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Egypt facts and history in brief, part 1Africa & Sinai Peninsula The Arab Republic of Egypt
(Arabic: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah,
where Misr is the word for Egypt)
is a large nation of north-eastern
Africa (Misr is derived from the
name of misname the grandson of
Noah).
Ancient Egyptians considered themselves to be, The People of Two Lands, these lands being Lower and Upper Egypt. The earliest known Pharaoh of the 1st Dynasty is Menes. We know his name because it is written on a palette used for make-up (only men wore make-up). Funeral practices for the peasants would have been the same as in pre-Dynastic times, but the rich demanded something more. Thus, the Egyptians began construction of the mastabas. Menes unified Upper and Lower Egypt in 3100 BC. Before this period the land was settled with autonomous villages, called nomes. Menes established a national administration and appointed royal governors. The buildings of the central government were typically open-air temples constructed of wood or sandstone. Old Kingdom, Third dynasty Around about the 4th Dynasty, the art of embalming began. To embalm and to mummify essentially mean the same thing. To embalm (from the Latin 'in balsamum' means to 'put into balsam', a mixture of aromatic resins) and the process of mummification are very similar in that the corpses were anointed with ointments, oils and resins. The word 'mummy' comes from a misinterpretation of the process. Poorly embalmed bodies (from the Late Period) are often black and very brittle. It was believed that these had been preserved by dipping them in bitumen, the Arabic word for bitumen being 'mumiya'. There are many modern techniques for preserving a body, however these were not available to the ancient Egyptians (freezing, pickling etc). The only method that they were aware of was by drying the body out in the hot sand. This left the body looking most un-lifelike, and not a very suitable home for the 'Ka'. Also not a very reverent way to treat your Pharaoh. The answer came from the Nile. The Nile floods every year. Without it Egypt would be no more than a desert with a river going through it. The flooding brought with it essential silt which made the land fertile. When the waters subsided, it left pools of water behind which dried out in the sun. Once the water had evaporated it left behind a white crystalline substance called natron. The most notable thing about this substance is that it is highly hygroscopic, it will draw and absorb moisture. During the Old Kingdom, Queen Hetepheres internal organs were removed and placed in a solution of natron (about 3%). When the box was opened it contained just sludge, all that remains of the Queen. Early attempts at mummification were total failures. This was recognised by the embalmers and so they took to preserving the shape of the body. They did this by wrapping the body in resin soaked bandages. They became so good at this that one example from the 5th Dynasty of a court musician called Waty, still holds details of warts, calluses, wrinkles and facial details. Lower Egypt is to the north and is that part where the Nile Delta flows into the Mediterranean Sea and Upper Egypt is to the South from the Libyan Desert down to just past Abu Simbel. The reason for this apparent upside-down naming is that Egypt is the 'Gift of the Nile' and as such everything is measured in relation to it. The Nile enters Egypt at the top, winding its way down until exiting via the fertile delta into the Mediterranean Sea in Lower Egypt. After this first one, several other Pyramids were built and some abandoned before they were finished. One notable example is the 'Bent Pyramid': about halfway up it appears that the builders feared they would not be able to maintain the angle they were already building at, and decided to change it to a less steep angle. This resulted in an odd looking Pyramid whose top sloped in suddenly. There is some evidence that around 2675 BC, Egypt started to import timber from Lebanon. At around 2575 BC Pharaoh Khufu (aka. Cheops) makes his mark on the landscape. For him the greatest and most famous pyramid of all was constructed, the Great Pyramid of Giza. When looking at the pyramid group on the Giza plateau it does not seem to be the largest. This is because the tallest looking one has been built on higher ground, but is 10 metres smaller. The Pharaoh Khufu was also responsible for sending expeditions into Nubia for slaves and anything else of value. It is unlikely that these people would have been used for the building of the monuments, at least not at first, as there would not have been enough of them. The Great Pyramid must have taken a great many years to build. One