U»RARY
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EGYPT
PAST AND PRESENT.
KHARTOUM.
Pa£re S3.
THOMAS NELSON AND
SONS,
London, EdinlDiirgh, and Ke'w York.
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in
2008
with funding from
IVIicrosoft
Corporation
http://www.archive.org/details/egyptpastpresentOOadamrich
EGYPT
PAST AND PRESENT
WITH A NARRATIVE OF
BRITISH,
ITS
OCCUPATION BY THE
AND OF RECENT EVENTS
THE SOUDAN.
IN
By
W.
If.
DAVENPORT ADAMS.
"W^iTH
T.
Illustrations.
100
NELSON AND SONS, PATERNOSTER ROW.
EDINBURGH
;
AND NEW YORK.
1894
lOAN STACK
F Egypt
no other
presents
attractions, the cer-
Gardner Wilkinson, that
tainty, says Sir
the oldest State of which
we have any
and tangible records, must awaken
which
its
The most remote
extant monuments
point in
refer
us,
its
;
but though stretching so
early history of the world,
the Egyptian State
we know
is,
that
it
is
we
still
far
annals
already
life
back
into
far
advanced
the
find the infancy of
placed far beyond our reach.
was
to
opens with a
nation possessing al^ the arts of civilized
matured
feelings
mind can remain
of interest to which no contemplative
indifferent.
it is
positive
in all those arts
All
and
sciences which contribute so greatly to the comfort and
adornment of
social
life
— that
it
had a profound creed,
a consummate polity, a fixed government, and immense
material resources at an epocn
were pasturing their flocks
But not only
highest
interest
wnen Jacob and
in the
his sons
land of Canaan.
the history of Egypt a theme of the
is
in
itself,
and
in
its
relations
to
the
general history of the world, the remains which exist of
879
;
PREFACE.
viii
tombs, temples, palaces, and monuments are neither
its
less
valuable
nor
The
important.
less
Rome may
memorials of Greece and
architectural
exhibit a
more
aesthetic feeling, but they can never claim the consideration
from the philosopher or the student which he
of Greek and
sources
Roman
life
is
from other
chiefly obtained
our knowledge of Egyptian
;
will
Our knowledge
always pay to those of Ancient Egypt.
life
can be derived
only from the Egyptian sculpture or painting on the walls
of the tomb, palace, and temple.
from
this painting
it
is
we
that
ard of civilization had been
From this sculpture,
how high a stand-
learn
attained by at least one
great nation in those ages of the world which
the ignorant to belong to
its
know that to this strange and mysterious
owed much of her highest philosophy as
scientific resources
and
;
Rome borrowed
Rome and Greece
that
that through both
been permeated with the influence
seem
to
And we
very infancy.
nation Greece
well as of her
from Greece
the
West has
originally springing
from the " Land of the Nile."
But besides her history and her
offers us for
solemn scenery.
Above
all,
—
is
life,
Egypt
her sad and
she offers to us whatever of
romance, and mystery, and beauty
sublimity
antiquities,
study her abundant animal
— of
grandeur and
associated with the great river of the Old
World, the ever-famous Nile.
It is
not a matter of wonder, then, that Egypt has
attracted the attention of so
many
travellers, or that so
copious a literature has sprung up in reference to
tory, religion,
art,
science,
and
industry.
It is
its his-
scarcely
a matter of wonder, that, bewitched and beguiled by the
PREFA CE.
romance of
many
their subject, so
dreams and
into a region of
ix
writers
visions,
have wandered
and evolved out
of
own consciousness an Ancient Egypt which never
their
existed
— a grand
panorama based on no
historical
And
foundations.
it
is
solid
not a matter of wonder that
every year adds to the host of travellers, historians, and
philosophical speculators,
who concern themselves
with a
land which never wearies the fancy, and with antiquities
which
the
offer
— now
as always
To
the
literature
inexhaustible field for
is
whatever value
possesses,
be due
it
to the
we speak
of which
present
the
a very modest contribution
volume, however,
will
— an
most ingenious conjectures.
we
;
and
cheerfully acknowledge,
works of our predecessors.
It
has
not been our object to draw up a record of personal
experiences
— of books of
—but to bring
this
had enough
of a moderate
number of
compass
pages, the principal facts on
which the great majority of
in
kind surely the world has
together, within the
seem
critics
to
have agreed
connection with the history and monuments of Egypt.
We
have endeavoured to look coldly on the sanguine
speculations of enthusiastic Egyptologists, and, so far as
our design allowed, to keep within
limits of actual
to err in
deaHng, however
civilization,
aware
;
and
or religion,
this
to judge with
the
and positive knowledge.
slightly,
easy
it is
with Egyptian history,
the critic will
circumstance
most precise
How
will
not
fail
to
be
probably induce him
some indulgence a manual which,
in so
small a compass, presumes to deal with such extended
subjects.
At
all
events,
we have not made a
single
statement except on what has seemed to us good autho-
PREFACE.
X
rity;
and we venture
to believe that in no other volume
humble pretensions has there been brought
of equally
together so
much exact
Land of
information on the past
present of the "
who has
the Nile."
So
neither leisure nor inclination to consult the
weighty volumes of English, French, and
ologists,
may be
ing pages
will
and
that the reader
while to the young student
;
be found
German Egypt-
glad to turn for reference to the followit
hoped they
is
an introduction to a wide, an
useful, as
important, and a specially interesting study.
It
remains only to be added, that the Illustrations are
from authentic sources, and, in the main, are executed,
not only with
but with
fidelity,
have prefixed a copious
subjects
;
and that a
list
artistic feeling
;
that
we
of authorities on Egyptian
brief account of the
Suez Canal
furnished in an Appendix.
'*
Go,
little
And
booke
;
God send
thee good passage,
specially let this be thy prayere,
Unto them
When
Thee
all
that thee will read or heare,
thou art wrong, after their help to
to correct in
any
call,
part, or all."
W.
II.
D. A.
is
.
.
.
Mtjst of
.
sElluBtvatioujs,
General Gordon,
Frontispiece
Vignette
Khartum,
Map
of the Nile Valley,
Landscape in the Delta,
A
A Sacred
15
21
Dance,
28
31
34
Scene on the Nile,
Date Palms,
.
The Sacred Ibis,
The Egyptian Vulture,
Group of Rosy Flamingoes,
Caravan
Mount
assailed
Sinai,
36
37
39
45
54
57
by the Khamsin,
Tirhakah, King of Egypt (from the Monuments),
Herodotus (from an ancient bust),
Alexander the Great (from Canini's Iconografia),
Ptolemy Soter (Visconti's Iconographie Grecque),
Ptolemy Philopater (from Visconti),
Ptolemy Euergetes (from Visconti),
Julius Caesar (from Visconti),
Marcus Antonius (from Visconti),
Cleopatra (from Visconti),
Germanicus (from a Medal in the Florentine Museum),
Zenobia (from a Medal in the Florentine Museum),
The Emperor Aurelian (from a Medal in the Florentine
6i
.
Massacre of the Mamelukes,
of St. Jean d'Acre,
Khartum,
Korosko,
Suakim,
Berber (from the Desert),
A Landscape on the Nile,
The Murchison Falls on the Nile,
View
77
81
85
lOI
109
"5
Statue of the Nile (in the Vatican Museum),
A
Papyrus Shallop,
Crocodiles of the Nile,
Ferry- Boat,
Ancient Pharos at Alexandria,
Alexandria (before the Bombardment),
Arab Women in the Streets of Alexandria,
The Mystic
.
.
Pompey's
Museum
62
63
63
65
66
66
68
69
70
73
Pillar,
Cairo,
Tombs of Khalifs, and Citadel of Cairo,
Mosque of the Sultan Hassan at Cairo,
121
128
128
131
133
13s
137
140
147
153
158
159
.
..
.
..
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Muezzin announcing the Hour of Prayer,
A
A
Street in Cairo,
Dancing Dervish,
The Ass-Drivers
The Pyramids,
.
of Cairo,
Diagram,
Ancient Egyptian Mode of Conveying Stones,
Section of the Great Pyramid of Ghizeh,
Cartouche of Shufu,
.
The Pyramid of Chephren, and
The Serapeion, Memphis,
the Sphinx,
Bronzes of the Egyptian god Apis,
Balm of Gilead,
The Obehsk,
Cartouche of Thothmes
.
III.,
..
Dahabeeyah, or Nile-Boat,
The Sakia, or Egyptian Water-Wheel,
A View of Minyeh,
Beni-Hassan Neoothph's Tomb (Exterior),
Beni-Hassan Neoothph's Tomb (Interior),
Egyptian Spinning Egyptians Weaving,
Egyptian Potter,
Brick-Makers (from a Tomb at Beni-Hassan),
.
:
:
;
Scene at Siout,
Propylon of the Temple at Dendera,
Temple at Dendera,
Isis or Athor, v^rith the infant Horus,
Amun-Ra, the Sun-God,
The Rameseion of Thebes, and Colossal Statue of Rameses,
Operations of a Siege,
The Colossi, or Ramessids,
The Colossi during an Inundation,
The Thothmeseion at Medinet-Aboo, Thebes,
Bab-el Melook, or Valley of the Tombs of the King, Thebes,
Egyptian Masons,
Ruins at Karnak,
Propylon at Karnak,
Great Court and Obelisk of Karnak,
River-View of Luxor,
The Ramessids at Luxor,
.
.
.
.
The Trochilus, or Crocodile Bird,
Judgment of Souls, and their Future Destiny (from the Sarcophagus
Alexander),
Temple of Noum and Athor, at Edfoo,
Temple of Arveris, at Koum Ombos,
Distant View of the Island of Philae,
Temple of Isis, Island of Philae,
Horus, Isis, and Osiris,
Temple of Osiris at Philae,
Temple Court at Philae,
First Cataract of the Nile,
Portrait of Mehemet Ali,
Romano-Egyptian Temple
at
Dendour
Sacred Scaralaaeus of the Egyptians,
Temple of Osiris, Ipsambul,
Interior of Temple of Osiris, Ipsambul,.
A Ramessid at Ipsambul,
Temple of Isis at Ipsambul,
View of the Second Cataract from the Rock of Abou-Seir,
Temple of Amun-Ra, Soleb,
Temple at Meroe,
Chart of the Suez Canal,
of
©fotttents.
BOOK
FIRST.
CHAPTER
INTRODUCTORY :— THE BOUNDARIES,
OF EGYPT,
..
I.
SOIL, DIVISIONS,
..
..
..
CHAPTER
AND CHIEF TOWNS
..
II.
A SKETCH OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY, ANCIENT AND MODERN,
CHAPTER
THE
RISE
AND COURSE OF THE RIVER
-I?
..
.
.
.
.
4T
III.
NILE,
..
..
II4
..
..
..
••134
BOOK SECOND.
CHAPTER
I.
ALEXANDRIA— POMPEY's PILLAR— CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLES,
CHAPTER
Cairo: its
II.
mosques— the citadel— the pyramids — the sphinx—
and its obelisks,
heliopolis,
.
.
.
CHAPTER
.
.
.
•
.
i52
III.
AND THE TOMBS— ANTINOOPOLIS — SIOUT — GIRGEH — DENDERA, and ITS TEMPLE,
BENI-HASSAN,
.
.
.
.
CHAPTER
.
.
.
205
IV.
—
—
— THE
•
THE AMUNOPHEION THE
RAMESEION
COLOSSI
THE THOTHMESEION THE PALACE OF RAMESES — THE
KARNAK THE
TOMBS OF THE KINGS MEDINET-ABOO— LUXOR
THEBES
:
ITS
HISTORY
—
THEBAID,
—
..
..
—
—
—
..
..
..
..
••
227
—
.
CONTENTS.
14
BOOK
THIRD.
CHAPTER
I.
ESNEH—'THE ALMEHS, OR DANCING GIRLS 'eILYTHIA THE ROCK TOMBS
— EDFOO, AND ITS TEMPLE — SILSILEH, AND ITS QUARRIES — KOUM
:
OMBOS,
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
CHAPTER
.
.
.
.
•
273
•
n.
—
ASSOUAN, OR SYENE— ITS ANCIENT CELEBRITY— ITS QUARRIES ISLAND
OF ELEPHANTINE— TEMPLE OF KNEPH— ISLAND OF PHILAE— TEMPLE
OF ISIS— OTHER MEMORIALS SACRED CHARACTER OF PHILAE ITS
..
..
..
..291
triad: OSIRIS, ISIS, and horus, ..
—
—
CHAPTER
the FIRST CATARACT— HOW
AND HIS MEN,
.
.
ITS
ASCENT
.
.
IS
•
•
III.
ACCOMPLISHED— THE SHEIKH
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
3^2
BOOK FOURTH.
CHAPTER
nubia:
ITS
I.
—
BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT ITS ANNALS — CHARACTER OF
..
INHABITANTS NATURAL RESOURCES PRINCIPAL TOWNS,
ITS
—
—
CHAPTER
II.
KALABSCHE— DENDOUR— GHIRSCHE HOUSSEYN — ITS TEMPLE — DAKKEH..
••
..
..
VALLEY OF THE LIONS — IPSAMBUL,
CHAPTER
.
CHAPTER
3^2
III.
GEBEL-ADHA— WADY HALFA— THE SECOND CATARACT — THE TEMPLE OF
SOLEB— MEROE, AND ITS ANTIQUITIES — RUINS AT NAJA AND ELMESAOURAT— THE SACRED BOAT,
.
317
.
.
.
.
•
•
•
•
343
IV.
THE LIBYAN OASES— THEIR EXPLORERS— THE GREAT OASIS— THE LITTLE
OASIS— SIWAH, THE NORTHERN OASIS— THEIR ANTIQUITIES, AND
356
ORACLES,
APPENDIX.
THE SUEZ CANAL,
ON THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS,
THE RAMESSIDS,
.
INDEX,
..
.
..
.
.
..
•
•
..
..
..
•
•
..
..
•
•
..
•
•
••
3^5
37°
• •
-374
•
••375
MAP OF THK NILE VALLEY.
EGYPT PAST AND PRESENT,
00k JSiivBt,
CHAPTER
I.
INTRODUCTORY :— THE BOUNDARIES, SOIL, DIVISIONS,
AND CHIEF TOWNS OF EGYPT.
A
land where
all
things always seem the same.
Tennyson.
F
all
the countries of the old
Egypt
the student
clothed
has spread over
terious
its
;
it
its
pyramids,
and the
Long
;
and the mind cannot but be impressed
its
colossal statues
Greece and
is
obelisks,
but a thing of yesterday.
before Cecrops founded Athens
at
2
sphinxes
its
and huge
antiquity to which the an-
Rome
an Etruscan colony sowed
(295)
Time has
traveller.
so to speak, an atmosphere of mys-
monuments of a remote
tiquity of
Empire,
with a strange and solemn charm
awe and wonder which contemplates
with
and
romance
it,
Roman
perhaps the most attractive both for
is
—
long, long before
Alba Longa the
first
seeds
ANTIQUITY OF EGYPT.
i8
of imperial
Rome — long
even before Abraham walked
with angels in the plains of
with great
cities,
— Egypt was studded
before " the Samian sage" taught
Long
of civilization.
Mamre
and had developed a complete system
the Athenian youth, or " the blind old bard of Scio's
rocky
immortal verse the heroic deeds
isle" narrated in
of Achilles and the devotion of Andromache, Egypt was
home
the
of a consistent religious creed, of a recondite
You may
philosophy, of a complete literature.
back
its
trace
annals for some four thousand years before the
and many of
birth of Christ,
monuments
its
edly the most ancient memorials of
We
labour existing in the world.
are
skill
and
accustomed
to
patriarchs as the " world's
Hebrew
think and speak of the
are undoubt-
human
gray forefathers;" but, in truth, Egypt was a powerful
in
the days of Joseph, and
still
tended sheep in the grassy
and opulent empire even
while Jacob and his sons
solitudes of the Asiatic plains.
schools
Moses was
trained to
the Jewish people.
bank of the Nile
ham and Isaac.
Its
at
It
was
become
in the
Egyptian
the lawgiver of
pyramids were rising on the
an epoch coeval with that of Abra-
We
see,
then,
that
Egypt was the
Thence Greece derived
and, improving them
her
literature
science,
art,
her
her
imagination,
exquisite
her
fulness
own
and
of
the
light
in
mission it
whose
imperial
Rome,
them
down
to
handed
cradle of the world's civiHzation.
;
was to
And
such
is
diffuse
them over Western Europe.
Egypt was in the dawn of human
such as
it
now.
In
many important
respects,
on the face of the globe has undergone so
True
it is
that
its
little
history,
no land
change.
palaces are masses of ruin, half buried
ITS
in
sand
MONOTONOUS CHARACTER.
Memphis, and Thebes, and Karnak
that of
;
19
only the shadow of their former glory survives
the seat of the Pharaohs and the Ptolemys
But then consider that
scendant of an alien race.
mids survive almost uninjured
that the Nile
rises
still
that the animal
;
its
the de-
its
pyra-
language remains
;
and swells with annual regularity:
teeming on
life
that
that in
;
sits
banks
its
is
the animal
life
worshipped, loved, or dreaded three thousand years ago by
the subjects of
Rameses
that the khavisin
;
the meadow-land with hot
fierce breath
;
still
that
scorches
beyond the
narrow belt of verdure which the bright river traverses
still
spreads the boundless yellow expanse of the dreary
desert
husbandman
palm, and
that the
;
and support
in the
still
of leeks and other vegetables
wheel
is
plied
is
tanebus
;
now
as
But a change
little
garden
that the creaking water-
was plied
is
on the
coming.
is
on the throat of
Egypt of the past
been.
;
in the
days of Nec-
— consider these things, and own that Monotony
written everywhere
ization
it
finds his sustenance
cultivates his
As
will
face of the land.
The
this
grasp of Western
civil-
weird antiquity, and the
soon be as a dream that once has
the waters of the Mediterranean pour through
the Canal of Suez, to mingle with those of the
so will the powerful influences of the
Red
Sea,
West blend with the
thoughts and passions, the ways and customs of the East,
until the Valley of the Nile will preserve
Past but
nothing of the
its ruins.
Egypt occupies the north-eastern corner of the African
continent, where
mus
it
is
linked to that of Asia by the Isth-
of Suez, and separated from that of Europe by the
PHYSICAL CHARACTER OF THE LAND.
20
narrow waters of the Mediterranean.
from that old historic
sea,
which
It stretches
for ages
the principal channels of the world's
first
inland
has been one of
commerce, to the
cataract of the Nile, that of Assouan, the ancient
Syene; or from the parallel of latitude 31° 37', to that of
24° 3' N.
Its eastern
on the west
it is
is
length at about 530 miles
its
be measured by that of the river
yearly
river's
" Egypt
its
may
may
breadth
valley, for the cultivated
"
Three-fourths
inundations.
shown upon our maps
are
of the
a rocky,
sterile
and except the narrow valley already spoken
waste,
the only cultivated
5000 square
and inhabitable portion
sediment,
seven miles
exceed
five
and Edfou
;
of the Nile valley, which
deposit
of alluvial
riverine
in
miles.
The average breadth
strip
of,
found
is
or the Delta, an area of between 4000 and
Lower Egypt,
a
;
does not extend beyond the limits marked by
territory
the
formed by the Red Sea \
Following the track of the Nile, we
Libyan Desert.
compute
boundary
bordered by the ever-shifting sands of the
is,
up
is
annually fertilized
to
simply
by the
the 30th parallel, about
while that of the cultivable land does not
miles and a
half.
Upper Egypt,
in
be taken at eleven miles, the
south, between
Between Cairo
in
Lower,
maximum breadth may
minimum at two. Further
the
Edfou and Assouan, so great is the conit may more justly be called a
—
—that scarcely any
traction of the valley
ravine
soil exists
on
either
from the waters of the Nile the rocks spring
from the
sea,
circumstance
traveller
is
bold,
abrupt,
largely
and
bank
up
precipitous.
;
but
like cliffs
To
this
owing the pleasure derived by the
from a voyage up the Nile.
The landscape
is
—
THE NOMES OF OLD EGYPT.
everywhere brought within his ken.
framework of
ture in a
details are at
hills
It is set
once comprehended by the
bestows
it
its
the Greeks
But
AtyvTrros.
t]
as old as the days of
Homer, who, indeed,
also on the river Nile.*
In the language of
is
inhabitants
aboriginal
its
— Egypt,
pic-
all
eye.
why
Etymologists are unable to inform us
name
Uke a
and mountains, and
called this remarkable region
the
23
it
was expressively termed
Chemiy or the " Black Earth," in allusion to the colour
of
its
rich
soil
the
;
Hebrews named
Mizraim ;
it
the
Arabians Mesr ; and the Copts El-Kebit^ or the " Inun-
dated Land."
It
was anciently divided into nomes
each of which had
nomarch, or
its
civil
governor
less
than
important
nomes
these
The
The
economy.
civil
uncertain
following were, at
;
but
was never
to
have risen
events, the
all
The
it
most
:
I.
1.
is
and sometimes seems
forty-five,
to fifty-five.
temple,
lesser towns, its magistrates, ceremonies,
customs, and separate political and
number of
or districts,
Greek, the
(in
vofiapxa^), its distinct priesthood, its
and
greater
its
(vo/xoi)
— IN THE DELTA.
Menelaite: chief town, Canobus, where existed a famous
temple and oracle of Serapis.
2.
T\\Q Andropolite
3.
The
Sebennytic
:
:
chief town, Andropolis.
chief town, Pachnammiis,
where Latona was
worshipped.
4.
5.
6.
The Chemmite : chief town, Buto.
The Omiphite : chief town, Onuphis.
The Phthemphuthite : chief town, Tava.
*
Homer, " Odyssey," book
iv., line
477.
THE NOMES OF OLD EGYPT.
24
The
7.
Suite
:
chief town, Sais,
The Btisirite
8.
and
at
which possessed a pecuHar
and sanctuary of
as the burial-place
chief town,
:
Busiris.
one time " the red-coloured
Syrian and Arabian wanderers
sanctity
Osiris.
Here
men from
—were
was worshipped,
Isis
over the sea"
oft'ered
up
— that
as sacrifices
is,
on her
altar.
9.
10.
The Thmtdte : chief town, Thmuis.
The Mendesian chief town, Mendes, where
:
(the origin of the
11.
The
the goat
Mendes
Greek god Pan) had a temple.
Taitile
chief town, Tanis.
:
Here,
Moses was
is said,
it
born and educated.
12.
to
The
Bubastis, containing, according
Biibastite: chief town,
Herodotus, a magnificent temple to Artemis.
13.
The
Athribite: chief town, Athribis, where the shrew-mouse
and the crocodile were elevated into objects of reverence.
14.
The
Heliopolite: chief town, Heliopolis
15.
{On), the principal
worship of the sun.
seat of the
The
Heroopolite :
Heroopolis, where the great
chief town,
god of the people was Typhon, the personified principle of
There were also the
Leontopolite, the Mentelite, the Pharbaethite,
II.
1.
The Memphite:
chief
metichus, B.C. 616).
It rose into
its
Sethraite.
town Memphis, which was
and the royal
2.
and the
— IN THE HEPTANOMIS.
the capital of Egypt,
and, in
Evil.
the LetopoUte, the Prosopite, the
Nitriote,
seat of the
Pharaohs
at
one time
(after
Psam-
importance when Thebes decayed,
turn, declined after the rise of Alexandria.
The Aphroditopolite :
of Athor or Aphrodite,
chief town, Aphroditopolis, the sanctuary
whose worship was adopted by the Greeks.
3. The Arsinoite (or the Faioum) : chief town,
named from the worship paid to the crocodile.
Crocodilopolis
It
;
so
was afterwards
called Arsinoe.
4.
The
Heracleote: chief town,
Heracleopolis Magna, with a
temple to the ichneumon.
5.
The
Hej'mopolite (between
town, Hermopolis, situated " a
Upper and Middle Egypt)
little
:
chief
to the north of the castle and
THE NOMES OF OLD EGYPT.
toll-house
25
where the portage or customs-duty was levied on
all craft
ascending the river."
The
6.
Here
Cynopolite: chief town, Cynopolis.
the dog-headed
god Anubis was reverenced,
7.
Greater and Lesser Oases were reckoned as one
The
nome among
the Heptanomites.
in.
The
1.
— IN UPPER EGYPT.
Lycopolite: chief town,
Here the wolf was
Lycopolis.
worshipped.
The
2.
nome
3.
Aiitaeopolite
or canton
:
chief town, Antaeopolis.
would seem
The Aphroditopolite.
to
The god
of this
have been Typhon.
In cases where a northern and a southern
canton possessed similar objects of worship, the former was probably
a colony or an offset of the latter.
of
Egyptian
The Thebaid was
civilization, whence, in the
the birth-place
course of years,
it
gradually
moved northward.*
4. The Panopolite (afterwards called the Chemmite) : chief town,
Panopolis or Chemmis.
Here hero-worship was dedicated to an
apotheosized man, whom the Greeks compared to their Perseus. The
popvilation was principally composed of stone-masons and linenweavers.
5.
The
There
is
Thinite: chief town, This; afterwards called Abydus.
reason to believe that this
well as the principal
was
its
nome
nome was
of the kingdom of
the most ancient as
Menes of This.
Osiris
principal divinity.
6. The Teiityrite: chief town, Tentyra.
Here Athor, Isis, and
Typhon were worshipped.
Its inhabitants were chiefly
7. The Coptite: chief town, Coptos.
engaged in the caravan trade between Berenice and the
Arabia and Libya.
8.
The Hermonthite :
his son
chief town, Hermonthis.
Here
interior of
Osiris
and
Orus were worshipped.
* W. E. Donne, art. " Aegyptus," in Dr.
Roman Geography," i., pp. 36-48. To this
been greatly indebted.
Smith's " Dictionary of Greek and
elaborately-compiled paper
we have
—
EG YPTIAN ANIMA L WORSHIP.
26
-
9.
The
chief town,
Apollonite:
habitants reverenced
the sun,
ApoUmopolis Magna.
and,
Its
in^
like those of the Tentyrite,
Hence they were at constant variance with
hunted the crocodile.
the people of
10. The Ombite: chief town, Ombos, who worshipped the great
saurian of the Nile.
The
frequent references
made
meration to animal - worship
younger readers.
They
will
will
in
the foregoing enu-
probably perplex out
wonder
that so polished
and
learned a people as the Egyptians should dedicate altars
homage, to the shrew-mouse or
and temples, and
offer
the crocodile, the
dog or the wolf
is
Unquestionably,
this
one of the most perplexing subjects with which the
his-
torian of
Egypt has to
deal.
Not
least difficulty
its
is,
that the
same animals were not worshipped by the whole
nation
that while
;
many were
some were the
objects of general,
the objects only of local adoration.
Thus,
throughout the entire Valley of the Nile, the sacred beetle
{scarabaeus sacer), the
the cat,
and the
worshipped
;
ibis,
the ox, the hawk, the dog,
fishes lepidotiis
and oxyrrynchus, were
while the wolf was regarded with divine
honours only at Lycopolis, the shrew-mouse at Athribis,
the eagle at Thebes, the lion at Leontopolis, the goat at
Mendes, and the sheep
The god reverenced
other
;
in the Saitic
in
and Thebaid nomes.
one canton was hunted
matized as tmclQzxi in Middle Egypt.
sible, therefore,
with our present
was
in all ages " the
condemned
by the
determine upon
light, to
We know that
opprobrium of Egypt
Hebrew prophets
;
stig-
seems impos-
It
what principles animal-worship was based.
it
in an-
the thing regarded as clean in Upper, was
;"
that
that
it
it
was
was
ridi-
culed by the Greeks, who, nevertheless, could erect their
ITS ORIGINAL SIGNIFICANCE.
temples to
of the
people bowing
it
appears a
it
civilized
before a cat or a crocodile
civilized
people do
so, unless
something more
the crocodile was
was the symbol of some great
sentation of
fair target for
Fancy a wise and
satirist.
down
would a wise and
or
And,
gods and shameless goddesses.
lustful
certainly, at the first glance,
the shafts
27
—that
is,
unless
truth, the typical repre-
or religious axiom
some moral
suggests as probable, that
But
!
the cat
among
Mr. Donne
%
a contemplative and
serious race, as the Egyptians were, animal-worship arose
out of the detection of certain analogies between instinct
and reason
to beasts
and
;
that, to the initiated, the
reverence paid
was a recognition of the Creator
But the suggestion
of his work.
culty to which
However
we have already
may
this
earliest times the
be,
in every type
not meet the
diffi-
alluded.
evident that from the
is
it
will
Egyptians adopted certain animals as
representatives of their gods
in other words, that they
;
worshipped their symbolical deities under symbolical
animal forms.
know
lost
— we
The meaning
of the symbols
cannot even guess
\
in all probability
by the Egyptians themselves
period of their history
original development,
;
the bull, or Apis
was
and hence a
religion which, in
mean and debased
its
ele-
superstition.
sacred in the later age of Egypt was
and
;
it
at a comparatively early
was mystical, but pure and
vated, degenerated into a
The animal most
we do not
his worship eventually
assumed a
bacchanalian character, attended by the wildest and most
extravagant revels.
Herodotus,*
all
On
the feast day of the god, says
the Egyptians
*
Herodotus,
iii.
arrayed
27.
themselves as
THE EGYPTIAN RITUAL.
28
soon as the beast
to feasting
and
his gilded asylum,
left
important feature of the Egyptian
been expected
the
elastic
Drumann,
orgies
;
in a country
air
a
predispose
German
that even the
and gave way
Hilarious processions formed an
jollity.
writer,
ritual
;
as might
have
where the cloudless sky and
men
to mirth
and indolence.
remarks that they were
women appeared
in
them
;
like
that they
were followed by indecent songs and dances, by clamor-
SACRED DANCK.
ous music and drunken
meries (like the
Roman
feasts,
and by mimes and mum-
Saturnalia), in
which the actors
painted their faces, and ridiculed or struck the bystanders.
At the great annual
festival in
honour of the goddess
Pasht, held at Bubastis, these processions were conducted
on a colossal
while
it
scale,
and more grape wine was consumed
lasted than throughout the rest of the year.
Before quitting the subject
the bull Apis, the Egyptians
Heliopolis
we may
add, that besides
honoured the sacred ox of
— Mnevis; or Mne —from which, and not from
Apis, according to Sir Gardner Wilkinson,* the Israelites
* Sir G. Wilkinson, "
Manners and Customs of Ancient Egypt,"
ii.
o?
—
ROMAN AND ARAB
borrowed
The
their notion of the
offerings,
DIVISIONS.
29
golden calf (Ex.
xxxii. 1-7).
dancing, and rejoicings practised in
honour were doubtlessly imitated from the
its
feasts
of
Mnevis, which they had witnessed during their sojourn
Egypt.
in
One
beneficial effect of animal-worship
ticing; the
which
it
humane
is
worth no-
feeling towards the brute creation
In no country were animals
caused to prevail.
Land
so tenderly treated as in the
of the Nile.
Returning to our description of the divisions of Egypt,
we
find
them reduced by the Romans, after their conAugusta Fri?fia, Augusta
quest of the land, to three
adopted by the Arabs, and
ing designations
:
A
Secunda^ and ^gyptiaca.
still
similar arrangement
exists,
was
under the follow-
:
CHIEF TOWNS.
REGIONS.
Musr-el-Bakri, or the Delta (Lower ) Alexandria, Rosetta, Damietta, Abou'
kir.
Egypt)
El-Bastani, or the Faioum (Middle ) Cairo, Suez, Ismaila, Medinet-el-Faif
inyeh, Manfalut.
oum, Beni-souef,
Egypt)
Girgeh, El-Karnak, El -Luxor,
1 Siout,
Es Said (Upper Egypt)
El-Assouan.
|
M
.
These three
regions,
which are marked by
distinct
geographical features, are subdivided into thirteen provinced.
Let us
now glance
at the general aspect of the country.*
Lower and Middle Egypt
are deficient in
wood
;
in those
groves of patrician trees or fresh young plantations which
*
Compare the works of Kinglake, Harriet Martineau, Lord Lindsay,
Lady Duff Gordon, Eliot Warburton, and Rev. A. C. Smith.
Melly,
Bartlett,
PICTURES FROM EGYPT.
30
make up
scape.
the beauty and richness of an English land-
the country
Still
is
not utterly bare
are adorned with the tamarisk
\
scenes
its
and the palm, and on the
border land of the Desert, bloom bright sweet gardens of
Wherever the
jessamine and orange.
and properly watered,
vated,
soil is fairly culti-
amply repays the
it
toil
of
husbandman, yielding luxuriant crops of tobacco,
cotton, the sugar-cane, and indigo. Among the shallows
the
of Lake Menzaleh lingers the once-prized papyrus.
In
Faioum myriads of roses burden
with fragrance and every peasant's tiny nook of
the beautiful valley of
the air
;
ground affords a supply of
garHc, melons, and
leeks,
cucumbers.
however,
Nature,
much more
is
genial
Upper
in
Egypt, and bestows a greater variety and a richer colouring
on the
A
picture.
recent traveller * declares
possible to paint a pleasanter ideal of a
The
than the Egypt above Thebes.
tains press
it
more
closely in, as
and more
hues than below.
summer
fields
regions,
fantastic,
Even
all
is
and they
revel in ruddier
growth.
You wander
through
of millet and maize, and between bright flanking
thickets of ricin,
is
gladdened by clustering
You
rove amid
bloom.
Your
palm-groves,
which
and meadows of poppy
in
whisper of peace and plenty, where every bright
is
and
Their forms
to the Desert^s edge, in these
patches of yellow-blossoming cotton.
heart
im-
purple desert moun-
to infold a loved
if
lovely thing in their sheltering embrace.
are wilder
it
summer-land
leaflet
tipped with an autumn gold, and mellowed by the
tropic sun
*
;
and, from the midst of that lustrous gloom,
Howard Hopley, "Under Egyptian Palms,"
pp. 221, 22a.
j^^
11'7'Sf
^
p''
;
AND VEGETATION OF EGYPT.
SOIL
may
your eye
whose
range over acres of sunny corn-fields,
and
contiguous
to
And, mirroring the cloudless heav-
eternal barrenness.
ens, hither
waves
of produce
wealth
rich
33
thither, to fertihze
and
bless, intertwine
"Transparent streams, whose waters go
Through the palm-wood, serene and
The
Egypt
soil of
because
it
the deposits of
its
fertile
mud
Nile
is
and
is
than
less
These have been graphi-
river-waters.
St. Hilaire.
d'Egypte; of the consistence of rather
but with an extremely fine grain.
stiff clay,
and unctuous
water,
its fertility,
more or
a sort of brown earth, he says, emphati-
cally called terre
soft
remarkable for
is
consists of nothing
by
cally described
silent iu their flow."
the
to
touch,
and possesses scarcely any odour.
becomes very hard, as may be seen
which furrow the ground some time
It is very
readily in
dissolves
When
in the
dried
it
deep cracks
after the waters
have
retired.
In
this
peculiar alluvial soil vegetation thrives with
equal strength and rapidity.
We
trees
have spoken of the scarcity of timber.
in
species.
Egypt are not only few
First
palm, which
is
is
his
food,
Egyptian what the bread-fruit tree
and
all-in-all,
clothing,
his
dom palm.
common
also
;
f295)
The
it
Hindu.
and house, and
stay, his
Scarcely inferior in importance
or
But the
number, but of few
and foremost must be ranked the datefor the
for the Polynesian, or rice for the
him with
it
is
in
wealth, his
is its
It supplies
furniture
very
congener, the
life.
doum
acacia, or sont tree of the Arabs,
is
furnishes the shittitn-^ oo<\ of the Bible
3
34
ANIMAL
LIFE.
is
Mimosa
the
tica
Nilo-
of botanists, and
extensively adopted
for ship-building and
for similar purposes.
Add
the
these
to
sycamore
and
the
tamarisk,
and
our
enumeration of the
principal
Egypt
animal
Its
far
of
trees
complete.*
is
life is
more varied and
There
abundant.
breeds
are
fine
the
horse, the ass,
and the camel
last
-
named
;
oi
the
being
the favourite beast ol
The giraffe
burden.
has been driven into
the wilder
districts
by the unresting advance
tion
;
amus
of
civiliza-
the hippopot-
only found
is
in the far
reaches of
the upper Nile
;
but
the hyena, the wild
* Rev. A.C. Smith,
DATE PALMS.
Nile and
its
Banks,"
i.
"The
278.
ANIMAL
LIFE.
35
^^
THE SACRED
dog,
and the
streets of the
jackal,
prowl
still
large towns
;
common now
at night
through the
the ichneumon, the stork,
the heron, the purple goose,
almost as
IBIS.
and the sacred
ibis
the unreasoning passion of English travellers for
large " bags of
are
as in the " olden time," though
making
game," threatens to extirpate them from
the land.
Egypt, as Mr. Hopley remarks,
is
wonderfully popu-
lous with the feathered tribes; their division
division are
infinite.
From
and sub-
the smaller birdlings that
ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTES,
36
THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE.
dwell in the mimosa, whose plumage, gorgeous with
rainbow hues, absolutely bewilders you with
up through the ranks of wild and water
big vultures
its
all
beauty,
fowl, to those
and august eagles which perch solemnly on
desert peak or crag, or skim lazily aloft in mid-air, there
are endless gradations.
Their tameness appears to be extraordinary.
may
field,
which, when
cast a thick
and
You
almost walk into a flock of pigeons on a stubbleit
rises
shadow over
fly-catchers
around you,
acres of land.
on your deck
is
so dense as to
Water-wagtails
will fearlessly trot up,
and
THE CROCODILE
BIRD.
yj
ROSY FLAMINGOES.
pick a
fly off
your boot.
A
crow
will
parade
its
carrion
under your very nose.*
A
curious feathered denizen of the Nile Valley
is
the
crocodile bird (the Trochilus of Herodotus),! which acts
as a kind of parasite to that hideous reptile,
it
is
of the approach of any intruder.
*'
Worthy of
note, too,
Pharaoh's hen," or the Egyptian vulture {Neophron
percnopferus), which, with trailing wings
sits
and warns
and drooping
brooding, like an evil genius, over the ruined
* This is the
t
Charadrius spinosus, or spur-winged plover,
Hopley, " Under Egyptian Palms," p. 206.
tail,
monu-
—
EGYPT AND
38
ITS CLIMATE.
And
ments of bygone splendour.
every grove abounds
with Senegal doves and blue pigeons, jaunty hoopoes,
bright green bee-eaters, Sardinian warblers, great spotted
cuckoos
while the corn-fields are peopled with quails, the
;
river-banks with martins, and the Desert borders with noisy
chats. Rarer, but
the
uncommon, are the rosy flamingo,
still not
common heron,
the
the pelican, the curlew,
little egret,
and the cormorant.
the spoonbill, the snipe, the shoveller,
Hot and
dry
the climate of Egypt
is
;
a climate scarcely
favourable to the highest manifestations of man's intellectual
and physical energy,
yet,
from
its
elasticity, pro-
moting a singular feeling of gaiety and freshness.
Its
extreme dryness eminently conduces to the preservation
of natural substances from decay
;
and
in the
traveller looks astonished
and temples, the
rock-tombs
upon human
bodies which, buried two or three thousand years ago,
The
have defied corruption.
lends a curious distinctness
clearness of the atmosphere
—a remarkable sharpness
to every object in the landscape, so that the outline of
architrave
and column seems traced against the azure
The
of the sky as with a pencil.
effects of colour pro-
duced by the after-glow of sunset would have enraptured
a Titian or a Tintoretto.
The
reader, however,
cUmatic difference
exists
must remember that a great
between the broad deltoid plain
of Lower, and the narrow romantic valley of
Egypt.
African
The former
littoral,
in
its
Barbary and Marocco
in climate, fauna,
and
;
the
flora, is sub-tropical.
rarely falls in the Thebaid,
Upper
leading features resembles the
and the
intolerable to the European.
latter,
In
solar heat
both
fact, rain
is
almost
EFFECTS OF THE KHAMSIN.
39
CARAVAN ASSAILED BY THE KHAMSIN.
The
curse
of Egypt
the khamsin.
is
southern wind which, in April and
name
indicates, for fifty
days
;
That
fierce
May, blows as
its
hot as the blast of a
furnace, shrivelling the skin, parching the lips, blinding
the eyes with minute particles of sand, and depressing
the spirit as with the
The
omen
of
some unutterable
population of Egypt has increased very
* Rear- Admiral Smyth,
"The
Mediterranean."
evil.*
little
since
A PAGE OF STATISTICS.
40
the days of antiquity,
if
we may accept the statement
At present
Germanicus, as recorded by Tacitus.
amounts
According to the
to 6,806,381.
rian, in the reign of
of the mihtary age.
Rameses
At
it
Roman
it
histo-
contained 700,000
this rate the entire
of
men
population
would be about 3,500,000 allow 500,000 for error; add
one -third for slaves and strangers and the total will
;
;
amount
to nearly 5,500,000.
The Money,
Weights, and
their British equivalents are
of Egypt,
"^
Money.
*
The Sequin
The Piastre,
— Measures
:
= Average rate of exchange,
of forty paras
=
,,
„
,,
5s. 4d.
2jd.
Weights and Measures.
The Killow
The Almud
The Oke (of 400 drams)
=0.9120 imperial bushel.
=1.151 imperial gallon.
=2.8326
lbs.
* F. Martin, " Statesman's Year-Book."
avoirdupois.
and
—
CHAPTER
11.
A SKETCH OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY, ANCIENT AND MODERN.
—the powerful and the strong
Monarchs
Famous in
Of olden
history
and
in
song
time.
Longfellow,
HE history of Egypt
is
a history of wonder, and
we have
goes
back, as
when
history can hardly
gun.
From
said,
to
a period
be said to have be-
the Chronicle of Manetho, an
Egyptian sage, compiled about 300
documents probably then
B.C.
in existence
;
and founded upon
from the evidence
of hieroglyphical inscriptions abounding on the Nilotic
monuments, and the papyri discovered among
ruins
and from passages
;
knowledge of
Conquest
is
course of
its
chiefly obtained.
many
points, very
lessly
involved in obscurity
conjecture
;
and
is
and are
obvious
authorities
;
much
is
is,
on
hope-
much depends upon acute
we possess nothing more
names of kings who reigned, died, were
forgotten.
that
is
This knowledge
vague and imperfect
;
for centuries
valuable than the
buried,
their
Hebrew Scriptures, our
events down to the Persian
in the
the
likely to
Under such circumstances it
between modern
disagreement
be considerable, and the following
—
THE PHARAONIC ERA.
42
summary pretends
no other merit than being the
to
result of a very careful
comparison between conflicting
statements.
Egyptian history divides
The Pharaonic^ which
a.
Cambyses
The
The
/S.
7.
itself into five eras
:
closed with the conquest of Egypt by
in B.C. 525.
Persian, from B.C. 525 to B.C. 332.
Greek, from B.C. 332,
when Alexandria was founded,
to
the death of Cleopatra in B.C. 30.
The Roman, from
5.
Arabs
The Modem,
e.
B.C.
to the capture of
30
Alexandria by the
in a. d. 640.
or
Mohammedan, from
A.D. 640 to the present
time.
It is in discussing the first of these periods that
become involved
ologers
in a
Egypt-
chaos of doubt and supposi-
tion.
a.
If
we may
thirty
THE PHARAONIC
dynasties of native
rulers,
to the Syncellus, over a period of
to
extending, according
3553
we may trace back the
commencement
hypothetical
their
years.
Adding
339, the date of the downfall of the
this total to B.C.
thirtieth dynasty,
ERA.
Manetho, Egypt was governed by
credit
annals of Egypt
in
B.C.
3892,*
when the monarchy was founded by a shadowy and uncertain personage, named Menes or MEN.f
But then
it must be remembered that some of the dynasties men*
This
is
2717 B.C.
;
the date fixed upon by Lepsius
Sharpe, 2000 B.C.
chronologists disagree
t
There
is
good reason
in the
of the Etruscans.
;
but Boekh says 5702 B.C.
and Nolan, 2673
B.C.
Who
Poole,
;
shall decide
when
?
to
name seems connected with
meet with
;
Menu
doubt whether such a personage ever existed.
the root
Man, " to
of the Hindus, the
think and speak," which
we
His
also
Minos of the Greeks, and the Menerfa
—See Quarterly Review,
vol. Ixxviii., p. 149.
;
r
THE LAWGIVER OF EGYPT.
tioiied
43
by Manetho may possibly have been contempo-
raneous
some reigning at Memphis, others at Thebes,
as Dukes of Burgundy ruled at the same
;
others at Sais,
—
time as Kings of France, or Kings of Aragon, Leon,
Nor
and Castile divided Spain between them.
known how many
dynasties
is
it
sovereigns were included in the thirty
the lowest computation says 300, the highest
;
500.
Herodotus, Eratosthenes, and Manetho, however,
Menes
agree in making
the creator of the city of
As we
Memphis.
them an absolute
position to give
all
monarchy and
the founder of the
are in
no
contradiction, let us
take this as our starting-point.
At some date between 3000 and 4000
the
first
His successor,
it
said,
is
built the great palace of
this
b.c. lived
Menes,
lawgiver of Egypt, B.C. 3892.
dynasty were Kenkenes
Pyramids
at
Ko
and Bieneches
;
or
was named Athothis, and
Memphis.
;
Other sovereigns of
Knephes, who raised the
Kochome
;
Miebis
;
Semempses
but their names have not been identified
upon any of the monuments.
This dynasty lasted for
253 years.
The
2nd, or Thiriite dynasty, which introduced animal-
worship,* ruled Egypt for about 300 years
* In reference to the animal-worship of
worthy of consideration
were so
mad
dom, we
— If we
still
seeming frenzy.
?
it
see
some method
Did the
was
of the sacred reptile.
in their
Egypt, the following remarks seem
members of
the anunal king-
madness, and can account for their
inhabitants of towns distant from the river worship
in order that the canals,
might be religiously kept
the 3rd, or
are forced to allow that they (the Egyptians)
as to offer divine honours to various
shall
the crocodile
;
;
in repair
Was
on which their prosperity depended,
under the nominal plea for the convenience
the fish oxyrrynchus worshipped at the inland towns
of Behnesa, or the River Nile at Nilopolis, nine miles from the great stream?
it
;
THE THINITE DYNASTY.
44
Memphite, for 200.
far as
is
it
from
learn
Here Egyptian
history begins, so
on the Egyptian monuments; and we
told
indisputable
their
records
that
Senefern,
was for a similar reason while Sir Samuel Baker has pointed out that the scarabaeus was so highly honoured as the harbinger of the high Nile, because it
regularly makes its appearance at the season of the flood. Even the extraordinary veneration shown for the bull Apis, wherein their reverence for an
;
animal was carried to an extreme, is explained by their belief that under this
form the soul of Osiris occasionally condescended to come upon Earth, and so
they deified the living shrine in which their great god was tabernacled for a time.
For the reason why the sacred ibis was so highly regarded we have not far to
seek, inasmuch as the services that bird rendered in destroying the armies oi
locusts (which were the winged serpents of Herodotus) and other noxious
insects are palpable
;
and
flights of locusts still occasionally visit
Egypt and the
neighbouring country of Syria in incredible numbers, to the utter destruction of
the crops, as I have myself witnessed in the latter country.
Then, again, the doctrine of transmigration of souls, which was undoubtedly
weapon in the hands of Osiris for chastising those who
lived wicked lives, in causing them to expiate their crimes under the form of
various animals, was another strong motive for the reverence they showed to
the creatures they held sacred, and for the pains they took to embalm their
entertained as a powerful
bodies after death.
Then, again, with regard to the animal heads, the hawk, the ibis, crocodile,
and others, with which the human figures of the deities are frequently
though no one can positively assert their meaning, some very
plausible explanations have been proposed.
Thus, it has been thought by some
cat, jackal,
surmounted
;
that this strange practice originated in the intense reverence that
was
felt for
consequent disinclination, which English
Christians can appreciate, to attempt to portray the awful face of the Deity
and therefore they put a mask before the divine countenance, or substituted the
head of some member of the animal kingdom held sacred in Egypt, for that
which they dared not represent in its real form. Possibly such animal's head
likewise betokened the attribute for which the particular deity was notorious
but, at all events, we are not driven to believe that so wise a nation as the
ancient Egyptians showed themselves to have been, really worshipped the beasts,
the gods they worshipped, and a
birds, reptiles,
were the
and fishes, which are popularly represented as their gods. These
which Herodotus revelled, and yet he could scarcely believe
tales in
way to an explanation of their customs, in
head attached to the statue of Jupiter Ammon while
Cicero declares that the Egyptian custom of representing the gods with the
heads of oxen, birds, and other creatures, was introduced in order that people
might restrain from eating them, or from some other mysterious reason one
object doubtless being to insure the preservation of some animals which were
valuable for food, and of others which were useful in destroying noxious
Rev. A. C. Smith, The Nile and its
reptiles, or for some similar purpose.
such gross superstition, but leads the
his story of the ram's
;
;
—
Banks,
vol.
i.,
pp. 240-243.
THE MEMPHITE DYNASTY.
one of the kings of
niines
of the
this dynasty,
opened up the copper
Wady Magura, and conquered
MOUNT
insula of Sinai.
How
the pen-
SINAI.
strange a reflection
armies of Egypt thus penetrated into the
wound over
45
is
it
that the
defiles,
the rocky passes, of that mighty
and
maze of
THE PYRAMID-KINGS.
46
mountains, which afterwards witnessed the revelation of
the Divine
Power on
" the secret top
Of Oreb
or of Sinai,"
and the long procession of the Israehtes as they slowly
toiled towards the
To
Promised Land
!
4th dynasty chronologists ascribe an aggre-
the
some particulars conmore prominent members are contained in
the hieratic papyrus known as the " Canon of Turin."
Of Soris there are also monumental records. The two
gate duration of 284 years, and
cernmg
its
Shufus or Chufus erected the mighty Pyramids of ElGhizeh, and subdued Arabia.
Cheops of Herodotus
The
living at a later period
laid,
who
is
the
he raised the greater of those
:
His brother, Num-
massive enigmas by forced labour.
Shufu,
elder Shufu
—who, however, represents him as
reigned conjointly with him for several years,
perhaps, the foundation of the second pyramid ; and
it
was completed bySha-fre, or Chephren, of the 5th dynasty.
King Men-ka-re, or Mencheres, the Mycerinus of Herodotus
and Diodorus,
built the third, in
discovered.*
The most
mummy
which a
case, inscribed with the royal founder's
name, has been
conflicting theories have
been
put forward in reference to the dates of these great works,
and they are placed by
and
*
B.C.
Yet Manetho
asserts that the third
named
Compare Sharpe, " History
World's
B.C.
3229
pyramid was erected by a queen of the
Nitocris.
buch der Alten iEgyptie"
Egypt."
between
235 2.t
sixth dynasty,
t
different writers
History;" Poole,
of
Egypt" (London,
(Berlin,
1848);
1846); Lepsius,
"K5nigs-
Bunsen, "Egypt's Place in the
" Horae yEgyptiacae " and Kenrick,
;
"Ancient
;
FOURTH TO TWELFTH DYNASTIES.
47
According to Poole, the 4th dynasty began
2352
and the
;
5th,
Elephantine, about
with
Annos
in B.C.
which came from the island of
The latter terminated
2150.
who founded the Pyramid of the
B.C.
or Ormos,
Mastabat-el-Faroun, near Sakkara, and was killed by his
To
household guards.
this dynasty,
which seems to have
Upper and Lower Egypt, belong the
Pyramids at Aboo-Seir. The Memphite kings recovered
and the 6th dynthe throne on the death of Annos
ruled over both
;
asty, of
which numerous memorials are extant,
buted to Egyptian history Othoes
(B.C.
1920),
and whose
who
reigned,
it
is
;
said,
court, according to Sir
Phiops, or
contri-
Apappus
one hundred
years,
Gardner Wilkinson,
was visited by Abraham ; * and Queen Nitocris or Neet-
whom
akar-tee, with
Of
7
the dynasty closed.
the next four dynasties
we know but
The
little.
seems to have been a period of anarchy, and seventy
th
kings (or vice-kings, inter-regei) reigned,
seventy days
it
is
said, in
— a suspicious coincidence of numbers, which
The
involves the whole statement in doubt.
7th and 8th
Memphite; the 9th and loth, Heracleopoliand the nth, DiospoHte, each dynasty deriving its
dynasties were
tan
;
—
name from the birth-place of its founder. Their rule, if
Manetho may be credited, extended over five centuries
and
their
list
includes eighty-six (unnamed) kings.
The founder of the
who built, or rebuilt,
Amenemha I.,
On of the Old
12th dynasty was
Heliopolis (the
Testament), and reigned for nine years with undivided
glory,
1
— afterwards,
7 15).
The
latter
* Sir G. Wilkinson,
conjointly with
Osirtesen
(b.c
I.
succeeded him on the throne, and
" Manners and Customs of Ancient Egyptians,"
i.
19.
THE LABYRINTH OF AMENEMHA.
48
Hebrew Joseph
appointed the
opolis
and
tribes,
and
He
at Beni-hassan.
his
empire with
Osirtesen
II.,
who
finally
due succession, Osirtesen
subdued
after his death,
Amenemha
To Amenemha
;
Amenemha
Heh-
IV.
at Crocodilopolis
;
and, in
;
Amenemha
and Queen Sebeknefru.
III. are ascribed the great
Sarabout-el-Khadem
;
who carried the frontiers
and won so great a renown
III.,
he was apotheosized
;
Then came
II.
excavation of the Moeris Lake; the
Pyramid
at
forty Ethiopian
subjugated Ethiopia
of the empire further south,
III.
prime-minister or
in the thirtieth year of his reign, shared the
burden of
that,
his
His monuments may be seen both
viceroy.
;
of the
works of the
erection of the
Temple of Athor
at
and of the world-famous Labyrinth.
This curious and mysterious structure was built wholly
contained three thousand chambers,
of polished stone.
It
half above ground,
and half below. The Temples of Ephe-
sus
and Samos, says Herodotus,* may justly claim admira-
and the Pyramids may be individually compared
tion,
many
to
of the magnificent structures of Greece, but even
these are inferior to the Labyrinth.
twelve courts,
all
It is
of which are covered
;
composed
of
their entrances
stand opposite to each other, six to the north and six to
the south
;
one wall encloses the whole.
ments above the ground
tus,
from
my own
I
knowledge and observation
below, from the information I received.
who had
them
;
ii.
their reason was, that in
324, 325.
ii.
("Euterpe"),
the apart-
§ 148.
;
of those
The Egyptians
charge of the latter would not suffer
and
Herodotus, book
Stelle,"
Of
can speak, continues Herodo-
me
to see
them were preserved
Compare with Bunsen. "iEgyptens-
;
DESCRIPTION OF THE LABYRINTH.
the sacred crocodiles,
and the bodies of the kings who
constructed the Labyrinth.
presume to speak
and
visited,
efforts
Of these,
industry and
The almost
art.
number of winding passages through
my
excited
therefore, I
do not
but the upper apartments I myself
pronounce them among the grandest
I
human
of
;
49
highest admiration
from spacious
:
infinite
the different courts
halls
I
passed through smaller chambers, and from them again
and magnificent saloons, almost without end.
to large
The
and
walls
ceilings are of marble, the latter embel-
lished with the
most exquisite sculpture
court pillars of the richest
arranged
and
;
a pyramid
;
around each
and most polished marble are
at the termination of the
Labyrinth stands
one hundred and sixty cubits high, approached
by a subterranean passage, and with
its
exterior enriched
by huge figures of animals.
The
object of the Egyptian kings in constructing this
gigantic
work cannot even be conjectured.
and
to various monarchs,
determined
would seem
;
its
site
but, in reference to the
to
be that
of years, and that
it
its
It is ascribed
cannot be accurately
first
point, the truth
erection occupied a long period
was enlarged
at successive periods
on the second, we may observe that though the ruins
visited
and
identified
by
modem
travellers
do not exactly
agree with the accounts of Herodotus and Pliny, yet
there
is
good reason
to believe they
the outer buildings, though injured
formed a portion
of
by time, and mutilated
by barbarism.
The 13 th dynasty numbered sixty
who reigned, it is said, 453 years; and
six
Diospolite kings,
the 14th, seventy-
Xoite kings, extending over 184 years.
(295)
4
;
THE SHEPHERD KINGS.
50
The
15th,
Hyksos,
1
parently of
6th,
Arab race
testine convulsion,
fixed their capital at
nome
ite
Abaris
into
;
and 17th dynasties belonged
to the
Shepherd kings, who were invaders, ap-
or
;
* who,
during a period of
in-
made themselves masters of Egypt
Memphis constructed in the Sethro;
a colossal fortification or earth-camp, called
and eventually divided the conquered country
two independent kingdoms, one
and another
at
name and fame
perpetuate the
of these invaders, having probably been
destroyed by the Egyptians
when they regained
their in-
So proud a people would be unwilling
dependence.
hand down
the Thebaid,
in
No monuments
Xois.
any permanent record of
to posterity
to
their
subjection to a foreign and inferior race.
According to Manetho, they ruled over Egypt
years.
of the
Egypt.
About
1
B.C.
1525, they were expelled by
8th dynasty,
Thothmes
I.
who
for
511
Aah-mes
I.
Upper and Lowei
reunited
(Thutmosis) conquered Nubia, and
extended the renown of
his
arms as
far as
Mesopotamia.
Then came Thothmes II. and after him, Thothmes III.,
who won a great victory at Megiddo, subjugated Syria
;
and Mesopotamia, and exacted
Babylon, Assyria, and the
From an
extant astronomical record
the year B.C.
1444
successful monarch,
fell
in
from Phoenicia,
tribute
fair islands
of the Archipelago.
is
it
believed that
the reign of this able and
— the " Edward
the First " of Egypt,
—a great administrator and a famous
warrior.
The glory of the dynasty was well maintained by
Amunophis II., who captured Nineveh and by Thothmes IV., who is reputed to have erected that singular
;
*
Heeren, "Historical Researches,"
ii.
lu.
THE RAMESSID DYNASTY.
but
of Egyptian beauty,
type
majestic
51
the
colossal
Amunophis IV. introduced the worship of a
god named Aten, and the " heresy " continued to flourish
Sphinx.
under three of
his successors, until " the fair humanities
of the old religion " were restored by Hor-em-heb, or
Horus.
Under the i8th and 19th dynasties the Land of the
waxed prosperous, powerful, and wealthy ; attaining,
Nile
perhaps,
its
highest point of civilization, and the most
majestic development of
With the 19th dynasty
its art.
began the era of the Ramessids
kingdom
the boundary of his
Nubia.
Seethee
I.,
;
to
Rameses
the
or Sethos, was a
I.
extending
Wady
Haifa, in
renowned warrior
an Egyptian Tullus Hostilius, bred in the camp, and
rejoicing in the " fierce delight " of battle.
Syria
Phoenicians.
invaded
In Asia he learned the worship of the deities
Baal and Astarte, and introduced
It is said that his son,
crown
reign
He
and Mesopotamia, and chastised the insolence of the
in his childhood.
is
his capture of
Jerusalem.
By
into his
II.,
A notable fact of this monarch's
his
queen.
and a princess of that
His attention appears to
have been largely devoted to maritime
recorded that his
fleet
—manned,
I
wonder, pass the
and navigate our western waters
life
by
it is
Asiatics
Did any
Straits of Gibraltar,
All the exploits which
him could hardly have been crowded
of one man, however able and energetic,
are attributed to
into the
1
and
affairs,
I suppose,
up and down the Mediterranean.
Egyptian vessels,
of
he com-
his successes in the battle-field
became
— swept
own kingdom.
succeeded to the
Saluma or Salem^ the precursor
pelled Syria to sue for peace,
nation
it
Rameses
;
RAMESES THE SECOND.
52
and he appears,
to himself
in the course of time, to
longing to his successors
;
be-
a process which takes place in
The people
ancient and legendary history.
all
have gathered
no small portion of the renown properly
love to
invest their favourite hero with every grand achievement
whose
tradition lingers in the national
he becomes, as
concentrates
it
memory
and thus
;
were, the focus which draws
in, itself
the scattered rays of
to,
and
light.
Seventeen centuries after he had been interred in the
superb temple which his genius and power erected at
Thebes, Germanicus visited that once-famous capital
and the Egyptian
priests, as
Tacitus relates,* read to him
from the monumental records the deeds and
the treasures
and
His empire stretched north-
realms of this great king.
ward to the shores of the Caspian Sea
beyond the second cataract
the Desert
He
;
and eastward,
was succeeded by
or Ptah-men,
victories,
the tributes, the resources and subject-
it
;
southward,
westward, to the interior of
;
included Arabia.
his thirteenth son, Merien-ptah,
who made Memphis
his capital,
and
is
now
generally identified with the Pharaoh of the Exodus.t
He
introduced the heretical worship of Typhon, or Seth
— Satan— the Principle of Evil.
Of
successors,
his
Tausri,
and
gather their
Sethos
II.,
Amenmes,
Sipthah,
Setinekt, few particulars are recorded.
We
names from two important and authentic
monuments, the " Tablet of Abydus," and the
" Tablet
of Karnak."
* Tacitus,
"Annals,"
ii.
60,
suggested by Lord Prudhoe (the late Duke of NorSee Rawlinson's " Herodotus," ii. 366. Wilkinson places the
Exodus in the reign of Thothmes III. ("Ancient Egyptians," i. 47)
t
This identity was
thumberland).
first
A GLANCE A T HEBRE W HISTOR V.
