Who was Max Mallowan?
Sir Max Edgar Mallowan (Later Max) was born in 1904.
He majored in classics at New Oxford, London.
Mallowan worked as an assistant at Ur, the archeological site which is believed to be the Sumerian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia.
He then became a field director and led several excavations at archaeological sites such as Tell Arpachiyah, Chagar Bazar, Tell Brak in Syria, Balikh valley, and later at Nimrud.
Read More : Complete list of books by Agatha Christie in chronological order
Max Mallowan also participated in the second world war and held several top posts like a pilot officer, flying officer, flight lieutenant, and wing commander.
After the second world war, he worked as a professor of Western Asiatic Archaeology at the University of London.
At the same time, he also held the director post at the British School of Archaeology in Iraq from 1947 to 1961.
Later on, he became a fellow and an emeritus fellow at All Souls College, Oxford, vice-president of the British Academy, and president of the British Institute of Persian studies.
How did Max Mallowan and Agatha Christie meet?
After her disappearance episode and divorce in 1928, Agatha traveled to Baghdad on the advice of a young naval officer Commander Howe and his wife.
The Commander officer and his wife aroused interest in her by mentioning a fact that near Baghdad was an archaeological expedition digging in the ancient city of Ur.
What made her further look forward to this trip was traveling from the Orient Express for a large part of our journey.
In Ur, Agatha Christie met Leonard Woolley and his wife Katherine. Leonard Woolley was the leader of the archaeological expedition.
Even when visitors to the excavation site were not allowed, Agatha was invited to the excavation site by Katherine because she was a fan of her work.
Agatha became such good friends with the Woolleys that they invited Agatha again to the excavation site in the next season.
She then visited the dig in March 1930 where she met Max Mallowan (apprentice of Leonard Woolley ) for the first time.
Katherine asked Max to show Agatha around and thus, they together visited excavation sites such as Nippur, Nejeif, Ukhaidir, Diwaniyah, and Kerbela.
During this tour, they got to know each other well.
They also went together to Greece, where Agatha Christie received telegrams of her daughter suffering from Pneumonia.
Max, showing care for Agatha, accompanied her back to her home.
They kept spending more time together, even Rosalind Hicks (Agatha Christie's daughter) also started liking him.
One fine day, Max proposed Agatha, to which she immediately said ‘No’, the reason being mainly the age difference of almost 14 years.
But, after her daughter and secretary encouraged her, she married Max in an extremely private ceremony in September 1930.
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