In the previous article, we resumed our talk of Pope Jacob’s tenure. He was the fiftieth patriarch (819-830 A.D.) We tackled his life which was full of fast, prayer, and charity. So much so that God worked several miracles through him. In effect, his reputation reached other countries. Dionysius, the patriarch of Antioch, came over twice, only to testify to Pope Jacob’s holiness and purity. Pope Jacob departed in 830 A.D. to be succeeded by Pope Simon, the fifty-first patriarch, whose papacy lasted for almost five and a half months after which he departed. St. Mark’s See remained vacant for two years due to conflicts which we shall tackle in due course after which Pope Youssab was ordained.
Egypt’s Proconsuls
At that time, Egypt was ruled by Abdaweih bin Jablah who took over after Eissa bin Yazid al-Juludi’s second term and deposition (214-215 Hijri) (829-830 A.D.).
Abdaweih Bin Jablah (215-216 Hijri) (830-831 A.D.)
He is an Abbasid commander who was delegated Egypt’s affairs by al-Mu’tasim before his heading toward the Levant. Having become proconsul, he embarked on reformation and settling whatever al-Mu’tasim had decreed.
Then, it came to pass that some of al-Houf population, from the Quaisis and Yemenis, rebelled against the caliph. So, Abdaweih mobilized an army to overcome them, sending them Eissa bin Mansur, the proconsul of al-Houf. He emerged victorious. After this had taken place, the Pisin Afšin Ḵayḏar bin Kāvus, senior general of Iranian descent at the court of the Abbasid caliphs and a vassal prince of Oshrusana came over accompanied by Ali bin Abdul Aziz al-Jarawi to claim money. Yet, they conflicted.
The Pisin deposed Abdaweih, appointing Eissa bin Mansur bin Mussa in his stead. Thus, Abdaweih ruled Egypt for one year only. Historians differed regarding the said claim of money. Some of them asserted that it is tax imposed on the country to be paid by the proconsul, while others maintained that it was Abdaweih’s money. A third category pointed out that the Pisin came over to claim Ali bin Abdul Aziz al-Jarawi’s money which he had refrained from paying. So, the Pisin killed him, deposed Abdaweih, and went to Barqa. Yet, he returned to Egypt and lived therein. We shall talk about him in due course.
During that year, al-Ma’mun left Mosul to fight Dabiq, a village near Aleppo and Antioch, after which he headed to the Levant and stayed there.
Eissa bin Mansur (216-217 Hijri) (831-832 A.D.)
He is also known as Eissa bin Mansur bin Mussa bin Eissa al-Rafqi (or al-Rafe’i). He took over Egypt’s affairs as al-Mu’tasim’s deputy after the deposition of Abdaweih. He was so ill-reputed that by the end of his tenure, Arabs and Copts rebelled in Lower Egypt and attempted to fight him and his army. Eissa was not up to the battle and retreated to al-Fustat. Taghribirdi writes, “Eissa got ready. He mobilized an army to fight them. Yet, he retreated. So, Copts and al-Gharbiya inhabitants ousted Eissa due to his bad reputation. Likewise, the tax-collector was ousted. Both disowned allegiance.”
When the Pisin got to know, he came over to Egypt that he might fight the rebels. He was joined by Eissa bin Mansur and others. Lots of battles broke out, ending in the Pisin’s victory. He killed and imprisoned many people. Then, he headed to al-Houf and fought its people due to the information he had about them. He also imprisoned many of them. Battles lasted in many Egyptian cities, including Alexandria, Damira (a village near Damietta), Mahalat al-Khulafa’, Quratsah (Beheira), and others, until the arrival of al-Ma’mun in early 217 Hijri (832 A.D.)
At that time, al-Ma’mun had returned to Iraq because of his war with the Greek king. Then, he headed to Damascus, and Egypt afterwards: for he was upset with Eissa bin Mansur, her proconsul and accused him of being the cause of the war. So, he deposed him. Al-Kindy writes that al-Ma’mun told bin Mansur, “This horrible incident is but the result of your deeds. You overloaded the people. The news was hidden from me until issues got grievous and the country tumultuous.”
Yet, al-Ma’mun marched with his army toward al-Gharbiya and al-Houf. He fought them, killed and imprisoned Copts. Taghribirdi writes, “Then, his army marched to Lower Egypt, al-Gharbiya and al-Houf, defeated the population, imprisoned Copts and exterminated their warriors…” Al-Kindy writes that al-Ma’mun ordered killing Copt men and selling women and children. So, a lot were sold, and most of them were taken in captivity. Al-Ma’mun spent forty-nine days in Egypt, then left after he had appointed Kaydar proconsul.
Kaydar (217-219 Hijri) (832-834 A.D.)
His name is Nasr bin Abdullah. He was nicknamed Kaydar. Al-Ma’mun appointed him proconsul of Egypt after he had deposed Eissa bin Mansur and sent him Bin Batam to handle police affairs. Yet, Kaydar deposed the latter quickly due to his bad reputation: for he used to take bribes and treat people harshly. During Kaydar’s tenure, al-Ma’mun died and was succeeded by his brother al-Mu’tasim who decreed that no more funding should go to the Arabs.
No sooner had Kaydar carried out al-Mu’tasim’s decree than a group led by Yahya bin al-Wazir al-Jarawi rebelled against the caliph. Kaydar died while getting ready to fight the rebels, leaving Egypt’s affairs to his son, al-Mudhaffar who was accredited by al-Mu’tasim. Thus, Kaydar ruled Egypt for two years and almost two months. During his tenure, a fierce war broke out between al-Ma’mun and the Greek king and a great fire broke out in Basra, destroying most of it, and eventually, al-Ma’mun died.
Al-Ma’mun’s Death (218 Hijri) (833 A.D.)
Al-Ma’mun died while camping in the Greeks’ land at Bedendon, a city near Tarsus. Historians maintain that while al-Ma’mun and his brother al-Mu’tasim were sitting at the shore on a hot day, they got feverish. But, al-Ma;mun died and was carried to Tarsus where he was buried. Scottish historian Sir William Muir writes, “That al-Ma’mun was fair and humble is an indisputable matter. Yet, he is to blame for his capricious views and feelings, be it in political or religious affairs. Though we acknowledge his justice, we cannot free him from extremism in injustice and cruelty without justification: as in what was undergone by Hartama and Tahir despite their faithfulness in supporting him and his reign as well as his persecuting renowned thinkers and those who differed with him in opinion, especially in religious affairs. However, should we take into account the length of his tenure and his kindness in pardoning the rebels of Baghdad, we will find that his justice outweighs his cruelty.”
However, several historians testify that al-Ma’mun’s tenure was one of science and philosophy’s most renowned eras. He had given special attention to mathematics, astronomy, medicine, philosophy and so on. Al-Ma’mun was aware that his people would not thrive except through refinement, education, spreading knowledge and caring for its patrons.
Thus, he cared for scientists, encouraged scientific and literary research, established schools and universities throughout the state. The Abbasid State cared for knowledge to such an extent that historians asserted, “The first one to care about sciences was Abu Ja’far al-Mansur. Apart from his adeptness at “fiqh”, he was quite fond of philosophy and astronomy. Then, when the caliphate was passed on to Abdullah bin al-Ma’mun bin Harun al-Rashid, the seventh Caliph, he accomplished what his ancestor al-Mansur had started, thus, he became keen on obtaining knowledge from its sources…”
Translation flourished. So, works of Plato, Aristotle, Hippocrates, Euclid wee translated. Likewise, books were translated from Persian, Indian, Hebrew, Latin, Copt and so on into Arabic. What an interesting story! Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
