Muslim conquest of Egypt

At the commencement of the Muslim conquest of

Egypt, Egypt was part of the Byzantine/Eastern Roman Empire, which had its capital at Constantinople.
Egypt had been conquered just a decade before by the
Persian Empire under Khosrau II (616 to 629 AD); however, Emperor Heraclius re-captured it after a series of
campaigns against the Sassanid Persians, only to lose it
to the Muslim Rashidun army ten years later. Before
the Muslim conquest of Egypt had begun, the Eastern
Romans had already lost the Levant and its Arab ally,
the Ghassanid Kingdom, to the Muslims. All of this
left the Eastern Roman Empire dangerously exposed and
vulnerable.[1]

he would receive the caliphs letter from him when the

army had halted after the days journey. 'Uqbah, being
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.[3] 'Amr then received and read 'Umars 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 started 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,[2] a small town lacking a gar1 Rashidun invasion of Egypt
rison. The town put up no resistance, and the citizens offered allegiance on the usual terms. The Muslim soldiers
1.1 Rashidun army crossing the Egyptian celebrated the Eid festival there.

border
1.2 Conquest of Pelusium and Belbeis
In the later part of December 639 or in early January
640, the Muslim army reached Pelusium, an Eastern
Roman garrison city that was considered Egypts eastern gate at the time. The Muslim siege of the town
dragged on for two months. In February 640, an assault group led by a prominent eld commander Huzaifah ibn Wala successfully assaulted and captured the fort
and city.[4][5][6][7][8][9] Armanousa, the daughter of Cyrus
who ercely resisted the Muslims in Pelusium and fell
hostage in their hands, was sent to her father in the Babylon Fortress.[10]
Pyramids of Giza.

The losses incurred by the Arab Muslim army were ameliorated by the number of Sinai Bedouins who, taking
the initiative, had joined them in conquering Egypt.[11]
These Bedouins belonged to the tribes of Rashidah and
Lakhm[12] The ease with which Pelusium fell to the Muslim Arabs, and the lack of Byzantine reinforcements to
aid the city during the month-long siege, is often attributed to the treachery of the Egyptian governor, Cyrus,
who was also the Melchite (i.e., ByzantineChalcedonian
Diaphysite) Patriarch of Alexandria.[13][11]

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, although Al-Kindi mentions that
one third of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of
Ghak. The Arab soldiers were also joined by some Roman and Persian converts to Islam. However, 'Umar, the
Muslim caliph, reconsidered his orders to Amr, thinking
it foolhardy to expect to conquer such a large country as
Egypt with a mere 4,000 soldiers. Accordingly, he wrote After the fall of Pelusium, the Muslims marched to
a letter to 'Amr commanding him to come back.[2]
Bilbeis, 40 miles from Memphis via desert roads and beThe messenger, 'Uqbah ibn 'Amr, caught up with Amr sieged it. Belbeis was the rst place in Egypt where the
at Rafah, a little short of the Egyptian frontier. Guess- Byzantines showed some measure of resistance towards
ing what might be in the letter, 'Amr ordered the army the Arab invaders. Two Christian monks accompanied
to quicken its pace. Turning to 'Uqbah, 'Amr said that by Cyrus of Alexandria and the famous Roman general
1

1 RASHIDUN INVASION OF EGYPT

Aretion came out to negotiate with 'Amr ibn al-'As. Aretion was previously the Byzantine governor of Jerusalem,
and had ed to Egypt when the city fell to the Muslims.
'Amr gave them three options: to either convert to Islam, to pay Jizya, or to ght the Muslims. They requested
three days to reect, then - as mentioned by al-Tabari requested two extra days. At the end of the ve days,
the two monks and the general decided to reject Islam
and Jizya and ght the Muslims. They thus disobeyed
their ruler, Cyrus of Alexandria, who wanted to surrender and pay Jizya. Cyrus subsequently left for the Babylon
Fortress, while the two monks and Aretion decided to
ght the Arabs. The ght resulted in the victory of the
latter and the death of Aretion. '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 Hagar.[14] When the
Egyptians refused, the siege of Bilbeis was continued until the city fell after a month. Towards the end of March
640, the city surrendered to the Muslims.[13] With the fall
of Belbeis, the Arabs were only one day away from the
head of the Delta.

