a brief History
T he fertile Nile Valley has supported human life for over
8,000 years. Stone Age settlers developed from hunters to farmers,
growing barley and wheat crops that originated in Mesopotamia.
Mesopotamian script was also copied, but it developed into the first
Egyptian written language. From the earliest days Egyptians recorded
their activities on papyrus paper, helping us to piece together the
pivotal moments in the great days of the Ancient Egyptian Empire.
Ancient Egypt’s complicated annals are filled with massive
communal building projects and great individuals traced through many
millennia. Archaeologists are still debating about the exact chronology
of certain Egyptian dynasties and individual rulers, however, general
agreement exists on the division of history into set phases, giving a
name to each. The Pre-Dynastic and Early Dynastic periods are followed
by the Old, Middle, and New Kingdoms with Intermediate periods in
between. These are followed by the Late, Macedonian, and Ptolemaic
periods until Egypt was absorbed into the Roman Empire in the first
century a.d.
The Pre-Dynastic and Early
Dynastic Periods (5000–2780 b.c. )
For many years Egypt was not one kingdom but two — Upper
Egypt in the south and Lower Egypt in the north. It was not until 3170
b.c. that King Narmer of Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt. Around 3100
b.c. the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt were unified under King
Menes — his crown was the first to depict the symbols of both
kingdoms. He made his capital at Memphis in Lower Egypt (near
present-day Cairo) and the first Dynasty was founded.
The Old and Middle Kingdoms
The Old Kingdom was established around 2780 b.c. and lasted
more than five centuries. It heralded the first great phase of
development in science and architecture; hieroglyphs were developed and
the first great building phase took place.
Rulers began to grow more powerful and looked for some way
to prove their might both in life and in death. King Djoser of the
Fourthth Dynasty was the first to attempt to build a large funerary
monument to hold his mortal remains and protect the riches buried with
him for his next life. The result is the step pyramid at Saqqara. Other
rulers followed suit and by 2526 b.c. the design had been perfected and
the world was graced by the Great Pyramid at Giza built for Khufu (or
Cheops). Not long before this time, between 2575–2550 b.c. , King
Kephren had the Sphinx erected in his honor at Giza. It was at this
momentous time that the first mummifications began. Khufu’s son
Redjedef, made a monumental change to Egyptian life when he introduced
the solar deity Ra, or Re, into the Egyptian religion. Worship of Ra
would grow to become one of the most important facets of Egyptian
culture over the next 3,000 years.
However, during the decisive years between 2140–2040 b.c. ,
a split occurred between the two Kingdoms when rival power bases arose
in Heliopolis in Lower Egypt and Thebes (modern Luxor) in Upper Egypt.
This is what archaeologists call the first intermediate period. The
Karnak temple at Thebes was begun around 2134 b.c. , marking the city’s
rise to prominence.
The Middle Kingdom, 2040–1801 b.c. , commenced with Theban
rulers of the 11th Dynasty attempting to extend their control, and
Egypt was reunified under Mentuhotep II. His successors built a power
base at Thebes, and started a cultural renaissance with wide-reaching
effects on Egyptian art and archaeology. The local Theban god Amon
became intertwined with Ra creating the deity Amon Ra and around 1800
b.c. , the female Osiris cult developed into a main deity. Thebes held
onto power until the 12th Dynasty, when its first king, Amenemhet Iwho
reigned between 1980–1951 b.c. established a capital near Memphis.
However, he continued to give prominence to the Theban god Amon,
ensuring that the worship spread across the Kingdom.
But other rival peoples coveted the riches of Egypt and
near 1600 b.c. , a people called the Hyskos invaded Lower Egypt from
Libya, splitting the Kingdom in two and starting the second
intermediate period.
The New Kingdom (1540–1100 b.c.)
Hyskos rule lasted less than 100 years. They were driven
out of Lower Egypt by Ahmose I who founded the 18th Dynasty, ruling
over a united Egypt from a capital at Thebes. The pharaohs of the 18th
Dynasty instigated many important reforms. They reorganized the army
and consolidated power in the hands of family members at the expense of
feudal leaders. Artistically and culturally Egypt reached its zenith
during the New Kingdom and many of the most renowned Pharaohs reigned
during this time. The Valley of the Kings was also chosen as a new
burial ground for the Pharaohs when Tuthmoses I (1504–1492 b.c. ) was
entombed in a narrow valley across the river from the temple at
Karnak.
Throughout the 1400s (b.c. ) Karnak and Luxor temples were
greatly expanded and several huge building projects took place on the
west bank. However in 1356–1339 b.c. a new Pharaoh, Amenophis IV,
decided to leave Thebes and, with his wife Nefertiti, created a new
capital on a virgin site at Tell El Amarna to the north. He introduced
a monotheistic cult around the one true god — Aten — and changed his
name to Akhenaten (“He who pleases Aten. ” ). This sudden change
brought chaos to Egypt and she lost international influence, but
Akhenaten’s successor — his son, the young Tutankhamun — brought power
back to Thebes and reinvested the priests of Amon Ra and his fellow
gods with religious supremacy.
