|
Islamic Conquest Of Egypt
The Arab conquest of Egypt, led by the army of Amr ibn al-As, took place between 639 and 642 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate. It ended the seven-century-long Roman period in Egypt that had begun in 30 BC and, more broadly, the Greco-Roman period that had lasted about a millennium. Shortly before the conquest, Byzantine (Eastern Roman) rule in the country had been shaken, as Egypt had been conquered and occupied for a decade by the Sasanian Empire in 618–629, before being recovered by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius. The Caliphate took advantage of Byzantines' exhaustion to invade Egypt. During the mid-630s, the Romans had already lost the Levant and its Ghassanid allies in Arabia to the Caliphate. The loss of the prosperous province of Egypt and the defeat of the Byzantine armies severely weakened the empire, resulting in further territorial losses in the centuries to come. Background In 640, Heraclius was the Byzantine emperor, Cyrus of Alexandria was both t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Architecture
Ancient Roman architecture adopted the external language of classical ancient Greek architecture for the purposes of the ancient Romans, but was different from Greek buildings, becoming a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture. Roman architecture flourished in the Roman Republic and to an even greater extent under the Empire, when the great majority of surviving buildings were constructed. It used new materials, particularly Roman concrete, and newer technologies such as the arch and the dome to make buildings that were typically strong and well engineered. Large numbers remain in some form across the former empire, sometimes complete and still in use today. Roman architecture covers the period from the establishment of the Roman Republic in 509 BC to about the 4th century AD, after which it becomes reclassified as Late Antique or Byzantine architecture. Few substantial examples survive from before about 100 BC, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Busr Ibn Abi Artat
Busr ibn Abi Artat al-Amiri (; 620s–) was a prominent Arab commander in the service of Mu'awiya I, the governor of Islamic Syria (640s–661) and the first Umayyad caliph (661–680). A veteran of the early Muslim conquests in Syria and North Africa, Busr became an ardent partisan of Mu'awiya against Caliph Ali () during the First Muslim Civil War. He led a large-scale campaign against Ali's supporters in Arabia, gaining the submission of Medina, Mecca and Ta'if to Mu'awiya's caliphate and carrying out punitive measures against the inhabitants of Yemen. His actions in Arabia, which included executing two young sons of Ali's cousin, the governor of Yemen Ubayd Allah ibn Abbas, and taking captive women from the Muslim tribe of Hamdan, were condemned as unprecedented atrocities by the traditional Muslim sources, particularly Shia Muslim writers. Following Ali's death and the abdication of his son Hasan in 661, Busr was appointed governor of Basra. There he was instrumental i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sasanian Conquest Of Egypt
The Sasanian conquest of Egypt took place between 618 and 621 CE, when the Sasanian Persian army defeated the Byzantine forces in Egypt and occupied the province. The fall of Alexandria, the capital of Roman Egypt, marked the first and most important stage in the Sasanian campaign to conquer this rich province, which eventually fell completely under Persian rule within a couple of years. Background The Persian shah, Khosrow II, had taken advantage of the internal turmoil of the Byzantine Empire after the overthrow of Emperor Maurice by Phocas to attack the Roman provinces in the East. By 615, the Persians had driven the Romans out of northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine. Determined to eradicate Roman rule in Asia, Khosrow turned his sights on Egypt, the Eastern Roman Empire's granary. Fall of Egypt The Persian invasion of Egypt began either in 617 or 618, but little is known about the details of this campaign, since the province was practically cut off from the remaining ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of effective sole rule in 27 BC. The Western Roman Empire, western empire collapsed in 476 AD, but the Byzantine Empire, eastern empire lasted until the fall of Constantinople in 1453. By 100 BC, the city of Rome had expanded its rule from the Italian peninsula to most of the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and beyond. However, it was severely destabilised by List of Roman civil wars and revolts, civil wars and political conflicts, which culminated in the Wars of Augustus, victory of Octavian over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, and the subsequent conquest of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt. In 27 BC, the Roman Senate granted Octavian overarching military power () and the new title of ''Augustus (title), Augustus'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th centuryAD, it endured until the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453. The term 'Byzantine Empire' was coined only after its demise; its citizens used the term 'Roman Empire' and called themselves 'Romans'. During the early centuries of the Roman Empire, the western provinces were Romanization (cultural), Latinised, but the eastern parts kept their Hellenistic culture. Constantine the Great, Constantine I () legalised Christianity and moved the capital to Constantinople. Theodosius I, Theodosius I () made Christianity the state religion and Greek gradually replaced Latin for official use. The empire adopted a defensive strategy and, throughout its remaining history, expe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Greco-Roman
The Greco-Roman world , also Greco-Roman civilization, Greco-Roman culture or Greco-Latin culture (spelled Græco-Roman or Graeco-Roman in British English), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were directly and intimately influenced by the language, culture, government and religion of the Greeks and Romans. A better-known term is classical antiquity. In exact terms the area refers to the "Mediterranean world", the extensive tracts of land centered on the Mediterranean and Black Sea basins, the "swimming pool and spa" of the Greeks and the Romans, in which those peoples' cultural perceptions, ideas, and sensitivities became dominant in classical antiquity. That process was aided by the universal adoption of Greek as the language of intellectual culture and commerce in the Eastern Mediterranean and of Latin as the language of public administration and of forensic advocacy, especi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Constans II
