4400 BC First evidence of loom
The first evidence of a loom comes from this period in Egypt, but some simple method of holding the warp must be as old as weaving

4000 BC Plough pulled by humans
A simple hand-held plough is in use in Egypt and Mesopotamia, at least 1000 years before a heavier version is pulled by oxen

3100 BC First dynasty in Egypt
Upper and Lower Egypt are unified into a single kingdom, inaugurating the first Egyptian dynasty

3100 BC Egyptian murals designed for next world
The Egyptians paint murals on the walls of tombs, designed to help the occupants in the next world

3100 BC Egyptians write in hieroglyphs
The Egyptian hieroglyphic script develops at much the same time as the Sumerian cuneiform

3100 BC
The invention of writing marks the transition, in academic terms, from prehistory to history

3100 BC Pharaoh seen in personal triumph
The pharaoh Narmer celebrates a victory with a sculpted relief showing his personal dominance over the enemy

3000 BC Papyrus made from reeds
An easily portable writing surface is developed, from the papyrus plant of the Nile

3000 BC Leverage applied
The lever is in use in both Mesopotamia and Egypt

3000 BC Ass domesticated in Egypt
The ass, until now roaming wild from northeast Africa to Mesopotamia, is domesticated in Egypt

3000 BC Gold in use as currency
The earliest known currency, consisting of gold bars, is in use in Egypt and Mespotamia

-3000
Numbers are written in Egyptian records using the decimal system, on the same principle as that used much later in Rome

3000 BC Earliest board game - senet
The world's earliest known board game, senet, is played in Egypt

2781 BC Egyptians invent calendar
Sirius rises in this year on the first day of the first Egyptian month - a rare event which possibly launches the Egyptian calendar system

2620 BC Chief minister builds pyramid for pharaoh
Imhotep creates the first pyramid - the 'step pyramid' at Saqqara - as a tomb for the pharaoh Djoser

2580 BC Old Kingdom in Egypt
Egypt enters the period known as the Old Kingdom, its first era of monumental architecture

2500 BC World's largest pyramid
The first and largest of the three great pyramids at Giza is built for the pharaoh Khufu, later known to the Greeks as Cheops

2500 BC Boat of cedar planks
A boat of cedar planks, some 44 metres long, is buried at Giza

2500 BC Egypt trades with Phoenicia
Trade lnks, probably by sea in Phoenician ships from Byblos, are established between Egypt and Phoenicia

2500 BC Sphinx carved from rock
The largest sculpture of the ancient world, a sphinx with the face of the pharaoh Khufu, is carved in situ at Giza

2500 BC Mummification introduced in Egypt
To preserve bodies in perpetuity, the Egyptian ruling class develops the elaborate and lengthy process of mummifying an eviscerated corpse

2500 BC Cats win meal ticket
It is not known when cats are first domesticated, but from the start of Egyptian civilization they are sacred animals in temples

2500 BC Household goods and servants in Egyptian tombs
To ensure continued comfort in the afterlife, rich Egyptians have models placed in their tombs of the necessary servants and utensils

2000 BC Middle Kingdom in Egypt
Mentuhotep II wins control of all Egypt, establishing the period known as the Middle Kingdom

2000 BC Widespread trade from Crete
Trade is carried on from Crete round the Mediterranean as far west as Sicily and in the east down to Egypt

2000 BC Thebes becomes Egyptian capital
The centre of power in Egypt moves to the interior, with the capital at Thebes rather than Memphis

1850 BC Wrestling in Egypt
Wrestlers are painted on the walls of an Egyptian tomb, performing most of the holds and falls still in use today

1750 BC First exam question
The Rhind Mathematical Papyrus, copied out by Ahmes, an Egyptian scribe, offers some of the world's first exam questions

-1750
Mathematicians in both Babylon and Egypt independently calculate Π to within 1% of the true value

1740 BC
Egyptian accountants and architects have a symbol for zero, used not as a numeral but as the base line for larger or physically higher units

