At the commencement of the
Muslims conquest of Egypt, Egypt was part of the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
with its capital in
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
. However, it had been
occupiedBetween 618 and 621 AD, the Sassanid Persian army defeated the East Roman forces in Egypt and occupied the province. The fall of Alexandria, the capital of Roman Egypt, marked the first and most important stage in the Sassanid campaign to conquer this rich province, which eventually fell...
just a decade before by the
Persian EmpireThe Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
under Khosrau II (616 to 629
AD and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
).
Emperor HeracliusHeraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
re-captured Egypt after a series of campaigns against the Sassanid Persians, only to once again lose it to the
Rashidun armyThe Rashidun Caliphate Army or Rashidun army was the primary military body of the Rashidun Caliphate's armed forces during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century, serving alongside the Rashidun Navy...
ten years later. Before the
MuslimA Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
invasion of Egypt began, the Byzantine Empire had already lost the
LevantThe Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
and its Arab ally, the
Ghassanid KingdomThe Ghassanids were a group of South Arabian Christian tribes that emigrated in the early 3rd century from Yemen to Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and the Holy Land....
, to the Muslims. This all left the Byzantine Empire dangerously exposed and vulnerable to the invaders.
Byzantine Egypt
At the dawn of the seventh century A.D,
EgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
was held in fee for the Byzantine Empire. The country was governed by the Byzantine civil service and military, both of which were filled by the (
GreekGreek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
-speaking) ruling class to the general exclusion of the native (
CopticCoptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
-speaking) Egyptians. Egypt was ruled from the capital of
AlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, and from the ancient Egyptian capital of
MemphisMemphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...
, with its great bulwark the
fortress of BabylonBabylon Fortress was an ancient fortress city or castle in the Delta of Egypt, located at Babylon in the area today known as Coptic Cairo.It was situated in the Heliopolite Nome, upon the right bank of the Nile, at latitude 30°N, near the commencement of the Pharaonic Canal , from the Nile to the...
, on the eastern bank of the
NileThe Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
. A chain of fortress towns ran across the country. From these towns, soldiers and tax-gatherers patrolled the country, keeping order and collecting money, while Roman merchants and Jewish traders settled freely under protection of the garrisons, keenly competing with their native Egyptian rivals.
In terms of religion, Egypt was also alienated from the rest of the Byzantine Empire. The Chalcedonian Christianity of the Byzantines held to the doctrine of
ChristChrist is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
having two natures, one divine and one human. In Egypt however, the christological position of
MiaphysitismMiaphysitism is a Christological formula of the Oriental Orthodox Churches and of the various churches adhering to the first three Ecumenical Councils...
(
Oriental Orthodox ChristianityOriental Orthodoxy is the faith of those Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the First Council of Ephesus. They rejected the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon...
) prevailed, maintaining the doctrine of Christ having one united nature, where the Divinity and Humanity were inseparably united. Although the
Council of ChalcedonThe Council of Chalcedon was a church council held from 8 October to 1 November, 451 AD, at Chalcedon , on the Asian side of the Bosporus. The council marked a significant turning point in the Christological debates that led to the separation of the church of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th...
, held in 451 AD, had ruled in favor of the Byzantine position, Egypt remained a stronghold of Miaphysitism. However, even though the Chalcedonians held the principal churches in Alexandria, the native Egyptians were able to build or rebuild their own churches, such as those of St. Michael, St. Angelus, and Sts. Cosmas and Damian, in addition to various monasteries, to all of which
Pope AnastasiusPope Anastasius of Alexandria was the thirty-sixth Coptic Patriarch of Alexandria. During his reign, despite being personally barred from the city of Alexandria, he met with the Patriarch of Antioch as they worked to arrange the unification of their two churches.He was a priest of Alexandria when...
appointed priests and ordained bishops.
In view of these religious rivalries, the Byzantine emperor Heraclius was genuinely anxious to win over the native Egyptians, and to reconcile the two branches of the
Church of AlexandriaThe Church of Alexandria in Egypt is the particular church headed by the Patriarch of Alexandria. It is one of the original four Apostolic Sees of Christianity, with Rome, Antioch and Jerusalem ....
. The Miaphysite popes resided in Alexandria without being subject to any harassment.
