This is an account of the Egyptians from the first settlers in the Nile Valley through to the present day. Egypt has the longest, continuous, known history of any country in the world. The Nile Valley was first settled in about 5000 BC, and descendants of those early Egyptians still live along the banks of the great river that gave life to the desert lands and helped to bring about one of the earliest and greatest civilizations. Since the fourth century BC the Egyptians have been governed successively by Greeks, Romans, Arabs and Turks, and in 1882 Egypt was occupied by the British. It was only in 1922 that the country reasserted its independence. Since 1953, Egypt has been an independent Republic: and today, the Egyptians see themselves as a bridge between the Arab world and the West. Barbara Watterson charts the political and social history of the Egyptians through the millenniums in a narrative interwoven with insights on their economy and culture. Throughout the book she stresses the themes of continuity and change, providing the first comprehensive panorama of this fascinating people and their society.