| Arab conquest of Egypt | |||||||||
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| Part of theArab–Byzantine wars | |||||||||
 Roman Theater in the city of Alexandria, Egypt | |||||||||
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| Rashidun Caliphate | |||||||||
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TheArab conquest of Egypt, led by the army ofAmr ibn al-As, took place between 639 and 642 AD and was overseen by theRashidun Caliphate.[1] It ended the seven-century-longRoman period in Egypt that had begun in 30 BC and, more broadly, theGreco-Roman period that had lasted about a millennium.
Shortly before the conquest,Byzantine (EasternRoman) rule in the country had been shaken, as Egypt had beenconquered and occupied for a decade by theSasanian Empire in 618–629, before being recovered by the Byzantine emperorHeraclius. TheCaliphate took advantage of Byzantines' exhaustion to invade Egypt.
During the mid-630s, the Romans had alreadylost the Levant and itsGhassanid allies in Arabia to the Caliphate. The loss of the prosperous province of Egypt and the defeat of the Byzantine armies severely weakened the empire, resulting in further territorial losses in the centuries to come.[2]
In 640,Heraclius was theByzantine emperor,Cyrus of Alexandria was both thegovernor ofEgypt(praefectus Aegypti) and the government-appointedChalcedonian Patriarch of Alexandria, whileTheodore was thecommander-in-chief of theByzantine army in the province. The majority of the Egyptians werenon-ChalcedonianOriental Christians, and instead recognisedPope Benjamin I as their rightfulPope and Patriarch of Alexandria.
Since the time of theByzantine EmperorJustinian I, Egypt was administratively divided into four provinces under the control of the general ruler of the East inConstantinople. These provinces wereAigyptiaca (Alexandria and the westernDelta),Augustamnica (the easternDelta untilArish in northernSinai),Arcadia (Middle Egypt toOxyrhynchus) andThebaid (Upper Egypt starting atHermopolis).[3] Each of these provinces was headed by a Pagarch (prefect). This division resulted in divided accountability for Egypt, which contributed to its defeat to both theSasanian invasion (618–621 AD) and the Arab invasion (641 AD).[3]
Following the death ofMuhammad in 632 AD, the Arab armies of theRashidun Caliphate began expanding toward bothSasanian Persia and theByzantine Empire.[4] Neither of the two former powers was prepared for the aggressive expansion of the Arabs, as both largely underestimated them. This is best depicted by the ambivalent views held by the Byzantines and the painstakingly slow reaction of the Sasanians.[5]
After defeating the Byzantines atYarmuk (636 AD) and the Persians atQadisiyah (637 AD), the gaze of the Arab generals turned towards the riches ofByzantine Africa. After theSiege of Jerusalem, it wasAmr ibn al-As who suggested an invasion of Egypt to the CaliphUmar,[1] being familiar with the country's prosperity both from visiting it as a merchant and from leading the expedition to Gaza in 637.[1] Appealing to the Caliph, he said "the conquest of Egypt will give great power to the Muslims and will be a great aid to them, for it is the wealthiest land and the weakest in fighting and war power."[1]
After being convinced by Amr to proceed with the invasion,Umar is said to have had "an eleventh-hour change of heart", but too late to stop it. This element of the story, which conveys the caliph's wariness at allowing a general to seize such an asset, may have been a later embellishment in light of Amr's subsequent reputation as a stubbornly independent governor.[1]
For three years after theMuslim conquest of the Levant, Cyrus had been paying them tribute not to invade Egypt.[note 1]
In December 639,Amr ibn al-As left for Egypt with a force of 4,000 troops. The invading army included units from various Arab tribes, especially fromYemen.[8] Most of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of 'Ak, butAl-Kindi mentioned that one third of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of Ghafik. The Arab army also contained manyapostates who theCaliphAbu Bakr forced back into Islam during theRidda Wars.[8] These were encouraged by Abu Bakr's successor,Umar ibn al-Khattab, to join the conquests as a way to tempt them to gain bounty and to keep them away from seditious activities.[8] On the way to Egypt through northernSinai and along theMediterranean coast, the Arab soldiers were also joined by numerousbedouins from Sinai and theEastern Desert,Nabataeans, some Roman andPersian converts to Islam, as well as bandits and vagabonds.[9]Amr ibn al-As enticed these various groups by promising them war booty, spoils and captives in return for their help in battles leading to the invasion. In total, the invaders numbered between twelve and fifteen thousand men.[10]