Rashidun army crossing the Egyptian border
In December 639 Amr left for Egypt with only 4,000 soldiers. Most of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of 'Ak, although
Al-Kindi' , known as "the Philosopher of the Arabs", was a Muslim Arab philosopher, mathematician, physician, and musician. Al-Kindi was the first of the Muslim peripatetic philosophers, and is unanimously hailed as the "father of Islamic or Arabic philosophy" for his synthesis, adaptation and promotion...
mentions that one third of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of Ghafik. The Arab soldiers were also joined by some Byzantines and Persians who had converted to Islam. Umar reconsidered his orders to Amr, however, thinking it foolhardy to expect to conquer such a large country as Egypt with a mere 4,000 soldiers. Umar accordingly wrote a letter to Amr asking him to come back. He added a postscript, however:
The special messenger, Uqba bin Amr, caught up to Amr at
RafahRafah , also known as Rafiah, is a Palestinian city in the southern Gaza Strip. Located south of Gaza, Rafah's population of 71,003 is overwhelmingly made up of Palestinian refugees. Rafah camp and Tall as-Sultan form separate localities. Rafah is the district capital of the Rafah Governorate...
, a little short of the Egyptian frontier. Guessing what might be in the letter, Amr ordered the army to quicken its pace. Turning to Uqba, Amr said that he would receive the Caliph's letter from him when the army had halted after the day's journey. Uqba, being unaware of the contents of the letter, agreed and marched along with the army. The Muslim 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 the Caliph'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 the permission to proceed. To the Caliph, Amr wrote:
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 reinforcement. On Eid al-Adha, the Muslim army marched from Shajratein to El Arish, a small town lacking a garrison. The town put up no resistance, and the citizens offered allegiance on the usual terms. The Muslim soldiers celebrated the Eid festival there.
Fall of Pelusium and Belbeis
In the later part of December 639 or in early January 640, the Muslim army reached
PelusiumPelusium was a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said. Alternative names include Sena and Per-Amun , Pelousion , Sin , Seyân , and Tell el-Farama...
. It was a fortified town manned by a Byzantine garrison, which contained many Ancient Egyptian monuments, as well as many Christian churches and monasteries. The city was considered Egypt's eastern gate, and a branch of the
NileThe Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
, known as the Pelusiac Branch, used to empty into the Mediterranean near the city. The Muslims besieged the town. The siege dragged on for two months. Towards the fall of February 640 an assault group led by a prominent field commander Useifa ibn Wala assaulted the fort and city was captured by the Muslims. Armanousa, the daughter of Cyrus who fiercely resisted the Muslims in Pelusium and fell hostage in their hands, was sent to her father in the Babylon Fortress.
The losses of Arab Muslim army in the recent fighting were more than compensated for by a number of bedouins living in the desert of Sinai, who, scenting war and plunder, had joined the invaders in conquering Egypt. These bedouins belonged to the tribes of Rashidah and Lakhm
The ease with which
PelusiumPelusium was a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of the modern Port Said. Alternative names include Sena and Per-Amun , Pelousion , Sin , Seyân , and Tell el-Farama...
fell to the Muslim Arabs, and the lack of Byzantine reinforcements to aid the city during the one-month long siege is often attributed to the betrayal and treachery of the governor of Egypt,
CyrusCyrus of Alexandria was a Melchite patriarch of the Egyptian see of Alexandria in the seventh century, one of the authors of Monothelism and last Byzantine prefect of Egypt; died about 641.-Biography:...
, who was also the Melchite (i.e., Byzantine–Chalcedonian Diaphysite)
Patriarch of AlexandriaThe Patriarch of Alexandria is the Archbishop of Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation of Pope , and did so earlier than that of the Bishop of Rome...
. He is one of the authors of monothelism, a seventh century heresy, and some supposed him to have been secretly a convert to Islam.
After the fall of Pelusium the Muslims marched to
BilbeisBilbeis is an ancient fortress city on the eastern edge of the southern Nile delta in Egypt.The city played a role in the machinations for control of the Fatimid vizierate: first in 1164, when Shirkuh was besieged in the city by the combined forces of Shiwar and Amalric I of Jerusalem for three...
40 miles from
MemphisMemphis was the ancient capital of Aneb-Hetch, the first nome of Lower Egypt. Its ruins are located near the town of Helwan, south of Cairo.According to legend related by Manetho, the city was founded by the pharaoh Menes around 3000 BC. Capital of Egypt during the Old Kingdom, it remained an...
. Amr headed via desert roads towards Belbeis. Belbeis was the first place in Egypt where the Byzantines showed some resistance towards the Arab invaders. It was a fortified town, and the Muslims besieged it.
Two Christian monks accompanied by Cyrus of Alexandria and the famous Byzantine general Aretion came out to negotiate with
'Amr ibn al-'As`Amr ibn al-`As was an Arab military commander who is most noted for leading the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 640. A contemporary of Muhammad, and one of the Sahaba , who rose quickly through the Muslim hierarchy following his conversion to Islam in the year 8 AH...
. Aretion was previously the Byzantine governor of
Jerusalem, and had fled the city to Egypt when it fell to Umar ibn al-Khattab. Ibn al-'As gave them three options: to convert to Islam, to pay
JizyaUnder Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
, or war. So they requested 3 days to reflect, then - as mentions
al-TabariAbu Ja'far Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari was a prominent and influential Sunni scholar and exegete of the Qur'an from Persia...
