| Read the following in sequence or jump to: Egypt
 The British Occupation of 
				Egypt
 1919 
				Civil Disobedience and Pressure for Independence
 Egypt's Independence: 
				Monarch's Actions
 Egypt as a Power in Africa
 Egypt's Independence: 
				People's Actions
 Customs
 Culture
 The Ottomans
 Background
 Timeline of Key Events 
				and Characters
 Senussis
 
 
 Egypt
				 As a native Egyptian but even as a diplomat 
				in 1924 and later a Pasha with great influence on Egyptian 
				politics, it's impossible to understand what was on Ahmed Hassanein's mind without being informed of the great events 
				happening in Egypt at the time. Things have been a little crazy back home. 
				For the last 5 years, the entire Egyptian population (nearly the 
				same as today's population of Cairo city) seems to have been 
				determined, this time, to get independence from Britain. The unique 
				situation requires a bit of a detail to understand the 
				impossible situation that have been on the adventurous mind of 
				the Bey. 
				The British 
				Occupation of EgyptIn controlling Egypt, even British Empire 
				couldn't byte more than what it can chew. Egypt --rich and 
				vigorous Muslim Welaya-- was one of the most important parts of 
				the Ottoman Empire. The British policy must have been one of the 
				grandest implementation of the 'divide-to-rule' ever done 
				(perhaps only second to that of India). After being disputed in British Parliament 
				(whether to occupy a large country like that of Egypt or not), 
				the occupation took place and seems to have gone through three 
				major phases that none ever materialized into direct rule by 
				British: 
					Occupying Egypt (1882) to restore 
					order and safety in streets for the Khedive and for the 
					Ottoman Sultan whose Egypt's dynasty of Mohamed Ali has 
					always defied their suzerainty,Announcing Egypt a British 
					Protectorate (1914) (e3laan al7emaya al-bereetaniyah 3ala 
					masr اعلان الحماية البريطانية 
					على مصر ) which means: 
					cutting ties of Egypt from that of Ottoman's and replace it 
					in the sense that Egyptian foreign affairs are totally taken 
					over by British representatives (no Egyptian embassies 
					allowed) which is similar to other British Dominions 
					like Australia and Canada at the time,Ending the Protectorate in Egypt 
					(1922) unilaterally (after the strenuous 1919 Civil 
					Disobedience led by Saad Zaghlul and his Wafd companions).  
					By issuing the February 28th Declaration (tasree7 28 
					febrayer تصريح 28 فبراير
					), London announced the limited independence 
					of Egypt from London and the right to have independent 
					Embassies abroad. But the military control over Egypt 
					remained and Lord Allenby have used it effectively that he 
					could humiliate the rulers of Egypt when needed. 
				   
				Egypt's flags evolution: from left to right 1) 
				One crescent and one star - Egypt used the Ottoman flag till 
				Mohamed Ali changed it, 2) Khedivial flag symbolizing the 3 
				elements of the nation: Muslims, Christians, Jews or Egypt, 
				Nubia and Sudan, or maybe the victories of Mohamed Ali in 3 
				continents, 3) on 1923 King Fuad changed to a new flag for 
				Independent Egypt(see for more: http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/eg-ott.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Egypt)
   
				
				1919 Civil Disobedience and Pressure for IndependenceNow remember that we're with Ahmed Bey 
				Hassanein at 1924 so we're at the very beginning of the third 
				stage. Britain has emerged victor over Germany and Turkey in WWI 
				and Egyptians decide its time to rid themselves with them. So a 
				massive Civil Obedience in 1919 takes place that shows a united 
				national front. This, although seems to have inspired later 
				India's Gandhi, couldn't have affected the euphoric victor power 
				of the WWI. The British High Commissioner at time of 1919 
				(Wingate) seems to has suffered greatly trying to convince 
				British government of the seriousness of the situation and to 
				succumb to the demands of Zaghlul and Companions. It wasn't 
				until General Edmund Allenby, the hero of World War I, was 
				assigned High Commissioner to Egypt that the British government 
				gave up to 
				those national requests--but only initially. 
