CHAPTER III

THE HISTORY OF SIWA

“Cities have been, and vanished; fanes have sunk,

Heaped into shapeless ruin; sands o’erspread.

Fields that were Edens; millions too have shrunk

To a few starving hundreds, or have fled

From off the page of being.”

SIWA lies thickly covered with “the Dust of History,” and

its story is difficult to trace. For certain periods one is able

to collect information on the subject, but during many centuries

nothing is known. Some of the leading sheikhs have in their possession

ancient documents and treaties which have been handed down through

many generations from father to son. There is also an old Arabic

history of Siwa, which appears to have been written some time during

the fifteenth century, kept by the family whose members have always

held a position corresponding to that of a town clerk, but this old

history is so interwoven with curious legends and fables that it is

difficult to separate fact from fiction. I used to sit in the garden

of the old sheikh who owned the book and listen while he read. He was

a venerable but rascally old fellow in flowing white robes, the green

turban of a “Haj,” and huge horn spectacles. The book itself was a

muddled collection of loose sheets of manuscript kept in a leather bag.

Roughly the history of Siwa can be divided into four periods. The

first, which is also the greatest period, dates from the foundation

of the Temple of Jupiter Ammon. The second period begins at the

Mohammedan invasion in the seventh century A.D. The third period

commences with the subjugation of Siwa by Mohammed Ali, early in the

nineteenth century; and the fourth and last period is the history of

Siwa during the Great War.

(1)

FIRST PERIOD

THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER AMMON

According to the late Professor Maspero, the great authority on

Egyptian antiquities, the oasis of Siwa was not connected with Egypt

until about the sixteenth century B.C. In about 1175 B.C. the Egyptian

oases, of which Siwa is one, were colonized by Rameses III, but very

little authentic information is available on the history of Siwa

until it came definitely under the influence of Egypt in the sixth

century B.C. Mr. Oric Bates, in his exhaustive work, _The Eastern

Libyans_, states that the original deity of the oasis was a sun god,

a protector of flocks, probably with the form of a bull. The African

poet Coreippus, mentions a ram-headed Libyan divinity called Gurzil

who was represented as being the offspring of the original prophetic

God of Siwa. His priests fought in battles, and the emblem of the

god was carried by the Libyans in the fray. A sacred stone at Siwa is

referred to by Pliny, which when touched by an irreverent hand stirred

at once a strong and harmful sand-wind. The theory of sun worship,

and the idea of an evil wind directed by some spirit in a stone is

substantiated by the local customs and legends which are prevalent

in Siwa at the present time.

It is certain that when the Egyptians occupied Siwa, in about 550 B.C.,

according to Mr. Bates, they discovered a local Libyan god firmly

established and supported by a powerful but barbarous cult. So great

was its reputation that King Crœsus of Lydia travelled to Siwa and

consulted the oracle a little before, or at the time of, the Egyptian

occupation. The Egyptians identified the local god of the oasis with

their own Ammon. In the fourth century B.C. the god Ammon, of the

Ammonians, for this was the name by which the people of Siwa were

now known, had become one of the most famous oracles of the ancient

world. At the time when the Egyptians recognized and worshipped the

god of the oasis, a number of stories became prevalent, tending to

prove that the deity at Siwa originated from the Ammon of Thebes, and

one legend even went so far as to assert that the Ammon of Thebes was

himself originally a Libyan herdsman who was deified by Dionysius. The

following are some of the many legends which relate the origin of

the Siwan god, and which suggest its connection with the Theban Ammon.

Herodotus, in whose works there are frequent allusions to the

Ammonians, describes the inhabitants of the oasis of Ammon as being

colonists from Egypt and Ethiopia, speaking a mixed language, and

calling themselves Ammonians, owing to the Egyptians worshipping

Jupiter under the name of Ammon. He relates that the colonists

instituted an oracle in imitation of the famous one on the Isle

of Meroë, and mentions the following account of its origin. Two

black girls who served in the Temple of Jupiter Ammon at Thebes were

carried away by Phœnician merchants. One of them was taken to Greece,

where she afterwards founded the Temple of Dodona, which became

a well-known oracle; the other was sold into Libya and eventually

arrived at the kingdom of the Ammonians. Owing to her strange language,

which resembled “the twittering of a bird,” she was supposed by

the inhabitants to possess supernatural qualities; her reputation

increased, and her utterances came to be regarded as the words of

an oracle. There is a different version of the same fable in which

the girls are represented as two black doves, one flying to Greece,

the other to Libya.

According to Diodorus Siculus the Temple of Jupiter Ammon was built as

far back as 1385 B.C., by Danaus the Egyptian. Rollins, in his _History

of the Ancient World_, names Ham, the son of Noah, as the deity in

whose honour the temple was built by the Ammonians. Another legend

tells that Dionysius was lost in the desert on one of his fantastic

expeditions and nearly died from thirst when suddenly a ram appeared,

which led the party to a bubbling spring. They built a temple on

the spot, in gratitude, and ornamented it with representations of a

ram’s head. It is interesting to compare this story with one of the

legends written in the Arabic history of Siwa. A Siwan, journeying

in the desert, was led by a ram to a mysterious city where he found

an avenue of black stone lions. He returned home, and set out again

at a later date, meaning to rediscover the place, but he never found

it again. In both cases it is a ram that led the way, and the god of

Siwa is represented as having a ram’s head.

The temple, whose ruins are to be seen at the village of Aghourmi,

near Siwa, was built probably during the sixth century B.C. The date

is decided by the style of its architecture. This temple was known to

the Egyptians as “Sakhit Amouou,” the “Field of Palms,” owing

to its situation among groves of palm trees. It is evident that at this

time Siwa was the principal island in a desert archipelago consisting

of several oases, most of which are now uninhabited, obeying a common

king and owing their prosperity to the great temple of the oracle. Such

a cluster of islands would invest the dynasty to which King Clearchus

and King Lybis belonged with considerable importance. Herodotus tells

how certain Cyrenians held a conversation with Clearchus, King of

the Ammonians, who told them that a party of young men had set off

on an expedition from his country to the west, through a wild region

full of savage animals, eventually arriving at a great river where

they found a race of small black men. They supposed this river to

be a branch or tributary of the Nile, but it was actually the river

Niger. Thus it is shown that at this period Siwa was an independent

monarchy. The Ammonians lived under the rule of their own kings and

priests, and chieftainship was associated with priesthood. Silius

Italicus describes the warrior priest Nabis, an Ammonian chief,

“fearless and splendidly armed,” riding in the army of Hannibal.

Another early visitor to the oasis was Lysander the Spartan. Being

disappointed by the oracle of Dodona he travelled to Siwa, under colour

of making a vow at the temple, but hoping to bribe the priests to his

interests. Notwithstanding “the fullness of his purse” and the

great friendship between his father and Lybis, King of the Ammonians,

he was totally unsuccessful, and the priests sent ambassadors to Sparta

accusing Lysander of attempting to bribe the holy oracle. But “he so

subtly managed his defence that he got off clear.” The Greeks held

the oracle of Ammon in great veneration. The Athenians kept a special

galley in which they conveyed questions across the sea to Libya. Mersa

Matruh, sometimes called Ammonia, was the port for Siwa, and it was

here that the ambassadors and visitors disembarked and started on

their desert journey to the oasis. The poet Pindar dedicated an ode

to Jupiter Ammon, which was preserved under the altar of the temple

for some six hundred years; and the sculptor Calamis set up a statue

to the god of the Ammonians in the Temple of Thebes at Karnak.

In 525 B.C., Cambyses, wishing to consolidate his newly acquired

dominions in Northern Africa, dispatched two expeditions, one

against Carthage, the other into Ethiopia. He made Memphis his base

of operations and sent 50,000 men as an advance party to occupy the

oasis of Ammon. His generals had orders to rob and burn the temple,

make captives of the people and to prepare halting-places for the

bulk of the army. They passed the oasis of Khargeh and proceeded

north-west. But the whole army was lost in the sea of desert that

lies between Siwa and Khargeh. The Ammonians, on inquiries being

made, reported that the army was overwhelmed by a violent sand-storm

during a midday halt. But it is more probable that they lost their

way during one of the periodical sand-storms which are so prevalent

in this desert region, and were overcome by thirst in the waterless,

trackless desert. There was no further news; they never reached the

temple, and not one of the soldiers returned to Egypt. This huge army

still lies buried somewhere in that torrid waste, and perhaps some

fortunate traveller may at a future date stumble unawares on the

remains of the once mighty host. In the old Arabic history there

are two other stories of armies that were lost in the desert. In

one case it was a Siwan army which opposed the Mohammedan invaders,

and in the other case an army of raiders from Tebu were lost on their

way to attack the oasis.

In 500 B.C., Siwa and the other oases were subjected to Persia,

and in the following year Cimon, the celebrated Athenian general,

sent a secret embassy to the oracle while he was besieging Citium

in Cyprus. The deputation was greeted by the oracle with the words,

“Cimon is already with me,” and on their return it was found that

Cimon had himself perished in battle. The foretelling of Cimon’s

death augmented considerably the reputation of the oracle.

