NAE - National Archives of Egypt

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The most important archival collections in the National Archives of Egypt

The NAE keeps documents pertinent to the Egyptian history since the Fatimid Era till the present day. It also keeps documents about the history of Sudan, the Levant, and the Arab Peninsula in particular, as well as documents about the history of Crete, Turkey, The Maghreb, Iraq, Iran, Ethiopia, Eriteria, Somalia, Djibouti, Uganda, Kenya and the whole region at large.

The most important archival collections that related to the history of Egypt:

Documents of the Ottoman Era: The NAE keeps a seminal collection of documents that covers Egypt's history, during the Ottoman Era, encompassing its political, economic, social and cultural aspects. The most important of these collections are: Records of Shar`iyya Courts (applying Islamic legislations); as the NAE keeps a huge collection of records and single documents, which include legal materials and minutes encompassing the activities of the Shar`iyya courts since the outset of the Ottoman era till the middle of the twentieth century; and Roznamah (daily book) Divan Records which include administrative and financial information on Egypt dating from the Ottoman era till the end of the nineteenth century. The NAE has also an important collection of Deeds of Sultans and Princes, covering many of the legal transactions of princes and sultans such as real estate and land Waqfs (inalienable endowments) all over Egypt since the sixth century Hijri till the twentieth century. The NAE has also original Firmans (decree) directed by Ottoman Sultans to Egypt's Walis (viceroys) and judges.
Nineteenth Century Documents: Many of the archival collections dating back to the Ottoman era were kept into force in the nineteenth century. However, the nineteenth century was marked by the emergence of new archival collections, including the Divans' records that were initiated by Mohammed Ali Pasha, such as Al-Ma'iyya Divan (Royal Divan) documents and Khedivi Divan documents, which include the texts of the supreme ordinances, decrees and correspondences issued by Mohammed Ali Pasha or his subordinates and directed to Egyptian governmental institutions as well as the correspondences and letters sent by those institutions to Mohammed Ali Pasha and his subordinates. Among these divans also is the Military (Jihaadiyyah) Divan, whose documents cover the history of the Egyptian army since its formation by Mohammed Ali at the outset of the nineteenth century, the Navy (Bahariyyah) Divan which recounts the history of the Egyptian military and civilian fleets, as well as the Trade (Tijarah) Divan and many other Divans. After Mohammed Ali had divided Egypt into directorates and governorates, a new form of documents, pertinent to the municipal administration, emerged as a result. The NAE has a huge number of documents emanating from the work of those directorates and governorates during the nineteenth century. This century was also marked by a new type of documents that include a wealth of legal, social, and economic materials; namely the documents and records of judicial councils. The most important of these councils are the Law (Haqqaniyyah) Association, the Verdicts (Al-Ahkam) Council and all subsidiary municipal councils in all regions.
Twentieth Century Documents: This category includes documents pertinent to the cabinet (Majlis An-Nudhar) since its formation in 1878 till the seventies of this century. It also includes documents of the Egyptian foreign ministry since the nineteenth century up till a recent time, as well as the autobiography of some political leaders and prominent figures like Saad Zaghloul, Ibrahim Al-Hilbawy and others. The NAE has also documents related to existing ministries and companies.

The most important archival collections pertinent to the history of other countries are:

Documents concerned with Sudan history: The NAE has a large collection of records and single documents encompassing the activity of the Egyptian administration in Sudan, which have been classified in archival collections such as: Sudan's Police (hikimdariyyah), Sudan's Financial Administration, Sudan's Public Works Administration, Sudan's Military (Jihaadiyyah), Sudan's Railways, Sudan's Manumission (`Itq Ar-Raqeeq) service and Abyssinia borders Command (Qumendaniyyat hudud Al-Habash). The NAE has also documents related to the municipal administration in Sudan, for example: Khartoum governorate, Sinar and Fizughly directorate, Kurdofan directorate, Dunqulah directorate, Fashoda directorate, Taka directorate, Bahr el Ghazal, White Nile River directorate and Equator directorate.
Documents concerned with the Levant documents: The NAE has a large collection of documents concerned with the history of Greater Syria. Some of these documents are collected and classified under the name "Greater Syria's Governor", while others are distributed all over the other archival collections, such as the Egyptian Army's documents especially during the Egyptian rule in Syria, as well as documents pertinent to the governor of Bara Sea, the notables, and the record of Shar`iyya courts (applying Islamic legislations), etc.
Documents concerned with the history of the Arab Peninsula: The most significant in this category are Al-Hijaz documents, as well as other documents distributed among the other archival collections especially the Bara Sea collection.
Documents concerned with Crete and Greece: Crete and Greece were under the rule of Egypt for some time. Crete was an important station between Egypt and Greece. The NAE has some archival units concerned with Crete, as well as numerous documents about Greece during the Mora wars.
There are also many documents in the NAE that cover the history of other Arab countries like Iraq and The Maghreb. In addition, the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs provide pivotal information concerning about Egypt's relations with the external world. For more information on the different archival units.

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