandson of Saladin's hrother,

1249. Al-Mu*azzam Turanshah.

1250. Al-Ashraf Musa.

THE FIRST MAMLUKS.

1249. Louis IX collected 2,800 French knights, 5,000 archers, and sailed for Egypt in 1,720 ships. He took Damietta, and marched on to Mansura, but here some 1,500 of the flower of his army were killed. Subsequently he retreated to Damietta, but the Saracens pursued him and annihilated the Christian army. It is said that 30,000 Crusaders were slain. King Louis and the remainder of his army were held at ransom for 10,000,000 francs, hut TiUanshcih is said to have reduced this sum by one-quarter.

The Mamluks derive their name from the fact that they were originally slaves, who were either purchased or captured in war. The Bahri Mamluks, i.e., "the white slaves of the

7^ NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. river," were thus called because they lived on the Island of Roda, opposite Fustat. The 25 Bahri rulers were : —

Sheger ad-Durr, a Queen. 1250. Al-Mu*izz Aybek. He was murdered in his bath

by his wife in 1257. 1257. Al-Mansur *Ali ibn Aybek. He was deposed

in November, 1259.

1259. Al-Muzaffar Kutuz. He conquered the Mongols,

who were led by Hillfigii. He was murdered in October, 1260.

1260. Az-Zahir Rukn ad-din Bebars, He was the

first Mamluk Sultan. He died in July, 1277.

1277. As-Sa'id Baraka Khan. He abdicated the

throne, and died in 1280. 1279. Al-Adil Selamish. He was deposed.

1279. Al-Mansur Kala'un. He built the Maristan (completed in 1284). He died in his tent in 1290.

1290. Al-Ashraf Khalil. He captured 'Akka (Acre), May 1 8th, 1292. He was murdered in 1293.

1293. An-Nasir Muhammad. He was deposed in a

year, but restored in 1298 and 1309.

1294. Al-*Adil Ketbugh^. A terrible famine occurred

in his reign. 1296. Al-Mansur Lajin. He was murdered in January,

1299. 1298. An-Nasir (second reign). Deposed for 10 years.

1308. Al-Muzaffar Bebars II. He abdicated and

was shut up in prison in Gaza. T309. An-Nasir (third reign). Reigned for 30 years

more. He died in June, 1341.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY, 71

A.D.

1341- Al-Mansur Abu Bakr. 1 34 J- Al-Ashraf Kujuk. 1342. An-Nasir Ahmad, 1342. As-Salih Isma'il.

1345. Al-Kamil Sha'ban.

1346. Al-Muzaffar Haggl

1347- An-N4sir Hasan. In his reign the plague

attacked Egypt, and 10,000 to 20,000 people

died in Cairo in one day. 1351- As-Salih Salih. 1354. An-Nasir Hasan (second reign). 1 36 1. Al-Mansur Muhammad. 1363. Al-Ashraf Sha'ban. 1376. Al-Mansur *Ali. 1 38 1. As-Salih Haggi. He was deposed in 1382 by

Barkuk, who founded the dynasty of the Burgt

or Circassian Mamluks. 1389. As-Salih Ilaggi (second reign),

THE BURGITE CIRCASSIAN MAMLOKS.

The Burgi Sultans were all Circassians, with the exception of two, Khushkadam and Timurbugha, who were of Greek origin.

The Circassian Mamluks obtained the name of " Burgite," because the founders of their dynasty were quartered in the " Burg," or Citadel.

1382. Az-Zahir Barkuk. He died in 1399. 1.399- Farag. He was executed in 141 2, and his body cast on a dung-heap..

72 NOTES FOR TRAVFXLERS IN EGYPT, A.D.

1405. *Abd al-*Aziz.

1405. Farag" (second period of rule),

141 2. Al-Musta4n. 141 2, Al-Mu*ayyad. T421, Ahmad, 142 1. Sayf-ad-din Tatar.

142 1. As-Salih Muhammad.

1422. Bars-Bey, captured Cyprus in 1426; he died in

1438.

1438. Al-*Aziz Yusuf,

1438. Gakmak persecuted the Jews and Christians ; he

died in 1453, aged 80, 1453. 'Othm^n was deposed after a rule of six weeks, 1453 Seyf ad-Din Inal. 1461. Al-Mu'ayyad Ahmad abdicated. J 46 1. Khushkadam, the Greek, abdicated.

1467. Yel-Bey, called the "madman," was deposed after a rule of two months.

1467. Timurburgha, a learned man, who was deposed,

but allowed to live at Damietta.

1468. Ka'it Bey built two mosques, ajid restored many

monuments. The pjague visited Egypt in 1492, and J 2,000 people died in one day in Cairo. Ka'it-Bey died in 1496.

1496. An-Nasir Muhammad. 1498. Kansuh. T500. Ganbalat. T50T. Tuman Bey.

1501. Kansuh al-Ghuri was killed at the battle 9/ .'Ueppo, August 24th, 1 5 16.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 73

A.D.

1 516. Al-Ashraf Tuman-Bey was hanged on April 14th, 15 17, when the Turks occupied Cairo. The last Abbasid Khalifa of Egypt, Mutawakkil, died in 1:538, having bequeathed his title and rights to the Sultan of Turkey. Thus Egypt became a province of the Turkish Empire.

TURKISH RULE IN EGYPT.

15 1 7. lYiman Bey is deposed by Selim I. of Constantin- ople, and Egypt becomes a Turkish Pashalik. Soon after his conquest of Egypt, Selim divided the country into twenty-four provinces, over each of which he appointed a local governor ; these governors were placed in subjection to a Pasha, who, with the help of a council of seven Turkish officials, ruled the country. One of the twenty-four governors was elected to the important office of " Shekh al-balad," or governor of the metropolis, a post which was greatly coveted by his colleagues when they saw what frequent opportunities were enjoyed by him of " squeezing " the natives, and of making himself a rich man. This system worked well for a time, but as the power of Turkey declined, so the power of her nominees the Pashas of Egypt declined, and at length the twenty-four local gover- nors became the actual rulers of Egypt, for the revenues of the country were in their hands, and they paid the Turkish Pasha his salary.

1 77 1. 'Ali Bey, a slave, obtains great power in Egypt. He was accused of entering into a conspiracy against the Sultan at Constantinople, and a messenger was sent to Egypt to bring back 'Ali Bey's head. 'Alj

74 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. caught and slew the messenger, and having called

1772. his colleagues together, drove out the Pasha and declared Egypt independent. He was poisoned by Muhammad abu-Dhabab, a man on whom he had showered favours.

1773. Isma'il, Ibrahim, and Murad strive for the

mastery over Egypt. When Murad became ruler, a Turkish army invaded Egypt and seized Cairo, 1790. and attempted to follow the rebel (Murad) into Upper Egypt.

FRENCH RULE IN EGYPT.

1798. Napoleon Bonaparte lands near Alexandria with

an army of 36,000 men (July i) ; storming of Alexandria (July 5) ; Murad meets the French in battle at Embabeh, opposite Cairo, with 60,000 men, but is beaten, and about 15,000 of his men are killed. This fight is commonly called the Battle of the Pyramids. A few days later Nelson destroyed the French fleet in Abukir Bay.

1799. Destruction of the Turkish army by the French at

Abukir. 1800., Sir Sydney Smith signs a treaty at Al-'Ari,sh grafting General Kleber's army permission to Itjave Egypt; (February 24), but as he had to admit later that he had exceeded his powers, and that the British Government demanded the surrender of the whole French army as prisoners of war, Gen. Kleber attacked the Turks at the village of Matariyeh, and is said to have routed 70,000 men, an army six times as large as his own. A fe^y months lat.e.i;

HISTORICAL SUMMARY, 75

A.D.

Kleber was assassinated, and General Menou became commander-in-chief of the French army in Egypt.

180T. Sir Ralph Abercromby lands at Abukir Bay with 17,000 men (March 8); battle of Alexandria and defeat of the French (March 21); the French capitulate at Cairo (June 27); the French capitu- late at Alexandria (August 30) ; evacuation of Egypt by the French (September).

1803. England restores Egypt to the Turks. As soon as the English left Egypt, severe conflicts took place between two Turkish parties in the country, the Albanians and the Ghuzz : to the former belonged Muhammad 'Ali.

MUHAMMAD 'ALI AND HIS FAMILY.

1805. Muhammad 'Ali is elected Pasha of Egypt by the people. His election was afterwards confirmed by the Porte. He was born at Cavalla, a small town on the sea-coast of Albania, in 1769, and he served in the Turkish army at an early age. He was sent with a body of troops to fight against the French, and enjoyed at that time the rank of major {bimbashi) ; he married the daughter of the governor of his native town, and by her had three sons, Ibrahim, TusCm, and Isma'il.

1807. General Eraser arrives at Alexandria with 5,000 British troops (March 17), but being unsuccessful in his mission, he evacuated Alexandria on Se)^- tember 14.

76 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. Assassination of the Mamliiks by Muhammad 'Ah.

1 8 T I . These unfortunate men were invited by Muhammad 'Ah to attend the investiture of his son Tustin with a garment of state at the Citadel on March i. When they arrived they were graciously received and led into the Citadel, but as soon as they were inside, the gates were closed and Muhammad 'Ali's soldiers opened fire upon them ; about 470 of the Beys and their followers were murdered, and of all who entered, only one is said to have escaped.

