Egypt's Background | Egypt Background Background: 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. A
unified kingdom arose circa 3200 B.C. and a series of dynasties
ruled in Egypt for the next three millennia. The last native
dynasty fell to the Persians in 341 B.C., who in turn were
replaced by the Greeks, Romans, and Byzantines. It was the Arabs
who introduced Islam and the Arabic language in the 7th century
and who ruled for the next six centuries. A local military
caste, the Mamluks took control about 1250 and continued to
govern after the conquest of Egypt by the Ottoman Turks in 1517.
Following the completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, Egypt became
an important world transportation hub, but also fell heavily
into debt. Ostensibly to protect its investments, Britain seized
control of Egypt's government in 1882, but nominal allegiance to
the Ottoman Empire