Egyptian History

Foundations of Ancient Egypt

Egypt is one of the global cradles of civilization. Its many kingdoms rose and thrived along the banks of the Nile River, a fertile stretch of floodplains surrounded by desert. The region has been inhabited by humans for tens of thousands of years. Its cultural heritage begins with its first farmers, who were building small communities by 5200 BCE. The soils along the Nile proved exceptionally suited to grain crops, the staple food of Egypt. With a reliable source of food and water, several cultures developed and traded along the Nile River for about 2000 years. They are broadly known today as Upper and Lower Egypt.

The Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms

The history of Ancient Egypt alone extends over thousands of years, and the specific dates and natures of its dynasties are still debated in academic circles. Around 3100 BCE, the two kingdoms of Egypt united under a ruler named Narmer, also known as Menes. The details of his life are somewhat foggy, but he is generally credited with founding the first dynasty of Ancient Egypt and beginning its long line of pharaohs. That title, however, would not be used for another 1600 years. Their civilization, centered on Memphis, was highly concerned with fertility, astronomy, the afterlife, and monumental architecture. The first two dynasties saw the development and refinement of hieroglyphics, one of the first writing systems in the world.

The Old Kingdom, or Egypt’s third to sixth dynasties, lasted from about 2686 to 2181 BCE. During this time, many of the iconic elements of Ancient Egyptian culture settled into place. The major pyramids and Sphinx of the Giza Plateau, for example, were built around 2500 BCE. Egyptian workers performed these feats without the use of draft animals or common wheels, a fact that has spurred many alternate theories regarding their origins.

The Middle Kingdom occurred after a period of decentralized power in Egypt. The seventh to eleventh dynasties saw relatively weak rulers compared to their governors. The twelfth and thirteenth dynasties regained power to form the Middle Kingdom. This period continued until about 1750 BCE. It is marked by the gradual refinement of the arts, writing, and architecture pioneered in the Old Kingdom.

Toward the end of the Middle Kingdom, a wave of foreign settlers called the Hyksos threatened to fundamentally change Egyptian society. They fought with composite bows from horse-drawn chariots, previously unused in Egypt, and came to possess most of the kingdom. Their brief reign brought new foods, animals, musical instruments, and military tactics. The Hyksos, never popular, were driven out of power around 1550 BCE, restoring Egyptian rule in Egypt. This era is also when the Egyptian capital moved from Memphis to Thebes, now Luxor.

The New Kingdom that followed expanded Egypt’s reach across the Middle East and North Africa. The growing empire enjoyed unparalleled wealth and prosperity, but it faced new competition from peoples like the Assyrians and Hittites. Religious conflicts arose in the 18th dynasty, when Akhenaten encouraged a shift away from polytheism to the worship of a primary solar deity, the Aten. Over time, however, aspects of both practices were kept. Akhenaten’s son, Tutankhamun, is now famous for the discovery of his almost pristine tomb.

Other notable leaders from this time include Hatshepsut, a long-reigning female pharaoh, and Ramses II, a successful conqueror and defender. Their successes, however, were punctuated by new internal challenges, famines, and external threats. Egypt entered another intermediate period from about 1100 to 664 BCE.

Persian, Greek, and Roman Rule in Egypt

After thousands of years of independence, the dynasties of Egypt could no longer keep the outside world at bay. In 664, the Neo-Assyrians sacked Thebes and took control of Egypt as a client state. The Persians came next; Cambyses II defeated Pharaoh Psamtik III in 525. Egypt experienced brief periods of revolution and self rule, but for the most part it remained in Persian hands until Alexander the Great overthrew the Achaemenids. He reached Egypt by 332 and founded the city of Alexandria. This would become the capital of a Greek-Egyptian kingdom known as Ptolemaic Egypt.

