EGYPT, an extensive country of Africa, lying between 30° and 36° of east longitude, and between 21° and 31° of north latitude; and bounded by the Mediterranean on the north; by the Red-sea and Isthmus of Suez, which divide it from Arabia, on the east; by Abyssinia or Ethiopia, on the south; and by the deserts of Barca and Nubia, on the west; being 600 miles
in length from north to south, and from 100 to 200 in breadth from east to west. Egypt.
As a nation, the Egyptians may with justice lay claim to as high antiquity as any in the world. The country was most probably peopled by Mizraim the son of Ham, and grandson of Noah.—By its ancient inhabitants it was called Chemia, and is still called Chemi in the language of the Copts or native Egyptians; and this name it is supposed to have received from Ham the son of Noah. In scripture, we find it most generally named Mizraim; though in the Psalms it is styled the land of Ham.—To us it is best known by the name Egypt, the etymology of which is more uncertain.—Some derive it from Egyptus, a supposed king of the country: others say it signifies no more than "the land of the Copts;" Aia in Greek signifying a country, and Exoptor being easily softened into Egyptus.—The most probable opinion, however, seems to be, that it received this name from the blackness of its soil, and the dark colour both of its river and inhabitants: for such a blackish colour is by the Greeks called egyptios, from gyps, and egypt, a vulture; and by the Latins, subvulturus. For the same reason, other names of a similar import have been given to this country by the Greeks; such as Aeria, and Melambolus: the river itself was called Melo or Melas; by the Hebrews, Shibor; and by the Ethiopians, Siris; all of which signify "black."
Ancient Egypt is by some divided into two parts, the upper and lower Egypt: by others into three, the upper Egypt, properly so called, or Thebais; the middle Egypt, or Heptanomis; and the lower Egypt, the best part of which was the Delta, or that space encompassed by the branches of the Nile. See THEBAIS, &c.
The Egyptians, like the Chinese, pretend to an excessive antiquity, pretending to have records for ten, twenty, or even fifty thousand years. Thus their history is so much involved in obscurity and fable, that for many ages it must be passed over in silence.—The first mortal king whom the Egyptians own to have reigned in that country, was Menes or Menas. At what time he reigned, it would be to very little purpose to inquire. He had been preceded, however, by a set of immortals, who it seems left him the kingdom in a very bad situation: for the whole country, except Thebais, was a morass; the people also were entirely destitute of religion, and every kind of knowledge which could render their life comfortable and happy. Menes diverted the course of the Nile, which before that time had washed the foot of a sandy mountain near the borders of Libya, built the city of Memphis, instructed his subjects, and did other things of a similar kind which are usually attributed to the founders of kingdoms.
From the time of Menes, the Egyptian chronology is filled with a list of 330 kings, who reigned 1400 years, but did nothing worthy of notice.—The first distinct piece of history we find concerning Egypt, is the irruption of the Shepherds, by whom the country was subdued; but whether this revolution happened during the vast interval of indolence above-mentioned, or before or after, cannot be known. The affair is thus related by Manetho. It happened, in the reign of Timaus king of Egypt, that God being displeased with the Egyptians, they suffered a great revolution: for a multitude of men, ignoble
noble in their race, took courage, and, pouring from the east into Egypt, made war with the inhabitants; who submitted to them without resistance. The shepherds, however, behaved with the greatest cruelty; burnt the cities, threw down the temples of the gods, and put to death the inhabitants, carrying the women and children into captivity. This people came from Arabia, and were called Hycos, or king-shepherds. They held Egypt in subjection for 259 years; at the end of which period, they were obliged by a king of Upper Egypt, named Amonis, or Thethmosis, to leave the country. This prince's father had, it seems, gained great advantages over them, and shut them up in a place called Abaris, or Avaris, containing 10,000 acres of land. Here they were closely besieged by Amonis, with an army of 400,000 men; but at last the king, finding himself unable to reduce them by force, proposed an agreement, which was readily accepted. In consequence of this agreement, the shepherds withdrew from Egypt with their families, to the number of 240,000; and, taking the way of the desert, entered Syria: but, fearing the Assyrians, who were then very powerful, and masters of Asia, they entered the land of Judea, and built there a city capable of holding so great a multitude, and called it Jerusalem.
As this account seems to bear some faint resemblance to the departure of the Israelites under Moses, some chronologists have supposed them to be the same event. This, however, is strenuously opposed by others; but to decide the question seems impossible. In these early ages, however, it would seem that the kingdom of Egypt had been very powerful, and its dominion very widely extended, since we find it said, that the Bactrians revolted from Osymandyas, another Egyptian king of very high antiquity, and of whose wealth the most marvellous accounts are given.
After an unknown interval of time from this monarch, reigned Sesostris. He was the first great warrior whose conquests are recorded with any degree of distinctness. In what age of the world he lived, is uncertain. Some chronologists, among whom is Sir Isaac Newton, are of opinion, that he is the Sesac, or Shishak, who took Jerusalem in the reign of Rehoboam the son of Solomon. Others, however, place him much earlier; and Mr Whiston will have him to be the Pharaoh who refused to part with the Israelites, and was at last drowned in the Red Sea. His reign is reckoned the most extraordinary part of the Egyptian history; and the following seems to be the least fabulous account that can be got of it. The father of Sesostris was told in a dream, by the god Vulcan, that his son, who was then newly born, or perhaps still unborn, should be lord of the whole earth. His father, upon the credit of this vision, got together all the males in the land of Egypt that were born on the same day with Sesostris; appointed nurses and proper persons to take care of them, and had them treated like his own child; being persuaded that they who had been the constant companions of his youth would prove the most faithful ministers and soldiers. As they grew up, they were inured to laborious exercises; and, in particular, were never permitted to taste any food till they had performed a course of 180 furlongs, upwards of 22 of our miles. When the old king imagined they were sufficiently educated in the martial
way he designed them to follow, they were sent by way of trial of their abilities against the Arabians. In this expedition Sesostris proved successful, and in the end subdued that people who had never before been conquered. He was sent to the westward, and conquered the greatest part of Africa; nor could he be stopped in his career, till he arrived at the Atlantic ocean. Whilst he was on this expedition, his father died; and then Sesostris resolved to fulfil the prediction of Vulcan, by actually conquering the whole world. As he knew that this must take up a long time, he prepared for his journey in the best manner possible. The kingdom he divided into 36 provinces, and endeavoured to secure the affections of the people by gifts both of money and land. He forgave all who had been guilty of high treason, and discharged the debts of all his soldiers. He then constituted his brother Arais, the supreme regent; but forbade him to use the diadem, and commanded him to offer no injury to the queen or her children, and to abstain from the royal concubines. His army consisted of 600,000 foot, 24,000 horse, and 27,000 chariots. Besides these land-forces, he had at sea two mighty fleets; one, according to Diodorus, of 400 sail. Of these fleets, one was designed to make conquests in the west, and the other in the east; and therefore the one was built on the Mediterranean, and the other on the Red Sea. The first of these conquered Cyprus, the coast of Phœnicia, and several of the islands called Cyclades; the other conquered all the coasts of the Red Sea; but its progress was stopped by shoals and difficult places which the navigators could not pass, so that he seems not to have made many conquests by sea.
With the land-forces Sesostris marched against the Ethiopians and Troglodites; whom he overcame, and obliged them to pay him a tribute of gold, ebony, and ivory. From thence he proceeded as far as the promontory of Dira, which lay near the straits of Babel-mandel, where he set up a pillar with an inscription in sacred characters. He then marched on to the country where cinnamon grows, or at least to some country where cinnamon at that time was brought, probably some place in India; and here he in like manner set up pillars, which were to be seen for many ages after. As to his farther conquests, it is agreed by almost all authors of antiquity, that he over-ran and pillaged the whole continent of Asia, and some part of Europe. He crossed the Ganges, and erected pillars on its banks; and from thence he is said to have marched eastward to the very extremity of the Asiatic continent. Returning from thence, he invaded the Scythians and Thracians; but all authors do not agree that he conquered them. Some even affirm, that he was overthrown by them with great slaughter, and obliged to abandon a great part of his booty and military stores. But, whether he had good or bad success in these parts, it is a common opinion that he settled a colony in Colchis. Herodotus, however, who gives the most particular account of the conquests of this monarch, does not say whether the colony was designedly planted by Sesostris; or whether part of his army loitered behind the rest, and took up their residence in that region. From his own knowledge, he asserts, that the inhabitants of that country were undoubtedly of Egyptian descent. This was evident from the personal
Egypt. fonal resemblance they bore to the Egyptians, who were swarthy-complexioned and frizzle-haired; but more especially from the conformity of their customs, particularly circumcision.
The utmost boundary of this mighty monarch's conquests, however, was in the country of Thrace; for beyond this country his pillars were no where to be seen. These pillars he was accustomed to set up in every country which he conquered, with the following inscription, or one to the same purpose: "Sefostris, king of kings, and lord of lords, subdued this country by the power of his arms." Besides these, he left also statues of himself; two of which, according to Herodotus, were to be seen in his time, the one on the road between Ephesus and Phocæa, and the other between Smyrna and Sardis: they were armed after the Ethiopian and Egyptian manner, holding a javelin in one hand, and a bow in the other. Across the breast they had a line drawn from one shoulder to the other, with the following inscription; "This region I obtained by these my shoulders." They were mistaken for images of Memnon.
The reason given by Sefostris for his returning into Egypt from Thrace, and thus leaving the conquest of the world unfinished, was, the want of provisions for his army, and the difficulty of the passes. Most probably, however, his return was hastened by the intelligence he received from the high priest of Egypt, concerning the rebellious proceedings of his brother; who, encouraged by his long absence, had assumed the diadem, violated the queen, and also the royal concubines. On receiving this news, Sefostris hastened from Thrace; and, at the end of nine years, came to Pelusium in Egypt, attended by an innumerable multitude of captives taken from many different nations, and loaded with the spoils of Asia. The treacherous brother met him at this city; and it is said, with very little probability, that Sefostris accepted of an invitation to an entertainment from him. At this he drank freely, together with the queen and the rest of the royal family. During the continuance of the entertainment, Armais caused a great quantity of dried reeds to be laid round the apartment where they were to sleep; and as soon as they were retired to rest, set fire to the reeds. Sefostris perceiving the danger he was in; and that his guards, overcharged with liquor, were incapable of assisting him; rushed through the flames, and was followed by his wife and children. In thanksgiving for this wonderful deliverance, he made several donations to the gods, particularly to Vulcan the god of fire. He then took vengeance on his brother Armais, said to be the Danaus of the Greeks, who, being on this occasion driven out of Egypt, withdrew into Greece.
Sefostris now laid aside all thoughts of war; and applied himself wholly to such works as might tend to the public good, and his own future reputation. In order to prevent the incursions of the Syrians and Arabians, he fortified the east side of Egypt with a wall which ran from Pelusium through the desert to Heliopolis, for 187½ miles. He raised also an incredible number of vast and lofty mounds of earth, to which he removed such towns as had before been situated too low, in order to secure them from the inundations of the Nile. All the way from Memphis to the sea he dug canals which branched out from the Nile, and not
only made an easier communication between different places, but rendered the country in a great measure impassable to an enemy. He erected a temple in every city in Egypt, and dedicated it to the supreme deity of the place; but in the course of such a great undertaking as this necessarily must have been, he took care not to employ any of his Egyptian subjects. Thus he secured their affection, and employed the vast multitude of captives he had brought along with him; and to perpetuate the memory of a transaction so remarkable, he caused to be inscribed on all these temples, "No one native laboured hereon." In the city of Memphis, before the temple of Vulcan, he raised six gigantic statues, each of one stone. Two of them were 30 cubits high, representing himself and his wife. The other four were 20 cubits each, and represented his four sons. These he dedicated to Vulcan in memory of his abovementioned deliverance. He raised also two obelisks of marble 120 cubits high, and charged them with inscriptions, denoting the greatness of his power, his revenues, &c.
The captives taken by Sefostris are said to have been treated with the greatest barbarity, so that at last they resolved at all events to deliver themselves from a servitude so intolerable. The Babylonians particularly were concerned in this revolt, and laid waste the country to some extent; but being offered a pardon, and a place to dwell in, they were pacified, and built for themselves a city which they called Babylon. Towards the conquered princes who waited on him with their tribute, the Egyptian monarch behaved with unparalleled insolence. On certain occasions he is said to have unharnessed his horses, and, yoking kings together, made them draw his chariot. One day, however, observing one of the kings who drew his chariot to look back upon the wheels with great earnestness, he asked what made him look so attentively at them. The unhappy prince replied, "O king, the going round of the wheel puts me in mind of the vicissitudes of fortune: for as every part of the wheel is uppermost and lowermost by turns, so it is with men; who one day sit on a throne, and on the next are reduced to the vilest degree of slavery." This answer brought the insulting conqueror to his senses; so that he gave over the practice, and thenceforth treated his captives with great humanity. At length this mighty monarch lost his fight, and laid violent hands on himself.
After the death of Sefostris, we meet with another chasm of an indeterminate length in the Egyptian history. It concludes with the reign of Amasis or Ammosis; who being a tyrant, his subjects joined Aëtifanes the king of Ethiopia, to drive him out. Thus Aëtifanes became master of the kingdom; and after his death follows another chasm in the history, during which the empire is said to have been in a state of anarchy for five generations. This period brings us down to the times of the Trojan war. The reigning prince in Egypt was at that time called Cetes; by the Greeks, Proteus. The priests reported that he was a magician; and that he could assume any shape he pleased, even that of fire. This fable, as told by the Greeks, drew its origin from a custom among the Egyptians, perhaps introduced by Proteus. They were used to adorn and distinguish the heads of their kings with the representations of animals or vegetables, or
Egypt. even with burning incense, in order to strike the be-
holders with the greater awe. Whilst Proteus reigned,
Paris or Alexander, the son of Priam king of Troy,
was driven by a storm on the coasts of Egypt, with
Helen, whom he was carrying off from her husband.
But when the Egyptian monarch heard of the breach
of hospitality committed by Paris, he seized him, his
mistress, and companions, with all the riches he had
brought away with him from Greece. He detained
Helen, with all the effects belonging to Menelaus her
husband, promising to restore them to the injured party
whenever they were demanded; but commanded Paris
and his companions to depart out of his dominions in
three days, on pain of being treated as enemies. In
what manner Paris afterwards prevailed upon Proteus
to restore his mistress, we are not told; neither do we
know any thing further of the transactions of this
prince's reign nor of his successors, except what has
entirely the air of fable, till the days of Sabbaco the
Ethiopian, who again conquered this kingdom. He
began his reign with an act of great cruelty, causing
the conquered prince to be burnt alive: nevertheless, he
no sooner saw himself firmly established on the throne
of Egypt, than he became a new man; so that he is
highly extolled for his mercy, clemency, and wisdom.
He is thought to have been the S mentioned in scrip-
ture, and who entered into a league with Hoshea
king of Israel against Sbalmaneser king of Assyria. He
is said to have been excited to the invasion of Egypt by
a dream or vision, in which he was assured, that he
should hold that kingdom for 50 years. Accordingly,
he conquered Egypt, as had been foretold; and at the
expiration of the time above-mentioned, he had another
dream, in which the tutelary god of Thebes acquainted
him, that he could no longer hold the kingdom of
Egypt with safety and happiness, unless he massacred
the priests as he passed through them with his guards.
Being haunted with this vision, and at the same time
abhorring to hold the kingdom on such terms, he sent
for the priests, and acquainted them with what seemed
to be the will of the gods. Upon this it was concluded,
that it was the pleasure of the Deity that Sabbaco
should remain no longer in Egypt; and therefore he
immediately quitted that kingdom, and returned to
Ethiopia.
9
Remark-
able story
of Sethon.
Of Amphis, who was Sabbaco's immediate successor,
we have no particulars worth notice. After him reigned
one Sethon, who was both king and priest of Vul-
can. He gave himself up to religious contemplation;
and not only neglected the military class, but deprived
them of their lands. At this they were so much in-
censed, that they entered into an agreement not to bear
arms under him; and, in this state of affairs, Sennacherib
king of Assyria arrived before Pelusium with a
mighty army. Sethon now applied to his soldiers, but
in vain: they unanimously persisted in refusing to march
under his banner. Being therefore destitute of all hu-
man aid, he applied to the god Vulcan, and requested
him to deliver him from his enemies. Whilst he was
yet in the temple of that god, it is said, he fell into a
deep sleep; during which, he saw Vulcan standing at
his side, and exhorting him to take courage. He pro-
mised, that if Sethon would but go out against the
Assyrians, he should obtain a complete victory over
them. Encouraged by this assurance, the king assem-
bled a body of artificers, shop-keepers, and labourers;
and, with this undisciplined rabble, marched towards
Pelusium. He had no occasion, however, to fight; for
the very night after his arrival at Pelusium, an innum-
erable multitude of field-rats entering the enemies
camp, gnawed to pieces their quivers, bowstrings, and
shield-straps. Next morning, when Sethon found the
enemy disarmed, and on that account beginning to fly,
he pursued them to a great distance, making a terrible
slaughter. In memory of this extraordinary event, a
statue of Sethon was erected in the temple of Vulcan,
holding in one hand a rat, and delivering these words:
"Whoever beholdeth me, let him be pious."
