Arab conquest of Egypt
Arab conquest of Egypt | |||||||||
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Part of the Roman Theater in the city of Alexandria, Egypt | |||||||||
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Rashidun Caliphate |
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The Arab conquest of Egypt, led by the army of
Shortly before the Arab invasion,
During the mid-630s, the Romans had already
Background
Following the death of
After defeating the Byzantines at
After being convinced by Amr to proceed with the invasion, the caliph 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]
Rashidun invasion of Egypt
Crossing the Egyptian border
According to Arab sources, In December 639, 'Amr ibn al-'As left for Egypt with a force of 4,000 troops. Most of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of 'Ak, but
The messenger, 'Uqbah ibn 'Amr, caught up with Amr at
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
Conquest of Pelusium and Belbeis
In of December 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.[10][11][12][13][14][15]
The losses incurred by the Muslim army were ameliorated by the number of Sinai
The ease with which
After the fall of Pelusium, the Muslims marched to
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
Siege of Babylon Fortress
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.[5] The Muslims arrived at Babylon some time in May 640.[20]
Babylon was a fortified city, and the Romans 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 18 m (59 ft) high with walls more than 2 metres (6.6 feet) 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.[20]
Later the same month, 'Amr sent a detachment to raid the city of
When news of John's death reached Augustalis Theodorus, the commander of the garrison at Babylon, ‘his lamentations were more grievous than
Reinforcements from Madinah
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 the
'Umar had also offered Zubayr the chief command and governorship of Egypt, but Zubayr had declined. The column commanders included
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.' [21]
Battle of Heliopolis
When Zubayr arrived, he pointed out to ‘Amr that the Roman-garrisoned city of
The Muslim army reached Heliopolis, 15 km (10 mi) from 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.[27] 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.[24]
Conquering of Fayoum and Babylon
When news of the Muslims' victory at
Emissaries were exchanged between Theodorus and 'Amr, leading to 'Amr meeting Theodorus 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, Theodorus and his army managed to slip away to the island of Rauda during the night, whence they continued to fight the Muslims.[29]
The final assault of the Muslims was on
Surrender of Thebaid (Southeastern Egypt)
On 22 December, Cyrus of Alexandria entered a treaty with the Muslims,[30] 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.[20] The treaty was subject to the approval of the emperor Heraclius, but Cyrus stipulated that even if the emperor repudiated the treaty, he and the Egyptians, would honour its terms.[31] Cyrus asked Heraclius to ratify the treaty and offered an argument in support. 'Amr submitted a detailed report to Umar recommending ratification.[20] He desired that as soon as the reactions of Heraclius were known, he should be informed so that further necessary instructions could be issued promptly.[30] Upon hearing about this, Heraclius was furious and sent Cyrus a letter full of insults, calling him an abject coward and a heathen and asking whether 100,000 Romans were a match for 12,000 barbarians.[21]
March to Alexandria
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.[30] 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 the Nile.[20] 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 to
Now 30 km (19 mi) 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 mi) 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.[6] 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]
Conquest of Alexandria and fall of Egypt
The Muslims laid siege to Alexandria in March 641.[31] The city was heavily fortified and provisioned: there were walls within walls and forts within forts. The city also had direct access to the sea by which men and supplies from Constantinople could come at any time.[citation needed]
There was much enmity between the Roman leaders at Alexandria. Theodorus was the commander-in-chief of the Romans in Alexandria, and the only other commander there seems to have been Domentianus. Among the civilians in Alexandria were two men of high rank: the non-Chalcedonian Menas, who was at opposition with Domentianus as both of them competed for power, and Philiades, the brother of Patriarch George I of Alexandria. Domentianus was feuding with both of these men, as well as with Cyrus, his own half-brother. Menas was also furious with Eudocianus for torturing the Coptic prisoners in Babylon. In addition, Theodorus was disgusted by Domentianus’ flight and abandonment of his troops, and took the side of Menas in their dispute. To help with the war effort, Menas recruited all the Greens in Alexandria, while Domentianus recruited all the Blues. These two factions immediately began infighting, and it was with great difficulty that Theodorus managed to stop them. He then demoted Domentianus from his rank of decurion, replacing him with Artana.[22][8]
As 'Amr surveyed the military situation, he felt that the conquest of Alexandria would be difficult.[30] The Byzantines had high stakes in Alexandria and were determined to offer stiff resistance to the Muslims. They mounted catapults on the walls of the city, and the engines effectively pounded the Muslims with boulders, prompting 'Amr to withdraw out of range. The ensuing battle see-sawed:[6] when the Muslims approached the city, they were pelted with missiles, and, when the Byzantines sallied from the fort, they were invariably beaten back by the Muslims.
