Egypt
One of the world's oldest continuous civilizations, home to the pharaohs, the Nile and 5,000 years of unbroken cultural memory.
Overview
Egypt occupies the northeastern corner of Africa, straddling the Sinai land bridge to Asia. Its history is inseparable from the Nile River, whose annual flood built one of humanity's first territorial states around 3100 BCE. Successive Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Arab, Ottoman and British rulers have layered themselves onto a Nile Valley culture of remarkable continuity.
Basic Information
History Timeline
- c. 3100 BCEUnification of Upper and Lower Egypt under Narmer
- c. 2686 – 2181 BCEOld Kingdom — the age of the Great Pyramids
- c. 1550 – 1069 BCENew Kingdom — Egyptian empire from Nubia to Syria
- 332 BCEConquest by Alexander the Great; Ptolemaic dynasty
- 30 BCERoman conquest after death of Cleopatra VII
- 641 CEArab conquest; Islamization of Egypt
- 969Fatimid Caliphate founds Cairo
- 1517Ottoman conquest
- 1882 – 1952British occupation and monarchy
- 1952Free Officers revolution; Egypt becomes a republic
Ancient Peoples
- Predynastic Egyptians
- Nubians
- Libyans
- Sea Peoples
Ancient Kingdoms
- Old Kingdom
- Middle Kingdom
- New Kingdom
- Kingdom of Kush
Empires
- Achaemenid Persia
- Ptolemaic Kingdom
- Roman Empire
- Rashidun Caliphate
- Fatimid Caliphate
- Mamluk Sultanate
- Ottoman Empire
Religions
- Ancient Egyptian religion
- Coptic Christianity
- Sunni Islam
Culture
Egyptian culture unites Pharaonic memory, Coptic Christian tradition and Arab-Islamic civilization. Cairo has been a center of Islamic scholarship since al-Azhar University opened in 972 CE.
Language
Ancient Egyptian, written in hieroglyphs, was spoken for over three millennia and survives liturgically as Coptic. Arabic became dominant after the 7th-century conquest.
Important Battles
- Battle of Kadeshc. 1274 BCE
Ramses II vs. the Hittites
- Battle of the Pyramids1798
Napoleon's invasion
- Battle of El Alamein1942
Turning point of the North African campaign
Historical Figures
Old Kingdom pharaoh, builder of the Great Pyramid
Female pharaoh of the 18th dynasty
New Kingdom pharaoh, treaty with Hittites
Last active ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt
Founder of the Ayyubid dynasty
Archaeological Sites
- Giza Necropolis
- Karnak Temple
- Valley of the Kings
- Abu Simbel
- Saqqara
- Amarna
UNESCO World Heritage Sites
- Memphis and its Necropolis
- Ancient Thebes
- Nubian Monuments
- Historic Cairo
- Abu Mena
- Saint Catherine Area
Dynasties
- Old Kingdom (3rd–6th)
- New Kingdom (18th–20th)
- Ptolemaic
- Fatimid
- Ayyubid
- Mamluk
Colonial Period
Britain occupied Egypt in 1882 to protect the Suez Canal, ruling through a protectorate until formal independence in 1922 and full withdrawal in 1956.
Modern History
Modern Egypt has been a leader of the Arab world since Nasser's era, playing central roles in Cold War diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli wars, the Camp David Accords and the 2011 Arab Spring.