However,Umar, the Muslimcaliph, reconsidered his orders to Amr and considered it unwise to expect to conquer such a large country as Egypt with a mere 4,000 soldiers. Accordingly, he wrote a letter to Amr ordering him to "return with all haste to the court of the Caliph, so that his soldiers might join additional campaigns being planned elsewhere". However, there was a provision in the letter stating that Amr's first duty was the protection of his troops, and if he found himself on Egyptian soil by the time he received the letter, the Caliph would leave overall strategic command of movement to him, so as to not unduly burden troops already in the field.[11]
The messenger,Uqba ibn Amir, caught up with Amr atRafah, a little short of the Egyptian frontier. Guessing what might be in the letter, Amr ordered the army to quicken its pace. Turning to Uqbah, Amr said that he would receive the caliph's letter from him when the army had halted after the day's journey. Uqbah, unaware of the contents of the letter, agreed and marched along with the army. The army halted for the night at Shajratein, a little valley near the city ofEl Arish, which Amr knew to be beyond the Egyptian border.[12] Amr then received and read Umar's letter and went on to consult his companions as to the course of action to be adopted. The unanimous view was that as they had received the letter on Egyptian soil, they had permission to proceed.[citation needed]
When Umar received the reply, he decided to watch further developments and to start concentrating fresh forces at Madinah that could be dispatched to Egypt as reinforcements. OnEid al-Adha, the Muslim army marched from Shajratein toEl Arish,[11] a small town lacking a garrison. The town put up no resistance, and the citizens offered allegiance on the usual terms.[citation needed]
According to a legend related byal-Waqidi,Cyrus of Alexandria had a beautiful daughter namedArmenousa, whom he sought to marry toHeraclius Constantine. Constantine accepted the marriage proposal, so in late 639 Armenousa leftBabylon in a grand marriage procession which included two thousand horsemen, along with slaves and a long caravan laden with treasures that served both as dowry and tribute. On her way to Constantine, who was inCaesarea, she heard of the Arab army approaching Egypt and dispatched a regiment of her guards to defendPelusium, a garrison city considered to be the eastern gateway to Egypt at the time, while she herself remained inBelbeis with more of her guards and sent warnings to her father Cyrus.[13][14][15] However,Alfred J. Butler dismisses Armenousa's story as a myth.[16]
In December of 639 or early January 640, the Muslim army reached Pelusium. The siege of the town dragged on for two months. In February 640, an assault group, led by the prominent Huzaifah ibn Wala, successfully captured the fort and city.[17][18][19][20][21][22]
The losses incurred by the Muslim army were ameliorated by the number of SinaiBedouins, who, taking the initiative, had joined them in conquering Egypt.[23] The Bedouins belonged to the tribes of Rashidah and Lakhm.[24]
The ease with whichPelusium fell to the Muslims and the lack of Roman reinforcements during the month-long siege is often attributed to the treachery of Cyrus, who was also theGreek Patriarch of Alexandria (not the one recognised by most of the population, who wasPope Benjamin I).[23][25]
After the fall of Pelusium, the Muslims marched toBelbeis, 65 km (40 mi) fromMemphis via desert roads, and besieged it.Belbeis was the first place in Egypt that the Byzantines showed some measure of resistance towards the Arabs. Two Christian monks,[note 2] accompanied by Cyrus of Alexandria and the famous Roman generalAretion, came out to negotiate with 'Amr ibn al-'As. Aretion had been the Byzantine governor ofJerusalem, but had gone to Egypt shortly after losing theBattle of Ajnadayn. 'Amr gave them three options: convert to Islam, pay thejizya, or fight. They requested three days to reflect and then, according toAl-Tabari, requested two extra days.[26]
At the end of the five days, the two monks and the general decided to reject Islam and the jizya and fight the Muslims, thus disobeying Cyrus, who wanted to surrender and pay jizya. Cyrus left for theBabylon Fortress. The battle resulted in a Muslim victory during which Aretion was killed and Armenousa was captured, but sent back to Cyrus. 'Amr ibn al-'As subsequently attempted to convince the native Egyptians to aid the Arabs and surrender the city, based on the kinship between Egyptians and Arabs viaHajar.[27] When the Egyptians refused, the siege resumed until the city fell around the end of March 640.[25]
Amr had assumed that Egypt would be a pushover but was quickly proven wrong. Even at the outposts of Pelusium and Belbeis, the Muslims had met stiff resistance, with sieges of two and one months, respectively. As Babylon, near what is now Cairo, was a larger and more important city, resistance on a larger scale was expected.[11] The Muslims arrived atBabylon some time in May 640.[16]
