History of Egypt | 7th century CE to present | Britannica (original) (raw)
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major treatment
In Egypt: History This section presents the history of Egypt from the Islamic conquests of the 7th century ce until the present day. For a discussion of Egypt’s earlier history, see Egypt, ancient. Read More
Arabia
In history of Arabia: Resistance to the Ottomans …urged Muḥammad ʿAlī, viceroy of Egypt, to drive the Wahhābīs from the Holy Cities. Egyptian troops invaded Arabia, and after a bitter seven-year struggle the viceroy’s forces recaptured Mecca and Medina. The Wahhābī leader was forced to surrender his capital and was then beheaded. Egyptian occupation of western Arabia continued… Read More
Byzantine Empire
In Byzantine Empire: Christological controversies …non-Chalcedonian, churches—particularly the Coptic (Egyptian) and Syrian churches within the empire—were stigmatized as heretics, a situation that was not resolved until formal discussions in the late 20th century resolved many of the ancient disputes. (Ironically, both Chalcedonian and non-Chalcedonian churches invoked Cyril in their claims to Christian orthodoxy.) Read More
In Byzantine Empire: Michael VIII …well as the Mamlūks of Egypt. But diplomacy was ineffective against Muslim Ghazis (warriors inspired by the ideal of holy war); by the time the threat from Italy was removed in 1282, it was almost too late to save Byzantine Anatolia. Read More
conquest by ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ
In ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ …however, for his conquest of Egypt—a campaign that, according to some sources, he undertook on his own initiative. After defeating large Byzantine forces at Heliopolis (now a suburb of Cairo) in 640 and Babylon (a Byzantine town on the site of the present Old Cairo) in 641, he entered the… Read More
control of Kordofan
In Kordofan …14th century nomadic Arabs from Egypt had spread southward all over Kordofan, amalgamating with some of the indigenous inhabitants and driving the remnants into the hills. In the 17th century the Musabaʾat sultanate was established in the region. In the 18th century both the Funj sultans of Sennar and the… Read More
Egypt Uprising of 2011
In Arab Spring: Egypt’s January 25 Revolution …were quickly organized among young Egyptians through social media (see Wael Ghonim), bringing out massive crowds across Egypt on January 25. The Egyptian government also tried and failed to control protests by offering concessions while cracking down violently against protesters. After several days of massive demonstrations and clashes between protesters… Read More
Eritrea
In Eritrea: Contesting for the coastlands and beyond …early 19th century, when the Egyptians invaded Sudan and raided deep into the Eritrean lowlands. The Red Sea coast, having its strategic and commercial importance, was contested by many powers. In the 16th century the Ottoman Turks occupied the Dahlak Archipelago and then Massawa, where they maintained with occasional interruption… Read More
expulsion from Arab League
In Arab League After Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel on March 26, 1979, the other members of the Arab League voted to suspend Egypt’s membership and to transfer the league’s headquarters from Cairo to Tunis. Egypt was reinstated as a member of the Arab League in 1989,… Read More
Ḥamās
In Hamas: Political relations …agreement in negotiations mediated by Egypt. The agreement, signed in Cairo on May 4, called for the formation of an interim government to organize legislative and presidential elections. After months of negotiations over the leadership of the interim government, the two parties announced in February 2012 that they had selected… Read More
In Hamas: Political relations …the border between Gaza and Egypt and shut down most of the smuggling tunnels that had been a major source of tax revenue for Hamas as well as a primary means of supplying a wide variety of goods to the Gaza Strip. By late 2013 Hamas was struggling to pay… Read More
Hünkâr Iskelesi Treaty
In Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi …insurgent Muḥammad ʿAlī Pasha of Egypt, the Ottoman sultan Mahmud II, after his requests for assistance had been rejected by Austria, Great Britain, and France, accepted Russian military aid early in 1833. In return he concluded, at the village of Hünkâr İskelesi, near Istanbul (Constantinople), an eight-year treaty that proclaimed… Read More
infitāḥ
In infitāḥ >Egypt initiated by Pres. Anwar Sadat in the early 1970s. Read More
Islamic revival and reform efforts
In Islamic world: Postcolonial states and Islam In Egypt, which became a constitutional monarchy after 1922 (though it was under colonial control until 1952), the question of the relation between state and Islam generated fierce political controversies between secularists and those who interpreted Islam as a system of government. Among the latter, the… Read More