It is said[
On behalf of the Egyptians, Cyrus of Alexandria sued for peace, and his request was granted. Both 'Amr and 'Ubaidah intended to sack the city, according to both Roman and Arabic sources, and felt that they had the right to do so as the city had not only resisted, but done so with great force. Cyrus convinced the Arab leaders that the city's monstrously high tax revenue would serve the Caliphate far better than any sack of the city would. In order to justify his denial of the sack to his troops and to the Caliph, 'Amr is reported[by whom?] to have written to 'Umar, "We have conquered Alexandria. In this city there are 4,000 palaces, 400 places of entertainment, and untold wealth."[citation needed]
After Cyrus had convinced the city's inhabitants to accept terms, a treaty was agreed on 28 November 641. The city was to pay a tribute and there was an eleven-month truce until September 642. The tribute was collected and paid on 10 December 641.[32] In the aftermath, 'Amr's forces moved through Middle Egypt and the northern parts of the Nile Delta, encountering no serious resistance. The last Byzantine troops in Alexandria finally left on 17 September 642 and 'Amr entered the city without no further opposition on 29 September.[33] The surrender of Alexandria in 641–642 marked the effective end of Byzantine resistance and the beginning of Muslim rule in Egypt.[34][35][36][37][38]
On the twentieth of Maskaram (approximately September 18 according to the Julian calendar), the Byzantine general, Theodorus, and all of his troops proceeded to the island of
Invasion of Nubia
In the summer of 642, 'Amr ibn al-'As sent an expedition to the Christian kingdom of
The Nubian cavalry displayed remarkable speed,[18] 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,[30] 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.[41]
Byzantine counterattack
In 645, the newly installed
Amr at the time might have been in Mecca, and was quickly recalled to take command of the Arab forces in Egypt.[43] On returning to Egypt, he engaged the Byzantines at the small fortified town of Nikiou (Coptic: ⲡϣⲁϯ Pashati),[44] about two-thirds of the way from Alexandria to Fustat,[45] 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.[46]
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. The defeat of Manuel's forces marked the last attempt by the Byzantine Empire to recapture Egypt for some 500 years, with only Emperor
Egypt under Muslim rule
In The Great Arab Conquests, Hugh Kennedy writes that Cyrus, the Roman governor, had exiled the Coptic patriarch,
On Benjamin's return, the Egyptian population also worked with him.
Kennedy also wrote, "Even more striking is the verdict of
The Coptic Chronicler
Uqba ibn Nafi then used Egypt as a launch pad to move across North Africa, all the way to the Atlantic Ocean.[55] 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.[56]
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.
As 'Amr's tent was to be the focal point of the city, the city was called
'Umar's reforms
To consolidate his rule in Egypt, 'Umar imposed the jizya on Egyptians. During later
See also
- Islamization of Egypt
- Aegyptus (Roman province)
- Muslim conquests
- Byzantine-Arab Wars
- Umayyad conquest of North Africa
- Spread of Islam
References
- ^ a b c d e Sijpesteijn 2007, p. 440.
- ^ Haykal 1944, ch. 18
- ^ James Lindsay. Daily Life in The Medieval Islamic World. (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press,1957) Pg 3
- ^ Khalil I. Semaan. Islam and the Medieval West. (Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1980) Pg 4
- ^ a b c Haykal 1944, chpt. 19
- ^ a b c d e Al-Maqrizi, Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar.
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar, p. 231
- ^ a b c Butcher, Edith Louisa (1897). The Story of the Church of Egypt: An Outline Of The History Of The Egyptians Under Their Successive Masters From The Roman Conquest Until Now. London, United Kingdom: Smith, Elder, & Company.
- ISBN 978-0-521-20160-5.
- ^ Al-Kamil, pp. 451–452
- ^ Al-Gawzi, Al-Montazim, pp. 532–534
- al-Tabari, History of the Kings, p. 862
- Abu Salih the Armenian, The churches and monasteries of Egypt and some neighbouring countries, tr. B.T.A.Evetts, p. 168
- ^ Butler 1902, p. 234
- ^ Kamil Salih, Pope Benjamin the First and the Arab invasion of Egypt, p. 65
- ^ a b Butler 1902, p. 213
- ^ Al-Maqrizi, Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al-'athar
- ^ a b c "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Cyrus of Alexandria". Archived from the original on 24 March 2011. Retrieved 8 October 2005.
