HISTORIC EGYPT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 252, 21 September 1940, Page 6

HISTORIC EGYPT

STEEPED IN ROMANCE.

A CHEQUERED CAREER

Now that war again enters the domains of Egypt it is not in the least surprising -mat her army should be ready lor any eventualities, this historic country, whose records are so greatly associated with the development of more than one civilisation, is no stranger to conflict, and her love of culture and philosophy has a close alliance to warfare. Not that she lias always succeeded; indeed, “P 11 ! - e time she fell to the might of Rome in 30 B.C. until 1922, when the British forces withdrew, Egypt lost her independence, but her pride was never quelled. ' . . During the astonishingly long period of 2000 years Egypt remained a country virtually unknown, a happy hunting ground for the ambitions of Rome, a prey to the hordes of Bedouin barbarians, a corner of the Turkish Empire, and finally an object of attraction tor the great European Powers. But before she lost her independence she had recorded a history of pomp and grandeur, over a period of more than 5000 years, that is still one of the wonders of the world. The River Nile cradled civilisation _ and in its fertile valleys is written —in the great ruined temples, the pyramids, and countless other monuments —the story of ages that probably surpassed in splendour the world has since known. So carefully has the climate preserved the records of her. history that to-day we know more of her story, over a period extending from 6000 years before tjje birth of Christ to the present riav. than we know of the history o Britain less than 1000 years ago.

EARLY CIVILISATIONS.

There were probably two civilisations in Egypt'” beiore 6boo 8.C., but tne hirst uynasty oi u inch there is dC; finite record nourished ironi that date for the next 300 years. Primitive art gave way to the sophistication of civilisation, and the political unity of a great'State began to emerge. But the f ourth Dynasty (4800-4500 8.C.) was to witness the highest artistic triumphs. . , . , The engineering skill which went into the building of the Gr.eat Pyramid of K'hufu (Cheops) remains still the marvel of the engineering world. But the immense wealth and energy spent on the erection of marvellous, but useless, monuments to her dead kings weakened the country and was perpetually to prove her undoing. Successive invasions of barbarians swept into power, beginning with the Syrian conquests of 3400 B-C. and culminating in the Hyksos conquests of 2600 B.C. Yet always it was the invaders who were absorbed, and the civilisation of Egypt continued. The infusion of new blood and primitive animism in politics and religion rapidly succumbed to the decadence of wealth and pomp. CHANGING BOUNDARIES.

Time and again, under warlike princes such as Amenemhat 111., the empire frontiers of Egypt were moved hundreds of miles south, east, and west. Time and again they crumbled under the vigorous thrusting of a healthier but barbarous people. Thus, 'lor example, in 1530 B C., under Thotmes 1., Egypt's empire included the Sudan, Liuya, and Syria, but 500 years later a succession of priest-kings were amicably dividing between them the small territories of the Lower Nile Valley and delta which were, all that remained of her.

About 950 B.C. Egypt’s power revived in the XXII. and XXIII. Dynasties under the aegis of . a Mesopotamia adventurer, Shis'nak, who settled at Bubastia. But 200 years later the country was broken up by the Ethiopian invasion. After them, came the Persians, and later the golden age of Alexander and his heirs. Then came the Ptolemies. For several hundred years Egypt enjoyed a peace and prosperity she had not known for centuries arid reached the heyday of her glory. Her learning and her wealth were phenomenal; but f her culture was backward-looking and everything became stereotyped—her art. her science, and her politics. Of real progress there was none, and corruption and decadence slowly sapped her strength until she fell a helpless victim to the might of Rome in 30 B.C. From then until our day her independence was lost.

UNDER BONDAGE.

Rome ruled Egypt until A.D. 640, then withdrew her legions to leave the country prey to the wild Arab horsemen. The Mameluke Dynasties which succeeded the Arabs for the next 800 years were a turmoil of bitter and ceaseless fighting, and the establishment of Turkish rule in 1517 was a blessed relief. For 360 years Egypt remained a tributary of Turkey, her wealth drained by extortionate taxes, her liberty crippled by a ruthless tyranny. The corruption in her Treasury under the waning Turkish power eventually led, in 1876, to her failure to meet her foreign obligations, and Britain and France “foreclosed,” Britain obtaining sole control, and for 50 years gave Egypt a stable and prosperous government. It is perhaps to Britain’s credit (remarks a commentator) that she withdrew voluntarily from Egypt in 1922. although the pressure of world opinion and the spirit of a revived and fresh young Egypt were- factors. Britain, although the last of her conquerors, was the first to leave Egypt free to carve out for herself another and perhaps greater destiny. How sincere and firm are the relations between these two now equally sovereign Powers is strikingly evident in their joint sta.nd in the defence of all they hold dearest.