Academic literature on the topic 'Egypt – Civilization – Western influences'

Egypt has a crucial and strategic role in the expansion of Islam throughout the world. The existence of Al-Azhar University as a center for Islamic studies is indicative of this. This article seeks to identify some of Egypt's most renowned Islamic reformers. This research consists of a historical literature review. According to the findings of the study, the resurrection of the Islamic modernizing movement and thought in Egypt was prompted by an awareness of the nation's intervention and even tyranny. This circumstance brought the Egyptians into contact with the technologically superior Western civilization. The formation of the fundamentals of civilizational modernity substantially bolsters the Egyptians' ability to advance in the arena of Islamic civilization in particular and the world at large. The resurgence of the modernization movement and ideas in Egypt was sparked by the emergence of a new power led by the Turkish-born Muhammad Ali Pasha. In an effort to reform, Muhammad Ali Pasha organized the Egyptian political and government system, expanded the influence of unity, constructed the education system, and absorbed as much knowledge from the outside as possible in order to educate Egyptians to study abroad in order to improve the intellectual quality of Egypt. The Islamic modernization movement and thought in Egypt has exhibited remarkable progress with the emergence of new ideas and movements in a variety of disciplines. Not only were they significant in Egypt, but also in the rest of the globe, particularly Islam. Among his followers were Raf'i al-Thahtawi, Jamaluddin al-Afgani, Muhammad Abduh, and Rashid Rida. The figure's primary objective is to make Egypt better capable of sustaining and expanding Islamization in other regions of the world.

Values and norms for communication expressed in the ancient Egyptian treatise, The Teachings of Ptahhotep, are compared to current regulatory communication standards, especially the IFJ Declaration of Principles on the Conduct of Journalists, and to liberal and socialist ideologies. Ptahhotep argued in favour of basic equalities, respect, and the free flow of information and opinions, particularly for political speech, much like social democracy and political liberalism do. He also set limits regarding freedom of communication similarly: for hate speech, incitement to violence, defamation, invasion of privacy and concentration of ownership. The close parallels between the principles of communication ethics in ancient Egypt and today are partly explained with a look at similarly restructuring powers of innovative phonographic media (writing) then and prographic (electronic programming) media now, and partly with (indirect) influence. The article also asks whether the concept of ‘Western civilization’ should continue to exclude ancient Egypt.

AbstractThe House of Wisdom (Bayt Al-Hikmah) was seen as one of the leading libraries in Islamic history that appeared during the Golden age of Islam. It was initiated by the Abbasid dynasty. The research historically analyses the civilizational role of Bayt Al-Hikmah that has remarkably adapted the intellectual richness to serve scholars, scientists and worldwide thinkers. The study highlights the development that marked the house of wisdom in the time of the Abbasids. The main objective of this paper is to explore the impact of the house of wisdom on the Islamic libraries, moreover it studies the organizational structure of Bayt al-Hikmah along with library divisions and services that it provided for scholars and readers. The paper shall also deal with funding sources. The study found out that, the house of wisdom has had a very organized management system especially in collecting and book cataloguing, the library had a great interest in debating and scientific circles in various topics and subjects. In addition, some new competing libraries have been influenced by the system of the house of wisdom in Egypt and Andalusia. It preserved the knowledge and heritage of the ancient civilizations and it contributed with a remarkable and an unprecedented discoveries that the western civilization have utilized to thrive. The paper shall follow a historical method which comprises some guidelines by which the authors utilize primary sources to conduct a historical account.

Egyptian heritage is known to be a result of many great civilizations. With various traditional elements and special features that add prominence to its cultural aspects, it carries magnificent aesthetic values and visual forms. Nonetheless, and due to the different nature of the cities and provinces in Egypt, styles and features in each region have taken different paths. For instance, Ancient Egyptians influenced some areas while others were more affected by Islamic or Coptic civilizations. Some regions were preserved in Nubian folk art heritage form. In the past, the country had a clear and unique identity that reflected its characteristics, environmental benefits and socio-cultural attributes. However, today the identity is faded and is nearly completely wiped by Western notions erasing our ideas, identities, and thoughts. This study focuses on the elements of heritage, their impact on people and the way these elements inspire interior architecture, form and psychology.This study aims to discern the elements of heritage and identify the character and special criteria of each civilization such as the Ancient Egyptian, Islamic and Nubian folk art heritage with special references and clarifications as to the criteria of reviving the traditional identity in contemporary interior design. This study will also include an analysis of user preferences in relation to discussed features.

The emergence of Islam influenced the revolution and made a wave of culture toward a new world when experiencing an era of darkness. The progress of Greek civilization in the Westcould not be continued by the Roman empire and Roman domination in the classical era until the middle ages; which was then therise of the West in the era of renaissance in the 14-16th century.This paper will reveal the influence of Islam on the development of the Western world, since the emergence of contact between Islam with the West in the Classical era until the middle ages. There are different opinions among historians about who and when the first contact between Islam and the West took place. The first contact, however, occurred when the areas of East Roman government (Byzantium), Syria (638) and Egypt (640) fell into the hands of the Islamic government during the reign of Caliph 'Umar bin Khaţţāb. The Second contact, at the beginning of the eighth and ninth centuries occurred when the kings of Islam were able to rule Spain (711-1472), Portugal (716-1147), and important Mediterranean islands such as Sardinia (740-1050), Cicilia (827-1091), Malta (870-1090) as well as several small areas in Southern Italy and French Southern France. The third contact, took place in Eastern Europe from the fourteenth to early twentieth century when the Ottoman empire ruled the Balkan peninsula (Eastern Europe) and Southern Russia. The Ottoman empire's powers in Europe covered Yunāni, Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary, parts of Rhode, Cyprus, Austria and parts of Russia. Of the three periods of contact, the greatest influence was in the second contact period, where the decline of Western science in the dark era, while in the Islamic world developed advanced and produces scientists, thinkers and intellectuals in various sciences. This influence can be seen from the sending of students studying to the university of Islamic area, the establishment of the university, the translation and copying of various scientific literature such as natural science (Science of astronomy, Mathematics, Chemistry, Pharmacy, medicine, architecture etc) and Social Science history, philosophy, politics, economics, earth sciences, sociology, law, culture, language, literature, art, etc.). The Historians recognize that the influence of Islamic civilization is very great on the development of the West, which culminated in the renaissance or rise of Western civilization in Europe after the dark era.