Soon after the death of Sethon, the form of govern-
ment in Egypt was totally changed. The kingdom
was divided into twelve parts, over which as many of
the chief nobility presided. This division, however,
subsisted but for a short time. Pfammitichus, one of
the twelve, dethroned all the rest, 15 years after the
division had been made. The history now begins to
be divested of fable, and from this time may be ac-
counted equally certain with that of any other nation.
The vast conquests of Sesostrius were now no longer
known; for Pfammitichus possessed no more than the
country of Egypt itself. It appears, indeed, that none
of the successors of Sesostrius, or even that monarch him-
self, had made use of any means to keep in subjection
the countries he had once conquered. Perhaps, in-
deed, his design originally was rather to pillage than to
conquer; and therefore, on his return, his vast empire
vanished at once. Pfammitichus, however, endeavoured
to extend his dominions by making war on his neigh-
bours; but by putting more confidence in foreign
auxiliaries than in his own subjects, the latter were so
much offended, that upwards of 200,000 fighting men
emigrated in a body, and took up their residence in
Ethiopia.—To repair this loss, Pfammitichus earnestly
applied himself to the advancement of commerce; and
opened his ports to all strangers, whom he greatly ca-
reiled, contrary to the cruel maxims of his predeces-
sors, who refused to admit them into the country. He
also laid siege to the city of Azotus in Syria, which
held out for 29 years against the whole strength of the
kingdom; from which we may gather, that, as a war-
rior, Pfammitichus was by no means remarkable. He
is reported to have been the first king of Egypt that
drank wine. He also sent to discover the springs of
the Nile; and is said to have attempted to discover the
most ancient nation in the world by the following meth-
od. Having procured two newly born children, he
caused them to be brought up in such a manner, that
they never heard a human voice. He imagined that
these children would naturally speak the original lan-
guage of mankind: therefore, when, at two years of
age, they pronounced the Phrygian word becos, (or
some found resembling it), which signifies bread, he
concluded that the Phrygians were the most ancient
people in the world.
10
Reign of
Pfammiti-
chus.
11
Nechus, the son and successor of Pfammitichus, is
the Pharaoh-Necho of scripture, and was a prince of an
enterprising and warlike genius. In the beginning of
his reign, he attempted to cut through the isthmus of
Suez, between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean;
but, through the invincible obstacles which nature has
thrown in the way of such undertakings, he was obli-
ged
Egypt. 12 His wars with Josiah and Nebuchadnezzar. 13 Apries a martial and successful prince. 14 Bad consequences of his alliance with Zedekiah. 15 His subjects revolt. 16 Apries defeated and taken prisoner by Amasis. 17 Egypt invaded by Nebuchadnezzar. 18 Happy administration of Amasis.
ged to abandon the enterprise, after having lost 120,000 men in the attempt. After this, he sent a ship, manned with some expert Phœnician mariners, on a voyage to explore the coasts of Africa. Accordingly, they performed the voyage; failed round the continent of Africa; and after three years returned to Egypt, where their relation was deemed incredible. See Africa.
The most remarkable wars in which this king was engaged, are recorded in the sacred writings. He went out against the king of Assyria, by the divine command, as he himself told Josiah; but being opposed by this king of Judæa, he defeated and killed him at Megiddo; after which he set up, in that country, king Jehoiakim, and imposed on him an annual tribute of 100 talents of silver and one talent of gold. He then proceeded against the king of Assyria; and weakened him so much, that the empire was soon after dissolved. Thus he became master of Syria and Phœnicia; but, in a short time, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came against him with a mighty army. The Egyptian monarch, not daunted by the formidable appearance of his antagonist, boldly ventured a battle; but was overthrown with prodigious slaughter, and Nebuchadnezzar became master of all the country to the very gates of Pelusium.
The reign of Apries, the Pharash-Hephra of scripture, presents us with a new revolution in the Egyptian affairs. He is represented as a martial prince, and in the beginning of his reign very successful. He took by storm the rich city of Sidon; and having overcome the Cypriots and Phœnicians in a sea-fight, returned to Egypt laden with spoil. This success probably incited Zedekiah king of Judæa to enter into an alliance with him against Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. The bad success of this alliance was foretold by the prophet Jeremiah; and accordingly it happened. For Nebuchadnezzar having sat down with his army before Jerusalem, Apries marched from Egypt with a design to relieve the city; but no sooner did he perceive the Babylonians approaching him, than he retreated as fast as he could, leaving the Jews exposed to the rage of their merciless enemies; who were thereupon treated as Jeremiah had foretold; and by this step Apries brought upon himself the vengeance denounced by the same prophet.—The manner in which these predictions were fulfilled, is as follows. The Cyreneans, a colony of the Greeks, being greatly strengthened by a numerous supply of their countrymen under their third king Battus styled the happy, and encouraged by the Pythian oracle, began to drive out their Libyan neighbours, and share their possessions among themselves. Hereupon Andican king of Libya sent a submissive embassy to Apries, and implored his protection against the Cyreneans. Apries complied with his request, and sent a powerful army to his relief. The Egyptians were defeated with great slaughter; and those who returned complained that the army had been sent off by Apries in order to be destroyed, and that he might tyrannize without controul over the remainder of his subjects. This thought catching the attention of the giddy multitude, an almost universal defection ensued. Apries sent one Amasis, a particular friend, in whom he thought he could confide, to bring back his people to a sense of their duty. But by this friend he was betrayed; for Amasis, taking the opportunity of the present ferment, caused himself to be
proclaimed king. Apries then dispatched one Patarbemis, with orders to take Amasis, and bring him alive before him. This he found impossible, and therefore returned without his prisoner; at which the king was so enraged, that he commanded Patarbemis's nose and ears to be cut off. This piece of cruelty completed his ruin; for when the rest of the Egyptians who continued faithful to Apries beheld the inhuman mutilation of so worthy and noble a person as Patarbemis was, they to a man deserted Apries, and went over to Amasis.
Both parties now prepared for war; the usurper having under his command the whole body of native Egyptians; and Apries only those Ionians, Carians, and other mercenaries whom he could engage in his service. The army of Apries amounted only to 30,000; but, though greatly inferior in number to the troops of his rival, as he well knew that the Greeks were much superior in valour, he did not doubt of victory. Nay, so far was Apries pushed up with this notion, that he did not believe it was in the power, even of any God, to deprive him of his kingdom. The two armies soon met, and drew up in order of battle near Memphis. A bloody engagement ensued; in which, tho' the army of Apries behaved with the greatest resolution, they were at last overpowered with numbers, and utterly defeated, the king himself being taken prisoner. Amasis now took possession of the throne without opposition. He confined Apries in one of his palaces, but treated him with great care and respect. The people, however, were implacable, and could not be satisfied while he enjoyed his life. Amasis, therefore, at last found himself obliged to deliver him into their hands. Thus the prediction received its final completion: Apries was delivered up to those who fought his life; and who no sooner had him in their power, than they strangled him, and laid his body in the sepulchre of his ancestors.
During these intestine broils, which must have greatly weakened the kingdom, it is probable that Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt. He had been for 13 years before this employed in besieging Tyre, and at last had nothing but an empty city for his pains. To make himself some amends, therefore, he entered Egypt, miserably harassed the country, killed and carried away great numbers of the inhabitants, so that the country did not recover from the effects of this incursion for a long time after. In this expedition, however, he seems not to have aimed at any permanent conquest, but to have been induced to it merely by the love of plunder, and of this he carried with him an immense quantity to Babylon.
During the reign of Amasis, Egypt is said to have been perfectly happy, and to have contained 20,000 populous cities. That good order might be kept among such vast numbers of people, Amasis enacted a law, by which every Egyptian was bound once a-year to inform the governor of his province by what means he gained his livelihood; and if he failed of this, to put him to death. The same punishment he decreed to those who could not give a satisfactory account of themselves.
This monarch was a great favourer of the Greeks, and married a woman of Grecian extract. To many Greek cities, as well as particular persons, he made
Egypt. considerable presents. Beside these, he gave leave to the Greeks in general to come into Egypt, and settle either in the city of Naucratis, or carry on their trade upon the sea-coasts; granting them also temples, and places where they might erect temples to their own deities. He received also a visit from Solon the celebrated Athenian lawgiver, and reduced the island of Cyprus under his subjection.
This great prosperity, however, ended with the death of Amasis, or indeed before it. The Egyptian monarch had some how or other incensed Cambyfes king of Persia. The cause of the quarrel is uncertain; but whatever it was, the Persian monarch vowed the destruction of Amasis. In the mean time Phanes of Halicarnassus, commander of the Grecian auxiliaries in the pay of Amasis, took some private disgust; and leaving Egypt, embarked for Persia. He was a wise and able general, perfectly well acquainted with every thing that related to Egypt; and had great credit with the Greeks in that country. Amasis was immediately sensible how great the loss of this man would be to him, and therefore sent after him a trusty eunuch with a swift galley. Phanes was accordingly overtaken in Lycia, but not brought back; for, making his guard drunk, he continued his journey to Persia, and presented himself before Cambyfes, as he was meditating the destruction of the Egyptian monarchy.
At this dangerous crisis, also, the Egyptian monarch imprudently made Polycrates the tyrant of Samos his enemy. This man had been the most remarkable, perhaps, of any recorded in history, for an uninterrupted course of success, without the intervention of one single unfortunate event. Amasis, who was at this time in strict alliance with Polycrates, wrote him a letter, in which, after congratulating him on his prosperity, he told him that he was afraid lest his successes were too many, and he might be suddenly thrown down into the greatest misery. For this reason he advised him voluntarily to take away something from his own happiness; and to cast away that which would grieve him most if he was accidentally to lose it. Polycrates followed his advice, and threw into the sea a signet of inestimable value. This, however, did not answer the intended purpose. The signet happened to be swallowed by a fish, which was taken a few days afterwards, and thus was restored to Polycrates. Of this Amasis was no sooner informed, than, considering Polycrates as really unhappy, and already on the brink of destruction, he resolved to put an end to the friendship which subsisted between them. For this purpose he dispatched an herald to Samos, commanding him to acquaint Polycrates, that he renounced his alliance, and all the obligations between them; that he might not mourn his misfortunes with the sorrow of a friend. Thus Amasis left Polycrates at liberty to act against him, if he chose to do so; and accordingly he offered to assist Cambyfes with a fleet of ships in his Egyptian expedition.
Amasis had not, however, the misfortune to see the calamities of his country. He died about 525 years before Christ, after a reign of 44 years; and left the kingdom to his son Psammenitus, just as Cambyfes was approaching the frontiers of the kingdom. The new prince was scarce seated on the throne, when the Persians appeared. Psammenitus drew together what forces
he could, in order to prevent them from entering the kingdom. Cambyfes, however, immediately laid siege to Pelusium, and made himself master of it by the following stratagem: he placed in the front of his army a great number of cats, dogs, and other animals that were deemed sacred by the Egyptians. He then attacked the city, and took it without opposition; the garrison, which consisted entirely of Egyptians, not daring to throw a dart or shoot an arrow against their enemies, lest they should kill some of the holy animals.
Cambyfes had scarce taken possession of the city, when Psammenitus advanced against him with a numerous army. But, before the engagement, the Greeks who served under Psammenitus, to show their indignation against their treacherous countryman Phanes, brought his children into the camp, killed them in the presence of their father and of the two armies, and then drank their blood. The Persians, enraged at so cruel a fight, fell upon the Egyptians with the utmost fury, put them to flight, and cut the greatest part of them in pieces. Those who escaped, fled to Memphis, where they were soon after guilty of a horrid outrage. Cambyfes sent a herald to them in a ship from Mitylene; but no sooner did they see her come into the port, than they flocked down to the shore, destroyed the ship, and tore to pieces the herald and all the crew; afterwards carrying their mangled limbs into the city, in a kind of barbarous triumph. Not long after, they were obliged to surrender; and thus Psammenitus fell into the hands of his inveterate enemy, who was now enraged beyond measure at the cruelties exercised upon the children of Phanes, the herald, and the Mitylenean sailors.
The rapid success of the Persians struck with such terror the Libyans, Cyreneans, Bactrians, and other dependents or allies of the Egyptian monarch, that they immediately submitted. Nothing now remained but to dispose of the captive king, and revenge on him and his subjects the cruelties which they had committed. This the merciless victor executed in the severest manner. On the 10th day after Memphis had been taken, Psammenitus and the chief of the Egyptian nobility were ignominiously sent into one of the suburbs of that city. The king being there seated in a proper place, saw his daughter coming along in the habit of a poor slave with a pitcher to fetch water from the river, and followed by the daughters of the greatest families in Egypt, all in the same miserable garb, with pitchers in their hands, drowned in tears, and loudly bemoaning their miserable situation. When the fathers saw their daughters in this distress, they burst into tears, all but Psammenitus, who only cast his eyes on the ground and kept them fixed there. After the young women, came the son of Psammenitus, with 2000 of the young nobility, all of them with bits in their mouths, and halters round their necks, led to execution. This was done to expiate the murder of the Persian herald and the Mitylenean sailors; for Cambyfes caused ten Egyptians of the first rank to be publicly executed for every one of those that had been slain. Psammenitus, however, observed the same conduct as before, keeping his eyes steadfastly fixed on the ground, though all the Egyptians around him made the loudest lamentations. A little after this he saw an intimate friend and com-
Egypt. companion, now advanced in years, who, having been plundered of all he had, was begging his bread from door to door in the suburbs. As soon as he saw this man, Pammenitus wept bitterly; and calling out to him by his name, struck himself on the head as if he had been frantic. Of this the spies who had been set over him to observe his behaviour, gave immediate notice to Cambydes, who thereupon sent a messenger to inquire the cause of such immoderate grief. Pammenitus answered, That the calamities of his own family confounded him, and were too great to be lamented by any outward signs of grief; but the extreme distress of a bosom friend gave more room for reflection, and therefore extorted tears from him. With this answer Cambydes was so affected, that he sent orders to prevent the execution of the king's son; but these came too late, for the young prince had been put to death before any of the rest. Pammenitus himself was then sent for into the city, and restored to his liberty; and, had he not shewed a desire of revenge, might perhaps have been trusted with the government of Egypt; but being discovered hatching schemes of that kind, he was seized, and condemned to drink bull's blood.
The Egyptians were now reduced to the lowest degree of slavery. Their country became a province of the Persian empire: the body of Amasis their late king, was taken out of his grave; and after being mangled in a shocking manner, was finally burnt. But what seemed more grievous than all the rest, their god Apis was slain, and his priests ignominiously scourged; and this inspired the whole nation with such an hatred to the Persians, that they could never afterwards be reconciled to them. As long as the Persian empire subsisted, the Egyptians could never shake off their yoke. They frequently revolted indeed, but were always overthrown with prodigious loss. At last they submitted, without opposition, to Alexander the Great: after his death, Egypt again became a powerful kingdom; though since the conquest of it by Cambydes to the present time, it hath never been governed but by foreign princes, agreeable to the prophecy of Ezekiel, "There shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt."
On the death of Alexander the Great, Egypt, together with Libya, and that part of Arabia which borders on Egypt, were assigned to Ptolemy Lagus as governor under Alexander's son by Roxana, who was but newly born. Nothing was farther from the intention of this governor, than to keep the provinces in trust for another. He did not, however, assume the title of king, till he perceived his authority so firmly established that it could not be shaken; and this did not happen till 19 years after the death of Alexander, when Antigonous and Demetrius had unsuccessfully attempted the conquest of Egypt.
From the time of his first establishment on the throne, Ptolemy, who had assumed the title of Soter, reigned 20 years; which added to the former 19, make up the 39 years which historians commonly allow him to have reigned alone. In the 39th year of his reign, he made one of his sons, named Philadelphus, partner in the empire; declaring him his successor, to the prejudice of his eldest son named Ceraunus; being excited thereto by his violent love for Berenice Philadelphus's mother. When the succession was thus settled, Ceraunus imme-
diately quitted the court; and fled at last into Syria, where he was received with open arms by Seleucus Nicator, whom he afterwards murdered.
The most remarkable transaction of this reign was the embellishing of the city of Alexandria, which Ptolemy made the capital of his new kingdom, and of which an account is given under the article ALEXANDRIA. About 284 years before Christ, died Ptolemy Soter, in the 41st year of his reign, and 84th of his age. He was the best prince of his race; and left behind him an example of prudence, justice, and clemency, which few of his successors chose to follow. Besides the provinces originally assigned to him, he had added to his empire those of Cælo-Syria, Ethiopia, Pamphylia, Lycia, Caria, and some of the Cyclades. His successor, Ptolemy Philadelphus, added nothing to the extent of the empire; nor did he perform any thing worthy of notice except embellishing further the city of Alexandria, and entering into an alliance with the Romans. In his time, one Magas, the governor of Libya and Cyrene, revolted; and held these provinces as an independent prince, notwithstanding the utmost efforts of Ptolemy to reduce him. At last an accommodation took place; and a marriage was proposed between Berenice, the only daughter of Magas, and Ptolemy's eldest son. The young princess was to receive all her father's dominions by way of dowry, and thus they would again be brought under the dominion of Ptolemy's family. But before this treaty could be put in execution, Magas died; and then Apamea, the princess's mother, did all she could to prevent the match. This, however, she was not able to do; though her efforts for that purpose produced a destructive war of four years continuance with Antiochus Theus king of Syria, and the acting of a cruel tragedy in the family of the latter. See SYRIA.
