Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
History Studies, cilt.18, sa.2, ss.333-352, 2026 (Scopus, TRDizin)
From the time of Mehmed Ali Pasha onward, Egypt evolved into a semi-autonomous polity, within which European powers, most notably France and subsequently Britain, assumed a decisive role in shaping its socio-economic trajectory. Following the British occupation in 1882, Egypt effectively became a zone of British influence, and economic investments increasingly reflected this shift. The construction of the Aswan Dam, initiated in 1898 and inaugurated in 1902, was recorded as the largest gravity dam of its time. Overseen by colonial administrators with prior experience in British India—such as Lord Cromer, engineer William Garstin, and William Willcocks—the project stood out as a major engineering initiative aimed at irrigating Egyptian agricultural lands. Infrastructure projects like the Aswan Dam not only consolidated British dominance in the region but also hastened the decline of Ottoman sovereignty in Egypt. Furthermore, this study aims to contextualize the construction of the Aswan High Dam under Gamal Abdel Nasser and the relocation of the Philae Temple Complex with support from UNESCO, by examining the broader historical trajectory and the key actors involved in these processes.