Egypt’s identity as a distinct nation emerged only in the nineteenth century

Evidence

Rather than taking “Egypt” as referring to a nation with an unadulterated identity inhabiting a territory with distinct borders that sharply distinguish it from other nations, this book argues that “Egypt” came to refer to a nation so defined only in the nineteenth century and mostly as a result of Mehmed Ali’s policies. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 87

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the constructivist reading of Egyptian nationhood: the nation is a nineteenth-century product rather than a primordial entity.
• XREF: connects to: The Oriental’s status as a separate fixed subspecies emerged only in the nineteenth century — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 178