Arab conquest of Egypt

In 640, Heraclius was the Byzantine emperor, Cyrus of Alexandria was both the governor of Egypt (praefectus Aegypti) and the government-appointed Chalcedonian Patriarch of Alexandria, while Theodore was the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army in the province. The majority of the Egyptians were non-Chalcedonian Oriental Christians, and instead recognised Pope Benjamin I as their rightful Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria. Since the time of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I, Egypt was administratively divided into four provinces under the control of the general ruler of the East in Constantinople. These provinces were Aigyptiaca (Alexandria and the western Delta), Augustamnica (the eastern Delta until Arish in northern Sinai), Arcadia (Middle Egypt to Oxyrhynchus) and Thebaid (Upper Egypt starting at Hermopolis). 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 the Sasanian invasion (618–621 AD) and the Arab invasion (641 AD). 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. After defeating the Byzantines at Yarmuk (636 AD) and the Persians at Qadisiyah (637 AD), the gaze of the Arab generals turned towards the riches of Byzantine Africa. After the Siege of Jerusalem, it was Amr ibn al-As who suggested an invasion of Egypt to the Caliph Umar, being familiar with the country's prosperity both from visiting it as a merchant and from leading the expedition to Gaza in 637. 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." 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. For three years after the Muslim conquest of the Levant, Cyrus had been paying them tribute not to invade Egypt. ==Rashidun invasion of Egypt==

Crossing the Egyptian border 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 from Yemen. Most of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of 'Ak, but Al-Kindi mentioned that one third of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of Ghafik. The Arab army also contained many apostates whom the Caliph Abu Bakr forced back into Islam during the Ridda Wars. 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. However, Umar, the Muslim caliph, 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. The messenger, Uqba ibn Amir, caught up with Amr at Rafah, 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 of El Arish, which Amr knew to be beyond the Egyptian border. 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. 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. On Eid al-Adha, the Muslim army marched from Shajratein to El Arish, However, Alfred J. Butler dismisses Armenousa's story as a myth. The losses incurred by the Muslim army were ameliorated by the number of Sinai Bedouins, who, taking the initiative, had joined them in conquering Egypt. The Bedouins belonged to the tribes of Rashidah and Lakhm. The ease with which Pelusium 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 the Greek Patriarch of Alexandria (not the one recognised by most of the population, who was Pope Benjamin I). After the fall of Pelusium, the Muslims marched to Belbeis, 65 km (40 mi) from Memphis 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, accompanied by Cyrus of Alexandria and the famous Roman general Aretion, came out to negotiate with 'Amr ibn al-'As. Aretion had been the Byzantine governor of Jerusalem, but had gone to Egypt shortly after losing the Battle of Ajnadayn. 'Amr gave them three options: convert to Islam, pay the jizya, or fight. They requested three days to reflect and then, according to Al-Tabari, requested two extra days. 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 the Babylon 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 via Hajar. When the Egyptians refused, the siege resumed until the city fell around the end of March 640. Babylon was a fortified city, and Theodore had indeed prepared it for a siege. Outside the city, a ditch 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 high with walls more than thick and studded with numerous towers and bastions 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. The Arabs then noticed that John, with a small group of 50 men, had been following them. John and his men retreated to their base at Abûît, but their hiding place was betrayed by a Bedouin chief and they were all killed. When news of John's death reached Theodore, who was commanding the garrison at Babylon, 'his lamentations were more grievous than the lamentations of David over Saul when he said: "How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"' as John of Nikiu puts it. Battle of Heliopolis When Zubayr arrived, he pointed out to 'Amr that the Roman-garrisoned city of Heliopolis 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. The city boasted the Sun Temple of the Pharaohs and grandiose monuments and learning institutions. 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 of Abbaseya. The engagement was not decisive, but it resulted in the occupation of the fortress located between the current neighborhoods of Abdyn and Azbakeya. The defeated Byzantine soldiers retreated to either the Babylon Fortress or the fortress of Nikiû. 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. Conquering of Fayoum and Babylon in Old Cairo When news of the Muslims' victory at Heliopolis 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 the Nile to invade Fayoum and Abuit, capturing the entire province of Fayoum with practically no resistance. Fayoum's population was enslaved, and the city was looted (the traditional fate of cities that had resisted). 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. During this time, Theodore assembled an army in the Nile Delta and put two generals in charge of defending Samannud. 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 the Nile Delta, they retreated back to Babylon. However, Theodore was unable to follow up this victory by recapturing Babylon. recognizing Muslim sovereignty over the whole of Egypt and effectively over Thebaid, and agreeing to pay Jizya at the rate of 2 diners per male adult. 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 to Constantinople. 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. March to Alexandria in Alexandria (present-day archeological site of Kom El Deka) 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. However, the captain of the ship claimed the wind was contrary to him, and Theodore was stuck with Cyrus. They returned to Alexandria on September 14, 641, the Feast of the Cross. was carried with Cyrus and Theodore. The procession passed between Cleopatra's Needles and entered the Caesareum Church, where a liturgy was prayed. The Psalm reading of the day was , 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 the discovery 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. ==Invasion of Nubia==

