Today in Middle Eastern history: Egypt’s 23 July Revolution (1952)

Today marks 63 years since one of the most important events in 20th century Middle East history, the overthrow of the Egyptian monarchy by the Free Officers Movement. This was a group of military officers ostensibly led by General Muhammad Naguib, but really led by Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, who was gracious enough to let Naguib have a short turn as Egyptian president from 1953-1954 before pushing him out and fully assuming power.