Muslim conquest of Egypt

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Part of the Muslim conquests and Byzantine-Arab Wars

Date	639-654
Location	Egypt, North Africa
Result	Muslim victory
Territorial changes	Egypt and parts of North Africa annexed by Muslims

Combatants

Byzantine Empire

Muslim Arabs (Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates)

Byzantine-Arab Wars
Mu'tah – Tabouk – Dathin – Ajnadayn – Yarmouk – Nikiou – 1^st Siege of Constantinople – Syllaeum – That Al-Sawari – Carthage – Constantinople

At the commencement of the Muslim conquest of Egypt, Egypt was part of the Byzantine Empire with its capital in Constantinople. However, it had been occupied just a decade before by the Persian Empire under Khosrau II (616 to 629 AD).

It was also religiously alienated. The orthodox Christianity of the Byzantines held to the doctrine of Christ having two natures, one divine and one human. In Egypt however the christological position of Monophysitism prevailed, which supported the doctrine of Christ having only one nature, the divine. Although the Christian Council of Chalcedon, held in 451, had ruled in favor of the orthodox position, Egypt had remained a hotbed of Monophysite sentiment. So, with the restoration of Byzantine political control in 629, Emperor Heraclius began persecuting the Monophysites, expelling their patriarch.

It was in the context of this state of affairs that an army of some 4,000 Arabs, led by Amr ibn al-As, was sent by the Caliph Umar to spread Islam in the land of the ancient pharaohs. The Arabs crossed into Egypt from Palestine in December 639 and advanced rapidly into the Nile Delta. The imperial garrisons retreated into the walled towns, where they successfully held out for a year or more. But the Arabs sent for reinforcements and the invading army, joined by another 12,000 men in 640, defeated a Byzantine army at the Battle of Heliopolis. Amr next proceeded in the direction of Alexandria, which was surrendered to him by a treaty signed on November 8, 641. The Thebaid seems to have surrendered with scarcely any opposition.

The Age of the Caliphs

The ease with which this valuable province was wrenched from the Byzantine Empire appears to have been due to the treachery of the governor of Egypt, Cyrus [1], Melchite (i.e., Byzantine/Chalcedonian Orthodox, not Coptic) Patriarch of Alexandria, and the incompetence of the generals of the Byzantine forces. Cyrus had persecuted the local Coptic Christians. He is one of the authors of monothelism, a seventh century heresy, and some supposed him to have been secretly a convert to Islam.

An attempt was made in the year 645 to regain Alexandria for the Byzantine empire, but it was retaken by Amr in 646. In 654 an invasion fleet sent by Constans II was repulsed. From that time no serious effort was made by the Byzantines to regain possession of the country.

The Muslims were assisted by some Copts, who resented the persecutions of the Byzantines, and of these some turned to Islam. Others sided with the Byzantines, hoping that they would provide a defense against the Arab invaders.[2]

After the negotiated surrender, taxes were raised to a level which the Egyptians found unbearable. Nevertheless, during Amr's lifetime the churches and people were not subjected to further jihad assaults and were left in peace:

On the twentieth of Maskaram Theodore and all his troops and officers [the Byzantines] set out and proceeded to the island of Cyprus, and abandoned the city of Alexandria. And thereupon 'Amr the chief of the Moslem made his entry without effort into the city of Alexandria. And the inhabitants received him with respect; for they were in great tribulation and affliction... And 'Amr became stronger every day in every field of his activity. And he exacted the taxes which had been determined upon, but he took none of the property of the churches, and he committed no act of spoliation or plunder, and he preserved them throughout all his days. ... And he increased the taxes to the extent of twenty-two batr of gold till all the people hid themselves owing to the greatness of the tribulation, and could not find the wherewithal to pay.The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu Chapters CXX-CXXI

Arab Egypt developed from this point until 1517, when it became part of the Ottoman Empire.