Egypt Historic Overview

Egypt has been the cradle of one of the oldest civilizations in the world, with a recorded history of 6000 years, even older than the Pharaohs. The Nile has been the center of all economic, social and cultural life in Egypt over the ages and its basin has witnessed the settling of diverse kingdoms since early times. These kingdoms were united by Menes in 3000 BC, paving the way for the grandest era of the Egyptian civilization. This was followed by a period of mostly indigenous rule for 2700 years by over 30 dynasties, which produced some of the best-known and best-loved Egyptian artifacts we know today. Alexander the Great’s invasion was the beginning of a prolonged period of foreign rule by various groups—the Ptolemies, and later, the Romans and the Islamic armies who arrived here in 640 AD. Under the Islamic dynasties, Cairo became a vibrant and cultured city, which attracted scholars from all over the world—this heritage makes Cairo an even more interesting destination.

Egypt was unfortunately introduced to modernity through imperialism—it passed under the Ottoman Turkish Empire in the 16th century. In time, the waning of the power of this empire was a sufficient signal for a local ‘satrap’ called Mohamed Ali to assert his autonomy from the Empire. However, under the rule of his successors and the subsequent undertaking of ambitious public works programmes like the Suez Canal by them, Egypt became trapped in severe economic crisis by the 19th century. In 1882, British and French authorities took charge of Egyptian finances, and Egypt became a virtual colony—a ‘protectorate’ with a puppet monarchy.

This situation gave birth to the nationalist hero Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, who overthrew the monarchy in a coup in 1952. Nasser went on to become a respected third world leader and one of the founding members of the Non-Aligned Movement—NAM. He was able to secure vital foreign aid for national development projects (for example-the construction of the Aswan Dam), and military assistance to fight Israel. Israel’s interest in Egyptian territory like Mount Sinai was to prove a costly distraction from national goals for Nasser and his successors, and it resulted in the closure of the Canal for many years. The Camp David Accord signed by Nasser’s successor President Anwar Sadat finally brought peace and regained Sinai for Egypt, plus improved relations with the USA, but cost him his relations with Arab neighbours in the Middle East, and ultimately, his life—Sadat was assassinated in 1981 by Islamic hardliners who saw his rapprochement with Israel as a betrayal of his Islamic ties.

Sadat was succeeded by President Hosni Mubarak whose main priorities have been the improvement of relations with the Arab world and tackling the rising threat of Islamic fundamentalism at home. He has been more successful at the former, establishing Egypt’s role a peace-broker between the Arabs and Israel. Mubarak went on to achieve normalization of relations with Libya, and even managed to secure a US$14 billion debt relief from the USA, following his participation in the Gulf War in an anti-Iraq alliance. However, as mentioned, the threat of Islamic fundamentalist violence is the biggest challenge to his regime yet.