About 246 years before Christ, Ptolemy Philadelphus died; and was succeeded by his eldest son Ptolemy, who had been married to Berenice the daughter of Magas, as above related. In the beginning of his reign, he found himself engaged in a war with Antiochus Theus king of Syria. From this he returned victorious, and brought with him 2500 statues and pictures, among which were many of the ancient Egyptian idols, which had been carried away by Cambydes into Persia. These were restored by Ptolemy to their ancient temples; in memory of which favour, the Egyptians gave him the surname of Euergetes, or the Beneficent. In this expedition, he greatly enlarged his dominions, making himself master of all the countries that lie between mount Taurus and the confines of India. An account of these conquests was given by himself, inscribed on a monument, to the following effect. "Ptolemy Euergetes, having received from his father the sovereignty of Egypt, Libya, Syria, Phœnice, Cyprus, Lycia, Caria, and the other Cyclades, assembled a mighty army of horse and foot, with a great fleet, and elephants, out of Trogloditia and Ethiopia; some of which had been taken by his father, and the rest by himself, and brought from thence, and trained up for war: with this great force he sailed into Asia; and having conquered all the provinces which lie on this side the Euphrates, Cilicia, Pamphylia, Ionia, the Hellepont, and Thrace, he crossed that river with all the forces of the conquered countries, and the kings of
Egypt. of those nations, and reduced Mesopotamia, Babylonia, Susia, Persia, Media, and all the country as far as Bactria."
On the king's return from this expedition, he passed through Jerusalem, where he offered many sacrifices to the God of Israel, and ever afterwards expressed a great favour for the Jewish nation. At this time, the Jews were tributaries to the Egyptian monarchs, and paid them annually 20 talents of silver. This tribute, however, Onias, who was then high priest, being of a very covetous disposition, had for a long time neglected to pay, so that the arrears amounted to a very large sum. Soon after his return, therefore, Ptolemy sent one of his courtiers named Athenion to demand the money, and desired him to acquaint the Jews that he would make war upon them in case of a refusal. A young man, however, named Joseph, nephew to Onias, not only found means to avert the king's anger, but even got himself chosen his receiver-general, and by his faithful discharge of that important trust, continued in high favour with Ptolemy as long as he lived.
Ptolemy Euergetes, having at last concluded a peace with Seleucus the successor of Antiochus Theus king of Syria, attempted the enlargement of his dominions on the south side. In this he was attended with such success, that he made himself master of all the coasts of the Red Sea, both on the Arabian and Ethiopian sides, quite down to the straits of Babel-mandel. On his return he was met by ambassadors from the Achæans, imploring his assistance against the Etolians and Lacedæmonians. This the king readily promised them: but they having in the mean time engaged Antigonus king of Macedon to support them, Ptolemy was so much offended, that he sent powerful succours to Cleomenes king of Sparta; hoping, by that means, to humble both the Achæans and their new ally Antigonus. In this, however, he was disappointed; for Cleomenes, after having gained very considerable advantages over the enemy, was at last entirely defeated in the battle of Sellasia, and obliged to take refuge in Ptolemy's dominions. He was received by the Egyptian monarch with the greatest demonstrations of kindness; a yearly pension of 24 talents was assigned him, with a promise of restoring him to the Spartan throne; but before this could be accomplished, the king of Egypt died, in the 27th year of his reign, and was succeeded by his son Ptolemy Philopator.
Thus we have seen the Egyptian empire brought to a very great height of power; and had the succeeding monarchs been careful to preserve that strength of empire transmitted to them by Euergetes, it is very probable that Egypt might have been capable of holding the balance against Rome, and, after the destruction of Carthage, prevented that haughty city from becoming mistress of the world. But after the death of Ptolemy Euergetes, the Egyptian empire, being governed only by weak or vicious monarchs, quickly declined, and from that time makes no conspicuous figure in history. Ptolemy Philopator began his reign with the murder of his brother; after which, giving himself up to all manner of licentiousness, the kingdom fell into a kind of anarchy. Cleomenes, the Spartan king, still resided at court; and being now unable to bear the dissolute manners which prevailed there, he pressed Philopator to give him the assistance he had
promised for restoring him to the throne of Sparta. This he the rather insisted upon, because he had received advice that Antigonus king of Macedon was dead, that the Achæans were engaged in a war with the Etolians, and that the Lacedæmonians had joined the latter against the Achæans and Macedonians. Ptolemy, when afraid of his brother Magas, had indeed promised to assist the king of Sparta with a powerful fleet, hoping by this means to attach him to his own interest: but now when Magas was out of the way, it was determined by the king, or rather his ministers, that Cleomenes should not be assisted, nor even allowed to leave the kingdom; and this extravagant resolution produced the desperate attempt of Cleomenes, of which an account is given in the history of SPARTA.
Of the disorders which now ensued in the government, Antiochus, king of Syria, surnamed the Great, took the advantage, and attempted to wrest from Ptolemy the provinces of Cælo-Syria and Palestine: but in this he was finally disappointed; and might easily have been totally driven out of Syria, had not Ptolemy been too much taken up with his debaucheries to think of carrying on the war. The discontent occasioned by this piece of negligence soon produced a civil war in his dominions, and the whole kingdom continued in the utmost confusion till his death, which happened in the 17th year of his reign, and 37th of his age.
During the reign of Philopator happened a very extraordinary event with regard to the Jews, which is mentioned in the Maccabees*. The king of Egypt, while on his Syrian expedition, had attempted to enter the temple of Jerusalem; but being hindered by the Jews, he was filled with the utmost rage against the whole nation. On his return to Alexandria, he resolved to make those who dwelt in that city feel the first effects of his vengeance. He began with publishing a decree, which he caused to be engraved on a pillar erected for that purpose at the gate of his palace, excluding all those who did not sacrifice to the gods worshipped by the king. By this means the Jews were debarred from suing to him for justice, or obtaining his protection when they happened to stand in need of it. By the favour of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy Soter, and Euergetes, the Jews enjoyed, at Alexandria, the same privileges with the Macedonians. In that metropolis the inhabitants were divided into three ranks or classes. In the first were the Macedonians, or original founders of the city, and along with them were enrolled the Jews. In the second were the Mercenaries who had served under Alexander; and in the third, the native Egyptians. Ptolemy now, to be revenged of the Jews, ordered, by another decree, that they should be degraded from the first rank, and enrolled among the native Egyptians. By the same decree it was enacted, that all of that nation should appear at an appointed time before the proper officers, in order to be enrolled among the common people; that at the time of their enrollment they should have the mark of an ivy leaf, the badge of Bacchus, impressed with a hot iron on their faces; that all who were thus marked, should be made slaves; and lastly, that if any one should stand out against this decree, he should be immediately put to death. That he might not, however, seem an enemy to the whole nation, he declared, that those who sacrificed to his gods should enjoy their for-
Egypt. mer privileges, and remain in the same class. Yet, notwithstanding this tempting offer, 300 only, out of many thousand Jews who lived in Alexandria, could be prevailed upon to abandon their religion in order to save themselves from slavery.
The apostates were immediately excommunicated by their brethren; and this their enemies construed as done in opposition to the king's order; which threw the tyrant into such a rage, that he resolved to extirpate the whole nation, beginning with the Jews who lived in Alexandria and other cities of Egypt, and proceeding from thence to Judæa and Jerusalem itself. In consequence of this cruel resolution, he commanded all the Jews that lived in any part of Egypt to be brought in chains to Alexandria, and there to be shut up in the Hippodrome, which was a very spacious place without the city, where the people used to assemble to see horse-races and other public diversions. He then sent for Hermon, master of the elephants; and commanded him to have 500 of these animals ready against the next day, to let loose upon the Jews in the Hippodrome. But when the elephants were prepared for the execution, and the people were assembled in great crowds to see it, they were, for that day, disappointed by the king's absence. For, having been late up the night before with some of his debauched companions, he did not awake till the time for the show was over, and the spectators returned home. He therefore ordered one of his servants to call him early on the following day, that the people might not meet with a second disappointment. But when the person awakened him according to his order, the king was not yet returned to his senses; having withdrawn, exceedingly drunk, only a short time before. As he did not remember the order, he therefore fell into a violent passion, and threatened with death the servant who had awakened him; and this caused the show to be put off till the third day. At last the king came to the Hippodrome, attended with a vast multitude of spectators; but when the elephants were let loose, instead of falling upon the Jews, they turned their rage against the spectators and soldiers, and destroyed great numbers of them. At the same time, some frightful appearances which were seen in the air, so terrified the king that he commanded the Jews to be immediately set at liberty, and restored them to their former privileges. No sooner were they delivered from this danger, than they demanded leave to put to death such of their nation as had abandoned their religion; and this being granted, they dispatched the apostates without excepting a single man.
Philopator was succeeded by Ptolemy Epiphanes; and he, after a reign of 24 years, by Ptolemy Philometor. In the beginning of his reign, a war commenced with the king of Syria, who had seized on the provinces of Cæle-Syria and Palestine in the preceding reign. In the course of this war, Philometor was either voluntarily delivered up to Antiochus, or taken prisoner. But, however this was, the Alexandrians despairing of his ever being able to recover his liberty, raised to the throne his brother Ptolemy, who took the name of Euergetes II. but was afterwards called Physcon, or the great-bellied, on account of the prominent belly which by his gluttony and luxury he had acquired. He was scarce seated on the throne, however,
when Antiochus Epiphanes, returning into Egypt, drove out Physcon, and restored the whole kingdom, except Pelusium, to Philometor. His design was to kindle a war betwixt the two brothers, so that he might have an opportunity of seizing the kingdom for himself. For this reason he kept to himself the city of Pelusium; which being the key of Egypt, he might at his pleasure re-enter the country. But Philometor, apprised of his design, invited his brother Physcon to an accommodation; which was happily effected by their sister Cleopatra. In virtue of this agreement, the brothers were to reign jointly, and to oppose to the utmost of their power Antiochus, whom they considered as a common enemy. On this the king of Syria invaded Egypt with a mighty army, but was prevented by the Romans from conquering it.
The two brothers were no sooner freed from the apprehensions of a foreign enemy, than they began to quarrel with each other. Their differences soon came to such a height, that the Roman senate interposed. But before the ambassadors employed to inquire into the merits of the cause could arrive in Egypt, Physcon had driven Philometor from the throne, and obliged him to quit the kingdom. On this the dethroned prince fled to Rome, where he appeared meanly dressed, and without attendants. He was very kindly received by the senate; who were so well satisfied of the injustice done him, that they immediately decreed his restoration. He was reconducted accordingly; and, on the arrival of the ambassadors in Egypt, an accommodation between the two brothers was negotiated. By this agreement, Physcon was put in possession of Libya and Cyrene, and Philometor of all Egypt and the island of Cyprus; each of them being declared independent of the other in the dominion allotted to them. The treaty, as usual, was confirmed with oaths and sacrifices, and was broken almost as soon as made. Physcon was dissatisfied with his share of the dominions; and therefore sent ambassadors to Rome, desiring that the island of Cyprus might be added to his other possessions. This could not be obtained by the ambassadors; and therefore Physcon went to Rome in person. His demand was evidently unjust; but the Romans, considering that it was their interest to weaken the power of Egypt as much as possible, without further ceremony adjudged the island to him.
Physcon set out from Rome with two ambassadors; and arriving in Greece on his way to Cyprus, he raised there a great number of mercenaries, with a design to sail immediately to that island and conquer it. But the Roman ambassadors telling him, that they were commanded to put him in possession of it by fair means, and not by force, he dismissed his army, and returned to Libya, while one of the ambassadors proceeded to Alexandria. Their design was to bring the two brothers to an interview on the frontiers of their dominions, and there to settle matters in an amicable manner. But the ambassador who went to Alexandria, found Philometor very averse from compliance with the decree of the senate. He put off the ambassador so long, that Physcon sent the other also to Alexandria, hoping that the joint persuasions of the two would induce Philometor to comply. But the king, after entertaining them at an immense charge for 40 days, at last plainly refused to submit, and told the ambassadors that
Egypt. that he was resolved to adhere to the first treaty. With this answer the Roman ambassadors departed, and were followed by others from the two brothers. The senate, however, not only confirmed their decree in favour of Physcon, but renounced their alliance with Philometor, and commanded his ambassador to leave the city in five days.
In the mean time, the inhabitants of Cyrene, having heard unfavourable accounts of Physcon's behaviour during the short time he reigned in Alexandria, conceived so strong an aversion against him, that they resolved to keep him out of their country by force of arms. On receiving intelligence of this resolution, Physcon dropped all thoughts of Cyprus for the present; and hastened with all his forces to Cyrene, where he soon got the better of his rebellious subjects, and established himself in the kingdom. His vicious and tyrannical conduct, however, soon estranged from him the minds of his subjects, in such a manner, that some of them entering into a conspiracy against him, fell upon him one night as he was returning to his palace, wounded him in several places, and left him for dead on the spot. This he laid to the charge of his brother Philometor; and as soon as he was recovered, took another voyage to Rome. Here he made his complaints to the senate, and shewed them the scars of his wounds, accusing his brother of having employed the assassins from whom he received them. Though Philometor was known to be a man of a most humane and mild disposition, and therefore very unlikely to have been concerned in so black an attempt; yet the senate, being offended at his refusing to submit to their decree concerning the island of Cyprus, hearkened to this false accusation; and carried their prejudice so far, that they not only refused to hear what his ambassadors had to say, but ordered them immediately to depart from the city. At the same time, they appointed five commissioners to conduct Physcon into Cyprus, and put him in possession of that island, enjoining all their allies in those parts to supply him with forces for that purpose.
Physcon having by this means got together an army which seemed to him to be sufficient for the accomplishment of his design, landed in Cyprus; but being there encountered by Philometor in person, he was entirely defeated, and obliged to shelter himself in a city called Laphis. Here he was closely besieged, and at last obliged to surrender. Every one now expected that Physcon would have been treated as he deserved; but his brother, instead of punishing, restored him to the government of Libya and Cyrene, adding some other territories instead of the island of Cyprus, and promising him his daughter in marriage. Thus an end was put to the war between the two brothers; for the Romans were ashamed any longer to oppose a prince who had given such a signal instance of his justice and clemency.
On his return to Alexandria, Philometor appointed one Archias governor of Cyprus. But he, soon after the king's departure, agreed with Demetrius king of Syria, to betray the island to him for 500 talents. The treachery was discovered before it took effect; and the traitor, to avoid the punishment due to his crime, laid violent hands on himself. Ptolemy being offended with Demetrius for this attempt on Cyprus, joined Attalus king of Pergamus, and Ariarathes king of
Cappadocia, in setting up a pretender to the crown of Syria. This was Alexander Balas; to whom he even gave his daughter Cleopatra in marriage, after he had placed him on the throne of Syria. But he, notwithstanding these and many other favours, being suspected of having entered into a plot against his benefactor, Ptolemy became his greatest enemy; and marching against him, routed his army in the neighbourhood of Antioch. He did not, however, long enjoy his victory; for he died in a few days after the engagement, of the wounds he had received.
On the death of Philometor, Cleopatra the queen designed to secure the throne for her son. But some of the principal nobility declaring for Physcon, a civil war was about to ensue, when matters were compromised on condition that Physcon should marry Cleopatra, that he should reign jointly with her during his life, and declare her son by Philometor heir to the crown. These terms were no sooner agreed upon than Physcon married Cleopatra, and, on the very day of the nuptials, murdered her son in her arms.—This was only a prelude to the cruelties which he afterwards practised on his subjects. He was no sooner seated on the throne, than he put to death all those who had shewn any concern for the murder of the young prince. He then wrecked his fury on the Jews, whom he treated more like slaves than subjects, on account of their having favoured the cause of Cleopatra. His own people were treated with little more ceremony. Numbers of them were every day put to death for the smallest faults, and often for no fault at all, but merely to gratify his inhuman temper. His cruelty towards the Alexandrians is particularly mentioned under the article ALEXANDRIA.—In a short time, being wearied of his queen, who was also his sister, he divorced her; and married her daughter, who was also called Cleopatra, and whom he had previously ravished. In short, his behaviour was so exceedingly wicked, that it soon became quite intolerable to his subjects; and he was obliged to fly to the island of Cyprus with his new queen, and Memphis, a son he had by her mother.
