HISTORY OF THE COPTIC PATRIARCHS

The History of the Coptic Patriarchs (for that is what I prefer to call it)[1] is a monumental, historical work of the Coptic Church that covers the lives of its patriarchs from St. Mark the Evangelist, its 1^st patriarch in the first century, to Cyril V, its 112^th patriarch in the late nineteenth century (1896). The first part of this work, up to the Live of Patriarch Shenouda II (1032 – 1046), was written in Greek and Coptic, but later translated into Arabic between 1088 and 1094 Mawhub ibn Muffarij et al; the rest of the work was written in Arabic.

Although this work is often attributed to the tenth century famous Coptic writer, Sawirus ibn al-Mukaffa`(or Severus of Ashmunein), bishop of Al-Ashmunein (Hermopolis), the fact is that he has written no part of it. The History of the Coptic Patriarchs has been written by several writers in stages, and we know of at least ten of them. In this sense, the work is similar to the Old Testament – a compilation of several books by several writers.

The work has been brought to the attention of the West, and the wider world, by several European scholars:

– The first to pay attention to it was Eusèbe Renaudot (1646 – 1720), the French theologian and Orientalist, who translated into Latin, in 1713, the lives of the Coptic patriarchs up to the end of the thirteenth century under the title Historia patriarcharum alexandrinorum jacobitarum (History of the Jacobite Patriarchs of Alexandria).[2]

– Then Christian Friedrich Seybold (1859 – 1921) published in 1904 an edited Arabic text of the work under the title Historia patriarcharum Alexandrinorum by Sāwīrus ibn al-Muqaffaʻ, Bishop of el-Ashmunein, in Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium.[3] The reader can access this work (up to the live to the 52^nd patriarch, Joseph I [831 – 849]) below:

http://archive.org/stream/historiapatriarc01swru#page/n6/mode/2up

– Then the English historian Basil Thomas Alfred Evetts, or simply B. T. A. Evetts (b. 1858), published the lives of the Coptic patriarchs up to Joseph I under the title History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria, in four parts, in three volumes of Patrologia Orientalis (PO) (Tomes I, V and X), which appeared in Paris in 1907, 1910 and 1915, respectively. The edition includes the Arabic text and its accompanying English translation on each page:

Part I appeared in PO, Tome I, 1907, pp. 99-214, and covered the Lives of Patriarchs from St. Mark to Theonas (d. 300);

http://archive.org/stream/patrologiaorient01pari#page/n125/mode/2up

Part II appeared also in PO, Tome I, 1907, pp. 383-518, and covered the Lives of Patriarchs from Peter I to Benjamin I (d. 661);

http://archive.org/stream/patrologiaorient01pari#page/n407/mode/2up

Part III appeared in PO, volume V, 1910, pp. 1-215, and covered the Lives of Patriarchs from Agathon to Michael I (d. 766);

http://archive.org/stream/patrologiaorien05pari#page/n11/mode/2up

Part IV appeared in PO, volume X, 1915, pp. 358-551, and covered the Lives of Patriarchs from Mennas I to Joseph I (d. 849).

http://archive.org/stream/patrologiaorien10pari#page/n371/mode/2up

– In the 1940s, the Société d’archéologie copte in Cairo decided to publish an English translation of the full History of Coptic Patriarchs. As the Lives of the Patriarchs from St. Mark to Joseph (b. 849 AD)[4] had already been translated by B. T. A. Evetts, the Société reprinted his work as Volume 1 of a four-volume set under the title History of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church : known as the History of the Holy Church / by Sawirus ibn al-Mukaffa`, Bishop of al-Asmunin; and it then went on to publish the rest of the Lives, which were translated by the British Coptologist, O.H.E. Burmester[5] (1897 – 1977) and others, including Yassa ‘Abd al-Masih, Aziz Suryal Atiya and Antoine Khater – work which continued from 1943 to 1974:

The Lives of Khaël II (c. 849) to Shenouti I (d. 880), which were translated by Yassa ‘Abd al-Masih & O.H.E. Burmester, and appeared in 1943 as Volume II, Part I.
The Lives of Khaël III to Senouti II (d. 1066), which were translated by Aziz Suryal Atiya, Yassa ‘Abd al-Masih & O.H.E. Burmester, and appeared in 1948 as Volume II, Part II.
The Lives of Christodoulus to Michael IV (d. 1102), which were translated by Aziz Suryal Atiya, Yassa ‘Abd al-Masih & O.H.E. Burmester, and appeared in 1959 as Volume II, Part III.
The Lives of Macarius II to John V (d. 1167), which were translated by Antoine Khater & O.H.E. Khs-Burmester, and appeared in 1968 as Volume III, Part I.
The Lives of Mark III to John VI (d. 1216), which were translated by Antoine Khater & O.H.E. Khs-Burmester, and appeared in 1970 as Volume III, Part II.
The Lives of Cyril II to Cyril V (d. 1894), which were translated by Antoine Khater & O.H.E. Khs-Burmester, and appeared in 1970 as Volume III, Part III.
Cyril III, Ibn Laklak (1216-1243), which was translated by Antoine Khater & O.H.E. Khs-Burmester, and appeared in 1974 as Volume IV in two parts, Part I and Part II.

Unfortunately, the translation into English is not good in all parts, and one can find several inaccuracies rendered in the English text. The Arabic text is also jumbled. The result is that this very important work, which we must look at it as one unit but with each section retaining its character, is not yet properly edited, whether in Arabic or English.

I reproduce below History of the Coptic Patriarchs as one unit, including all 12 parts (the 4 parts publisged by Evetts and the eight parts published by Burmester), and I hope it will be a base for further studies on this indispensable book for the study of the Coptic Church and nation.

I have taken all prefaces or introductions entered by Evetts and Burmester et al, and retained the historical text, including any prefaces, introductions or editorial notes by the Coptic writers of the monumental work.

[1] I find the title History of the Coptic Patriarchs more accurate and convenient to give to this work than any other title given such as History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria, which was given by B. Evett; History of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church, which was given byO.H.E. Burmester et al; or even History of the Holy Church, which is the direct translation from the original name in Arabic تاريخ البيعة المقدسة.

[2] The full title of the book is: historia patriarcharum alexandrinorum jacobitarum a d marco usque ad finem saeculi xiii cum catalogo (History of the Jacobite Patriarchs of Alexandria, from Mark until the end of the thirteenth century, with a catalog).

[3] Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, v. 52, 59; Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, Scriptores Arabici, ser. 3, t. 9; Corpus Scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium, Scriptores Arabici, t. 8-9. I could get hold of the text for the lives up to the 52^nd patriarch, Joseph I (831 – 849 AD).

[4] His date of death remains a mystery.

[5] He later named himself, O.H.E. Khs-Burmester.

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HISTORY OF THE COPTIC PATRIARCHS

Severus of Al’Ashmunein (Hermopolis), History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic church of Alexandria (1904) Part 1: St. Mark – Theonas (300 AD). Patrologia Orientalis 1 pp. 105-211 (p.1-113 of text).

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE
COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

I

S. MARK TO THEONAS (300)

ARABIC TEXT EDITED, TRANSLATED, AND ANNOTATED
BY
B. EVETTS

PREFACES

First preface
Second preface
Third preface – by Severus, bishop of Al-Ushmunain
Fourth preface
The priesthood of Christ

PART 1

Chapter 1 – St. Mark, the first patriarch
Chapter 2 – St. Mark
Chapter 3
- Annianus, the second patriarch (62 – 85)
- Avilius, the third patriarch (85 – 98)
- Credo, the fourth patriarch (98 – 109)
- Primus, the fifth patriarch (109 – 122)
- Justus, the sixth patriarch (122 – 130)
- Eumenes, the seventh patriarch (130 – 142)
- Mark II, the eighth patriarch (143 -154)
- Celadion, the ninth patriarch (157 – 167)
- Agrippinus, the tenth patriarch (167 – 180)
- Julian, the eleventh patriarch (180 – 189)
Chapter 4 – Demetrius, the twelfth patriarch (189 – 231)
Chapter 5 – Heraclas, the thirteenth patriarch (231 – 247)
Chapter 6
- Dionysius the wise, the fourteenth patriarch (247 – 264)
- Maximus, the fifteenth patriarch (264 – 282)
- Theonas, the sixteenth patriarch (282 – 300)

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FIRST PREFACE

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God.

This is the book of the Lives of the Fathers and Patriarchs. May God grant us the blessing of their prayers!

These patriarchs were the successors of the father and missionary, Saint Mark the evangelist, who preached the holy gospel and the good news of the Lord Christ in the great city of Alexandria, and in the region of Egypt, and in the regions of Ethiopia and Nubia, and in Pentapolis in the West, which is also called Africa, and in the neighbouring territories; for all these countries fell by lot to his preaching, through the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

And after he had preached and proclaimed the good tidings, and written the gospel in Greek, and finished his course, he became a martyr in the Caesarium, a quarter of Alexandria, which is called in the Hebrew language the |106 city of Ammon ¹. His biography, which records that which was done to him, and how he preached, and what befell him, is set forth in the first of the histories contained in this book.

And after him our orthodox fathers, the patriarchs, were the heirs of his doctrines which save souls from hell; and they remained true to that which he delivered to them, in the guardianship of the orthodox faith and in attachment to it, and in patience under persecution for its sake, at all times, to their last breath, that is to say till death. They sat upon his episcopal throne, one after another, each of them succeeding his predecessor; and thus all were his representatives, and the shepherds of his flock, and his imitators in his faith in Christ.

These histories here given were collected from various places by the care of the celebrated father, Abba Severus, son of Al-Mukaffa, bishop of the city of Al-Ushmunain, who relates that he gathered them together from the monastery of Saint Macarius and the monastery of Nahya and other monasteries, and from scattered fragments which he found in the hands of the Christians. And when these documents were put together by your |107

poor brother into this single volume, after research and trouble on his part, God gave him a long life, until a day came when he wrote out this history and set it in order; but it was not completed till the end of his eightieth year. And now I implore God’s help that we may understand what we read therein, and may obey these holy patriarchs, and carry out their precepts, and follow in their footsteps, and remain attached to their faith; for he is the God who hears and answers our prayers. Thanks be to him for ever and ever. Amen.

SECOND PREFACE ²

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God.

Praise be to God, the origin and source of learning, the maker and creator of all things, who forms and brings into being all that exists : who guides and elects those whom he pleases, and raises those whom he desires among his servants to be his chosen ones and his holy people, whom he picks out and in whom he takes pleasure; who lifts up the poor from the ground, and the needy from the dunghill, that he may make him ruler over his people, and a prince to govern his servants and his land; and gives him as his inheritance the throne of power, that he may rule over the earth with justice, and among men with truth; that he may deliver the weak from the mighty, |108 and save the oppressed from the oppressor. This is the judgment and wisdom of God which none of his creatures can comprehend, for his mysteries are hidden from the wise and learned; and he raises up at all times those who shall gently guide his people.

The merciful, the compassionate one, the Lord Christ, who gave himself by the mystery of his Incarnation to save his creatures, and vanquished the mighty by humility and weakness; who speaks through the mouth of his prophets by the Holy Ghost; when it pleased him to manifest himself on earth and become incarnate, that he might save his creatures whom he had created after the likeness of the image of his majesty, appeared among them in a human body, born of the Virgin Mary, most excellent of women in creation. For he had elected her from among the offspring of Adam, the sinner and rebel against his Lord, who obeyed his enemy and broke the commandment of his Creator, so that it was necessary that he should die, as God had said to him when he warned him not to disobey; but Adam would not listen, desiring to be a god and similar to his Creator, and so was caught in the net of stumbling. Yet even then God the Word had mercy upon him in pity for him, and became incarnate, —-He, the uncreated in respect of his Godhead, the Man in respect of his Humanity, the pure from all sin. And the Virgin Mary bore him in her womb and brought him forth, by a mystery to which the intelligence of creatures cannot attain, and by which he exalted her above above all other created beings in heaven or on earth; above the Angels, the |109 Powers, the Principalities, the Cherubim and the Seraphim, and all whom God has made in heaven or on earth. For she became the throne of him who is Lord of the first and the last, without division or change, —- of him whom no space can enclose, and no time contain.

And when, in his unattainable wisdom, he established his dispensation, and the Union of his Humanity with his Divinity, the mystery of which is hidden from all in heaven or on earth, he chose his disciples, the apostles, and gave them the great commission, authorising them to bind and to loose. And so likewise their successors after them inherit this gift in all regions of the world, each one following his predecessor. Thus the inheritance of this power, which Christ gave to the great father and evangelist, Mark, the apostle, is carried on to his successor, the patriarch who sits upon his episcopal throne in the great city of Alexandria, in the midst of the regions where he preached.

Saint Mark, then, was the first patriarch who fed the flock of Christ; and in after times he was followed by the inspired fathers and patriarchs, generation after generation. This see of his is independent, and separate from all other sees. And no patriarch is promoted to it, nor does any obtain from God this glorious station and this high and sublime degree, save one whom he has proved and tried, and who has experienced such trouble and adversity and resistance of enemies and attacks of heretics that by these things he resembles Christ’s disciples and apostles, who were assisted by his Holy Spirit, —-those pure ones, those preachers of good tidings, who |110 suffered contempt and blows and scourging and stoning and crucifixion and shipwreck, and burning by fire, and wounds, and casting down from high places to the ground, and death by the sword, and all kinds of torment, which if we were to relate in detail, our narrative would be too long and the description of it would be too copious, and listeners would tremble at the hearing of it, and books and volumes would not contain even a small part of the history. Yet they lived in patience, enduring all these sufferings, and imitating their Lord, their Master and their Christ, who sent them to baptize all men and all nations, and draw them to faith in him. They taught men that by which they might profit through all ages and generations and times to the end of the world, namely the means of saving their souls in this world and the next; and they bequeathed their doctrines to their successors, the fathers and patriarchs, in every region to which their preaching was extended; for the patriarchs are indeed their successors and their followers. So they laid down their lives to preserve their trusted ones among the baptized, the faithful and orthodox. As the great apostle and excellent teacher Paul, the elect one and lamp of the Church of God, says ³, «Rather we glory in the tribulation that we suffer; for we know that tribulation perfects patience in us, and patience trial and probation, and hardships call forth hope, and hope disappoints not, because it pours into our hearts the love of God by the Holy Ghost». As he says in another place ⁴, «Verily if ye be allowed to wander free, and be left |111 without chastisement, and be not branded as the elect friends of God were branded before you, then are ye become strangers to God and are not near to him». And there are many similar testimonies in the books of the Church, from Paul and from others of the inspired apostles and fathers and teachers, since th evenerated prophets.

The patriarchs did not cease to repel the doctrines of the heretics, striving to refute them, resisting them, overthrowing their false tenets, revealing to men their misbelief and the corruption of their creeds. And they composed a homily on every text, until they filled the Church of God with their homilies and sermons and spiritual learning. They never abandoned the study of the scriptures and writings and commandments of God, reading all the ecclesiastical books and other works which they needed for the composition of their homilies, and searching out every jewel of the Divine Word and of other literature. So at last they attained their desire, and obeyed the summons of their Creator who called them, saying, each one of them, «Here ⁵ am I with the sons whom thou gavest me, for not one of them has perished!» Thus they obtained their high degrees, and the mansions, brilliant with happiness and light, the blessings of which are eternal and imperishable.

They did not in the time of their pastorate fear haughty princes. Their hearts and purposes never faltered in the love of God, nor in teaching men, both secretly and openly, the means of saving their souls. And while they governed the Church, they were never careless nor frivolous, |112 nor did they acquire aught belonging to this transitory world; but they were obedient to their Lord’s commands, and applied themselves to their duties of instruction and imparting discipline, and observed the canons and precepts of God. So in the eyes of their flock they were great and learned; and when one of their disciples, or one of those who resisted them and their doctrine, beheld them and their deeds, he glorified God for their works, because the words of the Gospel which Christ uttered were now fulfilled : «You are the light of the world. A city, when it is placed upon a hill, cannot be hidden, and a lamp, when it is lighted, is not set under a bushel, but on a candlestick, to enlighten all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven ⁶.»

As one of the wise men says : «He who mounts the steps of learning and public affairs becomes great in the eyes of the multitudes, and he whose nature is noble has his rights acknowledged; to him who despises money men’s hopes are directed; he who is reasonable ceases to be unjust; the just man’s judgments are carried out; the leader is he who defends his faith with his possessions, and does not defend his possessions by means of his faith». But the best is what is said in one of the jewels of literature as follows : «The good shepherd does good to his flock and with justice rules creation. He who is just in his government is independent of his assistants. He who excels among men by his rank of governor and his superiority as ruler is bound to |113 guard his rank by his good administration, so that his prosperity may continue and that he may be fortunate both in spiritual and temporal matters. He whom God has put into possession of his land and territory, and entrusted with his people and servants, and whose place and rank he has exalted, ought to give thanks to God in faith, and to preserve his religion, and embellish his life, and purify his thoughts, and make virtue his constant habit, and salvation his aim and object. But injustice slips on its feet, and draws down vengeance, and destroys happiness and makes the nations perish. The hasty man fails even when he gains; but the deliberate man succeeds even when he loses. He who relies on his own opinion falls into the net of his enemies. He who rides on haste comes to a fall. He who does what he pleases gets what is evil. The fall of dynasties is caused by the employment of the lowest of the people. He who asks help of the wise gains what he hopes for. He who asks the advice of the prudent walks in the right path. Good government is the light of sovereignty, but evil administration is the source of destruction. To favour the fool is the worst of baseness, but to employ the wise is the best of merits; for the employment of the wise leads to the establishment of wisdom, but the employment of the fool to the maintenance of folly. Every man inclines to his like, and every bird roosts with its fellow. Learn that the cause of the ruin of princes is to be found in the rejection of the virtuous and the employment of the base, and in making light of the counsellor’s advice, and in the deception that arises from placing trust in the flatterer. But God assists the right by his bounty and glory |114 and power and majesty. Verily, he can bring to pass all that he pleases. To him be glory for ever!»

THIRD PREFACE

BY SEVERUS, BISHOP OF AL-USHMUNAIN

The author of this history, Severus, son of Al-Mukaffa, the compiler, says thus :

When I, —- the wretched and sinful one, drowning in the seas of my transgressions, I, the penitent, who waste my days in sin, and grieve over my negligence and the loss of the months and years of my life in hopes and procrastinations, ruinous to my faith and my condition, —- learnt and ascertained the graces which the Lord Christ, the Saviour, has granted, to whose name worship is due, to all the baptized whom he bought with his precious blood; and how he gave his authority, and bestowed the Holy Ghost upon his disciples and followers, the chosen Twelve and Seventy, and upon those that came after them, such as Paul, the teacher of the Church, whom God specially called because he knew the strength of his faith and his zeal, and such as those whom he elected to the episcopal throne of his martyr and disciple and evangelist, whom he sent as apostle to his people, and as the first of the patriarchs of Egypt, and of Pentapolis, which is Barca and |115 Fezzan and Al-Kairuwan and Tripoli of the West and Africa, and of Ethiopia and Nubia, —- all of which countries fell under his preaching by the command of the Holy Ghost, —- whose martyrdom took place in the city of Alexandria, after he had preached the name of the Lord Christ, according to the evidence of his biography, of whose doctrines which save souls from hell our fathers, the patriarchs, became heirs, sitting upon his episcopal throne one after another, each one in succession to his predecessor, all being the successors of Saint Mark, handing down his authority one to another, and the shepherds of his flock, and imitators of his faith in Christ, —- of Saint Mark, the pure evangelist who saw Christ’s face, —- from whose successors, the patriarchs who came after him, descends to us the knowledge of their history and their names and the changing fortunes of each of them in his time and age, and the troubles and sorrows and struggles which fell to the lot of each of them for the name of his Lord and his Christ, and the preservation of his flock year after year and age after age, —-then, since I am one of those who are not fit to write down with their wretched, perishing hands any of the histories of these patriarchs, I requested the help of those Christian brethren with whose fitness I was acquainted, and begged them to assist me in translating the histories that we found written in the Coptic and Greek languages into the Arabic tongue, current among the people of the present day in the region of Egypt, most of whom are ignorant of the Coptic and the Greek, so that they might be satisfied with such translations when they read them. |116

And I implored him who gives speech to the stammerer, and opens the mouths of the dull, and calls those weighed down by burdens, as I am, in accordance with the words of the gospel, spoken by his own holy mouth, which say : «Come ⁷ to me, ye that are weary and carry burdens, that I may give you rest; and learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart, that ye may receive rest for your souls; and bear my yoke upon you, for my yoke is light and my burden is good. » —- 1 implored him to pardon my slips, and to forgive the progress which I make in indulgence towards my blameworthy deeds and faults and frequent sins. And I copied that which I knew not from the men of old, in agreement with the canons of the Church, according to that which is now about to be related, besides what tradition and history teach. And I added to the rest what I knew of the histories of the fathers and patriarchs whom I had myself beheld. And I asked God —- whose power is glorious —- to pardon me the superfluous eloquence and beautified language that the histories contain, and all that I can claim as the work of my sinful self in relating the accounts of those whose meanest disciple I am unworthy to be, and my description of the virtues of holy monks inspired by the grace of the Holy Ghost, partly from what I have myself beheld and partly from translations of histories.

Now I will make frequent prostrations on behalf of those who shall read what I have written, that they may pray for pardon for me for that which I have attempted and undertaken, and may beg for forgiveness and indulgence and absolution for me, through the intercession of the elect Lady of the first |117 and the last, the Throne of the Lord of the worlds; and through the intercession of the angels who stand beside him, and of the spiritual orders, and of the truth-announcing and inspired prophets, and of the pure and elect apostles, and of the militant martyrs, and of the holy and righteous fathers, and of the virtuous elders, and of all among the posterity of Adam with whose works God is well pleased. Amen.

O God, I pray thee to open the eyes of my heart and my sight, that I may understand thy words, and ray hearing, that I may hear and do that which is right. In thy mercy be not angry with me for that which I have written, but pardon and forgive the faults therein caused by my negligence. And shew thy favour to him who here speaks, relying upon God’s pardon.

FOURTH PREFACE

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God.

Great is the Lord and exceedingly to be praised, and great are his works, and inscrutable are his mysteries and his wisdom; nor can any man comprehend any of God’s dealings, which are too high for the understanding of those that understand, or of the learned in the law. For these when they are questioned, humble themselves and say : O God, who hast created us and |118 favoured us, and given us commands and prohibitions, and by punishments made us fear to do what thou hast forbidden, and hast guided us towards the salvation of our souls and the good way; we have slipped in our thoughts, and have rebelled in our free-will. Therefore we implore thee, O long-suffering and beneficent and mighty and gracious One, who pardonest all that come to thee with honest purpose, to be gracious to us, and to be our starting-point and our assistance and our final perfection in the road by which we advance to thee; and to open the darkened eyes of our hearts and our clouded thoughts, so that we may observe and do what we read in thy holy books, and in the histories of those whom thou didst love, and didst choose from among thy followers, and didst elect, namely those militant ones, who overcame their desires, who abandoned the world on account of their love for thee, and their obedience to thy commandments and precepts; and to grant us a good end, so that our departure from this world may be the departure of thy chosen ones, who are saved from sins and iniquities, from which no man is free, and that we may be delivered from the terrible and dreaded place, if thou wilt have mercy upon us, and wilt liberate us from the power of the Devil, and from the service of sin; and to grant to us spiritual wisdom, with which we may trample down worldly desires by striving to keep thy commandments; and to let us go forth from this perishing world with provisions for the eternal life; and to give us words of welcome before thy dreaded and terrible tribunal. And among thy benefits to us, guide the course of our life in this world, that it may be passed in doing |119 what pleases thee and in obeying thee, and following thy guiding and life-giving Law; and lead us to thy directing Life, that our minds may be directed to thy kingdom, and that our actions may be ruled by the doctrines of thy holy gospel. Thou sayest, O Lord : «Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you ⁸». So I ask of thee, confiding in thy words, without an action that I have done that can please thee, and having no good deeds which I have offered to thee; but for the sake of thy name by which we are called, as the blessed David says in a Psalm ⁹ : «Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to thy name give the glory because of thy mercy and thy truth, that the gentiles may not say : Where is their God ? And our God is in heaven and on earth; all that pleases him he has done».O God deliver us and save us, and be to us in this world of ours a Protector and Saviour in all our affairs, whether small or great, whether glorious or mean. And be merciful, O compassionate one, and vouchsafe, O merciful one, to lead us to that which pleases thee, and remove us far from what offends thee. For thou sayest, O Lord : «Return to me, and I will forgive you, even if your sins are as numerous as the sands of the sea, and the stars of heaven». Therefore fulfil thy promise to us sinners, and do not ask of us repentance or works, but by thy mercy and pity and goodness, grant help to the prayer of thy sinful servant, although he neglects thy commandments, namely to him who writes these glorious histories, and hereby begins by saying : |120

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God.

Let us begin, with the help of God and with his blessed assistance, to write the histories of the holy Church. The author says : That which I, the sinner, have written, I collected from the monastery of Saint Macarius, and the monasteries of Upper Egypt; and the religious deacon, Michael, son of Apater, was commissioned to make translations of some of the documents from the Coptic language into Arabic, as will be mentioned in its place. This was in addition to that which was found in the great city, and the abridgments of certain histories which were found, the first of them relating to Christ, my Help and my Hope and my Defender and my Salvation. For the first of these documents is that which was translated in the monastery of our Lady at Nahya, concerning the matter of the priesthood of Christ the Lord, whose name is glorious, and of his entrance into the temple. In the peace of God. Amen. Amen. Amen.

THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST ¹⁰

In the time of Julian ¹¹, the unbelieving Prince, there was a man who was a Jew, and a priest of the Jews, and his name was Theodosius, and he was high in rank. There was also a Christian, a silversmith ¹², who knew him; and there was a strong affection between the two; and the name of the Christian was Philip. And on a certain day Philip went to one of the cities of Syria |121 and moored his ship in the harbour, that he might sell certain goods which he had brought. There Philip met his friend, the Jewish priest Theodosius, and, entering into affectionate conversation with him, said to him : «O my brother, I would that thou wouldst become a Christian, so that our friendship might be a genuine one, and that thou mightest make profit out of this world and the next also». Then Theodosius answered, saying to him with great affection : or I have taken care for my salvation; and I have thought of something that I wish to reveal to thee; for I will not leave thee without the knowledge of the most high God, who bears witness to that which I tell thee. Therefore do not doubt it, for I tell it thee because thou hast shown me thy love for me. But I prefer that thou shouldst keep what I say in thy heart and not repeat it to anyone, and it is this : That he who was announced by the Holy Ghost and the Prophets is the Messiah whom you Christians worship, confessing that he indeed has come; and this I believe with an honest and pure heart, without any doubt at all. For thou art a brother and a friend, and therefore 1 disclose this secret to thee and certify it in thy presence, because thy love and desire of happiness and good things for me are so evident to me. Therefore believe me now, my brother. But my carnal thoughts hinder me from being baptized; for I am not humble, nor am I fit, for I am weak; and I am a priest to this people, and have acquired great renown and honour and high rank, and have gained by them treasure and wealth, and if I left them, I should lose all that. And not only my own people would abandon me, but the Christians also, according to what I have witnessed with regard to the Jews when they are baptized, as to the position that they hold; and I have heard also that you say : «When a Jew is baptized, it is as if one baptized an |122 ass». So how can I now be baptized? Moreover I see Christians sinning and angering God and neglecting the law, instead of walking in the straight path of discipline and in the truth which has come to them. And I have witnessed others who have seen them living thus, and whose hearts and faith have grown weak, so that they have imitated those careless Christians. When we enquire into the salvation which came to you from us, we recognise the Messiah indeed; and the apostles, who became your teachers, are also of our race; but you neglect the good tidings that they brought to you, and the doctrine that they taught you. And as the other nations have not been baptized and have not believed to this day, so also I have not been baptized, because of the glory of the world and the honours which 1 receive from my people, and because I see you neglecting the commands and admonitions which Christ gave you, and the exhortations of his disciples to you. Thus I refused to lose my glory and honour, and to become neglectful like you of that which has been given to you; and this is what hinders me from baptism. For the greater part of our Jewish community believe in the truth of the Messiah and in his miracles more firmly than you do; yet are they far from the salvation which came to you. And now I congratulate thee on the glorious mysteries which we have possessed from the beginning. And I declare this to thee, that we know and believe in Christ’s miracles and works more firmly than you Christians do, and we know truly that he is the Messiah who is come. |123

Hear then from me this mystery which took place in ancient times, and while the temple was still standing at Jerusalem. The Jews had a custom of establishing twenty-two priests in the temple by an obligatory law; and there was in the temple a book in which was written the genealogy of every man who became a priest, and the names of his father and mother, that it might be known that he followed the command of the most high God. And the Jews retained this custom.

Now at that time, when Jesus Christ was in Judaea, this book having existed before his appearance, one of the twenty-two priests died, and the rest assembled by themselves to choose whom they should promote instead of him. But their opinions did not agree as to whom they should appoint, and they persisted in opposing one another; and as often as a man was named he was rejected. Then they cast lots with a view of electing him upon whom their lot should fall, and, after electing him, to appoint him to the office, if there were no fault or infirmity in him, and no defect in his family, or other cause; for if they found one who had the correct genealogy but was not learned, they rejected him and would not promote him; and this was a dispensation from the most’ high God, because of their strife, so that none might be promoted except the Lord of the priesthood, who was worthy of this place, namely, Jesus Christ. And behold, after this, the Holy Ghost moved in one of the priests, and he became zealous for God and stood up in the midst of them, and said : «We have to day been assembled for ten days, and yet we cannot appoint any one. And I know certainly that our discussion is thus |124 prolonged because of him whom the most high God will appoint, and this is the reason of the disputing among us and the overthrow of our intentions. And this will be made manifest by the will of the most high God». Then they said to him : «If thou knowest anyone, mention him to us openly, and we will acknowledge it as a great favour on thy part». So he said to them : «Not till you make an agreement with me that you will not reject what I say to you, but will accept it from me; and then I will tell you who is fit for the place; but I know that you cannot reject him». So when all the priests heard this, they swore an oath by Truth and Sincerity ¹³ that, if one who was worthy was shown to them, they would accept and appoint him. When he was assured of them, he said to them : «O my brethren, the most high God has put it into my mind that he who is worthy of this place is Jesus, who is called the son of Joseph; for he is a man perfect in his pedigree and in his person and in his conduct, and is capable of speaking and acting before God and men. And know that you will find none like him among this people who has no deceit nor physical defect». So when the priests heard his words, and understood his discourse, they were confounded and perplexed because of the oath; and therefore they said to him with guile, thinking they could reject his proposal : «He whom thou namest is worthy, for we are seeking a good man; but he is not of the lineage of the priests, and the people speak calumniously of his birth, |125 because of the infants whom Herod slew with the sword on his account». Then he answered and said to them without anger : «Cleave fast to the truth; for indeed I will guide you to the right course with regard to him, so that you may not turn away from the most high God; for then we should go far from the truth, and should believe lies, since I know that if we enquire into the truth God will reveal it to us». Then they said : «Satisfy our minds, as thou knowest how, with regard to his birth and family, and we will consent to what thou sayest to us». So he said to them: «Enquire and you will learn that in the days of Aaron the priest there was an alliance by marriage between Aaron and the tribe of Juda, to which the prophet David bore witness. Now I have enquired much about Jesus, his tribe and genealogy, and 1 find that his mother Mary is connected with both tribes. And, she is also innocent of sin, through another great mystery. For this reason I desire that you make enquiries, that you may know with certainty that what I say is true, and may recognize that I speak honestly to you». But the priests thought that by this notion of theirs they would bring his counsel to nought. And they began to enquire about the family of Jesus, and found that Mary united the two tribes, and therefore they could not evade this point on account of the oath. So they began to dispute about the pedigree of Jesus. For they said : «There is a different opinion on this point. We wish to know how his birth was not adulterous, since they accused his mother Mary, when she was given to Joseph». And they all agreed on this subject. And they sent for his mother Mary to the Temple, and exhorted her gently to declare to them the matter of her conception of |126 Jesus, and whence he was. And the Law was in their hands, bearing witness against them with her, that they should not think evil of her if she spoke the truth; and they swore to her accordingly. And they said to her : «O woman, behold, thou seest us all assembled for good, not for evil, but for the business of God most high which we are settling. For we have come to one conclusion with regard to thy son, whom we find to be acceptable to God and men. And he is wonderful among men, and they all glorify God most high on account of him, for he at this time is among them like Solomon son of David, who was given to him by the wife of Uriah the Hittite; and therefore we have chosen him and selected him by lot, to establish him as priest on account of his virtues. But with regard to one report we are still in doubt; for we wish to know from thee whence he is, and by whom thou didst conceive and bring him forth; in order that the truth may be known from thee, so that no evil word be spoken of thee nor of the priesthood. For this reason we sent for thee, that we may know the truth, and may not remain in doubt; then thou wilt put an end to the dispute about the matter before us. And here is the Law before us, and we declare before God most high, the Invisible One, that no harm nor blame shall come to thee from us; but we shall thank thee greatly because thou hast not hidden the truth from us». But Mary thought that if she revealed to them the hidden mystery of her miraculous maternity they would not believe it on account of the difficulty which the matter would present to them; and that their minds would not admit the idea that a virgin could become a mother, and that there could be a son |127 without a father. So she said to them : «If I told you what I know, would you accept it? Nay if I revealed to you the mystery concerning my conception and wonderful maternity, you would not believe my words. Therefore the best thing for me is to be silent». But the priests, moved by their evil thoughts, said to her : «O Mary, in truth we desire to hear from thee whose son Jesus is. For his father Joseph is dead, and our hearts doubt with regard to him whether he was his father; and therefore we ask of thee the true account of the matter, for by giving it thou wilt stop the whole dispute about thy maternity. We beg thee to reveal to us this mystery truthfully and clearly; and do not fear anyone, for the right course is not concealed from us; but if thou hidest the matter, the Law decrees against thee a curse for ever». This they said to her, and the like. So Mary was troubled, saying : «I am perplexed in every way on account of the incomprehensible One, whom I bore; and behold the day is come for me to declare him. And I understand now the secret of my maternity, which you urge me to reveal. But when you hear it, you will not believe it, and you will not accept what I shall tell you. Even Joseph who, as you say, is dead, doubted of my conception, as you do, and asked me, saying : «Who has been with you?» So I swore that no man had ever touched me; yet he did not believe me until the angel of God appeared to him and satisfied his mind. But he is not living to bear witness for me before you to the truth of what I say. For the Law accepts the evidence of two witnesses more readily than the evidence of one. But I affirm before God and this Law that 1 brought forth my son Jesus, although I am a virgin; and I will relate to you how I |128 conceived him». Then they said to her : «Verily the thing is manifest; and we acknowledge before God and his holy Law that thou didst in truth bring forth this son; and this is a thing not to be concealed, for a woman who conceives and suffers the pangs of childbirth is she that rejoices more than others when she brings forth. Now thou hast confessed truthfully that thou didst bring him forth; and thus we, who for a long time have conversed with no one, are now sitting conversing with a woman. But we told thee that we would not reprimand thee, if thou wouldst tell us what it is lawful for us to hear and accept from thee». Then Mary began to think in perplexity and fear, bending her face towards the ground and weeping. At last she said : «Now I know that I brought forth Jesus as you say, and this I confess. But as for your suggestion that a man ravished me, indeed the seal of my virginity bears witness to me that I tell you the truth». When they heard this, they were troubled and said : «This is a statement that we will not accept, for it is a tale of wonder. How can we write the name of thy son in the genealogy, without the name of his father and of the tribe to which he belongs, as the current custom is?» When Mary heard the priests say this, she said to them : «I told you from the beginning that I know nothing of what you have said; therefore do what you wish, for I will not tell you what has not happened to me». So when she said this, not one of them |129 contradicted her; but they were moved by divine providence, and sent and summoned trustworthy women from among their midwives, and begged them strenuously and eagerly to clear up the matter with regard to her, whether she was a virgin, as she said, before God and the Law. So the midwives examined her, and said to the priests : «She speaks the truth; she is a virgin inviolate, as she said; and her virginity was not lost when she brought forth Jesus, for as you all know, he was born of her.» Then they inquired among her neighbours and acquaintances, to see whether they might find someone to deny the birth. But they found no one, for everyone confirmed the fact of her bringing forth a son, and the time at which she so wonderfully became a mother, by a mystery which was understood by none. Thus the priests found nothing which they could allege against her, or by which they could prove her false, but only the manifest truth. Then after that they sent for her, moved by necessity, in fear, and said to her : «We have inquired, and have found nothing contrary to thy words, nor to what thou didst relate to us. But it is not right that we should write down what thou sayest. Now therefore we adjure thee by God Almighty to make known to us who is the father of Jesus, by whom thou didst bring him forth, that we may write his name in the register ¹⁴and in the genealogy». And Mary was filled with the Holy Ghost, and said : «I will say nothing with guile or falsehood, and God, by whose name you have adjured me, is my witness». And she began to tell them thus : «The Angel Gabriel came to me, and |130 announced the good tidings to me». So she explained to them all that had happened to her. Then they were confounded and marvelled greatly, and prayed God to forgive them the unjust words which they had used against her. And one of them said : «Indeed this is the Messiah, of whom the Prophets prophesied that he would come of the house of David, and from Bethlehem of the tribe of Juda.» Then they called Jesus, and tendered the oath to him as priest, and wrote his name in the genealogy, with the day and the month and the year, describing him as «Jesus, the son of God, and the son of Mary the virgin, whom she bore while still a virgin. He is indeed a priest, and is worthy of the office». And this was a providential dispensation, as Luke the Evangelist, who is said to have been a physician, says in a passage of his Gospel ¹⁵, namely, that «When Jesus returned through Galilee in the power of the Spirit, his fame went forth through all the country, and he used to teach in their synagogues, and all glorified him; and he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up, and entered according to his custom into their synagogue on the Sabbath day. And the attendant gave him the book containing the prophecy of Isaias, in which it is written : The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, and therefore he has anointed me and sent me to preach good tidings to the poor, and to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those that are bound, and to announce the acceptable year of the Lord. Then he rolled up the book and gave it to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of those present were fastened upon him. And he began to say to them : To-day has this prophecy been fulfilled in your |131 ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the words of grace which proceeded out of his mouth».

When Philip the Christian heard these words from Theodosius the Jew, he rejoiced greatly. Then the latter said to him : «I know these things and have spoken of them only because I am one of the teachers and readers of the Law; and it is the Law that has confirmed in my heart the belief that he whom Mary brought forth is the Messiah, and that in him and no other is fulfilled the prophecy of Jacob to Juda, his son, and that no other Messiah shall come after him. For it is assured to us that he it is whom the nations were expecting, and he it is that was to come into the world and to deliver those that believe in him. And there shall not be after him any chief or leader or priest in Israel, according to the words of the Prophet David concerning him in the 109th Psalm ¹⁶ : «The Lord sware and repents not, Thou art a priest for ever according to the order of Melchisedech». But who among the posterity of Adam is a priest who shall live for ever? For David also says in the 88th Psalm ¹⁷ : «Who is the man that shall live and shall not see death?» Therefore it is the Messiah of whom David said that he is the living and eternal priest.»

Then Philip answered and said to him : «It is right that thou shouldst know that thy concealment of this matter makes thee liable to judgment on the Great Day; and I should prefer to reveal what I have heard from thee to our religious prince, that he may send and bring to light the genealogy |132 written in the register, and the Jews’ want of faith, so that they may be openly condemned». But the Jew answered and said to the Christian : «Thou knowest that thou wilt bring a judgment upon thyself for breaking the promise which stands between us. Moreover the thing which thou thinkest that thou wilt succeed in doing, thou wilt not be able to do, but wilt be powerless therein; for when the Jews hear of it, they will stir up a great war, and events will take place by which many men will lose their lives. And if they are urged to show the genealogy, and that which is written therein, they will prefer to burn it in the fire, or all of them will be slain with the sword; but they will not show it. Then thou wilt be to blame, and the genealogy will be lost after all. And the Christians do not need it, because it is the register of the Jewish priests; but you believe in Jesus and know him through the words of the prophets and apostles, and have already assured yourselves of the facts of your religion. But this register will condemn the Jews for ever, so long as it remains with them. Why then dost thou desire to take it away from among them? Believe me, my friend, that every book which I have read of the Law and of the Prophecies of the Prophets with regard to the Messiah is literally in agreement with the genealogy in my eyes, and by it I confirm my faith in the Messiah whom you worship; and this is manifest to all the doctors of the Law. And I know that if thou shouldst mention it, thou wouldst cause its destruction».

Then I, Philip, in spite of many entreaties, at last yielded to his injunctions not to reveal this matter to the prince; for he made me afraid, and so I |133 restrained myself. For he assured me in the name of God, that this evidence proves that Jesus is the Messiah sufficiently to condemn the Jews, and to confirm us and our faith. I, Philip, wrote this report, and laid it before the assembly of the church, and before certain holy bishops and chosen monks. And when they learnt these things they were astonished at them,, and were assured of the truth of the Jew’s words and the testimony of his people to the Lord Christ in the matter of the priesthood, as it was written in the register. Then the bishops and the monks wrote treatises about the priesthood of Christ; for they found that Eusebius Pamphili mentions this matter in several passages in the histories of the Church ¹⁸. For Josephus brings the subject to light in the books of the Captivity ¹⁹. And this Josephus says that Jesus was seen to enter the temple with the priests at the time of the sanctification. Then is mentioned also the testimony of Luke the evangelist concerning the incident that we have already quoted, and concerning the fact that the Lord Christ also made a scourge of cords, and drove the traffickers out of the temple. This fact and all these testimonies prove that the Jew’s words are true, and that on account of his sincere friendship with Philip he reveal ed this secret matter to him, and bore witness of it to him. And when the Jew Theodosius had finished this true discourse to his friend Philip, he was baptized and became a Christian, and was sealed with the seal of baptism, and received the Holy Mysteries. And everyone was astonished |134 at the soundness of his faith in the Lord Christ, whose power is glorious. And I, Philip, had great joy with Theodosius the neophyte. And when many of the Jews saw this, knowing that he was one of the teachers of the Law among them, and that he was a ruler over them, and had acquired great honours among them, and had then abandoned all that, and become a Christian, many of them believed and were baptized. Therefore I, Philip, glorified God most high, because I had gained the soul of my friend, who was a Jew, but is now a Christian. And glory be to the Lord Jesus Christ with the Father and the Holy Ghost, now and at all times and for ever and ever. Amen. Amen. Amen. |135

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PART I

CHAPTER I. – SAINT MARK.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the One God.

The first biography of the history of the holy Church. The history of Saint Mark, the Disciple and Evangelist, Archbishop of the great city of Alexandria, and first of its Bishops ²⁰.

In the time of the dispensation of the merciful Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, when he appointed for himself disciples to follow him, there were two brothers living in a city of Pentapolis in the West, called Cyrene. The name of the elder of them was Aristobulus, and the name of the other was Barnabas; and they were cultivators of the soil, and sowed and reaped; for they had great possessions. And they understood the Law of Moses excellently well, and knew by heart many of the books of the Old Testament. But great troubles came upon them from the two tribes of the Berbers and |136 Ethiopians, when they were robbed of all their wealth, in the time of Augustus Caesar, prince of the Romans. So on account of the loss of their property, and the trials which had befallen them, they fled from that province, in their anxiety to save their lives, and travelled to the land of the Jews. Now Aristobulus had a son named John. And after they had taken up their abode in the province of Palestine, near the city of Jerusalem, the child John grew and increased in stature by the grace of the Holy Ghost. And these two brothers had a cousin, the wife of Simon Peter, who became the chief of the disciples of the Lord Christ; and the said John whom they had surnamed Mark, used to visit Peter, and learn the Christian doctrines from him out of the holy Scriptures. And on a certain day, Aristobulus took his son Mark to the Jordan, and while they were walking there a lion and a lioness met them. And when Aristobulus saw them approaching him, and perceived the violence of their rage, he said to his son Mark : «My son, seest thou the fury of this lion which is coming to destroy us? Escape now, and save thyself, my son, and leave them to devour me, according to the will of God Almighty.» But the disciple of Christ, the holy Mark, answered and said to his father : «Fear not, my father, Christ in whom I believe will deliver us from all danger». And when the lions approached them, Mark, the disciple of the Lord Christ, shouted against them with a loud voice, and said : «The Lord Jesus Christ, son of the Living God, commands that you be rent asunder, and that your kind be cut off from these mountains, and that |137 there be no more offspring to you here for ever». Then the lion and the lioness burst asunder in the midst at that moment, and perished straightway; and their young were destroyed. And when Aristobulus, the father of Mark, saw this great miracle which was manifested by his son, through the power of the invincible Lord Jesus Christ, he said to his son : «I am thy father who begat thee, Mark, my son; but to day thou art my father, and my saviour and deliverer. And now, my dear son, I and my brother pray thee to make us servants of the Lord Jesus Christ whom thou preachest». Then the father of holy Mark and his uncle began to learn the doctrines of Christ from that day. And Mary, the mother of Mark, was the sister of Barnabas, the disciple of the apostles.

After this, the following event took place. There was in those regions, in a town called Azotus, a very large olive-tree, the size of which was greatly admired. And the people of that city were worshippers of the moon, and prayed to that olive-tree. So when the holy Mark saw them pray, he said to them : «As for this olive-tree, which you worship as God, after eating its fruit and burning its branches for fuel, what can it do? Behold, by the word of God whom I worship, I will command this tree to fall to the ground, without being touched by any tool». Then they said to him : «We know that thou workest the magic of the Galilean thy master, and whatever thou wilt thou doest. But we will call upon our god the moon, who raised up for |138 us this olive tree that we might pray to it». The holy Mark answered and said to them : «I will cast it down to the ground; and if your god shall raise it up, then I will serve him together with you». And they were satisfied with these words. And they removed all men from the tree, saying : «See that there be no man concealed in it». Then the holy Mark raised his face to heaven, and turned himself towards the East, and opened his mouth and prayed, saying : «O my Lord Jesus Christ, son of the Living God, hear thy servant, and command the moon, which is a second attendant on this world, and gives light by night, to let its voice be heard by thy decree and by thy authority, before these men who have no God, and to make known to them who created it, and who created all creation, and who is God, that they may serve him; although I know, O my Lord and God, that it has no voice nor power of speech, and that it is not customary for it to speak to anyone; so that its words may be heard at this hour through thy irresistible power, that these men who have no God may know that the moon is not a god, but a servant under thy authority, and that thou art its God. And command this tree, to which they pray, to fall to the ground, so that all may recognise thy dominion, and that there is no God but thou, with the good Father and the Holy Ghost, the giver of eternal life. Amen». And at that hour, as soon as he had finished his prayer, a great darkness occurred, at midday, and the moon appeared to them shining in the sky. And they heard a voice |139 from the moon, saying : «O men of little faith, I am not God, that you should worship me, but I am the servant of God and one of his creatures, and I am the minister of Christ my Lord, whom this Mark, his disciple, preaches; and it is he alone that we serve and to whom we minister». At the same moment the olive-tree fell. And great fear came upon all who witnessed this miracle. But as for the people who served and worshipped the tree, they were angry, and rent their garments, and seized the holy Mark and beat him, and gave him up to the unbelieving Jews, who cast him into prison. That night the holy Mark saw in his sleep the Lord Christ, saying to Peter : «I will bring forth all those that are in prison». So when he awoke from his sleep, he saw the doors of his prison open; and he and all those with him in the prison went forth; for the gaolers of the prison were asleep like dead men. But the multitudes who witnessed what took palace said : «There is no end to our work with these Galileans, for they do these deeds by Beelzebub, the chief of the devils».

And Mark was one of the Seventy Disciples. And he was among the servants who poured out the water which our Lord turned into wine, at the marriage of Cana in Galilee. And it was he who carried the jar of water into the house of Simon the Cyrenian, at the time of the sacramental Supper. And he also it was who entertained the disciples in his house, at the time of the Passion of the Lord Christ, and after his Resurrection from the |140 dead, where he entered to them while the doors were shut. And after his Ascension into heaven, Mark went with Peter to Jerusalem, and they preached the word of God to the multitudes. And the Holy Ghost appeared to Peter, and commanded him to go to the cities and villages which were in that country. So Peter, and Mark with him, went to the district of Bethany, and preached the word of God; and Peter remained there some days. And he saw in a dream the angel of God, who said to him : «In two places there is a great dearth». So Peter said to the angel : «Which places meanest thou?» He said to him : «The city of Alexandria with the land of Egypt, and the land of Rome. It is not a dearth of bread and water, but a dearth arising from ignorance of the word of God, which thou preachest». So when Peter awoke from his sleep, he told Mark what he had witnessed in his dream. And after that Peter and Mark went to the region of Rome, and preached there the word of God.

And in the fifteenth year after the Ascension of Christ, the holy Peter sent Saint Mark, the father and evangelist, to the city of Alexandria ²¹, to announce the good tidings there, and to preach the word of God and the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is due glory and honour and worship, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the one God for ever. Amen. |141

CHAPTER II. – SAINT MARK.

Martyrdom of the holy Mark, and his preaching in the city of Alexandria ²².

In the time of the dispensation of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, after his Ascension into heaven, all the countries were allotted among the apostles, by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, that they might preach in them the words of the good tidings of the Lord Jesus Christ. And after a time it fell to the lot of Mark the evangelist to go to the province of Egypt, and the great city of Alexandria, by the command of the Holy Ghost, that he might cause the people to hear the words of the gospel of the Lord Christ, and confirm them therein; for they were in error, and sunk in the service of idols, and in the worship of the creature instead of the Creator. And they had many temples to their contemptible gods, whom they ministered to in every place, and served with every iniquity and magical art, and to whom they offered sacrifices among themselves. For he was the first who preached in the province of Egypt, and Africa, and Pentapolis, and all those regions. So when the holy Mark returned from Rome, he betook himself first to Pentapolis and preached in all its districts the word of God, and shewed many miracles; for he healed the sick, and cleansed the lepers, and cast out devils by the grace of God which descended upon him. And many believed |142 in the Lord Christ through him, and broke their Idols which they used to worship, and all the trees which the devils used to haunt, and from which they addressed the people. And he baptized them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, the One God. And so the Holy Ghost appeared to him, and said to him : «Rise and go to the city of Alexandria, to sow there the good seed which is the word of God». So the disciple of Christ arose and set out, being strengthened by the Holy Ghost, like a combatant in war; and he saluted the brethren, and took leave of them, and said to them : «The Lord Jesus Christ will make my road easy, that I may go to Alexandria and preach his holy gospel there». Then he prayed and said : «O Lord strengthen the brethren who have known thy holy name that I may return to them rejoicing in them». Then the brethren bade him farewell.

So Mark journeyed to the city of Alexandria; and when he entered in at the gate, the strap of his shoe broke. And when he saw this, he thought: «Now I know that the Lord has made my way easy». Then he turned, and saw a cobbler there, and went to him and gave him the shoe that he might mend it. And when the cobbler received it, and took the awl to work upon it, the awl pierced his hand. So he said : «Heis ho Theos»; the interpretation of which is, «God is One». And. when the holy Mark heard him mention the name of God, he rejoiced greatly, and turned his face to the East and |143 said : «O my Lord Jesus, it is thou that makest my road easy in every place». Then he spat on the ground and took from it clay, and put it on the place where the awl had pierced the cobbler’s hand, saying : «In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, the One living and eternal God, may the hand of this man be healed at this moment, that thy holy name may be glorified». Then his hand at once became whole. The holy Mark said to him : «If thou knowest that God is one, why dost thou serve these many gods?» The cobbler answered him : «We mention God with our mouths, but that is all; for we know not who he is». And the cobbler remained astonished at the power of God which descended upon the holy Mark, and said to him : «I pray thee, O man of God, to come to the dwelling of thy servant, to rest and eat bread, for I find that to-day thou hast conferred a benefit upon me». Then the holy Mark replied with joy : «May the Lord give thee the bread of life in heaven!» And he went with him to his house. And when he entered his dwelling, he said : «May the blessing of God be in this house!» and he uttered a prayer. After they had eaten, the cobbler said to him : «O my father, I beg thee to make known to me who thou art that hast worked this great miracle». Then the saint answered him : «I serve Jesus Christ, the Son of the ever living God». The cobbler exclaimed : «I would that I could see him». The holy Mark said to him : «I will cause thee to behold him». Then he began to teach him the gospel |144 of good tidings, and the doctrine of the glory and power and dominion which belong to God from the beginning, and exhorted him with many exhortations and instructions, of which his history bears witness, and ended by saying to him : «The Lord Christ in the last times became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and came into the world, and saved us from our sins». And he explained to him what the prophets prophesied of him, passage by passage. Then the cobbler said to him : «I have never heard at all of these books which thou speakest of; but the books of the Greek philosophers are what men teach their children here, and so do the Egyptians». So the holy Mark said to him : «The wisdom of the philosophers of this world is vanity before God». Then when the cobbler had heard wisdom and the words of the Scriptures from the holy Mark, together with the great miracle which he had seen him work upon his hand, his heart inclined towards him, and he believed in the Lord, and was baptized, he and all the people of his house, and all his neighbours. And his name was Annianus.

And when those that believed in the Lord were multiplied, and the people of the city heard that a man who was a Jew and a Galilean had entered the city, wishing to overthrow the worship of the idols, their gods, and had persuaded many to abstain from serving them, they sought him everywhere; and they appointed men to watch for him. So when the holy Mark knew that they were conspiring together, he ordained Annianus bishop of Alexandria, and also ordained three priests and seven deacons, |145 and appointed these eleven to serve and to comfort the faithful brethren. But he himself departed from among them, and went to Pentapolis, and remained there two years, preaching and appointing bishops and priests and deacons in all their districts.

Then he returned to Alexandria, and found that the brethren had been strengthened in the faith, and had multiplied by the grace of God, and had found means to build a church in a place called the Cattle-pasture ²³, near the sea, beside a rock from which stone is hewn. So the holy Mark greatly rejoiced at this; and he fell upon his knees, and blessed God for confirming the servants of the faith, whom he had himself instructed in the doctrines of the Lord Christ, and because they had turned away from the service of idols.

But when those unbelievers learnt that the holy Mark had returned to Alexandria, they were filled with fury on account of the works which the believers in Christ wrought, such as healing the sick, and driving out devils, and loosing the tongues of the dumb, and opening the ears of the deaf, and cleansing the lepers; and they sought for the holy Mark with great fury, but found him not; and they gnashed against him with their teeth in their temples and places of their idols, in wrath, saying : «Do you not see the wickedness of this sorcerer?»

And on the first day of the week, the day of the Easter festival of the Lord Christ, which fell that year on the 29th of Barmudah, when the |146 festival of the idolatrous unbelievers also took place, they sought him with zeal, and found him in the sanctuary. So they rushed forward and seized him, and fastened a rope round his throat, and dragged him along the ground, saying : «Drag ²⁴ the serpent through the cattle-yard!» But the saint, while they dragged him, kept praising God and saying : «Thanks be to thee, O Lord, because thou hast made me worthy to suffer for thy holy name». And his flesh was lacerated, and clove to the stones of the streets; and his blood ran over the ground. So when evening came, they took him to the prison, that they might take counsel how they should put him to death. And at midnight, the doors of the prison being shut, and the gaolers asleep at the doors, behold there was a great earthquake and a mighty tumult. And the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and entered to the saint, and said to him : «O Mark, servant of God, behold thy name is written in the book of life; and thou art numbered among the assembly of the saints, and thy soul shall sing praises with the angels in the heavens; and thy body shall not perish nor cease to exist upon earth». And when he awoke from his sleep, he raised his eyes to heaven, and said : «I thank thee, O my Lord Jesus Christ, and pray thee to receive me to thyself, that I may be happy in thygoodness». And when he had finished these words, he slept again; and the Lord Christ appeared to him in the form in which the disciples knew him, |147 and said to him : «Hail Mark, the evangelist and chosen one!» So the saint said to him : «I thank thee, O my Saviour Jesus Christ, because thou hast made me worthy to suffer for thy holy name». And the Lord and Saviour gave him his salutation, and disappeared from him.

And when he awoke, and morning had come, the multitude assembled, and brought the saint out of the prison, and put a rope again round his neck, and said : «Drag the serpent through the cattle-shed!» And they drew the saint along the ground, while he gave thanks to the Lord Christ, and glorified him, saying : «I render my spirit into thy hands, O my God !» After saying these words, the saint gave up the ghost.

Then the ministers of the unclean idols collected much wood in a place called Angelion ²⁵,that they might burn the body of the saint there. But by the command of God there was a thick mist and a strong wind., so that the earth trembled; and much rain fell, and many of the people died of fear and terror; and they said : «Verily, Serapis, the idol, has come to seek the man who has been killed this day».

Then the faithful brethren assembled, and took the body of the holy Saint Mark from the ashes; and nothing in it had been changed. And they carried it to the church in which they used to celebrate the Liturgy; and they enshrouded it, and prayed over it according to the established rites. And they dug a place for him, and buried his body there; that they might preserve |148 his memory at all times with joy and supplication, and benediction, on account of the grace which the Lord Christ gave them byhis means in the city of Alexandria. And they placed him in the eastern part of the church, on the day on which his martyrdom was accomplished (he being the first of the Galileans to be martyred for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in Alexandria), namely the last day of Barmudah according to the reckoning of the Egyptians, which is equivalent to the 8th day before the kalends of May among the months of the Romans, and the 24th of Nisan among the months of the Hebrews.

And we also, the sons of the orthodox, offer glory and sanctification and praise to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, to whom is due laud and honour and worship, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the Giver of Life and Consubstantial one, now and for ever. |149

CHAPTER III

ANNIANUS, THE SECOND PATRIARCH ²⁶. A. D. 62-85.

When the evangelist Mark, the apostle of the Lord Christ, died, Annianus was enthroned as patriarch after him. In his time the brethren and believers in Christ increased in numbers, and he ordained some of them priests and deacons. He continued twenty-two years, and went to his rest on the 20th. of Hatur, in the second year of the reign of Domitian, prince of Rome.

AVILIUS, THE THIRD PATRIARCH ²⁷. A. D. 85-98.

Then the orthodox people assembled and consulted together and took a man named Avilius, and elected him patriarch on the episcopal throne of Mark the evangelist, in the room of Annianus. This Avilius was a man of chaste life; and he confirmed the people in the knowledge of Christ. In |150 his time the orthodox people increased in numbers, in Egypt and Pentapolis and the province of Africa. He remained twelve years in the see; and the Church was in peace in his days. He went to his rest on the 1st. of Tut, in the 15th year of the reign of the above-named prince. When the priests, and the bishops, his suffragans in the land, heard that the patriarch was dead, they mourned for him. Then they assembled at Alexandria, and took counsel together with the orthodox laity of that city, and cast lots, that they might know who was worthy to sit upon the throne of Saint Mark, the evangelist and disciple of the Lord Christ, in succession to the Father Avilius; and their choice fell with one consent, by the inspiration of the Lord Christ, our Master, upon an elect man, who feared God, and whose name was Cerdo.

CERDO²⁸, THE FOURTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 98-109.

So they took Cerdo, and appointed him to the see of Alexandria. He was chaste, humble and innocent throughout his life. He held his office for eleven years, and went to his rest on the 21st. day of Baunah, in the ninth year of the reign of Trajan the prince. |151

PRIMUS²⁹, THE FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 109-122.

After this there was among the orthodox people of Christ a man named Primus, who was chaste as the angels, and piously performed many good works. So they took counsel with regard to this man, and chose him, and appointed him to the evangelical see, as patriarch. He remained in possession of it twelve years, and there was peace in the Church in his days. He went to his rest on the 3rd. of Misri, in the fifth year of the reign of Hadrian the prince.

JUSTUS³⁰, THE SIXTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 122-130.

After this the people assembled, and their choice fell upon an excellent and wise man among them, whose name was Justus, and they appointed him patriarch. He continued for eleven years, and went to his rest on the 12th. of Baunah, in the sixteenth year of the reign of Hadrian, and was buried with his fathers. |152

EUMENES³¹, THE SEVENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 130-142.

And after that they appointed Eumenes patriarch in the see of Alexandria; and he remained for thirteen years, and was acceptable to God and to the Church. He went to his rest on the 10th. of Babah, in the sixth year of Antoninus, the prince.

MARK³² II, THE EIGHTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 143-154.

So when the aforesaid patriarch departed, the people assembled and took a man who loved God, and whose name was Mark, and appointed him patriarch, and set him upon the throne of the evangelist Saint Mark. He occupied it for nine years and some months, living an admirable life, and went to his rest on the 6th of Tubah, in the fifteenth year of Antoninus, the prince.

CELADION³³, THE NINTH PATRIARCH. A.D. 157-167.

There was in those days among the people a man who loved God, and whose name was Celadion. So the orthodox laity assembled, together |153 with the bishops who were at Alexandria in those days, and took Celadion, and appointed him patriarch, and placed him upon the evangelical throne. He was beloved by all the people. He remained fourteen years, and died in the reign of Aurelius and Verus, the two sons of the princes, on the 9th. of Abib. He was enshrouded, and buried with his fathers, the patriarchs, whose names have been mentioned above.

AGRIPP1NUS³⁴, THE TENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 167-180.

Then the people assembled again with one consent, and laid their hands upon a man of the congregation who feared God, and whose name was Agrippinus; and they appointed him patriarch, and set him upon the evangelical throne. He sat for twelve years, and died on the 5th of Amshir, in the nineteenth year of the reign of the princes already named.

JULIAN³⁵, THE ELEVENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 180-189.

There was a man who was a wise priest, and had studied the books of God, and his name was Julian; and he walked in the path of chastity and religion and tranquillity. So a body of bishops of the synod assembled, together with the orthodox laity, in the city of Alexandria, and searched |154 among the whole people, but could find none like this priest. So they laid their hands upon him, and appointed him patriarch. He composed homilies and sermons on the saints; and he continued in the see ten years. After this patriarch, the bishop of Alexandria did not remain always in that city, but issued thence secretly, and ordained priests in every place, as Saint Mark, the evangelist, had done. Julian went to his rest on the 8th. of Barmahat, or on the 12th. of Babah, as some say, in the fifth year of the reign of Severus the prince.

CHAPTER IV

DEMETRIUS³⁶, THE TWELFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 189-231.

When the patriarch Julian was dying, an angel of the Lord came to him in a dream, on the night before his death, and said to him : «The man who shall visit thee to-morrow with a bunch of grapes shall be patriarch after thee.» Accordingly, when it was morning, a peasant came to him, who was married, and could neither read nor write; and his name was Demetrius. This man had gone out to prune his vineyard, and found |155 there a bunch of grapes, although it was not the season of grapes; so he brought it to the patriarch. And the patriarch Julian said to the bystanders : « This man shall be your patriarch: for so the angel of the Lord last night declared to me.» So they took him by force, and bound him with iron fetters. And Julian died on that very day; and Demetrius was consecrated patriarch.

And the grace of God descended upon this man, and he was like Joseph, the son of Jacob; yea, and more excellent than Joseph, for though Demetrius was married, he knew not his wife. And if any should say : «How is it lawful that a patriarch should be married?» we reply that the apostles declare, in their canons, that if a bishop be wedded to one wife, that shall not be forbidden him; for the believing wife is pure, and her bed undefiled, and no sin can be laid to his charge on that account. And the patriarch is but bishop of Alexandria, with a right of primacy over the bishops of the different provinces subject to that city; for he is the successor of Saint Mark, the apostle and evangelist, who had jurisdiction over all Egypt and Pentapolis and Ethiopia and Nubia, through his preaching the gospel in those parts; and therefore the bishop of Alexandria also of necessity has jurisdiction over those countries. But the people were unjust towards this patriarch, Demetrius, saying that he was the twelfth of the patriarchs, counting from Mark, the evangelist, and that all of them were unmarried except Demetrius; and |156 they bewailed his fall. He had a gift from God, which was that when he had finished the liturgy, before he communicated any one of the people, he beheld the Lord Christ, giving the Eucharist by his hand; and when a person came up who was unworthy to receive the Mysteries, the Lord Christ revealed to him that man’s sin, so that he would not communicate him. Then he told that man the reason, so that he confessed his offence. And Demetrius reproved him, and said : «Turn away from thy sin which thou dost commit, and then come again to receive the Holy Mysteries.» When this practice had continued a long time, the faithful of Alexandria left off sinning for fear of the patriarch, lest he should put them to open shame; and each one said to his friend or his kinsman : «Beware lest thou sin, lest the patriarch denounce thee in the presence of the congregation.» But some of the people said : «This is a married man. How then can he reprove us, seeing that he has dishonoured this see? For none has sat therein to this day who was not unwedded.» Again others said : «His marriage does not lessen his merits, for marriage is pure and undefiled before God.» But it was God’s will to make his virtues manifest, that he might be glorified, and might not leave this great secret unknown. As he said in his holy gospel, by his pure mouth : «A city when it is set on a hill cannot be hidden,» so God made the merits of this patriarch manifest, that his people might increase in virtue thereby. Accordingly, on a certain night, an angel of the Lord came to Demetrius, and said to him : «Demetrius, seek not thine own |157 salvation by neglecting thy neighbour; but remember what the gospel says, that the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep». Then Demetrius said to the angel : «O my Lord, teach me what thou commandest me to do. If thou wilt send me to martyrdom, I am ready to let my blood be shed for the name of Christ.» Then the angel said to him : «Listen to me, Demetrius, and I will tell thee. The Lord Christ was incarnate only to save his people; and it is not right that thou shouldst now save thine own soul, and allow this people to be filled with scruples on account of thee.» So Demetrius answered : «What is my sin against the people? Teach me, my Lord, that I may repent of it.» Then the angel said : «This secret which is between thee and thy wife; namely, that thou hast never approached her. Now therefore make this known to the people.» But Demetrius said : «I pray thee that I may die before thee rather than that thou shouldst reveal this secret to any man!» Then the angel answered : «Know that the scripture says : He that is disobedient shall perish. Tomorrow, therefore, after the end. of the liturgy, assemble the priests and the people, and make known to them this secret which is between thee and thy wife.» When the patriarch heard this, he marvelled, and said : «Blessed is the Lord, who does not abandon those that trust in him.» Then the angel departed from him.

So on the morrow, which was the feast of Pentecost, the patriarch celebrated the liturgy, and bade the archdeacon give directions to the clergy and the people that not one of them should leave the church, but that they should |158 gather together round the patriarchal throne. The archdeacon, therefore, proclaimed to the congregation : «The patriarch’s wish is to speak to you all. Let none of you, therefore, depart without hearing what he shall say.» When they had sat down, the patriarch bid the brethren collect much fuel; and they did so, marvelling thereat and saying : «What is this that the patriarch will do ?» Then he said to them : «Rise and let us pray!» So they prayed, and afterwards sat down. And he said to them : «I beg you out of your love for me, to allow my wife to be present before you, that she may receive of your blessing.» Then they marvelled, and thought in their hearts : «What is this that he does?» And they all said : «Whatever thou biddest us do shall be done.» Then the patriarch commanded one of his servants, saying : «Call my wife, the handmaid of the saints, that she may receive their blessing.» So the holy woman entered, and stood in the midst of the congregation. And her husband, the patriarch, arose, where they could all behold him, and stood by the blazing logs, which had already been lighted, and spread out his cloak, and took burning embers from the fire with his hand and put them in his cloak; and all the spectators were astonished at the quantity of burning fuel in his garment, and yet it was not burned. Then he said to his wife : «Spread out thy woollen pallium which thou hast upon thee.» So she spread it out; and the patriarch transferred the embers to it while she stood there; and he put incense on the fire, and commanded her to incense all the congregation; and she did so, and yet her pallium was not burned. Then the patriarch said again : «Let us pray»; while the embers were blazing in his wife’s pallium, which yet was not burned. |159

You have now heard, my friends, this great wonder. This man had made himself an eunuch of his own free will, so that he was more glorious than those that are born eunuchs; and therefore the fire had no effect upon this saint, nor upon his garments, nor upon those of his wife, because he had extinguished the flames of lust. But now let us abridge our discourse upon this subject, and return to the history, glorifying God for ever and ever. So when the clergy had prayed, they said to the patriarch : «We beg of thy Holiness to explain to us this wonderful mystery.» And he replied : «Attend, all of you, to what I say. Know that I have not done this seeking glory from men. My age is now sixty-three years. My wife who stands before you is my cousin. Her parents died and left her when she was a child. My father brought her to me, for he had no other child than me, and she was the only child of my uncle. So I grew up with her in my father’s house, and we dwelt together. When she was fifteen, my parents resolved to many me to her, in order that their possessions might not pass to a stranger, but that we might inherit them. So the wedding was performed, as men do such things for their children; and I went in to her. And when they had left us alone, she said to me : «How could they give me to thee, seeing that I am thy sister?» So I said to her : «Listen to what I say. We must of necessity remain together in this chamber without being separated all our lives, but there must be no further connexion between us, until death shall part us; and, if we remain thus in purity, we shall meet in the heavenly Jerusalem, and enjoy one |160 another’s company in eternal bliss.» And when she heard this, she accepted my proposal; and her body remained inviolate. But my parents knew nothing of our compact. Then the wedding-guests demanded the customary proof of the consummation of the marriage, as you know is done by foolish men; but my mother said to them : «These two are young, and the days before them are many.» Thus we kept our purity; and when my parents as well as her parents were dead, we remained orphans together. It is now forty-eight years since I married my wife, and we sleep on one bed and one mattress and beneath one coverlet; and the Lord, who knows and judges the living and the dead, and understands the secrets of all hearts, knows that I have never learnt that she is a woman, nor has she learnt that I am a man; but we see one another’s face and no more. We sleep together, but the embraces of this world are unknown to us. And when we fall asleep, we see a form with eagle’s wings, which comes flying and alights upon our bed between her and me, and stretches its right wing over me, and its left wing over her, until the morning, when it departs; and we behold it until it goes. Do not think, my brethren and ye people who love God, that I have disclosed this secret to you to gain the glory of this world which passes away, nor that I have told you this of my own will; but it is the command of the Lord, who bade me do it, for he desires the good of all men, and he is Christ our Saviour.» |161

When Demetrius had finished this discourse, the people all fell upon their faces on the earth, saying : «Verily, our father, thou art more excellent than many of the saints; and God has shewn his mercy towards us in making thee head over us.» And they gave thanks to him, and besought him to forgive their evil thoughts of him. Then he gave them his blessing, and prayed for them; and they dispersed to their own homes, praising God. And after this, Demetrius bade his wife depart to her house.

Have you ever heard, you that listen to me, of such wonders? This holy, father dwelt so long with his lovely and virtuous wife, and yet endured the trial. Where now are the men who are married, and yet commit adultery also, while professing to be Christians? Let them come and listen to the Father Demetrius, the patriarch, saying : «I have known the face of my wife and no more», that they may be ashamed and confounded! O that valiant saint, fighting against his bodily desires! O that miracle! How could his heart remain unmoved when he beheld his wife’s beauty, and how could his senses remain unexcited before her loveliness! How wonderful was thy discourse, O thou saint, in thy bridal chamber! The archer whose arrows strike all men, namely Satan, was unable to strike thee. Demetrius said : «I am a man and have a body like all other men, but I will teach you how to answer the suggestions of the Devil. When my heart was troubled by evil thoughts, I remembered the |162 compact I had made with Christ; and if I broke it, I feared that he would reject me in the kingdom of Heaven, before the Father and his holy angels. Moreover, when I saw the beauty and grace of her form, I thought of the corpses lying in their tombs and the foulness of their odour, so to keep myself from strange words, through fear of the fire that is not quenched, and the worm that sleepeth not, in the other world, where none can open his mouth». O my friends, this Father was chosen by God, and in his courage and valour was braver than those that slay lions; as one of the doctors says : «The brave man is not he that kills wild beasts, but he that dies pure from the embraces and snares of women». Blessed is this saint, for his degree is exalted! Like Joseph in the house of the Egyptian woman, when she solicited him on every occasion that she could, so Demetrius fought against his desires every day and night until his battle was finished, and preserved his chastity and his right faith throughout his life.

Demetrius remained patriarch forty-three years. In his time there was a disturbance at Alexandria, and the emperor Severus banished him to a place called the quarter of the Museum; and there he died on the 12th. day of Barmahat, which, I believe, was the day of the manifestation of his virginity.

Now in the reign of the emperor Severus many became martyrs for the love of God. Among them was the father of a man named Origen ³⁷, who |163 learned the sciences of the heathen, and abandoned the books of God, and began to speak blasphemously of them. So when the Father Demetrius heard of this man, and saw that some of the people had gone astray after his lies, he removed him from the church.

In these days also the martyrs Plutarch ³⁸ and Serenus were burnt alive, and Heraclides and Heron were beheaded. Likewise another Serenus, and the woman Heraïs, and Basilides; and Potamiaena, with her mother Marcella, who suffered many torments and severe agonies; also Anatolius, who was the father of the princes, and Eusebius, and Macarius, uncle of Claudius, and Justus, and Theodore the Eastern; all these martyrs were kinsmen. There was also another virgin named Thecla. Now Basilides was a soldier, and he came forward of his own free will; and when they questioned him, he replied : «I am a Christian because I saw three days ago in a dream a woman who appeared to me, and placed upon my head a crown from Jesus Christ». Thus Basilides obtained the crown of martyrdom; and so likewise a great number were martyred; for Potamiaena was seen by them in dreams, and encouraged them to have faith in the Lord Christ, so that they receved the crown of martyrdom.

Now there had come to Alexandria, in the room of Pantaenus, a new governor ³⁹, whose name was Clement; and he remained governor until those |164 days. And this Clement composed out of his own head books, in which he overthrew the received chronology. Then a Jewish scribe, named Judas ⁴⁰, who had read in the book of the Visions of Daniel, in the tenth year of the reign of Severus, explained the years and dates mystically up to the epoch of Antichrist, on a system of his own, and declared that the time was at hand, on account of the deeds of Severus, the hostile prince.

And when Origen, whom Demetrius had cut off on account of his composing unlawful books of magic, and leaving the books of the holy writers, saw this, he wrote many treatises containing many blasphemies. Among these was his doctrine that the Father created the Son, and the Son created the Holy Ghost; for he denied that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost are one God, and that the Persons of the Trinity are inferior one to another in nothing, but have the same power and the same might. So, on account of his wicked creed, the Church abandoned him, because he was strange to her, and was not one of her children, for he taught corrupt doctrines. And when he left the Church and was deposed from his office, he departed from Alexandria, and travelled to Palestine, and there intrigued until he obtained priestly rank, and was ordained priest by the bishop of Caesarea in Palestine ⁴¹. Then Origen returned to Alexandria, believing that he would there be recognized as a priest, and would do just as he desired; but the holy Father Demetrius would not receive him, saying to him : «According to the |165 apostolic canon, a priest must not be removed from the altar to which he has been ordained. Return, therefore, to the place to which thou hast been ordained priest, and serve there in all humility according to the canon; for I will not break the canons of the Church to gain the approval of men». So Origen remained rejected. This was before the patriarch knew of Origen’s blasphemies and misbelief; and the thing became a scandal to all men, because he had made himself a teacher, although he was unworthy to be even a disciple.

Now Severus, the prince, reigned eighteen years, and then died. And Antoninus, his son, reigned after him. After this time lived many who were strong by the help of Christ, through the dispensation of God. One of these was Alexander, the confessor, and bishop of Jerusalem, who succeeded Narcissus ⁴². This Narcissus performed many miracles in his life time. For, when the church was in need of oil, Narcissus even bade them fill the lamps with water ⁴³, during the vigil-service of Easter, and prayed; and the water was turned into oil, and the lamps were kindled. Such wonders he did many times, through his faith in the oneness of Christ; and all men bore witness to these miracles; and we have learnt his history from persons worthy of credit. But some men hated him in their, wickedness, and wished to kill him, and invented lies concerning him, swearing that he did evil. And one of |166 these wicked men began to kindle a fire, and was burnt thereby; and another’s bowels gushed out, so that he died; and another fell sick, and his body was consumed; and another became blind; so that men understood that their words ⁴⁴ against Narcissus were lies, through the proofs that were given of his holiness. Then Narcissus was made bishop; and no evil befell him because he was pious and wise, and confessed the Lord Christ. It came to pass that he fled from the church, and retired into the wilderness, because the people were in disorder, and some of them accused him of intrigue. But the all-seeing eye would not endure this; for God punished those that held an evil and heretical creed and a false faith concerning him; and the first of these men died, with all his household, in a fire from a spark which fell upon them; and another was afflicted with pains from his head to his feet, with a violent fever; and a third tried to flee because of his evil conscience, but God overtook him, and he was struck with sudden blindness, and acknowledged his wicked conduct towards the holy bishop, before all, and was devoured by remorse, and repented, and wept over the loss of his sight. And as for Narcissus, the bishop, he lay hid in the desert, and none knew where he was for many days. But, because the churches over which he was bishop were left without any to govern them, circumstances made it necessary that they should appoint in his stead a man named Dius ⁴⁵, who, however, occupied the see for a short time only, and then died. So they ordained in his place another, named Germanion ⁴⁶. |167 After that, the glorious Father Narcissus was found, like one risen from the dead; and they begged him to return to his see; and the people were greatly rejoiced over him. But he had devoted himself to philosophy, and to the cultivation of the graces which God had granted to him; and therefore he would not return to serve his diocese. Now as for Alexander, who has been mentioned above, he was in possession of another see; but he saw in a dream the angel of God, who bade him go to help Narcissus, and serve God ⁴⁷, for he had already been consecrated bishop in Cappadocia. So he went to Jerusalem at that time to pray, and saw the holy churches which he had desired to behold, and visited all the holy places. Then he was about to return to Cappadocia his native country; but the brethren prevented him; and he was warned in a dream. For they all heard a voice in the church, saying : «Go forth to the gate, and the first man whom you shall meet entering through it make your bishop.» This they did, and there they found Alexander; and they clung to him. But he refused to be their bishop, saying : «I will not consent.» So they appointed him by force, in the presence of an assembly of the bishops, in the city of Jerusalem, and by their command, with one purpose and one consent. And in the letters which Alexander wrote and sent to Antinoe, he spoke of Narcissus, and said that they had one faith in common, and were in agreement in all things in the church of Jerusalem. And in all Alexander’s letters, he said : «Narcissus, who |168 preceded me in this bishopric, salutes you. He is now with me and he encourages me, and fortifies me by his prayers, that I may be strong in this ministry. He has continued to serve God thus for one hundred and sixteen years ⁴⁸. I pray you to be of one heart and mind.»

Among the holy men of this time was Serapion also, who was patriarch of Antioch; and when he died Asclepiades, the confessor, was appointed, and his degree was exalted. And Alexander wrote to the people of Antioch with regard to Asclepiades, saying thus : «Alexander, the servant of God, and believer in Jesus Christ, addresses the holy church in Antioch, in the Lord, with joy, by the hand of the chaste priest Clement. My brethren, I desire that you promote Asclepiades, who is worthy of that post.» So he was ordained to the see. Serapion also wrote to the people of Antioch a letter ⁴⁹, in which he said that a Jew, named Marcian, had written books, which he attributed to Peter, the chief of the apostles, and in which the writer spoke lies, «Beware, therefore,» continued Serapion, «of these writings. We receive Peter and the rest of the disciples, as we receive the commands of Christ, because they saw him and heard his words. But these lying books we do not accept, but reject them, because they contain nothing of the doctrine of our fathers.» Now when the priest arrived at Antioch with the letters, he said to them : «Be confirmed in the true faith, and do not turn aside to the spurious writings attributed to Peter, for they are false and delusive, |169 and in them is the beginning of heresy; and for this reason I am come to you in haste, for we have learnt that this Marcian, the Jew, has led multitudes astray by his books, so that they have become heretics.» For this heretic wrote many books, and the history from which we are quoting contains an account of some of them. But because it would make our narrative too long, I think it needless to write down their names.

Now Demetrius, the holy patriarch of Alexandria, displayed much learning and wisdom, although he had formerly been ignorant and unable to read or write; and all his spiritual children were continually admonished by him. But when he found that he was growing old in his researches into the divine doctrines and scriptures, so that he was carried into the church in a litter, although he did not cease from giving instruction from morning to night, while the brethren went and came that they might profit by his teaching, then he named Heraclas as his deputy and successor. Now Heraclas was an elect man, learned in the scriptures of God ⁵⁰, teaching the doctrines of the Church and the science of the word of God; and he knew the canons of the Church by heart.

So when Origen, whom Demetrius had excommunicated, saw that the Church had rejected him, he went to the Jews, and expounded for them part of the Hebrew books, in a new fashion; and he concealed the prophecies which they contain of the Lord Christ, so that when he came to the mention of the thicket in which the ram of Abraham, the Friend of God, was caught |170 by its horns, which the Fathers interpret as a type of the wood of the Cross, Origen even concealed and abandoned this interpretation. He wrote books full of lies and containing no truth. And there was with Origen another heretic named Symmachus, who was the cause of much dissension. He said that Christ was born of Mary by Joseph ⁵¹, and rejected the miracle of the wondrous birth; denying also that Christ, who was born without labour (for so he was born of the Virgin), is very God and Man, and One of Two; thus contradicting the true Gospel according to Matthew, and what he says concerning the Nativity. But the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. This heretic pretended that he was a Christian; and in one place he says that he was a philosopher, and had read the books of the Sabaeans and of the schismatics. Subsequently he contracted a friendship with Origen, and led astray many simple women. At this time there was a holy and excellent man, who possessed divine wisdom, named Ammonius; and he refuted them both, and exposed their false and unrighteous explanations of the Scriptures, and their lies. After this, Origen went to Caesarea in Palestine, where he had been made priest, and brought books back to Alexandria, in great abundance. But the Father Demetrius would not receive him, and banished him, because he knew what his conduct was. So Origen departed and went to a place called Thmuis in Augustamnica, and invented a plausible story for the bishop, whose name was Ammonius; so he placed Origen in one of |171 the churches. But when Demetrius heard of this, he went himself straightway to Thmuis, and banished Origen, and removed the bishop Ammonius who had received him, and in his indignation appointed another bishop in his stead; for having convinced himself that the bishop had received that heretic, although he knew his history and his false doctrine, he appointed in his place a bishop named Phileas, a man who feared God, and was full of faith. But Phileas said : «I will not sit upon the episcopal throne while Ammonius is alive.» So when Ammonius died, the aforesaid bishop, Phileas, sat after him; and he was martyred a long time afterwards ⁵², and departed to the Lord in peace. And Origen, the excommunicate, went to Caesarea in Palestine, ,and began to perform his priestly duties as if he were bishop there. So the Father Demetrius wrote to Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, saying : «We have never heard of a prodigal and heretic teaching in a place in which there were bishops duly established ⁵³.» And he proceeds to blame the bishop of Caesarea, whose name was Theoctistus, and reprehends Origen who was living in his diocese, and condemns his conduct in this matter, saying : «I never thought that such a thing would be done at Caesarea, with this bishop.» For we have found this Origen saying in certain books that the Son and the Holy Ghost are created. So the bishop of Caesarea read the letter of the Father Demetrius in the church, for the hishop of Jerusalem sent it to him; and also he suspended Origen, and drove |172 him away from the diocese of Caesarea. Then Origen shamelessly returned to Alexandria.

On account of the many changes among the princes and patriarchs of Rome and Antioch; we have thought it unnecessary to give an account of them, with a view to brevity and to the avoidance of prolixity. Philetus became patriarch of Antioch, and in his days a heretic appeared, who wrote strange books. Then Philetus died, and Zebinus was appointed patriarch of Antioch instead of him. And Zebinus commanded that neither the works of that heretic nor those of Origen, who had been banished from Alexandria, should be read; for the writings of the latter had become celebrated ⁵⁴.

Now these are the words of Origen ⁵⁵ : «Let him who wishes to read the Scriptures read the books named below. The books of the Old Testament are as follows : The five books of the Law; the book of Josue the son of Nun; the book of the Judges; the book of Ruth the Moabitess; the books of Kings, the Paralipomena, the book of Esdras, the Psalms of the prophet David, the Wisdom of Solomon, the book of Isaias, the book of Jeremias, the book of Ezechiel, the book of Daniel, the book of Job, the book of Esther, the book of Samuel, the book of Machabees ⁵⁶, the book of the Twelve Minor Prophets. The books of the New Testament are these : the Gospel of Matthew, which he wrote in |173 Hebrew on a roll, when he was at Caesarea, at the house of a man whose descendants preserve it from generation to generation; and it was translated into Greek, and rendered into all languages by the power of the Lord Christ. Then the Gospel of Mark, which he wrote in Greek, while Peter, chief of the apostles, was with him, and which was read in the assembly of the princes. Then the Gospel of Luke, the disciple of Paul, which he wrote in Greek at Antioch. The Gospel of John, the son of Zebedee, whom his disciples, after he had grown old, frequently solicited until he wrote it in Greek at Ephesus. The book of the Acts of the Apostles and Disciples, called Praxeis. The book of the Epistles of Paul the Elect, which contains fourteen epistles. The book of the Revelation of John the Evangelist, or the Apocalypse». There is also the book of the Didascalia, or Teaching of the Apostles, and Canons of the Church, written by the apostles before they dispersed to preach the gospel. These are the books delivered to the Catholic and Apostolic Church. After them come the books of the Fathers and Doctors, which they composed through the instruction of the Holy Ghost, such as the homilies and other writings; for they added nothing to the Scriptures, and took nothing from them. But the books of the heretic Origen are contemned by God, and there is nothing in them written with the Holy Ghost. As he said by Paul the apostle ⁵⁷ : or We receive no spirit of this world, but the spirit that God has given to us.»

Now the glorious father, Demetrius, remained patriarch forty-three years, and went to his rest, as we have related. |174

CHAPTER V

HERACLAS⁵⁸, THE THIRTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 231-247.

This father had been, in the time of the patriarch Demetrius, a teacher in the Church, and gained distinction in the divine sciences ⁵⁹. At this time Firmilian ⁶⁰, who was bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, discovered that Origen had associated himself with the Jews at that place, and had lived amongst them for a time. When Alexander had ruled in Rome for thirteen years, Maximinus Caesar reigned after him. And this prince set up a great persecution against the rulers of the Church ⁶¹ only, because they were the teachers of those that were baptized; and many died in his days. And when Maximin died, Gordian reigned in Rome. And the patriarch of that city was Pontianus, who sat for six years ⁶²; and when he died, Anteros ⁶³ became patriarch after him, and occupied the see for one month. And they enquired of him whom they should appoint in his stead.

And they found a man in the fields upon whom a wonder had been manifested; for the Holy Ghost descended upon him ⁶⁴ in the form of a dove. So they took him, and made him patriarch of Rome. And Zebinus died at Antioch, and Babylas was appointed after him. |175

So Heraclas was made patriarch of Alexandria after Demetrius, and was counted worthy to serve in the sanctuary. And Heraclas gave the direction of the studies at Alexandria to Dionysius, and entrusted to him all the affairs of the patriarchate. This man was of a noble family, and was a distinguished teacher; and he grew up in Alexandria. The cause of his being called, and entering into the orthodox faith was as follows. This Dionysius had formerly been a worshipper of idols, according to the religion of the Sabaeans, among whom he was a leader, and a philosopher. While he was sitting one day, behold there passed an aged widow, holding in her hand a book containing some of the epistles of saint Paul, the apostle; and she said to him : «Wilt thou buy this from me?» So he took the book, and studied it; and it filled him with admiration, and pleased him greatly, and took possession of his heart. And when he understood the book, he marvelled greatly thereat, and rejoiced over it exceedingly. So he said to the old woman : «What price dost thou ask for the book?» And she answered : «One carat of gold». So he gave her three carats, and said to her : «Go and search the place in which thou didst find this book, and whatever thou shalt discover bring to me, and I will give thee more than its full price». Then the old woman went away, and brought him three books; and he took them from her, and gave her nine carats. But when he had read the books, he became aware that a part of the contents was still wanting. So he said to the old woman : «If thou wilt find the rest of this book, |176 I will give thee six denarii». Then the old woman, when she saw his faith and courage, and knew that he had received the grace of the Holy Ghost while he was reading the books, replied : «Trouble not thyself. Go to a church, and beg for the book in its entirety from the clergy, and they will give it to thee, that thou mayest read it. I only found these manuscripts among the books of my fathers, who were readers and singers in the church». So Dionysius said : «But will the people of the church entrust this book to me?» And the old woman answered : «Yes. They will hinder no-one from knowledge, if he asks for it. They will give to all who seek, without demanding payment».

Then Dionysius went to Augustine, one of the deacons of the Church, who gave him the complete epistles of Paul. And Dionysius read them, and learnt them by heart through the power of his lively intelligence. Then he went to Demetrius, of whose death we have spoken above, and begged of him the second Birth; and Demetrius received Dionysius, and baptized him, and gave him the grace which he solicited; and Dionysius was attached to the patriarch’s person, and lived in the church. Thus after being a teacher among the idolatrous Sabaeans, he became a teacher in the Church ⁶⁵, and many disciples came to him; and instead of teaching his former errors and receiving a transitory payment, he was afterwards removed by the Lord into the great see, in reward for his labours; and his house was made into a |177 church which exists to this day, and is named after him. The names of his disciples were Theodore and Gregory and Athenodorus ⁶⁶. To these he had imparted in former days his strange philosophy; but, when he was baptized and advanced to the priesthood, he converted them to the wisdom of the Church, so that they were filled with the grace of the Holy Ghost. They lived with him for five years, after his ordination; and they also attained to priestly rank. Dionysius had also another disciple, named Africanus ⁶⁷, who wrote five books with much labour; and when he heard of the wisdom of the patriarch Heraclas, he went to Alexandria to learn of him. And Dionysius used to say to him : «Know that no beast that eats bryony is profited or stimulated by it; and so every man that does not eat spiritual food is perishing. Formerly I was occupied with food that passes away and comes to an end, and neglected the bread of eternal life, until the Lord led me». And he attracted his disciple by these words to the heavenly doctrines, until through his talents he learnt the true harmony of the genealogies in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and found no discrepancies whatever in them.

Now Heraclas occupied the see for thirteen years, and went to his rest on the 8th. of Rihak, and was gathered to his fathers. |178

CHAPTER VI

DIONYSIUS⁶⁸ THE WISE, THE FOURTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 247-264.

Of Dionysius, who was appointed patriarch after Heraclas, somewhat has already been recorded. Churches grew more numerous, and the faithful were multiplied in his days. And the churches were filled with the divine doctrines; and all was done openly, and in public. At this time certain men in Arabia ⁶⁹ taught a heresy, according to which the soul dies with the body, and shall rise again with it on the Day of Resurrection. But the holy Church rejected this heresy, after the assembling of a council to examine into it. Another heresy ⁷⁰ also arose, which taught corrupt doctrines; but it was extinguished and brought to nought by God’s help in the reign of Philip ⁷¹, who ruled the empire during seven years.

After Philip reigned Decius; and there had been between Philip and Decius a great enmity; and therefore the latter inflicted a great persecution upon the Church. The patriarch Fabian was martyred, and Cornelius became patriarch after him. Likewise Alexander, the patriarch of Jerusalem, twice confessed Christ, and showed forth his faith before the misbelievers, |179 and was thrown into prison, and there went to his rest after much suffering. Alexander was endowed by God with a great gift of holiness, patience and courage; and men heard him in the dungeon confessing and glorifying God until he died. After him, a patriarch named Mazabanes sat upon the episcopal throne. The patriarch of Antioch, also, Babylas, confessed Christ, and was imprisoned, and died in the dungeon; and Fabius sat after him. As for the patriarch Dionysius ⁷²,he says : «I will record what I endured, and call God to be my witness. Decius, the prince of Rome, sought diligently for me, but God concealed me from him, and he could not discover my hiding-place. After four days, God bid me remove from that place ; therefore I fled with my disciples and a band of the brethren, and we wandered far. After four days, when the light had waned, and we were approaching Taposiris, the soldiers took us; and this was after four days of concealment. But Timothy, one of my disciples, escaped from our captors; and he returned to the house where we were, after meeting a countryman, who enquired of him what news he had to give him; so he told him what had befallen the patriarch.» And that rustic assembled his companions; and when they had rescued the patriarch Dionysius from the soldiers, they made him ride upon a bare-backed ass, as he relates of himself; but his disciples walked on foot. |180

Dionysius also sent a letter ⁷³ to Fabius ⁷⁴, patriarch of Antioch, and narrated to him the history of the martyrs, who suffered under Decius at Alexandria. He related that an old man named Metras was seized; and his captors said to him : «Wilt thou worship the idols?» But he refused; and so they inflicted upon him a painful beating, and wounded his face with styli ⁷⁵. Then they led him out of the city, and stoned him until he died. Likewise a certain believing woman ⁷⁶ was led in to offer worship to the idols; but she refused; and they beat her, and stripped her, and bound her feet together and dragged her over the stones so that her flesh was mangled, and her blood ran over the ground in the streets, while she was scourged all the time, until they had drawn her out of the city; and they killed her, and threw her body aside there. Then they returned to the houses of the faithful, and plundered them and wrecked them, and carried off all the gold and silver and furniture that they found in them. At this time Paul ⁷⁷ of Alexandria was martyred, and received his crown with joy. And none could openly profess the knowledge of God. In those days also a faithful virgin, named Apollonia, received the crown of martyrdom. All her limbs were broken, and she was burnt in the fire while still alive, outside the city, because she would not |181 obey them by giving up her faith, and would not deny the Lord Christ. And she looked at the flame of the fire while they burnt her; and it did not terrify her, but she endured it patiently, and gave up her spirit.

And another man was taken, named Serapion, and was severely tortured, and thrown from the third story, so that his bones were broken; thus ho suffered martyrdom. And the faithful had neither a place of refuge nor a place of rest to go to, neither by day nor by night; and in this condition they remained for a long time; and this was the work of Decius the prince. And many were martyred whose names were not recorded. And the blessed Julian also was taken; and he was corpulent and stout in body, and was unable to walk, and therefore he had two men with him; so they led them all to the palace; and one of the two men apostatized, but the other confessed the faith together with the aged Julian; so they dragged ⁷⁸ those two through the city, and burnt them in the fire. And there were many troops prepared for the punishment of the Christians; and they seized another man ⁷⁹, who cried aloud, saying : «O Lord take me quickly to thyself!» Then his head was cut off, and he was burnt in the fire. And two others also were martyred with him; besides another man named Alexander, and a number with him, whom they drove to the prison, and afterwards brought forth thence; and they were put to death. And there was a woman ⁸⁰ who left her children, and was slain. And another believing woman ⁸¹, in the greatness of her zeal for |182 the faith, defied the governor, who therefore put her to death. And a great multitude without number came forward to suffer martyrdom for the name of the Lord Christ with great joy, as a man hastens to his wedding; andlikewise many of the inhabitants of the towns and villages.

And a great multitude without number wandered among the mountains, having fled from the unbelievers; and many of them died of hunger and thirst, and from the heat. And an old man, a bishop ⁸², from the city called Malîj, of the province of Egypt, fled, in company with a woman, who followed him; and these two could not be found, nor were any tidings of them known. And many were captured by the soldiers, who afterwards took a bribe from them, and released them. But many wandered forth at random, and never returned.

«I, Dionysius, the patriarch, have not said all this to no purpose; but I have made known to thy Paternity, my brother Fabius, all the trials which have surrounded us, and what we have endured and encountered. And all those persons that I have mentioned to thee, my brother, merited the kingdom by their sufferings and combatings for the name of the Lord Christ. And many of those who apostatized in the persecution have returned to us, and we received them gladly, because we knew the joy of him who desires the repentance of the sinner, and not his death, so that he may be converted and live. |183

And because I am assured of thy fellowship with me, dear brother, I have expounded to thee what befell us; for we are of one spirit and one faith. And to you also, my brethren and my sons, I wish to relate this, for the sake of” my blessed children and their patience; that you may know of the struggles of your faithful brethren for the orthodox faith, and of the happiness to which they have gone, through their endurance for the sake of him who suffered for us and for them, and redeemed us all by his blood. For they were patient for his sake, and would not deny him in the assembly of the unbelievers; and, in their love for him, neither the edge of the sword, nor the plunder of their goods, nor burning in the fire could terrify them. For God showed forth their virtues in this world; and in the next they have a great reward, and a glorious return to him.»

Now there was a certain priest ⁸³ a native of Rome, who said in his pride ⁸⁴: «It is not lawful that we should receive any one of those who denied Christ in the time of trouble and persecution, even if he now returns to the Lord; for he fell and did not endure, but was made one of the misbelievers.» And this priest used to call those that had been constant, «the Pure ⁸⁵»; and he was the head over their community. So a council assembled at Rome, consisting of sixty bishops besides priests and deacons, to try the case of this man and his followers; and they wrote to every place an account of what took place. And there was a man called Novatus, who assisted this |184 priest, out of hatred for the penitents, and helped him to repel from the Church all those that wished to return to her. Accordingly he began to forbid his followers to administer to the people the divine medicine, which consists in repentance and penitence and fasting and watching and weeping and humbly imploring God’s forgiveness. So the clergy of Rome wrote to the clergy of Antioch an account of what had passed; and the latter returned an answer to them; and they all agreed that they should receive those that relumed to the Church, and absolve them, and help them to repentance, because God himself receives them. Then they excommunicated the proud priest, who despised those penitent apostates; and they sent for the letters of Novatus concerning the conciliation of such men, and learnt what he wrote about them. After that, Novatus ⁸⁶, unworthy as he was, usurped the title of bishop and remained in that office for three years, ordaining as priests ignorant men who knew nothing; and he made his followers believe that he was the chief of the bishops, and they honoured him accordingly; until the report of his deeds reached Rome, and there was trouble between the two parties in the Church and a great schism.

After that, a synod of bishops assembled, and cancelled all that Novatus had done by his lies, and proved to all those that had accepted him that they were simple men without knowledge, and that all his ordinations and other acts were invalid. Then one of those whom Novatus had ordained came forward and confessed his sin, and wept; and so the bishops received and pardoned him. And they wrote about Novatus to the various sees, |185 and warned the Christians not to receive any of his doctrines. And the number of those who published his teaching, and whom he ordained, was as follows : forty-seven priests, and seven deacons, and seven subdeacons, and seven readers and doorkeepers ⁸⁷. And he had done many things that were invalid, but which it is unnecessary to relate.

Then the patriarch Dionysius wrote letters to all places, enjoining that those who returned from their apostasy should be received; and he made this a permanent canon for those who should repent of their error. He also wrote a separate letter to Conon, bishop of Al-Ushmunain ⁸⁸, containing similar matter, besides those sent to the rest of the bishops.

And Dionysius warned the people who dwelt with him in Alexandria, telling them of all that Origen had done in all the churches, and putting them on their guard against him. Then he wrote canons, which he made perpetual in the Church, and which contained an exposition of doctrines and rules of legal discipline.

Then Dionysius, the great patriarch of the great city of Alexandria, wrote down what had happened to him, and what had befallen him during the period of his primacy; and we have learnt these things from his epistles and his instructions, which we have seen in all the churches, in every place. And altogether Decius did not reign two years; and on account of his |186 persecution of the children of the Church, and his putting them to death, he was slain with his sons, and his princely power was taken away from him.

And after him Gallus was enthroned as prince. And Dionysius wrote a letter to him. Gallus the prince had known all that Decius had done, for he had left behind him an idol ⁸⁹ of stone which he used to worship, saying that this idol had given him the empire; and he slew the priests who used to pray to God for his salvation and the confirmation of his power.

Then Dionysius also wrote a letter to the patriarch of Rome ⁹⁰, requesting of him the establishment of correspondence between them both, and the reception of those who had apostatized during the persecution of Decius, but had returned; informing him also of the entire cessation of the persecution which had been in his diocese of Alexandria, and of the coming of peace to the Church; and of the removal of the schism of Novatus, so that there did not remain an adversary to the Church, for he had only seized the pontificate for himself, and had never become an unbeliever. For Dionysius had examined the followers of Novatus on the unity of doctrine.

At that time «Demetrianus ⁹¹ was bishop in the city of Antioch, and Theoctistus at Caesarea, and Mazabanes at Jerusalem, that is Aelia, and Marinus at Tyre. And Alexander had gone to his rest at Laodicea. And |187 all the churches were in harmony in the orthodox faith and unity of Christ in every place and every region, rejoicing and magnifying God and at one in the true doctrines; with glory to God, the God of heaven, and our Lord Jesus Christ the Word, and the Holy Ghost, One God, wherever there is agreement in one creed, and love of the brethren.» These are the words of Dionysius.

Then he wrote also to Stephen concerning the baptism of those who had returned from their denial of Christ during the persecution, saying that they should settle this matter, because it was very important; and that the council of bishops who met together had spoken of this question, as we have heard; and that those who accepted instruction and abandoned schism and heresy must be washed, that they might become new by immersion, so that they might be purified from their commingling with the filthy.

Dionysius also speaks in his letter of the schism and heresy of Sabellius, because he was the cause of the mischief which led to blasphemy against God Almighty. And Dionysius says in his letter : «He sent word to me of those that desire to rebaptize all the heretics; and they are Helenus and Firmilian and many with them ⁹².»

And the Church remained in tranquillity for a short time, until the prince died, and there reigned after him an unbelieving prince named Valerian. |188 And by his command his deputies seized Dionysius, and imprisoned him. And they killed an innumerable number of martyrs; even ripping open the bodies of infants, and taking their intestines, and twisting them round musical instruments made of reeds which they sounded in honour of the devils ⁹³. Then they tortured Dionysius the patriarch, and demanded that he should worship their idols. So he said to them : «We worship God most high; but you worship what you love. Our worship is offered to the Lord Christ, Creator of heaven and earth, whom we love.» Then the governor said to him : «Thou knowest not the measure of the patience of the princes towards thee. For if thou wilt worship our gods, we will honour and promote thee. But if thou wilt not do so, and disobeyest the command, and wilt not worship the gods, then thou shalt see what will happen to thee.» And the governor took many of the patriarch’s companions, and killed them, after exhorting him at length; and then drove him out, and banished him to a place, called the district of Coluthion, the interpretation of which is Chamberlain ⁹⁴. But the inhabitants of that place treated Dionysius and all his companions, who would not worship the idols, hospitably. And after this they brought him back to condemn him to death; and they led him before the governor, who said to him : «We have heard that thou goest to a place apart, and performest the liturgy with |189 thy companions.» Dionysius answered : «We never cease to pray, night or day.» So the governor exhorted him at length, and then left him; and the patriarch returned to his companions and said to them : «Go to every place, and pray and celebrate the liturgy; and if I am absent from you in the body, yet I am with you in the spirit.» Then the patriarch was sent back to the place in which he had been in banishment, and his companions were sad because he was parted from them; but they said : «We know that the Lord Christ is with him in all his ways.»

Then an innumerable multitude of the brethren were martyred in those days for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, because they refused to worship the idols. And Valerian, the prince, made martyrs of many people in every region and every place. Afterwards a multitude of the Barbarians attacked him, and brought great trouble upon him. But he had a son who was very wise, and who remained in possession of the government; and he had been brought up in the days of persecution. And he gave to Dionysius and his companions a letter of release, and commanded that these words should be written in it ⁹⁵ : «Publius Caesar, the reigning prince, who loves God, writes to Dionysius the patriarch, and Demetrius and the rest of the bishops, and commands that they be kindly treated. Let those that hate them depart from them, and let their churches be opened to them. Let them take courage from our letter; and let no chastisement touch them after this day, nor sadness |190 nor sorrow after this time; so that they may perform their service and their prayers to God; for we have set them free. And I have appointed Aurelius Cyrenius, and commanded him to guard the bishops safely, and treat them kindly. And let them say their prayers and celebrate their liturgies.»

This letter was written in Greek. And the prince wrote another letter to the bishops, bidding them resume possession of all their monasteries and dwelling-places.

At this time Xystus was bishop of Rome ⁹⁶, and Demetrianus bishop of Antioch, and Firmilian bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Gregory bishop of Pontus, and his brother Athenodorus bishop of Caesarea in Palestine; and Hymenaeus was bishop of Jerusalem; and he it is whose head they took off because he confessed Christ.

So when Dionysius advanced in age, his body grew weak from the great hardships that he had endured; but nevertheless he did not cease for one night to read the holy scriptures. For since God most high knew his love for the holy scriptures, he granted him the faculty of sight, so that he could see as well as he used to in the days of his youth.

And since he could not go to the council ⁹⁷ which assembled to settle matters concerning Paul of Samosata, he sent his envoys with a letter full of |191 wisdom and instruction to the bishops assembled on his account; for Paul was like the wolf that howls at the sheep. So the bishops of the council went in haste to Antioch for the glory of the Lord Christ. And among those present in the council were Firmilian, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, and Gregory who has already been named, and his brother Athenodorus, and Helenus, bishop of Tarsus, and Nicomas, bishop of Iconium, and Hymenaeus, bishop of Jerusalem, and Maximus, bishop of Bostra; and with them a multitude of bishops and priests and deacons. Then they sent for Paul, and asked him concerning what he had said, and admonished him because he had blasphemed the Lord Christ; and when he would not retract his opinions, they excommunicated him and banished him.

At this time Dionysius, patriarch of Alexandria, went to his rest, after remaining in the see for seventeen years; and he died on the 13th. day of Barmahat. But in a copy in the Monastery of Father Macarius it is said that he continued upon the episcopal throne seven years. Said, son of Batrik, however, bears witness in the book of the annals that the period was seventeen years; and this agrees with the biography from which the present copy was translated. |192

MAXIMUS⁹⁸ THE FIFTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 264-282.

After Dionysius, Maximus was placed upon the throne of Saint Mark in the great city of Alexandria, in the seventeenth year of the reign of Gallienus and Valerian, and he helped the brethren in the affairs of the Church in every place. And he drove out Paul the Samosatene from the Church, when he learnt that he was a heretic, because an account of all that happened in the council of Antioch with regard to Paul was written and sent to Dionysius, patriarch of Rome, and to Maximus, patriarch of Alexandria, when he took his seat after Dionysius. For the whole council subscribed with spiritual consent to the excommunication of Paul, and said that it was not fit that he should be named with the name of Paul the apostle. And they wrote to Dionysius, patriarch of Rome, and Maximus, patriarch of Alexandria ⁹⁹, and to all the bishops of the inhabited world, and to the priests and deacons and all the baptized, and to the whole orthodox Church under heaven, naming the bishops, and saying in their letter : «Helenus and Hymenaeus |193 and Theophilus and Theotecnus and Maximus and Proclus and Nikomas and Aelianus and Paul and Protogenes and Bolanus and Hierax and Eutychius and Theodore and Malchion and Lucius, and the rest, who dwell in the cities near to us. We have written to you, our brethren, the holy bishops, and the laity who love the Lord Christ, the Son of God, calling upon you to pray to the Lord that he may cause to cease from among you the opinions of Paul the Samosatene, who teaches doctrines which beget death for him more than any other; that thus you may be of one mind with us, like Dionysius, patriarch of Alexandria, and Firmilian, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, who wrote to us at Antioch, so that we overthrew the leader of the error, of whose evil teachings they knew nothing, because it was we who read in the council his writings, containing his corrupt faith; and we and those with us bore witness of this. And after that he promised us to repent; but that was mockery and treachery on his part; for his heart was hard, and he would not repent, but remained in his error, imagining vain things about the Lord in his discourses. So he apostatized and denied the Lord in his creed.

Now the condition of this Paul was of such a nature that he went over from faith to misbelief and error and perdition. And he was notoriously poor by birth, because he inherited nothing from his ancestors, and earned nothing by the work of his hands; but he became rich by the wealth of the church, and |194 used to rob the sanctuaries by the Law, and take bribes from the brethren when judging them; and if their adversaries offered him larger bribes, he turned round and took their side against the others. Thus he gained for himself vain riches by every kind of injustice. Yet in spite of that, he professed that he served God. And he used to walk with an escort, and to tyrannize over the poor, and to make a parade through the chief streets; and he loved to be called bishop, and troubled men by the multitude of his attendants. And he had letters with him, which he read while he walked, as if he was collecting taxes; and he made the people feel that he was a ruler; and he was accompanied by armed men before and behind him. And he hated spiritual teaching, and loved strange doctrines. And he neglected strangers, when he entered the church. And he sought glory from the rulers, and made plans for vain pomp of every kind, so that he even placed for himself a throne with a high platform; pretending to be a disciple of Christ, while in reality he was a stranger to the Church. And he made the women chant songs on the nights of the festivals and at the Easter assembly instead of the Psalms and hymns; but the faithful brethren stopped their ears when they heard them chant. And he would not accept any of the scriptures, nor confess that Christ was the Son of God, nor that he came down from heaven, and was incarnate of the Virgin Mary; but he uttered many blasphemies, and |195 declared that Christ was one of us. In consequence of these things it was necessary that we should assemble in council and cut him off. And we have appointed instead of him a man who fears God, named Domnus, son of the blessed Demetrianus, who is now in the Church, and deserves her praise. Thus we have written these things to you in order that you may write to this new bishop, and may receive his letters in peace according to the custom of the Church. Paul the Samosatene then has fallen away from the Faith, and Domnus has received his bishopric in our presence at Antioch.» And the prince Aurelian began to raise a persecution against the Church ¹⁰⁰, but the help of the Lord was not with him in what he intended to do; and alter six years he died. And after him was Probus the prince. In his time a wicked man named Manes appeared, and showed forth evil deeds, and blasphemed the Father Almighty, and the only-begotten Son, and the Holy Ghost who proceeds from the Father. And he dared to say that he himself was the Paraclete.

This man had been slave ¹⁰¹ to a widow woman, who had much wealth. |196 For there had formerly lived with her a great magician, a native of Palestine, who fell from the house-top and died. After that, the woman bought that wicked slave, and had him taught in the writing-school; and when he grew up, she gave him the books of that magician. And when he had read them, and learnt magic from them, he went to Persia, and visited the place where the magicians and diviners and astrologers dwelt. And when he was strong in the doctrines of sin, Satan appeared to him, and strengthened him, and encouraged in him the hatred of the Church. So he led astray many people by his magic; and money was brought to him; and he had youths and girls, who ministered to his evil desires, and whom he enslaved by his magic. And he led astray a multitude of people, saying to them that he was the Paraclete, whom the Lord Christ promised to send in the Gospel of John.

And there was a rich Christian man, named Marcellus, chief of a city in the province of Syria, where there was a bishop named Archelaus. And upon this chief was the spirit and blessing of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; and he was a disciple of the church, and constant in his visits there, morning and |197 evening, like a poor man who possesses nothing. And he used to listen to the sermons of the bishop, as it was his duty to do, and to perform good works with his money among the people of this city. And his door was open to everyone who came to him, whether they were the poor or those oppressed by the taxes, or others; so that he was like the holy Job.

And at that time the Persians took captive the people of a village near the house of Marcellus, and laid waste the village, and killed many people. Then the prisoners sent to him, and asked him to perform an act of mercy towards them. Accordingly he consented to their request in charity, and interceded with the leader of the Persians, and received from him many of those that had been taken. And Marcellus, when he came before the Persian chief, offered money to him and to many who were with him, saying to them : «Take what you please in payment for these captives.» But when the Persians saw his good deed, they refused to do as he proposed, and said to him : «We will not do this, but give us what thou wilt as a ransom for the men who are with us.» So the affair was settled between the parties at three denarii for every person. Thus Marcellus delivered all that were in the hands of the Persians, and paid them the money, and presented to them as a gratuity something beyond the price agreed upon; and he received the captives from them, and remained with them seven days. And he tended the sick among those prisoners as if they were his own children; and he sent to their town, and buried those whom the Persians had slain of them. Then he rebuilt the houses of the living whom he had redeemed; and the hearts |198 of those who remained in the town were set at ease; and he rebuilt for them all the churches, and made them live in their town. And when the Persians went away from his country to their own land, they related all that he had done, and the greatness of his wealth, and the love of the people of his town for him.

Now when Manichaeus, the evil one, heard what this man, Marcellus, had done, he thought over it, and said to himself : «If I could gain this man over, and receive him into my sect, then the whole of Syria would be under my influence.» So he wrote him a letter, in which he said : «The Paraclete, Manes, writes thus to Marcellus. Verily I have heard of the excellence of thy deeds, and therefore I know that thou wilt be a chosen disciple of mine, that I may make known to thee the straight way, which Christ has sent me to teach to men. But now your teachers have led you astray, since they say that God, whose Name is glorious, entered the womb of a woman. And the prophets said untrue words of Christ; for the God of the Old Testament is evil, and wills not that anything should be obtained from him. But as for the God of the New Testament, he is good, and when they take aught from him he does not refuse.» And he said of Christ many words blasphemously, which it is not lawful to repeat; nor has Satan himself ever said the like!

And Manes gave the letter to one like himself, and sent him to Marcellus. But when the messenger came to Syria, none of the people received him on the way, to entertain him at his house; and he suffered greatly from hunger, |199 feeding only upon herbs, until he came to the house of Marcellus. So when Marcellus had received the letter and read it, he sent it to the bishop Archelaus; and having provided the messenger with a lodging, he waited. Then, when the bishop had read the letter, he tore the hair of his head, saying : «Would that I had died before reading this blasphemous letter!» And he sent to Marcellus, who brought the messenger to him; and the bishop asked him concerning the history of this Manes, and in what circumstances he was living. So the man informed Archelaus of those matters. And that messenger desired to remain with these two, when he heard their words, and saw their virtues and their excellence. Then Marcellus requested him to return to Manes with an answer to the letter, and gave him three denarii. But he said : «Pardon me, my lord, but I will not return to him.» Thereupon they rejoiced at the salvation of his soul from the snares of death. And Marcellus wrote to Manes an answer to his letter, and sent it to him bv one of his slaves. And the Father Archelaus said to that slave : «Take nothing from him, and neither eat nor drink with him.» Then he sent him on his journey. And after seven clays, Manes came to Marcellus, dressed in a habit of fine linen, with a striped tunic of fine material beneath it; and he was wrapped in a cloak descending over his feet, adorned with figures in front and behind; and with him were thirty-two youths and girls walking behind him.. So when he entered the house of Marcellus, he |200 went straight to a chair, and sat upon it in the midst of the house; and he thought that they would request him that they might receive instruction from him. So Marcellus sent to the bishop Archelaus, and when he saw Manes sitting on the chair, he was astonished at his want of shame. Then the bishop questioned him, and said to him : «What is thy name?» Manes replied : a My name is Paraclete.» Archelaus said to him : «Art thou the Paraclete of whom the Lord Christ said that he Avould send him to us ?» He said : «Yes; I am he.» The bishop asked him : «How many are the years of thy life?» He answered : «Five and thirty years.» Archelaus, the bishop, said to him : «The Saviour Christ said to his disciples : «Remain in Jerusalem, and do not depart, nor preach the gospel, until you are clothed with the power from on high, which is the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost. And after ten days from his Ascension into Heaven, as he said, the Paraclete descended, on the day of Pentecost, which was the completion of fifty days after the Pasch. But according to thy words, the disciples are still awaiting thee at Jerusalem; and yet by Christ’s command it is about three hundred years since they began to preach, and their voice went forth into all lands, and their words reached the ends of the world. If the event had been as thou sayest, they would not have preached, but would have remained alive |201 till now. And where didst thou see the Lord Christ, thine age being thirty-five years ? And he bade thee not to sit in the chief places at assemblies; yet, behold, thou hast taken the highest seat in the house.»

Then Manes enquired : «Does not the gospel say, I will send you the Paraclete?» Archelaus answered : «If thou believest in the gospel, he said to our Lady Mary, the Virgin : The Holy Ghost shall descend upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; and he whom thou shalt, bring forth is Holy, and shall be called the Son of God.» Then the bishop brought forth the letter of Manes, which he had sent to Marcellus, in which he denied the birth of Christ from a woman, and declared his disbelief in Christ’s death and resurrection from the dead. Thereupon Manes began to speak of his false doctrines, saying that there were two gods, one of them Light, and the other Darkness, and uttering similar infidelities. So the bishop Archelaus said to him : «If I refute thee according to thy lies, thou wilt still insist on thy doctrines before me. But behold, I will send and bring into thy presence people who do not know God, the God of Heaven, that they may put thee to shame in thy words.» Accordingly he sent and brought before him two men, one of them a philosopher and physician, and the other a scribe, and said to them : «Hear what this man says. Are there in your books some words which you accept, and other words which you reject?» They answered : «No; but we accept everything in our books, and we reject nothing in them. For if we separated part of our books from the rest, we should neither know how to read them nor how to accept them.» |202

Then the bishop answered and said to them : «This man preaches and says that he is the Paraclete whom Christ sent, and yet he neglects the commands of Christ.» Then they said to him : «We do not accept Christ nor do we touch anything of his.» And when Manes spoke, and the assembly heard his words full of blasphemy, they rushed upon him to kill him; but the bishop forbad them to do that, and said to them : «He will be slain by the hand of another than us.» Then he banished Manes from the city, saying to him : «Take heed that thou be not found in our province, lest thou die!»

When Manes went forth, he betook himself to a village where there was a hospitable priest, with whom he dwelt. And Manes remained for a month in the house of this priest, who did not, however, know who he was. At last he spoke to the priest of his wicked doctrines. So the priest said : «I have never heard of these words before; but I will send to the bishop Archelaus, that he may come and hear from thee what thou sayest, and then if it is good, we will accept it.» But when Manes heard the name of Archelaus, he was troubled thereat, because he knew his valour and the wisdom of God which was in him. Therefore he returned without delay to the land of the Persians, where he continued, as his custom was, to utter blasphemy. But the true Paraclete condemned him in his wisdom; for he delivered him into the power of the king of the Persians, who flayed off his skin, and cast him to the wild beasts, which devoured him. |203

At that time died Felix ¹⁰², patriarch of Rome; and Eutychianus was enthroned after him. And the length of time that Felix remained in the patriarchate was five years. And Eutychianus remained ten months, and then went to his rest. And after him sat Marcellinus. And at that time Timaeus received the patriarchate of Antioch after Domnus.

When Auxelian, the prince, died, Probus received the empire after him, and remained six years and died. Then, after him, reigned Cams and Carinus and Numerian; and they continued three years and then died. And after them reigned Diocletian, through whom a great persecution descended upon the Church, greater than those of his predecessors; for he destroyed the churches, and burnt the books, and slew the bishops and priests and many of the faithful.

And Socrates died at Laodicea, and Eusebius was appointed bishop of that city instead of him. This man had come from Alexandria on account of the council which had assembled at Antioch concerning Paul the Samosatene. His successor was Anatolius, who also had arrived in Syria from Alexandria, whither he had migrated, and where he had taken up his abode in order that he might teach the young people there. For he was skilled in learning, so that his fame reached as far as Rome. And when |204 an army marched from Rome to the city of Alexandria, and besieged it, Anatolius the teacher did not cease negotiating between the two parties, with all fairness until he improved the state of affairs, and established peace, and the war ceased. And the great men of the city were incensed against him, because he urged them to do what they did not wish. So he said to them : «Let the old men and old women and young children leave the city, for they are not required here; but do you do what you will with your city, for so you will retain the provisions which are in your hands, stored up among you.» Thus their hearts were appeased by this advice; and the next day the soldiers and the captains of the city assembled, and took counsel about this matter, and decided that it was right so to act. So they sent out the old men and old women and children; and many others escaped through the gates by night. After that, the emperor Claudius commanded to slay the troops of the city, because they had helped the people to depart from it; and the city was laid waste. And Eusebius also acted between the two parties as a physician or father who heals both sides alike. And this man was bishop of Laodicea, and he came to his see with the other bishop from Alexandria in excellent agreement. And after the fighting which took place at Alexandria, Anatolius wrote many instructions, and the people of the city profited by them. And he wrote for them a calculation of Easter also. |205

And on the 1st. day of the month after the council, which took place at Antioch to judge Paul the Samosatene, Theotecnus was established as bishop on the episcopal throne of Caesarea in Palestine, and the above-mentioned Eusebius over Laodicea. And Eusebius was a man powerful with the Lord, as also was Anatolius; for they were both inspired by the Holy Ghost to impart spiritual doctrine. Then they went to their rest, one after the other; and Stephen became bishop over Laodicea. He was a man full of wisdom, and everyone was astonished at him; and it was not merely wisdom of words, but the true orthodox faith; and he rebuilt the churches which had been destroyed in his city, and renewed them with the help of God given to him. And his successor, the bishop Theodotus, lived in the time of persecution, and was worthy of the two names by which he was called; for the interpretation of his own name is Gift of God, besides the name of bishop. And he was a lover of the people, and their shepherd and physician, skilful in doing good to their souls, so that it was said that there had been none equal to him in his charity. And Agapius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, was like him also, and had laboured among his people in great charity; for he loved the poor, and controlled his people like a faithful servant of God; and after this he merited the crown of martyrdom, with many of the priests of Alexandria. And there were martyred also with them Pierius; and Meletius, who had become bishop of Pontus, and was called Honey, on account |206 of the sweetness of his tongue, which was full of the doctrine and grace of God. Meletius loved to give alms to the poor, and grudged nothing; and all his teaching was from the gospel; and he lived in the time when men were scattered and persecuted, and yet was constant in doctrine.

When Hymenaeus, bishop of Jerusalem, went to his rest, Zambdas was appointed instead of him; and when Zambdas died, there came after him Hermon, who suffered hardships in the time of persecution.

And Maximus, patriarch of Alexandria, went to his rest on the 14th. of Barmudah, after he had remained eighteen years in the see.

THEONAS¹⁰³ THE SIXTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 282-300.

When Maximus went to his rest, Theonas took his seat after him upon the episcopal throne of Alexandria, after the people had assembled, and had come to an agreement upon his fitness for the office. So they promoted him in the first year of the reign of Numerian, Carus and Carinus, the princes. And he built a handsome church in the name of our Lady Mary, which was called the Church of the Mother of God ¹⁰⁴. For up to this time the people had celebrated the liturgy in caves and underground places and secret |207 resorts. And from saint Mark the evangelist to the third year of the patriarchate of Theonas were two hundred and nineteen years. And he went to his rest on the 2nd. of Tubah, after remaining nineteen years in the see. There was in the days of this Father, the patriarch Theonas, a holy priest, who had a pure wife; and these two walked together in the way of the Lord, keeping his commandments, and acting according to his precepts, cleaving to the canons of their religion, firm in the faith. But they had no child, and were sad at heart for this reason. And they multiplied fasts and prayers and alms, that the Lord might be gracious to them and grant them a child, by the sight of whom their eyes might be refreshed. When the least of the two glorious disciples, Peter and Paul, came round, on the fifth day of Abib, and all the faithful were present in the church, to keep their least, the wife of this priest, being present near the place where the picture of those two saints was, saw the faithful bringing their children forward, and anointing them with the oil of the lamp which was lighted before the two pictures. So she sighed, with a wounded heart, and prayed those two saints to intercede with the Lord for her. And she partook of the Holy Mysteries, and received the peace of God, and departed to her home, thanking the Lord of glory. And that night she saw in her sleep two persons in the dress of the patriarchs, who said to her : «Be not sad, for the Lord has heard thy petition, and has given thee a child with whom he will refresh |208 thine eyes. And he shall be a father to many people; and his name and his holiness shall appear like those of Samuel the prophet, for he is the son of a promise. Therefore when the morning comes, go early to the Father Theonas, the patriarch, and make this known to him, that he may bless thec; for God in his mercy will give thee a child who shall be blessed.» Accordingly, when it was morning, she told her husband the priest, and he said to her : «Go and make this known to Theonas the patriarch, as thou wert bidden.» So she went to him, and made the dream known to him; and he blessed her, and said to her : «The Lord will perform thy request, and answer thy prayer; for the Lord is true to his word, and his works are wonderful among his saints.» And she departed to her home. And a short time after that, she conceived; and she guarded herself in all purity, and in continual fasts and prayers night and day, until the day of the feast of Peter and Paul, on the fifth of Abib, when she brought forth a son. And the messenger of good tidings went to Abba Theonas, the patriarch, and informed him that she had become the mother of a son; and he rejoiced greatly thereat. And her husband, the archpriest, also rejoiced. And Abba Theonas, the patriarch, said to them : «Name him Peter.» And it was done so. And the child grew and waxed and increased, like John the Baptist, until he reached the age of three years. Then his parents carried him to the patriarch, and said to him : «This is the son of thy prayers.» So Theonas blessed them and the child, and baptized him. And when the child was five years |209 old, his parents gave him to be instructed. And he learnt wisdom in a very short time, and came to have a better memory than the rest of his comrades who were in the Church. And in his seventh year the patriarch made him reader; and he was filled with spiritual grace. And when he was twelve years old, he made him fully deacon; and he surpassed the other deacons in knowledge and piety, and in the spiritual and heavenly grace which God gave him. When he was fully sixteen years old, he was promoted to be priest, on account of the chastity and modesty and knowledge and piety, and true faith, and soundness of learning, and assiduous service of the churches, night and day, which the patriarch saw in him.

And in those days there had appeared a blaspheming man, named Sabellius, who preached a doctrine divergent from the faith; and this was that he believed that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, the holy Trinity, were one Person, and not three Persons, but merely three names. Sabellius disbelieved in the gospel, and would not listen to that which is written therein, that our Lord Jesus Christ, when he was baptized by John, saw the Holy Ghost descending upon him like a dove, and heard the voice of the Father from heaven, saying : «This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.» So many, who heard the teaching of Sabellius, followed him, and he led them astray by his impiety. Then he assembled the members of his sect, and came to the church, when the father and patriarch, Abba Theonas, was present, on the day of a great feast; and he |210 stood at the door, and sent to the patriarch a messenger, who said to him : «Come out and discuss matters with me this day; and if thou art in the right I will follow thee, but if not I will make known to the people that thou art in error.» Then the father and patriarch said to Peter, the priest : «Go out to this misbeliever, and silence him, that he trouble us not.» So Peter went out; but when Sabellius saw him he said : «See the haughtiness and pride of Theonas; he has only sent out to me the least of the youths who attend him.» But Peter said to him : «Though I be young with thee, with my Father Theonas I am old. And the Lord will show thy misbelief hereby this day, for he will give me the victory over thee, as he made David victorious over Goliath the giant. For the Lord will bring his fate upon thee, and will punish thee, and destroy thee with thy companions, and bring thy doctrine to naught, and overthrow thy opinion, so that no word or syllable of thine shall remain.» And he had not finished his words before the face of Sabellius was convulsed, and his neck bent backwards, and he fell on the ground dead. And his followers fled in haste, and all those that were with him. So he perished, and his memory was lost, and his teaching was cut off, and no remembrance of him remained. This is the end of what happened to Sabellius.

And the Lord showed forth another sign by the hand of the holy Peter, which was as follows. There was a great feast in the city of Alexandria, at which the Father Theonas and all the clergy and people were present, glorifying God and keeping festival. And a man among them, in whom was |211 a rebellious devil, stood by the door, and began to throw stones at the faithful,and to foam at the mouth, and growl like a camel. So the people fled from him into the interior of the church, and made known to the patriarch the state of that madman. Theonas, therefore, said to the holy Peter : «Go out to him, and drive this devil out of him.» So Peter took a basin, and poured water into it, and presented it to the patriarch, begging him to make the sign of the cross over it; and he did so. And Peter went out, taking the vessel of water, to the place where the madman was. Then he said : «In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, who cast out the Legion of devils, and healed men of all diseases and sicknesses, go forth from him, Satan, by the prayers of my father Theonas, the patriarch, and return no more to him!» Then immediately the devil went out of him, and the man was healed, and became whole, and reasonable, and calm.

But if we were to describe the wonders which were manifested by this holy man, Peter, the exposition of them would be too long, and books would be too small to contain them.

And when Theonas came to die, so that he was to be gathered to his fathers, all the clergy and people were present with him, weeping and saying : «Alas our Father, thou leavest us like orphans.» Then he said to them : «You are not orphans, but this Peter is your father, and he shall be patriarch after me.» Thus Abba Theonas before his death appointed him to that office.

[Footnotes renumbered and moved to the end]

1. 1. Jer. xlvi, 25; Nahum iii, 8; cf. Ez. xxx, 14,15,16, Vulg.

2. 1. Preface II is wanting in CD and E.

3. 1. Rom. v, 3, 4.

4. 2. Hebr. xii, 8.

5. 1. S. John xvii, 12; xviii. 9.

6. 1. S. Matth. v, 14-16.

7. 1. S. Matth. xi. 28.

8. 1. S. Matth. vii, 7; S. Luke xi. 9.

9. 2. Ps. cxv, 1-3 (Sept. cxiii, 9-11).

10. 1. This chapter is wanting in CDE. Cf. Suidas in v. Ἰησοῦς; Anecdota Graeco-Byzantina, ed. A. Vassilief, 1893, p. 60.

11. 2. The Greek versions have : τοῦ ἐν εὐσεβεῖ τῇ μνήμῃ γενομένου Ἰουστινιανοῦ.

12. 3. ἀργυροπράτης

13. 1. Urim and Thummim, Δήλωσος καὶ Ἀλήθεια, Doctrina et Veritas.

14. 1. κώδιξ.

15. 1. S. Luke iv. 14-22.

16. 1. Ps. cx, 4 (Sept. cix).

17. 2. Ps. lxxxix. 48 (Sept. lxxxviii).

18. 1. Cf. Eus., H. E., I. 3.

19. 2. Ἐν τοῖς τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας αὐτοῦ ὑπομνήμασιν.

20. 1. Cf. Bargès, Homélie sur saint Marc, Paris. 1877, p. 73-80 (premier appendice).

21. 1. Eus., H. E., II, 16.

22. 1. Cf. Bargès, loc. cit., p. 81-90 (second appendice); Acta SS.,Apr, 25.

23. 1. Τὰ Βουκόλου, Bucolia.

24. 1. Σύρωμεν τὸν βούβαλον ἐν τοῖς Βουκόλου.

25. 1. Τὸ Ἀγγέλιον.

26. 1. Eus._; H. E., II, 24.

27. 2. Ibid., III, 14. 21.

28. 1. Eus., H. E., III,21.

29. 1. Eus., H. E., IV, 1, 4.

30. 2. Ibid., IV, 4, 5.

31. 1. Eus., H. E., IV, 5, 11.

32. 2. Ibid., IV, 11.

33. 3. Ibid., IV, 11. 19.

34. 1. Eus., H. E., IV, 19; v. 9.

35. 2. Ibid., V, 9, 22.

36. 1. Eus., H. E., V, 22; VI, 2, 3, 8, 19, 26. Cf. Acta SS. Oct. 9.

37. 1.Eus., H. E., VI, 1.

38. 1. Eus., H. E., VI. 4, 5. Aquila ([Arabic])was the prefect of Egypt who carried on the Persecution.

39. 2. τῆς κατ’ Ἀλεξάνδρειαν κατηχήσεως καθηγεῖτο. Ib., VI. 6.

40. 1. Eus., H. E., VI, 7.

41. 2. Ib., VI, 8.

42. 1. Eus., H. E., VI, 8.

43. 2. Ib., VI, 9.

44. 1. Eus., H. E., VI, 9.

45. 2. Ib., VI. 10.

46. 3. Ib.

47. 1. Eus., H.E., VI, 11.

48. 1. Eus., H. E., VI, 11.

49. 2. Ib., VI, 12.

50. 1. Eus., H. E., VI, 15.

51. 1. Eus., H. E., VI, 17.

52. 1. Eus., H.E.. VIII, 9, 10.

53. 2. Cf. Eus., Ib., VI, 19.

54. 1. Eus., H. E., VI, 23, 24, 25, 32, 36.

55. 2. Ib., VI, 25.

56. 3. Σαρδὴθ Σαρδανὲ Ἔλ.

57. 1. I Cor., ii, 12.

58. 1. Eus., H. E., VI, 26, 35.

59. 2. Ib.., VI, 15.

60. 3. Ib., VI. 26.

61. 4. Ib,, VI, 28.

62. 5. Ib., VI, 29.

63. 6. Ib.

64. 7. I. e. Fabian. Ib.

65. 1. Eus., H. E., VI, 29.

66. 1. According to Eus., H. E., VI, 30, Theodore, or Gregory, and Athenodorus were two pupils of Origen.

67. 2. Eus., ib., VI, 31.

68. 1. Eus., H.E., III, 28; VI. 29,35, 40-42, 44-46; VII, 1.2,4-11,20-28.

69. 2. Ib., VI. 37.

70. 3. I. e. that of the Helcesaïtes, ib., VI. 38.

71. 4. Ib., VI. 39.

72. 1. Eus., H. E., VI,40.

73. 1. Eus., VI, 41.

74. 2. The Arabic and some MSS of Eusebius have here «Fabian».

75. 3. καλάμοις ὀξέσι, ib.

76. 4. Quinta, ib.

77. 5. A misunderstanding of the passage : [Greek omitted from online version] ib.

78. 1. Eus. καλήλοις ἐποχούμενοι, perhaps misread καμίλοις.

79. 2. Besas. ib.

80. 3. Dionysia, ib

81. 4. Ammonarion, ib.

82. 1. Chaeremon, bishop of Nilus, Eus., H. E., VI. 42.

83. 1. Novatian.

84. 2. Eus., H,E., VI, 43.

85. 3. Καθαροί.

86. 1. The name here should be Novatian, but Eusebius also has Νοουάτος.

87. 1. These are the numbers of the Catholic clergy in Rome. Eus. has 42 acolytes. 52 exorcists, readers and doorkeepers, ib.

88. 2. τῆς Ἑρμουπολιτῶν παροικίας ἐπίσκοπος, ib., VI, 46,

89. 1. This passage is a mistranslation of Eus., VIII, 1.

90. 2. Stephen, ib., VII, 2-5.

91. 3. Ib., VII, 5.

92. 1. He is here writing to Xystus and speaking of Stephen, ib.

93. 1. A misinterpretation of the words : [Greek omitted from online edition] ib., VII, 10.

94. 2. Severus perhaps derives this name from ἀκόλουθος.

95. 1. Eus., H. E., VII, 13.

96. 1. Eus., H. E., VII, 14.

97. 2. ib., VII, 27.

98. 1. Eus., H. E., VII, 11, 28, 32.

99. 2. Ib., VII, 30.

100. 1. Eus., H.E., VII, 30, 31.

101. 2. The following account of Manes, Marcellus and Archelaus is taken from the Acts of the Dispute of Archelaus, now only existing in a Latin version, first published, according to the imperfect MS. from Bobbio, by H. de Valois, at the end of his edition of Socrates and Sozomen, Paris, 1668, and from the complete copy at Monte Cassino,by L. Zaccagni in Collectanea Monumentorum Veterum, Rome, 1698. There are, however, some variations in the Arabic summary here given. Fragments of a Coptic version of these Acts, and also of Eusebius (VII, 30, 32), coming from the White Monastery in Upper Egypt, and written in the tenth century, from which the Arabic version seems to have been translated, exist in the National Library in Paris (MS. copte 129 ¹⁴). See Crum, Eusebius and Coptic Church Histories in Trans. of Soc. of Bib. Arch. Feb. 12. 1902.

102. 1. The rest of this life is from Eus._; H. E., VII, 32.

103. 1. Eus., H. E., VII, 32.

104. 2. Θεομήτωρ.

Severus of Al’Ashmunein (Hermopolis), History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic church of Alexandria (1904) Part 2: Peter I – Benjamin I (661 AD). Patrologia Orientalis 1 pp. 383-518 (pp.119-256 of text).

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE
COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

II

PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661)

ARABIC TEXT EDITED, TRANSLATED, AND ANNOTATED
BY
B. EVETTS

Chapter 6 (contd)
- Peter I, the seventeenth patriarch (300 – 311)
- Achillas, the eighteenth patriarch (311 – 312)
Chapter 7 – Alexander I, the nineteenth patriarch (312 – 326)
Chapter 8 – Athanasius I, the apostolic, the twentieth patriarch (326 – 373)
Chapter 9 – Peter II, the twenty-first patriarch (373 – 380)
Chapter 10 – Timothy I, the twenty-second patriarch (380 – 385)
Chapter 11 – Theophilus, the twenty-third patriarch (385 – 412)
Chapter 12 – Cyril, the twenty-fourth patriarch (412 – 444)
Chapter 13
- Dioscorus I, the twenty-fifth patriarch (444 – 458)
- Timothy II, the twenty-sixth patriarch (458 – 480)
- Peter III, the twenty-seventh patriarch (480 – 488)
- Athanasius II, the twenty-eighth patriarch (488 – 494)
- John I, the monk, the twenty-ninth patriarch (494 – 503)
- John II, the hermit, the thirtieth patriarch (503 – 515)
- Dioscorus II, the thirty-first patriarch (515 – 517)
- Tomothy III, the thirty-second patriarch (517 – 535)
- Theodosius I, the thirty-third patriach (535 – 567)
Chapter 14
- Peter iV, the thirty-fourth patriarch (567 – 569)
- Damian, the thirty-fifth patriarch (569 – 605)
- Anastasius, the thirty-sixth patriarch (605 – 616)
- Andronicus, the thirty-seventh patriarch (616 -622)
- Benjamin I, the thirty-eith patriarch (622 – 661)

|383

CHAPTER VI (Contd)

PETER I¹, THE MARTYR, THE SEVENTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 300-311.

When Abba Theonas, the patriarch, went to his rest, the clergy of Alexandria assembled with the people and laid their hands upon Peter the priest, his son and disciple, and seated him upon the episcopal throne of Alexandria, as Theonas, the holy father, bade them; and that was in the sixteenth year of Diocletian the prince. And when Peter saw that the wicked Arians had filled the whole country with confusion through his unbelief, he cut him off and banished him from the Church.

And in the nineteenth year of the reign of Diocletian, his letters came to Alexandria and Egypt; and he brought trials upon the Christians, and destroyed the churches of God, and killed many persons with the sword; and those that believed in Christ fled into the wilderness, and into dens and caves. Then Diocletian established guards and watchmen in every place of the |384 province of Egypt and the Thebaid as far as Antinoe, and commanded them to kill all the Christians that they found. Afterwards those guards seized the blessed Peter ², patriarch of Alexandria, and threw him into prison, and made known to the prince that they had seized him and bound him; and so the unbelieving prince commanded that they should take off his head. When the letter came to them with this order, they hastened to perform the prince’s bidding. But when they wished to bring Peter out from the prison that they might take him and kill him, the people assembled at the door of the prison, and sat by it, to watch over their shepherd, saying :«When we are all put to death, then his head shall be taken.» So those soldiers began to consider how they should bring him forth, so that a great multitude might not die on account of him; for all the people had assembled for his sake, the old and the young, and the monks and the women and the virgins, and were weeping abundant tears. And the soldiers agreed together that they should enter and bring him forth, and slay any of the people who opposed them, as the prince’s letter directed.

Now the reason of the prince’s command to seek and put to death this |385 father and patriarch was as follows. There was at Antioch a man named Socrates, who was one of the commanders of the troops which served at the palace, and was a comrade of Apater, who was martyred with his sister Irene. This Socrates was by birth a Christian, and was baptized; but he denied his religion, and came to hate the Christians. And he had a wife who was good and charitable and a Christian, by whom God granted him two children. So when they grew and were fit for baptism, the wife said to her husband : «I pray thee, my brother, to travel with me to Alexandria, that we may baptize our children, so that they may not die without baptism, lest the Lord Christ be angry with us for our neglect of them». Then the unbeliever replied : «Be silent; for thou knowest not the troubles which have come upon us in these days; lest the king should hear and be exceeding wroth with us.» Now his intention was to frighten her by this; so that she might leave her children without baptism. But when she perceived that he would not consent, nor travel with her, she took her two children and two trustworthy menservants whom she had; and she went out to the sea-shore, and prayed, saying : «O Lord Almighty, Father of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, if thou wilt make my journey easy, prepare for me a ship in which I may depart.» Then while she was praying, she saw a ship about |386 to set sail. So she called one of the sailors, and said to him : «Whither are you voyaging?»He answered : «To Alexandria». She said to him : «Carry me with you, and I will pay you a high fare». So he consented to that. And she embarked on that ship, taking her two children, and her two men-servants. And after two days a high wind rose against them, so that everyone in the ship was troubled. Then that believing woman thought : «Verily God will not hear a sinner like me; but that which has come into my mind I will do». Then she arose and spread out her hands, and turned her face to the East, and prayed, saying : «O God, who knowest everything before if takes place, thou knowest what is in my heart, and that I love thee more than life or wealth, more even than my children and my own soul. Behold, we die in the midst of the waves for thy holy name’s sake. O Saviour, O Lord, O my God and Saviour of my soul and my body, have a care for my children who are become orphans on account of thy holy name, and let them not die without baptism.» And when she had finished those words, she took a knife and said : «O Lord Almighty, thou knowest my heart». And she cut her right breast with the knife, and took from it three drops of blood, with which she made the sign of the cross on the foreheads of her two children, and over their hearts, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost; and she dipped them in the sea, saying : «I baptize you, my |387 children, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost». Then she embraced them, saying : «If death is to come to us, then let me die now, me and my two children.» So when the Lord saw her faith thus firm, he quelled that tempestuous wind; and there was a great calm. And they arrived after three days at the city of Alexandria.

So when they entered the city by the help of the merciful God, since that day was in the week of Baptism, which is the sixth week of the Fast, when infants are baptized, that woman went straightway to one of the deacons, and said to him : «My Father, I wish to have an interview with the patriarch». So he said to her : «What is thy business with the patriarch?» She answered : «My Father, I am a stranger, and I wish to baptize these two children of mine». The deacon asked her : «Hast thou no other business than this?» She replied : «No». He said to her : «Take thy seat in the church; behold the patriarch will come and baptize the infants, and will baptize thy children with them». So she did as he bade her; and when the time came, and the father and patriarch had finished the liturgy, they presented to him for baptism the infants who were to be baptized; and so he baptized them. Then they brought to him the two children of the woman of Antioch; but when the patriarch took the two infants to baptize them, the water was congealed, and became like stone. When Peter, the holy patriarch, saw this, he was astonished; and he commanded to set those two aside; but he told no one of the congealing of the water. Then he bade that |388 the other children should be presented to him, and when the other infants were brought the water was liquefied, and became as it was at first; and he baptized those that were presented to him. Then he gave orders that the two children of the woman should be presented a second time; but when they were brought to him, the water was congealed again, and became like stone. So he sent them back, and the infants of the city were offered to him again; and the water was unbound, and he baptized them. After that, he asked for the two children of the woman a third time; and the water was congealed again, and became like stone. Thereupon the patriarch bade the archdeacon of the church fetch their mother; and so he brought her before him; and he said to her : «Make known to me, woman, thy circumstances, and tell me what thy religion is». She replied : «I am of Antioch, and my family are Christians». The patriarch said to her : «Then what hast thou done? For behold, the Lord will not accept thy children for baptism». She replied : «Hear me, my Lord and Father, and be patient with me. For indeed thy Paternity knows how Christians are persecuted throughout the world in these days, and the worst of the trouble is at Antioch. And when these two children of mine grew up, and I found no way of baptizing them there, I asked their father to journey with me to this city, in order to baptize them here, but he would not. So I took these two children of mine, and went out with them to the sea-shore, and there we embarked in a ship; but afterwards |389 when we were in the midst of the waves, a tempest arose against us, so that the ship was near sinking. Therefore I took a knife, and wounded my right breast, and took from it three drops of blood, and made the sign of the cross upon the faces and hearts of my little ones, and dipped them in the sea, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, three times. For this reason the Lord withholds them from baptism. And this, by the truth of thy holy Paternity, is what I did». So the patriarch said to her : «Let thy heart be comforted, my daughter; fear not, for the Lord is with thee. When thou didst wound thy breast, and take from it the blood, and make the sign of the cross upon the faces of thy two children, in the faith of God the Incarnate Word, whose side was pierced on the cross with the spear, when the water and the blood came forth from it, he it was who made the cross over thy two children with his divine hand». Then the patriarch blessed those two among the baptized, but did no more to them; for he could not baptize them a second time, because the Lord had accepted them on the sea. For the patriarch said: «None can be baptized twice, for there is one baptism only; and these two have already been baptized once bythe intention and faith of their mother, and by what she did».

Then the patriarch composed on this subject a homily, beginning thus : «The mercy of God which descends upon men». And he gave to the two children of the holy Mysteries. And he took them and their mother into his |390 house until they had kept the Feast of the Holy Easter. Then they returned to their own city in peace.

But when her husband learnt what she had done, he went to Diocletian, the unbelieving prince, and said to him : «Know, my lord the prince, that my wife committed adultery in this city; and when I hindered her, she went away to Alexandria, and committed adultery with the Christians during many days; and she took my children, and performed upon them a rite called baptism. And behold, she has returned hither. What thinkest thou that I should do with her?» Then Diocletian commanded Socrates her husband to bring her and her two children before him; and he. did so. And when she stood before him, he said to her : «O woman deserving of death, why didst thou leave thy husband, and go away to Alexandria, and commit adultery there with the Christians?» Then that holy woman answered him : «The Christians do not commit adultery nor worship idols; but do whatsoever thou wilt; for thou wilt not hear another word from me». The prince said to her : «Make known to me what happened to thee at Alexandria.» But she would not answer him. Therefore the prince commanded that her hands should be fastened behind her, and that her two children should be placed on her lap, and that all three should be burnt in the fire. So the holy woman turned her face to the East, and her children with her; and thus they gave up their souls, and received the crown of martyrdom. |391

Then the prince asked her husband Socrates : «Who is it that does these things at Alexandria?» He replied: «It is Peter, the patriarch of the Christians». So when he heard this, he was filled with anger and wrath, because he was full of indignation against the holy Peter, the patriarch, on account of the writings which he had composed in refutation of the worship of idols. Accordingly he wrote to his deputies at Alexandria, commanding that they should take his head. And while the soldiers were zealously obeying the commands of the prince, and Peter was in prison, as we have said above, Arius, the unbeliever, learnt that they wished to kill the patriarch. Then Arius feared that Peter would go to his rest, while he would remain bound by his sentence of excommunication. So he went to certain priests and deacons and many of the laity, and begged them to visit the prison, that they might throw themselves at the feet of the patriarch, and pray him to set Arius loose from his bonds of excommunication. Now they thought that Arius made this request out of piety, and therefore they consented to his petition. So they entered into the prison, and cast themselves down before Peter, and prayed: Then they made prostrations to him, and besought him to loose Arius from his bonds. But the patriarch cried out with a loud voice : «Do you intercede with me for Arius?» Then he raised his hands and said : «Arius shall be at this time, and in the time to come, excluded from the glory of the Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ». When he had said this, a great fear came upon them, and not one of them dared to answer |392 a word. But when he saw that they were afraid of him, he comforted their souls. Then he rose up from the midst of them, and took with him the two old men, Achillas and Alexander, his two disciples, and went apart with them, and said to them : «God, the God of heaven, will help me to accomplish my martyrdom. Then thou, Achillas, the priest, shalt sit on this throne after me; and thy brother Alexander after thee. Say not that there is no mercy in me, for I am a sinful man; but Arius is full of hidden guile; and it is not I that have excommunicated him, but Christ. I tell you that this night, when I had finished my prayers and fallen asleep, I saw a youth coming in to me, with his face shining like the light of the sun, wearing a garment which clothed him down to his feet, but it was torn; and he took up the part where it was rent in his hands, and covered with it his breast and his nakedness. So when I saw him, I rose hastily, and cried with a loud voice, and said : O my Lord, who is it that has torn thy garment? He answered : Arius has rent it. Therefore receive him not, and have no fellowship with him. To-day there will come to thee some who will intercede with thee for him; but let not thy heart accept him, for I have forbidden thee to do so. Likewise charge thy disciples, Achillas and Alexander, who will sit after thee on the episcopal throne, that they receive him not. There my speech with him ended. And now I shall accomplish my martyrdom, having charged you as he commanded me. You, |393 my brethren, know how I have been all my time with you, and what trials I have encountered, and the conspiracies of the unbelievers and idol-worshippers; and how I was continually fleeing from place to place, from Mesopotamia to Syria, and to Palestine and Ramleh and the islands. Yet I did not cease to write to you two, secretly and openly, nor to comfort the people through the power of the Lord Christ, clay and night; and I neglected not the flock with which I was entrusted. And my heart was greatly grieved; but in spite of all this I did not neglect the care of Phileas and Hesychius and Pachomius and Theodore, who were imprisoned for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and merited grace from God; for I used to write to them, and to speak of them in my epistles from Mesopotamia. And I suffered great trouble and torment for their sakes, lest anything should happen to them together with the priests who were in prison; for more than six hundred and sixty souls became martyrs. Now, as you know, I have the care of you all; therefore, when I heard that they had been martyred, I worshipped and thanked him who strengthened them, Jesus Christ, who also counted them among his martyrs. So likewise I pray him to number me among them. Moreover you two know the evils which have befallen me from Meletius of Asyut, who divided the Church of God, which the Lord Christ, the Word of God, redeemed with his holy blood, when he laid down his life for it».

Then the father and patriarch, Abba Peter, began to teach those two, |394 and charge them to beware of the guile of the aforesaid Meletius, that they should not associate with him. And he said to them : «Behold, you two see me bound for the love of God, while I am awaiting his will; for the officers of Diocletian daily deliberate how to kill some of us, as you know, and they assiduously carry out what they are commanded to do. But I do not fear for myself, and only desire to finish the course which God has appointed for me, and my ministry, which I accepted from the Lord Jesus Christ, my God; and he will help me to complete it; henceforth, therefore, you two will not see my face in the body after this day. I testify to you that I have declared everything to you; and I am pure and free from sin. Therefore keep the flock which the Holy Ghost has entrusted to you, and guard the Church of God which he bought with his blood; for I know that, after I am separated from you, some of the people will arise and speak words of blasphemy, with the intention of dividing the Church, as Meletius has done, whom many of the people have followed; but I beseech you to be vigilant, for you will encounter trouble. For you know what befell the Father Theonas, who brought me up, and upon whose episcopal throne I sat after him, and the evil which he suffered from the worshippers of idols. And I hope that a grace like his will come to me, similar also to the grace given to the Father Dionysius, who hid himself in various places on account of the heretic Sabellius. What shall I say also concerning |395 Heraclas and Demetrius, the two blessed ones, and the disorders that they encountered, and the hostility which they endured from Origen, the madman, and all that took place through him; and concerning all our fathers, who were before us, and what they bore for the Church of God? But the grace of God, which was with them, was that which overshadowed them and protected them.

And now I commit you to God by the word of grace, which has the power to preserve you, and to preserve his flock».

And when the Father Peter had said this, he fell upon his knees and prayed and worshipped with those two, and gave thanks, and clasped them to himself, embracing them, and kissed them. And Achillas and Alexander kissed his hands and bade him farewell weeping, because of his saying to them that they would not see him after that day in the body.

Then he returned to the assembly near which he was standing, and remained among them and exhorted them, and comforted them, and prayed for them, and blessed them, and consoled them, and dismissed them in peace. And when they went away from him, they informed the people of what he had said, and of what he had done in the prison with regard to Arms. And when the people heard this, they marvelled, for they knew that God was with him, and had separated Arius from them. But when Arius learnt this thing, he kept silence and concealed himself and his opinions and his guile, because his hope in the patriarch Peter was cut off. |396

So when the Father Peter heard of the strife on his account between the troops and the people of the city, who prevented the soldiers from approaching the prison in which he was, he feared that some would be slain for his sake, and resolved to preserve his faithful people, and to redeem them with his own life. Therefore he sent word to the soldiers secretly, saying to them : «Come this night to the wall of the prison at the place where I will knock for you from within; and make a hole through it, and do what the prince has commanded you to do». And when they heard this, they accepted his words. Accordingly they went that night secretly to the place of which he told them, which was a cell where he was separate from the other prisoners, of which none of the people knew; and then he knocked at the wall from within, and when they heard him, they broke open the place where he knocked, and made an opening there. So he made the sign of the cross on his face, and put his head out to them, through the hole which they had opened, saying : «It is better that I should give up my life than that the people should perish for my sake». Thereupon the soldiers cut off his head, and went away. Behold then this most admirable deed!

Now there arose at that hour a violent wind, so that none of the people who were guarding the door of the prison heard the sound of those that pierced the wall; nor did any of the prisoners hear it. Thus this blessed father accomplished the words of the holy Gospel, and the words of the Jews which it reports ³ on the day of the blessed crucifixion, namely, that |397 it is better that one should die for the people than that the whole people should perish; and he was like his Lord, the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for his sheep. But the people meanwhile were sitting by the door of the prison, and knew not what had happened to him.

In another copy, however, it is said that he came out through the hole in the wall, and the soldiers took him and led him away to a place called Boucolia, the interpretation of which is Cattle-yard; and this is the place where was accomplished the martyrdom of the glorious father, Saint Mark the evangelist. But when the soldiers saw the holy Peter thus giving himself up to death, they were filled with awe, and dread fell upon them. So he asked them, and said to them : «I pray you that I may go and receive a blessing from the body of the father, Saint Mark the evangelist». Then they consented to his request, and said with shame and downcast looks : «Whatever thou desirest, father, do quickly». So he went to the place where the body of Saint Mark, the evangelist and bringer of good tidings, lay; and he prayed and received a blessing from the relics, and knelt by them, as if he were discoursing with the saint, saying : «O my father, evangelist and messenger of the Lord Christ, the Only-Begotten Son, who dost bear witness to his passion, thou art the first martyr and the first patriarch of this see. Thou, O pure and holy one, art he whom Christ, truly the most holy, elected. Thou didst preach his name in the land of Egypt, and in this city, and in the provinces which surround it, and didst diligently exercise the ministry which was thy work; and thou didst receive the crown of martyrdom. For |398 this reason, O father and evangelist, disciple and martyr, thou wast worthy to show forth thy faith in God, the Word and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thou didst elect the blessed Annianus because he was worthy; and after him was Avilius, and those who succeeded those two; then Demetrius and He-raclas and Dionysius and Maximus; and the blessed Theonas, my father, who brought me up until I came to the ministry of this see after him, though I am a sinner, unworthy of this honour which I received only by the greatness of his compassion. Therefore intercede for me, that I may be a martyr in truth, if indeed I be worthy to imitate Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection; and that he may fill me with the perfume of life-giving faith, so that I may be to him sweet-smelling incense, by the shedding of my blood for his holy name. For the time is come for my decease; therefore pray, O my father, for me, that I may not be divided into two hearts or purposes; and that the Lord may strengthen me, until I depart from this world. And behold, I leave to thee the flock with which thou didst entrust me, and which thou didst hand over to me, and to those who were before me also, for thou art our teacher, O our lord; therefore be with us and with our children, according to the charge which the Lord Christ gave to thee».

Then Peter rose from beside the tomb, and lifted up his hands to heaven, and said : «O Son of God, Jesus Christ, Word of the Father, I pray and beseech thee to make to cease from us this persecution which is upon thy people, and to grant that the shedding of the blood of this thy |399 servant may put an end to the oppression of thy reasonable flock». Now there was in the neighbourhood of the tomb a dwelling-place, where lived a young virgin with her aged father, and she was at that moment standing to pray; and when her prayer was ended, she heard a voice from heaven saying : «Peter was the first of the apostles; and now Peter is the last of the martyrs». So when the holy father had finished his invocation, he kissed the apostle’s tomb, and the tombs of the fathers which were there also. Then he ascended to the soldiers, who saw his face as it were the face of an angel of God, and so they were afraid of him, and did not speak to him; for God does not abandon those who trust in him. Thereupon the saint raised his hands to heaven, and thanked the Lord, and made the sign of the cross on his face, and said «Amen». And he took off his pallium, and bared his neck, which was pure before the Lord, and said to them : «Do as you have been commanded». But the soldiers feared that trouble would befall them because of him. So they looked one at another, and not one of them dared to cut off his head, because of the dread which had fallen upon them. Then they took counsel together and said : «To him that cuts off his head each one of us will give five denarii». Now they were six persons; and one of them had some money; so he took out five and twenty denarii from among the coins and said : «He that will go up to him, and cut off his head, shall receive this money from me and from the four others». So one of the men |400 went forward, and summoned up his courage, and cut off the head of the holy martyr and patriarch Peter; that day being the 29th of Hatur. Now Peter had sat on the evangelical throne for eleven years. But as for that soldier who cast in his lot with Judas Iscariot, he took the money and fled, he and his companions, in fear of the people. And the body of the saint remained lying as it was far into the day, until the people who were sitting before the prison learnt what had taken place, and saw the hole in the wall. Then they went in haste to the place where he was, and found his body covered with his garment, and the old man and the young virgin sitting there and guarding it. So they joined the head to the body, and spread over it a linen cloth; and they collected his blood; and they stood there weeping.

And the city was in confusion, and was greatly disturbed, when the people beheld this martyr of the Lord Christ. Then the chief men of the city came, and wrapped his body in the leathern mat on which he used to sleep; and they took him to the church, and placed him there on the synthronus, until the celebration of the liturgy. And, when the liturgy had heen performed, they buried him with the fathers. May his prayers be with us and all those that are baptized! Amen. |401

ACHILLAS, THE EIGHTEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 311-312.

When the Father Peter went to his rest, and the people of Alexandria were thus deprived of his presence, they sent and assembled the bishops together. And they made Achillas, the priest, patriarch instead of Peter, as he had charged them before his death. Then, when Achillas had taken his seat upon the apostolic and evangelical throne, a body of the people came to him, and prayed him to receive Arius. Accordingly he admitted their request, and made Arius deacon. But since Achillas received Arius, and thus disobeyed the command of his father Peter, he only remained in the see six months. And he went to his rest on the 19th of Baunah.

CHAPTER VII

ALEXANDER I, THE NINETEENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 312-326.

When Achillas, the patriarch, went to his rest, the people assembled and laid their hands upon the Father Alexander, the priest, as the Father Peter, the last of the martyrs, had charged them; and he sat upon the |402 episcopal throne. And some of the people came to him, and prayed him to receive Arius. But when Alexander, the excellent, saw Arius, he rejected him, and would not receive him, and said to those who interceded with him for that man : «The Father Peter, while he was in prison, said to me and to my brother Achillas : The Lord Christ has anathematized Arius; therefore receive him not. And when Achillas, my brother, disobeyed the Father Peter’s injunction, he only remained upon the episcopal throne six months. Therefore I will not receive Arius at all, since he is separated from us». So Arius remained in banishment under sentence of excommunication for many years. After that he went to Constantinople, and laid a complaint before Constantius, son of the blessed prince Constantine, describing how he had been treated, and declaring that he had repented and renounced his false doctrine; and he swore to this. And thus he continued to hide his guile in his heart, until God revealed to him his power over him, and his bowels gushed forth from his body, and so he perished, as it shall be related hereafter. For it was on account of Arius that the holy council at Nicaea took place, at which he was anathematized, and the orthodox faith was established, and the days of the fast and the day of the feast of Easter were fixed. And our Father, the patriarch Alexander, was president of that council. And after that, he went to his rest, holding fast to the orthodox faith. His death took place on the 22nd of Barmudah; and the period of his occupation of the see was sixteen years. |403

CHAPTER VIII

ATHANASIUS I, THE APOSTOLIC, THE TWENTIETH PATRIARCH. A. D. 326-373.

So when the blessed Father Alexander went to his rest, the Church was widowed for a few days. Then the people assembled and took counsel, and appointed the Father Athanasius, and seated him on the evangelical throne. And he wrote excellent treatises and many homilies; and he was called during his patriarchate the Apostolic, on account of the nobility of his deeds, which were like those of the Apostles.

In his days took place the council of Galatia at which Basil the Great, author of the Liturgy, was present, and in which they excommunicated the Arians, in the reign of Julian the misbelieving prince; and Jovian, the patrician, presided over this council; and Julian, the prince, was slain by the hand of the glorious martyr Mercurius; and after him Jovian the patrician was enthroned as prince, and gave rest to the Church during his reign. And Athanasius, the patriarch, endured many trials, and was sent into exile; for evil snares were laid for him, so that he was forced to leave his see by the frequent persecutions that he underwent: and he fled to Upper Egypt, and remained there for many years, and feigned himself a |404 workman, and disguised himself as a hired labourer, and did not disclose that he was patriarch. And the misbelieving princes, Valens and Valentinian, reigned eleven years. So when it was the Lord’s will to restore Athanasius to his see again, through this patriarch’s holy and accepted prayers, he destroyed those princes by an evil death, on account of what they had done against orthodoxy. And the Lord set up a believing prince, named Theodosius; and the Church rejoiced in his days, and there was tranquillity and security and peace.

When Athanasius returned to his see there was joy and gladness in the land of Egypt at his reappearance, because the Lord had counted the people worthy of the return of their shepherd to them. And this good spiritual shepherd remained on the throne of Saint Mark the evangelist forty-seven years, until he went to his rest on the 8th of Bashans, governing the Church, and subduing those who rebelled against the truth, and resisted the orthodox religion, and wearing as a garment the honour of the Lord Christ. So the people mourned for this apostolic shepherd of whom they were deprived.

And as for his history, he quitted his diocese three times, on account of the persecutions which overtook him, when the heretics took possession of his see; and his absence the third time lasted eleven years. And he wrote |405 from his exile to certain virgins in the city of Alexandria, saying to them : «Verily your bridegroom is Christ, the invisible and immortal one, so that, as long as you remain obedient to his love, you will not be widows. Know that I used to act as scribe for my father Alexander; and he never read the gospel in his cell or elsewhere seated, but always standing, with the light in front of him; for God most high had made him love to read the scriptures. So while he was one night standing and praying and reading in the gospel, behold, some nuns came, and asked leave to see him. Then they came up to him, and prostrated themselves before him, and said to him : There are in our convent certain virgins who fast during six days of the week continuously; but they do no work with their hands, by which something might be earned to feed the poor. Now we desire of thee, our father, that thou shouldst bid them work, and direct that their fast be kept in moderation. So he said to them : Believe me my sisters, I have never fasted for two whole days together, without breaking my fast during the day; but I only ate in moderation, and neither wearied my soul nor punished my body. For it is good that fasting should be in moderation, and drinking in moderation, and sleep in moderation. For if a man eats as he ought, he is strong for prayer; and so likewise if he sleeps in moderation; but to food there should be a limit, and to drink a limit, and to sleep a limit. So tell them to break their fast in moderation, and to work, for everything is good in moderation, that words may not be multiplied, and the beginning of them may not be forgotten». |406

This is what Athanasius the Apostolic wrote and reported of his holy father, Alexander. He declared also that his words were like honey to those that heard them, for he was full of the grace of the Lord Christ; and that it was reported that Arius had come to this Father Alexander, and prayed that he might enter to him. But Alexander said : «Tell him thus : My father charged me that I should not receive thee, and that thou shouldst not enter to me, and that I should not associate with thee. For my father bore witness that the Lord Christ showed him in a dream his garment rent by thee, and commanded him not to receive thee. Or knowest thou not that it is thy tongue that has separated thee from him by what thou hast said concerning him ? Therefore pray to the Lord Christ, the Saviour, and confess thy sin to him; and if he receive thee, then he will command me to receive thee, as he commanded Peter, my father, not to receive thee. For Christ has commanded that we should forbid none of those that believe in him to enter the church. But if a man has committed an offence, and has sinned, then we forbid him, until he repents and is converted; and then if Christ receives him we receive him».

So when Arius heard this he was angry, and went away, and collected to himself a great body of followers, and composed blasphemous treatises, and denied his faith with his tongue that deserved to be cut out, saying that the Son of God was created. And the council at Nicaea was held on account of him; and there the heads of the four sees were assembled to judge him, |407 namely the patriarchs of Rome and Alexandria and Ephesus and Antioch; and Constantine, the believing prince, sat with them. And they finally settled the orthodox faith, and the time of the Fast and of Easter. And the prince said to the bishops in council : «I pray you to make the city of Constantinople a patriarchal see, because it is the city of the prince, and likewise Jerusalem because it is the city of the true, heavenly prince.» So when they saw his humility, they did this as he prayed them. And they cut off Arius the unbeliever; and Constantine, the believing prince, wrote the excommunication of Arius the unbeliever in his own handwriting, saying therein that he had caused those to perish whom Christ bought with his holy blood. Then Arius fled to Africa, and found no rest in the days of Constantine, the prince, and in the days of Alexander the patriarch.

Now Alexander had brought up Athanasius excellently well. For he was the son of a principal woman, a worshipper of idols, who was very rich; and he was an orphan on the father’s side. So when he grew up she wished to marry him to a wife, but he did not desire that. Then she intrigued against him, that he might fall with a woman who was a sinner, that she might involve him in the mire of matrimony; but he would not do it, for the Lord was keeping him for great things. And she used to take beautiful girls, and adorn them and perfume them, and make them enter to him into his chamber, and sleep near him and solicit him; but when he awoke he beat them, and drove them away. For her constant desire was to marry him and to establish him in his father’s possessions |408 and wealth, but he would never consent. And she sent for a man who was a magician of Alexandria, a wise man among the Sabaeans, and informed him of her circumstances with regard to her son; so he said to her : «Let me eat bread with him to-day.» Thereupon she rejoiced, and prepared a great feast. And the philosopher accompanied her son, and they ate and drank; but when the morning came, he went to her, and said to her : «Trouble not thyself, for thou canst have no power over thy son, for he has become a Galilaean according to the doctrines of the Galilaeans; and he will be a great man.» She said : «Who are the Galilaeans?» He answered :. «The people of the Church, who have ruined the temples and destroyed the images.» Therefore when she heard this, she said within herself : «If I neglect him, he will go away from me, and I shall be left alone.» So straightway she arose, and took him with her, and went with him to Alexander, and related to him the circumstances of Athanasius her son, and all his history. Then she was baptized, and her son also.

And after a time she died, and Athanasius remained like a son with the Father Alexander, who educated him quietly in every branch of learning. And Athanasius learnt the gospels by heart, and read the divine scriptures; and when he was fully grown, Alexander ordained him deacon, and made him his scribe, and he became as though he were the interpreter of the aforesaid father, and a minister of the word which, he wished to utter. |409

So when Constantine, the believing prince, died in a good old age, Constantius his son was enthroned after him, but did not remain firm in the orthodox faith, only fearing and respecting the people. Then Arms found his opportunity, and aimed at taking hold of the prince, and drew him to his own mind, and corrupted his heart, and induced him to incline the empire to his doctrine, and led him astray, till he sent and summoned Alexander from Alexandria to Constantinople. For the prince did not know the power of Alexander, nor the cause for which he had anathematized Arius and removed him from the Church. Now Alexander had grown old and advanced in years, although he was strong in sense and sound in faculties; and Athanasius was his interpreter and scribe and mouthpiece, through the power of the Holy Ghost, on account of his knowledge of the orthodox faith. So the Father Alexander took his seat in the presence of the prince, who then summoned Arius; and Arius uttered his impure discourse, and multiplied his vile phrases. But Athanasius confuted him by the arguments which he delivered, and brought his discourse to naught. Thereupon Arius was troubled, and broke up the assembly, saying : «We will have another sitting.» And since Arius knew that he had no power against Athanasius, he gave money to the attendants at the royal doors, and settled with them that they should prevent Athanasius from entering with the others into the next assembly. So when the morrow came the prince commanded to bring them in; but when Alexander entered, the doorkeepers prevented Athanasius |410 the Apostolic from entering. When the prince had taken his seat, the patriarch being present also, Arius spoke and delivered a long discourse. So the Father Alexander turned to the right and left, but could not see Athanasius, his scribe; and therefore he was silent. Then the prince said to him : «Why dost thou not speak?»Alexander replied : «How shall I speak without a tongue?» So the prince knew that he meant Athanasius, and commanded to bring him in. But when Arius saw that Athanasius had entered, he went out hastily, and would not remain. Then Alexander said to the prince : «Know, O prince, that the cutting off of this Arius took place at the council; and it was not I alone that cut him off, but thy blessed father, the prince, and all the members of the council cut him off, and the prince wrote his anathema in his own handwriting. Therefore if thou wilt look at the letter of thy father, thou w^rilt find that it is in his handwriting. Shall I then say of him that was excommunicated by the prince Constantme and the members of the council that I will absolve him? Nay, that would be an act of heresy on my part. For thy father in truth wrote his anathema and his excommunication in his own handwriting, at the council which took place at Nicaea.» So when the prince heard this speech, he was afraid of his brother, that if he should break the command of his father, his brother would find in that a pretext for plotting against him; and therefore he dismissed the Father Alexander, and restored him to his see. Thus Arius justly remained anathematized, and bound by the censures of the |411 Church, for he had supposed that he would succeed in obtaining his desires by his power over the prince, and by giving money to the attendants.

And the Father Alexander went to his rest with his fathers, after he had charged the priests and the people, at the time of his death, that they should seat Athanasius after him upon the throne. So they rejoiced at that, on account of their love for Athanasius. When he sat upon the apostolic throne, he drove the sect of Arius out of the Church, and brought forth the letter of excommunication which was in the handwriting of Constantine, the prince, and the members of the holy council, and read it in the church before the congregation. But when Arius heard of this, he was exceedingly angry, and his pride blazed up like fire, and he went to the prince, and said to him : «If Alexander, patriarch of Constantinople, will receive me by thy command, I shall attain my object.» So the prince summoned the patriarchy and said to him : «Behold, the patriarch of Alexandria has refused to receive Arius, and has disobeyed our command. But thou knowest that we have raised thee, and seated thee as patriarch upon the throne of Constantinople; and therefore it behoves thee not to resist us, as others do., since thou art good, but to take Arius to thyself, and receive him.» The patriarch answered : «Nay, the Church will not receive him, and it is not right that we should receive any except those who agree with her faith. For this man has declared that one of the Trinity is a creature, and has been rightly removed from the Church.» The prince rejoined : «That he does not do, |412 but on the contrary he acknowledges the Trinity.» The patriarch said to him : «Then let him write for me a confession of his faith in his own handwriting, so that I may know what he believes.» So the prince sent for Arius; for this was a thing from God most high; and he wrote a confession of the faith in his own hand, concealing his heresy in his own soul. Then the patriarch asked him to swear that no doubt of the truth remained in his heart; and so he swore to him. Then the prince said to the patriarch : «What remaining objection hast thou against Arius after that?» So the Father Alexander, patriarch of Constantinople, said to the king : «Verily the Father Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, has read afresh at Alexandria the anathema pronounced against Arius, written in the handwriting of the prince Constantine, thy blessed father, and in the handwriting of the fathers of the council of Nicaea, and has banished his sect from his church. But if no misfortune happen to this Arius from to-day till Sunday, then I will receive him, and will invite him to association with the priests. »

Then Arius went away, and waited for Sunday. So when Sunday came he entered the church, having put on splendid garments, and perfumed and scented himself, and sat by the door of the sanctuary, among the ranks of the priests. But the patriarch and his friends had remained all through the week fasting, and standing before the Lord Jesus, and beseeching him not to reckon to them the sin of Arius; for the prince had sworn to Alexander, saying : «If thou wilt not receive Arius on Sunday after his oath, I will exact from the church a large sum of money». So when the clergy and the |413 people were assembled on that day in the church, while Arius was present, the father and patriarch performed the liturgy, though he was sad. But when the reader read, the bowels of Arius were moved; and he went out to a corner at a distance, that he might relieve himself, and all his bowels gushed out from his body. And as he remained absent from the congregation, they asked after him, but could not find him. So they searched for him, and discovered him sitting rigid, empty, and shrivelled, with all his internal organs lying before him. Then they brought word of this to the father and patriarch, and he marvelled thereat, and was silent, and thanked the Lord Jesus Christ, and glorified him who had passed judgment upon Arius, and destroyed him swiftly, on account of his false oath and his corrupt faith. Then he showed to the prince and the congregation all the truth of what the Father Peter, the martyr, patriarch of Alexandria had said.

So Alexander, patriarch of Constantinople, finished the liturgy on that day with joy and glory and praise, and sent to Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, saying : «We glorify God and make known to thee, brother, that Arius has died a wonderful death, and his doctrine has been cut off, and his sect scattered.» But the prince was not satisfied with that, on account of the friends of Arius, namely Syrianus and George and their followers. These are they who made the assault upon the church of Alexandria. |414

For the prince gave to George five hundred horsemen of his army, and sent them with him, that they might make him patriarch of Alexandria. And he wrote to every city letters, in which he repeated the doctrine of Arius, that the Son of God was created; but not one in the land of Egypt would accept it, and the people continued to receive the communion from priests whom Athanasius had ordained. So this George entered into the church of Alexandria by guile; and many of the Christian people who followed the doctrine of Athanasius were killed by the soldiers who came with George, until the blood in the church rose up to their knees; and they plundered the vessels of the church, and violated the virgins who were in it.

Meanwhile Athanasius lay hid; and the people continued for a long time to communicate in caves and deserts and in the fields in all the provinces of Egypt as far as the Thebaid; for the Arians, who were friends of the prince, were spread over every place. And Serapion, bishop of Thmuis, wrote to the patriarch Athanasius and all the people, that they should keep themselves from the Arians. And after six years Athanasius showed himself, and went to the prince, thinking that he would kill him, and that he would receive the crown of martyrdom. So the prince commanded that he should be placed in a small boat, and that neither bread nor water should be given him, and that there should be no sailor with him nor anyone to guide the vessel, but that he should embark in it alone, and be sent out to sea; so |415 this was done to him. And the waves carried him, while God guarded and guided him, until he arrived at Alexandria unexpectedly on the third day. Thereupon the priests and people went out to him, and met him with joy and chanting, and so accompanied him until he entered the church, and expelled from it George, and those who believed in his corrupt faith. And Athanasius kept on that day a festival to the Lord; and the people rejoiced in all the provinces of Egypt.

And after seven years a man came whose name was Gregory, with whom were two thousand men who were soldiers ; and he pillaged the church, and remained in possession of the see four years. And Athanasius was arrested; and the prince delivered him to a man named Philagrius, an unbeliever and idolater, for he wished to kill him, and to kill Liberius, patriarch of Rome, and Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, because those three were the fathers of the orthodox faith; but the Lord rescued them from his hand, and saved them. So Athanasius went away with Liberius to Rome, and did not cease to remain with him until Constantius died, and his son Constans reigned after him; and he was orthodox. And as soon as Gonstans took his seat upon the throne he commanded to restore Athanasius to his see.

At that time Cyril was patriarch of Jerusalem; and a great miracle was manifested by his hand, for a pillar of light appeared by the tomb of the Lord Christ our Saviour; and a multitude of the Romans witnessed it, for all |416 those that were in the city and its neighbourhood came and beheld it. And it remained from the third hour to the ninth; and the people hastened to see it from every place. And Cyril wrote to Constantius the prince, and informed him of this wonder. Now Constans the prince loved Athanasius; and when he returned to his see, he remained twenty-five years in tranquillity and peace, although before that time he had passed twenty-two years in the see, in exile and conflict and persecution.

And Constans died, and Julian, the misbelieving gentile and idolater, reigned after him, being the son of the sister of Constantine, the great prince, and began immediately to open the heathen temples. Julian lived at Antioch, because he was unworthy to dwell in the residence of the great Constantine; and when he went to the place of the idols, he took a hawk, which he gave to the priest of the idols, who offered it to Satan, and Julian took its heart and ate it. And he had a sister’s son named also Julian, an unbeliever like his uncle, who took the faithful priest Theodoret, and killed him, and then came to his uncle and informed him that he had put him to death. But Julian was angry with him, and said to him : «I did not desire that thou shouldst kill him; for the Christians take a pride in being slain, and say that they have become martyrs; but I am determined, if I return from fighting the Persians, that from everyone of the Christians shall be taken three ounces as a tax» ; meaning thereby that he would oppress the Christians, |417 so that they might worship his idols, because they would not be able to pay the tax. Now the Church was in those days rich, and had four pillars to sustain her, namely Athanasius the patriarch, and Anthony and Pachomius, the two monks, in Egypt, and Basil, the bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia; and Liberius was patriarch of Rome. And the aforesaid Basil was a friend of Julian, the prince, and was brought up together with him in the school; so when he heard his evil doctrine, he took with him two bishops, and went to visit him. So Julian looked at their garments and their beards, and then said to them : «What do you seek?» They replied : «We seek a good ruler to rule over us.» Julian said to Basil : «Where didst thou leave the son of the carpenter when thou earnest hither?» Basil answered : «I left him making thy coffin to put thee in.» The prince said to him : «If thou wert not my friend, and if I had not an affection for thee, I would cut off thy head forthwith.» Basil said to him : «Didst thou not love knowledge, and long after it? How then hast thou abandoned philosophy?» The prince replied : «I have studied it and learnt it by heart, and I have found it vile.» Basil said to him : «Thou hast not studied it well, nor learnt it by heart; for if thou hadst understood it, thou wouldst not have thought it base.» The prince answered : «I must imprison you until I return from fighting the |418 Persians, so that you may see what will happen.» Basil rejoined : «If thou go and return, God has not spoken in me.» Julian, the prince, said : «What have I to do with that lying Galilaean, who said, I will destroy the temple which the Jews built? For I will rebuild it as kings build; and it shall be evident to all men that his words, It shall not be built, are false.» Then he cast Basil and the two who were with him into prison.

So Julian marched into the land of the Persians; and when he passed by Jerusalem, he saw the temple in ruins, without a wall standing, for Vespasian, the prince, had demolished it when he destroyed the Jews, and took them captive. But Julian commanded that the ground should be cleared, and the temple constructed anew, and proceeded on his march after leaving behind him one to superintend the building. Then he who directed the work of rebuilding the place began by pulling down the remains of the temple, so that there was not left therein one stone upon another, as the holy Gospel says; and afterwards he began to reconstruct it as a heathen temple. And the builders used to work during the whole day until night-fall, and then they departed to their homes; but when they came on the morrow, they used to find all that they had built destroyed, though not by human hands; nay, they even found the walls torn up from their foundations, and cast down on the ground. So they went on for two months, without being able to rebuild anything. Then the Jews said to them : «Burn down these tombs, in which the Christians lie, and then the building which you erect will be strong.» This advice they followed, and set fire to the tombs, beginning with two |419 tombs, in which were the body of Eliseus, the prophet, and the body of John the Baptist; but the fire had no power over them at all, therefore they wondered greatly. And although the fire continued to be lighted for many days, yet it would not touch them. Then some of the faithful went to the governor, and offered him money, if he would empower them to take away the two bodies which were in the two tombs; and he accepted the money and gave them permission to do so. Then they carried away the two holy bodies, and sent them to the Father Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria; and when they were brought to him, he rejoiced over them, as if he saw them alive before him; and he took them, and concealed them in a certain place, until he should find means of building a church over them.

And while Athanasius was sitting one day, and many of the faithful were with him to hear his discourses which gave life to their souls, behold, he raised his eyes and observed certain mounds opposite to the place in which he was. So he said : «If I find an opportunity, I shall build upon these mounds a church to John the Baptist and Eliseus the prophet.» And Theophilus, the scribe of Athanasius, was sitting with him at the table, with others of the faithful, and heard him say these words, which therefore remained in his memory.

But as for Julian, the unbelieving prince, he marched on into Persia; and God delivered him into the hand of his enemies, on account of the saints |420 whom he had imprisoned and threatened before his march. His death was thus. He saw in the night an army which came down upon him from the air, and one of the soldiers struck him with a lance on the head so that it pierced him through the body. Then, knowing that it was one of the martyrs, he filled his hand with his blood, and threw it upwards, saying : «Take that, Jesus, for thou hast conquered the whole world.» And after blaspheming thus, he fell dead. Thus God delivered his people; and the Romans returned to their own country. And Basil, the holy man, three days before the death of Julian, being in prison, had awaked from his sleep, and said to the two who were with him : «I have seen to-night the martyr, Saint Mercurius, entering into his church, and taking his lance, saying : In truth, I will not suffer this unbeliever to blaspheme my God. And when he had said this, he disappeared from me, and I did not see him again.» Then both his companions said to him : «Verily I also saw the same thing.» So they said one to another : «We believe this firmly, that it is so.» And they sent to the church of the martyr, Saint Mercurius, that they might look for his lance which was kept there, to see whether it was still there or not; and as they could not find the lance, they were assured of the truth of the dream. And after three days the letters with the news of Julian’s death arrived at Antioch.

Then the chiefs of the empire assembled, and seated on the throne of the empire a man named Jovian, who was a believer and a holy man, fearing God from his youth. Accordingly at the moment of his election he released |421 the fathers from prison; and thus the saying of that pillar of the truth, Basil, to Julian, the unbeliever, was fulfilled, when he foretold that he would not return; as the prophet Michaeas predicted to Achab, the unbelieving king of the children of Israel; for God, the worker of miracles, was the God of both those men, namely of that prophet and of this holy father, and he accepted their words.

And Jovian, the prince, brought out the three fathers, and honoured them, and gave them many gifts, and sent them to their sees. And he used assiduously to attend the prayers in the churches. And he wrote to Athanasius, patriarch of Alexandria, a letter, in which he said : «O true father and trusty shepherd, Athanasius, martyr of Christ who is God, my empire hopes much of you; therefore be of good courage, and take the priestly staff and drive out with it the ravening wolves from among the reasonable flock, namely those whose mouths are full of cursing and the bitterness of the poison of asps, for they are the slayers of souls.» This letter was read in the church at Alexandria, and Athanasius the patriarch sent it to the provinces of Egypt, where it was read in their churches, to comfort and strengthen the faithful. So the followers of Arius were driven away because they were hated; and they were filled with sadness; and after this some of them went to Jovian, the prince, and appealed against the Father Athanasius, but he would not attend to them because he knew their wickedness.

Then Athanasius grew old and advanced in age, after he had written |422 many homilies and treatises; and he wrote concerning Melchisedech, and concerning the Father Anthony, whose biography he related; and he wrote forty-seven Festal Epistles. He wrote also concerning the holy cross, how the Lord Christ was unknown to the devil thereby, so that he believed that he was a mere man; and when he came to him, the Lord pierced his nostrils with his finger, which is next to the little finger, and his thumb, putting them behind him : which means that he rent, shattered, and destroyed Satan’s power; showing us that he had overcome the devil’s strength by weakness, for the finger which is next to the little finger is one that a man never uses, and is the weakest of the fingers; for he did not kill him speedily, but weakened his power, as the Scripture says, in the 67th Psalm ⁴ : «Let God arise, and let his enemies be destroyed.» Athanasius also wrote many works on doctrine, and things that cannot be numbered. And he used to write to Basil; and Basil used to answer his letters, and used to address him as My Father. And he wrote also an epistle to Arsenius, to console him for Theodore his brother, when he went to his rest; and he said in it : «Would that all of us had obtained the place of Theodore thy brother, and would that our ship had anchored in his harbour!» And he wrote a treatise in which he proves that evil comes from the devil, (may God shame him!) and that there is no evil at all with God.

It is said that this Father Athanasius, the patriarch, was borne by an angel of the Lord on one of his journeys, when he was fleeing from the unbelieving princes, until he brought him to the place to which he desired to go, |423 as the angel carried Habacuc the prophet from Jerusalem to Babylon, and as Ezechiel the prophet was carried from Babylon to Jerusalem; for that is not difficult for God most high to do. And there was in Alexandria an idol named Serapis; and when Athanasius was consumed by fever, and his death drew near, he said : «If I find mercy with my Lord Christ, I will prostrate myself before him, and will not raise my face until the gate of this idol be shut.» Accordingly the priests of Alexandria bore witness that after seven days from the day of his death, the prince sent and blocked up the door of the temple in which the idol was.

CHAPTER IX

PETER II, THE TWENTY-FIRST PATRIARCH. A. D. 373-380.

When the patriarch Athanasius, the Apostolic, went to his rest, the bishops and clergy with the orthodox people assembled, and laid their hands upon a priest, named Peter, and appointed him patriarch. And many troubles |424 befell him through a misbelieving man named Lucius, the deaf-eared liar, who was appointed by the scribe Palladius, without authority from the prince. But after some time the matter reached the ears of the prince, and he despatched an officer who seized Lucius the unbeliever and Palladius the scribe, and sent them both into banishment; and they remained in exile until they died. And the Father Peter remained patriarch for eight years, and went to his rest on the 20th of Amshir.

CHAPTER X

TIMOTHY I, THE TWENTY-SECOND PATRIARCH. A. D. 380-385.

And the people assembled, with the bishops, after the death of the Father Peter, and laid their hands upon a priest named Timothy, and made him patriarch. In his days took place the council of Constantinople, at which the number of the bishops who took part in it was one hundred and fifty; and they excommunicated Macedonius, the misbeliever, patriarch of Constantinople, where the council was held, and another, Eunomius, because those two had blasphemed against the Holy Ghost, and said, in their misbelief, |425 that he was created. This was in the time of Theodosius, the faithful prince. And Timothy remained all his days in tranquillity and peace. The period of his occupation of the throne of Alexandria was nine years and a half; and he died on the 7th of Abib, maintaining the orthodox faith.

CHAPTER XI

THEOPHILUS, THE TWENTY-THIRD PATRIARCH. A. D. 385-412.

When the Father Timothy died, the bishops and people assembled, and appointed Theophilus patriarch. He had been secretary to the patriarch Athanasius, and was righteous in his conduct before God and men. When he took his seat upon the patriarchal throne, news was brought to him that the idolaters had gone to Jerusalem, to open the house of their idols. So he sent some monks thither to drive them away; but the monks were unable to overcome the idolaters. Then Theophilus sent to the monastery of Pachomius in Upper Egypt, and fetched the religious thence, and despatched them to Jerusalem. And when they reached that city, they offered up prayers, |426 and the devils fled from the heathen temple; and that temple was made a habitation for the monks of Jerusalem. When the monks of Upper Egypt returned homewards, the patriarch Theophilus forced them to remain and eat with him by themselves, and entertained them from Sunday to the following Sunday; and he gave them a garden which had belonged to the patriarch Athanasius.

Then the Father Theophilus, the patriarch, remembered the words of Athanasius, which he uttered when he was eating with Theophilus, while he was his scribe. Athanasius said that it was his desire to clear away the mounds of rubbish which he saw, and to build on their site a church to the names of the Baptist and the prophet Eliseus. And at that time, a woman, who had two sons, cleared away the mounds, as his letter testifies, and a stone slab was discovered, upon which three thetas were inscribed; and her history is related in that letter, besides a story of Theophilus and the Angel Raphael, which is not written in this biography. And when Theophilus removed the slab, he found beneath it the money which he required; so he built the churches with it. He built in a certain spot beside the garden a church to which he translated the body of Saint John the Baptist, and the body of the prophet Eliseus; and many miracles were performed by them both on that day, and a number of people who had been sick were healed.

Theophilus wrote, in the course of his life, many homilies and treatises. |427 Now the emperor Valentinian had died after reigning twelve years; and Valentinian and Gratian, his two sons, reigned after him; and they were believers, and loved God, whose name is glorious. When Theophilus administered the sacrament of baptism, he used to behold a beam of light in the form of a cross over the font before him. But in a certain year, when he stood and blessed the font, during the week of baptism, the cross of light did not appear to him; and he was sad. And it was revealed to him that the reason was that he had not sent for the deacon Arsenius to pray with him, and that if he did not do so the light would not appear to him. So Theophilus dismissed the congregation that day, and sent to seek Arsenius, and found him in the neighbourhood of Ushmûn, and brought him to the church in haste. And the patriarch rejoiced greatly over the arrival of Arsenius, and was consoled; and the cross appeared once more over the font. Theophilus, when he saw the humility of this deacon, and his virtue, desired to ordain him priest; but Arsenius would not consent, and begged the patriarch to spare him that promotion, and to bless him, and let him return to his native country. So the patriarch granted the request of Arsenius.

Now Theophilus had a nephew, his sister’s son, named Cyril, whom he had instructed and brought up to the best of his power. And after some time the patriarch sent him to the Mount of Nitria, to the desert of Saint Macarius. And Cyril dwelt there five years in the monasteries, reading the books of the Old and New Testaments; for Theophilus urged him to apply himself assiduously to his studies, saying to him : «By these studies thou |428 wilt some day arrive in Jerusalem on high, which is the dwelling-place of the saints». For Cyril was the attendant of Theophilus in the patriarchal cell, and was ordained reader. The patriarch, when he sent Cyril to the desert, entrusted him to Serapion the Wise, and charged him to teach Cyril the doctrines of the Church, which are the true doctrines of God; so Cyril learnt all the Scriptures by heart. He used to stand before his teacher studying, with a sword of iron in his hand; and if he felt an inclination to sleep, he pricked him with the sword, and so he woke up again; and during most of his nights he would read through in a single night the Four Gospels, and the Catholic Epistles, and the Acts, and the first Epistle of the Blessed Paul, namely, that addressed to the Romans; and on the morrow after this, Cyril’s teacher would know, by looking at his face, that he had studied all night. And the grace of God was with Cyril, so that when he had read a book once, he knew it by heart; and in these years in the desert he learnt by heart all the canonical books. After this, the patriarch Theophilus sent to him and brought him back to Alexandria, and there Cyril dwelt with the patriarch in his cell, and read aloud in his presence; and the priests and learned men and philosophers were astonished at him, and rejoiced over him on account of the beauty of his form, and the sweetness of his voice which never changed, as it is written ⁵ : «I opened my mouth and drew in my breath». And all the people, when they heard him read, desired that he might never cease |429 reading, because he read so sweetly, and was so beautiful in countenance. And his uncle Theophilus loved him greatly, and thanked God that he had granted him a spiritual son who had grown in grace and wisdom. Cyril’s conduct was excellent, and his humility great; and he never ceased to study theology, nor to meditate upon the words of the doctors of the orthodox Church, Athanasius and Dionysius and Clement, patriarch of Rome, and Eusebius, and Basil, bishop of Armenia, and Basil, bishop of Cappadocia. These are the orthodox fathers whose works he studied. And he would not follow the doctrine of Origen, nor even take his books into his hand for a single day; but when he heard that one of the faithful had read Origen, he condemned and excommunicated him who had so read. When Cyril read in the Gospel the words ⁶: «Ask and ye shall receive; seek and ye shall find», he understood these words, and prayed to God for knowledge, and God gave it him. For he was like the bee, which goes forth to feed upon every plant and tree, and collects what is profitable for itself, until it has filled its bag with pure untainted honey.

Now the history of the Father Theophilus is very copious; for it contains the account of his dealings at Alexandria with Theodosius, the great prince; and the miracles which the Angel Raphael performed for him; and the affair of the widow and her two sons, whom he made bishops; and the three thetas |430 which were found written on the slab of stone which concealed the treasures that were discovered at Alexandria; and the wonders manifested by the Angel Raphael in the church which Theophilus built upon the island; and then the authority given to him by the prince over the property of the heathen temples, from Aswan to the confines of Syria, and in the provinces that lie between them.

CHAPTER XII

CYRIL I, THE TWENTY-FOURTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 412-444.

When the patriarch Theophilus died, the Father Cyril took his seat upon the apostolic throne; and the bishops raised the Four Gospels over his head, and prayed over him, saying : «O God, strengthen this man whom thou hast chosen for us.» The first thing that Cyril did was to appoint priests to take charge of the churches throughout his diocese, so that they might not be drawn away from the spiritual food by which they were able to do that which pleases God; and he began his patriarchate full of the wisdom which gives life. And the prince, Theodosius the Younger, who loved God, followed the injunctions |431 of his fathers, and assembled the monks around him, and performed his devotions in their company; but he had no son, and his sister administered the empire. Now the patriarch Cyril never wearied of composing discourses and homilies by the power of the Holy Ghost, who spoke through him; so that most of the principal inhabitants of Alexandria appointed copyists to transcribe for them what the father composed. Then certain philosophers said to him : «Behold, here are discourses written by the prince Julian, in which he casts contempt upon Moses and all the prophets, and alleges that Christ was a mere man; and we used to read his books because it was the prince who wrote them. Julian says : The words of the Galilean will I make lies; for Christ said ⁷ : There shall not remain one stone upon another in the temple of Jerusalem that shall not be thrown down. But I will rebuild the temple, and falsify his words. Accordingly Julian destroyed what remained of the temple, that he might rebuild it; but after all he died without restoring any part of it. Thus the words of the Saviour were proved to be true, and we have learnt how great is his power and majesty because none of his words have been falsified.» Now when Cyril heard these things, he was much troubled, until he had found a copy of Julian’s works, and had read them; and he found them worse even than the works of Origen and Porphyry. |432 So when Cyril found that he was unable to collect all the copies of Julian’s works which were scattered here and there in the possession of different persons, he wrote to the prince Theodosius to inform him of this matter, saying : «If it is thy pleasure that Julian’s works be destroyed and his misbelief rooted out, order these books which he composed, and by means of which he led men astray, to be collected, and cause them to be burnt.» And the prince approved of Cyril’s letter, and glorified God, and acted in accordance with Cyril’s suggestions, and wrote a reply, in which he requested him to bless his empire. So the Father Cyril rejoiced, and composed homilies and discourses, in which he refuted the writings of the prince Julian, and condemned his actions, pointing out how the angel destroyed him in war like Saul; and much besides.

After this the news concerning Nestorius reached the ears of Cyril, and he was informed of the corrupt doctrine of that heretic. And Cyril was sad when he heard this, and said : «No sooner has the misbelief of Julian passed away, than the blasphemies of Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople, have appeared.» So Cyril, when he had ascertained how false the opinions of Nestorius were, wrote to him as follows :

«Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria, addresses Nestorius, patriarch of Constantinople, with the salutation of the brethren in the true God, who has given us the grace which is one, setting all the world in agreement and |433 in one belief, by the shedding of his blood, which grace is the faith in the Son of God, Jesus Christ».

The rest of the epistle is well known, and therefore has not been transcribed in this history. And Nestorius returned an answer which was full of blasphemies. So Abba Cyril wrote to the bishops, to inform them of the case of Nestorius; and they met the patriarch in synod, and said to him : «We have heard the reports concerning Nestorius, and there is a special difficulty in regard to his circumstances. For Arius and his followers, and Paul and Manes and the rest of the heretics were not patriarchs, and yet they led a multitude of men astray. How then can this man remain patriarch of Constantinople?»

Then the Father Cyril wrote to Nestorius a second letter in which he said many things, including the following words : «Verily I do not fully believe what is told me of thee». And he added exhortations and warnings, and taught Nestorius what is the right faith, and begged him to return from his heretical doctrine, and told him that he was not strong enough to oppose God who mounted the Cross for our sakes. The following is a transcription of Cyril’s letter:

«To my brother and fellow-minister. I did not believe at first what was reported of thee, nor that the contents of the letters, which came to me, and which were said to be written by thee, in reality proceeded from thee. For the lying doctrines which they contained were attributed to the saints; for they were letters full of blasphemy. And now I charge thee to cast away this blasphemy and these disputes; for thou hast no power to fight against |434 God, who was crucified for us in truth, and died in the body, although he was living in the power of his Godhead. For it is he that is sitting on the right hand of the Father, while the angels and principalities and powers worship him; and he is the eternal King, into whose hands the Father has given all things. And he is the Creator of all; so that thou hast no power to oppose him. I told thee what befell the Jews who withstood him, so that thou art not ignorant of it, and what befell the heretics, Simon Magus and the prince Julian and Arius. Behold what Job the truthful says ⁸: Look upon my wounds, and fear, and glorify God. I tell thee that the Church will not endure that thou insult her God; and she it is against whom the gates of hell shall not prevail; for thou knowest what trials she has undergone, and yet that no man has ever had power over her, because she is as a rock in her faith. Beware therefore what thou doest at this time. Farewell.»

When this second letter reached Nestorius, he wrote another answer like his first, full of blasphemies, and, when the Father Cyril received it, he again addressed an epistle to Nestorius, saying :

«If thou wert not a bishop, none would know of thee save thy neighbours and kinsmen; but since thou sittest upon the episcopal throne of the Son of God all know thee, through the fame of the Church. Thou hast attacked the Lord with words of blasphemy, which thou canst not confirm or prove. |435 For if thou searchest the Old Testament, thou canst not find therein that Christ is called a mere man, as thou pretendest; and in saying thus thou showest only that thou dost resist God thy Creator, who bought thee with his blood, namely God the Son, Son of God the Father. So he is called both in the Old and New Testaments. So he is called in the Gospel of John, which speaks of him as the Only-begotten Son, who is in the bosom of his Father ⁹. Matthew the evangelist also says ¹⁰ that Christ is Emmanuel, the interpretation of which is God with us, as Isaias says ¹¹ in his prophecy. Mark testifies ¹²in his Gospel that when the high priest asked of Jesus : Art thou the Son of God? he answered : Yea, I am he; and hereafter you shall see the Son of God sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds to judge the living and the dead. Is not this testimony that of which Paul says ¹³ that it was the good confession which Jesus made before Pontius Pilate? This is the confession in which the Church perseveres, and for it myriads of martyrs have died, whose numbers cannot be counted. Hast thou not heard Gabriel saying ¹⁴ to our Lady Mary that he whom she should bear was of the Holy Ghost, and should be called the Son of God, who is over all, and glorified for ever and ever? Who is it that bears the sins of the world? Is it not Jesus Christ, the son of Mary, whom she bore for us, God the Word incarnate? If thou believest that he was a prophet like |436 Moses, yet neither Moses nor any of the prophets was able to bear the sins of the world; but it is the Prince of goodness, even Christ, who bears the sins of the world by his being raised upon the cross for our sakes. Hast thou not heard Paul, the apostle, saying ¹⁵ : He is not man, but he is God who became man? Again Paul says ¹⁶ that it was no angel or intercessor that saved us, but Jesus Christ; and God the Father raised him from the dead. Seest thou now how he confesses that he is God, and how he acknowledges the sufferings that he endured in his holy body? For if he be not God, how could Paul acknowledge that our salvation came not by a man nor from a man, nor by an angel or intercessor, but by God, even Jesus Christ, whose death he also acknowledges, when he says that the Father raised him from the dead? Thou seest now this wisdom, full of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. I have sent thee these letters, my brother, that thou mayest preserve them in the church. Thou art not without knowledge, so read the scriptures and learn from them these things and more besides. I have sent the brethren to thee, and have asked them to remain with thee, that thou mayest enquire diligently during a month, and search through the scriptures, and write to us of what befalls thee. Farewell.»

When Nestorius had perused this epistle, he would not receive the brethren who had brought it to him, nor would he accept the advice contained |437 in the letter or write an answer to it. So the messengers remained a whole month at Constantinople, as Abba Cyril, the patriarch, commanded them, and paid frequent visits to Nestorius; but he would not allow them to enter, and hardened his heart, as Pharao did.

Now Nestorius had been a friend of the prince Theodosius since the time when they were together in the school; and the prince used to say to Nestorius : «I have never heard any of the doctors of the Church teach according to thy doctrine.» But Nestorius would not listen to him. —- So the messengers sent to Nestorius by Cyril returned to him, and told him what had happened. Then Cyril availed himself of the weapons of his fathers, Alexander and Athanasius, and put on the breastplate of faith which his predecessors had handed down in the Church of Saint Mark the Evangelist; and he went out to war, as David did, with his heart strong in Christ who is God. And he wrote to the other bishops, and they sent a letter to the prince, begging him to allow them to hold a council to enquire into the teaching of Nestorius, and reminding him that his fathers, who had reigned before him, had at all times been supporters of the Church. «They constantly assisted the bishops to confirm the orthodox faith, that they might bless their empire. But now this Nestorius has divided the Church, and is not far from the error of idolatry, since he blasphemously teaches that Christ is a mere man, and no more than a prophet. Many prophets have come into the world, but none of them has ever been worshipped; so that if Nestorius |438 worships a man, he is become an idolater. When Peter said ¹⁷ to our Lord Christ : Master, it is good for us to be here, and let us make three tabernacles, one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias, he said it because Christ was the Creator of those two and their God, and had manifested his glory to his disciples by bringing those two, the one from heaven and the other from the earth. Therefore we beg of thy imperial power that we may hold a council to enquire into this man’s doctrines. And we will pray for thee and for thy empire that thou mayest obtain salvation, O thou that lovest God!» When the prince had read this letter, he was moved by the power of the Lord, and, acting together with the patriarch, he summoned a council of the bishops to meet in the city of Ephesus. Accordingly, two hundred bishops assembled there from all the cities, each bishop taking with him two priests and a deacon from his diocese. They sent to Nestorius, demanding his presence; and they waited for him many days, but he did not appear; so they wrote to the emperor, informing him that Nestorius had not appeared but that they were waiting for him. And Nestorius requested the prince to send an official with him to protect him, saying : «The bishops are many, and I fear that they will kill me.» So the prince sent with Nestorius a patrician named Candidian, whose opinions agreed with those of Nestorius. When Candidian came to the council, he seized Cyril by night and imprisoned him in a place in which wheat was kept, together with his friends. And Cyril said to his friends : «What is this beneath |439 our feet?» They answered : «It is wheat.» «And he said : «Thanks be to God who has given us the victory; for they have put us into the house of life.»