Constans II (; 7 November 630 – 15 July 668), also called "the Bearded" (), was the Byzantine emperor from 641 to 668. Constans was the last attested emperor to serve as Roman consul, consul, in 642, although the office continued to exist until the reign of Leo VI the Wise (r. 886–912). His religious policy saw him steering a middle line in disputes between the Orthodox and Monothelitism, Monothelites by refusing to persecute either and prohibited discussion of the natures of Jesus Christ under the Type of Constans in 648. His reign coincided with Arab invasions under Umar, Uthman, and Mu'awiya I in the late 640s to 660s. Constans was the first emperor to visit Rome since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, and the last one to visit Rome while the Empire still held it. Origins and early career Constans was born on 7 November 630 in Constantinople, the Byzantine capital, to Gregoria and Constantine III (Byzantine emperor), Constantine III. Constantine was a son of Emp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Menas (Coptic General)
Menas (fl. 7th century) was a Coptic-Byzantine military commander who led the garrison in Alexandria during the Siege of Alexandria from 641 to 642. The main source on his life is John of Nikiu. Biography Menas was a non-Chalcedonian Copt, thus sharing his faith with most of Egypt's population, but not its elites, who were mostly Chalcedonians. This made him very popular with the army. When the Arabs conquered most of Egypt in 641, he withdrew to Alexandria with the rest of the army. He held a bitter grudge against his fellow general Eudocianus for his cruelty to the Copts who were imprisoned in the Babylon Fortress, either for refusing to accept the Council of Chalcedon or on charges of sedition. This was because on Easter of 641, when the Babylon Fortress fell to the Muslims, Eudocianus had the Coptic prisoners there scourged and their hands cut off. Menas competed for power with Domentianus, Eudocianus' younger brother. The hostility between them grew so much that Domentian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Armenousa
Armenousa (fl. 7th century) was, according to legend, a daughter of Cyrus of Alexandria and intended bride of Heraclius Constantine who defended Roman Egypt, Egypt during the Arab conquest of Egypt, Arab conquest. Her historicity is questioned by most modern historians, particularly Alfred J. Butler, who said that "these myths, which are often inspired by the fancy of the Arabian Nights, must be banished from the domain of history". Background Armenousa is mentioned by several Arabic chroniclers, such as Al-Waqidi and al-Maqrizi. They describe her as the daughter of Al-Muqawqis (generally identified with Cyrus of Alexandria). This poses a problem, because Byzantine sources do not mention Cyrus having a wife or daughter, and, as Butler points out, being unmarried was a requirement for bishops by this time (although there were rare exceptions like John the Merciful). Al-Waqidi also implies that, although she fluently spoke Greek language, Greek and many other languages, her native ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aretion
Aretion () was a Byzantine governor of Jerusalem during the reign of Heraclius (), and a general in the Arab–Byzantine wars. He is described by al-Tabari as "the most cunning of the Byzantines, the most far-sighted, and the most harmful". Name Since Aretion is not easily identifiable with anyone attested in Byzantine sources, his original Greek name is unknown. Most Arab sources give his name as "Arṭabūn" ( أرطبون), with a few (like Abu 'l Mahasin and Al-Waqidi) instead calling him "Areṭîūn" (ارطيون). Hendrik Arent Hamaker translated the latter into Latin as "Aretion". Alfred J. Butler believed that "Aretion" was the correct form and "Artabun" was a corruption. An alternate translation is " Artabanus". However, some historians (such as Michael Jan de Goeje) believe that "Artabun" may not be a name at all, but rather a corruption of the Roman title '. This allows Aretion to be identified with other attested figures. Walter Kaegi believed he "may be identic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John, Duke Of Barcaina
John, Duke of Barcaina (also John, Duke of Barca; ; ) was a Byzantine general (''magister militum'') and ''dux'' of the Libyan Pentapolis who died defending Egypt during the Arab conquest. There are a few mentions of him in ancient sources, but whether they all refer to the same person or not is debated. Identification In his ''Short History'', Patriarch Nikephoros I of Constantinople mentions a "John, general of Barcaina" (), whom the emperor Heraclius sends to Egypt to fight the "Saracens", and who dies in battle against them. ''Βαρκαίνης'' is a genitive, and it is unclear whether the nominative form Nicephoros intended is "Barca" () or "Barcaina" (). Because of this, the name has sometimes been translated "John, Duke of Barca or Barcaina". The general consensus among historians is John was from Barca in Libya. The ''Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire'' offers an alternative interpretation, "John, son of Barcaine", but admits that Barca in Libya is the more likely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theodorus (prefect Of Egypt)
Theodore (, ; fl. 7th century) was a Byzantine military commander who led the Byzantine army in the defence of Egypt during the Arab conquest, and served as the last Roman governor of Egypt from 21 March to 17 September 642. Biography John of Nikiû mentions that Theodore had family members living in Saûnâ, which Hermann Zotenberg identifies with Sais. He was a Chalcedonian, but not prejudiced against non-Chalcedonians, as shown by his willingness to place them in important positions. Siege of Babylon Fortress When the Arab armies of the Rashidun caliphate, commanded by Amr ibn al-As, began their invasion of Egypt in December 639, Theodore was the magister militum of the Byzantine army in the province, while Cyrus of Alexandria was both its governor ''(praefectus Aegypti)'' and the government-appointed Patriarch of Alexandria,The majority of Egypt's population was non-Chalcedonian and instead recognised Pope Benjamin I as their rightful Pope. and Heraclius was the Roman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
