Bilbeis ( ; Bohairic ') is an ancient

fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

city on the eastern edge of the southern

Nile Delta The Nile Delta (, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, the site of the ancient city and former bishopric of Phelbes and a Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

. The city is small in size but densely populated, with over 407,300 residents. It also houses the Egyptian Air Force Academy complex, which contains the town's largest public school in Al-Zafer. Coptic tradition says that Bilbeis was one of the stopping places of the Holy Family during the

Flight into Egypt The flight into Egypt is a story recounted in the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 2:13–Matthew 2:23, 23) and in New Testament apocrypha. Soon after the Biblical Magi, visit by the Magi, an angel appeared to Saint Joseph, Joseph in a dream telling ...

History

The city was important enough in the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Augustamnica Secunda ''Augustamnica'' (Latin) or ''Augoustamnike'' (Greek) was a Roman province of Egypt created during the 4th century and was part of the Diocese of Oriens first and then of the Diocese of Egypt, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 640s. Some ...

to become a bishopric. Situated on a caravan and natural invasion route from the east, Bilbeis was conquered in 640 by the Arabs.

Amr ibn al-As Amr ibn al-As ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi (664) was an Arab commander and companion of Muhammad who led the Muslim conquest of Egypt and served as its governor in 640–646 and 658–664. The son of a wealthy Qurayshite, Amr embraced Islam in and was ...

besieged and took the city defended by a

Byzantine 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 the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

general called

al-Ardubun 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 ...

. According to a Muslim legend,

Armanusa Armenousa (fl. 7th century) was, according to legend, a daughter of Cyrus of Alexandria and intended bride of Heraclius Constantine who defended Egypt during the Arab conquest. Her historicity is questioned by most modern historians, particularly ...

, the daughter of Muqawqis lived in Bilbeis. In 727 some of the Qays tribe were resettled here and later chain of fortresses was built to protect

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. The city played a role in the machinations for control of the

Fatimid The Fatimid Caliphate (; ), also known as the Fatimid Empire, was a caliphate extant from the tenth to the twelfth centuries CE under the rule of the Fatimid dynasty, Fatimids, an Isma'ili Shi'a dynasty. Spanning a large area of North Africa ...

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

ate: first in 1164, when

Shirkuh Asad ad-Dīn Shīrkūh bin Shādhī (; ), (died 23 March 1169) was a Kurdish Mercenary commander in service of the Zengid dynasty, then the Fatimid Caliphate and uncle of Saladin. His military and diplomatic efforts in Egypt were a key factor ...

was besieged in the city by the combined forces of

Shawar Shawar ibn Mujir al-Sa'di (; died 18 January 1169) was the ''de facto'' ruler of Fatimid Egypt, as its vizier, from December 1162 until his assassination in 1169 by the general Shirkuh, the uncle of the future Ayyubid leader Saladin, with w ...

and crusader king

Amalric I of Jerusalem Amalric (; 113611 July 1174), formerly known in historiography as , was the king of Jerusalem from 1163 until his death. He was, in the opinion of his Muslim adversaries, the bravest and cleverest of the crusader kings. Amalric was the younger ...

for three months; then again in 1168 when the city was assaulted again by Amalric's army, who took the city after three days on 4 November and indiscriminately killed the inhabitants. (See

Crusader invasion of Egypt Egypt was repeatedly invaded from 1163 to 1169 by King Amalric of Jerusalem, who wished to strengthen its position in the Levant by taking advantage of the weakness of the Fatimid Caliphate. The invasions began as part of a succession crisis in ...

.) In 1798, its

fortification A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lati ...

s were rebuilt at the order of

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Bilbays Air Base Bilbays Air Base is an Egyptian Air Force airbase located near Bilbeis, Sharqia Governorate, Egypt. It was formerly RAF Bilbeis, a Royal Air Force station operational during the Second World War. The air base is home to the Egyptian Air Academy t ...

, an Egyptian Air Force base is nearby.

Places of worship

Mosques

* Sadat Quraish Mosque The oldest mosque in Egypt, built in

640 Year 640 ( DCXL) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 640 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming y ...

.Belbeis
egypttourinfo.com * Amir al-Gish Mosque * The Great Mosque in Kesaria

Churches

* Coptic church of St. George

Ecclesiastical history

The bishopric, a

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

of the Metropolitan of provincial capital

Leontopolis Leontopolis was an ancient Egyptian city located in the Nile Delta, Lower Egypt. It served as a provincial capital and Metropolitan Archbishopric. The archaeological site and settlement are known today as Kafr Al Muqdam. Name Known most popularl ...

