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In 642 AD, Egypt
witnessed the beginning of its Arab and Islamic epoch.
Successive Arab rulers governed Egypt as part of the
Islamic empire, and at various junctures established
it as the center of power of the empire.
The Arabs were followed by the Mamlukes, who were
magnificent warriors and who ruled Egypt from 1250-1517
AD when their reign ended with the Ottoman conquest
of Egypt under Sultan Selim.
The arrival of
Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt on July 2nd 1798, initiated
a new phase in Egypt's history. Accompanying his expedition
were a number of savants and scientists who made a
complete encyclopedic survey of Egypt, known as "Description
de l'Egypte". The expedition contributed significantly
to the study of ancient Egyptian history through the
discovery of the Rosetta Stone and the consequent
deciphering of Hieroglyphics, the ancient Egyptian
language.
After the departure
of the French expedition, Mohamad Ali, who was an
officer in the Ottoman Army, rose to power with the
support of the Egyptian people. His rule extending
from 1805 to 1849 was an eventful period in Egypt's
modern history. He is regarded as the father of modern
Egypt who set the country on the march towards modernization.
In 1863, Khedive Ismail, a member of Mohamad Ali's
dynasty, rose to power. If Mohamad Ali had started
the process of modernization, it was Ismail who completed
it. He had boundless ambitions to bring Egypt up to
the same level of culture, civilization and development
which was enjoyed by most nations of Europe. It was
during his reign, in 1869, that the Suez Canal was
inaugurated.
Towards the end
of the 19th Century and exactly on August 12th 1882,
British troops landed at Alexandria marking the beginning
of British occupation which lasted for 74 years. The
beginning of the 20th century witnessed the awakening
of the national conscience aiming at ending the British
occupation. Mustafa Kamel, Sa'ad Zaghloul, Mustafa
El Nahas and many others were prominent figures who
strove to achieve two national objectives; independence
and constitutional reform.
On the 28th of February 1922 Britain unilaterally
declared the termination of the British Protectorate
and declared Egypt an independent state. In 1923,
the first Constitution was promulgated and Sa'ad Zaghloul
formed the first representative government of Egypt.
After the 1948 Palestine War, political, economic
and social frustration intensified in Egypt. This
led to the formation of the Free Officers Movement,
which was created by a group of young officers who
felt that they had been betrayed by their own government.
On the 23rd of
July 1952 the Free Officer Movement led by Gamal Abd
El-Nasser seized power in a bloodless revolution which
allowed King Farouk to leave the country with a full
royal salute.
On the 18th of
June 1953 the monarchy ended and Egypt was declared
a Republic and Mohamad Naguib was named as the first
President. In 1954 Nasser assumed control as the second
president. During Nasser's presidency, extensive agricultural
and industrial development projects were carried out.
Progressive economic and social reforms were implemented
for the benefit of the majority of the Egyptian people.
With the death of President Nasser in September 1970,
Anwar El-Sadat assumed office.
On October 6th, 1973, the Egyptian army crossed the
Suez Canal, stormed the Bar Lev line and recaptured
parts of Sinai occupied by Israel in 1967. To overcome
the state of belligerency, President Sadat announced
his historic initiative to visit Israel in pursuit
of lasting peace, which he did in November 1977. Finally,
the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty was signed in March
1979. The Sadat period witnessed changes in the political,
social and economic domains, and at the same time,
the private sector was given a greater share in the
country's economy through the implementation of the
"Open Door Policy".
In October 1981,
Vice President Hosny Mubarak succeeded Sadat as President.
Economic reforms undertaken under Mubarak succeeded
in diverting finance towards productive investment
in industry and agriculture. The main features of
Egypt's national economic policy under President Mubarak
are the efforts to broaden the economic base by promoting
local, Arab and foreign investment. A process of successful
privatization has started, the stock exchange has
been revived, and reform programs with the IMF and
the World Bank have been signed and implemented.
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