38. and the god Apis, MEMPHITES Bos, Tibull. i. 7. 28. -from the Nile, TELLUS NILOTICA, Martial. vi. 80; the cities of Egypt, Urbes NILIACA, Lucan. x. 91. the goddess Ifis, NILIGENA JUVENCA, Ovid. art. am. i. 77. and from the ifland Pharos, Juvenca PHARIA, Ib. iii. 635. Equor Pharium, the Egyptian fea, Lucan. iv. 257. Turba Pharia, the people of Egypt, Tibull. i. 3. 32.

South of Alexandria was the lake MAREOTIS, near which was produced excellent wine, called VINUM MAREOTICUM, Strabo, xvii. 799.; Virg. G. ii. 9.; Horat. od. i. 37. 14.

In the east of Lower Egypt lay the land of Gofhen, where the Ifraelites dwelt.

Egypt was the great granary of the Roman empire. Its fertility is not owing to rain, as very little falls in this country, but to the annual overflowing of the Nile, which is occafioned by the periodical rains which fall when the fun is vertical in E

thiopia

bortis numina, XV. 10. It was reckoned unlawful to kill any of these animals, or to eat any of these vegetables, although they reared them with the greatest care: Nefas illic fatum jugulare capelle; Cornibus humanis vefci licet, ib. 12.; Cic. Tufc. v. 27. Nat. D. i. 29 To flay any of the facred animals by defign, was capital; and to kill a cat or an ibis (Herodotus adds the hawk, ii. 65.) whether by defign or accident, was certain death; not even the king's interceffion could procure a pardon, Diodor.i. 83. In the most dreadful famine, when the people were compelled fometimes to cat one another, they never touched thefe deified animals, ib. 84. When a cat or dog died in any houfe, there was a great mourning. The neighbours fhaved their eye-brows, and thofe in the houfe, the head and whole body, ib. 66. Some of the Egyptians did not hold the crocodile as facred, but by all means fought its deftruction, ib. 69.-Herodotus mentions a facred bird called PHŒ. NIX, which appeared only once every 500 years, hence called RARA AVIS IN TERRIS, Juvenal vi. 164.; Perf. i. 46. 73. It was faid to have appeared under Tiberius, Tacit. annal, vi. 28, and at other times, ib. Many fabulous things are told concerning it, ib. & Plin. x. 2.; Ovid met. xv. 373.-Fanaticism, as ufual, was joined to fuperftition. One city or diftrict worshipped one fpecies of animals as gods, whilst their neighbours held the fame animal in abomination; which was the fource of continual wars and bloodshed. This madness Juvenal, who refided fome time in Egypt as præfect of a cohort, ftrongly fatirifes, xv. 27 &c-Various caufes are affigned by Diodorus, for the Egyptians worshipping certain animals, i. 84.-91. The chief is their utility; which is the only cause mentioned by Cicero, Nat. D. i. 36. Thus, the ibis was worshipped, because it destroyed ferpents ib. the crocodile, becaufe it defended Egypt from the incurfions of the wild Arabs, Diodor. i. 89. the icbneumon, because it prevented the too great increase of crocodiles, Cic. ib.; Strabo. xvii. 812. &c. Concern ing the worship of the Bull Apis, See p. 605.

The different animals worfhipped by particular cities are recounted by Stra bo, xvii. 812. The inhabitants of Tentyra held the crocodile in just detestation, and profecuted him with pnceafing hollility. They were faid to poffefs a certain power over the crocodile, to prevent him from hurting them, as fome pev ple in Cyrenaica, called PSYLLI, had over ferpents, Ib. 814. The only gods, in worshipping whem all the Egyptians agreed, were ISIS and OSIRIS, Hers dot. ii. 42. Some abftained from goats flesh, others from mutton, 16. They all entertained the greatest abhorrence of fwine, and would hold no communi.

thiopia or Abyffinia, from the latter end of May to September, and fometimes October. The ufual height to which the Nile rifes is fixteen cubits.

On

cation with fwine-herds. They however facrificed fwine to Luna and Bacchus at full moon, and then ate of their flesh, Ib. 47.-The bean was reckoned an impure vegetable, and therefore never eaten. The priests would not even look at it, Ib. 37. All the Egyptians used circumcifion, and wore linen cloaths, which they frequently washed. They were remarkably attentive to cleanliness. The priests bathed thrice every day and twice every night. Every third day they fhaved their whole body, Ib. When they offered a victim, they always cut off the head, which they carried to the market place, and fold to ftrangers, if any were there; if not, they threw it into the river, praying, that if any evil threatened themselves, or Egypt in general, it might be turned on that head; hence no Egyptian would taste the head of any animal, Ib. 39. They never facrificed a cow, as being facred to Ifis; for fhe was always reprefented in that form, Ib. 41.