1700 BC Hebrews captive in Egypt
The biblical account suggests that around this period the Hebrews are a captive tribe in Egypt

1630 BC Hyksos in Egypt
The Hyksos, arriving from the middle east, win control of Egypt and rule for a century

1550 BC Book of the Dead in Egypt
Egyptian tombs include paintings of a kind to help the occupants in the next world, whether in the Book of the Dead or on the walls

1540 BC New Kingdom in Egypt
The New Kingdom begins in Egypt, bringing the most spectacular of all the dynasties

1540 BC Osiris gives promise of resurrection
The god Osiris, in his tall white headdress, represents in Egyptian tombs the idea of resurrection in the next world

1520 BC Pharaoh pushes far up Nile
Thutmose I extends Egyptian control as far up the Nile as Abu Hamad

1500 BC Trumpets in Egypt
A copper trumpet is in use in Egypt, forerunner of the brass instruments of the orchestra

1500 BC Jews adopt circumcision
The Jews adopt a long-established Egyptian ritual - the circumcision of boys

1500 BC Columns of Karnak and Luxor
The temples of Karnak and Luxor, in ancient Thebes, introduce the massive stone architecture of column and lintel

1500 BC Amen and Re merge as super-god
The gods Amen and Re are merged at Thebes as Amen-Re, the most important deity in the Egyptian pantheon

1490 BC Female pharaoh in Egypt
Hatshepsut takes power in Egypt, and is unusual in being a female pharaoh

1469 BC First known battle
The Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III defeats his enemies at Megiddo, in history's first fully described battle and siege

1450 BC Coloured glass an Egyptian luxury
Rich Egyptian households have the latest luxury items, small bottles of coloured glass to hold cosmetics

1400 BC Water clock in Egypt
The clepsydra, or water clock, is developed in Egypt

1380 BC Great temple at Luxor
The pharaoh Amenhotep III commissions the great temple to Amen-Re at Luxor

1353 BC Amenhotep becomes Akhenaten
The Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep IV adopts a new deity, Aten, and changes his name to Akhenaten

1350 BC Akhenaten builds new city
The pharaoh Akhenaten creates a new capital city on the Nile at Tell el Amarna

1345 BC Amarna letters
The Amarna letters, an invaluable collection of cuneiform tablets, are written at the court of the pharaoh Akhenaten

1345 BC Amarna tablets reveal links between Egypt and Phoenicia
The Amarna tablets contain extensive correspondence between the Akhenaten government in Egypt and subject princes in Phoenicia

1340 BC Nefertiti sits for her portrait
One of the regular sitters to the court sculptor Thutmose is the pharaoh's wife, Nefertiti

1333 BC Tutankhaten becomes Tutankhamun
With the return to favour of the god Amen, the young Tutankhaten's name is changed to Tutankhamun

1324 BC Tutankhamun is buried
The young Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamun, dies and is buried in a suitable tomb

1279 BC Ramses II begins long reign
Ramses II, perhaps the greatest of Egypt's pharaohs, begins a reign of sixty-six years

1275 BC Hittites and Egyptians clash at Kadesh
An indecisve battle between the Hittites and the Egyptians, at Kadesh, stabilizes the frontier between the two empires

1250 BC Moses in Sinai
Moses is with the Hebrew tribes in Sinai, after the exodus from Egypt

1250 BC Temple at Abu Simbel
Ramses II creates a spectacular temple in his own honour at Abu Simbel

1200 BC Sea Peoples cause havoc
Mysterious raiders from the sea cause chaos throughout the eastern Mediterranean, from Greece to Palestine and Egypt

950 BC Libyan dynasty in Egypt
Libyans in the Egyptian army take control of the nation and rule as pharaohs

800 BC Sundial in Egypt
The earliest surviving sundial is in use in Egypt

719 BC Cushite dynasty in Egypt
The king of Cush, or Nubia, conquers down the Nile to the sea, establishing the Cushite dynasty