Babylon was a fortified city, andTheodore had indeed prepared it for a siege. Outside the city, aditch had been dug, and a large force was positioned in the area between the ditch and the city walls. The Muslims besieged the fort, a massive structure 18 m (59 ft) high with walls more than 2 metres (6.6 feet) thick and studded with numeroustowers andbastions and a force of some 4,000 men. Early Muslim sources place the strength of the Byzantine force in Babylon at about six times the strength of the Muslim force. For the next two months, fighting remained inconclusive, with the Byzantines repulsing every Muslim assault.[16]
Realising that Babylon was too strong to take, 'Amr sent a detachment to raid the city ofFaiyum. The Byzantines had anticipated that and so had strongly guarded the roads that led to the city and had fortified their garrison in the nearby town ofLahun. At this time, the governor of Faiyum was Domentianus, while Anastasius was the prefect of its province,Arcadia Aegypti, and Theodosius was the prefect ofAlexandria. The defence of Arcadia Aegypti was entrusted to a certain John, whomHermann Zotenberg identifies with theJohn, Duke of Barca or Barcaina mentioned byNicephorus. He had brought theEcthesis and a portion of theTrue Cross fromPatriarch Sergius to Cyrus, and was likely on a direct commission from EmperorHeraclius.[16]
When the Muslims realised that Faiyum was also too strong for them to take, they headed towards theWestern Desert, where they looted as many cattle and animals as they could. They subsequently headed to a town in the Faiyum district named Bahnasa (not to be confused withOxyrhynchus 50 miles further south), which was defeated and the city was captured. According toJohn of Nikiû, "they compelled the city to open its gates, and they put to the sword all that surrendered, and they spared none, whether old men, babe, or woman."[28] The Arabs then noticed that John, with a small group of 50 men, had been following them. John and his men ran retreated to their base atAbûît, but their hiding place was betrayed by aBedouin chief and they were all killed.
When news of John's death reachedTheodore, who was commanding the garrison atBabylon, 'his lamentations were more grievous thanthe lamentations of David over Saul when he said: "How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"' asJohn of Nikiu puts it.[28] Theodore hurried his troops up the Nile while Anastasius and Theodosius rushed fromNikiû to Babylon to strengthen it, while a further force was sent from Babylon toAbûît to strengthen it under Leontius, who was "obese in person, quite without energy and unacquainted with warlike affairs".[28] When he arrived, he found Theodore and his troops there already making sorties every day against the Arab base at Bahnasa. Judging that Amr would soon be defeated, Leontius left only half of his men there, going back to Babylon with the other half.[16]
The Arabs eventually gave up on attempting to take Faiyum and returned northwards. Theodore gave orders for the body of John, which had been thrown in the Nile, to be found. It was retrieved with a net,embalmed with honour and sent back toHeraclius. As Theodore was commander-in-chief, Heraclius blamed him for John's death. Feeling that he was blamed due to negative reports from Theodosius and Anastasius, Theodore formed an enmity with them.[16]
In July, 'Amr wrote to 'Umar requesting reinforcements, but before the letter reached him, the caliph had already dispatched 4,000 men, mostly veterans of theSyrian campaigns, to bolster Amr's strength. Even with the reinforcements, 'Amr was unsuccessful and so, by August, 'Umar had assembled another 4,000-strong force, consisting of four columns, each of 1,000 elite men.Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, a renowned warrior and commander, veteran of theBattle of Yarmouk and once a part ofKhalid ibn al-Walid's elitemobile guard, was appointed the supreme commander of the army.[citation needed]
'Umar had also offered Zubayr the chief command and governorship of Egypt, but Zubayr had declined. The column commanders includedMiqdad ibn al-Aswad,'Ubaidah ibn as-Samit andKharijah ibn Hudhaifah. The reinforcements arrived at Babylon sometime in September 640, bringing the total strength of the Muslim force to 12,000 (and likely far less, given losses incurred), still quite modest.[12]
It is said that a Coptic soldier, seeing the size of the Muslim force, expressed amazement that such a small force could stand against the Emperor's army, whereto another soldier replied that Arabs could not yield, and had to either emerge victorious or die to the last man. In another anecdote, some Roman soldiers refused to fight, saying 'We have small chance against the men who have conquered Chosroes and Caesar in Syria.'[29]
When Zubayr arrived, he pointed out to 'Amr that the Roman-garrisoned city ofHeliopolis was a short distance away, and that troops from there could relieve the Siege of Babylon. To remove this threat, 'Amr went with about half of his men there.[30]
The Muslim army reached Heliopolis, 15 km (10 mi) from Babylon,[16] in July 640.[31] The city boasted the Sun Temple of thePharaohs and grandiose monuments and learning institutions.[32] There was the danger that forces from Heliopolis could attack the Muslims from the flank while they were engaged with the Roman army at Babylon.