The Egyptians embalmed the dead bodies of their friends, many of which ftill remain entire, commonly called Mummies, as it is thought, from amōmum, a rich perfume, with which they were anointed. The manner of embalming is defcribed by Herodotus, ii. 85.-89. and Diodorus Siculus, i. 91. but is now unknown. Before the dead body was depofited in the fepulchre, the character and conduct of the deceased were folemnly tried before a fet number of judges; and if they condemned him, his body was excluded from the accustomed place of burial, and depofited in his own house, Ib. 92.

The Egyptian priests taught the tranfmigration of fouls, and from them Pythagoras is faid to have derived that doctrine, lb 98.-The knowledge of the Egyptians in aftronomy was particularly remarkable. They divided their year into twelve months, each confifting of thirty days, and added five intercalary days at the end of the year, and every fourth year fix days. The year began with September, Herodot. ii. 4.; Dio. xliii. 26.; Strabo xvii. 816. This arrangement, Herodotus obferves, was much wifer than that of the Greeks, Ib. And Strabo fays, that the Greeks were ignorant of the precife length of the year, as of many other things, till they derived the knowledge of them from the Egyp tians and Chaldeans, xvii. 806. By the afliftance of Sofigènes, a celebrated attronomer of Alexandria, Cæfar adjusted what is called the Julian year or Old Style, Dio. ib. The Egyptian divifion of the year has lately been adopted, with little or no variation, by the French.

Egypt continued a Roman province, fubject to the Emperors of Conftantinople, till it was conquered by the Arabs, under OMROU, the general of Omar, the fecond Caliph of the Saracens or Mahomedans; who took its capital, Alexandria, by ftorm, a. 642, after a ficge of fourteen months, and with the lofs of 23,000 men; see p. 23. Egypt remained in fubjection to the Caliphs of Bagdad, who ruled it by viceroys, till the year 969), or 982; when the vast empire of the Caliphs being difmembered through the incapacity of its fovereigns, Egypt became an independent state, under a race of princes, called the Fatmite Caliphs, who poffeffed it till the year 1171; when Aabad-el-din, the last of them, was dethroned by Selab-el-din, or Salah-adlin, commonly called Saladin, general of the Turkmans, whofe afliftance he had implored against the Crufaders. SALADIN eftablished a new dynafty of princes, called Aicubites, under whom Egypt flourished more than it has ever done fince.

In the year 1218, Djenkiz or Gengis-Kan, after having conquered the greatest part of the fouth of Afia, turned his arms towards the north; fee p. 480. where his foldiers, the Mogols, or Mogul Tartars, cxercifed one of the moft dreadful de vaftations recorded in hiftory; pillaging, burning, and murdering, without diftinction of age or fex, not only through the provinces fouth of the Calpian

fea,

On the banks of the Nile grows the rufh Papyrus, of which paper was first made, and thence got the name. This river alfo produces the Hippopotamos or river-horfe, and the crocodile, amphibious

sea, but also north of it, all the way to Ruffia. At laft, weary of maffacring, they carried off a prodigious number of young flaves of both fexes, whom they expofed to fale in all the markets of Asia." Nejim Eldin, one of the fucceffors of Saladin, thinking he had now an opportunity of forming, at a cheap rate, a body of foldiers of remarkable beauty and courage, in 1230, bought 12,000 of thefe young men, from Circaflia, Georgia, Mingrelia, &c. who were carefully trained to all kind of military exercifes Thefe proved excellent foldiers, but, like the Prætorian cohorts of Rome, foon became nutinous, and prescribed laws to their mafter. In 1250, they depofed and flew Touran Chab, the fon of Nejim Eddin, their benefactor, the laft prince of the Aioubites, and fubftituted one of their own number in his ftead, with the title of SULTAN, Soldan, or Soudan, i. e. abfolute fovereign or prince; retaining to themselves the name of Mamalukes or MAMLOUKS, i. c. Ped by, or the property of another; as being military flaves; who, it is to be obferved, are different from domeftic flaves, called Abi, The first Soldan of the Mamalukes alfo conquered Syria; and his fucceffors continued to poffefs both countries for near three centuries.

The government of the Mamlouks was one of the moft fingular inftitutions recorded in hiftory. It was a pure military ariftocracy. The Soldan had confiderable power; but was controuled by a council or divan of twenty-four of ficers called Beys. They were fucceeded, not by any of their own defcendants, but always by military flaves, purchafed from the fame countries, and educa ted in the fame manner as they themselves had been. The Mamluks ruled with the most defpotic fway. Few of their Soldans died a natural death. No lefs than 47 of these tyrants difplaced or deftroyed one another in the space of 257 years.

