Medieval Egypt

After the Islamic conquest in 639, Lower Egypt came under the governance of governors who acted on behalf of the Rashidun Caliphs and later the Umayyad Caliphs in Damascus. However, in 747, the Umayyads were ousted from power. During the Islamic rule, Askar was designated as the capital and served as the administrative center. The conquest resulted in the formation of two separate provinces, Upper and Lower Egypt, which were governed by the military and adhered to the directives issued by the governor of Egypt and the leaders of their respective communities. Egypt experienced a series of dynastic rule following the establishment of Islamic control in 639, lasting until the early 16th century. The Umayyad period, spanning from 658 to 750, marked an important phase in Egypt's history. Subsequently, the Abbasid period emerged, characterized by a greater emphasis on taxation and the consolidation of power. In 868, the Tulunids, led by Ahmad ibn Tulun, expanded Egypt's territorial influence into the Levant. Ahmad ibn Tulun's reign persisted until his demise in 884, after which his successor faced significant challenges, leading to a defection of many citizens back to the Abbasids. Consequently, in 904, the Abbasids regained control from the Tulunids.

In 969, Egypt fell under the dominion of the Fatimids, a dynasty that gradually declined following the death of their final ruler in 1171. The Ayyubids assumed power over Egypt in 1174, ruling from Damascus rather than Cairo. This dynasty actively engaged in conflicts against the Crusader States during the Fifth Crusade. Notably, Ayyubid Sultan Najm al-Din successfully recaptured Jerusalem in 1244, employing Mamluk forces to resist the crusaders. However, this decision proved to be regrettable for Sultan Najm al-Din. In 1252, the Ayyubids were overthrown by their own bodyguards, known as the Mamluks, who subsequently governed Egypt until 1517. At this point, Egypt became a part of the Ottoman Empire under the Eyālet-i Mıṣr province. In 639 an army of some 4,000 men were sent against Egypt by the second caliph, Umar, under the command of Amr ibn al-As. This army was joined by another 5,000 men in 640 and defeated a Byzantine army at the battle of Heliopolis. Amr next proceeded in the direction of Alexandria, which was surrendered to him by a treaty signed on November 8, 641. Alexandria was regained for the Byzantine Empire in 645 but was retaken by Amr in 646. In 654 an invasion fleet sent by Constans II was repulsed. From that time no serious effort was made by the Byzantines to regain possession of the country. After the initial surrender of Alexandria, Amr relocated his troops to a new site near the Byzantine fortress of Babylon, which was named Fustat after Amr's tent. Fustat quickly became the center of Islamic Egypt, with the exception of a brief relocation during a plague and a period of governorship in Askar. Following the conquest, Egypt was divided into Upper and Lower provinces, but in 643/4, Caliph Uthman appointed a single governor with jurisdiction over all of Egypt, residing in Fustat. Alexandria remained a distinct district due to its role as a shield against Byzantine attacks and as a naval base. It was heavily garrisoned and under the command of a military governor, while the wāli and ṣāḥib al-shurṭa were responsible for governing and maintaining internal security, respectively. During the First Fitna, Caliph Ali (r. 656–661) designated Muhammad ibn Abi Bakr as the governor of Egypt. However, an invasion led by Amr in the summer of 658 resulted in the defeat of Ibn Abi Bakr and the establishment of Umayyad control over the country. Amr then assumed the role of governor until his death in 664. From 667/8 to 682, the province was governed by Maslama ibn Mukhallad al-Ansari, a fervent supporter of the Umayyads.

During the Second Fitna, Ibn al-Zubayr gained the support of the Kharijites in Egypt and appointed his own governor, Abd al-Rahman ibn Utba al-Fihri, to the province. However, the Zubayrid regime, backed by the Kharijites, faced significant unpopularity among the local Arabs. Consequently, they sought assistance from the Umayyad caliph Marwan I (r. 684–685). In December 684, Marwan launched an invasion of Egypt and easily reconquered it. As a result, Marwan installed his son Abd al-Aziz as the governor.

