Shocking historical errors leave Egypt's military museum curator red-faced

The head of Egypt's military museums has been widely mocked on social media this week after he made a several egregious historical errors during an interview on state television.

Major General Nigm al-Din Mahmoud made the shockingly incorrect comments after being asked to cite examples of "great" historical victories of the Egyptian army – answers that have been drilled into the minds of Egyptians since primary school.

"Some of the most important battles the army has waged since Pharaonic times, include the battle of Hattin when Ramses III fought the Hittites and won," Mahmoud said.

In reality, the battle of Hattin took place over two thousand years after the death of the Egyptian king. It was actually led by Saladin in the 12th century against Crusader-held Jerusalem and saw the Muslim army re-conquer the holy city.

The major general was perhaps referring to the battle of Kadesh, which saw Ramses II – not the third – defeat the Hittite Empire in the best-documented battle in all of ancient history.

The man in charge of the Egypt's military museums went on, blurting out his faulty understanding of his country's warfaring past.

"There also was the battle of Ain Jalut, when Saladin liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders."

The battle of Ain Jalut took place 73 years after the recapture of Jerusalem and was between the Mamluks and the Mongols.

Mahmoud, however, did leave us with this pearl of wisdom: "The doctrine of the Egyptian army has always been to protect the state. It is not an aggressor, it protects the border and tries to help our brothers in friendly Arab countries."

Tell that to the families of the victims of the 2013 Rabaa massacre, when "non-aggressor" security forces killed over 1,000 pro-democracy demonstrators in the streets of Cairo.

Mahmoud's gaffe has been widely mocked on social media.

Translation: "I nominate this guy to be the minister of culture and education..."

The comments are just the latest in a long list of bizarre and factually void statements made by high-ranking Egyptian officials often holding military positions.

In January, the governor of Suez – also a major general – said that "northwesterly winds" protected Egypt from missile attacks and should Israel launch an offensive the air current would send rockets back in its direction.