The emergence of Islam influenced the revolution and made a wave of culture toward a new world when experiencing an era of darkness. The progress of Greek civilization in the West could not be continued by the Roman empire and Roman domination in the classical era until the middle ages; which was then the rise of the West in the era of renaissance in the 14-16th century. This paper will reveal the influence of Islam on the development of the Western world, since the emergence of contact between Islam with the West in the Classical era until the middle ages. There are different opinions among historians about who and when the first contact between Islam and the West took place. The first contact, however, occurred when the areas of East Roman government (Byzantium), Syria (638) and Egypt (640) fell into the hands of the Islamic government during the reign of Caliph 'Umar bin Khaţţāb. The Second contact, at the beginning of the eighth and ninth centuries occurred when the kings of Islam were able to rule Spain (711-1472), Portugal (716-1147), and important Mediterranean islands such as Sardinia (740-1050), Cicilia (827-1091), Malta (870-1090) as well as several small areas in Southern Italy and French Southern France. The third contact, took place in Eastern Europe from the fourteenth to early twentieth century when the Ottoman empire ruled the Balkan peninsula (Eastern Europe) and Southern Russia. The Ottoman empire's powers in Europe covered Yunāni, Bulgaria, Albania, Romania, Yugoslavia, Hungary, parts of Rhode, Cyprus, Austria and parts of Russia. Of the three periods of contact, the greatest influence was in the second contact period, where the decline of Western science in the dark era, while in the Islamic world developed advanced and produces scientists, thinkers and intellectuals in various sciences. This influence can be seen from the sending of students studying to the university of Islamic area, the establishment of the university, the translation and copying of various scientific literature such as natural science (Science of astronomy, Mathematics, Chemistry, Pharmacy, medicine, architecture etc) and Social Science history, philosophy, politics, economics, earth sciences, sociology, law, culture, language, literature, art, etc.). The Historians recognize that the influence of Islamic civilization is very great on the development of the West, which culminated in the renaissance or rise of Western civilization in Europe after the dark era.

The growth of political Islam in the 1970s and the possibility ofIslamist parties coming to power in various countries led many scholarsand political analysts to question the compatibility of Islam and democracy.Most studies have concentrated on popular Muslim thinkers whowere considered Islamic activists such as Sayyid Qutb or Abu ‘Ala Al-Maududi, but no attention has been paid to the thought of the remarkableAlgerian Islamic thinker, Malek Bennabi (1905-1973). A French-educatedelectrical engineer, strongly influenced by the ideas of Rashid Ridaand Mohammed Abdu, Bennabi’s most important concern throughout hislife was the adaptation of Islamic values to modernity. Very familiar withwestern civilization-as well as many others-he felt that the Muslimworld failed to rise above its inertia not only because it is incapable ofabsorbing modem technology, but also because its elite borrowed failingideologies, such as Marxism, without attempting to recapture the bestvalues that were produced by Islamic civilization. In other words, theMuslim world failed to reproduce the experience of such successfulnations as Japan. In his view, Japan achieved modernity because “the‘deadly ideas’ [i.e., materialism] of the west did not make it deviate fromits path: It [Japan] remained faithful to its culture, its traditions, and itspast.”’ More importantly, throughout his work Bennabi puts most of theblame for the Muslim world‘s predicament, not on western colonialism,but on the Islamic world itself, a notion that m s against the prevailingopinion in the Arab-lslamic world that argues that western powers aremostly responsible for the backwardness of the Muslim world.After his return to Algeria in 1963, following his long exile in Egypt,Malek Bennabi joined the first Islamist organization in Algeria,Al-Qiym al-Zslamyya (Islamic Values), founded the same year. Theassociation was opposed to the “Marxist” policies of President Ahmed ...

The article examines and analyzes the spread of Islamism or Political Islam movements in the Greater Mediterranean and their increasing influence on the socio-political situation in 2011-2021. The historical factors, which contributed to the emergence of the hearths of Islamic culture in the countries which entered the Arab Caliphate in the Greater Mediterranean parallel with the Antique centers of European civilization, are retrospectively exposed. The Islamist ideologues called the Ottoman Imperia the heir of the Arab Caliphate. The main doctrinal conceptions of Political Islam and its more influential movement Muslim Brotherhood (forbidden in Russia) are discovered. The factor of the Arab Spring, which considerably influenced the strengthening of the Islamist movements, as well as its continuation of the protests in the Arab countries in 2018-2021, is examined. The main attention is allotted to analyzing the actions of the Islamic movements in Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, and in the Libyan and Syrian conflicts too. The influence of external actors, the most active of which was Turkey, is revealed. The author also analyzes the situation in the Arab-Muslim communities in the European Mediterranean on the example of France, where social-economic problems, aggravated by COVID-19, have contributed to the activation of radical Islamist elements. It is concluded that confronting the Islamist challenge is a complex and controversial task. Its solution depends on both forceful opposition to radical groups and an appropriate foreign policy. An important negative factor is the aggravation of socio-economic problems and crisis phenomena in the institutions of Western democracy, in response to which the ideologues of Islamism preach an alternative world order in the form of an Islamic state. At the moment the Western society and the countries which repeat its liberal model do not give a distinct response to this challenge.