1.3

Siege of Babylon

Map detailing the route of the Muslims invasion of Egypt.

Amr had visualized that the conquest of Egypt would be

a walkover. This expectation turned out to be wrong.
Even at the outposts of Pelusium and Bilbeis, the Muslims had met sti resistance. The siege of Pelusium had
lasted for two months and that of Bilbeis for one month.
Both battles were preludes to the siege of Babylon, which
was a larger and more important city. Here, resistance on
a larger scale was expected.[15] After the fall of Bilbeis,
the Muslims advanced to Babylon, near modern Cairo.
The Muslims arrived at Babylon some time in May 640
AD.[16] Babylon was a fortied city, and the Romans had
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 of Babylon some time in May 640. The fort was
a massive structure 60 ft. high with walls more than 6
ft. thick and studded with numerous towers and bastions.

A Muslim force of some 4,000 men unsuccessfully attacked the Roman positions. Early Muslim sources place
the strength of the Byzantine force in Babylon about six
times the strength of the Muslim force. For the next two
months, ghting remained inconclusive, with the Byzantines having the upper hand by repulsing every Muslim
assault.[17]
Some time in May 640 AD, 'Amr sent a detachment to
raid the city of Fayoum. The Byzantines had anticipated
this and had therefore strongly guarded the roads leading to the city. They had also fortied their garrison in
the nearby town of Lahun. When the Muslim Arabs realized that Fayoum was too strong for them to invade, they
headed towards the Western Desert, where they looted
all the cattle and animals they could. They subsequently
headed to Oxyrhynchus (Per-Medjed), which was defeated. The Arabs then returned to Lower Egypt down
the River Nile.[18]
1.3.1 Reinforcements from Madinah
In July, 'Amr wrote to 'Umar requesting reinforcement;
but before the letter reached him, the caliph had already dispatched the rst reinforcement, which was 4,000
strong. The army was composed mostly of the veterans of the Syrian campaigns. Even with these reinforcements, 'Amr was unsuccessful. By August 640,
'Umar had assembled another 4,000 strong force, which
consisted of four columns, each of 1,000 elite men.
Zubair ibn al-Awam, a renowned warrior and commander, veteran of the Battle of Yarmouk and once a part of
Khalid ibn Walid's elite mobile guard, was appointed the
supreme commander of army - 'Umar had indeed oered
Zubair the chief command and governorship of Egypt,
but Zubair had declined. The column commanders included Miqdad ibn al-Aswad, Ubaidah ibn as-Samit, and
Kharijah ibn Huzaifah. These reinforcements arrived at
Babylon sometime in September 640. The total strength
of the Muslim force now rose to 12,000, quite a modest
strength to resume the oensive.[3]
1.3.2 Battle of Heliopolis
Ten miles from Babylon was Heliopolis.[19] The Muslim
army reached Heliopolis in July 640.[20] It was the city of
the Sun Temple of the Pharaohs, and was famous for its
grandiose monuments and learning institutions.[21] There
was the danger that forces from Heliopolis could attack
the Muslims from the ank while they were engaged with
the Roman army at Babylon. With some detachments,
'Amr and Zubair marched to Heliopolis. There was a cavalry clash near the current neighbourhood of Abbaseya.
The engagement was not decisive, although it resulted in
the occupation of the fortress located between the current neighbourhoods of Abdyn and Azbakeya. The defeated Byzantine soldiers retreated to either the Babylon Fortress or the fortress of Niki.[22] At an unguarded

1.5

March to Alexandria

point of the wall of Heliopolis, Zubair and some of his

picked soldiers scaled the wall of the city, and after overpowering the guards, opened the gates for the main Muslim army to enter the city. Heliopolis was thus captured
by the Muslims. 'Amr and Zubair returned to Babylon.
1.3.3