Oracles were most frequently situated in the vicinity of some natural

phenomena; this at Siwa consisted of a sacred spring known as “Fons

Solis,” the “Fountain of the Sun,” which by its strangeness

contributed to the divine qualities of the temple. Very probably it was

the “Ein el Hammam” which lies about a quarter of a mile south of

the temple ruins and is to-day one of the largest and most beautiful

springs in the oasis. Ancient writers describe its waters as being

warm in the morning, cold at noon and boiling hot at midnight. Blind,

black fish lived in the pool, according to the Arabic history, which

was connected with the rites of the temple. The water to-day is a

trifle warmer than most of the springs, and for that reason it is

the favourite bathing-place of the inhabitants of Aghourmi. I have

stood by the spring at midnight and tested its warmth, but it seemed

in no way to differ from the other springs, except that it was a very

little warmer.

There are many contemporary descriptions of the actual temple, and

antiquarians have from time to time disputed as to its original

size and form. It appears to have consisted of a main building,

or sanctuary, surrounded by triple walls which enclosed the

dwelling-places of the king, priests and the guards, standing on a

rocky eminence among the palm groves. A smaller temple stood a few

hundred yards south of the acropolis. The rock on which the village of

Aghourmi now stands was evidently the site of the original temple and

fortress, and the ruins below the village, known as “Omm Beyda,”

are those of the minor temple. The two temples were connected by an

underground passage.

The old history of Siwa gives a detailed description of the court of

the king. The following is a rough translation. “At one period Siwa

ranked among the important towns of the Egyptian sovereigns. It was

ruled by a king called Meneclush who built a town and cultivated the

land. He made the men drill and inaugurated a seven days’ feast

in commemoration of his succession. The people of King Meneclush

dressed richly and wore golden ornaments. The king lived in a stone

and granite palace, and assembled his people in a great square which

had four different courts, and in each court there was a statue which

caught the sun at different times of the day, and when the sun shone

upon the statues they spoke. When the people assembled they stood on

seven steps. On the highest step sat the king, below, in succession,

the king’s family, priests, astrologers and magicians, generals

and courtiers, architects, soldiers, and, below, the people. Each

step was inscribed with these words, ‘Look down, not towards

the step above, lest ye become proud’—thus inculcating the

principle of modesty. The king lived in a palace called Kreibein,

inside the walls. In those days there were many buildings in Siwa,

spreading from Omm Beyda to Gebel Dakrour. King Meneclush was

stabbed by a girl and is buried, with his horse, in the Khazeena,

underneath Aghourmi. . . . At a later period Siwa was divided into

two parts ruled by two princes called Ferik and Ibrik. Afterwards a

queen called Khamissa ruled in Siwa and gave her name to the square

hill at the end of the Western lake.”

Much of the history is missing, and at times it plunges into

descriptions of neighbouring countries, but it is interesting to find

mention of “statues that speak” when touched by the sun.

As recently as 1837 there was a considerable portion of the smaller

temple standing. Travellers described the roof, made of massive

blocks of stone, the coloured ceilings, and the walls covered

with hieroglyphics and sculptured figures. But the depredations

of Arab treasure hunters, and a Turkish Governor who committed an

unpardonable vandalism by blowing up the temple with gunpowder in

order to obtain stone for building an office, have reduced the once

imposing building to a single ruined pylon, or gateway, which towers

above the surrounding gardens, a pathetic reminder of its former

grandeur. This solitary ruin, and two massive stone gateways almost

hidden by mud buildings in the middle of the village of Aghourmi,

is all that remains of the temple that was once famous throughout

the world. In a way the ruins are symbolic of Siwa which was once

a powerful dominion, but is now nothing more than a wretched desert

station with three or four thousand degenerate inhabitants.

In 331 B.C. the fame of the oracle reached its zenith, owing to

Alexander the Great visiting it after having settled his affairs

in Egypt. The visit to the famous oracle was undertaken in order

to inquire into the mysterious origin of his birth. Probably at

the same time Alexander wished to emulate the deeds of Hercules,

from whom he claimed descent, and who was supposed during his

wanderings to have visited the oasis. He marched along the coast to

Parætonium—Matruh—where he was met by ambassadors from Cyrene,

a wealthy city on the coast some 400 miles further west, who presented

him gifts of chariots and war horses. He then turned south across

the desert into a region “where there was nothing but heaps of

sand.” After journeying four days the water supply, carried in skins,

gave out, and the army was in danger of perishing from thirst when,

by a fortunate chance, or by the direct interposition of the gods,

the sky became black with clouds, rain fell, and by this miraculous

means the army was preserved from destruction.

A little later the expedition lost its way, and after wandering for

miles was saved by the appearance of a number of ravens who, flying

before the army, guided them eventually to the temple. They found the

oasis “full of pleasant fountains, watered with running streams,

richly planted with all sorts of trees bearing fruit, surrounded by a

vast dry and sandy desert, waste and untilled . . . the temperature

of the air was like spring, yet all the place around it was dry and

scorching . . . a most healthful climate.” Alexander was received

by the oracle with divine honours, and returned to Egypt satisfied

that he was indeed the authentic son of Zeus. As the son of the god

he became a legitimate Pharoah, and adopted the pschent crown and

its accompanying rites.

About this time various nations applied to the oracle for permission

to deify their rulers, and on the death of his friend Hephistion,

Alexander dispatched another embassy asking that Hephistion might be

ranked as a hero. When Alexander died, in 323 B.C., it was suggested

that he should be buried at Siwa. However, the suggestion was not

carried out and he was buried at Alexandria, the city to which he

gave his name. One of the hills in the desert near Siwa is still

called “Gebel Sekunder,” and tradition has it that from this hill

Alexander saw the ravens which led him to the temple.

The ritual of the temple was somewhat similar to several other

oracular temples. The actual oracle was made in human figure, with

a ram’s head, richly ornamented with emeralds and other precious

stones. The figure of the god appears to have been shown as though

wrapped for burial, and this dead god, who was a god of prophecy,

may possibly have set the fashion of menes-worship which one still

sees in Siwa when natives resort to the graves of their ancestors in

order to learn the future. When a distinguished pilgrim arrived for

a consultation the symbol of the god was brought up from the inmost

sanctuary of the temple and carried on a golden barque, hung with

votive cups of silver, followed by a procession of eighty priests and

many singing girls, “who chanted uncouth songs after the manner

of their country,” in order to propitiate the deity and induce

him to return a satisfactory answer. The god directed the priests

who carried the barque which way they should proceed, and spoke by

tremulous shocks, communicated to the bearers, and by movements of

the head and body, which were interpreted by the priests.

[Illustration: RUINS OF “OMM BEYDA” THE TEMPLE OF JUPITER AMMON]

Those spaces among the palm groves at Aghourmi must have witnessed in

ancient days many a splendid spectacle. One can imagine the magnificent

ceremonies and the awe-inspiring rites which were solemnized among the

shady vistas of tall palm trees, in the shadow of the great temple on

the rock, the processions of chanting priests, the savage music of

conches and cymbals, and the gorgeous caravans of Eastern monarchs,

carrying offerings of fabulous treasure to lay before the mystic

oracle of the oasis, whose infallible answers were regarded by the

whole world with profound respect. In those days caravans from the

West, and from the savage countries of the Sudan, brought slaves and

merchandize to Siwa, and the barbarian followers of African chieftains

mingled with the courtiers of Eastern potentates, and gazed with awe on

the white-robed priests and the troops of pale singing girls. To-day

the people of Aghourmi build their fires against the great crumbling

archways that gave access to the holiest altar of Ammonium, and

shepherds graze their flocks among the ruins of the smaller temple.

“The Oracles are dumb

No voice or hideous hum

Runs through the arched roof in words deceiving.”

Towards the end of the third century B.C. the fame of the oracle

declined, although, according to Juvenal, the answers of Ammon were

esteemed in the solution of difficult problems until long after

the cessation of the oracle at Delphi. But in the second century

B.C. the oracle was almost extinct. Strabo, writing when its fame was

on the wane, advances a theory in his _Geography_ that the Temple of

Ammon was originally close to the sea. He bases his argument on the

existence of large salt lakes at Siwa and the quantities of shells

which are to be found near the temple. He considers that Siwa would

never have become so illustrious, or possessed with such credit as it

once enjoyed, if it had always been such a distance from the coast,

therefore the land between Siwa and the sea must have been created

comparatively recently by deposits from the ocean. Undoubtedly at

some remote period the whole of the northern part of the Libyan

Desert was under the sea, but there is nothing to prove that even

then Siwa was a coast town, because one finds shells and fossils,

such as Strabo mentions, over a hundred miles south of Siwa.

The Romans neglected Oriental oracles, especially those of Ammon. They

preferred the auguries of birds, the inspection of victims and the

warnings of heaven to the longer process of oracular consultation. In

the reign of Augustus, Siwa had become a place of banishment for

political criminals. Timasius, an eminent general, was sent there in

A.D. 396 and Athanasius addresses several letters to his disciples

who were banished to the oases, “a place unfrequented and inspiring

horror.” The French poet Fénelon, in his play, _The Adventures of

Telemachus_, makes the mistake of describing Siwa as a place where

one sees “snow that never melts, making an endless winter on the

mountain tops.”