700 BC Simpler hieroglyphs
Egyptian scribes develop an abbreviated version of hieroglyphs for everyday use, in the script known as demotic ('for the people')

663 BC Assyrians invade Egypt
The Egyptian city of Memphis falls to an Assyrian army, soon to be followed by Thebes

612 BC Egyptians defeated by Babylonians
The Babylonians defeat an Egyptian army at Carchemish, but do not press on into Egypt

600 BC Isis reassembles her husband
Isis, who is able to restore her husband Osiris after he has been chopped into pieces, becomes one of the most popular deities in Egypt

525 BC Persians invade Egypt
The Persians defeat an Egyptian army at Pelusium and then capture Memphis

515 BC Darius links Nile and Red Sea
The Persian emperor Darius I constructs a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea

460 BC Greeks support revolt in Egypt
Forces of the Delian League assist the Egyptians in a successful revolt against their Persian rulers

454 BC Greek disaster on Nile
The Greeks suffer a major reverse when their fleet is trapped on the Nile and destroyed by the Persians

450 BC Herodotus inspects mummy
The Greek historian Herodotus visits Egypt and provides, among many other details, an account of the process of mummification

332 BC Alexander enters Egypt almost unopposed
Alexander the Great's army arrives in Egypt and the Persian governor of the province rapidly surrenders

332 BC Alexander crowned pharaoh
In Memphis Alexander sacrifices to Apis, a sacred bull, and is crowned pharaoh by the priests

332 BC Alexander founds Alexandria
While in Egypt, Alexander founds Alexandria – the best known of the many towns he establishes to spread Greek culture

331 BC Alexander is son of the sun god
Alexander travels far into the desert, to a famous oracle of the sun god Amon (or Amon-Re) at Siwah, where the priest recognizes him as the son of the god

from 323 BC Alexander's legacy - the Hellenistic age
The spread of Greek rule by Alexander introduces the Hellenistic age, which will last for three centuries

323 BC Ptolemy rules in Egypt
In the carve up of Alexander the Great's empire, Ptolemy wins Egypt and founds the Ptolemaic dynasty – with himself as the pharaoh Ptolemy I

323 BC Ptolemy rules in Egypt
Ptolemy manages to acquire Alexander the Great's corpse, to lend authority to his rule in Egypt

322 BC Alexander's corpse in Alexandria
Alexander's corpse, hijacked by Ptolemy, becomes a sacred relic in Alexandria

320 BC Ptolemy founds museum
Ptolemy begins to transform Alexandria into a centre of Greek culture, founding his famous 'museum' and library

301 BC Ptolemy wins control of Jerusalem
Some 20 years after the death of Alexander the Great one of his generals, Ptolemy, extends his rule from Egypt to include Jerusalem

300 BC Euclid teaches geometry
Euclid, teaching at the museum in Alexandria, writes what becomes Europe's standard textbook on geometry

280 BC Jewish diaspora in Alexandria
The Jewish community of Alexandria coins the word diaspora for Jews living far from Israel

280 BC Human vivisection in Alexandria
The Alexandrian school of medicine develops an alarming form of clinical anatomy – human vivisection

280 BC Lighthouse at Alexandria
A great lighthouse, subsequently one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is built on the island of Pharos, off Alexandria

280 BC Septuagint in Alexandria
The Jews of Alexandria commission the Greek translation of the Old Testament which becomes known as the Septuagint

260 BC Early library catalogue
The 500,000 scrolls in the library at Alexandria are listed in a catalogue, which itself runs to 120 scrolls

250 BC Mechanical organ in Alexandria
The organ, using a mechanical device to pump air through a set of musical pipes, is invented in Alexandria by Ctesibius

250 BC Alchemy in Alexandria
The first alchemists, working in Alexandria, are also the world's first experimental chemists

239 BC
Ptolemy III issues the Decree of Canopus, the earliest known in the Ptolemaic series of public decrees inscribed in stone in two languages and three scripts

