The Muslim Conquest of Egypt

The Muslim conquest of the Byzantine and Persian empires was made possible by the last Persian – Byzantine war, which left both sides severely weakened and depleted. The Muslim conquest of Egypt ran from 639 AD to 641. The conquest occurred during the time of the Rashidun Caliphate, with Umar Ibn Al Khattab as Caliph. The Byzantine governor of Egypt was Cyrus of Alexandria, who had no will to fight and surrendered to the Muslim forces multiple time. The Muslim conquest put an end to the monolithic construction industry of Egypt, and probably also the custom of mummification as well. Contrary to what some have asserted, there was no mass replacement of the Egyptian population by Arab Muslims. The process of Islamization was slow, and Egypt did not become majority Muslim until the 14th century AD.

Note: I could not find any images of Cyrus of Alexandria, which might be a testament to his unpopularity. I drew my own image so that there could be some representation but I don’t really know how he looked.

Sources:

https://archive.org/details/arabconquestofeg00butl/mode/2up - “The Arab Conquest of Egypt and the Last Thirty Years of the Roman Dominion” (Full Text)

https://www.egypttoursplus.com/arab-conquest-of-egypt/

https://www.biography.com/religious-figure/muhammad

https://www.encyclopedia.com/history/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/expansion-islam-600-1200

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/medieval-times/spread-of-islam/a/the-rise-of-islamic-empires-and-states

https://historiarex.com/e/en/245-the-byzantine-sassanid-war-602-628