- ^ Butler 1902, p. 216
- ^ a b c d e f g h Butler 1902
- ^ ISBN 1724498029.
- ^ a b c "John, Bishop of Nikiu: Chronicle. London (1916). English Translation". tertullian.org.
- ^ Butler 1902, pp. 254–255
- ^ ISBN 978-1-108-84490-1, retrieved 12 October 2023
- ^ Raymond, Andre, Cairo, transl. Willard Wood, (Harvard University Press, 2000), p. 10.
- ^ Butler 1902, p. 258
- ^ Butler 1902, p. 263
- ^ Butler 1902, p. 264
- ^ Haykal 1944, chpt. 21
- ^ a b c d e f g h Haykal 1944, chpt. 22
- ^ a b "Omar (634-644)", The Islamic World to 1600 Multimedia History Tutorials by the Applied History Group, University of Calgary. Last accessed 20 Oct 2006
- ^ Kennedy 2007, p. 159.
- ^ Kennedy 2007, pp. 159–160.
- ISBN 978-0-521-06885-7.
At the end of the year 30 (November 641) a treaty was made in which the Byzantines agreed to give up the city by Shawwal 21/September 642. This meant the end of serious resistance: it was now up to the small army of conquerors to establish a working government over the rich lands they had so swiftly acquired.
- ^ Kennedy 2007, p. 160 "The last Byzantine troops under Theodore set sail for Cyprus on 17 September and the final act was played out when, at the end of the eleven-month truce, Amr formally entered the city without meeting any resistance on 29 September. A thousand years of Graeco-Roman rule were at an end."
- ISBN 978-0-19-991636-8.
Cyrus died not long afterward, the following Easter, and so he did not live to see the handover of Alexandria, which happened in accordance with the treaty at the end of September in the year 642. Theodore left the city with his troops and officers and 'Amr made his entry without any obstruction. Looking back, the event seems momentous, marking the end of a millennium of Greco-Roman dominion over Egypt and the beginning of an even longer period of Muslim rule, [...]
- ISBN 978-1-139-46327-0.
By 641 Byzantine attempts to recapture Egypt had failed and the whole of Egypt was incorporated within the expanding Arab empire.
- ISBN 978-1-134-66691-1.
The Arab conquest of Egypt (completed by 642) prompted a sharp political break rom Byzantine rule, [...]
- ^ Kaegli, Walter. Heraclius: Emperor of Byzantium.
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- ^ Sijpesteijn 2007, p. 441.
- ISBN 9781907795633. Retrieved 22 October 2016.
- ISBN 9781858289403. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "أسماء بعض البلاد المصرية بالقبطية". st-takla.org (in Arabic).
- ISBN 9781438109077. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ISBN 9781848846128. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "An Online Encyclopedia of Roman Emperors". Roman Emperors. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ "Manuel I Comnenus". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
- ^ a b Kennedy 2007, p. 164
- ^ Kennedy 2007, p. 167
- ^ Kennedy 2007, p. 163
- ^ Kennedy 2007, p. 165
- ISBN 9780524081556.
- ISBN 9781643787619.
- ^ Kennedy 2007, p. 212
- ^ Kennedy 2007, p. 214
- ^ "John, Bishop of Nikiu: Chronicle. London (1916). English Translation". www.tertullian.org.
Sources
- Butler, Alfred (1902). The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last Thirty Years of the Roman Dominion. Oxford: Clarendon Press. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 9780198216780.
- Haykal, Muhammad Husayn(1944). Al Farooq, Umar.
- ISBN 978-0-306-81740-3.
- ISBN 9780521871372.
Further reading
- Betts, Robert B. (1978). Christians in the Arab East: A Political Study (2nd rev. ed.). Athens: Lycabettus Press. ISBN 9780804207966.
- ISBN 9781889758879.
- ISBN 9780881410563.
- Ostrogorsky, George (1956). History of the Byzantine State. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.
- ISBN 978-0-19-967390-2.
External links
- Gibbon, Edward. "51". History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011.
- Nikiou, Bishop John, "CXVI–CXXI", The Chronicle of John, Bishop of Nikiu