History of Egypt: Difference between revisions
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{{History of Egypt}} |
{{History of Egypt}} |
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[[Image:Egypt.Hathor.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Hathor]]]] |
[[Image:Egypt.Hathor.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Hathor]]]] |
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{{duplication}} |
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{{Split|date=June 2010}} |
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Egyptian history can be roughly divided into the following periods: |
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==Prehistoric Egypt== |
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[[File:All Gizah Pyramids.jpg|thumb|right|[[Giza Pyramids]]]] |
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{{See also|Population history of Egypt}} |
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There is evidence of [[rock carvings]] along the [[Nile]] terraces and in the desert oases. In the [[10th millennium BC]], a culture of [[hunter-gatherer]]s and [[fishing|fishers]] replaced a [[cereal|grain]]-grinding [[culture]]. Climate changes and/or overgrazing around 8000 BC began to desiccate the pastoral lands of Egypt, forming the Sahara. Early tribal peoples migrated to the Nile River where they developed a settled agricultural [[Economic system|economy]] and more centralized [[society]].<ref>Midant-Reynes, Béatrix. ''The Prehistory of Egypt: From the First Egyptians to the First Kings''. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers.</ref> |
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By about 6000 BC the Neolithic culture rooted in the Nile Valley.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.worldtimelines.org.uk/world/africa/nile_valley/6000-4000BC|title=The Nile Valley 6000-4000 BC Neolithic|publisher=The British Museum|year=2005|accessdate=2008-08-21}}</ref> During the [[Neolithic]] era, several [[Predynastic Egypt|predynastic]] cultures developed independently in [[Upper and Lower Egypt]]. The [[Badarian]] culture and the successor [[Naqada]] series are generally regarded as precursors to [[Ancient Egypt|Dynastic Egyptian civilization]]. The earliest known Lower Egyptian site, Merimda, predates the Badarian by about seven hundred years. Contemporaneous Lower Egyptian communities coexisted with their southern counterparts for more than two thousand years, remaining somewhat culturally separate, but maintaining frequent contact through trade. The earliest known evidence of [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|Egyptian hieroglyphic]] inscriptions appeared during the predynastic period on [[Naqada]] III pottery vessels, dated to about 3200 BC.<ref>Bard, Kathryn A. Ian Shaw, ed. ''The Oxford Illustrated History of Ancient Egypt''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. p. 69.</ref> |
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==Ancient Egypt== |
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{{Hiero | ''tAwy'' ('Two Lands') | <hiero>N16:N16</hiero> | align=right | era=default}}A unified kingdom was founded circa 3150 [[Before Christ|BC]] by King [[Menes]], giving rise to a [[List of Egyptian dynasties|series of dynasties]] that ruled Egypt for the next three millennia. [[Egyptians]] subsequently referred to their unified country as ''tawy'', meaning "two lands", and later ''kemet'' ([[Coptic language|Coptic]]: ''kīmi''), the "black land", a reference to the fertile black soil deposited by the Nile river. [[Culture of Egypt|Egyptian culture]] flourished during this long period and remained distinctively Egyptian in its [[Ancient Egyptian religion|religion]], [[Art of Ancient Egypt|arts]], [[Egyptian language|language]] and customs. The [[Protodynastic Period of Egypt|first two ruling dynasties]] of a unified Egypt set the stage for the [[Old Kingdom]] period, c.2700−2200 BC., famous for its many [[Egyptian pyramids|pyramids]], most notably the [[Third dynasty of Egypt|Third Dynasty]] [[pyramid of Djoser]] and the [[Fourth dynasty of Egypt|Fourth Dynasty]] [[Giza pyramid complex|Giza Pyramids]]. |
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[[File:Egypt.Saqqara.DjosersPyramid.01.jpg|thumb|left|[[Djoser]] Pyramid]] |
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[[File:Egypt.Giza.Sphinx.02.jpg|thumb|left|The [[Great Sphinx of Giza|Great Sphinx]] and the [[Giza pyramid complex|Pyramids of Giza]], built during the [[Old Kingdom]], are modern national icons that are at the heart of Egypt's thriving tourism industry.]] |
