Georgi bin Habib Zaydan was a historian, journalist, linguist, and novelist. After receiving his elementary education in his native Beirut, Lebanon, he went on to join the Evangelical Syrian College in Beirut to study medicine before ultimately leaving Beirut for Egypt before obtaining his degree. In addition to serving as the editor-in-chief of Al-Zaman (The Time) magazine, he also utilized his fluency in English, Latin, Hebrew and Syriac by escorting the Intelligence Agency as a translator on its campaign in Sudan. Zaydan returned to Beirut to teach Hebrew and Syriac at the Arab Academy before ultimately returning to Egypt to work as the editor of Al-Moktataf (The Excerpt) magazine, of which he later became president. The final magazine he worked for was Al-Hilal (The Crescent), after which he devoted himself almost exclusively to novel writing and later became known as the founder of the historical novel in modern history. Among his memorable works include The History of the Arabic Language in Literature, The History of Islamic Urbanization, Modern Physiognomy, Linguistic Philosophy and Arabic Pronunciations, The Modern History of Egypt, The History of Freemasonry, The History of Greece and the Romans, The History of Arabs before Islam, as well as 23 Islamic historical novels including Quraish’s Virgin, Al-Hajjaj ibin Yusuf, The Conquest of Andalusia, Salah Eddin, and The Ottomans’ Coup.