W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence, History Department Visiting Faculty job with California State University, San Bernardino | 37402183

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W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence, History Department Visiting Faculty

Employer

California State University, San Bernardino

Location

California, United States

Salary

Salary Not specified

Posted Date

Jan 30, 2023

Position Type

Faculty Positions, Arts, Art History

Employment Level

Administrative

Employment Type

Full Time

W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence, History Department Visiting Faculty
California State University, San Bernardino


Job No: 518881
Work type: Visiting Faculty
Categories: Unit 3 - CFA - California Faculty Association, Faculty - Behavioral Sciences, Temporary, Full Time California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) is located in San Bernardino in the Inland Empire, 60 miles east of Los Angeles and operates a satellite campus in Palm Desert located in Coachella Valley. CSUSB serves approximately 20,000 students, of which 81% are first-generation college students and graduates about 5,000 students annually. As a designated Hispanic Serving Institution, CSUSB reflects the dynamic diversity of the region and has one of the most diverse student populations of any university in the Inland Empire, and the second highest Hispanic enrollment of all public universities in California. CSUSB employs 467 full-time faculty and offers 48 undergraduate, 35 graduate, and one doctoral degree programs and 14 academic programs with national accreditation.

At CSUSB, diversity, equity and inclusion are values central to our mission. We recognize that diversity and inclusion in all its forms are necessary for our institutional success. By fully leveraging our diverse experiences, backgrounds and insights, we inspire innovation, challenge the status quo and create better outcomes for our students and community. As part of CSUSB's commitment to hire, develop and retain a diverse faculty, we offer a variety of networking, mentoring and development programs for our junior faculty. We are committed to building and sustaining a CSUSB community that is supportive and inclusive of all individuals. Qualified applicants with experience in ethnically diverse settings and/or who demonstrate a commitment to serving diverse student populations are strongly encouraged to apply. CSUSB has received the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, which recognizes CSUSB's ongoing commitment to service-learning, a high-impact practice that combines classroom instruction with meaningful volunteer service and correlates strongly to student success.

JOB SUMMARY
The Department of History at California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB) invites applications for the W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence. A successful candidate will be a member of the CSUSB community for one semester, either Fall 2023 (Aug-Dec 21, 2023) or Spring 2024 (Jan 20-May 23, 2024). This position is designed for scholars taking a semester sabbatical from a home institution or as a postdoc for an up incoming scholar. The applicant should specialize in Ancient Egyptian History, Archaeology, or Art anytime between the Predynastic to the Roman Periods. The successful candidate will receive housing, a partial meal plan, $2,500 towards relocation expenses, and a $26,000 stipend. CSUSB hosts the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art (RAFFMA), which includes one of the largest collections of Ancient Egyptian artifacts in Southern California. The collection includes over 2000 artifacts dating from the Predynastic Period to the Coptic Period.
TYPICAL ACTIVITIES

The primary responsibility for the applicant will be to teach one upper division class on Ancient Egyptian History, Archaeology or Art for the Department of History. A candidate may design a class of his/her own that deals with Ancient Egypt. Or the candidate may also choose to teach one of the classes that are already part of the CSUSB curriculum, such as Ancient Egyptian Culture and Society, Ancient Egyptian Archaeology, Ancient Egyptian History Origins to 1700BCE, Ancient Egyptian History 1700 BCE to 1000 BCE, or Ancient Egyptian History 1000 BCE to 495CE. Classes that incorporate the study of artifacts in the RAFFMA collection are particularly welcome. Please specify details about this course in your application letter.

The candidate will also be a keynote speaker for community-based event focused on Egyptology, mostly held at RAFFMA.

Preferred Activities

A successful candidate would also want to be an active member of the CSUSB community and be interested in engaging with RAFFMA. Favorable candidates would also be interested in studying an object(s) in RAFFMA, participating in educational projects, or assisting with the collection's ongoing exhibition.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

Applicants must have a PhD in Egyptology or a related field by May 2023 or earlier. The position is open rank. Applicants must also demonstrate a distinguished record in teaching and research in related fields.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

The successful candidate ideally would also be able to implement effective teaching strategies for non-traditional and first generation students.