Ptolemaic Egypt faced the challenge of keeping a proud and ancient kingdom independent in a rapidly changing world. Its rulers adopted elements of Egyptian culture and built Alexandria into a Mediterranean center of learning and trade. They watched the growth of the Roman Empire and at last succumbed to its expansion. The last independent queen of Ptolemaic Egypt, Cleopatra, was snared in the meteoric rise of Julius Caesar and his abrupt downfall. She sided with a potential successor, Marc Antony, in the following civil war against Octavian, or Augustus. His defeat led to her presumed suicide and Roman control over Egypt in 30 BCE.

Egypt remained an important cultural and economic center within the Roman Empire. Its crops were exported to feed large cities, and Alexandria continued to attract scholars, philosophers and traders. After the decline of Rome, the Byzantine Empire and Sasanian Persians vied for the region.

Arab Conquest and Rule in Egypt

By the 7th century CE, Egypt was a multicultural society home to many religions, ethnicities, and languages. Coptic Christianity was firmly established in many areas, but a new faith would soon push it to the margins of society. In 639, Arab forces invaded and eventually defeated the Byzantine occupiers of Egypt. Since that time, Egypt has practiced majority Sunni Islam. Its culture and languages Arabized as well. Power moved from the Islamic Caliphate to the Mamluk Sultanate of Cairo in 1250. They were in turn replaced by the Turkish Ottoman Empire, which conquered Egypt in 1517.

Under the Ottomans, Egypt lost much of its former global prominence. It was primarily valued for its grain harvests, but disease and famine continuously threatened its society. In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte of France invaded, but his presence in Egypt lasted only three years. In his wake, Ottoman authority over Egypt declined. An Albanian named Muhammad Ali Pasha assumed the throne while acknowledging the Ottomans. He led several major reforms in Egypt to establish it as a modern power.

This independence was short-lived. The United Kingdom had its eye on both the valuable crops of Egypt as well as the Suez Canal, a vital trade route. The British defeated Egyptian forces in 1882 and stayed in control until 1952. This period encouraged the development of archaeology and the craze of Egyptology. At this time, many treasures of Ancient Egypt were excavated and shipped away to private collections and museums. The ownership rights of these artifacts are still a controversial issue.

Modern Egypt

The British Protectorate of Egypt officially came to an end in 1922, when the nation was granted independence. British influence lingered, however, until the 1952 coup d’etat that established the Arab Republic of Egypt. In 1956, Egypt seized the Suez Canal from the United Kingdom, sparking a crisis in the global oil industry. A brief union with Syria ended in 1961 Conflicts with the new state of Israel led to the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, an extension of the former Suez Crisis. This war lasted only six days, but by the end, Israel controlled the Gaza Strip, Sinai Peninsula, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.

Since that time, Egypt has struggled with political instability and religious terrorism. A revolution in 2011, part of the Arab Spring movement, ousted the long-standing government of President Hosni Mubarak. Questions of how to move forward as a country led to political violence between supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood and more liberal opposition. Another military coup in 2013 purged much of the Muslim Brotherhood’s leadership. The 2014 election saw the rise of Egypt’s former military leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, to the presidency.

References

“Arab-Israeli War of 1967.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/ea/97187.htm.

Goldschmidt Jr., Arthur. A Brief History of Egypt. Infobase Publishing. 2008.

Hessler, Peter. “Egypt's Failed Revolution.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 19 June 2017, www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/02/egypts-failed-revolution.

Petry, Carl F, ed. The Cambridge History of Egypt. Vols. 1-2. Cambridge University Press. 2008.

Romer, John. A History of Ancient Egypt: From the First Farmers to the Great Pyramid. Macmillan. 2013.

“Suez Crisis, 1956.” U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of State, 2001-2009.state.gov/r/pa/ho/time/lw/97179.htm.

“The World Factbook: Egypt.” Central Intelligence Agency, Central Intelligence Agency, 30 Oct. 2018, www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/eg.html.

TOTA

Traditions of the Ancestors

This group is for articles produced or approved by TOTA staff, covering a wide variety of cultures and topics.

View Group