There was a cavalry clash near the current neighbourhood ofAbbaseya. The engagement was not decisive, but it resulted in the occupation of the fortress located between the current neighborhoods of Abdyn andAzbakeya. The defeated Byzantine soldiers retreated to either the Babylon Fortress or the fortress of Nikiû.[33] Zubayr and some of his handpicked soldiers scaled the Heliopolis city wall at an unguarded point and, after overpowering the guards, opened the gates for the army to enter the city. After the capture of Heliopolis, 'Amr returned to Babylon.[30]
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When news of the Muslims' victory atHeliopolis reached Fayoum, its governor, Domentianus, and his troops fled without informing the people of Fayoum and Abuit that they were abandoning their cities to the enemy. When news reached 'Amr, he sent troops across theNile to invade Fayoum and Abuit, capturing the entire province of Fayoum with practically no resistance. Fayoum's populationwas enslaved, and the city was looted (the traditional fate of cities that had resisted).[34]
Emissaries were exchanged between Theodore and 'Amr, leading to 'Amr meeting Theodore in person. Then, with negotiations stalled, during the night of 20 December, a company of handpicked warriors, led by Zubayr, managed to scale the wall, kill the guards, and open the gates for the Muslim army to enter. The city was captured by the Muslims the following morning with tactics similar to those that had been used by Khalid ibn Walid at Damascus. However, Theodore and his army managed to slip away to the island of Rauda during the night, whence they continued to fight the Muslims.[35]
During this time, Theodore assembled an army in theNile Delta and put two generals in charge of defendingSamannud. Hearing of this, 'Amr went north to destroy this army. The two generals in Samannud refused to fight the Muslims, but Theodore fought 'Amr there and defeated him, inflicting many casualties on the Muslims. Unable to damage any cities in theNile Delta, they retreated back to Babylon. However, Theodore was unable to follow up this victory by recapturing Babylon.[16]
The final assault of the Muslims was onGood Friday, April 6 641, and by Easter Monday the Roman troops had evacuated and began marching toNikiû. The Romans were given a few days to evacuate so they might celebrate Easter. Many Copts who were imprisoned in Babylon, either for refusing to accept Chalcedon or on suspicion of treachery, were released from prison by the Romans, but Eudocianus, the brother of Domentianus, had them scourged and their hands cut off. The Siege of Babylon had lasted seven months.[29]
On 22 December, Cyrus of Alexandria entered a treaty with the Muslims,[36] recognizing Muslim sovereignty over the whole of Egypt and effectively overThebaid, and agreeing to pay Jizya at the rate of 2 diners per male adult.[16] According toNikephoros, Cyrus even suggested giving one of Heraclius' daughters in marriage to Amr. The treaty was subject to the approval of the emperor Heraclius, but Cyrus stipulated that even if the emperor repudiated the treaty, he and theEgyptians, would honour its terms.[37] Cyrus asked Heraclius to ratify the treaty and offered an argument in support. 'Amr submitted a detailed report to Umar recommending ratification.
