History of the Nile River Timeline

In the first century CE, emperor Trajan constructed a canal connecting the Nile to the Red Sea, extending earlier pharaonic efforts at linking the two waterways.

Image source: Canal of the Pharaohs

An important nilometer has been in use on Roda Island since at least 622 CE; Egyptians kept records of maximum and minimum river levels from that gauge until 1921.

Image source: Nilometer

Canals in Egypt continued to be built and maintained by the Fatimids (10th and 11th centuries), Mamluk Sultanate (13th to 16th centuries), and Ottoman Egypt (16th to 19th centuries).

Image source: Khalij (Cairo)

Although Egyptian civilizations were proficient at canal-building, they did not successfully build dams or reservoirs on the Nile until the 19th century, when cotton irrigated with Nile waters became an important cash crop. These early dams were built during the rule of Muhammad Ali (ruler of Egypt from 1805 to 1848), who also built canals including the Mahmoudiyah Canal, started in 1818.

Image source: Muhammad Ali of Egypt

Modern gauges to measure the river level began to be installed in the 1860s, replacing reliance on ancient nilometers; gauges that also measure the river's current – providing more accurate flow information – were installed beginning in 1900.

Ismail Pasha (Viceroy of Egypt, 1863–1879) built the Ibrahimiya Canal – completed in 1873 – that runs parallel to the Nile and is used for irrigation.

Image source: Ibrahimiya Canal

After British colonial rule of Egypt commenced in 1882, they started additional water projects to enhance cotton production and support the rapidly growing Egyptian population.

Image source: History of Egypt under the British

Plans to build a canal through the Sudd swamp – called the Jonglei Canal – were initiated in the early 20th century with the goal of providing more water to grow cotton in Egypt. Construction was briefly started in 1978, but the endeavor was soon halted.

Image source: Jonglei Canal

The first major dam built on the Nile was the Aswan Low Dam, completed in 1902. Its height was raised twice: in 1912 and 1933.

Image source: Aswan Low Dam

Other dams built under the colonial regime include the Sennar Dam, built between 1914 and 1925 on the Blue Nile in Sudan, and the Jebel Aulia Dam, completed in 1937 near Khartoum. The primary purpose of dams built in the 20th century was irrigation; hydropower was secondary.

Image source: Sennar Dam

In 1960, Egypt started building the Aswan High Dam, which stores roughly two years' flow of the Nile. Since its completion in 1970, the delta has begun to shrink because of erosion from currents in the Mediterranean Sea.

Image source: Aswan Dam

Since the Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970, the delta has shrunk due to Mediterranean currents eroding sediment-starved shores. The Nile Delta is particularly vulnerable: sea level rise combined with lack of sediment replenishment may cause one third of its surface area to disappear within the next century. Some projections for the 21st century predict a temperature increase of 2 to 4 °C in the basin.

Image source: Nile Delta

In the late 20th century, Lake Victoria experienced increased eutrophication – excess nutrients causing growth of plants and algae that deplete oxygen in the water. Historically the Nile's water was noted for being drinkable, but it became less healthy in certain areas during this period.

Image source: Lake Victoria

In the year 2000, the Nile Basin produced about 1.4 million tonnes of fish per year, more than half of the total freshwater yield from the entire African continent (2.2 million tonnes).

Image source: Nile

The Ethiopian Empire (1270–1974) occupied the areas of modern Ethiopia and Eritrea, encompassing much of the Blue Nile's watershed.

Image source: Ethiopian Empire

The Funj Sultanate (1504 to 1821) ruled over the area approximately covered by modern Sudan, along much of the Nile's middle course.

Image source: Funj Sultanate

In 1929, an agreement between Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan was reached, allocating the waters of the Nile and giving Egypt substantial control over upstream projects.

Image source: Water politics in the Nile Basin

In 1959 Egypt and Sudan updated the 1929 water-sharing agreement. Upstream countries within the Nile Basin were excluded – including Ethiopia, which is the source of over two-thirds of the Nile's water. The agreement permitted both nations to build dams.

Throughout the 20th century there was a marked imbalance in political power within the Nile Basin, with Egypt and Sudan wielding more power than the other ten nations. After the 1959 agreement, several upstream nations (including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Ethiopia) voiced objections, arguing they were not bound by it. Egyptian leaders often stated they were willing to employ military force to protect their rights.

Image source: Nile Basin Initiative

In the late 20th century, African nations participated in several efforts to establish water-sharing policies – including the Undugu Commission (active from 1983 to 1993) and TECCONILE (active 1993 to 1998) – but were not successful in creating long-term agreements.

In 1999, nine of the ten Nile Basin countries – Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda – established the Nile Basin Initiative to promote peaceful dialogue regarding issues related to the Nile Basin.

At the start of the 21st century, power shifted to the upstream nations as they began to build dams without the consent of Egypt or Sudan. In 2008, Ethiopia built the Tekezé Dam without seeking permission from Egypt or Sudan.

Image source: Tekezé Dam

In 2010, five upstream countries – Uganda, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Kenya – signed a new agreement – the Cooperative Framework Agreement – which aimed to allocate waters more equitably for upstream countries. The 2010 agreement was opposed by Egypt and Sudan.

Image source: Entebbe raid

In 2011, South Sudan became independent from Sudan, becoming the eleventh country in the Nile Basin.

Image source: South Sudan

In 2011, Ethiopia announced plans to build a large dam on the Blue Nile near the border with Sudan, sparking years of dispute with downstream Egypt and Sudan.

Image source: Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam

In 2015 the countries signed a "Declaration of Principles" which contained high-level agreements regarding water usage and reservoir filling procedures for the GERD.

In 2019, the United States hosted talks between the involved nations; in 2020, the African Union started facilitating talks; and in 2021 and 2022, the UAE hosted talks over the GERD dispute.

Construction of the GERD dam was completed in 2020, and in 2025 the reservoir was full and most of the dam's generators were producing electricity.