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The [[First Intermediate Period of Egypt|First Intermediate Period]] ushered in a time of political upheaval for about 150 years.<ref>"[http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/egyptians/apocalypse_egypt_01.shtml The Fall of the Egyptian Old Kingdom]". BBC - History.</ref> Stronger Nile floods and stabilization of government, however, brought back renewed prosperity for the country in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]] ''c''. 2040 BC, reaching a peak during the reign of Pharaoh [[Amenemhat III]]. A [[Second Intermediate Period of Egypt|second period of disunity]] heralded the arrival of the first foreign ruling dynasty in Egypt, that of the [[Semitic]] [[Hyksos]]. The Hyksos invaders took over much of Lower Egypt around 1650 BC and founded a new capital at [[Avaris]]. They were driven out by an Upper Egyptian force led by [[Ahmose I]], who founded the [[Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt|Eighteenth Dynasty]] and relocated the capital from [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]] to [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]]. |
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[[File:Cairo, Old Cairo, Hanging Church, Egypt, Oct 2004.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Hanging Church]] of Cairo, first built in the third or fourth century AD, is one of the most famous [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic]] Churches in Egypt.]] |
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The [[New Kingdom]] (c.1550−1070 BC) began with the Eighteenth Dynasty, marking the rise of Egypt as an [[Power in international relations|international power]] that expanded during its greatest extension to an empire as far south as [[Tombos]] in [[Nubia]], and included parts of the [[Levant]] in the east. This period is noted for some of the most well-known [[Pharaoh]]s, including [[Hatshepsut]], [[Thutmose III]], [[Akhenaten]] and his wife [[Nefertiti]], [[Tutankhamun]] and [[Ramesses II]]. The first historically attested expression of [[monotheism]] came during this period in the form of [[Atenism]]. Frequent contacts with other nations brought new ideas to the New Kingdom. The country was later invaded and conquered by [[Ancient Libya|Libyans]], [[Kingdom of Kush|Nubians]] and [[Assyria]]ns, but native Egyptians eventually drove them out and regained control of their country<ref>[http://www.ancientsudan.org/history_06_nubconegypt.htm "The Kushite Conquest of Egypt". ''AncientSudan.org''.]</ref>. |
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==Persian, Greek and Roman occupation== |
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The [[Thirtieth dynasty of Egypt|Thirtieth Dynasty]] was the last native ruling dynasty during the Pharaonic epoch. It [[History of Egypt under Achaemenid Persian domination|fell to the Persians]] in 343 BC after the last native Pharaoh, King [[Nectanebo II]], was defeated in battle. Later, Egypt fell to the [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Greco–Macedonians]] and [[Aegyptus (Roman province)|Romans]], beginning over two thousand years of foreign rule. The last ruler from the [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] line was [[Cleopatra VII]], who committed suicide with her lover Marc Antony, after Caesar Augustus had captured them. |
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Before Egypt became part of the [[Aegyptus (Roman province)#Byzantine Egypt|Byzantine]] realm, Christianity had been brought by [[Saint Mark the Evangelist]] in the AD first century. [[Diocletian]]'s reign marked the transition from the [[Roman Empire|Roman]] to the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantine]] era in Egypt, when a great number of Egyptian Christians were persecuted. The [[New Testament]] had by then been translated into Egyptian. After the [[Council of Chalcedon]] in AD 451, a distinct [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Egyptian Coptic Church]] was firmly established.<ref>Kamil, Jill. ''Coptic Egypt: History and Guide''. Cairo: American University in Cairo, 1997. p. 39</ref> |
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==Arab and Ottoman Era== |
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The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief [[Aegyptus (Roman province)#Persian and Arab conquests|Persian]] invasion early in the seventh century, until in AD 639, Egypt was [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|absorbed into the Islamic Empire]] by the [[Muslim]] [[Arabs]]. When they defeated the Byzantine Armies in Egypt, with the help of some revolutionary Egyptians, the Arabs brought [[Sunni Islam]] to the country. Early in this period, Egyptians began to blend their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices that had survived through [[Coptic Christianity]] that was expanded in Egypt by the Byzantines, giving rise to various [[Sufism|Sufi]] orders that have flourished to this day.<ref>El-Daly, Okasha. ''Egyptology: The Missing Millennium''. London: UCL Press, 2005. p. 140</ref> Muslim rulers nominated by the [[Caliphate|Islamic Caliphate]] remained in [[History of Arab Egypt|control of Egypt]] for the next six centuries, with [[Cairo]] as the seat of the Caliphate under the [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimids]]. With the end of the [[Ayyubid dynasty]], the [[Mamluk]]s, a [[Turkish people|Turco]]-[[Circassians|Circassian]] military caste, took control about AD 1250. By late 13th century, Egypt linked the Red Sea, India, Malaya, and East Indies.