| |||||
| Capital | Cairo | ||||
| Largest city | Alexandria | ||||
| Language official |
Coptic | ||||
| others | Greek, Arabic, other tribal languages | ||||
| Religion main |
Coptic Orthodox Church (Oriental Orthodox) | ||||
| others | Ethiopian Orthodox Church (Oriental Orthodox), Eastern Orthodox, Alhaqist | ||||
| Ethnic Groups main |
Egyptian | ||||
| others | Greek, other Arab, Egyptian Chinese | ||||
| Demonym | Egyptian | ||||
| Population | 119,965,402 | ||||
| Established | 1925 | ||||
| Independence | from People's Eastern Roman Democratic Republic | ||||
| Currency | Egyptian Drachma | ||||
Egypt is one of the largest nations in the world. It is a unique nation, whose culture is a combination of Greek, Chinese, Arab, and African roots.
Flag and Coat of Arms[]
The flag of Egypt puts emphasis upon the Coptic Christian heritage of the nation, featuring the Coptic Cross prominently in the corner. The twelve stripes represent the twelve regions of Egypt. The Red, Gold, and Blue colors are the national colors of Egypt.
The seal of Egypt portrays the long history of Egypt. An eagle, a symbol of majesty and strength (with connections to Rome and Byzantium) is most prominent. The Coptic Cross in the center of the eagle represents the Coptic religion. In one of the eagle's talons is grasped the Yin-Yang Symbol, which represents the great influence that China and the other east Asian nations have long had over Egypt since the eleventh century. In the other talon is the Ankh, a symbol of ancient Kemet, and the green of the Arab Muslims, two groups who, though barely represented in modern Egyptian life, still have a great prescence in its economy and archaeology.
History[]
Early History[]
Egypt had been independent as the nation of Kemet since 3100 BC. Their race and ethnicity are hotly debated. However, after the end of the New Kingdom it fell into chaos, and soon Assyrians and Persians and Greeks and Romans came to dominate over its history. Their cultures merged with the Kemetic one to create a new hybrid civilization. Its old pagan religion dominated until the advent of Christianity, in which the Coptic Church came to dominate. In the seventh century, Muslims would conquer it, and it would remain under Muslim rule under 1039.
In 1039, the Fatamid Caliphate, which was based in Egypt, fought a second war with the Chinese Empire, and lost Egypt to the Chinese. The Chinese heavily promoted Chinese Confucian philosophy, resulting in the familial structures of Egypt changing. Chinese culture and traditions merged with the Egyptian culture, adding a new strand to the rich tapestry. Due to intense discrimination against Muslims, many Muslims converted. However, out due to the vast differences, very few converted to Buddhism or religious Taoism, and instead converted to Christianity, as it was not discriminated against but was much more similar to Islam.
In the time period lasting from 1182 to 1200, Zheng China fell, and Egypt was part of the independent kingdom of Arabia, although the Chinese still controlled the nation. In 1204, Muslims revolted in the Arabian portion of the nation, and the violence soon spread to the Egyptian portion as well. Eventually, Egypt returned to Byzantine rule. The Byzantines forced all Muslims to convert to Christianity, but most converted to the Coptic, not the Eastern Orthodox, Church, as it was more familiar, larger in Egypt, and was perceived to be less submissive to the Byzantine Empire.
The Byzantines vastly altered Egypt once more. Although they did not remove the Chinese cultural influence, they supplemented it with Greek culture. Many more Greeks immigrated to Egypt, where they merged with the Egyptian ethnicity. IThe Byzantines attempted to promote the Greek language over the Egyptian language. This all came to an end in 1637, when Egypt declared its independence from Greece as the Kingdom of Egypt.
Kingdom of Egypt[]
The Kingdom of Egypt was formed in 1637, when dissident Byzantine Army generals, angry at the constant wars in Africa, declared their independence. It was dominated, at least initially, by the Greek Papalos dynasty, which held control of the nation until 1710.
During the first three decades of its existance, Egypts' sole goal was to build a strong national identity and culture, and not to go to war or expand. Old Confucian ideals were promoted once more, and a "Classical Era" began, but instead of glorifying Rome, it glorified Ancient Egypt. Attempts by the Papalos to promote the Eastern Orthodox church failed, and both churches declared that either one would be acceptable in Egypt.
In 1672, the swiftly-growing Egyptian population began to move south, conquering as it went. Over the next century, Egypt would expand south until it encompassed all of OTL Sudan and South Sudan. The Egyptian population displaced many natives, and many others were killed. Even more intermarried with Egyptians, with many travelling up north, until they were one people. By 1800, the Egyptian ethnicity made up 50% of the Egyptian population, with the rest being partially Arab, partially Greek, a large portion native African, and even a remnant of Chinese.
The Papolos had attempted to keep their bloodline purely Greek. However, when they were seen to be favoring the Eastern Orthodox Church, a very religious Coptic General, Alejandrao Hariqous, overthrew the Papalos government and attempted to install the Hariquous dynasty in 1710. This short lived period ended by nine years later, when the Alhaxou dynasty came to power.
The Alhaxou continued expansion, and promotion of Chinese culture. Their time saw a glory age in Egyptian socity, and they lasted until 1885. It was in the 1880s when poor economy and several scandals discredited the Alhaxou, and the Alshangos dynasty seized control. They would prove to be short lasting, with communist forces, backed by the Peoples Eastern Roman Democratic Republic, overthrew the government in 1913, and Egypt once more fell under Byzantine rule.
Republic of Egypt[]
After the Byzantines were defeated in 1924, Egypt regained its independence. The Egyptian monarchy, however, was gone beyond restoration. The Alshangos were unable to re-establish any influence in the nation, and in fact they fled to China. Egypt immediately began rebuilding its nation and industrializing. The Egyptian republic was founded, and a federalist system was implemented in Egypt. Minority tribal groups, particularly in the south of the nation, were granted rights. Religious freedom was guaranteed for all; however, the Coptic Orthodox Church of Egypt, in communion with the Armenian, Ethiopian, and Syriac Oriental Orthodox Churches, was still officially recognized as the official religion of Egypt.
In the modern era, the Egyptian republic had several main goals: expanding the living space of its people, modernizing the nation, and protecting the Nile River and other environmental goals. Massive efforts into creating more efficient methods of water recycling and purification went underway, and today Egypt is the #1 nation in water recycling. This allows more people to use water even in the desert, and protects the Nile. Massive regulations to the dumping of waste into the Nile River are underway, and the Nile is remarkably pure for such a large river. Egypt has managed to raise their standard of living to be fairly high, though it is certainly not a leader in this regard. They have a space program, but prefer to concentrate on improving their lives on earth.