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REVIEW BY MICHAEL TUNNICLIFFE
This series of 15 essays covers the final years of Byzantine control of Egypt, and the first 300 years of Muslim rule: first that of the Umayyads based in Damascus, and then the Abbasids in Baghdad. The chronological end-point is the take-over of Egypt by the Shi’ite Fatimid caliphs in the year AD 969.
The book is divided into three parts. The first six essays explore the political situation in Egypt during this 500-year period. The volume begins with an assessment of the province in the reign of Justinian, and then an overview of the years AD 500-1000, examining the changes that took place. These are followed by special studies of the First Cataract region, and the relationship of Islam with the territory of Nubia, which resisted the Muslim advance for some considerable time. Essays on the evolution of law and the revolts and conflicts of the 9th century highlight the gradual changes taking place. A further three essays examine the economic conditions, and each of them takes account of the relationship between the province of Egypt and the wider Muslim Caliphate. Egypt was perhaps more integrated than often imagined, and an important strategic and commercial entity.
The final six essays examine social and cultural connections. The first explores ideas around the destruction of Alexandria in tradition, historiography, and apocalyptic speculation. Conversely, the ancient Roman fort of ‘Babylon’ was redeveloped as the new city of Fustat, and flourished for some time; the area is now known as Old Cairo, and is the home of many Coptic churches. Three essays look at the issue of language. With the demise of the Byzantines, it was inevitable that Greek would go into rapid decline, so that, paradoxically, Coptic came more into its own in local administration. Foreign loanwords can also point to the changes in the way in which early Islamic Egypt functioned. The final essay draws on some often overlooked Coptic material, including histories, biographies, hagiographies, and apocalyptic writings, to see what light that they can shed on society during this period.
The essays are written by experts in their specialist fields of study, and are the fruit of current research. They are not easy reading, especially for those who are not familiar with some of the Greek and Arabic terminology used. Nevertheless, they will open a window on an important period of transition in Egyptian history, which will enlarge the perspective of readers of this magazine who wish to push the boundaries of their knowledge.
Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean World: From Constantinople to Baghdad, 500-1000 CE
edited by Jelle Bruning et al.
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2022
ISBN 978-1-009-17001-5
HARDBACK £90
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