SPECIAL CONDITIONS

The person holding this position is considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

Following a conditional offer of employment, a background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate may start work with CSUSB. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may result in the withdrawal of the offer of employment. Note: CSUSB cannot deny an applicant a position solely or in part due to a criminal conviction history until it has performed an individualized assessment and linked the relevant conviction history with specific job duties in the position being sought.

Please note: Current employees who are offered positions on campus will be required to undergo a background check for any position where a background check is required by law or that CSUSB has designated as sensitive. Sensitive positions are those requiring heightened scrutiny of individuals holding the position based on potential for harm to children, concerns for the safety and security of people, animals, or property, or heightened risk of financial loss to CSUSB or individuals in the university community.

For health and well-being, CSUSB is a smoke & tobacco-free campus. The university is committed to promoting a healthy environment for all members of our community.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT
History is the study of changes throughout the past as a means to understand our present and inform our future. It enables us to obtain context for contemporary systems, institutions, politics, cultures, and moral questions. It engages students in questions about causality and asks students to see the contingent conditions that have shaped our world. History asks students to do much more than memorize facts, but instead challenges students to see the world from various viewpoints, evaluate a multiplicity of sources, develop a sense of context and coherence, all while recognizing the complexity and obscurity of our world. To find out more about the Department of History and the visiting scholar https://www.csusb.edu/history/w-benson-harer-egyptology-scholar-residence For more information regarding the position, please contact: Recruitment Chair Dr. Kate Liszka kate.liszka@csusb.edu (909) 537-5437 Department Chair Dr. Ryan Keating rkeating@csusb.edu (909) 537-3917
HOW TO APPLY

Please submit:

Curriculum Vitae

Cover Letter that includes:

a. A statement of your teaching interest/philosophy

b. A statement of your research experience/plans

c. A statement about the applicant's interest in the position

3. If available, evidence of teaching effectiveness such as teaching portfolios, reports on teaching observations, and/or student evaluations of teaching.

4. Unofficial copies of all postsecondary degree transcripts (official transcripts will be required prior to appointment).

5. Reference List - names, telephone numbers, and email addresses of two (2) referees whom we may contact to obtain letters of recommendation (for candidates who have received their PhDs within the last 10 years). A reference list and letters are not required for candidates who received their degrees more than 10 years ago.

6. Diversity Statement, which may include your interpretation of diversity, equity, and inclusion, and must include specific examples of how your background and your educational and/or professional experiences have prepared you for this role at California State University, San Bernardino (maximum 1,000 words).

7. Confidential letters of recommendation may be solicited from those listed as references on the application if the applicant is moved forward in the recruitment process and the applicant has received his/her degree in the last 10 years. Non-confidential letters of recommendation can be uploaded by the applicant during the application process.

Formal review of applications will begin November 30, 2022 and continue until the position is filled.

If you are interested in this opportunity, we invite you to apply by using this CSU Recruit Hyperlink at:

https://secure.dc4.pageuppeople.com/apply/873/gateway/Default.aspx?c=apply&sJobIDs=518881&SourceTypeID=803&sLanguage=en-us&lApplicationSubSourceID=11243

Salary is commensurate with experience.

CSU Salary Schedule: https://www.calstate.edu/csu-system/careers/compensation/Pages/salary-schedule.aspx

A background check (including a criminal records check) must be completed satisfactorily before any candidate can be offered a position with the CSU. Failure to satisfactorily complete the background check may affect the application status of applicants or continued employment of current CSU employees who apply for the position.

The person holding this position is considered a 'mandated reporter' under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and is required to comply with the requirements set forth in CSU Executive Order 1083 as a condition of employment.