On the flight of the king, the divorced queen was placed on the throne by the Alexandrians; but Physcon, fearing lest a son whom he had left behind should be appointed king, sent for him into Cyprus, and caused him to be assassinated as soon as he landed. This provoked the people against him to such a degree, that they pulled down and dashed to pieces all the statues which had been erected to him in Alexandria. This the tyrant supposed to have been done at the instigation of the queen, and therefore resolved to revenge it on her by killing his own son whom he had by her. He therefore, without the least remorse, caused the young prince's throat to be cut; and having put his mangled limbs into a box, sent them as a present to his mother Cleopatra. The messenger with whom this box was sent, was one of his guards. He was ordered to wait till the queen's birth-day, which approached, and was to be celebrated with extraordinary pomp; and in the midst of the general rejoicing, he was to deliver the present.
The horror and detestation occasioned by this unexampled piece of cruelty cannot be expressed. An army was soon raised, and the command of it given to one Marfias, whom the queen had appointed general, and enjoined to take all the necessary steps for the defence
Egypt. fence of the country. On the other hand, Physcon, having hired a numerous body of mercenaries, sent them, under the command of one Hegeleebus, against the Egyptians. The two armies met on the frontiers of Egypt, on which a bloody battle ensued; but at last the Egyptians were entirely defeated, and Mariyas was taken prisoner. Every one expected that the captive general would have been put to death with the severest torments: but Physcon, perceiving that his cruelties only exasperated the people, resolved to try whether he could regain their affections by lenity; and therefore pardoned Mariyas, and set him at liberty.—Cleopatra, in the mean time, being greatly distressed by this overthrow, demanded assistance from Demetrius king of Syria, who had married her eldest daughter by Philometor, promising him the crown of Egypt for his reward. Demetrius accepted the proposal without hesitation, marched with all his forces into Egypt, and there laid siege to Pelusium. But he being no less hated in Syria than Physcon was in Egypt, the people of Antioch, taking advantage of his absence, revolted against him, and were joined by most of the other cities in Syria. Thus Demetrius was obliged to return; and Cleopatra, being now in no condition to oppose Physcon, fled to Ptolemais, where her daughter the queen of Syria at that time resided. Physcon was then restored to the throne of Egypt, which he enjoyed without further molestation till his death; which happened at Alexandria, in the 29th year of his reign, and 67th of his age.
To Physcon succeeded Ptolemy Lathyrus, about 122 years before Christ; but he had not reigned long, before his mother, finding that he would not be entirely governed by her, by false surmises stirred up the Alexandrians, who drove him from the throne, and placed on it his youngest brother Alexander. Lathyrus after this was obliged to content himself with the government of Cyprus, which he was permitted to enjoy in quiet. Ptolemy Alexander, in the mean time, finding he was to have only the shadow of sovereignty, and that his mother Cleopatra was to have all the power, stole away privately from Alexandria. The queen used every artifice to bring him back, as well knowing that the Alexandrians would never suffer her to reign alone. At last her son yielded to her intrigues; but soon after, understanding that she had hired assassins to dispatch him, he caused her to be murdered.
The death of the queen was no sooner known to the Alexandrians, than, disdaining to be commanded by a parricide, they drove out Alexander, and recalled Lathyrus.—The deposed prince for some time led a rambling life in the island of Cos; but having got together some ships, he, the next year, attempted to return into Egypt. But, being met by Tyrhus, Lathyrus's admiral, he was defeated, and obliged to fly to Myra in Lycia. From Myra he steered his course towards Cyprus, hoping that the inhabitants would place him on the throne, instead of his brother. But Chareas, another of Lathyrus's admirals, coming up with him while he was ready to land, an engagement ensued, in which Alexander's fleet was dispersed, and he himself killed.
During these disturbances, Apion king of Cyrenæa, the son of Ptolemy Physcon by a concubine, having maintained peace and tranquillity in his dominions
VOL. IV.
during a reign of 21 years, died, and by his will left his kingdom to the Romans; and thus the Egyptian empire was considerably reduced and circumscribed.
Lathyrus being now delivered from all competitors, turned his arms against the city of Thebes, which had revolted from him. The king marched in person against the rebels; and, having defeated them in a pitched battle, laid close siege to their city. The inhabitants defended themselves with great resolution for three years. At last, however, they were obliged to submit, and the city was given up to be plundered by the soldiery. They left every where the most melancholy monuments of their avarice and cruelty; so that Thebes, which till that time had been one of the most wealthy cities of Egypt, was now reduced so low that it never afterwards made any figure.
About 76 years before Christ, Ptolemy Lathyrus was succeeded by Alexander II. He was the son of the Ptolemy Alexander for whom Lathyrus had been driven out; and had met with many adventures. He was first sent by Cleopatra into the island of Cos, with a great sum of money, and all her jewels; as thinking that was the safest place where they could be kept. When Mithridates king of Pontus made himself master of that island, the inhabitants delivered up to him the young Egyptian prince, together with all the treasures. Mithridates gave him an education suitable to his birth; but he, not thinking himself safe with a prince who had shed the blood of his own children, fled to the camp of Sylla the Roman dictator, who was then making war in Asia. From that time he lived in the family of the Roman general, till news was brought to Rome of the death of Lathyrus. Sylla then sent him to Egypt to take possession of the throne. But, before his arrival, the Alexandrians had chosen Cleopatra for their sovereign. To compromise matters, however, it was agreed, that Ptolemy should marry her, and take her for his partner in the throne. This was accordingly done; and 19 days after the marriage, the unhappy queen was murdered by her husband, who for 15 years afterwards shewed himself such a monster of wickedness, that a general insurrection at last ensued among his subjects, and he was obliged to fly to Pompey the Great, who was then carrying on the war against Mithridates king of Pontus. But Pompey refusing to concern himself in the matter, he retired to the city of Tyre, where he died some months after.
When he was forced to shut himself up in the city of Tyre, Alexander had sent ambassadors to Rome, in order to influence the senate in his favour. But, dying before the negotiation was finished, he made over by his last will all his rights to the Roman people, declaring them heirs to his kingdom; not out of any affection to the republic; but with a view to raise disputes between the Romans and his rival Auletes, whom the Egyptians had placed on the throne. The will was brought to Rome, where it occasioned warm debates. Some were for taking immediate possession of the kingdom. Others thought that no notice should be taken of such a will, because Alexander had no right to dispose of his dominions in prejudice of his successor, and to exclude from the crown those who were of the royal blood of Egypt. Cicero represented, that such a notorious imposition would debase the majesty of the Roman people, and involve them in endless wars and
and disputes; that the fruitful fields of Egypt would be a strong temptation to the avarice of the people, who would insist on their being divided among them; and lastly, that by this means the bloody quarrels about the Agrarian laws would be revived. These reasons had some weight with the senate; but what chiefly prevented them from seizing on Egypt at this time was, that they had lately taken possession of the kingdom of Bithynia in virtue of the will of Nicomedes, and of Cyrene and Libya by the will of Apion. They thought therefore, that if they should, on the like pretence, take possession of the kingdom of Egypt, this might too much expose their design of setting up a kind of universal monarchy, and occasion a formidable combination against them.
Auletes, who was now raised to the throne by the Egyptians, is said to have surpassed all the kings that went before him in the effeminacy of his manners. The name Auletes, which signifies the flute-player, was given him because he piqued himself on his skill in performing upon that instrument, and was not ashamed even to contend for the prize in the public games. He took great pleasure in imitating the manners of the Bacchanals; dancing in a female dress, and in the same measures that they used during the solemnity of their god Bacchus; and hence he had the surname of the New Dionysius or Bacchus. As his title to the crown was disputable, (he being only the son of a concubine), the first care of Auletes was to get himself acknowledged by the Romans, and declared their ally. This was obtained by applying to Julius Cæsar, who was at that time consul, and immensely in debt. Cæsar being glad of such an opportunity of raising money, made the king of Egypt pay pretty dear for his alliance. Six thousand talents, a sum equal to 1,162,500 pounds Sterling, were paid partly to Cæsar himself, and partly to Pompey, whose interest was necessary for obtaining the consent of the people. Though the revenues of Egypt amounted to twice this sum, yet Auletes found it impossible for him to raise it without severely taxing his subjects. This occasioned a general discontent; and while the people were almost ready to take up arms, a most unjust decree passed at Rome for seizing the island of Cyprus. When the Alexandrians heard of the intentions of the republic, they pressed Auletes to demand that island as an ancient appendage of Egypt; and, in case of a refusal, to declare war against that haughty and imperious people, who, they now saw, though too late, aimed at nothing less than the sovereignty of the world. With this request the king refused to comply; upon which his subjects, already provoked beyond measure at the taxes with which they were loaded, flew to arms, and surrounded the palace. The king had the good luck to escape their fury, and immediately leaving Alexandria, set sail for Rome.
In his way to that city, he landed on the island of Rhodes, where the famous Cato at that time was, being on his way to Cyprus, to put the unjust decree of the senate in execution. Auletes, desirous to confer with a man of his prudence, immediately sent to acquaint him with his arrival. He imagined, that, upon this notice, Cato would immediately come and wait upon him; but the proud Roman told the messenger, that if the king of Egypt had any thing to say to Ca-
to, he might, if he thought proper, come to his house. Accordingly the king went to pay him a visit; but was received with very little ceremony by Cato, who did not even vouchsafe to rise out of his seat when he came into his presence. When Auletes had laid his affairs before this haughty republican, he was blamed by him for leaving Egypt, the richest kingdom in the world, in order to expose himself, as he said, to the indignities he would meet with at Rome. There, Cato told him, that nothing was in request but wealth and grandeur. All the riches of Egypt, he said, would not be sufficient to satisfy the avarice of the leading men in Rome. He therefore advised him to return to Egypt; and strive, by a more equitable conduct, to regain the affections of his people. He even offered to reconduct him thither, and employ his good offices in his behalf. But though Ptolemy was sensible of the propriety of this advice, the friends he had with him dissuaded him from following it, and accordingly he set out for Rome.
On his arrival in this metropolis, the king found, to his great concern, that Cæsar, in whom he placed his greatest confidence, was then in Gaul. He was received, however, by Pompey with great kindness. He assigned him an apartment in his own house, and omitted nothing that lay in his power to serve him. But, notwithstanding the protection of so powerful a man, Auletes was forced to go from house to house like a private person, soliciting the votes of the senators. After he had spent immense treasures in procuring a strong party in the city, he was at last permitted to lay his complaints before the senate; and at the same time there arrived an embassy from the Alexandrians, consisting of 100 citizens, to acquaint the senate with the reasons of their revolt.
When Auletes first set out for Rome, the Alexandrians, not knowing what was become of him, placed on the throne his daughter Berenice; and sent an embassy into Syria to Antiochus Asiaticus, inviting him into Egypt to marry the queen, and reign in partnership with her. Antiochus was dead before the arrival of the ambassadors; upon which the same proposal was made to his brother Seleucus, who readily accepted it. This Seleucus is described by Strabo as monstrously deformed in body, and still more so in mind. The Egyptians nicknamed him Cybisfaster, or the Scullion; a name which seemed more fit for him than any other. He was scarce settled on the throne, when he gave a signal instance of his sordid and avaricious temper. Ptolemy the first had caused the body of Alexander the Great to be deposited in a coffin of massy gold. This the king seized upon; and by that means provoked his wife Berenice to such a degree, that she caused him to be murdered. She then married one Archelaus, high priest of Comana in Pontus, who pretended to be the son of Mithridates the Great; but was, in fact, only the son of that monarch's general.
Auletes was not a little alarmed on hearing of these transactions, especially when the ambassadors arrived, who he feared would overturn all the schemes he had laboured so much to bring about. The embassy was headed by one Dion, a celebrated academic philosopher, who had many powerful friends at Rome. But Ptolemy found means to get both him and most of his followers assassinated; and this intimidated the rest to such a de-
Egypt. gree, that they durst not execute their commission, or, for some time, even demand justice for the murder of their colleagues.
The report of so many murders, however, at last spread a general alarm. Auletes, sure of the protection of Pompey, did not scruple to own himself the perpetrator of them. Nay, though an action was commenced against one Ascitius an assassin who had stabbed Dio the chief of the embassy abovementioned, and the crime was fully proved; yet he was acquitted by the venal judges, who had all been bribed by Ptolemy. In a short time, the senate passed a decree, by which it was enacted, that the king of Egypt should be restored by force of arms. All the great men in Rome were ambitious of this commission; which, they well knew, would be attended with immense profit. Their contests on this occasion took up a considerable time; and at last a prophecy of the Sybil was found out, which forbade the assisting an Egyptian monarch with an army. Ptolemy therefore, wearied out with so long a delay, retired from Rome, where he had made himself generally odious, to the temple of Diana at Ephesus, there to wait the decision of his fate. Here he remained a considerable time: but as he saw that the senate came to no resolution, tho' he had solicited them by letters so to do; at last, by Pompey's advice, he applied to Gabinus the proconsul of Syria. This Gabinus was a man of a most infamous character, and ready to undertake any thing for money. Therefore, tho' it was contrary to an express law for any governor to go out of his province without positive orders from the senate and people of Rome, yet Gabinus ventured to transgress this law, upon condition of being well paid for his pains. As a recompense for his trouble, however, he demanded 10,000 talents; that is, 1,937,500 pounds Sterling. Ptolemy, glad to be restored on any terms, agreed to pay the abovementioned sum; but Gabinus would not stir till he had received one half of it. This obliged the king to borrow it from a Roman knight named Caius Rabirius Posthumius; Pompey interposing his credit and authority for the payment of the capital and interest.
Gabinus now set out for Egypt, attended by the famous Mark Anthony, who at this time served in the army under him. He was met by Archelaus, who since the departure of Auletes had reigned in Egypt jointly with Berenice, at the head of a numerous army. The Egyptians were utterly defeated, and Archelaus taken prisoner in the first engagement. Thus Gabinus might have put an end to the war at once: but his avarice prompted him to dismiss Archelaus on his paying a considerable ransom; after which, pretending that he had made his escape, fresh sums were demanded from Ptolemy for defraying the expences of the war. For these sums Ptolemy was again obliged to apply to Rabirius, who lent him what money he wanted at a very high interest. At last, however, Archelaus was defeated and killed, and thus Ptolemy again became master of all Egypt.
No sooner was Auletes firmly settled on the throne, than he put to death his daughter Berenice, and oppressed his people with the most cruel exactions, in order to procure the money he had been obliged to borrow while in a state of exile. These oppressions and exactions the cowardly Egyptians bore with great pa-
tience, being intimidated by the garrison which Gabinus had left in Alexandria. But neither the fear of the Romans, nor the authority of Ptolemy, could make them put up an affront offered to their religion. A Roman soldier happened to kill a cat, which was an animal held sacred and even worshipped by the Egyptians; and no sooner was this supposed sacrilege known, than the Alexandrians made a general insurrection, and, gathering together in crowds, made their way through the Roman guards, dragged the soldier out of his house, and, in spite of all opposition, tore him in pieces.
Notwithstanding the heavy taxes, however, which Ptolemy laid on his people, it doth not appear that he had any design of paying his debts. Rabirius, who, as we have already observed, had lent him immense sums, finding that the king affected delays, took a voyage to Egypt, in order to expostulate with him in person. Ptolemy paid very little regard to his expostulations; but excused himself on account of the bad state of his finances. For this reason he offered to make Rabirius collector-general of his revenues, that he might in that employment pay himself. The unfortunate creditor accepted the employment for fear of losing his debt. But Ptolemy, soon after, upon some frivolous pretence or other, caused him and all his servants to be closely confined. This base conduct exasperated Pompey as much as Rabirius; for the former had been in a manner security for the debt, as the money had been lent at his request, and the business transacted at a country-house of his near Alba. However, as Rabirius had reason to fear the worst, he took the first opportunity of making his escape, glad to get off with life from his cruel and faithless debtor. To complete his misfortunes, he was prosecuted at Rome as soon as he returned, 1. For having enabled Ptolemy to corrupt the senate with sums lent him for that purpose. 2. For having debased and dishonoured the character of a Roman knight, by farming the revenues, and becoming the servant of a foreign prince. 3. For having been an accomplice with Gabinus, and sharing with him the 10,000 talents which that proconsul had received for his Egyptian expedition. By the eloquence of Cicero he was acquitted, and one of the best orations to be found in the writings of that author was composed on this occasion. Gabinus was also prosecuted; and, as Cicero spoke against him, he very narrowly escaped death. He was, however, condemned to perpetual banishment, after having been stripped of all he was worth. He lived in exile till the time of the civil wars, when he was recalled by Cæsar, in whose service he lost his life.
Auletes enjoyed the throne of Egypt about four years after his re-establishment; and at his death left his children, a son and two daughters, under the tuition of the Roman people. The name of the son was Ptolemy, those of the daughters were Cleopatra and Arinos. This was the Cleopatra who afterwards became so famous, and had so great a share in the civil wars of Rome. As the transactions of the present reign, however, are so closely connected with the affairs of Rome, that they cannot be well understood without knowing the situation of the Romans at that time, we refer for an account of them to the History of Rome.