Conquering of Fayoum and Babylon

When news of the Muslims victory at Heliopolis reached

Fayoum, its Byzantine garrison under the command of
Domentianus evacuated the city during the night and ed
to Abuit. From Abuit, they ed down the Nile to Nikiu
without informing the people of Fayoum and Abuit that
they were abandoning their cities to the enemy. When
news of this reached 'Amr, he ordered a body of his
troops to cross the Nile and invade Fayoum and Abuit.
The Muslim soldiers captured the entire province of Fayoum without any resistance from the Byzantines.[23]
The Byzantine garrison at Babylon had grown bolder than
ever before and had begun to sally forth across the ditch,
though with little success. There had been a stalemate between the Muslim and Byzantine forces at Babylon, until
the Muslim commanders devised an ingenious strategy
and inicted heavy casualties on the Byzantine forces by
encircling them from three sides during one of their sallies. The Byzantines were able to retreat back to the fort,
but were left too weak for any further oensive action.
This situation forced the Byzantines to negotiate with the
Muslims. The Byzantine general Theodorus shifted his
headquarters to the Isle of Rauda, whilst Cyrus of Alexandria, popularly known as Muqawqis in Muslim history,
entered into negotiations with the Muslims, which failed
to give any productive results. Emissaries were also exchanged between Theodorus and 'Amr, leading to 'Amr
meeting Theodorus in person. After fruitless negotiations, the Muslims acted on 20 December, when, in a
night assault, a company of hand picked warriors led by
Zubair managed to scale the wall, kill the guards and open
the gates for the Muslim army to enter. The city of Babylon was captured by the Muslims on 21 December 640,
using tactics similar to those used by Khalid ibn Walid at
Damascus. However Theodorus and his army managed
to slip away to the island of Rauda during the night.[24]

1.4

3
Muslims and pay them Jizya.[27] Cyrus submitted a report to Heraclius and asked for his approval to the terms
of the treaty. He also oered reasons in justication of
the acceptance of the terms of the treaty. 'Amr submitted a detailed report to 'Umar and asked for his further
instructions. When 'Umar received this report, he wrote
back to say that he approved of the terms provided Heraclius agreed to submit to them.[28] 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.[29] Heracliuss reaction to Cyruss report
was violent. He removed him from the viceroyship of
Egypt, but he remained the Head of the Coptic Church:
this was a matter in which the emperor could not interfere.
Heraclius sent strict orders to the commander-in-chief of
the Byzantine forces in Egypt that the Muslims should be
driven out from Egypt. Cyrus waited on 'Amr and told
him that Heraclius had repudiated the treaty of Babylon.
He assured 'Amr that so far as the Copts were concerned
the terms of the treaty would be followed. 'Amr reported
these developments to 'Umar. 'Umar desired that, before
the Byzantines could gather further strength, the Muslims
should strike at them and drive them from Alexandria. It
is recorded that Cyrus requested three favors from the
Muslims, namely:
1. Do not break your treaty with the Copts;
2. If the Byzantines after this repudiation ask for
peace, do not make peace with them, but treat them
as captives and slaves; and
3. When I am dead allow me to be buried in the Church
of St. John at Alexandria.[3][30]
This position was to the advantage of the Muslims, as the
Copts were the natives of the land of Egypt and[31] both
the Byzantines and the Muslims were strangers. Though
some Copts from personal considerations continued to
support the Byzantines, the sympathies of the Copts were
now, by and large, with the Muslims. The Copts were not
supposed to ght against the Byzantines on behalf of the
Muslims, but they undertook to help the Muslims in the
promotion of war eort and in the provision of stores,
build roads and bridges for them, and provide them moral
support.[32]