Now Candidian had done this in order to support Nestorius, and to intimidate Cyril and the bishops with him, who had come together on account of him, that they might be scattered. But Candidian’s object was not attained, for the bishops had not met together without having devoted themselves to death, if it should be necessary, for the faith. So when Candidian was convinced of this, he released Cyril and his friends ; and as he was afraid lest the affair should reach the ears of the prince, who would cause him to be executed on account of it, he began to guard the roads, and prevented the reporters of news from writing to the prince any account of what had passed. Then the fathers continued for some time, in company with the bishop of Ephesus, assembling together and praying, while Nestorius remained separated from them, and would not join them. So they sent to him three bishops, requesting him to be present with them for prayer; but the soldiers under the orders of Candidian. would not allow these bishops to enter the house where Nestorius was. And as he thus held aloof from them, and the transactions lasted so long that the bishops were troubled at being so far from their dioceses, they were forced to expel that enemy of God from God’s Church. Accordingly they brought the four gospels, and also brought the blasphemous writings of Nestorius; and a learned deacon, namely Peter, who was the scribe of Cyril, and knew the blasphemous passages in the compositions of Nestorius, read them out briefly before the holy council; and when they heard them, his misbelief was proved |440 to them. So the bishops anathematized Nestorius and excommunicated him, and subscribed their signatures to the letter of excommunication, which was sent to him; yet he would not receive it, nor give up his misbelief. Then the bishops desired to send a copy of their letter to the prince, but were not able to do so because of those whom Candidian, the patrician, had set to guard the road. So they consulted together; and at last one of them took the letter, and put it inside a stout cane, and disguised himself, and started off and travelled to Constantinople. There he gave the letter to Dalmatius and Eutyches, the two monks. And they presented it to the prince; and the prince handed it to an eunuch, who received it from him, and gave it to the scribe that he might read it before the prince. And when he read it, the contents proved to be as follows :

«The Council assembled at Ephesus declares thus. We believe that Emmanuel is God Incarnate. But it is said that Nestorius does not share with us in this faith. Therefore he is a stranger to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, and a stranger to the tradition of the Apostles, and a stranger to the one Holy Church. Everyone who denies that Jesus is Emmanuel, that is to say, God Incarnate, is anathema. And everyone who denies that the Virgin Mary is the Mother of God the Word, truly Incarnate, is anathema. Jesus is the Creator, Jesus is the Conqueror, Jesus is the Saviour of all. To him belongs glory for ever. Amen.» |441

And when this confession of faith was read to the prince, he and all that were in his palace cried out, saying : «Jesus is Emmanuel, God Incarnate.» Then Eutyches, the monk, said to the prince : «Let thy majesty subscribe to his excommunication, and write to the bishops, commanding them to appear before thee, to salute thee and bless thy empire.» And the prince did so. Therefore the assembly of bishops journeyed to Alexandria, and thence to Contantinople. And the prince received them graciously, and sat in a lower seat than they, and prostrated himself before them, and received their blessing. But he commanded that Nestorius should be sent into banishment. So Nestorius was exiled in company with a chamberlain who conducted him to Egypt. And the bishops sent a letter to him before he started, in which they said : «Confess that the Crucified is God Incarnate, and we will receive thee again and obtain the repeal of thy sentence of banishment.» But Nestorius hardened his heart like Pharao, and returned no answer to them. And when he said to the chamberlain : «Let us rest here, for I am tired,» the chamberlain replied : «Thy Lord also was weary when he walked until the sixth hour, and he is God. What sayest thou?» And Nestorius answered : «Two hundred bishops assembled to make me confess that Jesus is God Incarnate, but I would not do so. Shall I then say to thee that God suffered fatigue?» And the chamberlain conducted Nestorius on his journey until he brought him to Ikhmîm in Upper Egypt; and there he remained in banishment, anathematized and excommunicated, until he died. |442

Now the holy Father Cyril wrote many epistles, among which was an epistle to Abba John, patriarch of Antioch, beginning thus : «Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth exult.» Cyril also wrote an epistle to Acacius, bishop of Malatia, beginning : «How sweet is an assembly of perfect brethren, who remind one another of spiritual doctrines.» And he addressed a letter to Valerian, bishop of Iconium, beginning : «The beloved brother and fellow-minister.» And he sent an epistle to the priests and deacons and monks and ascetes who remained firm in the orthodox faith after the excommunication and banishment of Nestorius; and an epistle to Eulogius, the Alexandrian priest who dwelt at Constantinople, beginning : «Men are wroth with us on account of the faith proclaimed by the bishops of the East.» And he wrote an epistle to Anastasius and Alexander and Martinian and John, and Paregorius, the priest, and Maximus, the deacon, beginning : «I greatly praise your love for learning.» And in every epistle Cyril makes mention of the orthodox faith, and exposes the errors of Nestorius and the corruption of his doctrine, pointing out that it is opposed to the faith of the holy fathers, and to that which is contained in the divine scriptures of the Old and New Testaments; and he proves this by genuine testimonies from the holy writings, in which the Holy Ghost speaks by the |443 tongues of the veracious prophets, the elect apostles, and the holy fathers and doctors of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. Cyril also wrote letters to Nestorius, before his banishment, which are conceived in a spirit of benevolence, and in which Cyril exhorts Nestorius, and aims at conciliating and guiding him. Yet Nestorius would not listen to Cyril, nor return from his misbelief and hardness of heart and corrupt creed.

CHAPTER XIII

DIOSCORUS I, THE TWENTY-FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 444-458.

After the holy patriarch Cyril had departed to his rest, Dioscorus was made patriarch in the see of the city of Alexandria. He endured severe persecution for the orthodox faith at the hands of the prince Marcian and his wife; and they banished him from his see, through the partial action of the council of Chalcedon, and their subserviency to the will of the prince and his wife. It is for this reason that the members of that council and all the followers of their corrupt creed are called Melkites, because they follow |444 the opinion of the prince and his wife, in proclaiming and renewing the doctrine of Nestorius.

It was a custom of the ancients to write histories of their predecessors in every generation. In the time of the Israelites, Philo, the Pharian, and Justus and Josephus and Hegesippus wrote part of the life of Jesus Christ, and an account of the ruin of Jerusalem by Vespasian and Titus his son, and of what took place after them. And after that, Africanus and Eusebius wrote, and Mennas wrote of the trials and persecution endured by the pastors and their flocks in the days of the patriarch Abba Cyril the Wise, and what passed between him and Nestorius; also of what the Father Dioscorus after him suffered in the council of Chalcedon. But at that time the creeds were separated, and the sees were torn asunder, so that none was left to write histories of the patriarchs, and the practice of composing them was interrupted. But the Lord remains for ever. In this way no biography of the holy patriarch Dioscorus after his banishment has been found. He preserved the orthodox faith, which persists in the see of the evangelist Saint Mark to this day and for ever, until he received the crown of martyrdom in the island of Gangra, by the command of the prince Marcian; for it was in that island that Dioscorus died. |445

TIMOTHY II, THE TWENTY-SIXTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 458-480.

And after the militant Father Dioscorus, the patriarch, went to his rest, the Lord Christ raised up a patriarch, named Timothy, upon the episcopal throne of the city of Alexandria; and he suffered from hardships, and from warfare with the dissidents. He and his brother Anatolius were banished to the island of Gangra, like Dioscorus, for seven full years, but he returned by the grace of God, at the command of the prince, to Alexandria. His ordination took place in the days of Leo, the prince. He remained patriarch twenty-two years, and went to his rest on the seventh day of Misri.

PETER III, THE TWENTY-SEVENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 480-488.

So when Timothy went to the Lord, Peter the priest was ordained by command of God in the church of Alexandria, and was made patriarch. But the empire of the Romans remained established upon the ever-renewed memory of the impure council of Chalcedon; for it was not built upon the |446 foundation of the firm Rock, which belongs to God the Word who is Jesus Christ. And, after the consecration of Peter, patriarch of Alexandria, Acacius, patriarch of Constantinople, wrote to him many epistles which he sent to him, and letters to ask him to receive him to himself; for he rejected the council of Chalcedon, the members of which he called heretics, and the blasphemous Tome of Leo; and he likewise rejected the doctrine of Nestorius. Therefore Peter wrote letters to Acacius in order that he might be assured that his doctrine was sound to the core. And when they came to him he accepted them with joy and gladness, and showed them to those that wished among the believers in the orthodox faith; and then he wrote a synodical epistle and sent it to the blessed Peter. But there were certain bishops who were not present at the time when the letters were written by the two patriarchs, Peter and Acacius; and Satan (may God confound him!) stirred up trouble in the hearts of those bishops; and James, bishop of Sâ, became their chief, with Mennas, bishop of Munyat Tâmah. And they went to the city of Alexandria, and said to the patriarch : «How couldst thou receive Acacius, when he is one of those who were present at the Chalcedonian council?» So he answered them quietly and calmly : «I received him only because he abandoned that doctrine.» And he informed them of the epistles of Acacius which had come to him, which bore witness of his return to the truth, and of his confession of the orthodox faith; and he reminded them that he had sent the bishops to Acacius, that they might hear his expressions, according to the canon of |447 the Church. But they would not accept his words because pride was established in their hearts; and they separated themselves from the throne of the evangelist, Saint Mark, the apostle, saying in their ignorance, as the children of Israel said, that they had no portion with David, nor inheritance with the son of Isai ¹⁸. And since they were divided from the holy patriarch Peter, and would not enter under his obedience, the orthodox called them Those that had no head ¹⁹. Now the epistles written between the two patriarchs aforesaid formed fifteen books.

This Peter, when he became patriarch over Alexandria, met with trouble from the heretics. For they banished him, and delivered up his see to a man called Timothy, who is also named Anthony or Theognostus, and belonged to Canopus. Then followed John the Tabennisiote, whom they appointed after the death of Anthony. Subsequently, the patriarch Peter returned to his see with great glory; and the period of time during which he sat upon the patriarchal throne was eight years; and he died, in peace and great honour, on the 2nd of Hatûr. All his epistles are preserved in the Monastery of Father Macarius; and among them is an epistle of Zeno, the blessed prince, with the answer to it, in which are jewels of language, and words of holiness, and the confession of the orthodox faith. |448

ATHANASIUS II, THE TWENTY-EIGHTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 488-494.

When the holy Father Peter went to his rest, Athanasius was appointed. He had been priest in charge of the church of Alexandria; and now he was made patriarch over it. He was a good man, full of faith and the Holy Ghost; and he accomplished that with which he was entrusted; and in his days there was no disorder or persecution in the holy Church. He remained seven years, and went to his rest on the twentieth of Tût.

JOHN I, THE MONK, THE TWENTY-NINTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 494-503.

When Athanasius the Younger went to his rest, John the Monk was appointed, and made patriarch upon the evangelical throne; and he walked according to the lives of the excellent fathers who preceded him. The Church and the people and the inhabitants of the country-districts were in his days in security and peace through the grace of the Lord Christ. And he lived in the time of the holy Zeno, the blessed prince; and on |449 account of his faith and goodness the prince commanded in his clays that there should be carried to the monastery of Saint Macarius, in the Wadi Habib, all that the monks needed of wheat and wine and oil, and whatever they required for the furnishing of their cells. So Abba John, the patriarch, accomplished his ministry in security and tranquillity in the days of Zeno, the blessed and faithful prince, and went to his rest on the 4th of Bashans, after remaining eight years as patriarch, and was gathered to his fathers.

JOHN II, FORMERLY THE HERMIT, THE THIRTIETH PATRIARCH. A. D. 503-515.

So when Abba John, the patriarch, went to his rest, there was appointed instead of him a man who was a hermit, called John; and this was by the command of God. This John was a kinsman of the departed patriarch. And he wrote in his days many books and homilies. And God shewed forth in his days a wonderful thing, and raised up royalty and priesthood together for the Church, in the persons of the prince Anastasius, the pious believer, and the patriarch Severus, the excellent, clothed with light, occupant of the see of Antioch, who became a horn of salvation to the orthodox Church, and who sat upon the throne of the great Ignatius. |450

And Severus wrote a synodical letter to the Father John, the patriarch, concerning the unity of the fnith, wherein he announced the agreement between them in the one orthodox creed of the holy fathers. So John, the patriarch, and his bishops accepted this letter, and read it in their churches throughout the land of Egypt; and they offered prayers and thanked the Lord Christ, who had restored the divided members to their places. And with great joy and spiritual exultation did John, the holy patriarch, write to the great Severus an answer to his letter in canonical language, full of the orthodox faith, which is that of the doctors of the Church, as the blessed Severus had written to him. And when the envoys of Severus returned to him with this gift, which was a fitting reward for his friendship, he rejoiced and was glad exceedingly. John remained patriarch eleven years, and went to his rest on the twenty-seventh of Bashans.

DIOSCORUS II, THE THIRTY-FIRST PATRIARCH. A. D. 515-517.

And when the Father John, the patriarch, went to his rest, he had a scribe whose name was Dioscorus, and who was a man perfect in all his |451 relations, humble and good; and there was none like him in his time. So they ordained him patriarch upon the evangelical throne. Then he wrote a synodical letter to the Father Severus, in which he informed him of the death of the blessed Father John, and announced that he had taken his seat after him upon the apostolic throne. So Severus wrote an answer to him, to console him, and to confirm him in the orthodox faith, and to charge him to teach the people, and not to cease teaching, and to encourage him in this work. And Dioscorus remained patriarch three years; though in another history it is related that he continued one year and a half; and he went to his rest on the twenty-seventh of Babah, and was gathered to his fathers.

TIMOTHY III, THE THIRTY-SECOND PATRIARCH. A. D. 517-535.

Then Timothy took his seat as patriarch on the throne of Alexandria. And Anastasius the believing prince died; and they raised up after him an evil man, a heretic, whose name was Justinian, that he might govern the empire. When Justinian took his seat upon the throne, he employed all his efforts to make the orthodox believers return to the faith of the Chalcedonian council; and the first thing that he began with was that he seized the holy |452 patriarch Severus. And Justinian assembled a council in the city of Constantinople, on his own initiative, at which were present Vigilius, patriarch of Rome, and Apollinaris, whom the prince had made patriarch over Alexandria, and Eutychius, patriarch of the city of Constantinople, and the bishops who were under their jurisdiction. Moreover Justinian sent to fetch the Father Severus, the patriarch, and the bishops of the East; for he thought that he could conciliate the mind of the holy Severus, and incline him to his doctrine, so that all the bishops might obey him, because they firmly believed in Severus and in his faith, and so they might acknowledge the prince’s evil doctrine. But the great Severus paid no heed to the prince. And Severus, with his bishops, went to Constantinople that he might confirm the faith; for he thought that that unbelieving prince would be converted from his corrupt doctrine. So when the Father Severus arrived at Constantinople, then the prince at first honoured him greatly, and exalted his rank, and spoke good words to him, seeking from him that he should make concessions to him with regard to the Tome of Leo, by adopting his faith. But Severus, God’s champion, had placed in his heart the words of Peter the Apostle ²⁰to Simon the Magician : «Let thy gifts perish with thee, for I see that thou art full of bitterness, even more than the serpent.» And Justinian the prince was like Nestorius; and one day he commanded that the bishops, falsely so called, should assemble for that council. But neither the Father Severus, the valiant one, nor any of |453 his bishops would be present with them, for he said : «If they will not first anathematize the Tome of Leo and the impure, contemptible council of Chalcedon, I will not consent with them to the doctrine of unbelief.» Then things were done by the prince which this book is too small to relate, lest the narrative should grow too long by recording them. So when the command of the prince reached Severus, and yet he did not meet the bishops in council nor go to join them, they brought trials upon him, and persecutions came upon him.

But after two years, at the request of the believing princess, Theodora, the prince left Severus alone, and gave him up to her; and so she sent him back to his see.

And in those days Timothy was at Alexandria. So when Severus, the patriarch, and his bishops, who were from the East, were driven away from Antioch, and came to Egypt, those bishops came to the city of Alexandria. And many nuns, who were virgins, were driven out of the monasteries. And the Father Severus, at the time of this trouble, was fleeing from city to city, secretly or openly, and from monastery to monastery. And he wrote to the bishops, his companions, who were at Alexandria, and consoled them, and encouraged them to have patience, and charged them to endure the persecutions with fortitude. And there was with them one who was no true bishop, whose name |454 was Julian. This man plainly showed that he was a partaker in the council of Chalcedon, because he divided the Lord Christ, who is One, into Two, arid made him into Two Natures after the Ineffable Union. And when he found an opportunity in the absence of the Father Severus, he wrote a Tomarion, with an evil purpose, addressed to certain sick and intoxicated people, in which he expresses his approval of the faith of Eutyches, the unbeliever, and Apollinaris and Manes and Eudoxius, the unbelievers; and he filled it also with the blasphemous creed of those who believe in the doctrine of the Phantasiasts, and deny the lifegiving Passion of Christ the Lord. And he sent this book ahout Egypt, and to the monks of the desert. And they received him, and fell into the snare, except seven persons, whose hearts God enlightened, and so they would not accept it; for they heard a voice saying : «This is the impure Tomarion.» Then those who had fallen into the error of Julian rose up against them, and killed two of them. So the rest were scattered, and began to celebrate the liturgy in their cells in the Monastery of Saint Macarius and in other monasteries. And this was the cause of their separation, and of the prevalence of error in the four monasteries and in the hermitages. Then by the power and grace of the Holy Ghost, assistance came to the five monks who remained of the seven, and so they prevented the other monks from accepting the Tomarion. But the source of this error, Julian, did not cease to send his writings into the country to lead men astray and draw them to himself. |455

So when the Father Severus learnt this, by the power of the Holy Ghost which dwelt in him, he wrote to every place, in order that a true account of the facts might be disseminated, and that Julian’s true meaning might be made known. For he informed men in his letters that Julian was an evil serpent, filled with blasphemy. And Severus bestowed his care on those that were afflicted with this plague, that he might heal them, and encouraged those that did not follow the Tomarion, from which there arose trouble and antagonism.

And meanwhile the Father Timothy, the blessed patriarch, went to his rest, being established in the orthodox faith. For he fought on its behalf, like the Father Severus, and refuted Julian and all his doctrine. The period during which Timothy remained patriarch on the throne of Alexandria was seventeen years; and he died on the 13th of Amshir.

THEODOSIUS I, THE THIRTY-THIRD PATRIARCH. A. D. 535-567.

By the command of God, the bishops and orthodox people assembled after the death of Timothy, and, by the dispensation of the Lord Christ, they ordained the holy Father Theodosius patriarch. He was a virgin, and a |456 master of the literary style used in ecclesiastical writings. But, after a short time, the hater of good raised up a trial for him, and stirred up trouble among evil people of the inhabitants of the city, the masters of vile arts. For there was a man who was old and advanced in age, and whose name was Gaianus; and he was archdeacon of the church of Alexandria; and he was standing, at the time of the ordination of the Father Theodosius as patriarch, among the bishops and priests and chief men of the city, until they had ordained him, and written his diploma of consecration, and promoted him to the degree of primate over the apostolic diocese, and ratified his appointment with the consent of all Christian and God-loving people. But after that, certain persons led the archdeacon astray, and changed his thoughts, in his simplicity, and gave him counsel, saying : «This degree and this promotion are thy due, and it is not lawful for anyone to be promoted before thee.» Thus they insinuated their evil suggestions into his mind little by little, until he accepted their advice. So they took him, and went with him to the house of a priest, named Theodore, who was an evil-doer and had much wealth; and there they ordained Gaianus, the archdeacon, as patriarch. And there was with them, assisting them, Julian, the corrupt of faith, in agreement with Theodore the priest; for Theodosius the blessed, when he became patriarch, had anathematized Julian, because |457 he was the refuge of the heretics. Then Gaianus went to the governor, and to the commander of the forces, and offered them bribes, and won their hearts by his many gifts, until they were induced to stir up great trouble against the Father Theodosius, the patriarch, and against the Church, and drove out the holy Theodosius from the see of Alexandria to Hierasycaminus, where he remained six months. And the governor hid from the prince what they had done to the patriarch, and also that they had ordained another in his place, and all that was done by Julian and Theodore and Gaianus, who joined together against him. But the wise Severus, the patriarch, used to call Theodosius brother and helper and partner in the one true evangelical work, and used to console and encourage him in his sufferings for the orthodox faith, comparing him to the great Paul the Apostle, when he was first chosen and first believed in Christ, and reminding Theodosius how Paul’s family and friends rejected him, and how the believers let him down from the wall in a basket, so that he could flee from Damascus. For the Father Theodosius suffered continual trouble and persecution from the heretics. And this was in the year 242 of Diocletian. Now Severus, the patriarch, was hiding himself from Justinian, the heretical prince, in a Christ-loving town, called Sakhâ, in Egypt, at the house of a man, named Dorotheus, who took care of the affairs of the aged monks who had rejected the error of Julian the unbeliever. And the said |458 man was allowed to visit the governor of Egypt, Aristomachus, and begged him to take pity on the aged among the monks who were in the desert, by granting them the favour of authorizing them to build churches and towers, instead of those that had been taken from them by Julian and his companions, that so he might give rest to the monks. Accordingly the governor gave orders to Dorotheus to do as he wished; and Dorotheus returned thanks to God most high.

Severus, the patriarch, had composed books in which he refuted the heresy of those that believe in the Two Natures, and brought to naught most of those that hold this view, by the glory of God, and through the instructions that he gave with his tongue, which was a spiritual sword. And he continued to teach concerning the books of divine wisdom, until he grew old, and the days of his removal from trouble to rest grew near. For he remained in the midst of struggles, and enduring persecution from the heretics for thirty years, upon the throne of Antioch, and amid opposition and distress for six years; and he did not cease from this life of fighting for the orthodox faith until death. So when he had accomplished his course, still preserving the true faith, he went to the Lord Christ whom he loved, and received the crown of victory with the holy fathers in the assembly of the heavenly virgins.

And as for the blessed Father Theodosius, he was greatly troubled by the heretic Gaianus and his followers. But John, the governor of |459 Alexandria, and others were struggling to save him from them: and so they consulted with the fathers, and took Theodosms secretly, and put him on board of a boat on the river, and conveyed him to a town called Malij, within the province of Egypt, and there he remained two years.

And the laity of Alexandria, and the clergy and officials of the city, were troubled because their patriach was taken away from them, and said to the governor : «Why hast thou removed the good shepherd Theodosius from us?» Then the governor was afraid of them, and dreaded lest the affair should be reported to the prince; and so he sent Gaianus, the heretic, out of the city. After that, one of the officials went to carry out some business which he had with the prince, and so he made known to the faithful princess Theodora that the blessed Theodosius had been banished from the city of Alexandria, whence she herself had originally come. So she went in to the prince calmly and wisely and humbly, and informed him of all that had happened, without his sanction, to the Father Theodosius, patriarch in the city of Alexandria. Then, when the prince heard that, he rejoiced in his heart at the trouble and conflict which the orthodox had endured, because they would not consent to share the corrupt and impure faith of Chalcedon, which he held. But afterwards, wishing to please the |460 princess, and to delight her heart, he gave her power to do by his authority in this matter whatever she desired. So she sent to the city of Alexandria, to enquire into the matter, and to restore the Father Theodosius, the patriarch, to his see; and she bade the messengers inform her how his appointment as patriarch took place at his ordination, and whether it was accomplished according to the canon of the Church. So when her messengers came to the city, according to what she commanded them to do, they enquired into what she bade them enquire into, and examined the circumstances of his ordination, and sought to discover whether it was accomplished according to the canon of the Church; and they also enquired how Gaianus, the archdeacon, had been appointed, and which of them was the first to be consecrated. Therefore the governor, and the commander of the forces, in return for the gifts and bribes which they had received, suborned certain persons who cried aloud saying : «Gaianus was the first to be ordained.» Their words, however, were not confirmed; for one hundred and twenty men, of the priests and officials of the city, subscribed their signatures to a statement that it was Theodosius who was the first to be ordained.

Then they assembled together, and the help of the Lord Christ was with them, and the officers and military chiefs of the prince, who were his envoys and trusted counsellors, were present, and all the Alexandrians were assembled with them in the holy church. And they brought the holy |461 gospels and the prince’s decree to which his seal and image were attached, and they introduced the Father Theodosius, the blessed patriarch, and the body of bishops who had been present at his consecration; and they separated them, and questioned them one by one, and wrote down what they said. And their confession proved true, in each case, for they all stated, without hesitation or discrepancy, that it was Theodosius, the blessed, who was ordained first, with the consent of the bishops and people, according to the canon of the Church; and that two months after that they heard that Gaianus had been made patriarch. Then Gaianus came forward before the assembly, and confessed to them that the statement was true, and asked pardon for what he had done. And the assembly begged of the blessed Father Theodosius to receive Gaianus, and prayed him to accept his repentance, on condition that he would write in his own handwriting that he had done this in contradiction to the ecclesiastical canon, and that he would remain in his office of deacon, becoming archdeacon again, as he had been before, and would humble himself and submit to the Father Theodosius, and obey him till the time of his death; and Gaianus consented to do all this. And they all set their seals to this statement as being true and veracious; and the whole assembly rejoiced, and glorified God, and thanked him because their good shepherd Theodosius, the patriarch, had returned to them, and had taken his seat upon his throne, to rule the Church and the people in peace. |462

And as for Julian and Theodore and Manes and all those that dissented, and their followers, the name of heretic was established as their due, for they did not repent; but Gaianus submitted to the obedience of Theodosius, the patriarch.

So when the affairs of the Church and the faithful Christian people were well established, the Father Theodosius rejoiced, and wrote letters in which he thanked the prince and princess; and these letters he sent by their messengers, namely Aristaenetus and Nicetas and Philodorus, whom he thanked for what they had done. And when the envoys arrived, and delivered the letters to the prince, and made known to him all that had happened, his thoughts were despondent and troubled. For he thought : «Behold, I have given up the throne of Alexandria to Theodosius; and yet, even if I bestowed upon him in addition all the provinces of Egypt and Africa and all other countries, he would never agree with me in the creed which I prefer, so that the whole Church might be of one faith.»

Then the prince Justinian, after that, took thought, and wrote to the governor and officials of Alexandria, and to the Father Theodosius, with the view of attracting him by the hope of reward, praying him to receive the Tome of Leo, and yield to him on that point, and promising in that case that he should have the two offices, both the civil patriarchate, and the civil governorship, and that all the bishops of Africa should be under |463 his obedience, and that he should have the command over all that territory; «but» added the prince, «if he will not obey nor consent, then let him be driven out of the Church, and depart whithersoever he will; for he that does not agree with me in my faith shall have no prelacy either over people or Church».

But when the blessed father and patriarch Theodosius, the confessor of Christ, heard the letter and proposals of the prince, he exclaimed in the presence of the assembly, and of the governor and envoys : «The holy gospel says ²¹ that the Devil took the Lord and Saviour, and led him to the summit of a high mountain, and shewed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of it, and said to him : All this is mine, and if thou wilt worship me I will give it to thee. So likewise what you promise me will be the destruction of my soul, if I do as you propose, and I shall become thereby a stranger to Christ, the true king». And he raised his hands before the envoy sent by the prince, and before the governor and that great assembly, and said : «In truth I anathematize the Tome of Leo and the council of Chalcedon; and whoever acknowledges them is anathema henceforth for ever. Amen.» Then he said to the governor and to all the prince’s troop : «The prince has no power except over my body; but the Lord Jesus Christ, the true and great prince, has power over my soul and body together. And now behold the churches are before you |464 with all that they contain, therefore do whatever you wish with regard to them. But as for me, I follow my fathers who have preceded me, the doctors of the apostolic Church, Athanasius and Cyril and Dioscorus and Timothy, and those who were before them, whose deputy I am, although unworthy.» Then Theodosius arose and went out, saying : «Let those that love God follow me. For I came forth from my mother’s womb naked, and I shall return to it naked. And he that loses his life at this time for the Faith, shall save it.»

So they took him to the palace, where they guarded him for a day and a night; but when the morrow came, they sent him away, as the prince had commanded in his letter, saying : «Let him go whithersoever he pleases.» Therefore he went out from the city, and the power of the Lord Christ guided him; for Aristomachus provided for his needs, and prepared for him all that he required, and carried him in a boat to Upper Egypt, where he remained teaching the people and the monks in the monasteries, and confirming them in the orthodox faith, and encouraging them to, endure the conflict until death.

And the prince’s envoy returned to him, and made known to him all that had happened, and how Theodosius, the patriarch, had gone forth from the city, and would not accept any of the offers made by the prince. When the prince heard that, he and all his attendants were astonished that the patriarch had rejected that post of governor, and had disputed the royal command, and remained firm in the faith. Then Justinian |465 thought within himself and said : «If I leave him where he is, then all the people will follow his faith, and he will not allow them to accept the Tome of Leo.» So he wrote a letter full of assurances and promises to the patriarch Theodosius, declaring that no pain nor damage should come to him from him, but all good and kindness; and he sent this letter by a scribe, to whom he said : «Treat him courteously until thou bringest him to me, and say to him : The prince desires to confer with thee.» So when the blessed patriarch had perused the prince’s letter, he prayed for the help of the power of the Lord Christ, and took with him of the clergy certain wise men, learned and excellent; and they embarked in a ship, and journeyed until they arrived at Constantinople. There Theodosius entered to the prince and princess, who, when they saw his serenity and humility and excellence, received him kindly, and lodged him in chambers which they had prepared for him and his companions. Afterwards the prince sent for him a second time, and a third time, until the sixth time, and each time he addressed him courteously, and desired of him that he should yield to him in confirming the council of Chalcedon, and gave him many marks of honour and priority and precedence. But Theodosius said : «Neither life nor death nor dearth nor nakedness nor sword will turn my heart from the faith of my fathers; nor will I abandon a jot or tittle of what my fathers, the inspired doctors, wrote before me, those shepherds of the reasonable flock of Christ, from Mark the evangelist |466 to the day on which I was made a deacon by the Father Timothy, after whom I became patriarch by the dispensation of God.»

So when the prince could not draw Theodosius to his doctrine, he left him and sent him into banishment in disgrace. But he showed favour to the clergy of Alexandria, and caused Mennas, patriarch of Constantinople, to ordain for them a man, named Paul of Tinnis, that he might be patriarch on the throne of Alexandria, and sent him, accompanied by a troop of soldiers, to the city of Alexandria. But when Paul arrived there, not one of the inhabitants would receive him; for they said : «This is the new Judas!» And he remained a year, during which none would listen to him, nor would any communicate from his hand, except the envoy who accompanied him, and the soldiers who arrived with him, and the governor and his attendants only. And the people of the city used to insult Paul, saying : «This is Judas the betrayer!» So he wrote to the prince to make known to him what had happened to him, and how they fled from him as sheep flee from a wolf; and he sent the letter by a patrician. Then the prince was enraged, and sent a letter by another patrician, in which he commanded that the doors of the churches in the city of Alexandria should be shut and sealed with his seal, and guards set before them, so that no one at all might enter. When that sinful letter arrived in the city, there was great sadness on account of it, and anguish and unbounded sorrow that cannot |467 be described, upon the orthodox people. And they remained in this condition for a whole year, without communion, or church to pray in, or place to be baptized in. But the letters of their blessed Father Theodosius came to them from his place of exile, reminding them of the faith, and consoling them, and encouraging them to patience. So when their trouble increased, an assembly of the orthodox met together, priests and laymen, and took counsel together as to building a church in which they might take refuge, so that they might not be like the Jews. And they did what they proposed, and built a church by the power of Christ, in the western part of Alexandria, in the place called the Pillars, or the Serapeum; and this church is the Angelion, which they built secretly at the hundred and five steps. And another congregation of the people also built another church, in the name of Cosmas and Damian, to the east of the amphitheatre, and a little to the west of the colonnade; and they finished it in the year 278 of Diocletian. When the prince learnt this, he sent and opened all the churches, and put them under the authority of the Chalcedonians. So when the blessed Father Theodosius learnt that there remained to him no other than these two newly-built churches, the church of the Angelion, and the church of Cosmas and Damian the Martyrs, he sighed and wept, because he knew the people of Alexandria, and that they loved pomp and honour, and he feared that they would depart from the orthodox Faith, with a view to gaining honour from the prince. And he used to pray, saying : «O my Lord Jesus Christ, thou |468 didst buy this people with thy precious blood, and thou providest for them; therefore remove not thy hand from them; but thy will be done!» And Theodosius remained twenty-eight years in banishment and otherwise, and in Upper Egypt four years, preserving the orthodox faith. And he composed of homilies and doctrinal treatises during his patriarchate, which lasted for thirty-two years, too many to be counted.

Theodosius was removed, in the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ whom he loved, on the 28th day of Baunah; and he received the crown of victory with the assembly of the saints in the land of the living for ever.

And let us, the believers who remain in the orthodox faith, and are counted worthy to be called Theodosians after his name, supplicate and implore God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, that we may have spiritual thoughts, and encouragement, while we keep the right faith without wearying, as it was kept by this holy father and prelate, who confessed before heretics, kings and princes and authorities who lived at that evil time, and that our life before him may be without offence, and that we may not turn aside from his will, and that we may have a full share together with him in the kingdom of heaven, by the grace and mercy and compassion of our God, the Lover of Mankind, Jesus Christ our Lord and |469 Saviour, to whom is due glory with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the Giver of Life, now and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.

CHAPTER XIV

PETER IV, THE THIRTY-FOURTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 567-569.

When the patriarch Theodosius was banished by Justinian, the prince, there was set up instead of him, though he was still alive, Paul of Tinnis, who was appointed at Constantinople. So this custom began for the patriarchs of the Melkites, that they should be ordained at Constantinople, and then proceed to Alexandria. And after a short time the Lord destroyed Paul of Tinnis by an evil death; and they appointed in his stead Apollinaris, who also took possession of the church, by the prince’s authority; and he ordered that none of the believing bishops should be seen in the city of Alexandria. At that time there was union between the Church of Antioch and the Church of Alexandria in the orthodox faith and in Christian love; for Theodosius confessed before the prince, both he and those who were with him, that he was in union with the Father Severus, patriarch of Antioch, |470 and said : «I accept all that was said by Saint John the Golden Mouth, and by the wise Cyril.»

And when Theodosius went to his rest, Apollinaris, the hypocrite, rejoiced greatly, and made a great feast for the clergy and people of the city; for he thought that they would conform to his creed, because not one of the fathers and bishops was able to show himself, neither in Alexandria nor in Antioch, on account of what the heretical prince had commanded. But, by the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, Alexandria was governed by an excellent and philanthropic man, who had thrown in his lot with the orthodox; and therefore he commanded that they should ordain a patriarch for themselves secretly, in succession to the Father Theodosius. And he said to them : «Go out to the Monastery of Az-Zajaj, as if you wished to pray there, and appoint over yourselves him, whom you shall elect, as patriarch.» So they thanked God, and glorified the Lord Christ, and sent to the northern cities of the land of Egypt, and summoned three bishops, and went out with them to the Monastery of Az-Zajaj, where they ordained a man, who was a priest, named Peter, as patriarch. And the people received consolation through him, and their faith was strengthened; but they could not bring him into the city openly, through fear of the prince, and of Apollinaris, the patriarch of the heretics. So his residence was outside Alexandria, at a |471 distance of nine miles, at the church dedicated to the name of Joseph; and they used to carry to him all that he needed; but the prince knew nothing of him.

And after this the thing became known, that Peter had become patriarch instead of Theodosius the deceased; and when Apollinaris learnt this, he was exceedingly angry, and wrote to the prince to inform him of what had happened. But before his letter reached Justinian, the prince, at Constantinople, the Angel of the Lord smote him and he died; and his death was evil like the death of Herod.

And as for Peter, he was well formed and of beautiful countenance, adorned with every noble deed, loving those in whom was the knowledge of God. For this reason he sought a man excellent and learned in the holy canons, that he might be his scribe. So they pointed out to him a monk who was a deacon, and whose name was Damian, in the Monastery of Tôn Paterôn, and this man was a skilful writer; and the Father Peter, the patriarch, went to the monastery, and talked with Damian, and asked him to help him and labour with him in the works of the Church. And the patriarch begged him and persuaded him to remain with him in the monastery as if he were a bishop, since he could not reveal that he was patriarch, and was not able to enter into the city of Alexandria openly. And the deacon and monk, |472 Damian, consented to do this, and obeyed the patriarch in what he bade him accomplish.

And there were in that place six hundred flourishing monasteries, like beehives in their populousness, all inhabited by the orthodox, who were all monks and nuns, besides thirty-two farms called Sakatinâ, where all the people held the true faith. And the father and patriarch, Peter, was the administrator of the affairs of all of them.

When the orthodox people of Antioch heard of what the inhabitants of Alexandria had done, they also took a man whose name was Theophanes, and made him patriarch in succession to the blessed Father Severus, and seated him on the throne in a monastery called the Monastery of Aphtonius; because the heretics forbad the orthodox bishops to enter, any one of them, into the city of Antioch, as was done also at Alexandria. So the two patriarchs were in similar circumstances, living in two monasteries outside their respective cities.

Then Peter, patriarch of the city of Alexandria, fell sick and went to his rest, after finishing his course and his ministry which was pleasing to God. The period of time during which he remained patriarch was two years; and his death took place on the 25th of Baunah. May his prayers be with us! Amen. |473

DAMIAN, THE THIRTY-FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 569-605.

When the holy Father Peter went to his rest, they enthroned in his place his scribe Damian, the deacon and monk, who was strong in deed and word and in the grace of the Lord which descended upon him. For he had been a monk from his youth in the wilderness of Wadi Habib, and was brought up by saints in the Monastery of Saint John, where he remained sixteen years, serving God according to the service of the holy ascetes, before he came to Pihenaton, to the Monastery of Tôn Paterôn, otherwise called Monastery of the Fathers. This was at the time of the rebuilding of the four monasteries in Wadi Habib, which were growing up like the plants of the field in security and guidance from God; and to their inhabitants was brought all that they needed, and they worked industriously at the building.

But there were among them the Meletians, I mean the followers of Meletius, who used to receive the Chalice many times in the night, before they came to the church. For this reason, when the Father Damian, the patriarch, was counted worthy to sit upon the evangelical throne, he wrote to the holy mountain, and commanded that the Meletians should be banished from it. And after a short time, a voice came from heaven upon that desert, saying : «Flee! Flee! » And when the inhabitants of the four |474 monasteries had left them, they were laid waste. When news of this reached the patriarch Damian, he was exceedingly sad. Now this holy father, the patriarch, was living in seclusion, in the Monastery of Tôn Paterôn, as we said at the beginning, in the condition of a suffragan bishop. And, by the wisdom of God which was given to him, he wrote the Logos, which is a discourse of wisdom. And he also wrote the Mystagogiae, besides the Festal Letters and the Catecheses. And the followers of the impure heresy came to him, and disputed about the Faith; but by the grace of the Lord which was with him he resolved their arguments, sweeping them away like a spider ‘s web; and he spoke courteously to them, and taught them to understand the mysteries of Christian doctrine, and made them like Achab before our Father Elias, the prophet.

In the eighth year of Damian’s patriarchate, a satanic thought fell into the hearts of the Acephali who were living in the east of Egypt. For there were four priests remaining over from that impure council, and they said : «What shall we do? We are perishing, and no bishop is left to us. Come therefore, let us make one of ourselves bishop, lest the remembrance of us perish from the face of the earth.» Then they chose the oldest among them, whose name was Barsanuphi, and the three priests took him and |475 made him bishop, and his heretical doctrine was named after his name.

When the people of the west of Egypt heard of this, they were exceedingly angry because they had done this without consulting them; so they separated from them, and would not join them. For this reason they had none to baptize them or give them communion or pray with them. So the others ordained a bishop for them. Now the prince at that time was Maurice, who loved money exceedingly, and rejected the orthodox.

When the Father Theophanes, the patriarch, went to his rest and departed to the Lord, the people of Antioch took one of the priests of the church, whose name was Peter, and made him patriarch. And he was coarse-minded, and sinful in his thoughts, and disturbed in his intellect, and opposed to the right faith, as that wise man in the Lord, Cyril, the holy patriarch, said with regard to the followers of Anatolius : «They are dark in their thoughts».

On account of the union between the two sees, Peter wrote a synodical epistle to the Father Damian, the patriarch, according to the usual custom. So when the synodical letter came to Damian, he rejoiced at it, and assembled the bishops. But when he examined Peter’s doctrine declared in it, he found in it an error in the confession of the Holy Trinity. Therefore he sought in his wisdom and gentleness to draw the said Peter to himself by kindness, that the Church might not be divided, nor the union between the two sees be |476 broken. So he wrote to him a homily in which he reminded him of all the heretics, and of the doctrine laid down by Severus, the patriarch, with the object of making him understand the faith, in order to guide his intelligence. For Peter said in his strange philosophy : «There is no necessity to name the Trinity». Yet all the Doctors of the Church, and Cyril the Wise, and those that came after him, till the days of Damian, in their writings confess the holy Trinity, declaring that it is Three Persons and One Nature and One Godhead, creating and containing nothing created; and that it is divided in Persons, and truly united in substance and in name. They declare that God is the Creator of the two great luminaries; for the sun is made to rule the day, and the moon, as the lesser luminary, to rule the night; and that the act of creation took place before the name was given; and that God said : «Let the waters be gathered together, and let the dry land appear» ; and God called the place of the gathering of the waters the seas, and called the dry part land; and that the act preceded the naming. «So likewise must thou understand this», adds Damian, «that the nature of the Creator is the one single nature which does all things. For who knows the thoughts of the Lord, and who can point them out; and who can give to him that he may seek from him a reward? For all things are from him. And glory be to the Holy Trinity, the consubstantial, the all-perfect, who accepts no new thing |477 and no new names at all; but his names are sure, and his deeds together with them».

This discourse the Father Damian, the patriarch, wrote to Peter, patriarch of Antioch. But Peter, patriarch of Antioch, was like the deaf asp ²² which stops its ears and will not listen to the voice of the charmer nor to the medicine which a wise man prepares; nay he remained obstinate in his erroneous ideas, confessing and saying with his tongue which deserved to be cut out : «What is the need of naming the Trinity?» Thus he divided the Undivided Trinity. So there was a conflict between the Egyptians and the Orientals on this account; and they remained thus for twenty years disputing without coming to an agreement, until God had mercy on his people of whom he has care at all times, and broke off the life of the heretic, and removed him from the world.

And Damian, the blessed patriarch, remained all his days composing letters and homilies and treatises, in which he refuted the heretics. And there were in his days certain bishops whom he admired, marvelling at their purity and excellence; and among them was John of Burlus, and John his disciple, and Constantine the bishop, and Cleistus, and many others who tended the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth. And the patriarch Damian did not cease to teach all the davs of his life. And through the multitude |478 of his fasts and prayers and conflicts, when his course was finished, he fell ill, and went to his rest in the peace of the Lord, after remaining patriarch thirty-six years, preserving the true faith in a good old age. And he departed to the Lord Christ whom he loved on the 28th day of Baunah.

ANASTASIUS, THE THIRTY-SIXTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 605-616.

And the Lord Christ considered his people, for he is the chief and leader of shepherds, and raised up a wise man adorned with virtues, whose name was Anastasius, an inhabitant of Alexandria and one of the priests of the, church there, learned in the scriptures and in the doctrines of the faith. So he was placed by the ineffable decrees of God upon the apostolic throne, and began to appoint the bishops and the priests according to the canon of the Church. Anastasius was brave of heart, and went to the city at all times, and entered therein, and ordained the priests there; for, as we have mentioned above, the orthodox bishops were forbidden to enter Alexandria; and he drew many of the people to himself by his wisdom, for he was a learned man, known through his appointment to the city-council. He had been presiding priest in the two churches that we have mentioned, |479 namely the Angelion and the church of Cosmas and Damian, and over the convents of virgins, and most of the monasteries.

Then Anastasius began to build church after church. And he took the church which is on a mound of ruins, and a church named after Michael. He had great trouble from the party of Tiberius and Belisarius, upon whom the name of Gaianus had come, and from the followers of the impure Chalcedonian council, and from another man who was called Eulogius. This man was exceedingly indignant against the Father Anastasius, and desired to bring upon him all evils and torments; but God did not deliver him into his hands.

In those days there arose a man from the palace, one of the chief officers, whose name was Phocas, and killed the prince, and sat in his place, and did wicked deeds; and he loved carnal pleasure, and corrupted all the daughters of the patricians; and he loved discord without fear. Therefore when Eulogius knew of this, and heard the report of these things, he wrote to the prince a calumnious letter, concerning the Father Anastasius, full of lies and folly. For he said that, when Anastasius preached in the church of John the Baptist, he anathematized him and the victorious princes and the Chalcedonian council, adding : «And I marvelled that the springs and |480 the waters were not dried up». This Eulogius wrote to the prince that he might stir up trials for the orthodox. So when Phocas, who had taken possession of the empire, heard this, he was troubled, and wrote to the governor in Alexandria, that he should take from the patriarch Anastasius the church of Cosmas and Damian and all its dependencies, and all that belonged to it, and give it to Eulogius, the misguided. Accordingly they seized that church; and the Father Anastasius, the blessed, was sad, and returned to the monastery with great grief and much sighing. And he desired that God might reunite the members of the Church which Satan had divided; I refer to the division of Antioch from Alexandria, the cause of which was Peter, patriarch of Antioch; and God heard his prayers; for Peter the aforesaid died, and there sat instead of him, upon the throne of Severus at Antioch, a man who was a monk and priest and scholar, named Athanasius, exceedingly wise, and pure in heart. And it was he who delivered a homily in which he spoke of the holy Severus; and everyone that read it knew that the Lord Christ was with him, and his wisdom was within him.

So when the Father Anastasius heard that Athanasius had taken his seat as patriarch upon the throne of Antioch, he hastened to write to him a synodical letter full of wisdom, in which he styled him his colleague and one who was brother and friend, and one turning his attention to the faith, and to the rectification of that which had been corrupted by Peter, the misguided one who was now dead. «For the whole of the spiritual Israel |481 is one flock», wrote Anastasius, «and thou shalt unite it, that thou mayest receive the crown of testimony and unity».

Now Athanasius was good fruitful ground, and therefore he received the spiritual seed with joy, and took the synodical letter which had come to him, and assembled the bishops under his see, and said to them : «Know that the world to-day rejoices in peace and love, because the Chalcedonian darkness has passed away, and there has remained this one light-giving and fruit-bearing branch of the true vine, which is the see of Mark the evangelist, and the province of Egypt. For we have been heretics and schismatics since the patriarch Severus, who was to us a guide and a way of salvation. And you know that Peter the apostle and Mark the evangelist had one gospel which they preached; and so also Severus and Theodo-sius had one faith, and lived in unity, and endured exile and conflicts to the end».

So, when the fathers and bishops heard his discourse, they rejoiced greatly and agreed to accept the synodical letter, and declared that the two churches should be one, and that the two patriarchs should be of one spirit, and a lamp illuminating the orthodox.

So the blessed Athanasius arose, and took with him five bishops, excellent and learned, and journeyed in a ship to Alexandria. But when they arrived, they were informed that the Father Anastasius was in the monasteries; and therefore they went out to him. Then, when he heard that the patriarch of |482 Antioch had come to him, he assembled the bishops and priests and monks, and arose in great humility, and went out on foot, until he met him, with chants and hymns and joy and gladness. And they entered together into the monastery which is on the sea-shore, to the north-east of the monasteries, and there they sat in peace and joy.

And the Father Anastasius sent at once and summoned all the clergy of Alexandria, that they might be present at the meeting of the fathers, and might celebrate the liturgy with them, and communicate of the Holy Mysteries. And Athanasius pronounced at that assembly a wonderful discourse, full of wisdom, so that everyone who was present marvelled; and at the end he said : «At this hour, O my friends, we must take the harp of David, and sing with the voice of the psalm ²³, saying : Mercy and truth have met together; Athanasius and Anastasius have kissed one another. The truth has appeared from the land of Egypt, and righteousness has arisen from the East. Egypt and Syria have become one in doctrine; Alexandria and Antioch have become one Church, one virgin-bride of one pure and chaste bridegroom, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Only-Begotten Son, the Word of the Father».

And the Father Athanasius remained with the Father Anastasius for one month, while they meditated together upon the holy scriptures and profitable |483 doctrines, speaking of these matters and discussing them. Then Athanasius returned to his province in peace and great honour; and from that day there has been agreement between the see of Antioch and the see of Alexandria to this day.

And the Father Anastasius provided for the affairs of the Church with assiduity, and for spiritual learning, for the Lord granted him tranquillity. And from the first year that he sat upon the throne, he began from the first of the letters of the alphabet, and made each successive letter the first letter of that which he wrote every year in a book, whether mystagogia, or synodical epistle, or systatic epistle, or festal epistle, or homily. And he remained upon the throne, holding the orthodox faith, for twelve years, during which he wrote twelve books.

And during the forty days of the Fast before Christmas, the Lord Christ, who longs for those that believe in him, and who does wonders among his saints, looked upon him, and was pleased to translate him to the land of those that live for ever. So he went to his rest on the 22nd day of Kihak, in the year 330 of Diocletian, the slayer of the Righteous Martyrs. May their intercessions be with us ! Amen! |484

ANDRONICUS, THE THIRTY-SEVENTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 616-622.

When Anastasius went to his rest, they seated upon the throne a learned man, a deacon of the church of the Angelion, a virgin and a scribe, whose name was Andronicus. He was very rich, much inclined to almsgiving, a leader of the people, loving mercy, and incessant in giving; and his family were leading people of the city, inasmuch as his cousin had been appointed head of the council of Alexandria. Therefore on account of the power of his authority and his eminence the heretics could not drive him out of Alexandria to the monasteries, as had been done before him; but he resided in his cell at the church of the Angelion, all his days.

Now there had arisen in Persia a king named Chosroes, who assembled a great host, and came with mighty power against the army of the Romans, and destroyed them utterly, and annihilated them. He took possession of the land of the Romans, and the land of Syria, and took captive the land of Palestine and Idumaea, and the land of Egypt, and trod them down as the oxen tread the threshing-floor, and collected their wealth and all that they had into his treasuries. And, on account of his love of money, he would kill a man for one denarius, or for something worth three denarii; for he had many subjects, and he knew not God, but worshipped the sun. |485

So when he took Egypt, and gained power, he made it his care to conquer the great city of Alexandria. And there were at Henaton near that city six hundred flourishing monasteries, like dovecotes; and the monks were independent, and insolent without fear, through their great wealth; and they did deeds of mockery. But the army of the Persians surrounded them on the west of the monasteries, and no place of refuge remained for them; and so they were all slain with the sword, except a few of them, who hid themselves, and so were safe. And all that was there of money and furniture was taken as plunder by the Persians; and they wrecked the monasteries, which have remained in ruins to this day.

And when the news arrived at Alexandria, the inhabitants opened the gates of the city. And the Persian governor, the leader of the war and lieutenant of king Chosroes, saw in his dream at night a personage who said to him : «I have delivered up to thee this city and its buildings and all that it contains. Therefore take heed that thou injure not the city, but let not its inhabitants be left within it; for they are hypocrites in religion». Now the Persians call their leader in their own language Salar, which means «commander» ; and it was this Salar who built at Alexandria the palace which is called Tarâwus, the interpretation of the name being «House of the Ring», and it is now named Castle of the Persians. So when he received authority over the people of Alexandria, he did in his cunning as follows. He commanded all the young men in the city, from the age of eighteen to |486 fifty, to go out and receive twenty denarii each. So all the young men of the city assembled, and their names were written down; while they thought that they would receive the gift which he had promised them. And when he knew that all of them had come out, and that not one of them was left within the city, he commanded his troops to surround them, and slay them all with the sword. And the number of those that were thus slaughtered was eighty thousand men.

And when the Salar had done this, he marched away to Upper Egypt. And there were in the city of Niciu, which is also called Ibshadi, certain persons who gave him information concerning the monks who lived on the mountains and in the caves, the number of whom was seven hundred, and told him how they were enclosed within a fortified wall, and that their deeds were reprehensible, on account of the greatness of their wealth. So when the Salar heard this report of them, he sent his troops and surrounded them. And when the sun rose, they entered and slew all of them with the sword, and not one of them remained.

And this Salar was the cause of many troubles, because he knew not God. But the time is too short to recount his deeds.

So when the patriarch Andronicus had accomplished six years in his patriarchal office, and had suffered from this nation of the Persians, and seen all these disasters, which he encountered and patiently endured, he went to his rest, and departed to the Lord in perfect peace, holding fast to the right faith, the faith of his fathers, on the 8th. of Tubah. |487

BENJAMIN I, THE THIRTY-EIGHTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 622-661.

One year before the Father Andronicus died, there was a God-fearing and believing brother, whose name was Benjamin, in a monastery called the Monastery of Canopus, who came to it at that time and took refuge there with a holy old man whose name was Theonas. For the Persians had not destroyed this monastery among the rest that they had wrecked, because it lay to the north-east of the city, which Saitus was protecting. This brother Benjamin was a native of the province of Al-Buhairah, and came from a hamlet called Barshut. And he had longed after the monastic life and the practice of asceticism; and so he left his parents and all that they had, for they were very rich, and departed to the monastery, where the holy old man, Theonas, clothed him with the habit of the monastic life, and brought him up in the fear of God; and he grew day by day until his holiness and patience and self-restraint made great advances. And he learnt the scriptures by heart, until what happened to Paul happened likewise to him; for the great one Paul was brought up at Jerusalem with a man whose name was Gamaliel; and then his own assiduity and the grace of the Lord Christ raised him, until he became many times more capable and more excellent than his teacher. So also this Benjamin used to chastise himself |488 by ascetic practices, and took no sleep during the nights when there was an assembly in the church. And he read especially in the Gospel of the Blessed John, for he learnt it by heart.

And on a certain night he saw in his dream a man in shining raiment standing by him, who said to him : «Rejoice, O Benjamin, thou humble sheep, who art also the shepherd that shall feed the reasonable flock of the Lord Christ.» So when he heard these words he was troubled and vexed; but afterwards he rejoiced over the grace given to him from heaven; and he rose hastily and told his Father Theonas; and the old man believed his words with regard to this vision, but said to him : «Err not, my son; for Satan desires by this to cause thee to perish through pride. Go now therefore, and watch over thyself, and fall not by vainglory. For behold, I have spent fifty years in this convent without seeing any such vision, nor has anyone ever told me that he has seen any such thing». So Benjamin was silent and accepted his teacher’s words; and grace increased in him day by day, sent from the God of glory; and all his words and actions were assisted by heaven. And the old man Theonas, and all who knew Benjamin, were astonished at the grace of God which was upon him, and thought that he was beside himself, until the old man Theonas took him, and went to the Father Andronicus, the patriarch, and explained his circumstances to him. So he said : «Bring him to me that I may hear him speak». When Benjamin entered, he prostrated himself before the Father Andronicus, the patriarch, who saw the grace of Christ |489 which was upon him, and asked him quietly to make known to him what he had witnessed; and Benjamin confessed, and described the event to him; and the patriarch kept them both with him during that night.

And when morning came, Theonas asked Andronicus to allow them to depart to their monastery in peace. But the patriarch said to him : «As for thee, depart in peace; but the Brother Benjamin henceforth belongs not to thee, for the Lord has elected him to be a servant to himself». And straightway he took Benjamin, and ordained him priest. And Benjamin began to live with the patriarch, assisting him in ecclesiastical works, and in his general administration. And Andronicus rejoiced exceedingly over him, and when his death drew near, charged them that Benjamin should be patriarch after him; and so, when he went to his rest, they made the aforesaid Benjamin patriarch upon the evangelical throne.

And the Persians remained rulers of Egypt and its provinces for six more years after that. Then Heraclius, who had been chief of the patricians under Phocas, the misbelieving emperor, succeeded him on the throne, and devoted himself to the task of fighting the Persians. For by the grace of Christ, he marched against them, and slew Chosroes, their misbelieving king, and ruined his city and made it a wilderness, and carried away its wealth and captives in triumph to Constantinople. And when Heraclius obtained possession of the land, he appointed governors in every place. And he sent a governor to the land of Egypt, named Cyrus, to be prefect and patriarch at the same time. |490

So when Cyrus came to Alexandria, the angel of the Lord announced his coming to the Father Benjamin, and bade him flee. For the angel said to him : «Flee thou and those that are with thee here, for great troubles will come upon you. But take comfort, for this conflict will last only ten years. And write to all the bishops who are within thy diocese, that they may hide themselves until the wrath of the Lord pass».

So the Father Benjamin, the confessor, the militant by the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, settled the affairs of the Church and put them in order, and gave injunctions to the clergy and laity, and charged them to cleave to the right faith even unto death. Then he wrote to the rest of the bishops of the province of Egypt, that they should hide themselves before the coming temptation.

And after that he went forth by the road towards Mareotis, walking on foot by night, accompanied by two of his disciples, until he came to Al-Munâ. Thence he went to Wadi Habib. And the monks there were few in number, because it was only a short time after the ruin which took place in the days of the patriarch Damian; and the Berbers did not allow them to multiply there. Then Benjamin went forth from the monasteries in Wadi Habib, and departed to Upper Egypt; and he remained hidden there in a small monastery in the wilderness until the accomplishment of the ten years, as the angel of the Lord had told him. These were the years during which |491 Heraclius and the Colchian ²⁴ ruled over the land of Egypt. And on account of the greatness of the trials and the straits and the affliction which the Colchian brought down upon the orthodox, in order that they might enter into the Chalcedonian faith, a countless number of them went astray, some of them through persecution, and some by bribes and honours, and some by persuasion and deceit. So that even Cyrus, bishop of Niciu, and Victor, bishop of the Faiyum, and many others denied the orthodox faith, because they had not obeyed the injunctions of the blessed Father Benjamin, and had not hidden themselves as the others did; for the Colchian caught them with the fishing-line of his error, and so they went astray after the impure Chalcedonian council. And Heraclius seized the blessed Mennas, brother of the Father Benjamin, the patriarch, and brought great trials upon him, and caused lighted torches to be held to his sides until the fat of his body oozed forth and flowed upon the ground, and knocked out his teeth because he confessed the faith; and finally commanded that a sack should be filled with sand, and the holy Mennas placed within it, and drowned in the sea. For Heraclius the misbeliever had charged them, saying : «If any one of them says that the council of Chalcedon is true, let him go; but drown in the sea those that say it is erroneous and false.» Therefore they did as the prince bade them, and cast Mennas into the sea. For they took the sack, and conveyed him to a distance of seven bowshots from the land, and said to |492 him : «Say that the council of Chalcedon is good and not otherwise, and we will release thee.» But Mennas would not do so. And they did this with him three times; and when he refused they drowned him. Thus they were unable to vanquish this champion, Mennas, but he conquered them by his Christian patience.

Then Heraclius appointed bishops throughout the land of Egypt, as far as the city of Antinoe, and tried the inhabitants of Egypt with hard trials, and like a ravening wolf devoured the reasonable flock, and was not satiated. And this blessed people who were thus persecuted were the Theodosians.

And in those days Heraclius saw a dream in which it was said to him : «Verily there shall come against thee a circumcised nation, and they shall vanquish thee and take possession of the land». So Heraclius thought that they would be the Jews, and accordingly gave orders that all the Jews and Samaritans should be baptized in all the provinces which were under his dominion. But after a few days there appeared a man of the Arabs, from the southern districts, that is to say, from Mecca or its neighbourhood, whose name was Muhammad; and he brought back the worshippers of idols to the knowledge of the One God, and bade them declare that Muhammad was his apostle; and his nation were circumcised in the flesh, not by the law, and prayed towards the South, turning towards a place which they called the Kaabah. And he took possession of Damascus and Syria, and crossed the Jordan, and dammed it up. And the Lord abandoned the army of the Romans before him, as a punishment for their corrupt faith, and because of |493 the anathemas uttered against them, on account of the council of Chalcedon, by the ancient fathers.

When Heraclius saw this, he assembled all his troops from Egypt as far as the frontiers of Aswan. And he continued for three years to pay to the Muslims the taxes which he had demanded for the purpose of applying them to himself and all his troops; and they used to call the tax the bakt, that is to say that it was a sum levied at so much a head. And this went on until Heraclius had paid to the Muslims the greater part of his money; and many people died through the troubles which they had endured.

So when ten years were over of the rule of Heraclius together with the Colchian, who sought for the patriarch Benjamin, while he was fleeing from him from place to place, hiding himself in the fortified churches, the prince of the Muslims sent an army to Egypt, under one of his trusty companions, named Amr son of Al-Asi, in the year 357 of Diocletian, the slayer of the martyrs. And this army of Islam came down into Egypt in great force, on the twelfth day of Baunah, which is the sixth of June, according to the months of the Romans.

Now the commander Amr had destroyed the fort, and burnt the boats with fire, and defeated the Romans, and taken possession of part of the country. For he had first arrived by the desert; and the horsemen took the road through the mountains, until they arrived at a fortress built of stone, between Upper Egypt and the Delta, called Babylon. So they pitched their |494 tents there, until they were prepared to fight the Romans, and make war against them; and afterwards they named that place, I mean the fortress, in their language, Bâblun Al-Fustât; and that is its name to the present day.

After fighting three battles with the Romans, the Muslims conquered them. So when the chief men of the city saw these things, they went to Amr, and received a certificate of security for the city, that it might not be plundered. This kind of treaty which Muhammad, the chief of the Arabs, taught them, they called the Law; and he says with regard to it : «As for the province of Egypt and any city that agrees with its inhabitants to pay the land-tax to you, and to submit to your authority, make a treaty with them, and do them no injury. But plunder and take as prisoners those that will not consent to this and resist you». For this reason the Muslims kept their hands off the province and its inhabitants, but destroyed the nation of the Romans, and their general who was named Marianus. And those of the Romans who escaped fled to Alexandria, and shut its gates upon the Arabs, and fortified themselves within the city.

And in the year 360 of Diocletian, in the month of December, three years after Amr had taken possession of Memphis, the Muslims captured the city of Alexandria, and destroyed its walls, and burnt many churches with fire. And they burnt the church of Saint Mark, which was built by the sea, where his body was laid; and this was the place to which the father and |495 patriarch, Peter the Martyr, went before his martyrdom, and blessed Saint Mark, and committed to him his reasonable flock, as he had received it. So they burnt this place and the monasteries around it.

And at the burning of the said church a miracle took place which the Lord performed; and that was that one of the captains of the ships, namely the captain of the ship of the duke Sanutius, climbed over the wall and descended into the church, and came to the shrine, where he found that the coverings had been taken, for the plunderers thought that there was money in the chest. But when they found nothing there, they took away the covering from the body of the holy Saint Mark, but his bones were left in their place. So the captain of the ship put his hand into the shrine, and there he found the head of the holy Mark, which he took. Then he returned to his ship secretly, and told no one of it, and hid the head in the hold, among his baggage.

When Amr took full possession of the city of Alexandria, and settled its affairs, that infidel, the governor of Alexandria, feared, he being both prefect and patriarch of the city under the Romans, that Amr would kill him; therefore he sucked a poisoned signet-ring, and died on the spot. But Sanutius, the believing duke, made known to Amr the circumstances of that militant father, the patriarch Benjamin, and how he was a fugitive from the Romans, through fear of them. Then Amr, son of Al-Asi, wrote to the provinces of Egypt a letter, in which he said : «There is protection and security for the place |496 where Benjamin, the patriarch of the Coptic Christians is, and peace from God; therefore let him come forth secure and tranquil, and administer the affairs of his Church, and the government of his nation». Therefore when the holy Benjamin heard this, he returned to Alexandria with great joy, wearing the crown of patience and sore conflict which had befallen the orthodox people through their persecution by the heretics, after having been absent during thirteen years, ten of which were years of Heraclius, the misbelieving Roman, with the three years before the Muslims conquered Alexandria. When Benjamin appeared, the people and the whole city rejoiced, and made his arrival known to Sanutius, the duke who believed in Christ, who had settled with the commander Amr that the patriarch should return, and had received a safe-conduct from Amr for him. Thereupon Sanutius went to the commander and announced that the patriarch had arrived, and Amr gave orders that Benjamin should be brought before him with honour and veneration and love. And Amr, when he saw the patriarch, received him with respect, and said to his companions and private friends : «Verily in all the lands of which we have taken possession hitherto I have never seen a man of God like this man». For the Father Benjamin was beautiful of countenance, excellent in speech, discoursing with calmness and dignity.

Then Amr turned to him, and said to him : «Resume the government of all thy churches and of thy people, and administer their affairs. And if thou wilt pray for me, that I may go to the West and to Pentapolis, and |497 take possession of them, as I have of Egypt, and return to thee in safety and speedily, I will do for thee all that thou shalt ask of me.» Then the holy Benjamin prayed for Amr, and pronounced an eloquent discourse, which made Amr and those present with him marvel, and which contained words of exhortation and much profit for those that heard him; and he revealed certain matters to Amr, and departed from his presence honoured and revered. And all that the blessed father said to the commander Amr, son of Al-Asi, he found true, and not a letter of it was unfulfilled.

Thus when this spiritual father, Benjamin the patriarch, sat among his people a second time, by the grace and mercy of Christ, the whole land of Egypt rejoiced over him; and he drew to himself most of the people whom Heraclius, the heretical prince, had led astray; for he induced them to return to the right faith by his gentleness, exhorting them with courtesy and consolation. And many of those that had fled to the West and to Pentapolis, through fear of Heraclius, the heretical prince, when they heard of the reappearance of their shepherd, returned to him with joy, and obtained the confessor’s crown. So likewise the bishops, who had denied their faith, he invited to return to the orthodox creed; and some of them returned with abundant tears; but the others would not return through shame before men, that it should be known among them that they had denied the faith, and so they remained in their misbelief until they died.

And after that, Amr and his troops marched away from Alexandria, and |498 the Christ-loving duke Sanutius marched with him. And on that night the father saw in his dream a man in shining garments, clothed in the raiment of the disciples, who said to him : «O my beloved, make a place for me with thee, that I may abide therein this day, for I love thy dwelling.» Now the place, wherein the patriarch dwelt, was a pure habitation without defilement, in a monastery called the Monastery of Metras, which was the episcopal residence. For all the churches and monasteries which belonged to the virgins and monks had been defiled by Heraclius the heretic, when he forced them to accept the faith of Chalcedon, except this monastery alone; for the inmates of it were exceedingly powerful, being Egyptians by race and all of them natives, without a stranger among them; and therefore he could not incline their hearts towards him. For this reason, when the Father Benjamin returned from Upper Egypt, he took up his residence with them, because they had kept the orthodox faith, and had never deviated from it.

And when the ships, containing the provisions and booty of the troops, and the baggage of the believing duke Sanutius and his companions, were about to set sail, his own particular ship remained motionless, and could not be got under weigh. Therefore a great crowd assembled near that ship, supposing that it had grounded, and fastened towing-ropes to it, and pulled at it with all their might; and yet it did not move at all. So they went to the duke, and made this known to him, for he was sailing with the commander. Then the duke was greatly astonished; and he anchored the ship |499 in which the commander Amr was, and returned accompanied by many people, and when he arrived at the ship, he saw by it an innumerable crowd of men who were unable to move it. So he said to them : «Turn the prow of this ship to the city.» And when they turned it round as if to enter the city, it sped towards it like an arrow. Then the duke said to them : «Draw it outwards,» So they drew it until it arrived at its former position, and then it stood still and motionless. Then they turned the ship inwards again, and it sped; and they drew it outwards again, and it stood still. This happened three times. Then the duke said to the captain of the ship : «Bring up to me the baggage of the sailors, that I may search among it, so that I may see what it is, and discover the cause which has forced this ship to stand still alone of all these ships». Then the captain who had taken the head of the holy Mark, the evangelist, was afraid, and threw himself at the feet of the duke, and confessed to him what he had done, and that the head was hidden among his baggage. So they brought up his baggage from the hold, and found the head among it.

Then they went in haste and made known to the Father Benjamin exactly what had taken place. So he mounted his horse at once, and took with him a body of the clergy, and came to the duke, and related to him the dream which he had seen that night; and thereupon they all said : «Truly this is the head of the holy Mark the evangelist». And as soon as the patriarch |500 Benjamin came to the ship and took the pure head, and so released the ship, it got under sail at once and departed in a straight course. So he and the duke and all the people knew the truth of the story, and bore witness to this miracle, and glorified God.

And the duke gave to the patriarch much money, and said to him : «Rebuild the church of the holy Mark, and pray to him for safety for us». And the Father Patriarch returned to the city, carrying the head in his bosom, and the clergy went before him, with chanting and singing, as befitted the reception of that sacred and glorious head. And he made a chest of teak wood with a padlock upon it, and placed the head therein; and he waited for a time in which he might find means to build a church.

And his care was bestowed night and clay upon the conversion of those members of the Church who had been separated from her in the days of Heraclius; and no other business made him neglect that; for he was filled with faith and the Holy Ghost; and the grace of the Holy Ghost, which was with Athanasius the Apostolic, was with him in his words and in his deeds; and, through his agency and through his prayers, the Lord shewed mercy to his people. By his intercession began the rebuilding of the monasteries of Wadi Habib and of Al-Munâ; and the good works of the orthodox grew and increased, and the people rejoiced like young calves, when their halters are unfastened and they are set free to be nourished by their mothers’ milk.

When Amr returned to Egypt, he departed thence once more to the army of |501 the prince of the Muslims; and a man named Abd Allah, son of Sa’d, was sent to Egypt instead of him. This man arrived, accompanied by many people; and, as he was a lover of money, he collected wealth for himself in Egypt; and he was the first who built the Divan at Misr, and commanded that all the taxes of the country should be regulated there.

And in the days of Abd Allah, son of Sa’d, a great dearth took place, the like of which had not been seen from the time of Claudius the unbeliever up to his time. For all the inhabitants of Upper Egypt came down to the Delta, in search of provisions; and the dead were cast out into the streets and market-places, like fish which the water throws up on the land, because they found none to bury them; and some of the people devoured human flesh. And if the Lord had not been compassionate, through the multitude of his mercies and the prayers of our Father Benjamin, the holy one, and speedily put an end to that dearth, all the inhabitants in the land of Egypt would have perished; for every day there died of the people countless myriads. But the Lord accepted the prayers of the patriarch, and had mercy on his people, and satisfied them with his good things, and sought out his heritage in his beneficence, as it is written ²⁵ : «The eyes of all look unto thee, hoping for thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in its season; and when thou givest it them they live and are satisfied with good things.»

Now the holy Benjamin had with him a man full of grace and wisdom, meek like a dove, whose name was Agathon; and he was a priest in the |502 church, and was a native of Mareotis. And he used to disguise himself at Alexandria in the days of Heraclius in the garb of a layman, and went about at night, comforting the orthodox who were concealing themselves there, and settling their affairs, and giving them of the Holy Mysteries. And if it was in the daytime, he carried on his shoulder a basket containing carpenters’ tools, and pretended to be a carpenter, that the heretics might not hinder him, and that so he might find a means of entering the houses or lodgings of the orthodox, that he might give them of the Mysteries, and encourage them to patience, and console them. And ¹ so he remained ten years until the time of the appearance of the Muslims. Then, when the blessed Benjamin returned to his see in peace, he adopted Agathon as his son in the administration of the holy Church.

Then the blessed Father Benjamin was attacked by a disease in his feet, besides the old age which had come upon him. And he remained thus sick for two years, until the saints prayed for him that God would release him from the prison of this world, so full of sadness, and would bring him to them in the place wherein is no sadness nor sorrow, but which is full of joy, in the land of the living. And God accepted their prayers, and sent to Benjamin three personages, namely Athanasius the Apostolic, and Severus and Theodosius the patriarchs, who were present at his death, and went before his holy soul, while the holy angels bore it on their pure wings, ascending with it to heaven with glory and honour, with the voices of praise and |503 glorification preceding it, until it reached the land of the saints, as the bridegroom enters his chamber, or the king his palace. So he departed to Christ his king, after finishing his conflict, and accomplishing his course, and keeping his faith, without losing one of his flock, on the 8th of Tubah, when he had been patriarch thirty-nine years, keeping the faith, wearing the crown of exile, which he received from the Lord Christ, to whom be glory with the merciful Father and the Holy Ghost, the Giver of Life. Amen. Abba Agathon says : «Those whose thoughts are in heaven are enlightened by the glory of God, who is the Father of Light; and the spiritual love of God is in them, as it is written ²⁶ : Taste and see that the Lord is good. Such was the Father Benjamin, the patriarch, the teacher of the orthodox, who understood the interpretation of the scriptures, and dwelt in the desert, and grasped many mysteries; for he despised his body and cut off his desires, for the love of the Lord Christ our God who is above all. And as for me, |504 the sinner Agathon, I was the son of the Father Benjamin, and knew much of his virtues through my intimacy with him.

And he told me of the great mystery which he had seen manifestly at the consecration of the holy sanctuary of the glorious father, Saint Macarius, in Wadi Habib, and of the canons and rules which he had drawn up. And to that belongs the following account which he related to me :

When I was in my city of Alexandria, having found a time of peace and deliverance from persecution and from the warfare of the heretics, the festival of the Nativity of the Lord Christ arrived on the 28th of Kihak, and we assembled in the church of the Pure Lady Mary, the Mother of the Light, which is called the Porch of the Angels. And we offered many prayers, in the presence of the clergy, and of the chief men of the city, and of all the people old and young, to celebrate the praises of the Lady and Virgin, who brought forth God the Word, the truly Incarnate in this world, the Lord of Lords and King of Kings, to whom is due glory with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the One God; and to observe at the same time also the festival of the Lord Christ, the Only-begotten Son, who was incarnate and was made man, and was born of the Pure Virgin at Bethlehem of Juda, one undivided Christ. Then I saw certain monks of calm and dignified appearance, like angels, who had entered into the midst of the congregation; and some of them were priests and some of them were from the desert of the holy Macarius; but they |505 could not reach me, on account of the multitude of the people. So one of the priests came towards me, and made their entrance known to me; therefore I said to him : I have seen them; and I bade him go to them, and he invited them to come to me. When they approached me, I enquired of them the cause of their coming so far. Then they said : We are come to thee with the object of praying thy Paternity, with a prostration, for God’s sake to undertake the trouble of a journey to the monastery in the Holy Mountain, Wadi Habib, the home of our father, Macarius the Great, in order to consecrate the new church which has been built to him at the foot of the rock among the cells; because many of the old and sick inhabit cells far away, which are near the water, and are wearied if they mount to the top of the rock. Be gracious then to us, O our father, and endure the fatigue, that the fathers and monks may receive thy blessing; for they all long to behold thy Holiness.

When I heard this, I said to them, in my poverty, with joy : Ah indeed may God make me worthy of that task! So they waited until we had finished the festivities of that day, and of its morrow, which is the 29th of Kihak, and of the third day of the feast. Then I said to thee, O Agathon, and to Cosmas, the scribe, thy companion : Provide for us what we need for the journey to Wadi Habib, that we may receive a blessing from the Father Macarius, and from the brethren and monks.

So we undertook this task; and we began our journey on the second day of Tubah. And when we arrived at Tarûjah, the inhabitants thereof met us |506 with great joy. Then we reached the desert of Al-Munâ, which is that of Abba Isaac, near the mountain of Barnûj; and the brethren who were there rejoiced greatly over us, and we remained there two days, after which they took leave of us; but some of them accompanied us to show us the way leading to the desert and to the mountain; and they were holy and excellent men. So they brought us to the extremity of the desert of the mountain of Nitria.

Then we turned to the Monastery of Baramus, or Maximus and Domitius, where we alighted at the Church of the Holy Isidore; and we abode there one day. Then the brethren and monks who had come to visit us in the city of Alexandria departed, and made our arrival known to the monks of the Monastery of Saint Macarius, save two of their priests who remained with us, together with the brethren who had accompanied us from Al-Munâ; and therefore some of the monks came out to us. And on the 7th day of Tubah we visited the rest of the monasteries, and received blessings from them.

Finally we proceeded to the Monastery of the holy Macarius. And when we drew near to it, the young monks met us with palm-branches in their hands; and after them came old men, carrying smoking censers, and a body of the clergy, chanting like angels, resembling those who came to meet the Lord Christ from Jerusalem on Palm Sunday.

And they began to give to my weakness that of which I was not worthy. And there was with them the great teacher Basil, bishop of Niciu. So I glorified the Lord Christ because he had counted me worthv once more to |507 see this renowned desert, and these holy fathers and brothers, and the manifestation of the orthodox faith; and had delivered me from the persecution of the heretics, and saved my soul from the great dragon, the tyrant who drove me away on account of the right faith; and had vouchsafed to me that I should behold my children once more around me. Then all the monks, the priests and the brethren, went before me until I entered the newly built church of Christ. There I seemed to enter Paradise, the place of meeting of the angels, and the joy of the saints, and the abode of rest for the just.

When the morrow arrived, the 8th day of Tubah, I said : Bring to me the priest Agathon, who suffered with me for the faith, in the time of the troubles which came upon me, when the Colchian, that enemy of the truth, attacked my weakness. So when thou earnest to me, I said to thee : O my son, bring forth the books which are requisite for the consecration; and accordingly thou didst bring them forth for me. Then we began the prayers; and with me were Abba Basil, bishop of Niciu, and all the clergy surrounding me, and all the monks, as thou sawest. At that time, while I was thus performing the rite of consecration, behold, I saw an old man, with a great light and radiant brilliancy upon his face; and as I gazed upon him and considered him, I said within myself : This man is fit to be made a bishop, to rule over many people; and if the Lord be pleased, as soon as a see is vacant, I will set him over it; for this person is a holy |508 man, fit for that office. So, while I was thinking of this, I saw a seraph with six wings, who appeared to me, and stood beside me. And he said to me : O bishop, why art thou thinking of this old man? This is Saint Miacarius, father of the patriarchs and bishops and monks who have lived in this desert; and he has come for the consecration of this church. Thereupon I was confounded before him, and considered him while he was standing among his sons with great joy; and the voice of that seraph resounded in my ears, and I was afraid of him. Then he said to me : If his sons walk in the straight way in which he walked, then they will enter with him into the place of the king, and rejoice with him. But he that breaks his commandments has no lot with him, but shall be driven out of the flock and shall have no inheritance with him.

Then the holy Macarius said to him : Put not thy seal, O my Lord, upon my sons with these words; for if a single grape be found in a bunch, it shall not perish, because the blessing of God is in it; and so I also trust in Christ, the Lover of my soul, that if he find among my children a single commandment kept, namely the love of one another, or if they raise their eyes to heaven to the Lord Christ even once every day, he will not forget them in his mercy, but will deliver them from the punishment of eternal hell. For the Lord, the Lover of mankind, grants repentance to the sinner, and desires not his death, in order that he may turn and repent, that so he may receive him. |509

Thus when I heard the words of Saint Macarius to the seraph, I understood his love for his children. For the interpretation of the name of the Father Macarius is the Blessed one, honoured by God and man. He, the Father Macarius, the disciple of God the Lord, is the net which gathers together of every kind for the kingdom of heaven. Then I said, so that those that were near me might hear me : Blessed art thou, O Saint Macarius, and blessed is thy order and blessed are thy children, since they deserve that thou shouldst be a powerful intercessor for them before the judgment-seat of God our Lifegiver, when our Ring and our God, Jesus Christ, shall come at his second appearing, to reward everyone according to his works in truth. Thou, O Saint Macarius, art the great ark which carries so many souls, and brings them into the harbour of safety and salvation, and thou art the intercessor for us all. As David says in his psalm ²⁷ : Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of hypocrites, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful! Thou art indeed the champion and the prince! Blessed is the womb that carried thee and brought thee forth into the world! Remember me, O thou true saint of God!

Then thou, O Agathon, didst say to me, and the bishop of Niciu said to me : To whom speakest thou, O our father? So I said to you both : I am addressing Saint Macarius, the father of this mountain. For there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. |510

And I went up to the sanctuary, and said the prayer over the chrism, and took it to anoint the holy sanctuary. And I heard a voice saying : Observe, O bishop! So when I marked the sanctuary with the chrism, I saw the hand of the Lord Christ, the Saviour, upon the walls, anointing the sanctuary. Therefore great fear came upon me and trembling, such as thou sawest in me; but thou and those present did not know the cause of it, nor what I had seen and heard. Then I said, with the Father Jacob ²⁸ : Verily this is a dreadful place, and this is the house of God in truth, and this is the gate of heaven, and the resting-place of the most High.»

Agathon the priest says : «At that time we had looked upon him, and he was like fire, and his face shone with light; and not one of us could speak a word to him, but we were confounded at him. Then the Father Benjamin said : This is the tabernacle of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And he walked round the sanctuary three times, saying Alleluia. Then he chanted the eighty-third Psalm, saying : How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longeth and pineth after the dwelling-places of the Lord, thy altars, O Lord of Hosts, my King and my God ²⁹. And he finished saying the psalm to the end.

Then, when he had completed the consecration of the dome, he went out into the body of the church, to consecrate its walls and columns; and at the end he returned and sat in the dome. And he said to us : I have been carried away to-day to the Paradise ³⁰ of the Lord of Sabaoth, and I have |511 heard voices that cannot be uttered nor conceived in the heart of man, as the wise apostle Paul says. Believe me, my brethren, I have seen to-day the glory of Christ filling this dome; and I beheld with my own sinful eyes the holy palm, the sublime hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, anointing the altar-board of this holy sanctuary. I have witnessed to-day the seraphim and the angels and the archangels, and all the holy hosts of the Most High, praising the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost in this dome. And I saw the father of the patriarchs and bishops and doctors of the orthodox Church, standing among us here in the midst of the brethren, his sons, with joy, —- I mean the Father Macarius the Great. Truly this sanctuary is beneath the throne of the Almighty. This sanctuary is that which Isaias the prophet describes, when he says ³¹ : There shall be an altar to God in the land of Egypt, and a platform, and five towns that speak the language of Chanaan.

Arise now, my children, and let us finish the liturgy, and obtain the blessing of the fathers, and glorify God most High».

Agathon the priest says : «The patriarch continued his narrative as follows. When I had finished the divine service and communicated the clergy, I saw again a great grace which I must not hide from thee. For when the old men came up for communion, I saw a vapour of incense ascending like perfume from their mouths, so that I thought that each one of |512 those fathers and monks carried incense when he came up to communion. Then the roof of the church opened, and that perfume ascended from it. And I observed their mouths as they prayed when they approached the Host, and I saw the words and the incense which issued from their mouths ascending to heaven. So I was assured then that it was their petitions and their prayers, which they uttered when they received the Holy Mysteries, which are the Body and Blood of the pure Lord Jesus Christ. And I saw the angels receiving those prayers of theirs, and carrying them up before the throne of the Lord. And, on account of the power of their prayers and supplications, I thought : Verily this is the golden candlestick holding the lamp; and this is the precious jewel; and this is the morning-star which rises and shines upon the whole world. And I sang the hymn of the three young men, Ananias, Azarias, and Misael, which they recited in the furnace of burning fire : Blessed art thou O Lord, God of our fathers, and praised and glorified for ever ³². And blessed in truth is the Lord, the , God of these saints, by whom and by whose like he directs the world. This is the meeting-place of the angels, and the harbour of all the souls which flee to God, the Deliverer of all souls. Then I glorified and thanked the Lord Jesus Christ, who made me worthy to witness what I saw.

And when I fell asleep that night, I saw standing before me a shining |513 personage who said to me : Awake, O bishop, and arise to set in order the canons of this church and this sanctuary together; so that every one, whether priest or deacon, may guard himself in his conduct therein in perfect patience and virtuous tranquillity, because Christ our Lord and all his angels are here; and write these canons as a memorial for this holy church for ever. For there will come a crooked generation who will love the praise of men more than the glory of God, and they will trample down this holy place shamelessly and haughtily, and will barter for gold the grace of the Holy Ghost which he gave to his people, and will break the apostolic canons. For who can desire to have an inheritance in this holy place who is without fear of the Lord and whose soul is not tried at the beginning? And the glory of this holy and renowned and venerated place shall be changed by such, who shall occupy as it were stalls for cattle at their entrance into it; for those who are of this kind have hearts like the hearts of cattle, and neither read nor understand. All of them go out of the way and become abominable; and their care is for their bellies, and their glory is in shame; and they go upon their bellies like serpents, and swell, and bite men, and are insolent, haters of their brethren, occupied with eating and drinking, as cattle which have no understanding or their like; and the Apostolic Church separates them from herself.

CANONS FOR THE MONASTERY OF SAINT MACARIUS.

[1]. No priest shall ascend to this sanctuary until he has put on his pallium first, before he carries the incense into the sanctuary. |514

[II]. No priest or deacon shall communicate therein until he has vested himself in the epomis or a pallium.

[III]. No priest or deacon shall speak in this holy dome any idle words, nor sit therein to read any book. And he that shall break this canon shall be anathema.

[IV]. If any priest or monk shall enter into this dome, unless he be appointed for the service of this sanctuary, let him be anathema.

[V]. If any of the priests belonging to this place bring a strange priest from Misr or an official into this dome and holy tabernacle, for the sake of human glory, let him be anathema.

[VI]. If any man shall persist in entering into this holy dome, the Lord Jesus Christ shall cast him out.

[VII]. And if any man transgresses in order that he may have a lot in this holy place by means of money or bribe, then let him, and everyone who assists him to enter it for the sake of human glory, be degraded, especially if he be notorious for evil and pride.

Know, my brethren, that not one of these shall receive the lot of Jacob; and the power which dwells in this place and in this holy sanctuaiy will not consent to any of these things. But let a monk be humble, pure, peaceable, perfect in all the approved qualities, as the Teacher Paul testified in what he |515 said about this degree; for he says what is certain in his glorious epistles.

Then this shining personage, by whom I am unworthy to be addressed, said to me : Thy departure, O Benjamin, from this world, which is the separation of thy soul from thy body, will correspond to the day of the consecration of this church. And thou shalt depart to the Lord Christ whom thou lovest, that thou mayest rest in the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the predestined, together with all the elect. So I said to him : O my Lord, I trust that God may make me worthy of what thou sayest, and may receive me, his sinful servant; and that I may go to him on the said day. And blessed be my Lord Jesus Christ, the Lover of my soul and spirit, because his mercy is abundant towards me. Thereupon the seraph disappeared from me.

And the patriarch Benjamin said to us : Think not, my brethren, that I have written these anathemas for this generation. Nay, rather I have written them because there will come another generation in the last times which will deserve what I have written, according to that which the seraph announced to me, who talked with me. Therefore it behoves every believer to beware of following the praise of men; but let him do what is fitting for the glory of God, and love him with all his heart. And do thou my son Agathon, the priest, write down for thyself the date of this consecration; and remind me of it constantly and every day, that I may remember the words of the seraph on this day, that on the same day will take place my departure from this world, it being the 8th of Tubah, on which took place the consecration of the holy church in the name of the holy Macarius, our father. |516

Now we will record another miracle which took place on the same day. There was in the city of Niciu a great and eminent official, whose custom it was to enter at all times into the holy monasteries in Wadi Habib; and accordingly he was present on the day of the consecration of the church of Saint Macarius, accompanied by a son of his who was afflicted by disease, in whom was manifested another great and conspicuous wonder, worked by the blessed Father Macarius, who is the father of the holy mountain in Wadi Habib, and the comforter of all the patriarchs and bishops and monks and teachers in the whole world; for the odour of the incense of his works, and the beauty of his deeds have filled the land, and his lamp illumines all that come to him. And it was the custom of this official to come to the monastery always at the feasts of the Nativity and of the Baptism and of Easter; and thus he was present on the day of the consecration together with his son, whom he entrusted to the charge of a holy monk, with whom was a youth who served him. When the consecration and the liturgy were finished, and the people had communicated, the son of the official was sleeping in the holy church; and at that moment he cried out in his sleep so that he frightened the people who were present with his cries. But that monk took courage, and went up to the lad, and awoke him; and when he awoke, the congregation observed him, and behold, he was healed, and seemed like a new creature on that day. So they glorified God for this great miracle which had taken place. |517

The Father Benjamin, the patriarch, said : So when I had finished the communion, I called the official, the father of the lad, and inquired of him concerning the circumstances of his son, and he informed me of his sickness and all that had happened to him. Then I called the lad and said to him : O my son, explain to me what thou sawest in thy dream, and hide nothing of it from me. So the lad said : While I was sleeping, I saw a tall old man with a light beard descending over his breast, and he squeezed my body with his hands, so that I cried out with the pain. Then he grasped with his hand the edge of my garment and drew it up over my head, and I saw all my disease and sores adhering to my garment, and they were stripped off with it from my body. And he said to me : Be of good courage, my son, for behold, thou art cured. So when this father and monk had finished, I rose up healed. This is what happened to me, O my lord and father.

So I, Benjamin, beheld him with my eyes on that day, and he was healed; and I glorified the Lord Jesus Christ, who showed to me his power and wonders by the hand of the holy Saint Macarius, who heals souls and bodies by his intercession with God, and who is become a harbour for the salvation of the world. Blessed therefore is the Mountain of Nitria, which was worthy to be inhabited by Saint Macarius, the intercessor for us and for all who visit him. O mountain in which is the mystery of God! O mountain on which are assembled those elect ones who shine therein more |518 brightly than the light of the sun by day, and whose prayers ascend like a flaming fire! O mountain in which the spiritual fruit bears thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold! O mountain which salts souls, and restores them from sin, and purifies them by repentance, so that they are white like snow! Thou art the true mountain on which are assembled the kings and the rich men and the poor, to serve God there. Thou art the mountain of salt in truth, which salts souls that stank with sin and iniquity. It is thou that hast made robbers into teachers and martyrs and saints. Therefore may they pray now without weariness before our Lord Jesus Christ, that he may strengthen us in the orthodox faith, in his illuminating Church, that all of us who are baptized may exult at all times therein. And we pray him to deliver us from the persecutions of those who rule over us, and from the wiles of the hunter and enemy of the truth, Satan, the evil prince.

Glory and power and majesty be to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and always and for ever and ever. Amen.»

With the help of God is finished the first half of the first part of the book of the Histories of the Patriarchs in the great city of Alexandria, successors of Saint Mark the Evangelist. May God grant us the blessing of his prayers and of their prayers! And their number is thirty-eight patriarchs.

[Footnotes moved to the end and renumbered]

1. 1. Eus., H. E., VII, 32; VIII, 13; IX, 6. —- The seven mss. collated for the preceding fasciculus have been consulted also for the present one, the Paris ms. 4772 being here designated by the letter G. C. like E. contains an abridged text.

2. 1. See the three versions of the Acts of St. Peter, published by Baronius and afterwards Mai. Spicil. Rom., III, p. 673. Rome, 1840; Surius (25 Nov.); and Combefis, Illustrium Christi Martyrum lecti Triumphi, etc. p. 189, Paris, 1660. The last alone is in the original Greek, the others being Latin translations. Cf. Viteau (Greek text), Passions des saints Ecaterine, Pierre d’Alex., etc., Paris, 1897; Bedjan (Syriac version). Acta mart. et sanct., t. V, Paris. 1895, pp. 543-561; Hyvernat, Actes des Martyrs, tirés des Mss. coptes, etc.. Paris, 1886.

3. 1. S. John, xi, 50; xviii. 14.

4. 1. Ps, lxviii, 1 (Sept. lxvii).

5. 1. Psalm cxix, 131 (Sept. cxviii).

6. 1. S. Matth., vii, 7; S. Luke, xi, 9.

7. 1. S. Matth., xxiv, 2; S. Mark, xiii. 2; S. Luke, xix, 44; xxi, 6.

8. 1. Job, vi, 21 (Sept.).

9. 1. S. John, i, 18.

10. 2. S. Matth., i, 23.

11. 3. Is., vii, 14.

12. 4. S. Mark, xiv, 61, 62.

13. 5. I Tim., vi, 13.

14. 6. S. Luke, i, 32-35.

15. 1. Phil., ii, 6, 7.

16. 2. I Thess., i, 10; Hebr., i, 4-6, 13; ii, 5. 8, 9.

17. 1. S. Matth., xvii, 4; S. Mark, ix, 4: S. Luke, ix, 33.

18. 1. III Kings, xii, 16.

19. 2. The Acephali.

20. 1. Acts, viii, 20, 23.

21. 1. S. Matth., iv, 8-10. S. Luke, iv, 5-8.

22. 1. Ps. lviii, 4, 5 (Sept. lvii).

23. 1. Ps. lxxxv, 10 (Sept. lxxxiv, 11).

24. 1. Mukaukas seems to be the Coptic [Coptic], «Colchian» or «Caucasian», and to denote Cyrus, bishop of Phasis. appointed by the emperor Heraclius to be patriarch of Alexandria, and prefect of Egypt. See Dr. A. J. Butler, On the identity of Al-Mukaukis of Egypt in Trans. of Soc. of Bib. Arch. 1901.

25. 1. Ps. civ, 27, 28; cxlv. 15. 18 (Sept. ciii. cxliv.)

26. 1. Ps. xxxiv, 8 (Sept. xxxiii. 9).

27. 1. Ps. i. 1.

28. 1. Gen., xxviii, 17.

29. 2. Ps. lxxxiv, 1. 2. 3 (Sept. lxxxiii).

30. 3. II Cor., xii, 4.

31. 1. Isaias, xix, 19. 18.

32. 1. Daniel, iii. 52 (Greek).

Severus of Al’Ashmunein (Hermopolis), History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic church of Alexandria (1910) Part 3: Agathon – Michael I (766 AD). Patrologia Orientalis 5 pp. 3-215 (pp.257-469 of text).

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS
OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

III

AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766)

ARABIC TEXT EDITED, TRANSLATED, AND ANNOTATED
BY
B. EVETTS

Chapter 15
- Agathon, the thirty-ninth patriarch (661 – 677)
- John III, of Samannûd, the forthieth patriarch (677 – 686)
Chapter 16
- Isaac, the forty-first patriarch (688 – 689)
- Simon I, the forty-second patriarch (689 – 701)
Chapter 17
- Alexander II, the forty-third patriarch (705 – 730)
- Cosmas I, the forty-fourth patriarch (730 – 731)
- Theodore, the forty-fifth patriarch (731 – 743)
Chapter 18
- Michael I, the forty-six patriarch (744 – 767)

CHAPTER XV

AGATHON, THE THIRTY-NINTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 661-677.

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, the one God.

The second division of the histories of the holy Church, consisting of six chapters and the lives of fourteen patriarchs.

Agathon was the son of the patriarch Benjamin in the spirit, not in the flesh; and he is the thirty-ninth in the series of the patriarchs.

When the great champion and maintainer of the faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and teacher of the orthodox creed, Abba Benjamin, returned from banishment, and resumed his seat upon the evangelical throne in the Church of God, he restored that which had been overthrown by Heraclius, and by the impure Chalcedonian Council, in the person of Proterius. For this Father Abba Benjamin reconstructed all things, and set them in order with the help of the Lord Christ, the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for his |4 sheep, according to his words in his pure Gospel ¹ : «The Good Shepherd gives his life for his sheep». So Benjamin walked in the footsteps of his Lord, and carried his cross and followed him, and endured trials and woes and great temptations till death for the right faith, but neither retreated nor turned backwards in his conflict, until he had finished it; so that he received his reward with the saints, his fathers, who preceded him. As David says ² in the Psalms : «Precious before the Lord is the death of his pure ones».

So the Father Benjamin died. And the faitful God-fearing people, by the command of the Lord, took that God-fearing priest Agathon, and enthroned him as patriarch, according to the agreement of his name with his actions; for he was good and his conduct was good, adorned with every noble deed, full of the grace of the Holy Ghost and of the orthodox faith.

Now the Muslims were fighting against the Romans furiously. And the Romans had a prince whose name was Tiberius, whom they had made their ruler, and who possessed many islands. So the Muslims took the Romans captive, and carried them away from their own country to a strange land. Thus with regard to Sicily and all its provinces, they took possession of that island, and ravaged it, and brought the people captives to Egypt. And this holy patriarch Agathon was sad at heart when he saw his fellow-Christians in the hands of the Gentiles; and as the conquerors had offered many souls of them for sale, he bought them and set them free. But they |5 were followers of the impure and heretical sects, known as the Gaianites, who do not communicate with the orthodox, and as the Barsanuphians.

And Abba Agathon did not neglect to ordain bishops in every place, that they might bring back the sheep which Satan had led astray to the Church of the Lord Christ. Therefore Satan brought down upon him great trouble on account of his purity of heart and excellence of character.

In those days Alexandria was governed by a man whose name was Theodore ³, who was a chief among a congregation of the Chalcedonians, and was an opponent of the orthodox Theodosians. This man went to Damascus to the leader of the Muslims, whose name was Yazîd, son of Mu’âwiyah, and received from him a diploma giving him authority over the people of Alexandria and Maryût and all the neighbouring districts, and declaring that the governor of Egypt had no jurisdiction over him; for he had given Yazîd much money. Then Theodore returned and tyrannised over the father, Abba Agathon, and troubled him; not only demanding of him the money which he was bound to pay, and taking from him thirty-six denarii as poll-tax every year, on account of his disciples, but that which he spent upon the sailors in the fleet he also exacted from him. And whenever he wanted funds he required the patriarch to supply them. But the community of the Chalcedonians would not associate with this man. The |6 patriarch needed seven thousand denarii to satisfy the demands of Theodore the Chalcedonian, besides the taxes upon his property, and was prevented from leaving his cell by the governor’s cruel hostility on account of his orthodox faith, for he even issued a command, saying : «Whoever shall see the pope of the Theodosians going out by night or by day, may stone him to death, and I will be responsible for him». So the Father Agathon lay hid during the days of that impious official, praying for him according to the injunction of the Gospel ⁴ : «Love your enemies, bless those that curse you». In the days of Abba Agathon was built the church which was dedicated in the name of the Father Macarius. And the brethren multiplied so that they built the cells near the Marsh; and they increased by the grace of the Lord Christ, and the believing brethren assisted them. In those days there appeared at the monastery a man, pure in body and clean of heart, learned in the two kinds of wisdom, the ecclesiastical and the secular, whose name was John, a native of Samannûd. While he was making a pilgrimage to the desert he was attacked by a sore sickness, and none of the seniors believed that he would be healed. Then one night he saw a dream as if one in human form giving forth light and in great glory, sitting on the throne of the Seraphim and surrounded by a multitude, |7 alighted near the door of his cell. And he beheld a band of seniors, the holy fathers who live in the desert, going forward to receive the blessing: of him that sat on the throne. And he said in his own mind : «If I had some one who would take me, I also would go forward to this great heavenly king, and receive his blessing, and then perchance I should recover from this sickness and pain». At that moment there approached him one of those who had been standing around the throne and him that sat upon it, a man clothed in the raiment of the patriarchs and apostles, and holding upon his breast a book like the gospel; and he said : «Wilt thou that I bring thee to our Lord that he may grant thee the grace of healing?» Then John prostrated himself before that man with tears and prayed him saying : «Have pity on me, O my Lord, and take me to him, for I am in great trouble». So that holy one answered and said to him, for he was a priest : «O John, tell me that, if thou shalt be healed by the Lord, thou wilt be a son to me, and I will take thee to him». And he promised him in the vision that he would be a son to him until the day of his death; and that man took his hand and brought him to the Saviour of the world. Thereupon John fell prostrate at his feet, and the Saviour said to him : «O John, why love ye vanity, ye sons of men, and neglect the truth, and seek lies ⁵? Behold, didst thou intend in coming hither to build for thyself a cell of clay which will quickly disappear, or to lay up for thyself treasures in heaven, |8 and erect for thyself in the heavenly Jerusalem, the new city, a mansion which will not perish?» So he fell at his feet and prayed to be forgiven. And the Lord raised him up and said to him : «Now I grant thee the healing of thy sickness for the sake of Mark the Evangelist; therefore depart, and do all that he bids thee». Then the Lord ascended to heaven with glory and majesty.

After that John awoke from his dream, healed of his sickness. And he meditated, saying : «What is this that has now been done?» Then consolation descended upon him from that day. And he went to a monastery in the province of the Faiyûm, accompanied by his two disciples; and he concealed himself there.

Subsequently there appeared to Abba Agathon one who said to him : «Send to John the priest, who is of Samannûd, that he may help thee and assist thee; for it is he that shall sit after thee upon the throne». Accordingly the patriarch despatched some of the clergy to the bishop of the Faiyûm, Abba Mennas, and wrote bidding him send to him the priest John. Now that bishop loved John, and profited by his discourse, but he could not contradict the Father Patriarch. So he sent the messengers to John, and they brought him in a boat, and the bishop despatched him to Alexandria.

When the patriarch saw John he rejoiced over him. because he was very wise; and therefore he delivered to him his church, and gave him |9 authority over it and over the city. And some of the people prayed him to ordain John bishop over Upper Egypt, and others suggested some other see. But God was reserving him for his gentleness like David, that he might accomplish for him what had been promised in the vision in Wadî Habîb.

And that true father, Agathon, was occupied all his days in providing for the ordination of priests who were worthy of the laying on of hands and were fall of the fear of God; while men thanked God for his deeds. In his time lived the blessed bishop Gregory, bishop of Al-Kais, and a Syrian, whose name was Joseph. In his days also appeared the foul heresy of the Monk.

There was a commander among the Muslims, whose name was Maslamah, and he called together seven bishops, and sent them to Sakha on business connected with some people there, who were alleged to have burnt with fire some of the clerks employed there. The bishops were directed to try the accused; and, when they arrived at Sakha, they acted in concert with a man who was a magistrate there, named Isaac, and they corrected the state of affairs; and those men were healed from the burning. And the said Isaac came to an agreement with the governor of Sakha, and together they prevailed over Theodore the Chalcedonian who was at Alexandria. For this Isaac had received authority over the whole province on his account, because of the harm that he had done to the patriarch. |10

Then the patriarch Agathon finished his days in a good old age, and at the end he fell sick after remaining seventeen years upon his throne, and went to his rest on the 16th of Babah. And his body was placed, as it is written in the history of Saint Macarius, with the Father Benjamin. He died keeping the orthodox faith, and is now wearing the crown of righteousness with all the saints in the land of the living for ever and ever. Amen.

JOHN III, OF SAMANNUD, THE FORTIETH PATRIARCH. A. D. 677-686.

When the holy father, Abba Agathon, went to his rest, Theodore the Chalcedonian laid his hand on everything, so that they did not find even bread to eat on the day of the patriarch’s death; for he set his seal on all that belonged to Agathon, and on all that they had. But at last the Lord took vengeance on Theodore by a sore plague in his vitals, namely the disease of the dropsy; and he began to eat every day twelve pounds of bread and twenty-four pounds of meat and two baskets of figs, and to drink daily one skin of wine of Maryût; and yet neither his hunger nor his thirst was satisfied, nor was his belly filled. Thus he died an evil death.

And his son was appointed governor instead of him, and became like a son to our father Abba John, for he had confidence in him and love for him. Thus the Father Patriarch led him like a son. At the beginning of his |11 occupation of the see took place the slaying of Tiberius who was prince of Byzantium; and his son took the empire, and his name was Augustus. And when this man began to reign, he made war upon the coasts which the Muslims had taken, and recovered them. And he took many islands of which the Muslims had gained possession, and so likewise he restored Sicily.

At that time there arose one who was no true monk in the city of Constantinople, whose name was Maximus; and he stirred up disturbance and trouble in his country. For he said : «If you truly believe in the faith of Chalcedon, then confess the doctrine of two Natures and two Persons and two Hypostases and two Wills and two Velleities, which the council taught.» So many people followed him; and there arose a great dispute between the two parties. And Augustus the prince was angry with them, and sent this man who was no true monk into exile. And this prince went to Sicily after a time, and was killed there like a slaughtered victim by one of his two attendants.

After him his son Justinian ruled the empire instead of him, and he was a bold prince; and the fear of him fell upon the hearts of the Muslims as when a lion leaps out upon a pack of wolves.

But in those days, after the death of Yazîd, the son of Mu’âwiyah, there arose from the land of the Muslims a prince, whose name was Marwân, who rushed forth like a lion when he comes out of his den hungry, and |12 devours the rest or tramples them under foot. He took possession of the East and of Fustât Misr. And he made his sons governors over all the provinces. To the eldest of them, whose name was Abd al-Malik, he gave Damascus; and to the second, Abd al-Azîz, he gave Egypt.

And there was great enmity between Marwân and the Egyptians, because they had set their hopes on the arrival of another man, whose name was Ibn az-Zubair. But when he arrived, Marwân defeated him. And there were appointed for Abd al-Azîz two secretaries, trustworthy and orthodox, whom he set over the whole of the land of Egypt and Maryût and Marâkiyah and Pentapolis which is Libya. One of them was named Athanasius, and he had three sons, and was a native of Edessa in the land of Syria; while the other’s name was Isaac, and he and his two sons were natives of Shubrâ Tani, of a good and orthodox family.

And when Abd al-Azîz became governor of Egypt, the Father Patriarch wrote from Alexandria to Misr to the two scribes who presided over his divan, to make known to them what had been done concerning the seal, which was set upon all the places, and the trouble with the misbelieving Chalcedonians from which he was suffering. Thereupon the said scribes sent messengers to Alexandria with instructions that the seal should be broken in the places named, and that all the property of the Church should be delivered to the Father Patriarch.

Now this father was a saint, and the grace of God appeared in his face |13 as in Moses the prophet, so that none could look upon his face, nor discern its features nor the sockets of his eyes, on account of the great light which was upon it. And the Lord healed many of the sick through his prayers; and he was a virgin in soul and body; and he lived in peace with all men. And his deeds and wonders were manifested, so that even the prince and all in his palace heard of them, and sent gifts to him from Constantinople. And in the first year that Abd al-Azîz became governor, he went to Alexandria, according to the custom of those who were appointed governors, to receive its taxes, which were every day a thousand denarii in cash. Then much money was sent to the prince of the Romans; and there was a truce for ten years without war. When the governor arrived at the city, since his entry was not public but private, the patriarch did not go forth to meet him, because he did not know of his coming. Thereupon he was denounced by many people, misbelievers and heretics, whose leader was a man named Theophanes, the husband of the sister of Theodore the Chalcedonian; for they said that he did not go forth nor meet him on account of the greatness of his pride and haughtiness, and his great wealth. Then Abd al-Azîz sent in anger and summoned the blessed Abba John to the palace, and made him stand before him, and said to him : «What is the cause of thy stiff-necked pride and of thy delay in coming forth to meet me outside this city?» The blessed one answered and said to him : « God knows that I did not |14 do this on account of stiffness of neck, but on account of my weakness, and because I cannot always go forth from the city to another place». Then the Amir was angry and delivered him to certain officers until he should pay a hundred thousand denarii; and he was received into custody by the governor of a castle, who was named Samad, a man without mercy, hard of heart and full of evil. This man received the patriarch on the first day of the Great Week before Easter; and took him and brought him to his dwelling, to torment him until he should pay the money. Afterwards he made him stand before him; and there were with the patriarch two men of good families, namely Arâs the priest, steward of the property of the Church, a man of peace, adorned with every excellence, famous for his gentleness among the inhabitants of the whole city, and the deacon, his secretary, a wise man, loving his fellows, learned in the Scriptures, and virtuous. So when that evil man made our father, the patriarch, stand before him, he said to him : «I require of thee one hundred thousand denarii, which the Amir commands thee to pay». So he answered and said to him calmly and quietly : «Thou demandest of me one hundred thousand denarii, and I have not out of that sum one hundred thousand drachmae. But my God has not put in his law a command that I should save anything for myself, or gain money at all, for it is the root of all evil. Do therefore whatever it pleases thee to do. My body is in thy hands, but my soul and body are both in the hands of my Lord Jesus Christ». When the misbeliever heard this, |15 he was greatly indignant, and he gnashed with his teeth at the saint, and commanded that a brazen vessel full of coals of fire should be brought, and his feet placed in it until he should say that he would pay the money. But God, the ruler of his servants, sent down that night upon the wife of the Amir Abd al-Azîz a sore sickness, so that she was troubled and sent her eunuch to Samad, to say to him : «Take heed that thou do no harm to that man of God, the patriarch, whom they have delivered to thee; for great trials have befallen me on account of him this night». So Samad against his will released the patriarch, as well as his two good and excellent sons, until the morrow, that he might take thought as to what he should do with him.

Then at the time of cock-crow Samad went to the Amir and had an interview with him, and made known to him what had happened, and that he had not put the patriarch to the torture. So the Amir said to him : «Beware of touching his body, because of what has befallen us this night on his account. But whatever thou canst obtain from him, take it from him by gentle means, and if that be impossible, yet do no harm to him, for God has revealed to me that he is his servant».

So Samad returned to his house. And it was now Tuesday in the Great Week. So he summoned John, the holy patriarch, before him, and threatened him with many threats, and brought him the garments of a Jew, and swore that if he would not pay the sum of money that he had first |16 required of him, he would clothe him with those garments, and defile his face with ashes, and lead him round the whole city. But John was not at all afraid, but kept saying to him with a brave heart : «Even if the Lord my God does not save me from thy hand, yet thou hast no power to do aught to me except by his command». Then Samad the misbeliever said to him : «I will yield to thee fifty thousand denarii; and thou shalt pay fifty thousand denarii; and I will release thee to negotiate as thou canst, and raise that sum for me». The saintly patriarch answered and said to him : «The only things that I can dispose of are my garments which are upon my body». After that Samad did not cease to lower his demands until he reached ten thousand denarii. So the patriarch said to him : «I will not promise what I cannot perform». Then when the news came to the secretaries who administered the affairs of Alexandria that the sum demanded had come down to ten thousand denarii, they sent to Abba John and said to him : «Undertake to pay the ten thousand denarii, and we will divide the debt among the bishops and the secretaries and the divans in which we serve, so that nothing may happen to the Church».

Then they went to Abd al-Azîz, and prayed him to summon the patriarch, and hear from him what he had to say. And that day was the Great Thursday. So when the governor had sent for him, and raised his eyes to him, he saw him as if he were in the similitude of an angel of God. Then he commanded at once that an ample cushion should be brought for Abba John; and when it was laid down, he sat upon it. And Abd al-Azîz said to him : |17 «Knowest thou not that the governor may not be thwarted?» The saint answered and said to him : «The governor’s command is obeyed in what is right, but his orders are disobeyed when they are displeasing to God. For our Lord says in the Gospel ⁶ : Fear not those that kill the body, and have no power over the soul, but fear him who can destroy the soul and the body together : that is to say God, who alone can do this» Then the Amir said to him : «Thy God loves honesty and truth». The patriarch replied : «My God is all truth, and there is no lie in him; but he destroys all those that speak lies». The Amir answered and said to him : «Thou art honest with me. Therefore whatever the Christians shall give to thee, because I demanded it of thee, give it to me, and I will require no more of thee». So the secretaries said to the patriarch : «Do this». Accordingly the patriarch accepted that proposal, and the Amir released him with honour and joy, while gladness and rejoicing were spread among the orthodox, but sorrow and shame among the enemies of the Church.

And the blessed patriarch rode forth from the governor’s palace, amid the acclamations of the people, who walked before him, while he was mounted on his horse, with chanting and singing, until he entered the church. There he blessed the basin of water, and washed the feet of the people; and afterwards he celebrated the Liturgy, and carried the Holy Mysteries, and |18 communicated the people. Then he returned to his Cell, by the mercy and help of God.

Much shame and sorrow came to the heretics from this, and more to those who had accused him than to any other, and especially to Theophanes the governor of Maryût. For in those days the Amir arrested him suddenly, and delivered him to the secretary, who sent him to prison, and afterwards put him to death after severe torments. And he went to Hell.

God, the only worker of miracles, vouchsafed to the Father Patriarch acceptance and favour with the Amir, who commanded throughout the city that none should address the patriarch except with good words nor say any evil of him, and that none should hinder him in what he desired, nor in going out of the city nor coming into it. Then the magistrates and believing scribes and all the orthodox people found their opportunity, and assisted Abba John, until he had paid the Amir the sum that he had finally demanded of him. And after that they assisted him also in the rebuilding of the church of the glorious martyr and evangelist Saint Mark; and he completed it in three years with every kind of decoration, and bought for it house-property in Misr and in Maryût and in Alexandria. And he built a mill to grind wheat into flour for making biscuit, and a press for linseed oil, and many houses which he settled upon the church of the holy Saint Mark. And the Lord blessed him in every way in his deeds and words. In his days also the orthodox received into their community the people of Agharwah and the people |19 of the Xoite nome, who had been Chalcedonians. Thus the grace of Christ helped and strengthened him.

And he prayed the Lord to reveal to him who was fit to sit after him upon the throne. So when he heard of a brother, named Isaac, learned, excellent, clothed with every virtue, who was serving God in the monastery of the holy Saint Macarius in Wadî Habîb, and had been spiritual son to a bishop, named Zacharias, full of the grace of the Holy Ghost in his venerable character and dignity and humility and good deeds, then the holy patriarch John wrote and summoned that brother to himself, and guarded him like the pupil of his eye. And the brother Isaac was engaged in the works of God, and in writing and copying books; but the patriarch notwithstanding that commanded him to become his partner in administering the affairs of the Church.

Then there came a dearth in the days of the holy John, the said patriarch, which lasted three years; but God assisted this father in supporting the poor of the city during three years; for, if he had not done so, they would have perished in the famine. He gave them their food twice every week, and also gave them money; and the mill for biscuit did not cease working night or day, but continued to grind for those that were destitute. |20

And the patriarch’s eye was full of affection, and he was great in charity, and used to give alms as abundant as the sea; and he neglected nothing in his works which could please God, like John the Evangelist. At last he was attacked by a disease in his feet, arising from the gout, and he was greatly tormented by it, until the physicians treated him by the advice of his family and of the brethren who surrounded him.

At that time Abd al-Azîz journeyed to Misr, and Abba John travelled in company with him, until he arrived at the capital. There the patriarch suffered from a sharp pain in his side; and when the Amir was informed of it, he was sorry for him, and sent the secretaries to visit him; and they prepared a boat for him, that he might return down the river to Alexandria. And the writer of this history was with him, for he was his spiritual son. When he arrived at the city of Alexandria, the news was brought to the assembly of the bishops that he was prostrate with fever. So they entered to him. And there were in company with them Gregory, bishop of Al-Kais, and Abba John, bishop of Niciu, and Abba James, bishop of Arwât, and Abba John, bishop of Sakhâ, and Abba Theodore, bishop of Metelites, and a body of the laity: and they were all sad because they saw their shepherd called from earth to heaven. For indeed none remained in their generation |21 like him in his deeds. And when he came to the church of the holy Saint Mark the Evangelist, which he had rebuilt by the incomprehensible decrees of God, they carried him and brought him into the great altar. Thereupon he stood up by the power of the Spirit, and said the whole of the prayer of thanksgiving; and then he lost consciousness. After that they carried him and brought him into his chamber; and so he gave up his spirit into the hand of the Lord Christ in glory and honour.

The period during which he remained on the throne was nine years; and he went to his rest on the first day of Kîhak. And his body was laid in the place which he had built for himself before his death, in the church of Saint Mark the Apostle, with chanting and praises ascending to God. To whom belong glory and honour and praise and majesty and power for ever and ever. Amen.

CHAPTER XVI

ISAAC, THE FORTY-FIRST PATRIARCH. A. D. 686-689 ⁷.

This is the father, Abba Isaac, of whom it was revealed to the father, Abba John, that he should sit after him, by his prayers and wishes, |22 according to what has been related before. For the Scripture says ⁸ that the Lord visits his chosen ones. And it says also ⁹ : «None shall take an honour by himself unless it be given him by the Lord from heaven». And it says in the Psalm ¹⁰ : «Blessed is he whom thou choosest and receivest unto thee». For when Abba John departed to the Lord in good remembrance, the bishops assembled together under the presidency of Gregory, the bishop of Al-Kais; and James, bishop of Arwât, and John, bishop of Niciu, and a body of bishops and of the Christian laity took counsel with the clergy of Alexandria, and associated with themselves the secretary who was commissioner for the city; and they agreed that they should promote the deacon George, who was a native of Sakhâ, to the dignity of patriarch, without consulting the Amir Abd al-Azîz. For they said : «If he is angry with us or murmurs, we will tell him that Abba John, the patriarch, commanded us that this man should sit in his place after his death, and made us promise and swear to this, and so we could not oppose him». Then they took the deacon George, and ordained him priest, and clothed him with the monastic |23 habit; and they proclaimed in the church that on the morrow the patriarch would be consecrated, forgetting the words of the Scripture ¹¹ : «The Lord bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought, and maketh the thoughts of the people to be of no effect, and hindereth the commands of princes». And when the morrow came, they clothed the deacon George with the vestment of the patriarchal office, and prepared what they needed, and brought him forth in pomp. But while they were intent upon his consecration, they met the archdeacon of the city, whose name was Mark, and who was a man of understanding, virtuous, and of high reputation in the city; and he forbad them, saying : «If you will not come to the church on Sunday, according to the custom prescribed by the canons, when all the people of the city shall be assembled, I will not assist in the ordination of this man». Now this was God’s command, that he might promote that man whom he had chosen at first, namely Abba Isaac, the monk, who was a native of Shubrâ.

For when the morrow came, some of the attendants of the Amir arrived and said : «Where is he whom they have appointed patriarch, and where are the bishops and the priests who appointed him, that we may take them to Misr under our charge?» So they took them and departed. Then, when they had enquired into the affair, they found that the documents bore witness that it was not George of whom Abba John had spoken during his lifetime. So the Amir Abd al-Azîz was angry, and cancelled George’s nomination, and commanded them to appoint Isaac. And the thing was |24 from God. So the bishops took him, and ordained him, and he sat upon the patriarchal throne for three years.

And the Lord was with Abba Isaac helping him, so that he repaired the Great Church of the Holy Mark, when its walls were sloping in, and also renewed the episcopal residence. And by his means the liturgies in the churches of the orthodox, where they could not be performed before, were restored. And he built a church at Hulwân, because at that place he used to go to visit the Amir Abd al-Azîz, who had commanded the magistrates of Upper Egypt and all the provinces to build, each one of them for himself, a residence at the town of Hulwân.

In those days the patriarch addressed letters to the king of the Abyssinians and the king of the Nubians, bidding them make peace together and praying that there might be no ill will between them; and he wrote this on account of a dispute which there was between the two. Thereupon certain intriguers seized the opportunity of slandering Abba Isaac before Abd al-Azîz, who was greatly incensed, and sent his officers to bring him that he might put him to death. But the secretaries wrote letters different from the patriarch’s letters, and gave them to the messengers whom he had sent to the Abyssinians, and took those first letters from them, in fear for the patriarch. This they only did lest evil should befall the Church. And before the patriarch was brought before the Amir, they informed him that the messengers were there, and the letters with them. So he sent |25 in haste to seek them, and took the letters; and when he had perused them, he found nothing in them of what had been told him. Thus his anger was pacified, and he sent at once, and bade the patriarch return to Alexandria, and did not cause him again after this to come up southwards.

Then he commanded to destroy all the crosses which were in the land of Egypt, even the crosses of gold and silver. So the Christians in the land of Egypt were troubled. Moreover he wrote certain inscriptions, and placed them on the doors of the churches at Misr and in the Delta, saying in them : «Muhammad is the great Apostle of God, and Jesus also is the Apostle of God. But verily God is not begotten and does not beget.»

Then the blessed one went to his rest and departed to the Lord in peace, keeping the orthodox faith, and wearing the crown of righteousness with all the Saints; and after his decease, his body was put in the place which he had prepared in the church of Saint Mark, with chanting and hymns. And the people and the priests took care as to whom they should promote after him upon the throne of the patriarchate. And a dispute took place between the clergy of Saint Mark the Evangelist and the clergy of the church of the Angelion in the city. For some said with regard to John, the Hegumen in the Monastery of Az-Zajâj, which is called in Greek To Enaton, that he was worthy of this office, because he was a learned man and a writer, |26 and he was also godfather to the government-secretary; but others spoke of a man, whose name was Victor, Hegumen of the Monastery of Taposiris, who was also an excellent person. When the people of the church of the Angelion were informed of John, they rejoiced, and the secretary supported them, because it was the Great Church, and there were one hundred and forty ecclesiastics attached to it. So Theodore, the magistrate of the city of Alexandria, wrote for them to the Amir Abd al-Azîz, to inform him of John, the Hegumen of the Monastery of Az-Zajâj; saying that the choice of the community had fallen upon him, that he should be patriarch.

Now the period, during which our father, the patriarch Abba Isaac, remained on the apostolic throne, was two years and nine months. And he went to his rest on the second day of Hatûr, and departed to the Lord Christ, keeping the faith, and ruling his flock. According to another copy, however, he is said to have remained in the patriarchal office three years. May the Lord have mercy upon us by his prayers, and the prayers of all whose works he approves! Amen. |27

SIMON I, THE FORTY-SECOND PATRIARCH. A. D. 689-701.

There was with Abba John in the monastery a holy man fearing God, excellent, learned more than many in his generation, whose name was Simon, of the people of the East, whose parents had brought him to Alexandria in his youth, and given him as an offering to the Church like Samuel, for the sake of the body of the holy Saint Severus; for it lies in a shrine in that monastery, and the Syrians used to bring to it gifts and votive offerings. Then the aforesaid Theodore took Simon, who was then a deacon, at the beginning of the days of Abba Agathon, and brought him to Abba John, that he might teach him the art of writing, and the sections of the Scriptures. And by the grace of the Lord Christ who was with him he learnt the Old Testament and much of the New in a short time, for Abba John was excellent as a teacher. So, when Abba Agathon saw that Simon was good in his conduct, he ordained him priest, so that he was the second in rank in the monastery, after his spiritual father John. Then, in consequence of what has been related, the Amir wrote a letter, and sent to summon John, whose spiritual son Simon travelled with him, besides some of the clergy of Alexandria, and Theodore the magistrate in their company. When they arrived, they gave the Amir their letter, containing the name of John: and |28 so the Amir wished to see him. And when the Amir saw John, his heart inclined towards him, because he was a handsome person, beautiful in countenance. Then he asked the priests and bishops concerning him, and they answered : «Yea, he is fit».

But there happened on that day a wonderful thing, like the matter of Phares and Zara, or like Adonias and Solomon, the sons of David. And this was that, after the appointment of John had been confirmed, God raised up one of the bishops like Daniel at that time, without collusion or consultation with anyone, and he said : «This man shall not be our patriarch». Thereupon silence and wonder fell upon all the people, so that none answered him a syllable. So the Amir enquired : «Then who is fit, sayest thou?» Then the bishop said in the presence of the assembly : «Simon is worthy of this degree». So the Amir commanded that Simon should be brought before him. And when he saw him, he asked them and said : «Whence comes this man?» So it was told him : «He is a Syrian of the people of the East». When he learnt this, he said to the bishops : «Then can you not appoint one of your own country?» And they answered him and said to him : «Verily the man whom we chose we brought before thee; but the matter belongs to God, and in the second place to thee». Then he turned to the blessed Simon, and asked him whether he approved this |29 venerable John as patriarch. And Simon gave his assent and said to him : «There is not found in the land of Egypt nor in the East one who is as worthy as this man, and he is my spiritual father, and my master from my youth; and his life is as the life of the angels». So when the Amir heard this, he marvelled greatly. And there was a great multitude assembled; and a shout was raised among the magistrates and bishops and clergy, who cried : «May God prolong the life of the Amir for us many years! Deliver the see to Simon, for he is worthy to be patriarch. As was Abba Benjamin, so is Simon. Verily the Church supports them». When the Amir looked at them, and heard their words with regard to a foreigner whom they had not known at all for more than two days, then he bade them with God’s help take him and ordain him patriarch. And he commanded the greater part of the bishops to travel in his company. Accordingly they brought him to Alexandria, and enthroned him upon the apostolic throne in the Great Church, called the Angelion. Thus the orthodox people had great joy and peace and unity in the Church, and her affairs grew in prosperity day by day.

Then Abba Simon set his spiritual father John over the affairs of the |30 Church, while he devoted himself to the study of the holy Scriptures. And as long as John lived, the Father Patriarch did not occupy himself with any of the affairs of the Church, but gave all that up to John his father, in the same way that he used to do with him in the monastery, obeying him and calling him «My Father».

Then Abba Simon wrote a synodical epistle to Julian, patriarch of Antioch, at which the latter marvelled; and Simon sent it by certain bishops, and in it he reminded Julian of unity, and that this one faith and unity were between the two sees, Alexandria and Antioch. Then, when Julian studied it, he found it full of the wisdom of God and of the spiritual books, and he rejoiced greatly; and he preached in his church in the name of the father Abba Simon. He also wrote him an answer to his synodical letter, and sent back his envoys with rich gifts to Egypt.

When Simon had continued three years, his father John went to his rest in peace, and was counted worthy that the blessed Simon the Patriarch should lay his hand upon his eyes, and even shroud him with his own hand. Thus he received his father’s blessing and carried him to the monastery, and buried him, and remained beside him forty days, until he had built a tomb for him. And he laid his body in it, and made it large enough to contain his own body, when he should die, that he might be buried with him therein.

Then there came to Abba Simon a trial from God, who proves his elect and purifies them like one who purifies pure silver from dross, so that they |31 become like pure gold; and by the grace of the Lord Christ he endured until he obtained the crown. For he was a man salted with salt, like the salt of the Gospel, having no hypocrisy nor greediness of comfort or of meat or drink, but during his whole life his breakfast was bread and crushed salt with cummin and purslain or such like herbs, that he might weaken the force of his bodily appetites, and make the flesh the servant of the spirit. He used not to associate with the bishops or clergy, because he used to seek solitude so as to observe the times of prayer; and for this reason he was hated by the people of Alexandria. Therefore some of the clergy went to certain magicians, and gave them gold so that they made for them by their magic art a deadly poison, which they put in the vessel in which the Father Simon, the patriarch, used to drink, and brought it to him that he might take some of it. But he had communicated of the Holy Mysteries before he drank of it, and therefore, when he swallowed it, it did not injure him. Then those parricides did the same thing a second time, but it did not hurt him nor do him injury. So when the magicians saw this, they were amazed at what had happened to this saint. Then indeed they took fair figs out of season, and put deadly poison in them, and charged the priests, and said to them : «Give him these to eat, while he is fasting without food, and has not made his communion, and then he will burst asunder in the midst». So they brought him the fruit with cunning and |32 hypocrisy, and begged him and entreated him to eat of them; and there were some who pointed them out to him, and induced him to swallow of the poisoned figs. Accordingly his bowels were moved that night, and he remained forty days in great anguish, so that every one thought his death inevitable. But the Lord who gives life raised him up, and showed forth a miracle in him. And there appeared to him in a vision one who said to him : «For what cause dost thou endure these trials?»

So when the Amir came to the city, he looked upon Abba Simon, and his appearance was changed through that which had happened to him; and when the Amir asked the reason of this change, he was told by the scribes that four of the priests had given the patriarch poison to drink. Thereupon the Amir commanded that they should be burnt alive, and the magician with them, outside the city, on the north side of it, in a place called Pharos. But when they were about to burn them, the patriarch fell upon his face with many tears before the Amir, and interceded with him for them, saying to him : «If anything happens to them on my account, I must be suspended from my office, for it is not right that I should be patriarch after that». Then the Amir marvelled at the goodness of his acts, and commanded that the ecclesiastics should be released, but that the magicians should be burnt alive on account of their former deeds. So they were burnt in the fire.

After this, Abba Simon committed to Abba John, bishop of Niciu, the management of the affairs of the monasteries, because he was conversant |33 with the life of the monks, and knew their rules; and he gave him authority over them. At this time the monks were industriously rebuilding the cells, while the officials took charge of their maintenance. Then, however, some of those who were given up to their appetites took a virgin out of her monastery, and conveyed her to Wadî Habîb and committed sin with her secretly. When this was made known among the monks, there was great distress among them, the like of which had not been heard of in that place. So the bishop took the monk who had committed the sin, and inflicted a painful beating upon him; and ten days after his punishment that monk died. Then when the affair became known, all the bishops in the land of Egypt assembled in secret and enquired of the bishop what had happened to the monk, so he informed them concerning the event, and confessed that it was he who had beaten him; and therefore they condemned him to be deposed, because he had transgressed the limit of what humanity required in him. So they deposed him, and he was silent while they did so; and they had said to him : «It is unlawful for thee henceforth to approach any of the vessels of the sanctuary, but thou shalt receive the Mysteries like a mere monk». Then he cried and said to the people : «Since you have deposed me unjustly, the Lord, the God whose name I know, shall make you |34 all, O ye bishops, strangers to your sees until the end of the time during which you have condemned me». Then they appointed another man, named Mennas, of the monastery of Saint Macarius, to be bishop in his stead; yet he was a man held in honour, powerful in words, loving the brethren.

But after a few days the saying of this holy bishop was fulfilled upon the bishops who assisted to depose him, and upon all the bishops; for a calamity came upon them. There were at that time men who were like the Gentiles, and abstained from their lawful wives, and took unlawful mistresses, showing their subjection to their passions; and yet they said that they were Christians. But the bishops rejected them, and repulsed them from the Holy Mysteries. So some of them went to the Amir and said to him : «We are forbidden to marry, and they have cast us out so that we are forced to commit fornication». Then he was angry, and assembled the bishops from their sees to Alexandria. Accordingly sixty-four bishops were gathered together, but they knew not why they had come nor the cause of their meeting; and they used to pay their respects to the Amir every week. And the heretics, who were no true bishops, also met there, namely, Theophylact, a bishop of the Chalcedonians, and Theodore, who was one of the Gaianite adherents of Eutyches; and of the followers of Barsanuphi there was George, besides a number of others who were called bishops, and who had also been called together. |35

Then when it was Sunday, news came to the Amir that the army of the Romans had risen against the prince Justinian, and deposed him, and had appointed Leontius instead of him. So the governor at once commanded that the magistrates of every province should be gathered together, and the people of Alexandria and the bishops and the Muslims, that he might make known to them the disaster of the Romans. So a great multitude was then gathered together, and they said : «It has always been the custom of. the Romans that one prince is deposed and another takes his seat». Then the Amir commanded on that day that the Liturgies of the Christians should be forbidden. For the Muslims said that the Christians were in error, giving God a wife and a son, and uttering many falsehoods in their religion; and the Amir rebuked their want of agreement in the doctrines of religion.

Then he turned to Theodore the bishop, chief of the Gaianites, and said to him : «Of these three bishops, which is nearest to thee, and whom does thy soul receive?» He answered : «Abba Simon». Then the Amir turned to Theophylact, the bishop, leader of the Melkites, and said to him : «Which is nearest to thee, and whose religion preferrest thou?» So he said : «I prefer the religion of Abba Simon.» Then Abd al-Azîz said to George, the Barsanuphian : «Which is the nearest to thee of these bishops, and whom does thy soul receive?» He replied : «My religion and the religion of Abba Simon are one, and it is he whom my soul loves». Then |36 he turned lastly to the father, Abba Simon, the preacher of the truth, and said : «Which of these is the nearest to thee, and the one whom thy soul loves?» So he answered and proclaimed in the assembly in a loud voice, saying : «Not one of these is near to me, nor do I love one of them, but I excommunicate by writing and by word of mouth them and their vile doctrine and their fellowship; and those who favour them and those who communicate with them I contemn as Jews». Then the people cried with a great voice, saying : «Abba Simon confesses the truth without error». Thereupon those men were overwhelmed with shame.

After this there came a priest from the people of the Indians to Abba Simon, to ask of him that he would ordain for him a bishop for the Indians. Now the people of the Indians were not subjects of the Muslims. So the patriarch said to the Indian priest : «I cannot ordain a bishop for you without the command of the Amir, who is governor of the land of Egypt. Go to him, and make thy need known to him. Then, if he bids me, I will do for thee what thou requirest, and thou shalt return in peace to thy country with companions». So the priest went from the patriarch’s house to go to the Amir. Then some of the Gaianites met him. and took him to Theodore, the chief of the Phantasiasts. and told Theodore the cause which had |37 brought the priest from his country. Therefore Theodore said to him : «I will do what thou needest for thee». Then Theodore took a man of Maryût, and ordained him bishop for him, and ordained two priests for him, and sent them away secretly to India. But after they had travelled twenty days, the guardians of the roads, who were employed by the Muslims, seized them, and sent them to the caliph, whose name was Abd al-Malik. The Indian priest, however, escaped, and returned to Egypt; but they brought the three others bound to Abd al-Malik. And when the caliph knew that they were of the land of Egypt, and from Maryût, and were travelling to a foreign country, he cut off their hands and feet, which he sent to Egypt, to Abd al-Azîz, to whom he wrote, reproaching him with incapacity, and saying : «It seems that thou knowest not what takes place in thine own country, namely that the patriarch of the Christians, who lives at Alexandria, has sent information of the affairs of Egypt to India. Now, when thou readest this letter, thou must inflict upon him two hundred stripes, and take from him one hundred thousand dinars, and send the money to us forthwith by the envoys who come to thee, without delay».

Now the patriarch, Abba Simon, was at that time at Hulwân, accompanied by a bishop. When the letters came to the Amir from his brother at the second hour of the night, he sent some Slavonians and summoned the holy Abba Simon, and his two spiritual sons, that is to say, his scribes. And |38 the Amir said to him : «Fear God, and take heed of thyself, and let no lie come forth from thy mouth with regard to that on which I shall question thee». So the patriarch answered : «I fear my God, and govern my soul in my conduct so that it may be saved by doing good at all times; and as for lies, not only to-day, but during my whole life I have despised them, for they come from Satan, the enemy of mankind. Thus I am ready either for death or life. With regard to the truth as far as I know it, I will tell it before God and thy authority». Then the governor’s anger blazed less furiously, and he said to him : «Didst thou indeed appoint a man to the bishopric of the Indians?» So he answered and said to him : «There came to me a priest from, their country, and requested this thing of me, but I sent him away, telling him that, unless he would bring me an order from the Amir, I could not do this thing. Then I wrote for him to the secretaries, that they might inform thee of his business; and he left my house, when I was at Alexandria, and has not returned up to now». When the Amir heard these words, he imagined that the blessed one was afraid of death, and for that reason concealed the truth; so he said to him : «Woe to thee! Behold the hands and feet of thy friends, which the caliph has sent to me. And he commands also that I take from thee one hundred thousand dinars, after inflicting upon thee five hundred stripes. Thou hast concealed the truth, therefore I will destroy thee, and kill the bishops with the sword, |39 and pull down all the churches. Yet now this is my sure promise to thee. If thou wilt tell me the truth, I will pay the money instead of thee from my own treasury, and no harm shall befall thee from me. Now be honest with me».

Now this was at night. Then the holy man answered without fear and said to him : «It is the glory of the prince that he love justice, and the lips that are moved in hatred shall be despised. And now, as I think, if a voice came from heaven, bidding me deviate from the truth, I would say no otherwise. But thou wilt not believe me because of what is between us with regard to the coming of the letters to thee, concerning the people whose limbs were cut off, and the men by whom they were cut. Yet now they and the letters will bear witness to me and show the truth. So if I find grace before thee, write that the men may be sent to thee, that the truth of the matter may be known from them and from the letters which were found intheir hands, and that they may tell you who sent them. Then if anything appears which contradicts my words, do what thou wilt». But the Amir answered and said to him ; «How shall they bring hither men whose hands and feet are cut off? thou think that there is any other patriarch of the Christians in the city of Alexandria besides thee? Why dost thou |40 dispute with me?» Then the holy man Simon answered and said to him : «I am pressed on every side. Thou dost not accept the truth from me, but thou desirest to force me to accuse myself of that which I have not done. Yet by the love of God in thy heart grant me a delay of seven days, and thou shalt know all that took place according to the truth». So he said to him : «Perchance thou desirest to flee or to kill thyself. But this monk, what is he in relation to thee?» The patriarch replied : «He is my son». The Amir enquired : «Hast thou confidence in him?» He answered : «Yea he is as my own life». So the Amir said to him : «As my brother did to the men who were taken while they were travelling to India, so I will do to thee if thou dost not tell me the truth». The holy man answered and said : «Behold, we are before thee with God, therefore do whatever thou wilt. For I have told thee already what took place with me». Then the Amir was silent for a time, and at length said : «I will grant thee a delay of three days. Therefore depart, and beware what thou doest, and perchance God will let know me the truth».

So he went out from his presence and prayed to God humbly with tears, and begged him to show the Amir his innocence of the charge which he laid against him in this matter. And at sunset on the second day his spiritual son, the monk, looked towards the river bank, and saw walking there that black Indian priest and monk, who had come to Abba Simon and asked |41 him to ordain a bishop for him, and who did not know anything of what had happened since then, because he had been a fugitive. So he went to that Indian, and grasped him and brought him to the holy patriarch, and said to him : «O my father, God has accepted thy prayer, and exposed the unjust treatment that we suffered». And he made known to the patriarch that he had taken the Indian priest, and he brought him in. And the Indian told Abba Simon what had taken place, and how Theodore the Gaianite had ordained for him a bishop and priests. So when the morning of the third day came, he took him to the Amir, guarding him and taking thought how to save him, and to save Theodore also from death. When the Amir saw him, he said to him : «Perchance thou wilt now tell the truth without lies». So the holy Simon answered him, after adoring God upon his face, and said : «The authority of men comes from the authority of God, and he who exercises authority in this world must be long-suffering, and willing like God most high to grant respites with generosity. Now I desire that thou give the promise of God to me and to those present with me in regard to this occurrence, that them wilt do them no harm, but wilt pardon them for God’s sake; and then the truth shall be made known to thy lordship». So he gave him his hand that he would do him no evil. Accordingly he brought before Abd al-Azîz the Indian priest, who made known to him all that had |42 happened, and that Simon was innocent of this occurrence. When the Amir learnt this, he sent the Indian to prison, and commanded that Theodore should be taken and crucified. And he thanked the holy man, Simon the patriarch, and rejoiced over him, and acknowledged his honesty. He wrote also to Abd al-Malik, his brother, to inform him of what had happened and that the patriarch of the Christians in the city of Alexandria had nothing to do with this matter, but was innocent of it; and he praised him to the caliph, and recounted his goodness and uprightness and chastity. And Abd al-Azîz performed for Abba Simon what he had promised, by sparing for his sake Theodore and the Indian priest; for he had learnt that there was no deceit in him.

And after three years Abd al-Azîz dismissed the bishops to their sees, and commanded them to build two churches at Hulwân. And the bishops spent of their own means upon the building of them; and the governor deputed Gregory, bishop of Al-Kais, to superintend the building of them. Now the Amir loved building, and therefore he built Hulwân, and constructed reservoirs there; likewise at Misr he built houses and market-places and baths; and so he did in every town on the river from Misr to Alexandria. He commanded also to dig the canal of Alexandria on the north of the city near the pool of Nicetas; and he ordered that milestones should be set up along it as far as Alexandria. So also he did in the city itself, for he restored her streets after they were ruined. For he made use of men as |43 Pharao did in his time; and there are many things which he did, but which this biography has no room to relate, for fear of making it too long. Meanwhile this holy man Simon was striving all his life to prevent difficulties between the Christians and the Muslims, so that none might suffer loss through him. And through him the Lord used to show his wonders. He had an oeconomus whom he entrusted with the care of the diaconicon, and who was a priest, and in his charge was all that belonged to the church. And the patriarch used to exhort him at all times and say to him : «O priest Mennas, see that thou be not careless with regard to the church, in leaving in thy house a book or anything that belongs to it, for otherwise trouble will come upon thee». But Mennas was not pleased with these warnings. And the Lord gave this priest no child, as he smote the firstborn of Egypt in ancient times; yet though he thought of repentance he was not converted. Then God sent down upon him suddenly a disease through which his tongue clove to his palate, and his reason left him, and he used to bite his tongue while he was sleeping upon his bed. And three men took him on account of what he did to himself, and carried him to his house. And the Father Simon, the patriarch, was troubled about him and about the property of the church, because it was in his charge, and no one besides him knew the amount of it. So he remained awake, and prayed the Lord Jesus Christ to raise Mennas up from this sickness for the sake of the church. Then when midnight came, news was brought to the Father Patriarch that |44 the priest Mennas was near death. So he sent his son to him, and bade him ask his wife if he had said anything to her about the property of the church; but before the patriarch’s messenger arrived at the house, there was heard the voice of one crying that the priest was dead. And when he expired, they dressed him in the priestly garments, and laid him on his bed, according to the custom of the Alexandrians, vested in his liturgical vestments. Therefore when the patriarch’s son came to the house in which Mennas was laid out, with a great number of the clergy around him, because of his priestly office and his rank, the brother bent over him to kiss him. And the priest sat up and clasped his hands round his neck, and said : «God is the One, the God of the blessed Abba Simon». So when all those who were around him saw him, they fled in fear from that brother whom he had embraced. Thereupon he said to him : «Be confident and of good courage, and be patient, O priest Mennas». Then he answered and said to him : «Through the prayers of my Lord, the Father Patriarch Abba Simon, God has given me life a second time». Then the brother called the clergy and the rest of those who were in the town, and made known to them that the priest Mennas had spoken; and the priest Mennas said to them as they stood astonished and amazed : «Verily I died like all men who die, |45 and two shining men led me before the throne of Christ, the great and mighty King; and I saw the fathers and patriarchs in their ranks, beginning with the Father Isaac back to the Evangelist Saint Mark. And they reproved me saying : Why didst thou hide the property of the church and all that belongs to it from our successor Abba Simon? Then I was placed before Christ the King, and he said : Take him into outer darkness. And while they were dragging me away, the holy patriarchs prostrated themselves before the Lord Christ, saying with supplications : Have pity on our son, this servant, and release him this time, because he has not given an account of the property of the Church, and this our brother Simon is praying for him. Therefore Christ commanded that I should be brought back a second time, and he said to me : Thus thou diest and art worthy of death, but for the sake of our chosen one and vicar, Simon, I release thee this time. Yet if thou repentest not and takest not heed to thyself, thou shalt return hither, and I will accept no prayers on thy behalf». Then Mennas arose and stood upright, and he had recovered from his sickness. Afterwards he brought forth all the property of the church, and delivered it to the holy Father Abba Simon; and the Father Patriarch delivered it to his spiritual son. And Mennas remained with him to the time of his death in the fear of God. And all the people glorified God, the doer of wonders among his saints, on account of this great miracle.

Then the Father Patriarch, Abba Simon, chose spiritual men, brilliant |46 in their deeds, deeply learned in the scriptures and in wisdom and sciences, and ordained them bishops over every place. And the first of these sons of his was the Father Abba Zacharias, bishop of the city of Sakhâ; and he made Abba Ptolemy, the spiritual brother who was his brother in the monastic life, bishop over the see of Upper Manûf. And there are many others whose names are forgotten. These he ordained and distributed the dioceses among them that they might feed the reasonable sheep. And he remained patriarch nine years and a half. Then he fell ill on the day of Pentecost, and recognised that it was a mortal sickness. So he said to his son : «Let us travel to the holy valley, Wadî Habîb, that I may receive the blessing of the holy fathers and the monks; for I shall not see them again after this time in the body». So he went down from Hulwân, for he had gone thither from Alexandria for the sake of the bishops, until he had dismissed them to their dioceses. And he went down to Wadî Habîb, and received the blessing of the holy fathers, the monks; and then he went on to Alexandria. And he was removed by the incomprehensible decrees of God to the land of the living on the 24th of Abîb, which corresponds to the 18th of July according to the Roman months, in the year 416 of Diocletian, the unbelieving prince, the slayer of the Martyrs. And he bad his sons lay his body in the Monastery of Az-Zajâj, in the place where the body of his |47 father John was laid. Accordingly the monks of the monasteries assembled together at Henaton, until they had finished the prayers over him. And his body was lowered into his tomb with hymns of worship and praise to the Lord Christ, to whom glory and honour are due, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, the Giver of life, for ever and ever. Amen.

Here ¹² ends the sixteenth chapter wherein the History of the Fathers is completed, as far as the life of Abba Simon, the forty-second patriarch. May God grant us the blessing of their prayers! Hereafter will follow that which we have translated from the documents in the Monastery of Saint Macarius, namely the history of ten patriarchs, from Michael ¹³ the Last to Sinuthius the First. We also translated in this monastery the lives of nine other patriarchs, in the year 796 of the Martyrs. This is written by Apacyrus, the deacon, and Michael, son of Apater, of Damanhur. Through the grace of God, which enabled us to find the histories in the Monastery of Saint Macarius, with the help of the brother Theodore, the steward, son of Paul, on Sunday the 6th of Ba’ûnah, in the year 797 of the Righteous Martyrs. We have compared the manuscripts with one another, and found them |48 corresponding to what we copied; and so we assured ourselves of their authenticity.

CHAPTER XVII

ALEXANDER II, THE FORTY-THIRD PATRIARCH. A. D. 705-730.

We must now record the events which took place after the death of the glorious, venerable, and blessed father, the good shepherd Abba Simon, who heard from the Lord Jesus Christ the words : «¹⁴ O thou faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over little, I will set thee over much. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord». When his death was made known to the Amir Abd al-Azîz and to the scribes at Misr, these latter were afflicted with grief and sadness because all the Christians had lost their shepherd, at a time of difficulty and trials, caused by the civil governors. But the Lord Christ did not cease to govern the Church. And Athanasius, the believer, was president of the Divân; and he protected the interests of the churches. On this occasion he and the scribes went to the Amir with one consent, and said to him : «The property of the Church at Alexandria obliges her to pay |49 a heavy tax. Therefore we pray thee to despatch the bishop Gregory to Alexandria, to watch over the possessions of the Church and everything connected with it. So may God lengthen thy life, O Amir!» Then Abd al-Azîz consented to what Athanasius asked for, and despatched Gregory, bishop of Al-Kais, to Alexandria, and gave him authority over the property of the churches and the establishment of the patriarch, with free power of administration; and accordingly he wrote a decree for him to that effect. So Gregory took the decree and departed. And they began to take thought as to whom they should promote to be patriarch, in accordance with their desire for a man known for wisdom and learning. So they waited three years in this state, until it was the Lord’s will; and at length the heart of the civil governors was well disposed in this matter, after much supplication. Then by the will of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who knows whom he will choose from among the pure and chaste and clean of heart, they brought forward the priest Alexander from the Monastery of Az-Zajâj. He was a monk, a virgin, humble, without defect, learned in the Scriptures from ins youth. And they brought Alexander to the Amir, who saw the grace in his face, and so allowed them by the will of God to promote him to the patriarchal office. |50

So the orthodox laity agreed together, in the presence of an assemblage of bishops and priests and the secretaries of the divan. Then the Father Alexander was consecrated patriarch on the festival of the holy Saint Mark, namely the last day of Barmudah, in the year 420 of Diocletian. And the land of Egypt rejoiced greatly, and especially the orthodox, because the Church had been left in solitude three years, and they were therein like orphans. And the Lord was with the Father Alexander, making all his affairs easy, on account of his humility and chastity and trust in the Lord alone as his ruler. Then when a short time had passed, during which he remained in peace, Satan stirred up strife against the bishops, as we will relate.

Abd al-Azîz, the governor of Egypt, had a son, the eldest of his sons, called Al-Asbagh, and he thought that he would sit in the seat of government in his father’s room when he died. So he made him ruler over the whole country as wâli and receiver of the revenue, and all ranks obeyed him with fear, because he was the Amir’s son, and because of the authority which he had given him. Now Al-Asbagh was a hater of the Christians, a shedder of blood, a wicked man, like a fierce lion. At that time a deacon, |51 named Benjamin, became attached to him and grew intimate with him; and Al-Asbagh loved him more than all his companions. And he treacherously revealed to Al-Asbagh the secrets of the Christians, and even expounded the Gospel to him in Arabic as well as the books of alchemy. For Al-Asbagh sought out books that they might be read to him, and so for instance he read the Festal Epistles, in order that he might see whether the Muslims were insulted therein or not. And he did not shrink from any cruelly that he could inflict upon the Christians. For as the damned heretics were in the habit of calumniating the Christian monks and saving that they did nothing but eat and drink, he sent one of his trusted friends, named Yezîd, accompanied by another, and mutilated all the monks in all the provinces and in Wadî Habîb and on Mount Jarâd and in other places. And he laid a poll-tax upon them of one dinar from each individual, and commanded that they should make no more monks after those whom he mutilated. Now this tax of the infidel Al-Asbagh was the first poll-tax paid by the monks.

After this, Al-Asbagh compelled the bishops of the provinces to furnish a sum of two thousand dinars besides the taxes on their lands, and this sum they paid every year. And he acted proudly, and compelled the people to pray as he bade them. And Benjamin, the monk and deacon, was a |52 worse enemy to the Christians than any other, and excited his friend to every kind of persecution. So he forced many persons to become Muslims, among them being Peter, governor of Upper Egypt, and his brother Theodore, and the son of Theophanes, governor of Maryût, and a body of priests and laymen not to be numbered on account of their multitude. But the Lord Jesus Christ did not long respite Al-Asbagh, and in a short time hurried him out of the world, because he hated the Christian people. This took place as follows. On the Saturday of Light he entered into the Monastery of Hulwân, and looked at the pictures being carried in procession according to the rule. And there was a picture of our Pure Lady Mary and of the Lord Christ in her lap; so when he looked at it and considered it, he said to the bishops and to several people who were with him : «Who is represented in this picture?» They answered : «This is Mary, the mother of Christ». Then he was moved with hatred against her, and filled his mouth with saliva, and spat in her face, saying : «If I find an opportunity, I will root out the Christians from this land. Who is Christ that you worship him as a God?» And that night God sent down vengeance upon him. For in the morning he came to his father, and found him sitting, surrounded by a body of Muslims and Christians. And the day was Easter Sunday. So Al-Asbagh sat down and said to his father; «O my Lord, the devils have chastised me this night». His father said to him : «How, |53 my son?» He replied : «I looked, and there was One sitting on a great throne, exceedingly awful and terrible; and his face shone with light brighter than the rays of the sun; and round him were thousands and tens of thousands bearing weapons, and their garments were white as snow; and I and thou stood behind him, bound with iron chains. And I asked one in a low voice : Who is this who has taken the government of the land of Egypt from my father? He said to me : Hast thou not known him till now? So I asked him in the dream : And who is he? Then he answered and said : This is Jesus Christ, the King of the Christians, who is more glorious and higher than all the kings of the earth. This is he whom thou didst mock, and in whose face thou didst spit. He shows thee thy weakness in this dream, thou wretched one, together with thy father; and he shows thee his glory and majesty». And while he was saying this to me, behold, one of those bearing weapons came to me, I being naked, and he struck me with a spear in my side, and did not take it out again until I had given up my spirit to them; and they were the devils who mocked me». When his father heard this tale he was very sad. And the young man was immediately seized with a violent fever, and was carried away forthwith; and they laid him upon his bed, and he did not open his mouth after that, nor did he eat or drink. So at the second hour of the night he died. And he was buried; and none could comfort his father because of him. And |54 after forty days his father also died, according to the dream which his unbelieving son had seen.

When these things had happened, Athanasius, the believer and lover of Christ, went with his sons to the sovereign prince Abd al-Malik at Damascus. But Abd al-Malik arrested Athanasius there, and called him to account, and took from him all the gains that he had acquired in Egypt since the collection of the taxes had been left to him. Then the prince sent one of his sons, named Abd Allah, to govern the land of Egypt; and when he came to Egypt, he also did evil deeds; and all the officials feared him on account of the deeds to which Satan tempted him. For he made instruments with which to torture the people, and was like a fierce wild beast; so that often when he sat at table men were put to death in his presence, and perchance their blood spurted out into the dish from which he was eating, and he took pleasure in that. In those days the blessed Alexander went forth, and travelled to Misr to salute Abd Allah, according to the custom among patriarchs and governors. But when Abd Allah saw him, he said : «What is this man?» They replied : «This is the father and patriarch of all the Christians». So he took him, and gave him over to one of his chamberlains, to whom he said : «Humiliate him in whatever way thou wilt, until he shall pay three thousand dinars». So he took him, and he remained with him three days. And the Christians continued to petition |55 the governor that he would remit part of what he had said, but he would not. And all the people in the country were in great distress on this account; and great fear fell upon the bishops and monks on account of the money which he tried to extort from the patriarch. So when George the deacon, a native of Dimru, saw this, that Abd Allah would not set the patriarch free until he had received the money, he went to him and said to him : «O our Lord, dost thou desire the life of the patriarch or money?» He answered : «I wish for the money». So the deacon George said to him : «Trust me with him for the space of two months, that I may go down with him to the North, to beg for him from the officials and Christians, and I will pay thee for him three thousand dinars». So the governor gave the patriarch up to him, and he went round the cities and villages with him, and visited those who believed in Christ, until he had collected the money and brought it to Misr. And he used to assemble to himself the bishops and principal men and monks, and then mock them, and speak proudly with hard words, saying to them : «You are to me like the Romans, and if a man slays one of you, God will pardon him, because you are the enemies of God». And when he received from the people the taxes which they were accustomed to pay, he demanded the double amount from them, requiring a dinar and two thirds from those who were bound to pay one dinar, so that many churches were ruined for that cause; for he loved money greatly. |56

Then Abd Allah commanded that of the youths of his country all those should be gathered together that were twenty years old or under. So they went and assembled together; and the leaders whom he appointed were two men, friends of his, named Asim and Yazîd, and with them a body of officials; and they brought down great trials upon the people, and many were killed on this account. And they branded the strangers whom they found, on their hands and foreheads, and sent them to places which they did not know. Thus there was trouble and confusion in the land. The governor also gave orders that no dead man should be buried until they had paid the poll-tax for him; and he appointed a man named Muhammad over this business, so that even the indigent, who could not buy bread, were not buried when they died, except by his command. How great then were the sadness and misery and sighing in the provinces of Lower and Upper Egypt on account of the deeds of these men, until the Lord took vengeance suddenly on Abd Allah, after he had continued for two years to do such deeds! For the Lord took away the life of his father, Abd al-Malik, whose eldest son, named Al-Walîd, became ruler in his stead. When Al-Walîd took his seat on the throne of the empire, he began to remove the provincial governors, and to nominate others from among his friends. So he appointed as governor of Egypt one named Kurrah. But that infidel Abd Allah did not know of this change; and while he was sitting in his |57 official residence, the governor appointed to replace him arrived unexpectedly, and took his seat in his place. Thus great ignominy and shame came to him on this account.

And Kurrah brought down great trials upon the friends of Abd Allah, both Christians and Muslims, and cast them into prisons where they remained for a year. And there was in his days a man of the orthodox faith, named John, a native of Damirah, who had authority to command or forbid. But Kurrah caused trials among the churches and the monks, as shall be described.

Meanwhile the Roman monarchy was like a game for children. For when the Romans had deposed Justinian the prince, they made Leo their ruler in his place. But Leo was put to death before he had completed the third year of his reign; and after him reigned Apsimarus, who put many patricians to death at Constantinople; and he also killed the patriarch. When Apsimarus came to the throne, he released many captives from his country, and they returned to their own homes; and he provided each one with three dinars for the expenses of the journey. After him reigned Philippicus. Then after two years Anastasius was made prince of the Romans, and is still reigning. (N. B. By ¹⁵ saying «still» the writer means at the time of composing the history.)

Now the president of the divan of Alexandria in those days was |58 Theodore; and there was great hostility between him and the Father Patriarch, Alexander. For when Kurrah came to Misr, the Father Patriarch went according to the custom to congratulate him on becoming governor, and to salute him. But Kurrah arrested him on his arrival, and said to him : «Thou must pay me a sum equal to that which Abd Allah, son of Abd al-Malik, took from thee». The Father Patriarch said to him : «Our Law bids us not to lay up treasure and not to multiply gold or silver, but that we spend something day by day on account of what we need for daily use and for the poor and the needy. Abd Allah acted as he did towards me only through the calumnies of evil men, because of which he treated me unjustly and exacted three thousand dinars from me. But he found none of that money in my possession, so that he sent me out into the country like a beggar asking alms, until God gave me what I needed; and even now I owe five hundred dinars. So whence shall I get anything?» Then the Amir said to him : «Wilt thou swear to me then that thou hast no gold?» The patriarch answered : «God has commanded us not to swear at all. Believe me therefore now that the taxes on my property which must be paid are beyond my means, and God knows that I have no gold». Then the Amir said : «These words will not avail. If thou must sell thine own flesh, thou must pay me three thousand dinars, and if not, thou shalt not escape from my hand». So when he saw that he could not escape from him, he begged him |59 to let him travel to Upper Egypt, and whatever God allowed him to collect by the alms of the people he would send it to him. Then Kurrah released him, and he went up to Upper Egypt, and went round the cities and villages, and begged. And the Lord Jesus Christ healed many sick persons by his prayers, and every one rejoiced in him, saying : «Since the time of the Father Benjamin we have not seen a patriarch in Upper Egypt until this father». But he suffered fatigue and trouble and the miseries of travel, and at last Satan, who hates the good, did this thing of which an account follows. There was a hermit, named Petubastes, who dwelt on a rock with two monks, his sons. One day their father, the hermit, bade them clean out for him a place away from the rock; and while they were clearing it and digging, they found five brazen pots full of money in Roman coin. So they hid one of the pots, and showed the other four to the hermit. So the old man said to them in his simplicity : «Is this all that you found?» And when they said that it was all, he was glad at that. Then he said to them : «The Lord has disposed this money for the Father Patriarch, because he is required to pay what he does not possess». Afterwards he sent to the patriarch’s steward, whose name was George the monk, and to his scribe, and summoned them both, and delivered to them the four pots, and said to them ; «Take these and give them to the governor for the father Alexander, the patriarch ». So they took the pots and went |60 away and buried them dishonestly. And the Father Patriarch was absent collecting money in Upper Egypt. So the monks, the sons of the hermit, took the pot of money, and divided it between themselves, and began to act impiously; for they abandoned the monastic life, and bought fine raiment and maidservants. So the governor of the town and the clerk seized one of them and said to him : «Whence hast thou this money?» And when he was chastised, and the stripes caused him anguish, he said to them : «Promise me that you will do me no hurt, and I will make everything known to you». So they promised him, and he informed them of the affair of the five pots, and that he and his comrade had taken one of them, and that the other four pots were in the possession of the patriarch’s steward and scribe. Then they at once informed Kurrah of this, and he commanded that the patriarchal residence should be shut, and all the vessels and gold and silver and books and cattle in it seized. And he brought down great trials upon the friends of the patriarch, and took the four pots of money, besides the vessels of the church and the goods found in the patriarchal residence, and he sent to Upper Egypt, and summoned the patriarch, and was minded to slay him because he had sworn that there was no gold in his possession. And when he took from them the four pots, all the friends of the patriarch fled like the apostles at that time. Then when they brought the patriarch before Kurrah. he gnashed his teeth upon him and wished to slay him, but the Lord restrained him; so he |61 loaded him with iron fetters, and cast him into prison, where he remained seven days. Then after that he compelled him to pay the three thousand dinars, and great trouble and distress came upon him, until one thousand dinars were paid to him after two years; and many trials came to the holy father, but he endured them patiently. Afterwards wicked people went and accused him falsely of having men in his house, who coined dinars, and alleged that he possessed a die for stamping coin. And while he was sitting at the ninth hour of the day, on a certain day, breaking his fast, and ignorant of what was to happen, before he knew anything, they had surrounded the patriarchal residence, and the people of the city of Alexandria with the town-clerk, by command of Kurrah, had seized the patriarch and his companions; and they threw him to the ground, and beat his companions, who were tortured till their blood flowed on the ground, and they almost died by the torture; and after all they found what they had accused him of to be false. And they did not cease from these persecutions till the second day of Amshir, in the year 430 of Diocletian.

Then after these persecutions which the father suffered, the people and clergy of Alexandria rose against him, and demanded that he should pay them some of the dues and church-rates on the third day of the Feast of Easter, but he had nothing to give them. And he said to them : «O brethren, you have seen how we have been robbed of all the property of |62 the church, even of the cups in which the Pure Blood is offered; so that we have been forced to make chalices of glass and patens of wood instead of the gold and silver vessels, because Kurrah has robbed us of them». But they reviled him with many hard words, while he patiently endured their abuse, and prayed to the Lord Christ, the chief shepherd, that he would receive his people from him and grant them salvation.

And the Lord Jesus Christ did in his days wonderful things, because he cares for the salvation of each one among men. For there was a man named John, an official, to whom God gave favour with the governors. So he went to Kurrah and said to him : «It is right that thou shouldst know that the taxes weigh heavily upon the monks and bishops in every place. Here then is an easy matter, for some of them are rich; while others have not the means of nourishment; and we know the state of all the Christians; if therefore thou thinkest fit to set me over their affairs, I will collect the taxes». So he set him over the bishops and monks. And when Kurrah gave him authority, he said to him : «There are among them some who do not believe in the faith of the Coptic Christians, and yet will not pray with the Muslims. What then thinkest thou that I should do to them?» The governor answered : «Do to them according to the law of the Christians, and take a double poll-tax from them». Accordingly John went out from before him, by the dispensation of God, and went first to the |63 diocese of Sa, which was his own diocese, where there were certain heretics, Gaianites and Schematics, living without the blessing of God. He therefore put a stop to their foul heresy, and baptized them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, enlightening them with the illumination of baptism; and their souls were filled with joy. Then John went to Al-Munâ, where the bishop of the diocese was Abba Hor, and baptized the monks there, after they had abjured their heresy; and thus the Gaianites and the Barsanuphians, who were there, were led by him into communion with the orthodox. When he left that place, he journeyed to Wadî Habîb, where also the heresy of the Gaianites had existed during a hundred and seventy years, from the time of the schism caused by Julian; and he brought them also back to the orthodox faith. Thus he united all the churches in one body by the grace of the Lord Christ who helped him; not only these, but those in every place in which he found roots of bitterness, that is to say, foul heresies among the monks or others. For in the city of Banâ and Busir and Samannûd and the neighbourhood, and at Rosetta and Damietta, the Lord rooted out their false principles and cast them away; and he united the whole land of Egypt in one faith with true agreement, and brought all the foul heresies to nought. |64

And the Amir Kurrah was a great lover of money; and whenever an official died, he seized all his goods. Thus on the death of the chief of the Divân of Alexandria, and of Apacyrus of Tinnis, who was a clerk, and of an innumerable multitude of officials at Misr, he confiscated their property; and he even took away the endowments of the bishops. By these means he added a hundred thousand dinars to the established revenue of the country. And men began to flee from place to place with their wives and children, but no place would harbour them because of the troubles and the exaction of taxes; and his tyranny was greater than that of any of his predecessors.

Then Kurrah appointed a man, named Abd al-Azîz, of the city of Sakhâ, who collected the fugitives from every place, and brought them back and bound them and punished them, and sent everyone to his own place; and the people endured heavy trials. After this, God sent a great plague upon Egypt, and the number of those who died daily was not known ; but the majority of those who died were Muslims. At last the plague entered the house of Kurrah, and his wives and his pages died; and he fled from place to place in fear of death, until he finished the term allotted to him, and then died suddenly a painful death.

Now Julian had been patriarch of Antioch, and had charge of the church from the days of John, patriarch of Alexandria, to the days of the Father Alexander; but he had gone to his rest, and departed to eternal |65 happiness. So the bishops of the East assembled in order to appoint his successor; but their prince, whose name was Al-Walîd, would not allow them to do this. For he said : «I will not permit a patriarch to be appointed in my days». And the bishops were sad because of this; and therefore they took a God-fearing bishop, filled with the grace of the Holy Ghost, named Elias, and seated him upon the throne in the church of Antioch. And he wrote a synodical letter according to the law of the ancient canons, and despatched it by a bishop, named Stephen, to the Father Patriarch Alexander, because of the agreement between the two prelates. But the holy Alexander was visiting various places, so the bishop found him in Wadî Habîb, and delivered to him the synodical letter from the bishop Abba Elias, whom they had seated on the throne of Antioch. And Alexander found the letter in accordance with the orthodox faith, and. therefore he accepted it with joy, and summoned the chief men of the provinces, and made known to them what had happened in the East, and how the prince had forbidden the faithful to appoint a patriarch, but that the bishops had given the late patriarch a successor, so that he might consecrate the bishops until the season of wrath should cease. And a similar occurrence had happened in the time of Gregory Theologus and our Father Theophilus with the Arians and Acacians, and the distress lasted until they called the aforesaid Gregory to Constantinople, and the church was delivered |66 to him. Therefore the bishops of Egypt and the patriarch were consoled, and he wrote an answer to the synodical letter, and gave it to Stephen and his companions; and Stephen departed in peace to his own country. And when Theodore undertook the government of Alexandria in the reign of Al-Walîd and in the days of the Father Alexander, there was there a physician, a native of the city, named Onopes, which means Ass’s face. When this man gained influence, he begged the Amir to command Theodore to appoint him patriarch of Alexandria; and he was a Roman, and a blasphemous Chalcedonian. The Amir accepted his petition; and a certain clerk named Anastasius, a native of Alexandria, gave to the Amir a thousand dinars, and so induced him to establish this false Chalcedonian patriarch in the city of Alexandria. And he opposed the right faith and derided Abba Alexander, especially when he was enduring trials at that time. After that the people wished to depose the Chalcedonian, and rose against him; so he fled, and went to the Father Alexander, and prayed him humbly, and begged to be excused for what he had endured through him, and requested him to receive him into the orthodox faith. Therefore Alexander received him with Christian charity, and obeyed the |67 commandments of God, who says ¹⁶ : «If thou seest the ass of thine enemy lying under his burden, turn not from him until thou hast raised him up». And he did not cease to hold the orthodox faith.

Then there arose trials in the Church, and a wicked edict was issued that the coloured pillars and the marble which were in the churches should be taken away, and they were all carried off. And the Father Patriarch was sad for the sake of his church, because it became a ruin through that which was done with him. But in spite of this he gave thanks to God, and was bravely patient.

At that time two serious disasters happened, in the year 431 of Diocletian, in the 13th year of the Indiction, on account of our sins and our evil deeds. For after the death of Kurrah, Al-Walîd sent to Egypt as his successor a governor named Usâmah. This man, when he arrived at Al-Fustât, demanded a description of the boundaries of all the provinces, and wrote it down in Arabic; and he was a man of great intelligence. Then, when he had begun this, there came a great dearth, the like of which had not been heard of since the earliest ages; and more died in that dearth than had died in the plague, for all the rich and the poor were threatened with death. Afterwards a great abundance came, till wheat sank to twenty-five ardebbs for one dinar. But after a short time the plague returned, and destroyed the people; and |68 if the Lord had not taken pity on those that remained of them on the earth, not one would have survived.

And the Amir continued to do evil, while all the Muslims and Christians feared him. For he commanded that no one should lodge a stranger in the churches or at inns or on the wharfs, and the people were afraid of him and drove out the strangers that were in their houses. And he commanded the monks not to make monks of those who came to them. Then he mutilated the monks, and branded each one of them on his left hand, with a branding iron in the form of a ring, that he might be known; adding the name of his church and his monastery, without a cross, and with the date according to the era of Islam. Thus there was, in the year 96 of the Hegira, trouble among the monks, and oppression of the faithful. If they discovered a fugitive or one that had not been marked, they brought him to the Amir, who ordered that one of his limbs should be cut off, so that he was lame for life; and the number could not be counted of those whom he maimed for this cause. And he shaved off the beards of many, and slew a great multitude, and put out the eyes of many without mercy, and killed many under punishment with scourges. And out of love for money he commanded the governors to put the people to death, and bring him their money; and he wrote to them, saying: «I have delivered up to you the lives of the people, therefore collect all the wealth that you can, from bishops or monks or churches or any of the |69 people, and bring stuffs and money and cattle and all that you find belonging to them, and respect no one. And whatever place you visit, pillage it». Accordingly the officials laid the country waste, and carried off the columns and the woodwork, and sold what was worth ten dinars for one dinar, until silver sank to thirty-five dirhems for a dinar, and wheat to forty ardebbs for a dinar, and wine to forty wineskins for a dinar, and oil to a hundred kists for a dinar. And everyone who possessed anything was afraid to show it, lest he should be put to the torture; and through anguish and distress men were minded to sell their own children. Yet when the Amir was informed of these things, his heart was not softened, and he had no mercy, but increased in his wickedness. For he wrote and said : «Wherever a man is found walking, or passing from one place to another, or disembarking from a boat, or embarking, without a passport, he shall be arrested, and the contents of the boat confiscated, and the boat burnt». And if any Romans were found on the river, they were brought to him; and some of them he slew, and others he impaled, and the hands and feet of some he cut off. At last the roads were made impassable, and no man could travel or sell or buy. The fruits of the vineyards were wasted, and there was no one to buy them for a single dirhem, because their owners remained within their houses for two months, awaiting the passport to release them thence. If a mouse ate a man’s passport, or if it were injured by water or fire or any accident, whether part |70 or the whole of it remained to his possession, if its lettering were damaged, it could not be changed for a new one until he paid five dinars as a fee for it, and then it could be changed for him.

Now there was a poor widow who received a passport for her son, who was her only one and fatherless, and to whose labour she trusted for her sustenance. So she departed from Alexandria to go to Aghrawah. But when the young man went out to the river to drink water, a crocodile devoured him with the passport which was fastened to him. And his mother wept and mourned for him, and then returned to Alexandria, where she informed the unbelieving Amir of what had happened to her; but he had no pity on her, and kept her prisoner until she paid ten dinars for the passport, because she had entered the city without a passport. And she sold her garments and all that she had, and went about begging, until she had paid the ten dinars. And Satan, whom the Amir resembled in heart, suggested evil to him all day long. After this he sent his officers to inquire into the state of the monasteries, and found there many monks who had no mark of a ring on their hands; so some of them were beheaded, and some died under the lash. Then he nailed up the door of their church with iron nails, and demanded of them a thousand dinars, and assembled the superiors of the monks, and tortured them, and required a dinar from each one of them, And he said : |71 «If you do not pay this, I will destroy the churches, and turn them into ruins, and make you serve on board the ships of the fleet». So the seniors of the monks were troubled; and they longed for death, and knew not what to do, and could only assemble in the churches, and pray, and humbly entreat the Lord Christ in grief and sadness that he would have pity on them. At last the gracious and merciful God heard their supplication, and delivered them suddenly; for Sulaiman, son of Abd al-Malik, who was at that time the sovereign prince, died and was succeeded by Omar, son of Abd al-Azîz who had been governor of Egypt. And by the will of the merciful God, Omar at once sent a governor to Egypt, who fastened a mass of iron to the feet of Usâmah, the evil one, and a block of wood to his hands, and put him in prison; and he was kept in darkness until he should make up his mind concerning him. Then he took him, and brought him out from Alexandria to Misr. But God took away his life on the way in a grievous and painful manner, as he deserved.

Yet this Omar, son of Abd al-Azîz, though he did much good before men, acted ill before God. He commanded that there should be no taxes upon the property of the church and the bishops, and began to set the churches and bishops free from the impost on land; and he abolished the new taxes, and rebuilt the ruined cities; and the Christians were in security and prosperity, |72 and so were the churches. But after that be began to do evil; for he wrote a letter charged with sadness to Egypt, in which were written the following words : «Omar commands saying, Those who wish to remain as they are, and in their own country, must follow the religion of Muhammad as I do; but let those who do not wish to do so, go forth from my dominions». Then the Christians gave him all the money that they could, and trusted in God, and rendered service to the Muslims, and became an example to many. For the Christians were oppressed by the governors and the local authorities and the Muslims in every place, the old and the young, the rich and the poor among them; and Omar commanded that the poll-tax should be taken from all men who would not become Muslims, even in cases where it was not customary to take it. But God did not long respite him, but destroyed him swiftly, and granted him the government no longer, because he was like Antichrist.

Then Yezîd reigned after him; but we have no wish to relate nor describe what happened in his days, on account of the miseries and trials; for he walked in the path of Satan, and deviated from the paths of God. As soon as he undertook the government, he restored the taxes of which Omar had relieved the churches and bishops for one year; and he required great sums of money from the people, so that everyone was distressed in his dominions. And he was not satisfied with this only, but he even issued orders that the crosses should be broken in every place, and that the pictures |73 which were in the churches should he removed. For he commanded this, but the Lord Christ destroyed him for this reason, and took his soul, after he had endured before his death many sufferings. And the time during which he reigned was two years and four months.

And after him reigned Hishâm his brother, who was a God-fearing man according to the method of Islam, and loved all men; and he became the deliverer of the orthodox. For when he learnt that we Christians had had no patriarch in the East since Julian, the late patriarch of Antioch, in whose stead the bishop Elias had taken his seat, and that Elias also had died, he took a man named Athanasius, full of every spiritual grace, who also was a bishop, and gave him the patriarchate of Antioch. So the bishops laid their hands upon him in turn, and made him patriarch. This Athanasius wrote a synodical letter with learning and great humility to the blessed Father Patriarch Alexander, saying : «Verily I am unworthy of this degree on account of my sins; yet I have not been promoted by my own will, but by that of the prince». For he had known him before this time. So Alexander received the letter with joy, and then wrote an answer to it, asserting the unity of the faith, and containing good wishes and salutations. At the end he wrote thus : «We bless the prince Hishâm, and pray that he may enjoy |74 a reign of many years, and overcome his enemies, so that he may do that which is right before the Lord». And he dismissed the envoys in peace.

After this, Hishâm wrote to Egypt, commanding that a receipt in his name should be given to everyone who paid the taxes, so that none might be unfairly treated, and that there might be no injustice in his dominions. So God gave him a prosperous reign, and he continued to rule for twenty-two years; and no war continued against him, but everyone that rose up against him was delivered by God into his hands, through the prayers of the two glorious patriarchs, Alexander at Alexandria and Athanasius at Antioch. Now the orthodox church at Damascus was adjoining the palace in which Hishâm resided. Then he commanded that the patriarch should build his house next to the prince’s reception-hall, because of his great love for him, so that he might hear him pray and read. For he often used to say to him : «When thou beginnest to pray at night I receive great comfort, and I cease to trouble about the affairs of the empire, and then sleep comes to me restfully». And Hishâm loved Athanasius greatly for that reason; and he gave great gifts to the churches and the Christians. And there was at his court a Muslim who greatly loved the orthodox churches, and he was named Ubaid Allah. And when the prince Hishâm saw him act so, he rejoiced greatly, and made him governor of Egypt, and commanded him to act with kindness towards all baptised Christians. When Ubaid Allah came to Egypt, he commanded that the people and the cattle should be numbered, |75 and the lands and vineyards measured with measuring lines, and accordingly this was done; also that a leaden badge should be placed on the neck of every man, from the youth of twenty to those who were a hundred years old; and he had them numbered, and wrote down the names of all of them, and the number of their beasts, young and old, and an account of the bad lands, difficult of cultivation, which produce coarse grass and thorns. And he set up milestones in the midst of the enclosed lands, at the boundaries and on the roads, throughout the land of Egypt; and he doubled the taxes.

So after Ubaid Allah had accomplished all that we have related, and had committed much injustice which we have not related, when he came to Al-Fustât, he went to the city of Memphis and remained there four months. And he commanded that the chief men of the towns should assemble at Memphis. And he had the mark of a lion put on the hands of the Christians, according to the words of the Book, which John the Son of Thunder uttered, saying ¹⁷ : «None shall sell or buy except those upon whose hand is the mark of the lion». Then, when he had accomplished this, he wrote to the provinces of Egypt, saying thus : «If anyone is found in any place without the mark on his hand, his hand shall be cut off, and he shall be heavily fined, because he has disobeyed the commands of the prince and acted rebelliously towards him». Now he had two sons, one of whom he |76 despatched to the South, and the other to the North, and there was great distress and perturbation in all the land of Egypt. Then Ubaid Allah arrived at Al-Gizah, and built a large house for himself there; and he wrote to the provinces of Egypt, commanding that a body of men should be collected for him, that he might set them to work as long as he wished. And he built at Al-Fustât, until the men perished through fatigue from the great labours which he imposed upon then. In consequence of these things, when the forced labours and the payment of the taxes which he had doubled became grievous, war broke out between the Christians and Muslims, so that much blood was shed in the land of Egypt between the two factions, first of all in the city of Banâ and the city of Sa and the city of Samannûd and their neighbourhood, and in many places in Lower Egypt; and there was likewise fighting on the roads and mountains and by the canals; but if we were to relate the history of it the account would be too long. When the governor of Alexandria entered that city to mark the people, he seized the patriarch in order to brand him, but he refused to be so treated. Yet the governor would not release him, and, though the patriarch requested to be allowed to go to the prince, would not consent to that. Then after a time he sent the patriarch to Misr, with a troop of soldiers who were to bring him to Ubaid Allah; and accordingly, when he appeared before him, he made known to him the cause of his arrival. But Ubaid Allah would not let him go without branding him. Therefore when the Father Patriarch Alexander saw that he |77 could not escape, he said to Ubaid Allah, the Amir : «I pray thee to grant me a delay of three days». So he consented to this, and granted him the respite. Then the patriarch entered his private chamber, and prayed the Lord not to suffer him to be branded, but to remove him from this world speedily; and when God saw the thoughts of his servant that they were good, he visited him; and accordingly he fell sick on the third day, and the sickness increased each day upon him. When he knew that the Lord Christ had heard him and received his prayer, he sent trustworthy persons and certain chiefs of the orthodox, his children, to Ubaid Allah, to beg him to release him, that he might depart to his see before his death. But he would not allow him, suspecting that this was a ruse, and that he was not sick. So when four days had passed, the father said to the brethren : «Prepare the boat at sunset that we may depart, for to-morrow the Lord Jesus Christ will visit me». Accordingly they departed; but not one of the bishops was with him, except Abba Shamul, bishop of Wasîm. Then when they had descended the river in their flight, they reached Tarnût by the morning; and at that hour the blessed Alexander went to his rest at that place. When Ubaid Allah learnt that the patriarch had escaped without |78 leave, he despatched an officer to bring him back with his companions; but when he came up with them and took them into custody to bring them back in wrath, he found that the Father had gone to his rest. So he left him alone, but seized Abba Shamul, and conducted him to Ubaid Allah, who said : «The truth is that thou didst induce him to flee, therefore thou must pay a thousand dinars to the government treasury». But Abba Shamul was poor, in want of sustenance from day to day, and went thinly clad; and he was sweet of countenance and virtuous in conduct; and he used to exhort sinners, and they listened to him; and likewise he confirmed those who were weak in the orthodox faith. So he swore to the Amir that he could not pay a single dinar, and did not possess one; but he would not accept this excuse, and gave him up to two officers of police. Then when those two Muslims, whose names we will not record, had taken him, they gave him up to some Berbers, like lions in their actions, who hauled and dragged him away through the midst of Misr, until they brought him to the door of the church of Saint George, trailing him along. And there was there a great crowd assembled of sellers and buyers; and many began to run after him through Misr. And they demanded a thousand dinars of him in spite of the exiguity of his possessions; and they began to torture him that day without mercy, and stripped him of his garment, and clothed him in a hair-cloth, and hung him up by his arms, thinly clad as he was, while all the people looked on, and scourged him with whips of |79 cowhide until his blood ran on the ground. And the multitude beheld him and what befell him at the hands of the police ; but they continued for a week to torture him in this way until the people collected for him three hundred dinars. But when there came down some of the friends of Ubaid Allah to interview him, while the chiefs of the Christians said to them : «He is near death, and he is guiltless of any fault in this matter according to what we know», then upon that they released him after severe torments, for he was near death.

Thus when the Father Alexander, a saint indeed, went to his rest in a good old age, great sadness fell upon the Christians because of his death. For he had remained for twenty-four years and a half upon the throne. And there were during the days of his life certain very holy men in the land of Egypt, in the deserts and monasteries, who wearied themselves in the service of God, and by whom wonders and signs were manifested. For there was a man, who was a priest and at the same time a fisherman, in the province of Isnâ, who laboured with the nets, while he followed the rule of the monastic life. And after a long time he departed and built a monastery on the mountain, and many became monks with him there; and they lived in virtue and poverty. And the fame of that old man went forth through the outer country; and his name was Matthew, and he was a native of Asfant. So God manifested by his means many wonders among the sick and the |80 lepers; and he healed those in whom were unclean spirits, and raised the dead in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And after some days a great miracle took place in his presence. There was a Copt at Asfant, who had two sons and one daughter, all of whom he kept in his house; and they were pure virgins, serving God. But Satan led the three astray by a vile deed, namely that he entered into the elder of the sons, and said to him : «Since thy father will not give thee a wife, go in to thy sister, and sleep with her, for she will be sufficient for thee for a time». And he made this deed seem pleasant to him, so he committed it. Likewise he tempted the other younger brother to sin with her also. Thus the two brothers did with their sister that foul deed; but the one did not know of the other; and that perverse girl kept this secret, until she speedily became pregnant. And her parents kept her on account of the shame, and they did not know what had been done; so she remained many months without bearing a child. Then they set her upon a beast, and took her to the holy Matthew; and when they drew near to the mountain, the old man came forth, fleeing and tearing the hair of his beard, until he met them at the foot of the mountain. Thereupon the parents made known to him what had happened to her, and wished to give him gifts, that he might pray over her, that she might bring forth; so he bade them take her gently down from the back of the beast; and she alighted, being in great agony. Then he said to her : «Make known to me what thou hast done, thou vile woman!» So she made known to him what we have recorded, |81 and more also. Thereupon he raised his hands to heaven, and prayed; and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed her up. And many were present, and witnessed this; and one who was present bore witness to us, being a truthful and trustworthy man, of the children of the Church, that that spot became like a dark well, descending into the depths of the earth, and remained so six months, while fire ascended from it into the air, and an evil smell came up from it, so that none could approach it. The place was at some little distance from the monastery, about twenty-five bowshots.

Likewise in the monastery of the holy Abba Sinuthius on the Mount of Adriba, you know that many of the saints were confirmed there, and especially the blessed Archimandrite Abba Seth. For he was a man who walked in a good path during his life; and after his departure to the Lord, we beheld with our own eyes his tomb, which was built over him in gratitude for the many miracles and the healing and the cures, which take place through his holy body to this hour, and are innumerable from their multitude ; for wonders are worked by it every day.

In the desert of Wadî Habîb also there were holy men who saw visions and revelations, to whom God disclosed that which took place in the world, so that they beheld it as if they were present everywhere. For to some of |82 them the Lord Christ and the holy Apostles appeared, and raised them up in their poverty and devotion; and to some of them the angels appeared. And there was among them an old man in the monastery of Saint Macarius, named John, a native of Shubrâ Maisinâ, which is also called Arwât. Him the Berbers seized three times, and took, prisoner; and they made him a slave, and ill-treated him and caused him to suffer. But the Lord looked upon his patience continually, and restored him to his holy monastery. After this he became hegumen, for he was a priest; and this was a rule in the desert of Wadî Habîb, that every monk who attained the rank of priest was appointed hegumen. And he never communicated of the Holy Mysteries without seeing the Lord and Saviour in his vision, with our Lady the Virgin; and great secrets were made manifest to him. And there were holy men with him of this desert, whose history we need not relate. And he had a disciple, named Epimachus of Arwât, who was counted worthy of the office of hegumen after him, and was like him in his heart in all his actions; and upon him was much grace, like Moses the prophet in his time; for he healed the sick, and cured every disease, and lived for more than a hundred years.

And the grace of the Holy Ghost descended upon him, and he learnt glorious matters, so that he even knew what he had neither seen nor heard |83 before anyone questioned him upon it. He had two spiritual brothers, one of them being Abba George and the other Abba Abraham, and they were holy and famous for virtuous living and great deeds; and trustworthy men bore witness of them, that they walked in the way of the great Anthony, and brought it to perfection. Now the lay monks at that time worshipped God zealously; and these two holy men beheld the baptized people in the church like white sheep, both old and young. But lo, one of the community became slothful, and went back from the good service of God; and so these two old men beheld him with his colour changed to black in the midst of the brethren. And when the priests had dimissed the brethren, those two went to the cell of that brother, and said to him : «Turn from thy sloth». And they exhorted him and comforted him. So on the morrow, when he came to the church, those two looked upon him, and he had become whiter than all the brethren; and therefore they praised God for his mercy to the race of men, In this way, if thou wilt that I record the deeds of the saints, they would be too many for the time, and too numerous for the pens, and too many for the sheets of paper. Glory be to God for ever and ever! |84

COSMAS I, THE FORTY-FOURTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 730-731.

When the Father Alexander went to his rest, they appointed instead of him a man named Cosmas, who was a holy monk of the desert of Saint Macarius, and a native of Banâ. So they seated him on the throne against his will; but he did not cease to pray night and day to the Lord Christ that he would receive him to himself. And at the end of fifteen months he went to his rest with glory and honour, on the last day of Ba’unah.

Now there was outside Maryût a monastery called Tamnûrah, in which there was an old monk, holy and spiritual, and also a young monk; and they used to chastise their bodies with iron and with chains. For the superior, whose name was John, was endowed with grace and the power of prophecy, and saw wonders many times, and he had a disciple who served him and was named Theodore; and this man envied his deeds, and imitated his life and all his works with spiritual love, and surpassed all in the monastery in his conduct, in the diaconicon and at the table of the brethren and in all the affairs of the monastery and its service, seeking abasement at |85 all times. For Theodore used to follow the words of Christ to his disciples ¹⁸ : «He among you who desires to be great, let him be to you a servant». And he acted in this manner until he grew old, as he said to us with his own holy mouth when he was counted worthy of the patriarchal dignity; for he taught us and incited us to humility at all times. And in the lifetime of Alexander, his spiritual father said to him prophetically : «O my son Theodore, believe that I do not lie». He answered : «Yea O my father, I have never heard the name of a lie from thy mouth». The father said to him (another copy reads, The old man said to him) : «O believer in God, verily in the year in which Alexander dies, I in my meanness shall die with him, and thou shalt sit upon the throne of the glorious Father Saint Mark, not after the Father Alexander, but after him who shall follow him». And the words of that orthodox old man, the Archimandrite, were fulfilled.

For the people of Alexandria, the priests and officials, were taking thought as to whom they should appoint in the room of Abba Cosmas, until the Lord recalled to their minds the memory of the holy father and monk Theodore. Therefore they journeyed to the monastery, and took him and brought him to Alexandria. |86

THEODORE, THE FORTY-FIFTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 731-743.

And an assembly of the holy bishops met together and consecrated the holy Father Theodore patriarch by the command of the Lord Christ. And the affairs of the patriarchate and of the orthodox church grew and prospered during all his days, until they returned to their former state, and became still more flourishing, so that it seemed as if the church had never been plundered. And Theodore was a good man, tranquil, full of charity towards all men, beautiful in countenance like an angel of God; and in his days nothing evil was done.

But Ubaid Allah, the ruler in Egypt, brought punishments and trials and losses upon the people of Egypt, and added an eighth of a dinar to every dinar of the taxes; and through his oppression of the people the dinar grew rare and rose in value. Yet when he continued long in this course, God would not suffer him, but raised up against him some of the chief among the Muslims, who went to Hishâm the prince, and made known to him the evil which he did, and the troubles that he had caused in Egypt. Therefore Hishâm was filled with wrath against Ubaid Allah, and wrote at once to remove him, and despatched an officer with many attendants to Egypt in great anger. And he commanded that he should be banished with his younger son, Isma’îl, to the land of the Berbers in the province of Africa, |87 and that Isma’îl should be exiled thence to the land of the Setting Sun, and punished because he did not do what was commanded him. So this was speedily done to him. Hishâm made Ubaid Allah’s elder son, Al-Kasim, governor in Egypt, and set him over her affairs instead of his father, who was banished to the Berbers. When he had remained there a short time he ruled over the Berbers in Africa, where his son Isma’îl was, until he was banished whither the prince commanded. For Ubaid Allah wrote to Hishâm, seeking to conciliate him, and expressing repentance of what he had done, and begging him to make him governor of that country; and so he was made governor over the Berbers in Africa. Yet his deeds were again evil, for he seized the daughters of rich men and the daughters of the chiefs and officers, and sent them to Hishâm the prince as maidservants, writing to him that they were slave-girls whom he had bought for him as maidservants. Likewise the sheep, when they- were near parturition, he ripped them open, and took out the lambs just covered with wool, and took their skins and made pelisses of them, and sent them to Hishâm, saying that he had bought them for him; so that he destroyed large numbers of sheep from that country. Therefore the Berbers conspired against him, forming a plot to kill his son Isma’îl and the people of his house; and they seized Isma’îl and his wives and concubines and all that belonged to him, and killed them all in his presence, while he looked on. And they ripped the women open, and took the infants from them, and threw them down before him. |88

Then they brought Isma’îl to Africa, taking him bound to his father, and killed him in his presence while he looked on, after ripping him open and striking his father on the head and face with his dead body; and afterwards they drove his father away from their country, following and insulting him, while he was sad and weeping. And our father Theodore lived to see all these things.

Then the Lord visited him, and he departed to him in a good old age and in the grace of the Lord Christ. And the Church was growing, without adversaries or internal divisions, all his days. He remained upon the apostolic throne eleven years and a half, and went to his rest on the seventh day of Amshir.

CHAPTER XVIII

MICHAEL I, THE FORTY-SIXTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 744-768.

As the Scripture says in the 77th Psalm ¹⁹ : «What we have heard we have seen, and our fathers have told us»; and as Moses the Prophet wrote |89 history, for he described what had happened on the earth from Adam the first man to his own time; and after him were the prophets who prophesied what should take place; and after them the holy apostles preached what they themselves had witnessed : so those who followed them did likewise. Then there were the teachings of the inspired fathers of the Church, and the words which confirmed the faith and the baptized brethren who put on the garment of light; and the divinely assisted fathers who gave strength to the firm foundation and to the immovable pillar ²⁰. And we have the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour, who delivered us and saved us from our sins by his Incarnation of the pure Virgin, and graciously granted to us the opening of our hearts and understandings by the hearing of his holy Scriptures. Philo and Justus and Josephus, the Jews, were the first who related the destruction of Jerusalem. Those who composed for us the history of the holy Church were Africanus and Eusebius and Sozomenus, who showed us the good and the evil, and the trials which befell the saints and shepherds of the flock of the Lord Christ, and the troubles which they underwent for the sake of the Church and the orthodox people at the hands of the secular governors at all times, not only in Egypt, but also at Antioch and Rome and Ephesus. There appeared the heresy of Nestorius, whose tongue deserved |90 to be cut out at the root, and the false teaching of the other heretics at that time; but God dispersed them all, like the dust before the wind, that is to say, by means of the young lion, Cyril, who excommunicated Nestorius with the rest of the heretics, and whose writings were placed in all the orthodox churches of the world. This is shown to us by that book which begins with the names of the patriarchs as far as the true confessor and champion, Dioscorus, who anathematized Leo, the soul-devouring lion, as his name implies, and excommunicated the six hundred and thirty, assembled at Chalcedon, and Marcian the prince and the vile princess Pulcheria, and all the followers of Leo, and was deposed by command of the princes, and sent into exile, where he finished his fight. Dioscorus brought back many souls to the Lord Christ by his action. And all that happened was written down for us to that point in the twelfth part of the histories of the Church. And for the first history of events subsequent to that, from the time of the Father Cyril when he was in the monastery of Ablah, down to the days of the father and confessor Alexander, we may consult the teacher and scribe in his time, who was the archdeacon and companion and secretary of the Father Patriarch Abba Simon, patriarch of Alexandria, namely |91 the monk, Abba George. For he wrote that history on the mountain of the holy Macarius in the Wadî Habîb, and informed us of what happened in the time of Marcian, the unbelieving prince, and the trouble that overtook our fathers and those that came after them, down to the time of Sulaiman, son of Abd al-Melik, prince of the Muslims, after whom reigned Omar, son of Abd al-Azîz, who drove away Usâmah, the unbelieving governor, who had been before his reign in Egypt. Therefore I, the vile sinner, beg you to pray the Lord Christ for me, that through your prayers he may loose the bond of my feeble tongue, and open my darkened heart, and give me knowledge of words, so that perchance I may be able to show to you, my brethren and my father, what you ask of me, although it exceed my power, not as a teacher and guide greater than you, but as a scholar, since I saw that of which I have written with my own eyes, and its importance imposes a debt upon me, and my hand touched it, besides what I heard from friends older than myself, such as I could trust and believe. God forbid that I should act according to the words of the true gospel ²¹, concerning the servant who buried his Lord’s silver in the ground. I declare to your Holiness, vile sinner among men as I am, that I follow the words of David, when he praises the Creator in the 112th Psalm : «Who raises the poor from the earth and the needy from the dunghill, and sets him with the rich of the people ²²». He it is who has seated me among the holy fathers, so that |92 I witnessed what befell them in my heart, that I might write it down, although unworthy; for they became shepherds upon the earth, and in many cases gave up their lives for the name of Christ. Let me then record a few of their deeds, for the rest of them the Lord Christ alone knows, with all that took place in former times. But indeed the Lord Christ knows that we have added nothing to the facts, having related what took place down to the death of the blessed Father Theodore, patriarch of Alexandria, and the affairs of state in his days, to the end of the seventeenth chapter of the History, completed above. Now, by the will of God and your holy prayers, we will write the eighteenth chapter of the History of the Church.

When Ubaid Allah left Egypt, Al-Kasim, his son, became governor after him, and was much more wicked than his father, according to the words of the holy gospel; «Every evil tree brings forth evil fruit ²³». This man did evil before God and men in his time of government, and walked in the bad path, as I will relate further on. Solomon, the wise son of David, says : «Woe to the people of a kingdom which is ruled by a child ²⁴!» Now this Al-Kasim was a child in age and conduct; and when an ignorant prince rules, all his companions will be like him. The first beginning of his acting thus was that he loved evil and loved women, like horses which neigh one |93 after another. He obtained for himself female slaves of every race without number, and his heart was exceedingly pleased with them, as we witnessed with our own eyes many times. For he used to send for the blessed patriarch Theodore, acting like a wolf in sheep’s clothing; and the Father Patriarch was accompanied by my spiritual father, the bishop Abba Moses, who went to bear him company; and the governor loved my father more than all the bishops. Then the governor brought his young female slaves to the patriarch that he might bless them; and I myself saw them; and he said to the Father Patriarch : «These are thy children; lay thy hand upon them and bless them, and give them a benediction, for I bought them recently». This he did on several occasions with the Father Patriarch. Once when we visited him according to custom, the bishop Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm or Arsinoites, was there on account of important business. And when we also appeared, Al-Kasim called one of his female slaves, who was a native of the West, and said to our father Abraham : «This is thy daughter». And he placed the bishop’s hand upon her hand, for his heart was as the heart of babes. And he said to the bishop : «Thou knowest that I have loved thee greatly since my father’s |94 time, and all that thou didst ask of my father, I will do for thee». Then the holy Abraham said to him : «It is good». So Al-Kasim continued : «I desire of thee three hundred dinars». Thereupon the father gave directions to the archdeacon Simeon, who was his steward and had come with him, and who was counted worthy of the bishopric in succession to Abba Abraham. And the bishop said to the archdeacon : «Bring the three hundred dinars». And he forthwith brought the money, and the bishop handed it over to Al-Kasim. For he had much property belonging to the churches, since he possessed in his diocese thirty-five monasteries in the Faiyûm, of which he was the administrator; and he was bound to pay a tax of five hundred dinars, which were due to the Public Treasury upon this property. He had authority over all these monasteries, and the merchants of Egypt sold to him and bought of him. Then after the bishop had paid the three hundred dinars, Al-Kasim said to him : «I do thee this great honour that I have even made my wife a daughter to thee, and yet thou wilt not give her anything to honour her therewith». Accordingly the bishop gave her a hundred dinars into her hand, and Al-Kasim reckoned them as part of the taxes due from him.

And Al-Kasim walked in the path of ignorance continually, and the oppression of the people was doubled in his days. He appointed subordinate governors throughout Egypt worse than himself, men who amassed money from strangers from Aswan to Alexandria; and he caused great trouble to |95 the people throughout the land and in all the provinces, both great and small. The great man devoured the small man, and the strong devoured the weak, like the fishes of the sea; and those who collected the strangers’ money devoured the poor and seized their property, until everyone was in distress.

After that, Al-Kasim made boats like the castles of kings, and when he had furnished them, he embarked in them his wives and his slaves, and sailed through the land of Egypt, and took them with him to Alexandria and Tinnis and Damietta, in order to take the money of the merchants and of the people and of the officials in those places. And he went up the river to Upper Egypt as far as Aswan, doing the same thing. And a body of troops and armed men travelled in his company; and they entered the theatre at Ansina.

And on a certain day Al-Kasim arrived at the Monastery of Saint Sinuthius, and went up with great pomp, taking with him one female slave whom he loved more than all the rest, besides his mamelukes; and he made her ride a mare, while he rode another mare at her side. He was accompanied also by an old man, who was a chief among the Muslims, named Rayân, son of Abd al-Azîz, the former governor of Egypt. So, when they reached the door, the aged superior of the monastery came out to meet them with all his sons, that they might do honour to the governor on account of his office. After Al-Kasim had passed through the second door, which |96 is in the fortified wall which surrounds the church, while he remained on horseback, then he came to the door of the church, and began to prepare to enter it, still mounted. But the aged superior of the monastery cried aloud and said : «Dismount, O governor! Enter not into the house of God in such pride, and above all in the company of this woman who is with thee; for no woman has ever entered this church, and come out of it alive. Nay she will die on the spot». Yet Al-Kasim gave no heed to his words, but entered, accompanied by his soldiers. Now the church was very large, and capacious enough to contain thousands of people. So when he reached the middle of the church, still riding, the mare on which the female slave was mounted plunged, and fell to the ground by the power of God; and the female slave died on the spot, both she and the horse that was under her. And as for Al-Kasim, there came upon him an unclean Satanic spirit which threw him down and choked him and buffeted him, so that he foamed at the mouth and gnashed with his teeth like a wild boar. But when he recovered a little, he saw that the old man, the superior of the monastery, was grieved for him; and he gave to the church four hundred dinars as a votive offering, as well as the horse which he was riding. And there was in the monastery a chest of teak-wood, inlaid with ivory, fitted with shelves, above which was the body of Saint Sinuthius. This chest had been |97 made for the sake of the votive offerings, for the convenience of those who should put their votive offerings in it; and the books also were placed therein; and it was of handsome workmanship, admirable and beautiful. So Rayân, who was travelling together with Al-Kasim, admired it, and wished to take it away with him. Now Saint Sinuthius had spent much money on it. So they said to that man : «Thou canst not take it, for he who placed it here forbad its removal.» But he answered : «I must take it, either for a price or as a gift.» Then he bade ten men lift it up, but they could not. Then he called thirty men, but they could not move it. So when he saw the miracle, he gave the monks three hundred dinars. Then they all went away in fear and trembling and wonder. And the unclean spirit did not depart from Al-Kasim until the day of his death, but continued to torment him.