196 BC Text inscribed on Rosetta Stone
The text of the Rosetta stone is chiselled into a black basalt slab in the three scripts hieroglyphic Egyptian, demotic Egyptian, and Greek

69 BC Cleopatra is born
Cleopatra, destined to become the last ruling pharaoh as Cleopatra VII, is born in Egypt – the daughter of Ptolemy XII

51 BC Cleopatra becomes joint ruler of Egypt
Ptolemy XII dies, leaving Egypt to his young son, now Ptolemy XIII, and to his older daughter Cleopatra

51 BC Cleopatra rules
In the Ptolemaic tradition, Cleopatra marries her brother Ptolemy XIII and at the age of eighteen is joint ruler of Egypt

48 BC Caesar given Pompey's severed head
Caesar, reaching Egypt, is not pleased when sent by Ptolemy XIII the gift of Pompey's severed head, already embalmed

48 BC Civil war between Cleopatra and her brother
Civil war breaks out in Egypt between Ptolemy XIII and his sister Cleopatra, each scheming to become sole ruler

48 BC Pompey murdered in Egypt
Pompey, seeking in Egypt refuge from Caesar, is first welcomed and then murdered by the faction of Ptolemy XIII

48 BC Caesar dallies with Cleopatra
Julius Caesar, now fifty-two, meets the 21-year-old Cleopatra in Alexandria and they become lovers

47 BC Caesar helps Cleopatra win civil war
The combined forces of Caesar and Cleopatra defeat Ptolemy XIII in a battle fought in the Nile delta

47 BC Cleopatra's brother is drowned
Ptolemy XIII is either killed or accidentally drowns while attempting to escape across the Nile

47 BC Cleopatra marries another brother
Cleopatra acquires a new co-ruler and husband in the form of another young brother, now Ptolemy XIV

47 BC Caesar returns to Italy by land
Julius Caesar leaves Alexandria to travel with his army by the land route back to Italy, through Turkey

44 BC Cleopatra returns to Egypt
Soon after the assassination of Caesar, Cleopatra and Caesarion return to Egypt

44 BC Cleopatra's 3-year-old son rules with her
Cleopatra appoints Caesarion, now aged three, her co-ruler and heir

44 BC Another brother of Cleopatra's dies
Cleopatra's brother and co-ruler, Ptolemy XIV, dies – probably at her command

41 BC Cleopatra's sister is executed
Cleopatra persuades Mark Antony to execute her sister Arsinoe, thus removing her last potential rival in the Egyptian royal family

41 BC Mark Antony stays with Cleopatra in Egypt
Mark Antony spends the winter with Cleopatra in Alexandria

40 BC Cleopatra gives birth to twins
Cleopatra gives birth to twins and calls them Alexander and Cleopatra

36 BC Cleopatra gives birth to another of Mark Antony's children
Cleopatra gives birth to another son of Mark Antony's and calls him Ptolemy Philadelphus

34 BC Donations of Alexandria
In a spectacular cerermony known as the Donations of Alexandria, Mark Antony distributes the eastern Roman territories between Cleopatra, her eldest son (Caesarion) and his own three children

30 BC Octavian imprisons Cleopatra in her palace
Octavian arrives in Egypt with an army, and holds Cleopatra a prisoner in her palace in Alexandria

30 BC Mark Antony commits suicide
Hearing that Cleopatra is dead (false news, as it turns out), Mark Antony commits suicide in Alexandria

30 BC Asp in Cleopatra's bosom
Cleopatra commits suicide, applying a poisonous asp to her breast,

30 BC Caesarion is executed by Octavian
The Egyptians declare Caesarion to be their pharaoh, but it is not long before he is executed by Octavian - bringing to an end the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt

30 BC Octavian annexes Egypt
Octavian annexes Egypt as a Roman territory and takes back to Rome the vast treasures of the Egyptian pharaohs