We next arrive
at the
53
epoch of the 20th dynasty, which
was wholly composed of kings of the name of Rameses,
and illustrated by the genius of Rameses
subdued a revolt in Ethiopia, and gained
the Mediterranean.
in
battles
It
fell
who
III.,*
several sea-
from
its
"high
estate " through
some religious convulsion, and the priests
Ra at Thebes were elevated to the throne
Amun
of
under the name of the Tanite kings, ruling Egypt
about 130,
Next followed the
Bubastite, or
22nd dynasty, supposed
have descended from foreign
to
and
have been of Shemitic
to
foi
according to some authorities, 150 years.
or,
settlers in
Bubastis,t
origin.
We now come upon a reliable synchronism with
Sheshonk the Sesonchosis of the
Hebrew history
Greeks being the Shishak of the Old Testament, who
His name is incaptured Jerusalem about B.C. 97 2. J
—
;
—
scribed, with a record of his achievements,
on the pro-
pylon of the great temple of Kamak.
His successor, Osorthen or Osorcho,
is
probably the
Zerah of the Bible, who was defeated at Mareshah by
Asa, king of Judah. §
Under the 23rd (another Tanite) dynasty Egypt greatly
decUned
in power,
subjugated by
and
at the close
Ethiopia,
its
last
being captured in battle, and burned
Sebichos,
*
Some
Egyptologists
ascribe to
t
Now
} 2
who founded
him the
make
alive.
24th,
Sabaco, or
the dynasty to have begun with
Rameses
IV., and
military achievements related in the text.
called Tel-Bustak, on the Pelusiac Nile, about 70 miles from
Chronicles
xii.
Kings
4
xvii.
was
Bocchoris,
the 25th or Ethiopian dynasty,
i-io.
its mouth.
See also Josephus, " Antiquities of the Jews," viii.
to, 3.
i 3
of the
monarch,
;
2 Chronicles xiv. 8, g.
THE TWELVE
54
flourished about
B.C.
730-720.
Hebrew
with
whom
records,
KINGS.
He
the So of the
is
Hoshea, king of
tered
Israel, en-
an
into
alli-
ance; while his succes-
Tarkus,
sor,
tified
is
iden-
with the Tirha-
kah, king of Ethiopia,
enemy of Assy-
the
and Sennacherib*
ria
He
(Isa. xxxvii. 9).
from
reigned
B.C.
A
720 to
B.C.
about
710.
period of intes-
tine trouble followed
his death,
fermented
apparently by foreign
interference,
and
sig-
of the rapid
nificant
decay of the empire.
a
Sethos,
Phtah,
is
priest
of
said to have
TIRHAKAH, KING OF EGYPT.
seized the sovereign
power, and to have ruled despotically, degrading the miHtary caste,
and confiscating
the Dodekarchy, or
their lands.
After
him came
Twelve Kings, who probably reigned
contemporaneously, and each over a semi-independent
province, united only for resistance to foreign aggression
(B.C.
700-670).
aid of
chus
They were overthrown, however, with the
Greek and Phoenician mercenaries, by Psammeti-
I.,
of the 26th dynasty,
'*
who
reigned
Wilkinson, " Ancient Egyptians,"
i.
fifty-four years.
138-142.
" PHARA
OH NECHO. "
55
and welded Egypt into a compact kingdom
He
introduced several important reforms
instructed in
ters,
(b.c.
Greek
letters
;
;
67 1-6 1
had
7).
his son
instituted a caste of interpre-
or dragomans, intermediatory between the natives
and foreigners
and
;
lished a regular
in the place of the
army of Hellenic
militia
estab-
troops.
His successor, Nechao, Nekas, or Neco, the Pharaoh
Necho of the Old Testament,* reigned sixteen years
617-601).
He
carried
lonian Empire, and
(b.c.
on a great war against the Baby-
defeated
its
ally,
Josiah, king
of
Judah, at Megiddo; after which he entered Jerusalem
triumph,
in
and
set
upon the
younger brother of Jehoahaz.
Eliakim,
throne
the
He penetrated into Assyria,
but after four years of victory, was defeated at Carchemish,
or Circesium,
on the Euphrates, by Nebuchadnezzar, and
forced to flee into Egypt.
He
was unquestionably a monarch of
and adventurous
At
spirit.
his
signal capacity
command
a Phoenician
and he
commenced, a canal be-
fleet attempted the circumnavigation of Africa
constructed, or, at
all
events,
Red Sea and the Nile. It
modern town of Belbeis, and ran
tween the
left
the
east
;
the river near
and south
to
Suez.
Necho was succeeded by
metichus H.
(b.c.
601-595),
his son
who
Psammis, or Psam-
restored the Egyptian
supremacy over Ethiopia.
Great calamities befell the
empire in the reign of Apries, the " Uaphris " of the
monuments, and the Pharaoh Hophra of the
Scriptures.
Lower Egypt was invaded by Nebuchadnezzar; and
Western Egypt by the Greeks, who defeated him at
* 2 Kings xxiii, 29-34.
THE PERSIAN INVASION.
56
Soon afterwards he was deposed
Irusa {Ain Ersen).
and strangled by a successful
Aah-mes
or
Greek
with
II.,
He
history.
Amasis, Amosis,
soldier,
whom we
are
famiharized
reigned forty-four years
(b.c.
by
570-
526); was in league with the Greeks; wedded a Greek
beauty; was visited by Solon and Pythagoras
arts
and
;
cultivated
and promoted the well-being of
letters;
his
people.
Herodotus describes the close alliance that existed
between him and Polycrates, the " king " or " tyrant " of
Samos,
latter's
to
until the
Egyptian monarch grew alarmed
He
unchanging prosperity.
at the
advised him, in order
to throw away some
and Polycrates accordingly flung
avert ^he anger of the gods,
valuable possession
;
into the sea a costly signet-ring of curious
The day
workmanship.
afterwards, however, a fisherman presented the
king with a singularly large
in its belly
was found a
drew from
all
that he
fish
relations with a
good fortune predestined him
had caught, and
Thereupon Amasis with-
ring.
to
man whose ominously
some melancholy catas-
trophe.
The
truth,
however, would seem to be that the Greek
thalassocrat, or " sea-king,"
himself with Persia,
when
broke the alliance and leagued
the latter
power bade more
highly for his support.*
In the reign of Psammenitus, which only lasted
months
(b.c.
their great
525),
the Persians invaded Egypt
six
under
king Cambyses, defeated the Egyptians at
Pelusium, and reduced
the
country to the rank of a
Persian province, or satrapy.
*
Grote, " History of Greece."
iv.
^z'^.
A GREEK VISITOR TO EGYPT.
THE PERSIAN
yS.
The 27th Egyptian
57
ERA.
founded by the
dynasty, thus
sword of Cambyses,* included eight Persian kings, and
extended over a period of 124 years
(b.c.
525-401),
disturbed by constant revolts of the Egyptians against
their foreign rulers.
During the reigns of Xerxes
(b.c.
486-460),
who
crushed a dangerous revolt, and afterwards unsuccess-
attempted the invasion of Greece
fully
erxes
Longimanus
460-413),
(b.c.
and of Artax-
;
the
country
was
convulsed by the insults which the Persians offered to
the
An
ancient religion.
insurrection
was quelled
in
456 by the satrap Megabyzus.
It was during the rule of Artaxerxes that Herodotus
B.C.
visited
and
Egypt,
at
Hehopolis and Thebes
collected those precious
notes
its
in
reference
to
history, religion, an-
tiquities,
and
social
life,
which are of such value
modern
The Land of
to the
student.
the Nile
photographed
is
ful
fidelity
in
his
a wonder-
pages with
;
and
graphic account of
HERODOTUS.
his
its
refined civilization,
and
miracles
its
* Cambyses, pursuing his schemes of conquest, afterwards led his
the deserts of Ethiopia,
where
it
was destroyed.
He
then went
shame, and plunged into an excess of debauchery and cruelty.
army
mad
into
with
WHAT HERODOTUS
58
and
of art
vivid
and
TELLS
US.
one of the most
science, furnishes us with
interesting pictures of the past preserved in
ancient history.
He
Egyptians as " ex-
describes the
tremely religious, and surpassing
all
men
They were
they rendered to the gods."
in the
worship
so regardful of
cleanhness that " they wore only Hnen, and that newly
Wheat and
washed."
men
unworthy of
;
barley they considered to be food
beans they regarded as sacred.
health and constitution
no people was
The women
with them.
left
to the
In
to
be compared
men
the manage-
ment of the loom, while " they themselves were engaged
abroad
commerce."
in the business of
Their physicians
were each confined to the study and treatment of one
particular disease.
There were no
priestesses in Egypt,
"in the service either of male or female deities."
country,
other,
Their
he adds, contained more wonders than any
and there was no region
in all the
world where
one could see so many works which were so
mirable.
He
truly ad-
highly praises the sanitary arrangements
; their domestic morality, for each Egyptian
was the " husband of one wife ;" their industry, and inventive genius. In a word, it is evident, from the warmth
of the people
and
fulness of his elaborate descriptions, that he looked
upon them
as a superior race.*
The 28th dynasty
Amyrtaeus of Sais
in
contains only one name, that of
(b.c.
413-407),
who was overthrown
a successful rebeUion of the Egyptians, slain, and
interred in a superb sarcophagus of green breccia,
preserved in the British
Museum.
the Persians was maintained
*
Herodotus, book
ii.,
The
now
revolt against
by the kings of the 29th
sections 35-96, passim.
—
THE GREEKS ENTER EGYPT
59
and 30th dynasties, whose names are given by some
authorities as follow
:
29th orMendesian dynasty
:
Nepherches
(B.C.
407-402)
;
Achoris,
or Acoreus (B.C. 402-387).
Nectanebus
30th or Sebennytic dynasty:
Tachos, or Teos,
who employed
the Persians (B.C. 361-351)
Nectanebus
—was
II.
:
—the
387-361);
(B.C.
I.
Agesilaus of Sparta to fight against
and Nectanebus
last of
(B.C.
II.
351-350).
the Egyptian Pharaohs
defeated by Bagoas and Mentor, the generals of
Darius Ochus, and compelled to flee into Ethiopia.
Thus terminated the succession of Egyptian kings, after
enduring for a period of 3553 years.
THE GREEK
y.
The
mission of Egypt in the great
world's
history
The
minated.
may now be
The
Egypt by Alexander.
with
to
have
the
ter-
out completely after the conquest of
A
for the change.
tercourse
economy of
considered
of the ancient race, long a flicker-
spirit
ing flame, died
ideas;
ERA.
nation was well prepared
long commercial and military in-
Greece
had saturated
with
it
Greek
though the Hellenes were not exempt from a
reciprocal influence,
and the
and religion
literature, art,
of Greece had been coloured to no inconsiderable extent
by the
literature,
Pharaohs.
art,
and
religion
shore of the
Red
Sea.
philosophers.
mustered in the Egyptian court.
ments were planted about the
The
Land
of the
The Thebaid had been
versed by Greek historians and
soldiers
of the
Hellenic colonies had sprung up along the
fertile fields
Greek
tra-
Greek
settle-
of the Delta,
condition of things obtaining in Egypt in the
fifth
ALEXANDER IN EGYPT.
6o
and fourth centuries before Christ may,
compared
which prevailed
to that
the reign of
Edward
the Confessor
each country underwent, as
in
;
be
truth,
so that the people
were, a long prepara-
new dynasty and an
tion for the introduction of a
government.
it
in
England during
in
Just as England was
alien
Normanized before
the Conquest, so, but to a far greater extent, Egypt was
Hellenized before
its
Y
subjugation to Alexander.
The Macedonian monarch invaded Egypt in b.c. 332.
Pelusium received him willingly, and Memphis threw
wide its gates. The politic respect he paid to the religion of the country secured
priests
and people
;
and
him the hearts both of the
and equitable govern-
his firm
ment was gladly welcomed after the vacillating despotism of Persian satraps.
Nor could the Egyptians fail
be
to
gratified
by the evident
interest
he displayed
their manners, their customs, their history,
To
and
in
traditions.
Alexander himself Egypt was a land of no ordinary
attraction,
because
it
offered, as
he beheved, the solu-
tion of the question agitated from his very birth, whether
he was not only the descendant of Hercules and Achilles,
but the true and actual son of Jove
]
For
this
purpose he marched into the Libyan Desert, and conthe famous oracle of the god, worshipped there
sulted
under his most ancient name of
Ammon
(Amun).
response which he received entirely satisfied him.
god,
it
was
said,
forth his coins
saluted
him
as his son
;
The
The
and thence-
assumed the divine symbol of a ram's
horn.
Alexander introduced no violent changes into the
laws
and
local
government of the Egyptians, while
;
FOUNDATION OF ALEXANDRIA.
6i
providing a firmer rule and a more even administration
He
of justice.
restored the privileges of the priests,
and repaired the temples of the
The
deities.
of the country he intrusted to a Greek force
:
defence
and he
estabhshed two great military posts; one at Pelusium,
as the key of the Nile Valley
and the other
Memphis, as
Lower Egypt.
at
of
centre
the
Descending the
latter capital,
from the
river
he was struck by
the capabilities of the
little
town
of Rhacotis, situated on a narrow
neck
between
land
of
Lake
Mareotis and the Mediterranean,
to
become the
site
of a great com-
mercial city; and connecting
with the
isle
of Pharos*
it
;,,,hxander
by a
the great.
(Canini iconografia.)
causeway (called the Heptastadium^ or three-quarters of
mile),
he founded there Alexandria
side of the causeway
(b.c.
On
332).
a
each
was a harbour, and the two ports
were linked with each other by two channels through the
Heptastadium, and by another with the Lake Mareotis,
which,
in
numerous
streets
;
its
communicated with the Nile by
turn,
canals.
The
city
one, running east
four miles in length
wards of a mile.
;
was
and
laid out in
west,
the other, north
The ground-plan
two chief
measured nearly
and south, up-
of the city was traced
by Alexander himself, and carried out by
his favourite
architect Deinocrates.
*
From
the lighthouse afterwards erected here
by Ptolemy
every similar structure was afterwards called by Greek and
II., Philadelphiis,
Roman
a Pharos.
HELLENIC REVOLUTION IN EGYPT,
62
On
the death of the great conqueror in B.C. 323, the
vast empire constructed
by
his genius fell to pieces, like
a magnificent arch from which
has been with-
the keystone
drawn
and
;
made by
of spoil
tains,
Egypt
the
in
Greek sovereigns.
Land
this able
of its
first
Under
monarch
was
Nile
the
of
Ptolemy
to
fell
Lagus, or Soter, the
sway of
division
his chief cap-
the
still
The
further Hellenized.
the
old
Egyptian names were replaced
Greek appellations
On
became Hehopolis, the "city
by
I'TOLEMY SOTER.
(Visconti,
Iconographie Grecque.)
:
of the sun;" 77/ w was changed to
Diospolis
ditopolis
;
Abydus
;
Thebes to
Magna Pilak to Philae Petnieh to AphroIn like
as Chem gave way to ^gyptus.
;
;
manner, the abstract religion of the priests of Osirei and
Ptah was dethroned
;
and a curious compound of the Old
and the New, of ancient symbols
to
ings were attached,
philosophical
of a misty
which novel meantheurgy
with a poetical mythology, of Egyptian gods with Greek
attributes, reigned in its stead.
That science and
learning, however,
which could no
longer flourish under the sway of the rude soldier-kings
of degenerate Greece, found a
the Ptolemys
;
the erudition of the age.
the
home
in the refined court of
and Alexandria gathered within
celebrated Alexandrian
Septuagint version of the
its
walls
Ptolemy Philadelphus founded
Library
Hebrew
;
Bible
encouraged the
;
patronized the
;
EGYPT UNDER THE PTOLEMYS.
labours of the historian Manetho.
and sciences was not
arts
less
^
The study
^Z
of the
favoured by Philopater
while under the enlightened
countenance of these
cul-
commerce
rapidly developed, and the
Delta became a scene of
tivated princes
and
prosperous
activity.
peaceful
Half Europe was
suppUed by
its
merchants
with corn, and linen, and
papyrus, with the products
of Libya, and the rare treasures of the East.
delphus
Phila-
encouraged
river traffic
the
by establishing
PTOLEMY PHILOPATER.
(Visconti,
Iconographie Grecque.)
a system of police from Cercasorum to Syene, and
by
completing the Pelusiac Canal which "Necho had begun.
He
also rebuilt
Aennum,
or Cosseir.
Ptolemy HI., surnamed Euergetes, or the " Benefactor,"
made war upon
S)Tia,
and
extended his conquests
as far as
Babylon and Susa, while
his fleets
swept the Asiatic shores of the
Mediterranean.
But he did not
neglect the " victories of peace."
He
largely increased the library of
and among the worwho adorned his court were
Alexandria
thies
;
Eratosthenes,
dius,
Apollonius
Rho-
PTOLEMY EUERGETES.
(Visconti, Iconogfraphie Grecque.)
and the grammarian Aristophanes
A BRUTAL DESPOT.
64
In the reign of ^^tolemy V., Epiphanes, the
began to interfere in Egyptian
He
affairs.
Romans
proved a
degenerate scion of a noble race; and his misgovernment
dealt a death-blow at the prosperity of the kingdom.
He
was poisoned by some of
his followers while pre-
paring for an expedition into Syria.
The
of the
sixth
race
was Philometor,
virtually a
Roman Senate, but a cultivated and
sovereign.
He was succeeded by the brutal
nominee of the
generous
Euergetes
II.,
nicknamed Physcon, or the " Big BeUied,"
and Kakergetes, or the " Malefactor," whose reign was
a prolonged Saturnalia of
married his
sister
lust,
Cleopatra,
greed,
who was
and
He
cruelty.
also his brother's
widow ; and on the bridal day murdered her infant son
He afterwards
Eupator, who had been proclaimed king.
divorced Cleopatra, and married her daughter by her first
husband, and consequently his niece.
belled,
His subjects
and placed Cleopatra on the throne.
murdered
and her son, and
his
He
re-
then
as a birth-day gift sent to
her the poor lad's head and hands. Three years afterwards
he recovered his crown.
in blood-thirstiness,
artistic tastes,
called
The
equal of Nero and Tiberius
he resembled them
and wrote a work
Hypomnhnata
in his literary
(YTrofiv^fiaTo), or "
Memoirs."
Passing over some monarchs of less note,
at the
epoch of Ptolemy XII.
and
in twenty-four books,
The
will
we
arrive
of his father
had placed the guardianship of the Egyptian kingdom
the
Roman
sister
Senate, while
it
nominated him and
in
his
Cleopatra, both under age, as successors to the
throne.*
In accordance with the national custom, this
*
Cssar. "
De
Hello Civili," bk.
iii., c.
io8.
—
;
CLEOPATRA AND JULIUS CAESAR.
had been cemented by the marriage
joint authority
the brother and the
seventeen,
the
ardent, able
65
sister,
latter
—the
twelve
former of
of age
years
woman, and a dazzling
of
whom was
—a
daring,
beauty,
" With swarthy cheeks and bold black eyes."
Having been driven from Alexandria by a popular
her
surrection,
brother's
exclude her from
ministers
took, occasion
in-
to
her share in
But a new actor
the sovereignty.
now appeared on
scene in
the
the person of Julius Caesar (b.c.
The dethroned queen
48).
admission
tained
to
his
ob-
pres-
and fascinated with her
ence,
charms the
He
world.
conqueror
reduced Pelusium,
Egypt
;
of
the
espoused her cause
key
the
ot
crossed the Nile at the
head of the Delta
;
and
totally
defeated the army of Ptolemaeus,
who, attempting to save himself
by
was drowned
flight,
submitted
placed a
capital,
the
to
Roman
the
in
The Alexandrians
river.*
victor,
then
who
garrison in the
and acknowledged CleoJULIUS CAESAR.
patra as queen of Egypt.
It is
not
my
extraordinary
(Visconti, Iconogfraphie
woman.
It will
* Merivale. " History of the
1295)
Romaine.)
intention here to trace the career of this
suffice
Romans under
5
if
I
remind the
the Empire,"
ii.
322.
DEATH OF THE EGYPTIAN QUEEN.
66
reader that after Caesar's death she threw the magic of
who loaded
her beauty and her address over Antonius,
her,
and the children he had by
her,
with
magnificent
donations;
that her fatal influence enticed
into the path of ruin
him
and dishonour;
that through her cowardice or treach-
ery she lost
him the
battle of
Ac-
tium and the dominion of the world
that she failed in her
;
attempt to
enthral his conqueror, the cold and
wary Augustus
avold figurlug
MARCUS ANTONIUS.
(viscontucono^aphieRomainCgj^g
sionate hfe
a
finally, that to
Roman
triumph,
terminated her wild and pas-
by her own hand
The manner
and
;
vci
(b.c. 30).
of her death, however,
known.
It
is
not certainly
Canon
seems, says
Merivale,* that there were no
marks of violence on her person, nor did
upon
it,
any spots break out
such as usually betray
the action of poison.
But the
experiments she was reported to
have made on the bite of ven-
omous
CLEOPATRA.
(Visconti,
reptiles
were
remem-
bered; these were coupled with
Iconographie Grecque.)
the story of the basket of
conveyed to her immediately before her death,
in
figs
which
such means of destruction might easily have been concealed.
At
* Merivale,
last
it
came
to
be generally asserted and
" History of the Romans under the Empire,"
ii.,
322.
—
—
A CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE.
67
believed that her arms were found slightly punctured as
by the fangs of an
Such, too, was the account
asp.
And when
which Octavius himself circulated.
the effigy
of the Egyptian Beauty was carried in his triumph, she
was represented recumbent on a couch, an asp clinging
to either arm,
and the sleep of death
through every limb
stealing
slowly
:
" Brachia spectavi sacris admorsa colubris,
Et trahere occultum membra soporis
The
chronolog}' of the Ptolemys
is
iter."
*
as follows
:
B.C.
Ptolemy
I.,
Ptolemy
II.,
Philadelphus
285
Ptolemy
III., Euergetes...
267
Lagus, or Soter
323
Ptolemy IV., Eupator
222
Ptolemy v., Epiphanes
205
Ptolemy VL, Philometor
181
Ptolemy VII. , Physcon, or Euergetes
II
146
Ptolemy VIII., Lathyrus, or Soter II
Ptolemy IX., or Alexander
117-107
107-90
1
Ptolemy VIII. restored,
B.C.
90-81.
Ptolemy X., or Alexander II
81
Ptolemy XL, Dionysius, or Auletes
80
Ptolemy XII., and Cleopatra
51
Defeat and death' of Ptolemy XII., B.C. 46.
Ptolemy XIII., and Cleopatra
Ptolemy
is
poisoned by his
46
sister,
Cleopatra,
B.C. 43.
Cleopatra
43
Cleopatra commits suicide,
* Propertius,
b. c.
lib. iii., xi., 53.
30.
:
ROMAN DIVISIONS OF EGYPT.
68
THE ROMAN
8.
ERA.
After the battle of Actium and the death of Cleopatra,
Egypt ceased to
an independent kingdom.
exist as
was incorporated into the
by a prefect
Roman
It
Empire, and governed
(Praefectiis Augustalis)^
who
held his ap-
pointment direct from the Caesar, and was only
He
sponsible to him.
trian order, the post
to
was
being one of too great an importance
whom
be bestowed upon a senator,
tempted
to
the
assertion
divided into three great
Upper Egypt
andria.
Ptolemais
capital,
Each was subdivided
{kbmai and
legions,
the
who were
—
Middle
;
capital, Alex-
nomes
into nomes, the
toparchies
The
topoi).
was
It
districts, called Epistrategiae
(Thebais),
toparchies,
might have
it
of independence.
Egypt (Heptanomis); and Lower Egypt,
into
re-
from the eques-
also selected
into
Kw/xat
and
T07ro(
two
military force consisted of
principally stationed at Elephantine
and Parembole inthe south;
at a
strong fort on the frontiers of the
Thebaid and Heptanomis
retonium in Libya
;
and
Pa-
at
;
Mem-
at
phis and Alexandria in the Delta.
With their usual energy the Romans
largely
developed the revenue and
resources of the country, until
became the
rich
granary of the Empire.
It
was
visited in the reign of Tiberius
GERMANicus.
(From a m^dal in the Florentine
Museum.)
hls
son-ln-Uw
i.
i
consulted
.1
the
it
and abounding
Germanicus,
i
i
ii
by
who
*
•
sacred bull Apis
EGYPT UNDER THE ROMANS.
69
and received an oracular response prophetic of
At a
misfortunes.
his future
Emperor Hadrian
Thebes, and in memory
later period the
ascended the Nile as
far as
of his favourite, the beautiful Antinous, raised the city
of Antinoopolis on the east
bank of the
river (in
lat.
26° 30' N.).
The
first
great revolt of Egypt against
its
occurred in the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
foreign rulers
It
seems to
have been promoted by, and, perhaps, was wholly confined to, the native soldiery.
(a.d. 1 71-17 5),
it
After lasting four years
was crushed by Avidius Cassius.
The
imperial authority was soon afterwards re-established.
In
A.D.
193
Pescennius
Niger proclaimed himself
Emperor, but was defeated and
Egypt was then
visited
slain at Cyzicus, a.d. 196.
by Severus, who examined the
memorials of antiquity at Thebes and Memphis.
reign of Caracalla Egyptians were admitted to the
Senate
and the worship of
;
established in the
Roman
Isis,
cities,
In the
Roman
which had long been
was publicly sanctioned.
In Egyptian history the
next important event was
the
conquest of the land
by Zenobia, the great queen
of Palmyra, a.d. 269.
occupied
it,
She
however, for a
few months only, and in
A.D.
273 was herself con-
quered by the
Roman EmImme-
peror,
Aurelian.
diately
upon her downfall
ZENOBIA.
the standard of revolt
was
(From a medal
in the Florentine
Museum.)
INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY.
70
on the banks of the Nile by her friend and
raised
Firmus,
wealthy
a
ally,
mer-
chant of Egypt, and a native of Seleucia.*
In the
course of his trade to India
he had formed very
mate
inti-
relations with the Sa-
racens and the Blemmyes,
whose
situation
coast of the
on
eithei
Red Sea gave
them an easy introduction
THE EMPEROR AURELiAN.
(From a medal
the
in the Florentine
into
Museum.)
'i
Uppcr Egypt, f
J xV
Hc
'
l'
tt"
lY.
excited the Egyptians with
hope of freedom, assumed the imperial purple
at
Alexandria, coined money, issued edicts, and raised an
army, which speedily fled before the veteran troops of Aurelian.
A
Firmus was captured, tortured, and put to death.
period of anarchy and confusion marked the reigns
of Probus
upon
and Diocletian, who were frequently
called
to suppress the revolts of their Egyptian subjects.
Afterwards, the country suffered severely from the rage
of religious factions,
who
persecuted one another, as each
alternately attained to power, with the unrelenting hate
and
cruel vengeance
of fanaticism.
A
fierce warfare,
moreover, was maintained between the rising power of
Christianity
Christian
and the decaying influences of Paganism.
monks dwelt
in the
ruled in Alexandria, which
Thebaid; Christian bishops
became the
theatre of des-
perate and protracted hostilities between the respective
* Vopiscus,
t
Gibbon,
'*
" Firmus,"
c. 5.
Decline and Fall of the
Roman
Empire,"
i.
37g.
FALL OF PAGANISM.
followers of Arius
In a.d. 379 the
and Athanasius.
Emperor Theodosius
71
published an edict prohibiting
I.
ordering the temples to be
the worship of idols, and
Thenceforth the splendid edifices which crowded
closed.
the banks of the Nile
—
or, at least,
had not been converted
suffered to
many
so
of them as
into Christian churches
—were
into decay, after being stripped of all
fall
gorgeous decorations. So complete a revolution
was not everywhere effected without opposition, and in
their
Alexandria the votaries of Serapis, under the philosopher
Olynthus, defended
with arms the altar of their god.
But the wrath of the Christians was stimulated by
their
archbishop, Theophilus, and the superb structure, raised
by the
first
Ptolemy, which had so long been the pride
and glory of the
The
city,
was levelled to the dust
(a.d. 398).
god was involved
in the fate
colossal statue of the
The
of his shrine and religion.
impious hand dared to profane
story ran, that
its
and the earth would straightway be reduced to
primeval chaos.
and wielding
zeal
ladder; he
Serapis
fall,
;
it
dealt a
fell
intrepid soldier, fired
a
heavy
battle-axe,
vigorous
to the
ground
stroke
;
;
at
by
their
religious
ascended
the
a
cheek of
yet the heavens did not
and the earth did not shake.
blows
its
An
any
if
majesty, the heaven
He
repeated his
the huge idol was shivered into fragments,
and
limbs were ignominiously dragged through the streets
of Alexandria amidst the shouts and derision of the populace.
Even
the Pagans acknowledged their contempt for
a god who could not save his
*
This incident
Christianity."
is
The
related
own image from destruction.*
by Gibbon, and by Milman
original authority
is
Sozomen, book
vii.
in his
"History
of
DECADENCE OF EGYPT.
72
be regretted that on
It is to
library of
Alexandria was
THE MODERN
€.
occasion the valuable
this
pitilessly ravaged.
ERA.
Converted to Christianity, and permanently brought
under the influences of Western
civilization, the history
of Egypt, as a peculiar and independent nation, with a
distinct faith
and an original
Over
as closed.
literature,
must be regarded
be con-
later annals the reader will
its
tent to pass with rapidity.
In a.d. 6i8
it
was conquered
by the Persians.
In a.d. 640 it was subjugated by
Amrou, the general of the Khalif Omar, and so completely, that
its
Mohammedanism
and
established creed,
Mohammedan
character.
the country had
much
begun
its
has thenceforth remained
entire polity has
assumed a
Previous to this great event
to decline in prosperity,
and so
commerce as it retained lingered
Lower Egypt. Yet when Amrou described to
of wealth and
only in
the Khalif the condition of Alexandria, he could
still re-
port that the city contained 4000 palaces, 4000 public
baths,
400
theatres,
12,000 persons
Under
who
the rule,
40,000 Jews
who
paid tribute, and
sold herbs.
first
of the Arabs, and afterwards of
the Turks, the decadence of Egypt was greatly acceler-
ated
;
and the discovery,
in 1497, of a
passage to India
round the Cape of Good Hope, by diverting the current
of Indian commerce, dealt a fatal blow at
For
six centuries the virtual rulers
fierce
and brutal
lukes, who,
its
fortunes.
of Egypt were those
soldiers of Tartar origin, the
from the epoch of
Selim in 1260, until they were
their
finally
Mame-
murder of the Sultan
crushed by
Mehemet
;
MASSACRE OF THE MAMELUKES.
Ali
in
75
overawed and intimidated the Turkish
1811,
lieutenants.*
Mehemet
resolution,
man
Ali was a
and
of extraordinary vigour and
after his confirmation to the pashalik of
Egypt by the Sultan, he determined on ridding himself of
purpose he devised a
those turbulent soldiery.
For
characteristic stratagem.
He summoned
this
the
Mameluke
Beys to Cairo, on the pretence that he wished to consult
them with reference
As
of Arabia.
his
to a
campaign against the Wahabees
son Toussoun had just been invested
by the Sublime Porte with the dignity of Pasha of the
second order, the occasion was one of
The
of policy.
Beys, therefore,
and donned
horses
their richest
festivity as well as
mounted
their finest
apparel, forming
most splendid cavalry in the world (March
After receiving a most flattering
i,
181
the
1).
welcome from the
Pasha, they were invited to parade in the court of the
Without suspicion they defiled within
citadel.
walls
;
the portcullis
ing array
too
;
late,
fell
behind the
last
lofty
its
of their
glitter-
they perceived, as Eliot Warburton
remarks,t that their treacherous host had caught them in
a trap,
and they turned
In vain
!
to effect their retreat.
Wherever they looked,
their eyes
only on barred windows and blank, pitiless walls.
rested
Nay
on something more, when incessant volleys poured from
a thousand muskets upon their defenceless band.
sudden and
•
They had
in 1798,
terrible
previously suffered severely during Napoleon's invasion of
and were defeated
in a great battle near the
the French were finally expelled from
Egypt by
Pyramids.
Eliot Warburton,
"The
I
Egypt
may add
that
the British, under Abercroraby,
in 1801.
t
This
death they met with a courage
Crescent and the Cross,"
c. 5.
REIGN OF MEHEMET ALL
76
worthy of
their past history
some with arms folded upon
j
mailed bosoms, and turbaned heads devoutly bent
their
in prayer
others with angry brows,
;
and
flashing swords,
and curses which were wasted on the desert
All
that superb array of troopers
withering and deadly
Bey,
who
fire
;
moment he was
in the air
named Emim
sprang upon the battlements
;
the next
;
another, and he released him-
from his crushed and bleeding horse amid a shower of
bullets.
and
save one,
spurred his charger over a pile of his dead and
dying comrades
self
all
;
air.
sunk beneath the
He fled
finally
took refuge in the sanctuary of a mosque
;
escaped into the deserts of the Thebaid.
Mehemet
Ali,
taking advantage of the growing weak-
ness of Turkey, conceived the design of founding an
independent dynasty in Egypt, and of annexing Syria to
his
He
dominions.
carried out his design with great
energy, ably seconded by his son Ibrahim Pasha
1840 England
interfered.
Robert Stopford
and
The English
Charles
Napier,
fortresses planted along the Syrian coast,
Jean d'Acre.
St.
fleet,
;
but
under
captured
Ali,
the
and destroyed
A long negotiation ensued, with the result
of securing the viceroyalty of Egypt in the family of
hemet
in
Sir
Me-
under the nominal suzerainty of the Porte.
Mental decay incapacitated
this extraordinary
man
for
the government of his country in June 1848, and his son
Ibrahim Pasha was accordingly invested with the pashalik.
On
his
unexpected
decease
in
the
following
nephew Abbas,
under whom the adoption of a more liberal and energetic
administration promoted the development of the extraNovember, he was succeeded by
ordinary resources of Egypt.
The
his
transit-trade
between
SAID
AND
ISMAIL.
79
England and her Indian possessions was
and foremost cause of
last
increasing
its
also
one great
prosperity in the
quarter of a century.
Abbas Pasha, in 1854, was succeeded by Said Pasha,
under whose government the trade and commerce of
Egypt developed considerably; but neither under him
nor any other ruler was the deplorable condition of the
fellaheen, or
common
people, ameliorated.
They were
loaded with a heavy taxation, which crippled
efforts
and reduced them
upon
host of Turkish officials lived
and
if
kourbash, or whip, and the prison were freely
employed.
despotic
It
A
their scanty earnings,
there were any delay in responding to their exac-
tions, the
Egypt
their
all
to a miserable poverty.
A more
more
corrupt, a
arbitrary,
government than that which
for the last fifty years the
and a more
has oppressed
world does not present.
did nothing for the education, or the material prosper-
ity,
or the moral well-being of
On
pashalik
eldest
its
subjects.
the death of Said Pasha, January i8th, 1863, the
fell
to his
nephew, Ismail (born in 181 6),
—the
Mehemet
All's
surviving son of Ibrahim Pasha,
distinguished son,
—a
man
and more than ordinary
much
capacity, who
of
force of character
visited
France and
England, and showed himself profoundly sensible of the
resources and influence of Western civilization.
also
an ambitious man, and
his
He
was
reign was distinguished
by events which have largely affected the history of
The
Egypt and of Europe.
title
borne by his pre-
decessors was the Turkish one of "Vali," or Viceroy;
but by a liberal expenditure of
he obtained permission,
in
money
May
at Constantinople,
1866, to adopt the royal
THE KHEDIVE OF EGYPT.
8o
designation of " Khidiv-el-Misr," or
more
King of Egypt,
And by
generally received, the Khedive.
or, as
the same
obtained on condition that he increased the
firman,
annual tribute to the Sultan from ;£"376,ooo to
the succession to the throne of Egypt was
on the European principle
—that
is,
^£"7 20,000,
made
hereditary
from father to son,
instead of descending, according to the Turkish custom,
Another firman, dated June
to the eldest heir.
conceded
virtually
to
8,
1873;
him independence, by granting the
rights, hitherto refused,
of concluding treaties with foreign
powers, and of maintaining an army.
The
luxurious ostentation of his court, the profligacy
of his administration, the profuse hospitality which he
exercised,
the
vast
sums which he expended on
pleasures, prevented Ismail
burdens which pressed upon his subjects
yet was he not
;
And the
without some sentiment of public duty.
ful construction
in
success-
and completion of the Suez Canal, the
great water-way between the Mediterranean
Ocean, were
his
from lightening the intolerable
no small measure due
enlightened encouragement.
and the Indian
to his liberal
and
His ambition, however,
in
another direction, proved of evil import to his country
and
himself,
and involved a
series
of remarkable and
unexpected consequences to which history presents no
parallel.
The
southern boundary of Egypt proper
Wady
is
placed
Thence spreads to the southward a
vast region of desert and wilderness, relieved here and
there by tracts of fertility, known as the Soudan.
It measures
1600 miles from north to south and
at
Haifa.
1200 miles from east to west.
Owing
to the
want of
Iliiliilillliliiliiiifflilili!^
mm
'knit
j/,
I
I
m
iiiiiiiiiiiiii!iiiii.:Jiililllilllllllllii';,illllllllillilM^^^^^
THE SOUDAN,
water,
almost inaccessible by the sea
is
it
83
;
and
has
it
neither canals nor navigable rivers, except the Nile during
a portion of the year, and
its
only roads are camel tracks.
inhabited by Arab tribes,
It is
medan
and
faith,
boundary
and White
and
;
Almost
Africa.
Red Sea;
the
is
northern, Egypt
all
holding the
brave and fond of war.
all
its
western,
Moham-
Its eastern
Darfur;
in its centre, at the junction of the
Niles,
situated
is
Khartoum, which of
its
southern, the lakes of Central
its
late
its
capital,
has acquired for
Blue
Khartum, or
all
English-
speaking peoples so romantic and pathetic an interest*
From
this
town to the ports of Suakim and Massowah
on the Red Sea
*
The
is
following description of
Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart in 1883
trade
emporium
for the
Descending the
about 400 miles.
Khartum is adapted from one written by
—The capital of the Soudan, and the chief
:
whole country,
it
is
built
on a wide
plain, barren
and
on the western bank of the Blue Nile, and about a mile above its
At their lowest point both streams are from
junction with the White Nile.
stoneless,
When
600 to 800 yards wide, and are studded with cultivated islands.
flood, the
White Nile broadens
to
in
a very considerable extent; but not so the
Around Khartum are several
banks are much steeper.
Both above and below the town flourish small plantations of
During the hot
date palms and plantains and a number of vegetable gardens.
season, from the beginning of April till the middle of November, the heat is
Blue Nile, as
its
small villages.
severe, averaging in the shade from 90° to 95° F.
mid-July and
last till
The rains generally begin about
mid-September, and at this time the barren ground between
The cold
the two rivers is covered with grass, aflbrding excellent pasture.
weather begins about the middle of December and lasts till the middle of
February. The thermometer sinks sometimes as low as 46°. There is no rain
except in the rainy season.
The
from 50,000 to 55,000 souls, of
whom
resident population
generally estimated at
is
two-thirds are slaves.
There
is
also (or was)
a floating population, estimated at from 1500 to 2000, consisting of Europeans,
Both the free population
Syrians, Copts, Turks, Albanians, and a few Jews.
(who are mostly Mukhars or aborigines, Dongolawees, and Shaghhiyes) and the
In shape the town
slaves are all Mohammedans. They are very superstitious.
is
very irregular, and in appearance very miserable.
built of sun-dried brick,
and
generally plastered over with
to prevent
The houses
are mostly
them from crumbling away, they are
dung every year before
the rainy season begins.
THE SOUDAN.
84
we
Nile, in the direction of Egypt,
importance
— Berber, about 200 miles
We may
about 350 miles.
direct
route
find two towns of
and Dongola,
distant,
by the way,
note,
Dongola, but, leaving the Nile
river
bend towards Dongola,
strikes
Korosko, where
it
Abu Hamed,
at
below Berber, where the
220 miles
makes a great westward
across
the
desert
to
again takes to the Nile and follows
Assouan, about 850 miles from Khartum.
to
that the
from Khartum to Egypt does not touch
a point of special importance, because
it is
Berber
it
is
there that the
camel track across the desert from Suakim, the chief
port of the Soudan, touches
from Suakim to Berber
this is
The
the Nile.
distance
estimated at 280 miles, and
is
the line proposed to be covered by a railway com-
menced by
The
the British
Government
in 1885.
Soudan
principal product of the
is
—
slaves.
It
had long been the chief hunting-ground of Zebehr and
other great slave-dealers, and
for carrying
facilities
in
1
81 9,
furnished
when the
Mehemet
it
would supply them with
on the inhuman
Its sovereignty
their coffers.
possession was coveted
its
by the Egyptian pashas because
was
traffic
first
Professing a disinterested
desire
its
tribes
its
invasion.
bestow on
to
filled
by Egypt
between
internecine wars
Ali with an excuse for
blessings of civilization,
which
seized
he despatched thither
it
the
his
son
Ismail with a large force of regular and irregular troops.
Ismail penetrated to Khartum, and established there an
orderly government
;
but he and
burned alive by a native
his
own
heads.
table,
For
chief,
and then
this act
his followers
all
who first
intoxicated
set fire to his
were
them
at
house over their
of treachery a terrible vengeance was
EGYPTIAN RULE.
Mehemet
taken by
Ali,
87
and gradually the
rule of
was extended over Sennaar and Kordofan.
During
Kurschid Pasha was appointed Governor.
vigorous administration, which
and order prevailed
in
lasted eleven years,
the Soudan.
Egypt
In 1826,
He
peace
established
Egyptian sovereignty over Fushoda, and taught the
habitants of
Khartum
Kassala
;
it
in-
to substitute brick houses for their
huts of skins and thatch.
at
his
In 1841 a rebellion broke out
was suppressed, but broke out again
in the
when it was put down with ruthless severity.
time the Soudan consisted of seven provinces
following year,
At that
namely, Fazaglow, Sennaar,
Dongola, and Kordofan.
Khartum, Tokha, Berber,
In 1856 Said Pasha visited
the Soudan, and in his conviction that
it
was a burden
upon the revenues of Egypt had almost decided upon
its
abandonment, but was overruled by the representations
of the
men whose
fortunes
tenance of the slave-trade.
depended upon the main-
He
directed that several
reforms should be carried out, but on his return to
Egypt
his directions
were systematically ignored.
In 1865 a formidable revolt broke out among the
negro troops, some 8000 in number, stationed at Tokha.
They had
military
received no pay for eighteen months.
force
A
large
was sent from Cairo by Korosko, and
another body by Suakim, and the revolt was crushed in
blood.
The negro
troops
were sent to Egypt, and
thenceforward the Soudan was held by Egyptian
sons.
garri-
In 1870 Ismail enlisted the services of the famous
explorer Sir Samuel Baker
Munzinger, and by their
and of the German
efforts
traveller
the rule of Egypt was
extended over the Equatorial Provinces.
GENERAL GORDON.
88
Sir
Samuel Baker returned from the Equator
in 1873,
having honourably distinguished himself by his exertions
to suppress or limit the trade in
human
and
lives;
the following year, Colonel Charles Gordon,
in
who had
obtained great renown by his suppression of the Tai-ping
rebellion in China, was appointed Governor-General of
Four years later he became
Soudan and in this capacity displayed those high moral and intellectual qualities which
the Equatorial Provinces.
absolute ruler of the
;
have invested his memory with enduring
He
interest.
organized a system of just and equitable government,
which provided
his
for the welfare of all classes.
would render
it
for ever impossible for
Soudan
cassians to misgovern the
word.
by
Prior to
appointment he had warned the Khedive that he
By
Turks and
He
again.
Cir-
kept his
dealing out even-handed justice to the people,
listening with sympathetic attention to all their griev-
ances, by strongly repressing every violation of the law, he
accustomed the Soudanese
to a purer
of administration than they had
During
at Cairo
his sovereignty
he
and
ever
loftier
standard
before
known.
effectually prevented the court
from intermeddling in the Soudan, whether that
intermeddling took the form of native or European
ference.
He
iture, so that
inter-
contrived to balance revenue and expendthe
Soudan was no burden
to the Egyptian
exchequer, while at the same time a very light taxation
was levied upon the native inhabitants.
The
suppression
of the slave-trade was an object dear to his heart, and he
laboured at
it
with
all
the resolution and courage and
singleness of purpose that
marked
work was fraught with peculiar
his character.
perils.
As
The
one of his
WORK IN THE SOUDAN.
HIS
biographers puts
and a
it
:
—
demanded a
" It
89
tact,
an energy,
He had
force of will almost superhuman.
to deal
not only with worthless and often mutinous governors of
with wild and
provinces, but
well
;
tribesmen as
desperate
he had to disband 6000 Bashi-Bazouks, who were
used as frontier-guards, but who winked
and robbed the
on
tribes
their
at slave-hunting
own account ; he had
subdue and bring to order and rule the vast province
to
of
Bahr Gazelle, then beneath the sway of the great
slaver Zebehr."^
It was a stupendous task
to give peace
the
:
to
a country quick with war
a people to
whom
the trade in
honour and fortune;
fair
to suppress slavery
human
flesh
make an army
to
the worst material ever seen
and a
;
;
to
grow a
and
flourishing trade
revenue in the wildest anarchy in the world.
The immensity
of the undertaking
to be faced
;
the
many
horrible vermin, the
the
among
life
out of perhaps
the infinity of details
;
involved in a single step towards the end
odds
was
pests
—the
the countless
;
deadly climate,
ghastly itch, the
daily alternation of overpowering heat
and
and
nightly
bitter cold
—
to
be endured and overcome; the environment of bestial
savagery and ruthless fanaticism,
—
make
human
the achievement unique in
all
these combine to
history."
In the midst of his campaign against Zebehr and the
other great slave-dealers,
had a harder
sits
it
wisdom
*
task than
as a feather
Gordon wrote
I,
:
— " No man ever
unaided, have before
on me.
to govern this great
me
;
but
As Solomon asked, I ask
people and not only will
;
This man, the so-called "king of the slave-dealers," was arrested
in
March
by order of the British Governmient, on a charge of complicity with the
Mahdi, and removed to Gibraltar.
1885,
LETTER FROM GORDON.
90
He
I
me
give
And why ?
am quite as
I
have nought to gain in name or
God
man may
I
do what
man
riches.
think
I
goes, I
it
do not care
I
is
pleasing to
slaves.
my
;
how impotent
can do
it
came
I
is
to stop the slave-trade.
I
me
to
do
it
for
;
What
here.
I
was
it
much
have to do
is
my
against
so to settle
that I
death.
forts in
me
my own
down.
I
go on as straight as
weakness, and look to
I leave the issue
quite alone,
and
fatalist
The
solitary
vain
is
like
I
it.
—namely,
Him who
is
Almighty
if I
am
spared.
God will pull me
grandeur of the desert makes one
and makes
I feel
me
I
have become what people
I trust
the effort of man.
troubles,
I can.
without inordinate care to him.
expect to ride 5000 miles this year
a great
able to judge
do not cause a revolution or my own
Not that I value life. I have done with its comcoming here. My work is great, but does not
matters
weigh
he, at Cairo,
am
with God's help, and I have the conviction he
has destined
and
show
need nothing from any
on the spot with unlimited power,
will
I
The Khedive never had directly gained any revenue
I now hold his place here
and I, who
one.
from
am
say.
and, as far as
;
averse to
myself in these lands, which are no paradise.
sacrificing
what
Because
also besides.
all
'all besides.'
and even more so than most people.
slavery,
by
I
but
it,
value not the
This carries
to look
me
on death
I
am
call
through.
feel
through
as a
how
my
coming
it is his will
It is only my firm conviction
am only an instrument put in use for a time that
enables me to bear up and in my present state, during
my long, hot, weary rides, I think my thoughts better and
relief,
when
that I
;
clearer than I should with a
companion."
THE DUAL CONTROL.
91
Differences of opinion with the Egyptian
Government
led to Gordon's resignation of his post at the
end of 1879.
Meanwhile
stirring
had taken place
events
at
Cairo,
we must rapidly trace before we rethe Soudan. Owing to a variety of circumstances,
the issue of which
turn to
England and France conceived themselves
have just
to
grounds of complaint against the Khedive Ismail, and
in
June 1879 ^^^7 procured a firman from the Porte
and the appointment in his
authorizing his deposition,
place of his son,
Mohammed
The two
1852).
Tewfik (born November
19,
great Western Powers pledged them-
selves to the support of Tewfik, so long as
order and governed discreetly
;
he maintained
and came
an agree-
to
ment between themselves to supervise the financial system
and domestic government of Egypt This was known as
the Dual Control, or Anglo-French condominium.
Two
Controllers-General were therefore appointed by England
and France, and a decree of the new Khedive, dated
November
10, invested
the direction of
work
The
well.
them with considerable power
affairs.
in
But the experiment did not
objects of the two
Governments were
not in accord; for while England was simply desirous
that
the
finances
of Egypt
should be honestly and
prudently administered and the free navigation of the
Suez Canal
secured,
interests of the
aimed
also,
France was
solicitous
through her agents and
officials, at
an ascendency in Egyptian councils.
An
the
obtaining
able journalist
has briefly but clearly explained the situation
in
that
bondholders should be protected, and
:
— " When,
1879," he says, "the Governments of England and
France deposed Ismail and
set
up Tewfik on the throne
INTERVENTION OF ENGLAND.
92
of Egypt, they committed themselves to a pseudo-protectorate of the
tion of Ismail,
Pashahk of the
assume what now amounts
acknowledged,
Nile.
the deposi-
sovereignty
a virtual, although
to
over
Egypt.
even now to complain of
easier
From
England has been led on step by step
responsibilities than
it is
this
It
is
to
un-
much
increase of oui
to indicate, with all the
wisdom
gained by experience, the precise point at which any
English Government could have withdrawn from intervention in Egyptian
sible,
affairs.
Non-interference was pos-
of course, but only on condition that English non-
interventionists were willing to acquiesce in
French
inter-
English public opinion being unanimously
vention.
hostile to the establishment of a
French protectorate a
la
Tunis over the country commanding the Suez Canal
non-intervention was impossible for any English Govern-
ment.
And
French
out,
if
it
we were ready
go to war to keep the
to
followed as a corollary that
we must be
equally ready to interfere to remove causes which would
have
justified
Thus
it
came
and
necessitated
French
intervention.
we conquered India solely
French in the East, so we have
to pass that as
in order to forestall the
occupied Egypt in order to render impossible the establishment of French ascendency on the highway to India
The key
ing the
of the situation
Power
lies in
the necessity of prevent-
that controls the canal
becoming the mere
creature of France."
could, under no circumstances, have
was dissolved, however, by a movement
The Dual Control
existed long.
It
which belonged to the category of " the unexpected." To
the Egyptian officials and the army it was necessarily un-
BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA.
welcome; and
in the
summer
was made to get rid of
named Arabi
service,
to expel foreigners from
by a colonel
positions of importance,
all
of 1882 a violent effort
and
it,
Pasha.
93
He
in the
obtained a
Egyptian
command-
ing influence in the Egyptian Ministry, occupied Alexandria with troops, placed the
and ward, and proceeded
Khedive under close watch
to strengthen the fortifications
of Alexandria with a view to resist foreign intervention.
Alarmed
for the safety of the
Suez Canal, and pledged
to
uphold the authority of the Khedive, England prepared
to interfere.
She invited the co-operation of France.
Fortunately this was refused, and she was free to do the
alone.
The Mediterranean fleet, under Admiral
Beauchamp Seymour (now Lord Alcester), entered
work
Sir
the harbour of Alexandria.
An
ultimatum was sent to
Arabi Pasha demanding within forty-eight hours the sur-
and when this was ignored, the fleet,
;
on Tuesday morning, July 3rd, opened fire and hurled a
storm of shot and shell at the Egyptian batteries which
render of the forts
speedily silenced the guns
and reduced the
fortifications
to ruins.
The
convicts,
who had been purposely
released from
the prisons, profited by the disorder and terror that pre-
and greed of money.
Hundreds of Europeans and wealthy Arabs were massacred, and the burning houses that flamed throughout
the European quarter threatened a general conflagration.
vailed to gratify their lust of blood
On
Friday, the 7th,
"two miles of
fire"
were
visible.
Admiral Seymour landed a body of marines and seamen,
who
patrolled the streets,
restoring order
and
and eventually succeeded
in
arresting the ringleaders ; but millions
SUPPRESSION OF THE REBELLION.
94
of property had been destroyed, and upwards of 2000 persons had lost their
Arabi retired upon Cairo
lives.
in order to crush the rebellion, the British
;
and
Government
sent out a small but well-appointed army, under General Sir
Garnet (now Lord) Wolseley, who, entering the Suez Canal,
landed his troops
at a point
near IsmaiHa, struck into
the interior, and by a bold and brilliant night
prised the rebels at Tel-el-Kebir,
tremendous
and
inflicted
march
sur-
upon them a
A few squadrons of horsemen, under
defeat.
Redvers Buller, then rode onward to Cairo, dashed into
the alarmed
prisoner,
city,
and took
and the
possession.
Arabi was
rebellion suddenly collapsed.
was afterwards tried before a Commission
made
Arabi
and, on the
;
4th of December, having pleaded guilty of rebellion, was
Through the intervention of the
sentenced to death.
British
Government, the sentence was modified
to
one of
perpetual exile from Egypt, and Arabi was sent to Ceylon.
While formally declaring
its
resolution neither to annex
Egypt nor establish a protectorate over
it,
England
felt
compelled to undertake the responsibility of its administration, in
and
conjunction with the Khedive and his advisers
to maintain internal tranquillity, English garrisons
were thrown into Cairo and Alexandria.
On
the i8th of
January 1883, the Dual Control was abolished; and in
its
place the Khedive, on the recommendation of England,
appointed a single European financial adviser,
who should
have a consultative voice in the Council of Ministers, but
no
direct
power of interference
ministration.
To
was appointed in
ally
this office Sir
May
;
in matters of internal ad-
Evelyn Baring, K.C.S.I.,
and circumstances having gradu-
extended the sphere of his influence,
his
present
THE EGYPTIAN CONSTITUTION.
95
position may, perhaps, be fairly described as nearly an-
alogous to that of a British Resident at the court of an
Indian prince.
The
Earl of Dufferin was sent to Egypt in the later
months of 1883
to inquire into its domestic condition
and
investigate the administrative deficiencies
under which
it
and
social evils
After several weeks of assiduous
laboured.
labour, he submitted to the English Ministry an exhaus-
embodying a
tive report,
needed
careful outline of the reforms
department of the
in every
numerous measures
the development of
and suggesting
state,
for the benefit of its inhabitants
its
and
Already several of his
resources.
recommendations have been acted upon, and have borne
good
;
but the reorganization of a state so supremely
is
Egypt must necessarily demand a considerable
fruit
feeble as
period.
now
Briefly speaking, the Egyptian constitution
as follows
The Khedive
acts
affairs
who
and
by the advice and through the agency
who
of his Ministers,
sident,
are five in
superintends
justice;
2.
number:
Public
for
;
The
Pre-
and
5.
3. The
The Min-
Minister;
;
The
4.
Minister
for
Provincial Councils, created by an Organic
Education.
Law, on
Works
i.
departments of foreign
the
The Finance
Minister for War, Marine, and Interior
ister
stands
:
May
i,
1883,
are
composed
of
members
chosen on the principle of universal suffrage by indirect
election.
and
Their duties are to advise upon local questions,
to levy extraordinary supplies for local
Then
there
bers,
16 of
is
purposes.
also the Legislative Council of 30
them chosen on the same
mem-
principle as the
THE EGYPTIAN CONSTITUTION.
96
and 14 appointed by the Khedive.
Provincial Councils,
This Council takes cognizance of
all
petitions addressed
and advises him upon
to the Khedive,
public questions;
its
all
important
advice being accepted or rejected
by the Council of Members, who must give reasons
this
acceptance or rejection.
the
first
of each
December, and
Its
direct.
at
alternate
It is to
be
month from February
such other times as the Khedive
members
for
summoned on
are elected for six years.
to
may
The
Organic Law to which we have referred also creates a
General Assembly, consisting of the 5 Ministers, the 30
members of
the Legislative
Council, and
46 delegate
notables chosen by indirect election for certain towns and
districts for
This Assembly
a period of six years.
Egyptian Parliament, in fact— must be
least every
advises
taxes,
two
the
years.
It controls or
Government on
upon
all
is
;
;
and
offers its
advice
matters of public importance, whether
economic, administrative, or
Egypt proper
at
introduces taxation
loans, public works, land-
and other national questions
or opinion
—the
summoned
financial.
divided, for administrative purposes,
into eight governorships of principal
The
moudirehs or provinces.
towns and fourteen
Governorats are Cairo,
Alexandria, Damietta, Rosetta, Port Said, Suez, El-Arish,
— Behera,Charkieh,Dakahlieh,
and Kosseir ; the Moudirehs
Gharbieh, Kalionbieh, Menoufieh, Assiout, Beni Souef,
Fayoum, Guizeh, Minieh, Esneh, Guerga, and Kena.
The worthlessness and untrustworthiness of the Egyp-
army having been abundantly proved, it was disbanded by a decree of the Khedive in September 1882.
Three months later Major -General Sir Evelyn Wood,
tian
INSURRECTION IN THE SOUDAN.
whom
on
was bestowed the
assisted
glish
by twenty Enghsh
War
Office.
title
of Sirdar, was charged
new army,
with the organization of a
officers
all
in
which he was
supplied by the En-
The new army,
martial bearing of which are
97
the discipline
and
that could be desired,
but the military efficiency of which
has not yet been
tested, consists of eight battalions of infantry, four squad-
rons of cavalry, and four batteries of
artillery,
—
in
all,
5800 men.
Having thus
the
briefly
sketched the events which led to
occupation of Egypt by a British army, and the
supervision of
its
administration by the British Govern-
ment, we return to the Soudan.
The
position
assumed
by the British Government necessarily made England
responsible for the defence of Egypt proper; but they
declined to regard the Soudan as included within their
sphere of operation, and advised the Egyptian Ministry
abandon a province which had always been a heavy
burden on the resources of Egypt. The Khedive and
to
his advisers,
however, were
reluctant to act
upon
this
measures as were within
their
and took such
power to subdue the insurrection which had broken out
advice,
there as early as 1881.
The
the
original cause of this insurrection
oppression
exercised
was undoubtedly
by the swarm of Turks and
and Bashi-Bazouks which, on the departure of
Gordon from the Soudan, was let loose upon its miserable
Circassians
But through the influence of an
inhabitants.
dinary man,
it
extraor-
gradually assumed a religious character,
extended over the whole of the Soudan, and developed
(295)
7
THE MAHDI.
98
into
a great
military
movement
the world by his assumed
title
of the Mahdi, or Prophet,
named Mohammed Achmet, and
is
province of Dongola.
prenticed
to
the extension of
for
This man, now known throughout
Mohammedanism.
In his
a
uncle,
his
is
a native of the
boyhood he was
boat -builder;
ap-
having
but
one day received a beating from him, he ran away to
Khartum, and joined the
of a faki
dervishes
—that
—who
is,
free school, or
"medressee,"
man, head of a
a learned
sect of
resided at the neighbouring village of
some time remained, immersed
in religious studies, but making scant progress in the
He
secular accomplishments of reading and writing.
Hoghali.
Here he
completed
his theological education at another free school,
for
In
kept by a sheikh at a village opposite to Berber.
1870 he became a disciple of another
who subsequently ordained him
faki,
Nur-el-Daim,
a sheikh, or faki
;
where-
upon he withdrew to the island of Abba, near Kana, on
the White Nile.
Having made there a khaliva^ or subterraneous retreat, he retired to
it,
several hours daily, to
names of the Deity, accompanied by
His repute for
incense -burning, and prayer.
soon spread far and wide he became wealthy
repeat one of the
fasting,
sanctity
;
through the offerings of the
all
of
whom
were
host of disciples.
1
faithful,
married several wives,
influentially connected,
It
seems
to
88 1 that he began to write to his brother
give out that he was the
foretold by
Mohammed
;
and made a
have been in the spring of
fakis,
and
to
Mahdi whose appearance was
that he had a divine mission to
reform Islam, to establish a universal equality, a universal
law, a universal religion,
and a community of goods
;
and
A RELIGIOUS WAR.
99
who did not believe in him, whether Christian,
Mohammedan, or pagan, should be destroyed. In an
that all
incredibly short period of time a large force was collected,
pledged to obey his commands
;
a force, irregular indeed
and imperfectly equipped, but composed of
the bravest warriors of the great Arab tribes
men whom
in discipline,
—
fanaticism inspires wdth an absolute contempt for death.
His
first
military operations, however,
were unsuccess-
In the winter of 188 1 he was defeated in the south
ful.
of Sennaar, but retreating
up the Blue Nile he
largely in-
creased his army, whose faith in their leader had under-
gone no diminution.
made
Having matured
his
plans,
he
a fresh departure, and crossing the White Nile, in-
vaded the country watered by the Gazelle
river.
In July
1882 his forces surrounded 6000 Egyptian soldiers under
Yussuf Pasha, and massacred them to a man.
In August
he advanced upon the important town of Obeid, which
Three attempts to
take it by storm were defeated with heavy loss ; but he
held his ground tenaciously, and cut off all its communiwas garrisoned by Egyptian troops.
cations with the surrounding country,
January 1883
ture of
success,
if
it
and on the 15 th of
The
surrendered unconditionally.
cap-
Obeid invested the Mahdi with the prestige of
while it convinced the Egyptian Government that
the insurrection were to be put
ings were indispensable.
down
vigorous proceed-
It collected all its
disposable
and put them under the command of Colonel
Hicks, a British officer who had seen much service in
India.
