Jill Kamil
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789774160615
- eISBN:
- 9781617970184
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774160615.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
Labib Habachi, Egypt's most perceptive and productive Egyptologist, was marginalized for most of his career, only belatedly receiving international recognition for his major contributions to the ...
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Labib Habachi, Egypt's most perceptive and productive Egyptologist, was marginalized for most of his career, only belatedly receiving international recognition for his major contributions to the field. This book presents not only a biography of this important scholar, but a survey of Egyptian archaeology in the twentieth century in which Habachi's work is measured against that of his best-known contemporaries —among them Selim Hassan, Ahmed Fakhry, Abdel Moneim Abu Bakr, and Gamal Mokhtar. The account of Habachi's major discovery, the Sanctuary of Heqaib on Elephantine in 1946, was shelved by Egypt's Antiquities Department for thirty years. When it was finally released for publication, it became the subject of a heated controversy between Habachi and a western scholar that was never resolved. To construct a picture of Labib Habachi, the book draws on a wide range of sources, including a long personal acquaintance with the subject. Tracing the arc of Habachi's career, the book sets his life's work in its full context, providing a perspective on the development of Egyptian Egyptology and the sometimes fraught relationship between Egypt's scholars and the western archaeological establishment. In this fresh look at Habachi's contributions to Egyptology are examples of academic and social elitism, rivalries between scholars, cultural arrogance, and discrimination.Less
Labib Habachi, Egypt's most perceptive and productive Egyptologist, was marginalized for most of his career, only belatedly receiving international recognition for his major contributions to the field. This book presents not only a biography of this important scholar, but a survey of Egyptian archaeology in the twentieth century in which Habachi's work is measured against that of his best-known contemporaries —among them Selim Hassan, Ahmed Fakhry, Abdel Moneim Abu Bakr, and Gamal Mokhtar. The account of Habachi's major discovery, the Sanctuary of Heqaib on Elephantine in 1946, was shelved by Egypt's Antiquities Department for thirty years. When it was finally released for publication, it became the subject of a heated controversy between Habachi and a western scholar that was never resolved. To construct a picture of Labib Habachi, the book draws on a wide range of sources, including a long personal acquaintance with the subject. Tracing the arc of Habachi's career, the book sets his life's work in its full context, providing a perspective on the development of Egyptian Egyptology and the sometimes fraught relationship between Egypt's scholars and the western archaeological establishment. In this fresh look at Habachi's contributions to Egyptology are examples of academic and social elitism, rivalries between scholars, cultural arrogance, and discrimination.
Kees van der Spek
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9789774164033
- eISBN:
- 9781617970917
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774164033.003.0005
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
Much of what characterizes the people of al-Qurna today is not only inherent in the physical aspects of the surrounding landscape, but also the historical process of archaeological recognition and ...
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Much of what characterizes the people of al-Qurna today is not only inherent in the physical aspects of the surrounding landscape, but also the historical process of archaeological recognition and interpretation that has resulted in the culturally constructed characterization of the Theban foothills. This perspective immediately directs the attention to the historically situated development of western academic involvement with the Theban west bank, necessitating a global perspective in explanation of the particular cultural constructions that resulted from the contact with foreign interests. This chapter argues that the communities of the Luxor west bank represent a case in which the emergence of the originally western academic practice of Egyptology acted as one of those external formational processes, and that it is in this light that the al-Qurna material, at least in part, must be presented and understood.Less
Much of what characterizes the people of al-Qurna today is not only inherent in the physical aspects of the surrounding landscape, but also the historical process of archaeological recognition and interpretation that has resulted in the culturally constructed characterization of the Theban foothills. This perspective immediately directs the attention to the historically situated development of western academic involvement with the Theban west bank, necessitating a global perspective in explanation of the particular cultural constructions that resulted from the contact with foreign interests. This chapter argues that the communities of the Luxor west bank represent a case in which the emergence of the originally western academic practice of Egyptology acted as one of those external formational processes, and that it is in this light that the al-Qurna material, at least in part, must be presented and understood.
Jason Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789774162879
- eISBN:
- 9781617970214
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774162879.003.0010
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
During the seventy-three days spent at Thebes during Edward William Lane's visit, he made a scrupulous immersion in Egyptology. The Valley of the Kings is a large wadi which today is clearly defined ...
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During the seventy-three days spent at Thebes during Edward William Lane's visit, he made a scrupulous immersion in Egyptology. The Valley of the Kings is a large wadi which today is clearly defined as a natural stone portal. During those two and a half months, Lane worked at most of the major Theban sites, and devoted most of his time to three places. Although he spent most of his week at Thebes, he still researched and visited all the different places at the Valley of the Kings.Less
During the seventy-three days spent at Thebes during Edward William Lane's visit, he made a scrupulous immersion in Egyptology. The Valley of the Kings is a large wadi which today is clearly defined as a natural stone portal. During those two and a half months, Lane worked at most of the major Theban sites, and devoted most of his time to three places. Although he spent most of his week at Thebes, he still researched and visited all the different places at the Valley of the Kings.
Jill Kamil
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789774160615
- eISBN:
- 9781617970184
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774160615.003.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
Tracing the role of the Egyptians in the study of Egyptology requires an insight into the political and social forces that forged modern Egypt. Like Alexander the Great, who presented himself as ...
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Tracing the role of the Egyptians in the study of Egyptology requires an insight into the political and social forces that forged modern Egypt. Like Alexander the Great, who presented himself as Egypt's liberator from Persian rule, Napoleon Bonaparte, is said to have unchained the opening to Egypt's past. French rule is considered to be one of the most significant contributions of France to Egypt's development. Unfortunately, the period of French rule ended early thanks to the British fleet under Lord Nelson which arrived off the Egyptian coast in 1801 and sank the French fleet at anchor in Abukir Bay. In spite of their short rule, French influence had a lasting effect on Egypt and its development of national identity. Furthermore, Muhammad Ali, an Ottoman officer, set out to modernize the country by introducing European technology and he crushed rival Ottoman and Mamluk commanders.Less
Tracing the role of the Egyptians in the study of Egyptology requires an insight into the political and social forces that forged modern Egypt. Like Alexander the Great, who presented himself as Egypt's liberator from Persian rule, Napoleon Bonaparte, is said to have unchained the opening to Egypt's past. French rule is considered to be one of the most significant contributions of France to Egypt's development. Unfortunately, the period of French rule ended early thanks to the British fleet under Lord Nelson which arrived off the Egyptian coast in 1801 and sank the French fleet at anchor in Abukir Bay. In spite of their short rule, French influence had a lasting effect on Egypt and its development of national identity. Furthermore, Muhammad Ali, an Ottoman officer, set out to modernize the country by introducing European technology and he crushed rival Ottoman and Mamluk commanders.