1S20. Expedition to the Sudan led by Isma'il, w^ho was burned to death at Shendi by an Arab shekh called Nimr (1822). Khartum founded.

182 1. Muhammad 'Ah sends about 8,000 troops to assist the Turks against the Greeks. In 1824 a false Mahdi appeared near Thebes, with about 25,000 followers, but nearly all of them were massacred by the Government troops.

183 1. Invasion of Syria by Ibrahim, son of Muhammad 'Ali. Acre was invested on November 29, but was not captured until May 27, 1832. Ibrahim was victorious at Emesa on July 8, he defeated Rashid Pasha, and destroyed the Turkish fleet so completely that Constantinople was in imminent danger of capture. In 1833 the whole of Syria was ceded to Muhammad 'Ali, and the rule of his son Ibrahim was firm but just. In 1839 war again broke out between the Turks and Egyptians, and two years later Syria was given back to the former. In 1847 Muhammad 'Ali visited Con- stantinople, and soon after his reasoning powers became impaired.

1848. Ibrahim is appointed to rule Egypt on account of his father's failing health. He died after the reign of a few months, but Muhammad did not

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 77

A.D. die until August 3, 1849. Muhammad 'Ali was

1849. '^" ^t)le ruler, and one who had the interest of his country at heart. He created an army and a navy, and estabhshed equitable laws for collecting the revenues ; he founded colleges of various kinds, and also the famous Bulak printing press. There is no doubt that but for the obstacles placed in his way by the British Government, and its inter- ference, he would have freed Egypt entirely from Turkish misrule. His health and spirits were broken by England when she reduced his army to 18,000 men and forbade him to employ his fleet, which rotted away as it lay inactive at Alexandria.

1849. 'Abbas Pasha, the son of Tusun, the son of Muhammad 'Ali, succeeds Ibrahim. He was an incapable ruler, and is said to have been strangled at Kenha in July, 1854.

1854. Sa'id Pasha, the fourth son of Muhammad 'Ali, becomes ruler of Egypt. Though not a strong ruler, he was a just man, and he will be chiefly remembered for having abolished a number of cruel monopolies. In many particulars he sought to carry out his father's plans, and first and fore- most among these must be mentioned the building of railways in the Delta, and the enlarging of the canals with the view of improving irrigation and of facihtating communication. He it was who supported the project of making the Suez Canal, and he gave M. de Lesseps the concession for it. He founded the Bulak Museum, and encouraged excavations on the sites of the ancient cities of Egypt.

1S63. Isma'il, son of Ibrahim Pasha, and grandson of Muhammad 'Ali, becomes the ruler of Egypt ; he was born in 1830, and by a decree of the Sultan,

78 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPt.

A.D.

1863. dated May 14, 1867, was made "Khedive"* of Egypt. In the early years of the rule of this remarkable man everything seemed to go well, and the material welfare of the country of Egypt appeared to be secured. Apparently Ismail was straining every nerve to rule his country according to Western ideas of justice and progress. Railways were built, schools were opened, trade of every kind was fostered, and agriculture, upon which the prosperity of Egypt depends, was encouraged to a remarkable degree. The making of the Suez Canal, which was begun in 1859, was carried on with great «eal under his auspices (as well as the Fresh Water Canal, which was begun in 1858 and finished in 1863), and the work was successfully accomplished in 1869. But the various enterprises in which he embarked cost

1875, large sums of money, and towards the end of 1875 his liabilities amounted to ^^7 7,667,569 sterling. The salaries of the officials were in arrear, and the Treasury bills were shunned by all. In this year he sold 176,602 Suez Canal shares to the British Government for ^3,976,582 sterling; these shares

1878. are now worth over 25 millions sterhng. In 1878 M. Waddington, the French Minister of Foreign ■ Affairs, urged Lord Derby to co-operate with France in an attempt to put the finances of Egypt on a sounder base, and a Commission of Inquiry was instituted by the Decree of March 30, under the presidency of Mr. Rivers Wilson. In April Isma'il was obliged to find the sum of ^1,200,000 to pay the May coupon of the Unified Debt, and

- Ox y

* The Arabic form of the title is oV* Jc>- Khudewiy.

HISTORICAL SUMiMARY. 79

A.D.

1878. it is said that he did so by the famihar process of "squeezing" the native. The labours of the Commission proved that *'the land tenures were so arranged that the wealthier proprietors evaded a great portion of the land tax, and the system of forced labour was applied in a way which was ruinous to the country." (Royle, Egyptian Cam- paigns, p. 6.) Ismail had built himself palaces everywhere, and he and his family had become possessed of one-fifth of the best of the land ot Egypt. The taxes were collected with great cruelty and injury to the native, and peculation and bribery were rampant everywhere. In August of this year a Cabinet was formed with Nubar Pasha at the head, with Rivers Wilson as Minister of Finance, and M. de Blignieres as Minister of Public Works. At this time Isma il announced that he was, in future, determined to rule the country through a Council of Ministers. It must be remembered that the debt of Egypt at this time was about ;^9o,ooo,ooo.

1879. On February i8th, 1879, Nubar Pasha and his

Cabinet were, owing to the machinations of Ismail, mobbed by about 2,500 officers and men at the Ministry of Finance, but at the critical moment Isma il himself appeared, and the uproar ceased. At the same time, however, he told the European Consuls-General that unless more power were given to him he would not be answerable for what might happen. Soon after this he issued a Decree to raise the number of men in the army to 60,000, and in April he reduced the interest on the Debt. When Nubar Pasha resigned his office, Ismail appointed his own son Tawfik as Prime Minister, but soon after

So NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. this he dismissed the whole Cabinet and appointed

1879. ''^ set of native Ministers with Sherif Pasha as Prime Minister. As the result of this truly Oriental proceeding England and France, after much hesitation, demanded the deposition of Isma il from the Sultan. About this time Isma'il sent large bribes to the Sultan, but these availed him nothing, and on June 25th Mr. Lascelles, the British Consul-General, and M. Tricon, the French Consul-General, together with Sherif Pasha, waited upon IsmaHl to inform him that he must at once abdicate in obedience to the orders of his sove- reign master, the Sultan, which had been received from Constantinople. Isma il of course refused to do this, but about 10.30 a.m. a telegram addressed to Isma il Pasha, late Khedive of Egypt, was received at the Abdin Palace, and it was taken to him by Sherif Pasha, who called upon his master to resign in favour of Tawfik Pasha. Almost at the same hour Tawfik received at the Isma'iliyya Palace a telegram addressed to Muhammad TaAvfik, Khedive of Egypt, and when he went to the Abdin Palace with Sherif Pasha, who had come from there to tell him about the telegram to Isma il, he found his father ready to salute and to wish him better fortune than he him- self had enjoyed. On Monday, the 30th of June, Isma'il left Egypt in the Khedivial yacht for Smyrna, taking with him a large sum of money and about 300 women; in 1887 he settled in Constantinople, where he died in 1895. Under Tawfik's rule the Control was restored, and on September 4 Riaz Pasha became Prime Minister.

1 880. Commission of Liquidation appointed, and a number of

reforms, including a reduction of the taxes, are made.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. Si

A.I).

1881. A rebellion headed by Ahmad Arabi or ** Arabi Pasha " and others breaks out. Arabi was born in the year 1840 in Lower Egypt, and was the son of a peasant farmer. He offended Isma'il, and was accused of malpractices and misappropriation of army stores, but this the despot forgave him, and promoted him to the rank of colonel, and gave him a royal slave to wife. Arabi was the leader of a secret society, the aim of which was to free Egypt from foreign interference and control, and to increase the army, and make Tawfik appoint an Egyptian to the office of Minister of War in the place of Osman Rifki. These facts coming to the notice of the authorities, Arabi and two of his colleagues were ordered to be arrested, and when this had been done, and they had been taken to the barracks in Cairo for examination, the soldiers who were in their companies rushed into the rooms and rescued them. The rebel officers and men next went to the palace where Tawfik was, and compelled him to grant their requests, and to do away with the cause of their dissatisfaction.

BRITISH RULE IN EGYPT.