On the ist of March 1883 he arrived at Berber.
forces,
On
the 29th of April he attacked a body of 5000 rebels
near
Duem, and
defeated them with heavy
loss.
On
the
THE EASTERN SOUDAN.
100
5th of October he marched from
of recapturing Obeid.
A month
Duem
later
purpose
for the
he encountered the
Mahdi at Kashgate, and after three days'
(November 2nd, 3rd, and 4th) his army was
hosts of the
fighting
annihilated,
—a
disaster
which compelled the Egyptian
Ministry to act on the advice of the British Government
and abandon its attempt to recover the Soudan. At the
same time England pledged herself to undertake the
defence of Egypt proper, and British military posts were
thrown forward as
far as
Assouan and Wady Haifa.
In the Eastern Soudan, the insurrection was not
formidable than in the Western.
Digna, a
man
Its
of considerable military capacity,
acknowledged the Mahdi and been appointed
ant, raised the
Arab
tribes,
less
Osman
who had
leader,
his lieuten-
with few exceptions, and in
August they surrounded the Egyptian garrisons
at Sinkat
and Tokha, severing communications between Berber and
Suakim, and threatening Suakim itself, where they were
kept at bay only by the presence of British gunboats in
At the beginning of November a
the harbour.
Egyptian soldiers was despatched for the
garrison of
Tokha
;
but on the 6th of
force of
relief of the
November
it
was
surrounded by the insurgents, and perished to a man.
Valentine Baker, formerly a lieutenant -colonel in the
British
army,
but
holding the appointment of com-
mander of a newly-formed
force of Egyptian gendarmerie^
was then sent to Suakim to
perilled garrisons.
Suakim and
relieve^ if possible, the im-
But when about half-way between
Sinkat, in
met by Osman Digna's
December
warriors,
attempt at resistance, threw
down
1883, his troops were
and with
their arms.
scarcely
A
any
terrible
DEFEAT OF OSMAN DIGNA.
massacre ensued
;
and
Baker and a few of
was with
it
103
Colonel
difficulty that
his officers effected their escape.
As it was impossible to permit the occupation of
Suakim by the rebels, the British Government despatched
a small army under General (now Sir Gerald) Graham,
with orders to drive back
Osman
The
Digna.
was
result
the fierce battle of Tamai, in w^hich a British infantry
square was at one time actually broken
some hard
fighting, the
great slaughter.
but the
into,
steadiness of our troops retrieved the mishap,
and
after
totally defeated with
Arabs were
was supposed that the moral impres-
It
sion of this victory would prevent further aggression
Osman Digna
the part of
was not
fulfilled,
;
and an expedition of 12,000 troops of
arms, including an Indian contingent of 3000,
all
whole under
Sir Gerald
in the early part of
ing
Graham,
March 1885
—was landed
for the
Osman Digna and advancing
Graham advanced along
the scene of his former victory.
were successful ; and the
dous that
hills.
the
In
loss of the
at
hills
all
—the
Suakim
purpose of crush-
Engage-
to Berber.
ments with the enemy took place on the 20th,
22 nd, as
on
but this sanguine anticipation
21st,
and
towards Tamai,
these the British
Arabs was so tremen-
Osman Digna was compelled
to retreat to the
In the month of May, therefore, a great portion of
army was withdrawn.
the British
While recommending the abandonment of the Soudan,
the British
Government
could be done for the
scattered
over that
attention
was
w^ere desirous of
directed
all
To Khartum
wide region.
particularly
doing
that
Egyptian garrisons
relief of the
;
and
their
they gladly
INSTI^UCTIONS TO GORDON,
I04
accepted the offer of General Gordon to exert his im-
mense personal
He
influence to secure
its
peaceable evacua-
London on Friday, January i8, 1884.
The instructions given to him by the Ministry are emtion.
left
bodied in the following
"Sir,
— Her
in the
may be
it
country,
that
and
that
for
Soudan, and on the
advisable
security of the Egyptian garrisons
in
:
once to Egypt to report to them
at
military situation
measures which
from Lord Granville
Government are desirous
Majesty's
you should proceed
on the
letter
the
still
to take for the
holding positions
safety of the
European
You are also desired to consider
best mode of effecting the evacuation
population in Khartum.
and report upon the
of the interior of the Soudan,
and upon the manner
in
which the safety and the good administration by the
Egyptian Government of the ports on the sea coast can
In connection with
best be secured.
this subject,
you
should pay especial consideration to the question of the
that
steps
may
stimulus which
be taken to counteract the
usefully
it is
feared
may
possibly be given to the
by the present insurrectionary movement and
by the withdrawal of the Egyptian authority from the
slave-trade
You
will
be accompanied by Colonel Stewart,
will assist
you
in the duties thus confided to you.
interior.
who
On
your arrival in Egypt you
with Sir Evelyn Baring,
and
will
direct
to
settle
who
will at
will
once communicate
arrange to meet you
with you whether you should proceed
Suakim, or should go yourself or despatch
Colonel Stewart to Khartum via the Nile."
On
General Gordon's
after consultation with Sir
arrival at Cairo,
it
was decided,
Evelyn Baring and the Khedive,
SIEGE OF KHARTUM.
who
conferred upon
him the
105
of Governor-General
title
of the Soudan, that he should immediately proceed to
Khartum via the Nile ; and accordingly he set out, with
no other companion than Colonel Stewart. At Khartum
he was warmly welcomed by the inhabitants, and with the
energy and intelligence characteristic of the man, took im-
mediate steps to establish order, administer justice, and prepare for a vigorous defence of the town against the Mahdi,
for that a pacific settlement
vinced himself
in
He
was impossible he soon con-
caused some surprise to his friends
England by a request that
enemy Zebehr, the
Khartum to assume
his old
great slave-dealer, should be sent to
"I would take out the Cairo emand Zebehr Pasha would put his own
men there. I would evacuate the equatorial Bahr Gazelle
provinces, and hand over the troops to Zebehr Pasha, who
the governorship.
ployes," he wrote, "
would before the end of the year
finish off the
Mahdi."
This startling request the British Government, however,
did not feel able to grant.
Meanwhile the Mahdi's
forces gradually closed
around
Khartum, and that memorable siege began which
for ten
months excited so profound an interest, and in the military
history of the world must always prove one of its ^most
stirring
and romantic
chapters.
The investment was
complete on the i6th of April, so complete that messengers could neither enter nor leave the
city,
and
not until the 29th of September that news of
were again forthcoming.
it
was
Gordon
These were obtained through
the diary of Mr. Power, the English consul at Khartum,
which began in March and continued
to the 3 1 St of July.
its
record of events
Reaching England by way of Kassala
THE RELIEF EXPEDITION.
io6
and Massowah,
It
it
was published on the 29th of September.
bore testimony to the vigour with which Gordon had
conducted the defence and to the plenitude of
ceived in October.
his in-
Despatches from Gordon were
tellectual resources.
From
these
re-
appeared that he had
it
on the 17th of September, Colonel Stewart, Mr.
sent,
Power, and the French consul, with a body of regular
troops and Bashi-Bazouks, to recapture Berber, and he
was daily expecting to hear of
their
success.
afterwards ascertained that they did attack
was
It
and capture
Berber; that afterwards Colonel Stewart sent back the
Khartum and that he himself,
Power and M. Herbin, resolved to descend the
Dongola in a small boat. Unfortunately it struck
troops and steamers to
;
with Mr.
river to
on a rock near
Wady Gama, and
the three Europeans
were treacherously murdered by an Arab sheikh, in whose
offers of hospitality
they had confided.
Gordon was alone
in
fidehty might well be doubted,
whose attacks might
That
it
Khartum
at
Thenceforward
Khartum, with a garrison whose
and surrounded by enemies
any moment prove successful.
would be needful
to despatch
an expedition to
Gordon was a conclusion at
which the British Government reluctantly arrived in the
course of the summer of 1 884. Preparations were made acfor the rescue of
cordingly throughout the months of August and September;
and an army of 8000 men, under the command of General
Lord Wolseley, began the ascent of the Nile in October.
The
difficulties of the route
of the
were enormous, but the
skill
commander and the resolution of his men triumphed
over them, and the army arrived at Korti on the T6th of
December.
Here Wolseley received
intelligence
from
BATTLES OF ABU TLEA AND GUBAT.
107
Gordon which showed that the defence could not be
protracted beyond a few days and he resolved therefore
to throw forward a column across the desert to Metammeh,
a point on the Nile about twenty miles below Khartum,
;
whence
its
it
would be easy
to
open up communications with
The hazard was
heroic defender.
around swarmed with rebels
try all
A
by the object in view.
;
great, for the
but
it
was
coun-
justified
strong position was secured at
Gakdul Wells, and thence a body of about 1200 men,
led by Sir Herbert Stewart, advanced upon Metammeh.
On
the 17th, this small force
and
Wells,
his
It
life.
was on
came
forces
into coUision with
near
the
hand-to-hand
after a desperate
them back.
lost
Mahdi's
the
of
10,000
this occasion that
After resting his
men
Abu Tlea
fight
drove
Colonel Burnaby
for a
few hour^,
Stewart resumed his advance, and at Gubat, about five
miles from the Nile, again encountered the enemy.
He
way through them with splendid gallantry, killing
and wounding some 2000 of the rebels, and at sunset
cut his
reached the banks of the great
Unfortunately
river.
and the command of the little column temporarily devolved on Sir
Charles Wilson, who, after a reconnaissance in force upon
he was severely wounded
in the action,
Metammeh, decided that with
upon
it
his handful of men
would be dangerous, and therefore
On the
position at Gubat.
2 2nd five
an attack
fortified his
steamers arrived from
Khartum, sent by General Gordon ; they had on board
hundred
soldiers
waste of time
and
in
five guns.
fruitlessly
five
After a most unfortunate
bombarding Shendy,
Sir
Charles Wilson, with a couple of steamers, ascended the
river to
Khartum, experiencing a heavy
fire at
Halfiyeh
DEA TH OF GORDON.
io8
and Omdurman, both which places were occupied by the
Mahdi's
He
soldiers.
mile of the
succeeded in getting within a
but only to find that, four days before,
city,
through the treachery of Faraz Pasha, one of Gordon's
had poured
lieutenants, the rebels
themselves masters of
it
that
;
that Gordon, the Christian hero,
mUee (January
and made
into the city,
Khartum had
had been
fallen,
and
killed in the
Wilson then returned to Gubat,
27, 1885).
not without a narrow escape from falHng into the enemy's
Lord Wolseley, on receiving
hands.
this
melancholy
in-
With the
formation, was compelled to change his plans.
small force at his disposal, and the hot season rapidly
approaching,
when
possible
European
for
military operations
Khartum he decided
to
troops,
are
almost im-
an attempt to recapture
be impracticable, and he hastened
to recall Sir Herbert Stewart's column,
and a detachment
which, under General Earle, had been sent forward up
the Nile to strike at Berber, to Korti, where his headquarters
were
stationed.*
General Earle won a
Kerbekan, but was
The
financial condition of
On
it
should be added that
over the
enemy
at
slain in the conflict.
obstacle to the British
which
It
brilliant victory
Egypt has proved a serious
Government
in the
arduous task
has undertaken of regenerating Egypt.
the 5th of April, 1880, an International
Commis-
sion was appointed to examine the financial condition of
Egypt, and propose
relations
Commission,
*
The
satisfactory settlement of the
in concert with the
British forces
centrated at
some
between Egypt and her
Wady
creditors.
By
that
Egyptian Government,
have since been withdrawn from the Soudan, and con-
Haifa.
EG YPTIAN RE VENUE.
1 1
annual income of the country was estimated at
the
;^E8,4i 1,622"^
for
the expenditure was
1882 and
Their estimate of
after.
:
Government
;£E68i,486
Tribute
Moukabalah annuity
Interest to England on Suez Canal shares
Daira Khassa
150,000
193,858
34,ooo
Administrative expenses
3,641,544
Unforeseen expenditure
197,000
4.»97.888
DebtPrivileged Stock
1,157,718
Unified
2,263,686
3.421,404
;^E8,3I9,292
The Commissioners
interest
assigned (i) to the payment of the
on the Privileged Debt the railway and telegraph
income and the port dues of Alexandria
;
and
(2) to the
service of the Unified Stock the customs revenues
But the
the taxes of four provinces.
the three years
and
financial results of
— 1881, 1882, and 1883—showed a
deficit
of about two million on the budget assigned to the
Government, which,
to
appropriate, for
in
of the surplus of the
And
it
September 1884, was compelled
administrative
purposes, a
was calculated that on December
floating debt
would amount
Ordinary
to
31st, 1884, the
;^E7,8 11,000.
Thus
;£E2,238,ooo
deficit
Alexandria indemnities
4,130,000
Cost of evacuation of Soudan
1,000,000
Commutation of pensions
Cost of British army of occupation
150,000
293,000
;{|E7,8i 1,000
*
portion
revenues assigned to the debt.
Ci Egyptian equals
j[,\,
os 6d. sterling.
:
FINANCIAL PROPOSALS.
112
In order to pay off this floating debt and secure a
balance in future budgets, the British Government pro-
posed to a Conference of the Powers, held in London in
June and July 1884,
to guarantee a pre-preference loan of
;£"8,ooo,ooo to the Egyptian Government, with interest
and sinking fund
at the rate of ^\ per cent.
It also proposed the abolition of the existing Sinking Fund, and a
reduction of one -half per cent, in the interest of the
Preference and the Unified Stock, as well as on the interest
paid to England on account of the Suez Canal shares.
After a prolonged discussion, the Conference separated
without coming to a decision, the other Great Powers
looking unfavourably on the British propositions.
In
September 1884 the Earl of Northbrook was sent as
High Commissioner
to
Egypt to inquire into and report
upon the
financial
but
recommendations were
his
Government.
tion,
and general condition of the country
not
adopted by the
Early in 1885 France reopened the ques-
and another Conference was
held, which, after pro-
tracted debates, formulated a convention
accepted by
briefly
all
the Powers.
be summarized
:
—The
France, Germany, Italy,
Its
and declaration
main
may
features
— England,
Austria, and Russia — agree that
six
Great Powers
the Khedive shall raise a loan of ;^9,ooo,ooo, at 3J per
cent, to be guaranteed by them all, Russia only making
the reservation that
pay more than her
if
a default should occur she
sixth.
The Khedive
to place a tax of 5 per cent,
is
not
will
also authorized
upon the coupons of the
Unified Debt and the Domains Debts for two years
;
to
reduce the interest on the Suez Canal shares belonging
to the British
Government by a
half per cent.
;
and
to tax
THE PRESENT SITUA TION.
foreign residents like his
guarantee
control
;
will
own
subjects.
international
any right of international
the end of the two years an international
not carry with
but at
The
1 1
it
inquiry will determine whether the
land tax of Egypt
and whether the tax upon the coupons
During the two years England will
can be abolished.
remain in occupation, and will receive ^£"200,000 a year
requires reduction,
in part
payment of her
Briefly speaking, the
military expenses.
arrangement
may be
described as
a stop-gap which postpones for two years the
sion of
final deci-
Europe on the Egyptian question.
Egypt proper
is
divided
two great
into
districts
"Musr-el-Bahri," or Lower Egypt, and "El Said," or
Upper Egypt
—which together comprise 394,240 Enghsh
According to the census of May
square miles.
3rd, 1882,
—
3,965,664 in
3,396,308 were males and 3,410,073 females.
Of this total,
The num-
amounted to 6,806,381 souls
Lower Egypt and 2,840,717 in Upper Egypt
the population
ber of foreign residents was
:
— Greeks, 37,301;
Italians,
18,665; French, 15,716; Austrians, 8022; English, 6118;
Germans, 948; other
The
imports
into
^E8,596,976; the
nationalities,
Egypt in
exports,
41 16:
total,
90,886.
1883 were valued
;£"E 12,309,885.
at
England
imported Egyptian produce to the value of ^E8,625,939,
and exported
The
British wares to the value of ;£E3,882,473.
railway system of Egypt
had a
total length,
in
January 1884, of 1276 miles, and the telegraphs belonging to the
Telegraph
Government of 2707
Company have
length.
,295)
miles.
The Eastern
a line to Cairo 445 miles in
8
CHAPTER
III.
THE RISE AND COURSE OF THE RIVER
NILE.
From thence, through deserts dry, thou journey'st
Nor shrink'st, diminished by the Torrid Zone,
Strong in thyself, collected,
and one.
full,
Anon, thy streams are parcelled
on,
o'er the plain
Anon, the scattered currents meet again
;
Jointly they flow, where Philae's gates divide
Our
fertile
Egypt from Arabia's
Thence, with a peaceful
soft
side
;
descent they creep.
And
seek, insensibly, the distant deep
Till
through seven mouths the famous flood
On
;
is lost,
the last limits of our Pharian coast.
LucAN, Pharsnlia, book
Thus do
they,
sir
By
By
certain scales
Or
prison follow.
:
they take the flow
i'
the
Pyramid
;
x.,
they
Rowe's Translation.
the Nile
o'
know
the height, the lowness, or the mean,
if
death
Shakspeare,.,4«/o«jj' a7id Cleopatra.
See where
it
flows, disgorging at seven
mouths
Into the sea.
Milton, Paradise
S the memorials
temples, and
of
antiquity
monuments
— the
Lost.
tombs,
of old Egypt
—
to
whose description the following pages are
dedicated,
banks
— of the
Nile,
it
lie
in the valley
—
that
is,
seems desirable we should
sketch the course of that remarkable
river.
on the
briefly
Apart from
THE NILE AND THE DESERT.
the physical
phenomena attending
its
annual inundation,
the mystery which so long hovered about
always rendered
it
117
sources has
its
an object of wonder and curiosity,
from the days of Herodotus and Diodorus, Heliodorus
and Lucan,
to those of Speke, Grant,
and
Sir
Samuel
Baker.
Everything
and
life itself,
in
Egypt, as Miss Martineau remarks
all
that
life
includes
—depends
on the
in-
cessant struggle which the great river maintains against
The world has witnessed many
the forces of the Desert.
conflicts
but no other so unresting, so protracted, and
;
so sublime as the struggle of these two gigantic Powers.
The
Nile, ever young, because perpetually renewing
its
youth, seems to the inexperienced eye to have no chance
with
force
stripling
its
against the Desert,
the earliest days
quered
Now
it.
till
—a
David against a Goliath
whose might has never relaxed, from
now
;
but the Goliath has not con-
and then he has prevailed
for a season,
and the tremblers whose destiny hung on the event have
cried out that all
was over ; but he has once more been
driven back, and Nilus has risen up again, to do what
see
him doing
in the sculptures
—bind up
we
his water-plants
about the throne of Egypt*
From
the beginning, continues Miss Martineau,
the
people of Egypt have had everything to hope from the
much to fear from the
What their y^^r may
any one may conjecture who has looked
River, nothing from the Desert
Desert, and
little
reasonably be,
;
from the River.
upon a hillocky expanse of sand, where the
burrows, and the hyena prowls at night.
*
little
Under
jerboa
these
Miss Martineau, "Eastern Life: Past and Present."
hil-
DEIFICATION OF THE NILE. {
Ii8
locks
temples and palaces, and under the level sands
lie
The enemy has come in from behind, and
it.
What is the hope of the people from
any one may witness who, at the regular season,
a whole city
stifled
!
and buried
the river,
sees the people grouped
on the eminences, watching the
advancing waters, and listening
or the
boom
for the voice of the crier,
of the cannon which
is
to tell the prospect
or event of the inundation of the year.
naturally deified
the mass;
and
by the old inhabitants.
at least
to the priestly order.
all
they had, and
regularly at
all
The
It
Nile was
was a god
to
one of the manifestations of Deity
As
it
was the immediate cause
they hoped for
work before
— the creative
ot
power
their eyes, usually conquering,
though occasionally checked
—
it
was to them the Good
Power; and the Desert became the Evil one. Hence
originated a main part of their faith, embodied in the allegory of the burial of Osiris in the sacred stream, whence
he
r^se,
The
once a year, to scatter blessings over the
sources of this wonderful
bound up with
river
— so
earth.
intimately
the fortunes and creed of a great people
Until partly solved by
were long involved in obscurity.
the labours of Speke, Grant, Baker,
and Cameron, the
problem was one which stimulated the curiosity and
the ingenuity of geographers.
It
would be
foiled
interesting
both for writer and readers to reproduce the story of the
Nile from the days of Herodotus to those of Cameron,
and to narrate the attempts of adventurous
reach the mysterious source of
its
travellers to
head-waters.
pages must be devoted to other themes, and
content ourselves with a statement of
The
But these
we must
results.
source of the Blue Nile was discovered by James
SOURCES OF THE NILE.
119
1770; but that of the more important White
Nile, which is, indeed, the true Nile, remained enBruce
in
shrouded
obscurity.
in
About 1840 three Egyptian
expeditions were sent in search of
it
but they devoted
;
themselves to slave-hunting rather than to geographical
1849 a
In
research.
Roman
established at Gondokoro, in
Catholic
lat.
several
thence as a starting-point
was
mission
4° 24' 5" N.
and
;
such as
travellers,
Brun-Rollet, Werne, and Malsay, endeavoured to penetrate
natives,
country and by the
of the
who had
slave-hunters
lat.
They were
southward.
farther
nature
baffled
by the
animosity of the
suffered severely from the
Egyptian
but they seem to have advanced as
;
far as
3° N., or within 220 miles of the Victoria, and about
90 from the Albert Nyanza.
In i860. Captain Speke, accompanied by Lieutenant
Grant, started on the
east coast,
and made
had discovered
same errand from Kazeh, on the
his
in 1858.
way
to
Lake
Victoria, which he
There he learned of the
ence of another lake, the Luta Nsige,
Lake Albert
;
exist-
now known
as
and turning northward, he followed up the
course of the Nile until he arrived at Gondokoro.
All
the information gained by later travellers has but con-
firmed the view propounded by Speke, that the great
inland sea of the Victoria
is
the "reservoir, the head-
water " of the Nile.
In 1863, Sir Samuel Baker, with his heroic wife, traced
in
a southerly direction that Upper Nile route which
Speke had traced
in
Prince Consort
;
He came
a northerly.
Luta Nsige, which he re-named
in
and voyaging along
upon the
honour of the
its
late
shores for sixty
PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY.
I20
he discovered that the Nile,
miles,
Lake
Victoria, falls into
flow out of
it
near
it
after
issuing from
southern extremity, to
its
towards the north.
Colonel Chaille Long, in 1874, advanced from Gon-
dokoro to the Victoria, and examined a hitherto unexplored
portion of the
Nile's
M. Ernest
course,
He was
Urondogani and MrooH.
added nothing
Linant, who, however,
knowledge of the Nile
namely between
followed in 1875 by
to our
Signor Gessi, in
basin.
1876,
launched a couple of iron lifeboats on the Albert, and
reached
lake
its
northern extremity, determining
190 miles
length, with an
in
At the south end the water
50 miles.
and the lake
shallow,
skirted
is
is
by dense
the west great forests also occur,
it
exceedingly
and the scenery
east the lake receives a river which,
is
Mr. Stanley, who
expedition
Daily
On
on account of
is
the
its
described as un navigable.
first
acquired a reputation as the
" discoverer of Livingstone," traversed, at the
an
On
forests.
rendered grand by ranges of high mountains.
rapid current,
be a
to
average breadth of
fitted
Telegraph
and
out
by the
the
New
equatorial regions of Africa in
proprietary
York
head of
of
Herald,
the
the
He
1876 and 1877.
accomplished a complete survey of the Victoria, and
discovered
a
stream
which
he called the Alexandra
and a small
lake, at a higher elevation than the
Victoria, which, in
honour of the Princess of Wales, he
Nile,
proposed to christen the Alexandra Lake.
however,
called
is
The
by Speke the Kitangule, which flows
Victoria.
river,
simply the comparatively unimportant stream
into
the
MURCHISON FALLS.
COURSE OF THE WHITE NILE.
We
Nile,
123
take, then, the Victoria as the head-waters of the
which flows out of
it
on the north,
just
beyond the
equator, in a channel (the Somerset of Speke) 150 yards
wide, and pouring over a mass of igneous rocks, forms
the
Falls, 12 feet high, in lat. 0° 20'
Ripon
33° 30' E.
forms the
N. and long.
Proceeding in a north-westerly direction,
Karuma and
the Albert N'yanza.
it
the Murchison Falls, and joins
Emerging from
voir, the ^Vhite Nile, or
Bahr
second
this
reser-
el-Abiad of the Arabs,
still
keeps to the north-west, and through a country recently
opened up by Colonel Gordon and
onward
to
dealers,
1900
his lieutenants, goes
Gondokoro, the great depot of the ivory
feet
lating plain, with
above the
many
and afterwards
strikes to the north-west,
east, for nearly
Over a gently undu-
sea.
windings, but no great descent,
in lat. 9° 15'
500 miles, receiving,
long. 30° E., its
first
it
to the north-
N. and
great affluent, the Bahr el-Gazal, or
Gazelle River, a slow and shallow stream from the west.
Taking an
southward
easterly direction for
for
of the Giraffe
80 miles, and curving
augmented by the waters
and the Sobat after which it takes a
30 miles,
it
is
;
northerly course, with a
full
and tranquil
breadth varying from 1700 to 3600
miles.
Thus
it
in lat. 15° 37'
arrives at
current,
feet, for
Khartum, the
and a
nearly 480
capital of Nubia,
N. and long. 33° E.
Here it is that it receives the river which, for generawas supposed to be the Nile the river which the
tions,
;
adventurous Bruce traced to
Blue Nile,
or
its
Bahr el-Azrek.
junction of the Abai
—which
fountains
It
is
;
that
feet
the
formed by the
rises in Abyssinia,
from Lake Dembea, and 8700
is,
50 miles
above the sea
— and
LOWER VALLEY OF THE
124
the Blue River, which has
highlands,
and
is
sources in the southern
its
Dender and the Shimfa.
fed by the
At Khartum the Blue Nile
is
the White Nile only 483 yards
deeper, and
its
NILE.
708 yards broad, and
but the
;
latter is
more continuous.
flow of water
much
Flowing
north for 60 miles, across wide pasture plains, and past
Halfaia and ancient Meroe, the Nile arrives at
its
first
"cataract," or rather rapid, the seventh counting from the
mouth.
river's
Rolling onwards,
receives at El-Damer, in
the Atbara, or Tacazze, or, as
to
its muddy waters,
From this point
the
it is
Bahr
the
passes Shendy, and
it
17° 45' N. and long. 34°
lat.
K,
often called, in allusion
el-Aswad, or Black River.
great
traverses
river
for
120
miles the rich, well-cultivated, and numerously inhabited
country of the Berbers, to enter on a widely different
region
;
a wilderness of sand, barren and desolate, where
the ruins of antiquity
of
centuries.
18° N.)
it
cataracts,
It
then
lie
overwhelmed by the sandstorms
Below the
island
of
Mogreb
(in
lat.
bends sharply to the south-westward; three
or rapids,
takes
marking
this
part
of
a north-westerly direction,
its
course.
crosses
the
desert of Bahiouda, forms another cataract, diverges to
the north-east, and
flows through the rapids of
Haifa
much narrower
;
passes, in a
Wady
valley, the ruins of
Abou-Simbel, Derr, Ghirsche Housseyn, Dendour, and
Kalabsche, and at Assouan (anciently Syene), in
lat.
Upper Egypt by its largest
first).
Note that these catar-
24° 5' 23" N., descends into
cataract, the seventh (or
acts,
as already hinted, are really rapids, which almost
disappear when the
Nile
is
at
period of the annual inundation.
its
height during
They
are caused
the
by
LOWER VALLEY OF THE
upon the
the encroachment of rocks
dividing into
several
pours
through the craggy defiles with considerable
The
Nile in
;
its
waters
fury.
later course passes successively
its
quarries of Silsileh
the west
125
river-channel, which,
streams,
small
NILE.
on the
the
Edfoo and Esneh on
east,
the wonderful palace-temples
and memorials
of Thebes, with Luxor and Karnak, on the east, and
Medinet-Aboo on the west
;
then Girgeh and Siout on
the west, and the tombs of Beni-hassan on the
In due time
Pyramids,
it
all
reaches the ruins of
east.
Memphis and
the
on the west bank, and leaving Cairo and
the railroad on the east, spreads out into the
numerous
arms which form the celebrated region of the Delta.
From Assouan
to the sea its average
inches in 1800 yards, and
is
fall
only two
average velocity does not
its
Its direction is
almost due
north, with occasional deviations to the east
and north-
exceed three miles an hour.
west
The
geological character of
many changes; beginning
sandstone,
thence
again
valley undergoes
with limestone, passing into
limestone,
into
Gebel el-Mokattam, into the great
the Delta.
its
and,
This triangular area, which derives
from the Greek
letter A,
below
alluvial deposits of
its
name
begins at a point about 120
miles from the two chief mouths of the river, the Rosetta
and Damietta mouths, and stretches along the Mediterranean coast in a network of streams and islands for
about 150 miles, between
The
rise
of the Nile
eastern Abyssinia
on
is
lat.
30° 10' and 31° 30' N.
due to the periodical rains of
and the countries further south, and
their greater or less quantity
the inundation.
This height
is
depends the height of
carefully noted, as the
AN INUNDA TED COUNTK
126
Y.
extent of land subjected to irrigation, and the length of
time during which
it
remain under water, are regu-
will
and hence the occurrence of a good or bad
harvest may be predicted with certainty.
The ordinary
lated
by
rise at
it
;
Cairo
and more
A
villages.
about 23 to 25 feet
is
—
means— famine
ruin.
land, thus strangely irrigated, will yield annually
three crops
indigo, or
summer
being
;
second time,
to rise
less is insufficient,
of only 18 or 20 feet
rise
and a flood of the height of 30
The
:
dangerous, frequently overwhelming whole
is
first
sown with wheat
or barley
some
similar produce
;
and, thirdly, about the
solstice, with millet or maize.
The
about the end of June, and attains
river begins
its
maximum
between the 20th and 30th of September.
At
the country wears a very singular aspect.
On
vated bank you stand, as
one side
rolls a
on the other
extending
a
;
after the spring equinox, with cotton, millet,
time
the ele-
were, between two seas; on
swollen turbid flood of a blood-red hue
lies
;
an expanse of seemingly stagnant water,
the
to
it
this
desert-boundary of the valley; the
isolated villages, circled with groves of palm, being scat-
tered over
it
and the
like floating islands,
gise^
or dike,
aflbrding the sole circuitous intercommunication between
them.*
When
the waters subside
very perceptible about the loth of
is
—a
process which
—the
November
is
valley
suddenly covered with a mantle of the richest green,
and the face of the land smiles
with
all
Bearing in his
memory
these few facts, the reader will
Warburton, " The Crescent and the Cross," p. 21, et passim.
The minimum depth of the river at Cairo does not exceed six feet.
* Eliot
t
in the traveller's eyes
the splendour of a new-created beauty.f
THE FIRST OGDOAD OF EGYPTIAN HISTORY.
come
to understand
the secret of the reverence with
which the ancient Egyptian regarded the sacred
The god
Gardner Wilkinson,
Nilus, says Sir
In
dation.
all
river.
frequently
is
represented with water-plants growing from
and binding up
head,
his
stalks or flowers, indicative of the inun-
on the banks of the
the cities
river certain
priests
were exclusively appointed to the service of
deity
and
\
if
127
this
a corpse were found upon the sacred shore,
embalm and bury it
mark of honour, though only a priest of the
the nearest town was obliged to
with every
Nile could superintend the interment.
The
Nile was a
member
of the
first
Ogdoad, or rank,
of the Egyptian divinities, and placed in direct opposition to Phtah, or " Fire," while regarded as the
panion and
ally of Neith, or " Air,"
— Zeus
(or
comAmun),
— Demeter, ihe " Earth," —Neph,
—and
and
the " Sun
the principle of " Life,"
the Spirit of the Deity
and " Moon."
Thus
Osiris
it
"
Isis,
represented one of the most
sacred essences, or primitive forces of Nature
own
hieratic
emblem on
the
monuments
and
;
symbol, the tamed crocodile, typical of
A
yet beneficence.
at the
first
it
summer
festival, called Nilva,
solstice,
when
its
its
and of a blue colour,
its
special
power and
rising waters
was imaged as a round plump
had
was celebrated
promise of abundance to the thirsty land.
breasts
;
its
figure,
gave the
Pictorially,
with female
in allusion to its fertilizing
and productive powers.
A
remarkable statue of the Nile was discovered among
the ruins of
Rome
preserved in the
it
in the fifteenth century,
Museum
of the Vatican.
surrounded by sixteen children,
in
and
is
now
It represents
allusion
to the
BOA rS OF THE NILE.
128
sixteen cubits at which the inundation of the river begins
to irrigate
the
land
;
and
dile,
base
its
carvings of the Nile boats, the
is
sculptured with
the stork, the croco-
ibis,
the ichneumon, the hippopotamus, and the lotus
in flower.
STATUE OF THE
The
NILE.
Nile boats, as pictured on the monuments, exhibit
There are the
a great variety of size and form.
light
papyrus shallop, rendered
water-tight
by bitumen
;
the canoe hollowed out of
PAPYRUS SHALLOP.
rigged boat, with high
shallow keel
a single trunk
bow and
and the large capacious
;
Herodotus, which was propelled by as
and sometimes carried a burden of
five
hundred
tons.
sont or acacia
:
its
It
was
;
the square-
stern, a single mast,
baris,
and
described by
many as forty rowers,
three, four,
built of the
and even
hard wood of the
seams were caulked with oakum made
AQUATIC FESTIVALS.
of the fibres of that plant
and
;
its
129
sails
were manu-
factured of papyrus.
The
more splendid charac-
royal barges were of a far
with rudder, cabin, and masts painted of a rich
ter,
golden colour
;
the sails fringed
ing like the rainbow
and diapered, and glow-
reminding one of the gorgeous
;
bark in which Cleopatra ascended the Cydnus
" The barge she sat
in, like
Burned on the water
Purple the
sails,
:
a burnished throne,
the poop
was beaten gold
and so perfumed that
The winds were love-sick with them th' oars were
Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made
The water which they beat to follow faster.
As amorous of their strokes," *
;
Grand
:
religious festivals
silver,
and processions were
brated on the Nile, reminding
us,
in
some
cele-
respects, of
the water-pageants which the old Venetians celebrated
on
their "
Grand Canal."
row rapidly
in boats,
swept by, blunt javelins or
Bubastis,
or Pasht,
it
A
is
was
favourite pastime
and hurl
at
jereeds.
to
one another, as they
At the great
said that as
many
feast of
as
seven
hundred thousand persons would assemble upon the
river,
delighting themselves with the music of pipe
and
cymbal, and joining in loud hymns of gladness and
triumph.
The fauna and
tical
flora of the Nile are necessarily iden-
we have
we must
and hippopotamus. The former is now
with those of the Egyptian Valley, to which
already alluded
;
add the crocodile
except that to
its
animal
life
very seldom met with below 27°, or the latter further
south than the second cataract.
Fifty-two species of fish
* Shakspeare, " Antony and Cleopatra,"
(295)
9
a. ii., s. 2.
INFLUENCE OF THE NILE.
130
are described as belonging to
genus Silurus
The water
is
the river; of these the
most abundant.
of the Nile
is
exceedingly wholesome, and
most turbid condition always capable of
in its
filtration.
Between the highest and the lowest periods of the yearly
flood
is
it
not less remarkable for
its
purity than for
its
transparency.
The word Nilus is probably of Semitic origin, and,
Hebrew Sihhor, the Egyptian Chemi, and the
Greek epithet /xtAas {melas), may have referred to the dark
hue of its waves. The natives called it p-iero, or " the
like the
river of rivers," as if
with
no other could claim comparison
in grandeur, beauty, or fertility.
it
Lastly,
we may point out
the powerful influence exer-
cised
by the Nile on the character and genius of Egyptian
art.
As
waters might not be polluted with
its
rocks of the
bodies, the
tombs
;
and
circumstance suggested those angular
this
forms peculiar, in the
ture,
dead
Desert were converted into
first
place, to Egyptian architec-
but which have been adopted in every succeeding
style.
The ornaments
rowed from the
of shaft and capital were
river-plants; everywhere, in
bor-
tomb and
temple, the traveller sees the graceful outline of the rose-
How
coloured lotus.
occupied in the
hinted
at.
Its
important a place the great river
Egyptian Olympus we have already
annual overflow suggested the allegory of
the burial of Osiris in the hallowed stream, and his
resurrection,
earth.
once a year, to scatter blessings over the
Moreover,
it
typified to the Egyptians the " river
of death," across whose silent wave the dead were ferried,
attended by the conductor of souls, the god Anubis.
CROCODILES OF THE NILE.
VITALITY OF EGYPTIAN IMAGERY.
The Greeks aftenvards availed themselves
133
of this imagery,
— which, appropriate enough in Egypt, became singularly
inappropriate
in
Hellas
— and
converted
Anubis
Charon, and the Nile into the gloomy Styx.
of our
own
ideas of the other world
into
How many
may have been
borrowed from the Nilotic worship of the Egyptians
!
THE MYSTIC FERRY-BOAT.
When we speak of the darkling stream which separates
Time from Eternity we are employing an Egyptian image,
and, unknown to ourselves, perhaps, referring to the
mysterious river of a mysterious land
glorious Nile
— the
great and
^
00k J^ c £ n b.
CHAPTER
ALEXANDRIA
— POMPEY
PILLAR
S
I.
— CLEOPATRA
NEEDLES.
S
Obelisks graven with emblems of the time.
Tennyson.
HE
Land of
traveller's exploration of the
begins
Nile
at
Alexandria, the
and port which was founded by the
city
genius of the Macedonian hero
and which
for so
many
Oriental commerce.
may be
a million
in b.c.
sterling.
was estimated
equal
at
number of
Its
of antiquity.
Its
300,000 free
slaves
bellished
it
but
332),
port-dues alone
talents, or
population about the same time
citizens,
and casual
Much was due
;
its
6^ to the vast sum of 6250
singular beauty willing evidence
genial character
(b.c.
became the treasury of
ancient opulence and prosperity
centuries
inferred from the fact that
amounted
the
celebrated
much
to
is
at least
an
To
its
borne by the writers
its
happy position and
to the skill of
with buildings of marble,
temples and public baths,
and
residents.
man, which em-
—with
— with museums,
palaces and
libraries,
and
PUBLIC BUILDINGS OF ALEXANDRIA.
obelisks,
—with
135
long colonnades of the costliest marble
and
more celebrated of these
yielded by the Egyptian quarries, with leafy groves
blooming gardens.
Among
the
architectural achievements I find
of the Ptolemys
;
enumerated
:
the Palace
the Library, containing 700,000 vol-
ANCIENT PHAROS AT ALEXANDRIA.
umes of inestimable value
bered
among
its
;
the
Museum, which num-
professors Euclid, Callimachus, Aratus,
Aristophanes, Aristarchus, Clemens and Origen,
and
his
Theon
famous daughter Hypatia, whose sad story has
been so graphically told by Canon Kingsley
;
the Caesar-
THE MODERN
136
eion, or
Temple of the
CITY.
Caesars, where divine honours were
paid to the emperors, dead and living
;
the
Mausoleum
of the Ptolemys, where were interred the body of Alex-
ander the Great, in a
by one of
glass,
coffin of gold, afterwards replaced
and the remains of Marcus Antonius
the Arsinoeum, raised
memory
by Ptolemy Philadelphus
of his beloved sister Arsinoe;
the Serapeion,
dedicated to the great god Serapis, or Osirei-Apis
the
:
to the
;
and
Pharos, or Lighthouse, which consisted of several
stories,
and
is
said to have
been four hundred
feet in
height.
Very
different
is
the aspect of the
modem
from that of the capital of the Ptolemys
the city which afterwards had Cyril for
Alexandria
—from
its
that of
bishop, and
witnessed the feuds of Arians and Athanasians.
now a
very
bustling,
lively, dirty,
It is
semi-European town,
with an extensive commerce, a flourishing trade, a curious
Babel of languages, and a motley population of some
70,000
souls.
Copts, Arabs, English, Scotch, Armenians,
Greeks, Turks, French, Indians; almost every nation
under the sun, and every creed of every nation, have here
their representatives.
In
truth,
it
is
best defined as the
meeting-point of East and West, of the old and the
civilizations
;
but the Western
new
element predominates,
and the customs of the Frank are rapidly encroaching
on those of the Oriental.
There are camels and mules,
palms, orange-trees, and bananas,
— turbaned
eunuchs, and the veiled inmates of the
are also dockyards
and
Harem
;
Moslems,
but there
arsenals, steam-engines, steam-
on the river, mills, factories, a railway,
and a score of other tangible indications that the " Old
cranes, steam-boats
AN ORIENTAL
order
"
has changed, and
is
who
traveller
visits
we
morials, as
to get out of
is
Of
possible celerity.
New.
It
has
transparent atmos-
its
and the principal object of the
;
it
139
yielding to the
except
lost all its ancient beauty,
phere and sunny sky
SPECTACLE,
again with
it
all
magnificent edifices few me-
its
shall see, are extant
examining these, the European
and
;
after cursorily
invariably hastens
to
commit himself and his fortunes to the charge of the
The most that can be said for Alexandria,
river Nile.
remarks Mr. Kennard,
nental town
j
its
streets
is,
that
it
is
an inferior conti-
peopled with Englishmen, Greeks,
French, Italians, whose wives dress in bonnets and Paris
mantles, and go out shopping in the afternoon in one-
horse clarences and pony-phaetons.
This, perhaps,
is
city
can boast
of,
Some
too depreciatory an estimate.
of the " sights " in Alexandria are such as
and
no European
recall to the traveller the legends
he has read of "the days of Haroun-al-Raschid."
recent writer speaks of
wonted,
a
file,
fairy-like,
he
them
and Arabian-Nigh t-like.*
says, of tall
A
and un-
as utterly strange
Here came
camels laden with merchandise,
stalking with deliberate, solemn step, through the bazaars;
there rode a grand-looking native gentleman, in
pride of capacious turban and flowing robes
passed a lady on her donkey, enveloped in black
bura^ and the
more remarkable white muslin
veil,
all
the
yonder
;
silk ha-
— which
universal out-of-door costume of Egyptian ladies only
suffered two dark eyes to
gleam from behind the hideous
shroud.
And
authority,
had a smack of Europe, they were driven and
*
if
the carriages
Rev. A. C. Smith,
"The
we
Nile and
its
saw,
Banks,"
continues our
i.
20, 21.
ORIENTAL VERSUS EUROPEAN.
I40
ARAB WOMEN
attended by
still
—were
men
IN
THE STREETS OF ALEXANDRIA.
in Oriental dress,
and
— even
stranger
preceded, even at their best pace, by a bare-
legged running Arab,
who shouted
to the passengers to
ANOTHER STRANGE PICTURE.
get out of the
way
—the
cries of this active
shrill
resounding on every side
coureiir
141
and fortunate
;
avant
is
the
who escapes being run over in the narrow streets
cantering donkey, or knocked down by some
some
by
stranger
tall
camel laden with heavy boxes, as he stands staring
unwonted scene
at the
the everyday
We may
life
—
his
borrow
source, to find in
it
city.
picture from
another
Take, for instance,
a different
the same general characteristics.*
platform
the
Here you
railway-station.
whole attention rivetted on
of an Oriental
find the
and West, of old and new
of
the
Alexandria
same mixture of East
a motley crowd of wily
:
Greeks, dusky Arabs, and soft-featured Syrians ferments
before you
;
men, women, and children in every
of costume, and no costume
bread-sellers
sellers,
ghostly
women
;
persistently pestering
everybody;
human by
their flashing
in white, visible as
dark eyes and naked
frantic search for
a
variety
water-sellers, sweetmeat-
and
hither
feet, flitting
lost
husband or
thither in
You
friend.
will see
solemn Turks and crafty-looking Jews, and, perhaps, a
batch of recruits for the Khedive's army,
fine
brawny powerful
black
legs,
chubby
—Abyssinians,
fellows in white tunics, with bare
faces,
and dark lustrous
eyes.
Yet the associations of Alexandria are well calculated
to impress the
name
mind of
the thoughtful stranger.
carries the imagination
Its very
back over the dim gulf
of
when all the known world trembled
Macedonian hero. It was founded by
centuries to the days
at the
nod
him, as
of the
we have
said,
on the
site
of a Uttle town called
Rhacotis, though not completed until the reign of the
*
Howard Hopley, " Under Egyptian Palms,"
pp.
3, 4.
ANCIENT FAME OF THE
142
CITY.
second monarch of the Lagid Hne, Ptolemy Philadelphus.*
By each succeeding sovereign of
enlarged and embellished, until
it
outhne of the cloak, or chlamys,
that dynasty
was
it
assumed the general
common
to the
Mace-
donian cavalry.
That
rounded
south-east and south-west extremities.
From
the
at
east to west
measured about four miles; from
it
south to north, nearly a
fifteen
miles.
ground-plan was an oblong,
is, its
The
mile
interior
;
was
circuit
its
completed
laid out in parallelo-
grams, the streets crossing one another at right angles,
and two great thoroughfares, each 200
striking across
them
feet in breadth,
to connect the four
main gates
namely, the Canobic, east; that of the Necropolis, west;
that of the Sun, south
A
;
and
volume would barely
that of the
history of this once-famous city.
It
Moon,
north.
an outline of the
suffice for
prospered under the
wisdom of Ptolemy Soter and the genius of Philadelphus,
but declined under the corrupt government of Philopater,
who was
and
the slave of his eunuchs, his favourite courtiers,
was unable
in
Enervated by vice and luxury,
his mistresses.
independence
to preserve its
;
it
was involved
the disasters and convulsions of the great struggle
between JuHus Caesar and Pompey, Mark Antony and
Augustus
freedom
;
Under
of Christ,
*
finally
the Emperors
granaries of
gion,
and
surrendered
its
at the bidding of the victor at
Rome.
many
of
it
vestige of
became one of the
At an
its
last
Actium.
principal
early period after the death
inhabitants embraced the
new
reli-
which flourished to such an extent that the bishopric
The
plan, designed
of Naucratis.
by the
architect Deinocrates,
was completed by Cleomenes
ARIANS AND ATHANASIANS.
of Alexandria
became one of the most important,
the whole Christian
in
bably,
143
Church.
pro-
gained a
It
melancholy celebrity as the scene of the sanguinary conflict
between Arians and Athanasians.
in the
and
more desperate
still
It suffered severely
struggle between
Paganism
which was nowhere fought out with
Christianity,
more heroic resolution.
Emperor Severus claimed
Alexandria, at that time, was
of religious feud and deadly
greater intellectual activity or
The
its
persecution ordered by the
hundreds of martyrs.
the ripe and pregnant soil
hatred.
was divided into three
It
Pagans, Christians.
hostile factions
Jews,
:
These were continually blending and
modifying each other's doctrines, and forming schools in
which Judaism was transmuted into Platonism, and Platonism into Christianity, while Christianity at various
points acknowledged the Platonic influence.
Neverthe-
less, all
three awaited the signal for persecution,
license
to
draw
in
ofl"
sanguinary legions,
settle their controversies
Priests
the triumph of Paganism.
were burned and virgins tortured.
the professors of the
their heads,
for
by the sword, the rope, and the
Under Severus came
stake.*
and
who might
For a while
new creed were compelled
and take refuge
to
bow
sandy wildernesses
in the
of the great deserts.
But the Pagan world was tottering to
its fall,
and
after
the death of Severus, Christianity rose again from the
dust,
more vigorous than
ling with the
tually
ever,
and began
powers of darkness.
The
its final
battle
wrest-
was
vir-
decided before Constantine the Great announced
himself a Christian
*
;
and
after
that
memorable
Dean Milman, " History of Christianity,"
ii.,
157, 158.
event,
DOWNFALL OF PAGANISM.
144
Paganism covered
head, and, amid dust and ashes,
its
yielded up the ghost.
This grand conflict between the
Church
the Christian
turies
;
lasted for
Roman Empire and
upwards of four cen-
yet at the outset the combatants were so un-
equally matched that one might have supposed the issue
The weapons
could not be long delayed.
of the Empire,
as Mr. Kingsley observes,* were not merely an over-
whelming physical
force,
and a
ruthless lust of aggressive
conquest, but, even more powerful
still,
an unequalled
genius for organization, and an uniform system of external
law and order.
But against
Church, armed only with
its
preponderant forces the
own mighty and
its
bracing message, and with a holy
and
virtue, love
the strong.
self-sacrifice,
The weak
conquered.
spirit
all-em-
of purity and
fought the good
fight,
and
things of this world confounded
In spite of relentless persecution
;
in spite of
the contaminating atmosphere of vice which surrounded
her; in spite of the seeming feebleness of the recruits
whom
she gathered from the dregs of society
;
in spite of
internal dissensions on points of doctrine and ceremony
in spite of a thousand counterfeits which sprang up
around her and within
and
alluring
men
her, claiming to
to themselves
be parts of
her,
by that very exclusiveness
—
in
and party arrogance which disproved their claim
At last, the very Emperors
spite of all, she conquered.
;
espoused her cause.
fallen
it
had
Julian's final attempt to restore the
creed of ancient
Rome
only sufficed to prove that
hold on the hearts of the masses.
lost its
death the great tide-wave of
*
new opinion
Kingsley, Preface to " Hypatia,"
rolled
p. viii.
At
his
on un-
INTERESTING ASSOCIA TIONS.
checked, and bore onwards with
its
145
current the rulers of
own
the earth; who, in words at least, accepted as their
of the Church
the laws
acknowledged the supreme
;
power of the King of kings
the priests
and
who
and even trembled before
\
declared themselves His representatives
ministers.
As
the seat of the intellectual and moral activity which
accomphshed
grand result
this
as the residence
;
and
epis-
copal city of Clemens, Athanasius, Origen, and Cyril
the scene of the apostolic labours of the Evangehst
and as the place where
indebted for the
is
Septuagint version of the Old Testament
past imperial power,
by
its
rising fortunes
as
toiled the learned Seventy, to
whose devotion and genius the world
its
;
Mark;
its
—no
— Alexandria
less
than
monuments,
antiquity, its
command
ought to
the
earnest attention of the thinker.
Towards the
close of the fifth century, however, Alex-
andria shared the
common doom
The shadow
Empire.
of decay
of the great
upon
fell
it
;
its
Roman
Jewish
and Greek merchants and money-dealers abandoned
its
harbour was no longer thronged with masts
no longer echoed with the sounds of
Cadiz to the Crimea.
quered by
palaces,
Amrou and
in
his Arabs,
it
and pubHc baths, and
its
still
it
was con-
contained
its
and Jews who
Under
the blighting
decline was greatly accelerated
;
shrank yearly within narrower and yet narrower Hmits
;
influence of
it
640,
theatres,
paid tribute, and venders of herbs.*
it
its streets
languages, from
all
Yet when,
;
Arab
quays and
its
rule, its
warehouses were deserted
ous relics spared by
* Eutychius,
(295)
its
conquerors
" Annales,"
vol.
ii.,
10
fell
p. 316, cited
;
the glori-
into irretrievable
by Gibbon.
THE FUTURE AND THE
146
The
desolation.
discovery, in
final
death-blow to
merce of the East
it
its
fortunes was the
Cape
1497, of the passage round the
Good Hope, which changed
has again
PAST.
;
and
up
lifted
its
the direction of the
only within recent years that
it is
head, owing to a second change
produced by the estab-
in the current of Oriental traffic
lishment of the Overland Route.
a prosperous city
;
of
com-
now
It is
a busy and
one of the great connecting
tween the East and the West
;
links be-
one of the principal posts
or landmarks on the grand highway from England to
And
Calcutta.
vessels,
it
with the Suez Canal practicable for large
must become of
further importance, notwith-
standing the rivalry of Port Said.
that the splendour of
of
its
Its
its
future
Nay,
may
it is
even possible
outshine the glory
past.
to a great extent
ruins are, unfortunately,
mere
shapeless masses of masonry, of shattered columns and
capitals, to
which the most vivid fancy, informed by the
most profound
and a name."
erudition, cannot give " a local habitation
Vestiges of baths and buildings, and por-
tions of ancient cisterns,
glass,
may indeed be
and fragments of pottery and
traced
;
but the only remains which
can be said to possess a real interest are Pompey's
Pillar
and the Obelisks.
Pompey's Pillar, as
Amood
e
it
is
absurdly misnamed,
sowari of the Arabs,
—
is
a monolithic
of red granite, situated on a solitary
looks the Lake Mareotis and the
mound which
modern
and base,
the circumference, 29 feet 8 inches.
is
It
98
over-
Its fluted
city.
Corinthian shaft measures 73 feet in height
height, including the capital
—the
column
;
the total
feet 9 inches
;
should properly
M
POMPEY'S PILLAR.
be designated Diocletian's
the inscription on
its
Pillar,
having been erected, as
base records, by Publius [^uaerCy
Pompeius?], the Eparch of Egypt, to commemorate the
siege
and capture of Alexandria
in a.d. 297,
when
it
declared in favour of the usurper Achilleus, by the
had
Em-
POMPEYS PILLAR.
peror Diocletian.
The
shaft,
capital,
and pedestal are
apparently of different ages, the capital and pedestal
being of later and inferior workmanship than the shaft.
According to the Arab
Mr.
Lane,
it
is
historian, Abdallatif, cited
by
the sole existing relic of the famous
A DREARY LANDSCAPE.
148
Serapeion
— the
The
Theophilus.
four hundred columns which
had embel-
and enclosed the magnificent structure were
lished
lessly
gorgeous temple destroyed through the
and iconoclastic enthusiasm of the Archbishop
bigot zeal
ruth-
overthrown, and piled up as a break-water on the
sea-shore
save the one stately
all
;
the four hundred
—the "
pillar
Arabs emphatically term
it
pillar,
the loftiest of
of the colonnades," as the
—which
now
is
the cynosure
of European pilgrims.
Its present site is
a scene of desolation,
far different
from the glowing picture which surrounded
when
it
of old,
the Nile was thronged with gilded barges, and the
waters of the Mediterranean were gay with Phoenician
argosies,
and the
light of the
Pharos was the guiding
To
of the world's commerce.
reach
it
you must
star
pass, as
Miss Martineau reminds us,* through the dreariest of
cemeteries, where
aloe fixed
base
is
of one dust-colour, even to the
soil,
seems
ripple of
field,
and grove
and the eye
ally gliding
At
its
And
grave.
in the hot,
Lake Mareotis, whose slender
liable to
waves.
A
— somewhat
be broken through by the
strip
of vegetation
—marsh,
relieves the dreary landscape
rests with pleasure
among
the view from the
with soldiers watching over them.
the south-east spreads
line of shore
first
is
Groups of Arabs labour
very curious.
white, crumbling
To
all
upon every
on a lateen
sail
;
occasion-
the trees.
the eastern extremity of Alexandria
—that
directly opposite direction to Diocletian's Pillar,
is,
in a
and
for-
merly in the vicinity of the Palace, the Museum, the
Library, the Market,
*
and the Docks,
Miss Martineau, " Eastern Life,"
all
i.
of which have
13, 14.
THE SO-CALLED CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLES.
perished
Caesar,
—stood
whose
the Sebaste Caesareum, or
149
Temple of
was long marked by two obelisks of
site
sand*
red granite, one erect, the other prostrate on the
These were the so-called Cleopatra's Needles,! though
in
no wise connected with that " serpent of old Nile," whose
Roman
triumvir,
him the sovereignty of the
world.
Long
dynasty of which she was the
last representative
fatal
beauty enchanted the
over Egypt, they were raised at Heliopolis
of Egyptian art and science
—by Thothmes
and cost
before the
reigned
—the
centre
They
III.
date, therefore, fully twelve centuries before the Christian
era.
Their removal to Alexandria was effected by Julius
Caesar, to adorn his temple.
One
—
—
them that which had fallen was presented
Government in 1820, by the then ruler of
of
to the British
Egypt,
Mehemet AH,
with the view of
being trans-
its
ported to England and placed on some conspicuous
in
But constant delays and
London.
difficulties,
score of expense, &c., arose on our part,
in
till
site
on the
1867 the
land on which the Needle lay was disposed of by the
Khedive
to
a Greek merchant,
monument being removed.
and
exertions
At
who
insisted
chiefly
last,
upon the
by the noble
Erasmus Wilson, an
liberality of Professor
eminent English physician, the enormous mechanical
diffi-
culties of the enterprise
were overcome, and the obelisk
placed on board
Cleopatra^
the
specially for the purpose.
*
Madox, " Excursions
t Meselleh,
Many of the
who
in
" a needle,"
a vessel constructed
This vessel, taken in tow by
Egypt, the Holy Land," &c.,
is
great works of Alexandria are ascribed
memory much the same place
or Wallace among the Scotch.
holds in their
English peasants,
i.
99.
the Arabic word usually applied to an obelisk.
by the Arabs
to Cleopatra,
as Cromwell in that of the
TRANSPORTING THE NEEDLES.
I50
the steamer Olga^
A
left
Alexandria on September
was encountered
21st,
Bay
some
brave men had been vainly sacrificed, the Olga was compelled to cast off and abandon the Cleopatra and her
1877.
terrible hurricane
of Biscay on October 14th
j
and
after the lives of
But the strange
precious freight.
in the
craft
did not sink,
though sorely buffeted by wind and waves, and was,
after
the storm, rescued by another ship and towed into the
On January
harbour of Ferrol.
was again taken
and
in
i6th, 1878, the Cleopatra
tow by a steamer sent from London,
in a few days safely
reached the English shores.
The Needle, placed on the great Thames Embankment,
now tells its old tale of wonder and mystery to countless
multitudes of visitors and passers-by.
Gazing upon
tapering spire, one cannot but have one's
thoughts of her whose
strange, wild history
;
name
mind
filled
associated with
is
;
—her
the subtle spell of her loveliness
the " chance and change" of her romantic,
baric career
it
its
with
semi-bar-
the pride of her luxurious splendour,
she charmed "great Caesar's soul
j"
when
and the deep shadow
that gathered about her tragical end.
The
other obelisk has been
and arrived not long
York.
The
It is
made
over to America,
accident
since without
the larger of the two
— seventy-three
at
New
feet high.
other memorials of ancient Alexandria are
comparatively
little interest,
consisting of
for supplying the city with Nile water
and mansions
shattered
;
;
vestiges of baths
fragments of pottery and glass
capitals
and columns.
;
The Catacombs,
remains of the old Necropolis, which
of
numerous tanks
lie
western gate, are remarkable for their extent.
and
or
beyond the
TAKING LEAVE OF ALEXANDRIA.
It
only remains to add that the
does not exactly occupy the
site
151
Modern Alexandria*
of the ancient
city,
but
stands on the mole called the Heptastadium, formerly
connecting the island of Pharos with the mainland.
cessive alluvial deposits have
widened and enlarged
Sucthis
mole into a broad neck of land between the two harbours, of which the eastern
is
called the
western the Old Port.
* Population, in 1882, 208,755.
New, and the
CHAPTER
II.
—THE PYRAMIDS
—
THE CITADEL
ITS MOSQUES
THE SPHINX HELIOPOLIS, AND
CAIRO
:
The
ITS OBELISKS.
sphinx,
Staring right on with calm eternal eyes.
Alexander Smith.
I
IJCROSS the broad expanse of the Delta the
traveller is now borne by the " iron horse
At first he
towards the Egyptian capital.
''
skirts the shores of
away
to westward, like a
Venetian lagoon, in
anon
flocks of pelicans,
its
rise in the air like
The
landscape, as
if
;
of
women
stretching
yet unlike a
which ever and
along,
is
somewhat mon-
not occasionally relieved by
strange glimpses of Oriental
canes
;
dense clouds of dazzHng snow.
we speed
otonous, or would be,
Lake Mareotis,
Venetian lagoon
life
:
of boys selling sugar-
pacing slowly along, with water-vessels
upon the shoulder; of mud-villages, the
homes of wretched fellahs; and long strings of loaded
Long becamels, carrying cotton or corn to Alexandria.
fore we reach Cairo, however, we become sensible, so to
gracefully poised
speak,
Desert,
of the Desert,
—with
its
— the
wild,
intense tranquiUity,
dreamy, mysterious
its
awful silence,
its
limjiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiii
THE GREAT
gorgeous atmospheric
AL-CAIRO.
155
and wonderful
effects,
flushes of
colour.
after crossing the Nile at
Soon
we come
in sight of the
heads above the
and
Old Cairo, or Boulak,
Pyramids, rearing their triangular
alluvial plain in the distance, clear
flat
" sharp blue shadows," standing out in
vivid, with
majestic outline against the soft and glowing sky.
Anakim and
giants
Seen
belong to the mysterious days of
thus, they apparently
to the age of fable,
;
and legend, and
when
strange romance,
" All the powers of nameless worlds, '
Vast sceptred phantoms, heroes, men, and beasts,"
inspired the imagination of the seer and the poet.
may
well be forgiven for associating with
dreams
fantastic
Cairo
itself,
range of the
Milton
Nights
calls
—
is
!
backed by
Mokuttam
its
white citadel and the yellow
hills
the " great Al Cairo," as
;
the city of Saladin and the Arabian
it;
an ever-changing panorama of
It preserves
est.
a true Oriental
air,
bazaars and ramble through
its
carried back, in
Al-Raschid.