- requested 2 extra days. At the end of the 5 days, the 2 monks and the Byzantine general decided to reject Islam and to refuse to pay Jizya, and chose to fight the invading Muslims. They thus disobeyed their ruler, Cyrus of Alexandria, who wanted to surrender and pay Jizya. Cyrus subsequently left for the
Babylon FortressBabylon Fortress was an ancient fortress city or castle in the Delta of Egypt, located at Babylon in the area today known as Coptic Cairo.It was situated in the Heliopolite Nome, upon the right bank of the Nile, at latitude 30°N, near the commencement of the Pharaonic Canal , from the Nile to the...
, while the 2 monks and Aretion decided to fight the Arabs. The fight 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
HagarHagar , according to the Abrahamic faiths, was the second wife of Abraham, and the mother of his first son, Ishmael. Her story is recorded in the Book of Genesis, mentioned in Hadith, and alluded to in the Qur'an...
. The Egyptians refused, the city of
BilbeisBilbeis is an ancient fortress city on the eastern edge of the southern Nile delta in Egypt.The city played a role in the machinations for control of the Fatimid vizierate: first in 1164, when Shirkuh was besieged in the city by the combined forces of Shiwar and Amalric I of Jerusalem for three...
fell after a siege that lasted for a month, and towards the end of March 640 the city surrendered to the Muslims. From Bilbeis the Muslims marched to Babylon. With the fall of Belbeis, the Arabs were only one day away from the head of the
DeltaThe Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the east, it covers some 240 km of Mediterranean coastline—and is a rich...
.
Siege of Babylon
Amr had visualized that the conquest of Egypt would be a walkover. This expectation turned out to be false. Even at the outposts of Pelusium and Bilbeis the Muslims had to meet stiff resistance. The siege of Pelusium had lasted for two months and that of Bilbeis for one month. Babylon was a larger and more important city, Close to it was Memphis the ancient capital of the Pharaohs. Here resistance on a larger scale was expected. Amr nevertheless persevered and pushed on to Babylon. Meanwhile the reinforcement at Madinah was almost ready to march. After the fall of Bilbeis the Muslims advanced to Babylon, near modern Cairo. The Muslims arrived before Babylon some time in May 640 A.D. Babylon was a fortified city, and the Byzantines had prepared it for a siege. Outside the city, a
ditchA ditch in military engineering is an obstacle, designed to slow down or break up an attacking force, while a trench is intended to provide cover to the defenders...
had been dug, and a large force was positioned in the area between the ditch and the city walls. 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
towerA tower is a tall structure, usually taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires....
s and
bastionA bastion, or a bulwark, is a structure projecting outward from the main enclosure of a fortification, situated in both corners of a straight wall , facilitating active defence against assaulting troops...
s. As soon as Amr arrived at Babylon he formed up his force of 4,000 men in assault formation and attacked the Byzantine positions in front of him it led to some hard fighting, and the attack was repulsed by the Byzantines. Amr pulled his men back and went into camp near the east bank of the Nile. 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 fighting remained inconclusive, with the Byzantines having the upper hand by repulsing every Muslim assault.
Some time in May 640 A.D, Amr sent a detachment to raid against the city of Fayoum. The Byzantines had anticipated this raid, and thus strongly guarded the roads leading to the city. They had also fortified their garrison in the nearby town of Lahun. When the Muslim Arabs realized that Fayoum was too fortified for them to invade, they headed towards the Western Desert where they looted all the cattle and animals they could. They subsequently headed to
OxyrhynchusOxyrhynchus is a city in Upper Egypt, located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo, in the governorate of Al Minya. It is also an archaeological site, considered one of the most important ever discovered...
(Per-Medjed), which they defeated. Failing to invade Fayoum, the Muslim Arabs returned to
Lower EgyptLower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
down the River Nile.
Reinforcement from Madinah
In July, Amr wrote to Umar asking for reinforcement, before the letter could reach Caliph, Umar had already dispatched first reinforcement of 4000 strong. The army mostly comprises the veterans of
Syrian campaignsThe Muslim conquest of Syria occurred in the first half of the 7th century, and refers to the region known as the Bilad al-Sham, the Levant, or Greater Syria...
. Even with this reinforcement, Amr got no success. It was not until the final reinforcement under Zubair joined Muslim forces in Egypt, that Muslim got success. By August 640, Umar's concentration of the 4000 strong elite force had completed. It comprised four columns each column was one thousand strong and commanded by its own commander, while
Zubair ibn al-AwamZubair ibn al-Awwam, was a companion of Muhammad, father to Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr and later one of the most successful commanders of the Rashidun army and served under the Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar.Zubair, who was a cousin of the prophet Muhammad, was an early convert to Islam.He served...
