Education in Egypt from Antiquity Until the End of the Medieval Period

This chapter presents an overview of the development of educational methods and institutions in pre-modern Egyptian society from the Old Kingdom (third millenium bce) until the Ottoman conquest in 1517. It is divided into six periods: the Pharaonic, Greco-Roman, Coptic, early Islamic, Fatimid, and Ayyubid-Mamluk. Special attention is paid to the alternating roles of state and private initiatives in patronizing learning and research institutions, the impact of religio-political ideologies on education, and the role of the educational system in furthering the advancement of science and civilization. It also takes into account the relations which Egyptian institutions of learning had with other regions of Africa through circulation of scholars, students, and ideas.