World Tour: The Pharaonic Revival

America is a very large place, and so in the New Middle Ages, the collapse saw its subregions lean into their more distinc idenities. In the Old World, reliving its old Middle Ages, the borders weren't always particularly big, so they embraced national identities that already existed. You also see this trend throughout Muslim countries who have largely drifted away from any dream of a Pan-Arabic Caliphate, at this point too many centuries of conflicting doctrine, too many cultures under the fold of Islan.

The New Kingdom did not occupy the minds of Medieval Egyptians. Why would it have? They were a conquered power under just like they were under the Roman, the Greeks, the Persians, and would be under the Ottomans and the Brits. But the dawn of the 20th century saw three major events: Dependence and self-governance, the discovery of the Rosetta Stone, and relatedly, aforementioned Europeans digging up their stuff and putting it in their own museums. This led to a movement known as Pharaonism, a sense of national identity, and continuity with one of the oldest civilizations on the planet. Over the next century there been tension between this nationalism and being part of the greater Muslim society. However, Egypt being ruled by Egyptians after so long was just not something they were going to let get away from them. Time had taught them, like a lead in a romantic comedy, if they didn’t claim Ancient Egypt, somebody else would.  

 Also, the collapse of industrialization saw a real back to basics approach to infrastructure, agriculture and healthcare. And you can’t go much further back than Ancient Egypt. Shadufs and saqiyas were low tech answers to harnessing the Nile River, and even ancient herbal remedies and dental practices that were advanced for the time but could do in a pinch instilled a reverence for this ancient civilization.

There are no Pharaohs, nobody worships Anubis. In fact, something like the Golden Parade in 2021 would be out of the question. But Pharonic motifs abound throughout the cities. Lotus columns and Obelisks surround libraries, market plazas, various “tourist destinations”. The silhouettes are firmly halal, but do evoke the kings and queens of old. Hieroglyphs surround wrap around clothing an architecture, Repoussé  jewelry, sometimes depicting animal heads (abstract enough to not to be controversial, and positioned as the clasp to be functional), as well as scarabs and wings are very common.

Perhaps the greatest outlet for New Kingdom romanticism is in their games and sport—real state sanctioned frivolity. Children are taught to play Senet, and wrestling (itself encouraged by the Prophet Mohammad, within reason), and of course, chariots, both racing and archery. Though more popular in Roman times, the arenas, the uniforms, and the chariots themselves really allow them to fully embrace the pomp of Ancient Egypt, and well as serve as a unifying space for the citizens, from all backgrounds.
 It’s very important for everyone to be on team Egypt, so the regimes try to take a page from an-Andulis, allowing for a certain degree of protection from institutionalized persecution upon its Coptic population. These People of the Book are themselves part of Egypt’s long history, and it’s important all Egyptians put up a united front, especially the tax paying ones.