\nThe fortieth anniversary of October\u2019s victory is very special; for the number 40 has special symbols, it is a holy number as Moses the Prophet had fasted for 40 days before receiving the Commandments written with the finger of God. When Elijah the Prophet fled from the unjust King Ahab, he fasted for 40 days before being able to speak with God. After 40 years, the Egyptian army managed to keep Egypt safe!<\/strong><\/span>
\nSo, celebrating the anniversary of October\u2019s victory 1973, we express felicitations to every Egyptian who is proud of his great loyal army, which exerts every effort, sweat and blood for the sake of its country. We also felicitate all the army commanders, officers, soldiers, headed by Colonel General Abdel Fattah al Sisi, the General Leader of Egyptian Armed Force, the Minister of Defence and Military Production.<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Egyptian army is the oldest regular army in the world; it is described as a school of noble human values in the times of peace as well as war. Along its history, Egypt\u2019s army has achieved great victories in the fierce battles it has engaged in; its men has attracted the attention of the world towards the Egyptian\u2019s fighting skills and proud soul which can sacrifice life as a ransom for Egypt\u2019s dust.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nStations from the Memory of History<\/strong><\/span> \nThe army and the Unification and Protection of the Country<\/strong><\/span> \nThe Expulsion of the Hyksos from Egypt<\/strong><\/span> \nThe Battle of Megiddo<\/strong><\/span> \nThe Battle of Kadesh<\/strong><\/span> \nThe Battle of Raphia<\/strong><\/span> \nThe Battle of Hattin<\/strong><\/span> \nThe Battle of Mansoura<\/strong><\/span> \nThe Battle of Ain Jalut<\/strong><\/span> Egypt\u2019s Army in the Modern Age<\/strong><\/span> \u00a0<\/span> \nLessons Learnt from Great October<\/strong><\/span> \nThe General Bishop<\/strong><\/span> \n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u0645\u0642\u0627\u0644 \u0645\u0635\u0631 \u0627\u0644\u062d\u0644\u0648\u0629 <\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u2013<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0\u201d\u0627\u0644\u062c\u064a\u0640\u0634 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0650\u0635\u0640\u0631\u064a\u0651 \u0639\u0640\u0644\u0627\u0645\u0640\u0629 \u0645\u0636\u064a\u0626\u0629\u201d<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \u062c\u0631\u064a\u062f\u0629 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0635\u0631\u064a \u0627\u0644\u064a\u0648\u0645 \u2013 6 \u0623\u0643\u062a\u0648\u0628\u0631 2013\u0645<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0646\u0628\u0627 \u0625\u0631\u0645\u064a\u0627 \u2013 \u0627\u0644\u0623\u0633\u0642\u0641 \u0627\u0644\u0639\u0627\u0645 \u0648\u0631\u0626\u064a\u0633 \u0627\u0644\u0645\u0631\u0643\u0632 \u0627\u0644\u062b\u0642\u0627\u0641\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0642\u0628\u0637\u064a \u0627\u0644\u0623\u062b\u0648\u0630\u0643\u0633\u064a<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19638,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2688","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2688"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2688"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2688\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86561,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2688\/revisions\/86561"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2688"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2688"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/copticocc.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2688"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nAt the times of war, the Pharaoh of Egypt resorted to call on the soldiers of the rulers of Egypt\u2019s provinces to compose an army led by a head appointed by him in order to accomplish a specific task upon which ending the army would be dispersed again.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nHistory stops at the first station of the Egyptian army heroism; in its wars to unite the country under the leadership of the Pharaonic King Menes, the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt in 3200 B.C. The kings of Egypt were keen to record the battles they fought for their country and their victories on the walls of the temples and on the obelisks; so we see the Unification of Egypt engraved on the stone of Narmer. The army has performed one of its finest national roles to attain the unity of the country into a central Egyptian state.<\/strong><\/span>