				   
				Allenby. Entering Jerusalem 
				in 1917. Like all highly-educated Egyptians, Ahmed 
				Hassanein saw those events happening in time by reading newspapers and seeing them in his own eyes in streets of Cairo 
				and of course as Civil Servant (Muwazaf موظف 
				). He 
				must have had some mixed feelings about all the parties 
				involved, British, Fuad I, Zaghlul, and various political 
				figures in Egypt and Britain that he saw and probably met as an 
				Oxford-educated Egyptian. For example, Zaghlul wasn't the only
				nationalist and others who were calling for independence 
				(the nationalists aspirations as often mentioned in 
				British letters) didn't necessarily agree with most of his views 
				or his actions. Also, Ahmed must have noticed that sometimes 
				Egyptians had an influence over British High Commissioners by 
				playing the same game of divide-to-rule between British players 
				that often succeeding in getting their demands. So, finally, after more banishing of the Popular 
				Leaders, and consequently a repetition of huge nation-wide unrests in 
				this large country, the limited independence was given to 
				Egyptians without any negotiations. That was the controversial 
				1922 February 28th Declaration that was immediately criticized 
				by Popular Leader Saad Zaghlul and his then emerging political 
				party Wafd. This watershed event in the 
				history of modern Egypt perhaps is the central 
				event that had direct influence on the chain of events and which 
				in my humble opinion has 
				led to the great discoveries of the Lost Oases by Ahmed 
				Hassanein. Egypt's Independence: Monarch's ActionsThe independence in this way meant that 
				Zaghlul and his Wafd Companions will inevitably find their way 
				to lead the country and they worked hard to win it from the 
				Sultan that wanted to develop it in an autocracy (absolute 
				rule). But that will have to take sometime and the King had more 
				glamorous means to lead the way. So while a Constitution was 
				underway, the Sultan Fuad I changed his title to King 
				Fuad I and the Magless elNuzzar (
				مجلس النظار
				Council of Supervisors) to Magless elWuzara2 (
				مجلس الوزراء
				same title as the Ottoman's Cabinet). Even more significantly, the King decided 
				to bring up his Crown Prince (Farouk) in the native tongue of 
				the country: Egyptian Arabic. For today's Egyptians, it's almost 
				always incredulous (but understandable under Ottomans 
				suzerainty) to know that the dynasty of Mohamed Ali always had 
				Turkish as their native tongue till this change took place. 
				 I have no doubt that sending Ahmed Bey 
				Hassanein has been part of those actions to assert Egypt's 
				fiercely demanded independence. At the time where geographic 
				exploration seemed like a monopoly of European nations, it is rather unexpected 
				to see a non-European country attempt it, which therefore needs 
				digging a bit deeper as we'll see now. Egypt as a Power in AfricaThe Historical BackgroundA King that has thought of commissioning 
				such an adventure must have had precedents that inspired that. 
				So at this point, we'll have to stop a bit at our story and go a 
				bit further back in time to see what might have caused King 
				Fuad--first Independent King of Egypt-- to think that 
				Geographic Exploration is an important part to assert his 
				sovereignty. So let's go back a bit in time. We're back to near the end of 1700s 
				(eighteenths century) and the Cairenes have just learnt the news 
				about a Napoleon Bonaparte ( 
				الفرنجة  or el-Ferenja meaning not only French 
				but all Europeans since Crusades time) who came landing on their 
				shores on 1798. But it was really madness on 
				Bonaparte's part because all of the military calculations at the 
				time held that it was impossible for a European army to conquer 
				the East. The fierce Ottoman Janissaries (Enkeshareyah 
				إنكشارية 
				) and fearless Memlukes whose legends from Arabian Nights still 
				sounding in Europe. In spite of the control of many places 
				around the world, Ottoman territories were still untouched by 
				Europeans and was still the opponent of Europe at the 
				time. The scholars of University of Al-Azhar must have 
				been quick to open their dusty books about last French campaigns 
				to Egypt (Louis IX) that was defeated with difficulty and King 
				Louis captured. The strong military power ("that befits 
				beasts" according to Arab chroniclers of Crusaders) was 
				expected from Ferenja, so nothing was new. But this time 
				something came as a surprise as we'll see. 
