Egypt

The Arab Republic of Egypt, or simply Egypt, is an African nation on Earth.

History
"These are pre-Covenant Sangheili ruins. They were already ancient history before humanity built the pyramids."

- Spartan Olympia Vale comments on ruins on Sanghelios, comparing them to the pyramids of Egypt to signify their great age.

Ancient Egyptian civilization coalesced over 6,000 years ago with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under its first pharaoh, Menes. Predominately native Egyptian rule lasted until the conquest by the Achaemenid Empire in the sixth century BCE. In 332 BCE, Macedonian ruler Alexander the Great conquered Egypt as he toppled the Achaemenids and established the Hellenistic Ptolemaic Kingdom, which was eventually annexed by Rome. After the Islamic conquest of Egypt, parts of it became provinces of successive caliphates and other Muslim dynasties until it was absorbed into the Ottoman Empire. Egypt fell under the control of the British Empire in 1882 but in 1953 the independent Arab Republic of Egypt was formed. In 1945, Egypt was a founding member of the United Nations. After the eventual unification of Earth's nations under the Unified Earth Government, Egypt's strategic location became vitally important to the United Nations Space Command. An orbital defense platform was constructed to orbit its capital city geosynchronously and when the Covenant attacked in 2552, Cairo Station served as flag headquarters.

Geography
Egypt is a transcontinental nation; it possesses a land bridge between Africa and Asia, traversed by a navigable waterway that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Indian Ocean by way of the Red Sea. It is bisected by the Nile River. The majority of the country is arid desert, but oases and the region along the Nile could be called tropical. Its capital city is Cairo, located near the Nile Delta. Egypt is famous for its pyramids, massive structures built as tombs for its pharaohs and their consorts during the Old and Middle Kingdom periods.

Economy and Society
The Arab Republic of Egypt is considered a technological, economic, and military dynamo.

Trivia

 * Proper nouns from Egyptian mythology form the basis for a number of GEN2 MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor variants, in addition to the elite Spartan-IV fireteam, Fireteam Osiris. The artificial intelligence construct known as Sekmet, similarly, was named for the Egyptian goddess of the same name.
 * The New Cairo School of Advanced Medicine is an educational institution in the 26th Century, though it is currently unknown what precisely "New Cairo" signifies.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
 * Halo Legends
 * Origins
 * Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
 * Terminals
 * Halo 4
 * Halo 2: Anniversary
 * Halo 5: Guardians
 * Halo Mythos