and afterwards conquered Egypt. The first prince of this Dynasty who reigned in Egypt, was El Moâz Mâdd,' the son of El Mansure Ismâël, the son of El Kassim Muhamed, the son of El Mehedy Abeed-Allah. He conquered the many provinces of Egypt, and laid the foundation of Cairo in the year of the Hejra 359. (A. D. 976.) The ground upon which this city was built was a garden belonging to the sons of Teelune, who resided in the neighbourhood of the city of their princes, known by the name of El Kêtaya. They gave it the name of

El Kabira, which signifies Victorious, thus intimating that it would triumph over all resistance. Cairo is not on the banks of the Nile, but to the East, and near Fostat, which being on the Nile, is the general resort of travellers, and where ships lie in safety; ; hence there is more traffic than at Cairo, and merchandise is procured at more moderate prices.

The Pharos, Watch-tower, or Light-house, of Alexandria.

منارة اسكندرية] Among the curiosities of Egypt is the

Tower of Alexandria; its height is one hundred and eighty

[L] cubits. It was built as a point of remark to ships, because Alexandria is situated on a flat land without hill or mountain, and there was placed on the top a mirror of burnished steel, for the purpose of seeing from it at a great distance ships

line from Aly [], and Fatmah [äbli] his wife, daughter of Muhamed, the Arabian prophet. This dynasty began to reign in Africa in the year of the Hejra 296. (A. D. 908.)

1 They once asked this prince which brauch of the Ait-Aly he belonged to; Moaz, drawing his scimitar from its scabbard, replied, [

las]

this is my genealogy. Then throwing to his soldiers handsful of gold,

.this is my race [هدا جنسي] ,he added

was the founder of the احمد ابن طولون] Ahmed ebn Tulune :

dynasty of the Tulunites [b] in Egypt, which expired in the 2920 year of the Hejra.

3 Dra'ain, i. e. cubits. It is a measure from the elbow to the end of the middle finger of a full-sized man. 20 English inches and a half is one cubit, or 4 yards make 7 cubits; so that according to [y] L'Abou el Fēdâ, the watch-tower is 309 feet high.

w

لحديد الصيني +

El Hedid-Esseeny, literally, iron-brass, q. d.

of Europe.

The Christians, however, contrived to get it de stroyed in the early period of Islaemism, during the Kalifat of El Walid ibn Abdelmelk.

العريش The Bower, or El Arych

El Arych was formerly one of the finest towns in Egypt: the air was pure and temperate, and fresh water was found there. It is reported that famine having ravaged Palestine, the brethren of Joseph came into Egypt to purchase provisions; but they had scarcely reached the neighbourhood of El Arych when they were arrested by the guards placed by Joseph on the frontiers, whereupon the captain of the guard wrote to Joseph a letter of the following purport:

"A deputation of the sons of Jacob of Canaan have just arrived near us: famine having ravaged their territories, they desire to purchase wheat []." Whilst they sojourned on the frontiers, waiting for Joseph's order to permit their entrance into Egypt, they made a bower of reeds and branches of trees to keep off the sun's rays. Ever since that period this place has been called El Arycha, that is to say, the Bower. Fruits and dates are found here in abundance, also pomegranates, called

w

pomegranates of El Arych, which are the [الرمان العريشي]

best in Egypt.

w

burnished steel. The French translation has rendered illud

acier de la Chine, Steel of China; but this is unquestionably an error, for the word esseeny is well known to be the Arabic word for brass. The French translator, therefore, in rendering Esseeny, of China, has followed the sound, but not the sense of the word.

w

[] marakub errume, ships of Rome. The Arabian writers designate by this term ships of all the Christian nations of Europe, or of all those nations who acknowledged the supremacy of the pope in the early ages of the Muhamedan Era, or the 7th and 8th century of the Christian Era.

2 These bowers are erected by the Jews in the courts of their houses in (Northern Africa, or at least in) West and South Barbary, to this day, during the feast of the passover, which period lasts seven days. They eat and drink, and receive visits, in these bowers of reeds and boughs.

The two Pyramids, El Haraman.1

Among the most remarkable ruins in Egypt are the Pyramids. These are two enormous and very ancient edifices; they are so lofty that an arrow shot from a good bow would not reach the top. They are said to be ancient sepulchres, and many fables have been related respecting them. (May it please God to let the truth be discovered.) They are situated a day's journey from Fostat, on the western shore or bank of the Nile, and are surrounded by many others, none of which approach in size the two pyramids.

On the Pyramids, extracted from the Geography of Bakuy.

[ باقوي]

The two pyramids situated opposite to Fostat are constructed with large square stones: these edifices have four sides, forming as many equilateral triangles, each side having four hundred and sixty cubits [3]; their perpendicular height is three hundred

and seventeen cubits.

