Al Gharbia Governorate Egypt

• 16 / 5 / 2023

Gharbia governorate is one of the governorates of the Arab Republic of Egypt, located in the heart of the Nile delta between the Damietta and Rashid branches, bordered to the north by Kafr el Sheikh governorate, to the South by Menoufia governorate, to the East by Qalyubia and Dakahlia governorates and to the West by Beheira governorate, forming a strategic meeting point in the Delta. Its area is about 1943 square kilometers, which is less than 1% of the area of the Republic. 

Its population of more than five million people is distributed over eight cities and eight administrative centers, in which there are seventy village local units with a population density exceeding 2760 inhabitants per square kilometer. The known history of the province began from the Pharaonic era, in which the cities of Abu Sir, samnud, and Sao were the bases of three administrative provinces, resembling separate states by contemporary definition. 

These three cities were of great importance at that time; Abu Sir was a pilgrimage site for the ancient Egyptians. Sao was a religious and Medical Center, as well as the capital of TEF Nakht, which united the Delta and central Egypt, the base of the twenty-sixth dynasty, which United Egypt after its fragmentation under the Nubian and Assyrian occupations, and the twenty-eighth dynasty, whose king, Ameritaeus, expelled the Persians from Egypt. Samnod was the capital of the thirtieth Dynasty, The Last of the Egyptian ruling dynasties. 

The area acquired its name in the Islamic era, relative to its location west of the Damietta branch. It witnessed the landmark events that struck Egypt in the modern era, such as the French campaign in 1798, which was resisted by the people of the governorate, especially the people of Tanta, whose day of resistance became the national day of the governorate, and its people emerged again in the 1919 revolution against the British occupation, especially in the events of the Republic of zefti, which declared its independence from the British Mandate of Egypt.

History

The ancient era

Pharaonic monuments are scattered throughout the province, indicating that the area was inhabited at that time. Egypt was generally divided into provinces during the reign of the Pharaohs, each with its coat of arms and its idol. The area of the current governorate did not belong to a single province (NUM) and did not have a single Idol, but was divided between many provinces and idols, most notably the fifth province in the sea face (NIT Mahit, northern NIT), whose capital was SAO and its idol was NIT, the ninth province (anzat), its capital was Abu sir and its idol anizati, and the twelfth province (theB Netr, holy calf), its capital was Samnod and its idol Anhur. 

The Egyptians took Abu Sir Mahja because they believed that it housed the Tomb of the god Osiris, and a great feast was held in it celebrating the goddess Isis. Sais (sa-Stone) became a major religious center at the beginning of the dynastic era, and it is said that the shrouds and ligaments of mummies were made by the goddesses Isis and Nephthys in the temple of Net in SAIS, and the city also stood out in the field of medical education at that time. Archaeological evidence confirms that Sais was one of the Phoenician trading stations with Egypt during the reign of the fifteenth dynasty.

TEF Nakht managed to unite the Delta and central Egypt under his rule in 730 BC. The founders of the Twenty-Fourth Dynasty. He marched south until he collided with the forces of Pankhi, King of Kush, who defeated the prince and subjected him and the Delta to his rule. The prince entered into obedience to the king of Kush for a while and then took advantage of the weak opportunities and restored his authority over the Delta again. BA KUN Ra Nef succeeded his father in ruling the Delta, and faced the raids of the king of Kush, Shpaka, who restored Kush's control over the Delta, captured the king, and burned him alive, ending the Twenty-Fourth Dynasty.

Nacho I took over the rule of SAIS and, like his predecessors, controlled the Delta for eight years, during which Egypt was the scene of war between the Kushite forces and the Assyrian invasion forces. Nacho fluctuated in support and loyalty of both parties according to his interests. He was succeeded by his son Psamtik I, who ruled for more than fifty years, during which he was able to unite Egypt, expel the Assyrians from the country, and establish the twenty-sixth dynasty. After him came his son Necho II, who took care of the naval fleets and fought the Syrians and the kingdom of Judah. 

The king of Sais, Amrtaeus, expelled the Persians from Egypt, and was able to extend his influence over the whole country for six years, which ended after Neferetz I killed him and moved his capital to Mendes. The thirtieth dynasty was founded by King Nakhtenpo I in the year 380 BC. Samnod was taken as his capital, followed in the reign by Kings Teos and Nekhtenpo II This dynasty spent its reign trying to repel the invasions of the Persians until its reign ended with the fall of the country into their hands. The Egyptian historian Manetho, the most famous historian of ancient Egypt, was born in Samndod during the reign of this dynasty.

The middle era

It was a sea face in the Byzantine era, divided into two territories-augustumnik and Egypt. The area of the present governorate was surrounded by the territory of Egypt, where the eastern part of it belonged to the third diocese, the center of which was Kabasa (currently Shabas of the martyrs), and the central and western part belonged to the fourth diocese, the center of which was Alexandria. Some pharaonic cities became active bishoprics in Roman times.