882. On February 2 of this year Tawfik was called upon to form a new Cabinet, and Arabi became Minister of War, and Mahmdd Sami was appointed President of the Council; Arabi was created a Pasha by the Sultan and his power became para- mount. In May a serious dispute arose between Arabi and his colleagues and the Khedive ; and on the 19th and 20th three British and three

G

82 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. French vessels arrived at Alexandria. On May 1882. 25th the Consuls-General of England and France demanded the resignation of Mahmild Sami's Cabinet, and the retirement of Arabi from the 1882. country. These demands were conceded on the following day, but shortly after Tawfik reinstated Arabi, with the view of maintaining order and the tranquillity of the country. " On June 3 three more British and three more French warships arrived at Alexandria. On June 1 1 a serious riot broke out at Alexandria ; and the British Consul was stoned and nearly beaten to death, and Mr. Ribton, a missionary, and a British naval officer and two seamen were actually killed." The massacre had been threatened by Mahmiid Sami, and the riot was pre-arranged, and the native police and soldiery were parties to the murders of the Europeans which took place on that day; Mr. Royle {Egyptiait Campaigns, p. 54) estimates the number o( Europeans killed at 150. On June 25 the Sultan decorated Arabi with the Grand Order of the Medjidieh ! On July 11 at 7 a.m. the bombardm^t of Alexandria was begun by H.M.S. " Alexandra" firing a shell into the newly made fortifications of the city, and the other British ships, " Inflexible," "Superb," "Sultan," " Temeraire," " Invincible," *' Monarch," and *' Penelope," soon after opened fire. After the bombardment was over the city was plundered and set on fire by the natives, and an idea of the damage done may be gained from the fact that the Commission of Indemnities awarded the claimants the sum of ;^4,34i,oi i sterling (Royle, op. cif., p. 102). On July 14th British seamen were landed to protect the city, and on the 15th

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 83

A.E. many forts were occupied by them. Early in 1882. August Arabi was removed from his post, and he at once began to prepare to resist the Enghsh soldiers who were known to be on their way to Egypt; on August 15 Sir Garnet Wolseley arrived in Egypt; on the i8th the British fleet arrived at Port Sa'id , on the 20th the British seized the Suez Canal, and the British Government was declared by M. de Lesseps to have paid to him ;^i 00,000 for loss of business! (Royle, op. cif., p, 152). On September 13 Sir Garnet Wolseley was victorious at Tell al-Kebir, at a cost of about 460 British officers and men ; the Egyptians lost about 2,000, and several hundreds were wounded. On the 15th Cairo was occupied by the British, and the 10,000 Egyptian soldiers there submitted without fighting. On December 26th Arabi left Egypt for exile in Ceylon.

[883. A rebellion led by the Mahdi breaks out in the Sudan. The Mahdi was one Muhammad Ahmad, a carpenter, who was born between 1840 and 1850 ; his native village was situated near the Island of Argo, in the province of Donkola, and though poor, his parents declared that they belonged to the Ashraf, or " nobility," and claimed to be descendants of Muhammad the Prophet. His father was a religious teacher, and had taught him to read and write. He studied at Berber under Muhammad al-Kher, and later at Khartum under the famous Shekh Muhammad Sherif, and when he became a man he led a life of great asceticism on the island of Abba in the White Nile. His piety and learning secured for him a great reputa- tion in the Stidan, and the greater number ot the inhabitants sided with him in a serious quarrel

G 2

84 NOTES FOR TRAVRLT.ERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. which he had with Muhammad Sherif. He 1883. wandered about preaching against the Christians, and he declared that the decay in the Muham- madan rehgion was due to the contact of Arabs with Christians, that true faith was dead, and that he was deputed by God to restore it. He then attached a number of important people to himself, and having retired to Abba Island, he declared himself to be the '' Mahdi," or the being whose advent had been foretold by Muhammadan writers, who would restore the religion of the Arabs to its former purity. In July, 1881, Rauf Pasha, the Governor-General of the S(ldan, sent for him to come to Khartfim, but the Mahdi refused, and six- weeks later he and his followers defeated the Government troops which had been sent to bring him, and slew half of them. In December he defeated Rash id Bey, the Governor of Fashoda, and slew nearly all the 400 soldiers which he had with him at Geddin. In April, 1882, Giegler Pasha, the temporary Governor-General, next attacked the Mahdi, and under his able general- ship considerable loss was inflicted on the rebels ; but on June 7 the Mahdi and his Dervishes massacred the combined forces of 'Abd-Allah and Yussuf Pasha, and in September he besieged El-Obed, which capitulated on January 17, 1883. In the same month Colonel W. Hicks, a retired Indian officer, was appointed head of the Army in the Siidan, and on February 7 he left Cairo for Khartum via Berber, which he reached on March i ; in April he set out against the Dervishes, and on the last day of the month he defeated about 4,000 of them and killed about 500. On September 9 he set out with reinforcements for Duem, intending

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 85

A. IX to recapture El-Obed, but early in Noveml:>er the

1883. Mahdi attacked his force of about 10,000 men with some thousands of soldiers from the old Egyptian Army, near Lake Rahad, it is said, and the gallant Englishman and his officers and men, who were suffering greatly from want of water, having been led into an ambush, were cut to pieces. Thus the Mahdi became master of the Sudan.

1884. [n February Baker Pasha set out with about 3,800

men to relieve Sinkat, but his motley troops were defeated at Tokar, and about 2,400 of them slain, and thousands of rifles and much ammunition fell into the hands of the Dervishes. In January of this year Charles George Gordon (bom January 28, 1833, murdered at Khartum on the night of January 26, 1885) was sent to Khartum to arrange for the evacuation of the Sudan ; he left Cairo on January 26 and arrived thereon February 18. On February 28, General Graham defeated the Der- vishes at At-Teb, and nearly 1,000 of them were slain. On March 13 he defeated OsmanDikna's* army at Tamaai and killed about 2,500 of his men ; Osman's camp was burnt, and several hun- dred thousand of the cartridges which had been taken from Baker Pasha were destroyed. On the 27th, Tamanib was occupied by Graham and then burnt. iVbout the middle of April the Mahdi began to besiege Gordon in Khartum, and preparations for a rehef expedition were begun in England in May ; this expedition was placed (August 26) under Sir Garnet Wolseley, who decided to attempt to reach Kharttim by ascending the Nile. This route made

* i.e., " Osman of the beard " ; he is the son of a Turkish merchant and slave dealer who settled in the Eabtern Sudan early in the XlXth century.

86 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. it necessary to travel 1,700 miles against the stream,

1884. and six cataracts, and other natural barriers, made the progress extremely slow ; General Sir F. Stephenson, the highest authority on the subject, advised the route tnd Sawwakin (Suakin) and Berber, and by it troops could have entered Khar- tum some months before Gordon was murdered. On the other hand it has been urged that, as the town of Berber surrendered on May 26, the main reason for an advance along the Suakin-Berber road was taken away {Sudan Campaign, Pt. I, p. 25). The expedition consisted of 7,000 men, and all of them had reached Wadi Haifa by the end of November. On December 2, the troujjs at Don- kola set out for Korti, which was reached by Sir Herbert Stewart on the 13th of tlie same month. Here it was decided to send a part of the force to Khartum across the desert, 7ud Matemmah, and a part by way of the river. On December 30, Sir Herbert Stewart set out with about 1,100 officers

1885. and men, and on January 2 he seized the Gakdul Wells, 95 miles from Korti ; after one day he returned with the greater part of his force to Korti (January 5) to fetch further supplies, having left 400 men at Gakdul to build forts and to guard the wells. On the 8th, he again set out for Gakdul, and on the i6th he reached a spot about four miles from the wells of Abu Klea,^ and 23 miles from Matammah ; next day the famous battle of Abu Klea was fought, and 1,500 British soldiers defeated 11,000 Dervishes. The Der- vishes succeeded in breaking the British square,

* M'.re correctly Abu Tlih X:^ ^} t uc, a place abounding in acacia irecs.

Historical summary. 87

A.D. but every one of them who got in was killed, 1885. and 1,100 of their dead were counted near it; their number of wounded was admitted by them to have been very large. On the i8th General Stewart moved on towards Matemmah and, after a march which lasted all day and all night, again fought the Dervishes on the 19th, and killed or wounded 800 ; in this fight, however, he received the wound of which he died. On the 20th Abu Km, or Gubat, was occupied by the British : on the 2 1 St Sir Charles Wilson attempted to take Matemmah, but the force at his command was insufficient for the purpose. On the 22nd the British soldiers began to build two forts at Abu Kru ; on the 23rd Sir C. Wilson began to make the steamers ready to go to Khartiim ; and on the 24th he set out with two steamers and twenty men. Four days later he came to Tuti Island and found that Khartum was in the hands of the Mahdi, whereupon he ordered his vessels to turn and run down the river with all speed ; when they were out of the reach of the enemy's fire, Sir C. Wilson stopped them and sent out messengers to learn what had happened, and it was found that Khartiim had fallen on the night of the 26th, and that Gordon had been murdered a little before sunrise on the 27th. His head was cut off and taken to the Mahdi, but his body was left in the garden for a whole day, and thousands of Dervishes came and plunged their spears into it ; later the head was thrown into a well. On February 13 the British troops, including those which had marched with General Buller to Gubat, retreated to Abu Klea, and a fortnight later they set out for Korti, which they reached on March i.

88 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. The portion of the British troops which attempted 1885. to reach Khartum by river left Korti on Decem- ber 28, 1884, and reached Berti on February i, 1885, and on the 9th was fought the battle of Kirbekan, in which General Earle was shot dead. On the 17th the house, palm trees, and water- wheels of Suleman Wad Gamr, who murdered Colonel Stewart, were destroyed, and on the 24th, orders having been received to withdraw, the river column made ready to return to Korti, which was reached on the 8th of March. When it was seen that Lord Wolseley's expedition had failed to bring Gordon from Khartum, it was decided by the British Government to break the power of Osman Dikna, and with this object in view the Suakin Expedition was planned. On February 17, 1885, the British Government made a contract with Messrs. Lucas and Aird to construct a railway of 4 feet 8^ inches gauge from Suakin to Berber. On the 20th General Graham was placed in command of the Suakin Field Force, which consisted of about 10,500 officers and men. On March 20 General Graham fought an action at Hashin, and two days later a fierce fight took place at Tofrik, between Suakin and Tamaai. General McNeill was attacked by about 3,000 Dervishes, of whom 1,000 were killed, but the British loss was, relatively, considerable. In May the British Government recalled Graham's expedition, and abandoned the making of the railway to Berber, and thus Osman Dikna was again able to boast that he had driven the English out of the country (Royle, Sudan Campaigns, p. 436). On June 22, the death of the Mahdi occurred ; he was succeeded by 'Abd-Allah, better known as the *' Khalifa." In

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 89

A.D. July the last of the British troops of Lord

1885. Wolseley's expedition left Donkola ; by the end of September nearly the whole country as far north as Wadi Haifa was in the hands of the Mahdi, and it was seen that, unless checked, the Dervishes would invade Egypt. General Sir F. Stephenson and General Sir Francis Grenfell attacked them at Kosheh and Ginnis on December 30, and about ijooo ofthe Mahdi's troopswere killed and wounded.