Somewhere about the fourth century Christianity penetrated to Siwa,

and the ruins of a church, or monastery, built probably at this time,

where one can still distinguish the Coptic cross carved in stone,

are visible at Biled el Roumi, near Khamissa. The ruin is described

in the Arabic history as the place where “bad people” lived. But

apparently Christianity was never embraced with much zeal. During the

Berber uprisings in the sixth century Siwa relapsed into barbarism,

and the Siwans probably took part with the Berbers in their struggles

against the Byzantine rule which flourished on the coast. Early in

the seventh century, when the Arab army invaded Egypt, the inland

country west of Egypt was practically independent, the Berber tribes

having won back their freedom.

(2)

SECOND PERIOD

MEDIÆVAL SIWA

The second period of Siwa’s history is the most difficult to trace,

especially with regard to the fixing of definite dates. One has to

depend on the Arabic history at Siwa, and occasional highly coloured

references to the oasis by the Arab historians and geographers. Siwa

was known to the Arab writers as “Schantaria,” or “Santrieh,”

spelt in various ways, which at a later date became “Siouah,”

and finally “Siwa.”

In 640 Egypt was invaded by a Mohammedan army commanded by Amrou,

who seized the country from the feeble grasp of the representatives

of Heraclius. The tide of conquest swept west along the northern coast

of Africa. The disunion of the Berber tribes made the conquest of the

country more easy for the host of Islam. Fugitives from the Arabs fled

inland to the remote places such as the oases, and it was not until

several centuries later that the Arabs established their religion

in Siwa. According to the Arabic history when Egypt was invaded by

the Mohammedans the Siwans sent an army to help repel the enemy,

but this army, like many others, was lost in the desert.

Mohammed Ben Ayas, an Arab historian who wrote in 1637, gives an

account of the mysterious country of “Santarieh,” and describes

how Moussa Ibn Nosseir was repulsed from its gates. In 708 Moussa

attempted to reduce Siwa. He crossed the desert from Egypt in seven

days. On arrival he found that all the Siwans had retired into their

fortified town, which was surrounded by enormously high walls, with

four iron gates. Finding it impossible to force an entrance he ordered

his men to scale the walls and see what lay on the other side. With

the aid of ladders they managed to reach the battlements, but each

man who scaled the wall immediately disappeared over the other side

and was never seen again. Moussa was so discouraged by this that

he renounced his project and returned to Egypt, having lost a large

number of soldiers. In 710 Tharic Ben Sayed, another Arab general,

was also repulsed.

The mediæval Arab writers have many stories to tell of the strange

things at Siwa. Among the wonders of the country was a magic lake over

which no bird could fly without falling in, and it could only escape

from the water if drawn out by a human hand. The four gates of the

town were surmounted by four brass statues. When a stranger entered

the gates a deep sleep fell upon him, and he remained in this state

until one of the inhabitants came and blew upon his face. Without this

attention he lay unconscious at the foot of the statue until death

claimed him. There was a sacred stone in the town which was called

“The Lover,” because of its strange power of attracting men. It

drew them towards itself, and then when they touched it their limbs

stuck to the stone. Struggles were of no avail, their only release was

death. The neighbouring country was full of wild beasts, and serpents

of prodigious length, with bodies as thick as palm trunks, dwelt

among the hills and devoured sheep, cattle and human beings. Another

species was particularly fond of eating camels. In one of the gardens

there flourished a marvellous orange tree which bore 14,000 oranges,

not including those that fell to the ground, every year. The author

who mentions this tree asserts that he saw it himself!

All the Arab writers mention the mines at Siwa. Among the mountains

that enclose the oasis people found iron, lapis lazulis and emeralds,

which they sold in Egypt. They also exported the salt which they picked

up on the ground, and obtained barley from Egypt in exchange. The

only manufactures were leather carpets of great beauty, which were

much prized by Egyptians.

The inhabitants of Siwa were Berbers; they worked naked in their

gardens; the country was independent, thinly populated and showed signs

of a former civilization. A strange breed of savage donkey, striped

black and white—zebras—lived in the oasis. These animals allowed

no one to mount them, and when taken to Egypt they died at once.

People used to find enchanted cities in the desert near Siwa, but

latterly they have disappeared and their positions are now only marked

by mounds of sand. Abdel Melik, Ibn Merouan, made an excursion from

Egypt into the desert near Siwa, where he discovered a ruined city

and a tree that bore every known fruit. He gathered some fruit and

returned to Fostat—Cairo. A Copt told him that this city contained

much treasure, so he sent out the Copt with a number of men provisioned

for thirty days to rediscover the place, but they failed to find it. On

another occasion an Arab was journeying near Siwa and suddenly saw a

loaded camel disappear into a deep, rocky valley in the middle of the

desert. He followed it and arrived at an oasis watered by a spring

where there were people cultivating the land. They had never seen a

stranger before. He returned to Egypt and reported the matter to the

collector of taxes, who immediately sent out men to visit this oasis,

but, as usual, they never found it.

There are innumerable stories of hidden cities in the desert near

Siwa. This idea, and that of buried treasure, appeals strongly to

an Oriental mind. Siwa itself, owing to its history, probably does

contain a great deal that could be advantageously excavated. It

is a field that would yield many treasures, as up to now no really

thorough work has been carried out, though various people who have

happened to be there have “done a little digging.” The ex-Khedive

spent some money in uncovering some old ruins near one of the lakes,

but really there is a great deal that has never been touched. Labour,

and the difficulty of reaching Siwa, are the most formidable obstacles

to any excavating projects.

It is interesting to note that nearly all the mediæval Arab historians

mention the emerald mines at Siwa, and in these days the natives still

hold a belief in their existence. In the time of the Temple of Jupiter

Ammon the figure of the god was decorated with emeralds, which were

probably found in the country. According to a Siwan tradition there

exists a cave in the hill called Gebel Dakrour, south of Aghourmi,

which contains precious stones. But its entrance is guarded by a

jinn, who makes it invisible except to a person who has drunk from

the water of a certain spring among the sand-dunes south of Siwa. The

spring is unknown in these days, but I have seen it marked on an old

map of the desert. Possibly some of the peculiar shafts that pierce

the hills round Siwa are the remains of old mines; it is difficult

to imagine what else they could be.

In 1048 the tribes of Hilal and Ben Soleim, who had been transported

from Arabia as a punishment, and were living in the country between

the Nile and the Red Sea, were given permission to cross the Nile

and advance into Tripoli. Some 200,000 of them hastened like hungry

wolves with their wives and families from Egypt to the west. They

overran Tripoli and pushed on towards the shores of the Atlantic. It

was some of these colonists who eventually forced Siwa to accept the

Mohammedan rule, and by 1100, according to the Arab historians, the

Koran flourished within the precincts of the Temple of Ammon. From

that date onwards Siwa has been fanatically Mohammedan. The Siwans

were not swept into oblivion by this great Arab invasion; apparently

only a very few Arabs remained in the oasis, and very shortly they

themselves became indistinguishable from the Siwans. From this time

the Berbers, as a nation, ceased to exist, but they remained Berbers,

not Arabs, and in a few out-of-the-way places, such as Siwa, they

retained much of their original language.

The history at Siwa tells how one Rashwan was King of Siwa when the

Mohammedan army arrived, commanded by the Prophet’s khalifa. Rashwan

summoned his priests and magicians and consulted them as to how the

enemy were to be repelled. Acting on their advice he removed all the

bodies from “Gebel Muta,” a hill near Siwa which is honeycombed

with rock tombs, and cast them into the springs in order to poison

the enemy. Then he retired into the town, depending on the wells

inside the walls. The Mohammedan army arrived, but the water of the

springs did them no harm. They stormed the town and captured it after

a strenuous fight; Rashwan was killed, and the inhabitants embraced

the faith of Islam at the sword’s point.

During the period that followed the Arab invasion very little is known

of Siwa. The oasis was inhabited by a mixture of Berbers and Arabs,

the Berbers predominating. Occasional caravans of slave-traders passed

northwards along the main desert routes, and some of the slaves, having

been bought by the Siwans, remained in the oasis and intermarried with

the inhabitants. The Siwans, diminished in numbers and in power, began

to suffer from raids by the Arabs from the west and from the coast.

According to the old history, which is preserved at Siwa, there was

another small incursion from the east at a later date. About the middle

of the fifteenth century there was a great plague which carried off

a number of Siwans. A certain devout man in Egypt dreamed that the

ground at Siwa was very rich. He came to the oasis and settled there,

planting a special kind of date palm which he brought from Upper Egypt;

he also grew dates for the “Wakf”—religious foundation—of the

Prophet, which custom still continues. Later he made the pilgrimage

and described the country of Siwa to the people of Mecca, who had never

heard of it. They did him great honour. He returned to Siwa accompanied

by thirty men, Berbers and Arabs, who settled in Siwa. They built an

olive press in the centre of the high town and inscribed their names

thereon. From these men, and their Siwan wives, certain of the present

inhabitants are descended, and some Siwans boast to-day that their

forebears came with “The Thirty” whose names were inscribed on

the old olive press. “The Thirty” occupied the western part of

the town, and the original Siwans remained in the eastern quarter

and in the village of Aghourmi. Later the Siwans elected a council

and chose a “Kadi”—judge—who drew up a code of laws.

