Egypt: modern history

Egypt: the modern history

Egypt (al-Jumhuriya Misr al-'Arabiya)

Territory Egypt extends on a territory, which is mostly desert, and is fertile and cultivated only in the valley of the Nile and in the many oasis. At the west of the valley of the Nile there is the Libyan desert, at the east the Arabic desert. The vast plateau of the Libyan desert, called “Great sea of sand”, is interrupted by many areas of pressure as the vast area in Qattara (18.100 km2), that reaches a depth of 133m below the level of the sea (the lowest point in Africa) and includes the Siwa, Kharijah, Bahriyah, Farafirah and Dakhilah oasis. The Arabic desert extends to the coast of the Red Sea and to the Suez canal, reaching an elevation of about 600m. At the extreme south, at the border with Sudan, there is the Nubian desert, a vast region with dunes and sandy plains. Finallu the Sinai peninsula, between Suez gulf and Aqaba; it is mostly mountainous and culminates in Gebel Katrina (2637m), the highest peak in Egypt; the region includes also mount Sinai where, according to the Old Testament, Moses received the tables of the law.
Hydrography The hydrographic net in Egypt is dominated by the Nile, that enters the country from Sudan and continues towards north to flow into the Mediterranean Sea. Along its watercourse, the Nile passes through a valley which is fertile thanks to big irrigation systems, created with the construction of many dams: the most impressive ones are the Assuan dams that have permitted the creation of lake Nasser, a big artificial basin at the border with Sudan. Near Cairo the valley joins at delta, forming a wide plain which is the most feritl area of the country: the main branches of the delta are Rosetta and Dalmietta. A group of salt-water lakes, not very deep, extends towards the end of the delta near the sea, while a bigger lake, the Birkat Qarun, is in the inner part of the desert, at north of Al-Fayyum city. The valley of the Nile is geographically and traditionally divided in two regions, Lower and Upper Egypt, the former is in the area of the delta, while the latter includes the valley south of Cairo. In spite of its extension (2900km), the coast presents few creeks, fit for ports, except for the region of the delta. The climate is characterized by a hot season, from May to September, and a cool season, from November to March. In both seasons the temperatures are influenced by the winds that blow from the north.
TemperaturesIn the coast region the average temperatures vary from a maximum of 37°C to a minimum of 14°C. In the desert there are remarkable thermic ranges that vary from a yearly average of 45,6°C in the day, to a minimum average of 5,6°C after sunset. In winter the temperatures in the desert often go down to 0°C. The most humid areas are along the Mediterranean coasts, where there are average yearly precipitations of about 200mm. Going down towards south, the precipitations diminish rapidly; in Cairo there are only 28mm of rain each year and in many desert areas there can be very long periods of drought.
Flora and fauna The vegetation in the country grows mostly in the region of the delta and in the oasis, where there are above all date palms; in the arid regions there are the typical species of desert regions, mostly shrubs, while the papyrus, once diffused along the banks of the Nile, today grows only in the extreme southern regions of the country.
The fauna in the country is limited because of the dryness of the climate. In the semi-desert areas many gazelles live, while in the desert reptiles are met, such as Cleopatra’s cobra, vipers and lizards. In some areas, mostly in the delta and the mountainous areas along the Red Sea, we find desert foxes, hyenas, jackals, mice of the pyramids and mongoose. The crocodiles and the hippopotamuses once common in the lower part and in the delta of the Nile, today are only in the high part of the Nile. The ornithology species abound mostly in the delta and in the valley of the Nile and they include the white heron, the Hoopoe, the gry plover , the pelican, the heron, the stork, the quail and the snipe. Among the predators there are the eagle, the falcon, the vulture, the owl, the kite and the hawk. In the waters of the Nile many fish species live.
Population
The ethnic composition of the country traditionally distinguishes the Copts, of camitica descent and that cared for commercial activities, and the fellahin or peasants in the rural areas. Later the two groups underwent the influence of the Arabic conquest and today they live together in the urban areas where the Copts now distinguish themselves for their religious faith. In the southern regions the African influences are more pronounced: here the Nubian live, mostly in the villages along the Nile, while in the desert regions there are groups of nomad or semi-nomad shepherds, mainly Bedouins. Some Turkish, Armenian, and European minorities live in the city. The population in Egypt is of 66.050.004 inhabitants (esteem in 1998), with a density of about 66 units for km2 in the valley of the Nile which covers less than 4% of the surface area of the whole country. The administration in Egypt is divided in 26 governorships. The capital is Cairo (6.452.000 inhabitants in 1992); other important cities are the dock city Alexandria (“.917.327 inhabitants); Giza (1.883.189 inhabitants), an industrial center near Cairo; Port Said (401.172 inhabitants), which is in the point where the Suez canal flows into the Mediterranean, and Suez (327.717 inhabitants) in the southern area of the canal.
Language and religion The official language is Arabic; in the commercial and tourist sectors also English. And less, French, are diffused. The Coptic is used almost only in the religios ceremonies. The official religion is Islam of sunnita rituals, practiced by 90% of the population. The main religious minority is represented by the Copts, while less than 1% of the population belongs to the Greek orthodox, catholic, Armenian churches and various other protestant churches.
Education The primary school is free and obligatory to twelve years old. After the obligatory school the students can access to professional institutes or to humanistic or scientific schools. Among the adult population the alphabetized rate is 51,4%. In the country there are thirteen universities, in which some of them now offer courses that allow you to obtain online degrees for those who live abroad.
The oldest institute of secondary school in the world is still active and it’s the University in Al-Azhar, in Cairo, founded in 970 BC as a Koran school; other important institutes in Cairo are the Ayn Shams university, founded in 1950, the University in Cairo founded in 1908, and the American University, founded in 1942, and the one in Asyut, founded in 1957. For a study regarding the culture of the country, see Egyptian mythology; Egyptian art and architecture; Egyptian language; Coptic art and architecture.
Economy From the beginning of 1961 many ambits of economy, such as foreign commerce and wholesale, the banking and insurance systems and the best part of the manufacturing industry, passed under the state control . In spite of the fact that sectors of agriculture, of real estate and some industrial sectors remained in privates’ hands, the government imposed serious controls on them. The economical development of the country was anyway hindered by the application of various five-year long plans, that were inadequate and by the losses suffered in the Arabic-Israeli conflict in 1967. In spite of turning-point of liberalism in the end of the Seventies and the beginning of the Eighties the crash of the prices of petroleum and the war in the Gulf in 1990 left the country in a very different financial condition that depended on foreign help, mostly American. The government reacted to this situation privatizing more than three-hundred sate companies and with structural reforms. In 1997 the gross national product was 72.163.509.080 USA dollars, that correspond to 1.200 head tax dollars.
Agriculture Egypt is mainly an agricultural country: this ambit in fact covers about 40% of the work-force. In 1952 the agricultural reform limited the maximum size of each land property to about 80 hectares, reduced to 40 hectares in 1961 and only to 20 hectares in 1969. The land requisitioned by the government were distributed among the fellahin (peasants), but this wasn’t enough to fill the difference between peasants and rich land-owners. The governmental plans have increased the ploughed areas, favoring land reclamation work and irrigation of which the most impressive was the construction of the dams in Assuan. Egypt is the most important producer of cotton in “long fiber”. Other agricultural products are corn, wheat, sugar cane, rice and tomatoes. Moreover even millet and barley are cultivated, besides vegetables and fruit, such as citrus fruit, dates, figs and grape. Breeding represents a modestly important part as also the fishing, today in a developing stage near lake Nasser.
