The Egyptian Revolution 1952 Review of Socio-Historical Background

transport and communication, finance and wholesale trade were primary owned by the government while most retail trade, handicrafts and repair, housing, professional services, and agriculture were privately owned. In 1962, the Egyptian economy had changed. Ownership of the main branches of economy had been transferred to the government. Government budgets accounted for 60 percent of the GNP. Efforts to improve the economic system were severely hampered by the losses suffered in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War. As a consequence, Egypt lost substantial revenues from the closure of the Suez Canal, oil fields in Sinai Peninsula and tourism. The most important thing here was that those three elements had been important to Egypt’s earning of foreign exchange for its development. In the wake of 1973 October, the war situation began to change. It brought positive results for the Egyptian economy. In 1975 the canal was reopened and the oil field in Sinai Peninsula was returned to Egyptian control. It made the situation in Egypt better than before. In a 1974 working paper, President Anwar Sadat set forth a statement of Egypt’s long-term economic and social objectives. He discussed the successes of the revolution, including the emancipation of women, the establishment of many public sector enterprises, the Agrarian Reform Law, and advances in education and other social services. He brought Egypt into a better place although not in all aspects of life. However, population was the main problem in Egypt whose density was one of the highest in the world and it was not easy to overcome the population at that time. Other problems which still existed was that Egypt remained a poor and developing country; it was densely populated; migration to the cities and many more.

2.3.4 The Ancient Egyptian Society

According to Sharabi 1962 ancient Egypt was a civilization that flourished for over 2000 years, beginning with the Old Kingdom around 2650 BC, and including the various Kingdoms and dynasties through around 700 BC conquest by Assyria, 525 BC conquest by Persia, or 332 BC conquest by Alexander the Great. The Great Pyramid was constructed around 2600 BC, the Sphinx around 2500 BC, but Ramases II of the 19 th Dynasty in the period around 1500 BC p. 340. In the ancient Egyptian society, there was a structure classifying the people based on their caste or job Historyonthenet, 2000, p. 1. The ancient Egyptian people were grouped in a hierarchical system with the Pharaoh at the top and farmers and slaves at the bottom. The groups of people nearest the top of society were the richest and most powerful. The Pharaoh was the most powerful person in Egyptian society. He was responsible for making laws and keeping order. He was also responsible for ensuring that Egypt was not attacked by enemies. The Vizier was the Pharaohs chief advisor and sometimes was the High Priest. He was responsible for overseeing administration and all official documents had to have approval. He was also responsible for the supply of food, settling disputes between nobles and the running and protection of the Pharaohs household. Nobles ruled the regions of Egypt. They were responsible for making local laws and keeping order in their