Moustafa Gadalla is an Egyptian-American independent Egyptologist, who was born in Cairo, Egypt in 1944. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Cairo University.
Gadalla is the author of eleven internationally acclaimed books about the various aspects of the Ancient Egyptian history and civilization and its influences worldwide. He is the chairman of the Tehuti Research Foundation—an international, U.S.-based, non-profit organization, dedicated to Ancient Egyptian studies.
From his early childhood, Gadalla pursued his Ancient Egyptian roots with passion, through continuous study and research. Since 1990, he has dedicated and concentrated all his time to researching and writing.
Who are these Modern-day Egyptians?
The Islamic Siege of Egypt
Many people wonder about the contrast between the highly civilized society of ancient Egypt, and the hapless, chaotic state of modern-day Egypt. Modern-day Egyptians are also loath towards their ancient history, as if they don’t belong to their ancient Egyptian roots.
Because of such a contrast, many people invent answers that have absolutely no scientific and/or historical basis whatsoever. Here are some of the baseless statements:
The Moslem population of Egypt (about 90%) are Arab settlers from the Arab Peninsula (Saudi Arabia.) The Christian population (about 10%) are the true Egyptians, referred to as Copts, and the descendants of the ancient Egyptians.
The Moslem population of Egypt is of a mixed blood, of ancient Egyptian and the Arabs who invaded Egypt in 640 CE. The ancient Egyptian “blood” does not exist anymore.
Read the article, The Christian Copts of Egypt to find the true un-Egyptian origin of the Christian population of Egypt.
As for the Egyptian population status, let us examine the worst turning point in Egyptian history, which was the invasion of Egypt by the nomadic Arabs in 640 CE and the subsequent Islamic siege of Egypt.
Jihad: The Islamic Terrorism
The nomadic invaders walked unchallenged into a weakened country (as a result of the Roman/Byzantine occupation) that did not have an army to defend its borders. When the Romans (Byzantines) left, the gates were wide open.
In the name of Islam, the nomadic invaders forced both their religion (Islam) and their language (Arabic) on the hapless population of Egypt. The strong grip of Islam has been, and still is, the “invisible” dominating power in Egypt.
Jihad is one of the pillars of Islam, and it was by jihad that Islam spread throughout the world. Jihad is stated very clearly and unequivocally in the Koran itself. Islamic jihad is an obligation for every Moslem to practice. The Koran specifies the conditions of jihad, summarized as follows:
Any Moslem must try to convert others to Islam, and if they don’t listen to him (in other words, don’t convert), then he is allowed to kill their men and enslave their women and children, or enslave all of them. Islamic jihad was the means by which black Africans were enslaved and sold worldwide.
Jihad is also allowed as a form of “self defense”, or to use a common expression, “pre-emptive strike”. In other words, the Koran allows a Moslem who “feels” threatened or that his belief and way of life is “threatened” by others, in any way shape or form, to kill and destroy his “enemies” in a jihad. This is a free-for-all clause.
Any Moslem is allowed/authorized to declare a jihad, against another born-Moslem, if in their view, the other Moslem is not being a “good Moslem” and can be killed or enslaved. This is a free-for-all clause.
The Islamized Cancerous Community/Country
The terror of Islamic jihad caused a quick and massive conversion after Mohammed gained power in the Arab Peninsula. Yet the state of terror did not end there. In Islam, a person automatically becomes a Moslem because his father is a Moslem. S/he never has a choice. The Koran is very clear, that if a Moslem apostate, s/he is to be killed. As such, no born Moslem has the luxury of arguing/leaving his/her “Islamic birthright.”
Lacking opposition, the Moslem clergymen tell the population that Islam is rational, logical, scientific, etc. Contesting such claims is not allowed, and is considered blasphemy, punishable by death from any Moslem. Witness the case of Salman Rushdi, being a born Moslem, he therefore does not have the luxury of writing a book, which directly or indirectly blemishes Islam. Salman Rushdi is a wanted man, by any Moslem, for he dared to write what was construed as opposition to his “Islamic birthright.”
The Rulers (Afrangi) and the Ruled (Baladi)
The silent majority of Egyptians are called (and they call themselves) Baladi, meaning natives. The loud minority of Egyptians (high governmental officials, academicians, journalists, and the self-proclaimed intellectuals) are described by the silent majority as Afrangi, meaning foreigners.
The Afrangi are the Egyptian people who compromised the Egyptian heritage to gain high positions and approval of foreign invaders of Egypt. As a tool of foreign forces, like Arabs, the Afrangi rule and dominate the Baladi–the natives. The Afrangi are, like their foreign masters, arrogant, cruel, and vain. After foreign forces left Egypt, the Egyptian Afrangi continued their role as the righteous rulers.
It has been written and repeated, that the Ancient Egyptians accepted the domination of the Ptolemaic and Roman rules, that they had willingly changed their religious beliefs into Christianity, and a short time later, they willingly accepted Islam as a substitute for Christianity. Accordingly, many conflicting sides, who use Ancient Egypt to promote each’s own agenda, insist that the ancient religion and traditions have died. The truth is that they never died, and they continue to survive within the silent majority–the Baladi people of Egypt.
