Islamic conquest of Egypt

Islamic conquest of Egypt

How was Egypt before the arrival of Muslims to it:

Prior to the conquest, Egypt was one of the states of the Roman

state. 
It was taken over by the Romans in 40 BC and ruled over the rule of the Pharaohs. Then the Roman Empire divided into two eastern and western parts. Egypt used to follow the eastern section known as the Byzantine Empire and its capital was Constantinople, and Egypt was one of the richest states of the empire and it was the safety valve for the food of the world and the basket of its food and fruit. They made it provide them with the grain they needed and closed the doors of high positions to the indigenous people of Egypt,

The Romans had enslaved the Egyptians and tried by force to impose their Christian doctrine that contradicts the doctrine of the Egyptian Christians, so they persecuted the Egyptians and oppressed them, and the Egyptians were resisting this persecution, and they were looking forward to get rid of this ruling.

The Ruler of Egypt was very arbitrary to the Egyptians and he resorted to oppression and torture, at a time when the Byzantine rule was power struggles and was heading towards decline and weakness.

How was the Muslim state when Egypt was conquered:

Muslims were continuing the path of the Prophet, peace and blessings are upon him, in conquest  the country and spreading Islam so that the word of God is supreme, and they set the most wonderful examples of faith, heroism, and morals, so they opened the hearts of worshipers.

After Caliph Abu Bakr was able to establish the pillars of the state in the Arabian Peninsula and eliminate the apostates, Caliph Umar bin Al-Khattab continued the conquests outside the Arabian Peninsula.

Muslims defeated the Persian state in 14 (or 15) Hijri, led by the hero Saad bin Abi Waqqas, and they continued to conquer the country of the Romans one after the other.

Damascus was conquered "14 AH / 635 AD", and Jerusalem was "16 AH / 637 AD" - and the turn came to conquer Egypt and the African continent.

Reasons and motives for conquest  Egypt

. The completion of the conquest of the Romans, and the countries of Syria and Palestine, including Jerusalem, was liberated from the hands of the Romans, and the conquest of Egypt is a natural extension of the conquest of Syria and Palestine.

. The impossibility of communicating the message of Islam to Egypt and Africa without facing the Romans. Al-Muqawqis rejected the Prophet's calls to Islam and then Abi Bakr and Omar.

 Egypt represents the military and economic power of the Byzantine state, and its conquest weakens the Romans in exchange for annexing this power to the Muslims.

. Failure to open Egypt may pose a Byzantine threat to Muslims in Syria, Palestine and Arabia, and may launch attacks to take back the country that Muslims took from their hands.

Take the decision to open Egypt

The destiny of Caliph Omar bin Al-Khattab wanted the conquests to widen during his reign in a short time, and the caliph tended to slow the conquest of more countries until the newly opened country was established and Islam took root in the hearts of new Muslims.

Perhaps the caliph was also afraid of a backlash to the new conditions, and he feared the dispersion of armies in the countries.

Also, the circumstances of the Arabian Peninsula were not stable, especially after the year of Ramada and the plague of Emmaus in the year 18 AH, when tens of thousands of people died from hunger and pandemic.

Amr ibn al-Aas tried to persuade the caliph to the necessity of conquering Egypt, and explained the importance of expediting the matter. Ibn Abd al-Hakam narrates that Amr ibn al-Aas indicated to Umar ibn al-Khattab that he opened it and said: Permit me in the march to Egypt; that if you conquered it was a force for Muslims and a help to them.

Omar hesitated about the matter, fearing that Muslims would suffer from exhaustion from the frequent wars, and they had emptied close to the conquests of Syria and Palestine, fearing the expansion of the conquest without establishing the feet of the Muslims and spreading their religion in open countries, but Amr bin Al-Aas still reviewed Ibn Al-Khattab until he persuaded him to invade Egypt Then, Omar bin Al-Khattab sent to Amr Bin Al-Aas a book stating: If my book grasps you before you enter Egypt or something from its land, then leave it, and if you enter it before my book comes to you, then flash it to your face, and seek help from God and seek His help.

