TIMELINE | | EGYPT
 
Date Country | Description
 527 A.D. Egypt  
  Byzantine Emperor Justinian orders the construction of St. Catherine’s Monastery at the foot of Mount Moses in Central Sinai. It became the third pilgrimage site after Jerusalem and Rome.
 571 A.D. Egypt  
  Birth in Mecca of Prophet Muhammad from the tribe of Quraysh.
 619 A.D. Egypt  
  Egypt, Jerusalem and Damascus come under the rule of the Persian Emperor Xerxes II.
 627 A.D. Egypt  
  Prophet Muhammad sends a letter to Cyrus, the Byzantine Patriarch of Alexandria and ruler of Egypt, inviting him to accept Islam. Cyrus sends gifts to the Prophet in answer, together with two sisters from Upper Egypt. The Prophet married one of them, called Maria the Copt. She bore him his only son, who died in boyhood.
 639 A.D. Egypt  
  The first mosque in Egypt is built in Bilbis, east of the Delta, to honour the martyrs and 120 companions of the Prophet who died in battle there during the Arab invasion of Egypt. It followed the ground plan of the Prophet's mosque in Medina.
 641 A.D. Egypt  
  Babylon (the Roman settlement south of present-day Cairo) capitulates to the Muslim armies led by Amr ibn al-'As.The first Islamic capital of Egypt, Fustat, is founded.
 655 A.D. Egypt  
  Ali ibn Abi Talib, the Prophet's cousin and companion, isappointed wali (ruler) of Egypt by ‘Uthman ibn ‘Affan, the third Righteous Caliph.
 750 A.D. Egypt  
  Egypt comes under the control of the Abbasid Caliphate and al-Askar, the second Islamic capital of Egypt, is founded. Marwan ibn Muhammad, the last Umayyad Caliph in the East, is murdered in Abu Seir, Fayyum, west of the Delta.
 764 A.D. Egypt  
  A great famine strikes the country due to the low Nile flood, during the rule of Amir Yazid ibn Hakim al-Mahdi, ruler of the Abbasids.
 867 A.D. Egypt  
  Abbasid Caliph al-Mu’tazz appoints Bakbak as governor to Egypt, but Bakbak sends Ahmad Ibn Tulun instead.
 869 A.D. Egypt  
  Ahmad Ibn Tulun rules independently from the Abbasid Caliphate and founds al-Qatai city, the third Islamic capital of Egypt.
 877 A.D. Egypt  
  The completion of the Great Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun, which features many innovative elements in Islamic architecture. Annexed to it was a bimaristan (hospital) to treat the poor and it also served as a shelter for the disabled.
 895 A.D. Egypt  
  The marriage of the daughter of Khumarawayh, Qatr al-Nada, to the Abbasid Caliph al-Mu'tadid. The legendary wedding, including the trousseau, costs the Egyptian treasury over 1.2 million gold dinars.
 905 A.D. Egypt  
  The Tulunid dynasty collapses and Egypt reverts to direct Abbasid control.
 935 A.D. Egypt  
  Muhammad ibn Tughj rules Egypt autonomously under the title of al-Ikhshid given to him by the Abbasid Caliph.
 968 A.D. Egypt  
  Kafur al-Ikhshid dies and political and economic strife encourages the Fatimid conquest of Egypt.
 969 A.D. Egypt  
  The Fatimids enter Fustat with little resistance. Jawhar Al-Siqili founds al-Qahira (Cairo) to the north of al-Fustat in anticipation of the arrival of the Fatimid Caliph al-Mu’izz from North Africa to make Cairo his seat of rule.
 988 A.D. Egypt  
  Al-Azhar mosque becomes a centre for higher religious education under vizier Ya’qub ibn Killis, minister of the Fatimid Caliph al-Aziz Billah.
 1087 A.D. Egypt  
  Badr Al-Jamali, the Fatimid vizier, consolidates Cairo’s walls while extending its perimeter.
 1099 A.D. Egypt  
  Fall of Jerusalem to the Franks.
 1168 A.D. Egypt  
  Amuri, King of Jerusalem and leader of the Crusader army, captures the city of Bilbis and slaughters every man, woman and child. The burning of Fustat is ordered by Shawar, minister of the Fatimid caliph, to prevent the Crusaders from reaching Cairo. Twenty thousand barrels of oil were used for this purpose and the fire continued for 54 days.
 1169 A.D. Egypt  
  Salah al-Din Ayyub (Saladin) takes control of Egypt.
 1171 A.D. Egypt  
  Salah al-Din becomes sultan, extends Cairo’s fortifications and constructs the Citadel.
 1193 A.D. Egypt  
  Salah al-Din dies and the Ayyubid empire is fragmented.
 1193 A.D. Egypt  
  Salah al-Din recaptures Jerusalem.
 1199 A.D. Egypt  
  Al-‘Adil unites the Ayyubid empire.
 1200 A.D. Egypt  
  Famine due to the low level of the Nile for several consecutive years and an earthquake result in over 240,000 dead.
 1240 A.D. Egypt  
  Al-Salih Ayyub builds up an army of Turkish slaves and houses them in his fortress on Roda island in the Nile. They come to be known as the Bahri Mamluks.
