Timeline of Cairo

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Cairo, Egypt.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Prior to 19th century

Map of Cairo, 1170.

• 1st C. BCE – Babylon Fortress built (approximate date).
• 33 CE – Origins of the Coptic Orthodox Church.^[1]
• 4th–5th C. CE – Saints Sergius and Bacchus Church (Abu Serga) built.
• 6th C. – Church of Saint Menas established.
• 642 – Mosque of Amr ibn al-As built.
• 873 – Ahmad ibn Tulun founds El-Katai.^[1]
• 879
  • Mosque of Ibn Tulun built.^[1]
  • Church of St. George built (approximate date).
  • Church of the Virgin Mary (Haret Zuweila) built (approximate date).
• 970
  • Misr al-Qahira settlement founded by Fatimid Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah.^[2][1]
  • Al-Azhar University established.
• 972 – Al-Azhar Mosque established.
• 978 –The Hanging Church rebuilt (approximate date).
• 979 – Saint Mercurius Church in Coptic Cairo rebuilt (approximate date).
• 992 – Al-Hakim Mosque built.
• 11th C. – Church of the Holy Virgin (Babylon El-Darag) built.
• 1016 – Lulua Mosque built.
• 1073 – Saint Barbara Church in Coptic Cairo restored.
• 1085 – Juyushi Mosque built.
• 1092 – City wall and Gates of Cairo built (including Bab Zuweila and Bab al-Nasr).
• 1125 – Aqmar Mosque built.
• 1154 – Al-Hussein Mosque built.
• 1160 – Al-Salih Tala'i Mosque built.
• 1168 – Egypt's capital moved from Fustat to Cairo.
• 1176 – Cairo was unsuccessfully attacked in the Crusades.^[1]
• 1183 – Saladin Citadel built.
• ca.1205 – Harat el-Yahoud Synagogue rebuilt and Maimonides works there; it is rebuilt in the 19th century as the Maimonides Synagogue^[3]
• 1250 – City becomes capital of Mamluk Sultanate.
• 1280 – Qalawun complex built (approximate date).
• 1318 – Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque built.
• 1340 – Mosque of Amir al-Maridani established.
• 1347 – Aqsunqur Mosque built.
• 1349 – Mosque of Shaykhu built.
• 1352 – Amir Taz Palace built.
• 1355 – Khanqah of Shaykhu built.
• 1359 – Mosque-Madrassa of Sultan Hassan built.

Map of Cairo, 1572

• 1421 – Mosque of Sultan al-Muayyad built.
• 1517
  • January: Battle of Ridaniya occurs near Cairo.^[4]
  • Capture of Cairo by Ottoman forces.^[1]
  • City becomes provincial capital during Selim I's rule of Ottoman Empire.
• 1774 – Mosque of Abu Dahab built.
• 1788 – Al Musafir Khana Palace built.
• 1798 – Napoleon arrives.^[1]
• 1800 – Population: 200,000 (approximate figure).^[1]

19th century

View of Greater Cairo, drawn by Henry Salt in 1805

• 1801 – June: Siege of Cairo – French surrender to British and Ottoman forces.^[1]
• 1811 – March: Massacre of the Citadel.^[4][1]
• 1822 – Arabic printing press in operation.^[5]
• 1827 – Kasr Al-Ainy Medical School established.
• 1828
  • Government al-Waqa'i' al-Masriyya newspaper begins publication.
  • Dar al-Mahfuzat (government archive) established.^[6]
• 1848 – Mosque of Muhammad Ali built.
• 1854 – Khorenian School begins.
• 1856 – Railway station built.
• 1863 – Museum of Egyptian antiquities founded at Bulak.^[1]
• 1860 – Shepheard's Hotel in operation.
• 1869 – Khedivial Opera House opens.
• 1870 – Egyptian National Library and Archives established.
• 1871– 24 December: Premiere of Verdi's Aida.
• 1874 – Abdeen Palace built.
• 1875 – Al-Ahram newspaper begins publication.^[7]
• 1877 – Traffic in slaves ceased.^[1]
• 1879 – Collège de la Sainte Famille founded
• 1880 – Comité de Conservation des Monuments de l'Art Arabe established.^[5]
• 1882
  • British occupation.^[1]
  • Khedivial Sporting Club founded.
  • Population: 347,838.^[8][1]
• 1888 – Collège des Frères (Bab al-Louq) opens.
• 1892 – Ben Ezra Synagogue built.^[3]
• 1893 – Le Progrès Egyptien newspaper begins publication.
• 1897
  • El Khalig canal filled in.^[1]
  • Population: 570,062.^[1]
• 1899
  • Sha'ar Hashamayim Synagogue built
  • Al-Ahram newspaper headquartered in Cairo.
• 1900 – Ets Hayim Synagogue (Hanan Synagogue) established^[3]

