Introduction

The official name is the Arab Republic of Egypt. It borders Israel and the Gaza Strip to the northeast, Libya to the west, Sudan to the south, and the Mediterranean and Red Sea to the north and east. The Sinai Peninsula, part of the country, borders Israel and straddles the Middle East. As the birthplace of ancient civilization, it was the most populous country in the world in the 16th century and today forms a political and cultural center in the Arab and Middle East regions. In Arab countries, it is called ‘Misr’, an Arabic word meaning ‘two straits’ or ‘country’, and is also called ‘Masr’ in local pronunciation. The administrative districts are divided into 26 muhafazah.

 

Nature

1) Terrain

Egypt’s topography is simple compared to its land area. It can be broadly divided into the Nile Valley, the delta plain in its basin, the coast of the Suez Canal, and a large desert area excluding this area. The Nile River, which forms the Nile Valley and the delta plain, joins the Blue Nile, which originates in the Ethiopian Plateau in the upper reaches, and the White Nile, which originates in Lake Victoria in central-eastern Africa, and flows 6,671 km into the Mediterranean Sea. It is a river. It is an external river that passes through the desert area below Aswan, and most of its tributaries are within Egypt. The upper part of this river flows with several steep slopes.

From Aswan to Cairo, a band-shaped river flows through a narrow alluvial area 3 to 25 km wide, flanked by desert cliffs on both sides. The Great Delta Plain with an area of approximately 24,000 km2 extends from Cairo to the downstream area. This delta plain forms a fertile alluvial plain with materials transported and deposited by this river, and the sedimentary layer is very thick, but drilling results in Alexandria did not reach the underlying bedrock even at 163m. This delta plain and the Nile River valley plain are densely populated areas that form a granary region.

In the old days, when it was difficult to control river flow, annual changes in river flow posed many threats to the Egyptians living in the alluvium along the riverbank. However, the threat disappeared with the construction of the Aswan High Dam in 1971. An artificial lake, Lake Nasser, was created south of Aswan, and the development of the desert region through irrigation using the water from this artificial lake was hastened. The Nile River is the lifeline of not only farmers but also Egyptians. To the east of the Nile River, the Maja Plateau and the Galala and Kiblia mountain ranges are developed.

Here, monotonous plateaus and plains made of crystalline rock and limestone develop continuously into the Ethiopian Plateau to the south. In the southern part of this plateau, the Hamata Mountain Range (1,977m) gradually rises toward the southwest, reaching an altitude of about 1,900m. The Red Sea side has a steep slope toward the sea, and a thin coastal plain has developed along the coast. Between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba in the Red Sea lies the triangular-shaped Sinai Peninsula. The peninsula rises higher as it goes south, reaching its highest point at Mount Katrina (2,637m).

Although it is a barren area made up of deserts and rocky mountains, it plays a big role in the Egyptian economy due to its reserves of oil resources. A group of lakes have developed in the lowlands of the Isthmus of Suez between the Sinai Peninsula and the mainland. The Suez Canal was created by connecting these canals and excavating them. The west side of the Nile River is a desert that is difficult for humans to live in. Except for the oases distributed in the Fayum Lowland and Katara Lowland, human habitation is almost impossible.

In these lowlands, groundwater seeps out here and there along the cracks in the limestone, forming oases. In addition to the water that can be obtained naturally, springs are dug and used for oasis irrigation farming. Intensive agricultural land has been developed and population density is high. Five oases, including Bahariya, Parafira, Dahla, Hargah, and Siwa, are famous and are said to have been used as agricultural land by the Egyptians since around 1600.