1886. Towards the close of this year Osman Dikna with-

drew from Suakin to Omdurman, partly because the Arabs about Suakin had defeated his troops and occupied Tamaai, and partly because he hoped for much benefit from the Mahdi's attack on Egypt.

1887. In June, Osman Dikna returned to Suakin with

about 2,000 Baggara Dervishes, but failed to move the people ofthe country ; in the following month he returned to Omdurman, but hearing that the Egyptian garrison at Suakin had been reduced, he returned with 5,000 men and determined to capture the city.

1888. On January 17, Colonel (now Lord) Kitchener, at

the head of some friendly Arabs, attacked and captured the Dervish camp, but eventually the Dervishes re-formed and turned the Egyptian victory into a defeat. On December 20, General Grenfell, with reinforcements, attacked Osman Dikna's troops and killed and vvounded 500 of them.

1889. In April Wad an-Nagumi had advanced as far

north as Hafir with about 5,000 men, and another 1,000 werQ at Sarras, only about ^^ miles south ot AVadi Haifa. On July i, Colonel Wodehouse, with about 2,000 Egyptian soldiers, defeated the Der- vishes, under Wad an-N.agumi, at Argin, near AVadi Haifa, killing 900 and taking 500 jn-isoners. On

90 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGVPT.

A.D. the 5th, General Grenfell left Cairo for the south with reinforcements, and made arrangements to meet the attack of Wad an-Nagumi, who, un- daunted by his defeat at Argin, was marching north ; and on August i this redoubtable warrior

1889. collected his force of 3,300 men and 4,000 followers on the hills to the south of Tushki, or Toski. On the 3rd General Grenfell disposed his British and Egyptian troops in such a way as to check the advance of Wad an-Nagumi, who, however, only wished to get away and not to fight. He was at length forced to fight, and he fought bravely, but General Grenfell's tactics were so thoroughly well planned and carried out, that the Dervish force was completely routed and destroyed. About 1,200 were killed and 4,000 were taken prisoners, and the Egyptian loss only amounted to 25 killed and 140 wounded. The effect on the country was marvellous, for, as Mr. Royle says {pp. at., p. 485), "the victory of Toski marked the turning point in the invasion, and was a shock to the cause of Mahdism which it took years to recover." The Dervish reinforcements beat a hasty retreat, and the Mahdi suspended all further operations for the invasion of Egypt.

1890. Osman Dikna continued to make raids upon Suakin

from Tokar.

1 89 1. In January Colonel (now Sir C.) Holled-Smith set

out to attack Osman Dikna, and on February 19 he routed the enemy at Tokar, killing 700 men. 1892-1895. Osman Dikna continued to harass the Arabs round Suakin, and made raids wherever he thought he had any chance of success. On January 7, 1892, the Khedive, Tawfik Pasha, died after a short illness at Helwan, and he was succeeded by

A. D.

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 9 1

his eldest son, Abbas II. Hilmy ; the Imperial

1895. Firman from the Porte confirming his succession cost about ;^6,i545 and was read on April 14.

1896. In the early part of this year Osman Dikna's forces

were attacked and defeated with great loss by Colonel Lloyd, Major Sydney, and Captain Fen- wick. On February 29 the Italians were defeated by the Abyssinians at Adowa, and the garrison at Kassala was in imminent danger from the Dervishes. With a view of assisting Italy by making it necessary for the Dervishes to turn their attention elsewhere, the British Government determined to advance to Akasheh and Donkola. In the hands of General Kitchener, who had succeeded General Grenfell as vSirdar of the Egyptian Army in April, 1892, the conduct of the new Sudan Expedition was placed. On March 21 he left Cairo for the south, and the first serious skirmish between the Dervishes and Egyptians took place on May i. Early in June the Sirdar divided his forces, and one column marched upon Ferket by way of the river, and another across the desert. On June 7 the two columns joined hands, and a fierce fight ensued. The Sirdar's arrangements were so skilfully made and carried out, that the Dervishes were utterly routed ; they lost about 1,000 killed and wounded, and 500 were made prisoners. Among the killed were about forty of their chief men. The Egyptian loss was 100 killed and wounded. On September 19 the Sirdar occupied Hafir after a fight, and four days later the Egyptian troops entered Donkola ; Debbeh, Korti, and Marawiwere next occupied, and the country as far as the foot of the Fourth Cataract was once more in the hands of the Egyptians.

92 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. Early in this year the decision to make the Wadi

1897. Haifa and Abu-Hamed Railway was arrived at, for the Sirdar regarded it as absolutely necessary ; by this route nearly 350 miles of difficult river trans- port would be avoided. When the railway had advanced considerably more than half way to Abu Hamed, General Hunter marched from Marawi to Abu Hamed and defeated the Dervishes, who held it in force, and occupied it on August 7. Of the Dervish garrison of 1,500 men, about 1,300 were killed and wounded. vSoon afterwards the Dervishes evacuated Berber, which was entered by General Hunter on September 13. On October 31 the railway reached Abu-Hamed.

1898. On April 8th, Good Friday, the Sirdar utterly

defeated the great Dervish force under Mahmud at the Battle of the Atbara ; the Dervish loss was about 3,000 killed, and 2,000 were taken prisoners, while the Sirdar's loss was under 600 killed and wounded. The forces engaged on each side were about 14,000. On September 2nd the capture of Omdurman and the defeat of the Khalifa 'Abdu-AUahi were accomplished by the Sirdar. The Khalifa's forces numbered at least 50,000, and those of the Sirdar about 22,000. The Dervish loss was at least 11,000 killed and 16,000 wounded, and over 4,000 were made prisoners ; the Sirdar's loss was rather more than 400 killed and wounded. The Khalifa escaped and fled south, having first taken care to bury his treasure; the body of the Mahdi was removed from its tomb, and burnt, and the ashes were thrown into the Nile ; the head is said to be buried at Wadi Haifa. The tomb was destroyed because, if left untouched, it would always have formed a centre

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 93

A.D. for religious fanaticism and sedition. On Sunday,

1898. September 4, the Sirdar held a memorial service for (leneral Gordon at Khartum, when the British and Egyptian flags were hoisted. On the 19th the Sirdar hoisted the Egyptian flag at Fashoda, which had been occupied by Major Marchand, the head of a French expedition, who sought to claim as a right a position on the Nile on behalf of France. The village of Fashoda is now known by the name of Kodok, which, strictly speaking, is the name of a neighbouring village.

1899. In January Colonel Kitchener, brother of the

Sirdar, set out to catch the Khalifa, who had fled towards Kordofan, but his expedition failed for want of water. In November it was said that the Khalifa was at Gebel Geddir, which lay to the north-west of Fashoda, on the west bank of the Nile, and about 160 miles from the river. The Sirdar pursued with a large force, but the Khalifa fled towards Khartum. On November 22 Colonel (now Sir) F. R. Wingate (now Sirdar of the Egyptian army) pursued him to Abba Island on the Nile, and learning that he was encamped at Umm Dabrikat, attacked him on the 24th. After a fierce but short fight in the early morning, Colonel Wingate defeated the Khalifa, killing over 1,000 of his men, and taking prisoners 3,000. The Khalifa met his fate like a man, and seeing that all was lost, seated himself upon a sheepskin with his chief Emirs, and with them fell riddled with bullets. The Egyptian loss was 15 killed and wounded. It was claimed that the death-blow had been given to Mahdism by the defeat of the Dervishes at the Battle of Omdurman, and the destruction of the Mahdi's tomb, but this

94 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. was not true, for as the power of the Mahdi was 1899. beUeved to have been transferred to the Khalifa 'Abd-Allah, the Dervishes regarded it as a real and living thing so long as 'Abd-Allah was alive. Mahdism did not die until he and his Amirs were killed by Colonel Wingate on the memorable morning of November 24. On March 4 of this year, Mr. John M. Cook, the late head of the firm of Thomas Cook and Son, died at Walton-on-Thames. The services which he rendered to the Egyptian Government were very considerable. In the Gordon Relief Expedition his firm transported from Asydt to Wadi Haifa, a distance of about 550 miles, Lord Wolseley's entire force, which consisted of 11,000 British and 7,000 Egyptian troops, 800 whalers, and 130,000 tons of stores and war materials. In 1885, 1886 and 1896 his firm again rendered invaluable services to the Government, and one is tempted to regret, with Mr. Royle {The Egyptian Cam- paigns, p. 554), that, in view of the melancholy failure of the Gordon Relief Expedition, his con- tract did not include the rescue of Gordon and the Sddan garrisons. He transported the wounded to Cairo by water after the battle of 'i'ell al-Kebir, and when the British Army in Egypt was decimated by enteric fever, conveyed the convalescents by special steamers up the Nile, and made no charge m either case except the actual cost of running the steamers. He was greatly beloved by the natives, and the Luxor Hospital, which he founded, is one of the many evidences of the interest which he took in their welfare. Thousands of natives were employed in his service, and it would be difficult to estimate the benefits which accrued indirectly to

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 95

A.D. hundreds of families in all parts of the country through his energy and foresight.