In Islamic world: Islamist movements from the 1960s A new alliance between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, fostered by economic assistance to Egypt from Saudi Arabia and other oil-producing Persian Gulf states, altered the geopolitical map of Islam and led to new religious dynamics. In 1962 the Saudi regime established the Muslim World League in Mecca with the… Read More
In Islamic world: Islamist movements from the 1960s …because secular nation-states—exemplified by Nasserist Egypt—had led only to barbarity. Quṭb’s ideology was also influenced by Abū al-Aʿlā al-Mawdūdī (1903–79), founder in British India in 1941 of the Islamic Assembly, the first Islamic political party. The Islamic Assembly was reconfigured after the partition of Pakistan and India in 1947 in… Read More
In Islamic world: Islamist movements from the 1960s …and Islamist groups, as in Egypt from the 1970s to the mid-1990s. This repression resulted in the exile of many Islamist activists to Europe and the Americas and led many others to join such military fronts as the Afghan Jihad. Read More
In Islamic world: Dimensions of the Islamic revival In the late 1990s the Egyptian ʿAmr Khālid became one of many popular preachers who reached a global audience. Through his Web site he disseminated advice on understanding and living Islam as a general ethics and on specific disciplines for achieving success and happiness in this world and in the… Read More
land reform
In land reform: Egypt The Egyptian reform of 1952 followed the revolution that overthrew the monarchy and brought young middle-class leaders to the helm. Though affecting only about 12 percent of the arable land, it was applied thoroughly and touched all aspects of rural life. Egypt had two… Read More
Mamlūks
In Mamluk …establish a dynasty that ruled Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517. The name is derived from an Arabic word for slave. Read More
Muslim Brotherhood
In Muslim Brotherhood …founded in 1928 at Ismailia, Egypt, by Hassan al-Banna. Islamist in orientation, it advocated a return to the Qurʾān and the Hadith as guidelines for a healthy modern Islamic society. The Brotherhood spread rapidly throughout Egypt, Sudan, Syria Read More
participation in Jebel Akhdar War
In Jebel Akhdar War by Saudi Arabia and Egypt, and the sultan of Muscat and Oman, who was aided by Britain. The rebels sought independence and control of the interior lands and any oil to be found therein. Read More
Persian Gulf War
In Persian Gulf War: The international response to the invasion of Kuwait …the Arab Gulf states, were Egypt and Syria, whose leaders had improved mutual relations in the months preceding the invasion. Saddam countered the Arab League resolution on August 12 by declaring that “all occupation problems, and those portrayed as occupation problems in the Middle East, can be resolved simultaneously and… Read More
ship design
In ship: Early rowed vessels …of boats is found in Egypt during the 4th millennium bce. A culture nearly completely riparian, Egypt was narrowly aligned along the Nile, totally supported by it, and served by transport on its uninterruptedly navigable surface below the First Cataract (at modern-day Aswān). There are representations of Egyptian boats used… Read More
War of Greek Independence
In War of Greek Independence …threatened by the arrival of Egyptian forces, led by Ibrahim Pasha, which had been sent to aid the Turks (1825). With the support of Egyptian sea power, the Ottoman forces successfully invaded the Peloponnese; they furthermore captured Missolonghi in April 1826, the town of Athens (Athína) in August 1826, and… Read More
World War I
In World War I: The Egyptian frontiers, 1915–July 1917 Even after the evacuation from Gallipoli, the British maintained 250,000 troops in Egypt. A major source of worry to the British was the danger of a Turkish threat from Palestine across the Sinai Desert to the Suez Canal. That danger waned,… Read More
World War II
In World War II: Egypt and Cyrenaica, 1940–summer 1941 The contemporary course of events in the Balkans, described above, nullified the first great victory won by British land forces in World War II, which took place in North Africa. When Italy declared war against Great Britain in June 1940,… Read More
In World War II: Libya and Egypt, autumn 1941–summer 1942 In the Western Desert, a major offensive against Rommel’s front was undertaken on November 18, 1941, by the British 8th Army, commanded by Cunningham under the command in chief of Wavell’s successor in the Middle East, General Sir Claude Auchinleck. The… Read More
Arab-Israeli wars
In Arab-Israeli wars: 1956: Suez Crisis …the rise to power of Egyptian Pres. Gamal Abdel Nasser, a staunch Pan-Arab nationalist. Nasser took a hostile stance toward Israel. In 1956 Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal, a vital waterway connecting Europe and Asia that was largely owned by French and British concerns. France and Britain responded by striking… Read More