One glance to the map of the Earth shows us that the main centers and sub centers of civilization are distributed on the surface of the Earth according to a very accurate geometrical system: the main ones are located on a strait line from Egypt to Greece to western Europe. From Egypt in the ancient times , and from Western Europe in modern times a curve extends to the right and left on which the sub centers are located, this curve moved completely from its northern position in ancient times to its southern position in modern times where one thousand years separates the two ancient and modern stages of civilization, this period had been filled by Greeks and Arabs through which we are going to tell the story of this moving curve between its two ancient and modern positions. Briefly seven hundreds of years had been filled by Greeks : one century in Athena, six centuries in Alexandria of Egypt,( where the curve returned to its southern position), and three centuries by Arabs in Bagdad in Iraq before the third stage of modern civilization began its role in its main center , western Europe.

What can contemporary social scientists learn from ancient history? Key features of modern civilization began in the fertile crescent of today’s Middle East many thousands of years ago. Thanks to geography and other factors, these innovations spread—east and west. Not just agriculture and engineering but monotheistic religion and alphabetic writing took root there. Parallels to or offshoots of Sumerian culture emerged in the Indus River, Persia, and Egypt. Their distinctive ways of life took shape, waxed, and then waned. Social scientists who try to keep up with a world in turmoil by listening to the BBC or reading Le Monde may be tempted to ask: “How did all this begin and where are we going?” The Singapore-based political analyst Parag Khanna answers: “Asia.” Civilization began in Western Asia and is now being shaped by “Asianization” of the planet. (See Khanna, The Future is Asian, 2019). Whether or not Khanna’s hypothesis about the future proves correct, the importance of Western Asia in global history is documented in the books Uruk and Mesopotamia.

The legend of Shambhala incorporated in the Tibetan Canon, has been one of the favourite motives of Tibetan Buddhism throughout the centuries. High lamas and laity alike venerated the legend connecting their innermost aspirations with it. For some it represents a mystical millennial country revealing itself only to the chosen ones, while others perceive it as a symbol of the hidden treasures of the mind. This way or the other, the legend of Shambhala remains a living belief for many. The present hardships of Tibet made the legend with its leitmotif of future victory of Buddhism, especially viable.
When the legend reached the West in the beginning of this century, it inspired many westerners including political leaders, and acquired diverse and innovative interpretations.
Conveying the ever cherished human dream of a better world beyond ours, the legend of Shambhala proved to be a ubiquitous symbol surpassing its original Buddhist framework.

This creative project is a study of cultural awareness in architecture. The hypothesis states that architecture is one of many cultural manifestations in a society. One seeking contemporary architecture in a society should explore the idea of contemporary culture in that society. This study aims to point out the relationship of living patterns and living spaces (culture and architecture). Living patterns are influenced by their own cultures and, at the same time, the characteristics of living spaces reflect the aspects of living patterns. To explore contemporary living spaces, cultural issues must be considered.However, culture is dynamic. It is changed by reasons of time, place and people. Even though the tradional cultures in a society continuingly permeate to the next generations, some of them disappear as time, place or people change. Therefore, to study the issue of culture in contemporary society, traditional and new cultures are reckoned with as contemporary families adapt both cultures into their lifestyles.While Thai society has maintained its own unique culture, recently globalization has brought influences of Western ideas into Thailand. These influences are effecting Thai culture and bearing on how housing responds to a changing society.The work is divided into two parts, research and design. To explore the deeper meaning of contemporary living spaces, the research focuses on the importannce of culture to the characteristics of living spaces. It analyzes cultural and social changes that have influenced contemporary Thai families. This cultural analyses confirms that the meaning and design of contemporary living spaces are directly influenced by cultural adjustments.To support the hypothesis and research, a housing project for contemporary Thai families is proposed. It is a schematic design that incorporates the cultural analyses into the design process. The design is a model for organizing cultural information into the design of living spaces.
Department of Architecture

L’étude des productions céramiques thébaines des 25e et 26e dynasties (c. 750-525 avant notre ère) a longtemps été négligée en raison d’un manque incontestable de contextes archéologiques stratifiés. Cette thèse a pour objectif l’étude de cette industrie par un examen rigoureux du matériel céramique de la chapelle d’Osiris Ounnefer Neb-Djefaou à Karnak (IFAO – sous la direction de L. Coulon) et du secteur du temple de Ptah à Karnak (CFEETK – sous la direction de Chr. Thiers). A cela s’ajoutent les données extraites des fouilles récentes des tombes TT 29 et TT C3 à Cheikh Abd el-Gourna (ULB / MANT – sous la direction de L. Bavay et D. Laboury).

En plus d’une définition précise de cette industrie par de l’établissement d’une analyse typologique fine, ce travail vise à associer les changements politiques de la ville de Thèbes avec les développements des productions céramiques locales.

Vers le milieu du 8e siècle avant notre ère, des évolutions techniques et morphologiques majeures se produisent dans l’industrie céramique thébaine, donnant naissance à un nouveau répertoire spécifique de cette région, se distinguant clairement des productions de la Basse-Egypte. Cette différenciation semble être le reflet des tensions politiques entre le nord et le sud du pays. Cette industrie va se développer au cours de la Basse Epoque avec des formes devenant plus sinueuses, complexes et carénées. Un nouveau traitement de surface se développe grâce au tour rapide :les stries plates, éléments caractéristiques des productions thébaines de la Basse Epoque.

