Northern Africa · EGY

Egypt

The story · 14 chapters

How it was drawn

One of the oldest territorial states on Earth, held by pharaohs, foreign empires and caliphs, whose modern borders were fixed by Ottoman, British and treaty lines.

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Through the ages

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Egypt fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Hyksos1650 BC to 1550 BC
Rulers of West Asian origin who take control of the Nile delta around 1650 BC from their capital Avaris. The Theban kings Seqenenre, Kamose and finally Ahmose fight them, and Ahmose takes Avaris and expels them around 1550 BC.
Kingdom of Kush1550 BC to 656 BC
Egypt's southern neighbour in today's Sudan. New Kingdom pharaohs conquer Nubia and rule it for five centuries. Later the tables turn: Kushite kings conquer Egypt around 728 BC and rule it until the Assyrians drive them back south.
Hittite Empire1300 BC to 1259 BC
The two great powers of the age fight for Syria. Ramesses II battles Muwatalli II at Kadesh in 1274 BC, a draw both claim as a victory, and around 1259 BC they sign a peace treaty whose text survives in Egyptian and Hittite versions.
Neo-Assyrian Empire674 BC to 656 BC
Assyria fights the Kushite pharaohs for Egypt. Esarhaddon takes Memphis in 671 BC and Ashurbanipal sacks Thebes around 663 BC. Psamtik I, first an Assyrian vassal, makes Egypt independent again as Assyria weakens.
Achaemenid Persia525 BC to 332 BC
Cambyses II conquers Egypt at Pelusium in 525 BC. Egypt revolts repeatedly and is independent again from 404 to 343 BC, when the Persians return. Alexander the Great ends Persian rule in 332 BC.
Seleucid Empire274 BC to 168 BC
The Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria fight six Syrian Wars over the Levant. Ptolemy IV wins at Raphia in 217 BC. Antiochus IV invades Egypt in 170 to 168 BC but leaves after a Roman ultimatum.
Roman Republic48 BC to 30 BC
Rome is drawn into Ptolemaic politics: Julius Caesar fights in Alexandria in 48 to 47 BC on Cleopatra's side. After Octavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC, Egypt becomes a Roman province in 30 BC.
Crusader states1163 to 1250
The Kingdom of Jerusalem invades Egypt several times in the 1160s. Later crusades target the Nile delta: the Fifth Crusade takes Damietta in 1219 but is forced out in 1221, and in 1250 Louis IX of France is captured at Mansurah.
Mongol Empire and Ilkhanate1260 to 1323
Mamluk Egypt is the power that stops the Mongols. At Ain Jalut in 1260 Qutuz and Baybars defeat a Mongol army, and wars with the Ilkhanate of Persia over Syria continue until a peace in 1323.
Ottoman Empire1516 to 1517
Sultan Selim I defeats the Mamluks at Marj Dabiq in Syria in 1516 and at Ridaniya outside Cairo in 1517. The last Mamluk sultan is hanged at a Cairo gate, and Egypt becomes an Ottoman province.
French Republic1798 to 1801
Napoleon Bonaparte invades in 1798 to strike at Britain's route to India and defeats the Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids. Nelson destroys the French fleet at Abukir Bay, and British and Ottoman forces make the French leave in 1801.
British Empire1882 to 1956
Britain occupies Egypt in 1882, makes it a protectorate in 1914 and faces a national revolution in 1919. It recognises independence in 1922 but keeps troops by the canal until 1956, when its invasion during the Suez Crisis fails.
Israel1948 to 1979
Egypt and Israel fight in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, with the War of Attrition along the canal in between. After Sadat's visit to Jerusalem in 1977 and the Camp David Accords, the 1979 peace treaty returns Sinai to Egypt.
SudanSince 1958Still open
Both states claim the Halaib triangle on the Red Sea, where two colonial boundary lines differ. A standoff in 1958 ends without war, and Egypt has administered the area since the 1990s.

Today

Egypt now

The regularity and richness of the annual Nile River flood, coupled with semi-isolation provided by deserts to the east and west, allowed for the development of one of the world's great civilizations in Egypt. , and a series of dynasties ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. , who in turn were replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. Arab conquerors introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century and ruled for the next six centuries.

Capital: Cairo
Government: presidential republic
Head of government: Mostafa Madbouly
Head of state: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Languages: Arabic
Area: 1,001,450 km²

Through time

Then and now

Population115 million2023 · 21.1 million in 1950
Life expectancy71.6 years2023 · 34.0 years in 1950
GDP per person$13,2052022 · $1,450 in 1950
Living in cities43%2025 · 31% in 1950
Literacy80%2022 · 23% in 1950
Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Electoral autocracy in 1950
Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950
Military spending0.6% of GDP2025
War deathsNone2025

Population: HYDE 3.3, Gapminder and UN WPP. GDP per capita: Maddison Project Database 2023. Urban share: UN WPP. Life expectancy: Riley, HMD, UN WPP. Literacy: OWID historical estimates, World Bank, UNESCO. Military spending: SIPRI. War deaths: UCDP. Political regime: V-Dem, Regimes of the World. All via Our World in Data (CC BY 4.0). Alliances and organization memberships: compiled by Atlas. Satellites in orbit: CelesTrak SATCAT. Modern borders, backcast.

