Archives and Special Collections: Abbas Hilmi II Papers: Home

Among the rich archival resources at Durham University Library is the collection of Abbas Hilmi II (1874-1944), the last Khedive of Egypt (1892-1914), whose papers provide excellent research material on political, social, economic and cultural affairs in Egypt in the late 19^th and first half of the 20^th centuries, the British in Egypt and, to a lesser extent, the Sudan, and Egypt's relations with Britain, Turkey and the rest of Europe. The archive principally covers the period from the mid-19^th Century up until the death of Abbas Hilmi II in 1944, but with some additional family material dating up to the 1960s. The collection was deposited in Durham by the Mohamed Ali Foundation in 1980. It contains material principally in Arabic, English, and French, but also some Ottoman Turkish, German, Italian, and Greek. Digital copies of the Abbas Hilmi II Papers are also deposited at the American University and CULTNAT in Cairo. Almost all of the collection has now been digitised and is freely available online, linked from the catalogue.

Abbas Hilmi II Papers summary description

The Mohamed Ali Foundation is a UK charity whose aims include advancing the education of the public in the history of the Islamic World, of Egypt and of the Mohamed Ali Family in particular, especially the period of reign of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II (1892-1914).

Prince Abbas Hilmi, Chairman of the Trustees of the Mohamed Ali Foundation, Professor Anoush Ehteshami, and Vice-Chancellor Professor Stuart Corbridge, at the inauguration of the Mohamed Ali Foundation Fellowship programme on 29 June 2018

This collection has been digitised. Digital images are linked from each file in the online catalogue.

If you would like to purchase digital copies of specific items from any of our collections, please use our online enquiry form.

If you are a member of teaching staff at Durham University and would like to use material from Archives and Special Collections within your lectures or seminars, we may be able to scan or photograph items for this purpose.  Please contact us as early as possible with any teaching digitisation requests.

See also our guide to Digitised Collections Online for further information on our digital resources.

The collections mentioned above are located at Palace Green Library.  Our current opening hours are as follows, by appointment only (see below).

• Monday to Thursday: 10am to 4:30pm
• Saturday: closed
• Sunday: closed

See separate Libraries and Site Information guide for further information on Palace Green Library, and for disruption due to roofing works during 2024-2025, visit our guide. 

Appointments are required for all visits, please use the enquiry form to book.  Appointments need to be made at least three working days in advance, and we will need to know the full list of document references or shelfmarks of the items you wish to consult before we can confirm your booking. If you are unsure of how to do this or need assistance please contact us and we will be happy to help.

The collections mentioned in this guide could be useful for a range of academic subjects taught at Durham University. The guides listed below also have information about other relevant resources.