Industry The first attempts to develop industry in the country go back to the XIX century, but they were hindered by the European powers, particularly by Great Britain, who was interested in keeping Egypt as a market for its own industrial products. A restrained development in this sector, before the First World War, served only to satisfy part of the inner request, while during the Second World War, this first base developed remarkably, mostly in the textile sector. At the beginning of the Fifties, after the overthrow of the monarchy, the government gave priority to the industrial expansion. In 1965, when the first five-year long plan was completed, the total value of the industrial production, including the one of electric energy and the mining production, reached 2,71 billion yearly dollars and, around the middle of the Eighties, was above 13 billion dollars. At the beginning of the Nineties the industrial sector used the 21% of the work-force. Particularly important in the country is the textile industry, which produces cotton and wool threads and jute fabrics. Other important productions are refined sugar, sulphuric acid, fertilizers, paper, cement, pneumatics and televisions. The industrial activities include also the manufacture of iron and steel, the assembly of cars and the refining of petroleum. Small industries, but important for the country, are represented by tanneries, beer-factories, factories for the production of ceramics, perfumes, seed oil, flour and other alimentary products. The main industrial centers are in the districts in Cairo and in Alexandria. Egypt has a great variety of mining deposits, some of which, as the gold and granite deposits, are exploited from antiquity. Today the main mining resource is petroleum, the deposits of which are in the coastal region on the Red Sea, in el-Alamein and in the Sinai peninsula. Other important resources are the phosphates, the manganese, the titanium and the iron ore. In 1991 the extraction of uranium has begun in the region surrounding Assuan.
Money flow and commerce The monetary unit is the Egyptian pound issued by the Central Bank in Egypt, founded in 1961. In the country there are more than two-hundred banks, national and foreign. The main imported products regard the agricultural and alimentary sectors, the transport and chemical sector and machinery for the mining industry. The exported products are crude petroleum and its by-products, rough cotton, cotton threads and fabrics, and alimentary products. The most important suppliers are the United States, Germany, Italy, France and Japan. In spite of the great investments realized and of the strict controls, the country has serious budget problems for the payments. The main source of foreign currency comes from the tourist and the extraction industry, particularly developing after the re-opening of the Suez canal, the conclusion of the peace treaty with Israel and the return of the occupied territories in Sinai. In the middle of the Nineties the foreign debt in Egypt amounted to 14 billion dollars.
Transport The railways are managed by the state and they include a net of about 4810 KM. The main way connects Assuan and the areas at the north of the valley in the Nile to Alexandria, on the Mediterranean coast. The hydro-ways are widely used and include the whole course of the Nile, the navigable canals (about 1610 km) and the irrigation canals in the delta of the Nile(more than 17,700km). The whole development of the roadways is about 64.000 km, of which the 78% is paved. The national air-company is the Egyptair, that guarantees national and international connections. There are many airports in the country, while the main ports are the ones in Alexandria, in Port Said and in Suez.
State System Egypt is a presidential Republic. According to the Constitution promulgated September 11th 1971, it is an Arabic socialist, and the official religion is Islam. The country is divided in 26 governorships, each one guided by a governor nominated by the President. The governors are assisted by Cabinets formed by members elected by the citizens. The head of the State is the President of the Republic, chosen by the People’s Assembly and elected with a referendum of the people. The President remains in office for six years and he has the power to formulate the general state politic and supervise their carrying out, to dissolve the People’s Assembly, to nominate and dismiss the ministers, to participate to the meetings of the Cabinet and to issue decrees in emergencies, but only with people’s approval, with a referendum that had to take place before 60 days. The legislative power was given to the unicameral People’s Assembly, formed by 444 members in office for five years, half of whom are elected by the workers and the peasants. In addition the President nominates 10 members of the Coptic community. The People’s Assembly has the power to approve the State budget, open investigations, impose taxes, approve the general plans and, finally take away the trust from the Cabinet or from one of its members. The judicial power is given to an independent system, that is based on elements of the Islamic law of the shariah, together with laws derived from the English and French ones. The tribunals are divided in four categories. The supreme Constitutional court, the supreme judicial court, the cassation court and seven appeal tribunals, placed in the most important governorships. Each governorship has a principal tribunal, that examines civil suits and penal cases.
Political parties From 1961 to 1977 the Arabic socialist union (UAS) was the only legal political party of the country. When in 1977 a multi-party system was introduced, the UAS was replaced by other new parties. At the beginning of the Nineties, the main political groups were the National Democratic Party, pro-government, the fundamentalist Islamic Group of the Muslim Brotherhood (officially illegal) and the Socialist Party of work. Hystory The Caliphates
The religious intolerance that had characterized the period of the Byzantine domination, with the edicts proclaimed by the basileus Eraclio that imposed the baptism to the Jews and the doctrine of the Byzantine church to the Coptic Christians, brought Egypt to not oppose a great resistance to the Arabic domination. As they entered the ambit influenced by the caliphates, the Egyptians were progressively influenced by Islam; but part of the population was able to keep their own religion paying an individual tax (kharaj). During the following two centuries, Egypt was reigned by governors nominated by the caliph, who was at the head of the Muslim community, and the Arabic language progressively substituted the Coptic one, that was kept only in liturgy. Under the abassidi caliphs, Egypt was torn to pieces by many insurrections generated by the conflicts between the different Muslim sects. In 868 Ahmad ibn Tulun liberated Egypt from the Abassidi’s guardianship, founding a dynasty that kept the power until 905. The Ikhsiditi dynasty that conquered the power in 935, was subjugated by the Fatimidi in 969, through Gawar’s work, who founded Cairo, moving the capital to it. Under the Fatimidi’s domination, who were of sciita religion, Egypt knew a period of cultural blooming, becoming the most important Islamic country. Later the Fatimidi lost some territories in northern Africa, the Syria and part of Palestine. Threatened by the army of the crusades, the fatimidi caliphates asked Nur ad-Din for help, he was master of Aleppo, and in 1168 he sent an army. Saladino, one of Nur ad-Din’s generals, was nominated visir in Egypt and in 1171 he founded there the Ayyubiti dynasty, restoring the sunnita orthodoxy; he re-conquered a great part of Syria and of Palestine, rendering Egypt a great military power. After Saladin’s death (1193) the reign was weakened by internal fights, that favored the ascent to the power of the Mamelucchi. They had a main role in the battle against the crusades guided by Louis IX and they were able to drive them back in 1249; the following year they defeated the Ayyubiti and established their own dynasty.