Egypt. With Cleopatra ended the family of Ptolemy Lagus, the founder of the Grecian empire in Egypt, after it had held that country in subjection for the space of 294 years. From this time Egypt became a province of the Roman empire, and continued subject to the emperors of Rome or Constantinople. In the year 642, it was conquered by the Arabs under Amru Ebn Al As, one of the generals of the Khalif Omar. In the year 889, an independent government was set up in this kingdom by Ahmed Ebn Tolun, who rebelled against Al Mokhadi khalif of Bagdad. It continued to be governed by him and his successors for 27 years, when it was again reduced by Al Moctaf khalif of Bagdad. In about 30 years after, we find it again an independent state, being joined with Syria under Mahomet Ebn Taj, who had been appointed governor of these provinces. This government, however, was also but short-lived; for in the year 968 it was conquered by Jawhar, one of the generals of Moez Ledinillah, the Fatemite khalif of Cairwan in Barbary *.
No sooner was Moez informed of the success of his general, than he prepared with all expedition to go and take possession of his new conquest. Accordingly he ordered all the vast quantities of gold which he and his predecessors had amassed, to be cast into ingots of the size and figure of the millstones used in hand-mills, and conveyed on camels backs into Egypt. To shew that he was fully determined to abandon his dominions in Barbary, and to make Egypt the residence of himself and his successors, he caused the remains of the three former princes of his race to be removed from Cairwan in Barbary, and to be deposited in a stately mosque erected for that purpose in the city of Cairo in Egypt. This was a most effectual method to induce his successors to reside in Egypt also, as it was become an established custom and duty among those princes frequently to pay their respectful visits to the tombs of their ancestors.
To establish himself the more effectually in his new dominions, Moez suppressed the usual prayers made in the mosques for the khalifs of Bagdad, and substituted his own name in their stead. This was complied with, not only in Egypt and Syria, but even throughout all Arabia, the city of Mecca alone excepted. The consequence was, a schism in the Mahomedan faith, which continued upwards of 200 years, and was attended with continual anathemas, and sometimes destructive wars between the khalifs of Bagdad and of Egypt. Having fully established himself in his kingdom, he died in the 45th year of his age, three years after he had left his dominions in Barbary; and was succeeded by his son Abu Al Mansur Barar, furnished Aziz Billah.
The new khalif succeeded to the throne at the age of 21; and committed the management of affairs entirely to the care of Jawhar, his father's long experienced general and prime minister. In 978, he sent this famous warrior to drive out Al Aftekin, the emir of Damascus. The Egyptian general accordingly formed the siege of that place; but at the end of two months, was obliged to raise it, on the approach of an army of Karmatians under the command of Al Hakem. As Jawhar was not strong enough to venture an engagement with these Karmatians, it was impossible for him to hinder them from effecting a junction with the
forces of Al Aftekin. He therefore retreated, or rather fled, towards Egypt with the utmost expedition; but being overtaken by the two confederate armies, he was soon reduced to the last extremity. He was, however, permitted to resume his march, on condition that he passed under Al Aftekin's sword and Al Hakem's lance; and to this disgraceful condition Jawhar found himself obliged to submit. On his arrival in Egypt, he immediately advised Al Aziz to undertake an expedition in person into the east, against the combined army of Turks, Karmatians, and Damascenes, under the command of Al Aftekin and Al Hakem. The khalif followed his advice; and advancing against his enemies, overthrew them with great slaughter. Al Aftekin himself escaped out of the battle; but was afterwards taken and brought to Al Aziz, who made him his chamberlain, and treated him with great kindness. Jawhar, in the mean time, was disgraced on account of his bad success; and in this disgrace he continued till his death, which happened in the year of our Lord 990, and of the Hegira 381.
This year Al Aziz having received advice of the death of Saado'dawla prince of Aleppo, sent a formidable army under the command of a general named Manjubekin, to reduce that place. Lulu, who had been appointed guardian to Saado'dawla's son, finding himself pressed by the Egyptians, who carried on the siege with great vigour, demanded assistance from the Greek emperor. Accordingly, he ordered a body of troops to advance to Lulu's relief. Manjubekin, being informed of their approach, immediately raised the siege, and advanced to give them battle. An obstinate engagement ensued, in which the Greeks were at last overthrown with great slaughter. After this victory, Manjubekin pushed on the siege of Aleppo very briskly; but finding the place capable of defending itself much longer than he at first imagined, and his provisions beginning to fail, he raised the siege. The khalif upon this sent him a very threatening letter, and commanded him to return before Aleppo. He did so; and continued the siege for 13 months, during all which time it was defended by Lulu with incredible bravery. At last, the Egyptians hearing that a numerous army of Greeks was on their way to relieve the city, they raised the siege, and fled with the utmost precipitation. The Greeks then took and plundered some of the cities which Al Aziz possessed in Syria; and Manjubekin made the best of his way to Damascus, where he set up for himself. Al Aziz being informed of this revolt, marched in person against him with a considerable army; but being taken ill by the way, he expired, in the 21st year of his reign, and 42d of his age.
Al Aziz was succeeded by his son Abu Al Mansur, furnished Al Hakem; who, being only 11 years of age, was put under the tuition of an eunuch of approved integrity.
This reign is remarkable for nothing so much as the strange madness with which the khalif was seized in the latter part of it. This manifested itself first by his issuing many preposterous edicts; but at length grew to such a height, that he fancied himself a god, and found no fewer than 16,000 persons who owned him as such. These were mostly the Dararians, a new sect sprung up about this time, who were so called from their chief, Mo-
Egypt. Mohammed Ebn Ithmael, surnamed Darari. He is supposed to have inspired the mad khalif with this impious notion; and, as Darari set up for a second Moses, he did not scruple to assert that Al Hakem was the great Creator of the universe. For this reason, a zealous Turk stabbed him in the khalif's chariot. His death was followed by a three days uproar in the city of Cairo; during which, Darari's house was pulled down, and many of his followers massacred. The sect, however, did not expire with its author. He left behind him a disciple named Hamza, who, being encouraged by the mad khalif, spread it far and wide through his dominions. This was quickly followed by an abrogation of all the Mahometan fasts, festivals, and pilgrimages, the grand one to Mecca in particular; so that the zealous Mahometans were now greatly alarmed, as justly supposing that Al Hakem designed entirely to suppress the worship of the true God, and introduce his own in its place. From this apprehension, however, they were delivered by the death of the khalif; who was assassinated, by a contrivance of his own sister, in the year 1020.
Al Hakem was succeeded by his son Al Thaher, who reigned 15 years; and left the throne to a son under seven years of age, named Al Mostanser Billah. — In the year 1041, a revolt happened in Syria; but Al Mostanser having sent a powerful army into that country, under the command of one Anushitekin, he not only reduced the rebels, but considerably enlarged the Egyptian dominions in Syria.
71 Al Mostanser attempts the conquest of Bagdad.
In 1054, a Turk named Al Bassafiri, having quarrelled with the vizir of Al Kayem khalif of Bagdad, fled to Egypt, and put himself under the protection of Al Mostanser. The latter, imagining this would be a favourable opportunity for enlarging his dominions, and perhaps seizing on the city of Bagdad, supplied Bassafiri with money and troops. By this assistance, he was enabled to possess himself of Arabian Irak, and ravaged that province to the very gates of Bagdad. On this, Al Kayem wrote to Togrol Beg, or Tangrolipix, the Turkish sultan, who possessed very extensive dominions in the east, to come to his assistance. The sultan immediately complied with his request, and soon arrived at Bagdad with a formidable army and 18 elephants. Of this Bassafiri gave notice to Al Mostanser, and intreated him to exert himself further for his support against so powerful an enemy. This was accordingly done, but nothing worthy of notice happened till the year 1058. At this time Bassafiri having found means to excite Ibrahim the Sultan's brother to a revolt, Togrol Beg was obliged to employ all his force against him. This gave Bassafiri an opportunity of seizing on the city of Bagdad itself; and the unfortunate khalif, according to some, was taken prisoner, or, according to others, fled out of the city. Bassafiri, on his entry, caused Al Mostanser to be immediately proclaimed khalif in all quarters of the city. Al Kayem's vizir he caused to be led on a camel through the streets of Bagdad, dressed in a woollen gown, with a high red bonnet, and a leathern collar about his neck; a man lashing him all the way behind. Then being sewed up in a bull's hide, with the horns placed over his head, and hung upon hooks, he was beaten without ceasing till he died. The imperial palace was plundered, and the khalif himself detained a close prisoner.
This success was but short-lived; for, in 1059, Togrol Beg defeated his brother Ibrahim, took him prisoner, and strangled him with a bow-string. He then marched to Bagdad, which Bassafiri thought proper to abandon at his approach. Here the khalif Al Kayem was delivered up by Mahras, the governor of a city called Haditha, who had the charge of him. The khalif was immediately restored to his dignity; which Bassafiri no sooner understood, than he again advanced towards the city. Against him Togrol Beg sent a part of his army under some of his generals, while he himself followed with the rest. A battle ensued, in which the army of Bassafiri was defeated, and he himself killed. His head was brought to Togrol Beg, who caused it to be carried on a pike through the streets of Bagdad.
Thus the hopes of Al Mostanser were entirely frustrated; and from this period we may date the declension of the Egyptian empire under the khalifs. They had made themselves masters of almost all Syria; but no sooner was Bassafiri's bad success known, than the younger part of the citizens of Aleppo revolted, and set up Mahmud Azzo'dawla, who immediately laid siege to the citadel. Al Mostanser sent a powerful army against him, which Azzo'dawla entirely defeated, and took the general himself prisoner; and soon after this, he made himself master both of the city and citadel, with all their dependencies. In his new dominions he behaved with the greatest cruelty, destroying every thing with fire and sword, and making frequent incursions into the neighbouring provinces, which he treated in the same manner.
This disaster was soon followed by others still more terrible. In 1066, a famine raged over all Egypt and Syria, with such fury, that dogs and cats were sold for four or five Egyptian dinars each, and other provisions in proportion. Multitudes of people died in Cairo for want of food. Nay, so great was the scarcity, that the vizir had but one servant left who was able to attend him to the khalif's palace, and to whom he gave the care of his horse when he alighted at the gate. But, at his return, he was surprised to find that the horse had been carried off, killed, and eaten, by the famished people. Of this he complained to the khalif; who caused three of them, who had carried off the horse, to be hanged. Next day, however, he was still more surprised to hear, that all the flesh had been picked off the bones of the three unhappy criminals, so that nothing but the skeletons were left. And to such a degree of misery were the inhabitants, not only in Cairo, but through all Egypt, reduced, that the carcasses of those who died were sold for food at a great price, instead of being buried. All this time the khalif showed the greatest kindness and beneficence towards his unhappy subjects, inasmuch, that of 10,000 horses, mules, and camels, which he had in his stables when the famine began, he had only three left when it was removed.
The famine was followed by a plague; and this by an invasion of the Turks under Abu Ali Al Hasan the Turks. Naserod'dawla, the very general who had been sent against the rebel Azzo'dawla and defeated by him. He began with besieging the khalif in his own palace; and the unhappy prince, being in no condition to make resistance, was obliged to buy himself off at the expense of every thing valuable that was left in his exhausted
Egypt. hauſted capital and treaſury. This, however, did not hinder theſe merciless plunderers from ravaging all the lower Egypt from Cairo to Alexandria, and committing the moſt horrid cruelties through that whole tract. — This happened in the years 1067 and 1068; and in 1069 and 1070, there happened two other revolts in Syria: ſo that this country was now almoſt entirely loſt.
In 1095 died the khalif Al Moſtanſer, having reigned 60 years; and was ſucceeded by his ſon Abul Raſem, ſurnamed Al Moſtali. — The moſt remarkable tranſaction of this prince's reign, was his taking the city of Jeruſalem from the Turks in 1098: but this ſucceſs was only of ſhort duration; for it was, the ſame year, taken by the cruſaders.
From this time to the year 1164, the Egyptian hiſtory affords little elſe than an account of the intestine broils and conteſts between the vizirs or prime miniſters, who were now become ſo powerful, that they had in a great meaſure ſtripped the khalifs of their civil power, and left them nothing but a ſhadow of ſpiritual dignity. Theſe conteſts at laſt gave occaſion to a revolution, by which the race of Fatemite khalifs was totally extinguished. This revolution was accomplished in the following manner. — One Shawer, having overcome all his competitors, became vizir to Al Aded, the eleventh khalif of Egypt. He had not been long in poſſeſſion of this office, when Al Dargam, an officer of rank, endeavoured to deprive him of it. Both parties quickly had recourſe to arms; and a battle enſued, in which Shawer was defeated, and obliged to fly to Nuroddin prince of Syria, by whom he was graciouſly received, and who promiſed to reinſtate him in his office of vizir. As an inducement to Nuroddin to aſſiſt him more powerfully, Shawer told him that the cruſaders had landed in Egypt, and made a conſiderable progreſs in the conqueſt of it. He promiſed alſo, that, in caſe he was reinſtated in his office, he would pay Nuroddin annually the third part of the revenues of Egypt; and would, beſides, defray the whole expence of the expedition.
As Nuroddin bore an implacable hatred to the Chriſtians, he readily undertook an expedition againſt them, for which he was to be ſo well paid. He therefore ſent an army into Egypt under the command of Shawer and a general named Afadoddin. Dargam, in the mean time, had cut off ſo many generals whom he imagined favourable to Shawer's intereſt, that he thereby weakened the military force of the kingdom, and in a great meaſure deprived himſelf of the power of reſiſtance. He was therefore eaſily overthrown by Afadoddin, and Shawer reinſtated in the office of vizir. The faithleſs miniſter, however, no ſooner ſaw himſelf firmly eſtabliſhed in his office, than he reſuſed to fulfil his engagements to Nuroddin by paying the ſtipulated ſums. Upon this, Afadoddin ſeized Peluſium and ſome other cities. Shawer then entered into an alliance with the Cruſaders, and Afadoddin was beſieged by their combined forces in Peluſium. Nuroddin, however, having invaded the Chriſtian dominions in Syria, and taken a ſtrong fortreſs called Harem, Shawer and his confederates thought proper to hearken to ſome terms of accommodation, and Afadoddin was permitted to depart for Syria.
In the mean time, Nuroddin, having ſubdued the greateſt part of Syria and Meſopotamia, reſolved to
make Shawer feel the weight of his reſentment, on account of his perfidious conduct. He therefore ſent back Afadoddin into Egypt with a ſufficient force, to compel Shawer to fulfil his engagements: but this the vizir took care to do before the arrival of Afadoddin; and thus, for the preſent, avoided the danger. It was not long, however, before he gave Nuroddin freſh occaſion to ſend this general againſt him. That prince had now driven the cruſaders almoſt entirely out of Syria, but was greatly alarmed at their progreſs in Egypt; and conſequently offended at the alliance which Shawer had concluded with them, and which he ſtill perſiſted in obſerving. This treaty was alſo thought to be contrived on purpoſe to prevent Shawer from being able to fulfil his promiſe to Nuroddin, of ſending him annually a third of the revenues of Egypt. Nuroddin therefore again diſpatched Afadoddin into Egypt, in the year 1166, with a ſufficient force, and attended by the famous Salabaddin, or Saladin, his own nephew. They entered the kingdom without oppoſition, and totally defeated Shawer and the cruſaders. They next made themſelves maſters of Alexandria; and, after that, overran all the Upper Egypt. Saladin was left with a conſiderable garrifon in Alexandria; but Afadoddin was no ſooner gone, than the cruſaders laid ſiege to that city. This at laſt obliged Afadoddin to return to its relief. The great loſſes he had ſuſtained in this expedition probably occaſioned his agreeing to a treaty with Shawer, by which he engaged to retire out of Egypt, upon being paid a ſum of money.
Afadoddin was no ſooner gone, than Shawer entered into a freſh treaty with the Franks. By this new alliance he was to attack Nuroddin in his own dominions, as he was at that time engaged in quelling ſome revolters, which would effectually prevent his ſending any more forces into Egypt. This treaty ſo provoked the Syrian prince, that he reſolved to ſuſpend his other conqueſts for ſome time, and exert his whole ſtrength in the conqueſt of Egypt.
By this time the cruſaders had reduced Peluſium, and made a conſiderable progreſs in the kingdom, as well as in ſome other countries, through the diviſions which reigned among the Mahometan princes. In ſuch places as they conquered, they put almoſt every body to the ſword, Chriſtians as well as Mahometans; ſelling their prifoners for ſlaves, and giving up the towns to be plundered by the ſoldiers. From Peluſium they marched to Cairo; which was then in no poſture of defence, and in the utmoſt conſuſion, by reaſon of the diviſions which reigned in it. Shawer, therefore, as ſoon as he heard of their approach, cauſed the ancient quarter called Mefr to be ſet on fire, and the inhabitants to retire into the other parts. He alſo prevailed upon the khalif to ſolicit the aſſiſtance of Nuroddin; which the latter was indeed pretty much inclined of himſelf to grant, as it gave him the faireſt opportunity he could have wiſhed for, both of driving the cruſaders out of Egypt, and of ſeizing the kingdom to himſelf. For this purpoſe he had already raſed an army of 60,000 horſe under his general Afadoddin; and, on the receipt of Al Aded's meſſage, gave them orders to ſet out immediately. The cruſaders were now arrived at Cairo; and had ſo cloſely beſieged that place, that neither Shawer nor the khalif knew any thing of the approach of the Moſlem army which was haſtening to their relief. The vizir
Egypt. vizir therefore, finding it impossible to hold out long against the enemy, had recourse to his old subterfuge of treaties and high promises. He sent the enemy 100,000 dinars, and promised them 500,000 more, if they would raise the siege; which they, dreading the approach of Asadoddin, very readily accepted.