Then God sent down a great dearth upon the land of Egypt, on account of the sins of Al-Kasim. In the first year the land was blasted by the scirocco, and so provisions were scarce, and there was no wheat to be found; and many men and cattle died. Afterwards, in the second year, there came a pestilence upon Egypt, such as had not been before. But in spite of all this the wickedness of Al-Kasim did not diminish but increased, and he doubled the taxes laid upon the people. And when a person went to sleep at night he dreaded the light of morning, and yet he could not wish for night that |98 he might rest from his many troubles. After the second year of famine came the third year, in which there was a scirocco, and the Nile did not rise at all; and the people saw no prosperity in the days of that governor, but the years passed in turn in this manner by God’s command, a year of plague followed by a year of scirocco, until the end of the year in which the government was taken from him, namely the seventh year. And the plague lasted from the beginning of Hatûr each year until the twenty-second of Baunah, and raged chiefly at Misr on account of the multitude of sins committed there. And from the eighth of Bashans to the first of Baunah the mortality among the people was so great that not even a part of those who died could be counted; for on one day two thousand perished, and another day twelve hundred, and another day two thousand four hundred at Misr and Al-Gizah, among the people who inhabited those places and traders sojourning there; so that the burial of the dead was interrupted, and there were no tombs to hold them. And no male might be buried until the authorities knew of his death; and then his name was written down, and the name of his father, even in the case of young infants. Then our holy fathers prayed to the Lord, and the rich and the poor did likewise, and they besought him with fasting and prayer and weeping and supplication, until the Lord had pity on them, and took away the plague. |99

After this the merchants sold wheat to the people, and there was an abundant supply of it. So some of the corn-merchants went to a deacon, who practised magic, and lived at Memphis, which is the ancient Misr; and they gave him much money, and begged him to enable them by his magic arts to sell their wheat at a high price. So he began to exercise his art in such a manner that God was angered, and to practise his vile sorcery. For there was with him an orphan boy, the son of a widow who had no other children. And he said to the widow : «Thou hast nothing to eat or to feed thy son withal. Give him to me that I may make him my son, and teach him my art». So she delivered her son to the magician with joy. Now that unbeliever had visited many magicians in divers places, until they taught him to practise profound witchcraft; and thus he was able to do that by which the wheat became dear. Then indeed that miscreant took the widow’s son, and led him into a chamber, and shut the door upon him, and hung him up by his hands and feet above the ground, and did to him what made God angry; for he did not cease gradually to flay the skin of the youth from his face to the back of his head daily, until he came to his shoulders. Then wheat became rare and scarce, and whereas it had been sold at the rate of fourteen ardebbs for a dinar, and then at two mudds for a dinar, at last it was not to be procured at all. At that time the monitor of the boys in the school went to the widow woman, and said to her : |100 «Thy son has not attended our school for many days. Where then is he?» So she went to that miscreant and enquired after her son, but could not find him. For he said to her : «I have not seen him for many days. He left my house, and returned to thine, and I know nothing about him». Therefore when she heard this from him, she departed in great grief. But the boy was not dead even then, but was still fastened up and partly flayed. And the young monitor saw the magician, his master, entering hour after hour into the closet in which the boy was fastened. So he said in his heart : «What does my master do in these days, entering this closet and coming out?» And he was a sagacious youth. So when the master entered, he followed him secretly. Then he heard that boy, the widow’s son, weeping and sighing and imploring his master; but he took no pity on him. And he uttered words in the sadness of his heart such as these : «Alas for thee, my mother, widowed and mourning as thou art, for thou knowest not what has become of me! Alas for thy womb which bore me, and thy breasts which gave me suck! Where dost thou behold the torments of thy orphan son? Would that I had died when thou didst bear me in thy womb, and would that thou hadst never brought me forth upon earth, so that I should fall into this grievous torment! Where are thine eyes beholding me, longing to see me and gaze upon me, who am in this torment?» And the boy said many things like these, in the hearing of the young monitor. So the monitor went away quickly in |101 great terror, stumbling and raising himself again in the extremity of his fear, until he reached the house of the widowed mother of the bov. So he said to her : «I have found thy son.» Then she came speedily, after he had repeated to her what he had heard from her son’s mouth, and went to the governor, and repeated to him what had happened and what she had heard. So the governor despatched with her some trustworthy Muslims, and some officials with them, to the house of that miscreant, and they found him within the closet, in which the boy still was, fastened up and flayed from his neck to his shoulders. So they carried the lad away, and led the magician bound before the governor. For at once they fastened his hands and feet, and his ears were cut off in the presence of the governor, and then he confessed all that had been done by him. And they brought in the boy, and beheld him in that state. And they wrote at once to Al-Kasim governor of Egypt; and when he had read the letter, he gave orders that the magician should be stoned and burnt in the fire.

But, in spite of all these things, Al-Kasim did not desist from his evil ways and his love for the amassing of gold. And he used constantly to change the subordinate governors, who acted as his deputies. Now there was a tribe in the mountains in the eastern part of Egypt, from Bilbais to Al-Kulzum and the sea, consisting of Muslims who were called Arabs. And there were among them more than thirty thousand horsemen, roving through those deserts and districts, and they had chiefs in command over them. |102

Al-Kasim, therefore, appointed as their governor a steward of the palace, named Abu Jarah; and his tents were near a monastery named after Our Lady Mary, near Tinnis. In this monastery there were many monks and priests, adorned with good works, and a holy hegumen named Epimachus, who had come from Wadî Habîb, from the Monastery of Saint Macarius, and who was afterwards counted worthy to be made a bishop. And there were with him, among the monks in this monastery, Abba Mennas, who became bishop of the city of Memphis, and Abba James the priest, and many others. And the steward of the palace had two brothers, whom he took up to the monastery; and he entered the church with them, and drove out the monks; and they plundered the church, and seized everything in the monastery, whether stuffs or provisions or furniture. And the steward’s younger brother was worse than he. For there was in the cell of the hegumen a cross erected at the east end, with which he drove away the devils who frequently appeared to him. So that youth entered the cell and said to the hegumen : «What is the purpose of this cross?» Whereupon he answered : «It is the cross of Christ, my God.» He said to him : «Dost thou adore him?» The monk answered : «Yea». So the young man spat upon the cross, and treated it insultingly, and reviled the aged hegumen. And the old man went forth from the monastery in great sorrow, saying : «If God do not requite this youth for his deed, I |103 will never return to this church all the days of my life.» Then he departed to another place, and remained there; and he said within himself : «I will wait ten days, and see what will take place; and if nothing occur, I will depart.» So, on the eighth day, that young man went and sat in the privy place, and his bowels gushed out, as it had happened to Arius the unbeliever. Therefore when his brother, the steward of the palace, beheld that punishment, he was afraid, and departed from the monastery; and fear came to all who heard or saw.

Afterwards the steward went round through that district until he found the holy Epimachus, whom he brought back to the church, after entreating him with respect and honour; and he restored to him all that had been taken away. And great fear fell upon the Muslims and long remained among them.

During all this time, the church of Alexandria remained widowed, without a patriarch. Therefore the orthodox Theodosians assembled, and called the bishops together. And a number of the heretical Chalcedonians met together; and they formed a council at Misr. And three men were brought forward, that one of them might be chosen, and enthroned as patriarch. But it did not please the Lord that one of them should receive that degree, but he kept it for him whom he had selected and marked out from the womb, as shall appear further on in our discourse. |104

And God took away the government from Al-Kasim; for the caliph sent to him one who arrested him and carried him away to his master under guard and restraint. And when he reached Bilbais, together with those in charge of him, who were conducting him to the caliph, the bishops and a body of Christians came to him at Bilbais, and begged him to allow them to appoint a patriarch. Then he demanded of them that they should give him money; but they would not give it, and so he refused permission, and would not allow them to appoint a patriarch. Then Abba Theodore, bishop of Misr, who was the chief of the bishops at that time, and was the first of three bishops named Theodore who successively occupied the see of Misr, said to my spiritual father, Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm : «Behold, Father, the conduct of this Al-Kasim, and the evil that he has done among men, such as thou hast never seen before this day, but which I have beheld during the greater part of my time!» The bishop Abba Moses replied : «Pardon me, my Lord and Father. If this man return to Egypt, then God has not spoken by me the sinner. But thou shalt hear what God will do to this wicked wretch».

After this the commissioners conducted Al-Kasim on his journey. And he never returned to Egypt, but all his goods were seized, while he was |105 tortured and imprisoned. And the caliph sent to Egypt, and seized his male and female slaves, who were carried away to the caliph.

Then the bishops returned with their attendants to Misr, where they found that the Chalcedonians had anticipated then, having chosen a follower of their sect, a man who made needles in the market-place, named Cosmas. For they had collected among themselves gold and silver and plate, and had given them to that perverse governor, Al-Kasim, before he departed; and he had given orders that they should appoint him patriarch. So the Chalcedonians took that man Cosmas, and ordained him patriarch for themselves, and triumphed over the orthodox, because they had elected a patriarch, whereas the latter had not nominated one for themselves.

The governor of Egypt who succeeded Al-Kasim was a man named Hafs, son of Al-Walîd, a native of Hadramaut, of high rank in the army of the Muslims in Egypt, and a Sunnite according to their religion. In those days a council of bishops assembled at Misr, in the year 459 of Diocletian, on the 28th day of Misri. And there were with them the clergy of Alexandria and the chief laymen, who brought men with them, so that the election might fall upon some one. And one of the bishops mentioned a certain name secretly; but God, who knows all, had reserved this degree for him who was worthy of it.

These are the names of the bishops assembled to appoint the patriarch : |106 Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm; Moses, bishop of Wasîm; Mennas, bishop of Tmai; James, bishop of Busîr; Theodore, metropolitan bishop, bishop of Misr; Victor, bishop of Malîj; James, bishop of Sahrajt; Isaac, bishop of Samannûd; Abraham, bishop of Bilbais; Peter, bishop of Tarnût; Michael, bishop of Atrib; besides the clergy of Alexandria. Then they went to the governor, Hafs, and prayed him to allow them to appoint a patriarch. And he said to them : «When your choice is fixed upon some one, keep him until I have seen him.» So they went out from before him, and proceeded to the church of Saint Sinuthius at Misr, and prayed, and took their seats according to their rank in agreement with the canon of the church, each one sitting with his father and bishop, while the clergy of Alexandria sat in front of the bishops. And all were tranquil and dignified, and none spoke a word unless the bishops commanded; and the faces of all were bent upon the ground, both small and great. And when the sixth hour had passed, the aged bishop, Abba Mennas, bishop of Tmai, lifted up his face, and said in a low voice to Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm : «O my Father, pardon me. What thinkest thou that we are about, and |107 for what reason are we assembled?» He answered : «My Father, the Lord Christ will settle all matters, and so will Saint Mark, and all of us also, for the chief Shepherd of our souls and bodies is with us.» Then all the people and. the assembly cried with a loud voice together saying : «The Lord Christ will accomplish this matter according to his will.» Thereupon they stood up and prayed; and when they had finished the prayers, they agreed to meet on the morrow; and each one of them departed to his own place. Now some of the bishops, from the North, had mentioned the name of one whom they had selected; and Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm, heard of it. So Abba Peter, bishop of Tarnût, who had lived all his days in the desert of Father Macarius, and was beautiful in his conduct and excellent in his actions, said to them : «I warn thee not to lay thy hand on him whom they shall bring forward to thee, until the opinion of the assembly shall be unanimous concerning him; for he is not fit for this degree.» Now Abba Peter had grown weak through his great age, and was kept apart from the rest.

And on the second day they assembled and prayed and took their seats. The clergy of Alexandria being present, the archpriest exclaimed : «Bring this matter to a settlement, my Lords and Fathers.» So Theodore said to them : «Who is it that you have chosen, that we also may know him?» Thereupon the archpriest said : «Such and such an one, and here is his name written down.» Then Theodore said to them : «If the assembly approve of |108 him, he is fit.» The archpriest replied : «This affair regards us, not the bishops, who have nothing to do except to lay their hands upon him, and no more; for it is we who elect the patriarch.» Then Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm, said to them : «Your bishops also may propose to you him whom they choose. Yet if you have proposed one who is worthy, we will ordain him; but if he is not worthy, we shall reject him.» Thus a discussion took place between the two parties on the second day; and after prayer they dispersed. And they continued to act in this way till ten days were over. During this time there was peace between them, and there were many discussions by day and by night; yet they would not give up their views, nor would the bishops of Upper Egypt adopt their opinion in this matter, but remained separated from them, saving : «If this man were the only man possible, we would not appoint him.» But some of the bishops of the northern dioceses were in agreement with the clergy of the Alexandrians with regard to his appointment. Then on the 4th day of the new month, namely Tût, Satan began to sow dissension among them, so that sadness and weeping came to them on account of it. For the bishops who were in agreement with the Alexandrians cried and said : «If we do not elect this man whose name we have written, we will not elect anyone.» But the Lord Christ, who cared for all these matters, was displeased at their words; while the man whom he approved for this ministry was kept |109 in reserve. Thus there was a quarrel between them that day, as there had been over the matter of the Barsanuphians. And while they were in this plight, God put it into their hearts at that hour to send for the two bishops, Abba Moses of Wasîm and Peter of Tarnût; for they said : «If you do not bring the two aforesaid, there will never be peace between us.» Now Abba Moses was very weak, because he had been confined by sickness for six months in the Monastery of Nahyâ, and Abba Peter likewise at the church of Our Lady on the Holy Mountain of Wasîm, in the Monastery of Nahyâ, which stands on the bank of Al-Gizah to the west of Misr. So the bishop of Misr and the bishop of the Faiyûm went to those two, and informed them of what had occurred. But Abba Moses could not mount a beast or sit upon it on account of the great pain which he was suffering; so the fathers contrived a plan, and had him carried on the bier on which the dead were borne, for they found nothing else there. And some of the faithful bore him on their shoulders, till they brought him to Al-Fustât. But they made Abba Peter ride on a horse; and there was a great company with hiM. When they arrived, the assembly met together on the 8th day, and the clergy of Misr and the officials with them, that they might settle this business by the will and help of God. And there were with them the archdeacon of the church of Saint Sergius, and the aged officials Mennas |110 and Paul, and many of the Christians of Misr. So they prayed and took their seats, and began to attack one another with words, as at the beginning. As the strife increased, the bishops of the North said : «Wilt thou not appoint this man whose name is written down?» But Abba Abraham, bishop of the Faiyûm, said : «We have no part or lot with him.» Then Abba Abraham said : «If you would listen to me, we would all of us beseech God, as the canons command, and pray him to raise up for us whom he will, that so the Church may not be divided into two parties». Then some of the Northern bishops signified their approval of this proposal, and took their seats with the bishops of Upper Egypt. Now the blessed Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm, was lying in the midst of the assembly, on account of the severity of the pain which he suffered, and when he heard them speak of schism, he rose up by the power of the Holy Ghost which was with him, and beckoned with his hand to the clergy of Alexandria, so that they drew near to him. Then he said to them : «What are you saying?» They answered : «What Abba Mennas, bishop of Tmai, says, that is our opinion; for it is we that appoint the patriarch, and you have nothing to do with this matter.» Now there was by his side a staff for him to lean upon on account of his infirmity, so he called to mind what the Lord did in the Temple, when he drove out the money-changers therein with the scourge of cords; and he rose up and drove out the clergy of Alexandria, and pursued them, striking |111 them with the staff, till he had forced them out through the door, saying to them : «Depart from the midst of us! Ruin not the church of God through the desires of your hearts!» Then he turned to the bishop Abba Mennas, and the bishops with him, and said : «What have I to do with this man who is not chosen by the Lord Christ, but whom thou desirest and delightest in? If thou knowest any of his virtues, recount them in the midst of the assembly. Then, if they approve of him, it is a thing from God, and he may be appointed.» When Abba Mennas heard this, he said to Abba Moses : «The books forbid this, therefore leave him; but if you know the virtues of any man, then appoint him.» Then he made a prostration, and departed, saying : «Let there be unity and concord among you; I am innocent of this mischief.» Then they separated on that day, after the prayer of the Sixth Hour, in sorrow and great grief, because they had not found anyone to appoint. For the names of many were mentioned, but they would not agree to any one of them.

But at midnight a deacon in the company of Abba Moses awoke and said to him : «Pardon me, my Father, I know one worthy of this office.» He said to him : «Who is he my son?» The deacon answered : «He is the holy and precious one, the priest Michael at the church of Saint Macarius, a pure virgin, brought up in the desert». Then the bishop Abba Peter cried and said : «He who speaks by this deacon is Christ. O my son, verily this priest Michael is worthy of this rank». So on the morrow they assembled, and there was a discussion among them, according to their custom; and |112 then they mentioned the priest Michael, the aforesaid. So all the people cried out, old and young with one voice, saying : «In truth that man is worthy». And before this he had seen a holy man, who received revelations from the Lord, for he bore witness to him of that and said : «I heard a voice from heaven, while I was in the church of the holy Saint Macarius, saying : The priest Michael is worthy to be patriarch».

Then they all rose up and proceeded to the palace, and made known to Hafs what had taken place, and what they had agreed upon, and prayed him to write a letter to the seniors and priests of Wadî Habîb, that they might give up the said Abba Michael to the bishops and clergy. So the governor wrote letters for them, and they took them and went out of his presence. Now the Lord Jesus Christ had already moved the superiors of Wadî Habîb for a certain cause; and they had come forth from the desert with the aforesaid priest Michael in their company; and the reason was that they had met together and taken counsel, saying : «Al-Kasim, the tyrant, increased our land-tax and poll-tax beyond our power to pay. Now a new governor is come, therefore let us go and visit him and pray for him, and congratulate him on his appointment; and let us have |113 confidence in God, and beg the governor to remove these unjust exactions from us». So they arrived at the Island on the 13th of Tût. And on that day the messengers of the council had started with the letters on their way to the desert; and when they had crossed the river, they met the superiors of the monks, and with them Abba Michael, on whose account they had undertaken their journey. Therefore, when they saw him, they were greatly astonished, and wondered and rejoiced exceedingly; and each one of them marvelled at what the Lord Christ had done. So they took him, and conducted him to the governor’s palace, with all the clergy of Misr acclaiming him and chanting before him, till they reached the palace. And they said : «The Lord has sent us the trusted shepherd, the new Mark». Then when they informed Hafs of what had happened, he marvelled greatly; and he clapped his hands together and said : «Let us bless the God of the Christians, who has done deeds at which we wonder». And he said to them : «This man is he whom God has chosen for you, to be a father for you. Take him, and depart with him in peace». And Abba Theodore, the bishop of the diocese, went forward and approached the governor and prayed for him, and then departed with the patriarch. And the people cut off pieces of Michael’s garments for the sake of a blessing.

And on the morrow, which was the 14th of Tût, the bishops embarked |114 in the boats, and went down the river to Alexandria, which they reached on the night of the 16th of Tût; and many people came forth to meet the patriarch. But as they entered the streets of the city, carrying candles and crosses and books of the gospels before him, rain began to descend upon them; and it lasted three days and three nights, pouring in torrents. And all the tribes in Alexandria said : «This man is from God. Two years have passed without a fall of rain in this city. Blessed is the entrance of this man into our city!» And they consecrated him on the 17th day of Tût. Now we would fain relate a few of his deeds in the monastic life, and his miracles before he became patriarch; but we fear to be tedious, for everything has a measure, as the Scriptures say. Moreover I have related these matters in the book of his biography, apart from this history.

At that time the blessed Athanasius at Antioch departed to the Lord. And Hishâm, the prince, appointed after, him a trustworthy man, named John. Then Hishâm died, and the government of the empire was undertaken by a man named Al-Walîd, son of Yazîd, son of Abd al-Malik. Since, however, his people hated him, he began to build a city named after himself in the desert, for he gave his name to it; but the water was fifteen miles distant from it. He collected workmen from all quarters, and built that city by means of forced labour; and on account of the multitude many died every day from the scarcity of water; for though the water was carried thither by twelve |115 hundred camels daily, yet this was not enough for them; the camels being divided into two bands, six hundred carrying water one day, and six hundred the next. Then Al-Walîd was attacked by a man named Ibrahim, who killed him, and seized the government instead of him. Ibrahim released the enslaved workmen, who departed each one to his own place; and he appointed a new governor in Egypt, named Hassân, son of Atâhiya; and this Ibrahim was a cousin of his. (But according to another copy the governor’s name was Isa, son of Abu Atâ.) The new governor had been secretary to Usâmah, and he was acquainted with all that Usâmah had done. Now Egypt, before Hassân was governor, abounded in gold; and a dinar was as common as a dirhem among the people at that time. But when he arrived, a great pestilence broke out in the land, until a young calf was sold for twenty dinars. When Hassan’s commissioners and friends informed him of this, he observed : «I know what the people of Egypt do. If I live, I will make them buy a bull for two dinars». And at this time the Egyptians suffered great losses, and trials and troubles were brought upon them, so that the people offered their cattle and their children for sale.

And there was at Misr a young man, a Muslim, named Rajâ, who |116 assembled a body of followers, and seized the government, with the assistance of Hafs the former governor. And they went to Hassân, and wished to kill him; but he fled from them to Damascus. And Hafs commanded that everyone in the provinces of Egypt should pray according to the laws of the Sunnite ritual, and proclaimed that all those, who would give up their own religion and become Muslims, should be exempted from the poll-tax; for that was an impost due from all of them. By means of this procedure Satan did much harm to many people who gave up their religion; and some of them enrolled themselves among the soldiery. And the patriarch, Abba Michael, saw these things with sadness and tears, because he beheld men denying the Lord Christ. And for these causes the bishops left their sees, and departed into the desert, and entered the monasteries, where they humbled themselves before the Lord in prayer.

At that time the Father Moses, bishop of Wasîm, was detained by his spiritual children in his see, and they would not let him depart from it to any other place; but. he prayed for his flock that the wolf might not carry them away from his Church. And he remained at Al-Gizah and in the neighbourhood of Misr, constantly superintending the affairs of his children. And behold, some of the orthodox officials of Misr came to his house in sadness, and said to him : «Father, pray for us earnestly. For we have counted those who have seceded to the religion of Islam from among our brethren, the baptized Christians, in Misr and its neighbourhood, through the |117 persuasions of this governor, and they amount to twenty-four thousand persons». So the father said to them : «My children, be assured that this month you will see with your own eves this unbelieving governor Hafs burnt with fire in the midst of Fustât Misr; and Rajâ will be slain with the sword». And the father’s prophecy was speedily fulfilled. Morever this holy man used to heal the sick in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and gave to men the gift of repentance.

Then the prince sent a general to Egypt, accompanied by five thousand fighting men, that they might make war upon Hafs. The name of this general was Hautharah; and he gained possession of Egypt, and caused Hafs to be burnt in the fire, and killed Rajâ with the sword, and seized all their goods, as the blessed one had prophesied. So the prince took away the government from those two, because they had driven Hassân away from the country, and had taken the power into their own hands without his orders. And Hautharah sent their property to the prince. And the government was restored to Hassân for these reasons; and he was a wise judge like Solomon, and loved the churches and the bishops and monks; and he loved the patriarch Abba Michael, and used to admit him, and converse with him often, when he visited him, from the first days of his patriarchate. And as for Hautharah, after what had happened, he remained in Egypt with his troops. And he loved the orthodox; and, as he resided at Wasîm with all his army for three years, he used to consult the Father |118 Abba Moses about the salvation of his soul. But there was much disturbance in the outer provinces, and fighting among the Muslims, and they killed one man after another, so that even their governors did not remain in office for a whole year but were slain before it was over. At last there arose a man named Marwân, prince of those Turks; and he brought his army, and seized the empire by force, and ruled it with a strong arm like Pharao; and none could withstand him, but he destroyed them with the sword; and every year he shed much blood of those who fought against him. And there was in Marwân’s house a Chalcedonian deacon, named Theophylact, who was a goldsmith and wrought in gold for the prince’s household; and he prayed them to gain promotion for him from the prince, by making him patriarch over his fellow-countrymen, the Greeks; for they had no patriarch at that time. So this was done for him speedily; and they appointed him patriarch over the Chalcedonians.

Now peace and prosperity continued in Egypt for five years. Then the governor was removed from Egypt, and a man named Abd al-Malik was appointed. He was a son of Musa, son of Nasir, of the family of Hassân the Jew, who had overrun part of the West. And this governor hated the Christians greatly, and was exceedingly proud, and caused much trouble |119 to the people of Egypt, and gave rise to much disturbance in the country, seizing for the benefit of Marwân the gold and silver and copper and iron, and everything that he could find. This he did by the advice of an evil man, who had learnt these deeds from Satan, and was director of all the arsenals of Egypt, and of the affairs of the government, and was named Abd ar-Rahîm. His labours at last produced results unheard of before, namely that he took linen rags and smeared the ships of the fleet with decoctions of herbs which he mixed up together; so that, when the fire was thrown by the Romans upon the ships, they did not burn. And this I saw with my own eyes; for the ships caught lire, but yet did not burn; and the fire was at once extinguished.

And merchants came from the country, bringing their wares, and collected money among themselves, and gave it to Marwân, and prayed him to allow them to rebuild the churches of Misr; and so he consented to their request. But the friends of Theophylact the Chalcedonian, who was also called Cosmas, said to him : «Verily there are many churches of ours in Egypt, of which the Theodosians, that is to say the Copts, took possession, when the government of the Romans was overthrown; and now we have no church there. We beg the prince to write for us to Egypt, and send by us letters commanding that the church of Saint Mennas at Maryût be handed over to us, so that we may communicate there. » For that church was famous for many |120 miracles, and had been endowed with property in many places. So Theophylact took to Abd al-Malik, son of Musa, son of Nasir, letters which directed him to settle the dispute between the Jacobites and the Chalcedonians, and ordered that the truth concerning the founders of that church should be ascertained, and that it should be handed over to them. And when Abd al-Malik had read the letters from Marwân, he despatched an officer to Alexandria, and commanded that the two patriarchs, the Jacobite and the Chalcedonian, should be brought before him. Now the fast was at hand, so he commanded that they should be summoned.

And when Abba Michael reached Wasîm, the bishop, Abba Moses, went out to meet him, and travelled with him until they came to Abd al-Malik. And there was with us the bishop Abba Theodore, bishop of Misr, who, before he became bishop, had been archdeacon of the church of Saint Macarius in Wadî Habîb. And we attended at the palace together with the Chalcedonians every day, and this we continued to do during the forty days of the fast, from early morning to the end of the day. And the bishop of the Romans, and their patriarch Cosmas went with us. Now the said bishop hated the people of his religion; for he said : «I have not gone so far as to add a fourth Person to the Trinity.» His name was Constantine, and with him was a deacon, named Anastasius, of the church of the Melkites at Alexandria. And Abd al-Malik assembled the Melkites, and read the decree to them, and enquired into the truth of the allegations. And the dispute carried |121 on before him had great results; for the orthodox with their arguments from the Holy Scriptures prevailed over the Chalcedonians, so that Abd al-Malik marvelled. Then he summoned the chief of his Divân, who was a Muslim with two Divâns under his authority, and another man called Isa, son of Amir, and handed them over to him, that he might thoroughly investigate the matter, and make it known; and he ordered that each party should expound its claims in a letter. But the Chalcedonians went secretly to the house of Isa, and offered him bribes, that he might favour them in their claims. And the patriarch, Abba Michael, assembled his bishops, and wrote a letter full of all wisdom and of the grace of God, and of the words of the holy Scriptures of God, giving an account of the foundation of the church of the martyr, Saint Mennas, and of the troubles and banishments endured by our fathers, the patriarchs, at the hands of the Chalcedonians, and of the taking of the churches from them by the hands of the princes of the Romans; and that report was written down in Coptic and in Arabic. Afterwards they assembled together, and gave that report to the aforesaid Isa, who read it and marvelled at the patriarch’s eloquence. Then the Chalcedonians sent him a letter a span long, with two words in it; and, when he had read it, he laughed and shook his head; and the two letters were read in public, and all present heard their contents. Then our father the patriarch, Abba Michael, said to Isa : «My Lord Secretary, it is not right that we should allow our enemies, who have no God, to hear our words, so that they |122 may take them as a proof hereafter.» Isa replied : «I will read the letter.» But he only did this in guile, and in his care for the interests of the Chalcedonians, because of the bribe which he had received from them.

Now behold, we will cite a part of the contents of the letter written by the blessed Father Patriarch : «Michael, by the grace of God bishop of the city of Alexandria and of the Theodosian people, to the governors, with regard to the church of the glorious Saint Mennas at Maryût. At that time reigned the faithful and pious princes, Arcadius and Honorius, in the days of the holy father, the patriarch Theophilus. He began to build the church of John the Baptist, and when he had finished it, he built the church of Saint Mennas at Maryût, and another church named after Theodosius, son of Arcadius the prince, who helped him to build the churches. When Theophilus was dead, all his successors added to that church, little by little, until the days of the patriarch Timothy; so that it was he who completed it. After that time there came a diabolical prince, named Marcian; for it was he who divided the church through his corrupt creed, and banished the glorious father, the patriarch Dioscorus, who fought for the right faith of his fathers. And Marcian invented a vile new creed, being assisted therein by Leo, patriarch of Rome, who was anathematised by the patriarch Dioscorus together with his impure writings, which were full of heresy. And the aforesaid prince did wicked deeds against the children of the |123 orthodox church, and was exceedingly tyrannical; for he slew some, and drove others away into exile; and they suffered severely at his hands. Nor did they cease to be oppressed in like manner, until the government was transferred to our lords the Muslims. And to this day we continue to dispute with the followers of that new creed.»

This is a little out of much contained in the letter of the glorious father, Abba Michael the patriarch. But as for the Chalcedonians, they wrote and said : «In the beginning the power was in our hands, and the churches with all their property were ours. But the Muslims, after their conquest of Egypt, handed them over to the Copts».

Isa however, for the sake of the bribe which he had received from the Chalcedonians, was desirous of proving them in the right, and of convicting the Copts of falsehood. So he said : «Neither you nor they have brought any proof of your words. Go therefore and write two other letters besides these two, and bring them to us.» So we did as he said. Then he said again ; «These are no arguments. Go therefore and write something besides these two letters.» And he did not cease to put us off for a whole month. Then one of those present said to Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm : «My advice is that our father, the patriarch, should give something to this man, that he may deliver us from these adversaries who oppose and resist us.» But Abba Moses answered : «My son, it is not right that patriarchs and bishops should offer bribes to anyone, nor is it right that they should |124 take bribes from anyone. And we have not had to endure persecution for a year or two years or thirty years, like our fathers; but we are now living in our own homes, and our churches are in our own possession, and God does not forsake us nor cease to help us.»

And during that week God requited those heretics through the prayers of our father. For the governor deprived Isa of his office of secretary and his Divân; and there came another in his place, a man of the sons of the judges of the Muslims, named Abu ‘l-Husain, who was an old man, tranquil, not given to showing favour to anyone, nor to taking bribes; and he was wise in his discourse, and just in his judgments. So they delivered us to him, that he might judge between us. And at the beginning of his judgment he said : «Which among you is the father of the Jacobites?» So those present pointed to Abba Michael, and said : «Behold him here!» Then he said : «The father of the Melkites?» And they showed him the other. Thereupon he said to Abba Michael : «Thou holdest the faith of James, bishop of Jerusalem, one of the disciples of the Lord Christ.» He said : «Yea, that is my belief.» Then he turned to the other and said : «Make known to me, Sir, who is thy father, and what is thy creed.» The patriarch of the Melkites said to him : «I hold the faith of Marcian the prince». Upon that the judge rejoined : «Thou believest in the prince, and |125 not in God?» And he continued : «Tell me who is the father of thy sect, and whence he came, that I may know and judge between you.» The Melkite answered : «My father, who first laid the foundation, was Nestorius. A council was assembled at Ephesus, at which the leader was Cyril, the spiritual father of this man. They had with them a monk from the Mount of Adriba, in the province of Ikhmîm, and they drove Nestorius out of the Church; for they were assisted by the princess at that time. But after that, God speedily raised up Marcian and the patriarch Leo, who agreed with Nestorius and his followers, and everywhere took possession of the churches, over which bishops have ruled up to this day. But our bishop at Alexandria, Proterius, was slain by the Alexandrians; and therefore the prince commanded that an army should be collected, and sent it to Alexandria, and bade the soldiers slay with the sword; and so they killed thirty thousand in one hour.»

When the judge heard that, he clapped his hands together, and said to those around him : «How cruel and tyrannical was that deed!» Then our spiritual father answered and said to the judge : «Behold, we have been occupied with this matter for two months. The governor delivered us over to Isa, son of Amir, as thou knowest, O judge, whom God loves on account of thy just judgments; and we wrote reports and gave them to Isa, but he would not settle our case, but asked of us more than we know». So the judge commanded to bring forth the reports of the Jacobites and Melkites; and he read them and understood their contents, and was filled with |126 astonishment at the difference between them; and he took the documents, and carried them to the governor, who read them, and was also astonished, and commanded him to pronounce his sentence, and dismissed him. Accordingly the judge came forth, and said to Cosmas : «Thou art a man without religion or God. For behold, the reports bear witness against thee that the church belongs to Abba Michael. We understand all that you have written; therefore go and write other reports besides these, and bring them to me».

So we went out from his presence. But the Chalcedonians recognised that they were vanquished, and therefore they invented among themselves words of guile, and sent them to us. And Constantine, bishop of Misr, was with the messengers; and so he said to Abba Michael : «Thy Paternity knows what has happened to us at Alexandria for the sake of the faith; and to this day the dispute about our creed continues Therefore we desire that there be an agreement between thee and us concerning the church, and we wish to make a compact with thee, and to become one flock together. Send a message therefore to the father concerning this matter». Then the blessed Abba Michael said to the bishops : «What do you say on this question? Shall we send a messenger to him, to hear his proposals?» But they said : «He is acting thus with guile deceitfully». And Abba Moses said to them : |127 «O my fathers, in their hearts are seven thoughts, as it is written ²⁵. They think of things that they cannot bring to pass. But let us try them». Then Abba Michael ordered a priest who was his scribe, and me the sinner, the writer of this history, and sent us to the Chalcedonian patriarch to hear his words. So when we arrived, they came out to meet us with joy; and when we had taken our seats, and the priest Mennas had addressed Cosmas with words of Scripture, for he was learned, then Cosmas heard from him the words of the patriarch. For Mennas began with the creed of our fathers, the Three Hundred and Eighteen, and Athanasius and Cyril, and confirmed the matter with a great and terrible oath, before the Melkite patriarch and Constantine, the Melkite bishop of Misr; and they made their confession. And Constantino the Melkite bishop of Misr said : «This was my faith before to-day, and I will hold it to my last breath ; one Union, one God, one Lord, one Nature, namely the Lord Jesus Christ. He who does not believe thus is a Jew; and he who says that there are Two Natures in the One Christ, after the Union, is a stranger to the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost, and his lot will be with Judas the Traitor. This then is my creed». But when Anastasius heard that, he was angry and could not speak, and he waited for what was to happen after this. Then we departed to the fathers, and told them all that had taken place, and so they sent us |128 back to them, saying : «This that you have said you shall write down in a letter in your own hand». So when we returned to them, Cosmas their patriarch said : «I have another word which I desire to speak to you». The priest answered : «Hide none of thy thoughts from us, for God looks at the heart, not at the face». So he continued : «If unity be established, what will you do with me?» The priest Mennas replied : «Make known to us what thou desirest». Cosmas answered : «I desire, if unity be established, that my church and your church should be one at Alexandria. And when your father, the patriarch, is present on the days of liturgies, I should be with him; and when he had finished the prayers, each of us should go forth to his own place; and none should hinder me from visiting any of the churches; and so likewise with regard to him». Then the priest said to him : «These are words containing deceit». Cosmas answered : «”What thinkest thou?» So he said : «I will depart to my father, and bring the answer back to thee». Then when the bishops heard this, Abba Moses cried aloud and said : «Our Lord Christ charges us not to call any father upon earth. But now if you approve what they say, then I will speak». The patriarch said to him: «Speak now». So he said : «If he consent to be made by us bishop over the whole of Egypt, and to become our brother, not our father, since Christ will keep thy Paternity that thou mayest guard his holy Church, then we will do it». Then they went to Cosmas |129 and informed him of this their decision; and he rejoiced, and his soul was satisfied. And Anastasius said : «You will surely make me also bishop of some see». But the priest Mennas answered : «Knowest thou not that no man who seeks another degree for himself is fit to be a bishop? But the people of Misr will assist thee in this matter». So Anastasius said to him : «If you do not consent, then be not troubled nor speak at all of this matter». Then we went out from their presence.

After this we all visited Abd al-Malik, who had written a letter at that time to all the provinces of Egypt, commanding that the scribes and officials from every town should assemble before him; and when he admitted them, the palace was crowded with people in such numbers that none could hear anything through the multitude of voices. So we too entered, surrounded by many people. Then, when we had taken our seats, the bishop Constantine separated himself from the Melkites and sat with our bishops, begging them to receive him as one of themselves, and give him a see; and the assembled multitude and the people of the country around us were observing us, wishing to know what would be settled, and looking at the bishops, both orthodox and Chalcedonian. But after a while some of the people from Upper Egypt rushed upon Constantine, when they learnt that he was a Chalcedonian, that they might drive him away, until the |130 orthodox bishops cast some of their garments over him, and surrounded him among themselves; for otherwise the people of Upper Egypt might have killed him. Then the latter cried and said : «Remove the wolves from the midst of the sheep! Flee from the ravenous lions that devour souls! Drive away the foxes that destroy the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth! Remove Judas from among the disciples of Christ! Let not your garments touch these unclean ones, O servants of Christ!»

Meanwhile Cosmas hid himself until their anger had abated; and then, after much questioning of our fathers, the people began to be a little pacified. Moreover when our bishops made it known to the people that Constantine had prayed them to receive him among the Theodosians, they rejoiced and cried in the midst of the palace : «Constantine has confessed the right faith, the faith of our orthodox fathers». Then suddenly Ibrahim al-Mâhiki, the official who was governor of Alexandria, appeared, for he had been sitting in an apartment of the palace, and with him a band of heretics, including the deacon Sergius, the patriarch’s son, and two of the teachers of the heretics. So the people ran back and wished to flee. But there was a man of Damietta who had been exceedingly wicked, and for that reason I, the sinner, admonished him with a word that I had heard; and he leapt into the midst of the assembly, and stood and reviled me, and blasphemed the Holy Trinity. Then I and all those present saw his garment rent from |131 the top to the bottom in three pieces, and everyone in the palace cried, both Muslims and Christians : «There is no faith except the faith of the father, Abba Michael». And there was a great shouting in the palace, and men rushed to see what had taken place, so that some of the people and the soldiers were injured or killed through the great press. Then Abd al-Malik commanded that all should be sent out of the palace.

And on the morrow he commanded the judge to decide the matter in question, saying: «Settle their affair, and let them depart.» Accordingly the judge sat down with the members of the Divâns, namely the scribes and the chief personages of the government. When they had taken their seats, they said to the patriarch, Abba Michael : «Wilt thou swear that this church rightfully belongs to thee and thy fathers?» The patriarch answered : «Our Law commands me not to swear, whether truly or falsely; but I will write a report, and declare the truth to thee therein». Then the judge said to the heretic Cosmas : «Wilt thou swear that this church is thine, that I may give it over to thee?» So he replied : «Yea, I will swear». Then the judge shook his head, as if mocking him, and said to him : «Where hast thou a witness to this statement that it belongs to thee, even if thou shalt swear to it?» Then he said to our father, Abba Michael : «Hast thou anyone to offer testimony that this church belonged to thy fathers?» He replied : «Yea, I have one who will be my witness to that fact, from the day that it was built until now». The judge asked : |132 «How many days is it since it was built?» Abba Michael answered : «Three hundred and fifty years» So the judge said to him : «And do the witnesses live to this day from that time? Thou speakest to me in parables. Make the truth known to me». Then the patriarch answered and said : «Verily my father Theophilus and his successor Timothy were the builders of this church, and it is they also who testify to me that Theophilus founded it and set up its rows of pillars, for there is his name written upon them; and, when he died, Timothy erected the remainder, since there is his name inscribed. These are my witnesses who testify to this day». Thereupon the judge sent his confidential friends, accompanied by the secretaries and the interpreters, and they ascertained what was written upon the pillars, and found that it was as Abba Michael had declared. And the judge enquired carefully into the truth of the matter, and reiterated his questions concerning it, and discovered that the patriarch’s account was correct. So, when he had tested the truth of his words and proved it, he delivered the church to us, and dismissed us with congratulations and honour. Thus we recovered our church once more.

Now our father John, patriarch of Antioch, who had been a bishop, had a dispute during many days with his bishops, and could not make peace with them; therefore he wrote letters to the prince. And he had written a synodical epistle, but had not been able to find means of sending it to Egypt |133 till this time. So when the messengers arrived, and the Father Abba Michael had received the synodical and other letters from them, he read them, and was greatly distressed by the disagreement between the patriarch and his bishops. For they said that he was a mere bishop and no patriarch, and that they had not been able to give him the title of patriarch in the days of Hishâm. Then Abba Michael summoned all the seniors among his bishops in the land of Egypt, and the letters were read to them. Thereupon they said : «We will not write a letter nor despatch it thither, for this is a difficult matter. If they desire to expel their patriarch, the prince will say to them : Nay, for he is a bishop. But if we write and advise them not to depose him, the bishops will be divided, as they have said in their letters. Rather leave the matter, Father, remaining as it was». And accordingly he did so.

Now I desire to record a little out of much that the Lord did by the hand of the bishop Abba Moses, and concerning the gift of prophecy and of the healing of diseases which he received from the Lord. Therefore believe my words with a pure heart!

We were travelling to Alexandria in order that the Father Abba Michael might take possession of the evangelical throne of Mark, and the holy synod disembarked on the way. When we walked through the Christ-loving |134 city of Wasîm, there was in the church a youth, who had been paralysed in his hands and feet from birth. He was now fifteen years old, and the martyr Saint George had appeared to him, and said : «Thou shalt not be healed except by the hand of the bishop, Abba Moses». So this youth came, and would have touched my father’s garment; but the multitude around him prevented him. Therefore he cried, saying : «Make the sign of the cross, my Father, over my paralysed limbs». Then the bishop made the sign of the cross over his hands and feet, and we went on our way. But when we returned according to the will of God, that youth came out to meet us, walking and leaping with the people of the city, and recounting what had happened to him, and glorifying God, and thanking his good servant, the bishop. And this bishop also cleansed the lepers, and cast out devils, and did mighty works, like the Disciples.

Now there was in those days great trouble in the East on account of the bishops. Moreover at that time great hosts came against Marwân, and they met in battle; and much blood was shed among them. Then Abd al-Malik assembled the officers of his army at Misr, and imprisoned them for seven days, and also confined the secretaries of state, and the chiefs of the towns and superintendents of inherited property, and required them to send in their accounts, and to pay what they owed. Then he summoned the Father, Abba Michael, to Misr, in order that he might pay the taxes on his churches. But when we came before Abd al-Malik, he demanded of us |135 what we could not pay, and therefore he commanded that we should be put in prison, and that a great block of wood should be fastened to the patriarch’s foot, and a heavy iron collar to his neck. And there was nobody with him except Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm, and Abba Theodore, bishop of Misr, and Abba Elias Paul, son of Abba Moses in the Spirit. Then they put us into a dark chamber, where we could not see the sun, and which had no window, for it was hewn in the rock. And our father, the patriarch, was greatly tormented through being thus loaded with iron, from the 11th of Tût to the 12th of Babah, seeing no sunlight all that time. While he was in the prison, there were besides him three hundred men; and there were women also imprisoned, in greater straits than the men; and there was sadness and weeping, and much distress at the end of the day, when the governor of the prison shut the door upon us, and went away; and he did not return till the seventh hour of the day. The sick used to come to the patriarch in prison, that he might bless them, and then they rejoiced; and Christians and Muslims, and even Berbers, came to him, and confessed their sins which they had committed; and so did the prisoners, some of whom said that they had been in prison three years, and others four. And he consoled them and exhorted them to patience, saying to them : «If you vow to God that you will not return to your former deeds, God will |136 receive your repentance and save you before the end of this year». Then they swore to him that they would not return to their sins. And they were all accordingly rescued from prison before the end of the year by his prayers.

As for our fathers, the bishops, they could not change their garments nor their caps for the space of seventeen days, while they remained close by the father patriarch; for they were chained to him by their souls though not by iron. And the superintendent of the governor’s table was a believer and a good man, who provided for the patriarch; and he used to visit us, and brought for us into the prison what we needed; while I, the sinner, was engaged in ministering to those three bloodless martyrs night and day.

And that year there had been a great pestilence among young infants at Misr, so that they all died. And while I was lying at the feet of the patriarch one night, and he was teaching me from the Scriptures, and answering all my questions about them, I asked him concerning the death of the infants. And I said to him : «Thinkest thou, Father, that God takes them on account of the sins of their parents or for some other cause?» Then he answered : «Do not suppose, my son, that this is the cause. But God beholds the human race, and sees that most of them do the will of |137 Satan by their vain devices, and that Hell is full and Paradise empty; and so he takes the infants who are without sin to Paradise, the place of mercy.» Then I asked him : «Why did God expel Satan from Heaven before he created the world or men?» He answered me : «O my son, who am I, the vile sinner, to deal with this problem, that thou shouldst question me about it?» But as I persisted all the more in questioning him on this subject, he said to me : «The holy Gregory Theologus says that Satan was, from the time when he was first created, in the habit of slandering his companions the angels before God; but God granted him a term of trial and was patient with him. Then when God created a new heaven and a new earth, and formed man in his own image and likeness ²⁶, since it lay in God’s foreknowledge that Satan loved pride, he bade him behold Adam and the beauty of his countenance. So Satan took with him the host over which God had made him leader, and went to the place where Adam was; and, when he saw it he was filled with admiration of it. And he said to his lollowers : I desire to set up for myself a throne upon the clouds, and the high mountains shall be beneath me, and I will be like the Most High; and the whole world shall be under my power, and I will rule over it. Then when he ascended again to heaven, God said to him : Admirest thou what thou hast seen, and art thou pleased with the world that has been created? For he knew his secret thoughts. Then God said to Satan : I have made |138 thee lord over the world. And God said this to Satan in order that he might not fall from the glory in which he was. But Satan kept evil in his heart, and in his thoughts there was wickedness; and after that he considered and said : I desire to know the nature of the Godhead, so that when I go down to the world I may act accordingly, and may no longer have need of God. For this was the design that Satan had conceived. And, wishing to behold the Godhead, he entered into the midst of the Angels suddenly; but God commanded ten thousand of the heavenly angelic Powers to cast him down to the lowest Hell in outer darkness, him and all his companions. This is what God revealed to Gregory Theologus, who wrote it down for us. Glory be to God for ever and ever. Amen».

Then I questioned the patriarch again, saying : «Will God have patience with these unbelieving rulers who commit these crimes against us at all times, and will not release us from these bonds?» He answered : «Be patient, my son, and be of good cheer. When we go forth from this place, we shall fall into worse misfortunes than this. Therefore be patient now, for none shall receive his reward without suffering; but he who endures to the end shall be saved. And thou wilt see what shall take place hereafter, for in these two rulers there is no good».

Then when seventeen days of the before mentioned month were over, while we were still in this distress, the governor commanded that he should be brought before him. So we came into his presence, and he demanded the money of the patriarch, saying to him : « None of thy |139 churches pays taxes, and I require of thee that which is rightfully due from them.» And he pressed him sorely. Then the patriarch answered : «If it he so, permit me to depart to Upper Egypt; and whatever the Christians may give me and supply me with I will bring to thee.» Then the governor released him, and we quitted his presence, and journeyed to Upper Egypt. At that time we suffered greatly from the cold; for there was hoar-frost at night, and heat in the day-time from the sun. And the people of Egypt had perished through oppression and poverty and taxation. And the father, Abba Michael, was fatigued during our journey, and suffered much. While we travelled, he healed many that were sick, merely by making the sign of the Gross; and he cast out unclean spirits from among the people,and converted many who had gone astray from the orthodox faith, for God helped him. Then we returned to Misr on the night of the 21st of Tubah, the night on which our Lady, the Virgin Mary, went to her rest. And that night there came great wrath from God, for there was a great earthquake in the land, and many houses were ruined in all the cities; and none was saved from them, not a single soul; and likewise on the sea many ships were sunk on that night. This happened all over the East, from the city of Gaza to the furthest extremity of Persia. And they counted the cities that were |140 wrecked that night, and they were six hundred cities and villages, with a vast destruction of men and beasts. But the land of Egypt was uninjured, except only Damietta. And at Misr there was only great fear, without any death or ruin of houses; for though the beams in the doorways and walls were moved out of their places, they went back again to their places after two hours. We were assured by one whose word we trust that none of the churches of the orthodox nor of their dwellings was destroyed throughout the East. But the father, Abba Michael, bade all the inhabitants of Misr and the neighbourhood prolong their fasting and prayers. So when the misbeliever, Abd al-Malik, saw what had taken place through the wrath of God, he accepted the alms given by the Christians to the patriarch, and released him.

Now I have omitted much without writing it down, that the history might not become too long and weary the reader, but I am constrained to record briefly a matter which must not be passed over. That is that there was at Dongola, a city of the Nubians, a king named Mercurius, who was called the New Constantine, for he became by his beautiful conduct like one of the Disciples; and the Lord gave him a son whom he named Zacharias. When king Mercurius died, Zacharias did not choose to become |141 king, but occupied himself with the word of God and the salvation of his soul, and gave up his rank as king, and appointed to the kingly office a kinsman of his named Simon, who was orthodox, and walked in the excellent path of Mercurius. When Simon died, Zacharias adopted a valiant youth attached to the palace, named Abraham, and made him king; but he was proud and wicked. And the bishop of the capital city used to warn him and instruct him, but he paid no heed to him, and therefore a dispute took place between the king and the bishop. So the king wrote a letter to the father patriarch, Abba Michael, in which he said with an oath : «If thou do not excommunicate Cyriacus, I will make all my country worship idols». For he had written concerning that bishop absurd calumnies and false testimonies. But when the patriarch had read this letter, he wrote letters of peace to the king. Yet the king was not satisfied, but wrote other letters worse than the first, full of false testimonies, and despatched them to Alexandria by Cyriacus, the holy bishop. So the father assembled the bishops, and formed a synod in the city of Alexandria. And when they had met together, he produced the letters, which were read aloud; but the bishops recognised that their allegations were absurd. Then indeed they spoke a word concerning the king of that country, fearing lest Satan should bring corruption upon it: and therefore they prayed the bishop Cyriacus to reside |142 in one of the monasteries of Alexandria, until the wrath of the king should subside; but he refused to do that. So, when they saw that he would not listen to them, they said : «Depart whithersoever thou wilt, in order to abide there.» But they would not allow him to celebrate the Liturgy in the churches of Egypt. And they ordained him whom the king had sent to them, a man named John, saying to Cyriacus : «If this matter is not from God, thou wilt see what will happen, and wilt return to thy see once more. For we have not removed thee from thy see by excommunication, but on account of the wickedness of the king, and his evil intentions».

But when they rose up to depart, each to his own place, there appeared a great wonder. For there was a great board over the throne of the patriarch, Abba Michael, on which was a painting of John Chrysostom; and, after the bishop had been removed from his see, the cords of the picture broke, and it fell into the midst of the bishops, and continued to move and leap until it had passed beyond them. Therefore they went and took it up, and restored it to its former place. Then it did the same thing a second and a third time; for as often as they hung it up it fell again, until it reached a certain place in the church and remained there. Now that bishop resembled the picture of John Chrysostom, for his cheeks were almost free from hair, so that he seemed to have no beard, and this was one of the characteristics of John Chrysostom’s face. And the bishop Cyriacus was an old man, eighty |143 years of age on that day; and his appearance was like that of an angel of God. Then the bishops dispersed to their own districts; and Cyriacus departed to one of the monasteries of Nubia, while John, the new bishop, went to the capital city. Now trustworthy persons have testified to me that no rain fell upon that city during the remainder of the life of Cyriacus, the bishop, and that every year the people were visited by a pestilence, and that those who bore false witness against him were suddenly struck blind. And he lived to be one hundred and four years old. Then he prayed God to remove him from the body; and, when he was dead, the people of his country visited his tomb, and prayed him with many tears to beseech God to send down rain upon them; and this took place so that their country was fertilized, and the pestilence ceased from them.

So when king Zacharias saw these things, he banished king Abraham to an island in the midst of the river, and appointed a king named Mark instead of him; for Zacharias had been father of the kings up to this time. Then the friends of Mark went secretly with guile, to slay Abraham in his place of exile. But, when the partisans of king Abraham learnt this, they conspired against king Mark; and, while he was praying in the church before the sanctuary, they slew him, in the sixth month of his reign.

Then they set up a king named Cyriacus, an honest and virtuous man, who has remained king to the day on which I write this history. |144

Now letters had been sent to this king from Egypt, and had reached him while the father, Abba Michael, was in prison with us. And Abd al-Malik heard of these communications, and therefore he seized the patriarch, and kept him in custody. Then king Cyriacus marched forth from the land of the Nubians towards Egypt with a great army, including a hundred thousand horsemen, with a hundred thousand horses and a hundred thousand camels. And we were informed by one who had witnessed it with his own eyes that the horses which the Nubians rode used to fight with their forefeet and hindfeet in battle as their riders fought upon their backs, and that they were small horses, no higher than asses. And when they approached Misr that they might capture the city, and had encamped at the Pool known to this day as the Pool of the Ethiopians, they plundered and slew and made prisoners of the Muslims. And they had already treated the Muslims of Upper Egypt in like manner. And the king before he reached Misr had sent an envoy, called the Eparch, one of the great men of the kingdom, to Abd al-Malik, bidding him release the patriarch; but Abd al-Malik seized that envoy and imprisoned him with the patriarch. But when the governor heard of the arrival of the king before Misr, not having any means of resisting him, and being, greatly afraid of him, he released his envoy, the Eparch, from prison. So the latter went forth to meet the king, having, previously made an engagement with Abd al-Malik, and sworn to |145 induce the king to return with his army to his own country, and not to let him approach his fortresses nor besiege him. Now the Muslims were in the habit of kidnapping the Nubians, and selling them as slaves in Egypt. So the king, after carrying off much plunder from the Muslims, led back his army, because the Eparch informed him that the patriarch had been released, and had been kindly treated by Abd al-Malik, and himself bade the Nubians return homewards with his blessing.

Now many of the tribe of Al-Kais worshipped an idol named Salkit, and therefore the king of the Nubians conquered them and plundered them, and his army carried off the booty which they had taken from them. Then Abd al-Malik sent to the patriarch, bidding him write to the king of the Nubians. So Abba Michael wrote letters of peace to Cyriacus, in which he prayed for him, and blessed him and his followers; and the king returned without fighting a battle. Now these events took place in the hundred and thirtieth year after the foundation of the empire of the Muslims. And there were under the supremacy of Cyriacus, king of the Nubians, thirteen kings, ruling the kingdom and the country. He was the orthodox Ethiopian king of Al-Mukurrah; and he was entitled the Great King, upon whom the |146 crown descended from Heaven; and he governed as far as the southern extremities of the earth, for he is the Greek king, fourth ²⁷ of the kings of the earth; and none of the other kingdoms stands up against him, but their kings attend him when he passes through their territory. And he is under the jurisdiction of Mark the Evangelist, for the patriarch of the Jacobites in Egypt exercises authority over him, and over all the kings of the Abyssinians and the Nubians; and he has in his country an orthodox bishop whom the patriarch ordains as metropolitan, and who ordains for the king the bishops and the priests in that land. And when the metropolitan dies, the patriarch of Alexandria appoints another for him, whom he chooses, and ordains him for that people.

Now when we came out of prison, many people came together to us, and prayed the father patriarch to celebrate the Liturgy for them, and to give them with his holy hand the communion of the Body and the Precious Blood. So they conducted him to the church of the two Martyrs, Sergius and Bacchus ; and he celebrated the Liturgy for them that day, and communicated to them the Holy Mysteries, and gave them an exhortation and instruction |147 And there came a man seeking to communicate, as soon as the brethren began to make their communion; but the patriarch refused him, and, though he returned, would not give him the oblation. And when. Abba Michael had dismissed the congregation, and sent the people away in peace, that man appeared before the father, weeping, and said : «I desire thee, Father, to tell me for what cause thou didst refuse me communion». The spiritual father answered and said to him : «My son, I also am a sinner. None but the Lord Christ refused thee communion. He it was who forbad thee to receive it. Therefore declare now what thou hast done in the midst of this assembly of thy brethren, lest any of them do like thee». Then that man cried aloud, saying : «I pray thee, my Lord and Father, if it was a sin which I committed, forgive it me, for I will not be guilty of it again». The father said to him : «Thou must confess it». So he said to him : «I have been accustomed to break my fast in my own house, and to come after my breakfast to the church to communicate. Thus I did to-day. And afterwards when I heard that thou wouldst give communion to thy people, I said in my heart : I will go and receive the communion from his holy hand. And I did so out of love for thee in my humility. Now I have declared this to thee who didst refuse me. But in Upper Egypt there are many who do this without knowing that it is a sin». When the Father heard that, he commanded that letters should be written to every place, ordering that none of the faithful should communicate unless fasting, and that none should make |148 his communion twice in one day ». Then he gave his blessing to that man, who departed glorifying God, who does wonders by his saints.

But Egypt found no tranquillity nor rest during the government of Abd al-Malik, for not one of the family of the princes of the Ishmaelites who ruled over them was like him. And he did to the monasteries what was not lawful, because he hated the Christians; for as he pleased to do, so he did. Yet the Lord Christ, in whose hand are the hearts of princes, turned his heart to love Abba Michael the patriarch; therefore he invited him to his palace, and we accompanied him; and he begged the patriarch to pray for him. And the governor’s daughter, who was four years old, was possessed by an unclean spirit, and so her father requested the patriarch to pray over her. Then Abba Michael took oil, and blessed it, and anointed her with it; and the devil went out of her immediately. Thus the governor began to love the Christians, because he loved the father patriarch; and he also loved the bishops, and showed them honour.

Now our father, Abba Michael, was sweet in speech, beautiful in countenance, perfect in stature, decent in his attire, well-formed and dignified; and his words were like a sword against the rebellious, and his teaching was like salt to people of virtue and modesty. And the hand of God was with him in those hardships which he endured through Abd al-Malik. And |149 the church at Alexandria had suffered greatly in the time of the late patriarch Alexander, when its marble and glorious woodwork, which were priceless, were taken away from it. So the Father Michael provided money for it, and restored it, and improved it. And he built other churches to the east and west of the town, and his buildings were completed in his lifetime.

And on a certain day the governor of Alexandria desired to launch the ships of the fleet on the sea. And there was a congregation of the orthodox in the Church of our Lady Mary, of about ten thousand persons. And a young man of the Muslims saw, painted on the wall, a picture of the Lord Christ upon the Cross, while the soldier with the spear was piercing his side. So he said to the Christians, tempting them : «What is this man upon the Cross?» They answered : «This is the sign of our God Christ, who died upon the Cross for the salvation of the world.» Thereupon that young man took a rod, and mounted to the upper gallery, and pierced the picture in the other side, namely the left, mocking and blaspheming at the Christian’s words. And immediately the form of the young man became stretched, as if he were himself crucified, after the likeness of the picture which he had pierced, and a great pain seized him, as if he had been pierced in the side in like manner, and his hand clove to the rod with which he had pierced it, and no man could take it out of his hand; and he remained fixed in the midst of the congregation, between heaven and |150 earth. So he continued all day, crying aloud : «O ye people, I am pierced in the side.» Then the Muslims cried to the Christians with a loud voice, glorifying God, the doer of wonders, and begged them to pray to God for the man’s release. So the Christians prayed, saying Kyrie eleison many times. But that young man could not descend from the place where he was, until one of the Muslims said to him : «Verily unless thou shalt confess the faith of the Christians, and say that this picture is the likeness of Christ, the Son of God, and profess their creed, and believe like them, he will never let thee come down.» Then he accepted the words of that Muslim, and confessed that it was the picture of Christ, and said : «I am a Christian, and will die in the religion of Christ.» After that confession he descended into the midst of the assembly, and departed to the monasteries, and was baptized there.

Now the prince at that time was Marwân, who ruled from Persia to Spain. His hand was very heavy upon his soldiers, and for a time the Muslims fought one against the other, and shed one another’s blood, so that on one day twenty thousand or thirty thousand or even seventy thousand were slain. And they did not cease from war during the seven years of Marwân’s reign, because he had usurped the government over them. And in the seventh year a young man named Abd Allah had a dream, in which the |151 voice of a certain one said to him three times : «Fight against Marwân, fight. By God thou wilt overcome him.» This young man, Abd Allah, was a Bedouin, and lived in tents in the desert; and his father was an old man, named Abu Muslim, to whom the same vision came in a dream as to the young man, Abd Allah; and the old man wrote an account of the dream, and fastened it on the door of his tent. Therefore, when the Muslims saw it, they came together to him in order to know what had happened; and, when he told them, they said : «We will help thee; and, if God shall give thee the victory, we will make thee prince over us.» Accordingly, many of the tribes assembled to him, when they heard of this; and twenty thousand horsemen gathered together with him. But they had no weapons, and so they cut branches from the palm-trees, and fastened spear-heads to them, and went forth to fight, the power of God being with them. Thereupon Marwân came out against them, accompanied by a hundred thousand fighting men, well equipped, and provided with weapons and coats of mail and helmets; and the two armies met. Then Abd Allah divided his army into two parts; and when Manvan saw them, he said, as Goliath the giant said to David ²⁸ : «Hast thou come out to meet me like a dog?» Then Marwân sent out against Abd Allah forty thousand horsemen in many-coloured |152 garments, wearing cuirasses and iron armour, whereas most of Abd Allah’s soldiers were footmen. Yet Abd Allah’s men slew Marwân’s men with God’s help, so that not one of them was saved; for God gave to the former the victory over the latter, as the prophet Moses says ²⁹ : «One man, if God helps him, shall put to flight a thousand, and two shall terrify a host.»

And Abu Muslim saw the angel of the Lord, with a golden rod in his hand, on the top of which was a Cross, putting his enemies to flight; for, wherever the Cross approached, he saw them fall dead before it. So the followers of Abd Allah and Abu Muslim took the horses and weapons of the enemy.

Then Marwân again sent another forty thousand horsemen against them, at the fourth hour of the day, from behind rocks; but God delivered them into their hands, and they captured their horses and weapons. So, when Marwân saw that, he fled. And he executed the following stratagem. He brought out what he possessed of money and vessels and furniture, and put the gold in bags, and scattered it along the road, while he was fleeing, accompanied by twenty thousand horsemen, who remained with him. But Abd Allah and Abu Muslim did not understand his deceit, and so, as they pursued him, they busied themselves with seizing the money and the weapons for seven days, so that Marwân escaped and crossed the Euphrates. |153 But many of his followers were drowned, and he set fire to the boats, and none reached the shore but he and eight thousand men with him.

So the old man Abu Muslim bade his soldiers make crosses of every kind, and place them on their breasts, saying to them : «By means of this sign God has given us the victory, and it has conquered the empire for us.» And his followers multiplied, for men came to them from every place at which they arrived : from Khorassan and Sidon and the Euphrates and the land of the Romans; and all that heard of them in distant lands. And at every city which they captured, their followers established a camp.

But as for Marwân, he set fire to every place that he reached in his flight, When Abu Muslim and Abd Allah came to the Euphrates, and saw the burnt boats, they put on black garments, and left their heads unshaven, and neglected their wives, and continued to fast and pray for six months, until God gave their enemy into their hands. Then they took the boats that they could get, and crossed the Euphrates, and pursued Marwân. And when they reached a place where there were Christians, they marked it out by the sign of the Cross, which they also had marked on their tents and garments. And the Muslims among them wore black garments. And him who was without these two signs they put to death, because the followers of Marwân were Persians, and therefore did not approve of these things. And so, when they found them, they killed them, |154 and ripped them open. And they used to rip open their pregnant wives, and kill the babes, saying : «We will leave them no offspring on earth to go about the world as beggars.»

Then Marwân went into the public treasury at Damascus, for that was the capital of the Omeyyads, and brought forth much money and jewels and treasures, and burnt the rest with fire. And he went on doing thus, till he had laid waste seven provinces with fire. When Abd al-Malik, the governor of Egypt, heard the news, he feared that Marwân would summon him to fight, and therefore he wrote to him a letter with guile, inviting him to Egypt, and saying : «Thy enemies cannot enter this country.»

Accordingly, Marwân marched thither, slaying the chiefs of the towns and provinces through which he passed, and seizing their money. So also he did in the monasteries of the monks, which he wrecked and robbed of their money. And there was in Palestine a clean and decent monastery, which entertained thousands of travellers, and contained a thousand monks; and it was called Dair Mût, and in Coptic, the Monastery of Abba Harmanus. Maximus and his brother Domitius were first received here; and it was Abba Harmanus who took the Tome of Leo, and went to the tombs of his fathers, accompanied by the soldiers of the prince, and cried over their tombs with a loud voice, saying : «Think not that you are asleep, and that this does not concern you! As the Lord lives, if you answer me not, I will |155 take out your bones and burn them with fire. Tell me what you think. Shall I receive the Tome of Leo, or the Faith of Nicaea? Tell me plainly and speedily.» Then they all answered with one voice, crying and saying: «Cursed be Leo, the misbeliever, the soul-devouring lion, and his foul Tome! And cursed be Marcian, the misbeliever, and the vile Pulcheria! And cursed be the Council of Chalcedon, the six hundred and thirty heretical bishops; and cursed be all that receive them. And cursed be those that make Christ the Son of God into Two Natures after the Union.» So, when the blessed Abba Harmanus heard this, he fell upon the ground. And when the noble who brought the Tome saw him, and heard their words addressed to him, he shaved his head, and became a monk with many others. Afterwards this saint was counted worthy of martyrdom; for when Marcian, the prince, was informed of what he had done, he sent and put him to death. And since that time there has been a body of the orthodox remaining in that glorious monastery. So when Marwân arrived at the aforesaid monastery, he demanded of them a sum of money amounting to three weights; and he severely chastised the superior of the monastery and his assistant, for he killed those two; and he plundered the monastery, and continued his march, accompanied by his army. Then, when they were at a short distance from the monastery, there was a hermit upon a pillar, a very old man, who had been there many years, an orthodox Theodosian. |156 So one of Marwân’s friends said : «Verily all that this old monk says comes to pass, for he speaks the truth.» And he came up to that hermit, and asked him what would be his fate. So the old man said in a low voice, like the voice of Jeremias the prophet ³⁰ : «If I tell thee the truth, thou wilt slay me; yet will I declare what God has revealed to me. That which God has told me of thee is this. With the measure with which thou hast measured it shall be measured to thee. As thou hast made mothers childless, so shall thy mother be childless. And thy path shall be very terrible to all that behold thee; for thy children and thy wives and all that are thine shall be taken captive; and he who is now pursuing thee shall take thy empire, and none of thy family shall reign after thee for ever. And thine enemies shall put thee to flight, until thou comest to Arsinoites, to Cleopatra. All this shall befall thee this year in the month of Misri.» When Marwân heard this, he commanded that the pillar should be overthrown; and he brought down the old man, and burnt him alive in the fire.

Then Marwân arrived in Egypt on the twentieth day of the month of Baunah, in the year 467 of the Martyrs. And before these things happened, some of the Bashmurites had rebelled against Abd al-Malik, under their |157 leader Mennas, son of Apacyrus, besides other insurgents, inhabitants of Shubrâ near Sanbat. And they seized that province, and refused to pay taxes to Abd al-Malik or to the chief of the Divân of Misr; and at last the Lord visited them, and gave them the victory. For Abd al-Malik brought out an army against them, but they put him to flight by the power of God, and slew his soldiers with the edge of the sword. And he despatched another army, and a fleet of ships on the river, and by the power of God they put all his men to flight or slew them. And when Marwân reached Egypt, all this was made known to him. So he wrote letters and a decree of pardon for those rebels; but as they would not accept him, he despatched against them a great army of Egyptian Muslims, and of those who came in his company from Syria. But this army could not reach them at all, because they fortified themselves in marshy places, which could only he approached by men marching in single file; and if a man’s foot slipped from the path, he would sink into the mud and perish. And as the troops watched the Bashmurites from a distance, the latter marched out against them at night by ways which they knew, and took the soldiers by surprise, and killed those whom they could, and carried off their goods and their horses; and as the troops grew tired of these attacks, they marched away and left them. |158

Then Abd Allah, the prince, arrived with a great army in the province of Damascus, and divided his troops between two brave commanders, one of whom was named Sâlih, son of Ali, and the other Abu Aun, his friend, saying to them : «If you shall find Marwân and capture him, I will promote you two to be princes; and to Abu Aun I will give Egypt.» Then he sent with Sâlih sixty thousand horsemen and sixty captains; and he gave to Abu Aun forty thousand horsemen and four hundred officers. So the two arrived at Damascus, the governor of which was Marwân’s son-in-law, having married his eldest daughter; but, as he submitted to them, they retained him in office. Then they marched on to Egypt. When they arrived at Gaza, the inhabitants told them : «The people of Damascus have not put on the black, nor remained obedient to you.» So they returned in wrath, and slew a great number of the chiefs of the people of Damascus, and killed the governor, Marwân’s son-in-law, and took the daughter of Marwân prisoner. And when the news reached Marwân, he reviewed his troops, and found that those who had come with him were eight thousand in number. Then he gave orders to his subjects, the natives of the land, saying : «If any of the people of Egypt refuse to enter into my religion, and to pray as I do, and to adopt my creed, I will slay him and impale his body. But whoever shall enter with me into my religion I will clothe with a robe of honour, and I will mount him upon a horse, and will place his name in my |159 Divân, and make him rich.» In consequence of these words he was soon followed by a thousand persons, who recited his prayer; and accordingly he gave to each one ten dinars. Then two thousand Muslims of Egypt joined him, besides those whom he had released from prison, and those who served him of the troops of the army of the empire. And he sent his sister’s son to Alexandria, accompanied by one of the chiefs of his army, and commanded him to enlist the Ishmaelites, on condition that they recited his prayer. For there was at Alexandria a chief man and leader of the Muslims, named Al-Aswâd, to whom many men had gathered while the Muslims were fighting the Romans; and Marwân had commanded those whom he sent thither to kill him and ten of his officers, because he had not come to him at Misr; but Al-Aswâd had a friend at Misr in attendance on Marwân and an associate of his, who heard of this and wrote to Al-Aswâd to make known to him what had been done, before those men arrived at Alexandria. When the Alexandrians learnt what Marwân intended, they swore fidelity to Al-Aswâd; and he and they became of one heart, and so when Marwân’s envoy and his companions arrived, the Alexandrians arrested them, and cast them into prison. Al-Aswâd gathered a large body, from Alexandria and Maryût and Al-Buhairah, of Muslims who lived in those districts, and placed them outside the wall of Alexandria to keep the roads. Therefore when Marwân was informed, he sent a great army under an Amir and |160 chief, named Kauzârâ, who was like a wild beast in form and character, and of great courage, and with him were five hundred fighting men; and Marwân commanded them to lay Alexandria waste. So they encamped at a place named Bakûm at a distance from Alexandria. When Al-Aswâd heard this, he sent against them his brother and five hundred men with him, to reconnoitre; and when Marwân’s followers saw them, they thought that they were an army from the town, and that there was none left therein who would fight them except these. So they rose up against them, and killed most of them, and the remainder fled and returned to the city, while the enemy pursued them. When they reached Al-Aswâd and his companions, they cried saving : «Our city is taken.» So they all fled, their number being thirty thousand, and Al-Aswâd escaped and hid himself. And Marwân’s army entered the city with Kauzârâ, and took possession of it, and killed many of the inhabitants, and plundered its officials, and their children and wives were taken prisoners, and their goods were seized. And the Father Abba Michael was captured; and Kauzârâ said to him : «How couldst thou permit thy children, the Christians, to fight against us?» By this he meant the Bashmurites. And he reproved the patriarch with many words, and demanded money of him. But, as Abba Michael had nothing, he put him in prison, and fastened a mass of iron to his feet. And. the patriarch’s |161 disciples and some of his priests had fled on account of what had happened at Alexandria, and none remained save Abba Mennas, the priest, who was the oeconomus of the church of Saint Mark the Evangelist and Disciple, and Valentinus, the deacon and secretary of the Cell, and Bartholomew, the monk of Samannûd; for they were bound together with Abba Michael. Then Kauzârâ also seized Cosmas, patriarch of the Melkites, and put his feet in the stocks, together with the feet of our father and patriarch. But after five days, Cosmas raised from his congregation and his church the sum of a thousand dinars, and paid them to Kauzârâ, who thereupon released him. And Kauzârâ sent to our father, and said to him : «Do likewise, and I will release thee.» But he answered : «There is nothing in my church; therefore I give myself instead of the money, and thou must do with me what thou wilt.» Then he pressed him sore, till the end of nine days. After that he sent for him, and laid his hand upon him, and dragged him on his face, and threw him on his knees. And there was a rod in his hand, so he struck him with it two hundred times on his head with all his might and main. But the Lord Christ was Abba Michael’s helper and protected him, so that he suffered no hurt. Then Kauzârâ commanded that the patriarch’s head should be cut off; and they dragged him along like a dumb sheep. And when they had gone a short distance from that misbeliever, Abba Michael drew down his cap over his face, so that his head might be taken off, and then he readily with joy stretched out his neck. |162

And the swordsman put forth his hand, and drew his sword, and cried, saying : «Shall I take off his head?» For it was according to custom that he should ask permission three times. And, when he asked permission for the second time, the Amir gave it to him. Then God put a thought into Kauzârâ’s heart, and he said : «How does it profit us to kill this old man? For he forbad the Bashmurites to fight with us, and wrote to them, but they would not listen to him. Rather let us carry him with us to Rosetta, and make him write to them again, and tell them that all that which has happened to him is on their account.» So Kauzârâ commanded that the patriarch should be released.

When the Bashmurites heard of these events, they attacked those who were besieging them, and slew them or routed them, they being at a distance of a two days journey. And those who escaped death went to Marwân, and made known to him what had happened to them. And when Marwân learnt that his enemies were coming after him, and had killed his son-in-law, his daughter’s husband, the governor of Damascus, he sent a letter by those who had fled to him in order to escape from the Bashmurites, saying to his followers : «Come to me speedily, for I have need of you. And pillage every town that you reach, and slay the inhabitants». Therefore those miscreants marched into Upper Egypt, and killed many of the officials, and carried off their goods, and took captive their wives and servants and children. And they burnt the monasteries of the monks, and carried off the |163 nuns, until they came to the Eastern district. And there was in those parts a convent of nuns, virgins who lived there as the brides of Christ, thirty in number. So Marwân’s troops took them prisoners. And there was among them a young maiden, who had entered the convent when she was three years old; and when they saw her they marvelled at her beauty, saying : «We have never beheld among human beings a form like hers.» So they took her, and removed her from the midst of her sisters, and consulted together as to what they should do with regard to her, some saying : «Let us cast lots for her,» and others : «Let us take her to the prince.» And, while they were saying these things, the maiden asked of them : «Where is your leader, that I may let him know of something that is worth money, so that you may let me go? For I am a servant of God, and it is not lawful for you to profane my service. But, if I make known to you that thing by which you shall gain money, you will send me back to my convent.» So their commander answered her, saying : «I am he.» She said to him : «My fathers were fighting men, brave and strong, and gave me a medicament, with which they used to anoint themselves when they went out to fight, so that iron did them no hurt, but swords and spears became like wax candles before them. If then thou wilt let me go free, I will give this drug to thee. And if thou dost not believe my words, I will anoint my neck in thy presence; then bring the best sword that thy men have, and let the strongest among them strike me, and I shall not be cut at |164 all, so that thou mayest know the truth of my words. » But she only said this because she desired to die by the sword, that she might not be contaminated by the defilements of those miscreants, nor her pure body be: polluted by them. Then she entered her chamber, and brought out a phial containing oil, which the holy men had blessed, and which was preserved in her possession; and she anointed her neck and face and all her body with it, and prayed kneeling upon her knees, and stretched out her neck. So those ignorant men thought that the thing was true, and knew not what was in her heart. Then she said to them : «Let him that is strong among you, and has a sharp sword, display his strength upon me; for you will see the glory of God in this medicament.» Thereupon a young man sprang forward with a sword of which he was proud. And she covered her face with her pallium, and laid down her head, saying : «Strike with all thy. might, and spare not.» So he struck at the holy martyr, and her head fell. Then they recognised what her aim had been, and that she had eluded them; and so they repented and were exceedingly sad, and great fear overwhelmed them. And after her they touched no more of the nuns and virgins, but left them in peace and departed glorifying God.

Then Marwân wrote to Kauzârâ, whom he had despatched to |165 Alexandria, bidding him hasten to him without delay; but, when he reached Rosetta, he was informed that the Bashmurites had slain the Muslims in the town and laid it waste, and burnt it with fire, and also that the enemy was at hand. So he delivered the father patriarch to one of the officers, that he might conduct him to Marwân. Then I journeyed and informed my father, Abba Moses, of what had taken place, on account of the power of prophecy which God had given him, and the miracles which he worked. Therefore ye must believe truly in that which I am about to say, for I saw it with my own eyes. That is that before Marwân came to Egypt, and before there was any fighting there, Abba Moses had made known, by revelation from God, what would become of the princes, and what would happen to the churches and faithful people of Christ. For it was said to him in vision : «Prepare, for thou wilt be with the fathers in the battle.» And that year he multiplied his prayers and devotions and sleepings upon the ground day and night, and his continuance in prayer and sadness and weeping and copious tears. So when I, the sinner, saw him, I begged and implored him to tell me the cause of his doing thus with himself. Now that holy father hated vain glory, and he said to me : «O my son, my sins are many; and, when I remember them, I weep and repent, and offer prayers to God, praying to him for pardon.» But since I, the sinner, enjoyed some freedom with Abba Moses, because I attended him night and day, |166 I grasped his feet and kissed them, and my tears ran over them, and I said : «I will not rise nor lift my face until thou shalt make known to me the truth of this matter.» So he answered : «If thou must know, thou also wilt share my lot with me; —- for none will be safe in the days of this government; —- above all in the harm that the people will do to the Church. But I know that the Lord Christ will not abandon her finally, but that she will be delivered from her trouble. For this government will perish with all its armies, and there will be a new government after it.» Thus I heard much from him of these and other matters. And I know that every word he said was true and is fulfilled in its season; and I continued to meditate on this and what would come after it. And after that day, Marwân and his government were driven out, and he came to Egypt, as has been related. For I was pondering and wondering what would happen to the Church of God in the time of peace and prosperity, and other things; and while he was conversing with me, behold, the father patriarch arrived, escorted by the soldiers, at the door of the holy church in the city of Wasîm, on the morning of Sunday, the 10th of Abîb. When my holy father Moses saw them, he said to me : «My son, this day which I was expecting, and of which I spoke to thee, has arrived, and seeing is better than hearing. Now therefore let him who is willing to give up his life follow me. I rejoice to day, because |167 I have long desired this, although I confess that I am not worthy to shed my impure blood in return for the pure blood shed for us. But great is the sadness in my heart, because the generation of the saints is scattered, and we are become exceedingly poor, since we cannot find a man to share with us in this ministry, as I bore witness at the time of the synod.» And my father Moses, in spite of his fasting and prayer and virtue, said : «Woe to me, the sinner! I believe that Christ will not forsake me, but will help me.» After this the soldiers began to molest us. Then we received the holy communion from the hand of the glorious father, Abba Michael, the holy patriarch and chosen martyr. Meanwhile we saw flames ascending from Al-Fustât; and we were informed that Marwân had set fire to the storehouses ot provisions and cotton and straw and to the supplies of barley. So, when the soldiers learnt this, they troubled us much, and cried out upon us with great indignation. And my father Moses laid his arm on mine, and put on an outer garment, and I supported him, and he left all that was in his church, and went out. And there was not one of the bishops or ecclesiastics with the patriarch save me alone and one reader of the church of Saint Macarius, named James, a native of Bilbais.

Now Marwân had commanded that the trumpet should be sounded at Misr, and a proclamation made during three days, saying : «If after three |168 days I find man or beast remaining in Misr, I will put that man or that beast to death, for I will set fire to the whole city of Al-Fustât.» So all the people passed over to Al-Gizah and the Island and other parts, escaping in the boats; even the carefully guarded girls, who had never been out of doors, went away with their families; and the people left all their goods behind. And the caliph caused Misr to be set on fire from the south to the north, until it reached the Great Mosque of the Muslims. And a countless number of men and beasts were drowned in the river, because they could find none to carry them across, when they fled from the fire. For brother fled from brother, and friend from friend; and the blind found none to lead him; and the cripple and the paralytic and the sick and the old man about to die and the aged woman unable to move, —- all these were burnt in the fire. And people were lying in the streets and lanes and gardens in the district of Al-Gizah like corpses, in consequence of all that they had suffered in their great misery and hunger and thirst. And they found no food on account of the multitude of people; for Marwân had burnt the supplies of provisions in Misr. So the soldiers went to Kauzârâ, whose name in another copy is |169 Hautharah, and reported our arrival to him; and he commanded a man named Azrak to take charge of us, until he should settle what was to be done. At that time Marwân was informed that his enemies, the Khorassanians, had arrived at Al-Faramâ. So he sent troops in boats to the north to every district, that they might burn all the boats that they found on the river; and this purpose they carried out. And he despatched other troops by land, with orders to burn the cities and villages and vineyards and water-wheels and every thing that they could find. So they marched on till they reached Atrib, which they were minded to burn. And there were there five streams of water running westwards, besides canals flowing from the river called Gehon ³¹, which is the River Nile. And Marwân thought that he could remain on the western side of the Nile, while the Khorassanians were on the eastern bank, and that, when they found the country laid waste, they would retire, because it was empty of men and beasts and provisions and stores, and that they would not find in the land anything to repay their trouble, nor boats by which they might cross over to him, and so that they would not remain there, but would turn upon their heels. But afterwards he learnt that his enemies were approaching near, and that there were fords in the river by which they might reach him. And when this was made known to him, he sent a messenger to bring back those whom he had despatched to Atrib; and therefore they did not burn that town, because they returned speedily to |170 him. And on the 18th of Abîb, in the year 470 of the Martyrs, Marwân burnt a fort at Misr on that night. For he crossed in the boats, he and all his army, and encamped on the bank of the river until he had burnt the fort. But he did not burn the boats which were with him on the western bank. And when the soldiers came to him every day, he said to them : «Take care of the boats.» And wherever he marched he took us about with him, we being in great distress through the multitude of people and beasts, and the crowd and throng.

And at sunset, on the 18th of Abîb, the Khorassanians reached Misr, and he beheld them from the western bank; and he commanded his followers to assemble that night. The Khorassanians marched into Misr next day, heaping foul insults upon Marwân and his sons. These strangers formed a vast host, and they pitched their tents to the north of Al-Fustât, at a place called the Stable; and their camp extended from that spot to the mountains. Thus their vanguard were on the bank of the Nile, while their rearguard reached from Al-Faramâ to Gaza; for these who had arrived at Misr were their scouts.

When Marwân encamped for a time during the night of the 20th of Abîb, being then on the march, he ordered that we should be brought before him; for he was filled with anger and wrath against us on account of what |171 Hautharah had told him of us. How great were the grief and the anxiety which settled upon us at that hour! When I think upon what took place, I fear and tremble for those who would not weep if they beheld what happened to us, nor grieve for what we underwent. For the words of David the Prophet, in the 37th Psalm, were fulfilled upon us, where he says ³² : «My acquaintances stood far from me.» All the disciples that had been around us fled with the others, and none remained with us save the priest Mennas, archpriest of the church of Saint Sergius, and the hegumen Theodore, who was afterwards counted worthy to be made a bishop, and the deacon who was the patriarch’s secretary, because he had been at Misr. These had left their wives and children and goods, and followed us, saying : «We will die with you.» So, when the Father Michael saw the goodness of their thoughts, he blessed them, and bade them return and not follow us, but this they would not do; and they continued to march with us. And I was wearing the habit of the monks, although unworthy. And my Father Moses, the bishop, took the father’s left arm, and I took his right arm.

And when we arrived at Marwân’s tent, the swordsman came out to us, and he was very terrible; and he conducted us within by order of the prince. So when Marwân beheld us, he said : «Which of you is the patriarch?» |172 When he was told which was he, he commanded that they should bring the patriarch forward before him; and they delivered my father to soldiers who were devourers of men’s flesh; but they set us apart on one side. Then the father, Abba Moses, was thrown upon his knees, and they lifted up his feet, and beat him with brazen clubs upon his sides and neck, saying to him : «Give us money, and we will release thee.» But he answered not a word, for he knew not what they said to him, except what I understood of their words, and repeated to him word by word. And he was prostrate on the ground, thanking God and praying him to make him worthy to suffer for the Church of God. And the officer did not address a single syllable to me, for they considered my dress disgraceful. Now the holy father, Abba Michael, the patriarch, was standing with his face towards Marwân, whose eyes were turned towards Misr, where he saw his enemies; while the Khorassanians were looking in his direction, and all the people of Misr on the bank of the Nile were insulting Marwân, as we said before. And behold, one of the Khorassanians shot an arrow towards the western bank, while we were looking at him. And those that were left of the Christians at Misr said to the Khorassanians : «There is our father, the patriarch, standing before Marwân, the misbeliever; and we know not what he will do with him.» The Bashmurites also had met the Khorassanians at Al-Faramâ and said to them : «Marwân has seized our patriarch, with intent to kill |173 him, because we fought against the prince, and slew his soldiers before you came.» Meanwhile Hautharah, the misbeliever, was with Marwân, and was saying to him : «This patriarch said : Be of good courage, for God will take away the government from Marwân, and deliver it to his enemies.» And many words like this were uttered by him. So when Marwân heard these accusations, his interpreter said to the father patriarch : «Art thou the patriarch of Alexandria?» For that was Marwân’s question. Abba Michael answered : «Yea, I am thy servant.» And I heard him say this, because I was near him. So Marwân said to him : «Tell me, art thou the chief of the enemies of our religion?» Then the holy patriarch answered and said : «I am not the chief of wicked men, but of good men; and my people do not work evil, but they have been ruined by troubles, so that they have even been forced to offer their children for sale.» After that, I did not hear another word from his mouth. Then Marwân commanded the officials who were holding him to stretch forth their hands to him forthwith, and pull out the hair of his beard from his cheeks; and they cast his hair into the river, and I saw it with my own eyes floating on the water. Now his beard had been full and handsome, flowing over his breast like the beard of Jacob Israel. And the Khorassanians on the eastern bank were observing what Marwân did to the patriarch; and if they had found means of crossing over |174 to Marwân, they would have killed him because of the tyranny and hardness of heart which they saw in him; but they could not find any boats at all in which to cross. The river, however, did not rise at all before the 1st of Misri; and the western branch had sunk so low as to be without water; and in the other branch, namely the eastern, there were a few places that could be forded, but the Khorassanians did not know them; and Marwân guarded them because he knew of them; and no boat from the western bank approached Misr.

The sixth hour passed that day while the father patriarch was standing before Marwân beardless with bare cheeks. And while my father Moses was all the time undergoing the torments which we have mentioned before, the Lord opened the eyes of his heart, and he beheld the two martyrs, Sergius and Bacchus, with the grace of God surrounding them, in the likeness of two horsemen of the army of the prince; and they crossed the river, riding their horses, while no man saw them but he alone, until they stood opposite to Marwân, and said to him : «Why dost thou sit here paralysed, when thine enemies have crossed over to the west?» But no man beheld those two, except my father, the bishop Abba Moses, and Marwân, and no other. For the father patriarch was still in the hands of the officials, and they were tormenting him. Then the two holy martyrs disappeared. |175

And Marwân forthwith broke up his camp, and commanded the troops to follow him, ordering that we should be kept till the morrow. Thus we remained the rest of that day on the bank of the river, exposed to the sun, in consequence of the command which the caliph had given to the soldiers, until I thought that my father would not live till sunset, after the severe torment which they had inflicted upon him. Then, on the morrow early, we were visited by bishops, and monks from Wadî Habîb, who had come to see what had been done to us; and subsequently they remained with us. Then Marwân appeared, for he was riding; and he took his seat, and commanded that we should be brought before him early in the morning. So when the sun rose he summoned a swordsman, and sent for our father, Abba Michael, alone, that the officer might bring him into his presence. Accordingly the swordsman took his hand and led him in, saying to us : «Stand here till he calls you». But my father, Abba Moses, cried out, saymg : «As the Lord lives, I will never be separated from my father, but will follow him whithersoever they take him!» Then I also hastened with them, in order to find out what would become of them. But, when the swordsman saw me, he said : «The prince ordered that the patriarch alone should enter.» The bishop said to him : «I have told thee that I cannot |176 be separated at all from my father, for I only came here for his sake; therefore do whatever thou desirest, but I will never be parted from him.» Then the swordsman was angry and said to him in fury : «It is not lawful to disobey the prince; yet thou wilt not hearken». Now he had in his hand a brazen club, which weighed twenty pounds, and he raised it to strike my father upon the head; and he offered his head to him. But when he was about to strike him, a body of his companions, who were in attendance, cried out upon him, and would not let him strike. And all the soldiers said in their language and speech : «Verily what an excellent servant this bishop is to his master!» Then there came a messenger saying : «Bring them all in, for the prince summons them.» So we all entered; and found Marwân sitting on the bank of the river. Then first the blessed father went forward alone, as Marwân ordered; and the prince made him stand before him all that day for about ten hours, confronting him ; but the patriarch’s heart was with Christ, while his hands were stretched out, and his very limbs seemed to pray; and he made the sign of the cross over his face, without fear of the prince who hated the sign of the cross. And the caliph did not address a single word to him; and there were around him many drawn swords and weapons of war. |177

As for us, Marwân commanded his men to set us on his left hand in a place apart; and again he ordered that we should be brought forward and delivered to certain soldiers, other than those who had conducted us from Alexandria; so they handed us over to men who were like wild beasts. And he bade one of his companions take charge of us, namely Yazîd, a leader of certain men with him, who was braver than any other of his followers. Our number on that day was ten, besides the father patriarch, Abba Michael; and Yazîd put with each one of us three soldiers, who oppressed us sorely. Then, when the sun was burning, that officer prepared for us various instruments of torture; for they had not agreed as to what kind of death they should make us suffer; upon which I and my father Moses begged the father patriarch to say over us the Prayer of Absolution, according to the canon of the church; and so he did. Afterwards we prayed one for another, and the younger of us said to the elder : «If thou shalt find mercy with Christ, remember me.» And we turned our faces to the East and prayed, while the people were looking at us from the eastern bank, and also on the western side, and many of the Muslims wept for us; and Marwân’s eldest son, named Abd Allah, was weeping for us also, together with the people.

Then Marwân lifted up his eyes towards the eastern bank, and saw |178 the Khorassanians in great numbers; and he was dismayed for this and said : «How shall I fight them?» For he knew not what to do. Now Abd ar-Rahîm, the misbeliever whom we mentioned before, had discovered a mixture with which he smeared the boats, so that fire could not injure them. Therefore Marwân caused the boats to be thus anointed, and embarked on each boat eighty men, and bade them fight the people; so they threw fire over them, and burnt all the boats that they found. But a boat which was approaching the eastern bank, where stood Sâlih and Abu Aun and their companions, was upset with its occupants, and all were drowned except one man; and the people of Misr picked up the corpses, and took what was on them and the ammunition and money that they had. And the living, who were not drowned, they took as prisoners, and bound them together two and two, with iron chains round their necks, and dragged them to land and delivered them to the Khorassanians. Now the Khorassanians had brought many boats with them to Misr.

And when the tenth hour of that day had passed, Marwân ordered Yazîd, in whose charge we were, to take us to the north of the Island of An-Nuzahât. So we prayed upon the edge of the river, in the enclosure Then, when they took us away, they hurried us along in great wrath. But |179 the Lord beheld our secret thoughts and our faith, and he put into the heart of Abd Allah, the elder son of Marwân, the wish to intercede with his father, Marwân, weeping with copious tears; for he begged his father to let us go, saying : «Behold, thou seest our enemies surrounding us; while we are preparing, if things go hard with us, to escape to the land of the Blacks, who are, as we have been told, the spiritual children of this old man; so that, if thou slayest him, they will not welcome us, but they also will rise up against us and slay us.» When Marwân had heard these words of his son, we were taken back to prison. Now there were in that place four prisons. So, when they brought us into the prison, they made us fast with wood and iron, and we were in great distress. And the first to be fettered with iron was the holy father and patriarch; and after him the bishop, Abba Moses, and I, his son John, the poor sinner and deacon, upon whom he had laid his holy hand without any merit of mine. Then followed the bishop of Tunbuda, Abba Mennas, the patriarch’s secretary, and Abba Zacharias, bishop of Atrib, and his spiritual son, the bishop of Busîr, whose name was Peter, and who had recently taken possession of his see, and the deacon George, the son of the spiritual father who received the see of Al-Basrât, and Athanasius, archpriest of the church of Saint Macarius, and Abba |180 James, who was also counted worthy of the bishopric of Sanjâr, and his spiritual brother, the son of the Father Peter of Samannûd. And they fastened to the feet of each one of us eleven a mass of iron, exceedingly heavy, weighing half a Khunjûr; and they put us behind three wooden doors without light or air or means of rest, one looking to the east and another to the west; and the narrow space in which we were oppressed us more than the iron, so that we almost died from crowding, and the gaolers were pitiless; for that misbelieving prince, Marwân, had given orders that we should be closely confined. And our father’s sadness on our account was greater than his care for himself; but he encouraged us with the word of God and the holy canons of our ancient fathers. So not one of us hid anything from the others, but we were all one soul, as Paul says ³³, awaiting the end; and we prayed God to send it quickly, that we might lay down our lives for the people, rather than that one of them should perish. When the father discoursed to us, he spoke a spiritual language like the music of a harp, while the breath of life came forth from his mouth with spiritual praises; and he persevered in fasting and in prayer day and night.

As for my father Moses, in the first hour after they brought us into the prison and put us in fetters he prophesied to us, saying : «They will not |181 slay us this time; yet we shall not be released from the prison as long as Marwân is alive.» And it was as he said. And when we wished to break our fast, a man named Ibn Kustus sent to us provisions for breakfast; but we had no room to eat, and could not turn to the right or left on account of the narrow space. And there was a great dearth in the district of Al-Gizah through the multitude of people; for wheat was not to be found at all, nor barley, after a waibah had been sold at a high price; but in spite of the distress salt was sold at the usual rate.

Then Marwân, after these troubles which he had brought upon every place, ordered his followers to slay and take prisoners and pillage; and they obeyed him. And he sent to Upper Egypt, and slew all the Christians there; the leader of that business being a man named Marwân, son of Abd al-Azîz the founder of Hulwân. And they laid waste the country from Memphis to the city of Theodosia.

But when the Lord desired to take vengeance upon them, he endured them no longer, after the crimes which they had committed in corrupting and violating women, and polluting many of the virgins. Accordingly there came some men who knew the fords of the river, and made them known to the Khorassanians, whom they guided thither, thus conducting them across to the western bank. And the Khorassanians divided their army |182 into four parts : one part with a man named Sâlih, told off to guard Misr; and one with a man named Abu ‘l-Hakam, who was in high favour with the prince; and one in the lower parts of Shatnûf and its neighbourhood, to prevent anyone from crossing the river; and one with Abu Aun, who encamped beside a ford, where the water was low. Then Marwân despatched Hautharah and his men to take up their position opposite to the Khoras-sanians, intending to prevent their crossing. But Marwân’s boats were seized by the Khorassanians of the black-robed party, who had destroyed the church of the Martyr Apater. Meanwhile we, in spite of all these events, remained in the prison at Al-Gizah, in bonds and in distress with our companions ; and all men were hindered from enquiring after us by fear lest we should be put to torture; but, whenever a man desired to come to us to receive the blessing of the fathers, he bribed our gaoler heavily. After that they oppressed us even more cruelly, as they did to Ignatius, the saint and martyr, when they delivered him to the ten lions. So they acted even when our brethren did good to them, for they tormented us yet more. At that time then we remained with the patriarch ten days and ten nights in this fashion; but when the deacon and reader of Bilbais saw our distress he hastened away to the Monastery of Saint Macarius, in Wadî Habîb, and |183 assembled all the holy fathers and monks; and they began to fast and pray in the church night and day, crying to the Lord Christ to look upon us, and to take away our misery and all that men were suffering by captivity and slaughter and pillage, and 1o put a stop to the lamentations of young and old. So the gracious God heard them, and raised up the Khorassanians to help them : for Abu Aun crossed the river with his army to the western bank; and when Hautharah and his troops, Marwân’s followers, saw him, they took to flight. And the Khorassanians pursued and fought them, and did not cease slaughtering them until they reached Wadî Habîb, in answer to the prayers of the saints; for the army of the Khorassanians crossed over the river on the day on which the monks assembled in the church, which was Saturday, the last day of Abîb. And they slew so many of Marwân’s army, that of eight thousand men whom he led out of Misr only four hundred survived and no more.

When Marwân learnt that his enemy’s troops had been divided into four parts, he fled two days before they crossed the river, carrying his wives and his goods with him; and thus he escaped secretly. And of the followers of Yazîd three hundred were slain, for he fled from Shatnûf in the direction of Mount Wasîm; and then his own men killed him, and killed his horse that he rode, and went over to the other party, and swore allegiance to them. |184

But the two sons of Marwân were at Al-Gizah when their father fled, and they knew not whither he had gone. For he had sent his younger son to the north of the Island of An-Nuzahât; and he was very wicked like his father. But as for the elder, Abd Allah, our fathers had prayed for him that he might not meet with trials nor troubles because of what he had done for them; and so it was. Now the younger son was fifteen years old; and he fled to An-Nuzahât, accompanied by four hundred horsemen; and he found there a certain oil, called dogs’ oil, in marble jars, and he upset it into the river; and after setting fire to An-Nuzahât, he joined his father Marwân. And although he released those that were in the prisons at that place, we were not released, but he wished to burn us in the fire. Then he went into the midst of the boats of the fleet to burn them; and a voice was heard, crying mightily : «Behold, thy enemies are come!» So he and his companions fled quickly., And those who remained at An-Nuzahât of its inhabitants extinguished the fire, and set us free at sunset from the prison, and released us from the irons on our feet. God be witness that some of the Muslims who were on horseback dismounted, and took off the iron from us; and men took women’s dresses and put them on, and hid themselves in the storehouses and cellars, through fear of that terrible voice which they had heard. And they took us and led us away to Saint Peter’s church at |185 Al-Gizah, while some of the faithful walked with us, it being the night of the first Sunday in Misri.

Now there was no water at all in the canal of Al-Gizah, for it was dried up by God’s command; nor did the water rise or stir at all until the day when we crossed over it on our feet. And when the Khorassanians learnt that their enemy had fled, they embarked in the boats that night and crossed to Al-Gizah, taking their horses also on board. So they pursued Marwân. And every man that they met, who was not wearing the black garments, they put to death. And that night the van of the army, which had crossed with Abu Aun from Shatnûf, came southwards with their drawn swords in their hands, and all wearing iron cuirasses, purposing to fight Marwân and to capture him. And as for us, we felt no inclination to sleep that night. For the Khorassanians stayed three days and three nights, joining their forces at the beginning of Misri, and marching onwards; while we beheld them as one host from the mountains to the river. Then Hautharah begged for a safe-conduct; but they would not accept him, saying : «If thou wilt not deliver to us the enemy of God, Marwân, thou shalt have no safe-conduct from us.» So he departed and took Marwân, and acted deceitfully with him, saying : «Behold, our enemies have drawn near to us. Arise, let us take our women and children and goods, and let us embark |186 secretly in the boats, and descend the river, and escape to the Romans; for, if we fall into this man’s hand, he will destroy us.» Marwân answered: «Ah Hautharah, thou art acting treacherously with thy master!» And thereupon Marwân took his sword, and cut off Hautharah’s head and killed him. And none opposed the Khorassanians nor stood before them, after Hautharah was slain. Then they called upon every man who was a Christian to fasten a cross of gold or silver or copper upon his forehead, or upon his garment, and upon the door of his house, and whoever did not do so was slain; but this was no fault of ours. And the Khorassanians also had crosses of gold and silver on their horse’s necks. Then the army of which Sâlih was leader overtook Marwân and his son, after pursuing him for a whole day, and, when they met, the fighting did not cease between them from evening till morning, so that many were slain. And they followed him as far as Mount Abbah to the west of Cleopatra, the city founded by Alexander the Macedonian, the place concerning which the prophecy was uttered by the holy old hermit, whom Marwân burnt alive in the fire, and who told him, before he burnt him, that he would be killed at that place. And with Marwân was killed also Rayân, son of Abd al-Azîz; but the two sons of Marwân |187 escaped. And the Khorassanians took possession of Hulwân and all that was therein, and slew the women, and seized all the money of Egypt that was at Hulwân. And the Persians, Marwân’s followers, were slain with the sword; and the enemy seized all that belonged to them, and carried it away in the prince’s boats.

And now the Nile began to rise, although it had been sinking till the Khorassanians had crossed over to the bank of Al-Gizah, and had destroyed Marwân, After that it increased again, from the first day of Misri, and rose every day about a cubit, till finally it reached eighteen cubits that year, for which reason men said that the hand of God was with the Khorassanians. Whenever the latter found men bearing the sign of the cross, they lightened their taxes, and behaved kindly to them, and did good to them, in whatever part of the country they might be.

But they impaled Marwân head downwards, after they had killed him. For they took him prisoner at a place called Dâwatun, and we were witnesses of this event; and they cut off the head of his vizier. And when those princes, the leaders of the Khorassanians, inquired after us, we went to them; and they set the holy father and martyr, Abba Michael, free, and honoured him greatly. And his beard had grown again and was more |188 comely than before, by the power of the Lord Christ; and we and all who had witnessed these occurrences glorified God. And the father, Abba Michael said : «Verily I saw a personage while I was in prison, who touched my face with his hand, and my beard grew again handsomer than it had been before.» When the father, Abba Michael, requested of the governor to protect the property of the churches in all the provinces, he complied with his request. And as for the Bashmurites, he made them free of taxation, and gave them other revenues as a gift. Now Marwân had burnt all the books and accounts of the Divâns, so that they did not know the amount of the revenues, whether paid in cash or in kind. In those days great events took place in Egypt; but Sâlih departed with his army to Palestine.

When we were set free, each one of us departed to his own place. And Abu Aun was made governor of Egypt. And a short time afterwards there came to Egypt two men, officials of the divans, sent by the prince. They were Muslims, and one of them was named Atâ, son of Shurahbil, and the other Safi; and they were far from the knowledge of God. And Abu Aun laid before them all the accounts of Egypt, and brought the country back into the state in which it had been under Marwân. Although they were driven away from the palace, the prince sent them back; and they imposed two fresh |189 duties upon Lower Egypt, and one upon Upper Egypt. This was in the second year of security and prosperous government. And they instructed the governor, and taught him how to cause great trouble, through their hatred of us, the Christians, and their love of money; for authority was given to them to do what they would. Now of the revenue of Egypt, after deducting the soldiers’ pay, and the expenses of the government offices, and what was needed to carry on the administration, what remained over and was carried to the Public Treasury altogether every year amounted to two hundred thousand dinars ³⁴, apart from the necessary outlay and expenses and what we have already mentioned. And in the third year of the rule of the Khorassanians they doubled the taxes, and exacted them from the Christians, and would not fulfil their promises to them. For the two secretaries aforesaid find the Khorassanians forgot that it was God who had given them the government, and neglected the holy Cross which had gained them the victory. And Abd Allah, the prince, sent letters over the whole of his empire, declaring that every one who would adopt his religion, and pray according to his prayer, should be exempted from the poll-tax. So in consequence of the cruel extortions and burdens imposed upon them, many of the rich and poor denied the faith of Christ, and followed Abd Allah. Then the father patriarch, |190 Abba Michael, went to Abu Aun, the governor, and addressed him with reference to the troubles which had been caused in Egypt, instead of the good administration which he had purposed; and he answered : «The prince gave those orders because wicked men bore witness to him, saying : If the people of Egypt find rest for one year, they will conspire against thee, and make war upon thee, as the Bashmurites made war upon Marwân.» Then Abba Michael prayed the governor to relieve the churches of Alexandria by lightening the taxes on the land which is cultivated for them only; so Abu Aun gave orders to those two secretaries, telling them to do what the patriarch desired; yet they would not obey him, but began to incline his heart to evil. So the father patriarch, and my father, Abba Moses, with him, and I, the mean one, remained for more than a month attending at the palace and interviewing those miscreants. And there was there an old Ishmaelite, who beheld us daily at this business; and he feared God. And he related a story to our father, Abba Michael, saying : «As we, the Muslims who serve God, have grown poor, so I know that you also will be like us.» The father said to him : «Thou speakest truly; but I desire a fuller explanation of the meaning of thy speech.» So the old man replied :

«In my youth, my parents entrusted me to two friends, Ishmaelite merchants, that I might carry goods with them to Africa, to sell them there. |191 When we had journeyed as far as the Five Cities, with our camels laden with the rarities of Egypt and the East, we halted by a lake that was very deep. And each one of us had tied to his belt a purse, containing four hundred dinars. And in consequence of the fatigue of the journey and the heat, one of us stripped off his clothes, that he might go down into the water and bathe. So he threw his belt to his comrade, that he might keep it until he came up from the water; but it slipped from his friend’s hand into the water unnoticed by anyone else. The man who had dropped it stripped himself, and went down to seek it, but could not find it. So when he came up again, he gave his comrade his own girdle, instead of that which was lost, without telling him that it was lost. And we journeyed onward into Africa, where we sold our merchandise, and bought other wares suitable for Egypt. Then the elder of my companions said to the younger : Give me the four hundred dinars which thou hast, that I may buy merchandise with them. But he answered : What we have bought is enough for us this time. And though the other insisted, he did not tell him what had happened. So the other bought certain goods with the four hundred dinars which he had. When we returned to the lake, the same thing happened as before; for the elder, to whom the lost money belonged, stripped himself and went down to bathe. And he found his belt, which had been lost; and when he looked at it, he recognised it as his own. So he said to his friend : |192 Tell me what thou hast done. Then his friend made known to him what had happened, and how he had dropped the girdle. But the other did not tell him that he had found it, until they arrived at Misr, and sold their wares. Then the elder gave to the younger the interest of the four hundred dinars as well as the principal, saying to him : God gives thee this money of thine, and thou must also have the interest of it. When he had done this, his comrade discussed with him what had taken place between them; and the thing became known to the governor, and all men marvelled thereat. And both of them took some of their money, and gave it as alms to the poor; and after that they devoted themselves entirely to religion, and I imitated them; and not one of us either sells or buys any more. But at the present day, O holy man, behold, thou seest how all men love injustice, and have set evil as a crown upon their heads; and thou art a witness to this, and knowest that it is true.»

When he had related this tale to us, we departed to our own places. And God did not endure the Khorassanians, but raised up wars against them from every side. First there was Abd ar-Rahman, son of Habîb, brother of Al-Aswâd before mentioned, who seized Africa. For Abd Allah, the prince, sent troops to Africa in order to take it, in the fourth year of his |193 reign; and in the year 470 of the Martyrs he marched from Egypt at the beginning of the month of Abîb. Yet his army did not dare to enter Africa, but remained in the desert, where most of them perished with thirst. And in that year God destroyed Abd Allah, and his son sat upon the throne instead of him. And great fighting took place in Egypt between Sâlih and his brother, who now began to govern. Then the prince sent Sâlih into Egypt to seek his troops, and rescue them from the hand of his brother. Then he brought back the army which he had sent into Africa, and entered Misr on the 19th of Babah. And he marched to Palestine, that they might fight Sâlih’s brother. And Abu Aun was there also; and many of his soldiers were killed. And the war continued between them without interruption, for God requited them for the evil which they had done in the land Egypt; and they destroyed one another without the interference of a stranger, and did not cease fighting until Sâlih went away to the sovereign prince in Al-Irak, and Abu Aun returned to Egypt, and Sâlih’s brother fled, and did not appear again, after they had destroyed the troops between them. At that time Abba John, patriarch of Antioch, went to his rest, after he had continued in reconciliation with the bishops for three years. And God hindered the water from rising while Abu Aun was in Egypt; for its |194 highest level was below fourteen cubits, where it stopped, whereas the height required by the government for its revenue was sixteen cubits. But God only held back the water on account of those two secretaries, who were like Antichrist in their deeds. And this check to the water took place by God’s will, that he might show his wonders which he manifests at all times, and prove the truth of the Christian religion. The bishops had come from their sees to the patriarch, that they might meet together in his presence at the Feast of the Cross, according to their custom of assembling before him and forming a synod twice in the year. So the bishop of Misr and the others went to him. Now God had revealed this matter to my father the bishop, Abba Moses. And orders were given that none should go that year to Alexandria for the synod according to custom. So the bishops assembled at Misr before the patriarch. And on the 17th of Tût, the day of the Feast of the glorious Cross, the clergy of Al-Gizah and An-Nuzahât assembled with most of the people of Al-Fustât, and the old and the young of the laity : and they bore the gospels, and censers with incense. And we entered into the great church, the Catholicon, named after Saint Peter, the foundations of which were laid in the river. But the church could not contain the people through their multitude, so that they stood in the fields and places |195 around. And the patriarch lifted up the cross; while beside him stood Abba Mennas, bishop of Memphis, bearing the holy gospel. And he led us all forth, carrying crosses and books of the gospels; and we stopped upon the bank of the river, it being before sunrise. And the father patriarch prayed, and Abba Mennas, the bishop, prayed; and the people did not cease to cry Kyrie eleison until the third hour of the day, so that multitudes of the Jews and Muslims and others marvelled at our cries to God, the Glorious and Exalted. And he heard us, praised is his glorious name! For the river rose and increased by one cubit; and all glorified and gave thanks to God. And when the news reached Abu Aun, he marvelled and feared, he and all his troops. And by God’s inspiration he said to his soldiers and to the people of Misr : «We desire to know which of the religions is the true one». So he gave orders that the Muslims dwelling at Misr should assemble, and go forth to the mountain to the east of Misr. Therefore they gathered together, small and great, old and young, slaves and freemen; and not one of the people of his faith and religion was left; and the multitude were assembling from midnight till the. fourth hour of the day. And they prayed and offered supplications to God, saying thus : «O God, the Only One, who hast no fellow, O Creator of heaven and earth, thou knowest that we associate no other with thee, and worship none besides thee, and that we say not, as the Christians do, that thou hast a Son, or that thou wast |196 born, but we confess thee to be One, and worship thee in Unity. We desire this day to see thy wonders, which thou dost work, that we may know and prove that there is no religion like ours, which we inherit from our fathers; and we pray thee to work a miracle for us, as thou didst yesterday for the Christians, who are our enemies and the enemies of our creed, for they set beside thee another God, begotten by thee from the beginning, whom they call Christ born of Mary, saying that he is thy Son, with the Holy Ghost, and that thou art the Third of them, with many such doctrines. We pray thee to give us a sign and miracle in this water.» And while they were thus employed, behold, one of the men who measure the water ran up and said to them : «The water has sunk just as much as it rose yesterday.» Then great sadness came upon them, and the governor knew not what to say; and the people went away to their own places in great grief. Then Abu Aun ordered that the people of Misr should be tried, and bad the crier proclaim that the Muslims were to go out to the mountain to pray. And on the morrow they all issued forth. And the Jews and the Samaritans went out the second day; but the water neither rose nor sank, but remained as it was. So Abu Aun, the governor, remained in sadness and without faith. But he said : «So that I may see the end of the matter»; and he remained in perplexity, saying : «By the prayers of the Christians the water rose, and at our prayers it sank.» Then he ordered on the third |197 day that no one at all should go out, and that none should ascend to the mountain nor pray. And the water did not rise during the three days at all. After that he gave orders to bring the Christians who were at Al-Fustât, and certain tribes whose names we do not remember; and he commanded Abba Moses to pray, him and his people. So they recited the prayers, and gave thanks to God till the sixth hour of the day, and went down and walked round Misr, and came to the bank of the river, and prayed for the rest of the day. And that night the river rose three cubits, so that altogether it completed seventeen cubits. Then all the people rejoiced greatly, and thanked God and glorified his name.

And as for Abu Aun, for this reason he increased his benefits towards the Christians and their churches, and lightened their taxes. And from that day the Father Patriarch and the bishops, with those who were baptized and the whole Church, lived in security and peace, in great joy and gladness, in the land of Egypt and the Five Cities and all the places under the see of the evangelist, Saint Mark, because of the miracles of the Church which the governor beheld, and her mighty works. And the governor said that the Christians were of one heart, living in agreement together. For the conduct of the fathers in that generation resembled the works of the spiritual |198 angels; for one cured diseases, and another showed forth wonders, and another expounded the scriptures and taught and exhorted, and another exercised his body in works and labours; and all the laity were filled with admiration of them, and sought their blessing. And the father, Abba Michael, for this cause was happy in his bishops and all his flock, and used to go round among them, and enquire into all their circumstances with care, and exhort them with his life-giving words, like the apostles and fathers at the beginning, and like the dwellers in the deserts and caves, encouraging them and teaching them how to fight the Satanic spirits. And to the monks of the monasteries he taught humility and mutual love; and the faithful laity he led to that which God approves, and to those of little faith he taught the doctrines of the gospel, and those who were engaged in disputes he conciliated together, and calmed their malice, and appeased their enmity by his instructions in the Holy Scriptures.

But if we did not aim at abridgment, books would be insufficient to contain the deeds of this holy father, Abba Michael. Now there were two parties of heretics, the followers of Meletius, who lived in ancient times, and of Julian. So the father sent messengers to them, and wrote to them; but they would not answer him. Then he went himself to visit them, but could not bring them back to a right heart. For they denied that they were heretics, and they remained dissidents, some of them in the monasteries and some in |199 the deserts. So he raised his hands to heaven, and said : «If these are they who have denied thee and done evil deeds, show forth a sign speedily without delay, so that all may see them, and glorify thy name.» Accordingly, after a short time, the Lord destroyed them, and caused them to disappear, as he destroyed Sodom. And at the monastery wherein there were three thousand persons, there no longer remained any save ten souls, who were believers and did not walk in their path. And 1, the mean one, addressed them, and visited them, when the wild beasts had dwelt in their habitations through the prayers of the holy father, Abba Michael, during the governorship of Abd Allah. And if anyone, ignorant of the history, asks : «What was the sin of those men, for which they perished?» I will answer you with God’s help.

In the days when Dionysius the Wise was patriarch of Alexandria, there appeared the misbeliever, Paul of Samosata, who was patriarch of Antioch, and who angered God by his foul deeds. So, when Dionysius heard of him, he wrote to the pious and faithful princes, to inform them of the news that had reached him concerning Paul the heretic. Therefore they drove him away, and none knew how he escaped. And anyone who desires to know |200 of his foul deeds will find an account of them in the epistle of Athanasius the Apostolic, which he wrote concerning them, and then he will understand and know that matter. And when Abba Moses was first ordained there were many monasteries in his diocese of Wasîm, belonging to those followers of Meletius, in which they dwelt. So he banished them all. But some of them had received the habit from his hand, when they put it on, and became united to us; and for this reason there was friendship between me and them, during the time when I was a layman. So when they stripped off them the spiritual habit, received from my father’s hand, there was no longer any affection between me and any of them. And I questioned him about their former deeds, when he was calling them sorcerers and the children of Satan; and he answered me : «I will tell thee of another thing done by those men, who were not worthy to enter among the people of God nor into his kingdom, namely, that they bewitched children, and led them out into the desert, and bound them where none could see them, and sat down near them to guard them; and if they complained of thirst, they gave them nothing to drink; and when their thirst became severe, they poured water over their heads and bodies; and when one of them was near death, and his eyes started out of his head, and his tongue clove to the roof of his mouth, they cut off his head with a knife before he died, so that Satan might speak through those heads without falsehood, and they might |201 lead men astray with their devilish and shameful deeds». Now there was a holy priest in our company, living in the Cell at Wasîm; and on Friday, during the Fast, while I was with him in the Cell, but Abba Moses was seeing no man, since he was employing himself in prayer and self-discipline, except on Saturdays and Sundays, then that priest saw a great dragon in his cell. Therefore he made a cross of silver, and placed it on the spot where he had seen it; and on the morrow he found the dragon dead beneath the cross.

Is there then any power greater than the power of those who worship God with a pure and honest intention and a firm faith?

And there was in those days a great dearth, and so a man came to An-Nuzahât to ask alms, and stole something thence. And another man saw mm, who was a believer; and he wished to reprimand him, so that he might repent of the theft, but was prevented from doing so by his kindness and charitable thoughts. Afterwards that man went again, and stole some corn from his neighbours, and buried it, that he might take and eat it. Then the owner of the corn visited my father Moses, who read to him from the Scriptures, and charged him not to reward evil with evil, but to recompense evil with good. Accordingly he did so, and followed his advice, and therefore God increased his wealth until all who knew him marvelled at him. |202

I have mentioned to you, my brethren, the fate of the accursed people of Palestine, that you might hold yourselves aloof from them. Now I desire to relate another miracle, shown forth by the Father Epimachus, the bishop. One day he was teaching his people in the city of Al-Faramâ, and exhorting them to avoid heretics, and never to associate with them in anything. And behold, a priest of the Chalcedonians appeared before him to tempt him with guile; and the bishop delivered a long discourse, at the end of which the priest said to him : «I believe in thy creed and confess it.» But the bishop Epimachus took holy oil from the body of the holy Severus, the patriarch, and anointed the face of the heretical priest, saying to him : «If thou mockest the Lord, let his power appear in thee!» And immediately a spirit of an unclean devil leapt upon him, and threw him down, and choked and tormented him, so that he foamed at the mouth; and it did not cease to possess and torment him till the day of his death.

Then the bishop gave orders that his flock should never have a stranger as sponsor, but only members of their own family or their parents. And there were there some heretics, who would not obey him; but God requited them speedily, so that every one marvelled at the doctrines of the Lord. And there was a wealthy woman, who took a man who had committed sin with her, |203 and made him godfather to her child. When they returned to their town, while they were on the way, they came to a desert place, and sinful desires were stirred in them according to their custom; so they laid down the child with the garments of baptism upon him, and entered an inn by the way side, and committed their sin; and so the house fell down upon them, and they were killed. And the bishop testified to us that he had beheld those two still together, when the stones were removed from them, and their heads were as they had been, the face of the man and the face of the woman. And many people saw them, and feared. And the news was spread abroad among all men, and the people published it. So the bishop’s theology was confirmed among our fathers, and from that day they forbad all men to take a stranger as sponsor, but only their own kinsfolk. And none alter that took a stranger as sponsor. But I in my youth saw many commit sin with their sponsors, during my own lifetime, in consequence of which their lives were cut off and their habitations laid waste.

Now the bishop, Abba John, bishop of Sarsana, used to cast out unclean spirits through the grace given to him for his virginity and asceticism. For he remained monk and bishop all his life, and died in a good old age. So also Abba Cyrus, bishop of Tânah, to whom during his monastic life a wonder was manifested, namely that a heretic deceived him on account of the faith, and took his hand to lead him into the furnace at the baths, but could not |204 induce him, and he escaped from his hand. Then the bishop took his mantle, he being a monk, and threw it into the fire, and it was not burnt.

Now I know that I have made my discourse long, but my only object has been to teach you what took place, that you may understand it. And as for what is said about the deeds of Abba Zacharias, bishop of Atrib, he dwelt from his youth up in the desert, continuing in prayer; and his tears flowed like streams of water, and weeping was sweet to him; and he was assiduons in alms-giving to the anchorites, and everyone loved him; and his spiritual sons walked in his path. So likewise the blessed Stephen, bishop of Shutb, and his fathers who were before him over that see, who were excellent in their lives above the rest of the bishops of Egypt, among whom was the bishop Abba Hesychius, the great Theomantis and confessor, who spoke of divine matters. And to Stephen, who walked in his path, God granted the gift of healing the sick, and knowing what was to happen before it took place; and he showed forth many wonders. Now there was in his diocese a priest, whose wife was pregnant when he died; and she was a pure woman. Yet after his death, her elder sons cast her out, saying that she had conceived by another. But the bishop said to them : «Leave her alone until she brings forth.» So when she was delivered, he took the babe and baptized it, and carried it on his shoulder in the presence of all the people of his diocese, and bade the babe speak before the people, and say who was its father. And immediately it spoke with its tongue, as if it |205 were a lion’s cub, saying : «I am the son of such an one, the priest, by whom my mother conceived me nine days before his death, although none knew of that but God who created me. And my brothers wished to cast my mother out wrongfully.» Then the bishop made the sign of the cross over its lips, and bade it speak no more, until the proper age of speech. And so it was. Like these was the aged Abba Paul, bishop of Akhmim, who had been the second superior of the Monastery of Sinuthius, the saint, the star of the desert. There was a magician, who took a maiden, and turned her into an ass by his wicked arts, in the presence of all who saw her. And she remained with him three years, as she related. And when he took her out into the desert, he made her a woman, that she might serve him, and he might commit sin with her. But when he entered the city, he rode upon her, as if she were an ass. Then on the 7th of Abîb, the feast of the holy Sinuthius, the excellent prophet, the aged Abba Paul met that man, when she was with him, and took her from him, though none knew of her except the accursed misbelieving magician. And Abba Paul took the magician, and gave him up to the governor, who caused him |206 to be burnt in the fire, after he had been put to death. Then the bishop loosed the woman from the bonds of Satan, and delivered her to the superior of the convent of nuns. For there were among them many women of the laity, living with them.

These then are the fathers whom we saw, and whose words we listened to, and whose glorious deeds cannot be counted. And one of them, Abba Cyrus, who was of Jaujar which is the chief of four sees, had been married in his youth, and lived long with his wife in great devotion and reached the age of a hundred and five years. And those two were two pure virgins, sleeping on one bed for a long time; and their food was barley bread and salt; and all that they had or found they gave in alms to the poor. Then, when they advanced in years, Abba Cyrus gave up his pure wife to the convent of nuns. Another of them was the Father Abba Isaac, bishop over the see of Samannûd, and we know what he endured of torments and fighting with the Barsanuphians, until he brought them back to the faith in the see of Saint Mark the Evangelist.

Now the church of Antioch was widowed and without a patriarch. And a man named Abd Allah Abu Ja’far, who belonged to the family of the first princes, was now reigning, and Abu Muslim was called his uncle. And Abu Aun was in Egypt, and Sâlih with Abd Allah. And the Church was prosperous and at peace in the days of the holy patriarch, Abba Michael, in consequence of the troubles and struggles which he had endured, and some of which we |207 have related, until his ministry was ended and he went to his rest, and departed in peace to the merciful Lord Christ, as we have described at the end of this history. And the church of Antioch remained without a patriarch after the decease of Abba John, on account of the wars and the armies, until the Khorassanians took possession of the land. At the beginning of their rule, Isaac, bishop of Harran, went to Abd Allah, and petitioned him concerning the patriarchate of Antioch; for Abba John had died, as his two sons informed us, when they came to visit us. They said that Abd Allah was a native of Harran, and bis wife was barren; and she saw in a dream one who prophesied to her : «Seek Isaac, the bishop, that he may pray for thee, and the Lord will give thee a son.» And this woman served and feared God; and when Abd Allah solicited her to marry him, she made a condition with him that he should marry no other wife besides her, and should take no concubine. For she said to him : «We know that God created us in the beginning male and female, and, if thou wilt not make this compact with me, I will not marry thee.» So he made the agreement with her, and kept it till the day of her death. Therefore they summoned the bishop Abba Isaac to her, on the morning of the next day, and she made known to him what she had seen in her dream. So he appointed a week between her and him, and prayed God to fulfil her request. Then he departed to the monastery in which he had been a monk, and informed the brethren of the matter; so they |208 assembled in the church before the body of the founder of the monastery, and prayed him to intercede with God on her account. And three days afterwards, while they were fasting, the woman saw two men standing near her bed, who resembled Abba Isaac the bishop and the Father of the monastery, saying to her : «Verily God has heard the prayers, and this night thou shalt conceive a male child.» Then they disappeared. So she told this dream to her husband, and they were exceedingly glad. Then she conceived and brought forth a son. And for this reason they loved the bishop Abba Isaac, until God gave the government of the empire to Abd Allah, and then the prince gave Isaac authority to be patriarch of Antioch and the East, and commanded that whoever should oppose him should be slain with the sword. Afterwards indeed the prince slew two great metropolitans of this country, because they said to Abba Isaac : «Thou art bishop of Harran. How canst thou break the canons, and accept the support of the government, in taking the patriarchal throne by violence. Thou forcest us to excommunicate thee, for the canons decree that all who take advantage of the government shall be excommunicated.» Abba Isaac therefore laid a complaint before the prince, who gave orders that those two metropolitans should be slain; and there was great trouble in that country. Then Abba Isaac received a |209 decree from the prince for Abu Aun, governor of Egypt, in which he said; «Obey all that the patriarch, Abba Isaac, writes to thee, and do it for him». Isaac also wrote a synodical letter in his own name to the blessed Abba Michael, patriarch of the city of Alexandria, and sent it, accompanied by gifts, by two sons of his, a priest and a deacon, who were his scribes, and two of the chiefs of the metropolitans, one of them being metropolitan of Damascus, and the other metropolitan of Emesa, that they might receive an answer for him. Therein he wrote salutations to the patriarch of Egypt and his bishops, requesting him to exalt his name among them according to custom and for the sake of unity. He also wrote a letter from himself to Abu Aun, the governor, asking that, if the patriarch refused to comply, he might be sent to Abd Allah, the prince. When the letters reached Abu Aun, he sent to Alexandria and summoned Abba Michael, the patriarch, to Misr by himself; and when the letters and the decree were read to him, he answered, saying : «Do not force me to this, until I have assembled the bishops, and they have taken counsel upon this matter, according to our canons and laws». Then the governor conceded this to him, and allowed him a delay; and the patriarch took up his residence at Misr, and wrote to the bishops of the north and south and of the farther and nearer parts of Upper Egypt, bidding them all assemble to him, and look into this affair, and write him an answer, When they arrived, |210 they answered, saying to the patriarch : «He is thy equal, Father, and thy partner in the ministry; therefore do what seems good to thee with him; for, as for us, we have nothing to do with this matter.» And there was great trouble among them. And there was with him Abba Theodore, the second bishop of Misr of that name, who had been hegumen of Al-Fustât, and priest of the church of Saint Sergius : he and my father Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm, alone. So they sent to me, the sinner, because they knew that I was one of their members, as it is written ³⁵, not by my knowledge, but by spiritual love. So I went to them as a son, after a month, while they were holding converse with the envoys, in order to seek for answers, and for the sake of the decree of confirmation, that is say, the systatic letter. Now these envoys from the east were men in whom were found religion and charity. So when they saw me, I was wearing the habit of monks, though my conduct was far from that which a monk’s ought to be, and they pointed to my fathers, saying : «Art thou here present alone with us, because thou art acting as deputy for thy brethren?» Then when they beheld me sitting with the bishops, and arguing with them in the discussion, they marvelled and said : «We never saw a monk argue with the patriarch, like this man». And the metropolitans said : «His tongue is like a sword, and cannot be opposed.» Then my fathers said to them : «He is in the position of a bishop.» So |211 they marvelled. Then one of the metropolitans said to me : «How many children hast thou in thy diocese and province?» I answered : «I have ten villages in each of which are ten adults, so that they produce every year about fifty human beings.» Then they said : «In truth we see thee worn and weak in body.» And one of them said : «I have under my see nine hundred hamlets, besides cities and villages and small dioceses; and our provinces are few.» And much discourse passed between us; for they were men imbued with religion and charity.

And in the second month they assembled in the church of our Lady, and the affair was settled with the patriarch, Abba Michael, who said : «Sword or fire or casting to lions or exile or captivity, —- these are things that trouble me not; but I will not enter into what is not lawful, nor incur my own excommunication, which I subscribed with my own hand and initiated, to the effect that no bishop shall become patriarch. For the excellent fathers excommunicated him who shall take a degree in the hierarchy by the help or lavour of the government, and the bishops wrote to me from Antioch, in the time of Abba John, the patriarch, that any bishop who should be established on the throne after him should be excommunicated, and I subscribed my name to that declaration in my own handwriting. How then is it lawful for me to excommunicate myself, and to declare lawful to day what I anathematized yesterday, and to approve to-day what I condemned yesterday, and the holy fathers condemned before me?» Then he broke off the |212 discussion. So they proceeded to Abu Aun, the governor, and said to him : «Wilt thou send the patriarch with us to our own country, as the prince commanded?» But Abu Aun did not wish to send the father, because he loved him and the Christians; and he had found favour before God through them, and through God’s acceptance of their prayers for him. So he said to the patriarch : «Thou art advanced in years, and the way is very long. Therefore depart and take counsel with thyself for a few days; and if the matter appears easier to thee, well and good; but if not, thou mayest go or not as thou wilt.»

So we went out from his presence. Then the metropolitans and envoys troubled us, and discoursed with the patriarch concerning the accomplishment of the command to journey with them, and would not leave us. So the father patriarch took thought for the journey, being sad at heart, and saying to my father Moses : «Wilt thou accompany me on this difficult road?» So my father Moses prepared to travel with him, besides Abba Theodore, bishop of Misr; and so also did I, John, the sinner. But when we were ready to start, the news that night arrived at Misr that Isaac, the bishop, who had usurped the throne of Antioch by the help of the government, had died at Antioch, and the see had been occupied by a man named Athanasius, who took his seat that very day before sunset, but died himself also the third day, and both were buried. When the metropolitans |213 and their clerical companions heard this news, they fled, and we knew not how they departed, only that we never beheld them again after that day.

Now I will tell you what was told us concerning this Athanasius. He was one of the chief bishops and a metropolitan, and exercised jurisdiction from the boundary of Harran inwards; and his province was very extensive, so that he used to travel over mountains and rocks and sharp stones on foot, wearing iron sandals, that he might go round every district. And they told us that he was very strong, tall in stature, stout in body; and the privilege had been granted him in synod to ordain the bishops, on account of the distance of the province from Antioch. But as soon as he usurped the patriarchal throne, he died.

And there came to us a Chalcedonian, named George, who was a good man; and he entered with us into the orthodox faith. So the choice of the synod fell upon him, and they made him patriarch of Antioch. But, a little time after he had established himself there, he was attacked by a bishop, named Abba David, whose mother had been nurse to Abu Ja’far al-Mansur, prince of the Muslims. This bishop accused him of that which may not be mentioned in the history of the Church ; for our misdeeds and sins require no addition to them. After this the prince arrested this George, and fettered him with iron and wood, and put him in prison in the eighth |214 year of his reign. And from that time to now no synodical letter has reached us, and no such letter has gone from us.

Now I will tell you the strange story of the patriarch of Constantinople, and the prince, and a Chalcedonian, in the year 480 of the Martyrs. There was a man of high rank at Constantinople, named Philip, whom the patriarch persuaded to attack the prince, saying : «If thou fightest against him, thou wilt conquer him, and take possession of the government.» But when the news reached the prince, he banished that patriarch to a distant town, where he was cast into a narrow dungeon; and another was made patriarch. Now this prince committed deeds not fit to be named, and removed the pictures from the churches. And I have related this to you, only that you may know that these things were general, and did not take place at Antioch alone, but throughout the empire. Thus the two patriarchs of Constantinople and Antioch were imprisoned at the same time.

Now we have related a little of the good fight fought by the Father Patriarch, Abba Michael. And there was none who remained with him in. his distress and weakness to assist him, except the father and bishop, Abba Theodore, bishop of Misr, and Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm. And when he was advanced in age, he prayed God mercifully to remove him |215 from this world, that he might rest with the saints; and God answered his prayer, and he gave up his soul after all his struggles and the good works that he had done, on the 16th of Barmahât. And he remained upon the evangelical throne, according to the statement which we found in the library in the Monastery of Saint Macarius, twenty-three years and a half; and his holy body was deposited with the bodies of our holy fathers, in glory and honour. May their prayers be with us! Amen.

[Footnotes moved to the end and renumbered]

1. 1. S. John. x. 11.

2. 2. Ps. cxvi, 15 (Sept. cxv. 6).

3. 1. Some mss. have «Theodosius».

4. 1. S. Matth., v. 44; S. Luke. vi. 27, 28,

5. 1. Ps. iv. 3.

6. 1. S. Matth.. x, 28: S. Luke, xii. 4, 5.

7. 1. Cf. Amélineau, Histoire du patriarche copte Isaac, étude critique, texte copte et traduction, in Bulletin de correspondance africaine, Paris, 1890. and Bulletin de l’Institut Egyptien, 2^eserie. n° 6 annee 1885. Le Caire. 1886.

8. 1. Gen., L, 24: Exod., xiii. 19.

9. 2. Hebr., v. 4.

10. 3. Ps. lxv. 5 (Sept. lxiv).

11. 1. Ps. xxxiii. 10 (Sept. xxxii).

12. 1. This note was apparently added in the time of Mauhub, son of Mansur, one of the compilers of the history.

13. 2. Michael III. A. D. 881-913.

14. 1. S. Matth., xxv, 21. 23; cf. S. Luke, xix. 17.

15. 1. This note is evidently added by the translator.

16. 1. Exod., xxiii, 5.

17. 1. Apoc, xiii. 17.

18. 1. S. Matth., xx, 26-27; S. Mark, x, 43, 44.

19. 1. Ps. lxxviii, 3 (Sept. lxxvii).

20. 1. I Tim., iii. 15.

21. 1. S. Matth., xxv, 25: cf. S. Luke, xix, 20.

22. 2. Ps. cxiii, 7 (Sept. cxii).

23. 1. S. Matth., vii. 17.

24. 2. Eccl., x, 16.

25. 1. Prov., xxvi, 25.

26. 1. Gen., i, 26.

27. 1. Daniel, vii, 17 ff; viii. 21 ff; x, 20; xi, 2, 5 ff.

28. 1. I Kings, xvii, 43.

29. 1. Deut., xxxii, 30: cf. Lev., xxvi, 8; Jos., xxiii, 10.

30. 1. Jer., i, 6.

31. 1. Gen., ii, 13; Eccli., xxiv, 27 (Vulg. 37; also Jer., ii, 18, Sept.).

32. 1. Ps. xxxviii; 12 (Sept, xxxvii).

33. 1. Rom,, xii. 16; xv, 5; I Cor., i, 10; II Cor., xiii, 11; Phil., ii, 2: iv. 2. etc.

34. 1. The copyists have added another word, making it 200,000,000.

35. 1. Rom., xii, 5; Ephes., iv, 25.

Severus of Al’Ashmunein (Hermopolis), History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic church of Alexandria (1910) Part 4: Mennas I – Joseph (849 AD). Patrologia Orientalis 10 pp. 359-551 (pp.473-665 of text).

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS
OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

IV

MENNAS I TO JOSEPH (849)

ARABIC TEXT EDITED, TRANSLATED, AND ANNOTATED
BY
B. EVETTS

Chapter 19
- Mennas I, the forty-seventh patriarch (767 – 774)
- John IV, the forty-eighth patriarch (775 – 799)
- Mark III, the forty-ninth patriarch (799 – 819)
- James, the fifthieth patriarch (819 – 830)
Chapter 20
- Simon II, the fifty-first patriarch (830)
- Joseph, the fifty-second patriarch (830 – 849)

A = Paris, arabe 301.

B = Brit. Mus., add. 26 100.

C = —- or. 1338.

D = Vatican, arabe 620.

E = —- 686.

F = Paris, arabe 4773.

G = —- 4772.

|359

CHAPTER XIX

MENNAS I, THE FORTY-SEVENTH PATRIARCH. A.D. 767-774.

It is our duty to make enquiries and researches into the whole history of the Church, as our forefathers used to do. For Philo and Justus and Josephus, the Jews, narrated the events that took place at Jerusalem on account of Christ. And those who wrote the history of the orthodox Church were Africanus and Eusebius and Sozomenus; and after them again Mennas the scribe. These men related that which happened to the Church until the time of Dioscorus, the great father, who confessed Christ, and declared the truth, which saved us from the second deluge, and from drowning in the bottomless abyss, and from the six hundred and thirty assembled at Chalcedon, and the miscreant Leo, lord of Rome. An account of such matters has been written for us, in the twelfth part of the History of the Church, by those whose names we have mentioned because |360 they concerned themselves with these things. And so in every generation God has not left us without a record. Thus there was the archdeacon, the spiritual parent of our father, the holy father Abba Cosmas, patriarch of Alexandria, who was his kinsman. And Abba Macarius also, and Macarius the monk. And after them John, the spiritual son of Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm.

And I, poor sinner, was ordered by my father the monk through a dream which he saw, for he was a holy old man; and he bade me and commanded me to write the history of my blessed fathers, both what I had witnessed and what was reported to me by trustworthy persons. For I was ministering to my father Abba Joseph, and slept at his feet; and he was my spiritual father and was advanced in age. And likewise the father patriarch, Abba Sinuthius, bade me write. So I prayed to the gracious God, and said like David ¹ : «O Lord open thou my lips, that I may relate that which happened to the blessed fathers with profit to those that shall read it, and with benefit to those that shall hear it. »

When our blessed father, Abba Michael, fell sick through old age, and went to his rest in glory and honour, his body was carried up |361 to be with the bodies of his fathers at Alexandria, in the church of Saint Mark the Evangelist, amid proofs of respect and veneration, while all the people wept for him. And they prayed and besought God to raise up, as successor to Abba Michael, a patriarch who should rule as he did. So the assembly met together, with the bishops, to appoint him whom God, who knows the secrets of all hearts and gives grace to those that are worthy of it, should choose. Then mention was made of the priest Mennas, the monk, of the church of Saint Macarius. Mennas was a man who excited general admiration by his sense and conduct. He had been a monk from his youth, and was the spiritual son of the father Abba Michael, and superintendent of his habitation in the monastery of Saint Macarius. So he was promoted to the patriarchal dignity by God’s dispensation, amid the joy of all. And God vouchsafed to his Church this faithful shepherd, who had lived with Abba Michael, witnessing his works, because he was with him from his youth.

When Abba Mennas had taken his seat upon the apostolic throne, he imparted the spiritual doctrine, so that everyone marvelled at the mighty grace which was descending upon him, and at his admirable teaching. And the Lord, who had selected him, gave to the Church increase and protection in all her provinces, until men forgot all that had happened to them in the days of Abba Michael, now at rest; and peace continued in the Church. |362

But after a time Satan, the hater of good, raised up a trial for the blessed father. For he spoke by the tongue of a deacon and monk named Peter, in whom he took up his abode, that he might suggest to him great crimes of which Abba Mennas and the bishops under his see might be accused. This deacon and monk was a native of a village called Dasimah, and had been spiritual son to Abba Michael, now at rest, and was brought up in his cell, And the hater of good put into his heart the thought of soliciting a bishopric, though he was not worthy of it, from our father, Abba Mennas. But the father answered him as Peter the Apostle replied to Simon the magician, saying ² : «He has no lot nor share with us.» Then the deacon would not endure this treatment, but embarked in a ship, and departed to Syria. And when he arrived there, he composed letters, falsely purporting to be addressed by Abba Mennas to the patriarch of the Syrians, Abba George, patriarch of Antioch, and to his bishops and metropolitans, saying in those letters that great trouble and persecution and distress had been caused to the Church in Egypt by the governors. For Peter was skilled in the art of writing letters to patriarchs and metropolitans and bishops. So when the patriarch of Antioch had read the letters, he received Peter with great joy, because he said that he was the envoy of the patriarch’s brother, the patriarch of Alexandria. And the patriarch |363 collected money for Peter, and gave him letters addressed to all the metropolitans and bishops subject to Antioch, bidding them also make collections for him and honour him with much attention; for the patriarch was infatuated with him. As soon as a sufficient sum had been raised to give him the assistance that he needed for his evil deed, and the means of reaching the princes, the hater of good still walked with him. And after some days Peter arrived at the capital city, and began with his heart full of wrath and cunning to write letters, containing false reports of the patriarch Abba Mennas. For Peter said in his report that the prince’s treasury was empty of money, in spite of all that he needed for the expenses of the army and the administration of the government; while in Egypt there was a person, a great patriarch among the Christians, who knew how to practise alchemy for the permutation of substances into gold; and that by such means he had filled his churches with vessels of gold and silver, in which the holy offerings were presented. «But thou, my prince and my lord», he added, «hast the right to possess in thy storehouse these splendid golden vessels, which are in the churches of Egypt, and with which things displeasing to God are done». When this foul sinner had written this report, he waited for a day on which he might find means of laying it before the prince; and he gave bribes to all the attendants of the prince, in order that they |364 might introduce him. And Satan worked a great wonder for him, as he does for his favourites and followers, like the conjuring of the witch when she raised up the prophet Samuel from the tomb for Saul. Far be Samuel from this imagined likeness! We are only pointing out to you how Satan causes semblances and illusions in all ages.

These events were in the reign of Abû Ja’far Abd Allah, nephew of Abû Muslim, whom we have already mentioned in the eighteenth chapter of the History of the Church. He was the first who took possession of Khorassan. He had married a chaste wife while he was at Harran before he began to reign; and afterwards, when he became caliph, he lived at Damascus. This woman feared God; and she was of high rank in her tribe and nation; and she had made her husband swear, when she was married to him, that he would marry no other wife while she lived, so that she might keep the Law of God. But when he married her, God gave him no child for many years. Afterwards, however, she saw in a dream one who said to her : «Send for Isaac, bishop of Harran, that he may pray for thee; for God will accept his prayers on thy account and give thee a son.» Therefore she obeyed the vision with faith, and caused Abd Allah, her husband, to send and fetch the bishop. And before he arrived, she saw in a second dream a personage, who announced to her that God had heard |365 her petition and would fulfil her desire through the prayers of the bishop Isaac. Then, when he came, he prayed over her, and blessed her. So she conceived and bore two children. And for this cause the bishop stood high in favour with Abd Allah and his wife. So when Abd Allah began to reign, the father and bishop Isaac begged of him authority over the patriarchate of Antioch and the East; and the prince granted his request. And this was the cause of Isaac’s fall, because he broke the canons. But since God would not endure to leave him upon the throne, as the holy gospel says ³ : «Behold the axe is laid at the roots of the trees, therefore every tree that bears not good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire», thus it happened with this Isaac; when he acted foolishly and broke the law of God, and took his seat as patriarch by the power of the government, and transgressed the injunctions of his fathers, God cut off his life from the earth, and he died suddenly before the end of the year. And another man, named Athanasius, sat upon the throne by force on the day of Isaac’s death; but he also died that very night, as it has been related in the eighteenth chapter of the History.

When the two sons of Abd Allah and of his chaste virtuous wife, before |366 mentioned, had grown up, one of them died. And the prince was exceedingly sad for him, and his mother mourned with all the household; for they were greatly grieved on his account. And the courtiers knew how much his mother loved her son, so that she never ceased to weep for him one single hour by night or by day, while the prince was very sorrowful. Now the death of this young son of the prince had taken place before the arrival of the deacon Peter, unworthy of that name. And the prince went out of the palace one day with his guards, and rode round the city, seeking distraction from his grief for his son according to the custom of men and princes. And he chanced to look aside and see that unworthy Peter, whom Satan transformed in the prince’s eyes into the likeness of his son who was dead, so that he seemed to be the very same, in no wise differing from the young man’s appearance even in the hair of his head. Therefore the prince, as soon as he perceived Peter, with joy caused him to be summoned, and embraced him, and kissed his mouth and eyes as if he were his son indeed. And in the excess of his gladness he returned to the palace, and with haste went in to his wife and said to her : «If thou couldst see the living image of thy son, wouldst thou cease from this weeping and sadness?» She answered : «Whence can he come to me?» Then the prince commanded that the deacon in whom Satan dwelt should be brought in to her; and Satan made him in her eyes like the form of her son. So when she saw him, she rose up |367 quickly and went to meet him rejoicing, imagining that he was her son; and more wonderful than this is the fact that Satan removed from her heart the grief that she had felt for her son. Therefore Peter remained with the prince and his wife in the palace some months, while they looked upon his face and were consoled by his presence. And God granted him favour with them, so that the prince said : «If thou hast any need, make it known to me, that I may satisfy it for thee». Then Peter told him what we related above, and after a stay of three months in the palace prayed the prince to send him to Egypt, and to write a decree for him appointing him patriarch over Egypt, and to give him authority over the patriarch Abba Mennas and his bishops, that he might do with them what was wanted. In compliance with this request, the prince drew up for Peter a document, addressed to the governor of Egypt at that time, whose name was Ibn Abd ar-Rahmân, directing him to do for Peter whatever he might bid him do. Then Peter gave orders that a cap should be made for him of splendid and priceless material; and his name was written upon it in Arabic letters thus : «Peter, patriarch of Egypt». And besides his own name the name of the prince also was written upon it; for Peter added in his folly, after putting his own name first : «And servant of the prince».

As soon as Peter arrived at Misr, he gave the document to the governor, who, after he had read it, sent and summoned the holy patriarch Abba |368 Mennas and his synod. When the governor’s messengers arrived at the frontier-city of Alexandria and informed the patriarch of what had happened, he was sad and cried to the Lord from the depths of his heart, saying : «O Lord, save me from this snare which is secretly laid for me, for thou art my God; and give me not up to those that oppress me, for false witnesses have risen up against me. And behold, thine eyes, O Lord, are upon those that fear thee and trust in thy mercy, that thou mayest deliver their souls from death». And he did not cease to pray and weep the whole night long until the morning. Then the messengers appeared before him, and urged him to start upon his journey. Therefore he arose, and said with cheerfulness : «O Lord, make me worthy to suffer for thy name’s sake; for thou alone art my hope, O Lord my God, and therefore I fear not what man can do to me». And he continued to repeat these words during his journey from Alexandria, until he arrived at Fustât Misr.

Then the governor was informed of the patriarch’s arrival, and gave orders that he should be brought before him, and rejoiced when he saw him. For the governor loved the Christians, and had been friendly with the holy father, Abba Michael the patriarch, now at rest. So he said to the father, Abba Mennas : «Thou shalt receive all fair treatment from me, according to that which I used to do for the deceased patriarch who was thy predecessor. But the prince’s mandate has arrived, bidding thee obey the bearer of it, who is a follower of thy faith and creed, and forbidding |369 thee to dispute with him concerning that which he shall command thee to do.» Thereupon the valiant one, who had no fear of the awfulness of earthly princes, the truth-speaking Abba Mennas, looked up into the face of the new Judas, I mean Peter the deacon, who relied upon worldly power, and believed himself to be invested with the authority of the patriarchate, and said to him : «Good is that which the true gospel ⁴says concerning thee : None shall receive honour from himself unless it be given him from heaven by God. But hear what God says concerning thee and those that act like thee, declaring what thou deservest, where our Lord Christ says with his pure mouth ⁵ : Every tree which my heavenly Father plants not shall be cut down and rooted up. So this name shall be taken away from thee, and thou shalt die in poverty an evil death». Then that fool answered him, and said to the holy father : «Do now what I command thee, that thou mayest escape the punishment, which I shall otherwise inflict upon thee, until I learn that thou dost resist the prince’s mandate». And the vile wretch turned and said to the governor : «Instead of answering that as he hears so he will obey the prince’s command, behold, he utters words which mean that he prays God to strip me of the authority which the prince has conferred upon me.» Then the governor answered and said to the patriarch : «Do not oppose the command of the prince, but perform what he ordains.» Mennas replied : «I will do so with joy, that |370 I may carry out the Law which bids me obey the king as I would obey God; for it says ⁶: He who resists and disputes authority, resists God, his Lord.» When the governor heard these words, he was pleased with the patriarch’s answer, and said to the wretch : «Bid him do whatever thou desirest.» So he said : «Let him send and summon all the bishops under his jurisdiction, that I may give them in his presence the orders that are necessary.» Then the father begged of the governor that he might be allowed a delay of some days, till he could assemble the bishops. But that heretic said : «Let us send him away to prison, so that I may enter the churches in Misr and go up to their altars, as the patriarchs do. »

So the patriarch was imprisoned with Theodore, bishop of Misr, and ordered the secretaries to write letters to all the bishops, that they might come to him. For that heretic Peter believed that they would obey him and do for him what he had planned, though it was contrary to the canons of the Church. The letter which the father patriarch wrote was full of sadness and grief, but he did not explain any matter to the bishops lest he should discourage them, so that they would shrink from the struggle. The contents of the letter were as follows : «Satan does not at any time leave the Bride of Christ, the Universal Church, without opposition, but raises |371 up persecution and disorder with the object of vanquishing her in the war that he wages against her. But her Bridegroom, Christ the Truth, crushes Satan’s power by the words which he said to Peter, chief of the apostles ⁷, that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against her. You know now that it is the Lord Christ who is the conqueror. Therefore advance to the combat and dispute not, but trust in the Lord; for he will abase our adversary and bring his counsels to nought, and glorify his Church which is his Bride. Let us also rejoice because we have armed ourselves like warriors for battle in this campaign, that we may obtain the heavenly crown, according to the summons which he gives us at all times, as Paul, the sweet-tongued, says ⁸ : A man will not obtain the crown unless he fight. Hasten therefore now, that you may gain that reward, O my friends whom I love in the Lord.»

When the bishops had read the patriarch’s letter, so full of consolation for them, they journeyed with all speed, and assembled at Fustât Misr. As soon as that erring son of Satan learnt that they were gathered together in the church on Sunday, he arose in his obstinacy, escorted by a troop of soldiers from the governor’s palace, and proceeded without fear, and ascended into the sanctuary, intending to say the prayer of thanksgiving and the prayer of peace like the patriarch, wearing on his head the cap on which the name of the prince was written. But when the fathers and bishops saw him do this, they joined together in the Holy Ghost; and Abba |372 Mennas, bishop of Sanabû, rushed upon him, with Abba Moses, bishop of Wasîm; and they seized the cap and threw it down, and cast him out of the sanctuary, crying : «Ah thou second Julian, the churches of Egypt do not deserve to be defiled by thy presence !» At first that foul wretch was filled with confusion, but afterwards gave way to anger and commanded his escort to lead all the bishops away to prison, and to put irons upon their necks and feet. And when the holy father patriarch beheld them, he welcomed them and comforted them, saying : «O my friends, he who fights for us is greater than he who fights against us; and the Lord will rescue us from our enemies, and save us from those that rise up against us, and deliver us from the workers of iniquity.» The bishops, hearing these words, exclaimed : «Our father, we are ready to die with thee, and we believe and trust that we shall obtain salvation by thy prayers !»

Thus the bishops passed a few days in prison while that foul wretch was considering what evil he should do to them and to the patriarch; and then he ordered the governor to bring them out of confinement and make them stand before him; and the governor did so. Thereupon that miscreant said to the father patriarch : «I will do nothing with thee that thou fearest, such as others in my place have done to others in thy place before thee, from the time of the patriarch Abba Agathon; for he was compelled to build ships for the fleet. So Theodore the Chalcedonian, the governor of |373 Alexandria, treated Agathon in the reign of the caliph Yezîd, son of Mu’âwiyah. Come, bring forth from the church the vessels of gold and silver, that they may be carried to the prince’s treasury. For this is the purpose for which I am come». On hearing this the patriarch said within himself ⁹ : «The pains of death have surrounded me, and the terrors of Hell have fallen upon me». This he said because he knew that there was nothing in the churches such as Peter demanded of him. For notorious misfortunes had happened to the fathers before Abba Mennas, and none of the vessels of the churches had been left among their possessions; for the Copts had been robbed of every thing time after time by the adversaries who hated them. And when this glorious father was consecrated and enthroned, nothing had been restored, so that in the city of Alexandria no vessel was found, from which the people could receive the Communion, except a chalice of glass and another of wood. Therefore the holy father answered that miscreant, saying : «Thou knowest not the condition of the church from that time till now». But the wretched infidel replied : «Lo, I know that thou hast a book by means of which thou canst speedily become rich; for it teaches the art of making gold». The spiritual father said in answer to him : «I know nothing of that of which thou speakest. But I will do whatever thou mayest choose to command, and my trust is in |374 God; for I know that there is nothing in the church such as that which thou namest. And thou hast told lies to the prince». Then Peter said to the patriarch : «I will act generously towards thee, nor will I compel thee to spend any sum of money upon the fleet. But, by the prince’s truth, none shall work at the task of pitching the ships but thou and thy bishops, with your own hands». Abba Mennas replied : «I will do that gladly, for so I shall act according to the words of Paul the Apostle, who says ¹⁰ : I work with my own hands. Paul says also : They revile us and we bless them; they drive us away and we bear it patiently; they defame us and we entreat them».

So the father Abba Mennas and the bishops who were with him went out to perform the task allotted to them every day in the arsenal at Misr, working with their own hands at all that was needed for the ships for a whole year, while their faces were exposed to the sun all day during the summer. Thus the patriarch and bishops were labouring among the workmen and the ash-heaps in Fustât Misr, with tears and sighs. At the end of the day the father and all the bishops were taken back to the prison. And all the time Peter continued to demand of them the vessels of the churches, saying to them : «I came hither from the prince’s court for this purpose only». But when some days had passed, while they were still in |375 prison, and he repeated his claims, at last the Lord looked upon the sighs of his pure ones, and worked a miracle; and he who has the power to repay took vengeance. We have already remarked that the governor favoured the Christians. Yet although he saw that contemptible person persecuting the patriarch and bishops, he could not hinder him, because he feared the prince, but could only urge upon him that it was not lawful for him to act so with the chief of the Christians. At last Peter answered : «Dost thou also call that man the head of the Christian community, and ignore the prince’s decree? Then I will go to the prince, and let him know that thou hast deprived me of the dignity which he conferred upon me». Then, when Peter said this, the words ¹¹ of Solomon the Wise were fulfilled in him : «A fool’s tongue is a snare to him». For the governor exclaimed : «Thou desirest to depart to the prince, in order to tell lies to him against me, and present a calumnious report against me in accordance with what thou hast said and done with regard to this old man who fears God. Now after this day I will no longer suffer thee to behold the light of the sun, but all men shall know that God has exacted justice from thee for this old man». Accordingly the governor gave orders that very hour that Peter should be taken away to prison, and thrown into the dungeon, and that his hands and feet should be fettered with iron, and he be kept there |376 in a narrow place. So Peter remained in this condition three years. At the same time the governor gave orders to release the militant patriarch and bishops from punishment. And they began to praise God and to say : «As the prophet Isaias ¹² says : God destroys the counsel of the adversaries and hypocrites; and the Lord will not forsake those that trust in him, those who fear God. Now is fulfilled the word of the prophet Malachias ¹³ in us : Ye who fear my name, upon you the Sun of Righteousness shall shine. Go forth, rejoicing like calves released to their mothers. And ye shall tread down the hypocrites».

Then the father departed to Alexandria; and there he entered the church with joy. And the Alexandrians glorified God with public thanksgivings. And Abba Mennas occupied himself with the care of Christ’s flock and the administration of the Evangelical See, through the grace which was with him. Yet in spite of all this he was sad on account of that poor miserable sinner, who had given up his soul to death by sin. And Abba Mennas prayed to God, saying : «Thou art the merciful God who saidst ¹⁴ : I desire not the death of a sinner, so much as that he should return and be converted. Therefore thou, O Lord, wilt save the soul of this other man, that he may not die in sin. Rather save him, that he may repent and weep for his error, |377 so that his soul may live. For Satan at all times drags down to Hell those who obey him».

Now Satan, the hater of good, filled him who was in prison with evil designs and bad notions, and suggested foul thoughts in his heart concerning the patriarch and concerning the bishops and the Church for his sake. And at the end of three years, while Peter was still in prison, Ibn Abd ar-Rahmân, the governor, was removed from Egypt, and another was sent thither. When the new governor arrived at Al-Fustât, he examined the prisons that he might learn what was the offence of every prisoner; and so, as soon as the case of Peter was reported to him, he commanded that Peter should be brought before him. And the governor recognised Peter on seeing him, and said to him : «Art thou not he whom the prince despatched to Egypt at such a time?» He replied : «Yes, I am he». Then the governor asked him : «What befell thee, and cut off the memory of thee from before the prince, so that thou becamest as one dead?» Thereupon Peter answered by accusing the patriarch and Ibn Abd ar-Rahmân, the governor lately dismissed, of committing great crimes, and added : «For he left the prince’s edict without effect, and kept me in prison three years». And Peter brought many charges against the Christians and the Church. The governor said to him : «Thou shalt depart to the prince’s court. I will send thee to him». Peter replied : «That is well; for such is my |378 desire, in order to accomplish that which is in my heart». So the governor despatched him in haste, bidding him take with him a letter, in which an explanation of what had happened to him was given. Thus Satan, the hater of good, drove Peter back to his former circumstances, and raised in the prince’s heart a greater love for him than before. This was especially because Peter said to him : «I wish to enter into thy religion, and to return to Egypt and claim my rights from my enemies». At this the prince rejoiced. Then the foul wretch denied the name of Christ the Saviour, and confessed the religion of Islam; and for that the prince gave him many gifts on that day, garments and money and horses and female slaves, and named him Abu’l-Khair ¹⁵.

But the Lord, whose name is blessed, purposed to give rest to the holy father Abba Mennas, that he might not undergo any punishment from this renegade. For God showed forth a miracle, when he looked upon him who was called Abu’l-Khair, but was in reality father of all mischief and guile. The prince gave him the letters to the governor that he asked for, and he journeyed to Egypt, believing that he was about to do all the harm to the patriarch that lay in his power. Before he arrived in Egypt, however, Abd Allah, the prince, died. So when the wretch learnt that his hopes were thus frustrated, the words ¹⁶ of the prophet were fulfilled in him : |379 «Contemptible is the man who trusts in a man.» For in shame he departed to his native town; but as soon as his family and kinsmen and acquaintances saw him, he was hated and detested among them like the Jews who slew their Lord. And they began to reproach him, saying : «Ah thou that art become a son of Satan, and hast strayed from the way of life, where hast thou left the fear of God and of Hell, and the voice of our Creator pronouncing the terrible sentence ¹⁷ : Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I deny before the Father who is in Heaven ? Thou hast rejected this true voice, and therefore thou shalt hear instead of it ¹⁸ : Take him away to the fire which is not quenched and the worm which sleeps not. This shall be the reward of thy apostasy. To thee will be spoken also his words addressed to those like thee ¹⁹ : Depart from me, ye cursed, into the fire kindled and prepared for the Devil and his hosts. Then it will be said to thee that, instead of the bishopric which thou didst demand, there is the gain of rebellion, and instead of the Spiritual Paradise thou hast earned the foulness of apostasy.» And Peter had to listen to many such reproaches every day, filled with sorrow and shame. At last he went away to the bishops of Egypt, whom he had afflicted with such torments; and he begged them to pray to God for him |380 that he might save him from this error, professing that his heart was right. Then he heard from the mouth of the bishops, as the Lord said ²⁰ to his disciples at that time concerning Judas Iscariot, that none should perish except the son of perdition.

After these events it was God’s will to give rest to the father Abba Mennas, and translate him to Jerusalem on high from this world full of misery and trouble. So he went to his rest, after occupying the see seven years, on the last day of Tubah, and brought his teaching to a close, preserving the faith of his lathers; and he departed in peace to the Lord Christ, whom he loved, and received the crown of victory together with the assembly of his militant brethren, and entered into joy with them in the land of the living. And after his decease, that rebel returned to the town where he was born, and died there a bitter death in sin and poverty, as our father Abba Mennas had prophesied concerning him. Thus all who witnessed his fate marvelled and glorified God, saying : «That which the father Abba Mennas foretold by the Holy Ghost against this man has come to pass.» And they said, as David, the servant of the Lord, says in the Psalm ²¹, that he humbles the proud as one that is wounded. David says also in the 118th. Psalm ²² : «Cursed are all those that swerve from thy commandments.» |381

So the Church remained a widow without a pastor. But the Lord visited his sheep, whom he had bought with his blood; and the bishops assembled in the city of Alexandria, and consulted together, and prayed the Lord to shew them a faithful shepherd. Many names were mentioned, and they continued to discuss this matter during several days, while the Lord was reserving his chosen one, whom he was about to elect and anoint with the oil of his mercy, that he might be called to the patriarchal office, because it belonged to him. Now our fathers, when they met together in order to come to an agreement upon the appointment of a patriarch, were accustomed to write many names on small sheets which, they laid in the sanctuary. Then the bishops and priests and orthodox laity used to pray to the Lord with a sincere intention, and cry Kyrie eleison. Afterwards they brought a young child, ignorant of sin, which put forth its hand and took one sheet from among the number. And him whose name was drawn they promoted to the patriarchal dignity.

Now they had begun to carry out this procedure. And there was in charge of the church of Saint Mennas a priest named John, the son of the father Abba Michael; and his birthplace was at Bana Busir, and he had become a monk in Wadî Habîb, and had then been, entrusted with the office of oeconomus under the father Abba Mennas, lately gone to his rest. This man was named by an aged deacon of pious character, one of the |382 clergy of Alexandria, who said to the assembly : «Have you remembered the priest John, in charge of the church of Saint Mennas, so as to write his name down?» Now they had not remembered him, but the Lord recalled him to memory by the mouth of the old ecclesiastic. So they wrote down his name, and prayed, and did three times what we have described above. And the name of John was drawn each of these three times. Then all those that were present marvelled; and they cried aloud saying : «Truly he is worthy!» So they appointed John, and he sat upon the throne.

JOHN IV, THE FORTY-EIGHTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 775-799.

After the father Abba John had been enthroned, he wrote a synodical letter full of wisdom to the blessed father, George, patriarch of Antioch, to make known to him his unity with him in the faith and the circumstances of his taking his seat upon the throne. Now a report had been presented to the prince, against this George of whom we speak, by one of his bishops; and in consequence of this report the prince arrested George, and put him in fetters and imprisoned him. And the bishop who accused him sat upon the throne, but had written no epistle nor announced a decree of |383 appointment to the patriarch of Alexandria. Then that bishop died, and George returned, having been released from prison, and sat upon the throne of Antioch with glory and honour, after an absence of ten years. George, therefore, having read the letters of the blessed patriarch, Abba John, upon the arrival of his envoys at Antioch, welcomed those envoys and rejoiced over them; and so likewise the synod of metropolitans and bishops, assembled with their chief, glorified the Lord Christ, with great joy and spiritual gladness, on account of the agreement of the doctrine of the two patriarchs concerning the orthodox Faith, and their common accord after the days that had passed. And George with his metropolitans and bishops composed an epistle in answer to the synodical, and sent it to the father, Abba John, according to the ecclesiastical canons, which are exempt from error.

Now Abba John was beautiful in form, perfect in stature, inspired by God in all his affairs. And everyone desired to behold his welcome form; and it was granted to him to be acceptable to all princes and governors, like Joseph the Truthful, with whom God’s hand was, and whom God saved from all his sorrows, and to whom he gave grace and wisdom before Pharao. And the father John was assiduous in doing good, and provided means for the building of a church and a patriarchal residence, which he adorned with all beautiful ornaments. He also embellished the churches |384 at Alexandria with all decoration and adornment. The times were propitious towards him, and the authorities respected him, and enabled him to carry out his desires, and accepted his opinion, and did not hinder him from anything that he wished; and the orthodox people obeyed him, and the Church enjoyed tranquillity and peace in his days. He did not cease from doing good, and his chief care was for the building of the churches of Alexandria, so that he raised a great monument to himself in this city. His conduct was admirable, so that the heretics at Alexandria were jealous of him, according to the custom of those accursed ones in dealing with the orthodox, even in matters relating to the Faith, especially in the days of this holy John, because they beheld his good works in the Church and in all the churches at Alexandria with glory and honour.

The liar, who was at that time the father of the heretics, was a person named Politian. He was a skilful physician, and the prince’s of Islam used to treat him with favour on account of his art. And he did not cease to speak of our father John with words of jealousy. But God, who knows that which is secret, was raising up this man day after day, and the sweet odour of his teaching reached all the people. Therefore those who loved God took thought and said : «We will hand over to him our money, that he may build with it the churches of Alexandria, as a memorial for us and for |385 those that shall come after us». Accordingly they used to bring to him, that saint adorned with virtues, large sums of money and gifts, and to pray him to provide for the building of the churches, until that which is said²³of the prophet David was fulfilled in Abba John : «The zeal of thine house has eaten me up.» And he accepted those gifts from the people, because he knew how great were their charity and their sacrifice of their wealth and their goodness and right faith in God.

And there was with Abba John a deacon, who loved God, and was very vigilant and full of faith and spiritual wisdom. This deacon was named Mark, and was an Alexandrian; and he had grasped with zeal the helm of the Ark, which is the Church, the Ark of salvation from the deluge of the devils. Our father Abba John had known him from his youth. Mark was in charge of the church of Saint Mennas, and the patriarch, because of his acquaintance with him and his family, made him deacon; and wherever the patriarch celebrated the Liturgy or was present, Mark used to chant the gospel, with a voice of tenderness and moving tones, so that the hearts of listeners were touched by their music. For this reason the people used to come early to the church in order to hear his chanting and his beautiful voice, and because he understood the art of chanting, and for |386 the sake of his beautiful countenance; and when he chanted he put every word in its right place. He was also learned in the Scriptures and in the study of all the Mystagogia. So men used to say : «Blessed is the Lord God, who has given a wise son to David ²⁴, as it is said.» The faithful laity used to say, glorifying God : «Blessed is God, who has raised up for us this deacon Mark who loves God. Blessed is the Lord who has made this branch to flourish for us from this blessed tree, —- our holy father John and his son Mark. Happy is our city which has merited this grace!» And when our father the patriarch beheld this deacon and his actions, he rejoiced over him and thanked God, who had given him this gift for the Church, and had left Mark to him as an adviser in all his circumstances. And Mark, in each step to which the patriarch promoted him, grew more and more humble towards all, both small and great; and more excellent than this was his obedience to the father in all that he commanded him. to do. Then Mark, when he was filled with grace, begged our father to hold him worthy of the Angelic Habit, that is the monastic estate. So Abba John, when he saw Mark’s desire, took him with him, on the 27th. of Barmahât, which is the day when Saint Macarius went to his rest, to the monastery of the illuminating father, Saint Macarius, the meeting-place of monks, and the home of high wisdom and of prayer, continuing night and day with |387 glorification of the Holy Trinity. And when Mark had put on the habit, an aged monk, enlightened by the Holy Ghost, looked at him and said : «This deacon, whose name is Mark, is worthy to sit upon the throne of his father, Mark the evangelist.» And Mark began to increase in humility and purity and holiness, till there was accomplished in him that which God says ²⁵ : «To whom shall I look, except to the humble of heart who fears me?»

Now when you hear these words from me, brethren, be not angry with me because I have left the discourse of the blessed fathers, and the building of the church in the city of Alexandria, and the narration of their history in spite of its importance to us; for likewise is it incumbent upon us to mention the humble sons, who were saved by their works, and pleased the fathers by their conduct, in order that future generations and peoples may hear of them, and that they too may grow in the grace of the Holy Ghost, according to that which Paul the sweet-tongued wrote ²⁶, where he says in the Spirit : «I am jealous» ; and therefore I do not leave this unsaid. The interpretation of the words : «I am jealous», is that they mean jealous in spiritual works.

Hear how our father, the patriarch Abba John, began to take thought for the building of the church, in accordance with the request of those two |388 blessed ones who loved God, Cyrus and Barnabas, when they saw that Christ’s people desired this. And the churches possessed endowments. So Abba John called the deacon Mark, and said to him : «My son, it shall be to thee a reward from God that thou shalt superintend the building of the churches; for thou art acquainted with the city and the workmen and their trades. And I know that God is with thee, and I believe and trust that the good care which thou shalt bestow upon this matter in thy faith will be returned to thee in perfection». Mark replied : «Thy Holiness knows that the accursed heretics have many arguments with which they will oppose us. But it would be a sin upon my conscience if I resisted the Holy Ghost who dwells in thee; and now, my father, thou desirest to do a good deed». Then he made a prostration before the patriarch, and said to him : «Pray for me, my father!» And the patriarch answered : «The Lord bless thee and be with thee, until thou shalt complete the building of his holy house, so that thou mayest rejoice in it after we are gone». Thereupon Mark said to the patriarch : «Thy Paternity commands me to lay the foundation as God shall give me light».

Therefore the patriarch supplied all that was needed for the fabric, and assembled the workmen and overseers. And he said prayers, and laid the foundations of the church and of the surrounding habitations. And he delivered all that church needed into the hand of the pious deacon Mark, that he might provide for the construction. Thus Mark was entrusted with the building of the holy church; and God was helping him with grace, and |389 the building grew and advanced daily. Then Satan whispered to the [heart of the lying heretic, the chief of the believers in the Two Natures, that he should accuse the father, Abba John, before the governor of occupying buildings belonging to the government and turning them into churches. This charge was brought by that heretic in envy, that he might stop the building, like the Chaldeans who desired to put an end to the building of the holy house of God. But the father, Abba John, endured patiently and suffered greatly through that which was done to him by that liar, and was forced on account of it to pay a heavy fine to the government. And the wretch rejoiced thereat, and accused Abba John of all sorts of evil deeds and of lies. And as often as his enemies beheld him growing and increasing day by day, while his people were orthodox, and his teaching was uninterrupted, and his churches were flourishing, and he also continued to build and restore in the churches, then they grew yet more wrathful. But they could not resist the power of God, and were as the Chaldeans with regard to the temple of Jerusalem, when God brought their efforts to nought; for so he did likewise in this case, scattering the counsel of the heretics, those new Jews. For by the mercy of the Lord Christ, he put it into the heart of the governor to command the father, Abba John, to finish the church and furnish it as he desired. So he completed the church in the space of five years, and consecrated it in the name of the Archangel Michael. This |390 church is called at the present day, in the city of Alexandria, the church of Repentance. And there was with our father the patriarch a scribe and deacon, named John, who was counted worthy of the bishopric of the see of Sakhâ after the decease of the father, Abba John.

After the completion of the church of the Angel Michael, by the Lord’s inscrutable decrees a great dearth came upon the city of Alexandria and Upper Egypt, so that the price of wheat rose to a dinar for three waibahs, and many persons perished. And our father was sad on account of the dead and the mortality that he saw, and prayed with tears, saying, like the prophet Isaias ²⁷ : «Thou hast turned away thy face from us, and given us up because of our sins. And now, O Lord, thou art yet our Father, and we are all dust and the work of thy hands. Deal not with us according to our sins, and be not angry with us for ever; and remember not our offences, but turn to as, O Lord, for we are thy people». And he continued in prayer night and day, saying : «O Lord, have mercy on thy creatures and the work of thy hands; deal not with us after our sins. We deserve indeed all chastisement, for we have not walked in the way of thy commandments. But now, O Lord, chastise us not with the rod of thy wrath, and remember not our transgressions before thee».

And the patriarch beheld the distress of the people from the severity of |391 the dearth, and his pity excited him to pray. Then Abba John called his son and partner in his works, the deacon Mark, and gave him authority to distribute alms among all the inhabitants of the city; and the storehouses and the accounts of the church were under his superintendence, for the father, Abba John, had entrusted him with the charge of them, making trial of his conduct. So Mark began to assist all those that were starving, giving them their food morning and evening every day. And he used to see at the patriarch’s door many people of every race, whom he would supply with provisions out of the stores of the church; for she had at that time an abundance of good things. Thus the sweet perfume of his good deeds spread, and filled all places. Basil and Eusebius, the two bishops, were those who made almsgiving their uninterrupted occupation, making more of it than of the fulfilment of any other commandment. In the same way this holy man acted as they did, emulating their excellence until he resembled them in that point; but though he did thus, yet he did not neglect any of the precepts of religion: And he visited the officials and the rich men, and said to them : «Be merciful to the needy». And he urged them to alms-giving with arguments from the holy scriptures, saying to them : «Profit by this time and this grace which is glorious before God». |392

And he began to exhort them in the words of the prophet David to his son ²⁸ : «Turn not thy face from the poor, and then the Lord will not turn his face from thee». He quoted also the saying of another prophet ²⁹ :«Alms saves from death, and raises from Hell, and does not suffer a man to enter into darkness». He reminded them also of that which Paul wrote to Timothy his son, saying to him ³⁰ : «Charge the rich in this world that they be not proud, but that they place their trust in God, who gives riches to each one, that they may have enough of all things, and may lay for themselves a foundation, in order that they may take hold of the true life». And he admonished them with these and other words, until the rich men and the officials emulated his works, and began to do as he advised them with their money; and none of them was backward in giving alms, nor in visiting the widows and orphans and prisons and taking to them food and clothing; and so also they did for the clergy and the poor. And many of the officials had fallen into poverty at this time, and they also were assisted. And Mark used to entertain strangers. But at last the Lord took pity on his people and relieved them of the dearth, through the prayers of the holy father, Abba John.

At that time the patriarch of Antioch, Abba George, went to his rest. And a holy man, named Cyriacus, was appointed in his place by a |393 dispensation from God, and through the united votes of the metropolitans and bishops and of all the laity of Syria and the East. He was full of the Holy Ghost, and when he heard of the works of the holy father, Abba John, he summoned his metropolitans and bishops, and said to them : «We must not delay writing to the father, Abba John, who occupies the evangelical throne in the great city of Alexandria, which is an inheritance of ours from our fathers, since the time of the father Severus and of Theodosius, who both fought for the orthodox faith.» Now I have already mentioned the deceased father, Abba George, and observed that in the past years, during which he was in prison, no synodical letter came from him to Egypt to the father Mennas, on account of Abba George’s troubles and confinement, and because Abba Mennas also did not write, being otherwise occupied through the persecution which he suffered at the hands of the excommunicated deacon Peter, the apostate unworthy of his name; until the patriarch and bishops escaped from durance, and then the correspondence took place as we have related above. Therefore the father Cyriacus said : «If we should not write, we should be guilty of an offence and a sin, on account of the agreement and unity which exist between us. In the time of our forefathers, they agreed with us in the true faith and in charity; and they commemorate our fathers’ names in all the sanctuaries of Egypt. For this reason |394 let us not interrupt the Christian charity and spiritual concord which we share with them. » Accordingly, our father, Abba Cyriacus, patriarch of Antioch, addressed to Abba John, patriarch of Alexandria, a synodical letter, full of the grace of the Holy Ghost, and despatched it by the hand of Anastasius, metropolitan of Damascus, who was accompanied by two bishops of his province. In this epistle Cyriacus spoke of the orthodox union existing between the two sees of Antioch and Alexandria, and announced how he had taken his seat upon the throne of Ignatius, the Wearer of Divinity. And when the letter reached Abba John, and he had read it, he rejoiced greatly, and glorified the Lord Jesus Christ, who always cares for his Church and for his people, whom he bought with his precious Blood.

Afterwards our father, Abba John, commanded that the letter should be read before the people, who marvelled when they heard its eloquence, and because it was a long time since a synodical had arrived; and they gave thanks to God for it. And when the envoys, Anastasius and the two bishops, visited the church at Alexandria, they were filled with admiration of its paintings and decoration, and the marshalling of the patriarch and bishops and clergy, and the seven ecclesiastical orders, and the dignity of all of them and their serenity and piety. And the Syrians wondered and glorified God for the magnitude of the grace which rested upon the clergy of |395 Alexandria, through the holy favour of Saint Mark the evangelist. Therefore, beholding these things, they said what David says in the psalm ³¹ : «As we have heard, so have we seen.» And they rejoiced with a great spiritual joy, according to that which is written in the Acts ³² : «A report came to the ears of the Church in Jerusalem concerning them, so they sent Barnabas to Antioch, and when he arrived and saw the grace of God, he rejoiced.»

The envoys remained with the holy father John a few days, and then he bade them farewell with respect and honour, after he had written for them an answer to their letter. So they departed to their own country glorifying God for what they had witnessed.

I desire, my holy fathers, to bring to an end my discourse concerning the deeds of our blessed father Abba John. This I do, not because my faltering tongue could not relate a few more of his actions; but, while I record the names of the holy men who lived in his time, I must describe for your Paternities their good works and their prophecies, that your hearts may be gladdened, as it is written ³³ : «When the righteous are commemorated, the people rejoice.» There was in those days at Al-Burlus a holy old man, named George, who was beautiful in his conduct. And |396 through the Holy Ghost, he used to see that which was about to happen far away by a great mystery, before the event took place so that he might know it, on account of his excellent virtues. Now Abba George, bishop of Misr had gone to his rest at that time; and he was a holy man, merciful and generous in alms-giving; and he had lived long among the people of Misr, ruling them in purity and justice. Therefore the faithful people mourned for him, and met together and took counsel, and wrote to the father, Abba John, praying him to appoint his son Mark, the deacon, bishop over them at Misr, in the place of George now at rest. When the patriarch read the letter, he was willing that they should obtain their desire because of his pastoral care for their souls; and he commanded that Mark, the deacon, should be promoted to their see. Mark, however, refused the dignity which was offered to him. Thereupon the patriarch caused iron fetters to be placed upon Mark’s feet, and ordained him priest, intending to complete his consecration as bishop. But this proceeding was against Mark’s will, and he was weeping and sad, saying : «O Lord, thou knowest that I am not fit for this post; therefore I pray thee, O my Lord, to save me from this burden which I cannot bear.» And the Lord, who loves mankind, and chooses those whom he elects for his grace before they are born, heard him; for he said to that faithful one : «Rise, leave this place in which thou art.» So he arose at that moment; and the irons fell from his feet, and |397 the door opened for him, and he escaped; and none of those who were guarding him awoke as he went out. When morning came, the patriarch sent for Mark, but found that he was gone. And Abba John, though he gave orders to enquire after the fugitive, could not discover him, and therefore was indignant. Then the patriarch appointed a son of his, named Cosmas, and ordained him for the people of Misr; but after a short time he died. And there was a person called Michael, of virtuous life; therefore Abba John consecrated him bishop for them.

And the patriarch was angry with Mark the deacon, because he had escaped and disobeyed his father’s command. So he wrote a letter to the holy father George at Al-Burlus, whom we mentioned at the beginning of this narrative. The letter was written in order to let him know that the patriarch was displeased with his son Mark, on account of his disobedience to his father, and flight from him, and because Mark had lowered the patriarchal dignity in the eyes of the people of Misr. To this the holy George, the prophet, answered, saying : «Let not thy Paternity be angry with thy son because he resisted thee. For thou didst desire to oppose God’s decree, since that which thou didst purpose for Mark was not from God. But God has reserved him, that he may receive thy see and thy primacy after thee.» When the father patriarch heard this prophecy, he marvelled; for he believed all that the holy old hermit said to him. And when Mark learnt this, he returned to the patriarch, and prostrated himself before him and |398 asked his pardon. And he was no longer displeased with Mark, who from that day enjoyed high estimation with the patriarch, and was never separated from him again, but accompanied him wherever he went.

Then the patriarch betook himself to Fustât Misr, on account of the taxes which were imposed upon the Church property; and this was the last time that he went thither. And Satan, the hater of good, contrived that certain persons should attack Abba John. For Satan said : «This old man resists me, and builds churches and memorials; I also will cause his remuneration to be scanty.» There was at that time a governor who hated Christ; and Satan suggested to him that he should demolish some of the churches of Misr. But the Lord who loves mankind speedily took vengeance on that man, and he suddenly died an evil death. And after him there was appointed in his room a person who favoured the Christians. So he directed them to clean out the churches, which his predecessor had begun to pull down; but he did not bid them rebuild. Now the patriarch was at Misr, where he had accomplished all his duties, and was intending to return to Alexandria. But it was the feast of the Lord, the 28th. day of Kîhâk. So the bishops and laity begged him to celebrate the Liturgy for them, and to communicate them, before he separated from them. And this prophecy was current among them, that they should receive the Holy Mysteries from his hand before his departure from this world. |399

And when he entered the church, he saw that it had no roof. Therefore he sighed, saying : «O my Lord and God, Jesus Christ, thou saidst to Peter, the chief of the disciples : I will build my church upon the rock, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against her. And though some of the hypocritical princes have oppressed her somewhat, yet according to thy word she shall never be destroyed. Proud princes like Diocletian and Julian and such as resembled them have been repulsed, but the Church is exalted in every age, and faith is perfected. O Lord, I pray and implore that thou wilt renew the Church by grace, and overthrow all the hypocritical princes that oppose her, and show them their weakness speedily, and bring their counsels to nought. And grant me a governor, seeking the truth, who will command that the churches be rebuilt, and restored to their former condition of decency and beauty, by making thy light to rise among them.»

And while he was praying with these and similar words, he heard, like the blessed David, a voice saying : «As for thee, I will take thee to myself, and give thee rest from the troubles of this world. But he who shall come after thee is he that shall build and restore the churches.» When the patriarch heard these words, he began the liturgy; and as soon as he had finished the service, he communicated the laity of the Holy Mysteries, and gave them the salutation of peace. Afterwards the bishops returned to their dioceses. At that time our father, Abba John, was attacked by fever, and |400 he began to suffer from pains in his head. Now the fathers and bishops hoped that he might attain his desires, and that his heart might be satisfied; and they said to him : «Our father, let not thy heart be troubled because the church is wrecked! The Lord will raise up for it one who will rebuild it, so that it shall be better than it was before, in return for thy prayers and thy holy life.» But the patriarch did not heed their words, for his heart was occupied with the voice that he had heard, telling him that he was about to depart from this world. So he prayed the bishops, saying to them : «Take me to my city, the place which the Lord chose for me, that I may worship the Lord upon the throne of my father, Mark the evangelist, before my soul leaves my body.»

And they obeyed him, and carried him to a boat. And there were with him of the bishops Michael, bishop of Misr, and George, bishop of Memphis. And on the day of their departure from Misr, a new governor, named El-Laith, son of El-Fadl, was appointed over Egypt; and he was a good man and favoured the Christians. And while we went down the river, the patriarch began to address us, as he sat in the boat, saying : «A thought has come into my mind, which I will tell you for the sake of your holy lives; and I will reveal to you what lies hid from you. You know what trouble I have encountered, and how I have endured even to the shedding of blood. But now I am about to be removed to the place where my fathers dwell. For I prayed God not to take me away suddenly without fruit, but to leave me for one year, and to grant to me that I might turn |401 to him with my whole heart, and repent and weep over my sins. And I prayed him to let me see a just governor in the land of Egypt, who would favour the Christians. And God did not refuse me this request, but granted me life for one year, the end of which will be in these few days. And the tidings has reached me that a governor has been appointed, and that he does all that is good to the churches and the brethren. But I am about to depart to God, and you will see me no more in the body; for my time, of which I have been warned by God, is at hand. Therefore listen now. When I am dead, hasten and place him whom God shall choose upon the throne.»

The fathers and bishops, on hearing these words, were assured of the patriarch’s approaching death. Therefore they gave vent to sighs, and could not endure their grief through the abundance of their tears, on account of his saying : «You will see me no more in the body.» And they said to him : «Our father, when God revealed thy departure from this world, of whom did he make known to thee that he would sit upon the throne after thee?» Abba John replied : «It is he whom God has preserved till now, and whom he has chosen to rule his people. I indeed desired to make him a bishop; but it was God’s dispensation to keep him for this ministry. It is, namely, my son, the priest Mark.» This the patriarch said, while they were descending the river on the boat. And when he arrived at the city of Alexandria, his sickness and fever grew heavy upon him. And here is another wonder which God manifested to our holy father, |402 Abba John, and which must not be left unnoticed. For on the 16th. day of the month of Tubah, the feast of the holy martyr Philotheus, which was the birthday of this father, as it is generally related, and also the day on which he was ordained patriarch, —- on that very day he gave up his soul to the Lord.

Abba John remained upon the throne twenty-four years, and his death took place in the year 515 of the Martyrs. So the grief of the orthodox laity was great that day on his account. And when the prayers and the liturgy had been said for him, his holy body was laid with his holy fathers, the Theodosian patriarchs. And the Lord received his pure soul; and he was numbered with the saints in the land of the living. Glory is due to the Lord Jesus Christ and to his merciful Father and to the Holy Ghost, the Giver of life, now and at all times and for ever and ever! Amen.

MARK III, THE FORTY-NINTH PATRIARCH. A. D. 799-819.

Then the two bishops returned in haste to Misr, namely Abba Michael, the bishop of that city, and George, bishop of Memphis, that they might |403 forward the appointment of a successor to Abba John. So when the bishops and orthodox laity assembled at Alexandria, and took counsel together as to whom they should nominate, the bishops said : «We have heard that our father, Abba John, mentioned the name of the priest Mark, and said that it was he that should sit after him.» Then all the clergy cried with one voice : «He is worthy indeed of this rank. He is the saint who has been approved by the Holy Ghost, and was approved by our blessed father John all the days that he remained with him.» Then all the bishops and clergy wrote a letter, addressed to Michael, bishop of Misr, saying thus : «Thy Paternity knows the state of orphanhood into which we are fallen, through the departure of our blessed father, Abba John, to the Lord at this mournful time, and also how the princes are changed. And thy Paternity knows that a flock of sheep without a shepherd is entered and scattered by the wolf, and that every city without a wall is destroyed by the enemy. For this cause we have assembled in the Great Church of Alexandria with the fathers and bishops, and have written with one consent that our hearts approve the priest Mark, that he may be a father to us. For we know that the Lord has chosen him, and that our departed father informed you of this before his death. Therefore we say, as the blessed David said ³⁴ : Instead of the fathers there came sons, whom thou shalt make rulers over all the land.» |404

This letter was conveyed to its destination by some of the bishops and the archdeacon of the city. But when the priest Mark received the news of the letter, which had been written concerning him, he was much grieved, and immediately rose up and fled to the monastery of Saint Macarius in Wadî Habîb. Now the desert was at that time like the Paradise of God, inhabited by holy and spiritual men, one of whom prophesied of this saint that he was worthy of this ministry, as we related above. Then when the father, Abba Michael, bishop of Misr, read the letter, he recalled the words of his teacher, Abba John, the deceased patriarch. Therefore Michael summoned all the chief men at Misr, and they went to the governor. And the bishops, that is Abba Michael and the envoys, entered into the governor’s presence, for he admitted no other. And he said to them : «What is your business?» Abba Michael replied : «We make it known to thy lordship that our father, the chief and father of our religion, whom we had, is dead.» Then the governor asked : «What then do you desire?» They answered : «May God lengthen thy days! There are heavy taxes upon the property of the Church, and therefore we desire to appoint a successor to him, who may administer the affairs of the Church and the people.» Then the governor enquired : «And what is his name ?» They said that it was Mark. So he ordered that Mark’s name should be written in the Divan, and then gave them permission to appoint him in the place of Abba John. And they went out from his presence. |405

After this the bishop, Abba Michael, learnt that the priest Mark had fled. Now the bishop, Abba Michael, was superintendent of all matters concerning the monasteries. So he at once despatched the bishops and clergy, and bade them fetter Mark, and conduct him to Alexandria. And this they did to him on the 2nd. day of Amshir, the feast of the Father Longinus; and Mark arrived at Alexandria on a Sunday. And among the bishops was George, bishop of Memphis.

And Mark was ordained on the aforesaid day in the city of Alexandria. When he had taken his seat upon the evangelical throne, while all the people bore witness of him that he was worthy, then he read before them the Exegesis, which is called among the orthodox the Logos, in which he declared that he was acquainted with their works. And this Logos was full by the grace of the Holy Ghost of the doctrines of the orthodox; and he demonstrated therein how the Council of Chalcedon had fallen and was rejected; and he explained their error as consisting in the worship of a man. He also refuted those who deny the sufferings of Christ our God, who endured them for our sake by his own will in the body, which according to their teaching was a phantom. And when Abba Mark had performed the service of the Liturgy according to custom, he communicated all the congregation of the Holy Mysteries of the Body and the pure Blood. And |406 when all was accomplished, a week after his consecration came the week of carnival; and therefore he departed to the holy monastery, the Monastery of Az-Zajâj, in order that he might live in retirement there for prayer during the days of the Fast. After he arrived there, he received letters from Abba Michael, bishop of Misr, advising him to repair to Misr after the holy feast of Easter, in order to pay his respects to the governor. This was a dispensation from God, because some of the churches were in a state of ruin up to that time, and therefore the people mourned.

Accordingly, when the feast of Easter was over, the father patriarch, Abba Mark, made his entry into Fustât Misr, that he might salute the governor. And when he reached the city, its bishop, the father Michael, and the people were informed of their patriarch’s arrival, and went out to him, carrying books of the gospel and crosses and censers, and met him with great rejoicing and shouting and chanting; and they said : «Happy and blessed is thy arrival amongst us, O Mark, son of Mark.» Then he proceeded to his lodging to rest, for it was the end of the day. And on the morrow the patriarch and the bishop Michael, and the rest of the bishops assembled with them, arose, that they might pay a visit to the governor. And when they reached the governor’s house, and asked permission to see him, the governor commanded that the patriarch should enter. Then he went in and saluted the governor, who welcomed him; and afterwards |407 the patriarch prayed for him; so that the governor admired the sweetness of Abba Mark’s voice and his gracious words and the grace with which he. was surrounded. So God put good will towards the patriarch into the governor’s heart, and he bade Abba Mark sit beside him, and conversed with him on equal terms, and said to him : «Take courage and be of good comfort, for I will perform all thy needs, and enable thee to obtain all that thou desirest of me.» The patriarch answered : «God will exalt thy authority and make thy days prosperous, and bring thy subjects into accord with thy rule.» And he went out from his presence in peace.

When they afterwards considered the governor’s discourse with Abba Mark, and the interest which the former manifested with regard to the churches, Abba Michael, bishop of Misr, said : «We must take measures for the rebuilding of the churches now, because the governor evidently favours the Christians.» Accordingly, on the morrow the patriarch again visited the governor, and saluted him. And the governor showed respect and honour to Abba Mark, and raised him from the ground and gave him a seat, and addressed him as follows : «I told thee yesterday that I would perform all thy needs, but thou hast asked nothing of me. Now therefore, mention to me whatever thou requirest, and it shall be carried out by me, because I have an affection for thee ». Then the patriarch said to him with soft |408 words : «May the Lord preserve thy days, and exalt thee yet more, and increase thy power! Thou knowest that thy servant has not been made ruler over money and revenue, but over souls and churches. I request then of thy highness, —- for we have here churches, some of which were demolished by the tyrant before thy arrival in Egypt; and so the Lord demolished his houses, and cut off his life from the earth. If then thy wisdom sees good to order that we rebuild our churches, so that we may pray in them and intercede for thy highness, the matter lies in thy hands». Then God quickly put it into the governor’s heart that he should give orders for the restoration of the churches;and accordingly all the churches of Fustât Misr were rebuilt. And all the orthodox rejoiced greatly, and praised God for the great mercy which he had granted to them, and their sadness was turned into joy. And our father Mark uttered praises in the spirit, and sang with David ³⁵ : «Blessed is the Lord who has not rejected my prayer, nor removed his mercy from me».

Then Abba Mark returned to Alexandria, and occupied himself with maintaining the unity of the two sees of Alexandria and Antioch. For he wrote according to custom a synodical letter, which was full of all wisdom, and sent it to Cyriacus, patriarch of Antioch, informing him therein of the decease of the father, Abba John, and relating how he himself had taken his seat upon the evangelical throne. And Abba Mark in his epistle reminded Abba |409 Cyriacus of all the heretics, and of the war waged by our fathers for the true Faith, and renounced all schism and all heretics and the impure council of Chalcedon, as being the cause of doubt throughout the world, and abjured the sect of Nestorius, composed of the new Jews. And Abba Mark declared the concord of the two sees, and called Cyriacus Father and Partner in the ministry. This letter he sent by two bishops who understood how to pronounce an oration in Greek, one of them being Mark, the wise bishop of Tinnîs, and the other also Mark, bishop of Al-Faramâ, besides the deacon George, superintendent of the church of Alexandria.

When they had delivered the synodical to the patriarch Cyriacus, and he had read it, he mourned over the departure of the Father John, and rejoiced at the appointment of the father, Abba Mark, and over the holy bishops. And when the letter was read in the church of Antioch, the souls of the people were filled with joy, as they heard Abba Mark’s words and the wisdom, full of spiritual perfume, which flowed from his heart, full as he was of the Holy Ghost; and they blessed the Lord, and praised the fathers who were counted worthy to sit upon the throne of Mark the evangelist. Then they admired the bishops, who had brought the synodical from Egypt, for their comely faces and garments, and their humility, and the eloquence of their speech and the sweetness of their words. And the bishops stayed a few days with the patriarch, until he dismissed them with gifts worthy of the patriarchal dignity; and he sent by them a letter of salutation, |410 glorifying our holy father, the patriarch Mark. When they reached Egypt, and the letter of the patriarch Cyriacus was read in the churches of Egypt, the people glorified God and rejoiced over the union of the two patriarchs, the one with the other.

We will now record another work done by the Lord in the days of our father Mark, that your hearts may rejoice, and that you may know that he resembled the father Severus and Cyril and Dioscorus, those men who repulsed the heretics in their time. There was a community in Egypt named after Barsanuphi, and also called Those that have no head; and this sect continued a long time, from the days of the patriarch Peter, who held the see after Timothy the confessor, in the time of Zeno, the pious prince; and afterwards they remained in their opposition to the truth. Therefore the father Mark, who concerned himself with the salvation of men’s souls, was sad, and prayed to the Lord for them, saying : «O eternal Lord of hosts, unattainable and inscrutable Light, whom none beholds nor approaches, who seest thy creatures drowned in the depths of sin through their disobedience, thou hast offered us salvation by an incomprehensible mystery, and made earth like heaven by thy death and holy resurrection. As the wise |411 Paul says ³⁶ : That he may gather the nations to himself in peace by the power of his Cross, which destroyed the enemy, and announced peace to us, both those that are near and those that are afar off. Who also didst go to the mountain, until thou hadst brought back the sheep that was lost ³⁷, and saved him from the mouth of the cruel wolf, rescuing him not by sword nor scourge, but by thy great mercy. And thou wast not content with his return, but didst summon the heavenly hosts and the sublime orders of the angels to rejoice with thee, saying to them in thy gospel ³⁸ : Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost. Now, O Lord, hear the prayer of thy servant, and let my prayer enter before thee on behalf of these lost sheep; and let the members of thy Church be gathered together, that they may be one fold and one Shepherd according to the true words of the gospel ³⁹». So the Lord heard his prayer speedily, and moved the hearts of the chiefs of that sect. Now their leader was a man named Abraham, whose father in the flesh was a bishop of theirs. And the patriarch taught those two to recognise the error in which the Barsanuphians were living, having left the fount of the water of life flowing from the evangelical see, and dug for themselves a well of error, as the prophet Jeremias says ⁴⁰.So they rose up quickly, and visited the patriarch, Abba Mark the Younger, and cast |412 themselves down prostrate before him, saying : «Blessed is God, who has enlightened us by the teachings of thy Holiness, which have come to our ears, and converted us from the error which has kept us in darkness during this long period of time. Now we shall be reckoned among thy sheep, as children of thy evangelical see, which is the see of Saint Mark». Then when our father, the patriarch, saw that they had abandoned their former tenets, and had returned to the spiritual flock, he rejoiced greatly and glorified God for that conversion, and uttered the praises that were fitting in the words of David, where he praises God in the Psalm ⁴¹ : «When the Lord turned again the captivity of his people, we became as those that are consoled. Let Jacob rejoice, and Israel sing praises!»

And through the grace of God, shining forth in our holy father, the patriarch, he desired to prove and examine the faith of the two men, whether they were humble as befits those that wish to return to Christ, or were clothed with pride on account of the high offices which they had occupied. Then he said to them with humility and kindness : «Hear what was said by him in whom was the fount of mercy, Paul, the sweet-tongued, in one of his epistles ⁴² : What portion has the believer with the unbeliever, and what pleasure has Christ in Satan? Therefore now think not that you two will remain in this office which you hold, and which you received from |413 your heretical sect, without ordination according to the canons. For the Holy Ghost did not come down upon you, as he descends upon bishops at the reading of the canonical prayers, established for them by the apostles.» When the two men heard these words of the patriarch, they replied with humility, through the grace which had come to them by the prayers of the holy father, and said to him : «Our holy father, henceforth we are not worthy to be in office nor to remain in it. But we came to thee that we might be under the shadow of thy prayers. Only there is one thing that we beg of thee, that thou wilt pray the Lord to forgive us the offence of our former error and negligence.» This they said in the power of faith and confession. And they requested him to give them ink and paper, as they sat before him; and they wrote in their own handwriting a declaration that they would never, under pain of anathema, solicit of him a bishopric or any clerical office in any place whatsoever. So when he saw how strong their faith was, and that they had returned to the orthodox belief of our holy fathers, who were clothed with light, he blessed them from the depths of his heart, saying like the apostle Paul ⁴³ : «May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, that you may abound in the right faith by the |414 power of the Holy Ghost!» And according to the custom of charity, and the manifestation of good at all times, and the rewarding of it, God soon declared himself to those two men.

Then Abba Mark commanded that those two men, George and his son Abraham, should be received. And after the patriarch had ascertained their intentions, he ordained them bishops, and read the canonical prayers over them, and clothed them with the episcopal vestments in the church of the martyr, Saint Mennas, at Maryût, on the day of his glorious feast, which is the 15th of Hatûr, when all the orthodox people were assembled to keep the martyr’s festival. And the congregation stood upon tiptoe, that they might see what was taking place. And they glorified God, who performed wonders by the hand of this holy man, saying : «Glory be to thee, O Lover of mankind, who hast saved the souls of these two men from the service of Satan, the seducer.» Then when the patriarch had finished the celebration of the holy feast, he returned to the city of Alexandria, accompanied by all the people with great rejoicing; for they praised him because he had presented this offering to the Lord. And he took those two bishops to himself, and attached them to his person. But after a little while two bishops died among those in the land of Egypt, one of them being Apacyrus, bishop of Tunbudha, and the other, Mennas, bishop of Atrîb. Then the patriarch |415 appointed Abraham to Atrîb and George, his father, to Tunbudha; and these two bishops became his elect ones to the day of their death. Glory be to the Lord Jesus Christ, who rejoices over those that return to life!

The Barsanuphians of Egypt, mentioned above, when they saw that their chiefs had returned to orthodoxy, and that no foundation remained for their community, wrote to Abba Mark, praying him to visit them and consecrate their churches. And when he read the letters, he rejoiced exceedingly, and left all his work, and went in haste to Misr, and consecrated their churches and monasteries for them, and established liturgies for them according to the ecclesiastical rule, and gave them the Holy Mysteries of the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, our God. So there was at Fustât Misr great joy and spiritual gladness.