History

6,000 years ago, Egypt was divided into Lower Egypt in the Nile Delta and Upper Egypt in the upper Nile Delta, like two regions with different livelihoods, politics, religion, and cultural sentiments. Upper Egypt was a long, narrow area along the Nile River where usable land was gradually decreasing and productivity was decreasing as desertification progressed. Lower Egypt is a rich, densely populated land spread out in a fan shape to the north of modern-day Cairo, and was an area where trade and exchanges with other peoples were active via land and sea. After being in constant hostility and competition for over 1,000 years, Lower Egypt was first unified around 3000 BC by a king named Narmer (or Menes) of Upper Egypt, and the capital was Memphis, the midpoint, where the Nile Delta granary begins. was built in

The unification of Narmer became an opportunity for the unification of the Egyptian people and the rapid development of Egyptian civilization. After unification, Egypt became a powerful social force. These eras are called the First and Second Dynasties, and Egypt achieved development in all aspects, including government organization and administrative system, architecture, civil engineering technology, and art. Hieroglyphs, the Egyptian writing system, were also developed, and a calendar with 365 days in a year was completed. Djoser, the second monarch of the Third Dynasty around 2800 BC, was one of the most outstanding Egyptian kings.

He is also famous as the monarch who built the first pyramid in history. However, the true protagonist of pyramid history appears in the 4th Dynasty. The first king of the 4th Dynasty had his successor build the most beautiful and perfect Great Pyramid in Giza. The Fourth Dynasty was the period when the ancient Egyptian kingdom reached its peak, and it was a time when the pharaoh, who was both a man and a god, and his royal authority were literally absolute. The cult of the sun god reached its peak during the 5th Dynasty, founded by Userkaf, the son of a priest of Heliopolis. The sun god Ra replaced Osiris as the supreme god, monarchs claimed to be the sun god’s sons, and a temple was built for the sun god.

The pyramid murals of the 5th Dynasty monarchs depict the expeditions undertaken by the Egyptians in Syria, Nubia, and other places, and these achievements are also confirmed in materials such as the Palermo Stone. The monarch’s absolute power, which had begun to falter in the 5th Dynasty, was completely weakened during the 6th Dynasty, and the Egyptians then went through the first intermediate period of the 7th to 10th Dynasties, which was riddled with violence and civil war and full of pessimism and confusion. The Middle Kingdom period, which corresponds to Manetho’s 11th Dynasty (2133-1991 BC) and the 12th Dynasty (1991-1785 BC), was the reunification of Lower Egypt achieved by Mentuhotep II, Prince of Thebes, after a long period of hardship and struggle. also begins.

Unification brought improved lives to all classes of Egyptians and was welcomed by the vast majority of Egyptians. Immediately after his unification, Mentuhotep II launched a successful campaign into Nubia, Libya, Syria, and Sinai. Vizier Amenemed, who was in charge of this expedition project as the governor of Upper Egypt, starts the 12th Dynasty. This dynasty period is considered one of the most brilliant periods in Egyptian history.

The reigns of Sesostris III and Amenemed III, known as the golden age of Egyptian history, were a time of peace and stability, and a time when the pharaohs, who were both gods and humans, became closer to humans. From the beginning of the 12th Dynasty, a prosperous Egypt began to attract foreigners, mainly Asians, and the expansion of trade and diplomacy began to bring foreign cultures and ideas to Egypt. Due to various reasons, the control of the country gradually weakened from the end of the 12th Dynasty, and as the country was divided, Asian foreigners who had entered and settled in Egypt many generations ago came to dominate Egypt during the 16th and 17th Dynasties. They are called Hyksos (immigrant rulers).

The rule of Asians became a turning point for the introduction of new cultures into Egypt. New musical instruments and musical styles, technological innovations ranging from bronzesmithing to pottery and weaving, and new varieties of grains and crops were introduced. War brought new types of weapons, as well as chariots and horses. The chaotic period from the 13th Dynasty until the end of Hyksos rule is called the Second Intermediate Period. The 18th Dynasty was founded by Ahmose, a member of the royal family of Thebes, who had been fighting for generations to throw off the rule of the Hyksos. He eliminated Hyksos forces from the Delta region, reunited Upper and Lower Egypt, and restored Egypt’s former territory.