California State University, San Bernardino is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. We consider qualified applicants for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, age, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, genetic information, medical condition, disability, marital status, or protected veteran status. This position adheres to CSU policies against Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Violence, including Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking. This requires completion of Sexual Violence Prevention Training within 6 months of assuming employment and on a two-year basis thereafter. (Executive Order 1096)

This position may be "Designated" under California State University's Conflict of Interest Code. This would require the filing of a Statement of Economic Interest on an annual basis and the completion of training within 6 months of assuming office and every 2 years thereafter. Visit the Human Resources Conflict of Interest webpage link for additional information:
https://www.csusb.edu/human-resources/current-employees/employee-relations/conflict-interest



To view full description and to apply, visit: https://www.csusb.edu
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Ancient Egyptians were so into oral sex, they put it in their religion — and religious art | Salon.com

There are enough flags in this text that I decided to send only the link. Otherwise the whole thing
might wind up in everyone's spam box.

Glenn

https://www.salon.com/2023/01/29/ancient-egyptians-were-so-into-oral-sex-they-put-it-in-their-religion--and-religious-art/

--
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Northern Cal. ARCE Egyptology Lecture Feb. 12: Ramses II and the Hittite Empire

The American Research Center in Egypt, Northern California Chapter, and the Near Eastern Studies Department, University of California, Berkeley, invite you to attend a lecture by Dr. Peter Brand, University of Memphis: Ramses II and the Hittite Empire: War & Peace in the Late Bronze Age Sunday, February 12, 2023, 3 PM Pacific Standard Time Room 126 Social Sciences Building (formerly Barrows Hall) UC Berkeley No Zoom meeting is scheduled for this lecture.   Ramesses' fight against the Hittites on the shores of Orontes (Battle of Kadesh) by Émile Prisse d'Avennes (1878). (Image source: WikimediaCommons. About the Lecture: Ramesses II was both a great warrior and visionary statesman. For two decades, he fought the mighty Hittite Empire for control of Syria including the famous Battle of Kadesh. His military campaigns were the culmination of over six decades of hostilities between these ancient superpowers. Yet Ramesses had the vision to make a lasting peace with Egypt's bitter rival, when he concluded a treaty in his twenty-first regnal year with his Hittite counterpart Hattusili III. A remarkable cache of diplomatic letters, second only to the famous Amarna Letters, offers a fascinating glimpse of the pharaoh's boisterous and often tense diplomatic exchanges with Hattusili III and his formidable consort, the Hititte Queen Puduhepa. Fifteen years later, Ramesses negotiated with Puduhepa to marry a Hittite princess. His lively debates with the Hittite king and queen reveal a very different Ramesses II than the god-king and warrior pharaoh we see on his monuments. About the Speaker: Dr. Peter Brand  is a Canadian Egyptologist from Toronto and a naturalized American citizen.  He is a Professor of Ancient History in the Department of History at the University of Memphis. Since 2001 Dr. Brand has served as the Director of the Karnak Great Hypostyle Hall Project sponsored by the University of Memphis, which aims to record and publish all the monumental inscriptions and reliefs from this huge building. Dr. Brand studied at the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Memphis before completing his PhD in Ancient Egyptian Language and Literature at the University of Toronto in 1998.  His dissertation, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis, was published by Brill in 2000. Dr. Brand's area of focus in Egyptology is the history and culture of the New Kingdom, particularly  the late 18th Dynasty and the Ramesside Period.  In his research and teaching he uses a multi-disciplinary approach that integrates history, art history, language and epigraphy. Parking is available in UC lots all day on weekends, for a fee. Ticket dispensing machines accept debit or credit cards. Parking is available in lots around the Social Sciences Building, and in lots along Bancroft. A map of the campus is available online at http://www.berkeley.edu/map/ About ARCE-NC: For more information, please visit https://facebook.com/NorthernCaliforniaARCE/, https://arce-nc.org/, https://twitter.com/ARCENCPostings, or https://khentiamentiu.org. To join the chapter or renew your membership, please go to https://www.arce.org/general-membership and select "Berkeley, CA" as your chapter when you sign up.

