An Arab Henchman was one of a group of local misfits and criminals hired off the streets of Cairo, Egypt by German intelligence agents as part of their work to waylay threats and prevent interference to the Nazi excavation of nearby Tanis to unearth the lost Ark of the Covenant.
In 1936, the henchman, along with other hired toughs, ambushed archaeologist Indiana Jones and his associate Marion Ravenwood in a marketplace when the pair arrived in the city in pursuit of the Ark. However, two were able to escape their attackers.
Biography[]
By 1936, a German Gestapo agent and two associates had infiltrated Cairo, Egypt as part of the Nazi excavation of the lost Ark of the Covenant at Tanis.[2] Positioned to prevent threats to the ongoing work at Tanis, the German agent and his partners monitored the movements of American archaeologist Indiana Jones and bar owner Marion Ravenwood when they arrived in the city chasing the location of the Ark themselves.[1]
An Arab tough, along with several other native henchmen, was hired by the German agents to form part of an attack against Jones and Ravenwood. Each of their identities obscured by a dark keffiyeh, the robed men assembled near a marketplace where Jones and Ravenwood were shopping.[1]
During their ambush, the Arab henchman, wielding a length of wood, swung wildly at Jones, but the archaeologist dodged the attack and the club instead collided with the two men supporting him. Left open to attack, the club-wielding man was then met with a right hook from Jones.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
The Arab Henchman was portrayed by an uncredited performer in Raiders of the Lost Ark.[1]
With the exception of those individually named in the film's credits, the Cairo-based Egyptian antagonists are all collectively called Arab Henchmen in the Raiders of the Lost Ark Sourcebook and share the same gameplay stats.[2]