Camp David Accords
In Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt signed on September 17, 1978, that led in the following year to a peace treaty between those two countries, the first such treaty between Israel and any of its Arab neighbours. Brokered by U.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter (this author) between Israeli Prime Minister Menachem… Read More
Gaza Strip
In Gaza Strip: Occupation Egyptian forces soon entered the town of Gaza, which became the headquarters of the Egyptian expeditionary force in Palestine. As a result of heavy fighting in autumn 1948, the area around the town under Arab occupation was reduced to a strip of territory 25 miles… Read More
Israel
In Ariel Sharon: Early life and military career …heightened tensions between Israel and Egypt. In late October 1956 the crisis culminated in the invasion of Egypt by Israel, in secret alliance with Britain and France (see Suez Crisis). In the ensuing campaign, Sharon commanded paratroopers who captured the strategic Mitla Pass in the central Sinai Peninsula. He exceeded… Read More
In Israel: The Suez War The Israeli raids humiliated Egypt’s nationalist government headed by Gamal Abdel Nasser, a veteran of the 1948 war and leader of the group that had overthrown King Farouk in 1952. Nasser sought to lead the Arabs in expelling British and French imperial influence and regarded Israel as a symbol… Read More
Six-Day War
In 20th-century international relations: The Six-Day War …which it had formed with Egypt in 1958. Likewise, the presence of 50,000 Egyptian troops in Yemen failed to overcome the forces supporting the Yemeni imam, who was backed in turn by Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, the Cairo Conference of 1964 succeeded in rallying pan-Arab unity around resistance… Read More
In Six-Day War: Background and escalation Egyptian Pres. Gamal Abdel Nasser had previously come under sharp criticism for his failure to aid Syria and Jordan against Israel; he had also been accused of hiding behind the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) stationed at Egypt’s border with Israel in the Sinai. Now,… Read More
In 20th-century international relations: Palestinian terrorism and diplomacy Egypt, having lost the Sinai, faced Israelis entrenched in the Bar-Lev line directly across the Suez Canal. Jordan, having lost the West Bank, faced Israeli troops directly across the Jordan River. Syria, having lost the Golan Heights, faced Israeli forces within easy striking distance of… Read More
Suez Crisis
In aggression Israel, Great Britain, France, and Egypt in 1956, and between Israel, Jordan, and Egypt in 1970. None of these states was at the time declared an aggressor. On the other hand, Japan was found to be an aggressor in Manchuria in 1933, Paraguay in the Chaco area in 1935, North… Read More
In Suez Crisis …British decision not to finance Egypt’s construction of the Aswan High Dam, as they had promised, in response to Egypt’s growing ties with communist Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union. Nasser reacted to the American and British decision by declaring martial law in the canal zone and seizing control of the… Read More
In 20th-century international relations: The Suez Crisis …most critical change occurred in Egypt, where in 1952 a cabal of young army officers backed by the Muslim Brotherhood forced the dissolute King Farouk into exile. In 1954 Nasser emerged to assume control. Nasser envisioned a pan-Arab movement led by Egypt that would expel the British from the Middle… Read More
War of Attrition
In War of Attrition …inconclusive war (1969–70) chiefly between Egypt and Israel. The conflict, launched by Egypt, was meant to wear down Israel by means of a long engagement and so provide Egypt with the opportunity to dislodge Israeli forces from the Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had seized from Egypt in the Six-Day (June)… Read More
Yom Kippur War
In 20th-century international relations: Palestinian terrorism and diplomacy The Egyptian army moved across the Suez Canal in force and engaged the Bar-Lev line. For the first time it made substantial progress and inflicted a level of casualties especially damaging for the outnumbered Israelis. Syrian forces also stormed the Golan Heights. The United States and… Read More
In Yom Kippur War …the afternoon of October 6 Egypt and Syria attacked Israel simultaneously on two fronts. With the element of surprise to their advantage, Egyptian forces successfully crossed the Suez Canal with greater ease than expected, suffering only a fraction of the anticipated casualties, while Syrian forces were able to launch their… Read More
European imperialism
In Western colonialism: The Europeans in North Africa The course of Egypt’s loss of sovereignty resembled somewhat the same process in Tunisia: easy credit extended by Europeans, bankruptcy, increasing control by foreign-debt commissioners, mulcting of the peasants to raise revenue for servicing the debt, growing independence movements, and finally military conquest by a foreign power. In… Read More