Upon hearing about this, Heraclius was furious and had Cyrus recalled toConstantinople. Cyrus tried to defend his actions, but Heraclius angrily threatened to kill him, calling him an abject coward and a heathen, and asking whether 100,000 Romans were a match for 12,000 barbarians. He then handed him to the city Prefect to humiliate him, and sent him to exile.[29][38]
The Byzantine commanders, knowing full well that the Muslims' next target was Alexandria, set out to repel the Muslims through continued sallies from the fort or, at least, to exhaust them and erode their morale in a campaign of attrition.[36] In February 641, 'Amr set off for Alexandria from Babylon with his army, encountering defending regiments all along the route. On the third day of their march the Muslims' advance guard encountered a Byzantine detachment at Tarnut on the west bank of theNile.[16] The Byzantines failed to inflict heavy losses but were able to delay the advance by a full day. The Muslim commanders decided to halt the main army at Tarnut and send an advance guard of cavalry forward to clear the path.[citation needed]
The Muslims came to Kebrias of Abadja, where Domentianus and his soldiers were. He cravenly fled the city in a small boat, leaving his soldiers to their fate. They attempted to follow him, but in the panic the boatmen fled to their home provinces, leaving many of the soldiers stranded. When the Arabs arrived, the soldiers threw their weapons into the water before their enemies, hoping to be spared, but instead they were all massacred. According toJohn of Nikiu, the only man who lived to tell the tale was a "gallant warrior" named Zacharias. The Muslims then passed bySais and, finding the family of Theodorus there, killed all of them.[28][29][14]
Now 30 km (19 miles) from Tarnut, the Byzantine detachment that had withdrawn from Tarnut the day before joined another that was already at Shareek, and both attacked and routed the Muslim cavalry. The next day, before the Byzantines could annihilate the Muslim advance guard completely, the main Muslim army arrived, prompting the Byzantines to withdraw. The following day, the whole army marched forward without an advance guard. The Muslims reached Sulteis, where they encountered another Byzantine detachment. Hard fighting followed, but the Byzantine resistance soon broke down and they withdrew to Alexandria.[citation needed]
The Muslims halted at Sulteis for a day, still two days' march from Alexandria. After another day's march, the Muslim forces arrived at Kirayun, 20 km (12 miles) from Alexandria. There, the Muslim advance to Alexandria was blocked by a Byzantine force about 20,000 strong. The resulting action remained indecisive for ten days.[12] However, on the tenth day, the Muslims launched a vigorous assault, forcing the defeated Byzantines to retreat to Alexandria. With the way to Alexandria clear, the Muslims reached the capital's outskirts in March.[citation needed]
Heraclius died in February 641, two months before the fall of theBabylon Fortress, and was succeeded by his two sonsConstantine III andHeraclonas as co-emperors. Heraclonas' mother,Martina, ruled through Heraclonas because of his young age and consistently opposed Constantine. Constantine, following his father's wishes, summoned Cyrus from exile and Theodore from Egypt toConstantinople to discuss the invasion. Cyrus was in favour of surrendering to the Muslims, whereas Theodore wanted to continue fighting them and hoped the Emperor would send reinforcements to Egypt. Constantine had been preparing a fleet to send to Egypt, but died on May 25 after a reign of just 100 days. WithHeraclonas as sole emperor, Martina gained complete control over the government. She had Heraclonas give Cyrus express permission to make peace at any price with the Arabs, but also gave him reinforcements and a new general named Constantine to replace John. After Theodore and Cyrus' left for Egypt with reinforcements, Martina was deposed byValentine, who sent envoys toRhodes with a message to Cyrus' troops, telling them to return to Constantinople and not to side with Cyrus. He also sent a letter to Alexandria telling the defenders not to obey Martina, and to keep fighting. Theodore was pleased to hear this, and without telling Cyrus or anyone but the captain, he secretly attempted to sail from Rhodes toPentapolis.[note 3] However, the captain of the ship claimed the wind was contrary to him, and Theodore was stuck with Cyrus. They returned toAlexandria on September 14, 641, theFeast of the Cross.[16]
When Theodore returned to Alexandria, he dismissed Domentianus as the military commander of the garrison and exiled him from the city, replacing him withMenas, who was anon-ChalcedonianCopt and popular with the army. Menas held a grudge against Domentianus' brother Eudocianus for Eudocianus' torture of theCoptic prisoners inBabylon. Theodore was angry with Domentianus for his cowardly flight from Nikiu and took Menas' side in their quarrel. Despite being brothers-in-law, Domentianus also disrespected Cyrus and showed him unreasonable hatred. He enlisted the Blues in Alexandria to his side, to which Menas responded by enlisting the Greens. There also came to Alexandria Philiades, prefect of the province of Faiyum and brother ofPatriarch George I of Alexandria. Philiades was Menas' friend, but unlike Menas he was corrupt and unpopular, so much so that he was nearlylynched.