The Mameluks
The Mameluksi governed Egypt from 1250 to 1517 with two dynasties, the Bahriti one and the Burgiti one. Some of them were valorous leaders, as Baybars I, who in 1260 stopped the Mongolian advance. Other two Mongolian invasions were stopped by the Mameluks, who eliminated the presence of the crusades in Middle East, conquering Akko in 1291, the last crusade fortress in Palestine.Between the XIII and the XIV century, the reign of the Mameluks expanded toward north up to the borders with Minor Asia. The Mameluks’ age was one of great splendour for art and culture, besides for the economy, thanks mostly to the commerce of spices with the West. At the beginning of the XVI the Mameluks were threatened by the Ottoman empire: in 1517 egypt was occupied and conquered by the ottoman sultan Selim’s I army. Under the ottoman empire the Mameluks continued to administrate the country, even during the occupation by Napoleone’s Bonaparte French troops.
Muhammad Ali’s ascension and the British domination.
The French occupation in Egypt, although short 81798-1801), determined the crisis of the political institutes in the country. In 1805 Muhammad Ali, a Turkish general of Albanian origin, seized the power and was nominated governor; in 1811 he defeated the Mameluks and began a vast program of reforms in the political, economical and social ambits. The work begun by Muhammad Ali was continued by his successors, among them his son Said and his nephew Ismail. The international loans to finance the works on the Suez canal, opened in 1869, brought Egypt to bankruptcy and to the interference of the western countries in the Egyptian politic. In 1882, to calm down a revolt guided by the officers in the army, the English occupied militarily Egypt.
Egypt, although remaining formally under the Ottoman sovereignty, was actually governed by the British authorities up to 1914, when, at the first World War, it was declared a protectorate: Abbas II was deposed in favor of his uncle, Hussein Kamil.

