Did Iran build Suez Canal after the war with India and Türkiye, why did Egypt have to listen because of Israel?

New Delhi: There is an inscription of Darius, a great king of Iran, on which it is written – I am a Persian, coming out of Persia I conquered Egypt. I ordered this canal to be dug from the Nile River to the Persian Sea which flows into Egypt. This canal was dug just as I had ordered. Due to this, ships went from Egypt to Persia through this canal. We know the story of this Suez Canal, which also has connections with India, Türkiye, Israel and Iran. In fact, it is important to tell this story because recently Israeli warships passed through this Suez Canal amid tensions with Iran. Egypt has faced a lot of criticism regarding this.

Darius fought many wars, that is why he/she came to India

The Behistun inscription states that Darius I seized power after assassinating the Iranian king Gaumata. After this he/she fought the civil war. Ultimately he/she was able to re-establish the Achaemenid Empire. This was the same Darius who fought many foreign wars, which took him/her to India and Türkiye. During the time of Darius, the empire of Persia i.e. Iran had reached its greatest expansion.

The first Persian king to attack India

Darius I was the first Persian king to attack India. he/she invaded the north-western part of India in 516 BC. At that time Darius I had captured India’s Punjab, Sindh, some parts of Jhelum river valley and Gandhara. However, there is no clear information about when the canal construction work was done after these wars.

The canal is mentioned in the Chalupu Stele Monument.

There is a monument in Iran, known as the Chalouf Stele. It contains an account of the construction of a canal, which is said to have connected the Nile River and the Red Sea. The work of building this canal was completed by the great king of Iran, Darius I. Darius ruled from 522 BC to 486 BC. However, there is mention of building a similar canal in Egypt also during the reign of the Pharaohs.

There is mention of canal digging in an ancient book.

The Book of Exodus states that the Jews leaving Egypt built a canal. This canal was restored by Darius, which was a trade route between the Nile River, the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.

What is the Book of Exodus, which contains the story of Israel?

Book of Exodus is the second book related to the Bible. It is told that once the Israelis i.e. the Jewish people were slaves in Egypt. Fed up with the atrocities, the Jews left Egypt, after which they all resolved to create a holy country for themselves. The foundation of the modern Suez Canal was laid on the basis of this canal built in ancient times.

A French diplomat laid the foundation of the modern Suez Canal

The 193.30 km long Suez Canal is an artificial sea level waterway in Egypt. This canal connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez, dividing Africa and Asia. In 1858 the French engineer and diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps created the Suez Canal Company to build a new canal. Then the canal was constructed by the Turkish government from 1859 to 1869. This canal was opened on November 17, 1869. In 1866, it took 36 hours to cross this canal. But, it takes less than 18 hours to cross it all. At present this canal is still under the control of Egypt.

How the canal was divided between Britain, Türkiye and Egypt

This canal was earlier managed by the Suez Canal Company, half of whose shares belonged to France and the other half to Turkey, Egypt and other Arab countries. Later Britain bought the shares of Egypt and Türkiye. In 1888, an agreement was reached that no one nation’s army would remain on this canal. But, breaking the promise, Britain stationed its forces on this canal.

When Egypt nationalized the canal

In 1947, when India was gaining independence, it was decided that after the 99-year lease with the company was cancelled, its ownership would pass to the Egyptian government. In 1951, a movement broke out in Egypt against Great Britain and finally an agreement was reached in 1954. According to this, Britain withdrew its army from the canal. Later Egypt nationalized this canal in 1956 and took it under its complete control.

When there was shadow of Suez crisis, the world was worried

It was 1956, when Israel and later Britain and France attacked Egypt. Then traffic through the Suez Canal was stopped. This is called Suez Crisis. This attack was carried out with the aim of reestablishing Western control over the Suez Canal and removing Egyptian President Colonel Nasser from power. After the war started, the crisis ended only when America, the Soviet Union and the League of Nations intervened politically. This crisis was caused by the nationalization of the Suez Canal. In 1957, the Suez Canal was opened to the movement of ships of all countries.

Non-Aligned Movement born out of Suez crisis

The Suez crisis gave a new direction to the modern history and politics of the world. Egyptian President Gamal Abdul Nasser challenged the imperialism of Britain and France by nationalizing the Suez Canal and this paved the way for a third world free from the influence of the two superpowers, which was named the Non-Aligned Movement. Then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru also played a role in its formation.

Construction of Suez Canal saved 6000 miles of distance

Due to this canal, a simple and direct route from Europe to Asia and East Africa was opened and this saved the distance of about 6,000 miles. This has greatly facilitated trade with many countries, East Africa, Iran, Arabia, India, Pakistan, countries of Far East Asia, Australia, New Zealand etc. and trade has increased a lot.

It takes 12 to 16 hours to cross the entire canal.

Traffic in the Suez Canal takes place in the form of convoys. Three convoys leave every day. Two from north to south and one from south to north. The speed of the ships is 11 to 16 kilometers per hour. In fact, there is a fear of ships breaking on the banks of the canal when they move at high speed. The travel time of this canal is 12 to 16 hours. Two ships cannot pass through this canal simultaneously. When one ship passes, another is tied up at the dock. In such a situation, only a maximum of 24 ships can pass through this canal in a day.

India’s trade relations with Europe increased due to the construction of Suez Canal

With the construction of the Suez Canal, the distance between Europe and the countries of the Far East has reduced significantly. Just as the distance from Liverpool to Mumbai is reduced by 7,250 km and from Hong Kong to 4,500 km, the distance from New York to Mumbai is reduced by 4,500 km. Due to this canal, trade relations between India and European countries have increased.