Tutankhamun died in mysterious circumstances without an
heir. His warrior successor, Ramses I, heralded the start of the 19th
Dynasty to be followed by Seti I 1291–1279 b.c. who won back many of
the lands lost during the Akhenaten years.
The 60-year rule of Ramses II (1279–1212 b.c. ) was a great
finale to the New Kingdom era. One of the most prolific builders in the
history of Egypt ruled for over 60 years and supervised magnificent
projects expanding Luxor and Karnak temples and creating the
magnificent Abu Simbel. Some scholars now postulate that Ramses II was
the Egyptian Pharoah of biblical fame who let the Jews leave his land
for Israel.
Following Ramses II, Ramses III built a vast mortuary
complex at Medinet Habu but power was already slipping from royal hands
into those of the exclusive and secretive priesthood known as the
servants of Amun-Ra. In 1070 b.c. the country was split again and
foreign powers began to overrun the borders. By 715 b.c. Egypt was
already dominated by foreign power — the Assyrians — and also began
increasing trade and diplomacy with the expanding Roman Empire.
The Ptolemaic Period
In 332 b.c. Alexander the Great occupied Egypt and
appointed Cleomenes of Naucratis, a Greek resident in Egypt and his
Macedonian general, as governor. Then, after Alexander’s death in 323
b.c. , Cleomenes took control of the country under the name Ptolemy I.
The new city of Alexandria, located on the Mediterranean coast, became
the base for the Ptolemaic control of Egypt and the cultural capital of
Europe, and Thebes finally lost its influence. However, the Ptolemies
were responsible for building and refurbishing several important
temples in Upper Egypt, including Denderah, Philae, and Edfu. They
adopted Egyptian gods as their own and did much to prolong Egyptian
culture rather than simply converting it to Greek.
The Ptolemaic era came to an end with its most famous
ruler, Queen Cleopatra. During her lifetime, 69–30 b.c. , the infamous
queen attempted to link her land to Rome through her liaison with
Julius Caesar. Their son Caesarean would have ruled over both
countries, thus continuing the Egyptian blood line. However, events
turned profoundly against Cleopatra when Caesar was suddenly killed and
she fled back to Alexandria to commit suicide in 30 b.c. Egypt was
reduced to a provincial status in the Empire, as it was ruled first
from Rome and subsequently from Constantinople.
The Arab Empire
Egypt was caught up in the first wave of Moslem Arab
expansion in the 630s (a.d. ), less than ten years after the death of
the prophet Mohamed. His teachings were encapsulated in the Koran and
they fired the,previously disparate Arab tribes to spread the word of
Allah. Egypt became one of the most influential Arab states, especially
when, in the mid-9th century, a more powerful Arab force — the
Fatimids — swept across Egypt from the west. They established a capital
called Al-Qahira — “the City of Victory” — known to the modern world as
Cairo.
Over the next two centuries, Cairo became a center of
culture and learning that was unsurpassed in the Islamic world with the
establishment of the renowned El-Azhar University and mosque. In 1169
the Fatimids were crushed by the armies of Saladin — already flush with
victories in Palestine and Syria — who established the Ayyubid Dynasty
and created the fortified citadel to protect Cairo. However Ayyubid
control was weak and power was usurped by their Turkish slaves, called
mamelukes, who succeeded in founding a dynasty that lasted from 1251 to
1517. In Cairo they built vast palaces and ornate mosques, and expanded
the influence of the great Khan el-Khalili market to expand Egypt’s
trading power.
Mameluke power was taken by Ottoman Turks in 1517, but
little changed on a day-to-day basis as the Turks preferred to use
local people to control their more remote dominions. They appointed an
overall governor, or Pasha, who then organized the country to his own
liking with mameluke help. Egypt became a backwater, even more so as
the Ottoman Empire went into chronic terminal decline in the 18th
century, with a series of crises that local mamelukes were unable to
control.
As Ottoman control weakened, Egypt became a pawn in a
larger game. In 1798 a young Napoleon Bonaparte, eager to curtail
growing British power, arrived in Egypt and after a short and decisive
battle claimed the country for France. He set about forming a ruling
body, and sent scholars and artists out into the countryside to explore
and record its ancient treasures — thus sparking the great interest in
Egyptology among scholars in France and the rest of Western Europe. His
stay was short-lived however; the British fleet were after him and
inflicted a devastating defeat on the French Navy at the battle of
Aboukir later the same year. Napoleon went home to claim ‘victory’ but
he had to leave the bulk of his army behind. Meanwhile an Ottoman force
had been dispatched from Istanbul to counter the French. They were led
by Mohammed Ali, a brilliant intellect who, in the aftermath of the
French withdrawal, asked to be appointed Pasha of Egypt. The Ottoman
Sultan agreed to his request and he set about establishing his power
base. In 1811 Mohamed organized a grand banquet and called all the
notable mamelukes to attend. Once they were all at his compound he had
them massacred — their influence had come to a sudden, bloody end.