Under this government the population increased and the people

flourished again; they treated travellers well, especially pilgrims

from the west on their way to Mecca. The people of Tripoli came

to hear of them, and they made an alliance together. Siwa became a

“Zawia”—religious dependency—of Tripoli, and the Siwans fought

in the army of Tripoli. Siwa once more became a market for slaves and

a halting-place for the caravans from the south and the west. Slaves

came in great numbers from Wadai and the Sudan, via Kufra, Jalo and

Jerabub. Egyptian merchants came to Siwa bringing merchandise, and

returned to Egypt with slaves and dates. From the Sudan came ivory,

gold, leather and ostrich feathers.

During the time of Sidi Suliman, a very devout Kadi, the savage people

of Tebu, in the south, made constant raids upon Siwa, and troubled

the people greatly. On one occasion it was known that a large army

of the enemy were advancing on the oasis. The venerable judge offered

up prayers for help against the enemy, and every man in Siwa went to

the mosques. As a consequence the whole army was buried in the sand

and the road they came by was blotted out. Sidi Suliman encouraged

his people to show hospitality to strangers, but some years after

his death the people, forgetting his injunctions, drove away from

the gates some poor Arab pilgrims who sought their hospitality. It

is said that the door of Sidi Suliman’s tomb miraculously closed,

marking the strong displeasure of the saint, nor did it open until the

Arabs had been brought in and hospitably entertained. According to

another legend Sidi Suliman, whilst walking near the town, suddenly

became thirsty. There was no water at hand so he struck the ground

seven times with his staff, and fresh water gushed forth, which

flows in that place to-day. Before Sidi Suliman was born his mother

felt a frantic desire to eat some fish. There was none in the town,

and the sea lay 200 miles distant. The woman seemed on the point of

death. Suddenly a pigeon flew through the open window of her room and

deposited a large fish on the floor. She ate the fish, recovered, and

Sidi Suliman was born. For this reason all Siwan women eat fish when

they are pregnant, hoping that their offspring may be such another as

Sidi Suliman. These, and many other legends, are told of Sidi Suliman,

who has become the most venerated patron sheikh of the Siwans.

The system of living in Siwa in those days was very curious. The

high town existed, with a thin fringe of buildings huddled at the

foot of the walls. None of the suburbs, such as Sebukh or Manshia,

were built. At night all flocks and cattle were driven within the

walls. Married men only, with their wives and families, lived in the

high town. Unmarried men, youths over fifteen years of age and widowers

shaved their heads, as a distinction, and occupied the houses outside

the walls. The town was one vast harem. After sunset no bachelors

were allowed inside the gates, and any man who divorced his wife was

cast out—until he bought a new one. The bachelors, who were known

as “Zigale,” formed a kind of town guard. On the approach of

strangers they sallied out to meet them and detained them until the

council of sheikhs had decided whether they were to be permitted to

enter the town. Strangers were almost always accommodated outside the

walls. There was one family of Siwans who were always interpreters,

for in those days, unlike to-day, hardly any of the natives spoke

any language but their own. The council of sheikhs met in a room

close to the main gate of the town, and near it there was a deep,

dark pit which served as a prison.

After Sidi Suliman a number of other kadis ruled in the oasis. One of

them was called Hassan Mitnana, and during his lifetime a great quarrel

arose between the eastern and western factions of the town. This began

in about the year 1700. The dispute originated about a road which

divides the town into two parts. A family on the eastern side wished

to enlarge their house by building out into the street. Their opposite

neighbours objected to the public thoroughfare being narrowed merely

in order to enlarge a private dwelling-place. There was a dispute,

a quarrel, and a fight in which the two sides of the street took

part. One side called themselves “Sherkyn”—the Easterners—and

the other side called themselves “Gharbyn”—the Westerners. The

whole population took up the quarrel, which developed into a permanent

civil war. At times it died down and seemed on the point of extinction,

then, quite suddenly, it flamed up, ending in pitched battles in the

space before the town, where the casualties were often very severe

considering the smallness of the population.

[Illustration: THE CITADEL AND THE MOSQUE OF EL ATIK]

Before the days of gunpowder these battles were fought in an open space

below the walls of the town. On an appointed day the two opposing

armies faced one another. The men stood in front, armed with swords

and spears, the women collected behind the men, carrying bags full

of stones which they hurled at the enemy, or at anyone on their own

side who showed signs of cowardice. Platoons, each of a few dozen

men, advanced in turn and fought in the space midway between the two

armies, then gradually the whole of both forces became engaged. The

women displayed great fierceness; they often joined in the fray,

beating out the life from any of their enemies who they found lying

wounded, with sharp stones. It seems amazing that, notwithstanding

these frequent battles, the Siwans managed to live in such a confined

space, so close together.

It is only during the last few years of peaceful government, since

the war, that the violent animosity between the two parties has

died down. A few families of opposing parties have intermarried, but

even now one rarely meets a western sheikh in the eastern quarter,

or vice versa. Both quarters are entirely self-supporting. They have

their own wells, olive presses, mosques and date markets.

At the time of writing I hear from Siwa that a few months after I left

there was another outbreak between east and west. Some eastern men

were riding home from their gardens, excited by “lubki”—palm

wine. They rode through the streets of the western quarter, shouting

and singing. The western people took this as an insult and attacked

them. In ten minutes 800 men had collected in the square, the east

and the west facing each other. A fierce fight began, but fortunately,

as the men were only armed with sticks and tools, there were no fatal

injuries. The local police and the mamur were unable to do anything,

and the Egyptian officials retired to the Markaz—Government Office. A

few minutes later the Camel Corps arrived with fixed bayonets and

dispersed the crowd. There were about fifty cases needing hospital

treatment, some of them being quite severe.

Such were the lively conditions of internecine warfare when Browne, the

first Englishman to visit Siwa, arrived at the oasis in 1792. He came

in disguise with a caravan from Egypt. But against an infidel, a common

foe, the Siwans stood united. Browne’s identity was discovered;

he was received with stones and abuse, roughly treated, and sent back

to Egypt without having seen much of the oasis. But during his brief

stay he formed no favourable opinion of the people. They were notorious

for their monstrous arrogance, intense bigotry and gross immorality.

Six years later Hornemann, of the African Association, arrived at

Siwa, travelling in the guise of a young mameluke, with a pilgrim

caravan on its way from Mecca to the kingdom of Fezzan. He described

Siwa as a small independent state, acknowledging the Sultan, but

paying no tribute. He estimated the population at 8000 persons. The

Siwans were governed by a council of sheikhs, who held their meetings

and trials in public, and flew to arms on the slightest provocation

when they disagreed. When Hornemann left Siwa he was followed by the

inhabitants who apparently suspected his identity. “The braying

of several hundred asses heralded the approach of the Siwan Army.”

With great difficulty he persuaded the sheikhs that his passport from

Napoleon Buonaparte was really a firman from the Sultan. They finally

allowed him to proceed on his way. He sent his papers to Europe from

Tripoli, but he himself perished while exploring North Africa. It is

very curious that most of the few Europeans who visited Siwa in the

eighteenth and nineteenth centuries were Germans.

The difficulties that meet a European travelling in the guise of

a Mohammedan are not so formidable as they would appear. Knowledge

of the language would seem to be the greatest stumbling-block. But

in North Africa there are so many dialects, and so many different

pronunciations, that an Arab from one part of the desert would find

it difficult to understand an Arab from another district, and the

difference in the accent or pronunciation of an Egyptian from Cairo

and a European speaking Arabic, would not be recognized in many of

the more remote districts.

(3)

THIRD PERIOD

THE TURKISH RULE

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.”

In the year 1816 there was a great fight between the two factions,

in which the easterners gained the day. Ali Balli, a western sheikh,

went to Egypt and described to the Government the independent state of

Siwa and the condition of anarchy prevalent there. In 1820 Mohammed

Ali invaded the Sudan. In order to protect his western flank he sent

a force of 1300 men, with some cannon, commanded by Hassein Bey

Shemishera, one of his generals, against the fanatical population

of Siwa. They crossed the desert via Wadi Natrun and the oasis of

Gara. A few of the western faction welcomed the army, but most of the

population prepared to fight. After a desperate battle, lasting for

several hours, the Siwans were severely beaten, and from that date

Siwa was permanently secured to Egypt. The Turks entered the town,

seized the principal men, and in course of time some sixty of the

notables were executed by Hassein Bey, who punished by death on the

least suspicion of rebellion or revolt. A tribute was imposed on Siwa,

and Sheikh Ali Balli was made omda, supported by the Turks. After some

time Hassein Bey and the army returned to Egypt. The Siwans promptly

refused to pay tribute, so in 1827 Hassein Bey returned with a force

of 800 men, occupied the town after a brief contest, executed eighteen

of the notables, confiscated their property, but paid the widows of

the unfortunate men ten pounds each as full compensation for the life

of a Siwan notable. He also banished twenty of the sheikhs, increased

the tribute, and appointed a Turkish officer as Governor of Siwa, with

a small force. Under Hassein Bey the Siwans suffered considerably. He

seized their money, slaves, dates and silver ornaments, which he sent

to his home in Egypt. He built the first “Markaz”—Government

Office—whose ruins stand behind the Kasr Hassuna, the present

District Officer’s house, where I lived.