1900. In January Osman Dikna was in hiding near Tokar, and Muhammad 'Ali, the loyal Gamilab Shekh, found that he had entered his country. Major Burges and Ahmad Bey left Suakin on January 8 and lo respectively, and a few days later they arrived at the Warriba range, which is about 90 miles to the south-west of Suakin ; and there Osman was seen apparently waiting to partake of a meal from a recently killed sheep. At the sight of his pursuers he fled up a hill, but was soon caught, and was des- patched from Suakin in the S.S. " Behera," and arrived at Suez on January 25, en route for Rosetta, where he now lies in prison. On September 25 Slatin Pasha was appointed British Inspector of the SCidan. On November 2 Major Hobbs opened a branch of the Bank of Egypt at Khartilm. On December 31st, 1900, the outstanding capital of the Egyptian Debt amounted to ;^io3, 7 10,000, of which ;£^7, 2 73,000 was held by the Debt Com- missioners, leaving a balance in the hands of the public of ;^96,437,ooo. 1901. — The revenue was ^E. 12,160,000 and the expenditure ;£E. 11,396,000, leaving a surplus of ;^E.i,46o,ooo in excess of the estimates, which were ;^E. 10,700,000 and ;£"E. 10,636,000 respectively. The net financial result was a surplus of ;^E. 7 00,000. The balance standing to the credit of the General Reserve Fund was, on December 31st, 1901, ^E.3,795,000, and on the same date the sum of ;^E. 1,287,000 stood to the credit of the Special Reserve Fund. Debt to the extent of ^445,000 was paid off in 1901, and on December 31st, 1901, the outstanding

96 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EOVPT.

A.I). capital of the Debt amounted to ^103,265,000, 1 901. ^95,000,000 being in the hands of the public. On March ist postal savings banks were opened at 27 first class post offices ; the rate of interest allowed is 2^ per cent, per annum. The number of depositors was 6,740, and the amount deposited ^E.87,000. Of Domains lands, 13,764 acres were sold for ^^2 19, 000, leaving in the hands of the Commissioners 165,051 acres, valued at ^3,330,454. Profit on railways amounted to ^E. 1 50,000. The new Port Sa'id Railway was estimated to cost between ^E. 3 5 0,000 and ^E. 400, 000. The profit on telegraphs was ^E. 1 2,000. Of salt, 52,221 tons were sold; the revenue was ^E. 2 23,000. The imports amounted to ;£'E. 1 54, 245,000 and the exports to ^E. 1 5, 7 30,000. The tobacco imported weighed 6,120,548 kilos, and the tambak 325,661 kilos.; the quantity exported was 529,034 kilos., which is equivalent to 380,000,000 cigarettes. The profit on the Post Office was ^E. 28,000. About ^.E49o,ooo were spent on irrigation works. On the Aswan Dam ;^E. 900,000 were spent, and on the Asytit Barrage ^E.800,000. The total number of men called out for the corvee was 8,763 for 100 days. The Cairo roads cost in upkeep ;^io,772, and ;^i27,ooo were spent on public buildings. There was a general increase in crime, 2,382 cases being reported. Prison administration cost ^E. 60, 000. In Egypt slavery was practically non-existent. There were 23,477 in-patients in Government hospitals. The Zoological Gardens were visited by 52,711 persons, and the gate money amounted to ^E.1,114. The fees paid by tourists for

HISTORICAL SUMMARY* 97

A;t)» visiting the temples, &c., amounted to jCE.$,2i^. 190T. On the preservation of Arab and Coptic monu- ments ^E.7,000 were spent. Lord Cromer reported that the year "was one of steady and normal progress . . . The fiscal system has been placed on a sound footing. The principal irrigation works are either completed or are approaching completion. Means of locomotion, both by rail and road, have been improved and extended. The institution of slavery is virtually defunct. The corvee has been practically abolished. iVlthough both the judicial system and the organization of the police admit of further improvement, it may be said that law and order everywhere reign supreme. The courbash is no longer employed as an instrument of government. The army is efficient and well organized ; the abuses which existed under the old recruiting system have been swept away. New prisons and reformatories have been built. The treatment of prisoners is in conformity with the principles generally adopted in Europe ; the sick man can be nursed in a well-equipped and well-managed hospital. The lunatic is no longer treated like a wild beast. Means have been provided for enabling the peasantry to shake themselves free from the grip of the money- lenders. A very great impulse has been given to education in all its branches. In a word, all the main features of Western civilization have been introduced with such adaptations as have been necessitated by local requirements. Broadly speaking, it may be said that all that is now required in Egypt is to persevere in the course which has already been traced out, and to

H

98 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. gradually introduce into the existing system such requirements as time and experience may sliow to be necessary." 1902. The revenue was ^E. 12,148,000, the ex- penditure ^E. 11,432,333, and the surplus ;£^E. 716,000, being ^E. 506,000 in excess of the estimate. The balance standing to the credit of the General Reserve Fund was on December 31st, 1902, ^E. 2,93 1,000, and on the same date the sum of ^E. 1,678,000 stood to the credit of the Special Reserve Fund. Debt to the extent of ^527,000 was paid off in the course of the year, and on December 31st, 1902, the out- standing capital of the Debt amounted to ^103,245,000, ^94,471,000 being in the hands of the public. The Government lent to the Fellah in, or peasant farmers, the sum of ;£E. 202,942, the number of borrowers being 34,532. The balances on deposit in the Post Office Savings Bank increased from ^E. 38, 000 to ;£,E.86,ooo, the number of depositors being 13,587. The debt on the Domains Adminis- tration was reduced to ^E. 1,932,000. The amount of French capital invested in Egypt was more than ^E. 5 7,000,000. The net receipts from the railways were ^E. 1,059,000, and the Kena-Aswan Railway brought in ^E. 60, 000. The profit on telegraphs was ^E. 14, 000, and on telephones ^E. 1,350. Out of 5,097,431 acres of land, 554,409 were held by Europeans. The circulation of notes amounted to ;£E.ii6,ooo. About 53.425 tons of salt were sold, and the royalties were ^E. 181,000. The value of the imports was ^E. 14, 2 11,000, and of the exi)orts ^E. 17,6 17,000. The eggs

HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 99

A.D. (JxporLecl numbered 79,500,000. The total

1902. amount of tobacco withdrawn from bond was 6,336,700 kilos., and of tambak 379,100 : 54 per cent, came from Turkey, 33*5 per cent, from Greece, and 12*5 per cent, from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The average consumption per head was 1 lb. 6 oz. ; the number of cigarettes exported amounted to 385,000,000. The profit from the Tost Office was ^E.37,500. The amount of unirrigated land was 143,000 acres, as compared with 947,000 in 1877. The number of men employed in corvee work was 4,970 for 100 days. About ^E. 5 0,000 were spent on repairs of Government buildings, ^E. 1 54,000 on new buildings, and ^79,000 on drainage. The number of persons in prison was 9,256. During the year 238 slaves were freed. There were 22,717 patients in the Government hospitals. In all, 1,489 deaths from cholera occurred in Cairo.

The revenue was ^E. 12,464,000, and the ex- penditure ^E. 1 1,720,000, and the surplus ^E. 744,000, being ^E. 7 19,000 in excess of the estimates. The balance standing to the credit of the General Reserve Fund was on December 31st, 1903, ^E. 2, 76 1,000, and on the same date the sum of ;i^E.2, 1 28,000 stood to the credit of the Special Reserve Fund. The value of the sums invested on behalf of the Conversion Economics Fund was ^/;E.5, 507,000, as against ^E.4,991,000 in 1902. Debt to the extent of ^1,289,000 was paid off during the year, and on December 31st, 1903, the outstanding capital of the Debt amounted to ^102,187,000, ^93,383,000 being in the hands of the public. On December 31st, the loans to

H 2

lOO NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A,D. the Fellahin amounted to ;^E. 2, 186,746, the 1903. number of borrowers being 78,911 persons. The Debt on the Domains Administration was reduced to ^E. 1,685,042, and that on the Daira Adminstration was reduced to about ;£'E.4,986,ooo. The railways carried in 190^ about 15,000,000 people and 3,000,000 tons of goods, as against 2,800,000 people and 1,200,000 tons of goods in 1883, and in that period of 20 years the receipts rose from ;^E. 1,200,000 to ;^E.2,26o,ooo. The receipts from telegraphs amounted to ;;^E.76,ooo, and the expenditure was ;j^E.57,ooo ; 1,618,000 messages were despatched. The sum of ;£E.3,439,864 was paid for the Aswan Dam and the Asyut Barrage. Some 170,000 acres of basin land were converted into perennial irrigation at a cost of ;£"E.i9o,ooo; as a result, the annual rental of these acres has been in- creased by ;^E.5 10,000, and the present sale value by ^E. 5, 100,000. In corvee work 11,244 men were called out in 1903. The imports were ;£E. 16, 146,000 and the exports ^^E. 19, 118,500. About 96,500,000 eggs were exported. Of the imports 42*5 per cent, were from Great Britain and her possessions, and of the exports 52*8 went to Great Britain. The tobacco imported amounted to 6,517,000 kilos., and the tambak to 370,000 kilos. ; the average consumption per head was i lb. 7 ozs., or i oz. more than in 1902. About 74,400 passengers landed at Port Sa'id and Alexandria. The average daily cir- culation of currency notes was ;^E.2i8,ooo, and the value of the notes in circulation was ;s^E.382,ooo. About -57,000 tons of salt were-

HISTORICAL SU^fMA-RY.' ' ' '/ ', ; , i •/. ; ] TOl

A.D. sold, and the gross revenue was ;^E. 189,000.