popular and convincing theory is that the peasant farming people of Egypt built all of the temples and monuments, during the floods. This is an attractive theory for many reasons. When the Nile floods the people of Egypt would have had nowhere to live. The Nile floods up to the edge of the desert and would have covered all of the farming and living areas. If there was work to be had building monuments during the flooding season, then the peasant farmers would have had the chance to feed and house their family. Of course all of this would have been paid out of the taxes that the farmers would have paid during the harvest season, but that is the nature of government. This would also account for how the country had become, and stayed, so stable for several hundred years. Pyramid building continued for some time, in fact there are 80 known pyramid sites, although not all of them are still standing. First Intermediate Period This takes us through the 5th and 6th dynasties and into the First Intermediate Period. Little is recorded of this time, as it is a period of great unrest. Middle Kingdom Pharaoh Amenemhat I ended this period of unrest and united the country again and moved the capital to North (lower) Egypt. Sesostris I (son of Amenemhat I) co-reigns with him until his assassination. Sesostris I was able to take control immediately without the country degenerating into unrest again. Sesostris I continued to wage war on Nubia. In 1878 the Pharaoh Senusret III became the king. He continued the military campaigns in Nubia and was the first to try to extend Egypt's power into Syria. Later Amenemhat III came to power. He is regarded as being the greatest monarch of the Middle Kingdom and did much to benefit Egypt. He ruled for 45 years. Much of the greater activities done by the 12th dynasty kings took place outside the valley of the Nile. As was done before there were many expeditions into Nubia, Syria and the Eastern Desert, searching for valuables to be mined and wood to bring back. Also trade was established with Minoan Crete. During the middle kingdom the next phase in tomb design was the rock-cut tomb. The best examples of these can be seen in the Valley of the Kings. They still had grand temples built in more visible areas. The 13th Dynasty is often entered as a part of the Middle Kingdom, although the period seems to be a time confusion and of foreign princes from Asia known as the Hyksos who took advantage of the political instabilities of the Nile Delta to take control of it and later extend their powers south. They brought with them the horse-drawn war chariot. It didn't take the Egyptians long to realise the power of this chariot and use it themselves. This breakdown of central control marks the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period. Second Intermediate Period The 13th Dynasty was ended by the members of the 17th Dynasty. The members of this Dynasty wanted to keep the culture and tradition of the Middle Kingdom alive and pushed the Hyksos out. The New Kingdom The 18th Dynasty heralds the beginning of the New Kingdom. In this New Kingdom, coffins changed shape from the Middle Kingdom rectangle to the familiar mummy-shape with a head and rounded shoulders. At first these were decorated with carved or painted feathers, but later were painted with a representation of the deceased. They were also put together like Russian Dolls, in that a large outer coffin would contain a smaller one, which contained one that was almost moulded to the body. Each one was more elaborately decorated than the one larger than it. It is from this time that most mummies have survived. All soft tissues, like the brain and internal organs were removed. The cavities were washed and then packed with natron, and the body buried in a pile of natron. The intestines, lungs, liver and the stomach were preserved separately and stored in jars protected by the four sons of Horus, Duamutef (stomach), Qebhsenuef (intestines), Hapy (lungs) and Imsety (liver). Such was the perceived power of these jars, even when the organs were returned into the body after preservation (21st Dynasty) they continued to supply the jars. Various Pharaohs extend the control of Egypt further than ever before. Re-taking control of Nubia and extending power northwards into the Upper Euphrates the lands of the Hittites and Mitanni. This is a time of great wealth and power for Egypt. By the time of Amenophis III (1417 BC ~ 1379 BC), Egypt had become so wealthy that he did nothing to further extend its powers and instead rested upon his throne gilded with Nubian gold. He was succeeded by his son Amenophis IV who changed his name to Akhenaton. He moved the capital to a new city he built and called Akhetaten. Here with his new wife Nefertiti, he