jury held deserving of death. The tribunal of Egypt was composed of thirty judges, chosen from among the priests of Heliopolis, of Memphis, and of Thebes; who administered justice to the people gratuitously, the prince allowing them a sufficent revenue to enable them so to do.

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The Egyptians had two kinds of writing; one sacred, and one common. The former was the representation of ideas by figures of animals, or other sensible objects, called hieroglyphics; many incriptions of which still exist, as do inscriptions and writings in the common character. The priests were held in the highest reverence, and the hieroglyphics were known to them alone. Philosophy was early cultivated by the Egyptians, and the doctrine of the Metempsychosis taught in their schools, to which many of the Greek philosophers repaired. They also made great progress in astronomy and geometry, and in the arts, particularly of architecture, of which the whole country still offers extensive columns, obelisks, and those stupendous specimens of human labour, the pyramids.

We now return to the history of Egypt after it became possessed by the Mamelukes, of whom it may be as well to speak. According to M. Volney, they came originally from Mount Caucasus, and were distinguished by the flaxen colour of their hair. The expedition of the Tartars, in 1227, proved indirectly the means of introducing them into Egypt. These merciless conquerors, having slaughtered till they were weary, brought along with them an immense number of slaves of both sexes, with whom they filled all the markets in Asia. The Turks purchased about twelve thousand young men, whom they bred up in the profession of arms, which they soon excelled in; but, becoming mutinous, they deposed and murdered the sultan Malek, in 1260. The Mamelukes having thus got possession of the government, and neither understanding nor valuing anything but the art of war, every species of learning decayed in Egypt, and a degree of barbarism was introduced. Neither was their empire of long duration, notwithstanding their martial abilities; for as they depended upon the Christian slaves, chiefly brought from Circassia, whom they bought for the purpose of training to war, and thus filling up their ranks, these new Mamelukes, or Borgites as they were at first called, in time rose upon their masters, and transferred the government to themselves, about a. D. 1382. They became famous for ferocious valour; were almost perpetually engaged in wars either foreign or domestic; and their dominion lasted till 1517, when they were invaded by Selim I., the Turkish sultan. The Mamelukes defended themselves with incredible bravery, but, overpowered by numbers, they were defeated in almost every engagement. Cairo, their capital, was taken, and a terrible slaughter, made of its defenders. The sultan, Tuman Bey, was forced to fly; and, having collected all his forces, he ventured a decisive 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 was himself taken and put to death. With him ended the glory of the Mamelukes.

The sultan Selim commenced his government of Egypt by an unexampled act of wholesale butchery. Having ordered a theatre to be erected on the banks of the Nile, he caused all the prisoners (upwards of thirty thousand), to be beheaded in his presence, and their bodies thrown into the river. He did not, however, attempt the total extirpation of the Mamelukes, but proposed a new form of government, by which the power being distributed among the different members of the state, should preserve an equilibrium; so that the dependence of the whole should be upon him. self. With this view, he chose from among those Mamelukes who had escaped, the general massacre, a divan, or council of regency, consisting of the pacha and chiefs of the seven military corps. The former was to notify to this council the orders of the porte, to send the tribute to Con