Surrender of Thebaid (Southeastern

Egypt)
1.5 March to Alexandria

On 22 December, Cyrus of Alexandria entered into

a treaty with the Muslims.[25] By the treaty, Muslim
sovereignty over the whole of Egypt, and eectively on
Thebaid, was recognized, and the Egyptians agreed to pay
Jizya at the rate of 2 diners per male adult.[26] 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 Copts of whom he was the High Priest
would honor its terms, recognize the supremacy of the

The Byzantine commanders knew that the next target of

the Muslims would be Alexandria. They accordingly prepared for the expected siege of the city. Their strategy
was to keep the Muslims away from Alexandria by destroying their power through continued sallies and attacks
from the fort. Even if this did not keep them away, it
would weaken them morally and physically. It would be
more of a war of patience than strength.[33] In February
641, 'Amr set o for Alexandria from Babylon with his

1 RASHIDUN INVASION OF EGYPT

Kirayun and reached the outskirts of Alexandria in March
641 AD.

1.6 Conquest of Alexandria and fall of

Egypt
Main article: Siege of Alexandria 641

Ancient Roman theaters in Alexandria.

army. All along the road from Babylon to Alexandria,

the Byzantines had left regiments to delay, and if possible, inict losses on the advancing Muslims. On the third
day of their march from Babylon the Muslims advance
guard encountered a Byzantine detachment at Tarnut on
the west bank of the Nile.[34] The Byzantines failed to inict heavy losses, but they were able to delay the advance
by one more day. The Muslim commanders decided to
halt the main army at Tarnut and send the advance guard
cavalry forward to clear the way from the possible Byzantine detachments. This was done so that the main army
could reach Alexandria as soon as possible without being delayed by Byzantine regiments mid-way. Twenty
miles from Tarnut, the Byzantine detachment that had
withdrawn from Tarnut the day before, joined the detachment already present at Shareek to form a strong oensive force. They attacked and routed the Muslim advance
guard. The next day, before the Byzantines could resume
their oensive to annihilate the Muslim advance guard
completely, the main Muslim army arrived, prompting
the Byzantines to withdraw. At this point the Muslim
commanders decided not to send forward the advance
guard, so the whole army marched forward, beginning
the following day. The Muslims reached Sulteis where
they encountered a Byzantine detachment. Hard ghting
followed, but the Byzantine resistance soon broke down
and they withdrew to Alexandria. The Muslims halted
at Sulteis for a day. Alexandria was still two days march
from Sulteis. After one days march the Muslim forces arrived at Kirayun, twelve miles from Alexandria. Here the
Muslim advance to Alexandria was blocked by a Byzantine detachment about 20,000 strong. The strategy of the
Byzantines was that either the Muslims would be driven
away before they actually arrived at Alexandria, or that
they would be as weak as possible if they did. The two
armies were deployed and ghting followed, but action
remained indecisive,.[3] This state of aairs persisted for
ten days. On the tenth day the Muslims launched a vigorous assault. The Byzantines were defeated and they retreated to Alexandria. The way to Alexandria was now
cleared, and the Muslim forces resumed the march from