81 They are repulsed by the army of Nuroddin prince of Damascus.
82 Saladin becomes vizir of Egypt.
The army of Nuroddin now approached the capital by hasty marches, and were every where received with the greatest demonstrations of joy. Asadoddin, on his arrival at Cairo, was invited by Al Aded to the royal palace, where he was entertained in the most magnificent manner, and received several presents; nor were Saladin and the other principal officers less magnificently treated. Shawer also, conscious of his perfidious conduct, was no less assiduous in attending punctually upon him. But having invited the general and some others to an entertainment, he had formed a scheme of having them seized and murdered. The plot, however, being discovered, Shawer himself had his head cut off, and Asadoddin was made vizir in his stead. He did not, however, long enjoy his new dignity; for he died two months and five days after his installation, being succeeded in his office of vizir by his nephew Saladin.
The new vizir was the youngest of all the grandees who aspired to that office, but had already given some signal proofs of his valour and conduct. What determined the khalif to prefer him to all the rest is not known; but it is certain that some of them were highly displeased with his promotion, and even publicly declared that they would not obey him. In order to gain these to his interest, therefore, Saladin found it necessary to distribute among them part of the vast treasures left by his uncle; by which means he soon governed Egypt without controul, as had been customary with the vizirs for some time before. Soon after his being installed into the office of vizir, he gave a total defeat to the negroes who guarded the royal palace, and had opposed his election; by which means, and a strong garrison he had placed in the castle of Cairo, his power became firmly established. Though he had not the least intention of continuing in his allegiance to Nuroddin, he did not think it prudent at first to declare himself. He sent for his father, however, and the rest of his family, who were in Nuroddin's dominions, in order, as he said, to make them partakers of his grandeur and happiness. Nuroddin did not think proper to deny this request; though, being already jealous of the great power of Saladin, he insisted that his family should consider him only as one of his generals in Egypt.
83 Seizes the effects of the khalif.
A good understanding subsisted between Nuroddin and Saladin for some time, which did not a little contribute to raise the credit of the latter with the Egyptians. In 1169, Nuroddin sent him orders to omit the name of Al Aded, the khalif of Egypt, in the public prayers, and substitute that of the khalif of Bagdad in its place. This was at any rate a dangerous attempt; as it might very readily produce a revolt in favour of Al Aded; or if it did not, it gave Saladin an opportunity of engrossing even that small remnant of power which was left to the khalif. Al Aded, however, was not sensible of his disgrace; for he was on his death-bed, and past recovery, when Nuroddin's orders were executed. After his death, Saladin seized on all his wealth and valuable effects; which consisted of
jewels of prodigious size, sumptuous furniture, a library containing 100,000 volumes, &c. His family he caused to be closely confined in the most private and retired part of the palace; and either manumitted his slaves, or kept them for himself, or disposed of them to others.
Saladin was now arrived at the highest pitch of wealth, power, and grandeur. He was, however, obliged to behave with great circumspection with regard to Nuroddin; who still continued to treat him as his vassal, and would not suffer him to dispute the least of his commands. He relied for advice chiefly on his father Ayub; who was a consummate politician, and very ambitious of seeing his son raised to the throne of Egypt. He therefore advised Saladin to continue steadfast in his resolutions; and, whilst he amused Nuroddin with feigned submissions, to take every method in his power to secure himself in the possession of so valuable a kingdom. Nuroddin himself, however, was too great a master in the art of dissimulation to be easily imposed on by others; and therefore, though he pretended to be well pleased with Saladin's conduct, he was all this time raising a powerful army, with which he was fully determined to invade Egypt the following year. But while he meditated this expedition, he was seized with a quinsy at the castle of Damascus, which put an end to his life, in the year 1173.
Saladin, though now freed from the apprehensions of such a formidable enemy, dared not venture to assume the title of Sovereign, while he saw the successor of Nuroddin at the head of a very powerful army, and no less desirous than able to dispossess him. For this reason his first care was to secure to himself an asylum, in case he should be obliged to leave Egypt altogether. For this purpose he chose the kingdom of Nubia; but having dispatched his brother Malek Turanfish thither, at the head of a considerable army, the latter was so much struck with the sterility and desolate appearance of the country, that he returned without attempting anything. Saladin then sent his brother into Arabia Felix, in order to subdue that country, which had been for some time held by Abdalnabi an Arabian prince. Malek entered the country without opposition; and having brought Abdalnabi to a general action, entirely defeated him, took him prisoner, and threw him into irons. He then over-ran and reduced under subjection to Saladin great part of the country, taking no fewer than 80 castles or fortresses of considerable strength.
84 Aspires to the crown.
85 Subdues Arabia Felix.
86 Assumes the title of sultan.
After this good fortune, Saladin, now sure of a convenient place of refuge in case of any misfortune, assumed the title of Sultan or sovereign of Egypt; and was acknowledged as such by the greater part of the states. The zeal of the Egyptians for the Fatemite khalifs, however, soon produced a rebellion. One Al Kanz, or Kanzanaddowla, governor of a city in Upper Egypt, assembled a great army of blacks, or rather swarthy natives; and marching directly into the lower country, was there joined by great numbers of other Egyptians. Against them Saladin dispatched his brother Malek, who soon defeated and entirely dispersed them. This, however, did not prevent another insurrection under an impostor, who pretended to be David the son of Al Aded the last Fatemite khalif, and had collected a body of 100,000 men. But before
Egypt. fore these had time to do any great damage, they were surprised by the sultan's forces, and entirely defeated. Above 3000 were publicly hanged, and a vast number perished in the field, inasmuch that it was thought scarce a fourth part of the whole body escaped.
About this time Saladin gained a considerable advantage over the crusaders, commanded by William II. king of Sicily. That prince had invaded Egypt with a numerous fleet and army, with which he laid close siege to Alexandria both by sea and land. Saladin, however, marched to the relief of the city with such surprising expedition, that the crusaders were seized with a sudden panic, and fled with the utmost precipitation, leaving all their military engines, stores, and baggage behind.
In the year 1175, the inhabitants of Damascus begged of Saladin to accept the sovereignty of that city and its dependencies; being jealous of the minister, who had the tuition of the reigning prince, and who governed all with an absolute sway. The application was no sooner made, than the sultan set out with the utmost celerity to Damascus, at the head of a chosen detachment of 700 horse. Having settled his affairs in that city, he appointed his brother Saif Al Ilam governor of it; and set out for Hems, to which he immediately laid siege. Having made himself master of this place, he then proceeded to Hamah. The city very soon surrendered, but the citadel held out for some time. Saladin pretended that he accepted the sovereignty of Damascus and the other places he had conquered, only as deputy to Al Malec Al Saleh, the successor of Nuruddin, and who was then under age; and that he was desirous of sending Azzoddin, who commanded in the citadel, with a letter to Aleppo, where the young prince resided. This so pleased Azzoddin, that he took the oath of fidelity to Saladin, and immediately set out with the sultan's letter. He had not, however, been long at Aleppo before he was by the minister's orders thrown into prison; upon which, his brother, who had been appointed governor of the citadel Hamah in his absence, delivered it up to Saladin without further ceremony. The sultan then marched to Aleppo, with a design to reduce it; but, being vigorously repulsed in several attacks, he was at last obliged to abandon the enterprise. At the same time, Kamfehlegin, Al Malec's minister or vizir, hired the chief of the Bata-nits, or Assassins*, to murder him. Several attempts were made in consequence of this application; but all of them, happily for Saladin, miscarried.
After raising the siege of Aleppo, Saladin returned to Hems, which place the crusaders had invested. On his approach, however, they thought proper to retire; after which, the sultan made himself master of the strong castle belonging to that place, which, before, he had not been able to reduce. This was soon followed by the reduction of Baalbec; and these rapid conquests so alarmed the ministers of Al Malec, that, entering into a combination with some of the neighbouring princes, they raised a formidable army with which they designed to crush the sultan at once. Saladin, fearing the event of a war, offered to cede Hems and Hamah to Al Malec, and to govern Damascus only as his lieutenant: but these terms being rejected, a battle ensued; in which the allied army was utterly defeated, and the shattered remains of it shut up in the
city of Aleppo. This produced a treaty, by which Saladin was left master of all Syria, excepting only the city of Aleppo and the territory belonging to it.
In 1176 Saladin returned from the conquest of Syria, and made his triumphal entry into Cairo. Here, having rested himself and his troops for some time, he began to encompass the city with a wall 29,000 cubits in length, but which he did not live to finish. Next year he led a very numerous army into Palestine against the crusaders. But here his usual good fortune failed him. His army was entirely defeated. Forty thousand of his men were left dead on the field; and the rest fled with so much precipitation, that, having no towns in the neighbourhood where they could shelter themselves, they traversed the vast desert between Palestine and Egypt, and scarce stopped till they reached the capital itself. The greatest part of the army by this means perished; and as no water was to be had in the desert abovementioned, almost all the beasts died of thirst, before the fugitives arrived on the confines of Egypt. Saladin himself seemed to have been greatly intimidated; for in a letter to his brother Al Malec, he told him, that "he was more than once in the most imminent danger; and that God, as he apprehended, had delivered him from thence, in order to reserve him for the execution of some grand and important design."
In the year 1182, the sultan set out on an expedition to Syria with a formidable army, amidst the acclamations and good wishes of the people. He was, however, repulsed with loss both before Aleppo and Al Mawfel, after having spent much time and labour in besieging these two important places.
In the mean time, a most powerful fleet of European ships appeared on the Red Sea, which threatened the cities of Mecca and Medina with the utmost danger. The news of this armament no sooner reached Cairo, than Abu Beer, Saladin's brother, who had been left viceroy in the sultan's absence, caused another to be fitted out with all speed under the command of Lulu, a brave and experienced officer; who quickly came up with them, and a dreadful engagement ensued. The Christians were defeated after an obstinate resistance, a vast number of their men were killed in the engagement, and all the prisoners butchered in cold blood. This proved such a terrible blow to the Europeans, that they never more ventured on a like attempt.
In 1183, Saladin continued to extend his conquests. The city of Amida in Mesopotamia surrendered to him in eight days; after which, being provoked by some violences committed by the prince of Aleppo, he resolved at all events to make himself master of that place. He was now attended with better success than formerly; for as his army was very numerous, and he pushed on the siege with the utmost vigour, Amadoddin the prince capitulated, upon condition of being allowed to possess certain cities in Mesopotamia which had formerly belonged to him, and being ready to attend the sultan on whatever expedition he pleased. After the conquest of Aleppo, Saladin took three other cities, and then marched against his old enemies the Crusaders. Having sent out a party to reconnoitre the enemy, they fell in with a considerable detachment of Christians; whom they easily defeated, taking about 100 prisoners, with the loss of only a single man on their
Egypt. their side. The sultan, animated by this first instance of success, drew up his forces in order of battle, and advanced against the Crusaders, who had assembled their whole army at Sepphoris in Galilee. On viewing the sultan's troops, however, and perceiving them to be greatly superior in strength to what they had at first apprehended, they thought proper to decline an engagement, nor could Saladin with all his skill force them to it. But though it was found impossible to bring the Crusaders to a decisive engagement, Saladin found means to harass them greatly, and destroyed great numbers of their men. He carried off also many prisoners, dismantled three of their strongest cities, laid waste their territories, and concluded the campaign with taking another strong town.
For three years Saladin continued to gain ground on the Crusaders, yet without any decisive advantage; but in 1187, the fortune of war was remarkably unfavourable to them. The Christians now found themselves obliged to venture a battle, by reason of the cruel ravages committed in their territories by Saladin, and by reason of the encroachments he daily made on them. Both armies therefore being resolved to exert their utmost efforts, a most fierce and bloody battle ensued. Night prevented victory from declaring on either side, and the fight was renewed with equal obstinacy next day. The victory was still left undecided; but, the third day, the sultan's men finding themselves surrounded by the enemy on all sides but one, and there also hemmed in by the river Jordan, so that there was no room to fly, fought like men in despair, and at last gained a most complete victory. Vast numbers of the Christians perished on the field. A large body found means to retire in safety to the top of a neighbouring hill covered with wood; but being surrounded by Saladin's troops, who set fire to the wood, they were all obliged to surrender at discretion. Some of them were butchered by their enemies as soon as they delivered themselves into their hands, and others thrown into irons. Among the latter were the king of Jerusalem himself, Arnold prince of Al Shawbee and Al Carac, the masters of the Templers and Hospitalers, with almost the whole body of the latter. So great was the consternation of the Christians on this occasion, that one of Saladin's men is said to have taken 30 of them prisoners, and tied them together with the cord of his tent, to prevent them from making their escape. The masters of the Templers and Hospitalers, with the knights sitting under them, were no sooner brought into Saladin's presence, than he ordered them all to be cut in pieces. He called them Assassins, or Butanists; and had been wont to pay 50 dinars for the head of every Templar or Hospitaler that was brought him. After the engagement, Saladin seated himself in a magnificent tent, placing the king of Jerusalem on his right hand, and Arnold prince of Al Shawbee and Al Carac on his left. Then he drank to the former, who was at that time ready to expire with thirst, and at the same time offered him a cup of snow-water. This was thankfully received; and the king immediately drank to the prince of Al Carac, who sat near him. But here Saladin interrupted him with some warmth: "I will not, says he, suffer this cursed rogue to drink; as that, according to the laudable and generous custom of the Arabs, would secure to him his life." Then,
turning towards the prince, he reproached him with having undertaken the expedition while in alliance with himself, with having intercepted an Egyptian caravan in the time of profound peace, and massacring the people of which it was composed, &c. Notwithstanding all this, he told him, he would grant him his life, if he would embrace Mahometanism. This condition, however, was refused; and the sultan, with one stroke of his scimitar, cut off the prince's head. This greatly terrified the king of Jerusalem; but Saladin assured him he had nothing to fear, and that Arnold had brought on himself a violent death by his want of common honesty.
The Crusaders being thus totally defeated and dispersed, Saladin next laid siege to Tiberias, which capitulated in a short time. From thence he marched towards Acca or Ptolemais, which likewise surrendered after a short siege. Here he found 4000 Mahometan prisoners in chains, whom he immediately released. As the inhabitants enjoyed at present a very extensive trade, the place being full of merchants, he found there not only vast sums of money, but likewise a great variety of wares exceedingly valuable, all which he seized and applied to his own use. About the same time his brother Al Malec attacked and took a very strong fortress in the neighbourhood; after which the sultan divided his army into three bodies, that he might with the greater facility over-run the territories of the Christians. Thus, in a very short time, he made himself master of Neapolis, Cæsarea, Sepphoris, and other cities in the neighbourhood of Ptolemais, where his soldiers found only women and children, the men having been all killed or taken prisoners. His next conquest was Joppa, which was taken by storm after a vigorous resistance. Every thing being then settled, and a distribution made of the spoils and captives, Saladin marched in person against Tebrien, a strong fortress in the neighbourhood of Sidon; which was taken by assault, after it had sustained a siege of six days. No sooner was he master of this place, than he ordered the fortress to be razed, and the garrison put to the sword. From Tebrien the victorious sultan proceeded to Sidon itself; which, being deserted by its prince, surrendered almost on the first summons. Berytus was next invested, and surrendered in seven days. Among the prisoners Saladin found in this place the prince of a territory called Hobeil, who by way of ransom delivered up his dominions to him, and was of consequence released. About the same time, a Christian ship, in which was a nobleman of great courage and experience in war, arrived at the harbour of Ptolemais, not knowing that it was in the hands of Saladin. The governor might easily have secured the vessel; but neglecting the opportunity, she escaped to Tyre, where the abovementioned nobleman, together with the prince of Hobeil, contributed not a little to retrieve the affairs of the Christians, and enable them to make a stand for four years after.
Saladin in the mean time went on with his conquests. Having made himself master of Ascalon after a siege of 14 days, he next invested Jerusalem. The garrison was numerous, and made an obstinate defence; but Saladin having at last made a breach in the walls by sapping, the besieged desired to capitulate. This was at first refused, upon which the Christian ambas-
15 I
fador
Egypt. fador made the following speech. "If that be the case, know, O sultan, that we who are extremely numerous, and have been restrained from fighting like men in despair only by the hopes of an honourable capitulation, will kill all our wives and children, commit all our wealth and valuable effects to the flames, massacre 5000 prisoners now in our hands, leave not a single beast of burden or animal of any kind belonging to us alive, and level with the ground the rock you esteem sacred, together with the temple Al Akfa. After this we will fall out upon you in a body; and doubt not but we shall either cut to pieces a much greater number of you than we are, or force you to abandon the siege." This desperate speech had such an effect upon Saladin, that he immediately called a council of war, at which all the general officers declared, that it would be most proper to allow the Christians to depart unmolested. The sultan therefore allowed them to march out freely and securely with their wives, children, and effects; after which he received ten dinars from every man capable of paying that sum, five from every woman, and two from every young person under age. For the poor who were not able to pay any thing, the rest of the inhabitants raised the sum of 30,000 dinars.
