Sultanate of Mit Ghamr

In 1882, Britain occupied Egypt under the pretext of protecting its interests after Egypt failed to repay debts that began under Sa'id Pasha and worsened under Isma'il Pasha. In 1914, Britain deposed Abbas II and appointed Hussein Kamel as an independent Sultan under British protection, ending the Egyptian Khedivate, which had been under Ottoman control. The new government and subsequent administrations consisted of weak or fully pro-British figures. This led local populations in several cities to establish their own self-governing administrations to resist British rule. These separatist governments were part of a wider popular uprising movement, especially following the exile of Saad Zaghlul and his colleagues to Malta in 1919.^[1][2][3]

Following the 1919 revolution, the city of Mit Ghamr declared its independence from the Egyptian Sultanate, then ruled by Sultan Fuad I, and formed a political entity known as the "Sultanate of Mit Ghamr." Ahmed Bey Abdo was chosen as its sultan, and students from secondary and higher schools who had not been arrested, along with a number of workers, were appointed to the National Guard, while a local government was formed from notables. During this period, the city's district officer, Omar Bey Wahbi, and his men remained in their homes.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

The city witnessed daily demonstrations, the first of which was led by lawyers Mahmoud Hosni and Andrawes Rizk, and agricultural engineer Saad Youssef Saad, in front of the district building. During the demonstration, one of the participants began chanting "Long live independence!" and the crowds followed suit. The leaders of the demonstration mounted their horses and paraded through the city streets. The city streets witnessed demonstrations in which Muslims and Christians participated together. The aim of the demonstrations was to strengthen national unity among Egyptians of different sects and foreigners residing in Mit Ghamr, at a time when sectarian tensions had persisted since 1910, following Ibrahim al-Wardani's assassination of Prime Minister Boutros Ghali Pasha, in addition to the Coptic Congress in Assiut and its counterpart, the Islamic Congress in Heliopolis in 1911, and other events. Later, students from Mit Ghamr learned that a group of their fellow townsmen were on a boat bound for Mansoura. They waited for them, singing the "Anthem of Freedom," which begins:^[4][5]

"Messenger of peace to Egypt,

Spread goodness for us in the East,

Scatter flowers for us in the streets,

Nay, let the world rejoice with glad tidings."

Workers from the Mit Ghamr Locomotive and Vehicle Repair Center, which employed around 500 workers, When the revolution broke out, all these workers went on strike. Despite the British manager's threat of dismissal, they continued their strike. Part of the center had been converted into a war production facility for the British armies in the Middle East during World War I, where the workers manufactured hand grenades for the British forces. They later joined the demonstrations with the crowds. Before each demonstration, a message was addressed to the crowd, emphasizing the national character of the protest and warning against any sectarian or racist behavior, which would be considered a betrayal of the movement.  After each demonstration, a preparatory meeting for the next demonstration was held in Al-Ghamri Mosque and a Coptic church, to ensure coordination among the participants.^[4][5]

The residents gathered in one of the churches. After the sheikh of the Al-Ghamri Mosque delivered a sermon and embraced the priest, the priest then gave his own sermon. Following this, nineteen-year-old Coptic medical student Aryan Youssef Saad addressed the congregation, stating that their marches through the streets of Mit Ghamr were futile, that the threat of British soldiers and their occupation of the city remained, and that if they came, they would arrive by train. Therefore, the demonstrations should be transformed into action to prevent the British from entering the city by cutting the railway. His speech concluded with applause from all those present and chants of support for Egypt, Saad Zaghlul, and freedom. At midnight, workshop workers, led by Aryan Youssef Saad, began cutting railway tracks along a stretch of about 8 kilometers from the city, starting from the village of Mit Al-Qurashi, The workers divided themselves into groups, each group using wrenches to loosen the bolts that connected the rails to the sleepers. It wasn't long before the first rail was pulled out, and they tossed each one into a nearby field. This process was repeated, and the rails continued to be pulled out one after another until the first light of dawn appeared. The following night, the same operation was carried out again.^[4][5][6]

On March 21, 1919, an Australian patrol departed Zagazig at 5:15 a.m. and arrived at the workshops on the eastern side of Mit Ghamr around 12:00 p.m. Their objective was to assess the situation following escalating unrest in the area. The patrol found a British officer and eighteen other officers, along with technicians working in the military workshops and some foreign workers, both English and Greek. The British officer reported a state of extreme anxiety in and around Mit Ghamr, where hostile demonstrations had taken place. These demonstrations had culminated in the complete destruction of three carriages from the workshops, as well as damage to telegraph lines and the perimeter fences. Upon the patrol's arrival, several Turkish flags were observed being lowered from buildings within the city. On the morning of March 22, the patrol departed Mit Ghamr by train, and Turkish flags were again observed flying in the city. The report concluded by stating the need to send a strong force to the area to establish rules regulating the behavior of the population and to enforce obedience, with the aim of quelling the unrest in Mit Ghamr.^[9][10]

When the British train reached the village of Mit al-Qurashi on its way to Mit Ghamr on March 23, the soldiers were surprised to find a cut in the railway track. Believing the train to be under ambush, they opened fire on a funeral procession heading from the village to the cemetery. The incident resulted in eighteen deaths, among them was the son of the village mayor, and a number of others, including women, were injured. At noon, a guard from Mit al-Qurashi arrived in Mit Ghamr and reported the incident to the police station. The district doctor and the district officer traveled to the village by car, and the doctor authorized the burial of the dead. The people of the city did not attempt to block the railway again. The British military authorities, in their official report, indicated that Mit Ghamr, along with Zefta and Mit al-Qurashi, remained a center of rebellion and unrest.^{[11][4][5][12]}