Three Empires on the Nile

by Dominic Green

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  Acknowledgments

  THIS STORY OF THREE EMPIRES was developed by two agents: Lizzy Kremer at David Higham Associates in London and George Lucas of Inkwell Management in New York. It was improved beyond recognition by a remarkable editor, Bruce Nichols at Free Press. Overall supervision came from the wonderful Maja Löfdahl, lover, friend, and editor, too.

  Much of my research was carried out in the Rare Books & Music and Manuscripts Room of the British Library, the London Library, and the Public Record Office, London. The staffs of all three were as helpful as ever.

  I benefited from the expert opinions of Professor Michael Reimer of the American University at Cairo; Professor Ehud Toledano of Tel Aviv University; Professor Emad Hemal of Suez University; Dr. C. David Laney of the South African Astronomical Observatory; and the philatelist Kevin Burrell.

  M. Didier Hirsch checked my French translations, and Natasha Green helped with illustrations. Alex Britell of Harvard University was a patient and ingenious research assistant.

  I am especially indebted to Fergus Nicoll. Apart from writing t
he first modern biography of the Mahdi—The Sword of the Prophet, a book abundant in information and interpretation—he also gave freely of his time and knowledge.

  About the Author

  DOMINIC GREEN studied English Literature at Oxford

  and pursued a dual career as writer and jazz guitarist

  before returning to academia at Harvard.

  He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

  Scenes from Ismail’s Egypt:

  1. The Cairo citadel and the graves of the Mamelukes;

  2. lunchtime traffic outside Cairo’s new railway station;

  3. Place Mehmet Ali at Alexandria, with its cab rank, equestrian statue, and stock exchange.

  Scenes from Ismail’s Sudan:

  1. Native sheikhs at Khartoum;

  2. the subjects who stocked the slave trade.

  Sultan Abdul Aziz, Ismail’s rival for foreign credit;

  Nubar Pasha, architect of the khedivial finances.

  Sir Samuel Baker, pioneer of Ismail’s rule in Equatoria;

  Khedive Tawfik, inheritor of Ismail’s empire and debts.

  The Eastern Question:

  1. Sultan Abdul Halim II, caught between European strategists and domestic reformers;

  2. Queen Victoria, proprietor and enthusiast of empire;

  3. Benjamin Disraeli, the prime minister who bought Ismail’s shares in the Suez Canal and dubbed Victoria the Empress of India.

  “Egypt for the Egyptians!”:

  1. Colonel Ahmed Urabi;

  2. his patron Mahmoud Sami al-Barudi;

  3. their supporters Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt.

  “Attack the enemy’s batteries”:

  1. Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour, “The Swell of the Ocean”;

  2. Rue Rosetta, Alexandria, after the bombardment and riots.

  Jihad in the Sudan:

  1. Mahdist warriors in their decorated jibbas;

  2. the officers of the Hicks Expedition. Hicks sits second from right, Colonel John Colborne of the Daily News sits at the far left, and Colonel Farquahar stands second from left.