Islamic Egypt
As part of the rise of the new religion of Islam in Western Asia, the Arabs established a new empire centered on Syria. They soon conquered Egypt as well, so that just as under the Assyrians and then the Persians, Egypt came under the rule of West Asia. Gradually most Egyptians converted from Christianity to Islam, and learned to speak Arabic (the remaining Christians in Egypt are called Copts). A new capital was established in the north at Cairo (KYE-row).
For a while around 1000-1300 AD, the Egyptians became independent of Asia under the Shiite Fatimid dynasty. This was a time of great achievements in Egypt. But then they were conquered by the Sunni Ayyubids, and then the Mamluks. Around 1500, Egypt became part of the Islamic Ottoman Empire, which held Egypt until modern times.
