Egypt

Crowds gather around the burning headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Cairo, 27 October 1954. It was set on fire after the attempted assassination of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Associated Press/Alamy.

Nasser, Suez, and the Muslim Brotherhood

As Nasser moved to nationalise the Suez Canal in 1956, Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood was forced to choose between faith and freedom.

A bronze head of Ptolemy II or III, c. 246-222 BC. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Public Domain.

‘The Last Dynasty’ and ‘The Fall of Egypt and the Rise of Rome’ review

Can The Last Dynasty: Ancient Egypt from Alexander the Great to Cleopatra and The Fall of Egypt and the Rise of Rome: A History of the Ptolemies fashion a finale for the pharaohs?

Anwar Sadat raises the Egyptian flag over Sinai, 26 May 1979. William Karel/Getty Images.

Why Egypt Went to War in 1973

In 1973, Egyptian soldiers hoisted their flag over Sinai, smashing the myth of Israeli invincibility. Fifty years on from the October War, who claims the victory: the president or the people?

What does it mean?: the Dendera Zodiac on the ceiling of the Grand Temple at Dendera, Egypt, c.1826. From Descriptions of Egypt by Jean-Baptiste Prosper Jollois and Édouard de Villiers du Terrage. Heritage Images/Contributor via Getty Images.

Signs of the Zodiac: The Dendera Dating Controversy

How ancient was ancient Egypt? How old is the world? And what happens when archaeology contradicts the Bible? When the Dendera Zodiac arrived in Paris, these questions exploded into the public sphere.

A Life of Retirement

The Roman veterans village of Karanis in Egypt did not change the world. Its ordinariness is what makes it remarkable.

Some of the participants of the Cairo Conference, photographed in March 1921. Wiki Commons.

Hotel Days

Diplomatic negotiations at the 1921 Cairo Conference carved out a new geostrategic order.

Tutankhamun in the Flesh

The discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922 reopened arguments about the presumed race of the ancient Egyptians.

Colonel Nasser (left) and General Naguib at a press conference, 1953.

The Strange Death of Liberal Egypt

For most Egyptians independence came with the revolution of July 1952, not with the end of the British protectorate in February 1922. Yet, as the experiences of three patriotic writers show, independence did not mean freedom.