				 
				Napoleon at the Battle of 
				Pyramids(http://www.pbs.org/empires/napoleon/n_war/campaign/images/Egypt.jpg)
 When things calmed down after the 
				completing of the conquering, the Egyptian chroniclers of the 
				time have ventured into the offices of the French generals. For 
				example Al-Jabarti (الجبرتي) 
				has visited the Ferenja quarters and talked with their scholars 
				(Bonaparte for some reasons has brought scientists with him in 
				the Egyptian Campaign which was unusual at the time). In 
				Jabarti's chronicles he has shown great surprise at their 
				scientific and technological advancements. Although he was 
				confidently describing the machines in clear Arabic terms that 
				is close to what mechanics now use, there were few things that 
				puzzled him specially electricity that he described how it 
				affects those who dare touch it which "could produce results 
				that cannot be comprehended by the minds of our likes." This 
				is far from the way Muslims were talking before the French 
				Campaign. In fact the reverse of fortune must have 
				been severe and so astonishing that it must have influenced 
				great change in the minds of highly-educated Egyptians of the 
				time. The astonishing surprise seems to have come 
				because as part of a middle-eastern empire the last time 
				Egyptians came face-to-face with the French was during the 
				Crusades few centuries ago. All encounters have shown that the 
				Ferenja are hopelessly uncivilized (see Arab chroniclers 
				of the time) in spite of all the military power and courage. So 
				they must have been shocked by the science and culture that is 
				superior to those of Muslims. This seems to have started a chain of 
				events that eventually led --in about 20 years only-- to the 
				rise of Egypt as a world-class military and navy power with 
				strong economy and a growing technological advancement. Mohamed 
				Ali (elected-ruler turned authoritarian) did that and gradually 
				won some independence from the Ottoman Caliph. He not only 
				started taking over the regions of the Ottoman Caliphate (Hijaz, 
				Syria, etc.) but he actually headed for Istanbul at one point 
				with intention to take over the Caliphate (re-establish it in 
				Cairo?) It's obvious that Egyptians at the time thought that 
				Ottomans were not able any more to represent the civilized image 
				of middle-easterners any more nor defend them. Perhaps not only 
				the opinion in Cairo but in Istanbul that the entire Ottoman 
				fleet at one point has been handed over to the Egyptian control 
				(by Admiral Ahmed Pasha) with no fight and Egyptians became the 
				undisputed controllers of the Eastern Mediterranean if not most 
				of it for a short while. With such formidable Egyptian power, Europe 
				had to support the Turkish army against the Egyptian one and 
				they defeated Mohamed Ali Navy and Army. They went on and went 
				to Egypt and practically dismantled the Egyptian army. The Modern Geographic Exploration PhaseBefore they do that, Egypt has almost 
				penetrated to Equator at north Uganda, occupied almost all lands 
				around Red Sea both sides, and later took over strategic points 
				on the coasts of Somalia near Kenya. On the map it's almost as 
				if tried to surround the mountainous country we call Ethiopia 
				today from nearly all sides except from Kenyan side. History books that I have read don't 
				mention anything about this interesting time and place like: 
					Who were the Egyptian explorers at the 
					time whether military, religious or in scientific/industrial 
					ranks? Egyptian ranks at the time were famous for its 
					engineers, chroniclers/geographers, surveyors/astronomers, 
					traders, skippers, sophisticated administrators of large 
					regions, etc. Some Royalties were involved in this like 
					Prince Kemal elDin Hussein whose explorations further up the 
					Nile are scarcely known, and Prince Omar Tusun who was a 
					historian and many others (including Kings) were members of 
					the Egyptian Geographic Society that survives till today. 
					But we know very little of the names and achievements of the 
					Egyptian chief engineers (= m3allem
					معلم - bash-mohandess
					باشمهندس
					) who built great public works of the time and 
					Industrial Plants who were probably educated in Istanbul and 
					then in Europe. Many scholars remain unknown unfortunately 
					like, for instance, Mahmoud Bey elFalaki 
					(Astronomer/Surveyor as was the custom of the time) who was 
					a great map-maker at the time of Khedive Ismail.Why did the Egyptians go there? Was 
					that to control areas of Muslim influence neglected by the 
					Ottomans? Or to compete with growing European penetration in 
					the African continent playing in their backyard? Was it for 
					existing trade that Egypt already had and wanted to protect, 
					or prospecting for new ones?How were those received by natives? 
					Did they find it already controlled by fellow Muslims from 
					the natives? Islam has been there for over a millennia and 
					other native African Muslim empires (e.g., Fulani Empire in 
					today's Nigeria) have been growing. Would they have found 
					common grounds, or fought over territories?How did Egyptian administration 
					perform in comparison to this of European administration? 