One
them the most
body and
Its
streets
spirit,
are
life
and
inter-
and, as you examine
its
streets,
you seem
to the days of
Haroun
so narrow as scarcely to
admit of two camels passing abreast
;
its
bazaars glow
with the richest productions of the looms of the East
its
mosques and minarets are apparently innumerable
and
its
The
fountains
fill
the air with an enduring freshness.
richly -carpeted
shops are enclosed in
a divan, and in the midst
sits
a venerable
front
by
Turk or a
wealthy Arab, smoking a splendid narghileh of gold and
silver,
and surveying with complacent gaze
his
costly
ORIENl'AL CHARACTER OF THE CITY.
156
wares
:
jewellery from Paris, chibouques from Constanti-
nople, tobacco from Latakia, dainty muslins from India,
keen bright swords of " Damascene
from the land of the
silks
ways are thronged
every part, and
in
and
steel,"
rustling
Meanwhile, the
Celestials.
it is
with difficulty
the pedestrian escapes a rude jostle from the donkeys,
which pass him every moment, laden with sand, and
and water; or with a happier burden,
flour,
in the per-
son of some beauty of the harem, closely veiled, and
Then comes
attended by watchful guards.
carrier, calling shrilly, "
making
his
way
Moira, moira
!
"
to his favourite baths
the water-
Turk
some tawny
or a stately
;
or
East Indian hero, returning to England, stalks imperturbably through the excited crowd
dashes
guards
by,
;
or one of the Pasha's
mounted on a
richly caparisoned
steed.
The
visitor to
Cairo
is
bewildered by the novel
at first
scenes which crowd upon him, and some time elapses
before he
and
is
realize
able to disentangle his confused impressions,
each feature of the marvellous picture.
awhile he begins to understand that he
a purely Oriental city
— the
Musr
"victorious capital" of the Arabs
an orderly manner,
he leisurely examines
in
its
customs.
some such
to combine, in
its
its
Then he
peculiarities,
must be examined
its
past history
present condition.
to the conclusion that
architectural or social,
gates
its
buildings,
After
at length, in
Kaherah, or the
—and
his recollections of
with his knowledge of
comes
el
is,
whether
seriatim^
and curiously
and
investi-
Afterwards he puts together his notes
fashion, perhaps, as the following
Cairo (p. 368, 1 08) lies in
lat.
30°
2'
N.,
and long.
:
31
°
1 6'
E.,
CITADEL OF CAIRO.
on a sandy
level
the range of the
between the
Mokuttam
right
157
bank of the Nile and
Hills.
It
was founded,
east-
ward of Old Cairo, by Touloun, a Moslem governor of
Egypt, in a.d. 868
that
is,
to
its
but removed
;
present
site
—by
still
the
further eastward
Fatimite khalif, El
remained the capital of the
Fati-
mite rulers until 1171, when the famous Saladin
— the
Moez,
"
It
in a.d. 923.
Bayard" of the East
—usurped the throne.
In 1220
it
was unsuccessfully besieged by the Crusaders. In 1250,
Moosa-el-Ashref was deposed by the Mamelukes, who
when it was
Though it has
retained possession of the city until 15 17,
stormed and captured by Sultan Selim.
lost
much
of
its
and prosperous
original importance,
city,
medan) of 250,000
;
it
is
a thriving
Moham-
and may be considered as the great
centre of the learning of the Eastern world,
university being presided over
erudition,
still
with a population (mostly
its
celebrated
by men of acknowledged
and annually attended by some two thousand
students.
Its
its
remarkable edifices are
The
mosques.
of the
of
great solidity,
in height.
and
dominates
its
elevated position on a bold
—within which the massacre
Mamelukes took
were crowned by
citadel, its minarets,
Its walls
over the whole town from
ridge of sandstone.
its
citadel, as already stated,
place,
and whose battlements
Napoleon's victorious standards
and, in
— are
some places, one hundred
feet
The works were enlarged and strengthened
Ali, who resided here during the greater
reign.
The prospect it commands is of a
by Mehemet
part of his
very extensive and impressive character
only the carved
domes and
;
including not
fantastic minarets of Cairo,
AN EXTENSIVE
158
VIEW.
TOMBS OF THE KHALIFS, AND CITADEL OF CAIRO.
but the sequestered valley with
luke sultans
]
tombs of the Mame-
its
the rich deep verdure of the distant Delta
the sharp clear outlines of the mysterious
yellow frontier-belt of the Desert
of the tranquil Nile
;
;
Pyramids
;
;
the
the sweet meanders
and ever)'where a
soil that
has been
swept by successive waves of revolution, from the days
MOSQUE OF THE SULTAN HASSAN AT CAIRO
THE CA IRENE MINARETS.
i6i
MUEZZIN ANNOUNCING THE HOUR OF PRAYER.
of
Menes and Rameses
to those of
Smith, Abercromby, and Nelson
;
Napoleon,
Sir
a soil that
it
Sidney
is
no
exaggeration to say seems haunted by
" The shape and shadow of mystic things."
The Cairene
as the
1295;
minarets are justly eulogized by travellers
most beautiful of any
1
in the
East
;
exquisite crea-
MOSQUES OF
i62
CAIRO.
dreamy Arabian genius
tions of the strange
an extraordinary height,
;
towering to
and white
built of courses of red
and ornamented with balconies, from which the
stone,
Of
muezzins announce the hour of prayer.
these, the
most ancient adjoins the great mosque of the Sultan
Touloun, or Tuyloun, built
foundation of the
mosque
ficent
879, soon after the
in a.d.
Two
city.
others belong to the magni-
of the Sultan Hassan, which
the palace of the
RoumayH, near
is
situated in
the citadel, and was
completed about a.d. 1362.
The
general character of the mosques
sketched by Lady Duff Gordon.*
the Sultan
Touloun
ornament there
is,
as exquisite, noble,
church
;
and simple ; what
This Arab architecture, as she
The
even more lovely than our Gothic.
is
mosque of
admirably
the most dehcate lacework and em-
bossing in stone and wood.
observes,
is
She describes that of
the
citadel
like
is
a fine
modern
Italian
but Abbas Pasha stole the alabaster columns,
and replaced them by painted wood.
Sultan Hassan
is
The mosque
of
a singularly majestic building, and the
beauty of the details quite beyond belief to European
eyes
;
finest
are
one mass of the
be regretted, however, that these "
It is to
fices " are so
Let us
now
venture into the streets of Cairo
scenes they present.
formance
—
if
fairy edi-
shamefully and grievously neglected.
keep our eyes open, we
shall
One
of
Lady DufF Gordon, "
It
;
if
we
be amused by the various
them
is
the " zikr," or per-
we may use the expression
or whirling Dervishes.
*
tomb
the huge gates to his
enamel ornaments.
—of the dancing
takes place within a railed
Letters from
Egypt
"
C1863-65), pp. 17-21.
A CURIOUS SCENE.
A STREET
IN"
163
CAIRO.
enclosure, like the arena of an equestrian
display
;
the
space around, and the galleries above, being open to
DANCING DERVISHES.
[64
further
At the
Europeans as well as Orientals.
spectators,
end of the arena
seated the sheikh of the
is
Dervishes, dressed in dark green robes, edged with
and with a
tall,
brimless, conical hat
upon
men and
fur,
head.
his
Then
enter
ages,
from gray-bearded manhood to smooth-chinned
childhood,
colours,
some score or
all
and
dressed
in
much
felt
lads, of various
garments of
flowing
brown
in quaint
nothing in the world so
A
so of
caps,
as our
lively
which resemble
EngUsh
flower-pots.
chapter of the Koran having been read, they circle
round the enclosure in dignified order, making low obeisances to the sheikh.
The
whirling then begins, to the
accompaniment of a drum
and two fifes. One by one,
and with astonishing
vity,
tates
gra-
each individual
—
his
horizontally, with the
of one
ro-
arms held out
palm
hand and the back
of another
his eyes
uppermost—
bent down, and
nearly closed
—
heels
his
kept close together— and
the whirling motion perDANCING DERVISH.
formed not on the
but on the soles of the
grows more rapid,
feet.
until the
By
toes,
degrees the rotation
whole company are spinning
round and round, hke so many animated balloons, with
their
arms extended, and
quite a current of air
in
;
no
their
sweeping garments raising
individual, however, touching or
any way incommoding his neighbours.
Those
in the
DONKEYS AND THEIR DRIVERS.
centre keep nearly the
less
it
same spot
eye they appear not to
may be
move
—
;
167
at least, to the care-
but
closely
if
watched
seen that they too, though with great dexterity,
and with a subtle gliding movement, accomplish the
cir-
cuit of the ring.
With two
this
brief intervals of three to five minutes each
extraordinary performance, which makes the spec-
tator dizzy to look
drum and
fifes,
upon
lasts for a full half
it,
hour
—the
meanwhile, maintaining their harsh,
dis-
At the conclusion, another
Dervish repeats a chapter from the Koran, and the sheikh
goes through some ceremony apparently analogous to a
after which the whirling wonders retire, and
benediction
cordant, ear-splitting sound.
;
the spectator, with a giddy brain
and aching
eyes, gladly
seeks the open air.*
Quite an institution in Cairo are the donkeys and their
But you must not suppose that the Cairene ass
drivers.
is
and dismal-looking a quadruped
as patient, depressed,
He
European congener.
as his
has a smattering of pride
about him, pricks up his ears with an
indulges in impetuous
fits,
Hopley remarks,t he
his northern brother.
back
like
is
of intelligence,
also given to prolonged
In mere personal appearance,
"pauses of meditation."
as Mr.
but
air
is
more of " a
swell " than
His owner shaves him upon the
a poodle dog.
He
carries a high
saddle, covered with scarlet leather
and
and humpy
tinsel trappings
\
so that, on the whole, he can sniff up the wind proudly
beside the statelier camel, or run unabashed in presence
of his
high-bom kinsman, the horse.
* Rev. A. C. Smith, "
t
But even a Cairene
The Nile and its Banks,"
Howard Hopley, " Under Egyptian Palms," p.
i.
65, 66.
41.
A GENUINE HAREM.
i68
donkey
is
not without his faihng
he
;
He
monster which the world ne'er saw."
up
at inconvenient times, kick
And
the dust.
more
this is the
not " the perfect
is
his heels,
He down
will
and grovel
in
strange, since he appears
thoroughly aware of the folly of such an escapade.
He
invariably rises with a guilty look, perfectly conscious
that he
is
Not
Now
which
"
about to receive a beating
do
tation to
always
evil is
than the animal
less original
Cairo every
in
as
is
much
payment of
prietor
is
and yet the temp-
;
irresistible.
little
the animal's owner.
is
proprietor keeps a donkey,
a sign of respectability in the East as
and taxes
rates
" in
the
West
The
pro-
not always the driver; but whether he owns
the beast or not, the driver
Bedouin of
his
camel
is
as fond of
with kind words, and takes care he
His own dress
and housed.
him
as the
runs beside him, stimulates him
;
is
is
comfortably fed
and
light
airy
;
a scarlet
tarboosh or white turban of few folds for the head, a
blue cotton tunic reaching barely to the knees, and a
He
long scarf for the waist.
as
any London cabman
steps of your hotel
is
;
is
as eager for a customer
and your appearance on the
the signal for a general rush to-
wards you of donkey-drivers and donkeys.
Of
course, for the
of Cairo
stranger
is
European
visitor,
a real Oriental harem
who can
that admission
is
generally painful.
;
one of the " Hons
but
it
whiling
so
not every
obtain admission to one, and
when
obtained, the impression produced
These luxurious dark-skinned
gorgeously apparelled, recHning on their
divan, like
is
many dusky Venuses, and
"
soft,
is
beauties,
billowy
laboriously
away the hours with the scented narghilehs
—with
EXPEDITION TO THE PYRAMIDS.
occasional songs and dances
169
— with a daily promenade
—what thoughts can
through the streets and bazaars
;
they suggest to the thoughtful spectator, except that so
lethargic a
life
must stimulate the passions
at the
expense
of the intellect, and that until the relations of the two
sexes are wholly altered, the civilization of the East can
never attain
As soon
its
due development
?
European has become
as the
familiar with
the " thousand and one " curiosities of Cairo, he deter-
mines on an expedition to the Pyramids, which
twelve miles distant from the
city,
and
six or
lie
about
seven miles
from the bank of the Nile.
These " memorials of the world's youth " are the principal objects in a singular landscape, which, checkered
by such features as the great winding
city,
with
its
forts,
domes, and spires
and palm groves, and speckled
river
villages
;
the purple
the green
;
;
fields,
the plains either
covered with verdure, or glistening with shining inundations,
—
in the
stretches
far, far
away, until
it is
lost
and mingled
golden horizon.*
Despite of
all
that has
been written about them, despite
of the innumerable sketches which crowd our albums, the
Pyramids are ever
From our
attractive, ever fresh,
with a subtle charm.
have often haunted
their
I
know
that for
my dreams, and
image frequently
Like the
and ever new.
very boyhood they work upon our imagination
rises
spells of the old
my own
part they
moments
upon the brain unbidden.
that in silent
necromancers, they invoke a
host of spectres from the shadowy graves of the Past
They
are probably
'
more
familiar to
Thackeray, " From Cornhill to Cairo"
us,
by book and
(edit. 1869), p. 510.
A
ijo
CROWD OF ASSOCIATIONS.
picture, than half the
own
architectural
monuments
of oui
Their mighty masses seem to convey to us
land.
from afar a singular impression of awe, majesty, and
strength
;
and
witli
them we insensibly associate
know
They
I
not what ideas of august mystery and wonder.
belong to the earliest ages of the
before History began
human
race
—
to days
— when the "world's gray forefathers"
THE PYRAMIDS.
—to use Vaughan's
fine expression
the boundless pastures,
—roamed
at will
over
and the angels had hardly ceased
to visit the " daughters of
men."
Abraham may have
gazed upon their giant forms, Joseph have reposed
their
ties
have risen
the horizon
;
in
Generations have come and gone ; dynas-
shadow.
like stars, and, like stars,
the arts
have sunk below
and sciences of Egypt have
trans-
PURPOSES OF THE PYRAMIDS.
Western empires
ferred their glories to
but
;
edge of the broad and dreary Desert, and
171
on the
still,
still,
looking
out upon the " blown valley " of the Nile, are securely
seated these giants of the
the men,
Who
to serve
and
things,
them
built
%
The
and
as
mock
to
if
To-day
What purpose were
?
first
Unknown Time,
littlenesses of
they intended
question, through the researches of
Champollion, Vyse, and Lepsius, we can answer with
tolerable accuracy
;
We
by Joseph
granaries erected
observatories
;
no
to the second,
reply has yet been given.
;
fully satisfactory
are told they were the
temples of Venus
reservxjirs for purifying the
mausolea of the Egyptian kings
;
;
ancient
Nile waters
while Professor Piazzi
Smyth has recently attempted to prove that the Great
Pyramid was erected to preserve certain standard measures of capacity and dimension.*
After reading
all
the
ingenious arguments the Scotch astronomer puts forward
support of his hypothesis,
in
reasonable conclusion
Vyse arrived
is
that
I still believe
which
the
General
more
Howard
—
that they are the tombs of Egyptian
monarchs who flourished from the 4th to the 12th dynasty ;t
at
;
soUd mounds raised over sepulchral chambers,
cromlechs of the Celtic
tribes.
Now,
like the
Death-in-Life was
the great principle of the religion of the Egyptians.
life
was spent
for death.
in a steadfast
The unseen world was
the visible world of
vestibule of the
* Prof. Piazzi
t
it
their daily thought
no regard, except as the porch or
Temple of
Eternity.
Every man,
if
Smyth, " Our Inheritance in the Great Pyramid," passim.
of the word " Pyramid " is uncertain, but there can be
The etymology
doubt
All
and methodical preparation
means a tomb
or sepulchre.
his
little
A ROYAL MAUSOLEUM.
172
need was not too
tomb even
in
began the preparation of
great,
He
early youth.
his
eagerly to joining the " great congregation " of those
And
had gone before.
this
who
was especially the case with
Each one of them
the Egyptian kings.
his
looked forward
lived solitary
was only when he died that he would enter among
and
it
his
peers.
He
went from the solitude of the busy,
peopled Egypt, to the sanctified society of the Valley
Death.
To
of
him, as Miss Martineau remarks, this was
the great event, to which he
the best years of his
life
was looking forward during
and he devoted
;
his wealth, his
thoughts, and the most sacred desires of his heart, to
preparation for his promotion to the society of kings, and
There, an abode would be
the presence of the gods.
prepared for him.
On
the walls of his
mansions
to paint the succession of
house which he was to inhabit
he was to dwell,
home
at last
:
heavenly
but, meanwhile,
the long
for a vast length of time, in
peers (whether asleep or
in the valley, with his
round about
vigilant) all
tomb he attempted
in the great
him."*
Thus, then, as soon as a king began to reign, he began
the erection of his mausoleum.
brought together from
all
Gangs of labourers were
parts of the empire
days labour was cheap, and a royal
A
command
:
in those
irresistible.
shaft of the size of the intended sarcophagus having
been
first
excavated
in the rock, at
such an incline as
permitted the sarcophagus to be readily lowered, then,
at a suitable depth, a cell or
for its
reception.
Over
this
chamber was hollowed out
chamber was built up the
pyramidal mass of masonry, of square blocks, —the mouth
*
Harriet Martineau, " Eastern Life,"
i.
325-327.
LABOUR IN THE LONG AGES.
of the shaft being
and,
at
left
As long
open.
pyramid was increased
lived, this
as the sovereign
in height
and breadth,
death,
his
completed
173
by
fac!il!!iliic4.
ing or smoothing
exterior.
The
its
Iliinnr,
Tliin..„
latter
operation was per-
formed
ple
iiiiitb
in a very sim-
manner: courses
a. Original
masonry,
added
b.
Additional work of
exterior.
of long blocks were
to each step or gradation of the mass,
and the
whole cut down to an uniform surface, beginning from
the apex.*
was long a matter
It
of
wonder how such immense
masses of masonry had been elevated to their respective
places, but the discovery of large circular apertures in
many
of the stones, seems to
show
that the Egyptians
were assisted by some kind of machinery.
must our admiration be
Not
the less
freely given to the artisans
who
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MODE OF CONVEYING STONES.
accomplished so much with means and appliances apparently of the simplest order.
the ingenuity
*
Sir
How great must have been
—how supreme the perseverance—how
Gardner Wilkinson,
"Modem
Egypt and Thebes,"/^"""*
vast
THE GREAT PYRAMID.
174
Alas, for the hewers of wood and drawers of
who were dragged from their far-off homes to perish,
perhaps, under the incessant labour
Where did they
sleep the last sleep, I wonder % What sepulchre enshrined
the toil
!
water,
!
Not for them the mighty pyramid and
memory their meed was forgetfulness.
The stones made use of were either brought from
their dust?
historic
the
:
granite quarries of Syene, or,
the spot.
The
entrances were
and ingress to the
by barriers of
more
the
frequently, quarried on
filled
up with anxious
care,
of the king prevented
last resting-place
solid stone.
Egypt contains seventy Pyramids,
all
between 29° and
30° north latitude, the most remarkable being situated
either at
and
all
Memphis
the cardinal points,
The
or in the neighbourhood of Cairo,
on the west bank of the Nile.
and
Their sides face
their entrances are
on the north.
three largest, or those of Ghizeh, are the best
known
and most celebrated.
The
first,
or Great Pyramid, was mainly erected by
"Cheops," who
gists,
or
flourished, according to different chronolo-
about 3229, 3095, or 2123
Chemmis
B.C.,
height was 480 feet 9 inches, and
that
is,
it
and was theChenebes
of Diodorus, and the Shufu of Manetho.
its
occupied an area equal
in
Inn Fields, or about 543,696 square
building higher than
St.
angle was 51° 50', but
its
Its
base 764 feet square
;
extent to Lincoln's
feet,
with a mass of
Paul's Cathedral.
Its slope or
external effect has been
much
injured by the spoliation of the exterior blocks for the
erection of Cairo.
The
entrance
the ground, and 4 feet high.
is
about 40
The passage
is
feet
from
on a con-
siderable incline, 320 feet in length, and conducts to the
ITS INTERIOR.
75
mortuary chamber, excavated out of the solid rock, and
feet by 27 feet, and 14 feet 6 inches in
At the distance of 106 feet from the entrance
closed by a block of granite, and an upper pas-
measuring 46
height.
is
it
sage proceeds from this point at an angle of 27° *
by a few steps
ing
into the second passage,
to the entrance of the Great Gallery,
/
1
Climb-
you ascend
from whence a
«
^
/-Vn^
/
/J
\
/
\\
^'/
"*//
\\
f'A-
w
^"^^^
/y
//
//
//
^^ \
^^^^
Chamber.
a
//
Svhterrinean
.JUt
^Sjjj^^jf^
P^^
^^^^
t/»a«44.r.
i
SECTION OF GREAT PYRAMID OF GHIZEH.
horizontal passage leads into what
is called the Queen's
Chamber, which has a triangular roof, 20 feet 3 inches
high, and is 17 feet in length by 18 feet 9 inches in
breadth.
There
is
a niche in the east end, where the
Arabs have broken the masonry
*
General
1840-43).
Howard Vyse, " Observations on
in search
of treasure
;
the Pyramids of Ghizeh " (London.
THE KING'S CHAMBER.
176
and
Gardner Wilkinson
Sir
is
of
opinion that
where the king's body was deposited
rooms,
is
the pit
should be looked for beneath this niche, which
it
nearly in the centre of the Pyramid.
Returning to the Great Gallery, we come,
to
if
any of these
exists in
mouth of what
the
called
is
down
funnel-shaped shaft leading
As
chamber.
it is
the
Well
to the
narrow
subterranean
useless to descend thither,
our course along the gallery for 158
at its base,
—a
we continue
feet, arriving at
a
horizontal passage where four granite portcullises, de-
scending through grooves, once arrested the steps of the
and guarded the repose of the dead.
intruder
obstacles, however,
now enabled
Pyramid
to
—the
These
have been overcome, and you are
enter
King's
the
principal
Chamber
chamber
— constructed
in
the
entirely of
red granite, and containing a sarcophagus of the same
6i inches long, 3 feet 3 inches broad,
inches high.
We have called it a "sar-
material, 7 feet
and 3
feet 5
cophagus," but later authorities are not in accord as to
its
and
uses,
Prof.
Piazzi
Smyth
that
asserts
it
was
jealously preserved as a standard measure of capacity,
of which the British quarter
is
the fourth part.
The
reasons, however, which the Scotch astronomer advances
in
support of his opinion can hardly be described as
more
\k\2ji
The
plausible.
feet 3 inches,
lated
Chamber measures
King's
and 19
feet
i
17 feet
i
inch in height*
by two small air-channels, or
flues,
inch by 34
It is venti-
about 9 mches
square, which ascend to the north and south sides of the
Pyramid
;
and
*
J.
its
walls and roof are lined with superb
Fergusson, " History of Architecture "
i.
38.
THE SECOND PYRAMID.
Above
slabs of syenite.
narrow passage,
Davidson, 3
and accessible only by
it,
a small chamber, discovered by
is
high
feet 6 inches
a
Mr
and above
;
chambers
four other similar niches or
this^
177
were explored by General Vyse.
In one of
these he found the cartouche containing the
name
of the founder Shufu, or Cheops, worked
in red paint.
Shufu, and
reigned for
the Great Pyramid.
six years.
Num -Shufu
his brother
some years
During
conjointly,
(or
Sensuphis)
and conjointly erected
Their reigns extended over
this
sixty-
long period, upwards of 100,000
men, relieved every three months, were employed upon
the mighty work.*
The second Pyramid, generally
hieroglyphical authority, to
attributed,
though on no
Chephren (perhaps
or Sephres, of the 5th dynasty),
is
Sha-fre,
of later date, and of
ruder construction than that of Cheops.
It
stands on
higher ground, and consequently has an appearance of
greater height.
454
Its
tinguished
actual elevation, however,
square of
feet; the
base 707
feet.
It
is
is
only
dis-
by retaining a portion of that outer and
smoother casing which
In
its
all
the pyramids once possessed.
arrangements
it differs from the Great
Pyramid, the sarcophagus of the founder being sunk in
its
interior
the floor.
It
Khalif Alaziz
appears to have been broken into by the
Othman Ben-Yousouf, 1196
honour of throwing
due
it
open
to
a.d.,
but the
modern exploration
is
to the enterprise of Belzoni.
The account which
*
that intrepid
Herodotus, bk.
ii.
and sagacious
123, 124.
tra-
BELZONPS EXPLORATION.
178
of his explorations,
veller furnishes
perused with interest by the reader.
may even now
be
Having discovered
an entrance, he caused his hired troop of Arabs to clear
away the rubbish about
it,
and cut through the massive
stones of the Pyramid, until admission was obtained
into the
Further
or passage already described.
shaft
labour conducted him to a portcullis, a fixed block of
which seemed to render impossible
granite,
ultra, putting
him
It stared
into the interior.
an end to
his progress
plus
in the face as a ne
all his projects.
never believes in the impracticable.
But enthusiasm
A closer
of the stone revealed that at the bottom
it
about eight inches from the ground, while
inspection
was raised
at the top a
groove had been opened in the wall to admit of
elevation
up into
for
a
when
required.
toil
it
was
its
lifted
and a tunnel excavated high enough
this recess,
man
With great
to pass underneath.
Belzoni, with a
thrill of
triumph, pressed forward, and, after thirty days of wonderful perseverance,
was rewarded by finding himself
the road to the central
As
his
it
was
his desire to reach the centre,
advance along a corridor excavated
he continued
in the solid rock,
6 feet in height, and 6 feet 6 inches broad.
arrived at a large chamber,
scattered
thoughts.
in
chamber of the second Pyramid.
and paused
Where was he?
He
then
to collect his
What was
the
object of the cell or apartment in which he found himself?
" Whatever
it
might be," he
says, " I certainly con-
sidered myself in the centre of that Pyramid which, from
time immemorial, had been the subject of the obscure
conjectures of
modern.
My
many hundred
travellers,
both ancient and
torch, formed of a few wax candles, gave
TMPORTANT discoveries.
i8i
but a faint light; I could, however, clearly distinguish
the principal objects.
I
my
naturally turned
eyes to the
west end of the chamber, looking for the sarcophagus,
which
when
I
same
strongly expected to see in the
I
as that in the
Pyramid
first
saw nothing
;
but
The chamber, he
many of
there.
has a pointed or sloping ceiling, and
had been removed from
one
there
I
continues,
the stones
their places, evidently
On my
in search of treasure.
the west end,
situation
was disappointed
I
by some
advancing towards
was agreeably surprised
was a sarcophagus buried on a
to find that
level
with the
floor."
This sarcophagus
and 3
feet
2
is
8 feet long, 3 feet 6 inches wide,
inches deep in the inside.
It is
manu-
factured of the finest granite, but does not exhibit a
single hieroglyph.
interior
The fragments
of bone found in the
belonged to an animal of the bovine species,
and have been generally supposed to be the remains of
the sacred bull
— the
type of the god Apis
The chamber
venerated by the Egyptians.
length, 16 feet 3 inches in width,
and 23
—so
highly
46
feet in
is
feet 6 inches in
height.
Such were the most important discoveries which
warded Belzoni's energy.
as in the
He
re-
also found a well or shaft,
Pyramid of Cheops, and from thence a passage
running towards the north at an angle of 26°.
tinued in this direction for
481
feet,
It
con-
and then opened
upon a horizontal passage 35 feet long. Off this gallery
turns an avenue or corridor 22 feet long, with a descent
of 26° towards the west, which leads into a chamber
with a pointed roof, 32 feet long, 9 feet 9 inches wide,
THE THIRD PYRAMID.
l82
and 8
feet
6 inches high.*
Manetho, reigned
The
Chephren, according
to
sixty-six years.
third Pyramid, smaller than the others, but ad-
mirably constructed, was built by Men-ka-re or Mycerinus,
who
reigned sixty-three years.
by 354
feet
6
only 218 feet high,
It is
inches square.
It
has two
modelled
after a
arch inside.
—a
palace
to
It
curious
it,
;
but
contained the sarcophagus of Mycerinus,
cedar
mummy,
England, where,
in
and the
in imitation of a
mummy
belonging
upper apartment by some
to the
The
spoliator.
remains of the
modelled
also
coffin,
had been removed
unknown
lower,
palace, has a pointed roof, cut like an
work of art,
its
sepulchral
The
chambers, excavated out of the solid rock.
debris of the coffin,
and the
were afterwards conveyed to
Museum, they now atThe stone sarcopha-
the British
tract the attention of thousands.
gus was unfortunately lost off Carthagena, in the wreck
of
the
vessel
on board
of
which
had been em-
it
barked.
It
seems desirable to add that
inferior
dimensions are situated
Ruweysh,
built
at
five miles north-west,
by Venephes, of the
first
six other
Ghizeh
;
pyramids of
one
at
Abou-
in a ruined condition,
dynasty
;
another decayed
memorial, built of limestone, stands at Zowyet-el-Arrian
and another, supposed
to
en-Ra, or Busiris, at Rugar.
at Abou-Seir,
;
have been built by King User-
There are three pyramids
one connected with King Shura, and another
with a monarch of the third dynasty.
Dashour
Eleven are extant
— the northernmost of which
at
Sakkara
is
believed to have been erected by the King Asychis of
* Belzoni, •"
;
five at
Researches and Operations
in
Egypt and Nubia,"
i.
410, et sea.
.
LEGENDS OF THE PYRAMIDS.
183
Others are at Biahmo, at Meydoon, and
Herodotus.*
lUahoOn, and some small ones of brick, belonging
at
Wherever found,
near Thebes.
none were erected
that
dynasty, and almost
has been ascertained
it
than the era of the twelfth
later
may be
of them
all
to
Drah Aboo Negger,
kings of the eleventh dynasty, at the
described as
forming a part of the great Royal Necropolis of Memphis.
All things dread Time, says the proverb, but
Time
dreads the Pyramids.
*
This king boasted greatly of his erection, perhaps because
"Wishing," says Herodotus, "to surpass
Egypt before him, he
tion cut upon a stone
stone.
been
This
I
am
built
is
left for
:
*
a
monument
Degrade me
all
the kings
it
was of brick
who had
reigned in
a pyramid of brick, with this inscrip-
by comparing me with the pyramids
tnot
of
much above them as is Amun above all other gods for I have
of bricks made with the mud brought up from the bottom of the lake.
as
:
the most notable thing that Asychis did."
Herodotus, bk.
ii.
§ 136.
The youthful student may be referred, for fuller information, to General
Howard Vyse's " Observations on the Pyramids of Ghizeh ;" Gliddon's " Egypt
tian Archaeology
may add
;
"
and Bunsen's " Egypt's Place
that Sir G. Cornewall
mids were anterior
Lewis seems
to the building of
We
in Universal History."
none of the
to intimate that
Solomon's Temple (1012
B.C.)
pjnra-
while astro-
;
nomical dates would certainly place the erection of the Great Pyramid eleven
centuries earlier, or in 2123 B.C.
star,
At
and passed the lower meridian
y Draconis was the pole
an altitude of 26 or 27 degrees
that time the star
at
Ghizeh
at
the inclination at which the straight passages on the north side of the Great
Pyramid descend.
The Pyramids have
seem
to
their legends
:
of a lighter character, in truth, than would
become such grave and hoary
a princess of the Pharaonic race.
lessness of the personal
piles.
Her
Of
charms she possessed
She vowed,
one, the erection
is
ascribed to
day with the useno ordinary measure, and was
father taunted her one
in
would raise, by the
power of her beauty, a monument as lasting and as grand as any that her ancestors had erected by the power of their armies.
The number of her lovers, says
not unnaturally vain
of.
in her anger, that she
Warburton, was thereupon increased by
fortune for her smiles.
Her memorial,
all
who were
prove their devotion, her lovers ruined themselves
the
renown she
desired,
;
but the
and was afterwards enshrined
Another legend relates that a
fair
Greek
content to sacrifice their
a massive pyramid, rose rapidly
girl,
in
fair architect
to
Sappho's tender song.
named Rhodope, was once
in the Nile, while the very birds of the air hovered
:
secured
bathing
round her, entranced
in ad-
MECHANICAL EXCELLENCE.
l84
An
examination of these marvellous structures involves
No
us in a labyrinth of thought.
one, for instance, can
possibly penetrate into the interior of the Great Pyramid,
as Mr. Fergusson remarks,* without being struck with
astonishment at the wonderful mechanical
in
its
The immense
construction.
brought from Syene
— a distance of
skill
displayed
blocks of granite
five
hundred miles
polished like glass, are so fitted that the joints can hardly
be detected.
Nothing can be more wonderful than the
extraordinary
amount
of knowledge
displayed
in
the
construction of the discharging chambers over the roof
of the principal apartment, in the alignment of the sloping galleries, in the provision of ventilating shafts, and
in all the wonderful contrivances of the structure.
All
these, too, are carried out with such precision, that, not-
withstanding the immense
superincumbent weight, no
settlement on any part can be detected to the extent of
an appreciable fraction of an inch.
Nothing more per-
mechanically, has ever been erected since that time
fect,
and we ask ourselves
taken before
men
how
in vain,
long
must have
it
acquired such experience and such
or were so perfectly organized, as to contemplate
skill,
and complete such undertakings.
Wonderful, continues Mr. Fergusson, as
miration of her loveliness.
An
eagle,
matu-
all this
more rapturous than the
rest,
as might be
expected of the bird of Jove, flew away with one of her dainty pantoufles
talons
;
by a sudden outburst of Egyptian loyalty,
the feet of Pharaoh, who was holding his court
but, startled
cious souvenir at
let fall
in the
in its
the pre-
open
air.
Our reader's imagination will supply the remainder of the story. Pharaoh commanded an instant search for the owner of so small a slipper. She was found;
she was wooed she was won and within a pyramid erected to her glory now
lies her dust.
Eliot Warburton, " The Crescent and tJie Cross," chap, xvi
;
*
;
Fergusson, " History of Architecture,"
i.
81-83.
THE SPHINX. AND ITS ASPECT
rity
of art
may be when found
185
at so early a period, the
more perplexing when we again
ask ourselves how long a people must have lived and
problem becomes
still
recorded their experience before they came to reaUze
and
aspire to an eternity such as the building of these
pyramids shows that they sacrificed everything to
One
of their great aims was to preserve the
attain.
body
intact
thousand years, in order that the soul might be
for three
again united with
it
when
the day of judgment arrived.
But what taught them to contemplate such periods 01
time with confidence
?
and, stranger
how
still,
learn to realize so daring an aspiration
did they
?
Such are some of the questions which a study of Egyptian
monuments
but which,
naturally suggests,
present state of knowledge,
we
are unable to
our
in
answer
satisfactorily.
In front of the Pyramids
parition, rising, Pharos-like,
gather round
veller
it,
—a solemn and majestic
ap-
above the surging sands which
— the billows of a
petrified sea,
— the
tra-
beholds the Sphinx, mutely tranquil and immov-
ably serene, as in the days
marched up between
its
which
its
it
sheltered in
when
colossal
religious processions
paws
the temple
to
all-embracing bosom.
It
is,
monugazing upon
perhaps, the most impressive of the Egyptian
ments
;
and the
traveller
the " stony calm of
its
repose, the unutterable
tenance.
The Arabs
never wearies of
attitude," the weird
meaning of
expressively
its
name
" the father of terror," or " immensity."
pares
" to
it
to "
beauty of
its
eloquent counit
Aboolhol,
Bartlett
com-
some mysterious pre-Adamite monarch," or
one of those gigantic genii of Arabian
fiction
which
A COMELY CREATURE,
i86
make
abode
their
in the desolate places of the earth."
Miss Martineau speaks of
" long, well-opened eyes
its
eyes which have gazed unwinking
into
vacancy, while
mighty Pharaohs, and Hebrew lawgivers, and Persian
and Greek philosophers, and Antony with Cleoand Christian anchorites, and Arab
princes,
patra by his side,
warriors,
men
and European
of science,
have
been
brought hither in succession by the unpausing ages to
look up into those eyes
— so
full
of meaning, though so
fixed."
"
There was something," says Dean Stanley, " stupenits vast proin the sight of that enormous head
—
dous
jecting wig,
still
on
visible
great ears,
its
lower part of
its
cheeks, the
its face.
open
its
eyes, the red colour
immense
Yet what must
projection of the
it
have been when
head there was the royal helmet of Egypt, on its
chin the royal beard; when the stone pavement by which
man approached the Pyramids ran up between its paws
on
its
when immediately under its breast an altar stood, from
which the smoke went up into the gigantic nostrils of
that nose, now vanished from the face, never to be conAll this is known with certainty from the
ceived again
!
remains which actually exist deep under the sand on
which you stand, as you look up from a distance into the
broken but
The
still
expressive features."
eloquent author of " Eothen
admiration which
it
awakens
"
has expressed the
in every thoughtful observer
with yet greater faithfulness, and in language of singular
force.
Comely the
* A.
W.
creature
is,
Kinglake, " E5then
he
;
or,
says,"^
but the comeliness
Traces of Eastern Travel."
EOTHEN ON THE
is
not of this world
SPHINX.
the once-worshipped beast
\
deformity and a monster to this generation
can see that those
187
lips,
mould of beauty now forgotten
forth
— forgotten
wreathed
it
lip
a law
among men,
new forms
that the short
ot
of beauty,
and proudly-
should stand for the sign and main condi-
tion of loveliness through all generations to
still
—some
because that
Cytherea from the flashing foam
the ^Egean, and in her image created
and made
a
so thick and heavy, were fash-
ioned according to some ancient mould of beauty
Greece drew
is
and yet you
:
there lives on the race of those
in the fashion of the elder
world
come.
who were
and Christian
;
Yet
beautiful
girls of
Coptic blood will look on you with the sad, serious gaze,
and
kiss
your charitable hand with the big pouting
lips,
of the very Sphinx.
"
it)',
Laugh and mock,
if
you
continues our author-
will,"
" at the worship of stone idols
but mark ye
;
this,
ye
breakers of images, that in one regard the stone idol
bears awful semblance of Deity
the midst of change
for ever
—
the
and ever inexorable
of Ethiopian
— unchangefulness
same seeming
!
Upon
and Egyptian kings
;
will
and
in
intent,
ancient dynasties
upon Greek and
Roman, upon Arab and Ottoman, conquerors
upon
Napoleon dreaming of an Eastern Empire upon battle
and pestilence upon the ceaseless misery of the Egyptian race
upon keen-eyed travellers, Herodotus yester;
;
;
;
day, and Warburton to-day;
— upon
all
and more
this
unworldly Sphinx has watched, and watched like a Providence, with the same earnest eyes, and the same sad,
tranquil mien.
away
;
And
we,
we
and the Enghshman,
shall die,
and Islam wither
straining far over to hold his
DIMENSIONS OF THE SPHINX.
188
loved India,
and
Nile,
sit
plant a firm foot on the banks of the
will
in the seats of the Faithful
sleepless rock will lie watching
new busy
of the
race, with those
and the same tranquil mien
says Eothen, "
The
the
same
colossal figure
is
that
still
sad, earnest eyes,
You
everlasting.
you dare not mock
fore-paws, which
and
;
and watching the works
hewn out
at the
dare not,"
Sphinx."
of the rock, excepting
are built of squared
stone
an
:
enormous couchant monster, with gigantic arms, between
which formerly nestled a miniature temple with a
form, and flights of steps for approaching
time,
its
horns.
head bore
It
either the royal helmet or the ram's
measures, from the belly to the highest part of
the head, 56 feet;
its
length
is
172 feet 6 inches; and
the circumference round the colossal brows,
Over the temple and
this tutelary deity
The
altar of sacrifice the
feet.
is still visible,
feet.
but the
buried beneath the drifted sand.
itself lies
From a
102
grand head of
towered from an altitude of 60
granite tablet above the altar
temple
plat-
In the old
it.
tablet
which M. Mariette has discovered,
would appear that some repairs were effected on
extraordinary
monument by
it
this
Suphis, or Shufu, the chief
founder of the Great Pyramid.*
In that case, the Sphinx
must have existed before the Pyramids ; and, in truth,
if it
then required renovation, must have existed long prior to
those venerable
piles.
And,
therefore,
it is
not only the
most colossal, but the most ancient idol of which we have
any knowledge.
In the Egyptian hieroglyphs
it is
always
of Neb^ or " Lord," and
to under the name
Akar, or " Intelligence;" so that when we consider
referred
•
Renan, " Revue des Deux Mondes,"
1865, pp. 675, et sq<}
its
INTERESTING DISCOVERIES.
curious combination of the lion's
189
body with the human
head, we may, perhaps, be allowed to suppose that
it
symbolized Intellect and Strength.
The Sphinx* of Ghizeh is the largest in Egypt. Caviglia,
who carefully explored it in 18 16, ascertained from three
hieroglyphical tablets in
was dedicated
to
it,
its
" Sun on the Horizon," by
Before the
temple, that the said temple
under the name of Haremakhu, or
Thothmes
apparently a
altar,
and Rameses
III.
Roman
a dromos, or paved esplanade, repaired
following, in
"
Greek pentameters, by Arrian
Thy
rocky
who caused
He
vated.
isle,
from the ever-shifting sands
and
;
dromos leading
To
the fourth dynasty, of huge blocks of red
alabaster.
entire
— of the
which were very
*
designed
to a temple, built,
Here, in the midst of the great
chamber, were discovered seven statues
and two
wall,
and ascertained
head of the Sphinx was sculptured.
the south he found a
in the era of
by M. Mariette
the vicinity to be carefully exca-
open a peripolos, or outer
laid
it
that only the
granite
encumbered once with sand,
near the Pyramids have bid thee stand."
further particulars were obtained
to protect
;
with this mighty work of art have graced
And
1852,
;
paw, the
form stupendous here the gods have placed,
And
A
left
:
Sparing each spot of harvest-bearing land
Some
the loth,
Various votive inscriptions were discovered
160.
and, especially, on the second digit of the
in
reigns
in the
May
of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus,
A.D.
II.
addition, extended
The word
is
—
five mutilated,
monarch Chephren, or
Sha-fre,
finely executed.
from the Greek, and
signifies " the
StrangUr."
A VISIT TO MEMPHIS.
I90
A
short distance to the south-east of the Pyramids,
and on the bank of the
Memphite
old capital of the
It
"
be credited,*
it
Memf.
was founded by the
it is
Men
—a
few
of the
Memphis.
Men-nefei-^ or the
Hebrews named
Station;" the
modern Arabs
the
kings,
was known to the Egyptians as
Good
mounds
a few
river,
mummy pits —indicate the site
shapeless ruins and
called
it
Noph ; and by
If
Herodotus may
first
monarch of the
who diverted the course of
the Nile, and raised an embankment of one hundred
stadia in length, to protect his new city from inundations.
The remains of this work, by whomsoever constructed,
first
dynasty,
are
still
or Menes,
Kafr-el-Tyat, which represents the
visible at
centre of ancient Memphis,
famous temple.
by
his
Long
to Thebes,
became
before Athens or
celebrated for
its
and the
of
site
its
most
palace built by Menes, was enlarged
son Athothis, and, when the seat of empire was
removed
and
A
its
wealth,
the residence of the viceroy.
Rome
existed,
population,
its
commercial greatness.
It
Memphis was
influence,
its
was here the Persian
conqueror Cambyses received the splendid embassies that
came from
all
"
In those
its
quarters of the
known
world,
From India and the golden Chersonese,
And utmost Indian isle Taprobane,
Dusk faces with white silken turbans wreathed, "t
palmy
days,
at sixteen miles. J
its
Owing
circumference was computed
to
its
important position,
it
was frequently exposed to the storms of war during the
+
Herodotus, book ii. § 99. See also Diodorus, book
Milton, " Paradise Lost."
t
Sir G. Wilkinson,
*
" Topography of Thebes,"
i.
p. 340.
c.
4.
THE TRIAD OF MEMPHIS.
191
repeated revolts of the Egyptians against their foreign
was plundered and devastated by Ochus
It
rulers.
his defeat of
had returned when
perity
who,
Something of
Nectanebus.
was
it
worshipping the Apis
after
by Alexander,
visited
in
its
sacred temple,
descended the Nile in a gilded galley to
The Greek
mouth.
The
in the
;
its final
but the city was destroyed by Ptolemy VIII.
With that extraordinary vitality which
tinguishes great cities,
it
finally
sometimes
Roman
revived under the
Amrou
but after the conquest of Egypt by
sunk into decay, and contributed by
ruins to the foundation of Cairo
and
The
scanty remains are
rule
enormous
They were
when visited
the thirteenth cen-
in
now
dis-
the Arab,
its
Fostat.
of considerable importance and extent
by the Arab historian Abdalatif,
tury.
Canobic
removal to Alexandria.
Serapeion
still
its
conqueror's body was brought hither
monarchs of the Lagid dynasty were crowned
by Ptolemy, before
early
after
former pros-
its
to
be found
at
Koum-
el-Uzyzeh on the north, and Metrahenny on the west.
It
was a curious feature of the ancient Egyptian wor-
ship, that
each large city or
assemblage 6f three gods,
adored.
" Fire"
—
Bubastis,
The Triad
of
whom
Memphis
identical with the
who may be
nome had
it
its
own
more
Triad, or
particularly
consisted of Ptah^ or
Greek Hephaestos ; Pasht,
or
identified with the Artemis of the
Greeks; and the ox -god Apis.
There would consebut owing
quently be temples erected to these divinities
;
to the ruined condition of the city their sites
cannot
now
be discovered, with the exception of that of Apis.
The foundations
M. Mariette
in
of the last-named were discovered by
1850-51.
This was the magnificent Sera-
THE APEUM, OR SANCTUARY.
192
built by the Greeks on the site of that ancient
" abode of Osor-hapi," or the " Osiris- Apis ;"* which the
peion,
Egyptians had for ages regarded with peculiar reverence.
It
was approached from the
—which, even
in the sands
in the
city
by an avenue of sphinxes
time of Strabo, was partially buried
—and consisted of four temples, respectively
dedicated to Serapis, Astarte, Anubis, and Imouthos (or
Close at hand stood the Apeum, or sanc-
Aesculapius).
tuary of the sacred bull, where he was carefully tended,
as well as the
bull died, his
cow from which he had sprung. As each
mummy was stored away in one of the
corridors extending underground for a considerable dis-
and known as the " Mummy-pits of Apis ; " and
which were preserved the remains of all the bulls from
tance,
in
the reign of
Amunophis
III.
(about
B.C.
when he was
Apeum, and when
year in which he was born,
place of honour in the
1400).
The
up
in the
set
interred in his
subterranean sepulchre, were recorded on a tombstone
or
monumental
tablet
;
and
as these tablets range from
the 19th dynasty to the epoch of Ptolemy III., Euergetes,
247 B.C., their chronological value is very great. They
number about twelve hundred, but the most important
have been removed to the Louvre at Paris. t The priesthood of the Serapeion formed a peculiar order, living
in
wholly within the confines of the temple, and supported
by the oblations of the devout.
The mummies
are arranged in two principal galleries,
of which the more ancient
*
This, however,
is
also the smaller
doubted by some
stood south of the gateway of the
t
is
Mariette, " Serapeum de
authorities,
who
Temple of Pthah.
Memphis
(4to, Paris, 1856),
;
the second,
think that the Apeunc
THE SERAPEION.
in
i$5
point of time, was begun in the fifty-third year of
Psammetichus
I.,
and contains about twenty-four magni-
ficent granite sarcophagi.
covered with
Its walls are
vivid decorations of the usual character.
and
ridors are of inferior character,
their
The other cormonuments and
decorations display no artistic merit.
The Temple
of Osiris-Apis, or Osor-hapi
BKONZES OF THE EGYPTIAN GOD
"Osirified" or
"dead Apis"— was
— that
is,
the
APIS.
called
by the Greeks
the Serapdion, simply because they identified the Egyptian
god with the deity
Serapis,
whose image and worship
they translated from Sinope in Pontus to Alexandria, in
consequence of a vision of Ptolemy
deity found great favour in the
T.
Greek
(Soter).
cities
This new
founded
in
Egypt, and forty-two temples were raised to his honour.
The
A SYMBOL OF
APIS,
196
OSIRIS.
three most famous were those of Alexandria,
bus, and Memphis.
The Egyptian
was worshipped as a symbol of
by a retinue of
priests,
and
Cano
Apis, or divine bull,
He
Osiris.
was attended
oxen were
sacrifices of red
All his changes of appetite, his move-
offered to him.
ments, and choice of places were watched as oracular.
He
If
was not allowed
to live longer than twenty-five years.
he died a natural death before that age,
embalmed
tombs.
mummy, and
as a
his
body was
interred in the subterranean
Otherwise, he was secretly put to death, and
A
buried by the priests in a sacred well.
was then sought
for.
It
new animal
was necessary he should be marked
with a white square on his forehead, an eagle on his back,
and a knot
under
like a cantharus
found, he was conveyed with great
where he remained
The
pomp
to Nilopolis,
days, attended
for forty
women, and was then removed
When
his tongue.
by naked
to Memphis.'^
ancient city also boasted of the Iseion, a magnifi-
cent temple completed by Amasis
of a temple to Ra, Re, or the Sun
object of peculiar reverence
;
about 526 b.c;
11. ,
— throughout Egypt
an
of the Nilometer^ or standard
which gauged the flood and ebb of the Nile, removed by
* After tlie defeat of the Persian
turned to
a calf
army
in the
Libyan Desert, Cambyses
this city (b.c. 524), to find its inhabitants rejoicing at the
marked with
the mystic characters which declared
it
re-
discovery of
to be the divine bull.
Supposing the public joy to be over his own defeat, Cambyses summoned the
magistrates before him.
They endeavoured
to pacify
him by
covery of Apis, but were immediately condemned to death as
relating the disliars.
He
then
ordered Apis and his priests to be brought into his presence; "he would soon
know," he said, " whether a tame god had really come to dwell in Egypt."
Drawing
to
his dagger,
be scourged.
he stabbed the calf
in the thigh,
All his subsequent excesses
and
and sentenced the
disasters
priests
were supposed by the
Egjrptians to be the penalty which the gods inflicted for this sacrilegious act.
THE FIGURE OF RAMESES.
Memphis by
Constantine to Byzantium, but restored to
Julian the Apostate
of a temple to Ptah, which was pro-
;
bably one of surpassing magnificence
shrine of the Cabiri
Rameses
11.
grandeur
is
197
the mysterious
;
and the huge colossal statues of
;
The most
signal
evidence of
past
its
however, by the remains of
afforded,
its
superb Necropolis, which, extending for miles along the
frontier of the Desert, includes seven-and-sixty pyramids,
and among these the three great marvels of Ghizeh. *
There
dotus
one other memorial of ancient Memphis to
is
which the
traveller's attention
us
tells
how
should be directed.
that
Sesostris
Rameses
is,
HeroIII.
—
erected in front of the great gateway a colossal statue of his
And deep
royal
self.
little
pool of water
covers the spot,
The name
lies
of
lies
is
in a
by the inundation which annually
a gigantic
Rameses
downwards, but
wide grove of palms,
in a thick
left
is
back upwards.
effigy, its
carved upon
its belt.
visible in profile,
The
and quite
face
perfect,
with a wonderful expression of repose and tranquillity.
The
reader should also be reminded, as
of the capital of Menes, that
patriarch
Abraham, was
it
was once
afterwards
we take leave
by the
the
visited
Joseph, and perhaps the birth-place of the
residence
Hebrew
of
law-
giver, Moses, t
Another excursion from Cairo, not to be neglected by
* Lepsius, " Reise
groups
:
Egypten," pp. 51-63.
The pyramids form
four principal
those of Ghizeh, the oldest and largest, Abou-Seir, Dashoul", and Sak-
kara.
t
According
to
Manetho, Moses was
rescued him from the Nile
of
Memphis.
is
bom
at Heliopolis
;
yet the princess
who
said to have been the w'fe of " Chenephres," king
RUINS OF HELIOPOLIS.
198
the traveller,
to Heliopolis, where, in a remote an-
is
tiquity,
"
An
imperial city stood,
With towers and temples proudly
now
but whose
site is
and by an
obelisk,
The road
fields
elevate
;
only marked by a circuit of mounds,
supposed to be the oldest
in Egypt.
leads through fertile gardens, and irrigated
of corn and
rice,
and, for the most part, under " the
As
shade of melancholy boughs.''
the tourist follows
it,
he pauses to examine the celebrated sycamore, under
whose venerable branches
Family rested on
Little
Holy
declares the
tradition
their journey towards the south.
now remains
of Heliopolis, says a recent writer,*
but a vast accumulation of debris and piles of refuse.
It
is
strange,
he adds, to trace the
ancient Egyptian cities by these
bled and broken bricks, which alone, in
though
many
still
bricks,
hard and sometimes angular, are invariably
of unburned earth, for there was
Egypt before the time of the
tenacious
instances,
These
where they once flourished.
indicate
of the most
sites
immense heaps of crum-
is
the
are composed,
mud and
no burned brick
Roman
dominion
;
in
yet so
slime of the Nile of which they
and so baking are the powerful rays of the
sun in those latitudes, that the ancient bricks are almost
as hard as stone.
Heliopolis, as the oldest capital in Egypt,
historical associations.
" the
Abn
god.
Abode
or On.
Its
of the Sun ;" from which
Its chief
rich in
came
the
Hebrew
temple was dedicated to the sun-
It was, in truth, the
*
is
Egyptian name was Ei-n-Re^
sanctuary of the learning and
Rev. A. C. Smith, " The Nile and
its
Banks,"
i.
100, 101.
A REMARKABLE CITY.
wisdom of the Egyptians
ter of
199
— the Egyptian Oxford— a
clus-
temples and colleges, where the priests taught the
mysteries of their
Here Joseph took
faith.
to wife
Asenath, the daughter of Poti-pherah, priest of the Sun.
Here Moses was taught, by command of Pharaoh's
the Pharaoh being Apophis, one of the Shep-
daughter
—
herd Kings
— the
doctrines of the
Egyptian
religion.
Here, in a day of darkness and woe, Jeremiah wrote
his
And
Lamentations over the decline of Judah.
Eudoxus and Plato resided
for thirteen years
;
here
the latter
imbibing that sublime belief in the immortality of the
soul which he afterwards ex-
pounded
-^^
in the glorious elo-
And
famous Am-
quence of the Phaedo.
here grew the
ryllis Gileadensis^
yielding the
fragrant balsamic resin of the
"balm of Gilead" which the
Queen of Sheba presented to
Solomon.*
Of
opolis
old-world Egypt, Heli-
was the sacredest
the very focus
its
active
city,
and centre of
religious
life,
the
source whence flowed, as
it
BALM OF GILEAD.
were, the higher impulses of
its
civilization.
cuit of
mounds"
And now
are
" local habitation,"
* Josephus, "Antiquities,"
and the Cross,"
c. v.
all
a solitary obelisk and " a
that exist to
It is this that
book
viii.
6.
remind us of
renders Egyptian
6; Eliot Warburton,
"The
cirits
tra-
Crescent
THE OBELISK OF OSIRTESEN.
200
vel so
mournfully impressive
;
everywhere the eye
rests
on the most striking testimony of the mutability of human
things,
and the most eloquent proofs of the vanity
human
The
ambition.
" solitary obelisk
" to
which
I
have referred
is
of
of
THE OBELISK.
red granite, and therefore must have
come from
quarries of Syene, distant five hundred miles
excavated
to
its
it,
present
who
sculptured
site,
it,
or
how
it
;
but
the
who
was transported
and erected, are questions not
answered by the most learned Egyptologist.
to be
Exclusive
PYRAMIDS AND OBELISKS.
of the top,
name
it
measures 67
of Osirtesen
twelfth dynasty,
Egypt.
Its
is
and
feet in height,
reigned over
pours into the area of the
It
bears the
buried several feet in earth, gradually
deposited by successive overflows of the
considerably below
it
member of the
both Upper and Lower
the most illustrious
I.,
who
base
201
city,
river,
though
in
which now
ancient times
its level.
should be noted, as a rule with scarcely any excep-
CARTOUCHE OF THOTHMES
tion, that while all the
III.
pyramids stand on the west bank of
the Nile, which was considered preferable for purposes
of sepulture, the obelisks were raised on the east.
these monoliths
seem
As
to have
been principally dedicated
to the sun-god, their position
may have had some em-
blematic reference to the quarter in which he
first
ap-
peared.
Several of the obelisks which anciently adorned Heliopolis were
removed by the Romans
:
one now
rises
SOME FAMOUS
202
before the church of
Atmeedan
or
St.
OBELISKS.
John Lateran
Hippodrome
these bear the well-known cartouche of
third, in the
Piazza del Popolo at
Rome,
by Menephthah, was transported to
Emperor Augustus.
That
;
another in the
of Constantinople.
of the
Thothmes
Both
of
III.
A
originally erected
Rome
by order of the
Monte Cavallo was
brought from Egypt by Claudius, a.d. 57.
Heliopolis, I
may
add,
is
situated
on the
east side of
the Pelusiac branch of the Nile, about twenty miles northeast of
Memphis.
-^^
DAHABEEYAH, OR NILE-BOAT
|B>v
)JM^[ ^^
.
'm
H^J^L
CHAPTER
BENI-HASSAN,
III.
AND THE TOMBS— ANTINOOPOLIS
SIOUT
— GIRGEH — DENDERA, AND ITS TEMPLE.
— the powerful and the strong
Monarchs
Famous in history and
Of olden time.
song
in
Longfellow.
A reverend pile,
With bold
projections
and recesses deep.
Wordsworth.
FTER
our excursions to the Pyramids and
Here we
Heliopolis, let us return to Cairo.
engage a dahabeeyah^ or Nile-boat, and pre
pare for our voyage up the "sacred
And
a more deHghtful excursion
There
to
is
it is
difficult to
a splendour in the sky, an elasticity in the
which the pilgrim from the cloudy West
accustomed.
easily
character.
the
The
scener)' through
and not too rapidly
of palm
river.'
imagine
;
Villages of
sandy shoals,
mud
is
which he
in brightly-coloured
and
huts,
embowered
ibis
types, carrying
;
is
carried
in groves
and gay with
alive with wings,
attire
air.
wholly un
of a striking and varied
plumage of the flamingo and the
barges, of all sizes
is
;
quaint native
dusky passengers
a yacht or two, belonging to
ANIMAL LIFE ON THE
2o6
Moslem
\
men
of pottery or water-melons
;
little
some adventurous European
paddling along on
busy
rafts
the
cafes, nestling in
mores; creaking
or wealthy
shade of far-spread sycaused for the
sakias, or water-wheels,
purpose of irrigation
and beyond the emerald
;
these combine to form a picture as splendid as
Nor
will the
banks
fail
dance,
its
species
;
animal
life
variety,
and
its
and
its
and
West
:
vultures
and
sweep by
harriers,
kites,
all
rare.
river-
abun-
waited on by raptores,
for death always attends life very closely, in the
in the
—
Water-fowl of several
newness.
iiaiatofes,
;
it is
which swarms upon the
to attract the traveller's gaze, from
grallatores
strip of
boundary of the Desert
valley the yellow
fertile
NILE.
East as
hawks, kestrels, buzzards,
Here may
in swift succession.
be seen the carcass of a dead camel, with dogs rending
on one
it
crows
the
at
side,
hand
and vultures on the
and hooded
other,
There
to claim their portion of the booty.
ploughman plods on
his way, driving a
team of camels,
or a pair of cows, or a camel yoked with a cow, or even
a
tall
gaunt camel mated with a diminutive donkey, while
herons and spoonbills follow in a lively but grotesque
procession.
Sand-pipers and
ringed
little
plovers are
running on the shallows, and flocks of geese and ducks
quacking among the reedy marshes
too
far inland, the occasional
flits
like a
;
while, until
shadow of a
we
get
gull or a tern
cloud above our heads.*
Passing through the narrow channel which separates
the island of
Rhoda t from Boulak
(where,
let
me
ob-
Rev. A. C. Smith, "The Nile and its Banks," i. 41, 42.
At Rhoda stands the famous Kilometer, which, for centuries, has marked
the rise of the inundation.
It is also said to be the spot where the infant Moses
was rescued by Pharaoh's daughter.
*
t
ASCENDING THE NILE.
serve parenthetically, there
river, rolling its
an admirable museum of
is
we emerge upon
•Egyptian antiquities),
the
broad
full
waters between thick-clustering groves
Yonder, across the level
of palm.
209
masses of the Pyramids, stretching
from Ghizeh to Memphis
and
;
valley,
loom the blue
along the horizon
far
warm
in the distance a
rosy haze floats over the sands of the Libyan Desert.
We
pass,
and
next, those of
first,
the Pyramids of Sakkara (two in number)
Dashour
(also two)
;
and
in
due time
heave in sight of the plantations and minarets of Beni-
may
souef.
Here the
visiting
Lake Moeris and the
traveller
Leaving behind us
golden dates, and
its
its
land for the purpose of
the Faioum.
fertile district ot
palms, with their rich burden of
fluttering
bowers of acacia, we
onward, through ranges of barren
cliffs,
the Arabian and Libyan chains of mountains, to the
called Gehel e Tayr, or the "
Mountain of the
Here, according to an Arab legend,
all
Egypt congregate annually on a certain day
lively debate, all set out in
a solitary sentinel
left
sail
the off"shoots of
cliff
Birds."
the birds of
;
and
after a
a body, with the exception of
in charge of the spot until the
return of his congeners in the following year.
is
Yonder gleaming little town, encircled in date-groves,
Minyeh : the river-channel at this point is con-
called
siderably obstructed
we
arrive
the Greeks
at
by dangerous sand-banks.
