History of Egypt Timeline

The brief French invasion of Egypt led by Napoleon Bonaparte began in 1798, introducing modern scientific study of the country but provoking widespread resistance.

Image source: French campaign in Egypt and Syria

The expulsion of the French in 1801 by Ottoman, Mamluk, and British forces was followed by four years of anarchy. Out of this chaos, Albanian regiment commander Muhammad Ali emerged dominant and in 1805 was acknowledged by the Sultan as viceroy of Egypt, establishing a dynasty that ruled until 1952.

Image source: Muhammad Ali of Egypt

The introduction in 1820 of long-staple cotton transformed Egyptian agriculture into a cash-crop monoculture before the end of the century, with the Egyptian variety becoming world-renowned.

Image source: Gossypium barbadense

Muhammad Ali annexed Northern Sudan (1820–1824), Syria (1833), and parts of Arabia and Anatolia; but in 1841 the European powers forced him to return most of his conquests to the Ottomans.

Image source: Egyptian–Ottoman War (1839–1841)

Muhammad Ali was succeeded briefly by his son Ibrahim in September 1848, then by grandson Abbas I in November 1848, then Said in 1854, and Isma'il in 1863.

Image source: Muhammad Ali dynasty

The Suez Canal, built in partnership with the French, was completed in 1869, creating a crucial maritime link between Europe and Asia.

Image source: Suez Canal

In 1875, Ismail sold Egypt's 44% share in the Suez Canal to the British Government, increasing European financial influence over Egypt.

Ismail tried to conquer the Ethiopian Empire but was defeated twice, at Gundet in 1875 and again at the Battle of Gura in 1876.

Image source: Battle of Gura

Dissatisfaction with Ismail and European intrusion led to the first nationalist groupings in 1879, with Ahmad Urabi prominent. In 1882 he became head of a nationalist ministry committed to democratic reforms including parliamentary control of the budget.

Image source: Urabi revolt

British indirect rule began in 1882 when Britain defeated the Egyptian Army at Tel el-Kebir in September and took control of the country; after 1882 the Muhammad Ali dynasty became a British puppet.

Image source: Anglo-Egyptian War

In 1906, the Dinshaway Incident prompted many neutral Egyptians to join the nationalist movement against British occupation.

Image source: Denshawai incident

In 1914, the Protectorate was made official and the Ottoman Empire no longer had a role; the head of state's title changed from khedive (adopted in 1867) to sultan.

Image source: Sultanate of Egypt

When the British exiled Saad Zaghlul and his associates to Malta on 8 March 1919, the country arose in its first modern revolution, pressuring Britain toward granting independence.

Image source: 1919 Egyptian Revolution

The revolt led the UK government to issue a unilateral declaration of Egypt's independence on 22 February 1922, though British influence remained substantial.

The new government drafted and implemented a constitution in 1923 based on a parliamentary system, establishing the framework of the Kingdom of Egypt.

Image source: Constitution of Egypt

Saad Zaghlul was popularly elected as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1924, leading the Wafd Party government.

Image source: Saad Zaghloul

In 1936, the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty was concluded, regulating British military presence in Egypt while retaining British control of the Suez Canal Zone.

Image source: Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936

Continued instability due to remaining British influence and increasing political involvement by the king led to a military coup d'état known as the 1952 Revolution, which made Egypt a republic and expelled British advisers.

Image source: Egyptian revolution of 1952

On 18 June 1953, the Egyptian Republic was declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic.

Naguib was forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser – the real architect of the 1952 movement – and was later put under house arrest. British military presence lasted until 1954.

Image source: Gamal Abdel Nasser

Nasser assumed power as president in June 1956, and British forces completed their withdrawal from the occupied Suez Canal Zone on 13 June 1956.

Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal on 26 July 1956, prompting the 1956 Suez Crisis involving Israel, Britain, and France.

Image source: Suez Crisis

In 1958, Egypt and Syria formed a sovereign union known as the United Arab Republic. The union was short-lived, ending in 1961 when Syria seceded.

Image source: United Arab Republic

In the 1967 Six-Day War, Israel invaded and occupied Egypt's Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, which Egypt had occupied since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.

Image source: Six-Day War

Three years after the Six-Day War, President Nasser died in 1970 and was succeeded by Anwar Sadat, who switched Egypt's Cold War allegiance from the Soviet Union to the United States, expelling Soviet advisors in 1972.

