A.H. 19–20.
“Cast this letter," wrote the Caliph, "into the stream, and it is enough." It was done, and the fertilising tide began to rise abundantly!
Alexandria retaken; finally reduced, 25 A.H. 646 A.D.ʿAmr, with the restless spirit of the Faith, soon pushed his conquests westward, established himself in Barḳa, and reached even to Tripoli. The subject races were taxed in fixed tribute of Berber slaves, thus early sanctioning in that unhappy land traffic in human flesh and blood. The maritime settlements received little aid from the Byzantine fleets. But a few years after, in the Caliphate of ʿOthmān, a desperate attempt was made to regain possession of Alexandria. The Muslims, busy with their conquests elsewhere, had left the city insufficiently protected. The Greek and other inhabitants, already weary of the Muslim rule, conspired with the Byzantine Court; and a fleet of 300 ships, under command of Manuel, drove out the garrison and took possession of the city. ʿAmr hastened to its rescue. A great battle was fought outside the walls: the Greeks were defeated, and the town subjected to the miseries of a siege. It was at last taken by storm and given up to plunder. To obviate the recurrence of similar mishap, ʿAmr razed the fortifications, and quartered in the vicinity a strong garrison, which twice a year was relieved from Upper Egypt. The Muslim court was transferred to Fusṭāṭ, and Alexandria ceased to be the capital of Egypt. A reminiscence of the fact that Alexandria underwent two investments (one of which ended in a capitulation, the other in its capture) is preserved in the divergent dates given by the Arab historians for the one siege which they know of—20 A.H. and 25 A.H. The story of the burning of the library of Alexandria by the Arabs is a late invention.
Within Egypt, as outside of it, the Arabs maintained the divisions of the country which they found already existing. The largest division of both Upper and Lower Egypt was into eparchies, each under a dux. The Frontier is, as elsewhere, specially mentioned. But more important were the smaller pagarchies, roughly answering to the ancient nomes, each under a pagarch, who was frequently an Arab; and lastly, the village communities under their headmen. Under Roman rule the great landowner (who was often the pagarch) often enjoyed the privilege of paying