Beni-hassan
— the
— where everybody lands
brated Tombs, situated high up
Next
"Speos Artemidos" of
to explore the cele-
among the gloomy
rocks,
which have been laboriously excavated to furnish the dead
with resting-places.
They seem
to have served as the
necropolis, or public cemetery of the
(296J
14
Hermopolite
iiome.
TOMBS OF BENI-HASSAN.
2IO
These tombs,
on account of
number, are unique
thirty in
their antiquity, their architecture,
unique
;
and
representations of Egyptian manners and customs
unique, because, unHke
Egypt,
river.
among the oldest known monuments in
and many of them must have received their
are
tenants before
Joseph rose into Pharaoh's favour
thousand years, perhaps, before Joseph was born.
not improbable that in the
first
is
of peculiar interest.
time of Sesortesen
I.,
and
It
At
all
events,
It
consists of an arched cavern,
has a vaulted
pictorial lan-
two shapely
portico, with
of the kind which the Greeks afterwards called
pillars
Throughout
Doric, each 23 feet high.
basement
as well as
is
painted a deep red
on the
The
;
its
and on
basement,
commending
itself to
the spectator's
central avenue has a low coved ceiling, and
at its extremity a large niche or recess.
from the
chambers the
this
architraves, the hieroglyphics are green;
the general effect
eye.
one of
bears date from the early
whose walls are everywhere covered with
guage.!
—
It is
place they were employed
as the residences of the living.*
them
and
other Egyptian sepulchres,
all
they are situated on the east bank of the
They
their
;
aisle
on
either
It is
divided
hand by a row of columns,
resembling those of the portico.
In
this
square,
painted chamber, or crypt, which
occurs
a
remarkable
procession,
is
30
feet
erroneously
supposed, by some authorities, to represent the arrival
of Joseph's brethren
* Fergusson,
t
The
in
Egypt.
But, apart from other
" History of Architecture."
walls are covered with a thick coat of
some kind of cement, and on
smooth surface thus presented, the paintings have been executed.
the
TOMBS OF BENI- HASSAN.
213
evidence which tends to show that the tomb was closed
ten centuries before that event, there
procession
Hebrew
itself to
prove that
it
is
enough
in the
has no connection with
history.*
At each end of the row stands a great man. The
principal figure is named Neoothph, who was governor
of this
district,
on the east side of the Nile, and, no
doubt, the owner of the tomb.
beni-hassan:
book
says,
;
sandals,
and long beards
and shod
offerings to
train
white
with
captives
hair,
him, as the old play-
— neoothph's tomb (exterior).
comes a dreary
captives
To
;
the
in ankle-boots.
of seven-and-thirty
complexions,
women
They bring with them
appease the great man's wrath
a gazelle, a flock of ostriches, and one
•
tunics,
with dishevelled
Kenrick, "Ancient Egypt,"
i.
— a wild
ibis.
47, et sqq.
goat,
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PAST.
214
Others
tombs are sculptured with the old
of the
Egyptian symbols, the lotus and
papyrus; some
the
have slightly-vaulted roofs, some smaller inner chambers;
are alive, as
all
it
were, with the ancient
life,
with the
manners and customs, the occupations and the pastimes
of a nation which flourished four or five thousand years
There
ago.
is
nowhere
else
in
the world so curious
a history of a people, written or painted by themselves.
P^^^^'"^^'
BENI HASSAN
We
—NEOOTHPH S TOMB (iN
are
ERIOR)
have here, says Miss Martineau,
freely avail ourselves of her
art
1
—and
we
shall
animated description,*
—
of writing as a familiar practice, in the scribes
numbering the
stores
on every hand.
There are
ships [including the bari^ or high-prowed barge]
would look handsome
*
in
the
who
which
Southampton Water, any sunny
Miss Harriet Martineau, " Eastern Life,"
ii.
35-41.
ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE PAST.
215
day.
There are glass-blowers who might be from New-
castle,
but for their dress and complexion.
There are
EGYPTIAN WEAVING.
EGYPTIANS SPINNING.
(From the Monuments.)
flax-dressers,
spinners,
weavers,
and a production of
cloth which an English manufacturer would study
mth
EGYPTIAN POTTER.
interest.
statuaries.
There are
potters,
painters,
carpenters,
Here a doctor attends a patient
;
and
there a
EGYPT AS IT
2i6
WAS.
The hunters employ arrows^
The lasso is as evident as on the
pampas at this day. You may see the Nile full of fish,
and a hippopotamus among the ooze. Yonder is the
bastinado for the men; and the flogging of a seated
herdsman physics
spears,
and the
cattle.
lasso.
woman. Nothing is more extraordinary than the gymnastics and other pastimes of the females.
Their various
games of ball are excellent. The great men are attended
by dwarfs and buffoons, as in a much later age and it
;
is
was treated with contempt
clear that bodily infirmity
— deformed
and decrepit personages appearing
discharge of the meanest
this
might be looked
for
It
offices.
;
the
in
was an age when
when war would be
the most
prominent occupation, and wrestling the prevailing
sport,
and probably
when
also the discipline of the soldiery
;
hunting, fishing, and fowling would be very important
pursuits.
But then, what a power of representation
these things
is
here
those early pursuits
Harpers may be seen with
!
harps of seven strings
;
and garments and
elegant patterns and borders
and regular
figures
of
and what luxury co-existing with
!
are
ladies' hair, disordered
—where, by the way, angular
pointedly preferred
and
their
boat-sails with
about
flying
in
;
and the
their sports,
tails and tassels, very like what may have been seen
London drawing-rooms in no very remote times.
The circumstance which most reminds one of the antiquity of these paintings is, that the name of bird, beast,
has
in
fish,
is
or artificer
the resource
who wrote on
a monkey."
is
written above the object dehneated.
—not needed
however
here,
his picture, "
This
Another barbarism
is
is,
— of the
a man," " This
that the great
It
artist
is
man,
THE VOYAGE CONTINUED.
217
the occupant of the tomb, has his greatness signihed by
bigness,
being a
among middle-sized people.
also, who are shown going
giant
There are brick-makers
through the different processes of their craft
trades
and occupations receive the
fullest
;
and other
and most
vivid
illustration.
\
»%
m
V---^i^:z.^l^
,,
i
""''-^
^
1
!^^^--.-
^.f
i
/A]
^^^-
^^
f=^?^
H=i|C.4*^:iU.\te(^:.BRICK-MAKERS.
(From a
Tomb
at Beni-hassan.)
Such are the glimpses of Egyptian
traveller obtains in the
We
tombs
resume our voyage
;
life
which the
at Beni-hassan.
sailing
up the stream
to the
loud and discordant choral music of the Reis and his
boatmen, and enjoying the magic changes of the landscape at sunrise and sunset
— the
bright light which, at
dawn, kindles up the palm groves and the distant
the after-glow, which,
when
hills
the orb of day has paled
its
FROM GIRGEH TO KENEH.
2i8
fires,
illuminates minaret, and grove,
and garden, and
rip-
Yonder
lies
pling waves with an indescribable glory.
the village of Sheikh-Abadeh, near the site of that A7ttinoopolis
which the Emperor Hadrian founded
of his handsome favourite Antinous;* there
in
honour
rise, in
awful
grandeur, the dark abrupt precipices of Djebel Aboufodde,
pierced with innumerable caverns, the asylum, in old
on one occasion, the
times, of Christian anchorites, and,
On
refuge of the great Athanasius.
above the
of
Upper Egypt, and
the capital of
Sioiit^
slave-caravans from Darfur.
with
tile
a high
earth
in sight
the depot of the
a considerable town,
It is
handsome mosques, respectable
country around
bank of
Next we come
river stands Manfahit.
bazaars, and a
fer-
it.
About twenty-four miles from Girgeh
or
temples,
founded by Osirei and
This, including
Great.
Very pleasant
Keneh,
the
lie
the ruins of
the hoary remains of two
Abydus,
his
son Rameses the
the scenery between Girgeh and
is
Neapolis of
Herodotus
;
a
plain,
fertile
covered with luxuriant crops of sugar-cane and Indian
corn,
and brightened with
doum
Theban palm.
occasionally seen among
or
This
the sand-banks.
to the
attains
Red
is
rich clusters of the fan-leaved
A
crocodile or two are
now
the dark herbage that fringes
the nearest point which the Nile
Sea.
It is
only one hundred and
twenty miles from Kosseir, and consequently a principal
rendezvous with the Mecca pilgrims.
We
next arrive at
Greeks
*
to
The
Dendera
— whose temple
direction of
its
is
—the
"Tentyra"
considered by
principal streets
may
have measured about a mile and a half
still
many
be traced.
in length,
of the
travellers
The town seems
and half a mile
in breadth.
TEMPLE OF DENDERA.
the noblest in Egypt.*
It is
thrown into
the dark
woods of palms which gather
fagade
vast
is
221
in
fine relief
by
The
its rear.
and sombre, with four rows each of six masseach consisting of the head of
ive columns, the capital of
the goddess Athor, the
ferent,
Venus of the Egyptians
;
—
dif-
indeed, from the loose-zoned, laughing goddess
PROPYLON OF THE TEMPLE OF DENDERA.
of the Greeks, and wearing an expression of " bewitching
half modesty," which might well impress the worshipper
with admiration.
tion
—
*
as
if,
The temple
says Mr.
St.
is
in excellent preserva-
John,t the Power
in
Hamilton, "Aegyptiaca," pp. 196-204.
A. St John, " There and Back Again ia Search of Beauty.
t J.
whose
THE GREAT PORTICO,
222'
honour
was
it
built
still
sheltered
its
shrine from utter
destruction.*
The
art,
great portico
is
a specimen of the later Egyptian
having been erected as late as the reign of Tiberius.
Its ceiling exhibits a representation of the zodiac,
which
our antiquaries, says Mr. Sharpe, once thought of great
though the sign of the Scales should have
antiquity,
taught them that
it
reign of Augustus,
could not date further back than the
who gave
name
that
to the
of stars formerly included in the Scorpion's
group
spreading
claws, t
impossible not to admire the zeal of the Egyp-
It is
tians
by
treated
whom
this
slaves
as
by
work was
their
They were
finished.
Greek fellow-countrymen
they, the fallen descendants of the conquering kings of
Thebes, had every third year their houses ransacked
search of arms: the
province of
its
Romans
wealth,
in
only ruled to drain the
and the temple was perhaps
who cannot have
monument of his reign
never heard of by their Emperor,
been aware that the most
was being raised
lasting
in the distant province of Egypt.
will refuse his tribute of respect to
themselves
all
Who
a people who, denying
beyond the coarsest food and clothing
as
luxuries, thought a noble temple for the worship of the
gods the supreme necessity of their
To
*
lives
%
the great portico succeeds a hall of six columns,
Important excavations, however, are taking place here under the superin-
tendence of M. Mariette.
t It is
exceedingly doubtful whether this so-called Zodiac has any real astro-
nomical signification.
There seems reason
to believe that
a procession of the Tentyrite Triad (Isis, Athor,
and
their cognate deities.
it
rather represents
and her son Horus or EhSou)
7^HE
ABODE OF A THOR.
225
Then comes a
with three rooms on either side.
central
chamber, communicating on one side with two small
rooms, and on the other with a staircase.
Passing
through another similar chamber, with two rooms on the
west and one on the east side, we enter the " holy of
holies"
around
— the
it,
naos, or sanctuary
—which
has a corridor
and communicating with three rooms on
either
hand.
The
temple
total length of the
is
about 220 feet;
width, 41 feet; or, across the portico, 50 feet.
The
its
walls
are everywhere covered with a profusion
mostly
of elaborate hieroglyphics,*
lating to the worship of the
dess,
who had
re-
Egyptian god-
here her most sacred abode
(Dendera
= Thy-n-Athor,
Athor).
She ranked
the abode of
in the
second class
of deities, as the daughter of Ra, the
Sun, and was identified by the Greeks
with their Aphrodite.
the cow,
ally
and
Her symbol was
in hieroglyphics she gener-
appears with the head of that animal,
bearing
of isis or athor, with
° between her horns the figure
°
THE INFANT HORUS.
the solar disc.
In the earlier Egyptian
mythology she seems to have symbolized the creative
principle of the world
;
at a later period she
simply the goddess of " the laugh, the
jest,
became
and the
song."
The
other buildings at Dendera are of inferior im-
portance, though not unworthy of examination.
*
Among them
are a few historical portraits, as those of Cleopatra and her sod
Caesarion.
i295)
Behind
15
THE SO-CALLED TYPHONEION.
226
the south-west angle of the
Iseion, or
tus,
Temple
of
temple
great
stands
the
erected in the reign of Augus-
Isis,
and consisting of one central and two
lateral
cham-
are
The names of Augustus,
found among its hieroglyphics.
About three hundred
feet to the north is situated the
bers, with a corridor in front.
Nero
Claudius, and
Typho7iemi so
Typhon upon
named from
its
that every other design has
some reference
of Ehoou, the son of Athor
;
one
emblems of
the figures and
Champollion observes, however,
walls.
and suggests
of the sacred places called "
to the birth
that this
Mammeisi," or "
in-chambers," in commemoration of Athor's delivery.
this
suggestion be correct,
in the sculptures as
Typhon
is
was
lyingIf
simply introduced
symbolizing that chaos or primeval
darkness which precedes creation or birth.*
The
central
building contains two
and
lateral
columns embellishes
*
adytum.
it
Champollion,
on the
'*
outer
A
sides
chambers, and a
range of twenty-two
and
rear.
I.ettres sur I'Egypte," »• 67
CHAPTER
IV.
—
—
—
—
—
—
THEBES
ITS HISTORY
THE RAMESEION THE AMUNOPHEION
THE COLOSSI THE THOTHMESEION THE
PALACE OF RAMESES THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS
MEDINET-ABOO LUXOR KARNAK THE THEBAID.
:
—
High
—
—
—
towers, faire temples, goodly theaters,
Strong walls, rich porches, princelie pallaces.
Large
brave houses, sacred sepulchers,
streetes,
Sure gates, sweete gardens, stately galleries,
I
Wrought with
faire pillours
All these (O pitie
And overgrown
!)
now
and
fine
imageries
are turned to dust.
with black oblivion's rust.
Spenser.
RECENT
traveller
has described the feeling
which creeps upon the Nile voyager when,
after a sail of
about five-and-twenty miles
from Dendera, he turns a certain angle of the
river,
and sees before him the plain of ancient Thebes
Thebes the magnificent
prophet
Nahum
— the
—the great
"'populous
city of
which
No"
Homer
of the
wrote as
" Royal Thebes,
Egyptian treasure-house of countless wealth.
Who boasts her hundred
With horse and
All that
•
is
left
Homer's "
car,
of her
Iliad."
gates, through each of which,
two hundred warriors march."*
book
ix.,
lies
here, here
Lord Derby's
on the wreck
translation,
i.,
206.
RUINS OF THEBES.
228
Strewn plain.
Yes, the multitudes are gone, and the city
Hes desolate
but the forms of the landscape are fixed as
;
the everlasting
The
hills.
multitudes are gone, says Mr.
Hopley,* but that circling barrier of rock-mountain which
in the
rises
west
is
their prison-house
Yonder,
peopled with the dead.
lay the region of the sunset
the grave.
Funereal
—Thebes
for the ancient
is still
Theban,
—Amenti, the world beyond
And between rolled the River of Death, the
Lake.
See it now in the distance, gleaming in
the soft glow of twilight
There, beyond
!
it,
on the
mountain, hundreds of tombs gape open, planted thickly
in sheltering niches,
under towering crags, and upon
accessible heights.
Wherever the eye wanders
on the
sits
of steadfast Faith
Is
it
river flowing
And in that mountain's shadow,
Memnon on his throne of rock type
a
—
—patiently awaiting
dream of the
the coming of the
brain, that silent, shining
through the crimson evening,
and many-templed shore
that
in-
rests
city of the dead.
age after age,
Day.
it
Nay
?
;
it is,
you gaze upon, and the ruins of
Dean
into which, as
—that pillared
in truth, the Nile
that mighty Thebes,
Stanley says,t
for
two thousand
— from the time of Joseph down to the Christian
As one
era — the splendour of the Earth was poured.
years
thinks of
all this
vanished glory, the burden of the past
becomes almost too heavy
The name
of Thebes
is
to endure.
formed from the Tape, or T-ape
—
— that
"
of the old Egyptian language.
is," the head
It
was also called Ammtei, or the " abode of Amun " (Am-
mon, or Zeus, the ram-headed god)
*
Hopley, " Under Egyptian Palms,"
t
Dean
;
whence the Greeks
p. 127.
Stanley, " Sinai and Palestine," Introd.,
p. xlii.
ITS
designated
it
ADMIRABLE
Aioo-ttoXis
229
or Diospolis Magna
No and No-Avimon of the
fxiydXr},
-y]
It is the
the great city of Zeus.
POSITION.
Hebrew Scriptures.* The
name "Thebes" appUed
to the
whole
on both
city
banks of the Nile, but the
western quarter bears the
distinctive appellation of
Pathyris, orTathyris,from
being under the spe-
its
favour of Athor.
cial
Its
was ad-
situation
mirably adapted to favour
the
developmentof a great
on
the
banks of a navigable
river,
Planted
city.
near the main routes that
led
through the
hills
to the
the one
Red
hand
;
Desert;
it
to
Libyan
the Great
became the
trepot, until
on
and, on the
other, across the
wilderness
littoral
Sea,
AMUN-RA, THE SUN-GOD.
en-
Alexandria rose into existence, of the com-
merce of Eastern
Africa.
industrial capacities of
tures of linen, pottery,
further increased
It
its
by the
was also celebrated
inhabitants
and
glass
resort to
;
for its
;
and
its
its
for the
manufac-
wealth was
temples of
all
who
worshipped the sun-god, Amun-Ra.
Alone of the Egyptian
cities,
* Ezekiel xxx. 14
;
as
Dean
Nahiun
iiL 8.
Stanley obser\^«s,
HISTORY OF THEBES.
23o
was Thebes beautiful by nature as by
For the
art.
time the monotony of the two mountain-ranges
— assumes
and Arabian
a
They each withdraw from
wide green plain
more massive
;
new and
varied
and shutting
in
and
falling in
;
more varied
a loftier and
is
its
the eastern,
chain, rising
almost Grecian outline, though cast in the
conical form which marks the
hills
of Nubia in the south,
and which perhaps suggested the Pyramids.
Within the
of these two ranges, thus pecuharly
circle
and
the plain at
northern extremity as by a natural bulwark
further retired,
character.
the river so as to encircle a
the western rising into a bolder
barrier,
first
— Libyan
own, the
its
green plain stretches on either side the river to an unusual
extent
unlike
and on
;
either side of the river
Memphis, but
like
East on the Euphrates,
—
on
— spread the
their lesser streams
the Nile for
No
than
Nile,'
'
its
that
that
city of
Thebes, with
" Art thou better
was situated by the
'
rivers of the
had the waters round about, whose rampart
the sea-like stream,' and whose wall was
like stream T " *
was
'
The hundred-gated Thebes was
his flocks to drink of the Nile's
sand years had rolled over
the
Troy.
its
the sea-
when Abraham
sweet waters.
A
led
thou-
monuments and palaces
Greek warriors encamped before the walls
Its
era of magnificence, however,
menced with the eighteenth dynasty of
when its sovereign, Aah-mes I., expelled
*
'
a mighty city even in
so remote an antiquity as the days
when
Europe
like the cities of northern
mighty thoroughfare.
Amon,'
— in this respect
the great city of the further
Dean
really
of
com-
the Pharaohs,
the last of the
Stanley, " Sinai and Palestine," Introd., pp.
xl., xli.
THE THEBAN KINGS.
231
Shepherd kings from Lower Egypt, and brought Mem-
and the Delta under his dominion. Each successive
monarch afterwards contributed to the embellishment of
phis
the ancient capital, until both banks of the river glittered
with palaces and temples whose like the world has never
since beheld.
Amunophis
who
L,
The second founder of the kingdom was
who seems to have been apotheosized, and
carried his victorious
arms both into Syria and
Thothmes IL, who
began the series of splendid edifices to which we have
referred, and founded the immense pile of the Royal
Thothmes II. is supposed to have converted
Palace.
Ethiopia.
Then came
the illustrious
Ethiopia into a principality of the empire, which was
To
governed by a member of the royal family.
sister,
his
Nemtof Karnak.
Next
and, perhaps, colleague in the monarchy,
Amen, are ascribed the great obelisks
came Thothmes III., who ruled from Mount Sinai on
the east, to the Second Cataract on the south; who com-
pleted the Palace of the Kings, covered Thebes with
obelisks and sphinxes,
and enriched
Thebaid with splendid
buildings.
our historical introduction,
all
the towns of the
As we have stated
he won a great victory
Megiddo, subjugated Syria and Mesopotamia, and
in
at
ex-
acted tribute from Phoenicia, Babylon, Assyria, and the
fair
islands of the Archipelago.
nomical record
in
"
it
is
From an
believed that the year
extant astrob.c.
1444
the reign of this able and successful monarch,
Edward
the First" of Egypt,
and a famous
—a
great administrator,
warrior.
His successor and son, Amunophis
race,
fell
—the
was a great builder. Amunophis
1 1., like all
III.,
of his
whose name
is
RAMESES OR SESOSTRIS.
232
Toumbos, near the Third Cataract, enlarged the
kingdom to Soleb, and increased its resources.
He embeUished Thebes with two magnificent
one on either bank of the Nile and founded
palaces
the splendid structures whose ruins encumber the plain
found
at
frontiers of his
—
at
Luxor.
;
He
is
designated in the sculptures " the Con-
Mennahoun," and the "Pacificator of
Egypt."
So world-wide was his fame that the Greeks
celebrated him as Memnon, son of Amun-Ra, and in his
queror of the
honour were erected the Memnonian
death divine
rites
were paid to
Passing over Rameses
L,
After his
colossi.
this extraordinary
man.
founder of a great
the
we come to Sethi or Seethee I. (Setei Menewho
built temples at Amada and Silsilis, and conphthah),
dynasty,
quered
Asiatic nations.
five
His tomb was discovered
Under Rameses H.
by Belzoni in the Bab-el-Melook.
the empire continued to flourish, and
maintained,
tris
prosperity
and
if
not enlarged.
of Herodotus
his
its
boundaries were
Rameses HI.
is
the Sesos-
he raised Thebes to the climax of
:
and power, and by
its
his genius, his successes,
fame so impressed the imagination of the Egyphim the great
tians that, in later times, they ascribed to
achievements of
many
other monarchs, and involved his
genuine history in a cloud of legend and
fable.
was informed that he could lead into the
field
fantry,
27,000 chariots, and 24,000 cavalry.
be safely asserted
further than
is,
any of
Diodorus
600,000
in-
All that can
that he carried his victorious arms
his predecessors
;
that he
was remark-
able for his valour, ability, and majestic person
;
that he
Rameseion, or " monument of Osymandyas," on
that he ascended the throne
the west bank of the Nile
built the
;
INVASION OF CAMBYSES.
233
when a minor, and reigned upwards of sixty years. In the
fills a more conspicuous place.
annals of Egypt no hero
And
yet with this
great
every empire,
overtakes
late,
conqueror terminated the
That
glorious days of Thebes.
soon or
fate which, or
fell
upon
Egyptian
the
kingdom, and the Tanite and Bubastite sovereigns of
Lower Egypt
rose
most eminent was
who
into power.
Sheshojik, the
Of
one of the
these,
Shishak of the Bible,
Rehoboam, and plundered Jerusalem,
Thebes the golden shields that had
shone upon the walls of Solomon's Temple (B.C. 972).
Then came an Ethiopian dynasty, marking a period of
defeated
bringing back to
foreign conquest, and the seat of
government was
trans-
ferred to Sais in the Delta.
The
invasion of
Cambyses was the
He
which Thebes experienced.
threw
its
tombs, over-
temples, and destroyed the statues of
Yet, as in
rulers.
great calamity
first
rifled its
all
imperial cities there
its
early
a surprising
is
we need not be surprised that Thebes once
more regained, if not its political importance, at all events
vitaHty,
its
wealth and splendour.
It
was
Alexander.
at its
He
opulence.
stateliness,
explored
its
time visited by
at this
Hecataeus of Abdera, who had served
antiquities,
The Rameseion was
still
and wondered
erect in all
and the temples were computed
gold,
the other three palace-temples of Thebes,
now
names of the
villages in
its
to hold the
immense sum of three hundred talents of
thousand three hundred talents of silver.
the
army of
in the
and two
He
saw also
called
which they stand
by
— Luxor
(Luqsor, or El-Uksor), Karnak, and Medinet-Aboo.
The Theban
priests
showed
Hecataeus
the
large
REIGN OF THE PTOLEMYS.
234
mummy
wooden
cases of their predecessors, ranged in
number
order round the walls of the temple, to the
hundred
three
and
forty-five
of
and when the Greek
;
boasted that he was the sixteenth
in
descent from Jupiter,
they silenced him with the remark, that those three hun-
dred and forty-five priests had governed Thebes in succession from father to son, each a mortal
a mortal, and that so
the gods Osiris and
cannot
but
;
it is
compared with
Britain
many
Horus had ruled over Egypt.
the amount of exaggeration in
We
this
certain that the antiquity of Greece,
that of Egypt,
compared with
The Ptolemys
tural
and the son of
generations had passed since
now determine
statement
as
many
was
as the antiquity of
that of Greece.
scarcely contributed to
grandeur of the hundred-gated
city
the architec-
by introducing
of the modifications suggested by the Greek taste,
for they did not
harmonize with the severe magnificence
of the Egyptian monuments.
In the reign of Ptolemy
Thebes
Intrenched within their
Lathyrus,
temples,
its
inhabitants defied for three years the armies
of their sovereign.
and superior
them
to yield
their heads.
rebelled.
Famine, and overwhelming numbers,
military
;
and a
weapons,
terrible
Numbers were
sold into slavery
glorious memorials of their glorious history
monuments which
genius, industry,
so
compelled
eventually
revenge descended upon
—
;
and the
the stately
eloquently bore witness
and opulence of
their ancestors
to
the
—were
broken down by hammer and pickaxe, and shattered into
piles of de'bris.*
* Sir Gardner Wilkinson, "
Kenrick, "Ancient Egypt,"
i.
Modem
Egypt and Thebes,"
pp. 150, 151, e/ sqq.
ii.
p. 225,
et sqq.
SITE OF ANCIENT THEBES.
235
Thebes, however, remained for some centuries the
headquarters of the Egyptian priesthood, until the ancient
worship disappeared before the progress of Christianity,
and the proselytes displayed the ardour of
their faith
by
destroying the idols and shrines spared by previous dep-
Then came
redators.
the Saracenic invasion, and the
heavy hand of the Arab consummated
The
small villages
its ruin.
now marked by four
Luxor and Karnak on the eastern, and
of ancient Thebes
site
is
Gurneh and Medinet-Aboo on the western bank of the
The
Nile.
latter
is
chiefly
occupied by the remains
of the great necropolis, " the tombs of the kings," the
palaces, temples
capital;
its
,
and sphinx-avenues of the Egyptian
on the eastern bank seem to have been situated
edifices of a secular character,
and
here, too, the
will
mass
Our survey
of the inhabitants appear to have dwelt.
begin with the western quarter, and at
its
northern
angle.
About
three-quarters of a mile from the river moulder
the remains of a building which Champollion calls the
Menephtheion^ from the occurrence of the
Menephthah among the
inscriptions
on
name
its
of Setei-
walls.
It
formed a palace-temple, to which access was gained by a
dromos (or avenue) of 128
Next we
of Strabo,
arrive at the
feet in length.
Rameseion
— the Memnonium
and the "tomb of Osymandyas" of Dio-
dorus.
If
it
the "
were possible for the
spirits
of the dead to revisit
ghmpses of the moon," and haunt the scenes most
dear to them during their earthly existence, surely the
THE RAMESEION.
236
roam among those
old Egyptian kings would nightly
and lament the vanished splendours
creed and dynasty
hoary ruins,
their
of
!
The Rameseion was both
a palace and a temple
residence of the 'sovereign and his gods.
worthy of neither,
for
—the
was un-
never did even Egyptian archi-
more splendid
tecture create a
It
What
pile.
art " incon-
ceivable to us" erected, violence inconceivable to us
has overthrown
;
and the huge heaped-up blocks are
a more powerful commentary on the nothingness of
human ambition than
mo-
the homihes of a thousand
ralists.
It is finely situated
on the lowest grade of the
they begin to ascend from the plain, and
occupy a
one
series of terraces,
rising
its
above the other
a singularly impressive and majestic fashion.
pylon, or outer gateway,
embellish
it,
very quaint and vivid.
entrance to the
Some
grandly massive.
is
first
court,
hills as
various parts
It
in
Its pro-
Sculptures
formed the
whose walls are destroyed.
picturesque Ramessid columns remain, however;
and
at their foot lie the fragments of the hugest statue
that
was ever fashioned by Egyptian sculptor
fitting
ornament
for a city of giants
might have embellished a palace
Titans
when
!
Unhappily,
entire
reader?
it
it is
built
tons,
!
such an
It
5^ cwts.
;
was a
effigy as
and inhabited by
broken from the middle
must have weighed
—about 887
;
—what
;
but
think you,
and have measured
22 feet 4 inches across the shoulders, and 14 feet 4 inches
from the neck to the elbow.
feet long.
and
The whole mass
I offer it as
is
The
toes are from 2 to 3
composed of Syene
granite
a problem to engineers and conti actors
THE GRAND HALL.
of the present day,
239
— How were nearly 900 tons of granite
conveyed some hundreds of miles from Syene to Thebes
1
equally difficult to imagine how, in a country not
It is
afflicted
by earthquakes, so colossal a monument was
overthrown.
The second
court was divided into aisles or avenues,
by rows of huge Ramessid and circular columns, covered
Three flights
with emblematical and historical carving.
of steps led up from
its
Ramessid
corridor of
sun-lit area into the northern
On
pillars.
each side of the central
The head
Memnon," is now
one stood a black granite statue of Rameses.
of one of them, called " the young
preserved in the British
Museum.
.
This was a
fit
intro-
duction to the splendours of the Grand Hall, which
seemed
like
some
stately forest petrified into stone, with
and other river-plants
the lotus, the papyrus,
frozen in the midst of their budding
of this
hall,
public
for
suddenly
lighting
which, according to Champollion, was used
assemblies,
centre, says
all
The
life.
beautiful.
is
The
roof in
Miss Martineau,* was raised some
feet
the lateral roofing, so that large oblong spaces were
for a sight of the blue
sky
slanting rays of the rising
of
pillars,
;
left
and when they admitted the
and
setting sun
upon
this
grove
and, through them, kindled up the pictured
walls,
the glory must have been great.
rested
upon
forty-eight pillars
studded with golden
;
This roofing
a roofing painted blue, and
the sky of night.
stars, like
central pillars were larger than the others.
tals
the
above
were sculptured
in imitation
shaped flower of the papyrus
;
Twelve
All the capi-
of the graceful bell-
and the decorations, de
* Harriet Martineau, " Eastern Life,"
i.
294.
TO THE GLORY OF RAMESES.
240
signed from the stalks and flowers of different plants,
painted in blue and green, and often exquisitely beautiful.
The
sculptures which cover the walls are
He
Rameses.
to the glorification of
all
devoted
represented as
is
paying his homage to the gods, and receiving from them
Amun
various privileges.
the
Supreme
here, with the
is
other two
who complete
of
Thoth, notes the dates of the royal victories
letters,
on
his palm-branch.
with the priceless
and the god
;
Elsewhere we see him honoured
gifts
trusted with the sword
the highest triad
of
life
and the
and power
;
or he
is in-
sceptre, to smite his foes
with the one and to rule his subjects with the other.
The
use he
shown
made
of his gifts
is
captives
:
daughters
An
forgotten.
and beauty of the
edifice,
Supreme, who
inscription
on one of the
Hall describes the splendour
and dedicates
says, " It
is
it
my
has painfully
falsified the boast.
you long
to govern Egypt." *
life
The next chamber
An
is
And
to the king's
will
structure shall be as stable as the sky."
brary, or "
are
numerous
nor are his twenty-three sons or his three
architraves of the Great
father, the
We
also illustrated.
his battles, his sieges, his triumphs, his
that your
Alas
!
Time
Isis adds, " I grant
supposed to have been the Li-
Dispensary of the Mind," described by Strabo.
astronomical subject was blazoned on the ceihng;
and an
ment,
inscription, alluding to the value of the apart-
still
Mercury
by a
figure with
light ;"
The EgypChampoUion records,
speaks of the " books of Thoth."
tian
is
here attended, as
one eye
and the goddess
*
in his face labelled "
Saf, the
Source of
" lady of letters,"
ChampoUion, " Lettres sur I'Egypte."
is
in
PICTURES OF STRIFE AND BATTLE.
like
manner attended by a
"Source of hearing;"
arrives at
—
an ear labelled
only two remain
is
man
perhaps, that
knowledge through the ear and the
Of nine chambers which
Rameses
figure with
signifying,
24]
eye.
lay in the rear of the Hall,
— the Library,
sacrificing to various
and another
Theban
in
which
divinities.
OPERATIONS OF A SIEGE.
(From the Monuments.)
The
battle
sculptures
on the
— the
exterior walls breathe only of
pomp, and circumstance of
Rameses is represented as standing aloft
In the
war-chariot, and drawing his huge bow.
The conqueror
a lion rages hither and thither.
and
strife
pride,
victorious war.
in his
battle
bound and prostrate captives, while
around him in all the attitudes of despair
drives headlong over
his
enemies
(295:
fall
16
THE AMUNOPHEION.
242
and degradation.
down
A
A
phalanx of gallant spearmen bear
the hostile forces with irresistible vigour.
curious scene describes an attack
fortress
named
cover of the testudo or shield
to shelter several
the king's sons,
and
yet,
rock-built
men
are
Under
—a frame-work large enough
— the
Egyptian warriors, led by
engaged in mining, and planting
The
scaling-ladders against the wall.
hurhng down
while, are
upon a
" the strong town of Watsch."
darts,
and
defenders, mean-
stones,
and spears
as if conscious of the fruitlessness of further
resistance, are
waving signals of surrender, and despatch-
ing their heralds to implore the conqueror's clemency.
Such was the Rameseion.
It
looked towards the
facing the magnificent temple at Karnak.
in the days of its glory,
was
east,
Its propylon,
in itself a structure of the
highest architectural grandeur, and the portion
The
measures 234 feet in length.
about 600 feet in length and 200
still
extant
principal edifice
was
feet in breadth,
with
upwards of 160 columns, each 30 feet in height. A wall
of brick enclosed it; and a dromos, fully 1600 feet long,
and composed of two hundred sphinxes, led
in a north-
westerly direction to a temple or fortress, sheltered
the Libyan
among
hills.
Our attention will now be directed to the Koum-elHattam ("sandstone mountain") of the Arabs the ruins
of the Amunopheion, or palace-temple of Amunophis III.,
the "Memnon" of the Greeks.
About five hundred
—
yards nearer the river are situated the two Colossi, or
gigantic statues of the king
by the natives
— which,
—
sitting
called
Tama and Chauia
alone amidst the wide sea
THE TWO
COLOSSI.
243
of verdure, keep vigilant though silent watch over the
mysteries of the Past.*
tineau,
There they
monumental
piles
is
gone, to be looking over
on the other side of the
which became gorgeous temples
were placed here
COLOSSI,
OR RAMESSIDS.
ever been established on this
larly called " the
byses, or, as Strabo reports
by an earthquake.
* English travellers
t
Ezek. XXX. 16
He who
Earth.
Memnon," and
is
the
the two, has been greatly dilapidated
Lord Dundreary and
river,
after these throne-seats
—the most immovable thrones that have
THE
told,!
says Miss Mar-
hands on knees, gazing straight forward, seeming,
though so much of the faces
to the
sit,
is
popu-
more northerly
;
either
and the prophet Ezekiel
One would
of
by Camfore-
like to think, with
have jocosely christened them, says Mr. A. C. Smith,
Cousin Sam."
his
— " No shall be rent asunder."
TRADITION OF MEMNON.
244
Miss Martineau,*" that Nature, rather than Man, had
done
it
:
but
how came
of the throne
the earthquake to leave the mass
and body unhurt, while shattering the head
and shoulders
It is
%
improbable that the whole was
overthrown and then re-erected, the twin-giant remaining
uninjured.
These
statues are
composed of a
mixed with pebbles of an agate
are sculptured with
The
when
numerous
coarse, hard breccia,
The
character.
figures
pedestals
and hieroglyphs.
old tradition ran that from the northern
Memnon,
the sun rose over the purple Arabian mountains, a
strain of
music issued
:
" Mom from Memnon drew
Rivers of melody " Tennyson)
(
—
a sweet, melancholy cadence, Uke that of the ^oliai]
wires
" Soft as Memnon's harp
Touched with
The Greeks
non's
light
at morning.
by heavenly warning
"
[Keble).
fabled that this morning music was
welcome
to his
mother Aurora.
How
Mem-
the sounds
were produced has long been a matter of controversy
perhaps by the
hidden niqhe
a rod of iron
artifices
may have
;
or
of the priests,
who
in
:
some
smitten the sounding stone with
by the passage through
its
crannies of light gusts and breaths of air
;
chinks and
or,
not im-
probably, by the sudden expansion of aqueous particles,
enclosed within the solid mass, under the influence of the
sun's rays.f
* Miss Martineau, " Eastern Lite,"
t
ii.
i.
305.
Dr. Richardson, "Travels along the Mediterranean and Parts Adjacent,"
41.
TAMA AND CHAMA.
245
During the annual inundation of the Nile these statues
tower above the watery expanse like carved islands
of
Anciently a dromos of eighteen similar statues
stone.
extended to the Amunopheion
;
and the
river waters not
overflowing so high as they do now, the entire avenue,
with
its
solemn
giants,
must have stood upon elevated
ground conspicuous from
The
afar.
present height of
THE COLOSSI DURING AN INUNDATION.
the Pair
53 feet above the
is
sunk about
7 feet
deep
soil,
the fingers' ends each colossal
inches
;
and from the knee
feet
The
pedestal of
The
foot
Tama is
broad the throne, nearly 15
;
From
the elbow to
arm measures
17 feet 9
to the plant of the foot each
leg measures 19 feet 8 inches.
inches long.
and the pedestals are
in the sand.
was 9
feet
10
33 feet long by 18
feet in height
and breadth.
THE THOTHMESEION.
246
Continuing in a south-westerly direction, we reach the
on a
village of Medinet-Aboo^ situated
lofty
posed of the ruins of the Thothmeseion
mound com-
— now choked
with weeds, and frequented by the loathsome scorpion.
And
here
we ought
to
remind our readers
Christian church must have
tian
temple had
—a
gateway
its
that, as
every
chancel, so every Egyp-
its
pylon, or propylon
formed of two sloping, pyramidical towers, with a high
In
perpendicular fagade between.
this
manner the temple
and palace of Medinet-Aboo were each approached by a
pylon they were also connected by a dromos of statues.
:
The temple was built by successive monarchs of the
but among the ruins are found
name of Thothmes
;
inscriptions relating to Tirhakah, Nectanebus,
Soter,
and Antoninus Pius
something
Ptolemy
—each of whom, probably, did
for the decoration of this locality.
Connected with the Thothmeseion by a dromos 265
in
Palace-temple of Rameses
length, stands the
Southern Rameseion of Champollion
— a structure of vast
dimensions and surpassing splendour.
500
feet in length
;
feet
—the
It is
upwards
of
while the cella (or nave) measures
nearly 150 feet broad without the walls, which are Hterally
crowded with designs.
coronation of the Pharaoh
earth" of old
Egypt.
He
In one place you see the
— the
sits
" visible
God upon
on a canopied throne,
borne along by his twelve sons.
A
grand procession
follows of princes, priests, official personages,
diers.
A
scribe
perfumes the
air
is
reading from a scroll
with incense
forms triumphal music.
;
;
and
sol-
the high-priest
a band of musicians per-
The accompanying
hieroglyphs
THE SOUTHERN RAMESEION.
explain that the
king has assumed the crown of the
Upper and Lower Kingdoms
;
and carrier-pigeons
convey the news to the north, south,
Some
247
fly to
and west.
east,
vigorous battle-pictures illustrate the power of
the great monarch.
His scribes count out before him
THE THOTHMESEION AT MEDINET-ABOO, THEBES.
numerous heaps of human heads, each heap containing
three thousand.
In
other
places
There are also
a
naval
piles of
engagement
human
is
—whose galleys bear a
head
— and some Asiatic people others, towns
between the Egyptians
at the
prow
tongues.
represented
are beleaguered
lion's
;
in
by masses of struggling warriors
;
in
TEMPLE OF MEDINET-ABOO.
248
Others, gorgeous processions celebrate
festivity
liar
and
;
in
some day of pecu-
the deities
all,
introduced,
are
approving and beftiending the favoured race.*
The Temple
may be
of Medinet-Aboo
facing that of Luxor,
while that of the
described as
on the opposite bank of the
river
Rameseion confronted the superb
Hence all
many stages or
pile
of Karnak.
these
formed so
halting-places in the religious
Though
processions of the priests.
Amun
was generally enshrined
year
was carried across the
it
days in Libya
;
magnificent
at
— how the
the tabernacle of
Karnak,t yet every
river to
remain
for a few
and we can fancy what pomp and splen-
dour of ceremonial accompanied
tion
structures
hills
this
solemn
transla-
and the plains resounded with harp
and cymbal and song
— and how the interminable train of
and worshippers moved through the vast avenues
priests
of crio-sphinxes
and colossal
statues in a passion of
enthusiasm %
!
In the rear of the undulating area occupied by these
various
is,
monuments of a vanished creed and empire
from Gurneh to Medinet-Aboo
—the Libyan
—that
hills
for
nearly five miles have been converted into a labyrinth of
sepulchres,
—
NecropoHs.
into
one immense and thickly -populated
Here, in the lower ground, are interred the
humble dead, along with the animals which they
counted sacred; the papyrus-roll, containing
*
Heeren, " Historical Researches,"
t
The
god
J
;
ii.
ac-
ritualistic
247, et sqq.
supreme gods, of Thebes were— Amun-Ra, or the Sun
Mant, the mother of all things the Latona of the Greeks and Khonso.
triad, or three
—
Dr. Richardson, " Travels along the Mediterranean,"
;
ii.
94, 96.
AN IMMENSE
NECROPOLIS.
directions for the soul's guidance
;
251
and com, bread,
fruit,
bows and arrows, personal ornaments, boots, and the
like;
so that the dead, when they awoke from their
—
long sleep at the bidding of Osiris, might gaze upon
familiar
and
Higher up,
favourite objects.
solitude of the mountains, lay the noble
in richly-decorated
tombs
" Packed
their
And
surroundings
still
;
mummies
their
most gorgeous description.
of the
higher up, in two deep narrow gorges which
among them,
plain
—
carefully
humanity's significance"
to
strike into the very heart of the hills
in
in the sacred
and the wealthy,
are respectively situated the
and the Tombs of the
Ascending the
— one entirely shut
the other opening up from the lower
first
of the Kings
we
of these two gorges,
the very ideal of desolation
hind and on either
Tombs
Priests.
side,
find
it
to be
—bare rocks, before and
be-
overhanging and enclosing youj
rocks utterly bare, and without a strip of vegetation to
relieve their dreariness.
Such
is
the last resting-place of
Theban kings, and it is impossible to imagine a scene
of more extraordinary wildness.
the
Entering the sculptured portal in the face of the wild
dark precipice, you find yourself in a long lofty corridor,
which opens or narrows, as the case
cessive halls
stucco,
and
and chambers,
this stucco
all
may
now
as they
Forty-seven were
known
with colours as vivid
were thousands of years ago.
to the ancients in the time of
these have been discovered
be, into suc-
covered with a hard white
Diodorus
by
;
modem
only three are complete and perfect as
twenty-one of
explorers, but
when they
re-
EGYPTIAN IDEAS OF DEATH.
252
ceived their royal occupants
—namely, those
of
Amun-
Rameses Meiamun and Rameses III. Some
are much more magnificent than others seven being, in
truth, most gorgeous palaces, hewn out of the solid rock,
and embellished with the richest decorations. Here " all
the kings lie in glory, every one in his own house," the
ophis III.,
;
Pharaohs of Thebes, from the eighteenth to the twentyfirst
dynasty.
It
is
peculiar
needful
tenets
the reader should
of
Egyptians,
the
bear in mind the
to
understand the
motive which induced the construction of these remarkable sepulchres.
of
life
;
Death, to the Egyptian, was the portal
of the Future in which he would receive such
re-
compense or punishment as the divinities saw fit to award.
To the Egyptian king, who was regarded as of a semidivine nature, it was a long, long sleep and when Osiris
;
awakened him from
original tabernacle
his soul regained its
it,
—and
body
—
its
entered upon a career of un-
clouded happiness in the companionship of his immortal
ancestors.
Hence
was
it
requisite that the
body should
be preserved uncorrupted, and the tomb wherein
it
was
enshrined carefully concealed from profane eyes or disturbing touch.
Every Egyptian king began his reign by making ready
his sepulchre,
which was more or
ing to the length of his reign,
diately closed
up
at
his
less
magnificent accord-
and which was imme-
death.
Closed up, as the
Egyptians fondly supposed, until the end of the world.
Not only was
the
tion,
the entrance sealed, but, in several cases,
approaches were cut in the most devious direc-
and so walled up as to give the appearance of a
SIGNIFICATION OF THE SCULPTURES.
253
termination long before you arrived at the actual burial-
chamber.
In the sculptures and decorative designs of the tombs
we seem
Dean Stanley
to recognize, as
leading ideas
points out,* two
attempt to reproduce, as far as
First, the
:
possible, all the details of
human
so that the dead
life,
monarch, whether in his prolonged sleep or on his awakenmight see around him the old familiar objects.
ing,
Second, to conduct the king to the world of Death.
And
the further you advance into the great tomb, the deeper
you become involved
continuous processions of jackal-
in
headed gods and monstrous forms of good and
genii;
and the goddess of
feather;
lake
;
evil
Justice, with her single ostrich
and barges carrying mummies across the sacred
more than
and,
all,
incessant convolutions of ser-
pents in every possible form and attitude
— human
-leg-
— entwining mummies—enembraced by processions — extending down
ged, human-headed, crowned
wreathing or
whole
meeting the head of a serpent at
galleries, so that
the top of a staircase, you must descend to
to reach his
all,
the
centre
tail.
And
its
ne plus ultra, the vaulted chamber in whose
lies
the
immense
granite sarcophagus which once
contained the body of the king.
above, below, and around
Here the processions
—attain
their
cUmax,
minating point; meandering on every side and in
tions
very end
you reach the close of
at length
— in white and black, and
red and blue
all direc-
— legs
arms and wings spreading over roof and walls
mous and
their cul-
and
in enor-
fantastic forms.
All these tombs, then, are interesting,
*
Dean
Stanley,
*'
Sinai and Palestine,"
all
afford matter
xliii., xliv.
THE HALL OF BEAUTY.
254
for
meditation
;
but our limits compel us to
of our observations to one of
that
them
\
restrict
and we
which Belzoni explored with so much
and whose occupant
energy,
Osirei, Seethee, or
Sethos
I.,
most
shall select
and
tact
supposed to have been
is
the father of
Rameses
the
Great.
The
explorer, after descending a flight of ruined steps
depth of 25
to a perpendicular
feet, finds
himself in a pas-
sage whose walls are covered with inscriptions relative to
Next comes another
Osirei.
decorated with
staircase,
grotesque figures of genii, and leading into a second passage or chamber, of large dimensions, very beautifully
Here we observe the emblems
painted.
serpent
— of Kneph,
moves upon the
—a boat and a
" the Spirit of the Supreme, which
face of the waters ;"
and of Ptah, the
patron or tutelary deity of the occupant of the tomb.
Ten
steps conduct us into another superb chamber, from
whence you pass
cell or
into the so-called " Hall of Beauty," a
apartment 24
feet
by
13, richly
and paintings
where
the gods and goddesses are
clave.
all
The
roof,
embellished with
— a species of Egyptian Pantheon,
sculptures
met
in
solemn con-
which four square columns support,
blazes with golden stars, and the walls are covered with
processions of a curious character;
—an
immeasurable
serpent being carried on the shoulders of a train of per-
sonages in one place
;
and
in
another, four
different
groups appearing, each consisting of four persons of
ferent complexions
:
four red, namely, Egyptians
primrose-coloured, Asiatics
cans
;
;
;
dif-
four
four black, Nabasi or Afri-
and four pale-yellow, with long flowing robes, and
feathers in their hair,
Europeans or Northmen.
THE SARCOPHAGUS OF
Proceeding
OSIREI.
255
further, the traveller enters Belzoni's "
Hall
of Pillars," 28 feet long by 27 feet broad, containing six
huge
pillars
On
two rows.
in
opens out a
either side
small chamber; one on the right, having the figure of a
cow painted on
the wall,
is
known
"
as the " Hall of Isis
(10 feet by 9); that on the left, from its allegorical drawnamed the " Hall of Mysteries " (10 feet 5 inches
ings, is
by 8
At
feet 9 inches).
the end of the hall
we
pass into
a large saloon with an arched roof or ceiling, and measuring 32 feet long
by 27
scribe
;
we may
but
Various passages and
feet broad.
chambers lead out of
it,
which
unnecessary to de-
it is
add, that the entire extent of this
subterranean labyrinth penetrates the
rock to a
solid
length of 320 feet.*
may remember
Returning to the saloon, we
that
one of the
describes
curiosities of Sir
it
made
as
9 feet 5 inches long,
ness
lights
is
it
was
it
here Belzoni discovered the sarcophagus of Osirei,t
now
John Soane's museum.
He
of the finest Oriental alabaster,
and
3 feet 7 inches wide.
Its thick-'
only 2 inches, and a light placed in the interior
up
like
a transparency.
Within and without,
it is
sculptured over with hundreds of figures, from one to two
inches in height, representing the funeral procession, and
religious ceremonies in
Such are the
honour of the deceased.
places, says
Miss Martineau, where,
the words of Isaiah, " the kings of the nations, even
of them,
lie in glory,
every one in his
in
all
own house ;" and
moved at the
such are the regions supposed by him to be
* Belzoni, " Narrative of Operations," &c.,
t
The mummy, however, had been already
the sarcophagus.
i.
360-366.
stolen
;
that
is, if
ever deposited
in
STORY OF A DECAYING CREED.
256
approach of the
and
tyrant,
him who has become
as
up
to stir
weak
From Egypt
pit.
dead to meet
and must now be
down to Hades, to
mode of burial
brother of the worm, and be brought
the sides of the
their
as they,
this
spread far over the East, and the caverns of the
tained the successive generations of
who
the Hebrews,
ideas
served, amidst
more
Supreme God
in
all
moral
or less corruption, a belief in the
a divine moral government
',
a future
in
compensation and retribution; and in that highest
life; in
of
In God's mysterious provi-
forms spread, but the ideas which had
After the example of Egypt, men pre-
t\iQ
suggested them.
;
con-
had, in their civilization, followed the
and methods of Egypt.
dence, not ovily
hills
many peoples besides
truths, that
moral good
deepest
evil the
evil.
is
the greatest good, and
So from the Valley of the
Nile this mysterious faith spread into
guised, but never wholly concealed
generation
;
many
lands, dis-
working good in
—assuredly more good than
evil
—
until,
its
becom-
ing incrusted with later superstitions, and
its
ing passing out of the memories of men,
was time that
a purer and
Star of
fuller revelation
Love appeared
Before
we
quit this
Harpers' Tomb^
often called
by
the rock, and
first
should be made, and the
solemn
spot,
we must glance
at the
mentioned by Bruce, and therefore
his
name.
its
small lateral chambers are decorated
It penetrates
life
in
about 400
blooming parterres
;
:
feet into
Here,
Ancient Egypt.
cooks knead bread or slaughter cattle
and standards
mean-
true
to the watchers in the East
with glowing pictures of
toil in
it
;
there, gardeners
here, walls are gay with
there, clothed in rich tapestry,
minated with graceful lamps.
The tomb
and
obtains
arms
illu-
its dis-
ILLUSTRATIONS OF EGYPTIAN LIFE.
from the figures of ten harpers, play-
tinctive appellation
They
god Ao, or Hercules.
ing before the
257
are attired in
white garments striped with red, and each carries a harp
of ten strings.*
•
The tombs
of the
Theban Pharaoh who
supposed, in right of his
who pursued
^vife Taosiri,
the migrating
Hebrews
their peculiar features of interest.
appears both as
man and
conditions of being
;
reigned,
it is
and of the Pharaoh
to the
Red
Sea, have
In the former, the king
his past
spirit, in
and present
the scarabaeus, or sacred beetle, with
head downwards, representing the resurrection by which
the two are linked together.
In the
of the monarch's dominions
tribute-bearers
low
— offering
—black,
gifts
is
latter,
the wide extent
indicated by five lines of
red, light
and
red,
brown, and
yel-
of ivory, apes, leopards, skins, gold,
and other valuables. Some of its
illustrations are
important
EGYPTIAN MASONS,
from the
light
they throw on the handicraft and industry
of the Egyptians.
at
You may
see the masons, for instance,
work upon a monstrous sphinx, and chipping away
the huge granite blocks from which
Sir G. Wilkinson,
(295)
it is
to
" Modern Egypt and Thebes,"
17
at
be fashioned.
11.
201-2 lO
THE ANCIENT TOMBS
258
The Tombs of the Priests
known as the Valley of
gorge
Petumenap, chief
that of
Necho.
Its
glyphics
;
winding
are situated in the rocky
Assasif ; and the largest
priest in the reign of
is
Pharaoh
covered with hiero-
galleries are
but the only figures which
it
contains are those
of the priest and his wife, sitting side by side, with arms
entwined around each other's necks.
About
Aboo
three-quarters of a mile north-west of Medinet-
Tombs of the Egyptian Queens^ twenty-four
Each bears the title of
are the
of which have been discovered.
" Wife of Amun," as if the king had borne along with his
own name that of the great god of Thebes, or been apotheosized after death.
The most perfect sepulchre is
that of Taia, wife of Amunophis III.
We now cross the Nile to what has been rightly called
the " most magnificent spot in Egypt"
ter of
the
Thebes
little
When
came
—Thebes proper—now
Arab
village of
halted, and, in
partly occupied
by
Karnak.
Napoleon Bonaparte,
the French army, led by
in sight of the
—the eastern quar-
Theban monuments, they suddenly
an ecstasy of admiration, clapped
hands and broke out into a loud shout;
Denon,* the end and object of
as
if,
their glorious toils,
their
says
and
the complete possession of Egypt, were achieved and
finally
secured by their having gained possession of
ancient metropolis.
lie
its
Here, in the silence and the solitude,
the shattered memorials of an extinct civilization
Dominique Vivant, Baron Denon, born 1747 died 1825. He accompanied
Egypt in the capacity of a savant; and in 1802 published a full account of his experiences and discoveries in his " Voyage da>is la
*
;
the French expedition to
Basse
et la
Haute Egypte,"
A T KARNAK.
259
memorials so grandly impressive, so sublimely beautiful,
that, like
tacle as
Napoleon's soldiers, we are stirred by the spec-
by the sound of a trumpet.
Here, when the
rest
KUINS AT KARNAK.
of the world, perhaps, was buried in darkness, the
human
had ripened into an extraordinary maturity.
Here, where the beetle crawls over the sunny rocks, 01
intellect
THE PALACE OF THE KINGS.
26o
in the twilight the bat
flits
among
the ruined columns,
the oldest of the world's monarchies placed
and surrounded
is
itself
almost inconceivable.
—a
its
with an architectural
royal seat,
pomp
that
Here, too, a mysterious creed
creed of dark enigmas and subtle symbolism, with
a strange weird medley of the sublime and the grotesque
— erected
such temples as no other creed has ever
dreamed of possessing
Karnak
;
It is
!
or, rather, it is like
a phantasmagoria, this
a series of visions succeed-
ing one another so closely that their various features
become blended to the mind.
Avenues of vast propyla,
or gateways, whose
huge
sculptures were painted in glowing colours, concentrated
from all points of the compass upon Karnak, while a
dromos of andro-sphinxes connected it with the quarter
of the city
now
These are mostly
represented by Luxor.
in ruins.
The
principal structure at
Karnak
is
the Palace of the
Kings, which was approached by a remarkable avenue of
crio-sphinxes, about seventy in
head and a
feet.
lion's
number, each having a ram's
body, and distant from the other eleven
The Palace
itself
has twelve principal entrances,
each composed of several huge propyla and spacious
courts.
The gateway
of granite, and
glyphics.
On
is
figured in the text consists wholly
literally
covered with exquisite hiero-
both sides of these propyla were formerly
planted colossal statues of granite and basalt, from 20 to
30
feet in height, either sitting or standing erect.
In examining the famous Palace,
cious court, where two obeUsks of
the attention
;
one
is in
we enter first a spaThothmes I. attract
fragments, the other upright and
THE HALL OF COLUMNS.
2.(i\
PKOPYLON AT KARNAK.
In the second, or Great Court, 275 feet
uninjured.
broad by 329
feet long,
were also two obelisks
:
the one
94 feet in height. Then we pass into the
superb " Hall of Columns," which is 80 feet in height,
remaining
and 329
is
feet long
by 179
feet broad.
Its
roof
is
sup-
ported by 134 pillars,— 12 in the centre, and 122 in the
aisles
;
the central each 66 feet in height, without their
pedestals,
and
11 feet in diameter, with
space of about 27
feet.
The
side
an intervening
columns are disposed
in
seven rows; they are 41 feet high, and 27 feet 6 inches
in circumference.
The
sanctuary, or adytum, built entirely of red granite,
A VENERABLE SANCTUARY.
262
GREAT COURT AND OBELISK OF KARNAK.
consists of three apartments, of
long,
which the
16 feet wide, and 13 feet high,
Three blocks of granite form the
roof,
central, 20 feet
is
the principal.
which once shone
In various
with clustered golden stars in a sky of azure.
parts
of the Palace the most precious materials were
employed
for decoration,
laid with ivory
Dean
and cornices have been found
in-
mouldings or sheathed with beaten gold
Stanley has justly spoken of
Karnak
as
the
grandest building which the world ever raised to the
and adoration of God, and he
it
the oldest
consecrated place of worship in the world.
But the
glory
reader must
remember
that
it
styles
was also dedicated
to
A REFERENCE TO BIBLICAL HISTORY.
secular purposes
:
it
263
was not a temple only, but a palace
and not only a palace, but a Champ de Mars, where
;
re-
views took place, and ambassadors were publicly received,
among their
captives executed or apportioned
and the
spoils
and honours of victory
conquerors,
Reli-
distributed.
gious festivals were also held there, in which king and
priests
One
and people
alike participated.
Karnak
of the most interesting features of
is
the
sculptured record, in a narrow corridor, of the conquest
of Sheshonk
—the Shishak
Champollion.
line
of Scripture
It occurs, says
—
first
noticed by
Mr. Fairholt,* in the third
of a row of sixty-three prisoners presented by the
agency of the god
Amun-Ra
to
Sheshonk
;
who
thus, as
usual with the Egyptian kings, attributes his victories to
Divine interposition.
Each
figure, or rather semi-figure,
has his arms tied behind him, a rope round his neck, and
is
placed upon
a turreted oval indicative of a walled
name is inscribed. In this instance
Judah Melek —the " King of Judah," the Rehoboam
of Scripture, who was defeated by Sheshonk: this, we
may add, is the only direct illustration of Biblical history
afforded by the monuments of Egypt, though indirect
city,
it
within which the
is
illustrations
abound.
In addition to the magnificent group of
halls, courts,
columns, and gigantic statues at which we have thus
cursorily glanced, various propyla
and portions of temples
are to be seen south of the Great Hall.
the pyla of one of the courts
lie
On
either side
the remains of four enor-
mous Ramessid statues hewn out of limestone or
They all wear sculptured belts, most richly and
• Fairholt,
"
Up
the Nile," p. 324.
granite.
beauti-
THE CRIO-SPHINXES.
264
One
wrought.
fully
armed with
is
Mr. Aveling, a recent
plate.
latter figure,
and found
to
it
the sacred breast-
measured the
traveller,
be 6
feet across the chest
the middle figure was 10 feet broad, with arms 8 feet long.
A row
of ninety crio-sphinxes, or more, leads south-
ward from the temple
—running
belong
direct road to Luxor,
avenue crossing
to
which these colossal statues
parallel to the
one which follows the
and connected with
at right angles.
One
it
by a narrow
sphinx, in a group
found here, has a woman's head, with features beautifully
expressive both of power and gentleness, and wearing
that aspect of profound repose with which the old artists
loved to represent their deities and kings.*
Further details of the wonders of Karnak
lisks
and
mournful
of the
dim
statues,
all
— of
history
designed them so
— would
He
far
back
than
perplex rather
will already
obe-
its
involved in
ruin, but all attesting the intellectual
men who
reader.
and pyla and propyla,
supremacy
in the world's
interest
the
have pictured to himself
this
scene of splendid desolation, and formed some idea of
the majesty of Egyptian achievement.