Image source: Anwar Sadat

In 1973, Egypt, along with Syria, launched the October War, a surprise attack against Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights.

Image source: Yom Kippur War

Sadat made a historic visit to Israel in 1977, which led to the 1979 peace treaty in exchange for Israeli withdrawal from Sinai.

Image source: Egypt–Israel peace treaty

On 6 October 1981, Sadat and six diplomats were assassinated while observing a military parade commemorating the eighth anniversary of the October 1973 War. Some scholars credit Islamist writer Sayyid Qutb, executed in 1967, as inspiration for the new wave of attacks.

Image source: Assassination of Anwar Sadat

Victims of the campaign against the Egyptian state from 1992 to 1997 exceeded 1,200, including police officials, politicians, tourists, and bystanders. On 17 November 1997, 62 people, mostly tourists, were killed near Luxor.

Image source: Sinai insurgency

In 2003, the Kefaya ('Egyptian Movement for Change') was launched to oppose the Mubarak regime and to establish democratic reforms and greater civil liberties.

On 25 January 2011, widespread protests began against Mubarak's government. On 11 February 2011, Mubarak resigned and fled Cairo, ending nearly three decades of rule.

Image source: 2011 Egyptian revolution

On 13 February 2011, the high level military command announced that both the constitution and parliament had been dissolved. A constitutional referendum was held on 19 March 2011.

Image source: 2011 Egyptian constitutional referendum

On 28 November 2011, Egypt held its first parliamentary election since the fall of the Mubarak regime.

The first round of a presidential election was held on 23 and 24 May 2012. On 24 June, the election commission announced Mohamed Morsi had won, making him the first democratically elected president of Egypt; he was sworn in on 30 June 2012.

Image source: Mohamed Morsi

On 8 July 2012, Morsi announced he was overriding the military edict dissolving the elected parliament; on 10 July, the Supreme Constitutional Court negated his decision to call lawmakers back into session.

On 2 August 2012, Prime Minister Hisham Qandil announced his 35-member cabinet, including 28 newcomers, four from the Muslim Brotherhood, and former interim ruler Mohamed Hussein Tantawi as Defence Minister.

Image source: Hesham Qandil

On 22 November 2012, Morsi issued a declaration immunizing his decrees from challenge and seeking to protect the constituent assembly drafting the new constitution, sparking outrage.

Image source: 2012–2013 Egyptian protests

On 5 December 2012, tens of thousands of supporters and opponents of Morsi clashed violently in Cairo's streets, the largest battle between Islamists and their foes since the revolution.

A constitutional referendum held in two rounds on 15 and 22 December 2012 passed with 64% support and 33% against; it was signed into law by presidential decree on 26 December 2012.

Image source: 2012 Egyptian constitutional referendum

On 30 June 2013, on the first anniversary of Morsi's election, millions of protesters across Egypt demanded his immediate resignation.

Image source: 2013 Egyptian coup d'état

On 3 July 2013, the constitution was suspended by order of the Egyptian army and Morsi was deposed. Adly Mansour was sworn in on 4 July 2013 as interim president.

During the months after the coup d'état, a new constitution was prepared, which took effect on 18 January 2014, paving the way for elections in June 2014.

On 24 March 2014, 529 of Morsi's supporters were sentenced to death, while the trial of Morsi himself was still ongoing.

Image source: Camp Speicher massacre

In the elections of June 2014, El-Sisi won with 96.1% of the vote, and on 8 June 2014 he was officially sworn in as Egypt's new president.

Image source: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

In 2015, Egypt participated in the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen, contributing to the regional coalition.

Image source: Saudi-led intervention in the Yemeni civil war

In April 2018, El-Sisi was re-elected by landslide in an election with no real opposition.

In April 2019, Egypt's parliament extended presidential terms from four to six years and allowed El-Sisi to run for a third term in 2024; the changes were accepted in a referendum in April 2019.

Image source: 2019 Egyptian constitutional referendum

In December 2020, final results of the parliamentary election confirmed a clear majority for Egypt's Mostaqbal Want (Nation's Future) Party, which strongly supports President El-Sisi.

Image source: 2020 Egyptian parliamentary election

During the 2020–2021 Tigray War, Egypt was reportedly involved: an EEPA report stated the UAE used its Assab base to launch drone strikes against Tigray, and Egypt was reportedly encouraging Sudan to support the TPLF.

Image source: Tigray War