And the Lord Jesus Christ did for our holy father Mark all that he asked of him. And all the congregations assembled to hear his discourse and his salutary doctrines. Thus after a few days he found that the church which he had consecrated for the Barsanuphians, the followers of that doctrine, would not contain the congregation, when he went thither to celebrate the liturgy. Therefore he called the workmen, and spent money upon it from his own resources, so that it was rebuilt and became a handsome edifice. For this reason it is called the patriarch’s church to the present day. |416

And this wonderful grace increased in his days. But the Enemy would not be patient, when he saw this prosperity and these sublime events, and how the patriarch established the divine precepts in the hearts of the faithful, and the liberation of the captives who returned through his prayers. Therefore Satan discharged his arrows against the Church of the east. For he influenced one of the metropolitans of Cyriacus, patriarch of Antioch, named Abraham, so that he spoke perverse words of the mysteries of Christ, such as we should have no desire to record, were it not necessary, lest the hearing them should defile the ears of the faithful and pure. For I know that you are surrounded by grace at all times through that Light of men, Saint Mark; since by the prayers of our father the evangelist there will never be a lack of grace. The error into which that metropolitan strayed was by blaspheming against the mysteries. Then when our father Mark heard of it, he was greatly grieved and said : «What should we gain if we were at all times of one accord in the faith, when this strange doctrine appears in the Church of Antioch? This grief of mine is on account of the union of the orthodox fathers, to which we and they cleave; and above all on account of Paul’s words ⁴⁴ : «If one member of the body suffers, all the |417 members suffer; and if one member of the body is glorified, the whole body rejoices with it.» This the holy Mark, the patriarch, said, while he was praying to the Lord. And because he cared greatly for the Faith and for union with the Antiochenes, he wrote to the Father Patriarch Cyriacus a letter of which here is a copy : «A report has reached us of the seed that Satan has sown in your holy Church in the error of Abraham. Therefore our Church mourned; and we assembled together on that account, because we never heard before these days of anything out of harmony with our union in the orthodox Faith, and with that which the Lord joined together, when he brought us all into the true light. And now we have become like those who have taken a prisoner, and offered him as a gift to the king; but while he is making provision for him, he is attacked by a strange nation, which takes possession of the captive. But I trust in that king, with whose weapons we are armed to fight his enemies, that he will speedily put his enemies to shame, and deliver the captive from their hands. Therefore, O blessed father, neglect not to seek out the erring one, and feed him with the food with which the sick ought to be fed, namely the word of God. As the teacher Paul wrote to us, saying ⁴⁵ : Receive the weak in the faith, and help them, not with disputations on opinions, but by the exercise of the art |418 of healing. Human bodies are cured by those who understand their sickness. Through proper treatment of the sick, they are restored to health and grow strong. Thou art now a physician of souls, and, by the power of the doctrine of our Lord Christ, thou wilt remove the disease implanted by the enemy. Salutation to our holy and blessed Father! Amen. »

When this letter reached Cyriacus, patriarch of Antioch, he admired the solicitude shown by this holy man, and strove with all his might to bring back that sinner, but had no power over him. For Satan continued to incline Abraham’s heart; and finally a number of his brother bishops in the regions of Antioch joined him, and went astray with him in this error. Then the people of the east called them Abrahamites; and they separated themselves from the Church and the orthodox Synod.

When our father Mark returned to Alexandria, after the building of the church known by his name, the orthodox rejoiced and were all filled with divine emulation. And Solomon, the pious magistrate, and a band of Christians with him, visited our father, and prayed him earnestly, saying to him : «The whole land of Egypt is filled with joy through the building of the churches, especially that church which thou hast built at Misr. And thou, our father, knowest that during the lifetime of our father, Abba John, we begged him to rebuild the church of the Lord and Saviour, and to enlarge it and increase it, because it stands in the midst of the city. But |419 the work was not done, and the church has remained as it was till now. Therefore we ask thee to let us see this joy in thy days.» But the good shepherd answered and said to them : «You know the jealousy of these neighbours of yours. When we begin to do the work that you have mentioned, they will present petitions to the governor against us, and complain of us; and so we shall fall into trials such as we endured many times from them, I and my father John, during the building of the church of Michael the Angel, also called the church of Repentance.» Nevertheless as often as he spoke to them thus, they begged him again and urged him still more, saying : «Thy holy prayers will be a strong wall for us, so that this monument may be completed». And when he saw the strength and ardour of their faith, he consented to their request.

Then Abba Mark gathered together a body of workmen and architects. And he laid the foundation in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And this church stood in the midst of the city. So the patriarch used to rise at the time of prayer and at cockcrow, that he might witness and superintend the progress of the building, as if he were one of the architects; for the Lord had granted him all wisdom. And Abba Mark counted his labour rest, because he loved good works and the building of churches. And while he went on building the aforesaid church, through the grace of the Lord which |420 descended upon him, he adorned it with all kinds of decoration, until it became a sadness to the Chalcedonian heretics, and a joy and delight to the faithful orthodox.

And on the 17th. day of Tût, the feast of the Cross, the bishops who were in the district of Alexandria, with other neighbouring bishops of Egypt, assembled together; and the church was consecrated in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. How great was the joy on that day, with the singing of hymns and pronouncing of blessings and glorifying of God, as the heavenly orders do in the highest! And the patriarch gave large alms on that day to the poor and needy. How many were the works of the glorious father, Mark the patriarch! For they cannot be counted, nor can my feeble tongue describe them.

In those days the father appointed a superintendent over the patriarchal service. But that superintendent was full of jealousy and malice against all men, and especially against a secretary of our father Abba Mark, whom he accused of all wickedness, in order that our father, the patriarch, might cast out that secretary, and commit the care of the church to the superintendent by himself alone. And although our father restrained him, and forbad him to say such words, yet he would not receive the medicine from the physician. So on a certain day, namely the 16th. day of Tubah, when the holy father was about to commemorate the death of the father John, who went to his rest on that day, that wicked man appeared, and began to calumniate the brother and secretary, as Joseph’s brethren did to him. Then the |421 patriarch said to him : «Now is thy malady dangerous. Now we have tried upon thee every means of saving thy soul; but instead of checking thyself thou growest worse. Therefore now let thine injustice rest upon thine own head, as the prophet says in the psalm ⁴⁶». And there was near them a picture, in which the glorious Lady Mary was painted with the Lord Christ in her lap; and it was set up in the chamber where the patriarch sat. So that superintendent looked upon it, and, stretching out a finger of his right hand, he said : «By her power, if I have told a lie in that which I have related, may this picture take vengeance upon me!» Now hear the bitter fate that befell this wretch according to the denunciation of that holy prophet, who spoke with authority. For he uttered against him words full of terror, like the words of Daniel ⁴⁷the prophet to the two old men who contradicted the testimony of the chaste Susanna, saying : «O thou that art grown old in wickedness, the angel of the Lord shall strike thee and cut thee in two, as he did to those who bore false witness against Susanna». And at that moment, when the words which came from his mouth were ended, that wretched man fell at the patriarch’s feet upon his right side, that being the side of his right hand, which he had stretched out towards the picture with evil intent; and he was struck with paralysis of one side, which lasted to the day of |422 his death. Therefore, when men saw this miracle and this terrible occurrence, they all feared the patriarch’s words, which were like the words of the prophets.

Now my lords and fathers, and ye children of the orthodox, I told you at the beginning that I could never give a perfect account of the deeds of my fathers, as the greatness of those deeds deserves; for I am like the gleaner after the reapers. And I have no illuminating wit, because I am plunged in the darkness of my sins. Yet from reliable and truthful persons, who were constantly ministering to our holy fathers, we have heard the narratives which we are relating in part. I will therefore give a further description of that which was manifested by this father, the patriarch Abba Mark, that you may marvel and glorify God for the mercy and compassion which he shows to his elect. As Paul says ⁴⁸ : «For those that love God he does every excellent work».

There was in the time of this saint a great plague of locusts, which appeared in the province of Al-Buhairah and near Alexandria, and devoured all the fruits of the earth and of the vineyards. As it is written in the Psalm ⁴⁹ : «He spoke, and locusts and grasshoppers came, and ate up all the green things on the earth». So the father was sad when he was informed of this calamity. And he bade the orthodox people proceed forth with incense |423 and crosses and books of the gospel, and pray the merciful God to remove from them the wrath which had descended upon them. And the father went out with them and besought God in his heart with abundant tears. Thus they marched outside the city to the place where the locusts were, as Abba Mark directed them. There they saw the locusts, which had flown up high into the air; and there were so many of them that the air was darkened. And the tears of the people were mixed with their prayers. Then the patriarch said : «O Lord of mercy and pity, destroy us not for our sins and offences, but turn away from our transgressions for thy mercy’s sake. As thou didst hear the people of Nineve, hear, O Lord, our supplication, and accept our petition. And as thou didst hear the prayer of Moses in ancient times, and drive away the locusts from the land of Egypt, so hear our request to-day, and look upon the tears of thy people and their sighs which come from the depth of their hearts, and remove this wrath from us». If we did not abhor prolixity, we would fully report all the prayers and humble supplications that they offered, and their ardour and their weeping. And God is the Mighty one, who hears the prayers of his servants, and delivers those that cry to him. How great was that miracle, in no respect less than that which took place in the days of Moses! How great was the power of Christ in our father the patriarch! For at that very hour the locusts flew away over the heads of the people, and afterwards |424 came down again upon the waves of the sea, where they all perished, through his prayers.

Hear now, my fathers and brothers, a thing at which your hearts will rejoice on account of the gift of divine mercy, which God gave to this father. After this event, while he was returning from Misr, and was making a visitation of the people, he passed through a town now called Agharwah, but in former times Aghra. And the clergy came out to meet him according to the custom, that they might chant before him, with a body of the laity, chief men and leaders of the people; and he blessed them and prayed for all of them. And there came out among the others a person possessed by a devil, which threw him down in the midst of the people, and choked him until foam flowed from his mouth. So our father, when he saw that man, pitied him and was sorry, and being filled with the Holy Ghost, said to the people : «Bring him to me.» Then Abba Mark signed that man’s face with the sign of the Gross, and said : «O Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Word of the Father, who didst confound the devils and free thy creatures from them, thou art he whom the devils recognised, and thou art he who didst cast them down to Hell, wherefore they cried ⁵⁰ : What have |425 we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God, art thou come to destroy us before the time when we shall be chastised? Now, my Lord Jesus Christ, drive away this unclean devil, and cast him out of this man!» And when he had said this, the man fell upon the ground, and became unconscious and tranquil as if he were asleep; and when he arose, a moment afterwards, the devil had left him through the patriarch’s prayers. So that man threw himself at Abba Mark’s holy feet, and thanked God for the deliverance thus granted. Then the father repeated to him the words, addressed by Jesus in the gospel to the man with the withered hand, after he healed him : «Thou art made whole, therefore sin no more, lest worse things than this befall thee ⁵¹. And beware how thou goest up to receive the Holy Mysteries, and learn that the punishment which overtook thee was because thou didst communicate of the Holy Mysteries unprepared. Therefore guard thyself from vain words, which come forth from thy mouth.»

You have seen then, my friends, this excellent grace of which our father, the patriarch Abba Mark, was counted worthy, and that by the word of his mouth he cast out devils by command and with authority, like the pure apostles and disciples of Christ. He also anointed many of the sick with oil in the name of the Lord Christ, and prayed over them, and they quickly recovered their health. And if any objector say : «Why did he |426 not cure himself of the painful sickness from which he suffered?», let him read in the scriptures, and he will find that God declares that he tries his elect by sicknesses and trials. So, for example, he tried Job the truthful by leprosy; and Joseph by his being cast into the pit by his brothers; and Daniel with the fierce lions; and the three youths in the furnace of fire; and Isaias with the wooden saw. But the prophets and good men of this class are many, and if we were to relate all that each of them suffered, the volumes would not contain it. For if the shadow of the apostle Peter ⁵² passed over a sick man in the way, he was healed of his sickness; and therefore the sick used to sit in the road which Peter would traverse, and then his shadow passed over them, and they were healed. And Paul ⁵³ had a pustule in his leg, from which he suffered, and which he could not cure; but God only tried him thereby in mercy to him, lest he should magnify himself when he was working miracles in the name of Christ. Simeon, the hermit, also suffered from inveterate ulcers, which he could not cure; although by his prayers he healed the blind, and cleansed lepers, and did many works; and he continued in his sickness three years. And our holy |427 father, Abba Mark the patriarch, continued in his pains twelve years. Yet he used to give thanks to God, saying : «I thank thee my Lord and God, because thou hast counted me worthy of these sufferings like Lazarus the beggar.» And the people and all the land of Egypt remained in peace and prosperity all his days.

But Satan, the hater of good, would not endure patiently, because he saw Abba Mark’s works and wonders, which increased every day. Therefore he began to raise up seditions against the land of Egypt, and there was mourning in every place, including Alexandria. And great trouble came upon the patriarch, such that no man who hears of it can refrain from weeping. Now therefore I will relate to you that which happened.

In those days Hârûn ar-Rashîd had died at Bagdad; and his son Muhammad, called Al-Amîn, sat in his father’s place. The cause of offence was that Hârûn ar-Rashîd before his death had assembled the chief personages of the empire, and said to them : «After me, the caliphate belongs to my son, the lord Al-Ma’mûn.» But when Muhammad al-Amîn heard of this, he was filled with anger, and gathered a host together, and made war upon his brother. But Al-Ma’mûn killed Al-Amîn, and sat upon the throne of the empire. When the strife broke out between the two brothers, a certain rebel arose, and assembled an innumerable army, and kept the road between |428 Egypt and the East. And he robbed those that were journeying to Misr or Upper Egypt or Abyssinia or Nubia of all their goods; so that travelling was interrupted on the roads and all the tracks through fear of him. This attack upon Egypt lasted long on account of the disturbed state of the government of Bagdad. And the insurgents rose against the government in Egypt, and gathered the taxes for themselves. There was among them a man, called Abd al-Azîz al-Jarawi, who seized the land from Shatnûf to Al-Faramâ, with the eastern province of Egypt, Bilbais and its territory. And there was one named As-Sarî, son of Al-Hakam, who took the country between Misr and Aswan. These two men took possession of the revenues. Moreover those that are called Lakhm and Judhâm, the two tribes, seized the western part of Egypt and the districts of Alexandria and Maryût, and ruled over the whole of Al-Buhairah. These two tribes were generally at war one with the other, and plundered one another; and the country suffered greatly from them. So when they reduced the city of Alexandria to extremities, the inhabitants prayed, and implored the Lord’s help, and begged him to deliver them from this tyrannical people.

Now there was in those days to the west of Alexandria a monastery, known as the Monastery of Az-Zajâj, at which there was an aged hermit, endowed with grace to see through the Holy Ghost signs and visions; and his name was John. And he said to the Alexandrians prophetically : «I see that you are distressed by this people. In the same way, believe |429 me, a nation will come from the west, and will destroy without mercy this people and this city, and plunder all that it contains.» And after he had said this, Alexandria was invaded by a host of those who are called Spaniards, laden with much booty from the islands of the Romans. And they continued to make raids from Egypt, as they had done elsewhere, upon the islands of the Romans, plundering them, and bringing the captives to Alexandria, and selling them as slaves. Therefore when our father Mark saw these captives, he was grieved because human beings were sold, as if they were cattle; moreover many of them became Muslims. And because his heart was compassionate he redeemed many of them, such as monks and priests and deacons and virgins and mothers of children, until he had bought as many as six thousand souls. When he purchased one of these prisoners, he wrote a deed of emancipation for him on the spot, and gave into his hand a letter which set him free. And Abba Mark said to those whom he liberated : «If any of you wish to settle with me, he shall be as my son. But to him that desires to return to his native country I will give the means of bringing him to his own people.» And many of them, when they saw his deeds, settled with him. And he placed them with teachers, who taught them the Psalms and the doctrine of the Church. But to those that preferred to go back to their people he gave provisions for the journey and all that they required. Then the report of him and what he did was spread abroad in the kingdoms and among the officials |430 of the various states, and he gained a fair fame among them. Therefore Satan was filled with envy against him on account of his deeds, and brought trials upon him and showed the sting of his wickedness.

There was in the city of Alexandria in those days a governor of high lineage among the Muslims, named Omar son of Mâlik. But the tribes of Lakhm and Judhâm and Madlajah rose against him and sought to slay him, that they might take possession of the city. So they began to fight with him, but could not prevail against him. And there was among the Spaniards a very old man who had come to Alexandria in his youth, and was skilful in all guile and deceit; and he acted as mediator between the tribe of Lakhm and the Spaniards, in order that the latter might assist the former to kill the governor; and they all came to an agreement upon this matter. Accordingly the Spaniards joined the Lakhmites on the 10th. day of Ba’ûnah, in the year 530 of the Martyrs; and, after the old man’s suggestions had been accepted by them, he acted as their guide in this deed. Then they killed the governor and took possession of the city. And that which happened subsequently is such as to sadden and grieve us. For on the day after the murder of the governor, namely the 11th. of Ba’ûnah, there was a quarrel between the Lakhmites and the Spaniards; and instead of peace hostility and war broke out. And there was an encounter between |431 them, and the fighting did not cease till night, when the Spaniards were victorious. When the Alexandrians saw these things, they drew their swords and marched into the streets and lanes and baths and houses, and killed any of the Spaniards that they found in any place; and the number of those whom they slew was eighty souls. When the combatants parted, and the Lakhmites fled, the Spaniards enquired after their comrades; and, having been informed that the Alexandrians had slain them, were filled with fury like fierce lions, for they were very courageous, and drew their swords, and sallied forth raging through the city, and killed all the townsmen that they met, whether Muslims or Christians or Jews. And wherever the Spaniards found one of their comrades who had been slain, they burnt that place with fire. Thus when they reached the church of the Saviour, which is called the Soter and was rebuilt by our father Mark, they found some of their nation lying at its doors, because the Muslims had killed them there in the houses, and carried them out and cast them by the door of the church. This sight exasperated the Spaniards; and at that moment there appeared a wicked old man, looking down upon the street from the roof of the houses; and he was Satan who appeared in that form. And he said to the Spaniards : «I saw the master of this church kill your comrades.» Then they |432 set fire to the church; and the conflagration spread so far that it consumed buildings at a distance from the church.

When our father heard of this calamity, he wept bitterly and was exceedingly sad. For those men slew a countless number of people, and pillaged and burnt many buildings. After this narrative we now desire to speak of the sufferings which entered the heart of our father, the patriarch Mark, especially with regard to the church of the Soter. He lamented in the words of the Psalm ⁵⁴ : «O God, the heathen are entered into thine inheritance, and have defiled thy holy temple. They have turned Jerusalem into ruins like the darkness of a prison. They have made the dead bodies of thy servants food for the birds of the air, and the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the earth, and have shed their blood like water around Jerusalem, and they have none to bury them». Then he descended from his throne, and sat on the ground, and continued this lamentation, as the blessed Job says ⁵⁵: «I was in peace and he scattered me abroad, and stripped my garment from me, and shot his arrows at me». These and similar words he uttered, and did not break his fast that day nor that night; and none could make him sit upon his throne nor even on a mat; but he lay upon the ground mourning. Then at midnight he arose to pray according |433 to his custom. And early on the next day he went out in company with two of his sons. And he said : «O holy city, in which much slaughter has been committed, and of which the enemy has taken possession! O throne on which I believed that I should never sit! O home of my holy fathers, clothed with light, where they died in joy and gladness, while I have become a stranger therein for my sins!» This he said; and then he went forth from the city, and journeyed from place to place, crossing rivers of waters and passing over difficult ground. In this state of distress he remained during five years after his departure from the city, like one who has been taken captive. Yet all this time he used to thank God day and night.

What trials befell the children of the church at that time, and the fathers and bishops, and the chief of the laity! But they used to come to the patriarch, and console him, and consult him; and each of them begged to be allowed to entertain him as a guest, in order to receive his blessing; but he would never consent. And the pious official Macarius, son of Seth, a native of Nebrûwah, was of the diocese of Samannûd. Therefore when he heard what had happened, he arose and went to the residence of Abd al-Azîz, who was in possession of the eastern provinces, and solicited his protection for the father patriarch, Abba Mark, saying : «The tribes which have conquered Alexandria have robbed him of all his goods, and he has left his |434 see, and is come to live beneath the shadow of God and thy shadow. Therefore, if I have gained any favour before thee, write him a letter in thine own name, that he may be encouraged by thy command to dwell in his place in confidence».

Then Abd al-Azîz wrote an urgent decree, as the pious official requested. At that time the official acted the part of Dorotheus, the magistrate of Sakhâ, with whom the holy father Severus lodged until he died; for he sent messengers from his house with the decree of the Amir to the father patriarch, praying him to come and live in the dwelling of that official. So our father the patriarch arose and prayed, and journeyed till he arrived at Nebrûwah. And the official came forth with all his household to meet the patriarch, in honour of his primacy, and, on seeing the father, prostrated himself before him in the power of his faith, saying : «The Lord has done for me to-day a merciful deed in bringing thy Paternity to lodge at the house of thy servant. For I believe that thy coming to us will be a blessing and a healing to our souls». Thereupon he conducted him to the church, with chanting before him, as the rule for the patriarchs is. Afterwards he established him in a place befitting his primacy, in a building erected by that magistrate’s parents, and dedicated to Saint Macarius of Wadî Habîb.

But in spite of all these troubles the holy father did not relinquish his care for the holy churches at Alexandria, and the patriarchate, and the |435 church of the martyr Saint Mennas at Maryût, nor for the union of the separated members of the church of Antioch, who had been led astray by the metropolitan Abraham and his followers. While Abba Mark was taking thought for these matters, the Lord removed the father Cyriacus of Antioch, and he went to his rest. After him an excellent person, named Dionysius, was elected. When he took his seat upon the throne, he began to make gentle advances to Abraham, and brought back many of those who had erred in his company; and they showed signs of repentance, and confessed their error. As soon therefore as our holy father Mark heard of this, he rejoiced greatly, and hastened to write a letter to the father Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, expressing interest in the conversion of the erring. The opening of the letter was thus : «Blessed be the Lord and God of glory, who has never ceased to care for his flock, that is his Church, those whom he bought with his pure Blood and taught at the beginning. Verily thy Paternity will become by his holy name, as he testified of Paul ⁵⁶ : He shall be for me a chosen vessel in my Name before kings and gentiles. So by his holy will he has elected thee especially at this time to which we have been assigned, and which is the end, as the blessed apostle says ⁵⁷. Now I beg thy Paternity to offer many prayers and supplications to the merciful Lord Christ, our God, that he may guide us and his Church, since we are in |436 great poverty; for by his inscrutable decrees he will finish what he has begun». Abba Mark continued : «The gentiles have entered his inheritance, and defiled our holy temples, and made the great city of Alexandria like a prison, through the fighting that has taken place therein between the tribes. At last the slain found none to bury them; and many of their corpses became food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth». Such were the thoughts which he expressed, because these events were like that which is written concerning Jerusalem in the Lamentations of the prophet Jeremias, with reference to the fate of that city after the Resurrection of the Lord Christ, when, in punishment for the sins of the misbelieving Jews, God sent against them Titus, prince of the Romans, the miscreant Magian, to do to them what is described in the second part of the writings of Josephus, son of Cyrtus, who undertook to compile the history of the Jews. «For this reason,» pursued the patriarch, «we quitted the city because of what we had witnessed therein. For they refrained not from slaying and plundering and burning. And there was none to hinder them. Therefore we have chosen to live in exile, and to pray to the Lord Christ our God. These things we desired to make known to thy Paternity. But there is great sorrow on account of those that have separated themselves from the Church, through the fault of him that is called Abraham! |437 Therefore when we heard recently that some of them have sought repentance, and are returning from their errors, we rejoiced greatly, and forgot the griefs which surround us. For if there were unity in the holy Church, and she remained at peace, graces would be doubled among us. Now, my holy Father, we know the mercy of the Lord Christ, our God, who came into the world not for the sake of the good, but for the sake of sinners. Therefore open to them now the door of repentance, and lead them to the way of truth, that the heavenly orders may rejoice at their return, because they are numbered among the children of light».

When this letter reached the father Dionysius, he, as well as the whole Syrian people, was much pleased by the forethought and goodness of our father, Abba Mark. And by this means the patriarch brought back those that had gone astray in those days, when they heard his letter, all but a few who continued to adhere to Abraham, the source of their error, and who are called Abrahamites to this day. So the Church of Antioch rejoiced greatly.

Then the father Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, wrote a synodical letter to the father, Abba Mark, to show him the bond of charity which existed between them, and to thank him for his love and care for the salvation of all men. For this there was great joy in the land of Egypt and in the East, on account of this unity; and they glorified God. |438

But when God’s favour had thus been shown, Satan, the perpetual adversary of peace and supporter of evil, would not endure it. Therefore he began to bring great trouble upon the desert of Wadî Habîb, which is a place where the Arabs dwell. Now the desert of Wadî Habîb had been like the Garden of Eden. But the Arabs plundered it, and took the monks captive, and demolished the churches and the cells there. And the holy seniors were scattered in every part of the world. When therefore the father, Abba Mark, saw such a calamity, this saint and mine of spiritual charity, whence love and faith abounded towards all men, especially those in the holy desert of our fathers, meditated on these things. And he could not bear this grief, but besought the Lord from the depths of his heart, repeating the words of David in the Psalm ⁵⁸ : «My heart is disquieted within me, and in my reins a fire is kindled. O Lord, let me know my end; for my hope is vanished, and I have no harbour of safety where I can be secure. For the joy of Egypt has ceased, and Wadî Habîb, the Holy of Holies, has become a ruin, the dwelling of wild beasts. The homes of our blessed fathers, who passed their nights in prayer, have become the resort of the owl and the dens of cruel foxes, namely this |439 foul tribe.»Thus our father did not cease to weep night and day for the distress and grief which had come, and especially for the ruin of the holy monasteries and their churches.

So when the Lord saw these trials and griefs which this holy man was enduring, he desired to give him rest from the treachery of this world. Accordingly he was attacked by a fever during a few days. Then Mark the evangelist appeared to him in a dream on the 17th. day of Barmûdah, which was the Sunday of Easter that year, and said to him : «Rejoice, O Mark, my trusted successor; rejoice, O champion of the Truth! Behold the Lord Jesus Christ grants thee this favour, that he will transfer thee to his eternal mansions on the day of his holy Resurrection. Be ready to meet him this night, when thou shalt be parted from this body. And this shall be a sign to thee. When thou shall partake of the Holy Mysteries, God will receive thy soul to himself.» Therefore the holy father on awaking said to the bishops sitting with him : «Hasten to celebrate the Liturgy in honour of the Resurrection of Christ our Lord.» But as the fathers and bishops saw him much agitated, they did not wish to leave him; nevertheless, after he had made the sign of the Cross over them, they did as he desired, and said the Liturgy. And when the Liturgy was finished, they brought the Chalice to him; and he partook of the Body and Blood of Christ our God. Afterwards, having said to them : «I |440 commend you all to the Lord», he opened his mouth and gave up the ghost. O how great was that sorrow which fell upon all the orthodox! Thereupon they gathered around his body, and read the appointed office over him, and enshrouded him, and laid him in a wooden coffin, which they placed in the church of Nebrûwah, until God should permit its removal to Alexandria. Abba Mark had occupied the see twenty years and seventy days; and he died on the 22nd. of Barmûdah, in the year 535 of the Martyrs, ruling the holy Church. He wrote during his pontificate twenty one books of Mystagogia, and twenty Festal Letters. And he went to dwell with the Saints in the Land of the Living. Glory belongs to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.

JAMES, THE FIFTIETH PATRIARCH. A. D. 819-830.

Before the decease of the holy father, Abba Mark, the holy desert of Wadî Habîb had been laid waste; and this devastation had so tried the |441 said father, that he besought the Lord to remove him from this world, and not to leave him to the sorrow which he endured for those monasteries, because of what they suffered at the hands of the miscreant Arabs, through their having taken possession of them and driven out our holy fathers who dwelt there, and killed many, and burnt the churches and the manshûbahs ⁵⁹, that is to say, the cells, with fire. In consequence of this slaughter, the monks were dispersed among the cities and villages and monasteries, in the various provinces of Egypt and the two Thebaids. Thus none was left in the cells of Wadî Habîb save a few persons, who chose death, that they might redeem the life of their brothers by their own life, and so inherited eternal life by their endurance. And God protected them, so that none did them any further hurt or injury.

At that time there was in the monastery of our father Macarius a priest, called James, who shed light around him by his conduct. When the devastation of the monasteries began, he quitted them and departed to a monastery in Upper Egypt, that he might serve God there, while awaiting a time when he might return to the holy mountain of Mîzân al-Kulûb, or Wadî Habîb. And the Lord, the Lover of mankind, who knows the hidden secrets, which he reveals to his saints at all times, working his will among them, |442 performed a wonderful thing concerning this holy priest James, whom we have named, since he was counted worthy to receive a revelation. For while he was in his cell at prayer according to his custom, he saw a marvellous vision, in which our pure Lady, the Mother of the Light, appeared to him standing beside his head at night, wearing a great crown, and shining with a very great light, and accompanied by two angels. And the Queen of Truth said to him : «O my son James, what harm have I done to thee? It is I that have brought thee up from thy childhood, and preserved thee till now, since my beloved son elected thee from the time when thou wast in thy mother’s womb, to set thee over his household; and yet now thou hast departed from me. Do not so, but rise up and return to the place which thou hast quitted. For thou shalt be chief over a great congregation, namely those who have been chosen for the place of rest; and that time is near and not far off». Then a great fear fell upon him. But he had not two minds nor any manner of doubt concerning the dream which he had beheld; nay, he rose up quickly, and returned to the holy desert, Mîzân al-Qulûb. As soon as he arrived there, the Lord desired that he should be comforted, and caused the spiritual father Macarius to appear to him, saying : «Blessed is thy coming hither, O thou in whom the Lord has confidence! See now, be not of two minds, and doubt not concerning the dream which thou hast seen, for through thee my sons shall reassemble in their dwellings, from which Satan has scattered them». |443

Thus James continued among the monks who had remained in their places, comforting and consoling them day after day. After he had seen that dream, he grew in devotion and in good works, until he witnessed great and sublime wonders; and all those that saw the light that shone around him knew that God had chosen him. At that time God granted him a wonderful communication. While he was standing in prayer at night, and spending the rest of the night working with his hands according to his custom, fear and dread came over him, and he wept sore. His companions said to him : «What has befallen thee, my holy Father, art thou not asleep?» And he replied : «My sons, my thoughts have been caught up to high places, and I heard things concerning our holy father, Abba Mark, that he would remain patriarch forty years. But afterwards I heard another thing from the Lord, that he will take our father the patriarch to his rest this year. Therefore I wept with a burning heart. Then I prayed the Lord to choose him whom he will seat upon this throne for his merit». After these words he was silent. And only a short time passed after he had seen that vision before the holy father Mark first fell sick of his mortal sickness, as we have related that he prayed the Lord to remove him to himself. And there were with the father Mark bishops, who prayed him humbly, |444 saying : «Our blessed Father, we beg thee to tell us what the Lord has revealed to thee. Who is worthy to sit after thee upon the evangelical throne?» But the holy father would not reveal nor declare to the bishops that he knew aught of this matter, only answering them thus : «The Lord has lighted the lamp, and set it on the candlestick, that it may give light to all in the house, which is his Church». But one of the bishops, in whom was a firm faith in the father patriarch, stood up and began to beg and adjure him, in the name of the Lord and of the holy see, to declare who it was that the Lord had chosen to sit after him upon the throne. Then he answered in a low voice and said to that bishop : «The holy James of the church of our father, Saint Macarius, is the man adorned by his deeds». And he commanded the bishop not to disclose this secret to anyone, and made him swear this for the sake of the Church, that they might see the glory of God perfected in him. After that the holy father died, as we have before related. O the great glory of the throne of Saint Mark the evangelist, and of all that sit thereupon! For by the grace of the Holy Spirit, the Fire, they are chosen and elected through his descent upon each one of them. As the Lord said to his disciples and apostles ⁶⁰: «Behold, I am with you all days even unto the end of the world». |445

Now I would recount to you a few of the deeds of the holy James, the priest, while he was a monk, before he was ordained priest, and before he sat upon the throne, if I did not know my incapacity, and that I cannot at all attain to an adequate description of the magnitude of his actions, and of the glory of the Trinity which surrounded him. For this reason I will abridge my discourse. As for his ordination and that which he endured at first, those things were a profit and a blessing to all the orthodox.

When our father, the patriarch Abba Mark, went to his rest, the Church and all the people mourned for him deeply, and above all the God-loving city of Alexandria, because they missed the sight of their father among them, and because of his absence from them. After a time the fighting and conflict ceased in Alexandria and Egypt, and among all the tribes of the Spaniards and Lakhmites and Madlajites. Then the people began to pray and beseech God to remember his Church, which he bought with his Blood, and to show them their shepherd, who should feed and console them in their trouble. So the bishops and the Christ-loving laity gathered together, to seek one who was worthy of this degree. And they mentioned many names, and among them that of the illuminator, James the priest. This was a dispensation from God, who placed this name in |446 their mouths because James was the one worthy of this primacy. Then the blessed bishop, to whom the deceased patriarch Mark had spoken of James, the pillar of light, mentioned this fact, and made the secret known to the assembled bishops. Therefore they cried with one voice : «He is worthy, he is worthy, he is worthy, whose deeds are as the deeds of the angels. He is of earth, and yet he is of heaven». So they hastened, and came to the desert, to the church of Saint Macarius, and took the priest James suddenly, before he knew. And they conducted him to the city of Alexandria, while he wept, saying : «Blessed is the Lord! Alas for me, who am unworthy of this great honour! For I am unfit for this office and the great glory to which I am promoted». And he prayed God the whole of that night and day to remove him from this world, before investing him with this dignity. And behold, while he was weeping and praying for this release, he saw a wonderful dream, as he often did; for God consoled him, and said to him, as he said to Jacob ⁶¹, the ancient father : «Fear not James, for behold I go with thee to Egypt; and I will strengthen thee and be with thee in thy conflict, that thou mayest deserve the crown like thy militant brethren Severus and Dioscorus, whose life thine own resembles». Then he awoke trembling. Afterwards he was brought |447 into Alexandria, and consecrated archbishop with full authority and valid ordination. And he was counted worthy of this —- that an aged monk, who had come out of the desert, when the open book of the gospels was held over the head of Abba James, beheld two forms, one of them like the picture of Dioscorus and the other like that of Severus, which grasped the gospels on this side and on that; and the name of the patriarch James was between them. After he had witnessed this wonder, and while he was thinking upon it, he saw men conversing together, who said : «This man’s conduct indeed resembles the conduct of these two men».

O my fathers, the life of this saint was virtuous like the life of the holy Severus! Moreover Abba James was an admonition to the heretics, because they stood in awe of him, and because of the excellence of his faith, and his confession and his office; and they held his words in reverence. For when he was enthroned, he delivered an admonitory discourse, in which he anathematized all the banished heresies, and the impure council of Chalcedon, and the Phantasiasts, that is the Gaianites, who deny the |448 lifegiving Passion of God the Word, which he accepted in the flesh. On a certain day the patriarch communicated the people, and then came to his residence. Now it was the custom of the Alexandrians that the heretics used to pray with them, in order to see their festivals and the glory of the patriarch. And they used to do this, that the orthodox might show the glory that God had given them to the heretics, and the works which he manifested for his people of the fathers, who came and sat upon the throne of Mark the evangelist. So the heretics did the same thing with the father and patriarch James; for a company of them were present, and saw him full of the grace of the Holy Ghost, while they were mixed with the orthodox. Thereupon he exclaimed, like Paul the apostle ⁶² : «What fellowship has truth with error, or light with darkness? Or how does Christ agree with Satan? Or what share has one that believes with a heretic?» Then he added : «Let these heretics and their congregation remain far from this faithful and blessed assembly! For as they have no share with us in spiritual things, so they shall have none in material things!» So all the heretics went out in shame and confusion through |449 the door of the church. And there was among them a rich man, who had been set over the collection of the taxes at Alexandria at that time, and had authority and superintendence among the Spaniards. Therefore that man quickly departed, and informed the superintendent of the revenue of what had happened, and accused the father patriarch, Abba James, declaring that he had excommunicated them. The heretic, on hearing this, was filled with wrath against our father, the patriarch, and uttered violent words, and sent a message to the father, saying : «I will make thee turn round in the church, when thou sayest Peace be with you, and not find a person to answer And with thy spirit». But our father, when he heard these words from the heretic, answered by the grace of the Holy Ghost thus : «Well did Isaias ⁶³ prophesy against this heretic, saying that his wrath and fury and imagination should return upon his own head. And thy violence and anger have come up to me, and therefore I will fasten thee with a bridle between thy lips. And he shall not remove from his place till this judgment be executed upon him; and so his fate shall be. And I tell you truly that I shall not enter the church of the Lord before God shall swiftly carry out this sentence upon him». After that, a lawsuit was brought against this man, and he was put to death, and everything that was in his house was seized, and nothing was left that belonged to him. Therefore, when the heretics of Alexandria saw this wonder that had |450 taken place, and the fulfilment of that which was said by the father, who was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, not one of them could say a word against him. And their own patriarch respected and feared him, and would not oppose him. And the good works of Abba James increased and grew more than those of his monastic days. And he did not look for the praise of men, but worked the works of God; and his mind was set on high like that of Paul the apostle ⁶⁴, who did not cease to proclaim and preach the name of Jesus Christ, and to praise God.

And Abba James said to his people : «I hear that there are among you vain idlers. But I pray you to do your work quietly, and eat your bread, according to the words of the apostle Paul ⁶⁵ : I served with my own hand, and was not a burden upon you. And it is good to improve the lot of the needy». And he did not take from anyone, and little of this world’s goods sufficed him; nor did he take up arms against misfortunes, as men do; but he ate his bread with tears. Yea, his works shone forth in his face. And all that he asked of God he gave him. And his word was sharper than a two-edged sword.

Now I will inform you, my brethren, that in the days of this blessed father, Abba James, there was a near relation of his, named Macarius, who loved Christ; and he was a prominent official at Nebrûwah. This man, |451 when he heard that Abba James had been enthroned, rejoiced greatly, and glorified God who chooses his elect, and increased in almsgiving and in charity towards his brethren, and sent to Alexandria what was needed by the churches, on the ground that he was a kinsman of the patriarch. And Macarius honoured the bishops and respected them.

But famine and plunder began to reappear at Alexandria; and the patriarch could not find that which he was wont to give to the churches, for nothing was left to him. And the visits of the faithful from all parts to the church of the martyr Saint Mennas at Maryût were interrupted; and with them the patriarch used to trade. The cause of all this was the war and fighting that took place between the Egyptians and the Madlajites and Spaniards; and the scene of these disturbances was at Alexandria. And there was a deacon, named George, who was one of the chief of the clergy of Alexandria, and superintendent of the church of Alexandria. But he began to speak against this father, Abba James, and even said to him : «Thou shalt give us what we need according to custom, or else go back to the desert whence thou earnest». When the father patriarch heard this rebel speak thus, and perceived that he stood in no awe of the patriarchal dignity, but increased in his insolence, he said to him : «Henceforth thy foot shall never again enter through this door into this chamber». And the deacon went out in great wrath from his presence, and departed to |452 his own house, and did not beg for absolution from the holy father, nor did he repent. And a fever, accompanied by shivering fits, attacked him; so that they had to hold him on account of the violent convulsions which seized him; and he died on that very day. When the patriarch was informed, he lamented deeply, and prayed God to absolve the soul of the deacon George from the bonds of excommunication with which he was bound, and to absolve him also from sin. And from the day on which that deacon died, death and dissolution visited all his household, and none of them has remained to this day. Therefore when the multitude saw this wonder, and that the word of Abba James had authority like that of the apostles, they were awestruck, and trembled with tear; and none dared to rebuke him, for he was among them as a prophet.

On the approach of the Forty Days, the holy fast, the father resolved to visit the desert of Saint Macarius, that he might comfort and console the brethren and monks, and remain among them till the feast of holy Easter, as the custom of the patriarchs was. When he reached the desert, the monks rejoiced, and met him, crying : «Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord». And all the fathers and seniors came from their caves and from |453 the mountains, running like deer which long for the waterbrooks ⁶⁶. And they received his blessing with great gladness. And this desert was like the Paradise of the Lord, through the prayers of the father patriarch and the assistance of the baptized Egyptians. The patriarch had a great affection for the desert, more than the monks had. And he acted there as Cornelius⁶⁷did in his time; for he sent a message to all the fathers and to the cells, saying : «If anyone need anything for his cell, let him come and take it». For the barbarians had robbed them of all their goods, and wrecked the churches, and burnt the cells with fire. So when the monks came together again, they praised the Lord for the renewal of his favour upon them, and glorified God for these mercies. The father also rejoiced, seeing that the doves had returned to their former nest. In the days of his priesthood he had begun to build a sanctuary in the name of Saint Sinuthius, to the south of the sanctuary of Saint Macarius; and there the monks began to assemble instead of the ruined churches. Now he finished it, and restored the other churches. And they praised and glorified the Trinity, as the angels do.

But when Satan saw this, he roared like a lion, and prepared arrows to discharge against the patriarch and the Church. Now the patriarch had at that time a deacon, who was attached to him for his service, and who did |454 what he liked without taking advice. This deacon punished one of the disciples by a severe beating for something that he had done; and the blows were so many that the disciple died. And this accident was caused by the snares of the Enemy, the Devil. When therefore the Madlajites, the protectors of the monastery, heard of this crime, they seized the father patriarch, and troubled him on account of the death of that person, and demanded of him that he should deliver the deacon to them, that they might put him to death in retaliation for the murder. But the father strove hard to save the life of the deacon, whom he had brought up from his youth, and had intented to promote to a higher degree among the clergy. Thereupon the Madlajites, seeing that the father was greatly interested in that deacon, and would not give him up to them, grew violent in their demand, and required a large sum of money. But the patriarch had nothing with which to satisfy them, and therefore the bishops and the God-loving people assisted him, and contributed a sum of money, and so saved him from the hands of that tribe.

After this the blessed father James departed to Upper Egypt, to make a visitation of the people and the monasteries. And whenever the people and the monks came out to meet him, they glorified God, saying : «Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord». And they marvelled at his works, |455 and said : «Blessed is our father, the new Elias». He remained among them a few days, and then returned. But they continued to boast of his deeds and excellent virtues.

And our father remembered the unity and charity and bonds between himself and Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, and desired to see him either by bodily presence with him or by interchange of letters. But he was hindered in this by the wars, carried on in the land of Egypt and on the roads to Syria; for they lasted fourteen years. And ho used to pray God to confirm the love between the two glorious sees, the Alexandrian and the Antiochene; and he implored God to join them together by personal intercourse and by letters. And God did not disregard the prayer of this father, but granted it by allowing him to behold the father Dionysius in the body. I will give you an account of this event, and of the trouble and distress that came upon the land of Egypt and upon the father James, the patriarch.

The Spaniards had possession of Alexandria, and Abd al-Azîz al-Jarawi ruled over part of the country. And the father was praying and weeping over the devastation of the land and the long continuance of the wars and fighting, and because the bodies of men became food for the birds of the air, and because Al-Jarawi did not cease to slay the people and take their goods. Al-Jarawi used to bury in the ground by night the money that |456 he had seized; and when he had buried it, he killed the men who had helped him to bury it, so that none might be left, who knew where his buried treasures lay. So in him the words of the prophet Michaeas ⁶⁸ were fulfilled, where he says : «These are they that meditate evil and wickedness; for they raise their hands to this, and take fields, and oppress orphans, and seize a man and his house and his heritage. Therefore, saith the Lord, I will bring evil upon their tribes, and what they purpose shall not be accomplished». For the judgment of God, the high and mighty One, came upon this man in the following way. He had collected the wheat from the whole of Egypt, and stored it in the granaries which were under his own authority, saying : «I will cause a dearth throughout Egypt, and gather in their money, as Joseph’s Pharao did, so that all my adversaries will submit to me.» And he did this, and there came a great dearth, so that wheat reached the price of a dinar for one waibah. And he refused to send wheat to Alexandria, aiming at the destruction of the Spaniards, who had taken possession of the city. So a waibah of wheat was sold at Alexandria for two dinars and one dirhem; and the people in the land of. Egypt found nothing to buy, and therefore they perished, especially at Alexandria. Then that proud man heard that the people had perished, and he opened his mouth and said a word, |457 which God did not say : «I will make them sell wheat at a kadah for a dinar». But in him the words of the prophet Nahum ⁶⁹ were fulfilled, where he says : «God declares : To me belongs vengeance upon my foe, and I will destroy my adversaries and my enemies swiftly». For the Lord pitied the sighs of men, and the dearth which he beheld, and the condition of the people, and took vengeance on that man Abd al-Azîz, as we will now relate. For he departed with his army to Alexandria, to fight the Spaniards; and they fled from him within the walls, and shut the gates. And the blockade lasted until they were driven by hunger to devour the flesh of their horses. Meanwhile Abd al-Azîz was beating upon the walls with catapults, in order to demolish them; and it was his intention to destroy all the inhabitants of Alexandria with the sword. At the same time he was in pursuit of the patriarch, to whom he had sent a message, in order to intercede for a certain person, and to request the patriarch to make that person a bishop. But the patriarch refused to break the canon of the church. Nevertheless the pious Macarius, seeing how angry Abd al-Azîz al-Jarawi was, wrote to the father patriarch, and begged him to ordain that person bishop; and the patriarch consented to do so. Still Al-Jarawi was eager in pursuit of the patriarch, and declared that he would demolish the churches and slay the bishops everywhere, if the patriarch would not meet him. Then Macarius, |458 the magistrate of Nebrûwah, having heard of this threat, wrote a letter to the patriarch, saying : «Thou canst not avoid consenting to an interview with this man; for otherwise he will destroy the churches and kill the people». Macarius also swore to Abba James, saying : «I will give all my money for thee, that thou mayest suffer no distress». Thereupon the patriarch repeated the words of the prophet Isaias : «My life is not precious to me, but belongs to God; therefore let the Lord see to my salvation, for I trust in him, and fear not what men can do to me ⁷⁰». So he went out to meet Abd al-Azîz. And there was with them a priest, who loved God, named Joseph, of the church of Saint Macarius; and this priest was counted worthy to sit upon the apostolic throne; and we shall record his virtues in this history. So while the patriarch was on the way, after he had finished his prayers, he said to the priest Joseph : «I trust in God, my son, that this man will not see us, nor we see him alive». And when morning came, a stone from the wall fell upon Abd al-Azîz, and his eyes were struck out of his face, and the top of his skull was fractured, and so he died. Thus on him was fulfilled the word of the prophet Zacharias ⁷¹ : «He purposed evil, but did not attain to the performance of it». And he was extricated from the stones; and when his companions saw this, they carried his body away, and buried it in one of the hamlets. And they stopped their noses for the odour of him and the stench of his corpse. And when the news came to the |459 father, his friends who had been with him glorified God; and, as they had heard what he said to them before the event, they exclaimed : «Our father, what thou didst foretell has been accomplished!» He answered : «My children, God has punished this man thus, because he desired to kill human beings by starvation».

Then the son of Abd al-Azîz became governor after him, and his name was Alî; and he did not act according to the deeds of his father. So there came a great abundance, such that men forgot the dearth, from which they had suffered. Therefore they said : «We praise thee, O God, on this day according to the words of the prophet Isaias ⁷². For thou hast been angry with us, and then didst turn thine anger from us and have mercy on us ; for thou art our Lord and our Saviour, and we trust in thee». At that time God looked upon the dispersion and separation of the monks, the sons of Saint Macarius, in every place, and so he brought them back to their holy dwellings. For this cause the father patriarch gave thanks to God, and glorified him, saying like the prophet David in Psalm ⁷³ 83 : «Thou hast brought us back to life. Thy people rejoice in thee. Show us, O Lord, thy mercy and grant us thy salvation». And again : «He speaks peace concerning his people and his saints». Now the father, Abba James, saw |460 that the sanctuary of Saint Sinuthius was not large enough to contain the congregation of the monks; and therefore he rebuilt the church which is named after Saint Macarius, and which is the sanctuary of Benjamin. For it was in a state of decay, but Abba James adorned it with every kind of ornament, and, when it was completed, he consecrated it on the first day of Barmûdah. And this edifice became a monument to the patriarch, and a glory to the Lord.

Now Macarius of Nebrûwah, the magistrate, desired to see the father patriarch and congratulate him in his own dwelling, and therefore came to his house. A son had been born to Macarius, in whom he took delight; and he remained with the patriarch, and gave large alms, and did works of charity. And it was God’s purpose to glorify the patriarch on this occasion; and so he manifested the following miracle. For after a few days the child fell sick and died. Then his father took him in faith, and brought him to the patriarch’s cell, like the ruler of the synagogue, whose daughter Christ raised. And the magistrate said to the patriarch : «Help thy servant, for my son is dying». The patriarch replied : «Bring him to me». So he brought the child, and the patriarch received him, and made the sign of the Cross on his breast and heart and forehead, saying : «O Lord Jesus Christ, who givest life and bestowest grace from thyself, restore this infant to life for his father». Thereupon the breath of life returned to the child, and he |461 opened his eyes and moved his hands and feet. So our father said in a loud voice to Macarius, the father of the child, as the Lord Christ said to the ruler of the synagogue : «Thy son is not dead, but was asleep». And when the magistrate saw this great miracle, he was struck with profound awe of the patriarch, and glorified God, who works wonders among his saints. And at that hour the magistrate increased in his almsgiving and doing good; and his alms flowed from his hands like a running and overflowing river, and he gave a third of his wealth to the widows and orphans, and clothed them with garments, and did all that it was right to do. And a report of these things reached the city of Jerusalem, whither Macarius the magistrate sent, and built a church there, which is now to this day the place of refuge of the orthodox, and of those who make pilgrimages to that city, in order to pray there. Macarius built this church as a monument of himself for ever; and it is called the church of the Magdalene. Therefore God blessed the work of his hands, and doubled his wealth, as he did to the holy Job. Moreover it was God’s will to show this man a great and wonderful mystery for his abundant faith and charity, that God might give him the hope of eternal life. And on a certain day Macarius took an oath that he would carry out two resolutions, namely that he would never repulse any one who begged of him, nor shut his door in the face of any one.

Hear now what happened to him! He used to put faith and hope in the |462 intercession of Saint Theodore, who guided him in his conduct, and satisfied his wants. Now under the caliphate of Hârûn ar-Rashîd the taxes which Macarius had to pay were very heavy, because of his large fortune and extensive possessions. So he left his home and went to the prince, in order to pay what was due from him, and was away so long, that he spent all the money that he had with him. For Macarius did not refrain from almsgiving, and could not have an interview with the prince. But there came a day when Macarius was proceeding to the prince’s palace, and he perceived on the way a large mansion, highly adorned, which he had not seen before that day. So Macarius said to his servants : «We have missed our way, for we have never seen this house on our road before to-day». And he became like a person bewildered or without his senses. Then he beheld a shining personage, resembling one whom Macarius knew in Egypt, who came out of the house, and said to the official : «O Macarius, many days have passed since thou camest hither, and yet thou hast not visited me». And the magistrate, in the presence of those who accompanied him, answered his acquaintance, who approached and embraced him; and they kissed one another. And the master of the house took the magistrate’s hand, and led him into the building through many doors, and brought him into a chamber containing much money, which looked like kings’ treasures, and said to him : «Take all that thou needest for thy expenses, and when thou shalt return to thine own country thou shalt repay me. Moreover today I will accomplish what thou requirest with the prince, and do all that |463 is necessary for thee». Accordingly the official, having received the money from the house of that bright being who was conversing with him, went out and handed it over to his servants, who had accompanied him and were standing at the door. And the man mounted his horse, and rode off in haste before the magistrate. So as soon as the latter approached the palace, the courtiers began to call for him, saying : «Where is Macarius, the Egyptian?» Then they took his hand and led him to the prince, who addressed him, saying : «Ask for all that thou needest and whatever thou requirest, so that I may accomplish it for thee this day». So the prince brought to pass that which Macarius desired. But the shining personage, who had accosted him, after having conducted him through the palace, and brought him outside, disappeared from beside him. The magistrate, seeing him no longer, supposed that he had returned to his own house, where the two friends had first met one another. When, however, Macarius reached the spot where the mansion had stood, he found no trace of it at all. Thereupon the man gazed around, and lost his understanding for a moment. But after a time he comprehended that his benefactor was the great martyr Theodore, the commander of the troops, who had acted thus because Macarius had a devotion for him. Therefore Macarius glorified God and increased in charity and almsgiving and good works, and remained steadfast in this way of life until God removed him from this world.

Now let us proceed with the history of the patriarch Abba James. For |464 our only purpose in relating these incidents in the life of Macarius, the magistrate, was to show the value of the orthodox laity, since God does not desert them in this world nor in the world to come. As Paul the apostle says ⁷⁴ : «Cease not to do good, so that thou mayest reap what thou hast sown. As long therefore as our time lasts, let us do good to all men, especially to our brethren, the people of faith». Again he exhorted Timothy, his son, saying to him more concerning the doing of good to the faithful. For he writes ⁷⁵ thus to him : «Charge the rich of this world that their hearts be not proud, and that they set not their hope and trust on the rich, for there is no profit in riches; but let their trust be in God, who gives us all things richly; and let our actions be good, and let our riches be in laudable works, that we may be upright and loving, so that we may have a firm foundation in the time to come, and may lay hold on the true life». Therefore accept my excuse, and hear from me the remaining deeds of this holy and inspired father, who was a prophet, and to whom God granted the gift of seeing hidden things from afar.

When God remembered the sick land of Egypt, that he might make wars to cease therein, he revealed the matter to the holy father, that it was near and not far off. So Abba James, as he had learnt that his archdeacon was |465 acting against his will in certain matters, called him and said to him : «My son, a governor will come soon to the land of Egypt, and rule over Misr and her chiefs and over Alexandria and all her province. Therefore when we come to Alexandria with the peace of God, beware of listening to any man, or of raising thine eye to anything that belongs to this world. For in that case thou wilt sin against the works of God, and we shall be abased before the heretical tribe, which God has abased before us with their wicked leader. Know then that if thou shalt neglect my advice, the Church of God will fall into great trials». Shortly after he had said this, there came to Egypt from the prince of the Muslims an Amir, named Abd Allah son of Tâhir, who was a good and merciful man in his religion, and loved justice and hated tyranny. Therefore God subdued all rebels under him, and humbled before him the tribe of the Spaniards who were at Alexandria. And he remained some days in Egypt until public affairs were settled.

Now let us return to the story of Abba James and his relations with Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch. Abba James had been unable to send a synodical letter on account of the wars in Egypt and the East. In this way the father patriarch Dionysius, since he was hearing of the works of the father patriarch Abba James, desired to salute him, while he was still in the body. Therefore when this Amir, on his way to Egypt, made an |466 agreement with the patriarch Dionysius, he travelled in his company as far as this country. Our father, Abba James, on seeing Dionysius, rejoiced with a great spiritual joy, and met him with the best of welcomes. And the whole land of Egypt exulted when those two beheld one another. And the Egyptian clergy chanted before them from the words ⁷⁶ of David : «Mercy and justice have met together, truth and peace have come to us». Then the father Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, remained many days with the father, Abba James the patriarch, that each of them might be satisfied with the holiness of the other. But the bishops of Egypt began to lay complaints before the father Dionysius concerning the archdeacon of our father Abba James, «because he imparts to him all that we undertake or say». Upon this the father Dionysius began as one who wished to remind this holy man, Abba James, that he should reprove the archdeacon, and that he ought not to be a cause of distress to the bishops, nor to address them unless he were required by the canons to do so. But when the pillar of light, Abba James, heard this, the spirit of prophecy flowed forth from him, and he said to the father Dionysius : «How could the bishops send this message, and accuse one who is the elect of God and preaches him? But blessed is he, like him who worked for one hour in the vineyard ⁷⁷, together with him |467 who had worked eleven hours, and received the wages for the whole day». When the patriarch Dionysius heard the words of the father, Abba James, and saw the Holy Ghost shining forth in his face, he prostrated himself before him and said, like the prophet David ⁷⁸ : «As we have heard so have we seen. I believe that I have beheld a man who holds with God the post of intercessor for the land of Egypt». Then he prayed our father the patriarch James to let him depart to his see. So Abba James gave him splendid gifts in proportion to his primacy, and then with the bishops bade him farewell in peace, glorifying and blessing God, because they had witnessed his holiness and comeliness and dignity and chastity. And when Dionysius reached the East, the land of Syria, he discoursed on what he had witnessed of the holiness of our father Abba James, and thanked the Lord Jesus Christ, who glorifies his elect.

The Amir Abd Allah, son of Tâhir, on arriving in Egypt, appointed an Amir, who was one of his companions, as governor of Alexandria and collector of taxes there and in the neighbouring districts. And the name of him whom he thus nominated was Elias, son of Yazîd. At that time the |468 deacon of our father James, mentioned above, neglected the advice which he had formerly given him, namely that he should not raise his eyes to any of the things of this world, for he went to certain villages and levied a rate upon them, thinking that he would gain something for the Church thereby. For he did not know that the prophecy of the father James would be accomplished; and therefore both the father and the deacon fell into great sorrow through the taxes which they were compelled to pay, when they had not the means of paying them. And the blessed father repeated to that deacon the words of Paul, the wise apostle, saying : «It was not right for thee, my son, to make for thyself an argument, but to obey what I enjoined thee to do, in faith and love of the Lord Christ. Hast thou not heard, my son, what Paul said ⁷⁹, that those who desire to be rich fall into trials and errors and foolish longings, which do not profit at all, but cast men into destruction and perdition? For the root of all evil is the love of money, which many have loved; and so they have gone astray from the faith, and drawn upon themselves great cares». Thereupon that deacon wept and begged the patriarch to pardon his disobedience.

Now that Amir began to act harshly towards the father in demanding taxes when he had nothing with which he could pay, as we related, through |469 the poverty of the Church, arising from the interruption of the pilgrimages to the church of Saint Mennas, the Martyr, in consequence of the continual wars. When Abba James found no means of paying the taxes, he brought forth the vessels of the church, to give them to the miscreant tribe. But the Lord, who loves mankind and shows his wonders at all times in his Church, and makes her victorious over princes in all ages, manifested a miracle, at which we must marvel. While the Amir was sitting one day that he might break up the vessels, and the goldsmith was breaking up one of the holy chalices, much blood flowed over his hands, like the blood of a Lamb ⁸⁰ that had been slain. So when they saw this miracle, great fear fell upon them, and the Amir and all these that were present were afraid. And the Amir commanded that none of those vessels should be broken; and after that he feared to place them in his treasury, and therefore he ordered that they should be restored to the father. But he demanded the taxes with greater severity than before, and the patriarch was in great difficulties before he could pay the taxes that he owed.

Afterwards the Amir in the city of Alexandria was removed, and departed to his own country, where he was attacked by a mortal sickness. Many days later he remembered the great miracle of the issue of blood from the Chalice; and at that time he commanded his sons with insistence to send |470 to Egypt the money that he had taken from the patriarch, that it might be handed over to him who should be found to be patriarch of Alexandria. So his sons obeyed him. And this miracle was accomplished in the days of one who deserved that it should come to pass in his hands, as we will show to your charity at the end of this history.

Now hear another wonder which was also manifested in the days of this holy man, Abba James, the patriarch. While the Amir Elias was governor of Alexandria, a bishop, who held the see of Fau in Upper Egypt, died; and a person was sent to the patriarch, that he might consecrate him as successor to the deceased. But this man feared lest God should make his conduct known to the patriarch, who would then refuse him. Therefore he went to the Amir, and gave him money, and prayed him to command the father patriarch, Abba James, to appoint him. In consequence of this the Amir requested that the appointment might be made; but the father patriarch refused, because his faith and his attachment to the canons were strong. Those that were present, however, asked him, saying : «Wilt thou consent to the request of the Amir, lest evil befall both thee and the Church?» Thus they did not cease to cajole him until he appointed that man. But when the newly made bishop departed, Abba James uttered concerning him the following words, like those of Peter to Simon the Magician in his time; for he said : «In the place where this bishop expected to gain wealth, he shall disappear after a little while, and the wealth which he has acquired |471 shall be far from him». And when that bishop drew near to his diocese, he fell sick on the way; and he died before he could see his diocese. Who now will not fear these wonderful works, and glorify God, who shows them forth in this chosen one? But if we were to record a few out of the many miracles and the noble struggles that we have heard related of this holy man, the account would be long. And we cannot explain such things, because our darkened understanding is too weak to deal with them. Yet we will relate what must be related, and describe the end of his conflict, for the profit of those that listen, and as a blessing to them.

When Abba James proceeded to the eastern provinces, to visit the churches and the people, and came to a village called Bait Tashmat, they brought to him a young man possessed by a devil, which had made him dumb and deaf; and they begged the patriarch to lay his hand upon him. Then the father took a little oil from the lamp which hung over the bones of Saint Severus, and anointed the youth therewith, making the sign of the cross on his face and ears, and saying : «In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, who delivered his creatures from the service of Satan, may this young man be healed, and may the bonds of Satan be loosed from him!» And the young man was healed on the spot, and his mouth and ears were opened, and he both spoke and heard; and all that saw him marvelled, |472 and glorified God in truth. Now this father was in his holiness like the disciples, through the trials that he endured and the miracles performed by him; for he brought the dead to life, and cast out devils, and cured many that were sick. And our Lady, the Mother of the Light, appeared to him before he became patriarch, and the Lord Christ also, and the Saints whom he was counted worthy to see.

Then Abba James desired to remain a few days in the city of Tandâ, when he passed by it. And when he stayed there, one of the bishops, an honourable and trustworthy man, bore witness to us, saying : «I went to him, to pay him a visit and receive his blessing. And when I stood at the door of his chamber, I heard him say something in a low voice; and the words were : O my Lady, Mother of my Lord, I pray thee to pardon me, for I am ready to carry out what thou commandest me, and to observe it to my last breath». The bishop continued : «And when I was intending to show myself through the door within which he was, and before I could enter, he cried aloud at what he saw, and I was afraid through my respect for his dignity, and turned back. But I heard him say : God pardon thee, my brother, for having hindered me from beholding the glory and light of my Lady, and allowed her to depart from me.»

After the blessed patriarch had seen these great mysteries which were shown to him, he bore witness that no patriarch sits upon this throne except |473 those whom God chooses, but that Satan resists their advancement and hinders their doing good. There are indeed men who say in their hearts : «If we advance so far as to receive this degree, that is on account of our birth». But it is not so, for it is the Lord of glory who chooses. And the father Abba James said this before his death, that it is God who elects the man whom he will appoint; and although Satan tries to oppose him, it is God who prevails.

It was the custom of this patriarch, when he purposed to appoint bishops, to watch and fast strictly, so that God might reveal their deeds to him. He used also to observe the anniversaries of the death of the fathers, from Mark the evangelist to Mark, his own father in the Spirit. On such days he used to keep festival in their honour, and put on his vestments, and celebrate the Liturgy, whether he were in the city or in the monasteries, or in the villages, to the glory of our Lord Christ, and in commemoration of his fathers.

And when God willed to give him rest from labour and translate him to the heavenly mansions of the illuminated, the Lord appeared to him, seated on a cloud of light, and accompanied by the twelve disciples, and said to him : «Have courage, thou good servant, who hast made use of the talents of thy Lord, and gained a profit. Now will I take thee to myself, and give thee rest from thy labours ; and thou shalt sit with thy companions, who carried on the warfare like thee, for thou hast become perfect like them». Now before this marvellous vision, Zacharias, bishop of Tandâ, had died; and the archdeacon, whom we have before mentioned, and of whom we said that he |474 would be a chosen vessel of God, had been enthroned in his stead. So our father James fell sick, and his strength diminished; and on the 14th. day of Amshir he went to his rest, that being the day of the death of the holy father Severus. And at the fourth hour of the night they heard him saying : «Happy is your coming, my fathers Severus and Dioscorus». And again he said : «The whole world is absolved through the prayers of the saints». Thereupon he gave up his spirit into the hand of the Lord. And a sweet perfume exhaled from his body, and filled the whole chamber.

When morning came, they enshrouded his body. And they offered the Sacrifice in commemoration of the two blessed fathers, Severus and the father James. Thus the holy monk’s vision of the two figures, which he saw consecrating Abba James with the gospel, was fulfilled. And so his life ended in a good old age, when he had held the evangelical see during ten years and eight months. He committed his flock to the Lord of Sabaoth, strong in the faith; and he was worthy to hear the voice saying ⁸¹ : «Come to me, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you before the creation of the world». |475

The brother, who had prophesied of him, he ordained bishop; and he was firm and strong, and did not lay by for himself a single dirhem, but was rich in the works of the Lord, and in spiritual writings. He was counted worthy to close the patriarch’s eyes, and to receive his last blessing. And in the strength of his faith he laid the body of Abba James in a coffin, and kept it in his city of Tandâ, that he might be blessed by its presence, and offer intercessions at its feet. And after a short time the bishop died, through the prayers which his father offered for him before the Lord Christ. To whom belongs glory, with his Father and the Holy Ghost, the Giver of life, the Consubstantial, now and for ever. Amen.

CHAPTER XX

SIMON II, THE FIFTY-FIRST PATRIARCH. A. D. 830.

After the going to rest and departure to the Lord of the holy and glorious father, the patriarch Abba James, the chosen and elect of the Lord, and the pillar of light, through whose prayers God had scattered the armies and the wars and the ceaselessly fighting tribes, which prevailed over Alexandria and the provinces of Egypt, then a short time after his decease |476 they appointed as his successor, by the command of the most high God, a deacon and monk, whose name was Simon, a native of the city of Alexandria of good family. He was a son of the father, Abba James, and dwelt in his cell; and he had been brought up from boyhood with the late father Abba Mark.

Abba Simon remained upon the evangelical throne five months and sixteen days. And he went to his rest on the third day of Bâbah. During the whole time that he occupied the see he was afflicted by the disease of the gout, from which he suffered greatly until he died.

May the Lord have mercy upon us through the prayers of all of these saints!

JOSEPH, THE FIFTY-SECOND PATRIARCH. A.D. 830-849.

So after the father Simon went to his rest, the orthodox people met in the city of Alexandria, and deliberated together with a view to the appointment of a patriarch, since the see was vacant. For it had remained without a patriarch after the father, Abba James, during a long interval; but then they had received consolation in the appointment of the father, Abba Simon. Then upon his death, their trouble increased; and they said, like the |477 prophet David ⁸² : «Remember not, O Lord, my first offences, but let thy mercy reach us soon, for we are become very poor.» And all of them went about the city, and the community of the Alexandrians and the bishops sought and enquired who was lit to sit upon the throne. You are acquainted with the people of Alexandria, and are aware that they love material pleasures. Accordingly they devised an evil plan in those days, contrary to the canons of the Church. For there was at Fustât Misr at that time a man of family and wealth; and he and his kinsmen possessed gold and silver and furniture. He was the chief of the Divan of the governor of Egypt; and his name was the lord Isaac, son of Anthony. So, when the Alexandrians saw his position and his wealth, together with the consideration in which he was held, they wrote him a letter, saying : «We will not elect any man, to appoint him patriarch, except thee». But he was a layman and married to a wife. So some of the bishops held aloof from this transaction of the hypocritical Alexandrians, who followed this man for the sake of human glory, not remembering that which is written ⁸³ in the fifty-second Psalm of David : «The Lord shall scatter the bones of those that act hypocritically towards men.» And again he says : «They are ashamed because the Lord |478 brings them to nought.» At that time some of the bishops visited Isaac, and paid court to him, saying : a We can have no patriarch except thee». The names of these bishops were Zacharias, bishop of Wasîm, and Theodore, bishop of Misr. These two men next persuaded Isaac to write a letter to Alexandria, promising to confer many benefits on the clergy and people there, when he should become patriarch. For he said : «If I take my seat upon this throne, I will rebuild your ruined churches for you, and restore the dwellings attached to the churches. And I will relieve you of the taxes as long as I live, by paying them out of my own money for the clergy and the poorer laity». And he promised them many other things. Therefore when they heard all this, they were inclined to him, and desired him, forgetting the words ⁸⁴ of the gospel : «No man takes an honour of himself, unless it be given him from heaven from God».

But there were at that time holy bishops, such as speak the truth, and are filled with grace. Such were Abba Michael, bishop of Bilbais, and Abba Michael, bishop of Sâ, and Abba John, bishop of Bana; and there were many like them, perfect in faith and religion. And when they were informed of what the two bishops and the assembly of the Alexandrians had |479 done, the grace of God stirred within them, and they called together a synod concerning those two. And they proceeded to Alexandria, as the canon prescribes. Having subsequently verified the design of the Alexandrians, they said to them : «Where have you left the fear of the Lord, since you have broken the canons so far as to have recourse to a layman married to a wife, in order to seat him upon the throne of Saint Mark the evangelist, in opposition to custom and to the canons?» Thereupon the people were silent, knowing their fault, and uttered not a syllable in answer to the bishops. Then by the inspiration of God, who visits his people at all times, and makes his face to shine ⁸⁵ upon his heritage, mention was made of a holy man, perfect in good works; and his name was confirmed in the assembly by the dispensation of God’s grace. This man was the shining lamp Joseph, the priest and superintendent of the church of Saint Macarius in Wadî Habîb. And when he was named, my heart rejoiced, and my tongue sang praises.

Now I should desire to relate a little of his life and the works which he did while he was a monk, only I fear to interrupt the description of the events which took place at his enthronement. Yet will I relate those things subsequently, that the hearts of those that hear the history of this holy |480 man may rejoice. When the assembly, together with the bishops and clergy, had accepted him, because they knew him when he was a lamp to the father, Abba Mark, then they sent some of the bishops and Alexandrian clergy to the Wadi. And while they were on the journey, they said thus : «If the Lord approves the appointment of this person, we shall find the door of his cell open». So when they reached the monastery on the morrow, and presented themselves at the door of his cell, they found him standing there, for he had come out to shut the door after his sons, who had gone to draw water. Upon this they marvelled, and looked one at another, saving : «What we said on the way is fulfilled. The Lord has made our journey easy; and we believe that God has chosen this holy man.» When this blessed one, steadfast in purity and humility, saw the visitors, he made obeisance before them, and saluted them, and at once conducted them into his cell. As soon as they were within his chamber, they laid hands upon him, and put the iron fetters over his feet, and said to him; «Thou art indeed worthy of the patriarchal office». But he began to weep profusely, saying : «What is the use of an incompetent man, who takes upon him this heavy yoke?» On hearing these words, they consoled him and pacified him. And they assembled in the church, and partook of the Holy Mysteries; for it was the feast of the Angel Michael, the 12th. of Hatûr. And Joseph received the benediction of the holy fathers, and |481 begged them to pray for him, that God would bring his course to an end. So they all prayed for him, and blessed him from the depth of their hearts, and bade him farewell, weeping because they had lost from their monastery a holy man, full of the Spirit of God.

So they started on their homeward journey. When they reached the top of the rock, Joseph being with them, they heard a voice behind him saying : «The Lord will be with thee, Joseph, and strengthen thee, that thou mayest endure the troubles which will befall thee, and by which thou wilt obtain the crown of life». The holy man and his companions, hearing this great voice, but seeing no one, marvelled and were amazed, and knew that great trials and bitter griefs would come upon him. Then they arrived at the city of Alexandria. And the multitude, as soon as they heard that the envoys had returned, came forth to meet them, singing praises and glorifying God. Then the people learnt from the envoys what had happened to them on the way, and how they had found the door of Joseph’s cell open, and how they had taken him prisoner, and of the voice which they had heard behind them near the road of the Cherubim on the top of the rock. Therefore the people glorified God, who alone works wonders at all times.

After this they informed the Amir, who was governor of Alexandria, and was called Abd Allah son of Yezîd, that they had brought this holy man, in order to obtain the governor’s consent and order, according to the perpetual custom before they consecrated the patriarch. But the governor |482 refused, and would not authorize them to appoint Joseph, saying : «Isaac, the son of Antony, of Misr, has sent to me, and promised me a thousand dinars, if he shall sit upon this throne. Therefore, if you have elected this man, give me the same sum that Isaac has promised me». Thus Abd Allah prevented them from ordaining Joseph for some days. But the bishops continued to visit the governor’s house, begging and imploring him to give them his consent. Yet he refused, because he loved money. Then the bishops from the eastern provinces assembled, and said to him : «We are not under thy authority. Therefore, if thou wilt not grant our request, we will go to Fustât Misr and ordain him there.» So when he saw their firmness, and understood that they would do what they said, he gave them his permission.

So they met together in the Church of Mark the evangelist, as it is customary, on the 21st. day of Hatûr in the year 547 of the Martyrs. And they recited all the prayers in the sanctuary, and inaugurated the elevation of Joseph to the rank of patriarch, blessing and glorifying God.

Now I desire in this place to record the life of that blessed saint from his youth, so that all who hear it may glorify God, before I describe the end of his consecration, and the troubles which befell him, and which he patiently endured. This holy man was of a good family of repute in the city of Upper Manûf, and his fathers were well known among the chief men |483 of Egypt. When his parents were dead and the saint was left an orphan, an official, named Theodore, who had the rank of metwalli in Egypt, and was a native of Nakyus, saw Joseph in this condition, and took him to himself, that he might make him his son for the love of Christ, and on account of his honourable kindred. So the child remained with that magistrate a long time. Then Joseph thought within himself : «Behold, I am now an orphan; therefore there is nothing better for me than the holy desert which is a place of refuge for orphans». So he went to the chief in whose house he lived, and who had brought him up, and begged him humbly for permission to depart to the holy desert. But Theodore replied : «O my son, thou art of an excellent family, and hast been brought up in the midst of wealth. Thou wouldst therefore be overcome by weariness in the desert, and couldst not endure its hardships.» Thus Theodore would not allow him to depart thither, but sent him to the city of Alexandria to the father patriarch, Abba Mark, to whom the magistrate wrote a letter, in which he recounted the history of Joseph’s life, and confided him to the patriarch as a pledge.

So the holy Mark rejoiced over him, and put him under the care of a deacon, who had charge of the sons of the Cell at that time and was a learned man, that he might teach the youth to write in the Greek language. And God’s assistance was with Joseph, and did not allow him to forget |484 his desire to retire to the monasteries. Accordingly, after a short sojourn with the holy Abba Mark, Joseph made a prostration before him, and prayed the patriarch to send him to the holy mountain. And the patriarch observed how he longed to go thither, and knew by revelation from God that the youth had found grace. For this reason Abba Mark speedily despatched him to the monastery of Saint Macarius, and placed him in charge with a holy priest and hegumen named Paul, whose mode of life was admired by all. For God revealed secrets to him, and enabled him to prophesy. So Paul, when he looked upon the young man, was pleased with him and with his good conduct and humility, and did not cease to nourish him with the holy teachings of the monks, and blessed him by night and by day, especially on seeing his modesty. Then Joseph was counted worthy to be made a deacon, and shortly afterwards to be ordained priest by the father, Abba Mark, the patriarch. As the hegumen Paul grew old, he fell sick of various diseases, and Joseph, the young saint, served him day and night in hope and faith, in order to obtain his blessing. And the old man laid his hand upon Joseph’s head, invoking upon him great blessings without number, and, on the approach of death, began to say to this young man, upon whom his spirit rested : «Behold, Joseph, the Lord grants thee his grace and his inheritance that thou mayest inherit it». Afterwards the |485 hegumen added, using the words of the Lord ⁸⁶ to Peter : «Return some time, thou also, and strengthen thy brethren, who have become thy partners in the labour of this ministry, and promote them among the clergy». For Paul had sons with him, who ministered to him, besides Joseph. And Paul’s words were fulfilled when Joseph was seated on the throne, and those brethren of his in service were counted worthy of the grace of the diaconate and the priesthood for a time in the church of Saint Macarius. I have related this incident, that it may be profitable to all who hear it among the young monks, that they may learn that God chooses those who serve him with an honest intention.

Now I will return to the continuation of the history of this holy man, the glorious father Abba Joseph. When he had taken his seat upon the evangelical throne, since the Church had no real property, he began to make monuments, vineyards and mills and oil-presses, which were to belong to the Church. But Satan, the hater of good, as he is wont, would not endure this peace, and stirred up, at the beginning of Abba Joseph’s pontificate, a great war in the eastern and western parts of Egypt, which led to universal plunder and slaughter. For there was much fighting throughout the country. In the words of the prophet Amos ⁸⁷ : «This is what the Lord, the Ruler, says. There shall be lamentation in all places». |486

So when the holy father saw these calamities, he mourned, and besought the Lord to protect and preserve the Church and the orthodox people, wherever they were. For the patriarch prayed, saying, like David in the 73rd. Psalm ⁸⁸ : «O Lord, remember thy congregation, which has been from the beginning. And thou hast delivered the rod of thine inheritance, mount Sion wherein thou hast dwelt. Raise up thy hand against their pride for ever, for many are the wicked deeds that the enemy has done». Thus Satan did not cease to stir up wars and murder. Two men at that time were overseers of taxes, one of whom was named Ahmad son of Al-Asbat, and the other Ibrahîm son of Tamîm. These two men, in spite of the troubles from which the people were suffering, persisted in demanding the taxes without mercy, and men were increasingly and incalculably distressed. Their greatest trouble arose from the extortion practised by the two overseers of taxes; for what they could not pay was required of them. After this the merciful God by his righteous judgment sent down a great dearth upon Egypt, so that wheat reached the price of one dinar for five waibahs. Many of the women and infants and young people, and of the old and the middle-aged, died of starvation, in fact of the whole population a countless number, through the severity of the famine. And the overseer of taxes was doing harm to the people in every place. And most of the |487 Bashmurite Christians were severely chastised, like the Israelites; so that at last they even sold their own children to pay their taxes, because they were greatly distressed. For they were tied to the mills and beaten, so that they should work the mills like cattle. And their tormentor was a man named Ghaith. So, after long and wearisome days, death put an end to their sufferings.

But afterward the Bashmurites, seeing that they had no means of escape, and at the same time that no troops could enter their country on account of the abundance of marshes which it contained, and because none was acquainted with the roads except themselves, began to rebel and to refuse to pay the taxes. And they came to an agreement and plotted together over this matter. Now the prince at that time was Abd Allah al-Ma’mûn, son of Hârûn ar-Rashîd. When the state of Egypt and the conduct of the conquerors and the overseers was reported to him, he sent an army thither under the command of an Amir, named Al-Afshîn. Then this man slew the conspirators and rebels, from the eastern parts of Egypt until he reached the great city of Alexandria. He even wished to kill all the inhabitants of Alexandria, since they had not fought, because they had allowed the enemy to enter their city. But God prevented his doing this on account of the tears of the faithful and the prayers of the patriarch, Abba Joseph. For Al-Afshîn used even to put the innocent to death for |488 the fault of the guilty, so that he would have allowed no one that he could see to escape slaughter. And he killed many of the chief men of the Christians in every place.

The patriarch Joseph was grieved by these troubles that he witnessed : the plague and the famine and the sword. Meanwhile the Bashmurites developed their plot, and prepared weapons for themselves, and made war against the government. For they bound themselves not to pay the taxes; and they rose up against any one who came to them for the purpose of acting as mediator in their affairs, and put him to death.

When our father, the patriarch Abba Joseph, saw this rebellion, he mourned over those weak ones, for they had no power to withstand the government, and had deliberately chosen destruction for themselves. And since he was full of anxiety for the salvation of his people, and was their true steward, he began to write to the Bashmurites letters full of fear, and reminded them of the fate that would befall them, hoping that they might return and repent, and give up their disobedience, and cease to resist authority. But they refused to return to their obedience. Yet he continued to write to them every day, and quoted for them passages of the scriptures, saying : «Paul, the sweet-tongued, declares ⁸⁹ that whoever resists the power |489 resists the ordinances of God, and he that resists him shall be condemned». When the patriarch’s letters by means of his bishops were conveyed to the Bashmurites, those wicked men as soon as they saw the bishops assaulted them, and robbed them of all that they had with them, and treated them with ignominy. Therefore the bishops returned to the patriarch, and made known to him what had been done to them. Then he said : «Destruction will not be slow in coming to those men. Yea, the words of the prophet Isaias ⁹⁰ will be fulfilled upon them, where he says : I will give you up to the sword, and ye shall all fall by slaughter; because I called you, and ye listened not to my words, but disobeyed and did evil before me».

On account of these troubles and sorrows which have been mentioned, the father patriarch was unable to write a synodical letter to his partner in the ministry and in the faith, the patriarch of Antioch. This omission caused Abba Joseph more auxiety than the trials which befell him. For indeed he did not find rest for a single day after he was enthroned, so that he could address to the see of Antioch a letter containing assurances of union in charity and unswerving orthodoxy. Nevertheless the Lover of |490 mankind did not leave him thus in his sadness, for the sake of the union of the two sees, Alexandria and Antioch; for he ordained a wonderful thing, namely that the father Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, should come to Egypt, and that the two patriarchs should behold one another, as we. will relate hereafter.

The commander Al-Afshîn, seeing that the Bashmurites continued long in their hostility, and would not change their conduct, wrote a letter to the caliph, Abd Allah al-Ma’mûn, to inform him of the events that had taken place.

Listen now to this also. There was on the episcopal throne of Tinnîs a bishop, named Isaac, against whom his people had repeatedly brought serious accusations. They said to the father Joseph : «If thou wilt not remove this bishop, and take him away from us, we will forsake the religion of orthodoxy». There was also at Misr another bishop, named Theodore, and his flock spoke of him in a similar manner. For the inhabitants of Misr wrote to the patriarch, saying : «If thou wilt not remove him and take him away from us, we will stone him to death». The holy patriarch, seeing this rising of the people, was much grieved and troubled, saying : «What shall I do in this distress?» And he prayed, saying : «O Lord, confirm thy people in loyalty to their pastors, and let there be no disaffection in my days! » Moreover he continued to send letters to the people at the two |491 cities of Tinnîs and Misr, saying, from the words of Paul ⁹¹ : «Why are you glad when we are sick and you are strong ? This is what I pray for on your behalf, that you may be saved. And I write this to you, being absent from you, as if I were present with you. I will not pronounce a sentence of excommunication nor suspension, since the Lord commands me to build up and not to pull down». But the people persisted in their conduct, saying with one voice which they never altered : «If these two bishops are not removed, not one of us will remain in the orthodox faith, but we will join the dissident party; and thou art responsible for our action». When Abba Joseph heard this, he hastened to Tinnîs, and begged the people to cease from their wrath; but they refused, and grew still more furious. So also did the city of Misr with its bishop. When the patriarch saw this, he sent and gathered together the bishops from every place, and made the matter known to them. And he said to them : «I and you are innocent of this offence at last. Let us therefore write and suspend the two bishops, Isaac, bishop of Tinnîs, and Theodore, bishop of Misr». |492 Accordingly they deposed those two men from their dignity, and removed them from the rank of. bishop. Yet our charitable father did not cease to pray continually, nor to shed profuse tears, nor to give vent to sighs over the cutting off of these two bishops.

Now Al-Afshîn at Misr was awaiting the answer to the letter which he had adressed to Al-Ma’mûn concerning the Bashmurites. Al-Ma’mûn was a wise man in his conduct, and used to make enquiries into our religion. And wise men used to sit with him, explaining our scriptures for him. In this way he began to love the Christians. So he came to Egypt, and assembled his army. And he invited the patriarch Dionysius of Antioch to accompany him

When the father patriarch, Abba Joseph, learnt that Al-Ma’mûn had arrived, and in his company the patriarch of Antioch, he gathered the bishops together and journeyed to Fustât Misr, to salute the caliph according to the respect which is due to princes. And when the father Dionysius saw the father, Abba Joseph, he rejoiced with great spiritual joy. And this was a dispensation from God, as I said at first, because Abba Joseph had not been able to send the synodical letter to Dionysius. And Abba Joseph was honoured according to his rank at the court of Abd Allah Al-Ma’mûn, |493 who, being informed of his arrival, commanded that he should be brought before him, and when he came into his presence received him with joy, through the divine grace which descended upon the patriarch. Then Abba Dionysius made known to the prince that our father had not delayed to write to the Bashmurites, and to dissuade them from resisting the commands of their sovereign; and this information was gratifying to Al-Ma’mûn. Upon hearing it, he said to the father, Abba Joseph : «Behold, I command thee and thy colleague, the patriarch Dionysius, to pay a visit to those people, and to lay your prohibition upon them, as you are bound to do according to your law, in order that they may return from their disobedience and may submit to my rule. Then if they consent, I will confer upon them all the benefits that they shall ask of me. But if they persist in their rebellion, then we shall be innocent of their blood».

Therefore our fathers, the two patriarchs, obeyed his command, and journeyed to the Bashmurites, and besought them, and admonished them, and reprimanded them, that they might cease from their deeds. But the insurgents refused to listen, and would not accept the entreaties of the |494 prelates. So the patriarchs returned, and informed Al-Ma’mûn of this state of affairs. Then the caliph commanded the amir Al-Afshîn to march against the Bashmurites with his army, and to fight them. But he could do nothing against them, because their districts, which are named At-Tanfir, were fortified by the waters. The Bashmurites, on the other hand, slew every day many of the soldiers of Al-Afshîn. Therefore as soon as this was reported to Al-Ma’mûn, he started with his troops, and went down to that region. And he gave orders to collect from the cities and neighbouring villages and all places all the men who knew the roads of the Bashmurites, and from among the natives of Tandâ and Shubra Sunbût those who were acquainted with the ways through those places. And the troops followed those guides until they betrayed the Bashmurites to them. Then the soldiers destroyed the insurgents and slew them with the sword without sparing any, and plundered them and wrecked and burnt their dwellings, and demolished their churches. Thus the words of the prophet David in the 77th. Psalm⁹²were fulfilled upon them : «He delivered their strength into captivity and their wealth to their enemies, and gave his people over to the sword, and had no pity on his inheritance». But when Al-Ma’mûn saw the multitude of the slain, he bad his soldiers hold their swords; and those of the |495 Bashmurites who remained he carried as prisoners to the city of Baghdad, both men and women.

When the father patriarch, Abba Dionysius, asked what was the cause of the rebellion of these people, he was told that it was because of the extortions of the two overseers of taxes from which they had formerly suffered. Therefore his heart was grieved for their destruction, and he approached Al-Ma’mûn, and told him this, relying on the position which he held at court. And there was in the suite of Al-Ma’mûn his brother Ibrahîm, who reigned after him. And Dionysius said to the caliph : «These men were disaffected against the government because they suffered from the tyranny of the two overseers of taxes, who also taunted and insulted them». On hearing these words, the caliph answered : «Take care of thyself, and remain no longer in Egypt; for if this saying be reported to my brother Ibrahîm, he will put thee to death, because the tax-collectors came from among his followers». So when the father Dionysius received this reply, he went forth sadly troubled, and took leave of the father, Abba Joseph, saying to him. : «I cannot stay in Egypt an hour longer». Then he enquired what the reason might be, and the patriarch Dionysius told him what |496 had happened. And he bade him farewell weeping. And when Ibrahîm was informed of this matter, he sought the patriarch Dionysius, and sent after him, but learnt that he had departed to his own city. Thereupon he was greatly enraged, and his wrath overpowered him for many days. And after the death of Al-Ma’mûn and the enthronement of his brother Ibrahîm, the patriarch Dionysius fled, and would not remain in Antioch or its province, until the caliph promised him that he would not slay him. And when Ibrahîm, the prince, returned again to Misr, and the patriarch went out, he took leave of him according to the respect due from him to princes. And he came to Misr, and remained there.

When the patriarch, Abba Joseph, was at Misr, he saw that official, Isaac, who had solicited the patriarchal dignity, burning with inward fire because he and the bishops were mocked by the Alexandrians. But the patriarch, meeting and accosting him, addressed him pleasantly, as was his wont with all men, speaking soft words to him, in order to calm his troubled thoughts. Next he contrived a wise plan, that he might thereby appease him, for he said to him : «O my Lord Isaac, I have been longing after thee, and I have a strong affection for thee. I desire that thou be equal to myself, I wish thee to be my deputy in all my affairs, and hold the |497 patriarchal signet-ring, so that all men may know that thou art my administrator in all my business, both ecclesiastical and civil». When Isaac heard this, he rejoiced greatly, and was consoled, and said to our father, the patriarch : «I am thy servant, and under thy orders in whatsoever thou shalt command me to do». And when the people attended the church of our Lady at Misr, in the Fort of Ash-Shama’, on the Feast of Palms, the patriarch ordained the official Isaac deacon. And there was a great congregation in the church on that day, so that the number of those who were present could not be counted.

But Satan the hater of good was there, and stirred up great trouble. For he entered into the two deposed bishops, and made them his vessels. Accordingly they visited Al-Afshîn, who was military commander under the caliph, and said to him : «God has delivered up to thee thine enemies and those of the prince, and thou hast exterminated them. Now it is binding on thee not to leave one surviving of those who were the cause of their rebellion.» He answered : «Who was it then that drove them to conspire against the prince?» And they replied : «It was the patriarch Joseph who did this, and he desired thereby even to slay the prince. And behold, |498 Joseph is now present at the church, accompanied by a large body of men who never disobey him. All that has been done was done by his orders; and thus this great calamity befell the prince and the amir, may God preserve him». Now when the two bishops entered into the presence of Al-Afshîn, he was drunk. So he was filled with wrath, and sent his brother to the church, and many men with him, that he might bring the patriarch to him, in order that he might put him to death. And Isaac, who had been bishop of Tinnîs, acted as their guide, like Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the Lord Christ to the Jews. For he entered into the sanctuary and pointed with his finger at the patriarch, that he might make known to his companions which he was, so that they might seize him. Thereupon the brother of Al-Afshîn drew his sword to cut off the patriarch’s head. But when he was in the act, his hand slipped; and so the sword struck against a marble column, and was broken. At this he grew still more angry. And he had at his waist a knife, which he took and aimed at the patriarch’s side, intending to kill him. But ah the greatness of the miracle that was worked at that moment in the presence of all, and which God manifested among his saints! When that man struck the patriarch |499 with the knife, it cut the vestments which he was wearing, and penetrated as far as the girdle which was around his waist, and cut that; but his body-was not wounded at all. Then all the congregation in the church were thrown into disorder and shouted loudly, thinking that he was dead. But when he who was clothed in good works saw the confusion, and perceived the anxiety and excitement of the people, he made a sign to them with his hand, and exclaimed : «Be not troubled!». And when they understood that Abba Joseph was alive, they rejoiced greatly, and glorified God, and moved over towards him, to see what had happened to him; and they found him safe and sound, for nothing had been cut save the vestments and the girdle. Therefore they praised God, and cried aloud in the words of the prophet David ⁹³ : «The Lord preserves his chosen ones; the Lord preserves the righteous, and will deliver them from the hand of sinners». And they thanked God for the patriarch’s safety, and said ⁹⁴ : «If the Lord had not delivered us, my soul would have been in Hell; and if I said that my foot had slipped, thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me. And on account of the multitude of the griefs of my heart thy consolation rejoiced me». |500

The brother of Al-Afshîn, seeing this miracle, and perceiving that the Lord was with the patriarch, took him that he might conduct him to his brother, as he had commanded. And while he was being drawn along, that he might be brought outside, while the people hung upon him, he said to them : «Keep me not back, for we do not resist the government». So he went out, while the people followed him weeping, and kissed his feet and hands, thinking that he would be put to death. And when the brother of the amir saw them holding him, he was greatly enraged, and, lifting up his hand, struck him with a rod on the head with such violence that his eyes were injured.

So the patriarch entered into the presence of Al-Afshîn, who addressed him as it was necessary, and told him what the bishops said of him, and of what they accused him. Thereupon the patriarch said to those present, by the grace of God : «The affair of the two bishops is a strange matter. For the fact is that I deposed them from their episcopal rank. And the cause of that was—-». And he proceeded to make the events known to Al-Afshîn, and showed him the falsity of their charges. For nothing that they had said of him was true. Then he told the amir the reason of his |501 removing those two bishops because their people rose up against them. And Al-Afshîn perceived the truth, and saw that the bishops’ words concerning the patriarch were lies; and he began to think that those two were responsible for the trouble. And he observed to those that were present : «These two men intended to make me share in a great crime, and put the father of all the Christians to death». Then when the holy man saw that vengeance was descending upon those two for his sake, he said to the amir : «My religion bids me do good to those that do harm to me. God has now shown thee the truth with regard to the accusations that these two men brought; and therefore I pray thee to treat them generously, as thou hast authority to do. Leave them alone then in honour of God». And when Al-Afshîn saw what the patriarch did, he marvelled; and he set the two bishops free. So the people glorified God and gave thanks to him, declaring that he was worthy of praise, because he had raised up as their leader this holy father, who acted according to the divine commandments.

And when Al-Ma’mûn learnt the news from those who visited him, he commanded that a decree should be written, directing that the patriarch should be honoured and respected, and that none should oppose him in his judgments or with regard to those whom he should appoint or depose. Afterwards Al-Ma’mûn gave orders that search should be made for the |502 Bashmurites still remaining in Egypt, and that they should be deported to Baghdad. So they were removed, and remained in the prisons for a long period, until it was God’s will to save them from the hand of Ibrahîm, who reigned after his brother. Then some of them returned to their native towns while others remained there at Baghdad, and laid out gardens there, and continued in those parts until the present day, still bearing the name of Bashrûdites.

After this the father Joseph desired to appoint two bishops at Tinnîs and at Misr, in the place of those who had been deposed, that the words of the apostle Paul ⁹⁵ might be fulfilled : «The greatest of my duties is the care of the churches». Therefore he consecrated as bishop over Wasîm Isaac, the official, whom he had made a deacon and his own deputy. And he appointed a person named Demetrius over Tinnîs. But Fustât Misr was left without a bishop; and the bishop of Wasîm continued to be administrator of the diocese of Misr, and exercised authority over it; and none could resist him because of the influence which his words had with the governors and his brethren and his community, and he remained over the two sees until his death, |503 When the patriarch had recovered his strength a little, he took thought for the affairs of Abyssinia and Nubia, and sent a letter to the people of those countries, and enquired after them and their churches. But he did not succeed in communicating with them on account of hostility between their kings and the Muslim governors of Egypt. And he prayed to God that there might be peace between them, so that he might attain his object, which was to restore the buildings under the jurisdiction of the Father, Saint Mark the Evangelist. And God heard his prayer, and answered his petition. Now this war had lasted fourteen years between them, until Ibrahîm, brother of Al-Ma’mûn, began to reign. He set guards on the road to Abyssinia and Nubia. Now the king over the Nubians was Zacharias. So Ibrahîm sent, and said to him : «If thou wilt do what other kings have done before thee, then send the tribute for the past fourteen years. Otherwise we will make war upon thee.» Now a deacon, named George, was the secretary of the governor of Upper Egypt. So he wrote to the patriarch to make known to him what was contained in the letter of Ibrahîm, the prince. And the patriarch, on hearing it, glorified God, and rejoiced, saying : «This is an opportunity for me also to write to the kings of what |504 concerns the Church». So he wrote a letter, full of the grace of the Holy-Ghost, as it behoved him; and he saluted and praised the kings, and informed them of the kindly treatment that he had received from the princes of the Muslims, since the Lord had seated him upon the glorious and holy throne. And he added : «I am unworthy of this post, but I was desirous of obtaining news of you. Only my sin prevented my communicating with you, on account of the wars which have been waged in the land of Egypt, and the rebellion of the Bashrûdites against the commands of the prince, until he slew them, and laid their dwellings waste, and demolished their churches. But now we have found an opportunity by this correspondence of making known to you what has happened. And now, my. friends, you are bound to accomplish your duty to these princes. And if it were wrong that we should bid you do any of these things, then I have undergone punishment from my brethren, as Joseph, the son of Jacob, suffered from his brethren. And now you are bound to pray that there may be peace between you, O you that love God, and that peace may appear in the Church for your sake».

This epistle Abba Joseph despatched to the governor of the mines near Uswân, that he might forward it. And when this letter reached king Zacharias, and was read to him, he said : «What shall I do concerning the |505 prince’s demand upon me? Who will collect for me the tribute of fourteen years in human souls, that I may send them to him? For I cannot leave my capital, lest the savages who are in rebellion against me should take possession of it. Now must I despatch my son to the prince.» So the king sent for his eldest son, whose name was George. And he had the trumpet blown, and appointed a herald who proclaimed that George should reign after him. Then he sent him to Misr, in company with the envoys who had come thence, together with gifts which he had prepared.

And when George arrived at Misr, he was met by the blessed father Abba Joseph. On seeing the patriarch, George, son of king Zacharias, rejoiced greatly, and prostrated himself before him. Then the patriarch gave him his benediction, and informed him of some of the events that had taken place, in order to excuse himself for the delay in sending a letter to the kingdom of the Nubians. But George replied ⁹⁶ : «Blessed is the Lord, who deals not with us after our sins! But it was our fault that hindered thee till this time; and it is thy holiness that has made me worthy to kiss |506 thy holy hands, O thou Lamp, that enlightenest the orthodox throughout the world!»

Then George started upon the road to Baghdad. And he begged the patriarch to pray for him that God might bring him back in safety. On his arrival at Baghdad, the capital of the empire, the prince received him with joy and said to him : «God gives thee the tribute of all the past years, in return for thy coming to my court and thy obedience to me». And George remained with him many days in honour. Afterwards the prince dismissed him with many gifts of gold and silver and garments, and despatched a troop of soldiers with him, that they might conduct him to his own country in safety.

So he returned to Misr with great glory and ceremony, holding a golden cross in his hand, while all the people welcomed him, according to the honour which the caliph had paid him. And George requested leave of the patriarch that he might transport into the governor’s palace, where he was lodging, a consecrated sanctuary, made of wood, that could be taken to pieces and put together again. And there were with him bishops from his own country, |507 who celebrated the Liturgy for him, so that the king’s son and all his companions made their communion there. And he gave orders that the wooden gong should be struck on the roof of the palace at the time of the Liturgy, as it is done at the churches. And all men marvelled thereat; and all the Christians rejoiced and glorified God for what he had shown forth through the prayers of this holy man, the patriarch. And in his days the said king’s son set out and started upon his homeward journey. Therefore our father, the patriarch, proceeded with him, as far as a place called Bûlâk, with great state. And the father was thereby consoled for the trials which he had passed through.

Now who will not marvel when he hears these wonders, namely that every patriarch who sits upon this holy throne directs his care towards three departments of business : the care for the synodical letter to the patriarch of Antioch; secondly our relations with the Abyssinians and the Nubians; and thirdly the carrying out of decrees issued by the governor of Egypt to the patriarch and bishops, that the affairs of the orthodox churches may be kept in good order? And God brought these three |508 departments together for our father, the patriarch Abba Joseph, by the coming of the caliph Al-Ma’mûn from his country and the patriarch’s interviews with him, and the arrival of his brother Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, with whom he held intercourse, and the coming of the son of the king of the Nubians, as we have related, and the prosperity of affairs, and his seeing the great glory in truth, as the prophet David says ⁹⁷ : «All nations shall worship before him».

And God worked for him another wonder, so that he performed for him all that he had prayed for, in order that the see of the illustrious father, Saint Mark the Evangelist, might be glorified. May the blessings of his prayers preserve us! There was at that time a bishop named John, whom the father, Abba James, had ordained for the land of the Abyssinians. Now the king of the Abyssinians had gone forth to war. Then the people became disaffected, and drove away that bishop, and appointed another of their own free choice, thus breaking the canon. And the aforesaid bishop returned to Egypt and took up his abode at the Monastery of Baramus in Wadî Habîb, because he had first become a monk there. But the Lord, who loves mankind, and desires to save them and restore them to the knowdedge of |509 the truth, did not allow that country and its inhabitants to remain in their disobedience, but he raised up against them the evangelical throne once more, that the Lord might show forth wonders in the following manner. For he sent down upon them and upon their cattle a plague with great mortality, and caused their king to be defeated by all who fought against him; and his followers were slain. So, when he came back from the war, great sadness fell upon him. And he did not know what had been done to the bishop, nor how he had been banished from their city. For it was the queen who had caused this mischief, acting as Eudoxia did in her time against John the Golden Mouth. As soon therefore as the king learnt this, he hastened and wrote a letter to the good shepherd, Abba Joseph, saying to him : «I prostrate myself before the evangelical throne, upon which thy Paternity has been counted worthy to sit, and by the grace of which my royal authority is confirmed. Now the people of my country have strayed away from the light of the holy see, and have set their feet in a path full of thorns by driving away thy vicar. Therefore the Lord has sent down the punishment of that deed upon our heads, and has given us a taste of his vengeance through the death of men and cattle by the plague. Moreover he has forbidden heaven to rain upon us. But now, our holy father, overlook |510 our folly, and send us someone who will pray to God for us, and intercede for us, that we may be saved by thy acceptable prayers».

When the father had read this letter, he rejoiced over the king’s faith and quickly sent and summoned that bishop from the monastery of Baramus, and having encouraged and consoled him sent him back to the Abyssinians. And he despatched an escort of trustworthy men with him on account of the dangers of the road, and gave him sufficient provision for the journey. And he dismissed the party, giving them his blessing that God might make their path easy. And God heard him; for they safely reached the friendly king, who rejoiced over them with all the natives of the land.

After this, Satan, the enemy of peace, suggested an idea to some of the people of that country. Accordingly, they waited upon the king, and said to him : «We request thy majesty to command this bishop to be circumcised. For all the inhabitants of our country are circumcised except him». And the working of Satan was so powerful that the king approved this proposal, namely that the aged bishop should be taken and circumcised, or else that he should return to the place whence he had come. And when the bishop recollected the hardships of his journeys, both when he departed and when he returned, and then of what he would experience again, he dreaded the difficulties of the road both by land and water. So he said : «I will submit |511 to this, for the salvation of these souls, of which the Lord has appointed me shepherd without any merit of mine. Yet now Paul the apostle enjoins us, saying ⁹⁸ : If any man is called without circumcision, let him not be circumcised». So when he made this concession to them, God manifested a miracle in him, as he wrote to our father the patriarch, Abba Joseph; namely, that when they took him to circumcise him, and stripped him, they found the mark of circumcision in him, as if he had been circumcised on the eighth day after his birth. And he swore in his letter that he knew nothing of this before that day. Thus the king and the people of the country were satisfied, and rejoiced greatly over this wonder, and accepted the bishop with joy.

When the letter containing an account of this matter reached the patriarch, he rejoiced greatly over the return of those erring ones to their shepherd and over the miracle which had been manifested, saying : «Blessed is the Lord, who has turned the captivity of his people and saved them from the hand of the enemy, and has not left them in error for ever». And |512 because this good shepherd took so much care of his sheep and gave his life for them, he appointed many bishops, and sent them to all places under the see of Saint Mark the evangelist, which include Africa and the Five Cities and Al-Kairuwân and Tripoli and the land of Egypt and Abyssinia and Nubia. For he said : «If the shepherds be not many to guard the flock, the sheep will perish; therefore I do not neglect them, lest any of them be lost or destroyed, even one, for whom I should be held responsible by Christ. For with what purpose did he appoint me, unless it were to protect his flock from the lion which is always watching for negligence on the part of the shepherd, that it may seize and devour and destroy. Afterwards I shall say also in the presence of the Lord ⁹⁹ : Not one of those whom thou gavest me has perished». Yet while he was acting thus, the adversary who is ever fighting bestirred himself that he might raise up trials and sorrows for him. But the Lord was with this holy father, and delivered him at all times, and showed him the weakness of his enemies and of the enemies of the Church day after day, according to the words of the Lord, who said ¹⁰⁰ : «The gates of Hell shall never prevail against my Church».

At that period the prince Ibrahîm sent men to Egypt with orders that |513 the columns and the marble should be taken from the churches in everyplace. He who came to search for these things was a malignant heretic of the Nestorian sect, named Lazarus. So when he arrived at Misr, the people of his foul sect gathered together to meet him; and they were the Chalcedonian heretics dwelling at Alexandria. They did not cease denouncing the churches by night and by day, and they persuaded Lazarus to demolish the churches of Alexandria. And they guided him to the places where there were columns and pavements; and so he carried them off by force and violence. Afterwards they led him out to the church of the martyr, Saint Mennas, at Maryût, in their great jealousy against it, and then they said to him : «None of the churches is like this one, for all that thou hast come to seek thou wilt find herein». So that Nestorian hastily arose, by the advice of the informers, and entered the church of the martyr Saint Mennas. And when he looked at the building and its ornaments, and saw the beauty of the columns and coloured marbles which it contained, he marvelled and was amazed, and said : «This is what the prince needs. This is here, and I knew nothing of it!» Therefore our father, Abba Joseph the patriarch, hearing that this wicked person did not hold back his hand through the evil |514 and malice that was in his heart, and learning what the heretics had found, said to him : «Behold, all the churches under my jurisdiction are before thee. Do with them therefore as the prince commands thee. But this church alone I desire of thee that thou injure not. And whatever thou shalt ask of me I will deliver to thee».

Yet the heretic would not listen to the patriarch’s words nor to his request, but answered him face to face with unseemly language, and then set to work and robbed the church of its coloured marbles and its unequalled pavement, which was composed of all colours and had no match, nor was its value known. And when the marble arrived at the city of Alexandria, that it might be forwarded to the court, the father was greatly grieved for the church, and said : «I know that thou art able, O holy Martyr, to exact just punishment for the wrong done to thee by this heretic, who has not respected thy house, although it is a consolation for all the faithful». And he did not cease to mourn thus night and day for the calamity that had befallen this holy church. And he took care to restore it quickly. For he sent for surface decoration from Misr and Alexandria, and began to repair with all beautiful ornament the places from which the pavements had |515 been stripped, until no one who looked at them could perceive that anything was gone from them.

And in those days, while the heretic Lazarus was at Alexandria, the words that are ¹⁰¹ written were fulfilled concerning him : «Who is he that resists the Lord? For he shall be crushed.» For the Lord struck him speedily with a plague in the following manner. His body and his inward parts were swollen with the disease called the dropsy, and the colour of his face was changed, and he remained in a recumbent posture, unable to raise his head. He had also fallen into great poverty, so that he found none to supply nourishment for himself or his beasts, nor to treat him medically. Therefore he begged and implored the father patriarch to give him something to spend upon himself. And this father did what Lazarus asked, according to that which is written ¹⁰², namely : «If thine enemy hunger feed him, and if he thirst give him to drink». And the pains grew upon Lazarus greatly, as he lay prostrate, and all who beheld him glorified God and his martyr, Saint Mennas, and blessed the good shepherd, because he had done good |516 to all who did evil to him. And the father’s tongue was like a sharp sword. Who would not be filled with admiration on hearing of the virtues of this holy and blessed father, Abba Joseph? Listen now to yet another wonder, my friends, concerning this father. There was at Alexandria a man who was one of the Chalcedonian heretics; and he was very rich, and possessed water-wheels. So when he went out one day to take recreation in one of his vineyards outside Alexandria, he saw a broken water-wheel, and asked for a carpenter. Now there was an old man, a priest, who was also a carpenter. So the Chalcedonian said to him : «Wilt thou come now with me, that thou mayest mend the water-wheel for me?» But the priest replied : «To-day is the Great Friday; and I can do no work to-day, because it is the day on which the Word of God, the Saviour of the world, was crucified». Then that cursed heretic opened his cavilling mouth in answer, and blasphemed God the Word, saying what must not be recorded. So the aged priest reproved him, and went away and left him. Now our father, the patriarch, was staying in the desert of Wadî Habîb, in order to keep Easter in the monastery, and to finish the celebration of the Resurrection of Christ: but as soon as he returned to Alexandria, the aged priest reported |517 to him the blasphemies that had been uttered by the heretic. Thereupon he who was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost answered with the voice of prophecy : «Let the lips which utter blasphemy against Christ my God be struck with dumbness!» And he said also in the words of David ¹⁰³ : «An enemy has invented lies against the Lord, and a foolish people has provoked thy name to anger». Ah that great miracle! At that very moment the heretic became dumb and could not speak; and he remained paralysed to the day of his death. And a great dread fell upon all the Alexandrian heretics who beheld this, so that even their chief, the pseudo-patriarch, whose name was Sophronius, began to have faith and trust in our father, and paid several visits to him, and acted humbly towards him, and saluted him.

In the seventh year after Abba Joseph’s appointment, namely the year 554 of the Martyrs, God showed a great sign in the sky. For a great star appeared in the east and reached to the west, like a gleaming sword; and it remained many days. And men said : «We have never seen anything like this. What is likely to happen through this star?» And after some days there came a terrible pestilence upon the cattle, and the beasts began |518 to fall down dead in the enclosures and in all places, until the people of Egypt had not a beast left, and lost the means of carrying on their work. And no one could walk through the streets without stopping his nose for the multitude of dead animals. Thus the cultivation of the land was interrupted, and there was little produce; and the land of Egypt was full of sadness. Afterwards the plague attacked men also, so that they perished like the cattle. As David says ¹⁰⁴ of the people of Egypt : «He spared them not from death, nor their beasts». Meanwhile our father did not cease to weep for the men and the beasts, nor to pray to God with tears, saying : «O Lord, thou hast turned thy face away from thy people on account of my sins. Yet deal not with them according to my transgressions; but let thy mercy reach them speedily, and save thy people, and renew the face of the earth, O God, Lover of mankind». And God heard his servant’s prayer, and changed his wrath into health for men and beasts, and taught them that He can do all things. For men and beasts multiplied in Egypt, and the people forgot what had taken place; and the beasts even began to bring forth two at a birth, until men and beasts became as if not one of them had died nor any of them perished. |519

I wish to relate to you an incident which occurred during the struggles and labours of this father, that you may hear and glorify God, who worked wonders for him, and saved him from his sorrows and distress. Upon the death of Isaac, bishop of Wasîm, who also ruled the see of Misr, and who had formerly solicited the patriarchate, Abba Joseph appointed in his place Banah the deacon, at the request of the chief men of Misr. But he promoted to the see of Wasîm another of his sons, named Apacyrus, who died after a short time. Now Isaac the deceased had a son named Theodore, a name common to three bishops who sat in succession upon the episcopal throne of Misr. This man solicited the see of Wasîm, but the people did not approve him; and the father did not think it right to appoint him against the will of the people. There was in Egypt at that time a governor named Alî, son of Yahya, the Armenian, acting on behalf of Abû Ishâk Ibrahîm al-Mu’tasim, son of Hârûn ar-Rashîd, and brother of Abd Allah al-Ma’mûn. So Theodore cast aside the fear of God, and paid a visit to the governor, and promised him money that he might compel the patriarch to raise him to the episcopate. Therefore the governor sent and enquired concerning the father |520 patriarch, and interceded with him for Theodore. But the patriarch answered that Theodore should never become bishop, and resisted the governor, saying : «I have no power in this matter». Then the governor was greatly enraged for the sake of the money which Theodore had promised him, and began to pull down the churches of Fustât Misr. And he began by attacking first of all the church which is in the Fort of Ash-Shama’, called the Hanging Church. So they demolished its upper part, until they reached the gallery. And the father patriarch and the people were lamenting sadly and in great grief, and were weeping bitter tears. As David the prophet says ¹⁰⁵ : «O Lord God, God of Hosts, how long wilt thou be wrath against the prayer of thy servant? Thou feedest me with bread with my tears, and givest me tears to drink. Thou makest me a byword to my acquaintances and a sorrow and mockery to my enemies. O Lord God of Hosts, return, O Lord, and make thy face shine upon us, so that we shall be saved». And Abba Joseph gave vent to deep sighs in sadness of heart for the demolition of the church.

But certain persons came to the father, and said to him : «How long wilt thou refuse to appoint this man bishop? Until all the churches are |521 demolished? God has seen thy solicitude and thy struggle for the truth. Deal with this man who relies upon worldly authority as he demands, and God will give him his portion, and his sin shall be on his own head». Then the patriarch consented to that which the people proposed. Yet the governor did not cease from his fury, but required money of the father, saying : «I will not put a stop to the destruction of the churches unless thou give me three thousand dinars». Thereupon the laymen and the bishops present with him were vexed and exclaimed : «O our father be not distressed, we will furnish this money. Therefore divide the debt equally among us, that thou mayest save the churches and no harm may befall them». So the officials proceeded to visit the governor, and gave him sureties that they would pay three thousand dinars. Upon that his anger was appeased, and he commanded that the bishop should be ordained. Accordingly the father ordained him. And he said from the depth of his heart concerning the governor, as the prophet David says in the fifth Psalm ¹⁰⁶ : «The Lord abhors the wicked man, but does justice to the poor». He quoted also the word which is in the Law of Moses ¹⁰⁷ : «On the day of vengeance I will reward them, on the day when their feet shall slip». And he added : «On the day of their destruction I will reward them, and |522 will judge the enemies and the oppressors». And all men knew that his words were like prophecy, and said : «What, thinkest thou, will come to pass after this prophecy?» A short time afterwards, indeed, the caliph sent this governor to the land of the Romans, to make a raid upon it; and he took some of them captive, and conquered territory. Then the caliph sent him a second time; and some of the Romans came out against him, and slew him and all his soldiers with cruelty, as the father had foretold with regard to him.

When the trouble ceased from the churches, and that which had been pulled down was restored, and the faithful provided for it and improved it, so that it became finer and more beautiful than it had been before, because the Church is founded upon the Rock, and nothing prevails against her, but she prevails over those who oppose her, and destroys them, then the father said, in the words of the prophet David ¹⁰⁸ : «O Lord, who is like unto thee? Thou hast shown us great troubles, but thou hast returned and quickened us, and brought us up from the depth of the earth». And again ¹⁰⁹ : «The Lord has stripped off my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness, and turned my lamentation into joy». |523

And the bishop of Misr began to request further promotion of the father patriarch. And there was a judge at Misr, named Muhammad, son of Abd Allah, whom that man used to consult in all his business. And this judge was a man to be feared, and one whose words none could resist, for he was looked up to by all the Muslims as a lawyer and a leader, and was learned in their religion. But he secretly did deeds that were worthy of blame, and loved to drink wine and to hear singing, and he purchased beautiful slave-girls, and indulged in amusement and debauchery without fear of God or shame before men, according to the words of the Gospel ¹¹⁰ concerning those like him. Nevertheless God endured him, and allowed him a respite, and added to his days one equal to a thousand years, while he persisted in his folly and insolence against the people of this orthodox religion and the other Christian communities, and swore against Christ. In accordance with this character, he brought lawsuits against the father patriarch several times, and mocked him. So God brought down his deeds upon his own pate, as David says in the Psalm ¹¹¹ : «Pour out thy wrath upon the heathen that have not known thee». Therefore when Banah, bishop of Misr, saw the power of this judge, and his influence over the governor and commanders of the Muslims, he made friends with him, in order that the judge might do what he desired, and that none might oppose him in his administration, just as |524 the judge acted among the Muslims in what he decreed, whether it were honest or perverse or deceitful.

But the father, Abba Joseph, did not cease to fight for the truth, and to declare his trust in God; and therefore he feared none but God, who created him. Now the patriarch knew what had taken place between the bishop and the judge. And the judge began to think what evil he should do to the patriarch. So one day he gave orders that the father patriarch should be summoned. And certain bishops were present at the judge’s house that day, and were trying to conciliate Banah, bishop of Misr; and their names were Abba Pachomius, bishop of Bastah, and George, bishop of Taha, and another George, bishop of Ahnâs, and Zacharias, bishop of Al-Buhairah, and Mennas, bishop of Al-Bahnasa, besides others. So when the patriarch appeared before the judge, the latter said to him : «Who gave thee authority to be chief over all the Christians ?» The patriarch replied : «God gave me this authority». Then the judge turned to the aforesaid bishops and to the bishop of Misr, who was with them, and said to them : «Obey this patriarch no longer from this day forth, and call him not father; but make this man your father (that is to say Banah, bishop of Misr), and let him be |525 your leader». And the bishops assented to his words, and said : «This that thou sayest is good, O judge, and what thou commandest shall be done». Now this took place by a previous agreement made by them with the judge, and they had promised to give him money. Then Zacharias, bishop of Al-Buhairah, said to our father, the patriarch : «Did I not say to thee yesterday : Hinder not the bishop, Abba Banah, from doing all that he desires, as the judge commands?» Our holy father, Abba Joseph, answered him and said with an awful voice, in the Coptic language : «O you that have no understanding, how have you gone astray thus, how have you accepted these words that have no accomplishment? But true is that which Paul the Apostle prophesied ¹¹² of you; and he showed your folly when he said : We did not do the truth of God with understanding, that we should be converted of ourselves. And you have not obeyed the truth of God». And there were some of the lawyers sitting in the presence of the judge, and among them were some who understood the Coptic tongue, and they discerned the meaning of the patriarch’s words, and how he was admonishing the bishops; and so they reported to the judge all that he had said. When the judge heard it, he was furious, and said to the father : «Thinkest |526 thou that my commands will not be carried out?» Our father answered in a humble voice : «Hast thou power to lay thy hand upon the sun, and hide its brightness? For if thou canst do this, then thou wilt be able to do what thou sayest. Or canst thou resist God, or the commands of my lord the prince, whom thou servest? I said before that my primacy is of God, not of man. But now I also hold a decree from the prince which establishes my power. Yet behold, thou sayest these words to these bishops who have no authority over me: whereas my authority over them is from God and from the prince, and the execution of my sentence takes place among my people and my flock; and I have power tocut off and banish all those who err from the right path». When the judge heard these words from the patriarch’s mouth he said to him : «Holdest thou a decree from the prince, giving thee power to do what thou wilt?» Our father replied : «Yes, it is so». The judge said to him : «Bring it to me that I may read it». Now Abba Joseph had with him diplomas from the princes, from Al-Ma’mûn Abd Allah, son of Hârûn ar-Rashîd, issued when he came to Egypt, and from Ibrahîm, his brother. And when |527 Hârûn al-Wâthik, son of Ibrahîm, began to reign, he was asked to issue a new decree for our father, and accordingly it was written for him. And it was Harûn al-Wâthik who appointed this judge over Egypt. Therefore our father handed him the decrees; and he read them, and learnt from them the superior strength of those that walk straight over those that deviate from duty and from the right path. And the judge was ashamed and confounded, and bade our father depart with honour, so that all that were present were amazed. Now there were many of the bishops who had disapproved of these transactions, and had remained loyal to the patriarch, namely, Mennas, bishop of Tânah, and Sinuthius, bishop of Sâ, and the rest of the bishops. So he gave them the fruit of his lips ¹¹³, praying for them and blessing them. The father patriarch also used to say concerning the bishops who rebelled : «O Lord, lay not this sin to their charge ¹¹⁴».

After this Satan brought upon Abba Joseph another trial. For this father was merciful, and desired not the perdition of any man. So Satan put it into the heart of the unjust judge, who had become his instrument, that he should seize the Roman and Abyssinian pages of the patriarch, who were |528 not yet of full age, and try to make Muslims of them. Now many people used to give information, one against another, for this cause concerning the pages belonging to their households, whom the judge thereupon took and into custody and perverted to the religion of Islam, by means of persecution and intimidation. He also sometimes imprisoned their masters for a time, and when they bribed him, he set them free. Then he made curious inquiries concerning the Roman and Abyssinian pages of the patriarch, who had been sent as presents to him from Africa and the Five Cities and Abyssinia and Nubia. For he was told that the patriarch had pages at Alexandria, who were being taught in the school. So he sent his officers thither in the company of the deposed bishop of Misr, whose name was Banah, the interpretation of which is Fire. The bishop went as far as the city of Alexandria, and entered the house wherein the pages were. And he took them and led them away like lambs to the slaughter, while they wept helplessly until they were brought into Misr, being eight in number. Then when the unjust judge saw them, he rejoiced, saying : «This is a matter which will disappoint and vex the patriarch». Next he said to our father : « It is not lawful for thee to resist the princes’ command nor to |529 trample upon their orders; and it is not lawful for thee to attempt to enslave these youths and make Christians of them». The patriarch answered : «I do not resist the prince’s command nor any good words, but only unjust orders». The judge said to him : «Then am I unjust in thy opinion?» He replied : «Thou knowest that none of thy predecessors forced any one like these, who are Christians and the sons of Christians, to become Muslims. For they were presented to the churches as gifts, and came from the king of the Abyssinians, or from the Nubians or Romans; and they were sent to me as a present, and given to me». But the judge, through Satan’s power over him, would not listen; and, as David says ¹¹⁵, he was like the deaf asp that stops her ears, and will not hear the voice of the charmer. Therefore he gave orders that the youths should be brought in, while the patriarch was there, and intimidated them so that they acknowledged themselves Muslims before him in the patriarch’s presence, although he tried to hold them to the Christian faith. So he said, weeping : «Woe is me, my sadness is renewed, and my heart burns within me ¹¹⁶; I have seen my punishment, my limbs are cut asunder from me. Now, O Lord, let me know my end, for the sorrows of Hell encompass me». Then the judge said to the father : «There can be no further communication between |530 thee and these youths, for they are become Muslims. Take their price and leave them». The father replied : «If it is thy desire to make slaves of the free, I have no such wish; for these are free and the limbs of my body; and God will judge thee for them, and thou wilt give an account of them before God, the God of all». After that the judge gave orders that the pages should be separated, and accordingly the Muslims shared them among themselves. And when this compassionate father saw this transaction, he sighed, and said before the Lord : «Thou seekest out blood and rememberest them. Forget not the voice of the poor ¹¹⁷». He said also : «They have humbled thy people, and done harm to thy heritage, and slain the orphans and the strangers, and said : God doth not see ¹¹⁸ ». Thus he ceased not to weep and sigh and lament. And he said : «If any one outrage these youths, may God destroy him !» Further he said : «O Lord, I am a sinful man, but yet, O Lord, thou wilt take vengeance upon this unjust judge in return for his wicked conduct, and thou wilt fulfil upon him the words of wise Solomon : In the day of vengeance ¹¹⁹ the hypocrites shall perish». Such grief did the father endure, while he prayed night and day, |531 saying : «O Lord, them wilt not forsake thy people on account of my sin».

There were in his time faithful men, holy monks, who prayed for him that patience might be given to him under these trials that afflicted him. And there was a hermit among them whose name was Ammonius, at the monastery of Saint John. There was also Abba Mennas, the hermit, on Mount Armûn, who was endowed with the spirit of prophecy, and healed all the sick; many testified of him that he had power over unclean spirits and cast them out of men.

And I, the mean and feeble one, visited him, and he discoursed with me concerning the Church. He was a eunuch from birth, pure unto God, and had been a monk from his youth in the monastery of Saint John. But when the desert was ravaged in the last years of the patriarch, Abba Mark, as we related above, this monk took refuge in a church named after the Disciples, in a certain village. And he showed forth many miracles by healing the sick and casting out devils. And I, the mean one, was present with him, and he taught me writing; and that was in the tenth year of the patriarchate of the father, Abba Joseph.

This holy old man was sitting one day, reading in the history of the ancient churches and of what happened to the fathers, in the seventeenth part |532 of the history of the church, and I said to him in my simplicity, not knowing what I said : «What is this that he says?» And he answered me in the words of the Holy Ghost : «O my son, blessed is he who wrote and provided for the history of the patriarchs. Believe what I say to thee, my son, that none shall begin the eighteenth part of the history of the Church, before he comes, whose name is eighteen. And thou art he that shall take thought for the writing of it, for the Lord calls thee to it». Thereupon I became as if I were absent-minded, and could not ask him anything further. Now this old man remained all his life a hermit. And he frequently gave me his blessing. But I have abridged what I have written, and have left much unwritten through fear of those who will read what I have written concerning this holy old hermit. Here I have left the history of the fathers, and ceased to relate their history. Severus, bishop of Sanabû, dilates in one of his homilies upon the history of this hermit.

But let us now return to that which God did by means of the father patriarch, Abba Joseph, and I will relate the following miracle. When this father was at Misr in the time of the unjust judge, whose dealing with him we have recounted, there came to him a Christian person who said to him : «O my spiritual father, take pity on me! For I have a son who has been |533 possessed many days by a diabolical spirit which torments him. And he cries aloud saying : I will not leave him until Abba Joseph, the patriarch, commands me. Therefore have mercy on my son, thy servant, O father». Now the father was exceedingly humble, and he said to the man with a pure and humble heart : «What have I to do, my son, with these of whom thou speakest? Yet on account of thy faith, thy son shall be delivered». Then the man accepted his words, as the centurion accepted the words of the Lord, exclaiming : «I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under the roof of my house, but speak the word only, and my lad shall be healed». So this faithful person did not cease to beg and implore the patriarch, saying : «Have pity on me, O my father!» Again the father asked : «What wilt thou that I should do unto thee ?» He answered : «I am not worthy that thou shouldest go with me nor enter my house; but wilt thou write for me with thine own hand a sentence in thine own name, and nothing more, commanding the devil to depart? For then he will depart from my son». When our father heard him say this, he marvelled at him, and at the greatness of his faith, and thought that he ought not to allow him to go away without that which he asked of him. And I, the writer of this history, hearing this, became like the God-loving deacon Theopistus, while he |534 was with the holy father Dioscorus in the island of Gangra, on account of the man with the withered arm who was cured by the blood from the confessor’s hand. For I believed that the Lord would do by means of this father that which would cure this man’s son. And while I was meditating on this, the Lord willed to increase my faith by this holy man. For he bade me take a sheet of paper and an inkstand, and write upon the sheet thus : «Joseph, the mean one, the least of all the patriarchs, speaks and bids thee, unclean spirit, depart from the servant of Christ our God, and forbids thee to return to him henceforth, through the power of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, the one God».

Thereupon the father of the youth took this letter, and departed quickly to his house, and read the writing over his son; and at once the devil went out of him, and did not return to him. And while our father remained at Misr, that man came to him and prostrated himself before him with great faith, saying : «I thank the Lord for thy prayers; for by thy words my son was healed». But our father forbad him under pain of ecclesiastical penance to tell anyone of this matter. And the man swore to us that the devil had never returned to his son since that day.

In those days the father Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, went to his rest. So the metropolitans and the bishops and the orthodox laity took thought |535 and appointed in his place a person, perfect in his qualities, named John. This was in the 15th. year of the patriarchate of Abba Joseph, and in the year 562 of the Martyrs. After John’s enthronement at Antioch he wrote to our father a synodical letter according to custom, proclaiming the unity of the two sees, and sent it by two metropolitans, namely Athanasius, metropolitan of Apamea, and Timothy, metropolitan of Damascus, accompanied by others of the clergy. Therefore the father, Abba Joseph, having heard that they were approaching Egypt, with the synodical letter in their charge, travelled to Alexandria, in order that they might meet him there with honour. And as they drew near to the city, he sent to welcome them a body of bishops and clergy, who chanted before them, and conducted them as far as the patriarchal cell with glory and reverence. And when our father had received the synodical letter, he commanded that it should be read aloud to the orthodox people; and they rejoiced exceedingly. .

But the perpetual enemy saw this grace, and immediately began to stir up troubles against our father the patriarch by means of one who was his instrument, as he had done with the unjust judge. Now that judge |536 employed a man worse than himself, who acted as his deputy at Alexandria and in the neighbouring province; and this man’s name was Muhammad son of Bashîr. So those whom the patriarch had formerly excommunicated went to this man, and advised him to put the patriarch to shame in the presence of the metropolitans. These children of fire contrived this plan, thinking that this action would weigh heavily upon him; whereas he, being clothed with humility, paid no heed, and did not think of what they were thinking. For they thought in their hearts that, if they disgraced him before the metropolitans, his dignity would be lessened, and knew not that their counsels were contemptible; while the ever victorious one conquered, and gained the crown after the contest, and received a blessing for his endurance. And by this his fame and the report of his patience reached the ends of the east, after those righteous metropolitans had witnessed that which was done to him.

At that time the judge of Alexandria sent and summoned the holy father, Abba Joseph the patriarch, and the metropolitans with him. And when he appeared in the judge’s presence, he said to him : «I am informed that thou hast pages, whom the judge, my master, commanded thee not to take to thyself again. Some of them are in thy house, and thou hast |537 converted them to thy religion». Then the holy man answered and said to him : «I have none of those of whom thou speakest, nor have I beheld the face of one of them since that day». Thereupon the judge ordered that the patriarch should be beaten upon his neck without mercy; and they belaboured him soundly, and did not cease from beating him for a considerable time. In consequence of this his head was bowed, and he could not raise it for his weakness; and he did not open his mouth to utter a word, except when he said thus : «I thank thee, Lord Jesus Christ». But we, his children, wept bitterly for witnessing what was done to him by this wicked judge. Yet the patriarch did not despair of mercy, but was filled with courage. And so those metropolitans marvelled, and said : «Blessed be God, who has counted us worthy to behold so faithful a champion !» And our blessed father repeated the words of the Lord concerning the unjust judge, that the Lord would show forth vengeance in him, which should come upon him, as Luke says ¹²⁰ : «God shall soon avenge his elect who pray to him day and night, though he is longsuffering concerning them» .

After this the patriarch Joseph wrote to the patriarch John an answer to his synodical letter, and dismissed the envoys with the glory and honour |538 which befitted them. And they praised our father Joseph, and began to publish his deeds throughout their country.

And there were in his days grace and peace. A wonderful thing took place in his time; for he beheld the monasteries in every place grow and increase every day, through his prayers and the prayers of the holy men who lived at that time. Above all the monasteries of the Wadî Habîb were like the Paradise of God, especially that of Saint Macarius. And God’s assistance was with all the monks, and more than any with that oeconomus Sinuthius, the holy priest, by whose means God manifested countless good works through his faith in Saint Macarius. For Sinuthius raised monuments in honour of Saint Macarius, vineyards and gardens and cattle and mills and oilpresses, and many useful things that cannot be numbered. And when the faithful people beheld what he did, they rejoiced thereat, and were zealous for his deeds, and helped him with good intentions.

And there were in the holy monastery innumerable persons, not only the orthodox, but also heretics, on account of the wonders that were manifested in that church. This was the doing of this oeconomus Sinuthius, who |539 hoped for a reward from God, as Paul, the Apostle, says ¹²¹ : «We in the spirit in faith wait for a true hope». And when Sinuthius saw the monks increasing in numbers through the grace of God which called them, he began and built a church to the north of the Great Church, and named it after the Fathers and Disciples. And he completed it, and adorned it with every kind of ornament. And he invited our holy father, Abba Joseph the patriarch, to visit this church; and when he saw it, his heart was filled with joy; and he consecrated it on the first day of Barmûdah in the seventeenth year of his patriarchate. And the father did not cease to bless this oeconomus Sinuthius from the depths of his heart, and looked upon the monuments which Sinuthius made day after day, and especially this holy church, which was capacious in size, and beautiful in structure. And we, the sons of this father, had a great affection for this oeconomus Sinuthius, on account of our father’s love for him which we beheld. And the father said to us by the power of the Holy Ghost, who descended upon him : «My sons, believe me, this brother has many monuments which he will make, and there is building of churches and chapels for him». When we heard him say this, we |540 said to him : «Thinkest thou that he will build other churches on this mountain ?» . And his words were like a prophecy, but we did not know it until there was manifested to us after that a thing that we will record.

Our father had in his hand an elegant pastoral staff, which he gave to Sinuthius, the oeconomus, saying to him : «Take this, my son, as a memorial for thyself». On seeing this, we said : «Verily this refers to something that will appear; for all his actions are done by the grace of the Holy Ghost».

In the eighteenth year of Abba Joseph’s patriarchate there was made governor of Alexandria an amir, named Mâlik, son of Nâsir al Hadar, who was a wicked man and unjust. So when he entered the city he began to do harm to many people, more than the governor who preceded him. For he interfered with the artisans and the great merchants and dealers in woven stuffs and shopkeepers, ordering them not to sell or buy except within certain limits which he laid down for them. And he made a great measure; and a crier began to proclaim thus : «If anyone is found having a garment less than this measure, I will imprison him and put him to shame and slay him». So when the people of Alexandria saw this, they were sad and |541 said : «We know now that God has abased this city and its inhabitants by the hand of this unjust man». But the poor people, the weavers and the tailors, were left without employment because their means of livelihood were cut off, and their children were forced to be idle, so that they were without food, and were inclined to emigrate and depart to other countries, that they might earn a living. And they were crying out night and day that God would save them from this tyrant.

And God did not neglect their supplication, but heard them speedily. For he said by the prophet David’s tongue in the ninetieth Psalm ¹²² : «Cry unto me, and I will answer thee and deliver thee». And again : «The Lord is near those that call upon him ¹²³». So on a certain day that amir mounted his horse and came to the patriarch’s Cell, accompanied by certain female slaves; and he ate and drank with them. Then he arose and walked round all the patriarch’s chambers, until he reached the closet in which the patriarchs always slept. Thereupon he drove the father out of it, and brought in his slaves and ate and drank with them there, and reposed in that |542 chamber, which was full of the savour of incense and sweet perfume from the prayers of the holy patriarchs. Therefore the holy father, seeing this, was grieved and wept much, repeating the words of David, the prophet ¹²⁴, in the 78th. Psalm : «O God, the heathen are come into thine inheritance, and have defiled thy holy temple». After this man had done these foul deeds without fear, he departed and returned to his own house. And God, the worker of miracles at all times, took revenge upon him; for that very day he was attacked by a pain in the inward parts, and quickly drew near to death. Yet he did not cease from his injustice and wicked deeds. At that time the children of fire went and laid information against the father, saying : «This man writes letters to the princes of the Romans, and they send him much money». So the amir sent speedily, and summoned our father, and commanded that he should be imprisoned in a narrow dungeon, and entrusted him to the charge of certain guards, who were to watch over him. And he desired to torment the patriarch until he should give him a thousand dinars, while the patriarch patiently endured; and the amir did not cease to threaten him, and finally insisted on the sum of four hundred dinars. But during |543 all this the pains were increasing upon him; and the blood ran from his body, and he could not sleep by night or by day. And he could not find a physician who could treat him, nor did medicine benefit him. Meanwhile the father remained in prison for the sake of the four hundred dinars, and prayed to God night and day, saying : «Let my supplication come before thee, O Lord, and the sighing of the sick and the captives¹²⁵». And he remained in straits many days, while the governor threatened and intimidated him, in order that he might bring the money. And the patriarch’s disciples and friends were in great grief and trouble, and counselled him to pay the money. So he, upon whom the spirit of prophecy rested, said to them, that if he were not to quit that place until he had paid what that tyrant demanded of him, then on the seventh day after they had entered therein, one of God’s sudden judgments would be manifested, at which all men would marvel. Then Abba Joseph paid the four hundred dinars, and he and his companions were released from the prison. And I, the mean writer of this history, was with him in the dungeon. And the Lord, who beholds all things, accomplished the words of this holy man; for on the seventh day after he paid the money, while we were with him, certain men entered to him and informed him that the governor was dead, and that the crier was calling in |544 the streets to the people : «Rise up and bury the governor!» And all men praised God, the worker of wonders among his saints. And the people of the city began to respect and honour the father for the troubles and sorrows and straits which he had endured, and because God had saved him from them all, manifesting wonders by his means.

Then on account of the straits and the sorrow and distress that had afflicted Abba Joseph, it was God’s will to give him rest from this world, and to call him to the mansions of light, that he might enjoy eternal life. For so God had promised to that saint, saying to him : «Thou shalt be happy for ever, and shalt live eternally». Accordingly after these events the patriarch fell sick of a fever. And on the seventh day of his sickness the Lord visited him, and took him to himself. So he went to his rest on the twenty-third day of Bâbah, in the year 566 of the Martyrs, at the time of the communion of the Holy Mysteries, the day being Sunday. Thus he had remained upon the evangelic and apostolic throne eighteen years and eleven months.

And they carried his body to the city of Alexandria and laid him with his holy fathers, with glory and honour. And the people of Alexandria, both men and women, wept copious tears over him, because they had lost a |545 man who was constant in his fight against evil. And he obtained the crown of victory.

Such were the events which I witnessed with my own eyes; but I have abridged my narrative on account of the multitude of its wonders. We pray the Lord to allow the prayers of that saint to be with us.

Now it is right for you, my holy lords, and my duty also that I should make known to you and you should listen to the fulfilment of a prophecy which he uttered to me, while he was living, and which the Lord accomplished after his death, that those who hear may marvel and glorify God who is glorified in his elect. I related before that, at the time when the unjust judge brought troubles upon Egypt, the patriarch said : «As I am a sinner. God will send down vengeance upon this tyrant for his deeds, yet not in my lifetime, but after my death». And when Abba Joseph went to his rest, there was a prince of the Muslims, named Ja’far, son of Ibrahîm; and he sent to Egypt a man named Ya’kûb, son of Ibrahîm, to enquire into the state of Egypt, and make it known to him. So when Ya’kûb came hither, he was informed, by God’s decree, of the conduct of the unjust judge, and of his evil deeds which he committed secretly and openly. Thereupon Ya’kûb suddenly arrested the Superintendent of Public |546 Order without his previous knowledge; and accordingly all the judge’s hypocritical acts by which he deceived the people were brought to light, as well as his secret, foul, and reprehensible conduct So Ya’kûb took him, and paraded him through all the streets of Misr, after shaving his beard and baring his bead, while all gazed upon him; then he threw him into prison, and confiscated his goods. And all his companions who surrounded him, and even his children, were scattered in all directions. Afterwards he banished him to the capital city of the empire, and there he died a cruel death. Ya’kûb also dealt with the judge who was the other’s deputy at Alexandria, and who commanded that the father Abba Joseph should be beaten, as he had dealt with his superior, and he was imprisoned; but he escaped subsequently and none ever saw him again in the city, nor has anyone set eyes upon him to this day. And all who saw these things or heard of them marvelled, and glorified God on account of these two unjust judges upon whom vengeance was executed as they deserved. As it is written : «The fool and he that is without understanding shall perish together».

We have recorded, on account of your love, the combat of the holy father, Abba Joseph. We will now mention to you what he did during his |547 whole time. As long as he remained upon the patriarchal throne his heart was never preoccupied, nor was he distracted by the troubles that came upon him, but he continued in prayer night and day. And he completed the reading of the whole Psalter every day; seventy-five Psalms in the daytime, and seventy-five Psalms up to midnight. This was in addition to the hymns that he recited, in supplication to the Lord with devotion and humility. These were his qualities all the days of his life, I mean humility and charity and tranquillity and chastity and continuance in prayer and giving alms; so that, after all these years during which he remained patriarch, his cares and thoughts and feelings were like those of one who lives in the corner of a cell in the Wadî Habîb. By these means he gained the crown of his deeds from the Lord Jesus Christ, and entered with the saints into the land of the living. Glory belongs to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost for ever. Amen.

End of the second division of [the first part of] the Histories of the holy Patriarchs. May their prayers be with us and their supplications protect us! Amen.

[Footnotes renumbered and moved to the end]

1. 1. Ps. li. 17 (Sept. l).

2. 1. Acts, viii, 21.

3. 1. S. Matth., iii, 10; vii, 19; S. Luke, iii, 9.

4. 1. S. John, iii, 27; viii, 54.

5. 2. S. Matth., xv, 33.

6. 1. Rom,, xiii. 2.

7. 1. S. Matth., xvi, 18.

8. 2. II Tim., ii, 5.

9. 1. Ps. cxvi, 3; cf. xviii, 6 (Sept. cxiv, xvii).

10. 1. I Cor., iv, 12,13.

11. 1. Prov., xvii, 20.

12. 1. Is., viii, 10; xix, 3.

13. 2. Mal., iii, 20 (iv, 2).

14. 3. Ezech., xxxiii, 11.

15. 1. Father of good.

16. 2. Jer., xvii, 5.

17. 1. S. Matth., x, 33; cf. S. Mark, viii, 38; S. Luke, ix, 26.

18. 2. S. Mark., ix, 44;Is., lxvi, 24.

19. 3. S. Matth., xxv, 41.

20. 1. S. John, xvii, 12.

21. 2. Ps. lxxxix, 11 (Sept. lxxxviii).

22. 3. Ps. cxix, 21 (Sept.cxviii) .

23. 1. Ps. lxix, 10 (Sept. lxviii).

24. 1. III Kings, v, 21 (7).

25. 1. Is., lxvi, 2.

26. 2. II Cor., xi, 2.

27. 1. Is., lxiv, 7, 8, 9.

28. 1. Tob., iv, 7.

29. 2. Tob., iv, 10 (11).

30. 3. I Tim., vi, 17. 19.

31. 1. Ps. lxxviii. 3 (Sept, lxxvii).

32. 2. Acts, xi, 22, 23.

33. 3. Prov.. xxix, 2 (Sept.).

34. 1. Ps. xlv, 17 (Sept. xliv).

35. 1. Ps. lxvi, 20 (Sept. lxv).

36. 1. Eph., i, 10; 11, 16. 17; Col. i. 20.

37. 2.S. Matth., xviii, 12.

38. 3. S. Luke, xv, 6.

39. 4. S. John. x. 16.

40. 5. Jer., ii, 13.

41. 1. Ps. cxxvi, 1; xiv, 7; liii, 7 (Sept. cxxv, xiii, lii).

42. 2. II Cor., vi, 14, 15.

43. 1. Rom., xv, 13.

44. 1. I Cor., xii, 26.

45. 1. Rom., xiv, 1.

46. 1. Ps. vii, 17.

47. 2. Dan., xiii, 52, 55, 59 (Greek).

48. 1. I Cor., ii. 9.

49. 2. Ps. cv, 34, 35 (Sept. civ).

50. 1. S. Matth. viii. 29.

51. 1. S. John, v, 14.

52. 1. Acts, v, 15.

53. 2. II Cor., xii, 7.

54. 1. Ps. lxxix, i, 2. 3 (Sept. lxxviii); cf. I Mach., vii, 17.

55. 2. Job, xvi, 12.

56. 1. Acts, ix, 15.

57. 2. I Cor., x, 11, etc.

58. 1. Ps. xxxix, 4. 5 (Sept. xxxviii).

59. 1. Coptic [Coptic].

60. 1. S. Matth., xxviii, 20.

61. 1. Gen., xlvi, 3, 4.

62. 1. II Cor., vi, 14, 15.

63. 1. Is., xxxvii, 29; IV Kings, xix, 28.

64. 1. Eph., ii, 6; Phil., iii, 20; Col., iii, 1.

65. 2. I Thess., ii, 9; II Thess., iii, 8; cf. I Cor., iv, 12; II Cor., xi, 9.

66. 1. Ps. xlii, 1 (Sept. xli).

67. 2. Acts, x. 2. 31.

68. 1. Mich., ii. 1,2.3.

69. 1. Nah., i. 2. Cf. Deut., xxxii, 35, 41, 43; Ps. xciv, 1 (Sept. xciii); Rom., xii. 19: Hebr., x. 30.

70. 1. Is., li, 12: Ps. lvi, 5, 12; cxviii, 6 (Sept. lv, cxvii); Hebr., xiii. 6.

71. 2. Zach., vii, 10: viii. 17; Job. v. 12; Ps. xxxiii, 10 (Sept. xxxii).

72. 1. Is., lvii. 17, 18: xxv, 9, etc.

73. 2. Ps. lxxxv, 7. 8, 9 (Sept. lxxxiv).

74. 1. Gal., vi, 9, 10.

75. 2. I Tim., vi, 17, 18, 19.

76. 1. Ps. lxxxv, 11 (Sept. lxxxiv).

77. 2. S. Matth., xx, 6 ff.

78. 1. Ps. lxxviii, 3 (Sept. lxxvii).

79. 1. I Tim., vi. 9. 10.

80. 1. Apoc., v. 6, 12.

81. 1. S. Matth., xxv, 34.

82. 1. Ps. xxv, 7, 16 (Sept. xxiv).

83. 2. Ps. liii, 6 (Sept. lii).

84. 1. S. John, iii, 27. Heb., v, 4.

85. 1. Num., vi. 25; Ps. xxxi, 17 (Sept. xxx), etc.

86. 1. S. Luke. xxii, 32.

87. 2. Am., v. 16.

88. 1. Ps. lxxiv, 2 (Sept. lxxiii).

89. 1. Rom., xiii. 2.

90. 1. Is., lxv, 12.

91. 1. ii Cor., xiii. 9, 10.

92. 1. Ps. lxxviii, 61 (Sept. lxxvii).

93. 1. Ps. xcvii, 10 (Sept. xcvi).

94. 2. Ps. xciv, 17, 18, 19 (Sept. xciii).

95. 1. II Cor., xi, 28.

96. 1. Ps. ciii, 10 (Sept. cii).

97. 1. Ps. lxxii, 11 (Sept. lxxi).

98. 1. I Cor., vii. 18.

99. 1. S. John, xviii, 9.

100. 2. S. Matth., xvi, 18.

101. 1. I Kings, ii, 10.

102. 2. Prov., xxv, 21; Rom., xii, 20.

103. 1. Ps. lxxiv, 18 (Sept. lxxiii).

104. 1. Ps. lxxviii, 50 (Sept. lxxvii).

105. 1. Ps. lxxx, 5, 6. 7, 8 (Sept. lxxix).

106. 1. Ps. v, 7; cxl, 13 (Sept. cxxxix).

107. 2. Deut., xxxii, 35.

108. 1. Ps. lxxi, 19, 20 (Sept. lxx).

109. 2. Ps. xxx, 12 (Sept. xxix).

110. 1. S. Luke, xviii. 2.

111. 2. Ps. vii, 17; lxxix, 6 (Sept. lxxviii).

112. 1. Gal., iii, 1.

113. 1. Osee, xiv, 3 (Sept.); Hebr., xiii, 15.

114. 2. Acts, vii, 60 (59).

115. 1. Ps. lviii, 5, 6 (Sept. lvii).

116. 2. Ps. xxxix, 4, 5 (Sept. xxxviii).

117. 1. Ps. ix, 13.

118. 2. Ps. xciv, 5, 6, 7 (Sept. xciii).

119. 3. Prov.. vi. 34.

120. 1. S. Luke, xviii, 7.

121. 1. Gal., v, 5.

122. 1. Ps. xci, 15 (Sept. xc).

123. 2. Ps, cxlv, 18 (Sept. cxliv).

124. 1. Ps. lxxix, 1 (Sept. lxxviii).

125. 1. Ps. lxxix. 11 (Sept. lxxviii).

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume II, Part I

Severus of Al’Ashmunein, History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic church of Alexandria Part 5: Khael II – Shenouti (849-880 AD).

Khael II (848 – 851)
Cosmas II (851 – 858)
Shenouti (858 – 880)

The twenty-first biography of the biographies of the Holy Church.

ANBA KHAEL THE PATRIARCH, AND HE IS THE FIFTY-THIRD OF (THEIR) NUMBER ¹. [A. D. 849-851]

When the father Anba Joseph, the patriarch, went to his rest, the Lord wrought marvellous things among His saints, and He caused them to remember the father, the priest Khael, who was hegoumenos of the monastery of Abu John in the Wadi Habib. He was known to all on account of his continence, wisdom and knowledge of the Holy Scriptures, for he had been the secretary of the late father Anba Joseph. Indeed, when he was a deacon he was suffering from illness for a long time, and he besought the father Anba Joseph to let him go to the holy desert. By the will of God he was worthy to become hegoumenos, after he had been (ordained) priest by the hand of the father Anba Joseph. And they took him against his will, and they went with him to the great city of Alexandria, and seated him upon the throne on the twenty-fourth day of Hatur ², when they were celebrating the commemoration of the patriarch and martyr Saint Peter. And when he sat upon |2 the throne he displayed the learning that he had acquired from saintly, eminent and inspired teachers, so that every one marvelled at him and glorified God. He was weak in his body. Those who were appointed to collect the tribute forced him (to pay) the tax on property, and he experienced sorrows and trials. And it happened one day that he was weeping bitter tears, and he said: “O my Lord Jesus Christ, You know that solitude has been my aim throughout my life, and that I have not the power (to bear) these trials, since my body becomes weaker day by day. I know that You accept the prayer of those who are oppressed, and that You have said: ‘Call upon me in the day of your trouble and I will deliver you. and you shall glorify Me’. I beseech You, O Lord, to manifest to me the sign of Your mercy in this difficult time and cause me not to behold other trials, since I am unable to bear them.” The Lover of mankind heard the prayer of that saint, for He knows the trials of all and hearkens to the saying of the Scriptures: “While you art yet speaking I will say: Here am I”It was during the days of the Fast that he (the patriarch) went to the holy desert to accomplish the feast of Easter, according to the custom of the fathers, the patriarchs. And after the feast of the holy Easter he fell ill, and the Lord Christ called him to Himself, and he went to his rest on the twenty-second of Baramudah in the year six hundred and sixty-seven of the righteous Martyrs [April 17th, AD 801]. Concerning him there was fulfilled the saying of the Psalm: “You have granted to him the desire of his heart, and You have not withheld from him the request of his lips”. They placed his body in the church of Saint Abu Macarius ³, and he received the crown with the Saints in the land |3 of the living. The length of his occupation of the throne of Mark was one year and five months. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen. ⁴

THE FATHER ANBA COSMAS THE PATRIARCH, AND HE IS THE FIFTY-FOURTH OF (THEIR) NUMBER ⁵. [A. D. 851-858]

When the father Anba Khael went to his rest, there took (his) seat upon the throne, by the grace of the Holy Spirit and by the agreement of the fathers, the bishops, and the Orthodox people of the city of Alexandria, Cosmas. He was a deacon of the church of Saint Abu Macarius, and a native of Samannud. And they assembled at the church and consecrated him patriarch on the fourteenth of Abib in the year five hundred and sixty-seven of the pure Martyrs [Jul. 8, AD 801].

There was peace and tranquillity in the Church, but Satan, the hater of good, stirred up a thorn of evil and caused the Church to stumble. When, in that year, the feast of the martyr Saint Menas drew near, the faithful people from the towns and the villages came together for it (the feast) to present their offerings and their prayers in that church which is the delight of all the Orthodox. There came together there people in whom were devils, and one of them leaped upon and attacked another one similar to him, and they did not cease strangling one another until one of the two died. When the amir, the wali of Alexandria, whose name was Ahmad ibn Dinar, heard of this affair, he commanded that the father Cosmas should be seized, and he took him and tortured him until he had received from him all the contributions which had been |4 paid to him (the patriarch) on the day of the feast that year, and he left (him) none of them. He (the amir) was going to bring down afflictions upon the patriarch and to cause him to lose (his) wealth, and he ordered him (the patriarch) not to depart from Alexandria.

Now there were at that time two archons in Cairo (Misr), lovers of God. One of the two, whose name was Macarius ibn Joseph, was the secretary of the head of a diwan and occupied a position among all those who governed Fustat of Cairo (Misr). Th.e other. Abraham ibn Severus. was the superintendent of the treasury, and was charged with collecting all the taxes on wealth, that he might bring them to the royal coffers. When news reached them (the two archons) of what had happened in the church of the martyr Saint Menas and of what the father, the patriarch, had lost, they took counsel together wisely, and they came to the wali of Cairo (Misr), namely, ‘Abd al-Wahid ibn Yahya the wazir ⁶, and they said to him: “We are sending to Alexandria to bring the patriarch here, that we may impose on him the tax on property,since he has been newly appointed these days”. These archons who loved God did this thing, in order that they might find a means of getting the patriarch away from Alexandria and of delivering him from the hand of that amir. Then the wazir sent people, and he wrote that they should bring the father, the patriarch. When the amir (of Alexandria) learned that this was on account of the taxation, he was unable to prevent him (the patriarch) from going. Having journeyed, he (the patriarch) reached Cairo (Misr), and he saluted the wazir in Cairo (Misr). There was chosen for him a town of the eastern (part) of Egypt (Misr), known as Damirah, all the inhabitants of which were Christians, and the father, the patriarch, dwelt there, on account of the afflictions that were at Alexandria. The two aforesaid archons took care of the affairs of the Church, and they caused the father, the patriarch, to be without anxiety about the affairs of the Sultan, for the time was favourable |5 to them. Abraham entered in his accounts the tax on the property of the Church, and he paid it off from his own money, and he did not allow anyone to speak with the father, the patriarch (about this matter). There was. by the grace of God, a body of the faithful which was in charge of the diwan of the Sultan, and all of them devoted themselves to the Church earnestly and assiduously because of their Faith. They procured tranquillity for the patriarch, the Church and the faithful, and they lived in quietness and peace, and there was no trouble anywhere in those days. They continued the prayers and the liturgies, thanking God for what He had bestowed upon them, as David says: “In the light of Your countenance shall they walk: and in Your Name shall they rejoice all the day, and in Your truth shall they be exalted. For You are the glory of their strength, and in Your truth shall our horn be exalted”.

Since this grace and peace continued, the father Cosmas began to occupy himself with the writing of a synodical letterto the father John, patriarch of Antioch ⁷. He wrote it and sent it by the hands of the saintly bishops Anba Severus, bishop of Daluh and Anba Khael, bishop of al-Basrubin, and with them there were priests. When they reached him (John), he welcomed them with great joy and unity of love and faith. All the churches of Antioch blessed the Lord, and they rejoiced to learn of his (Cosmas) safely and of the safely of the Church of Egypt (Misr) and her provinces. After some days, he (John) dismissed them (the bishops) with glory and honour, and be wrote (letters of) peace expressing love and unity, and he prayed in his letters that the Lord might cause this peace to continue.

It came to pass soon after this, that the hater of good (Satan) did not wait, but he began to sow tares of evil in the heart of the king of the |6 Muslims, namely Ga‘far al-Mutawakkil. He (al-Mutawakkil) brought down upon the churches in every place innumerable afflictions which were that he ordered all the churches to be demolished, and that none of the Orthodox Christians, Melkites, Nestorians, or Jews should wear white garments, but that they should wear dyed garments, so that they might be distinguished among the Muslims. He ordered that frightful pictures should be made on wooden boards and that they should be nailed over the doors of the Christians. He forced most of them (to embrace) al-Islam, and ordered that Christians should not serve in the employment of the Sultan at all, but only Muslims and those who had gone over to al-Islam. In consequence of this, love and patience were diminished m the hearts of many, so that they denied the Lord Christ; some of them denied (Him) on account of the worldly positions which they loved, and others, on account of the poverty they suffered.

When Satan learned that this defiled matter bad been sown in the foreign lands, he began to disseminate it in the land of Egypt by putting into the heart of al-Mutawakkil to continue extending it (the persecution). He (al-Mutawakkil) sent from himself to the land of Egypt a man who was not a Christian, but a Pharisee, named al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih ⁸ ibn Isaac ⁹, and he appointed him to be overseer of the taxes in Egypt and to be governor. He ordered him to deal with the churches of Egypt and the Christians, even as he had dealt with the city of Baghdad and the East.

When he (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih) arrived in Egypt he began to bring down trials upon the Christians, and he humbled them exceedingly with various afflictions, as he was instructed by Satan. The aforesaid man pretended before the Muslims to perform |7 the commandments of their law, which, (however), he did hypocritically, so that they could say “We have not seen anyone who has come to Egypt and fulfilled the commandments of the religion of al-Islam as this (one)”. On Fridays he used to go on foot with his army through the midst of Cairo (Misr) to the mosque for prayer. He detested the Lord Jesus Christ and His Holy Cross and those who clothed themselves with it. Then this odious man began to hide away any appearance of the sign of the Cross, that it should not be seen at all. and they began to break down completely every cross in the churches, and it was not permitted to any of the Christians to walk abroad with an emblem of the Cross. He vexed our religion, so that the Christians began to be unable to pray in the churches, except in a low voice, and if a man passed by a church, he would not have heard the sound of a word from him who was praying. They (the Christians) were forbidden to pray over a Christian who had died ¹⁰, and the striking of the nawakis ¹¹ was prohibited. He (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih) became even as Diocletian, and his deeds were as his. Not contented with this, he began to forbid the Christians (to celebrate) the liturgies, and that they might not celebrate (the liturgy) at all, he ordered that (the making) of nabidh ¹² should be forbidden in all his province, especially in the city of Cairo (Misr), so that it was not seen at all, neither was it sold nor bought, and all those who dealt in it became poor. His object in all this was that there should not be any wine with which to celebrate the liturgy. As there ceased to exist (any wine), the Christians began to take the wood of vine-stalks and lo soak them in water and press them out, so |8 that they might not be deprived of the Eucharist. Grief and affliction befell the Christians. and they said, as the Three Children said: “You have delivered us into the hands of lawless enemies, hypocritical and contumacious, and to a king unjust, and the most wicked beyond all that are upon the face of the earth. And now we cannot open our mouth, for shame and reproach have befallen Your servants and them that worship You: yet deliver us not up for Your Name’s sake”.

This tyrant did not cease to lay his yoke heavily upon the Christians on account of the violence of his hatred of them, and he began to perform every evil thing against them. He dismissed the Christian ministerial secretaries from the diwan of the Sultan and substituted Muslims in their stead. When he had performed all these things, even as he had done in the lands of the East, he commanded that Christians and Jews should dye their garments, and he placed over their doors the frightful pictures, which, as we have mentioned before, (he did) in the lands of the East. The subject of this picture portrayed a devil which had many heads and faces with two canine teeth. It was placed above a picture representing a wild pig of very terrifying aspect. He ordered that no Christian should ride upon a horse at all. This that evil man did according to the thoughts of Satan, and for these reasons they (the Christians) forsook their religion. Many people could not endure (these conditions), and they did not trust in their God, but denied the Name of the Saviour in those days of adversity, and they forgot what is said in the Holy Gospel: “But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel (of the Kingdom) shall be preached”.

As regards the faithful secretaries who have been mentioned before, they were in great affliction and trouble on account of this one who was not a man. yet through the strength of their belief, when they were dismissed from their employment, they trusted in the mercy of God, |9 Whose remembrance is exalted, and they besought Him not to abandon them.

As regards our father, the patriarch, when he saw the afflictions which had befallen the archons through that devil, and their unemployment and the taking away of their means of livelihood, and that it was those who were taking charge of the affairs of the Church, he was exceedingly sorrowful. Letters reached the father, the patriarch, from the faithful, beseeching him to pray for them. They wrote also to the pious fathers who are dedicated to God in the mountains and in the monasteries that they (the fathers) should continue to pray for them and for the faithful of Christ, that God might remove from them this distress and not forget them and leave them under His wrath and indignation. And the fathers, the monks, were continuing in prayer night and day to preserve the holy Name through which there is deliverance from punishment.

There was also at that time a Christian man who went over to the sect of Islam with his children, and his name was Stephen ibn Anthony. The Devil made him a vessel through which to speak. He (the man) remembered the faithful with every evil, and he said that Christians before this day did not put on garments with sleeves, but that they wore garments without sleeves, even as the monks did, whom they called their fathers, and if the fathers wore this (kind of) garment, there was all the more reason that their children should be like them. — O you, the Shaikh Anba Zachariah, if you had not done this thing, they would not enter your religion, nor obey in what you desire of them”. He (the man) imagined that the secretaries would refuse to wear these clothes (garments without sleeves) and, (consequently), deny their religion, but the Lord, the Lover of mankind, made their counsel worthless, and He brought it to nothing, as it is written in the Book of Job (Ayyub) which is filled with wisdom: “Who subverts the counsel of the wicked”. Even so God did to this impious man and returned his counsel upon his own head, as Jeremiah the prophet says: “Return, you who |10 take hidden counsel; sow good seed and sow not among thorns, lest my wrath go forth, lest my wrath burn and be not extinguished”. Thus did this befall this evil (man).

At that time, a letter from the king reached (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih) ordering him to return and to bring to him (the king) the money of Egypt and what he had collected for him together with the account of the two lands (probably Egypt and the East) and of the Muslim secretaries whom he had employed since he had dismissed the Christians. This happened through the providence of God, Whose Name is glorious. When he (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih) had learned the contents of this (letter) and had read it, he learned from it the bad opinion that the king had of him. He (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih) had married in Egypt and had acquired concubines, and had built houses, and had been granted children (by God), and had received many countless blessings.

Immediately, he was seized with paralysis, and the movements of his hands and his legs were arrested, and he died an evil death, a few days after this affair. They (the days) were counted by Theodore the scribe who used to write the letters for his (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih’s) predecessor. He (Theodore) had acquired great renown in his art, and had a beautiful handwriting, and his choice of words was praised by all who read them. He records that they were twenty-one days ¹³.

Most of the Muslims rejoiced at it (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih’s death), since he had not raised their fortunes, but had reduced their sources of livelihood and had caused the merchants to lose their wealth, and had taken away from them by force the best dwelling-places which they possessed, and had taken them by violence. Whenever any dwelling-place pleased him, he would summon its owner and buy it from him and write the deed (for the sale) of this dwelling-place, and he would deliver to him (the owner) the money for it in the presence of witnesses at the time. After the sale had been concluded he would send and demand back the money, and no one got back the money from him which |11 he (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih) had taken, except two men who were brothers. They had a residence, a beautiful building, inherited by them from their father who had spent much money on it. It was like a paradise and did not lack anything in the way of trees and fruits. It overlooked the river of Egypt, and was known (by the name of) their father ‘Ali ibn Sa‘id al-Isfihani. When he (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih) summoned to him these two men who were brothers and required of them the aforesaid residence, they said: “We will not take the price of it, nor write the deed (for its sale), but we present it to you. and we will not go back on what we have said to you, and God Who is exalted is our witness”. And they said to him: We will go out of it immediately, and leave it vacant for you within three days”.

He thought that God would ignore his wickedness against the two of them. They went out from his presence, and they removed what belonged to them in the residence, and they left it vacant for him. and he dwelt in it. This was the place in which he was afflicted with, paralysis, and his hands lost their use. When he died, as we mentioned, the Egyptians (Misriyyun) stole the money and the property which he possessed. These two brothers then came to the residence, and stood at the door of it and said to the people: “This residence is ours with all that is in it, and this man took it from us by force”. The Egyptians (Misriyyun) knew that this which they had said was correct, and no one contested (their right) to it. So they took possession of it and of what was in it, and they became rich, because of what they found in it.

He (al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih) had a grown-up son as evil as his father, and even more so. He tookthe place of his father. He stated that letters had reached him from the king (appointing him) to be in place of his father, after he had remained six months without being seen or his place (of residence) known, until he had prepared the letters (purporting to contain) the mandate of the Khalifah.

When he was installed, he began to do evil, as his father, and he thought that he would take revenge on the Egyptians (Misriyyun) for what had been done to his father, his family and his children. The |12 Egyptians feared him and they said: “God, indeed, was wrathful with us through this man and his father who was before him. What shall we do with regard to him?” The saying of Isaiah the prophet was fulfilled: “Sinners and those who transgress the Law shall perish together, and they that forsake the commandments of the Lord shall be crushed, for they shall be ashamed”.

The trials increased each day for the Christians through this mutawalli, and his evil deeds increased each day. He who never grieved, grieved for the inhabitants of Egypt, most of all for the Christians. O my brethren, hearken to this, when the Cross of Christ was broken in every place and no one was able to let it be seen, in order that Christians might hold fast through seeing it and hope for salvation through it, and likewise, the sacred nakus, the voice of which drives away Satan and his hosts, and which rouses the sluggard to the remembrance of his God, (when) he (the mutawalli) ordered that it should be cut down, so that the saying of Paul the Apostle was fulfilled: “They chastise us and we endure and we are become as contemptible men” and the Christians were tormented more than all this, until they denied their Faith and passed from life to death, hearken to what happened at that time, for it is an admonition to you. O brethren who believe in Christ, that you should know that the Lord Most High is terrible (and) fearful, and that He manifested His wonders, even as He did not conceal His might at the time when He was crucified by the disbelieving Jews who did not believe in the miracles they saw, as the rending of the veil of the Temple which was rent from the top to the bottom, and as the dead who rose from the graves, and as the rocks which were rent, and as the dividing of the day in two. In like manner also, He caused His elect who believe in His Name to know His perfect mysteries, that everyone might know that He abases the nations that obey Him not.

It happened at the time of the coming of this odious man to the land of Egypt, in the year five hundred and sixty-nine of the pure |13 Martyrs [852 AD], that this fearful sign appeared, namely, that all the monks who dwelt in the monastery of Abu Macarius observed the picture of the Lord Christ, the Merciful One. which is in the church of Saint Severus which is upon the Rock, how its side opened and blood came forth from it. All who saw this blood feared and glorified God for His marvellous works. The God-fearing people who are worthy of being believed took of that blood in faith, and they placed it upon people who had various diseases, and they were cured of their diseases immediately. The Lord desired to manifest a sign for the faithful, so that they might abound in hope in Him and in His pure Cross. He manifested in that year many wonders, namely, that the eyes of all the pictures which were in the Wadi Habib, at the monastery of Abu Macarius and elsewhere, gushed with tears like fountains of waters. They knew that this was on account of what the evil and unjust walls did in hiding away the Cross. These miracles caused them to be patient and strengthened them in all that befell them through the walls and kadis.

It was at that time that the wall ordered the building of ships in all the towns which were on the coasts, because it was at that time that the Greeks (Rum) came to Damietta ¹⁴ and pillaged it and remained in it for three days, and they went away with captives from it and with its gold and its silver to the land of the Greeks. On account of that there were built many ships of the fleet, and every year they repaired those which were damaged and built new ones in place of those which were broken; and they sailed with them to the land of the Greeks (Rum) and made war on them (the Greeks). Much money was spent every year on the fleet. As regards the Christians, they sent them to the ships, and they did not pay them a single dirham for what they (the Christians) spent on their journey, nor (did they pay them any money as) provisions for the journey, but they provided a ration of food for them only, and forced them to observe this (rule). The |14 mutawalli did this on account of his great hatred for the Christians, and he made a list of all the towns and directed that a large number of men from each village should sail in the ships. Moreover, he did not give to them any weapon, and he examined their circumstances, and he who was found without a weapon, or in whose weapon there was a defect, he (the mutawalli) would ill-treat him and force him to pay a fine and compel him to buy military equipment wherewith to fight. So they would take people who were weak and who had not the strength to travel, and who had no knowledge of the art of sailing or of fighting. These gave what they possessed to him who would travel in their stead. When they (the Christians) complained of the expenses which they had, and when they found a way to escape from these works and (to adopt) others, they did so. Then he (the mutawalli) ordered that two dinars should be given to each of the Christians, and that this should be increased to fifteen dinars for any Muslim who acted as substitute for a Christian. On account of the persecution which they (the Christians) suffered they ardently desired death; but the Lord, the Compassionate and the Merciful One, Who visits His people at all times, beheld (and) saw the sighing of His people and their weeping; and those days were not lengthened, but He (God) shortened them, and He showed forth the abundance of His mercy upon the unhappy land of Egypt, and He heard the voice of the poor, as David the prophet says: “He hath heard the voice of the poor and hath not despised His elect”.

When it reached the king ¹⁵ what this mutawalli had done in Egypt and what he had done to the Christians, and the straights in which they were, he sent and removed that evil wali who had done this to the Christians, and he sent another man known as Yazid ibn‘Abd-Allah ¹⁶. This (man) dealt well with men, and the land of Egypt was at rest. The merchants exposed (for sale) corn, and blessings and good things increased in every place, and affliction was removed from men. The souls of the inhabitants of the land of Egypt found pleasure and saw many good things. This was in the days of |15 Ga‘far al-Mutawakkil ‘ala Allah. This king turned his attention at that time to the cities which were in the land of the East and (in that part of) Egypt which is near the river,because the Greeks (Rum) had plundered Damietta in his day. Then he gave the money for the expenses of building the walls at Tinnis and Damietta, as also at the great city of Alexandria, and for all the works at al-Burullus, Asmun, at-Tinah, Rosetta, and Nastaruh, through fear of the Greeks (Rum). He completed them as was necessary, and erected fortresses and many memorials in the land of Egypt in place of what was done to the Christians, and (he practised) justice and upright rule.

There was in Egypt a kadi far from being unjust, who judged uprightly, and he was not a hypocrite, and his name was al-Harith ibn Maskin ¹⁷. He replaced the unjust kadi whom we have mentioned before, and whom God had requited for what he had done to the father Anba Joseph, the patriarch. These three mutawallis of that time, the wall, the nazir and the kadi were all alike in justice and good deeds towards everyone, so that people forgot the trials and hunger which, they had experienced, according to the saying of Ezechiel the prophet: “They shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the yoke which is upon them, and I will deliver them out of the hand of those that hate them. And the nations shall not spoil them, and the wild beasts of the earth shall not devour them; and they shall be hopeful, and there shall be none to make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a plant of peace, and they shall no more perish (with hunger) upon the land”. God did this thing: for the inhabitants of Egypt in the latter days, the days of Ga‘far al-Mutawakkil, and He did likewise for the great city (Alexandria), so that all who dwelt in and around it enjoyed security. Now the sea ¹⁸ of Alexandria had |16 dried up, and there was no water in it, and its (Alexandria’s) inhabitants were in great straights on account of this. No ship could reach it (Alexandria) except at the time of (the inundation) of the Nile.

When the king Ga‘far al-Mutawakkil learned of this, he ordered the aforesaid sea to he dug out from its beginning to the interior of the city (Alexandria). Then it (the water-way) filled with water, since the river Nile flowed (into it), and large vessels were able to enter it and to cast anchor in the centre of the city, and the bridges over it (the water-way) were repaired. When it was filled, (the water) flowed out of it into the salt sea. The souls of the inhabitants of Alexandria and of the strangers who came to it found rest, and ships and merchants multiplied in it. The people planted vines and gardens along the canal, on account of the abundance of the water, and in the interior of their dwellings as well as outside the city, for its (Alexandria’s) earth is a good and holy earth bearing fruits. The people restored the dwellings, in the ruined (district) until they reached with their rebuilding the place which is called Mamtarmur, the place in which there is the cell of the father, the patriarch. They (the people) glorified God for the graces which they perceived that (He had bestowed) upon them, and they prayed for the king Ga‘far al-Mutawakkil.

The father, the patriarch, Anba Cosmas was living in the town known as Damirah in quietness and peace during (these) days. The archons of Cairo (Misr) were taking charge of his affairs and bearing his burden and they did not let him be in need of (the help) of anyone of the people, or of what (was necessary) for the support of his state and his cell or of his sons and his pages.

These great graces occurred at the end of his days, when his term was drawing to a close. The Christians who had been driven away from Egypt returned to it again, when they heard of the graces which had been bestowed upon them. The affairs of the Christians went well. |17

At that time an overseer called Solomon arrived in Egypt. On his arrival, Macarius, one of the two archons died. As regards Abraham, he continued to perform good deeds and did not cease to do so, and he took charge of the affairs of the Church and undertook the affairs of the father, the patriarch, and he did in like manner with the bishops of the land of Egypt and with the monasteries. He devoted himself to them with regard to their means of existence, and he satisfied their needs out of his great love for Christ and by reason of his position among the walls. He knew that of necessity the Enemy would bring down afflictions upon the churches, as is his custom to do in every age and at every time. The Lord Jesus Christ the Merciful One does not cause anyone to be afflicted beyond the power of his endurance and what he is able to bear, as says the Apostle Paul. God wished to take the father Cosmas to Him and to give him rest from this transitory world and to translate him to the dwellings of the righteous. He (the patriarch) went to his rest and committed his spirit into the hands of the Creator in tranquillity and peace. The duration of his occupation of the Evangelical throne was seven years and five months.

When this father fell sick of the illness which caused him to go to his rest, he went to a district of the provinces of Lower Egypt and built there a church. This district belonged to the diocese of Sakha and it was called Dinusar. The church was dedicated to the Saint and Martyr Ptolemaeus, and he remained there alone so that he might complete the building of it. His illness, however, became more severe, and he returned to the dwelling in which he lodged at Dinusar. Here he went to his rest |18 on the twenty-first day of Hatur, in the evening, in the year of the righteous Martyrs five hundred and seventy-five [17 Nov 858 AD]. They placed his body in the church which he had built, and he received the crown with his sainted fathers, the virtuous fathers, in the land of the living. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. One God, now and at all times and to the eternity of eternities. Amen.

The twenty-second biography of the biographies of the Holy Church.

SHENOUTI THE PATRIARCH WHO WAS STEWARD AND HE IS THE FIFTY-FIFTH OF THE NUMBER OF THE FATHERS.

We begin now, O my brethren who believe in Christ, to record what happened after the saintly father, Anba Cosmas, went to his rest, that it may be (a means of) profit and hope for the souls of the faithful.

When the father, Anba Cosmas, went to his rest, the fathers, the bishops, and the Orthodox people assembled at the city of Alexandria in the month of Kyahk in the year five hundred and seventy-five of the pure Martyrs [AD 858], and they began to think of who was fit for this degree and worthy of sitting upon the Apostolic throne. The bishops made their choice without consulting either the priests or the archons of the city of Alexandria and Cairo (Misr). Thus the priests and the archons had no part with the bishops (in the election). They knew not, however, that the Lord had appointed him whom He had chosen and known, as it is written: “The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain”. When they had spent a long time about this, the bishops and the people of Alexandria came together and |19 journeyed to Cairo (Misr). so that they might assemble there and that their opinion might be one. When they arrived (there), they began to mention the names of a number of priests, monks and laymen who were known for their purity of speech, chastity, learning and knowledge of the Divine Scriptures. They differed, however, in their opinions, and everyone of them wished for someone known to him, and those who were present testified to what they had learned of him. They uttered the saying which was among the Children of Israel: “We have no portion in David nor inheritance in the house of Jesse”. They did not cease from these deliberations, and everyone answered for his friend.

There was at that time in the church of Saint Abu Macarius a steward whose name was Shenouti whose virtues we have already mentioned. He built the church which is in the monastery of Abu Macarius and other churches besides. At that time he (Shenouti) was visiting Abraham the archonon account of the tax on the property of the church. When the fathers, the bishops, and the Orthodox people and the archons of Alexandria saw him, they rejoiced exceedingly in that he would take part with them in (their) counsels, since there was in him a holy spirit, and that he would cause them to know which man of the saintly fathers was fit for this degree. He mentioned to them certain people whom he knew for (their) chastity. After the archonAbraham had settled the affairs of the stewardabout which he (the steward) had come, he (Shenouti) went in haste to the desert, on the night of the twenty-seventh of Kyahk, his object being to arrive in time for the Glorious Nativity ¹⁹ in his church. On the morrow, the assembly came to the church of Saint Abu Sergius |20 in the Kasr as-Sam‘ for what they purposed to do.

When they came together, a miracle was manifested to all of them, and they declared with one voice, swearing: “There is none worthy of this degree, except the steward of the church of Saint Abu Macarius”. All of them said: “He is worthy, he is worthy, he is worthy in truth. This is the man whom God hath chosen for this degree. Immediately, they went out to seek him. The archonAbraham said to them: “O my blessed fathers, stay and consider”; for they were seeking him (thinking) that he was in Cairo (Misr) and they knew not of his going away, that he had journeyed in haste to his monastery. “Now I will bring him (Shenouti) to you on the plea that (you wish to) ask him about other people about whom he forgot”. Then he (Abraham) wrote immediately to the man who was worthy of grace in this matter, that the souls of the bishops and the Christian people were not agreed upon anyone of the people whom he (Shenouti) had pointed out to them. On account of his Christian love he (Shenouti) hastened and came to Cairo (Misr) on the first day of Tubah ²⁰ and he entered the church of Abu Sergius, while they²¹were assembled in it. He found them beginning the Liturgy ²², and the assembly were saying: “worthy, worthy, worthy in truth”.

When the assembly saw him, all of them cried out increasingly: “worthy in truth is he whom the Lord hath chosen.” They leaped towards him, seized him and put iron fetters on his feet. He cried out and wept, saying: “What is this that you are doing before the Lord? Do you think that I am worthy of this degree? Do not think this, and do not do it”. He thought that he would escape them by this, but |21 their voices grew louder, for God had chosen him and desired to appoint him as a shepherd of this weak people. The hishops and all who were in the church rejoiced and said: “Blessed is he who cometh in the Name of the Lord. The light of the Lord hath shone upon us”. They bore him in haste to Alexandria that he might he consecrated there. When they drew near to the city, a great (concourse of) people came out to receive him and they entered with him in glory and honour. The old men, the monks of the Wadi Habib, accompanied him, on account of their great faith in him. This was on the eleventh day of Tubah ²³, and it was a day on which there was heavy rain. All who were in Alexandria blessed the Lord and said: “In truth, God manifests much fruit, as (it is said) in the Acts: He did good and (wrought) righteousness and rained upon them the rain of favour and gave them fruit”. They appointed him patriarch on the thirteenth day of Tubah in the year five hundred and seventy-five of the pure Martyrs [Sunday 8th Jan 809 AD]. He was from the village known as al-Batanun. Certain good people brought him up as Timothy, and he afterwards went to the old man, the saintly Anba Joseph, the patriarch, whose spirit came upon him from the beginning until now, as I have previously mentioned.

Hearken now, O my beloved, to what this father, the patriarch Anba Shenouti did, when he sat upon the throne of Mark. His speech was in accordance with his humility. His tears (flowed) at all times before everyone, and if any consoled him he would say: “When I consider the glory of the Bride of Christ, which is the Church, and her beauty and her spiritual sublimity and then remember my own wickedness, I do not give up sorrowing and weeping within myself, and I say: “Who is he who thinks (that) this is so? What |22 is the sin which Your Church has committed. (O) God? How has she angered her Lord that I have been set over her, I (who) am a vile sinner? She (the Church) has been covered with shame through me”. Much more than this he used to say, and he continued weeping. All who heard him (tried to) console and comfort him. but they could not. He was wont to say: “Think not that I shall give up this weeping while I remember my sins and mine iniquities.” Everyone marvelled at his humility and at the blessing of his accession (to the patriarchal throne) which was full of grace and dignity. The Name of Christ was in his mouth, (and) he uttered it at all times, even as a child whose eyes are towards his mother. On account of his humility he trusted not in anything, save in the Name of the Saviour Jesus Christ, and he completely relied upon Him, and he remembered the saying of Paulthe Apostle to the Jews in the Acts where he says: “There is not another in which is salvation, and there is not a name under the Heaven given to men through which is their salvation except by it”.

The father Anba Shenouti wrote an initial (formula) in his letters, (which signified) that the salvation of everyone is through the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our God in truth. This (Name) was his hope, and by reason of this He in Whom he trusted made easy his affairs. When he wrote this initial (formula) in his letters, it was approved by the fathers, the bishops, and the faithful archons(who used it) in their letters, as also the children in the schools. He (Shenouti) also wrote letters on precepts to all the provinces of the Evangelist Saint Mark and ordered them to pray for him, that Satan might not prevail over him in what he did in all his affairs. Men were astounded at this deed, and the angels of the Heavens and the Lord of the angels rejoiced at it. not to speak of the people who were under his jurisdiction. He used to pray and to say: “Do not recall (by your actions) the fate of Simon the sorcerer who offered his |23 silver to the Apostles and besought from them the grace of the Holy Spirit”: and he (the patriarch) said: “It was the will of the Apostles that none should do this, lest he should hear the voice which Simon heard (namely): Your silver shall be with you to destruction, because you thought to acquire the gift of God through money”.

Then this (patriarch) who was worthy of every grace wrote this, in order that everyone might rely upon this initial (formula) to guide them to the salvation of their souls. Moreover, he laid upon the faithful neither to act with fraud and deception nor to seek with cunning by means of a gift in any way whatsoever ordination, lest their fate should be that of Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, who lied to the Holy Spirit, and Peter the Apostle caused them both to die.

When they heard this speech full of the grace of the Holy Spirit, namely, the Christians in the land of Egypt, (and) they heard of his letters addressed to all the bishops and likewise of his letters to the See of Antioch, they rejoiced at this teaching which troubled the Devil and his hosts, and they blessed God. beseeching His mercy and thanking Him on account of His raising up for them such a good shepherd who put to shame Satan by these deeds. He (the patriarch) spake before the Lord, weeping: “Thou have said in the Gospel of Luke: Which of you intending to build a tower… and was not able to finish it. What king desiring war against another king. The remainder of the chapter is known to the learned. Now I, the powerless (and) wretched (one), desire to go to mine adversary to agree with him, because I am not able to meet him. Grant to me, O Lord, Your succour, Your power and Your strength as envoys, that I may go forth to meet mine adversary and him who stands against me, and mayest You cause him to perish from out of the Church”. He (the patriarch) spake many words such as these from the Psalms of David and from the other (Scriptures). The Lord was with |24 him in all his affairs, so that the odour of his savour spread in all places.

O my brethren, there was a village among the villages of Mareotis, called Bukhabsa ²⁴ in which there were evil and impure people called “Quartodecimans”. They were a people who denied the Passion and (they declared) that the Lord did not accept the Sufferings in the flesh, but that they were as a dream. When these (people) heard of the grace of the Holy Spirit which flowed from our father Anba Shenouti, the patriarch, they came to him in great joy, saying: “O father, give us the seal of your faith and the confession of your commandments, that we may believe therein from henceforth”. When he (the patriarch) perceived their faith, he welcomed them with joy, and took them to him, and gave to them the seal of Holy Baptism, and led them to the confession of the Faith of our steadfast fathers. They confessed (their errors) and anathematized Gaianus and Origen and Apollinarius and Julianus of Halicarnassus and all who believe in their filthy belief. He consecrated for them a church and priests, and declared to them the evidence of Paul: “The grace of God is coming upon you,for (whereas) you were the servants of sin, you became obedient, and became free from sin and servants of righteousness”. He taught them this, the first offering of his holy teachings, which he presented to the Lord. |25

Then he (Shenouti) returned to the city of Alexandria and set about fulfilling the canonical law which relates to the See of Antioch. He wrote a magnificent synodical letter at which everyone marvelled, and he despatched it by two saintly bishops, one of whom was the bishop Malunulas of Dawikh, and John, bishop of Diusia, and with them were priests, and he sent them to the father John, patriarch of Antioch. This synodical (letter) contained abundant teaching from the sayings of Cyril and Athanasius and Severus and Dioscorus and the company of the fathers. When he (John) had learned of it (the letter), on receiving it through the fathers, the bishops, he found it full of the grace of the Holy Spirit, and he rejoiced exceedingly and glorified God. He learned from the discourse of those who came to him of the constancy and certainty of the happy union and the strong foundation between his See and the Evangelical See of Saint Mark the Evangelist. Then he published this (news) in all his churches, near and far. He blessed God and wrote to him (Shenouti) an answer, as was requisite. He caused them (the bishops) and those with them to depart with great honours. He also wrote a letter in which he thanked Anba Shenouti, rendering honour to him and paying him his respects, and praising his works which he achieved in the Church of Egypt. He said in his letters thus: “Who can declare, even a little, the honours of which you art worthy, O father? for the ranks of the Heavens cease not to praise your faith, because you have set your hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the basis of the worship of idols you have cut off from the Church”.Through the grace of the Holy Spirit the fortifying of it shall be upon you and upon the trees which you have planted that they may grow good fruit, a hundredfold, sixty and thirty. Glory |26 and honour to the See of the illustrious father, Saint Mark.

When the letters reached him (Shenouti) and he had read them, he rejoiced at them, and he ordered the people to read them in the city of Alexandria. They (the people) rejoiced and glorified God and magnified Him, when they heard (these letters). They praised the father. Anba Shenouti, on account of his works and his teachings. Some bishops of his See went to their rest. The news of his (Shenouti’s) letters and his commandments and his teachings concerning the suppression of simony spread, and those who hoped to receive it (ordination) for money, a serious affair happened to them, but they did not show it. He (Shenouti) ordained, by the grace of God which was come upon him. many people who fought for the OrthodoxFaith, and who were worthy. The Lord was his helper and his concealer, even as (He was to) David the prophet, he commanded and enjoined upon everyone whom he consecrated that none of them should accept any gift from those he ordained, but that they should be like to him in this grace. He said to them: “Paul of the perfumed tongue said: I press on, if so be that I may apprehend that for which I am apprehended. Be like to me. O brethren. I have made my soul a standard for you”. The chiefs and the walis, on account of the beauty of his manner of life, his countenance, his faith and his works, revered him and honoured him and satisfied his needs: and the people were (living) in hope, safety and security.

Then be (Shenouti) occupied himself with the affairs of the monasteries of Upper Egypt and its bishops, and he desired to know their condition and how they were. He journeyed to them and came to their country. They rejoiced at his coming to them, and they blessed God, even as David the prophet, and even as the Children of the Jews when they praised the Lord on His entry into Jerusalem riding on an ass. He (Shenouti) instructed them and organized them, and they heard from him his teachings and commandments. He returned and came to the city of Alexandria, and he began to seek |27 out the churches and the places in them which were weakened, that he might rebuild and renew them. He desired greatly to perform in his days memorials.

There was in Alexandria, in the place in which was the Cell of the patriarch, its name in Greek being Kasturiun, a place in which the poor and those without support took shelter. The water which they had was bitterly salt, and it was far off from them, and, when they wished to transport it (the water) to them, they experienced great fatigue on that account. Necessity led them to drink of it. on account of the lack of fresh water, for they used to leave it for some days in a vessel, until it became a little fresh, and then they used to drink of it. The father (Shenouti) thought a good thought, and he dug out for them a canal from the canal which al-Mutawakkil ‘ala Allah Ga‘far had dug. until the water entered from it as far as Alexandria. Vessels began to arrive through it at the market-places, and people planted vines and gardens along it. as we have stated before. Then it (the water) descended until it formed the mouth of a small canal and caused it (the canal) to run to the place mentioned before, and the water remained freshand good for them. Good works were before him, even as the spider, (for) God the Exalted facilitated them for him and helped him to accomplish them.

Meanwhile, he (Shenouti) made for the city of Alexandria channels under the ground, in order that they might make their (the inhabitants’) wells sweet and that they (the inhabitants) might transfer from them (the wells) the water to the cisterns which they possessed for freshwater. This was what the father, the patriarch Anba Shenouti did. Then he made also a large fountain (piscina) for those who were weak and poor whom we have already mentioned. He appointed a man to fill that fountain (piscina) which he had made with an instrument, and had made it. so that they might drink from it. since they were not able to fill it. on account of the length of the well-rope. He also made good ditches and places for water and cisterns. Likewise, |28 when he passed by a small village near Maryut, called Itris—and this is its name until to-day—its inhabitants came out to him to receive his blessing and they said: “O our saintly father, the lake is distant from us about one mile, and we do not come to it. except after great fatigue”. He erected for them in that district a well, and there flowed for them water from it. and he blessed it and sanctified it. (and it was) fresh water, and they provided themselves and their beasts with it. Besides this, he (Shenouti) did not give up his care for the Festal Letters which were full of grace and spiritual teaching, so that everyone might be nourished by them.

It happened in the second year of his being on the throne, during the days of the Holy Fast (Lent) that he wrote a Festal (Letter) which was full of every grace, and, when he came to the mention of the the Dispensation of the Word of God. he said: “We believe in this wise that, at the end of time, when God wished to save our race from bitter servitude, He sent His Only Son into the world, incarnate of the Holy Spirit ²⁵ (and of Mary the Virgin), having a body equal to us in all things, save in sin. He is possessed of a soul incomprehensible, and He made the body one with Himself, without alteration, confusion or separation, but of One Nature and One Substance and One Person. He suffered in the flesh for us and died and rose from the dead. according to the Scriptures. He ascended into heaven and sat at the right of the Father. If we say that God suffered for us and died, we should understand now in faith that He suffered for us in the flesh and that He is impassible, and that He is One, even as the Fathers of the |29 Holy Church have taught us. Everyone who separated) Him blasphemously and says that God the Word did not suffer and did not die. but that it was the Man who suffered and died, in order to separate Him into Two, God the Word on the one hand, and the Man on the other hand, and makes of Him Two Persons and Two Natures, each of which does that which pertains to its nature, wishing thereby to introduce the impure faith which is of Nestorius and of the vile and filthy Chalcedon Council into the Orthodox Faith, him the Catholic and Apostolic Church excommunicates, and we flee from such and reject them. We excommunicate also those who separate God the Word into Two Natures after the Union which is incomprehensible. We confess rightly that God the Word accepted to Himself of His own Will the sufferings in the flesh. That there was perfect Union in everything is not to be doubted, because the Two Natures which became One at the beginning did not separate at all through any cause by the Dispensation of the Word. because they are inseparable, and that at the time of the Passion He accepted them (the sufferings) in His flesh: lest we should err as Photinus and Sabellius who said in their impiousness that the Divinity withdrew and the Humanity was crucified. We excommunicate both of these and we flee from them and their impious sayings and we escape their worship of the Man. When these teachings reached the churches and the people, they rejoiced at them and they thanked God Who had bestowed on this father this grace which is the teachings of Cyril and the saintly Fathers.

When the hater of good, Satan, perceived all these things and how the father Anba Shenouti manifested these teachings in the hearts of the faithful people in every place, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, he was exceedingly troubled and did not cease to prepare himself to fight against him (Shenouti) and to war against him. He (Satan) then put into the hearts of people who were without understanding and filled with deceit and corruption, desirous of the substance of the world and its desires, an unclean people, to speak against God the Word and not to follow (the correct way of) reading the Holy Scriptures, |30 nor to examine the commandments of this saintly father. But he (Satan) drew them to him on account of their love of the desires of the world and of their forsaking the instructions which lead to salvation; and they said with their tongue which deserves to he cut out and to be cleft, that the Nature of the Divinity died. They were all inhabiting a village of a district in Upper Egypt (Sa‘id) called al-Balyana, and the parts of the districts which were around it.

When the news reached our father Anba Shenouti. the patriarch, he destroyed the strength of Satan and uprooted the root of the thorns which he (Satan) had planted in the hearts of the disobedient, as it is said in the Acts: ”Judas of Galilee rose up in those days and drew away after him many people. At the end he perished, and those who were with him were scattered”. When those (people) spoke of this matter, it spread in that land and in the rest of the towns and villages, and the scantiness of the knowledge of their shepherds (the bishops) was manifest in those days. He (Shenouti) was troubled, and he was solicitous for them with great anxiety, that he might set aright the flock of the Lord (and) the Saviour Jesus Christ. (He considered) in what manner God brings back the members whom the Devil has separated from the Church and from the Orthodox Faith. He wrote letters full of wisdom and commandments, and he manifested in them the teachings of our Fathers, the Doctors, to those whom Satan possessed. When they (these letters) reached them (the inhabitants) and were read before them, they confessed the Orthodox Faith and the true religion, the religion of our Fathers, and they wrote and acknowledged their error, and they besought forgiveness for themselves and they believed in the True Faith. Then the bishops who were in those places presented themselves before the father, the patriarch, and prostrated themselves before him on the ground, saying: “You have enlightened our souls and have cured them of (their) sickness through your life-giving teachings, and you have not left us and our people in error during this time. If you had neglected us a little, we should have perished. The enemy of truth, the cursed enemy, had |31 indeed caught us in his net. and we were unable to save ourselves from him.”

The father, the patriarch, Anba Shenouti performed a good deed, in order that it might serve as a censure on the bishops and others and on everyone who errs from the Faith, in that he caused these bishops of Upper Egypt to stand up in the midst of the congregation of the lathers, the saintly monks, in the church of Saint Abu Macarius on the Sunday of the Holy Easter, and they (the bishops) made an obeisance to the congregation and asked them and besought them to pray for them and to pardon them for what Satan had done to them through temptations. They declared and confessed: “We had blasphemed exceedingly through the teaching of cursed Satan.” And they mentioned it (the blasphemy) word by word, so that everyone of the fathers who were present marvelled at their speech and prayed for them and blessed them and rejoiced at their conversion from the evil doctrine which Satan had planted in their hearts: and the father Anba Shenouti likewise rejoiced and blessed them.

There was at that time a wonderful speech which the father pronounced; it was as a prophecy and it was a terrifying matter. There were in the church of Saint Abu Macarius ²⁶ on that day two bishops, one of them was the bishop of Samannud and the other, the bishop of Minyat Tanah. When they perceived what the patriarch did with the bishops of Upper Egypt who had erred with their flock, saying-that the Divinity had died, the faith of these two bishops was also corrupted. When he (Shenouti) learned through the Holy Spirit (of their erroneous belief), he did this with the bishops of Upper Egypt in their presence, in order that the faith of these bishops might be manifested at that time. They (the two bishops) considered and said one to the |32 other, as the inhabitants of Athens said to Paul the Apostle in the Acts: “What is this new doctrine? for you bring to our ears strange words”. A man who knew the Holy Scriptures heard them, and their belief cast down his heart. Then this man went to the father, the patriarch, and informed him about what these two bishops said. He (Shenouti) was astonished and uttered a prophetic speech which was an excommunication of them (the two bishops). He spoke the parable which is written in the Gospel of Luke “Think you that these Galileans were greater sinners than all the inhabitants of Galilee? It is not so, but if you repent not, you will all perish thus. So also the eighteen upon whom fell the tower in Siloam and killed them, (think you that they were) greater sinners than the men of Jerusalem? Nay, I say to you, if you repent not, you will all perish like them”. This is that the father Anba Shenouti, the patriarch said, and the two bishops knew not that he thereby rebuked them and excommunicated them. The Lord Who knows sinners did a marvellous thing on account of his (Shenouti’s) speech, for they (the two bishops) did not think to return to the True Faith, but to remain as they were. Vengeance befell them, and they died an evil and bitter death at Bana. which was known to everyone, before they reached their dioceses.

Now. O my beloved, it is incumbent upon us to preserve the True Faith without deflection, which is the Orthodox rock, that we may be numbered with those who walked in the right way and have received rest. I say to you, I the sinner, the wretched one. the writer of this biography, that I saw with my own eyes many a time how that man (Shenouti) used to look up to the heaven and make the sign of the Cross on his brow and say: “O my Lord Jesus Christ, help me and be gracious to me and visit me in Your mercy”. When I was looking at him attentively the first day, a wonderous thing appeared to me, that is, at that (hour) in which I saw him looking steadfastly up to the heaven and saying this, something happened and befell us, and he was anxious. Then |33 I knew at that hour, and so also at every hour in which he did this, that news of something would arrive.

It happened, indeed, in those days that there came certain of the Muslim race from Khorassan, and some soldiers went to Alexandria and asked for our father the patriarch. The faithful said to them: “What do you wish of him?” They said: “The children of Elias who was wali, have sent us to him with money to pay to him, which their father took from the patriarch”. The congregation learned that it was the money which the wali of Alexandria took from the father, the patriarch Anha Jacob, when there came forth blood from the silver chalice, when they wished to break it up. They found him (Shenouti) at Sakha, and they came to him and informed him of the news, and how Elias, the wali, on the day of his death had commanded his children to send this money which was such and such to the See of Alexandria, (saying): “I took it at the time when I was wali of it (Alexandria) from a patriarch whose name was Jacob. You shall ask for the patriarch of this time who shall have arisen in the place of him (Jacob), and you shall ask him to absolve me from my ban. Then the messengers who bear the money shall bring to you a certificate from the patriarch who shall sit (on the Throne) after him”.

When the father Anba Shenouti heard this, he did not occupy himself with this matter and he did not take the money at all. His hope was in the Lord Who is rich in mercy, and he uttered the saying of Paul: “What I count as a gain, I reckon as a loss for Christ, on account of Whom I lost all things and count them as nothing, that I might gain Christ”. “For I know Him Whom I have believed and I am persuaded that He is able to keep me to the day of my death”.

The aforesaid messengers did not cease to ask him (Shenouti) to absolve that man, as his (Elias’) children had commanded them; otherwise, |34 (they said) they would not be able to return. We, his (Shenouti’s) companions, asked him not to send away these people after the long distance (they had come) and to cause them to waste their fatigues, (but) that he should absolve him (Elias). Then he wrote to them, saying: “He concerning whom you came is absolved”. Their souls were content and they returned to their country rejoicing. The father (Shenouti) occupied himself with the rest of those who followed their inclination after the way of Satan.

It happened in those days, when Ga‘far al-Mutawakkil was Khalif, that his son Muhammad revolted against him. and al-Muntasir suddenly fell upon him and overcame him and took his kingdom. When he (the son) was appointed wali, he dismissed all the walis who were in the time of his father and likewise Sulaiman ibn Wahab the wazir who loved the father exceedingly. He sent to Egypt a man known as Ahmad ibn Muhammad al-Mudabbir ²⁷, a violent and hard man in his deeds, who was feared by everyone and could not be overcome. He performed deeds which none had done before him. He remained in Palestine for a long time and he afflicted the inhabitants of that country with hardships and trials. It was said that none was heard of like to him by reason of his perspicacity and of his access to the kings ²⁸. He used to adjust for them matters which they did not understand. He was a stumbling-block for all who sat and discussed with him concerning the affairs of the State, and all who were in the kingdom desired to remove him from the king on account of this. Much taxation was due to him from the cultivation of his property, and they wished to try him, and they delivered his father to him, that he should take account to him, and he claimed from him (his father) all that was due to him without shame. He received from him (his father) what was in excess (of the debt), so that the kings marvelled and assigned to him from the current (expenditure) for the month six thousand dinars.

When our father, the patriarch, heard of his arrival in Egypt, |35 he was grieved and said: “May the Lord remove from His people all evil conspiracy, according to His wont!” He (Shenouti) knew what happened by reason of the grace which was in him. and he feared for the Church and the monasteries and their inmates. On his (the wali’s) arrival in Egypt, he (the wali) laid his hand upon all the Muslims, the Christians and the Jews, and he doubled the tax upon them. He raised (the tax) to another dinar for every dinar, and (then) he raised the dinar (tax) to three, so that he filled the prisons in every place. He sent to the monasteries in every place to count the monks who were in them, and he demanded of them the tribute and the tax on the grass which is in the marshes ²⁹ and on the palm trees and the fruit trees planted in their dwellings.

“When this news reached our father Anba Shenouti, he wept bitterly and said: “O Holy Mountain, Wadi Habib, which is the haven of erring souls, how has Satan raised up for you this trial which has descended upon the saints who dwell within you! Now I know, indeed, that this is on account of my sins”.

This unjust man asked for the father (Shenouti), so that he might take him to accompany him and to stand guarantee for what belonged to this Wadi and to all the monasteries which are in the land of Egypt. When our father knew this, he said: “What shall I do with this man?” He feared to stand before him for if he (the wali) found him, he would be a cause of the destruction of the monasteries and the monks; and he determined to flee and he said: “Perhaps, if I am not found, he (the wali) will desist from these things which he has begun to do”. Then he changed his appearance and his dress for a humble dress, and he blessed those who were with him, and he sent them to different places. He himself went to a place in which none knew him on account of the appearance which he had taken on, and a deacon who was his secretary followed him. They were wandering from place to place by water and by land. |36 Sometimes they travelled by ships, in the dress of monks, and sometimes they went on foot, and likewise the bishops were unable to show themselves on account of the patriarch, their head and their leader. Owing to our father s journeying to all places, he suffered great fatigue.

This unjust man was considering what he should do to the Seven Monasteries ³⁰, and to the patriarch and the bishops. By reason of the iniquity of his deed, he sent to every place his representatives, and they went to the stewards of the churches, and they brought what each one had of the vessels of the churches to be carried to him. They also demanded of the stewards the diyariah ³¹ of the bishops to carry it to the Diwan. Likewise, he laid hands on the churches of Egypt and numbered the vessels which were in them, and he ordered that these churches which had them (the vessels) should be closed. It was not possible for them (the people) to receive the Eucharist, except in one church. His lieutenants seized the stewards in every place, imprisoned them, put them in fetters, and carried them to Cairo (Misr), so that they might estimate the diyariahdue to the Diwan. He determined (to spend) all his time in seizing the money of the churches, the bishops and the monasteries for the Diwan. When he decided on this in the land of Egypt, the churches were oppressed and the bishops were afflicted, according to the saying of Zachariah the prophet: “There is a voice of the shepherds mourning; for (their) greatness is brought low”. So with these holy monasteries, they imposed taxes on the fathers, the monks.

The patriarch fled from place to place in the cold, since it was the season of the winter, and he was afflicted and he wept for the Church and the bishops. He said (from the Psalm of) David: “I only have |37 sinned.Of what is the Church of God guilty that He should bring down upon it this great trial?” He did not cease to be a fugitive and a wanderer until the expiration of six months. When he saw that the wrath of this man did not abate, but (rather) increased, the father was prepared to give himself up for the sake of the Church and the bishops, and he said: “If a single man become poor, the whole place will not be disturbed on account of him, but if the whole place become poor, it will not provide for its inhabitants”. So, wisely, he gave himself up for the sake of the Church. He went secretly from place to place, until he reached Cairo (Misr), and he entered in to the house of a faithful man, and he wrote a letter to this wali, whom we have already mentioned, asking from him a letter of safe-conduct, that he might appear before him. On account of the abundance of his subterfuge and his cunning which was fathomless with regard to him, he (the wali) wrote this letter: “If you present yourself to me before any of those who are seeking you in every place on my account lay hands on you, you shall be free and shall be released from the trial which I wished to bring down upon you and the Church; but if any man seize you and bring you to me, then I shall do to you that which I purposed to do against you and more besides”. When our father learned of the contents of this letter of safe-conduct which was filled with the poison of vipers, he was exceedingly afflicted, and he said: “”What shall I do? If I present myself to him immediately, and a man see me and lay hands on me, then he (the wali) will say: you came against your will’, and then he will bring down upon me his wrath”. Then he remained steadfast in the hope of the Lord Christ, and he said, as David says: ”Should I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid, for You are with me”. Then he rose up in that state with the wretched clothes which were upon him, as if he were a monk, and he went out and walked in the street at night, until he stood at the door of that man (the wali), through (his) strength of heart and (his) firm trust in God.

