The Cairo Fire of 1952 destroyed some 750 buildings in downtown Cairo and is widely seen as a signal of the end of the Kingdom of Egypt.
Key Facts
- Date
- 26 January 1952
- Buildings burned or looted
- approximately 750 buildings
- Direct trigger
- Battle of Ismailia, British attack on Egyptian police
- Police casualties at Ismailia
- roughly 50 auxiliary policemen killed
- Also known as
- Black Saturday
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
On 25 January 1952, British forces attacked an Egyptian police installation in Ismailia during the Battle of Ismailia, killing roughly 50 auxiliary policemen. News of these deaths spread quickly to Cairo, sparking spontaneous anti-British protests among the Egyptian population.
On 26 January 1952, protests in Cairo escalated into widespread rioting as organized elements within the crowd burned and looted approximately 750 buildings—including shops, cafes, cinemas, hotels, theatres, and nightclubs—across downtown Cairo, while security forces were notably and inexplicably absent.
The Cairo Fire is considered by many historians to have signalled the end of the Kingdom of Egypt. The identity of the perpetrators has never been conclusively established. The events have been compared to the unrest that accompanied Egypt's 25 January 2011 anti-government protests, which similarly featured arson, looting, a police withdrawal, and organized prison-breaking.
Political Outcome
Widespread destruction of downtown Cairo; widely interpreted as marking the decline and effective end of the Kingdom of Egypt; perpetrators never identified.
Kingdom of Egypt under British influence
Accelerated delegitimization of the monarchy, contributing to the 1952 revolution