Dr. Hala Ghoname's Muḥammad ʿAlī’s Soft Power in Europe

We are delighted to announce the publication of a new book by our Maria Reiche fellow, Dr. Hala Ghoname, from the Professorship of Visual Culture in Global Context at the Center for Art History and Musicology. The book, titled Muḥammad ʿAlī’s Soft Power in Europe: Orientalist Portraits between Visual Diplomacy and Saʿidian Orientalism, has been published by De Gruyter as volume 50 in the series Studies on Modern Orient.

Based on extensive archival research and fieldwork, Dr. Ghoname's book examines orientalist art and its role in shaping an alternative power structure that challenges Edward Said's theory of Orientalism. It highlights how art functioned as a tool of soft power, visual diplomacy, and transcultural communication during the first half of the nineteenth century in Egypt.

The study focuses on the reign of Muḥammad ʿAlī, the governor of Egypt from 1805 to 1848, shedding light on his strategic use of visual propaganda and biographical depictions to construct a tailored Egyptian history, assert political legitimacy, and secure international recognition. By exploring this under-researched aspect of Egypt’s ruling elite, the book also underscores how this period laid the groundwork for modern Egyptian historiography and shaped Egyptian collective memory well into the twentieth century.