When the usher saw him, he entered at once and said to him |38 (the wali): “Lo, the patriarch has already come!” When it was morning, and he (the wali) sat in the Diwan, he had our father the patriarch and his secretary Menas brought in, since he (Menas) had not left him even for a day. When he (the wali) saw them both and observed the grace of God which was upon him. he said to them both with soft words: “Where have you two been during this long time? Now that you have come freely of yourself, therefore you shall not receive harm from me”. Then he left them both for that day. and he did not speak with them. After three days, our saintly father went to him (the wali) to salute him. (and) he (the wali) then began to set for him snares of death on which he had meditated, and he said to him: “Know that taxes have been imposed upon all my provinces, except upon you”. The saintly father answered with humble words and said: “Whatever Your Highness commands I will do”. It was his (the wali’s) custom to double the trials for people, if they opposed him in conversation, but if they kept silent and did not oppose him in conversation, he was just towards them. A tax of two thousand dinars a year was imposed on the Church. He (the wali) said to our father: “Since you have come of your own will, I will have regard for you and I will be indulgent towards you”. Then he obliged him (to pay) a tax for the two years before his (the wali’s) arrival in Egypt. He imposed on him (a tax) for the monasteries of two thousand three hundred dinars, until there was collected for him that year seven thousand dinars. This was the beginning of the trial due to the high amount of the tax which he (the wali) imposed on the Church, the bishops and the monasteries which were in the land of Egypt (Misr.)

This was the year five hundred and seventy-eight of the Martyrs ³², and it was the third year of his (Shenouti’s) patriarchate. The poll-tax for the Christians who were in the land of Egypt, which was two thousand dinars was raised four thousand dinars till it became six thousand dinars, so that (even) from a poor man who was scarcely able to live fifty dirhams a year were taken, so that the inhabitants of Egypt and its provinces were in an uproar on account of the magnitude |39 of this affliction. Many of the Christians denied (their Faith) on account of the little money which they possessed.

The father wrote letters to the bishops to inform them of his coming concerning the matter under discussion. Whosoever learned of the contents of his letters wept and said, as says Paul: “I desire you that you be not ignorant, my brethren (concerning the tribulations), because with increase they increase upon us beyond our power, so that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God Who raises the dead; He will save us from our tribulations. Be you also partners in praying for us”. He (the patriarch) said in his letters: “My heart is well-disposed towards you all, for my joy is in you amidst these sorrows and trials. I write to you with abundant tears. Let not your hearts be afflicted, but know of my love towards you”. When the bishops learned of the contents of his letters they were strengthened and they knew that he had delivered his soul to death to redeem them and for the peace of the Church. They thanked and glorified God for the care of their shepherd for them.

Then they assembled in Fustat of Cairo (Misr),and when they learned of what (the tax) had been imposed on the father and on the Holy Church, they paid by instalments what (was imposed) on them, according to their ability, since they knew that the father had nothing, even as those before him, because he did not pay attention to anything connected with perishable riches, until, for these reasons, and on account of (their) loss, the bishops had increased the diyariah five times more than it was, (yet) they were not able to pay what had been imposed on the father. The land of Egypt was in great straits. The bishops, the monks and everyone became impoverished on account of the taxes which were established by this man who was more to be feared than all those who were before him. He used to write about the money, when it was sent |40 (to the king): “This is what used to be stolen by those who were before me”. The father was in great distress, and besides this there was great anxiety in his heart concerning those who remained in Upper Egypt in the false doctrine. He said: “Woe to me, if I leave Satan to rule over the inheritance of the King of Heaven and earth. What will he my gain if these souls perish?” Then this good shepherd arose and journeyed to the country of Upper Egypt, even as his Master arose to seek that which is lost. He travelled along a difficult and perilous way, but he did not take notice of it, and he did not spare himself to save those who had gone astray. With the help of God he reached the place and the faithful people came out to him and received him with joy. and he blessed them all. He began to draw to him those who had gone astray and to feed them with spiritual and holy words. As a skilful physician, he did not speak to them with rough words, but as a father he spoke to them with gracious words in humility, as (it is written) in the Acts: “Repent, you (and) turn again, that your iniquities may be blotted out”. Then he opened his mouth and spoke to them from the words of the father Anba Cyril that which dispelled their errors. Many of those rejoiced and said: “Help us, O saintly father”. When the Devil observed this, he manifested himself in the midst of the holy congregation and he entered into an aged layman who was the first cause of the blasphemy and the leader in this matter. When he heard the mention of Saint Cyril and his homilies which are as an axe that cuts off all blasphemy, the aged, wicked and misled man came out and said with his tongue which is worthy to be cut out: “What have we (to do) with Cyril?” When the father heard the voice of that defiled one, as he denied the father Cyril, he excommunicated him with the excommunication which he deserved. He excluded him from the portion of the Faithful, and (also) all who imitate his error.

This (man) began, when the father came to these places first, to burn the homilies of the Fathers, the Doctors, which destroyed most of his disbelief and his errors. Among those which he burnt were the |41 Twelve Chapters of Cyril and some of the sayings of Epiphanius and many epistles of our Fathers. The saying of Amos was fulfilled in this man and in those who followed him: “They hated him who reproved in the gates and him who admonished in them, and holy speech they rejected” through the dissembling of Satan who dwelt in the heart of that old man. The father wished to bring him back from his errors and he said, as (it is written) in the Acts: ” I am constrained to speak to you first the word of God. Since you cast it away and are not made worthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles”. By the grace of God which was with our father Anba Shenouti he brought back all who followed the misled old man, and they confessed the true Faith.

When Satan was put to shame and did not gain anything by his snares in the districts of Upper Egypt, he began to set another snare to mislead other people, lest he (Satan) should be brought to nought through the fight with the father. When the father returned from Upper Egypt and reached Cairo (Misr), there was there an evil man who approached the father and asked him to take from him much money and to make him bishop. The father did not pay attention to anything of this, on account of his love for Christ and on account of what he understood by the meaning of ordination. That ignorant (man) did not cease to come back to him (Shenouti) by every (possible) means, but he (Shenouti) did not do what he (the man) asked for. Then he (the man) reflected upon a shameful deed. He found a man who was a monk, a native of Syria, and he went with him to his place of dwelling and gave him money and clothed him with garments. He instructed him (the monk) to walk with him (the man) as if he were the patriarch, and that he should borrow from him money and go with him to witnesses to witness for him. When he had arranged this with the monk, he went with him to witnesses who did not know the patriarch, and they said to him: “We testify for you”, and he said: “It is well”. Then he took the certificate and concealed it on him, and he was seeking a day to find a means by which to bring the father to the hakim. |42

One of the faithful learned of this, and he went and informed the patriarch ah out what had heen done by that man. He (Shenouti) was wont to be circumspect with all who walk in the way of evil. When he heard of what that evil man had done, he acted wisely, so that he might undo it through the grace of God which was in him (Shenouti) and through His Name the remembrance of which was not removed from his mouth night or day.

There was in Cairo (Misr) a Muslim man who had great faith in the patriarch, and he caused him (Shenouti) to be brought to him one day, and he informed him about what he knew of the deed of the non-deacon, and how he had brought to witness against the Syrian monk witnesses by means of whom judgment might be given. The Muslim said: “If this ignorant (man) did this that he might overcome us, how is it that the people who are known to be trustworthy have not died, and how is it that he has robbed them of a thing which was not known to them? But, by the grace of God, we hope to save ourselves and them from the error of this ignorant (man)”. Then the Muslim said to him (Shenouti): “What ought you to do?” The father said to him through his understanding and his enlightened wisdom: “I wish you to go to those people who are trustworthy upon whom this (man) has played the trick and to pacify their hearts and to bring them to me. I shall sit with these bishops who are with me, as if I am one of them. Then say you to them (the people): For whom of these did you witness?” He (the Muslim) did this, and they came. The Muslim said to them, as our father had said, but they said: “He is not one of these”. Then he (the Muslim) said to our father: “Inform the elders (the witnesses) of what has befallen them through that ignorant deacon”. When they (the witnesses) heard, they marvelled and were astonished. Then they swore an oath that they would not witness (again) after that day.

The deacon did not know what had happened, and after some days, he went to the kadi, for he knew not that the Lord contemned his conspiracy, and he brought out the certificate for the kadi. He (the kadi) ordered that the father should be brought, and he said to him: “Knowest you what this man says?” The father said: “No”. |43

Then the kadi said: “The witnesses whom the law allows (to witness) witness against you. Then he (the kadi) said to the deacon: “Bring forward your witnesses”, and he went in haste to the witnesses. When they saw him, they cursed him and abused him and said to him: “Why didst you clothe us with deceit?” He (the deacon) became exceedingly ashamed and returned to the kadi, saying: “I did not find my witnesses”. Then he (the kadi) ordered him to present himself on the morrow. When the morrow was come, our father hastened to present himself to the kadi, and the kadi waited for that criminal forger, but he did not see him on account of his lie. Then he (the kadi) said to the father: “Return to your dwelling”. The non-deacon brought upon himself great opprobrium, and he remained for a time without showing himself. Then, after that, he presented himself to him (Shenouti) and asked him to forgive him. He confessed his sins to him (Shenouti) and he accepted him and said to him: “My son, it is neccessary for us all to stand before the great (Judgment) Seat of God, naked, poor and bare-headed. Try, my son, to do good at all times, and speak not falsehood, lest you shouldst hear (the saying of) the Scripture: “The Lord shall destroy all that speak falsehood”. The deacon remained in great fear, making obeisances and saying: “Forgive me”.

In those (days) there died the king Ibn al-Mutawakkil who is al-Muntasir the murderer of his father. Another king did not arise in his place for six months. God took vengeance on him on account of what he had done to his father after his murder, and because he had slept also with the concubines of his father after his murder, for his body became covered with malignant ulcers before his death. There ruled after him al-Musta‘in, and he was a good and generous man. as was testified of him. He did good in his days in the land of Egypt and its provinces, in his country, the East and Syria.

It is incumbent upon us to speak of what befell this king in his kingdom |44 and of what God did for our father the patriarch Anba Shenouti. in order that we may come back to what al-Muntasir did when he killed his father and sat (upon the throne) in his place. He had two brothers. The name of one of them was al-Mu‘taz and of the other al-Mu’yyid. Their father Ga‘far al-Mutawakkil had arranged that the kingdom should be for his three children after him. When Muhammad sal (upon the throne) after his father Ga‘far, he seized his brothers whom we have mentioned, and confined them in a narrow cell that he might kill them both. His time did not last long, and he died, as we have said.

When Ahmad al-Musta‘in sat (upon the throne) after him. he brought out the two brothers from prison. One of the two, al-Mu‘taz, took a troop of those who were about him, and he got together an army and went out to make war against his brother al-Musta‘in Ahmad, the good man, who had set him free from prison, and with him was his brother, that he might wrest the kingdom from him and sit (upon the throne) in his stead.

Al-Mu‘taz sorely pressed al-Musta‘in, and (therefore) he left the city of the king which is called Samarra. He left behind him his wife, his wealth and his children in the royal palace, and he fled to the first royal city of Baghdad ³³. Al-Mu‘taz took possession of the royal palace and of all that was in it. He took the money and spent it on his soldiers who were with him. As regards that (man) al-Musta‘in who fled, many places were in obedience to him.

The two brothers continued to make war against one another for three years, up to the year in which we wrote this biography, which is the year five hundred and eighty-two of the pure Martyrs ³⁴ which corresponds in the reign of Islam to the year two hundred and fifty-two of the Higrah. |45

On account of what happened between al-Mu‘taz and al-Musta‘in, the roads were closed and no one was able to carry out any of the tax from the kingdom of Egypt, so that Ibn al-Mudabbir kept with him in Fustat of Cairo (Misr) all (the tax) which he had collected, to see to whom the kingdom would belong,so that he might pay it (the tax) to him. On account of that all the merchants were deprived (of the use) of the roads of Egypt and of the East, and the people became impoverished in Egypt through the closing of the roads and the burden of the taxes. That evil man, namely, Ibn al-Mudabbir, paid no attention to the wars of the two kings nor to the fear which was upon the country, but he devised trials for the people and collected the money, thinking to bear it to him who would reign, and through it to have approach to him. Yet the Lord was clement and He dispelled the wars, and it (the news) reached the land of Egypt on the first day of Baramudah,that al-Mu‘taz had conquered and put al-Musta‘in to rout. Laudatory addresses were delivered for him in Egypt.

All the tribes were joyful, on account of the fear which had been upon the country, for the Arabs in the land of Egypt had ruined (the country). They were the people whose dwellings were in the mountain and the deserts, and they caused ruin in Upper Egypt and pillaged and killed. Among all (the places) which they pillaged was the monastery of Abu Shenouti, and the monastery of al-Kalamun in the Fayyum, and the monastery of Anba Pachomius which is in the district of Taha near a nahiyah known as Barganus. They burnt the fortresses and pillaged the provinces and killed a |46 multitude of the saintly monks who where in them (the monasteries), and they violated a multitude of the virgin nuns and killed some of them with the sword. They did in the land of Egypt deeds which, if we were to mention (even) a small (part) of them, the explanation thereof would he drawn out, and the reader would be far from understanding it.

It happened before the arrival of this man. whom we have mentioned before, who imposed the oppression and the tax upon the monasteries and the churches, that news of him reached the two aforesaid archons Abraham and Severus, and they determined to go to the city of the king. When the father Anba Shenouti learned of this, he said to them in a letter which he wrote to them, saying: “I beseech the Lord Christ to decree for you peace and to preserve you and to aid you to attain your desire. If God grant you. my children, lovers of God, to reach (the king) and you attain your ends, let your prayer be for the churches of Egypt which have been destroyed at this time, which I hope will be rebuilt during my life, and (I hope) to see them before my spirit is taken. This is my ardent desire from the Lord Jesus Christ”.

This blessed archon Abraham, one of the two of them (the archons) imposed it (the matter) upon his soul and occupied himself with it. W hen he reached the city of the king, he communicated the news to some of the faithful who were among the servants of the king, and they rejoiced at this. They approached al-Mu‘taz who was mutawalli in those days and they asked him concerning the matter of the churches, and they explained to him what Ibn al-Muddabir had done and what had happened through him. He (al-Mu‘taz) granted their request and he wrote for them a decree (authorizing them) to (re)build the churches in all the land of Egypt. They registered the decree and said: “We implore his signature and (his) seal to this”, (but) he (al-Mu‘taz) died and his brother al-Musta‘in reigned after him.

Abraham the archonwrote a letter in which he |47 informed him (al-Musta‘in) about the state of the decree which his brother had written and that there remained only (to place) the seal upon it. He (al-Musta‘in) ordered that they should search for it (the decree) in the Diwan and bring it out. It was discovered and brought to him. and he learned of its contents and ordered that it should be completed and that it should be placed in the hands of the Dhimmah ³⁵ in the territory of the land of the Egyptians. He prescribed in the severest terms that upon him who transgressed it (the decree) the vengeance of the king should fall. He ordered that there should be returned to them (the Christians) all the vessels and other things belonging to the churches and monasteries which had been taken away by force, and (also) the estates, the dwellings, the properties and the other things which had been in the hands of the Christians, of which they (the Christians) had had free use. When this decree reached the land of Egypt, the father Anba Shenouti and all the bishops and the people, the lovers of God, rejoiced at it, and the monks who had escaped the sword reappeared and restored their churches and their monasteries. Likewise, (the inhabitants of) Syria provided for the restoration of such of their churches as had been ruined.

This father (Shenouti) gave thanks to God and glorified Him and said: “Thanks be to God Who has fulfilled my desire and has saved His inheritance and has renewed the face of the earth”. The father built the tabernacle of David which was fallen, as the Lord says: “and the part which is ruined I will set up and I will build that the residue of men may seek after the Lord, and all the nations upon whom My Name is called”. Comforted by this, the father Anba Shenouti went to the mutawalli of the land of Egypt and asked him to execute the order of the king. Then he (the mutawalli) |48 wrote for him to all the lands that all the churches in every place should he rebuilt according to what was set forth by the order of the king al-Musta‘in bi’llah.

Our father took the letters and delivered them to certain people who were on his side (and who took them) to all the districts of Lower and Upper Egypt. He also wrote to the bishops and consoled them in his letters with good consolation full of wisdom from the books of the Church. When the letters reached the walis, they authorized the faithful to rebuild the churches in every place, as far as the city of Aswan and as far as the city of al-Farama. O the joy at that blessed time which was in the land of Egypt among men, women and children, even as it is written in the Acts: “The Church indeed which is in all Judea and the land of Galilee and Samaria had peace, and they were walking in the fear of God, and they were being multiplied in the consolation of the Holy Spirit”. Who does not marvel now and glorify God and acknowledge this grace, even as the Lord Christ says in His Gospel: “He who shall confess Me before men. him shall 1 confess before the angels of Heaven”.

I remember that there were in the days of our father Anba Shenouti some people who said that Easter in the year in which the Saviour Jesus Christ was crucified was on the sixteenth day of Baramudah. The father Anba Shenouti was occupied with this matter till he was able to show them the truth and proved it to them namely (that), the Holy Resurrection was in the year five thousand five hundred and thirtv-four (of the Creation) of the World, and that the Crucifixion was on Friday, the twenty-seventh day which had elapsed of Baramhat. This was the day on which Adam went out from the Paradise, and the Resurrection was on the twenty-ninth day |49 of Baramhat (which, was) a Sunday, and this was established as true in their minds.

I, the wretched and poor one, the writer of this biography, used to say: “Who may it be who shall write the biography of this father?”, on account of the greatness of my faith in him, till the Lord Christ appeared to me in adream, and sent to me the old man, the Saint Ammon whom I mentioned in the beginning. He said to me: “My son, John, do you not remember what I said to you while I was with you in the world, when you were taught writing: under me, how none would write the eighteenth biography till he come, the first (letter) of whose name is eighteen, and great and marvellous deeds are performed? You shall be the writer of the whole of his encomium, the first (letter) of whose name is eighteen, who is our father Sinouthius ³⁶. I was astonished and I did not know the meaning of what he said. Then he said to me: “If you count from one to a hundred, which is from a to p, you wilt find seventeen letters, and the eighteenth letter is c which is the first (letter) of the name of this father Shenouti. When he had said this to me, he departed from me, and I did not behold him afterwards. That which happened on that night was manifested in order that everyone might know the dignity of the fathers the patriarchs, and might glorify them that suffered fatigues and endured patiently trials.

(This) is (what) I beheld: the father Anba Joseph, the patriarch, clothed with a garment of brilliant light shining with great glory and with him some shining people, and they said to him: “Let us go to the place from which we went out”, but he said to them: “Believe me, I will not leave (this place) until my son has laid the foundations which he intended to build”. Those shining people were importuning |50 me to complete the holy discourse (history). I was sad at heart, since I was unable (to do it), and I saw those (people) and Anba Joseph working assiduously at building the foundations. After a little. I saw the columns which they had erected, and they blessed me and departed from me. I knew that those columns were the saintly fathers whose holy biographies I desired to write, but was unable (to do it) owing to the paucity of my understanding. When it was morning. I gave my beloved brethren who were with me, the sons of the aforesaid father, Anba Shenouti, a description of the circumstance and the dream which I saw. They comforted me and strengthened my heart, when I said: “I am unable to set forth the discourse (history) of the holy fathers, but as a poor (and) wretched (one) I will write whatsoever lies in my power”. From that time I began to write the eighteenth, the nineteenth, and twentieth biographies, according to what I heard from the tongue of the trustworthy and faithful brethren who observed what I myself also observed with my eyes with regard to my holy fathers.

I will relate also a miracle which happened through the prayers of the holy fathers, before we record the trials which our father Anba Shenouti endured. Our father went to the church of the holy martyr, the possessor of the three crowns, Saint Menas in Maryuton the fifteenth day of Hatur. While he was journeying on the way and we were following him, and before our arrival at the church, on the thirteenth day of Hatur, there gathered around us a great multitude of the faithful people, since they did not find water to drink. The reason for this was that the heaven had not rained for three years, and the wells and the cisterns had become dry. When the father, the patriarch, saw the people coming to the church for the feast, and being thirsty, (because) they did not find water, he was grieved exceedingly on account of this, and he entered into the holy church. All those who wished (to celebrate) the feast gathered together to him and they besought him saying: “We beseech you, O our father, to pray to the Lord that He may be gracious to us, lest we and our children and our cattle die of thirst”. He |51 comforted them and said to them: “I believe that God will show us His mercy speedily through the prayers of His martyr”. When he had completed the Liturgy on the fifteenth day of Hatur, he communicated the people from the Holy Mysteries, and he besought the Lord with all his heart and his mind that the Lord should be mindful of His weakened people in those places and that He should make glad their hearts with water. The Lord, the Lover of man, Who hears the prayer of His servants at all times and (Who) accomplishes the desires of those who fear Him, performed a marvellous thing on that day, for. when the people were gathered together with the father, and the sun was near setting, while they were eating bread, drops of rain began to fall from the heaven (and) then it became dark. Then our father said with spiritual delight: “O my Lord Jesus Christ, my God, rich in Your clemency, if You desire to be merciful to Your people, have mercy upon them, that they may be filled with Your delights and Your blessing”. When he had said this, he entered into his closet to rest and to sleep a while. When he lifted up his hands to accomplish the Prayer of Sleep according to his custom, he besought the Lord to be mindful of His people. When he had finished his prayer, a great thunderstorm broke from the heaven and rain descended and poured down on the earth like flowing rivers, and the rain did not cease till the morrow. All who were in those places came to the church and invoked blessings and gave praise and said: “Blessed be the hour in which you didst come to us, because God has delivered us through your pure prayers from this misfortune”. The cisterns in all the places were filled and the lands and the vines were |52 irrigated, so that one of those who were there stated that the rain was sufficient for them for three years.

I will relate to you another miracle (which happened) on the same day. Our saintly father Anba Shenouti was informed that one of the priests at the church of the mariyr Saint Menas had defrauded a woman (who was) a widow who had a piece of vineyard in his neighbourhood, and that he (the priest) had taken from it a part and had added it to his (own) vineyard. The father caused him to be brought to him and remonstrated with him and asked him not to commit (this) sin, but that priest did not accept (the warning) from him (Shenouti). Then he (Shenouti) rightly excommunicated him, and God caused a miracle to be manifested on his account, because he had stamped upon the interdict with his feet. My brethren and my beloved, the faithful, believe this from me, and think nothing of worldly matters, but believe that God is Almighty. The rain which we mentioned descended upon all the lands and the vineyards, except (upon) the vineyard of that priest whom our father excommunicated. The saying of the prophet was accomplished upon him: “We will rain upon it and we will not rain upon it”. All who saw this miracle glorified God.

Another story. It was in the eighth year of the patriarchate of this father, and the days of the Holy Fast drew near, and he desired to journey to the Holy Desert in the Wadi Habib to accomplish there the Fast and the Holy (Feast of) Easter. Some of the faithful counselled him not to go for fear of the marauding Arabs, for it was the time when they came down from the land of Upper Egypt to the land of Lower Egypt, after putting their beasts out to grass, lest something should befall him through them. The saintly father said in his heart: “If I do this, I shall cause joy to Satan. If I refrain from going to the holy places, then the people will remain back because of me, and they will be deprived of the blessings of the Saints”. |53 Then he besought the aid of God and made his way to the Wadi ³⁷.

Now the Arabs knew the time when the strangers assembled there, and they arrived in secret from Upper Egypt, and they took possession of the church of the father Macarius and of the fortifications and carried off all the furniture and the food and other things which were in them. On the first day of Baramudah ³⁸ they (the Arabs) made the round of all the monasteries and robbed all those who were in them and the people who came to them, and they drove most of them out (at the point of) the sword. When the father saw this affair, he was afflicted on account of it. Then the fathers, the bishops, and the monks came together to him weeping and saying: “It was for your sake that we remained here. We desire of you that you prevent us not from departing, lest we die by the hands of this miscreant people”.

This happened on the Fridayof the Week of the Pascha, and when our father Anba Shenouti heard of it, he knew that it was a ruse and a snare of Satan which Satan had set for him, on account of that which was in him from the Holy Spirit. He (Shenouti) knew that he who had assembled the people and harassed them desired thereby to devastate the desert, so that there should he none in it of them who remember the Name of God the Exalted. There upon, he said in the strength of (his) heart: “May the Lord strike you, O Satan and bring to nothing your conspiracy which you have formed”. The fathers, the bishops, besought him to depart, so that they might accompany him. But he said to them: “Pardon me, O my holy fathers, we will not quit this place, until we have accomplished the Feast of Easter, even if my blood is to be shed”. When the monks saw his courage and his strength of heart, they envied him for his courage, and they became strengthened and did not allow Satan to vanquish them. The Arabs began to harass the congregation of the monks, so that they should not accomplish the Feast of Easter, but perform the will of their (the Arabs’) father Satan. They |54 drew their swords and stood on the rock east of the church and took the clothing that they found on the people, and whosoever resisted, they wounded him with the sword. This happened on the Thursday of the Week of the Pascha, the ninth of Baramudah ³⁹. Those of the people who escaped entered the church, crying, weeping and saying: “O our father, help us, for these Beduins have prevailed over us”. When this saint saw the distress of the people, he rose up and took in his hand his staff on which there was the emblem of the Cross, and he went out to the Arabs, saying: “It is good for me that I should die with the people of God, or, perchance, when they (the Arabs) see me, they will refrain from their wickedness, and this weakened people will be saved”. When the bishops beheld the excellence of the intention of the father and how he delivered himself to death for his people, they took hold of him and prevented him from going out to the Arabs, and they said: “We will not let you deliver yourself into the hands of these foul murderers”. When he (Shenouti) heard them, he said to them with humility, lowliness and strength of soul, as says Paul: “For I make known to you that this will happen to me (to) salvation, through your prayers and (the) supply of the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, (according to) my confidence and my hope… whether by life or by death. For my life is Christ and death is gain to me”.

He (Shenouti) became strong in Christ, and he went out to the miscreant Arabs, but by the clemency of God they had gone back and they did not appear on that day, but they (Shenouti and those with him) returned by ihe help of God and the intention and constancy of this father Anba Shenouti, and Satan the hater of good, was put to shame.

When the faithful archon Stephen (Islafan) son of Severus |55 whose work was good with the Lord, for he had trust in the patriarch and a love for the holy monasteries, heard (this), he arose in haste and came to the monasteries and met the father and the monks and the bishops, and he strengthened their souls and put himself at their disposal, and said to the father: “I will deliver myself for you and for the people, until they have gone out from among these rebels”. The father saw the timidity of the hearts of the people and that they were determined to go out, being terrified of the Arabs who surrounded them and (who) desired to take them and to kill them with the edge of the sword: he strengthened them and comforted them through the grace of the Holy Spirit, and he said, as Paul said to those who were with him in the ship: “For one soul from among you shall not perish”. He said to them: “God has delivered you out of the hands of these oppressors and He will fight for you”. He (Shenouti) perceived that some among them had little faith in what he said to them and that their hearts were timorous, so he bade them assemble all the people in the church on Sunday ⁴⁰ that he might communicate them from the Holy Mysteries by night before dawn, and that he might go with them till he had brought them to Lower Egypt. Thus their souls were strengthened. Then he arose at midnight, and the bishops and the monks and the people came together to him, and he began the Liturgy, and while he went round the sanctuary with incense, his eyes shed bitter tears, even as says Obadiah the prophet: “Let the priests that minister about the altar of the Lord weep”. He wept and said as the prophet says: “Spare, O Lord, Your people, and give not Your inheritance to this reproach, that the heathen should rule over it, lest the heathen should say, Where is their God?” The fathers, the monks, wept bitterly and their tears mingled with (their) thoughts, on |56 account of what would befall them through the marauding Arabs, and they communicated of the Mysteries before dawn, while the father (Shenouti) wept over the desertion of the desert by the monks. Then he dismissed the people, and he went out and comforted them. They blessed God and they marvelled at the strength and boldness of the father, for they saw him as Moses the prophet before the Children of Israel. Thus by his prayers and his purity God delivered the people from the hands of the Arabs that day. But he (Shenouti) ceased not to weep on seeing how the monks were passing over to the land of Lower Egypt for fear of the marauder, so that only a few people remained in the monasteries. Satan did not cease to raise up trials for the churches in the land of Egypt.

Another story. At that time there arose a Muslim man of the Madalgah who dwelt at Alexandria, and with him there were many people of his warrior friends who were known for their courage. When the Beduins heard of his renown, a great multitude (of them) came to him, and a multitude of men, even workmen, gathered around him, and they formed a great multitude. They used to go to every place in which there was a mutasarrif from the king, and they would seize him and exact from him the money which was inhis hands, and (then) they would kill him. They burnt many towns and killed many people, and his (the Muslim’s) friends sent troops after troops to the east of Egypt until they reached Bana and took possession of it. They collected the taxes of Maryut and its districts as far as the |57 city of Bana. No one was able to fight against them. They were greater murderers than any people, and they could not be withstood. When their power had grown strong, they took possession of the lands and of all the property of the church of the martyr Abu Menas at Maryut and Mahallat Batrah, and, likewise the property of the church of Saint Abu Macarius ⁴¹, (and) they pillaged them all and devoured their cereals and divided them between them.

When they had committed oppressions and injustices and had increased their wealth, their men, their beasts, their women, their children and their habitations, the chief among them and those of the warriors who were with him whom he had selected, resolved to besiege the city of Alexandria. He demanded that it should be given up to him to pillage, as he had pillaged the other cities. He took captive the children and the women, and he slew the men and seized the money. But he was not able to take it by any means, since he was not able to attack the fortifications, because he did not have engines (of war). However, he laid siege to it and prevented provisions from entering it from the lake or from the sea. He erected dams in (various) places near the citv. and he prevented the water from (reaching) them (the inhabitants). So they (the inhabitants) drank from the wells and cisterns. Corn became rare in the city of Alexandria, and it could not be found for a dinar or a dirham. The churches were deprived of the Eucharist on account of the scarcity of corn and wine, because the property of the churches, their stores and their money had been seized and pillaged at the hands of these marauding people, and they (these people) became strong enough through them to besiege Alexandria.

When (the news) reached the father of what its people endured, he |58 sought to send to them something wherewith to feed them, yet he could not on account of the siege which it (Alexandria) suffered through these people. This siege continued about this city, and God put it into the hearts of the inhabitants of Rosetta to build ships, load them with corn and sail with them over the Mediterranean to the city of Alexandria. For this reason there was security for Alexandria. Corn was plentiful among them (the inhabitants) through the goodness of God upon them and upon their children. When its (Alexandria’s) siege continued and the inhabitants were straitened, its chiefs assembled and took counsel with the wali of it. and they said: “It is necessary that we erect a rampart round all the city”. Then each of the owners of houses and buildings erected a wall as far as his neighbour’s. A wall was (thus) made to encircle it (Alexandria), and they made gates in it (the wali), and they ordered that only one gate should be opened. Under the direction of God Who saves the poor and wretched man, they did this and the city was fortified. Its inhabitants were protected from the enemy, and they (the enemy) were not able by reason of this fortification to takeit (Alexandria).

The father (Shenouti) was sad at heart and he knew not in what place he might shelter, because they had pillaged all the places which belonged to him. He was unable to show himself in Fustat of Cairo (Misr) on account of Ibn al-Mudabbir the tyrant, for, besides all these trials, there was required of him the tax, namely, the tax on property and other things besides. Every one who escaped from this enemy sought refuge in Cairo (Misr) for fear of him (the enemy), whom this evil man. Ibn al-Mudabbir, seized and cast into prison. For this reason, our father (Shenouti) feared to enter into Fustat of Cairo (Misr), lest he should be asked for the tax on the property which belonged to the churches that had been pillaged. When our father (Shenouti) learned of the inhabitants of al-Mahallah al-Kabirah and their faith, he went to them and remained there, beseeching God to save His Church and His |59 people from this tribulation, and he did not cease to weep on account of the churches of Alexandria, for he was not able to send anything to their stewards to provide for the liturgies. All who journeyed from one place to another and had a single dirham, it would be taken from him and he would be killed on account of it. A man could not travel unless he wore tattered clothes and (had) a bag of no value, as says Zachariah the prophet: “The wages of men shall not suffice for their sustenance, and there shall be no hire of beasts, and whosoever comes in and goes out shall not find peace on account of the tribulation”.

While this tribulation was increasing, God, Whose power is great, beheld what was in the heart of our father (Shenouti) with regard to the affair of the churches of Alexandria, and He directed him to write a letter to the merchants who traded in linen from the eastern lands that they should come out to him without having anything with them. When they reached him, he (Shenouti) delivered to them what they should give to them ⁴²,and he said to them: “Buy for yourselves merchandise from Lower Egypt and remit (money) in place of it to the steward at Alexandria, that he may spend it for the needs of the churches. They rejoiced at this and thanked him for his solicitude, and they took the money from him and they were saved from the risks of the way. The state of the churches and the Cell ⁴³ at Alexandria was established, as in the time when they possessed property.

The Beduins did not cease pillaging the cells of the monks and the monasteries, because their dwellings and their men were there in the Wadi, (where) they were camping, so that they (the monks) dwelt in the keeps and the sanctuaries, and they built up the door-ways of their dwellings. They (the Beduins) used to |60 lie in wait for the time when they (the monks) used to go out and to draw water, and they slew some of them and took from others what they found on them in the way of clothes and the water-skins in which they carried water. The fathers, the monks, were weeping and beseeching the Lord Christ to save them, and they endured patiently heat, cold and terror. They said as says David: “Bring us out of this tribulation, save us and deliver us for Your mercy’s sake”. Likewise the church of the martyr Saint Menas at Maryut which was the delight of all the Orthodox people of Egypt became a desert. No one was able to reach it in those days in which there was the siege around Alexandria by the Madalgah, the Beduins and other marauders, all of whom were chiefs of the Madalgah. All the holy places were destroyed, and likewise the church of the Pure Mistress at Atrib ⁴⁴ and all the churches which were the consolation of the faithful, and likewise the monasteries of Upper Egypt and the churches which are in it, even as Amos the prophet says: “I will turn your feasts into mourning and your songs into lamentations”.

The father (Shenouti) had an abundance of mourning and tears for the Holy Desert of Abu Macarius and for the unceasing praises of God (which had formerly resounded) from it; for they (the monks) were like the angels of God who ceased not from praising. It (the desert) had become the dwelling-place of murderers and marauders, and the saints who were in the desert had sought refuge in all places, and the good brethren, the luminaries, had been dispersed.

By the incomprehensible decrees of God, when the feasts which we have mentioned were abandoned, there arose one of the race of the king, and he gathered around him many murderous people, and he made war against the king, and he marched to the place which is now called |61 Mecca in the land of the Higaz, and it is called (also) al-Ka‘bah. He took possession of it and he took possession of the House to which Muslims go on pilgrinage from all districts. It is the place into which, it is said, none may enter, except a sharif ⁴⁵, on account of the honour (in which it is held) among the Muslims. The kings of the Muslims carry to it at all times money and cloths. When this insurgent took possession of it. he burnt it with fire together with that which was in it. He contemned them and said: “These are vile deeds which the Muslims do”. He tied up his horses in that place, so that in that year it became an uninhabited desert. None of the people who used to go to it every year entered it. The Muslims were in great grief on account of the destruction of the House.

When the Lord willed to look upon His people and His Church. He caused the king to send to the land of Egypt a wali whose name was Muzahim, a man who was pious and continent in his sect, knowing the precepts of his religion, and just in his ways. A great army of Turks accompanied him. These people were brave (men) and fighters, and no one was able to fight against them, because their arms were different from the arms of the inhabitants of Egypt: these were arrows made of wood.

When he reached Fustat of Cairo (Misr), he took the money which Ibn al-Mudabbir had exacted, and he spent (it) on the men, and he formed many troops besides those who had come accompanying him from the East. He began to devise a plan against the people who raised up the disorders in the land of Egypt and in the city of Alexandria. When he knew that there were with them certain regions of Egypt, he sent thither a chief of his army who was accompanied by armed |62 cavalry, and infantry marched before them, (and) they were also fighting men. He despatched on the river ships of the fleet in which was a great multitude of fighting men. and they went towards them (the insurgents). They (the insurgents) were in the districts of Banaand Abusirin the maritime region of the land of Egypt. being encamped between these two nahiyats. Most of them (the insurgents) were slain with the sword and many were drowned in the river. Whosoever of them escaped and sought the fleet, him the men who were in it (the fleet)—who were throwers of naphtha—seized and burnt with fire between Sandafa and al-Mahallah; and among the great number (of things) which the throwers of naphtha burnt with fire, there were burnt some shops of al-Mahallah in which there was the merchandise of the merchants. Many of the rich became poor in that day. God destroyed those infidels, and whosoever remained of them and escaped, sought refuge in the Buhairah but he was not able to return, because the ships with naphtha were at the ferries, (and also) stationed at the fords.

When this happened, there was manifested on the day of the burning of al-Mahallah and its shops, a wondrous mystery which it is incumbent upon us to make known to the faithful, on account of their great confidence in God Who preserves His elect and does not leave them to see corruption and deliveres them in the time of wrath.

There were at that place two merchants who were neighbours. One |63 of them had much money, but he did not have compassion upon the hidden ⁴⁶ and the poor and the other was compassionate (and) good. All that he gained he gave to the churches, the hidden and the orphans. When the fire surrounded the shops (and reached) as far as the stores of the two merchants, it burnt all of them. The Lord Who speaks through the tongue of David where he says: “Blessed is he who has compassion on the poor and needy: in an evil day the Lord shall deliver him”, and he says again: “I have never seen the righteous whom the Lord has forsaken”—the Lord saved all that belonged to this compassionate man from the fire, and nothing of it was burnt at all. As regards the rich man in whom there was no compassion, fire overcame all his property, and his riches became as dust before the wind. All who saw this wondrous affair glorified God—praised be He!—so that many put their trust at that time in Him Who saves those who put their trust in Him.

After this, the chief of the army returned to Egypt, and God delivered into his hands the Madalgah and he killed them with the sword. Those who remained of them fled to the mountains as far as Upper Egypt. He threshed them, as a threshing-machine on the threshing-floor, and all that they had pillaged and taken possession of he took from them and took possession of it. The Lord took vengeance for the monasteries which they had devastated and for the saintly and pure fathers whose blood they had shed and for the virgins who they had ravished. He (the Lord) showed forth in them His wonders, and in them was fulfilled the saying of the prophet Hosea where he says: “Their wickedness is remembered now before the Lord, and the thoughts of their hearts have compassed them about, and they are before My Face”.The land of Egypt was in security and its inhabitants and its poor rejoiced. |64

As regards Ibn al-Mudabbir the tyrant, whom we have mentioned, he did not turn from his evil deeds against us. This (man) wrote to all the land of Egypt that two taxes should be exacted from every one that year, and two poll-taxes from every Christian. The people who were in the land of Egypt became poor for this reason by the order of this man. so that the rich could not find bread and they could not prevail against him. All the people were in affliction on account of his wrath, against the father, the patriarch.. He required of him (Shenouti) the tax which he (Shenouti) owed on the property and on what belonged to Alexandria and the church of the martyr Menas at Maryut and the monasteries, and the poll-tax on the monks. (This tax) which was fixed for him was, for the first year, seven thousand dinars, and he (Shenouti) endured patiently great trials on account of him (Ibn al-Mudabbir). He (Shenouti) did not pay it (the tax) except after severe torture and sorrows. He implored God to have mercy upon him, His churches and His people. In these (trials) his thoughts and his senses were (directed) towards the Lord, the Clement One. His heart did not grow weak in these terrible trials for a single day. through the strength of our Lord Christ Who said: “Seek you first His Kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added”. The Lord was with him and He delivered him from his afflictions day by day, and Satan was not able to cause him to go astray or to bring him under his sway, and his members did not incline for a single day to anything of it (Satan’s rule) in this world. He did not advance anyone as bishop, except those whom God had chosen—good people, concerning whom no one was able to recall anything reprehensible. Of these I will mention one, the saintly bishop Anba George, bishop of al-Kaiswho performed good deeds, acting through spiritual joy. At the consecration of this (man) as bishop, when the Holy Spirit revealed his state to |65 our father, the patriarch, he took him and desired him to receive his lot. but he would not accept it: yet God the Exalted Who bestows this degree on him whom He chooses, manifested to the father, the patriarch Anba Shenouti, in a dream that he should consecrate him bishop. He (Shenouti) believed what he saw (in the dream) and he took him (Anba George) by force.

W e will also recount to you another miracle which it is incumbent upon us not to hide. We have already related about that miscreant Stephen Ibn Anthony the Egyptian who became a vessel of Satan on account of his thoughts and his persecution of the brethren, the children of Baptism ⁴⁷. An amir whose name was Yahya ibn ‘Abdallah was worse than he. He (Stephen) began to work evil as his father and to slander the fathers, the monks, and to determine the tax upon them. Our father (Shenouti) used to ask him to refrain from mentioning the monks before the amir, since he was his secretary, but he would not accept his (Shenouti’s) request, and he did not cease from doing evil. The Lord took vengeance on him. on account of His elect. A pustule

came out on the palm of his right hand with which he held the pen and wrote the calumnies and the wickedness against our fathers, the monks. It (the pustule) became an ulcer and it ate away all his palm and his arm, so that the physicians (decided) to cut off his arm. When he knew that if he lived after the cutting off of his arm, there would be great opprobrium (for him), he prevented them from cutting it off. He died an evil death, even as says Isaiah the prophet, “Woe to them that write wickedness, perverting the cause of the feeble, violently wresting the judgment of the needy ones of the people”.

When this apostate received this vengeance of the Lord, in truth, Ibn al-Mudabbir did not refrain from his evil deeds, even as Pharoah in his time, especially against the fathers, the monks, who were in the deserts, requiring them (to pay) what they could not, until none of them |66 could endure it. So they fell into the hands of… ⁴⁸ and married and quitted the Holy Jerusalem which is the desert of Abu Macarius ⁴⁹. Our father (Shenouti) beheld this and his heart was consumed, and he continued in supplication for the fathers, beseeching the Lord not to cause him to die, until he should behold their deliverance from this strife. God, the Lover of men, Who hears them that fear Him, wrought a wondrous thing and took vengeance for His elect on their oppressor, and cut short their sighing. This is what happened. When the Lord visited the wali who had arrived in Egypt from Khorassan from the king, He (also) destroyed the impious, and another man came in his place, who was brave, strong and to be feared, so that the walis of Egypt feared him. and they became with him as a sparrow in the palm of a child, and none could withstand his command, whether it were a kadi, wali or a head of a diwan. Fear of him fell upon the souls of the great and the small, and even upon his own brother. If he saw a man who was proud, he would take away from him his wealth and would abase him. He sent many people into the places of exile secretly, and he separated them from their wives and their children, and he did the same thing to his own brother without shame, and everyone obeyed him with fear and trembling.

When the blameworthy deed of Ibn al-Mudabbir became manifest to him (the wali) he ordered him to be brought from the diwan with shame and opprobrium, and he installed in his place ⁵⁰a man, careful for his soul, (and) known for his goodness in the religion of Islam. He was put in charge of the taxation of the land of Egypt. and he began to do good, so that he caused every one to pray for him. God put it into his heart to do good towards the monks, and especially (to free them) from the order of the poll-tax. They blessed God and the father, the |67 patriarch, night and day. and they did not cease from giving thanks to God for His abundant grace (which He bestowed) upon them. They (the monks) returned to the monasteries in haste with joyful hearts (to) the place of the spiritual repasts. They gave thanks to God that the True Shepherd. Christ had gathered them together and had delivered them from the hands of the Devil, the wolf, and that God had sent down his wrath upon this tyrant. When he (Ibn al-Mudabbir) was dismissed from the (charge of) the taxation, the wali ordered that he should be diverted of the garments which he wore, and that he should wear a garment of coarse wool which (even) a slave does not wear. He did this to him, and he (Ibn al-Mudabbir) was imprisoned in a narrow place in which he could turn neither to the right nor to the left. The provisions made for him were not sufficient for him. He was fettered with iron, and when it was the days of summer, he was brought out from it (the narrow place) and he was placed in the heat of the sun, and they kept his face towards it (the sun) as it turned from the morning of each day till the ninth hour. Many times he fainted, so that he fell to the ground and became as one dead; then they struck him on his jugular veins and raised him up and seated him in the sun by force. He continued under this torture for many months. All who remembered his wickedness and his evil deed and (saw) what he received now, marvelled and glorified God and said, as says David: “I saw the hypocrite exalted like the cedar of Lebanon. Yet I passed by, and he was not: and I sought him, but he was not found in his place”.

After a few days, the king sent to the land of Egypt a wali (who was charged) with the taxation. He was a good and virtuous man. When he arrived, he did good and manifested through his deed(s) (his) fear of God. God put it into the heart of the wali in the land of |68 Egypt to honour him and to respect him and to exalt him above every one in Egypt at that time and before it.

A man, a saintly monk, went to the city of the king and he asked (certain) Christian people who were good resourceful men to help him in what he desired (to do). He besought the king on account of the poll-tax and the taxation of the monks. He (the king) performed this (the desire of the monk) for him through the grace of God. and he wrote a decree for him. and (when) it reached Egypt, none of the monks was required (to pay) the tax. They (the authorities) allowed the Christians to celebrate their feasts openly and publicly. The wali rejoiced exceedingly at the decree, on account of his goodness and his kindness towards the monks. He executed immediately the order of the king. He produced evidence before every one from the Kuran that he who renounces the world and dwells among the mountains must not be forced (to pay) the tax and the poll-tax. He, for his part, wrote a decree confirming the position of the monks.

The joy of the father, the patriarch, was great by reason of this grace, on account of his care for the affairs of the monasteries and the monks and the affairs of the churches. In his great care for the Holy Desert ⁵¹, he, the father, the patriarch, raised up at the church of Abu Macarius an excellent memorial, for, remembering the deed of the Lord with regard to the monks and the church, he resolved to build a fortified wall round the Catholic church ⁵².He did this that it might become a cave and a fortress after ⁵³ the Lord Christ Who is irresistible. He collected much stone and carried on the work assiduously until it was finished with towers. He made in it dwelling-places and elevated places in the shortest space of time, for he was labouring with the workmen as one of them, and as he had been wont to work when he was steward of the holy monastery ⁵⁴, (and) so he did in the completion of this fortress. |69

This father Shenouti was patient in all that befell him in the way of adversities and trials, that he might obtain the wage of his conscience, according to the saying of Paul: “For (my) power is made perfect in weakness”. He (Shenouti) fell sick of gout, yet (his) patience increased, and he remembered the saying of Paul: “For when I am weak then am I strong”. The father, the patriarch, became weak and he was attacked by pains in both his hands and his feet. He was like this during the most of his time, so that he was not able to perform the Liturgy, and he was not present (at it) on feast days on account of the severity of (his) illness. The hater of good (Satan) did not cease from setting snares and helping those who set them.

It happened, after the completion of the fortress, that Satan did not abide patiently, but prepared for himself a vessel through which to speak, namely, a shaikh, a non-Christian, who does not deserve to be called Jacob. He became a friend of certain of the Jews, and he went to the brave wali with letters which he had written concerning the father, the patriarch, and the churches, which (the letters) were full of calumnies and lies. These were delivered to certain people who had access to the wali, in order that he might give them the authority to exact from him (Shenouti) what they had mentioned in these letters, each, year one hundred thousand dinars. This non-Christian and the Jews his friends did not cease from continuing this (the calumnies).

When this state of affairs reached the father, the patriarch, he grieved for this shaikh Jacob, and he besought the Lord to save him, lest he should be submerged in the seas of his iniquities, and he said: “O Lord, let not Satan destroy him, but deliver him from him (Satan), that he may know Your righteousness”. He used to write to the Egyptian archons that they should restrain him (Jacob) and bring him back (to his duty). He sent to those who were on his side money to maintain his position, so that he might abstain from |70 his wickedness; but his wickedness doubled through the strength of Satan, so that he opened his mouth without fear of God and insulted the father, the patriarch, and uttered unseemly words. When the father (Shenouti) saw that he (Jacob) persevered in the work of Satan, the evil one, together with those of the disbelieving Jews who gathered around him. the father, the patriarch feared but little. He (Shenouti) was hidden in the provinces of the east, for fear of the wali. When their ⁵⁵ deed was accomplished, the father, the patriarch, and the fathers, the bishops, who were in the land of Egypt were summoned.

All whom the walis caught on the road they forced to pay money. The walis were from among the Ghuzz ⁵⁶, and their appearance was terrible and they were hateful to the Christians. They used to neigh after women like horses and to carry off the children of the people and violate them without fear. They plundered their (the Christians’) cattle which they slaughtered and ate. The greater part of their food was the meat of horses, and they continued eating and drinking and fornicating. The merciful Lord perceived the evil of their deeds and put it into the heart of the wali to punish them, so that on account of the terror which he inspired (in them) and their beholding him as he slew their great ones and robbed them of their money, the fear of him was upon them; otherwise, they would have destroyed the people, for they performed reprehensible deeds which the biography is straitened to describe (on account of) its difficulty. The fathers, the bishops, through the intensity of (their) fear, used to put on the dress of laymen and to alter their clothes and to walk on foot without beasts, so that they might go whither they desired. The affairs of these (the Ghuzz) increased. The Lord had protected the father, the patriarch, from the machinations of those who presented calumnious reports about him, namely, Jacob and the Jews, even as Isaiah the prophet says: “For the counsel of the wicked has counselled |71 lawlessness, and they have destroyed the innocent with unjust words”.

Hearken, now, to this miracle, as the Master says: “The gates of hell shall not overcome it”. The gates of hell are the chiefs of wickedness, those who presented calumnious reports about the father (Sbenouti) and the churches, (who) were not able, on account of (their) terror of the wali, to come before him (the wali). But one of his secretaries who was accessible to him (the wali) wrote in his (the wali’s) stead to summon the father (Shenouti) and the bishops. After some clays it was manifest to the wali that that evil secretary who was occupied with those who had presented the calumnious reports had forged the letters without his knowledge. He (the wali) seized him (the secretary) in great wrath, and took away from him all that he possessed and ordered that his beard should be shaved off and that he should be bound with iron (chains) and be kept in prison. When the corrupt ones saw that (secretary) in whom was their hope, they were confounded and the saying of Isaiah the prophet was fulfilled in them: “And the sinners and the transgressors of the law shall perish together, and they that forsake the Lord shall be confounded.

After a little, God destroyed Jacob the non-Christian and the Jew, his friend, and they both died an evil death, even as David says: “The fool and he that is without understanding shall perish together”. All who witnessed the vengeance of the Lord on those who resist the Church marvelled and glorified God. When (the news of) the death of Jacob reached our father (Shenouti) his heart grieved for his death, before his repentance, and he wept over him. because it was requisite. The father (Shenouti) used to |72 say concerning Jacob the Christian: “May the Lord forgive him and give rest to his soul!”, so that all who heard him marvelled.

When the hater of good (Satan) saw that, he became impatient to arrange trials, and he raised up another trial and did evil which we shall mention, and concerning this Paul wrote in his Epistle about these trials: “Know you that in the last days there shall be evil times. Men shall love themselves and they shall love silver, (being) proud, haughty, railers, disobedient to their parents, unthankful, impure, without compassion, inconstant, slanderers, without self control, not accepting instruction, not loving good, audacious, stiff-necked, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Satan placed all these bad qualities in the people whom he appropriated to himself (as) vessels, and made them an instrument for himself, those whom we have mentioned before, and gave them power to present calumnious reports about the father, the patriarch. They were, as Paul the Apostle says: “Men corrupted in their hearts, reprobate concerning the Faith. But their work shall not be achieved”. Among these there was a priest, a monk of the monastery of Enaton ⁵⁷, who came into Cairo (Misr) and wrote calumnious reports about the patriarch, and delivered them to the walls. When Satan saw him clothed thus, he put it into the heart of the persons attached to that amir, the wali himself, to take from him (the monk) the calumnious reports, and they entered with them to him. He (the wali) commanded that he (the monk) should remain before the door until he (the wali) had made enquiries about him. He (the monk) remained there for some days, but the Lord did not desire to drown him in the seas of sin. He (God) put it into the hearts of the faithful to turn him away from his ignorance and to remove him from the doors of the walls, that he should not act presumptuously towards the father (Shenouti). He became ashamed by the great reproach (made) to him by those faithful. Then he departed, and (when) |73 he was summoned afterwards, he was not found. They knew not his place (even) to this day.

Satan was troubled and his wrath increased and he went to a non-deacon in the districts of al-Basmur who was clothed with the vesture of monks, but later had put off this vesture. He (Satan) filled his (the non-deacon’s) heart with evil, and he thought to accomplish what the priest had said who had gone away. The deacon resembled the priest, and he who saw him said: “He is that priest who presented the calumnious reports”. When he appeared before the walis, they did not doubt that he was the priest. They said to him: “Where have you been during these days’? You were ordered to remain before the door till you didst receive the answer to what you didst ask, in which is the signature of the sultan”. From that hour an important decree was written for him, and there went with him a number of cavalry of the army, and they came with him to the place in which our father, the saintly patriarch, was hidden. This affair happened before any of the people knew (of it), nor did any of the secretaries at the door (know about it), because he (the non-deacon) asked that the decree should be written for him and should not be registered in the diwans for fear lest his affair should be attested and he should not attain that winch he wanted. He (the non-deacon) seized him (Shenouti) and carried him to Cairo (Misr). When the archons and the people of Cairo (Misr) heard this news and that the patriarch had arrived in Cairo (Misr) under arrest, they were very sorrowful, and likewise they grieved also very much and were afraid of this deacon, and not one of them shewed himself.

The father (Shenouti) was suffering from strokes and gout which he had contracted. When the journey and the summons upset him, the trouble increased more. On his (Shenouti’s) arrival, the wali ordered that he should be thrown into prison together with (other) prisoners, thieves, murderers and malefactors. He (Shenouti) was carried in a litter on the heads of four of his pages until he was thrown down in a narrow place, and he suffered great fatigue. All the people both the |74 Christians and the Muslims heard (this) news about him. The wali ordered that none of all the people should go in to him, except one disciple who should bring food for him at the time when it was necessary, and that it should not be allowed to speak with him, nor for him (Shenouti) to make any recommendation to him (the disciple) about what he wished. On the contrary, those who were in charge of the prison took from him (Shenouti) the food which the disciple brought, and they took from it what they wanted and gave to him what they wished from that which was left of it (the food). Of that which was brought to him he used to take a small quantity every three days and to give the rest to the people who were imprisoned with him. God, Who does not reject him who serves Him, put it into the heart of the prisoners to love and to respect him. They used to minister to him as slaves minister to their lords, and to carry him to the place in which he used to make water and to bring him back to his place with care. On account of the intensity of the anguish which he experienced, he used to give thanks to God and beseech Him to grant repose ⁵⁸ to the bishops, lest they should endure what he endured, and that He should not bring them into that intense anguish; for the decree which the wali wrote for that non-deacon included (the order) to seize the bishops and to send them to Cairo (Misr).

When the father, the patriarch, was thrown into prison (the non-deacon), who had presented the calumnious reports returned and went out again to all the places of the land of Upper and Lower Egypt and he seized a number of the bishops before his business was known. It happened, when he seized one of them, that he used to expose him publicly by removing from him (his) clothes and putting on him others. He did not allow him to wear any of his own clothes, except the hood which the monks wear, and he used to make them ride on beasts without saddles, and they were mocked before the inhabitants of the land. Some of them escaped and others fell into his hands but they won him over to them and (thus) escaped.

Our father Anba Shenouti remained under this tribulation |75 for forty days, but God perceived his patience and the intensity of his fatigue and the infirmity which be endured which we have described. He (God) had compassion on him (Shenouti) and he put it into the heart of the wali to liberate him from prison, after he had demanded of him what he was unable to do. even to a small extent. He (Shenouti) was saved from his (the walis) hands (and) he wore the crown of victory and was blessed. He used to say: “I am not worthy to be tried, for my sins are great”. The Christians experienced great joy at his (Shenouti’s) deliverance.

When he (Shenouti) was delivered, he did not interdict that deacon, because God had already interdicted him from (performing the office of the) priesthood, for he had been clothed with the vesture of monks and had cast it away from him. He (Shenouti) caused him (the non-deacon) to come to him and he said to him: “May the Lord forgive you!” As regards the fathers, the bishops, whom he (the non-deacon) had seized and whom he wished to bring to Cairo (Misr). when the news of the deliverance of the father, the patriarch, reached him (the non-deacon), while he was yet on the way, he (the non-deacon) released them and gave them back their clothes and what was taken from them in the way of beasts, pages and furniture, except the gold or the silver, because he had given some of it to the men who were with him, and some of it he had spent on what he wanted, for he was very poor and very ragged, without money and without what he had inherited. The fathers, the bishops, rejoiced at their deliverance from his hands and they did not ask him about anything which happened to him on their account, for they thought that the news which reached them about the deliverance of the patriarch was without truth. The father (Shenouti) used to say to this deacon: “It is not you who have delivered me into the hands of the walis, but my sins which have caused me to be brought into trials”. All who heard this speech of his said: “We have never seen anything like this”.

We will recount now what befell the non-deacon, in order that on account of him God may be glorified by all who hear what befell him. |76

When our father (Shenouti) was delivered from captivity and God had brought to nothing all that they had said to the wali concerning him (Shenouti), that deacon came to him and asked him in the guise (of one) of the faithful, saying to him: “I beseech you. O my father, to forgive me. because my sin is very great, and I have done to you deeds for which I am not worthy that you shouldst forgive me, for I know what evil I did and that I did not render you any good (action)”. In spite of this, he (Shenouti) said to him: “May the Lord forgive you!” He (the non-deacon). then humbly asked him (Shenouti) to write for him a letter containing absolution, because he (the non-deacon) was not able to walk among the faithful or to enter any church, since, if the children of all the people, both the Muslims and the Christians saw him, they stoned him, saying: “This man is an evil man and one who presents calumnious reports”. He was not able to walk among the people. Our blessed father, Anba Shenouti commanded John, his secretary, to write for him a letter to all the faithful in which he said: “I have absolved through my mouth the ban on this deacon. Let none of the faithful hinder him from receiving the Eucharist”. When he had written the letter and sealed it with his seal, which is the sign of the Holy Cross, he rolled it up and delivered it to him (the non-deacon). When he (the non-deacon) left him (Shenouti), he (Shenouti) commanded a disciple of his, who had (charge of) the financial administration of the Cell ⁵⁹ to pay to him (the non-deacon) a sum of money with which to help him in what he wanted. He commanded also that he should receive one of the beasts which should be saddled. He ordered for him three suits from those which his pages used to wear and he dismissed him.

I, the wretched writer of this biography, said to him (Shenouti): “O my father, how is it that you didst do this, and he (the non-deacon) is unworthy of what you didst for him in allowing him to receive the Eucharist?” He said to me: “My blessed son, do you not know that if the sinful man dares to receive the Eucharist before he has acknowledged his sin before God and asked from Him pardon and |77 remission, and believes that through the Eucharist he accomplishes his Christian duty, the Eucharist increases the sins. But. if he believes that the Eucharist forgives sins, even as He said in His Holy Gospel: “This is My Body, eat you of it at all times for the forgiveness of your sins”, he receives the Eucharist and It blots out his sin. But owing to the small degree of his understanding and the domination of evil thoughts over him, he (the non-deacon) does not understand this”.

In spite of what we have mentioned of what the father (Shenouti) did for him (the non-deacon), he did not give up (his) evil (ways). When he went to the provinces in which he dwelt, namely, a nahiyah in the neighbourhood of Sa, he took counsel against the priests in the churches and did harm to them, and he sat in company with the walis. The greater part of his time he was assiduous in preparing calumnious reports about the people, especially the Christians and the priests among them, and the saying of David the prophet was fulfilled in him when he says: “He sits together with the rich to slay the innocent in secret”. When his (harmful) works increased, and the merchants and those who possessed money and those who were rich among the inhabitants of the provinces became afraid of him (the non-deacon), some of the inhabitants of Alexandria assembled with the merchants of the maritime provinces who transacted business with them, and they complained one to another about the behaviour of this deacon.

There was in Alexandria a wali good and pious in his religion to whom came the inhabitants of Alexandria and the merchants whom we have mentioned, and they said: “This frontier city is not distinguished nor is money got out of it, save from the merchants who visit it by sea and by land, because there is not a tax for it on the cultivation of the land or on anything else. We, the merchants of the land, are not able to come out from it (Alexandria) (to journey) to the maritime regions, because a man who presents calumnious reports lives (there), (and) does harm to |78 anyone of us who comes to these provinces and other parts by his tale-bearing to the wali, with the intention to gain access to his heart, so that we are not able to get beyond him to these lands. Lo, the merchants, the inhabitants of the maritime lands, remain outside and they have refused to import their merchandise into this frontier city, because, if the merchandise were to be seen by this man who presents calumnious reports, he would lay information against them to the walis and say to them that if this merchandise were to go out from the lands, the lands would be weakened.

When the wali learned of the behaviour of this evil man who presented calumnious reports, he ordered immediately that there should go twelve men of the cavalry who served before him and sentinels. These he chose from his companions, because he knew of their fierce strength, and he ordered them to go to this man and to seize him well and not to have mercy upon him. When they came to him and had seized him, they bound him with chains of iron on both his hands and feet and they made him ride on a vicious beast. For if the rider moved on this beast and it heard the sound of the iron (chains), then it was wont to take fright and to tremble and to throw him (the rider), and the iron (chains) would fall on him and crush him. The greater number of times, if he (the rider) did not fall from its back, it would turn its head round towards him and bite his legs with its mouth. He (the non-deacon) cried aloud, but he was not listened to. All who saw him rejoiced and prayed for the wali who had seized him. They said: “God, Whose commandments you didst not accept, has brought you, O man. into this great affliction. We beseech God not to deliver you from this misfortune”. His (the non-deacon’s) face was impudent and he said: “I shall be delivered from these conditions, because I am a man who am a loyal counseller to the Sultan and he will not harm me, and I will reward every man of you according to the measure of his work”. But he did not say with his tongue “if God wills”. The people said: “You are worthy of much more than this, because you delivered our father, Anba Shenouti (Shanudah), |79 into prison”. When he (the non-deacon) saw from the great hostility which was shewn to him by all the people, not by the Christians alone, but by the whole nation, that all the people detested him and that the wali did not entertain kindness towards him, he hid his face in his turban with shame.

When they arrived with him (the non-deacon) at the Government House, he (the wali) caused him (the non-deacon) to be brought before him and he said to him: “Are you the man concerning whom this great evil is related?” That renegade thought that if he were to speak with the wali about what he had done to the patriarch, he (the wali) would dismiss him and thank him for his deed. He said: “Yes, I am that (man) who delivered the patriarch to the wali of Cairo (Misr) and obtained from him much money, and his decrees are confirmed by my hand, and no one who is on his side will do harm to me”. The wali said: ‘”As you are the person who has done this thing of which news has reached me, it is now evident to me that you are of the party of cursed Satan. Lo, you have an impudent face. Since you neither feared God nor respected your father, the patriarch, when you did this deed to him, according to my opinion, it is all true that was said about you by the merchants and the inhabitants of the districts in which you were, and what you are doing with those who are weak, because you have said with your tongue that you have presented calumnious reports about the patriarch. But now I shall reward you according to your deed, for God has placed you in my hands”. He (the wali) commanded immediately that he (the non-deacon) should be cast upon the ground, and he caused to be brought to him strong and violent young men who had no mercy on God’s creatures. In their hands were sticks like the beams of roofs, and he commanded that he (the non-deacon) should be beaten with those beams. When the soldiers said that he was at the point of death, he (the wali) commanded them not to strike him after that with the beams, but to seize him and to set him upright and to scourge him with a scourge of three hundred thongs. The soldiers said: “As soon as we begin to scourge him, he will die on the spot”,—because they |80 thought that he (the wali) wished to have money from him.—“lest (if). he die, the money be lost”. But he said to them: “The matter is not as you suppose. Do what I have commanded you”. So they scourged him with fifty strokes with bulls’ pizzles. He was also at the point of death. and no movement remained in him. After this, he (the wali) commanded them to carry him off to the prison and to keep him in great straits by means of iron and wood and not to feed him with food, except with a small quantity which would be insufficient for him, and this was a small quantity for two days or less.

When he (the non-deacon) was imprisoned, he ardently desired death, on account of the severity of the anguish, punishment and humiliation which he endured, so that, when the people who are without mercy upon anyone (namely), those who guard the prison, heard what he had done, they wished to accomplish the murder of him at night, but they were afraid of the people who were in the prison, lest they (the prisoners) should calumniate them. They wished (to do) that by all means (as) they sought thereby the mercy of God. When the people saw that none of them desired him (the non-deacon) to live or to remain (among them), even the people who were with him in the prison cursed him and desired that God might remove him from them by death, lest he should be delivered, and, having come out, falsely accuse them to the walis, since they had acknowledged before him their crimes and what they had committed and the cause for which they were imprisoned.

There was with them a man who had found in the earth a deposit of value and for this he was imprisoned, that he might reveal it. On account of his love of the world he did not wish to reveal it, and for this reason he was imprisoned. He (the man) charged him (the non-deacon), when he entered the prison, to inform his (the man’s) children of the place in which was the deposit, lest he (the man) should die in the prison and what he possessed should be lost. When this man learned that he (the non-deacon) was the man who presented calumnious reports to the walis, he repented of what he had said to him, and he desired to kill him at night, but he had not the wherewith to kill him. So he used to come to his wounds which were caused by the strokes of the scourge and to spread upon them (the wounds) the filth of the prison and the grime which |81 formed on its ceilings from the foul air, that it might bring about his death. When. on account of this, he (the non-deacon) endured pain, he would cry out and say to him (the man): “You have killed me, O man!” None of the people or of those who had charge of the prison hearkened to him, since they desired his death. He (the non-deacon) knew that God has taken vengeance on him on account of what he had done to our father, the patriarch and to others of the pious faithful.

Observe, O my faithful brethren, (how) one of the people who came from Alexandria to Cairo (Misr) presented himself before our father, the patriarch, and made known to him what chastisement this deacon endured, thinking that he (Shenouti) would rejoice at this, but he (Shenouti) said: ”May God forgive him his transgressions which have brought him into these trials!” Those who were present marvelled at this and praised God, saying: “We have never seen such a (man) as this”. He (Shenouti) besought God to deliver him (the non-deacon) from this anguish which had come upon him, lest his soul should perish before his repentance, because, as says Isaiah the prophet: “God desireth not the death of the sinner, so that he may repent”. When his (the non-deacon’s) imprisonment had lasted for a long time, and as he had nothing that the wali could take from him, he (the wali) caused him to be brought, to him, and he said to him: “Lo, I shall set you free, but when I hear about you that you have harmed a merchant or other person, then you shall not escape from my hand again”.

The wounds which he (the non-deacon) had received through the strokes of the scourge and the suffering caused to them by that man who was with him in the prison through fear of him, festered upon him till the time of his death. On account of them (the sores) every day he was |82 in need of something to put on till he had washed his clothes from them (the sores), since they did not heal and did not respond to treatment. When he had endured affliction, shame and humiliation, he went to the nahiyah in which he used to dwell (which was) near Sa. He took his wife and his children and returned to the country in which he was born (which was) in the districts of al-Basmur, that is (to say) al-Bagum, and he dwelt in it. When that (the news) reached our father (Shenouti), he thanked God and said, as says David the prophet: “Blessed he the Lord Who has not turned away my prayer, nor His mercy from me”. After that, God dispersed the scandals and those who worked iniquity, and there was great peace in the Church and in the Holy Desert ⁶⁰. Our father (Shenouti) was ceaseless in prayer and supplication to God— praised and exalted be He!—that He might strengthen him in what he endured from the walls of iniquity, since it was an evil time with an unjust sultan who was filled with as much evil as the deeds of the inhabitants of that land.

Now we will recount a little of what befell the father, Anba Shenouti, and how, when peace came upon the Church and his soul, and the souls of the Christian people became good, he used to continue in prayer and supplication to God at all times and to say: “I beseech You, O my Lord and my God, Jesus Christ, to preserve Your people from trials. As for myself, I merit what has befallen me in the way of trials, on account of my sins; but for the sake of Your mercy, preserve Your people and the sheep of Your flock and the pure Church which You have purchased with Your pure Blood, that this people may be in tranquillity and peace without disquietude”. He was continuing in thanksgiving and prayer to God in this wise without relaxing night and day.

The hater of good, Satan, did not abide patiently. When he saw that God had dispersed the people who were on his side, who were a vessel for him through which to speak, he was troubled and wished to raise up trials and sorrows for the Church, that he might behold (them) and rejoice. Then he set a snare and entered into a new vessel which |83 was a monk from the monastery of Abu John ⁶¹ in the Wadi Habib, whose evil doing from his youth (up) in the monasteries was manifest to him (Satan). His family was of Maryut. He was known for slandering and lying, and there was no mercy in him. as says Paul the Apostle in his Epistle to the Romans: “Even as they did not grieve and make God their guardian, the Lord gave them up to the desires of their souls (and) their hearts hardened to do what should not be done, iniquity, wickedness, deceit, envy, subtlety, of evil (being) evil-doers (and) maligners”.

This monk was a new dwelling-place for Satan. He used to make a parade of religion at the beginning of his work, and Satan used to say to him: “O brother, behold, you have put on this skhema, and you must not do these deeds, but you must desist from these base deeds and to go to the father, the patriarch, that he may ordain you a deacon, so that you may be perfect, and become (as one) of the holy monks. When he (Satan) had put this thought into his (the monk’s) heart, he (the monk) said within himself: “This is a good thought”. He did not consult any of the fathers, in order that he might guide him along the right path. This he used to do all his days, and he used to spurn the counsel of the fathers on account of the lack of his religion and to persevere in what Satan stored up in his heart in the way of bad thoughts. He rose up from the desert, the place of solitude and devotion, and he went down to Lower Egypt, the place of trouble and adultery. He said: “The patriarch knows that my deeds are base from my childhood up, and if I were to go to him, he would not perform for me my desire, but I shall go to certain of the archons in Cairo (Misr), and ask them to write for me a letter |84 that he (Shenouti) should ordain me a deacon. He arose and came to Fustat of Cairo (Misr), and he met some of the Christian secretaries who did not know of the blameworthiness of his manner of life, and he made an earnest request to them. On account of the abundance of their faith in the monks, they wrote for him a letter to the father, the patriarch, concerning what he requested of them. Our father (Shenouti) was residing in the province of the east,and he was suffering from gout which was increasing. When this monk reached the door of the patriarch, it was at the ninth hour of the day, and one of his sons came out, being sad on account of the severity of his (Shenouti’s) illness, and weeping on account of what he (Shenouti) endured through that. He (the monk) said to him: “I wish to meet our father, the patriarch, since I have letters from the secretaries, the archons in Cairo (Misr) and I desire to make known to him their (the letters’) contents”. They said to him: “O our brother monk, have you not heard of the state in which we are? He (Shenouti) has been ill since a long time with gout and no one is able to converse with him. and he (Shenouti) does not speak a word to anyone on account of the severity of the illness. But inform us of your request on account of which you have come and what you desire, or else wait, (and) perhaps, God the Merciful One will grant to him (Shenouti) health, (and) you can meet him, and he will give you an answer concerning your letters”. When the [non-] monk heard this from the sons of the Cell ⁶², an evil (look) appeared on his face and he assumed a fierce expression like that of Satan, and he said to them: “It is the secretaries of Cairo (Misr) who have written (the letters) for me and I wish to accomplish that for which I have come. It is you, O people, who prevent me from meeting him (Shenouti) and say that he is ill. If this is so, then I shall go and do what I wish in the way of evil”. When he said this in fury, the brethren said to him: “Lo, we see that you speak with the speech of the mighty. We also, [like you,] presented ourselves, but we did not find a means to meet him (Shenouti). But stay here to-day, to-morrow we will enter with you to him (Shenouti), |85 and then deliver you to him the letters which you have, as you desire”. He was not influenced by their speech and he did not agree with their opinion owing to the satanic thoughts which had entered him. He spoke infamously with his satanic tongue, but they did not reply to his speech with a single word, since they were anxious about the illness of the father, the patriarch.

He (the monk) came out from their presence and he was filled with satanic thoughts. His breast grew hot and his heart was enflamed and his eyes became dark to good thoughts, even as David the prophet says: “They have all turned aside, they are become worthless, there is none that doeth good, not one. Their throats are open sepulchres, their tongues are deceitful; the poison of vipers is under their lips: whose mouths are full of cursing and bitterness, and their feet are swift to shed blood, and the place of peace they have not known, and the fear of God is not before them”. He (the monk) went out from their presence and departed to Maryut, the village in which he was born and to its inhabitants dwelling there. He remained there for some days reflecting on what he wished to do in the way of trials to our father, the patriarch. The first evil which he did, which his father Satan arranged for him, was that he used to go to wali after wali and inform them that he wished to go to Cairo (Misr) and to say to them: “There is in the provinces of the patriarch money, cattle, sheep and properties and other things besides; keep them until a letter from the wali of Cairo (Misr) reaches you”. When he (the monk) reached Cairo (Misr), he wrote letters to the wali and delivered them to him, and in them he said: “What I have submitted to you, O Amir, is that your rule is over all the land of Egypt, and all who hear of your rule fear it, except the patriarch who resides in Alexandria, and he does deeds which anger God, in that he bewitches certain people of the Muslims that he may make them enter into the Desert ⁶³ and baptize them and settle them in his religion. If the amir will strengthen me, then I will go to the Desert and bring out certain of the Muslims |86 who are in it, whom he (Shenouti) has made monks, and they will say: It was the patriarch who made us (monks) and did this with us”.

Then, when the non-monk who was not worthy of the name of Theodore, son of Eucharistos, had accepted these ideas from him (Satan) who had made him a vessel and who walked before him. the amir received a letter from the king that he should enter into possession of all the land of Egypt, and that all the walis should be under his hand, contrary to what was the custom; for there used not to be between the wali of Alexandria and the wali of Cairo (Misr) either any transactions or conversations, but they used to exchange presents between each other, and they were at peace with one another all (their) days, and they were under one rule. When the decree reached him (the wali of Cairo) from the Khalifah at Baghdad, he rejoiced exceedinglyand he ordered his soldiers to go out with him and to wear their finest clothes and their decorations and to accompany him to Alexandria. He gave to them, as a mark of generosity, on account of the joy which he experienced, what they would spend on their way. What he spent of his (money) on the notables of his government, and their number was one thousand and two hundred horsemen, besides their followers, was for each man of them (the price of) a couple of large and fine suits of clothes and a turban manufactured in al-Basmur, and five dinars. He prepared for them provisions and loaded them into ships on the river ⁶⁴.

When he (the wali of Cairo) reached Alexandria, he wished to appoint on his own account a wali for it, as also (one) for the Pentapolis. He journeyed to Alexandria, as we have stated, and there was with him this troop, adorned with decorations, strong (and) resolute. When he (the wali of Cairo) saw it (Alexandria), he rejoiced at it and admired its houses, and he stayed in it (many) days and set aright its affairs and what was spoiled in it. He entered it (Alexandria) on the first of the month of Ramadan and stayed there till the feast. After that, he determined to return to Cairo (Misr). |87

When the monk heard of this, he completed his calumnious reports, mentioning in them the patriarch and the monks. When he (the wali) reached Maryut, he stayed there a day and a night, in order that his troops might repose from the weariness of the way, before travelling to Cairo (Misr). The non-monk (now) found the means to present his calumnious reports on his (the wali’s) arrival at Maryut, (and) he rejoiced exceedingly. He said: “Certainly. God has made straight my way”, and he entered the camp and spoke with him who brought him to the wali, and he delivered to him (the wali) the calumnious reports which he had filled with evil from his father, Satan. He (the wali) learned the contents of them (the calumnious reports), and he studied them and him (the non-monk) attentively also, while he (the non-monk) stood before him and he perceived that he (the non-monk) was clothed with the vesture of monks. He (the wali) wished to do evil to him (the non-monk) and he said within himself: “If this (man) were not a renegade, he would not have presented calumnious reports about the father of the Christians and about the Desert, but this (man) is hostile and without understanding”. The enemy, the hater of good (Satan), changed his (the wall’s) mind, and put it into his heart to accept the calumnious reports. Then he (the wali) delivered the calumnious reports to his secretary and he said to him: “Investigate this matter diligently”. The secretary did what the wali commanded him. Satan inflamed his (the wali’s) heart against the patriarch, and he said to the monk: “In what place are these whom the patriarch made Christians and consecrated them (as) monks?” He (the non-monk) answered and said to them: “In the Desert”. But, if you will give me authority and men to strengthen me, then I will go to the Desert and bring them to you in Cairo (Misr)”. Then he (the wali) sent with them two horsemen of the Turks. All who saw them were terrified at the sight of them. He who took his portion with Judas |88 Iscariot went with them to the monastery of Abu John in the Wadi Habib.When the fathers, the monks, who were there learned (of this), they were troubled, agitated and disquietened. Then he (the non-monk) entered into the cell of one of the monks who feared God. There had been enmity between them since a long time. He (the non-monk) made both of them (the Turks) bind him (the monk) with iron (chains) and he entered with him to Cairo (Misr), and this one (the monk) did not know what was the cause of the affair for which he was taken. He used to say while on the way: “The Lord is my Helper; and I shall not be afraid. The Lord is the Defender of my life, and I shall not be troubled”. When he (the non-monk) entered with that brother to Cairo (Misr), to the secretary of the amir to whom the affair was referred, he said to him: “This is (one) of the Muslims whom the. patriarch made Christians”. He (the secretary) said to him: “What do you say, O (the) monk, concerning what the monk has said about you”?” He answered and said: “I have been a Christian since my childhood, and my father, my mother and the inhabitants of my city know me. As regards the patriarch about whom he (the non-monk) speaks, if he be my father, then he is (also) the father of all the Christians of whom I am one. This man (the secretary) I have not seen at any time, for I was brought up in the Desert”. This secretary being an evil man did not fear God, (but was) a lover of silver and gold, (being) very wicked. He caused to be brought to him people (who) witnessed falsely against him (the monk) that he had confessed that before that he had been a Muslim, and that the patriarch of the Christians had made him a Christian a long time ago; the purpose of this being to impose a fine on the patriarch. He (the secretary) gathered against that monk an |89 assembly of people who were opposed to him. and he established evidence with them against him (the monk) that he was a Muslim. He (the secretary) ordered that the vesture of monks should be taken off him, and that the clothes of Muslims should be put on him. He informed them (the assembly) of what he thought in the way of the evil which he wished to do to the patriarch. He caused him (the monk) to be brought to the assembly of the false witnesses, wearing the clothes which he (the secretary) had caused to be put on him. He promised him (the monk) to pay money to him if he would renew (his profession of) Islam in the presence of the witnesses also, but no one was able to turn him away from the Orthodox Faith: and whenever they did something to him which they wished, it did nothing but increase his faith, and he cried out and said: “I am a Christian, and my father and my mother and the inhabitants of my city know me and will testify for me to that (effect)”. They buffeted him on his face and said to him: “You confessed the religion of Islam before the witnesses who are present, then again you made a denial”. But the Lord was with him in all his adversity and saved him from all of it. The secretary did not pay heed to what he said. He obtained the written statements of the false witnesses whom he had set up for a witness against him (the monk) who did not renew Islam as they asked him to do. When he (the monk) did not obey them, they threw him into prison in great distress. Immediately, he (the secretary) wrote letters to the place where the father, the patriarch, was, and he sent with them (the letters) some Turks who did not know how to speak the language of the inhabitants of Egypt, and with them that evil and calumnious monk, to take him (Shenouti) and to bring him to Cairo (Misr). Some of the Orthodox Christians heard of what had happened and of what they wished (to do) to the patriarch in the way of evil. They wrote to him (Shenouti) letters in which they informed him of what this non-monk and the people who were sent to him had done.

When he (Shenouti) knew of the letters which reached him and of what Satan had raised up in the way of trials, he went out and cried |90 to the Lord to take away this trial. Then he gave thanks to the Lord and said: “O my Lord, Jesus Christ. I know that the Church has not sinned”. He said what Paul the Apostle says: “We are deprived of everything, but we are not lacking; they cast us away, but we are not cast away; they persecute us. but he leaves us not; they kill us. but we are not destroyed, at all times bearing the death of Christ the Lord in our bodies, so that the life of Jesus Christ may be made manifest in our mortal bodies”. He (Shenouti) was ready to give himself up in the place of the Holy Church of which he was in charge; however, he was not able to move from his bed, but he hoped for God’s help for himself. His spiritual sons, Anba Simon, bishop of Bana, whom he (Shenouti) had consecrated bishop in those days, and his spiritual brother, the deacon Macarius, (who) had been with them since his youth, received his blessing. He said to them: “O my sons, (though) I am not able to move from my bed, I am ready now for the command of the Lord. As for you, it is incumbent upon you to keep far from the face of Satan, lest he do evil to you on account of me. (and) lest anyone think that you have what belongs to the Church”. He (Shenouti) told them what had happened through the monk and of the arrival of the letters from the archons to him about this (matter.) As these two brethren were trustworthy, they said to him (Shenouti): ”This shall not be, O our saintly father, and we shall not leave you, but we shall give ourselves up as a ransom for you”. While they two were speaking thus, lo, that non-monk called at the door: “Open!” He had already taken a decree to the walis, so that they might strengthen him and help him in addition to what he had received of the Turks who travelled with him. Then he took a soldier of the guards and went to the place where our father was. When he (Shenouti) opened the door for him, it was his intention to frighten him (Shenouti), so that he would die. When the Turks and the soldiers of the guard who were with him and (who) went in to him (Shenouti) saw that he was so ill with the illness of gout and that he could by no means |91 get up, they did not approach him. They insulted that monk on account of his deed, so that one of the Turks drew his sword and wished to kill him. This monk had no respect at all, but said: “You were sent with me to perform what the amir commanded. If you do not do what I have ordered you. then the amir will requite you for your deeds”. Then Satan entered into them and urged them on till they lifted up the father, the patriarch, from his bed and carried him in their arms and his shoes with him. until they brought him down to a ship which they had prepared for him in which to carry him to Cairo (Misr). Then this monk took these two brethren whom I have mentioned and he placed their hands behind them and bound them with a great rope, and likewise those who were found of his pages and his companions. He brought them down to the ship like thieves. He carried off all that he found in the Cell of the father, the patriarch, in the way of clothes, vessels, holy books and other things.

This father (Shenouti) was very solicitous for the books of the Church, and he had a number of scribes who copied out for him books. None wrote for him, except people who were learned, good and experienced in the reading of books, besides their handwriting. Whenever a book was completed for him. he would rejoice at it, as he rejoiced at the building of a church. Then he would order that it should be embellished with gold and silver. That monk carried off most of the books and they became his own, since he had learned to read before that (time). It was his intention to gain a profit from the price (of the sale) of them, because Satan had filled his heart with evil thoughts.

He set out for Cairo (Misr), and not one of his (Shenouti’s) companions or his pages was allowed to approach him or to converse with him or to see him at all. Our father (Shenouti) did not know what had happened. Among all that this monk took from the Cell of the patriarch there were boxes in some of which were books and in others clothes, and in some of them the food for the pages was put. When he (the non-monk) reached Cairo (Misr), he carried those boxes (with him), under |92 the impression that they were full of gold, silver and vessels. He did not know that the father, the patriarch, did not keep money or treasure at all, except the books of the Church and a vestment which he used to put on among the people and at the time of the Liturgy. It was of little value, since most of it was of wool, for he rarely wore silk, except on festival days. One dress sufficed him for years and years.

When this secretary examined those boxes and did not find anything in them, he thought that the monk had taken all that was in them in the way of money and vessels for himself, and had brought wood to him. He caused him (the non-monk) to he brought to him secretly and he said to him: “O man, I did not find in the boxes anything, and I have no doubt that you have taken what was in them”. He (the non-monk) said to him: “In this manner I found them, and in this manner I brought them to you, since I found with you mercy and love”. Immediately, God put it into his (the secretary’s) heart to hate this monk, and he became ill-disposed towards him, and he changed at once, and hardly had he (the non-monk) gone out from his presence than he (the secretary) wished to kill him with his hand, but he feared (to do so) out of awe of the wali.

All the sons of the father (Shenouti) and his pages were in great straits on account of (their) humiliation, bonds, suffering, hunger, thirst and the lack of mercy of the attendants towards them, because they (the sons and the pages) did not take with them anything, and they despaired of their receiving (anything), especially, when they reached Cairo (Misr), because their case would pass out of their (the attendants’) hands. For this reason, they (the attendants’) had no mercy upon them.

When the brethren, the faithful, who had come to see them perceived him (Shenouti) and the condition in which they were when they reached them, (and) saw them in this predicament, they wept over them bitterly, especially, when they perceived the father, the patriarch, in such a state of illness, as he lay on his bed, without being able to rise, and without his sons being able to come to him, (and) their weeping increased, and they besought God to grant to them deliverance. The brethren went and |93 bought from their money fetters of iron and brought them to those who were in charge of them (the companions of Shenouti). and they besought them (the attendants) to loose their hands from behind them and to put the fetters on their feet, and they gave to them gold and silver. This was in the district of Lower Egypt on the shore of Atrib and its surroundings. The non-monk said: “I do not do this”, but he did not know that God had condemned him and had stirred up the heart of the secretary against him (the non-monk), while he was working with the amir, in order to destroy him. The Christians standing on the bank of the Nile saw what they had done to them, and they asked God to cause the enemies of the Church to perish, and they wept and sighed.

Their (Shenouti’s and his companions’) arrival at the shore of Cairo (Misr) was at the tenth hour of the night. When it was morning, soldiers of the guard were assigned to the father (Shenouti) by that secretary, because he (the non-monk) had shown to him (the secretary) the boxes at night, as we mentioned at first. The monk presented himself to the secretary, as if he had not gone in. to him at night nor met him at the time (when) he delivered to him the boxes. He (the non-monk) said before the people present: “I have brought the father, the patriarch, his sons, his companions and all that he possesses”. The secretary ordered that monk to be imprisoned, and he also ordered that the ship and all that was in it should be guarded. He had determined to ask permission from the amir for what he wished to do in the way of evil, since he (the non-monk) had not brought to him (the secretary) what it had been decided to bring. He was afraid on account of the boxes which he (the non-monk) had delivered to him at night, lest he (the non-monk) should present calamnious reports about him and say that they (the boxes) were full of gold and silver. Afterwards, he set him free from imprisonment and ordered the father, the patriarch, to be summoned. He (Shenouti) had not been able to ride a beast, but they had borne him on the head of a carrier to a narrow cell in the midst of thieves and murderers. He |94 (Shenouti) gave thanks to the Lord for all that, and he consoled his sons, lest they should be depressed, and he comforted them with the speech of Peter the Apostle in the beginning of his Catholic Epistle, when he says: “What is your glory, if one of you sin, (and) they chastise you. and you are patient? But do good, and if you have suffered, be patient, (this) is grace from God. To this you were called; because the Lord Jesus Christ suffered for us. and made that a reminder to follow His steps”. “Now be patient and be comforted, O my blessed sons and my brethren in the Lord, for He will not abandon us. but He will be with us, as He was with our fathers, and He will save us in all our adversities”. He (Shenouti) comforted them and strengthened their hearts by this speech and others, and they marvelled at his patience.

When it was morning, the secretary of the amir sent the people of the Muslims, who had borne false witness, to the prison to examine his (Shenouti’s) baggage, and they thought that they would find in it much money, as the non-monk had stated. When they came and searched it, they did not find (anything), except what was of no value and not worth mentioning. When they saw that, they returned to the secretary and they said to him: “We did not find (anything), except what was of no value, and we were ashamed to bring it to you, and it remains where it is”. When he (the secretary) heard that too, he was filled with wrath against the non-monk. He (the secretary) denied to all the Christians, the faithful, access to the father, the patriarch, who was in a narrow prison, and his (Shenouti’s) sons grieved and were troubled. Some of them used to present themselves to receive his blessing, without speaking a single word to him for fear of the Sultan.

After (some) days, while he (Shenouti) was with his sons in the prison, they asked of him money, in order that they might release him, but he had not anything to give to them. The amir ordered to be brought the monk against whom he was filled with wrath when the secretary informed him about his affair. When he (the non-monk) came, he (the secretary) said to him: “Where is the money which you have taken from the |95 patriarch which you mentioned to me saying that, when you came here to me, you wouldst bring with him (Shenouti) much money?” He (the non-monk) was afraid of him and he said to him: “The news had already reached him (Shenouti) before my arrival, and he gave his money to his sons and they kept it for him. They are here with him, namely, Simon, bishop of Bana,and Macarius, the deacon, his brother”. He said this in order to avert (the blame) from himself. When the secretary heard (this), he thought that it was correct, and he caused the two men to be brought. When our father (Shenouti) knew of this, he prayed for them that God might save them both. He (the secretary) ordered that they should be brought to him singly, in order that he might take them in their speech. Macarius, the deacon, was brought to him first, and he said to him: “Where is the money of the patriarch? They have informed me that you took his money and escape with it on another occasion. Go now and bring it to me, that I may set you free without punishment”. The brother said to him: “If I took on that occasion the money and escaped, lo, this time I have brought it with all that belongs to him (Shenouti) and what he possesses, and it is in his baggage for the Sultan to take it or to leave it”. He (the secretary) listened to him and (then) he sent him to a place apart, and he ordered his brother, the bishop of Bana, to be brought. When the wali saw him, he said to him: “Are you Simon the bishop of Bana?” He said: “Yes, I am he”. Then he said to him: “Where is the money of the patriarch which you have?” He said to him: “My father (Shenouti) had no money. All that he finds he spends on the churches and the destitute, and that which is in his baggage is what remains over to him out of his expenses”. The two brothers said this before him with firmness, because the patriarch did not save up anything, but he spent all on the churches and the hidden. When he (the wali) saw that and understood the correctness of what they said and perceived the feebleness of the body of the father, the bishop, he commanded that he should be sent back to the prison, and he commanded his brother, the deacon, to be brought a second time. He (the wali) |96 was full of wrath against him (the deacon), and the father, the patriarch. was distressed on his account and knew that he (the deacon) would suffer chastisement. When they brought him (the deacon) in to him (the wali), he said to him: “If you do not give to me the money of the patriarch. I will punish you severely”. That brother repeated to him his first speech and said to him: “I have already informed you that my father has nothing, except what is in his baggage”. He (the wali) commanded that he (the deacon) should be laid upon his belly and that his legs should be stretched out and that he should be beaten. Then he was beaten until the blood ran down from his body. When he (the wali) saw the blood, he commanded that they should cease to chastise him and that he should be sent back to the prison. “When the father (Shenouti) saw what he (the deacon) had received in the way of punishment, he consoled him and said to him: “Rejoice, my beloved son, for you were worthy to be chastised for the sake of the Church, and I believe that you will receive the reward from the Lord Christ”. He (Shenouti) made the sign of the cross over his body, and immediately the pain left him, and there was no sign of the strokes at all. When those people who were imprisoned with him (Shenouti) in the prison witnessed (this), they marvelled and went forward to him and prostrated themselves before him and said: “This man is a saint of God”. The father (Shenouti) and his sons remained in the prison thirty days, and the faithful were in sorrow and affliction at Fustat of Cairo (Misr), while they (Shenouti and his sons) were among thieves and murderers.

The Lord perceived his (Shenouti’s) patience and his humility and how he did not complain for a single day, but that he blessed God without ceasing or tiring and said: “I give thanks to You, O my Lord Jesus Christ, for You have not done this, unless it were merited”. God put into the heart of the amir compassion, and the archons at Cairo (Misr) paid much money for him (Shenouti), and he released him (Shenouti) and his sons. He (Shenouti) gave thanks to the Lord Who was with him and Who had saved him from all his troubles, and he gave praise, as David the prophet says: “The snare is broken, and we are |97 saved, because our help is from the Lord our God”. Everyone came to him (Shenouti) and prostrated before him. as he merited.

When the Lord delivered our father (Shenouti) from that trial, he (Shenouti) stood before the Lord with abundant tears on account of the brother, the monk, through whom this affair had happened, and he said: “May the Lord forgive him”. Then he (Shenouti) prayed and besoughton account of the other monk who was expelled from the monasteries, and he said of him that he was a Muslim, in order to save him from the hands of the people and to encourage him to have patience and to create in him the hope of the Orthodox Faith. The Lord, the Beneficent One. Who hears the prayer of those who fear Him, heard the prayer of our father (Shenouti) the saint, and put (the answer to his prayer) into the hearts of the walis, and, after they had examined him (the monk) and found that he was a Christian, they set him free from prison, (and) he obtained the crown of Confession, and he went to his monastery and none knew of him to the day of his death.

The archons asked the father (Shenouti), saying: “We beseech you to grant to us a dispensation that we may exact the punishment of the Church from this non-monk”. The father (Shenouti) did not allow them (to do this), but he said to them: “He is not the one who did this to me, but it is my sins. If this one deserves punishment, he will receive it for his base deed”. Our father (Shenouti) said this by reason of his knowledge of what he (the non-monk) would receive in the way of trials; for this was his custom, since God used to reveal to him what should be, but he (Shenouti) would not reveal it to anyone of the people till the time it was accomplished, for he shunned the glory of men.

That non-monk fled from Cairo (Misr) for fear of the archonsand of the walis too, because they sought him on account of the disclosure of the falsehood of all that he had said. Then he went down to Maryutto his people, but Satan did not let him abandon his evil deeds. He (the non-monk) arose and entered the Holy Desert and |98 tormented the fathers, the monks, and became a stumbling-block for all the monks. News of him (the non-monk) reached the inhabitants of Alexandria through certain well-known Muslim merchants who used to pay visits to the monasteries to buy reed-mats and other things: for they witnessed what this monk did to the monks, and they informed the wali of his (the non-monk’s) oppression of them, and they gave evidence through (some) Muslim people. Thereupon, he (the wali) sent to the wali of Maryut to seize him (the non-monk) and to bind him with iron together with his brother, the layman, and to send them both to him. When he (the wali) had seized him and his brother, the layman, the wali looked at him and said to him: “Have you not heard of what I did to the non-deacon who did the same as your deeds? Surely, now I will recompense you and your brother, the layman, according to what you have deserved”. He (the wali) commanded that they should both be stretched out and beaten. The servants beat them both well with a scourge till they became as dead men, and they were dragged by their feet in the markets of the city, and they were both imprisoned and bound with iron. It was after one year during which they were bound with chains of iron, and after they had given all they possessed, and after their mother and their brothers had wandered in every place and begged what they had to pay for them till they were set free in a wretched state, that the aforesaid monk was attacked by elephantiasis, and his colour became black. All who heard (about this) marvelled and glorified the Lord Who avenged the father, the patriarch, on account of his great patience, and they said: “In truth, the miracles of God (are shewn forth) in His Saints”, and they blessed the Lord our God.

When our father Sinuthius, i.e. Shenouti the patriarch, a champion during all his days, blessed in his service, pleasing to God the Exalted, was perfected and had accomplished his course and his good fight and his constancy amid all adversities and trials through the temptations of Satan and what befell him through the walis and tyrants, and the suffering of the difficult times which are not described, he became old and his strength weakened. The Lord wished to |99 translate him to the house of his honour and to the place of his rest, and to give him rest with the righteous, good and virtuous fathers. He (Shenouti) fell ill and he went to his rest on the twenty-fourth of Baramudah ⁶⁵. The duration of his occupation of the throne of Mark was twenty-one years and three months. The fathers, the bishops, and the priests and the Christian people assembled, and they grieved and wept bitterly over him and prayed for him. as is requisite for such as he. They performed his funeral service as befitted his rank and his holiness, and they shrouded him and buried him.

His prayer ⁶⁶ be with us! Amen. Glory be to God for ever (and) ever! ⁶⁷

Completed is the second part of the biographies of the fathers, the Orthodox patriarchs of the Apostolic throne of Mark.

May their prayer and their blessings be with us! Amen.

Glory be to God for ever (and) ever!

1. ² A. D. 849-851. This biography starts at line 15 of the MS.

2. ⁵ I. e. November 20th.

3. ⁸ 1. e. the church in the monastery of St. Macarius in the Wadi ‘n-Natrun.

4. ¹ Marginal note in red partly mutilated: “A copy (mentions) that he occupied… and this does not agree with… he went to his rest in the year… he went to his rest in the year seven (?)… of the Martyrs.”

5. ² A. D. 851-858. The throne was vacant 82 days.

6. ² Governor of Egypt in A. D. 85 1 (for one year only).

7. ² i. e. John (III), A. D. 846-873.

8. ² i. e. Not-a-Christodoulus.

9. ³ Muslim historians call him ‘Anbasah b. Ishak. He was governor of Egypt from A. D. 852-856.

10. ² i. e. to hold funeral services.

11. ³ The nakus, pl. nawakis, — the semantron, a board, or flat piece of metal used as a gong in churches.

12. ⁴ Nabidh is a fermented drink prepared from dates, raisins, or grain. Fermented liquid from dried raisins is allowed for the Eucharist.

13. ² I. e. the time between the seizure with paralysis of Al-Ghair ‘Abd al-Masih and his death.

14. ⁵ This was in May, A. D. 853, cf. S. Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt in the Middle Ages, London (1914)p. 41.

15. ⁴ Ga’far al-Mutawakkil.

16. ⁵ Governor of Egypt from A. D. 856-867.

17. ⁸ Minister of Justice from A. D. 851 -856.

18. ¹¹ A water-way connecting the Nile with Alexandria.

19. ⁵ i. e. Christmas Day.

20. ⁴ i. e. 27th December.

21. ⁵ i. e. the bishops and the archons.

22. ⁶ Strictly speaking, the Anaphora.

23. ³I. e. the Feast of the Epiphany.

24. ² This village is mentioned in the Chronicle of Abu’l-Makarim Sa‘d Allah ibn Girgis Mas‘ud, on fol. 103r of the unique MS. of this Chronicle which is in the possession of G. Philotheus ‘Awad of Cairo. The second part of this Chronicle is wrongly ascribed to Abu Salih the Armenian (cf. B. T. A. Evetts. Churches and Monasteries of Egypt).

25. ⁶ The words [Arabic]”The Holy Spirit” are written in the margin and possibly the rest of the phrase [Arabic]which MS. A gives was originally there also, but the margin is cut down and the writing is thus lost.

26. ³ In the monastery of St. Macarius in the Wadi’n-Natrun.

27. ¹ Finance minister, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 43.

28. ²MS. A reads ‘king’.

29. ¹ i. e. the marshes at the lakes in the Wadi’n-Natrun.

30. ¹ i. e. those of Macarius, John the Little, Pisoi, Baramus, the Syrians, John Kame, and Abba Moses.

31. ² i. e. the collection of alms given every year to the bishops or monasteries. The patriarch collected the diyariah from each bishop.

32. ² i.e. A. D. 861-862.

33. ⁵ Cf. Encyclopedie de l’Islam, p. 578 ‘Baghdad dut pour une periode de 55 ans ceder son rang de capitale de l’empire a une petite ville de province, situee a trois jours de marche en amont, Samaria’.

34. ⁶i. e. A. D. 865-866.

35. ² Christians and Jews living in a Moslem state and subject to a special tax.

36. ⁴ Σινούθιοςis the Greek form of the Coptic name Shenouti.

37. ¹ i. e. the Wadi’n-Natrun.

38. ² i.e. 27th March, A. D. 866.

39. ³ i. e. 4th April, A. D. 886.

40. ³ i. e. Easier Sunday, 7th April, A. D. 866.

41. ⁴ i.e. the church in the monastery of St. Macarius in the Wadi n-Natrun.

42. ³ i. e. the stewards of the churches of Alexandria.

43. ⁵ i. e. the residence of the Patriarch.

44. ⁴ i.e. the Wadi’n-Natrun.

45. 2 i. e. one who is a descendant of Mohammed.

46. ¹ I. e. the rich man who has become poor and cannot beg openly.

47. ¹ A blank space follows this word in MS. A.

48. ¹ H. C. Evelyn White, op. cit., Part II, p. 324 quotes this passage, presumable from MS. Fonds Arabe No. 302, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris, p. 38, and translates: ‘and so they fell into the hands of tender women, and married’.

49. ² i. e. the Wadi’n-Natrun.

50. ³ Ibn al-Mudabbir was superseded in A. D. 872, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 63.

51. ¹ i. e. the Wadi’n-Natrun.

52. ² i. e. the principal church.

53. ³ i. e. Jesus Christ being the first fortress.

54. ⁴ i. e. the monastery of St. Macarius in the Wadi’n-Natrun.

55. ¹ i. e. the shaikh and his followers.

56. ² A Turkish tribe.

57. ⁴ Situated nine miles from Alexandria.

58. ² i. e. death.

59. ¹ i. e. the Patriarchate.

60. ⁵ i. e. the Wadi’n-Natrun.

61. ¹ i. e. probably the monastery of John the Little.

62. ⁴ i. e. the Patriarchate.

63. ⁴ i. e. the Wadi’n-Natrun.

64. ³ i. e. the Nile.

65. ¹ i. e. April 19th.

66. ³ MS. A reads: and his blessing be with us and embrace us till the last breath.

67. ⁴ MS. A reads: Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now, and for ever and at all times and to the ages of ages and to the enternitv of eternities. Amen.

__________________________

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume II, Part II

— 102 —

The twenty-third biography of the biographies of the Holy Church.

The virtuous father Abba Michael, bishop of the city of Tinnis, said: ”It is requisite. O my beloved, out of Christian love, that we should set down in writing what has not yet been recorded of what happened in the Orthodox Church of which these pastors were witnesses and with which they were acquainted in every generation—who were ministers of the word. I besought God—praised be He—to assist my feebleness, I the wretched (one), the sinner, to begin to cause my faulty tongue to be (as) the pen of a swift-writing (scribe), in order that it might move through the gift of the Holy Spirit, so that I might write what I heard and know from those who are trustworthy, whose words may be accepted; and we follow the path of those who went before us, who received the grace, and since it came into my mind to achieve this matter, I imitated the woman (who was) a widow, who cast into the treasury the two little mites, for she had nothing more besides them, and the Lord, the Scrutineer of hearts, accepted them from her. I found what the biographies contained which had been set forth by the saintly fathers through the power of the Holy Spirit, which was adopted by the Church from the time of the saintly Father, the Evangelist, my lord Mark, the pure virgin, the martyr, down to the time of the father Abba Shenouti who is the fifty-fifth, who was consecrated patriarch after Abba Cosmas. This is the father Shenouti who experienced great afflictions according to what his biography contains. After him, down to the time of Abba Shenouti the sixty-fifth, who ordained me, I the unworthy priest, nothing was written of the biographies. Then I, the wretched (one), Michael, wrote this with God’s help to me—praised be He!

— 103 —

Abba Khael (Anba Khayil) the patriarch, and he (is) the fifty-sixth

of (their) number.

When Shenouti, the patriarch who built the sanctuary of my lord Mark at Alexandria, died—this sanctuary remained for one hundred and fifteen years—Abba Khael was consecrated after him. He had three beautiful qualities ¹ which resembled gold molten in the fire, on account of the trials which he suffered and underwent. There was an evil bishop of the see of Sakha, and there was among (the villages] of his see the village known as Dinusir. There was in it a church under the name of Ptolomaeus which required to be consecrated. The chiefs of the commune assembled with the father, the patriarch Abba Khael, and the fathers, the bishops, who were present with him for the consecration, and they asked them to come to the church, in order that they might receive their blessing. They came together and a great multitude assembled, and the time of the Liturgy arrived. The said bishop of Sakha was absent from the church, being occupied with preparing food for them. The day was ending and the time for the Liturgy passed. Then he (Khael) sent for the bishop, but he did not come, because he was occupied with what we have mentioned. Then the bishops and the congregation asked the father, the patriarch, to bear the oblation into the sanctuary, so that the priests might begin (to read) the lessons from the books and their interpretation in a quiet and slow manner, till the bishop should come. He (Khael) did that, and after this the bishop came and found that they had begun before his arrival. Then he became angry and said to the patriarch in wrath: “Who made thee do this in my see without my order or presence?” Then he went up to the sanctuary

¹ These qualities are not stated.

— io/i —

and took the oblation which had been borne into it, and he broke it and threw it down and came out in anger. This was grievous to the father, the patriarch, and to all who were present. Then they took another oblation and bore it into the sanctuary and completed the Liturgy and gave the Communion to the people. When the morrow came, the father, the patriarch, took his seat and the bishops assembled with him, and they excommunicated that bishop and consecrated another. When he (the first bishop) learned of this, Satan entered him and wrath took possession of him. Then he went to the amir, the mutawalli, at Fustat Misr (appointed) by the Caliph, who was Ahmad ibn Tulun the representative of the Caliph at Baghdad. He (Ibn Tulun) loved to amass money, so he (the bishop) complained to him about the patriarch and incited him against him (Khael), and said to him: “He (Khael) has much money”. Ibn Tulun was occupied with recruiting soldiers for Syria, and he rejoiced at the words of the bishop that he might take from the patriarch what he could spend on the soldiers. Then he sent to summon the father, the patriarch, and he addressed him, saying: “You know what we have need of in the way of money for taking it to the Caliph at Baghdad, since he is the possessor of this land, especially for the debts which he has on account of the war. Ye, O chiefs of the Christians are in peace and you have no need of gold or silver, but only of bread to eat and a garment to wear. I have learned, indeed, that you have much money and innumerable vessels and gold and silver and brocade and (all) kinds of silk belonging to the churches. I love thee and respect your old age, and I have summoned thee not unjustly and not with force, since it is necessary that you shouldst be honoured and not despised. Give me what you have to take to the Caliph and you shall find grace with him and with me”. Then the patriarch kept silent and did not know what to answer him. Then he said to him (Ibn Tulun) quietly and with humility: “There is no injustice in your kingdom and you are a people who know truth, but I am a feeble man (and) I do not possess either gold or silver

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or anything of what has been reported to you; and your Highness knows that we are a people (who are) commanded not to lay up treasures on earth and not to take thought of the morrow. Now I am before you. Do what you will. You have domination over my body, but my soul is in the hand of its Creator”. When Ahmad ibn Tulun heard this he became angry and said: “In truth, my good reception of you has caused you to refuse me your money. Everyone who is outside our religion, whenever he is honoured, does not know (the meaning) of honour”. Then he ordered that he (Khael) should be imprisoned.

There was in the prison in which he (Khael) was confined a chief man known as Ibn al-Mudabbir. He was a trustworthy man (who) loved alms-giving (and who) had much money. He used to serve the patriarch and to fast with him and to breakfast with him on bread, salt, boiled beans and such like things. That chief used not to eat anything of what was brought to him from his house, and he remained with him (Khael) in the prison for a year. The prison was very full, and after the expiration of a year, the patriarch gave to the jailer something so that he might make for him a latrine of bricks and mud two cubits long by two cubits (wide), that he (Khael) should not have to make water before those who were imprisoned (with him), since he thought that the duration of his imprisonment would last till the day of his death. On the day on which the building of the latrine was completed, God caused him to be released.

Ahmad ibn Tulun had two secretaries (who were) brothers, one of the two of them was called Bessus and the other, Abraham, sons of Moses. He loved them both, and they frequently besought him to make them surety for him (Khael), that they might take him from the prison to their dwelling-place, but he did not do (so).

Ahmad ibn al-Madhirani, wazir of Ibn Tulun had a secretary called John. This secretary asked his friend the wazir to ask the amir for the patriarch. Then he went to the mother of Ahmad ibn Tulun who was a woman pious in her religion (and) with knowledge of it, and

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he said to her: “You know the length of (time) of the imprisonment of the patriarch, and that a number of the bishops in the territory of Egypt are dead, and that none has been appointed in their place, and that there is need to appoint (others) in their place”. Then she said to him: “Do you not know that John and Abraham, sons of Moses, who are his (Ibn Tulun’s) secretaries and his own (people) have made efforts to transfer him (Khael) from his prison to their dwelling-place, and they were not able (to do so)? How, then, will he (Ibn Tulun) listen to you?” He said to her: “I will do what God has put into my heart (to do), and the matter is in God’s (hands), Whose power is great”. She encouraged him in this. Then he went and he took with him his son (who) was called Macarius, and they arose while yet it was dark (and went) to the house of Ahmad ibn ‘Ali al-Mardani. He (Ahmad) had the custom, when he went out very early, not to answer anyone nor to listen to his words until he had been to the mosque and had made five prostrations in it. Then he would return to his house and to the place where he was wont to sit. When he returned from the mosque, a candle being in front of him, he found John and his son sitting at the door of his house, for they had spread out the covers of their saddles, and were sitting upon them. When he had given them permission to enter with him, he asked them the reason of their coming so early, contrary to the custom. They bowed down before him and said: “O our lord, the wazir, we (wish to) inform you that we have no prayer in our churches nor anyone who pronounces judgment in our affairs. The imprisonment of our patriarch has lasted long and we ask you to help us, we and all the people of the Christians, and that you shouldst ask the amir for him”. Then he said to them: “Do you not know the regard (which) he (Ibn Tulun) has for the sons of Moses and the esteem in which he holds them, and how they have asked him many times (for him, i.e. the Patriarch), but he did not grant them their request? Nevertheless, I will give my attention to this (matter)”. He swore to them. Then he went to the amir, according to his custom,

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and he informed him about the affairs of his kingdom, and he mentioned to him the state of the patriarch. Then the amir said to him: “I shall kill him, because he has behaved towards me with harshness”. He said to him (Ibn Tulun): “There is no use in killing him, but let us try to obtain from him something for the treasury, it is better than to kill him”. Then he (Ibn Tulun) said to him: Perhaps, he (Khael) sent to ask you about this matter”, but he (Ahmad) swore to him and said: “Since the day of his confinement I have not read a letter from him, and no one has spoken to me about him until this occasion when John the secretary and his son came to me and wept. I swore to them that I would speak to you on behalf of him (Khael)”. He (Ibn Tulun) ordered that John the secretary and his son should be brought, and when they were present, he wrote for them a letter to the mutawalli of the prison to deliver the patriarch to them that they might go with him whithersoever they wished, and they settled his affair according to what had been arranged. Then he (Khael) was brought out from the prison to the house of the wazir, and he did not enter at all the latrine which was built for him in the prison—he (Khael) spent on it three hundred dinars—because at the hour of its completion God delivered him. He went out from the prison and stayed in a furnished and decorated place, such as was fitting, nearby the wazir’s (house). John asked permission of the wazir to carry to him (Khael) what was (necessary for) eating every day. The wazir said: “It (the food) shall be carried to him (Khael) from my house, but if you wish to carry to him anything else, then it is your affair”. He used to carry to him (Khael) every day many things in the way of food and drink. Then his (Khael’s) affair was settled after many requests and difficulties at twenty thousand dinars, of which ten thousand (were to be paid) at (the end) of a month, and the remainder which was half (the amount was to be paid) at (the end of) four months.

The soul of Ibn Tulun rejoiced at this. He was about to set out for Syria, and he ordered that (a document) should be written (making) John and his son Macarius (liable) for

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what had been settled, (in which) it was witnessed against them that the money (had to be paid) by them, and they did this. Then they took the patriarch and tried to go with him to their dwelling-place, but he would not do (it), but he went to the church of the Lady, the Mistress, at Kasr as-Sam‘ in the lane of Abu Husain, which now belongs to the Melkites. He remained at it twenty days, and the archons used to come to him and converse with him and eat and drink with him and receive his blessing. Everyone of them had (a vessel) in which he brought to him (Khael) what he required. When the end of the month drew near and nothing of the ten thousand dinars had been collected for him and the patriarch had nothing at all, they were troubled about this and they counted the sees which were without bishops and found them to be ten. Then they appointed for them (the sees) ten bishops and presented them to him (Khael) after they had imposed on them (the obligation to pay) the money which they had to collect within ten days, and he (Khael) consecrated them bishops. John and his son brought two thousand dinars, and the wazir gave to them one thousand dinars of his (own) money (as) a loan, and they went to the Muslim secretaries and they borrowed from them seven thousand dinars. Then they took the ten thousand (dinars) to the amir at the end of the month and they swore to him that the patriarch did not have either a dinar or a dirham and that they did not find anything elonging to him and that all of it (the money) was a loan to him. He (Ibn Tulun) took the money and delivered to them the writing and they tore it up. John and his son and others wrote (a document) for the remainder, that is the other ten thousand dinars. His (Khael’s) disciple Abba Pachomius, bishop of Taha, and another disciple signed it, so that there were four who guaranteed the money after four months.

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When the patriarch’s senses were restored and his fears allayed, the Synod assembled with him and deliberated about the case of the money which had been borrowed and about what remained (to be paid) to the amir. They agreed to go to their sees and to take from every man a carat of gold. They violated by their deed the canon of the Fathers, the Apostles, and the Saintly Doctors of the Church who say: “Neither gold nor silver is to be taken for the gift of God which is the priesthood, namely the laying on of hands”. Then they took from the ten bishops whom they had appointed to the sees what had been imposed upon them. Then the father, the patriarch, went to Wadi Habib and sold the Ramarumwhich is the place of standing of the monks in the church for prayer, and he took from each monk for the place of his standing one dinar. Then he went to Alexandria and asked the priests to allow him to take what was in the churches that he might sell it and take the price (received for) it to the Sultan. They did not obey him (in this) and much discussion (took place) between them until it was agreed among them to sell the houses belonging to the churches and to take the price (obtained for them) to the Sultan. They (the priests) imposed upon him (Khael) the condition that he should give to them every year a thousand dinars and that this should be a tax imposed upon him every year and upon him who should sit after him on the Throne of Mark the Evangelist. They obtained his signature to this and the signatures of his bishops. Then they sold the houses belonging to the churches at Alexandria and delivered to him (Khael) the price (obtained

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for them). He (Khael) got together from all this and from the alms which were brought to him ten thousand dinars, as much as he had borrowed, but he still owed ten thousand dinars to the amir, (and) he did not know of a way (how to obtain) them.

It happened, whenever this saintly patriarch wrote a letter from himself, that he did not say from Michael, but from Khaya, the interpretation of which is “last”, that is, the last of those whom his mother, namely, the Church had borne, since her beauty had been turned into affliction through what had happened through taking money from the bishops for the laying on of hands.

In those days raids occurred between the Greeks (ar-Rum) and the Muslims. The Muslims carried off the Greeks from their lands and brought a very great number of them to Misr, and likewise the Greeks led away captive many people of the Muslims. Then the two kings Leo and Alexander wrote a letter to Ahmad ibn Tulun asking for peace and that each of them should release the captives who had fallen into his hands, soul for soul. Ibn Tulun wrote to the two kings insulting and threatening them, (saying that they were) like a weak man who insults his pursuer, while he (the weak man) is being pursued by him. Then they both wrote a letter to him (Ibn Tulun), (of which) this is a copy. “From Leo and Alexander the two kings, the chiefs (appointed) by the Lord Jesus Christ over the lands of the Greeks (who) write to Ahmad ibn Tulun. Hail to you according to the degree of your dignity! Your letters have reached us in answer to what we had written with regard to the captives, and we have found in them words which contradict one another. First of all, you address us as a friend, then, after that, you threaten us as an enemy and (as) one who is afraid, and it is not clear to us upon what we can rely with regard to you. Let our answer to you be in the same strain. Nevertheless,

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you have insulted our Faith and it was not necessary for you to write this, since you do not know its meaning, and it is not lawful for you to insult our Faith, unless there be manifested in it a fault. We have examined carefully what has reached us from others besides you, since the appearance of your religion until now, and we have not found in it anything like what you have offered to us in the way of insults to our Faith, but we have learned that those who were before you were more noble than you, and you have not come up to them in any of the arts. You have blasphemed against our belief in the Son of God and have declared that you do not know of a child (born), except from sperm, and this is far from the good way, but reason testifies to us that our God is eternal and has not ceased to live, Who speaks and Whose Word is called Son and Whose Life is the Holy Spirit. We together with you (believe) that God is the Creator of all without a tool (with which) to work, except by His saying “Be, and it was”. The language of the remainder of the letter is weak, such as none of those who were before you wrote”.

As regards the father Abba Khael, he continued sad at heart on account of the ten thousand dinars which, remained for him (to pay). Then he sought grace from God the Exalted, and he went down to the city of Tinnis to take from it something in the way of alms from the Christians, the lovers of God. Then he made a tour through those regions in order to obtain something else from them. After he had remained in Tinnis one day, a company (of people) presented themselves to receive his blessing and to ask news of him and (about) what had happened to his case. Lo, a monk whose face was veiled and (who was) thin in body and of contemptible appearance, wearing a ragged thouragi, came in to the patriarch in the midst of the assembly and received his blessing. No one said to

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him, “Sit down”. Then he sat besides the disciples (of Khael) and he said to one of them: “Why is our father, the patriarch, troubled on account of what is demanded of him and of what he expects from the demands on him? Go to him and say to him that after forty days the Lord will tear up the writing and that money will not be demanded of him, but will be left to him”. The disciple went up and informed the patriarch about this. He (Khael) commanded the disciple to present him (the monk) to him, but they did not find him, and they searched for him (in) the city of Tinnis, but they did not know anything about him (there), so that it was as if the earth had swallowed him up or the heaven had hidden him. They sent to Damietta and to the places near to them, searching for him, but they did not find him.

After three days, Ahmad ibn Tulun departed from Misr (and) marched to Damascus, on account of the news which reached him (and) which troubled him. He spent on the soldiers three thousand dinars. He continued marching for twenty-nine days, and did not rest in (any) place. This was a Divine punishment (which) descended upon him from God on account of his injustice. On the completion of the forty days which the monk had announced, Ahmad ibn Tulun died, after his return, an evil death, and his son Khumarawaih reigned in his stead. Thereupon, Ahmad ibn ‘Ali al-Mardani, the wazir, got out the document with the guarantee and delivered it to John al-Miligi, his secretary. He sent to summon the father, the patriarch, from Tinnis. When he (Khael) arrived, he stayed at the Church of the Lady at Kasr as-Sam‘, where he was first (of all). He (Khael)

^l i. e. the document making Khael liable for the ten thousand dinars.

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summoned the archons to him, and they brought the document and he tore it up with his hand, and he returned to his cell, glorifying God (but) grieving over that which had been violated of the Canon of the Church and over what would befall his see after him through simony and over what was taking place between himself and the Alexandrians.

Then he remained patriarch for twenty-seven years, and he went to his rest on the twenty-first of Amsir in the days of Khumarawaih, son of Ahmad ibn Tulun. The aforesaid ¹ Khumarawaih had built a mosque outside Misr, and it is the mosque which is known by his name until now.

Then Khumarawaih heard reports of Wadi Habib. He journeyed to it and entered the Church of Saint Abba Macarius and saw his holy body, and asked (questions) concerning it. It was said to him: “This is the body of the owner of this Church”. Then he commanded that it (the body) should be loosed from its shroud, and took hold of the hair of its beard and it opened its eyes in his (Khumarawaih’s) face. Then he fell on his back and remained for an hour in a swoon without uttering a sound. Then they carried him to his tent, and they took of the oil in the lamp of Abba Macarius and anointed his forehead with it. Afterwards, another wonder was manifested to him in this Church, which was that (when) he passed through the door of the Skene ⁵on its northern

¹ ‘The aforesaid’ is added in the margin.

⁵ The term Skene is strictly applied to the dome of a church, but, as may be gathered from the description of the consecration of a Coptic church, it may be applied also to the space beneath the dome, whether the dome be situated over the sanctuary or over another part of the church, cf. G. Horner, The Service for the Consecration of a Church and Altar, London, 1902, pp. 12 and 389-890. According to G. Graf, Verzeichnis arabischer kirchlicher Termini (Leipzig, 1934), p. 9, the Skene is also the place of the singers and readers in front of the sanctuary. The term Skene has also a wider application, namely, that of Sanctuary. Examples of this use occur frequently in the History of the Patriarchs, e. g. the Skene of Benjamin in the Monastery of St. Macarius which is a small church.

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(side) beside the arch (kawsarah) and noticed the picture of the martyr looking towards the west, and they said: “It is the picture of Saint Theodore”. There was in the hand of Khumarawaih a bunch of basil and he threw it to the picture and said: “Take it, O knight, O valiant (one)”. There came forth from the picture a hand and took the bunch of basil, and the bunch of basil remained in his (the martyr’s) hand so that everyone saw it. Khumarawaih, son of Ahmad ibn Tulun, was very afraid and astonished at these miracles. Then he commanded that a mark should be made on that picture, that it might be manifest to all ages. Then they painted in his (the martyr’s) hand another cross, and that cross is in the hand of that painting until now. From that day he (Khumarawaih) became kind towards the Christians, especially the bishops and the monks.

Abba Pachomius, bishop of Taha, who had written his name in (the document of) guarantee for the father, the patriarch, had two brothers also bishops, and he had workmen and pages, about three hundred, and they used to guard the regions in his see. Some of them had been taught to shoot with arrows of wood, because the Berbers used to make incursions against them from the west, and on account of this the amir loved him and relied on him to visit those regions, because of his fear of the king of the west who was of the family of Muhammad and was called al-Fatimi. This bishop established a ferry at the west bank (of the river) (so that) news reached him at all times.

When Abba Khael went to his rest, they (the Copts) remained for a time without consecrating a patriarch. The Melkites consecrated for themselves a patriarch, and they exulted over the Orthodox and became exceedingly proud. When the news (of this) reached Abba Pachomius the bishop, this matter was grievous to him, and he arose immediately and took

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from his lands many gifts, many fruits (which were) rare (and) out of season, and he carried them to the amir. He (the amir) was pleased with him and asked him about the news of the west. He (Pachomius) said: “There is nothing save (what is) good and peaceful for your Excellency”. He remained with him for (some) days and (then) returned after he (the amir) had ordered him not to conceal from him anything in the way of news that might reach him from the west. Then he (Pachomius) was absent for five days and (then) returned. When he (the amir) saw him, he feared and thought that news had already reached him. The bishop said to him: “Do not fear, O my master, the amir, there is nothing save (what is) good, only it is not lawful for me to conceal from you anything of what might be of profit for this kingdom. It is that, (when) I departed from your presence I was informed that the Melkites who are opposed to us, who are of the Greeks (ar-Rum), had appointed for themselves a patriarch, and I feared that he might be an eye of the king of the Greeks here, and that he (the king) might come in ships to Alexandria. For this (reason) I considered that I should inform you of this”. Then he (the amir) wrote a letter of appointment to the wali of Alexandria that he should obey him (Pachomius) in whatsoever he should command him. When he (Pachomius) received the order, he went down to Alexandria and ordered that they should seize the patriarch of the Melkites who was no patriarch, and that they should cut off the two fingers of his right hand with which he made the sign of the cross. He found with him (the patriarch) six bishops of his religion which is opposed (to the Monophysites). He tore their garments which were upon them together with those of their patriarch ¹. Then he assembled a synod of the Orthodox bishops, and they went to Wadi Habib with the help of God Whose Name is great and by an order from Heaven.

^l With regard to this story, E. Renaudot, Historia Patriarcharum Alexandrinorum Jacobitarum, p. 329, says: ‘suspectissima omnino videtur haec narratio’.

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The father Gabriel the patriarch, and he is the fifty-seventh

of (their) number.

They consecrated Gabriel patriarch. He was a young man from among the inhabitants of Almah ⁽¹‘. and he entered the desert and became a monk at the Monastery of Abba Macarius at the cell there called after Dorotheus who is Abu Kama, brother of John in the monastic life, and his way of life was good in the cell, and everyone who was in it was laudable in (his) way of life. There was in this cell a priest, an aged elder called Maximus who said that it was the established custom in this cell that none of them (the monks) should advance to say the “Alleluia”, save he who knew all the Psalms by heart without a book, and this was the reason why the monks knew the Psalms by heart.

Concerning his (Gabriel’s) advancement, there was a prophecy of an aged saintly elder called Dorotheus. This was that (when) the brethren were come to him once to receive his blessing, and this Gabriel was present with them, all of them sat to hear his (the shaikh’s) words, except Gabriel who received his blessing and (then) went out, because he loved solitude and did not keep company with anyone. The elder stretched out his hand and seized the hand of Gabriel and drew him to him, while he smiled a spiritual smile, and said to him: “You flee from me,

O brother, and do not sit with me on account of your love of solitude.

I say to you, O my son, that you shall certainly sit in the midst of a great multitude of men and women together”. When they seized him (Gabriel) by force to make him patriarch, he recalled the speech of this saintly elder.

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When he went to Alexandria so that they might consecrate him. the inhabitants of Alexandria said to him, according to their established custom, “Write for us in your handwriting the Creed”. He spake to them a marvellous word: “Bring to us a carpenter to make for these people a new Creed. What need is there of handwriting (when) we are established in the Orthodox Faith which the Fathers, the three hundred and eighteen, set forth at Nicaea? We do not add to it nor do we take away from it”. When they had consecrated him, the inhabitants of Alexandria demanded of him the thousand dinars which Abba Khael the deceased had agreed (to pay) in place of what he had taken from the (sale of) the houses belonging to the Church, but he could not pay anything. The circumstances made it necessary (for him) to journey through the see and to violate the canons,and the word of God became (as) a merchandise (which is) sold for dinars to him who asks to be ordained priest.

The Diyariat was fixed in all the sees of Misr’ at a caratof gold a year for every soul among the men and women. The bishops used to take this (the Diyariat) and to live on it, and from it they used to pay the Diyariat to the patriarch every year, which was a sum of dinars (imposed) upon everyone (of the bishops), according to the wealth of his see. He (Gabriel) used to pay from it (the Diyariat) to the inhabitants of Alexandria what was arranged for them, and to spend the remainder in alms to his flock.

It is said concerning this saint, Abba Gabriel the patriarch, that he remained during the whole of his patriarchate in Wadi Habib,and that he did not leave it and did not live in the Rifnor in Misr nor in Alexandria. Whenever he went away from there (Wadi Habib) on an important business, he would be as a stranger till he returned to the said Wadi.

It was mentioned concerning him also that the lust of sin used to torment him, and that on account of this he used to fast long without

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breaking his fast. He did not find a rest from this, because at the beginning (and in) his youth he had humbled himself and tired it. When he became patriarch and found rest, this thing was stirred up in him. When he had tired himself through fasting and had not found rest, he complained of this to the elders, the monks. They gave him counsel and said to him: “This spirit is not humbled save by humility and abasement”. Thereupon, he made a shovel of iron for himself and began to rise up at night after the prayer and to put on a sleeveless thouragi (and) to go round the cells of the monks outside and to clean out their latrines, without that anyone knew about him. He continued thus for two years until that (lust) left him.

He remained patriarch for eleven years, and he went to his rest on the eleventh of Amsir, and he was buried at the Monastery of Abba Macarius in Wadi Habib.

Cosmas the patriarch, and he is the fifty-eighth of (their) number.

Cosmas was consecrated after him (Gabriel) patriarch, and there was manifested in his days a great (and) marvellous thing. This was that he (Cosmas) consecrated a metropolitan from among the monks, for the regions of Abyssinia which is a vast country, namely, the kingdom of Saba from which the queen of the South came to Solomon, the son of David the king. If the king of it wished to make a tour through it, he would take a whole year making the tour, Sundays excepted, until he returned to his place. It is a country bordering upon India

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and the parts near to it. It is included in the see of my lord Mark the Evangelist up to our own day.

When the said metropolitan had come thither—his name was Peter —its (Abyssinia’s) blessed king received him with joy. When the death of its king drew near, he (the king) summoned the metropolitan and delivered to him the crown of the kingdom and his two sons and said to him: “You are the vicar of the King Christ, the Great God, by Whose authority are all the kingdoms of the world. Behold, I have delivered to you my kingdom and my two sons, and I have committed them into your hands so that you may direct them by the will of the Lord, and upon the one of them whom you shall judge to be worthy, gentle and good, place the crown of the kingdom”. Then the king went to his rest. The metropolitan was a wise man and saw that the younger son was more accomplished than the elder one, and he placed upon him the crown and installed him as king. Lo! a monk from the Monastery of Abba Anthonywas making a tour round the countries and was passing through the land, and with him a companion, who was making a tour with him, whose name was Victor. They both penetrated into the lands of Abyssinia, and presented themselves to the metropolitan and demanded of him that he should give them dinars and endow them both with some of his money, but he did not give anything to them. Then Satan instructed them that one of the two of them should put on the garments of bishops and that the other should act as his disciple. They wrote counterfeit letters, as if from the patriarch, in which they said: “News has reached us that there has come to you an erring man, whose name is Peter, and that he has said about us that we sent him to you as metropolitan and (this) is not correct, and neither are the letters which (he has) with him from us, nor have we consecrated him, but he has counterfeited (as if) from us, what has reached you through his hands. He whom we really sent is the metropolitan and he shall come to you with our letters in his

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hands. On being informed of this, remove Peter from you and install this (man) Menas in the see. News has also reached us that he (Peter) seated the younger son of the king on the throne and rejected the elder (one), and this is unjust, because the elder has more right to the kingdom than the younger”. They both went with the letters to the elder son of the king who was alone in a solitary place, and a few people had followed him. When he learned of the contents of the counterfeit letters, he rejoiced exceedingly, and he gathered together the army to him and made known to them the letters and what was in them, and he found thereby a means to make war against his brother. The army joined him, and he vanquished him (his brother) and captured him and banished him, and he banished the metropolitan also, and installed that monk Menas in his place. After a few days a difference arose between these two false monks, and Victor plundered the cell of the archbishopric and took all that was in it and became a fugitive and embraced al-Islam and wasted all that of which he had got possession in what was not pleasing to God.

When reports of Menas reached the patriarch and of what he had done in order to banish the metropolitan and to install himself in his place, he (Cosmas) grieved exceedingly and he wrote letters (and) anathematized and excommunicated him. When the king heard of this, he took Menas the false monk and slew him. Afterwards, the patriarch did not consecrate for them (the Abyssinians) a metropolitan during the remainder of the days of his patriarchate, and neither did the patriarch who sat (upon the Throne) after him, until after five patriarchs, and (this) was Philotheus. The biography will make this clear to us when we have need for the knowledge of this, when we reach it with the help of God, since it is not requisite that we should mention the rest of the account of this before we reach it. Then the king ordered that Peter the metropolitan should be brought back to his see, but he found that

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he had already died in exile. His disciple, (however), had survived, and he prayed (to be allowed) to journey to Misr, but the king did not permit him (to do this), and said to him: “You shall sit in the place of your master”. Then he asked the king to allow him to journey to Misr so that the patriarch might consecrate him metropolitan, and (that) he would return. He (the king) would not do (this), but clothed him with the garments (of bishops) against his wishes and installed him without consecration. He remained up to the time of the father Philotheus, the patriarch, till he became old and very aged, and he used to perform the acts of bishops.

Then the father Cosmas went to his rest, and the duration of his patriarchate was twelve years, and he went to his rest on the third day of Baramhat. May his prayer be with us. Amen.

Abba Macarius the patriarch, and he is the fifty-ninth

of ( their ) number.

In his (Cosmas’) place there was consecrated Macarius, a monk of the Monastery of Abba Macarius, (who was) from a village in the Rif called Shubra, near Alexandria. When he had been consecrated in Alexandria and at the Monastery of Abba Macarius and in Misr according to the custom, and when he had finished his affairs in Misr, he went down to Alexandria, since none of the patriarchs had sojourned in Alexandria after Abba Khael the patriarch, who sold the houses belonging to the churches.

While going down, he determined to pass by his mother to greet her and to please her with (news of) the great gift which had been

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conferred upon him. She had become very aged. When he reached the hamlet, and (there was) with him a great multitude of bishops and other (people) to bid him farewell, it was said to his mother, as she sat spinning in her house, “Lo! your son, Macarius, has become patriarch and has arrived here to visit you”. She did not answer a single word to him who said this to her, and she did not move from her place and she did not go out to receive him, but that old woman who knew (of his arrival) sat at her work weeping bitterly. When he (Macarius) entered the door of her house, she did not rise to receive him, but remained sitting (and) weeping. He was joyful at the gift which he had received. When he saw her in this state, he was exceedingly ashamed on account of them who were with him, because she contemned him before them, (and) because she did not receive him and rejoice with him, but wept while he stood (there). Then he said to her: “O aged (one), perhaps, you do not know me, I am your son Macarius. The Lord has given to me this great glory. Do you not rejoice with me now, I (being clothed) with this vesture which is the vesture and glory of kings?” Then she answered him with understanding and said to him: “As to me, I know you, my son; as to you, you know not what you have become. You are joyful at what you have received, but I grieve for you. Would that they had brought you to me borne dead on a bier than that you shouldst come in to me with this empty glory! Regard not, my son, what you have received and rejoice, but weep and grieve, because you shall be answerable for the sins of all these people who glorify you”. He did not understand what she said to him at all by reason of the respect and embarrassment and shame (which he felt) on account of the people who were with him; and he went out from her, being grieved (and) weeping because she had condemned him and had spoken (thus) to him in the presence of his people. He remained on the Throne twenty years, and he went to his rest on the twenty-fourth of Baramhat.

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Theophanius the patriarch, and he is the sixtieth of (their) number ¹.

Thev consecrated in his place Theophanius (who was) from among the inhabitants of Alexandria, and he was already aged. It is related concerning him that (his) bosom became contracted ²on account of his great age and his senility. He paid to the Alexandrians the thousand dinars which had been agreed upon for them every year, and then he had difficulty (to pay) in certain years, and he asked them to remit to him something of it, but they would not do (so). They quarrelled with him and straitened him and said to him: “We shall not exempt you from a single dirham of the thousand dinars”. Then they said to him: “You are more honourable than we on account of these vestments and the skhema, (but) we invested you with them and they belong to us. Either pay to us what was settled (to be paid) to us by you and those who were before you, if not, then give to us our vestments”. Then indignation overcame him, and he took off the vestments and the skhema from him and threw them in their faces and said to them: “If they belong to you, then take them. I have no need of them”. When he took them off and threw them at them, an unclean spirit descended upon him and struck him down, so that he was hound with iron (chains) for the rest of the days of his life. Then they hid him away so that no one should see him. Then the bishops assembled and bore him to Misr so that they might treat him. They carried him on to a vessel and set sail with him. Respect did not allow them to put him on the deck of the vessel but they put him into the hold.

¹ A marginal note in red reads: This is he whom the grace of God deserted [MS. A. supplies the lacuna ‘and he became mad’].

² i. e. he became ill-tempered.

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He cried out and blasphemed and said what those who are opposed (to us) say. It is said that one of the disciples of the bishops who were with him went down in the night into the hold and wet a pillow and placed it on his (Theophanius’) face, while he was sleeping, and sat upon it until he was dead. And it is said that he was given something to drink so that he died ², through fear of the disgrace. The duration of his patriarchate was four years and six months.

Menas the patriarch, and he is the sixty-first of (their) number ³.

There was consecrated in his place a man of Sandala, the son of a saintly monk of the Monastery of Abba Macariusin Wadi Habib from the Cell known as Dirnaba. This man was elect, and the reason for his monastic life was that his parents forced him into marriage in his youth against his wishes. He was very obedient to them, and they completed all that was necessary for him, for the marriage, while he looked on at it as (if it were) a vision or a dream. When they had conducted him into his bridal-chamber with his wife and left him with her, she being of his family and tribe, he sat down and said to her: “O my sister, what profit have we in this world?

² i. e. he was poisoned.

³ A marginal note in red reads: ‘This father sat on the patriarchal throne during the governorship of Kafur the Ikhsid over Egypt in the reign of the Caliph of Baghdad in the year six hundred and seventy-three (sic) [MS. A. has ‘ninety-three’] of the Martyrs (= A. D. 976-977). After three years of his reign, Gawhar arrived from the west and conquered Egypt and delivered it to al-Mu‘izz, and built Cairo (al-Kahirah) [MS. A. adds ‘after a year’].

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Let us say now that we came together and fulfilled the desire of our bodies and that we received children both female and male, what would be the advantage of this and what profit should we have from it? Shall we not die at the end of this and the grave be its termination? Both of these things must occur, as it is written: ‘The world passeth away and all its desires, but he who doeth good endureth for ever'”. When he bad reassured the woman’s mind with these words and similar (ones) from the Holy Scriptures, to preserve the chastity of their bodies, he remained thus for three days until he had strengthened her faith. Then he said to her: “O my sister, the mind of each of us has been reassured. Sit you now in your house, and I shall go to Wadi Habibto become a monk, but keep this secret and do not inform anyone of it”. She said to him: “Yes”. Then he arose on the fourth day very early, and no one knew of it, and he went to the aforesaid Wadi and dwelt in the aforesaid Cell which is Dirnaba, with a saintly elder who was father of the Cell. He instructed him in the fear of God, and when he made known to him the secret, he clothed him with the garments of monasticism. He concealed his case for three years, and no one knew about him of those who knew him. It was on the second day of his journeying from his house that his family asked about him that he should go out to them as was his wont, but they did not find him. Then they asked his wife about him, and she said to them: “He went out from me since already a good part of the night”. They searched for him diligently, but they did not find him. That marriage was turned into mourning and grief. When the days of their mourningwhich followed the rejoicing and the marriage were accomplished, the family of the woman wished to take her to them

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so that they might marry her to another man, but she did not respond to this and she did not agree with their opinion. She said to them: “(This is) what the Lord has judged against me. I shall abide in this house of mine, sorrowing for my husband until the day of my death”.

“When the aforesaid Menas had dwelt for three years in the monastery and his affair had been hidden from his father and his family, —then they learned news of him after that, that he was alive and had become a monk in the Monastery of Abba Macarius—his family hastened and went to him and they saw him there alive, serving God the Exalted (and) glorifying Him. The woman kept the covenant which had been established between her and him and she did not break it. This (one) remained in Wadi Habib for a long time, then he became an anchorite.

When the father, Abba Theophanius the patriarch, went to his rest, the bishops and the archons assembled to appoint (a patriarch) in his stead. Reports of this father, the saintly elder, the father of the Cell, and of his devotion in the monasteries and of the knowledge which he possessed, reached them. Then they went to him and they did not constrain him and did not speak with him about what he did not wish and did not trouble him on account of his sanctity, but they spoke to him quietly and gravely, saying: “We have come to you, O our saintly father, to call you to a divine charge that you shouldst be for us a father on the Apostolic Throne. All of us make an obeisance to you for God’s sake that you send us not away disappointed, but take on this charge and accept our effort on the part of the Lord”, and all of them prostrated themselves before him. When they did this, and he saw that he was vanquished by them, he said to them: “Lift up your heads, I will not gainsay you”. When they lifted up their heads and wished to place their hands upon him and to consecrate him, he said to them: “By an order from God, hearken to me to what I shall say to you. Lo, you see in me an aged elder, and no force remains in me for this charge, because it is a great charge, and you know the Canons of the Church and

what is required by them, and that it is requisite that he who is advanced to this dignity should be of middle age, neither an elder nor a young man, lest the lust of the body should torment him, nor one advanced in old age, lest his body should weigh him down and he be unable to do what is necessary for him (to do)”. Then they said to him: “We shall not leave you at all except you make known to us him who is fit for this dignity”. When he understood that they would not leave him except he indicated to them another, he said to them: “My son Menas is fit for this charge, and I testify for him with regard to this and to the beauty of his godly way of life and that he is learned and of middle age”. Then all of them cried out: “Worthy, worthy, worthy”, and they presented themselves to him (Menas) and took him by force and bound iron (fetters) on his feet and bore him to Alexandria and consecrated him patriarch in it.

The bishops and the elders returned with him, and (when) he passed by his aforesaid hamlet, he turned aside to it in order to greet his family. When news of him reached them, they went out to receive him with censers and crosses and they conducted him to the house to rest. As he sat (there), a multitude (of people) being with him, an evil man among the inhabitants of the hamlet presented himself and said to one of the bishops: “Do you not say that it is not permitted to him who has been married to become patriarch?” He said to him: “Yea”. Then he said: “This (one) has been married and his wife is still living with us until now in the village”. When that bishop heard this saying, he was grieved and he informed the rest of the bishops who were with him and said to them: “O my brethren, know that a great misfortune and shame has befallen us and that we are become a reproach to everyone”. He made known to them the news, and they were silent and became drunk, (though) not with wine, through grief and affliction. When Menas the patriarch saw them taking counsel together and knew that they (were doing so) on account of him, he said to them: “O my brethren, why take you counsel?” They said to him: “We have learned that you are married and we have done to you what is not

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lawful and what is contrary to the Canon. Tell us the truth concerning yourself”. He said to them: “The matter is correct, but bring the woman”. Then they brought her, and the patriarch said to her: “Make known to them the secret which is between me and you”, and she informed them of this. When they heard her words, they glorified God on knowing the truth of the story from the woman and from all her family,

That year in which this father Menas was made patriarch was the year six hundred and seventy-three of the Martyrs ¹.

Misr at that time belonged to the Caliph of Baghdad. The wali of it (Egypt) (who was appointed) by him (the Caliph) was a man known as the Ikhsid. He was appointed three years before this father was made patriarch ⁴. Then he journeyed to Palestine and died there. He left behind (him) two sons, one of them was Abu’l-Kasim and the other (was) Abu’l-Hasan. They were appointed to the government in the place of their father.

An insurgent made an insurrection against them; (he was) from the West and his name was Hananiya and they fled away before him to Palestine (Filistin), and he took possession of Misr. When they learned that his troops were in Misr only, they returned to fight against him and they routed him.

They were both youths and with them there was a master (who had) belonged to their father, whose name was Kafur. He was of Nubian race captured from the lands of Nubia, and his master had given him in his childhood to one who taught him writing and literature and all that he needed (to know). When he (Kafur) grew up and he (his master) saw that he was distinguished and skilled, he delivered to him his kingdom and his two children. This (one) was like Joseph in Misr. When seven years had passed both the sons died, and the master Kafur succeeded them. Then he (Kafur) died and the chiefs of the State took him and embalmed him

¹ i. e. A. D. 956-957.

⁴ This is chronologically incorrect.

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and seated him on a lofty throne in his palace, and they clothed him in a robe with very long sleeves, so that they reached to the door of the audience chamber in which he was. They stationed servants before him, and they prevented everyone (who) came to salute him from going in to him, and they said: “Our lord commands that you shouldst kiss his sleeve and salute him from outside, because he is sick and can not endure that anyone enters in to him”. They had placed someone behind the throne on which they had seated [him], so that when the people saluted him, he would move his head and his sleeve, as if he were replying to them. No one of the people of his palace knew about this, except the two masters who had been attached to him and his concubines and Abu’l-Yumn Cosmas ibn Menas. He (Kafur) remained thus for three years, and his wazir collected the taxes and directed affairs until certain people learned the news (of this) and wrote to the king of the West whose name was Ma‘add Abu Tamim al-Mu‘izz-li-Dini’llah ³. When he (al-Mu’izz) learned this, he despatched one of his generals whose name was Gawhar ⁵, and he was a brave (man) and a warrior, and with him there was a large army. When the Ikhsidians heard news of him, they went out to fight against him, and they prevented the ships from crossing (the river). That year there was little water (in the Nile). Certain people knew the place of the ford which was opposite to Satanuf. When the chief of the Ikhsidians, namely, the master whose name was Fatik learned… He was a brave (man) (and) a warrior, and his army (was composed of) fighting men, but there was not among them any who knew how to shoot with arrows made of wood, except a few. As regards those who arrived from the West (Maghrib),

³ A. D. 953-975. ⁵ Gawhar ar-Rumi was wazir and commander of the forces, A. D. 953-999.

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most of their army (was composed of) naked infantry wrapped (only) in cloaks of wool. It happened that when they fought, they put their cloaks on their arms and fought with swords and arrows made of wood and the remnants of fine lances with which they pierced the Ikhsidians and killed them. Their flags were pieces of cloth dyed and marvellouslv coloured with threads of silver (as) an emblem of victory. When they saw them unfold them (the flags), they became strong for battle. When the Ikhsidians put up the black flags which were with them, their troops were routed. When the master Fatik perceived that these flags were put up by their bearers, and that they started to flee, he crossed over to them in wrath and killed them, but he was routed together with his troops. The Moors continued pursuing them and slaying them as far as Bilbais, and they took captive a number of their chiefs. Gawhar put them in irons and despatched them to the West to his master al-Mu’izz li-dini-llah. Gawhar ruled over the land of Misr, and his arrival in it was in the year six hundred and eighty-three of the Martyrs ³.

As to Abu’1-Yumn Cosmas ibn Menas the wazir of Kafur, he found grace before Gawhar (and) he left him in his position (as) overseer of the land of Misr, on account of the trustworthiness and probity for which he was well-known and to which trustworthy people of Misr bare witness. Gawhar built a city at the castle which he called Cairo (al-Kahirah) al-Mu‘izziyah.

There was among the number of the Ikhsidians a master, an amir, whose name was Tir, and he was wali of al-Bashmur^,, and he it was who built the mosque outside Cairo (al-Kahirah). He prevented all the inhabitants of al-Bashmur from paying the poll-taxes and drove them to disobey Gawhar and

³ i. e. A. D. 966-967. This is an incorrect date for this event.

said to them: “Aid me and I will protect your lands and save you the tax”. A great number followed him. When reports of him reached the king al-Mu‘izz on his arrival in Misr. he despatched troops to him. When the Bashmurites saw the troops, they took counsel among themselves and said: “How shall we do mischief to the king, and be safe from what will happen from him”? ” Then each one of them separated to his place, and that wretched Tir fled to Damiettaand the troops pursued him. Then he embarked on a ship and escaped to Palestine and entered Jaffa. They seized him there, and he remained for a month being given to drink sesame oil until his skin was raised from his flesh and his skin peeled and came off like the skin of a water-bottle. Then they stuffed it with straw and crucified it on a beam.

The inhabitants of Tinnis were in great straits at that time on account of (some) bold youths (who) were in it, and (who) had become masters of it and had robbed a number of the rich who were in it, of (their) money and they imposed (a fine in) money on its inhabitants (and) they took it from them. They used to gather together to eat and to drink, and everyone of them did what he wished, so that they took the virgin daughters from their parents and likewise the women, and no one dared to speak to them.

There were in Tinnis certain people of the Christians known as the Children of Kislam, and they were called by this name on account of (what) their father did. It (happened) that their father was a wise man, and when he saw that the wickedness of those bold (youths) multiplied and increased, he wrote to the king al-Mu‘izz asking help from him. He said in his letter, “In your kingdom (there is) a city called Tinnis in which there are a thousand Muslim youths who do such and such things”, and he exposed to him all their actions. “Now it is necessary that the amir should send one of his people to be the wali of it (Tinnis), and that there should be with him a good army. When he reaches us, I will assist him in whatever he may need”. Al-Mu‘izz

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despatched to it (Tinnis) a man of Kutam whose name was Mas‘alah, and with him there were many men. When he arrived, those evil-doers shut the gates of the city in his face, and they fought against him for three months until the city was in an uproar on account of thirst, because their water (was) from the lake which would be fresh for three months in the year (during) the rise of the Nile, and they would fill their cisterns from it. Then it (the lake) would be salt for nine months, and ships would carry to them fresh water from the river Nile for (a distance of) a day’s journey. When they (the inhabitants) made an uproar, Kislam came together with their chiefs, and their number was one hundred men, and he said to them, while they were on the wall: “How long shall we beseige this city and remain like this? If you will obey me, I will be a mediator between you and between this amir Mas‘alah, and I will take from him for each one of you ten dinars and a fine robe of honour and he will confer on you the administration of this city on his behalf, for you have no power to resist the Sultan”. They approved of his words and they said to him: “You shall be the mediator in this affair. Whatsoever you shall enjoin upon us, we will not gainsay you”. Then the assembly of those young men separated, and everyone of them went to his (own) place and there remained (none) save the aforesaid hundred (chiefs). Then Kislam ordered the gate to be opened, and he went out through it and the gate was closed, and there went out with him the elders of the Muslims of the district with whom he was in agreement regarding this matter, and they went to Mas‘alah. When they went in to him, Kislam informed him of all that he had decided on and (of what) he had done, and he took from him (Mas‘alah) a thousand dinars and a hundred goodly robes of honour. He (Mas‘alah) wrote with his hand that he would not oppress them. They were reassured thereat, and they returned to the city, and they delivered to everyone of them ten dinars and a robe of honour, and informed them of the contents of the writing which he (Mas‘alah) had written. Then they rejoiced and their hearts were reassured and they

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opened the gates of the city, and Mas‘alah entered it with great glory, and he made for them a great banquet and invited all of them. This was a thing which Kislam had arranged with him (Mas‘alah) that it (the banquet) should be prepared for them. He set before them much food and drink and he swore to them by the head of the king al-Mu‘izz that none of them should depart to his dwelling-place for three days, but should remain with him eating and drinking with him. After the three days, they became intoxicated from drinking, and he shut the door upon them and ordered his soldiers to slay them all. They slow them, and he crucified them on the wall of the city before dawn. When it was morning, the inhabitants of the city saw them, and they feared greatly. Then he ordered most of the wall to be demolished, and it was demolished and it has remained demolished until now.

In the first year, (when) these Moors ruled, the land of Misr dried up and was not irrigated, and a famine started. In the second year, the Nile rose, and the people sowed (their lands), and their crops prospered, but when the dew fell, a multitude of rats descended upon it, and the crops were destroyed. In the third year, a wind came upon the crops (and) destroyed them. In the fourth year, huge locusts descended upon the crops and ate them up. The famine did not cease until the end of seven successive years, and the famine

was great in all Misr, so that the land of Misr was emptied of people on account of the number of deaths and of the hunger which occurred. In the seventh year, half a waibah and a quarter of a waibah of wheat (reached the price of) one dinar. A number of the episcopal sees were depopulated on account of their being empty of people, and bishops were not appointed to them, but they were joined to the populated sees which were neighbouring to them. They

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were: Tarnut, Aurat, Nastaruh, Anhlua, Istaf, Haryut, Itusua, Abu Rasa, Dikahlat, Niklus, and many places (for which) time does not suffice to mention them all.

The father Abba Menas the patriarch was, during all this, sojourning in the Rif. When the famine became intense, he removed (from there) and dwelt in a village of the district of Tida, known as Mahallat Danyal, until a chief woman of the inhabitants of Balkunah (who was) rich and god-fearing, her name being Dinah, supported, during the remainder of the days of the famine, the patriarch and his disciples and those who belonged to him. He (Menas) remained (thus) for one year, and he did not enter into Alexandria nor (go) to Wadi Habib to consecrate the Chrism. Then he built a fine altar at Mahallat Danyal under the name of my lord Mark and bore the Chrism on to it.

When the seven years of the famine had ended and God had granted to the people plenty and the inhabitants of the West had returned

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to their places, they (the Egyptians) did not find wheat to sow until the merchants transported (it) to them from Syria.

Then the father, the patriarch, Abba Menas, died after he had remained (on the Throne) eighteen years. At the end of his days, there were very good conditions of life, so that wheat was sold at twelve ardabs for a dinar, and it was thrown to the people by the order of the Sultan.

The twenty-fourth biography of the biographies of the Holy Church. Anba Abraham the Syrian, and he is the sixty-second of (their) number, (and) was known as Ibn Za‘rah ¹.

When Abba Menas the patriarch went to his rest, and the Throne remained vacant, the bishops of the land of Misr, from the Rif and from the Two Sa‘ids, and the scribes of Misr and the priests of Alexandria assembled and remained for several days, but they did not find anyone whom it pleased them to advance (to the patriarchate).

There was in Misr a man, a Syrian merchant, whose name was Abraham ibn Zar‘ah. He used to give alms to the widows, the poor, the hidden and the feeble. He was an old man whose beard descended upon his breast like (that of) our father Abraham the first (patriarch). He was in great favour

¹ A marginal note in red, more complete in MS. A. reads: “This father sat on the patriarchal throne during the reign of al-Mu‘izz, the first Caliph of the Fatimid dynasty. In his days, he ordered that the Christians… and the affair of the mountain is explained in this biography. May God exalt his rank and declare his sanctity and purity, and what He, God, did to him, in all the quarters of the earth”.

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with the king al-Mu‘izz and the men of his State on account of his goods and of his wares which had reached (them), in which he used to deal with them. All the archons of Misr loved him and honoured him. (While) the people were assembling in the Church of the two Martyrs Sergius and Bacchus at Misr in Kasr as-Sam‘, which is the Catholic one, and (while) the hishops and the priests and the archons were assembling for the feast, Abraham ibn Zar‘ah entered to pray in the Church. Then one of the archons made a sign to one of the bishops, saying: “You are seeking for him who is fit for the patriarchate, and lo, God has sent to us him who is worthy of it”. A number of those who were present heard (this), and his words pleased them, but they did not show it. Then one of his (Abraham’s) friends, the archons, called him, as if he wished to speak to him about something. When he advanced and arrived in their company, they all cried out: “This is he whom the Lord has chosen”. They seized him at once and put fetters of iron upon him. He cried out and wept and said: “I am not worthy of this charge”. They bore him away at once and journeyed with him to Alexandria and consecrated him patriarch there.

He (Abraham) abolished simony which the patriarchs used to practise and to take dinars as a loan on it (ordination). He gave alms of all that he possessed, and he had great wealth, and his memory was honoured more than (that) of those who were before him. Al-Mu‘izz used to cause him (Abraham) to be brought to him at all times to take his opinion on what concerned him and to receive his blessing, and he asked him to live in Misr.

When he (Abraham) saw a number of the archons taking concubines and begetting children by them, he excommunicated him

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who did it. They all of them obeyed him except one high archon from among the chiefs of the Diwans, who had concubines. He did not send them away, and he disobeyed the patriarch. The father Abba Abraham the patriarch made a number of obeisances to him, but he did not obey him and continued in his evil deed, as the viper which does not hearken to the voice of the charmer, and (as one who does not take) the medicine (which) the physician prepares. Then the patriarch rode and went to his house that he might speak with him, and he said within himself: “Perhaps, if I go to him he will have respect before me”. When they informed him (the archon) that the patriarch was coming to him, he shut the door of his house. When the patriarch reached the door, he stood and knocked at it for

two hours, but no one answered him a word. Then he excommunicated

him (the archon) and shook off (the dust from) his feet on the threshold

which was of flint-stone, and it was divided in twain, and this miracle was manifested to the people, and all those who were in Misr feared the patriarch. After a few days that archon perished with all that he possessed.

The wazir of the king al-Mu‘izz was a Jewish man whose name was Bu Jacob ibn Killis, and he came with him (al-Mu‘izz) from the West and had embraced Al-Islam at his hands. The wazir had a Jewish friend whose name was Moses. He was accorded great fortune by al-Mu‘izz on account of his friendship for his wazir. When he saw the love of the king for the patriarch and the access (which he had) to him (al-Mu‘izz), he envied him and took counsel against him. He said to Al-Mu‘izz: “I desire that you shouldst cause the patriarch of the Christians to be brought that I may dispute with him before you so that he may expose to you his religion”. Al-Mu‘izz did not confront the patriarch with this and he did not expose him to a disputation with the Jew, but he said to him: “If you see (fit) to summon one of your sons,

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the bishops, that he may dispute with the Jew, do (so)”. They arranged between themselves a certain day on which their meeting should be, and there was present among all the bishops a saintly, virtuous bishop of al-Ashmunain, called Severus (Sawirus) and known as Ibn al-Mukaffa‘ ². He had been a scribe and then he became bishop, and the Lord had bestowed upon him grace and power in the Arabic tongue, so that he wrote many books and mimars and controversies. He who read his books recognised his excellence and the soundness of his knowledge. He (Severus) disputed many times with the kadis of the Muslim elders by the order of the king al-Mu‘izz, and he overcame them through the power of God and His grace.

It happened that he (Severus) was sitting with the Supreme Kadi, (and) lo, a dog passed by them. It was a Friday and there were a number of witnesses there. The Supreme Kadi said to him: “What sayest you, O Severus, concerning this dog? Is it Christian or Muslim?” He said: “Ask it, and it will answer you itself”. The Kadi said to him: “Does a dog speak? We wish you to tell us”. He (Severus) said: “Yes. It is necessary for us to test this dog. It (happens) that to-day is Friday on which the Christians fast and do not eat meat, and when they break (their) fast in the evening, they drink nabidh, but the Muslims do not fast on it (Friday) and do not drink nabidh on it, but eat meat on it. Put before it (the dog) meat and nabldh, and if it eats the meat, it will be Muslim, and if it does not eat it, but drinks the nabidh, then it will be Christian”. When they heard his words, they marvelled at his wisdom and at the strength of his answer, and they departed from him.

The patriarch Abba Abraham took this bishop on the day on which his attendance in the presence of the king al-Mu‘izz had been fixed, and he went with him to the palace. Moses the Jew

² A famous Coptic theologian.

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and the wazir Ibn Killis were present, and they sat for a long time silent. Then the king al-Mu‘izz said to them: “Speak concerning that for which you are assembled. Then he said: “Speak, O patriarch, and tell your deputy to say what he has (to say)”. The patriarch said to the bishop: “Speak, O my son, and God will assist you”. The bishop said to the king: “It is not lawful to converse with a man (who is) a Jew in the presence of the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful”. The Jew said to him: “You slander me and say in the presence of the Commander of the Faithful and his wazir that I am ignorant”. The bishop Abba Severus said to him: “If the truth be made manifest to the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful, will there not be anger at this?” The king al-Mu‘izz said: “It is not allowed that anyone should become angry in the disputation, but it is requisite for those who dispute that everyone of them should say what he has (to say) and to set forth his argument as he wishes”. The bishop said: “It is not I (who) bear witness against you, O Jew, with regard to ignorance, but a great and illustrious prophet from God (who) has witnessed against you with regard to this”. The Jew said to him: “Who is the prophet?” He (Severus) said to him: “He is Isaiah who says in the beginning of his book concerning God: “The ox has known its owner, and the ass has known the manger of its master, but Israel has not known Me'”. The king al-Mu‘izz said to Moses: “Is not this correct?” He said: “Yes. This is what is written”. Then the bishop said: “Has not God said, indeed, that the beasts are more intelligent than you. It is not lawful for me to converse in the council of the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful—may his might endure—with him (the Jew), (for) the beasts are more rational than he, and God, indeed, has attributed to him ignorance”. The king al-Mu‘izz marvelled at this and commanded them to depart.

Enmity became great between the two parties. The wrath of the wazir waxed strong and he began to seek for a pitfall for the patriarch, because he had confounded the Jews in the presence of

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the king al-Mu‘izz, but the Lord Christ protects His elect and His servants. It happened after some days that he found a way (to have) an audience to say to al-Mu‘izz: “It is written in the Gospel of the Christians: ‘If one has faith as a grain of mustard-seed, and he says to the mountain: Be you removed and be you cast into the sea, it shall be done.’ Let the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful see his way to ask them to prove the truth of this saying, so that he may know that they are frauds and are liars. If they do not do (this), it is requisite that there should be done to them what they deserve on account of their lie”. He approved of this word. The king al-Mu‘izz sent to summon Abba Abraham and said to him: “What say you concerning this word? Is it in your Gospel or not?” The patriarch said: “Yes. It is in it”. He (al-Mu‘izz) said to him: “Lo, you Christians are thousands and tens of thousands in this land, and I desire to be brought to me one of them that this miracle may be manifested at his hands; and you, O chief of them, it is requisite that this deed should be (done) by you, otherwise, I shall destroy you with the sword”. Then the patriarch was astounded, and great fear came upon him and he did not know what to answer to him (al-Mu‘izz), but God the Exalted inspired him to say to him: “Grant me a delay of three days, so that I may seek and beseech the Lord—His name be magnified—to render the heart of the Commander (Amir) of the Faithful favourable to his slaves”. He granted to him the delay.

He (Abraham) returned to his dwelling-place in Misrand he caused to be brought (to him) the priests and the archons of Misrand all the Orthodox people, and weeping he made known to them the matter. There were in Misr a number of monks of Wadi Habib, and he (Abraham) imposed upon them all a penancethat none of them should go to his dwelling-place for three days, but that they should assemble to continue in prayer in the church night and day. They did this for the three days and nights. As to the patriarch, he did not break his fast during them (the three days) at all.

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Some of them (the monks) broke their fast once every night with bread and salt and a little water. Abba Abraham, the patriarch, did not cease to stand weeping before God on account of it during those days and nights until there did not remain in him any movement.

This blessed gathering took place in the Church of the Mistress in Kasr as-Sam‘ known as the Mu‘allakah. When it was the morning of the third day, the saintly patriarch fell to the ground from grief of heart and from his fasting and his weariness, and he slept for a while. He saw the Lady, the Pure Mistress, Mary and she said to him with a joyful face: “What is it that has befallen you?” He said to her: “Do you not know, O my Lady, that the king of this land has said to me: ‘If you do not show to me a miracle this day in the mountain, I shall kill all the inhabitants of the Christian Religion in the land of Misr, and I shall destroy them from out of my kingdom with the sword”. The Mistress said to him: “Fear not, for I will not overlook the tears which you have shed in this church of mine. Rise now, and descend from here and go out by the door of the Darb al-Hadid which leads to the Great Market. As you goest out you will find a man (carrying) on his shoulder a jar full of water —his mark is that he is one-eyed—seize him, for he it is at whose hands

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this miracle shall be manifested”. The patriarch awoke at once and he was afraid. It was still dark, and he arose in haste and did not let anyone know of him till he reached the door and found it closed. He doubted in his heart and said: “I believe that Satan has played a trick upon me”. He called the door-keeper, and he opened (the door) for him. The first who entered by the door was the man about whom he was told. He seized him and said to him with an obeisance for the Lord’s sake: “Have pity upon this people”. Then he informed him of the reason for their meeting. The man said to him: “Forgive me, for I am a sinner, and I have not reached this degree”. Thereupon, the patriarch informed him of what the Pure Mistress had told him, when she appeared to him. Then he said to him: “What is your business?” He (the man) wished to hide from him his case. He (Abraham) solemnly charged him and bound him under (pain of) anathema not to hide from him anything of his case. Then he said to him: “O my father, I will inform you of my case. I am a man, a tanner, and this eye which you seest, I plucked it out on account of the commandment of the Lord, when I beheld what was not mine with lust, and saw that I was going to Hell on account of it. I considered and said: ‘It is better for me to go into life with one eye, as the Lord Christ says: It is better (etc.), than that I should go to Hell with two eyes’. I am (living) in this place (as) a hired worker to a man (who is) a tanner. I do not have over from what (I receive) from my work every day (anything) except a bread to eat, and the remainder is for the destitute hiddenof the brethren, women and men. This water I give them to drink every day before I go to my work. I take it to the poor people among them who have not the money to buy it from the water-carrier. All

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the day I work in the tannery and at night I stand praying. This is the state of my case, and I ask you, O my father, not to make it known to anyone, for I have not the power to endure the praise of men, but that which I shall say to you, do (it). Go out with your priests and all your people to the mountain concerning which the king told you, (having) with you gospels, crosses, censers and large candles. Let the king stand with his soldiers and his troops on one side, and you and your people, on one side, and I, behind you, will stand in the midst of the people, so that no one may recognize me. Then read you and your priests and cry aloud, saying: ‘O Lord, have mercy’ for a long time. Then command them to be silent and (to keep) quiet, and you shall prostrate yourself and all who are with you shall prostrate themselves, and I will prostrate myself with you. and without that anyone recognizes me. Do thus three times, and every time that you shall prostrate yourself and stand up (again) you shall make (the sign of) the cross over the mountain, and you shall see the glory of God”. When he (the man) had said this word, the heart of the patriarch was reassured by what he heard from him. Then he (Abraham) rose up and all the people with him, and they went up to the king and said to him: “Go out to the mountain”. He (al-Mu‘izz) commanded all his army and those who were attached to him and the notables of his State to go out, and that trumpets should be sounded. The king went out and his wazir with him, and he ordered that disbelieving Moses to go out. The father, the patriarch, did as that Saint had said to him. The king al-Mu‘izz and his companions stood on one side and all the Christians and the patriarch, on the other side, and the man stood behind the patriarch, and there was none among the assembly who recognized him, except the patriarch alone, and they cried out ‘O Lord, have mercy’ many times. Then he (Abraham) commanded them to be silent and he prostrated himself upon the ground and all (who were) with him prostrated themselves three times, and every time that he lifted up his face and made (the sign of) the cross, the mountain was lifted up from the ground. When they prostrated themselves,

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the mountain came down to its base. The king al-Mu‘izz feared greatly and the king and the Muslims cried out: “God is great. There is no God besides You!” Then the king al-Mu‘izz said to the patriarch after the third time: “Enough, O patriarch, I have recognized, indeed, the correctness of your faith”. When the people had become calm, the patriarch turned to look for the saintly man, but he did not find him.

Then the king said to the patriarch Abba Abraham: “Desire of me something (and) I will do it for you”. He (Abraham) said to him: “I desire nothing, save that God may strengthen your State and give you victory over your enemies”. He (al-Mu‘izz) said to him: “Desire (of me something), O patriarch”. He repeated to him the speech three times. Then the king al-Mu‘izz said to him: “It is necessary that you desire of me something”. The patriarch said to him: “If it be necessary, then I will ask our lord to command, if it be possible, to be built a church of Abba Mercurius at Misr”: since it happened, when they had demolished it, that they did not allow them (the Christians) to restore it, and it has been turned into a store house for sugar-cane; and likewise the Mu‘allakah in Misr in Kasr as-Sam‘, since a great part of its walls had fallen down and part of them was in a state of decay. He (Abraham) also asked permission to restore it (the Mu‘allakah). He (al-Mu‘izz) ordered at once that a decree should be written for him giving him the power (to do) this, and he gave to him from the Treasury what he would have to spend on the restoration. He (Abraham) took the decree, but he returned the money and said to the king al-Mu‘izz: “May the Lord strengthen your kingdom, but the Treasury has more right to this money”. When the decree was read at the Church

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of Abba Mercurius, the sellers who were there and the dregs of the people assembled and said: “If we are all slain with one sword, we shall not allow anyone to place (one) stone upon (one) stone in this church”. Then the patriarch returned to the king al-Mu‘izz with the news. He (al-Mu‘izz) became wrathful at this, and he rode at once with all bis troops till he came to the place, and he halted and commanded the foundations to be dug. They were promptly dug and a large number of masons were assembled for it (the rebuilding) and stones were carried to it (the site) from every place by the order of the king al-Mu‘izz, and they (began to) build them (the foundations) at once. No one dared to say a word except an elder who used (to lead) in the prayers for those sellers in the mosque which was there. He it was who used to assemble the congregation and presided over them. He threw himself into the foundations and said: “I desire to die to-day for the Name of God and not to let anyone build this church”. When the king al-Mu‘izz was informed of this, he commanded that stones should be thrown upon him and that they should build over him. When lime and stones were thrown upon him, he wished to stand up, but the assistants did not allow him (to do so), since al-Mu‘izz had commanded that he should be buried in the foundations into which he had thrown himself. When the patriarch saw this, he dismounted from his beast and threw himself before al-Mu‘izz and besought him on behalf of him (the elder) until he (al-Mu‘izz) commanded that he should be got up from the foundations. It was with difficulty that he managed to escape from them (the foundations) safe, after he had almost died.

The king al-Mu‘izz returned to his palace, and no one dared after that to say a single word till the rebuilding of the church had been completed, and likewise (that of) the Church al-Mu‘allakah at Kasr as-Sam‘ and he (the patriarch) (re)built all the churches which were in need of restoration. No one opposed him (the patriarch) in anything of this (affair). He (re)built likewise many places in the churches at

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Alexandria which had become weakened, and he spent on this a great (deal) of money, and was not able to pay to the Alexandrians the thousand dinars which had been agreed upon for them for the expenses of their churches, and after many demands it was agreed upon that he should give to them each year five hundred dinars.

The duration of the occupation by this patriarch, Abba Abraham, of the Throne was three years and six months, and he went to his rest with his saintly fathers.

It is said that one of the archons, known as Abi‘s-Surur al-Kabir, who had influence in the State, possessed many concubines. He (Abraham) commanded him to send them away, but he did not (do so). Then he excommunicated him and forbade him the Eucharist. He acted craftily in that he gave to him (Abraham) a drink to drink ² and killed him. He went to the Lord in peace, and the people wept over him.

There was a prophecy concerning his advancement (to the patriarchate). It (happened) that when he was a layman, he went to the Monastery of Abba Macarius in Wadi Habib to pray there. He went to the Caves to receive the blessings from the anchorites. He met one of them, and with him there were two of his companions. That saintly anchorite blessed him and seized him by his hand and took him aside and said: “O my brother, lo, I see a great rock suspended above you and it is descending upon you”. He (Abraham) did not understand the meaning of his saying that day, and that he (the anchorite) signified to him thereby the greatness of the majesty of the patriarchate which he merited from God.

When the kingdom of Misr fell to al-Mu‘izz, as we have said above, Abba Menas the patriarch lived during some of his days

² i. e. poisoned him.

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under the rule of Gawhar, and Ahha Ahraham (came) after him. “Whenever al-Mu‘izz wished to do anything according to his custom in the West, Gawhar prevented him with gentleness and diplomacy, and said that the inhabitants of Misr are a people in whom there is cunning and sagacity, and that nothing is hidden from them, and it is as if they have knowledge of that which is invisible. He (al-Mu‘izz) said to him one day: “O Gawhar, if what has been said about the sagacity of the Cairenes (al-Masriyin) is correct, then I wish to test them”. Then he commanded them to take a large roll of paper similar to (that of) a decree, and that it should be rolled up without being written upon and sealed. When it was brought, he delivered it to the scribe and he inscribed upon it the name of the king al-Mu‘izz, and he (al-Mu‘izz) commanded that a trumpet should be sounded before him (the bearer) and that a public crier should proclaim among the people that they should come to hear the decree of the king, and he commanded that spies should walk behind him (the public crier) and listen to what the inhabitants of Misr said. This was done, and they heard some of the people say: “Let us go to hear the decree of the king”, but some of them said: “Do not trouble yourselves. There is nothing in it; it is blank”. Then they (the spies) returned and informed him (al-Mu‘izz), and he marvelled at this exceedingly.

At the beginning of the pontificate of Abba Abraham the patriarch, the wazir in Misr was the aforesaid Abu ‘1-Yumn Cosmas ibn Menas. He was a pious man and a virgin. He had never married, and it had not been heard concerning him that he had (known) the follies of youth. He acted well towards all men and he was praised by everyone. He was accorded favour and love by al-Mu‘izz on account of his good manner of life and intention(s) and of the strength of his faith. He (al-Mu‘izz) used to accept his wordsand his counsel, and he appointed him mutawalli for collecting the tax on the wealth of Misr. He continued thus until Abba Abraham became patriarch.

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When Jacob ibn Killis the wazir saw the access (which) Abu ‘1-Yumn had to al-Mu‘izz, he envied him and feared that he would make him wazir in his stead. He counselled al-Mu‘izz and said to him: “It is good to send Cosmas ibn Menas to the districts of Palestine to direct them, since he is a trustworthy man”. His object was to remove him from al-Mu‘izz. Then he (al-Mu‘izz) sent him to Palestine. When he arrived there and took charge of it, he exacted from it and from its districts two hundred thousand dinars.

Then a heretic from the lands of the East arose, known as the Karmati ¹. He took possession of all the lands of Syria till he reached the districts of Palestine. When news of him reached Cosmas ibn Menas, he took the money which he had obtained and went with it to a monastery on the top of Mount Tabor and he delivered it to the Superior of the monastery and placed it as a deposit with him in order that he might guard it, and he returned to his work. When the Karmati ¹ reached him, he said to him: “Fear not, for no evil shall happen to you from me, and I will make you to be a friend to me as you wast to al-Mu‘izz”, and he made a pact with him thereon. Then those who held rank wrote to al-Mu‘izz about this, that Abu ‘l-Yumn Cosmas ibn Menas had come to an agreement with the Karmati and had made peace with him. When the wazir was informed of this, he found the means to remember him with evil, and he said to al-Mu‘izz: “This is Cosmas ibn Menas of whom you say that he is trustworthy and faithful. He has made peace with your enemy and has delivered to him the two hundred thousand dinars which he exacted from your lands, in order that he might strengthen him thereby against you”. Al-Mu‘izz became wrathful and sent and seized all his (Cosmas’) people and plundered their possessions and cast them into prison. When

¹ On the Karmati (Carmathians) cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 94. The person in question was Hasan b. Abmad, surnamed al-A‘sam, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., pp. 105, 118.

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the Karmati reached Misr, al-Mu‘izz went out to fight against him and routed him and slew him.

Cosmas ibn Menas wrote to al-Mu‘izz (and) informed him of what had occurred with the Karmati and how he had gone to meet him so that he might be saved from him, and that he had saved the two hundred thousand dinars. Al-Mu‘izz took vengeance on the wazir ibn Killis and seized him and slew him ³, and he sent to summon Cosmas ibn Menas the pious, virtuous one. He arrived and the money with him. He (al-Mu‘izz) put on him a robe of honour and received him with hospitality after he had released all his money and people and had returned to them all their possessions which had been taken away.

Cosmas ibn Menas had acquired before his journey to Palestine ninety thousand dinars. When he wished to journey, he delivered it (the money) to Abba Abraham, the patriarch, and said to him: “If you hearest that I have died, then spend it for the salvation of my soul on the churches, the hidden, the destitute and the captives. If I return, then I shall take my money”. When he (Cosmas) had returned to Misr and his case had been settled with al-Mu‘izz, he asked the patriarch for the ninety thousand dinars. He (Abraham) said to him: “I heard of what happened to you in Syria and I thought that you would not return here on account of what had happened to your people, and I feared that reports of the money would reach al-Mu‘izz and that he would take it and that nothing of it would remain for you and that (it would be) of no advantage (to you) in the next world, and I spent it on what you commanded me to”. He (Cosmas) did not say to him a word (about this), or on what did you spend my money, but he said to him: “O my father, you did well for me and performed a good action and mercy on my

³ N. B. Ibn Killis died in A. D. 981 in the reign of al-‘Aziz, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 121. 11

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behalf, since you distributed my money among those in need and did not leave it for the king”.

When Abba Abraham went to his rest, after he had remained for three years and a half (on the Throne), nothing of the ninety thousand dinars was left to him nor a single dirham of the great wealth which he himself had possessed, but he had spent all of this on (re)building his churches and on alms and on what was pleasing to God—praised be He! He became as father Abraham the first (patriarch) in his deeds which were pleasing (to God), and he was numbered with the righteous in the Kingdom of God.

May the Lord have mercy upon us through his prayer and through the prayer of all who have pleased Him by their deeds. Glory be to God for ever and ever eternally!

PHILOTHEUS THE PATRIARCH, AND HE IS THE SIXTY-THIRD OF

(their) number.

The Throne of Alexandria remained vacant for six months without a patriarch. A Synod assembled at Misr, as was the custom, and they mentioned a man, a monk, called John, in the Monastery of Abba Macarius, in the Cell known as Dhakr Kafri. Then they sent for him and caused him to be brought to Misr, and with him there was a disciple who accompanied him, whose name was Philotheus. When John arrived, they saw that he was an exceedingly old man, already stricken in years, and that he was not fit for this charge, but they saw his son Philotheus, and lo, he was perfect in stature, (and) they made him patriarch. He (Philotheus) decided to take money for the consecration of bishops. There was great peace for the churches in the days of the king al-Mu‘izz until he died, and likewise (during) the

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days of his son who ruled after him, namely, Nazar Abi‘ ‘l-Mansur al-‘Aziz bi‘llah.

There was in the days of this king a body of Christian scribes who were chiefs, amongst whom was a community known as Bani al-Muti‘. They came to an agreement with the father, the patriarch, that he should not consecrate a bishop without (asking) their opinion, because he used to take money and consecrate him who was not worthy.

There was at Minuf al-‘Alya a bishop whose name was Macarius and he was the secretary of the Synod, and his brother was bishop of Tanah whose name was Menas (who) was living at Damru. The patriarch was dwelling at Mahallat Danyal.Abba Menas, the bishop, went to his rest in those days. His brother, Abba Macarius, bishop of Minuf, said to the patriarch, Abba Philotheus: “If you will hearken to me, I will give you a good counsel”. He said to him: “What is it?” He said: “This see which belonged to my brother is a good see and it is the place of your son, and my brother had a good dwelling-place in it at Damru. Take now one of your brethren, the monks, who are in your cell, and consecrate him bishop of it and dwell you in his dwelling-place at Damru, and the see will be according to your wishes”. He approved of his (Macarius’) idea, and he took his father, the monk, the elder, who was (attached) to him at the patriarchate, named John and made him his bishop. The news (of this) reached the archons at Misr and they complained of him to the wazir and he seized him (the patriarch) and cast him into prison until he received from him three thousand dinars for the Treasury.

There happened in his days a marvellous affair which we ought not to neglect to mention. It is (about) a youth of the righteous Muslim witnesses in Misr who attend the Council of the Kadi of judgments in it (Cairo), and (about) his father a man (who was also) a witness, known

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as Ibn Raga ¹. The youth had learned the Law of the Muslims and observed the Koran. He was wandering on a certain day along the bank of the river (at) the place where fire-wood and reeds are sold, (which) is known as Birkit Ramis at Misr, and he found (there) a man who was a Muslim (who) had become a Christian. The soldiers of the king were round about him, holding him, and they had already prepared for him at Birkit Ramis fire-wood and reeds in order to burn him. A great multitude of people had gathered together to him, and were crowded together to see him. This youth whose father (was) Ibn Raga, was very zealous in his religion, even as was Paul at that time, when he was called to from heaven, and it was said to him: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” That One Who spoke to him (Saul) was He Who called this youth to be a witness to that martyr. When he was brought, as (was) Paul, he went up to that martyr who was in the midst of the soldiers, and he said to him: “O man, what is it that has driven you to lose your soul on account of a religion in which you are unfaithful to God the Exalted, and associate with Him another, and will be precipitated into this fire in (this) world and in the next world (into) the fire of Gehenna, because you makest God the third of three, whereas He is one and nothing resembles Him, and you say that God has a son. Now listen to me and put away from you this impiety and return to your religion, and I will make you as a brother to me, and everyone shall honour you”. He (the man) said to him: “Do not attribute to me impiety and associating with God the Exalted (other gods). How (can) we make Him three, while we, the Christians, adore one God Who is the Father and the Son

¹ A marginal note in red, complete in A, reads: “From here is the story of al-Wadih ibn Abu Raga, the martyr, a native of Misr (Cairo)”.

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and the Holy Spirit. The Son is not foreign to God the Father, Who is His Word and likewise His Spirit. The mystery of our religion is wonderful, but it is hidden from you, because your minds (cannot) endure it. Now, O man, your heart is darkened and the light of faith has not illuminated it, but I see that after a little while the light will draw nigh to you, and your heart will be illuminated through the light of Christ, and that you shall contend for the sake of Him for Whose sake I am contending, and for the sake of Whose Name I give my soul and my body to suffering and death, and that you also shall receive these sufferings which I endure”. When the youth heard his words, he was angered with him and said: “Listen to what this erring impious one says. Thinkest you that I shall be an erring impious one as you?” Then he took off his shoe from his foot and buffeted him with it on his mouth and his face and his head, and he caused him to suffer much through the buffeting. He said to him: “It shall never be that I shall be as you, O vile one”. He (the man) said: “You will remember my words and will know the truth of what I am saying”. Then they struck off his head and cast upon him fire-wood and many reeds, so that it (the heap) became like a lofty castle, and they set fire to it. When the people saw the hugeness of that fire which burned, they thought that his body would become ashes. The fire remained over him for three days, and the soldiers were guarding him day and night, and after that they took off from him the burning fire and they found his body like to gold, and that nothing of it was burnt. Then they informed al-Mu‘izz of this and he commanded him (the man) to be buried.

Ibn Raga, the witness, whom we have mentioned, went to his house and spent that night (there), being sad at heart on account of what the martyr of Christ had said to him. He did not eat and he did not drink that night, but he was sitting astonished. Then his father and his brothers came together to him and they said to him: “What is it that has befallen you?” He informed them of what the martyr had said.

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Thereupon they comforted him and said to him: ”Do not establish in your heart anything of the speech of that erring one”. But he did not forget what was in his heart. After those days, the aforesaid youth saw a number of the inhabitants of Misr who had determined (to go) to the Hedjaz to perform the pilgrimage. He said to his father: “I desire to perform the pilgrimage with the people”. His father rejoiced at this and gave to him one hundred dinars and entrusted him to a friend of his who was journeying to Mecca, and he said to him: ” This is my son whom I entrust to you to guard him as your son until you bring him back with you, and he shall be in your company by the will of God”. He (the father) bought for him all that was necessary for him. While they were journeying the youth had a dream one night, and it was as if an elder, a monk, exceedingly luminous stood by him and said to him: “Follow me, you shaft profit your soul”. When he awoke, he related the dream to the friend of his father who was with him. He said to him: “O my son, may God assist you. Truly, the monk is Satan who desires to tempt you. Do not lend your thought to him”. Then he (the monk) appeared to him the next night and said to him as he had said on the first night without addition or reduction. On the third night also he (the monk) spoke in the same manner. When they had accomplished their pilgrimage they returned, and they journeyed six or seven days. While they were returning, they dismounted from their camels at night to pass water. Then the man (who was) the friend of his (the youth’s) father mounted his camel, but he (the youth) tarried and became separated from him (his friend) and saw no one. Then he (the youth) started to run till he became tired, but he could not rejoin them (the company). He remained alone astray in the desert and he sat down being afraid of the beasts of the desert, lest they should devour him. Behold, a youth mounted on a horse, in a handsome garment and girded with a girdle of gold, stood before him. When he saw him, he said to him: “Who are you and how is it that you are gone astray alone in this desert?” The youth said to him: “I dismounted from my camel to pass water, and I became separated

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from my companions”. Then he said to him: “Mount the horse behind me”. When he had mounted, the horse flew with him through the air. He did not know whether he was in the sky or on the earth, so that he swiftly arrived in the Church of the martyr Abba Mercurius in Misr. The door opened to him by itself without that anyone opened it, and he entered with him, still mounted upon the horse, as far as the door of the sanctuary. There he made him dismount, and he did not see him again. He remained astonished, as if he were in a dream, on account of the miracle which he had witnessed. Then he thought within himself and said: “(What) is this that has happened to me? Can this be a church of the Christians” He turned round and saw the lamps burning and the pictures, and said: “Was I not a moment (ago) in the desert?” He stood inside the sanctuary till it became morning. Then the sacristan of the church entered, and he thought that he (the youth) was a thief, and he wished to cry out. He (the youth) motioned to him with his hand to keep silent and to come up to him. When he drew nigh to him, the youth said to him: “What is this place?” He said to him: “The Church of Abba Mercurius in Misr”. He (the youth) said to him: “Is this the city of Misr?”. He said to him: “Yes, but lo, I see you as if your mind were troubled. Make known to me your history and what is your case”. By that time the youth had grown calm and he said to him: “How should my mind not go astray, (seeing) that I was this night in such and such a place, and I do not know how I arrived here. God it is Who knows this”. When the sacristan heard mention of the place in which he (the youth) had been, he said to him: “Did I not say to you that your mind was troubled (and) distracted, (and that) you do not know what you say? Between you and the place which you have mentioned there is a distance of one month and twelve days’ (journey) and according to my opinion you are nothing but a thief, and that it is the power of the martyr which has caused you to bring forward this vain excuse, in order

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that the reason for your entry into his church might be manifest”. The youth said to him: “Who is the Patron Saint of this church?” He said to him: “He is Saint Abba Mercurius the venerable”. He (the youth) said: “Is Abba Mercurius a prophet?” The sacristan said to him: “No, but he is the martyr, the venerable and the strong, (one) because he renounced the glory of this world and sought (that of) the next world, and he died for the Name of Christ on account of his belief in Him and his manifesting His Name before the unbelieving kings. He received from them much torture for the sake of the Name of Christ, and he was afflicted with (all) kinds of tortures and (all) sorts of afflictions till God took him to Himself and received him into His everlasting and Heavenly Kingdom. This church and others beside it were built in his name in many places, in order that God—praised be He—might be glorified in it. His intercession is acceptable with God in interceding for the people and he intercedes for them and God manifests miracles through him and through his intercession”. The youth said to him: “What is his description and (what is) his portrait (like)?” He (the sacristan) said to him: “He resembles you and is about your age”. Then he (the sacristan) took him and went with him to the place of his venerable picture. When he (the youth) saw it, he said: “In truth, this is the portrait of him who appeared to me, whom I saw in the desert, and (who) carried me on the back of this horse of his hither, and this golden girdle which I saw about his waist is the same shape as it. Now I will make known to you that I am a Muslim man from among the inhabitants of this city and I agree on account of this miracle to become a Christian”. He informed the sacristan of all that had happened to him and he said to him: “I am the son of Raga, the witness, and I cannot show myself, lest I should be burned with fire and the church should be burned on account of me; but I desire you to do me a favour, and you shall receive a reward from the Lord Christ, (it is that) you should hide me in some place so that no one shall see me until I have arranged what I shall

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do; and bring to me a priest, a minister of God the Exalted, pure, virtuous, intelligent (and) learned that he may teach me the Canonsof the Christians and their belief and the precepts of their Law and stablish me in the Faith, since my heart is already inclined towards this religion”. The sacristan agreed (to do) this, and he hid him with him in a concealed place in the church, and he went to an elder, a priest, learned, pure and virtuous, and made known to him the state of the affair. He rose up with him, being pleased with him. When they came together, the priest gave him (the youth) an answer to all that he asked him about (the affair in question) and he explained it to him and caused him to understand the truth of the matter concerning it. The youth asked him to bring to him the Gospels and the Books of the Church, the Old and the New (Testaments), and to translate”’ for him the Coptic into the Arabic tongue. He said to him: “I wish to read them and to understand them and to know them, that the truth of the Faith may be stablished in me on strong foundations, for these sufferings and afflictions are not to be borne in vain”. The priest brought to him the Gospel and the Books of the Prophets and all the Books of the Old and the New (Testaments) which demonstrate the truth of the Orthodox Faith and the Unity of the Lord Christ, One of the Three Persons, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and that God is One in His Godhead, and the reason for His Incarnation and His Life-giving Death and His Resurrection from the dead and His Ascension into Heaven and the Descent of the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete upon the Apostles and the turning back of the people from error to the truth of the Faith. The youth said: “Blessed be he who followed this path, namely, Saul who was called Paul who heard the voice of the Lord saying to him: ‘Saul, Saul, why persecutest you me?. After which He elected him from out of his error. In like manner I ask Him to guide me and to vouchsafe to me election, that I may manifest His Name among the nations”. The end of this speech will come at its place in this biography. He remained (many) days searching the Books of the Old and the New

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(Testaments) until God enlightened his heart and he learned the Mysteries of the Belief and the truth of the Faith, as the Apostle says: “If a man return to the Lord the covering will he removed from his heart”.He (the youth) recognized the error in which he was, and in which he had destroyed his life, and he stahlished his foundation on the rock which is Christ, and he said as Paul says: “What (is it that) shall separate me from the love of Christ? Tribulation or captivity or hunger or fire or prison? and the remainder of the chapter, none of these shall be able to separate me from the love of Christ”. When the heart of that youth was strengthened in the Orthodox Faith, he asked the elder, the priest, to baptize him. He (the priest) feared lest it might be a blow from Satan, and he counselled the aforesaid youth to go to Wadi Habib. On account of the greatness of his desire (to receive baptism) he asked him (the priest) ferventlywith many obeisances and said to him: “Perhaps, I shall not live till I reach there”, and he constrained him (to baptize him) through the abundance of his supplication to him and his weeping, so that he baptized him and named him Paul. When he had worn the light of the garment of baptism, he asked for despicable clothes to be bought from the market, and he put them on and he asked him (the priest) to pray for him. He went out and no one recognized him on account of the change in his dress and his mien by reason of the abundance of his fasting, his prayer, his contest and his standing up to read the books, the reading of which was like honey to him. As for the pilgrims, they had reached Misr; and it was the usual custom, when they approached Misr to send him who should announce the news of their arrival. The families of the pilgrims went out (from Cairo) a distance of two days that they might meet them a long way off. When his (the youth’s) brothers went out with all the people to meet him, they went around (searching) for him and they asked concerning him, but they did not learn any news of him. When they found the

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friend of their father there, they turned to him and asked concerning him (the youth). But he (the friend) wept and informed them that their brother had gone astray in the desert at night, and he said to them: “I halted for a long (time) waiting for him, but he did not come, and I was compelled to journey on and I caught up with the end of the caravan. I journeyed against my will, and the night came between me and him, and I thought that perhaps he might have gone before me at the head of the caravan. When it was morning, I made a tour the whole day through the caravan from its head to its end, and I asked all who were in it concerning him (the youth), but I did not learn any news about him, and I knew (then) that he had become separated from the caravan at that place, and (that) the wild beasts had devoured him”. When they (his brothers) heard this from him, they rent their garments and returned to their father and informed him of this. He set up a lamentation for him and a great mourning. When the days of the mourning were accomplished, a youth from among his (the youth’s) friends (who) was dwelling in the neighbourhood of the Church of the martyr Abba Mercuriusin Misr saw him (the youth) one day come out from the church and return to it, and there were upon him garments of wool and a girdle of wool. He said: “Verily, people resemble one another, and if Ibn Raga were not already dead, I would have said that he was this (one)”. Then he met his father and his brothers and he said to them: “I wished to-day to detain a Christian man at the Church of Abba Mercurius, (as) I would have said that he was your son. If I had not been informed of his death, I would say it was he, because he resembles him in all his characteristics, even in his gait. I had no doubts about him, except in his garments of wool and the girdle”. When they heard this, grief and weeping were renewed in them. Then his brothers desired ardently to see this person (of) whom it was said that he resembled their brother. Then they both arose in the evening and, being disguised in despicable garments, they hid themselves in a corner at the door of the church, so that they might see those who

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came out and those who went in at the time of the Prayer of Vespers. When the Prayer (of Vespers) was finished and the Christians came out, the youth came out in their midst, and they (the brothers) examined him attentively and they recognized him and they followed him to the bank (of the Nile). When they were in a place separated from the people, they took hold of him and they wept and they struck their faces and said to him: “What is this which you have done to us, O our brother?”. He said to them: “What is there about me that you should not recognize (me)?” One of the two of them said to the other: “This is not a place for discussion, lest Satan should have entered him and we be covered with shame among the people”. They kept close to him until they brought him to the house with gentleness. His family renewed the mourning, when they saw him in this condition. Then his father and his mother spoke to him, and they said to his brothers: “Do not speak to him till we find out about his case, lest we should become disgraced”. Then they shut the doors and went in with him to a place apart. When they had ascertained the truth about his case, they said to him: “You are not our son”. He said to them: “I am Paul”, that is to say, the name by which they called him at the time of baptism. His father said to him: “You have dishonoured me, O my son, and you have dishonoured my eldership among the judges and the witnesses. Perhaps, you have done this because I did not marry you. I had already thought to marry you, when you should return from the pilgrimage, to the best (woman) in Misr, and to spend on your marriage much money”. They remained questioning him and saying to him: “Do not dishonour us in the midst of the people, and do not put us to shame in this city”. They did not cease (to remain) with him till midnight, and he was saying to them: “I do not know what you are saying”. When they did not find in him any way out, they put him into a dark chamber for three days without food (and) without drink, but they did not prevail over him. On account of her great weeping and affliction, his mother did not break her fast likewise. Then they

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brought him out and presented to him food, but he did not eat anything of it. He was as if he had come forth from a feast or a banquet, and (as) one (who is) without need of food or drink, as says Isaiah the prophet: “Those who are bound to the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall not hunger nor shall they thirst”. When his affair had wearied them, they took counsel to kill him lest they should be dishonoured through him. Then their hearts were touched with pity for him, and they brought him forth secretly and went with him to al-Gizah, and they said to him: “Depart from us (that) we may find rest from your dishonour”. Then he went to Wadi Habib, and he abode there with a monk, and he taught him the paths of God and made him a monk. When he had abode (there) a few days, certain of those among the monks, who are without understanding, said to him: “The Lord will not accept your (conversion to) Christianity unless you go to Misr and show yourself publicly, so that you may be known”. He listened to them and returned to Misr in obedience to them. He went to the dwelling-place of his father and was prepared to be put to death for the Name of Christ. When his father saw him in the garment of monks, he cried out and was enraged with him and said to him: “What is this dishonour? You went and have returned to me with a hood of wool”—he meant the holy hood which is the helmet of salvation. Then he took him and imprisoned him in a dark cellar into which the sweepings of the dust and ashes and dirt of the house were cast, and he shut down the cover over him. He swore to everyone in the house that none should give him bread or water, and that if anyone gave to him anything of this, he would punish him. He ordered his pages and his female servants to throw upon him all that they swept up in the way of dust and ashes and dirt of the house and the washings of the pots. He (the youth) remained thus for six days, and his weeping mother did not cease from weeping on his account, and she was exceedingly grieved for him, and she used to let down to him bread and water with a rope,

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but he did not taste anything of it. When six days had passed, his strength was weakened, but he was assidious in fasting and prayer night and day. There appeared to him on the seventh day the monk who had appeared to him first on the way to Mecca, and in his hand there was pure bread. He (the youth) thought that he was a spectre, and he did not eat anything of it (the bread) until he knew that something had appeared to him from God. Then the monk said to him: “Do you know me?” He said to him: “Yes, you are he whom I saw in a dream three times on the way to Mecca”. He said to him: “Yes, I am that (one), and I am Macarius, the father of Wadi Habib ⁽³⁾. Now I have been sent to you to console you. Be strong and patient, for you shall have a great reward”. Then he departed from him, and he (the youth) took that bread and ate, after he had made the sign of the cross over it, and his soul was strengthened. Then his father brought him forth from that place, and he marvelled at his remaining without food and drink (for) this period, and (that) his countenance was not changed. He (his father) spoke with him about renouncing what he had done, and he grew weary with him, but he did not prevail over him in any way. He (the youth) had formerly a concubine, and he had received a son from her before his going to Mecca. His father ordered his elder brother to bring her, and when she was brought, he commanded him (the elder brother) to come together with her in his (the youth’s) presence. He did that, and he (the father) gave her to him. His (the youth’s) little son was learning swimming, and he (the father of Ibn Raga) said to his believing, saintly father: “If you do not obey me and renounce what you have done, then I shall drown your son in your presence, him whom you love”. He said: “Yes, I love him, and he is my son, yet I love the Lord more than him”. Then he (the father of Ibn Raga) caused the swimmer who used (to teach) him (the lad) swimming to be brought, and he paid to him secretly two dinars, and he said to

him: “When the lad goes down with you in the evening that you may teach him swimming, drown him, and I will be present that I may see him and may know that it is he”. The swimmer agreed (to do) this. When it was evening, Ibn Raga, the witness, took his son, the monk, the father of the lad, and went with him to the river.The lad went down with his teacher to the river that he might (teach) him to swim. When he was in the middle of the river, he (the teacher) drowned him, while his father, the monk, was looking on. Then his (Ibn Raga’s) father took him back to his house and imprisoned him in another part of it, and wrote a letter concerning him to the Sultan —the Caliph at that time was al-Hakim bi Amr Allah ²—as the Lord says in the Gospel: “A father shall deliver up his son to death”. The Caliph commanded him to be brought with his father before the Supreme Judge and the witnesses, and that they should dispute with him. If anything were proved against him, he should be put to death, but if nothing were proved against him, then he should be set free. When they assembled for this (purpose) in the presence of a good mediator, al-Hakim bi Amr Allah caused him (Ibn Raga) to stand up, but no proof of his father’s was established against him, as the Lord Christ says: “For I will give you a tongue and wisdom that no one shall be able to withstand”. Then they departed disappointed and ashamed, and no one addressed a word to him (Ibn Raga) anymore. Then al-Hakim commanded him to be set free (and) to go whithersoever he wished. He (Ibn Raga) went to Ras al-Khalig and he started on the construction of a church there between Birkit al-Habas and Bani Wayil under

² A. D. 996-1021.

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the name of the great angel Michael and he built it.

There were in Misr people of Ramadiyat, (and) they went by night and stole the wood of this church. When it was morning, this Saint, Ibn Raga, saw some of them in that district, and he said to them: “I know that yesterday you took the wood, and I know the place in which you have hidden it. Return it to its place, otherwise I shall complain of you to the wali of Cairo (al-Kahirah)”. They denied this, and they said: “We have not taken anything”. He said to them: “I shall go to al-Hakim bi Amr Allah, and he, if God will, will order the wood to be taken from where you have put it and you shall suffer harm from that”. They were afraid and returned the whole of the wood to the church.

This Saint, Ibn Raga, called himself al-Wadih, and he became a friend of the learned, eminent man, Abba Severus, bishop of al-Ashmunain, known as Ibn al-Mukaffa‘ whom we have mentioned before, he who composed twenty books, besides homilies, commentaries, and answers and questions by Abi ‘l-Bisr ibn Garud, the Egyptian writer. These are the names of the twenty books: Book on the Unity; Book on the Union; Book of the Splendid, a refutation of the Jews; Book of the Exposition and Detailed Account, a refutation of the Nestorians; Book concerning Religion, written for the Wazir Cosmas ibn Menas; Book on the Arrangement of the Pearl; Book on the Councils; Book on the curing of sadness and the healing of affliction; Book on the Councils; Book of Commentary on the Faith; Book of the Announcement, a refutation of the Jews; Book of Refutation of Sa‘id Ibn Batrik; Book on the Signification of the Children of the Faithful and the Impious, and on how the Two Souls rise; Book of the Elucidation, namely, the Lamp of the Soul; Book of the Biographies; (Book of)

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the Discernment; Book on the Order of the Priesthood, twelve (chapters) on the Rites of the Church; Book on the Differences of the Sects; Book on Judgments; Book on the Exposition of the Union. Some of these books have a different name from that which we have stated. Perhaps, the book has two names.

Severus the aforesaid bishop and al-Wadih ibn Raga, the two Saints, used to consult together a good deal of their time, and to examine the books of God for the enlightenment of their minds and their nature, so that they might interpret spiritual books. Then al-Wadih ibn Raga wrote two books of commentary in the Arabic language, one of the two he called “The Evident (al-Wadih), that is, the Confession”, and he set forth in it the errors of those who are opposed to us, and he produced arguments against them from their book. The other book he called “Rarities of the Commentators”, and he consumed those who are opposed to us by means of these two hooks, and he produced arguments against them from their religion, as did Samson, the mighty one, when he fastened brands to the tails of foxes and let them loose into the cornfield of his enemies and consumed it. He wrote in them (the two books) an exposition of his case concerning himself.

He said in them (the two books) that the bishop Abba Severus ibn al-Mukaffa‘ had related to him that there was in Baghdad a man, a chief, the son of a king, known as al-Hasimi. He never occupied himself with anything of the affairs of the kingdom, neither with garments nor with camels, save that he used to ride (about) every day, and with him there were his soldiers, and he used to watch the churches of the Christians at the time of the liturgy, and he would enter them mounted, and he would order the Eucharist to be taken from the sanctuary, and they would break it and mix it with the dust, and he would overturn the chalice. Whenever he did this in a church, he would go to another and he would do in it the same thing, so that the churches of Baghdad were on the point of being deprived

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of the Liturgies, and most of the priests abstained from (celebrating) the Liturgy for fear of this, but it was the help of God (that) was attracting him, yet he did not know (it).