In Western colonialism: The Sinai-Suez campaign (October–November 1956) …29, 1956, Israel’s army attacked Egypt in the Sinai Peninsula, and within 48 hours the British and French were fighting Egypt for control of the Suez area. But the Western allies found Egyptian resistance more determined than they had anticipated. Before they could turn their invasion into a real occupation,… Read More
Allenby’s rule
In Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby As high commissioner for Egypt (1919–25) Allenby steered that country firmly but impartially through political disturbances and saw it recognized as a sovereign state in 1922. Read More
Amiens Treaty
In Treaty of Amiens The British were to restore Egypt (evacuated by the French) to the Ottoman Empire and Malta to the Knights of St. John within three months. The rights and territories of the Ottoman Empire and of Portugal were to be respected, with the exception that France would keep Portuguese Guinea. Read More
Anglo-Egyptian treaty
In Anglo-Egyptian Treaty …years of British occupation in Egypt; it was ratified in December 1936. Nevertheless, Egyptian sovereignty remained circumscribed by the terms of the treaty, which established a 20-year military alliance that allowed Great Britain to impose martial law and censorship in Egypt in the event of international emergency, provided for the… Read More
Battle of the Pyramids
In Battle of the Pyramids …had proposed the invasion of Egypt in early 1798. Control of Egypt would provide France with a new source of income while simultaneously blocking the Red Sea, a major route of English access to India, thus disrupting a significant source of revenue for France’s main European opponent. The plan was… Read More
British Empire
In 20th-century international relations: The New Imperialism …as when the British occupied Egypt in 1882, but more often it was for strategic reasons or in pursuit of national prestige. One necessary condition for the New Imperialism, often overlooked, is technological. Prior to the 1870s Europeans could overawe native peoples along the coasts of Africa and Asia but… Read More
In United Kingdom: Gladstone and Chamberlain …break a nationalist revolt in Egypt, he lost the support of the aged radical John Bright. In 1882 Egypt was occupied, thereby adding, against Gladstone’s own inclinations, to British imperial commitments. A rebellion in the Sudan in 1885 led to the massacre of Gen. Charles Gordon and his garrison at… Read More
Dinshaway Incident
In Dinshaway Incident …officers during the occupation of Egypt by Great Britain (1882–1952). Harsh exemplary punishments dealt to a number of villagers in the wake of the incident sparked an outcry among many Egyptians and helped galvanize Egyptian nationalist sentiment against British occupation. Read More
Entente Cordiale
In Entente Cordiale …action to Great Britain in Egypt and to France in Morocco (with the proviso that France’s eventual dispositions for Morocco include reasonable allowance for Spain’s interests there). At the same time, Great Britain ceded the Los Islands (off French Guinea) to France, defined the frontier of Nigeria in France’s favour,… Read More
French Revolution
In French Revolution: The Directory and revolutionary expansion …British in India by occupying Egypt. An expeditionary corps under Bonaparte easily occupied Malta and Egypt, but the squadron that had convoyed it was destroyed by Horatio Nelson’s fleet at the Battle of the Nile on 14 Thermidor, year VI (August 1, 1798). This disaster encouraged the formation of a… Read More
post-World War I rebellion
In 20th-century international relations: The reorganization of the Middle East In Egypt, under British occupation since 1882 and a protectorate since 1914, the nationalist Wafd Party under Saʿd Zaghlūl Pasha, agitated for full independence on Wilsonian principles. Their three weeks’ revolt of March 1919, suppressed by Anglo-Indian troops, gave way to passive resistance and bitter negotiations… Read More
foreign relations with
Ethiopia
In Werner Munzinger …of Mitsiwa he annexed to Egypt two provinces of northern Abyssinia, and in 1872 he was made pasha and governor-general of the eastern Sudan. It is believed that it was on his advice that Ismail sanctioned the Abyssinian enterprise, but in 1875 the command of the Egyptian troops in northern… Read More
In Ethiopia: Yohannes IV (1872–89) After ejecting two Egyptian armies from the highlands of Eritrea in 1875–76, Yohannes moved south, forcing Shewa’s king Sahle Mariam to submit and to renounce imperial ambitions. Yohannes thus became the first Ethiopian emperor in 300 years to wield authority from Tigray south to Guragē. He then sought… Read More
Iraq
In Iraq: Iraqi foreign policy, 1958–68 Also, fearing Egyptian domination, as had happened in the Syrian province of the U.A.R., Qāsim rejected the courtship of Egyptian Pres. Gamal Abdel Nasser and refused a merger with Egypt. This led the two Free Officers’ regimes—as the Egyptian regime was also termed—into a conflict that greatly… Read More