Sous la dynastie nubienne, les produits vraisemblablement originaires de la région thébaine sont diffusés en Egypte et en Nubie. Cette diffusion a pour conséquence quelques phénomènes d’interactions en Egypte, mais surtout en Nubie où se développe un nouveau répertoire formel inspiré des productions céramiques thébaines, en parallèle aux productions locales.

Ce travail s’articule en trois parties. La première reprend une présentation des différents sites et contextes archéologiques exploités dans cette analyse. La deuxième correspond à une étude typologique des productions céramiques thébaines alors que la troisième partie se penche sur une synthèse reprenant une définition complète de la production thébaine.

Cette thèse a pour objectif d’utiliser l’objet céramique comme un élément datant et le témoin d’un savoir-faire, mais également comme un marqueur de changements politiques et économiques./

The study of the Theban ceramic production from the 25th to the 26th Dynasty (c. 750-525 BC) has been neglected for a long time because of a lack of stratified archaeological context. The aim of the thesis is to analyse the ceramic material coming from the chapel of Osiris Wennefer Ned-Djefau at Karnak (IFAO – Dir. L. Coulon) and from the temple of Ptah at Karnak (CFEETK – Dir. Chr. Thiers). The study of the pottery from the tombs TT 29 and TT C3 at Cheikh abd el-Gourna broadens our knowlegde on this production (ULB-ULg – MANT – Dir. L. Bavay et D. Laboury).

In addition to the formulation of a precise definition of this industry by the establishment of a new ceramic typology, this work aims to associate the political changes occurring in Thebes at that period with the evolution of the local ceramic production.

In the mid-8th century BC, technical and morphological changes are observed in the Theban ceramic industry, defining a specific industry in the region, a pottery repertoire which is easily distinctive from the ceramic production from the North of Egypt. This distinction is the reflection of political tensions between the North and the South at this time. The above-mentioned industry developed during the Late Period with more complex, marked and carinated shapes; a new surface treatment appeared thanks to the use of the kick-wheel: ribbed surface, which is a specific element of the Theban production in the Late Period.

Under the Nubian Dynasty, pottery from the Theban area is spread through Egypt and Nubia. This distribution caused some interaction phenomenas in Egypt, but also in Nubia where a new ceramic repertoire developed alongside the local ceramic industry.

This work has been divided in 3 parts. The first part corresponds to a presentation of archaeological sites and contexts used for the study. The second part presents a typological analysis of the Theban production. The last part is a synthetic analysis of the Theban pottery production.

The thesis tends to prove that the ceramic object is certainly a dating data and the testimony of a savoir-faire, but also the testimony of political and economical changes.

Doctorat en Histoire, art et archéologie
info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Edkins' theory is mainly consisted of two parts, comparative linguistics and researches on religious ideas of ancient Chinese people. At the same time, he also attempted to find western elements in ancient Chinese astrology, astronomy, philosophy and technology. His theory, together with other supporters, formed a special visual angle through which some Sinologists connected the Chinese culture with the main stream of the general history of human civilization constructed by western scholars. It seams to them that the Chinese civilization and the western civilization are not two different systems. To some Sinologists at that tine, whether the Chinese civilization could be correctly understood or not, rests on whether scholars could find its relation with western civilization. After a series of researches, almost all the elements of Chinese civilization were brought into the hermeneutic system of the west. The mystic color of China faded.
Edkins' theory is not completely new. In the 16th century, Jesuits began to interpret Chinese language, history and religion through the theory of the western origin of Chinese civilization. From the second part of the 19th Century to the first years of the 20 th century, this theory became popular, and among many advocates, there are not only westerners like John Chalmers, Joseph Edkins, Terrien de Lacouperie and Thomas Kingsmill, but also Chinese like Zhang Tai-Yan, Liu Shi-Pei and Huang Jie, etc. Meanwhile, various versions evolved from this theory, different from one another in the time and place that civilization came to China from the west. Some of them mix religious faith with academic studies together, and others' opinions are much more like scientific researches. Strange in the sight of scholars nowadays, this theory had its special meaning at the very beginning of western Sinology.
It seems that Sinologists of the 19th century did not try to describe China as an utter other, totally different from the west. On the contrary, they attempted to eliminate the difference. So this dissertation can also help us to get a deeper insight into the conception of Orientalism.
This dissertation is to discuss the methods that some Sinologists used to decipher the Chinese civilization by examining Joseph Edkins' works on Chinese language and civilization. Edkins is a missionary and Sinologist who advocated the theory of the western origin of Chinese civilization.
陳喆.
Adviser: Xue Yu.
Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: 2069.
Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-164) and index.
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstracts in Chinese and English.
School code: 1307.
Chen Zhe.

This dissertation explores the transformation of a small town in South East Transylvania, Sighisoara, historically defined through a strong German presence. Despite the small number of Germans remaining in the region after the massive migrations of the last decades, historical German privilege (made visible through and materialized in the long-lasting architecture) is reformulated and re-configured in the present precisely through processes connected to valuing and producing this built landscape as historical heritage. Claims for stakes in the development of the area become entangled with an interest in heritage preservation publicly performed by a diverse set of (mostly foreign) actors. By analyzing a failed development project, the gentrification of the historical citadel, transformations in public spaces, and NGO and historical preservation funding, I argue that Germanness offers a discursive space in which local desires for a developed West are able to articulate, productively, with Western nostalgias for a developmental do-over, as well as with fears for an endangered European heritage at the 'margins' of Western civilization. This dissertation contributes to the anthropology of post-socialist transformations in Eastern Europe by drawing attention to the relationship between ethnicity and participation in a global capitalism. It shows how a continuous, living engagement with the "outside," the "West," with consumer capitalism has been part of local quotidian subjectivities and understandings of the world, all mediated by desire and access to mobility and possibility. Understandings of people's current relationship with development, consumption, the idea and reality of capitalism cannot be disentangled from these continuities, and I argue for locating analysis precisely in these relationships. This dissertation also brings a critical native voice to the body of English language Eastern European anthropology. At the same time, it attempts to both build on and disrupt historical approaches to the region by forging analytical and substantive continuities with discipline-wide approaches to ethnicity, development, and heritage tourism.
text

伍紅玉.
Submitted: November 2007.
Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 197-204).
Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web.
Abstracts in Chinese and English.
Wu Hongyu.