					 For whatever reasons, it seems that the 
				Egyptian adventures have shaped the borders of this area at 
				least that of today's Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia and their 
				neighboring countries. After Egypt's defeat and then occupation 
				by British, they were replaced by Italian, French and British 
				occupation. Sudan in which Egypt has established Khartoum on 
				1821 as Capital has been too big and too hard to govern alone so 
				it was put as the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Note: While Egyptians seem to have 
				forgotten this part of their modern history, many of the 
				provinces' people did not and its marks and events are still in 
				the verbal tradition surprising Egyptians traveling to those areas. From what 
				seems like favorable opinion by Syrians, to relatively negative by Saudis, 
				the Egyptian emerging administration replacing that of Istanbul 
				seem to have had different policies for different regions and 
				different situations and therefore, different impact. Please let 
				us know on
				
				SaharaSafaris Forum if you know more. Khedive Ismail's conquests further west 
				into the Sudanic region and Red Sea have consolidated 
				this and have added Darfur to today's Sudan. Perhaps the ambitions of Mohamed Ali's 
				dynasty in Egypt represents what a modern Muslim state would 
				have been like at the time which seem to have same tendencies 
				(similar to Europeans at the time) to expand trade routes and 
				state control over its less developed surrounding nations. But 
				the fundamental difference from Europeans is that this process 
				is quite ancient by the classical superpowers of Egypt, 
				Mesopotamia and Persia, so the native resistance for such 
				expansion would have never been the same. I guess we still need to learn more about 
				its policies in Africa (let me know if you have any books or 
				links about such conquering and administration policies of 
				Egypt). Egypt's Independence: People's ActionNow we've seen what King Fuad had in mind 
				when he sent Ahmed Bey Hassanein. But let's get back to what's 
				happening --at the time-- elsewhere in Egypt. Like European history, the Egyptian 
				bourgeoisies (represented by Zaghlul and many of his Wafd 
				Companions) seem to have fought Egyptian Kings' trials to turn 
				Egypt into an autocracy (ruler with absolute powers). The difference from European case was the 
				interference of existing Colonial Occupation officials in Cairo. 
				The bourgeoisies --after fierce fighting-- eventually have to 
				concede to the King because if they go too far in opposing the 
				King, they find too much public sympathy from the 
				Colonial High Commissioner that always seemed to strip them of 
				their legitimacy before their own supporters. On 1922, Ahmed Bey Hassanein --sponsored by 
				the King-- sent to open new ways for possible Egyptian campaigns 
				to the southwest of Egypt. The French then claimed the area as
				French Equatorial Africa but didn't as yet fully explore 
				it themselves as evident in their going on-expeditions that 
				Hassanein reported in the article. Meanwhile, Zaghlul was 
				already active in Cairo after back from exile in Malta with an 
				absolutely popular reception by the nation. With his Wafd 
				Companions and many other nationalists, they pushed until 
				a National Constitution has been approved same year by the King 
				and Egyptian People's Assembly and accordingly a whole new era 
				of politics in Egypt has started. Things started going more rapidly and while 
				Ahmed Bey was in Washington writing his article to National 
				Geographic in 1924 and after a year from ending his heroic saga, 
				the first Egyptian government with direct elections by the 
				people has been elected by overwhelming voting (90+%) and Saad 
				Zaghlul became the undisputed leader in Egypt as legitimate 
				Prime Minister under an envious King and a concerned High 
				Commissioner (mandoub saami مندوب 
				سامي ).   
				   Things seemed too good to be true for 
				Egyptians and remained highly volatile and indeed have came near 
				to a total disaster. Saad Zaghlul submitted resignation 
				(November 1924) one month after Hassanein's article to end the 
				period of perhaps the most significant Cabinet at the age. The 
				reason was an unexpected assassination of the British Commander 
				of the Egyptian Army (Sir Oliver (Lee) Stack, aka, Sirdar
				سردار
				) who doubled as Governor of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. 