During the nineteenth century several Europeans visited Siwa, but they

met with no encouragement and were in most cases badly treated. One of

them, Butin, a French colonel, carried on his camels a collapsible boat

in which he hoped to reach the island on the salt lake of Arashieh,

which according to legends contained fabulous treasure and the sword

and seal of Mohammed. He managed to bring the boat to Siwa, but the

natives refused to let him embark. These early travellers all mention

the subterranean passages connecting Aghourmi and Omm Beyda, also

between Siwa town and the Hill of the Dead. The natives described these

passages as having “biute”—houses—or possibly burying spaces,

opening out on either side. The entrances have now in all cases been

blocked up by stones and rubbish, but with a little labour they could

easily be excavated. Several old men in Siwa know the exact position

of the entrances to these passages, which I have seen myself.

The successor of Hassein Bey was Farag Kashif, who built a causeway

across one of the salt lakes, making each family work on it in turn. It

is a useful piece of work, a narrow path, wide enough for two camels

to pass abreast, supported by rough stakes and palm logs, crossing the

salt bog which would otherwise be impassable. Several more mamurs were

appointed, but they were mere figureheads, as all the power lay in the

hands of the omda, Ali Balli. Each year that the taxes were unpaid,

and this was frequent, a punitive expedition arrived from Egypt.

The omda was hated by most of the Siwans, who held him responsible

for the Turkish occupation, and the years of oppression. Knowing

his unpopularity he never left his house after sunset. Certain of

the eastern sheikhs bribed two young western men to lure him from his

house at night. They persuaded him to come to Mesamia, a narrow tunnel

in the western quarter, and there they stabbed him to death. Yousif

Ali, the omda’s son, demanded blood money, or the surrender of his

father’s murderers, but the eastern sheikhs refused and secretly

sent the men to Derna. Then followed a few years with neither omda

nor mamur, and a government, of sorts, by a council of sheikhs.

Yousif Ali was a clever, ambitious man. Bayle St. John, who visited

Siwa in 1849, described him as “a broad, pale-faced man, with a

sly, good-humoured expression, of ambitious character, with speech

full of elegant compliments.” He wore a tarbouch, a white burnous

and carried a blunderbuss. Except for the blunderbuss the description

would suit several of the present-day Siwan notables. For seven years

he went every winter to Cairo, trying to persuade the Government

to make him omda in place of his father. He earned the nickname of

“The Schemer.” He spent a great deal of money on bribes in Egypt,

but was always unsuccessful.

In the year 1852 Hamilton, an English traveller, came to Siwa on his

way back to Egypt, after journeying in Tripoli and North Africa. In

his _Wanderings in North Africa_ he devotes several pages to his

experiences in Siwa. The following version of what happened to him is

told there now by the Siwans. He pitched his camp near the Markaz, half

a mile south of the town. The Siwans bitterly resented any European

visitors, so Yousif Ali, knowing this, collected the fighting men

and deliberately inflamed their anger against the stranger who had

come to spy out their land; he urged them that it was their duty to

kill the “Unbeliever,” so they determined to make a night attack

on Hamilton’s camp. Then Yousif Ali secretly warned Hamilton

of the intended attack, and persuaded him to take shelter in his

house. Hamilton left his tents standing empty, and during the night the

“Zigale”—fighting men—opened fire on them, but the Englishman

was safely lodged in Yousif Ali’s house. Thus Yousif Ali gained

credit for having saved Hamilton from the attack which he himself

had instigated. This is a characteristic example of Siwan diplomacy.

After the attack the Siwans refused to let Hamilton leave the town, and

for six weeks he was practically a prisoner in a little house adjoining

that of Yousif Ali. During this time the people amused themselves by

shooting and throwing stones at his windows, and collecting in crowds

to stare and jeer at the “Nosrani”—Christian. Matters became

worse and the most fanatical sheikhs on the town council advocated

his execution. With great difficulty he managed to send two letters,

by slaves, to the Viceroy of Egypt; but he spent an anxious time as

the days passed and no answer came. The Siwans found out about the

letters, and as time passed and it became more and more probable

that the messengers were lost, so the people became more and more

insolent. Some of the sheikhs offered to lend him camels to escape

from the town, on the condition that he first wrote to the Viceroy

saying that he had been well treated. They intended to murder him as

soon as he left the town, and to secure his baggage for themselves,

but he discovered the plot and refused to leave.

One day an abnormally hot wind rose from the south and blew with

great violence for three days. This was taken as a serious omen of

coming disaster. The idea that a sudden violent wind, stirred by an

evil “jinn,” foreshadows a catastrophe, is implicitly believed by

the Siwans and by all Berbers. A number of Siwans who had been most

aggressive hurriedly left the town, and the remainder endeavoured, to

the best of their ability, to conciliate Hamilton. The sheikhs who had

been most vindictive now fawned upon their “guest,” who became a

person to be conciliated instead of a despised Christian. Evidently

they had secret news of the approach of a party of cavalry from

Egypt. On the 14th March, 1852, two sheikhs arrived and announced

the approach of 150 irregular cavalry, who with 14 officers had

been dispatched by the Viceroy to effect his release, in response

to Hamilton’s letter. A week later, with much “fantasia” and

display, the army left Siwa accompanied by Hamilton and Yousif Ali. The

Turkish Commandant, with typically stupid obstinacy, refused to take

any prisoners, but bound over a number of the sheikhs to appear in

Egypt in two months’ time. Needless to say they failed to appear.

Shortly after Hamilton arrived in Cairo the Viceroy sent another

expedition of 200 men to bring back a number of Siwan notables to

answer for their conduct. The army reached the oasis and camped at

Ain Megahiz. The Siwans retired into their fortress town. A certain

Arab sheikh, who knew Siwa and was with the Turkish expedition, went

down to the town and persuaded forty of the leading men to come out

to the camp and see the Commandant. He successfully tricked them

with a promise of a favourable treaty, and they believed him. On

arrival at the camp they were arrested and thrown into chains; the

army entered the town without opposition, as the people, having lost

their leaders, had no heart to fight. As before, the Turks spoiled

the people, the soldiers robbed the inhabitants, seized the women,

and shot down anyone who opposed them. Then at last Sheikh Yousif

Ali was appointed Omda of Siwa by the Government of Egypt.

Some years later, in 1854, Abbas, son of Mohammed Ali, died, and was

succeeded by his son, Said Pasha. The latter, on his accession, granted

an amnesty under which the Siwan notables, who had been condemned

to hard labour and were working as prisoners, were released. They

hurried back to their oasis, eager to be revenged on Yousif Ali. On

arrival they were joined by their slaves and retainers, but met with

considerable opposition from the westerners. For three days there was

sporadic fighting, then they surrounded the omda’s house. But Yousif

Ali had fled to the house of one of his supporters in the suburb,

called Manshiah, and garrisoned it with his few remaining slaves. His

friends among the western sheikhs deserted him, seeing that popular

opinion was entirely against him. From the house in Manshiah, which

is a miniature fortress, he sent his two young daughters to bribe

the mamur to help him. The mamur was the same Arab who had betrayed

the forty sheikhs, and was busy enough looking after himself. The two

girls were caught by the eastern sheikhs. One of them was persuaded to

go back to her father’s house, and at a given signal to let in the

enemy. They surrounded Manshiah and forced an entry to the house. The

slaves stopped fighting and surrendered. Yousif Ali was caught on

the roof, trying to escape; he was dragged down through the house,

out into the street and strangled.

The news of this outrage reached Egypt, and in 1857 a new mamur

arrived with a detachment of soldiers. The system of two omdas ruling

at once, one eastern and one western, was tried, but found to be a

failure. The force under the mamur was quite inadequate to collect

the taxes or to keep order. The post was an unpopular one, and was

considered, as it is now, a form of exile by the Egyptian mamurs who

detest a place that has not the liveliness and amusements of Cairo,

or a provincial town. All the mamurs at Siwa used constantly to say

to me, “Saire—Siwa ees what you call exile!”

There followed in quick succession a series of somewhat incompetent

Turkish mamurs who were in most cases quite powerless to keep under

this turbulent town and population. To add to their difficulties

the power of the Senussi sect was beginning to make itself firmly

felt, and this complicated still more the political situation in the

oasis. The Senussi brethren at Jerabub were regarded by the Siwans

as the ultimate arbitrators in any disputes which arose among the

people, thus ignoring the jurisdiction of the Turkish Government

officials. One mamur married, on the day of his arrival, a girl of

the eastern quarter, and oppressed the westerners to such a degree

that they obtained his recall from Egypt. He was sent back to Egypt,

and as he entered the Governor’s house in Alexandria one of his

men stepped forward and shot him. Another mamur infuriated the people

by wishing to demolish the tomb of Sidi Suliman, in order to build a

house on the site. He made all preparations for the work, but on the

night before the building began he died mysteriously, possibly from

poison. Another mamur imitated the Siwans in every way—eating,

dressing and speaking as one. He kept his position for fourteen

years, becoming very popular on account of the interest he took

in the well-being of the people. But few of the mamurs were liked;

they generally sided definitely with one faction or the other, which

resulted in intrigue against them by the opposite faction, who tried

to procure their dismissal.