• 
  Cairo – panorama from the Citadel 1895
• 
  Cairo Mosque 1895
• 
  Cairo, soldiers and crowd in front of building, 1895
• 
  Cairo – panorama from the Citadel, 1895
• 
  Cairo, the Citadel, 1895

20th century

1900s–1940s

Map of Cairo, 1933

• 1902 – Museum of Egyptian antiquities moved again.^[1]
• 1905 – Chaar Hachamaim Synagogue established^[3]
• 1906 – Pathé cinema built.^[9]
• 1907
  • Al Ahly Sporting Club formed.
  • Population: 654,476.^[1]
• 1908
  • Cairo University and Café Riche opened.
  • Egyptian School of Fine Arts [ar]^[10] and American College for Girls founded.
• 1910
  • Coptic Museum built.
  • Heliopolis Palace Hotel opened.
  • Heliopolis Sporting Club founded.
• 1905 – Shimon Bar Yochai Synagogue established^[3]
• 1911
  • Zamalek Sporting Club formed.
  • Baron Empain Palace built.
• 1912
  • Boulak Bridge and Al-Rifa'i Mosque built.
• 1915
  • Arev and Housaper newspapers begin publication.
• 1919
  • Uprising against British occupation.
  • American University in Cairo established.
• 1921 – Cairo Conference held.^[5]
• 1922
  • Tutankhamun's tomb discovered.
• 1924
  • 19 November: British governor-general Stack of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan assassinated.^[4]
  • "Cairo Edition" of Quran Published
• 1925 – Pahad Itzhak (Kreim) Synagogue established^[3]
• 1929 – Manial Palace built.
• 1932
  • Society Of The Muslim Brothers headquartered in Cairo.
  • Moussa Dar'i Synagogue established^[3]
• 1933 – Qasr al-Nil Bridge built.
• 1934 – St. George's College, Cairo established.
• 1934 – Meir'enaim (Biton) Synagogue established^[3]
• 1937
  • Yacoubian Building constructed.
  • Lycée La Liberté Héliopolis opens
• 1938 – Publication of The Egyptian Gazette moves from Alexandria to Cairo.
• 1940 – Metro Cinema opens.^[11]
• 1942 – Abdeen Palace Incident.
• 1944 – Cairo Forces Parliament meeting.
  • The Arab Women's Congress of 1944 is hosted by the Egyptian Feminist Union in Cairo and the Pan-Arabian Arab Feminist Union is founded.
• 1945
  • Arab League headquartered in Cairo.^[5]
  • Ashkènazim Synagogue restored^[3]
• 1946 – Ali Baba Cinema opens.^[11]
• 1947 – Population: 2,090,654.^[12]
• 1948
  • Tchahagir newspaper begins publication.
  • Rivoli Cinema opens.^[11]
• 1949 – 12 February: Muslim leader Hassan al-Banna assassinated.

