The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1916-07-25
ANCIENT Ell AR|SH
WAR REEVES INTEREST IN CITY
ALMOST FORGOTTEN.
Centuries Ago 1t Was One of the Most
Prominent Fortified Places In the
East-Was Captured by
Napoleon.

El Arish, one of the worlds for
gotten places until the English bonn
barded it short time ago, is the sub
ject of a war geography bulletin is
sued by the National Geographic So
ciety. With its large square fort and
battlemented walls, FL AriSh presents
much more formidable and imposing
appearance, viewed from the Mediter-
ranean to the north and from the Des-
ert et-Tih TO the south, than it's inn
portance has warranted in recent
years. Formerly populous hating
place for the numerous caravans fol-
lowing the short desert route" from
Egypt to Syria, its trade has waned
materially since the completion of
modern railway connections with Jaf-
fa, Port Said and Alexandria. The
town clingS to the banks of the Wad-
aiel-AriSh, a stream which becomes
small torrent after every rain. 1t is
more than 100 miles southwest of Je-
rusalem and slightly shorter dis
lance from the Suez canal, which lies
TO the west
The recent hostilities in this area
revive IA host of historical associations
dating as far back as the time of the
PharaOhS, when this town was a place
of exile for political prisoners, its an
cient name being Rhinokolura. It's
present name is supposed to be de-
rived from the custom which obtained
here of cutting off the noses" of male
factors whose death sentence had
been cummuted.
Some 80 miles to the east of Ell
Arish, on the Egyptian-Syrian bound
airy, lies ancient Rhaphia, now called
Er-Rafa, where Josephus tells us that
the Roman conqueror Titus made his
first stop on his march against Jeru-
salem. Here also Sargon over
whelmed the Egyptians in the eighth
century before the Christian era, and
800 years later there was fought on
the same sands the famous battle be-
tween Ptolemy Philopator and Anti
Ochus, when the charging elephants of
both armies played such n spectacular
role. OF these great beasts which
had been introduced into Syrian and
Greek warfare after AIexander's con-
quests in India, much was expected.
The battle opened with trumpeting
dash of the opposing armOred noun
tainS of flesh. Ptolemy'S forces com
manding 70 of the terror-inspiring
chargers, while AntiochuS sent into the
fray 102. With the first onslaught
practically all of Ptolemy's elephants
were captured, yet he won the day.
Ell Arish fell before Napoleon's
Egyptian army in September, 1898, the
credit for the city's fall being given
to Frances great general, Kleber COM
mander Of the vanguard which also
seized Jaffa and GAIA. 1t was dur
ing this campaign that Napoleon COM
mitted the great atrocity at Jaffa,
shooting those prisoners whom he
could neither guard nor feed, yet
whom he feared to release. After Ma
poleOn's departure kleber concluded a
convention at Eel Arish with the Eng
liSh admiral Sir William Sidney
Smith, whereby the French were to be
allowed to capitulate and were to re-
ceive safe transport back to France.
This agreement was revoked by Lord
Keith, however. Whereupon Kleber,
with 10000 men, marched to HeliopO-
lis and administered a crushing defeat
to the Turks, who outnumbered him
six to one. Had not fanatic assas-
Sinated the great French tactician, on
the day that Napoleon won the battle
Of MarengO, the fate of French arms
in Egypt might have been different.
The Admiral Smith whose agree
ment with Kleber was disallOwed was
the same British officer who had
caused the signal defeat of Napoleon
before the walls of Acre, a relief work
for which grateful parliament voted
him an annuity Of 1000.
In the center of the town Of Ell Arish
is q granite wall with an inscription
in heiroglyphics perpetuating Curl
Gus legend about the Egyptian god
Shu A short distance beyond the
walls the traveller is shown the ruins
Of the building in which Baldwin /,
one of the Crusader kings of Jeru-
salem, died in 111S after an unsuccess-
full attack on Egypt.