The power of the Byzantines in Egypt

The Romans formed 3 military garrisons in Egypt, 9 companies, and 3 units of cavalry, and the number of the army ranged between 25 to 30 thousand soldiers, commanded by 5 corps (the Duke is the supreme commander.

The itinerary of operations to open Egypt

Conquest  a Hill al-Farama (It is located at the entrance to Port Said Governorate)

In the year 18 AH / 639AD, it was decided to implement the decision taken to open Egypt at the Jabiyya conference, and entrusted Omar bin Al-Khattab to Amr bin Al-Aas to lead the operation, but at his disposal three thousand five hundred soldiers, and it was said: four thousand, and he was asked to make it a secret. He walks by his arm in good walking.

Amr ibn al-Aaswalked with his soldiers, breaking through the Sinai desert, and taking the coastal road until he reached Al-Arish (the first cities in Egypt in terms of Syria and Palestine) on Eid al-Adha: “10 Dhu al-Hijjah 18 AH / 12 December 639AD”, and found it free from the Byzantine forces, so he entered and encouraged him On the resumption of progress, Al-Arish departed along with the path migrants, conquerors and merchants had taken since ancient times, then he departed south leaving the coast road and took the path in which the Persians marched when he seized Egypt until he reached Farma (on the coast from the side of Egypt, which is the key Egypt in the East.

The news of the march of the Muslims had reached the ears of Al-Maqoukis, so he prepared to confront them but chose not to clash with them in Al-Arish, or Al-Farama and fortified behind the fortress of Babylon (ancient Egypt, a generic name for the homes of Egypt in the language of the ancients, and it was said: it is a name for the place of Fustat in particular), perhaps due to This is due to:

- That Al-Arish and Al-Farma are two villages from the desert, knowing that Muslims are the most capable of people in the desert war, in addition to their proximity to Palestine, which makes the supply of Amr with soldiers from Jerusalem and its surroundings an easy matter, so he preferred to allow Omar to go on crawling, and penetrate into the land of Egypt to keep him away from His bases then attack him, and he relied on strong Ferma fortresses to block his progress without risking going himself there, or sending Al-Artboun, the chief commander, and this is a military mistake that he often cost as the sound military plan required that he send his forces to the Farma to stop the advance of Muslims there, and if he did so And he possesses enormous military power, perhaps

Egypt under Islamic rule:

After the situation stabilized, Amr bin El-Aas announced to the Egyptians that there is no compulsion in religion and that freedom of belief is sacred.

The Coptic Patriarch Benjamin returned to Alexandria after fleeing from the Romans for 13 years, and told his followers:

“I returned to my country of Alexandria, and I found it safe from fear, reassuring after the calamity and God distracted us from the agony of oppression.”

One of the effects of freedom was that the Egyptians looked at religions and with the passage of time the majority accepted Islam, and a class remained on Christianity and a smaller category on Judaism.

With the succession of centuries, Mushtar became one of the most important and prominent strongholds of Islam, as it continued as one of the strongholds of Orthodox Christianity.

Amr ibn al-As reduced taxes on Egyptians, organized the collection of the abscess, and took care of irrigation engineering, from digging bays, repairing bridges, filling canals, building measures for the Nile, and building basins and arches.

Among the most famous things Amr did was digging a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea, facilitating contact with the Arabian Peninsula, and known as the Gulf of the Commander of the Faithful.

The situation of the Egyptians improved and their wealth increased, they reassured their lives, property, and future, and they enjoyed calm and stability.

Amr established the city of Fustat and made it the capital of Egypt instead of Alexandria, and he built the first mosque in Egypt was known by his name later.

From Egypt Amr and continued the conquests of North Africa and organized the order of giving, construction, agriculture, and irrigation and he remained in the state of Egypt until his death in 43 AH.