The Muslims laid siege to Alexandria in March 641

AD.[35] The city was heavily fortied: there were walls
within walls, and forts within forts. There was no dearth
of provisions and food supply in the city. The city also
had direct access to the sea, and through the sea route
help from Constantinople in the form of men and supplies could come at any time.
As 'Amr surveyed the military situation, he felt that
Alexandria would be a hard nut to crack.[36] The Byzantines had high stakes in Alexandria, and they were determined to oer sti resistance to the Muslims. They
mounted catapults on the walls of the city, and these engines pounded the Muslims with boulders. This caused
considerable damage to the Muslims and 'Amr ordered
his men back from the advance position so that they might
be beyond the range of the missiles. A see-saw war
followed.[3] When the Muslims tried to go close to the
city they were hit with missiles. When the Byzantines
sallied from the fort, they were invariably beaten back by
the Muslims.
It is said that Heraclius, the Byzantine emperor, collected a large army at Constantinople. He intended to
march at the head of these reinforcements personally to
Alexandria. But before he could nalize the arrangements, he died. The troops mustered at Constantinople dispersed, and consequently no help came to Alexandria. This further demoralized the Byzantines. The siege
dragged on for six months, and in Madinah 'Umar got
impatient. In a letter addressed to 'Amr, the caliph expressed his concern at the inordinate delay in the invasion of Egypt. He further instructed that the new eld
commander would be 'Ubaidah, and he would launch an
assault on the fort of Alexandria. 'Ubaidahs assault was
successful and Alexandria was captured by the Muslims
in September 641. Thousands of Byzantine soldiers were
killed or taken captive while others managed to ee to
Constantinople on ships that had been anchored in the
port. Some wealthy traders also left.[37]
On behalf of the Egyptians, Cyrus of Alexandria sued for
peace, and his request was granted. After the invasion of
Egypt 'Amr is reported to have written to Caliph 'Umar:
The permanent loss of Egypt meant a loss of a huge
amount of Byzantiums food and money. The loss of
Egypt and Syria, followed later by the invasion of the
Exarchate of Africa also meant that the Mediterranean,
long referred to as the Roman lake, was now contested between two powers: the Muslim Caliphate and the

5
Byzantine Empire. In these events, the Byzantine Empire, although sorely tested, would be able to hold on to
Anatolia, while the mighty walls of Constantinople would
save it during two great Arab sieges, from the fate of the
Persian Empire.[38]
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 eet sent by Constans II was
repulsed. From that time no serious eort was made by
the Byzantines to regain possession of the country.

Invasion of Nubia

The land of Nubia lay to the south of Egypt. It stretched

from Aswan to Khartoum and from the Red Sea to the
Libyan Desert. The Nubians were Christians and were
ruled by a king. The capital of the kingdom was Dongola.
In the summer of 642, 'Amr ibn al-'As sent an expedition
to Nubia under the command of his cousin 'Uqbah ibn
Na. The expedition was ordered by 'Amr on his own
account. It was not a whole scale invasion but merely
a pre-emptive raid to show the arrival of a new ruling
in Egypt to the bordering kingdoms.[39] 'Uqbah ibn Na,
who later made a great name for himself as the Conqueror
of Africa, and led his horse to the Atlantic came in for an
unhappy experience in Nubia. In Nubia, no pitched battle was fought. There were only skirmishes and haphazard engagements and in such type of warfare the Nubians
excelled at. They were skilful archers and subjected the
Muslims to a merciless barrage of arrows. These arrows
were aimed at the eyes and in the encounter 250 Muslims
lost their eyes.
The Nubians were very fast in their movements.[13] The
Muslim cavalry was known for its speed and mobility, but
it was no match for the Nubian horse riders. The Nubians would strike hard against the Muslims, and then
vanish before the Muslims could recover their balance
and take counter action. The hit-and-run raids by the
Nubians caused considerable damage to the Muslims.
'Uqbah wrote to 'Amr of this state of aairs.[40] He said
that the Nubians avoided pitched battle, and in the guerilla
tactics that they followed the Muslims suered badly.
'Uqbah further came to know that Nubia was a very poor
land, and there was nothing therein worth ghting for.
Thereupon 'Amr ordered 'Uqbah to withdraw from Nubia. 'Uqbah accordingly pulled out of Nubia with his
forces.

Conquest of North Africa

After the preemptive raid on Nubia in the south 'Amr decided to undertake campaigns in the west, so as to secure the western borders of Egypt and clear the region of
Cyrenaica, Tripolitania and Fezzan from Byzantine inu-