Abd al-Aziz, relying on his close ties with the jund (military), governed Egypt for a period of 20 years. During his rule, he enjoyed considerable autonomy and effectively acted as a viceroy. Additionally, Abd al-Aziz oversaw the final stages of the Muslim conquest of North Africa and appointed Musa ibn Nusayr as the governor of Ifriqiya. Abd al-Aziz had hoped to pass on his position to his son, but upon his death, Caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan (685–695) intervened by sending his own son, Abdallah, as the governor. This move aimed to reestablish control and prevent the country from becoming a hereditary domain. During the Abbasid period, significant changes in taxation policies were implemented, leading to a series of revolts by the Copts. In the fourth year of Abbasid rule, the Copts once again rose up against the ruling authority. Subsequently, in the early 9th century, the governance of Egypt was reestablished under the leadership of Abdallah ibn Tahir, who chose to reside in Baghdad. To oversee the affairs of Egypt, he appointed a deputy to govern on his behalf. However, in 828, another revolt erupted in Egypt, further exacerbating the already tense situation. In 831, the Copts united with native Muslims in their opposition against the government. In 834, Caliph al-Mu'tasim made a significant change by discontinuing the practice of paying the jund from local revenue, despite their nominal role as the province's garrison. This move centralized power in the hands of the central caliphal administration and marked the decline of the old elites, with power shifting to officials sent by the Abbasid court, particularly Turkish soldiers favored by al-Mu'tasim. At the same time, the Muslim population began to outnumber Coptic Christians, and Arabization and Islamization increased in rural districts throughout the 9th century. The discovery of gold and emerald mines in Aswan led to an influx of settlers, and Upper Egypt was only superficially controlled by the local governor due to internecine strife and turmoil in the Abbasid state. These factors contributed to the appearance of millennialist revolutionary movements in the province under Alid pretenders in the 870s, which expressed dissatisfaction and alienation from imperial rule by Baghdad and would later manifest in support for the Fatimids in the 10th century. In 868, the Caliph al-Mu'tazz (r. 866–869) designated the Turkish general Bakbak as the overseer of Egypt. Bakbak, in turn, appointed his stepson Ahmad ibn Tulun as his deputy and resident governor. This decision marked a significant turning point in Egypt's history, as it transitioned from being a passive province of an empire to becoming an independent political hub under Ibn Tulun's leadership. Utilizing the country's resources, Ibn Tulun expanded his authority into the Levant, a trend that would be emulated by subsequent Egypt-based regimes, including the Ikhshidids and the Mamluk Sultanate. The initial years of Ibn Tulun's governorship were primarily characterized by his struggle for authority against Ibn al-Mudabbir, the influential head of the fiscal administration. Ibn al-Mudabbir had already been appointed as the fiscal agent in approximately 861 and swiftly garnered widespread animosity as he not only doubled the taxes but also imposed additional ones on both Muslims and non-Muslims alike. By 872, Ibn Tulun had successfully ousted Ibn al-Mudabbir from his position and assumed control over the fiscal management himself. Furthermore, he managed to assemble his own army, thereby attaining de facto independence from Baghdad. In a display of his power, he established a new palace city named al-Qata'i to the northeast of Fustat in 870. This ambitious project was a deliberate imitation of, and a rival to, the Abbasid capital of Samarra. The city featured designated quarters for his army regiments, a hippodrome, a hospital, and palaces. The focal point of this new city was the Mosque of Ibn Tulun. Additionally, Ibn Tulun replicated the well-known Samarra model in the organization of his administration, creating new departments and entrusting them to officials trained in Samarra. His regime exemplified the "ghulām system," which emerged as one of the primary paradigms of Islamic polities during the 9th and 10th centuries, as the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented and new dynasties emerged. These regimes relied on the power of a standing army composed of slave soldiers or ghilmān. However, as Hugh N. Kennedy notes, the payment of these troops was the central concern of the government. Consequently, in the context of escalating financial demands, the supervision of the finances was transferred to Abu Bakr Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Madhara'i in 879. He was the founder of the al-Madhara'i bureaucratic dynasty, which dominated Egypt's fiscal apparatus for the subsequent 70 years. In the years 914-915 and 919-921, the Abbasids successfully defended against Fatimid invasions of Egypt. However, in 935, following yet another Fatimid attack, Muhammad ibn Tughj, a Turkish commander, assumed control over Egypt and became its de facto ruler with the title of al-Ikhshid. Upon his demise in 946, his son Unujur peacefully and uncontestedly succeeded him, largely due to the influence of the influential and skilled commander-in-chief, Kafur. Kafur, who was originally a Black African slave recruited by al-Ikhshid, continued to hold significant power as the foremost minister and virtual ruler of Egypt for the next 22 years. In 966, he assumed power in his own right and governed until his death two years later. Following his demise, the Fatimids took advantage of the situation and invaded Egypt in 969, marking the beginning of a new chapter in the country's history. Jawhar as-Siqilli expeditiously initiated the construction of a novel urban settlement, known as Cairo, with the purpose of providing accommodations for the army he had brought along. Without delay, a grand palace for the Caliph and a mosque for the army were erected, serving as the epicenter of Islamic scholarship for numerous centuries. Nevertheless, the Carmathians of Damascus, led by Hasan al-Asam, advanced through Palestine and reached Egypt, resulting in Jauhar finding himself under siege in his newly established city during the autumn of 971. Through a well-timed military sortie, preceded by the distribution of bribes to various officers within the Carmathian forces, Jauhar managed to inflict a significant defeat upon the besiegers, compelling them to withdraw from Egypt and relinquish control over a portion of Syria.

