Beautiful Egypt 115 – «A Promise and a Warning» July 12, 2015

In the previous article, we spoke of Pope Isaac, the forty-first patriarch, and Pope Simon I, the forty-second patriarch who were contemporary to Abdul Aziz bin Marawan’s reign on Egypt. Meanwhile, we shall continue speaking of Pope Simon I.
Pope Simon I had trouble with the proconsul because of an Indian delegation affiliated to the Church of Antioch that was in charge of ordaining their priests and bishops. The members of that delegation tried to go to Antioch in order to have a bishop ordained for them. Yet, they could not reach it, which is why they headed to Alexandria to meet Pope Simon. They asked him to ordain a bishop for India. He apologized due to the fact that they were affiliated to the Church of Antioch. Also, he could not do so without telling the proconsul. So, they went to the proconsul.
On their way, they met some Melchites affiliated to the Church of Rome who got to know of their story. So, they took them to their patriarch who ordained them two priests and a bishop, after which they headed to India. On their way back, they were arrested by the border guards and taken to Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marawan in Damascus. Yet, the Indian priest fled to Egypt. When the caliph got to know they were heading from Egypt back to their country, he had their hands and legs chopped off, and sent them to the proconsul of Egypt, rebuking him for not knowing what was going on in his province, and accusing the patriarch of Alexandria of treason for sending Egypt’s news to India. He ordered that the patriarch be beaten two hundred lashes, and laid a one-thousand-dinar fine on him.
Proconsul Abdul Aziz got furious. He summoned Pope Simon and asked him to say the truth, having threatened to kill him. The Pope told the proconsul about the Indian priest’s request which he had refused. Yet, the proconsul did not believe and started to threaten him more. The Pope asked for a seven-day grace that he might pray and beseech God to make matters clear. However, the proconsul only gave him three days, during which the Pope entreated God to reveal the truth to the proconsul. By the end of the second day, one of the patriarch’s scribes saw the Indian priest walking by the sea after escaping from the caliph’s men. He hurried and took him to the Pope.
On the third day, the Pope accompanied the priest to the proconsul, having already taken his promise: “I would like you to swear to God that you would hurt neither me nor those people. Forgive them for God’s sake, that truth might be revealed unto you.” The proconsul gave him his word. So, the Pope brought the Indian priest who told the proconsul the truth. So, he ordered that he be imprisoned and the Melchite patriarch be summoned. He sent a message to his brother, the caliph, declaring the Pope not guilty. After that, the Pope asked the proconsul to fulfill his promise and pardon the wrongdoers. So, the proconsul fulfilled his promise, acquitted the Indian priest and Melchite patriarch. Pope Simon continued to serve God until he departed in 700 A.D.
After the departure of Pope Simon I, the patriarchal See remained vacant for a while. One Copt elite, an Athanasius, who was a clerk, suggested that Abba Gregorius, bishop of al-Qays, manage the Church’s affairs, which the proconsul approved of. Thus, the bishop went to Alexandria where he continued to manage the Church’s affairs for three years during which St. Mark’s See was vacant. After that Pope Alexandros II was ordained forty-third patriarch. He was contemporary to Caliph Abdul Malik bin Marawan.

Abdul Malik bin Marawan (685-705 A.D.)
Abdul Malik bin Marawan became caliph after his father’s death. He was in charge of Egypt and the Levant only. Iraq and Hejaz were still under Abdullah bin al-Zubayr’s control. Abdul Malik bin Marawan sent a great army to Iraq which overcame Mus’ab bin al-Zubayr, then entered Kufa. Marawan assigned his brother Bishr the tenure of Iraq after it had succumbed to him. Then the caliph returned to Damascus, from where he dispatched an army to Hejaz led by al-Hajjaj bin Yusuf al-Thaqafi to terminate the conflict with Abdullah bin al-Zubayr who had declared himself caliph after the death of Yazid bin Mu’awiyah bin Abu Sufyan. Al-Hajjaj emerged victorious after a nine-year tenure, after which Abdul Malik assigned al-Hajjaj the tenure of Mecca, Medina, al-Ta’if, Yemen and al-Yamama.
Abdul Malik looked after Damascus. So he built hospitals and hotels. He was the first to mint the dinar. He wrote his name on it. He honored sages and thinkers, which is why Damascus became scientists’ destination. Likewise he was interested in accomplishing Islamic conquests, whereby Morocco, Armenia, and the Syrian coasts were conquered. He also conquered fortresses like Markas, Amorium, and Antioch. Thus, the State extended during his tenure. He was the first to establish a naval base in Tunisia. Historians ascribe to him the arabization of Persian bureaus. During his tenure, many agricultural industrial reformations were conducted, which brought about great prosperity. Likewise, he looked after architecture. So, he built the Dome of the Rock Shrine in Jerusalem. It is in unique for its octagonal shape, with a high dome decorated with mosaic.
Abdul Malik never allowed anybody to dissimulate him. It came to pass that a man asked Abdul Malik’s audience in private. So, the latter dismissed his company. When they were by themselves, Abdul Malik told the man, “Beware of three things: do not praise me, for I know myself better than you do; do not lie to me, for I do not take a liar’s opinion into consideration; do not complain from one of my subjects, for I shall be fair and pardon them more than I can oppress or coerce them.”
Abdul Malik wanted to depose his brother from Egypt’s reign and appoint his son in his stead. Yet, Abdul Aziz refused and wrote to his brother, saying, “I think of my son Abu Bakr what you think of your son al-Walid.” So, he sent him a message asking for Egypt’s taxes. Abdul Aziz replied, “Both of us have become of age. We are too old to live that longer. We know not who dies first. So, do not spoil the rest of my life.” Abdul Malik’s sympathized with his brother and left him in peace.
Abdul Aziz got ill. He died in 704 A.D. in Helwan, after his son, al-Asbagh had died. He was buried in Fustat. His was the longest tenure Egypt had witnessed. After that, Abdul Malik assigned his son Abdullah the affairs of Egypt. Historians maintain that he changed the official writing language from Coptic into Arabic. Yet, some said that official bureaus continued to use Coptic side by side with Arabic until all was arabized. Here is another story. Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.

General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center