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The rise of Free Masonry as a political and cultural force commenced at the end of the 1900’s. But what is very curious with regard to this episode in history is that it coincided with an acceleration of the imminent explosion of Egytological studies which gained considerable momentum at that time.

The precise origen of Freemasonry and its entrance and import into the world, although highly shrouded by cranks and obsessives, was influential and played an extremely significant role in affecting not only the political world, but also the scientific, and caused remarkable changes in the cultural world as well.

Most of the major figures of the Enlightenment were either masons or influenced by Freemasonry; and the masons were all Egyptophiles, in some cases claiming that they drew their traditions from secret Egyptian texts, in other cases actually asserting an unbroken lineage back to Egyptian priesthoods.

The Masons establishing the Egytpian temples as their lodges used the Egyptian symbols as the decorum on their walls; even using the hieroglyphs which were a highly misunderstood language. They also included phenomena such as the pyramid and the “all seeing eye” on the reverse seal of the U.S. dollar bill.

Even Napoleon was involved in certain Masonic affairs even though it remains uncertain whether he himself was a Mason. Yet, it is a matter of conspiratorial record that some of his imperial emblems were Masonic-Egyptian and that Freemasonry flourished under his rule.

The time was ripe for the theory of Egyptophilia to be carried into practice on a massive scale. And so on May 19, 1798 (a most important date in the modern history of the Great Pyramid) Napoleon sailed from southern France to launch his invasion of Egypt.