<ref name="Abu-Lughod, Janet L. 1991. PP. 243">Abu-Lughod, Janet L. ''Before European Hegemony The World System A.D. 1250-1350''. New York: Oxford UP, USA, 1991. PP. 243</ref> The strategic positioning "assured importance in productive economy".<ref name="Abu-Lughod, Janet L. 1991. PP. 243"/> They continued to govern the country until the [[History of Ottoman Egypt|conquest of Egypt]] by the [[Ottoman Turks]] in 1517, after which it became a province of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The mid-14th-Century [[Black Death]] killed about 40% of the country's population.<ref>[http://countrystudies.us/egypt/57.htm Egypt - Major Cities], ''U.S. Library of Congress''</ref> After the 15th century, the threat of military European Crusaders and Central Asian Mongols set the Egpytian system into decline.<ref name="Abu-Lughod, Janet L. 1991. PP. 243"/> The defensive militarization challenged the civil society and economic institutions.<ref name="Abu-Lughod, Janet L. 1991. PP. 243"/> The weakening of the economic system combined with the effects of Black Death left Egypt vulnerable to foreign invasion which can be seen with the Portuguese taking over their trade.<ref>Abu-Lughod, Janet L. ''Before European Hegemony The World System A.D. 1250-1350''. New York: Oxford UP, USA, 1991. PP. 244</ref> The [[famine]] that afflicted Egypt in 1784 cost it roughly one-sixth of its population.<ref>"[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061121232204.htm Icelandic Volcano Caused Historic Famine In Egypt, Study Shows]". ''ScienceDaily.'' November 22, 2006</ref> |
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== Modern history == |
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[[File:CoatofArms.jpg|thumb|left|Coat of arms of the House of [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Mohamed Ali]]]] |
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The brief [[French Campaign in Egypt and Syria|French invasion of Egypt]] led by [[Napoleon I|Napoleon Bonaparte]] began in 1798. The expulsion of the French in 1801 by Ottoman, Mamluk, and British forces was followed by four years of anarchy in which Ottomans, Mamluks, and Albanians who were nominally in the service of the Ottomans, wrestled for power. Out of this chaos, the commander of the Albanian regiment, [[Muhammad Ali of Egypt|Muhammad Ali]] (Kavalali Mehmed Ali Pasha) emerged as a dominant figure and in 1805 was acknowledged by the [[Sultan]] in [[Istanbul]] as his [[viceroy]] in Egypt; <!--[[Muhammad Ali's seizure of power]] -->the title implied subordination to the Sultan but this was in fact a polite fiction: Ottoman power in Egypt was finished and Muhammad Ali, an ambitious and able leader, established a [[dynasty]] that was to rule Egypt (at first really and later as British puppets) until the revolution of 1952.<ref name="Nejla M. Abu Izzeddin 1973, p 2">Nejla M. Abu Izzeddin, ''Nasser of the Arabs'', published ''circa'' 1973, p 2.</ref> |
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His primary focus was military: he annexed Northern Sudan (1820–1824), [[Syria]] (1833), and parts of [[Arabian Peninsula|Arabia]] and [[Anatolia]]; but in 1841 the European powers, fearful lest he topple the Ottoman Empire itself, checked him: he had to return most of his conquests to the Ottomans, but he kept the Sudan and his title to Egypt was made hereditary. A more lasting consequence of his military ambition is that it made him the moderniser of Egypt. Anxious to learn the military (and therefore industrial) techniques of the great powers he sent students to the West and invited training missions to Egypt. He built industries, a system of canals for irrigation and transport, and reformed the [[civil service]].<ref name="Nejla M. Abu Izzeddin 1973, p 2"/> |
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For better or worse, the introduction in 1820 of long-staple [[cotton]], the Egyptian variety of which became famous, transformed Egyptian agriculture into a cash-crop monoculture before the end of the century. The social effects of this were enormous: it led to the concentration of agriculture in the hands of large landowners, and, with the additional trigger of high cotton prices caused by the United States' [[American Civil War|civil war]] production drop, to a large influx of foreigners who began in earnest the exploitation of Egypt for international commodity production.<ref name="Nejla M. Abu Izzeddin 1973, p 2"/>[[Image:Mosque of An-Nasir Mohammed in Cairo.jpg|thumb|left|[[Mosque of Muhammad Ali]]]] |
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[[File:Cairo-Demonstrations1919.jpg|thumb|right|Female nationalists demonstrating in [[Cairo]], 1919.]] |
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Muhammad Ali was succeeded briefly by his son [[Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt|Ibrahim]] (in September 1848), then by a grandson [[Abbas I of Egypt|Abbas I]] (in November 1848), then by [[Sa'id of Egypt|Said]] (in 1854), and [[Isma'il Pasha|Isma'il]] (in 1863). |