Across the plain
—following the grand dromos of andro-sphinxes, 40
once traversed
wide,
priests,
once
and
kings,
and worshippers
alive with toiling thousands,
works of a subtle
move onward,
*
Rev. T.
t
The
W,
art
feet
by the sumptuous processions
and
brilliant with the
and an exhaustless industry
in thoughtful
of
—the solemn avenue,
silence, to
—we
EL-UKSOR,t
or
Aveling, " Voices of
distingiiished traveller,
on these interesting
localities
Abou, and the intervening
Mr.
Many Waters."
W. G. Palgrave,
has the following remarks
:— "Luxor, Karnak, Kornah, Rameseum, Medinet-
ruins, all belong to
one and the same huge
city.
THE TEMPLE AT LUXOR.
mud
Luxor, where the
Arab
267
hovels and paltry buildings of an
village strangely jar with the
remains of
its
ancient
grandeur.
Here a vast and splendid temple stands on the rising
commanding a fine view of the Nile and the
ground,
Theban
plain.
In approaching
most convenient route
—the
from the north
it
notable
first
its
above the present
Two
the Place de la
Concorde
the Thebes of Egypt.
feet
of the finest
obelisks in the world formerly guarded, as
portal of this noble pile; but
a
is
summit 57
superb propylon, 200 feet long, with
level of the soil.
—the
object
it
were, the
one has been removed
to
at Paris ; the other lies deeply
Within historical memory the
site
was yet one, not
divided as now; for the Nile, instead of flowing west of Luxor and
Kamak, thus
much more
separating one half of ancient Thebes from the other, followed a
by the Red Sea side, leaving the Libyan
and unbroken. Indeed, it is said to have adopted its present direction only two centiuies since.
Now ploughing up the mid-level, and wandering
as at random among the ruins, it undermines some, tilts up others, and will proeasterly course under the mountains
plain wide
bably sweep not a few clean away
—Luxor, for example. A few thousand years
more and Herodotus and the Ghizeh Pyramids
vindicate for
much
Rameses and
will
probably alone remain to
his brethren the eternity they sought to secure
"The
was admirably adapted
nowhere wider or richer in Upper
situation of Thebes, as the river formerly ran,
for a capital of that time;
a noble
plain,
Egypt, constantly refreshed by the free play of the winds from north,
west, closing in southwards only
;
to Central Africa
the Nile.
Thebes
much
We
:
'
east,
and deposit of Arab commerce and on the
Wah,' once of Jupiter Ammon, and thence right
;
north and south passes the great liquid and ever open road of
should remember that in the days, those ancient days,
flourished, the staple trade of
later date,
and
while direct land communications lead on one
side to Koseyr, that ancient arbour
other to the great oasis of the
a
by so
labour and costly forethought
Egypt lay
all
when
with Africa and Arabia
;
al
Greek influence and the growing importance of the Mediter-
ranean coast brought down the capital towards the Delta, and ultimately fixed
it
at Alexandria, on the northern shore.
degenerate, and to help
Egypt
to
But Greece only entered Egypt to
degenerate in turn
From "A
;
the best days of the Nile
Upper Egypt" by
William Gifford Palgrave [Macmillaiis Magazine, January 1867).
Valley were certainly the earliest."
Visit to
AN ANIMATED
268
embedded
in the sand, a
seven and eight
80
SCULPTURE.
monolith of red granite, between
and upwards
feet square at the base,
The
feet in height.
hieroglyphics which embellish
of
it
are cut with unusual distinctness to a depth of nearly
two inches.
In the rear of the obelisks, and immedi-
ately in front of the propylon, stand
ground to the
chest, they
still
two colossal
statues,
Though buried
or Ramessids, also of red granite.
in the
measure about 22
feet
from thence to the top of their mitres.*
The
lon
eastern wing of the northern fagade of the propy-
enriched with an animated sculpture of a crowded
is
So
battle scene.
truthful
is it,
and so minutely accurate,
one sees the shock of contending squadrons, and
that as
the rush of the furious chariots, one almost hears the
clash of swords, the twang of whirring arrows,
shouts
the
melee
him
The king
maddened foemen.
of
in
waves
drawn by two horses
a car
the
royal
Here,
standard.
and the
above
rises
;
behind
the
empty
by the uncontrolled steeds down a
precipitous descent, and headlong into a rolUng river;
chariots are swept
there, the charioteers are rushing
town, flying from the
Others are
tians.
amid the
citizens,
shrieks
arrows
towards the walls of the
of the victorious
and lamentations of the despairing
who have thronged
to the battlements to witness
Everywhere the
the defeat of their fellow-countrymen.
scene
instinct with
is
battle rages before
hope and
It is
Egyp-
crowding through the open gates,
life,
energy, and movement.
your eyes with
all
its
The
alternations of
despair, the swift charge, the confused retreat.
a kind of Homeric picture embodied in vivid colour*
Wilkinson,
" Modern Egypt and Thebes,"
vol.
ii.,
in locis.
THE THEBAN TERRITORY.
And,
ing.
to close the drama,
you see
271
com-
in another
partment the conqueror enthroned, with a sceptre in his
left
hand, and before him a sad array of captives about
to perish
under the headsman's sword
while the van-
;
quished monarch, with his arms bound behind him to a
approaches to receive his doom.
car, also
Passing through this noble portal,
portico of very large dimensions
we
enter a ruined
from which a double
;
row of seven columns, with lotus-wreathed
capitals, con-
ducts us to a court 160 feet long by 140 feet wide, ter-
minated on either hand by a similar range of
Beyond
lies
pillars.
another court of thirty- two columns
;
and
then comes the adytum^ or inner sanctuary of the temple.
Some antiquaries have been
Kamak, should we look
at
of opinion that here, and not
for the " palace of
dyas" described by Diodorus
;
and
it
we
is
is
quit the site of the once-famous city,
desirable to
territory, or the
one of the three principal divisions of Egypt.
east
it
Osyman-
also a point of
Karnak or Luxor.
we think
add a few words respecting the Theban
Thebaid, the modern Sais or Fathros, and
dispute whether the true Diospolis
Before
it
On
the
was bounded by the Arabian, on the west by the
Libyan
hills
and desert
Magna, south
to
;
Syene
of a tropical character
;
north,
it
extended to Hermopolis
(or Assouan).
Its vegetation is
the sycamore giving place to the
date-palm and the Theban-palm, and the lotus spreading
its
blue and white cups on the waters.
Anciently,
it
was
divided into ten nomes, and ten halls in the Labyrinth
were therefore appropriated to their princes.
For the most part the Thebaid, as Mr. Donne remarks,
was, and
is,
a narrow valley, intersected
by the
river
and
THE THEBAID AS IT IS.
272
bounded by a double row of
hills
precipitous on the Arabian side
elevation,
The
tation of shrubs
The
belt
on each
and herbs, which emit a
is
side of the river,
and
to
brown dry hue
The breadth of
is
of the Thebaid, however, a re-
cent traveller speaks in more eulogistic terms.*
no pleasanter
The
land."
all is
millet,
He
says
be imagined of " a summer
purple Desert mountains here narrow in the
extraordinary
waste
ideal can
and enclose a landscape of
valley,
and
the Nile
frequently reduced
miles.
Of the present appearance
that
a narrow
whose glowing verdure
Valley never exceeds eleven, and
two
aromatic
slight
restricted
strikingly with the
of the surrounding wilderness.
to
valleys.
bank produces only a dwarf vege-
cultivable soil
contrasts agreeably
and
bold, lofty,
hills,
;
on the Libyan, of lower
and intersected by sandy plains and
desert on either
odour.
;
tropical character
and
Even to the edge of the sandy
You wander through fields of maize
fertility.
growth.
and between bright flanking patches of
yel-
low-blossoming cotton, amid thickets of ricin and mea-
dows of flowering poppy.
The heart rejoices in the
clustering palm -groves, which whisper of peace and
plenty and from the midst of their lustrous bloom the
;
eye
may
range over acres of sunny cornfields, whose rich
wealth of produce waves in the very neighbourhood of
the eternal barrenness.
How
glorious must have
the landscape when, in the old time, amidst
of
fertility,
and
lisks,"
beauty
all this
rose the marble palaces, the " shapely obethe
gigantic
statues,
in
serenely - perfect
!
*
been
bloom
Howard Hopley, "Under Egyptian Palms,"
pp. 221, 222.
^oak
Jplbirb
CHAPTER
—
I.
THE ALMEHS, OR DANCING GIRLS EILYTHIA:
THE ROCK TOMBS EDFOO, AND ITS TEMPLE SILKOUM OMBOS.
SILEH, AND ITS QUARRIES
ESNEH
—
—
—
Et viridem Aegyptum nigra faecundat arena,
Et diversa mens septem
discurrit in ora.
Virgil, Georgi'cs,
And where
Broods
And
the stream
o'er green
.
.
iv.
200.
.
Egypt with dark wave of mud,
many a mouth its branching flood.
SOTHEBY.
pours through
TDDING
farewell to
Thebes and
its
Monu-
ments, we resume our voyage up the Nile.
The
first
Ernient^ the
six miles
point of interest above Thebes
is
Hermonthis of the Greeks, about
from Medinet-Aboo.
Here the
traveller
may
profitably devote a few hours to an examination of the
ruins of a temple
founded by Cleopatra, and to the
smaller temple, or " lying-in
Leto.
Of
comparatively
(295)
chamber " of the goddess
the former the shattered remains indicate a
debased
style
J8
of
architecture,
but no
THE ANCIENT CROCODILOPOLIS.
274
opinion can be formed of
The
latter is also in
its
general plan and character.
a dilapidated condition
all
;
the
columns but one of the outer court have disappeared
only a few are extant of those of the hall
shrines, consisting of
their
;
the ancient
two small chambers, support with
massive walls the residence of the sheikh of the
village,
while the entire ruin
encumbered by the mud
is
huts of the villagers and a plain mosque.*
Near
at
hand
are the remains of a Christian church, belonging to the
period of the Lower Empire
;
and measuring, according
to Wilkinson, 190 feet in length by 85 feet in width.
Gebel-Ain, supposed to be the site of the ancient Crocodilopolis,
is
the next striking object on which the eye
of the traveller
rests.
It starts
up from the
level plain
with a curious resemblance to the Gibraltar Rock.
beyond, a large island of sand
Just
described as a favourite
is
haunt of crocodiles, which bask here in the hot sun,
attended by their
little
feathered monitor, the Ziczac^ or
Charadarius spinosus (Spur-winged plover).
trochilus or "crocodile bird" of
live
upon the leeches which adhere
throat,
and
to give his friend
This, the
Herodotus,
is
said to
to the crocodile's
due notice of any
hostile
intruder.
Mr. Fairholt,
whom we
have already quoted,
states
that he has certainly seen the plover busied about sleep-
ing crocodiles, and clamouring at any boat's approach,
in a sufficiently
them
loud manner to waken them, and teach
that their only safety
tion of the story, he adds,
bird
is
was
in flight.
seems
attracted to the crocodile
* Fairholt,
"
Up
to
The
real solu-
be very simple.
by the
the Nile," p. ^31.
flies
and
The
insects
TEMPLE OF GEBEL-AIN.
THE TROCHILUS, OR CROCODILE
which
of
settle
man
about
it
;
and
its
We now
Noum "
at the presence
is
friend.
on the west bank,
called to the noble
once sacred to the ram-headed
or " Kneph,"
who
deity,
presided over the work of
With the exception of the twenty-four columns
and roof of
in
supposed
where our attention
ruins of the temple
deep
own alarm
arrive at Esneh, or Isna,
in lat. 25° 30',
creation.
BIRD.
induces the cries which are imagined to be
entirely for the benefit of its
"
275
its
portico, or pronaos, the temple
sand and
earth.
is
buried
But these columns are well
276
THE DANCING-GIRLS.
worth studying
for the
sculpture,* which
beauty and significance of
their
belongs to a late period of Graeco-
Egyptian or Aegypto-Roman
art (a.d.
41-70)
— the names
of Tiberius, Germanicus, and Vespasian occurring in the
dedicatory inscription over the entrance, and those of
Trajan, Hadrian, and Antoninus in the interior.
figure of
Ptolemy Euergetes
lowed by a tame
antagonist.
It
lion,
and
found on the
is
The
wall,
in the act of striking
fol-
down an
would seem that the present temple was
raised on the site of an older sanctuary.
Esneh was the ancient
its
name from
species,
Latopolis^ or Lato^
and derived
the fish Lato^ the largest of the Nilotic
which always appears among the symbols of the
goddess Neith (or Pallas).t
Its present
population ex-
ceeds 4000.
It is the head-quarters of the
dancing-girls,
who
Almehs^X or
inhabit various squalid huts
upon the
shore, to which the voyager's curiosity almost invariably
attracts him.
them a
If
visit, his
he resolves, as we
dragoman
shall do,
on paying
acts as guide and interpreter,
and introduces him into the
interior of
some
particular
hovel, which he has selected as a suitable theatre for the
performances.
Here, in the middle of the apartment,
he finds the dancers assembled
;
usually
young and
made women, but without any pretensions
beauty.
They wear a scanty vest, open at
large silken pantaloons fastened
embroidered girdle
gauze or
*
t
t
tulle.
;
The
well-
to personal
the
bosom
round the waist by an
and an inner tunic of flesh-coloured
feet of
Denon, " Voyage en Egypte,"
vol.
some
i.,
are
naked
;
of others,
p. 148.
The triad of Isneh was composed of Neith, Kneph, and Hak their son.
They were banished hither from Cairo in 1834 by the late Mehemet Ali.
THE DANCE OF THE ALMEHS.
thrust into
277
long loose slippers, red or yellow
;
collars
sparkle round their necks, bracelets round their wrists,
and a band of medals on
long hair
their foreheads, while
their
frequently adorned with golden coins,
is
and
bound up with a silken kerchief
The dance commences with a series of graceful attitudes, and these are succeeded by a variety of animated
gestures and rapid movements, swiftly culminating in the
eloquent expression of unbridled passion
;
the dancer,
meanwhile, preserving the bust immovable, while the
remainder of her body
is
agitated almost to frenzy.
After the performance olives and liqueurs are served
around, and the spectators prove their satisfaction by a
liberal distribution
A
of largess.
recent French traveller* has observed that these
days of profit are not, however, very numerous, and that
if
Almehs dance
the
to sing in the
in the winter, they
summer.
The
have no motive
among whom
population
they dwell cannot afford to pay them for the exercise of
their talents
;
while they themselves,
gesture,
attitude,
work, and hence
skilful
and motion, are wholly
fall
into the
enough
unfitted
in
for
power of usurious money-
lenders.
They
pass their time in smoking tobacco, and in drink-
ing aqua vitae (a kind of anise-seed), and the everlasting
coffee.
Owing
to the difficulties of this wretchedly precarious
existence, the
number
is
daily decreasing of these
Almehs,
who, in the days of the Mamelukes, abounded throughout the length and breadth of Egypt.
*
Cuminus, " Voyage en Egypte,"
in
Esneh
Tour du Monde,
is
1863, p. 211.
now
AN EGYPTIAN MARRIAGE.
278
their last asylum, as, undoubtedly,
it
was
The
their cradle.
of the bayaderes of India, and of the colleges of
sisters
to the service of Mylitta or of
priestesses consecrated
Venus, they anciently performed their fantastic dances
before the shrine of Neith, the patron goddess of Esneh,
the primarchial and prolific divinity, mother, wife, and
of
sister
There may
Amun.
still
be seen, in the centre
of the town, at the base of an ascent which
mummies, the
besLUtiful J>ronaos of the
transformed into a granary.
on a foundation of venerable
is
lined with
Temple of
Elevated by the
Neith,
Romans
ruins, the different portions
of the edifice are covered with ill-wrought sculptures
but the portico
are
tall
and
:
a noble construction, and the columns
is
and shapely, with
richly
wrought capitals of plants
flowers.
In
neighbourhood the reader
this
will
be disposed,
perhaps, to obtain a glimpse of the social life of Egypt,
and to
officiate at
of spectator.
attending
it,
It
an Egyptian marriage
cannot be said that the ceremonies
at least
among
complicated description.
act,
the fellahs, are of a very
It is
not, as with us, a
When
the intending bridegroom and the parents of the
pay
to
—
for the bride brings
to celebrate the
times notice
is
she
is
— they proceed
Some-
given to the cadi, but this formality
no more,
is
In such a union, with no
rior guarantee, there is little
:
sum which the former
no dowry
nuptials before two witnesses.
no means indispensable.
wife
pubhc
sanctioned by the church and attested by the law.
intended bride have agreed upon the
is
in the capacity
by
ulte-
happiness or safety for the
in truth, than a
bought slave
;
can she claim a divorce except under very extreme
nor
cir-
THE PREPARA TOR Y BANQUET.
The
cumstances.
tered
birth of the children is never regis-
and consequently, during
;
condition
their earlier years, their
Often, indeed, they
sadly precarious.
is
279
fall
victims to the envy or vengeance of one of their mother's
rivals.
But
us suppose ourselves invited to the marriage
let
A
of a fellah.
great tent
is
erected, according to custom,
before the house of the betrothed, and for the last two
days
has been the rendezvous of her and her future
it
husband's friends,
and
who have passed
the time in smoking,
feasting, singing, laughing, gesticulating,
At length the hour of prayer having
groom
all
repairs to the neighbouring
the kinsmen
To
presented
;
us,
:
on
an
mosque, attended by
his return
as Europeans,
but anxious though
to our host,
talking.
and acquaintances who have been hon-
oured with an invitation
served.
and
arrived, the bride-
a banquet
every dish
we may be
ill-cultivated taste
in
is
to
is
turn
do honour
compels us to
reject
them, and to content ourselves with a few thin wheaten
cakes.
All the female friends of the bride have
share in the preparation of this cuisine^ and
to conclude that their joy has
We
sauces.
had an
it is
effect
had
a
allowable
upon the
can hear them laughing and singing within
the house.
In the evening the guests march through the town in
procession, their ranks swelled en route
the population,
and men with
by
It
their
side.
is
by
all
the idle of
stalking
flaring torches
a complete illumination
;
almost
everybody seems to carry torch or taper; and a rich
neighbour has lent one of those magnificent Oriental
lustres,
which are perfect
trees of iron, embellished with
ROCK- TOMBS A T 'EIL YTHIA.
28o
glass tubes reflecting
strange
and glowing
And
in the flames.
the scene to European eyes as the light plays
is
over and upon the noisy surging crowd, communicating
a dazzHng freshness to the vivid colours of their hoods,
and
and
vests,
girdles.
Meanwhile the bridegroom,
unattended, has entered the house where his betrothed
with her kith and kin await him
he comes
forth,
:
a brief interval
after
accompanied by the women (who
the perfect purity of the
himself against the wall.
young
girl),
Then, amid loud shouts, and
discharges of musketry, the
guests
defile
before him,
everybody congratulating him, and placing in
a few pieces of money.
mony being
and
forth bearing his
Followed by
after
his
hand
This agreeable part of the cere-
concluded, the husband re-enters the house,
and again saUies
arms.
certify
and proudly plants
some
his friends
young bride
he seeks
own
his
in
his
dwelling,
further ceremonies the bridal festivity
terminates.
At
'Eilythia,* or
El-Kab, about twenty miles beyond
Esneh, on the eastern bank, we meet with a curious group
of rock-tombs of the third period
that
;
after the expulsion of the Shepherds.
furnish
some valuable glimpses
is,
into that inner
Egypt of which we have already spoken.
people at work in the
merry
in their houses. f
fields,
This
is
no vision
We
us in vivid colours painted on the rock.
it
were, the
ploughman
is
life
We
and busy on the
depths of a conscious imagination.
eyes, as
immediately
Their decorations
river,
rising
have
of Old
see the
and
from the
it all
before
Under our very
furrowing the
Eiliethyias, or " City of Lucina," of the ancients.
*
The
\
Miss Martineau, " Eastern Life: Present and Past."
fertile
THE OLD LIFE REVIVED.
soil
;
and the sower, scattering the seed, follows in his
and then come the labouring oxen which bury
footsteps
the grain
;
by trampling
bandman
The driver
and here
in
it
so that afterwards the hus-
;
has only to await quietly the time of harvest.
of the oxen treading out the wheat
is
up beside
his song, written
" Thresh for yourselves,
Thresh
Thresh
for yourselves,
Thresh
O
for yourselves
Measures
for yourselves
this to
oxen
!
for
your masters.
for
your masters."
be the lay which the Egyptian
chanted long ago, wh6n Moses was a
drivers
scribes,
*
:
for yourselves.
Measures
can imagine
singing
O oxen
Measures
We
is
his picture
for yourselves.
Measures
The
281
child.
meanwhile, are measuring the wheat as
it is
deposited in the granary; and the owner of the estate
is
surveying his live stock, his cattle, and his pigs, like a
midland county
squire.
Yonder
is
a wine-press at work,
crushing out the purple grapes which ripened in sunny
vineyards far away
among
the distant
boat passes by, with bright-coloured
And now
hills.
sail
a
and steady oars
while, after his water-excursion, the master betakes himself to
a sumptuous banquet
and cakes, and wine from
may
note, to the
—
his
flesh,
and
fowl,
own vineyards
sound of merry music.
—
But
and
all,
fruits,
as
you
like those
bright lyrics of the poet Horace, which begin so blithely
and end with so sad a
vigorous
career
strain, these pictures
terminate in darkness.
of a
You
full
and
see
the
wealthy land-owner and noble in the hands of the em*
Champollion, " Lettres sur I'Egypte," iime et i2me
lettres.
THE JUDGMENT OF
282
balmers
next,
;
as
a
mummy,
which the sacred boat
and,
lo,
now he
OSIRIS.
stretched
carries across the
tarries at the gates
upon the
bier
Silent River
\
of the Eternal Land,
where the shadows of the dead, and the judge, awful
Osiris, sit in
deeds done
solemn majesty to pass sentence upon the
in the flesh.
JUDGMENT OF SOULS, AND THEIR FUTURE DESTINY.
(From the Sarcophagus of Alexeinder.)
It
should be noted that
all
frescoes are painted yellow,
The next
the female figures in these
and
all
the male red.
point of interest for the Nile voyager
is
Edfoo, two miles above El-Kab, on the west bank of the
river.
Edfoo
is
under the
the Apollinopolis
Roman
Magna
of the Greeks, which,
emperors, was a bishop's see, and the
TEMPLE OF EDFOO.
283
head-quarters of the Legio Secunda Trajana.
It
had
formerly been regarded as the capital of the Apollonite
nome, and
its
avowed enemies of the
inhabitants were
crocodile and crocodile-worshippers.
The
owed
ancient city
its
reputation to two temples,
remarkable for their extent, massiveness, and grandeur
The
architecture.
smaller of the two
kind of appendage to the larger ;
the birth
parents
is,
sculptures represent
its
and education of the youthful Horus,
— Noum
(or
ot
however, but a
Kneph) and Athor
—the
to
whose
larger temple
was dedicated.
Speaking of the larger temple
Ptolemy Philometor, about
It
B.C.
— which was founded by
171 — Mr. Bartlett says:
stands on rising ground not far from the river ; and, as
the external wall with which
affords
it
surrounded
is
an admirable idea of the vast
nificence of an Egyptian temple in
it
and
entire,
solid
mag-
perfect state,
when
size
its
is
served no less as a fortress and a palace for the sacer-
dotal class than as a place for the solemn rites of religion.
The
sanctity of the scene, however,
wretched village of
fellahs,
The
mud
hovels,
is
impaired by the
swarming with ragged
which has risen among the gigantic ruins.*
entrance consists of a noble propylon, 50 feet
by two converging wings,
high, flanked
in the
form at
truncated pyramids, each 107 feet high, 100 feet long,
and 30
feet wide.
They contain
ten stories, and are
pierced with loop-holes for the admission of light and
air.
Their exterior walls are enriched with bold and
vigorous sculptures of singularly felicitous design.
we proceed
into a large court, surrounded
*
W. H.
Bartlett,
" The Nile Boat,"
p. 199.
Hence
by a colon-
284
INTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE.
nade, with a
flat
roof of squared granite
;
and on the op-
posite side stands 2i.pronaos, or portico, 53 feet high,
having a
belong
triple
to the
row of
Ptolemaic
and through two
pass
into
six
era.
courts,
the adytum^
and
columns, whose carved capitals
This leads into a vestibule j
one roofed and one open, we
or
sanctuary.
There are
also
TEMPLE OF NOUM AND ATHOK, AT EDFOO.
eighteen small lateral chambers.
rounded by a soHd
wall,
explorations, conducted
The
entire area
20 feet in height.*
by M. Mariette, have revealed
the whole of this fine building, including
and sacred shrine of red
its
great hall
granite, to the visitor's curious
investigation.
* Sir
G. Wilkinson, "
is sur-
Recent
Modern Egypt and Thebes,"
pp. 436-438.
THE ROCK OF THE CHAIN.
Passing the romantic ruins
of
285
Arab town
the
of
Booayh, we continue our voyage through a succession of
rich, bright,
and picturesque landscapes,
at the pass of
Rock
Hadjur
Chain;"*
of the
Silsileh
(Gebel
until
banks consisting of
its
we
Silsilis),
arrive
or " the
lofty
and
descend to the margin of the
abrupt
precipices
waters,
and shut them up in a very narrow channel.
that
Here the voyager lands
to explore the grottoes excavated
in the face of the crag,
some of which belong to a remote
antiquity,
and record,
in their hieroglyphic inscriptions,
the triumphs of the early Pharaohs over their Ethiopian
enemies. t
Of
greater interest, however, are the Silsileh
quarries of sandstone,
whose vast excavations might lead
one to suppose that the whole world had been supplied
from
this spot with building materials for its
fices.
They
nobler edi-
give one a keen idea of the industry and
persistent toil of the Egyptians; for only generation after
generation of diligent labourers could have accomplished
such enormous works.
For an extent of several miles
the mountain has been cut, by the
yawning chasms and
lofty
menacing
hand of man,
into
precipices, which, in
dimensions and picturesque variety of outline, seem
mimic the designs of Nature. As the stone nearest
the river bank is of a porous character, and not well
their
to
adapted for architectural purposes, passages were cut
through the useless strata into the very heart of the rock.
Several of these
artificial
avenues are nearly half-a-mile
* So named from a tradition that an ancient Egyptian sovereign was wont to
impede the passage of the river at this point by stretching across it a chain, and
laying a toll on every vessel.
t
W. H.
Bartlett,
"The
Nile Boat,"
p. 200.
HISTORY IN STONE.
286
in length,
by 50 or 60
feet wide,
large masses remain as the
marks of
ago
— are
their tools
left
them, and the
—made three or four thousand years
From
plainly visible.
different places,
Many
and 80 deep.
workmen
it is
painted in
the crosses
supposed that the persecuted Chris-
and
tians afterwards sought shelter in these labyrinths;
very suggestive
of the emblems of
this juxtaposition
is
Christianity with the memorials of an earlier faith.
The rock-hewn temples on
gigantic, but
more
amazed among a mass of
statues, sculptures,
Pharaoh
— Hor-em-heb,
down
rides
and
bank
are less
traveller
wanders
the western
interesting;
and the
pillars, grottoes, tablets, niches,
Here the
paintings.
successor of
vanquished Ethiopians,
the
victorious
Amunophis IV.
receives
the
trembling captives, or drags them by the hair, threatening
them with
borne
in
instant execution.
in a shrine
There we see him
on men's shoulders, with
of soldiers
files
attendance, and the lion, emblematic of his power,
pacing beside the royal chariot.
receives the
symbol of
life
In another place, he
from the supreme god.
The historian, as Miss Martineau observes,* revels
among such memorials as these. The invariable practice
here of sculpturing the names and
titles
of the kings, and
often of their chief officers, and the descriptions of the
people conquered, and the names of the votaries as
as of their gods,
How would
makes research a self-rewarding
the English archaeologist rejoice
sical antiquary, if equally
such
Miss Martineau, " Eastern Life
:
light
Past and Present,"
relics
or the clas-
permanent and accurate
mation had been graven on the rock to
*
if
own country;
existed of the aborigines of his
well,
effort.
infor-
up the dim
i.
266.
THE RELIGION OF OLD EGYPT.
uncertain annals of Old
is
this written
and the
—
Rome
But not
!
this sculptured history
poet.
It
—
less interesting
to the moralist
shows how sacred a labour temple-
when
building was considered,
We
dedicated to the gods.
the very quarries were
cannot venture to doubt the
sincerity of belief of the ancient Egyptians;
pardoned
made
for wishing that religion
part of our daily
tion, if
you
287
life
will; yet
as
did of
it
was
it
and may be
as intimate a
Call
theirs.
it
supersti-
a superstition that inculcated
a high morality, and nourished as true and vivid a conception of the Supreme
as,
man
perhaps,
without the help of a revelation from
ever attained
on high.
The
Egyptians looked upon their children as given by the
gods ; led them in bands to the temples, that at an early
age they might worship and pray; invoked at their banquets the blessing of the Judge of
their
tial
all
triumphs and achievements as
things
;
presented
sacrifice to the celes-
powers; and hallowed their great work of temple-
building
—which seems have been the main purpose of
—by " making the very rocks holy which were
to
their lives
to furnish the material."
Here, at
Silsileh,
a great as-
sembly of the gods accept the offerings of the kings.
Savak
is
the deity of the place
;
but the god Nilus holds
a higher rank than usual, either because the river here
pours through the rocky pass with so
force, or
much
fulness
and
because much of the stone cut for far-off temples
was intrusted
Some
to the charge of Nilus for transport.
of the tablets are lettered with inscriptions of
historical
importance, and especially with a record of
certain assemblies held in various years of the reign of
the
great
Rameses.
The
object and nature of these
AT KO UM 0MB OS.
288
assemblies
have not yet been ascertained.
either a religious or a political character.
All
They had
we know is,
that they were held in .the great halls of the temples,
were considered of such high importance, that the
and
title
of
"President of the AssembHes" was bestowed upon the king
alone on earth, and was supposed to be not unworthy of
the gods in their
own mysterious realm.*
defile, we emerge upon a
whose gently-ascending slopes are
Passing through the Silsileh
broad and open
valley,
clothed with palm groves.
of
Koum
Oittbos (or
Ombi, the ancient
vince,
Here
is
situated the village
Kdm Umboo), supposed to represent
capital of the
and celebrated
in
all
Ombite nome, or
ages for
its
pro-
magnificent
temples.
The fagade
of the principal one, which crowns the
summit of a sandy
columns,
are
still
hill,
standing.
consists of a portico of fifteen
and three deep,
five in front,
was
It
thirteen of
which
by the Ptolemys on
rebuilt
the site of an edifice which dated from an early part of
the third period,
and dedicated
the other gods of the
A common
to Arveris (Apollo)
and
Ombite nome.t
architectural device of the Egyptians
here be advantageously studied.
They
may
regularly dimin-
ished the size of their inner chambers, so as to give, from
the entrance, the appearance of a longer perspective than
really existed.
They
guising the ascent
* Sir
V.
in
t
by
built
on an ascending ground,
flights
dis-
of extremely shallow steps.
Gardner Wilkinson, " Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,"
loc.
Hamilton, " Aeg^yptiaca,"
p.
35; Champollion,
"L'Egypte,"
i.
167.
AN ARCHITECTURAL
The
roof was constructed with a
DEVICE,
still
289
greater inclination,
which was concealed by the introduction of deep
traves
in,
and
The
large cornices.
sides
archi-
were made to draw
so that the appearance which a building exhibits on
paper,
when represented
temples had in
reality.
in
perspective, the
Egyptian
Thus the adytum, sanctuary or
TEMPLE OF ARVERIS AT KOUM OMHOS.
holy place, was invariably small
who looked on from
small, but
an
air
remote
;
;
but to the worshippers,
the further chambers,
and
this
of awful solemnity.
it
seemed not
remoteness invested
The
effect,
indeed,
it
with
when
viewed through a long vista of sculptured columns and
EXTENSIVE RUINS.
290
painted walls, must have been singularly imposing; must
have
exceeded any of the dramatic contrasts which
far
obtain in the
The
Roman
Catholic
ritual.
other temple, built on an
artificial
platform at the
north-western angle of the enclosure, was erected in the
reign of Ptolemy XII.
and Cleopatra (about 50 B.C.),* and
Isis or Athor, with whose visage
of the columns are adorned.
The sculptures
dedicated to the goddess
the capitals
on the walls are very numerous, and even now,
after the
lapse of nearly twenty centuries, retain their brilliancy of
colouring.
that
it
effected
that,
So extensive
seems
at
are the ruins of
difficult to believe
Koum Ombos,
they could have been
by any other agency than an earthquake; or
least,
Nature began the destruction which
human barbarism
has completed.
The people
of
Ombos
were worshippers of the crocodile, and hence were
quently at war with the
the monster.
Of one of
men
of Denderah,
these conflicts a vivid descrip-
tion occurs in the fifteenth chapter of
*
fre-
who hunted
Juvenal
Hamilton, " Aegyptiaca," pp. 34-36.
CHAPTER
11.
— ANCIENT CELEBRITY— QUAR—ISLAND OF ELEPHANTINE—TEMPLE OF KNEPH
— ISLAND OF PHILAE —TEMPLE OF — OTHER MEMORIALS — SACRED CHARACTER OF PHILAE —
ASSOUAN, OR SYENE
ITS
ITS
RIES
ISIS
ITS
TRIAD
:
AND HORUS.
OSIRIS, ISIS,
Amid the foaming breakers' silvery
Where yon rough rapids sparkle
light,
!
MOORB.
It
seemed as she was doing
sacrifice
To Isis, deckt with mitre on her head.
And linnen stole after those priestes guize ....
For that Osyris whilest he lived here
The
justest
man
alive
and
truest did appear,
Spenser,
fHE approach to Assouan
bank of the
river,
—which
Koum Ombos —is through
beauty.
into a kind of bay,
island
of
The
which
Elephantine,
Nile,
is
lies
on the east
about thirty miles south of
a scene of romantic
bending abruptly, broadens
shut in by the green and lovely
whence an
early
Egyptian kings derived their name.
The
dynasty of
high
bold
rocks which rise on every hand seem like the boundaries
of a lake.
On
summit
crowned with
is
the
left,
nestling under rocky crags,
ruins, lies the
modern
whose
village;
THE GATE AT THE FRONTIER.
292
in the distance, the
yellow sandy
hills
mark
shattered walls of a convent
stone eminence; and
all
are covered with
To
remains of Saracenic architecture.
the right, the
the crest of a sand-
around, between the desert and
the river, the palm-groves cluster in verdurous masses.
The word
" Assouan "
is
the Coptic souan or suan^ an
" opening," with the addition of the Arabic
The town
softened into es or as.^
branch of the Nile, near the
south of Thebes, in
Of
east.
24°
lat.
old, this position
was the watch-tower on the
el^
lies
no
frontier of Nubia,
5'
23" north,
was
;
east
miles
long. 32° 55'
and
strategetically important
frontier
;
between Egypt and the
the most
navigation,
must have been a serious obstruction before
the great depression of the bed of the Nile.
it
or " the,"
on the
commanding point near the First Catarwhich, though no very formidable obstacle to modern
south
act,
so called
Syene, as
was called by the ancients, was the depot of the mer-
chandise which passed between the north and the south.
Here were the
building-stone
quarries
whence much of the Egyptian
—that peculiar kind of marble
— was drawn.
A
the rise of the great
god
syenite
still
known as
Nilometer stood here, to record
Nilus.
Temples
at
Elephantine
ministered to the religious wants of strangers and natives.
There was a garrison
in the time of the Persians,
again in the days of the Greeks, and
cenic fortifications
Thus, on
successive races prized
which
its
in ruins
still lie
this frontier spot, the
name
declares
it
it
Roman and
on the heights around.
evidence
is
abundant that
as the important "
to be
and
Sara-
—
Opening
the " Gate
"
"
through
* The word is supposed to be derived from Snan, an Egyptian goddess, the
"Ilithya" or " Opener" of the Greeks.
THE ISLAND OF ELEPHANTINE.
which the
fertilizing
293
floods of the Nile broke into the
land of Egypt.
The view from
the environing rocks
a view of hill and water,
very striking
is
wood and lowland
and beyond,
;
the confused and blown heaps of the rolling sands of
The
the Desert.
river hurries past in a succession of
In their midst
rapid eddies and foaming whirls.
various black-coloured
the Cataract
;
islets,
and nearer
at
lie
marking the boundary of
hand, and in a more tran-
quil reach of the stream, rises the beautiful Elephantine.
Ruin, however,
The
scene.
is
written in gigantic letters
island of Elephantine looks as
on the
if it
entire
had been
ravaged by an earthquake, scarcely one stone being
upon another of
all its
low of the wilderness
with
its
once famous
lies
left
In a hol-
edifices.
the great cemetery, each grave
memorial-tablet inscribed in Cufic
letters.
The
hoary walls of the Saracenic fortress on the one hand,
and of the Christian convent on the
same
other, preach the
striking lesson of mutability.
At a short distance from the village, on the opposite
bank of the Nile, are situated the celebrated Quarries
which furnished the colossal structures of Egypt.
excavations, says a
modern
traveller,*
The
on a scale
are
proportionate to the vast works they were destined to
construct,
so
and the soHd rocks have been hewn out
much clay.
The wedge,
that
most ancient of building
tools,
like
was
the potent instrument in rending each adamantine mass.
The dimensions
of the required block were
marked out
by wedges, which, being wetted, duly expanded, and the
*
G. Melly, " Khartoum, and the Blue and White Nilcs."
THE OBELISK AND THE COLUMNS.
294
up the rough material
for a
the grooves and notches
made
rock, split asunder, yielded
And
column or a god.
by labourers who died thousands of years ago, in preparation for works which were never carried out, may
still be seen
So, too, the idle or playful scratches which
!
amused a
leisure
hour or a joyous mood.
variety of rude inscriptions, referring to
So, too, a
hewn
blocks, or
commemorating the victories of the kings, as if the glad
tidings of triumph awoke a feeHng of national enthusiasm
All seems, says Mr. Melly, as
from Thebes to Syene.
if it
were the creation of yesterday
;
as
if
the artificers,
by some emergency, had but just left their
Yonder lies an unpoUshed obelisk,
mighty labour.
ninety or a hundred feet long, and ten feet broad, waitcalled off
ing for those final touches
The
shall
it
never receive !*
when
excavations are said to have been arrested
Persian
Conquest swept,
through the Nile Valley.
moulder
their
which
in the sand,
And
and there
the
destroying
simoom,
so the huge
columns
a
like
none to provide
is
for
removal or completion. The old creed has vanished,
and its shrines are the resort of curious pilgrims from remote lands which the worshippers never knew of
Here the problem again suggests itself to the observer,
How were such stupendous masses removed to so great
a distance as
their transit
Thebes?
The
appliances employed for
remain a mystery.
Certain
it
is,
that the
task would prove of very great, insuperable difficulty to
modern
engineers.
It
would seem that most,
if
not
all,
of the blocks were conveyed to their destination by land.
But howl
Herodotus
relates that
* Hamilton, " Aegyptiaca,"
two thousand men
p. 105.
THE GOOD GENIUS.
295
were employed for three years in the removal of one
Yet the colossal structures of Thebes were
block.*
mostly erected within a comparatively limited period,
How
and consist of innumerable blocks.
could
men be
found, in a population generally estimated at four or five
millions only, to toil in these quarries, to transport the
material to distant
to design
to build the temples
sites,
time an advanced civilization
made
other
quests made, and agriculture and
commerce
thousands and tens of thousands
The
all
the
demands upon
and wars were conducted, and extensive con-
labour,
their
and palaces,
and embellish and perfect them, while
island of Elephantine
is
rich in architectural re-
mains, though, unhappily, they are
all
and fragments of baked
earth, a
—he who, of
all
a sadly dilapifield
of bricks,
column or two stand
a memorial of the ancient Temple of
the good genius
in
In the midst of a vast
dated condition.!
also claimed
1
Noum,
or
as
Kneph,
the Egyptian Pantheon,
approaches nearest in his attributes to our ideas of the
Supreme
*
Among
All the ornaments are
Divinity, t
the Egyptian paintings
is
the representation of a colossus
a sledge by one hundred and seventy-two men,
individual stands on a leg of the image,
the team of
men
who
drawn on
are ranged in four rows of
In one respect ancient and modern expedients were alike.
forty-three each.
An
accompanied
to pull together.
When
and claps
his
hands
for a signal to
the single piece of granite, weighing
twelve hundred tons, which forms the pedestal to the equestrian statue of Peter
the Great at St. Petersburg,
the top of the
No.
t
huge block
was drawn
to
to its site, a
drummer was placed on
perform the same service.
Quarterly Review,
ccxi., p. 430.
The temples were destroyed
in 1822,
by Mohammed Bey,
to build
a palace
at Assouan.
Some
was dedicated to Khnum, the
Anouke and Sate. It was founded by
Amimophis III., and embellished by Rameses III. See Denon, " Travels in
Upper and Lower Egypt," ii. 30-36 Hamilton, " Aegyptiaca," &c.
{
authorities contend that this temple
god of the waters, and
his colleagues,
;
PHILAE, THE UNAPPROACHABLE.
296
by the
symbolic of eternal and
pre-eminent
statue of red granite, with the
Ramessid or
serpent,
A
wisdom.
Osiride emblems, has also escaped destruction
lower portion of the Nilometer.
There
gateway of the time of Alexander
;
is
and the
;
also a granite
and near
it
slender and broken pillars, which, as one of
lie
some
them bears
a sculptured cross, evidently belonged to a Christian
church.
Other memorials of interest have rewarded the
research of travellers
numerous fragments of
:
pottery,
bearing receipts in the Greek language for taxes paid by
the farmers in the reigns of the Antonines
a calendar recording the
of
Thothmes
III.
(1445
—that
B.C.),
;
and part
of
Dog-star in the time
rise of the
three thousand
is,
three hundred and sixteen years ago.
Elephantine (or Elephantina) was anciently called
AbUy or the " Ivory Island," and was the depot of the
large traffic carried
on
in
that costly product.
hence the Greek mercenaries
chus
and
I.
were despatched
in successive eras
it
in the
in search of
From
pay of Psammeti-
Egyptian deserters
was garrisoned by the Persians,
Greeks, Romans, and Saracens.
gave the
It
fifth
dy-
nasty of kings to the throne of Egypt.
From Assouan it is customary for the Nile voyager to
make a pilgrimage, beyond the First Cataract, to the
Holy Island of Philae ($iAat) the " Unapproachable"
(a^aros)
which marks the extreme boundary of Upper
—
—
Egypt.
The
footprints of an elder race are here,
And memories of an heroic time,
And shadows of the old mysterious
So
that the isle seems haunted,
Float on the wind through
faith
;
and strange sounds
all its
ruined depths.
THE NAMELESS ONE.
297
—
" By Him who sleeps in Philae !" such the oath
Which bound th' Egyptian's soul as with a chain
Imperishable. Ay, by Amun-Ra,
The great Osiris, who lies slumbering here.
Lulled by the music of the flowing Nile.
—
Ages have gone, and creeds, and dynasties.
And
Yet
a
new
still
order reigns o'er
all
the Earth
;
the mighty Presence keeps the isle
Awful, serene, and grandly tranquil he.
With
Isis
watching
—restless in her love
!
DISTANT VIEW OF THE ISLAND OF PHILAE.
Philae was called by the Egyptians Menlak^ " the Place
of the Cataract 3" or Menuab, "the Sanctuary."
It is
a small rock of syenite, about 1250 feet long, and 400
feet broad.*
Philae proper, or the larger island, has always excited
*
There are
really, as the
of no importance.
They
name
indicates,
are situated in
two
lat.
Assouan, and just above the First Cataract.
islands, but the smaller
one
is
24' N., at about six miles from
OPINIONS OF TRA VELLERS.
298
the admiration of the traveller.
it
interesting
and
Mr. Curzon speaks of
Every part of Egypt, he
in rapturous terms.
curious, but the only place to
epithet "beautiful" can be correctly applied
of Philae.
Eliot
Warburton characterizes
unearthly, wild, strange,
No
is
it
says,
is
which the
the island
as the
most
and lovely spot he ever beheld.
dreamer of the old mystical times, when beauty,
knowledge, and power were realized on Earth, ever
pictured to himself a scene of wilder grandeur or
perfect loveliness.
vast masses of
gloomy
in wildest confusion
of pyramids
;
For
;
all
around the
traveller
rocks, piled one
— some of them, as
more
tower up
upon the other
it
were, skeletons
others requiring only a few strokes of giant
labour to form colossal statues that might have startled
the Anakim.
fringed
by
Here spreads a deep drift of silvery sand,
and purple blossoms ; there, a
rich verdure
grove of palms, intermingled with the flowering acacia
and
there,
foliage,
through vistas of craggy
cliffs
and gloomy
gleams a calm blue lake, with the Sacred Island
in the midst,
green to the water's edge, except where the
walls of the old temple-city are reflected.
It is true,
however, that
more curious than
Dean
beautiful.
statement we should infer that
cursory inspection of
that
at
first
it,
Stanley speaks of
it
as
From this disparaging
the Dean made but a
for a recent traveller, admitting
he was somewhat disappointed with the
acknowledges that on closer acquaintance he
became one of its most devoted admirers. There is, he
says, a grace and loveliness attached to Philae pre-emiisland,
nently of
all
Nile views
being in the island
;
itself,
the chief charm, nevertheless,
as seen from a
little
distance,
THE SACREDNESS OF PHILAE.
and calmly
lying so picturesquely
the river, which
rocks:
granite
the contrast of the
is
it
it
very midst of
in the
shut in here by perpendicular black
is
fertile,
sunny
rugged iron-bound precipices which
island, with the stern,
tower above
299
so that in connection with Philae there
;
always rises up in the mind a picture of perfect repose,
and of nature
To
in
its
most smiling aspect.*
sacredest spot
Philae was
Egyptian,
ancient
the
upon Earth,
—what Mecca
is
simply
the
Mos-
to the
The most solemn
By Him the Un-named
lem, or Calvary to the Christian.
oath that he could utter was, "
and Un-nameable
—that sleeps
It
was the
god of gods, of the all-powerful
resting-place of his
Osiris,
—
in Philae."
of the supreme divinity, whose singular love for
Egypt was manifested in the yearly overflow of the great
Therefore
river.
priests to
reverence for
drew near
tions of
real
its
was considered profane
it
approach
it
;
and men believed
no bird
its sanctity,
shores.
for
flew over
it,
no
fish
These, however, were the tradi-
an early age, when the religion of Egypt was a
and
living creed.
At a
it became a
tomb of Osiris and
removed to England by Mr.
later period
favourite resort of pilgrims to the
an inscription on an obelisk
Bankes shows that the
con
any but
that, in awful
(B.C.
;
priests petitioned
170-117) to prohibit
officials
Ptolemy Phys-
and public per-
sonages from visiting the island, and living there at their
expense.
It is
*
a curious fact to be noticed, in reference to Philae,
Compare Curzon, "Monasteries
Crescent and the Cross;"
C. Smith,
"The
Nile and
Dean
its
in the
Levant;" Eliot Warburton, "The
Stanley, "Sinai and Palestine;" the Rev. A.
Banks
;"
and Hamilton, " Aegyptiaca.
A TEMPLE OF
300
that peculiar effects of light
its
OSIRIS.
and shade are produced by
As
Tropic of Cancer.
vicinity to the
proaches the northern boundary of
sun ap-
the
course, the shade
its
thrown by the cornices, mouldings, and projections of
the temples creeps lower
walls, until,
when
and lower down
the orb of day attains
its
their granite
highest point
of elevation, these walls are invested in deep, dark sha-
dows, which present an almost weird contrast to the
intense glow that lights
The
up the surrounding landscape.
surface of the island may, without exaggeration,
be described as strewn with
a storm.
ruins, like the sea-shore after
This wide-spread desolation seems to have
been effected by the Persians, who, defied
in their de-
by the massive edifices of Karnak and
Luxor, found here a more suitable field for their barstructive efforts
The most ancient thing on Philae is the
Temple of Athor (Aphrodite), built in the reign
of Nectanebus (b.c. 381-363).
The other remains bebarian rage.
shattered
long, for the
most
part, to the reigns of the Ptolemys,
Philadelphus, Epiphanes, and Philometor
and numerous
inscriptions
tures were repaired
down
to the
show
introduction of
Christianity,
reputation for sanctity.
Some
282-145);
Roman
and restored by the
epoch of Claudius
(b.c.
that the sacred struc-
(a.d.
Philae
54).
emperors
After the
preserved
still
a
of the adyta bear traces of
having been adapted to Christian worship
;
and among
the ruins are those of a Christian church.
The
Isis,
triad
to
whom
Philae was sacred were Osiris,
and Horus.
The
principal temple
the river-bank
it
was dedicated
to Osiris.
From
was approached by a double colonnade,
WITHIN THE WALLS.
303
which terminated with two colossal lions of granite, and
a couple
of obelisks,
columns
differed
each 44 feet in
The
height.
each
from the other in the sculptured foliage of their capitals,
which represented the
indigenous
vegetation
the country,
— palms
of
and
tobacco, water-plants and
Through the
acacias.
propylon,
lossal
pyramidal
graven
towers
mysterious
over with
all
co-
lofty
its
the worshipper
allegories,
HORUS,
ISIS,
AND
OSIRIS.
and between the
passed,
solemn sphinxes, into an open court surrounded by
columns
pronaos,
and thence, through another pylon, into the
;
— an
area reminding the
down
traveller
with hieroglyphic carving,
either side, loaded
doors lead
modem
of
Beneath the shadowy arcades on
a convent cloister.
into
various
dim chapels and chambers.
porch, entered by a third pylon,
is
The
of a solemn character,
spanning the whole breadth of the building, overshadowed
by heavy
supreme
It
is
cornices,
divinity,
and bearing the mystic emblem of
a winged globe, blazoned in
azure.
supported by a twofold range of gigantic columns,
whose
capitals
even now are dazzling with their rich
bright hues.*
A
lofty
doorway opens from the portico into the
or adytum^ in
*
sekos^
each corner of which formerly stood a
Howard Hopley, " Under Egyptian Palms,"
pp. 290-292.
/S/S
304
EVERYWHERE.
TEMPLE OF
monolithic shrine,* the
whose
OSIRIS
cage
walls are covered with
AT PHILAE.
of a sacred
emblems.
hawk, and
Here, in the
thickness of wall or buttress, secret staircases lead to
chambers
in the roof; the surface of every passage,
how-
ever narrow or apparently insignificant, being wrought
into
devices of genii, and
sublime face of
Mr. Hopley describes
in graphic
tion of a chapel, small as
of the western corridor.
*
One
Florence.
of these
is
beautiful
with
the
serene,
Isis.
now
in the
an
attic,
He came
Louvre
language his explorasituated in the roof
upon
it,
he says,
at Paris, the other in the
Museum
at
at
THE RESURRECTION CHAMBER.
305
TEMPLE COURT AT PHILAE.
hazard, after wandering over the whole of the temple,
between the massive blocks which,
at different heights,
roof in transepts, vestibule, and adyta.
call
it
.296)
Egyptologists
the " resurrection chamber," from the sculptures
20
THE TEMPLE OF A THOR.
3o6
on
and resurrection of
walls representing the death
its
It
Osiris.
stands
a sunny
in
Seven
nook.
stairs,
flanked by a smooth groove, adapted, apparently, for
the descent of a cofrin, lead
bend your head, and pass
down
to
entrance.
its
There
in.
You
no need of
is
torches or tapers, for the light through a loophole breaks
on the pictured
the
dead
The
walls.
You
sive stages.
Osiris
:
see
subject
treated in succes-
is
women weeping
about the bier of
anon the scene
changes
— winged
figures, like cherubim, stand at the head and foot, as
on guard, and
pinions
and
him with
shelter
as a bird, hovers
over the motionless body
flutters
into
moves.
Thus, in
;
throbbing veins
the
stealing
many
gradations,
of impressive pictures, the theme
length,
their
then the soul, symbolized
;
on the furthest
wall, fully
god stands manifest
Osiris,
is
if
overspreading
—hush
a
!
and through a
carried on
Hfe
is
an arm
leg,
;
series
until, at
robed and mitred, the
the living, the supreme,
the eternal, bearing, in hands crossed over the breast,
the
and the
sceptre
flail,
as
emblems of power and
judgment.*
On
the left hand of
we should add, is
court,
dedicated to Athor.
the entrance into the principal
situated a small temple or chapel,
It is profusely
sculptures depicting the
under the
figure of the
birth
embellished with
of Ptolemy Philometor,
god Horus, and
its
inner cham-
bers with symbolic carving illustrative of the mysteries of
the Egyptian worship.
sculptures, however,
Its
lated
;
have been grievously muti-
the evil being due, in the
*
first
place, to the relig-
Hopley, " Under Egyptian Palms,"
p. 2g6.
ALL ABOUT
OSLRIS.
ious zeal of the early Christians,
307
and afterwards
to the
fanaticism of the so-called Iconoclasts.
At the southern extremity of the dromos of the Great
Temple stands a smaller temple, supposed, by some
authorities, to have been consecrated to Isis, and vulgarly called "Pharaoh's Bed."
Its
portico consists 01
twelve columns, crowned with the head of that goddess.
The
doum
capitals are finely carved with the
flower of the lotus,
and the palm branch
the
leaf,
and every inch
;
of surface glows with exquisite colouring, which, owing to
the dryness of the atmosphere, preserves
A few words,
in conclusion,
He
is
(or " Saturn")
original lustre.
offered, perhaps,
of the sacred character and attributes of
in explanation
Osiris.
its
may be
reputed to have been the son of Seb
Nu (or " Rhea"). He was the brother
by
and husband of
Isis (" Ceres," or " the
Moon") by whom
he had Horus (" Apollo "), and in some instances seems
identified with the
later
to
whom
wine
The
Sun or the Creative Power.
myths record that he became king of the Egyptians,
;
he taught agriculture and the
of making
art
that he afterwards travelled over the world, every-
where extending the influence of
civilization
meanwhile, his kingdom was ruled over by
;
and
that,
who
Isis,
re-
pressed the ambitious designs of Typhon (" Satan," " Sin,"
or the " Evil Principle ") the brother of Osiris.
Typhon,
however, persuaded seventy-two persons to join him
scheme
for
the murder of his brother, which,
return of the latter,
was successfully carried
the shadow-world Osiris was restored to
life,
in
a
on the
out; but in
and the im-
portant office was assigned to him of judging the dead
and ruling over the
spirits
of the blessed.
POWER OF THE SUPREME JUDGE.
3o8
His names were numerous,
was called Onnophris, or
*'
He
like his attributes.
"the meek - hearted
;"
the
Manifester of Good," because he appeared on Earth to
benefit
mankind;
East;"
"King
and mysterious
office,
name was
deity, his
of Lords;"
"'Lord
"Lord
of the
of the Gods;" but in his most sacred
and
as superior to every other
When
forbidden to be mentioned.
Herodotus has described the lamentations and
self-chas-
tisements which formed part of the sacrificial rites at the
feast of Isis,
he says that
it
whose honour these took
in
is
not permitted him to
He
place.
tell
invariably speaks
of Osiris by allusion, and never by name.* In the earUer
and purer days of the Egyptian worship, Osiris repre-
sented the Universal Goodness of the Supreme Being,
all
whose
several attributes were afterwards personified
as separate deities for or
by the common people.
It
was
believed that he quitted his celestial throne and assumed
a
human
form, but without becoming
benefit of
mankind
;
that
human,
for the
on Earth he was vanquished
by the Power of Evil; that he rose again to conquer
Evil
by
his resurrection ;
and that he was then appointed
Judge of the Dead and Lord of the Celestial Region.
He
to
was adored by
all
Egypt, not only for his benefits
man, but because he was the only manifestation on
One Supreme God.
Earth of the
he was
made
he ranked on other accounts.
mystery
to
how
its
this special
It
reason
whom
must always remain a
the Egyptians supposed his manifestation
have taken place
adopting
For
superior to the eight great gods, after
in
the form of humanity without
nature.
*
Herodotus, book
ii.
THE CENTRE OF
LIFE.
309
But when we speak of Osiris as the only manifestation
One God upon Earth, we mean
festation made by a supernatural power
the only mani-
of the
for,
;
otherwise,
beings, in the creed of the Egyptians, as in the
all living
philosophy of Pantheism, emanated from the Source and
The
Centre of Life.*
insect that sported
worm beneath
very
its little
the sod, the
hour on a blade of
grass, the
mighty hippopotamus, and the huge behemoth, had thus
common
a
Egypt, in
and a mutual bond.
origin
all
It
was from
probability, that Pythagoras derived that
doctrine of the metempsychosis, which aftenvards spread
through the civilized world.
It
accounts for the peculiar
observances with regard to animals which prevailed in
As PorphjTy
Egypt.
observes,
the Egyptians that the
human body, but
But
if all life
fore
was
justly
man
;
and that the
who had
its
Creative Prin-
was the only one of the sons
revealed
Him
to
man, and
worshipped above them
all.
the annual overflow of the Nile, and
of the land.
body was deposited
Hence
Egypt
187-189.
too,
whence he arose
his
mea-
he came to be called the
"Manners and Customs
I
—with
arose the fable that his
in the Cataract,
Hence,
* Sir Gardner Wilkinson,
the
the consequent
once every year to enrich the glad Earth with
iv.
there-
As
of his goodness, he was naturally
identified with the peculiar blessings of old
sureless bounty.
soul,
animals.
all
highest illustration
fertility
of
alone, but passed in a
was thus linked with
ciple, Osiris, nevertheless,
of the Supreme
was the teaching
that of the beast
while on Earth, dwelt not in
measure through
it
Divinity entered not only the
of the Ancient Egyptians,"
THE GODDESS
310
founder of agriculture
or,
;
more
ISIS.
poetically, the eldest-
born of Time and cousin to the Day.
As
was cousin to the Day, the " kinsman
Osiris
of
Light and Morning," so his murderer, Typhon, was the
god of the
that
is,
Eclipse, of
"Darkness and the Shadow"
He
the personification of Evil.
league with Antae, or the Desert
was
in hateful
myth which,
a
an eternal struggle between the powers of
in
which we
good,
man
in
of ages, suggested that world-wide belief
course
the
;
of the
Persians,
as
well
and
evil
Ormuzd and Ahri-
the
in
trace
as
in
Oriental
other
creeds.
Isis
was the
sister
and wife of
Osiris.
The Egyptians
called her Hes, daughter of Seb (or " Chronos")
On
and
Nu
monuments she is variously styled
the "Mistress of Heaven," the "Regent of the Gods," the
" Eye of the Sun."
She would seem to have been the
Moon, though at a later time her
Ceres
or
the
prototype of
name
of Athor, somewhat resembled
attributes, under the
(or
"Rhea").
the
those of the Greek Aphrodite;
and her worship was
accompanied by certain mysterious
the initiated.
A
lifted
known only
up;"
None among
Sometimes she
presented the land of Egypt, as Osiris did
river, the Nile.
She was also
judgment of the dead, and
their
Childhood
emblem
adopted by the poets and
re-
its fertilizing
his colleague in the
solemn
in this office suggested to the
Hekld or Hecate.
— the
mortals
typifying, perhaps, the inscrutable
course and deep secrets of Nature.
Greeks
to
veil always hung before her shrine, which,
said the well-known inscription, "
have ever
rites
of
Her
infant,
reproduction
HoRUS,
or
— was
also
who
con-
priests of Hellas,
ASSOCIATIONS OF PHILAE.
verted
him
into Harpocrates, the "
god of
311
silence," with
his finger ever pressed to his Hps.*
Such were the
Philae, the
still
Holy
deities to
Island,
seems haunted, even
ence of the mighty
fifty
triad.
whose mysterious worship
was solemnly dedicated
in this utilitarian age,
The whole
acres in size, but, as Eliot
island
similar extent in the world.
and
is
And
it
not above
Warburton remarks,
richer, perhaps, in objects of interest
gorical religion of
;
by the pres-
it is
than any spot of
just as the great alle-
Egypt has a deeper significance and a
broader meaning than the fanciful myths of Greece, so
should Philae possess, for the student of philosophy, a
higher interest and a stronger charm than the fabled birthplace of the Cyprian goddess or the oak-groves of Dodona.
* Sir
Gardner Wilkinson, ut ante,
iv. 317, 321, 367, 384,
et in lac.
CHAPTER
III.
THE FIRST CATARACT HOW ITS ASCENT IS ACCOMPLISHED
THE SHEIKH AND HIS MEN.
—
The Nile
No
the Nile
!
vision
!
I
hear
its
gathering roar
:
now, no dream of ancient years
Throned on the rocks, amid the watery war,
The king
of floods, old Homer's Nile appears.
Lord Lindsay,
HILE
directing the reader's attention to the
antiquities of
sidered
it
Syene and Elephantine, we con-
convenient to include in the survey
those of the island of Philae
must bear
latter is
in
mind
above the First Cataract.
voyage, therefore,
;
but the reader
that while the former are below^ the
we must
To
continue our river
return to Assouan, and pre-
pare for our ascent of the rapids.
Just
beyond
lies
upper Nile, where
it
Birbe,
is
a sort of river-port for the
worth while for the traveller to
land and climb the neighbouring heights,
taste for the picturesque.
From
if
he have any
these he will obtain a view
of Philae, which will long live in his memory, and often,
in after-times, rise
The
is
upon him
like a vision of the beautiful.
ascent of the Cataract,
a matter of
difficulty rather
when
the waters are low,
than of danger.
In fact
AT THE
as already stated,
it is
FIRST CATARACT.