Because of the ironclad control of Islam over history writing since 641 CE, Moslem historians publicize that Egyptians forgot their identity and became a part of a big happy family called “Arabs”. No one can dare oppose the line that Islam saved Egypt from previous Gahe-Liya (ignorance era). As a result, we witness an intellectual state of terrorism that conceals realities into a cloud of dust by the dominating Afrangi Egyptians.
The Egyptian Baladi (natives) have suffered from foreign rule (including and especially the moslem/Arabs) for about 2,000 years. They learned to survive. They kept the old traditions under a thin exterior of Islam, in order to survive the foreigners and their Egyptian Afrangi.
To grow up in Egypt, one is taught to accept the Koran as the “Book from God”. Both the Koran and the Bible condemned ancient Egyptians’ beliefs and the Pharaohs. No historical fact can contradict the Koran. The whole world’s knowledge of Ancient Egypt is largely based on the biblical (koranic as well) accounts of interaction between the Hebrews and Egypt. And as our “view” is mostly from these sources, it is largely negative.
A conflict between historical facts and religious convictions is very dangerous indeed. Because of such religious fear and intimidation, most fellow Egyptians do not appreciate their own ancient history, and as a result, they suffer from a self-imposed identity crisis. It is no wonder that the Ancient Egyptian history is studied almost exclusively by non-Egyptians.
The Arab (Islamic) Egyptian Police State
Contrary to the popular notion that Egypt is a “secular” state, its laws and actions show otherwise. Most oppressive measures go unnoticed in the world public opinion. The authorities of Egypt, at its highest level, are engaged in a pitiful campaign against indigenous traditions. An example can be found in a news item that was published in Al-Ahram (the largest newspaper in Egypt), in their Friday edition of 21 Apr 2000. For Al-Ahram to publish this, and similar items, on a regular basis, is indicative of a scare tactic campaign to terrorize the defenseless population of Egypt.
The police department in Cairo continued its efforts to find the outlaws and those who practiced magic, charlatanism, etc, when they arrested a “charlatan” (61 years old) who performs zars (exorcism, etc) at her apartment in El Waylee, assisted by another 8 persons. The article goes on to say that the lady, whose name is Sadeeka Hasan Mohammed Gad, convinced her victims, especially young women, of her ability to solve their marital and health problems.
There were three of these young women present at dawn when the suspects were arrested.
This police operation was in accordance with directives from the First Lieutenant to the Interior (Police) Ministry, who ordered the intensification of finding people who practice magic, …etc.
The above is a sample of the activities used to impose Islam on the people of Egypt, and suppress the indigenous beliefs of the Egyptians. In a democracy, other people’s views and actions don’t need to make sense to the thugs of the Egyptian Interior (Police) Ministry.
Because of religious fear and intimidation, the Baladi (silent majority) Egyptians learned to camouflage their ancient traditions under an Islamic exterior. This is described in their common saying, “playing with an egg (traditions) and a stone (Islamic authority)”, so as not to break the fragile egg with the [tyranny] of the stone.
The Christian “Copts” of Egypt
Copt is derived from the Greek rendering for an Egyptian. The Arabs, after 640 CE, used that general term to label the non-Moslems. As a result, the term Copt took on a different meaning by the 7th century.
Researchers of Ancient Egypt assumed WRONGLY that the Christians in Egypt (so-called “Copts”) are the link between Ancient Egypt and our present time. On the contrary, the Christians in Egypt are NOT natives of Egypt, but a foreign minority. This situation is explained herein.
When Alexander died in 323 BCE, one of his generals, Ptolemy, son of Lagus, took charge under the nominal rulership of Alexander’s brother Philip Arrhidaeus. Upon Philip’s death, Ptolemy declared himself the ruler. His actions initiated a Ptolemaic Dynasty.
Their new settlement, along the Mediterranean coast, was predominantly Greek, which was officially described as being ad Aegyptum, not in Aegypto, i.e. it was an intrusion into an alien country.
In Alexandria, Greeks formed the bulk of the population, followed in number by the Jews.
Greek became the mother tongue of the Jews in Egypt. Many Jews had been imported as soldiers, even before the arrival of the Ptolemies. For example, the Persians had established a Jewish garrison, as far south as the island of Philae, which had left behind some records in Aramaic.
When Palestine fell under the control of Ptolemy I in 301 BCE, he brought back Jewish mercenaries, who joined the already-established communities in Egypt. Unable to speak their native tongue, Jews, living in Alexandria, soon felt a need to translate their sacred books into Greek. They persuaded King Ptolemy II (285-247 BCE), to order a Greek translation of the Bible.
The High Priest of Jerusalem sent 72 elders to Alexandria, six representatives from each of the twelve tribes of Israel, together with an official copy of the Pentateuch.
They worked for 72 days to produce the final copy of the Pentateuch in Greek. Later, the other books of the Old Testament were also translated into Greek by others, and the whole work became known as the Septuagint, which means The Seventy. Since the Greek text is older than the Hebrew text, it was therefore adopted as the Bible of the early Church.