ence. Some time in September 642, 'Amr led his troops

west. After one month of marching the Muslim forces
reached the city of Pentapolis. From Burqa, 'Uqbah bin
Na was sent at the head of a column to undertake a campaign against Fezzan. 'Uqbah marched to Zaweela, the
capital of Fezzan. No resistance was oered, and the entire district of Fezzan, what is present day north-western
Libya, submitted to the Muslims. 'Uqbah then returned to
Burqa. Soon after the Muslim army marched westward
from Burqa. They arrived at Tripoli in the spring of 643
C.E. and laid siege to the city. The city fell after a siege
of one month. From Tripoli, 'Amr sent a detachment to
Sabratha, a city forty miles from Tripoli. The city put up
feeble resistance, and soon surrendered and agreed to pay
Jizya. From Tripoli, 'Amr is reported to have written to
the caliph the details of the operations in the following
words:
'Umar, whose armies were already engaged in a massive campaign of conquering the Sassanid Empire did
not wanted to engage himself further along north Africa,
when Muslim rule in Egypt was as yet insecure. The
caliph accordingly disapproved of any further advances
and ordered 'Amr to rst consolidate the Muslims position in Egypt, and issued strict orders that there should
be no further campaigning. 'Amr obeyed, abandoning
Tripoli and Burqa and returning to Fustat. This was towards the close of the year 643 AD.[41]

4 Stance of the Egyptians towards

the invading Muslims
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.[42]

In return for a tribute of money and food for the occupying troops, the Christian inhabitants of Egypt were excused from military service and left free in the observance
of their religion and the administration of their aairs.
This system was a new institution, as a mandate by a religion. But it was adopted as an institution, by the Muslims from previous poll tax systems in the ancient Middle East. Indeed, the Egyptians had been subject to it
- as non-Romans - during Roman rule before the adoption of Christianity by the Roman state. After that, all
non-Christian subjects of the Roman Empire had to pay
it, including non-Christian Egyptians. The Persians also
had a similar poll tax system.
On the twentieth of Maskaram Byzantine general
Theodorus and all his troops and ocers set out and proceeded to the island of Cyprus, abandoning the city of
Alexandria. Thereupon 'Amr, the Muslim commander,

made his entry into the city of Alexandria. The inhabitants received him with respect, for they were in great
tribulation and aiction. 'Amr 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.

Egypt under Muslim rule

Rashidun Empire at its peak under third Rashidun Caliph,

Uthman- 654
Strongholds of Rashidun Caliphate

EGYPT UNDER MUSLIM RULE

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 [43] Coptic patriarch Benjamin also
prayed for Amr when he moved to take Libya.[45]
In the book The Great Arab Conquests Hugh Kennedy
writes Even more striking is the verdict of John of Nikiu.
John was no admirer of Muslim government and was
erce 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"[46] He writes 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 [46]
Uqba ibn Na then used Egypt as a launch pad to move
across North Africa all the way to the Atlantic ocean.[47]
In the book The Great Arab Conquests Hugh Kennedy
writes 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
this 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.[48]

Muslims gained control over Egypt due to a variety of factors, including internal Byzantine politics, religious zeal
and the diculty of maintaining a large empire. The
Byzantines did attempt to regain Alexandria, but it was
retaken by 'Amr in 646. In 654 an invasion eet sent by
Constans II was repelled. From that time no serious effort was made by the Byzantines to regain possession of 5.1 Fustat, the new capital
Egypt.
Amr ibn al-Aas had popular support in Egypt amongst With the fall of Alexandria the Muslims were the masthe Coptic Christian population. In the book The Great ters of Egypt. At the time of their Egyptian campaign,
Arab Conquests Hugh Kennedy writes that Cyrus the Alexandria was the capital of the country. When Alexandria was captured by the Muslims, the houses vacated by
Roman governor had expelled the Coptic patriarch Benjamin into exile. When Amr occupied Alexandria, a the Byzantines were occupied by the Muslims. The Muslims were impressed and attracted by Alexandria, the
Coptic nobleman (duqs) called Sanutius persuaded him
for Alexandria to remain
to send out a proclamation of safe conduct for Benjamin queen of cities. 'Amr wished
the capital of Muslim Egypt.[3] He wrote to Caliph 'Umar
and an invitation to return to Alexandria. When he arrived, after thirteen years in concealment, Amr treated seeking his permission to do this. 'Umar rejected the proposal on the basis that Alexandria was a maritime city
him with respect. He was then instructed by the goverwould always be a danger of Byzantine naval
nor to resume control over the Coptic Church. He ar- and there
[49]
attacks.
ranged for the restoration of the monasteries in the Wadi