The name of the territories changed after the Islamic conquest; the territory of Egypt was called the territory of the belly of the countryside, and the number of balls was increased from 13 balls to 14 balls. The current scope of the governorate was located in the provinces of BATN Al-Rif, Jazira and the Western Hof, distributed between Kur Samnud, Bana Busir, Damis, Manouf, sa, Toh, Shabas, Sakha, Tida, and Al-farajoun. At the beginning of their reign, the Fatimids divided the sea face into four states, including the western state, which included the area between the Nile and the Red Sea.

The state was named after al-Gharbiya for its location west of the Damietta branch, and made the locality its bThe name of the territories changed after the Islamic conquest; the territory of Egypt was called the territory of the belly of the countryside, and the number of balls was increased from 13 balls to 14 balls. The current scope of the governorate was located in the provinces of BATN Al-Rif, Jazira and the Western Hof, distributed between Kur samnud, Bana busir, damsis, manouf, sa, toh, Shabas, Sakha, Tida and Al-farajoun. At the beginning of their reign, the Fatimids divided the sea face into four states, including the western state, which included the area between the Nile and white sea.

A new administrative division was introduced during the reign of Al-Mustansir by Allah the Fatimid, the system of the great Kur, in which the villages of the province were divided between the Kur of the island of Bani Nasr, the island of quisna, sakhawiya, samnudiya, sanhuriya and tandtawiya.

Later, the work of al-Gharbiya appeared, and during the reign of the Banu Ayyub state, it included the villages of Kur Al-tamrisiya, Al-sakhawiya, Al-sanhuriya, Al-tandtawiya, Al-samnudiya, qweisna island, FuaLater, the work of al-Gharbiya appeared, and during the reign of the Banu Ayyub state, it included the villages of Kur Al-tamrisiya, Al-sakhawiya, Al-sanhuriya, Al-tandtawiya, Al-samnudiya, qweisna island, Fua, Al-nastrawiya and Al-danjawiya. The fuh and nastrawiyya processes were separated from the Western ones at the beginning of the Mamluk era, and then they were followed by the qusayna, danjawiyya and samanudiya island cores. However, King Al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun ordered in the Nasiri rock to return the last three Kurs to the Western works, bringing the total of the work villages in his reign to different, either 471 districts or 477 districts.

The work in the Nasiri Rock included most of the villages of the current governorate, except for the southwestern part, which was occupied by the work of the Bani Nasr island, whose base was the city of ibiy.

Modern era

France invaded Egypt in 1798, and after its troops took control of Cairo, it went to the sea face to extend its influence and collect taxes, and Napoleon appointed general Fougere as governor over the Western. A French battalion led by General Lefebvre arrived in Tanta on the seventh of October in the same year, and ordered its governor Selim Al-shorbji to send them four notables of the city as hostages, to ensure the loyalty of the population and prevent any revolt against them. At that time, the city was crowded with visitors due to the birth celebrations. Selim took advantage of the situation and sent four imams of the Ahmad Al-Badawi Mosque to motivate the people to counter the French Battalion.

The French troops returned to Tanta three days after their withdrawal, surrounded the city and hit it with cannons, then they entered the country and arrested the children of the servant, the servants of the shrine of the Bedouin master, and then left the country. A while later, a sect of them descended on the city and decided to impose a fine of 51 thousand French riyals on the servants of the shrine and a hundred thousand on the people to compensate for the damage caused to the French. The people of the locality resisted the invading forces when they passed through their town. The French forces hit them with cannons and rifles and killed more than 600 people, and demanded that the people pay a fine of about 100 thousand French riyals. The people of Sinbat also participated in the revolt of the people of Dakahlia.

 The scientists of the French campaign replaced the pronunciation of the states with the territories, and changed the borders of the states, adding the island of Ibar with the southern parts of the West, which includes Tanta and even Kom al-Najjar to the Menoufia region, while the West included the eastern side of Menoufia until Bakira in the South. The regions of Rashid and Damietta were created at the expense of the territory of the Western Region, and the Nastrawiya region was annexed to the Western one. The base of the territory was also moved to Samnod. This division remained in force after the exit of the French until Muhammad Ali took possession of Egypt, when he changed its name to the Western mandate. Then Muhammad Ali formed the western and monufian regional commands, and made them under his command. Muhammad Ali issued an order in early 1249 Ah (1833 AD) requiring the names and boundaries of administrative divisions to be returned to the race of their reign, and replacing the designation of the sheriffdom with the name of a directorate.

In 1836, Tanta became the base of the Western Directorate instead of the grand Mahalla, being mediated by the western and monufian countries. The Menoufia and Al-Gharbia directorates were combined into one directorate called Rawdat Al-Bahrain three times: the first by order of Said Pasha in 1856, the Directorate then included all the Delta lands except Damietta, then Khedive Ismail ordered their reunification in 1866 and the unification lasted for a year, and it was formed for the third and last time in 1874 for no more than a month, Khedive Ismail from two times of unification in his reign, wanted to solve the problem of the dispute of the people of the two directorates about irrigation.

