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Egypt map transformed over the years as the borders kept expanding and shrinking over the centuries due to an evolution in the ancient Egyptian lives or occupation or colonization by a foreign force. The progress of the ancient Egyptian civilization can be traced back to the gifted placement that played a key role in shaping the entire civilization and history of ancient Egypt and attracted the eyes of neighboring countries.
Life has existed in Egypt for 5000 years but in 3500 BCE many changes happened in Egypt on the Nile River banks. The ancient Egyptians attempted to control the flood of the Nile and create an advanced method of irrigation, dikes, and channels to develop the agriculture state. This led to prosperity and the construction of a hierarchy of officials who made achievements in management, architecture, mathematics, and many others. The unique location of Egypt led the Egyptian to rise its fullest potential after the unification of Egypt in 3000 BCE.
In 2500 BCE, the old kingdom rose to power around the narrow Valley of the River Nile after the unification battle by King Menes and the city of Memphis became the new capital. The population rose to great numbers around the Nile banks which became the home of many ancient cities like Heliopolis, Abydos and many others. Due to the blessed geographic nature of Egypt and the city of Memphis and the great pyramids were built, one of the most famous constructions in human history that you can visit during your Egypt tours.
After a thousand years, Egypt went through many changes in 1500 BCE as the middle kingdom of Egypt (2050-1650 BC) was a period of weakness and division plus a downgrade in the level of management and artistic design, but
After it directly came the new kingdom of Egypt (1550-1070 BC) which imposed control over the publicity surrounding the Nile Valley from east and west. In this time periods, the empire expanded into Palestine and Syria in the north and Nubia in the south. It became the time of constructions at the great temple complexes at Luxor and in Valley of the Kings and also the time of great name like Tutankhamen, Hatshepsut, and Ramses II the great.
From about 1200 BCE, ancient Egypt started to decline and faced many attacks which led to the loss of Palestine and Nubia. Egypt fell under the invasion of the Persian Empire in 525 BCE and became one of its provinces for two centuries.
In 200 BCE Egypt was conquered by Alexander the great and after his death in 323, Egypt became under the control of his general Ptolemy and his descendants like the beauty Cleopatra. Egypt capital transformed to the new city of Alexandria that became the center for the Hellenistic culture which makes created some sort of a hybrid Greek-Egyptian civilization.
In the 30 BCE, the Greek period came to an end after the suicide of the last native ruler to ancient Egypt Queen Cleopatra after the death of her beloved mark Anthony. Egypt became under the control of the Roman Empire under the distant imperial capital Rome as a mean to extract as much wealth such as grain and gold.
Under the rule of the Roman empire in 200 CE, the city of Alexandria became a city of high importance and remained the greatest cultural centers of Greek-speaking parts of the empire. Egypt became the main source of grain for the imperial capital of Rome and a great learning center which was able to provide countless modern scholars due to priceless papyrus document in the ancient Alexandria library or in the desert where the document was kept safe.
In 500 CE a general trend became very popular as the economic atmosphere of Egypt became under the control of a small group of very wealthy families. This phenomenon led Egypt to become a vibrant center of Christianity with many monks living in harsh conditions in the desert in a full monasticism manner. Later on, Egypt became the center of Christian groups but in odds with the official church in Constantinople who regretted the concept of monophysite.
Egypt stepped into a new age under the Arab conquest in 639 AD which granted the Egyptians the freedom of worship and therefore welcomed them as liberators than conquerors. The Egyptian society shifted rapidly as the Arabian presence who was only restricted in the newly constructed capital of Fustat.
Under the Fatimid rule, Egypt went to many changes and was under the control of various governors who served under the ruler of caliph in Bagdad Iraq. The process of Arabization spread through Egypt and Arabic became the official language of the land. The Fatimid dynasty invested greatly in the agriculture of Egypt to boost the government's tax revenues and the construction of many great constructions in Cairo like Amr Ibn Alas Mosque, Alazhar Mosque, and Ahmed Ibn Tulan Mosque that you can visit through Cairo day tours.
The Fatimid were able to build a great empire based on trade through the Red Sea which made Egypt a great entrepot of long-distance maritime trade between east and west. Cairo became the chief cultural center of the Islamic world within the mid of the 12th century a Turkish general by the name Saladin who controlled the country in 1170 AD, build the marvelous Citadel of Cairo also took Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 AD and his descendants took control after him.
Saladin's Descendant surrounded themselves with Mamluqs who was a force of Turkish slaves who in 1453 AD were able to take over the country and even expand their territory to Syria. Under the Mamluks, Egypt still acted as the chief center of Arabic civilization and they were able to protect the empire from the Mongol army in 1260. Many Islamic constructions like mosques and bazaars were built in this time.
In 1648, the seat of power was changed from the Mamluks to the Ottomans. The Ottoman empire was able to seize power but they left the Mamluk elite in a position of leadership to help govern Egypt. They were able to play a vital part in provincial administration. The Mamluqs were able to find a way to be important within Egyptian society and government and where virtually the rulers of Egypt. They protected the border of Egypt and continued to respect the authority of the Ottoman empire.
After the decline of the Ottoman Empire powerful in 1798 AD due to the rise of the European military forces so a Turkish general by the name Muhammad Ali Pasha all was sent to take control of the country but the other plans to create his own kingdom away from the crimpling ottoman rule by establishing hundreds of schools, build a powerful western-army to protect the borders of Egypt and modernizing the country in the year of 1837 CE. He was able to win Syria from the Ottoman Empire after putting a rebellion in Greece.
Mohammad Ali had plans to create his new empire outside the borders of Egypt to the point where he can replace the Ottoman regime with one of his own. He was unable to make his dream come true after he was forced to withdraw from his march on Constantinople and give up his claim to Syria in 1841 and settle with being the hereditary ruler of Egypt for him and his successors. In 1869 the Suez canal was opened after 10 years of construction of Egyptian labor and design by French engineers and the control of the British government.
In 1914 many British forces entered Egypt, so they can secure the nationalist revolt threatening the Suez canal and based on the request made by the current ruler Ismael to handle Egypt's finances and save the country from the edge of bankruptcy and utter chaos.
After the end of WW2, the British government withdraws from Egypt in 1947 except form the Suez Canal zone. The country became under the rule of King Farouk and the borders of Egypt was agreed on. In 1952, Egypt became a republic under the leadership of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Egypt took control of the Suez canal but not without facing deadly consequences from the British and French forces. In 1958 Egypt united with Syria to form the so-called United Arab Republic but was disbanded in 1961.
In our current day, the map and borders of Egypt are set and agreed on by the rest of the world after retrieving Sinia from Israel in 1973 under the rule of great leader Muhammad Anwer El Sadat. Egypt continued to act as a moderate state with authoritarian authority. In the following decades, Egypt constructed many resorts like Hurghada and Sharm El Sheik (The City of Peace) to highlight the natural beauty of the red sea Rivera. Egypt considers being one of the top tourism countries all across the world, so if you plan a trip to Egypt, then check our Egypt tour packages and Nile River cruise to enjoy your dream vacation.
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