History of Egypt

Above the Equator, on the high plains of Uganda, lies Lake Victoria where the Nile is born. The Nile, this majestic river, arrives to Egypt after having travelled through half of the African continent to give life to the desert…
The Nile has always played a major initiating role in the evolution of Egyptian civilization. The Nile served as a transportation path for the construction of palaces, temples and the Pyramids; it was also used for transporting people. Ancient Egyptian history goes back more than 7000 years.

The Prehistoric period

Goes back to the dawn of time. Agriculture was developed all along the Nile's banks around 5000 B.C. King Mina united both Upper and Lower Egypt's Kingdoms around 3000 B.C.

The Old Kingdom

(2780-2065 B.C.): its capital was in Memphis, it was the era of the construction of the great pyramids: the Step Pyramid of Saqqara and Cheops Pyramid, one of the Seven Wonders of the World..

The Middle Kingdom

(2065-1567 B.C.): this was after a period of decadence, civil wars and the invasion of Egypt by the Hyksos who were not defeated until 1567 B.C. After their retreat, Egypt was reunified and then the capital was transferred to Thebes. There was a great progress in commercial exchange towards the North and Asia. Also, there was a big boom in arts especially painting and sculpture. Only a few monuments still exist from this period. The magnificent tombs of Beni Hassan date back to this period.

The New Kingdom

(1567-1085 B.C.): it was the most prosperous and glorious period known to Egypt with Thebes being the capital of the god Amun-Ra. It was the era of the pharaohs Tutmosis, Hatshepsut, Amenhotep who left so many reminders of this glorious past with territorial conquests and the most magnificent and huge monuments such as the Valley of the Kings, the Valley of the Queens, Al Deir al Bahari, Luxor, and Karnack. Egypt had its first woman Pharaoh - Queen Hatshepsut. It was also the era of the solar couple Akhenaton and Nefertiti and the first time for the concept of there being one god. Then there was Ramses II, the great builder who completed the construction of the temples of Karnack, Luxor and built the temples of Abu Simbel.

The Late Period

(1085-322 B.C.): there were numerous kings of foreign origins who ruled over Egypt: Nubians, Persians and Libyans. This period saw the first digging of a canal connecting the Red Sea and the Nile.

The Ptolemaic Period

(332-30 B.C.): this was a dynasty founded by Alexander the Great, who conquered the country and built the new capital of Alexandria which became the most important city on the Mediterranean. The Ptolemies followed him, until Cleopatra came to power.

Roman (30 B.C. - 395 A.D.) and Byzantine Egypt (395 - 640 A.D.):

During the Roman domination that lasted for four centuries, Egypt became an imperial province. Christianity spread throughout Egypt. Christian Egyptians called "Copts" created the first monastic communities in the desert. Later, it became a province of the Roman Empire under the Byzantine realm.

Arabs

the Arab conquest of Egypt took place in 640. The capital was set in Cairo, which was at that time named al Fostat. Arabic became the dominant language at the expense of the old languages, and Islam became the official faith. Successive Caliphates - Umayyad, Abbasid, Tulunid, Fatimid and Mamluk, ruled until the Ottoman invasion in 1517 which lasted until 1914.

Modern times

The roots of contemporary Egypt began in 1798, upon Bonaparte's expedition which ended the Mamluk domination. Mohamed Ali's dynasty then began, and lasted until the fall of King Faruq in 1952. The digging of the Suez Canal commenced in 1871, and the Canal was later dominated by France and Great Britain.

1914: A British protectorate until the fall of King Faruq in 1952.
1952: With the Revolution, King Faruq is exiled, and Egypt becomes a republic ruled by Naguib, who was succeeded by Nasser.
1967 & 1973: Wars against Israel.

Meanwhile, in 1971, Nasser died and Sadat stepped up to the presidency. The Suez Canal was reopened for international traffic in 1975 and a decade of economic and political liberation begins.
1979: Sadat signs the peace treaty with Israel and is assassinated in 1981.
Hosni Mubarak succeeds him on 13 October 1981. He was re-elected in 1987, 1993 and 1999, without any other presidential candidates competing with him. His most recent re-election was on Friday 9 September 2005, in the first multi-party election with a majority of 88.5%.

He was still in power until the revolution of 25 January 2011 which came to end an era of corruption and frustration to all levels of Egyptian population which resulted  the resignation of Hosni Mubarak on 11 February 2011 after 30 years in power.

Now is the birth of A New, Free and Democratic Egypt.