Nile

major river in northeastern Africa

22 dated entries naming Nile, drawn from 22 separate years between 2300 BCE and 1965 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.

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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

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

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

  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

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

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