When, on a certain day, he entered one of the churches according to his custom. God opened his eyes and he perceived in the paten the oblation as a beautiful, noble child, and at the time of the Fraction he perceived (that) the priest had immolated him and (that) he drew off his blood into the chalice and (that) he divided his flesh into pieces in the paten. Al-Hasimi was astounded and unable to move. Then the priest went out to communicate the people with the flesh, and in like manner the deacon with the chalice, with the blood, while he was looking at them. He marvelled and said to the soldiers: “Do you not see this doer, the maker, namely, the priest?” They said to him: “We see him”. He said to them: “Shall we endure patiently this (man) taking a child, immolating him and dividing his flesh among this great multitude and giving them to drink of his blood?” They said to him: “May God help you, O our master, we see nothing save bread and wine”. Then his fear and his amazement increased. The people remained amazed at his standing (thus) stupified, and (that) he did not do to the Eucharist as his custom was. When the priest had finished and the people had gone out, he summoned the priest and told him what he had seen. He (the priest) said to him: “O our master, God forbid; it was nothing save bread and wine”. When he (al-Hasimi) knew that this mystery had not been manifested save to him alone, he said to him: “I desire that you make known to me the mystery of this Eucharist and its origin”. The priest made known to him, how the Lord Christ had taken bread and drink, and divided this among His disciples and said to them: ‘Take and eat: This is My Body, and drink: This is My Blood. Drink of It all of you (for) a remission of your sins’. “The disciples taught us a prayer

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which we say over the bread and the wine when we place them both on the altar. Then the bread is transmuted and becomes flesh and the wine becomes blood in a mystical manner, as God has shewn to you to-day, but they are both outwardly bread and wine, because no one in the world is able to take raw meat or to drink spurting blood; only God has manifested to you this hidden, true and holy mystery for the salvation of your soul”. Then he (the priest) read to him the books of the Church and explained to him the Mysteries of the Christian belief, so that his heart was reassured to enter it (Christianity), and he recognized its grandeur and the truth of it and he ascertained its teachings and its soundness. Then he commanded his companions to depart and he spent the night there with the priest, and he baptized him at night and he became a Christian. When the morrow came, his companions brought to him the beast, (but) he sent them away and he did not speak to them. When they learned the news, they went to his father and informed him of this, and he grieved sorely, and he sent to bring him (al-Hasimi) against his will. He spoke to him with tenderness and with severity. He grew weary with him on account of all the means which he tried, and he multiplied for him at one time humiliation(s) and at another time intimidation(s), but he was unable (to obtain) anything from him, and he (al-Hasimi) did not renounce his opinion. Thereupon, he delivered him. up to torture and he was tortured exceedingly, but he did not renounce his belief, and then his head was cut off with the sword for the Name of the Lord Christ, and his martyrdom was accomplished—may his blessings descend upon us and may his intercession be with us. As for his holy body, the Christians of Baghdad honoured and venerated it, and they built over it a church which is now known as the Church of al-Hasimi.

When the Saint Paul ibn Raga had completed the construction of the church which (is dedicated) to Michael at Ras al-Khalig, he returned twice to Wadi Habib, and he abode there two years. When the monks saw the piety, learning and knowledge which he

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possessed, they seized him by force and ordained him priest in the holy Skene of Benjamin. The disciples of the patriarch demanded from him the dinars according to their custom and this was exceedingly difficult for him, for he did not have anything. A certain archon saw them asking him, and they troubled him with the demand. Then he (the archon) paid to them what they demanded from him. When news of him reached his father that he had become a priest, his heart did not support it with patience, but he sent dinars to certain of the Arabs who were in that desert so that they might kill him. When certain of the monks heard (of this), they informed him, and they said to him: “You have done what was necessary and have proclaimed the Name of Christ in the place in which it was not necessary to proclaim it. Now don’t deliver yourself up to death, but go to the Rif and remain hidden in it”. He obeyed them and went forth to Sandafa and abode there for two years, and he became steward in the Church of the martyr Theodore, being assidious in its service night and day. Then Satan entered into the heart of certain people of them (the inhabitants), and they noised abroad the news of him in Sandafa and al-Mahalla, and they related the affair of his case. This was two days before his death. It happened that there was present a deacon from among the inhabitants of Minuf, whose name was Theodore ibn Menas. He was at that time a secretary of the Synod of the see of my lord Mark the Evangelist, and it was he whose office I, the wretched Michael, the compiler of this biography, took after his death. When he entered the aforesaid church at Sandafa, he found Saint Paul ibn Raga ill with a severe fever. Paul

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the aforesaid said to him with an obeisance: “Depart not from me until you conceal me in the earth and receive the blessing. I shall not remain in the world beyond two days. When I die, hasten to bury me before the Muslims learn (of it) and take my body and burn it with fire”. His saying was a spirit of a prophecy speaking through him.

It happened that when after two days, he went to his rest, as he had said, Satan —may God put him to shame!—noised abroad news of him (Paul) in al-Mahallah and Sandafa. Then the inhabitants of al-Mahallah crossed over to Sandafa, and the inhabitants of the two cities gathered together in less than an hour, and they surrounded the church in which he (Paul) went to his rest. Then the aforesaid deacon Theodore was perplexed and did not know what he should do with his (Paul’s) body. While he was walking perplexed in the church, his foot went down beneath the threshold. He examined the place and found it a beautiful, clean, concealed cellar. Then he lowered the body of Saint Paul into it and filled in the earth and replaced the flagstone as it was (before) and arranged the place as it should be. Then he opened the door, and those who were assembled entered and demanded his (Paul’s) body, but they did not find it. They went round the whole church, but they did not find it, and they went away ashamed. This deacon Theodore was he who explained to me the case of this Saint Paul ibn Raga from its beginning to its end according to what he (Paul) had related to him by his true mouth. He wrote what he (Paul) had said and related about himself, how he (Paul) had said: “All that happened to me in the way of torture, and what befell me in the way of degradation did not trouble me, with the exception of three things (which) were the coming together of my brother with my concubine in my presence, and the drowning of my son from her in my presence while I was looking at him, but more serious than either of them was when the patriarch looked on at me while his disciples were demanding

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from me the dinars for his ordaining me priest, and (yet) kept silent and did not forbid them and did not send them away”.

The father Philotheus, the patriarch, persisted in collecting money and (in) eating and drinking. It is said that he constructed a bath in his house, and that he used to enter it every day, and when he went out, he was censed with very much incense. Then he would sit judging, commanding and interdicting until the fourth hour of the day, (and) then he would rise. When it was the sixth hour, there was made ready for him what he required in the way of food and drink and fruits, and he would rise up (and) enter his house, and certain people of the inhabitants of Damru and of his family and of his near relatives whose usual custom it was to sit with him and to drink with him, would present themselves to him, and he would eat and drink with them, and no one might approach him for the rest of the dayuntil the next day. Many a time he would sit down to eat and to drink from early in the morning or (from) the third hour of the day, except (on) the days on which fasting was obligatory. When he persisted (in doing) this, God chastened him with a punishment through an accident which happened to him. This (was) that (he entered) on a certain day into the bath and with him there was his disciple was ministering to him. He (the disciple) went out to fetch cleansing paste and returned, and he found him lying on the ground senseless and unconscious. Then he carried him and brought him out from it (the bath). They caused physicians to be brought to him, and they wearied themselves in treating him, but they were unable (to do anything) for him by any means, for the hand of the Lord had smitten him, and he remained thus until the day of his death.

The king al-‘Aziz lillah ibn al-Mu‘izz li-dini ‘llah had received a son from a concubine of his, a Greek (Rumiah), and he (this son) sat on the throne after him, and he was surnamed al-Hakim bi Amr Allah ⁵. The aforesaid concubine who was the mother of al-Hakim had a brother whose name was Arsenius. She set him up as patriarch

⁵ A. D. 996-1021.

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of the Melkites through her influence, because she had power, and he (Arsenius) prevailed over our churches in Fustat Misr. We had in Kasr as-Sam‘ two churches under the name of the Lady, the Pure Mistress; one of the two of them was the Mu‘allakah, and the other was in the Lane of Abu Husain. He (Arsenius) wished to take the Mu‘allakah, and our chiefs had manv troubles and quarrels with him until he took the church of the Lady in the Lane of Abu Husain, and the Mu‘allakahremained to us.

In his days, the king of Abyssinia sent to the king of Nubia, a youth whose name was George, and made known to him how the Lord had chastened him, he and the inhabitants of his land. It was that a woman, a queen of Bani al-Hamwiyah had revolted against him and against his country. She took captive from it many people and burned many cities and destroyed churches and drove him (the king) from place to place. That which befell him was a retribution for what the king who (was) before him had done to the metropolitan in the days of the father Abba Cosmas, as we have explained earlier, through his falsification and his fraud. He (the king) said to him (George) in the letter which he sent to him: “I desire that you should help me and partake with me in the fatigue, for the sake of God and for the sake of the unity of the Faith, and that you shouldst write a letter on your part to the father, the patriarch, in Misr to beg him to absolve us and to absolve our lands and to pray for us, that God may remove from us and from our country this trial, and may grant to us that he (the patriarch) may consecrate for us a metropolitan, as was the custom of our fathers, and that he may pray for us, that God may remove His wrath from us. I have mentioned this to you, O brother, for fear lest the Christian religion pass away and cease among us, for lo, six patriarchs have sat (on the Throne) and have not paid

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attention to our lands, but they (the lands) are abandoned without a shepherd, and our bishops and our priests are dead, and the churches are ruined, and we have learned that this trial has come down upon us as a just judgment in return for what we did with the metropolitan”. When the letters reached George, the king of Nubia, and he had learned of their contents, he sent on his part letters and messengers to the patriarch Philotheus, and he explained to him in them all that the king of Abyssinia had mentioned to him, and he begged him to have compassion on his people. He (Philotheus) acceded to his request, and he consecrated for them a monk from the Monastery of Abba Macarius, whose name was Daniel, and he sent him to them as metropolitan. They received him with joy, and God removed from them His wrath and put an end to the affair of the woman who had risen up against them.

In the days of this father there were manifested many miracles to which truthful (and) trustworthy people bore witness. Among them (was) that the sun was darkened from the third hour of the day until the sixth hour, and the darkness was like night, and the stars appeared in the heaven, and the people wept and were afflicted and they thought that it was a matter which would not end, but afterwards God had pity and the sun (re)appeared.

Surur ibn Girga, the archdeacon of Alexandria, related that he was present one day in the Church of my lord Mark the Evangelist, in Alexandria, and in it (there was) Abba Philotheus, the patriarch, and with him a number of the bishops, among whom (were) Abba Mark, bishop of al-Bahnasa and Abba Severus, bishop of Abu Sir, and that the patriarch went up to the sanctuary of my lord Mark and stood upon the black flagstone and celebrated the Liturgy. When he lifted up the oblation, he remained silentand was not able to utter a word. Then the two aforesaid bishops pronounced

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to him the words, but he was not able to utter a single word. Then he sat down and Abba Mark (Anba Markus), bishop of al-Bahnasawent up and performed the Liturgy and the Fraction and communicated the people. The patriarch was carried to the house of Abu Malih ibn Kutin. the prefect (‘amil) of Alexandria, who was the father of Abu’l-Farag and of ‘Ubaid. The father, the patriarch, continued silent until the ninth hour of the day. They gave him to drink white clay and rose water. When he had recovered, those who were assembled asked him to make known to them the reason for what had come over him, but he refused (to speak). They persisted in (their) request, and then he said: “O my sons, when I lifted up the oblation and before I made the sign of the cross over it, I saw the nichesplit open and there came forth from it a hand from the top of the vault downwards, and the hand made the sign of the cross over the oblation. Then it (the oblation) was split in my hand, and I was

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immediately silenced. hen he had said this, a member of his withered up and remained withered up. The duration of his patriarchate was twenty-four years and eight months, and he went to his rest on the twelfth day of Hatur ².

It was said concerning his family that they found that he possessed great riches from all that he had collected during his patriarchate, and they divided it among themselves, and they were four brothers, and the money was spent by them. I, Michael, saw one of them in a time of dearth, and he was begging.

In his (Philotheus’) days al-‘Aziz, king of Misr, died, and his son al-Hakim sat (on the throne), and he was very young. Extraordinary things happened to him, and we shall mention some of them, with the help of God to Whom be glory and power for ever end ever. Amen.

The twenty-fifth biography of the biographies of the Holy Church. Abba Zacharias the patriarch, and he is the sixty-fourth of (their) number ⁶.

When it was the reign of al-Hakim bi Amr Allah who was called al-Imam al-Mansur, and the Throne of Alexandria had become vacant, the Synod assembled to appoint a patriarch. While they were taking counsel together, there was at Alexandria a rich man whose name was Abraham ibn Bisr (who) enjoyed the respect of

²i. e. November-December.

⁶ Fol. 147 v. A marginal note in red, complete in MS. A, in red and black, reads: “This father, the strong champion and the victor through Christ, sat (on the Throne) in the reign (lit. kingdom) of al-Hakim, and he endured great adversities, and through his prayers his people was saved and overcame (them), and all of this is explained in this biography”.

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the walis, and everyone in the city listened to him and obeyed him. He was a wealthy merchant in the lands of Misr and he used to give gifts to and to honourthe chiefs of Misr, and they did not contradict him in what he desired. He asked and prayed for the patriarchate until a decree was written for him. They (the walis) sent two masters in his company to Alexandria to assist him in what he wished (to do) and to oblige the Alexandrians to appoint him patriarch in the place of Philotheus the patriarch who had gone to his rest, since it was the turn of the Alexandrians this time to appoint the patriarch, and the Council was in Alexandria. The hearts of a number of its inhabitants were agreeable to his becoming patriarch, and they wrote to Misr to this effect. When the bishops were informed of this, they did not agree with them on this point of view, and the matter was difficult for them, because the Canon, as they said, would not allow them (the supporters of his candidature) (to do) this. They determined to stop the matter, and (that) everyone of them should go to his see.

At the time when they were assembled at the Church of my lord Mark the Evangelist (known as) al-Kamha, there was at Alexandria in the Church of Michael the Archangel a priest, an elder, whose name was Zacharias, and he was steward of all the churches of Alexandria, and the bishops were staying with him in the church, and he used to minister to them during their residence at Alexandria. He did not possess any qualifications in their eyes, nor was he held in esteem by the priests of Alexandria, and everyone used to make use of his services for what concerned him. But God, Who alone performs wonders, Who chose David from the pasture of the flocks to be a shepherd of Israel, His inheritance, Who raises up the poor from the earth and the wretched from the dunghill and seats him upon the throne of glory, (was) He Who chose this humble unnumbered man. It (was) that he (Zacharias) went up one

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day to the upper (part) of the church to bring down a jar of vinegar for the cook who used to prepare what the bishops ate. While he was coming down the ladder, he slipped (and) fell and the jar was with him (and) it was not broken and nothing of it was spilled. When the bishops and all who were present saw this miracle, they said: “This is he who is worthy of the object for which we are assembled’. Thereupon, all of them said with joy (and) with one mouth: “This (one) in truth is a man of God”. Then they asked the inhabitants of Alexandria about him and about his manner of life, and all of them said: “We have never heard an evil word about him, but he is poor, wretched and pure”. They (the bishops) said: “It is well and good that he who is thus should be appointed (patriarch). He is better than he who comes to us with a strong hand by order of the Sultan, and we shall be as slaves to him all our time”. They agreed with the Alexandrians on his consecration, and they took him and consecrated him patriarch. In the evening of that day on which they consecrated him, Abraham ibn Bisr arrived with the decree and accompanied by the two masters. When he arrived outside the city, one of his acquaintances met him and said to him: “A patriarch has already been consecrated”. He said to him: “And who is he?” He said to him: “Zacharias the priest who (was) in the Church of Michael (known as) an-Nubah”. When he heard this, a great trembling attacked him in his bones, and it did not depart from him for the rest of his life. He went to his house in great distress by reason of the violence of the trembling, and he became ill on account of this, and the news (of this) reached the bishops and they marvelled. Then they were afraid of the Sultan and they said: “We do not know what will happen to us”. Then they counselled the father, the patriarch, Abba Zacharias to console him (Abraham) with a bishopric so that they should be safe from the wrath of the Sultan on his account, and they said to Abraham ibn Bisr: “This matter has indeed been (arranged) by God—praised be He! Now, the first see that

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shall become vacant (through the death) of its bishop in this district, it is understood that it shall be for you, (and) you shall become bishop of it”. Then they ordained him hegoumenos and clothed him in black. When the see of Minuf al-‘Ulya became vacant, they made him (bishop) of it.

Abba Zacharias remained (in peace), after he had become patriarch, for seven years, and the Church was tranquil (and) in peace. After this, the Lord did not endure patiently the deeds of the shepherds who were at that time, and God brought down His wrath upon the churches on account of them. They were removed from them, for they were become as walis who lorded over the priests. They invented pretexts for collecting money by every means, and they trafficked in the Church of God on account of the love of silver and gold, and they sold the gift of God for money, but they lost and did not gain. If a man added to the Diyariah of any church a single dinar, they would fall upon the first steward who was in charge of the affairs of the church, as was incumbent (upon him), and they would drive him away from it and would hand it over, on account of the dinar which had been added, to him who was unfitted for its (the church’s) service and (who) did not occupy himself with its affairs. Indeed, it was witnessed against a steward that he used to drink the clear wine and to mix the sediment with water and to clarify it and to present it to the priests to raise it in the sanctuary; and (it was testified) that the priests used to raise in the sanctuary sufficient oblation for the whole week, so that there might remain over from it a large amount, with the object of not inconveniencing (themselves) with celebrating the Liturgy. The oblation used to remain in the churches until it became corrupt, because the

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bishops used to ordain to the priesthood him who was unfit and without understanding.

A trustworthy man related to me that Abba Menas, bishop of Tanah, of whom we already made mention in this biography, when we said that Philotheus, the patriarch, dwelt in his residence at Damru after his death, at the time of his (Menas’) death, divided what he had collected in the way of money into four parts and buried them in four places. He (Menas) occupied the see for a number of years till he became old. He had a brother whose name was Macarius, bishop of Upper Minuf, secretary of the Synod. He sent to his brother a messenger that he should come to him (Menas) in haste. He was expecting his arrival and his eyes were looking out for him on the road, but he (Macarius) delayed two days and did not come to him. He (Menas) wrote four pieces of paper on which he mentioned the four places in which (was) the money, and he placed them in his hand till the moment of the arrival of his brother, that he might deliver them to him. Since he (Macarius) delayed (coming to) him (Menas), and the trouble and agony of death came upon him, he said to his disciple: “See, perhaps, if my brother has indeed arrived”, and the disciple went out and returned to him and said to him: “He has not arrived”. Then he (Menas) was troubled and he cast one of the four pieces of paper into his mouth and chewed it up and cast it (out). Then he said to the disciple: “Do you see my brother coming?” He went out again and returned and said to him (Menas) : “He has not arrived”. Then he (Menas) chewed up the second piece of paper and cast it (out), and he did likewise with the third, and there remained in his hand one. Then he said to the disciple: “See if my brother has arrived”. He (the disciple) went out to look for him, and he delayed (coming back) to him (Menas), and he (Menas) felt the pains of the suffering of death. Then he cast the fourth piece of paper into his mouth, but before he had chewed it up, the disciple entered to him in haste and said to him: “Lo, your brother has arrived”. He (Menas)

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brought out the piece of paper from his mouth, and when his brother entered, he delivered it to him and he said to him: “May the Lord not reprove you, but forgive you! You have indeed lost what was recorded on the three other pieces of paper on account of your absence from me”, and when he had said this, his spirit left (him). Then he (Macarius) enshrouded him and buried him. Then he read the piece of paper and found in the place (mentioned) ten thousand dinars. His (Menas) brother Macarius was a good man. and he took the money and built with it a Skene in the name of Abba Macarius in Wadi Habib. It is the beautiful sanctuary to the south of the sanctuary of Benjamin. He spent on it three thousand dinars, and gave a great sum in alms, and he built many churches in the Rif of Misr. When his death was approaching, they asked him if he had any commands for them to perform. He said: “The Lord is a witness to me that I found that my brother had ten thousand dinars, and I acquired many things each year from the see and from what I received for (acting as) secretary to the Synod, and that I spent all that. The Lord is a witness to me that nothing remained to me save one dinar and my houses. Lo, I am being translated from this world and I adjure you to give it (the dinar) to the priests who shall read (the funeral service) over me”.

This bishop Menas who bequeathed this large fortune was not content with that, but he repeopled a village between his see and the see of Samannud. Ten houses in it became inhabited, and they built there a small church five or six cubits long of bricks of mud. The village was between Basis and Subra Damanah.

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When the bishop of Samannud heard (of this), he came to it (the village) and built in it (the church) a fine altar and consecrated it and went away, for Subra Damanahbelonged to him, and it was a right of his see. When Abba Menas the aforesaid bishop heard of this, he came to the aforementioned church and demolished the altar which the bishop of Samannud had built, and he built another one. When the bishop of Samannud heard of this, he was greatly offended, and he came thither, and there was a multitude with him, and Abba Menas the bishop was there. They assembled and they quarrelled and fighting broke out between them, and they did not disperse until blood had been shed between them. Look now at that bishop who amassed the large fortune, how he fought for a thing of so little (value), so that God caused His wrath to descend upon that village and laid it (the village) waste until now, and the name of the village is S n d gra!

In their days, namely, those of the shepherds ³, instruction also ceased and no one warned another or said to him: “Cast out the mote from your eye”, lest he should say to him: “Cast out the beam first from your eye”. The heads of the Church used previously to look for a person in whom was learning and knowledge that they might make him a priest, if a number of trustworthy (people) witnessed to his conti-nency and learning from his childhood (upwards). Matters were (now) reversed, and the intelligent scholar was of no account, especially if he were a poor man, but the ignorant and he who was without intelligence was honoured and revered by them, especially if he were rich, that they might advance him to the exalted rank of the ranksof the priests. For that reason, the hand of the Lord came down upon them and His wrath descended upon the Church by reason of His knowledge that we were unworthy to enter her door, as at the time when He caused His wrath to descend upon Jerusalem until she was laid waste and her inhabitants and her sons and her daughters were made captive.

³ i. e. the bishops.

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There was a monk whose name was John, a priest of the Skene of Abba Macarius, residing at the Church of Saint Abba Onuphrius, at the Skene which is at the north of the Church of Abba Macarius. He saw a number (of people) buying the episcopate for money, and Satan cast into his heart the fire of love for the episcopate, but he had nothing (wherewith) to pay for it. He presented himself to Abba Zacharias, the patriarch, and he said: “I desire only that you should clothe me with the vesture of the episcopate and make me (bishop) of a depopulated see, such as Dabakua, even though there be nothing in it save three minas, for I am not able to endure this (matter) on account of the idea which overpowered me, when I saw those whom you consecrated for money, and they were unworthy, whilst I am rejected on account of the fact that I am poor and have nothing, (although) you know me”. The aforementioned patriarch was very modest, as a gentle lamb, and he had not done anything of what we have mentioned of his own accord. Even the bread which he ate, if they left him alone (and) did not give him to eat, he would not ask for it (the bread), and likewise (with) the water which he drank. He was as (one) dumb. His relatives and his disciples dominated him and they were directing him in everything. They were those who used to take money from him whom they presented to him (the patriarch), in order that he (the patriarch) might make of him (the candidate) what they wanted. If he (the patriarch) wished to feed a man with bread, he was not able (to do so) without their charity. If a man solicited anything from him (the patriarch) he would send him to them. He who solicited from him the priesthood, he would send to them that they might bargain with him, otherwise, they would not give him (the patriarch) the possibility to ordain him.

When this monk whom we have mentioned, came to him (the patriarch), he sent him to them as usual. He (the monk) went to them and he spoke

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to them as he had spoken to the patriarch. One of them, namely, Abba Khael, bishop of Sakha, who was the son of the brother of the patriarch, insulted him when he learned from him that he desired the episcopate for nothing. He said to him after the insult: “If you mention with your mouth anything about this matter, I shall cause the disciples to revile you”. Wrath obtained the mastery over him (the monk), and he rose up and he went to Misr and he complained of his case to the Sultan. He wrote a number of letters against the patriarch that they might be submitted to the king al-Hakim bi Amr Allah. When the archons at Misr learned of this, they prevented him from doing it, and they wrote for him letters to the patriarch, and he (the patriarch) was at that time in Wadi Habib. When the letters reached him (the patriarch), he gave them to the aforementioned son of his brother.

When he learned their contents, he slandered the monk, and he brought the Arabs who were the guards of the monasteries, and he delivered to them the monk. They (the Arabs) took him and cast him into a well and they stoned him with stones to kill him. He (the monk) found in the well a place (which was) a cleft and he entered it and hid himself, and not a single stone reached him. When the patriarch heard the news, he put dust on his head and he plucked out the hair of his beard and he excommunicated the son of his brother on account of what he had done with regard to the monk. He sent his disciples to the well and they brought him (the monk) up out of it and they consoled him and asked him to be comforted. The patriarch promised that he would make him bishop of a see which would become vacant. He (the monk) waited patiently till two sees had become vacant, but he (the patriarch) did not make him (bishop) of either of them, but his (the patriarch’s) relatives and disciples used to speak to him (the monk) of that which caused pain to his heart. Then he (the monk) was filled with rage at their preventing him from (obtaining) the episcopate, the love of which had entered his heart. This was the first pain which Satan suffered, namely, pride, for it is written : “If the lust should conceive, it brings forth sin, but if the sin should be

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perfected, it brings forth death”. John the monk went to Misr to set forth his complaint. From here we break off the account now about what he did until we recount it in its place. As for the king whom we mentioned previously, he was invested with the authority of the kingdom while still a very young child. He grew up and became big and became as a roaring lion seeking for a prey. He became more fond of shedding blood than a ferocious lion, so that a number (of people) counted them that were killed by his command and their number was eighteen thousand men. First of all, he began by killing the notables of his State and his secretaries, and by cutting off the hands of people. The first whom he killed was the master Barguwan who had brought him up, since he used to call him in his childhood the lizard. He (al-Hakim) sent to him a master from him and he (al-Hakim) said to him: “Say to him (Barguwan), the small lizard has become a great dragon and it calls you”. The master went to him and told him what he (al-Hakim) had commanded him. He (Barguwan) came to him, being terror-stricken. He (al-Hakim) commanded that his head should be cut off. Likewise a great amir called Al-Kayid Fadl—-a great and sincere intimacy existedbetween them—entered one day the palace, as (was) his custom, and he found the aforementioned king seated, and before him there was a comely child whom he had bought for a hundred dinars, and in his hand there was a knife with which he had slaughtered him, and he had extracted his liver and his intestines and was cutting them up. He (the amir) went out afraid and terror-stricken to his residence, and he

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informed his relatives and he wrote his will. After an hour, he (al-Hakim) sent to him one who cut off his head. It happened, that if he (al-Hakim) wished to kill a man, he would bestow upon him money and robes of honour, and after this, he would send one who would cut off his head and bring it to him. He (al-Hakim) did not cease from doing this till he had destroyed his notables and the chiefs of his army. Then he turned again to the archons and the scribes and took from them ten from among their chiefs, (including) Abu Nagah al-Kabir who was an Orthodox Christian. He caused him to come to him and he said to him: “I desire that you should forsake your religion and turn to my religion, and I will make you my wazir, and you shall conduct the affairs of my kingdom”. He (Abu Nagah) said to him: “Grant to me a delay until to-morrow that I may take counsel with myself”. He (al-Hakim) granted to him a delay and let him go. He went to his residence and caused his friends to come and he made known to them what had happened to him with him (al-Hakim). He said to them: “I am ready to die for the Name of the Lord Christ. My purpose was not to delay until to-morrow in order to take counsel with myself, but I said this so that I might meet you and my relatives and that I might take leave of you and take leave of them, and that I might give my instructions to you and give my instructions to them. Now, O my brethren, seek not this transitory glory and lose the everlasting and eternal glory of the Lord Christ. He has satisfied our souls with good things of the earth. Behold through His mercy He has called us to the kingdom of the heavens. Strengthen then your hearts”. He strengthened the hearts of all by his speech and confirmed (in) them (the intention) to die for the Name of the Lord Christ. He made for them on that day a great banquet and they remained with him till the evening and they went to their residences. When it was morning, he (Abu Nagah) went to al-Hakim bi Amr Allah. He (al-Hakim) said to him: “O Nagah, tell me, have you decided?”. He said to him: “Yes”. He said: “In what wise?”. He said: “My remaining in my religion”. Then al-Hakim endeavoured by every kind of inducement

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and threat to turn him away from his religion, but he would not do (so), and he (al-Hakim) was not able to make him change his resolution with regard to his belief. Then he ordered that his garments should be removed from him and that he should be fastened to the rackand that he should be scourged. So they scourged him five hundred lashes on his soft body until his flesh was torn and his blood flowed like water. The thongs were of the sinews of bulls, of which a giant (could) not endure (one) lash, more especially that man who lived in luxury and ease. Then he (al-Hakim) ordered that he should be scourged (till) the completion of one thousand lashes. When he had been scourged another three hundred (lashes), he said: “I am thirsty”. So they ceased from scourging him, and they informed al-Hakim of this. He said: “Give to him to drink after you have told him to turn to our religion”. When they had brought to him water and had told him what the king had ordered them (to say), he said to them: “Return to him his water, for I have no need of it, because my Lord Jesus Christ has given me to drink”. A number of assistants and others who were there bare witness that they saw water dripping from his beard. When he had said this, he gave up the ghost.

When they informed the hard-hearted king of this death, he ordered that he should be scourged (till) the completion of the thousand lashes, although he was dead, and on this wise his martyrdom was accomplished. May his blessings be with us!

Another among them (the ten chiefs) was known as the chief Fahd ibn Abraham. He (al-Hakim) had set him over all the secretaries and chiefs of the Diwans. He caused him to be brought into his presence and he said to him: “You know that I chose you

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and set you over all those who are in my State. Listen to me and join me in my religion and I will exalt you higher than you are, and you shall be to me as a brother”, but he did not answer his (al-Hakim’s) words. He (al-Hakim) ordered that he should be beheaded and that his body should be burned with fire. The fire remained alight upon him for three days, but he was not burned. His right hand remained as if the fire had not approached it at all. This was a miracle (performed) by God—Praise be to Him!—for he was a pious man in whom there was great compassion. He did not at all turn away him who solicited anything from him, so that if he passed through the streets riding, and there met him one who solicited alms from him, he would stretch out his hand to his sleeve thinking that there was nothing in it, and he would find wherewith to give to him who asked. Wherefore this miracle was manifested in his right hand which he used to stretch out for almsgiving at all times, for he performed very kind deeds through God. May God grant to us all acceptation through the blessing of their prayers!

As for the remainder of those ten chief judges, when he (al-Hakim) asked them to forsake their religion and to depart from it, they did not do this, nor did they obey him. Then he (al-Hakim) commanded them to be tortured and they were scourged with thongs. When they had been scourged exceedingly, four of them (the chiefs) embraced Al-Islam. As for one of these four, he died the same night, and as for the other three, after the expiration of the time of the disturbance, they returned to the belief of Christianity. As for the remainder of the ten (chiefs), they died under the torture and obtained eternal life. This king (al-Hakim) did deeds which it was unheard of that any of the kings before him had done the like. He did not adhere to one opinion or to one belief. His aspect was as (that of) a lion, and his

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two eyes were large (and) of a blueness in colour. If he (al-Hakim) looked at a man, he would tremble owing to the greatness of his awe (of him). His voice was loud and fearful. He used to observe the stars and (study) the false science ². He used to serve the star called Saturn, as he imagined, and he used to continue turning round the eastern mountain ³ at Misr at night, and with him there were three riders. Satan used to take on for him the likeness of that star, and he (al-Hakim) used to converse with him (Satan) about many matters, and he used to offer to him (Satan) sacrifices. He gave up the attire of kings on account of this, and he wore a black woollen garment. He let his hair grow till it descended to his shoulders. He gave up riding on dromedaries and marked race-horses and decorated mules, and he rode a black ass. He used to walk alone in every place and often he took with him (only) a single rider. He used to walk in the streets at night also and to listen to what men said about him in their houses. He had many spies and informers going around night and day who brought to him information, and who did not hide from him anything of what happened in all the lands of Misr. Men thought that the power of God had descended upon him on account of the kingship which He had entrusted to him. He had a man called al-Hadi, and with him there were twelve men who became his disciples, and they used to call

² i. e. astrology. Cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. i3i.

³ i. e. the Mukattam Hills to the East of Cairo, cf. B. T. A. Evetts, Churches and Monasteries of Egypt, etc., pp. 114and 62.

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men to him, and they (the men) used to listen (to him). He used to say to those who were gathered together to him that al-Hakim was the Christ and many sayings which it is not permissible to mention. Al-Hakim used to go out many times from his castle at night borne in a litter on the shoulders of four servants. He ordered that a woman should not go out at all from her house, neither to the bath nor elsewhere. If he caught a woman who had gone out at night or in the day, he would hand her over to the chief of the watch who would chastise her with a chastisement that would lead to her death. He ordered that Jew’s mallow ¹ should not be eaten, and he was obeyed openly, but not in secret. He ordered that no one should drink nabidh, and he wrote concerning this decrees to the rest of the cities, and the vessels in which there was nabidh were broken in every place. Then (it happened) that he was passing along one day, and a dog jumped in front of him and the ass which was under him started, so he ordered that every dog in Misrshould be killed. It is recorded that a dog howled exceedingly without the city, and there gathered to it many dogs and they climbed to the eastern mountain and they went away. He (al-Hakim) ordered the swine which were in the land of Misr to be killed and they killed all of them, and there were in it (Egypt) many swine, especially in al-Basmur. Then he (al-Hakim) ordered that the nakus should not be struck in the lands of Misr, and, after a little, he ordered that the crosses which were upon the domes of the churches should be pulled down, and that the crosses which were upon the hands of the people should be erased ⁸. Then he ordered that the Christians

¹ i. e. Corchorus olitorius.

⁸ i. e. the crosses tattooed on the wrists. A practice still in force with many Copts and Eastern Christians.

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should have a belt fastened round their waists and that they should wear black turbans on their heads and that they should ride with wooden stirrups and that none of them should ride with iron stirrups, and that they should wear crosses a span in length, then he ordered again to make them (the crosses) a cubit and a half (in length). (He ordered) that the Jews should dye the borders of their turbans and that they should wear belts and that they should make (for themselves) a wooden ball in the form of the head of the calf which they worshipped in the desert, and that none of the Christians and Jews should enter a bath with Muslims. He (al-Hakim) set apart for them baths and he placed (upon) the door of the bath of the Christians a wooden cross and upon the door of the bath of the Jews a wooden log. Then he ordered that raisins should be burned, and what was burned of them in Misr and its districts and (in) Syria was calculated, and it was six hundred thousand satarah, and likewise that which he seized in Misr. He broke (the vessels containing) honey and cast it (the honey) into the river. One of the merchants lost all (his) fortune, the price of the honey and the raisins, and he cited our lord, al-Hakim, before the Kadi al-Kudah, Ibn an-Nu‘man. He said to him (Ibn an-Nu‘man) that he had come to Misr with his merchandise which was raisins and honey for eating and for making sweetmeat, and that he (al-Hakim) had caused (the vessels containing it) to be broken and (the contents) to be cast into the river. The Kadi treated them both equally (in the matter of) seating (in the court) and (in) the trial. The merchant entreated al-Hakim for his money, the full price of his merchandise being one thousand

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dinars. Then al-Hakim said to him: “You have brought this merchandise for doing something illicit (with it), otherwise, swear that you have brought it for making sweetmeat and for eating, and take its price”. The merchant entreated that the money should be brought before he swore. Then al-Hakim ordered the money to be brought, and the merchant swore and received his money, and there was written with regard to him that he had taken it (the money) and had received his due (for his merchandise) in full. He (the merchant) entreated that a decree should be written for him to have charge of it and to keep it, and this was done for him. When judgment had been pronounced upon the matter which (was) between them, the Kadi stood before al-Hakim and saluted him with the salutation of the Caliph. The Kadi increased in dignity with him (al-Hakim) and he loaded him with great honours.

He (al-Hakim) used to walk (abroad) at night and he found sometimes those who roast (meat) heating the ovens to roast therein, and he cast some of them into the ovens so that they were burnt. He found on a certain night a man frying meat in a frying-pan and he ordered that his hands should be cut off and cast into the frying-pan. That man said to him: “Since when did the Commander of the Faithful learn frying? We knew him only as one who roasts, since when did he become one who frys?” He (al-Hakim) laughed at him and ordered him to be released.

A man brought to him (al-Hakim) once a silver dish ² snatched away from the hand of its owner in the market. When they caused him (the man) to stand before him (al-Hakim) with the silver dish in his hand, he said to him: “I desire that you should run before me and show me how you ran when you snatched it (the dish) away from the hand of its owner”. He (the man) did this, and he departed running, and no one dared to follow him.

He (al-Hakim) passed on a certain occasion through the store-

² A dish for carrying cups, cf. R. Dozy, op. cit., vol. I, p. 822.

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houses in which there was trefoil, firewood and reeds, and he ordered them to be burned. They were burned while he rode by (and) watched the burning of the fire in them until all of them were burned, and the price of them was lost for their owners.

On a certain night ten men furnished with arms met him (al-Hakim) and they asked him to give them money. He said to them: “Divide (yourselves) into two parties and fight before me. To him who vanquishes I will pay the money, because he will be worthy to receive honour”. They did this and they fought until nine of them were killed and one remained. He (al-Hakim) said to him: “You, indeed, art worthy to receive honour, and he threw to him many dinars from his sleeve. He (the man) bent down to take them from the ground, and he (al-Hakim) made a sign to those who were riding with him, and they leaped upon him and killed him, and they gathered together those dinars, and he returned them to his sleeve.

There was constructed for him (al-Hakim) in his castle a marble basin and water was brought to it by means of a water-wheel and it (the water) ran into it (the basin) through a canal. Outside the basinthere was an enclosure (hasar) of marble and there was sculptured upon it all (kinds of) birds. He ordered that there should be set in the wall a thin wooden arrow jutting out, and that its extremity should project out from it (the wall) as far as the basin of marble and should be level with its edge. It was (placed) very high at the top of the wall, as was related by him who saw it. Then he (al-Hakim) ordered that a public crier should proclaim that to him who walked upon this arrow and jumped (from it) into the basin and fell into the water there should be paid six hundred dirhams. He (al-Hakim) caused a number (of people) to be tempted by this, and through the love of dirhams a number of people walked upon it and jumped (from it) and fell upon the floor and were killed. Then he (al-Hakim) ordered that the crosses of the Christians should be of wood, and each cross weighing five Egyptian ratl (and) stamped with a leaden seal upon which

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was the name of the king, and (he ordered) that they should hang it about their necks with ropes of palm fibres. Likewise, the weight of the ball which was about the necks of the Jews should be five ratl. He among them who was found without a seal should be contemned and should pay a fine for the offence. Many of the Christians and the Jews from their chiefs (down) to the lowest of them denied (their faith) on account of this, and they did not endure patiently this disgrace and affliction.

It is recorded that, when al-Hakim forbade the Cairene (Masriyat) women to go out in the daytime, they made likenesses of women from paper and bread and radishes, and they set them up for him in the way, where he walked outside Misrand in their hands (were) written papers in which they reviled him and defamed his sister. He (al-Hakim) used to order the papers to be taken from them (the likenesses) and he would read them and find them after this manner. This they did a number of times, and on account of this, he ordered Misr to be set on fire and he plundered it. He did not live in luxury as (other) kings, but he used to travel in the mountains and the deserts at night and in the day, and he shed in his days much blood.

We return now to finish (the account) of what the aforementioned monk John did in the way of abominable things in the days of this king (al-Hakim). This (was) that when he ascertained that he would not be consecrated bishop, he went to Misr and he wrote a letter

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in which he recounted every evil (thing) concerning the patriarch, and he went out to the mountain and stood before al-Hakim and said to him: “You are the Caliph of God on His earth, help me for the sake of God”. He delivered to him (al-Hakim) the letter and he took it from him and in it there was written: ‘You are the king of the earth, but for the Christians (there is) a king (who) does not accept you on account of the great amount of what he has stored up in the way of abundant riches, because he sells the episcopate for money, and he does not do what is agreeable to God the Exalted’, and he mentioned in the letter many abominable things about him (the patriarch) such as this. When al-Hakim learned the contents of the letter, he ordered that the doors of the churches should be closed and that the patriarch should be brought (to him). He (the patriarch) had become old and was advanced in age. When he was brought, he (al-Hakim) imprisoned him for three months, and his imprisonment occurred on the twelfth day of Hatur (in) the year seven hundred and twenty-seven of the Martyrs. Then he (al-Hakim) ordered that he (the patriarch) should be cast to the lions to eat. When he was thrown to them, God changed their nature for him, and protected him from them and kept them away from him and restrained them from him, and they did not eat him. Al-Hakim reproached their keeper and said to him: “You have taken bribes from the Christians and have fed the lions abundantly and have satisfied them and have not starved them”. He ordered that the lions should be starved again, and that, when their hunger became violent, a sheep should be slain and that the patriarch should be divested of his clothes and that his body should be smeared with its (the sheep’s) blood, and that the lions should be set loose upon him. They did this to him (the patriarch), but they (the lions) did not harm him at all. John the aforementioned monk used to go most of his time to the patriarch, while he was in imprisonment for the sake of gloating over him. It happened on the second day of his imprisonment that al-Hakim ordered that a decree should be written to the wall of Jerusalem that

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the Church of the Resurrection should be demolished. The scribe wrote to the wall a letter (and) this (is) a copy of it: ‘An order of the Imam ¹ has been issued to you to demolish the Rubbish Mound ² and to make its heaven ³an earth and its length a breadth’. The writer of the decree was a Nestorian Christian known as Ibn Sirin. When the aforementioned (scribe) had despatched the decree which he had written, he became as one drunk who awakes from his drunkenness, and he thought within himself about what he had done and he said: “I wrote with my hand that the Church of the Resurrection should be demolished. Why did I not endure death before doing this, and why did I not endure the cutting off of my right hand, and (then) I would not have written this? If I had refrained from writing it, what would have been done to me beyond beheading me, and I could not have wished for a martyrdom greater than this” ⁵. He used to say this and similar things to it and to repeat this by heart night and day. Through the intensity of his sorrow he became ill and was confined to a sick-bed, and he used to say: “O my right hand, how did you dare to do this terrible thing? I, also, shall do to you what you deserve, and I shall not cease from afflicting you”. He began to lift up his hand and to strike the ground with it, and he did not cease from this throughout the days of his illness until his fingers were cut to pieces and he died.

After some days, al-Hakim sent forth decrees to all the districts of his kingdom that the churches should be demolished, and that there should be brought to his castle what (was) in them in the way of gold and silver vessels, and that the bishops in every place should be asked (for money), and that the Christians should not buy

¹ The Fatimid Califs styled themselves Imams, i. e. leaders of the Faithful, hence the use here of the word Imamah.

² Kimamah, a term of contempt applied to the Church of the Resurrection (Kiyamah).

³ i. e. its roof.

⁵ i. e. for the sake of the Church of the Resurrection at Jerusalem.

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or sell in any place. A number of them denied their religion on account of this. Most of the Egyptian (Masriyin) Christians divested themselves of (their) distinctive dress and the cross and the girdle and the wooden stirrups, and they imitated the Muslims, and no one exposed them, and he who saw them thought that they had embraced Al-Islam.

There was a deacon whose name was Bukairah. He left the service in the Diwan to which he was (attached) and he wore his cross and he went to the Castle and cried at its gate, (saying): “Christ (is) the Son of God”. When al-Hakim heard his voice, he ordered him to be brought (to him), and he endeavoured (to make him) deny his religion and to acknowledge al-Islam, but he did not do (so). He was as the firm rock which is not disturbed. The more he (al-Hakim) spoke to him, the more he cried out and said: “Christ (is) the Son of God”. He (al-Hakim) commanded that a collar and an iron chain should be cast about his throat and that he should be cast into the Prison of Blood. A trustworthy man testified to me (that) he went to him to visit him in (his) imprisonment on account of the friendship (that) was between them, and that he found him in the following state, being fastened to a large peg driven into the ground. He was standing praying, and in his hand there was a small writing-book, and his face (was) towards the East, (and) he was reading and praying, in spite of the weight of that iron with which he was bound, and when he saw him, he rejoiced with him, as if he were at a marriage-feast.

This man said to me: “When I visited him and (afterwards) wished to separate from him, I said to him, ‘What do you want me (to say) to your house and to your relatives?’ He said, ‘Go to them and say to them: I (shall be) with you (for) the remainder of the day before sunset, so be not grieved’ “. This man who related this to me was chief engineer of those who worked at sawing, (and) his name was Menas and he was my uncle, the brother of my mother, and through his work be found the means to visit the aforesaid Bukairah. He (it was) who

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brought me up, and he swore to me, saying: “I had not reached my home and started to go to the house of Bukairah, as he told me (to do), when al-Hakim sent and brought him (Bukairah) out from (his) imprisonment and wrote for him a decree that no one should hinder Bukairah al-Rasidi from buying and selling nor in any other affair.

When he (Bukairah) had received the decree, he went down to Misr, and he went around to the Christians who were alarmed, and he reassured them and swore to them that after three days all the disadvantages from which they were suffering would be removed from them. He used to purchase for them all that they were in need of in the way of water and food and he used to send it to them by his boys. He did this for three days, and on the morning of the fourth day an order (from) al-Hakim went forth that the Christians might buy and sell as was their custom. He (al-Hakim) wrote a decree that whosoever of the Christians in Misr wished to go to the lands of the Greeks (ar-Rum) or to the lands of Abyssinia and Nubia or to other (lands) should not be prevented (from doing so) by anyone. Before this, they were prevented from (doing) it.

When Bukairah was dismissed from the Diwan in which he was, he devoted himself to visiting the prisoners and to taking to them what they were in need of, and he used to visit those imprisoned (for the non-payment of) the poll-tax. If he found anyone who was asked (to pay) what he could not, he would go bail for him and would bring him out from (his) imprisonment, and he would go to the chiefs and to the rich men and he would take from them what he would have to pay on his account in going bail for him, and he would free him. He (Bukairah) trusted in the Lord Christ with (all) his strength (and) with all his heart. Likewise, if he knew that any of the brethren, the Faithful, were in need of food, he would give to them what was sufficient for them for each day. He performed very many good and fine deeds which we have not mentioned, but we have contented ourselves with

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a few of them. From the beginning, when this affair happened in those davs. he (Bukairah) did not break his fast during the day, and on the days on which he communicated, he did not (even) break his fast on them till the night ¹. All this I knew from him on account of the friendship (which) existed between us. Most of the time, I used to sleep at his home, and he would bring to me some book to read for a part of the night, (and) then I would sleep a little, but, as for him, he would remain erect till the morning. When it was the morrow, he would go to the work which he had chosen for himself, and it became for him like a profession and a way of life. (Once), when wheat and all food were lacking, it happened one day that he purchased bread and distributed it according to his custom to the hidden and the poor till there remained to him only one loaf with which to break his fast. He placed it (the loaf) upon the table and said grace and sat down to break his fast. He gave thanks and stretched forth his hand to eat, when he heard a knocking at the door. He said to his boy: “See (who is at) the door!” The boy went out and found a hidden man (who) said to him: “Say to the Shaikh Bukairah: ‘You have forgotten me to-day and I have nothing wherewith to break my fast’ “. The boy went in to him and informed him of what the man had said. He (Bukairah) gave to him the loaf and he remained fasting until the night of the next day.

There was, moreover, a man, high in rank among his people (and) very rich, (who) became poor and his money was exhausted, so that nothing remained to him, and he was in want, and shame caused him not to show his face nor to beg from anyone. He sold all that (was) in his house, so that nothing remained to him except the clothes which

¹ It is customary in the Coptic Church for the communicant to drink a little water after communicating and to eat the antidoron.

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(were) upon him (which) covered him. If he had had another (garment) in which to go to the church, he would have sold it. I do not know how Bukairah, the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, knew about him. He (Bukairah) took ten sacks in which there were ten ardabs of wheat, and he sent them to him by his boy. He did not find him at that time in his dwelling-place, so he emptied out the wheat in his house (and left it) with his wife and said to her: “Inform the master of the house and say to him, ‘So and so has sent you this blessing’ “. He went to his friend and informed him of it. When the man came to his dwelling-place (and) perceived the wheat, he asked his wife about it. She informed him (and said): “It is a blessing which the Lord has sent to us in order that we may live through it”. He said to her: “Who is it who has brought it?” She said to him: “(It is) from Bukairah ar-Rasidi the scribe”. When he heard this, his bosom became contracted and he said: “As the Lord lives, I will sit in my dwelling-place till God shall take away my soul, but I will not take alms from anyone, nor will I be disgraced”. He began to weep and to strike his face. His believing wife said to him:’ ‘God has provided us with our food to-day. Rise up now and wash your face, your hands and your feet, and pray and adore the Lord and thank (Him) for His mercy to you, break your fast, and when it is still early in the morning, return the wheat to its owner”. He was comforted by her speech and his heart rejoiced and he ate his food and he sighed. When he was sleeping that night, he saw in his dream, as it were, the Lord Christ standing before him, and He said to him: “Why is your heart sorrowful?” He said to Him: “O Master, how should my heart not be sorrowful, (since) after those riches and the mercy which I and my fathers enjoyed (my) condition has ended in this poverty, so that I am brought to ask for alms? It is better for me to die of hunger in preference to this”. He said to him: “Grieve not, for this wheat

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belongs not to anyone save to Me, and I sent it to you by the hand of my minister”. He said to Him: “O my Master, no minister of Yours came to me. but (it was) Bukairah ar-Rasidi (who) sent it to me”. The Lord said to him: “As though you are not aware till now that Bukairah is My minister”. When he heard this, he awoke and he informed his wife of his dream and their hearts rejoiced that they had not to return the wheat, but that they might live on it.

As for Abba Zacharias, he remained under arrest for three months, and they were threatening him every day with burning by fire and with throwing (him) to the lions, if he did not enter the religion of al-Islam. They said to him: “If you will agree to this, you shall receive great glory and al-Hakim will make you Kadi al-Kudah, but he did not pay any attention to them nor did he incline towards them. There was with him (Zacharias) in (his) imprisonment an evil Muslim, and he said to him: “O Shaikh of evil, embrace Al-Islam so that they may set you free and you shall receive from them great honour”. The patriarch said to him: “My reliance is in God Who has power, and He will help me”. When he had finished (this) speech, one of the Turks came in to him and struck him on his mouth

with a club. The patriarch said to him: “As for the body, you have

power over it to destroy it as you will, but as for the soul, it is in the hand

of the Lord”.

There was a man of the Arabs, a chief of the Two Villages, whose name was Madi ibn Makrab. He was the chief of his company and he was (held) in high esteem by al-Hakim. He had arranged with him (al-Hakim) to supply every day his wants whatsoever they might be. He had a Christian friend, an employee, who was in debt to the Diwan for three thousand dinars, and he was not in a position to pay them. He was imprisoned with the father, the patriarch Abba Zacharias. When news of him reached Madi of the Villages, he came to him that he might be informed correctly of his news, and he said: “Why did they imprison you?” He said: “There (still) remains for me (to pay) to the Diwan the three thousand dinars,

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and I have nothing (wherewith) to pay them”. He said to him: “I shall make it my business for to-day (to speak) with al-Hakim in order to free you”. That pious Christian said to him: “I cannot go out and leave this father, the Shaikh, the patriarch”. Madi said to him: “What is the crime of this patriarch, that they have imprisoned him?”, and he informed him of the cause. Madi was afraid lest (in) the speech concerning his (Zacharias’) affair there might be something of which the Sultan would not approve, and that he would not release him. He said: “I shall arrange something about this matter, that is, I shall make it my business (to speak) with him (al-Hakim) to-day, in order to entreat (him) to set free all who are in this chamber. If he orders this (to be done), you will be liberated and he (the patriarch) (will be) among all those set free”. Then Madi went out and he met al-Hakim and he entreated him for all (who were in the chamber), and he caused them to be set free. When the patriarch was liberated, he went down to Misr, and all the Christians rejoiced greatly, but they advised him to depart to the desert, to Wadi Habib,for fear lest his release might have been (through) an oversight on the part of al-Hakim, or that he (al-Hakim) might forget that he (the patriarch) (had been) in that place from which Madi of the Villages had released him. He (Zacharias) accepted their advice and he departed immediately to Wadi Habib. He remained in it for nine years, since the churches which were there were safe from demolition. (The reason for) this was that al-Hakim had sent an amir from Misr and there had accompanied him workmen and surveyors (with) pick-axes in ships, to demolish all the churches which were in the desert. When they reached Tarnut, they said: “We are afraid of the Arabs who are in this mountain on account of their great number”. For

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this reason God brought to nothing their deliberations through something (which) was manifested to them from God, and He preserved all the churches of the desert. It is recorded that the Martyr George appeared to them and drove them back and terrified them, so that they returned, as it is written in the Apocalypse of John the woman who brought forth the male child, the dragon poured forth behind her a river of water. And the Lord gave to her deliverance from it in the place in which she abode. Thus, the churches which are in this mountain found rest, as though the earth had opened her mouth and swallowed up the water, and thus these churches were saved from the disturbance.

At that time a Turkish amir obtained the head of the father, the preacher, my lord Mark the Evangelist. It was said to him: “The Christians will pay to you whatsoever you desirest for it”. Then he carried it (the head) to Misr. When Bukairah ar-Rasidi, the Cross-bearer, was informed of this, he took the head from him (the Turk) for three hundred dinars, and he carried it to the father, the patriarch, who (was) at that time in the Monastery of Abba Macarius, and most of the bishops were dwelling with him there through their fear of affronts and (on account of) fatigue. Most of the Christians also used to enter the desert twice in the year, namely, (at) the Feast of Epiphany and (at) the Feast of the Resurrection which is Easter. They used to long for the Eucharist as a babe longs for the milk of its mother’s breast. There was for the Christians during these nine years great affliction, expulsion (from office) and execration and imprecation on the part of the Muslims, and they used to spit in their faces. Most of these (afflictions) happened at the city of Tinnisand (in) its districts. If a Christian passed through them, they (the inhabitants) would insult him and would say to him: “Break this cross and enter the all-embracing religion”. If a Christian

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were to forget his cross and were to walk without his cross he would meet with much disgrace.

I will acquaint you with another miracle about which my father according to the flesh informed me. His trade was building, and in him (there was) piety and affection. I, the wretched Michael, was a child at the time of this affliction. He took me with him one day, when he was going to a village to build in it. and I was learning from him the trade of carpentry, since he was a mason and a carpenter. (Suddenly), he stood still astonished and clapped his hands together. I said: “O my father, inform me of what has befallen you”. He sat down and his eyes overflowed with tears, and he said to me: “O my son, sit down and listen to what happened. Three months ago I went out from Misr, and God caused a loss of memory to come upon me, and my tongue was tied so that I might not inform you about this, except at this hour, for God the Exalted has enlightened my understanding and He has caused my tongue to be loosened so that I remember this. It is, that I was working in Misr and that illness overtook me, and that I feared lest the illness might become severe and that I should not have anyone who would attend to me. I went out to walk little by little towards the shore and I found a ship going down to al-Mahallah, and I went on board her. She was overloaded with people and they were very crowded together in her. There was no Christian among them except a bishop and his disciple in the prow of the ship on a wood plane. I (was) in the midst of the people lying down in pain. The people crowded around me and buffeted me and said to me: “Odog, O vile one, O Christian, depart from us”. They spat on me and inflicted on me every sort of torment. They imputed to me falsely what they did (themselves)

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in the way of vices, and when their actions against me increased, I raised my eyes to heaven and said: “O my Master Jesus Christ, if You do not manifest to me something whereby to reassure my heart, and that I may know that I shall have a reward on account of what has happened to me through these (people), then I shall deny Your religion”. The Lord testified to me, and the thought had not left my heart nor the speech my lips before I became, as it were, translated from this world, and it all vanished from me, and I was, as it were, in another world, and I was in a lofty luminous place. I am not able to describe with my tongue its beauty and its splendour, for there is not in this world anything like to it nor resembling to it. I saw the Lord Christ—to Him be glory—but I did not make out His real features and I was not able to distinguish Him clearly on account of the abundance of the light which was about Him. He said to me: “Why are you of little faith? This is the place of the Christians who endure trials patiently for My Name’s sake. Is your heart (now) reassured?” On account of the intensity of (my) illness and joy, O my son, Michael, and of the splendour which I beheld, I cried out, saying: “I thank You, O Lord, my heart is reassured”. All who were in the ship heard me when I said that. I was not, as it were, in a ship. After this, I arose from my sleep, and I saw the ship and the people, and I was actually among them, and what I had seen vanished from me. Those who were in the ship said to me: “Alas for you! What (is it) that has befallen you? You are mad and you have an evil spirit”. I said: “I have not an evil spirit, but God knows what has happened to me”. Then I saw this for the second time, as a likeness of Him, and the Master Christ said to me: “Was your heart strengthened?” and I cried out and repeated my first statement, so that all who were in the ship marvelled. Then I saw Him again for the third time, and then my heart was strengthened. When those who were in the ship heard me saying these words for the third time, some of them said to the others: “Perhaps, he has seen what it is not lawful for him to say

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to us, but let us go with him to the bishop”, and they went with me to him and they informed him of what had happened to me. He kissed me and strengthened my heart, and he was kind to me before I said to him what I had seen and what had befallen me. He spoke with me in Coptic, and those Muslims did not know what he was saying to me. When I opened my mouth to tell him, I became, the Lord is a witness. like to him whose tongue is tied, and I was not able to say a single word of what I had seen. I made an obeisance to him, and I said to him: “Absolve me, I am not able to say anything”. When I reached my house, I wished to tell you, you and your brethren, but my tongue was tied and it would not make any mention of it (the matter), except at this hour, while I was walking with you. I have mentioned now this wonder on account of your love (for me), and because it is an order from God, and (that) for the Faithful, on hearing about it, (there may be) profit and strength of heart in the Faith”. I do not doubt the words of my father—may God have mercy upon him!

Of these nine years during which there was chastisement from the Lord, there were three years during which no one was able to make the oblation in the lands of Misr, except in the monasteries alone. The virtuous Faithful could not endure to be away from the Holy Mysteries, and they used to beg the walis and to bribe them with many dinars and presents so that they might give to them a permit to communicate at night secretly in remote and ruined churches and to lodge in them on the nights of the great feasts in order that they might pray and communicate at night. The vestments and Church instruments were concealed in their houses, but the books had been

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burnt. After this, after another three years, they began to restore the churches in the houses and to consecrate them secretly and to pray in them and to communicate (in them). The Possessor of the Orderused to write to the Sultan who was al-Hakim, that the Christians had built churches in Misr and in the Rif secretly and that they were communicating in them, but he (al-Hakim) ignored them. After that, a number of Christians who had embraced Al-Islam stood before him (al-Hakim), and he said to them: “What do you want?” They said to him: “That you should let us return to our religion”. He said to each one of them: “Where is your girdle your cross and your ghiyar?” They brought them out from under their garments and he (al-Hakim) ordered them to wear them in front of him. He despatched with each an equerry to write for him a decree to be kept with him that he should not be interfered with. Many of those who had embraced Al-Islam returned to their religion. There was amongst the number of those who had embraced Al-Islam a monk whose name was Poemen (who) returned to his religion and he begged al-Hakim to empower him to build a monastery outside Misr in the name of the martyr of Christ my lord Mercurius, and it is the monastery of Sahran. He built it and dwelt in it with his brother monks. Al-Hakim used to come to them many times, and to stay there and to eat of their humble food. All who wanted anything from al-Hakim used to go to Poemen the monk to speak with him about it at the time of his (al-Hakim’s) presence at his monastery, and he used to settle it (the

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matter) for him. When Poemen perceived that his words had become acceptable to him (al-Hakim). he reminded him of the case of Abba Zacharias the patriarch, and he begged him to allow the (re)building of the churches. He (al-Hakim) promised him (to do) this. Then he (Poemen) sent to bring the patriarch from the Monastery of Abba Macarius, and he concealed him with him in the Monastery of Mercurius at Sahran.

When al-Hakim came to him, as was hiscustom, he (Poemen) brought forth the patriarch to him. He (Zacharias) saluted him with the salutation of kings and he blessed him and prayed for him. Al-Hakim said to Poemen the monk: “Who is this?”. He (Poemen) said: “It is our father, the patriarch, whom I sent to bring, as you commanded”. He (al-Hakim) beckoned to him with his finger, and he saluted him. There was with him (Zacharias) a number of bishops. He (al-Hakim) said: “Who are these?” The monk Poemen said to him: “These are his vicars in the lands, namely, the bishops”. Al-Hakim looked at him (Zacharias) attentively and he marvelled at him, because he was humble in appearance but was awe-inspiring in himself. He was small of stature, thin bearded and ugly by nature. He (al-Hakim) saw the bishops who were with him, elders of handsome aspect, splendid in appearance and of complete stature. He said to them: “Is this the chief of you all?” They said to him: “Yes, O our master. May the Lord establish your kingdom!” He marvelled and said to them: “Unto where does his judgment extend?” They said to him: “His judgment is executed in the lands of Misr, Abyssinia, Nubia, the Pentapolis, Africa and other places”. His astonishment increased and he said: “How (is it that) all of these obey him without troops or money with which to spend on them? ” They said to him: “All these tribes obey him by means of a single cross”. He said to them: “And what is this cross?” They said to him: “It is a model of that upon which Christ was crucified. Whatsoever he (the patriarch) wants

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from them, he writes to them and places it (the mark of the cross) between the lines of the letter in the place of the mark of the king, and he says to them ‘Do thus and thus, lest the cross be upon you’. They obey his words and they do what he commands them without troops or warefare”. He (al-Hakim) said: “In truth, there is not (such a) stable religion in the world as the religion of the Christians. Lo, we shed blood and spend money and send out armies, and yet we are not obeyed, but this elder of humble appearance and ugly by nature, the inhabitants of all these lands obey at a single word”. Then he said to him (Zacharias) and to the bishops: “Remain here till I satisfy your desires”, and he went out from them and they were delighted at what they had heard from him.

Then John the monk who had taken an action against the patriarch, learned where they were, and he came to them as swiftly as a bird, and they did not perceive him till he had entered and was among them. He said to the patriarch: “Lo, the Lord has restored to you your rank,and I desire that you should make me bishop”. The patriarch said to him: “If the Lord will, I shall make you (bishop)”. The son of his (Zacharias’) brother, who was Khael, bishop of Sakha, was present there, and he was an adversary of John the monk. He again spoke words to him which angered him so that he went up on to a wall of the monastery and cried out: “I (ask help) of God and al-Hakim. I am wronged, I am wronged: obtain for me my rights!” The bishops became afraid and a great quarrel took place between them and Khael the bishop, and they said to him: “You are the cause of all this affliction and of all that has happened to us in the way of the demolition of the churches and of the wearing of the ghiyar and of the shame and of the other things. You are the root of it (all), and you desire also to begin again another affair so that the last (state) shall be worse than the first”. They did not cease (from speaking) until the wrath of John the monk had subsided, and they compelled the patriarch to make him a hegoumenos

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and to clothe him with the black hood and to promise (to treat him) with courtesy. Then the king al-Hakim came to them and he brought an important decree (authorizing) the (re)opening of all the churches which were in his kingdom and their restoration, and that there should be returned to them (the Christians) the timber, pillars and bricks which had been taken from them, and the lands and the gardens which belonged to them in all the land of Misr. The demolition of the churches was in the year seven hundred and twenty-seven of the Martyrs ³, and they were opened and their restoration was allowed in the year seven hundred and thirty-six of the Martyrs ⁴. In this decree he (al-Hakim) exempted them (the Christians) from wearing the ghiyar and from wearing the cross, and (allowed) them to strike the nawakis in all the churches in every place, as was their custom. O what joy was it on that day for all the Christians who were in the land of Misr In the year in which there was deliverance and the allowance to undertake restorations in the churches, a wonderful thing was manifested. (It was) that al-Hakim used to ramble about the mountains which are outside Misr at night and during the day, and with him (there were) three equerries or a single equerry. When, on a certain night, he had come to Hulwan, a single equerry (being) with him, he dismounted from his beast and he said to the equerry: “Hough this ass”. He did what he was ordered. Then he (al-Hakim) said to him: “Go to the Castle and leave me here”, and he went as he had commanded him. When it was morning, the occupants of the Castle did not find him (al-Hakim), and he was sought for in every place, but he was not found, and no news of him was known. He had a young son and a sister. She managed the kingdom for two years until his small son had grown up. Then they seated him (on the throne as) king, and they called him Az-Zahir li-‘Izazi-dini’llah, and his name by which he was known

³ i.e. A. D. 1010-1011.

⁴ i.e. A. D. 1019-1020.

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was ‘Ali and his surname was Abu’l-Hasan. He did not interfere in anything of the affairs of his father, and there was in his days great tranquillity and peace, and he remained king for sixteen years ¹. The religion of the Christians was in a good state and its people respected.

In his (Az-Zahir’s) days the churches were (re)built till they returned to the state (in which) they had been, and (were even) better. The (re)building in them (the churches) did not cease and the restoration was continued till the year in which this biography was written, and it is the year seven hundred and sixty-seven of the Martyrs [A. D. 1050-1051].

The people did not cease from saying from the time of the disappearance of al-Hakim up to the end of the time of his son, that he was alive. Many used to dress themselves in his style, and each one of them used to say: “I am al-Hakim”. They dressed themselves (thus, and appeared) to the people in the mountains so that they might take from them dinars. There was a man from Subra Kilsa (who was) called Surut, a Christian (who) afterwards embraced Al-Islam, and he learned magic and became skilled in it. Some people testified in his favour that he had walked with them and had suddenly disappeared from them, and that he resembled al-Hakim, even in his speech, but that he was a little taller than he. He called himself Abu’l-‘Arab and some people followed him (and) walked with him and became his disciples. He used to send them to the rich with letters from him to obtain for him money from them, and he used to say to them: “I shall make you amends when I return to my kingdom”. He who met him and said to him: “You are our lord, the king”, he (Abu’l-‘Arab) would strike him and say to him: “Take heed to your head”. He remained at Misr thus for twenty years concealed so that most of the people at Misr thought that he was al-Hakim and that he hid himself on account of some secret affair

¹ S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., pp. 116 and 134 gives the years A. D. 1021-1036.

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which was not known to anyone save to him. He continued thus till the days of Ma‘add al-Mustansir bi’llah [A. D. 1036-1091]. Then he went out to al-Buhairah and sojourned with a Bedouin man of (the tribe) of Bani Kurrah. known as Mufarrig ibn Tammam, and the Bedouin man pitched a tent for him, and he remained with him for two years, and he pretended (to do) the deeds of the prophets by deception. He wore miserable garments as the ascetics. He used to give to the Bedouin rich garments and fine weapons, and if the Bedouin said to him: ”Why do you not wear these magnificent garments?” He would say to him: “so that I may escape the execution which I fear”. By this speech he used to enter in to them to deceive them, namely, Mufarrig ibn Tammam of Kurrah and his troop and other people besides them, and they used to enter in to him and prostrate themselves before him and salute him, as the people salute the kings, the Caliphs. He forbade them (to do) this, and it was thought that he wished to conceal his affair until the time at which he willed to manifest it. News of him was spread in all the habitations of Misr so that the kingdom was in an uproar and disturbed. This Surut then feared for himself, and he fled from the Bedouin and disappeared in a place not known to anyone. He remained concealed until the days of the father Abba Shenouti the patriarch. Then he wrote to him (Shenouti) and deceived him so that he sent to him money.

As for the father Abba Zacharias the patriarch, he remained, after meeting al-Hakim, in tranquillity and peace for the rest of his days. The duration of his patriarchate was twenty-eight years, of which seven years were before the time of the persecution and twelve years after the (re)building of the churches. He went to his rest in the year seven hundred and forty-eight of the Martyrs [A. D. 1031-1032]. He was buried in

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the Church of the Mistress at Bani Wayil, known as the Church of the Steps.

Then a great trial was stirred up for the Church of the Syrians who agree with us in the Orthodox Faith in the East, so that their patriarch was exiled from his throne and he died in exile. That is to say, there was on the throne of Antioch of the Syrian Jacobites (Ya’akibah), our brethren, a father, a saint, called John ibn ‘Abdun, in that he resembled the first saintly fathers, and he did what we shall record. That is to say, our fathers, the Syrian patriarchs, had not been able to dwell in the city of Antioch since the time of the father Severus for fear of the Greeks (ar-Rum), and they did not go near its districts at all. This saint was dwelling in a monastery near Malatya. At the beginning of his career he had been an anchorite in the Black Mountain. He was (held) in good repute by everyone, as it is written in the Holy Gospel: “A city is not hidden which is built upon a mountain”.

There was in his neighbourhood a monk who was also devoted to the worship of God there, whose name was John. When Athanasius, patriarch of Antioch went to his rest in the time of Abba Philotheus, patriarch of Alexandria —his deeds were like the deeds of his namesake Athanasius the Great in truth—he said at (the time of) his going to his rest that this saint John ibn ‘Abdun would sit after him on the Throne of Antioch. When he (Athanasius) went to his rest, they went around (seeking) for him (John), and the day before their arrival, his friend, the monk, who was in his neighbourhood knew of what the Holy Spirit had revealed (to him), and he said to him: “To-morrow

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some people will come to us (and) take one of us to make him patriarch of the Throne. Should we not arise (and) go from here so that they won’t find us?” The monk John said to him: “Why should we flee if the Lord has called one of us for this matter, and where shall we flee to from His presence?” That saintly father said to him: “As for me I (can) not bear this matter, and I am not suitable for it. But if you are able (to bear it), remain in your place. I am going to hide myself until this wrath which has come upon us to remove one of us from this blessed solitude which I prefer, passes us by”. He went fleeing from there, and John the monk remained in his place. When the morning came, there arrived at the monastery those who were seeking for John the saint. They went around (looking) for him in the mountain, but they did not find him. When they reached the place in which that monk was living, they found him, since he was desirous of this. Then they took him, and while they were coming down from the mountain (and) going with him to where the congregation was, they saw on their way a tree, and they turned aside to it so that they might sit beneath its shade. A branch of the tree struck the eye of John the monk and tore it out, and he became one-eyed from that (hour). They marvelled and enquired of him (concerning) the matter of his case, and he confessed to them what had taken place between him and the saint John ibn ‘Abdun, and that he had desired this matter, but that that one (John the saint) had rejected it. When they were acquainted with the matter of the case, they left him and they went to the congregation and informed them of this. Their resolution was strengthened to seek for that saint wherever he was. They did not cease from going around and searching for him until they found him by the will of God, after they had become weary. He refused to go with them, so they took him by force, and they consecrated him patriarch and they seated him on the throne. During the time of his patriarchate he did not weary from his (acts of) humility and his devotions. Money used to be brought to him in the form of alms, but

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he did not keep anything of it except for his daily sustenance, and he gave the rest to the hidden and the poor.

There came to him a woman one day and (she had) with her many dinars in a large bag, and she placed it at his feet and said to him: “O my lord father, I have brought these dinars for a blessing. Grant to me their acceptation and bless me and dispose of them for your requirements and for the hidden”. He answered her in a quiet voice and said to her: “May the Lord accept this from you, O my daughter”. She stood expecting that he would say to her something more in the way of prayer(s) and favour(s) than this (blessing) which he had invoked upon her, as was the custom of those, other than he, who collect money and are desirous of it, so that, even if a man bring to them a single coin, they respect and honour him, especially so much money as this. When her stay had been drawn out and she did not hear (anything) other than what he had said to her, she went away grumbling. The disciple who went out to shut the door, returned and said to the patriarch: “O my father, this money which this woman brought is much. Did she not deserve that you should make much prayer for her and that her heart should be reassured? As it is, she went out grumbling about us and said: ‘Perhaps, the father did not know what I brought him’ “. He said to him: “Go, bring her back!” He went and brought her back to him. He said to the disciple: “Bring me a balance”. He brought it to him, and he took a piece of paper and he wrote on it ‘May the Lord accept them (the dinars) from you’, even as he had prayed for her with his mouth at first. He put the paper into (one) scale of the balance and he put the money into the other scale, and he said to the disciple: “Lift up the balance”, and he lifted it up and the paper weighed more than the money, and the scale in which was the paper went right down. The patriarch said to the woman: “O my daughter, take from them (the dinars and the paper) what you wish”. She threw herself before him and wept and said: “Forgive me, O my father. You believe in what pertains to God, while I believe in

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what pertains to men”. Then she took that paper and made it (a source of) strength for her.

It happened again that he (John) had gone out to the river to (re)-build a bridge over which the people used to cross which had been destroyed. Some good people besought him to stand on it at the beginning of its (re)building so that it might receive his blessing. If the people saw him there, they would assemble and assist in (re)building it. He did this and a great multitude assembled and they remained for three days (re)building it, and they worked with joy on seeing the patriarch. When it was completed on the third day, the multitude crowded (together) in passing over it, and a young man fell into the river, and the width of that river was about twenty cubits, and its current was very strong. The father went forward (and said) that he who knew how to swim should go down to take him out. A number of those present took off their garments and went down to look for him, but they did not find him. They did not cease from diving and searching (for him) from the sixth hour of the day till the ninth hour so that they became weary and annoyed. News of him (the youth) reached his mother and she came out shrieking and weeping, as the widow of the city of Nain. They found him after ten hours and brought him up dead, and they carried him to the tent of the father Abba John, the patriarch, and left him in front of him and went away. The saint arose and prayed and besought God on his account. Then the young man opened his eyes and arose and went forth from the tent alive, and the multitude was standing outside and they hastened towards him and crowded round him to see this marvellous miracle, and he could not get free from them, and he went away to his house, only after trouble and great exertion. This great miracle concerning him was noised abroad in all the lands of Syria and elsewhere so that news of it reached the lands of Misr, and he (John) became a boast of Orthodoxy and a grief for those who dissent (from us). Malatya was near to the monastery in wliich this saintly father dwelt and there was not in his see (a city) greater or more

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populated by Christians than it. There were in it fifty-six churches filled with priests and many Syrian Orthodoxpeople, and their number was sixty thousand Christians who bore arms, if they wished (to do so) or needed (to do) this, besides women ¹.

When I, the wretched Michael, and I, Gabriel, bishop of Sa, reached this patriarch, the saint (John), with the Synodical Letter from Christodoulus, when he was seated on the Throne of Alexandria and its districts, we observed in him (John) great sanctity. When we parted from him, he honoured us and sent the son of his brother with us so that we might see the city and the people who were in it. He said to us: “I have no (city) like to it”. We saw in it a number of Melkite Chalcedonians who had a metropolitan of it. The Orthodox Jacobites who were in the city used, out of their great love for this saintly patriarch, to go to him at all times to the monastery and to beseech him to be present with them on the great feasts and on Sundays so that they might receive the blessing from him and communicate from his hands. It happened that, if he came to them, they would meet him with gospels and crosses and censers and readings (from the Gospels) before him, from the gate of the city up to the church with great joy and love. They used to do this every time he came to them, and they would recount his virtues to everyone and narrate the miracles which God—praised be He!—performed by his hand. Satan (as-Sailan) found for himself an assistant in harming the aforesaid patriarch, a bishop dissenting (from us) of them who profess the Two Natures. He raised up against him a great trial, as says the Apostle: “All who desire to live by upright faith shall be persecuted by evil men, haters of the truth”. This bishop was an enemy of his out of envy

¹ ‘besides women’ added on the margin. Part of this addition has been cut off, and it probably had ‘and children’.

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and without shame, because he used to see the veneration of the people for this saintly father and how they ministered to him on account of the strength of their faith in him, and he observed his entry into the city in the finest and most becoming manner. The aforesaid bishop used to go in and to go out (of the city) and no one paid attention to him or asked about him. His heart was sore with envy, and jealousy was engendered in him, and he was enraged against him (John).He went to Constantinople and complained about this saintly father, Abba John, to the king and said to him: “In your kingdom there is a man, a patriarch, who encroaches on your rights, and the people obey him more than you. They are Jacobites and they adhere to this dissident Jacobite, and he also prays for kings other than you and more than for you. A reputation is falsely ascribed to him that he raised the dead, and on account of this the hearts of the multitude are inclined towards him. Banish him now from your kingdom, and cause him to be brought hither, and your holiness shall judge between me and him”. The king sent to bring him (John), and the bishop sat in the city of the patriarch with its patriarch. They were assembled to arrange about what they should do with the saint. The messengers found him (John) in Malatya. When the Faithful were informed of the news, all of them assembled and said: “We will die, all of us, but he (John) shall not be taken from us, but we will give ourselves in exchange (for him). All that we possess, it is for you!”. He forbade them (to do) this. He spake to them soft words that ‘he who resists the king sins, and he is as he who resists the ordinance of God’. “What should the king be able to do (to me) other than to kill my body, and if he does this to me, there will be a crown prepared for me. If he speaks to me on account of the Faith, it will be a contest and an honour for me. Thus shall I be like my Lord Who was reviled and slain”. With this (speech) and what was similar to it he spake to them till they left him. He journeyed with the messengers and there were with him four bishops and

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three monks, disciples of his, till they reached the dwelling of the king at Constantinople. They put him in confinement for some days till they had informed the king of his arrival. Then the patriarch of the Melkites appointed a free day for him (John) and for himself and for his bishops and for the bishop of Malatya who had complained about the patriarch John. They adorned themselves with hardness of heart and they put on garments of silk and sat upon decorated thrones and they ordered the saint John to be brought to them. He came to them in wretched garments, and he and those who were with him stood before them, and they did not cause them to be seated nor did they salute them, but they occupied themselves with reading, while they were standing for a time so that their bosoms became contracted. Thereupon, John the saint spake in the soft Syrian tongue and said: “Which of the Canons of the Church bids you to sit on your thrones and cause us to stand before you like assistants?” They said to him: “You and your congregation are dissidents, and it is not fitting that you sit with us as Orthodox bishops”. He said to them: “If we are dissidents as you say, let us sit with you and let us talk about the Faith, and he to whom God shall give the victory shall be victorious, if we (can) find him who judges between us in truth and not by the authority of the kingdom”. The bishop of Malatya had agreed with the patriarch of the Melkites and his bishops that they would not dispute with him (John) or his bishops, and he had said to them: “They are very learned. If you dispute with them, you will be put to shame before them, but overcome them by speech, by the power of the kingdom”. Then they reviled them and they said to them: “You are heretics. We ought not to speak to you”, and they said to the attendants: “Take them (away) till tomorrow”. When the morrow was come, the king caused them all to be brought and he made them stand before him, and he appointed an interpreter for them. The king said to the interpreter: “Say

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to the patriarch: they have informed me that you are a saint of God. Now I desire nothing of you save that you shouldst acknowledge the Council of Chalcedon, and I shall be happy, and I will exalt you and honour you and give you the authority over all the lands near to you”. He (John) said to him: “O my master, the king, may the Lord preserve your kingdom and your authority!—He knows that I do not cease from prayer and supplication for your powerful kingdom, as the Holy Scriptures command us, ‘so that our life may be in quietness and peace’. Your authority has not the right to force anyone to forsake his religion, as we have two kings, namely, the king of Abyssinia and the king of Nubia, and they do not force anyone of the people of your religion who is dwelling among them to change his faith. Now I beseech the Lord Christ to establish your kingdom without disturbance and to preserve all of us according as has been revealed to him”. The interpreter interpreted all that he said except (about) the two kings, the Abyssinian and the Nubian, for he added to this and he said: “We have two kings greater than you”, and this (was because) the bishop of Malatya had bribed the interpreter with money and had come to an agreement with him to turn the speech against him (John), whereby the king would be enraged against him (John), even though with a single word. When the king heard (this), his wrath and his rage and his imprecation(s) became intense, and he cursed his (John’s) belief and his congregation and he said: “You are dissidents in truth”. He commanded that he (John) should be returned to (his) confinement. There was one of the disciples of the saint John who knew the language, and he was his interpreter. When they came out, he informed him (John) of what the interpreter had done by turning the speech against him.

When the morrow was come, the king caused his patriarch and his congregation to be brought and he consulted them about what he should do. They advised him that he (John) should be banished to the islands which were near to him, he (John) and those who were with him until

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they professed their (the Melkite) Faith, and then he should set them free. There were among them two aged metropolitans, and when they learned this, they acknowledged the Council of Chalcedon, and they thought that they would remain in their former rank, but the patriarch of the Melkites did not leave them in it, but made them both subdeacons. The two others (metropolitans) held fast to their faith, and they did not agree to what the king wished. The king strove, but he was not able to turn them from their Orthodox Faith. Then the king caused Abba John, the patriarch, to be brought, and he promised him great honours and advancement. He said to him: “Lo, I am standing before you and (am) under your authority. Your power is over my body, do with it what you think (fit) and as you will. Kill me, but I will never forsake my Orthodox Faith”. Then he commanded him (John) to be exiled to a monastery on an island near to Constantinople. Between him and it (there was) a distance of one day. He did not allow (anyone) with him except one disciple to minister to him. He (John) had the illness of gout in his feet, and he remained there two years. There was in that island an anchorite of the Melkites, and he commanded the monks who were with him to go every day to the patriarch, the saint John, and to curse him and to spit in his face, and he placed an anathema upon them if they did not do this every day. They used to do this to him (John) during his stay there. There was in the monastery a youth, a servant, and he used to insult the patriarch still more. It happened that, whenever the disciple heated water for the feet of the patriarch in order that he might thereby find ease, that youth used to cast ash into it. The disciple used to weep, but the patriarch used to console him and say to him: “O my son, God will not forget us”. The youth persisted in this deed, and an evil spirit leapt upon him and strangled him and belaboured him and tormented him. They brought him to the elder Abba John foaming and striking with his head and gnashing with his teeth. He remained

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(thus) for three days, Satan tormenting him. Then he died an evil death.

There was in Constantinople a man who loved Abba John, and he came thither to visit him, but he was not able to reach him. Then he wrote to him a letter and went to a village near to the monastery, and he met in it a man known to him, and he said to him: “I desire greatly that you shouldst take this letter and deliver it to the patriarch secretly without that anyone knows about you”. He gave to him a dinar and the letter, and there was not anything in it except an enquiry after him (John) and an excuse to him that he had not been able to reach him so as to visit him, and asking from him a blessing to place in his dwelling. He took the letter and went with it to the chief (of the village), as did Judas. He sent some people to the owner of the letter and they beat him and imprisoned him. The patriarch heard his weeping and his speech in Syriac and he called to his disciple and he desired to know of him the news, and he informed him of all what had happened. The patriarch marvelled and was grieved and sent to him to console him, and he said to him: “Let not your bosom be contracted. After three days, the Lord will remove all this (from you)”. The disciple inquired about the meaning of the saying. Then he said to him confidentially: “After three days, God will take me to Him. Bury me not in the cemetery of the heretics, but place me in a place alone, for the day on which I shall fall asleep, the king will send (a messenger) to bring me out, and he will find me having gone forth from this body. He (the messenger) will take you and the other man to the king, and he (the king) will set you two free. I charge you to say to the people that they let not him who comes after me dwell in the lands of the Greeks (ar-Rum), but that he should dwell in Amid or in the city of Edessa”. His disciple was considering how he could save his (John’s) body after his

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death from the dissidents, lest they should do with it what they wished. Then he said within himself ‘yet, let God’s will be (done)’. The patriarch knew in the spirit his (the disciple’s) thought, and he said to him: “Why do you have doubts concerning my body? I believe that God is able to do all things”. After three days, he went to his rest, as he said. When the monks learned of this, they assembled that they might bury him. The Superior of the monastery was away. The king sent to call the patriarch, but he found him dead. The messengers quarrelled with the monks who wished to bury him, and they prevented them (the messengers) from burying him there, and they said: “Take this heretic from the midst of the Orthodox”. They took him and they brought him to the place of a rock, and they dug out a grave, and buried him far from them (the monks). As for the messengers of the king, they took the disciple and the man who came from Constantinople to visit the patriarch and wrote to him the letter, and they returned to the king and they announced to him his (John’s) death. He (the king) set them both free, for he had suffered torment in his dream that night on account of the saintly patriarch. His going to rest in banishment was in the year seven hundred and forty-seven of the Righteous Martyrs [A. D. 1030-1031]. God Whose praise is great and Who is exalted did not hide from him anything of what he wished to know, on account of his sanctity and his purity.

It happened that, before his (John’s) departure to the lands of the Greeks (ar-Rum), there fled to him Abba Abraham, bishop of Damietta on account of what had befallen him through his people, and of what had reached him (in the way of news) about his (John’s) sanctity. He went and entered into his monastery, and he was clothed in wretched attire in the garb of monks with a white hood so that he might conceal his state, and he stood in a corner of the church in the midst of the congregation of the monks. It was a Sunday and the father Abba John, was inside the sanctuary. He said to his disciple: “Go to such and such a

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place in the church and you will find there a bishop from the lands of Misr, standing with the monks in the garb of a monk, and bring him to me”. This was a wonder similar to what befell Saint Basil the Great Doctor, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia with the Saint, my lord Ephraem the Syrian. The disciple went thither, but he did not recognize him on account of the change of his attire. Then he returned to the father and said to him: “I did not find him”. He said to him: “Yes, indeed, he is standing there and with him are two strange monks”. The disciple went back to the place and said to the three: “Who of you is the bishop?” One of the two monks said: “He is this (one)”. Then he said to him: “The father calls you”. He came with him to him, and when he had entered in to him and had prostrated himself before him, the patriarch raised him and said to him: “Why have you fled from the grace which the Lord Christ has bestowed on you?” He said to him: “I am not fleeing (from it), but I have come to see you and to receive your blessing”. He said to him: “Yes, indeed, you are fleeing from much speaking and from the fatigue which you have experienced’, and he spoke to him words that reassured his heart. He remained with him for a time and he sent him back to his see with honour.

There sat on the Throne of Antioch, after this saint John, the son of his brother, and they called him John the patriarch. God grant to us (acceptation) of the intercession and blessing of both of them altogether.

His disciple informed me, I, Michael, the writer of this biography, about this, when I went to the Throne of Antioch, after I had become bishop of the see of the city of Tinnis and its districts, and with me there was Abba Gabriel bishop of Sa with the Synodical Letter which Abba Christodoulos, patriarch of Alexandria, wrote to Abba John the aforementioned, in the year seven hundred and sixty-five of the Martyrs [A. D.1048-1049]; for I asked this disciple and said to him: “Yes, did the

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father Abba John really raise the dead?” He described to me all what I have mentioned in this biography.

As for his story about Abba Abraham, bishop of Damietta, I heard it from his mouth in the year in which the father Abba Zacharias died in Misr. These two patriarchs experienced great trial and labour and they received a glorious crown through their endurance and their confession of the Orthodox Faith before the dissidents; Abba John, before the king of the Greeks (ar-Rum) and their patriarch and his communion, and Abba Zacharias, before al-Hakim, king of the Muslims and the inhabitants of the kingdom.

Abba Abraham, the aforementioned bishop of Damietta said: “I witnessed great miracles by the father, the saint John, the patriarch, while I was with him, among which I saw one of his disciples, and it was said to me that he had been blind and that Abba John had opened his eyes. I asked the disciple with an obeisance to recount to me his story. He said to me: “I was blind and I used to sit in the church by the basin of water from which the people covered their communion. I used to lay hold on the garments of those whose speech I recognized so that they might give me as alms some of their money. I pulled one day the garment of one of the brethren, and he went and complained about me to the father. He (the patriarch) had just finished communicating the people, and he gave them the peace and washed his handsand came out to me. He said to me: “O my son, what is this matter with you that you dost harm the people and tear their garments?”

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I said: “O my father, I am blind and feeble, whilst they see. I beg of them to give me something as alms, but they do not (do so)”. He said to me: “If the Lord Christ open your eyes, what will you do?” I said: “I will serve you until the day of my death”. He (the patriarch) took with his hand water from that basin and said: “The Lord Christ Who made mud with His spittle on the ground and anointed with it the eyes of the completely blind and said to him: ‘Go, wash both of them in the source of Siloam and they will be opened’, may He open these two eyes of yours”, (and) he sprinkled the water on my eyes and they were opened, as you see. I have served him till now. and I shall serve him also until I die beneath his feet”.

Trustworthy (people) of the Faithful informed me of many miracles concerning the father Abba Zacharias, among which how the body of Abba Mercurius, bishop of Tilbanah, shone with leprosy, and an awful whiteness appeared in him. He came to the father, Abba Zacharias, at Damru on a Sunday, and the aforementioned father said to him with humility and quietness and a sore heart: “O my brother Abba Mercurius, I am a partner with you in what you suffer, and you know that God said to Moses: ‘You shall not have regard to the face of anyone in judgment’ The priesthoodshall not be valid, except after the Lord Christ has removed from you this whiteness, for it is a defilement, as the Scripture calls it”. He (Mercurius) wept and said: “Help me through your prayer, O my father, the saint”. He departed from him and he went to a church in his see (dedicated) to the name of the Pure Mistress, my

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lady Mary the Virgin, the Mother of God the Word. That church was in a village called Tmai. He entered it in the morning of a Monday, and there was in it an aged priest whose name was Farah. He (the bishop) said to his disciple: “When it is Wednesday evening, visit me here, and if you find me dead, help this priest to bury me here, and if you find me alive, I shall speak to you”. The disciple went away from him. He (the bishop) stood before the picture of the Mistress, weeping (and) entreating on Monday, and the night of it (Monday), Tuesday, the day and the night of it (Tuesday), Wednesday, the day of it (Wednesday), and he was asking for her intercession, entreating her to examine that leprosy and to remove it from him. When it was the ninth hour of the day of Wednesday, he (the bishop) became dazed from fasting and fatigue, and he leaned against the wall on which was the picture, and he was dozing. Then he saw the hand of this picture, as if it wiped his body, and he woke up and was cured of his sickness. He summoned the priest and informed him of the news, and asked him to look at his whole body, and he (the priest) saw it, and it had become clean and free from leprosy. He rejoiced and thanked the Lord, the Saviour, and his weeping was grievous. Then the disciple came to him at the end of the day and he (the bishop) said to him: “O my son, the Lord Christ has granted (me) through the intercession of the Pure Mistress, his Mother, health (again). It is necessary that I remain in this place three days more to thank the Lord for what he has bestowed upon me. Come to me with a beast on Saturday”. Then he partook of a little bread and water, and he remained there three days, as he had said. The disciple came to him on the evening of Saturday, and he (the bishop) went to Damru and he entered in to the father Zacharias on the morning of Sunday, while he was in the church, and he made known to him the news, and he

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said: “O my father, this (is) through your prayers”. He (the patriarch) said to him: “On the contrary, (it is) through your faith and your prayer”. He (the patriarch) gave him the right to officiate, and he (the bishop) celebrated the Liturgy that day. He (the patriarch) said to him: “Truly you are more worthy than I (to celebrate) the Liturgy so that we may receive your blessing, after this great grace has been bestowed upon you”. All those present glorified God Who performs miracles. There was a man, a deacon, a native of Minyati Milig (who was) very well known. He quarrelled with his wife, and she was pure (and) pious. He went out from her, and was filled with satanic fury, and he went (and) copulated with an effeminate man and fell with him into sin. Then he returned to his dwelling, and his wife became reconciled to him. When it was night, he sat down on his bed, and took off his garment to lie down to sleep. His wife saw his body and it all shone with leprosy. She rose up and was full of fear, and she said to him: “What (is it) that you has done, so that you have leprosy? Look at your body”. He looked attentively at his body and he wept bitterly, and he said to her: “O my sister, when I quarrelled with you to-day, Satan played a trick on me, and I did so and so”. Then he struck his face, and he plucked out the hair of his beard and he increased (his) weeping. His good (and) pious wife said to him, weeping over him: “You have sinned, O my brother, and have erred. Hasten to the father Abba Zacharias the Saint, and take hold of his feet and cling to them, until he beseeches God on your behalf, and you shall be healed”. He rose up early and rode his beast and went to Damru and cast himself beforethe patriarch, and he increased (his) weeping and (his) entreating, and he clung to his feet and confessed to him what had happened to him. He (the patriarch) said to him: “O my son, is it in you to stand firm in labour before the Lord Christ?” He said to him: “O my father, judge me according to what you will, and I will do it with God’s assistance to me, and through the blessing of your prayer”. He took him into a dark house that he had, and he left him standing

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in a satirah of tamarisk resembling a barrel, after he had put into the half of it salt, and had set his face towards the East, and had said to him: “O my son. continue in prayer and entreaty and weeping, and repent, that you return not again to sin”. He used to feed him after three days and three nights with a little bread (measured out) with a balance and to give him water to drink also (measured out) with a balance until the end of fifteen days, and he came to him to visit him and he prayed for him. At the end of three weeks, he visited him again, and prayed for him, and at the end of the month, he came to him and examined his body, and he found the leprosy had diminished, and he was reassured. Then he announced to him the good news about this. Then at the end of forty days, he came to him and he looked at him attentively and found that he was clean and that nothing of the leprosy remained in his body. He rejoiced with him and he bathed him with hot water, and he anointed him and prayed for him, and he said to him: “O my son. you are cured and you know what you have vowed to yourself—return not to sin—and think not that I caused you to fast three days (and) then after them (another) three days, and that I myself broke my fast, but—as the Name of Christ lives—I did not feed myself during these forty days, except as I fed you, and I did not break my fast except at the time at which I caused you to break your fast (and) likewise (with) the same (amount of) bread and water with which I fed you. Then he blessed him and commanded him to depart to his dwelling, and he returned to his blessed wife, rejoicing and happy.

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As-Shaikh ‘Alam al-Kafah Abu Yahya Istafan ibn Mina at-Turigi,the scribe, related that he went with his workman whose name was Zakir to Damru, and they saluted the father Abba Zacharias the patriarch—God grant to us (acceptation) of the blessing of his prayer! The father went out walking, without a beast, to Tumbarah so that he might salute a Nubian man, a monk, whose name was Sisih, and he (the patriarch) received his blessing before he blessed him (the monk), and he honoured him with much honour and humbled himself before him and venerated him. When he had departed from him, those who were with him, asked him and said to him: “What is the reason of your respect for the state of this (one), and for humbling yourself before him, and for giving him precedence over you in the blessing,—you, the patriarch of the land?” He said to them: “This (man) al-Hakim cast together with me to the lions after they had starved them, and the lions were obedient to him, and licked his feet before mine.

Shenouti the patriarch, and he is the sixty-fifth of (their) number.

When Abba Zacharias, the patriarch, went to his rest, certain people solicited the patriarchate, and they hoped to obtain it through the Sultan, and to force the bishops to elect them. When Bukairah, the scribe, of Rasid, the owner of the cross, in whom was zeal for God, the Exalted, learned of this, he collected some good people and he went to the wazir ‘Ali ibn Ahmad and talked with him about this. He was a man who understood and loved the Christians, and he said to Bukairah and to those who were with him: “It is obligatory (to pay) to the Royal Treasury for him

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who is to be elected patriarch three thousand dinars, but we have dispensed with this out of honour for you, and what you do after this, (let it be) what is pleasing to God—praised be He!—(even) as it is done with us at Baghdad, and this is, that when they wish to advance a man to the patriarchate, they assemble in the church, and they select from those who are in the monasteries a hundred men, and from the hundred, fifty, and from the fifty, twenty-five, and from the twenty-five, ten, and from the ten, three, and they write the names of the three on three pieces of paper, and on a fourth they write the Name of the Lord, and they (the pieces of paper) are covered with wax (and made into) balls, and they are placed on the altar, and they (the clergy) pray and celebrate the Liturgy. After the prayer and the Liturgy, they bring a little child from among their male children in whom there is no sin, and he stretches out his hand and takes one of them (the pieces of paper). If there is on it the name of (one of) the three, they consecrate him patriarch, but if there is on it the Name of the Lord, they know that (there is) not among the three he who is fit, and they write other three names, and they do not cease from doing (this) until God—praised be He!—has chosen him whom He has selected, and his name is revealed. Then they cansecrate him patriarch. Thus it is necessary that you should do here”. They marvelled at his wisdom and his understanding and they thanked him and prayed for him and departed. The bishops assembled and with them were the superiors of Wadi Habib, but they did not do as the wazir had said to them, but they sat down to think about the people whom they might select to consecrate one of them. There was mentioned a man who had become a monk at fourteen years of age and whose name was Shenouti. He had become a priest in the skene of Abba Macarius, (and) he had knowledge of the Scriptures. He was a native of Tilbanat ‘Adi and had become a monk in the dwelling-place

^(l) Cf. R. Dozy, op. cit., vol. I. p. 118.

^(S) Cf. p. 11 3, n. h.

^(S> Cf. p. 118, n. 3.

^(,) Cf. Aziz Surial Ativa, op. ch._} pp. 122, ia3.

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known as D???a?h.Some of the bishops preferred him on account of his learning, but he was an old man, and they remained perplexed as to whom they should consecrate, him or another than him. One of the bishops saw a speaker who spoke to him in a dream: “The first who enters to-morrow by the door of the church and kisses the bodies [of the saints], seize him, for he (shall be) the patriarch”. He awoke immediately, and he informed the brethren, the bishops, of this. When it was day, Shenouti entered, and they seized him immediately. It happened before this, in the night of the aforementioned day, that he (Shenouti) saw in a dream Peter the Apostle, and John the Evangelist, and it was as if they both delivered to him keys. When he awoke, he spoke to the monk who was with him, and said: “I saw in my dream so and so”. The monk said to him: “The patriarchate shall be yours”.

It is said that this Shenouti was desirous of this (the patriarchate), and that he had solicited the bishopric of Misr, but that he had nothing wherewith to pay for this, and they had rejected him and had made Philotheus bishop of the see of Misr.

Before they invested him (Shenouti) with the patriarchal robe, it was arranged between him and the bishops that he should consecrate for them John, the monk, who had calumnated the father Zacharias to al-Hakim, bishop of al-Farama, on account of their fear of his tongue. They went with him (John) to his (Shenouti’s) cell, and he (Shenouti) made an obeisance to him (John) to assist him in everything, and he treated him as a brother of his. He (John) said to him: “If you wish me to assist you, write for me your signature that you will give me every year thirty dinars

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with which I may live, since the see of al-Farama of which you will make me (bishop) has nothing; and you shall consecrate my brother to another see. He (Shenouti) wrote his signature concerning this. The bishops remained some days after this (and) were meeting together, but their opinion did not agree as to whom to consecrate. Everyone of them mentioned one of his relatives or a friend of his with regard to being patriarch, until a week had passed. Then John, the aforesaid monk, said to them: “Until when will this sitting of yours (last)? Everyone of you seeks (to satisfy) his own desire, but there is not (anyone) save Shenouti, a saintly and learned man, who has read the Scriptures, and (is a man of) understanding”. He described him and was profuse in his description (of him). The bishops assisted him, and they sent to bring Shenouti, and they made him hegoumenos, and they journeyed with him to Alexandria. The Alexandrians assembled to arrange something that concerned them. They took his (Shenouti’s) signature for five hundred dinars every year (which) they used to spend for the management of their churches, and they took his signature that he would not take from anyone simony, nor ask for the gift of Christ a dinar or a dirham or more than that. They forced him before his consecration (to pay) as dues, according to their custom, to the wali one hundred dinars. When they consecrated him, and he had not wherewith to pay to the wali or (money) for himself also, certain of them said to him: “Are you better than your fathers who used to take simony and paid with it for this and other things?” This suited him. The see of Banawas vacant, and there was a man there whose name was Justus, and he had a nephew (son of his sister) whose name was Raphael. He arranged with him (Shenouti) about the see for six hundred dinars, but he had not anything except half and a quarter of a dinar, and he went to certain Muslim people, and he borrowed that (sum) from them

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at interest, and he wrote a document, wherehy he obliged himself to pay to them for that (sum) in almonds at the rate of one and a third ardab a dinar. Thereupon, he (Shenouti) consecrated him (bishop) and he remained two years in his see, and he died, and the patriarch paid the money to the Alexandrians.

He (Shenouti) annulled what had been arranged with him that he should not take simony. He loved money and collected a great amount of it and gave it to his family. He was a lover of the glory of this world.

When he had departed from Alexandria, and they had come with him to Misr to proclaim him, he descended at the church of Michael the elect which is in the Island of Misr, and there came to him a multitude of priests and archons to be blessed by him, and there was with them the deacon Bukairah ar-Rasidi, the owner of the cross. When they had saluted him and had received his blessing, they sat down. He (Shenouti) said to Bukairah: “The Lord reigneth, let the people tremble”. Bukairah said to him: “What is the meaning of this speech, O our father?” He said to him: “I solicited the see of Misr, but it (the see) did not accept me, and asked for Philotheus. Lo, the Lord has made me king without your choice”. The archons became angry with him and they looked one at the other, and they started to get up. Bukairah said to him: “These words David the prophet said in the psalm concerning the Lord Christ alone, since He reigned over the Jews without their desiring that He should be king over them, because He came for the salvation of the world. Lo, now you compare yourself to the Lord

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and you comparest us to the Jews ”. They rose up and went forth in anger saying: “There is no salvation in your kingdom”. In truth, there was no salvation in it, since first he consecrated (as) bishop of Bana the aforementioned (Raphael) and took from him six hundred dinars, and (then) he consecrated after him Badir, archpriest of Asyut, bishop, and took from him much money. The inhabitants of Asyut prevented him from entering in to them for three years on account of the money which he paid, since they adhered to the Canons, and said: “It is not allowed to an overseer or to a priest who makes himself worthy for God to pay for this money or to take anything from him whom he ordains to the service of God, as the saying of Christ through His exalted mouth to His disciples, when He commanded them to baptize the nations and to announce to them the good tidings of the Gospel for their salvation. He (Christ) said to them the well known commandment in the Gospel and He said to them at the end of it: ‘Freely you have received, freely give, that is, you have received this grace without a price, demand not then from him to whom you give it a price”.

The patriarchs of the Copts and their fathers did not cease from acting according to this commandment up to the time of the oppression by the authorities of the Muslims from Ahmad ibn Tulun [A. D. 868-884.] up to the days of al-Hakim [A. D. 996-1021] (in addition to) other things which, if we were to describe them, the description would be long. Necessity caused them to do what they did in this (matter) on account of what was demanded of them in the way of money and of what they undertook in the way of burdens.

Let us return now to the account of the affair of the bishop of Asyut. When they prevented him from entering in to them, he returned to the patriarch Abba Shenouti and demanded from him the money or that he should confirm to him the bishopric. But he (Shenouti) was not able to do anything for him, and he did not return

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to him the money which he had taken from him. I, the wretched Michael, declare, and the Lord is a witness to me, that I saw him one day talking to him (Shenouti) about this matter, and he (Shenouti) did not address a single word to him, and he wept and struck his cheeks and he tore off the episcopal garments and cast them down, and he fell down trembling as one dead or as one in whom there is an evil spirit. We raised him up and we treated him with kindness until he became calm and his reason returned to him. We wrote for him a letter to the two bishops who were neighbours to his see that they should proclaim him in one of the villages of his see.

Another bishop whose name was Elias died in a town called Bisnanah. He (Shenouti) sent (and) took his dwelling-place and all that he had. His (Elias’) brother presented himself and asked him (Shenouti) and begged him to give him the dwelling-place empty and to take all that was in it. He did not pay any attention to him, and (thereby) obliged him to embrace Al-Islam, and he took the dwelling-place and all that was in it. This was amongst his (Shenouti’s) vexations and his deeds which it is not right to record.

When the inhabitants of Alexandria demanded from him (Shenouti) the five hundred dinars in the second year, he refused (to pay them) to them. They went and complained about him to the wali. He (Shenouti) himself went and implored certain of the archonsuntil they (the archons) took away the signature for the five hundred dinars from the Alexandrians, and he wrote for them in place of it (the five hundred dinars) (a signature) for three hundred and fifty dinars.

Bukairah the deacon, the owner of the cross, was present at the drawing up of this agreement, and he reconciled the patriarch (to it), and he said to him: “Listen now to what I say to you, for it is agreeable to God the Exalted and the people, and they will rejoice about it”. He (Shenouti) said to him: “Whatever you advise, I will do it, and I will not act contrary to it”. He (Bukairah) said to him: “It is essential that you should forsake this simony which you take,

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and that you should not sell the gift of God for money”. He (Shenouti) said to him: “From whence shall I have wherewith to spend on myself and my disciples and on what I need in the way of provisions and necessaries, and for what I (have to) give to the Alexandrians and for what I (have to) pay on account of the tax on the lands which I owe?”. He (Bukairah) said to him: “We will reckon up all your debts and all what you need, and we will reckon up all what you receive from the bishops from the Diyariah every year, and if there is any deficiency, we will pay it by instalments, and we will bring it to you and you shall find rest from this evil name which God and the people abhor”. He (Shenouti) manifested that he was agreeable (to this), whilst in secret he did not feel (so). He (Bukairah) said to him: “Write your signature consenting to this”. He wrote his signature to this and Bukairah took it and went away.

I, the wretched Michael, unworthy to be called bishop of Tinnis, was present, and I was at that time a deacon. I rejoiced over this matter and assisted at it. He (Shenouti) made me his scribe, because some of his friends gave an account of me to him, and he took me to write for him. Then he (Shenouti) sent to fetch the bishops to reassure them about this. A certain man from among them entered in to him and said to him: “What is the object for which you have called us, and why have you forsaken simony and pretended that you will not take anything from him whom you will make bishop? What (is this) thing that you have done with yourself, lo, you have listened to him who does not wish you well?” He (Shenouti) changed his mind from (that) hour, and he established in his mind an opposition to Bukairah. He said: “If I do not take simony the patriarchate will pass away from me”. When Bukairah heard that the bishops were present, he came to him (Shenouti) and received his blessing according to the custom, and he said to him: “O our father, the bishops are present. Act with them as if you have done this thing of yourself without that anyone counselled you (to do) it. This will

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he good before God and the multitudes”. He (Shenouti) said to him: “So will I do, but bring to me the document which I wrote for you to acquaint them (the bishops) with it, when they are assembled”. He (Bukairah) gave it to him. When it was in his (Shenouti’s) hands he tore it into little pieces. Those who were present marvelled at his deed, and they said: “This is a house built without foundations or rock”. The news reached the bishops and they were angry, and they said: “It is as if he makes mock of us and causes us to be brought for a matter, and (then) turns back and cancels it, but we shall not give it up at all”. They (the bishops) were assembling in (the Church of) Abba Mercurius at Misr, and Abba Shenouti the patriarch was in the Church of Michael the elect. They sent to him certain of the archons saying: “It is not possible for you to cancel this matter on account of which you have brought us together concerning the renunciation of simonyuntil what is requisite has been settled”. When he saw that they would not give up this matter, he met together with them, and they sat conversing with him from morning till night, and Bukairah (was) with them, and they were not able to stand up against him (Shenouti). Then one of his (Shenouti’s) disciples entered in to him with a piece of paper with him from a man of the party of the Devil—may God confound him! When he (Shenouti) had learned its contents, he said to the deacon Bukairah: ” What have you to do with the discussionin this assembly?” Then he (Shenouti) made a sign to his disciples, and they leapt upon him (Bukairah) and they beat him severely. The patriarch rose up and went out, and the council broke up and everyone of them went to his place.

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As for John, the monk, who became bishop of al-Farama, he wrote to him (Shenouti) that he should give to him thirty dinars every year and make his brother a bishop, and when he (himself) demanded this of him (Shenouti), he would not give anything to him. Then he went out from his presence menacing him and threatening him that he would do to him as he had done to Abba Zacharias the saintly patriarch. When he (Shenouti) learned this from him, he produced a writing of an astonishing anathema the like of which had never been heard of. He had written it against him (John) with his hand on the day he had made him bishop, and he sent it thereupon to the land of Misr and to the chiefs of the Christians and to the bishops that they should not receive him nor give to him bread to eat nor give to him anything. In the first year (in which) he was consecrated (patriarch), each of the bishops paid to him two dinars. When this happened, he (Shenouti) produced this anathema, and in it there were written from the Old (Testament) the anathemas written in the Second Law and (those) written in the Psalm one hundred and eight of David the Prophet against Judas Iscariot, and the aforesaid patriarch wrote the anathema with his hand.

In these days, there was the king Az-Zahir 1’‘Izazi dini’ Hah and his name was Abu’l-Hasan [A. D. 1021-1036]and the wazir at that time (was) ‘Ali ibn Ahmad al-Gargani, and the administrator in the Rif (was) ‘Ali ibn Hadid, and he was of great ill-repute. He filled the prisons with people, men and women, so that pregnant women brought forth in the prisons.

There appeared in those days, in the land of Palestine a

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wonder (which) was that two mountains in the district of Paneas ¹ met together and fire came out from between them at their meeting together, and many trees were burnt, and a large part of the sea dried up so that men took up fish from the land which was uncovered, and they found in it (the land) lead and iron and many things. Then the sea returned to what it was before ².

In the year seven hundred and fifty-four of the Martyrs [A. D. 1037-1038.] the Rif lacked water, and there was no sowing in it, except (in) a small (part). At the time of the harvest there appeared many mice like locusts in the Rif, and they devoured many sown fields and vineyards. At the winnowing of the heap (of grain) they used to take in their hands chains and gourds wherewith to strike against the mice and to protect the grain from them, but they were not able to protect them. They mentioned that one of the sowers turned over the heap in which (were) sixteen ardab, and he sat down to protect it from the mice until morning. When it was morning, there was found in it (the heap) six ardab. A man had a vineyard and he paid for it thirteen dinars, and he said: “I will not take (for it) less than fourteen dinars”. When the morning of the next day came, he did not find in it anything worth a dirham. No one was able in that year to bake biscuits,for fear lest the mice should be kneaded in them, for they used even to gnaw the earthenware pots. There was a drought, and the mice came from God the Exalted. The people used to supplicate God—praised be He!—and they beseeched Him Whose Name is great, to remove this from them, out of His compassion and His kindness, and

¹i. e. Caesarea Paneas or Caesarea Philippi.

² Cf. E. A. Wallis Budge, The Chronography of Gregory Abu l’-Farag (Barhebraeus), London, 1932, vol. 1, p. 194.

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it was removed in Hatur. A man related that there was a copper pot in which (was) water up to the half of it, and they left it uncovered at night, and when it was morning, they found in it forty mice drowned in it and dead. Another related that he sat in the darkness and in his hand was a stick, and he was striking the ground with it so as to chase away the mice from a basket in which there was wheat. When it was morning, he found one hundred and fifty mice (which) had been killed by his stick.

After this, there came upon Abba Shenouti a throbbing in his head, and he was anointed day and night with violet ointment, but he did not find rest from the violent throbbing and a cough. He used to feel a fire, as it were, burning in his head. He also suffered from a pain in his car, and the pain lasted for three years until the Lord, Whose Name is great, visited him. He went to his rest on the second day of Hatur in the year seven hundred and thirty-three of the Martyrs ⁴being (still) desirous of the world. The duration of his patriarchate was fifteen years and a half. He went to his rest, and I was sitting with him and I closed his eyes with my hands. We assembled to pray over him, and we buried him in the great church at Damru which Abba Zacharias the patriarch had built, and which this father, Abba Shenouti completed—God grant to us acceptation of the blessing of his prayers— and he spent on it much money, because he had vowed (to do) this before he became patriarch.

At that time there died Az-Zahir l’-‘Izazi dini’llah, and there sat (on the throne) after him his son Ma‘ad Abu Tamim al-Mustansir bi’llah, Commander of the Faithful [A. D. 1036-1094.].

⁴ i. e. A. D. 1016, a date which, of course, is quite incorrect. ⁶ A. D. 1036-1094.

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At that time, there was burnt down a church of the Jacobite Syrians at Antioch on account of a quarrel (which) occurred between the priests and the archons with regard to the money of the aforementioned church. The aforementioned archon went to the patriarch of the Melkites and gave to him money so that he sent to seal the door of the church, and he took the priests and put them under arrest, and they were afflicted by him for six days until they sent to him (saying) that they had changed their religion and that they would deny their Faith and acknowledge his Faith and be (one) with him on the condition that he should leave them in their ranks and that he should obtain for them their rights from that archon who had deprived them of them. When the archon heard of this, he anticipated them, and went to the patriarch of the Melkites and became a Melkite for fear lest he (the patriarch) should demand (from him) the money of the church. The priests also became Melkites, and they left (their) belief, and they went to the aforementioned church and plundered it and demolished the sanctuary, and they took the Offering which was in it and cast it into the river, and they demolished the church and dominated over the people and afflicted the majority of them until they became Melkites. It is said that those who became Melkites from among the Syrian Jacobites on that occasion (numbered) eleven thousand men. (This) is what I saw and heard, and I have written it to your brethren, I, the wretched Michael of Damru, whom the father, Abba Zacharias ordained deacon, and Abba Shenouti made priest, and Abba

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Christodoulus made bishop over the city of Tinnisand its districts, (who) am unworthy of this venerable rank.

I completed this biography on the twenty-fifth day of Basans (in) the year seven hundred and sixty-seven of the Righteous Martyrs [A.D. 1051]as far as my knowledge of it reached, that it may be a memorial to me for whomsoever reads it.

Glory (be) to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and always and to the ages of ages. Amen.

Mawhub ibn Mansur ibn Mufarrig the Alexandrian, the deacon, said: “Since those who have gone before (us) from among the righteous predecessors—may God grant to us the acceptation of their blessing!—have occupied themselves with and written the biographies (of the patriarchs) of the Church and arranged them, and explained the affairs of the patriarchs of the Throne of the preacher, my lord Mark the Evangelist at Alexandria, and what happened to them, and what God—praised be He!—manifested at their hands in the way of miracles, and (how) He fortified them with patience and zeal and power of faith to guide their flocks and to lead them to the Orthodox Faith and to teach them the Evangelic commandments, as the Lord—Whose Name be magnified!—ordered them; I, the sinner (and) the wretched (one), yearned to collect their (the patriarchs’) biographies and to write them down so that this might be of profit to me and to him who shall read them after me. Then I asked help of God— may His remembrance be exalted!—and I journeyed to the monastery of Saint Abba Macarius in the holy Wadi Habib. I found (there) the deacon Abba Habib Michael ibn Badir of Damanhur, and there was there the father, Abba Cyril and with him three bishops, namely, Abba Gabriel, bishop of al-Buhairah, and Abba Abraham, bishop of Dibkwa, and Abba Khael, bishop of Nusa,

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who was of Burah. This was in Baramhat ² (in) the year eight hundred and four of the Martyrs ³ which corresponds to the year four hundred and seventy-six of the tax-year which is the (month of) Muharram of the year four hundred and eighty of the lunar (year) which is the tenth year of his (Cyril’s) patriarchate.

In the aforesaid desert (there were) at that time about seven hundred monks of whom (there were) four hundred in the monastery of Abba Macarius, one hundred and sixty-five in the monastery of Abba John ⁴, twenty-five in the monastery of Abba Kame ⁵, twenty in the monastery of Baramus ⁶, forty in the monastery of Abba Pshoi, sixty in the monastery of the Syrians ⁷, and two monks in the Cave of Abba Moses ⁸—a Syrian and a Copt—besides the anchorites whom we did not see and did not know.

At that time, the king of Misr was the Imam al-Mustansir bi’llah who reigned over the kingdom fifty-one tax-years [A. D. 1036-1094.], for he was born on Tuesday, the sixteenth of (the month of) Gumada al-Akhirali ¹² (in the) lunar (year) ¹³ four hundred and twenty. He reigned over the kingdom when he was seven years old, (and that was) on a Sunday in the middle of (the month of) Sa‘aban (in the) lunar (year) four hundred and twenty-seven, which corresponds to (the month of) Baramudah in the tax-year four hundred and twenty-five. He who

² i.e. March-April. ³ i. e. A. D. 1088.

⁴ i. e. St. John the Little.

⁵ i. e. St. John Khame.

⁶ i. e. ‘of our Roman Fathers, Maximus and Domitius’, otherwise called ‘of Our Lady’, commonly known as the Monastery of al-Baramus.

⁷ i. e. ‘ of the Syrians’.

⁸ i. e. St. Moses the Black.

¹² i. e. Gumada II. ¹³ i. e. of the Higirah.

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was in charge (mutawalli) of the affairs and the wazirate and the supervision of the kingdom at that time (was) the lord, the honoured amir al-Guyus, Saif Al-Islam ¹, Badr al-Gamali, and it was the fourteenth year since his entry into the kingdom of the land of Misr from Acre, because he was its wali, and from it he came to Cairo (al-Kahirah) in the first decade of (the month of) Tubah ³, and it is the Rock ⁴ of the amir al-Guyus which is known in the land of Misr till now, and it is not known (by a name) other than it.

I conferred with the aforementioned deacon Abba Habib of Damanhur concerning my resolution to collect the biographies of the patriarchs. We agreed on our opinion to search for them and to seek them out, wherever they might be. We found in the monastery of the Mistress at Nahya the biographies of forty-two patriarchs from my lord Mark the Evangelist to Simon, and we found in the monastery of the venerable Martyr Theodore at al-Manha at Iblag the biographies of four patriarchs from Alexander to Khael who completes forty-six patriarchs. We found also in the monastery of Nahya the biographies of nine patriarchs from Abba Menas

¹ Lord of the Armies, Sword of Al-Islam. Cf.Lane-Poole,op.cit.,pp. 150-151.

³ i.e. January-February.

⁴ i. e. fortress. ‘Akka’ in Western sources is termed ‘Saint Jean d’Acre’, in which there may be a connection with the Greek word a1kron,mountain height, fortified place.

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to Shenouti who completes the fifty-fifth patriarch, and we found in the monastery of Abba Macarius the biographies of ten patriarchs from Khael, the fifty-sixth, to Shenouti, the sixty-fifth, which Abba Michael, bishop of Tinnis, wrote, and they are in the handwriting of Lukut the monk, his son.

Since I have these biographies complete, and I have transcribed them in my handwriting and have them with me at Alexandria, it is now necessary for me to begin to describe what follows that (the biography of Shenouti), namely, the biography of the saintly father Abha Christodoulos the patriarch, and (the biographies) of those who sat (on the Throne) after him, and I have made it in accordance with the number of the years which precede it.

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Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Part II, Part III

CHRISTODOULUS – MICHAEL (A. D. 1046 – 1102)

The twenty-sixth Biography of the Biographies of the Holy Church. Abba Christodoulus the Patriarch, and he is the sixty-sixth of (their) number.

When the father, Abba Senouti, went to his rest, it was the turn for the Alexandrians. The inhabitants of Alexandria and the priests and the archons assembled, and they took counsel together about whom they should seat on the Apostolic Throne. There were in it (Alexandria) two officials, one of the two of them (was) known as Fahd ibn Colluthus and the other was named ‘Alwan ibn Zacharias who was appointed by ‘Ali ibn Hadid administrator of the Rif, and they were both present at the council, and they mentioned (the name of) the hegoumenos of the Monastery of Saint Severus, the Enaton, west of Alexandria, in which there were at that time forty monks or more, virtuous scholars, among whom (was) a saintly elder named Theodore the eunuch.

I, the sinner, who composed this biography, saw him, and I received the Holy Communion from his hand many times. I inquired about the story of him from the monks, and they informed me that a body of chiefs of the neighbouring Arabs had lodged at the monastery,

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and that one of their maids;ⁱⁱ had exposed herself to him and forced herself on him. Then he took a cutting knife and sharpened it on a whet-stone and cut off with it his testicles. Then he fell down as one dead, till Surur the monk, sacristan of the monastery, came and found him lying in this condition. He roasted some dried cheese and placed it upon it (the wound) till the blood ceased (to flow), and he (the monk) was healed, and he is alive till now.

As regards the hegoumenos whom they mentioned (as a candidate) for the patriarchate, he was a saintly elder whose name was John ibn Tirus, of the priests of Alexandria. He had a brother, an archdeacon, whose name was Theodore. When they (the two archons) determined to advance him (to the patriarchate), some of the priests of Alexandria went to an old man named Abu Yahya Zacharias, who used to accompany the most honorable general al-Mustansir, who was a favourite of the Sultan and of his wazir ‘Ali ibn Ahmad al-Girgani. This Abu Yahya had precedence and great dignity, and had been a representative of the late patriarch Abba Senouti. They (the priests of Alexandria) said that this hegoumenos John ibn Tirus, on whose consecration as patriarch they had decided, was a godfather of ‘Alwan ibn Zacharias the official, and that, when he (Yu’nis ibn Tirus) was seated on the Apostolic Throne, the aforesaid (‘Alwan ibn Zakariya) would dominate him, and affairs would become corrupted. After that, the affair of the hegoumenos came to nothing.

Then they assembled again and discussed until (the name) of Abba Christodoulus was mentioned to them. He was a priest from among the inhabitants of Burah, (and) since his youth, (had been) in the Monastery of the Romans (Baramus) in the Wadi Habib ⁵. He had a brother in the monastic life, whose name was Jacob,

⁵ i.e. the Wadi’n-Natrun.

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who became hegoumenos of the Romans (Baramus), and he had (performed) many miracles, for he was a great saint. Christo-doulus departed from the Desertand went to a hermitage by the Salt Sea, at Nastaruh which is known as Nafuh, and shut himself up in it. His brother Jacob learned in the spirit that he (Christodoulus) would become patriarch, and he wept on his account, and he informed him concerning it. There was with him (Christodoulus) in the hermitage the body of Thecla the apostolic, the disciple of Paul the Apostle, of whom Luke the Evangelist bore witness in the book which he composed about her. He recorded in it what concerned her, and how she was thrown to lions and was cast into fire at the city of Antioch, and no harm at all happened to her through it. It is she whom Saint Gregory mentioned, and he said it was the virgin Saint Thecla who acquired two merits, the merit of the Three Children in the furnace of fire, and the merit of Daniel the prophet in the lions’ den. Her body was in a coffer, and miracles were manifested from it, as the father, Abba Christodoulus, related to me, after (he became patriarch). Her body (is) to-day with the body of Philotheus the general, (and) martyr, in the hermitage of Singar in which (there was), at that time, Michael the hegoumenos, the hermit. I went up unto him, and I was blessed by him and the two aforesaid bodies, in the year eight hundred and three of the Martyrs [A.D. 1086-1087]. This Michael became patriarch after Abba Cyril (Anba Kirillus) the saint.

^l‘^Ci i.e. A.D. 1086-1087.

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As regards Abba Christodoulus, when he was mentioned in the council, they agreed in their opinions to make him (patriarch), and ten of the notables of Alexandria journeyed to him, and a troop of people accompanied them, and among them (was) Abu’l-Malih Mansur, the official of Alexandria, known as Ibn al-Ilami, and a priest, whose name (was) Simon, in the church of the Evangelist, my lord Mark ¹, and he merited to be made bishop of the city of Tinnis, and he continues in it (the See) until this day, which is the year eight hundred of the Martyrs [A.D. 1083-1084]. A troop of people (was) with them, and they went to him (Christodoulus) and they besought that he should come down to them, but he refused, until they brought to him a man (who) had been godfather to him, (who) was known as Ibn Zikri ibn Mercurius. Then he (Ibn Zikri) went to him and entreated him, and he did not leave him until he had obtained from him the answer to what they wished from him. He (Ibn Zikri) said to them that he (Christodoulus) had resolved to become (patriarch), but he would not come away from the hermitage unless he were vested with the (patriarchal) dress, lest something should occur, and he would become a laughing-stock. So they clothed him with the (patriarchal) dress up above ⁴, and he took the oath on that day, and he did not possess (anything), except two and a half and a quarter dirhams ⁵. They journeyed with him to Alexandria, and they consecrated him in (the month of) Kyahk in the year seven hundred and sixty-three of the Martyrs [November-December, A.D. 1046].

The beginning of his reign (lit. affair) was good, and miracles were manifested through him, and the Holy Spirit was nigh to him. Then he journeyed to the Monastery of Abu Macarius, and he was consecrated there, and his consecration was through God.

¹ i. e. in Alexandria.

⁴ i. e. in his cell.

⁵ i. e. 2.75 dirhams.

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I, Mauhub the sinner, heard from the mouth of this father that, when he was in the hermitage, he saw in his sleep the Saints Peter and Mark, and they both delivered to him “a bunch of large keys fastened together, and at that very time the Alexandrians came to him and he put on the woollen robe, and they brought him down from the hermitage.

After his (Christodoulus’) consecration, he consecrated in Alexandria six churches, (among which) a church under the name of John the Evangelist. I heard from his (Christodoulus’) mouth, on the day of his consecrating this church, that he saw in his sleep John the Evangelist standing in this church, and in his hand a golden censer full of incense. Another man who was passing the night in this church, on that night, and it was the night of Sunday ¹, informed me that he saw John, the archpriest of Alexandria, and in his hand a censer of gold and he was incensing the church from its front part to its door, both forwards and backwards; after all of it (the church) had been strewn with vine leaves and with green vine-branches. He who saw the vision said within himself: «This (is) John the Baptist, (who) has come to consecrate his church; because thus it is his custom to be present in the likeness of a man whose name (is) the same as his name». The visions of these two (men) were in agreement with regard to this dream on the same night.

He (Chrisdodoulus) consecrated a church under the name of Abba Mercurius the Martyr, and a church of Baphael the Angel, and a church of Abba Menas the Martyr, and a church of my lord George, and the restoration of the church of my lord Mark (was undertaken). He (Christodoulus) ordained on the day of the consecration of the church of Baphael the Angel, one priest and more than sixty deacons. He made it a

¹ i. e. Saturday night.

–250–

condition to their fathers that they should have no claim to what belonged to the church. The reason for this was, that some of the priests said to him that these (the deacons) were only eager to have the diaconate on account of the rights which the priests had in the churches and of the taxes which were paid for them from its (the church’s) money, and (this) would straiten the churches with regard to their upkeep. For this reason, he (Christodoulus) laid this condition on them (the fathers). On the aforesaid day which was the eighth of Misra (in) the year seven hundred and sixty-four of the Martyrs [August 8th, A. D. 1048], he (Christodoulus) wrote a Canon and in it he ordered that male and female shall not be baptized in the same front ³, and no one shall enter the church, unless bareheaded and barefooted. And none of the faithful shall cover his Eucharist with bread ⁴before the dismissal. And that the faithful should be careful with the water with which they cover their Eucharist with three draughts, so that nothing of it (the water) fall on the ground, because it is equal to the Elements ⁶. And that they (the faithful) shall stand in the churches on Sundays and Feast Days with fear and trembling in the presence of (lit. between the hands of) God, His Name be exalted, with supplication, entreaty and petition for the remission of sins and delivery from the snares of the Enemy. And no one shall talk or converse at the time of the Prayers ⁷ and the Liturgy, except on these two subjects, and they are the subject of religion and of the readings, and the science and the interpretation thereof, wherein (is the) salvation of souls: and they shall give ear to hear the precepts of the Lord—praise be to Him!—until the Liturgy be finished. And, likewise, the women shall stand in their places with continence, and they shall not utter a word during the time of the Prayers and the Liturgies. And the women shall not

³ i. e. in the same baptismal water.

⁴ i. e. the Eulogia.

⁶ i. e. the Eucharist.

⁷ i. e. the Canonical Hours.

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mix with the men. and they shall not sit in the passages of the men, so as to look at those who enter and those who go out. And they shall be submissive to their husbands, and attentive to their homes, so that they may be blessed with the blessing of their mother Sarah and Rebecca and Rachel. And the faithful shall practice asceticism and humility during the Fast of the Pure Forty (Days) ¹, which our Lord and our God and our Saviour Jesus Christ—to Him be glory!—likewise fasted. And there shall not be during it (the Fast) any marriage at all. And in the Great Week ² there shall not be any baptism or funeral riles, and during it they (the people) shall be assidious (in attending) the church and (practising) asceticism because it is a week of affliction and sadness. And after the completion of the Liturgy on the Sunday of Olives [Palm Sunday] there shall be read the Gospel of the Intercessions for the Dead after the Epistle of Paul which is appointed for the dead, and after this, there shall be read over the assembly of the people the Absolution, because in the Great Week there is not allowed either the Intercession or the Absolution or the funeral rites until the day of the Feast of Easter is completed. And the Liturgy of the Great Thursday ⁸ shall be (celebrated) in fear and awe and in silence, without the Kiss or hand-shaking, and there shall not be said «Offer»,

¹ i.e. Lent.

²i. e. Holy week.

⁸ i. e. Maundy Thursday.

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but there shall be said in place of it «With fear» without the Absolution either at the beginning or at the end. And in the Liturgy of the Great Saturday there shall be read the Intercessions and the Absolution, but the Kiss (shall) not (be given). And there shall not be performed during the Fifty (Days) either Baptism or Ordination. And there shall not be allowed on Sundays weeping or lamentation or speeches, and it is not allowed to a Christian to do this or anything of it for the dead, except the Intercessions and the Eucharist and the Prayer for the dead and alms, in the measure of his (the Christian’s) ability, that the Lord may have mercy upon the souls of your dead, and that He may bless (you) in your lives and in your means of subsistence and in your homes and your children, and that He may bring back your travellers who are absent, and may establish your time in peace. And none of the bishops or the priests or the deacons who are strangers shall, if he enter the city of Alexandria, celebrate the Liturgy in its churches or make the offering on its altars, and no one shall cause them to make the offering in them (the churches) or to minister at all. And the Fast of the Apostles, the Disciples, which is after Pentecost, is incumbent upon the Faithful, in thanksgiving to God, that He granted to us on it (Pentecost) the gift of the Holy Spirit, fasting uninterruptedly until the fifth day of Abib [29th June], and they shall celebrate the Feast on it, as is the custom. And if that day fall on a Wednesday, they shall

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break (their) fast on it, before the time of the fast, but if it be (on) a Friday, they shall not break (their) fast on it before the time of the fast which is customary on it. Likewise, the Fast of the Holy Nativity shall be from the Feast of my lord Menas on the fifteenth day of Hatur [11th of November] to the twenty-ninth day of Khyahk [25th of December]. And if the day of the Feast of the Illustrious Nativity fall on a Wednesday or a Friday, let them break the fast on it, and they shall not fast at all. And likewise, if the Feast of the Holy Immersion [Epiphany] on the eleventh of Tubahfall on a Wednesday or a Friday, let them break (their) fast on it too, and they shall not fast. And if the tenth of Tubah on which is the Fast of the Immersion should be a Saturday or a Sunday, then there shall be no fast at all, but they shall fast on the Friday which is before it, instead of on the Eve of the Immersion. And it is not allowed to any of the faithful to fast on a Saturday, except on one Saturday in the whole year, and this is the Great Saturday which is the end of the Fast. The fast of Wednesday and Friday is always obligatory (during) the whole year, except (in) the Fifty Days only. And it is not allowed to a deacon to be remiss in the ministry of his church and he shall not be absent from it on the days on which the Liturgy is celebrated in it, except from necessity or bodily sickness or an imperial order. And it is not allowed to a priest, when he is not present at the Liturgy from its commencement to proceed to divide the Body or to touch it at all with his hands. And a priest shall not go out (with) the censer of incense, after the reading

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of the Holy Gospel, the Gospel of the Liturgy, into the midst of the people, but he shall incense with it around the altar up to the time which is known. And when an infant is baptized, let him be fasting until he has communicated, if he be able, but if he has drunk the milk of his mother or of another woman of the faithful, then the Eucharist is not allowed to him, and Baptism is not allowed without the Eucharist. And it is not allowed that women pass the night in the church on the eve of a Feast or on the eve of Sundays, unless it be an elderly woman or a nun. And he who shall marry a Melkite woman, this is not possible for him, unless they be crowned with us, and they shall not baptize their children except with us. And if the senior deacons absent themselves from their churches, (but) are present on Feast Days, and desire to have precedence over them (and to perform) the ministry, this is not possible for them, but those who are assiduous in the ministry shall have precedence, even though they be their inferiors (in rank). And whatsoever deacon or layman has gainsaid a priest or disputed with him or anger has occurred between them, he shall not go to another priest to take the Communion from him, and if he has gone to another church, he shall not communicate (there), and if he has done this, let him who gives him the Communion and he himself both be interdicted. And whatsoever deacon or other person has decried a priest, and departed from the judgement of the Church and sought aid from the Sultan or the judge, and has turned away from the priests and the Church to other than they, and has claimed that which is not his by right, if he be a priest, let him be suspended from his office, and if he be a layman, let him be forbidden the Eucharist. And neither deacons nor those who are their inferiors (in rank) shall gainsay their priests, nor shall they depart from what they (the priests) enjoin on them, because they (the priests) are the trustees in the Church of God, and he who honours God and His priests and His Church, God shall honour him, and he who contemns them, God shall contemn him. And we have

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allowed the faithful to make the Eucharistic loaves in their homes and to bear them to the church in the measure of their ability, and there shall be to them a reward and a recompense according to the measure of their faithfulness; and the making of it (the Eucharistic bread) shall be according to what custom admits, primarily because this (is) an assistance to the Church, so that there may not be an increase of expense for it.

After the consecration of the father, Abba Christodoulus, in the Monastery of Abba Macarius ¹, after his departure from Alexandria, he came to Cairo (Misr). It was the usual custom of the patriarchs who were before him, that they should be consecrated in the church of my lord Sergius in the Kasr as-Sam‘, because (it was) the Catholic (church) in Cairo (Misr). When this father (Christodoulus) arrived at Fuslat Misr, the priests of the church of the Mistress in Cairo (Misr) in the Kasr as Sam‘, known as al-Mu‘allakah, assembled, and they said: «How is it that you abandon your church and go to the church of Abba Sergius which belongs to the bishop,to be consecrated in it?» A dispute and a quarrel occurred between the priests of these two churches, until they went with him (Christodoulus) to the church of the Mistress al-Mu‘allakah and consecrated him in it. There were with him on that day twenty-four bishops, saintly and distinguished elders, and Abba Philotheus, bishop of Cairo (Misr), celebrated the Liturgy with him on that day. And there was at the church of Abba Sergius, an archdeacon known as Abi’l-Farag at-Tirs, and when the patriarch abandoned his church in which it was the custom to consecrate the patriarchs, he cut out his (Christodoulus’)

¹ In the Wadi n-Natrun.

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name, and he did not mention it in his sanctuary for the space of a week, until he (Christodoulus) came to it (the church) after a week and celebrated the Liturgy in it, and removed the trouble, and excused himself, (saying) that he had only gone to the church al-Mu‘allakah to stop the quarrel which had occurred between the priests of the two churches on his account, lest the matter should become serious between them.

The Holy Spirit was close to him (Christodoulus), and miracles and strength of soul, through God the Exalted, were manifested through him. Among them (was) that he interdicted a man known as al-Hawagibi, and he became paralysed in half of his body, and dumb, and he died immediately. Then the notables of Cairo (Misr) came together to him and asked him to absolve the son of the sister of the Saikh Abu Zikri Yahya ibn Macarius who, at that time, had high rank in the State and who was in charge of the Diwan (named) al-Barhagi, and the Diwan of Public Expenses, because he had been interdicted on account of a crime he had committed, but he (Christodoulus) would not absolve him. When they importuned him in their request concerning him, he said to them: «One word suffices the wise, but much speaking profits the ignorant nothing». When they heard from him this saying, they ceased to speak to him, and they did not dare after this to converse with him on such wise.

Afterwards, there occurred for him trouble with (some) Syrian people, while (he was) in the church of the martyr Abba Mercurius in Cairo (Misr), on account of the oil and the salt which they use in their oblation, and even a man among them, known as the Saikh Abu’1-Bisr, the physician of al-‘Azimiah, addressed him. Then he (Christodoulus) ordered (his) disciples to remove him (Abu’l-Bisr) from his presence, and they removed him and they took him up from his presence, and dragged him outside the church. He (Abu’l-Bisr) was a physician of the king, and he was a favourite of him. The aforesaid (Abu’1-Bisr) went to the wazir and complained to him about him

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(Christodoulus), and he wrote to John, the patriarch of Antioch complaining about him (Christodoulus) also, but he (John) did not pay any attention to this, and he (Christodoulus) did many wondrous deeds in Cairo (Misr). the description of which would be lengthy.

There was a youth among the children of the Christians in Cairo (Misr), known as Phoebammon ibn Bakurah as-Sawwaf ¹, (and) his age at that time (was) twenty-two years. He was the son of the sister of Abba George, bishop of Misarah. He had changed his religion, and his father and his mother had rejected him, and they had sent him away from them. He went to the church of Michael the Elect, and he remained at it for some days, and he determined to go to the Monastery of Abba Macarius in company with some of the monks who had counselled him (to do) this. But when they wished to set out, he said: «What is my gain if I go with you to that Desert, and I do not confess Christ in the place in which I denied Him?» Thereupon he left them and fastened on his girdle ⁴ and went out walking in the markets of Cairo (Misr). His father, Bakurah as-Sawwaf, was transacting business with the master ‘Iddat ad-Dawlah Rifk, who was, at that time, controller of the Turks, and he was in charge of the Castle (Kasr), and was a favourite of the king. When the Muslims saw the girdle round his (Phoebammon’s) waist, after his having embraced al-Islam, they took him, and they congregated round him, and they went with him to the guards, and the wall imprisoned him and straitened him. His (Phoebammon’s) father went to his friend ‘Iddat ad-Dawlah Rifk and promised him a large sum of money in order to save him. He (‘Iddat ad-Dawlah Rifk) said to him: «I am not able to do anything in this (matter), unless your son consents to feign that he is mad,

^l i. e. seller of wool. ⁴ The girdle was a distinctive mark of a Copt. Its use by the Copts was re-enforced from time to time by the Muslim authorities.

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and I will send witnesses to the prison to see him and to listen to his speech, and I will save him, though he is a Christian». There was with him (Phoebammon) in the prison a Syrian monk and he exhorted him and enlightened his heart and showed to him the road to martyrdom, and he made death for the Name of Christ (seem) to him (to be) sweeter than honey, so that he began to long for it and to prefer it to life. When the witnesses came in to him, he spoke to them reasonable words and he confessed the good Faith, as is proper, that he was a Christian. They said to him: «But it was told to us that you did this on account of a madness which came upon you». He said to them: «If I were mad, I should not keep my religion and my faith, but I am, praise be to God, sane (and) a believer in the Lord Christ, to Him (be) glory». The wali went with them to the wazir, so that they might explain to him what had happened, in the presence of ‘Iddat ad-Dawlah Rifk. Then the wazir ordered him (Phoebammon) to be put to death. The master of the curtain of the Sultan, namely Amir Gandar, went with the wali down to the soldiers of the guard, and they spoke to him (Phoebammon), and they treated him with kindness and they informed him that they had been ordered to put him to death, but he did not desist from confessing the Lord Jesus Christ. Then they brought him out from the prison of the soldiers of the guards, and there followed him a great multitude of Egyptians and soldiers and others besides them, in whose hands were sticks and instruments of torture, and the deputy of the wali of the garrison did not allow any of them to lay his hand upon him (Phoebammon) until they had brought him to the head of the bridge, and there he descended from his mule upon which there was a saddle and a bridle with heavy trappings, and he took off his burnished sword and placed it on the saddle, and he said to him (Phoebammon): «Take this mule and that which is on it, and I will inscribe your name in the Diwan of the Sultan, and I shall fix for you an allocation which you shalt receive every year, but desist from this opinion». He (Phoebammon) said to him: «If you were to give

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to me the kingdom of Egypt (Misr), I would pay no attention to it». He (the deputy) lifted up his hand and buffeted him, and there was on his finger a large gold ring, so that his eye became swollen. Then he (the deputy) said to the executioner: «Draw the sword», and he drew it, and he said to the youth: «Observe it, for it is sharp». He (Phoebammon) said to him: «O my master, a palm-stalk also cuts». The foot-soldiers asked for (something) with which to bandage his eyes. He (Phoebammon) said to them: «We have no need (to do this)», and he tore from the sleeve of his under-garment a rag with which he bandaged his eyes with his own hand, and he knelt down on the ground, and he turned his face towards the east, and he made the sign of the cross on his forehead, and he stretched out his neck. The executioner thrust him with the hilt of (his) sword so that he should turn his face towards the south, but he would not do (so), and he asked for water, but he was not given (any) to drink. His neck was struck, and his trunk fell upon the earth, but his head and his face remained (erect) towards the east, so that all who were present marvelled. They placed four (men) to watch over him that night, and they (the men) saw at night a great and fearful light (which) descended upon him (Phoebammon), so that two of them became mad, and the other two departed from Cairo (Misr), and no news is known of them to (this) day.

When this news reached the king Ma‘ad al-Mustansir billah, Commander (Amir) of the Faithful, he commanded that he (Phoebammon) should be delivered to his family to bury him, where they wished. His father bore him to the church of Michael the Elect, and he buried him outside the door, and on the third day, the father, Abba Christodoulus arrived from the Monastery of the Beacon (as-Sam‘) at the said church, and he found that they had buried him outside the church. He disapproved of this, and he said to

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them: «Is a martyr to be buried outside the church?» and he commanded the tomb to be demolished and he brought him (Phoebammon) into the church, and he unfolded the shroud from him, in order that he might kiss him and receive a blessing from him. He found on him fresh blood, as if it had come out of him at that hour, and he took of it, and he made the sign of the cross on his garments. He built an altar there in his (Phoebammon’s) name and consecrated it, and he buried him in front of it on the level of the ground, and his body remains there till now, in the church of Michael the Elect.

After these days, the father, Abba Christodoulus consecrated his secretary, known as Abba Michael, bishop of the see of Tinnis. He was virtuous and learned, and he it was who wrote the biographies of ten patriarchs; the first of whom (was) Michael the third, and the last of whom (was) Senouti. When the patriarch (Christodoulus) decided to correspond with Abba John ⁴ patriarch of Antioch, he (Michael) presented himself to him on account of this, and he wrote on his behalf a Synodical Letter, and he travelled with it, he and Abba Gabriel, the saint, the bishop of Sa, and he (Gabriel) was an old man. I saw him, when he came to Alexandria at the consecration of Abba Christodoulus.

After this, a body of bishops assembled, and they were Abba John, bishop of Sakha, known as Ibn az-Zalim the scribe, before his episcopate, and Abba Michael, bishop of

⁴ i.e. John (IX), A. D. 1049-1058.

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Kutur and Abba Elijah, bishop of Tamwaih and Abba George, bishop of al-Khandak and Abba Mark, bishop of al-Balyana, and Abba Michael, bishop of Tinnis, the writer of the Synodical letter mentioned before, and a body of priests of Alexandria, and they came to Cairo (Misr), and they made an agreement to depose the father, Abba Christodoulus from the patriarchate. Ostensibly, they claimed against him that at his consecration there were not read over him the prayers which it is customary to read over the patriarchs; but, in reality, the reason for this was a quarrel (which) occurred between him (Christodoulus) and the aforesaid Abba John, bishop of Sakha. And he (John) excited these aforesaid bishops and priests against him, and he said to them: «If you are silent (and refrain) from helping me against him (Christodoulus), he will do with you more than what he did with me». Then they gave ear to him, and they rose up against the father, the patriarch. He (Christodoulus) did not pay any attention to them and he did not meet together with any of the archons in Cairo (Misr), until Abba John, bishop of Sakha humbled himself before him. Among these who lent their assistance in this (matter), besides others, was the Saikh Abu Zikri Yahya ibn Macarius, chief of the Diwan of the State. He brought to him (Christodoulus) the aforesaid bishop to the church, and he (Christodoulos) celebrated the Liturgy with him, and the affair between them was peacefully settled, and what they had determined (to do) against him (Christodoulus) was made void.

He (Christodoulus) journeyed on that night to Damanhur, and he set out for Damrua, early in the morning, whence he journeyed to

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the Monastery of Abba Macarius in the Wadi Habib. The monks of the Monastery of Abba Macarius and the priests of Alexandria used to leave some of the Eucharist over and keep it covered up from the Sunday of Olives till Great Wednesday. There was Abba Michael, writer of the Synodical letter, bishop of Tinnis, there with him (Christodoulus). The father, the patriarch, expressed disapproval to them of what they did with regard to the Eucharist, and he mentioned to them what might happen to it in the way of decay, change, insects, and other things besides which it is not possible for me to describe. He commanded this (practice) to be abolished, and he anathematized him who should do it afterwards, in the presence of an assembly of the bishops in the Monastery of Abba Macarius, and in the presence of the vicar of Christ, Bukairah ar-Rasidi, the scribe, the owner of the Cross.

Then the monks rose up against the father, the patriarch, and they came to him with the iron keys, and they said to him: «You are no better than the fathers who preceded you». Then he (Christodoulus) arose, and he was angry, and he departed to his cell, and a great tumult ensued. Then the father, the patriarch, brought out from the library of the Monastery of Abba Macarius a homily in this sense, and Abba Michael, his secretary, read it to the assembly. The Lord Christ aided this father to suppress this custom, and he abolished it until now, and no one after that reverted to leaving over (some of) the Eucharist.

When all the chiefs of the kingdom, and the overseers in its diwans and in the direction of its affairs were all of them Christians, being authorities who executed their orders, they became gluttonous and they became arrogant and lived luxuriously, they and all the Christians

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in land of Egypt (Misr), and they became proud and strong, and enmity and envy occurred between them and between their chiefs, and most of their concern (was) for worldly affairs, and for pomp, for display and for exalting themselves over one another. Punishment descended from heaven from the Lord Christ upon all the Christians, and it overtook even others besides them of the nations, in order to punish them for all their offences in this world, and to save them in the next life, before they came to Him, as says David, the blessed, in the psalm: «Blessed is the man whom the Lord shall punish; and shall teach him out of His Law, to give him rest from the evil day», that is to say, the day of the Resurrection. And (as) says Solomon, the Wise: «O my son, do not be discontented at the punishment of the Lord, for whom the Lord loves He punishes». And (as) says Paul the Apostle:«If you are neglected and are left without punishment and are not wounded by that with which the chosen of men are wounded, you are become strangers to God, not more preferable»; and as says John the Evangelist, beloved of our Lord Jesus Christ, in his Apocalypse: «Those whom I love, I reprove them and I punish them».

The first (trial) which came upon the father, the patriarch, (was) that a calumnious report was written about him to the wazir al-Yazurithat he (Christodoulus) had forbidden the King of Nubia to send the offering. Then the wazir executed an order against him for a hundred dinars. He sent (it) by a Turkish youth (who) belonged to ‘Adad ad-Dawlah, who was in charge of (mutawali) military affairs and travellers in the Rif. His name (was) Durri, and he journeyed to him (Christodoulus) and he seized him, and he journeyed

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with him to Cairo (al-Kahirah) and he delivered him to ‘Adad ad-Dawlah (who) honoured him and lodged him in his house. He, namely, ‘Adad ad-Dawlah went to the wazir and with him (was) Abu’1-Bisr, the phvsician of al-‘Azamiah, mentioned before, and they both spoke with him (the wazir) about the affair of the patriarch Abba Christodoulus and (said) that (there was) no truth in what was related about him. Then he commanded him (Christodoulus) to be set free, and he (Christodoulus) returned to Damrua.

Abba Gabriel, bishop of Sa and Abba Michael bishop of Tinnis, related that, when the two of them came with the Synodical Letter to Abba John, patriarch of Antioch, he and his bishops and all his priests received both of them very well, and he read it (the Synodical Letter) in all his churches. He proclaimed the name of our father Abba Christodoulus in the sanctuaries of the churches of the See of Antioch. Abba Michael, bishop of Tinnis, narrated what he had witnessed and heard of the miracles of our father, Abba John, and we are dispensed from mentioning it by what Abba Michael has described in the biography which he recorded.

When the wazir ‘Ali ibn Ahmad al-Gargani died, Abu Nasr Sadakah ibn Yusuf al-Fallaht was put in charge of the wazirate after him, and after him, Abu’l-Barakat, son of the brother of al-Gargani, and after him, al-Yazuri who has been mentioned before.

Then the Enemy of good who hates righteousness, the Devil,

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stirred up trouble for the Church, and this (was) that the head of Saint Mark the Evangelist was in the house of Abu Yahya Zakarya whom we have previously mentioned. When he (Abu Yahya Zakarya) fell sick, and his pain became intense there came to my father ten of the Christians, they being Gabriel ibn Cosmas, and Simon the priest who became bishop of Tinnis and his brother Hassun the deacon, and Abu’l-Khair Matruh and Surur ibn Matruh who (was) with them, and they said to him: «The Shaikh Abu Yahya Zakarya (is sick) and his pain has become intense, and he is (still) attached to the service of the most honourable general ‘Iz ad-Dawlah Mi‘dad al-Ustadh, and we fear that he may die, and that his house will be seized, and we do not vouch for the head of the Saint which is with him». He (my father) went with them to the man, and he found him in the throes of death. Then they took the box in which (was) the head, and they carried it to the house of Gabriel ibn Cosmas, since his house was near to the house of Abu Yahya. When it was night, they carried it (the head) to the house of my father in which we were living, and they said to him: «We feared to deposit it there, whither we had transferred it, on account of its proximity to the house of the Saikh Abu Yahya Zakharya, because he has just died. Deposit it in your house. My father stood in the corridor, and he swore that it (the head) should not enter his house, for fear of the Sultan, because he had already before that experienced confiscation, and fine(s) and difficult matters. Then Surur ibn Matruh took it (the head) and went with it to his house, and it (his house) was opposite to the aforesaid house. Then the priest Simon who is now bishop of Tinnis said to him: «I will transfer it (the head) from your house to my house, and I and my brother will serve it», and they went and took it.

There was in Alexandria a man from the city of Barca called ‘Ali ibn Basir, and he wrote to the most honourable general Mi‘dad ad-Dawlah concerning the particulars of the case. And the order came to

^;1) Cf. E. Amelineau, op. cit., p. 607.

^;2) A city in Cyrenaica.

^[3> This name is here written without any diacritical points but cf. p. 266 line 1 1.

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seize my father and a multitude of those who were with him. The wali of Alexandria was, at that time, Kawkab ad-Dawlah al-Bistali. He caused them to be brought (to him), and he said to them. «I desire the head of Mark and the ten thousand dinars (which) were with it. This is the letter of the Sultan (which) has reached me to request you for this». Hassun the deacon went forward, and he (the wali) said to him: «Do you want me to strike you with the lash, till you bring this?» He said: «Nay, I do not wish (it)». Then he (the wali) derided him, and he left him; and my father was carried to Cairo (Misr) without the multitude. Mi‘dad ad-Dawlah demanded from him the ten thousand dinars, and he said: «I desire the head of Mark», because Ibn Basir the aforesaid had written to him that the Greeks (ar-Rum) would pay to him ten thousand dinars for it (the head). My father said to him: «I have not seen it, neither have I received it. Lo, I am in your presence. Then he imprisoned him, and my father and the multitude knew that this had happened to him for the reason that he had not taken it (the head), and that he had sent it away from the door of his house. He (my father) remained imprisoned for thirty-seven days. There was a gaoler of the prison, a man, a Muslim, whose name (was) Barakat, and (he said) to my father: «The morrow (will be) the thirty-seventh day, O Shaikh Abu’1-Fath. I saw just now a young man with a black beard, (and) a wound on his forehead, and he stood at this door, and was saying: ‘O Abu’l-Fath ibn Mufarrag, I am Mark, the Evangelist: you have gained profit through your endurance, and a speech other than this which I did not understand; and take this, (and) you shall be delivered’, and he threw to you from his right hand a stone which had three heads, and he said: ‘Within three days you shalt be delivered’». My father said to him: «O Barakat; bring to me a light, so that I may have a look at what you have said». Then he (Barakat) brought to him a light, since the prison was dark, and he (my father) found the stone thrown down in front of him. Then

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he took it, and looked at it attentively and he kissed it and fastened it to his arm. I and my brothers saw it, after he had been delivered and it remained in the handkerchief of his sleeve up to the time of his death, (but) when he died, we did not find it. Three days after the gaoler had seen this vision, Mi‘dad ad-Dawlah sent for (and) caused my father to be brought (to him). He arranged for his release at five hundred dinars, besides another hundred dinars for his companions, so that the total (was) six hundred dinars. He (my father) paid it, and he was released, and he came to us in Alexandria, and he took the head and kissed it, as though nothing had befallen him.

There was among the number of trustworthy witnesses in Cairo (Misr) a man who (was) prominent among them, (who was) known as the judge Abu’l-Husain ‘Abd al-Wahhab ibn ‘Ali as-Sinraki. He had left a service of which he had been in charge in Cairo (Misr), and had been employed as a judge (kadi) and inspector at the city of Alexandria. He had left it, and he was employed in several services in the Rif. He used to detest the Christians, and he went on a certain day to Damrua, and the patriarch did not pay him his due in full. Then the Devil—may God confound him—entered into him, and made it seem good to him to write to the wazir al-Yazuri, and he said to him many things against the patriarch, and that this Damruawas a second Constantinople, and (that there were) in it seventeen churches, most of which were restored, and that many churches had been restored in other districts, and that he (Christodoulus) had established in this place (Damrua) a place for his dwelling and had engraved over its door a blasphemy, and (that) he had insulted al-Islam and its people. He advised him to close all the churches,

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and to demolish those of them that had been restored and to impose upon them (a fine in) money. The wazir answered it (the letter), and he wrote to him that he should make clear what was contained in his letter by means of trustworthy witnesses. Then he (the man) rode in the company of witnesses in his service, and he came to Damrua, and he entered the residence of the patriarch Abba Christodoulus and he found engraved above it: «In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God». He erased it from the door. Then the patriarch said to him: «If you have erased it from above the door, can you erase it from my heart?», and those who were present marvelled at his strength of soul and at the excellence of his words. After this, the wazir al-Yazuri commanded that the churches should be closed in all the land of Egypt (Misr). The wazir al-Yazuri had an assistant in this, a man known as Abu’l-Farag al-Babili, (one) of the chiefs of the State and the heads of the Diwans, and Nasr ad-Dawlah ibn Hamdan was in charge of the two caravans in the Eastern and Western Rifs. He closed the churches, and he took the patriarch and the bishops, and he demanded money from them. This (was) in the year seven hundred and seventy-three of the Martyrs [A. D. 1056-1057.].

When Abba Christodoulus became patriarch, he used to say to him whom he appointed bishop: «These Sees belong to Mark (the Evangelist), and this See to which I appoint you bishop, the half of it shall be for my lord Mark the Evangelist and the half for you. Lend to me so and so much from the half which belongs to my lord Mark, the Evangelist, and do you collect (money) until you have received your due in full, and after this, whatsoever is collected in the See, convey the half which belongs to

⁷ i. e. half of the revenue of the See.

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my lord Mark to the Cell». He (Christodoulus) collected for himself from all whom he appointed bishops much money. Among their company (was) Mark the scribe (who was) known as Ibn az-Zalim. He (Christodoulus) took from him one thousand dinars as a loan on the half of the See, and he appointed him bishop of the See of Samannud. He (Christodoulus) used to do this, so that it should not be said that he practised simony, and he firmly believed that he was absolved by God.

When Nasr ad-Dawlah arrested him (Christodoulus), as we said at the beginning, and fixed (the sum to be paid) by him and by the bishops and by all the Christians at seventy thousand dinars, the Christians experienced from this and from the closing of their churches great affliction and great difficulty.

Then, after this, a man known as Ibn al-Kayid ar-Rahim went out to the Rif with a decree to Nasr ad-Dawlah ibn Hamdan that he had been appointed to collect the taxes of al-Gawaliin the Rif. He was an evil man of exceedingly great wickedness who detested the Christians, and they experienced through him great shame and hardship. When it happened on a certain day that he rode on an unruly colt, and when his foot was in the stirrup and he was (still) standing, he fell on the ground, and his foot remained in the stirrup, and it (the colt) did not stop running, and it kicked him until he was dead. When he was buried, his tomb was pelted with bricks for a number of days until it became a mound.

Afterwards, al-Mustansir billah was angered with al-Yazuri, and he

⁹ i.e the poll-tax imposed on Christians and Jews.

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commanded that he should be banished to Tinnis. Then he commanded that he should be put to death there. A mad man ruled over his body, dragging it by its heels, and he took it down into the sewer of the bath of the Bath of D n surah ⁵ at Tinnis, carrying it about during the day several times and going round the streets with it.

Afterwards, a wonder was shown forth in as-Sinraki, and he saw in himself a great example, (for) a disease attacked him in his lower parts and worms crawled in him. They used to put under him every day a number of ratls of tender meat, and worms used to eat it, but they did not cease from eating his body. This (was) a reward in the present world, and he experienced great difficulty until he died an evil death.

Then seventy days after the arrest of al-Yazuri, al-Babili was arrested and he was imprisoned in the Treasury of the Flags, and Nasr ad-Dawlah used to say: «This (was) one of the miracles of the Christians what had befallen Ibn al-Kayid ar-Rahim first, then al-Yazuri and the death of as-Sinraki, and the imprisonment of al-Babili. Each one of them was smitten on a Friday, the same day as that on which the churches were closed. Thus Sinan ad-Dawlah ibn Kabir, the wali of Cairo (Misr), used to say also, for he was a man of Kitam (who) loved the Christians. Thus, the amir al-Mu’yid Hisn ad-Dawlah Abu Tirab Hidarah ibn Miruwa of Kitam of Damascus, the wali of Alexandria—May God have mercy upon him and forgive him (his sins)!—(who) was a lover of the Christians

⁵ Reading according to Ms. M. Ms. A gives the word without diacritical points.

⁸ Weight of 2,564 grams.

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and had regard for their churches, so that, when al-Yazuri ¹ commanded the closing of the churches, he (the wali) caused me. the sinner, to be brought, and (also) my maternal uncle Sadakah ibn Surur, since we used to work for him in his important affairs, and he said to us: «This (is) the letter of the wazir al-Yazuri which has arrived concerning the closing of the churches and the seizure of all their property and a demand for ten thousand dinars from all the Christians of Alexandria. It is necessary that you should go at once and remove all that is in your churches in the way of vessels and vestments and such like things, so that you may behold afterwards what I shall do to-morrow, and this affair shall be kept secret». This we did, and when it was early on the morrow, he (the wali) took his seat, and he caused to be brought the judge and the witnesses and the person in charge of order, and he showed the letter, and he commanded them to go to the churches and to record what was in them and to take care of it. Then they went, and they returned to him with the inventory of what they had found, and it was reed-mats and a rat-trap in the Church of the Soter, known as the Saviour. He (the wali) said: «If this is (what) is found in their churches and their large churches, then what will be the condition of these Christians, and from whence will they have this money which is demanded of them? Indeed, for me it is true that they are a hidden people, feeble ones, without standing. Then he commanded that our churches and the churches of the Melkites should be closed, and he wrote to the wazir about this, and he (the wazir) continued to send back his messengers to him, until the affair was settled at two thousand dinars. He (the wali) caused us to be brought and he acquainted us with the letter, and we thanked him, and we invoked a blessing upon him. Afterwards, we complained to him about our condition on account of the closing of the churches and the interruption of the prayers for him at the time of the Prayers and the

¹ MS. M reads «al-Bazuri» and MS. A has the reading «al-Baruzi».

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Liturgies. Then he gave to us the key of the Church of my lord George which was formerly the house of Annianus, the first patriarch; it was the house into which my lord Mark the Evangelist entered on the first day he entered Alexandria, when the awl pierced the palm of Annianus (who) was at that time a cobbler, and my lord Mark healed it, and was hospitably received in the house. He (the wali) said to us: «Go, open this church and pray in it secretly and pray for me». Then we invoked a blessing upon him, and we took the key, and we went altogether to the church, and we continued to attempt (to open) the door from the third hour of the day till the ninth. Then we wept and made supplication and said: «O Lord, we acknowledge indeed that You have closed it on account of our sins and our transgressions. Have mercy upon us and forgive us». Then the door was opened for us, and we entered, and we celebrated the Liturgy and we communicated, and we remained thus until there was apportioned to us a thousand dinars, and to the Melkites a thousand dinars, and we conveyed them to him (the wali). After some days, he (the wali) caused me to be brought, I and my brother and my maternal uncle and a friend of his whose name was Abu Ghalib ibn Sulaiman, who was also in his (the wali’s) service for the merchandise coming to him from Syria, and he (the wali) said to us: «How much did you weigh out of what was your share in the amount?)) We said to him: «Two hundred dinars». Then he paid to us from his purse two hundred dinars, and he said: «These I took for you from the Christians of Rasid, Atkua, al-Gudaiyidah and Mahallat al-Amir. Take you them in place of what you have paid». We invoked a blessing upon him, and we thanked him, and we said to him: «O Master, this is not lawful for us, because the share was weighed out by the hidden, the widow and everyone. How shall we take back what we have

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paid without them”?» Then he said: «These dinars (are) for you, do with them what you wish». We invoked a blessing upon him, and we thanked him. and we took them, and we bought with them garments of Aleppo and wheat and distributed it among the infirm of the Christians. (News of) this reached him (the wali), and he agreed to it and rejoiced at it.

It was a custom of the Christians of Alexandria to go out with olive branches on the day of the Feast of Branches, on the eve, and to pass with them through the main street and the market from the Church of Saint Abba Sergius to the Church of the Saviour with intercession and reading, until there occurred something on the part of the Muslims which obliged them (the Christians) to remain fifteen years without going in procession with them (the branches). When we mentioned this to the Amir Hisn ad-Dawlah ibn Mirua, he ordered (us) to go out with them (the olive-branches) according to the usual custom, and he sent with us his companions and instructed them to do what he told them. From whatsoever house a stone was thrown a seal should be placed on its door, and he should be informed about it, and whatsoever man of the Muslims who should speak (against us), should be taken to the prison, and his (the wall’s) public crier proclaimed this in the city. Then we took them (the olive-branches) out that night, and we went in procession with them through the city with reading and laudation, and crosses and incense, as it had been the usual custom before. It was for us a good night, and this was in the year four hundred and four of the Khiragyah. There was in that year a great dearth, so that wheat was sold on the eve of (the Feast of) Olive-branches for a dinar and a half a waibah, and it used not

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to be sold, except for an-nizari dinars, and its value at that time was thirtv-five and a half dirhams for a dinar, and the value of the dinar in the currency of the country which the people used was twenty-six dirhams, and the dinar an-nizari became one dinar, one fourth and one eighth in the currency of the country. When we went out with the olive-branches on that eve, it happened that fresh barley arrived early in the morning from al-Buhairah, and wheat was (sold) at a dinar for a waibah and a half. On the next day, two waibahs (were sold) for a dinar, and after ten days, more than one ardab was (sold) for a dinar. Abundance increased, and God in His mercy and His compassion removed the dearth. The Muslims inhabitants of Alexandria were certain that this (was) through the blessing of the bringing out of the olive-branches and the going with them in procession through the city, and they used to rejoice at the going out with them (the olive-branches) every year on the eve of the Feast of Olive-branches up till now.

Afterwards, the Devil, the hater of good, raised up another trouble, and he put into the heart of a monk called Colluthus, to solicit a bishopric from the father Abba Christodoulus, but he would not do (this). Then he (the monk) presented calumnious reports about him (Christodoulus) to the Sultan, but some of the archons of Cairo (Misr), and they (were) Abu’l-Yumn ibn Makrawah ibn Zanbur and Abu ‘t-Tayyib ar-Rarawi and Abu’s-Surur abu John ibn Joseph al-Abah, prevented him, and they caused him to renounce (this), and they turned him away from it, and he turned away from it for a time. Afterwards, the trouble between him and the patriarch was renewed, and he reverted to sending in calumnious reports about him (Christodoulus) to the Sultan, until he

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(Christodoulus) was arrested, and they found that he (Christodoulus) had in his dwelling-place at Damrua a basin in which (were) six thousand dinars tied up in a red cloak. They took them and brought them with him to Cairo (Misr). The archons assembled and they occupied themselves with his case until the order against him had been removed. The aforesaid money was carried to the Treasury, and the patriarch returned to Damrua, after the illness of gout had attacked him in Cairo (Misr).

He used to repay to the Alexandrians what they spent on the building of their churches and on their Eucharists, (namely), three hundred and fifty dinars every year, out of the tax fixed for them and (payable) to the patriarchs, and he used to carry it to them, before they asked for it from him (Christodoulus).

When the aforesaid Hisn ad-Dawlah ibn Mirua was dismissed from the governorship of Alexandria, al-Muntakhab Nasr al-Malak abi ‘Ali Mulhim was appointed governor of it after him. He was a wise man, but he erred against himself and did something which was the cause of his death. This (was) that he passed the night in the Church of the Saint, my lord George the martyr, at Lydda, inside the sanctuary beneath which (the altar) is his tomb, with a beardless youth of his ⁶. A horseman, and he was the Martyr, my lord George, appeared to him, and he continued to strike him with his lance, while he implored help, saying: «O workers, I am crying out. Can you not save me from this horseman, so that he may not kill me? Lo, he is continuing to chastise me with his lance!» They said to him: «O master, may God preserve you! The doors are closed, and no one has entered in here with us». Then he died immediately.

There were manifested to us by the head of Saint Mark, when I took it to my house, great miracles, among which (was) that my brother

⁶ i. e. he committed sodomy.

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Abu’l-‘Ala—may God give rest to his soul!—had had doubts about it, and had said in his heart: «Can this be the head of the Saint, my lord Mark, or not?» No (one) knew this except God the Exalted. When I was asleep that night, the Saint, my lord Mark, appeared to me, and he said to me: «Your brother Fahd has doubts about me». When it was morning, I informed my brother of this, while we were in the Church of Abba Sergius, I and he and my maternal uncle Sadakah ibn Surur and the monk Abu Jacob. When he heard my words, he marvelled and was frightened, and he confessed what was hidden in his heart, and informed us about what it was, and he went to where the head of the Saint (was), and he prayed and he wept and besought pardon from him (Saint Mark).

It was in Baramudah [April-May] (in the) year four hundred and fifty-three of al-Khiragyah that there appeared two great stars with manes ². One of the two was called Safud, and the other, Fanus. The former of the two appeared at the end of the night between the East and the South, and the latter appeared at the end of the day between the West and the North, there where the sun used to set during that month. It was a great star resembling the moon on the night of its fulness. It appeared also on the next day there where the sun was at the eighth hour of the day [2pm], and its mane blazed, so that it became like a lantern, when a light is lit in it. It appeared on the third day and it lowered (its) great mane, which I saw with my (own) eyes, towards the East and the South, there where the former star had risen, because the mane of the former was blazing; and it was spread out towards (the place) where the latter had risen, and the mane of the latter was towards (the place) where the former had risen. After the appearance of these two stars, our sins and our transgressions were multiplied, and our gluttony and our pride increased, so that a number of trustworthy (people) among the Muslims and the Christians saw with their (own) eyes tears flowing from the eyes of some of the pictures which (were) in the churches, among which was the picture of my lord George in the church of

² i. e. comets.

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a village called Dimul, one of the villages of Abwan, and the picture of the Mistress and the picture of the Angel Michael in the church of Thunah. Macarius the monk, a disciple of the saintly Bessus of the Monastery of Abba Kame ⁴, renowned for his sanctity and beautiful manner of life, informed me about this.

The habitations of Egypt (Misr) were smitten with exceedingly great and hard punishments. The first of these was the occurrence of a great earthquake in the forenoon ⁵ of Tuesday, the second (day after) Easter, such that it overthrew a number of places at ar-Ramlah and Tinnis and elsewhere, but it did not have any effect at Alexandria. There was after it, much plague, so that there did not remain in Tinnisof the thousands who were in it, except some hundred people. There was a house in it, and all who were found in it were lying on their mattresses, and their money and everything which they possessed (was) in it. Then there were carried out from their houses the bedsteads, the domed canopies, the benches, mattresses and money, and ar-Ramlah became deserted, and no one remained in it. Then affairs became serious, until (at length) war was waged by the Easterns and the Turks who were masters of Cairo (Misr), against Nasr ad-Dawlah ibn Hamdan, and they applauded the Sultan that he had caused to be brought out a red tent which was pitched outside the gate of the Castle at the place known as the Golden Gate, and (that) he had manifested his anger against the Bani Hamdan and those who (were) with them. There was among them in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) a party of Kurds, some five thousand men. On that day a crier cried among them and among

⁴ i. e. one of the monasteries of the Wadi’n-Natrun.

⁵ Daha is the period in the morning, one hour after sunrise up to about 10 a.in.

‘

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the Bani Hamdan and those who (were) with them, so that there did not remain of them in Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah) except a few of them who cut their hair and their ear-locks and hid themselves. There was assassinated on that (day) the grand wazir Ibn al-Muwaffak fi’d-Din, known as Ibn al-‘Agami and Galal ad-Dawlah, son of the King of Baghdad, and he was a friend of the Bani Hamdan. Nasr ad-Dawlah ibn Hamdan and those who (were) with him reached Alexandria after having been routed, and he made an alliance with Kais and his Lewatis, but he displayed hypocrisy, and troops came out from Cairo (Misr) to seek him, and the chiefs of them (the troops) were Amin al-Umana abu’l-Yamin Sawaris ibn Makrawah ibn Zunbur, and he was invested with a robe of honour and was girt with a sword with golden ornamentation above the hilt, and he was surnamed «Master of the chiefs of the sword and the pen», and the Ustadh ‘Aziz ad-Dawlah, the Superintendent of the slaves (Zimam al-‘Abid), and Nagah ad-Dawlah Baghra, and Nasr al-Guyus ibn Asad ad-Dawlah Baldakus, and they arrived at Mahallat al-Amir. On account of these many chiefs in this army, they differed and their views did not agree, and none of them followed the opinion of the other, even if it were right, and so they did not succeed, and did not reach anything on account of their disagreement. Men separated from them on account of their bad advice and their corrupt management and their lack of agreement. The Bani Hamdan and those who (were) with them overcame them, and they routed them and made them prisoners, and they were in possession of all the lands of the Rif both the Eastern and the Western, and they pillaged them and they devastated them and they slew their inhabitants. They violated women, and they slaughtered children (carried) on the bellies of their mothers and on the backs of their fathers, and they pillaged the churches and ruined

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them, and they erased the faces of the pictures which remained in them. The Lewatis took the father, the patriarch, Abba Christodoulus from his dwelling-place, and they plundered all that was in it, and they took very much money which he had. He (Christodoulus) said that it (the money) belonged to my lord Mark the Evangelist and to Saint Abba Macarius, but this did not satisfy them, until they had chastised him and suspended him by his testicles so that they became the size of a large jar. Nasr ad-Dawlah ibn Hamdan, at the request of his scribe Abu’t-Tayyib Bisudahibn John ar-Rawawi did not cease from acting kindly towards the Lewatis until he had bought him (Christodoulus) from them for three thousand dinars. Abu’t-Tayyib weighed out of it (the sum), on behalf of himself and on behalf of others, one thousand dinars; and he (Ibn Hamdan) sent him (Christodoulus) to Alexandria, keeping guard over him until he had discharged the remaining two thousand dinars. When he (Christodoulus) reached it (Alexandria), he lodged at the Church of Abba Sergius, and he spoke with his sons concerning his affair. Some of them excused themselves on account of the dearth and of what the people (endured) on account of it. Then he (Christodoulus) arose in anger, and he said: «If you refrain (from helping) me, I shall go to the Kadi Sadakah, and to the Nubian, and to Bani Harisah and to the Muslims, and I shall borrow from them, and I shall ask for alms». Then they laid hold on him, and some of his sons took upon themselves his affair, and they discharged for him that which remained of his debt and it was two thousand dinars. When he (Christodoulus) had been liberated and was freed from the fear of claims, he repaid them for that with his utmost love, for during his sojourn at Alexandria he consecrated a number of bishops, and he took from them that with which he repaid what he owed. It was I, Mawhub the sinner, (who) discharged for him the dinars arranged for

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him (to be paid) to the churches on account of what had befallen him and I bore instead of him the burden of it.

After this, affairs became difficult, and the Lewatis were in possession of the lands, and they slew Sarim ad-Dawlah, the brother of the Amir Sinan ad-Dawlah ibn Gabir al-Kitami who was wali of Egypt at Tantana. Abu’t-Tayyib az-Zarawai heard of this, and it was difficult for him to bear, for he had been formerly scribe to his brother in Cairo (Misr). He came to Tantana, and he reviled the Lewatis who had slain him (Sarim ad-Dawlah). One of them, Musa ibn al-Karn, leaped upon him and smote him with his sword, and the rest of them (the Lewatis) rushed upon him, and they cut him down with their swords and cast him into a trench.

Then the dearth and fear increased, and wheat was lacking, until the people ate dead bodies. Afterwards, they ate one another, and some of them ate their children, and the people perished from the plague, the dearth and the sword, so that there remained of them but few. The people of Cairo (Misr) and its districts experienced adversities, difficulties and afflictions, which would lengthen the biography by describing (even) part of them.

Then there came to the father, Abba Christodoulus while he was in Alexandria, a man from the inhabitants of al-Balyana, a goldsmith, whose name was Poimen with a letter from the Amir ‘Iddat ad-Dawlah Mikarrib ibn Madi, the governor of the oases, asking him (Christodoulus) to appoint him (Poimen) bishop, and announcing the death of Abba Basil, bishop of Armant. The father, the patriarch, appointed the aforesaid Poimen bishop of the See of Armant in the place of him (Basil), and he consecrated a man whose name was Phoebammon bishop of

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the Oases, and this (was) in Tut (of the) year seven hundred and eighty-seven of the Martyrs [A. D. 1070]. He (Christodoulus) sent them both away in company with Abba George, bishop of Batu, that he might enthrone both of them, and (then) go on with his letter to the king of Nubia, entreating in it for something with which to assist him (Christodoulus), so that he might spend it on what was arranged for him (to pay) to the Lewatis, and informing him (the king) about what had befallen him. When they reached Armant, they found its bishop alive (and that) he had not died, namely Abba Basil. He was a spiritual saint. One of his sons who is now a priest, whose name (is) Menas, related that in the time of the dearth he (Basil) used not to keep in his house bread except for giving in charity, and that on a certain night a hidden man came to him and knocked at the door of his dwelling. He said to his son, this Menas: «Give to him bread», but there did not remain (anything) in his house except two loaves, and he gave to him one of the two loaves. Afterwards, another (person) knocked at the door, and he (Menas) gave to him one part of the other loaf, and the (other) part of it remained. While they were breaking their fast on it, another (person) knocked at the door, and his (Basil’s) aforementioned son became annoyed as he himself said, but he (Basil) obliged him to give the remainder of the loaf to him who had knocked at the door, and he gave it to him, and he remained without anything on which to break his fast. It was some time after nightfall, (when) there was a knock at the door, and he (Basil) said to his son: «Answer him who knocks at the door». But he (Menas) being annoyed (and) angry said: «Is there anything left with us to give to him who knocks? How shall I speak to him and we have nothing to give to him?» But he (Basil) obliged him to answer him (the person who

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knocked), and he went down to him, and he opened the door. A person whom he did not know nor whose face he saw, gave to him food in a napkin and went away, and he did not return until now, nor ask for the napkin. When they found the bishop alive, (and that) he had not died, Poimen journeyed with Abba George, bishop of Batu, to the king of Nubia. When the two of them reached him, he honoured them both, and Abba George consecrated for the king a new church which he had built. The Holy Spirit descended upon one of the vessels in which (was) the water for the consecration. The king took it (the vessel) in his hand, and he went with it to his dwelling. He (George) consecrated in this church four sanctuaries on that day, and the king gave to him that which brought him back to the patriarch Abba Christodoulus in Alexandria, and Poimen (was) with him. After this, Poimen returned to the districts of Armantand abode in [a village known as al-Dimikrat, south of Armant] ⁵, until Abba Basil went to his rest, and then he entered Armant, and was consecrated in it on the second day of Tut (of the) year seven hundred and ninety-seven of the Martyrs [A.D. 1080]. After this, a dispute occurred between him and the bishop of Kus, Abba Apater, and Abba Apater went to Abba Anthony, bishop of Asyutand Abba Matthew, bishop of Fau,and he obtained the signature of both of them that he (had) precedence over Abba Poimen

⁵ Text in the square brackets supplied from MS. Hist. 11 of the Coptic Patriarchal Library, fol. 29 r°. For al-Dimikrat cf. M. Simaika, Guide to the Coptic Museum (Arabic edition) Cairo 1930-1932, p. 266, line 3.

i.e. A.D. 1080.

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on the ground that Abba Apater was consecrated after the falling asleep of Abba Basil who was before him, and they argued that he who consecrates is higher than he who is consecrated. This was after the death of Abba Christodoulus and (during) the sitting (on the throne) of Abba Cyril the saint. The case of the two of them came to the knowledge of the aforementioned father, and he adjudged that the precedence (should be) to Abba Poimen, bishop of Armant, on the ground that the father Abba Christodoulus had laid his hand upon him before Abba Apater, and that his name was inscribed in the register of the bishops, and that the delay of his consecration in his see did not set him back in his rank,on account of the date on which he was consecrated, and (that) he should take precedence of him who was consecrated after him, were it but by one day, and (that) the rank was adjudged to Abba Poimen, bishop of Armant, the aforementioned, who was consecrated bishop before him, and (that) it was not incumbent upon Apater to take precedence of him (Poimen). He protested against this with valid arguments, among which, that John the Baptist laid his hand upon the head of our Master Jesus Christ—to Him be glory—of Whom he (John) said that He (Jesus) did not cease (to be) before him, and that He (Jesus) was prior to him (John). And again, that the bishops lay their hands upon the patriarch at the time of his consecration, and do they, on this account, take precedence of him? He (Cyril) made peace between them, and the dispute between the two of them ended.

Luke, a deacon of the Church of the Mistress at Armant, related to me that he saw him (Poemen), and he was consecrating an altar in the aforementioned church, in the year eight hundred and one of the Martyrs [1084-1085 A. D.], and when he had finished, he took the shards of the vessels in which was the consecrated water, and he cast them with his hand into a well which (was) in this church, and the water rose so that it reached to the middle of the well, and the mark of it remains until now. A number

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of the inhabitants of Upper Egypt related that, when the church of Peter, head of the Apostles, at al-Khazarah near Armant, was consecrated, the water overflowed from the earthenware pots so that it flowed into the nave of the church.

As regards the father Christodoulus, there appeared in his days many wonders and miracles, and there was in his time a number of saintly lathers and monks. Lo, I shall record (only) a few of them, lest the biography be lengthened by a description of all of them.

It happened that Abba Elijah, bishop of Tammuhcame to Alexandria, and he was an exceedingly old man, and he told us about many miracles which I had heard about from another beside him who had been present and witnessed them. It was the deacon Abu Habib Michael ibn Apater (who was) my assistant in transcribing the biographies and rendering them from the Coptic into the Arabic (language). Among them (the miracles) (was) that he, namely, the aforementioned father, the bishop, celebrated the Liturgy on the day of the feast of my lord Victor, the illustrious martyr, in his church which (is) at al-Gizah, and when the middle of the Liturgy was reached, he saw a great light upon the picture of the Mistress, the Lady, my Lady Mary, the Pure Virgin, which (is) in the nicheof the Sanctuary, and the light remained upon it for a long while, and all the people present at the feast witnessed it. The priest John, head of the Monastery of Nahya, related to me that he was present on that day, and he observed the light. I, the sinner, went and

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I received the blessing of the holy picture. John ibn Sa‘id ibn Yahya, known as Ibn al-Kulzumi, the copyist of this biography, said in the biography which I, the wretched one, George ibn Madkur, copied from the copy in the hand-writing of the aforementioned, that he went to the aforementioned church on the day of the feast of the Saint, my lord Victor at al-Gizah, and its bishop at that time (was) Abba Hezekiah, the excellent Saint, and a number of the people who were present on that day told him (John) thus about the descent of the light on the picture of the Pure Lady which is painted in the niche of the Sanctuary, and that he (John) gazed attentively upon the picture, and that he saw that the colours which were upon it were stripped off. He inquired about the reason for this, and a certain priest informed him that when the light descended upon it (the picture), and the Liturgy was finished, the priests crowded around it with wax in order to seal it (the light) upon the body of the picture, that its blessing might be with them in their houses, and the colours were stripped off by the wax which was impressed upon it (the picture). The compiler of this biography stated, and the priest John, head of the Monastery of Nahya, the aforementioned, related to me that a youth known as Ibn Halumah, was among the number of those present on that day, and he observed the light, and that after this, he began to frequent the place, and he observed the light another time on that holy picture. There was near to the church a mosque and in it a muezzin (who) used to harm the door-keeper, and was hostile towards him. And the son of the door-keeper went for a brick (and) he rubbed with it the picture of the martyr, my lord Victor and said to him: «Can’t you deliver us from this muezzin?» A shaking sickness attacked him (the muezzin)

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all the days of his life, and most of his time he used to cry out, saying: «Lo, he came to punish me!». Then he asked help of Abba Hezekiah bishop of al-Gizah ⁽²⁾, and he besought him until he came to the picture and prayed before it, and besought the martyr on behalf of him (the muezzin), and his condition improved a little, and he died.

There was in the desert in the Wadi Habib, at the Monastery of Abba Kame, a saintly monk whose name (was) Bessus upon whom (was) great grace, and the gift of the Holy Spirit had descended upon him. I witnessed and heard of many miracles (performed) by him. Among them (the following one). When we heard the reports of him (Bessus), while we were at Alexandria, from a monk (who was) a priest, known as Abba Jacob, a man who had given much money in alms, and had become a monk, we went out in a body to the monasteries in (the month of) Tubah of the year seven hundred and seventy-eight of the Martyrs [A. D. 1062]and we received the blessing of a saintly monk whose name (was) Jacob also, the hegoumenosof the Monastery of the Romans (Baramus), and he (was) a brother in monasticism of the father, Abba Christodoulus, the patriarch, and he also performed miracles and many things. We departed to the Monastery of Abba Kame, and we passed the night with the saintly Bessus, and we ate what he presented to us, and we were eleven men; and he brought to us a small jar and he blessed it, and we all drank of it until we were near to being intoxicated, and the jar was not diminished except by half its amount. When it was

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morning, he (Bessus) besought us not to allow any of the archons of Cairo (Misr) who were coming out to that desert for the Immersion to come to him. and he said: «If anyone of them come to me, I shall go out to the Caves of Abba Moses and I shall leave the Monastery». Then we took leave of him (Bessus) and we departed to the Monastery of Abba Macarius, and we found a large body of the archons who possessed rank from Cairo (Misr), who had come out to the monasteries that year. Among them (was) the Shaikh Abu’1-Badr ibn Menas ar-Rawawi (who was) director of the Diwan of al-Rahagi. He begged earnestly to go out to him (Bessus), but we made known to him what he (Bessus) had said to us. Then he said to me: «It is necessary for me to meet him and to lay bare to him my transgressions. Had it not been for my earnest desire (to receive) the blessing from him, I should not have come here. Many important affairs had occurred on account of this, (which) made it necessary that I and the son of his uncle Thikat ath-Thikat Abu’t-Tayyib Bisuih ibn John should journey to the Monastery of Abba John for the sake of a vow he had taken, its amount (being) five hundred dinars». Then I left him at the Monastery of Abba John, and I departed to the Monastery of Abba Kame and I met the saintly Bessus, and I made known to him what had happened, and I continued with him until it was settled that he should journey to him to the Monastery of Abba Macarius. Then he went forth from the monastery an hour after sunset,

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and I departed to the Monastery of Abba John ⁽¹⁾ and spent the night in it with the Saikh Abu’t-Fayyib. When it was morning. I departed to the Monastery of Abba Kame to ask about him (Bessus). Then the monk (who was) door-keeper said to me: «At midnight he came and struck the semantron here to arouse the monks for the Psalmody according to the custom». I suspected that he had not gone to the Monastery of Abba Macarius, because from the Monastery of Abba Macarius to the Monastery of Abba Kame the journey is more than four hours. Then I went in unto him (Bessus) smiling, and he knew that I had suspected that he had not gone to the Monastery of Abba Macarius. When I had greeted him and had received his blessing, he said to me: «I went and I met the man». Then I asked him: «At what time did you reach him, and at what time did you return, since it is not possible for anyone to go to the Monastery of Abba Macarius and to return in a night?» He said to me: «You have no need (to know) this. I went unto him, as it was agreed with you». I said to him: «What (are) his characteristics?» He said: «He is a short man with dark blue eyes, and I found with him your brother, Abu’l-‘Ala Fahd and Damian your kinsman with dark blue eyes also, and I conversed with him in Coptic». When he had said this to me, I went forth from his presence at sunrise, and I mounted my beast and I hastened on (my) journey, and I reached the Monastery of Abba Macarius at the fourth hour of the day, since it was in the month of Tubah. Then I went in with the Saikh Abu’t-Tayyib to the presence of the Saikh Abu’1-Badr mentioned before, and he said to us: «Did you not have news of us from the saintly Bessus (Bisus), for he came to us?» I said to him: «What time did he come to you?» He said: «He came to us at darkness». I said to him: «It (was) the time at which he went forth from the Monastery of Abba Kame, and I separated from him there, and he went on to you». He and all those who were present marvelled. Then he said to me: «We continued conversing with

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him, and if I addressed a hundred words to him, he would reply to me with regard to them in two or three words (which gave) a decisive answer, until your brother. Abu’l-‘Ala went outside and observed the time, and he said to us: ‘Midnight has already come’. Then the saintly Bessus said: ‘I desire to go to the monastery’. Then we made obeisancesto him that he should remain with us for the rest of the night and the following day. Then he continued with us till he requested to be left alone for the Prayer. Then we shut him up in this store-room, and we fastened the door behind him, and we spent the night at the door of it (the store-room), so that we might be blessed by him through (our) proximity to him, and that we might hear the sound of his prayer, and that we might pray with him, but we did not hear a sound of him. When it was morning we opened the store-room and I went in to receive his blessing, but I did not find him. We have remained amazed (and) astonished up to (this) hour, and we do not understand what has become of him». I said to them: «The time at which he entered the storeroom and you fastened the door of it behind him (was) the time at which he struck the semantron for the monks of the Monastery of Abba Kame, and aroused in it the monks of it for the Psalmody. I came to him at day-break, and the door-keeper informed me about this, and I came from him to you». Then the astonishment of us all increased, and we understood that the marvels of God (are) in His Saints.

Also the Amir al-Guyus had chastised my brother Abu’l-‘Ala—may God give rest to his soul—in the middle of (the month of) Kyahk in the aforesaid year, until he wrote his signature for six thousand dinars. In the aforesaid month, the pillars of the Monastery of Saint Abba Moses

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sweated. Also, a number of pictures in the Church of Saint Theodore, the illustrious martyr, in Cairo (Misr) at Bani Wayil sweated so that their Sweat flowed like water, and lo, its trace and its course remain until to-day upon its walls.

In that year, small-pox broke out, and there died of it in Cairo (Misr) twenty-one thousand young people within less than a month.

I wrote a letter to the aforesaid saintly Bessus and to the father Macarius, the door-keeper at the Monastery of Abba Macarius, who, when he was asked to be patriarch, after the father Abba Christodoulus, fled and concealed himself in one of the towns until Abba Cyril wrote a letter, and he asked them both in it to pray for deliverance from what had befallen us, and to beg the whole body of the fathers, the monks, that they should grant unto us one night in which they would pray on our behalf, and there were in the monasteries seven hundred monks. I despatched the letter with a monk from the Monastery of Nahya⁽⁷‘, (av!io was) called Abu’l-‘Ala, and he was the brother of the priest John knoAvn as-Zakir, the head of the aforesaid monastery. This deacon, AbiVPAla the monk, was saintly also, and the father Bessus had desired that he should be with him in his monastery, for he said: «I saw (that) his deeds were agreeable to me». When my letter reached him, he sent to all the monks of the monasteries, and he besought them on account of what I had asked him in it (the letter). He did not wish to assemble them (the monks) in one place for fear of evil report, slander and misinterpretation of (the action of) the monks, together with the hot temper, great violence and power of authority of the Amir al-Guyus. Then he (Bessus)

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took a burning coal and stood upon it and prayed for us. It was the morning of the first day of the Nativity ¹ which is the twenty-eighth of (the month of) Kyahk [December 24th, A. D. 1062], and it was a Saturday, and Abu’l-‘Ala, the monk, said to him (Bessus): «Give me the answer, and let me return to my monastery on account of the feast». The saintly Bessus said to him: «The answer is that they are already delivered and that the Lord Christ has been gracious unto them». Abu’l-‘Ala, the monk, said to him «I wish for a proof of this». He said to him: «Go to Macarius, the door-keeper, and he will explain to you». He came to him, and he (Abu’l-‘Ala) informed him of what Bessus had said. Macarius said to him: «That which he said to you is true. Go you and do not mistrust his words». He said to both of them: «I am not going, save with the answer from you both». Bessus said to a monk whose name was Cosmas (who) had been a scribe of a Diwan: «Write you a letter from us that the Lord Christ has delivered them on this day». And he went up to a relative of ours, whose name was Hibat Allah ibn Mansur (who) was hiding there, to write for us a letter from both of them on account of this. Abu’l-‘Ala took the two letters ⁵ in the hand-writings which he ⁶ knew, and they were dated on the morning of Saturday, in which (the letters) there was the message of Bessus to him in the monasteries, and in which there was (the announcement of) our deliverance. It happened that I celebrated the Liturgy on the aforesaid Saturday at daybreak in the Church of the Mistress

¹ Formerly, the Feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ was celebrated in the Coptic Church on the 24th and 25th of December. Cf. Rene Basset, ‘Le Synaxaire Arabe Jacobite’ in P. O. tome III, fasc. 3, pp. [459]-[465.]

⁵ There is an omission here due to dittography. MS. Hist. 11 of the Coptic Patriarchal Library reads, fol. 35r°: ‘and returned to his monastery at Nahya. Two days after the Nativity he reached us having the two letters etc.’

⁶ MS. Hist. 11 of the Coptic Patriarchal Library has, fol. 35 r°: ‘we’ which is certainly the correct reading.

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al-Mu‘allakah at Kasr as-Sam‘. The Turks who were appointed over us, thrust us forward on the journey, as we carried our clothes and the clothes of those appointed (over us) to the ship; and we determined to go down on that day to the Rif to ask the people for an aid whereby we (could) meet some of the obligations which were imposed on us under penalty. We went down from the aforesaid Church, going towards the ship, and before we had gone out of the gate of it (the church), a messenger of the Amir Gamal al-Mulk, the master of the door ³, came to us and said to us: «The Amir Gamal al-Mulk sends you greeting and congratulates you on yourdeliverance, and he says to you that at this hour his Lord al-Awhad went in to his father, the Amir al-Guyus, and he asked from him relief for you, and he ordered me to set you free. Go, then, unto him and thank him». Then the messenger said to those appointed (over us): «Release them, and do not oppose them», and they went away from us. When the two letters reached us, and. the monk, Abu’l-‘Ala, acquainted us with what had happened, we knew that that hour in which we had been delivered was that in which the saintly Bessus had said: «They have been delivered». We marvelled at this, and we glorified God—Whose Name is great—and we gave thanks unto him. Al-Awhad set out for the city of Alexandria, and he was kind to us, and he took us with him, because it (the city) had been assigned to him for administration and revenue, and we served him in it (the city). The deacon, Abu Habib Michael ibn Badir ad-Damanhuri, related to me that he was in hiding with him (Bessus) in the monastery at a certain time, and (there was) in hiding with him a body of the Christian brethren, and he saw him (Bessus), and he put oil in a lamp and blessed it and lighted it for them, and that he, namely Michael, remained for fifteen nights copying books and reading with the aforesaid (Christian brethren) every night until midnight. He

³ Cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 155; ‘The lord of the door’ or high chamberlain who stood next to the wazir.

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was looking after the lamp, and he watched it, and it (the oil) was not exhausted, and it was not diminished as regards its quantity.

He related also that two monks arrived from the Monastery of Abba Psoi, and they were disputing, and he (Bessus) endeavoured to reconcile (them). One of the two of them consented (to be reconciled), but the other refused, and he went away and did not obey him (Bessus). Then he returned to him (Bessus) after three days, and he had become a leper, and he besought him and entreated him until he took off the thorakion which was upon him, and clothed him with it. He (the monk) went away, but he returned with it on the next day, and he was cleansed.

The deacon John, the monk, one of the sons of the saintly Bessus, related to me that he was present on a certain day, (when) he (Bessus) (was) on the top of the keep praying, and eighteen Sudanese men entered the monastery and took possession of it, and seized one of the monks and tortured him. The father Bessus came down from the keep to them, and he grasped with his hand the neck of their leader and cast him out from the door of the monastery. He continued to seize them one by one by the neck until he had cast them all out, and they (the monks) fastened the door. These Sudanese swore that their eyesight had been blinded and that his (Bessus’) hand upon their necks was like a heavy stone.

The deacon, the aforesaid John, related to me that in a hard year the monastery was much frequented by the Arabs and others besides them. It (the monastery) used to supply biscuitsand wheat to everyone who knocked at (its door), until nothing remained

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with the monks, save food for one day only. They (the monks) were determined to eat it, and when it was morning, to go forth from the monastery (and) to wander aimlessly. Then some people visited them (and) asked them (for) something to eat. He (Bessus) said to them (the monks): «Give to them what you have». The monks murmured and became furious on account of this, but he (Bessus) said to them in calmness and tranquillity: «At the end of the day there will reach you from Christ what will be sufficient for you for (many) days. Let not your breasts be straitened». Then they gave to the people the wheat which they had. They (the people) said to him (Bessus): «O monk, we have no mill». There was in the monastery no other, save one mill, but he (Bessus) gave it to them. The monks murmured and said to him; «You have said to us that wheat will come to us in the evening, and you have taken the only mill which we had, and you have given it to these people. If the wheat comes, shall we crunch it or boil it?» He said to them: «Do not despair, for the Lord will bring us what we need, for His Name is great (and) He knows everything. Comfort yourselves». This John swore that he ascended the keep at the time at which he (Bessus) had said (this) to him, and he saw two camels laden with wheat, and they reached him from the north with a missive. On the back of one of the two camels there was a sound, new, Persian mill larger than that mill which he had given (away). We praised God and glorified Him Who revealed to this Saint what was hidden from others, and for what He had manifested unto us in the way of his (Bessus’) sanctity and miracles.

He (John) related also that he ascended with him (Bessus) to the keep of the Monastery of Abba Kame to recite the

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Hour of Terce, and they took up with them a basket full of biscuits. When they had ascended, some people visited them and asked them (for) something to eat. The saintly Bessus said to him (John): «Give to them the biscuits, and he let down to them all what was in the basket, and the empty basket remained thrown down at the end of the cell. When he (Bessus) had finished the Prayer, other people visited them, asking for food. Then he (Bessus) turned his face to him (John) and said to him: «Give to these who are clamouring of those biscuits. The aforesaid John said: «I told him (Bessus) what I had given to those who had come before them». Then he said to me: «I myself have filled it (the basket) up again». I said to him: «Since you have ascended hither, you are standing praying in your place, and you have not left (it). When did you fill it (the basket)?» He said to me: «Certainly, I filled it, and lo, it is full of biscuits. Give to them of them (the biscuits)». I went to it (the basket) according to his command, and I found it full of biscuits. Then I let down some of them to those (people). John swore and took God to witness against himself, (saying): «The saintly Bessus did not hold it (the basket) in his hand from the time that I emptied it and placed it in front of me empty (and) thrown down on the ground, until he had prayed and I had prayed with him the Hour of Terce, while he was in his place, and he did not leave it».

It is known (and) celebrated how Justus, the monk, became blind (in) both his eyes, and how the saintly Bessus had remained a whole month praying for him until his eyes were opened.

Sanhut the deacon, monk of the Monastery of Abba Psoi,related to me concerning this saintly Bessus many miracles of which the explanation would be long. Among which, how he had

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prophesied concerning Mark his son in monasticism, who (was) the brother of Victor, that he (Bessus) would close his (Mark’s) eyes with his (own) hand in that desert. He (Mark) was sojourning in a village called Azra, and he came to him (Bessus). and at the time of his death, he (Bessus) closed his eyes.

The saintly Macarius, the doorkeeper, and the priest Zakir, head of the Monastery of Nahya, and the deacon Abu Habib ad-Damanhuri related to me that the saintly Bessus—may God grant to us his blessing—said to them and to the congregation of the monks, before the coming of the Amir al-Guyus to Alexandria to make war against his son al-Awhad, that Fahd, my brother, would become a martyr at Alexandria. I was glad for him on account of this, and the affair happened, as he had said, after a while.

A congregation of his (Bessus’) sons, the monks, at the Monastery of Abba Khame, among whom (was) Macarius the Nubian, related to me that he had informed them about the killing of my brother Fahd two days before the news that he had been killed reached him; and that they had made inquiries respecting the time at which he had been killed, and they found it (was that) at which he (Bessus) had announced to them the news that he had been killed.

There was in the days of the father, Abba Christodoulus an anchorite in the hermitage of Singar, whose name was Peter, to whom many miracles (were accounted), among which, that his finger was dyed from the holy chalice, and it (the finger) remained fifteen years bound up with a rag. Justus as-Singari, the priest at the Church of Abba Mercurius, the illustrious martyr, at Cairo (Misr), who went up after him (Peter) to the aforesaid hermitage, narrated to me that he saw him, and his finger was bound up, and he had not unbound it, nor did he show it to anyone, and that he (Justus) was

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with him when he became ill three days before his death; and that he had asked him to show it (the finger), and had not ceased to humour him and to make obeisance to him, until he uncovered it for him. Then he saw it, (and it was) red, as if he had dipped it at that hour in blood. The priest Kiyil as-Singari related to me in the Church of the Pure Mistress which is in the village called al-Gudidiyahthat he used to celebrate the Liturgy in the aforesaid hermitage at Singar for this saintly Peter, the anchorite in it, on feast days and other (days), and that he said to him (Peter): «O my holy father, I am as the least of your disciples. Why do you not call me that I should celebrate the Liturgy for you, and (why) do you not celebrate the Liturgy for yourself?» He (Peter) said to him: «Do not interest yourself in my affairs». The aforesaid Kiyil said to me: «I said to him (Peter): «If you do not make known to me the reason, I shall go away from you and I shall cease from celebrating the Liturgy for you». And I made an obeisance to him, and he said to me: «Is it really necessary for you (to know this)?» I said to him: «Certainly». Then be said to me: «I celebrated the Liturgy once in the Church of Damrua al-Khammarah, before I went up to this hermitage. When I placed my finger on the rim of the chalice and said: «May this become the Blood of Christ», the chalice flooded so that it filled to its edge, and my finger was dyed, and I fainted, and great fear came upon me; and since that day I have bound up my finger so that no one may see it, and I have not celebrated the Liturgy up to this day, and I shall never again celebrate the Liturgy».

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There was at Nusa an elder, a deaf (and) saintly anchorite in a hermitage, whose name (was) Senouti. I sent to him and asked him to pray for me and for my brother Fahd for (our) deliverance, because we were at that time in the hand of the Amir al-Guyus under arrest. The answer from him came back to me on the morning of Friday, saying: «The Lord Christ hath delivered you to-day». When the next day came a letter reached me from my brother from Cairo (Misr), in which he mentioned his arrival there, and that he had entered in unto the Amir al-Guyus on the morning of Friday, with money from the sale of properties which I possessed in Alexandria; and that he (the Amir) had taken it from him, and had excused him what remained according to the document which I had been forced to write for five thousand dinars, and it (the sum from the sale of the properties) (was) two thousand dinars, and he (the Amir) released him from the sentence. He (my brother) said in it (the letter): «God was so gracious as to deliver us at that hour», and it was the hour which Senouti, the saintly anchorite, mentioned.