Israel
In 20th-century international relations: The Middle East Egypt, the most populous Arab state, had no desire to disturb its peace with Israel dating from the Camp David Accords. Saudi Arabia and the other wealthy oil states were preoccupied with the Persian Gulf crisis and nervous about the presence in their countries of… Read More
In Israel: The war of 1948 …armies of five Arab states—Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Transjordan (now Jordan)—and within a few days, the state’s survival appeared to be at stake. Read More
In United States: Foreign affairs …for a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. Further torturous negotiations followed before the peace treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 1979. Read More
Jordan
In Jordan: Securing the throne, 1953 to c. 1960 …much to a contest with Egypt over Jordan’s future as it did to a struggle with Israel. In particular, it repeatedly forced Jordan to balance relations with and between various Arab nations, the Palestinians, and the West and Israel. Thus, popular demonstrations, especially in the West Bank, and pressure from… Read More
Lebanon
In Beirut: Ottoman rule …occupation of Syria by the Egyptians (1832–40) under Muḥammad ʿAlī Pasha provided the needed stimulus for the town to enter on its new period of commercial growth. A brief setback came with the end of the Egyptian occupation; by 1848, however, the town had begun to outgrow its walls, and… Read More
In Lebanon: Chamoun regime and the 1958 crisis …leader Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt. During the Suez War (October–December 1956), Chamoun earned Nasser’s enmity by refusing to break off diplomatic relations with Britain and France, which had joined Israel in attacking Egypt. Chamoun was accused of seeking to align Lebanon with the Western-sponsored Central Treaty Organization, also known… Read More
Libya
In Libya: The Qaddafi regime …formal beginnings of unity with Egypt, Sudan, and Tunisia, but these and other such plans failed as differences arose between the governments concerned. Qaddafi’s Libya supported the Palestinian cause and intervened to support it, as well as other guerrilla and revolutionary organizations in Africa and the Middle East. Such moves… Read More
Ottoman Empire
In Ottoman Empire: Mehmed II Egypt, which sought to expand into southeastern Anatolia. Mehmed neutralized Mamluk forces, though he could not defeat them. He then turned to Venice, initiating several naval raids along the Adriatic coast that finally led to a peace in 1479, whereby Venice surrendered its bases in… Read More
In Ottoman Empire: Allied war aims and the proposed peace settlement …and declared a protectorate over Egypt. By the Anglo-French Sykes-Picot Agreement (January 3, 1916), the French sphere was confirmed and extended eastward to Mosul in Iraq. A British sphere of influence in Mesopotamia extended as far north as Baghdad, and Britain was given control of Read More
Palestine
In Palestine: Ottoman rule Egypt, always a determining factor in the fortunes of Palestine, was placed, after the French withdrawal, under the rule of the viceroy Muḥammad (Meḥmet) ʿAlī, who soon embarked on a program of expansion at the expense of his Ottoman overlord. In 1831 his armies occupied… Read More
In Saudi Arabia: Foreign relations, 1932–53 Diplomatic relations with Egypt, severed in 1926 because of an incident on the Meccan pilgrimage, were not renewed until after the death of King Fuʾād of Egypt in 1936. Read More
In Saudi Arabia: Foreign affairs …the rise to power of Egypt’s Pan-Arab nationalist president Gamal Abdel Nasser, Saudi relations with Egypt were often strained. Egyptian propaganda made frequent attacks on the Saudi system of royal government. When Egyptian troops were sent to North Yemen in 1962, tension between Saudi Arabia and Egypt became more acute.… Read More
Somalia
In Somalia: Competition between the European powers and Ethiopia On the African continent itself Egypt also was involved, and later Ethiopia, expanding and consolidating its realm under the guiding leadership of the emperors Tewodros II, Yohannes IV, and Menilek II. Britain’s interest in the northern Somali coast followed the establishment in 1839 of the British coaling station at Aden… Read More
South Sudan
In South Sudan: Colonial administration …to be administered jointly by Egypt and Great Britain, with a governor-general appointed by the khedive of Egypt but nominated by the British government. In reality, however, there was no equal partnership between Britain and Egypt in the Sudan, as the British dominated the condominium from the beginning. Their first… Read More
Sudan, The
In Sudan …side of the continent, ancient Egypt’s links with the Sudan region were generally strong, notably with Nubia. After the Nubian empire had been overrun by Muslims, it was replaced by kingdoms such as those of Dongola, Darfur, and Funj. Later there was invasion from Egypt and, in 1899, the establishment… Read More
