| a name given the union of Egypt and Syria from 1958 to 1961; after that, the official name of Egypt alone until 1971. Abbreviation: U.A.R. |
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| 1. | Arab Republic of. a republic in NE Africa. 64,791,891; 386,198 sq. mi. (1,000,252 sq. km). Capital: Cairo. Arabic, Misr. Formerly (1958–71), United Arab Republic. |
| 2. | an ancient kingdom in NE Africa: divided into the Nile Delta (Lower Egypt) and the area from Cairo S to the Sudan (Upper Egypt). |
United Arab Republic Abbr. UAR
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Officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, a country in northeastern Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Israel and the Red Sea to the east, Sudan to the south, and Libya to the west. The principal geographic feature of the country is the Nile River. Its capital and largest city is Cairo. (See also Alexandria.)
Note: Egypt is the site of one of man's earliest civilizations, which flourished from about 3100 b.c. to 30 b.c., when it became part of the Roman Empire. Many ancient works of art and architecture survive, including the pyramids and the Sphinx.
Note: Egypt was the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel (see Arab-Israeli conflict), a feat accomplished after Egyptian President Anwar Sadat traveled to Israel in 1977 to meet Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Sadat was later assassinated by Muslim extremists.
United Arab Republic
political union of Egypt and Syria proclaimed on Feb. 1, 1958, and ratified in nationwide plebiscites. It ended on Sept. 28, 1961, when Syria, following a military coup, declared itself independent of Egypt. Despite the dissolution of the union, Egypt retained the name United Arab Republic until Sept. 2, 1971, when it took the name Arab Republic of Egypt.
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