stantinople, and provide for the safety of government both external and internal; while, on the other hand, the members of the council had a right to reject the orders of the pacha, or even of deposing him, provided they could assign sufficient reasons. All the civil and political ordinances must also be ratified by them. Besides this, he formed the whole body into a kind of republic; for which purpose he issued an edict, stating, "Though, by the help of the Almighty, we have conquered the whole kingdom of Egypt with our invincible armies, nevertheless our benevolence is willing to grant to the twenty-four sangiacs of Egypt a republican government," &c. The conditions and regulations then follow, the most important of which are those which make it incumbent on the republic to provide twelve thousand troops at its own expense in time of peace, and as many as may be necessary for its protection in time of war; and also to send to the Sublime Porte a certain sum in money annually as tribute, with six hundred thousand measures of corn, and four hundred thousand of barley. Upon these conditions the Mamelukes were to have a free government over all the inhabitants of Egypt, independent of the Turkish lieutenant. Thus the power of the Mamelukes still continued in a considerable degree, and gradually increased so much as to threaten a loss of dominion to the Turks; but, singular as it may seem, notwithstanding a residence of nearly six centuries, they never became naturalized in the country. They formed no alliance with the females of Egypt, but had their wives brought from Georgia, Mingrelia, and the adjacent countries; so that, according to Volney, their offspring invariably became extinct in the second generation; they were therefore perpetuated by the same means by which they were first established; that is, their ranks were recruited by slaves brought from their original country. Indeed, as many writers have remarked, the Circassian territories have at all times been a nursery of slaves. Towards the end of last century, when they constituted the whole military force, and had acquired the entire government of Egypt, the Mamelukes, together with the Serradijes, a kind of mounted domestics, did not exceed ten thousand men. Some hundreds of them were dispersed throughout the country and in the villages, to maintain the authority of their corps and collect tribute; but the main body constantly remained at Cairo. "Strangers to each other, bound by no ties as parents or children, placed among a people with whom they had nothing in common, despised as renegades by the Turks, ignorant and superstitious from education, ferocious, perfidious, seditious, and corrupted by every species of debauchery, the disorders and cruelties which accompanied their licentious rule may be more easily imagined than described. Sovereignty to them was to have the means of possessing more women, toys, horses, and slaves, than others; of managing the court of Constantinople, so as to elude the tribute or the menaces of the sultan; and of multiplying partisans, countermining plots, and destroying secret enemies by the dagger or poison. But with all this, they are brave in the extreme. Their beys, and even the common soldiers, distinguished themselves by the magnificence and costliness of their accoutrements, though these were in general clumsy and heavy. Being trained from infancy to the use of arms and horsemanship, they were admirable horsemen ; and used the scimitar, car bine, pistol, and lance, with almost unequalled skill and vigour."

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About the year 1746, Ibrahim, an officer of the Janissaries, rendered himself in reality master of Egypt, having managed matters so well, that of the twenty-four beys, or sangiacs, eight were of his household; so hat by this means, as well as by attaching the officers and soldiers of his corps to his interest, the pacha became altogether unable to oppose him, and the orders of the sultan were less respected than those of Ibrahim. At his death, in 1757, his family continued to rule in a despotic manner; but waging war among each other, Ali Bey, who had been a principal actor in

the disturbances, in 1766 overcame the rest, and for sometime rendered himself absolute master of Egypt. This remarkable man was a Syrian by birth, and had been purchased when a youth in the slave market at Cairo; but being possessed of great talents, and of a most ambitious turn of mind, he, after a variety of extraordinary adventures, was appointed one of the twenty-four beys of Egypt. The Porte, being at that time on the eve of a dangerous war with Russia, had not leisure to attend to the proceedings of Ali Bey; so that he had an opportunity of vigorously prosecuting his designs. His first expedition was against an Arabian prince named Hamman; against whom he sent his favourite Mohammed Bey, under pretence that the former had concealed a treasure entrusted with him by Ibrahim, and that he afforded protection to rebels. Having destroyed this unfortunate prince, he next began to put in execution a plan proposed to him by a young Venetian merchant, of rendering Gedda, the port of Mecca, an emporium for all the commerce of India; and he even imagined he should be able to make the Europeans abandon the passage to the Indies by the Cape of Good Hope. With this view, he fitted out some vessels at Suez; and, manning them with Mamelukes, commanded the bey Hassan to sail with them to Gedda, and seize upon it, while a body of cavalry under Mohammed Bey advanced against the town. Both these commissions were executed according to his wish, and Ali became quite intoxicated with his success. Nothing but ideas of conquest now occupied his mind, without considering the immense disproportion between his own force and that of the grand seignior. Circumstances were then indeed very favourable to his schemes. The sheik Daher was in rebellion against the Porte in Syria, and the pacha of Damascus had so exasperated the people by his extortions, that they were ready for a revolt.