In 1896 Mustapha Mahr, Governor of the Behera Province, was dispatched

to Siwa, with fifty soldiers, to inquire into certain disorders. He

arrived to find Siwa in an uproar, the administration of justice at

a standstill, and three years’ taxes unpaid. A powerful western

sheikh, Hassuna Mansur, had retired to his stronghold, Kasr Hassuna, a

fortress on an isolated rock south of the town, with a large number of

slaves and adherents. He refused to pay taxes and defied the Egyptian

Government. This individual became the nucleus of opposition. He was

besieged; but friends among the besiegers supplied him with water,

and even helped him when he sallied out from his fortress and carried

away corn, sheep and cattle from the neighbourhood. The Turkish

official was helpless. Mustapha Mahr and his fifty men were unable

to cope with the rebel. On the advice of the sheikhs he appealed

to the Senussi brethren at Jerabub, and very soon Sheikh Ahmed Ibn

Idris, a relation by marriage to Sheikh El Senussi, appeared on the

scene. The Turkish Commandant asked his assistance. Sheikh Ahmed

ordered Hassuna to surrender, which he did at once, and after much

discussion an agreement was made, signed by the Senussi sheikh, by

which the Siwans promised to pay taxes, but on the condition that

they should not be retrospective. The Senussi sheikh then returned

triumphantly to Jerabub. This illustrates conclusively the power of

the Senussi at this period. A few months later another dispute arose,

about some goats, which ended in a battle between east and west,

in which Hassuna Mansur was slain, and with him over 100 Siwans.

In 1898, five years after the death of this firebrand of the desert,

another affair began which is known as the “Widow’s War.” The

Omda of Siwa died leaving a son, Mohammed Said, and a wealthy young

widow of great personal attractions. An eastern Siwan, named Ahmed

Hamza, wished to marry her. It was considered a suitable match,

and all her relations approved, except her stepson, Mohammed Said,

who was supported by the Medinia sect of Siwans, who had another

prospective husband. One night she disappeared. It was found that she

had fled to the house of Osman Habun, a very powerful western sheikh,

the most influential man in Siwa, who was the representative of the

Senussi. The son demanded his mother from the Habun family, who refused

to surrender her. The war drums were beaten, and a fight between east

and west was imminent. But at the last moment Habun surrendered the

woman, who returned to her own house. On the next day she ran away

again; this time she went to the house of a western Siwan, called

Abdulla Mansur, whom she wished to marry, although she herself should

have held no views on the subject. The whole town was disturbed by

the widow’s unseemly behaviour. Finally her stepson forced her to

marry the man whom he had chosen, and the widow retired from the scene.

But Ahmed Hamza resented losing her, and in revenge, some of his

friends attacked some relations of Mohammed Said’s, on the road

to Aghourmi, and killed two of them. Then Mohammed Said, with the

easterners, raided the western gardens, and the westerners retaliated

by carrying off sheep and cattle. The war drums were beaten, which

signal meant that every man must be ready and armed within twenty-four

hours; flags were displayed on the western hill and on the highest

fort of the eastern quarter, and the doors leading into the street

that divides the town were barred with palm logs. At the end of the

twenty-four hours the eastern force assembled on Shali—the high

town—and the western forces stationed themselves on their rock. The

easterners opened fire and shot, by mistake, a small Arab boy. A truce

was called while both parties discussed the compensation. But during

the truce an eastern man, going out to his garden, was killed by a

party of westerners, so the fight began again, both sides firing across

the street with long, Arab guns and old-fashioned blunderbusses. The

Turkish mamur and his little force retired to the Markaz, well out

of harm’s way.

[Illustration: GATE INTO THE WESTERN QUARTER]

The westerners had only one good spring within convenient reach

of the town. They posted a guard round it, and the easterners,

not expecting to meet with resistance, made a sortie, intending to

capture the spring. The attacking party was beaten off and driven away

from the town towards the gardens. The rest of the easterners, seeing

their comrades in flight, came down from the town and followed after

them. Then the entire western force, led by their chief, Osman Habun,

on his great white war-horse, the only one in Siwa, surged out of the

town, through the narrow gates, firing and shrieking, waving swords

and spears, followed by their women throwing stones. Every able-bodied

man and woman joined in the battle beneath the walls, and only a few

old men and children remained on the battlements watching the fight.

After a fierce combat, lasting for nearly a day, resulting in many

casualties, the western force was beaten back towards the town, and

“The Habun” found himself in danger of being captured. The western

women had followed their men out from the town and were watching the

battle from the gardens. Habun’s mother, seeing her son in danger,

collected a dozen women of his house and managed to get near him. He

left his horse and slipped into the gardens where he joined the

women. They dressed him as a girl, and with them he escaped to the

tomb of Sidi Suliman, where he hid. While in hiding Habun communicated

with the Senussi brethren at Jerabub, who intervened and patched up

a peace. Nowadays, if one wants to insult one of the Habun family,

there is no surer method than by inquiring who it was who escaped

from a battle disguised as a woman.

After this the Egyptian Government realized that a stronger force was

needed to keep order in Siwa, so they sent some more men and a few

cavalry. The Senussi Government also tried to make a lasting peace

between east and west. Sheikh Osman Habun, agent of the Senussi

in Siwa, was at this time the most wealthy and powerful man in

the oasis. He was a large landowner and employed a small army of

slaves. He was related by marriage to most of the western sheikhs,

and many of the Siwan notables were beholden to him for financial

assistance. From his large fortified house in the town he dominated

the western faction, and his armoury included some modern weapons

which he had stolen from a certain English traveller. In appearance

he was a fine, handsome man, with a masterful manner and a commanding

presence. When he went abroad a numerous retinue followed him, and

he received visitors to his house with almost regal state. He married

several times, and had nine sons and daughters.

Several years before the Great War a certain Arab called Abdel Arti,

a notorious smuggler of hashish between Egypt and Tripoli, made a

raid on some bedouins who camped at Lubbok, a little oasis where there

is water and good grazing about eight miles south of Siwa, among the

sand-dunes. He called at Lubbok to get water on his way to Egypt via

the oasis of Bahrein. One of the bedouins came to Siwa and warned

the mamur, who summoned the sheikhs and the people. Osman Habun was

at this time an ally of Abdel Arti and knew his plans. The eastern

people assembled, but the westerners delayed. Eventually, after many

absurd excuses, Osman Habun arrived and accompanied the mamur and an

armed party to Lubbok; but they found that the smugglers had escaped,

carrying off several women and leaving two of the bedouins dead on

the field. The delay caused by Osman Habun had saved Abdel Arti from

capture. When they returned the mamur held a court on Osman Habun and

threatened to depose him and make another man omda in his place. Habun

retired to his house and sulked, refusing to appear again when summoned

by the mamur. One of Habun’s sons was ordered to bring his father

to the Markaz, but he returned with a message that being the month

of Ramadan his father was fasting and could not go out.

Then the mamur, with his few soldiers and some Sudanese camel corps,

followed by a shouting mob of Siwans, went up the steep, dark streets

that lead to the house of “The Habun.” By the time that they had

arrived night had fallen. They found the great wooden door locked

and barred, and the house full of armed men, but they managed to

break in the door and enter the ground floor. But the stairs were

strongly barricaded, so they went outside and lit lanterns while

they discussed what to do. Then the soldiers started firing up at

the windows, and the defenders fired back, people in the adjoining

houses joining in. The soldiers retreated under some buildings across

the lane, but as they did this the mamur was shot and left lying in

the narrow alley. A Camel Corps man dashed out and dragged him into

shelter. Meanwhile Osman Habun had escaped by a private door through

the mosque behind the house. Eventually the soldiers entered the

building and captured the defenders. Osman Habun attempted to escape

through the town to Jerabub, but he was caught by Sheikh Mohammed Said,

his rival of the eastern faction, and brought a prisoner to the Markaz

where the mamur lay dying. He was tried for the murder of the mamur,

found guilty, and hanged, and his eldest son, Hammado, was awarded

penal servitude. He is still alive, in prison at Tura.

Osman Habun was one of the biggest men that Siwa ever produced,

though he had many bad qualities. The Siwans say that he sacrificed

himself for his son, Hammado, being an old man and not willing to see

his son hanged, though Hammado is said to have killed the mamur. Abdel

Arti, the cause of the trouble, had a fight with some of the Egyptian

Coastguard Camel Corps, and killed one of them. They met him again

among the desolate sand-dunes south of Siwa, and killed him, together

with several of his followers. Their graves are distinguishable—rough

stone cairns—on the unmapped desert where a route from Egypt to

Tripoli is still called “Abdel Arti’s Road.”

(4)

FOURTH PERIOD

SIWA AND THE WAR

The history of the British operations on the Western Desert of

Egypt against the Senussi in 1915-1917 has been well described

in several books, and by people who were actually present at the

various engagements. I was not there at the time, so I am unable

to give a first-hand account of it, but no history of Siwa would be

complete without a sketch of the principal events of that campaign,

which was one of the most brilliant and successful “side-shows”

of the Great War, and has left a lasting impression on the Arabs of

the Western Desert, which will be remembered for many years to come.

After the war in Tripoli between the Italians and the Turks, in 1911,

the suzerainty of Italy over Tripoli was formally acknowledged at

the Treaty of Lausanne, but although the whole of the country became

an Italian possession only the coastal towns were held firmly. The

Arabs in the south, and the Berber inhabitants of the various oases,

strongly resented the Italian rule, and for this reason the seeds

of propaganda sown by Turkish and German agents found fertile soil

among the natives of Tripoli.

