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YearMaps
Industrial Era1958 CE – 1972 CEPeak: 1.2M km² (1963 CE)

United Arab Republic: Map & History

The United Arab Republic was a country and sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971.

4.5
1958 CEDrag timeline:1963 CE1972 CE
1958 CE
1960 CE
1965 CE
1970 CE
1972 CE
Capital: CairoCapital at 30.04°N, 31.24°EPeak Extent: 1.2M km²Vector Attribution: Cliopatria (CC BY 4.0)Wikidata: Q170468 ↗
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Historiographical synthesis & structured realm registry

Wikipedia: United Arab Republic
United Arab Republic historical cartography
Sovereign state in the Middle East (1958–1971)

The United Arab Republic was a country and sovereign state in the Middle East from 1958 to 1971. It was initially a short-lived political union between the Republic of Egypt and the Second Syrian Republic from 1958 until Syria seceded from the union following the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. Egypt continued to be known officially as the United Arab Republic until it was formally dissolved by Anwar Sadat in September 1971.

Capital / Seat
Cairo
Common Languages
Arabic
State Governance
Unitary Arab socialist republic
Historical Religion
Islam, Christianity
Peak Territory
1, 195, 000
Key Dynasts / Leaders
Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat
Preceded By
Republic of Egypt (1953–1958)Republic of Egypt, Second Syrian RepublicSyrian Republic
Succeeded By
Second Syrian Republic 1961, Syrian Arab Republic, Israeli Military Governorate 1967, Israeli Military Occupation, Arab Republic of Egypt
Content & infobox metadata adapted from Wikipedia (United Arab Republic)

Modern Countries Once Part of United Arab Republic

At its mapped extent, United Arab Republic covered territory in 2 present-day countries. The period shown is when the mapped borders include that country, and the note says how much of it.

States and Provinces

Derived by testing mapped cities against this polity's dated territorial polygons, so the list is indicative and follows the borders in the source dataset.

United Arab Republic in Depth

History

The United Arab Republic was established on 1 February 1958 as the first step towards a larger pan-Arab state, which was originally proposed to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser by a group of political and military leaders in Syria.

Pan-Arab sentiment traditionally was very strong in Syria, and Nasser was a popular heroic figure throughout the Arab world following the 1956 Tripartite Aggression. There was thus considerable popular support in Syria for union with Nasser's Egypt. The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was the leading advocate of such a union.

In mid-1957, Western powers began to worry that Syria was close to a Communist takeover; it had a highly organized Communist Party and the newly appointed army's chief of staff, Afif al-Bizri, was a Communist sympathizer.

Geography

If it existed today, the United Arab Republic would be the 25th largest nation on the planet (Egypt is 30th and Syria is 88th). It was comparable in size to South Africa, and twice the size of France. Following the dissolution of the All-Palestine Government in 1959, the United Arab Republic further exerted administration over Gaza, until 1967.

Sections adapted from Wikipedia: United Arab Republic (CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Arab Republic: Key Facts

Key facts about United Arab Republic
CapitalCairo
Official languageArabic
Religionsecularism
Form of governmentfederation, semi-presidential system
CurrenciesEgyptian pound, Syrian pound
Founded1958
Dissolved1971

Preceded by

Facts from Wikidata Q170468 (CC0).

United Arab Republic Timeline

Key historical inflections from foundation to peak territorial expansion

1 Epochs
Territorial Apex1963 CE

Expansion to peak recorded area of 1,199,345 km² in 1963 CE.

United Arab Republic: Frequently Asked Questions

When did the United Arab Republic exist?

The United Arab Republic is dated to 1958 CE – 1972 CE, in the Industrial era.

What was the capital of the United Arab Republic?

The capital of the United Arab Republic was Cairo.

How large was the United Arab Republic at its peak?

At its peak in 1963 the United Arab Republic covered about 1,199,345 km².