Egyptian imperialism defined Egypt as separate from and closer to Europe than the Sudan.

Evidence

More than that, it was an investment in the future. Muhammad Alï’s language and practice of imperialism planted the seeds of a future Egyptian empire to which future generations would be able to lay claim. In this construction, both the Sudan and Egypt represented a wished-for place, a dream empire.The expedition helped to define each for the future. By absorbing the Sudan into Egypt’s borders, Muhammad Alï distinguished Egypt from the Sudan and brought Egypt a little closer to Europe. — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 212

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the book’s central theme of how Egypt’s colonial subjugation and its own imperial ambitions intertwined — a comparative coloniality shade.
• ADDENDUM: Could support an essay on how a colonized power can itself colonize to establish its own civilizational position.