SELIM, emperor of the Turks, having vanquished the Mamlouks, a. 1517, put an end to their dominion; but instead of exterminating, left them in poffeffion of a confiderable share of their former power. They acknowledged fubmiflion to the Porte, and paid obedience to the orders of a Poiba fent from Conftantinople, paying him a certain tribute, which they levied from the people. In this tranfaction, (for certain conditions were formally prescribed by the victor,) the body of the inhabitants were confidered only as mere paflive agents; and accordingly remained in fubjection, as formerly, to all the rigours of a military defpotifm. Egypt was divided into 24 departments, governed by 24 chiefs or Beys, who chote one of their number, called Shaik El-beled or Sebrik Elbalad, who refided at Conftantinople, as governor of the city. Thefe Beys were to receive the commands of the Pacha and his divan or council, appointed by the Porte; but if the Pacha appeared to abufe his power, they might fufpend tim from his office and reprefent their grievances to the Porte. Each Bey maintained a certain number of foldiers, or Janifaries, and also of Mamluks, who were always recruited from among the young flaves that were purchased, and rofe by gradation, or according to their merit, to fucceed their mafters. Of late years, the Mamlouks have encreated their influence to fuch a degree as to reduce the power of the Pacha to a mere fhadow. In the year 1766, ALI BEY, one of their chiefs, threw off altogether his allegiance to the Porte; and might have fucceeded in establishing an independent government in Egypt, had he not been betrayed by MOHAMMAD, his principal confident, by whom he was defeated, April 1772, and next year treacherously flain. Mohammad pretended he had acted from attachment to the fublime Porte, remitted to Conftantinople the tribute which had been interrupted for the lait fix years, and took the customary oath of unlimited obedience. As a further proof of his loyalty, he demanded permiffion to make war on DAHER, the prince of Acre, and friend of Ali Bey,

Who

amphibious animals of great fize. The latter, although extremely destructive, was efteemed facred by the ancient Egyptians, who alfo worshipped other animals, as the ox, the dog,

who had likewife thrown off all dependence on the Porte. The request of Mahommad was readily granted, and in token of refpe&t he was dignified with the title of Pacha of Cairo. Mahommad fucceeded in crushing Daher, by means of the fame treachery which he had employed againft his mafter Ali Bey. But he did not long enjoy the fruits of his good fortune, being fuddenly cut off by a malignant fever, June 1776. After his death bloody contests ensued about the poffeffion of his power, In March 1785, two Beys, IBRAHIM and MORAD, agreed to fhare it between them. But whatever difcord may prevail among the Beys themselves, they always unite against the restoration of the Turkish power. Every thing however continues to be done in name of the Sultan; the cuftomary tribute is paid, although with many deductions; and a Pacha is fent to Cairo, a new one ufually every third year, but his authority is merely nominal. Confined and watched in the caftle of Cairo, he is rather the prifoner of the Mamleuks, than the reprefentative of the Sultan. He is depofed, exiled, or expelled at pleafure. Some Pachas indeed have attempted to recover the power formerly annexed to their title, but the Beys have rendered all fuch attempts fo dangerous, that they now fubmit quietly to their three years captivity, and confine themfelves to the peaceable enjoyment of their falary and emoluments.

The frequent revolutions and convulfions which have happened in Egypt, and the wretched government to which it has been long fubjected, have rendered this country quite a defert, in comparison of what it was in ancient times, It is now inhabited chiefly by four kinds of people: 1. the ARAS, who are the most numerous, and employed as hufbandmen, fhepherds, and artifans; 2. the COPTS or Coptis, (called in Arabic el Kobt,) fuppofed to be defcended from the ancient Egyptians, and to have their name formed by abbreviation from the Greek Ayvarios, Egyptii; who profefs Chriftianity, being of the fect called Eutychians, and are employed by the rulers of the country, as writers, fecretaries, intendants, and collectors of the taxes; 3. TURKS, who were formerly mafters of the country, but now are rarely to be met with, except at Cairo, where they exercife the arts, and occupy the religious and military employments; and 4. the Mamelukes or MAMLOUKS, who now poffefs almost the whole power. -Egypt now merits attention chiefly on account of its natural curiofities, and the wonderful monuments of antiquity which it contains. But fuch is the favage ignorance and cruelty of its prefent rulers, that Europeans are not permitted to examine them minutely: Hence the different accounts of travellers concerning them.