Germany had for a long time cast envious eyes on North Africa,

and early in the war the Germans seem to have hoped that by their

influence in the country they could stir the Arabs to sweep their

much-hated Italian masters off the coast, and to advance against

Egypt from the west. At the outbreak of war the Arabs in the south

listened readily to the Turkish agents, who encouraged them with

arms and money to revolt against the Italians and to take part in

the Holy War, which was declared by the Sultan of Turkey against the

English and the Allies. But the most important military and political

factor on the Libyan Desert was the Senussi confraternity, and they,

up to this time, had been decidedly pro-British.

The Senussi confraternity was founded by Sidi Mohammed Ben Ali es

Senussi, who was born of Berber stock, but claimed descent from the

Prophet, in Algeria, in 1787. In 1821 he went to Fez and became known

as an ascetic religious who held severely to the simple teachings of

the Koran. Just before the French occupation of Algeria he left his

country and began travelling in North Africa, teaching his doctrine

of a pure form of Islam. The occupation of his native country by

Unbelievers probably contributed to the dislike of Christians which

characterized his later life. After spending some years in North

Africa he went to Cairo and settled at El Azhar, the great Mohammedan

university of Egypt, but his strict ideals found no favour and his

teaching was condemned by the Ulema. From Cairo he went to Mecca,

where he studied with Sidi Ahmed Ibn Idris el Fasi, the leader of

the Khadria confraternity, which had some influence in Morocco. On

the death of Sidi Ahmed, Mohammed es Senussi became head of the sect

and travelled for some years among the bedouins of the Hedjaz. But

his doctrines were too peaceable for these fierce Arabs, and in 1838

he returned to the west and settled at Siwa.

In Siwa he inhabited the caves in the limestone rock below the Kasr

Hassuna, living in one of them and using the other as an oratory. With

his own hands he carved out the nitch—or “mihrab”—which faces

Mecca. During his sojourn at Siwa he became very ill and at one time he

almost died. The people of Siwa accepted his teachings with enthusiasm,

and since then the greater proportion of the population have been

ardent Senussiya. For this reason it has always been considered very

dangerous for anybody who is not exceedingly religious and virtuous

to inhabit these caves in the Kasr Hassuna.

When I was in the Kasr one of my servants asked for permission to

live in the cave. I reminded him of the superstition, but allowed him

to do so. It was most disastrous; after about a month he moved out

and complained to me of the persistent misfortune that had dogged

him. His wife ran away, he became ill, he had some money stolen

from him, and was badly bitten by a tarantula. Another man, who had

a reputation in the Section for being particularly religious, moved

in, but he only remained a week, and after that the caves were left

severely alone. None of the Siwans would live in this place under

any consideration, and the Siwan wife of my Sudanese orderly lived

in a little hut outside the entrance.

[Illustration: “KASR HASSUNA,” THE DISTRICT OFFICER’S HOUSE]

After eight months in Siwa Mohammed es Senussi went on to Jalo and

came into contact with the Zouias, a fierce and warlike race of Arabs

who held various oases in southern Tripoli. They adopted his teachings,

and in 1844 he founded his first zawia—religious centre—at El Beda,

where his eldest son was born. From this centre the Senussi brethren

carried their teachings all over Africa, travelling with the great

caravans of the merchants who traded in slaves, ivory, arms, etc.,

between the Sudan, Tripoli, Wadai and Egypt. Gradually they grew

to be regarded as arbitrators in disputes, and important cases were

brought to Mohammed es Senussi for his judgment. They successfully

combined the duties of merchants and magistrates, acquiring great

wealth and great influence. The Senussi were at all times opposed to

luxury and intolerant of Unbelievers; they claimed that their form

of Mohammedanism was more pure than any other, and as far as possible

they kept aloof from politics.

In 1852 Mohammed es Senussi returned to Mecca, and shortly afterwards

he formally excommunicated the Sultan of Turkey. In 1856 he came,

for the last time, to Jerabub, ninety miles west of Siwa. He died

here three years later and was buried in the tomb in the mosque. At

the time of his death his prestige was enormous; pilgrims travelled

many thousands of miles to visit Jerabub, and Senussism had spread

all over Central and North Africa. The Senussi zawias became rich

from the profits of trading and owned large numbers of slaves, also

arms and ammunition were imported from Turkey, landed on the Tripoli

coast and taken down to the south. One of the greatest authorities

on the Senussi estimated their numbers at between one and a half and

three millions at the time of the death of Mohammed es Senussi. But

their importance as a military factor was not great; being spread

over such a vast area they lacked cohesion, and any combined action

would be almost an impossibility.

Mohammed es Senussi left two sons, Mohammed el Mahdi and Mohammed

el Sherif. The former succeeded his father as the leader of the

Senussi. He spent a considerable part of his life at Jerabub,

acquiring great wealth and strengthening his influence by peaceable

penetration. In 1884 he refused to help the Sudanese Mahdi, who

appealed to the Senussi for assistance in driving the English out of

Egypt. If the Senussi had risen then and joined with the Sudanese

the position of Egypt would have been very dangerous. Mohammed el

Mahdi died in 1902 and was succeeded by his nephew, Sayed Ahmed,

as the son of Mohammed el Mahdi was still a boy.

When Sayed Ahmed succeeded, the French were pushing their conquests

inland from the coast, and the Turks were also advancing southwards

in Tripoli. Sayed Ahmed did all he could to oppose them, but gradually

he was forced to retire. One by one the various zawias were occupied,

till finally the Senussi chief was driven back to Kufra and Jerabub. In

1911 Sayed Ahmed allied himself to the Turks, although the Senussi

had always been at enmity with them, and when the Italians landed on

the Tripoli coast the Senussi supported the Turks in the war against

the Italians, and when the Turks were finally beaten the Senussi in

the interior became once more practically independent.

In the summer of 1915 the Senussi were still ostensibly at peace with

Egypt and Britain, but the pro-German agents had successfully fomented

an anti-British feeling, and the Arabs were being armed and organized

by German and Turkish officers who landed in submarines—from

Constantinople—evaded the Italians on the coast, and went down

south into the Senussi country. The British and Italian alliance

was an incentive to the Arabs in Tripoli, who bitterly resented the

Italian occupation of their country.

Sollum, the frontier post, was garrisoned by a small detachment of

the Egyptian army and the Coastguards, native troops with two or

three English officers. In August, 1915, the crews of two English

submarines, wrecked on the coast west of Sollum, were fired upon by

the Senussi, but Sayed Ahmed apologized and declared that he did not

know what nationality the men were. In the autumn it was known that

the British attempt at Gallipoli was doomed; there was a danger of

disturbances in Egypt, and the Turks attacked the Suez Canal.

On November 5th the _Tara_, an armed patrol boat, was torpedoed

off Sollum. Three of her boats came ashore a few miles west of the

frontier, and ninety-two men of the crew were captured by some Senussi

Arabs and carried inland to a place called Bir Hakim, a well which

lies about seventy miles south of the coast; here they were kept

prisoners for several months, and during this time they suffered the

most excessive privations at the hands of their captors. They were so

badly fed that they were forced to eat snails, which are very plentiful

in some parts of the desert; several men died, and their attempts to

escape were in all cases unsuccessful. The history of their sufferings

and adventures forms the subject of two books written by one of the

survivors on his return home. Even after this incident Sidi Ahmed

continued to protest his friendship for the British, and disclaimed

any knowledge of the whereabouts of the _Tara_’s crew.

About this time large numbers of Arabs began to collect on the high

desert above Sollum. The garrison was slightly reinforced and some

armoured cars came up the coast from Egypt. On November 23rd Sollum

was attacked by a numerous force of Senussi, armed with a miscellaneous

collection of fire-arms and some old guns. The garrison was evacuated

on to the _Rasheed_, an Egyptian gunboat, during a heavy sand-storm,

and on the same day the garrison of Barrani was taken down the coast

on another boat. They landed at Matruh, which was put into a state

of defence, and the garrison was very soon considerably augmented by

British troops who were hurried up from Alexandria in trawlers and

in cars from the railhead. A few days after they arrived at Matruh

some of the men of the Egyptian Coastguards went over to the enemy,

and Colonel Snow Bey, of the Coastguards, was shot while speaking to

some so-called friendly Arabs on a reconnaissance.

Colonel Snow and Major Royle, another officer of the Coastguards who

lost his life later in the war, after joining the Flying Corps, were

both very well known on the Western Desert. As a rule, the bedouins

do not talk much of the Englishmen who lived and served among them,

but even now, several years later, one constantly hears these two

names mentioned round the camp fires of the Arabs.

While the British force was building up the defences of Matruh,

the Senussi collected a few miles west of the town. On December 13th

the garrison advanced against the enemy, and a force of about 1300

Senussi was cleared out from a long wadi and driven off with heavy

casualties. On this occasion a squadron of Yeomanry, who were fired

on from a gully, charged at the enemy and came suddenly on a deep

and unexpected drop.