The Mummified Remains Return? Why mummies are resisting a name change | Culture | EL PAÍS English Edition

https://english.elpais.com/culture/2023-01-27/why-mummies-are-resisting-a-name-change.html

The Mummified Remains Return? Why mummies are resisting a name change

An initiative by British museums to use alternative terms for embalmed bodies is considered unnecessary by most Egyptologists consulted by this newspaper

Jacinto Antón

Barcelona - Jan 27, 2023 - 09:00 EST

Egyptologists opening a sarcophagus at the necropolis of Sakkara, Egypt, in October 2020.KHALED DESOUKI (AFP)

Faced with the impossibility of obtaining their opinion on the matter from Tutankhamun, Ramses II or any other mummified Egyptian (not to mention Boris Karloff), an ad-hoc survey among Egyptologists reveals that an initiative by the British Museum and other UK cultural centers to stop using the word mummy for the embalmed bodies of Ancient Egypt and replacing it with the term "mummified remains" is generally considered unnecessary. The arguments for change are, among others, that the word mummy has colonialist overtones and is often associated with a fictional monster.

"It couldn't be more foolish," says the Egyptologist José Miguel Parra, author of a 2010 book titled Momias (Mummies), a splendid study on the history of mummification in Ancient Egypt that, according to the new guidelines, should be renamed. Taking this logic even further, a movie like The Mummy Returns would become The Mummified Remains Return, which certainly does not have the same ring to it.

"We are dealing with yet another gratuitous gesture by the politically correct movement," says Parra, who has unearthed and studied mummies at the Thebes necropolis as part of the Djehuty Project team in Dra Abu el-Naga (Luxor). "Mummy, a colonialist word?" he scoffs, alluding to one of the arguments used by British museums to stop using the term. "It comes from the Persian mumia, and it was popularized by Pliny the Elder in the first century AD." Parra notes that the word is not derogatory, but simply alludes to the bitumen that the ancients were reminded of when they saw the consistency of the resinous substances with which the bodies were treated during embalming.

X-rays and CAT-scans have been used on the mummies of Seramon and Ankhpakhhered.MARQ

This scholar points out that these days, mummies are no longer treated as objects, the way they were during the early days of Egyptology and the popular "unwrapping parties." They are treated with utmost respect, says Parra, and undergo scientific analysis with the latest technology available to modern medicine, which only makes the human condition of these remains all the more explicit. Just as one goes to the doctor to get a CAT scan, so does the mummy. "It seems to me that these days, nobody is questioning the humanity of the mummies. The campaign is easy, but unnecessary, and I don't think it will prosper. The whole issue of dignification seems absurd to me and akin to debating the sex of the angels."

As for the second argument about wanting to separate the mummies from their literary and cinematographic portrayal as supernatural monsters, Parra points out that these depictions are what made mummies popular and got many people interested in Ancient Egypt. Also, let's remember that the mummy is not generally an insensitive monster in these productions, but a being with its own motivations and feelings. We must not forget that the classic mummy of novels and movies was moved by love, like Karloff's character (physically inspired by Ramses III).

Boris Karloff in a scene from the seminal 1932 movie 'The Mummy.'

The Egyptologist Maite Mascort, who has seen many mummies during her digs at Oxyrhynchus, also sees the change in terminology as unnecessary. "Respect does not depend on whether you call mummies one way or another, their dignity is not being questioned by calling them a mummy. There is no need to get into that debate. Mummy is a name that everyone understands and has never had negative connotations when applied to the embalmed bodies of Ancient Egypt. It also helps people to clearly identify specific human remains and arouses their interest. I don't think anyone really thinks that the things in the movies about mummies are true; we just like those stories and they make us interested in the real story."

Like Parra, Mascort stresses that mummies are being treated very fairly right now. "At digs, exhibitions, museums and during research work, respect for mummies as human bodies is currently placed above all else." The Egyptologist considers the use of the word mummy is necessary because it is striking and attractive, and therefore has a positive impact overall.

For Salima Ikram, a leading world expert on mummies who has worked on several field missions and written numerous reference books on the subject, the name change "does not seem necessary to me at all." On the contrary, she says, "I find mummified remains insulting and dehumanizing, and many colleagues share my opinion; remains suggests that the body is fragmented."

