The Western Front in Egypt: British fears for the Senussiyya in the Western Desert 1915-1917

This lecture will be hosted on Monday, 17 February 2025 at 7:00 pm.

The many graffiti preserved on the archaeological monuments in the oases of Kharga and Dakhla show that British and Egyptian soldiers were active in this region at the time of the First World War. The graffiti relate to the Senussi Campaign, a largely forgotten story of the fight against a Libyan Sufi Order that became popular in the Egyptian oasis communities in the second half of the 19th century. The Senussiyya came to be seen as a threat to the British occupation of Egypt. The British army fought battles against this largely Bedouin Order and they tried to contain the movement and even bomb it. This lecture presents an overview of this part of Egypt’s modern history, presented in memory of Fred Leemhuis.

About the speaker

Olaf Kaper is Professor of Egyptology at Leiden University, specialized in the New Kingdom to Greek and Roman Periods. An expert in the fields of Egyptian religion, iconography and cultural history, he furthermore excavates in Berenike and in the Dakhla Oasis.

Attention!

The lecture starts at 7 pm. The number of seats is limited and we work on a first-come, first-served basis. We open our doors at 6:30 and close them at 7:15 or earlier in case the lecture room reaches its full capacity. This talk will not be recorded nor livestreamed.