The increase of interest that the study of ancient monuments had raised, mainly from the eighteenth century, attracted many individuals to the classical lands. There, as explained in the last chapter, a search for the roots of Western civilization and of the flourishing nineteenth-century empires took place. In addition, however, in some of those countries—mainly in Egypt and Mesopotamia—this concern would not be the only one which boosted scholars’ interests. These lands had witnessed some of the accounts related in the Christian Holy Book, the Bible, and therefore the search for classical antiquity came together with—and was sometimes overshadowed by—research on the biblical past. Work focused first on Egypt, then on Mesopotamia (modern Iraq and parts of Iran), and then moved to other areas: Palestine, and to a certain degree Lebanon and Turkey. After the first travellers who managed to overcome the difficulties of access imposed by the Ottoman Empire, there followed diplomats in the area working for the various imperial countries as well as more specialized explorers, including geographers and antiquarians. Later on, especially in Palestine, many of those who looked for ancient remains were in one way or another connected with religious institutions. Therefore, imperialism will not be the only factor to consider in the development of archaeology in the area described in this chapter, for religion also had an essential role. As explained in the following pages, these were overlapping, complementary forces. The influence of religion on the archaeology of the biblical lands can be seen both in the religious beliefs of those who undertook it, as well as, more importantly, in how it had an effect on research. The aim of most of the archaeologists working in the biblical land—especially in the core area of Palestine and Lebanon—was to illustrate, confirm, or challenge the biblical account, and they were not interested in any period dated either before or after the events related in the Holy Book. Thus, an interest in the Islamic archaeology of the area would only appear at the end of the period dealt with in this book (Ettinghausen 1951; Vernoit 1997: 4–5), and pre-biblical archaeology would develop later.

During the height of Western imperialism in Egypt from 1882 to 1922, the British ran the country and the French directed the Antiquities Service. Two contemporary artistic allegories expressed Western appropriation of the pharaonic heritage: the façade of Cairo's Egyptian Museum (1902) and Edwin Blashfield's painting Evolution of civilization in the dome of the Library of Congress (1896). The façade presents modern Egyptology as an exclusively European achievement, and Evolution presents ‘Western civilization’ as beginning in ancient Egypt and climaxing in contemporary America. The illustrated cover of an Arabic school magazine (1899) counters with an Egyptian nationalist claim to the pharaonic heritage. A woman shows children the sphinx and pyramids to inspire modern revival, and Khedive Abbas II and Egyptian educators, not European scholars, frame the scene. The careers of three Egyptologists — Gaston Maspero, E. A. W. Budge, and Ahmad Kamal Pasha — are explored to provide context for the allegories.

The purpose of this study is to define the role of civilization’s critical powers in the civilization life cycle. The role of information-communication processes is particularly crucial in this quest. The terms “rise” and “fall” of civilization reflect this chronic issue in comparative civilization studies. Spengler, in his book The Decline of the West (1918), argued that all cultures are subject to the same cycle of growth and decay in accordance with predetermined “historical destiny.” Toynbee in his Study of History (1934), compared civilizations to organisms and perceived their existence in a life cycle of four stages: genesis, growth, breakdown, and disintegration. A mechanism of “challenge-response” facing civilizations influences their abilities at self-determination and self-direction. However, according to him, all civilizations that grow eventually reach a peak, from which they begin to decline. It seems that Toynbee’s civilization life cycle is too short, since his “breakdown of growth” phase is in fact a point in time and the “disintegration” phase is too pessimistic in its title, only perceiving the “universal state,” often under a form of “empire,” as an ancient regime which only wants to maintain the status quo and is doomed to fail. But history shows that some civilizations may last a long time in relatively good shape without being in imminent danger of disintegration. Sorokin argued in Social and Cultural Dynamics (1937) that three cultural mentalities, ideational (spiritual needs and goals), sensate (“wine, women, and song”), and idealistic (a balance of needs and ends) are the central organizing principles of a civilization’s life cycle, and that they succeed each other always in the same order according to super-rhythms of history. According to Sorokin, Western civilization has for the last 500 years been in the sensate stage, reaching now its limit, and will soon pass to the next idealistic stage (which, according to this author, could be the universal civilization).

In the nineteenth century, the allure of the past of the Great Civilizations was soon to be contested by an alternative—that of the national past. This interest had already grown in the pre-Romantic era connected to an emerging ethnic or cultural nationalism (Chapter 2). However, its charm would not be as enticing to the lay European man and woman of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, who were much more under the influence of neoclassicism (Chapter 3). The Western European nations had no monuments comparable to the remains of Greece, Rome or Egypt. Before the Roman expansion into most of Western Europe in antiquity, there had been few significant buildings, apart from unspectacular prehistoric tombs and megalithic monuments whose significance was unrecognized by the modern scholar. Roman remains beyond Italy were not as impressive as those found to the south of the Alps. Because of this it seemed much more interesting to study the rich descriptions the ancient authors had left about the local peoples and institutions the Romans had created during their conquest. Throughout the eighteenth century the historical study of medieval buildings and antiquities had also increasingly been gaining appeal. In Britain their study instigated the early creation of associations such as the Society of Antiquaries of 1707, but even this early interest did not lead to medieval antiquities receiving attention in institutions such as the British Museum, where they would only receive a proper departmental status well into the nineteenth century (Smiles 2004: 176). In comparative terms, the national past and its relics were perceived by many to be of secondary rate when judged against the history and arts of the classical civilizations. During the French Revolution and its immediate aftermath, for example, the national past would not be as appreciated by as many people and antiquarians as that of the Great Civilizations (Jourdan 1996). This situation, however, started to change in the early nineteenth century. There were three key developments in this period, all inherited from Enlightenment beliefs, which were the foundation for archaeology as a source of national pride. The effects of these would be seen especially from the central decades of the century.