Towards the end of the month another large force of Arabs, under the

command of Gaffar Pasha, a Germanized Turk and a very capable officer,

occupied a valley called Wadi Majid, near Matruh. It appeared that they

intended attacking Matruh on Christmas Day, when they supposed that the

garrison would be eating and drinking—though, as it happened, there

was not even any beer in the town. On Christmas Eve the British force,

consisting of part of a New Zealand brigade, some Sikhs, Australian

Light Horse and British Yeomanry, supported by aeroplanes and naval

ships, which shelled the enemy from the coast, went out of Matruh

and fought a successful action on Christmas Day. The Arab camp was

destroyed, and the enemy were beaten off with heavy casualties. After

the engagement the British force returned to Matruh. By this time

the usual winter weather had begun; floods of rain fell on the coast,

filling the wadis, swamping the roads and turning the country into a

morass. Once again the enemy concentrated, at a place about 26 miles

west of Matruh. They were located by aeroplanes, attacked and again

driven westward. On February 26th another engagement took place at

Agagia, near Barrani. The enemy lost heavily and Gaffar Pasha, the

Commander of the Senussi army, was captured during a brilliant charge

which was made by the Dorset Yeomanry. After this defeat Sayed Ahmed,

the Senussi chief, with a number of his supporters and a huge quantity

of baggage, retired from the coast, which was getting too hot for

him, and trekked across the desert down to Siwa, travelling in great

comfort with gramophones, clocks, brass bedsteads and a large harem!

On arrival at Siwa he settled himself in the Kasr Hassuna, but he

lived in a very different style to his ancestor, the original Mohammed

es Senussi. A renegade Coastguard officer, Mohammed Effendi Saleh,

was appointed as his second in command. At first the Siwans welcomed

Sayed Ahmed with great enthusiasm, but their feelings rapidly changed

when the ill-disciplined mob that made up his army took to spoiling

the gardens and robbing the people. Mohammed Saleh had been in Siwa

before and he knew exactly how much money the various inhabitants

had. This acquaintance with everybody’s financial position was

of great use when he began to extort money from the natives. Those

who could not or would not pay were beaten in the market-place and

forcibly enlisted into the army; those who paid a little were made

corporals and officers, and only the people who gave much money were

exempt from service. The richest sheikhs and merchants were presented

with Turkish and German medals and orders and promoted to Pashas

and Beys. The officers of the Senussi force attired themselves in

bright green putties, which they manufactured from the green baize

tablecloths in the offices of the Markaz; all the files and the

Government furniture, etc., was seized by Sayed Ahmed, who carried

it about with him during the rest of the campaign, eventually leaving

it at Jerabub when he finally left the country.

Meanwhile the campaign on the coast was going badly for the

Senussi. Barrani was occupied after the battle of Agagia, and from

there the British force, reinforced by the Duke of Westminster and his

armoured cars, pushed on towards Sollum, which was occupied on the 14th

of March. Sollum was captured by a rear attack from above the Scarp,

armoured cars and troops having managed to find a way up the cliffs

by a steep, precipitous pass known as “Negb Halfia,” or “Hell

Fire Pass,” as it was afterwards called. The Senussi blew up their

large ammunition dump at Bir Wær, on the frontier, and the remains

of their army were driven over the desert for many miles, pursued

by the British cars, which scattered them far and wide and inspired

all the Arabs with a holy dread of “Trombiles”—motors—which

will never be forgotten. The capture of Sollum virtually ended the

fighting on the coast; after that only Siwa remained to be cleared

out. The country was full of fugitives and their starving families,

who were fed and provided for by the British. Arab women flocked round

the garrisons at Sollum and Matruh offering their silver ornaments

and jewellery in exchange for food.

On April 16th, much to the relief of the inhabitants, Sayed Ahmed

left Siwa _en route_ for the Dakhla oasis. He took with him most

of the able-bodied men in the place, as well as a number of Senussi

soldiers and many camel loads of luggage. The Siwans were expected

to bring their own food, but by this time they were reduced to such

a state of poverty that they had not even enough dates to support

themselves. A number of men died on the road, and still more deserted

and made their way back to the oasis. Sayed Ahmed stayed for several

months at Dakhla and then returned to Siwa, hurrying back like a

hunted hare. On each of these little desert trips the Grand Sheikh

shed a little of his baggage.

During his absence from Siwa the sheikhs of the Medinia sect organized

a very successful little rebellion. The people revolted against the

Senussi sheikhs who had been left in charge, drove them into the

Markaz, and besieged them for two days. Eventually peace was made,

but not before the Senussi sheikhs had sent frantic messages to Sayed

Ahmed complaining of the scandalous behaviour of the Siwans and

imploring him to return. The Siwans at the same time sent letters

to Sayed Ahmed with complaints against his sheikhs who had stayed

in Siwa to keep order. The messengers met on the road and journeyed

together till they came upon Sayed Ahmed and his party between Dakhla

and Siwa. They handed their letters to the sheikh and he read them

together. The news of the “goings-on” at Siwa hastened his return.

Once again he established himself in the Kasr Hassuna. Here he

indulged in severe religious observances and urged the people to

pray for divine help against the Unbelievers who had destroyed the

Senussi army on the coast. In January Sayed Ahmed and Mohammed Saleh,

his second in command, were considering retiring to Jerabub, so as

to be still further away from the British. On the 2nd of February a

force of armoured cars, lorries and light cars arrived a few miles

north of Girba, a little oasis in a deep rocky valley north-west of

Siwa. On the following day the cars successfully descended the pass

and attacked the enemy camp at Girba. The Senussi were absolutely

astounded. They had already learnt to fear the British cars, but

they never for one moment thought it possible that a large force of

motors could dash across the desert from the coast, almost 200 miles,

and attack them in their stronghold. Owing to the rocky ground the

cars were unable to get at close quarters with the enemy. The action

lasted a whole day. The Senussi, who numbered about 800, were under

the command of Mohammed Saleh, and another force of about 500 men were

at Siwa with Sayed Ahmed. At the first alarm the Grand Sheikh bundled

himself and his belongings on to camels and fled frantically over the

sand-dunes towards Jerabub, followed by a straggling mob of Arabs. On

the evening of the 4th the enemy began to retire from their position at

Girba, burning arms and ammunition before evacuating, and on the 5th

of February the cars entered Siwa and the British force was received

by the sheikhs and notables at the Markaz with expressions of relief

and goodwill. The column left the town on the same day and reached

“Concentration Point,” north of Girba, on the following day.

Another detachment had been sent to a pass above the western end of

the oasis in order to intercept the fugitives, but only a few cars

were able to get down from the high country above, but the one Light

Car Patrol which did descend managed to cut off a number of the enemy

who were retreating to the west. On the 8th February the whole column

went back to Sollum. The enemy’s losses were 40 killed, including 2

Senussi officers, and 200 wounded, including 5 Turkish officers. Sayed

Ahmed and Mohammed Saleh both escaped, but after this crushing defeat,

and the capture of the Siwa oasis, all danger from the Senussi forces

was at an end.

Some time previously, after the occupation of Sollum by the British,

information was found as to the whereabouts of the prisoners from

the _Tara_, who had been joined by the survivors of the _Moorina_,

who had also landed on the coast and had been captured by the Arabs. A

force of armoured cars and other cars, under the command of the Duke of

Westminster, set off on the 17th from Sollum with a native guide. They

dashed across the desert to Bir Hakim, rescued the prisoners and

brought them back to Sollum, having travelled across some 120 miles

of unknown desert and attacked an enemy whose numbers they did not

know. This gallant enterprise was perhaps the most brilliant affair

which occurred during the operations on the Western Desert. The Duke

of Westminster received the D.S.O. for his exploit, and was recommended

for the Victoria Cross.

After the capture of Siwa there was no more fighting on the Western

Desert. Sollum, Matruh and the various stations on the coast were

garrisoned with British infantry, gunners and Camel Corps, and a

standing camp of Light Cars was made at Siwa, where they remained for

some time. The F.D.A. took over the Administration of the Western

Desert, and gradually the garrisons were withdrawn and replaced by

F.D.A. Camel Corps. To-day there only remains one small detachment

of Light Car Patrols in the fort at Sollum.

Sayed Ahmed and Mohammed Saleh were never captured. The Grand

Sheikh’s progress terminated on the Tripoli coast, where he was

met by a Turkish submarine and carried over to Constantinople. He

was received by the Sultan and has remained there ever since, an

exile from his native land, probably regretting that he ever allowed

himself to be persuaded to throw in his lot with the Turks.

Sayed Ahmed did not distinguish himself in this campaign. Whenever he

thought that the fighting was too near he hurriedly retired to some

more distant place. His cowardly conduct was to a certain extent

responsible for the failure of his troops; he never took part in

the fighting and never led them in person. His behaviour was very

different to that of Ali Dinar, Sultan of Darfur, in the Sudan,

who was also persuaded by the Turks to rebel against the English

at the same time. The latter showed considerable personal courage,

and was killed on the field at the end of the war. Sayed Ahmed was

succeeded by his cousin, Sidi Mohammed Idris, the son of Mohammed el

Madhi, who had always shown himself to be strongly pro-British, and had

carefully refrained from taking any part in the Senussi rising and the

subsequent campaign. An agreement was drawn up by the British and the

Italians which arranged that Idris should be responsible for keeping

order inland, and that he should receive money and assistance. This

arrangement has been in force up to now, and is in every way a success.

[Illustration: SHEIKH MOHAMMED IDRIS, THE CHIEF OF THE SENUSSI]