Your challenge is relatively straightforward: have Ancient Egyptian culture survive in some form or another.
The hieroglyphic texts and the Ancient Egyptian priest cult hadn't been lost until around 500 AC. ! A certain Egyptian Godess had followers even later.Your best bet is to preserve Ancient Egyptian religion. The cults and their priests remained a deeply conservative, but vital source of legitimacy into the Roman period, which is why we have Roman emperors depicted on temple walls as pharaohs next to hieroglyphic inscriptions. After Christianisation, the script, festivals and art style were all lost, replaced by Coptic script, Christian holidays and the Eastern Christian icon tradition.
There was signficant Egyptian trade with India, perhaps being aware of the Brahmins and Sramanas(Buddhists and Jains) of India, the last of the Egyptian pagans decide to relocate to India to seek refuge among the relatively tolerant Indians, how Zoroastrians, Jews and Syriac Christians did OTL. They essentially become an Indian caste with absolutely alien rituals. This plausible considering that they were aware of the traditions of the Indians.The hieroglyphic texts and the Ancient Egyptian priest cult hadn't been lost until around 500 AC. ! A certain Egyptian Godess had followers even later.
I have too agree here. Maybe you could have the arabs when they adopt older less Christian therefore hellenised aspects of Egyptian culture in their rule their so you get a more Egyptian culture in the region with coptic being adopted. This could lead to a Egyptian arab fusion with coptic and old Egyptian customs being the base with arab thrown in and there likely would be holdovers from the greeks and Christians but that is kinda unavoidable.I think that, even after the Arab conquest of Egypt, the Coptic language could have survived if Egypt was ruled b Coptic speaking Muslims, like Persia was ruled by Persian speaking Muslims.
Thus, Egypt could retain its old language and culture while still being mostly Muslim.
Persian survived due its position as the official language of the fallen Sassanid Empire, having a long cultural and administrative prestige over the Eastern Muslim world, Coptic has none of those.I think that, even after the Arab conquest of Egypt, the Coptic language could have survived if Egypt was ruled b Coptic speaking Muslims, like Persia was ruled by Persian speaking Muslims.
Thus, Egypt could retain its old language and culture while still being mostly Muslim.
Tie that with the Muslim ruler taking the title of Pharaoh, and it would be just another Persia in terms of surviving into Modern DaysI think that, even after the Arab conquest of Egypt, the Coptic language could have survived if Egypt was ruled b Coptic speaking Muslims, like Persia was ruled by Persian speaking Muslims.
Thus, Egypt could retain its old language and culture while still being mostly Muslim.
Coptic Egyptian is directly descended from the languages of ancient Egypt - and it was widely spoken until the 1200's or 1300's or so. All in all, I think it'd survive to modern day if it wasn't for the Muslim/Arab invasions.
Persian survived due its position as the official language of the fallen Sassanid Empire, having a long cultural and administrative prestige over the Eastern Muslim world, Coptic has none of those.
Persian had prestige but, initially, the authorities used Arab. One of the reasons that Persian survived was that Persian speaking Muslims, eventually, took over Persia. Something analogous could have happened in Egypt.
Tie that with the Muslim ruler taking the title of Pharaoh, and it would be just another Persia in terms of surviving into Modern Days
So... let's say a scenario where Cleopatra managed to play Anthony against Octavian, both of them killed, paid off Roman Legions with Gold and lands, before reinforcing Egypt...Problem is that by this point the title if Pharaoh had no prestige left. The emperor's of the ERE abandoned it leading up to Christian conversion.
The Shahanshah of the Persians on the other hand was a title that still had a very impressive and legitimate power.
So... let's say a scenario where Cleopatra managed to play Anthony against Octavian, both of them killed, paid off Roman Legions with Gold and lands, before reinforcing Egypt...
And thus Ptolemy-Caesarion dynasty survived, could it ended up as better for Egyptian Titles?