Egyptian Cultural Overview

Egyptians are the people of Egypt, a nation of North Africa and the Middle East.

Geography

Egypt sits at the border of Africa and the Middle East, bordering both the Red and Mediterranean Seas. The majority of its population can be found along the fertile Nile River, the soils of which are replenished each year through flooding. Most of its remaining lands consist of the sandy Sahara Desert. The nation is home to flora and fauna like crocodiles, hippos, jackals, desert cats, gazelle, date palms, and papyrus reeds.

Climate: Hot and dry

Capital: Cairo

Total Population: 99,413,317 (2018 est.)

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History

Egypt is one of the cradles of world civilization, with a recorded history extending back thousands of years. Farmers have been sowing the soils of the Nile floodplain for at least 7000 years. Their abundant grains fed the expanding civilizations of Upper and Lower Egypt. These united about 5000 years ago under the first dynasty of Pharaonic Egypt. The major periods of Ancient Egypt are divided into the broader Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms. With a few interruptions, thirty dynasties ruled over Egypt between its foundings and its final conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 BCE.

Alexander’s empire fell apart shortly after his death, but Greek control over Egypt would continue for several centuries. The Ptolemaic dynasty brought new cultural influences to the arts, trade, and social structure of Egypt. Its capital Alexandria grew into one of the major centers of the Mediterranean world. The last Ptolemaic ruler, Cleopatra, famously committed suicide in 30 BCE, caught in the power struggles of Rome. Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire and, later, passed into the hands of the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire.

By the 7th century, the grip of the Byzantine Empire had weakened, and a new power swept over Egypt. Muslim armies invaded and conquered the region in 639. As the initial Islamic Caliphates fragmented, medieval Egypt flourished through states like the Fatimids and Mamluks. It was again conquered in 1517 by the Turkish Ottoman Empire and would remain at least nominally under its control until 1914. British influence, however, overlapped both its late Ottoman era and early independence. In 1952, Egypt ousted the last remnants of British control to form the modern Republic of Egypt. It has since navigated the complicated politics of oil, Israel, the Suez Canal, and more recent political turmoil beginning in 2011.

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Daily Life

The Nile River has formed the basis of Egyptian life since its earliest days. The soils nourished by its annual floods allowed strong grain harvests, which provided the staple foods of bread and beer. They supplemented this diet with fish, fowl, vegetables, and fruits like figs, dates, grapes, and olives. Another crop, flax, could be woven into fine white linen, which they used to make clothing. Average families lived in urban apartments or rural farmhouses made from mud brick. Over time, the influences of conquering dynasties have shaped the lifestyles of Egypt’s people, introducing new languages, clothing, foods, and faiths to the region. Today, its citizens wear clothing ranging from Western apparel to more conservative Muslim styles and eat foods both traditional and foreign.

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Society

Ancient Egyptian society depended on the Nile floods and prized continuous order. Its people believed that natural harmony was derived from the strength and goodwill of the gods. As a divine mediator between humanity and these gods, the pharaoh ruled with absolute power. Trade, education, farming, and worship all revolved around the pharaoh, his court, and the temples that served him. The Greek Ptolemaic dynasty emulated this power structure but expanded Egypt’s commerce with the outside world, a pattern continued under the Roman and Byzantine Empires. The Muslim Conquest brought radical change, including mass religious conversions, the adoption of a new language, and a series of powerful Islamic states. Modern Egypt is a semi-presidential republic.

Major Languages: Arabic, English, and French

Urban Population: 42.7% (2018 est.)

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Economy

The economy of Ancient Egypt existed to advance the state of its pharaohs. Instead of engaging in private trade and industry, nearly all commerce existed under the oversight of public officials and temples. As a Roman province, Egypt played a crucial role in feeding the larger empire; its natural supplies of grain and gold would remain its major source of wealth through the 19th century. Cotton, introduced at this time, soon became a major cash crop. This influx of wealth and manufacturing, backed by European interests, enabled the construction of the Suez Canal, which links the Red and Mediterranean Seas. The nation also cultivated a lucrative tourism industry based on the surviving monuments and artifacts of its heritage. In recent decades, Egypt has seen increasing poverty and declining tourism linked to its political instability.

Major Industries: Textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, energy, construction, manufacturing

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Beliefs

Egypt’s religious history can be divided into three major stages. Under the pharaohs, the state was tasked with preserving maat, a system of ethical behavior thought to preserve the order of the world. Gods of the Egyptian pantheon such as Ra, Isis, Horus, Osiris, Thoth, and Set were worshipped as the creators and maintainers of this order. Under the Ptolemies, Romans, and Byzantines, Egypt became home to large communities of Coptic Christians and Jews, among other worshippers. Since the 7th century CE, however, these populations have receded in favor of Sunni Islam, the majority religion of Egypt today. Tensions currently exist between conservative Islamic elements of Egyptian society and its more liberal elements.

Religious Demographics:

• Muslim (predominantly Sunni): 90%

• Christian (majority Coptic Orthodox, other Christians include Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, Maronite, Orthodox, and Anglican): 10% (2015 est.)

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Arts & Music

Egypt’s art history is older than its ancient dynasties. The works of Ancient Egypt are notable not only for their monumental size and scope, but also their consistency. Sculptures, reliefs, and paintings all followed formal patterns, with little variation between state-trained artists. The Ptolemaic era saw the introduction of Greek and Roman schools, though Egyptian art continued alongside them. After the Muslim Conquest, the arts of Egypt fell in line with Islamic traditions of calligraphy, geometry, mosque architecture, and textiles. Today, the nation is home to artists working across all media, though they have experienced periodic censorship by its government.

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References

Asante, Molefi Kete. Culture and Customs of Egypt. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2002.

Brier, Bob and A. Hoyt Hobbs. Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians. Greenwood Publishing Group. 2008.

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

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.

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

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