313
not a cataract, but a rapid^ caused
by the sudden compression of the river into a narrow
rocky channel, obstructed by numerous masses of crag
and
stone,
which vex the waters into many a swirling
To
drag the boat against the impetuous stream,
eddy.
and
to avoid these
islands of rock, the assistance
little
secured of an important
who
the Cataract,*
lowers
—
known
official,
him from
brings with
swart, athletic Nubians, all
is
as the Sheikh of
forty to fifty fol-
naked but
for a white
turban on their heads, and a cincture of cotton round
Of
their waists.
these, a portion take possession of the
dahabeeyah, while the remainder are posted at those
points on the lofty
bank where
their services will
be more
immediately required.
The commencement
of the Cataract has been
ex-
pressively described as a complete archipelago of granite
rocks,
some
red, others black,
and
all
shining in the sun,
as though highly polished, with various torrents rushing
between them
These rocks are of the
in all directions.
most extraordinary forms
;
now
now
awful,
they look as ancient as the Earth
itself
tons of the antediluvian world.
On
the western
the sands of the Great Desert, yellow as gold,
by the action of the wind into
grotesque
— the very skele-
rolling waves,
bank
and broken
descend to
the water's edge, interspersed with great masses of black
basalt
;
on the
east, crag rises
above crag in such chaotic
confusion that one can only suppose the scene to have
resulted from
•
There are
some volcanic
(or were) four of these
explosion, f
Sheikhs
— Hassan, AH, Suleiman, and Ibra
him.
Mrs. Romer, "Temples and
Tombs
of Egypt," &c.,
i.
169, 170.
BEGINNING THE ASCENT.
314
The
northerly breeze, which almost always prevails in
this part of
Egypt, carries our boat through the intricate
we moor
archipelago to the base of the Cataract, and
made
to the rocks while preparations are
The scene now commends
itself to the
enormous masses of dark stone
tion
artist's
eye
:
around in every direc-
lie
the foaming river whirls and scurries through every
;
and ravine;
fissure
figures
fro
it
for our ascent.
—
innumerable swarthy demon -like
among
Don
"
like those in
Giovanni"
the rocks, upon the sands,
—
hurry to and
upon the deck of
amid the seething waters
the dahabeeyah, or
;
the Sheikh,
with his long robes floating in the wind, takes his stand
on a vantage-point where he can overlook the whole
transaction
main-mast
" Yallough
up the
a stout English rope
;
the Nubians cling to
;
it
is
fast to the
;
Wallah!" a mighty shout, and away we go
!
of water which forms the
hill
made
with a vice-like grasp
first
stage of the
Cataract.
It is
over
!
and our amphibious attendants take a
breathing pause.
The Sheikh
Wallah!" and again they
gesticulates, "
set to
work.
quiet
Yallough
Now we
!
hang
suspended on the very ridge where the waters seem to
hesitate ere they plunge
pull,
and a strong one
the second
move
is
below; another pull; a long
" Yallough " one
!
safely passed.
more
pull,
and
After a short space
we
on, over a quiet reach of the stream, to the third
and most
difficult stage
"the gate"
its
fall
;
—where
of the rapid
waters between two towering
Now,
— called El Bab, or
the Nile hurls the whole .volume of
cliffs.
indeed, the Sheikh appears fully equal to the
responsibilities of his position.
He
flings off his
encum-
THE VOYAGE ACCOMPLISHED.
315
bering robes, and stands forth stripped of everything but
his
drawers
;
Mussulman
his turban
even thrown aside, and the long
of hair that crowns his shaven head
tuft
" floating like a horse-tail in the wind."
his ejaculations are ceaseless
and
seem animated with Herculean
they strain
;
they dart hither
upon the rocks
;
His gestures and
His followers
violent.
They shout and
and thither they jump
vigour.
;
they leap into the waters
FIRST CATARACT OF
THE
:
now
they
NILE.
fend off the quivering boat from some dangerous crag
now
they tug lustily at the straining rope
" Yallough
!
Wallah
!"
are redoubled,
—
"
;
the cries of
and replied
to from
Haybe sah !" " God help you !"
a minute, and another we are half buried in foam
and spray and now, hurrah we have surmounted the
the shore
by shouts of
—
—
;
!
dreaded Cataract, and ride triumphantly on the tranquil
river.
We
bid adieu to the Sheikh and his trusty men,
CROSSING THE BOUNDARY.
3i6
own crew on
take our
board, and with swelling
sails glide
through the portal of gloomy rocks that shuts in Ethiopia
from the world.
Egypt
is
left
behind us
;
that strange
and mysterious land of Art, Religion, and Literature
the
;
land of Osiris and Isisj the land of the Pyramid and
the Sphinx
;
of Memphis, and Thebes, and Heliopolis
the mother of countless nations
philosophy and science
;
the fountain of Greek
;
which inspired the lore of
Athens and the subtle policy of Crete
fore
Greece and
possessed
all
Rome
;
which, long be-
had a name and a habitation,
the graces of intellectual hfe,
of a penetrating wisdom
;
— Egypt, the
all
the secrets
cradle of
human
and human knowledge, whose solemn memories
history
surround
it
with an imperishable glory
!
" Whose shrines and palaces and towers,
{Time-eaten towers that tremble not
Resemble nothing that
We
I)
ours."
have passed the First Cataract, and have entered
Nubia
;
the Sacred Island remains with us
dream; the
cliffs,
is
river
now
only as a
grows narrower and more rapid; the
of a dark red, encroach more and more upon
channel
;
rich leafy glens
its
open up wild glimpses of the
Nubian Desert; a tropic sky burns overhead; the hot
back from the gleaming waters and the
rays are thrown
naked rocks
traveller
off the large
find
it
like blazing
when he comes
swords
to an
;
and
right glad
is
the
anchor in the cool evening
town of Kalabsche
!
Here, then, we
may
convenient to put together a few geographical
notes upon the country
we have
just entered.
^0oh
^.ourtlj.
CHAPTER
I.
— ANNALS
— NATURAL RE-
ITS BOUNDARIES AND EXTENT
CHARACTER OF ITS INHABITANTS
NUBIA
:
—PRINCIPAL TOWNS.
SOURCES
ITS
Where rippling wave and dashing oar
The midnight chant attend
Or whispering palm-leaves from the shore
With midnight silence blend. Keblk.
HE name " Nubia," or " Nubah," seems to have
been derived from the Egyptian and Coptic
noub^ or " gold," which
Wady Nouba,
the
Dongola.
It
we
still
find extant in
a valley on the
fi-ontiers
of
was known to the ancients as Ethiopia,
though the exact limits comprised under that appellation
now be
cannot
determined.
Generally speaking,
it
in-
bank of the Nile from Meroe to the
" Great Bend," and was supposed to be a happy and
cluded
fertile
all
the west
region, peculiarly favoured
by the gods.
" IHad," Thetis informs Achilleus that
*'
Zevs yap
" Jove
is
Beyond
•
Homer, "
btt'
uKcafOv
/uter' a/mu/iAOj/as
to a solemn banquet
AiSiomjas."*
gone
the sea, on Aethiopia's shore."
Iliad," lib.
i.,
v.
12^
— Earl of Derby's translation.
In the
HISTORICAL SKETCH OF NUBIA.
3i8
The ignorance which
prevailed in reference to
the
all
African interior was favourable to the growth of such
poetic conceptions
Nubian
;
but a closer acquaintance with the
deserts scarcely induces the
tions are the great plains in the
modern
The
acquiesce in the ancient fables.
only
immediate
traveller to
por-
fertile
vicinity of the
which undoubtedly, in former times, inundated,
Nile,
and consequently enriched, a wider extent of country
than
it
does at present.
Modern Nubia may be considered
Philae,
above the
It thus
latitude.
to
extend from
First Cataract, to Sennaar, in i8° north
comprises a kind of valley or hollow,
bounded on the west by the sands of the Great Desert,
south by the uplands of Abyssinia, north by Egypt, and
east
by the Arabian Gulf Under the Pharaohs it was
and was ruled by a viceroy entitled
called Kesh, or Gush,
Prince of Gush or Ethiopia, until
pendence and was governed by
its
it
regained
native rulers.
its
inde-
These
appear to have invaded and subjugated Egypt, and to
have extended their sway from Meroe to Syene, which
marked the limits of the possessions of the Ptolemys
and the Romans. Meroe became the seat of a powerful empire, and the emporium of the commerce of India,
A
Libya, Garthage, Arabia, and Egypt.
was dealt to
conquered
its
it
about 530
of
its
inhabitants
Meroe, which again waxed strong and
a markedly Egyptian character.
it
one of
its
who
After the destruction of
B.C.
Thebes, however, numbers
gustus
severe blow
prosperity by the Persian Gambyses,
rich,
fled
and assumed
In the reign of Au-
was captured by the Romans, and we read
sovereigns, a
to
Queen Gandace,
of
as his tributary.
COSTUME OF THE NUBIANS.
decay appears to have been rapid, for even as early
Its
as the time of
of
319
Nero
its site
was only known by the ruins
once splendid temples and palaces.
its
of Egypt, Nubia was
in-
vaded by the Arabs, who spread themselves over
its
Moslem conquest
After the
valleys
and
tribes:
the
plains,
and now consist of
five principal
Djowabere, El-Gharbye, the Kenons, the
Koreish, and the Djaafere.
Further to the south, in a
fertile country, dwell the Berbers or Barabra
the
Ababde
and the warlike Sheygya
gola and Sennaar, a Negro
Arab and
Don-
mixed
Noubas.
as a whole, are a
vigorous race than the Egyptians.
come
then
state, the people, of
Nigritic blood, are called
The Nubians,
;
;
while from
more
They
athletic
and
are honest,
The women are more
more beautiful; the face
being a fine oval, the eyes dark and expressive, the complexion a glowing bronze, the figure light and elegant
courageous, and independent.
virtuous, while
They
and
they are also
possess, too, the singular
The
plaintive voice.
charm of a very sweet
virgins
wear nothing but a
leathern girdle round the loins, and a blue or white scarf
The matrons
robe.
Few
dependent from the back of
their heads.
clothe themselves in a long
and loose blue
of the
young men wear any covering except a cincture
round the
over the
spear,
loins.
left
;
carry a knife, slung in a sheath
and a club of ebony, or a long
ornamented with the skin of serpents or crocoTheir hair glistens
diles.
which they very
They
fruit
They
shoulder
eat
little
in the sun with the castor-oil
freely use.
animal food, and their staple diet
is
the
of the doum-palm, dates, tamarinds, and maize.
PRINCIPAL TOWNS OF NUBIA.
320
They breed
The principal promany valuable and
large flocks of poultry.
ducts of the country are aloes, musk,
gums,
useful
maize,
The
and senna.
They have no currency
salt.
beads, coral, cotton, tobs or
money
they receive as
Egypt are never
frankincense,
ebony, ivory, gold dust,
coffee, tobacco, ostrich feathers,
and
myrrh,
tamarinds,
inhabitants trade also in skins, cotton,
;
shirts,
own
of their
glass
;
and samoor or
cloth,
but the coins of Europe and
They
refused.
by the
their grain
sell
handful, and measure their cloth from the elbow to the
They
fingers.
plait skilfully,
dried clay.
Their musical instrument
stringed banjo or guitar
all
savage nations,
Nubia
forms
but are ignorant of the use
Their houses are low huts of stone or sun-
of looms.
is
is
traversed
;
and
is
a kind of
of a melancholy character.
by the windings of the
five cataracts within its
Nile,
Nile,
which
bounds, and receives
two branches, the Bahr-el-Abiad,
and the Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue
its
At Khar-
principal tributary, the Atbara or Tacazze.
tum, the
five-
their music, as with almost
White
or
Nile, unite to form
the great Egyptian river.
The
principal towns are
of 40,000
;
El
Khartum, with a population
Obeid, in Kordafan, with 20,000
;
Shefidy^
above the junction of the Atbara, a large and prosperous
market
for cattle, senna, cotton,
and grain
;
New
Dofi-
gola; and JDerr.
Nubia belongs to the kingdom of Egypt.
It
was con-
quered by Ismael Pasha, second son" of Mehemet
1820-22.
He
Ali, in
swept over the country Hke a destructive
simoom, burning and ravaging the crops and villages,
until his terrible career was cut short by a fearful death.
CONQUEST BY ISMAEL PASHA.
He
had insulted a native chief
who took advantage of
321
— the Melek of Shendy—
his separation
from the main
MEHEMET ALL
body of his army,
to surround his hut with piles of straw,
and, setting them on
his suite.
all
Mehemet
burned
to death the
Ali's revenge
was
Pasha and
signal.
He
slew
the inhabitants of the village nearest to his son's
funeral pyre,
men
*
fire,
and cut
off the right
hands of
five
hundred
besides.*
;
Malte Brun, "Geographic Universelle " "Nubia and Abyssinia" (Edi
Cab. Lib.)
'295)
;
Mrs.
Romer
;
" Temples and Tombs of Egypt, Nubia," &c.
21
CHAPTER
KALABSCHE
TEMPLE
11.
DENDOUR — GHIRSCHE HOUSSEYN —
— DAKKEH — VALLEY OF THE LIONS IPSAMITS
BUL.
Here Desolation keeps unbroken Sabbath,
'Mid caves and temples, palaces and sepulchres
Ideal images in sculptured forms,
Thoughts hewn
caverned
in columns, or in
hill.
In honour of their deities and their dead.
James Montgomery.
[HE
first
five
voyager's
miles after leaving Philae, the
course
is
south by east, then
and
turns towards the west,
He
the former direction.
situated
temple
on the
may be
left
the
to invillage
bank, where the remains of a small
flows in a steady
most part washing the
and western mountains
;
mounds
and copious stream,
base
of the
eastern
but wherever the inundation
has deposited a thin stratum of
has accumulated
soil
upon the
rocks, or
of sand and mud, the Nubian
and plants them with the universal
Thus a succession of little hamlets and water-
cultivates such spots,
date-tree.
little
seen.
Here the Nile
for
sees
it
resumes
Debodeh, a
attention until he reaches
vite his
finally
THE LARGEST NUBIAN TEMPLE.
wheels
—
for the
one
is
never seen without the other
on both sides as the
greets the eye
323
traveller ascends the
Nile Valley.
At Kalabsche (the Talmis of the ancients), lat. 23° 30'
N., where we resume our voyage, stands one of the largest
and most perfect rock-temples
sist
Nubia.
in
Its
remains con-
of an abutment of masonry, rising above the bank of
the river, at about 180 feet from the front, to which there
is
On
a paved approach.
each side of the pavement
appears to have stood a row of sphinxes, one of which
remains, but
is
headless
;
and
at
its
extremity a flight of
steps led to a terrace 36 feet broad,
crowned by two
pyramidal masses, 18 or 20 feet thick, with a gateway
between them
than
no
—the whole
forming a fagade of not
less
a court of about 40
feet,
Inside, there
feet.
is
which must originally have had a colonnade linking the
The former
portico to the propylon.*
massive
pillars,
consists of four
attached for half their height to a wall,
raised in the centre to form an entrance.
plain,
but the well-known
surmounts the gateway.
emblem
It is
Its front is
of the winged globe
divided by a lateral wall
from a group of nine chambers, three of which are embellished with the usual hieroglyphical
figures, in
colours
still
fresh
and
and
allegorical
brilliant.
The temple was founded by Amunophis II., dedicated
god named Manduhs, a son of Isis, rebuilt by one of
to a
the Ptolemys,
As
Trajan.
and repaired by Augustus,
wards laid hands upon
it,
are strangely conspicuous
*
Caligula,
and
the largest in Nubia, the Christians after-
and a
saint
among
the
and several halos
Pagan decorations
Dr. Richardson, " Travels along the Mediterranean," &c.
ENTERING A ROCK-TEMPLE
324
of one of the inner chambers.
heap of magnificent ruin
;"
For the
rest, it is
" a
magnificent for costliness and
vastness, but not conspicuous for simplicity or sublimity
of design.
At the rock- temple of
Beyt-el- Wellee^
two miles from
Kalabsche, we once more find ourselves face to face
with the genuine early
great Rameses.*
god
;
and
who,
in
infuses
to
It is full of the glory
art.
dedicated to
It is
or Artistic
But
this httle
We approach
and
Anouke, the god-
Purity."
the cave-entrance between quarried rocks
On
covered with remarkable sculptures.
Rameses enthroned, receiving the
servile
homage of
whom maybe
of
one side
costly tribute
sits
and
conquered Ethiopians, among
the
recognized, for they are named, the Prince
Cush and
gazelles,
inspires
temple was sacred also
to another deity, the virgin goddess
Home
Intellect,
and
into organized beings, animates
the material clay.
dess of "
of the
the Sun-
Kneph, or Knuph, the ram-headed god,
conjunction with Ptah,
life
Amun-Ra,
his
lions
two children.
There are oxen and
and antelopes, cameleopards, apes,
ele-
phants' teeth, quaint gorgeous fans, bags of gold, and
heaps of ostrich eggs
;
Ethiopia has poured out
her wealth to secure the victor's clemency.
all
Proceed a
few steps further, and you see the battle-scene, which
was the prelude to
this
vigorous hfe
is
aloft
•
by
his
:
the foe
warriors;
Harriet Martineau,
ut anti.
triumph:
fleeing; a
it
Rameses bends
" Eastern Life,"
i.
glows with rude
wounded
232.
chief
his
is
bow
See also Dr.
borne
as he
Richardson,
A T GHIRSCHE HOUSSE YN.
sweeps along in his mighty chariot
boy
flings dust
try's
downfall.
upon other
fastens
all
upon
Turn
\
325
a Nubian peasant
lamenting over his coun-
his head,
other side, and your eye
to the
pictures of the storm
and the
strife
tending to the glorification of the great sovereign
who
erected this temple as a thanksgiving for his victories
and a monument
The temple
to his fame.
itself
contains two chambers only; the
The
outer court, and the adytum, or holy place.
as usual, are covered with hieroglyphs
and
Mohammedan
made
here,
hermit
is
said to have
and probably he defaced much of the
walls,
A
pictures.
his
fine
abode
Egyptian
handiwork.*
At Dendour stands a Romano-Egyptian temple, comparatively of
little
Horus, and
Osiris,
It is sacred to the triad
interest.
Isis
;
and
in the holy place
nothing but a tablet, with a sculpture of
and a few hieroglyphic
signs.
Isis
you see
upon
it,
In a grotto, excavated in
the rock behind, yawns a burial-pit.
Of
far greater interest is the
next place at which our
dahabeeyah comes to an anchor
Ghirsche Housseyn^
Guerf Hassan^ or Gerf Hossayn (the ancient Tutzis).\
It is one of the strangest and wildest spots in Nubia.
To
reach
it,
the traveller, on landing, crosses a breadth of
corn-field,
and then a
before him, a
strip of
and
tall cliff,
of a superb temple
It
!
t
it
The shadow
G. Wilkinson, " Modern Egypt and Thebes,"
Belzoni, " Travels,"
i.
112.
Lo,
the propylon
looks like the portal to a sub-
terranean palace of the Genii.
• Sir
yellow sandy desert.
in the face of
ii.
of a remote
310-313.
A SUPERB PROPYLON
326
ROMANO-EGYPTIAN TEMPLE AT DENDOUR.
antiquity
Egypt,
it
is
upon
it.
was hewn
in the
out of the rock
who dedicated it
God of creative or
great
Rameses
Truth
" the
"
Far back,
;
—
days of Pharaonic
in the reign of the
to Ptah, the "
artisan
Lord
Intellect,"
of
and
AV HONOUR OF PTAH.
the "
of the Universe ;" and sculptured here his
Maker
symbols
327
— the scarabaeus, whose
sitory of its eggs, affords
ball of earth, the
depo-
an apt image of the habitable
SACRED SCARABAEUS OF THE EGYPTIANS.
globe
— and
human
phis,
the frog, which typifies the
embryo of the
Ghirsche Housseyn, as well as
species.
was formerly named
after this deity
Mem-
— Pthahei, or
Thypthah.*
The whole
is
of the temple, except part of the portico,
The
within the rock.
columns on each
stone, with a
side,
row of
of several blocks.
portico consists of five square
which are hewn out of the
live
circular ones in front, constructed
Before each of the square
pillars
stands a colossal statue of sandstone about 18 feet high,
holding a
flail
in
one hand, the other hanging down.
These are Ramessids, or male figures, with the high sphinx* Sir G. Wilkinson,
250
" Manners and Customs of the Ancient Egyptians,"
iv.
THE OLD EGYPTIAN SYMBOLISM.
328
helmet on their heads, and narrow beards under their
chins
;
tions.
the shoulders covered with hieroglyphic inscrip-
A
gate opens from the portico into the
large
pronaos, which measures 45 feet square, and contains
two rows of three huge columns, and colossal Ramessids.
The workmanship
is
rude, but the whole has a very im-
Burckhardt asserts* that accustomed as
pressive effect.
he was to the grandeur of Egyptian temples, he was,
struck with admiration
nevertheless,
on entering
gloomy pronaos, and beholding these immense
On
standing in triumph before him.
size,
male and female
representing the different symboUcal
figures seen
The
of Egypt.
the side walls are
which are three statues
four recesses or niches, in each of
of the natural
on the walls of the temples
centre figures are generally clothed in a
long dress, while the others are naked.
well as the
stucco,
colossi, are
and had once been painted
pronaos into the
massy
cella, in
and on
All these, as
covered with a thick coat of
had a splendid appearance.
pillars,
this
figures
A
:
they must then have
door leads from the
the middle of which are two
either side a small
apartment,
which was probably used as a place of sepulture
floor of each are high stone benches, which
:
on the
may have
served for supporting mummies, or perhaps as tables for
embalming the bodies deposited
The groups
in the temple.
of Amun-Ra, or the
Anouke and Athor as
in the recesses consist
Sun, in the centre
;
and, perhaps,
The temple extends 130 feet
general appearance, as Mrs. Romer
his supporters.
into the
rock.
Its
remarks,
when
the
traveller
*
enters
the
excavated parts never
Burckhardt, "Travels in Nubia," pp. 99,
100.
THOTH A T DAKKEH.
by the rays of the sun,
visited
The
imposing.*
is
329
solemn and
singularly
fitful light flung
upon the stupendous
and colossal statues by the torches which the
pillars
Nubian attendants bear
in their
dusky hands, gives a
weird and unearthly colouring to the whole scene
it
is
and
;
by the multitude of bats
further intensified
still
which, scared from their dark retreats by the unwelcome
blaze,
flit
The
to
and
malignant demons.
fro like
next place at which we stop
Pselcis),
wild and dreary desert.
But
Dakkeh
(the ancient
in the distance lies a
of cultivated land, and a small
This
near the river-bank.
is
built, or,
more
the Ptolemys
patch
village stands
where any monuments
correctly speaking, reconstructed by
and the Caesars, whose sway,
evident, did not extend
Romans
Nubian
the furthest point to the
south, according to Champollion,
were
is
standing in solitary grandeur in the centre of a
As
beyond Ibreem.
held Ethiopia,
it
seems
it
long as the
was the head-quarters of a
body of Germanic cavalry. Its temple was commenced
by Eugamenes, the most famous of the Ethiopian kings
of Egypt it was continued by Ptolemy Euergetes and
;
his
two immediate successors
Augustus contributed to
never completed.
god of
later
intellect
magicians
sacred to Ra,
adytum.
;
the
Roman Emperor
embellishment
Eugamenes dedicated
and the
—and
is
its
arts
his
—the
it
;
but
it
was
to Thoth, the
" Trismegistus " of the
emblem, the
ibis,
with the
hawk
sculptured on the walls of the ancient
Their surface
is
also covered with figures of
gods and kings, the water-plants of the god Nilus, and
* Mrs.
Romer, " Temples and Tombs of Egypt and Nubia,"
i.
234-
WHAT WERE THE PROPYL A?
330
Other decorative devices,
still
—
in blue,
and green, and
red,
The chambers erected
Ptolemys have some modern decorations blended
wonderfully clear and vivid.
by the
with the ancient symbols, such as the Greek caduceus
the serpent-wand of
the olive-wreath.
Mercury
— the
cithara, or harp
—and
Here, too, are the daubs perpetrated
by Coptic Christians
:
with " huge wry faces, and
saints,
flaring glories over their heads."
The
traveller
can ascend to the summit of the pro-
pylon by a winding
of sixty-nine
flight
panorama spread out before him
nous, but grand in
Nubian Desert
its
monotony
;
is
The
the rolHng sands of the
away
stretching far
steps.
somewhat monotointo the
warm
soft
haze of a tropical horizon, the blue riband-like course of
the Nile, the strip of verdure on either bank, and the
groves of palms which serve to relieve the landscape.
These propyla, as Miss Martineau remarks,* were the
watch-towers and bulwarks of the temples in the old
days when the temples of the deities were the
tions of the country.
If the inhabitants
enough the advantage of
citadels
and
fortifica-
had known
the Shepherd kings might never have conquered
country
it
;
early
garrisons, perhaps
the
or would at least have found their conquest of
more difficult than, according to Manetho, they did.
came to pass," says Manetho (as Josephus cites
" It
him), " I
us
;
ner,
know
not how, that
God was
and there came up from the
men
of an ignoble race,
east, in
who had
the confidence to
invade our country, and easily subdued
without a battle.
And when
displeased with
a strange man-
it
by
their power,
they had our rulers in their
* Harriet Martineau, " Eastern Life,"
i.
219, 220.
WA TCH- TO WERS A ND OBSER VA TORIES.
hands, they burned our
cities,
and demolished the temples
of the gods, and inflicted every kind of barbarity
the inhabitants, slaying some,
and children of others to
33
upon
and reducing the wives
slavery."
It
could scarcely
have happened, adds Miss Martineau, that these Shepherds "of an ignoble race," would have captured the country
"without a battle," and laid hands on the
had been such
rulers, if there
citadels as the later built temples,
and
such watch-towers and bulwarks as these massive propyla.
Whenever you ascend any one of them, and look out
through the loop-holes in the thick walls, you cannot but
feel that these erections
were
Indeed,
religious purposes.
were scarcely separable,
in the
after
Valley of the Nile.
for military full as
it
is
much
as
clear that the ideas
war had once made havoc
As
for the non-military pur-
poses of these propyla, they gave admission, through the
portal in the centre, to the visitors to the temple, whether
they
came
in the ordinary way,
or in the processions
which were so imposing in the ancient times.
But they were also used as observatories, whence the
priests
watched the
and from
ligious
ceremony,
heavens
starry face of the tropical
their summits,
on days of
festal
were unfolded the
blazoned with hieroglyphic symbols.
pomp
or re-
mystic banners
Those
priests of
old well understood the truth, that, for the mass of mankind, Imagination
is
the
handmaid of
Faith,
how to stimulate the heart by appealing
The forms and rites of their worship were not
than mystical.
aloft
flags
and knew
to
the eye.
less splendid
There was the shrine of the deity borne
by shaven and white-robed flamens ; then came
with emblematic figures of the god or hero em-
THE VALLEY OF THE
332
broidered on their folds
followed, with red
and incense, as
priest
and
fruits
The
offerings.
trains of suppliants
and cakes,
in all the
and music
;
of joy, or
grief,
bows and
their
filled
doves
Supreme, shone
pomp
splendour of Eastern
crowds of warriors, with
turtle
king, himself the arch-
visible representation of the
conspicuous
the scene
and long
;
oxen,
LIONS.
;
and
spears, enlivened
the air with the varied sounds
or humiHty, or triumph
while in the
;
dhn, dark recesses of the adytum, rested the sacred wings
of the god whose manifold attributes were defined by a
myriad fanciful
All was adapted to enchain
allegories.
the attention of the "
common
lay hidden, for the thoughtful,
herd
;"
and yet
in all
a treasury of suggestive
lore.
But while thus musing
We
waits for us.
Uttle in the
ing
down
at
Dakkeh, our dahabeeyah
must resume our voyage.
There
We
to the very margin of the river.
village of Seegala
—which
the lonely waste, on
is
surrounded on
whose border
rises the
all
devouringly upon the unhappy caravan
at
;"
so
Lions
Wady Sebou^ or Sabooa,
named from the broken
the approach to
on each hand
as
its
wholly covered, and
hidden.
A
—
and
fall
and pause a
sphinxes that guard
There are four
to the propylon; but
five others
by
the "Valley of the
rock-hewn temple.
you go up
pass the
sides
sand-column,
to stride giant-like across leagues of wilderness,
moment
is
scenery to interest us here, the Desert stretch-
more or
less
one
is
completely
couple are unburied, but their features have
almost disappeared.
The head
of the one uncovered
is
nearly complete, and very impressive in the awful serenity
of
its
countenance.
Two
rude statues, about ten feet
in
THE NUBIAN CAPITAL.
height, look out
upon the
ZH
river with lack-lustre eyes
:
they
Opposite to the
are unbearded males, roughly executed.
entrance a colossus Hes on the ground, shattered and
Within the propylon
half-buried in the sand.
tico, or
pronaos, with five columns on
In front of each, and attached to
it,
breast,
with the
flail
the porsides.
stands a Ramessid or
colossal figure, i6 feet in height, having the
upon the
is
two longer
its
in
arms crossed
one hand, and the
The whole fabric is very
Ramesean
period.
Burckhardt
ancient, belonging to the
for
the
later
Egyptian
suggests that it afforded a model
The two statues in front of the propylon,
architects.*
priest's
he
wand
the other.
in
says, are the miniatures of those in front of the
nonium, and the sphinxes are seen
certain that this
Nubian
Karnak.
MemIt
is
one of the most venerable of the
sanctuaries.
Yet of a
Derr.
is
at
still
remoter antiquity must be the temple
Derr, let us note,
is
at
the capital of Nubia, a large
town of mud-built houses, scattered among gardens of
herbs, melons,
and cucumbers, and groves of palm-trees,
on the eastern bank of the
or palace,
nificent
is
river.
The
sycamore
The temple
is
in front of
partly
it.
hewn out of
area and portico being in the open
once eight
pillars,
discernible.
four
Ramessid
the rock, only
air.
The
its
area had
of which only the bases remain; and
numerous pictures on
is
governor's house,
mostly built of burned brick, and has a mag-
The
its walls,
of which scarcely a trace
corridor, or portico,
pillars
—
pillars
is
faced with
supporting huge figures,
* Burckhardt, " Travels in Nubia," p. go.
THE CASTLE OF IBREEM.
334
The
decorated with the usual symbols.
rock part of the temple
The
columns.
—a
whose depth
From
the impression.
—that
is,
commenced
by that most
Here are
restless
the
the outlines are cut
affords the requisite relief to
its
design
we
perceive that the
temple was built by Rameses the Great,
bably, was
is
six square
what has been
walls are sculptured in
termed " intaglio relevato;"
in a groove,
sanctuary
adorned with
hall
more
or,
pro-
before his time, and completed
and ubiquitous of
architect-kings.
his lion, his children, his enemies, his gods, his
wealth, his triumphs.
The adytum
There are two
entire
depth
small,
is
lateral
in the
Once more we
and
images have vanished.
its
The
chambers of no importance.
rock
is
about
no
feet.
Nile, and making our way
At times we light upon very
of greenery, upon patches covered with
are
on the
through the Nubian sands.
pleasant spots
the yellow blossoms of the cotton-shrub,
riched with
upon
blooming crops of grain and
fields en-
pulse.
At
Tosko we ascend some dangerous rapids formed by a reef
of rocks, and pass under the lofty crag crowned by the
castle of Ibreem, the Prernnis of Strabo,
and the Frimis
of Pliny, which was defended against Petronius, the lieu-
tenant of Augustus Caesar, by a masculine queen, called
in history
ably a
Candace
title,
pied by
above the
;
though Candace was unquestion-
and not a name.
Roman and
river,
which
It
was afterwards occu-
Saracenic garrisons.
is
at this point
Its
a mile broad, has been estimated at 200 feet*
*
Kenrick, " Ancient Egypt,"
ii.
height
about a quarter of
464.
THE WONDER OF THE NILE VALLEY.
335
Our voyage now brings us to one of the most famous
Nubia Abou-Simbel, or Ipsambx)l, the chief
wonder, perhaps, of all the Upper Valley of the Nile the
spots in
;
ancient Napafaj*- and capital of the Ethiopian kingdom.
For generations the
drifting sands of the Desert accu-
buried sanctuaries, and nothing was
mulated over
its
visible but the
head of a single colossal statue to excite
the
wonder of the
solitary ruin
traveller.
— whether
—
meant
or a palace, or a
tomb
it
one inquired what
marked the
of a
site
the year 181
until, in
who
terprising Belzoni,
No
this
city,
the en-
7,
possessed a peculiar genius for
such achievements, accompanied by Captains Irby and
Mangles, undertook an excavation.
rewarded, for
it
brought to light a
attributed
by Champollion
Pharaonic
civilization.
daring
to
Their
the grandest
was well
unjustly
epoch
of
Here, exclaims Warburton, the
Genius of Ethiopian architecture ventured to
enter into rivalry with Nature's greatness,
material in the very mountains that
ance to her
singular
toil
monument not
efforts. t
You
and found her
seemed
to bid defi-
can conceive nothing more
and impressive, says Mrs. Romer, than the faQade
of this great temple. J From Burckhardt to Miss Martineau, every writer has run riot in eulogium.
Ipsambiil,
says Sir F. Henniker,§
bour,
and
in itself
is
the ne plus ultra of Egyptian
an ample recompense
There are two temples
at
la-
for the journey.
Ipsambul, one
much
larger
than the other, but both hewn out of the solid sandstone
* Ritter,
t
X
" Erdkunde,"
i.
571.
E. Warburton, "
The Crescent and the Cross," chap. xiii.
Mrs. Romer, " Temples and Tombs of Egj-pt and Nubia,"
§ Sir F.
Henniker, " Notes During a Visit to Egypt," &c.,
Champollion,
Dr Richardson, and Burckhardt.
i.
207.
p. i6o.
See also
A
336
rock.
VISIT TO
Let us
the
first visit
monium, dedicated
THE AMMONIUM.
more considerable, the AmAmun-Ra.
to Osiris, or
Here, an area of about 187
for the
and 86
feet in breadth,
feet
hewn out of the mountain, smooth, except
reHevos.
The fagade is composed of a vast
in height,
is
gateway, flanked on either hand by two colossal statues
of
Rameses
There they
II.,
sit
and each about 65
seated,
TEMPLE OF
they measure 15
the face 7 feet
moulded.
;
OSIRIS, IPSAMBUL.
look out upon the desert with a
their motionless faces
kind of stony calm.
shoulders
feet high.
enthroned, as they have sat for ages, and
From
the shoulder to the elbow
feet 6 inches; the ears 3 feet 6 inches;
the beard 5 feet 6 inches
25 feet 4 inches.
The beauty
The
;
across the
faces are exquisitely
of the curves
is
surprising in the
stone; the fidelity of the rounding of the muscles, and
the grace of the flowing lines of the cheek and jaw.*
is
remarkable that the proportions of these
•
Harriet Martineau, " Eastern Life,"
i.
197.
It
colossal
A COLOSSAL DOORWAY.
visages,
though the
artist
337
could have had only a
life-size
model to guide him, are admirably harmonious.
Between the
smaller statues
legs of these gigantic
;
Ramessids are placed
mere pigmies compared with
neighbours, and yet considerably larger
The doorway
a statue of
about 20 feet high.
is
I sis,
wearing the
moon
as a turban
INTERIOR OF TEMPLE OF OSIRIS, IPSAMBl
some
say, of Osiris
huge
their
than human size.
Above it stands
—
or, as
I,.
—of about the same dimensions
as the
doorway, and on either side are some huge hieroglyphical
bas-reliefs
nice
and
;
while the whole fagade
line of hieroglyphs
surmounted by a
one
in
is
finished
by a
and quaintly-carved
frieze of sculptured
number, and each measuring 8
cor-
figures,
monkeys, twentyfeet in height,
and
6 feet across the shoulders.
On
'2951
entering the temple you find yourself within
22
"a
THE MITRE-CROWNED RA MESSIDS.
338
vast
and gloomy
hall,
such as Eblis might have given
Vathek audience in;" a reception-chamber not unworthy
As soon
of the most splendid of the Egyptian kings.
the eye
becomes accustomed
ally reveals itself,
pillars
light
to the
above and around, "a vast
formed of eight colossal
upon
giants,
The
of heaven has never shone."
with
aisle,
whom
the
tops of their
mitre-shaped head-dresses, each bearing in front the
pent, the
emblem
of royalty, for each
is
perfectly alike
and every face
;
all
is full
ser-
an image of the
They
magnificent Rameses, nearly touch the roof
all
as
gloom, there gradu-
are
bear the crosier and flagellum
of deep and expressive meaning.
" Vigilant,
serene,
benign, here
sit,
they
teaching us to
inquire reverentially
into
the
early
powers and condition of that
human
mind which was
ca-
pable of such conceptions of abstract
qualities as are re-
presented
in
their
forms."
These images
of
the great king are
backed
mous
by
enor-
pillars,
behind
which run two great
KAMEssin AT ipsambOl.
gallcrlcs
whosc
IN THE GREA T HALL.
339
walls are profusely embellished with hieroglyphical repre-
sentations of battle
and victory
of conquering warriors,
;
fleeing foemen, bleeding victims, cities besieged,
companies of
tives
—
painted with a surprising truth and vigour.
all
The
whole
and cap-
chariots, long trains of soldiers
measures 57
hall
feet
by
It
52.
opens into
a smaller chamber, 22 feet high, 37 broad, and 25 J feet
long, which contains four pillars, about 3 feet square ; its
walls are also enriched with fine hieroglyphs in excellent
preservation.
the
Beyond
and 12
feet broad),
Amun-Ra, Khem
a shorter chamber, but of
lies
it
same width, leading
into the
adytum
(23 feet long
where, in front of four large figures
(or Egypt),
Kneph, and
on rocky thrones, stands a simple
altar
Osiris
— seated
of the living
rock.
On
the right side of the great hall, entering into the
temple,
may be
seen two doors at a short distance from
each other, which lead into separate chambers
the
;
first,
long and iij feet wide; the other, 48J feet by
39
At the lateral comers of the entrance
13 feet 3 inches.
feet
from the
first
into the second apartment are other doors,
each conducting into a room hewn out of the solid rock,
but with no visible means of ventilation, and each 22
feet long by 10 feet broad.
These rooms open into
in length
and 11
others, 43
feet
six
chambers are almost
lateral
graceful representations of offerings to the gods
vases, flasks,
and
piles of
cake and
painted in every stage of growth.
quent symbol everywhere
—
is
The
feet in width.
wholly covered with
fruit.
And
—lamps,
The
the boat
lotus
—a
incessantly repeated
seated figure in the convolution at
bow and
:
is
fre-
the
stern, the
A TEMPLE OF
340
central pavilion,
One
and the paddle hanging over the
of these boats
priests,
as a shrine,
together.
Many
is
borne
aloft
of the
ot
hieroglyphics are unfinished
favourable idea of the Egyptian
The
side.
by a procession
upon poles of palm-trunks lashed
though merely sketched,
yet,
ISIS.
they
one a very
give
manner of drawing.
smaller temple, likewise entirely excavated in the
sandstone rock, was dedicated to
Isis
by Nofre-Ari,
queen of Rameses the Great, and dates from about
TEMPLE OF
1320
B.C.
ISIS
AT
II'SAM
Either side of the doorway
is
ornamented by
three statues, 35 feet high, sculptured in rehef,
ing erect, with their arms hanging
stiffly
and stand-
down.
The
two central represent Nofre-Ari, the queen, as Athor,
whose gentle face
is
surmounted by the usual crown
The
other
images are those of Rameses and his eldest son.
Be-
the
moon
contained within the cow's horns.
neath each hand
height,
its
is
placed an upright statue,
which does not, however,
principal.
These
rise
7 feet in
above the knees
of
are the children of the royal couple.
THE SCULPTURED WALLS.
The
hewn down
part of the rock which has been
facade of the temple measures
The
in
341
for the
feet in length.*
devices begin on the north side, with a figure of
Rameses brandishing his falchion, as if about to strike.
The goddess behind him lifts her hand in suplication for
the victim
knife,
;
while Osiris, in front, holds forth the great
command
as if to
He
the slaughter.
and decides the
there as the judge,
conquered by the Egyptian king.
is
seated
fate of the nations
The
next object
is
a
colossal statue of about 30 feet high, wrought in a deep
recess of the rock
rise
or
:
it
is
standing,
and two
tall
feathers
up from the middle of the head-dress, with the globe
moon on each
glyphics,
Then comes a mass
side.
of hiero-
which are also thickly sculptured on each side
of the door, and above them are seated Osiris and the
hawk-headed
deity.
On
each side of the passage, as you
enter the temple, ofierings are presented to
Isis,
who
holds in her hand the lotus-headed sceptre, surrounded
emblems and
with numerous
supported by
six
square
inscriptions.
pillars, all
Athor on the front face of
their capitals
faces being occupied with sculptures,
and
still
This hall
is
bearing the head of
;
the other three
once gaily painted,
The
showing blue, red, and yellow colours.
shafts are
covered with hieroglyphs, and representations
of Osiris,
Isis,
Kneph, and other gods.
Within the outer or entrance hall
dor, ending in
is
two rude chambers.
a transverse corri-
And beyond
the
corridor lies the sanctuary, or adytum, where Isis appears
in all
her majesty, with the emblematic disk of night's
beautiful luminary
*
above her head.
In another part she
Dr. Richardson, " Travels along the Mediterranean," &c., 428,
429.
BOUNDARY OF ROMAN CONQUEST.
342
by water plants
Stands, as a cow, in a boat surrounded
the king and queen presenting rare
gifts to this
"
\
Lady
of Aboshek, the foreign land."
The
brink,
temple, which
water,
its
is
only a few yards from the
and about twenty
number
feet
above the present
river's
level of
extends seventy- six feet into the rock.
A
of ovals, or cartouches as Champollion calls them,
name and praenomen
containing the
of
Rameses the
Great, are cut in several places of the square border that
encloses the fagade of the temple like a frame, and on
the buttresses between the colossal figures.*
Napata marks the boundary of the
Roman Conquest
south of Egypt, and was captured and plundered by
the
Romans
in
e.g.
22 by Petronius, the lieutenant of
Augustus.
—
*
The two lions of red granite one bearing the name of Amunophis III., the
Amuntuoneh now at the entrance of the Gallery of Antiquities in the
British Museum, were brought from Napata by Lord Purdhoe (the late Duke oi
Northumberland). They belong to the period of the i8th dynasty of kings.
other of
—
CHAPTER
—
III.
GEBEL-ADHA WADY HALFA THE SECOND CATARACT
THE TEMPLE OF SOLEB MEROE, AND ITS ANTIQUITIES
RUINS AT NAJA AND EL-MESAOURAT THE SACRED
—
—
—
BOAT.
Wild and desolate
Those
courts,
where once the mighty sate
Nor longer on those mouldering towers
Were seen the past of fruits and flowers
Neither priest nor
rites
were there.
Moore.
N
the
cliff,
nearly opposite Ipsambdl,
is
ex-
cavated another rock-temple, called Gebel-
Adha, which was used
Christian church.
It
in later times as a
was a curious
sight,
remarks Mr. Warburton, to see images of our Saviour
and the Virgin blazoned
walls
and
roofs,
in
glowing colours on these
surrounded by trophies and memorials
of the idols whose worship they had swept away.
also
hewn
towards the
among
in
the
river,
and then suddenly ceased
others, that the level of the Nile
(even so lately as
Steps,
rock, descended to a certain point
the
Christian
:
a proof,
was much higher
consecration of this
temple) than at present*
*
Eliot
Warburton, "The Crescent and the Cross," chap.
xii.
THE ROCK OF ABOUSEER.
344
The
ordinary route of Nile voyagers terminates at the
Wady
Haifa, where begins a succession of rapids
rocks, stretching
up the
river for
Second Cataract, which
to the
ascending the
river.
impassable for boats
is
The immediate country is
broadens into a channel of four or
numerous romantic
generally
In some places the river
beautiful as well as fertile.
closing
and
about one hundred miles
five
miles span, en-
islands clothed with a luxu-
riant vegetation.
Near the landing-place
ruins of a temple begun,
the
if
Theban kings soon
at
Wady
Haifa moulder the
not wholly erected, by two of
after the expulsion of the
Shep-
herd race, and long before the grand structures of Thebes
had been conceived by the genius of Rameses. " About
this time," says
Miss Martineau, " Moses was watching
the erection of the great obelisk (which
patra's
Needle)
at Heliopolis,
we
call
Cleo-
where he studied."
The
remains are few, and only remarkable on account of their
extreme antiquity, and because they exhibit the rudi-
ments of the so-called Doric column.
From
to the
this spot
it
customary to make a pilgrimage
is
rock oi Aboii-Seir^ or Abooseer : a steep and craggy
of red sandstone, about 200 feet high, which over-
hill
looks the whole range of the Cataract, and
far
view of the Nubian wilderness
waste, which
The
was once a
fertile
commands a
— of that wide, desolate
and populous kingdom.
only living things are a partridge or two, a gazelle,
and a jerboa
hyaenas
lurk,
;
though
and
in
some remote
crocodiles are basking unseen.
posed of
recesses
the
in the shallow waters of the river the
desert, river,
The whole scene
and black
is
com-
basaltic rocks, except
SOLEB AND ITS TEMPLE.
where, against
the
347
dim horizon, may be traced the
rounded and softened outHnes of the blue Arabian
hills.
At a considerable distance above the Second Cataract,
and
far
beyond the usual limits of
Nile-travel, is the
Temple
of Soleb ; of sufficient interest to justify a brief description.
The remains
of two sphinxes guard either side of the
TliMl'LE
OK AMUN-KA, SOLEB.
approach, which terminated at a
leading to the main building.
now
in chaotic ruin,
flight
The
measured 175
of stone steps
front of the portal,
feet in
length,
the breadth of the steps was not less than 57 feet.
wall
is
cells,
and
The
24 feet thick, and honeycombed with numerous
whose object cannot now be determined.
AN EXTINCT KINGDOM.
348
The
first
chamber, loo feet broad and 89
embellished on three sides by a row of
when
in the whole,
They
feet.
Only a few columns are
is 5
feet 7 inches
;
is
making
The
perfect, thirty columns.
meter of the base of each
about 40
feet deep,
pillars,
dia-
the height
are covered with hieroglyphics.
left entire.
The second chamber had
twenty-four
pillars,
all
of
which have been prostrated and shattered by some
sudden subsidence of the ground.
A
few feet of masonry
indicate the site of the adytum, which appears to have
contained twelve columns, sculptured with figures about
From
3 feet high.
these
it
was dedicated
the temple
character of
its
architecture
Our ascent of the
to
is
has been conjectured that
and
general
graceful.
river terminates at Meroe, or
A
a portion of the ancient Ethiopia.*
map
The
Amun-Ra.
light
Merawe,
glance at the
of Nubia will show the reader that at Old Dongola,
in latitude 18°
N. nearly, the Nile suddenly turns to the
north-east, ascending
retraces
above the 20th
parallel,
course in a southerly direction to
its
confluence with the Tacazze.
The
its
when
it
point of
peninsular tract thus
enclosed formed the ancient kingdom of Meroe (Mcpor;).
The exuberant
fertiUty of its soil, its
and its valuable mineral
deposits, made
numerous animals,
it,
at a very
remote
time, the seat of a powerful
kingdom, which attracted
thither a constant stream of
commerce, and exported
its
treasures to Carthage, Arabia,
1000
B.C. it
world,
and
India.
was esteemed one of the leading
About
states of the
though nominally a tributary of the Egyptian
Two
Empire.
*
That
centuries and a half later
is,
the country of the "sun-burned"
it
regained
(Aidiov/^j).
its
GROUPS OF PYRAMIDS.
349
independence, under King Sabaco, and for eighty years
held Egypt in subjection.
Cambyses, who
It
was afterwards subdued by
Gradually the Egyptians emigrated thither
Meroe.
country lost
its
decay as rapid as
it
the
sank into a
it
former prosperity was surprising.
its
in the reign of
splendour of
;
ancient character; and, after being in-
vaded and conquered by the Romans,
Even
and called
fortified the capital-town,
Nero nothing remained of the past
its capital,
but piles of shapeless ruins and
fragments of mighty buildings.
There would seem
cities:
Napata
which retains
Meroe
have been two great Cushite
to
(the present Gebel-el-Birkel),
its
situated about
is
560 miles above Assouan, be-
tween the Fifth and Sixth Cataracts,
It is chiefly
and Meroe,
ancient name.
conspicuous for
its
in latitude
1
7° north.
great necropolis,
whose
eighty pyramids, though far inferior to those of Egypt in
size,
surpass
mense
plain
them
An imA modem
in architectural excellence.
is literally
crowded with them
!
traveller
counted eight different groups of these mysteri-
ous piles
—temples,
tombs, observatories, whatever
have been their real character
— one containing
one twenty-three, and one thirteen pyramids.
is
160
feet in height.
towards the
east.
may
twenty-five,
The
loftiest
Each has a portico, invariably facing
Each is built of granite. The corners
are partly ornamented,
and the
walls of the pyla are
decorated with sculpture, in which some of the figures
appear to be employed in making offerings for the
departed.
Isis,
Osiris,
Horus, and Thoth, also figure
conspicuously.
This necropolis
is
situated near a place
now
called
AT WOAD
350
Assom.
At two neighbouring
NAJA.
Woad Naja and
villages,
El-Mesaourat^ the ruins consist chiefly of temples.
Those
of the former place he about twenty miles south-east of
Shendy, and nearly the same distance from the Nile.
The remains
of the principal edifice show that
dedicated to the god
Amun.
An
it
was
avenue of huge rams
couched upon massive pedestals leads into an open
TEMPLE AT MEKOE.
portico of ten columns
way through a
pylon.
Adjoining
beyond
this
walls,
;
out of which, after threading his
similar avenue, the traveller arrives at the
is
a colonnade of eight
a hall opens into the adytum.
and doorways are of hewn stone
;
pillars,
and
Columns,
the remainder of
the structure of bricks, with a coating which
still
retains
ANCIENT SCULPTURES.
The
traces of the original painting.
and
kings,
and queens
35'
sculptures of gods,
of attendants making oblations
;
But from their general character,
energy and truthfulness.
we may
as well as from the arrangement of the temple,
reasonably infer that
it
The western temple
bellished.
belongs to a remote antiquity.
is
smaller, but
more copiously em-
War-pictures adorn the pyla; and the king
and queen appear with an eagle and a globe over
heads, and the
dress.
It
\
power, exhibit a remarkable
of the insignia of royal
emblem of
royal
power on
their
their head-
noticeable that here the queens are repre-
is
sented as heroines and conquerors, as the independent
And
wearers of royalty.
kingdom Strabo remarks,
women
are also armed.
we gather
that
no
among the Ethiopians the
From other historical sources
Salic law prevailed in
succession of queens, with the
reigned here
in reference to this very
is
it
that
title
and even when,
;
seat of the empire
A
Meroe.
long
Candace, must have
in course
of time, the
was removed from Meroe
Napata,
to
near Gebel-el-Birkel, a female sovereign, so distinguished,
exercised the supreme power.
It is therefore in
conso-
nance with Ethiopian usage to see a queen in warlike
array
by her consort's
side,
though the custom
is
peculiar
to that celebrated people.
The
colossal figures at
Every
and vividness of expression, no
passing excellence.
ness of outline
the
as of sur-
traveller praises their bold-
,
the general richness
Cailliaud,
Naja are described
less
than
and perfection of the workmanship.
French
traveller,
is
our
principal
authority for the antiquities at El-Mesaotirat, which he
describes as an extensive valley in the Desert, eight hours'
TEMPLES A T
352
EL- MESA O URA T.
journey from Shendy towards the south-east, and eighteen
The
miles from the Astayrus.
They
able.
ruins here are consider-
consist of eight small temples,
all
connected
and the whole forming an
by corridors and
terraces,
immense
surrounded by a double enclosure.
From
tion,
edifice,
the main central building radiate, in every direc-
connecting passages and
and sanctuary
and
;
all
galleries,
which vary from
Each temple has
185 to 300 feet in length.
its
pylon
the buildings are placed in an
exact order, consisting of eight temples or sanctuaries, as
already stated, forty-one chambers, twenty-four courts,
and fourteen
three galleries,
The remains cover an
staircases or flights of steps.
area of ground nearly half a mile
in circumference.
The
different parts,
scale to
us.
The
long
;
largest temple, says Cailliaud,*
some of
Egyptian
like the
however, are not on the colossal
which the Egyptian antiquities have accustomed
is
only 5 1 feet
the pillars are decorated with figures in the
style
others in the
;
Grecian
same portico
are fluted
on the base of one seemed discernible
:
the traces of a zodiac.
Time and
the elements seem to
have been willing to spare to us the observatory of
Meroe.
It
excites
one's
wonder
to
hieroglyphics in this mass of ruins
;
discover so few
the
six
columns
which form the portico of the central temple alone
present a few examples, for
all
the other walls are free
Six hundred paces from the ruins
from sculpture.
lie
the remains of two other small temples, and also of a considerable
tank,
have protected
*
Cailliaud, "
surrounded by
it
from the sand.
little
hills,
which must
But there are no traces
Voyage k Meroe, au Fleuve Blanc," &c.
(Paris, 1826-27).
A S TOR V FR OM DIOD OR US.
of any city,
no heaps of
debris,
353
no tombs.
It
is
the
opinion of CaiUiaud that a college or seminary of learning
was established on
and the
this spot
:
the form of the building
seem to prove
style of the architecture
it
;
but
the city itself must have been situated in the vicinity of
the sepulchres, where the pyramids are
Heeren,
the facts recorded
by
still
found.
Researches," concludes from
in his "Historical
Cailliaud, that El-Mesaourat
was
the site of the once famous " Oracle of Jupiter-Ammon."
He
remarks that a mere glance at the ground-plan of the
would support
ruins
this
Such a maze of
opinion.
passages and courts could only be intended as an im-
posing introduction
for
the neophyte or votary to the
According to Diodorus,
secret sanctuary in the midst.
he observes, the Temple of Jupiter did not stand
city
of Meroe, but at
Desert.
free
When,
some distance from
again, a certain
it,
in the
in
the
sovereign resolved to
himself from the dominion of the priesthood, he
marched, with a company of
soldiers, to the sequestered
spot where the sanctuary with the golden temple stood,
and surprising the dismayed
priests,
put them and their
attendants to death.
Nor
any objection to
view of the subject, for the same
remark might
for the
It
between the
Its locality in
extraordinary,
if
Ammonium
you
in
the
was probably intended only as an
" sacred ship," which
have been placed
shrine.
the smallness of the edifice
be applied to the
Libyan Desert.
asylum
this
is
is
pillars
understood to
of the
sacred
the wilderness appears to be less
reflect that
it
was situated on one of
the great routes of commercial intercourse between the
Mediterranean and the
(295)
Red
Sea.
23
THE
354
Here we
stand,
SACRED
''
ship:'
we may accept
if
the
theory
of
Heeren,* on that remarkable spot which the ancients
regarded as the cradle of the arts and sciences
hieroglyphic writing was invented
;
where
where temples and
;
pyramids had already sprung up, while Egypt remained
ignorance
in
of their
mighty stream of
Nile
itself,
Greece also drank of
until
and gathering
Hence flowed
existence.
in
volume
the
course of the
civilization, following the
living waters
its
as they rolled westward, they
overspread in time the limits of the
Roman
Empire, and
extended their beneficial influence to the furthest bounds
of Christendom.
In describing the antiquities, both of Egypt and Nubia,
to refer to the " sacred
we have sometimes had occasion
ship," or " boat,"
The king
which appears among
called Sesostris
of cedar-wood to
tutelary spirit of
Amun,
is
or
Thebes
;
their sculptures.
said to have dedicated
Ammon,
was
it
the chief deity
420
feet
long,
one
and
and
resplendent with gold on the outside and silver within.
The
use of this
emblem
is
supposed to have denoted the
foreign extraction of their priesthood
and
to
have kept
alive in the
whence
the distant land from
Once a
derived.!
Greek
historian,
borne across the
year,
and
religious rites,
minds of the worshippers
their creed
was
the sanctuary or shrine of Zeus was
river in
solemn
pomp
to the
bank, and after a few days brought back, as
were returning from Ethiopia.
*
Heeren, "Historical Researches," &c.,
t
Dr. Russell,
searches," &c.,
i.
"Nubia and
301.
originally
Diodorus Siculus, the
says
Abyssinia,"
if
Libyan
the god
This grand procession
i.
is
403-406.
p.
258;
Heeren, "Historical Re-
JUPITER AND THE ETHIOPIANS.
355
we have seen, among the sculptures of
Temple at Karnak ; the sacred ship of Amun
on the Nile, with its entire equipment, and is towed
represented, as
the Great
floats
along by another
alludes
to
this
twelve days'
from some
boat.
visit
is
and
Homer
probable that
to the Ethiopians
traveller's tradition,
or vague recollection,
deity
It
ceremony when he describes
:
Jupiter's
he had heard of
adapted
to
it
the
Greek
:
"The sire of gods, and all th' ethereal train,
On the warm limits of the furthest main,
Now
The
it
from some floating legend,
mix with mortals, nor disdain to grace
feasts of Aethiopia's blameless race
Twelve days the Powers indulge the genial
rite,
Returning with the twelfth revolving light."
Homer,
Iliad, bk.
i.
{Popis Transl.)
CHAPTER
IV.
—
—
OASIS — THEIR ANTIQUITIES, AND ORACLES.
THE LIBYAN OASES THEIR EXPLORERS THE GREAT
THE LITTLE OASIS SIWAH, THE NORTHERN
OASIS
The
That verdant
rise
tufted isles
amid the Libyan
wild.
Thomson,
jlHOUGH
ley,
they are not included in the
be incomplete
we omitted
if
the Libyan Oases.
amidst a dreary
l^ile
Val-
our view of Ethiopian antiquities would
level,
sunken
These
all
reference to
fertile
spots
lie
in the stratum of limestone,
The Coptic word ouahe literbasins of water.
means "an inhabited place;" and an oasis is the
solitary strip of vegetation and verdure where the Libyan
like
ally
tribes are able
burning stone
leafless, waterless
fierce rays of the tropical sun,
;
no
which
the wanderer with deadly shafts of
fire
he can slake his torturing
;
leafy grove
where he can
the oasis in itself
oao-i's.
thirst
rest his
at
;
shelter
all
is
from the
noonday,
strikes
no springs where
no pleasant
wearied limbs.
hill
Nor
or
is
an Armida's garden of enchantment
* Oasis is also said to be derived
the Greeks into
Elsewhere,
to pitch their tents.*
—
from the Arabic wadi, a ravine, corrupted by
THE LIBYAN OASES.
Happy
a
Valley, like that of Rasselas
from
chiefly
tion, just as
its
attractive
is
a mouldy crust of bread seems an inexpres-
poor wretch who has hungered
By
through days and nights of famine.
and
the Greeks
they were used as places of banishment
and
;
earnest Christian, in the early days of persecu-
was doomed
tion,
it
:
contrast with the surrounding desola-
sibly delicious viand to the
Romans
many an
357
to linger out his life in the oases of
They lie a few days' journey from
known to the Egyptians during the
dynasty under the name of Sutur-Khenu.
They
the Libyan Desert.*
the Nile, and were
twelfth
are
first
mentioned by Herodotus
in his vivid narration
by the
of the destruction of the Persian hosts
The
simoom.
the
Egypt
after
their
blasts of
conquest of
525 B.C., seem to have permanently occupied
Every schoolboy knows that one of them
in
them.
the Siwah Oasis,
was
Persians,
visited
and
its
Temple of Amun
by Alexander the Great, and
or
Ammon
that the priests
declared the Greek conqueror the son of the god, and
the destined lord of the
entire globe.
They
are also
described by Strabo, Pliny, Ptolemy, Olympiodorus
the
Arab
A.D.)
;
travellers Edrissi
;
by
(1150 a.d.) and Abulfeda (1240
by Leo Africanus (15 13 a.d.) ; and, among modern
by Browne (1792), Cailliaud (18 19), Minutoli
explorers,
(1824),
Sir
Edmonstone
Archibald
Hoskins (1837).
The
ancients only
but they are really five in number.t
"*
The poet Juvenal was banished
(18 19), and
knew of three
These are
Mr.
oases,
:
by the Emperor Domitian and
supposed to have found in them an asylum during the supremacy
See Canon Kingsley's book on " The Hermits."
See Hoskins, "Visit to the Great Oasis" (London 1837); Sir A. Edmon-
Athanasius
there
;
is
of the Arians.
t
stone,
vol.
"Journey
ii.,
&c.
to
Two
of the
Oases"
(1819);
Modem
Traveller,
"Egypt,"
THE GREA T
358
1.
The Great
OASIS.
Magna)
Oasis (Oasis
2.
The
(Oasis Minor):
Oasis
Little
— chief
town, El-
—chief
town,
:
Khargeh ;
El-
Dakkel;
3.
4.
5.
The Northern Oasis, or El-Siwah;
The Oasis of El-Farafreh ; and
The Oasis Trinytheos, or El-Bacharieh
— chief town,
Zadoti.
I.
The Great
Oasis Hes about 90 miles west of the
an extensive depression of the
It consists of
Nile.
watered by a stream which
rises
Genah, on the north-west, and
disappears in the sand.
On
its
after traversing the oasis
banks
palms and acacias; and the ground
flourish groves of
is
coarse verdure, which, after the rains,
clothed with a
blooms with an
Springs are numerous, though
attractive freshness.
strongly impregnated with sulphur and iron, and so
that the water cannot
in
;
be drunk
until
They continue
it
all
warm
has been cooled
however,
all
the
a blessing which can only be appreciated by
tra-
an earthen
year
soil,
nearer the village of
jar.
full,
vellers in the Desert.