Afterwards, Thutmose III won several expeditions led by himself, regained the old land of Egypt, incorporated the Asian region, and built a great empire stretching from the “Fourth Falls of the Nile” to Syria. Egypt’s political power reached its peak during the reign of Amenhotep III. He was called Horus the Golden, Ruler of Truth, King of Egypt, and Son of Ra. Amenhotep IV is perhaps the most controversial of all Egyptian pharaohs. This is because he abandoned Amun, the guardian god of Thebes, and became the first religious reformer in history to establish the concept of monotheistic God. He moved the capital to al-Amarna in central Egypt and built a new city, Akhetaten (Skyline of Aten).

The glory enjoyed during the New Kingdom era is confirmed by the splendid grave goods excavated from the “Valley of the Kings”, which was excavated in 1922 and shocked the world, especially the golden mask of “Tutankhamun”, which covered the face of the pharaoh’s body. The 19th Dynasty begins with Ramses I. His successor, Seti I, was a great military leader who overpowered the Hittite kingdom, which had become the ruler of Asia, and effectively dealt with the Libyans trying to enter the Nile Delta. The third monarch, Ramses II, was a great king who ruled Egypt for 66 years. He succeeded in ending the long-standing hostile relationship with the Hittites by concluding a peace treaty and marriage alliance.

The long period of peace of the 20th Dynasty passed, and the 21st to 25th Dynasties followed, with the fall of royal power, priests controlling politics, and invasion by foreign powers. During this period of chaos and frustration, called the Third Intermediate Period, Libyan monarchs ruled, the Nubians plundered all of Upper Egypt and even Memphis in Middle Egypt, and the country came under the rule of Ethiopian monarchs and Assyrians.

The Post-Dynastic Period, from 663 to 332 BC, begins with the 26th Dynasty of Psamtik I, a prince of Sais in the Delta region of Lower Egypt, who defeated the Assyrians who ruled Egypt. During the era of the second monarch, Neko, commerce developed, naval power was strengthened, a canal was built between the Nile River and the Red Sea, and trade especially developed between Egypt and Greece, and many Greeks settled in Egypt as merchants and mercenaries for the royal family. I started doing it. During the 27th Dynasty, the Persian monarch Cambyses II conquered Egypt and ruled it with a governor, but the Egyptians did not obey. Despite the strength of foreign powers, architecture, sculpture, and literature flourished.

Assassinations and deaths of Persian monarchs and defeat at the Battle of Marathon against Athens led to constant anti-Persian uprisings in the Delta region, which were brutally suppressed each time. The anti-Persian struggle was finally won by Amirtaeus from Sais, who started the 28th Dynasty, and during the 29th Dynasty, thanks to the balance of power between Persia and Greece, Egypt was able to return to the international stage. The 30th Dynasty continued to enjoy prosperity, but the last monarch of the 30th Dynasty, Nectanebo, failed to stop the invasion of the Persian army and fled to Nubia, ending the dynasty led by the Egyptians and the 31st Dynasty of Persian monarchs.

When Alexander the Great’s Macedonian-Greek army marched into Egypt in the fall of 332 BC, the Egyptians welcomed them as liberators. Alexander built Alexandria on the west side of the Nile Delta, and this port city facing the Mediterranean Sea developed into Egypt’s largest city. When Alexander, who left the rule of Egypt divided between Macedonian, Greek, and Egyptian administrators, died in Babylon in 323 BC, Egypt went through many twists and turns and fell into the hands of Ptolemy I, a Macedonian nobleman.

Frequent power struggles within the Plemaic dynasty resulted in the loss of much of its territory during its heyday, and in the last 100 years it was weakened to the point where it could not maintain its independence without Roman protection. However, Ptolemy’s descendants ruled Egypt for more than 300 years until Cleopatra VII, who tried to fight Octavian in solidarity with Antony in 30 BC, was defeated at the Battle of Actium and committed suicide when Alexandria fell. Alexandria of the Ptolemaic dynasty was the center of the Hellenistic world and a city with the highest level of learning and art in the world.

