How was the Suez Canal built?
Under Necho II, a canal was built between the Pelusian branch of the Nile and the northern end of the Bitter Lakes. After having been neglected, it was rebuilt by the Persian ruler, Darius I. This canal is said to have been extended to the Red Sea by Ptolemy II Philadelphus, abandoned during the early Roman rule, but rebuilt again by Trajan. Over the next several centuries, it once again was abandoned and sometimes dredged by various rulers for various but limited purposes. Amr Ibn el-As rebuilt the canal after the Islamic takeover of Egypt creating a new supply line from Cairo, but was closed a final time to cut off supplies to insurgents located in the Delta. The first efforts to build a modern canal came from the Egypt expedition of Napoleon Bonaparte, who hoped the project would create a devastating trade problem for the English. Vicomte Ferdinand Marie de Lesseps, who ended up founding the Universal Company of the Maritime Suez Canal, funded, in 1858, to build the canal.