The pyramids are enormous structures, built with solidity, as well as with symmetry; they have never been shaken by the violence of the winds, nor by the ravages of tempests, nor by the shock of earthquakes. It is said that the following words were found written on them in the Mousneddy character [h

. [المسنداي

"We have been so powerful as to raise these monuments; let him that would show his strength undertake to demolish them, although it is easier to destroy than to erect. We have covered them with a cloth of silk [], let him that is able clothe them with a cover of common matting []." It is pretended that there was discovered in one of these ancient monuments a

[L] El Haraman,i. e. the two pyramids. This word is the dual of []. The true dimensions of the pyramids have perhaps never been accurately ascertained. Volney in his chapter on the ruins and pyramids in his Lettres sur l'Egypte, &c. says, “On a mesuré plusieurs fois leurs hauteurs par des procédés géométriques, et chaque opération a donné un résultat différent, pendant qu'une calculation récente donne 600 pieds sur chaque face à la grande, et 450 pieds de hauteur perpendiculaire." 2 See note 3, p. 249.

leaf,' which was deciphered by a sheik of the monastery of Kalmune, [s] as follows: "We have examined the motions of the stars, and we perceived that a scourge or calamity falling from heaven, and also proceeding from the earth, would destroy all vegetables as well as animals. When our observations were terminated we went in search of our King,

: and we said unto him سوزيد بن سلوق] Sureed ben Saluke

Elevate for thyself and for thine household, sepulchres which time shall be unable to destroy. Then Sureed ben Saluke built

w

2

and that of [ الهرم الشرقي for himself the pyramid of the East

,[کروس]

the West [all] for his brother; and the smaller one, called El Muzer ], for his nephew. When Sureed died he was interred in the Eastern pyramid, and his brother in that of the West, and the remains of his nephew, Kerourse were deposited in that called Muzer which is situated below the others. The descent into all these edifices was by a subterraneous passage a hundred and fifty cubits long. The gate of the oriental pyramid is in the Eastern side, that of the Western on the West, and that of Muzer on the North. These pyramids contain incalculable riches. The narrative imports that these words were translated from the Coptic into Arabic.” JAMES G. JACKSON.

Bakuy says that this leaf was written 395 years before the Deluge,

[ طوفان ]

Volney attempts to prove the etymology of the word pyramid. He first makes it Greek, then Egyptian, he then gives it an Arabic derivation; but finding no p in that language, he substitutes b, and constitutes the word bouramis; he then substitutes the final t for s, making it bouram it, "c'est-à-dire caveau des morts." It is curious to see what changes and permutations etymologists will adopt for the purpose of proving some favorite hypothesis: they write whole pages to prove, not the truth, but their own dogma!-We will not discuss the etymology of the word pyramid, a term used only by Europeans, but unknown in the country where those immense masses have been erected; but we will observe, that the term which designates these edifices in Egypt is hurem, i.e. a sanctuary, sacred place, consecrated ground. All depositories of the dead among the descendants of Ismael are consecrated ground, and this is a reason for supposing that these buildings were erected for preserving the body from the ravages of war, as the embalming was to preserve the component parts of that body from decomposition, so as to be enabled at the expiration of 6000 years to receive the soul again to animate it; at circumstance which was generally believed in Egypt before the time of Moses.

THE ARITHMETIC OF THE HOLY

SCRIPTURES.

No. III. [Continued from No. LI. p. 17.]

As the design of these suggestions is to advert to materials, at least, for what may be called an Arithmetical exposition of Scripture, the particular of Numbers has not yet been concluded. It closes, however, with the preseut No. by noticing some particular texts in which the word Number occurs- -a few additional terms to what have already been considered-and also some enumerations which appear contradictory to each other, or to correctness and matters of fact. Afterwards there will follow in successive order, the Measures, Weights, and Money of the Sacred Writings; each of which will be entitled to a distinct and deliberate consideration.

The APPLICATION of the word, or idea of, NUMBER, in different parts of the Bible, is worthy of being noticed. The rule, mentioned in No. 11. p. 15, is generally, if not uniformly, true: that when stands before the word with which it is connected, it signifies many; and when after it, a few.

have מספר שניו .26 .and Job xxxvi שנות מספר .22 .Job xvi

directly opposite meanings: the former denoting a small number, and the latter, a multitude.

Deut. xxxiii. 6. DD 1D "7" should be read in English: "And let his men be a number:" and there is no necessity for the Italic addition of the common version.

Gen. xxxiv. 30. D'UN "But I, men of a number:" very few. in Deut. iv. 27. must also be inter

preted.

So

Ps. xc. 12.

"to reckon," or, "distribute our days;" is so to enumerate them, as to improve the smallness of their number to the greatest advantage.

Eccl. vii. 27. an "a complete enumeration:" such a one, no doubt, Solomon had made among the women of his seraglio.

Dan. v. 26. are compared with Job vii, 3. 1 by Michaelis, and rendered "numerans, numeravit." Supplem. p. 1518.

When the Redeemer said, as recorded in Matt. x. 30, Tuv δὲ καὶ αἱ τρίχες τῆς κεφαλῆς πᾶσαι ἠριθμημέναι εἰσὶ; “ But even