30 BC Rome controls Mediterranean
With the annexation of Egypt, the entire Mediterranean falls under Roman control

29 BC Egyptian hoard reaches Rome
When Octavian's Egyptian hoard reaches Rome, the standard rate of interest falls from 12% to 4%

69 Vespasian proclaimed emperor
Vespasian, proclaimed emperor by his troops in Alexandria, is the survivor among this year's four emperors

75 Hero uses steam
Hero, a Greek scientist in Alexandria, devises various forms of steam engine

75 Hero invents theodolite
The dioptra, developed by Hero of Alexandria for surveying land, is an early form of theodolite

100 Isis acquires a following in Rome
A cult develops in Rome of the Egyptian goddess Isis, credited with restoring to life her hushand, Osiris, after he has been hacked to pieces

100 Roman portraits in hot wax
Realistic portraits, done in hot wax and preserved in coffins at Fayyum, vividly depict inhabitants of Roman Egypt

100 Roman roads from England to Egypt
The network of Roman roads stretches eventually from England to Egypt

150 Ptolemy sums up science
Ptolemy writes in Alexandria an encyclopedic account of Greek scientific theory in cosmology, astronomy and geography

244 Plotinus moves to Rome
Plotinus, moving from Alexandria to Rome, teaches the influential philosophy later known as Neo-Platonism

250 Very old Roman socks
Roman socks, surviving in dry Egyptian tombs, are the earliest known examples of knitting

300 Anthony hallucinates in desert
St Anthony, one of the early Christian hermits in the Egyptian desert, is tempted by terrifying hallucinations

320 First Christian monastery
Pachomius organizes in Egypt the first community of Christian monks, at Dandara on the Nile

350 Cushite dynasty fades in Nubia
The Cushite dynasty fades away in Nubia, after lasting for 1000 years or more

367 New Testament - contents agreed
A document is distributed by the bishop of Alexandria, formally establishing the contents of the New Testament

380 Earliest surviving New Testament
The Codex Sinaiticus, the earliest surviving manuscript of the complete New Testament, is copied out - probably in Egypt

642 Muslims capture Alexandria
The unopposed capture of Alexandria by the Arabs completes the Muslim conquest of Egypt

643 Coptic Christians isolated
The Coptic Christians of Egypt become isolated after the Muslim conquest

828 Bones of St Mark
The Venetians, acquiring from Alexandria some bones believed to be those of St Mark, build St Mark's to house the valuable relic

870 Mameluke seizes power in Egypt
Ahmad ibn Tulun, a Mameluke, seizes power in Egypt - establishing his own Tulunid dynasty

969 Cairo founded by Fatimids
The Fatimids establish a new capital city on the Nile, calling it Al Kahira ('the victorious'), which becomes reduced to Cairo

1171 Saladin rules in Egypt
Saladin deposes the Fatimid caliph and brings Egypt back to orthodoxy, acknowledging the rule of the Sunni caliph in Baghdad

1180 Maimonides in Cairo
In Cairo the Jewish philosoper Moses Maimonides writes, in Arabic, a much translated text with the endearing title Guide to the Perplexed

1219 St Francis in Egypt
St Francis of Assisi joins a crusading army in Egypt and attempts to convert the sultan Melek-el-Kamel and his followers to Christianity

1250 Mamelukes rule again in Egypt
The last sultan of Saladin's dynasty is murdered by slaves in the palace guard, and Mameluke rule is reintroduced in Egypt

1260 Baybars wins at Ayn Jalut
At Ayn Jalut, near Nazareth, the Egyptian Mamelukes defeat the Mongol army of Hulagu - the first military setback for the Mongols

1295 Crusaders no match for Mamelukes
The new Mameluke dynasty in Egypt begins a systematic campaign to drive the Crusaders out of the Middle East

1270 Assassins destroyed by Mamelukes
The Assassins are systematically destroyed by Baybars, the Mameluke sultan of Egypt

