From the Arab conquest to the British occupation. – After the conquest of Syria, Palestine, ‛lrāq and Mesopotamia by the Arabs (13-18 èg., 635-640 AD), the Byzantine dominion over Egypt came to be seriously threatened: yes he repeated the usual phenomenon in the history of Anterior Asia and North Africa, whereby each of the powers occupying the valley of the Nile and that of the Tigris and Euphrates is drawn to aspire to overthrow the other and to submit to it. As already in the time of the Assyrians and Persians, Macedonians and Romans, the possession of Palestine opened access to Egypt to the lords of Syria and Mesopotamia. The initiative for the conquest was due to ‛Amr ibn al-‛Āṣ (v.), A great leader and shrewd politician, who broke through the isthmus in the Delta region and, defeated the Byzantines in a pitched battle, he conquered the Babylon fortress on the Nile (south of today’s Cairo), thus cutting communications between Upper and Lower Egypt (18 èg. = 640). The siege of Alexandria indeed lasted for a long time, due to the military inexperience of the Arabs and the Byzantine dominion over the sea, and the city, once surrendered (21 èg. = 642) was later withdrawn from the Arabs for a short time. (642-45). But finally, while the Arab occupation extended into Upper Egypt reaching Nubia, and towards the Pentapolis (Cyrenaica), a prelude to the conquest of the entire North Africa, Alexandria also fell definitively into the hands of the Arabs. The siege of Alexandria indeed lasted for a long time, due to the military inexperience of the Arabs and the Byzantine dominion over the sea, and the city, once surrendered (21 èg. = 642) was later withdrawn from the Arabs for a short time. (642-45). But finally, while the Arab occupation extended into Upper Egypt reaching Nubia, and towards the Pentapolis (Cyrenaica), a prelude to the conquest of the entire North Africa, Alexandria also fell definitively into the hands of the Arabs. The siege of Alexandria indeed lasted for a long time, due to the military inexperience of the Arabs and the Byzantine dominion over the sea, and the city, once surrendered (21 èg. = 642) was later withdrawn from the Arabs for a short time. (642-45). But finally, while the Arab occupation extended into Upper Egypt reaching Nubia, and towards the Pentapolis (Cyrenaica), a prelude to the conquest of the entire North Africa, Alexandria also fell definitively into the hands of the Arabs.
According to beautypically.com, the new lords, as they had already done in iu Syria and in ‛Irāq, did not establish the seat of government in the ancient capital, but encamped at the fortress of Babylon, and from their military camp a great city gradually arose (al-Fusṭāṭ), which was the capital of Muslim Egypt until the foundation of Cairo (v.). This clear detachment of the conquerors from the indigenous population, to which their administration was essentially left under the ancient local, civil and ecclesiastical authorities, however gradually diminished, especially due to the influx of new Arab tribes (especially from the southern branch) in the footsteps of the first conquerors. These at first exercised their power almost exclusively in the form of tax collection, and the papyri have preserved interesting examples of the way in which these were distributed and taken; the same papyri show, on the other hand, how the use of Greek in administration is gradually taking over from that of Arabic: an indication of the gradual assimilation which took place between Arabs and natives, in Egypt, as in the rest of ‘Arab Empire (v.Arabs: History, III, p. 828). The Greek element, less numerous, was the first to disappear, while the Coptic one lasted longer, and several centuries passed before the Christians of Egypt lost the use of their national language (see Copts, XI, p. 334) But the penetrating force of Arabism and Islam, favored of course by the material and moral advantages of conversion to the dominant religion, ended up giving Egypt a predominantly Arab-Muslim imprint, in which, however, alongside the characters common to the entire Arab world, some typically national traits were maintained (and still remain today), which led to the preservation of that country its own physiognomy within the immense empire of the caliphs, favoring its future autonomy.
The political, military and economic importance of Egypt for the Caliphate was enormous, both as a starting point for further expansion into Africa and for its relations with the rest of the Empire. This explains the considerable part it played in the civil struggles that took place under the caliphates of ‛Othmān (644-656) and‛ Alī (656-661) and its temporary occupation, under the Umayyads, by the anti-caliph Ibn az- Zubair. In Egypt the last of the Umayyad caliphs, Marwān II, withdrew, and there he was defeated and killed by Abu‛l-‛Abbās.
The process of detachment of the provinces that marked the end of the political unity of the caliphate soon manifested itself in Egypt as well. After a series of governors more or less strictly dependent on the central government, Aḥmad ibn Ṭūlūn, of Turkish origin, acted as an autonomous ruler (254-270 èg. = 868-884), and extended his dominion not only over the whole of Egypt, but also on Palestine and Syria (which were administratively detached from it), thus resuming the policy of the Pharaohs and Ptolemies. The release of ties with the Baghdād Caliphate restored Egypt to its position of splendor and power; and from the century IX onwards it can be said that, except for brief parentheses, its history takes place independently. Indeed, Ibn Ṭūlūn’s attempt to found a dynasty failed, since after the death of his son and successor Khumarawaih (883-895) Egypt was again administered by the government of the caliphs; but not long after another Turkish governor, Muḥammad al-Ikhshīd, gave him back an autonomous government, which lasted from 935 to 969.
