Beautiful Egypt 161 – «Silence and Moaning» June 19, 2016

   In our previous articles, we tackled the life and tribulation of Pope Khail who was imprisoned for a while. We also spoke of Kistos who used to serve the Pope and those who were imprisoned with him. Likewise, we spoke of Marawan’s escape from the Abbasid army, his arrest and death, which terminated the Umayyad tenure. Also, we tackled the story of Abba Moses, bishop of Usim, who was a prominent, influential figure at that time. He accompanied Pope Khail at the times of tribulation which he, as well the Egyptians and the Copts, in specific, had faced. When Marawan fled to Upper Egypt, he ordered his sentries to ransack the country. They started killing men, imprisoning women and children, robbing whatever they found, and demolishing churches. The inhabitants of Taha, Menya, were either killed or exiled, though they exceeded twenty thousand. That was because they ceased paying taxes. Their churches were demolished, save one which one-third became a mosque: for Copts were unable to pay one thousand dinars out of three thousand which they pledged to pay to preserve it.

   Monasteries were also ransacked by Marawan’s sentries, and nuns raped! Thus, they continued to kill and rob people and places until they reached Akhmim. There, for instance, they ransacked a convent where thirty virgins were living. Among them was a beautiful nun. They decided to take her to the caliph as a gift! When she knew their intentions, she said, “I have been worshipping God for several years in holiness.” She asked them not to defile her against which she promised to prescribe them a medication that would preserve their necks from swords! They were amazed. She explained that her ancestors would apply this medicine before going to battle so that swords might not hurt them. She continued, “If you don’t believe me, I shall apply it to my neck. Anyone can now strike me with his sword. You will see it won’t do me any harm.” Then, she hurried to her cell, brought oil which she applied to body and neck, then, she produced her neck and asked that the bravest of them try his sword. So, one of them struck her and cut her neck. She died. So, they realized that she did so to preserve her chastity, repented, and left the convent promptly. The persecutions, epidemics, and famines which alighted on Egypt killed lots of people, which reduced the entirety of the population.

The Abbasid State

   As we mentioned earlier, the founding of the Abbasid State depended a lot on Persians who hated the Umayyads that deprived them from renowned posts. After the establishment of the Abbasid State, the capital was moved from Damascus to Kufa, then to al-Anbar, until Baghdad was founded to be the capital. The Abbasid tenure started in 750 A.D. It ended in Baghdad in 1250 A.D. after the Tatars had invaded it. Hulago Khan killed the caliph, his sons, as well as most of the city’s population. At that time, Egypt witnessed the rise of several states, namely, the Tulunid, Ikhshidid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, then, the Mamluk. The Abbasids who survived moved to Cairo where they re-founded the caliphate in 1261 A.D. But, actually, it was the Mamluks who had the upper hand. Hence, the Abbasid caliphate ended with the advent of the Ottomans. Worthy mentioning is that the Abbasid State reached the peak of expansion in 850 A.D.

   As the Umayyad State ended, Egypt became subject of the Abbasid State. Iris Habib al-Masri writes, “The people of Khorasan, who helped Abu al-Abbas attain victory, communicated with Pope Michael I and were quite generous to him. Being wise, he decided to restore ruined churches and retrieve the money that had been wasted. Likewise, the people of Khorasan were kind to the Peshmurians (Copts of the Delta), exempting them from jizya and giving them lots of money. Thus, Egypt retrieved some of its quietude. A lot of effort was exerted to establish security. Yet, this did not endure for a long time, due to deposing proconsuls quickly lest one of them would make Egypt an independent state. Thus, instability overwhelmed. Proconsuls gave a lot of attention to collecting money during their short tenures, heedless of the country and citizens.

Caliph Abu al-Abbas Abdullah (132-136 Hijri) (750-754 A.D.)

   His full name is Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Ali bin Abdullah bin al-Abbas bin Abdul Muttalib. He was the first Abbasid caliph. Likewise, he was called the “blood shedder” (as-saffah) due to his killing many people, especially when he conquered Damascus. He was caliph for four years. People pledged allegiance to him in Kufa. So, Marawan bin Mohammed resisted him until he was killed in Egypt, as we mentioned earlier. His tenure witnessed some rebellions which Umayyads’ followers ignited. But he overcame them. He moved from Kufa to al-Anbar where he built al-Hashimiya to be his headquarters. He remained there until he died by Smallpox, having made Abu Ja’far al-Mansur, his brother, heir apparent. During his tenure, Egypt was governed by Saleh bin Ali bin Abdullah, the Abbasid, then Abu Oun Abdul Malek bin Yazid.

Saleh bin Ali bin Abdullah, the Abbasid (133 Hijri) (750-751 A.D.)

   He is the first Abbasid proconsul of Egypt. He was assigned the post by his brother, the caliph. In Egypt, he arrested the Egyptian Umayyads. He killed lots of them, sending the rest to Iraq where they were put to death in a remote castle called Qalansuwa, near al-Ramla. Then, the caliph assigned him Palestine. So, he left Egypt, having handed it over to Abu Oun bin Abdul Malek bin Yazid. Thus, he governed Egypt for about seven months. Yet, he became proconsul again, about which we will talk later.

Abu Oun bin Abdul Malek bin Yazid (133-136 Hijri) (751-753 A.D.)

   He was handed over the affairs of Egypt by Saleh bin Ali. He remained in Egypt until an epidemic alighted on it. So, he left to Gabal Yeshkor that is located between Cairo and Olden Cairo, leaving his head of police, Akremah bin Abdullah there until the epidemic subsided. So, he returned to Egypt and remained there until he left for Damietta in 135 Hijri (752 A.D.), leaving the affairs of the state to Akremah again, and assigning Ata’ bin Shorahbil the tax authority. In fact, Ata’ bin Shorahbil and Safei had come to Egypt to settle matters down: for Marawan had burned all the records and ministries accounting books before he had fled. The two men were greedy and merciless. So, they re-doubled the taxes imposed on Copts, as the easiest way to make more money was to impose taxes on Egyptians in general, and Copts in specific.

   So, Pope Khail went to the proconsul to remind him of the Khorasanian commander’s pledge to spread justice and save Copts from mistreatment. This took place when he defeated Marawan bin Mohammed. But the proconsul told him that these taxes were imposed according to the caliph’s strict directives, as Egyptians were defamed at his court when some claimed that good treatment might make them rebel, just like what the Peshmurians did with Marawan. The Pope requested the reduction of some taxes. So, the proconsul asked his scribes to execute the Pope’s request, but they did not. Both Pope Khail and Abba Moses kept negotiating with them for a whole month until they succeeded in reducing taxes.

   Historians like Taghribirdi and Abdul Aziz Jamal al-Din maintain that the Copts of Lower Egypt rebelled against the proconsul. They were led by an “Abu Mina”. The proconsul sent them soldiers who fought and killed them. Then, the proconsul returned to Egypt. At that time, he got to know that the caliph deposed him, re-assigning Saleh bin Ali, the Abbasid, the country’s affairs. Thus, he governed Egypt for two years and eight months. It is said that Abu Oun was fair, and treated everybody well. Thus, Pope Khail was able to conduct pastoral tours at that time. Here is another story… Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt

General Bishop

Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center