, a renowned warrior and commander, veteran of Battle of Yarmouk and once a part of Khalid ibn Walid's elite force
mobile guardThe Mobile Guard was an elite light cavalry regiment of Rashidun army during the Muslim conquest of Syria, under the command of Khalid ibn Walid...
, was appointed the supreme commander of army. Umar indeed offered Zubair the Chief command and governorship of Egypt, which Zubair didn't accept. Other commanders were
Miqdad bin Al-AswadMiqdad bin Al-Aswad was a companion of Muhammad and later one of the successful commanders of Rashidun army, served under Rashidun caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar....
;
Ubaida bin As-SamitUbaydah ibn aṣ-Ṣāmit was a companion of Muhammad and later one of the successful commanders of Rashidun army and served under the Rashidun caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar. He was one of the main field commanders during the Muslim conquest of Egypt, sent with reinforcement from Medina. He served in...
, and
Kharija bin HuzafaKharija bin Huzafa, was a companion of Muhammad and later one of the successful commanders of the Rashidun army. He served under the Rashidun caliphs, Abu Bakr and Umar. One of the main field commanders during the Muslim conquest of Egypt, he was sent with reinforcements from Madinah and served In...
. Each Commander was famous in military prowess to be equal to a thousand men, and was the counterpart of Persian Hazer Mard or Roman
gladiatorA gladiator was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their legal and social standing and their lives by appearing in the...
s. This reinforcement 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 offensive.
Battle of Heliopolis
Ten miles from Babylon was
HeliopolisHeliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome that was located five miles east of the Nile to the north of the apex of the Nile Delta...
. It was the city of the Sun Temple of the Pharaohs, and was famous for its grandiose monuments and learning facilities.. There was the danger that some Byzantine force from Heliopolis might attack the Muslims from the flank while it was engaged with the Byzantine army at Babylon. With some detachments Amr and Zubeir 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 Nikiû. At an unguarded point of the wall of Heliopolis, Zubeir and some of his picked soldiers scaled the wall of the city, (
similar to what Khalid did at Siege of DamascusThe Siege of Damascus lasted from 21 August to 19 September 634 AD before the city fell to the Rashidun Caliphate. Damascus was the first major city of the Byzantine empire to fall in the Muslim conquest of Syria....
) and after overpowering the guards opened the gates for the main Muslim army to enter the city. The city was thus captured by the Muslims. Amr and Zubair returned to Babylon.
Occupation of Fayoum and Babylon
When the news of the Arabs' victory at
HeliopolisHeliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome that was located five miles east of the Nile to the north of the apex of the Nile Delta...
reached Fayoum, its Byzantine garrison under the command of Domentianus evacuated the city during the night and fled to Abuit. From Abuit, they subsequently fled down the
NileThe Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
to Nikiu without telling the people of Fayoum and Abuit that they were abandoning their cities to the enemy. When the news reached Amr, he ordered a body of his troops to cross the
NileThe Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
and invade Fayoum and Abuit. The Muslim soldiers thus captured the entire province of Fayoum without any resistance from the Byzantines.
The
Byzantine armyThe Byzantine army was the primary military body of the Byzantine armed forces, serving alongside the Byzantine navy. A direct descendant of the Roman army, the Byzantine army maintained a similar level of discipline, strategic prowess and organization...
at
BabylonBabylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
now grew bolder then ever before and had begun to sally forth across the ditch, though with little success. There had been a stalemate between Muslim and Byzantine forces at Babylon, until Muslim high command devised an ingenious strategy and inflicted heavy casualties on the Egyptian forces by encircling them from three sides in one of their such sallies, though the Byzantines were able to retreat back to the fort but were left too weak for any further offensive action. This situation forced the Byzantines to enter in negotiations with Muslims. The Byzantine General Theodorus shifted his headquarters to Isle of Rauda, whilst Cyrus of Alexandria, popularly known as
Maquaqas in Muslim history entered in negotiations with the Muslims, which failed to give any productive results. Emissaries were also exchanged between Byzantine commander Theodorus and Muslim commander Amr ibn al-Aas, leading to Amr meeting Theodorus in person. After fruitless negotiations, the Muslims acted on the 20 December when in a night assault, led by Zubeir and a company of hand picked warriors, Muslim forces managed to scale the wall, killing the guards and opening 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 Bin Waleed at Damascus. However Theodorus and his army managed to slip away to island of Rauda during the night, thereby restricting the damage done.