Mohammed Ali had a vision for his new domain. He admired
western military tactics and set about modernizing the army and navy.
Agriculture and commerce were brought up-to-date and cotton was
introduced as a commercial crop. Cairo saw a rash of new building that
expanded the city’s boundaries. The new ruler grew wealthy and
powerful, twice declaring war on his sovereign and almost beating the
sizeable but dissolute Ottoman army. Istanbul was forced to recognize
this powerful thorn in its side as a semi-autonomous part of the
empire, and granted hereditary status to the role of Pasha of Egypt.
Later the title was upgraded to khedive, the equivalent of Viceroy.
The House of Mohammed Ali, however, ultimately failed to
live up to its founder’s great achievements, as the ruling body
increasingly grew to be corrupt and recklessly irresponsible. The one
great feat that was achieved during their sovereignty, though, was the
creation of the Suez Canal, an engineering marvel of its day that
opened with great aplomb in 1869. The Khedive Ismael had extravagant
plans for numerous great works that were to be financed by Western
European powers, but when he became stuck in a financial quagmire, they
insisted on bringing in their own advisors to control key institutions.
The British soon had an unassailable grip on Egyptian politics and
commerce.
The 20th Century
As European power-brokering turned into World War I, Egypt
became vital to the British, being close to the enemy Ottoman
heartland, and allowing quick passage through the Suez Canal to her
dominions in India, the Far East, Australia, and New Zealand. When the
Ottoman Empire crumbled in the aftermath of the war, Egypt declared
itself an independent kingdom, but real power remained in London. A
strong independence party, the Wafd, gained political power during the
1920s and became a prominent force throughout the next few decades.
In World War II Hitler and Mussolini recognized that the
Suez Canal was vital to British plans, and Egypt — along with the rest
of North Africa — became an important field of battle. Axis forces were
at one point only 150 miles from Cairo but Allied soldiers finally
gained the upper hand following the British victory at El Alemain in
1942, and Egypt remained firmly in British hands for the rest of the
war.
Post-war politics brought a new set of problems. The new
Jewish state of Israel founded on land so recently Islamic Palestine
sent shock waves through the Arab world and Egypt found itself at the
center of a bloody defeat in 1948 when it stood up against its new
neighbor. King Farouk, who had come to the throne in 1936, was seen as
a playboy with a love of luxurious living. When he attempted to restore
national pride by wresting the Suez Canal out of British hands he
suffered an embarrassing diplomatic defeat and, at home, unrest turned
to opposition.
In June 1952 a group of high-ranking military officers
declared a military coup. Led by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, they drove
Farouk into exile and nationalized the Suez Canal. Nasser was to rule
for 17 years during which, with Soviet help, Egypt embarked on a huge
modernization program. Chief among its projects was the Aswan High Dam,
which provided hydroelectricity to the population and freed the country
from the scourge of the annual river flood, bringing security to the
highly populated Nile Delta.
Anwar el-Sadat succeeded Nasser in 1970. He was not as
charismatic as Nassar and, though he had a more moderate stance, became
embroiled in several unsuccessful short wars with Israel that severely
weakened the country and left the Sinai region in Israeli hands.
Limited success in 1973 restored some national pride when the Sinai was
returned, but Sadat was aware that his country could be bled dry if the
conflict continued. In 1979 Egypt became the first Arab state to
recognize the state of Israel — other Arab states were aghast and
internal opposition to Sadat grew. In 1981 he was assassinated by an
army officer while taking the salute at a military parade.
Since then Hosny Mubarak has been Egypt’s president. He has
worked hard to find a place for Egypt at the negotiation table, acting
as a moderator and offering Cairo as a venue for Arab/Israeli peace
talks throughout the 80s and 90s. Mubarak’s pragmatic approach has
earned him many admirers, but also some enemies — not least among them,
extremists within his own country. During the 1990s they made numerous
attempts to de-stabilize his regime, finally resorting to attacking the
mainstay of the Egyptian economy — tourism — and several despicable
attacks on foreign visitors resulted in over 60 deaths. A number of
trials are said to have put the instigators in prison and security
measures have been enhanced, but their actions did a great deal of
damage from which Egypt will be slow to recover. Tourism numbers fell
dramatically but are now rising again as visitors grow more confident.
Meanwhile the vast majority of ordinary Egyptians, who offer a warm
welcome to tourists, put their faith in Allah for an upturn in their
economic fortunes.