\nKing Djoser, the founder of the third Pharaonic dynasty, managed to protect Egypt\u2019s borders from the Bedouin\u2019s raids through dividing Egypt\u2019s borders into sections which he called \u201cthe Gates of the Kingdom\u201d; he built a fortress in each section to protect it, and built up a regular trained army under his command.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe train of history takes us to stop at a decisive battle for the Egyptian army with some Asian tribes, which infiltrated inside across Sinai, dwelt in the Delta and were known as the Hyksos. They occupied the city of Avaris, making it their capital. It also occupied the city of Memphis, and ruled the country for nearly 150 years \u2013 for the first time through history.<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Pharaohs were concentrated in the city of Thebes, in preparation for getting armed to free the country. At the time of the seventeenth dynasty, under the reign of King Seqenenre Tao \u2013 when Thebes began to be fortified- wars broke out against the Hyksos. Seqenenre Tao achieved some success in his fight against the Hyksos, yet he died after a short while to be succeeded by his oldest son Camus to rule over Thebes. Camus continued the struggle to expel the Hyksos. The Hyksos were finally eliminated in Egypt by Ahmos I, who expelled them from the country and followed them to Syria.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThutmose III was an extraordinarily brilliant military man; he had an incomparable firm military character \u2013 which he acquired through committing to military exercised \u2013 that he was titled \u201cThe Father of Empires\u201d and \u201cThe First Emperor in History\u201d. His name is connected to the Battle of Megiddo as he used unprecedented military plans and maneuvers; like the sudden attack which triggers disturbance of the enemy, making them losing their balance and hindering their movements, leading the scene into great victory. One of the historians spoke of Egypt during his era, saying, \u201cThere is no power on earth that can face the Egyptian army which has received excellent military training and achieved victory under the leadership of a brilliant king, he is the great Pharaoh of Egypt Thutmose III<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nA luminous station of the Egyptian army\u2019s history that we should stop at is the Battle of Kadesh, led by King Ramesses II against the Hittites, aiming at destroying the Asian alliances which threaten Egypt\u2019s safety and security. King Ramesses II managed to turn the defeat into victory thanks to the great army of Egypt. The first peace treaty in the world was signed between the victorious Egyptian army and the Hittite army.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe Ptolemaic Rule of Egypt was a witness on the Egyptian soldier\u2019s excelling bravery; Ptolemy IV had prepared an army to fight with Anticus who wanted to raid on Egypt. He trained Egyptian citizens on war arts and weapons carrying according to the Ancient Greek methods after a period of negligence to the Egyptian soldier. The two armies met at Raphia, where the battle began, and the left wing of the Ptolemaic army was broken; this was consisted of mercenaries. Ptolemy moved to the core of the army to lead it on his own, and the capabilities of the Egyptian fighter, the son of the Nile, manifested in dispersing the armies of the enemy, and achieving glory to his people.<\/strong><\/span>
\nWith this Egyptian made victory, the Egyptian soldier began to feel his pride, capabilities and firmness. Here, I quote the historian Selim Hassan\u2019s words, extracted from his historian encyclopedia: \u201cSince the victory achieved by the Egyptian army in Raphia, the Egyptian national element has proved its existence on the pages of history before the Ancient Greeks.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nAnother luminous image of the Egyptian army heroism attracts our sights. The army has always embarked upon defending Egypt and any assault against the Arab region. In the Battle of Hattin, the Egyptian army played a prominent role in restoring Jerusalem from the Crusaders\u2019 invasion led by the champion leader Salah ad-Din Al Ayyubi. The Egyptian army was the source of the Arab armies\u2019 strength.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nWhen the enemy realized the power of Egypt, it finds no way towards victory except defeating Egypt first. The Battle of Mansoura was one of the attempts to attack Egypt. The French king, Louis IX, came with his fleet to invade Egypt. No sooner had his ships docked than the Egyptians attacked their strongholds and defeated them bitterly. The French troops landed in Damietta heading to Cairo. In Mansoura, the Egyptian forces led by Aqtai and joined by the citizens, faced altogether the enemy in one of the fiercest battles and defeated the enemy heavily. Louis IX escaped to Damietta, but he was captured there.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe tyrant Genghis Khan made bloody conquests that reached the heart of Europe. His son succeeded him in the rule, yet he invaded Iran, Baghdad, Gaza and then Egypt with his armies. He challenged Egypt\u2019s Sultan then Qutuz who accepted the challenge of the Tatars. Ain Jalut had witnessed a new Egyptian legend written by its champion army.<\/strong><\/span>