Since Theodore and Cyrus' arrival in Egypt was on September 14, 641, theFeast of the Cross, a greatprocession was organised from their landing place to Alexandria. Their entire path was covered in carpets, hymns were sung, and a piece of theTrue Cross which was earlier brought to Egypt byJohn, Duke of Barcaina, and stored in a church of theTheodosians,[39][40] was carried with Cyrus and Theodore. The procession passed betweenCleopatra's Needles and entered theCaesareum Church, where aliturgy was prayed. ThePsalm reading of the day wasPsalm 118:24,[note 4] but the deacon said another psalm hoping to praise Cyrus and congratulate him on his return. This was said to be a bad omen. Cyrus then gave a sermon about thediscovery of the True Cross, perhaps encouraging them to resist the siege in the name of the Cross, despite having already decided in himself to forsake the Cross and surrender to the Muslims.[16]
Cyrus then went to Babylon to negotiate with 'Amr, and agreed the following treaty:
He then returned to Alexandria and reported the terms of this humiliating treaty to Theodore and Constantine, convincing them that it was necessary and telling them to report it to the EmperorHeraclonas, who ratified it in what may had been his last act as Emperor, as he was deposed in November. The local populace was not informed of it until an Arab army approached Alexandria to receive the tribute, and the Byzantine generals told the people not to resist. Realising what had happened, a furious mob attempted tostone Cyrus, but he said to them "I have made this treaty in order to save you and your children" and wept before them, which calmed the riot down. The first installment of tribute was paid on 10 December 641, sealing the surrender of Alexandria.
After the siege was over, Cyrus negotiated with 'Amr to allow the Egyptians who had taken refuge in Alexandria during the war to return to their lands, but he apparently did not allow them to do so. Towns along the northern coast of theNile Delta remained outside Muslim control for some more years; 'Amr evidently did not consider them a priority. He began building his new capital,Fustat, just outside Babylon. Of Egypt's five Byzantine prefects, three (Menas, Prefect ofLower Egypt, Sinôdâ or Sanutius, Prefect ofthe Rîf, and Philoxenus, Prefect ofArcadia Aegypti) converted to Islam to retain their positions, and the other two were replaced by Muslims. 'Amr and these Muslim governors forced the Christians to work for them, and made them diga canal from the Nile to the Red Sea.
Cyrus fell intodepression and died onHoly Thursday, March 21, 642. Theodore was appointed governor of Egypt after Cyrus' death, and arranged the withdrawal of Byzantine forces from Alexandria. On September 17, 642, Theodore left Egypt and set sail forCyprus with the last Roman troops. Then on September 29, the 11 months of armistice ended, and 'Amr marched at the head of his Arab army into Alexandria, thus marking the end ofRoman Egypt after 671 years.[note 5][16]
When they entered Alexandria, the Arabs "destroyed its walls and burnt many churches with fire," including the ancient church by theSea, founded by and containing the remains ofSaint Mark.[41][3] The Arabs also burned all the convents around the church.[42]
In the summer of 642, 'Amr ibn al-'As sent an expedition to the Christian kingdom ofNubia, which bordered Egypt to the south, under the command of his cousin 'Uqbah ibn Nafi as a pre-emptive raid to announce the arrival of new rulers in Egypt.[43][page needed] 'Uqbah ibn Nafi, who later made a great name for himself as the conqueror of Africa and led his horse to the Atlantic, had an unhappy experience in Nubia. No pitched battle was fought, but there were onlyskirmishes andhaphazard engagements, the type of warfare in which the Nubians excelled.
