Egypt Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Middle Ages (7th century – 1517) === {{Main|Egypt in the Middle Ages}} [[File:C9B5617-Pano.jpg|thumb|The [[Mosque of Amr ibn al-As|Amr ibn al-As]] mosque in Cairo, recognised as the oldest in Africa]] The Byzantines were able to regain control of the country after a brief [[Sasanian Empire|Sasanid Persian]] invasion early in the 7th century amidst the [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]] during which they established a new short-lived province for ten years known as [[Sasanian Egypt]], until 639–42, when Egypt was invaded and [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|conquered by the Islamic caliphate]] by the [[Muslim]] Arabs. When they defeated the Byzantine armies in Egypt, the [[Arabs]] brought [[Sunni Islam|Islam]] to the country. Some time during this period, Egyptians began to blend in their new faith with indigenous beliefs and practices, leading to various [[Sufism|Sufi]] orders that have flourished to this day.<ref name="georgetown" /> These earlier rites had survived the period of [[Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria|Coptic Christianity]].<ref>{{cite book|last=El-Daly|first=Okasha|title=Egyptology: The Missing Millennium|year=2005|publisher=UCL Press|location=London|page=140}}</ref> In 639 an army were sent in Egypt by the second [[caliph]], [[Umar]], under the command of [[Amr ibn al-As]]. They defeated a Roman army at the battle of Heliopolis. Amr next proceeded in the direction of Alexandria, which surrendered to him by a treaty signed on 8 November 641. Alexandria was regained for the Byzantine Empire in 645 but was retaken by Amr in 646. In 654 an invasion fleet sent by [[Constans II]] was repulsed. The Arabs founded the capital of Egypt called [[Fustat]], which was later burned down during the Crusades. Cairo was later built in the year 986 to grow to become the largest and richest city in the [[Arab caliphate]], second only to [[Baghdad]]. ==== Abbasid period ==== [[File:ساحة مسجد احمد بن طولون.jpg|thumb|The [[Ibn Tulun Mosque]] in Cairo, of [[Ahmad Ibn Tulun]]]] The [[Abbasid]] period was marked by new taxations, and the Copts revolted again in the fourth year of Abbasid rule. At the beginning of the 9th century the practice of ruling Egypt through a governor was resumed under [[Abdallah ibn Tahir]], who decided to reside at [[Baghdad]], sending a deputy to Egypt to govern for him. In 828 another Egyptian revolt broke out, and in 831 the Copts joined with native Muslims against the government. Eventually the power loss of the Abbasids in Baghdad led for general upon general to take over rule of Egypt, yet being under Abbasid allegiance, the [[Tulunid dynasty]] (868–905) and [[Ikhshidid dynasty]] (935–969) were among the most successful to defy the Abbasid Caliph. ==== Fatimids, Ayyubids and Mamluks ==== [[File:مسـجد الحاكم بأمر الله 06.jpg|thumb|The [[Al-Hakim Mosque]] in Cairo, of [[Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah]], the sixth caliph, as renovated by [[Dawoodi Bohra]] ]] Muslim rulers remained in control of Egypt for the next six centuries, with [[Cairo]] as the seat of the [[Fatimid Caliphate]]. With the end of the [[Ayyubid dynasty]], the [[Mamluk]]s, a [[Turkic people|Turco]]-[[Circassians|Circassian]] military caste, took control about 1250. By the late 13th century, Egypt linked the Red Sea, India, Malaya, and East Indies.<ref name="Abu-Lughod">{{cite book|last=Abu-Lughod|first=Janet L.|author-link=Janet Abu-Lughod|title=Before European Hegemony: The World System A.D. 1250–1350|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1991|orig-year=1989|pages=[https://archive.org/details/beforeeuropeanhe00abul_1/page/243 243–244]|isbn=978-0-19-506774-3|chapter=The Mideast Heartland|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rYlgGU2SLiQC&pg=PA244|url=https://archive.org/details/beforeeuropeanhe00abul_1/page/243}}</ref> The mid-14th-century [[Black Death]] killed about 40% of the country's population.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/egypt/57.htm |title=Egypt – Major Cities |publisher=Countrystudies.us |access-date=8 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117011718/http://countrystudies.us/egypt/57.htm |archive-date=17 January 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page