Simultaneously, the caliph, al-Muizz, was summoned to enter the meticulously prepared palace. After appointing a viceroy to oversee his western territories, he arrived in Alexandria on May 31, 973, and proceeded to educate his new subjects in the specific tenets of his family's religious affiliation, Shiism. Given its shared origins with the Carmathian faith, the caliph hoped to persuade their leader through logical discourse. However, this strategy proved unsuccessful, leading to a renewed invasion from the Carmathians the following year, resulting in the caliph finding himself besieged within his own capital. Saladin, renowned as "the Lion," was appointed as Nureddin's deputy in Egypt and subsequently assumed the title of sultan upon Nureddin's demise on April 12, 1174. Although Damascus, rather than Cairo, emerged as the primary city of the empire during his reign, Saladin fortified Cairo, establishing it as the political hub of Egypt. It was in 1183 that Saladin solidified his control over Egypt and North Syria. While Saladin primarily focused his efforts on Syria, engaging in battles against the Crusader States, his deputy Karaksh governed Egypt for the most part.

In 1193, Saladin's son Othman succeeded him in Egypt. Othman formed an alliance with his uncle, Al-Adil I, against Saladin's other sons. Following the ensuing conflicts, Al-Adil ascended to power in 1200. Tragically, Al-Adil perished in 1218 during the siege of Damietta in the Fifth Crusade. He was succeeded by Al-Kamil, who lost Damietta to the Crusaders in 1219. However, Al-Kamil successfully thwarted their advance towards Cairo by strategically flooding the Nile, compelling them to evacuate Egypt in 1221. In order to secure assistance against Damascus, Al-Kamil was compelled to relinquish several cities in Palestina and Syria to Frederick II, the Holy Roman Emperor, during the Sixth Crusade.

In 1240, Najm al-Din assumed the role of sultan. His reign witnessed the recapture of Jerusalem in 1244 and the incorporation of a larger contingent of Mameluks into the army. Much of his time was dedicated to military campaigns in Syria, where he formed an alliance with the Khwarezmians against the Crusaders and Ayyubids. In 1249, he confronted an invasion led by Louis IX of France, known as the Seventh Crusade, resulting in the loss of Damietta once again. Shortly after, Najm al-Din passed away, but his son Turanshah triumphed over Louis and expelled the Crusaders from Egypt. However, Turanshah's rule was short-lived as he was overthrown by the Mameluks, who had emerged as the influential powerbrokers since their arrival and now sought complete authority for themselves. The Mamluk Empire's pursuit of power was characterized by a violent approach, which ultimately resulted in significant political and economic prosperity, enabling them to establish their rule over Egypt. The Mamluk Egypt era commenced with the Bahri Dynasty, which governed from 1250 to 1382, followed by the Burji Dynasty, which reigned from 1382 to 1517.

Beyond their religious influence, the Mamluks made noteworthy cultural contributions, particularly in the realms of literature and astronomy. These subjects held great importance to the Mamluks, who actively engaged in them. The Mamluk society was distinguished by its high levels of literacy and education, with private libraries serving as a symbol of status. The discovery of various libraries has revealed remnants of numerous books, underscoring the intellectual pursuits of the Mamluks.

However, the Mamluk Empire eventually faced its decline due to a combination of factors. Famine, military tensions, disease, and excessive taxation all contributed to the downfall of this period. The Mamluk sultans, who were originally freed slaves and later became slaveowners themselves, also held positions in the court and the army. However, they faced challenges in establishing a stable dynasty, often leaving behind infant successors who were subsequently overthrown. The Bahri dynasty, which spanned from 1250 to 1382, witnessed the rule of 25 sultans over a period of 132 years. Unfortunately, many of these sultans either died or were killed shortly after assuming power, with only a few managing to rule for more than a few years.

The first sultan of the Bahri dynasty was Aybak, who married Shajar al-Durr, the widow of al-Salih Ayyub. Aybak promptly engaged in a conflict with present-day Syria. However, his reign was cut short when he was assassinated in 1257. Qutuz succeeded Aybak and faced a growing threat from the Mongols. In 1260, Qutuz achieved a significant victory over Hulagu Khan's army at the Battle of Ain Jalut, allowing him to reclaim most of Syria, except for the Crusader strongholds. Tragically, Qutuz died on his way back to Egypt after the battle, and another commander named Baybars assumed the sultanate, ruling from 1260 to 1277.

Under the Bahri dynasty, Egypt experienced a period of increased power and prestige. In 1291, al-Ashraf Khalil captured Acre, the last of the crusader cities, further solidifying Egypt's influence. Cairo, which became the central city of the Islamic world following the Mongol sacking of Baghdad in 1258, witnessed significant architectural development under the Mamluks. Many stone mosques were constructed with grandeur and imposing designs, contributing to the city's transformation from a small town to one of the world's leading urban centers.

However, the 14th century brought significant challenges to Egypt. The Black Death pandemic, which began in 1347, caused widespread destruction to the Egyptian population, economy, and political system. The waves of the pandemic continued to ravage Egypt until the early 16th century, leaving a lasting impact on the region.

In 1377, a revolt in Syria spread to Egypt, resulting in the takeover of the government by the Circassians Berekeh and Barkuk. Barkuk eventually declared himself sultan in 1382, marking the end of the Bahri dynasty.