The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo
The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo
The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo
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8 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Art</strong> and <strong>Architecture</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Islamic</strong> <strong>Cairo</strong><br />
Besides the Hellenes and Egyptians, the Alexandrian commun-<br />
ity consisted <strong>of</strong> Syrians, Persians, Arabs and Jews. Egypt had been a<br />
refuge for the Jews since the time <strong>of</strong> Nebuchadnezzar, and they<br />
formed significant colonies in Aswan, Memphis and Alexandria.<br />
Under Caesar Augustus the Alexandrian Jews were granted a degree<br />
<strong>of</strong> autonomy and privilege which caused much jealousy and hostility<br />
among the Greeks. 3 After the Jewish diaspora <strong>of</strong> AD 70 the city<br />
accommodated the largest Jewish community outside Palestine,<br />
and discord between them and their Greek, Roman and Christian<br />
neighbours remained a continuing factor in Alexandrian life. At<br />
the time <strong>of</strong> the Arab conquest the population <strong>of</strong> Jews in Alexandria<br />
numbered 70,000. 4 With the Persian conquest <strong>of</strong> Syria and<br />
Palestine in 615 the city increased its population with a new influx<br />
<strong>of</strong> refugees, including a number <strong>of</strong> Syrian bishops. One consequence<br />
<strong>of</strong> this was the union between the Coptic and Syrian<br />
churches, a union which strengthened Monophysite resistance to<br />
Byzantine rule. <strong>The</strong>re was, however, no unity in this diversity, and<br />
when the Arabs arrived in 639 they found a society in which all the<br />
factions – rulers and ruled, Melkites and Monophysites, Christians<br />
and Jews – were at odds with each other.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Arab conquest was spearheaded by one <strong>of</strong> the Prophet’s<br />
most illustrious Companions, Amr ibn al-As, who had intimate<br />
knowledge <strong>of</strong> Egypt through his previous trading contacts there.<br />
He had distinguished himself as a soldier in the Syrian campaigns<br />
and his great ambition was to secure Egypt for Islam, thus gaining<br />
in the west what Khalid ibn al-Walid (known as the Sword <strong>of</strong> Islam)<br />
had achieved in Syria. Amr put forward his invasion plans to the<br />
caliph Omar, arguing the necessity <strong>of</strong> striking Egypt in order to<br />
forestall a possible attack from that quarter by the former Byzantine<br />
governor <strong>of</strong> Jerusalem. Recognizing the dangers <strong>of</strong> Amr’s scheme,<br />
Omar was equivocal, but he sanctioned an expeditionary force <strong>of</strong><br />
approximately 4,000 men. This was quickly dispatched to the border,<br />
but before entering Egypt Amr was intercepted by messengers<br />
who delivered a letter from the Caliph. Sensing the import <strong>of</strong> its<br />
contents, Amr chose to ignore it until he reached al-Arish, just<br />
inside Egyptian territory. His intuitions were justified because the<br />
letter instructed him to return if his men were still in Palestine, but<br />
to proceed if he had reached Egypt.<br />
Following the coastal route, the Arabs took Pelusium and<br />
Bilbays, but rather than advance on Alexandria they turned south<br />
to capture the fortress <strong>of</strong> Babylon, which occupied a critical position<br />
at the apex <strong>of</strong> the Nile Delta. Without the capture <strong>of</strong> this stronghold