Salima Ikram, next to a mummified crocodile.

For this prestigious Egyptologist from the American University in Cairo, "the problem is the need to educate people so that they understand that a mummy is a human being (or another being in the case of animals) that has gone through a complex transformation process that the ancient Egyptians considered essential to become divine and live forever. I don't think changing the word used to describe that transformed body is going to change attitudes, only education will." Ikram wonders why mummified remains should sound better than mummy. "I am saddened by this simplistic idea that changing the name alters or improves our understanding of the subject; explanations and education are crucial."

Mariàngela Taulé, an Egyptologist and director of the Museu Egipci in Barcelona, a private center, says that the British Museum's initiative sounds a bit far removed from her own center's experience. "We are a modern institution, born 30 years ago, while they have the problems of a museum created in 1753 and containing eight million objects. We have in our rooms a mummy that was anonymous, but we named it the Lady of Kemet to talk about it in a personalized way. We have never viewed mummies in this museum as objects out of touch with what they are: the bodies of human beings. So we don't need that self-critical look that the British Museum has adopted."

One of the mummies at the National Archaeology Museum of Spain.SAMUEL SÁNCHEZ

The Egyptologist José Manuel Galán, director of the Djehuty Project and currently on a campaign in Luxor, points out that "when the news came out here there was a lot of joking around." He considers that the tendency to be politically correct sometimes goes too far. "Taken to extremes, it is shocking; one would think that if the British have so much awareness about this issue, they might start by returning things to Egypt, but of course, that's not an option." For Galán, the word mummy is not offensive and the whole question is irrelevant. "The important thing is to take good care of human remains, treat them with respect and preserve them. When you overreact, as in this case, you often get the opposite effect: instead of raising awareness, you get wisecracks and memes."

There is one dissenting voice in this debate: the Egyptologist José Ramon Pérez Accino, who is also in Luxor, working on a project involving the Royal Cache. "Besides the fact that the whole thing is a bit of a wank, pardon my French, it cannot be denied that the intention is to humanize the term, and that is not a bad thing. Mummy means little more than bitumen, and embalmed bodies are not bitumen, they are people. In any case, I think it will take a long time for a term other than mummy to catch on, so let's not get our hopes up."

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Egypt archaeology: Gold-covered mummy among latest discoveries - BBC News

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-64415816

Egypt archaeology: Gold-covered mummy among latest discoveries

Published 1 day ago

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

One of four newly discovered tombs at the Saqqara archaeological site south of Cairo

By Kathryn Armstrong

BBC News

Archaeologists say they have found a gold leaf-covered mummy sealed inside a sarcophagus that had not been opened for 4,300 years.

The mummy, the remains of a man named Hekashepes, is thought to be one of the oldest and most complete non-royal corpses ever found in Egypt.

It was discovered down a 15m (50ft) shaft at a burial site south of Cairo, Saqqara, where three other tombs were found.

One tomb belonged to a "secret keeper".

The largest of the mummies that were unearthed at the ancient necropolis is said to belong to a man called Khnumdjedef - a priest, inspector and supervisor of nobles.

Another belonged to a man called Meri, who was a senior palace official given the title of "secret keeper", which allowed him to perform special religious rituals.

A judge and writer named Fetek is thought to have been laid to rest in the other tomb, where a collection of what are thought to be the largest statues ever found in the area had been discovered.

Several other items, including pottery, have also been found among the tombs.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Various statues and items of pottery were found in the tombs

Archaeologist Zahi Hawass, Egypt's former antiquities minister, has said all the discoveries date from around the 25th to the 22nd centuries BC.

"This discovery is so important as it connects the kings with the people living around them," said Ali Abu Deshish, another archaeologist involved in the excavation.

Saqqara was an active burial ground for more than 3,000 years and is a designated Unesco World Heritage Site. It sits at what was the ancient Egyptian capital Memphis and is home to more than a dozen pyramids - including the Step Pyramid, near where the shaft containing the mummy was found.