1903, The profit of the Post Office was ;^E.46,ooo. It was decided that executions were to be con- ducted within the prison walls in the presence of certain authorized officials, and that repre- sentatives of the press were to be admitted. About 2,121 persons were convicted of crimes, and the number has been on the increase since 1896, when it was 1,866. About 176,474 cer- tificates of Moslem marriages were issued, and there were 52,992 cases of divorce. It is said that in a great many cases the husband takes his wife back again after divorcing her, and the Inspectors believe that if account could be taken of these reunions, the number of divorces would be reduced to about 18,000. The Cairo tram- ways were used by 18,957,000 people. The following are the sums which have been spent on education, beginning with the year 1887, when the expenditure on this department of the Government had sunk to its lowest figure : —

£E.

/;e

1887

63,000

1896

151,000

1888 ..

70,000

1897

158,000

1889

91,000

1898

160,000

1890 ..

104,000

1899 ..

154,000

1891

119,000

1900

156,000

1892

125,000

I90I

173,000

1893 ••

138,000

1902

185,000

1894 ..

142,000

1903

197,000

1895 ... 139,000 1904 (estimate) 204,000

The expenditure of the Department of Public Instruction is defrayed from three sources : — (i) The Government Grant, which has risen from ;£'E.63,oop in 1887 to ;£"E.i2i,ooo in 1904;

NOTES' FOR T^A^ELLF.RS IN EGYPT.

A.D.

(2) School fees, which in 1904 will probably 1903. amount to ;^E.6o,ooo; (3) Revenue from endow- ments, &c., which it is estimated will produce ;^E.2 3,ooo in 1904. Writing early in 1904, Lord Cromer concludes his Report ("Egypt," No. I, 1904) with the following noteworthy sentences : — " As regards moral progress, all that can be said is that it must necessarily be slower than advance in a material direction. I hope and believe, however, that some progress is being made. In any case, the machinery which will admit of progress has been created. The school- master is abroad. A reign of law has taken the place of arbitrary personal power. Institutions, as liberal as possible under the circumstances, have been established. In fact, every possible facility is given and every encouragem'ent afforded for the Egyptians to advance along the path of moral improvement. More than this no Govern- ment can do. It remains for the Egyptians themselves to take advantage of the opportunities of moral progress which are offered to them." 1904. — In the middle of August Sir WiUiam Garstin's Report upon the Basin of the Upper Nile (Cd. 2165, "Egypt," No. 2, 1904), appeared. He suggested the expenditure of ;^E. 2 1,000,000, of which ^E. 1 3,000,000 would be in the Sudan, and ;^E. 8,000,000 in Egypt. The proposed expenditure in the Sfidan will not benefit only that country. The main item of ;^E. 5,500,000 is for works in the Bahr al-Gebel, and this expenditure would be almost entirely on Egypt's account. Broadly speaking, the whole plan is based on the principle of utilizing the waters of the White Nile for the benefit of Egypt, and

iiisTORiCAi. F;^^^^fAR^'. T03

A.D. those of the Blue Nile for the benefit of the 1904. Sildan. It is proposed to spend on : —

;^E.

Middle Egypt canals

1,000,000

Railways

3,000,000

Raising the Aswan Dam

500,000

Remodelling Rosetta and Damielta

l^ranches

900,000

Works on the Bahr al-Gebel

5,500,000

Making a new channel between Bohr

and the Sawbat River

3,400,000

Regulation of the lakes

2,000,000

Barrages between Asyut and Kena ...

2,000,000

Conversion of the Upper Egypt basins

5,ooo,coo

Reservoir at Rosaires

2,000,000

Barrage on the Blue Nile

1,000,000

Gezireh Canal system

2,000,000

Sir William Garstin estimates that when the whole of his Egyptian project is carried out, 750,000 acres of land will be converted from basin into perennial irrigation; 100,000 acres will be made capable of being irrigated by pumps ; 800,000 additional acres will be brought under cultivation ; and that, at very moderate rates, the increased revenue derived from taxation will be ;^i,205,ooo a year. The Suakim-Berber Railway is to be completed at a cost of ^E. 1,750,000, and it will probably be finished in the spring of 1906. An expenditure of ^E. 500,000 will carry out the Gash scheme of irrigation in the SCldan, and bring under cultivation 100,000 acres; assess- ing the land tax at 50 piastres an acre, the increased revenue would amount to ^E. 5 0,000. The whole or at least the greater part of this money would, of course, be utilized to diminish the contribution now paid annually by Egypt to the

I04 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

A.D. Sudan Government. In fact, the only hope of 1904, rendering the Stadan ultimately self-supporting lies in the judicious expenditure of capital on railways and irrigation. An attempt will certainly be made in the near future to carry out an Egyptian railway and irrigation programme, involving a capital expenditure of ;^E.5,4oo,ooo, and it will involve raising the Aswan Dam and remodelling the Rosetta and Damietta branches of the Nile. On August 17th the Greek Orthodox Convent of Old Cairo was destroyed by fire. The convent was a very old foundation and had been standing for centuries. It was one of the oldest monuments of the Eastern Church in Egypt, and was associated with many important historical events.

At a session of the Ministers, held in Cairo in October, it was resolved to ask the Khedive to order the raising of the Dam at Asw^n, and the construction of a Barrage at Esnah.

I05

Dates assigned to the Egyptian Dynasties by

Egyptologists.

)ynasty.

Champollion-

Lepsius

Brugsch

Mariettf

Figeac.

(in 1858).

(in 1877).

I.

B.C. 5,867

3,892

4,400

5,004

II.

5.615

3/639

4,133

4,751

III.

5,318

3,338

3,966

4,449

IV.

5,I2T

3,124

3,733

4,235

V.

4,673

2,840

3,566

3,951

VI.

4,425

2,744

3,300

3,703

VII.

4,222

2,592

3,100

3,500

VIII.

4,147

2,522

3,500

IX.

4,047

2,674

3,358

X.

3,947

2,565

3,249

XL

3,762

2,423

3,064

XII.

3,703

2,380

2,466

2,851

XIIL

3,417

2,136

2,235

XIV.

3,004

2,167

2,398

XV.

2,520

2,101

2,214

XVI.

2,270

1,842

XVII.

2,082

1,684

XVIII.

1,822

1,591

1,700

1,703

XIX.

1,473

1,443

1,400

1,462

XX.

1,279

1,269

1,200

1,288

XXI.

1,101

1,091

1,100

1,110

XXII.

971

961

966

980

XXIII.

851

787

766

810

XXIV.

762

729

733

721

XXV,

718

716

700

715

XXVI.

674

685

666

665

XXVII.

524

525

527

527

XXVIII.

404

525

406

XXIX.

39S

399

399

399

XXX.

^77

373

378

378

XXXI

339

349

340

340

io6

PROSPERITY IN EGYPT UNDER BRITISH RULE.

The progress made in Egypt since the country passed under the rule of the British is astonishing, even to those who knew its wonderfully recuperative powers. Its material prosperity is so great and advances with such rapid strides that it is difficult to understand its miserable and bankrupt condition at the time of Arabi Pasha's rebellion. A journey through the country reveals the fact that for one beast seen in the fields at that time, ten may now be counted, for the peasant farmer need not now fear the sudden descent of arbitrary tax-gatherers who would carry off the occupants of his fields and byres. In the towns and villages the houses are better built and kept in better repair, for their owners need not fear that the laying on of a coat of paint or whitewash will be taken as evidence that they possess superfluous cash, and so bring down upon themselves a visit from the local revenue officer and increased taxation. The water supply is regulated with justice, and the peasant obtains his due as surely and as regularly as the Pasha, and it is now impossible for any large landowner to irrigate his garden at the expense of the parched plots of his poor neighbours. One of the greatest boons which Britain has conferred upon the Egyptian is the abolition of the Corvde. The work to be done by the corvee was of two kinds, viz., (i) to make and upkeep earthworks, />., to cut and clean canals, etc., (2) to protect the river banks during the inun- dation. The liability of the Egyptian male to be called upon to do work of the former class was abolished in 1889, and although it costs Egypt ;^42o,ooo per annum to do without forced labour, it is admitted on all hands that the expenditure is justified. Under the old system the most shameful abuses crept in, and hundreds of the official classes had their houses built, canals cut and cleaned, and

PROSPERITY IN EGYPT UNDER P.RITISH RUT,E.

07

estates watered entirely by the corvee. The iniquity of the system was that it pressed hardest upon the poorest classes. Sir William Willcocks, of the Egyptian Irrigation Depart- ment, first showed that by adopting improved methods the necessity for much of the labour was done away with, and its abolition is one of the Earl of Cromer's most brilliant achievements. It must not be forgotten that men have to be called out each year to protect the river banks in time of flood, and that all the inhabitants may be called out in any sudden emergency ; the following figures give the numbers for the last thirteen years of those called out : —

1S91 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 I9(X) 1901 1902 1903

44,962 men for 100 days.