concentrated on building his new religion and ignored the world outside of Egypt. This allowed various underground factions to build that were not happy with his new world. The new religion was something that had never happened before in Egypt. New gods came along and they were absorbed into the culture, but no god was allowed to push out any old ones. Akhenaton formed a monotheistic religion around Aten. Worship of all other gods was banned, and this caused the majority of the internal unrest. A new culture of art was introduced that was more naturalistic and a complete turnabout from the stylised frieze that has ruled Egyptian art for the last 1700 years. Towards the end of his 17 year reign he took a co-regent his brother, Smenkhkare. The co-reign lasted only two years. When Akhenaton died some of the old gods were revived. In truth they had never gone away, but gone underground. Smenkhkare died after a few months of solo reign. In his place was crowned a young boy. He was not ready for the pressure of ruling this great country and the advisors that surrounded him made the decisions for him. His given name was Tutankhaton, but with the resurgence of Amun he was re-named Tutankhamun. One of the most influential advisors was General Horemheb. Tutankhamun died while he was still a teenager and was succeeded by Ay who probably married Tutankhamun's widow to reinforce his right to the throne. It is possible that Horemheb made Ay a monarch to act as a transitional king until he was ready to take over. Anyway when Ay died, he became ruler and a new period of positive rule began. He set about securing internal stability and re-establishing the prestige that the country had before the reign of Akhenaton. The 19th dynasty was founded by Rameses I. He only reigned for a short time, and was followed by Seti I (AKA Sethos I). Sethos I carried on the good work of Horemheb in restoring power, control and respect of Egypt. He also was responsible for creating the fantastic temple at Abydos. Seti I and his son Rameses II are the only two Pharaohs known to have been circumcised. Rameses II carried on his father's work and created many more splendid temples. Percy Bysshe Shelley wrote a poem about him called Ozymandias. The reign of Rameses II is often given as the most likely date for the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. There are no records in Egyptian history of any of the events described in the Bible, nor any archaeological evidence. Rameses II was succeeded by his son Merneptah and then by Seti II. Rameses III was a Pharaoh of the 20th Dynasty who, after a couple of battles, was followed by a number of short-lived reigns by Pharaohs all called Rameses. After the death of Rameses XI, the priesthood in the person of Herihor wrest control of Egypt away from the Pharaohs. The country was once again split into two parts with Herihor controlling Upper and Smendes controlling Lower Egypt. These were the new rulers of the 21st Dynasty. These kings were also known as The Tenites. Their reign seems to be without any other distinction and they were superseded without any apparent struggle by the Libyan kings of the 22nd Dynasty. Egypt has long had ties with Libya, and the first king of the new Dynasty served as a general under the last ruler of the 21st Dynasty. It is known that he appointed his own son to be the High Priest of Amun, a post that was previously a hereditary appointment. The scant and patchy nature of the written records from this period suggest that is was unsettled. There appear to have been many subversive groups which eventually lead to the creation of the 23rd dynasty which ran concurrent with the 22nd. After the withdrawal of Egypt from the Sudan a Nubian prince took control of lower Nubia. He was succeeded by Piankhi, and it this Piankhi he who decided to push north in an effort to crush his opponent who ruled in the Nile Delta region. He managed to attain power as far as Memphis. His opponent Tefnakhte ultimately submitted to him, but he was allowed to remain in power in Lower Egypt and founded the short-lived 24th Dynasty. Memphis and the Delta region became the target of many attacks from the Assyrians, until Psammetichus managed to reunite Middle and Lower Egypt under his rule forming the 26th Dynasty and the start of the Late Period. Eventually he extended his control over the whole Egypt in 656 BC. He eventually felt strong enough to sever all ties with Assyria, and Assyrian control lapsed. The Saite period ,as the 26th Dynasty is also known as, was a century of revived splendour for Egypt. During the reign of Apries, an army was sent to help the Libyans to eliminate the Greek colony of Cyrene. The disastrous defeat of this army brought about a civil war which resulted in Apries being