My maternal uncle, Sadakah ibn Surur—may God give rest to his soul—related to me a story of Mercurius, the deacon, son of the priest Wazir al-Fuwi, that there was in the Monastery of Abba John a saintly monk, called Kil ibn al-Guindi, and that he (Mercurius) went to him with a letter from Abu’1-Badr ibn Sakil ar-Rasidi, the brother of Theodore, bishop of Rosetta. Both these (were) two maternal uncles of my uncle, the aforesaid Sadakah ibn Surur. There was in the company of this Mercurius al-Fuwi, a Christian man from among the inhabitants of Fuwah. Mercurius said: «When we knocked at the door

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of the dwelling-place of Kil ibn al-Gundi, he came out and opened the door to us, and he said to that man: ‘O So and So’, and he called him by his name, did you not fear the Master Christ our Lord, when you did violate by force the youth, on the night of Sunday in the mill?’ The man fell upon the ground and clung to the feet of Kil, and wept and entreated him to forgive him. He (Kil) assured him and said to him: ‘If you repent I will be guarantee to you for forgiveness’, and he repented immediately. Then he (Kil), said to him: ‘Comfort yourself, for the Lord hath forgiven thee’. Then he (Kil) said to me: «Welcome, deacon Mercurius, son of Wazir the priest. You have brought to me a letter from Abu’1-Badr ibn Sakil. Say to him from me: ‘You are a good man, except that, when you pray, you cry aloud much. Lower your voice a little, when you pray’». Then he told me the answer to the letter, without my saying anything to him. We marvelled at his sanctity, and we returned, praising God.

The father of this Kil, the monk, was a soldier serving with the Sullan, and he (was) of his religion and in his service, at Cairo (al-Kahirah). Kilprayed to the Lord Christ for him that He would bring him to Him, and lead him to be baptized. While he himself (was) one day in his dwelling-place, his father knocked at the door, and he went out to him, and he found him mounted on his horse, with his bow and his arrow and his quiver and his sabre. He received him with joy and he caused him to enter into bis dwelling-place, and he asked him for the reason of his coming. He said to him: «A person whom I do not know led me from Cairo (al-Kahirah) hither, without my wishing it». He (Kil) rejoiced with him, and he exhorted him and made known to him the dignity of the religion of Christ and its merits. He called him to him and he answered him, and he was baptized, and he remained with him for a time. His equipment was hung in his (Kil’s) dwelling-place for a long time, and the monks and others besides them observed it.

Abba Jacob, the monk, informed me that the aforesaid Kil stood praying before the picture of the Lady, the Mistress, my Lady

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Mary, the Virgin, (from) the night of Sunday until the morning. The devil—may God confound him!—spoke with him from behind the picture and said to him: «You are weary, O Kil. It is sufficient for you». Kil rebuked him according to his custom with him, and said to him: «Have you come also?» He made the sign of the Cross over him, and he (the Devil) became a black whirlwind and he departed from him, whirling round. After this, he said to a company of the monks: «When it is Friday, at the time of the ninth hour, come to me that I may take leave of you, for I am departing from you on that day». When it was Friday, they (the monks) came to him, and he stood ministering unto them, going in (and) coming out, in perfect health. He conversed with them until the sixth hour, and he arose (and went) to the bath and he poured over himself hot water, and he put on clean clothes (which) he had made ready for himself, and he laid down before them, and he said: «Read over me the psalms», and he was conversing with me until the ninth hour, and then he took leave of them and went to his rest. There had arrived at Alexandria from Spain a man from among the chiefs of Spain, known as Abba John, and he was a relative of the chief of the city of Almeira ⁵. There was a friendship between me and him on account of his lodging in the hotel which I owned. I had already heard from a company of merchants from Spain, elders, that (there is) in Spain at a church of the Pure Mistress, my Lady Mary an olive-tree (which) puts forth leaves and yields fruit on the night of the feast of that church every year. All of them agreed unanimously on the correctness of this account.

⁵ Almeira, a sea-port and the capital of the province of Almeira in the south-east of Spain. It was a flourishing town under the Moors.

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When the aforesaid Spaniard arrived, I asked him about the correctness of this, and he sent for his boy whose name (was) Rasid, and he was an intelligent lad (who) had charge of all his money. He said to him: «O Rasid, this elder has enquired of me about the case of the olive-tree which (is) at the church. You wast with me when I went to it. Sit down while I speak with him, lest something be forgotten bv me, and you shaft remind me of it». He turned round and said: «I revealed the case of this olive-tree, because I considered him who related about it a liar. I journeyed to the place of this tree, and it (is) at a church known as «Mary». Between it and between the city of Almeira (there is a journey of) three days, and the place is called «See and Marvel». I pitched my tent under the tree (which) is at the door of the church, and there was not on it at that time a green leaf. There were with me forty horsemen (who were) my friends, and it was the night of the feast of that church. People from every place had come on pilgrimage to it, and we spend the night there till the morning.

When the sun rose, on the day of the feast, the tree became green, while all the people were looking at it. Its branches opened up and its leaves unfolded. Then the leaves multiplied and the fruit appeared and the olives formed and increased and multiplied until midday, and there were on it (the tree) countless olives. Thereupon, the sacristan of the church went out and took (some) of the olives which he pressed out, and lighted with it (the extracted oil) the icon-lamps of the church. They prayed and finished their Liturgy, and they communicated. Then they departed (and) returned to their homes. I learned that the sacristan and the servants of the church, after the feast was over, gathered those olives and pressed them out to light (with the extracted oil) the icon-lamps and the lamps of the church, and (to obtain) what they required (in the way of oil) for food

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for the whole year. I and the company of the people who were present took of those olives for the purpose of obtaining a blessing from them, and I returned to Almeira. Then he said to his boy: «O Rasid, was it not thus?» He said to him: «Certainly, O my lord, it was thus, but you are too great to take as a witness your servants).

Many miracles were manifested in the day of Abba Christodoulus, among which (was) that the picture of my lord Menas the martyr, which is in the Skene of Abba Macarius, exuded from it blood, and lo, its mark remains till now. The congregation of the fathers, the saintly monks, witnessed this, among whom (was) the saintly Macarius, the door-keeper, who fled from (election to) the patriarchate. He said to me with his pure mouth that there was in the Skene a saintly door-keeper whose name (was) Apa Hor to whom many miracles were manifested, and he (was) the father of Bessus, son of the door-keeper, and that (with regard to) the picture of the illustrious martyr, my lord Menas which (is) in the Skene, a nail had come out of the icon, and (that) he had gone up to nail it, and (that) blood had come forth from under the nail, (and had flowed) from the top of the picture to the bottom. Macarius said to me that he doubted concerning the blood which had come forth from this picture, because of his youth at that time. He said: «I went up to cover up the sanctuary, and there was there a congregation of monks, Copts and Syrians. One of the Syrians adjured me to go forward to the picture to see the blood. I went forward to it, and I (was) doubtful concerning it, and my heart said to me that people tell lies concerning God. When I saw it, lo, it (was) blood in truth, (and there was) no doubt about it. Thereupon, I saw the ground rising above me and the timber supports coming down

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to the ground and the walls meeting together, and the people who were standing below me being above me, and I fell down (and) fainted, and I became as if the weight of the whole church (was) upon me, and I said: ‘O my lord, save me, for God is able to manifest His miracles in His Saints’, and that if I were saved, I would hang over his face, namely, (that of) the Saint, my lord Menas a goodly cloth.Then I opened my eyes and I saw myself resting, and (that) the walls had gone back as they were (before). I heard the monks crying out ‘The lad is dead’. I made a sign to them with my hand (to indicate) ‘keep silent, and I was not able to speak. I sat for a while, till my spirit returned to me and I recovered myself. I informed them of what had happened to me, and that I had seen the blood, and (that) it (was) in truth blood, (and there was) no doubt about it».

I was informed about a Christian man was always asking for the intercession of Saint Mercurius, the martyr, and he (St. Mercurius) used to satisfy his wants, and he (the man) (was) undertaking also to serve him; and that, at a time of great chastisementby the Lord of His creation, he (the man) asked for the intercession (of St. Mercurius), according to his custom, but he (St. Mercurius) did not satisfy his wants, and he doubted concerning him. He (St. Mercurius) appeared to him on that night, and he brought him forth to a vast place, and caused him to stand over a pit in which (there were) horses and arms, and he said to him: «Do you know me? I am Abba Mercurius. Be not doubtful concerning me, and know that I and my brethren, the martyrs, and others besides us, have been ordered not to make intercession for anyone at this time, because it is a time of chastisement. There (are) our horses and our arms (which) we have left here.

The closing of the churches (was) in the time of the wazir al-Yazuri,

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on Friday, the fifth of (the month of) Bau’unah (in the) Tax Year four hundred and forty-six, and their opening (was) on Sunday, the twenty-second of (the month of) Babah (in the) Tax Year four hundred and forty-seven.

The father Christodoulus and the bishops were arrested and were asked to pay money. Three bishops among them were punished and they died. One of them (was) Abba Isaac, bishop of Masil, and (the other two were) Theodore, bishop of Samannud, son of the sister of the father Abba Senouti, the patriarch, who had gone to his rest, and Abba George, bishop of al-Khandak.

Likewise, our brethren, the Syrians, the faithful, at the city of Antioch were in great difficulty and affliction, because the Melchites had pounced upon their churches and had burned them with fire together with all their books, on account of their having sovereign power, and they (the Syrians) suffered, from them a great expulsion, and this (was) in the year seven hundred and eighty-three of the Martyrs [AD 1076-1077]. Their sighing and their clamours and their weeping multiplied, and a party of them followed the opinion of the Melchites at Antioch.

In the year six thousand, five hundred and sixty-four of (the Creation of) the world, which (corresponds) to the year seven hundred and eighty-eight of the Martyrs [A. D. 1071-1072], al-Malik al-‘Adil Alp Arslan ¹⁰ arrived from the East with a great force, the number of

¹⁰ Alp Arslan, nephew of Togrul, succeeded to the title and prerogatives of Sultan, on the death of Togrul. Reigned from 1063-1072 A. D. Cf. E. Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (ed. J. B. Bury), London, 1938. Vol. VII, pp. 235-236.

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which (was) six hundred thousand horsemen, warriors, not counting their attendants. The lands were thrown into confusion and the kingdom of Egypt (Misr) was troubled. He (al-‘Adil) conquered in Upper Syria many lands, and (also) in the lands of the Greeks (ar-Rum), until his friends suggested to him to conquer the magnificent city of Edessa.

There was in it (Edessa), at that time, a duke (who) was called Basil (Basil), son of Asar, son of the king of the Ghuzz ¹ (appointed) by Diogenes the king ². There were at Edessa, at that time, eight thousand Armenians and twenty thousand Syrians and six thousand Greeks (Rumi) and one thousand Latins. He (al-‘Adil) descended upon them with six hundred thousand warriors, and he pitched his tent and sent (a message) to its (the city’s) inhabitants, deceiving them by saying: «It is not my aim to conquer your country, but to fix a sum of money (to be paid) to me by you, and I shall depart from you». When they (the inhabitants) heard this, they began to collect money, and, (in the meanwhile), he (al-‘Adil) (was) digging beneath the fortress of the city. After seven days, a Syrian youth (who) was in his army, wrote a note in which he said to the inhabitants of Edessa: «He (al-‘Adil) is deceiving you, and he has already dug beneath such and such a tower and (in) such and such a place», and in this way he described to them about eleven places in which the sappers were digging, and they had already arrived beneath the fortress, and had gone beyond it. He (the youth) placed the note in his arrow, and he shot it into the city. They (the inhabitants) took it and they learned about it ⁴, and they dug opposite to those places. The aforesaid governor (wali) used to take a trumpet and place its head

¹ The Uzi of the Greeks. A name which seems to have been extended to the whole Turkman race, cf. E. Gibbon, op. cit., p. 2 38, note 36. The Seljuks were possibly Christians before they were converted to al-Islam. The Christian names which they bore, such as Michael, etc. seem to point to this, cf. E. Gibbon, op. cit., p. 232, note 19.

² i.e. Romanus IV, Diogenes, A. D. 1068-1071.

⁴ i. e. what was mentioned in the note.

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on the ground (at those places) which were near the exterior of the city and its tip to his ear, and he used to hear the sound of the digging. Then the sappers met all of a sudden in the tunnels, and there were killed three of the sappers of Edessa , and of the sappers of Alp Arslan, son of David, who was known as al-‘Adil, twenty men. They captured nine and killed them, and they hurled their heads to him by ballistas and (?) catapults. They possessed ninety ballistas and (?) catapults. They reviled him (al-‘Adil), and they shouted at him: «O treacherous one, O crafty one, O faithless one», and they multiplied (their) insults to him with every abuse. He (al-‘Adil) subjected them to severe fighting for thirty-eight days, and he fought against them with elephants upon which (were) men clad in armour. Whenever they approached to come near to the fortress, they (the inhabitants) hurled upon them huge rocks so that they killed (some) of them. They overcame him through the power of the Lord Christ, because it is a city for which and for Abgar its king, Thaddaeus, the disciple, prayed. Then he marched on it with seven huge dabbabat ³, and they (the inhabitants) used against them (the dabbabat) long poles and fat and pitch and naphta, and they hurled upon them (the dabbabat) rocks and fire, and they set them (the dabbabat) on fire and killed all who were in them. Then the king al-‘Adil ordered trees and wood to be cut, and he threw them into the moat which (was) at the fortress, so that the cavalry and infantry might walk over them to the fortress. They (the inhabitants) reached them (the trees and the timber in the moat) from the interior of the city through the tunnels, and they set them on fire, and the fire blazed so that the moat became a raging fire, and there arose shouting against him (al-‘Adil) and against his troops with jeering

³ An engine of war, a wooden tower, filled with armed men. It was brought up against the walls of a besieged city.

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and insults from above the fortress. He sent to them (the inhabitants) a messenger to say to them: «It would not be good for me to depart from you. after I have fought against you, and all the lands have yielded to me, unless a small sum of money is fixed for me (to be paid) by you. And (then) I shall depart from you lest disgrace befall me».

The governor (wali) caused his messenger to lodge in a house, and he honoured him. When it was morning. he selected ten thousand young men, warriors, from the city, and he clothed them all in armourso that nothing remained (visible) of them except their eyelids. He posted them in two lines in the place through which the messenger would pass to the gate of Edessa , and he said to the messenger: «Ride back to your master». He rode off and continued to pass between those young men, while they shouted and cried out, till he came to the gate of the city. Basil (Basil), the governor (wali), said to him: «Say to this treacherous dog who sent you: ‘We thought that your word was trustworthy, but you are treacherous, lying and faithless. We have nothing (for you) but a sword, because we know your falsehood and your faithlessness. There is no need for tunnels and dabbabat. Lo the gate of the city is open, and, by the truth of my Lord Jesus Christ, I will not close the gate of this city this day, except after sunset. If you want to fight, advance». The gate of the city continued to be open, and those young men (were) standing (ready), and the fortress was occupied by men till after sunset, and then he shut the gate, and they (the inhabitants) cried out against him (al-‘Adil) from the top of the wall.

That night, he (al-‘Adil) departed from them, after he had remained forty-five days, and he went to the city of Serug and to Aleppo, and he besieged it, and they (the inhabitants) were taunting him with what he had experienced from the inhabitants of Edessa. After this, Mahmud ibn Salih went forth to him at night in the guise of the Ghuzz, till he reached his tent, and he threw himself down before him (al-‘Adil), and he accepted him and he dealt kindly with him, and he bestowed upon him a robe of honour, and he sent him back to his city.

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Then he (al-‘Adil) returned again to Edessa in the month of Basans ¹, and he remained four days without fighting. Nasr ibn Nasr ad-Dawlah wrote to him, saying to him: «You are come down to Edessa and you are not able to conquer it. Diogenes, the King of the Greeks (ar-Rum), had laid waste the land of Islam till he drew nigh to the lands of Khorasan ³».

Then he departed at night, and he journeyed till he reached Khilat in the neighbourhood of Manzikert ⁵ (in) the land of the Armenians. Between the two cities there is a great river. Diogenes, the King of the Greeks, was coming down to the river of Manzikert with his troops, (having) also six hundred thousand horsemen, warriors ⁶. The two kings met together on a day of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁷. The leaders of the troops of Diogenes the Greekwere engaged in conspiracy against him ⁸ (Diogenes) through a plot by Michael, son of Maria ⁹, who was king before him, after his uncle Caesar. When the king Diogenes charged the army of the Ghuzz, and he was in their midst, thinking that his companions ¹⁰ and his troops were charging with him and (that)

¹ = April-May, Julian Calendar.

³ A north-eastern province of Iran.

⁵ The defeat of the Byzantine army by the Seljuks at Manzikert in Armenia in A. D. 1071 was a disaster from which the Empire never recovered.

⁶ Gibbon, op. cit., p. 238 gives the number of Romanus’ army at, at the least, one hundred thousand men.

⁷ May-June, Julian Calendar.

⁸ Lit. laid a trap for him. Gibbon, op. cit., p. 239, note 38, says: «Moreover there was treachery in his camp».

⁹ Sic. Michael VII Doukas who reigned after Diogenes, certainly had a wife named Maria, but his mother was called Eudocia. [Communication by Dr. Th. D. Moschonas].

¹⁰ i. e. the hetairia or body guard of the Emperor.

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(they were) obeying him and (were) good counsellors. When they deserted him and forsook him ¹, he killed with his (own) hand a multitude of the Ghuzz. He continued killing and defending himselfuntil they seized him prisoner, and his troops were dispersed, after a number of them had been captured and some of them had entered Manzikert (Mazikard).

The king al-‘Adil caused him (Diogenes) to be brought into his presence, and he said to him: «Do you wish that I should sell you ⁴, or that I should kill you, or that I should set you free?» Diogenes said to him: «You did not overcome me by fighting, only my soldiers deserted me, and forsook me, and were not good counsellors. Now, if you are a butcher ⁵ kill me, and if you are a moneychanger, sell me, and if you are a king, set me free». He (al-‘Adil) went up to him and embraced him, and seated him with him on his dais. He (al-‘Adil) remained with him alone for three days ⁶, eating and drinking and conversing with him, and shewing affection for him, and arranging with him alliances and offering to him presents, and he despatched with him three thousand horsemen so that they might accompany him to al-Massisah, and (then) they returned. When he (Diogenes) reached it (al-Massisah) news came to him that Michael already sat (on the throne) as king at Constantinople. This (was) in the year seven hundred and eighty-four of the Martyrs ⁹. Michael made ready the troops, and Diogenes, while at al-Massisah, assembled many troops, and he demanded the

¹ «They deserted him and forsook him». Gibbon, op. cit., p. 239 mentions the desertion of the Uzi.

⁴ i. e. as a slave.

⁵ «If you are a butcher, etc..» Gibbon, op. cit., p. 2/11, gives this story, but with other expressions.

⁶ Gibbon, op. cit., p. 241, gives the period as eight days.

⁹ i.e. A. D. 1067-1068, but this date is incorrect, since the Battle of Manzikert occurred in A. D. 1071.

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kingdom. The leaders of the Greeks were divided into two (parts): one part (was) with Diogenes; and one part (was) with Michael. Michael despatched the Domesticus ¹, the son of his paternal uncle, to Diogenes with a great army, and he met him at Adana ². Diogenes triumphed and defeated him, and he (the Domesticus) returned to Constantinople routed.

Then Diogenes endeavoured (to persuade) the Antiochians to open Antioch for him, but they did not (do so), and he remained living with his troops, going from al-Massisah to Adana (and) to Tarsus. Then Michael despatched other troops with the Domesticus, the son of his paternal uncle, until he met Diogenes, at Adana. The Domesticus put him (Diogenes) to flight and defeated him, and he (Diogenes) entered Adana in a rout, and he (the Domesticus) took captive the al-B h t, and (it was) he who used to support Diogenes. Diogenes and those with him remained besieged in the fortress of Adana for many days, then he (Diogenes) said to the chiefs of the city: «How long will this state in which we are (last)? We have already destroyed (enough) Christians between us. I am not in need of the kingdom in these circumstances». Then he sent to the Domesticussaying to him: «This night I shall cut off my hair and I shall become a monk and I shall put on woollen (garments), and God shall bless your kingdom for you. The time of meeting between us (shall be), when I shall go out to you to-morrow, wearing black woollen garments, and my hair carried before me on a salver».

¹ The Domesticus was a commander of the scholarii of the Byzantine army, cf. S. Runciman, Byzantine Civilisation, London, 1933, pp. 141-142.

² Adana, capital of the vilayet Adana in Turkey.

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When the morrow came, the Domesticus rode to meet him, and he (Diogenes) came out to him (wearing) monastic garments, and his shorn hair (carried) before him. When the Domesticus and all his army saw him (Diogenes), they dismounted from their horses and prostrated themselves before him, and they wept. The Domesticus embraced him and wept, and they all journeyed to Har-samuli, the coast of Constantinople; and he went up to a monastery there ⁵, and the Domesticus sent to Michael, the king, and to the son of his paternal uncle Caesar, and he informed both of them about this.

When Alp Arslan, king of the Ghuzz of Khorasan came to Ispahan, he found (that) the son of his paternal uncle, Farud, had acted hypocritically towards him, and he (Farud) was driven before him until beyond the river. A youth of Daylam (belonging) to him ⁶ remained behind in a fortified castle, and Alp Arslan came down to it and besieged it. When he (the youth) saw that he was conquered, he asked him (Alp Arslan) for a safe-conduct, and he (Alp Arslan) assured him (of it), and he came down to him. When three days had passed, after he had come down to him, (while yet) he (was) under arrest in a tent, Alp Arslan, king of the Ghuzz, sent (a message) to him saying: «Your death is inevitable; choose (by) what (manner of) death you shall die». He said to the messenger of Alp Arslan : «My

⁵ The blinded emperor was conveyed to Prote (one of the Princes Islands) and imprisoned in the monastery there which he had founded. He survived his imprisonment only a few days. Cf. Gustaye Schlumberger, Les Iles des Princes, pp. 50-51, and 62-63.

⁶ «A youth (belonging) to him etc.» Gibbon, op.cit., p. 242-243 gives this story, but with other details. The fortress was defended by Joseph the Carizmian. His attack on Alp Arslan is not by craft, but in a headlong rush.

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lord, I was in this fortress on behalf of the son of his paternal uncle and if he has the intention to kill me, the money which the son of his paternal uncle has, (is) all with me concealed in this fortress. I wish to present myself before him and to inform him of the place (in which is) the money and its amount, and he may do with me after this what he wishes». The messenger went to Alp Arslan , and he informed him about this, and he (Alp Arslan) ordered that he should be brought. When he (the youth) was present, he kissed the ground and went forward so that he might draw nigh to the couch of the king Alp Arslan . They said to him: «Tell the king the place where the money is». Then he said: «The king is my lord, and I am his servant. I shall not say anything except between ourselves». Then he (Alp Arslan) ordered that he (the youth) should draw nigh to him, and he (the youth) bent down as if to kiss the ground, and he drew out a knife which he had between the socket of his thigh bone and (his) boot, and he threw himself upon the king and struck him with the knife in his breast once and twice. The pages leaped upon him with clubs and beat him till they killed him, and they dragged him along by his heels. Alp Arslan survived one hour after him, and he charged his wazir and his nobles, and said to them: «My second son (is) he who is worthy to be the king after me». When he was dead, they seated his aforesaid son (on the throne), and he despatched his brother Yanis to Syria, and with him (there were) many men. He conquered it and remained in it and dwelt at Damascus. Many calamities had befallen the father, Abba Christodoulus, the patriarch, through the priest Abba Jacob, the monk, who has been mentioned previously, till finally, he coveted the patriarchate, and his mind suggested to him that he should take it through Nasr ad-Dawlah ibn Hamdan his friend, and he departed to the aforesaid and settled with him this (matter), and he returned

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to Alexandria to await the arrival of Ibn Hamdan at it, so that he might do for him what he promised him (to do). Then Abba Jacob, the monk, fell ill and died, and we buried him in the Church of Abba Menas, the glorious martyr, which is outside the fortress. On his death, a priest, a monk, whom he had made his son in monasticism, whose name (was) Sulaiman—he was deaf and saintly and wise—said to us: «Know that the Lord Christ shielded this priest Abba Jacob, and he preserved the Law by his death. I shall not say to you more than this».

After this, Ibn Hamdan arrived at Alexandria, and his position became so great that he was addressed as our lord an-Nasr. When he learned about the death of Abba Jacob, it grieved him, because he had a preference for him, and he said: «By God, if he had remained alive until I arrived, I would have satisfied (his) desire, and I would have made him patriarch». We learned from his words and from the words of Sulaiman the deaf, that Abba Jacob had wished to take by force the patriarchate for himself through Hamadan, his friend. We gave thanks to God, since He had shortened his life, and that he did not reach his aim by rending the Christian Faith and the noble Apostolic Law.

At the time of his illness, I used to visit him, because he was god-father to my son John, and I heard him saying: «O Lord, I have sinned; grant unto me a delay of one year so that I may repent and weep over my sin». Then he said: «Grant unto me a delay of six months)). Then he said: «One month», till his tongue became tied and he died. What was previously mentioned of his act in seeking to take by force the patriarchate was disclosed after his death, and there was fulfilled in him the reward of prompt retribution in this world, and the patriarch was saved from his plan.

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When the Lewatis were in possession of all the Lower Land—they were about forty thousand horsemen besides their attendants—and the lands of Egypt (Misr) were under their rule, they used to sow as they wished, without (paying) any tax (and) without land-survey, until they considered and took evil counsel not to make embankments in the Rif and not to dig canals, so that the water might not rise over the lands, and that no one might sow anything, that they (the Lewatis) might sell their crops which they had obtained, as they wished, and that they might destroy what remained of the people. But God sent in that year which (was) the year four hundred and sixty-two of the Tax Year, a very high Nile, so that it suddenly covered all the lands, and the people sowed in all the lands.

As regards the father Christodoulus, he went after the death of Abba Jacob, the monk, to Cairo (Misr), and he remained in it a long time until the honoured Amir al-Guyus arrived in Egypt (Misr) from Acre. He (al-Guyus) killed those who were in it (Egypt), of them who practised duplicity, and this (was) in the year four hundred and sixty-three of the Tax Year which (is) the year seven hundred and ninety of the Pure Martyrs [A.D. 1073], and all the lands improved under him.

He went out against the Lewatis, and he defeated them and slew all of them, and he exterminated them from the districts of the Rif, and was master over them. He also journeyed to Upper Egypt (as-Said) and he conquered it, and he exterminated those who were in it of them who practised insubordination, and he ruled over it, and he returned to Cairo (Misr) and remained in it. He set in order affairs according to their former arrangement and brought them back to their (proper) state, praise (be) to God and thanks (be) to Him!

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The Lewatis had since then stretched out their hands over the monasteries in the Wadi Habib, and had pillaged them and slain the monks in them, and those who remained of them (the monks) escaped to the Rif and elsewhere, and they (the Lewatis) wrecked them (the monasteries).

Great grief befell the people of Alexandria and Cairo (Misr), together with what befell them in the way of the great hardships in the days of Ibn Hamdan and his companions, in that he made the Lewatis masters of the Rif and they ruled over it, and no one was able to sow in it crops except them. They stored the crops and refused to sell them until they (the crops) disappeared from the land of Egypt (Misr). A small sack of wheat reached eighty dinars, and (then) it (wheat) disappeared, so that it was not found (anywhere), and people ate dead mules and donkeys and other things besides them until they were exhausted. Then some of them (the people) ate one another, and a number (of them) ate their children, and a number (of them) used to eat kundur which (is) the powder of the wood of the palm-tree. The people continued under this affliction until God destroyed Nasr ad-Dawlah Ibn Hamdan and his brothers and his companions. He was killed in (one of) the residences of the Ghuzz in Cairo (Misr) by the hand of Baldakur, his son in law, and those who were with him of the (?) bearded Turks, and this (was) in the year four hundred and sixty-five of the Lunar Year (which) corresponds to the Tax Year four hundred and sixty-two.

One year after he (Ibn Hamadan) had been killed, the Amir al-Guyus arrived in Egypt (Misr), and God set free the people through the

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conquest of the Rif and Upper Egypt and all the lands. The price of food was relaxed and became cheap in his days so that wheat used to be sold at a quarter of a dinar for a small sack, and thanks (be) to God for ever and ever.

It happened (when) the Amir al-Guyus (was) on his journey to Upper Egypt to (fight) until he conquered it, (that) a man whose name (was) ‘Ali al-Kifti falsely accused to him the patriarch, and said to him: «A metropolitan whose name (was) Victor who had been (appointed) by Christodoulus, the patriarch, had demolished a mosque in the lands of Nubia, and that in the lands of Abyssinia (there is) a metropolitan whose name (is) Cyril, and he has respect for the Muslims and loves them and honours them».

The Amir al-Guyus despatched from Upper Egypt a letter to his son al-Awhad in which he ordered him to arrest the patriarch. He arrested him and kept him prisoner with him, until a messenger whom the Amir al-Guyus had sent to the king of Nubia, known as Hisam ad-Dawlah Gawamird, arrived and made known to him the contrary of what ‘Ali al-Kifti had related to him. When he (the Amir al-Guyus) returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah), he caused the father, Abba Christodoulus, the patriarch, to be brought to his council in honour and with respect, and he caused to be brought Hisam ad-Dawlah Gawamird and ‘Ali al-Kifti the aforesaid. Hisam ad-Dawlah accused him (‘Ali al-Kifti) of falsehood with regard to what he had related to him (the Amir al-Guyus). He confessed and acknowledged his falsehood. The Amir al-Guyus caused to be brought the kadis and witnesses and those learned in jurisprudence, and he said to them: «What should be done with this liar Kifti who has created a falsehood between two kings?» Those learned in jurisprudence gave a decision that he should be put to death. Then the Amir

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al-Guyus said to the patriarch: «What do you say concerning him?» He said to him: «We have not (the right) according to our religion to kill nor to render evil for evil, but you (are) the sultan, and authority (belongs) to God and to you». He (al-Guyus) commanded that he (‘Ali al-Kifti) should he put to death, and he was put to death, and God saved the patriarch from his (‘Ali al-Kifti’s) plan. The arrival of Hisam ad-Dawlah Gawamird at that time was (one of) the wondrous miracles (of God). A long conversation took place between the Amir al-Guyus and the father, the patriarch, Abba Christodoulus at this council-meeting in which the father, the patriarch, displayed virtue, understanding and leadership, so that his worth was magnified in the eyes of those present. Then he (Christodoulus) said to the Amir al-Guyus: «Cyril who is called ‘Abdun (is) a pretender to the priesthood, and he has taken by force the archiepiscopate, because I have not consecrated him, nor have I prayed over him, nor have I made him what he claims for himself, nor have I written to him a letter at all».

It happened before this, that there had been arranged the journey of Abba Mercurius, bishop of Wisim, to the lands of Abyssinia with a letter from the patriarch and one of his vestments (with which) to clothe the aforesaid Cyril and to make him metropolitan, and the father, the patriarch, had wept when he was obliged (to do) this. And when the falsehood of al-Kifti had been exposed, and he had been put to death, and the patriarch had spoken in the council-meeting of the Amir al-Guyus, as we have previously mentioned, the affair of Cyril was cancelled. There was arranged a journey of Mercurius, the aforesaid bishop, known as al-Wa‘wa‘, to the lands of Nubia, as a messenger to the king from the patriarch, and (there was) with him a messenger from the Amir al-Guyus to him (the king). He (the Amir’s messenger) (was) a noble man, surnamed Saif ad-Dawlah, and he was known as as-Sarif ar-Radi‘, to summon an amir, known as Kanz ad-Dawlah. He (Kanz ad-Dawlah)

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had acted with duplicity in the lands of the Upper Egypt and had spoiled them and plundered them, and he had ruled over them before the arrival of the Amir al-Guyus in Egypt (Misr).

When he (Kanz ad-Dawlah) was informed of his (Saif ad-Dawlah’s) journey to Upper Egypt, as we have said at the beginning, he fled from him to the land of Nubia. When the aforesaid bishop and the messenger who was with him had journeyed to the lands of Nubia with the letter from the patriarch, the king delivered him (Kanz ad-Dawlah) to them, and they escorted him back to Egypt (Misr), and the Amir al-Guyus put him to death, and crucified him at the Iron Gate ¹ (which is) between Cairo (al-Kahirah) and (Misr).

The Amir al-Guyus honoured still more the father, Abba Christodoulus ³, the patriarch, and (showed) attention to him. Abundance followed in the days of the Amir al-Guyus and the routes were put in a good state, and the arrival of the caravans in Egypt (Misr) from the East and the West and from all lands was without interruption.

It was at the end of the days of Abba Christodoulus, the patriarch, that John became patriarch of Antioch ⁴. He was the son of the sister of Abba John its (Antioch’s) patriarch (who was) known as Ibn ‘Abdun whose miracles have been mentioned.

When he (Ibn ‘Abdun) went to his rest, he appointed this father in his stead, and they called him according to his name John, and he was a saintly (man).

The father Abba Christodoulus wrote to him

¹ The Iron Gate is also called the River Gate, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 189 and p. 202 (Plan).

³ From the spelling of the name Akhristudulu instead of the previous Akhristudulus which is used from this point onward to the end of the biography, we may suppose that the compiler was using another document for his history.

⁴ John XI.

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(John) a letter complaining to him of what had befallen him in the way of pillage, captivity and chastisement, and that he had come out from his possessions, even as a hair (which) is extracted from dough. There was taken from him above one hundred thousand dinars and other things besides, which he explained in his letter. He wrote to him an answer througha man, a Syrian priest, called Samuel, of the inhabitants of Jerusalem. He (Samuel) became a saintly anchorite in a hermitage in the Rif called Azra—may God grant unto us the blessing of his prayers! He (John) set forth in it (the letter) beautiful words, manifesting his desire (to see) him and to explain to him the loyalty, love and Christian unity which pertain to the patriarchs of these two Sees. Then he said to him in it (the letter): «As to what the saintly brother, our partner in the ministry, has mentioned with regard to his departure from his possessions, even as a hair (which) is extracted from dough, and to what has befallen him, which he has explained in his letter, I, the sinner, revere his worth, his leadership and his sanctity beyond this saying. ‘What wealth do we possess, we who have come to this exalted leadership of which we are not worthy, beyond the riches of the Lord Christ, our God, Who was upon the earth, before Whom His disciples were wont to eat the bread of charity’. He (is) Omnipotent, Who satisfied the thousands with five barley loaves, and there was taken up from the remains, double this (amount). In like manner, Peter, head of the Apostles, and all the holy disciples of whom we (are) the vicars, did not, any of them, lay up treasures, nor did any of them have but one garment (and) nothing besides it.

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Even so, the great Saint beloved of the Lord Christ, John, son of Zebedee, the Evangelist, used to work in the refuse of the Baths at Ephesus with a Greek man, and he used to eat the bread of his toil at the furnace of the Bath ¹. How (then) shall we who are abject have money?» He mentioned to him in this letter of his many things, and they (were) a consolation, a reproof and a solace.

After this, the aforesaid father Abba John went to his rest and Abba Basil, the patriarch, sat (on the throne) after him. He remained one year and a half, and he went to his rest, and there did not arrive from him a Synodical Letter, nor was his name mentioned in the churches of the lands of Egypt (Misr), nor in a Liturgy, nor in a prayer, and the name of the saintly John continued to be mentioned according to the custom. The See of Antioch remained vacant for a long time because of the occupation of the Ghuzz of these lands, and (on account of) what had happened in them in the way of disorders, captivity and assassinations; until thirty-four men, metropolitans and bishops, assembled in the Monastery of Barsum and set a patriarch on the Throne of Antioch, whose name was Lazarus, and they named him Dionysius. He wrote a Synodical Letter through a Syrian priest whose name (was) Thomas. He has become now bishop of Baghdad. His arrival with it (the letter) was in the days of the saintly Cyril, patriarch of Alexandria—God grant unto us the blessing of his prayer. We shall mention this in his biography.

The saintly father, Abba Christodoulus, the patriarch, went to his rest on Saturday, the fourteenth of (the month of) Kyahk (in the) year seven hundred and ninety-four of the Pure Martyrs [December 10th, 1077 A. D.].

^l This fact is not mentioned in the Acts of John, Cf. M. R. James, The Apocryphal New Testament, Oxford, 1926, pp. 228-270, but it is mentioned in A. S. Lewis, Acta Mythologica Apostolorum, London, 1904, pp. 40-45,Arabic text with translation in English.

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He was buried in the Church of the Pure Mistress known as the Mu‘allakah in the Kasr as-Sama‘. The duration of his occupation of the Throne of the Evangelist was thirty years. After a time, his holy body was carried to the Monastery of Abba Makarius in the Wadi Habib—God grant unto us the blessing of his prayers. Amen.

The Father Cyril the Patriarch, and he is the Sixty-Seventh of (their) number.

When the father Abba Christodoulus, the patriarch, went to his rest in the forty-first year of the reign of al-Mustansir billah, Amir of the Faithful, in the days of Amir al-Guyus (who has been) previously mentioned, it was the turn of the priests and the archons of Cairo (al-Misriyun) and the monks of the Monastery of Abba Macarius to appoint the patriarch. A body of the bishops, and they (were) Abba Cosmas, bishop of Nusa, and Abba John, bishop of Sakha, known as Ibn az-Zalim, and Abba Mark, bishop of Abusir, and Abba Mercurius, bishop of Misil, and Abba Gabriel, bishop of Busaiah, and it is the See of

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al-Khandak, and Abba Khael, bishop of Kutur, and Abba Theodore, bishop of Kharbitta, and Abba George, bishop of Ibtu, and Abba John, bishop of Atrib and Abba Mark, bishop of al-Balyana, and Abba Peter, bishop of al-Bahnasa, and Abba Macarius, bishop of al-Kisand Abba Menas, bishop of al-Banawanain and others besides them from among the bishops and the priests, and a number of priests of Alexandria and a body of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) went to the Monastery of Abba Macarius, and they remained for the space of two months seeking for him who was fit for the patriarchate, but they did not succeed. Then some of the bishops and with them Sarut the monk, the archdeaconin the Monastery of Abba Macarius arose, and they went to the Monastery of Abba Kame in order to take the Saint of God, Bessus, the monk in truth, whose virtues and miracles have been previously mentioned. When they started to take hold of him, he cried out against them, and he took stones with which he smote his breast so that he almost killed himself. Then he said to them: «I am the son of a slave. Will you make me patriarch? Do not seek me nor Macarius the door-keeper who has already fled from you and hidden himself. Do not weary yourselves, for, lo, your patriarch is with them in the Skene of the Monastery of Abba Macarius.

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Abba Christodoulus—God give rest to his soul—had conversed with a priest (who was) with us at Alexandria, (who was) blind, at the Church of the Mistress ¹, whose name (was) Raga. The aforesaid priest said to the father, Abba Christodoulus: «Alas for you, O our saintly, virtuous father! How shall this people be deprived of you? Whence shall they find such as you?» He (Christodoulus) said to him: «There shall sit on this Throne after me a good monk whose name (is) George. He (is) a thresher in a village of the districts of al-Buhairah, called Iflakah».

Abu’l-Barakat ibn Zuwain who copied this biography from the Cell of the patriarchate for himself and for his son Abu’l-Yumn ibn Banub who (was) at that time a scribe at the aforesaid Cell, in the patriarchate of the saintly father Abba John ⁷, the patriarch, in the year eight hundred and sixty-six of the Martyrs [1149-1150 A. D.], related to me (a statement) by his son Banub (who) was formerly scribe at the Cell of Abba Cyril, the patriarch, that the father Abba Christodoulus, the patriarch, placed his thumb on the mouth of the vase of Chrism, and the priest who was fit to be patriarch, and he (was) Abba Cyril, was beside him (Christodoulus), because he (Cyril), (was) one of the priests of the Skene, and he (Christodoulus) made the sign

¹ Perhaps the Church of the Virgin Mary which was eventually converted into a mosque and known as the Mosque of the Thousand Columns, cf. E. Breccia, Alexandrea ad Aegyptum, Bergamo, 1914, p. 45.

⁷ John V, 11Z16-1166 A.D.

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of the Cross on his forehead, and he said to him: «I have anointed you», and the explanation of it is «I have anointed you». The marvels of God (are) in His Saints Who manifests to them the hidden things. When Abba Christodoulus died, it was spread abroad in Alexandria that the opinion of the body (of the electors) was unanimous to make Macarius, the door-keeper, (patriarch). They all journeyed to the monastery to take him. Margathe aforesaid priest spoke, and he said to me: «Not thus did my father, Abba Christodoulus say to me». When they did not find him (Macarius), and the exact information reached him with regard to him who was made (patriarch), he said: «In truth, thus he (Christodoulus) said to me».

As for the bishops and the archdeacon who went to the Monastery of Abba Kame, they returned the same day to their monastery, and they informed the body (of the electors) about what had happened to them with Saint Bessus and what he had said to them. Then they prayed and they multiplied (their) supplications to God—Praise (be) to Him!—to direct them to him whom He had chosen for this affair. They mentioned a number (of monks), but they did not agree upon any one of them, until a monk, a priest of the Monastery of Abba Macarius (who was) middle-aged (and) whose name (was) George entered unto them. When they saw him, God, Whose Name (is) exalted, put it into the hearts of all of them to agree

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on making him (patriarch). All of them arose, (and they went) to him, and they took him by force, and they clothed him with the robe, and they named him Cyril (Kirillus), while he wept and said: «I am the son of a second (wife). I am not fit for this state», but they did not relinquish him.

This was on the Sunday before Lent, and they journeyed with him to Alexandria, and they consecrated (him) in it on the twenty-second of (the month of) Baramhat (in the) year seven hundred and ninety-four of the Martyrs [March 18th, 1078 A. D.]. Then he (Cyril) journeyed to Cairo (Misr), and Abba Jacob, bishop of Cairo (Misr), sent to the Saikh Abu’1-Fadl Yahya ibn Ibrahim who (was) at that time mutawali of the Diwan of the Gates in Cairo (Misr) and mutawali of the Diwan of Industry, and he informed him of his (Cyril’s) arrival at the Church of Michael the Elect on the Island of Cairo (Misr). He (Abu’1-Fadl) sent to him (Cyril) a royal processional barge, and he sailed in it, he and those with him, and he crossed over to Cairo (Misr). Many people of the masses assembled on the shore, and he went up to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and before him they (chanted) until he reached the Castle. He and those with him entered by the River Gate, (and they walked) until they reached the door of the Audience Chamber. Mamun ad-Dawlah ‘Anbar al-Harrani al-Ustadh who (was) at that time Master of the Correspondence (ar-Rasalah) came out to him and said to him: «The Amir of the Faithful sends greetings to you». Then he bowed close to the ground, and he took him (Cyril), and he entered with him alone unto our lord al-Mustansir billah, Amir of the Faithful, and with him there were sitting his mother and his sister, and before them (there was) much perfume, and they offered him of

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this perfume, and they said: «Bless us and our Castle», and he blessed them and prayed for them, and they rejoiced with him, and they said to him: «May God grant unto us and our dynasty your blessing»”. Then he (Cyril) went out and stood at the door of the Audience Chamber, and he commanded Peter, bishop of Dakmirah to read the prayer, and he read it, and he (Cyril) again blessed and prayed and went out, and they chanted before him up to the house of the illustrious Amir al-Guyus. He met with a most excellent reception from him, and he caused him to be seated, and he caused him to come close to him, and he honoured him, and he cheered him. He (Cyril) prayed many prayers for him, and he commanded Peter, the aforesaid bishop, to read the prayer there also at the door of the Council (chamber). The wali of Cairo (Misr) was standing before his lord, Amir al-Guyus, and he (the Amir) commanded him to go forth and to ride with him (Cyril), when he should go down to Cairo (Misr) and to wheresoever he wished, and to watch over him, and to serve him, and to satisfy his needs as long as (he was) in Cairo (Misr).

He (Cyril) went forth honoured and respected, and he went down to the Church of the Mistress the Mu‘allakah in Cairo (Misr) at Kasr as-Sam‘, and he was consecrated in it. Then he went up, after some days, to the Church of the Mistress in Cairo (al-Kahirah) in the Harat ar-Rum, and he was consecrated in it.

When he went out in Lent to the Monastery of Abba Macarius, those of the bishops who were with him there, related to me that, when he elevated the vessel of the Holy Chrism

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in the Skene of Abba Macarius (Abu. Makar) on Maundy Thursday, the vessel flowed over his hands at the altar, so that those who were present marvelled and glorified God Whose Name is exalted.

After this, the priest Thomas who has been mentioned before, arrived in (the month of) Hatur (in the) year seven hundred and ninety-five of the Martyrs [A. D. 1078], and with him (there was) the SynodicalLetter from Abba Dionysius, patriarch of Antioch, and from his metropolitans, his bishops and his priests. He found that the father Abba Christodoulus had gone to his rest, and that there sat (on the Throne) after him the father Abba Cyril. He altered the address of the Synodical (Letter) to his (Cyril’s) name, and he delivered it to him (Cyril), and it was read in the churches of Egypt (Misr), and his (Dionysius’) name was recited in their sanctuaries, and prayers were said for him in them at the time of the Prayers and the Liturgies, as was the custom, and he (Cyril) wrote to him (Dionysius) a Synodical Letter in answer to his Letter.

Abba Cyril, the patriarch, was most of his time at the Church of Michael on the Island of Cairo (Misr), in the place known as the Elect, abiding in the Keep which was in it. He used to long to live in the Rif, but he was not able (to do so) on account of the many messengers arriving from the lands of Abyssinia and Nubia and returning to them,

19.

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and of the requirement of the Sultan that he (Cyril) should present himself to him at all times.

Solomon, king of Nubia, relinquished the kingdom and retired from it. and he delivered it up to George, the son of his sister, and he withdrew to worship and (to lead) the ascetic life. It was in the second year of the patriarchate of Abba Cyril that Solomon, the aforesaid, went to a valley (wadi) known as Saint Onuphrius to worship there in a church (dedicated) to his name. Between it and the borders of Nubia (it is) a journey of three days, and between it and Aswan(it is) a journey of ten days. The wali of Aswan at that time was As‘ad ad-Dawlah Sardakin al-Kawwasi. One of the brothers of Kanz ad-Dawlah came to him and said to him: «My lord, do you wish me to go to seize Solomon who was king of Nubia and to bring him to you?» He said: «Certainly». He took with him twenty men, and they rode good camels and they journeyed in secret until they reached the church in the valley (wadi) of Abba Onuphrius, and they made an attack on it suddenly, and they seized the aforesaid Solomon (Salamun) and they brought him to As‘ad ad-Dawlah, and he despatched him to Cairo (al-Kahirah). When he reached it, all who (were) in it from among the amirs and eminent people, met him with drums and flags and trumpets. When he entered Cairo (al-Kahirah), Amir al-Guyus honoured him and caused him to lodge in a beautiful mansion. He bore to him robes and furniture and vessels, and he (Solomon) remained in this condition for the space of a year, and then he went to his rest, and he was buried in the Monastery of the Saint, my lord George at al-Khandak.

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The father Abba Cyril consecrated a metropolitan for Abyssinia. He was a learned young man whose name (was) Severus, the son of the sister of Victor, the deceased metropolitan. He had been brought up there with his aforesaid uncle. He (Severus) made many promises to Amir al-Guyus so that he approached Abba Cyril (and asked him) to advance him, and he (Cyril) consecrated him. He (Severus) said that he would continue (to supply) him (Amir al-Guyus) with presents from there, and would allow the kings to obey him. When he (Severus) had journeyed and had arrived in the lands of Abyssinia, Cyril whom we have mentioned before,opposed him.

The father Christodoulus had said to Amir al-Guyus that he had not consecrated him (Cyril) and that he (was) an usurper of the priesthood, and that he had quarrelled with him and had opposed him.

Then this Cyril collected his wealth and journeyed to Dahlak, and there was with him much money. The chief of Dahlak arrested him, and he took his money and he despatched him to Amir al-Guyus. When he reached Cairo (al-Kahirah), he (Amir al-Guyus) caused him to be brought to his Council. Then he enquired concerning him, and he was informed of the correctness of what had been said about him, and he imprisoned him in the Treasury of Flags for a time. Then he beheaded him in the year eight hundred and sixty of the Martyrs [1143-1144 A. D].

Then letters arrived from Severus, the metropolitan, (in which) he informed him (the patriarch) that the lands of Abyssinia were in order, and what there was in them in the way of

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corruption had been suppressed, and that the king, and his wazirs, and the inhabitants of his kingdom, and his friends, and all his subjects had each one of them many wives, and that he (Severus) did not cease (to speak) with the king to make him desist from this, humouring him and exhorting him until he removed from him all his wives, and (that) there remained with him only one wife in addition to the mother of his children. He tried (to make him) give up the wife, and to remain only with the mother of his children, but he was not able (to do this), and he (the king) said to him: «I have given up all my wives, but as regards this (one), I am not able to give her up, and I cannot separate from her on account of my great love for her». He (Severus) dispensed him (the king) with regard to this, and he pretended to overlook it, for fear lest the affair might turn against him. He (Severus) did in like manner with the inhabitants of his (the King’s) kingdom, and the principal men of his State, and the rest of his subjects; and all of them gave up what they used to practise in the way of taking many wives. He asked in his letter that the patriarch should write a letter to the king and to the inhabitants of his kingdom and wazirs and the men of his State, exhorting them in it, and instructing them that this was the correct (thing), and forbidding them to observe the customs of the Old (Testament), and mentioning to them the spiritual instructions from the holy books of the Old and New (Testaments), and explaining in it what might support the correctness of his (Severus’) words to them, and strengthen his injunction concerning them, that they might profit thereby in this world and in the next. He (the patriarch) answered his (Severus’) request, and he wrote a letter as was requisite, even more precisely than what he (Severus) wished, and he sent it to him with the messengers who had reached him with his (Severus’) letters.

When a number of Sees became vacant (through the death) of their bishops, he consecrated for them new bishops, and he did not practise simony at all. He abolished it altogether, and he made

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an agreement with everyone whom he consecrated that half of whathe should receive from the see should be for the bishop and half for the Cell of my lord Mark the Evangelist, according to the ancient rule. He dedicated what he was wont to receive from certain sees to the Monastery of the Saint Abba Macarius, and they (were): Damirah, Abusir, Bana^;, and Damanhurand al-Ihnasiah. He wrote documents for this, and he laid down conditions in them to confirm it, and he delivered them to the monks, the stewards, of the aforesaid monastery.

He dedicated also half (of the revenues) from the See of Rosettaand half (of the revenues) from the See of Malig to the Church of the Saint, my lord Mark the Evangelist. He sent the money which he received from the half (of the revenues) of the two sees

……….¹⁶ at Alexandria known as al-Kamha by Poemen,

the hegoumenos, because he was a man in whom (there was) goodness and he was of his (Cyril’s) relatives, and he built many churches.

¹⁶ Arabic text not clear.

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It was in the year eight hundred and two of the Martyrs [1086 A. D.] that the bishops from Lower Egypt and the archons of Cairo (Misr) assembled, and they said to the saintly father, Abba Cyril: «You, O our saintly father, are spiritual, but lo, they are your companions who corrupt the state of the people, and it is not right that such as these should be your companions, because they disparage you». He said to them: «And who (are) these whose companionship to me you detest?» They said to him: «George, bishop of Ibtua and Abraham, bishop of Dibkua⁾ and Pistos who was a monk who had cast aside the skhema and had married a woman, and Banub, the scribe, and Abu’1-Karam the monk. These five ought not to be attendants to you». Matters between them and him (Cyril) became serious about this, till they wrote a scroll in which they laid down that he should dismiss these from him, and they obtained his signature on it, consenting to what it contained. And when they had departed from him, he did not consider (that it was right) to approve of their opinion on this (matter), otherwise, it would be as if he were under their order(s), and as if they were judges over him, and also he was ashamed to dismiss the aforesaid, (as) they had served him and had been his companions, and he was dependent upon them for his service; and he left them in their position, except Abu’l-Karam the monk whom he dismissed on account of the blameworthiness of his manner (of life).

Some of the bishops of Lower Egypt, at the consecration of this father Cyril (Kirillus), firmly believed that he would be governed by

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their opinions, and that they would have the mastery over him in all affairs, because he was, at the beginning, of little learning, like Demetrius the former father ², but he was a good priest, because he was a priest of the Skene of the Monastery of Abba Macarius. When he became patriarch, what they supposed was not realized for them, and he applied himself assiduously to the reading of the Scriptures and to their interpretation, so that, (when) I, the sinner, went in to him, I found an interpretation of the four Gospels before him, and I questioned him concerning many words of the holy Gospels, and he gave the best interpretation of them, which the knowledge of most of the bishops and the priests did not reach.

Among all his blessings and grace(s) and his sanctity, and what God the Exalted has granted to His creatures in answer to his prayers for them (is) that the water of the blessed Nile, since he has become patriarch up till now, rises to the limit of (its) increase, and abundance increases, and security prevails over all these lands and all their ways and their fields, day and night.

Satan—may God confound him!—troubled certain of the bishops of Lower Egypt, and they (were) the sons of the oppressor (Bani az-Zalim)and others besides them, and they assembled with Joseph, superintendent of the gardens of the illustrious Amir al-Guyus, and he was his (Amir al-Guyus’) own particular (superintendent), and they calumniated the father, the patriarch, in his presence, because he had annulled what they had decided upon with him, and they presented letters through him (Joseph) to Amir al-Guyus concerning the patriarch

² The twelfth patriarch of Alexandria A. D. 2 30.

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about matters upon which they had decided between themselves andJoseph, by reason of his knowledge of the things with which Amir al-Guyus would agree and which he would be inclined to accept.

The father, the patriarch, had journeyed to Damirah, after having taken permission from the Sultan, and he consecrated churches in the Rif, and he remained there a number of months.

When the aforesaid (bishops) presented (the letters) to Amir al-Guyus, he sent to him (Cyril), commanding him to enter (Cairo), and that all his bishops should accompany him, on entering Cairo (Misr). He (Cyril) summoned those of the bishops whose presence was possible, and there assembled with him from among them, at Cairo (Misr), forty-seven bishops. From among them the bishops of Lower Egypt, twenty-two bishops, and the bishop of Cairo (Misr) and the bishop of al-Gizahand the bishop of al-Khandak, and twenty-two bishops of Upper Egypt. These are their names: Abba Jacob, bishop of Cairo (Misr), and Abba Gabriel, bishop of al-Khandak, and Abba Hezekiah, bishop of Wasim and al-Gizah. The bishops of Lower Egypt: John, bishop of Sakha, Mark, his brother, bishop of Samannud, Samuel, bishop of Tinnis, Misael, bishop of Damietta, Theodore, bishop of Tilbanah, John,

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bishop of Damirah, Khael, bishop of Abusir, Justus, bishop of Sahragt, Michael, bishop of Minuf,John, bishop of Tandata, Michael, bishop of Nawasa, Michael, bishop of al-Burlus, Gabriel, bishop of Nastarawah, Macarius, bishop of Sa, Macarius, bishop of Bana, Theodore, bishop of Kharbita, Gabriel, bishop of Damanhur, Mercurius, bishop of Masil, Raphael, bishop of Sirsana, Justus, bishop of Rosetta, Theodore, bishop of Atrib, Menas, bishop of al-Banawanain, and there remained of those who were not present on account of illness, Khael, bishop of Kutur, Theodore, bishop of Singar, Peter, bishop of Dukmirah, Phoebamon and Cosmas, bishops of the Oases. The bishops of Upper Egypt

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and of that which adjoins it: Jacob, bishop of Itfih, Daniel, bishop of Tammuh, Samuel, bishop of Annas, Matthew, bishop of al-Fayyum, Macarius bishop of al-Kis, Peter, bishop of al-Bahnasa, Paphnutius, bishop of Taha, Michael, bishop of Al-Ashmunain, Isaac, bishop of Ansina, Mercurius, bishop of Kuskam, Antony, bishop of Asyut, Ephraim, bishop of Sutb, Matthew, bishop of Kau, Claudius, bishop of Akhmim, Mark, bishop of al-Balyana, Colluthus, bishop of Huw, Mercurius, bishop of al-Aksurain, Poemen, bishop of Armant, Theodore, bishop of Asna, Phoebamon, bishop of Aswan, John,, bishop of Dandara, Apatir, bishop of Kus.

—337—

When Amir al-Guyus learned of their assembly, he caused them to come to his large garden outside Cairo (al-Kahirah) on Saturday, the twenty-third of (the month of) Misra (of the) year eight hundred and two of the Martyrs [1086 A. D.] which corresponds to the Tax-Year four hundred and seventy-five, and he addressed to them a severe speech which God pronounced through him, and he commanded them to draw up for him a collection of Canons of religion, and to present it to him. He showed kindness towards the patriarch, and he honoured him, and he revered him and he extolled his rank and his case before them, and he ordered him to depart to his church.

When they had gone out from before him, those of them who had written letters to Amir al-Guyus concerning the patriarch, separated from them, and they (were) five persons: John and Mark, the sons of the oppressor, John, bishop of Damirah, and Khael , bishop of Abusir and Macarius, bishop of al-Kis, and they assembled with the deacon Abu Ghalib Poemen ibn Tayadr ibn Mercurius of Singar to compile Canons, most of which they made up from the ancient (Canons), and they prolonged them and multiplied them. The father, Abba Cyril and the bishops who (were) with him compiled an epitome of the Canons.

Joseph, the superintendent of the gardens of the Sultan, who has been mentioned before, took the part of the adversaries of the patriarch, on the day of their arrival in the garden to (meet) Amir al-Guyus, and he showed solicitude for them by reason of his nearness to the Sultan, and he (it was) who presented their letters to him. Peter, one of the disciples of the patriarch, reprimanded him for this,

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and caused him to dread the iniquity of it. Then there was inflicted on the disciple by Joseph what he abhorred, and he addressed him (the disciple) in abusive language.

Abba Simon ¹, bishop of Tinnis, said to me that he treated Joseph gently in order to calm his anger, but he (Joseph) did not do (so), and the matter between him and the disciple became serious, until our father, the patriarch, went out from the garden to hear what had happened, and he spoke to Joseph with soft words, but he (Joseph) did not repent, and a discussion took place between him and the patriarch, until the patriarch said to him: «O Joseph, if you have a sovereign of the earth, I have Christ the sovereign of heaven and earth», and he descended from his beast, and he made an obeisance to Joseph in the alley of the garden. A body of Christians who were there wept when they saw the saintly patriarch making an obeisance to Joseph the superintendent, and (that) he (Joseph) did not resent this, and did not ask to be spared it; and the father Cyril went down with those of the bishops who (were) with him, to the church of the illustrious martyr Abba Mercurius in Cairo (Misr).

When it was Saturday, the end (of the month) of Misra, the same as (the day) on which the father, the patriarch, had made an obeisance to Joseph the superintendent, information came to Amir al-Guyus about Joseph the superintendent, which changed him and angered him and enraged him against him (Joseph), and he rode at once to the garden, and he commanded Joseph the

¹ In the list of bishops given on page 334 the occupant of the See of Tinnis is called Samuel.

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superintendent to be beheaded at the place in which the saintly father had made an obeisance to him, and at the very same hour. All the people marvelled at this, and the majesty and the greatness of the father Cyril increased with them. And the news reached the illustrious Amir al-Guyus, and he said: «Truly, he (Joseph) used to reproach the patriarch and his people in my presence and to assist his adversaries, and he did not incline my heart to accept his (the patriarch’s) works».

This affair became well known so that the illustrious al-Afdal¹, the son of Amir al-Guyus, to whom dealers in the village known as al-Bayahuowed something and denied his (Al-Afdal’s) right to it and did not pay it, said: «Take them to the patriarch (that) they may take hold of the hem of his garment and his cross, and take an oath and depart: I do not wish from them anything other than this, because in the past he (the patriarch) excommunicated Joseph, the superintendent, and my lord became enraged against him and slew him».

Then the illustrious Amir al-Guyus commanded the patriarch and the assembly of his bishops to be present at his Council, after they had remained in Cairo (Misr) for more than twenty days. When they were before him, he spoke kind words to them, and he honoured them and said to them: «Be all of you of one law, and do not disagree, and obey your chief, and be like him. Lay not up treasures of silver and gold. Give alms from all what you acquire, even as Christ commanded you. These Canons which you have compiled ⁷, I have no need of them, but I demanded them of you in order that the observance of them may

¹ On the death of his father, Al-Afdal Sahansah also became wazir.

⁷ For the Arabic text and English translation of these Canons: cf. O. H. E. Khs-Burmester ‘The Canons of Cyril II, LXVII Patriarch of Alexandria’, in Le Museon t. 40, pp. 245-288.

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be renewed among you, since it came to my knowledge that you were far from keeping to them and (from) reading them. He spoke to them (through) the inspiration of God the Exalted, for He—praised be He!—-caused him to speak, because he (was) king, even as Solomon the Wise said: «The heart of the king (is) in the hands of God». Then he said: «Go and pray for me», and he commanded one of the heads of his Diwans, and he (was) Abu’l-Fadail ibn al-‘Ubaidi, and he said to him: «Go out with them and write a list of what each one of them needs in order that letters patent may be written for them for all what they need». They went out delighted from his presence, and all of them went down to the aforesaid Church of Saint Abba Mercurius, and they celebrated the Liturgy on that Saturday and on the following Sunday. They had two magnificent days, the like of which had not been heard of, and they departed to their sees after this, being delighted.

After this, a monk called Farag wrote a letter to Amir al-Guyus in which he said that Abu as-Surur ibn al-Abah had money deposited with the bishop of al-Khandak during his lifetime, and that of all the bishops, there was none who did not have a deposit belonging to one of the hypocrites. (He said): «If you will command me to be empowered, I shall extract this from them, and I shall bear it to you». He (Amir al-Guyus) commanded him to be empowered and to use force to bring the bishops. He (Farag) went forth and seized whomsoever of them (the bishops) he found, and he brought them; and letters did not cease to be exchanged between them, until four thousand dinars had been fixed (to be paid) by all the bishops of the southern and northern districts: from the bishops of Lower Egypt, two thousand dinars, and from the bishops of Upper Egypt, two thousand dinars.

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Amir al-Guyus issued a decree to Farag the monk, in which he granted him (to collect) five dinars from each one of the bishops of Lower Egypt, every year, and he took them from them that year, and they paid the taxation one by one, and a loss of five hundred and fifty dinars in dues was suffered by the bishops of the southern district, and all were saved after great difficulties had befallen them.

Al-Awhad, the son of Amir al-Guyus, was staying at Alexandria, as we have said at the beginning, and there was among the company of those who accompanied him a man of the army, known as Gamal ad-Dawlah Ta‘an, son-in-law of Tag al-‘Arab, and his brother ‘Alain ad-Dawlah, sons of Bagbalin al-Gamali, both of whom Amir al-Guyus put to death. This man corrupted the mind of al-Awhad with regard to his father, and he encouraged him to disobey him and to act hypocritically towards him. He did this, and he revealed his hypocrisy and made it public. He (Amir al-Guyus) sent Abu’l-Farag ibn al-Mu‘azzi to him to restrain him from this, but he (al-Awhad) did not pay attention to him. Then his brother al-Afdal journeyed to him also, and he spoke with him and. treated him courteously, and he condemned his action, and he informed him of the evil report resulting from it, but the talk was of no avail with him, and he returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah) without reaching his purpose.

Amir al-Guyus journeyed to him with a great army, and he descended upon Alexandria and besieged it, and war continued between them for nearly two months. Then peace was restored between the two of them, and al-Awhad went out to his father, and they both entered together into Alexandria. Then al-Awhad departed from it, and he went down

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to……, and Amir al-Guyus remained in Alexandria, and he summoned the witnesses of the city and its chief men, and he said to them: «You helped my son to disobey the Sultan and encouraged him in this, and you killed the men of the Sultan and his troops, and you caused him to lose money». Numerous calamities occurred among them, and they feared for their lives. They did not cease negotiating their affair with him until (a fine) of a hundred and twenty thousand dinars had been imposed on all the inhabitants of Alexandria, and had been brought to him, besides what was brought to him from another district.

He (Amir al-Guyus) departed from it (Alexandria) in the month of Abib ⁴, and he and his son al-Awhad returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah). He remained in it, and he (al-Awhad) (was) as one estranged from his father until the month of Baramhat ⁵ (in the) year eight hundred and two of the Martyrs [1086 A. D], and he was accused to his father, Amir al-Guyus, and it was said to him (Amir al-Guyus): «He (al-Awhad) determined with a number of the amirs to kill you. Among them (the amirs) were Suga‘ ad-Dawlah Saf, surnamed the master of Babil, and Murhif ad-Dawlah Suwar al-Milihi, and Husn ad-Dawlah Saf al-Husni, and a body of others besides them». Amir al-Guyus seized them all and put them to death, and he seized his son al-Awhad, and he put him under arrest in a strongroom in his mansion, and he put irons on his feet. This was on Friday, the tenth of Baramhat [March 6th, 1086 A. D] the aforesaid, and in this year died the wazir Abu’l-Farag Muhammad ibn Ga‘far al-Mu‘azzi, (a few) months before the arrest of al-Awhad.

Al-Awhad remained under arrest for a year and a half, until a matter about which we did not know came to the knowledge of Amir al-Guyus, his father, concerning him while he (Al-Awhad) (was) under arrest, at

⁴ June-July (Julian Style).

⁵ February-March (Julian Style).

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the end of (the month of) Misra [August 23rd] (in the) year eight hundred and three of the Martyrs [1087 A. D.]. He (Amir al-Guyus) cut off food and water from him during the five days of (the month of) Nasi ³. Then he gave an order to him who went in unto him in the place, where he was under arrest, and he strangled him until he died. This (was) on the eve of New Year’s day[August 29th, 1087 A. D.].

The father Abba Cyril had written canonsand had sent them to Upper Egypt, and they were read in the churches in Cairo (Misr) and in all the districts, but the inhabitants of Upper Egypt did not accept them, and they did not abandon their canons. His companions said to him: «You have warned them, and you are free from sin», and he (Cyril) did not pay attention to them.

In the year eight hundred and two of the Martyrs [1085-1086 A.D.], a decree was written and read in the Great Hall at the Castle that all the Christians should fasten round them black girdles,and, in like manner, the Jews, but that the edges of them (the girdles) should be yellow, that they might be distinguished from the Christians, and that the full poll-tax should be for all, a dinar and a third and a fourth of a dinar [1 and 7/12 of a dinar], and the cause of this was a Kadi known as Ibn al-Kahhal, and he (was) at that time the assessor of the poll-tax.

Amir al-Guyus was strong in the wars, until the Ghuzz, in the year four hundred and sixty-six of the Tax-Year (al-Khiragiyah), reached

³ The Coptic month Nasi is the last of the year. It has five days, or six in leap-years. In A. D. 1087 this date would be August 26th-28th inclusive.

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Sahragt with two thousand warrior horsemen, and took possession of (the province of) as-Sarkiyah. Some of them crossed over to al-Mahallah and plundered it and killed the majority of its inhabitants, and they took possession of (the province of) al-Gharbiyah and they reached as far as Birma. Their chief was Silar whose name (was) Atsiz and (he was) known as al-Aksis, and (there were) with him his brothers around him, and al-Mamul, and with them Nasr al-Guyus ibn Baldkus. Amir al-Guyus went out against them, and he overcame them, and he slaughtered them, and Atsiz was routed, (and he fled) with a small company (of soldiers who fled) to Syria, and he (Amir al-Guyus) put to death his (Atsrz’) two aforesaid brothers and Nasr al-Guyus. Amir al-Guyus returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah) with his army, powerful, victorious, joyful (and) happy.

The greater part of the army of Amir al-Guyus was Armenians. When it was Abib [June-July](in the) year eight hundred and three of the Martyrs [1087 A. D.], there arrived at Alexandria from Constantinople a ship on which there was a young man (who came) with pomp and companions and pages. It was said concerning him that he (was) the patriarch of the Armenians, and his name (was) Gregory, and that he (was) the son of the sister of their former patriarch, and that he (was) from the sons of Sennacherib the king, and that his maternal uncle had committed to him

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the patriarchate and had sent him to the lands of Egypt (Misr), and had given to him important relicsfrom the relics of the Saints and crosses of gold and other things besides.

There had already reached these lands before him a saintly Armenian monk known as al-Manakis, and he had entered the desert of Abba Macarius and had associated with Bessus the saintly monk, and he rejoiced at what he saw in the way of his sanctity. Then he arrived in Alexandria and we disputed with him concerning religion, and we recognized the soundness of his Orthodox Faith and the uprightness of his Christian religion. He used to wear iron on his body and over it a hair-shirt. I saw him, one day, and they had brought to him a young man (who was) tormented by a devil every day, and he (Gregory) caused to be brought two Armenian priests, and they read over him the Books and the Gospel of John, over a pot in which (there was) water, and he emptied it over him, and Satan went forth from him, and he was healed. I saw him, after that, with him (the young man) in Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he was studying and writing on a tablet, sane and sound.

Then the patriarch of the Armenians arrived in Cairo (Misr), and he was received by Amir al-Guyus graciously, and he lodged at the Church of the Mistress, my Lady Mary which belongs to the Melkites in the demesne of az-Zuhra at the side of the Church of Abba Cosmas, the illustrious martyr, which belongs to the Jacobites at the bridge which is between Cairo (al-kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and he dwelt in it and remained in it until now. Then he met the father, Abba Cyril, the patriarch, and he honoured him and rejoiced with him, and he (Gregory) confessed to him the Orthodox upright

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Faith which is our Faith, (we) the company of the Jacobites, in the presence of the great multitude which was at the Cellof our father, Abba Cyril the patriarch on that day, and there was made known amongst all the people the genuineness of the agreement of the Copts and the Armenians and the Syrians and the Abyssinians and the Nubians on the Orthodox, upright Faith on which the saintly, virtuous fathers agreed, and with which Nestorius and Leo and the Council of Chalcedon disagreed.

On the fifth of an-Nasi [August 28th], (in the) year eight hundred and four of the Martyrs [1088 A.D], Abba Jacob, bishop of Cairo (Misr) died. The duration of his occupation of the throne was twenty-four years, and he was before his episcopate an archdeacon at the Monastery of Abba John in the Wadi Habib, and he was buried at al-Hibs in Cairo (Misr).

The prominent men of the people assembled to make a choice from a number of the monks of the monasteries, till (at length) their choice fell upon two, either Sanhut the deacon at the Monastery of Abba Psoi or Poemen the archdeacon at the Monastery of Abba John. They despatched a man known as Abu Sahl as-Sahragti to both of them. Sanhut hid himself from him, and he (Abu Sahl) went to the Monastery of Abba John to take Poemen, and he found Sanhut hidden there. He (Abu Sahl) and those who were despatched with him to take him, took him (Sanhut), and they arrived with him at the Church of Michael the Elect, which (is) on the Island of Cairo (Misr), and Abba Cyril was, at that time, living in it. The priests and the archons

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and the people assembled, and they consecrated him (bishop) oh Sunday, the twelfth of (the month of) Babah [October 10th] (in the) year eight hundred and four of the Martyrs [1088 A. D.] and it is the Tax-Year four hundred and seventy-seven, and he was proclaimed in the Church of Saint Sergius (Sargius) in Kasr as-Sam‘ on Sunday, the nineteenth of (the month of) Babah [October 17th] the aforesaid. He was excellent in his faith, learned, chaste, virtuous, humble (and) comely in priesthood.

It was in (the) Tax-Year four hundred and seventy-eight (that) the brother of the Metropolitan of Abyssinia arrived with a gift (which) did not make a good impression upon Amir al-Guyus and did not please him. It was Friday, the twenty-second of it (the month of Babah) [October 19th], and he (Amir al-Guyus) summoned Abba Cyril the patriarch, and he came, and (there were) with him ten bishops and Abu Malih Menas ibn Zacharias, the master of the Diwan of the Gates in Cairo (Misr). His surname was as-Saikh al-Athir Nagib ad-Dawlah wa-Makiniha.

When they entered in unto the illustrious Amir al-Guyus, they found the brother of the Metropolitan of Abyssinia standing there. When they were seated, Amir al-Guyus said to them: «You made the brother of this (man) Metropolitan of Abyssinia, and we have money due to us from him, and instead of building mosques in the lands of Abyssinia and bearing gifts and settling many things, he has not done (anything), and he sent (only) something similar to it ⁷.»

There was among the body of the bishops who were present, Abraham, bishop of Dibkua, known as the Sa‘idian, who (was)

⁷ i. e. the stipulated gift.

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the cause of every trouble, since the patriarch had consecrated him (bishop) of Dibkua. He had not entered it. (namely) the See, nor had he beheld it, nor had he ordained in it, nor had he celebrated the Liturgy at a sanctuary of it at all, as is obligatory according to the Canons. He became his (Cyril’s) scribe, and on account of this, he was detested by the hierarchy, and (it was) he against whom the bishops rose up, being indignant at him, and they wrote a scroll that he was not fit for this (post), and that he and two others should not remain in the fellowship of the patriarch on account of what had been disclosed in the way of their evil manner of life, and they obtained his (Cyril’s) signature, as we have said in what goes before. This Abraham reversed his (Cyril’s) opinion and said to him: «How (is it) that you consent that the bishops should rule over you?» so that strife occurred between the patriarch and the bishops, and they wrote the calumnious letters about him. He (Abraham) was the cause of the assembling of the bishops and of what befell them: and until now he is upsetting all the affairs of the patriarch, because he (the patriarch) is a saintly monk. All what befell them in the way of dissension and disputes (resulted] from this Abraham—may God reform him!

The aforesaid Abraham said to the illustrious Amir al-Guyus: «O my lord, this Metropolitan was not appointed except at your command». He said to him: «You and this Shaikh, namely, the patriarch, are lying», and the multitude kept silent. Then Amir al-Guyus said: «It is requisite that two bishops should journey (to Abyssinia), so that the mosques in the lands of Abyssinia may be built, and (that) the claim may be established, and (that) the gift may be brought, and the gift shall be settled according to this for fifty years, and they shall not settle (it), therefore, according to their choice.

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They have begun in those lands to waylay the Muslim merchants and others than them. Let the patriarch forbid them (to do) this, otherwise, I know what I shall do». The father, the patriarch, said: «O my lord, what have I to do with waylaying? Am I a watchman?» He (Amir al-Guyus) commanded that he (the patriarch) and the bishops should be put forth, and they were put forth from the Council in a most disgraceful manner: and he commanded that the brother of Metropolitan should be imprisoned, and they put him under arrest in the Treasury of Flags, and he (Amir al-Guyus) commanded that the names of the bishops who were present should be written down. When their names had been written down, there went out to them two chamberlains who were put in charge of them at two dinars a day, until they should write to the king of Abyssinia, and should decide to send two bishops from among them. They went down, and the guardians with them, to the Church of the Mistress al-Mu‘allakah in Cairo (Misr). The father, the patriarch, used to give to them (the bishops) every day the agreed wage that they might pay it to the guardians, and he did not let them suffer the loss of anything. They wrote the letters, and they decided on sending Mark, bishop of Wasim and al-Gizah and Theodore, bishop of Singar.

The children of Baptism ⁷ experienced great fear on account of the domineering nature of Amir al-Guyus and of what happened through him to the bishops, until God—praised be He!—was gracious (to us) through the arrival of a fine gift from Basil, king of Nubia, and with it the son of the king who was before him (Basil),

⁷ i. e. the Christians.

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and (who had) died, in order that the patriarch might make him (the son) bishop, for (it is) their custom, when the king dies, that his son is not made king in his stead, but the son of his (the king’s) sister is made (king).

The illustrious Amir al-Guyus summoned the father, the patriarch, the saintly Abba Cyril and the aforesaid ten bishops on Wednesday, the twenty-seventh of (the month of) Amsir [February 21st]. They entered in unto him, being afraid, and he commanded them to be seated, and he honoured them, and he honoured the patriarch, and he caused him to come near to him, and he reassured him, and he talked with him courteously, and he caused the brother of the Metropolitan to be brought.

It happened that, at that time, a Muslim merchant presented a letter to him (Amir al-Guyus), complaining in it that he (the brother of the Metropolitan) had waylaid him in the lands of Abyssinia, and had taken his money. He (Amir al-Guyus) caused him to be brought into their presence, and he inquired of him concerning the affair of his case. God the Exalted caused him to speak (and) to say: «He (the brother of the Metropolitan) took my money in the lands of Abyssinia, and the king arrested Severus before he gave me my rights». Amir al-Guyus said to him: If the Metropolitan was arrested, how was he able to give to you your rights? Nevertheless, the king is (?) supreme lord in his lands». Then he turned to Rigal, the brother of the Metropolitan and he said to him: «Your brother accepted our conditions that he should build in the lands of Abyssinia four mosques, and he has not done (so)». Rigal said to him: «O my lord, he built seven mosques in the places, where it was possible to build (them), and their case is well known, namely, (how) the Abyssinians demolished them and wished to kill him (the Metropolitan), and that, when the news of this reached the king, he arrested the Metropolitan and imprisoned him».

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The illustrious Amir al-Guyus said «Blessed!». Then he said to the patriarch and to the bishops: «What have you done?» They said: «We have written the letters in Coptic and (Arabic). Command him whom you desire to read them and to interpret them before you». He said: «I consider that you (are) trustworthy, and I esteem you, and I trust you more than all the Christians. Who of you will journey with these letters together with my letter and my messenger?» They said: «These two bishops», and they pointed to both of them. He looked at both of them and he said: «Blessed», and he commanded the two chamberlains who were in charge of the bishops to retire from them and not to hinder them, and he reassuredthem, and he honoured them, and they went forth from his presencehappy, giving thanks to God the Exalted.

A certain good, trustworthy (person) related to me that the illustrious Amir al-Guyus said in his letter to the king of Abyssinia: «If you do not do thus and thus, I shall demolish the churches which (are) in the land of Egypt (Misr)». He (the king) wrote to him a reply, saying: «If you demolish a single stone of the churches, I shall carry to you all the bricks and the stones of Mecca, and I shall deliver all of them to you, and if a single brick of it (Mecca) is missing, I shall send to you its weight in gold».

As regards the case of Abu‘t-Tayyib Sahlun ibn Kil az-Zalim, (in the way) of his oppressing the people and harassing them and placing them under arrest in the Treasury of Flags, and of giving Abu’l-Harith, scribe of the Treasury, power

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over them, and of urging him to punish them with various ways of punishment, it is notorious and well-known. He was, at that time, in charge of the Diwan of the Council, and he used to sit under the Dome of the Tax in the Kasr as-Sa‘id.

Abu’l-Harith brought me out of confinement one day, and he caused me to stand before him, and he said to me: «I was annoyed at what the Saikh Abu’t-Tayyib ibn az-Zalim said to me, «Punish Mawhub ibn Muffarig al-Iskandarani, and his son and his wife and Abu’l-Khair, the son of Abu’s-Surur ibn al-Abah, until they undertake to pay to the Sultan the money for which they wrote their signatures»; and he swore to me a great oath concerning this, (saying) that the aforesaid had urged him (to do) this many times. Then Abu’l-Harith swore, saying to me: «If you do not bring, up to the evening of this day, thus and thus», and he mentioned many dinars which it was impossible for me (to pay), «I shall punish your son before you, this evening», and I said to him: «O my lord, he is prostrate and already near to death through the violence of what he received from you in the way of punishment, and if you summon him, he will die». He (Abu’l-Harith) repeated the oath, and whenever he took an oath, he was accustomed to perform what he swore, and I knew that what he said concerning Ibn az-Zalim (was) correct, from what was known of his evil deeds against me and against others than me. This pronouncement (was made) on the morning of Monday, the twenty-ninth of (the month of) Baramhat [March 25th] (in the) Tax-Year four hundred and eighty. Then he (Abu’l-Harith) sent out with me two men to go round and to collect the dinars for which he asked. I went down to Cairo (Misr) and I repaired to the Church of the Mistress, the Lady, al-Mu‘allakah at Kasr as-Sam‘, and I went up to where her picture (is), and I found there Abu’l-Futuh ibn Raphael the scribe, and he also was asked

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(to pay), as I was. We both wept before her, and we said: «On the same day as this, the Angel Gabriel (Ghabryal) announced to you the salvation of the race of men, and on this same day, we beseech you, do not forget us». There was much (supplication) on account of this Ibn az-Zalim in Cairo (Misr) and (in) Cairo (al-Kahirah). and (in) the Rif, and (in) all places, on account of what he did against the Children of Baptismand others besides them, and in like manner, Abu’l-Harith also. Immediately, God manifested a miracle with regard to both of them, for, while we (were) in the aforesaid Church, news arrived from Cairo (al-Kahirah) of the arrest of Ibn az-Zalim and Abu’l-Harith, and of their imprisonment in the mansion of Sams ad-Dawlah Kams. Great joy came upon us and (upon) all the people. When it was the morning (ghaddah) of Wednesday, they were both led forth on two camels to without the Bab an-Nasr, and they were both crucified on two masts, and arrows were shot at them until they died.

His (Ibn az-Zalim’s) two brothers, the bishops John and Mark were arrested, and they bound them for punishing (them) until they wrote their signatures for two thousand dinars. They went out, and with both of them (there were) two tax-officials, at five dinars a day, and they remained (collecting money) for a while, but they did not bring to Amir al-Guyus beyond five hundred dinars, after the tax-officials had taken from them a tax of six hundred dinars. When the business of both of them was ended, and they had entered into Cairo (Misr), the illustrious Amir al-Guyus commanded that both of them should be put under arrest in

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the Prison of the Guard in Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they continued in it for a long while, until intercession was made for them. He (Amir al-Guyus) released both of them, and they both went forth to their sees, according to their custom.

Information reached me of what had occurred formerly ¹ which makes it necessary that I should mention it. It (is) that a letter arrived from the Caliph at Baghdad for the master Kafur al-Ikhsid, and he (was), at that time, wali of Egypt (Misr) for War and Taxation. He (the Caliph) ordered him to make an estimate of the revenue of Egypt (Misr) and of what belonged to it and of all its expenditure for one year. He did (this), and its amount comprised in the aggregate three thousand thousand and two hundred thousand and an excess of seventy thousand dinars ³. He made (an estimate) for the expenditure and the robes and coverings, and it was higher than the revenue by two hundred thousand dinars. Kafur caused to be brought in his wazir who (was) Ibn Kala, and he said to him: «What must we do with regard to this deficit?» He advised him to decrease the allowances of those who had salaries by one hundred thousand dinars, and to make an increase in the taxes of the Customs (to produce) one hundred thousand dinars in order that the revenue of the year might be equal (to the expenditure). When he went out from his presence, Kafur caused to be brought in the Shaikh Abu’1-Yumn Cosmas ibn Menas the faithful Christian, overseer of the districts of Cairo (Misr), who (was) mentioned before in the biography of the father Ephraem, the patriarch, and he said to him: «Consider this affair, and advise me about what I shall do in the way of what is right and just on behalf of the Sultan towards the people». He said: «I heard news of it, and I understood it, but it is not lawful for

¹ This account goes back to A. D. 957, cf. H.P.E.C. Vol. II, Part II, pp. 128-130.

³ i.e. 3,270,000 dinars. Cf. the revenues given by S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., pp. 151-152.

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me to speak about it». Then he constrained him and adjured him to say what the wazir Ibn Kala had advised him. He said: «As for me, you have constrained me and adjured me to mention what I have (in my mind), and I speak according to what is necessary for me in the way of advising you, (namely), that he who advised you to reduce the allowances of those who have salaries, who have the support of God—Praised be He!—and your support, deceived you and wished (to bring) you into disrepute; for God appointed (to them) their allowances through you, and if you do this to them, He will deprive you (of your). As for what was advised to you by him in the way of increasing the taxes of fixed Customs, he who established the root and the branch of this, let him know that his seat (shall be) in Gehenna, for the creation of taxes separates from God». His speech caused him to admire him and to understand his advice to him, and he was favourable to him.

When the wazir Ibn Kala came to him on the next day, he ordered the chief chamberlain to arrest him and to punish him until he should make up the deficit from his (own) money, and he said to him: «You did

wish to harm the reputation of….. and to disgrace his conduct in

the service of his lord». Then he put his signature (to a decree) that a third of the Customs-(tax) should be deducted from the source of the taxes, and he commanded the Saikh Abu’l-Yumn Cosmas ibn Menas to promulgate this (decree) in all the habitations of Egypt (Misr). He did this, and he wrote letters to this effect and he sent them to all the lands. The revenue increased in that year by four hundred thousand dinars, and prayers were said against the wazir Ibn Kala in Mecca, and prayers were said for the Saikh Abu’l-Yumn Cosmas ibn Menas, and a curse against the aforesaid wazir was written on the walls.

There was in Cairo (al-Kahirah) a Syrian known as Ibn al-Tawil, and he and a number of the Syrians with him were

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dwelling in al-Hasaniyah which (is) on the outskirts of Cairo (al-Kahirah) which (is) appointed as the dwelling-place for the Armenian (al-Arman) troops. Amir al-Guyus ordered that no one should dwell in al-Hasaniyah except the Armenians only, and. he expelled from it Ibn at-Tawil, the Syrian and the Syrians who (were) with him. He (Ibn at-Tawil) presented himself to Amir al-Guyus with a letter, asking in it that there should be granted to him a church in the Monastery of al-Khandakfrom among the empty churches which (are) there, that he and the Syrians who (were) with him, might lodge in it. He (Amir al-Guyus) granted his request, and he commanded Abba Gabriel, bishop of al-Khandak to grant to him (Ibn al-Tawil) what he requested. He (Abba Gabriel) gave to him a church there (dedicated) to the name of Paul, son of Justus, the martyr, and his body (is) in it. There was in this monastery a church (dedicated) to the name of Abba Macarius, and the aforesaid bishop had put in it trefoil for his beast. A body of the Armenians went and presented themselves to the illustrious Amir al-Guyus with a letter, and they said in it: «We have no church in which we may pray, and in the Monastery of al-Khandak (there are) several churches for our companions, the Jacobites, and they (are) closed, and they (the Jacobites) are not in need of them, nor do they pray in them, and their bishop has made one of them a store-house for trefoil. Amir al-Guyus sent and examined this, and he found it (to be) true, as they had said. Then he ordered the bishop to remove the trefoil and to give it (the church) to them, so that they might restore it and might pray in it. They took it, and it remains (till) now in the hands of the Armenians

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who serve in it and pray in it; and God manifested in it many miracles through His martyr, my lord George, and in other churches besides it which (are dedicated) to his (St. George’s) name. Among them (the miracles), it is said concerning a Beduin man of the Children of Ghalaf, that he entered his (St. George’s) Church at Damallu and that he stood fighting against his (St. George’s) picture, and he (St. George) slew him immediately, and he died.

In his (St. George’s) Church at the Monastery of Abba John in the Wadi Habib his (St. George’s) picture vanished from it, on account of a youth whom John, the monk, sold for ten dinars, until the deacon returned them (the dinars) to the monk and took the youth, and it (the picture) returned to its place.

At his (St. George’s) Church at the Monastery of Honey, many miracles were manifested in it which Bani Khasib related to me, the explanation of which would be long. A light appeared in it (St. George’s Church) on the second day of (the month of) Hatur, while I was passing by it; and at his (St. George’s) Church in Nabal (a town) of the districts of Ibwan, the many miracles (which occurred) in it (are) famous.

At his (St. George’s) Church at Kutur the miracles (are) many, and ‘Abd al-Masih, the priest of Dahshur related to me that he

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went to it, and he went up to the picture of my lord George (Mart Girgis), and he cut off the top of the wick of the icon-lamp, and he stood waiting for the sacristan to bring to him a lamp in order that he might light it (the wick), and that there descended upon the church a white light in three places, and it (the light) lighted the wick.

His (St. George’s) very many miracles are countless, and no one can explain them according to their nature on account of their abundance. God grant unto us (the acceptation) of his intercession and the blessings of his prayer, for they (are) great and acceptable.

I shall mention what I saw in Jerusalem and elsewhere; namely, the Sepulchre and Calvary at Jerusalem the protected, and the head of the illustrious Saint, my lord Mark, the Evangelist, at Alexandria, and the body of Saint Severus at the Monastery of Glass, and the body of the Saint, my lord George, in his church which (is) at Ludd (a town) of the districts of Palestine, under the altar. In the Monasteries of the Wadi Habib (there are) the three Abba Macarius, and the Forty-Nine, and in Arabic, and Zeno the king and his son, and Abba

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John, and Abba Pisoiand Abba Kame, and Abba Moses (Bu Miisa). and Jacob the Persian) the Sawn-asunder, and the sepulchre of Hilaria and Paule of Tamwiah. In the Monastery of the Romans (is) the finger of my lord Severus, and at Alexandria also (are) the sepulchres of Elisha the prophet and Jeremiah the prophet, and Peter the Confessor, and the blood of the Patriarch of Alexandria, Peter the Martyr, and the traces of my lord Mark, the Evangelist, and the sepulchres of a number of martyrs. In the Monastery of Singar (is) the body of Thecla the apostolic, the virgin, and the body of Philotheus the martyr.In Cairo (Misr) the body of Saint Apa Hor and his sister Mahrayil, and the body of Abba John of Sanhut, the

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martyr, and Barbara the Saint. In the Monastery of al-Khandak (is) the body of Abba Paul, son of Justus. In the Monastery of Abba Senouti (at) Akhmim(are) the bodies of the two Disciples Bartholomew and Simon the Canaanite of the company of the twelve Apostles and of Abba Senouti the saintly father. In the Monastery of the Beacon (is) the body of Paphnutius, the illustrious martyr. At Asyut (is) the body of Claudius the martyr in the church of my lord Victor, and the sepulchre of Abba John the Short, and the body of Phoebammon. In the Monastery of Abu as-Sari which (is) at Sutb (is) the body of the Martyr Theodore the amir, the slayer of the serpent, and of Harufusthe bishop with him on a bench in the sanctuary. In Tambadi (is)

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the body of the Martyr Apa Apima in his monastery. In the Monastery of Apa Anub (are the relics of) over sixty monks, martyrs. Traces of our Lord Christ and of His Holy Mother in the lands of Egypt (Misr) in many places, among which, the Church al-Mu‘allakah in Cairo (Misr), and her Church known as «At the Steps» in Cairo (Misr) at Bani Wayil, and at Bastah and Minyat Tanah, and Samusah, and the Mountain of Al-Kaff, and the Monastery of Bessus, and al-Ashmunain, and Filis, and Kuskam, and the Mountain of Isnin, and al-Muharrakah, and from it (al-Muharra-kah) He returned to Cairo (Misr). In Kift (are the relics of) Abu Amsah, and in al-Khusus (is) the Monastery of my lord Victor, the martyr. In Ansina (is) the body of Saint Abba

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Colluthus and many martyrs. In Samasta (are the relics of) Abu Harudah the martyr. At the south of Abutig (is) the body of Abba Psoi the martyr in his church, and with him the body of Bisisaih the martyr, and they are both in two chests. In Almas (are the relics of) Abu Halya the martyr. In Kuskam (are the relics of) Abu Halis the martyr. In a monastery to the west of Kus (are the relics of) Abba Pisentius, and at the west of the monastery (there is) a source of water. In Difra (are the relics of) Abba Isaac the martyr. In al-Banawanin (are the relics of) Apa Kragon. This is what I saw and from which I received a blessing, I, the sinner, the compiler of this biography. (There are) other relics besides, which I did not see, the enumeration of which would be long.

Abu’l-Badr Peter ibn Macarius related to me that a youth, a monk, met with an accident in the marsh in the desert of Abba Macarius, which paralyzed him and made him

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dumb. They bore him to Saint Bessus at the Monastery of Abba Kame. He (Bessus) placed him in the Church of the Mistress, which (is) in the keep, and he remained with him for three days. The youth mentioned that he saw three persons coming out from the door of the sanctuary, and two of them said to the other who (was) their leader: «Accomplish the desire of Bessus with regard to this youth». and he (the leader) pushed him (the youth) with his foot and said to him: «Arise», and the youth arose sound, upright, (and) with the use of his speech. Immediately, Bessus called to him from below, before he had seen him, saying: «O come down», and the youth came down, walking to him, and he was whole, and he prostrated himself at his (Bessus’) feet, and he recounted what he had seen and heard.

David ibn ‘Ubaid related to me that a man found in Mahallat Abu ‘Ali a Christian man dumb (and) paralyzed, and he bore him on a beast to Saint Bessus at the Monastery of Abba Kame, and that he (Bessus) prayed over him for three days and nights, and he (the man) came out from his presence, walking on his feet (and) speaking, and he returned to Mahallat Abu ‘Ali glorifying God, and the people witnessed him sound and with the use of his speech.

On Sunday, the eighth (of the month) of Babah (in the) year eight hundred and eight of the Martyrs [October 6th, 1091 A. D.], a great earthquake occurred at Antioch (which), at that time, (was) under the rule of the Ghuzz, and thirty-two towers of it fell down, from the Sea

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Gate to the Persian Gate. Some (parts) of it (the city) were swallowed up, and the great river known as the Orontes entered it and broke through the middle of it.

People related that a man composed a scientific work in a book, and a number of the people read it. He mentioned in it that (in the) Lunar Year four hundred and eighty-five [1092-1093 A. D.] a great affair would happen, and the water (of the Nile) would decrease, and the lands would be ruined. God brought to nothing his wisdom and what he had said, and the contrary to it happened. The water (of the Nile) rose and flowed over the land, and it increased beyond the limit, until it covered the lands over which the water had not risen for years. The lands were sown, and abundance flourished, so that wheat was sold in the Rif at one dinar for ten ardabs by the current measure, and at more than this in the districts remote from the river (Nile), and to God (be) thanks for ever.

The Ghuzz had taken possession of the city of Jerusalem the protected, and they had denied the descent of the light in the Church of the Holy Resurrection over the Noble Sepulchre, but, when they learned the verity of its (the light’s) descent every year, they had consideration for the Christians who were living in it, and they employed for the administration of the country a Christian man, a Jacobite, a lover of Christ, known as Mansur al-Balbayi, and he had a wife like himself, and he was of assistance to everyone who arrived in Jerusalem from among the Christians of Egypt (Misr) and of other countries besides it. He endeavoured to rebuild the church of the Jacobite Orthodox in Jerusalem, and he wrote to the father, the patriarch, asking him to send (a bishop) who should consecrate it,

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and it was decided that one of the bishops should go to consecrate it, and he went in (the month of) Baramhat (in the) year eight hundred and eight of the Martyrs [February-March, 1092 A. D.]. In this year Mark. bishop of al-Balyana, went to his rest, and be (was) the senior of all the bishops.

The father, the patriarch, Abba Cyril had delayed to enter the desert of Abba Macarius this year, and he moved from the Monastery of the Beacon, (to) the west of Tammuh, to the keep of the Church of Michael the Elect on the Island of Cairo (Misr), (and thence) to the Church al-Mu‘allakah at Kasr as-Sam‘. He did not relax his efforts in reading the Holy Scriptures, and the greatest part of his reading (was) in the explanation of the four Holy Gospels in Coptic, so that he understood many passages of them, and spoke about them.

I, the wretched John ibn Sa‘id al-Kulzumi, the copyist of this biography, know the truth of what this section contains. It (is) that I went to him (Cyril) in the Church of Michael the Elect, on Sunday, to receive a blessing from him and to communicate in it, and I found that he had already come down from the keep and was sitting in the church. I greeted him and I received his blessing. He rejoiced in me and blessed me and honoured me, and it was that God granted to me the blessing of his prayers. He (was) a saintly monk, spiritual, lowly, meek, very ascetic, a hater of possessions, (and) giving alms of all that was brought to him from the Sees, to the weak, and spending part of it on the building of churches and monasteries, and with part of it fashioning silver vessels for use in the holy sanctuaries, and with part of it assisting the Christians who were arrested,

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and redeeming them from punishment, so that, when he went to his rest, there was not found on him either a dinar or a dirham. All his deeds (were) good and beautiful, and he was agreeable in speaking (and) of pleasant appearance, fasting continually (and) plentiful in prayer. He used not to eat from that which was prepared in his Cell for his disciples, anything of the dishes, except one dish (which) used to be presented to him in a bowl, whether of cereals or of vegetables, and he ate of it a small (quantity) from the evening meal to the evening meal. I sat before him and I discoursed with him till the priests assembled and asked him, and I asked him (also) with an obeisance, to celebrate the Liturgy, and we all communicated from his pure hands, and he prayed in Coptic for everyone who approached the Eucharist, and he blessed them. When he had dismissed the people, and they had gone out, I started to go out, and Peter, the chief of his disciples, came out to me, and he said to me: «Our father says to you with an obeisance: «Sit down until I come out from the sanctuary», and I sat down until he came out. He said to me with an obeisance. «Come up to me, and I will discourse with you to-day, and I will entertain you». I said: «At your service», and I went up with him to the keep, and Abba Abraham, his scribe (also), and it was after noon. The disciples presented the repast, and I and Abba Abraham ate. They brought wine, and I declined to drink it, because it was the season of the summer, and I dislike to partake of it in the summer. Then I sat before him (Cyril) to discourse with him. Abba Abraham informed him that I had not drunk anything, and he (Cyril) blamed me on account of this. I informed him that I dislike drinking it (wine) in the summer. He said to me: «Three glasses will not harm

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you». I said: «O my master, if it (the wine) (is) from your holy hand, it will not harm me, but it will benefit me very much». He made a sign to the disciple, and he handed to him a glass (of wine), and he (Cyril) blessed it, and I took it from him, and I drank it, and, in like manner, the second and the third (glass). Then we began to discourse about the legal science and the honour of our Faith, and its sublimity, and the beauty of its qualities, and its Canons, and what (there is) in it in the way of the types of humility and magnanimity and love.

Our discourse was conducted in this manner until we mentioned what God the Exalted had vouchsafed (to us), and what was manifested in the way of His great love for the race of men, so that He, Whose Name is great, sent His Only Son, Eternal with Him, the Word, the Creator, and He became one with our nature, and He took from it a body, and He made it one with Him, and He came forth from a woman, a pure Virgin, without the seed of man, and He was born of her perfect God and perfect Man, and the seals of her immaculate virginity were not loosed, but she remained a virgin-maid, as she has not ceased (to be). His holy birth was at a determined time, and (in) a known month, (and on) a certain day, and it (the time) was known and understood. He sucked from her milk in His Humanity, Who nourishes all creation in His Divinity, and He was advancing in stature and wisdom, as says Luke the Evangelist. He accepted the sufferings in His Humanity, Who brings into being the seen and the unseen things of Creation in His Divinity. Then we mentioned the magnitude of His kindness towards us, in what He endured for our sake in His body taken from us, and His endurance of what He received in it (the flesh) on the part of the lawless Jews, in the way of insults and sufferings and crucifixion and the nailing upon the Wood, and other things besides this, of which the Holy Gospels bear witness, up to the death and burial in the Holy Sepulchre; and how God the Word suffered these qualities and all the defects in His

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body which He took from our nature, and became one with it, and was not separated from it for the twinkling of an eye, from the time of His descent into the womb of the Virgin up to the time of His Ascension into Heaven, and for ever and ever.

I said: «O our saintly father—may God prolong your life!—this body which was taken from our nature, from the flesh and the blood of my lady Mary, the Holy Virgin, which she carried in her womb for nine months, and with which God the Word became one, and made it one with Himself, and was not separated from it, and never shall be separated from it; and she gave birth to Him in Bethlehem in the time of Augustus, King of the Romans (ar-Rum), and (under the) rule of Herod, in the land of Syria, five thousand and five hundred years after the creation of our father Adam (Adam) ¹, and men saw Him, and the hands of men touched Him, and He received sufferings and blows and insults and crucifixion and the nailing on the Wood, and death and burial in the Sepulchre, and all the defects of which the Holy Gospels bear witness; how (is it) that anyone who has understanding and reason (can) say concerning Him that which causes separation or creates doubts?» He said: «No». I rejoiced at what I heard from him, and knew that he had read the Divine Scriptures and their commentaries and had understood them. I have introduced this (anecdote) into this biography, only (because) it confirms what the compiler of it said about the father Abba Cyril, the aforesaid, that he read the commentaries and understood them and spoke about them.

The compiler of this biography said: «The saintly father, Abba Cyril, the aforesaid, went to his rest—may God give rest to his soul and grant to us (the acceptation of) the blessing of his prayer!—on Sunday, the twelfth (of the month) of Bauunah (in the) year eight

¹ The year 5500 of the Era of the World, called Alexandrian, corresponds to the year 1 of the Coptic and Ethiopic Era of the Incarnation, but = A. D. 8, cf. M. Chaine, La Chronologie des Temps Chretiens de l’Egypte et de l’Ethiopie, Paris, 1925, p. 134.

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hundred and eight of the Martyrs [June 6th, 1092 A. D.], which (is) the Lunar Year four hundred and eighty-one, after he had received the Holy Eucharist. The duration of his patriarchate, from the time of the laying-on of hands upon him in the Monastery of Abba Macarius, was fourteen years and three months and a half, and he was buried in the Church of Michael the Elect on the Island of Cairo (Misr). May his prayers be with us. Amen. His body was borne afterwards to the Monastery of Abba Macarius in the holy Wadi Habib, and glory (be) to God for ever and ever».

In Your Name, O Merciful One, I begin ⁵.

John ibn Sa‘id ibn Yahya ibn Menas, known as Ibn al-Kulzumi, the scribe, said: «When I had completed copying out all that was composed by the saintly forefathers, of the biographies of the Holy Church, and they (are) twenty-six biographies, and what happened in them to the fathers, the patriarchs of Alexandria, and they (are) sixty-seven patriarchs, the first of whom (is) Mark the Evangelist, and the last of whom (is) Abba Cyril the Second, the spiritual saint, I arranged this in three parts. The first part (contains) seventeen biographies of forty-six patriarchs, the first of whom (is) Mark the Evangelist, and the last of whom (is) Abba Khael the First. The second part (contains) five biographies, the first of which (is) the eighteenth (biography), and the last of which (is) the twenty-second (biography), and (it contains) the notices of nine patriarchs, the first of whom (is) Abba Menas, and the last of whom (is) Athanasius. The third part in which (is) this quire, from among the twenty-two quires, and what precedes them up to the last quires, (contains) four biographies and the notices of twelve patriarchs of whom the first (is) Khael the Third,

⁵ This line is written in red ink.

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and of whom the last (is) Abba Cyril, the Second, the spiritual saint, the patriarch, and he (is) the last of the sixty-seven patriarchs, and, of them, I saw him (Cyril) and I heard his speech, and I was present at his Liturgies, and I conversed with two patriarchs, and they (were) Abba Christodoulus and Abba Cyril —may God give rest to their souls and grant to me (the acceptation of) the blessing of their prayers! I gave thanks to God the Exalted in that He vouchsafed to me to find these biographies, and assisted me—may His Name be magnified!—in copying out all of them. It was incumbent upon me to write and to explain the biographies of them whom I saw after Abba Cyril, the patriarch—may God give rest to his pure soul!—up to the time (when) these lines were written, and he (is) Abba Macarius. I took refuge in His mercy—may He be exalted!—and in His assistance and His co-operation, even as I wrote by His benevolence, and I arranged it in conformity with the biographies which precede it. From God we ask assistance».

The Twenty-Seventh Biography ⁶ of the Biographies of the Holy Church. Abba Michael the patriarch, and he is the Sixty-eighth OF (THEIR) NUMBER ⁷.

When the father, the spiritual saint, Abba Cyril the Second, went to his rest—may God hallow his pure soul and grant to us

⁶ A marginal note in red states: «Abba Macarius (is) after Abba Michael, and he (? the copyist) saw the (lit. their) time of the two of them».

⁷ Another marginal note states: «This father sat on the Throne of the Patriarchate in the reign of al-Mustansir, and seven months after his enthronement, al-Mustansir died, and his son al-Musta‘li reigned after him, and (MS. A adds: al-Afdal, the son of Amir al-Guyus was his wazir).

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(the acceptation of) the blessing of his prayers!—it was the turn of the Alexandrians to choose him whom they would set on the Apostolic Throne in place of him (Cyril). Their archons and their senior priests assembled to examine this (matter) and to choose him who should be fit for this illustrious presidentship, and they tarried some days, and they did not decide about anything, and they went out to the Rif, and they assembled with the bishops, and they discussed with them about this (matter). The conversations continued to be repeated between them for a long while, but they did not have a settled opinion as to him whom they should set up over them. The archons and a body of the bishops came into Cairo (Misr), and they lodged in the Church of the Martyr Abba Mercurius , and they assembled with a body of the bishops of the Sa‘id who had come to Cairo (Misr) on account of this affair. They put forward the names of a number of monks and others besides them, but they did not settle in their minds to promote any one of them, and they decided to journey to the holy monasteries in the Wadi Habib, and to assemble with the fathers, the monks, to pray and to choose him who should be worthy of the Apostolic Throne. They journeyed thither, and they assembled in the Church of the Saint Abba Macarius, and they mentioned the names of a number of the monks who (were) in those holy monasteries, and they remained, for some days, examining this (matter), and their opinions vacillated, and they did not agree about him whom they should promote as chief over them, until some of the bishops mentioned

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Samuel, the anchorite, who (was) in the Cell of Arari ², and he was a Syrian. They consented to make him patriarch, and they agreed in their opinion to accept him. Then the bishops departed, and among them (were) Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr), the pure (and) the virtuous one. and the Alexandrians, and the virtuous deacon, Abu Ghalib Poemen ibn Theodore ibn Mercurius of Singar. They set out from the Monastery of Abba Macarius for Arari, but, before their arrival there, one presented himself to them, (and) he mentioned to them that the belief of Samuel, the anchorite, the aforesaid Syrian (was) unsound, and that he believed with regard to the body of our Lord Christ taken from the Immaculate Virgin, the Saint Mary, which He took from her flesh and her blood and made it one with Himself, in which He endured the life-giving sufferings and the crucifixion and the death and the burial and

² MS. A reads «Azari», and H. G. Evelyn White, op. cit., Part II, p. 87 1 gives the form Adari. He is using B. T. A. Evetts’ manuscript translation of MS. 302 Fonds arabe, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. The locality of Azari, is definitely established by a reference to it in the biography of Macarius, 69th patriarch of Alexandria. On folio 187 r° of MS. M we read:

«And the saintly father Abba Macarius, the patriarch, was absent at his cell which (was) at Azari on the Island of Bani Nasr». Just above this island the Nile separates into two branches, cf. E. Amelineau, op. cit., p. 9.83. Further confirmation of the identification of the locality of Azari is furnished by a note in a Syrian MS. from the Syrian Monastery Dair as-Suryan, which stales that in 1102 he was a priest and stylite at Nikiu, cf. H. G. Evelyn White, op. cit., Part. II, p. 37 1, n. 1. Nikiu was in close proximity to the island of Bani Nasr.

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other things besides this, in the way of human affairs proper to His Humanity, in which He wrought the amazing wonders and divine miraculous marvels proper to His Divinity, all of which (are ascribed) to Christ the One, that is to say, uncreated, namely the body, thatit (the body) (is) equal to His creating Divinity, and that our Lord Christ on Maundy Thursday did not celebrate the Passover with His disciples with a lamb, nor did He eat of it (the lamb), and (do) the other things besides this, which are said concerning Him.

When they heard this, they refrained from going to him, and they turned away from their idea of making him (patriarch); and the Alexandrians became impatient of their long tarrying and their absence from their relatives and their children, and of their being away from their dwelling-places and their homes; and since winter was upon them, they resolved to return to Alexandria without a patriarch, and to postpone this (matter) for another time. The bishops prevented them from (doing) this, and they advised them to have patience and to remain with them, if but for another week, as, perhaps, that upon which they relied would come to them; but it did not please them to remain, and they determined to journey to their city.

Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr), said to them: «O blessed brethren, you know that our assembling with you, from the time that you arrived in our city until now, was according to what you wish, and we have not done anything, unless by agreement with you, in the way of journeying to the Monastery of Abba Macarius, and of coming hither, and of consenting to make this anchorite patriarch over you and over us; all this was (done) with the agreement of us all. Now you have heard from him from his words the unsoundness of the belief of this man (Samuel) to whose (election) the assent of us and of you was

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obtained, and that he has no knowledge or understanding, neither has he read anything of the Scriptures of God, for if he had read the Holy Scriptures, he would have known from them the unsoundness of what he believed. For the opening (chapter) of the Gospel of John says: «In the beginning was the Word, and the Word did not cease (to be) with God, and God (is) the Word». It was clearly shewn by this saying that He (is) God in truth. Then the saying of Christ from His pure mouth, in the Gospel of John, when addressing the Jews: «a man speaks to you the truth which I heard from God» By this saying of His, He clearly showed that He (is) man, and it was clearly shewn to us from His saying that He (is) God and man together, one Christ, not two.

As regards his (Samuel’s) words about the body of our Saviour which He took from the Virgin Mary, daughter of David and Abraham (Ibrahim) who were created, that it (the body) (is) uncreated; this (is) the belief of him who professes (the doctrine) of the Phantasia and of the spectre and of the spirit ⁵; it is not the belief of one who professes (the religion) of God and who professes Christianity.

The Holy Scriptures of God bear witness to the fact that the Word of God created for Himself a body in the womb of the Virgin, my Lady Mary without the seed of man, and (that) He made it one with Himself, and men saw Him and touched Him and felt Him, and He ate with them in verity, and He drank, and He walked among them, and He toiled and He hungered and He thirsted, and He watched and He suffered, and He was crucified and He died, and He was buried, and He performed all the actions of men, of which the Holy Gospels bear witness, save sin;

⁵ This refers to the heresy of the Phantasiasts or Gaianites.

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and He rose from the dead and He appeared to His disciples, and He showed to them the print of the nails in His hands and His feet and the wound with the lance in His side, and they touched His body and they felt (it), as He said to them: «Touch and feel, for a spirit hath not bones and flesh, as you see me having». And He ate with them and drank, after the Resurrection, that He might confirm in them the verity of His. Resurrection and the truth of His Humanity, and that after the Resurrection, it (His Humanity) remained in its state and was not changed into the Divinity.

The testimonies to the soundness of this (are) very many, and among them, the Gospel of Matthew the Evangelist, (where it is stated) that the angel said to Joseph: «Fear not, O Joseph to accept your betrothed Mary , for He Whom she shall bear (is) of the Holy Spirit»; and Saint John Chrysostom explained it and said that the Holy Spirit (is) He Who created the body in the womb of Mary, (and) the body of the Word (is) through the effect of the Holy Spirit. Saint Severus, patriarch of Antioch, in a Commentary on the Gospel of John (says) also, with regard to the garment without seam (woven) from the top, thus: «that the garment woven from the top without seam points to the body of Jesus Christ, that it (was) created through the Holy Spirit from above, without the seed of man». Paul the Apostle said in his Epistle to the Ephesians: «Be renewed in the spirit of your hearts, and put on the new man who hath been created after God in righteousness and truth and purity». And he said in his Epistle to the Colossians: «Put off the old man with all his doings, and put on the new man who is being renewed through knowledge in the likeness of his Creator. Gregory the Wonderworker who is assimilated to the Apostles, said in the

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twelfth anathema ¹: «He who has said that the body of Christ (is) uncreated, and does not acknowledge and confess that God the Word, the Uncreated, accepted created Humanity and became incarnate and became one (with it), as it is written, let him be anathematized ². And his Commentary on his saying: «How do they say that the body of Christ (is) uncreated, is impassible, His side unpierced by the lance, and is intangible», (since), when Christ rose from the dead, He showed to His disciples the traces of the nails, and they were witnesses of the wound and the body which they touched. He entered in unto them, the doors (being) closed, in order that He might manifest to them the power of His Divinity and the truth of His Humanity». And Saint Julius, patriarch of Rome said in his Epistle to Dionysius: «We confess the created in union with the Creator, when one constant nature arising from both sides, is united with what we know of our creation, of us men, and that from both sides, from the soul and the body, (there is) one nature, (and) hence, one individual called man». And he also said in his Epistle to Prosdocius: «Let all who say that the body of our Saviour is not from Mary, and (who) say that it (is) from heaven, and that it (is) non-existent, be anathematized». John Chrysostom said in a homily

¹ Sic. Read «Twelve Anathemas». The quotation is from the 1st. Anathema.

² Cf. S. Gregorii Thaumaturgii, ‘De Fide’, P. G. 10, Col. 1127

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which he delivered on the (Feast of the) Nativity, the beginning of which (is) ‘A wondrous Mystery’ ³ «even as a skilful artificer, if he find a good thing, fashions from it a good vessel, so likewise, when our Lord found the body of the Holy Virgin and her holy soul, He created for Himself from her a temple having a soul, (forming), in the manner which He wished, a human body from the Virgin which He wore, and He appeared to-day, and he did not abhor the imperfection of nature, and it was not for Him despicable, when He became united with the garment of our nature; and the created gained great glory, when it became a temple for the Creator. Even as (it was) impossible, at the beginning, that man should rise before He took dust with His hand, (so) in like manner, it was not possible to fashion a second time the vessel which had perished, unless it became a garment for its Creator. On account of this, He did not fashion for Himself a temple from anything else, and He did not create another body to wear, so that it should not be thought that He had made an imperfection in the creation of Adam». Saint Gregory the Theologian, bishop of Nyssa, said in a homily which he delivered on the Holy Nativity, the beginning of which (is) ‘Christ was born to us to-day’, «O this new

³ Cf. S. Ioannis Chrysostomi: In Natalem Christi Diem, P. G. 56, Col. 388

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prodigality of God! O this unmixed, wondrous, eternal unity in every place! The Uncreated was created ¹, as it (is) written: ‘Consider My Apostle and My priest Who is confessed, (even) Jesus “Who is faithful to Him Who created Him’». And he said also in his homily on the Faith: «He who has said that He came forth from the Virgin, as (water) passes through a conduit only, and does not confess that He created His body and united it from her with His Divinity, because it (the body) was created without (the insertion of) a penis, according to the law of creation, shall be anathematized». Proclus, bishop of Cyzicus, in his homily on the Nativity ⁵, in the presence of Nestorius, at Constantinople, said: «O womb in which the death-resisting weapon was created for our sake» ⁶. Epiphanius, bishop of Cyprus, in his great book called the ‘Anchor’ said ⁷: «He took a body from Mary the Virgin, without the seed of man, and He created this holy body, as He (God) said: ‘He came (forth) from a woman and took that which we have’. Saint Cyril the First, patriarch of

¹ A very free rendering, it would seem, of S. Gregorii Theologi, ‘Oratio XXXVIII’, P. G. 36, Col. 325.

⁵ Proclus, patriarch of Constantinople, 434-446 A. D. For his writings, cf. Georg Graf, Geschichle der Christlichen Arabischen Literatur, Erster Band, Die Uberzetzungen, Citta del Vaticano, 1944, pp. 365-366.

⁶ Cf. S. Proclii Orationes. ‘Oratio I’, P. G. 65, Col. 684.

⁷ Cf. Epiphanii, ‘Ancoratus’, P.G. 43, Col. 72.

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Alexandria in his Epistle to Sergius (Sargis) said: «It is not orthodox to say that the body was transferred to the nature of the Divinity, or that the Word was transferred to the nature of the Humanity; and, as this (the former) (is) impossible, since He (the Word) is non-transferable and does not change, so likewise, the latter, (for) it is impossible that a created thing be transferred to the substance of the nature of the Divinity, because the body, (namely) the body of Christ is created; and it is said concerning it, that is became the body of God». Severus the Champion, patriarch of Antioch , said in the Letter which he wrote to Anastasius, the righteous king, the King of Constantinople, when he excommunicated Macedonius: «When sin increased on earth, God the Word descended from heaven and dwelt in the belly of Mary the Virgin, and He fashioned for Himself in her a human body by an incomprehensible

Mystery which reason cannot understand, and He remained in her womb for nine months, and He took a body from her and created for Himself a body. The Father was not in her womb, in case someone should say that the Father was transferred to the Sonship, but it (was) the Son through the will of the Father and the will of the Spirit, One Holy Trinity, so that no one may say that other than He (the Son) created it (the body), nor may it be said that He altered it (the body) through the Divinity, but (it is) He alone Who became incarnate, and He endured all what happened to Him, not with the form of a spirit, nor did the body descend with Him from heaven, but He created it from the Virgin without seed, and He made it one with Himself, without separation, or confusion or mingling». Saint Jacob, bishop of the city of Sarug, said in his homilyon the Life-giving Sufferings, the beginning

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of which (is) ‘O son of God, Who did become a sacrifice on our behalf, «He created for Himself two arms to stretch out upon the Cross, and He created for Himself a brow to wear thorns»; and he said in his homily on the Holy Nativity, (where) he explains what the angel said to the Virgin, «He Who fashions the little children (is) He Who fashions for Himself a similar body, and puts it on; and the Lord of children shall be in your womb, and you shall conceive. He has clothed Himself with a garment in your pure belly, and He has prepared for Himself the garment of the enveloping body from the loom of your womb». He said also in it: «The Creator of little children was growing in the womb and He was creating perfect persons in women. When the fulness of the crown of His body was completed, and the crown of the members of His majesty was finished, and when the body had assembled its senses through His knowledge, and He had completed the natures of the seal which completed His body with the whole of His Person together, and when He had created His Person in her (the Virgin’s) senses, and had fashioned the image of the perfect man from our nature, He completed His body». Hippolytus, patriarch of Rome, in his Epistle to Saint Severianus, bishop of Gabala, said: «But He (it is) Who fashioned His body in the belly of the Virgin, and no one shared with Him in the creation of His body». «If, O my brethren, this anchorite had read these books, or something of them, he would not have believed his unsound faith; and him who has not read (the Scriptures) and who is without knowledge we do not

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accept to be a patriarch for us, nor a chief over us, because the holy canons forbid him who is without knowledge, to hold any rankof the priesthood, and, for this reason, they state: «The readershall be learned in the Scriptures, adapting the Old to the New (Testaments)».

The compiler of this biography stated (that) the bishops and the Alexandrians said: «We do not promote over us (anyone), save him whom we know for the abundance of his knowledge, and for the integrity of his life, and for his purity, and for his asceticism, and for the soundness of his belief, and him who submits to the conditions which we impose upon him, and for which we require his signature. They remained some days searching for and making enquiries after him who should be fit for the patriarchate.

There came one who mentioned to them that (there was) in the Cell at Singar an anchorite, a monk, a priest whose name (was) Michael, and that he (was) learned, virtuous, (and) had read and understood (the Scriptures), and that his belief (was) sound. He (was) middle-aged among men, and fit for this presidentship. Then they journeyed all together to Singar, and they assembled with a body of its inhabitants, and they asked them about the state of his condition; and of those whom they asked concerning him, (there was) none but gavean excellent description (about him). When they were assured of this, their opinion was settled to make (him patriarch. Then they journeyed to his Cell, and Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr) and certain of the bishops and the deacon Abu Ghalib ibn Mercurius of Singar went up to him, and they conversed with him, and they discussed with him about the Faith and the teachings

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of the law. He answered them in a manner whereby they were informed by him of his knowledge and the strength of his faith. Thereupon, they apprised him of what (was) in their minds, in the way of promoting him as president over them, and they said to him: «You are a learned (and) wise man, and the rank to which we have called you is not beyond you, and it is an excellent rank and an eminent presidentship and a lofty (and) noble service; and you have the ability for it through your knowledge and your priesthood and your asceticism and your policy, and it (is) not (one) of those matters which such a one as you refuses, and is prevented (from undertaking). We beseech you to accept our endeavours on your behalf, and to assent to what we have determined for you, in the way of the conditions which we shall mention to you which we know are incumbent upon your holiness». Then they made an obeisance to him, and they said to him: «We wish you to accept from us this obeisance and to assent to what we have besought of you, through the goodness of your heart, without compulsion, and not to compel us to take you by force or by violence, for this does not become you». He assented to what they desired, and he said to them: «What (are) the conditions which you stipulate?» They said: «You must write out for us in your handwriting, before everything, concerning your belief, in conformity with what we agreed upon and heard from you». He said: «Certainly». They said to him: «And you must mention in it (the writing), that it is incumbent upon you to furnish the priests of Alexandria with what it was the custom of those who were before you in this See (to do), (namely), to furnish them every year with what to expend on the building ⁵ of the churches which (are) in it (Alexandria), and for the Eucharists which are offered up in its sanctuaries, and on what is necessary for their weak ones ⁶, in the way of (the payment) of the taxes and other things besides them». He said: «Certainly, and

⁵ i. e. building repairs.

⁶ i. e. the poor.

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if I am able (to do) more than what was the custom of those who were

before me (to do), I shall do (it) for them, since the writing and……¹

(are) in this». They said to him: «And you must mention in it (the writing) that you will not practise simonywith anyone of those whom you must place in a rank of the episcopate or in other (rank) besides it of the rest of the ranks of the priesthood, because the holy Canons forbid this, and they order to be excommunicated him who practises it, for he who receives (the money) and he who pays it (are) both of them anathematized (and) excommunicated; and you must return to the bishops of the Sees that which those who were before you, forcibly took from among their churches and their monasteries, and became sharers with them in their Sees. For you knowest that the patriarch (is) but the bishop of Alexandria, and he has the presidentship over the bishops of the Sees of Egypt, (but) he is not a sharer with them in their Sees; and even as it is not permitted to him who has a wife to be a sharer with another in his wife, so likewise, it is not permitted to a bishop to be a sharer with another bishop in his See which (is) his bride; and you must return to them (the bishops) what was taken from their Sees by those who were before you, and was taken forcibly through greed and the quest of empty glory and worldly vanity of which neither God nor man approves, and which is unbecoming to archbishops». He said to them: «Which (are) the churches and the monasteries which the patriarchs have taken from the Sees of the bishops?» They said to him: «Those which were taken from the See of Cairo (Misr) (are): the Church of the Mistress al-Mu‘allakah at Kasr as-Sam‘, and the Church of Abba Mercurius at Sahil as-Sa‘ir (the Barley-shore) and the Church of the Mistress also at the Harat ar-Rum, and these two churches, namely, Abba Mercurius and the Mistress

^l The Arabic is not clear here.

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at Cairo (al-Kahirah), Christodoulus took after the death of Philotheus, bishop of Cairo (Misr), and he fixed for Abba Gabriel who became bishop after him, dues, (which) he should receive from them (the churches) every year, and (stipends) (from) the specified Liturgies which he should celebrate in them at any time, and it is recorded in the perpetual register (manzarah) of the See of Cairo (Misr). From the See of Wasim and al-Gizah, the Church of Michael on the Island of Cairo (Misr), known as the Elect. From the See of Tammuh, the Monastery of the Beacon (as-Sam‘), and the Monastery of the Pottery (al-Fakhkhar) which (is) also (dedicated) to the name of the Martyr Abba Mercurius, and others besides these, of which the perpetual register in the Patriarchal Cell bears witness (together with) the date of his (the patriarch’s) taking of them from the Sees which (are) in their own right». He assented to all this, and he said to them: «All that you have solicited and imposed as conditions (is) an obligation, and (it is) right and true», and he wrote for them a document concerning all (this), and he anathematized in it him who should take away anything of it, or turn away from it, and he took as witnesses against him in it, all those who were present of the bishops and the priests of the Alexandrians who had gone up to his hermitage, and those who were down below, and they asked him to descend with them. He said to them:

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«I shall not come down until after you have clothed me in the garment ¹and have prayed over me, if all of you have agreed about this matter». Then they clothed him in the garment and they consecrated him patriarch, and he descended with them, and they journeyed with him to Alexandria, and they consecrated him on the twelfth day of (the month of) Babah (in the) year eight hundred and nine of the Martyrs [October 9th, 1092 A. D.] which (is) the Tax-Year four hundred and eighty-two. He journeyed from it (Alexandria) to the Monastery of Abba Macarius in the Wadi Habib, and they consecrated him (also) in the Church al-Mu‘allakah in Cairo (Misr). When he had remained at it (al-Mu‘allakah) for some days, Abba Sanhut besought him to keep his promise to him which he had written in his handwriting for him, in the way of returning to him the aforesaid churches, (but) he did not do (so). There occurred between them quarrels which (are too) long to explain. He (Michael) refused to acknowledge the document, and he said that it (was) not his writing, and he anathematized him who should witness against him with regard to what (was) in it. He did not return to anyone of the bishops (either) a church or a monastery. And of the document which it was said that he wrote, there was a number of copies, and of it (there was) that which was in his hand, and of it (there was) that which was in the hand(s) of the priests of Alexandria, and of it (there was) that which was with Abba John, bishop of Sakha,

¹ i. e. the patriarchal robe.

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because (he was) the eldest of the bishops, and of it (there was) that which was with Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr).

And when there happened through him (Michael) what has been mentioned before, he (Michael) sent to the priests of Alexandria a document by which he required from them in particular the dues which they received every year, requesting them (also) to return the copy (of the document) in which (were) these conditions, and he threatened them with anathema and excommunication if they did not return it to him; and they sent it to him. He threatened the bishop of Sakha in the same way, and he returned to him the copy which was deposited with him, out of fear of him, because, when he (Michael) had become strong in his position, and his feet were established in the patriarchate, there was manifested in the hearts of the bishops and others besides them the awe and fear caused by him, on account of his authority and his awe and his rule, similar to what (was the case) with the father Christodoulus —God give rest to his soul! None of the bishops or the archons was able to resist him in speech or to oppose him, and he humiliated the bishops and treated them with contempt, so that they became for him as the earth upon (which) he trod.

He requested Abba Sanhut to return to him the documentwhich he had, (but) he (Abba Sanhut) did not do (so), and he said: «You have denied it and have said that it (is) not your writing. What then (is) your need of it, that you askest for it?» Then he (Michael) made promises to him, and he threatened him, and he treated him kindly and he menaced him. (but) he did not listen to him, and he did not deliver it to him. So he (Michael) prevented him from acting freely in his churches and from (celebrating) the Liturgy, (but) this did not trouble him. He (Michael) sent to the priests of all the churches in Cairo (al-Kahirah)

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and Cairo (Misr), and he ordered them not to mention his name ¹ in a Liturgy or in a service, (but) this did not profit him (Michael). Then news reached the aforesaid bishop ³ that he (Michael) wished to appoint his disciples to bring him to him to make (matters) difficult for him, and to excommunicate him entirely, and not to appoint for the See a bishop other than him at all during his lifetime. When he (Sanhut) learned of this, he concealed himself from him, and he went to the Monastery of Kalamon, of the districts of the Fayyum, and he concealed himself in it, and the See of Cairo (Misr) remained abandoned, and its bishop absent from it, and its churches deprived of him, and the judgements for its people were suspended until the archons assembled, and they went to Abba Michael, the patriarch, and he (was), at that time, residing in the keep of the Church of Michael the Elect on the Island of Cairo (Misr), and they said to him: «Our affairs are at a standstill, and our churches are abandoned on account of the absence of our bishop, and we do not know the reason which, according to the Canons, makes necessary what you have done with the bishop, in the way of suspension. He (is) now absent and we (are) present, and we wish that you make known to us the reason for his suspension. If it has been proved against him that he has committed an offence for which the Canons require that which you have done with him, ask us about

¹ i. e. the commemoration of the bishop of the diocese in the Liturgy.

³ i. e. Abba Sanhut.

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him, and make known to us that he has committed against himself that which has necessitated his suspension, if his offence be without forgiveness or his guilt be without pardon. (But) if nothing has been proved against him, and he has not committed an offence for which the Canonsrequire that which you have done with him, it is not permitted to you to despise us and to wrong our bishop, and to remove him from us in spite of what you knowest of his purity and his good ways and the soundness of his belief, and we shall not tolerate this, nor shall we submit to it. Lo, we have come to you with an obeisance, do not make it necessary for us to complain of you to others than you ². Then he became agitated and troubled, and discussions (which are too) long to explain happened to them, until he absolved him (Abba Sanhut) and allowed him to act freely in his See and (to exercise) his priesthood. He sent to the priests of the churches that they should mention his (Sanhut’s) name, and to restore him to his rank. The archons wrote to him (Abba Sanhut) concerning this, (and they despatched a letter) with a delegated messenger, and they asked him to come. He arrived in Cairo (Misr), and the priests and the archons and the people rejoiced with him, and they went with him to the patriarch Abba Michael, so that he might greet him, and they thanked him (Michael) for the return of their bishop to them.

In the second year of the reign of the aforesaid patriarch, the lord, the illustrious Amir al-Guyus became ill and was paralysed owing to his great age, and before his death, the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal, his son, took charge of affair(s), in the last decade of the month of Rabi‘ the First, in (the) year four hundred and eighty-seven [April, 1094 A. D.] which corresponds to (the month of) Baramudah of (the) Tax-Year four hundred and eighty-three.

² A veiled threat to apply for redress to the Muslim authorities.

– 389 –

The Imam al-Mustansir bi’llah, Amir of the Faithful, wrote a decree investing him (al-Afdal) with the affairs of the kingdom, and with the supervision of all the affairs of the State, and its decrees, and its laws, and its judgments. He bestowed upon him a robe of honour, and his decree was read on the aforesaid day in the Great Hall (Iwan) at the Castle. The notables and the commoners rejoiced for him, and he acted well in his conduct at all times towards the notables and the commoners. He was free from injustice, and he closed its gates and effaced its traces, and he did not wish for abundant money in which he saw the least doubt, and he relieved the oppressed of their oppression, and he avenged them of their adversaries. He restored much valuable and excellent property to its owners, and he set himself to spread justice and generosity and kindness. He performed all pleasing deeds and (walked in) praiseworthy and beautiful ways in which none of those who were before him, from among the preceding kings and former emperors (Kai/sares), surpassed him.

Nine months after his (al-Afdal’s) appointment to supervise the kingdom, the Caliph Ma‘ad Abu Tamim al-Mustansir bi’llah, Amir of the Faithful, died, on the eve of Thursday, the eighteenth of (the month of) Dhu al-Higgah of the Lunar Year four hundred and eighty-seven [December 29th, 1094 A. D.] which (is) the second of (the month of) Tubah [December 29th] of the Tax-Year four hundred and eighty-four, and his age, at that time, (was) sixty-seven lunar years and four months and two days. During his illness he had charged his sister, the noble lady, and the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal on that night, that his young son Abu’l-Kasim Ahmad should sit (on the throne) in the kingdom in his stead.

When he died, the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal rode that night straight-

— 390 —

way to the Castle, and he clothed the aforesaid youth with the robes of the Caliphate, and the pearl on his forehead.

He (Abu’l-kasim Ahmad) sat on the throne of his father, and he was surnamed al-Musta‘li bi’llah, Amir of the Faithful. His age, at that time, (was) seventeen years, and his paternal aunt, the noble lady, sent to the elder son of her brother, and they (were) Nizar and ‘Abdallah and Isma‘il, and she informed them of the death of their father. When they were come, and they saw their young brother sitting with the insignia of the Caliphate, they were vexed, and they refused to acknowledge this. The lord al-Afdal said to them: «Kiss the ground before our master al-Musta‘1i bi’allah, Amir of the Faithful, and instal him as Caliph, for he (it is) whom our master al-Mustansir bi’llah, before his death, charged that he (should be) the Caliph after him»; but they refused to instal him as Caliph. Each one of them said that his father had promised him that he (should be) the Caliph after him. Then Nizar who (was) the eldest said: «By God, if my head were to be cut off, I would not instal him in the Caliphate who (is) younger than I am, nor would I consent to his priority over me, because our master said to me many times that I (should be) the Caliph after him, and I have his written statement for this. Lo, I shall bring it to you straightway»; and he went out quickly to bring the document to them. But when he was (back) in his house, he rode (away) straightway, and he took with him, at that time, those of his pages who (were) present, and he journeyed through the night.

The news reached the lord al-Afdal, and he sent to the House of the State the high chamberlain and with him a large body of horsemen to seize him (Nizar) and to bring him back. They followed in his traces, but they did not overtake him, nor did they know which way he had taken.

When the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal learned of the departure of Nizar, he seized his brothers ‘Abdallah and Isma‘il, and he placed with

— 391 —

each one of them ten (men) to guard him. hen the next morning came, our master al-Musta‘li bi’llah sat upon the throne in the Great Hall, and the lord al-Afdal (was) before him, and there were present the Kadi ‘Ali ibn Waki‘ ibn al-Kahhal surnamed al-Muaid Thikat al-Imam Fakhr al-Hukkam, and the witnesses of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and they recognized him (al-Musta‘li bi’llah) as chief of the State and of its heads. The Master of the Correspondence went to ‘Abdallah and Isma‘il, while they (were) both in the mosque which (is) in the Castle, and with them (there were) the decree-bearers, and he said to both of them: «The Kadi and the witnesses are present and they have taken him (al-Musta‘li bi’llah) as chief over all the men of the State. Our master presents to both of you the greeting, and he says to you both: «Will you come to recognize me as chief or not*?» They said: «We hear and we obey, and we shall recognize him as chief, because God has chosen him rather than us for this matter. We do not resist the order of God». Then they both rose up (to go) with him, and when they were before our master al-Musta‘li bi’llah, they kissed the ground, and they greeted him with (the salutation due to) the Caliphate, and they recognized him as chief, and the Kadi administered to both of them the oath of recognition. Then he caused to be brought out the coffin through the Gate of the Kingdom, and in it (was) al-Mustansir bi’llah, and all his sons walked barefooted around it, and his son al-Musta‘li bi’llah prayed over him, and he was buried in the tomb at the Castle.

After some days, it was manifest that Nizar had gone to the city of Alexandria. He associated with its wali, Nasr ad-Dawlah Afikin, one of the pages of Amir al-Guyus, and he came to a decision with him to undertake to help him. He (Nizar) swore to him that he would make him governor (mudir) of the Kingdom and the overseer in it, in place of the lord, the

— 392 —

illustrious al-Afdal. He accepted this, and they both swore and made a contract.

When it was the first of (the month of) al-Muharram, (in the) year four hundred and eighty-eight [January 11th, 1095 A. D.], our master al-Musta^cll rode in Cairo (al-Kahirah) with the umbrella ⁽³ⁱ and a fine dress and much adornment, the like of which has not been seen; and Nizar rode in Alexandria with the umbrella ⁽³⁾ also, and was surnamed al-Mustafa li-dini’llah.

When the lord al-Afdal learned of this, he assembled the troops and the soldiers and he journeyed to Alexandria, and he besieged it and waged war against it, and he endeavoured to fight against those who (were) in it by himself and (with) his money, and he met with great difficulties and severe hardships in this. He took out from his treasury much money and garments and robes of honour and many weapons and military equipment and instruments.

Fighting continued uninterruptedly between them from (the month of) Safar (of the) year four hundred and eighty-eight until (the month of) Dhu’l-Ka‘dah of the same year [February 10th to November 1096 A. D.]. When provisions and wood and food were exhausted, and the inhabitants of Alexandria and those who (were) in it saw that they were defeated, Nasr ad-Dawlah Afikin asked his master, the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal for a safe-conduct for himself and for Nizar and for the inhabitants of the city, and he (al-Afdal) accorded to them a safe-conduct; and they opened the city to him, and Nizar and Afikin went out to him. He commanded them to journey to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he ordered that they should remain outside of it until he reached it, and he had asked our master al-Musta‘li bi’llah to pardon them. Then he entered the city and arranged its affairs and appointed for it a wali and a kadi.

He seized a man of the inhabitants of the city ⁵ (who), at the time of the fighting, used to revile him every day from the top of the fortress.

⁵ i. e. Alexandria.

— 393 —

When he (the man) was standing before him, he (al-Afdal) commanded that punishment should be inflicted upon him until he died. When they prepared him for the punishment, one of those who (were) present said to the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal: «O my master, pay attention to his money before you kill him, for he has assets of more than twenty thousand dinars». When the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal heard these words,he commanded that he should be released and set free, and he said to him: «Go, and I have granted (you your life) on account of your money, lest men should think that I killed you in my desire to take your money». Such (things) as this (were) many in the way of his good deeds which I am not able to enumerate or to explain as to their form.

Then he (al-Afdal) journeyed from Alexandria to Cairo (Misr), and our master, al-Musta‘li, rode to meet him. When the morrow was come, he (al-Musta‘li) sat in the Gate of the Kingdom, and the lord al-Afdal and Nizar and Afikin entered in unto him. When our master, al-Musta‘li bi’llah saw Nizar, his brother, as he entered in to see him, he cried out against him, and he rebuked him, and he said: «Take him (away)!» The high chamberlain and the Master of the Correspondence and a number of the Sicilian equerries leaped upon him, and they seized him together with Afikin. Nizar was placed under arrest in a place in the Castle, and Afikin was placed under arrest in a place in the house of his master, al-Afdal, and he treated both of them harshly until they both died.

The death of the lord, the illustrious Amir al-Guyus was in (the month of) Muharram, (in the) year four hundred and eighty-eight [January-February, 1095 A. D.], before the journey of his son, the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal to Alexandria.

Affairs went well for our master, al-Musta‘li bi’llah, after his victory

— 394 —

over his brother Nizar, and he inspired awe and possessed courage, till, (at length), he fell ill in the tenth year of the reign of Abba Michael, the patriarch, and he died on Tuesday, the seventeenth of (the month of) Safar of the Lunar Year four hundred and ninety-five [December 11th, 1101 A. D.] which corresponds to the eleventh of (the month of) Kiyakh [December 7th] of the Tax-Year four hundred and ninety-one, and it (is) the year eight hundred and eighteen of the Pure Martyrs [1101 A. D.]. The duration of his Caliphate (was) seven years and two months, lunar (reckoning), and his son al-Mansur Abu ‘Ali sat (on the throne), and his age, at that time, (was) six years.

In this year [1101 A. D.], a messenger from the king of Abyssinia reached the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal, requesting that a metropolitan should be appointed for them and for his lands, and that he should send him to him with his messenger. He (al-Afdal) caused Abba Michael, the patriarch, to be brought and he proposed to him that he should appoint a metropolitan for Abyssinia , and should hasten to send him with the messenger. The patriarch came forth from his presence, and he sought for him who should be fit for this affair, (but) he did not find (anyone). When he was constrained in this (matter), he sent to the Monastery of Abba Macarius, and he took a monk whose name (was) George, and he consecrated him metropolitan of Abyssinia , and he sent him to them. He (George) stayed with them for a short time, (but) he did not succeed, nor did he know how to manage his affair(s) with them. It is said concerning him that he transgressed there in infamous affairs and in vile deeds (which) did not become his rank. The king seized him and took all that he had acquired

— 395 —

for himself there, and he sent him back to Egypt (Misr), and he wrote to the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal, complaining of what he had done in those lands. He (al-Afdal) commanded him to be seized and to be put under arrest in the Prison of the Guard in Cairo (Misr). He remained in it under arrest for a number of years with Farag the monk, who, in the days of Amir al-Guyus, used to importune the bishops and the monks. He has been previously mentioned in the biography of the father the saintly Abba Cyril —may God give rest to his soul!

As for Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr), he passed the duration of the patriarchate of Abba Michael in a troubled life; and he (Michael) was at all times suspending him for offences which he devised falsely against him, and he used to cause him to flee from his See, and to banish him from his churches.

When it was (the month of) Basans in the tenth year of his (Michael’s) reign as patriarch, he (Michael) held a Council against the aforesaid Abba Sanhut, and there was assembled at it a body of the bishops. He (Michael) claimed against him that, in tbe days of Cyril the patriarch,—may God give rest to his soul!—he (Abba Sanhut) had celebrated on one day two Liturgies,(one) in al-Mu‘allakah and (the other) in Abba Sergius, and that Abba Cyril had excommunicated him, and (that) he had gone to his rest and had not absolved him, and that through this judgment his (Abba Sanhut’s) bishopric had been made null and void, and (that) there did not remain to him his priesthood. He wrote this on a paper, and he compelled them (the bishops) to write their signaturesto it, without their option, through their fear of his authority over them. When he had their signatures, he sent some of his disciples to Abba

— 396 —

Sanhut, the bishop, to bring him into that place, that he might excommunicate him, as he had determined in his mind. The news had already come before to him (Abba Sanhut), and he went forth in haste from his Cell,and he went to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he concealed himself with certain of his sons, the priests, and he journeyed at night to the Monastery of Saint Severus in the mountain of Asyut, and he remained in it for some days. The patriarch was abiding at the Church of the Mistress al-Mu‘allakah at Kasr as-Sam‘, in the house which he had ordered to be constructed at the top of it. He remained for some days seeking for the bishop, (but) he had no power over him, and he did not find him.

When it was Friday, the twenty-eighth of the aforesaid (month of) Basans, the sacristan of the Church of the illustrious Martyr Sergius at Kasr as-Sam‘, informed me that Abba Michael had given him much flour, and he had ordered him to make it into eucharistic bread on the morning of Sunday, and that he should make known to the priests that he would celebrate the Liturgy in it on that day; and he (the sacristan) mentioned that he (Michael) had determined that he would make it (the Church) patriarchal, and (that) he would say to the archons and to the people: «I (am) your bishop, and I shall not depart from your presence», according to what his mind had suggested to him. I ¹¹ said: «This (is) what shall

¹¹ i. e. the compiler of this biography.

— 397 —

not be fulfilled with regard to us, nor will we accept it, and we are not resigned with regard to our bishop, except for an obvious offence, for which the Canons make judgement against him necessary».

When it was the morning of Saturday, Abba Michael, the aforesaid, rode on his beast, and he and all the distinguished people went forth to meet al-Afdal, on his returning from Tinnis. He (Michael) met him at Damanhur, and he greeted him, and he returned. The plague attacked him on his way, and he said to his disciples: «I have caught the plague». He was about to fall from his beast, and his tongue became tied straightway, and his disciples held him upon his beast until they brought him to the Church al-Mu‘allakah.He remained for the rest of the day and the night and no word was heard from him, and he died on the morning of Sunday, the last (day) of (the month of) Basans (in the) year eight hundred and eighteen of the Pure Martyrs [May 2 5th, 1102 A. D.], and it (was) the day of the Holy Pentecost. The duration of his patriarchate was nine years and eight months. Abba Sanhut returned to his See, and the people rejoiced for him, and they gave glory to God—praised be He!

In the days of Abba Michael, the aforesaid, there was in Cairo (Misr) at the Khalig Bant Wayil which leads to the Birkat alHabas, on the edge of the Birkat Abu Kudamah, a church known as Abu Kudamah. There were in it three altars, the first of them (under) the name of Saint Abba Pachomius, the second, (under) the name of Saint Mahrayil, the martyr (and) virgin, and the third,

— 398 –

(under) the name of Saint Severus, the patriarch. Its walls had become weak, and they were about to fall down. The Shaikh Abu’l-Yumn Wazir ibn ‘Abd al-Masih,mutawali of the Diwan of Lower Egypt, demolished them, and he rebuilt them without the signature of the Sultan, or without asking for the authorization ³. A certain one of his enemies calumniated him to the lord al-Afdal, and he said: «He has demolished the church and (re)built it without your order, and there was at the side of it a ruined mosque, and he demolished it together with it, and he added it to it (the church), and (there was) besides it a courtyard belonging to the Diwan of Endowments of Mosques, and he took it, and he made it into a garden». He said many things against him by which he defamed him. The Sultan was enraged, and he seized him, and he imposed upon him severe conditions, and he rode with his army, and with him (there was) the Kadi and the witnesses, to the church. Muslim Shaikhs were present, and they testified to this. He (Abu’1-Yumn) continued to be under charge until he had built a mosque in (the month) of Rasans (of the) year four hundred and ninety [April 26th-May 25th, 1097 A. D.]. In the days of Abba Michael, the aforesaid patriarch, armies of the Romans (ar-Rum) and the Franks (al-Afrang) arrived from Rome and from the Frankish lands, in Syria in great multitudes, and they gained possession of Antioch and its district and most of Upper Syria. It (Syria) was at that time in the hands of the Khorassan Ghuzz, and nothing remained of it (Syria) in the hands of the Ghuzz except Damascus and its district. Then they gained possession of the noble city of Jerusalem and its district in the month of Ramadan (of the) Lunar Year four

³ Churches were not allowed to be built or rebuilt without permission from the government.

‘

— 399 —

hundred and ninety two [July 23rd-August 21st, 1099 A. D.]. We, the Community of the Christians, the Jacobites, the Copts did not join in the pilgrimage to it (Jerusalem), nor were we able to approach it (Jerusalem), on account of what is known of their (the Franks’) hatred of us, as also, their false belief concerning us and their charge against us of impiety.

They (the Crusaders) gained possession, afterwards, of all the fortresses of Syria, except Tyre and Ascalon, and these two fortresses remain in the hands of the walls, the attendants of the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal. They (the Crusaders) besieged them (the fortresses) a number of times, and the lord, the illustrious al-Afdal, went forth against them, and he contended in war, and he strove, and he expended money, (but) the judgments of God were not set aside. May He Whose Name is exalted protect us and defend us through His mercy!

_______________________________________

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume III, Part I

MACARIUS II – JOHN V (A.D. 1102-1167)
(Macarius II, Gabriel II, Michael V and John V)

ABBA MACARIUS, THE PATRIARCH, AND HE IS THE SIXTY-NINTH OF (THEIR) NUMBER. THIS VENERABLE FATHER SAT ON THE THRONE OF THE PATRIARCHATE IN THE DAYS OF THE KING (Lit. KINGDOM OF) AL-AMIR ¹ AND OF THE WAZIRATE OF AL-AFDAL IBN AMIR AL-GAYUS. THEN, AFTER HIS DEATH, OF THE WAZIRATE OF AL-MAMUN.

When Abba Michael, the patriarch, went to his rest, it was the turn of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) and of the monks of the Monastery of Abba Macarius for choosing him who should be set up in his stead, and they wrote to the bishops who dwelt in the districts of the two Sa‘ids (as-Sa‘idain), the Upper and the Lower Land, to inform them of his death and to condole with them about him, and to ask them to come so that they might meet together and that an agreement might be reached concerning him to whom they should give their consent for the venerable patriarchate; and they wrote also to the Alexandrians in the same manner. It was the time of summer and of the ripening of the crops, the fruits, and the vineyards, and the bishops were occupied in collecting what they required in the way of dues to the holy churches, as grain and wine and other things beside these, and the assembling was not suitable for them, except after (the Feast of) the Cross ⁵. Some of them arrived in Cairo (Misr), and

¹ «This venerable father—al-Mamun» is written in the margin of the MS. In the Paris MS. it is written in the text. Al-Amir Abu ‘Ali Mansur reigned from 1101-1131 A.D.

⁵ It is on the 17th Tut = 14th September (Julian Calendar).

—-2 —-

some of them, in the blessed monasteries. Those who arrived in Cairo (Misr) agreed in (their) opinion to journey to the Monastery of Abba Macarius the Saint, to assemble with the rest of the bishops who (were) there and (with) the monks, for prayer and supplication to the Lord —- Praise be to Him! —-, to direct them to him whom He accepts and chooses to pasture them and to have headship over them. They journeyed thither in the month of Babah ³, and they assembled in the Church of the Saint Abba Macarius, and they remained (for some) days, praying and calling to mind those of the anchorites and saints who (were) in that desert, and about the hermits who (were) in the cells, and giving preponderance in (their) opinion about him who was fit for this headship and noble rank of the priesthood and the apostolic succession of Mark. And they did not agree in their opinion concerning him who was fit for this, and they did not settle in their souls about whom they should consecrate. And they remained in this state until the end of Babah. And they agreed in their opinion on the consecration of one of two men, one of them being the saintly Macarius, the priest, at the Monastery of Abba Macarius, who was known as the painter; or (on) the deacon John, son of Sanhut. They disagreed about which of the two of them they should consecrate. And they settled among themselves to write a letter to the archons of Cairo (Misr), (and) they mentioned in it their long stay in the Wadi Habib, and that they had examined all who were in the

³ This month = September-October (Julian Calendar).

—- 3 —-

monasteries which are there, and the anchorites and the hermits, but they had not found him who was fit for consecration, save one of the two aforementioned, and (that) ‘it has already been settled among us (that) the answer to the affair concerning the two of them (lies) with you, and whom you choose and accept of the two of them, him we will consecrate’.

When the letter arrived, the archons assembled at the Church of Saint Abba Sergius at Kasr as-Sam‘, and they read the letter. There were some of them who knew the two aforementioned monks, and there were some of them who knew one of them without the other, and there were some of them who did not know the one (or the other) of them at all. Those who knew the two of them, all of them supported both of them. Then they said that Macarius was mature, disputatious, of good speech, observing the canon of monasticism, whilst John, the monk, was a young man, a good priest, comely of countenance and eloquent in speech. All of them wished for Macarius on account of his old age and his experience, and they called out his name, as with one mouth, and they wrote the reply with regard to this. When the letter reached the fathers, the bishops, and the priests who were residing in the monastery, all of them assembled to read it, and they unanimously agreed on accepting what it contained. Some of the bishops and the priests and the monks arose, (and they went to) where the aforesaid Macarius (was), and they seized him, and they brought him to the assembly, and he struggled against this, and he refused, and he

— 4 —-

adjured them that they should release him, and he said to them: «I am the son of a second (marriage) ¹. I have no learning nor am I a priest, and I am not fit for what you wish of me». But they did not pay attention to his speech, and they put fetters on him, and they clothed him with the robe. And they consecrated him, and this (was) on Sunday, the thirteenth of Hatur (in the) year eight hundred and nineteen of the Martyrs [9th November, 1103 A.D.], which is the Tax Year (al-Khiragiah) four hundred and ninety-two. They journeyed to Cairo (Misr), and his arrival at the Church of Abba Cosmas which is at the bridge near the Garden known as az-Zuhri, (was) on Thursday, the seventeenth of the aforesaid Hatur. As-Shaikh Abu’1-Fadl ibn al-Uskuf went to the abode of the lord, the noble al-Afdal. He was at that time his scribe, and he was the person who signed in his stead for money and men, and he was in charge of the Diwan of the Council, and (was) overseer of all the Diwans of the Exchequer (al-Istifa) for all the affairs of the kingdom. He informed him of the arrival of the father, the patriarch, Abba Macarius, and that he needed to journey to Alexandria so that prayer should be said over him in its churches, because it is the See of the Patriarchate; and that the wali and the officials there were asking from him the dues which it was the custom of those who had preceded him (to pay); and (that) this was a man, a monk, weak in (his) state,

¹ According to the Canon Law of the Coptic Church, children of a second marriage are excluded from the priesthood.

—- 5 —-

who had nothing, and possessed neither a dinar nor a dirham at all; and he asked him to exempt him from this, and to cause him to be brought before him, so that he might be comforted and his affair be strengthened, according to what was the custom of those who had preceded him. He ³ granted this, and he commanded him ⁴ to be brought with honour (and) dignity. He rode from the aforementioned Church, and the priests before him reading, and they were carrying the Holy Gospels and censers of incense and lighted candles, and the people around him, and the bishops and the archons were riding on their beasts behind him, and the Mutawalli of the Police at Cairo (al-Kahirah) (was) with him, and his men before them, until they arrived at the abode of the lord, the noble al-Afdal. When he had entered unto him, he prayed for him much. He (al-Afdal) saw that (he was) meek (and) modest, comely of countenance and of good speech; and God granted to him through him ⁸ the good fortune to be accepted by him. He (al-Afdal) went up to him, and he caused him to be seated, and he honoured him exceedingly, and he addressed to him a courteous speech, and he commanded that there should be written for him an official document to the wali of Alexandria and to others beside him of the walis by whom he would pass on his way, to respect him and to honour him and to abstain from requiring (of him) the dues or other (things) beside them, and to assist him and to aid him in all that he needed. He (the patriarch) arose, and he went out from his audience in fine state, and the people rejoiced at this exceedingly, and they took the official document, and they journeyed to Alexandria, and all

³ i.e. al-Afdal.

⁴ i.e. the patriarch.

⁸ i.e. al-Afdal.

—- 6 —-

the people came out to meet him. Their entrance into it (was) in a fine (and) perfect state. He (the patriarch) met with a good reception from the wali, and he honoured him and revered him, and he prevented the officials from burdening him with the charge of a single dirham, beside anything else.

His consecration was in the Church of my lord Mark the Evangelist at Alexandria, on Sunday, the twelfth of Kihak (in the) year eight hundred and nineteen of the Martyrs [8th December, 1103 A.D.], after he had had many discussions with the Alexandrians on account of the dues which were fixed by them on him who sat on the Patriarchal Throne. He declined to write his signature for them concerning this, and he said to them: «I am a man, a monk, (and) I have nothing, and I shall not write my signature for anything. Whatsoever I am able, I shall pay it to them every year. If you agree to this proposition, (it is well), otherwise, allow me to return to where I was. It will be more fitting and preferable to me than what you have called upon me (to do)». The discussion between them continued to be repeated for a number of days, until he (the patriarch) wrote his signature for two hundred dinars in number for every year. He arrived in Cairo (Misr) on Saturday, the twenty-fourth of the aforementioned Kihak [20th December], and the archonsand the people assembled on Sunday in the early morning (ghudwah) ⁷ in the Church of the Mistress al-Mu‘allakah, and they thought that he would celebrate the Liturgy and be consecrated. A company of the monks of the Monastery of Abba Macarius assembled, and they said: «He shall not celebrate the Liturgy after his celebration of the Liturgy at Alexandria,

⁷ i.e. the time between dawn and sunrise.

– 7 —-

except in the Monastery of Abba Macarius, as has been the custom of them who have preceded you. If you break this rule and celebrate the Liturgy to-day in this Church at Cairo (Misr), before you celebrate the Liturgy in the Skene of Abba Macarius, there shall be no dealings between us and between you afterwards, and we shall not mention your name in our sanctuary, and we shall not let you enter it, nor ever celebrate the Liturgy in it, (even) if all of us be killed». They made a tumult and they became hostile and they multiplied (their) words and (their) shouting. He did not celebrate the Liturgy that day, and he remained at Cairo (Misr), and he did not celebrate the Liturgy until after the Epiphany; and hejourneyed to the Monastery of Abba Macarius in the half (of the month) of Tubah, and he celebrated the Liturgy in the Skene at the Church of Abba Macarius on Sunday, the twenty-third of it (Tubah) [18th January]; and he returned to Cairo (Misr), and he celebrated the Liturgy in the Church of the Mistress al-Mu‘allakah at Cairo (Misr)on Sunday, the last (day) of Tubah of the aforementioned year, and he was consecrated in it. It was a good day, and his Letter of Introduction (Taklid) was read from the ambonin Greek and Coptic and Arabic, and he accomplished the Liturgy as was right, and he communicated all the people, and there were many who had assembled on that day, so that the Church was overcrowded for them.

– 8 –

The people rejoiced, and they thanked God the Exalted for His mercy and His visitation to His people at all times, as He promised in His Holy Gospel, when He said: «I am with you unto the consummation of the age».

In the fifth year of Abba Macarius, the aforementioned patriarch, a decree was read in the Great Arched Hall at the Castle, on Sunday the nineteenth of (the month of) Muharram (in the) year five hundred and one of the Lunar (Year) which corresponds to the tenth of Tut [7th September (Julian Calendar)](in the) year four hundred and ninety-nine of the Tax Year, containing the transference of this Tax Year to this Lunar Year, a change which did not go beyond words, and that dating in all affairs should be according to the Lunar-Tax Year five hundred and one, and (that) the mention of other (dates) save it should be cancelled, and that it (the date of the Tax Year) should be abolished in all the Diwans with regard to accountancy and business.

In the eighth year of his (Macarius’) patriarchate, on Sunday, the seventeenth (of the month) of Sawwal (in the) Lunar Year five hundred and four, which (was) the fifth of Basuns [30th April, Julian Calendar] (in the) Tax Year five hundred, a great black wind and dust [a sandstorm] arose at the ninth hour [3pm]of the aforementioned Sunday. There occurred in the sky a great redness which spread over the earth as a fire. Then there was a great, intense darkness until no one of the people could discern the other. All the people believed that the Resurrection had already come. They went out from their abodes and the dwelling-places in them, and they left open the doors, believing that they were doomed (and that there would be)

–9 –

no return to them for them. They began to wander about aimlessly in the mosques and the churches and the lanes. Those who sold left their shops and what (was) in them in the way of gold, silver, pulse, merchandise, wheat, goods and chattels and other (things). They walked in the darkness, being confused, seeking the wide and open places, fearing lest the roofs and the walls might fall upon them. It was a terrible hour, the like of it had not been seen, and a number of old men recorded that they had not seen (anything) like it nor heard of it from the days of Moses the prophet. After an hour the rain came, and the dust was dispersed, and the wind grew calm and ceased, and the light appeared, and the people returned to their houses and to their shops, and they thanked God the Exalted, and they glorified Him Who had shewn to them a little of His power. When they were on the point of perishing, He overtook them with His pardon and His mercy. On Friday, the third of Tut, (in the) Tax Year five hundred and one, which corresponds to the year eight hundred and eighteen of the Pure Martyrs [31st August, 1101 A.D.], at the third hour of the day [9 a.m.], there was a great earthquake, and when it was night, the Church of Michael the Elect on the Island of Cairo (Misr) was demolished. It is said that it fell down through the earthquake. The reason for this was what Gamil ibn John as-Sa‘idi, the priest of the aforementioned church, and Ma‘ani al-Ahwal, its sacristan, related, how Joseph al-Mustahab al-Muslimani, son of Mercurius the Christian (an-Nasrani), the builder, remained on the Island the greater part of his time for building the places, the new recreation grounds adjacent to this church, which are the gardens and the enclosures,

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which are called Rodah, which the lord, the noble al-Afdal commanded to be built there. When they were completed, then all of them were surrounded by a fortified wall, and it (the fortified wall) ended at the mill of the church, and it (the mill) (was) in front of its (the fortified wall’s) gate. They mentioned that Joseph al-Mustahab said to them: «Give me something so that I may place the fortified wall in an oblique direction to the mill, otherwise, I shall demolish it, and I shall pass it (the fortified wall) through the midst of it (the mill)», and they promised him dinars. Then he returned to oppress them, and they did not give to him anything, and they said to him: «If you cease to wrong us, (it is well), otherwise, we shall have recourse to the Sultan against you, and we shall inform of what we know of that which is blameworthy in your work in his service, of which we do not approve, and may God keep his days far from (the evil) which you hast done in them. We are a weak people, (and) you desire to cut off our occupation, and you wishest from us what we are not able (to do)». And many disputes took place between them. When the earthquake occurred on the aforementioned day, he (Joseph) and the workmen with him spent the night at Rodah at the building, as was his custom. When night fell, he commanded the workers to demolish it (the church), and by morning it had been demolished, and he commanded the workers to conceal this (affair), and none of them dared to speak of it on account of their fear of him. When the morrow came, he and the workers spread it abroad that the earthquake which had happened in the day (time) had split its (the church’s) walls, and (that) when night fell, and the wind blew violently upon it, it fell down, because it had old walls, and that this (had happened) through the negligence of its congregation and its guardian, and (that) if they had been present on that day, then

—- 11 —-

they could have hastened to shore it up, (and) nothing would have befallen it; and he spread this abroad among all the people. There befell the Christians a great grief on account of this, and they were exceedingly sorrowful about it. This news reached the father, the patriarch, and he sorrowed very much, and he said: «This (affair) happened in my days on account of the multitude of my sins». When he arrived after this in Cairo (Misr), he ordered the agent for endowments of the churches, al-Mu‘allakahand of others beside it, to go to the Church of Michael the Elect, and to bear (away) its woodwork and its vessels, to where he commanded him, and it (the church) remained demolished up to (the time), when this biography was compiled.

On Saturday, the seventeenth of (the month of) Basuns (in the) Tax Year five hundred and six, which corresponds to the year eight hundred and thirty-three of the Martyrs [12th May, 1117 A.D.] —- the beginning of the year is Tut —- the saintly father Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr) went to his rest —-may God hallow his soul! He was, indeed, a virtuous, good priest, of abundant knowledge, content, humble, good-tempered, guileless in intention, patient, pure and of good deeds. He was borne to the Church of Saint Abba Sergius, and all the people and the priests of Cairo (Misriyin) and Cairo (Kahiriyin) assembled in it that night and on the next morning. It was the day of the Feast of the Holy Pentecost, and

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it happened also that it was the day of ‘Asura ¹. The father Gregory (Ighrighurius), Patriarch of the Armenians, was present to perform his funeral service and to pray over him. He (Abba Sanhut) was taken out from it (the church) to the tomb which he had built in al-Hibis, on the death of his brother, the priest, the monk, Severus (Sawirus) —- may God give rest to his soul —-, and the priests and the people were around his bier, walking and weeping and reciting (prayers), and with them lighted candles, and the Patriarch ⁴ and the archons, and those of the bishops who were present, were riding behind him, and all of them were exceedingly sorrowful on account of him (Abba Sanhut), by reason of their knowledge that they would not find his like nor him in whom there would be (united) virtues, knowledge, purity and priesthood such as had been (united) in him.

The saintly father Abba Macarius, the patriarch, was absent at his cell which (was) at AzarI on the Island of Bani Nasr, and I, the sinner, John (Yuhanna) ibn Sa‘id, the writer of this biography, wrote to him a letter in which I consoled him. This (is) a copy of it:

«In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful! I have despatched my letters to the lofty, saintly, esteemed, patriarchal, virtuous, presidential Excellency, the boast of the Jacobite (Ya’kublah) community (millat) and the light of the Orthodox Church, master of the fathers ⁸, chief of the chiefs, to whom belongs spiritual virtues, lofty gifts and pleasing deeds, the successor of my lord Mark the Evangelist, the thirteenth of the Company of the

¹ i.e. the tenth day of Muharram, the first month of the Lunar Year. ⁴ i.e. the Patriarch of the Armenians.

⁸ i.e. the bishops.

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Apostles. May God preserve his (the patriarch’s) glory and strengthen its well-being and destroy its adversaries. Its (the letter’s) contents (express) what I have of Christian yearning and spiritual joy and longing to approach it (the patriarchate) and to obtain a blessing from its holiness. May the Lord —-His Name is great! —-give me joy to behold it and to see its presidency, and not deprive me of the blessing of its prayers through His goodness and the universality of His mercy. It is not hidden from its knowledge of what occurredin the way of the falling asleep of the happy, virtuous father, Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr), its spiritual son and its true lover. May God give rest to his soul and satisfy him through beholding His face, and honour his dwelling! May He extend its term, accord it greater consolation, and prolong its age, and make all its ransom. It knows that this See does not follow the same course (as) the other southern and northern Sees, because in it there are the archons of Cairo (Misr) and its leaders and the notables of its Copts (Akbat) and its chiefs who are the scribes of the State and the servants of the kingdom, and (that) their bishop should at all times be present in attendance on the reigning king; and that it is requisite that he who shall be set up to pasture them and shall be appointed to govern them and to watch over their judgments and their affairs, should have reached mature age, and should be known for being assiduous in the rulesof monasticism and in reading the legal books, and in the service of the Christian (al-Masihiyah) sanctuaries, and in observing the priestly

—- 14 —-

orders, and should be qualified in the application of the Apostolic Canons. The beauty of his devotion, his learning, his purity, his asceticism, the excellent manner of his life, his continence, his modesty and the excellence of his way should be published abroad, since it (the patriarchate) —- may God strengthen its fortune! —- knows what was the custom of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) with their bishops in former and in recent times, and (how) their wives and their daughters and their sisters and their relatives bow and scrape to their bishop in their serious affairs, and consult him privately in their misfortunes, and complain to him of their adversities and of what has befallen them from their husbands and their relatives, and reveal to him their secrets. (How) they take him as a judge in their affairs privately and openly, and consult him concerning their intentions both open and hidden, and (that) he (must) keep secret what he hears from them, and advise them in what is of benefit to their interests, and encourage them to be patient, and console them, and be gracious to them, and do his utmost in setting right what is between them and their husbands privately through his good policy, as used to do the late father and those who were before him —- may God hallow their souls! For this (reason) and for others beside it of the conditions of this See <⁶⁾, it is requisite that its bishop should have reached the beginning of mature age, or should have passed it, and that his good manners in the time of his youth should be known, (as well as) his assiduity in the laws of monasticism. He should have the reputation for continence, chastity, humility, religion, patience, purity, soundness of belief, knowledge of theological science and of general policy, of ecclesiastical literature, of legal judgments, of the Orthodox Faith, of priestly ministration, and of the true Canons. It is incumbent on its

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holiness and its compassion on its people, that he ¹ should pray for them and devote his precious soul to considering whom he should choose for them, and to find him (who is) fit to preside over them and to bear their burden instead of it, since it ³ —-may God preserve its ⁴ power! —- knows the fathers and the recluses and the anchorites in the deserts and the cells. Among them there will not be wanting those (of) his ⁵ qualification, and the Lord will direct it ³ to him, and will lead it ³ through its ⁴ good intention to him by the blessing of its prayers and its good conscience and its holiness and its purity and its love and its intention. And if this be so, I believe that God the Exalted will bring together the hearts of all to obey him and to accept him and to love him and to consent to his consecration (as bishop) for them and to his charge of them, through the assistance of the Holy Spirit Who envelops with His graces and His gifts those who are worthy of them, and its ⁴happy opinion unto the taking cognizance of this matter, and the considering of what it contains through the correctness of its ⁴ happy opinion, and the forgiving of what there (may be) in it of error. And its ⁴noble letter, I shall be honoured by it, and I shall rejoice at its arrival, and I shall be blessed by its coming, and I shall be (as) happy to see it (as) I am happy to see its holiness, and I wish to communicate through it what it contains in the way of itsorders and its important affairs, and that it may remember me at the end of its prayers, according to its known custom, if God the Exalted will».

¹ i.e. the patriarch.

³ i.e. the patriarchate.

⁴ i.e. the patriarchate’s.

⁵ i.e. those required of the new bishop.

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The answer, of which (this is) a copy, arrived. «In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! The letter of the beloved son, the prosperous, the happy one, who is distinguished by spiritual love and religious knowledge, has arrived —-may God prolong his existence and preserve his standing and his high rank and his influence, and humble his enemies, and bless him and his, and guard him by His strong right hand, and deliver him from the snares of the Enemy and the snares of the wicked, and may He hearken unto the pious prayer for him of my wretchedness, through the intercession of the Saints! We are informed about it ³ and we are pleased to learn its information —- may God make it good! —- and there is mentioned (in it) nothing (in the way) of yearning and longing, but that we feel the same many times doubled. We beseech God to bring about the meeting ⁴ soon through His grace and His generosity. As regards what has been set forth concerning the death of the bishop of Cairo (Misr) —-may God hallow his soul and place it with the souls of the righteous! —- God, indeed, knows how we are affected on account of his loss, in the way of grief and sorrow which it is not possible for us to describe. And as regards the guidance upon which we rely concerning him whom we shall consecrate after him ⁸, him on whom mutual agreement has been reached, the order belongs to God (Who) consecrates whom He approves, —- together with the opinion which is agreed upon by the archons which is sound concerning him. If we find him in whom are perfected the qualifications which his ¹⁰ letter mentions, we should according to

³ i.e. the contents of the letter.

⁴ i.e. with the patriarch.

⁸ i.e. the late bishop.

¹⁰ i.e. the writer’s.

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my opinion hasten to consecrate, and, to this end, we should not ignore (any) interdiction with regard to him. We ask God to bring to pass that in which (there is) good, and the consequence of which (is) commendable, and (that) he ³ may not deprive us of his delightful correspondence which contains mention of his news and of his affairs. May the peace of the Lord be with him, and may His mercy descend upon him». It ⁵ was written at the end of the month of Basuns (in the) year eight hundred and thirty-four [April-May, 1118 A.D.], this date, if the beginning of the year (is considered) Baramudah ⁷, and the date of my letter to him ⁸, the beginning of the year, Tut, according to the Epact Computation.

When the aforesaid reply reached me in answer to my letter which was sent by myself, I despatched to him ^l0 another letter on behalf of myself and on behalf of all the people. This (is) a copy of it. «In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate! Condolence! May God prolong the existence of Your lofty, precious Highness, the venerable, holy, patriarchal presence, the lord of the fathers, the chief of the chiefs, crowned with heavenly grace, crowned with heavenly virtues, the boast of Orthodoxy and the light of the Christian Church, the support of the Jacobite community, the crown of the Children of Baptism ¹³, the thirteenth of the Pure

³ i.e. the writer of the letter.

⁵ i.e. the letter.

⁷ = March-April. It should be noted that the Lunar Year 512 began on the 29th of Baramudah, 834 A.M.

⁸ i.e. the patriarch.

¹⁰ i.e. the patriarch.

¹³ i.e. the Christians.

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Apostles, the fifth of the Pure Evangelists, the successor (Khalifah) of my lord Mark the Evangelist. May God preserve its ¹ power, and prolong its stablishment, and execute its judgments, and render its days happy, a year after procrastination by which it ² fell short of what was incumbent upon it ²; and there befell it ²delay in what was necessary (to do) early, and what God the Exalted distinguished in it in the way of venerable holiness and great virtue, and the knowledge, that this worldly abode (is) a transitory abode, and (that) the future life (is) a lasting abode, and (by what) He (God) had called its attention to the affair of His people, and had chosen it for the purpose of guiding the faithful to Him. He leads the people in the right way, and he explains to them the way of piety, and through his spiritual teaching it is saved from the snares of deceit, and they escape from all what is to be avoided, and they hope for victory (in) the Day of the Resurrection. They limit themselves by it ³ to what they perform in the accomplishment of its ⁴ service, (and its ⁴) instruction suffices them to bear with resignation what God the Exalted has ordained and destined, to accept what He has decreed and executed, rather than excessive (mourning) on this subject; and it ³ made it agreeable to them to limit themselves to brevity with regard to (their) letter. And it was, indeed, by the order of God the Exalted and His just judgment, that the saintly father, the pure Chief, Abba Sanhut, bishop of Cairo (Misr) was translated —- may God give rest to his soul! —- thither, (where) God had chosen for him an abode, and had made ready a dwelling-place for those such as he; and he merited it through his deeds which shone before Him, and of which he was worthy through his acts which drew him near to Him, praised be He! —- and he came nigh to Him, (and this it was) what shortened the forearms, and moved hearts and livers. And with God that father, the

¹ i.e. the patriarchate’s.

² i.e. the patriarch.

³ i.e. the patriarchate, and so, the patriarch.

⁴ i.e. patriarchate’s.

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master, is held of account, who worked among us according to His good-pleasure, and did not turn us aside from His designs. We beseech Him, humbling ourselves before His greatness, (and) we ask (Him), entreating His mercy that He preserve for the Children of Baptism beauty through its [the patriarchate’s] leadership, and to preserve the OrthodoxChurches through the permanence of its splendour and its preciousness; for the grace in this [the patriarchate] is too much that pens may set it down in writing, and too great that he who is prolix in speech is sufficient for (describing) it. It has reached itsdisciples that it has undergone a little affliction, and (that) it has been exposed to some contempt, and they were in a state of confused perplexity (and) they were alarmed (and) in a state of forlorn bereavement, (and) they were dismayed, until the news followed that the evil had been removed from it, and the benevolence of God the Exalted (was) towards all in it. And its disciples received in the way of delight a great portion, and they received in the way of exaltation a full share through this bounty. And they asked God the Exalted to make the garment of piety full for it, and the fullness of grace a pledge for it. It is not hidden from itsknowledge —- may God perpetuate its loftiness! —- that the See of Cairo (Misr) has been distinguished from other (Sees) at all times, favoured with the observance of his [the patriarch’s] order at every hour, worthy of observing his affair instantly; because it (Cairo) is the abode of the Caliph and the established place of the throne of the kingdom, and that necessity calls for the consecration of a bishop, (and) he shall consecrate him. His Eminence [the patriarch] shall agree to him [the bishop-elect]; and

—- 20 —-

his way (of life) shall be approved of by his [the patriarch’s] disciples, and all of them shall praise his life and his conduct; who knows his religion and is praised for his faith, who is trusted for his wisdom and his practice and his experience, and from whom the inexperience and the impetuosity of youth is remote, and who is distinguished by length of years and its experience. And he shall walk among them and among their wives, after the behaviour of him whose leadership surpasses them, from among those who have purchased the next world at (the price of this) world, and (who) has pleased the Master Christ by his good deeds. Agreement shall be reached as regards his worthiness of the leadership and his independence in the burden of administration; and that the people have agreed (to have him as) president over them and a manager for them, according to what the Canon of the Church and its rulings require, and the decision of the judges of religions law and its rulers, those by whom God has strengthened what they have built, and has confirmed by its holiness what they have performed and executed, and has glorified it in their position, and has protected it by their rank. A number of its subjects make an obeisanceto it before its pure holiness and its virtuous skhema for strengthening their weakness and taking care to improve their affairs, and for helping them in the choice of him to whom he agrees and they agree, and him (whom) he sees worthy to reveal from their concealed whom they see. Their knowledge about what is incumbent upon it in this case dispenses them from giving an example, and its opinion (set forth) in replying to this letter of theirs dispenses them thereby from repeating the message. And it has remembered them in its holy prayers and its supplications which are accepted and heard —- may he (the patriarch) be most prosperous, if God the Exalted will». A number of the priests

—- 21 —-

and some of the people learned of the contents of this letter, and they found it sound, and they agreed to accept it and to send it to the saintly father Abba Macarius the patriarch. And itsdisciples —-a number of the Christians, the Egyptian (al-Misriyin) Jacobites —- wrote his address, and they sent the letter to him by an appointed messenger, and the reply was returned, of which this (is) its copy.

«The letter of the beloved, chosen sons, and the venerable (and) prosperous brethren, the elders, the pious archons, and all the Orthodoxpeople has arrived —- may God prolong their existence and perpetuate their honour and their grace, and bless them and their homes and their children and all that belongs to them with fuller blessings and better joys, and protect them by His strong right hand, and save them from the snares of the enemy and the traps of evil (people), and may He accord the righteous supplications of my wretchedness for them, through the intercessions of the Saints and the righteous (ones)! Amen. It (the letter) was confined to one of two things, either a reprimand or a reproach, the end of which is praised by their preacher [the patriarch], and there is no need for reiterating it nor to establish a proof for it in the way of consolation and other things; and the prolixity and the interference in that matter which came down from them in it; and, in short, (my) love towards them is shewn in (this) brief letter. And well, but as to what they explained (in the letter) about the translation of the saintly, beloved, spiritual brother, the bishop Abba Sanhut their bishop —-may God hallow his soul and his exit from this perishable world, and his arrival to God —- praised be He! —- we grieved on account of him a great grieving and positive sorrow and abundant weeping and copious tears which exceeds what they mentioned in their letter of what they grieved on

—- 22 —-

account of him. Condolence for him is mutual. I am sure that God —- His name is great! —- has caused him to dwell with the righteous and the good in the life of delights, the mine of His mercy and the house of His honour. He (the bishop) heard the glad and joyful voice: «Enter into the joy of your Master». And as regards what they mentioned about his (the bishop’s) consecration in place of him [i.e. the late bishop], and the directing of us to the knowledge of the canon concerning it, with regard to what they know of my infirmity and the shortcoming of my knowledge, there is nothing of evil in them about it, because recalling to mind sets in order the utility of knowledge. If there be weakness or shortcoming, this will not be from me, but from them, as regards the delay in his (the bishop’s) consecration in place of him [the late bishop] up to this time, according to what the canon about which they informed me, contained, and, as regards me, there has been no departure from it, and I do not know the reason for the delay in it. And it ⁸ says that the bishop shall be chosen by his people, and acceptance of him by all is required; and he shall be known for the qualities which their letter contained. The Canon does not say that he (the bishop) shall be chosen by outside people nor by a patriarch. And now it is for me to hear and obey them in what the Canon ordered. You shall choose him with whom you are satisfied, and in whom you have confidence; and (him who) shall be suitable to you I will consecrate for you. And I shall not depart from your opinion about him, because you will have to endure him and his affairs. We are thankful

⁸ i.e. the Canon 2 of Hippolytus, cf. R.G. Coquin, Les Canons d’Hippolyte, (Patrologia Orientalis, t. XXI, fasc. 2, pp. [81]-[83]).

—- 23 —-

for what God has granted to them [the people] in particular, in the way of love for those who guide their affairs and consider their judgments. And in this shall be the chiefs and principal men with whom is the setting up of the light-house of religion, and the arrangement of the affairs of the weak and the poor, namely the Christian elders, the archons —- may God perpetuate their high positions! —- and our care and the defence of us is incumbent upon them, in place of the former Orthodox kings, on account of their rank in the high councils and the flourishing diwans, and their connections with the sultans and the chiefs, in the way of what God has showered upon us all, as regards the mercies of the high, great Majesty [the ruler] towards us —-may God perpetuate its [=the ruler’s] days and grant victory to its soldiers, and open for it the east and the west of the land through the intercessions of the righteous of His creatures, (and) may He hearken to the petitions from us and from all the good for its Highness which through the beauty of its kindness and goodness may bring back things to their (normal) state and support its royal order and the protected ones ⁵and (grant us) abundant graces. We ask God to urge us to thank it, and, in fine, may their souls be happy and their breasts joyful. As for me, God knows that if angels of heaven came to me, I should not consecrate one of them except him whom they [the people] propose of themselves, and they make an obeisance to me for him, according to what the Canoncontained. The consecration depends on them and the delay (depends) on them; I am innocent of the transgression which has taken place in

⁵ A Muslim term for Christians or Jews living as second-class citizens in a Muslim State and subject to a special tax and various legal disadvantages.

—- 24 —-

this case, lest they think that I delayed this see for worldly advantage, (but) all with which I am preoccupied is not in that, (but) on account of the lack of him who is suitable, and the matter is in the hands of God. May the peace of the Lord —- praised be He! —- be with them and descend upon them and (be) among them! It is written in the second decade of Bau’unah, year eight hundred and thirty-four of the Martyrs [5th-14th June, 1118 A.D.], and thanks be to God for ever». This year is eight hundred and thirty-three [1117AD]if we consider that the beginning of the year is Tut [29th August], and it is the correct date upon which the Fathers based the Epact Computation, solar and lunar (years). And when this letter reached (us) and we read it, we found it is a letter from one who is blamed, and a letter of which the reply was not befitting to him. And we discovered the reason for it, and we knew that the father, the patriarch, did not wish to make a bishop for the see of Cairo (Misr), and that he had the idea to be ruler in it [the see], if he were present, and if he were absent to appoint a substitute for himself. We did not consent to this, and we were perturbed about it. And we said that as it is not permitted that a Christian have two wives, likewise it is not permitted to a bishop that he have two sees. And this father Abba Macarius, the patriarch, (as) he is bishop of the City of Alexandria, how is it possible that he have the bishopric of Cairo (Misr)! We came to the opinion to concern ourselves in haste with him whom we should select for bishop. The priests and the people assembled in the Church of the illustrious martyr Sergius in Kasr Sam‘, and they called to mind those who were in the monasteries, from among the hieromonks and others who were suitable for the bishopric

—- 25 —-

of Cairo (Misr), and the hermitages. And they mentioned twelve men, and these are their names: Kayil, the singer at the Monastery of Abba Macarius; Menas, the priest of the Sanctuary of Abba Macarius; Gabriel, the Alexandrian priest; Agapius (Habib), the priest, the scribe; James (Ya‘kub), the priest of the Monastery of Abba John; Mercurius, the hermit at Abyar; Theodore, the priest of the Monastery of Abba Macarius ; John of Sanhur, the disciple of Macarius the door-keeper; John, son of Sanhut; Apater (Badir), the priest in the sanctuary; Joseph (Yusib), the monk in the Monastery of Abba Macarius; Eulogus (Awlakah) the monk. Then they chose from this number four persons and they are: Mercurius the hermit at Abyar; Theodore the priest of the Monastery of Abba Macarius; John the monk, the disciple of Macarius the door-keeper and John the deacon, son of Sanhut. And I wrote the names of those four on four pieces of paper in my handwriting, and I sealed them, and I placed them on the altar, and we celebrated the Divine Liturgy on it. And when the Divine Liturgy was finished, and the people had been communicated, a youth from among the deacons approached; he took from the pieces

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of paper one, in such a manner that all the people saw it, and lo, on it (was) the name John, son of Sanhut. And all agreed to that, and they wrote a report about it, and the archonsand the priests and the notables of the people wrote in it their signatures consenting to it. And I, the sinner, abstained from writing my signature in it, and I said: ‘If the man come, and I see him, and I converse with him, and I learn that he is learned, sound in the Orthodox Faith, then I will write my signature consenting to it’. And when the signatures of the priests and the people of Cairo (al-Misriyin) and of Cairo (al-Kahiriyin) were completed in the report, I forwarded it to the father Abba Macarius, the patriarch, enclosing a letter on behalf of the assembly to him. A copy of it: «There arrived the letter of Your lofty, most venerable, saintly, virtuous, presidential, esteemed Presence, the crown of the Orthodox Community, the light of the Christian, Church, the beauty of the Children of Baptism, the Master of the fathers, the Chief of chiefs, who follows in the traces of the Pure Fathers, the Apostles, and the successor of my lord Mark, one of the Righteous Apostles —-may God prolong its duration and guard its glory and its eminence. After expecting its [the letter’s]coming and awaiting its arrival, his [the patriarch’s] subjects received it with what it merits in the way of importance, and what its state deserves in the way of honour. They multiplied thanks to God the Exalted for what it [the patriarch] revealed by it in the way of its safety which they esteem on account of the more important gifts of God towards them, and His more

—- 27 —-

perfect kindness latent in them. They rejoiced about this with the rejoicing of those who hold fast to its [the Patriarch’s] obedience, and draw nigh to God —- praised be He! —- by doing according to its [the Patriarch’s] good-will, (and) of those who are directed in all their affairs through the guidance of God by its [the Patriarch’s] spiritual teaching and its just and acceptable judgments. May God protect by its [the Patriarch’s] holiness the organization of religion from being disordered, and guard by the blessing of its [the Patriarch’s] invocations all the people from calamities, and preserve by its prayers which are offered to Him —- praised be He! —- without a partition wall, and its accepted and heard invocations the Orthodox word from being dispersed, and may He strengthen the Christian Churches by the distinction of agreement, and may He draw near its [the Patriarch’s] return and the presence of its people before it, and may He bless them through its holiness in the best conditions transmitted by tradition and elect judgments through its holy prayers. And as regards what it decided —- may God perpetuate its highness —- in the way of choosing him whom they approved, to consecrate for them [the Cairenes] to supervise their affairs according to what the canons of the Church require. They accepted it [the decision] with hearing and obedience, after knowing the extent of the favour towards them through it, and the benefits according to it. And they assembled in the Church of the illustrious martyr Sergius, after they had performed divination, and had implored Him (God) with a mind free from passion, confident in their prayer for success in choosing him who was suitable in word and in deed, and (who) would observe among them the best manner of life and magnanimity. And they confirmed the names of twelve men concerning whom it was agreed to be informed of their religion and to have knowledge of the

—- 28 —-

soundness of their belief. Then they selected from this number four persons, and they (were) Mercurius the hermit at Abyar, and Theodore the priest at Monastery of Abba Macarius, and John of Sanhur, and the deacon John, son of Sanhut. Their names were put on four pieces of paper, and sealed and borne to the holy altar at the aforementioned Church, and the Divine Liturgy was celebrated over them for three days, the last of which was Sunday, the fourteenth of Abib [July 18th]. And the priests assembled, and they surrounded the altar; and the people (were) standing at the door [of the Sanctuary], and clamours, supplications and entreaties these raised by all to the Master Christ, asking that He may choose for governing His people and for directing His Church him whom He sees performing His precepts (and) observing among them [the people] the manner of life of the pure, virtuous and righteous Saints whom He elected to pasture His flock and chose for being chiefs of His faithful. And the deacon, the boy, son of the elder Abu ‘1-Fakhr approached —-may God perpetuate His support [of him] —- and he took in the presence of the congregation one of the aforementioned pieces of paper. And it was opened and there was found (on it) the name John, son of Sanhut. Then they thanked God the Exalted for that to which He had directed them, and they took a good omen from that to which He had guided them, and they consented to him whom He willed and chose to preside over them. And its [the patriarch’s] disciples enclosed a report about all this in which were confirmed the signatures of their congregations. And its [the patriarch’s] disciples kiss the skhema and make an obeisancebefore it, and they ask that it shall summon the aforementioned

—- 29 —-

deacon, as is the custom to summon such as he, and to consecrate him bishop for them, in order that he may undertake the repairing of the churches, and may direct the affairs of the people; and that it [the Patriarch]may be agreeable to execute them [the demands], according to its excellent (and) generous custom, (and) that it may remember them in its holy prayers and its requests which are heard, and that (it may give them) its prosperous opinions, if God the Exalted wills». The answer arrived, of which (this) is a copy. «There arrived the letter of the chosen, beloved, and happy brethren, the good priests, and the honourable, beloved, prosperous, and virtuous elders, victorious in every Christian virtue, who are specialized with all spiritual greetings, the Orthodox archons and the rest of the Christian people —- may God prolong their lives and perpetuate their graces, and exalt them and raise them up, and restrain their enemies, and bless them and their houses and their children and their livelihood with the blessings by which their affairs are exalted, and increase thereby their rank, and magnify thereby their positions, and multiply their fortunes, and confirm for them perpetual grace and enduring well-being. May He guard them with eyes which sleep not, and (under) His wing which does not oppress, and may He turn them away from all satanic snares and evil traps, and may He hearken to the good requests for them from my wretchedness, through the intercession of her who possesses intercession, Mary the Virgin, and the prayers of the Evangelist, my lord Mark, the completer of the witnesses and the certifier of religion and belief, and of all the Saints and the Righteous together. It [the letter] contained their [the people’s] sublime expressions and their sweet, spiritual words like the honey and the

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manna which are mentioned in the Book of the Psalms. When I became acquainted with the sources of their kindness and the abode of their honour, I found them confined to their praising of my poorness, of which I am not worthy or to which I am not related, nor competent for it, because I know myself, and that I am not worthy of what you made me worthy of being thanked —- the sincerity of their love and the purity of their belief and the skill of their understanding and the depth of their knowledge and their proficiency and good manners, as it was said concerning Moses the prophet in the Pentateuch (Taurah) «And Moses was learned in the wisdom of the Egyptians»,in whom was boast and perfection, and the rest by which hopes are raised, and there is increase of age and periods. May God whose remembrance is exalted, establish through them the beacon of religion, and set up through their life a support of the Christian brethren, perpetuate existence, and hallow the souls of their forefathers, and grant to us all mercy and pity before His fearful Judgment-Seat and His terrible Presence. Amen. And as regards what they mentioned in the way of spiritual yearning, I have of it what surpasses the limit of description —- and they exceed in every enlargement and exaggeration. I ask the Creator —- praised be He! —- to bring near (my) return and to perfect the assembly for the completion of pleasant affairs and memorable facts. And (the matter) which they indicated is (one) about which it is pleasant (for me) to thank them and to praise them on account of their love for their spiritual fathers, and of their desire of him who will guide their affairs and repair the cracks of their church. They gave priority to God the Exalted at the beginning of their request, and they implored Him that He should manifest to them him who was worthy of what they implored and desired. What they did is well, for the Holy Scriptures say: «Let God be the beginning of your affair». And He through His generosity shall make their endeavour succeed, and perform for us and for them what (is)

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in it of good and praiseworthy issue. He whose name God manifested to them, and the Presence [=the Real Presence of Christ in the communion] drew forth for them, and with whom all were satisfied, he is the right man; and my heart is agreeable to him to whom their souls are agreeable, and by whom their affairs shall be arranged and the direction of their matters shall be perfected. Let them proceed by the Will of God —- Whose Name is great —- to get him with them and to make sure of him and to guard him, and then I shall come, if God accord (me) life, and we shall fulfil their request and reach to their goal. It is not hidden from them that the aforesaid offered himself for a rank other than a rank of the episcopate, in that he went to the most honoured presence, the holy, chaste, pure, father, the Patriarch of the Armenians —- may God perpetrate his holiness, and he came to him, and importuned him, until he obliged me to write for him [the Armenian Patriarch] a document from the cell that I shall not appoint him in any of the ranks of the priesthood, with a testimonial to me of that Saint, the Patriarch of the Armenians, together with what he wrote about him. This was in the year in which the messenger was sent to the land of the Abyssinians. Inquire you, then (about) this matter from him [the Armenian Patriarch], and ask him to help in summoning the aforesaid person to you, and in getting him with you to learn that I am innocent. The matter is in your hands, and he has to be asked what he wishes, that he may not regard me as having said to him a word and broken it. To sum up, endeavour

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to get him, and I will not delay with his consecration for them, according to what they solicited and desired. Up till then, let them not cease from their correspondence which relates to the mention of their affairs and their news. The peace of the Lord —- praised be He! —- be with them and descend upon them and (abide) with them. It is written on the twenty-fourth of the month of Misra (in the) year eight hundred and thirty-four of the Pure Martyrs [17th August, 1118 A.D.] and thanks (be) to God for ever and ever». And when the letter from the father Macarius the patriarch arrived, and we were informed of it, we assembled, and we went to the Patriarch of the Armenians, and he was at that time in the Church of the Mistress at the demesne of Az-Zuhrt which is between Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and we read it to him. And he said. «The father, the patriarch, is right as to what his letter contains ». We asked him to help us to bring John the monk, ibn Sanhut, the aforesaid. And he wrote a letter to the father Macarius, that he should send to him (one) of his disciples who would bring him, and he sent to him two disciples, and they brought him, and they caused him to descend at the house of the Shaikh Abu ‘1-Fadl which is between Nagib and Dar al-Ghazl in Cairo (Misr). And it was on the second day, (and) the Patriarch of the Armenians convoked him to his cell, and he remained with him (the Patriarch) for some days. And this was at the suggestion of Abba Macarius our Patriarch. He intended thereby that the Patriarch of the Armenians should examine him and test his state, and his knowledge and his belief. And he found him according to what was necessary in all that he required of him. Then the Shaikh Abu ‘1-Fadl Sa‘id Ibn Abraham (Ibrahim) Ibn al-Mustana’ who was related to the sons of al-Iskaf by reason of their affinity, though he was not of them ⁴, took

⁴ i.e. he was related to them by marriage.

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him and he returned with him to his house which is between Nagib and Dar al-Ghazl. And he stayed in it from the time that he had departed from the cell of the Patriarch of the Armenians. And when it was the seventeenth day of the aforementioned (month of) Babah [October 14th], the priests and the archonsand the people assembled at the house of the Shaikh Abu’1-Fadl the aforesaid, and they sent to the Mutawali of Relief in Cairo (Misr), and they informed him that there had been appointed for them a new bishop in place of the deceased (one), and they wished to conduct him from where he was to the Church of Abba Sergius in the Kasr as-Sam‘, according to what was the custom, and they were afraid of the common people, lest there might happen to them some insolence from them on the way, and there occur thereby what would make (their) heart uneasy. The wali sent to them his substitute and a company of his men, and the bishop [-elect]rode a high mule from among the beasts of some of the possessors of the diwans [=government officials] at the third hour of the day [at 9 a.m.], and they conducted him with readings, and before him (were) candles, and gospels and censers of incense, from the aforesaid house to the aforementioned Church of Abba Sergius. And he [the bishop-elect] celebrated the Divine Liturgy, and his deed of investiture was read in it (by) Abba Menas, bishop of Malig, and Abba Michael

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bishop of Atfih, and Abba John, bishop of al-Khandak, and it is the See of Bastah. And it was a great day, and similar to it was that of the Sunday after it in Cairo (al-Kahirah) in the Church of the Mistress in the Harat Zuwailah, and he [the bishop-elect] was consecrated in it, after they had conducted him with readings and candles and gospels and censers from the Gate Khaukhat Maimun Dabbah which (is) at the Khalig to this Church, and with him (was) the substitute of the Mutawali of Relief at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and his men. And the Shaikh Abu’1-Fadl, the aforesaid, related to me, when he came to visit me, that he did not pay to the disciples of the Patriarch nor to his scribe a single dirham for the consecration nor for other than it. And they did not dare to demand from him any thing, for fear of the archons. This was the case with Sanhut —- may God give rest to his soul I —-at his consecration as bishop, and thus (was it) with Abba James who was bishop before him. But when the aforesaid Patriarch made this father Abba John hegoumenos, he declined to finish (making him) bishop, until he had received his [Yu’annis’] signature that he would convey half of the revenue of the See every year to the cell of the Patriarchate for the diyariat ¹⁰ which used to be taken from Abba Sanhut the bishop —- may God give rest to his soul! —- every year to the cell, (namely), fifteen dinars, and (for) the scribes and the disciples two dinars, if they should bear to him the Synodical

¹⁰ Contribution collected from the monasteries.

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Letter, in all, seventeen dinars a year. And in Abib of the year eight hundred and thirty-four of the Martyrs [September-October, 1118 A.D.]and it (was) the fifteenth year of the patriarchate of the saintly father Abba Macarius the Patriarch, Baldwin, the leader of the Franks arrived with a great army at al-Farama, and he pillaged it and he burned it, and he determined upon a sudden attack against Cairo (Misr). Then he fell sick, and on the third day his sickness became serious, and he commanded his companions to carry him and to return to Syria. Then they carried him and returned, and when they reached al-‘Aris, he died there. Then they cut open his belly and they salted him, as he had commanded them. And they returned with him to Jerusalem. And it happened, when news of their arrival at al-Farama reached the noble lord al-Afdal, he raised a great army (to oppose) them. When Baldwin, their leader, died, and they returned, the army pursued them to Syria (as-Sam‘), and returned, and God protected us against their deeds. We asked Him, whose Name (is) great, to perpetuate His mercy and His grace; and to inspire us to give thanks to Him and to cause us not to forget the remembrance of Him through His goodness and glory. And when it was the Sunday of the half of (the month of) Kihak [December 12th-26th] (in the) year five hundred and eleven of the Tax Year, and it (was) the year eight hundred and thirty-eight of the Martyrs [1122 A.D.], and it (was) the end of the month of Ramadan of the year five hundred and fifteen of the Lunar (Year), on the morrow of which would be the fitr ⁸, the noble lord Al-Afdal rode from his house in Cairo (Misr) which is

⁸ i.e. the day following the end of the fast of Ramadan.

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called the House of the King, and he went up to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected, and he entered into the noble Castle, and he sat before our Sire Al-Amir bi Ahkami’llah. The umbrellas and the beasts and the saddles and other things beside were displayed to him, and he chose from them what should be (used) for the ceremony of the cavalcade on the morrow of that day, according as was the custom on similar (occasions), and he went forth from the Castle and he returned to Cairo (Misr). And when he had passed through the market of As-Suyufiyinand the Ras al-Gisr, three unknown men came out against him, and it is said that they were from the land of the East. Two of them confronted him, and in their hands (were) two knives. When the pages saw them, they hastened towards them with swords, and they killed them. But while the pages were occupied in killing them the third (one) came out from the lane of the Dar al-Kitabah, and he struck him with a knife and killed him. The pages hastened towards him, and they cut him down with their swords. They bare the noble lord al-Afdal to the House of the King, and they thought that he was alive. But when he was in the house, they found that he was already dead. When news of him reached our Sire Al-Amir bi Ahkami’llah, he went down immediately to the House of the King, and he took care of all what (was) in it in the way of money. And he ordered his death to be concealed that night from the people, and in the morning he revealed his case to the public. And on the morning of Tuesday, he caused to be brought out his coffin

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after dawn, and all the people walked about it barefooted. Our Sire al-Amir —- may God perpetuate his kingdom —- went forth riding behind him with bleached garments and a Hamdani turban on his beast, until he reached the tomb of his father outside Cairo (al-Kahirah) beyond the Bab an-Nasr. And prayers were said over him, and he was buried in it ². Our Sire returned to the House of the King in Cairo (Misr), and he stayed in it for seventeen days, until he had carried (off) all what was in it in the way of money, jewels, gold, silver, garments, carpets, furniture and utensils to the Castle. And it is said that the money which was found in coin in bags (was) four thousand thousand dinars besides that which was mentioned before, with weapons and beasts the value of which is not known. Our Sire —-peace (be) upon him! —- used to sit every day in the Gold Room in the Prosperous Castle to supervise the affairs of the kingdom and the men of the State. And the noble general Abu ‘Abd Allah and his brothers (were) before him to execute affairs and to ride with him every Saturday and Tuesday to the gardens and the belvederes in the suburbs of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and the outskirts of Cairo (Misr). And he continued with this for the remaining months of the year five hundred and fifteen of the Lunar (Year) [1122A.D]. When it was the year five hundred and sixteen [1122-3 A.D.], our Sire —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- bestowed a robe of honour on the noble general ‘Abd Allah, and he invested him with the ministry (wizarat) and the direction of his kingdom and the supervision over the affairs of the government officials, and he

² i.e. the tomb of Al-Afdal’s father.

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wrote for him for this reason an important decree , and he mentioned in it his titles and his designations, (one) among all (being) the Noble Master al-Ma’mun, until he determined to kill him [the Caliph], when he should be alone with him [the Caliph] in his Castle. This was clear to him [the Caliph] from indications of which he knew the correctness and the truth. He (the Caliph) forestalled him, and he hastened to seize him and his brothers and his sons and his father, on the evening of Friday, the third (of the month) of Ramadan in the year five hundred and nineteen [1125-1126 A.D.], and he imprisoned them in a closet in the Prosperous Castle, bound with iron and fetters. After a time Hiduh died, and there remained Muhammad Ibn Fatik who was designated al-Ma’mun. The Caliph was informed that the aforesaid Muhammad Ibn Fatik had sent, in the days of his ministry, to the land of the Yemen a man of his own known as Abu’l-Hasan Nagib ad-Daulah, as his messenger to al-Hurrah, the queen of the Yemen, openly, but in secret he arranged with him that he should noise it abroad that he [Muhammad Ibn Fatik] was the son of Ibn Nizar, son of our Sire Al-Muntasir bi’llah, and that he (was) more worthy of the Caliphate dwelling in it ⁵, and he (was) now, and that he should make propaganda for him there, and should strike for him coins there with his name. The Imam Al-Amir bi Ahkami’llah sent to her [the Queen of the Yemen] one of the amirs who bore the designation Asad ad-Daulah and with him letters to al-Hurrah. When she learned of their contents, and she understood the matter of the case of Abu’l-Hasan the aforesaid, she continued according to her policy to act with cunning, until she seized him and sent him to Egypt (Misr). And when he arrived on Tuesday, the tenth of (the month of) Muharram (in the) year five hundred and eleven [1117-1118 A.D.], he

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was shewn in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) riding on a camel and beneath him a bench, and on his head a decorated lead fool’s cap, and on his shoulder an ape, and in his hand a mirror showing him his face, and behind his back men of the common people, and in their hands shoes, and they were belabouring (him) with them all the way until he reached the Prosperous Castle, and he was imprisoned with his companion Muhammad Ibn Fatik.

[Note]. I ask of God, —-may His might be magnified and His remembrance be exalted! —-that He may grant to you, O father, the monk, son of the esteemed John, the deacon and the singer, grace and security and sufficiency through the intercession of the Mistress, the Pure Virgin, my Lady Mary, the Bearer of Salvation, and of all the Martyrs and the Saints.

The Father Gabriel Ibn Turaik the Patriarch, and he is the seventieth of the number of the fathers.