84,391

32,752

49,448

36,982

25,794 11,069 10,079

7,893 14,180

8,763 4,970 11,244

The official returns show the increase in the revenue during the last fourteen years : —

1890 1891 1892

1893 1894

1895 1896

1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903

10,237,000 10,539,000 10,297,000 10,242,000 10,161,000 10,431,000 10,694,000 11,093,000 11,132,000 11,200,000 11,663,000 12,160,000 12,148,000 12,404,000

Thus in 1903 the excess of revenue over expenditure was jCE.2,1 23,000.

Io8 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

This has been the case notwithstanding that a consider- able diminution in taxation has been effected ; the taxation per head of the population was in 1881 £^i 2s. 2d., and that of the debt ;^i 4 8^. 9^.; in 1897 the corresponding figures were i^s. 9^. and ;^io oi-. 2d. (Mr. Dawkins, in Milner, E?tgla?id i?t Egypt, p. 384). Between 1890 and 1 90 1 taxes to the extent of ;^E 1,408, 000 per annum have been remitted. The following, taken from the Parlia- mentary Papers (1896, No. i, p. 3, etc.), will show the amounts of surplus and deficit between 1883 and 1903 — ■

Surplus.

Deficit.

Surplus.

Deficit,

;^E.

;^E.

;^E.

;^E.

1883

—

920,000

1894

785,000

--

1884

—

460,000

1895

1,088,000

1885

—

697,000

1896

690,000

—

1886

—

684,000

1897

630,000

—

1887

111,000

—

1898

11,376,000

—

1888

—

1,000

1899

1,848,000

—

1889

160,000

—

1900

559,coo

—

1890

591,000

—

1901

764,000

—

I89I

951,000

—

1902

716,000

—

1892

769,000

—

1903

719,000

—

1893

720,000

—

The financial situation on December 30, 1901, may be thus summarised : —

The National Debt was ;^E. 102, 187,000, but ;^E.8,8o4,ooo of this sum was held by the Commissioners ofthe Public Debt. There is no floating debt. The General Reserve Fund amounted to ;^E.2,76i,ooo; the Special Reserve Fund to ^E. 2, 128,000 ; and the accumulated Con- version Economies amounted to ;^E. 5, 507,000. The Economies Fund " is invested in Egyptian bonds, and Egypt is therefore becoming pro tanto the holder of her own debt. But to buy up your debts at a premium of 3 per cent., instead of paying them off at par, a premiuip.

t'ROSPERtTY IN EGYPT UNDER BRITISH RULE. I09

continually forced up by further obligatory purchases on your own part, is extravagant finance. It is an extravagance forced en Egypt by international conventions, for which, in the present case, the word 'France' might be used" (Dawkins, op. cit.^ p. 302). The value of the investments made by this Fund was ^E.5, 507,000. The sum of ^E.2, 500,000 which was spent on the Sudan Expedition in 1896-98 may be regarded as a good investment, for as assets Egypt has 760 miles of railway, with an adequate number of engines, rolling-stock, etc. ; 2,000 miles of telegraph line, six new gun-boats, barges, etc., a?id the whole Sudan (Kitchener's speech in London, Nov. 4, 1898). Railways in 1899 brought in ^E.2, 260,000. The cost of the repairs to the Embabeh Bridge has been very large. The bridge was built by a French firm for ;^E.8o,ooo, but ;^E.43,ooo (!) more has had to be spent upon it before it was safe for traffic. Telegraphs brought in ;^E. 7 6, 000; salt, under the new regulations, brought in ;^E. 189,000. The value ■of the Imports in 1903 was ^E.i6, 146,900 ; and the value of the Exports was ;£"E.i9,ii8,5oo. In 1902 the Imports were ^E.14,21 1,000 ; and the Exports ^E. 1 7,6 1 7,000. The Post Office yields a net revenue to the Government of ;^E.46,ooo. The total number of persons confined in prisons in 1903 was 10,317 ; only one case of prosecution for slave dealing was necessary in 1903 j in 1903 about 25,162 cases were treated in the Government hospitals; 357,000 successful vaccinations were made in 1900; 80,011 legal cases were brought before Native Tribunals; the system of Village Justice evolved by Lord Cromer and his legal advisers has proved to be a great success ; the powers of the Mixed Tribunals have been modified, and considerable alterations have been made in the application of Muhammadan Law. The decisions of the Law Courts are now generally recognised as equitable, and appeals against them are uncommon.

IIO NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGVPT.

In Education great strides have been made. The sums spent on education in i8 years are : —

£^

£^

1887

63,000

1897

1 58,000

1888

70,000

1898

160,000

1889

91,000

1S99 ...

154,000

IS90

104,000

1900

156,000

1 89 1

119,000

1901

173,000

1892

125,000

1 902

185,000

i:^93

1 38,000

1903

197,000

1894 ...

142,090

1904

204,000

1895 ...

139,000

1S96

151,000

In 1887 only 1,919 pupils were under the direct management of the Department of Public Instruction ; in 1898 the number had grown to 19,684, in 1899 to 23)39°- '^h^ school fees in 1887 were ^E. 9,000, in 1899 ^E.36,000, andin 1903 to^E.76,228, and in 1904 they will am.ount to ^E.60,000. It is a remarkable fact that the per- centage of Muhammadan pupils in schools and colleges under the Department is less than the percentage of the Muhammadans in the total population, while the percentage of Coptic pupils in the same schools is almost treble the percentage of Copts throughout Egy|3t. Thus Muham- madans form 93 per cent, of the total population, and the number of their children in the schools forms 78 per cent, of the pupils ; the Copts form 6 per cent, of the total j)opulation, but the number of their children in the schools forms 17 per cent, of the pupils. At the beginning of the British occupation of Egypt the principal European lan- guage taught in the Government schools was French ; English was either altogether neglected or was very badly taught. The schools of the American Missionaries were the only places where English was taught, and the splendid services rendered by these institutions in this respect must not be forgotten. Until the last few years nearly every railway, postal, or telegraph official in Kgy[jt who [)ossessed

English.

French.

1,063

2,994

1,747

•• 3,199

2,032

2,852

2,237

.. 2,864

2,434

.. 2,585

2,669

3,748

2,66s

3,417

2,800

3.363

3,058 .

3,150

3,859

1,881

4,401

1,210

PROSPERITY' IN EGYPT UNDER BRriTSH RULE. 1 I I

any competent knowledge of the English language owed liis instruction to the American missionaries. The follow- ing figures illustrate the growth of the study of English in Government schools : —

1889

1890

1891

1892

1893

1894

1895

1896

1897

1898

1899

Thus in 1899 about 78 per cent, of the pupils were studying English and 22 per cent. French; in 1889 the figures were 26 per cent, and 74 per cent, respectively. In 1884 about 360,000 tons of coal were imported at Alexandria, and 726,000 at Port Said; in 1901 these numbers had risen to 867,150 and 228,865 tons re- spectively. In January, 1882, " Egyptian Unifieds " were cjuoted at 61^, and in January, 1901, at 106 J. Worthy of mention too is the success of the societies which have been established in Cairo, Alexandria, and Port Said for the prevention of cruelty to animals. In Cairo 1,178 animals were treated in the infirmary in 1900, in Alex- andria 2,384, and in Port Said 159; it is good to learn that Lord Cromer thinks the action of these societies is causing a steady improvement in the condition of the animals employed in the towns where the societies exist. The productive and recuperative powers of Egypt have been proverbial from time out of mind, but the most sanguine reformer of Egypt in 1883 could never have expected that the last year of the century would have witnessed such a state of prosperity in the country as now exists. This is due entirely to the fidelity with

112 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN tGYJPT;

which the civil and military officials have performed their duties, and to the carrying out of the consistent and wise policy which was inaugurated by Lord Cromer, whose strong hand has ceaselessly guided and supported every work which tended to the welfare and prosperity of Egypt.

(0'}))))>m

^[<<<i<<<^

Ceiling ornament at Philoe.

113

THE COUNTRY OF EGYPT.

Geology. — In ancient days Egypt proper terminated at Aswan (Syene), but now the term Egypt includes that portion of the Nile valley which lies between the Mediter- ranean and Wadi Haifa, i.e., between 22° and 31° 30' N. latitude.

According to Major H. G. Lyons,* Director-General of Surveys of Egypt, the country consists chiefly of a series of sedimentary deposits of Cretaceous and Tertiary ages, which have been laid down upon the uneven and eroded surface of a great mass of crystalline rocks, which come to the surface on the edge of the eastern desert and also cover large areas of it. The direction of the Nile Valley is generally north and south, and is due to the great earth movements which took place in Miocene times ; indeed, the Nile Valley itself has been determined by a line of fracture which is traceable from the sea nearly to the First Cataract. Into this valley in late Miocene or early Pliocene times the sea penetrated at least as far as Esna, and laid down thick deposits of sand and gravel on the floor of the valley and up to the foot of the cliffs bounding it, while the tributary streams, fed by a rainfall much heavier than that of to-day, brought down masses of detritus from the hmestone plateaux and piled them up along the margins of the valley. A subsequent rise of the area converted this " fiord " into a river valley, and the de- position of the Nile mud and the formation of cultivable land began. The crystalline rocks occur at Asw^an, Kalab- shah, Wadi Haifa, and other points further south, forming cataracts and gorges. East and north-east of Kena

* I quote from his description of the geology of Egypt written for Major Willcocks, C.M.G., and printed in Egyptian Irrigatiouy 2nd edition, London, 1899.

