A black Abyssinian official commanded deference from powerful Egyptian shaykhs.

Evidence

I looked at him and saw that he was black, Abyssinian, as if he were a Mamluk’s slave. Yet he was both magnanimous and dignified. I saw how the shaykhs and judges of the area stood before him, and how he counseled them. I stayed around until they had gone, and then entered his chamber and kissed his hand. — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 255

Categorization

• XREF: Contradicts the racial hierarchy assumed in al-Tahtawi’s account; useful contrast within the reader’s comparative study. — connects to: A black high-ranking official shocked young Mubärak’s racial expectations; A black Abyssinian commissioner presiding over Arab dignitaries shocked young Mubarak; A dark-skinned official’s high rank shocked a young Egyptian’s racial hierarchy
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 255