This
is
the
first
stage of the Darfur caravan, which
from El-Siout,
starts
nearly the
—about
four days' journey.
It is
same distance from Farshout, the second
stage.
The
principal ruins
lie
about seven miles from El-
Khargeh, the metropolis of the
in the
trees,
midst of a rich
wood
oasis.
They are
situated
of palm, acacia, and other
with a bright stream of water in front.
trance to the great temple (468 feet in length)
The
is
en-
through
TEMPLE OF AMUN-RA.
359
a dromos, or avenue, of ten columns on each side,
The fa9ade
Amun-Ra, is
now
prostrate in hopeless chaos.
of the temple,
which was dedicated to
profusely
em-
beUished with colossal figures and hieroglyphic inscrip-
Through a
tions.
finely sculptured
doorway the
traveller
passes into a superb hall, 60 feet by 54, with twelve
pillars,
each' 13 feet in
screen separates
measures 56
feet
by
A
circumference.
species
of
from the second chamber, which
it
18,
and
is
traced
all
over with figures
and other carvings on stucco, which have once been
The
painted.
ornamented
ary,
;
third apartment, 31
and the carvings
20 feet by
8,
feet
in the
by
29,
is
also
adytum or sanctu-
are of the richest workmanship, though
much blackened and defaced by smoke.
To
the east of the temple stand three detached pro-
pyla, or gateways, of
figures sculptured
colossal
remarkable
on the
first
interest.
propylon
making
representation of Darius
Amun-Ra,
Osiris,
and
Isis.
On
Among
may be
the
seen a
offerings
to
the roof are four eagles
or vultures, with outstretched wings, painted red and blue.
The
carvings on the second are
much
the third remains an inscription, in
defaced.
Greek
letters,
taining a rescript, in the second year of the
On
con-
Emperor
Galba, enjoining certain reforms in the Egyptian administration.
An
avenue of sphinxes formerly led up to
the temple in one direction.
In the vicinity
lies
a superb necropolis, or cemetery,
containing nearly two hundred tombs, each the receptacle
number of mummies. Most of them are square,
and crowned with domes, while the columns placed
of a
around, with their Doric and Corinthian capitals, show
THE LITTLE
36o
OASIS.
One
that they belong to a comparatively recent period.
large sepulchre
that
it
is
was used as such by the Christian
shown from the
All
divided into aisles like a church
and
exiles is clearly
traces of saints painted
on the
walls.
bear the Greek cross, and the famous Egyptian
hieroglyph, the crux a?tsata, or cross with a handle,
whose
be determined, but which the
original purport cannot
emblem
Christians naturally adopted as an
The
;
of their
origin of these remarkable sepulchres
is,
to
faith.
some
As they were designed
mummies, they can hardly be later
extent, involved in obscurity.
for the reception of
than the
first
century,- for the practice of
embalming was
discontinued soon after the introduction of Christianity
and
if
they were constructed by the Romans, they must
date from a period posterior to the conquests of Pompey,
B.C. 52.
There are several other remains
Khargeh, in which the
relics of the
in the vicinity of El-
Egyptian creed appear
combined with the symbols of the Christian worship,
leading to the inference that these edifices were repaired
in the early
ages of our faith after being abandoned by
their ancient occupants.*
2.
The
Little Oasis^ or
with rocks, about
1
2
El-Dakkel,
is
a valley surrounded
miles long and 6 miles broad, four
or five days' journey to the south-east of Siwah, which
appears at one time to have been wholly cultivated, and
to
have
fully repaid the labourer's toil.
The remains
are
those of a Ptolemaic temple, several rock-tombs, a Christian church, a necropolis,
There are some hot
*
and a
springs,
Roman
and
triumphal arch.
especially one,
Dr. Russell, " History of Ancient and Modern Egypt,"
p.
60
361
feet
THE FOUNTAIN OF THE SUN.
361
whose temperature varies several times
deep,
The
twenty-four hours.
upon
live chiefly
rice,
in
the
natives of this sequestered spot
and
their
whole wealth consists
of
a few camels, donkeys, cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep, and
the ubiquitous date-palm.
3.
El-Siwah, the Ammonium, or the Northern Oasis,
which has been repeatedly
Natron Lakes,
and about
1
west of the
visited, lies to the
in lat. 29° 12' north,
20 miles from the Nile
and
river.
long. 26° 6' east,
It
extends three
miles in length, and between eight and nine in breadth.
A
large portion of the soil
the palm, but in
the
fig,
its
blooms with the
the olive, the vine, the apricot, the plum, and even
the apple.
Tepid springs occur throughout the
a salt lake at Arachieh, which
tious veneration.
The
is
was dedicated of
stood upon
about 90
Siwah Shargieh.
old, as well as a small
it
and
mythical Fountain of the Sun wells
temple that
bank, to the great solar god,
its
Travellers describe
well,
district,
regarded with supersti-
forth in a pleasant grove of date-trees at
It
tufted crests of
gardens abound the pomegranate and
Amun-Ra.
as a small marsh, rather than a
feet long
and 60
feet broad.
Its waters,
which are remarkable for their transparency, undergo a
diurnal change
:
they are warmer in the night than in
the day, and every morning throw off a thick vapour or
The bubbles
steam.
constantly rising
to
the surface
reveal the chemical action which they undergo.
The two
Kebir
:
chief villages in the oasis are Shargieh
At Ummebeda, about two
built
and
the population exceeds 8000.
miles' distance
from the rock-
town of Siwah, moulder the ruins of an Egyptian
temple, which most antiquaries agree in regarding as
362
THE ORACLE OF AMMON.
the ancient "
Temple of Ammon."
trate,
and portions
way, prove that
The
pile.
traced was
vestiges of a
standing of the walls and gate-
still
must have been a superb and massive
it
only chamber which can
1 1
The
enormous blocks of granite lying pros-
triple enclosure,
2 feet in
length
;
now be
distinctly
the whole area occupies
The
a rectangular space about 360 feet by 300.
tions are of the later Egyptian character,
decora-
and embody
representations of the ram-headed god, processions of
common
of deities, and of other objects
priests, councils
to these sacred structures
;
human
but time, and, perhaps,
barbarism have dealt so violently with these interesting
enough remains
ruins that
gratify
to stimulate
— the antiquary's legitimate
—
far
too
little
to
curiosity.
Minutoli believes this temple to have been erected by
Nekt-har-hebi (Nectanebus
I., about 387-369
B.C.), in
honour of the god Khnum, who was here identified or
blended with
He
Amun
— Amun
Khnumis, or Chembis.
was the great water-deity, and consequently presided
over the water to which the formation and conservation
Here was
of the oasis were due.
of
Ammon" —the
the celebrated " Oracle
" Jupiter-Ammon " of the Greeks
which obtained so world-wide a renown that Alexander
the Great
marched through the Desert
The
(B.C. 331).
movement
of a
its
priests
of the statue of the god, or by the appearance
spirit or
uncertain,;
to consult
response was delivered either by some
it
phantom.
fell
When
it first
rose into repute
is
into decay after the establishment of
Christianity.
The
antiquities of the
Among them may be
Siwah Oasis are very numerous.
noted a series of rock-tombs, on a
IN THE HEART OF THE DESERT.
363
magnificent scale, excavated in a neighbouring mountain.
Temple
—
catacombs, churches, and convents
after temple,
all in ruins,
but
hallowed by sacred associations
all
spread far away to the westward, and
testify to the exist-
ence in this region of a large population at
some remote
At a short distance from the sacred lake
period.
of
Arachieh are situated the remains of a beautiful Doric
temple, which, occurring in the heart of the Libyan Desert,
cannot
fail
to excite the traveller's wonder.
rehcs are crumbling
whose
wastes,
man
Of
;
origin
among
and history
oblivion has descended
the other oases
They resemble
features
:
the
it
Other ancient
the sands of these dreary
will
never be known to
upon them.
seems unnecessary
more celebrated
to
in their
their antiquities are of little interest
speak.
physical
APPENDIX.
THE SUEZ CANAL.
[HE
Isthmus of Suez, as every reader well knows,
neck of land, about seventy-two miles
is a
vride in its nar-
rowest part, which extends from the Mediterranean on
the north to the Gulf of Suez on the south, and connects the continents of Asia and Africa.
of sand and sandstone,
whose
by a
swamp, but which
salt lake,
or saline
The
tute of fresh water.
dreariness
is
almost entirely desti-
principal interest, however, which, from
of opening up a communication through
of
Good Hope.
The
it
lies in
the possibility
by means of a
ship-canal,
and often dangerous voyage round the Cape
route to India, so far as passengers, and to a
moderate extent merchandise, are concerned, has of
greatly shortened
a desert
occasionally relieved
a remote antiquity, has attached to the region,
so as to save the long
It is
is
by the construction of a
late years
line of rail
;
but
been
it
was
obvious to every observer that a ship-canal would be an infinitely
more important boon
It is
a well
known
to
commerce.
fact that, in ancient times,
an indirect
line of
canal did connect the two seas, the Mediterranean and the
Sea,
According to Herodotus,
Necho, or Nechao
(see p. 55)
can only conjecture
;
some
;
it
was
partially executed
but by
whom
it
was completed we
authorities say Darius,
more probably) the Ptolemys.
It
began
at
Red
by Pharaoh
others (much
about a mile and a half
north of Suez, and struck in a north-westerly direction, availing
APPENDIX.
366
ofa series of natural hol-
itself
lows, to Bubastis, on the Pe-
or eastern branch of
lusiac
the Nile.
length was 92
Its
miles (60 of which were ex-
cavated by
human hands),
width from 108 to 165
and
depth 15
its
a while
it
After
feet.
became
its
feet,
silted
up
with sand; was restored by
was again choked
Trajan;
and rendered
useless;
was
re-opened after the Saracenic
conquest of Egypt by
the
Arab
general,
Canal of the Prince of
the
**
the
Faithful
filled
Amrou
and named
;
and
"
finally
with the never-resting
sands in 767 a.d.
Upwards
of ten centuries
before
passed
any attempt
was made to renew a communication between the two
seas.
Then
the idea occurred
to the ingenious
aparte
;
erroneously
JHBEL ATTAKA
there
mind
was a
reported
and the Red Sea
mission, appointed
that the
it
to drop.
feet
to the extent
In 1847 a scientific com-
by England, France, and Austria, ascertained
two seas had exactly the same mean
6 inches, and
i
The
level.
noticeable distinction was, that at the one end, there
6
that
difference of level
between the Mediterranean
CHART OF SUEZ CANAL,
of thirty feet, he suffered
of Bon-
but as his engineers
foot 6 inches at the other.
is
only
a tide of
Mr. Robert
Stephenson, the great English engineer, coming to a similar result
in 1853,
declared that no navigable canal could be constructed,- and
THE SUEZ CANAL,
he then laid
367
the existing railroad between Cairo and Suez as
down
a substitute.
There
arose, however,
at this
time a Frenchman, with
//aw and ingenuity of his countrymen,
who came
ance peculiarly his own,
Having some
all
the
and an indomitable perseverto
a
conclusion.
different
influence at the Egyptian Court, he obtained a con-
cession in 1854 from Said Pasha, then Viceroy of Egypt, for the
making of a canal across the Isthmus of Suez. The Sultan's assent
was less easily procured, owing to the jealousy which had arisen
between English and French political ii^terests. It was not until
1858 that M. Ferdinand de Lesseps found himself in a position
A
to appeal to the public for support.
with a capital of ;^8,ooo,ooo.
by December 1864 the
company was then formed
In 1859 the vv^ork was begun, and
fresh- water
canal,
required for the sup-
ply of the labourers on the ship-canal, was completed.
ever, did not
go on smoothly.
Difficulties arose
All,
how-
between Ismail
Pasha, Said Pasha's successor, respecting the concessions originally
granted to the company.
The dispute was referred to the Emperor
who decided that the company should
of the French as arbitrator,
give
up some important
sum of
privilege,
wide, on each side of the canal.
with
in lieu thereof
a total
The
ship-canal
was then proceeded
a variety of ingenious machinery being invented by the
;
French engineers
;
meet the exigencies of
to
their novel
and magni-
In 1867 an additional capital of ;^4,ooo,ooo was
ficent enterprise.
raised
and receive
;^4,ooo,ooo, with a strip of land, about forty-eight yards
and on the
1
7th of
November 1 869
it
was formally opened
for navigation in the presence of a host of illustrious personages,
representing every European State.
The
rapid growth of the tonnage carried by the canal
the following table
Year.
is
shown
:
No. of Ships.
1870
486
1891
1,264
2,026
3,624
4,207
Tonnage.
654,915
2,423,672
4,344,519
8,985,411
12,217,986
Dues
paid.
^206,373
^>6994,375
^i, 629,577
;^2,488,297
^2,196,673
in
APPENDIX.
368
Both
in respect of
tonnage and of the number of vessels Great
Britain far exceeds all other nations put together.
The
canal in 1891
European nations
Great Britain
No.
Tons.
.
.
3,217
9,484,608
870,548
616,964
369,347
275,861
114,016
Germany
318
France
Holland
171
147
Italy
116
Norway
The
to
cost of the canal
300
an
feet.
artificial
Tons.
Austria
51
Turkey
40
Portugal
Spain
Russia
29
28
169,399
60,619
74,798
98,627
64,554
4,571
21
Greece
5
The
was about 20 million pounds.
of the water surface
was
150
minimum
begins at Port Said, on the Mediterranean, where
It
harbour has been constructed
traverses the
total
at first
the width of the bottom 72 feet, and the
feet,
depth 26
No.
Countries.
The width
100 miles.
is
of
that passed through the
:
Countries.
length
number and gross tonnage
following table shows the
vessels of the principal
Abu
Ballah Lake
thence to Serapeum
;
proceeds to Kantara
;
at Ismailia enters
;
Lake Timseh
passes through the Bitter Lakes
;
and
;
ter-
minates at Suez.
At
the end of a dozen years the
traffic
had increased so enor-
mously that a second canal began to be talked about, and
in 1886
the task of widening and also deepening the existing canal
was
commenced. By 1890 the canal had been deepened to 28
widened between Port Said and the Bitter Lakes to 144
feet,
and
feet,
and
.
from the Bitter Lakes
to
Suez to 213
feet.
Since 1886 the time of making the transit through the canal has
been greatly accelerated.
passage did not
March
In that year a vessel took on an average
hours to get through
thirty-six
much exceed
;
Moreover, since
1887, the electric light has been used to light the
the night.
The
first
3,389 used
to about
it.
£\o
The
for
way during
year that this adjunct was in operation
used by 395 vessels out of 3,137
The
but in 1890 the average time of
twenty-four hours.
;
it
was
in the year 1890, 2,836 out of
cost of getting through
by
electric light
amounts
each vessel.
construction of the Suez Canal has called into existence two
ON THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.
new towns
habitants
come
;
— Port
Said, which has
now
and Ismaiha, which, from
a population of 19,600 in-
its
central position, has be-
town of the Isthmus.
the principal
described as
It is
of the prettiest and most charming spots imaginable.
and beautiful
houses, well-kept streets,
acteristic picture of
increased
its
French
taste
population, which
369
little
one
trim
gardens form a char-
and neatness."
now numbers
' *
Its
Suez has largely
13,000.
ON THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.
'*
So many
And
Pope.
the learned walls with hieroglyphics graced."
made
allusions are
hieroglyphics, that
it
in the preceding pages to the
Egyptian
seems desirable to afford the youthful reader
some explanation of their character and meaning.
The term "hieroglyphics"
— from the Greek
simply means "sacred sculptures;" but
it is
representations of real or imaginary objects
expressed language.
It is
one thousand of these
;
lepo%
now
and
their
—
by which the Egyptians
supposed that they employed
and by
y\v<f>tj)
applied to those
in all
about
means they were enabled
to
convey their ideas to others with extraordinary fulness and accuracy.
Their variety
is
very great.
All kinds of quaint ideal forms
celestial spheres, animals, fishes, reptiles, the different parts
human body, costume, works
made vehicles of thought and
relief,
of art and science,
sentiment.
—
all
— the
of the
these were
They were engraved
in
or sunk below the surface, on walls and public monuments,
and similar permanent materials
;
or they were traced in outline
with a pen of reed on wood, papyri, and slabs of stone.
class of hieroglyphics are
used as ornamentation
one uniform hue
;
;
sometimes they are shaded, as
it
were, of
and sometimes they are sculptured and
;
When variously coloured,
monochrome
The former
sometimes embellished with colours and
when
they are called polychrome
;
when
traced in outline on the papyri, linear.
are either arranged in columns
plain.
shaded,
They
perpendicularly, or in horizontal
rows, or scattered about the picture they are intended to describe.
But
the
it
should be remembered that they almost invariably face
same
(295)
direction
;
and when attached
24
all in
to figures, in the direction
APPENDIX.
370
They form a
of those figures.
curious and even fantastic written
language, and represent in their various uses the earUest processes
in the invention
of writing.
according to their
Hieroglyphics,
arranged
in three great classes
They
motic (or popular).
:
(i.)
prevailing
Symbolic;
(2.)
are
applications,
Hieratic
;
De-
(3.)
are also divided into Ideographs, or those
which represent "ideas;" and Phonetics, or those which represent
"sounds."
These may be
Symbolic,
I.
**
the
classified in three groups.
direct imitation of natural objects
men
itself to
— the course which would suggest
man ^)j^
a male figure,
A
;
;
C
a.
Q^
Thus,
in the earliest stage of written thought.
would naturally represent the sun
circle,
^
First,
iconographic," or "ideographic," where symbols are used in
moon
crescent, the
a dog, canine animals, and the
;
like.
Put a man and a woman
and you convey the idea of " human kind." After a while
men would begin to make use of these natural objects to convey
female figure stands for woman.
Jj
together,
some
figurative meaning,
hieroglyphics
— namely,
instance: the dog
ingly
employed
and thus create a second group of symbolic
the " anaglyphic," or "tropical."
For
is faithful,
to
and the symbol "dog" was accord-
represent fidelity
the jackal
;
cunning, and
is
Similarly, a leg caught
JP^S, therefore conveyed the idea of craft.
in a trap means deceit ; a youth with a finger in his mouth, an
infant
;
woman
a
beating a tambourine, joy.
In time, to prevent
the accumulation of symbols to an inconvenient extent, one hiero-
glyph was made to represent a number of collateral ideas.
male figure, which originally signified man,
and relationships of man
functions
governor, labourer
— as
all
to
to represent all precious stones
locomotive actions.
about
ber.
objects
this
1
The
75
;
;
The
circle
and -..^j^ two
It is said that this class
seated
all
the
priest,
father,
—the exact meaning being ascertained by
it.
A
indicated
brother,
nection with the phonetic symbols preceding
came
now
its
con-
O thus
legs walking,
of symbols amounts
but further research will probably increase the num-
third group, "allegorical," or
" enigmatic," includes those
employed conventionally as emblems of other
way, two water-plants, of slightly
and Lower Egypt
;
a hawk,
for the
objects.
different form, stand for
god Anubis.
In
Upper
ON THE EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHICS.
Another
"phonetic,"
class of hieroglyphics is the
sign represents, not an object, but a sound.
barium consisted of about one hundred and
to Champollion,
was constructed, according
ciple
— The
:
figure representing a letter
in
371
which the
The Egyptian
sylla-
thirty of these signs,
on the following
was the
likeness of
and
prin-
some
name began with that letter. For
If we drew an eagle, and
instance
our word eagle begins with E.
always used that figure instead of the letter, we should employ a
The initial letter of the Egyptian word for
phonetic hieroglyph.
animal or other object whose
:
eagle (ahorn)
A
is
;
in the
therefore, stands for
but a syllable.
letter,
Egyptian alphabet the figure of an eagle,
But each
A.
Twenty-nine
figure represented, not only a
letters constituted the
Egyptian
alphabet at the best period of the language, or from the fourth to
the twenty- first dynasty
and twenty- nine
;
familiar objects repre-
sented these letters and their corresponding monosyllables
Represented by
an eagle.
an arm.
a reed.
a heron.
a leg.
a cerastes.
an eaglet.
a vase.
a viper.
a leg of a stooL
a house.
a papyrus plant.
Symbol.
Ad
Aa
Aa
Ba
Ba
Ft
Ga
Ga
Gi
Ha
Ha
Ha
Ha
fore-part of a lion.
twisted cord.
a tusk.
Hi
Hu
Hu
a club.
two reeds.
two oblique strokes.
hi
/«
K&
KHa
a bowl.
water-lily leaf
KHi
a
a
a
a
KHa
KHa
KHu,
KHu,
or
or
An
Au
Lu, or J\u,..
Lu, or Ji7(
Ma
.
.
.
.
mormorus
mace.
sieve.
calf
a garment.
..a. lion.
fish.
About ninety
Represented by
a weight.
a hole.
an owl.
a vulture.
a water-line.
a red crown.
a vase.
a flying goose.
Symbol.
Ma
Md
Mu
Mu
Na
Na
Nu
Pa
Pu
Qa
Qa
a shutter.
a knee.
a stand.
top of a quiver.
a goose.
a woof
Sa
Sa
Sa
Su
Su
a reed.
a
bolt.
S(eu) or S{ei) .back of seat or chair
SHa
a garden.
SHa
part of dress.
SHi
a pool.
.
Ta
Tt
TV
Tit
Hi
a mouth.
a pen.
:
l/i.
"
..
a spindle.
a hand.
a twisted cord with
two loops.
(
a muller.
a duckling.
cord curved ot
Ja
J
(
twisted.
additional signs were added to the preceding after
the twenty-first dynasty.
It
should be added that very often the syllable was written in
APPENDIX.
y]2
full
— that
both the
is,
ha by ha and ahorn
This explanation
and the vowel were given;
initial letter
(a
papyrus plant, and an eagle).
is
necessarily imperfect
;
but
it
some idea of the mode in which the
of the Egyptians was originated and developed.
reader to form
The
2.
Hieratic character
may be
will enable the
written language
described as abridged hiero-
glyphs, reduced into a kind of cursive or running hand, with
As
exact resemblance to their original form.
was confined
The
ter.
all
its
name
and was employed for
and legal documents ; but
to the priests,
religious treatises, rituals,
period for
records and
memoranda
as
no very
implies,
it
state papers,
also at a later
of a public and private charac-
Hieratic language prevailed from the era of the fourth
dynasty to the third century after Christ.
The
3.
third class
is
the Demotic, or ''popular"
— also called the
Enchorial ("of the country ")— and was that which embodied the
language of the
common
people.
It
was a
still
more
cursive modifi-
cation of the hieroglyphics, and, being simple in form,
sally
employed
for contracts, public
was univer-
documents, and, as the know-
ledge of hieroglyphics decreased, even for religious matters.
It
pre-
vailed from the beginning of the sixth century before Christ to the
third century of the Christian era,
when
the early Christians intro-
duced the Greek alphabet.
The clew by which
bdependently
tion
to the
Young and Champollion were guided
was the famous Rosetta Stone.
in 1799.
It
be a decree of the
these characters— first
in 1822
its surface,
—an
inscrip-
Demotic, and Greek characters, purporting
priests of
honour of Ptolemy V. (about
Champollion
This monument was discovered
bore a trilingual inscription on
tion in Hieroglyphical,
to
Dr.
supposed principles of hieroglyphic interpreta-
Egypt
B.C. 196).
by Dr. Young
— led to the
in council at
A
Memphis
in
close investigation of
in 181 8,
and afterwards by
adoption of certain rules of
inter-
though their accuracy was seriously impugned by
Sir George Cornewall Lewis, have been laboriously illus-
pretation, which,
the late
trated
by Lepsius, Bunsen, Jablonski, Hincks, Birch, Goodwin,
Heath, Chabus, and others.
The
invention of hieroglyphics, called Neter Khani, or "divine
words," was ascribed to the god Thoth, the Egyptian Logos, "lord
m
THE RAMESSIDS, ETC.
Pliny attributes
of the hieroglyphs. "
were not understood by the lower
to
it
classes,
Menes.
to
Hieroglyphics
whom
they were as
great a mystery as our printed characters are to the peasant
who
can neither read nor write.
For
on
fuller particulars
this interesting subject I refer the reader
Hieroglyphics " in the
'
*
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Champollion, " Grammaire Egyptienne" (Paris, 1841-61) ; Sir G.
to the article
'
;
'
Cornewall Lewis, " Astronomy of the Ancients, " chap. vi. ; Birch,
" Introduction to the Study of Hieroglyphics " " Edinburgh
;
Review"
Papyri;" and Bunsen,
(translated
by C.
D.
1862;
for July
**
"The Exodus
Heath, M.A.,
I.
Egypt's Place in the World's History"
J. Cotterell,
M.A.).
THE RAMESSIDS.
According
is
to
some
given as follows
:
authorities, the
— Ramesses,
or
dynasty; Rameses H., the Great,
Rameses HI.
chronology of the Ramessids
Rameses
who
;
chief of the 19th
Rhampsinitus of Herodotus), chief of the 20th
(the
Rameses of Medinet-Aboo Rameses IV. RamRameses VI., who lived, it is supposed, about 1240 B.C. ;
dynasty, and the
eses V.
I.,
reigned sixty-eight years;
and so on, down
;
to
;
Rameses XIII.
TELL-EL-AMARNA TABLETS.
Of
recent discoveries one of the most remarkable
Tell-el-Amarna in Upper Egypt, the
and
in the
are
Phoenicians,
Hittites,
site
The
about 180 miles south of Cairo.
is
and
inscriptions are cuneiform,
Philistines,
though Hittites are mentioned.
official
despatches and
to the
two Pharaohs, Amen6phis
letters,
at
of the ancient Arsinoe,
Aramaic language, resembling Assyrian.
Amorites,
a number of
by a peasant woman,
clay tablets found accidentally in 1887,
The
writers
but in no instance
The
tablets consist of
dating from B.C. 1480, addressed
III.
and IV., the
last
of this
dynasty, from the kings and governors of Phoenicia and Palestine.
There occur the names of three kings
killed
by Joshua
— Adoni-
APPENDIX.
374
zedek, king of Jerusalem, Japhia, king of Lachish (Josh. x.
and Jabin, king of Hazor
said to
i)
(xi.
have come from the
of Palestine differs, so that
;
desert.
is lost.
'*
These
The
Hebrews
3),
[Abiri) are
clay from different parts
has been found possible by the clay
it
alone to decide where the tablets
the writer
also the
come
when
from,
letters are the
name
the
most important
of
historical
They most fully
Book of Joshua, and
records ever found in connection with the Bible.
confirm
the historical
statements of the
prove the antiquity of civilization in
"Tell Amarna Tablets," page
S)nria
and Palestine" (Conder's
6).
DISCOVERIES AT DEIR-EL-BAHARI.
Professor Maspero, keeper of the museum
had
at B(ilak, near Cairoj
his attention in 1870 directed to the fact that scarabs
—that
is,
stone and metal imitations of the beetle (symbols of immortahty),
worn
originally
as amulets
by royal personages
—which
were
evi-
dently genuine relics of the time of the ancient Pharaohs, were
being sold at Thebes and different places along the Nile.
him
to suspect that
some
Pharaohs had been opened, and that these and other
secretly sold,
were a part
time he failed, with
of the treasure found there.
all his
relics,
now
For a long
ingenuity, to find the source of these
At length one
rare treasures.
This led
hitherto undiscovered burial-place of the
of those in the secret volunteered to
The
was
that a
party was conducted in 1881 to Deir-el-Bahari, near Thebes,
when
give information regarding this burial-place.
the wonderful discovery was
made
of thirty-six
queens, princes, and high priests hidden
for
away
them, where they had lain undisturbed
result
mummies
of kings,
in a cavern prepared
for
thirty centuries.
" The temple of Deir-el-Bahari stands in the middle of a natural
amphitheatre of
cliffs,
which
is
only one of a number of smaller
amphitheatres into which the limestone mountains of the tombs are
broken up.
In the wall of rock separating this basin from the one
some ancient Egyptian engineers had constructed the
hiding-place, whose secret had been kept for nearly three thousand
next to
years."
it
The
exploring party being guided to the place, found be-
DISCOVERIES
hind a great rock a shaft 6
At
into _ the limestone.
for 25 feet,
AT DEIR-EL-BAHARL
feet square
and about 40
375
feet deep,
sunk
the bottom of this a passage led westward
and then turned sharply northward into the very heart
of the mountain, where in a chamber 23 feet by 13, and 6 feet in
came upon the wonderful treasures of antiquity. The
all carefully secured and brought down to Btilak,
where they were deposited in the royal museum, which has now
been removed to Ghizeh.
Among the most notable of the ancient kings of Egypt thus disThothmes
covered were Thothmes III., Seti I., and Rameses II.
III. was the most distinguished mon-
height, they
mummies were
arch of the brilliant eighteenth dynasty.
When
this
mummy
was unwound "once
more, after an interval of thirty-six centuries,
of the
human eyes gazed on the features
man who had conquered Syria
and Cyprus and Ethiopia, and had raised
Egypt
the highest
to
power.
The
pinnacle of her
spectacle, however,
was of
brief duration.
The remains proved
be in so
a state that there was
fragile
to
only time to take a hasty photograph,
and then the features crumbled to pieces
like an apparition, and so
and vanished
passed away from
human view
for ever."
"It seems strange that though the body
of this man,"
who
overran Palestine with
two hundred years before the
birth of Moses, "mouldered to dust, the
flowers with which it had been wreathed
his armies
were so wonderfully preserved that even
colour could be distinguished
(Manning's " Land of the Pharaohs ").
their
Seti I. (his throne
the father of
a great
name Merenptah),
Rameses
builder.
II.,
was a great and
The mummy
THOTHMES
successful warrior, also
of this Pharaoh,
brought to view "the most beautiful
III.
mummy-head
when
unrolled,
ever seen within
APPENDIX.
376
the walls of the
The sculptors of Thebes and Abydos
when they gave him that delicate,
museum.
did not flatter this Pharaoh
sweet, and smiling profile which
the admiration of travellers.
is
After a lapse of thirty-two centuries,
mummy
the
same expres-
retains the
sion which characterized the features
Most remarkable
of the living man.
of
when compared with
all,
my
of Rameses II.,
the
mum-
the striking re-
is
semblance between the father and the
son.
Seti
OF SETI
as
were, the ideal-
it
He
Rameses
have died
an advanced age.
head
MUMMY HEAD
I. is,
ized type of
at
shaven,
is
white,
the
points
to
II.
eyebrows
the
condition
life,
more
than
thus confirm-
ing the opinions of the learned,
Rameses
II.,
who
king."
this
the son of Seti
During
are
body
I.
have attributed a long reign to
oppression.
The
the
of
considerably
threescore years of
must
I., is
probably the Pharaoh of the
his forty years' residence at the court of Egypt,
Moses must have known
this ruler well.
During
his sojourn in
Midian, however, Rameses died, after a reign of sixty-seven years,
and
his
body was embalmed and
laid in the royal sepulchre in the
Tombs of Kings beside that of his father. Like the
mummies found hidden in the cave of Deir-el-Bahari, it had
Valley of the
other
been
for
some reason removed from
carried from place to place
it
till
its
original tomb,
and probably
finally deposited in the
cave where
was so recently discovered.
In 1886, the mummy of this king, the " great Rameses," the
"Sesostris"of the Greeks, was unwound, and showed the body of
what must have been a robust old man. The features revealed to
view are thus described by Maspero "The head is long and small
:
in proportion to the body.
The
top of the skull
is
quite bare.
On
the temple there are a few sparse hairs, but at the poll the hair
is
quite thick, forming smooth, straight locks about two inches
in length.
White
at the
time of death, they have been dyed a
AT DEIR-EL-BAHARL
DISCOVERIES
by the spices used
light yellow
low and narrow
thick
and white
in
are
sunken
Bourbons
the cheek-bones very prominent
;
forehead
;
;
;
wearing of ear-rings
;
the jaw-bone
is
the nose
the temples
the ears round,
standing far out from the head, and pierced, like those of a
for the
is
the eyebrows are
;
the eyes are small and close together
;
long, thin, arched like the noses of the
is
The
embalmment.
the brow-ridge prominent
;
377
woman,
massive and strong
the mouth small but thick-lipped ; the
worn and very brittle, but white and well preserved. The
moustache and beard are thin.
They seem to have been kept
the chin very prominent
;
teeth
shaven during
but were probably allowed to grow during the
life,
king's last illness, or they
may have grown
after death.
The
hairs
are white, like those of the head and eyebrows, but are harsh and
bristly,
and a tenth of an inch
brown, streaked with black.
mummy gives
a
is
perhaps
slightly
it
idea of the face of
fair
pression
in length.
Finally,
The skin is of an earthymay be said the face of the
the living king.
The ex-
unintellectual,
animal
but even under the some-
^
what grotesque disguise of
mummification
plainly
there
is
an
to be seen
air
of sovereign majesty, of resolve,
and of pride."
Both on
and
his father's
mother's side
it
pretty clearly
has been
shown
that
Rameses had Chaldean or
Mesopotamian blood in his
veins to such a degree that
he
might
Assyrian.
be
called
This
fact
an
is
thought to throw light on
Isa.
lii.
MUMMY HEAD OF RAMESES
II.
4.
The Pharaoh
of the Exodus was probably
teenth and eldest surviving son of Rameses
Menephtah
II.
He
I.,
the four-
resided at Zoan,
where he had the various interviews with Moses and Aaron recorded
APPENDIX.
378
in the
book of Exodus.
at Deir-el-Bahari.
or his father
His
It is still
Menephtah was
mummy
was not among those found
a question, however, whether Seti II.
the Pharaoh of the Exodus.
Some
think the balance of evidence to be in favour of the former, whose
reign
it
is
known began peacefully, but came
The "Harris papyrus," found
astrous end.
Upper Egypt
in
to a
at
sudden and
dis-
Medinet-Abou
1856, a state document written by
Rameses
in
III.,
the second king of the twentieth dynasty, gives at length an account
of a great exodus from Egypt, followed by widespread confusion
and anarchy. This, there is great reason to believe, was the Hebrew
exodus, with which the nineteenth dynasty of the Pharaohs came to
an end. This period of anarchy was brought to a close by Setnekht,
the founder of the twentieth dynasty.
From Easton's " Illustrated
—
Bible Dictionary," article Pharaoh.
^ni)£X.
Aah-mes
prosperous reign in
breaking his
alliance with Polycrates of Samos, 56.
Abbas Pasha, administration of Egypt
under, 76, 79.
Abou-Seir, pyramids at, erected by
kings of the Elephantine dynasty, 47
the rock of, 344, 345.
Abou-Simbel, Belzoni's excavations at,
335 temples at, 335-342Abu-Tlea, battle of, 107.
II., his
Egypt, 56
;
his reason for
;
Abydus, ruins
at, 71
;
bombardment
at the Mastabat-el-Faroun,.
47of,
Emperor Hadrian,
founded by the
69.
Apis, the Egyptian bull -god, worship
of, 196.
Apries, king of Egypt, his prosperous
rule, 55, 56.
Arabi Pasha, rebellion of, 93, 94.
Arachieh, the sacred lake, and its temple, 361.
Anans and Athanasians,
at, 218.
Acacia, or sont tree of the Arabs, 33, 34.
Albert N'yanza, the, one of the reservoirs of the Nile, 123.
Alexander the Great, his conquest of
Egypt, 59, 60; his plans for developing its resources, 61.
Alexandria founded by Alexander the
Great, 61 ; destruction of the Sera-
peum
pyramid
Antinoopolis, city
of,
93
wealth and population of, 134; its
architectural ornaments, 135, 136;
picture of its present aspect, 136; its
Oriental features, 139-141; a scene
at its railway station, i<^i ; its ancient
condition, its associations, 142 ; its
religious feuds, 145 ; its decay, 145 ;
ruins, 146 ; the soits remarkable
called Pompey's Pillar, 146 - 148 ;
Cleopatra's Needles, 149, 150 ; site
of the modem city described, 151.
Ali, Mehemet, his massacre of the
Mamelukes, 75, 76 ; incidents of his
pashalik, 76.
Almehs, or Almees, the, Egyptian dancing-girls, their costume described, 276,
277 ; their manners and customs, 277.
Amenemha I., king of Egypt, rebuilds
Heliopolis, 47.
Amenemha III., his great erections
pointed out, 48; his famous Labyrinth described, 48, 49.
Amunophis II,, his capture of Nineveh,
50.
Sais, the only king of
his dynasty, 58.
Amyrtaeus, of
Animal life of Egypt described, 34-58.
Animal - worship in Egypt, its origin
and influence, 26-29, 43> 44Annos, or Ormos, king of Egypt, his
disputes of^
at Alexandria, 143.
Arrian, Greek pentameter by, quoted,
189.
Art in Eg>'pt, influence of the Nile
upon, 130.
Assouan, or Syene, in ancient times,
292; view from the cliffs around it,
293 its celebrated quarries, 293, 294.
Athor, the goddess, worship and sym;
bolical representations of, 225.
Aurelian, the Emperor, his defeat of
Zenobia, 69.
Bab-el-Melook, or Valley of the
Tombs of the Kings, near Thebes,
251-257.
the, or White Nile,
course described, 123.
Bahr el-Abiad,
Bahr el-Azrek,
the, or
Blue Nile,
course described, 123, 124.
Baker, Sir Samuel, discoveries
120.
Bartlett,
its
its
of, 119,
The Nile-Boat of, quoted,
285.
Belzoni, quoted, 178, 181, 182; his exploration of the Pyramids, 178, 181,
182.
Beni-hassan, pecuHar situation of the
Tombs
at, 209, 210; their antiquity,
210; their interior described, 210;
wall-painting representing a remarkable procession at, 210, 213 Egyptian
history depicted by Egyptian artists,
214; the interior of the Tombs regarded as an illustration of ancient
Egyptian life, 214-217.
Beyt-el-Wellee, rock-temple at, 324, 325.
Boats in use on the Nile, described,
;
128, 129.
Boulak, or Old Cairo, view from, 155.
INDEX.
38o
British occupation of Egypt, 94.
Eubastis, great feast of the goddess,
Debodeh, the scenery of the Nile
described, 129.
Bubastite dynasty of Egypt, 53.
Bull, the sacred, Egyptian worship of,
Delta, the, landscape of, 152.
Dendera, the temple of, described, 218,
221 ; its great portico, 222 ; its dimensions, 225 account of other remains
at, 225, 226 ; the Typhoneion, 226.
27, 28.
near,
322, 323.
;
Burckhardt, the Nubian traveller, quot-
Dendour, Romano-Egyptian temple
ed, 328, 333,
at,
325-
Caesar, de Bella Civili, quoted, 64.
Cailliaud, Voyage au Meroe, quoted,
352.
picturesque character of
its streets, 155, 156; their purely Oriental aspect described, 156 situation
of the city, 156, 157; its history summarized, 157 ; the citadel, and the
prospect from it, 157, 158
the Cairene minarets, 161, 162; life in the
streets portrayed, 162
the dancing
dervishes, 163, 164, 167 ; the Cairene
donkeys, 167, 168; interior of an
Oriental harem, 168, 169.
Cambyses, king of Persia, his invasion
and conquest of Egypt, 56 ; his madness and death, 57, note; his treatment of the sacred Apis, ig6 ; plun-
Cairo, city
of,
;
;
;
ders Thebes, 233.
Cape of Good Hope, discovery of the
passage round the,
ascent
of,
first,
312, 313;
described, 314, 315.
Champollion, on the Typhoneion, 226;
his Lettres sur FEgypte, quoted, 240,
281, 288.
Christianity, rise of, in Egypt, 70, 143
its struggle with and conquest over
Paganism,
144, 145.
Cleopatra, her marriage to Ptolemy
XII., 65; fascinates Julius Caesar,
who declares her Queen of Egypt,
65 ; her connection with Antony, and
her death, narrated, 66, 67.
Cleopatra's Needles, description of, 149,
150.
Climate of Egypt,
its peculiarities, 38.
Colossi, the two, of Thebes, described,
242-245.
Constitution, Egyptian, the, 95, 96.
Crocodile Bird [Trochilus) of the Nile,
the, 37.
Cummus,
m
the Tour du Monde,
quoted, 277.
Curzon, Monasteries in the La>ant,
quoted, 299.
Dahabeeyah,
a,
his
or Nile-boat, a voyage
in, 205, 206.
Dakkeh, temple of Thoth at, 329, 330.
Date palm in Egypt, the, 33.
Death, Egyptian ideas concerning, 252.
Voyage en Egypte,
quoted, 276.
Derr, the Temple at, 333, 334.
Dervishes, the dancing, their peculiar
ceremony described, 162-164, ^67.
Desert, the struggle of the Nile with
the, 117, 118.
Diodorus, the historian, his account of
Rameses
III., 232.
Divisions, administrative, of Egjrpt, 96.
Djebel Aboufodde, the caverns of, 218.
Dodekarchy, the, or Twelve Kings,
their rule in Egypt, 54.
Donkeys of Cairo, the, their characteristics, 167, 168.
Donne,
W.
B., quoted, 271, 272.
Drumann, on the worship
Egypt,
of the bull in
28.
Dual Control,
the, 91, 92, 94.
Edfoo, the ancient
72.
Cassius, Avidius, subdues a revolt in
Egypt, 69.
Cataract of the Nile, the
Denon, Baron,
city of, 282, 283
;
its
two temples, 283, 284.
Edmonstone, Sir A., quoted, 357.
Egypt, its attractivenessfor the student
and traveller, 17, 18; its remote antiquity, 18, 19; its monotonous natural
features, 19 ; its position in regard to
other countries, 19, 20; its physical
geography, 20; etymology of its
name, 23; its names, or districts, in
the olden time, 23-26 its worship of
;
animals, 26-29 ; Roman divisions of,
29; its general aspect, 29, 30, 33; its
soil and vegetation, 33, 34 ; its animal
life,
34-38; its climate, 38; the
khamsin in, 39; its present population, 39, 40, 113; its money, weights,
and measures, 40; its history under
the Pharaohs, 42-56 ; its history under
the Persians, 57-59 ; under its Greek
kings, 59-67 ; under the Romans, 6872; annals of modern Egypt, 72-113;
its divisions, 96, 113; its commerce,
113; its railways and telegraphs, 113.
Egyptians, manners and customs of the
ancient, described by Herodotus, 27,
28, 57. 58.
Egyptian Queens, tombs of the, near
Medinet-Aboo, 258.
'Eilythia, or El-Kab, rock -tombs of,
280-282.
Elephantine, island of, its architectural
ruins, 295, 296 ; its ancient history,
296.
INDEX.
El Ghizeh, pyramids of, 174-182.
El Mesaourat, ruined temples at, 351,
354-
Epistrategiae, the, of Egypt, under the
Romans,
68.
of> 273, 274.
Esneh, ruined temple at, 275, 276
rendezvous and residence of the
Almehs, 276-278.
Ethiopia, origin of the name, 348.
Faioum, the valley
rebuilt
by Amenemha
I.,
road from Cairo to, 198 its remains described, 198 its historical
47
;
;
of,
multitude of
its
Up the Nile, quoted, 263, 274,
Fergusson, History of Architecture,
quoted, 176, 184, 210.
Financial condition of Egypt, 108, iii113-
assumption of Egyptian
sovereignty, 70.
Gebel-Adha,
Gebel-Ain,
the rock-temple at, 3^3.
of ancient Crocodilo-
Germanicus, his
to Thebes, 52
with the bull Apis,
visit
his consultation
68, 69.
at, 325-329,
Gibbon, Decline and Fall, quoted, 70.
Gordon, General, appointed GovernorGeneral of the Soudan, 88 his ad;
ministration, 88, 89
;
letter from, 89,
commissioned to withdraw the
Egyptian garrisons from the Soudan,
;
his defence of Khartum, 105,
expedition to relieve, 106-108
;
of Egypt, 35-37
description of the
;
railway-station at Alexandria, 141 ;
on the donkeys and donkey -drivers
of Cairo, 167, 168 ; on the ruins of
Thebes, 228 ; on the temples of Philae,.
303, 304-306.
Hor-em-heb, his history told by the
monuments,
286.
great temple, 358, 359 its necro360; its remaining monuments, 360.
Greek era of Egj^ptian history, 59-67.
its
;
polis, 359,
Greek influence
in
Egypt, nse and
spread of, 59, 60.
Grote, History of Greece, quoted, 56.
Gubat, battle
of, 107.
Hadjur
Silsileh, the pass of, 285.
Hadrian, the Emperor, founds the city
of Antinoopolis, 69.
Hamilton, Aegyptiaca, quoted, 221,
_
288, 290, 294.
Harem, scene in an Oriental, 168, 169.
Harpers' Tomb, the, in the "Valley of
Tombs
Ibreem, history of the castle of, 334.
Iseion, the, at Memphis, reference to,
196.
worship of the goddess, introduced
into the Roman cities, 69 ; her name
and attributes explained, 310, 311
her temple at Abou-Simbel, 340-342.
Ismail Pasha, his administration of
Egypt, 79, 80; adopts the title of
Khedive, 79, 80; his deposition, 91.
Ismail, son of Mehemet AH, conquest
of Nubia bj', 84, 320, 321.
Ismailia, on the Suez Canal, 369.
JosEPHUS, Antiquities, quoted,
Gordon, Lady Duff, Letters from
Egypt, quoted, 162.
Great Oasis, the, description of, 358;
the
and
Homer, quoted, 227, 317, 355.
Hopley, Howard, Under Egyptian
Palms, quoted, 30, 33 on the birds
;
his death, 108.
Hecataeus,
;
183, 190, 308.
Isis,
Ghirsche Housseyn, ruins of a temple
;
199-201.
site
polis, 274.
;
relics,
Herodotus, the historian, on the worship of the sacred bull, 27, 28 ; his
visit to Egypt, 57, 58
quoted, 177,
their origin, meaning,
interpretation, 370-374.
Fairholt,
Firmus, his
associations, 198, 199 ; its sacredness
in the olden time, 199 ; its scanty
Hieroglyphics,
roses, 30.
104
106
Heliopolis,
;
Erment, the ancient HertJtonthis, ruins
90
38r
of the Kings," 256, 257.
visit
of,
to
Thebes, 233,
234-
Heeren, Historical Researches, quoted,
50, 248, 353, 354.
199.
Jupiter Ammon, oracle of, referred to
by Diodorus, 353; visited by Alexander the Great, 60, 362.
Juvenal, the Roman poet, banished to
the Libyan Oases, 357.
Kalabsche, rock-temples at,
described,
323, 324.
Kamak,
the modern village of, 258
Palace of the Kings at, 260-263 J
sculpture representing Sheshonk at,
263 ; general description of the ruins,
263, 264.
Keble, The Christian
Year, quoted,
244, 317.
Keneh, scenery of the plain of, 218.
Kennard, Travels in Egypt, quoted, 139.
Kenrick, Ancient Egypt, quoted, 213^
234, 334-
Kerbekan, battle of, 108.
Khamsin, the, effects of, described,
39.
Khartum, description of, 83; defence
of, by Gordon, 105-108.
Khnum,
the divinity of the waters, 362.
INDEX.
582
Kinglake, A. W., Eothen, quoted, i86,
187.
Kingsley, Canon, Hypatia^ quoted, 144.
Kings of Egypt, the, why they erected
their mausoleums or pyramids, 172.
Koum-Ombos, ruined temples of, 288-
Kurschid Pasha, Governor of the Soudan, 87.
Labyrinth, the, of Amenemha, described by Herodotus, 48, 49.
Lepsius, Reise Egypten, quoted, 197.
Lindsay, Lord, Letters frojti Holy
Lands, quoted, 312.
Little Oasis, the, or El-Dakkel, description of, 360, 361.
Longfellow, quoted, 41, 205.
Lucan, Pharsalia, quoted, 114.
Luxor, modern village of, described,
temple and monuments at,
264, 267
;
267-271.
Madox, Excursions
in Egypt, quoted,
tianity, quoted, 143.
lAWton, Paradise Lost, quoted, 114, 190.
the, his early history, 97, 98
proclaims a religious war, 98, 99
Obeid, 99
destroys an
Egyptian army under Colonel Hicks,
captures
;
besieges and takes Khartum,
100;
105, 108.
Mamelukes,
of> 72,
75
;
the, Egypt under the sway
their massacre by Mehe-
Ali, 75, 76.
Nilotica, the, 33, 34.
Mnevis, the sacred ox of Heliopolis,
worshipped by the Egyptians, 28, 29Modern history of Egypt, 72-113.
Mohammed Tewfik, Khedive of Egypt,
91.
Moore, Thomas, the poet, quoted,
291,
343-
Mosques of Cairo, described by Lady
Duff Gordon, 162.
Mud of the Nile, the, described by St.
Hilaire, 33.
Nechao, King of Egypt,
his victories in
Judah and Assyria, 55 his engineering and naval operations, 55.
Nectanebus IL, the last of the Pharaohs,
defeated by the Persians, 59.
;
Niger,
149.
Mahdi,
Pescennius,
Emperor of Egypt,
declares
himself
69.
Nile, the river, its great struggle against
the forces of the Desert, 117, 118; discovery of its sources accomplished,
118-120; the course of the White Nile
described, 123; course of the Blue
Nile, 123, 124 ; progress of the united
stream traced to the Mediterranean,
124, 125 its average fall and velocity,
125; to what its rise is due, 125;
height of the inundation, 126; processes of irrigation, 126 worshipped
as a god, 127, 128; the river -boats
described, 128, 129; festivals and
pageants held on the Nile, 129 its
animal and vegetable life, 129, 130;
origin of the word Nilus, 130; influence of the Nile on Egyptian and
;
iSIanetho, the Egyptian annalist, on the
birth-place of Moses, 197.
Mariette, his discoveries in connection
with the sphinx, 189.
Marriage, an Egyptian, description
of,
273-280.
;
;
Harriet, Eastern Life,
quoted, 117, 118, 148, 172, 239, 240,
Martineau,
243. 244, 280, 286, 287, 330, 331, 336.
Mastabat-el-Faroun,pyramidat,erected
by Annos, 47.
Mausoleums, the royal, of Egypt, how
and why erected, 172, 173.
Medinet-Aboo, temple at, 246.
Melly, G. Khartoum, or the Two Niles,
,
quoted, 293.
Memphis,
site of, 190; foundation and
early history, 190; its decay, 191 its
Triad, 191 ; its Serapeion described,
191-196; its Iseion, 196; its statue of
Rameses, 197 ; Biblical associations
of Memphis, 197,
Memphite dynasty of Egypt, 44-46.
Men, or Menes, existence of, doubtful,
;
42, 43.
Menzaleh, Lake, the papyrus of, 30.
Merien-ptah, the Biblical Pharaoh, introduces the worship of Seth or Satan,
52.
349-
Milman, Dean, History ofLatin Chris-
Mimosa
290.
met
Meroe, ancient kingdom of, 348, 349.
Meroe, city of, its position and ruins,
Greek art, 130, 133 scenery of its
banks, 205, 206.
Nile Valley, the, its dimensions, and
general character of its scenery, 20, 23.
Nilometer, the, of Memphis, for gauging the ebb and flow of the river, 196,
;
197 ; at Rhoda, 206.
Nilus, the god, origin and festival of,
127; a statue of, described, 127, 128.
Nomes, the, or ancient districts of
Egypt, enumerated, 23-26.
Northern Oasis, the, or El Siwah,
situation and warm springs, 361
;
its
its
numerous antiquities, 361-363.
Nubia, origin of the name, 317; extent
and history of the country, 318, 313;
manners and customs of its inhabitprincipal towns, 83, 84,
conquest by Ismail Pasha,
ants, 319, 320
320;
Its
84, 320, 321.
;
INDEX.
Oases, their general characteristics detheir literary' and
scribed, 356, 357
;
Ramessids,
Egypt under,
51-53,
capture of Salem by, 51
his legendary fame, 51, 52 extent of
his empire, 52.
Rameses III., subdues an insurrection
his reign in Thebes,
in Ethiopia, 53
Rameses
202.
Osirei, the
;
the,
374-
the five
chief oases enumerated, 358 ; the
Great Oasis, 358-360; the Little
Oasis, 360, 361 ; theNorthem,36i-363.
Obelisk, the, of Osirtesen I., 200, 201
some celebrated obelisks enumerated,
historical associations, 357
383
II.,
;
;
232, 233.
the Soane
Rameseion, the, of Thebes, 235 ; its
admirable position, 236; the Grand
Museum, 255.
Osiris, the god, legendary history of,
307 ; his various names and attri-
Rameseion, the Southern, of Thebes,
butes, 308 ; his mythic history, 308310; his temple at Abou-Simbel, 336-
Rapids, or Cataracts of the Nile, 124,
sarcophagus
of, in
340-
Osirtesen
I.,
his sovereignty over Egypt,
its
;
its
sculptures and
dimensions, 242.
particulars of, 246-248.
125, 312-315.
Religious creed of the Egyptians, 171,
172, 287.
47, 48.
Osirtesen II. and III., their achievements in Ethiopia, 48.
Osman Digna, insurrection of, 100;
military operations against, 103.
Paganism, decline
in
of,
Egypt,
71,
Renan, Ernest, quoted, 188.
Richardson, Dr., Travels along the
Mediterranean Coast, quoted, 248,
323. 341Ritter, Carl, Erdkunde, (quoted, 335.
Roman era in Egyptian history, 68-72.
Roman
143. 144-
W.
Palgrave,
G., description of
and Karnak quoted,
Luxor
Senate, admittance of Egyp-
tians into the, 69.
Romer, Mrs., Tombs 0/ Egypt, quoted,
264, 267.
Pasht, the goddess, festival of, 28.
Persian era of Egypt, 57-59.
Pharaonic era of Egypt, 42-56.
Pharos at Alexandria, and origin of the
word, 61.
King of Samos, his alliance
with Aahmes, King of Egypt, 56.
Polycrates,
Pompey's
Pillar, described, 146 ; its
147 ; a relic of a former
temple, 147, 148 ; sketch of the surrounding landscape, 148.
Population, present, of Egypt, 39, 40,
history,
"3-
313, 329. 335-
Russell, Dr.,
Nubia and Abyssinia,
Sabaco, King of Egypt, his
with Hoshea, King of Israel,
354.
alliance
53, 54.
Said Pasha, administration of, 79.
Sebaste Caesareum,or Temple of Caesar,
at Alexandria, remains of, 149.
Seethee I., or Sethos, his conquests
enumerated, 51.
Senefem, King of Egypt, 44, 45.
Serapeion, the, at Alexandria, destruction of, 71.
Serapeion, the, of Memphis, described,
102; temple of Osiris- Apis, 195.
Sethos, his arbitrary rule in Egypt,
Port Said, 369.
Priests,
Hall, 239, 240;
frescoes, 240-242
tombs of
the, 258.
Propertius, quoted, 67.
_
Psammetichus I., his reign over
54, 55-
Egypt,
54-
Severus, the
Roman Emperor,
visit
of
.
Psammetichus
II.
completes the subju-
gation of Ethiopia, 55.
Ptolemy Epiphanes, 64 P. Euergetes,
63 P. Philadelphus, 62, 63 P. Philometor, 64
P. Philopater, 63
P.
Soter, 62; Ptolemy XII., 64, 65.
Ptolemys, kings of Egypt, chronologi;
;
;
;
;
cal table of, 67.
Pyramids, their
freshness of
170; their associations, 170, 171
their probable origin,
171-173 their massive construction,
173, 174; description of the Great
Pyramid, 174-177; of the Second,
177-182 of the Third, 182 ; groups of
pyramids, 182, 183 ; legends connected with them, 183, 184 mechani
cal skill displayed in their erection, 184,
attraction,
eternal
169,
;
;
;
;
to Egypt, 69.
Shakspeare, quoted, 114, 129.
Sheikh-Abadeh, village of, 218.
Shepherd Kings of Egypt, their conexpelled by
quest of the land, 50
;
Aahmes
I., 50.
Sheshonk, or Shishak, plunders Jerusalem, 233.
Ship, the Sacred, description and allegorical meaning of, 354, 355.
Shufu, King of Egypt, founder of the
Great Pyramid,
Silsileh, the
46.
sandstone quarries
of, 285,
286.
Siout, the capital of
scribed, 218.
Upper Egypt,
Smith, Alexander, quoted, 152.
Smith, Rev. A. C, The Nile
and
de-
its
INDEX.
384
Banks, quoted,
139, 167,
34, 43, 44,
198, 206.
The Great
Smyth, Professor
Pyrainid,
Piazzi,
quoted, 171.
Egypt, properties of the, 33.
Soleb, temple of Amun-Ra at, 347, 348.
Soudan, the, its area and population, 80,
83 its chief towns, 83, 84, 320 ; slavetrade in, 84, 88-90; its conquest by
Ismail Pasha, 84, 320, 321 ; Gordon's
administration of, 88-91 insurrection
in, under the Mahdi, 97-108.
Soul, belief of the Egyptians in the immortality of the, 309.
Sozomen, the historian, quoted, 71.
Spenser, quoted, 291.
Sphinx, the, described by W. H. Bartlett, 185 ; by Harriet Martineau, 186;
by Dean Stanley, 186; by A. W.
Soil of
;
;
Kinglake, 186-188;
188
;
its
antiquity,
connected with
it,
dimensions,
its
188
discoveries
;
188, 189
supposed
;
erection of, by Thothmes IV., 50, 51.
Stanley, Dean, on the Sphinx, 186
on the ruins of Thebes, 228 ; on the
Thebaid, the,
boundaries, 271
its
;
seion,
246
the
;
palace
-
temple
tombs, 248-258.
Theodosius I., prohibits idol-worship,7i.
Thinite dynasty of Egypt, 43.
Thomson, James, quoted, 356.
Thothmes I. and II., their various
achievements, 50
Thothmes III.,
his conquests in Syria and Mesopotamia, 50; Thothmes IV., erects the
Sphinx, 50, 51.
Thothmeseion, the, of Thebes, 246.
Tombs at Thebes See "Priests, tombs,
of;" "Egyptian Queens, tombs of;"
"Bab-el-Melook, or Tomb of the
Kings."
Typhon, the Egyptian personification
of Evil, 310.
;
_
Typhoneion, the, at Dendera,
253-
on the Nilotic mud, quoted,
33St. Jean d'Acre,
besieged
and Napier, 76.
John, J. A., quoted, 221.
Suakim, 84, 100, 103.
Suez Canal, history and construction
365-369-
Tacitus, quoted, 52.
Tamai, battle of, 103.
Temple
of, 94.
\
;
;
;
244.
From
quoted, 169.
Vegetation,
the, of Egypt, 33, 34.
Victoria N'yanza, the, a source of the
Nile, 119, 120.
Vopiscus, the historian, quoted, 70.
Vulture, the, or "Pharaoh's Hen," 37.
Vyse, General Howard, On the Pyra-
Wady Halfa,
cataract
and temple
near, 344.
at Dendera, 218-225 ^t Medinet-Aboo, 246 of Rameses, 2.i,6-'zi,Z ;
at Karnak, 260 ; at Luxor, 267 ; at
Erment, 273 ; at Esneh, 275 ; at Edfoo, 283 ; at Hadjur Silsileh, 286 ; at
Koum Ombos, 288-290; at Elephantine, 295 ; at Philae, 300-307 ; at Debodeh, 322 at Kalabsche, 323 ; at
Beyt-el-Wellee, 324 ; at Dendour, 325;
at Girsche-Housseyn, 325; at Dakkeh, 329; at Derr, 333; at AbouSimbel, 336-342 ; at Gebel-Adha, 343 ;
at Wady Haifa, 344 ; at Soleb, 347
at Meroe, 349 at Woad Naja, 350
at El-Mesaourat, 352 ; at El-Khargeh,
359 ; at El-Dakkel, 360 ; at El-Siwah,
361 ; at Ummebeda, 361.
Tennyson, Alfred, quoted, 1,7, 65, 134,
Thackeray,
Upper Egypt, its
scribed by Mr. Howard Hopley, 30,33.
mids, quoted, 175.
Tarkus, King of Egypt, the Tirhakah
of Ethiopia, 54.
Tel-el-Kebir, battle
226.
of Amun at, 362.
general aspect as de-
by Stopford
St.
of,
of
Rameses, 246-248; a labyrinth of
Ummebeda, Temple
St. Hilaire,
gen-
Rameseion, described, 235-242; the
two Colossi, 242-245 the Thothme-
scenery around Thebes, 229, 230 on
the "Tombs of the Kings," at Thebes,
;
;
eral features of, 271, 272.
of, 227 ; origin of the name,
228, 229 ; its admirable situation, 229,
recordsof
its annals, 230-235; the
230;
Thebes, city
Cornhill to Cairo,
Wady Sebou, ruins at,described,332, 333.
Warburton, Eliot, The Crescent and the
Cross, quoted, 75, 126, 183, 184, 199,
298, 335-
Wilkinson, Sir Gardner, tntilta opera,
quoted, 28, 47, 52, 54, 127, 173, 190, 234,
257, 268, 284, 288, 309, 311, 325, 327.
architectural ruins at, 350,
Woad-Naja,
351-
Wolseley, Lord, expedition under, to
rescue General Gordon, 106-108.
Wordsworth, William, quoted, 205.
Persia, crushes an
insurrection in Egypt, 57.
Xerxes, King of
Zebehr Pasha,
89, 105.
Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra, conquers
by
is herself defeated
Egypt, 69
Aurelian, 69.
Ziczac, or " crocodile bird " of Herod;
otus, 274, 275.
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