I

114 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

their base is a gneiss, overlaid by mica, talc, and chlorite schists, and above these is a thick volcanic series, into which intrudes a gray hornblendic granite, and also a later red granite. The best known of these is the red hornblendic granite of Aswan, which was largely used by the Egyptians for temples, statues, etc., and also the fine porphyry, much used by the Roman emperors. The tops of such rocks rise to the surface of the ground at Aswan, Kalabshah, and Wadi Haifa.

In Nubia nearly the whole of the eroded surface of the crystalline rocks has been overlaid by a yellowish sand- stone, which at its base usually becomes a quartz con- glomerate. Above these lies a large series of green and gray clays with thick band of soft white limestone. Next comes an immense thickness of soft white limestone, which forms the cliffs of the Nile Valley from Luxor to Cairo, and furnishes almost the whole of the building stone in Egypt. These strata have been greatly affected by the great earth movements of the Miocene period, which re- sulted in the formation of the Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Aqaba, the Jordan Valley, and the Nile Valley, and the salts of the Wadi Natrfm are due to the shore lagunes when they existed there. As a result of this, thick deposits of sand and gravel were laid down, which to-day underlie the later Nile mud deposits and which furnish a good water supply. After this, climatic conditions analogous to those of to-day seem to have soon set in, and river deposits of dark sandy mud were laid down, which were at levels con- siderably above the deposits of to-day. Nile mud with shells similar to those now existing occurs in Nubia at 30 metres, and in Egypt at lesser heights, above the present Nile flood level. To-day the Nile is depositing in its bed at the rate of about o'i2 metre per century. At Benha, Mahallat Ruh (in the Tanta district), and KaiyClb (all in the Delta), the thickness of the layer of Nile mud is 17, 18,

THE GEOLOGY OF EGYPT. TI5

and 1 2 "5 metres respectively; while at Zakazik, Beni Siiwef, and Suhag (all in the Nile Valley), it is 33*11 and 17 metres respectively. Between the First and ' Second Cataracts the proportion of sandstone to granite is about 9 to I, and good granite is only met with at Kalabshah, where the pass is about 168 yards wide, and the depth of water at low Nile about in feet. No fossils whatever are found in the Nubian sandstone.

From AbCl Simbel northwards the valley is bounded on the left by the high limestone plateau called by the Arabs Sinn al-Kiddab, which, at this point, is more than 50 miles distant from the river, and it gradually approaches the stream until at Aswan it is only 25 miles distant, and at Gebelen it marches with the river. There is a similar plateau between Gebelen and Esnah. At the First Cataract there is an extensive outcrop of granite and quartz diorite.

Between Aswan and a little south of Esnah the river flows between sandstone hills, except at the plains of Kom Ombos and Edfii ; these plains were originally ancient deltas of rivers coming down from the high ranges which skirt the Red Sea. In the Kom Ombos plain the Nile deposit is about 80 feet above the maximum flood level of to-day. At Ra'imah, about 38 miles north ot Aswan, limestone is met with, and immediately north of it is the sandstone of Silsila. The channel at Silsila does not represent the original bed of the Nile, for it is only a branch of it ; the true channel, which was nearly a mile wide and 50 feet deep, lies on the right of the hill in which the quarries are, and is now buried under mud and silt. There was never a cataract at Silsila. At Luxor the Nile again enters low denuded plains, and a part of the plateau of the Sinn al-Kiddab lies on its left ; the plateau again appears at Kena, and from this place to Cairo the river flows between limestone hills. At Kena the lower Londinian formation dips belov,' the level of the Nile

I 2

Il6 NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

deposit, and the upper Londinian formation monopolizes the whole section of the Hmestone as far as a point midway between Asyiit and Minyah ; here the lower Parisian strata appear on the tops of the plateaux, and the upper Londi- nian strata finally disappear a little to the north of Minyah. The lower Parisian formation is now generally met with as far as Cairo.

The Ancient Egyptians called Egypt 1 Bag or

'^^© Baqet; ^^n" ""^^ I] ( "^ Ta-mera : and .tZZl ^

Qemt. Baq seems to refer to Egypt as the olive-producing country, and Ta-mera as the land of the inundation; the name by which it is most commonly called in the inscrip- tions is Qem, i.e.^ " Black," from the darkness of its soil. It was also called the " land of the sycamore," and the " land of the eye of Horus " (i.e., the Sun). It was divided

by the Egyptians into two parts : I. Upper Egypt ^^i=f A>, ©

Ta~res or ^^sFf -=4-^ © Ta-gemd, ' ' the southern land " ; and

II. Lower Egypt ^'^n'^' '^^'''^^^^•^ "the northern land." The kings of Egypt styled themselves suten hat^ " king of the South and North," and neb taui, "lord of two earths.""^ The country was divided into nomes, the number of which is variously given ; the list given by some of the classical authorities contains thirty-six, but judging by the monuments the number was nearer forty. The nome {Jiesp) was divided into four parts ; i, the capital town {nui) ; 2, the cultivated land ; 3, the marshes, which could only at times be used for purposes of cultivation ; and 4, the canals, which had to be kept clear and provided with sluices, etc.,

* As ruler of the two countries, each king wore the crown ^

which was made up of V, the teslier, or red crown, representing the

A northern part of Eg}'pt, and [^ , the lietch, or while crown, represent- ing the southern part 'of Egypt.

THE NORIES OF EGYPT. tiy

for irrigation purposes. During the rule of the Greeks Egypt was divided into three parts : Upper, Central, and Lower Egypt ; Central Egypt consisted of seven nomes, and was called Heptanomis.

List of Nomes of Egypt — Upper Egypt,

Nome.

Capital.

Divinity.

I.

'fa-Kens.

Abu (Elephantine), in later times Nubt (Ombos).

Khnemu.

2.

Tes-Heru.

Teb (Apollinopolis magna.

Heru - Behu

* Arab. Utfu or Edfii).

tet.

3-

Ten.

Nekheb (Eileithyia),in later times Sene (Latopolis), Esneh.

Nekheb.

4-

Uast.

Uast (Thebes), in later times Hermonthis.

Amen-Ra.

5-

Herui.

Kebti (Coptos).

Amsu (or, Min).

6.

Aa-ti.

Taenterer (Denderah).

Hathor (Het Hert).

7-

Sekhem.

Ha (Diospolis parva).

Hathor.

8.

Abt.

Abtu (Abydos), in earlier times Teni (This).

Anher.

9-

Amsu (or,

Apu (Panopolis).

Amsu (or,

Min).

Min).

lO.

Uatchet.

Tebu (Aphroditopolis).

Hathor.

II.

Set.

Shashetep (Hypsele).

Khnemu.

12.

Tuf.

Nen-ent-bak (Antaeopolis).

Horus.

13-

Atefkhent.

Saiut (Lycopolis, Arab. Siut).

Ap-uat.

14.

Atef-peh.

Kesi (Cusae).

Hathor

15-

Un.

Khemennu (Hermopolis).

Thoth.

ii8

NOTES FOR TRAVELLERS IN EGYPT.

Nome.

Capita L

Divinity.

i6.

Meh-mahet.

Hebennu (Hipponon;.

Horus.

17-

Kasa (Cynonpohs).

Anubis.

i8.

Sapet.

Ha-suten(Alabastronpohs).

Anubis.

19.

Uab.

Pa-matchet (Oxyrhynchos).

Set.

20.

Am-khent.

Khenensu (HerakleopoHs magna).

Heru-shefi.

21.

Am-peh.

Se-men Heru.

Khnemu.

22.

Maten.

Tep-ahet (AphroditopoHs). Lower Egypt.

Hathor.

I.

Aneb-hetch.

Men-nefer (Memphis).

Ptah.

2.

Aa

Sekhem (Letopohs).

Heru-ur.

3-

Anient.

Nenten-Hapi (Apis).

Hathor-nub

4.

Sepi-res.

Tcheka (Canopus).

Amen-Ra.

5-

Sepi-emhct.

Sa (Sais).

Neith.

6.

Kaset

Khesun (Xois).

Amen-Ra.

7-

. . . Anient.

Sent-Nefer (Metehs).

Hii.

8.

. . . Abtet.

Thukut (Sethroe).

Atmu.

9-

Atchi.

Per-Asar (Busiris).

Osiris.

10.

Kakem.

Tahetherab (Athribis).

Heru-khenti khati.

II.

Kahebes.

Kahebes (Kabasos).

Isis.

12.

Katcheb.

Tcheb-neter (Sebennythos).

, Anher.

13-

Hakat.

Annu (Hehopohs).

Ra.

14.

Khent-abet.

Tchan (Tanis).

Horus.

15-

Tehuti.

Pa-Tehuti (Hermopohs).

Thoth.

16.

Khar.

Pabaneb-tet (Mendes).

Ba-neb-tet

17-

Sma-behutet.

Pa-khen-en-Amen (Dios- pohs).

Amen-Ra.

18.

Amkhent.

Pa-Bast (Bubastis).

Bast.

19.

Am-peh .

Pa-Uatchet (