Surrender of Thebaid (South eastern Egypt)
On the 22nd of December, Cyrus of Alexandria entered into a treaty with the Muslims. By the treaty, Muslim sovereignty over the whole of Egypt, and effectively on
ThebaidThe Thebaid or Thebais is the region of ancient Egypt containing the thirteen southernmost nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos to Aswan. It acquired its name from its proximity to the ancient Egyptian capital of Thebes....
, was recognized, and the Egyptians agreed to pay Jizya at the rate of 2 diners per male adult. The treaty was subject to the approval of the emperor Heraclius, but Cyrus of Alexandria stipulated that even if the emperor repudiated the treaty, he and the Copts of whom he was the High Priest would honor the terms of the treaty, recognize the supremacy of the Muslims and pay them Jizya. Cyrus of Alexandria submitted a report to Heraclius and asked for his approval to the terms of the treaty. He also offered reasons in justification 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 the report of Amr bin Al-Aas about the invasion of Babylon and the treaty with Cyrus of Alexandria, he wrote back to say that he approved of the terms provided Heraclius agreed to submit to them. He desired that as soon as the reactions of Heraclius were known, he should be informed so that further necessary instructions might be issued.
Heraclius's reaction to the report of Cyrus of Alexandria was violent. He removed Cyrus of Alexandria 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 from the soil of Egypt. Cyrus of Alexandria waited on Amr and told him that Heraclius had repudiated the treaty of Babylon. Cyrus of Alexandria assured Amr that so far as the Copts were concerned the terms of the treaty would be followed. Amr reported these developments to Umar, and 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 of Alexandria asked for three favors from the Muslims, namely:
- Do not break your treaty with the Copts;
- If the Byzantines after this repudiation ask for peace, do not make peace with them, but treat them as captives and slaves; and
- When I am dead allow me to be buried in the Church of St. John
John the Merciful was the Patriarch of Alexandria in the early 7th century and a christian saint.- Early life :He was born at Amathus...
at Alexandria.
This position was to the advantage of the Muslims. The Copts were the real natives of the land of Egypt. Both the Byzantines and the Muslims were strangers. Though some Copts from personal considerations continued to support the
ByzantineByzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
s, the sympathies of the Copts were now by and large with the Muslims. The Copts were not supposed to fight against the Byzantines on behalf of the Muslims but they undertook to help the Muslims in the promotion of war effort, help them in the provision of stores; build roads and bridges for them; and provide them moral support.
March to Alexandria
Byzantine commanders knew that after Babylon the next target of the Muslims would be Alexandria. They accordingly prepared for the siege to be laid on 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 didn't keep them away, it would demoralize them morally and physically. It would be more a war of patience then power. In February 641, Amr set off for Alexandria from Babylon with his army. All along the road from Babylon to Alexandria, the Byzantines had left regiments to delay, and if possible, inflict heavy losses on the advancing Muslim troops.
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
NileThe Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
. The Byzantines failed to inflict heavy losses, but they were able to delay the advance by one more day. Muslim high command 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 without further delay the main army could reach Alexandria as soon as possible with out being stopped mid-way due to the Byzantine detachments. Twenty miles from Tarnut, Shareek, the Byzantine detachment that withdrew from Tarnut yesterday, joined the detachment already present at Shareek to form a strong offensive force. They attacked and routed the Muslim advance guard. The next day, before the Byzantines could resume their offensive to annihilate the Muslim advance guard, the main Muslim army had arrived, causing the Byzantines to withdraw. At this point Muslim high command 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. Some hard fighting followed, but the Byzantine resistance soon broke down and they withdrew to Alexandria. The Muslims halted at Sulteis for a day and then resumed the march to Alexandria. Alexandria was still two days' march from Sulteis. After one day's march the Muslim forces arrived at Kirayun twelve miles from Alexandria. Here the Muslim advance to Alexandria was blocked up 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. The two forces were deployed for action, and some hard fighting followed, but the action remained indecisive. This state of affairs persisted for ten days. On the last day the Muslims launched a vigorous assault. The Byzantine resistance broke down, and they withdrew to Alexandria. The way to Alexandria was now cleared, and the Muslim forces resumed the march from Kirayun and reached the outskirts of Alexandria some time in March 641 C.E.
Conquest of Alexandria and fall of Egypt
The Muslims appeared before Alexandria in March 641 and laid siege to the city. Alexandria was heavily fortified. There were walls behind walls, and forts within forts. There was no dearth of provisions and food supply in the city. The city had direct access to the sea, and through the sea route help from
ConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
in men and material could come any time. As Amr surveyed the military situation, he felt that Alexandria would be a hard nut to crack. The Byzantines had high stakes in Alexandria, and they were determined to offer stiff resistance to the Muslims. The Byzantines 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 these missiles. A see-saw war followed. When the Muslims tried to go close to the city they were pounded 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 reinforcement at Constantinople. He intended to march at the head of this reinforcement personally to Alexandria. Before he could finalize the arrangements he died. The reinforcement mustered at Constantinople dispersed, and no help came to Alexandria. This demoralized Byzantines further. The siege dragged on for six months, and in Madinah
Umar`Umar ibn al-Khattāb c. 2 November , was a leading companion and adviser to the Islamic prophet Muhammad who later became the second Muslim Caliph after Muhammad's death....