The monarchy
In 1922 Great Britain, urged by the nationalist Egyptian movements, declared the independence of the country and proclaimed king, Fuad I. Great Britain, though, reserved itself the right to intervene in the foreign business and in the defense matters, and to keep their troops on Egyptian territory. The Constitution, promulgated in 1924, established a bicameral parliamentary system, in which the king had the executive power and nominated the Prime Minister. The political scene in the following thirty years was dominated by the difficult equilibrium between the sovereign’s power, the Wafd (the national party founded in 1919)power and the British authorities. Finally in 1936 a treaty Anglo-Egyptian was signed and it reduced the military occupation in the country, without releasing completely Egypt by the foreign domination. At the end of the Second World War, in which Egypt took part as it was allied with Great Britain, the tensions between the king and the political parties increased; the intervention, in 1948, in the war against Israel (see Arabic-Israeli war) made the situation even worse until the coup in 1952, organized by general Muhammad Nagib: king Faruq I was deposed and the following year Nagib proclaimed himself president of the new Egyptian republic.
Nasser’s government
Nagib was not able to have a real authority on the country and was progressively deprived of authority by Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was a member of the Council of the command of the revolution. In April 1954 Nasser put himself at the command of the country, assuming in July 1956 the office of President. Nasser began a foreign politic to create strong bonds with the Arabic states and he joined the alliance of the nations not-aligned. The refusal, by the International Bank for the rebuilding and the development, for the financial request for the construction of the dam in Assuan 81956) lead Nasser to nationalize the Company of the Suez canal, causing the intervention by Great Britain and France. In 1956 Israel, agreeing with two European nations, invaded Egypt, pushing up to the region of the canal. The pressure by United States and Soviet union provoked the intervention of the United Nations, that sent some military contingents between Egypt and Israel. In February 1958 Nasser realized the union between Syria and Egypt, forming the United Arabic Republic (RAU), that anyway was dissolved three years later for the defection of Syria (Egypt kept this denomination until 1971). In the inner politic, Nasser suppressed the political opposition and introduced an only-party-system, the Arabic Socialist Union.
In 1962 Egypt took part in the civil war against Yemen, supporting the republican movement against monarchy. In 1967, the withdrawal of the forces of ONU from Egypt obtained by Nasser and the closing of the Tirana strait, that allowed Israel to access the Red Sea, were the reasons that caused the Six days war, during which Israel occupied the Sinai peninsula and Gaza. The Egyptian defeat decreased Nasser’s prestige, and he had to adopt more moderate positions. To Nasser, who died suddenly in 1970, Anwar al-Sadat succeded.
Sadat’s presidency
In September 1971 Sadat promulgated a new Constitution; the inner politic impressed from the start a liberal turning-point to the economy of the nation, in contrast with his predecessor’s position. In foreign politic, in the attempt to render Egypt militarily stronger, he made treaties of cooperation with the Soviet Union. Sadat’s main aim was to conquer Sinai and this reconciled Egypt with Saudi Arabia, that financed the purchase of arms by URSS. On October 6th 1973, during the Jewish celebration Yom Kippur, Egypt suddenly attacked Israel through the Suez canal, beginning the Kippur war. At the beginning the war favored Egypt, but the Israeli forces reacted readily and re-conquered the lost territories and surrounded the enemy on the Suez canal. The United Nations imposed an end and established a line of armistice between the Egyptian and Israeli armies. Although not winning the war, Egypt had been able to question the borders of 1967, and, helped by diplomatic efforts by the American state secretary Henry Kissinger, Sadat accepted to begin peace treaties. In 1974 and in 1975 Egypt and Israel concluded two treaties that forsaw the return of part of Sinai (including some oil-wells) to Egypt. In 1975 the Suez canal was opened again. After Sadat’s visit in Israel (November 1977) there were some colloquies mediated by the United States; the negotiations ended with the treaty of Camp david, signed September 17th 1978, followed by the signing of a real peace treaty in Washington (March 26th 1979). After the peace with Israel, Egypt was expelled from the Arabic League, that moved its site from Cairo to Tunis. October 6th 1981, Sadat was murdered by some members of an Islamic fundamentalist group, during a military parade to celebrate the anniversary of the Kippur war. The Parliament nominate as his successor the vice-president Hosni Mubarak.
Mubarak’s presidency
For the inner politic, Mubarak continued in Sadat’s direction; in foreign politic he tried to get Egypt close again to the Arabic countries. Elected again in 1987, Mubarak obtained that Egypt should be admitted back in the Arabic League, improving at the same time the relations with Israel and searching for a mediation with the OLP. In 1990 Egypt participated to the coalition guided by the United States against Iraq (see the war in the Gulf) with a contingent of about 30.000 men.