Thursday's discovery comes just a day after experts in the southern Egyptian city of Luxor said they had discovered a complete residential city from the Roman era, dating back to the second and third centuries AD.

Archaeologists found residential buildings, towers and what they've called "metal workshops" - containing pots, tools and Roman coins.

Egypt has unveiled many major archaeological discoveries in recent years, as part of efforts to revive its tourism industry.

The government hopes its Grand Egyptian Museum, which is due to open this year following delays, will draw in 30 million tourists a year by 2028.

But, critics have accused Egypt's government of prioritising media-grabbing finds over hard academic research in order to attract more tourism.

Video: https://www.bbc.com/news/av-embeds/64415816/vpid/p06vpy0t

Media caption,

The 4,400-year-old tomb is filled with hieroglyphs and statues

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Al-Antiquekhana: The looting of Ancient Egypt’s treasures - Reviews - Books - Ahram Online

https://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContentP/18/484908/Books/AlAntiquekhana-The-looting-of-Ancient-Egypt%E2%80%99s-trea.aspx

Al-Antiquekhana: The looting of Ancient Egypt's treasures

Hesham Taha, Thursday 26 Jan 2023

Al-Antiquekhana (The Egyptian Museum) by Nasser Iraq, Dar El-Shorouk Publishing, Cairo 2022. pp.255

In his new historical novel titled The Egyptian Museum, Nasser Iraq tackles the looting of Ancient Egyptian antiquities by European excavators.

Iraq attributes the looting to two main reasons: foreigners' abuse of Khedive Ismail's blind trust and the indifference that the majority of Egyptians showed towards those antiquities.

The novel is divided into 11 chapters that employ the names of the main characters as titles. Throughout the novel Iraq employs first-person narration. 

The novel starts with Ramadan Al-Mohammedy, a talented carpenter who is soon revealed to be an antiquities' thief and a Lothario. Ramadan's lover Mastoora – whom he kills after she insists that he marries her after getting her pregnant –  used to steal antiquities from the house of her employer, the German Egyptologist Heinrich "Henry" Brugsch.

 Iraq then makes a smooth transition to other characters. These are Brugsch, the School of Egyptology director; Auguste Mariette Pasha, the founder of the Egyptian Department of Antiquities; Joséphine Diori, the young French archeologist; and Ahmed Effendi Kamal, assistant of Mariette Pasha and Brugsch's most brilliant student.

Throughout the novel, Mariette Pasha and Brugsch are always engaged in a discussion about the Egyptians' indifference towards the Pharaohs' entire heritage. Mariette Pasha  firmly believes that Muslim Egyptians are inclined by virtue of their religious faith to overlook ancient Egyptian history, viewing statues as idols. He mentions the shutting down of the School of Egyptology –  due to the meagre number of students – as proof of Egyptians' apathy towards their ancient Egyptian heritage.

Brugsch, on the other hand, cannot believe that among so many Egyptians no one is interested in studying ancient Egyptian history. He cites Ahmed Effendi as an example of Egyptians who are willing to study such a subject and expresses his hope that in time other Egyptians will follow suit.

The novel, however, portrays all its main characters as involved one way or another in smuggling antiquities and selling them to foreigners abroad. Ramadan Al-Mohammedy, Mariette Pasha, Brugsch, Benjamin Jacob, even Ahmed Effendi – who returns the statue he stole – are all involved with stealing and smuggling antiquities.

Ahmed Effendi, who is married and has two children, is portrayed as deeply in love with her. Her love drives Ahmed to steal the statue of Seti I to sell it to provide Joséphine with a decent life. He has, however, a sudden pang of conscience and returns the statue just before being appointed head of an inventory commission responsible for conducting a census of the stolen statues.

Ahmed Effendi is flabbergasted when Joséphine leaves a farewell letter describing their relationship as withered roses. The note comes only two days after she had hugged him intimately. Jospehine, who turns out to be an emotionally disturbed woman, breaks off with Ahmed just as she had broken off with her fiancée back in France one week before her wedding. She runs after the French Consul's brother André whose profession as a photographer had been unknown in Egypt at the time. 