Among the natural curiofities of Egypt the moft remarkable is the river NILE, on which the very existence of Egypt depends. The whole of the Delta, and the narrow tract of country called the Thebais or Said, is thought by Herodotus to have been formed by the earth brought down from Ethiopia or Abyffinia and the interior parts of Africa, by the Nile. This appears to be the cafe from the nature of the foil of Egypt, which is a black and fat mud, and quite different from the red fandy foil of Lybia on the one fide, and the clayey and ftony foil of Arabia on the other, Herodot. ii. 12. 16. From the fhells found in the defert, Herodotus conjectures the whole of this country to have been an acquifition from the fea. 16. The Nile is faid anciently to have run through the fands of Lybia, and to have been confined to its prefent courfe by Menes, the first king of Egypt. The old channel was to be feen in the days of Herodotus, who fays, that the mound, which barred its entrance, was preferved by the Perfians with the greatest care. Ib. 99. The veftiges of it are ftill faid to be visible, Savary, vol. 1. p. 14.-To defcribe Egypt in a few words, fays M. Volney, let the reader imagine, on one fide, a narrow fea and rocks (i..

dog, the cat, the hawk, &c. likewife onions and other vegetables. An ox of a certain form, called APIS, was an object of particular veneration, Strabo, xvii. 812. & 807.

The

the red fea and defert of Arabia;) on the other, immenfe plains of fand, (i. e. the defert of Lybia;) and in the middle, a river (the Nile) flowing through a valley 450 miles in length, and from 9 to 20 or 30 miles broad, which, at the distance of 90 miles from the fea, separates into two arms, the branches of which wander over a foil free from obftacles, and almoft without declivity, fo that the water does not flow fafter than three miles an hour. The breadth of the Delta at the bafe is about 160 miles.

The lower cataract of the Nile is ftill the fame as defcribed by Strabo, xvii. 817. The rock which bars the middle of the river is bare for fix months of the year. Then boats mount and descend by the fides. During the inundation, the waters heaped up between the mountains form one great sheet, and breaking down every obftacle, fpring from eleven feet height. The boats can no longer afcend the ftream, and merchandise must be conveyed fix miles over land, above the cataract; they however, defcend, as ufual, and suffer themfelves to be plunged into the gulf. They precipitate into it with the rapidity of an arrow, and in an inftant are out of fight. They rife again at fome distance, when the water becomes calm, to the aftonishment of beholders unacquainted with the fpectacle; as Seneca beautifully defcribes it, Nat. Quafi, It is neceffary for the boats to be moderately laden, and for the boatmen, who hold by the ftern, to be in exact equilibrium, otherwise they would infallibly be fwallowed up in the abyfs. Savary, v. ii. p. 87

iv. 2.

The Nile begins every year to rife about the middle of June, and continues rifing about 40 or 50 days, it then falls, by degrees, till in the end of May, next year, it is at the loweft. It does not rife alike high through all Egypt. At Cairo, where it is confined to one channel between high banks, the full height is at leaft 24 feet above its ordinary level. At Rofetta and Damietta, it is only four feet.

As foon as the Nile begins to rife, all the canals which have been made to convey water through the country, are shut and cleansed. When the river rifes to a certain height, which is meatured on a column called Mikkias or Nilométer, crected in the middle of a bafon communicating with the Nile, in a mofque on the ifle of Rhodda, at a small diftance from Cairo, then the canals are permitted to be unlocked or opened, and the ufual tax for the waters is paid to the Sultan. Under the Romans the taxes were proportioned to the height of the inundation, Strab. xvii. 817. and at prefent, unless the Nile rife to a certain height, Egypt pays no tribute to the Grand Seignior. The breadth of the Nile near Cairo is 2946 feet. The branch upon which Rofetta stands, is only 650 feet broad; and that by Damietta, not more than 100, Nicbubr's Travels. Neither the ancients nor moderns agree about the precife height to which the waters of the Nile rife. Pliny makes the juft height 16 cubits, or 24 feet: 12 cubits and below, or 18 cubits and above, he fays, produced a famine, v. 9. f. 10.-In the years 1783 and 1784, Egypt was afflicted with a dreadful famine, by the Nile not having rilen to the favourable height; as it had been during the former feafon by a plague, fo deftructive that 1500 dead bodies were reckoned to be carried out of Cairo in a day.

During the inut dation nothing is to be feen but cities and villages, which are ali built on eminences, either natural or artificial. When the waters fubfide, and the ground is thoroughly. dried, the labour of the hufbandman is eafy. He has nothing to do but turn up the foil, and temper it with a little fand to leffen its ranknefs; then he throws in the feed; and in a fhort time aftr, the whole country is covered with the richeft verdure. The fame field pro

duces