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 field commander will be Ubada, and would launch the assault at the fort of Alexandria. Ubada's assault was successful and Alexandria was captured by Muslims in September 641. Thousand of Byzantine soldiers were killed or taken captive while other managed to flight to Constantinople through ships that stood anchored in the port. Some wealthy traders also left.
On behalf of the Egyptians, Cyrus of Alexandria sued for peace, and peace was allowed. In his report to the Caliph, Amr reported:
After the invasion of Egypt Amr is reported to have written to Caliph Umar:
The permanent loss of the Egypt left the Byzantine Empire without an irreplaceable source of 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 a "Roman lake", was now contested between two powers: the Muslim Caliphate and the Byzantines. In the event, the Byzantine Empire, although sorely tested, would be able to hold on to
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
, while the mighty
walls of ConstantinopleThe Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople since its founding as the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire by Constantine the Great...
would save it, during two great Arab sieges, from the fate of the Persian Empire.
An attempt was made in the year 645 to regain Alexandria for the Byzantine Empire, but it was retaken by Amr in 646. In 654 an invasion fleet sent by Constans II was repulsed. From that time no serious effort was made by the Byzantines to regain possession of the country.
Invasion of Nubia
The land of
NubiaNubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
lay to the south of Egypt. It stretched from
AswanAswan , formerly spelled Assuan, is a city in the south of Egypt, the capital of the Aswan Governorate.It stands on the east bank of the Nile at the first cataract and is a busy market and tourist centre...
to
KhartoumKhartoum is the capital and largest city of Sudan and of Khartoum State. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile flowing west from Ethiopia. The location where the two Niles meet is known as "al-Mogran"...
and from the
Red SeaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
to the
Libyan DesertThe Libyan Desert covers an area of approximately 1,100,000 km2, it extends approximately 1100 km from east to west, and 1,000 km from north to south, in about the shape of a rectangle...
. The Nubians were
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s and were ruled by a king. The capital of the kingdom was
DongolaDongola , also spelled Dunqulah, and formerly known as Al 'Urdi, is the capital of the state of Northern in Sudan, on the banks of the Nile. It should not be confused with Old Dongola, an ancient city located 80 km upstream on the opposite bank....
. In the summer of 642, Amr bin Al-Aas sent an expedition to Nubia under the command of his cousin Uqba bin Nafe. The expedition was ordered by Amr bin Aas on his own account and it was not a whole scale invasion but merely a preemptive raid to show down the power of new regime in Egypt to the bordering Kingdoms. Uqba bin Nafe who later made a great name for himself as the Conqueror of Africa, and led his horse to the Atlantic complaining that there were no lands left for him to conquer in the way of Allah 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 the Muslims. The Nubians were skilful archers and subjected the Muslims to a merciless barrage of arrows. The arrows were aimed at the eyes and in the encounter 250 Muslims lost their eyes.
The Nubians were very fast in their movements. 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. Uqba wrote to Amr bin Al-Aas of the state of affairs. He said that the Nubians avoided pitched battle, and in the guerilla tactics that they followed the Muslims were the sufferers Uqba further came to know that Nubia was a very poor land, and there was nothing therein worth fighting for or to tempt by way of booty. Thereupon Amr bin Al-Aas asked Uqba to withdraw from Nubia. Uqba accordingly pulled out of Nubia with his forces.
Conquest of North Africa
After the preemptive raid in
NubiaNubia is a region along the Nile river, which is located in northern Sudan and southern Egypt.There were a number of small Nubian kingdoms throughout the Middle Ages, the last of which collapsed in 1504, when Nubia became divided between Egypt and the Sennar sultanate resulting in the Arabization...
in the south Amr bin Al-Aas decided to undertake campaigns in the west, to secure the western borders of Egypt and clear the region of
CyrenaicaCyrenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya.Also known as Pentapolis in antiquity, it was part of the Creta et Cyrenaica province during the Roman period, later divided in Libia Pentapolis and Libia Sicca...
,
TripolitaniaTripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya.Tripolitania was a separate Italian colony from 1927 to 1934...
and
FezzanFezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...
from Byzantine influence. Some time in September 642, Amr led his troops to the west. After one month of marching the Muslim forces reached the city of
PentapolisA pentapolis, from the Greek words , "five" and , "city" is a geographic and/or institutional grouping of five cities...
