So Then What Happened? is a four page article about real world history, as it connected to the adventures of Indiana Jones. Written by Kurt Busiek, it was published at the end of the issue #1 (Egypt, May 1908) of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles comic series in February 1992, accompanying the events of the comic.
Summary[]
The article focuses on the history of T. E. Lawrence and his role in the independence of Arabia, and Howard Carter and the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun.
The first part of the article describes Lawrence's background, and his assistance as a British adviser to the Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire in 1916, including his attack on the railroad to Medina, the taking of Aqaba, and the battle of Tafila. His end goal was independence for the Arabs, which he knew was counter to the British goal of partitioning the Middle East with the French. Through the use of guerilla tactics, Lawrence and the Arab rebels took Damascus and set up a provisional government. Working as Feisal ibn Hussein's adviser, he sought Arab independence at the Versailles Peace Conference, but was only marginally successful. In the 1920s, at the request of Winston Churchill, Lawrence helped to establish a free Arabia out of the lands held by Britain and India.
The second part of the article describes the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 by Howard Carter. Starting from a modest upbringing, Carter managed to become an Egyptologist, working in the Valley of the Kings, and began a systematic search for undiscovered tombs. Carter's methodical approach paid off in the finding the nearly intact tomb of Tutankhamun, with more than 5,000 works of art. With the publicity of the find, journalists began sensationalizing the discovery with the legend of a curse, linking it to deaths of people associated with the find, such as Carter's sponsor, Lord Carnarvon. Unwilling to deal with the politics of the discovery, Carter eventually went on strike and then was locked out by the Egyptian government. After the British instated martial law after an assassination, Carter was allowed to continue work, which was completed in 1932.
Appearances[]
Characters[]
- Lady Amherst of Hackney
- Lord Carnarvon
- Howard Carter
- Winston Churchill
- Feisal ibn Hussein
- Indiana Jones
- Thomas Edward Lawrence
- Percy Newberry
- Rameses VI
- Sir Lee Stack
- Thutmose I
- Tutankhamun
Locations[]
- Aqaba
- England
- British Museum
- Norkfolk
- Egypt
- Egyptian Museum of Antiquities
- Valley of the Kings
- Tutankhamun's tomb
- France
- India
- Israel
- Mesopotamia
- Ottoman Empire/Turkey
- Red Sea
- Palestine
- Saudi Arabia
- Sudan
- Syria
- Tafila
Artifacts[]
Miscellanea[]
- World War I
- Camel
- Versailles Peace Conference
- World War II
- Gulf War
- Mummy
- London Times