Chariots of the Kingdom of Two Lands

Salvete Omnes,
Spring is here, Baroque horses and Polish winged hussars can wait for another day, so today we are traveling to the New Kingdom of Two Lands or Aegyptus ( the ancient Greek name for the kingdom of the Nile valley, used in Odyssey by Homer,  orAigyptos - Αἴγυπτος ).
these energetic ancient Hellenes had settled as traders and mercenary soldiers in Egypt in Late Bronze Age/early Iron Age, and eventually after the Macedonian conquest of the Achaemenid satrapy of Egypt they had ruled the land of the Nile for centuries  before the Octavian's Roman legions came and put an end to the Macedonian dynasty and ushered in 6 centuries of Roman rule, eventually the conversion to Christianity and the birth of Coptic  nation  ( presently in danger of being obliterated in post-1952  Republic of Egypt that is mostly Arabic and Islamic in culture and religion; nota bene I know quite of few Copts in the US and Canada and hear  their stories).
Just a little post to signal my interest (and hopefully yours, dear traveler) in the beauty of the chariot horse and the chariot itself, instruments of war from before.
so here below we have a few images of great warrior  pharaoh of the XIX Dynasty  Ramses II (who was a fair-haired or reddish-blond man, as his surviving mummy shows  ) war exploits and leadership,

always most resplendent and bellicose when riding in his chariot, with his trusted bows and arrows in hand, javelins and deadly  khopesh sword resting near.

also this beauty of sumptuous art, for it is a ring with chariot horses from Ramses II (held at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France)

enjoy
ps
all images are from Wiki Commons

French army as saviors in Syria and Lebanon 1860AD

Salve,

almost 157 years ago French emperor Napoleon III sent his troops to save the Christians in Ottoman province of Syria (including Lebanon,) where they were under the direct  assault from their  Druze feudal lords and also local Muslim population as well as the Bedouins and marauding Kurds, trying in vain to protect their own villages and towns ( article from 1860 New York Times ). Historic image of the French troops marching to Damascus. Two books from the period - from 1860 and 1885.

There is some interesting artwork from the era

emir Abdelkader (full name Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine ) ,

an Algerian warlord living in exile in the Ottoman Empire, played a heroic role in saving many Christians (and Europeans) from massacre in Damascus - his letter from 1860 AD - eventually he was praised by the Western leaders for his gallant conduct,  including our president Abraham Lincoln, who gave him these pistols

Perhaps our Western democracies should protect the Christians in Egypt by showing some muscle (we pay so much in our taxes for the military) - the last massacre of the Coptic pilgrims (many children like in Manchester ), including these 8 pilgrims from Illinois, USA, was most heinous.
eh...

New Lubieszow 1577 book

Salve,
last month I finished the series of plates for the new edition of '' Lubieszów 17 IV 1577'' (the battle of Lubieszow 17th April 1577) written, or re-written by Radek Sikora.

The new edition (the 1st one was published by Infort Editions in 2007) is to be published by Erica has been updated with more primary sources,  especially a Latin source first time translated into Polish,  and other stuff (I admit I have not read this new one yet), and will contain some 26 black and white plates drawn by yours truly with the Gdansk and Royal soldiers (some plates consist of the older illustrations already published in 2007 but remastered and with additional drawings or details from period prints on each plate).
 The battle is famous in the history of the winged hussars, but also in the history of the Polish-Hungarian hajduk infantry.

I am not sure when the book will be released in Poland,  it was supposed to have been released on or about the battle anniversary - April 17,  but it may be delayed. I will share the info about the release date as soon as I will have known it.

also my never-ending Ottoman delil sketch, a version in progress of sorts

enjoy
ps
The Coptic Christians in Egypt were murderously attacked last Sunday which was the Palm Sunday. US and EU media   etc offered little if any mention about the atrocity carried out by the Daesh/ISIS and their henchmen.
Piers Morgan posed a question, on Fox News, why the coverage was so timid