1324 Mansa Musa impresses Cairo
Mansa Musa, sultan of the gold-rich African state of Mali, is so lavish in Cairo (on his way to Mecca) that the value of Egyptian gold slumps

1517 Ottomans end Mameluke rule
The Ottoman sultan, Selim I, captures Cairo and ends Mameluke rule in the middle east

from 1517 Ottomans achieve new empire for Islam
From Bosnia to Egypt and Arabia, the Ottoman Turks now rule the largest Muslim empire since the early caliphate - and will frequently use the title of caliph to assert their authority within Sunni Islam

1798 Napoleon heads for Egypt
Napoleon, with distinguished scientists in his fleet, sails to invade Egypt

1798 Battle of the Pyramids
Napoleon's campaign in Egypt begins well with the Battle of the Pyramids, a victory over an Egyptian army

1798 Battle of the Nile
Disaster strikes the French in Egypt when Nelson finds their fleet in Aboukir Bay and destroys it in the Battle of the Nile

1799 Rosetta Stone is found
Napoleon's soldiers discover a black basalt slab, the Rosetta Stone, near the village of Rashid in Egypt

1799 Napoleon sees his chance
Napoleon abandons his army in Egypt and returns hastily to Paris at a time of great political opportunity

1807 Hope's Household Furniture
English collector Thomas Hope publishes his Greek and Egyptian designs in Household Furniture and Interior Decoration

1811 Massacre of guests in Cairo
All but one of 300 Mameluke guests are assassinated during an entertainment by Muhammad Ali in Cairo

1821 Egyptian base at Khartoum
An Egyptian army makes its camp at Khartoum, subsequently the capital of an Egyptian province in the Sudan

1822 Hieroglyphs deciphered
Egyptian hieroglyphs are deciphered by French Egyptologist Jean François Champollion, using the Rosetta stone

1827 Victory at Navarino helps Greek cause
Britain, France and Russia, supporting Greek independence, defeat the Turkish and Egyptian fleets at Navarino

1840 Mohammed Ali rules
Muhammad Ali, officially viceroy for the Turkish sultan, establishes his own ruling dynasty on the throne of Egypt

1849 David Roberts' Holy Land etc.
Scottish painter David Roberts completes publication of his 6-volume The Holy Land, Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia

1854 De Lesseps wins canal contract
Ferdinand de Lesseps is granted the concession to construct a canal from the Mediterranean to the Red Sea

1869 Southern Sudan made Egyptian province
British explorer Samuel Baker annexes the southern Sudan, or Equatoria, on behalf of the khedive of Egypt

1869 Suez Canal opens
Thousands of distinguished guests assemble at Port Said for the opening of the Suez Canal

1871 Philosopher leads Cairo campaign
The Afghan philosopher Jamal al-Din, moving to Cairo, urges drastic and violent measures against western influence

1871 Verdi goes Egyptian
Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida, is commissioned for the Cairo opera house, part of the process of Egypt becoming westernized

1876 France and Britain run Egypt's finances
The chaotic government finances of Egypt are placed under joint French and British control

1882 British invade Egypt
Anti-western riots in Alexandria result in many deaths and provoke a British invasion

1883 Mahdi victorious in Sudan
Mohammed Ahmed, proclaiming himself the Mahdi, defeats three Egyptian armies in the Sudan

1892 Cavafy works in irrigation
Constantine Cavafy begins a 30-year career as a civil servant in Alexandria's Irrigation Service

1899 Britain and Egypt share rule in Sudan
The Sudan begins half a century of supposedly joint rule by Britain and Egypt

1902 Aswan dam
The first Aswan dam, at this time the world's largest, is completed on the Nile

1906 Sinai Peninsula to be part of Egypt
Istanbul cedes the Sinai Peninsula to British-controlled Egypt

1914 Egypt made British protectorate
The British government changes the status of Egypt from a Turkish province to a British protectorate

1918 Wafd is new party in Cairo
Wafd, a national party, is formed in Cairo with the purpose of ending Egypt's enforced link with Britain

