Sultan of Egypt was the title used for the leader of a number of Muslim dynasties that ruled over Egypt. The first to use this title was the Fatimid dynasty that conquered Egypt in 972 and established a dynasty that continued until 1171. They were replaced by the Ayyubid dynasty that initially ruled from both Syria and Egypt, but gradually became mainly centred in Egypt, these rulers can also be referred to as Sultans of Egypt. The Ayyubids were overthrown by the Bahri dynasty of Mamelukes, who were succeeded by the Burji Mamelukes.
In 1517 the Ottoman Empire conquered Egypt and for the next several centuries the Ottoman Sultan had ultimate power over Egypt. The Mamelukes rapidly regained most of their power within Egypt, but as vassals of the Ottoman Sultan they were limited to the title of Bey. When Mehmet Ali overthrew the Mamelukes he gained the title of Bey. Under Ali and his successors Egypt ruled the Ottoman's for power in the Middle East, despite Egypt still being a technical vassal of the Sultan. The Sultan was forced to acknowledge the power of the Egyptian ruler by conferring the title of Khedive on Ismail the Magnificent. The position of Khedive was abolished by the British in 1914 as war began with the Ottoman Empire.
Only a few years later the Egyptian monarchy was restored with Fuad I. As Egypt had been declared sovereign of the Ottoman Empire, Fuad became the first Sultan of Egypt in several centuries. With Egypt technical independence from Britain in 1922 Fuad was given the title Malik or King.
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