Let us resume tackling the history of Egypt. Egyptians suffered a lot from the taxes imposed on them by Ubaydullah bin al-Habhab. So, they rebelled against him and complained to the caliph. The latter dismissed him and appointed his son al-Qassim in his stead. Yet, he started practicing coercion shortly afterwards. On the other hand, after Pope Theodorus had departed, St. Mark’s See remained vacant for about three years. Then, after passionate discussions, the clergy agreed to ordain presbyter Khail, of St. Makar’s Monastery Pope. He was called Pope Khail I, the 46th patriarch. We also spoke of caliph Ibrahim bin al-Walid (126-127 Hijri) (744 A.D.) who was succeeded by Marawan bin Mohammed the last Umayyad caliph. His tenure was full of wars, rifts and disasters. Egypt’s proconsul, Hafs, asked caliph Marawan to exonerate him from his post, which the latter approved of. He appointed Hassan bin Atahiya in his stead. Then Hafs bin al-Walid became proconsul, but the caliph deposed him, appointing Hawthara bin Suhayl in his stead. Bin Suhayl killed Hafs.
Hawthara bin Suhayl (128-131 Hijri)
No sooner had Hawthara undertaken Egypt’s affairs than he mobilized troops to combat Hafs bin al-Walid. Eissa bin Abu al-Ata’ took charge of the tax-collection affairs. Hawthara fought Egypt’s army and people who had assembled to prevent him from entering the country, but Hawthara resisted them. Subsequently, they asked him for reassurance, which he did. He had already settled near Fustat. There, he arrested Hafs and his troops and killed the former, after which he settled down as proconsul. He remained in office for three and a half years until the caliph deposed him, and sent him to fight the Abbasids in Iraq. He was killed in battle, to be succeeded by al-Mughira bin Ubaydullah.
Al-Mughira bin Ubaydullah
After Hawthara’s deposition and heading to Iraq to help the troops there, al-Mughira came over. Historians maintain he was kind, just, and loved by the people. No sooner had he come to Egypt, than he went to Alexandria, after which he returned to the capital. Yet, he died shortly afterwards, having been proconsul for about a year. He handed Egypt’s affairs over to his son, al-Walid. But, the caliph did not accredit him and appointed Abdul Malik bin Marawan bin Mussa bin Nusayr in his stead. Taghribirdi maintains that, “al-Mughira was pious, just, and loved by his subjects. He was one of the most respectable Umayyad princes. He did lots of good things.”
Abdul Malik bin Marawan bin Mussa bin Nusayr, the Lakhmid
He became proconsul of Egypt during the tenure of Marawan bin Mohammed. He was greedy and quite keen on collecting taxes, which made his tenure one of the most difficult eras for Copts. He hurt them a lot, for he did hate them. He arrested Pope Khail, some bishops, as well as three hundred men and women. When he asked the Pope for taxes, the latter asked him to release him. He released him after having taken all the money he had collected. Then, he arrested the Pope again, which infuriated Kyriako, the king of Nubia. Subsequently, the latter came to Egypt with his troops to have the Pope released. He wanted to fight Abdul Malik. Upon reaching Berkat al-Habash, southern Fustat, the proconsul set the Pope free and asked him to improve the relations between him and the Nubian king, which the Pope did. Abdul Malik bin Marawan was first to make imams deliver their speeches from above ambos. He persecuted Copts, which made them rebel against him. So he fought them and overcame them.
A Fall and a Rise
The main reason for the downfall of any regime is political feud. This is the lesson history offers us, for this happened to the Umayyad State. It started to weaken after the death of Caliph Hisham bin Abdul Malik and al-Walid bin Yazid’s succession to him. Al-Walid was killed as he ignored the State’s affairs. Beforehand, we spoke of his profligacy and mismanagement. Taghribirdi maintains, “Al-Walid bin Yazid was impertinent.” Then came Yazid bin al-Walid, Ibrahim al-Qassim and Marawan bin Mohammed whose tenures were ones of sedition and civil wars. Coinciding with this weakness, opponents of the Umayyad State became strong, especially the Abbasids in Iraq and Iran.
The Abbasid faction developed gradually and secretly when the Umayyad State was still powerful. Researchers believe that with the Umayyads’ enfeeblement, the Abbasids used the economic recession, racial and class discrimination which the Umayyads used to distinguish Arabs from non-Arabs for their own interest.
The Abbasid call was handled by Mohammed bin Ali bin Abdullah bin al-Abbas and his son Ibrahim who the caliph imprisoned in Harran until his death in 746 A.D. So, his brother Abul Abbas took over the Abbasid movement after Abu Muslim of Khorasan had called upon him, having declared the Abbasid State in Khorasan. He occupied Merv, then moved to Kufa secretly. He remained there until its people pledged allegiance to him. Amidst these incidents, the Umayyad army led by Marawan bin Mohammed fought the Abbasid army led by Abul Abbas near Great Zab, northern Iraq. Marawan’s army was defeated.
While the conflict was going on, Caliph Marawan bin Mohammed fled to Egypt. During his stay there, he persecuted Copts and arrested Pope Khail I one more time, along with the Melchite patriarch Quzma who he released, having bribed him. When he asked Pope Khail for the same amount of money, he could not pay. So he kept him in prison. The Abbasid army followed Marawan to Egypt. So, his troops fled to Upper Egypt and committed many atrocities with the Copts. They killed and robbed them. They also imprisoned women and children, and burned monasteries. Thus, it was one of the hard times which Egypt witnessed.
Pope Khail I, the 46th patriarch
He was ordained during the tenure of caliph Hisham bin Abdul Malik. Some proconsuls gave him a hard time, whereas others liked him. Iris Habib al-Masri asserts that the first year of his papacy was full of tribulation. Ossama bin Yazid gave Egyptians a hard time then. The Pope could do nothing but pray. He went to Sceti desert with some bishops. Then, the caliph deposed Ossama. During the tenure of Hassan bin Atahiya (or during that of Hawthara bin Suhayl), the proconsul was on good terms with Pope Khail I and Abba Moses, bishop of Useem who was always with the Pope.
During the reign of Marawan bin Mohammed, the Melchites asked the caliph to take St. Mina’s church in Marriott, claiming it was theirs, not the Copts’. So, the caliph summoned the Pope and the Melchite patriarch to know more about the issue, only to start a new story. Stories never end in Beautiful Egypt.
General Bishop
Head of the Coptic Orthodox Cultural Center