Mariette Pasha, another character involved in smuggling antiquities, gives Brugsch Pharaonic statues to sell them at an auction hall in London.

Brugsch himself has so many statues at his house as if they were personal property. In one of the more heart-wrenching scenes,  an Egyptian mummy is torn in half while Brugsch and his brother Emile carried it to the museum after discovering it and getting rid of its sarcophagus in the desert due to its heavy weight.

Benjamin Jacob, the French Jew who poses as a grain merchant in public but who is an antiquities smuggler behind the scenes, scolds Ramadan when he asks him about Thutmose III. When Ramadan proves ignorant, Jacob shouts at him saying "You, people of Egypt have a chronic flaw, a flaw that hinders your progress and development. A flaw that is similar to an epidemic that destroys and decimates and that is your horrible ignorance of the great heritage of your genius ancestors. You are oblivious of the fact that the dust you are treading on hides the most precious treasures and the greatest of civilizations." He concludes by saying, "Anyway, that's good for the ignorance of some people is the key to wealth for others".

The novel also portrays how foreigners in general viewed Egypt at that time. In a letter to her friend Marie, Joséphine says that only the parts of Cairo that are inhabited by the Khedive and foreigners are radiating with light, while the rest of Cairo is surrounded by poverty and piles of garbage. She describes Egypt as a nice-looking apple on the outside that is rotten at the core. She even believes Oriental music to be poor and slow.

In addition to the European Egyptologists, the novel also portrayed other famous historical figures in cameo roles. Among these characters are Ahmed Orabi, the Egyptian revolutionary, Karl Marx, the renowned German philosopher and Khedive Ismail.

The double standards of Europeans are also portrayed in the novel by Iraq. Europeans generally described the Khedive as the despot of the Orient who doesn't accept any advice. When the Khedive responded positively to the Egyptian Army officers' demands and dismissed the government that included a British and a French minister, a European newspaper described him as the outcast ruler who doesn't keep promises. Clearly, big powers in Europe were pushing the Ottoman Sultan to issue a firman deposing him, which exactly what happened. 

Despite the important projects that Khedive Ismail carried out, there was always in the backdrop of the novel his penchant for squandering money and also his trust, preference and favouring of foreigners both in posts and salaries. For instance, Ahmed Effendi felt severe injustice when he knew that Joséphine, who had just arrived from Paris, earned twice his salary while he spent six years to earn his. At the same time, the Egyptian Army was boiling with anger for not receiving their salaries for months on end.

Although the novel is basically historical, it is also in part a thriller in which the murderer is known from the very beginning.

As for Ramadan the killer, Ahmed Effendi had been suspicious of him and consequently followed Nabawiyya, one of the Egyptian Museum cleaners and Ramamdan's new lover, only to find that she gave him a wrapping and entered his home at night and didn't leave. After climbing the house wall, Ahmed, his Army officer cousin and a group of soldiers found Ramadan dead, Nabawiyya wounded and a number of statues along with Mastoora's and Sabha's corpses in the house's backyard.

The novel discusses a number of themes such as the self and the other, the relationship between the ruler and the ruled, and the absence of any form of overseeing of foreign officials (who smuggle antiquities so easily and who are almost never inspected by customs officials on leaving the country).

 There is also an underlying theme, namely the relationship between men and women. This theme can be seen in Ramadan's seduction of poor girls, luring them with promises of marriage then killing some of them . It can also be seen in Brugsch's relationship with his German wife, and in Ahmed Effendi's relationship with both Zeinab, his Egyptian wife, and his French fiancée Joséphine.

In addition, throughout the novel the reader can feel that white European features are almost always contrasted with dark Egyptian ones, to the extent that Sabha, the Upper Egyptian maid and one of Ramadan's victims, couldn't believe that Ramadan, who inherited his mother's Turkish complexion, sees her beautiful.

Iraq demonstrates in his 11th novel maturity in style and suppleness of prose unmatched in any of his pervious works. His characterisation is brilliant and he makes excellent use of history and historical resources and events. 

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