This article posted by Blaise of Knights Templar
I have completed all required settlements in Egypt. I finished my 9th settlement with 7 days and 22 hours remaining, which means that it took me 8 days and 22 hours. I have heard a lot of people complain about Egypt and I have to admit that it took me far too long to figure it out but I am now convinced that Egypt is the easiest of the 3 settlements, certainly the easiest in terms of finishing with the highest time reward.
The key to Egypt is fighting. You must learn how to fight in Egypt. And you really need to fight manually, which was a difficult adjustment for an automatic fighter like me. None of the bonuses you can get in the game for attacking armies will help you in Egypt.
With any Cultural Settlement (Vikings, Japan or Egypt), you must complete quests to complete the settlement. And you need to research Embassy Advancements to complete quests. And you need to produce goods to research Embassy Advancements.
Egypt adds the step of needing Loot to produce goods. And you need to fight to obtain Loot. So you must fight. No fight, no Loot, no goods, no advance.
You are allowed 3 fights per day, with increasing difficulty for each. There are 5 types of military units which are available at different stages.
The secret to success in Egypt is this: only fight with 8 Nubian Archers. Hold them back at the start point and let them come to you. Attack them from the greatest distance you can, running away before attacking when they get close. This is especially important when attacking Mounted Camel Archers. Nubian Archers have a range of 6. Mounted Camel Archers have a range of 4 and will retaliate when attacked but they can only do so if the attacker is within their range. So make sure that you are far enough away when striking Mounted Camel Archers that they cannot retaliate.
Also, Nubian Archers can hide in bushes. If you have a tough fight, get 3 bushes near the start point and hide the Nubian Archers in them. You can surrender as many times as want with no negative consequences. So keep surrendering until you have 3 bushes near you if you have a tough fight.