. From Burqa, Uqba bin Nafe was sent at the head of a column to undertake a campaign against Fezzan. Uqba marched to Zaweela the capital of Fezzan. No resistance was offered, and the entire district of Fezzan, what is present day north-western
LibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
, submitted to the Muslims. After the invasion of Fezzan, Uqba returned to
BurqaA burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
, soon after the Muslim army marched westward from Burqa. They arrived at
TripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
in the spring of 643 C.E. and laid siege to the city. After a siege of one month the city was captured by Muslims. From Tripoli, Amr sent a column to Sabrata a city forty miles from Tripoli. A feeble resistance was put up, and thereafter the city 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 EmpireThe Sassanid Empire , known to its inhabitants as Ērānshahr and Ērān in Middle Persian and resulting in the New Persian terms Iranshahr and Iran , was the last pre-Islamic Persian Empire, ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651...
didn't wanted to engage himself in further inland in north Africa, when Muslim rule in Egypt was still not completed firm. Umar accordingly disapproved of further advance and ordered to first consolidate position in Egypt, and issued strict orders that there should be no further campaigning. Amr bin Al-Aas accordingly abandoned
TripoliTripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
and
BurqaA burqa is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic religion to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa is usually understood to be the woman's loose body-covering , plus the head-covering , plus the face-veil .-Etymology:A speculative and unattested etymology...
and returned to Fustat. This was towards the close of the year 643 C.E.
Stance of the Egyptians towards the invading Muslims
The Copts did find the Muslims more tolerant than the Byzantines. In return for a tribute of money and food for the troops of occupation, the Christian inhabitants of Egypt were excused from military service and left free in the observance of their religion and the administration of their affairs. This system (called
jizyaUnder Islamic law, jizya or jizyah is a per capita tax levied on a section of an Islamic state's non-Muslim citizens, who meet certain criteria...
) was not a new institution. It was adopted by Muslims from previous
poll taxA poll tax is a tax of a portioned, fixed amount per individual in accordance with the census . When a corvée is commuted for cash payment, in effect it becomes a poll tax...
systems in the ancient Middle East. Indeed, 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 Theodore and all his troops and officers [the Byzantines] set out and proceeded to the island of Cyprus, and abandoned the city of Alexandria. And thereupon 'Amr the chief of the Moslem made his entry without effort into the city of Alexandria. And the inhabitants received him with respect; for they were in great tribulation and affliction... And 'Amr became stronger every day in every field of his activity. And he exacted the taxes which had been determined upon, but he took none of the property of the churches, and he committed no act of spoliation or plunder, and he preserved them throughout all his days.
Egypt under Muslim rule
The ease with which this valuable province was wrenched from the Byzantine Empire appears to have been due to the treachery of the governor of Egypt, Cyrus, Melchite (i.e., Byzantine–Chalcedonian Orthodox,
not Coptic)
Patriarch of AlexandriaThe Patriarch of Alexandria is the Archbishop of Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation of Pope , and did so earlier than that of the Bishop of Rome...
, and the incompetence of the generals of the Byzantine forces. Cyrus had persecuted the local
Coptic ChristiansThe Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria is the official name for the largest Christian church in Egypt and the Middle East. The Church belongs to the Oriental Orthodox family of churches, which has been a distinct church body since the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451, when it took a different...
. He is one of the authors of monothelism, a seventh century heresy, and some supposed him to have been secretly a convert to Islam. An attempt was made in the year 645 to regain Alexandria for the Byzantine Empire, but it was retaken by Amr in 646. In 654 an invasion fleet sent by Constans II was repulsed. From that time no serious effort was made by the Byzantines to regain possession of the country.
Fustat, the new Capital
With the fall of Alexandria the Muslims were the masters of Egypt. When the Muslims conquered Egypt, Alexandria was the capital of the country. When the Muslims conquered Alexandria, most of the Byzantine population evacuated the city. The vacant houses were occupied by the Muslims. Alexandria was the queen of cities. Amr bin Al-Aas and the other Muslims with him were much attracted by the city. Amr wanted to make Alexandria the capital of Muslim Egypt. Amr wrote to Umar seeking his permission to make Alexandria the capital of the province. Umar rejected the proposal on the basis that Alexandria was a
maritimeA coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
city and there will always a danger of
Byzantine navalThe Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
attacks. He suggested that the capital should be established further inland at a central place, where no mass of water intervened between it and Arabia. As per treaty with Cyrus of Alexandria, the wealth of Egyptians in Alexandria was spared and that of
RomansThe Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and
GreeksThe Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
was taken as booty. Greek civilians were given a choice, whether a safe passage to return to Greek land with out their wealth, or stay in Alexandria and pay Jaziya. Some choose to stay, while others went to Byzantine lands. Amr next proceeded to choose a suitable site for the capital of Egypt. His choice fell on the site where he had pitched his tent at the time of the battle of Babylon. His tent had been fixed about a quarter of a mile north east of the fort. It is reported that after the battle was over, and the army was to march to Alexandria when the men began to pull down the tent and pack it for the journey it was found that a
dovePigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
had nested on top of the tent and fail 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 of the dove and its nest, Amr saw a sign from the Heaven. He decided "Where the dove laid its nest, let the people build their city". As Amr's tent was to be the focal point of the city, the city was called Fustat, which in Arabic means the
tentA tent is a shelter consisting of sheets of fabric or other material draped over or attached to a frame of poles or attached to a supporting rope. While smaller tents may be free-standing or attached to the ground, large tents are usually anchored using guy ropes tied to stakes or tent pegs...