In the summer of 642, 'Amr ibn al-'As sent an expedition to the Christian kingdom of Nubia, which bordered Egypt to the south, under the command of his cousin 'Uqba ibn Nafi as a pre-emptive raid to announce the arrival of new rulers in Egypt. 'Uqba 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 only skirmishes and haphazard engagements, the type of warfare in which the Nubians excelled. The Nubian cavalry displayed remarkable speed, 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. 'Uqba reported that to 'Amr, who ordered 'Uqba to withdraw from Nubia, terminating the expedition. A treaty was finally concluded with the Nubians in 651–2, securing the southern frontier of Muslim rule in Egypt. ==Byzantine counterattack==

The caliph Umar was assassinated on 6 November 644, with one of his last acts being to reduce Amr's governorship to only Upper Egypt and give Lower Egypt to Abdallah ibn Sa'd. Umar's successor Uthman completed Amr's demotion by removing him altogether, making Abdallah the governor of all Egypt. Abdallah was deeply unpopular, with al-Tabari saying "Of all the wakils of Uthman, the worst was Abdallah, governor of Egypt". His first action was to raise taxes on Alexandrians. Some sent letters of complaint to the newly installed Byzantine emperor Constans II, mentioning that the Alexandria was only guarded by about 1000 Arab soldiers and could easily be taken. After receiving these letters, Constans sent a large fleet of 300 ships to retake Egypt towards the end of 645. These troops, commanded by an Armenian eunuch named Manuel, landed without resistance and easily overpowered small Arab garrison at Alexandria - thus temporarily winning the city back. At the time, Amr was in Mecca, where Uthman had recalled him. When Uthman heard of the Byzantine landing and Abdallah's failure to oppose it, he sent Amr to take command of the Arab forces in Egypt. On returning to Egypt, he engaged the Byzantines at the Battle of Nikiou ( Pashati), about two-thirds of the way from Alexandria to Fustat, 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. The Byzantines closed the city gates behind them, but the Arabs managed to batter the walls down and storm the city. Manuel himself died in the subsequent fighting, along with many of his soldiers. The Arabs then engaged in widespread burning, looting and slaughter. They also captured many Alexandrian women and children as slaves. The church of Saint Mark in Baucalis, where his relics had been kept, was burned, as were all the convents around it. The defeat of Manuel's forces marked the last attempt by the Byzantine Empire to recapture Egypt for some 500 years, before Emperor Manuel I Komnenos sent a failed expedition there in the 12th century. ==Egypt under Arab rule==

In The 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 the Coptic Church. He arranged for the restoration of the monasteries in the Wadi Natrun, which had been ruined by the Chalcedonean Christians; four of them still survive as functioning monasteries. On Benjamin's return, the Egyptian population also worked with him. 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 the monastery 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". Kennedy also wrote, "Even more striking is the verdict of John 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." The Coptic Chronicler Severus 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.""Egypt had become enslaved to Satan" concludes John of Nikiu. 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. Fustat, the new capital 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. In the course of time, Fustat extended to include the old town of Babylon to the west, becoming the bustling commercial centre of Egypt. Umar's reforms To consolidate his rule in Egypt, Umar imposed the jizya on Egyptians. During later Umayyad rule, higher taxes would be levied. With Umar's permission, Amr decided to build a canal to join the Nile with the Red Sea to open new markets for Egyptian merchants and an easy route to Arabia and Iraq. 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. ==See also==