Sadat was chosen as president because Nasser's supporters saw him as someone who they could control. They did not think he would be president for very long. However, in his eleven years as president Sadat changed a lot of the things Nasser had set in place, and made Egypt respected for its military strength and political power in the Middle East. On 6 October 1973, Sadat started the October War together with Syria, to try to take back the land Israel had taken from them six years earlier in the Six-Day War. The Egyptian army was very successful at the start of the war, and their advance across the Suez Canal into the Sinai Peninsula surprised Israel and the rest of the world. This success made Sadat a hero in Egypt, and for a time throughout the Arab World.