Part III – The Coming of Islam and the Reconfiguration of Society
5.1 The Historical Setting
By the early seventh century, Egypt stood as one of the richest provinces of the Byzantine Empire, supplying grain to Constantinople and functioning as a bastion of imperial power in the eastern Mediterranean. Yet, beneath its prosperity, the country was religiously and politically fractured. The Coptic majority adhered to Miaphysite Christianity, estranged from the Chalcedonian orthodoxy enforced by imperial governors. Fiscal burdens and ecclesiastical persecution had weakened loyalty to Byzantium (Butler 1897; Mikhail 2014).
Meanwhile, the newly unified Arab tribes under Caliph ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb had already overrun Syria and Palestine. Their commander, ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ, a seasoned strategist familiar with Egyptian terrain from earlier service in the Red Sea trade, advanced toward the Nile Delta in 639 CE with perhaps 4 000–5 000 troops—far fewer than the Byzantine garrisons but disciplined and mobile (Kennedy 2007).
5.2 The Campaign and the Fall of Alexandria
ʿAmr’s forces crossed the Sinai and captured Pelusium, the frontier fortress, before proceeding to Bilbays and then the Babylon Fortress (Old Cairo). After a seven-month siege, the stronghold capitulated in April 641 CE. The Byzantine army, hampered by internal rivalries and lack of local support, retreated northwards. ʿAmr then negotiated with the Coptic Patriarch Benjamin I, who had spent years in hiding from Byzantine persecution. Benjamin reportedly advised his followers not to resist the invaders, seeing them as instruments of divine providence (Atiya 1968).
The final Byzantine defence collapsed with the surrender of Alexandria in November 642 CE. ʿAmr established the new administrative capital Fustat (later Cairo), deliberately separate from the Hellenistic metropolis, symbolising the beginning of an Arab-Islamic Egypt (Bowman 1996).
5.3 The Dhimma System and Religious Policy
Following the conquest, Egypt was incorporated into the Rashidun Caliphate as a province governed by ʿAmr ibn al-ʿĀṣ. A treaty known as the ʿAhd al-ʿAṣ defined the rights and duties of Egypt’s Christian population. Under this dhimma pact, Copts were guaranteed:
- Freedom of worship and property,
- Protection from external aggression,
- Autonomy in ecclesiastical and civil affairs.
In return, they agreed to pay a personal tax (jizya) and a land tax (kharāj), while Muslims contributed zakat, the charitable tithe (Lapidus 2014). This arrangement reflected Islamic jurisprudence grounded in Qurʾān 9:29 and established a model of coexistence that persisted for centuries.
Initially, Coptic bishops retained authority over their congregations, monasteries, and endowments. Arabic gradually entered administration but Greek and Coptic remained in use throughout the seventh century (Richards 2000). The conquest, therefore, brought political realignment rather than abrupt cultural erasure.
5.4 Economic and Administrative Reorganisation
Under Muslim rule, taxation became more centralised and predictable. The Byzantine poll-tax system, often abused by local officials, was replaced with uniform rates administered through a new Arab bureaucracy. Egypt’s agricultural output—especially grain and flax—was redirected toward the Caliphate’s expanding trade networks across the Red Sea and the Mediterranean (Morony 1984).
The establishment of Fustat near Babylon Fortress created a hub for Arab settlers, merchants, and scholars. Mosques, markets, and judicial offices integrated Egypt into the Islamic world while maintaining a large Christian labour and artisan population. Muslims remained a minority for at least two centuries after the conquest, depending heavily on Coptic expertise in taxation and record-keeping (Mikhail 2014).
5.5 Religious and Social Consequences
The conquest ushered in a period of relative tolerance compared with the final decades of Byzantine rule. Churches were permitted to operate, monasticism flourished, and Coptic art continued to develop. Over time, however, fiscal and linguistic pressures encouraged gradual conversion to Islam:
- Converts were exempt from jizya and gained access to military or administrative careers.
- The Arabic language, made official under the Umayyad Caliph ʿAbd al-Malik (685–705 CE), became essential for commerce and law.
- Intermarriage and migration from Arabia further integrated populations (Lapidus 2014).
By the ninth century, Muslims formed a significant share of Egypt’s population; yet the Coptic Church endured as the nation’s most ancient institution, preserving pre-Islamic culture and language.
5.6 Assessment: Continuity through Change
The Arab conquest did not annihilate Egypt’s Christian heritage; rather, it initiated a dual continuity—Islamic governance alongside Coptic religious persistence. Many scholars argue that the success of the conquest lay in its administrative pragmatism and spiritual inclusivity (Butler 1897; Kennedy 2007). The Islamic vision of justice, expressed through the dhimma covenant, mirrored the ancient Egyptian quest for Maʿat—order and balance—thereby allowing a degree of cultural resonance between conqueror and conquered.
Egypt thus entered a new epoch: politically part of the Islamic world, yet spiritually anchored in its long history of faith. This synthesis of tradition and transformation would shape the country’s identity for the next fourteen centuries.
Key References
- Atiya, A.S. (1968) A History of Eastern Christianity. London: Methuen.
- Bowman, A. (1996) Egypt after the Pharaohs: 332 BC – AD 642. London: British Museum Press.
- Butler, A.J. (1897) The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last Thirty Years of the Roman Dominion. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- Kennedy, H. (2007) The Great Arab Conquests: How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson.
- Lapidus, I.M. (2014) A History of Islamic Societies (3rd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- Mikhail, M.S.A. (2014) From Byzantine to Islamic Egypt: Religion, Identity and Politics after the Arab Conquest. London: I.B. Tauris.
- Morony, M. (1984) Iraq after the Muslim Conquest. Princeton University Press.
- Richards, D.S. (2000) The Chronicle of Ibn Taghribirdi. Oxford University Press.