replaced by Amosis II. Not very much is known about his reign, except from the Greeks who noted that he was mostly concerned with Egyptian domestic affairs and the promotion of good relations with its neighbours. He died in 526 BC, and one year later in 525 BC Egypt fell under Persian power and Cambyses became the first king of the 27th Dynasty. The 30th Dynasty was established in 380 BC and lasted until 343 BC. This was the last native house to rule Egypt. Christianity first came to Egypt in about 40AD, when Mark the Evangelist founded a church in Alexandria. Alexandria became recognised as one of the five patriarchates of early Christianity, together with Rome, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Constantinople. Egypt also became the birthplace of Christian monasticism, and was home to the Desert Fathers. Persian, Greek, Roman, and Arab Conquerors In 525 B.C., Cambyses, the son of Cyrus the Great, led a Persian invasion force that dethroned the last pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty. The country remained a Persian province until conquered by Alexander the Great in 322 BC, ushering in Ptolemeic rule Egypt that lasted for nearly 700 years. Following a brief Persian reconquest, Egypt was invaded and conquered by Arab forces in 642. A process of Arabisation and Islamization ensued. Although a Coptic Christian minority remained - and remains today, constituting about 10% of the population - the Arab language inexorably supplanted the indigenous Coptic tongue. For the next 1,300 years, a succession of Arab, Mameluke, and Ottoman caliphs, beys, and sultans ruled the country. European Influence The Ottoman Turks controlled Egypt from 1517 until 1882, except for a brief period of French rule under Napoleon Bonaparte. In 1805, Mehemet Ali, commander of an Albanian contingent of Ottoman troops, was appointed Pasha, founding the dynasty that ruled Egypt until his great-great grandson, Farouk I, was overthrown in 1952. Mohammed Ali the Great ruled Egypt until 1848. The growth of modern urban Cairo began in the reign of Ismail (1863-79). Eager to Westernise the capital, he ordered the construction of a European-style city to the west of the older core. The Suez Canal was completed in his reign in 1869, and its completion was celebrated by many events, including the commissioning of Verdi's "Aida" for the new opera house and the building of great palaces such as the Omar Khayyam (originally constructed to entertain the French Empress Eugenie, which is now the central section of the Cairo Marriott Hotel). In 1882, British expeditionary forces crushed a revolt against the Ottoman rulers, marking the beginning of British occupation and the virtual inclusion of Egypt within the British Empire. In deference to growing nationalism, the U.K. unilaterally declared Egyptian independence in 1922. British influence, however, continued to dominate Egypt's political life and fostered fiscal, administrative, and governmental reforms. In the pre-1952 revolution period, three political forces competed with one another: the Wafd, a broadly based nationalist political organisation strongly opposed to British influence; King Fuad, whom the British had installed during World War II; and the British themselves, who were determined to maintain control over the Canal. Other political forces emerging in this period included the communist party (1925) and the Muslim Brotherhood (1928), which eventually became a potent political and religious force. During World War II, British troops used Egypt as a base for Allied operations throughout the region. British troops were withdrawn to the Suez Canal area in 1947, but nationalist, anti-British feelings continued to grow after the war. On July 22-23, 1952, a group of disaffected army officers (the "free officers") led by Lt. Col. Gamal Abdel Nasser overthrew King Farouk, whom the military blamed for Egypt's poor performance in the 1948 war with Israel. Following a brief experiment with civilian rule, they abrogated the 1923 constitution and declared Egypt a republic on June 19, 1953. Nasser evolved into a charismatic leader, not only of Egypt but of the Arab world, promoting and implementing "Arab socialism." Nasser helped establish the Non-aligned Movement of developing countries in September 1961, and continued to be a leading force in the movement until his death in 1970. When the United States held up military sales in reaction to Egyptian neutrality vis-a-vis the Soviet Union, Nasser concluded an arms deal with Czechoslovakia in September 1955. When the U.S. and the World Bank withdrew their offer to help finance the Aswan High Dam in mid-1956, Nasser nationalise the privately owned Suez Canal Company. The crisis that followed, exacerbated by growing tensions