force headed by Selman Reis to defend Suez in 1507, which in turn limited the Mamluk military's capabilities against the Ottomans in the Mediterranean sea. Following the Ottoman's conquest of Egypt at the beginning of the 16th century, Suez became both a major naval and trading station. The Ottoman fleets at Suez were instrumental in disputing control with the Portuguese over Indian Ocean trade.
German explorer Carsten Niebuhr noted that in the 18th century a 20-vessel fleet sailed annually from Suez to Jeddah—which served as the Islamic holy city of Mecca's port and Egypt's gateway for trade with India. However, by 1798, during Napoleonic invasion, Suez had devolved into an unimportant town. Fighting between the French and the British in 1800 left most of the town in ruins. Its importance as a port increased after the Suez Canal opened in 1869.
Modern era
The city was virtually destroyed during battles in the late 1960s and early 1970s between Egyptian and Israeli forces occupying the Sinai Peninsula. The town was deserted following the Six Day War in 1967. Reconstruction of Suez began soon after Egypt reopened the Suez Canal, following the October War with Israel.
Suez was the first city to hold major protests against the government of Hosni Mubarak during the 2011 Egyptian revolution and was the scene of the first fatality of that uprising. On account of this, it has been called the Sidi Bouzid of Egypt, recalling that small town's role in the 2010–2011 Tunisian revolution