				Hassanein Bey must have been very busy in America watching the 
				news and explaining it to his American colleagues at the time of 
				the article and after less than 2 years from his historical 
				expedition. The King then appointed a new government, 
				resolved the Parliament and Egypt (and obviously its King) fell 
				into despair again for a while. Under the light of those circumstances, if 
				our Ahmed Bey had any ambitions in leading new expeditions to 
				the area --perhaps accompanied by Egyptian scientists or 
				developers-- they must by now have all gone. A smart explorer 
				like him would have to look for something else to apply his 
				sharp mental skills and risk-taking inclinations. And that he 
				did as proven in his flamboyant career. CustomsIt seems that at those 
				days, ladies of highborn have --traditionally-- to cover their 
				faces by Yashmak while servants were not allowed to. The 
				increasing European influence and specially after the Great War 
				seems to have caused that distinction to change and perhaps 
				that's why highborns started uncovering their faces while 
				servants were allowed to cover it, this maybe as far as the 
				eccentric
				flappers girlish style did penetrate. From photos we 
				see that the haircuts and accessories of 1920s were adopted but 
				we seem to see it only by the highborn ladies of age. Perhaps other 
				younger ones have been more Europeanized in their style but I 
				have seen no photos to show that.   
				 
				Safiya Zaghlul. Daughter of 
				Mostafa Pasha Fahmy (an ex Prime Minister) and wife of the 
				popular leader Saad Zaghlul who was the first Constitutional PM.   CultureThe arts in Egypt has been risen 
				by the aristocracy to very high levels as implied by Philip 
				Mansil who wrote in 1988, "one reason for the increasing 
				extravagance of the Ottoman court in 1860s and 1870s had been 
				the need to compete with members of the Egyptian dynasty, when 
				they came to spend the summer on the Bosphorus." Mansil 
				wrote about the level the two courts reached: "Empress 
				Eugénie, who stayed with the Valide Sultan in Constantinople in 
				1869, wrote to Napoleon III of a 'luxury' which we in the West 
				have no idea'. Since she herself presided over the most 
				luxurious court in Europe, the Ottoman court must have been 
				dazzling." Perhaps Egypt's splendors and riches have been 
				always remembered by Europeans throughout the medieval times 
				till the days of Hassanein. There's no surprise then when Mansil 
				described Egypt after Khedive Ismail's modernization as "a 
				country which in some ways surpassed the elegance and refinement 
				of contemporary Europe." This perhaps explains why 
				Hassanein, an Egyptian courtier, has often used in his writings 
				some of the world's finest luxury items to describe certain 
				scenes or feelings of the desert which to European readers must 
				have been very understandable and charming. The 19th century Cairo was so 
				cosmopolitan it had 27 newspapers; 9 French (elite's language of 
				the time in Egypt), 7 Arabic, 5 Italian, 3 Greek, 1 Turkish and 
				Arabic, 1 Arabic and French, and 1 Arabic, French and Italian. 
				The Arabic ones were key in the development of the national 
				identity and aspirations of Egyptians and other 
				middle-easterners. Egyptian palaces were decorated 
				in the height of European luxury that some French gilded 
				furniture were later known as Louis Cairo in Europe. On the social side, feminism was rising and 
				although seemed to be influenced by the changes of the 20s 
				Europe as well as those of Istanbul, it took on an anti-European 
				nationalistic flavor. The OttomansAhmed and all his fellow citizens in Egypt 
				have felt part of the Ottoman entity which they were part of for 
				400 years watching its rise and fall. When Ahmed appeared at the 
				scene, Egyptian court's native language was still Turkish as 
				part of the Ottoman court. It had heavy French influence. Arabic was not fashionable 
				in the court although perhaps remained primary in Egyptian administration throughout 
				the centuries. At time of Ahmed, it seemed that the struggle between 
				Turkish-educated aristocracy and an increasingly rich and 
				politically powerful Egyptian 
				bourgeoisies 
				(such as Saad Zaghlul and perhaps Hassanein Bey as well). They seemed to perfect themselves in all 
				courtly skills but also to assert an Egyptian fellahine 
				identity. The growth of the feeling of separate identity has 
				grown gradually but not always steadily with many Egyptian 
				nationalist leaders calling for a united stand with Istanbul. 
				Generally,  Egyptians main national aspirations seemed to 
				be of independence from Britain by allying themselves with Istanbul 
				or by trying to replace it--but never could ignore it. For this, there's no doubt that understanding of 
				what's happening in Istanbul at the time and its important 
				figures are critical to understand what Hassanein as part of the 
				Egyptian elite was discussing and thinking at the time of his 
				expedition. BackgroundOttoman Sultanate have been the Sick-man 
				of Europe during the 19th century as Egyptians are taught in their schools 
				nowadays. It means that 
				European Powers have had a constant policy of keeping it as such 
				that they would defend it against its enemies while trying to 
				restrict its reforms (a.k.a. Oriental Question). 