Natrun that had been ruined by the Chalcedonian Chris- He suggested that the capital should be established furtians, which still exists as a functioning monastery in the ther inland at a central place, where no mass of water
intervened between it and Arabia.[50] As per the treaty
present day. [43]
On Amrs return the Egyptian population also worked with Cyrus of Alexandria, the wealth of the Egyptians in
with Amr.[44] In the book The Great Arab Conquests Alexandria was spared and that of Romans and Greeks
Hugh Kennedy writes The pious biographer of Coptic was taken as booty. Greek citizens were given a choice,
patriarch Benjamin presents us with the striking image to return to Greek territories safely without their wealth,
of the patriarch prayed for the success of the Muslim or to stay in Alexandria and pay Jizya. Some chose to
commander Amr against the Christians of the Cyrenaica. stay, while others went to Byzantine lands.
Benjamin survived for almost twenty years after the fall 'Amr next proceeded to choose a suitable site for the capof Egypt to the Muslims, dying of full years and honour ital of Egypt. His choice fell on the site where he had
in 661. His body was laid to rest in the monastery of St pitched his tent at the time of the battle of Babylon. His

7
tent had been xed about a quarter of a mile north east
of the fort. It is reported that after the battle was over,
and the army was about to march to Alexandria, the men
began to pull down the tent and pack it for the journey,
when it was found that a dove had nested on top of the
tent and laid eggs. 'Amr ordered that the tent should remain standing where it was. The army marched away but
the tent remained standing in the plain of Babylon. In
this unusual episode 'Amr saw a sign from Heaven. He
decided where the dove laid its nest, let the people build
their city. As 'Amrs tent was to be the focal point of the
city, the city was called Fustat, which in Arabic means
the tent. The rst structure to be built was the mosque
which later became famous as Mosque of 'Amr ibn al'As.[42] The city of Fustat was built due east of Babylon.
In the course of time, Fustat extended to include the old
town of Babylon. It grew to become a bustling city and
the commercial centre of Egypt.[51]

Umayyad conquest of North Africa

Spread of Islam

7 References
[1] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter
no:18 page no:453
[2] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal, chapter
no:19
[3] Al-Maqrizi, Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al'athar,
[4] Al-Kamil, page 451 - 452
[5] Al-Gawzi, Al-Montazim, page 532 - 534
[6] al-Tabari, history of the kings, page 862

5.2

Reforms of Caliph Umar

To consolidate his rule in Egypt, 'Umar imposed the

jizya on Egyptians. However, during later Umayyad rule
higher taxes were imposed on the Egyptians.
By 'Umars permission, 'Amr ibn al-'As decided to build
a canal to join the Nile with the Red Sea; it would help
the traders and Arabia would ourish through this new
trade route. Moreover it would open new markets for the
Egyptian merchants and open for them an easy route for
the markets of Arabia and Iraq. This project was presented to Caliph '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 i.e. The canal
of Commander of the Faithful referring to the title of the
Caliph 'Umar.[52]
Amr proposed another project: digging a canal that would
join the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.[53] The
project was once again sent to 'Umar for approval, but
Umar viewed it as a threat to national security and rejected on the basis that it would open a way for Byzantine
navy to enter the Red Sea via that canal and posing
a threat to Madinah itself.[3] This project however was
completed in the form of what is now known as the Suez
Canal 1300 years later. Each year the caliph instructed a
large amount of jizya to be used on the building and repairing of canals and bridges.[54] The Arabs remained in
control of the country from this point until 1250, when it
fell under the control of the Mamelukes.

