Leader: King Mohammad Ali II

The Kingdom of the Nile arises again. Home to one of the oldest and most glorious cultures in antiquity, Egypt had become vassal or home to a succession of conquerors and empires, the jewel of any emperor's crown, whether they chose to make their capital in it or not. During the Roman and Islamic periods, it was a valuable fief, one that became a major power under Saladin and later the Mamelukes as they the Crusaders and later the Mongol Horde. And yet, what is ascendant, must decline and fall. Egypt slowly dwindled in the 19th century under Napoleon's invasion, and while Mohammad Ali's glorious reign brought a resurgence of Egypt's old triumphs, it slowly dwindled under European domination and influence as regression, debt, and poverty drained the country until it became a British puppet. And yet, that was tolerable, somewhat; Egypt is, was, and will always be. It will endure the indignities, and will find its time again.

And then, its time came again. The British, exhausted to the breaking point by the long, arduous Great War, began a long, sliding decline. Unable to afford its massive empire, they withdrew out of everywhere, even out of the lucrative Indian subcontinent and the strategically priceless Suez Canal. Egypt found itself free of its shackles, burdened with both great opportunity and grievous risk. The Anglo-French Suez Company was quickly bought out from several of its bankrupt and despondent former owners, ending up as an Egyptian company, though with considerable European and American presence among its stockholders. While the Great Depression hurt Egypt just as badly as it hurt the rest of the world, it also represented a considerable opportunity. With the European powers receding from their formerly insurmountable positions of power, it is a time for the lesser nations to reach out and claim the prize.

As such, Egypt has begun to expand its power once more. Modernization and development are underway, and Egypt also engaged in a series of diplomatic maneuvers to recover its position in the Middle East, Africa, and the world. The armed forces were modernized and upgraded so that they can better protect the country in these rough times.

However, with the good comes the bad. Egypt's expanded role in the Middle East raises concerns among its neighbors, especially the nervous Levant, where Egypt seeks to once again bring it under its influence. The newly liberated colonies of Algeria and Libya seek ties with Egypt, and their own place in North Africa, even as Egyptian companies try and squeeze in to replace the displaced European corporations. The games Egypt has played in trying to regain the Hejaz as a sphere of influence got it emnbroiled in the Arabian Civil War of the 1920s, with the aftermath leaving Egyptian relations with Arabia rather chill. Internal reforms have proven difficult, and even though much of the old nobility system was dismantled in the 1940s, the old pashas have simply moved on to other fields, forming conservative political blocs trying to reduce the hold of progressive movements. Nationalist sentiment is growing, an import from the restless Levant and newly-free Algeria, something the monarchy is not pleased about. And yet, weakening the monarchy would unbalance the delicate system in place, and the ties tying Sudan to Cairo are still somewhat frail. Egypt has come a long way since 1920, but it yet has more distance to cover.

Major Exports: Cotton, Petroleum, Timber, Grain, Suez Canal
Economic Status: Good
Major Companies:

• Suez Canal Company Ltd: Canal Management company, manages and operates the Suez Canal.
• Egyptian Oil Corporation: A small but growing petroleum company that handles extraction and refinement of petroleum in Egypt,
  slowly expanding and trying to obtain a share in the Middle East and Libyan oil fields.
• Green Nile Agricultural Ltd: An agricultural company that hands a share of Egyptian agricultural produce, such as cotton, corn,
  grain, timber, fruit, and so on.
• Rameses Real Estate: A branch of the Egyptian Oil Corporation, it is a real estate development and investment company with branches all over the Middle East, Greece, and Cyprus (also totally not funded by the mukhabarat, honest!)
• Voice of Cairo: A popular radio channel, broadcasting all the lastest in news, culture, comedy, and assorted topics throughout North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

Military:
Following the Great War and the withdrawal of British forces, Egypt took the chance to upgrade its military to reflect its new position as a rising power in the Middle East and Eastern Mediterranean.

• 3 Armored Cavalry Divisions
• 4 Armored Divisions
• 2 Desert Cavalry (horse/camel) divisions)
• 11 Infantry Divisions
• 2 Desert Pathfinder Battalions
• 1 Marine Battalion
• 4 Fighter Squadrons
• 2 Tactical Bomber Squadron
• 1 Heavy Bomber Squadron
• 3 Armored Cruisers
• 5 Light Cruisers
• 11 Destroyers
• 15 gunboats (mostly along the Nile River)
• 7 submarines
• 15 Maritime Patrol Boats
• 20 Maritime Patrol planes