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Nile

major river in northeastern Africa

34 dated entries naming Nile, drawn from 34 separate years between 2300 BCE and 2020 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

Also written as Nile River, Nile Valley, Nile river, River Nile in the source articles; Wikipedia redirects those to the same subject, so their entries are on this page.

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23rd century BC

  • 2300 BCEc. 2300 BC: Canal Bahr Yusuf (current name) is created when the waterway from the Nile to the natural lake (now Lake Moeris) is widened and deepened to create a canal.source

11th century BC

  • 1090 BCE1090 BC—or the Year of the Hyenas, in the reign of Ramesses XI, was a year of catastrophe. There was a very significant drop in the flow of river Nile waters, caused by a spike in climate normality. This led to significant starvation of the Egyptians, loss of faith in the religion as conducted by the high priest and collapse not only of the state in Egypt but also its economy, leading to a ten-year period of chaos. This led to the emergence of tomb robbers and the end of the Valley of the Kings as a burial site. Ancient Lives: The Story of the Pharaohs' Tombmakerssource

9th century BC

  • 872 BCE872 BC—An exceptionally high flood of the Nile covers the floors of the Temple of Luxor.source

6th century BC

  • 592 BCE592 BC—Early history of Sudan: An Egyptian army sacks Napata, compelling the Cushite court to move to a more secure location at Meroë near the sixth cataract of the Nile.source

4th century BC

  • 332 BCEAlexander founds the city of Alexandria near the western arm of the Nile on a site between the sea and Lake Mareotis, protected by the island of Pharos, and has the city laid out by the Rhodian architect Deinocrates.source
  • 321 BCELeaving Eumenes to hold Asia Minor against Craterus and Antigonus, Perdiccas marches against Ptolemy, but when he fails to cross the Nile he is murdered by mutinous officers. Prominent among the mutineers is Seleucus. A truce is arranged, leaving Ptolemy in power in Egypt and Seleucus in power in Babylon.source

3rd century BC

  • 283 BCEThe canal from the Nile River to the Red Sea, initially started but not completed by the Egyptian pharaoh Necho II and repaired by the Persian king Darius I, is again repaired and made operational by Ptolemy II.source
  • 246 BCEEgypt's Ptolemy II dies and is succeeded by his son, Ptolemy III. At the time of Ptolemy II's death, Egypt comprises the ancient kingdom of Egypt in the Nile Valley, Cyrene, Judea and the coast of southern Syria, Cyprus and a number of cities on the shores and islands of the Aegean Sea. The Macedonian Ptolemies maintain their authority over their territories with a small mercenary army made up of Macedonians and other Greeks.source

1st century BC

  • 47 BCEPtolemy XIII Theos Philopator, king of Egypt (drowned in the Nile)source
  • 22 BCEThe Roman governor of Egypt, Gaius Petronius, marches up the Nile with legions XXII Deiotariana and III Cyrenaica, and destroys the Nubian capital of Napata.source

1st century

  • 54Two centurions are sent to the south of Egypt to find the source of the Nile, and possible new provinces. They report that while there are many cities in the desert, the area seems too poor to be worthy of conquest.source

4th century

  • 384An edict of Theodosius I closes pagan temples in the Nile Valley (Egypt).source

6th century

  • 525Cosmas Indicopleustes, Alexandrian explorer-geographer, travels up the Nile. He will venture as far to the east as Ceylon, become a monk, and write "Topographia Christiana" to vindicate the biblical account of the world (see 550).source
  • 543The fortress city of Old Dongola (modern Sudan) along the River Nile becomes the capital of the Kingdom of Makuria. Several churches are built, including the "Old Church" (approximate date).source

7th century

  • 618Byzantine–Sassanian War: A Persian expeditionary force under Shahrbaraz invades Egypt, and occupies the province. After defeating the Byzantine garrisons in the Nile Valley, the Persians march across the Libyan Desert as far as Cyrene.source
  • 619Byzantine–Sasanian War: The besieged city of Alexandria is captured by the Persians. Nicetas, cousin of Emperor Heraclius, and Chalcedonian patriarch, John V, flee to Cyprus. King Khosrow II extends his rule southwards along the Nile.source

10th century

  • 905Summer – Caliph Al-Muktafi sends an Abbasid army (10,000 men) led by Muhammad ibn Sulayman to re-establish control over Syria and Egypt. The campaign is supported from the sea by a fleet from the frontier districts of Cilicia under Damian of Tarsus. He leads his ships up the Nile River, raids the coast, and intercepts the supplies for the Tulunids.source
  • 969February 6–July 9 – Fatimid conquest of Egypt: Caliph Al-Mu'izz's army under General Jawhar invades Egypt. Jawhar occupies the lands around the Nile from the Ikhshidids after a siege at Giza and the capitulation of Fustat.source