A 1914 nautical chart showing the Western District in yellow. Important changes were made to the administrative boundaries between Al-Gharbia and Menoufia in the late nineteenth century, as the administration of a number of villages was transferred from Al-Gharbia to Menoufia because of its proximity to the bases of the latter centers and vice versa. On March 12, 1897, the interior ministry issued a decision to transfer 12 districts from the center of zifta, and like them from the center of Santa to the center of quisna, and separate 16 towns from the center of Talla and annex them to the center of Kafr al-Zayat, and transferred to the center of Tanta 6 countries from the center of Talla and one town from the center of Shebin al-Kom.

Zafta revolutionaries mourn at one of the funerals in 1919. Many peaceful demonstrations took place in the directorate during the 1919 Revolution. One of the most prominent days of this revolution was on March 12 in Tanta, in which the British occupation forces killed many people, and demonstrations were repeated in Tanta on March 16 and 17. Demonstrations broke out in the locality on March 15, followed by Samnoud on March 18.

As for the residents of Zefti, it started with demonstrations by high school students, and then it developed until independence from Egypt was declared, and the establishment of the Republic of zefti headed by lawyer Youssef El-Gendy, and this declaration received wide popular support from the residents of zefti, MIT Ghamr, and neighboring villages. The revolutionaries formed a municipal council consisting of several committees, including the supply and supply Committee, the hygiene Committee, the Information Committee, and the security and protection committee. In response to these developments, the English sent an Australian force to put down the rebellion, and when the townspeople learned about the order of the force, they dug trenches around it and cut railway rails to prevent the advance of the troops. However, the force came down to the city via the Nile River, and Ismail Bey, the commander of the center, intervened to mediate between the parties. The troops entered the city and began searching for members of the Revolutionary Council, but they could not find them.

Demonstrations returned to the Directorate in the events of the revolution of 1935, which demanded the return of work to the Constitution of 1923 and the exit of the English from Egypt. Tanta accounted for the lion's share of the demonstrations, as students of institutes, schools, and commoners came out on November 13 and 18, and on December 3, 8, and 10, and went on strike on November 21 and December 19. 

Demonstrations were renewed in Tanta in early 1936 with a renewal in Cairo, but they were characterized by violence; schools and institutes were closed because they were the engine of the revolutionaries, and some of their students who participated in the demonstrations were dismissed, and this atmosphere of unrest continued until the first Ministry of Ali Maher Pasha was formed

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs established a committee to consider amending the Egyptian administrative division in 1941. This committee considered the need to divide the Western Directorate due to its large area, large population and to facilitate the reconstruction of the northern part of it, the committee proposed separating the Centers of Sherbin, talkha and Balkas (including the former Centers of the proposed Nabroh center) from the Western Directorate and annexing it to Dakahlia because of its proximity to it. It recommended the establishment of a new directorate called Al-faruqiya or Al-fouadiya, the establishment of a qutour center from the countries of Tanta Center, Mahalla and Kafr al-Zayat, and the center of qlin from Kafr el Sheikh, Disouk, Kafr al-Zayat, and Tanta, and the separation of some villages of Tanta Center to the center of the greater Mahalla. It proposed to amend the borders between Al-Gharbia and Menoufia by annexing six districts from the Tala center to the Tanta Center, annexing five villages from the same center to the Kafr al-Zayat center, and annexing eleven districts from the Santa center to the proposed seven Baraka Center.

Based on what was mentioned, Law No. 149 was issued on August 28, 1949 by King Farouk I and the Egyptian parliament, in which it was decided to establish the fouadiya Directorate (relative to King Fouad I) from the Centers of Kafr el-Sheikh, disouk, Foh, Glen, Bella and the Perlis mission after separating them from the Western Directorate. The villages of Al-Shahidi and dehmis were separated from Bella and annexed to the center of the grand Mahalla in 1943, then sanbara and Tanbara in 1947, followed by Bishbesh I and II, Al-Osmaniya and Abu Najat in 1950. Ten wards of Glen centre were annexed to the shire in 1950. Seven towns were transferred from Qalayin to Kafr al-Zayyat center, nine from qalayin to Bassioun, and five from Tela center to Tanta Center on April 6, 1955. In the same year, the administration of the Centers of Sherbin, talkha, and Balkas was transferred to Dakahlia governorate. The Directorate became known as a governorate in 1960, and the administration of ten villages was transferred from the center of Sanat to the governorate of Menoufia.

 The capital witnessed a popular movement in 2008, which began with large-scale protests against high prices and corruption on April 6, which soon turned into a riot that was met by the security authorities with force. Calls for a strike were renewed in May of the same year, and clashes resulted in the death of two or three protesters and dozens were injured. At that time, the city witnessed a prominent incident, which was the shooting down of a portrait of former President Hosni Mubarak by demonstrators, an incident that marked the turning points in Egyptian political life, and contributed, along with other moves, to the erosion of the legitimacy of the regime and its subsequent collapse. The people of the locality and Tanta participated in the January 25 Revolution, so much so that it was said that the number of demonstrators in the locality on February 1 amounted to about a quarter of a million people.