Ptolemy compensated his mercenary troops (Syrians, Greeks, Macedonians, Persians and Hellenized Asiatics) by giving them tracts of land among the Egyptian population in towns near the capitals of the provinces, into which Egypt was divided.
These pockets of foreign settlements are exactly where the Christian population is concentrated in present-day Egypt.
Romans & Early Christians in Egypt
When the Romans arrived in Alexandria, they gave preferred treatment to the Jews. Augustus granted self-government to the Hellenized Jews of Alexandria. This caused great consternation among the Greeks, who had lived there for a longer period of time. The Romans reinforced foreign settlement, by bringing in more foreigners. The Jewish colony in Alexandria is said to have had a population of 1 million in the 1st century CE.
Christianity arrived early in Alexandria, from Judaea and Syria. After all, Christianity is basically a Judean offshoot. The Romans encouraged and facilitated more immigration from Syria to Egypt.
Christian Rampage
In 312 CE, Christianity was made the official and only religion of the Roman Empire. A short time later, the Roman Empire split. Egypt became part of the Eastern (or Byzantine) Empire in 323 CE.
The decree that there be only one religious system (Christianity), and that anything else is untrue, is dictatorial. It allowed Christian fanatics to destroy the native Egyptian religious rights, properties, and temples.
When Theophilus was made Patriarch of Alexandria in 391 CE, he displayed tremendous zeal in destroying ancient Egyptian temples. A wave of destruction swept over the land of Egypt. Tombs were ravaged, walls of ancient monuments scraped, and statues toppled. In Alexandria, the famous statue of Serapis was burned and the Serapeum destroyed, along with its library.
When Theophilus attempted to convert a temple of Dionysus in Alexandria into a church, rioting between non-Christians and Christians ensued, the former occupying the great Serapeum. The subsequent destruction of the temple was shamelessly advertised by Christians as symbolic of a great victory. It was a folly of fanaticism in the name of orthodoxy.
The same year (391 CE) saw the beginning of legislation that aimed to outlaw ancient Egyptian rites and to close the temples. The laws helped the fanatic Christians destroy other temples.
No rational mind can accept that such destructive behavior led to “convince” people to convert to any religion (Christianity), as advertised by the fanatics, no matter how rational it (Christianity) may appear to anyone.
The fanatic early Christians went on appropriating ancient Egyptian temples. In the 4th and 5th centuries, many ancient temples on the west bank of Ta-Apet(Thebes) were converted into monastic centers.
Hatshepsut’s Commemorative Temple was converted into Deir (monastery) el Bahari.
Ptolemy III Temple was converted into Deir el Medina.
The Commemorative Temple of Ramses III was given the Christian
name, “Medinat Habu”.
The Court of Amenhotep III in Luxor Temple, on the east bank of Ta-Apet(Thebes) was similarly violated.
In 415 CE under Theodosius II, Patriarch Cyril expelled the Jews of Alexandria from the city; and Hypatia, the learned and beautiful Neoplatonist, was cruelly murdered.
Christian mobs forcefully took a part of the Temple of Het-Heru(Hathor) at Dendera in the middle of the 6th century CE, and built a new church, which was constructed between the Birth House and the Coronation House, using some of the blocks from the Birth House.
Similarly, in Khmunu(Hermopolis) a Temple of Amon was occupied by Christians and had part of its interior turned into a chapel.
In addition to the violation of Ancient Egyptian temples, the fanatic Christians adopted a new script called the Coptic language — basically demotic Egyptian written in Greek characters with a few additional letters — from about 300 CE. A non-Egyptian alphabet was intended for the use of those non-Egyptians who were schooled in the Greek language. This move had the effect of re-emphasizing the cultural divide between them and the true native Egyptians.
The Greek characters are not any easier than the Egyptian demotic script, which is yet another indication that the Church emphasis was on the Greek-speaking population of Alexandria, Fayoum, and a few other colonies of foreigners.
Egyptian Demotic Script
Greek Script
There is no archaeological evidence, outside Alexandria, to substantiate the Christians’ overly exaggerated popularity claims.
Accepting Christianity is to accept the Bible, which condemns ancient Egypt and establishes the Jews as God’s “chosen people”. It is totally incompatible with Egyptian history, nature, and traditions.
Christian Family Feud
The history of the political and doctrinal struggles within the Church during and after the 4th century has largely been written in terms of the disputes over the nature of God and Christ and the relationship between them. A good deal of the turbulent history of Egypt in the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries can be understood in terms of the struggles of the successive (or, after 570 CE, co-existing) patriarchs of Alexandria to maintain their position both within their patriarchy and outside it, in relation to Constantinople.