Relations

Close partners and tensions

Close partners

United States
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
France
Greece

Tensions

Turkiye
Qatar

Summarised from World Bank and Wikipedia data, updated 23 October 2026.

Rivals in history

The kingdoms, empires and states Egypt fought or stood against, from the first to today.

Hyksos1650 BC to 1550 BC

Rulers of West Asian origin who take control of the Nile delta around 1650 BC from their capital Avaris. The Theban kings Seqenenre, Kamose and finally Ahmose fight them, and Ahmose takes Avaris and expels them around 1550 BC.

Kingdom of Kush1550 BC to 656 BC

Egypt's southern neighbour in today's Sudan. New Kingdom pharaohs conquer Nubia and rule it for five centuries. Later the tables turn: Kushite kings conquer Egypt around 728 BC and rule it until the Assyrians drive them back south.

Hittite Empire1300 BC to 1259 BC

The two great powers of the age fight for Syria. Ramesses II battles Muwatalli II at Kadesh in 1274 BC, a draw both claim as a victory, and around 1259 BC they sign a peace treaty whose text survives in Egyptian and Hittite versions.

Neo-Assyrian Empire674 BC to 656 BC

Assyria fights the Kushite pharaohs for Egypt. Esarhaddon takes Memphis in 671 BC and Ashurbanipal sacks Thebes around 663 BC. Psamtik I, first an Assyrian vassal, makes Egypt independent again as Assyria weakens.

Achaemenid Persia525 BC to 332 BC

Cambyses II conquers Egypt at Pelusium in 525 BC. Egypt revolts repeatedly and is independent again from 404 to 343 BC, when the Persians return. Alexander the Great ends Persian rule in 332 BC.

Seleucid Empire274 BC to 168 BC

The Ptolemies of Egypt and the Seleucids of Syria fight six Syrian Wars over the Levant. Ptolemy IV wins at Raphia in 217 BC. Antiochus IV invades Egypt in 170 to 168 BC but leaves after a Roman ultimatum.

Roman Republic48 BC to 30 BC

Rome is drawn into Ptolemaic politics: Julius Caesar fights in Alexandria in 48 to 47 BC on Cleopatra's side. After Octavian defeats Antony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 BC, Egypt becomes a Roman province in 30 BC.

Crusader states1163 to 1250

The Kingdom of Jerusalem invades Egypt several times in the 1160s. Later crusades target the Nile delta: the Fifth Crusade takes Damietta in 1219 but is forced out in 1221, and in 1250 Louis IX of France is captured at Mansurah.

Mongol Empire and Ilkhanate1260 to 1323

Mamluk Egypt is the power that stops the Mongols. At Ain Jalut in 1260 Qutuz and Baybars defeat a Mongol army, and wars with the Ilkhanate of Persia over Syria continue until a peace in 1323.

Ottoman Empire1516 to 1517

Sultan Selim I defeats the Mamluks at Marj Dabiq in Syria in 1516 and at Ridaniya outside Cairo in 1517. The last Mamluk sultan is hanged at a Cairo gate, and Egypt becomes an Ottoman province.

French Republic1798 to 1801

Napoleon Bonaparte invades in 1798 to strike at Britain's route to India and defeats the Mamluks at the Battle of the Pyramids. Nelson destroys the French fleet at Abukir Bay, and British and Ottoman forces make the French leave in 1801.

British Empire1882 to 1956

Britain occupies Egypt in 1882, makes it a protectorate in 1914 and faces a national revolution in 1919. It recognises independence in 1922 but keeps troops by the canal until 1956, when its invasion during the Suez Crisis fails.

Israel1948 to 1979

Egypt and Israel fight in 1948, 1956, 1967 and 1973, with the War of Attrition along the canal in between. After Sadat's visit to Jerusalem in 1977 and the Camp David Accords, the 1979 peace treaty returns Sinai to Egypt.

SudanSince 1958Still open

Both states claim the Halaib triangle on the Red Sea, where two colonial boundary lines differ. A standoff in 1958 ends without war, and Egypt has administered the area since the 1990s.

Egypt now

Capital

Cairo

Government

presidential republic

Head of government

Mostafa Madbouly

Head of state

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

Languages

Arabic

Area

1,001,450 km²

Then and now

Population115 million2023 · 21.1 million in 1950

Life expectancy71.6 years2023 · 34.0 years in 1950

GDP per person$13,2052022 · $1,450 in 1950

Living in cities43%2025 · 31% in 1950

Literacy80%2022 · 23% in 1950

Political regimeElectoral autocracy2025 · Electoral autocracy in 1950

Military alliancesNone of these2024 · None of these in 1950

Military spending0.6% of GDP2025

War deathsNone2025