When teaching at Oxford University, the oldest in England, I was regularly served meals on High Table underneath a magnificent portrait of Queen Elizabeth I. The 16th Century work by court artist Nicholas Hilliard is in the dining Hall at Jesus College – where I lectured in French – alongside paintings of others linked with the great seat of learning, including former British Prime Minister and alumnus Harold Wilson.

A framed image of T.E.Lawrence, the fabled “Lawrence of Arabia”, was of particular interest to me. He was due to become an academic at Oxford, after reading History at Jesus but, thanks to a university scholarship, Lawrence was able to head to the Middle East, to learn Arabic, and take part in archeological digs. All of this laid the foundations for him to join the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire as a British Intelligence officer during the First World War. 

Lawrence’s derring-do was immortalised in David Lean’s 1962 Hollywood epic, Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’Toole as the eponymous hero, and Omar Sharif as a fictional Arab leader called Sherif Ali ibn al Kharish.

Such vivid ties with the past are among the highlights of an Oxford education. It often feels like mythical figures are still living inside the ancient golden walls, inspiring new generations to lead adventurous, successful lives. 

These were certainly my thoughts this summer when, during a return to Jesus College, I was delighted to learn that a new Oxford Chair was being named after Emir Abdelkader, the real-life Arab leader, and indeed globally-loved legend. Better still, he is widely viewed as the founder of modern Algeria – the country where my family comes from. 

Abdelkader al Jazairi (The Algerian) not only initiated highly effective resistance against French occupiers in the 19th Century, but was known for his humanitarian approach to conflict. In 1860, he won international........

© Middle East Monitor