| A.D.
639-642 |
Muslim
Arab armies conquered Egypt. |
| 969-1171 |
The
Fatimid dynasty ruled Egypt. |
| 1171-1250 |
Egypt
was governed by the Ayyubid
dynasty. |
| 1250-1517 |
The
Mamelukes ruled Egypt. |
| 1517 |
The
Ottoman Turks invaded and
occupied Egypt. |
| 1798 |
Napoleon
conquered Egypt. |
| 1801 |
British
and Ottoman troops drove the
French out of Egypt. |
| 1869 |
The
Suez Canal was completed. |
| 1875 |
Egypt
sold its share of the Suez
Canal to Great Britain. |
| 1882 |
British
troops occupied Egypt. |
| 1914 |
Great
Britain made Egypt a
protectorate. |
| 1922 |
Great
Britain gave Egypt nominal
independence. |
| 1940-1942 |
British
forces fought Italian and
German troops in Egypt during
World War II. |
| 1948-1949 |
Egypt
and other Arab League
countries invaded Israel after
the United Nations (UN)
divided Palestine into Jewish
and Arab nations. The Israelis
drove back the invaders, and
the UN ended the war. |
| 1952 |
Army
officers forced King Farouk to
give up the throne. |
| 1953 |
Egypt
became a republic. |
| 1954 |
Gamal
Abdel Nasser came to power in
Egypt. |
| 1956 |
The
Egyptian government
nationalized the Suez Canal.
Israel, France, and Great
Britain invaded Egypt, but the
United Nations ended the
fighting. |
| 1958 |
Egypt
and Syria formed the United
Arab Republic. Syria withdrew
from the union in 1961. |
| 1960 |
Construction
began on the Aswan High Dam.
The dam began operation in
1968. |
| 1967 |
Egypt
and other Arab nations lost a
war against Israel. |
| 1970 |
Nasser
died. Anwar el-Sadat succeeded
him as president. |
| 1973 |
Egypt
and other Arab nations fought
Israel in the fourth Arab
Israeli war. |
| 1978 |
Egypt
and Israel reached a major
agreement designed to end the
disputes between the two
countries. |
| 1981 |
Sadat
was assassinated, and Hosni
Mubarak succeeded him as
president. |
| 1990 |
Egypt
played a leading role in Arab
opposition to Iraq's invasion
of Kuwait. In 1991, Egypt took
part in an allied military
coalition that defeated Iraq
in a brief war. |