In Le génie de l’Orient..., published in Brussels in 1846, Leopold Leon Sawaszkiewicz presents the collection and work of the Polish collector and connoisseur of Oriental cultures Ignacy Pietraszewski, who translated the Zend-Avesta – the holy book of Zoroastrianism – from Persian into Polish, French, and German. Sawaszkiewicz uses Pietraszewski’s rich collection of Islamic numismatics as a jumping-off point for numerous observations on the relations between the West and the East, from the perspective of the historic ties between the Poles – bound for nearly a millennium to Western Christian values – and the Turkish, Arab, Persian, and even Indian Orient, in which they searched, aside from artistic and literary inspiration, for traces of their own deep cultural and ethnic roots. This view of the rootedness of Polish culture in the universe of an apparently/actually distant imagination and mentality, makes it possible to reconsider the present conditions for honest and substantive dialogue between these different cultural and geopolitical regions. Sawaszkiewicz’s and Pietraszewski’s visions of the Orient, conceived at a time when the existing geopolitical order was confronted with the (re)birth of European national identity myths, bear witness to the active participation of Polish intellectuals in the debate on the foundations and future of Western civilization.

The literature regarding the benefits of earthworms is fairly ancient. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher, referred to them as ‘intestines of earth' because of their habit of ingesting and ejecting the soil. In the subtropical regions of Egypt and India, the success of the ancient civilization of the Nile and the Indus Valley was partly due to the fertile soils created by the activity of the earthworms and by the continual renewal of the land by the alluvium process. During the Cleopatra era (69-30 BC), the earthworm was declared a sacred animal in the ancient Egypt. Later Darwin remarked the earthworms have played more roles throughout the history of the world than any other animal. Besides to contribute in physical structure and nutritive value of the soil by burrowing and feeding they can also be a potential pollution hazard. They are useful tool in environment monitoring and are good indicators of condition of soils. This chapter reviews soil contamination that influences earthworms and how they cope-up in contaminated environment.

This chapter examines the peculiarity of the Enlightenment as a category in the history of Western culture by highlighting the important differences and points of contact and reciprocal influences between the views of the Enlightenment held by philosophers and those held by historians. It considers efforts in the twentieth century to analyze the “Enlightenment question,” which proved pivotal in the study of the rise of modern European civilization. It also discusses the double nature of the eighteenth-century epistemological paradigm, caught between history and philosophy, as well as its unique historiographical character. Finally, it shows how, at the end of the eighteenth century, the Enlightenment opposed a brand new philosophy of history to a centuries-old theology of history.

‘Encounters’ travels to the outermost limits of Hellenistic civilization, where Graeco-Macedonian societies of the Mediterranean and western Asia interacted with sophisticated and powerful non-Greek neighbours. In the Far East, it visits the Greek city of Aï Khanoum, on the banks of the Oxus in north-east Afghanistan. To the south, it follows Eudoxus of Cyzicus on his explorative journey across the Southern Ocean, forging the first direct link between Ptolemaic Egypt and the Indian subcontinent. To the north, it visits Olbia in southern Ukraine, a Greek city under constant pressure from Scythian steppe nomads, and in the far west, it examines the Villa of the Papyri at Herculaneum, the dwelling of a mid-1st-century bc Roman aristocrat.

The chapter, together with the next chapter, argues that the period saw the re-imagining of age relations between adults and children away from a disciplinary approach towards one characterized by liberal principles based on a 'scientific' understanding of the child's emotional interiority; the parenting goal was to 'help and understand' children. The chapter examines several of the influences involved in the process such as cultural responses to the widely perceived post 1918 'crisis' in Western civilization, as well as the impact of Freudian psychoanalytic thought and practice. It also considers the 'new psychology', the rejection of behaviourism, notably by Susan Isaacs, the child guidance movement and the emergence of 'new era' progressive education. These developments, it is claimed, were important origins in what came to be known as social democracy's post 1940s family ideal.