Monophysites had, from the first, espoused a doctrine of Christ, which placed the greatest possible emphasis on his divinity, and came near to denying that he had a human nature. In 449 CE, Dioscurus, the patriarch of Alexandria, refused to accept the Byzantine Christian doctrine. He believed that Christ is totally divine, and that it is blasphemous to consider Him human. And so, when the orthodox theologians of Rome and Constantinople agreed at the Council of Chalcedon, in 451 CE, that Christ was to be worshipped “in two natures inseparably united”, the Monophysite opposition contended that though Christ could be “out of two natures”, he could not be in two natures. The depth of feeling involved is perhaps best conveyed in the slogan of the Monophysite bishops at Chalcedon, which said, “Throw out the Nestorians. Christ is God”. As a result, in 451 CE, during the reign of the patriarch Dioscorus, the Monophysite Church in Egypt broke away from the Orthodox Church, and elected its own patriarch.
Since the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE, each of the two Churches had its own separate patriarch and administration. These parties were distinguished by the familiar names Jacobite and Melkite or Royalist.
The Jacobites were by creed Monophysites, by race mainly, though not exclusively people born in Egypt, but of foreign descent (mistakenly thought of as native Egyptians); while the Melkites were orthodox followers of Chalcedon and for the most part of Greek or European origin.
The term Melkite, as employed in Egypt, is of a Syriac origin, and there is no anachronism in using it before the Arab conquest. This is an additional piece of evidence that the early Christians were using Syriac language and names, indicating their origin to be Syria/Palestine and not Egypt.
Syrian migration to Alexandria constituted the bulk of the early Christians in Egypt. They — the Christians in Egypt — continue to maintain physical and personal traits that are very Syrian. It is easy for native Egyptians, to this date, to distinguish a Christian (so-called ‘Copt’), just based on his/her body language and features, which reflects peculiar Syrian (non-Egyptian) traits.
The Persian Interlude (616-629 CE)
The spread of Persian power throughout Syria culminated in the conquest of Jerusalem (615 CE) and Persian hostility to Christians, which thrust more Syrian Christian refugees westward to Alexandria.
The total chaos in Egypt eased the path of the Persian conquerors to Egypt in 616 CE. It took the Persians three years to control Egypt and Pentapolis.
The period of occupation was concluded by a peace treaty and Persian withdrawal in 628 CE, and the return to Byzantine rule.
Cyrus: A Taste of their Own Medicine (631-642 CE)
After the death of the Melkite Patriarch George, Cyrus was sent as Imperial Patriarch to Alexandria in 631 CE. He was given both religious and civil authority.
The double succession of pontiffs was maintained, and it was the early policy of Heraclius to bring about a reconcilement between the two Christian factions.
Cyrus first tried a compromise between the two factions (Melkites and Monophysites). The proposed compromise backfired from both stubborn groups.
Cyrus had to restore order, on behalf of his Emperor, for the Monophysites had terrorized and destroyed those who merely didn’t agree with their fanatic interpretations. Cyrus forcefully imposed the 451 Council of Chalcedon decree.
Did Cyrus prosecute the Monophysites, or did they ask for his actions by rejecting him and his authority? By extension, they had been prosecuting the land and people of Egypt (their host) for several centuries, and ironically, Cyrus, the Christian, gave them a taste of their own medicine.
Christians’ Gift to Mohammed
In 627 CE, when Mohammed, the Islam founder, consolidated his power in the Arab Peninsula, and felt himself strong enough to challenge the submission of the rulers of the world to Islam, his new religion, he caused letters to be written to several neighboring rulers, including letters to George, wrongly called the Mukaukas, governor of Alexandria and the Melkite Viceroy of Egypt (621-631); to Chosroes, King of Persia; and to Heraclius, Emperor of the Romans. All contained the same claim of allegiance to Islam and to the Arabian prophet as Vicegerent of the Most High.
The Monophysites, who never had any loyalty to their host country of Egypt, manifested such disloyalty when the Christian Viceroy of Egypt promised to consider the message, and treated Mohammed’s envoy, Hatib, with all honor. The Christian Viceroy sent back with his reply some valuable presents, which included two Christian maidens (Mary and Shirin), the mule Duldul, the ass Nafur, and a bag of money.
Mohammed, who already had nine wives, fell in love with Mary. The Christian Mary became Mohammed’s sweetheart and bore him a son. The baby died under suspicious circumstances. Mary died in 636 CE.
In December 639 CE, Amr ibn el-As set out to conquer Egypt with a few thousand men. His task was relatively simple, because of the active support of the Christian Monophysites, the so-called Copts.
After less than two years of fights and political maneuvering between the Arab invaders and the Byzantines, Cyrus went to meet the Arab commander at Babylon near Cairo, and both signed a treaty on November 8, 641, which called for the total withdrawal of Roman soldiers, imposing a tribute of two dinars a head on all able-bodied males, and a tax on all landowners. The only parties to the treaty were the Moslem Arabs and the Christians, who passed along a country that was not theirs.
History books end the glorious era of Ancient Egypt at 640 CE, when the Christians in Egypt sold it out to the Moslem Arabs.
“the Amazigh “Berbers” are the first peoples of Africa between 3 Million to 700,000 BC”
Does this mean the Amazigh are Neandertal?