In al-Mahdiyyah …overcoming the unpopular ruling Turco-Egyptian regime in the Sudan, resulted in the establishment of a Mahdist state (1885). After Muḥammad Aḥmad’s death shortly thereafter, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad succeeded to leadership of the movement and the nascent state, which was conquered by the British in 1898. Read More
In Sudan: Medieval Christian kingdoms Egypt was invaded in 639, and small groups of Arab raiders penetrated up the Nile and pillaged along the frontier of the kingdom of Maqurrah, which by the 7th century had absorbed the state of Nobatia. Raid and counterraid between the Arabs and the Nubians… Read More
Syria
In Syria: The union with Egypt, 1958–61 The years that followed the overthrow of Shishakli in Syria saw the rise of Pres. Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt to leadership of the Pan-Arab unity movement. The coalition regime in Syria turned more and more to Egypt for support and also established… Read More
In Damascus: Modern city During Syria’s short-lived union with Egypt as the United Arab Republic (1958–61), Damascus lost its title of capital to Cairo. In 1963 the Baʿth Party came to power through a coup and embarked on an experiment of socialist reform. In 1970 Ḥafiz al-Assad, then the minister of defense, led an… Read More
United States
In United States: Eisenhower’s second term …the invaders to withdraw from Egypt and preventing events in Hungary from triggering a confrontation between the superpowers. Owing in part to these crises, Eisenhower carried all but seven states in the election. It was a purely personal victory, however, for the Democrats retained control of both houses of Congress. Read More
In United States: Foreign affairs …September 1978 he met with Egyptian Pres. Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin at a two-week negotiating session at Camp David, Maryland, and on September 17 Carter announced that two accords had been signed establishing the terms for a peace treaty between Read More
In United States: Removal of Mohammed Morsi, Obama’s red line in Syria, and chemical weapons Developments in Egypt and Syria in 2013 continued to provide major challenges for U.S. foreign policy. When protests against the Egyptian military’s removal of Mohammed Morsi from the presidency in July led to the killing of hundreds of his supporters in July and August, some American politicians… Read More
In Barack Obama: Spring scandals and summer challenges …being tested by events in Egypt, where the military had removed Pres. Mohamed Morsi from power in July. Because the U.S. government was legally prohibited from providing financial aid (which amounted to more that \$1 billion annually for Egypt) to countries whose leadership changed as the result of a coup,… Read More
Yemen
In Yemen: Two Yemeni states The new republic called upon Egypt for assistance, and Egyptian troops and equipment arrived almost immediately to defend the new regime of ʿAbd Allāh al-Sallāl, the nominal leader of the 1962 revolution and the first president of North Yemen. Nearly as quickly, Saudi Arabia provided aid and sanctuary to the… Read More
role of
Cromer
In Evelyn Baring, 1st earl of Cromer: Service in India. Baring first went to Egypt in 1877, when he served as representative of the British holders of Egyptian bonds on the recently created Egyptian Public Debt Commission. The commission was designed to help the Egyptian viceroy, the khedive Ismāʿīl Pasha, out of his financial difficulties, and also to safeguard… Read More
Kleber
In Jean-Baptiste Kléber …Bonaparte for the invasion of Egypt. After the French landed at Alexandria on July 1–2, Kléber was wounded in the ensuing battle. He remained in Alexandria as governor for several months, but on April 16, 1799, he defeated the Turks at Mount Tabor. On Napoleon’s departure for France in August… Read More
Napoleon
In Napoleon I: The Directory of Napoleon I …Great Britain’s wealth by occupying Egypt and threatening the route to India. This proposal, seconded by Charles-Maurice de Talleyrand, the foreign minister, was accepted by the directors, who were glad to get rid of their ambitious young general. Read More
In Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley …by a nationalist uprising in Egypt under ʿUrabī Pasha. In his most brilliant campaign, Wolseley swiftly seized the Suez Canal and, after a night march, surprised and defeated ʿUrabī at Tall al-Kabīr (Sept. 13, 1882). Prime Minister William Gladstone rewarded him with a barony. Back in Egypt in 1884, Wolseley… Read More
United Arab Republic
In United Arab Republic ), political union of Egypt and Syria proclaimed on February 1, 1958, and ratified in nationwide plebiscites later that month. It ended on September 28, 1961, when Syria, following a military coup, declared itself independent of Egypt. Read More