See also
Aegyptus (Roman province)
Muslim conquests
Byzantine-Arab Wars

[7] Abu Salih the Armenian, The churches and monasteries of

Egypt and some neighbouring countries, tr. B.T.A.Evetts,
page 168
[8] Alfred Butler, The invasion of Egypt, page 234
[9] Kamil Salih, Pope Benjamin the First and the Arab invasion of Egypt, page 65
[10] Al-Maqrizi, Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al'athar, page 231
[11] Alfred Butler, the invasion of Egypt, page 213
[12] Al-Maqrizi, Mawaiz wa al-'i'tibar bi dhikr al-khitat wa al'athar
[13] http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04597c.htm
[14] Alfred Butler, the invasion of Egypt, page 216
[15] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter
no:19
[16] Butler, Alfred, The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last
Thirty years of Roman Dominion
[17] Butler, Alfred, The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last
Thirty years of Roman Dominion
[18] Alfred Butler, the invasion of Egypt, page 254-255
[19] Butler, Alfred, The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last
Thirty years of Roman Dominion
[20] Andre Raymond, Cairo, transl. Willard Wood, (Harvard
University Press, 2000), 10.
[21] Alfred Butler, the invasion of Egypt, page 258
[22] Alfred Butler, the invasion of Egypt, page 263
[23] Alfred Butler, the invasion of Egypt, page 264
[24] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter
no:21

EXTERNAL LINKS

[25] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter

no:22

[50] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter

no:22

[26] Butler, Alfred, The Arab Invasion of Egypt and the Last
Thirty years of Roman Dominion

[51] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter

no:22

[27] Umar (634-644)", The Islamic World to 1600 Multimedia History Tutorials by the Applied History Group, University of Calgary. Last accessed 20 Oct 2006

[52] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter

no:22

[28] Butler, Alfred, The Arab Invasion of Egypt and the Last
Thirty years of Roman Dominion

[53] Umar (634-644)", The Islamic World to 1600 Multimedia History Tutorials by the Applied History Group, University of Calgary. Last accessed 20 Oct 2006

[29] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter

no:22

[54] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter

no:25

[30] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter

no:23

Charles, R. H. The Chronicle of John, Bishop of

Nikiu: Translated from Zotenberg's Ethiopic Text,
1916. Reprinted 2007. Evolution Publishing, ISBN
978-1-889758-87-9.

[31] Umar (634-644)", The Islamic World to 1600 Multimedia History Tutorials by the Applied History Group, University of Calgary. Last accessed 20 Oct 2006
[32] Butler, Alfred, The Arab Invasion of Egypt and the Last
Thirty years of Roman Dominion

8 External links

[33] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter

no:22

Edward Gibbon, History of the Decline and Fall of

the Roman Empire Chapter 51

[34] Butler, Alfred, The Arab Invasion of Egypt and the Last
Thirty years of Roman Dominion

Bishop John NIkiou The Chronicle of John, Bishop

of Nikiu Chapters CXVI-CXXI

[35] Umar (634-644)", The Islamic World to 1600 Multimedia History Tutorials by the Applied History Group, University of Calgary. Last accessed 20 Oct 2006
[36] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter
no:22
[37] Butler, Alfred, The Arab Invasion of Egypt and the Last
Thirty years of Roman Dominion
[38] Kaegli, Walter. Heraclius: Emperor of Byzantium.
[39] A.I.Akrams Muslim Conquest of Egypt and North
Africa, ISBN 978-0-19-597712-7
[40] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter
no:22
[41] Al Farooq, Umar By Muhammad Husayn Haykal. chapter
no:24
[42] http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/nikiu2_chronicle.htm
[43] The Great Arab Conquests By Hugh Kennedy, page 164
[44] The Great Arab Conquests By Hugh Kennedy, page 167
[45] The Great Arab Conquests By Hugh Kennedy, page 163
[46] The Great Arab Conquests By Hugh Kennedy, page 165
[47] The Great Arab Conquests By Hugh Kennedy, page 212
[48] The Great Arab Conquests By Hugh Kennedy, page 214
[49] Butler, Alfred, The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last
Thirty years of Roman Dominion

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

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