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In the previous article, we resumed tackling the tenure of Anbasah bin Isaac which witnessed raids from the Romans, turmoil in southern Upper Egypt, as well as assigning Egypt’s affairs to al-Fath bin Khaqan, instead of al-Muntasir, al-Mutawakil’s son. Anbasah was succeeded by Yazid bin Abdullah.
Yazid bin Abdullah (242 Hijri) (758 A.D.)
Yazid bin Abdullah bin Dinar was Turkish. He was assigned Egypt’s affairs after Anbasah’s deposition. Yazid ruled Egypt for more than ten years, which is the longest tenure Egypt had witnessed during the Abbasid period. Historians assert that Yazid was the first to annul announcing funerals and order the beating of whoever did so. Also, he prohibited betting on horses. Al-Kindi writes, “In Shawwal, Yazid ordered that the Sultan’s horses be sold. He prohibited betting. Thus, it stopped for forty-nine years.”
Taghribirdi asserts that he treated Shi’a and Alawites so cruelly, “that he chased and exterminated them. Then, he turned against the Alawites, putting them into tribulation and expelling them from Egypt.”
Al-Kindi also points out that Yazid ordered flogging a soldier ten backlashes because of a mistake. So, the soldier pleaded Yazid in the name of al-Hassan and al-Hussein to pardon him. However, Yazid sentenced him to thirty backlashes! When al-Mutawakil was informed of this, he ordered Yazid to increase the backlashes to one hundred! This he did, then sent the soldier to Baghdad.
Also, when Yazid got to know of the Romans’ advent to Damietta, he left al-Fustat and went to stay there for a time that was void of wars. So, he returned to the capital. Yet, no sooner had he done so than he got to know that the Romans returned to Damietta. Historians are not unanimous regarding this affair. Some, such as Taghribirdi, assert it was Damietta, while others, like al-Kindi and Maqrizi, maintain that it was Pelusium, Sinai. Yazid headed to them, yet never encountered them. So, he stayed there for a while, after which he returned to Egypt.
Because agriculture has always been important to Egypt, a Nilometer was built. It was moved from Nubia to Memphis, Ansana, then Akhmim, after which Amr bin al-‘As built a Nilometer at Aswan, and another in Ansana during Mu’awiya’s tenure. A Nilometer was established in Helwan, in accordance with Abdul Aziz bin Marawan’s order, then another in al-Rhoda island during the tenure of Soliman bin Abdul Malik. A Nilometer was also built in al-Rhoda island during the tenure of Yazid bin Abdullah. It was a huge edifice that was known as the Hashemite Nilometer or the Great Nilometer.
Taghribirdi writes, “Al-Mutawakil built a Nilometer in al-Rhoda in 247 Hijri (861 A.D.) during the tenure of Yazid bin Abdullah. This is the great Nilometer, also known as, the New one. Engineer Mohammed bin Kathir al-Far’ani came over from Iraq to handle its building. Al-Mutawakil ordered that Christians be prohibited from measuring it. So, the proconsul of Egypt, Yazid bin Abdullah, appointed Abul Raddad al-Faqih, the teacher, supervisor…” The building of this Nilometer cost a lot of money and effort.
Historians also point out that during his tenure, many destructive earthquakes occurred in several countries. Taghribirdi writes that during the third year of Yazid’s tenure, earthquakes hit Iraq, Morocco, Antioch, and Khorasan, thus, ruining castles, cities, and bridges, and killing numerous people. Horrific sounds emanated from the sky and, “There was an earthquake in Egypt; and the people of Belbeis heard a horrible sound, and many of them died. The earth drowned out in Mecca springs.” The earthquake happened again during the seventh year of Yazid’s tenure, 249 Hijiri (863-864 A.D.), killing numerous people. Plague spread in Iraq, killing a great deal of the population.
During the fifth year of Yazid’s tenure, 247 Hijri (861 A.D.), al-Mutawakil was killed, along with his minister al-Fath bin Khaqan. He was succeeded by his son, al-Muntasir who, yet, died six months later. During the sixth year of Yazid’s tenure, 248 Hijri (862 A.D.), the caliphate was passed on to al-Musta’in bellah, is al-Muntasir’s cousin, who was deposed, and the caliphate was passed on to al-Mu’taz bellah, al-Mutawakil’s son. Thus, Yazid was contemporary to four caliphs.
In the light of the tumultuous affairs of the caliphate, Egypt witnessed Alexandria Rebellion in 252 Hijri (866 A.D.) It was led by a Jabir bin al-Walid and resulted in an outbreak of a war between Yazid and Jabir which lasted for a while in which one team overcame the other once. When Yazid could not emerge victorious, he would seek al-Mu’taz bellah’s aid. So, he sent him a great army led by Muzahim bin Khaqan which joined Yazid’s army. Fierce battles broke out, ending up in the defeat of Jabir, the rebel, and his troops. When the war ended, the caliph deposed Yazid, appointing Muzahim in his stead.
As for the Church, one of Abba Yehnes’ Monastery’s monks was nominated candidate for the patriarchate, after the departure of Pope Youssab I in 849 A.D.
Pope Khail II (849-851 A.D.)
After the departure of Pope Youssab I, father Khail was unanimously chosen. So, he was ordained patriarch. He was the fifty-third patriarch. No sooner had he become in charge of the Church’s affairs, than he was annoyed by some proconsuls who continued asking him for money, lest they depose him! Such bothering was too pressuring that the Pope had to sell the Church’s tools in order to pay the money. Also, during his papacy, al-Mutawakil compelled Jews and Christians to wear honey-colored clothes to discriminate them from Muslims.
Pope Khail II’s tenure did not last for a long time, as he departed in 851 A.D., having been Pope for one year and five months. He was succeeded by Pope Quzman II, which is another story. Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
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