From the early 19th century until the early 1960s, Greeks constituted the largest, economically strongest, and most socially and geographically diverse of all the European communities in Egypt. Although they benefited from the privileges granted to foreigners and the control exercised by Great Britain, they nevertheless claimed to enjoy a special relationship with Egypt and the Egyptians and believed that they contributed to the modernization of the country.

The Greeks and the shaping of modern Egypt is the first comprehensive historical narrative of the modern Greek presence in Egypt, from its beginnings during the reign of Muhammad Ali to the last days of Nasser. It critically approaches the reality and the myths surrounding the complex and ubiquitous Greek community in Egypt, examining the legal status of Greeks, their relationships with the country's leaders, their interactions both with the ruling elites and ordinary Egyptians, their economic activities, their contacts with other communities, their ties to their Greek homeland, and the communal life, which was distinguished by its rich and famous literary production and broader cultural activities.

Alexander Kitroeff argues that while the self-image of Greeks as people who contributed to the development of Egypt is exaggerated, there were ways in which they acted as agents of modernization, albeit from a privileged and protected position. While they never received the recognition they desired, the Greeks developed an intense and nostalgic love relationship with Egypt after most of them were forced to leave in the 1950s and 1960s to resettle in Greece or even more distant destinations.

“A marvelously comprehensive historical study of one of the most significant foreign communities in modern Egypt, rich in detail but equally sensitive regarding the complex nature of the internal structures of the Community, its adaptability to changing internal and external power relations, and the nostalgia with which the surviving members recall their stay in a marvelous country.” -Roger Owen, Harvard University

“Alexander Kitroeff's excellent book is a work of great academic maturity and personal affection. It offers a provocative overview of the largest and most influential foreign community in modern Egypt, based on years of research, a thorough survey of sources, and a deep connection to Egypt that dates back to the late 19th century, when his great-grandfather emigrated from Chios and settled in Alexandria.” -Robert L. Tignor, Princeton University

“This exceptionally well-written book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of Greeks in 19th and 20th century Egypt and the complex and multifaceted relationships that existed between Egyptians, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the homeland.” -Mohamed Awad, Alexandrian historian and ecologist

“This is the best book on the role of the once-thriving Greek community in Egypt: rich in its sources, learned, refined, and complex in its judgments, written by one of the leading scholars of the modern Greek diaspora.” -Robert Vitalis, University of Pennsylvania

Alexander Kitroeff is an associate professor of history at Haverford College, where he teaches courses on Modern European History and Mediterranean History. Born in Greece, he studied in Great Britain, where he obtained his PhD in history from the University of Oxford. His research focuses on nationalism and ethnicity in modern Greece and its diaspora, from politics to sports. He is the author of four books, including The Greeks in Egypt: Ethnicity and Class (1989) and Wrestling with the Ancients: Modern Greek Identity and the Olympics (2004).