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<!--In 1866, the Assembly of Delegates was founded to serve as an advisory body for the Government. Members of the Assembly were elected from across Egypt and came to have an important influence on Government decisions.<ref>Jankowski, James. ''Egypt: A Short History.'' Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2000. p. 83</ref> That's hogwash, the assembly had almost no power and rarely met--> |
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Abbas I was cautious. Said and Ismail were ambitious developers; unfortunately they spent beyond their means. The Suez Canal, built in partnership with the French, was completed in 1869. The expense of this and other projects had two effects: it led to enormous debt to European [[bank]]s, and caused popular discontent because of the onerous [[tax]]ation it necessitated. In 1875 Ismail was forced to sell Egypt's share in the canal to the British Government. Within three years this led to the imposition of British and French [[Dual control theory|controllers]] who sat in the Egyptian cabinet, and, "with the financial power of the bondholders behind them, were the real power in the Government."<ref>Nejla M. Abu Izzeddin, ''Nasser of the Arabs", p 2.</ref> |
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Local dissatisfaction with Ismail and with European intrusion led to the formation of the first [[Nationalism|nationalist]] groupings in 1879, with [[Ahmed Orabi|Ahmad Urabi]] a prominent figure. In 1882 he became head of a nationalist-dominated ministry committed to democratic reforms including parliamentary control of the budget. Fearing a diminishment of their control, Britain and France intervened militarily, bombarding Alexandria and crushing the Egyptian army at the [[battle of Tel el-Kebir]].<ref>Anglo French motivation: Derek Hopwood, ''Egypt: Politics and Society 1945-1981''. London, 1982, George Allen & Unwin. p 11.</ref> They reinstalled Ismail's son [[Tewfik Pasha|Tewfik]] as figurehead of a ''de facto'' British protectorate.<ref>De facto protectorate: Joan Wucher King, ''Historical Dictionary of Egypt''. Metuchen, New Jersey, USA; 1984; Scarecrow. p 17.</ref> |
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In 1914 the Protectorate was made official, and the title of the head of state, which had changed from ''pasha'' to ''khedive'' in 1867, was changed to ''sultan'', to repudiate the vestigial suzerainty of the Ottoman sultan, who was backing the [[Central Powers]] in World War I. [[Abbas II of Egypt|Abbas II]] was deposed as khedive and replaced by his uncle, [[Hussein Kamel of Egypt|Hussein Kamel]], as sultan.<ref>James Jankowski, ''Egypt, A Short History'', p. 111</ref> |
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In 1906, the [[Denshawai Incident|Dinshaway Incident]] prompted many neutral Egyptians to join the nationalist movement. After the First World War, [[Saad Zaghloul|Saad Zaghlul]] and the [[Wafd Party]] led the Egyptian nationalist movement, gaining a majority at the local [[Legislative Assembly]]. When the British exiled Zaghlul and his associates to [[Malta]] on 8 March 1919, the country arose in its [[Egyptian Revolution of 1919|first modern revolution]]. Constant revolting by the Egyptian people throughout the country led Great Britain to issue a [[Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence|unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence]] on 28 February 1922.<ref>Jankowski, ''op cit''., p. 112</ref> |
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The new Egyptian Government drafted and implemented a new [[1923 Constitution of Egypt|constitution]] in 1923 based on a [[Parliamentary system|parliamentary]] representative system. Saad Zaghlul was popularly elected as [[Prime Minister of Egypt]] in 1924. In 1936 the [[Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936|Anglo-Egyptian Treaty]] was concluded. Continued instability in the Government due to remaining British control and increasing political involvement by the king led to the ousting of the monarchy and the dissolution of the parliament in a military ''[[coup d'état]]'' known as the [[Egyptian Revolution of 1952|1952 Revolution]]. The officers, known as the [[Free Officers Movement]], forced King [[Farouk of Egypt|Farouk]] to abdicate in support of his son [[Fuad II of Egypt|Fuad]]. |
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On 18 June 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General [[Muhammad Naguib]] as the first President of the Republic. Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]{{ndash}} the real architect of the 1952 movement{{ndash}} and was later put under [[house arrest]]. Nasser assumed [[Political power|power]] as President in June 1956. British forces completed their withdrawal from the occupied Suez Canal Zone on 13 June 1956. His [[nationalization]] of the Suez Canal on 26 July 1956 prompted the 1956 [[Suez Crisis]]. |
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[[File:View from Cairo Tower 31march2007.jpg|thumb|left|View of Cairo, the largest city in Africa and the Middle East. The [[Cairo Opera House]] (bottom-right) is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital.]] |
