SUEZ CANAL, connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, was constructed in the middle of the 19th century, having been projected and its works superintended by Count Ferdinand de Lesseps, a native of France. Rameses the Great constructed a canal from the Nile at Bubastes, which reached to the neighbourhood of the lake Timsah. Upon this canal Rameses built his strong towns, Pithon and Rameses, and Israelites were employed in building these cities. This canal was constructed to prevent the passage of the horses of the Hyksos for the purpose of plundering Egyptian territory, and it was cer tainly completed in the 14th century B.C., and was in use at the time of Herodotus. Necho, a king of Egypt, who reigned about 600 years B.C., is said to have commanded some Phwnicians to sail from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, round the Cape of Good Hope,—a voyage which they accomplished iu two years. If the Phoeni cians really did complete the voyage, they antici pated the discovery made by the Portuguese about 2000 years after. Necho entertained the idea of connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas, and with this view he commenced extending the canal of Rameses, though .he succeeded in his design only in extending it as far as the 13itter Lakes.
About 100 years later, Egypt fell under the kings of Persia, and Darius determined upon completing the projects of Sesostris and Necho by digging a canal between the Red Sea and the Nile; but, being assured by the engineers of the period that the Red Sea was higher than the Nile, and that its salt water would overflow and ruin the whole land of Egypt, he abandoned his purpose.
The next king of Egypt who gave his attention to the construction of a Suez Canal wa3 Ptolemy Philadelphus, who reigned about 300 years B.C. He dug a canal from a branch of the Nile to Damietta, a port on the Mediterranean. This canal was 100 feet broad, 30 feet deep, and 10 or 12 leagues in length, extending, in fact, to the Bitter Wells. He meant to have continued it to the Red Sea, but desisted from fear that the Red Sea was three cubits higher than the land of Egypt. That this canal, though deeper than that
of M. de Lesseps, did not succeed, is evident from the fact that in B.C. 277 Ptolemy Philadelphus changed the direction of Indian traffic. Alex andria was now made the port on the Mediter ranean side, and merchandise from Europe wag carried thence up the Nile to the city of Coptus (probably near Keneh), and conveyed across the desert from thence to the seaport of Myos-Hormos (probably near Cosseir) on the Red Sea. On account of the dangers attending this port, Phil adelphus sent an army to construct the haven of Berenice, in which the ships engaged in Indian commerce took shelter. Trade increased ener inously by the new route, and Alexandria became rich and famous. The father of Cleopatra received a prodigious revenue from customs %lone. After the reduction of Egypt and Alexandria by the Romans, the trade increased still further. 120 ships were sent yearly from the Red Sea to India, sailing about the middle of July, and returning within the year. The returns on this Indian trade are said to have amounted to 'an hundred for one,' and through this increase of wealth the matrons and noble ladies of Alexandria were exceedingly profuse in decorating themselves with pearls and precious stones, and enhanced their personal charms by the use of musk and amber, and other rich perfumes.
Soon after this the mighty Roman Empire fell, and history itself is blotted out for a number of years. Not only the trade with India, but India itself, was completely lost to the western world. When, after some centuries, we find the Genoese engaging in commerce and navigation, a new trade route had been opened up between India, and Europe.
The design, so long imacrined, of connecting. the Mediterranean and the ReSSea by a canal, remained unaccomplished, till M. de Lesseps brought his wonderful engineering skill and perseverance to bear upon the work, and the Suez Canal was opened for navigation 17th November 1869.