. The first structure to be built was the
mosqueA mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
which later became famous as
Mosque of Amr bin Al-Aas. The city of Fustat was built east of Babylon. In due course Fustat extended to include the old town of Babylon. It grew to become a bustling city and commercial center of Egypt.
Reforms of Caliph Umar
To consolidate his rule in Egypt, Umar imposed very low Jizya (tribute) on Egyptians, unlike the Romans had. Egyptians found them self economically at ease under the
RashidunThe Rightly Guided Caliphs or The Righteous Caliphs is a term used in Sunni Islam to refer to the first four Caliphs who established the Rashidun Caliphate. The concept of "Rightly Guided Caliphs" originated with the Abbasid Dynasty...
rule. However during
UmayyadThe Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major Arab caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. It was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty, whose name derives from Umayya ibn Abd Shams, the great-grandfather of the first Umayyad caliph. Although the Umayyad family originally came from the...
rule unbearably high taxes were imposed on Egyptians.
Upon Umar's permission, Amr ibn al Aas decided to build a
canalCanals are man-made channels for water. There are two types of canal:#Waterways: navigable transportation canals used for carrying ships and boats shipping goods and conveying people, further subdivided into two kinds:...
to join
NileThe Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
with
Red seaThe Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, it would help the traders and Arabia will flourish through this new trade route. More over it will open new markets for the merchants of Egypt and open for them an easy route for the markets of Arabia and
IraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. The project was presented to Caliph Umar, who approved it. A canal was dug and with in few months was opened for merchants. The canal was named
Naher Amir ul Momeneen i.e.
The canal of Commander of believers named after the title of Caliph Umar.
Amr proposed another project, digging a canal that would join the Red sea and the
Mediterranean seaThe Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
. The project was once again sent to Caliph Umar for approval, but Umar viewed it as a threat to national security and rejected on the basis that it will open a way for
Byzantine navyThe Byzantine navy was the naval force of the East Roman or Byzantine Empire. Like the empire it served, it was a direct continuation from its imperial Roman predecessor, but played a far greater role in the defense and survival of the state then its earlier iterations...
to enter Red sea via that canal and it will be a continuous threat to Madinah. This project however was completed in the form of what is now known as
Suez CanalThe Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
1300 years later. The
British EmpireThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
, like Caliph Umar resisted the construction of Suez Canal on the same basis that it will threaten its rule over
IndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
Each year a large amount of Jizya according to Caliph's instructions use to be spent on building and repairing of canals and bridges.
The Arab rulers remained in control of the country from this point until 1250, when it fell under the control of the Mameluks (however, the Ayyubids whom mamluki sultans replaced were Kurdish by their origins).
See also
- Aegyptus (Roman province)
The Roman province of Egypt was established in 30 BC after Octavian defeated his rival Mark Antony, deposed his lover Queen Cleopatra VII and annexed the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt to the Roman Empire. The province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai Peninsula...
- Muslim conquests
Muslim conquests also referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began with the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.They...
- Byzantine-Arab Wars
The Byzantine–Arab Wars were a series of wars between the Arab Caliphates and the East Roman or Byzantine Empire between the 7th and 12th centuries AD. These started during the initial Muslim conquests under the expansionist Rashidun and Umayyad caliphs and continued in the form of an enduring...
- Umayyad conquest of North Africa
The Umayyad conquest of North Africa continued the century of rapid Arab Muslim expansion following the death of Muhammad in 632 CE. By 640 the Arabs controlled Mesopotamia, had invaded Armenia, and were concluding their conquest of Byzantine Syria. Damascus was the seat of the Umayyad caliphate....
- Spread of Islam
The Spread of Islam started shortly after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad in 632 AD. During his lifetime, the community of Muhammad, the ummah, was established in the Arabian Peninsula by means of conversion to Islam and conquering of territory, and oftentimes the conquered had to either...
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