with Israel over guerrilla attacks from Gaza and Israeli reprisals, resulted in the invasion of Egypt that October by France, Britain, and Israel. Nasser's domestic policies were arbitrary and frequently oppressive, yet generally popular. All opposition was stamped out, and opponents of the regime frequently were imprisoned without trial. Nasser's foreign and military policies helped provoke the Israeli attack of June 1967 that virtually destroyed Egypt's armed forces along with those of Jordan and Syria. Israel also occupied the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip. Nasser, nonetheless, was revered by the masses in Egypt and elsewhere in the Arab world until his death in 1970. After Nasser's death, another of the original "free officers," Vice President Anwar el-Sadat, was elected President. In 1971, Sadat concluded a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union but, a year later, ordered Soviet advisers to leave. In 1973, he launched the October war with Israel, in which Egypt's armed forces achieved initial successes but were defeated in Israeli counterattacks. Camp David and the Peace Process In a momentous change from the Nasser era, President Sadat shifted Egypt from a policy of confrontation with Israel to one of peaceful accommodation through negotiations. Following the Sinai Disengagement Agreements of 1974 and 1975, Sadat created a fresh opening for progress by his dramatic visit to Jerusalem in November 1977. This led to President Jimmy Carter of the United States' invitation to President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin to join him in trilateral negotiations at Camp David. The outcome was the historic Camp David accords, signed by Egypt and Israel and witnessed by the U.S. on September 17, 1978. The accords led to the March 26, 1979, signing of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, by which Egypt regained control of the Sinai in May 1982. Throughout this period, U.S.-Egyptian relations steadily improved, but Sadat's willingness to break ranks by making peace with Israel earned him the enmity of most other Arab states. Domestic Change Sadat introduced greater political freedom and a new economic policy, the most important aspect of which was the infitah or "open door." This relaxed government controls over the economy and encouraged private investment. Sadat dismantled much of the existing political machine and brought to trial a number of former government officials accused of criminal excesses during the Nasser era. Liberalisation also included the reinstitution of due process and the legal banning of torture. Sadat tried to expand participation in the political process in the mid-1970s but later abandoned this effort. In the last years of his life, Egypt was racked by violence arising from discontent with Sadat's rule and sectarian tensions, and it experienced a renewed measure of repression. From Sadat to Mubarak On October 6, 1981, President Sadat was assassinated by Islamic extremists. Hosni Mubarak, Vice President since 1975 and air force commander during the October 1973 war, was elected President later that month. He was subsequently confirmed by popular referendum for three more 6-year terms, most recently in September 1999. Mubarak has maintained Egypt's commitment to the Camp David peace process, while at the same time re-establishing Egypt's position as an Arab leader. Egypt was readmitted to the Arab League in 1989. Egypt also has played a moderating role in such international forums as the UN and the Non-aligned Movement. Since 1991, Mubarak has undertaken an ambitious domestic economic reform program to reduce the size of the public sector and expand the role of the private sector. There has been less progress in political reform. The November 2000 People's Assembly elections saw 34 members of the opposition win seats in the 454-seat assembly, facing a clear majority of 388 ultimately affiliated with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). The opposition parties have been weak and divided and are not yet credible alternatives to the NDP. The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, remains an illegal organisation and may not be recognise as a political party (current Egyptian law prohibits the formation of political parties based on religion). Members are known publicly and openly speak their views, although they do not explicitly identify themselves as members of the organisation. Members of the Brotherhood have been elected to the People's Assembly and local councils as independents. While concern remains that economic problems could promote increasing dissatisfaction with the government, President Mubarak enjoys broad support.
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