The Nubian cavalry displayed remarkable speed,[25] even more so than the Muslim cavalry. The Nubians would strike hard and then vanish before the Muslims could recover and counterattack. The hit-and-run raids took their toll on the Muslim expedition. 'Uqbah reported that to 'Amr,[36] who ordered 'Uqbah to withdraw from Nubia, terminating the expedition.[citation needed] A treaty was finally concluded with the Nubians in 651–2, securing the southern frontier of Muslim rule in Egypt.[44]
In 645, the newly installedEastern Roman EmperorConstans II was determined to retake the land, and ordered a large fleet to carry troops to Alexandria. These troops, commanded by an Armenian eunuch named Manuel, took the city by surprise from its small Arab garrison towards the end of 645 in an amphibious attack - thus temporarily winning Alexandria back.[45]
Amr at the time might have been inMecca, and was quickly recalled to take command of the Arab forces in Egypt.[46] On returning to Egypt, he engaged the Byzantines at the small fortified town ofNikiou (Coptic:ⲡϣⲁϯPashati),[47] about two-thirds of the way from Alexandria toFustat,[48] with the Arab forces numbering around 15,000, against a smaller Byzantine force. The Arabs prevailed, and the Byzantine forces retreated in disarray, back to Alexandria.[49]
Although the Byzantines closed the gates against the pursuing Arabs, the city of Alexandria eventually fell to the Arabs, who stormed the city sometime in the summer of that year. Manuel himself died in the subsequent fighting. The defeat of Manuel's forces marked the last attempt by the Byzantine Empire to recapture Egypt for some 500 years, before EmperorManuel I Komnenos sent afailed expedition there in the 12th century.[50][51]
InThe Great Arab Conquests, Hugh Kennedy writes that Cyrus, the Roman governor, had exiled the Coptic patriarch,Benjamin. When 'Amr occupied Alexandria, a Coptic nobleman (duqs) called Sanutius persuaded him to send out a proclamation of safe conduct for Benjamin and an invitation to return to Alexandria. When Benjamin arrived, he was then instructed by the governor to resume control over theCoptic Church. He arranged for the restoration of the monasteries in theWadi Natrun, which had been ruined by theChalcedonean Christians; four of them still survive as functioning monasteries.[52]
On Benjamin's return, the Egyptian population also worked with him.[53] Kennedy wrote, "The pious biographer of Coptic patriarch Benjamin presents us with the striking image of the patriarch prayed for the success of the Muslim commander Amr against the Christians of the Cyrenaica. Benjamin survived for almost twenty years after the fall of Egypt to the Muslims, dying of full years and honour in 661. His body was laid to rest in themonastery of St Macarius, where he is still venerated as a saint. There can be no doubt that he played a major role in the survival of the Coptic Church".[52] Benjamin also prayed for 'Amr when he attempted to take Libya.[54]
Kennedy also wrote, "Even more striking is the verdict ofJohn of Nikiu. John was no admirer of Muslim government and was fierce in his denunciation, but he says of Amr: 'He extracted 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.... Of all the early Muslim conquests, that of Egypt was the swiftest and most complete. Within a space of two years the country had come entirely under Arab rule. Even more remarkably, it has remained under Muslim rule ever since. Seldom in history can so massive a political change have happened so swiftly and been so long lasting."[55]
The Coptic ChroniclerSeverus ibn al-Muqaffa claims that "The Arabs in the land of Egypt had ruined the country.… They burnt the fortresses and pillaged the provinces, and killed a multitude of the saintly monks who were in them and they violated a multitude of the virgin nuns and killed some of them with the sword."[56]"Egypt had become enslaved to Satan" concludesJohn of Nikiu.[3]
Uqba ibn Nafi then used Egypt as a launch pad to move across North Africa, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.[57] Kennedy wrote that when Uqba reached the Atlantic, he is said to have ridden his horse into the sea until the water was below his chest, and then shouted, 'O Lord, if the sea did not stop me, I would go through lands like Alexander the Great, defending your faith'. Kennedy writes further that the image of a warrior whose conquest in the name of God was stopped only by the ocean remains important in the history of the conquests.[58]
During the Egyptian campaign, Alexandria was the capital of Egypt. When Alexandria was captured by the Muslims, the houses vacated by the Byzantines were occupied by the Muslims, who were impressed and attracted by Alexandria, "the queen of cities". 'Amr wanted Alexandria to remain the capital of Muslim Egypt.[12] He wrote to 'Umar to propose that but 'Umar refused on the basis that Alexandria was amaritime city, and there would always be a danger that theByzantine Navy would attack.[16] He suggested instead for the capital would be established at a central location further inland, where no mass of water separated it from Arabia.[36]
As 'Amr's tent was to be the focal point of the city, the city was calledFustat, meaning in Arabic "the tent". The first structure to be built was themosque that later became famous asMosque of 'Amr ibn al-'As.[59] In the course of time, Fustat extended to include the old town of Babylon to the west, becoming the bustling commercial centre of Egypt.[36]
To consolidate his rule in Egypt, Umar imposed the jizya on Egyptians. During laterUmayyad rule, higher taxes would be levied. With Umar's permission, Amr decided to build acanal to join theNile with theRed Sea to open new markets for Egyptian merchants and an easy route to Arabia andIraq. The project was presented to Umar, who approved it. A canal was dug and, within a few months, was opened for merchants. It was named "Nahar Amir ul-Mu'mineen" (the canal of the Commander of the Faithful), after Umar's title.[36]
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