 1249 A.D. Egypt  
  Louis IX is captured by the Ayyubid army in Mansourah and later released for a ransom of 100,000 dinars. Al-Salih Ayyub dies and is succeeded by his son Turan Shah who shatters the Crusader army attacking the Delta.
 1250 A.D. Egypt  
  Brief reign of Shajar al-Durr, widow of al-Salih Ayyub, as Sultana for 80 days.
 1260 A.D. Egypt  
  Al-Zahir Baybars defeats the Mongols at Ain Jalut and reinstates the Abbasid caliph in Cairo.
 1268 A.D. Egypt  
  Al-Zahir Baybars captures the city of Antioch, the second Crusader state in the Levant after al-Raha.
 1276 A.D. Egypt  
  Al-Zahir Baybars defeats the Tartars in Asia Minor.
 1291 A.D. Egypt  
  Al-Ashraf Khalil defeats the Crusaders who retreat to Cyprus. He annexes the city of Acre in Palestine.
 1296 A.D. Egypt  
  Draught and famine in Egypt because of the low Nile flood and more than 17,500 persons die that year.
 1303 A.D. Egypt  
  Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun defeats Ghazan, King of Tartars, in the Levant.
 1311 A.D. Egypt  
  The Hafsid ruler of Tunis takes refuge in Egypt. The Sultan helped him to take back his throne and he became the deputy of the Egyptian Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad bin Qalawun. The death of Ibn Mandhur, the author of Lisan al-Arab (‘The Arab Tongue’).
 1348 A.D. Egypt  
  A Yellow Fever epidemic rages through Egypt.
 1383 A.D. Egypt  
  Sultan Barquq seizes power, establishing the Circassian Mamluk dynasty.Ibn Khaldun arrives in Egypt, where he lectures at al-Azhar and is appointed head of the Hanafite court of justice.
 1400 A.D. Egypt  
  Timur-i-Lang (Tamerlane) sacks Damascus and the economy deteriorates; plague and famine are rife.
 1412 A.D. Egypt  
  Mua’yyad Shaykh retakes Syria and rules until his death in 824 / 1421.
 1422 A.D. Egypt  
  Reign of Barsbay marks the beginning of a period of peace, cultural vitality and increased trade.
 1442 A.D. Egypt  
  Death of al-Maqrizi, the great Egyptian historian.
 1468 A.D. Egypt  
  The beginning of a long period of cultural revival under Sultan Qaytbay.
 1492 A.D. Egypt  
  The discovery of the Cape of Good Hope has an adverse effect on trade in Egypt.
 1516 A.D. Egypt  
  Sultan al-Ghawri is killed in battle against the Ottomans. His successor Tuman Bay, the last Mamluk sultan, was captured a few months later and hung on Bab Zuweila by Selim I, the Ottoman sultan. Khayrbek, governor of Aleppo, who betrayed the Mamluks was appointed first Ottoman governor of Egypt.
 1595 A.D. Egypt  
  Renovation of al Azhar riwaq (portico) screens, restoration of the mosque's ceilings and rationing of a daily meal of lentils for the poor by the wali al-Sharif Muhammad Pasha.
 1603 A.D. Egypt  
  Plague attacks cities and villages, taking many lives.
 1620 A.D. Egypt  
  Great hardship due to a very high flood preventing the sowing of new crops in season; a great rise in prices and the cost of living.
 1768 A.D. Egypt  
  Ali Bey Al-Kabir revolts against the Ottomans. The revolt is suppressed four years later.
 1798 A.D. Egypt  
  French expedition to Egypt, led by Napoleon, which continues for three years during which the first Arabic printing house was established in Egypt.
 1805 A.D. Egypt  
  Muhammad Ali Pasha expels Ottoman governor and, achieving virtual independence from the Ottoman court, begins comprehensive efforts to modernise Egypt.
 1854 A.D. Egypt  
  Said Pasha grants concession to the French F. de Lesseps to construct the Suez Canal.
 1863 A.D. Egypt  
  Khedive Ismail orders the construction of European-style districts of Cairo in anticipation of the opening of the Suez Canal and builds Abdin Palace to become the new seat of rule.
 1869 A.D. Egypt  
  Inauguration of the Suez Canal for international shipping in a great celebration hosted by Khedive Ismail.Founding of Dar al-Kuttub, the first public library in Egypt.Opening of the first opera house in the Middle East.
 1882 A.D. Egypt  
  To suppress the Ahmad Orabi rising the British Fleet bombards Alexandria. The beginning of the British occupation of Egypt, which will continue for 72 years.
 1902 A.D. Egypt  
  The building of the Aswan Dam to control the Nile water and the entire irrigation system.
 1919 A.D. Egypt  
  Revolution against British occupation led by Saad Zaghloul in which all classes of society join.
 1920 A.D. Egypt  
  Talat Harb founds Bank Misr, an all-Egyptian Bank which finances new industries, Egyptian commercial firms and various projects.
 1922 A.D. Egypt  
  Establishment of the Egyptian Federation of Industries.Britain grants Egypt autonomous rule. Sultan Fouad takes the title of King.