Most of the inhabitants of Jerusalem were escorted by a detachment of Saladin's troops to Tyre; and soon after, he advanced with his army against that place. As the port was blocked up by a squadron of five men of war, Saladin imagined that he should easily become master of it. But in this he found himself mistaken. For, one morning by break of day, a Christian fleet fell upon his squadron, and entirely defeated it; nor did a single vessel escape their pursuit. A considerable number of the Mahometans threw themselves into the sea during the engagement; most of whom were drowned, though some few escaped. About the same time Saladin himself was vigorously repulsed by land; so that, after calling a council of war, it was thought proper to raise the siege.
In 1188, Saladin, though his conquests were not so rapid and considerable as hitherto, continued still superior to his enemies. He reduced the city of Laodicea and some others, together with many strong castles; but met also with several repulses. At last he took the road to Antioch; and having reduced all the fortresses that lay in his way, many of which had been deemed impregnable, Bohemond prince of Antioch was so much intimidated, that he desired a truce for seven or eight months. This Saladin found himself obliged to comply with, on account of the prodigious fatigues his men had sustained, and because his auxiliaries now demanded leave to return home.
All these heavy losses of the Christians, however, proved in some respects an advantage, as they were thus obliged to lay aside their animosities, which had originally proved the ruin of their affairs. Those who had defended Jerusalem, and most of the other fortresses taken by Saladin, having retreated to Tyre, formed there a very numerous body. This proved the means of preserving that city, and also of re-establishing their affairs for the present. For, having received powerful succours from Europe, they were enabled in 1189 to take the field with 30,000 foot and 2000 horse. Their first attempt was upon Alexandretta; from whence they dislodged a strong party of
Mahometans, and made themselves masters of the place with very little loss. They next laid siege to Ptolemais; of which Saladin had no sooner received intelligence, than he marched to the relief of the place. After several skirmishes with various success, a general engagement ensued, in which Saladin was defeated with the loss of 10,000 men. This enabled the Christians to carry on the siege of Ptolemais with greater vigour; which place, however, they were not able to reduce for the space of two years.
This year the sultan was greatly alarmed by an account that the emperor of Germany was advancing to Constantinople with an army of 260,000 men, in order to assist the other Crusaders. This prodigious armament, however, came to nothing. The multitude was so reduced with sickness, famine, and fatigue, that scarce 1000 of them reached the camp before Ptolemais. The siege of that city was continued, though with bad success on the part of the Christians. They were repulsed in all their attacks, their engines were burnt with naphtha, and the besieged always received supplies of provisions in spite of the utmost efforts of the besiegers; at the same time that a dreadful famine and pestilence raged in the Christian camp, which sometimes carried off 200 people a-day.
In 1191, the Christians received powerful succours from Europe. Philip II. of France, and Richard I. of England (from his great courage surnamed Cœur de Lion), arrived before the camp at Ptolemais. The latter was esteemed the bravest and most enterprising of all the generals the Crusaders had, and the spirits of his soldiers were greatly elated by the thoughts of acting under such an experienced commander. Soon after his arrival, the English sunk a Mahometan ship of vast size, having on board 650 soldiers, a great quantity of arms and provisions, going from Berytus to Ptolemais. Of the soldiers and sailors who navigated this vessel, only a single person escaped; who being taken prisoner by the English, was dispatched to the sultan with the news of the disaster. The besieged still defended themselves with the greatest resolution; and the king of England happening to fall sick, the operations of the besiegers were considerably delayed. On his recovery, however, the attacks were renewed with such fury, that the place was every moment in danger of being taken by assault. This induced them to send a letter to Saladin, informing him, that if they did not receive succours the very next day, they would be obliged to submit. As this town was the sultan's principal magazine of arms, he was greatly affected with the account of their distress, especially as he found it impossible to relieve them. The inhabitants, therefore, found themselves under a necessity of surrendering the place. One of the terms of the capitulation was, that the Crusaders should receive a very considerable sum of money from Saladin, in consequence of their delivering up the Mahometan prisoners they had in their hands. This article, Saladin refused to comply with; and in consequence of his refusal, Richard caused 3000 of those unfortunate men to be slaughtered at once.
After the reduction of Ptolemais, the king of England, now made generalissimo of the Crusaders, took the road to Afcalon, in order to besiege that place; after which, he intended to make an attempt upon Jerusalem itself. Saladin proposed to intercept his passage,
Egypt. sage, and placed himself in the way with an army of 300,000 men. On this occasion was fought one of the greatest battles of that age. Saladin was totally defeated, with the loss of 40,000 men; and Afealon soon fell into the hands of the Crusaders. Other sieges were afterwards carried on with success, and Richard even approached within sight of Jerusalem, when he found, that, by reason of the weakened state of his army, and the divisions which prevailed among the officers who commanded it, he should be under the necessity of concluding a truce with the sultan. This was accordingly done in the year 1192; the term was, three years, three months, three weeks, three days, and three hours; soon after which the king of England set out on his return to his own dominions.
In 1193, Saladin died, to the inexpressible grief of all true Mahometans, who held him in the utmost veneration. His dominions in Syria and Palestine were shared out, among his children and relations, into many petty principalities: his son Othman succeeded to the crown of Egypt; but as none of his successors possessed the enterprising genius of Saladin, the history from that time to the year 1250 affords nothing remarkable. At this time the reigning sultan Malek Al Salek was dethroned and slain by the Mamlucs or Mamelucs, as they are called, a kind of mercenary soldiers who served under him. In consequence of this revolution, the Mamelucs became masters of Egypt, and chose a sultan from among themselves.—These Mamelucs were originally young Turks or Tartars, sold to private persons by the merchants, from whom they were bought by the sultan, educated at his expence, and employed to defend the maritime places of the kingdom. The reason of this institution originally was, that the native Egyptians were become so cowardly, treacherous, and effeminate, from a long course of slavery, that they were unfit for arms. The Mamelucs, on the contrary, made most excellent soldiers; for, having no friends but among their own corps, they turned all their thoughts to their own profession. When they had got possession of the government, therefore, as they neither understood nor valued any thing besides the art of war, every species of learning decayed in Egypt, and a great degree of barbarism was introduced. Neither was their empire of long duration, notwithstanding all their martial abilities. The reason of this was, that they were originally only a small part of the sultan of Egypt's standing forces. As a numerous standing army was necessary in a country where the fundamental maxim of government was, that every native must be a slave, they were at first at a loss how to act; being justly suspicious of all the rest of the army. At last they resolved to buy Christian slaves, and educate them in the same way that they themselves had formerly been. These were commonly brought from Circassia, where the people, though they professed Christianity, made no scruple of selling their children. When they were completed in their military education, these soldiers were disposed of through all the fortresses erected in the country to bridle the inhabitants; and because in their language such a fort was called Borge, the new militia obtained the name of Borgites. By this expedient the Mamelucs imagined they would be able to secure themselves in the sovereignty. But in this they were mistaken. In process of
time, the old Mamelucs grew proud, insolent, and lazy; and the Borgites, taking advantage of this, rose upon their masters, deprived them of the government, and transferred it to themselves about the year 1382.
The Borgites, as well as the former, assumed the name of Mamelucs; and were famous for their valour, and ferocity of conduct. They were almost perpetually engaged in wars either foreign or domestic, and their dominion lasted till the year 1517, when their kingdom was invaded by Selim the Turkish sultan. The Mamelucs defended themselves with incredible valour; notwithstanding which, being overpowered by numbers, they were defeated in every engagement. The same year, their capital, the city of Cairo, was taken, with a terrible slaughter of those who defended it. The sultan was forced to fly; and, having collected all his force, ventured another battle. The most romantic efforts of valour, however, were insufficient to cope with the innumerable multitude which composed the Turkish army. Most of his men were cut in pieces, and the unhappy prince himself was at last obliged to take shelter in a marsh. He was dragged from his hiding place, where he had stood up to the shoulders in water, and soon after put to death. With him ended the glory, and almost the existence, of the Mamelucs, who were now every where searched for and cut in pieces.
This was the last great revolution in the Egyptian affairs; a revolution very little to the advantage of the natives, who may well doubt whether their ancient or modern conquerors have behaved with the greater degree of barbarity. Selim gave a specimen of his government, the very day after his being put in full possession of it by the death of Tuman Bey the unfortunate sultan above mentioned. Having ordered a theatre to be erected with a throne upon it on the banks of the Nile, he caused all the prisoners, upwards of 30,000 in number, to be beheaded in his presence, and their bodies thrown into the river. The rest of the Turkish government hath been conformable to such a beginning; and the inhabitants are still oppressed by exactions, and reduced to the lowest degree of slavery.
With regard to the country of Egypt, it is difficult to say any thing with certainty; for not only is there a prodigious difference between the accounts of the ancient and modern historians, but the latter differ very widely from one another. According to the former, the country abounded with grain of all sorts, especially rice. The most fertile parts were the Delta, now called Al Feyyum. The capital of this district is by the natives said to have been built by the patriarch Joseph, to whom they own themselves obliged for the improvement of this territory. Before his time it was nothing but a standing pool; but that patriarch, by cutting canals, particularly the great one which reaches from the Nile to the lake Mæris, drained it of the water, and, clearing it of the weeds and rushes, made it fit for tillage. It still continues to be the most fertile and best cultivated part of the kingdom. The great fertility of Egypt was attributed, and very justly, to the annual overflowing of the Nile; for the overflowing of grounds with water is found to be a very good method of fertilizing them*. The sources of this river were unknown to the ancients. They even thought it im-
possible to discover them. It is now, however, known, that the Nile arises in Ethiopia or Abyssinia. It enters Egypt almost under the tropic of Cancer, violently pouring down no less than seven cataracts from a very considerable height, and making a noise that may be heard several miles off. Having passed through the Upper and Middle Egypt, a little below the ancient Memphis, it divided itself into two large arms, which afterwards formed seven channels, by which it was discharged into the sea. These seven mouths are much spoken of by ancient historians. They were called the Canopic, the Heracleotic, Bolbitic, Sebenytic, Phatnic or Pathmetic, the Mendesian Tanitic or Saitic, and the Pelufian; all of which had their names from cities standing on their several branches. Besides these, there were two Pseudoatomata, or false mouths, named Pinoptimi and Disleors, which were too small for large vessels. But the greater part of these mouths have been since stopped up, and others formed; so that above thirty channels are now reckoned, through which the waters of the Nile empty themselves into the sea, especially at the time of its overflowing, the greater part of them becoming dry when the waters retire. The two chief, and indeed the only considerable branches of the Nile at present are those of Rofetta or Rasbid to the west, and Damietta or Dimyet to the east.
Concerning the annual inundation of the Nile, ancient and modern writers agree pretty well. It begins to rise about the summer solstice, and continues to do so for about 100 days after; then it gradually decreases for as many more, till it retires within its banks, and does not overflow till the next year. If the river does not rise to the height of 15 or 16 cubits at least, the country is not covered with water, and a scarcity ensues. No notice is taken of the rising of the river till the end of June; by which time it is usually risen to the height of six or eight pikes, (a Turkish measure of about 26 inches). Then the public criers proclaim it through all the cities; and in the same manner continue every day to give an account of its gradual progress. After it has risen to the height of 16 pikes, they cut down the dam of a great canal which passes through the middle of the city of Cairo, and let in the water on their lands. If the river want but an inch of this height, they will not cut the dam; because, in such a case, no tribute is due to the prince for the lands that should have been watered by them, the produce being then scarce sufficient to maintain the tillers. For this reason, if the bashaw or governor of Egypt cut this dam before the river has risen to the height above mentioned, he is answerable for the consequence, and must pay the Turkish emperor his tribute, whether the year prove plentiful or not. If the water rises to the height of 23 or 24 pikes, it is thought to be the most favourable; but if it exceeds that, it does a great deal of mischief, by overthrowing houses, drowning cattle, &c.
In order to judge more exactly of the rise and fall of the water, pillars are erected on its banks, and marked with proper divisions. A very ancient one, said to be erected for this purpose by the emperor Heraclius, is still to be seen in the castle of old Cairo. The present nilometer, or mikyas, as the Arabs call it, is in the same castle. It is a large square reservoir, round which runs a handsome gallery sustained by 12 marble
pillars, with a balustrade to lean on, when one looks into the water. Through this basin runs a canal drawn from the river. In the middle is an octagonal pillar of white marble divided into 22 equal parts: the first is divided into 24 inches; but the second is not; tho' all the rest have these subdivisions.
As it is impossible, however, that the Nile can of itself overflow every spot of land which requires its assistance, the inhabitants have been obliged to cut a vast number of canals and trenches from one end of Egypt to the other, to convey the water to those places where it is wanted. Every town and village has its canal; which is opened at the most proper time, and the water conducted to the most distant places. These canals are not permitted to be opened all at once; because, if this was done, some lands would have too much, and others too little, water. They begin to open them first in upper Egypt, and then gradually lower, according to the public regulations made for that purpose. By this means, the water is so carefully distributed, that it answers the purposes of the whole country; which is so large, and the canals so numerous, that, it is thought, scarce a tenth part of the waters of the river enter the sea during the first three months of its overflowing. As some places, however, lie too high to be overflowed in this manner, they are for this reason obliged to raise the water to cover them by engines. Formerly, they made use of Archimedes's screw, from thence commonly called the Egyptian pump; but now they generally use wheels, which draw up the water in earthen pots, and are moved by oxen. There is also a vast number of wells, from whence water is drawn in the same manner for the gardens and fruit-trees; so that there are reckoned to be 200,000 oxen daily employed in this labour throughout the kingdom; without reckoning the men who draw water in wicker-baskets so close that not a drop runs through.
The accounts given by the ancients of the fertility of Egypt, almost exceed the bounds of credibility. The mud or slime brought down by the river, according to them, was in quantity sufficient to serve for manure to the whole kingdom. They had not the toil of digging, ploughing, or breaking of clods. When the waters were retired, they needed only to mix a little sand with the earth to abate its strength; the mud brought down by the Nile making the soil, it seems, too rich; after which, they sowed their seed, and reaped the most plentiful crops.—We can scarce doubt that this formerly hath been true in some degree, seeing we find it attested by all the historians of antiquity, that, in the time of the Romans, their city was chiefly supplied with corn from Egypt. From the way in which it is spoke of in the sacred writings also, we must certainly look upon Egypt to have anciently been a very plentiful country. Now, however, the case is prodigiously altered. The inhabitants are scarce one twentieth part of what they formerly were, and every spot is cultivated as much as before; yet the country very seldom produces enough to support them. The waters of the Nile now bring down none of that mud spoke of by the ancients. They continue clear from the beginning of their rise till they have arrived at the height of 17 feet and upwards. Then they bring down a quantity of reddish coloured loam, which indeed proves
Egypt. proves an excellent manure. It is very probable, therefore, that the sources from whence the waters of the Nile received the black mud, have long since been exhausted; and the inhabitants not adverting to this change, and neglecting to manure their lands properly, the ground hath been exhausted by continual cultivation, and fallen short of its ancient fertility*.—What fertility this country still possesses, must be derived from the waters of the river, seeing less crops are always produced when the waters of the Nile rise to the least height. One thing which contributes greatly to the variation of quantity in the waters of the Nile, and consequently of the fertility of the country, is the blowing of the north-wind. This makes a kind of bar across the mouths of the river, and hinders the waters from flowing with such swiftness into the sea as they otherwise would do: and therefore it is observed, that when the wind blows from any other quarter, the waters decrease as much in one day, as they do in four when it blows from the north; and hence, in such cases, the fertility of Egypt is greatly diminished.—The ancients were ignorant of the causes of this inundation, which seemed to them the more unaccountable, as it overflowed in the summer-time, when other rivers are generally at the lowest. But it has long since been known to be occasioned by the great rains which fall in Ethiopia in April and May, and swell the river to such a degree, that it almost lays that country entirely under water. At the same time, it rains with equal regularity in the East Indies, and the rivers Indus and Ganges overflow their banks at the same time with the Nile.
Whatever may have been the case with the fertility of ancient Egypt, it is certain, that such monuments of the power and wealth of its ancient monarchs remain, that we cannot doubt of its having been anciently very populous.—The most remarkable of these are the pyramids; which, on many accounts, may be reckoned the most wonderful structures in the world. There are many of them in the different parts of Egypt; but those which have been chiefly taken notice of and described by travellers, stand on the west side of the Nile, not far from the ancient Memphis. The number of these pyramids is about 20; of which three, standing almost together, are most remarkable, and have been most frequently described. The others lie scattered in the Libyan desert, and are lesser models of these three, though some of them also are very considerable.—The builders of these pyramids are unknown. Josephus supposes them to have been erected by the Israelites during their heavy oppression by Pharaoh. Others pretend, that they were built by the patriarch Joseph, for granaries to lay up the corn of the seven plentiful years: both of which opinions, however, seem to be improbable. It is much more likely, that they were erected as monuments for the dead.