The rapid urban development in the Hurghada area since the 1980s has dramatically enhanced the potential impact of human activities. To inventory and monitor this urban development effectively, remote sensing provides a viable source of data from which updated land cover information can be extracted efficiently and cheaply. In this study, data from three satellite datasets, Landsat Thematic Mapper (Landsat 5 TM), Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (Landsat 7 ETM+) and Terra/Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), acquired during 1987, 2000 and 2005, respectively, were used to detect and evaluate Hurghada's urban expansion. Five change detection techniques were tested to detect areas of change. The techniques considered were image differencing, image ratioing, image overlay, multidate principal component analysis (PCA) and post-classification comparison. The post-classification comparison was found to be the most accurate procedure and produced three land use/land cover (LULC) maps of the years 1987, 2000 and 2005 with overall accuracies of 87.8%, 88.9% and 92.0%, respectively. The urban expansion analysis revealed that the built-up area has expanded by 40 km2 in 18 years (1987–2005). In addition, 4.5 km2 of landfill/sedimentation was added to the sea as a result of the coastal urban development and tourist activities. The booming coastal tourism and population pressure were considered to be the main factors driving this expansion, and some natural and artificial constraints constrained the physical shape of the city. The expansion is represented by urban fringe development, linear, infill and isolated models. Topography, lithology and structures were also analysed as possible factors that influenced the expansion. The understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of Hurghada's urban expansion is the cornerstone for formulating a view about the future urban uses and for making the best use of the limited resources that are available [1]. A Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) image of 1987 and a Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image of 2000 were used to examine changes in land use/land cover (LULC) around Hurghada, Egypt, and changes in the composition of coral reefs offshore. Prior to coral reef bottom type classification, the radiance values were transformed to depth invariant bottom indices to reduce the effect of the water column. Subsequently, a multi component change detection procedure was applied to these indices to define changes. Preliminary results showed significant changes in LULC during the period 1987–2000 as well as changes in coral reef composition. Direct impacts along the coastline were clearly shown, but it was more difficult to link offshore changes in coral reef composition to indirect impacts of the changing LULC. Further research is needed to explore the effects of the different image processing steps, and to discover possible links between indirect impacts of LULC changes and changes in the coral reef composition [2]. Knowledge and detecting impacts of human activities on the coastal ecosystem is an essential management requirement and also very important for future and proper planning of coastal areas. Moreover, documentation of these impacts can help in increasing public awareness about side effects of unsustainable practices. Analysis of multidate remote sensing data can be used as an effective tool in environmental impact assessment (EIA). Being synoptic and frequent in coverage, multidate data from Landsat and other satellites provide a reference record and bird’s eye viewing to the environmental situation of the coastal ecosystem and the associated habitats. Furthermore, integration of satellite data with field observations and background information can help in decision if a certain activity has caused deterioration to a specific habitat or not. The present paper is an attempt to utilize remote sensing data for assessment impacts of some human activities on the major sensitive habitats of the north western Egyptian Red Sea coastal zone, definitely between Ras Gemsha and Safaga. Through multidate change analysis of Landsat data (TM & ETM+ sensors), it was possible to depict some of the human infringements in the area and to provide, in some cases, exclusive evidences for the damaging effect of some developmental activities [3]. The coastline of Hurghada has experienced considerable environmental stress from tourist and residential recreational activities. Uncontrolled tourist development has already caused substantial damage to inshore reefs and imbalance in the hydrodynamic pattern of the coastal sediments. The objective of this paper is to investigate environmental changes using multitemporal, multispectral satellite data to identify changes at Hurghada caused by anthropogenic influences. Major detected changes include resort beaches, protection structures and landfill areas; these changes are mainly due to human intervention. Two Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images acquired in 1984 and 1997 are used for this analysis. The landfill areas formed during this period are calculated at about 2.15 Km2 . Whilst landfill creates new inexpensive land and improves access to the sea for tourists, it is the cause of environmental problems. In addition, land-use/land-cover and beach changes are determined over the 13-year period [4]. The Red Sea coastal zone is characterized by its sensitive, fragile, unique natural resources and habitats. In the Hurghada coastal region, major changes in the tourism industry have taken place in the last few decades. The detection of environmental changes, in a selected site of the Red Sea coastal zone, will be helpful to protect and develop this coastal environment. A methodology for separating natural and man-made changes in satellite images was developed. It was based on the following assumptions: (1) slow changes, which occur within the range of the class reflectance, represent a natural change rather than an anthropogenic one; (2) natural changes tend to be in the same land-use/land-cover class in each date, i.e. slow changes in the reflectance, not leading to changes in the type of land-use/land-cover class from the master image to the destination one; and (3) rapid changes in the reflectance of the Earth's objects are usually related to anthropogenic activities. This technique is used to identify and assess changes along the coast of Hurghada and Ras Abu Soma, the Red Sea. Results indicate serious human impacts and the necessity for control measures and monitoring. Recommendations are presented [5]. The rapid urban development of the Hurghada area began in early 1980 to build villages and huge tourist resorts and this has continued urban development and subsequent land filling and dredging of the shoreline and the destruction of coral so far. These coastal developments have led to an increase in shoreline land filling and dredging. Despite all the environmental laws of the organization to reduce infringement on the shoreline, the abuses are still ongoing. Change detection analysis using remote sensing is a very good tool to monitor the changes condition in urban development and shoreline. Four sensors was used in this study, three of them are, Landsat Multispectral Scanner (Landsat 1 MSS), Landsat Thematic Mapper (Landsat 5 TM), Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (Landsat 7 ETM+) and the another one is SPOT XS 4 (Originally Système Probatoire de l’Observation de la Terre), acquired during 1972, 1984, 1992, 2004 and 2011, respectively, were used to detect and evaluate Hurghada’s urban expansion and shoreline changes. After the images have been geometrically, radio-metrically and atmospherically corrected using ENVI 5.0 software, the digital number was transformed to the reflectance values and the images were ready to change detection process with the integration of geographic information system using Arc GIS 10 software. The results show that changes during the 39 years of the shoreline is 6.29 km2, (5.65 km2 accretion and 0.64 km2 erosion) and urban development is 16.47 km2 the road network is the 8.738 km2.