Homo sapiens Idaltu, the first homo sapien according to anthropologists is only known to have existed less than 200kya in South Africa and the Afar region of modern day Ethiopia; so from whom did your ancestors descend?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homo_sapiens_idaltu
Are there Tamasheq speakers in Abyssinia and South Africa?
Also to the ancestors of the ancient Egyptians the Nile flowed down from the top of the world which was identified with the equator, the point where the days and nights are virtually the same length everywhere on the planet twice annually. The same people who began figuring time at O degrees latitude, founded their colony on the banks of the Nile at the Syene/Elephantine/Aswan, the Tropic of Cancer the position of the autumnal equinox at 23.5 degrees.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equinox
Is it just me or does all of this Afrocentric viewpoint that ancient Egyptians were of dark skin seem similar to dogmatic religions? It just seems to me that they need something to hold on to. For example Muslims will always quote Maurice bucaille or Keith Moore for the scientific miracles found in the qur’an. As Muslims quote Keith Moore, you guys quote cheikh anta diop. And jzaidan had a good point when he talked about double standards. You can’t quote some one like Herodotus when you say Greeks altered history. (btw I agree to some extent). People need to do their own research and stop having to quote the people who come up witha certain theory. I myself am cauc Asian and I have studied and looked into this theory that blacks or moors were the original people of kmt.
By the way people please don’t take my previous post in the wrong way, I was simply exppressing my opinion as to what I see of all of this. (summed up) I am not convinced that’s all I have to say.
Regardless if modern Northern Egyptians have certain genetic components traceable back to the pharaonic Egyptians we certainly know where those pharaonic components were derived and what they were related to. Scientific studies (most of which are not “afro-centric” show strong genetic ties of modern northern Egyptians and north Africans to the Levant. Ancient Egyptians may have contributed to modern northern Egyptians to an extent, like peoples of the Levant and Europe have, but obviously North Africans are the result of an genetic amalgamation of people which doesn’t in anyway change the nature of what the original people Khemtiu were and where they came from.
Here are some simple SCIENTIFICALLY-BASED FACTS to remember about ancient North Africa before you submit any unqualified, opinions, based on wishful-thinking and nationalism. Both early and modern physical anthropologists – including those basing their findings on genetic determinants, have already discovered the following about the ancient i.e. original occupants of Egypt:
Thus a noted Egyptologist remarked “..sample populations available from northern Egypt from before the 1st Dynasty (Merimda, Maadi and Wadi Digla) turn out to be significantly different from sample populations from early Palestine and Byblos, suggesting a lack of common ancestors over a long time. If there was a south-north cline variation along the Nile valley it did not, from this limited evidence, continue smoothly on into southern Palestine. The limb-length proportions of males from the Egyptian sites group them with Africans rather than with Europeans.” (Barry Kemp, “Ancient Egypt Anatomy of a Civilisation. (2005) Routledge. p. 54)
Modern people of the Levant are for the most part Eurasian not African. They have greatly influenced North African populations. Some recent studies show that a large proportion of the populations of the present day Berber-speakers are of Near Eastern rather than African descent.
Ancient Egyptians and modern Egyptians may share certain features. But ancient Egyptians don’t share the same commonalisties with Eurasians that northern Egyptians and northern Berbers do. Period.
As well, “Intralimb indices are not significantly different between Egyptians and American Blacks… Many of those who have studied ancient Egyptians have commented on their characteristically ‘‘tropical’’ or ‘‘African’’ body plan (Warren, 1897; Masali, 1972; Robins, 1983; Robins and Shute, 1983, 1984, 1986; Zakrzewski, 2003). Egyptians also fall within the range of modern African populations…” Raxter & Ruff et al. Stature estimation in ancient Egyptians” Am J Phys Anthropol. 2008,136(2):147-55
Now you can pretend that modern Eurasians have tropical body plans if you want to. Feel free! : )
But know this – ancient Egyptians – unlike modern North Africans, – WERE NOT closely linked to modern Levant populations or other modern Eurasian populations.
Know too that science has already shown the following:
1- that pharaonic era Egyptians were a rather homogeneous group displaying “an impressive unity” up until the time of the Ptolemaic Greeks, AFTER WHICH TIME that homogeneity ceased to exist, and significant differences in the population become discernible in the skeletal and cranial evidence (especially in the northern Egyptian population). Studies that have concluded that fact, are based on non-metric variants of crania i.e. genetic determinants. And that fact was never again to be challenged by any anthropologist or forensic anthropologist with common sense.
In studies done over the past several decades the ancient Egyptians from North to South (pre-Greco-Roman era) have shown a clear link to NEOLITHIC Nubians, and those at Gizeh clustered closely with the Jebel Moya population of South-Central SUDAN as well as Badarians, UNLIKE peoples heavily influenced by Eurasians such as TODAYS mostly northerly or Coastal North Africans i.e. ALEXANDRIANS, PEOPLE OF CAIRO, TIZI-OUZOU, TRIPOLI, THE MOROCCAN RIF, ETCETERA. (See Berry, A.C. and Berry, “Origins and relationships of the ancient Egyptians. Based on a Study of non-metrical variations in the skull” American Journal of Physical Anthropology 1976. Greene, D. L. Dental (1972). Anthropology of early Egypt and Nubia. Journal of Human Evolution, 1. Greene, D.L. (1967). Dentition of a Mesolithic population of Wadi Halfa Sudan. Angel, J. L. (1972). Biological relations of Egyptian and eastern Mediterranean populations, during predynastic and dynastic times. Journal of human Evolution, 1, pp. 307-313.)