1950s–1990s

• 1950 – Ain Shams University founded.
• 1952
  • Cairo Fire.
  • The Mogamma built.
  • Ismailia Square renamed Tahrir Square.
  • Egyptian Revolution of 1952
  • Al Akhbar starts publication.
• 1954 – Al Gomhuria newspaper begins publication.
• 1956
  • Cairo International Stadium opens.
  • City master plan created.^[13]
• 1959
  • Cairo Conservatoire opens.
  • Academy of Arts (Egypt) and Cairo Symphony Orchestra founded.
  • Arab Petroleum Congress meets in Cairo.^[14]
• 1961 – Cairo Tower built.
• 1963 – Cairo International Airport opens.^[15]
• 1964 – January: 1964 Arab League summit (Cairo) held.^[4]
• 1965 – Population: 3.3 million.^[16]
• 1966 – Cairo Opera Ballet Company founded.
• 1967 – Bab Moshé (Ibn Maimoun) Synagogue restored.^[3]
• 1968 – Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral built.
• 1969 – Cairo International Book Fair founded.
• 1970
  • January: Israeli forces conduct aerial attacks near Cairo.^[4]
  • September: 1970 Arab League summit held.
  • Greater Cairo Master Plan created.^[13]
• 1972 – January: Student demonstration.^[4][17]
• 1974 – Population: 5,715,000.^[18]
• 1975
  • January: Economic demonstration.^[4]
  • Unknown Soldier Memorial (Egypt) inaugurated.
• 1976
  • 1976 Arab League summit (Cairo).
  • Cairo International Film Festival begins.
  • British International School in Cairo established.
  • Manor House School, Cairo opens.
• 1977 – January: Economic demonstration.^[4]
• 1978 – New Cairo British International School formed.
• 1979
  • Egypt Today magazine begins publication.
  • Faisal Islamic Bank of Egypt established.^[19]
  • Sister city relationships established with Frankfurt and Stuttgart, Germany.^[20]
• 1981
  • 6 October: Assassination of Anwar Sadat.^[21]
  • Sadat Academy for Management Sciences opens.
• 1982
  • Saint Fatima School begins.
  • Sister city relationship established with New York City, United States.^[20]
• 1984
  • Master Plan for Greater Cairo approved.^[22]
  • Arab Democratic Nasserist Party founded.
• 1985
  • Child Museum opens.
  • Sister city relationship established with Paris, France.^[20]
• 1986 – February: 1986 Egyptian conscripts riot occurs.^[4]
• 1987 – Cairo Metro Line 1 begins operating.^[23]
• 1988
  • Cairo Opera House opens.
  • Sister city relationship established with Istanbul, Turkey.^[20]
• 1989
  • al-Hirafiyeen neighborhood built.^[24]
  • Sister city relationship established with Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.^[20]
• 1990
  • The American International School in Egypt opens.
  • Sister city relationship established with Beijing, China and Tokyo, Japan.^[20]
• 1991 – Al-Ahram Weekly begins publication.
• 1992
  • Earthquake.
  • Population: 6,800,000 (estimate).^[25]
• 1993
  • Asyut–Cairo highway constructed.^[26]
  • Sister city relationship established with Barcelona, Spain.^[20]
• 1995 – Dreamland development begins near city.
• 1996
  • 6th October Bridge built.
  • Cairo Metro Line 2 (Shoubra AlKheiman- AlMounieb) opened.
• 1997
  • Aldiwan Arabic Language Center opens.
  • Sister city relationship established with Xi'an, China and Seoul, South Korea.^[20]
• 1998 – Sister city relationships established with Houston, United States and Minsk, Belarus.^[20]

21st century

2000s

• 2001
  • Misr American College established.
  • Cairo 52 arrested.
• 2003 – El Sawy culturewheel built.
• 2004
  • Al-masry Al-youm newspaper begins publication.
  • Canadian International College established.
  • Abdul Azim Wazir becomes governor of Cairo (approximate date).^{[citation needed]}
• 2005
  • April 2005 Cairo terrorist attacks
  • British University in Egypt established.
  • Al-Azhar Park built.
  • El Fagr newspaper begins publication.
• 2006
  • City government website online (approximate date).^{[27][chronology citation needed]}
  • Al-Resalah television begins broadcasting.
• 2007
  • City hosts 11th Pan Arab Games.
  • 57357 Hospital established.
• 2008 – Youm 7 newspaper starts publication.
• 2009
  • 2009 Khan el-Khalili bombing
  • Cairo Jazz Festival begins.

2010s

• 2010 – Population: 7,248,671.^[28]
• 2011
  • 25 January: Uprising against Mubarak regime begins.^[29]
  • April: Abdel Qawi Khalifa becomes governor of Cairo.^{[citation needed]}
• 2012
  • Cairo Metro Line 3 (Imbaba / Mohandiseen – Cairo Int'l Airport) opened.
  • Pope Shenouda III, head of Egyptian Coptic church, died.^[30]
  • Protests against state president Mohamed Morsi.^[31]
• 2013
  • Anti-Morsi protests.^[32]
  • February: The first Iranian president, Ahmadinejad, to visit Egypt since 1979.^[33]
  • April: Violence against Coptic after funeral.^[34]
  • 3 July: 2013 Egyptian coup d'état.
  • 8 July: "Egyptian soldiers fire on Morsi supporters protesting outside a military facility in Cairo, killing over 50."^[35]
  • 14 August: "More than 600 people, mostly Morsi supporters, are killed when police clear two pro-Morsi sit-ins in Cairo."^[35]
  • Air pollution in greater Cairo reaches annual mean of 76 PM2.5 and 179 PM10, much higher than recommended.^[36]
• 2017 – Population: 9,539,673 (urban agglomeration).^[37]

2020s

• 2021 – 2021 Cairo clothing factory fire

See also

• History of Cairo [fr]
• History of Egypt
• Timeline of Egypt [fr]
• List of cities by population density
• Timelines of other cities in Egypt: Alexandria, Port Said