1922 Egypt becomes independent kingdom
Egypt becomes an independent kingdom, subject to a British military presence to protect the Suez canal

1922 Tutankhamen discovered
Howard Carter exposes a flight of steps in the Valley of the Kings and comes to a barrier bearing the name Tutankhamun

1928 Muslim Brotherhood founded in Egypt
Hassan al-Banna, a schoolteacher in Ismailia, founds the Muslim Brotherhood – to campaign for a society based on the Qu'ran with the sharia as its legal system

1935 Cavafy's poems are published
A collection of Constantine Cavafy's poems is published in Alexandria in an undated edition

1936 Farouk is king of Egypt
On the death of his father, Fuad I, the 16-year-old Farouk becomes king of Egypt

1941 December 19 Italian frogmen in Alexandria harbour
Italian frogmen enter the harbour at Alexandria and cripple two British battleships

1942 July 4 First battle of El Alamein
Auchinleck finally stops Rommel's advance, in the first battle of El Alamein

1942 August 30 Rommel held at Alam al-Halfa
Rommel's new thrust towards Alexandria is halted by the British at Alam al-Halfa, a ridge near El Alamein

1942 October 23 Second battle of El Alamein
Montgomery launches the second battle of El Alamein against Rommel

1945 Nasser leads Free Officers
Gamal Abdel Nasser and army colleagues form a secret party, the Free Officers, to fight for an independent Egyptian republic

1945 Arab League founded
Arab countries, gathered for a conference in Cairo, form the Arab League to further their joint interests

1948 Terrorism in Egypt
The Muslim Brotherhood carries out acts of terrorism against the Egyptian authorities and British troops

1949 Egypt seizes Gaza Strip
Egypt controls the Gaza Strip area of Palestine at the end of the Arab-Israeli war

1952 Farouk deposed
A group of officers led by Gamal Abdel Nasser depose Egypt's king, Farouk, and send him into exile

1954 Nasser mounts second coup
Gamal Abd al-Nasser mounts another coup, this time against his colleague Mohammed Neguib, to make himself president of Egypt

1954 Muslim attempt on Nasser's life
Nasser escapes an assassination attempt by the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood

1955 Czech arms for Nasser
Nasser alarms the west by buying eastern-bloc arms through Czechoslovakia

1956 Sudan wins independence
The Sudan, declining the opportunity of union with Egypt, opts for independence as a separate state

1956 Egyptian aid withdrawn
The USA and Britain withdraw their offer of financial aid for Nasser's Aswan dam

1956 Nasser seizes Suez canal
Egypt's president Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalizes the Suez canal and wins Soviet finance for his Aswan dam

1956 Nasser defies France and Britain
Nasser disregards a French and British ultimatum to withdraw from the Suez canal

1956 Israelis invade Egypt
Israeli troops invade the Sinai peninsula, a province of Egypt bordering the Suez canal

1956 British and French invade Egypt
The British and French bomb Egyptian airfields, and land troops near Port Said and the Suez canal

1956 Invaders of Suez withdraw
Under international pressure Britain and France agree to a humiliating withdrawal from Suez

1958 United Arab Republic is formed
Egypt and Syria merge as the United Arab Republic (but disengage three years later)

1961 Syria secedes from UAR
Syria withdraws from the United Arab Republic (UAR) seeing it as unacceptably dominated by Egypt

1964 PLO founded
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is founded at a congress in East Jerusalem, then part of Jordan

1964 September
An Arab League summit is held in Alexandria after the break-up of the union between Egypt and Syria

1967 Six-Day War
A pre-emptive air strike by Israel destroys almost all Egypt's aircraft and launches the Six-Day War

1967 Israel occupies Gaza Strip
Israel captures the Gaza Strip and Sinai peninsula from Egypt

1969 Arafat heads PLO
At a congress in Cairo, Yasser Arafat is appointed leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