				Then, later, and by encouraging nationalist separatists, they 
				have taken over its provinces bit by bit. There are many reasons and symptoms of the 
				end in 1922 as we'll see, but the landing of Napoleon 
				Bonaparte's army on Egyptian shores on 1798, marks the beginning 
				of losing territories. It proved to many in Egypt and the 
				Provinces (Welayat الولايات 
				) that Ottomans are no longer the military and cultural force it 
				had once been. Under such decadence, the peoples of the 
				historical Muslims heartland seem to have been looking for ways 
				other than the Ottomans to compete culturally with the now 
				superior West and to defend their borders against increasing 
				European ambitions of 19th and 20th century. Egyptians, Syrians, etc. always seemed very 
				reluctant to severe their connection with Istanbul, especially 
				when facing the wrath of a Colonialist power. But increasingly 
				nationalist movements were growing away although still under the 
				spell of Istanbul's events. Turkish nationalism seem to have 
				started rising at the time perhaps under European nationalism 
				but was met with very little success by the Turks before the 
				dissolution of the Caliphate. I couldn't help during my readings to 
				notice a peculiar regional phenomenon that is related to 
				religion at the time. Some Sultans attempted to rally the 
				peoples of the Ottoman empire around traditional Islam against 
				the increasing demands of pro-Western reforms in Istanbul. 
				Unlike some black African resistance to colonialism that 
				employed Islam effectively (but losing at the end) the Ottoman 
				Sultan seemed to have failed badly. It's a fact that Europeans 
				(even at the height of their secularism) have always emphasized 
				their Christianity in the middle-east but it seems that this 
				didn't affect the very strong anti-European tendencies of 
				middle-easterners into any effective anti-Christian call. There 
				might be a geographic answer to that. Indonesia, for example, is 
				very far away area and seems to have never been mentioned as 
				Muslims at the time. It might be the case that Egyptians and 
				Syrians --as two examples of politically active nations in the 
				area-- have identified 'nationalism' with the people of 
				middle-east only which has an ancient mixture of Muslims, 
				Christians and Jews. Consequently, the 1919 revolution in Egypt 
				showed muslim-christian solidarity against European authority. Now this brings another interesting point. 
				This distinction between European policies and their European 
				heritage (science and religion) might explain the popularity of 
				the political opinion among virtually all the Ottoman provinces 
				that reforms could be taken directly from European 
				scientific/administration. This led to the employment of German 
				and French key-persons in many Muslims institutions such as army 
				and government sections to implement reforms--a very unthinkable 
				thing to do nowadays in the same countries. Timeline of Key Events and CharactersOn 1908 at the time of Sultan Abdul Hamid 
				II, a successful revolution to suspend the Sultanate by the 
				Young Turks (Turkiya Al-Fatat تركيا 
				الفتاة ) which was a group of mainly army officers, but included bureaucrats, 
				and intellectuals as well. They called for more empowerment of the 
				people by the re-institution of the Ottoman Constitution and 
				opening of the Parliament. After some power struggle by several 
				parties including Ottoman Administrative 
				Decentralization Party (Hizb al-lamarkaziyya al-idariyya 
				al-‘uthmani), three of the officers of the Young 
				Turks have assumed power. Most famous of which is Enver Pasha 
				(Anwar Basha in Arabic) who was 32 years old on 1913 when he became 
				War Minister of Ottoman empire at the beginning of the Great 
				War. 
				   
				From left to right: Sultan 
				Abdul Hamid II ruled from 1876 to 1909. Sultan Mehmed V ruled 
				from 1909 to 1918. Sultan Mehmed VI ruled from 1918 to 1922. During the 1914 visit of Egyptian Khedive 
				Abbas Hilmi II to Istanbul, Enver Pasha decides to side with 
				Germans in the WWI. Britain immediately announces that Istanbul 
				has no suzerainty any more over Egypt, Khedive Abbas Hilmi II is 
				deposed and Khedive Hussein Kamel is appointed by the British in 
				his place. The new Khedive assumes the title of Sultan same as 
				the monarch of Istanbul to emphasize independence. 
