Egypt's Mamluk rulers began as purchased slaves
Egypt's Mamluk sultans ruled from 1250 to 1517 after being bought as boys, freed and trained as cavalry. Having no family ties bound them to their masters.
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Ethiopia finished its Nile dam, but Egypt still has no deal
Ethiopia launched its Nile dam in 2025 with no deal on running it. Egypt cites 1929 and 1959 treaties giving it a Nile veto, which Ethiopia never signed.
A decree on the Rosetta Stone let Champollion read hieroglyphs
A priests' decree of 196 BC, carved in three scripts, let Jean-François Champollion read hieroglyphs in 1822. Thomas Young had laid the groundwork.
Museums scan mummies to read them without unwrapping
CT scanners let researchers see inside a wrapped mummy in cross-section, revealing bones, teeth, amulets and embalming tools without cutting the wrappings.
Al-Azhar: how a Fatimid mosque became a university
Al-Azhar began as a Fatimid mosque in 970. By 988 the state paid 35 scholars to teach there, and it later became a modern university in Cairo.