Having made the necessary preparations, Ali Bey dispatched about five hundred Mamelukes to take possession of Gaza, and thus secure an entrance into Palestine. Osman, the pacha of Damascus, however, no sooner heard of the invasion than he prepared for war, while the troops of Ali Bey held themselves in readiness to fly on the first attack. Sheik Daher hastened to their assistance, while Osman fled without even offering to make the least resistance; thus leaving the enemy masters of all Palestine. The combined army of Ali Bey and Sheik Daher afterward marched to Damascus; where the pachas waited for them, and on the 6th of June, 1771, a decisive action took place: the Mamelukes and Safadians (the name of Daher's subjects) rushed on the Turks with such fury, that, terrified at their courage, the latter immediately fled; and the allies became masters of the country, taking possession of the city without opposition. The castle alone resisted. Its ruinous fortification had not a single cannon; but it was surrounded by a muddy ditch, and behind the ruins were posted a few musqueteers; and these alone were sufficient to check this army of cavalry. As the besieged, however, were already conquered by their fears, they capitulated on the third day, and the place was to be surrounded next morning, when, at daybreak, a most extraordinary revolu tion took place. This was no less than the defection of Mohammed Bey himself, whom Osman had gained over in a conference during the night. At the moment, therefore, that the signal of surrender was expected, this treacherous general sounded a retreat, and turned toward Egypt with all his cavalry, flying with as great precipitation as if he had been pursued by a superior army. Mohammed continued his march with such celerity that the report of his arrival in Egypt reached Cairo only six hours before him. Thus Ali Bey found himself at once deprived of all his expectations of conquest; and, what was indeed galling, he found a traitor whom he durst not punish, at the head of his forces. A sudden reverse of for tune now took place. Several vessels laden with corn for Sheik Daher

were taken by a Russian privateer; and Mohammed Bey, whom he designed to have put to death, not only made his escape, but was so well attended that he could not be attacked. His followers continuing daily to increase in number, Mohammed soon became sufficiently strong to march toward Cairo; and, in April, 1772, having defeated the troops of Ali in a rencontre, entered the city sword in hand, while the latter had scarcely time to make his escape with eight hundred Mamelukes. With difficulty he was enabled to get to Syria by the assistance of Sheik Daher, whom he immediately joined with the troops he had with him. The Turks under Osman were at that time besieging Sidon, but raised the siege on the approach of the allied army, consisting of about seven thousand cavalry. Though the Turkish army was at least three times their number, the allies did not hesitate to attack them, and gained a complete victory. Their affairs now began to wear a more favourable aspect, but the military operations were retarded by the siege of Yafa (the ancient Joppa), which had revolted, and held out for eight months. In the beginning of 1773 it capitulated, and Ali Bey began to think of returning to Cairo. For this purpose Sheik Daher had promised him succours, and the Russians, with whom he had now contracted an alliance, made him a similar promise. Ali, however, ruined everything by his own impatience. He set out with his Mamelukes and fifteen hundred Safadians given him by Daher but he had no sooner entered the desert which separates Gaza from Egypt, than he was attacked by a body of one thousand chosen Mamelukes, who were lying in wait for his arrival. They were commanded by a young

Mamelukes, who wed Mourad, who, being enamoured of the wife of

Ali Bey, had obtained a promise of her from Mohammed, in case he could bring him her husband's head. As soon as Mourad perceived the dust by which the approach of Ali's army was announced, he rushed forward to the attack and took prisoner Ali Bey himself, after wounding him in the forehead with a sabre. Being conducted to Mohammed Bey, the latter pretended to treat him with extraordinary respect, and ordered a magnificent tent to be erected for him; but in three days he was found dead of his wounds, as was given out; though some, with equal probability, af firmed that he was poisoned.