				 
				Enver Pasha In the War, Enver Pasha's troops --led by 
				Generals of German origins-- loses battles horribly on the 
				Russian front, but restores some confidence as the hero of 
				Gallipoli in which he successfully defended the Dardanelles 
				against a fierce British Navy attack in 1916. But the war ends 
				with Istanbul falling in the hands of Allies (imagine the impact 
				on the Egyptians). The Young Turks (Enver Pasha) rule comes to 
				an end and a puppet Sultan is restored temporarily. It was a matter of time before Mustafa 
				Kemal's army starts his 1920 march to liberate Turkey. On 1923 
				(same year Ahmed ended his expedition and --ironically-- after 
				Egypt's independence), the Treaty of Lausanne was signed 
				to recognize the independence of Turkey and end the rule of 
				puppet Sultan Mehmed VI (Mohamed the Sixth) as the last of his 
				500 years dynasty. Mustafa becomes the first President of a new 
				era that succumbed to Turkish nationalism in Western form and 
				cut all relations with the Welayat of the Ottomans. Such dramatic events came to pass at the 
				same year Ahmed Bey was publishing his article in National 
				Geographic Magazine. We are now more able to imagine the kind of 
				discussions our famous Bey would have in America explaining all 
				the above and consequences of its results. The final fall of a large 
				and ancient empire such as the Ottomans is something that 
				must have been very significant at the time. SenussisAhmed Bey described their start very well. 
				At 1800s, Al-Tariqa Al-Sanusiya seem to have been the governing 
				law --and perhaps still is-- of a large area of North Africa 
				from Mediterranean in the north to Lake Chad in south and from 
				Nile Valley in the east to before Timbuktu in Mali in southwest. 
				Their fortified towns that were called Zwaya (plural of Zawya in 
				Arabic) built by many races covered this region that included 
				what we call today Libya, most of Chad, Niger, Mali and southern 
				parts of Algeria and perhaps parts of Nigeria.  Senussis seem to be sort of a response to 
				the Western colonialism to Africa specially the French to 
				Algeria that started early in 1800s. From what Ahmed Bey 
				mentions they seem to have imposed a puritan system of 
				belief on their followers. They seem to acknowledge generally 
				the rule of other Muslims represented by Ottomans and Egyptians 
				and had no fight with them although looked suspiciously at their 
				non-puritanical ways from what we see from the article. Their 
				center was moved from Jaghbub to Kufra under French and Italians 
				pressures. Al-Sanusiya (as they're called in plural in Arabic) 
				are still active such as in Siwa, Egypt for instance. With such starting by an Algerian and 
				puritanical tradition, the Senussis seem to have been preparing 
				themselves for the upcoming European invasion by being ready as 
				much as they know (which now we know was very little in material 
				and physical power although must have been extremely high in 
				spirits). Unfortunately, when it came, the invasion was very 
				destructive. It seems that the Fascist Leaders of 
				Italy have decided to finish the Senussis resistance in 
				Cyrenaica by exterminating their tribes ruthlessly (see below). Finally on 
				January 1931 Egyptian and British officers on the borders of 
				Egypt received news of the final invasion of Kufra and the 
				flight of its inhabitants. The Mamour (Egyptian rank
				مأمور ) of Dakhla sent all their vehicles searching for 
				the hundreds of Senussis refugees escaping Kufra to Dakhla oasis 
				in Egypt with their families and dying in the desert on the way.   
				 
				Dorset Yeomanry 
				(British Army) bringing in some Senussi prisoners (undated by perhaps 
				during WWI)   Here's a bit of the sad story that Ahmed 
				Hassanein didn't see himself after he left but we find in other 
				books for the same Senussi friends we see and hear their names 
				in his article. The following is quoted from an anthropological view 
				that was studying the relations between nomads and sedentary 
				people. In 1973, Dr Asad (anthropology Professor at University 
				of Hull, England) wrote on Bedouins' military power 
				in history and if it could still be taken seriously in modern times. Based 
				on the Senussis case, he concluded that it cannot! For about a whole decade by General Graziani who fought 
				guerrillas with them all over Cyrenaica. Yes, same that 
				Hassanein's article mentioned by the name from Kufra.   