2 – the forensic skeletal and cranial evidence shows that the Egyptians of the Pharaonic era CAN NOT BE DISTINGUISHED from modern peoples of the Horn. As the SCIENTIST Alain Froment not too long ago asserted “ Black populations of the Horn of Africa (Tigré and Somalia) fit well into Egyptian variations.” (Froment, Alain,Origines du peuplement de l’Égypte ancienne: l’apport de l’anthropobiologie, Archéo-Nil 2 (Octobre 1992), 79-98) The French biological anthropologist and medical doctor Alain Froment is also a critic of Afrocentric writers, so if one wants to pretend that Ethiopians and Somalis are not black, they can go right ahead.
The findings of Alain Froment and other scholars are in line with those of earlier physical anthropologists and Egyptologists, including many bigots, who had discovered that the skeletons of the pharaonic period consistently were of a type that could not be distinguished from modern Beja, Tigrai, Somalians and Ethiopians.
This quote from 1867 by a founding father of Egyptology Champollion-Figeac – “The first tribes that inhabited Egypt that is, the Nile Valley between the Syene cataracts and the sea, came from Abyssinia to Sennar. The ancient Egyptians belonged to a race quite similar to the Kennous or Barabras, present inhabitants of Nubia. In the Copts of Egypt WE DO NOT FIND ANY OF THE CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF THE ANCIENT EGYPTIAN POPULATION. The Copts are the result of crossbreeding with all the nations that have successively dominated Egypt . It is wrong to seek in them the principal features of the old race.” From Letters published by Champollion-Figeac (Founding Egyptologist).
(In fact Champollion was probably more familiar with the mainly Greek-descended Copts, rather than the dark complexioned southern Egyptian ones.)
Also written by Jean Francois Champollion –
“Dr. Larrey investigated this problem in Egypt; he examined A LARGE NUMBER of mummies, studied their skulls, recognized the principle characteristics, tried to identify them in the various races living in Egypt, and succeeded in doing so. The Abyssinian seemed to him to combine them all, except for the black race.”
Now, if you would like to pretend like Dr. Larrey and European peoples of his day that the Abyssinians were not a ‘black” population – go right ahead. : )
2. SCIENTISTS HAVE ALSO FOUND THAT – The Haratin populations of the Sahara groupings turned out to be the living people with the closest ABO blood group serology to ancient Egyptians. This information is now well known and widespread on the internet. (ABO Typing of Ancient Egyptians” In _Population biology of ancient Egyptians_, edited by D.R. Brothwell and B.A. Chiarelli, London, New York, 1973, p. 464.)
But, if you want to pretend that the Haratin are not black – that’s up to you.
3. BTW – the hair on the head of the ancient Egyptians has been found to be similar to and within the range of Ethiopians, Beja, Fulani, Tibu etc. as well as Tasmanians. The mummification process used by ancient AFRICANS straightened the hair of such people as it would any other sub-Saharan originated African. “Brothwell and Spearman (1963) analyzed many Egyptian mummy hairs and found that the keratin forming the hair follicles had experienced significant oxidation (damage), which they attributed to chemicals used in the mummification process; oxidation of keratin can cause both texture changes and discoloration.”
Death as well as the mummification process is also a well-known major factor cause of dark pigmented black or dark brown hair turning red or orangish auburn etc in color as in certain mummies of not only ancient Egypt, but ancient Peru and other places around the world.
As for red hair in certain ancient AFRICAN PHARAOHS please note that ACCORDING TO SCIENCE – ” All hair contains a mixture in varying concentration of both black-brown eumelanin and red-yellow phaeomelanin pigments, which are susceptible to differential chemical change under certain extreme burial conditions (for example wet reducing conditions, or dry oxidising conditions). Importantly, phaeomelanin is much more stable to environmental conditions than eumelanin, hence the reactions occurring in the burial environment favor the preservation of phaeomelanin, revealing and enhancing the red/ yellow color of hairs containing this pigment. Color changes occur slowly under dry oxidising conditions, such as in the burials in sand at Hierakonpolis. Whether the conditions within the wood and plaster coffin contributed to accelerated color change, or whether this individual naturally had more phaeomelanin pigmentation in his hair is hard to say without further analysis.” From Archaeology Magazine’s website by a doctor and hair specialist from OXFORD UNIVERSTIY Director of the Dept of Archaeology undertaking research in Hierankopolis.
Phaeomelanin in the hair doesn’t mean it was outwardly RED!