Upon the death of Ali Bey, Mohammed took upon himself the supreme dignity. At first he pretended to be only the defender of the rights of the sultan, remitted the usual tribute to Constantinople, and took the customary oath of unlimited obedience; after which he solicited to make war upon Sheik Daher, against whom he had a personal pique. In February, 1776, he appeared in Syria with an army equal to that which he had formerly commanded under Ali Bey. Daher's forces despairing of being able to cope with such a formidable armament, abandoned Gaza, of which Mohammed immediately took possession, and then marched toward Yafa, which defended itself so long, that Mohammed was distracted with rage, anxiety, and despair. The besieged, however, whose numbers were diminished by the repeated attacks, became weary of the contest; and it was proposed to abandon the place, on the Egyptians giving hostages. Conditions were agreed upon, and the treaty might be considered as concluded, when, in the midst of the security occasioned by this belief, some Mamelukes entered the town; numbers of others following their example, attempted to plunder. The inhabitants defended themselves, and the attack recommenced; the whole army then rushed into the town, which suffered all the horrors of war; women and children, young and old men, were all cut to pieces, and Mohammed, equally mean and barbarous, caused a pyramid, formed of the heads of the unfortunate sufferers, to be raised as a monument to his victory. By this disaster the greatest terror and consternation were diffused everywhere. Sheik Daher himself fled, and Mohammed soon became master of Acre also. Here he behaved with

his usual cruelty, and abandoned the city to be plundered by his s diers. But his career was soon stopped, his death just at the time occurring through a malignant fever, after two days' illness.

Soon after Mohammed's death a contest arose among several of the beys, as to who should succeed him. But the chief struggle lay between Mourad and Ibrahim, who, having ultimately overcome the rest, agreed in 1785, to share the government between them, and continued to rule as joint pachas for many years. From that time we have no account of any remarkable transaction in Egypt, till the French invaded that country in 1798; which we shall as concisely as possible relate, and then take a brief survey of some striking events that have occurred more recently. When Selim III. ascended the Ottoman throne, the French revolution was just breaking out; but until Bonaparte's memorable invasion of Egypt and Syria, its effects were not much felt in that quarter of the globe. The two Mameluke beys, Mourad and Ibrahim, were at that time at the head of the government. The French landed near Alexandria on the 1st of July, 1798; and that city was taken by assault on the 5th, and plundered by the soldiery. They then marched to Cairo, but were met by an army of Mamelukes in the plains near the Pyramids, where the French gained a signal victory, which was followed by their occupation of the capital, and the submission, in general, of the inhabitants. The destruction of the French fleet, by the English under Nelson, in the bay of Aboukir, was the next event of importance; yet, notwithstanding this great calamity, Bonaparte was not deterred. from pursuing his original design, but set out at the head of ten thousand men to cross the desert which separates Egypt from Palestine. On his arrival in Syria he conquered several towns, one of which was Jaffa. The defence of Acre, however, by Sir Sidney Smith, put a stop to the future proceeding of Napoleon in that quarter.

The most remarkable person connected with Egypt after the period of which we have been speaking, was Mehemet Ali, the Turkish pacha of that country. This chief, who has since become so prominent in Egyptian and Syrian history, was ambitious of making himself independent of the Ottoman Porte; but as this could not be effected while the Mameluke beys retained their power and influence, he determined on their extirpation by a cold-blooded act of treachery. He accordingly invited them to a grand festival, to be given in honour of his son Ibrahim, who had just been appointed commander-in-chief of an expedition against the Wahabites of Arabia. Wholly unsuspicious of the treacherous design of Mehemet Ali, the beys arrived at the castle on the appointed day, (March 1st, 1811). each attended by his suite; but they had no sooner entered than they were seized and beheaded. The execution of all the chief Mamelukes throughout the country immediately followed; and Mehemet now, though nominally a vassal of the Turkish empire, exercised all the functions and privileges of an absolute sovereign prince. In the histories of Turkey' and Greece,' will be seen how large a share Mehemet Ali and Ibrahim had in fomenting and carrying on the war between those countries. It will also be seen in its proper place in the history of England,' that Mehemet Ali had provoked the insurrection in Syria, and but for the interference of England and her continental allies, would have wrested Egypt and Syria from the Turks. But the allied fleet, under the command of Sir R. Stopford and Commodore Napier, bombarded and captured the whole line of fortified places along the coast of Syria, ending their operations with the destruction of St. Jean d' Acre. This place is renowned for scenes of desperate valour. A heavy cannonade for three hours was kept up, by which time the guns of the forts were silenced; when, owing to one of the bomb-shots failing on the enemy's powder magazine, an awful explosion took place, and twelve hundred human beings were blown