Werer the Egyptians white or black?

I'm of the opinion that te term does refer to the land and not the people. The first reason is havibg been to Egypt the land is quite literally black in stark contrast to the desert. Its very dramatic how different the two are. When you go to Egypt you can literally place one foot in green lush fields and the other in dry sand.

The other reason is that in its early history, Egypt's focus was not on the Mediterranean world or even Mesopotamia. its focus was internal meaning itself and the lands to its south. Where we have a north south orientation of the world, Egypt's was south first, then north. One only makes reference to color when in contact with outsiders who are different. The people who mattered most to Egypt at their earliest beginnings were themselves and the Nubians. These were people for the most part shared the same color. So why would they find the need to distinguish themselves based on a trait that was also shared by their neighbors? No where else in Africa do we see people identifying themselves based on their color. Its always outsiders who do this as in "AL Bilad ISSudan", or "Ethiops". The terms that Egyptians used to describe their neighbors were not based on skin color, but ethnic groupand nationality. Therefore if Egyptians referred to themselves as the black people, who were the white people? Even the Lybyans who are often depicted with blue eyes and very pale skin are called Libu, Tamahu, Timahu etc. And likewise the term often translated as negro, is Nehesi, which is not a racial classification but an ethnic group.

I see your point, but I think it is wrong to assume that it is a European notion.  A sense of racial and / or ethnic identity and real or preceived differences betwen groups existed long before colonialism and in all probability, long before slavery (slavery being largely associated with agriculture).  

 

Such concepts seem to be intrinsic to us as a species.  Anecdotally, I remember one day at a church (multi ethnic congregation, families do not teach ethnic identity) .  A friend picked my youngest son and said "I want him to be my baby".   Her five year old son immediatly said "But, mommy, he can't be your baby, he does not look like us".  My family is caucasoid, my friend's famuily is Asiatic.  

 

 

Originally posted by Rakasnumberone So what was created was a world view in which the Christian European was on top and the farther away from that standard, the lower on the totem pole.

I think it is more accurate to say, "humanity created a straified world view".  The Christian European on top was only one interpertation.  Chinese and Japanese had versions with naturally, placed them and their respective civilizations on top.

 

Even indigenous tribes have this concept.  For example, the names that some (or many) Native American tribes give themselves translate into such phrases as "The People", People of the Dawn", "People of First Fire" and more uhmmm jingoistic "True Human Beings".

 

Originally posted by Rakasnumberone On the part of many Europeans there are some who truely believe in this notion of "universal order", social Darwinism. Others are just sticklers for orthodoxy and they feel threatened, upset by any notion which challenges their view of the universe.

As mentioned above, such views are not unique to Europe.  The Chinese described themselves as the "Middle Kingdom"  (center of the world) and confucianism had a pretty strong view of universal order and China's place in it.  

 

The only difference between Euroepans, Chinese and tribes describing themselves as "True Human Beings" was that Europeans industrialized and could then export and apply the European version of the universal concept globally.  Chinese were so ethno centric that they concluded the rest of the world was not worth knowing.  Many tribal groups would have duplicated Europeans, had they possessed the ability.

Originally posted by Rakasnumberone Its the same type of mentality that made the church go hog wild when it was suggested that the Sun, rather than the Earth was the center of our universe.