Also other embalming specialists claim, “…Sun-exposure, bacterial reaction, and embalming methods are some of the factors that may affect the original hair colour. As a result, hair that was originally black or brown exhibits reddish, orange or even blond colour due to post mortem alterations. All human hair, however, does not turn red over archaeological time-scales (Wilson, 2001)….” from –C. Papageorgopoulou et al. 2008. Indications of embalming in Roman Greece by physical, chemical and histological analysis. Journal of Archaeological Science doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.07.0
Predynastic Badarian hair turned out to have an average index range that was from more kinky than that of a modern San African and that of a Zulu 55 to the average of a Tasmanian (64.70). The majority of studies have shown the ancient Egyptians on average also fell within that range. On the other hand, Europeans and Asians have a range that is usually 71 and higher. The average index for wavy hair to straight hair among Europeans however is closer to 75 range and upwards.
Furthermore, “Two years was found to be the maximum duration of Caucasian hair buried underground.” (p.8) Rogers Spencer Lee, Personal Identification from Human Remains 1987.
Nevertheless, if you want to pretend the San, Zulu and Tasmanians type hair is not found on black heads, go right ahead.
4. East Africans who were the ancestors of the original Berbers are not “Caucasians” i.e. Europeans/Euasians – in case you didn’t know it.
Although Somali and Beja c– people who were first called Berbers by the Greeks, absorbed Turks and other non-African groups mainly during the Ottoman era, there is actually little to show for it among Somalis.
Some important scholarship has recently concluded the latter show very little connection to modern Eurasians i.e. “Caucasians”. “The results of a population survey on blood group distribution in Somalia, East Africa, are presented. Over 1,000 subjects were tested for most blood groups included in the survey. The sampling covered the whole country and was well in accordance with the population density as estimated by the recorded birth places of the subjects. Altogether, 46 blood group antigens were tested, partly common antigens within 11 of the major blood group systems, but also infrequent and very frequent antigens, some not tested before in Africa, were included. The results were compared with the available data for other related peoples and for populations from the same geographical area. The standard genetic distances were also applied in the comparison. The results suggest that only a minor component in the genetic constitution of the Somali population can be ascribed to Caucasian admixture. They are markedly in contrast with some earlier findings. During the survey we observed a previously unknown Rh gene complex occurring with a polymorphic frequency in Somalis.”
P. Sistonend, J. Koistinena, Aden Abdulleb. (1987) Distribution of Blood Groups in the East African Somali Population.In Human Heredity. 37(5):300-313
5. Mesolithic and Neolithic north Africans show little resemblance to modern Europeans and were likely related to Natufians and East Africans of Capsian type as well as modern sub-Saharans of West and East Africa..
According to specialists – “There are striking resemblances between the pre-agricultural Capsians and the Natufians who are considered to extend from 10,500-300+200 BC in the Near East and Camps-Fabrer (1999) argues that the Natufians gave rise to Capsian culture, although the mechanisms of this process are not spelled out.” (p. 177.). From Blench, R. (2001) Types of Language Spread and their archaeological correlates: The example of Berber Estratto da Origini Preistoria E Protostoria Dell civilta antiche XXIII 2001
Did you figure out where you you fit in? : )
Other SCIENTISTS SAY – “Saharan genetic lineages (affiliated with the Y-chromosome PN2 clade; Underhill et al. 2001) have spread through Egypt into the Near East, the Mediterranean area, and, for some lineages, as far north as Turkey (E3b-M35 Y lineage; Cinniog?luet al. 2004; Luis et al. 2004), probably during several dispersal episodes since the Mesolithic (Cinniog?lu et al. 2004; King et al. 2008; Lucotte and Mercier 2003;Luis et al. 2004; Quintana-Murci et al. 1999; Semino et al. 2004; Underhill et al.
2001). This finding is in agreement with morphological data that suggest that populations with sub-Saharan morphological elements were present in northeastern
Africa, from the Paleolithic to at least the early Holocene, and diffused northward
to the Levant and Anatolia beginning in the Mesolithic. Indeed, the rare and incomplete
Paleolithic to early Neolithic skeletal specimens found in Egypt—such as
the 33,000-year-old Nazlet Khater specimen (Pinhasi and Semal 2000), the Wadi
Kubbaniya skeleton from the late Paleolithic site in the upper Nile valley (Wendorf
et al. 1986), the Qarunian (Faiyum) early Neolithic crania (Henneberg et al. 1989;
Midant-Reynes 2000), and the Nabta specimen from the Neolithic Nabta Playa
site in the western desert of Egypt (Henneberg et al. 1980)—show, with regard to
the great African biological diversity, similarities with some of the sub-Saharan
middle Paleolithic and modern sub-Saharan specimens. This affinity pattern between
ancient Egyptians and sub-Saharans has also been noticed by several other
investigators (Angel 1972; Berry and Berry 1967, 1972; Keita 1995) and has been
recently reinforced by the study of Brace et al. (2005), which clearly shows that
the cranial morphology of prehistoric and recent northeast African populations is
linked to sub-Saharan populations (Niger-Congo populations).” Cranial Discrete Traits in a Byzantine Population and Eastern Mediterranean Population Movements
F.. Ricaut, and M. Waelkens
El Maqrisi of the 15th century left to posterity this useful information:
“Know that the land of Egypt when the Mussulmans entered it, was full
of Christians, but divided amongst themselves in two sects, BOTH AS TO RACE AND RELIGION.