, faded.

Titular see

The diocese of Phelbes was nominally restored in 1933 as a Latin Catholic

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

. It has had the following incumbents, all of the lowest (episcopal) rank: * Enrico van Schingen,

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

(S.J.) (1936-12-17 – 1954-07-02) * Antoine Henri van den Hurk,

Capuchin Franciscans The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (; postnominal abbr. OFMCap) is a religious order of Franciscan friars within the Catholic Church, one of three " First Orders" that reformed from the Franciscan Friars Minor Observant (OFMObs, now OFM), the ot ...

(O.F.M. Cap.) (1955-01-01 – 1961-01-03) as

Apostolic Vicar Apostolic may refer to: The Apostles An Apostle meaning one sent on a mission: *The Twelve Apostles of Jesus, or something related to them, such as the Church of the Holy Apostles *Apostolic succession, the doctrine connecting the Christian Churc ...

Medan Medan ( , ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province of North Sumatra. The nearby Strait of Malacca, Port of Belawan, and Kualanamu International Airport make Medan a regional hub and multi ...

(Indonesia) (1955-01-01 – 1961-01-03), promoted first Metropolitan Archbishop of Medan (1961-01-03 – 1976-05-24) * Walmor Battú Wichrowski (1961-05-31 – 1971-05-27) & (1972-11-16 – 2001-10-31) * Airton José dos Santos (2001-12-19 – 2004-08-04) as

Auxiliary Bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwad ...

(Brazil) (2001-12-19 – 2004-08-04), later Bishop of

Mogi das Cruzes Mogi das Cruzes ( or ) is a municipality in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, located within the metropolitan region of the state capital of the city of São Paulo. The population is 451,505 (2022 census) in an area of 713 km2. It is located 4 ...

(Brazil) (2004-08-04 – 2012-02-15), Metropolitan Archbishop of

Campinas Campinas (, ''Plains'' or ''Meadows'') is a Brazilian Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in São Paulo (state), São Paulo State, part of the country's Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region. According to the 2020 estimate, the city's popul ...

(Brazil) (2012-02-15 – ... ) * Javier Augusto del Río Alba (2004-10-12 – 2006-07-11) as Auxiliary Bishop of

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(Peru) (2004-10-12 – 2006-07-11),

Coadjutor Archbishop The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

Arequipa Arequipa (; Aymara language, Aymara and ), also known by its nicknames of ''Ciudad Blanca'' (Spanish for "White City") and ''León del Sur'' (Spanish for "South's Lion"), is a city in Peru and the capital of the eponymous Arequipa (province), ...

(Peru) (2006-07-11 – 2006-10-20), succeeding as Metropolitan Archbishop of Arequipa (2006-10-20 – ... ), Second Vice-president of Episcopal Conference of Peru (January 2012 – ... ) * Janusz Wiesław Kaleta (2006-09-15 – 2011-02-05) *

Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet Daniel Fernando Sturla Berhouet, SDB (born 4 July 1959 in Montevideo) is a Uruguayan Roman Catholic prelate and the archbishop of Montevideo. Biography Sturla was born at the Italian Hospital of Montevideo on July 4, 1959, the youngest of ...

Salesians The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

(S.D.B.) (2011-12-10 – 2014-02-11) as Auxiliary Bishop of

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

(Uruguay) (2011-12-10 – 2014-02-11), succeeded as Metropolitan Archbishop of Montevideo (2014-02-11 – ... ), created

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. As titular members of the clergy of the Diocese of Rome, they serve as advisors to the pope, who is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. ...

S. Galla S is the nineteenth letter of the English alphabet. S may also refer to: History * an Anglo-Saxon charter's number in Peter Sawyer's, catalogue Language and linguistics * Long s (ſ), a form of the lower-case letter s formerly used where "s ...

(2015-02-14 015-05-17– ... ) * Jorge Ángel Saldía Pedraza,

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

(O.P.) (2014-03-25 – ... ),

La Paz La Paz, officially Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Aymara language, Aymara: Chuqi Yapu ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With 755,732 residents as of 2024, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities by populati ...

(Bolivia)

Climate

Bilbeis is classified by Köppen-Geiger climate classification system as hot desert (BWh), as the rest of Egypt.

References

Sources

* Gibb, Sir Hamilton (2006). ''The Life of Saladin''. Oxford University Press. .

External links

{{Authority control Populated places in Sharqia Governorate Nile Delta Cities in Egypt Flight into Egypt