Jonathan Tremblay: Egyptian Unrest and Historical Consequences
[Jonathan Tremblay is a Historian and Breaking News Editor for the History News Network]
After fourteen days of protest, unrest and almost 100 casualties, the citizens of the Egyptian Republic continue to pressure their authoritative government for change and more liberty. In fact, the entire region is in turmoil as Tunisia, Yemen and Jordan have also experienced great political unrest in the past weeks and Algeria may just be around the corner, having already had a few demonstrations of protestor self-immolating in front of government offices. All of these efforts have varying goals but object to a unifying theme, especially in Egypt, a system of democracy that has been tinged with corruption and that inexplicably maintained authoritarian rulers for decades.
Indeed, President Hosni Mubarak has been the Egyptian head of state since 1981 and has won every election since, no matter how contested the results have been by both international observers and his own constituents. His strong military backup, deference to influential Arab businessmen and alliance with the United States (and non-aggressive stance towards Israel) have permitted Mubarak to brave affronts and challenges to his long reign – that is until 2011. As protestors continue to call for his resignation, he has at least confirmed that he (and his son) will not seek re-election later this year.
As much as these events will impact the geopolitical situation of Egypt, the Arab World, the Middle East and the next five years of an unstable Northern Africa, we at the End would like to expose a more far-reaching and timeless threat caused by the Egyptian unrest. As we enter week three of unrest, rioting, looting, vandalism and protest, we must turn towards something we might lose forever, something unique, something part of human legacy, something that is precariously preserved in the volatile Arab Republic of Egypt.
The main protest site in Cairo where tens of thousands have amassed and where dozens have died is Tahrir Square in the centre of the city. In that same Square we find the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities where it has stood since 1902 and where looters invaded a week ago. Worldwide, historians, archaeologists, Egyptologists and fans in general have worried about the state of Egyptian archaeology from the temples of the south to the museum warehouses of the Sinai but it is in Cairo’s museum that we find the greatest collection (120,000 pieces) of ancient Egyptian artefacts and where our fears have been justified.
For the moment, we have confirmation that two preserved mummies (from the nine on display in the Hall of Kings) have been decapitated and up to 200 artefacts have been damaged in a looting invasion on the 28th of January. The thieves broke into ceiling windows and rappelled down into the museum “looking for gold” as stipulates our source Dr. Hahi Hawass, Director of Egyptian Antiquities. Surprisingly, when Mr. Hawass actually made it back into the Museum, he could not find that anything had been stolen (not even Tutankhamun’s funerary mask of solid gold) and this was thanks to an amazing group of students and protestors that have holed up in the museum and have taken it upon themselves to defend their history with vigilantism not seen outside of a batman comic. Reports also indicate that other of Egypt’s 24 State museums and countless sites of archaeological architecture (Library of Alexandria, Temple of Abu Simbel, the Valley of Kings, etc.) have been overtaken by farmers and students in order to protect the artefacts (and indirectly the 6% of Egyptian GDP that comes from tourism). Thankfully, the past week has seen an increased military presence at all the museums but we still fear for the temples, pyramids, mastabas and other tombs.
As of Feb. 7th, Mr. Hawass and sparse reports specifically fear for the Qantara museum near Suez that was broken into, the warehouses of Saqqara where we find the famous step pyramid may have been extensively looted, the Valley of the Kings still has no official protection force (only aforementioned farmers and students) and almost everything in southern Egypt that is more rural and far from administrative power (Temples of Philae, Abu Simbel, Luxor, Karnak…). Ironically, one museum that seems to be safe is the Royal Jewellery Museum in Alexandria. Although looters overran it quite rapidly, the employees had already taken everything out of displays and hastily sealed it in the basement vault.
This entire episode will undoubtedly call into question Mr. Hawass’ own appeals for the return of ancient Egyptian artefacts to Cairo as New York, Berlin, Paris and London among others continue to refuse. Now I contend that these antiquities belong to all of humanity as our collective ancestral heritage and no contemporary state has a birth right to it. Furthermore, I reject the usual defence and propose that a great majority of today’s Egyptians have no more of a legitimate claim to the Rosetta stone than I have to Native American relics. Nations are only a product of the last 200 years but the civilizations of 5,000 years ago have been included in the cultural heritage of every peoples from Canada to China. What is important in this archaeological debate is preserving the actual artefacts. I may question how the U.K. got its hands on so much Egyptian artefacts but I have to admit they are quite safe and very accessible in London’s British Museum. On the other hand, Egypt has proven its instability time and time again in the last century.
For example following the Second World War, Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser developed some policies that were less than friendly to the colonial interests of France and the U.K. and so when he decided to nationalize the Suez Canal in 1956 (potentially having the right to refuse boat passage on the only maritime shortcut between Europe and India), the country was invaded and bombarded. France and the U.K. wanted the Canal and Israel joined in (and took over half the country) because Nasser and his Arab nationalism were less than friendly to the new Hebrew presence in the region. Very few reports exist on the state of antiquities at the time and the impact of the Suez War on them but foreign tanks rolling through and bombs dropping overhead could not have been good. It was through shear tactics and negotiation that Nasser got international opinion (i.e. the U.S. and the U.S.S.R.) to turn against France, the U.K. and Israel and thus with the withdrawal of the three by 1957 Nasser was hailed as a hero of the Arab World, the conqueror of the European imperialists and as an Egyptian King, this despite the toll on the cultural treasures of the region.
Nasser’s reign can be debated as bad or good by more qualified political historians than myself but I will say that he was not very good for archaeology. In 1960, fed up with the whims of the Nile River and seeing great potential for the rapid progress of his people, Nasser ordered the construction of the Aswan Dam. Ten years, 25,000 engineers and many millions later, the dam began providing half the country’s electricity, regulated Nile flooding to make agriculture more efficient, prevented periodic droughts for the future and making tourist boat trips viable. Four kilometres long. a kilometre large at the base and 111 metres tall, the dam also had the effect of flooding everything around itself, creating Lake Nasser. Having seen this coming, Nasser let UNESCO and international governments do as they would with the archaeology of the proposed basin while the dam was being built. This is why sumptuous temples are now found in New York, Leiden in the Netherlands and Madrid, having been rescued from the Dam. Further financing was provided to move the more famous temples of southern Egypt (Philae, Abu Simbel, Amada and Kalabsha) by cutting them into cubes and rebuilding them as seamlessly as possible on higher ground. Finally however, many temples (and perhaps potential discoveries that are now almost impossible) are now underwater, the price we all paid for the Aswan Dam and the vision of President Nasser.
Even further back, we have periodic evidence of two great so-called “Intermediary Periods” in Dynastic Egypt’s history (2191-2055 BC and 1650-1550 BC).These almost assuredly saw foreign invasion and pillage of all known tombs. In fact, evidence shows that the Great Pyramids of Gizeh were emptied out at that time, over 3,500 years ago.
In conclusion, Egyptian unrest seems to have passed its most volatile point already last week but it seems to be far from over and may very well not be the last time the country verges on revolt and revolution. I contend that every country on earth has to look out for Egyptian antiquities and that the greatest pieces of its archaeology including the Rosetta Stone, Papyrus of Ani, Mask of Tutankhamun, Bust of Nefertiti and Narmer Palette should be preserved and made accessible at all costs for the enrichment of all mankind and for many generations to come. This may involve leaving certain items in stable countries where they are now and maybe even relocating certain items from Egypt to said countries in the future.
With my historical and archaeological digression over, I wish a stable democracy to today’s Egyptian people and not any kind of continued oppressive authoritarianism that our ancient Egyptian ancestors periodically suffered through.