The one part was made up of men about the court and public affairs, all Greek, from among the soldiers of Constantinople, the seat of government of Rum; their views as well as their religion, were all of them Melkite; and their number was above 300 000, all Greeks.
The other portion was the whole people of Egypt, who were Qibt, and were of mixed descent; among whom one could not distinguish Qibt from Abysinian, Nubian or Israelite; and they were all Jacobites. Some of them were writers in government offices, others were merchants and tradesmen, others were bishops and prsbyters and such like, others were tillers of the land in the country, while others were of the
class of servants and domestics. But between these and the Melkite
ruling population, marriages were not allowed, from mutual hatred of
each other, often carried to murders on either side.” by Al Maqrizi translated in the book –
The Sheikh and Imam Taqi-ed-din El-Maqrizi of Cairo family FROM BAALBEK, History of the Copts and of their Church.
Thus up until 600 years ago the Greek Copts and the native Egyptian Copts were distinguishable and apparently not getting along too well due to their different ethnic or “racial” origins.
As for the opinion about what ancient Egyptians looked like. Well, some don’t line up exactly with those of early European specialists in art history.
In 1809 the Italian art society said – “The Egyptians, though healthy, large and robust were clumsy in their forms and course in their features. Like other African tribes they were woolly haired, flat-nosed and thick lipped, and if not absolutely black were very near it in color. From the Publication “ Specimens of Ancient Sculpture Society of Dilettanti Vol 1, .
In 1939 the pseudoanthropologist even Carleton Coon spouted – “…the type of certain Pharaohs, like Ramses II, appears related to the Abyssinian type.” Quote found in, The Races of Europe, Macmillan, 1939 p. 96 University of Pennsylvania
So, to each his own.
Ancient Khemitiu were related to sub-Saharan Africans – so called blacks. That’s what they were. Like them – or leave them alone. : )
Wonderful piece in a way. For centuries the world had denied that the true Egyptians were pure dark people whose descendants are the people of Sub-Saharan Africa. Even for the most ignorant, you can go to Egypt now and see these for yourselves. Though, the “Arab-Egyptians” are now erasing everything that shows that Egyptians were the dark-skinned people. I urge you all to read the books: The Historical Origin of Christianity; and the Historical Origin of Islam, both by WALTER WILLIAMS. These are a master piece! Islam is not a BC religion! Please note this: during and long before the invasion of Egypt by the Greco-Roman cabals, Egyptians [(dark skin, kinky hair, thick and broad lips: Egyptoid, by the Greeks; and Bilal a Sudan(Land of the dark skin)] had a very powerful civilization. They had invented three types of writings. The Greeks and Roman invaders who came to Egypt had no alphabets. The Egyptians used their Phonetic Alphabet to create a writing and alphabet for the Greeks. Socrates, Pythagoras, Hippocrates are all European inventions. Go to Egypt and see “HISTORY IN STONES!” There has been so much confusion, denials, and outright lies that has kept the world confused about true history. It has though to be borne in mind that: “He who controls the printing page, controls the thinking of the age!” Note crucially that, there has never been anything good and worthwhile attributed the people of dark skin; who are factually, and truly, the TRUE EGYPTIANS! For those who care also have a look at the videos of: (1): Ray Hagins, (2): Yosef Ben-Jochannan. Several others will become available to you. These have indeed been an eye-opener to me. Before I sign out note this: People say that truth is relative; but indeed, truth is ABSOLUTE! It we human being who are always relative to the ABSOLUTE!
Here is a video link of man from Egypt who tells the truth about the real Egyptians are black…every one should look at this it will clear up for the ones who said ancient Egypt is not black..>>>http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=t4gVs0OVs2Y
wow everyones comments are very enlightening, i enjoyed reading them all and laerned alot..i am a coptic christian, i know we are all mixed race and i know we are not arabs. i do believe we have african in our blood along the lines.
i always get mistaken for an eritrean, i have cousins that are dark skinned with curly hair, i have cousins that are light skinned with sub-saharan hair – very tightly curled thick hair, we all look different and mixed..i really want to do a dna test on copts today to see what races we have in our blood…i dont agree when people say oh copts they are all white with brown hair and brown eyes..im not sure what copts they are referring to, yes there are copts that look greek or indian but that are also copts that have african features..im just saying tho, anyones comments would be much appreiated 🙂
Moustafa Gadalla you write with a vengeance to spread your bigoted ideas of Muslims and Islam. You need to understand one thing, whenever you make a statement about Al Islam and/or our Illustrious Prophet Muhammad SAAWS, be certain to accompany it with evidence…facts. Your personal opinion is an insult to the topic of Islam and further adulterates the discussion. Your opinionated quotes of Quranic interpretations are intellectually offensive since you have not presented any factual proof of your claims. You need to get a grip and find your peace before attempting to discuss anything about Al Islam. Your first name is quite deceiving since you have not demonstrated your right to be called the ‘chosen one’.