The fundamentalist onset
Elected for the third time to the presidency in 1993, Mubarak had to face the ideological and military actions by many fundamentalist groups (among them, stand out the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Jama al-Islamiya), that had increased from the Eighties. The Egyptian government held a repressing politic, that got harsher in the years, but that wasn’t enough to oppose with efficacious the diffusion of Islamic ideologies in the country (favored above all by the people’s discomfort for the serious economical crisis), in spite of using emergency laws, of the arrest of thousands of people who were suspected of taking part in the organizations of the Islamic galaxy, of the military tribunals and of the death sentences.
In 1997 the Islamic radical fundamentalism, turned its action toward the tourist industry, that were the main resources for the country. In September, an attack in Cairo caused the death of nine German tourists. Another tragic episode of this strategy was on November 17th, in the important archaeological site in Luxor, when during an armed attack, claimed by Al-Jama al-Islamiya, more than seventy people died, among them 58 foreign tourists. The Egyptian government reacted to the terrorism emergency with many arrests and limiting the freedom of the press, against which there were strong protests. In 1998 the paralysis in the peace process in Palestine caused a cooling of the relations between Egypt and Israel; in December the Egyptian government deplored the new military intervention of the United States against Iraq.

Recent developments
The radical Islamic fundamentalism phenomenon, after the repression by the regime after the attack I Luxor, has decreased. Moreover the regime has obtained a public sentence against the violence by many members of the radical Islamic organizations. Anyway the repression has strongly damaged even the oppositions and has reduced the freedom of the press. Concerning the economical situation, the government has increased its liberalization and privatization politic, that has cared for only marginally about the abnormal public administration sector (more than five million employees), that for the regime represents the greatest source of consent. The economical strategy followed has instead caused an extension of the poorest classes, that include by now almost half of the population. In October 1999 Mubarak has been confirmed president of the country, obtaining the fourth consecutive commission. In the successive legislative elections in October and November 2000, Mubarak’s democratic national party has obtained 353 of the 444 chairs in the Egyptian Parliament.

Egyptian national hymn from Guida SuperEva arabic culture

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