The conquest of Egypt by Sultan Selim I in 1517 was a prelude to a 400-
year-long Turkish rule over Egypt, which proved a disaster. When Napoleon
invaded Egypt in 1798 the country was economically in ruins and the number
of its inhabitants had dropped to a long-term minimum. In their pursuit of
the Mameluks all over the country the French inflicted torture upon the fel-
laheen, raped their women and burnt their villages. The subsequent era of
the Mohammed Ali dynasty brought Egypt a limited degree of independence,
but the rulers were despotic and imposed their alien Ottoman culture upon
the Egyptians in all spheres of life. So by the time Egypt came under British
hegemony it had experienced a long period of foreign domination, and the
situation appeared more bearable than during the preceding eras.