11th century

12th century

  • 1154Normans conduct a series of raids in North Africa, including Annaba (modern Algeria) and the Nile Delta.source
  • 1167March 18 – Battle of Al-Babein: A second Zangid army (some 12,000 men) under General Shirkuh and his nephew Saladin marches towards Egypt, but is met by the combined Crusader-Fatimid forces led by King Amalric of Jerusalem. After skirmishing down the Nile, the Crusaders are defeated near Giza and forced to retreat to Cairo.source
  • 1168October 20 – Amalric I invades Egypt again from Ascalon, sacking Bilbeis and threatening Cairo. In November, a Crusader fleet sails up the Nile and arrives in Lake Manzala, sacking the town of Tanis.source

13th century

  • 1218May 24 – A Crusader expeditionary force, (some 30,000 men) under King John I of Jerusalem, embarks at Acre (supported by Frisian ships), and sails for Egypt. They arrive at the harbour of Damietta, on the right bank of the Nile, on May 27. Sultan Al-Adil, surprised by the invasion, recruits an army in Syria, while his son Al-Kamil marches an Egyptian force northwards from Cairo, and encamps at Al-Adiliya, a few miles south of Damietta.source
  • 1219April – The Crusaders surround Damietta, with the Italian forces to the north, Knights Templar and Knights Hospitaller to the east – and King John I of Jerusalem with his French and Pisan troops to the south. The Frisians and German troops occupy the old camp across the Nile. A new wave of Crusader reinforcements from Cyprus arrive led by Walter III of Caesarea. Meanwhile, Al-Mu'azzam decides to dismantle the fortifications at Mount Tabor and other defensive positions, as well as Jerusalem itself, in order to deny their protection should the Crusaders prevail there. Some fanatics wish to destroy the Holy Sepulchre, but this is refused by Al-Mu'azzam.source
  • 1220July – The Crusaders, led by the Knights Hospitaller, raid Burlus, located in the Nile Delta in Egypt. The town is pillaged, but the knights are ambushed on their return, and several Hospitallers, including Grand Master Guérin de Montaigu, are captured. Meanwhile, Sultan Al-Kamil sends an Egyptian squadron down the Rosetta branch of the Nile. It sails to Cyprus, where it finds a Crusader fleet lying off Limassol. During the attack, they sink and capture all the ships, taking many thousands of prisoners.source
  • 1221June – Sultan Al-Kamil again offers peace terms to Cardinal Pelagius with the cession of Jerusalem and all Palestine apart from Oultrejordain, together with a 30 years' truce and money compensation for the dismantling of Jerusalem. Meanwhile, a German contingent under Louis I of Bavaria arrives at Damietta, with orders from Frederick II not to launch an attack on Cairo until the emperor's arrival. Louis and Pelagius decide to advance into Egypt towards Mansoura, where Al-Kamil has built a fortress to protect Cairo. The Crusaders assemble their armies and tents are set up just up the Nile, on June 29.source
  • 1249November 20 – Louis IX sets out (against the advice of his nobles) with a Crusader force from Damietta, along the southern road to Mansourah. A garrison is left to guard the city – where Queen Margaret of Provence and Patriarch Robert of Nantes remain. The Crusaders make slow progress along the Nile, carrying a number of supplies and equipment. After 32 days, Louis orders to make camp opposite the Ayyubid camp near Mansourah, protected by a branch of the river and fortifications. Both camps use their catapults to bombard each other.source
  • 1276Battle of Dongola: Mamluk forces led by Sultan Baibars gain a decisive victory against the Kingdom of Makuria. They capture the Makurian capital of Dongola and force King David of Makuria to flee upstream on the Nile. He seeks refuge in the Kingdom of Al-Abwab, but is handed over to Baibars, who has him executed. Later, Baibars conquers Al-Maris (Lower Nubia), previously a part of Makuria, and annexes it into Egypt.source

19th century

  • 18583 August – Explorer John Hanning Speke discovers Lake Victoria, source of the River Nile.source
  • 1860October – John Hanning Speke and James Augustus Grant leave Zanzibar, to search for the source of the Nile River.source
  • 1889A huge locust swarm crosses the Red Sea and destroys crops in the Nile Valley.source

20th century

  • 1902December 10 – The first Aswan Dam on the Nile is completed.source
  • 1965November 1 – A trolleybus plunges into the Nile at Cairo, Egypt, killing 74 passengers.source

21st century

  • 202029 February – Egypt says it will use "all means" to defend its interests in a dispute with Ethiopia and Sudan over a dam on the Nile River.source

Named in the same entries