Description: MASSACRE OF THE MEMLOOKS Artist: Alonzo Chappel _________________ Engraver: Unknown IMAGE IS MUCH SHARPER AND CLEARER THAN SCAN SHOWS !! PERFECT FOR FRAMING AS AN ART PRINT FOR YOUR DEN !! VERY ANTIQUE & OLD WORLD LOOKING. ITEM(s) OVER 135 YEARS OLD!! The Mamluks (from an Arabic word meaning "the owned") were non-Arab, mostly Turkish or Kurdish slaves owned by men who had themselves once been slaves. After being purchased in the slave markets as young boys, they were raised in special segregated barracks in Spartan fashion, their education consisting almost wholly of military and religious training. When they reached adulthood, they were freed, issued a horse and weapons, and then admitted into the service of their amir ("commander"), their former owner, whom almost without exception they served until the end of their lives with fierce loyalty and devotion. The Mamluk emphasis on youth and vigor is reflected in the fact that their salaries decreased as they grew older! When the reigning sultan, himself a former slave raised in this manner, died, one of the amirs replaced him, but usually not without a bloody power struggle between himself and other ambitious amirs. In 1805 Muhammad Ali (died 1848), an Albanian by birth and an Ottoman military officer by trade, was appointed "pasha" in Egypt and established a dynasty in Egypt which grew to challenge Ottoman authority. This dynasty lasted until the abdication of Egypt's last king, Farouk, in 1952. On March 1st, 1811, Muhammad Ali, having grown weary of sharing power with the Mamluks, employed a variation on the old banquet trick. Four hundred and eighty Mamluks were invited to the Citadel for a reception with "Muhammad Pasha" after which they were to take part in a public ceremony marking the investiture of his son, Tussun. James Webster, an Englishman who happened to be in Cairo at the time, wrote that Muhammad Ali, received them with the greatest affability. They were presented with coffee and he conversed with them severally, with openness of heart and serenity of brow. But the serpent lay hidden in its bed of roses! For, after the reception was over, Webster continues, The procession was ordered to move from the Citadel, along a passage cut in the rock. The Pasha's troops moved first, followed by the Mamluk corps. As soon, however, as they had passed the gate, at that end of the rocky passage that leads to the Citadel, it was shut suddenly against the latter, and Muhammad's forces were ordered to the top of the rocks, where they were perfectly secure from the aim of their victims, and whence they leisurely fired upon the defenseless [sic] Mamelukes and butchered them in cold blood, almost to a man. Egyptian historian Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid maintains that the massacre has been grossly exaggerated by "so-called eyewitness accounts of people who were nowhere near the scene of the crime." She says the actual number killed was 64, the ears and heads of whom were sent to the sultan. SIZE: Image size in inches is 5 1/4" x 8", overall page size is 6 1/2 " x 9 1/2". CONDITION: Condition is good. Nothing on reverse. Thick rag stock cardboard type paper. SHIPPING: Buyers to pay shipping/handling, domestic orders receives priority mail, international orders receive regular mail. We pack properly to protect your item! An engraving is an intaglio process of printing, with the design to be produced is cut below the surface of the plate (made of copper, steel or wood), and the incised lines are filled with ink that is then transferred to paper. The portraits on our currency are good examples of engraved images. A Photogravure is an intaglio process in which the plate is produced photographically. Please note: the terms used in our auctions for engraving, heliogravure, lithograph, plate, line drawing, photogravure etc. are ALL images that have been printed on paper. THIS IS AN ACTUAL STEEL ENGRAVING PRINTED IN THE 1860's! A RARE FIND!
Price: 7.19 USD
Location: New Providence, New Jersey
End Time: 2025-01-13T14:21:51.000Z
Shipping Cost: 7.95 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
Restocking Fee: No
Return shipping will be paid by: Buyer
All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
Item must be returned within: 14 Days
Refund will be given as: Money Back
Material: Engraving
Date of Creation: 1800-1899
Original/Reproduction: Original Print
Subject: History
Print Type: Engraving
Original/Licensed Reprint: Original
Type: Print