The rapid urban development in the Hurghada area since the 1980s has dramatically enhanced the potential impact of human activities. To inventory and monitor this urban development effectively, remote sensing provides a viable source of data from which updated land cover information can be extracted efficiently and cheaply. In this study, data from three satellite datasets, Landsat Thematic Mapper (Landsat 5 TM), Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (Landsat 7 ETM+) and Terra/Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER), acquired during 1987, 2000 and 2005, respectively, were used to detect and evaluate Hurghada's urban expansion. Five change detection techniques were tested to detect areas of change. The techniques considered were image differencing, image ratioing, image overlay, multidate principal component analysis (PCA) and post-classification comparison. The post-classification comparison was found to be the most accurate procedure and produced three land use/land cover (LULC) maps of the years 1987, 2000 and 2005 with overall accuracies of 87.8%, 88.9% and 92.0%, respectively. The urban expansion analysis revealed that the built-up area has expanded by 40 km2 in 18 years (1987–2005). In addition, 4.5 km2 of landfill/sedimentation was added to the sea as a result of the coastal urban development and tourist activities. The booming coastal tourism and population pressure were considered to be the main factors driving this expansion, and some natural and artificial constraints constrained the physical shape of the city. The expansion is represented by urban fringe development, linear, infill and isolated models. Topography, lithology and structures were also analysed as possible factors that influenced the expansion. The understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of Hurghada's urban expansion is the cornerstone for formulating a view about the future urban uses and for making the best use of the limited resources that are available [1]. A Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) image of 1987 and a Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) image of 2000 were used to examine changes in land use/land cover (LULC) around Hurghada, Egypt, and changes in the composition of coral reefs offshore. Prior to coral reef bottom type classification, the radiance values were transformed to depth invariant bottom indices to reduce the effect of the water column. Subsequently, a multi component change detection procedure was applied to these indices to define changes. Preliminary results showed significant changes in LULC during the period 1987–2000 as well as changes in coral reef composition. Direct impacts along the coastline were clearly shown, but it was more difficult to link offshore changes in coral reef composition to indirect impacts of the changing LULC. Further research is needed to explore the effects of the different image processing steps, and to discover possible links between indirect impacts of LULC changes and changes in the coral reef composition [2]. Knowledge and detecting impacts of human activities on the coastal ecosystem is an essential management requirement and also very important for future and proper planning of coastal areas. Moreover, documentation of these impacts can help in increasing public awareness about side effects of unsustainable practices. Analysis of multidate remote sensing data can be used as an effective tool in environmental impact assessment (EIA). Being synoptic and frequent in coverage, multidate data from Landsat and other satellites provide a reference record and bird’s eye viewing to the environmental situation of the coastal ecosystem and the associated habitats. Furthermore, integration of satellite data with field observations and background information can help in decision if a certain activity has caused deterioration to a specific habitat or not. The present paper is an attempt to utilize remote sensing data for assessment impacts of some human activities on the major sensitive habitats of the north western Egyptian Red Sea coastal zone, definitely between Ras Gemsha and Safaga. Through multidate change analysis of Landsat data (TM & ETM+ sensors), it was possible to depict some of the human infringements in the area and to provide, in some cases, exclusive evidences for the damaging effect of some developmental activities [3]. The coastline of Hurghada has experienced considerable environmental stress from tourist and residential recreational activities. Uncontrolled tourist development has already caused substantial damage to inshore reefs and imbalance in the hydrodynamic pattern of the coastal sediments. The objective of this paper is to investigate environmental changes using multitemporal, multispectral satellite data to identify changes at Hurghada caused by anthropogenic influences. Major detected changes include resort beaches, protection structures and landfill areas; these changes are mainly due to human intervention. Two Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images acquired in 1984 and 1997 are used for this analysis. The landfill areas formed during this period are calculated at about 2.15 Km2 . Whilst landfill creates new inexpensive land and improves access to the sea for tourists, it is the cause of environmental problems. In addition, land-use/land-cover and beach changes are determined over the 13-year period [4]. The Red Sea coastal zone is characterized by its sensitive, fragile, unique natural resources and habitats. In the Hurghada coastal region, major changes in the tourism industry have taken place in the last few decades. The detection of environmental changes, in a selected site of the Red Sea coastal zone, will be helpful to protect and develop this coastal environment. A methodology for separating natural and man-made changes in satellite images was developed. It was based on the following assumptions: (1) slow changes, which occur within the range of the class reflectance, represent a natural change rather than an anthropogenic one; (2) natural changes tend to be in the same land-use/land-cover class in each date, i.e. slow changes in the reflectance, not leading to changes in the type of land-use/land-cover class from the master image to the destination one; and (3) rapid changes in the reflectance of the Earth's objects are usually related to anthropogenic activities. This technique is used to identify and assess changes along the coast of Hurghada and Ras Abu Soma, the Red Sea. Results indicate serious human impacts and the necessity for control measures and monitoring. Recommendations are presented [5]. The rapid urban development of the Hurghada area began in early 1980 to build villages and huge tourist resorts and this has continued urban development and subsequent land filling and dredging of the shoreline and the destruction of coral so far. These coastal developments have led to an increase in shoreline land filling and dredging. Despite all the environmental laws of the organization to reduce infringement on the shoreline, the abuses are still ongoing. Change detection analysis using remote sensing is a very good tool to monitor the changes condition in urban development and shoreline. Four sensors was used in this study, three of them are, Landsat Multispectral Scanner (Landsat 1 MSS), Landsat Thematic Mapper (Landsat 5 TM), Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (Landsat 7 ETM+) and the another one is SPOT XS 4 (Originally Système Probatoire de l’Observation de la Terre), acquired during 1972, 1984, 1992, 2004 and 2011, respectively, were used to detect and evaluate Hurghada’s urban expansion and shoreline changes. After the images have been geometrically, radio-metrically and atmospherically corrected using ENVI 5.0 software, the digital number was transformed to the reflectance values and the images were ready to change detection process with the integration of geographic information system using Arc GIS 10 software. The results show that changes during the 39 years of the shoreline is 6.29 km2, (5.65 km2 accretion and 0.64 km2 erosion) and urban development is 16.47 km2 the road network is the 8.738 km2.