Page 65 - Egypt & the Eternal Nile by Private, Classic River-Yacht

Post-Dynastic Periods

Despite the great achievements of the early Egyptians, the kingdom went into rapid decline
after being conquered by the Persians in the year 341 B.C. During the next 2,000 years, Egypt
ceased to exist as an autonomous nation. The land that was once the capital of a thriving
empire was conquered and occupied by the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Turks,
and British.

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639 and A.D. 641. The Arabs ruled Egypt for several centuries as part of the larger Islamic
empire. During this time, the majority of Egyptians converted to Islam, a cultural change that
had a lasting impact.

In 1517, Egypt was once again conquered, this time by the Turks. The country became part
of the Ottoman Empire, though Turkish sultans granted relative autonomy to local Egyptian
rulers. However, by the beginning of the 19th century, the Ottoman Empire had fallen into
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By the time the Suez Canal was opened in 1869, Egypt owed millions of dollars in debt to
Britain. In order to erase the debt, Egypt ceded control of its share of the canal to the British.
The Egyptian people were strongly critical of this action, and a coup against the monarchy
seemed almost inevitable. Meanwhile, the British were concerned that Germany would attempt
to capture the canal by force.

To guard against civil unrest and protect its interest in the canal, Britain declared Egypt a
British protectorate and sent occupational forces in 1883. For all practical purposes, Egypt
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retained control of the canal until 1936.

Modern Era

Throughout the middle part of the last century, Egypt fought a series of brief wars with Israel
over the Sinai and the Gaza Strip. In 1979, the two countries signed a monumental peace
agreement. Initially, the peace agreement damaged relations between Egypt and the other Arab
states, and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated. But Sadat’s successor, Hosni
Mubarak, repaired the rift with other Arab nations, re-joining the Arab League in 1989, while
also furthering friendly relations with the non-Arab world.

Egypt’s “middle ground” position—as one of the only Arab League countries to have
diplomatic relations with Israel and good relations with the U.S.—has allowed Egypt to take
a larger role in the Middle East as ally and moderator. In 1991, Egypt was one of the ally
countries that fought against Iraq in the Gulf War; in subsequent years Egypt has acted as a
moderator between Israel and the Palestinians.

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