Account of the pyramids. The first of these pyramids is situated on a rocky hill, in the sandy desert of Libya, about a quarter of a mile from the plains of Egypt; above which, the rock rises 100 feet or more, with a gentle and easy ascent. Upon this advantageous rise and solid foundation is the pyramid erected; the height of the situation adding to the beauty of the work, and the solidity of the rock affording it a stable support. The north side, near the basis, being measured by a radius of 10 feet in length, taking two several stations, was found by Mr Greaves
to be 693 English feet. The other sides were examined by a line, for want of an even level, and a convenient distance to place the instruments. The altitude, if measured by its perpendicular, is 481 feet; but if it be taken as the pyramid ascends inclining, then it is equal, in respect of the lines subtending the several angles, to the latitude of the basis. Whereby it appears, that though several of the ancients have excessively magnified the height of these pyramids, yet the biggest of them falls short of the height of St Paul's church in London: which, from the ground to the top of the lantern only, is no less than 470 feet. If we imagine on the sides of the basis, which is perfectly square, four equilateral triangles mutually inclining till they meet in a point (for so the top seems to those who stand below), then we shall have a just idea of the true dimensions and figure of this pyramid; the area of whose basis contains 480,249 square feet, or something more than 11 English acres of ground: a proportion so monstrous, that did not the ancients attest as much, and some of them more, it might appear incredible.
The ascent to the top of the pyramid is contrived by steps, the lowermost of which is near four feet in height, and three in breadth; and running about the pyramid in a level, made a narrow walk, when the stones were entire, on every side. The second step is like the first, benching in near three feet. In the same manner is the third row placed on the second; and the rest in order, like so many stairs, rising one above another to the top; which ends not in a point, as mathematical pyramids do, but in a little flat or square of 13,280 English feet broad, and consisting of nine stones, besides two which are wanting at the corners. This pyramid, by reason of the stones being worn by the weather, cannot be conveniently ascended, except on the south side, or at the north-east angle. The steps are made of massy and polished stones (said to have been hewn out of the Arabian mountains, which bound the upper Egypt on the east); and are so vast, that the breadth and depth of every step is one single stone. It is also to be observed, that the steps are not all of equal depth; for some are near four feet, and others not quite three, diminishing the higher one ascends: and the breadth of them is proportionable to their depth; so that a right line, extended from the basis to the top, will equally touch the outward angle of every step. The number of these steps is not mentioned by any of the ancients; but modern travellers differ very much in their computation. Mr Greaves and two others counted them very carefully, and found them to be 207; though one of them, in descending, reckoned 208.
The entrance into the pyramid is by a square narrow passage, which opens in the midst of the north side on the 16th step, or ascending 38 feet, on an artificial bank of earth. The stone that is over it is near 12 feet long, and above 8 feet wide. This entry goes declining with an angle of 26 degrees, and is in breadth exactly 3,463 English feet, and in length 92 feet and an half. The structure of it has been the labour of an exquisite hand, as appears by the smoothness and evenness of the work, and close knitting of the joints; a property long since observed by Diodorus to have run through the whole fabric of this pyramid. At the end of this passage there is another like the former, but which goes on a little rising: at the meeting of these
two passages, the one descending and the other ascending, the lowermost stone of the roof, perpendicular to it, forms a sharp ridge, between which and the sand there is sometimes not a foot space to pass through; so that a man must slide on his belly close to the ground, and yet grate his back against the above-mentioned stone, unless he be very slender. However, this difficulty is occasioned chiefly by the sand which the wind drives into this place; for if the passage be cleared, it is of the same dimensions there as at the entrance. There being no window or other opening in this pyramid to admit the light, it may easily be conceived, that those who would view the inside must carry lights with them.
Having passed this strait, on the right hand there is an ugly broken hole of about 89 feet in length, the height and breadth various, and not worthy consideration: whether this part be decayed by time, or has been dug away for curiosity, or in hopes of discovering some hidden treasure, is uncertain. On the left hand, adjoining to the narrow entrance, climbing up a steep and massy stone 8 or 9 feet in height, one enters on the lower end of the first gallery; the pavement of which rises with a gentle acclivity, consisting of a smooth polished marble, and, where not smeared with dust and filth, appearing of a white and alabaster colour; the sides and roof of unpolished stone, not so hard and compact as that of the pavement: the breadth of this gallery is almost 5 feet, the height about as much, and the length 110 feet. At the end of it, there are two passages; one low and horizontal, or level with the ground; and the other high and rising like the former. At the entry of the lower passage, on the right hand, is the well mentioned by Pliny, which is circular, and a little above 3 feet diameter: the sides are lined with white marble, and the descent is by fixing the hands and feet in little open spaces cut in the sides within, opposite and answering to one another in a perpendicular; which is the contrivance for descending into most of the wells and cisterns at Alexandria. This well might lead to the vault above-mentioned; but it is now almost stopped up with rubbish, and not above 20 feet deep.
Leaving the well, and going straight on to the distance of 15 feet, one enters another passage opening against the former, and of the same dimensions, the stones of which are very massy, and exquisitely joined. This passage runs in a level 110 feet, and leads to an arched vault, or chamber, standing due east and west, having a sepulchral smell, and half full of rubbish; its length is not quite 20 feet, its breadth about 17, and its height less than 15; the walls are entire, and plastered over with lime; the roof is covered with large smooth stones, not lying flat, but shelving, and meeting above in an angle. On the side of this room, in the middle of it, Greaves says, there seems to have been a passage leading to some other place; but neither Thevenot nor Le Brun could discover any such.
Returning back through the narrow horizontal passage, you climb over it, and enter into the other or second gallery on the left, divided from the first gallery by the wall, in which is the entrance to the last-mentioned passage. This second gallery rises with an angle of 26 degrees, and is in length 154 feet from the well below; but if measured on the pavement, somewhat less, by reason of a little vacuity of about 15 feet,
before described, between the well and the square-hole: the height of it is about 26 feet, and the breadth 6.87 feet; of which one half is to be allowed for the way in the midst, there being a stone bench on each side of the wall, of one foot and in breadth, and as much in depth. On the top of these benches, near the angle where they close with the wall, are little spaces, cut in right-angled parallel figures, set in each side opposite to one another; intended, no question, for some other end than ornament. The stone of which this gallery is built, is a white and polished marble, very evenly cut in large tables; and the joints are so close, that they are scarcely discernable by a curious eye: but what adds grace to the whole structure, though it makes the passage the more slippery and difficult, is the acclivity and rising of the ascent. However, the going up is not a little facilitated by certain holes made in the floor, about six hands-breadth from one another, into which a man may set his feet, while he holds by the bench with one hand. In the ranging of the marble tables in both the side-walls, there is one piece of architecture very graceful; and that is, that all the courses, which are but seven, do set and flag over one another about three inches, the bottom of the upper course oversetting the higher part of the next below it in order as they descend.
Having passed this gallery, one enters another square hole of the same dimensions with the former, which leads into two small antichambers or closets, lined with a rich and speckled kind of Thebaic marble. The first of these is almost equal to the second, which is of an oblong figure; one side containing seven feet, and the other three and a half; the height is ten feet, and the floor level. On the east and west sides, within two feet and a half of the top, which is somewhat larger than the bottom, are three semicircular cavities, or little seats.
The inner antichamber is separated from the former by a stone of red speckled marble, which hangs in two mortises (like the leaf of a sluice), between two walls, more than three feet above the pavement, and wanting two of the roof. From this second closet you enter another square hole, over which are five lines cut parallel and perpendicular; besides which no other sculptures or engravings are observed in the whole pyramid. The square passage is of the same wideness with the rest, being all of Thebaic marble, exquisitely cut, and landing you at the north end of a very sumptuous and well proportioned room. The distance from the end of the second gallery to this entry, running upon the same level, is 24 feet. This chamber stands as it were in the heart and centre of the pyramid, equidistant from all the sides, and almost in the midst between the basis and the top. The floor, the sides, and the roof of it, are all made of vast tables of Thebaic marble, most exquisitely polished; which, if they were not obscured by the smoke of torches, would appear glittering and shining. From the top of it descending to the bottom, there are about six ranges of stone, all of which being respectively sized to an equal height very gracefully run round the room in one altitude. The stones which cover this chamber are of a stupendous length, like as many huge beams lying flat and traversing the room, and supporting the prodigious mass of building above. Of these there are nine which cover the roof;
Egypt. two of them are less by half in breadth than the rest; the one at the east end, and the other at the west. The length of the chamber on the south side, most accurately taken at the joint or line where the first and second row of stones meet, is 34.38 English feet; the breadth on the west side, at the joint where the first and second row of stones meet, is 17.19 feet; and the height 19½ feet.
Within this room stands the monument of Cheops, or Chenmis, of one piece of marble, hollow within, and sounding like a bell. It is of the same kind of stone with which the whole room is lined; being a speckled marble with white, black, and red spots. The figure of the tomb is like an altar, or two cubes finely set together; it is cut smooth and plain, without any sculpture or engraving. The outward superficies is in length seven feet three inches and a half, and in depth three feet three inches and three quarters. The hollow inside is in length, on the west side, 6.488 feet; in breadth, at the north end, 2.218 feet; and in depth, 2.860 feet. As this monument could not have been brought hither through the above-mentioned narrow passages, it is supposed to have been raised and placed there before the roof of the chamber was closed. It stands exactly in the meridian, or due north and south, and equidistant from all the sides of the chamber, except the east, from whence it is twice as far removed as from the rest. Under it there is a little hollow space dug away, and a large stone in the pavement removed at the angle next adjoining to it: which hath probably been done in hopes of finding some treasure hidden there; it being a superstitious prodigality practised by the ancients, and continued to this day in the East Indies, to conceal money in their sepulchres. In the south and north sides of the chamber there are two inlets opposite to one another, seven tenths of a foot broad, four tenths of a foot deep, evenly cut, and running in a straight line six feet and further into the thickness of the wall: that on the south side is larger and somewhat round, not so long as the former, and by the thickness within seems to have been made use of for setting of lamps upon it. This is all that is to be seen within this first pyramid. The only thing more to be observed is a surprising echo, which Plutarch takes notice of, and says, that it answers four or five times; but a late traveller (Lucas) assures us that it answers ten or twelve times very distinctly.
The second pyramid stands at a small distance southward from the former. Mr Greaves assures us, that it is of the same dimensions. It has no passage into it; and is built of white stones, not near so large as the first. The sides rise not with steps like the first, but are smooth and equal; the whole fabric, except where it is opposed to the south, being very entire, and free from any deformed breaches. The third pyramid is much less than the two foregoing ones, measuring only 300 feet on each side. It is built of a clear and white stone, somewhat brighter than that of which the second is built. Besides these, there is also a fourth; which, had it been finished, would not have fallen short of the grandeur of the first. It has 148 steps like the first. The platform is not even, the stones being set together without order, which shews that it has not been finished; and yet it is much more ancient than any of the rest, as is evident by the stones,
which are all worn out and crumbled into sand. It has a passage into it which leads into some halls and galleries like those of the first.
Besides these, there are many other monuments of the grandeur of the ancient Egyptian monarchs; some of which are mentioned under the article ARCHITECTURE, no 4. and others under those of THEBES, MISRE, SYENE, &c.
With regard to the inhabitants of Egypt, it hath already been observed, that they are much less numerous than formerly; owing, no doubt, to the rigour of the Turkish government. The descendants of the original Egyptians are an ill-looking slovenly people, immersed in indolence, and are distinguished by the name of Coptis; in their complexions they are rather sun-burnt than swarthy or black. Their ancestors were once Christians, and in general they still pretend to be of that religion; but Mahometanism is the prevailing worship of Egypt. Those who inhabit the villages and fields, at any considerable distance from the Nile, consist of Arabs or their descendants, who are of a deep swarthy complexion; and they are represented by the best travellers, as still retaining the patriarchal method of tending their flocks, and many of them without any fixed place of abode. The Turks, who reside in Egypt, retain all their Ottoman pride and insolence, and the Turkish habit, to distinguish themselves from the Arabs and Coptis, who dress very plain, their chief finery being an upper garment of white linen, and linen drawers; but their ordinary dress is of blue linen, with a long cloth coat, either over or under it. The Christians and Arabs of the meaner kind content themselves with a linen or woollen wrapper, which they fold, blanket-like, round their body. The Jews wear blue leather slippers, the other natives of the country wear red, and the foreign Christians yellow. The dress of the women is tawdry and unbecoming; but their cloaths are silk when they can afford it; and such of them as are not exposed to the sun, have delicate complexions and features. The Coptis in general are excellent accountants, and many of them live by teaching the other natives to read and write. All Egypt is over-run with jugglers, fortune-tellers, mountebanks, and travelling sleight-of-hand men.
To what we have already said concerning the religion of Egypt, it is proper to add, that the bulk of the Mahometans are enthusiasts, and have among them their saints or fellows who pretend to a superior degree of holiness, and without any ceremony intrude into the best houses, where it would be dangerous to turn them out. The Egyptian Turks mind religious affairs very little; and it would be hard to say what species of Christianity is professed by the Christian Coptis, which are here numerous; but they profess themselves to be of the Greek church, and enemies to that of Rome. In religious, and indeed in many civil matters, they are under the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Alexandria, who by dint of money generally purchases a protection at the Ottoman court.
The Coptic is the most ancient language of Egypt. This was succeeded by the Greek, about the time of Alexander the Great; and that by the Arabic, upon the commencement of the khalifate, when the Arabs dispossessed the Greeks of Egypt. The Arabic, or Arabique, as it is called, is still the current language.
Egypt. guage, but the Coptic and modern Greek continue to be spoken.
Though it is past dispute, that the Greeks derived all their knowledge from the ancient Egyptians, yet scarce a vestige of it remains among their descendants. This is owing to the bigotry and ignorance of their Mahometan masters; but here it is proper to make one observation which is of general use. The khalifs or Saracens who subdued Egypt, were of three kinds. The first, who were the immediate successors of Mahomet, made war, from conscience and principle, upon all kinds of literature, excepting the Alcoran; and hence it was, that, when they took possession of Alexandria, which contained the most magnificent library the world ever beheld, its valuable manuscripts were applied for some months in cooking their victuals, and warming their magnificent baths. The same fate attended upon the other Egyptian libraries. The khalifs of the second race were men of taste and learning, but of a peculiar strain. They bought up all the manuscripts that survived the general conflagration, relating to astronomy, medicine, and some useless parts of philosophy: but they had no taste for the Greek arts of architecture, sculpture, painting, or poetry; and learning was confined to their own courts and colleges, without ever finding its way back to Egypt. The lower race of khalifs, especially those who called themselves Mamelucs, disgraced human nature; and the Turks have rivetted the chains of barbarous ignorance which they imposed. All the learning, therefore, possessed by the modern Egyptians, consists in arithmetical calculations for the dispatch of business, the jargon of astrology, a few nostrums in medicine, and some knowledge of Arabesque and the Mahometan religion.
Modern geographers mention little of Egyptian manufactures at this time: but captain Norden, who travelled to that country, at the expence of his present Danish majesty's grandfather, about the year 1737, has been pretty explicit on the subject of commerce; and from him we learn that the Egyptians export prodigious quantities of unmanufactured as well as prepared flax, thread, cotton, and leather of all sorts, calicoes, yellow wax, sal armoniac, saffron, sugar, fenna, cassia. They trade with the Arabs for coffee, drugs, spices, calicoes, and other merchandizes, which are landed at Suez, from whence they send them to Europe. Several European states have consuls resident in Egypt. But the customs of the Turkish government are managed by Jews. A number of English vessels arrive yearly at Alexandria, some of which are laden on account of the owners, but most of them are hired and employed as carriers to the Jews, Armenians, and Mahometan traders. Captain Norden seems to think, that the English consul and merchants make no great figure in Alexandria, but that they are in much less danger and less troubled than the French.
The constitution and government of this country seem to be but little known to modern times. It is certain that Egypt is subject to the Turks, and that even the meanest Janizary is respected by the natives. A viceroy is sent to Egypt, under the title of pasha or bashaw of Cairo, and is one of the greatest officers of the Ottoman empire; but as the interior parts of Egypt are almost inaccessible to strangers, we know little of their government and laws. It is generally agreed,
that the pacha is very careful how he provokes the little princes, or rather heads of clans, who have parcelled out Egypt among themselves, and whom he governs chiefly by playing one against another. He has however a large regular army, and a militia, which serve as nurseries from whence the Ottoman troops are recruited. The keeping up this army employs his chief attention. It has sometimes happened that those pashas have employed their arms against their masters; they are sometimes displaced by the Porte, upon complaints from those petty princes. Captain Norden and Dr Pocock have given us the best, and indeed a very unfavourable, account of those princes, who are called the Schechs of the Bedouins, or wandering Arabs, who are sometimes too powerful to receive laws from the Turkish government. A certain number of beys, or begs, are appointed over the provinces of Egypt, under the pasha. Though these beys are designed to be checks upon him, yet they often assume independent powers.
The revenues are very inconsiderable, when compared to the natural riches of the country and the despotism of its government. Some say that they amount to 1,000,000 Sterling, but that two-thirds of the whole is spent in the country.