				 Rodolfo 
				Graziani   Asad summarizes Fascists military phases 
				in the war as following: (1) attempt to subdue by regular army 
				units, (2) use of airplanes and jeeps, then finally and most 
				destructive was (3) massive concentration camps for entire 
				population of Cyrenaica. In 1923, from 6th March to 3rd September, 
				Italians estimated losses at: 800 Bedouins killed, 230 captured, 
				and 1000 wounded, beside about 700 camels and 22,000 sheep 
				killed or confiscated (which Asad think they're too small 
				numbers to what real ones could be). This is a huge number for 
				Bedouins country that must have been small in numbers of 
				population. Here's how the second phase was done. "The Italians adopted the new tactics of 
				making surprise raids by mechanised units on the Bedouin 
				encampments, slaughtering man and beast indiscriminately, and 
				destroying the grain stores, In these raids, on what in a 
				noncolonial war would be regarded as the civilian population, 
				the purpose was to kill as many of the Bedouin as possible, 
				striking terror into the hearts of shepherd folk of Cyrenaica. 
				When the rains came and mechanised transport could no longer be 
				used, the camps were bombed and machine-gunned from the air." Asad then describes later stages and how it 
				got hysterically bad because of too much resistance: "Graziani was determined to wrest the 
				initiative from the guerrillas. He reorganized his forces for 
				the last round in the 'guerra senza quartiere' into small mobile 
				patrols to keep the whole of the [desert] country under 
				surveillance and to attack the enemy wherever they met him, 
				giving him no rest. To prevent the guerrillas from obtaining 
				supplies and reinforcements from the civilian population he 
				disarmed the tribesmen, confiscating from them thousands of 
				rifles and millions of rounds of ammunition, and made possession 
				of arms a capital offence. He instituted the 'tribunale volante,' 
				a military court flown from point to point to try, and execute 
				all who had dealings of any kind with the guerrillas. He reduced 
				the Libyan units by more than two-thirds, with the intention of 
				disbanding them altogether later. In the meanwhile he 
				distributed among the 750 Libyans retained in service rifles of 
				a different calibre from rifles in Patriot hands to prevent 
				leakage of ammunition. At the same time he closed the Sanusiya 
				lodges, confiscated their estates, and exiled their Shaikhs to 
				the Island of Istica. He also much improved the communications 
				of the colony, thereby easing his supply problem and economizing 
				man-power. "It may be doubted whether all these 
				measures would have been effective if he had not also started 
				his immense concentration camps for the entire tribal population 
				of Cyrenaica, about whose feelings the General had no illusions. 
				In taking this step the Italians were doing no more than others had 
				done before them and have done after them, for an army fighting 
				guerrillas is fighting an entire population. The first 
				concentration camps of January 1930 were found to be too near 
				the area of military operations, for the prisoners, in spite of 
				close surveillance, still managed to supply the guerrillas with 
				some of their requirements; so most of the Bedouin were removed 
				to the barqa al-baida and the Sirtica. In this bleak country 
				were herded in the smallest camps possible 80,000 men, women and 
				children, and 600,000 beasts in the summer of 1930. Hunger, 
				disease, and broken hearts took a heavy toll of the imprisoned 
				population. Bedouin die in a cage. Loss of livestock was also 
				great, for the beasts had insufficient grazing near the camps on 
				which to support life, and the herds, already decimated in the 
				fighting, almost wiped out by the camps. "The guerrillas thus found themselves 
				cut off from local sources of supply and forced more and more to 
				rely on Egypt for the bare necessities of life and of war. For 
				years a considerable part of their supplies had come from there, 
				paid for by Bedouin produce, money raised by customs charges, 
				and funds collected throughout the Arab and Muslim world. 
				Supplies came through the port of al-Sallum, and the Egyptian 
				Frontiers Administration must have closed its eyes to supplies 
				going into Cyrenaica as tightly as to refugees going out of it, 
				The Marmarica had been declared by [Graziani] a military zone, 
				its people being removed to concentration camps, and the closed 
				frontier was patrolled by armoured cars and planes with 
				instructions to destroy any caravans they spotted, but, in spite 
				of these precautions, supplies continued to reach the Patriots. 
				Graziani therefore decided to run a line of barbed-wire 
				entanglements from the sea to Jaghbub and into the dunes to the 
				south of it, a distance of over 300 km. The work was completed 
				early in September 1931 and control along the wire was operated 
				through fortified posts, a telephone system, and aviation 
				camps."   
				 
				Prince Sayed Idris with his 
				brother. Undated photo but perhaps during the first half of 
				1940s.(http://nla.gov.au/nla.pic-an23816362-v)
   One can see how Graziani has 
				fulfilled their worst ever nightmare (see Ahmed's 
				explanation for their fear of European explorers).   |