Egypt is located in the northeastern corner of the African continent, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, the Red Sea and Israel to the East, Libya to the west and Sudan to the south. The country consists of 400,000 square miles of desert, bisected by the Nile River. Along the Nile is a narrow, fertile river valley, where 90% of the country’s 80 million population resides. Cairo is, of course, situated along the Nile, and 25% of Egyptians live in Cairo. Cairo is the pretty much the most densely packed city in the world. The land on the west side of the Nile is part of the greater Sahara desert.

Historians believe that the whole of Egypt was occupied since before 25,000 BC, when North Africa was a grassy savannah with abundant wildlife and lakes. When the climate changed to a desert, people migrated to the water. Settlements have been found that date back to 5,000 BC, and it is believed that their hieroglyphic writing begin about this time. Little is known about the people of that era, except that they lived on fishing and agriculture, and made pottery and woven material. Artifacts indicate that Egypt became unified under King Narmer around 3,100 BC, believed to be the first in a royal bloodline that lasted 3,000 years. Egyptian history is grouped into three major periods Old, Middle and New Kingdoms, each separated by periods of decline known as Intermediate Periods.

The Old Kingdom reigned from Memphis, which is in the northern portion of the country, just south of Cairo. The first pyramids were built by King Djoser around 2,670 BC to be used as a necropolis (extensive burial tomb). 22 pyramids were built in total during the Old Kingdom, and were already ancient sites well before Christ was born. And another 2,000 years later, many are still intact. The kingdom fell around 2,181 BC due to civil war.

After a century of chaos, a new ruler, Mentuhotep, came to power and unified the country around 2,055 BC. He was based out of Thebes (modern day Luxor), towards the south of the country, and his rise marks the beginning of the Middle Kingdom. During this era, there continued to be disruption and strife, which kept the Middle Kingdom from being as great as the Old Kingdom. Towards the end of the Middle Kingdom, the northern region of Egypt was occupied by the Hyksos people from the north. The Hyksos used horse and chariot in warfare, and had superior archery skills.

The New Kingdom arose when the Egyptians in Thebes adopted these same warfare skills and were able to defeat the Hyksos people under Amhose I around 1,550 BC. This began the golden age of the Pharaohs, where for 500 years Egypt rose to unequalled greatness, when most of the awe inspiring temples, tombs, and treasures were created. The first two New Kingdom rulers were concerned with consolidating Egypt’s borders. The following leaders used military prowess to increase land and wealth, which laid the foundation for prosperity and stability. The mighty pharaohs used their wealth and power to build amazing works and cultivate the arts. The best known rulers of Egyptian history all come from that era, such as Tutankankhamun and Ramses II.

Shortly after Ramses II, Egypt once again fell into decline. Disunity set in from within and the country was under siege from outsiders. Libya, Nubia, Assyrians and Persians had all conquered portions of Egypt. When Grecian Alexander the Great and his troops arrived in 332 BC, he was hailed as a savior and made a pharaoh. Alexander died in 323 BC, and the empire was divided up. Ptolemy gained control of Egypt. Ptolemy and his successors kept the existing political and religious structures, adopted pharaonic dress and artistic styles, and repaired, restored and built more temples.

By the time Rome came to be the rising world super power, there was serious internal issues within the Ptolemaic ruling class. Among other problems was a battle for the throne between siblings Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra VII. Cleopatra began an affair with the Roman ruler, Julius Caesar. Caesar secured the throne for Cleopatra, and they entered into a political alliance. After Caesar’s death, Cleopatra began an affair with Mark Antony, the Roman rising star in Caesar’s place, continuing the political alliance between the two countries. The legal heir to Caesar’s throne in Rome was Octavian, and Octavian and Antony went to war for power of Rome. Octavian won, and declared himself Pharaoh of Rome. For six centuries, Rome used Egypt for its resources and gave nothing back in return.

During the Roman era, Christianity was brought to Egypt by bible gospel writer St. Mark around 45 AD, making the church in Egypt one of the oldest in Christendom. When Christianity became the official religion of Rome, the pharaonic temples were closed, and the ancient culture and hieroglyphics language were lost. The Egyptians held a slightly different understanding of Christ’s nature and were cast as heretics by the Roman church and persecuted. Between the persecution and the government exploitation, the Egyptians welcomed the Arab army that conquered them in 641 AD, and many were happy to accept their Islamic religion, as well. The Arabs made their new capital Cairo.

Egypt passed through the hands of several warring Islamic dynasties in the years to follow. In the middle of the 13th century, the Mamaluks came to power and conquered Palestine, Syria, and part of Turkey. This put the Mamaluks in control of all east-west trade, and Cairo became one of the biggest and richest cities in the world. In 1492, the Americas were discovered, with new treasures coveted by Europe that did not need to pass through Egypt. In 1498, Vasco de Gamma rounded the Cape of Good Hope, changing the nature of east-west trade from one of overland travel to one of sea travel, making Cairo less powerful. In 1516, the Ottoman Turks conquered the Mamaluk army and took control of Cairo. Egypt became isolated.

In 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte marched into northern Egypt, attempting to conquer the land. In 1801 the French were defeated. But in that time, the French put a lot of manpower and energy into investigating the history and ancient culture of Egypt. This brief war suddenly made Egypt a popular travel destination for Europeans and Americans. When the French left, there was a power vacuum that was filled by Albanian mercenary Muhammad Ali, who became the Ottoman viceroy of Egypt. Ali was serious about building up Egypt, bringing in European teachers in all fields to improve quality of life in every area, including the military. He also sent Egyptian students to Europe to learn western ways and methods. In 1839, Ali turned on the Ottomans and defeated them in battle, beginning a new, independent Egyptian dynasty.

Ali’s government was popular with the people in the beginning, but the dynasty lost popularity as Egyptians labored under heavy taxes that seemed to benefit European powers. Railroad lines and the Suez canal were built in this time, two examples of many expensive projects that were contracted out to European friends of the king. Hotels and palaces were specially built to impress Europeans. The result of all this spending was bankruptcy. France and Britain, Egypt’s main creditors, stepped in and took control of Egypt’s finances, and it was more clear than ever that the country was being run by foreigners for the foreigners. Rioting by the people in rebellion to these policies in 1882 led to England taking outright control of Egypt.

In 1936, after many years of empty promises, England gave Egypt it’s independence, only to take it back again in 1939 when World War II began. In June 1953, Egypt ousted it’s king (who was only a puppet for England), declared themselves the Republic of Egypt, and kicked out the French and British. The first president, Nasser, was the first native Egyptian to hold power since the time of the pharaohs. He was a socialist hero and wildly popular until 1967, when Egypt was humiliated by a terrible defeat in the six day war with Israel. His successor, Sadat, underwent two more short wars with Israel before he signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979. In 1981, Sadat was assassinated by his own military, and Mubarak came to power. Mubarak is still in office today. Mubarak’s focus is on self-development for the country, and has made big strides in such areas as literacy, population control, and economic well being. Mubarak is internationally respected for the role he plays in negotiating between the Palestinians and Israel, though he is not very popular with his own people. [104]