1970 Sadat succeeds Nasser
Nasser dies of a sudden heart attack and is succeeded as Egypt's president by Anwar el-Sadat

1973 Yom Kippur War
Egypt and Syria launch a surprise attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement

1977 Sadat talks peace in Jerusalem
Anwar el-Sadat, the Egyptian president, travels to Jerusalem to propose a peace plan to the Israelis

1978 Historic agreement at Camp David
Anwar el-Sadat and Menachem Begin sign an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty at Camp David in the USA

1978 Nobel Prize for Begin and Sadat
Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and Egyptian president Anwar el-Sadat share the Nobel Peace Prize

1981 Sadat killed by Muslim terrorists
Muslim terrorists assassinate Anwar el-Sadat, in response to his peace agreement with Israel

1981 Mubarak becomes Egyptian president
Sadat is peacefully succeeded in Egypt by his vice-president, Hosni Mubarak

1999 December 31
On the eve of the new millennium twenty-one Coptic Christians are murdered by Muslims in the Egyptian village of Kosheh

2003 December 31
The Alexandria National Museum, with a rich collection telling the story of Alexandria and Egypt, is opened by Hosni Mubarak

2011  January 25
Inspired by the example of Tunisia, a day of revolt is organized in Egypt, in protest against police methods and to coincide with National Police Day

2011  January 26
Recognizing the use made by demonstrators of Facebook and Twitter, the Egyptian government shuts down internet access for most of the country

2011  January 28
On what becomes known as the 'Friday of Anger' hundreds of thousands demonstrate in Egypt after Friday prayers, a developing tradition in the Arab Spring

2011  February 11
After nearly three weeks of escalating violence in Egypt, President Mubarak announces his resignation

2011  May 28
A court in Cairo finds Hosni Mubarak guilty of damaging the national economy by severing internet connections on January 26 and fines him about US $34 million

2011  June 4
President Saleh of Yemen is flown to Egypt for medical treatment, after being wounded on the previous day by an explosion in the government compound in Sana'a

2011  August 3
Hosni Mubarak appears in court on a hospital bed on the first day of his trial on the capital charge of premeditated killing of peaceful protesters

2012 February 1
About 80 people are killed and more than 1000 injured in a clash between fans at a football match in the Egyptian city of Port Said

2012  June 2
An Egyptian court sentences former president Hosni Mubarak to life imprisonment

2012  June 24
Mohamed Morsi, a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, becomes Egypt's first democratically elected president

2012 November 22
Mohamed Morsi issues a declaration giving himself virtually unlimited powers, leading to violent protests in Cairo's Tahrir Square

2012  September 9
An excerpt of an anti-Islamic film made in the USA, Innocence of Muslims, is broadcast in Egypt on a Muslim TV channel

2012  September 11 Film release results in violent protests in Egypt and beyond
Violent protests against the film Innocence of Muslims break out in Egypt and soon spread to other Muslim countries

2012  September 13
US embassies in Yemen and Egypt are attacked, as the protests against Innocence of Muslims spread

2013  January 25
Violent protests erupt in Egypt against President Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood

2013 June 30
Violent clashes erupt again throughout Egypt between Muslim Brotherhood supporters of President Morsi and those objecting to his Islamist policies

2013 July 3
After increasng chaos in Egypt the army arrests President Morsi, legitimately elected, and takes control

2013 from July 17
Egyptian troops begin using live ammunition against Muslim Brotherhood demonstrators

2013 August 14
The Egyptian army declares a state of emergency, after continuing Muslim demonstrations, and imposes a curfew

2013 August 15
Egyptian soldiers use live ammunition to disperse Muslim supporters of President Morsi, killing about 600

2013 November 1
Egypt's deposed president Mohammed Morsi appears in court charged with inciting the murder of protesters

2013 December 25
The military government in Egypt outlaws the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization

2014 March 24
A court in Egypt, after the briefest of mass trials, condemns 529 people to death, nearly all Muslim Brotherhood supporters, and follows this another 683 death sentences on April 29