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Three years after the 1967 [[Six-Day War]], during which Israel had invaded and occupied [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]], Nasser died and was succeeded by [[Anwar El Sadat|Anwar Sadat]]. Sadat switched Egypt's [[Cold War]] allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972. He launched the [[Infitah]] economic reform policy, while violently clamping down on religious and secular opposition alike. |
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In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the [[Yom Kippur War|October War]], a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the [[Golan Heights]]. It was an attempt to liberate part of the Sinai territory Israel had captured 6 years earlier. Sadat hoped to seize some territory via military force, and then regain the rest of the peninsula by diplomacy. The conflict sparked an international crisis between the two world superpowers: the US and the USSR, both of whom intervened. Two UN-mandated ceasefires were needed to bring military operations to a halt. While the war ended in a military stalemate, it presented Sadat with a political victory that later allowed him to regain the Sinai in return for peace with Israel.<ref>{{cite web | title=The 1973 Arab-Israeli War: Arab Policies, Strategies, and Campaigns | url=http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/1997/Jordan.htm | author=[[USMC]] Major Michael C. Jordan | publisher=GlobalSecurity.org | date=1997 | accessdate=2009-04-20}}</ref> |
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Sadat made an historic visit to Israel in 1977, which led to the 1979 [[Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty|peace treaty]] in exchange for the complete Israeli withdrawal from Sinai. Sadat's initiative sparked enormous controversy in the [[Arab World|Arab world]] and led to Egypt's expulsion from the Arab League, but it was supported by the vast majority of Egyptians.<ref>Vatikiotis, p. 443</ref> A fundamentalist military soldier assassinated Sadat in Cairo in 1981. He was succeeded by the incumbent [[Hosni Mubarak]]. In 2003, the [[Kefaya|Egyptian Movement for Change]], popularly known as ''Kefaya'', was launched to seek a return to [[democracy]] and greater [[civil liberties]]. |
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==References== |
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<references/> |
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*'''[[Prehistoric Egypt]]''' |
*'''[[Prehistoric Egypt]]''' |
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**[[History of modern Egypt|Modern Egypt]]: since 1882 |
**[[History of modern Egypt|Modern Egypt]]: since 1882 |
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*[[Aegyptus]] |
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*[[Egyptians]] |
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*[[History of Africa]] |
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*[[History of the Middle East]] |
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*[[Coptic history]] |
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{{Egypt topics}} |
{{Egypt topics}} |
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{{History of Africa}} |
{{History of Africa}} |
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[[lt:Egipto istorija]] |
[[lt:Egipto istorija]] |
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[[hu:Egyiptom történelme]] |
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[[mk:Историја на Египет]] |
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[[arz:تاريخ مصر]] |
[[arz:تاريخ مصر]] |
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[[ms:Sejarah Mesir]] |
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[[vec:Storia de l'Egito]] |
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[[vi:Lịch sử Ai Cập]] |
[[vi:Lịch sử Ai Cập]] |
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[[yo:Ìtàn ilẹ̀ Ẹ́gíptì]] |
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[[zh:埃及歷史]] |
[[zh:埃及歷史]] |
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Revision as of 15:14, 21 September 2010
| History of Egypt |
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 Egypt portal |
Egyptian history can be roughly divided into the following periods:
- Ancient Egypt
- Early Dynastic Period of Egypt: 31st to 27th centuries BC
- Old Kingdom of Egypt: 27th to 22nd centuries BC
- First Intermediate Period: 22nd to 21st centuries BC
- Middle Kingdom of Egypt: 21st to 17th centuries BC
- Second Intermediate Period: ca. 1640 to 1570 BC
- New Kingdom of Egypt: 1570 to 1070 BC
- Third Intermediate Period and 1070 to 664 BC
- Late Period of ancient Egypt
- Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt: 664 to 525 BC
- Achaemenid Egypt: 525 to 332 BC
- Greco-Roman Egypt
- Ptolemaic Egypt: 332 to 30 BC
- Roman Egypt: 30 BC to AD 395
- Byzantine Egypt: 395 to 645
- Islamic Egypt
- Arab Egypt: 639 to 1250
- Mamluk Egypt: 1250 to 1517
- Ottoman Egypt: 1517 to 1805
- Modern Egypt
- Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty: 1805 to 1882
- Modern Egypt: since 1882
See also
| Sovereign states |
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| States with limited recognition | |
| Dependencies and other territories | |