The suicide of Cleopatra VII, who was ambitious and exceptionally capable, brought the era of ancient Egypt to an end and Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire. Roman emperors respected Egyptian traditions, and the influence of Egyptian culture, including the worship of Issus, spread to Rome. Meanwhile, Christianity spreads to Egypt. Christianity was persecuted in its early days, but developed rapidly under the protection of Emperors Constantine and Theodosius. In particular, Emperor Theodosius ordered the destruction of all idolatrous temples in Egypt.

Egypt became part of the Greek-speaking Eastern Roman Empire, and when the Byzantine Empire recognized Christianity as the state religion, indigenous religions in Egypt gradually lost their foothold. The number of Christian monks and hermits increased rapidly, and the world’s first monastery appeared in Egypt. A rich Coptic literature developed in Egypt, consisting mainly of translations of the Bible and the lives of saints and martyrs.

 

Economy

Agriculture, Egypt’s main industry, is concentrated in the Nile River valley, the delta plain, and around several oases. A variety of crops are produced in one farm with 2 to 3 crops per year. Production per unit area is high, and cotton is mainly grown as an economic crop; corn, wheat, barley, rice, soybeans, fruit, and sugarcane are grown as food crops; and date palms and oil palms are grown in the irrigated agricultural areas of other oases. produce etc.

The land system, which had been an obstacle to Egypt’s agricultural development, was improved through land reform following the establishment of the Nasser revolutionary regime in 1952, and the construction of the Aswan High Dam changed the agricultural production structure, leading to a significant increase in farmland. In addition, agricultural product processing has also developed as part of the industrialization plan, and sugarcane sugar manufacturing and food processing industries are growing rapidly.

The oil resources that support the Egyptian economy are produced in domestic oil fields centered on the Sinai Peninsula. Most of it is refined at state-run oil refineries, and the oil refining industry has developed around the Port of Suez. Methods are being sought to build a petrochemical industry using these petroleum resources as raw materials and to develop new oil fields. In addition to natural gas, minerals include iron ore near Aswan, phosphate ore from Esibaya, manganese ore from the Sinai Peninsula, and salt from Alexandria. Heavy industrial products such as automobiles, trailers, agricultural tractors, and diesel engines are produced, and the traditional textile and textile industries are developed. Transportation is most developed in the Nile Delta region centered on Cairo.

The Nile River plays a very important role as an inland waterway transportation route to Sudan, mainly transporting agricultural and mineral products. The importance of the Suez Canal to Egypt is very great both strategically and economically, and it suffered great economic losses when it was closed during the Middle East War in 1967. Air traffic is provided by the state-run EgyptAir, and Cairo Airport is of global importance and is a key point for international aviation connecting Africa and Asia. EgyptAir is one of the largest airlines on the African continent. Important ports include Alexandria and Port Said and Suez Port along the Suez Canal.

The main export products are oil and petroleum products, raw cotton, cotton yarn and cotton products, and the main export destinations are Italy, France, Russia, the United States, and the Netherlands. The main imported goods are foodstuffs, machinery and transportation equipment, chemicals, lubricants, fuel and minerals, and the main import destinations are the United States and Germany. Despite the government’s efforts, Egypt’s exports mainly consist of primary products such as crude oil and raw cotton, and are greatly influenced by the international prices of primary products. On the other hand, imports include food, intermediate goods, and capital goods, which have a high dependence on external sources. Exports decreased significantly in 1998 due to the foreign exchange crisis in East Asia and a drop in oil prices, but exports increased significantly in 2000 thanks to the rise in oil prices after 1999. The GDP growth rate in 2000 was 6.5%, exports were $6.4 billion, and imports were $17.87 billion, resulting in a very large trade balance deficit.

 

Conclusion

It is a country in the northeastern part of the African continent. In 1882, Britain took over the Egyptian government for the sake of protecting the Suez Canal. It gained partial independence as the Kingdom of Egypt in 1922, and regained full sovereignty as nationalist and anti-British movements intensified after World War II.