The History of Egypt

The Ancient Egyptian civilization could be traced back to 5000 B.C. Some say it is even older than that. The Egyptians had a kingship, and their kings had the title of Pharoah. Overtime, the Egyptians began to spread their influence and even conquer parts of the Middle East. They lived along the famous Nile River and built amazing monuments, Pyramids, Sphinx.

By 100 B.C, Egypt had become part of the Roman Empire. The Egyptians were exposed to new ideas and religions. The Christian Church in Egypt is referred to as the Coptic Church. They are a minority. In 7th C A.D, they would be conquered by Arab armies following Mohammad’s death. The Arabs became to settle along the Nile River and intermarry with the Egyptians. What is amazing is that the ethnic and religious composition of Egypt changed.

Discuss Egypt during early Islamic centuries and under Ottoman rule.

Between 7th and 10th century A.D, Muslim armies from Arabia invaded Egypt and a large number of Arabs would settle along the Nile River. Overtime, they would become the majority of the population. Egypt was under the rule of different caliphs until the 10th century (Sunnis). A small Shia group broke away and formed a separate government. This group became known as Fatiminids. They are credited for founding a capital south of the city of Alexandria called Cairo. Cairo has been the capital to this day. In the 16th century, Egypt became a province of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans chose the Mamluks, who were their military slaves, but also commanders, to govern Egypt on their behalf. They had to collect taxes and send tribute to the Ottomans. The Mamluks would rule Egypt until the 18th century. At the end of the 18th century, Britain and France began to compete over Egypt. It would bring the British closer to India.

In 1798, Napoleon led an expedition to Egypt, but the British cooperated with Ottoman forces and managed to defeat the French and drove them out of Egypt. They managed to drive the...