The Art And Architecture of Islamic Cairo

12 The Art and Architecture of Islamic Cairo
The treaty was ratified by the caliph Omar and the new
emperor Heraclonas agreed its terms in the last month of his short
reign. The negotiations between Amr and Cyrus had been carried
out in secret, but when the conditions of the treaty were revealed
to the Alexandrians there was surprisingly little opposition. There
was a sense of war-weary relief, and the guarantee of equality and
religious freedom for the Jews and Christians of all denominations
made it welcome in many quarters. Above all, Amr’s poll and land
taxes seemed less punitive than those levied by Constantinople.
The only losers were the army and the ruling classes who no longer
had a stake in the country. These joined a general exodus, but there
was no difficulty in filling high administrative posts with Jews,
Christians and converts to Islam. The Arabs were essentially a
military class and they were totally dependent on Christian civil
servants to maintain the machinery of government.
Amr sought advice from the Coptic patriarch, Benjamin, on
how best to raise revenue and it was on this issue that relations
between Amr and Omar deteriorated. Omar complained that Egypt
yielded too little tribute money, but Amr argued that excessive
taxation was counterproductive. The outcome of this dispute was
that Amr was demoted, and Abdallah ibn Sa’id took over. When
Othman became caliph, Amr was further reduced in rank, and
Abdallah (who was Othman’s foster brother) was appointed
governor of Egypt. The burden of taxation increased and this
prompted a number of leading Alexandrian citizens to appeal for
intervention from Constantinople. Seeing an opportunity of restoring
Egypt to Byzantine rule, the emperor Constans immediately
dispatched a huge fleet to Alexandria. The city was easily retaken
and the Byzantine army, led by Manuel, penetrated the Delta, seizing
a number of towns. Amr was quickly reinstated as military commander
and, advancing from Babylon, he defeated Manuel’s army
after a gallant and bitter struggle. The remnants of the defeated
army took refuge in Alexandria, and Amr followed, positioning his
army to the east of the city in anticipation of a long siege. However,
with the help of inside intelligence his forces managed to penetrate
the walls, and because the terms of the treaty had been breached
the city was brutally sacked and its fortifications destroyed.
As a token of his gratitude Othman awarded Amr the title of
commander-in-chief of the army, but he insisted that Abdallah ibn
Sa’id retain supreme political and fiscal power. Amr declined the
offer with the remark, ‘I should be like a man holding a cow by the
horns while another milked her’. Retiring from Egyptian politics