\nDespite the military skills of the Tatars, the Egyptian army\u2019s skills, accompanied by unique wisdom and bravery \u2013 flowing from deep love for Egypt \u2013 had surpassed the enemy\u2019s skills, and thus, Egypt became the first country to defeat the Tatars.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe Battle of October\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>
\nLuminous pages and stations of the Egyptian army\u2019s history follow, it refused to surrender to the defeat in 1967, which let Sinai be occupied. No sooner had few years passed, than Egypt gave a strong reply to Israel in 1973 to restore its lands.<\/strong><\/span>
\nWar began with the Egyptian army\u2019s sudden attack on the Israeli troops in Sinai \u2013 and in Golan Heights by the Syrian army \u2013 drawing a new dawn of freedom thanks to the Egyptian army\u2019s bravery.<\/strong><\/span>
\nAt 14:00 on the afternoon of Saturday, October 6th, 1973 \u2013 which coincided with the 10th of Ramadan 1393 AH, and with the Jewish Yom Kippur, the Egyptian Air Forces launched a sudden air strike on Israeli targets behind the Suez Canal, targeting: distortion and jamming stations, air defense batteries, individuals assemblies, armors, tanks, artillery, fortified points in the Bar Lev line, oil refineries and ammunition stores. Egyptian soldiers crossed the Suez Canal, while the Egyptian Engineer Corps created breaches in the sand wall high-rushing powerful hoses.<\/strong><\/span>
\nOne of the most important consequences of the war was restoring Egypt\u2019s full sovereignty over the Suez Canal, restoring Sinai Peninsula, and destroying the legend of the invincible Israeli army and the invincible Bar Lev line. US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger served as a mediator between the two sides; he reached a truce agreement and then a full comprehensive peace treaty at Camp David in 1979.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nJune 30<\/strong><\/span>
\nThe Egyptian army has not ceased to support its people and to play its heroic role in raising its will. June 30, 2013 came with the people revolting, announcing their will to restore the power from President Mohamed Morsi. The army adopted a neutral stance in order to be definite of the real tendency of the people, considering it an order and entrustment received to take action. When more than 33 million Egyptians demonstrated in demand for change, the armed forces, led by its General Commander, Colonel General, and Defense Minister Mohamed Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, sided with the people to fulfill their demand, protecting the nation, and bearing full responsibility for the sake of the homeland. Thus, the army gave \u2013 and still gives- a new lesson to the world on how patriotism should be.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe great October victory gives us lessons engraved in the history; the faith of Egyptians and their power in defending their right and homeland were revealed. Despite the setback of June 1967 and its subsequent storms, the victory of October gave us a true picture of the Egyptian soldier\u2019s persistence and perseverance in restoring the freedom of its homeland. It is a message for each Egyptian: \u201cDo not get desperate\u201d Behind the cloud, the sun will inevitably shine.<\/strong><\/span>
\nChallenge as well \u2013 challenging the impossibilities \u2013 is a trait of the real Egyptian; since there was an invincible line, an invincible army, invincible events, and invincible… etc, therefore there is also an invincible Egyptian!<\/strong><\/span>
\nHave trust O Egyptian that you can overcome the difficulties you face, and even what is deemed impossible; when you inspire your strength from Egypt\u2019s history \u2026. While it engages with you in endless stories!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n
\nHead of Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.almasryalyoum.com\/\/sites\/default\/files\/imagecache\/thumb_115_140\/lnb_rmy.jpg\")
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