This venerable father Gabriel Ibn Turaik was of the inhabitants of Cairo (Misr), of distinguished race, (and) from among the notables of the scribes. He sat on the patriarchal throne fourteen years and six months, and he went to his rest on the tenth of (the month of) Baramudah (in the) year eight hundred and sixty-two of the Martyrs [April 5th, 1146 A.D.]which corresponds to the eleventh of (the month of) Sawwal (in the) year five hundred and thirty-nine of the Lunar (Year). His name was, while he (was) a layman, Abu’l-‘Ula, a deacon in the Church of Saint Abba Mercurius at Cairo (Misr). He was a man of middle age, wise, good, learned, experienced, of excellent manner of life, of much alms-giving and piety, known for his love of the Prayersand the Liturgies, and for his ministration to the churches, to strangers

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and to the sick, a visitor of widows and orphans and those in prison and in affliction. (He was) assiduous in the reading of the Scriptures and the explanation of their meaning, and in searching them; a good copyist of Coptic and Arabic, copying for himself many books and volumes which he had bought of the Old and the New Testaments, of what was suitable for the Holy Church and the Christian religion. He served in the Diwan of Correspondence for a time, and in the Treasury for a time. And they took him from his clerical work (at) the Treasury, when an agreement had been reached concerning him. And they consecrated him patriarch, and his age at that time was forty-seven years. And there assisted at his consecration together with the archons the Shaikh Abu’l-Barakat Ibn Abu’1-Laith al-Malki, master of the Diwan of Investigation, and of those who were present of the Alexandrians at Cairo (Misr), for it was the turn for them ². And he [Abu’l-Barakat] went up with him [Gabriel] to the Church al-Mu‘allakah on Tuesday the ninth of (the month of) Amsir (in) the year eight hundred and forty-seven of the Martyrs [February 3rd, 1131 A.D.], and they anointed him, and they went with him in a processional barge to Alexandria, and they consecrated him patriarch. And this was in the days of Ahmad Ibn al-Afdal, son of the Amir al-Guyus, and he was called Shahanshah. And the compiler of this biography, and he is the father Mark Ibn Zara‘ah, mentioned that his consecration was not known to any of the bishops, nor the monks, and (that there had been) no consultation about his affair, since the Patriarchal

²i.e. the turn of the Alexandrians to elect the patriarch.

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See had remained vacant for many years after the decease of Abba Macarius. A trustworthy person stated that the assembly of the archons which came together to seek a patriarch, went to the Monastery of Abba Macarius. And the sons [the monks] of Abba Macarius received them, and they went with them to Abba Joseph, the Syrian Saint, in the Monastery of the Syrians, so that they might consult him and receive his blessing. And the grace of God had descended upon him, and the Holy Spirit was dwelling in him, and he was informed of that which was hidden. And when they had conversed with him concerning the affair of the Patriarchate and him who was fit for it, since some of them were striving after it. Then Abba Joseph said to them: «Return to your homes: you have, indeed, wearied yourselves in your coming hither since your patriarch (is) in Cairo (Misr)», and he indicated him and named him to them. And he said to them: «He is so and so Ibn Turaik». Then they returned and did, as he had said to them. And likewise it is said concerning the patriarch Abba Macarius who was before him, that this Abba Joseph had said concerning him the same as this. And likewise, the anachorite at Abyar had informed about this, and had mentioned him who had been the companion of his childhood and him who had associated with him from among his contemporaries. He used to make a place in the house of his father as a church, and he used to read in it, as if he were celebrating the Divine Liturgy, and then he blessed the people of his father’s house. And he used to play, when he was a child, and he used to say to them: «I am your patriarch». And he used to put on a silk garment, (and) it was for him like a

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hood, and when he grew up, he was ordained deacon. And God has mysteries regarding His creatures (which) are not known, except to Himself and to him to whom He reveals them from among His Saints and lovers of His Name. Indeed, the Apostle said: «No one taketh the honour by himself, except that it be given from heaven from God»; for God said to Jeremiah the prophet: «I made you a prophet, (whilst) you (wast) in the womb of your mother; I chose you for prophecy». And He said to Ezekiel the prophet: «I made you as a watchman for this people». And He said to Moses : «I made you a god of Pharaoh»; and He said to David the prophet: «I anoint him king, and I raise him over all the kings of the earth». Similar to these sayings (there are) many in the sacred law. And when this patriarch returned to al-Gizah after his coming from Alexandria, he went up to the Monastery of Saint Abba Macarius for his consecration there, as had been the custom for those of the patriarchs before him. A conversation took place regarding the meaning of the ‘Confession’ which is said over the Oblation before communicating from it, and it is: «I believe and I confess that this is the Body of our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ Which He took from the God-bearer, my Lady Mary the Virgin, and It became one with His Divinity». Some of the monks at the mentioned Monastery refused to accept the wording of this expression which is ‘It became one with His divinity’,

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because it (had been) added, and they mentioned that it was not their custom to say it. He excused himself (saying) that he had said it on the day of his consecration, as the bishops who consecrated him, had taught him, and it was not permitted to him to abandon it nor to depart from it, since it was a correct expression. There occurred on account of this troubles and discussions. At the end of them it was decidedto add the other words which they had agreed to join to it, and they are: ‘It became one with His divinity without confusion and without mingling’,and he agreed with them on this, and he said it and he has used it until now. The majority of the people agreed on saying it, except the people of the inhabitants of Upper Egypt, for they continued in their custom which was known (to them), and he did not thwart them in this and he did not constrain them to it.

At the beginning of his reign Abba John, bishop of Cairo (Misr), died in (the month of) Rabi‘a al-Akhar of the Lunar (Year) five hundred and twenty-eight [1133-1134 A.D.], and he (the patriarch) prayed over him with a company of priests, and he buried him at al-Hibs, and he did not consecrate any one after him for Cairo (Misr) during his patriarchate. And he forbade the burial of the dead in churches; and when (news) reached him that some people had transgressed and were disobedient to his order concerning this, and that they had buried the hegoumenos Bessus in the church of the Harat ar-Rumin Cairo (al-Kahirah), he executed (his order) and he closed the church, and it remained closed for a time. Then, he ordered its opening after a time, at the request of the archons. And he translated

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the body of the father Abba Macarius, the patriarch who was before him —- and he was buried in the Church al-Mu‘allakahin Cairo (Misr) —- after he had said again over him the prayers, and he shrouded him in a silk covering, and he had him borne to the Monastery of Saint Abba Macarius in the second year of his reign. And he placed him [Macarius the patriarch] in a skin envelope above his shroud, and he ordered that the skin envelope should be taken, after his arrival at the Monastery, and to bury him [Macarius] with the bodies of the patriarchs, placing in it [the skin envelope]the body of Saint Abba Macarius the Great, and (he ordered) to take what was upon him [the shroud], and to shroud in it the patriarch Abba Macarius; and that this rule should be continued for others beside him, to be enveloped in it. And in the days of this patriarch [Gabriel Ibn Turaik], after the assassination of Ahmad, the son of al-Afdal, who was called Katifat, al-Imam al-Hafiz occupied the caliphateand his wazir was Yanis. When he (Yanis) became ‘king’, he had killed the young guard who had been soldiers of the Imam al-Amir for he was wrathful with them, because they had killed him who was before him. And he did not remain as ‘king’ beyond one year ¹⁶. And

¹⁶ At the time in question, the wazirs were the real rulers of the country, and one actually assumed the title ‘king’ (malik).

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they poisoned him with water prepared for him in the pitcher of the latrine ¹. And when he used it, it lacerated his lower parts and his entrails fell out; and he died. And (one) of his sons, a man called the amir Hasan ² arose, (and) he laid claim to the caliphate, and some people whom he named Chain-mailed Youths accepted him (as Caliph). They were a mixture of soldiers and of all sects, and he was strengthened by them and they helped him. And he accorded favours to them and advanced them, and he distributed to them the land, and appointed them governors of provinces, and made them amirs of his State and of his troops. Then his authority became strong, and he seized a great number of the amirs of his father’s State, and he used to have them brought before him by night, and he beheaded them, and he gave their houses and properties to the Chain-mailed Youths, and he destroyed a multitude of people by the sword from among all the people, amirs and others beside them. And every day a number were (found) in the morning slain in the Bain al-Kasrain, bodies without heads, so that they might not be recognized. And when he had become firmly established and strong he deposed al-Hafiz, his father, from the caliphate and seized him and put fetters on him and imprisoned him. There occurred in his days a great battle between the Sudanis and the soldiers at a place called Kum ad-Darb to the south of Cairo (Misr) in the region of Atfih, and many people of the Sudanis were slain. And the Amir Hasan seized the father, the patriarch, Abba Gabriel, and he confiscated his (possessions), and he imprisoned him in the Treasury of the Flags, until the scribes paid

¹ This still commonly replaces toilet paper in Egypt.

² Hasan was poisoned at al-Hafiz’s, orders, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 168.

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to him from their female slaves and the merchants aided him with their money, so that there was borne to him a thousand dinars, and God delivered him from his hands. And when God saw his (Hasan’s) oppression and his evil and his killing of the people and his taking by force of the property of the people without (any) right, He raised up against him a body of the soldiers of the State. And they went to (the (Province of) al-Gharbiah to its wali, and he was a Christian man, an Armenian, called Bahram, and he was designated as Tag ad-Daulah [Crown of the State], and he was a chief of the Armenians, for he was of the race of its kings. Then he came to the Land of Egypt (Misr) with the amir al-Guyus Badr al-Gamali, on his coming from Acre in the days of al-Mustansir bi’llah. And he continued in the service of the State, and they advanced him and they made him wali of provinces; and he kept his religion, and he was exalted and respected by them, and they had a good opinion of him and love for him, and they made him wali of (the Province of) al-Gharbiah. And the soldiers went to him, and they cried to him for help, and they wished for him and besought him that he should be a wazir and ruler over them. Then he entered with them into Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they took him and made him a king without his choice. Then the amir Hasan fled and he hid himself, and his father [al-Hafiz] returned to his former state. And hemade this amir wazir, and he was a Christian. And al-Hafiz reigned as caliph on the day of his return to the caliphate in the months of the year five hundred and twenty-nine of the Lunar (Year)[1134-1135 A.D.]. And the brother of Tag ad-Daulah Bahram, the wazir, was a saintly man not interested in the world, and had been consecrated

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patriarch for the Armenians in his country. Then he came to Egypt (Misr), and he (was) patriarch for them. He was renowned for religion and chastity and holiness and generosity and alms-giving and compassion. He was called Abba Gregory, and when he went to his rest, they appointed another in place of him as patriarch in the Land of Egypt (Misr), and they called him Ananias. Then, when al-Hafiz was firmly established in his caliphate, some of the amirs and soldiers plotted to ask for his son, the amir Hasan, and to kill him. And this was decided upon with the great of the army and the chiefs of the State. And he (al-Hafiz) promised them largesses and fiefs. And all the amirs and the soldiers assembled at the Castle and they shot arrows at it. And they brought much wood, and all of them said with one cry: «We seek the amir Hasan. Deliver him up to us, otherwise we shall burn the Castle and every one in it». And his father al-Hafiz sought him among the inhabitants of the Castle, and he said to them: «If he delay one hour and does not show himself, they will burn us and will burn all our castles, and they are our soldiers and our helpers against those who are enemies to us, and, indeed, they have risen against us. Where have we others than they to help us against them?». Then the inhabitants of the Castle sought for him, the ones and the others, until they found him and brought him before his father al-Hafiz. And when he saw him, he wept, and he said to him: «O my son, I have been vanquished as regards you and as regards myself. Tell me a way for your safety. If I deliver you up to them, they will chastise you and contemn you. Then, after they have done this to you, they will slay you. And as I see (it will be) for the good of my state and your state that you suck this ring, and you will die in God’s cause, without chastisement by them». Then he threw to him a poisoned ring (such as) kings are accustomed to have with them for overpowering circumstances for them, similar to this, (and) see death better for them than life in the hand of their enemies and to be under their tyranny. And he took the ring and sucked it and died. And he (Al-Hafiz) took him

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to the midst of the Castle, and he placed his body on a wooden bench, and he opened the gates of the Castle, and he ordered them to enter and behold him. And they entered and they saw him dead. And they took off the covering from his face, lest he were (only) sleeping. And they pricked him over all his body with knives and the heads of arrows, and when they were assured of his death, they left him and went out. And one called Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi of the amirs of the State was the most vehement in speaking and in seeking for him. And al-Hafiz designated him as Fahl al-Umara’ and made him wali of (the Province of) al-Gharbiah». And Tag ad-Daulah Bahram continued in the wizarat from (the month of) Gumada al-Awal (in the) year five hundred and twenty-nine of the Lunar (Year) [1134-1135 A.D.] until the end (of the month of) Rabi‘a al-Akhar (in the) year five hundred and thirty-one [1136-1137 A.D.]. And the speech of the Muslims about him increased on account of his belief and they envied him on account of the love of the Caliph for him, because his word surpassed them. And in the days of his government the Christians had an influential word and prestige and dignified treatment from the important diwans which the Caliph and the wazirs had in their hands. And of them were the superintendents and administrators in all the Land of Egypt, in the south of it and the north of it, and its hamlets. And when the word of the Muslims weakened and their (the Christians’) word became strong, need (arose) to act craftily to cut off this disease at its root, and they resolved (to have) a rest from them by taking away the government from Tag ad-Daulah Bahram. And a body of the amirs and the soldiers and a rabble of people became fanatic and they went to (the Province of) al-Gharbiah, and they cried for help from Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi its wali; and they said to him: «The Caliph

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has named you Fahl al-Umara’; and (there is) no one for the Muslims to deliver them from the disdain of the Armenians save you; and if they become stronger than this many of the Muslims will become Christians». And they roused him up, and he arose with them, and he gathered together the Arabs and the chiefs of the country, and he proclaimed. «O warriors against the infidels». And he attached books of the Kuran to the points of the lances in front of the army. And he journeyed, and there gathered to him of the Muslims a numerous army the number of which (could) not be counted by reason of its quantity, and he raised high the word of al-Islam. And when he reached Masgid al-Khidr, he descended at it, and he commanded the army to pass over the river to the other side. News of him reached Bahram about this, (and) the blood of the people was roused, and he said to his companions: «Without fail I shall die and God will require of me the blood of the slain from among you and from among them. And the kingdom of this land God has given to the Muslims, and it is not lawful nor permissible for me by God to fight against the people for their kingdom, and to deprive them of their rights. Had the Caliph not asked aid of me for what happened to him from his son, and agreed with me about what I did in his service and his obedience, I would not have begun anything of myself. Arise, take what you are able of your money and your children. And let us go to Kus, to take my brother—-he had made his brother Basak wali of Kus. Then we will go to our country and leave to the people their kingdom; there is no need for us to make war against them». And the courageous of the Armenians said to him: «How shall we do what you have said. We are a thousand bowmen: we can conquer the world up to the gate of Rome (Rumiah), and we will encounter them and we will defeat them with the help of God to us». But he did not agree with them, and he departed immediately to Kus to seek his brother Basak. And when

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he reached it, he found (that) the news of the ministry of Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi had arrived before him, and the Muslim inhabitants of Kus had killed his brother and had buried him in the dung in the stable of his beasts at the Government House. And he made an assault upon it, but they closed the doors of its fortress in his face, so he besieged it. Then he pardoned it and sent away from him the troops, and he went up to the White Monastery alone, and he stayed in one of them. As regards Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi, he entered Cairo (al-Kahirah) and the Caliph invested him with the ministry (wizarat) in the year five hundred and thirty-one [1136-1137 A.D.]. And he plundered the churches of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and the Khandak, and the Muslims burned the dwellings of the Armenians known as Az-Zuhri, and they killed their patriarch and all whom they found with him of the monks in the monastery. And Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi (was) the first wazir (who) ordered that the Christians should not be employed in the important diwans nor as superintendents nor as administrators, and that they should bind their girdles about their waists, and that they should not ride on a horse. And he doubled for them and for the Jews the capitation-tax (al-gizyat), and he made it of three categories, for the people who (were) rich, four dinars and one sixth, and the people below them, two dinars and two kirats; and as regards the rest of their common people, one dinar and one third and a quarter, and for him of low extraction, a dirham. And he

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employed in the Diwan al-Gawali ¹ a man from the witnesses of Cairo (Misr), known as the Kadi al-Muhadhdhab Ibn Abi’1-Baka, and the cause for this was what (had happened) through the Caliph’s employing a protege of the caliphate, the Shaikh Abu Zikri Ibn Yahya Ibn Paul (Bulus), the Christian scribe, in the Diwan of Investigation. He had invested him with a coat-of-mail, and had caused him to sit within his Castle, in the Hall of the Golden Gate, in a place (which) he had set apart for him in it. And he employed with him twelve scribes from among the Christians, notables, in the days of the ministry (wizarat) of Bahram, towards the end of the year five hundred and thirty [1136-1137 A.D.]. And there was with him also two scribes from among the Muslims, one of the two of them was known as the Kadi al-Khatir Ibn al-Bawab, and the other, as the Kadi al-Murtadi Ibn at-Tarabulsi ⁴, both of whom Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi had employed in the Diwan of the Council (al-Maglis) instead of him ⁵. Then he dismissed him ⁵ after this, and he banished him to the region of Asyut, because it was his country and the home of his ancestors; and the two mentioned scribes remained permanent, each one of them separate in his diwan. The application of the Gawali (Tax) for the dhimah ⁷ has remained until I wrote this biography. And I found in the days of the ministry of Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi (there was) a severe dearth until most of the people lacked food, and the mentioned Rudwan sold wheat and other things beside it in the way of red rice, black broad beans, weevilled cereals, and wheat (which) had become (rotten) from its oldness and the length of its staying in the granaries and the depots, the silos and government stores from the days of Amir al-Guyus for need (in

⁴ i.e. of Tripolis.

⁵ i.e. Abu Zikri Ibn Yahya Ibn Bulus.

⁷ The term for Christians and Jews in a Moslem state

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times) of famine, and many things (were) at a great price, so that the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) called it «historic» wheat. And the cost of bread in those days was an Egyptian ratl for a dirham. Then God came to the aid of (His) creatures [through His mercy, and He had compassion on their poor, and He heard their supplication and He relieved them] and He lowered their costs. And there happened similar to this in the year five hundred and thirty-four of the Lunar (Year) [1139-1140 A.D.]. The Nile did not attain in it above fourteen cubits, and the cost (of food) became dear. When the land was dried up, the people experienced great harm by reason of the drought of the land. And Michael, bishop of Sahragt, undertook the renewal of the church of Minyat Zifta, and he consecrated it, and he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in it, and he dedicated it to the name of Saint, my lord George. And the Muslims of Minyat Zifta sprang upon it, and they demolished it out of their hatred for the Christians, and they made it a prayer-house (Masgid). And Michael the bishop stood before the wazir Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi, and he cried for help from him, and he made clear to him that it was an ancient church ⁸. And he signed for him (a document) in his hand-writing to restore it and to return it to what was its former state in the way of its limits, upwards and downwards. And he restored it and completed it, and he consecrated it, after he had endured on account of it great affliction and a great fine. And Rudwan continued in the ministry until there rose up against him the soldiers

⁸ New churches may not be built without permission from the State.

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and the amirs of the State. Then he departed from the House of the Ministry (Dar al-Wizarat) in Cairo (al-Kahirah) in flight, and he did not put on his feet save one boot, and they did not give him time so that he might put on the other. And he stayed with the Dirmawiyin Arabs, and they took him to Syria. And he stirred up a party of the Ghuzz, and the Arabs who had allowed him (to pass) joined themselves to him. And he came to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he halted on the top of the mountain at the place of the Observatory on the Mountain al-Mukkatam. And the army of the Egyptians came out against him and they fought him, and he routed them. Then they fought him in earnest, and they conquered him and defeated him. And when he saw that he was defeated, he returned to the land of Syria a second time. And the Imam al-Hafiz wrote to him and reassured him and appeased him, and he sent to him from among his companions one who was trustworthy for him, and in his hand was money with which to travel, he and those with him of his companions and his followers. Then he returned accompanied by those whom he had chosen to go (with him) from among the amirs of the State. Then the Imam al-Hafiz caused him to stay with him in a Castle, and he set apart for him a great hall and its quarters and its offices, and he gathered together his sons and the sons of his sons. And he was in it honoured (and) free to do what he liked, (and) at liberty, without fetters, and he was not under surveillance, and he was not guarded. And as regards Bahram the Armenian who was wazir before him, when Rudwan caused him to come from the White Monastery, he placed him with him in his house. And when there befell Rudwan

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what occurred, our Sire al-Hafiz transferred him to his Castle, and he besought him that he should return to his ministry, but he did not do it and he said: «I am a monk; I am not a soldier»; and he took up his abode in the Castle being served until he died. And he (al-Hafiz) caused his coffin to be taken out from the Gate of the Arched Passage to the Church of Az-Zuhri, and they buried him in it. And there was at Atfih a bishop for the Armenians who made efforts until he became patriarch for them. And at his consecration, he besought the presence of Abba Gabriel Ibn Turaik with him, so that he might lay his hand upon him. But he did not come to him at the time of his consecration, until he (Gabriel) had administered the Holy Communion in his church. And he broke his fast, lest they should constrain him to lay his hand on him. Abba Gabriel had forbidden the taking of simony for the priesthood, and he did not take anything for the consecration of a bishop or for other than him, and he did not approve of this in others, and he followed in this what the Holy Gospels say: «Freely you received, freely give», for the grace of God and His gift and the authority of the priesthood is not sold with money. And he was emphatic in this matter, and he wrote a document about this. And he suspended him who receives it (simony) and him who pays it. It is mentioned concerning him by one who was well acquainted with him, that he consecrated fifty-three bishops, and that there came to him a man, a priest, called Bukirah, and he sought of him that he should consecrate him bishop for the country of Akhmim, and he offered to him money, but he refused to accept it. And when he (Gabriel) repulsed him, he went and set about, until he implored

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aid of the son of the caliphate, the son of the Imam al-Hafiz, and he was called Wali al-‘Ahd. And he bore to him a great amount of money of great value, and he asked him to intercede for him with the patriarch, so that he might consecrate him bishop. And Wali al-‘Ahd sent to him (the patriarch), and he brought pressure to bear upon him concerning him (the priest), but he did not accept (to consecrate him); and he exculpated himself, and he wrote a letter to the caliphate , and he informed him in it of the story of the affair of the bishop, and that he sought the authority of the priesthood by bribing, and that this was not permitted in the Christian religion. And when the letter was presented to al-Hafiz, he thanked him (the patriarch), and magnified his position, and he signed a document for him that there should not be any interference in his religion, and that no one might constrain him (to do) what was not permitted within [the limits of] his law. Then news reached him (the patriarch) after that, that he (the priest) had a very great amount of money, and he feared that if he prevented the priest Bukirah from (receiving) the episcopate, he might depart from his religion and the money would be lost. So he consecrated him bishop for a see other than that which he had sought; and he intended thereby to win his soul and that he should not lose his money. And Bukirah bore to him the money, but he did not look at it with his eyes, but he commanded that it should be delivered to the manager for the property of the churches; and he ordered him to spend it on the (re)building of the keep of the Monastery of the Beacon and other things beside it. And there was a man from among the sons of the notable scribes, who had his presidency and his leadership among his people, and he was called Abu ‘l-Yaman Ibn al-‘Amidi. And he left the servants and (his) manner of life, and he attached himself to the service of the church of Saint Abba George in the Monastery of Clay.

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And evil people reported to the patriarch Abba Gabriel infamous words about him. They intended thereby to corrupt his case with him (the patriarch), that they might remove him from the mentioned church, or might observe in him a detestable evil, so that they might reject him. And when they informed the patriarch about this, he did not undertake patiently to see into what they had said and to investigate about it. And this offended Abu’l-Yaman Ibn al-‘Amidi and he departed from his religion. And his affair was hard to bear for the father, the patriarch, and he repented of it with bitter repentance; and after it he did not repeat being severe with any one, fearing lest he (another) might do the same as he. And God performed at the hands of this patriarch wonders and miracles and good works, and I shall record some of them. And it is what took place in the lands of Ethiopia (al-Habasat), and this (was) that the king of Ethiopia summoned Abba Michael —- and his name before his consecration (as) Metropolitan of Ethiopia (was) Habib —- and he sought from him that he should consecrate for him bishops in excess of the usual number according to the recognized custom established from ancient times ¹, but he refused this. And he said: «I have not the power to do anything, except on the advice of the patriarch». And the king despatched to the patriarch a letter asking him about this, and another letter to the king of Egypt which his messenger accompanied. And an order of the caliphate went out to the patriarch to comply with what he ² asked. And he excused himself and said to the caliphate «O Sire, if the bishops for Ethiopia become more than this number, they will dare to consecrate an Archbishop, and they will free themselves from the obedience of the Patriarchs of Egypt, and they will dispense with them, and they will begin to appoint (patriarchs) for themselves, and there

¹ Marginal Note: (It was) the usual custom to consecrate for Ethiopia and Nubia seven bishops and not more. For if they complete ten, they would consecrate metropolitans, and they will have no need for the Patriarch of Egypt. On account of this the patriarch forbids to consecrate for them.

² i.e. the king of Ethiopia.

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will not remain for them any need of the Patriarchs of Egypt, and they will not owe ohedience to them, and this will drive them into enmity and hostility towards whomsoever borders their lands from among the Muslims, and discipline will be relaxed among them. And wars will be multiplied by them, as they were wont to do in ancient times, in the days of Pharaoh and Moses and of those who were before him of the Pharaonic kings, and (as) they were wont to attack them by land and by sea, and reports about this are recorded in the history of the first (peoples). Then the patriarch wrote [to him] a letter warning him and commanding him to desist from what he sought from him, and he despatched the letter to him. And when the messengers of the patriarch returned from Ethiopia, they reported that fire had descended from heaven upon the castle of the king and it had burned a part of it. Then the lands of Ethiopia experienced great dearness in that year, and a great pestilence, and rain did not fall in it, and they endured on account of this great difficulty. Then the king received the letter of the patriarch, and he came back to God, and he wrote to the caliphate of Egypt, (and) he asked him to ask the patriarch to absolve him and to write to him a letter of blessing upon him and upon his lands. Then he (the patriarch) wrote to him concerning this, and despatched it (the letter) to him (the king). And at the hour of the arrival of the reply to them, God removed His wrath from them and His mercy reached them, and the rain fell, and their lands were sown, and their prices became cheap, and the dearness and the pestilence were removed from them through the mercy of God and the good-pleasure of this father for them. And the mentioned patriarch was sick of a severe sickness. He was nigh to perishing from it. Then he saw in his dream, as it were, a company of priests and monks, and with them Gospels and crosses and censers, and they said to him: «We have come to visit you to-day, and you will be healed of this sickness of yours, but we will return to you in the next year, at this same time, and we will take you with us». And he was healed of his sickness that time. And after a year he fell sick, and

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he went to his rest on the date which we have previously mentioned at the beginning of this biography. And there was in the days of this patriarch one of the monks of the Monastery of Abba Kama, whose name (was) Halwas, of the children of the daughters of Bastiyah, who was in charge of extracting the oil of balsam, that is the chrism, and he brought a case against the monks, and he calumniated them to the Imam al-Hafiz, that they had magical arts and sciences, by which they knew what is happening to kings, and how States conquer, and they accumulate dinars and other things beside them in the way of acquisition of gold and silver and jewelry, and by this they disobey their religion and the words of their Gospel and the commandment of Christ to them, and an image of a water-wheel in crystal, its likeness is not found with anyone of the kings of the world. He summoned with him chamberlains and soldiers, and took them, and he went up to the Monasteries in the Wadi Habib, and he gave them power over the monks. And they insulted them, and they abused them, and they taxed them, and they pillaged them, and they broke their workshops, and there befell them from him a great calamity. And he took from them certain of their elders, and he entered Cairo (al-Kahirah) with them. But nothing was verified of what he had reported about them, and God delivered them from him, and the caliphate was well-disposed towards them, and he sent them back to their monasteries in safety. And it happened, when this Halwas entered with those who were sent with him, into the Monastery of Abba Macarius, he violated the sanctity of the holy sanctuary, that is the Sanctuary of Benjamin [at the Monastery of Abba Macarius ] ⁶, and he attacked it, and he entered into it, he and those with him, and they examined the whole sanctuary. And it is said concerning him that he kicked the sanctuary with his foot

⁶ Addition from the Paris MS.

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haughtily and proudly. And God struck him on his foot with a malignant gangrenous pustule, and it did not cease to eat away his foot until he died from it after great distress, and there were worms and putrefaction and sores, and he did not escape from them, night or day. And he used to confess what he had done, and he used to say: «This is the reward of the foot which transgressed and entered into that holy place without reverence», and he continued thus until he died. And we beseech God to have mercy on us, as a charity towards us from Him.

Michael Ibn Dinistiri the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-first of (their) number.

This venerable father was a monk of the Cell known as the Great Cell (Dinistiri) in the Monastery of Saint Abba Macarius, an old man of comely appearance and handsome, grave, possessing piety and chastity, a saint, pure; only that he was not learned and did not find pleasure in the reading of books, because his parents had not cared about this. And he had not sought to solicit the priesthood or a rank,but he was assiduous (in the observance) of the Canons of the monks, without reading Coptic or Arabic. And when the father, the patriarch, Abba Gabriel went to his rest, and the See had remained vacant of him who directs it, four months and (some) days, a monk of the Monastery of Abba Macarius sought to solicit the patriarchate, and he was called Wanis Ibn Kadran. And certain of his brethren, the monks, leagued themselves with him; and they assembled with certain of the bishops, and they all supported one another. And they were James al-Kari, bishop of Lakanahof the Province of Buhairah, and Christodoulus,

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bishop of Fuah, and Michael, bishop of Tandata. And Yunis Ibn Kadran exerted himself in soliciting the patriarchate, and the aforementioned supported him. But the Lord did not approve of his action, and, on account of this, not a single man of all the people wished for him. And before his coming to Cairo (Misr), they had ordained him hegoumenos in the Monastery of Abba Macarius. He was a man tall in stature, of handsome countenance, of fine appearance, of good disposition, of pleasant speech, learned in the Coptic language and the books of the Church, (and) skilled in the Old and the New (Testaments), only Satan —-may God remove us and you from his temptations and his wiles and his snares, and defend all the sons of Baptism against his evil blows —- struck him with this malicious blow that he solicited the leadership through pride, (and) thereby God caused him to fall, and he (Satan) (is) eager to cause to fall him amongst us over whom he has power through it (pride), so that he may be with him in Hell; and he embellished (it) for him, and he (Yunis) solicited the rank and the advancement over the people of God without their opinion or their consent. And the Shaikh Abu Joseph Ibn Severus al-Filasuf was superintendent of al-Buhairah at this time, and he wrote to the archons at Cairo (Misr) to inform them what was correct in his opinion concerning the baseness of the reports about Yunis Ibn Kadran, and how he had transgressed in that he had solicited (the patriarchate) and had not waited until he should be sought, and that his impetuosity and his request point to the imperfection of his mind and the blindness of his heart. And how could he control the people of God who does not know how to control himself, and instruct them, while tongues are loosed about his honour in coarse talk on account of his seeking to solicit (the

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patriarchate) in this manner, when the case required that there should assemble those who were present of the elders, the Cairene (al-Misriyin) archons and of those who were present of the bishops. They discussed (matters) at the end of which it was settled (that) the affair of the mentioned Yunis should be stopped and there should be sought one other than him from among those who were fit for this leadership, and the agreement of the people and the archons about him. And there was made for this a document, and there was obtained for it the signature of those present. The venerable father Abba Mark Ibn Zara‘ah the patriarch ¹, the compiler of this biography and its reviser —- may God give rest to his soul with the Saints —- said that when the agreement was reached for seeking him whom God should choose for directing His people, pieces of paper were written in which were these names, and they are: Yunis Ibn Abu ‘l-Fath, a monk of the sons of Abba John, Solomon Ibn ad-Dahbadi ² of the Monastery of Baramus. And I, the humble Mark, the copyist of this biography, was present, and Michael whom God had chosen from the Great Cell was present, and they sought from him that he should write his signature in the document against Ibn Kadran, but he did not do (it), (and) certain of those who were present suspected that he had come with him to help him, but that which hindered him was because he did not know Coptic or Arabic. And (when) I informed them about him, and that he was of those who were fit for this leadership, and the will of God was for him, they wrote him. And the pieces of paper were written with the names of the three of them, as mentioned before, according as was the custom. And a paper was written with the Name of the Master Christ, the Good Shepherd, and they ⁴ were placed upon the altar, and the Divine Liturgy was celebrated

¹ i.e. the seventy-third patriarch.

² This name is not clear in the Arabic.

⁴ The four pieces of paper.

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over them for three days in succession. And a child was brought, and he took one of them, and the piece of paper was seen (to be) that with the name Michael. And those who were present of the elders of the God-fearing monks, mentioned that Abu ‘l-Khair the psalmodist at the Monastery of Saint Abba Macarius —-and he was a saint, pure, (who) foresaw what would take place —- said when he heard what had happened to Ibn Kadran, that the patriarch would be from the Great Cell, this from which was Michael. And he mentioned concerning him, that, on the night of the decease of Abba Gabriel the patriarch, he saw his soul among the angels ascending with it to heaven, and he informed those who were with him from among the brethren present, about this at once. And he said to them. «The patriarch has gone to his rest at this hour». And after three days from (the time of) his saying (this) to them, some monks arrived at the Monastery, and they brought news of the decease of the patriarch ³at that time which he had said. And it was mentioned by another monk that this Abba Michael the patriarch was, before his becoming patriarch, sick of a severe and painful sickness in which he was close to death, (and) that he said to some of the monks (who) asked him concerning his sicknesss that he would not die in this sickness, and (that) he would not die except after he had become patriarch. And when the assembly agreed on accepting him, they ordained him deacon, and then priest, and on the third day they ordained him hegoumenos in the Church al-Mu‘allakah in Cairo (Misr), after they had received the permission of the Caliph at that time. And his order went out to consecrate him, and he wrote for him a decree concerning this. And he journeyed with those who were present from among the bishops and the priests and the people to the great city of Alexandria in a processional barge which the Caliph

³ i.e. Gabriel Ibn Turaik.

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had set apart for him. And they seated him upon the throne of my lord Mark. And they completed his consecration on Sunday, the fifth of (the month of) Misra (in the) year eight hundred and seventy-six of the Saintly Martyrs [August 29th, 1160 A.D.]. (They had) great trouble to make him memorize ² the Liturgy of Basil only, until he celebrated it. And he returned to Cairo (Misr), and the day of his entry into it was memorable. And there met him from among the notables of the Muslims and their great ones, more than there met him from among the Christians. And there was great joy and contentment among the Christians in the two cities, Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah). And they loved him much and they obeyed him; and he used to rejoice when he saw many people in the church, and many priests in the sanctuary, and he multiplied supplication for them. And the days of his patriarchate were exceedingly good; and a few days after his enthronement, he consecrated five bishops. One of them was from among the sons of the archons in Cairo (Misr), called Ibn Nafra. He had become a monk in the Monastery of Abba Macarius in the cell (called) the Great Cell from which was this patriarch, and he used to dwell with him in it, and he (the patriarch) consecrated him bishop for…….⁷. While he was a lad of youthful years, he was a deacon in the sanctuary in the days of Abba Gabriel. And when he arrived in Cairo (Misr), he went out to the Dair as-Sam‘, and he (the patriarch) consecrated him on a

² He was unable to read Coptic or Arabic, cf. p. 59.

⁷ There is a gap here.

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Thursday. It is the established custom that a bishop shall not be consecrated, except on a Sunday. However, he made a special case for him, on account of his being of the sons of his (the patriarch’s) cell. And his age at that time was about thirty years; and there proceeded from him sanctity, chastity and learning (such as) was not attained by many of the advanced ¹ elders. Then he (the patriarch) consecrated As-Shaikh Abu ‘l-Makarim Ibn Joseph the archon. Then he consecrated As-Samas Ibn Garud, and he was from among the priests of the Church of Saint Abba Sergius. And he was from among the notables of the scribes, and he had been head of the great diwans, of high family among the Cairenes (al-Misriyin). He consecrated him bishop of the See of Subra al-Khaimah, and he named him Mark (Markus). And the See of Subra Damanhur had been without a bishop all the days of the patriarchate of Abba Gabriel Ibn Turaik, because it had the established custom that there should not be (bishop) of it, except a virgin, and this bishop had been married and his wife had died. And Abba Gabriel forbade them to resort to the taking out the body of the Saint Apa John Sanhut from his church, because it was the custom for them to cast his body into the river, by reason of the impurities of the Egyptians. And when the priests did not resort to cast his body into the river, it dried up in front of his church. And when this bishop returned, he ordered them to cast him (the Saint) into the river, and the river returned (and) rose until it overflowed in front of his church, and the Egyptians

^l i.e. advanced in monastic virtues.

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bore to him many ex-voto offerings. And this bishop continued to demand from the priests the ordination-fee which he who was before him used to take, and he took it from them. And he also consecrated a monk, his name (was) Sanun, a Sa‘idian, bishop for the See of Miniat Bani Khasib. And another Saidian from the region of Isna. He had been a merchant, (and) his name (was) Tauna, (and) he consecrated him bishop for the See of Akhmim. And a priest from the inhabitants of al-Baliana, his name was Abu ‘1-Badr Khasib, he consecrated bishop for the See of al-Baliana. The father, the patriarch, Abba Michael used great severity towards the monks and those who were arrogant, and he used to punish those who sinned from among them, not only by word, but also by beating and imprisonment. And it is said concerning him that no one left his religion in his days. And the duration of his occupation of the See (was) eight months and four days, three months of which (he was) in good health. Then he fell sick, and when his sickness lasted, he went to the Monastery of Saint Abba Macarius, and he remained in it, enduring the sickness for five months until he swelled up. And he went to his rest on the Friday of the week of Easter, and it was the third day of (the month of) Baramudah (in the) year eight hundred and sixty-three of the Martyrs [March 29th, 1147 A.D.]. They related that the monks from the cell of Kadran administered to him poison until it became the cause of his death, and God knows if it was, as was said, concerning them or not; and He recompenses every one according to his deeds. And they shrouded him (the patriarch)

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and they buried him with his fathers, the patriarchs. May God grant to us and to you the blessing of their prayers. And the Church in his days was in tranquillity and security. And to God (be) the glory for ever!

The father John , the patriarch, and he is the seventy-second of (their) number.

This father sat (on the throne) in the reign of al-Hafiz and Az-Zafir his son, and al-Faiz, the son of Az-Zafir. And the duration of his occupation of the See was nineteen years and eight months, and he went to his rest on the fourth of (the month of) Basuns (in the) year eight hundred and eighty-three of the Martyrs [April 29th, 1167.]. This one was a saintly monk, ordained deacon, chaste, upright, (and) mentioned among the monks (as being) from the Monastery of Abu Yihnis. And he was present at the consecration of Abba Michael the deceased, and his name was mentioned on (one of) the three pieces of paper which they wrote, and which they offered on the altars, as we have stated before. And they agreed (in their) opinion to consecrate him, and they sent to him (some) of the priests who should bring him to Cairo (Misr), and they brought him. And he was ordained priest (and) then hegoumenos in the Church al-Mu‘allakahin Cairo (Misr). And there was present John Ibn Kadran, who was described before in the biography of Abba Michael the deceased. And he renewed the solicitation with the present Sultan, at the hand of those who were intermediaries for his

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affair with him (the Sultan). And his order went out to hold a council for him and for those who had sought another than him. The bishops attended in the presence of the notables of the State, and the High Chamberlain (Owner of the Door) and the Chief of the judges and the Head of the Department of Planning (Owner of the Diwan al-Insa) and others beside them from among the notables of the State and its great and distinguished ones. And there occurred at this grave affairs and much talk, and those of the bishops and the priests who were present said that he (was) not a patriarch for them, except he whom they sought and desired, and not he who sought and desired (the patriarchate). And this (was) the rule of the people from the beginning, when they worshipped God according to the Christian religion, up to this time. And David the prophet had anticipated (this) by the prophecy about what should be, that they should not appoint (anyone), except him they wished for, (and) not him who wished for them. And he said in the Psalm 149: «To bind their kings with fetters and their nobles with chains of iron». And when they have the assurance that the man whom they desire to consecrate for them, fulfils the prescriptions of their law in the way of sanctity and religion and learning and good-conduct and chastity and charity, and the rest of what they required that he should have according to their religious belief, they take him by force, without his choice, and they bind him with an iron fetter, lest he escape from them into the inner desert, and they have no power over him; for few are the people of this qualification, and though they are all our fathers and our brethren, people of this category are not found, except one in a thousand. One (who) was a solitary and lived alone and had left the world and escaped from them, made his life (one) with the wild beasts of the mountains and the lions of the desert, and God changed the nature of the lions which rend and of the fierce wild beasts, until they were at peace with him, so that when the lions saw him, they came to him and worshipped at

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his feet, and he blessed them, and became friendly with them, and they did not harm him. And the Christians seek one similar to this one, that he may be set over them, and if they find him not, they consecrate another from among those who are humble, learned, and religious, and him for whom witness is borne regarding chastity and purity. And it is not lawful for them to consecrate for them him who desires them, nor him who solicits (the office) through the Sultan. And when they had said this speech, it was decided that a decree should be written, and that the Chamberlain should journey with them to the city of Alexandria to hold a council for them in it, and that there should attend it the great ones of the Christians, their archons and their priests, and that whomsoever they desired, either John or Yunis Ibn Kadran, they should consecratehim immediately. Then they journeyed to the city of Alexandria, and there was held for them a council in the Government House (Dar al-Amarat) in the presence of the governor (wali) and the judge (kadi) and the great archons and the Christian employees and the merchants, and the bishops who had come to it from their sees, and the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) and the Cairenes (al-Kahiriyin) and those who were with them. And the governor and the judge and the jurists questioned those who attended the council held for the Christians, saying that our Sire —- the peace of God be upon him —- ordered that (the one) whom you desire of these two men —- consecrate him for you and be agreed upon him whom you wish for of the two of them. And all of them shouted with one word: «Yunis Ibn Abu ‘l-Fath (is) our patriarch, and he is worthy of this rank». And this was in the days of the caliphate of al-Hafiz. And those who were present at the holding of this council from among the Muslims mentioned that a man of them said to John (Yunis) Ibn Abu ‘l-Fath at the council: «What do you say about this man, namely, John (Yunis) Ibn Kadran, is he more worthy of this rank than you?». And he said: «Yes, he is more fitted than I,

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and more learned in sacred law» ; and they appreciated this (remark) by him, and his worth was magnified in their eyes on account of this speech. And, thereupon, they consecrated him patriarch on Sunday, the second (of the month) of Nasi ²(in the) year eight hundred and sixty-three of the Pure Martyrs [1147 A.D.]. And his consecration was accomplished at Alexandria, and he returned to Cairo (Misr), and the Christians at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) received him with a fine reception, and walked before him to the Church of Abba Mercurius, the place of his dwelling, and they rejoiced over him with a great rejoicing. He intended to content the heart of John Ibn Kadran and his brethren, the monks, by consecrating him bishop of Samannud, but he (John) refused, and he did not obey him, and he continued staying sometimes in the monastery, and staying sometimes in the Rif ⁷. And in the days of al-Hafiz, Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi made a hole in the place in which he was at the Castle. And he went out through the hole, and he crossed over to al-Gizah, and he collected a body of soldiers and Arabs and Moors, and he entered Cairo (al-Kahirah), and took possession of it and was supreme. And in the latter part of the day of his entry into it (Cairo), he was killed inside the Grey Mosque (al-Akmar) which

² The intercalary month of the Coptic year. The date corresponds to August 25th.

⁷ Cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, ‘The Rif of Egypt’ in Orientalia, vol. VIII, fasc. 1-2, Rome, 1939, pp. 96-119.

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is at the Rukn al-Mukhallak at the hands of the Sudanis and those who agreed with them from among the soldiers; and the Imam al-Hafiz remained without a wazir until he died. And after the murder of Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi the wazir, our Sire brought back as-Shaikh Sani‘at al-Khilafat Ibn Yunis to his diwan in the Castle, and he confirmed his writing concerning him with his signature. And as-Shaikh Sani‘at al-Khilafat, on his part, employed the two headsof the Diwan, one of the two of them (for) the Diwan of the Council, and the other for the Diwan of Investigation, and he was the link between them and the Caliph and he was the intermediary between the Caliph and between all the people from among the great ones and others beside them. And he used to employ the ministers for war in the governments great and small. And al-Hafiz broke his word with him, and he took from him much money, (and) afterwards he brought him back and he employed him; and he continued thus with him, breaking his word with him and employing him time after another, until the scribes whom he employed permanently, to whom he had done good, and had attached to himself and shown favours to them, and acquainted them with his secrets, exposed him (to the Caliph), and they stood against him, and they proved that he had (kept) much money for his own account. And al-Haiiz ordered him to be fettered in the Treasury of the Flags, and they did not cease to corrupt the heart of al-Hafiz against him until he killed him with the sword, he and his young brother called Abu’l-Mahasin, because his enemies carried Zahr ad-Daulah as-Sakalabi to the Treasury of the Flags until it (the report) was carried back concerning the two of them, that the two of them had reviled the Caliph. Then he ordered to kill them immediately, and he beheaded the two of them unjustly. And God did not neglect the affair of the two of them, nor

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was He unmindful of the blood of the two of them, and He afflicted Zahr ad-Daulah as-Sakalabi who had lied against them with the sickness of dropsy, and he remained with it for a short time, so that the people witnessed in him the power of God and they recognized that He had punished him on account of the two of them, and that they were innocent, and they marvelled at the swiftness of the retribution to him and the punishment; and they glorified God on account of this. And there were some people, magicians, who were employed with Sani‘at al-Khilafat, (and) they envied him, (and) they (were) those who incited Zahr ad-Daulah as-Sakalabi against him (Sani‘at), until he did to him what has been explained before, through the enmity between them and him. And God held them responsible for their deed and their passage through blood. And our Sire al-Hafiz killed them by the sword with which he killed him (Sani‘at), in the place in which he killed Sani‘at al-Khilafat and his brother, and the blood of the magicians dripped on the blood of the two of them; and true is the saying of God which saith: «He who spills blood in the world, in the world his blood shall be spilled». And the retribution of the magicians was thus, after the killing of Sani‘at al-Khilafat unlawfully. Then al-Hafiz died on the fourth (of the month) of Gumada the Second (in the) year five hundred and forty-four of the Lunar (Year)[1149A.D.]. And after him there reigned his son Abu’l-Mansur Ibn Isma‘il, and his relations and his brothers and the men of his State recognized him (as Caliph), and they designated him as al-Imam Az-Zafir. And one of the amirs of his State, whose designation was Nagm ad-Din Ibn Masal, became a wazir for him, because he was from among the intimates of al-Hafiz, his father, and from among the great ones of his State, and he used to have recourse to his opinion and his advice. Then an amir

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called ‘Ali Ibn as-Salar acted hypocritically towards him (Az-Zafir). He was wali of the frontier city of Alexandria, and he collected soldiers, and he crossed to (the Province of) al-Gharbiah, and there assembled with him its soldiers and its Arabs , and there were with him many troops. And there was an amir from the race of the kings well acquainted with the Arabs, called ‘Abbas, from among the sons of the amir Tumaim Ibn Badis, wali of (the Province of) al-Gharbiah, and his mother whose name (was) Balurah, was wife of this ‘Ali Ibn Salar. And when he crossed to the (Province of) al-Gharbiah, he took ‘Abbas its wali with him. And ‘Ali Ibn Salar marched to Cairo (al-Kahirah) and he entered it and took possession of it in Sha‘aban (in the) year five hundred and forty-four [1149A.D.]. And he took the ministry, and they designated him as as-Said al-Agall al-‘Adil Amir al-Guyus. And Nagm ad-Din Ibn Masal fled, and he crossed to al-Gizah, and there moved with him the black troops (as-Sudan). And soldiers were sent against them, and they defeated them, and there were killed many soldiers of the black troops, and the head of Ibn Masai was taken, and it was carried round Cairo (al-Kahirah) on a lance. And in the days of al-Adil Ibn Salar it was purposed (that) the Christians of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and of Cairo (Misr), should bind a girdle (on their waists) and remove their cloaks, but this (order) did not continue beyond three days. And the reason for this was (that) certain of the jurists from among those who detest the Christians came together to Nasir ad-Din Nasr, the son of ‘Abbas, whom al-Adil had made wali of Cairo (Misr). And they incited him to this, and they said to him «If you do this to the Christians, they will bribe you with much money to remove it from them». And when he had done this with them and had remained three days expecting that one of them would present himself to him or speak with him about a bribe or something else, and no one presented himself to him, he knew that the jurists had deceived him, (and) he announced,

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on the fourth day, that they should act according to their custom. And to Adil Ibn Salar continued in the ministry until Nasr Ibn ‘Abbas came in to him through the Bab as-Sirdar of the ministry and killed him, and took his head and caused it to be taken out and to be displayed in the «Betwixt the Castles»². And ‘Abbas, his father, was wali of (the Province of) Sarkiah, (and) was dwelling at Bilbais. And Nasr sent to him to inform him of what he had done. Then ‘Abbas entered into Cairo (al-Kahirah) from Bilbais, and he was invested with the ministry, and they designated him as As-Said al-Afdal, and in his days the Franks conquered Ascalon. And there was not left in the hands of the Muslims except it, and its conquest was at the hand of the Franks during the year, in Gumada the Second (in the) year five hundred and forty-eight [1153A.D.]. The Christians had built a church at al-Matariah, in which (was) a well of balsam from which is extracted the oil of chrism, on the remains of an ancient church. And they consecrated it in the name of Saint, my lord George, and they celebrated the Divine Liturgy in it, before they had completed its pictures. Then the Muslims pulled it down and built in its place a prayer-house. And it was (that) Nasr ad-Din, the son of ‘Abbas, began to associate with the Imam Az-Zafir and to enter in unto

¹ i.e. Gate of the General.

² i.e. the square between the Eastern and Western Castles.

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him by night to his Castle, to eat with him and to drink and to spend the night and early morning (with him). And the Caliph used to go out with him at night to his dwelling-place, and sit with him part of the night and listen to singing, and would take leave of him (only) when he entered his Castle. And this caused affliction to ‘Abbas, his father, and he feared that he would kill him as he had killed ‘Ali Ibn as-Salar. And one who was an associate of them reported that news had reached ‘Abbas, his father, that the Caliph had said to Nasr ad-Daulat: «Kill your father, and you be the wazir, for you are more right for it than your father». And ‘Abbas devised for his safety a stratagem, and in it there was destruction and death. This (was) that he incited Nasr ad-Daulat to kill the Caliph, by saying to him: «The people have assailed yours honour, and you have become for them (a subject) of obscene talk from what they have heard concerning your connections with Az-Zafir, and what will you do concerning what they have said?» and ‘Abbas, his father, laughed. And Nasr ad-Daulat said to him: «You laugh. I fear that your laughter will not be repeated!». And he, ‘Abbas, suspected that he was meaning to kill him, and there did not occur to his mind the ill that he had done with regard to the Caliph. And when it was the night of that day, he (Nasr) entered the Castle of the Caliph according to his usual custom. And he remained sitting with him for a while. Then he asked him to go for a walk with him and to enjoy seeing incognito the common people. And he went out with him by the Gate Az-Zuhumat. And the two of them stopped at the shop of the brewer who was opposite to it (the Gate), and they drank at it beer, and they went away. And he (Nasr) asked him (the

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Caliph) to go with him to his house which was in As-Siyufiyin, to sit for a while and to return, and he went with him. And the Caliph was incognito in his cloak with which he was envelopped, and there were with him two equerries. And it happened when (he was) with him in the reception-room, and had remained sitting with him for a while, that he (Nasr) gave an order to one of his friends (who) strangled him (the Caliph) with his scarfuntil he died. Then he killed the two equerries, and he threw him (the Caliph) into a well of spring-water and he threw the two equerries on the top of him. Then he filled up with earth the well and paved it with a flagstone so that it became unrecognisable. And this was on the date of the twenty-ninth of (the month of) al-Muharram (in the) year five hundred and forty-nine [1154A.D.]; and he hid the affair from the people, but God revealed it and avenged them. And this (was) that he (Nasr) went to his father ‘Abbas and he informed him of what he had done. And he (‘Abbas) feared that the common people would rise against him and drive him out from the kingdom, and that which he feared happened to him, and his ruin (resulted) from his machination. And this (was) that when it was morning he rode to the Castle, and he caused the seneschal of the Castle to come, and he sought leave of the Caliph to enter to him. And the seneschal of the Castle and others beside him did not know of the going out of the Caliph, nor of what had happened to him, and he entered to seek for him, and he was not able (to find him). Then he (‘Abbas) seized the seneschal of the Castle, and demanded him (the Caliph) of him, and he swore and multiplied (his) oaths that (his) place was not known to him. And

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he said to him: «Present to me his brothers, in case they have killed him». Then he (the seneschal) entered the Castle, and he presented to him ‘Abbas Joseph and Gabriel his brothers, and Salah, a son of Hasan, his brother. And he demanded him (the Caliph) of them, and he accused them that they had killed him. And he commanded his soldiers to kill them, and they killed them, and they killed the seneschal of the Castle. And he (‘Abbas) pillaged the Council Chamber of the Castle of the king by the hands of his companions. And he killed all of them in the Paved Court of the Golden Gate. And he took the son of the Caliph, and he was a little child, and his name (was) ‘Isa, and he enthroned him as Caliph on the last day of (the month of) al-Muharram (in the) year five hundred and forty-nine of the Lunar (Year) [1154 A.D.], and they designated him as al-Imam al-Faiz. And ‘Abbas did not cease to continue in the ministry, until an amir named Talai‘ Ibn Ruzzik acted hypocritically towards him. He was wali of al-Bahnasa and al-Ashmunainfrom the districts of the Sa‘id. The women of the Castle sent to him their hair, and he took it and placed it on lances, and he made black flags, and he assembled a great troop of foot-soldiers and cavalry, and he arrived in Cairo (al-Kahirah) on the fourteenth day of (the month of) Rabi‘a the First (in the) year five hundred and forty-nine [1154A.D.]. And on his arrival at Cairo (al-Kahirah), ‘Abbas and Nasr, his son, and a company of his companions departed, and he loaded all that he had, and all that he had looted from the Castle, on mules and camels and horses, and he went out from Cairo (al-Kahirah), seeking (to reach) Syria. Then the Franks and the Bedouins united against him, and they seized all that was with him. And he and his son did not cease to attack them, and he (‘Abbas) fought until he was

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killed, and his son was taken prisoner. As regards Talaf Ibn Ruzzik, he was invested with the ministry, and he rode to the Castle, and they made for him the act for the ministry, and they empowered him by it, and he wrote and signed and executed his command. And he rode to the house of the son of ‘Abbas, and with him a troop of amirs and two equerries and the chief judge and the chief propagandist, and before him (were carried) trays of gold and silver and on them censers filled with aloes-wood and ambergris. A little page of the son of ‘Abbas was present at the murder of the Caliph and the two equerries and their being cast into the well, and he related to them information about them, and he guided them to the place where they were, and they excavated it, and they brought them up from it, and they carried them to the Castle. They washed them and shrouded them and buried them. And Talaf Ibn Ruzzik established himself in the ministry (wizarat), and they designated him as al-Malik as-Salih. And he was a lover of amassing money, and he destroyed many people in his search after money. And he amassed of it much without scruple. And he used to bring near to him the sorcerors and to deal well with them, and to listen to their sayings. And he hated the Christians and certain sects of the Muslims, because his sect was (that of) the Imamians ⁸, and he commanded that the turbans of neither the Christians nor the Jews should have tassels. And there was dearness in the first year of his ministry, and wheat was sold in it for five dinars an ardab for the period of four months and not more.

⁸ i.e. the Sect of the Twelve Imams.

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Then prices became less during all the period of his ministry. And the price of the crops was not fixed in any way, but it increased and decreased from two ardabs a dinar to one ardab, (and) to half an ardab a dinar. And in his days there appeared the death of cattle from murrain, and it was not known before his days in Egypt (Misr), and this returned time after time during various years, so that the people began to plough with horses and camels and donkeys. And after these affairs there died the Imam al-Faiz in the days of his ministry, in the month of Ragab (in the) year five hundred and fifty-five of the Lunar (Year) [1160A.D.], and there reigned after him ‘Abd Allah, a son of Joseph (the son of al-Hafiz, and they designated him as al-Imam al-‘Adid. Then (it was) that As-Salih united his daughter in marriage with him (the Caliph) with reluctance. And As-Salih continued in the ministry until Monday, the eighteenth of the month of Ramadan (in the) year five hundred and fifty-six of the Lunar (Year) [1160 A.D.]. He rode to the Castle according to (his) usual custom, and (a disaster) happened to him in the Passage of the Column, while he was going out from the presence of the Caliph. A man from the common soldiers and the most contemptible of them, known as Ibn ar-Ra‘i, and with him two men from the Sudanis, one of the two of them was named Mukbil. And Ibn ar-Ra‘i pierced him (As-Salih) with a sword in his belly (and) his entrails came out. Then the two men pierced him with their swords, and they wounded him in a number of places in his body, and he was hemmed in; and he was carried to his house mortally (wounded), and he died in the middle of the night. And there reigned after him his son Ruzzik, and they designated him as Al-Agall Magd al-Islam. And As-Salih had appointed as wali an amir designated

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as Al-Mukarram, and his name was Sawar, (and) he appointed him wali of the city of Kus and its districts. And As-Salih had a nephew, his name (was) Husam and his designation ‘Izz ad-Din. This was the will of God that their government perished at his (Sawar’s) hands; and He put in his (Husam’s) heart violent hatred of Sawar al-Mukarram and enmity of him. And his uncle As-Salih had appointed him wali of Minyat Bani Khasib. And he (Husam) used to seize the companions of Sawar and his messengers and his slaves by land and by river, and to beat them and to treat them with disdain and to keep them prisoner, and there every difficulty happened to them from him, (and) his affair with Sawar continued in every bad way. And Sawar wrote to him many excuses to make him favourably inclined towards him and to seek peace with him, and to say to him that he was the slave (mamluk) of his (Husam’s) uncle’s State and a favour of his. Then he answered him concerning this that he (Husam) had taken a fine chest and had placed in it two folded sinews of cow-hide and had sent them to Sawar. And when he saw them, he stood up and he sat down, and he was on the point of killing himself. And he was a sagacious old man (shaikh), experienced in wars and guile and craft and ruses. And he girded up the leg of effort, and he strengthened his soul for wars and battle. And he prepared a great number (of men) and (made) preparation, and he spent money. And he assembled and collected troops, but he did not consider them trustworthy, for the family of Ruzzik had ruled many years, almost ten; and their wealth and their men had multiplied, and their position had become strong. And when he understood that he would not be able to war against them, he assembled his companions and whomsoever was with him from among those who were trustworthy of his family and his relatives, of those of counsel and opinion, and he

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consulted them about fleeing before (Husam’s) troops into the desert of the oasis, and wandering in it through its length and its breadth, so as not to stay in a place. And if (the time) were protracted for those who were seeking him without finding him, (Husam’s) troops would desert through the exhaustion of provisions and the difficulty of the country and the heat of the desert and the hardship of (their) condition. For that reason a great (number) of troops would not be able to follow him into the desert of the oasis, on account of the scarcity of water and the heat of the air and the scarcity of grass for the beasts; and because it is sand and mounds, and no tree for shade and no fruit. Then they counselled him (to act) thus, and he journeyed with a multitude to a cave of the oasis. And he limited himself to twenty horsemen of his companions, with their horses and their camels and their provisions for a journey and their arms. And he took for himself camels and horses and mules, and much provision for a journey, and gold and much money for his expenses, and cloth to give to the Bedouins. And he journeyed, and the affair was as he had said. When the troops had pursued him for three months, while he was eluding them from place to place which did not have food, the troops deserted, and they returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah) without having attained their aim; and they said concerning him that he had turned to the west to Amir al-Mu’-minin, king of the West. And when the thought of him had vanished, (after) the space of another two months, he came down from the desert of the oases to the lake of Alexandria, and with him his companions, and with them camels on which (were) palm-leaf baskets. And he passed from Mahallat ‘Abd ar-Rahman to (the Province of) al-Gharbiah, and he halted on the outskirts of Balkinah which is a village near to

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Al-Mahallat, the space of a mile, on Sunday, the eight of (the month of) al-Muharram (in the) year five hundred and fifty-eight of the Lunar (Year) [1162A.D.]. And he gathered to him the soldiers (of the Province) of al-Gharbiah and its Arabs from among the Bani Sis, and hardly had he remained for three days than there was with him troops and soldiers and Bedouins, approximately ten thousand horsemen; he assigned to the soldiers fiefs, and he commanded the Bedouins to pillage what belonged to the Bani Ruzzik [family of Ruzzik] in the district of their fiefs, in the way of granaries of the crops and oil-presses and cattle, and he bestowed on all the people something (which) pleased their hearts. And he journeyed until he descended at Masgid al-Khidr, and he turned from it to the outskirts of Cairo (al-Kahirah). And when the news of his crossing over came to the knowledge of Magd al-Islam Ibn as-Salih: the wazir at that time, and that he (Sawar) was close to Cairo (al-Kahirah), he (Ibn as-Salih) and a company of the Bani Buzzik went out at midnight from Cairo (al-Kahirah) as fugitives. And a company of their companions recorded that they had heard a confused sound and cries behind them from every side: «Go out, go out ». Then they sought those who cried out, and they did not find anyone, and they understood that it was the angels by the command of God, who made them go out. Then everyone of them fled for himself from the gates of Cairo (al-Kahirah). And they left behind their money and their houses and their families. And the Sudanis pillaged them, and they dissolved as salt. And as for Magd al-Islam Ruzzik, their wazir, he took a small saddle-bag, (and) he put in one side of it jewellery and hyacinthsand emeralds, and many things of this kind, and what would be the value

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of the land-tax of the Land of Egypt (Misr) for a year. And he filled the other side with bags of dinars, and he put them on a horse equal (in value) to a thousand dinars, from his horses. And he mounted it, and he went out from Cairo (al-Kahirah) by the Gate az-Zuwailah alone, and no one accompanied him, and he knew not whither he was going. And he journeyed alone southward of Cairo (Misr), and he fell in with a band of Arabs, the headman of whom was called Jacob Ibn al-Bid. And his slaves took him and stripped him, and they took the horse and all that (was) on it, and they departed from him, and they left him. And he remained alone in the desert naked and confused. And it was winter, and great cold in the month of Tubah [January 9th-February 7th]. And he saw a fire in the distance, and he went towards it, and when he approached it, dogs of the band rushed at him, and he sat down on the ground, and he crawled on his hands and his feet until he entered the tail-end of the band. And he found a dog sleeping in the ashes, and he lay down at the side of it, and he hugged it until he found warmth. And praised be God, the Depriver of blessing, and the magnitude of His power; and I seek refuge in Him from His displeasure. This Ruzzik was, at the beginning of the night, governor of Egypt (Misr) and its ruler, sitting in his Council, commanding and forbidding until darkness. Robbed of his kingdom and stripped of grace, he had departed as a fugitive precipitately, and he was met by those who contemned him, and took his money, (and) all this up to midnight, (and) he was sleeping with a dog in the ashes —- praised be God! He gives the kingdom to whom He wills, and He takes the kingdom away from whom He wills; and He exalts whom He wills, and He abases whom He wills. By His hands (is) the kingdom, and He is powerful over every thing: And when morning came, and he was in this condition, a slave-girl perceived him, and she was ignorant of his rank, and she asked him: «Who are you ?». And he said to her: «Tell your

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master to come to me, for he knows me». Then she went to Jacob, and she informed him about him, and he came to him, and he recognized him, and he embraced him and he wept. Then he took him, and remained apart with him, and he made free for him a tent, and he clothed him. And he (Magd al-Islam) stayed with him until Sawar was firmly established in his kingdom, and was invested with the robe of honour of the ministry, and they had designated him as Amir al-Guyus. And he sought for Magd al-Islam, and he learned of his place, and he caused to be brought to him Jacob Ibn al-Bid, and he required him (Magd al-Islam) of him. Then he caused him (Magd al-Islam) to be brought to him from his (Jacob’s) band which was camping east of Atfih. And Amir al-Guyus Sawar received him with the best reception, and he honoured him and exalted him and made free for him a hall in the House of the Ministry, and he placed him in it, and he caused to be brought to him (Magd al-Islam) his concubine and his son and an equerry for his service. And he used to visit him at all times by himself, and to enquire after him, and to bring together with him his fruits and to eat with him, so that he rejoiced his heart. Then his brother Galal al-Islam reported to him about him (Magd al-Isl&m), that he wished to escape and to go out to estrange the amirs and to seek the ministry . This was difficult for him (Amir al-Guyus) to support, and he commanded that he should be fettered with iron, and they fettered him. Then Galal al-Islam waited again for a time, and he spread news about him (his brother) that he had with him a file, and that he had filed a part of the fetter; and they examined about this, and they found it correct. Then Tai, the son of Sawar, designated Al-‘Adil, heard at that time the news of Magd al-Islam Ruzzik, that he had filed the fetter; and he took his sword, and he did not ask his father, and no one knew about him, and he entered to him, and he beheaded him, and this was on the night of Friday in the last

—- 84 —-

decade of the month of Ramadan (in the) year five hundred and fifty eight [1162 A.D.]. And when the news reached Amir al-Guyus, his father, it was difficult for him to support, but he was not able to undo what was done. And when it was the night of the next Friday and its morning, the twenty-ninth of the aforementioned month of Ramadan, an amir of the amirs, his name was Dirgham, acted hypocritically towards Amir al-Guyus Sawar, and his designation (was) Saif al-Mugahidin. And he had brothers, one of them was named Malham and the other Nasr. And Sawar had done good to Dirgham, and had brought him near, and had drawn him nigh to him, and had made him High Chamberlain (Owner of the Door) ⁷. And Dirgham swore forty oaths to Sawar that he would not act hypocritically towards him, and he lied, and he went out from his presence on the night of Friday, as we have said, and he acted hypocritically towards him, and he formed an alliance with the amirs at night, and he assembled the troops, and he opened the Gate al-Barkiah, (one) of the gates of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he went out through it. Then they opened for him the Gate Az-Zuwailah, and he entered through it, and his troops shouted, and they repaired to the House of the Ministry. And Sawar went out while he was putting on his turban, and they did not give him time, so that he could not complete putting on his turban, but he took the remainder of it in his sleeve. And he mounted his horse, and he girded on his sword, and he came to the Gate Al-Futuh, and he found it closed. And the Sudanis

⁷ This was an office second only to that of wazir.

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were guarding it. And he shouted «O Rihan» ¹, and they answered his call, and they opened for him the Gate Al-Futuh. And he halted in their midst, and he thanked them, and he praised them, and he promised them that, should God return him to his kingdom, he would recompense them with the best of recompenses. And when he returned and gained the victory, he fulfilled his promise to them. Then he went out through the Gate Al-Futuh, and he journeyed under (the cover of) night, until he reached the houses of his family the Bani Sa‘ad, and he stayed with them. And Dirgham and his brothers reigned, and they seized Tai Ibn Sawar who was designated Al-‘Adil, and they killed him, and this (was) a retribution from God, because he had killed Magd al-Islam Ruzzik, and he was innocent ³. And Dirgham continued in the ministry nine months, the first of them (being) Sawwal (in the) year five hundred and fifty-eight [1162A.D.], and the last of them, Gumada the Second (in the) year five hundred and fifty-nine [1163A.D.]. And they designated him Al-Malik Al-Afdal, and his brother Malham, as Al-‘Adil, and his brother Nasr, as Nasir al-Muslimin. And as for Sawar, he went to Damascus, and he met Nur ad-Din Ibn Kasim ad-Daulah, and his name (was) Mahmud Ibn Zanki, and he stayed with him for a time, and he made ready together an army, the leader of it (being) Asad ad-Din Sirkuh. Then he returned to the lands of Egypt, and he halted at Bilbais. And Nasir al-Muslimtn, brother of Dirgham, went out against him with a great army. And when Sirkuh saw this, he feared, and he said to Sawar: «How did you do this deed to us and to yourself, that you came to us to Egypt to destroy us ? Maybe we and your companions are two thousand horsemen. In this army (there are) twenty thousand combatant horsemen,

³ i.e. of the charge laid against him.

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and following after it a similar number of attendants and companions». And Sawar said to him: «Let not the matter terrify you, because all of them are with me, and not one of them will fight against me». And there was on the outskirts of Bilbais a great mound. And Sawar said to Sirkuh: «Let us ascend the mound, and be patient, and do not fight them until the sun becomes very hot». And Sawar did not say this without knowing that, when the sun would be strong, they (the soldiers) would be dispersed and would be seeking shade under trees and walls. And when the sun grew hot (at) the time of noon, and they (the soldiers) were dispersed, every one of them having sought a place in which to remain in the shade, Sawar and Sirkuh descended from the mound, and they bear down upon them with their troops, and they routed them, and they made them prisoner, and they stripped them, and they took their horses and their possessions, but they did not kill one of them, and the rest of them escaped to Cairo (al-Kahirah). And Sawar and Sirkuh marched behind them with the army to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they halted at the ‘Ard at-Tabalat and (at) al-Luk and (at) the limits (dair) of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they besieged it (Cairo), and the fighting did not cease, and the war continued. And Dirgham and his brothers were occupied with the war, and they were posted at its gates, until Imam al-‘Adid, the Caliph at that time, wrote a letter to Dirgham, the wazir, saying to him in it: «In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful, we inform you, O Malik ⁸, for there does not remain for you protection, except till the prayer of the afternoon ⁹, so save yourself, if you can, and peace (be to you)». And it was (that) Dirgham, on that day had come to the Castle (Kasr),

⁸ The title ‘ malik ‘ was assumed by most of the wazirs of the later Fatimids.

⁹ i.e. from 3-4 p.m.

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and he stood facing the Golden Gate, on account of an affair (which) had happened to him, to take the opinion of the Caliph about it, and he found the gates of the Castle closed, and this letter was thrown to him. And when he had learned its contents, he did not return back, but thereupon went out through the Gate Az-Zuwailah. And the horses of the Ghuzz overtook him at al-Kabs under the Mountain Al-Mukattam between Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and they killed him, and they did not recognize him that he was Dirgham. And when they brought his head to the tents, Sawar recognized him; and thereupon he rode and he came to Cairo (al-Kahirah). And the gates were opened to him and he entered, but no stability was established for him, since news reached him that Asad ad-Din was seeking to deal treacherously with him. Then he was on his guard, and he closed the gates of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he advanced against him and he did battle with him and he blocaded him. And the hands of the Ghuzz were stretched out against the inhabitants of Cairo (Misr) from among the Christians, the Sudanis, and the Armenians, and the Turks of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin). And they used to kill them and to sell them, if they found some one to buy from them, if not, they killed that person; and they robbed their possessions and they took their women folk. And they used to cry for sale a Christian: «Who will buy an infidel? », and a Turk of Cairo (al-Misri): «Who will buy a dissolute Turk (who) spent the night in the bitter cold?, and a negro: «Who will buy a Sudanese?». And they used to sell them at a vile price, a Christian for twenty dirhams, and ten dirhams a Turk, and five dirhams a negro.

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And a monk was martyred at their hands. His name (was) Sanufah, from the Monastery of Abba Macarius. They seized him and placed before him (the choice of) al-Islam, but he refused it, and they killed him, and they intended to burn his body, but it did not burn, and the Christians took it, and they buried it in the Church of Abba Sergius in Cairo (Misr) on the twenty-fourth day of (the month of) Basuns ³. And they demolished many churches (dedicated) to the Martyrs, at that time, in the outskirts of Cairo (al-Kahirah). And they demolished the Church Al-Hamrain the Harat ar-Rum al-Baraniatand the Church Az-Zuhri, and they pillaged every church (which) they demolished. And after affairs had calmed down, the Shaikh Al-As‘ad Salib, owner of the diwans, provided for the rebuilding of the Church Al-Hamra and Az-Zubri, and what he was able (to do) with regard to the churches. And he took care of them and provided them with Liturgies, and he provided limekilns until the rebuilding was completed. And Asad ad-Din continued to remain around Cairo (al-Kahirah) and to blocade Sawar, until Sawar conveyed to the king Amaury ⁷, king of the Franks, a great (sum) of money, so that he came with his army. And when the Bedouins informed Asad ad-Din Sirkuh of the approach of the Franks from the districts, he departed with his troops to Upper Egypt. And when the king Amaury arrived at Bilbais, there was borne to him from the Caliph

³ The Paris MS. adds, ‘ of the year eight hundred and eight of the Martyrs’ = 1092 A.D.

⁷ i.e. Amaury I (1162 A.D.), cf. Rene Grousset, L’Epopee des Croisades, Paris, 1939, p. 195 sqq.

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and the wazir many things in the way of money and presents ; and he rested at Bilbais for one month. Then he came to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he halted with his army around Cairo (al-Kahirah). Then the army of the Franks and Amaury, their king, and the army of the Muslims and Sawar, their master, marched in search of Asad ad-Din Sirkuh and his army. And when they pursued him, he crossed over (the river) to the western side, and marched towards the Upper Sa‘id ², and they overtook him at a spot called Al-Babain, and they encountered him. And many people of his army were slain, and a great multitude of the Franks and the Muslims also were slain, and each of them captured from the other prisoners. Then Asad ad-Din returned to Alexandria and fortified himself in it. And the king Amaury and the army of the Franks and the army of the Egyptians (al-Misriyin) followed him, and they halted at it (Alexandria) and they besieged him. And when the siege had lasted long, he (Asad ad-Din) went out from it by night, and he returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah) to take it. And when he was informed about him (Asad ad-Din) King Amaury and Sawar followed him; and much discussion took place, at the end of which it was settled that they should pay an annual grant to him (Amaury) of money. He took it and he returned to his country. And Sawar executed what he had promised to the Franks with regard to the security, for if he had wished to deceive them and to come to terms with his army of foreigners against them, there would not have returned (one) of them to tell the tale. And the king Amaury knew that he had made a mistake, because he had come with his army into the midst of an Islamic country of

² i.e. Upper Egypt.

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people of the eastern and western sea; and God delivered him by reason of His justice and the excellence of His economy. And Sawar continued in the ministry (wizarat) until the end of Saturday, the eighth of Rabi‘a the First, (in the) year five hundred and sixty-four [1168 A.D.]; and there occurred for him calamities, the mention of which will come in what follows.

In the days of this patriarch ², a man of the Jews in Cairo (Misr) of the eminent ones of his people (and) a learned scholar of the notables of his sect, became Christian. He was called Abu ‘l-Fakhr Ibn Azhar, and he had studied the Christian religion, and he spoke the Coptic (al-kibtiat) language in a very short time. And he used to debate with the Jews in the Hebrew language, and to interpret to the Christians in the Coptic language ³. And he became expert in the Christian religion, so that he became more learned (in it) than its people. And he died in the Christian religion, a believer in Christ, after he had suffered severely from the Muslims and the Jews. And the Jews used to pay to the authorities money to kill him, but Christ used to save him from them; and they did not arrive at harming him, and he remained a Christian, and he used to walk in the midst of the Jews for nearly forty years at Cairo (Misr). And in the days of this patriarch ⁴, a letter arrived from the king of Ethiopia for Al-‘Adil Ibn as-Salar requesting the consecration of a metropolitan (mutran). And there was with him ⁶ a metropolitan called Abba Michael and his name ⁷ was Habib al-Atfihi. And when

² i.e. the Patriarch John.

³ This is important evidence that Coptic was still spoken among the Copts at the end of the XIIth century.

⁴ i.e. the Patriarch John.

⁶ i.e. the king of Ethiopia.

⁽⁷⁾ i.e. before his consecration.

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he was old and advanced in age, the king sent to seek a metropolitan other than him. And this Habib Abba Macarius the patriarch had consecrated. And when words occurred between him and the king, he (the king) changed towards him, and he wrote to seek another than him; and the reason for this (was) that the king had usurped the kingdom unjustly, and the metropolitan had rebuked him, and he (the king) had sent a letter to the Sultan; and, at that time, Al-‘Adil Ibn Salar was wazir. And he (the king) wrote also to the patriarch to seek a metropolitan other than him, while he (was) alive and not dead. And our father, the patriarch, refused (to do) this, and he said to the wazir Al-‘Adil: «It is not in our law that, having appointed a man to the order of the priesthood, we go back and deprive him of it until he dies. And if he is dead, we appoint another than him, because the order of the priesthood is heavenly, not earthly». And Al-‘Adil, the wazir, was wrothful with him, and he ordered him to be fettered in the prison of the House of the Ministry. Al-‘Adil used to put fetters on him with whom he was angry of the amirs of his State. And the patriarch suffered great hardship from the confinement of this prison and the stench of its odour. And he continued fettered in it until God released him through the murder of Al-‘Adil; likewise, there occurred for him another trial in the days of As-Salih Ibn Ruzzik, the wazir, at the end of his days. And this (was) that there were at Samannud some monks from the Cell of Bisbis of the Monastery of Abba Macarius , and their father was called Salamun. This patriarch ⁶ had consecrated a bishop for the See of Samannud, (and) they mentioned that he was the son of his (the patriarch’s) sister, and they named him Abba Macarius, and he (was) his brother in monasticism, and (was) with

⁶ i.e. the Patriarch Macarius.

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him in the Cell which was in it. And on account of worldly gains and empty glory, Satan finds a way for the perdition of souls through his blows, on account of envy. And (it was) that evil people had made good to this bishop that he should write to the patriarch, telling him about Abba Salamun and his brethren, the monks, sons of (the Cell) of Bisbis, that they had added in the Confession at the completing of the Liturgy a new expression which they had invented themselves, which (their) predecessors had not said. It is the Coptic expression XXXXXXXXX which is translated ‘life-giving’; and it is an expression used in many places in the Liturgy, it comes in the declaration of faith at the end of the Liturgy, as regards this question, and it is their saying: «I believe and I confess to the last breath that this life-giving Body (is) that which the Only Son, our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ took from Mary the Virgin, and it became one with His Divinity without confusion nor mingling nor separation». And when the patriarch was informed of the contents of the letter of Abba Macarius, bishop of Samannud, he changed towards Abba Salamun and his brethren, and he felt displeasure towards them, and talk increased about this. Then he sent and assembled a numerous company of bishops, and they examined this, and they found it correct, and there

—- 93 —-

was not in it anything objectionable, for It is the life-giving Body in truth, leading him who believes in It to everlasting life. And the patriarch wrote concerning this to all the districts, and the inhabitants of the Delta, and Cairo (Misr) and Alexandria, and all the monks of the monasteries accepted it, with the exception of the priests in the Sanctuary of Abba Macarius. And they refused to add it, and they excused themselves for this on the grounds that it (was) a recent addition, and that it did not accord with the practice of their predecessors, and that it had not been added except for another meaning on their account. Some of them rose up to appeal against this father, the patriarch, and the bishops; and they said many things among themselves. And they assured Salih the wazir, (saying) that they would obtain money for him from them (the monks), by reason of their knowledge of his injustice and his love of money. And he sent to bring this father, the patriarch, with the monks before him, and he assembled for them a council before him. And there occurred discussions concerning the meaning of the belief of the Christians and their argument. And his intention was what he might obtain from them, not out of consideration for the monasteries, since the case of Christianity was known: it was not a new religion (which) requires investigation and an examination of it. And when discussion occurred in the council, the patriarch said to Salih: «Moses, what is he with you ?». He said: «A prophet». He (the patriarch) said with reference to Christ: «What is He with you?». He (Salih) said: «The spirit of God and His word». He (the patriarch)

—- 94 —-

said: «Is it possible to say that the spirit of God and His word (is) a prophet?». He (Salih) said: «No». The patriarch said: «Then the spirit of God and His word is greater and more exalted than the prophets, for He created all creatures by His word by which He said to all creatures: ‘Be’, and they were in a twinkling of an eye. And He is the Creator of creatures and all things». The wazir was silent. And there occurred between him and the monks many discussions. Then the patriarch restrained them by words, and he raised his iron rod which (was) in his hand to strike some of them. And they cried out, and they complained about it to the wazir. And they said to him: «He is furious with us before you in your council». He said to them: «Stretch out, you also, your hands against him». They said: «It is not possible. Then he commanded the patriarch to be removed; and he went out from before him, invoking evil upon him and saying: «Even as you hast raised those lower than us over us, the Lord will raise the lower of your people over you»; and Salih committed him to two men. Then he commanded him to be fettered, and he wrote an ordinance, and he despatched it with the exactors of fines to the sees of the bishops of the Delta. And they experienced great hardship from the exactors and the walis of the districts, until God manifested a memorable miracle which the Muslims who were fettered with him (the patriarch) talked about more than what the Christians talked about. And this (was) that he (the patriarch) was assiduous in fasting and prayer and supplication to God, as (was) his usual custom; and (it was) that one night he was dozing and sleeping. Then he said to those around him of the people: «Take strength in God and rejoice, for after a few days God will deliver me and you». And so it was, because after fourteen days from his revelation, while he was in fetters, Salih rode from his house in his might and his retinue and his sovereignity to the Castle for the greeting [i.e. Levee], according to the

—- 95 —-

usual custom. And they played a trick on him in the Passage of the Column, while he was going out from the presence of the Caliph (al-Khalifat), at the hand of a man from the lowest of the people, known as Ibn ar-Ra‘i, even as the father, the patriarch had cursed him (Salih), so it was, and they carried him to his house wounded, and he died. And his son Magd al-Islam sent (and) released the patriarch and everyone with him in the prison; and God delivered them through his prayer and his sanctity. And, likewise, the bishops, God delivered them, after they had endured the hardship of punishment and the fines of the exactors which harmed them. And the saying of our Saviour in the Gospel was fulfilled: «I am with you unto the consummation of the world»,

and to Him (be) thanks for this. And in the days of Sawar, the wazir, the patriarch Abba John went to his rest on the fourth day of (the month of) Basuns (in the) year eight hundred and eighty-three of the Martyrs [1167 A.D.], in the Church of Saint Abba Mercurius. And there was for him a great mourning, and (it was) a good night with prayers and readings; and on the morning of that night they buried his body in the aforementioned Church with the body of the father Abba Gabriel, the patriarch, who was before him. And it is said concerning him, that some people spoke with him about transporting the body of Abba Gabriel, the patriarch, to the Monastery of Abba Macarius, and he said to them: «He who will transport my body and his body together will come». And this was, as he said, because they were transported to the Monastery of Abba Macariusin the days of the venerable father, Abba Mark

—- 96 —-

Ibn Zara‘ah ¹, the patriarch after him, in the Holy Fast (in the) year eight hundred and eighty-six of the Pure Martyrs [1170 A.D.]. And the taking out of them was a notable night by reason of the number of the multitude and the people who were present on account of this, and the prolongation of the readings and the prayers from the beginning of the night until its end. And they carried their bodies by way of the Monastery of Nahiya, and they (the two bodies) were buried in the patriarchal tomb with their fathers, in peace from God. May all their souls together rest, (and) may God grant to us acceptation through the blessing of their holy prayers. Amen.

(Note ⁷)

Remember, O Lord, Thy lowly servant, the humble, wretched Senouti (Sanudah), in name hegoumenos, servant of the Monastery of the Great Saint, the righteous Abba Paul the Great, the first hermit, who revised this biography. He entreats thereby pardon and clemency through the forgiveness of his sins by the intercessions of those whose names he has mentioned in it. And the revision of it was, at that time, in the flourishing cell at Cairo, in the days of the leadership of the master, the venerable, happy, blessed father, chief of chiefs and master of masters, the father honoured in every way, Abba Peter (Butrus) the patriarch, the one hundred

¹ LXXIIIrd Patriarch, 1166-1189 A.D.

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and ninth of the number of the fathers, the patriarchs ¹. May God the Exalted perpetuate for us his leadership many years and (in) continuous, peaceful, calm and prolonged times, with long years and happy life. Amen.

Then there follows it ³ the remainder of the second part of the biographies.

¹ Peter VII, 1809-1852 A.D.

³ i.e. the present biography.

_______________________________

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume III, Part II

MARK III —JOHN VI (A.D. 1167-1216)

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE EGYPTIAN CHURCH
KNOWN AS THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY CHURCH
BY
SAWIRUS IBN AL-MUKAFFA`
BISHOP OF AL-ASHMUNIN

VOLUME III. PART II

MARK III —JOHN VI
(A.D. 1167-1216)

Mark III (1167 – 1189) – Abba Mark Ibn Zara’ah, and he is the seventy-third of their number.
- Salah ad-Din
John VI (1189 – 1216 A.D.) – The saintly father Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), the second patriarch of the second series, (and he is) the seventieth-fourth of the number of the fathers the patriarchs.
- Al-Malik al-‘Aziz ‘Uthman
- Al-Malik an-Nasir Yusif
- Al-Malik al-Afdal ‘Ali
- Al-Malik al-‘Adil Abu Bakr
- Al-Malik al-Kamil Muhammad
The interregnum after the death of the Patriarch John VI. (1216 – 1235)

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen. We begin with the support of the power of the Highest to copy the first biography of the biographies of the fathers, the OrthodoxPatriarchs of the second period, and it is the biography of the venerable father who acquired the grace of the Holy Spirit, Abba Mark Ibn Zara‘ah, and he is the seventy-third of their number — may his prayers guard us. Amen.

When we had completed with the assistance of God to us what we had transcribed concerning our predecessors, our former fathers, successor after predecessor, from among the virtuous masters and sincere chiefs and truth-loving elect, as is said in the Psalm 43: ‘God, we have heard with our ears, when our fathers related to us the works which You did in their days of old’, we returned to the research of the biography of the elect, praiseworthy (ones) the heads of Christianity and of the religion of God, and of the virtuous shepherds, and of (their) perfect deeds. And we began with what we witnessed in our age, and saw in our time, and it is what we inform you in this biography, and what occurred in the days of this venerable father in the way of difficulties and oppressive hardships and bloodshed and the passing away of the former State to which our origin ⁽²⁾ had been firmly attached through the multitude of its troops and its allies, (and) invincible through the multitude of its riches, and its means which are hidden from the eyes in its castles, and through the multitude of its soldiers and its assistants about which blessed Daniel prophesied and said ⁽⁴⁾: There shall rule over the Land of Egypt

⁽²⁾ I.e. ‘ our country

⁽⁴⁾ This prophecy occurs in the fourteenth chapter of the Coptic (Bohairic) Version of the Book of Daniel. For a critical study on this chapter, cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, ‘A Commentary on the XIVth Vision of Daniel’ in Orientalia Christiana Periodica, vol. XXXII, fasc. II, pp. 394-449, and O.F.A. Meinardus, ‘New Evidence on the XIVth Vision of Daniel from the History of the Patriarchs of the Egyptian Church’ in Orientalia Christiana Periodica, vol. XXXIV, fasc. II, pp. 281-309.

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nineteen kings from the Sons of Ishmael. And. when the Shi‘ite Fatimid House was completed, (it was) fourteen Caliphs three of whom ruled Salamiyah, ³ and al-Mahdiyah ⁴ and Africa ⁵ and other than them of the lands of the West, and these are their names. Al-Mahdi, al-Kaim, al-Mansur ⁶, and a king from them (was) over Egypt until the end of the termination of their State. And there reigned over the State of the Persians who are the Ghuzz, eleven Caliphs and they are: Al-Mu‘izz who built Cairo (al-Kahirah), Al-‘Aziz his son, Al-Hakim, son of Al-‘Aziz, Az-Zahir, son of Al-Hakim, Al-Mustansir, son of Az-Zahir, Al-Musta‘li, son of Al-Mustansir, Al-Amir, son of Al-Musta‘li. Then, after this, from the sons of the uncles and relations, Al-Hafiz, Az-Zafir and his son Al-Faiz, son of Az-Zafir. Then Az-Zafir was killed at the hand of Nasr, son of ‘Abbas, the story of which we have already given a description. Then there reigned after him Al-‘Adid, and he was the last of the kings of them. And the duration of their rule over the West and the Land of Egypt was up to the day of the passing away of the kingdom from the hand of Al-‘Adid at the end of al-Muharram (in the) year five hundred and sixty-seven [1171 A.D.]. And it (was) that

⁽³⁾ Salamiyah is south-east of Hamah, Syria.

⁽⁴⁾ In Tunisia, 22 kilometres south-east of al-Kayrawan.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Africa Minor, mainly Tunisia.

⁽⁶⁾ Al-Mahdi, first Fatimid Caliph, 909-934 A.D., Al-Kaim, 934-946 A.D., Al-Mansur, 945-953.

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Al-Mahdi Abu Muhammad ‘Abd Allah appeared at Salamiyah and ruled it on Sunday, the seventh of (the month of) Dhu’l-Higgah (in the) year two hundred and ninety of the Higrah [902-903 A.D.], and up to the time of its passing away in the days of the government of Al-‘Adid Abu Muhammad ‘Abd Allah, and he was the fourteenth of them, (were) two hundred and seventy-five years, one month and twenty-seven days. Of these they ruled in the West seventy-four years, and they ruled in Egypt two hundred years and one year. And as regards their wazirs, we did not find out anything except the period of some of them, and we did not find biographies of them nor anything (which) guided us to the duration of the administration of each of them as wazir, neither how much was their equipment; however, we were informed of the names of some of them by our near forefathers who witnessed it ², and they gave a description of them according to what they held (important) among themselves, and what they pretended was an honour to their deeds and magnifying to their rank. They ³ said that the wazir of Al-Mustansir (was) a man designated as Amir al-Guyus, and his name (was) Badr al-Gamali, (and) of Al-Musta‘li, Saif al-Islam Yanis, and of Al-Amir and Al-Hafiz, Al-Mamun and Yanis and Tag ad-Daulah Bahram and Rudwan Ibn Walkhasi, and of Az-Zafir, Nagm ad-Din Ibn Mudal W, and of Idil, Ibn as-Salar and Al-‘Abbas, and of Al-Faiz and Al-‘Adid and As-Salih Talai‘ Ibn Ruzzik and Magd al-Islam, his son,

and Amir al-Guyus Shawar as-Sa‘di and Al-Mansur Dirgham, and Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din Yusuf Ibn Nagm ad-Din Aiyub who is the second of the kings of the Turks in the Land of Egypt, and the last of the wazirs of the State of the Egyptians, because Asad ad-Din Shirkuh was a wazir of Al-‘Adid before him, and he ruled sixty days, and their count was neither increased by an hour

² I.e. the period.

³ I.e. our forefathers.

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nor reduced by an hour, and he died. And this Salah ad-Din ruled after him, and we shall record and explain the news of the kingdom, and how the former State passed away, and the conquest of Jerusalemand the cities of the sea-coast, and what God wrought for him, and what God put into his possession, and the good equity of the days of his reign and his justice. And he reduced prices through the goodness of his intention and his justice among his subjects; and what was bad in it ⁴ in the way of taxes and the removal of injustice (will be) shewn and explained, God willing. This venerable, virtuous, pure, noble Patriarch, of distinguished descent, was called before he became patriarch Abu’l-Farag Ibn Abu As‘ad known as Ibn Zara‘ah, (and) he was related through this name to his paternal great great grandfather. And we found in what went before of the fathers, the patriarchs, a patriarch called Ibn Zara‘ah whose scribe was the father Severus Ibn al-Mukaffa‘, bishop of al-Asmunam, and if he was from his descendants, God knows. And I, the wretched scribe who arranged this biography, conversed with the son of the paternal uncle of this patriarch, and I said to him: «Where were you brought up, and (from where) is your origin?» And he said: «From the inhabitants of Syria». And I was assured that he was from the descendants of that patriarch, because he was a Syrian from the inhabitants of Syria . And I, the wretched (one) who arranged this biography, saw this father before his consecration, and I was dwelling in his vicinity in the city of Cairo (Misr). And many of the people of the Muslims and the Christians

⁴ I.e. the kingdom.

— 103 —

(who) were in Cairo (Misr) bore witness to his chastity, his religion, his fasting, his praying, his alms-giving, and his doing good to all the people; and that he was a virgin and that he had never been married. They did not witness against him the follies of youth or a fault. He was learned in his religion, instructed in the affairs of the priesthood, and he had a care for his soul from his youth. It was reported to me that our pure father, John, the patriarch who (was) before him — may God, give rest to his soul — announced beforehand ¹concerning him that he would be patriarch after him. And it was that our father, John, the patriarch, (who was) before him, fell sick, and a company of the archonsof Cairo (Misr) and its notables visited him, and he (Ibn Zara‘ah) was with them, and he said to the patriarch: «O our father, if you were to use such and such a medicine, you would find health». And the patriarch John said to him: «By the truth of your skhema, O our father, I have used it». And the people who were present were astonished and they looked at one another, and they imagined that among them one had the skhema round his throat, but they did not see anyone except him (Ibn Zara‘ah) and they knew that the speech of the patriarch was for him and his indication to him ³. And when the father John went to his rest after many years, they recalled what he had prophesied concerning him (Ibn Zara‘ah). And it was the turn for the monks ⁴, but the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) took him and they consecrated him, and there was no disagreement about his affair. And he was consecrated patriarch in the year eight hundred and eighty of the Martyrs [1163-1164 A.D.] which corresponds to the year five hundred and sixty-six of the Lunar (Year). And he remained on the throne twenty-five years, and he went to his rest on the sixth

¹ I.e. by premonition.

³ I.e. that he should be his successor.

⁴ I.e. to elect a patriarch.

— 104 —

of Tubah of the year nine hundred and five of the Martyrs [1188-1889 A.D.] which corresponds to the year five hundred and eighty-five of the Lunar (Year).

The beginning of the life of Salah ad-Din designated as Amir Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din in the Kingdom of Egypt. And the Caliph at that time al-‘Adid remained as he was, and the Egyptian soldiers and the Sudanis (who were) slaves of his State were retained for his service. And when it was, Tuesday, the third of (the month of) Safar of the year five hundred and sixty-four of the Higrah [1168 A.D.], and the Caliph at that time (was) Al-‘Adid Abu Muhammad ‘Abd Allah and he is the fourteenth of the Caliphs of the Fatimid State — upon them (be) perfect peace — and his wazir at that time (was) Amir al-Guyus Shawar as-Sa‘adi, Amaury, king of the Franks, descended with his soldiers upon Bilbais ⁽⁴⁾ and he took it, and he slew every one whom he found in it of the Kabanis, and the Turks and the Sudanis outside it. And he slew a great multitude of the common people, Muslims and Christians, he slew them inside it. And he permitted his troops to kill and to take captive and to plunder for three days, night and day, and he gave to them (the free use of) the sword in it. And he took captive the remainder of its inhabitants, and he carried them away with him to Syria, and he pillaged it and he burned it and he departed with its possessions and its captives. The situation made it necessary for the Caliph to write a letter to Nur ad-Din Mahmud Ibn Zinki, king of the Ghuzz in the city of Damascus and its territory. And he was designated Al-Malik al-‘Adil Nur ad-Din, and he was known as Ibn Kasim ad-Daulah. And he ⁷ made

⁽⁴⁾ Cf. E. Amelineau, Geographie de l’Egypte a l’Epoque Copte, p. 333.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the Caliph.

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known to him in his letter what had befallen the Muslims in the Land of Egypt, and he besought of him that he should aid him with an army with which to repulse the Franks. He complied by despatching Asad ad-Din Shirkuh. And he arrived and with him many troops of the Ghuzz in the land, and the King Amaury was descending with the Franks on Bilbais. And Nadal, master of the ships of the fleet on the River Nile, had already reached `Atf Minyat al-Fairan near Minyat Zifta with ten war-ships (Sawani) and twenty fire-ships (Harrakat). And when news came of the arrival of Shirkuh ⁽³⁾ in the neighbourhood of the city, King Amaury departed from Bilbais, and he returned to his country. And the Muslims overcame Nadal, and they defeated him, and he returned, as a fugitive with the ships. And Asad ad-Din Shirkuh descended with his troops on the city of Bilbais, and the Franks departed, and they retreated before him on land and on sea, and he (Shirkuh) rested for a few days. Then he departed from Bilbais, (and) he descended to al-Lukand al-Maks (al-Maksim) and the `Ard at-Tabbalah, and he encompassed Cairo (Misr) on all sides. And the Caliph bore to him a gift ⁽⁷⁾, and he took off his sword for him, — and to whoever had come with him of the eminent amirs and the chiefs of the army, and much money for expenses, and tents and a great number of many things of which it is not possible to describe their kinds and their species and their, substance. And he remained on the Caliph’s hospitality, and he did not enter Cairo (al-Kahirah) until Friday, the first day of the month of Rabi`a al-Awal of the year ⁽⁸⁾ five hundred and sixty-four

⁽³⁾ MS. P has ‘Asad ad-Din’ instead of ‘Shirkuh’.

⁽⁷⁾ This word has also the meaning of gift of hospitality and banquet.

⁽⁸⁾ For ‘of the year’ MS. P has ‘of the aforementioned year and it is the year ‘.

— 106 —

of the Lunar (Year) [1168-1169 A.D.]. And the Caliph had sent to him the Sword of Blood through a confident of the Caliphate, Gawhar the equerry, and he ordered him to beheadShawar his wazir, and he killed him, slaying (him) with a knife on the second Saturday of Rabi`a al-Awal of the aforementioned year ⁽³⁾. And he (Shirkuh) remained the rest of its day ⁽⁴⁾ and Sunday, halting at his place, and in the daytime of Monday, the fourth of Rabi`a al-Awal of the aforementioned year, he entered Cairo (al-Kahirah), and the Caliph clad him with the robes of the ministry, and they are white garments with gold and wide sleeves, and a large scarf tightened like a housing loose with fringes towards the croup of a horse, and a gold neck-band on his neck encrusted with precious stones and pearls which fastened and unfastened with a silk ribbon embellished with a pearl bigger than a chick-pea. And he rode behind the Caliph from inside the Golden Hall at the Castle. And he went out, and all the soldiers and the amirs walked in his train with drawn swords. And it was for him a famous day, the like of which was not seen in all the days of the world. And he became wazir and he governed; and when he had completed a month in the government ⁽⁷⁾, he proclaimed in Cairo (al-Kahirah) that the Christians should remove the fringes from their turbans and should fasten (their waists) with their girdles, and the Jews (should attach) a piece of yellow cloth to their turbans. And he remained in it (the government) for sixty days, and he died on the fifth day of Gumada al-Awal of the aforementioned ⁽⁸⁾

⁽³⁾ MS. P has in place of ‘aforementioned year’ ‘year five hundred and sixty-four ‘.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. Saturday. MS. P has ‘ the day of Saturday ‘.

⁽⁷⁾ MS. P has for ‘in the government’ the reading ‘in the night he proclaimed’.

⁽⁸⁾ MS. P has ‘of the year five hundred and sixty-four ‘ (= 1168-1169 A.D.).

— 107 —

year. And the Caliph appointed as wazir after him, in the lifetime of the Caliph, Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din, and he was designated as Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-dunya wa’d-din, Sultan of al-Islam and the Muslims, Unifier of the Faith ⁽¹⁾, Subduer of the adorers of Crosses, Vivifier of the State of the Amir of the Faithful. And the name of Salah ad-Din was Yusuf Ibn Nagm ad-Din Aiyub, brother of Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, and he subscribed on the day of investiture before the Caliph (his) subscription with the writing of the honourable Kadi and at his dictation. And the name of the Kadi was Al-Fadil ‘Abd al-Rahim Ibn `Ali, and he was known as al-Baisani. His father was Kadi of Baisan ⁽⁵⁾. And he was an honourable learned man, doing good to every one, praised and beloved, and every one praised him and made supplication (to God) for him, and eulogized him. However, according to the nature of Adam (Adami) (men) are not perfect for perfection (belongs) to God alone; for there was not found in him a word for him who speaks evil to blame him, except that he counselled that they should not employ Christians as overseers in the treasuries of the State, nor as inspectors, and his word was accepted and his opinion was carried out, and not one of the Christians returned to be employed as overseers and inspectors in the days of the State of Salah ad-Din, nor of those who ruled after him of his sons and his descendants. And he (Salah ad-Din) signed what (was) his model, and the model of the mark (was) ‘Praise (be) to God, and through Him is my success’. The exalted order of An-Nasir went out — God the Exalted increase its execution! — to pardon the amirs, the superintendents, the patrons, the administrators, the workers,

⁽¹⁾ MS. P has ‘of the word of the Faith ‘.

⁽⁵⁾ A village in Syria, cf. E. Blochet, op. cit., p. 232, note 2.

⁽⁶⁾ ‘Not’ is added from MS. P.

— 108 —

the employees, the guarantors, the exchangers, the receivers, the payers and the rest of all the people, for abandoned remainders, outstanding debts, documents long left over, repudiated expenditure, deposits recorded by pen but not found, times officially fixed, the rent of the vehicles of the diwans, the surplus of the areas, the divisions of the separate tracks of land, that to which the diwans testified in the way of dealings with regard to their different causes and the contrary sections and their causes, and what follows that in the way of inheritances without heirs, legal waqfs and the rent of State vehicles, all of these up to the end of the year five hundred and sixty-three [1167-1168 A.D.], a pardon which includes the commander and the commanded, those who were absent and those who were present, the rich and the poor, the strong and the weak, without exception, with private deposits and private treasures, and expenses which are in the way of restituted succession, and it is the equipment of the holy war and provision for (its) preparation, desiring a good reward and seeking sycophancy and a good end. And let there be written lines to be read in all the affairs of the State after their registration, in order to establish the like with the help of God the Exalted. Al-Malik an-Nasir was established in the ministry, and his word and his deed were executed. And, at that time his brotherAl-`Adil Abu Bakr, and Tag al-Muluk, and the illustrious and great Shams ad-Daulah assisted him. And Shams ad-Daulah died in the days of his ⁽⁶⁾ State in the city of Alexandria, after he had performed much good for the Egyptians what the tongue falls short in describing. May God have mercy upon him and accept him! And Tag al-Muluk, his brother, died on the outskirts of the city of Aleppo (Halab), while Salah was besieging it, from an arrow. It (the arrow) came out, shot from its fortress, and it struck him in his knee, and

(6) Salah ad-Din’s.

— 109 —

he died. He was noble, intelligent, virtuous, learned, a composer of verse, and he had a volume (diwan) of it. And the chief of the troops of the king and his counsellor was the illustrious Taki ad-Din `Umar Ibn Sahansah ⁽³⁾. And he was of sound opinion and good management, and he commanded the respect of the soldiers, and he obtained justice for the oppressed from the oppressor. And when he was judging between two (people), he caused both of them to be placed seated with him, and he did not show partiality for the rich and he did not deprive the poor of his rights, and he took away the right of the oppressor, even if he were his son. After what happened in the way of the conquest of the Littoral ⁽⁵⁾ which we shall explain later, he (Taki ad-Din) went to a region of mixed people of the Land of Persia, and it was in the hand of N k t m of the kings of Persia. And he fought against him and routed him and took from him the country, and he died there, and his son died after him. And when it was Gumada al-Akhar of the year five hundred and sixty-five [1169-1170 A.D.], news reached Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din concerning the confidant of the Caliphate, Gawhar the equerry of al-`Adid, that he had departed from Cairo (al-Kahirah) to al-Kharkaniah, and it was his fief. And he descended at the belvedere which belonged to him, which overlooked a garden. He proposed to stay in it until midnight and to journey with the Arabs and to go to the Franks to seek aid from them and to bring them to Cairo (al-Kahirah) to make war on Al-Malik an-Nasir, and to drive him from it; because when he (Salah ad-Din) was firmly established in the kingdom, the Caliph and the equerries feared him, and they provided

⁽²⁾ MS. P adds ‘An-Nasir ‘.

⁽³⁾ A nephew of Salah ad-Dln.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the stretch of coast along Palestine and Syria.

— 110 —

for the confidant of the Caliphate to persuade the Franks (and) to bring them, he being of those who were attached to the Caliph, and he (the Caliph) was prone to accept his word and to carry out his opinion, because he was the greatest of all the equerries in his Castle. And the Sultan (Salah al-Din) delegated the eunuch Karakus, and he was also castrated, and he was attached to his service ⁽¹⁾. And he sent with him a hundred horsemen, and he (Karakus) came to the confident of the Caliphate in the belvedere, and he summoned him to come down, and he did not do so, but he closed the door of the belvedere against him, and he ordered his friends to fight against him. And Karakus besieged him, and he fought against him, and he killed him and he cut off^{2) his head, after he had caused the belvedere to be burned with fire, and he returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah). And the Sudanis ⁽³⁾ assembled and they marched to fight against the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) inside Cairo (al-Kahirah), when they heard of the killing of the confident of the Caliphate (al-Khilalat), Gawhar. And God aided the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) against them, and He caused him to overcome them. And he did not kill one of them, but he said there is no blame to them, because they fought for their master and their Caliph. And he spared them, and he ordered them that they should not remain with him (the Caliph) in Cairo (al-Kahirah), and that they should dwell wherever they wished in the Rif and the Sa`id, and other lands than them, but that they should not remain with him (the Caliph) in Cairo (al-Kahirah). And they went out from it (Cairo) to the Rifs and the Sa`id (⁵⁾and they dispersed into all the dwelling-places of Egypt from the tower of Damietta (Dumyat)⁽⁶⁾ to the tower of Aswan. And there were

⁽¹⁾ The amir Karakus was majordomo at the Castle, and was entrusted by Salah ad-Din with the construction of the Citadel.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Upper Egypt.

— 111 —

living in the districts of the (Province of) al-Gharbiah many bands of Arabs (`Arab) of whom one tribe called Bani Shalas was more than ten thousand horsemen. They acted hypocritically and they terrorized the way(s), and the illustrious Taki ad-Din went out to them with his troops, and he crushed them and he captured them, and he took their women and their children and their possessions and their cattle, and there did not remain of them a man to be found in a tent. The lands were subjected to him, and there was great security and cheapness in the days of his State, and he showed in the way of justice what no one before him (had shown). And Safi ad-Daulah, the governor (ustadh) of the district subdued by him, gave information to Ibn Shams ad-Daulah, brother of Salah ad-Din. He entered the Castle at night, and he sought the Caliph. And when they informed the Caliph that he was seeking him, he sucked the poisoned ring which kings are prone to do in order to die in overpowering (circumstances), lest they fall into the hands of their enemies, and they contemn them and torture them, and they see death better for them than contempt and torture ⁽⁷⁾. And when he had sucked it, he died. And another than Safi ad-Daulah said that he (Ibn Shams ad-Daulah) took him alive, and he asked him about the place of his treasures and his wealth, and he did not tell him about them. Then he took his (the Caliph’s) turban from off his head, and he strangled him with it until he died. A man of the inhabitants of his Castle also gave information that before they killed him (the Caliph), he had drunk wine with Salah ad-Din and Shams ad-Daulah, and singing was heard while they

⁽⁷⁾ An identical story is told of Hasan, son of the Caliph Al-Hafiz, cf. H.P.E.C., vol. III, part I, p. 47.

— 112 —

were present with him at the interview. And when the interviewcame to an end, and those who were with him of the brothers of the Sultan had departed, he (the Caliph) was alone with his concubine, and he sought her for himself, and she assented to what he sought. And there was around his waist a trouser of Dabiki (cloth) of gold ornamented with jewels on both sides, and a clasp ornamented like it with jewels equal to a pile of money. She asked for it as a gift from him, and he gave it as a gift to her. Then she brought it to Salah ad-Din, (and) she boasted with it to him (Salah ad-Din). And he took it, and he brought the judge and the witnesses and the jurisconsults, and he drew up a report concerning this, and he despatched it to the `Irak and Baghdad. And he enquired of the jurisconsults: «Is it lawful for the Caliph to drink wine and to indulge in debauchery?» The jurisconsults gave the legal decision that if this, were proved against him, he should be deposed from the Caliphate (al-Khilafat). And when he was informed of the legal decision, he commanded his brother Shams ad-Daulah to ride to the Castle at night, and to use subtle means to kill the Caliph, according to what we have mentioned before. And the death of Al-`Adid li Din Allah was the completion of the fourteen Caliphs of the Fatimid (al-Fatimiyin) House in the year five hundred and sixty-seven of the Lunar (Year) [1171-1172 A.D.]. And Al-Malik an-Nasir took the Castle and what (was) in it. As regards what remained over and the furnishings, he commanded that what was suitable of it for him should be carried to his house ⁽⁷⁾ and to his women, in the way of clothing and jewels and pearls and ornaments of gold and silver and the like, and to sell that of which he had no need, in the way of books and vessels and the like.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the House of the Wazir.

— 113 —

And he appointed a trustworthy person for the sale of those things, the judge, the amir Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Ibn Dhu’r-Riyasitin Ibn Binan. And as regards the persons, he placed the concubines of the Calif (al-Khalifat) and his sons in the Dar al-Muzaffar (1) in the Harat Bargawan⁽²⁾ in Cairo (al-Kahirah). He appointed for them soldiers as guards to guard its gates night and day, and it was not possible for any one to come in to them nor for any one of them to come out, and he left for them victuals what were sufficient for them for some time. And when it happened that the inhabitants of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and of Cairo (Misr) of their sect brought to them any thing of their provisions, he deprived them of this. And as regards the family and the relatives and every one who was related to them of the menfolk, he collectedtwo hundred and more men of them, and he placed them in the Maglis al-Munafikin (Council of the Hypocrites) in the Iwan at Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he placed on their legs iron fetters to prevent them from leaving. And he committed them to men who guarded them, and he left for them victuals what was sufficient for them. And when it happened that the Cairenes (al-Kahiriyin) and the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) entered to them with charitable gifts, he deprived them of these. Then they began to live from alms-giving — praise be to the great God I He exalts him whom He wills, and He humbles him whom He wills. And many of them died in fetters as they were, and they buried themthus; and praise be to the Living One Who is immortal! He abases him whom He wills and He raises up him whom He wills. And as regards the female slaves of the service and the male slaves of the service, he sold them with the rest of the heritage.

And this is a copy of a letter written by the Kadi Al-Fadil Ibn al-Baisani and his name (was) `Abd ar-Rahim Ibn `Ali, to the amirs of

⁽¹⁾ Cf. P. Casanova, ‘Makrizi: Description Historique et Topographique de l’Egypte ‘ in MIFAO, t. IV, 4epartie, fasc. 1, pp. 99-100.

— 114 —

the State of the Ghuzz (al-Ghuzz) at that time concerning the death of Al-Imam al-`Adid. And he is the last of the Caliphs (Khulafa) of the State of the Fatimids (al-Fatimiyin) in the Land of Egypt (Misr), and he is the completion of the fourteen Caliphs (Khalifat). And in his days their kingdom passed away, and there reigned Salah ad-Din Yusuf Ibn Nagm ad-Din Aiyub, the second of the kings of the State of the Turks (al-Atrak). This our letter comes to you, O Amir N., at the time of the fore-ordained judgment of God and His immutable decree, and (when) we were informed of the true news concerning him who was pre-eminent in the Castle and invested with command, and this (was that) through illness his days drew nigh for him and his sufferings grew intense for him until his strength yielded and his power failed, and there befell him by the order of God what befell him. And this (is) the way on which walk the first and the last, and a case in which the weak and the strong are equal. And it was incumbent upon us with regard to him (the Caliph) to preserve security and to uphold rank and to be faithful in the differences of the judgments of days. And we presented ourselves before his (the Caliph’s) gates, and we transferred his death from being a secret affair to a manifest (one) making it known that God had ordained his death. And we fulfilled in a good manner (our) obligation with regard to his death, and we attained (our) end in acting with decorum in his affair, and in taking farewell of him up to his tomb, and the souls of his successors were comforted through settling them in his castle. And we (returned) upset to our abode, and the crowd was silent, and the world seemed to us (to be) in security, and the hearts of the leaders were in harmony, and the intention regarding agreement was not crooked. And it is incumbent on the amir that he command the preacher (al-Khatib) on Friday to name him whose word is obeyed in the countries belonging to him, and the regions agreeing to his Caliphate (al-Khilafat), the Imam Abu Muhammad bi Nur Allah ⁽³⁾, amir of the faithful, acknowledged by his name and his designation, and confirmed by what was agreed upon concerning

⁽³⁾I.e. the `Abbasid Caliph Al-Mustadi.

— 115 —

him by the Muslims (al-Muslimin) with regard to his position, and (what) follows this on every Friday and (in every) community. And he who resists by his hand or his tongue in the affair of him who departed yesterday ⁽¹⁾ or of him who is arisen to-day ⁽²⁾, by which he is led astray with regard to him ⁽³⁾ and by which he is turned away by reason of passion truly resembling it, let the amir deal with him through his authority, and let him continue to keep watch on him. And, first of all, what is necessary for the people is pardon, for it is a perfect gift and a protective gift, and in change of conditions (there is) a warning for him who has a heart to understand and he is a witness (to it). Let the amir know this and let him do it, if God the Exalted will. And it was written in the first decade of (the month of) Muharram (in the) year five hundred and sixty-seven of the Higrah [1171 A.D.], and this year (was) the end of their ⁽⁶⁾ State, and it was the completion of two hundred years and one year. And three of them ruled before this year in the West (al-Maghrib), Al-Mahdi and Al-Kaim and Al-Mansur seventy-four years, and the whole of their State for the fourteen Caliphs (al-Khalifat) (lasted) two hundred and seventy-five years. Al-Mu`izz [969-975 A.D.]engraved the date of the first of their kings on a tablet, and he built it into the arch of the Bab al-Kantarah, at the bottom, and he who wishes to read it, let him read it there, and peace! And when it was the month of Rabi`a al-Akhar in the year five hundred and seventy-three an order went out from Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din to

^(l) I.e. Al-`Adid.

⁽²⁾ I.e. Salah ad-Din.

⁽³⁾ I.e. either Al-`Adid or Salah ad-Din.

⁽⁶⁾I.e. the Fatimids.

⁽¹¹⁾According to Makrizi the year was five hundred and sixty-six, cf. P. Casanova, op. cit., p. 35.

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cancel all the taxes in the habitations of Egypt (Misr), its Sa`id ⁽¹⁾ and its Northern Part and its East and its West and its land and its sea, of every one who (was) in it of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the Christians (an-Nasara) ⁽²⁾ and the rich and the poor and the strong and the weak and the governor and the governed. And he ordered that the alms-giving (Zakat) ⁽³⁾ in accordance with the law of religion commanded by God, the Excellent and the Sublime, should be exacted. And the soldiers of the feoffers began to oppress the inhabitants of their lands and to take from them the taxes, and news of this reached Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din while he was in Syria (ash-Sham) making raids, and his brother Al-Malik al-`Adil Abu Bakr was the representative of him. And he (Abu Bakr) wrote to him a letter in his handwriting — this is its copy: «The Royal, Just, High Council⁽⁵⁾ — may God render strong its victory — knows that no one of the feoffers divided a district of the districts that he might exact taxes in it, nor did he allow property (to pass) to subjects, nor did he harass in them (the districts) any one with regard to his livelihood. Let all the lands of the feoffer be revealed, and let him (the amir) remove from them all the exactions and the taxes, for they are not included in the perquisites of the feoffers; and he who is satisfied with his fief after the imposition of its taxes, (it is well for him), otherwise, let him desist (from them), if God the Exalted will».

And in (the month of) Muharram of the year five hundred and seventy-eight ⁽⁷⁾ Salah ad-Din gathered together the troops and went to Damascus (Dimask) after the death of Nur ad-Din Muhammad Ibn Kasim ad-Daulah, and he conquered it and took it by treaty and he ruled it

⁽¹⁾ I.e. Upper Egypt.

⁽²⁾ MS. P has ‘Dhimah’, i.e. Christians and Jews.

⁽³⁾ Zakat is one of the religious duties incumbent on Muslims. ⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Salah ad-Din.

⁽⁷⁾ =1182 A.D., but the correct date should be 1174 A.D.

— 117 —

and all its towns (Kura) and its districts. And he went to Aleppo (Halab) and he besieged it, but he was not able to take it in those days Then he conquered Emesa (Hims) and Ba`albekk (Ba`labakk). Then he crossed the river Euphrates (Al-Furat), and he conquered Singar (Singer) and Manbig (Manbig) and Harran (Harran) and Nisibis (Nasibin) ⁽³⁾ and many cities in the land of Mosul (Mawsil). And he descended on the city of Mosul (Mawsil) and he besieged it and he remained before it for five months. Then he left it, and he went to Amid and Mayyafarikin and he conquered them, and he gave them to Raslan Ibn Kilig. And he returned from them, crossed the Euphrates (al-Furat), returned to Aleppo (Halab) and he descended on it. And he besieged it, and Tag al-Muluk, his brother, was killed before it. And peace was concluded between him and between the ruler of Aleppo (Halab); then he gave to him the cities which he (Salah ad-Din) had conquered in the land of Mosul (Mawsil): Singar (Singar) and Harran (Harran) and Manbig (Manbig) and Nisibis (Nasibin) and all their districts, and he gave Aleppo (Halab) to the Sultan (Salah ad-Din), and he took it, but he did not rejoice over it on account of the death of his brother, Tag al-Muluk before it. And he entered its fortress at night and he took possession of it and all its districts and its towns (Kurd) in the year five hundred and seventy-nine ⁽¹²⁾. And when he had conquered Aleppo (Halab), he returned to Damascus (Dimask) and he rested for a short while. And he went

⁽³⁾ For these cities, cf. map facing, p. 197 in S. Lane-Poole, Saladin.

⁽¹²⁾ I.e. 1183 A.D.

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out against the invaders ⁽¹⁾ and he descended on Al-Karak ⁽²⁾, and he besieged it for a time, but he did not prevail against it, and he returned to Damascus (Dimask) and he stayed at it. Then he returned to Al-Karak in the year five hundred and eighty ⁽³⁾, and he besieged it again for a while, but he did not prevail against it. Then he returned to Damascus (Dimask), and on his return he descended on Shechem (Nablus) and he destroyed it and he took from it money and captives. Then he returned to Egypt (Misr) in the year five hundred and eighty-one of the Lunar (Year) [1185-1186 A.D.], and he wrought good things with the subjects of the habitations of Egypt (Misr) which the describer is incapable of describing. And he acted justly with them and did good to them, and he removed many wrongs, and he ordered the abolition of the authorization for places of entertainment in all the habitations of Egypt (Misr), and he disapproved of every abomination, and he established the legal religious regulations. And he used to sit for judging two days every week, and they were Monday and Thursday, and Sadr ad-Din, the kadi al-kudat, was sitting before him. And he (Sadr ad-Din) used to enter his (Salah ad-Din’s) house, and he presented before him all people, and he (Salah ad-Din) would deliver the oppressed from the oppressor. And there was in his Council an assembly of jurisconsults and notables of his State for assisting in law-suits between people, and to act according to what the sentences of legal religious law require in the way of truth and justice. And when he had remained in Egypt (Misr) a whole year, he returned to Damascus (Dimask) in the year

⁽¹⁾I.e. the Crusaders.

⁽²⁾I.e. Le Crac of the Crusades, cf. P.K. Hitti, History of Syria, p. 596 and Lane-Poole, Saladin, p. 177.

⁽³⁾I.e. 1184 A.D.

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five hundred and eighty-two ⁽¹⁾ and he stayed in it also for a whole year, and he gathered together the troops, and he went out from Damascus (Dimask) in the year five hundred and eighty-three of the Lunar (Year)⁽²⁾ wishing to make raids and to descend upon Al-Karak. In that year the Franks (al-Afrang) had made king over it (Kingdom of Jerusalem) an alien man ⁽⁴⁾ (who) came from beyond the sea, and he had married the Countess (al-Kandusah)⁽⁶⁾, daughter of the king Amaury (Muri), and she conveyed to him the kingdom, for the kingdom belonged to her after her father, and she had given it to her husband. And the Count (Kummus) of Tripolis (Tarabulis)⁽⁷⁾ had not agreed to this, and anger and the Devil (as-Shaitan) carried him away until he entered into correspondence with Salah ad-Din, and he made friends with him, and he agreed with him against the Franks (al-Farang), and he swore to him that he would not fight him and that he would not wave a sword in his face. And Tiberias (Tabariyah) belonged to the Count (Kummus), and he sent to Salah ad-Din, saying to him: «Descend on Tiberias (Tabariyah), it is mine and I will give it to you. Be strong with it and weaken the hearts of the Franks (al-Afrang)» ⁽⁹⁾. Then the Sultan ⁽¹⁰⁾ came, and he stayed near Tiberias (Tabariyah), and the Count (Kummus) ⁽¹¹⁾ delivered it up to him ⁽¹²⁾. And when the king of the Franks (al-Afrang) whom they made king after Amaury (Muri), and his name was Count (Kund) Godfrey (Gafri) ⁽¹³⁾, heard this, he assembled

⁽¹⁾ = 1186-1187 A.D. This date is incorrect, it should be 1182 A.D.

⁽²⁾= 1187-1188 A.D. This date is incorrect, it should be 1183 A.D.

⁽⁴⁾I.e. Guy de Lusignan, cf. S. Lane-Poole, Saladin, p. 200.

⁽⁶⁾I.e. Sibylla, cf. S. Lane-Poole, Saladin, p. 200. ⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Raymond III.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I.e. Salah ad-Din. ⁽¹¹⁾ I.e. The Count of Tripolis.

⁽¹²⁾ I.e. Salah ad-Din. For the two versions of the capture of Tiberias, cf. E. Blochet, op. cit., p. 172. ⁽¹³⁾ I.e. Guy de Lusignan, cf. S. Lane-Poole, Saladin, p. 200.

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the common people of the lands with the troops of the Littoral and he came to him (Salah ad-Din) with a great army. Salah ad-Din arrived before him at the water, and he remained at it. And he (Godfrey) hastened with great haste, seeking to arrive before Salah ad-Din at the water. And he found that he had arrived before him and that he was remaining at it. Then he (Godfrey) and those with him of the Knights (horsemen) ascended a high mound there called the Mound of Hittin, and they remained on it. And they perished from thirst, until they began to drink wine in place of water. And they joined (battle with) the Sultan ⁽⁴⁾ and many soldiers among them were killed, and they defeated the troops of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) at the beginning of the day. Then Salah ad-Din prevailed at the end of the day. As regards the Count (Kummus) of Tripolis (Tarabulis), the wicked one, the hypocrite, who sold his people, as-Judas (Yudas) had sold his Lord, four hundred Knights (horsemen) followed him, and he charged with them, as if he were fighting, and the Muslims (al-Muslimin) opened the way for him, and he passed through with them (his knights) in the midst of the troops of the Muslims (al-Muslimin). And then, in this wise, he did not return, turning away his face, and, forthwith, he fled in disorder to Tyre (Sur), and he entered it, and he remained in it. And when the Franks (al-Farang) learned this, they thought that he had been defeated, until his wickedness and the corruption of his intention was revealed to them. And they did not cease to fight until God gave the victory to Salah ad-Din over them. And he defeated them, and he took prisoner those whom he took prisoner, and he killed those whom he killed; and there perished good

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. Salah ad-Din.

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people, as far as what God knows about this concerning their uprightness. And when Salah ad-Din had conquered them, there was among them all the Prince Renaud (Arnat) the lord of Al-Karak, and he caused him to be brought before him, and he addressed to him a violent speech. And the assistants took hold of him and they brought him near to him, and he slew him with his hand, and he washed his hands in his blood. Then he overcame Count (Kund) Godfrey (Gafri), king of the Franks (al-Afrang), in the manner which we have mentioned before, and he caused him to be brought before him, and he was present at the slaying of the Prince Renaud (Arnat). And when he saw him struck down, swooning in his blood, he feared, and his colour became pale, and Salah ad-Din said to him: «Fear not, O King, you shall not die to-day but live, and if there remained a remnant of your people, I would make you king over them, and I would help you with my money and my men all the days of your life. And I shall relate to you the story of the prince and the reason for what I did to him. And this (is) that the way of the merchants and most of the travellers (passed) before Al-Karak, and he used to seize the caravans with injustice and violence. Nur ad-Din and others than he of the kings of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) desired peace with him so as to lessen his harm with regard to the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and he urged him to do (it) a thousand times, but he did not do (so). And when it was in my days, I sent to him and (gave to him) gifts, and I had borne to him money, goods and robes of honour. And he swore to my messenger that he would not harm any one of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and that he would deal kindly with the merchants and would facilitate for them the way, and that he would not empower any one of his companions to harm a Muslim (Muslim) nor a merchant nor a passer-by on the way. And three days after he had sworn, a caravan passed by going towards Damascus (Dimask). And he drove it with its camels and its men and

— 122 —

its money, going up with it to Al-Karak, and he took captive its men and he took its money. News of it reached me, and for me this (was) odious, and I vowed to God that when I should overcome him, I would do to him what you have seen, so blame me not, O King». Then he called for a goblet of beverage, and the cup-bearer came with it to him. And he (Salah ad-Din) took it from his hand, and he drank of it, and he handed it to the king, and he drank of it. And he set apart for him (the King) and his companions a group of tents, and he appointed for him a body of men who should guard him. And he (the King) continued (to be) with him until he delivered up to him (Salah ad-Din) Ascalon (`Askalan), because it belonged to him. And after he (Salah ad-Din) had taken it (Ascalon), he bestowed on him (the King) a robe of honour, and he gave to him gifts and he set him free. And he (the King) journeyed to the Island of Cyprus (al-Kubrus) and he ruled it, and he continued in it until he died ⁽⁴⁾. When the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) had overcome the troops of the Franks (al-Afrang), and had begun with the conquest of the cities of the Littoral, he wrote to his son, Al-Malik al-`Aziz whom he had put in authority over the Land of Egypt (Misr), and he caused him to read a letter informing him in it of the circumstance of the affair and how it had happened. And Al-Malik al-`Aziz wrote letters to the governors (Wulat) of war informing them about this, and this is a copy of one of these letters, the one which came to the governor (wali) of Tinnis (Tinnis) concerning the conquest of Acre (`Akka)and Tiberias (Tabariyah), and describing in it this circumstance. And this is a copy of the letter. «In the Name of God the Merciful and the

⁽⁴⁾ Guy de Lusignan bought the Island of Cyprus from Richard I of England. He died in 1194 A.D.

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Compassionate! Praise be to God Who has taken away from us grief. Verily, our Lord is forgiving (and to Him we owe) thanks. This our letter comes to the noble amir, the marshal (al-Isfahsalar) Husam ad-Din, the sword of warriors, the pillar of kings and sultans, the confident of the Amir of the Faithful — God perpetuate his loftiness and preserve his resplendence! And he wrote about the event proclaiming what came through the victory of God the Strong (One), and His conquest which endures, and what resulted from the victory which effaced the traces of the polytheists ⁽²⁾and restored the heartsof the Faithful, and called for expression of thanks to God from him who praises with praise his Lord, and asked pardon of Him and magnified Him and remembered Him, and made broad the remembrance of His forbearance and His indulgence. And he laid bare (his heart) to God, the Excellent and the Sublime, Who knew the intention of the Sultan ⁽⁵⁾ to obtain victory for his religion, and He granted to him victory, and He knew the sincerity of his resolution with regard to the intention of his enemy ⁽⁶⁾, (and) He gave strength to him and He aided him and He granted victory to him, and He supported him with his soldiers against him who denied His Uniqueness through His Oneness and disbelieved in God ⁽⁷⁾, and He killed by his ⁽⁸⁾sword the sultan of polytheism ⁽⁹⁾ and He interred him. And concerning the arrival of the letter of the Sultan on Monday the fourth of Gumada al-Awal, it was dated on Friday ⁽¹⁰⁾, (and) its beginning was limited to the good news concerning what God had conquered at his (Salah ad-Din’s) hands, and it mentioned the victory which repulsed the enemy of God in flight,

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Christians.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Salah ad-Din.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Crusaders.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the Christians. .

⁽⁸⁾ Salah ad-Din’s.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. Renaud de Chatillon.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I.e. the preceding Friday.

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and that among all what God vouchsafed from Thursday, the twenty-third of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Akhar up to Thursday inclusive (each event) will be explained on its date. The first Thursday Tiberias (Tabiriyat) was conquered, and the Friday and the Saturday all the Franks (al-Afrangiah) were dispersed, and they were completelydefeated which freed the lands from them, (and) on its vacant thrones and the fortresses captured from their hands there were raised the standards of al-lslam according to its case, and they were gathered from the godless monsters ⁽⁴⁾ and from their mother the Abyss who caused them to taste the fiery flame. And on the Sunday Tiberias (Tabiriyat) was surrendered ⁽⁵⁾, and the Prince Renaud (Arnal) was killed by the august hand of the Sultan ⁽⁷⁾. There were taken captive the king ⁽⁸⁾ and his brother, and the Master of the Templars, and Humphrey (al-Hunfari), the son of Humphrey (al-Hunfari) ⁽⁹⁾ the lord of Al-Karak ⁽¹⁰⁾, the lord of `Athlith ⁽¹¹⁾ and the lord of Tall as-Safitha (as Safiah). And on the Monday there were killed more than two hundred knights (horsemen) of the knights (horsemen) of the Templars and the Hospitallers at the door of the pavilion of the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) ⁽¹²⁾, besides two hundred knights (horsemen). And on the Tuesday the cortege of the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) passed on to the city of Acre (`Akka) to attack it, and on the Wednesday he reached it, and there he deployed numerous troops who captured it. On the Thursday

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Crusaders.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Castle of Tiberias.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Salah ad-Din.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. Guy de Lusignan.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. Humphrey of Toron, cf. S. Lane-Poole, Saladin, p. 214.

⁽¹¹⁾ The MS. reads ‘Atil’ sic. There is a place called `Atil (Athila), cf. Die Blauern Fuhrer. Mittlerer Osten, Paris, 1966, p. 492, but it seems that the reference here is rather to the Castrum Peregrinorum, that is, Athlith.

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it capitulated, and the victorious standard was raised on its guarded fortress with shouts and al-Islam was established in it, its native land, and it returned to its dwelling-place, and its jewel to its mine. And on the Friday, the beginning of Gumada al-Awal, the sermon (Khutbat) was preached in its mosque (al-Masgid) with ceremony. And the muezzin (al-Muadhdhin) stood in the place of the bells, proclaiming the word of the Oneness ⁽²⁾ for which the tongue of its speaker had been tied. And in double this time there were captured Nazareth (an-Nasirah) and Safuriah (Safurfah) and Haifa (Haifa) and Al-Fulah (al-Fulah) and Maalia and Toron (at-Tur); and Scandalion (Iskandariah) and Shechem (Nablus) begged for safety. And (some) years passed from the Battle of Satan (as-Shaitan) ⁽⁴⁾. The noble letter stated that the number of the killed included the number of those present of the summer campaign of the Franks (al-Farang), excluding the Count (Kummus), for he escaped by a hair’s breadth, and terror constrained and choked him, and he took refuge in Tyre (Sur) with a small number, and he shut himself up in it, (as) a captive is shut up There was indicated in the mentioned letter that the number of those killed and taken captive surpassed twenty thousand men. And this — and God be praised! — was a disaster ⁽¹¹⁾(and) the knowledge of its likeness was not known in Al-Islam, and history does not bear witness to what is comparable to its deeds, and does not compare it (to what was) before it. And among the merits of this conquest and the good news of this benefaction (was) that it was easy, and (that) there was not lost

⁽²⁾ I.e. God is One.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Battle of Hittin.

⁽¹¹⁾I.e. disaster to the Crusaders.

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of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) beyond a troop of ten, and the wounds of the wounded. And God be thanked (there was) security, and grace was great, and the faces of the chiefs (Wulat) in command became proud by what God had made easy for them in the way of victory. And we prostrated ourselves before God and we were determined in our resolution to depart to the victorious camp of the Sultan ⁽¹⁾ — may God the Exalted grant him security! — at Acre (Akka) which is protected by God the Exalted. We have informed the amir of this that he may take delight in this good news, the merits of which have been extended to Al-Islam, and the grace which has embraced both the individual and the mass, as God the Exalted willed. And it was, after the defeat of the troops of the Franks (al-Afrang) and the conquest of the towns mentioned before that Al-Malik Al-`Adil Abu Bakr descended on Jaffa (Yafa), and he fought those in it for two days and the third day they sought from him a treaty, and he gave to them a treaty. Then, after this, he killed those whom he had captured of them, and he took captive those whom he willed. And its conquest was (on) Tuesday, the third of Gumada al-Akhar (in) the year five hundred and eighty-three of the Lunar (Year) [1187A.D.].

The story of Baldwin (Badwil) ⁽⁵⁾ the King. We were informed by those who were before of (our) predecessors that Jerusalem was in the hand(s) of a party of Muslims (al-Muslimin) called Az-Zadlafiah of the kings of the Turks (at-Turk). Then after them a people from them called Al-Barukiah had possession of it, and from them Baldwin (Badwil), King of the Franks (al-Afrang) took possession of it. And the cause of this (was) that, when God willed that it (Jerusalem) should be transferred from them to others, He put it into the hearts of their kings that He might thereby tempt them, to collect for themselves

⁽¹⁾ I.e. Salah ad-Din.

⁽⁵⁾As this curious tale recounts the conquest of Jerusalem by the Crusaders, the Baldwin here mentioned can be only Baldwin I, 1110-1118 A.D.

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taxes from those who made the pilgrimage to it (Jerusalem) from among all the Franks (al-Afrang). And Baldwin (Badwil) made the pilgrimage, and he disguised himself and he changed his dress and no one knew him. And he reached Jaffa (Yafa) (with) six transport ships, and in every transport ship there were one thousand men. The Bartikiah were wont to take the tax from those who made the pilgrimage to Jerusalemfrom among the Franks (al-Farang) and others. The wali of Jaffa (Yafa) wrote to the governor of Jerusalem informing him that there had arrived at Jaffa (Yafa) six thousand men wishing (to make) the pilgrimage And he wrote to him the answer, saying to him: «Divide them into halves. Let three thousand of them journey, and when they have made the pilgrimage and have returned, let the second half go to make the pilgrimage». The wali of Jaffa (Yafa) did as he commanded him, and he divided them. And Baldwin (Badwil) journeyed with those who journeyed to Jerusalem (al-Kuds) disguised. And he entered into it, and he explored it, and he went around the city, and he examined the wall and the places of fighting. He caused a messenger to journey (on) the second day of his (Baldwin’s) entry into Jerusalem (Al-Kuds), to those who had remained in Jaffa (Yafa), saying to them: «Put to the sword the inhabitants of Jaffa (Yafa). If we are celebrating Sunday, then on the morning of Monday I shall put to the sword (those) in Jerusalem, and shall kill every one in it from among the soldiers and others of the Muslims (al-Muslimin). If you do this, you shall be strengthened by reason of the possessions of the inhabitants of Jaffa (Yafa) and their horses. Hasten to me, and leave in the ships those who will guard them, in each ship twenty men». And when they had done this, they conquered Jerusalem and Jaffa (Yafa) in one day,

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the battlements.

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and it was a Tuesday ⁽¹⁾. Then the Muslims (al-Muslimin) conquered it from them on a Tuesday ⁽²⁾. As they had done, thus was it done to them, and praise (be) to God Who recompenses every one according to his works! And when it was a few days after the conquest of Acre (`Akka), Al-Malik an-Nasir departed from it on Thursday, the thirteenth of Gumada al-Akhar of the aforementioned year, and he descended on Ascalon (`Askalan) (on) Sunday, the sixteenth, after he had prayed on Friday, (as leader) of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) at Jaffa (Yafa). And the troops encompassed the city of Ascalon (`Askalan), and Count (Kund) Geoffrey (Ga`afri) the King was a captive with him (Salah ad-Din), and he caused him to be brought and he said to him: «Deliver up to me Ascalon (`Askalan) without fighting, otherwise we shall kill (you) at its gate, and I, after having hanged you, I shall take it with the sword». And the king was afraid of death, and Ascalon (`Askalan) belonged to him and his soldiers (were) in it. And when the Sultan demanded it of him, and he was afraid of death for himself, there was no expedient except to deliver it up. Then he sent to his companions, and he said to them: «Fight not, and deliver it up to them by treaty, it (will be) better for you». After they had fought for three days, and the Muslims (al-Muslimin) had not prevailed over them, the companions of the king delivered it up by treaty on Saturday, the twenty-ninth of Gumada al-Akhar of the current year. And on the same day the sun was eclipsed at midday. And when the Sultan

⁽¹⁾ The Crusaders came in sight of Jerusalem on a Tuesday, June 7th, 1099 A.D., but it was only on Friday, July 15th that the city was captured.

⁽²⁾ Jerusalem capitulated to Salah ad-Din on Friday, October 2nd, 1187 A.D.

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(Salah ad-Din) had conquered it (Ascalon), he wrote letters concerning this to the governors (wulat) of the provinces of Egypt (al-Misriyat), and this is a copy of the letter to the Amir Nasir ad-Din Ibn Bahram, governor of the western provinces. The copy of the letter. «In the Name of God, the Merciful and the Compassionate! My Lord, assist me that I may give thanks (for) Your blessing which You have vouchsafed to me and to my father that I may do the good with which You are pleased. This our letter is despatched to the honourable, faithful Amir Nasir ad-Din, the pillar of those who fight in the holy war, the strength of the notables, the slave (mamluk) of the Amir of the Faithful, may God prolong his existence! And God was gracious to us, and He granted victory to us over the city of Ascalon (`Askalan) which was the best bride of the world, and He delivered it from the hand of the godless ones ⁽²⁾, and we hope by the Will of God for light in the future abode ⁽³⁾. And the standards of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) were raised on its towers and its walls, and it was peopled with its believers in the Oneness ⁽⁴⁾. And it had been built ⁽⁵⁾ by its polytheists and its godless (ones), and its muezzins (al-Muadhdhinun) multiplied in its districts and its lands, and the sign of the crosses was removed from its quarters and districts, and the preacher (al-Khatib) announced from its pulpit (minbar) «There is no God, except God». And from the accounts of the conquest (it is said) that, when the armies of Al-Islam of Nasir (an-Nasiriyat) and the supporters of the believers (in) the correct Oneness ⁽⁸⁾ were before it (Ascalon), the wrath of God encompassed its godless (ones) who merited that God should fulfil His promise concerning them, and that the obeyers of God among them and

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Crusaders.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the next world.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Oneness of God.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the fortified mediaeval city of Ascalon.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the Muslims.

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His soldiers should prevail over them, (and) the polytheists ⁽¹⁾ sought protection in flight, and they were forced to shut themselves up within the walls. Then we set up against them (the walls) military engines, and we caused them to taste the food of penetration, the violence of assault. And we took by force its large bastion and we demolished it. And when we caught sight of it with the strength of its might, then we destroyed it: our mangonels came up to the side of its walls. And its archers did not cease to bend the knee, and its stones to worship ⁽⁴⁾; and its nagum ⁽⁵⁾ with their projectiles of the devils of godlessness hurled stones and repulsed, until we demolished a small bastion beneath its wall and destroyed it. And we ruined the towers of the wall and its wing, and we destroyed them. And we capturedthe fortress although its fortifications were impregnable, its earthworks lofty, its extremities new, and it had survived what timeand man had been unable to make a breach in it. And when they ⁽⁸⁾became apprehensive of our strength, they sought to surrender, and we acted on the significance of the text in conformity to it. And they cast themselves down in exaggeration for surrender by treaty, and we saw (that it would be best) to accept it (the surrender). And we assured them of (our) good faith, that, indeed, they would escape from death, and that they would not be exterminated by the will of God through the swords of Al-Islam; feeling compassion for the distress of the army (and) for those in it (Ascalon) from the battalions of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and for the protection of the dhimmi from

⁽¹⁾I.e. the Crusaders.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. to fall down.

⁽⁵⁾ An engine of war.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the Crusaders.

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the pillage and the devastation of the pillagers. I had issued the order that the attack on it (Ascalon) should be (on) Sunday, the sixteenth of Gumada al-Akhar. The engines of war were set up (on) Tuesday, the eighteenth, and the breach of the large bastion occurred (on) Wednesday the nineteenth. The city surrendered, and the standards of Al-Islam were set up over it (on) Saturday the twenty-ninth of it (Gumada al-Akhar) ⁽²⁾. This (was) by a favour of my Lord to try me (whether) I were thankful or thankless, for he who is thankful will surely thank for his own sake, and he who is thankless, well, my Lord is surely rich and generous. We informed the Amir Al-Mufadal Nasir ad-Din of this, that he might receive his part in the march, and might share with those who were before him of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) by the goodness of the beacon of Al-Islam». The Sultan (Salah ad-Din) remained residing at Ascalon (`Askalan) after he had conquered it, until he had arranged its state and had delivered it to `Alm ad-Din Kaisar, (one) of his chief, private slaves (mamalikat), as a government (wilayat) and a fief. Then he departed from it, and he turned his face from it towards Jerusalem on Wednesday, the eleventh of Ragab of the aforementioned year. And he descended on Jerusalem (on) Thursday from the district of the Pool of Siloam (`Ain Silwan), so that the troops might find water close to it. And he arranged the troops around the city on all its sides. And the Muslims (al-Muslimin) prayed on the mountain which is around it (on) Friday, and they marched to battle after the prayer. Balian (Balian) of Ibelin (Ibn Barzan) was a great (and) grave knight (horseman), (one) of the knights (horsemen) of the Franks (al-Afrang) who dwelt in the city of Jerusalem and his fief was the city of Ramlah. He had entered the city of Jerusalem (al-Kuds) on that day, and it was he who conducted the war and directed the fighting with the Sultan, (and) he fought well. And the

⁽²⁾ I.e. the 4th September.

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Sultan sent to him that he should surrender the city by treaty, but he did not do (so). And there was a Christian (Nasrani) man from among the Melkites (Malakiyat) ⁽¹⁾ named Joseph (Yusif) al-Batit, and he was from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem (al-Kuds), and he had removed to Damascus (Dimask) and he dwelt in it. And he had known Salah ad-Din and his brothers, before he was Sultan and before these affairs; and he had known his father and his paternal uncle Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, while they were in Damascus (Dimask) in the service of Nur ad-Din Mahmud Ibn Zanki, before they had taken possession of Egypt (Misr). When the Sultan ruled over the Land of Egypt (Misr), he (Yusif al-Batit) came to them that they might protect him, and the king Al-`Adil Abu Bakr, the brother of Salah ad-Din, took him unto him, and he bestowed favours on him, and he caused him to dwell in the Castle of the Caliph (Khalifat) in the Hall of the Golden Gate in the Eastern Castle in Cairo (al-Kahirah). And Salah ad-Din used to send him as an intermediary to the kings of the Franks (al-Afrang) before these affairs, and he was conversant with the conditions of their lands, and he knew their chief knights (horsemen). And when the Sultan saw that the fight was severe, and that he prevailed not over the Holy City, he caused Joseph (Yusif) al-Batit to come, and he agreed with him that he should go to the Christian Melkites (an-Nasarah al-Malakiyat), promising them all good, and that he should prevent them from helping the Franks (al-Afrang) in the fight, and that they should surrender the city to Salah ad-Din on their part, and he appointed for them much money. And when the news reached Balian (Balian) Ibelin (Ibn Barzan) — and the Melkites (al-Malakiyat) in the city were more than the Franks (al-Farang) —he feared lest they should surrender it (the city), and that all the Franks (al-Afrang)

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the Greek Orthodox Christians.

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would be destroyed by the sword, he yielded to reason and he fixed the ransom on all who were in the city of the Franks (al-Farang) and others. And this angered the Melchites (al-Malakiyat), because, if he had not anticipated them in fixing the ransom, they would have surrendered it (the city) and all the Franks (al-Farang) who (were) in it would have been destroyed. And the ransom which he had fixed with the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) (was) ten dinars for each man, and five dinars for each woman, and one dinar for each youth or girl, who had not reached majority. And when the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) had conquered it (Jerusalem) he wrote to the governors (wulat) of the Land of Egypt (Misriyat) informing them of this. And he wrote to the Amir Nasir ad-Din Khudr Ibn Bahrain, governor (wali) of the western province, and the aforesaid had become governor (wall) of this province in (the month of) Shawal (in) the year five hundred and eighty-one ⁽²⁾, and he continued in it up to the day that this biography was written in (the month) of Shawal (in) the year six hundred and three of the Lunar (Year)⁽³⁾, and he continued in it⁽⁴⁾ twenty-three years, and he was a good man, just, religious, of much alms-giving, (and he was) blind to the property of subject(s). And this is a copy of the letter of the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) to him on the conquest of Jerusalem ⁽⁵⁾. «In the Name of God the Merciful and the Compassionate! Our letter (is) to the illustrious amir, the great marshal (al-Isfahsalar), Nasir ad-Din, the boast of al-Islam, the pillar of those who fight the holy war, the confident of the Amir of the Faithful — may God continue His favour (to him), and exalt his rank and bestow generously on him from His good gifts, and sharpen his resolve. Our standards were raised on the battlements of Jerusalem — may God guard it! — and our commands are executed in it. The days of the godless enemy ⁽⁶⁾have

⁽²⁾ I.e. 1185 A.D.

⁽³⁾ I.e. 1207 A.D. This date is important as it gives us the terminus ad quern for the compilation of this part of the History of the Patriarchs.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the government.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Crusaders.

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departed, and our days have arrived, and its steps and our steps have been confirmed by the assistance of God. The period of besieging it was thirteen days, and the days of fighting body to body (were) seven days. The mangonels cast (their projectiles) until they they had demolished and had broken them to pieces and had brought down the walls and had destroyed them. And the word of Oneness and its power were established, and the rites of the religion of the Hanefites (al-Hanifi)⁽¹⁾ and their grandeur were manifested. And how can the little stone resist by yapping the great mountain, and how can falsehood endure with truth, and how can the Bedouin women (Badwat) with (their) ankle-bracelets fight against the firm resolve of valiant men? And the godless ⁽³⁾ did not cease to be in misery and affliction and disappointment and toil from the day of the siege up to the day of the capitulation. They were not one day without the loss of prisoners, and wounded, and slain, and cast down. And they looked, and behold, the ardour of their enthusiasm subsided, and the firm resolve of their Counts (Kamat) weakened. And the battlement of their city was broken and the wing of their bastion was violently shaken, and the summit (Tur) of their fortress was brought down and the weight of their towers by the projectiles (Kafat) of the mangonels, and the fingers of its arrows were disjointed. And (they saw) that there was no saviour for them from the claws of the lion, and (that) error would be concealed by truth and the mark of rationality; and (that) the period of their rule had passed, and (that) the decrees (of God) had accomplished their purpose. And (that) the inhabitants of the towns used to come in to them from all quarters, and that they were prisoners in the fetters of famine and blocade; and they suspected, but were sure that the city would cast them to the friends of God ⁽⁶⁾, and (that) they would execute upon them the judgment of the sword and

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the Muslims.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Crusaders.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Muslim rulers.

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fire. And the Mosque al-Aksa (al-Masgid al-Aksa) ⁽¹⁾ was arrayed in the ornaments of joy and of good-tidings, and it put off this humiliation and degradation ⁽²⁾. The reinforcement of al-Islam (was) sufficient, and the equipment was sufficient and the favours of God were manifest and unhidden on the aspect of the conditions of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and (there were) good things for the victorious troops in great sufficiency. And when it was Thursday, the sixth day of the fighting, and it was the twenty-sixth of the month of Ragab, there came to them ⁽³⁾ death from every place, and degradation and humiliation overtook them. And the Muslims (al-Muslimin) began the assault, and those who believed in the Oneness ⁽⁴⁾ went forward and they clung to the parapets of the battlements, and for them (there was) protected advance, and in their hands were the cups of decease and death. Indeed, the mountains are moving and the seas are raging, and the millstone of death is revolving upon them. In consequence, they sought protection by a treaty, and they returned in disappointment. They sent their spokesman and they delegated their leader to ask for the fixing of a ransom, and to beg the acceptance of what their reluctant souls accepted submissively and obediently, and what was granted liberally of treasures was formerly forbidden (and) inaccessible. And they accepted the judgment of the upright scale for their safety, fearing the judgment of the sword and its torture upon them. And there were established affairs which (would have) delighted the eyes of the Prophet ⁽⁵⁾ — the prayers of God be upon him in his tomb! — (and) the tongue of the correct opinion gave judgment with (that of) the tomb. The loser deserved this and accepted it for his profit. And it was ten dinars for a man and five for a woman, and one dinar for a youth who had not reached majority, and a maid who had not reached (it). And the number of those in the city (was) about one hundred thousand or more. And

⁽¹⁾I.e. in the Temple area at Jerusalem.

⁽²⁾ I.e. from which it had suffered when it was a Christian Church.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Crusaders.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. God is One.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Muhammad.

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they set free the double ⁽¹⁾ (who) were unable (to pay) anything, seven thousand men (for) thirty thousand dinars, presenting it as alms before their chiefs, and as a tribute in advance on behalf of the wages of their inhabitants. And praise (be) to God Who has silenced their appeals, and has covered over their claim, and has rooted up by the swords of Al-Nasir (an-Nasiryat) their error and those who led them into error. And thanks (be) to God for delivering the Mosque Al-Aksa (al-Masgid al-Aksa) ⁽²⁾ whither God caused his Servant to journey at night, and for the execution of what preceded, and His promise is true. And the amir shall receive his share from this good news with the delight which overwhelmed hearts and filled hands and treasures, and announced the good tidings of the conquest of what the sun had risen upon, in the way of countries and cities, and embellished the narrative of our days with abundance of prosperity and good qualities. And he (Salah ad-Din) commands that he (the amir) announce the good news of it, and go forward with the joy of the good news, and propagate it, and decorate the city, being present on the Friday (with) its congregations ⁽⁴⁾ with this glad news, being successful, if God will. And when Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din took Jerusalem by treaty and (with) the ransom mentioned before in the month of Ragab (in) the year five hundred and eighty-three of the Lunar (Year) ⁽⁶⁾, he remained in it until he had completed the fast ⁽⁷⁾ of the month of Ramadan of the mentioned year, and he prayed in it the prayer of the feast ⁽⁸⁾ with those who were present with him of the Muslims (al-Muslimin). And he

⁽¹⁾ I.e. double the number of those who could pay, cf. S. Lane-Poole, Saladin, p. 229.

⁽²⁾ The Mosque Al-AksA was erected by `Abd al-Malik on the site of the Church of the All-Holy Virgin Mary built by Justinian.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the congregation assembled at the mosque for the prayer and sermon on Friday.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. 1187 A.D.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the Fast of Ramadan.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the Feast of the Lesser Bairam at the end of the Fast of Ramadan.

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went forth (and) besieged Al-Karak and he took it, and the fortress of Belvoir (Kaukab) and he took it, and he turned towards Sidon (Saida) and Beyrout (Beirut) and Jubeyl (Gibilah) and `Atil. And he marched through the length of the Littoral and its breadth, the plain and the mountains, and he conquered cities and fortresses and towns which are in the hands of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) up to the day of the composition of this biography. And he conquered and took possession by treaty of more than what he conquered by the sword; and he carried out his engagements and no words of his saying were broken, and he did not act treacherously. And the knights (horsemen) of the Franks (al-Farang) and their chiefs (umara) and their notables went out from their castles and their fortresses with their possessions and their cattle and their women and their children and all what they possessed in the way of wealth and horses and mules and camels and female slaves and slaves (mamalik), even the Muslim (al-Muslimin) captives. And he who consented from among them to sell to him (Salah ad-Din) a captive, he (Salah ad-Din) paid to him (the owner) for him (the captive) his value and more, and he who did not consent, he (Salah ad-Din) said to him: «Take your captive, but do good towards him even as I have done towards you». And there were many from among the knights (horsemen) (who) delivered up to him (Salah ad-Din) their captives, and they swore (that) they would not take a price. Then he (Salah ad-Din) dealt well with them, and he bestowed upon them more than they had left. And they went out from their castles dressed in their cuirass and their chain-mail and their helmet, as if they were going forth to war. And when he (Salah ad-Din) saw them, he smiled, then his eyes shed tears, and he did not hold back from them anything (even to) the value of a grain; but he caused the soldiers to journey with them that they might protect them and guard themuntil they entered Tyre (Sur); he who wished Tyre (Sur), and Antioch (Antakiah), who wished Antioch (Antakiah). This is a copy of the sermon

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(Khutbat) which the preacher preached in Jerusalem (on) the day of the prayer of the feast of the month of Ramadan ⁽²⁾ in the presence of Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din and those who were with him from among the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and it was the first sermon (Khutbat) (which) they preached in it, after the conquest of the city and the taking of it from the hands of the Franks (al-Afrang). «Praise (be) to God — God is greater (Allah Akbar)! — for the facilitation and the prospering, and for the conquest and the victory, and for the defeat and the vanquishing of the enemies, and for the bestowing upon us of the pure Mosque Al-Aksa (al-Masgid al-Aksa), and for the driving out from it godlessness and the renegades, sons of the Christians (the yellow ones) and for dispersing them and discouraging them and ruining them, and for the return to the Islamic Faith of the Holy Land, the Land of the Last Judgment and the Resurrection ⁽⁵⁾ which He blessed and changed and caused it to increase, that in this (might be) an example to him who remembers, and a grief in the heart of him apostatized and tyrannized. I praise Him for the converting of churches and belfries into prayer-houses (al-Masagid) and mosques (al-Gawamia`), and the exchanging of bells for the call of the mu`ezzin and sanctification, and for the converting of the magnifying of the Cross of the Crucified unto the glorification of the Living One Who is immortal. His benefits do not cease (to be) splendid, and His gifts to the Faithful are abundant — and peace (to you)!» He who is acquainted with this biography informed us of the quality of this sermon (Khutbat), because this is the place for recording it, lest words be prolonged by us, and we place it in other than its place or we leave it out. Our purpose thereby is that you may be acquainted with the picture of the circumstance and may understand whence disorder entered into the State of the Franks (al-Afrang), that thereby it may be an example for those who possess

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Feast of the Lesser Bairam at the end of the Fast of Ramadan.

⁽⁵⁾ According to tradition the Last Judgment and the Resurrection of the dead will take place at Jerusalem.

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intelligence, and that they may bear it in mind with the passing of ages and centuries. Then we shall return to the explanation of what we were at, how God aided Salah ad-Din, and what He made possible for him in the way of victory and triumph and ability, and what He wrought with the enemies of his religion and his State according to the saying of the Law (Taurah): «If the ass of your enemy pass by you, while you are sitting, and its burden has slipped, arise, (go) to it and set upright its burden upon it», and the saying of the Gospel corroborates with what is greater than this, according to what you have been instructed from His (Christ’s) saying: «Love your enemies, and bless those who curse you, and pray for those who revile you, and do good to him who does evil to you», with the rest of the Commandments, lest words be prolonged. And Salah ad-Din acted according to the command of these two religious laws, without knowing them, but (it was) an inspiration from God, and on account of this he died on his bed, and his end (was) praiseworthy for himself and his descendants. And we have already mentioned that Tyre (Sur) and Antioch (Antakiah) remained still in the hand of the Franks (al-Afrang) according to what God willed in His hidden mysteries. As for Tyre (Sur), God directed to it a king of the kings of the Franks (al-Afrang) from beyond the sea from the side of the West, (who) was called Marquis (Markis) ⁽⁷⁾. Some people said that he was a Roman (Rumi), son of the sister of the king of Constantinople (al-Kustantiniah) ⁽⁸⁾, because there did not remain on the Littoral a place (which) Salah ad-Din had not conquered, except Tyre (Sur) and the fortress of Safed (Safad). And as regards Safed (Safad) he (Salah ad-Din) descended

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the Marquis Conrad de Montferrat.

⁽⁸⁾Conrad had spent some time at Constantinople, and arrived in 1187 A.D. before Acre, cf. Rene Grousset, L’Epopee des Croisades, Paris, 1939, p. 254.

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upon it and he besieged it for seven months, and he took it. When those who were in it were famished, they surrendered it to him, because they had not prepared anything for the siege. And when they had surrendered it to him and they had retired to Tyre (Sur), it came about that everyone who surrendered a fortress or a castle or a city by treaty would go to Tyre (Sur) or to Antioch (Antakiah). And when he (Salah ad-Din) had prevailed over them, he would render every service to the Franks (al-Afrang). But concerning Tyre (Sur), he descended upon it three times, and he besieged it, and he straightened it, and he remained at it until he became impatient. For a space of a year the troops were (attacking) it by land, and the ships of the fleet by sea, but he (Salah ad-Din) did not prevail over it in any way. And the Marquis (Markis) continued in it protecting it and directing it by the will of God the Exalted for its safety, until the kings reached it. And they descended upon Acre (`Akka) on the outskirts of the town at the Tall al-Mashnakat (Hill of the Gallows). And when it was in Muharram (in) the year five hundred and eighty-four [1188 A.D.], Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din turned to Damascus (Dimask), after he had remained fighting the holy war and blockading the Franks (al-Afrang) in the Littoral during the year five hundred and eighty-two [1186 A.D.] and the year five hundred and eighty-three [1187 A.D.] of the Lunar (Year), until he had conquered all the Littoral. And his affairs calmed down, and he gave gifts to his soldiers and his companions and to those who had aided him from among the kings of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and (who) had assisted him from among their amirs, in the way of possessions and cattle and

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captives and robes of honour, the number of which was incalculable. And, indeed, news reached me ⁽¹⁾ concerning a youth of the youths of the soldiers, that he took captive a man of the Franks (al-Afrang) and (that) he sold him to a merchant of beer for a pot of beer, and afterwards it appeared that he was a great knight (horseman). I take refuge in God from the removal of graces and the coming down of vengeance. Then the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) granted as a fief to the soldiers the cities of the Littoral and the towns and the fortresses, and he remained at Damascus (Dimask) for a short time until the troops were rested. And he went out, and he descended upon the Castle of the Kurds (al-Akrad) ⁽⁵⁾, and he remained besieging it for about two months, but he did not prevail over it. And he turned from it to the province of Antioch (Antakiah), and he conquered Laodicea (al-Ladhikiah), Baghras (Baghras), and towns and fortresses and towers. And he came to the Castle of Barzuyah (Barziah), and he descended upon it, and he besieged it, and he remained at it for a short time, and God facilitated for him its conquest; and he conquered it, and he took possession of it, and he wrote letters concerning this to the walis (wulat) of the Land of Egypt (al-Misriah), each of them in his name. And this is a copy of his letter to the Amir Nasir ad-Din Khudr ibn Bahram, governor (Wali) of the western provinces. «In the Name of God the Merciful and the Compassionate! This good news was despatched to the noble amir, the marshal (al-Isfahsalar), the confident, Nasir ad-Din, the power of al-Islam, — may God prolong his power — about what God renewed in the way of great conquests and illustrious victories and constant power. And it (the good news) is the conquest of the Castle of Barzuyah (Barziah) at which tongues rejoiced and tongues voiced thanks to God.

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the writer of this biography.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Crac des Chevaliers.

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And the benevolent decrees (of God) accorded it in the opinion of days and the age, and the eyes of men were awakened to its brilliance. And the year passed away, and it became possible to realize what (seemed) impossible, the possible opportune moment. And this is the Castle which the age accepted (as) impregnable and the prosperity which came to it was undisputed. And the entreaty of the preacher (al-Khatib) did not assure (it) and the fire of the gatherer of fire-wood did not penetrate (it), and when we tried it we found that strategems did not work with it, and that there was not hope but God conquered it there where we considered (that it was impossible, and He made it a gain for our swords, and we conquered it by force of the sword, and this (was on) Tuesday, the twenty-seventh of (the month of) Gumada al-Akhar (in the) year five hundred and eighty-four [1188 A.D.], an hour after sunrise. What an hour after sunrise which cast darkness on the enemy, its horizon, and revealed its radiance after a night of tumult. What an hour after sunrise (which) gave delight and manifested (its) gift with love and life to al-Islam. There is no doubt but that he (the amir) knows what went before in the way of conquests and progress in the way of good things. Antioch (Antakiah) has remained with its wings clipped, (and) its arms are cast down. And we hope from God that He will make easy its conquest, and may God the Exalted make prosperous (these) hopes with success. And let him (the amir) be informed of this good news, and let him give thanks for this blessing, if God will». And this castle was the completion of the conquests of Salah ad-Din, and after it he did not conquer any thing else of the lands of the Franks (al-Afrang) at that time at which he conquered the cities of the Littoral. And the Sultan had taken Bait Gibrin (Bait Gibrail) by treaty, and its lord was in it, a man of high rank among his people, (with) much wealth, and (in) affluent circumstances. And he was named the Castellan (al-Kastalan), and I think that the interpretation of this word (is) governor (wali). And

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he had in Bait Gibrin (Bait Gibril) great possessions and much wealth and great reservoirs filled with good oil ⁽³⁾ and wine. And when he sought a treaty, the Sultan inflicted on him a ransom of much money, and he executed it for the Sultan with much money, and he paid it to him, and the Sultan kept his promise, and he took from him the reservoirs of oil and wine, and money for the rest of the ransom. And after this, he (the Castellan) went forth from the city with much money and possessions and cattle and people, male slaves (mamalik) and female slaves and women, and a suite. And the Sultan caused him to journey to the Land of Egypt (Misr), to the city of Alexandria. And he wrote to its governor (wali) a recommendation for him (the Castellan), and that he should guard him and entertain him during his sojourn in the city, and (that) he should pay his expenses from the money of the diwan, and that he should charter ships and provide him and those with him with money of the Sultan until he should depart with gratitude. Then the governor (wali) and the subordinates with him did all whatsoever they were commanded, and he (the Castellan) journeyed to where he willed of the lands of the Romans (ar-Rum). And Fakhr ad-Din Karaga, governor (wali) of Alexandria, used to ride to him (the Castellan) every day and to supply his needs. And there were with the Castellan (al-Kastalan) about five hundred people. The governor (wali) used to provide for them and pay their expenses from the money of the Sultan during their sojourn in the city until he chartered for him (the Castellan) ships, and caused them to depart. And this Castellan (al-Kastalan) did not remain in his (the wali’s) country beyond six months, and he went to Venice (al-Banadakah) ⁽⁸⁾

⁽³⁾ I.e. olive oil.

⁽⁸⁾ The Arabic spelling of the name of Venice comes through the German, «Venedig».

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and (to) the Genoeses (al-Ganawiyin) and (to) the Pisans (al-Bisaniyin). And he (the Castellan) caused to be constructed a hundred galleys with his (the Castellan’s) money, and he paid for their crews and he (the Castellan) took them, and he came to Tyre (Sur). He assembled with the Marquis (al-Markis) and Balian (Balian) Ibelin (Ibn Barzan) and the son of the Prince Renaud (Arnat), lord of al-Karak and (with) those present of the knights (horsemen) of the Littoral. And they went forth on horses by land, and in ships by sea, and they journeyed until they descended at night at Tall Masnakah (Hill of the Gallows) opposite to Acre (`Akka). And the morning had not become light before they had dug before it (Acre) three moats. And they caused to pass into them water from the river which is there, and its water used to run out into the Salt Sea ⁽⁸⁾. They encompassed Acre in (the month of) Ragab (in the) year live hundred and eighty-five. And the governor (wali) of Acre (`Akka) was a servant of the equerries of the Sultan (Salih ad-Din), called Gurdik. And he was not able to repulse them from it. Then he wrote to the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) at Damascus (Dimask) informing him about this. And the Sultan came and the troops arrived. And the Franks (al-Afrang) descended, and they arrived from every place in which they were. And an assembly of them gathered together, and they became a great army. And when the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) arrived at Acre (`Akka), and with him al-Malik al-Muzaffar Taki ad-Din ⁽⁹⁾, he descended upon Safuriah, and after a few days there reached the Sultan Muzaffar ad-Din Ibn Zain ad-Din, lord of Singar. And the Sultan used to ride every day and

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the Mediterranean Sea.

⁽⁹⁾ A nephew of Salah ad-Din.

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come to the moat amid many troops to fight the Franks (al-Afrang). Then he returned to the camp at Safuriah, after he had made preparations against the Franks (al-Afrang), (and) had caused to descend at it (the moat) six thousand horsemen: they did not dismount from the back of their horses either by night or by day; three thousand of them during the whole day were shooting arrows at them (the Franks), and three thousand during the whole night were shooting arrows at them. And there did not pass for them (the Franks) the space of a monthbefore they had made at the edge of the moat in the direction of the troops of the Sultan a wall of unburnt bricks, and they disposed cross-bowmen (who) remained sitting behind it with the bows of the arbalasts (which) shot an arrow the thickness of the toe of a man, its length a cubit, (and) the weight of its head was fifty dirhams, beaten out and rolled back, having four corners. On whatsoever it fell, it would penetrate it, and, may be, it would pass through a person to him who (was) behind him, and would kill both of them together. It would pass through the axes (TWRI) of both of them, and the shields of both of them, and the chain-armour of both of them, or other than it, and it would sink into the ground. Indeed, it was reported by one who saw it, that it pierced a stone of the stones of the wall up to its feathers. And when they were informed of it, none of the troops of the Sultan continued to approach the moat. And their (the Franks’) position became strong, and they built a church for their prayers and places for the stables of their horses. And when they had arranged their affairs, they gathered together one night and they agreed on their going forward in the morning, and they overcame the troops of the Sultan (Salah ad-Din), and they killed a company of them, and a company of them (the Franks) were killed. And this (is) a copy of a letter of the Sultan to his brother Al-Malik al-`Adil (who) was staying at Hamah with his troops, informing

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him of the situation, (and) what happened between him and between them (the Franks). And he (Salah ad-Din) wrote it with his hand. «In the Name of God the Merciful, the Compassionate! If you aid God, He will aid you, and He will make firm your steps, and those who (are) godless ⁽¹⁾let Him cause them disquietude and bring to nought their works! That which I inform the High, Royal Council of al-Adil (al-`Adili) — may God prolong his State — (is) that, when it was the morrow of Wednesday, the twenty-first of (the month of) Sha`aban (in the) year five hundred and eighty-five ⁽²⁾, the whole body of the Franks (al-Farangiah), their infantry (men) and their knights (horsemen) came out, and they marched close to the sea towards the marsh and the river ⁽⁴⁾. And all their swords (were) in the direction of the boy Taki ad-Din ⁽⁵⁾. And the right wing received four battalions, the jurisconsult (al-Fakih) one battalion, and Muhammad Ibn al-Amir Hasirin one battalion, and the Mamluks (al-Mamalik) one battalion, and I pushed forward to join them, and the isolated shooters and the troops came together. And when we pressed them, all the Franks (al-Afrangiah) attacked us, the knights (horsemen) and the infantry (men), and they bore down upon us. And our companions met the Franks (al-Farang) (and) they resisted them. And all the infantry (men) ⁽⁷⁾ bore down (upon us) and they pressed us, and we did not cease to push the cavalry (horses) back to the infantry (men); and the infantry (men) were pressing us until the cavalry (horses) were separated from the infantry (men). Kaiman and Al-Husam entered ⁽⁸⁾, and they were not remiss; they broke the infantry (men). Then they overtook the cavalry (horses), and thus most of the infantry (men) were killed. And Al-Malik al-Muzaffar returned and broke them completely, and so also Yarkug

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the Crusaders.

⁽²⁾ I.e. 1189 A.D.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. Nahr Namain (Belus).

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Salah ad-Din’s nephew.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. of the Franks.

⁽⁸⁾I.e. into the fight.

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and Kamashya and [A]rsalan (and) (?) Bu`a and Ayar al-Burulu and the Asadiah and the Shahabiah ⁽¹⁾ (who) were in a single battalion, were not remiss; they killed a great number of the Franks (al-Farang), and the Franks (al-Farang) began to return from our rear; they met them, and they killed them; no one of them escaped. And to God (belongs) goodness and praise. And it was not a short day; and I do not know anyone (who) was lost except Migali — may God have mercy (upon him)! — he was a martyr for the cause of God — and Husain the Kurd (al-Kurdi) whom I saw deeply wounded, and Isma`il al-Mukalbas wounded, and Silar Ibn Hasak: these (are) all whom I knew, perhaps, twenty youths; however, the clothes of the people were plundered by one another. Sad ad-Din, brother of `Izz ad-Din, and Al-Maskur al-Husam were not remiss, and Kaimaz of the right wing, and Mizaffar ad-Din and Yarkug. And the charge was not (upon anyone), except on myself alone. And God knows, and peace (to you)!». And when the Franks (al-Farang) pressed the troops of the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) at Safuriah, and those affairs which were mentioned before happened, the Sultan departed from Safuriah (and) he descended at the valley of Kharrubah. And provisions came to them day and night, six hundred knights (horsemen), and they shot arrows at them, and they used to pay no attention to them. And the war did not cease being carried on between them, until the King of the Germans ⁽⁸⁾ assembled six hundred thousand lances, and he came to Ad-Darundan, and it is a defile from which one enters to Iconium (Kuniah) and other places than it, the land of the King Mas`ud from among the kings of the Turks (at-Turk), and most of his lands and his

⁽¹⁾ The Asadis were the former officers of Asad ad-Din Shirkuh, and the Salahis were the officers of Salah ad-Din.

⁽⁸⁾I.e. the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa.

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subjects (are) Roman (Rum) ⁽¹⁾ (who) wished to have their abode with him on account of his justice and the goodness of his conduct towards them. Then he (the King of the Germans) passed through the country of the King Mas`ud and the country of the son of Leo (Laun), King of the Armenians (al-Arman), and he crossed (the countries of) many kings by the sword, and (he had) a multitude of men and wealth, and his impedimenta and the provisions of the troops were carried in carts (which) horses and mules and oxen and other (beasts) than they drew; and he remained in his (the King of Armenia) country until he came to Antioch (Antakiah) marching for a whole year. And some of those present of his troops informed us that, when he (the King of the Germans) wished to pass over the sea to Constantinople (Kustantiniah), the King of the Romans (ar-Rum) ⁽³⁾ collected (his troops), and that he prevented him from crossing; and that he had found in the land in which he was a ruined city. They mentioned that it was in ancient times called Constantinople (Kustantiniah), and that when this new one was built that one was destroyed. Then he descended at it and he built it, and he remained in it for a whole year, fighting the King of the Romans (ar-Rum) until he overcame him, and he marched towards him, and he besieged him in his city of Constantinople (Kustantiniah) ⁽⁶⁾. And he collected its taxes and all the taxes of its cities and its towns. He took its products in that year, and he was strengthened by them. And he ⁽⁷⁾ journeyed towards Jerusalemseeking (to wage) a holy war. He passed through all the lands of

⁽¹⁾ Seljuk Sultan of Rum (Asia Minor). Of course, East Romans, i.e. Greeks.

⁽³⁾I.e. the Greek Emperor Isaac II Angelus.

⁽⁶⁾ Probably, a confusion with Andrinopolis, cf. R. Grousset, op. cit., p. 257, unless the writer has in mind the capture of Constantinople by the Venetians in 1204 A.D.

⁽⁷⁾ This is, of course, Frederick, Duke of Suabia. Frederick Barbarossa was drowned in the river Saleph in Cilicia.

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the kings of the Romans (ar-Rum) and the Armenians ⁽¹⁾ and the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the Franks (al-Farang) by force, and no one could stand before him from all the kings of the world. And when he drew near to Antioch (Antakiah), Al-Malik Muzaffar Taki ad-Din and Muzaffar ad-Din Ibn Zain ad-Din journeyed from the camp of the Sultan (Salah ad-Din) to Aleppo (Halab) to find out news about the King of the Germans (Alaman). And when it was ascertained by them that he had descended on Antioch (Antakiah), they cut the river of water on the way which he wished to follow to Aleppo (Halab), Damascus (Dimask) and other (places) than them; it is named the Dog River ⁽⁴⁾ , and it submerged all the way. And when the news reached him ⁽⁵⁾ about this, he sailed in ships from Antioch (Antakiah), and he went by sea to Acre (`Akka), and he descended at the troops of the Franks (al-Farang) at Tall al-Masnakah ⁽⁶⁾. And when SaiaTi ad-Din heard that he had come in ships, he made light of his force, and he was emboldened against him, and he marched to the trenches, and he fought the Franks (al-Farang). And after a little time there died the King of the Germans (Alaman) ⁽⁷⁾, and his son died after him and most of his companions died on account of the change of water and air. And some of his companions remained, and they mixed with the troops of the Franks (al-Farang). And his remembrance died out, and his affair became null, and he was as if he had not existed, and praised be God the Ever-living! After that the kings of the world had fled from their fear of him ⁽⁷⁾, they felt safe, and they rejoiced at his death. And his ⁽⁸⁾arrival at the Hill (Tall) of Acre (`Akka) was in the month of Ramadan (in the) year five hundred and fifty-six⁽⁹⁾. And the Franks (al-Afrang) in

⁽¹⁾I.e. Lesser Armenia.

⁽⁴⁾In the Lebanon, cf. P.K. Hitti, History of Syria, p. 134, n. 1. ⁽⁵⁾ This, of course, is Frederick, Duke of Suabia. Frederick Barbarossa having being drowned in the River Saleph in Cilicia.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Frederick Barbarossa.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. Frederick, Duke of Suabia.

⁽⁹⁾ = 1160-1161 A.D. sic. The correct date is 1190 A.D.

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that year had constructed three towers of wood, and they advanced them for fighting and they completed them with all what is worked in them. And they advanced them until they had fastened them to the wall of Acre (`Akka). And Salah ad-Din had dismissed Gurdik the equerry from Acre (`Akka), and he had delivered it to another servant named Karakus, and his designation was Baha ad-Din. And he was an expert in constructing walls, and it was he who had constructed the wall of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and had encircled it with it, and had extended it up to Al-Maks (al-Maksim), until he made the River Nile (an-Nil) (to be) inside the wall. Then he extended it to the Mountain al-Mukattam (which) rises above Cairo (Misr), until he went beyond it (Misr) inside the wall⁽⁵⁾. And he built a fortress at Cairo (al-Kahirah) above the spur of the mountain outside the city at its south. And he excavated in it a pit for water with an iron pickaxe from the top of the mountain to its base, until it reached water estimated (at) two hundred cubits. And he made in it a reservoir to be filled from cisterns (which) he had made outside the fortress. And in a little time he had encircled the fortress (with) a wall and towers and works; time will pass away, and they will scarcely pass away. And on account of (his) experience Salah ad-Din delivered over to him Acre (`Akka), and he was a director of it against the Franks (al-Farang). And when they (the Franks) had advanced the towers close to the wall, and the knights (horsemen) had ascended them, and they had intensified the battles against it (Acre), and had exposed it to arrows, and the Muslims (al-Muslimin) were about to yield Acre (`Akka) to them, a man known as Ibn an-Nahas from the inhabitants of Baghdad (Baghdad), came to Baha

⁽⁵⁾ Cf. S. Lane-Poole, The Story of Cairo, p. 174. The scheme, however, was never completed.

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ad-Din Karakus. And he said to him. «I, by the well-being of the lord Salah ad-Din, I shall burn these towers». And Baha ad-Din said to him. «What will you do?» He said: «I shall make naphtha (na/fqa)according to what I know, and I shall strike with it the towers, (and) I shall burn them, and if I strike with it a mountain of iron, I shall burn it». And he said to him: «Do what you will». Then he (Karakus) paid to him two hundred dinars, and he went and he make three pots of naphtha, and he struck with them the three towers, and he burned them, and he burned in them what was estimated at six hundred (men) in cuirass (who) were on them from among the notable champions of the Franks (al-Farang). It was a hard day for the troops of the Franks (al-Farang), and (one of) rejoicing and joy for the community of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) who were present from among them, and for those who were absent, and for those who were near and for those who were at a distance, because the Franks (al-Farang) were about to take the city. Then, after the burning of the towers, the Franks (al-Afrang) made a mangonel on a very large transport-ship, and many fighting-men went up into it, and they went with it until they fastened it to the wall of Acre (`Akka) from the side of the sea, and the archers from above the wall exposed (it) ⁽³⁾to arrows from it. And the mangonel which (was) on it ⁽⁴⁾ began to strike against the city. And again that naphtha-maker, Ibn an-Nahas, went out, and he burned the transport-ship, and he caused to be burned many of those who were in it from among the fighters of the Franks (al-Farang). Then, after the burning of the transport-ship, the Franks (al-Farang) made a (battering-)ram of iron mounted on a very large (log of) wood, and they overlaid it and dressed it in iron, and they made for it a head to batter the wall, estimated at twenty kantars ⁽⁵⁾ of iron. And they battered with it the wall, and they threw down a large curtain of it. And the Muslims

⁽³⁾ I.e. the city.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the transport-ship.

⁽⁵⁾ A kantar = 44.928 kilograms.

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(al-Muslimin) came forth against them from Acre (`Akka); they fought them and the battle became intensified between them, and a great company of both parties was killed. Then that naphtha-maker went out again, and he burned the iron (battering-)ram; and if I undertook to explain what happened between the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the Franks (al-Farang) at Acre (`Akka) and other places than it, every day, (at) every hour, and (in) every month, and (in) every year at that time in which Salah ad-Din conquered Jerusalem, and what was destroyed at it ⁽³⁾ of the nations, and what was annihilated at it of creatures, and (what) perished at it in the way of property, and (what) died on account of it in the way of people the explanation would be drawn out, and the description would be great, and expectation would be anticipated according to what may be renewed on account of it at every time. In the biographies of the former (patriarchs) (which) went before, there was what was greater than (in) this biography, and there was annihilated in them of the nations more than this number. And this state of affairs will not cease as long as the days of the world last. Every nation in it ⁽³⁾ (which) acts corruptly and does (what is) contrary to its conditions, God will send against it a fierce nation, merciless and pitiless, and He will expel it from it ⁽³⁾with sword and captivity and famine and siege and looting of property and the sale of children and women, for God said concerning it ⁽³⁾ in the Law (Turah)⁽⁵⁾: «I have chosen this House from all the world that My Name be remembered in it, and I have chosen David (Dauud) a king from among all the kings of the earth» ⁽⁶⁾. And according to this command He desires the king under whose authority the House ⁽⁷⁾ shall be, that he should possess purity and justice and uprightness of life and assiduity in prayers and

⁽³⁾ I.e. Jerusalem.

⁽⁵⁾ The quotation which follows is not from the Pentateuch, but from the Historical Books.

⁽⁶⁾ A very free rendering of III Kings viii, 16 and II Paralipomenon vi, 5.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the Temple in Jerusalem.

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alms-giving, as it was with David (Dauud), and on account of this he (David) remained king over it and he dwelt in it ⁽¹⁾ for forty years. And during this period there was no dearth, nor war, nor pestilence, except the case of the wife of Uriah (Auria) for one day. Then David (Dauud) repented, and God accepted him, and He took away death from the nation. And David (Dauud) lived the remainder of his days affrighted when he saw the angel of God, and in his hand a sword, and he was slaying. And this circumstance (is) explained in the book of the Books of Kings. And, therefore, we intend to abreviate, and we shall record what is easy (for us), and we shall leave what is impossible. It may be that one other than we has provided for this, and has been informed of the news and has witnessed the affairs which we have not witnessed nor been informed of, but our brethren informed us about what reached us in the way of information in the measure of what God made easy for us and vouchsafed to us. And the war did not cease between the Franks (al-Farang) and the Muslims (al-Muslimin) who (were) in Acre (`Akka), night and day without interruption, and none of them obtained respite from the war from the time of their descent upon it (Acre) in the month of Ragab (in the) year five hundred and eighty-five [1189 A.D.] until Gumada al-Akhar (in the) year five hundred and eighty-seven [1191 A.D.]. And the King of France (Faranatisis) ⁽⁹⁾ arrived with his soldiers in about a hundred boats and galleys at Acre (`Akka), and he descended with the troops of the Franks (al-Afrang), and he made an agreement with them, and the fighting was renewed at it. And Salah ad-Din had sent away the old troops from it (Acre), and he

⁽¹⁾I.e. Jerusalem.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. Philip of France, cf. S. Lane-Poole, Saladin, p. 281.

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had brought new troops to it. Among them (was) a company of notable, celebrated amirs, among whom (was) Saif ad-Din `Ali Ibn Ahmad, chief of the Kurds (al-Akarad) and `Alam ad-Din Arsal, chief of the Mamluks (al-Mamalik), the Salahis (as-Salahiyah) and the Asadis (al-Asadiah), and Ibn Saif ad-Din al-Gawli, and Fakhr ad-Din Ya`kub al-Amri, chief of the Turkomans (at-Turgman). And when (the King of) France (Afaranatisis)⁽³⁾ intensified the fight against them ⁽⁴⁾ (in) the month(s) of Gumada al-Akhar and Ragab, and he besieged the whole city, and it was not possible for anyone to enter it with provisions or relief, he conquered it, at noon, (on) Friday, the half of (the month of) Sha`ban (in the) year five hundred and eighty-nine of the Lunar (Year) ⁽⁵⁾. The whole period of the war at Acre (`Akka) (was) two years, one month and fifteen days. A man (who) was present at Acre (`Akka) informed me (that), when the Muslims (al-Muslimin) conquered it, they found that the Franks (al-Farang) had made its mosque (al-Gami`) into a church. When they (the Franks) took it from the Muslims (al-Muslimin) the first time, they painted pictures in it (the mosque). Then, when Salah ad-Din captured it from the Franks (al-Farang), the Muslims (al-Muslimin) assembled the captives who (were) with them of the Franks (al-Farang), and they brought them to the mosque (al-Gami`); they (the Franks) drew water, and they washed its walls and its doors, and they effaced from it the pictures, and they brought lime, and they whitened it, so that there did not remain any trace of the pictures or inscriptions; and they (the Muslims) prayed in it the rest of the Friday on which they conquered Acre (`Akki). And that man continued dwelling at Acre (`Akka) until the King of France (Afransis) ⁽⁹⁾ conquered

⁽³⁾ I.e. Philip of France.

⁽⁴⁾I.e. the Muslims.

⁽⁵⁾ = 1193 A.D. This is incorrect, the correct date being 1191 A.D.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. Philip of France.

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it. And the Franks (al-Farang) took the captives of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and they brought them to the mosque (al-Gami`); they drew water, and they washed it, and they renewed its whiteness and its pictures, as it was (before). And praise be to God by Whose hand (exists) the kingdom of all things! Who makes powerful him whom He wills, and abases him whom He wills, and recompenses every one according to his deeds. And when (the King of) France (Afransis) ⁽¹⁾ conquered Acre (`Akka), he made captive every one who was in it of the troops and the inhabitants of the city. And Salah ad-Din sent to come to an agreement with him on the ransom for them, but no agreement (was reached) between them concerning anything for them. They took the notable amirs such as Ahmad and Baha ad-Din Karakus and Ya’kub al-Amri and others besides them of the notables, (and) he separated them and he fettered them. And as for Arsal and Ibn al-Gawli, they escaped when Acre (`Akka) was conquered, and they went out alone without anything to the troops of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and they left their possessions and what was with them in the way of their mamluks (Mamalik) and their soldiers. As for the rest of the people, (the King of) France (Afransis) caused to be separated the Blacks (al-Kataniah) alone, and the Sudanis (Sudan) alone, and the Kurds (al-Akrad) alone, and the Ghuzz (al-Ghuzz), alone, and he did not mix one race with another, and he caused them to be killed, and the troops with Salah ad-Din beheld them. And the King of France (Afransis) took from those who fell to his share of the captives with him, and he returned by sea to his country And it was in the days in which Acre (`Akka) was conquered, (that) there reached it the King of England (al-Inkitar) and his name was Samanamid ⁽⁶⁾, and he was a courageous champion (who) did not fear an expert in war, (and) did not fear death, and was not overawed by a multitude of troops,

⁽¹⁾ I.e. Philip of France.

⁽⁶⁾ Sic. The king of England is Richard I.

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to such an extent that, if there were before him thousands, and he was alone, he would bear down upon them. And there was not from among those of the kings of the Franks (al-Afrang) who came, like to him. And if he bore down, no one could stand before him. And the King of France (Fransis) delivered to him five hundred knights (horsemen) from his troops, and he left them with him, and he made him chief of the troops in his place. He delivered to him the troops, and he gave him instructions, and he departed. And after a few days from his departure, the King of England (al-Inkitar) disposed the soldiers (men) of Acre (`Akka), and he arranged in it those who should guard it, and he went out from it, and he descended on Haifa (Haifa), and he descended on Arsuf. And Salah ad-Din was staying at the fortress (Burg) of Ad-Diwiyat, and it was named Safra`am. Then he (Salah ad-Din) marched (and) he met him (the King of England). It was a plan of the King of England (al-Inkitar) to arrange archers with an arbalest (Zanburak) on carts, and he appointed for them an escort, and the carts travelled with the archers on both sides of the troops on the right and the left, and the troops were in the centre, and no one was able to approach the carts without perishing. And when Salah ad-Din met him at Arsuf, he fought against him, but he did not attain what he wished, (and) he feared that he (the King of England) would turn towards Ascalon (`Askalan) and take possession of it. So Salah ad-Din preceded him to it (Ascalon), and he destroyed it, and he burned it, and he did not leave any wall standing in it. Then Salah ad-Din turned, and he descended on Ramlah. When news reached the King of England (al-Inkitar) that he Salah ad-Din had destroyed Ascalon (`Askalan) and had burned it with fire, he found it hard to bear, and he stayed at Arsuf for a few days, and he made other plans, wishing to surprise the troops of the Sultan, Salah ad-Din. And a spy went (and) informed Salah ad-Din about this, and Salah ad-Din went out

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from Ramlah, and he ascended the mountain and he stayed at Natrun (an-Natrun) ⁽¹⁾ and it is a high, lofty mountain (which) it is not possible to ascend except with difficulty, and there is no place on it for charges. The King of England (al-Inkitar) departed, and he stayed at Ramlah. And when he stayed at Ramlah, the Sultan departed from Natrun (an-Natrun), and set out for the city of Jerusalem (al-Kuds). And the King of England (al-Inkitar) departed, and he stayed at Natrun (an-Natrun). Then the Sultan under these circumstances entered the city of Jerusalem (al-Kuds), and he provided for the digging of ditches and the building of towers. And the King of England (al-Inkitar) remained at Natrun (an-Natrun) for a time; then he returned to Ascalon (`Askalan) and he stayed at it, and he (re-)built it, and he fortified it, and he passed over from it to Gaza (Ghazzah), and he (re-)built it and he fortified it, and he passed over from Gaza (Ghazzah) [to] Dariranas, and it is the fortress of Darum (Ad-Daraun), and it had remained in the hand of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) up to the end of Gumada al-Awal (in the) year five hundred and eighty-eight. And he conquered it (Darum) and he took it, and he killed and took captive everyone whom he found in it. Then he went to Beyrouth (Beirut) to attack it. And Salah ad-Din went out to him from Jerusalem (Al-Kuds), and he descended with the troops at Jaffa (Yafa), and he attacked it for two days, and he conquered it, and he took it, and he killed everyone whom he found in it, in the suburbs. And as for the knights (horsemen) and the warriors of the Franks (al-Farang), they entered the fortress, and they fortified themselves in it until the King of England (al-Inkitar) reached them And Salah ad-Din departed from it, and he returned, (and) he stayed at Natrun (an-Natrun), and this (was) in (the) month of Ragab (in the) year five hundred and eighty-eight [1192 A.D.]. And when the King of England (al-Inkitar) had returned from Beyrouth (Beirut) to Jaffa (Yafa) and

⁽¹⁾ I.e. Toron Mihtum.

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had saved the city, and Salah ad-Din had departed from it, he (the King of England) stayed at Jaffa (Yafa). And Al-Malik al-`Adil Abu Bakr had journeyed to the lands of al-`Agam and Diyar Bakr ⁽²⁾and other (places) than them, and he gathered together troops. And Al-Malik Muzaffar Taki ad-Din conquered the city of Khilat ⁽⁵⁾, and he took it from Baktimur (Baktim) ⁽⁶⁾, and he died, and his son Nasir ad-Din took it after him, and he remained in it with the troops of his father. And when Al-Malik al-`Adil went to gather together the troops of the East, he (Nasir ad-Din) went to him, and he took the troops of his father. And Al-Malik al-`Adil, he and Muzaffar ad-Din lord of Arbeles (Arbil) and of the city of Mosul (al-Mawsul), and other (chiefs) of the troops of the East gathered together many people of which the number cannot be counted; and no relief came to the Franks (al-Farang) in that year, not even a single man. And the troops wished for furlough, and Salah ad-Din calmed the case with them and with the Franks (al-Farang), and he did not cease to make arrangements, and God supported him with the arrangements until his opinion was approved for the truce and the peace-treaty and the sparing of blood and the preservation of property and souls from injury for both parties, the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the Franks (al-Afrang). He (Salah ad-Din) agreed to the peace-treaty, and the truce was arranged with the Franks (al-Farang) for forty months, its beginning (being) Sha`ban (in the) year live hundred and eighty-eight [1192 A.D.], with the King of England (al-Inkitar) and the troops of the Littoral, on the understanding that, if any of the kings of the Franks (al-Afrang) should come from beyond the sea, and was powerful (enough) to break the truce,

⁽²⁾ Mesopotamia.

⁽⁵⁾ At the north-west of Lake Van.

⁽⁶⁾ Saif ad-Din Baktimur, Shah of Armenia.

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the troops of the Littoral would be absolved from their engagements and their troth, and on the understanding that that which the Muslims (al-Muslimin) had conquered by their swords in the way of cities and towns and fortresses and castles should be theirs, and what remained in the hand of Franks (al-Farang) (which) the Muslims (al-Muslimin) had not conquered should remain to the Franks (al-Afrang). And (one) who was present at the signing of the truce recorded that Beyrouth (Bairut) and Sidon (Saida) and Gibalah and Gibail, and cities and fortresses, the names of which I do not know to record (them), should be shared between them. As for Jerusalem it was in the hand of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) at that time, and it remained with them as it was before. And Salah ad-Din agreed that they (the Christians) should go on pilgrimage to it on the condition that they should not take with them a sword or anything in the way of a weapon, and he stipulated for them that they (the authorities) should not take from them a tribute; and Salah ad-Din made Saif ad-Din Yarkug governor (Wali) of Jerusalem, and it is recorded (that there were) with him in it three thousand horsemen from the Asadi (al-Asadiah)mamluks (Mamalik). And Salah ad-Din himself and the Kadi Al-Fadil `Abd ar-Rahim Ibn Ali al-Baisani fasted the month of Ramadan in Jerusalem. And he despatched men and soldiers, and he demolished the wall which encircled Ascalon (`Askalan), and he left it a town without a wall. And there was an agreement regarding its demolition in the terms of the truce. And the Franks (al-Farang) and the Muslims (al-Muslimin) assembled, and all of them agreed to the demolition of Ascalon (`Askalan). And the troops of the Franks (al-Farang) and the troops of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) mixed together after the peace

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so that they became as brethren, and so also the kings with Salah ad-Din; and he caused to be borne to them wealth and gifts, and they caused to be borne to him gifts and horses and German (al-Alamaniah) shields and swords concealed in wooden boxes, and varnished staffs of lances (konta/rion). Praise (be) to God Who causes union between hearts which are separated and characters which are contradictory! And He Who is praised in the Creator of the creatures, and their Director and their Creator and their Fashioner, and there is no God except He, and none to be adored except Himself. As for the captives of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) who were with the Franks (al-Farang), and the captives of the Franks (al-Farang) who were with the Muslims (al-Muslimin), nothing was fixed about their affair, but everyone of them remained with his master as was before, to pay his ransom and to be set free. A few days after the peace, the King of England (al-Inkitar) sailed in ships by sea, and he returned to his lands with what he had won and had taken as spoil, and with him a company of his companions and his soldiers. And Salah ad-Din turned from Jerusalemto Damascus (Dimask) in (the month of) Sawwal (in the) year five hundred and eighty-eight [1192 A.D.] after he had fasted ⁽⁴⁾ in it (Jerusalem), he and all who were with him of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) the month of Ramadan. And he went to Damascus (Dimask), (and) he caused his sons to be circumcised. And he had at that time many male children (capable of) riding horses behind him, their number being fifteen sons. And these are their names and the qualifications. Al-Malik al-`Aziz `Uthman (whom) he had made ruler over the kingdom of the Land of Egypt (Misr) and Jerusalem and its provinces. And he remained a king over it, after his father Salah ad-Din, for five years and a half. Al-Malik al-A`azz Jacob (Ya`kub), (and) Al-Malik al-Mu`ayad Mas`ud, (and) Al-Malik Fath ad-Din Isaac (Ishak), (and) Al-Malik al-Gawad Job (Aiyub), (and) Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghazi, and he made him ruler

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the fast of the month of Ramadan.

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over Aleppo (Halab) and its provinces, (and) Al-Malik al-Afdal `Ali, and he made him ruler over Damascus (Dimask) and its provinces, (and) Al-Malik al-Mustamir Khudr, (and) Al-Malik az-Zahir David (Dauud). And the remainder of the small children (are) Turansah, Shahinsah, Malik Sha, Ahmad, Abu Bakr, and this number is not from one woman, but (from) a number of women. And there was in the hand of Salah ad-Din of the kingdoms of the world during his life, at that time, the region of the Land of Egypt (Misr) and all its provinces, and the Yemen (al-Yaman) up to Sana`a, and Aden (`Adan) and Zabid were conquered by the hand of Saif ad-Din, his brother, and in the lands of Nubia (an-Nubah) up to the city of Primus (Ibrim), and the lands of the lord of Gubail ⁽⁴⁾ and Jerusalem and the Littoral, and all what we have mentioned before of its cities and its towns and its castles and its fortresses, and what he had conquered in the lands of Antioch (Antakiah), the fortress of Burziah, and Laodicea (al-Ladikiah) and Baghras ⁽⁶⁾, and other than them, the names of which we do not know to record (them). And the city of Damascus (Dimask) which is the desire of the kingdom of the world, likened to the Paradise with its good, sweet streams and its trees and its fruits and the goodness of its air. And the city of Aleppo (Halab) and its fortress Dar Abraham (Ibrahim), the Friend (al-Khalil) — upon him (be) peace! (and) the Bridge of the kings of the Arabs (al-`Arab) and the Persians (al-`Agam) ⁽⁸⁾

⁽⁴⁾ For the Seigneurie de Giblet (Djoubail), cf. the map facing, p. 274 in R. Grousset, L’Empire du Levant, Paris, 1946.

⁽⁶⁾ For these three places, cf. the map facing, p. 247 in R. Grousset, op. cit., and p. 289.

⁽⁸⁾ Probably the bridge across the Euphrates near Al-Hirah, the site of the Battle of the Bridge between the Arabs and the Persians in 634 A.D., cf. P.K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, London, 1961, p. 155. MS. P adds: ‘and in the east, Jerusalem and the Littoral, its cities and its towns, and Damascus and its provinces, and Aleppo and its provinces, and beyond the River Euphrates, large cities and its towns, and we have mentioned them before’.

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and its provinces and its villages and from beyond the River Euphrates (al-Furat), Harran (Harran) and Nisibis (Nasibin) and Singar (Singar) and Manbig and Edessa (Ruha) and Amida (Amid) and Martyropolis (Maiyafarikin), and other than them from their towns and their villages of those of which we have not been informed that we may name them. And his (Salah ad-Din’s) order was executed in all the kingdoms of the Arabs (al-`Arab) and the Persians (al-`Agam) and the Rum (ar-Rum). And no one with whom we are contemporaries and whom we have seen ruled as he. And nations and kings obeyed him, and his order was executed in the lands of Ethiopia (al-Habashah), and Nubia (an-Nubah) and Baga (al-Bagah) ⁽⁴⁾, and the Yemen (al-Yaman) and the Hejaz (al-Higaz) and the provinces of the South. And he (Salah ad-Din) had often come to the city of Mosul (al-Mawsil) and had fought against it and had besieged it for a time, but God did not give it to him, and he did not conquer it. And (in) the Land of Egypt (Misr) in all the days of his State from its beginning to its end (there Was) cheapness of prices (and) abundance of good things: good wheat ten ardab for one dinar, and barley twenty ardabs for one dinar, and beans (ful) likewise, and lentils and haricot beans and clover and lupines (θέρμος)all these at one price, twenty ardabs for a dinar. And as for good honey buried in straw, a dinar the kantar locally, and drip-honey at a dinar and two karats by local kantar, and the honey of bees for one dinar and a half and a quarter a Cairene (al-Misri) kantar, and kisatah for half a dinar the Cairene (al-Misri) kantar, and red sugar candy was at different prices according to the soil, region differing from region, and pure from impure; and at times the good is

⁽⁴⁾ A people of Nubia, cf. Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt, p. 41.

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sold at a dinar the Cairene (al-Misri) kantar, and if it is scarce, for a dinar and a quarter, and the white which is like sugar at a dinar and a half for a Cairene (al-Misri) kantar, and treacle at ten dirhams for the Cairene (al-Misri) kantar. Flax seeds at fifty dirhams for a kantar of the good kind and the inferior for thirty dirhams. White wax for three dirhams the Cairene (al-Misri) ratl. And the common sirb was plentiful, and cloth and wool and hides (were) very plentiful, and the merchants were selling and buying and making profits and blessing existed in everything. And the days of his (Salah ad-Din’s) State were all of them well (and) good, and the conditions of the subject were set up, and no one was dispossessed of his subjects, and no one was wronged, as had been the custom with those before him, and the ways were safe, and affairs were good. And he (Salah ad-Din) died in the city of Damascus (Dimask) on Wednesday, the twenty-sixth (of the month) of Safar (in the) year five hundred and eighty-nine [1193 A.D.] in the fortress of Damascus (Dimask), and he was buried in the College (al-Madrasat) which he had built in it (Damascus). And the number of his troops on the day of his decease was ten thousand horsemen of which four thousand (were) eunuchs and of which six thousand (were) young male slaves. And he had completed seventy years of age, and he had ruled Egypt (Misr) and its might according to what we have mentioned before, twenty-four years and nine months and a half, for he ruled after the decease of Asad ad-Din Shirkuh in (the month) of Gumada al-Awal (in the) year five hundred and sixty-four of the Lunar (Year) and the Tax (Year) [1168-1169 A.D.], and he died at Damascus (Dimask) on the mentioned date. And some learned people have recorded that he reigned over the Land of Egypt (Misr) on a Wednesday, and (that) he died at Damascus (Dimask) on a Wednesday. By reason of his good manner of life and the virtue of his State, (it was) that, after his death, no horse raced either in Syria (ash-Sham) nor in Egypt (Misr) nor …. ⁽⁴⁾

⁽⁴⁾ The Cairo and Paris MSS. have a lacuna here.

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And his children and his offspring did not disagree, and not one of them sought a kingdom for himself, and his children did not disagree with one of his relatives, but they were all agreed on him whom they made king of his children. Al-Malik al-`Aziz (had) Egypt (Misr) and Jerusalem, and Al-Malik az-Zahir (had) Aleppo (Halab), and Al-Malik al-Afdal (had) Damascus (Dimask), until his brother Al-`Adil Abu Bakr prepared a plan to take the kingdom of Egypt (Misr) and Damascus (Dimask) from them, and we shall explain it in what (comes) after, and this is what reached us in the way of information; and peace (be to you!), and after what went before which we have explained from the days of the patriarchate of this pure, holy, prosperous father Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus). And what he suffered in the way of hardship, and witnessed in the way of adversities, at the beginning of the reign of Salah ad-Din, from the issuing of his order that there should be removed the crosses of wood which were on every lofty dome in every church of all the churches which were in the Land of Egypt (Misr). (If) he saw a church the exterior of which was whitened, it was plastered with black mud over the whiteness, and that a bell should not be rung in all the Land of Egypt (Misr), and that the Christians (an-Nasara) should not go in procession with olive-branches ⁽³⁾ in a city or a town, as was the custom before, and that the Christians (an-Nasarah) should alter their style of dress that they might be distinguished from the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and that they should gird their waists with their girdles, and that they should not put on a turban-cloth nor a cloak (Tailasan), and that they should remove the fringes of their turbans, and (that) they should not ride horses or mules, but (that) they should ride asses, and (that) they should not be seen drinking wine, and (that) they should lower their voices in their prayers. And the rabble of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) became emboldened against them at that time, and they despised them, and they rose up against some of the churches

⁽³⁾ I.e. on the Feast of Palm Sunday.

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in the cities and the towns, and they destroyed them. And the people suffered from this great calamity so that a company of the Cairene (al-Misriyin) and the Cairene (al-Kahiriyin) scribes left their religion and denied their Christ (Masih). And affairs continued to be depressed in spite of the prayer of this holy Mark (Markus) the patriarch, and he was contending for his people and his flock until God set right for them ⁽²⁾ the heart of their Sultan through the blessing of his prayers. And he (the Sultan) caused them to draw nigh, and he favoured them, and he employed them in his diwan in the finances of his State and he was gracious towards them. And they returned to a higher (state) than they had had before. And they rode on horses and mules, and they wore light turbans and festal garments. And the scribe of his diwan and the scribes of his family and his relatives and the scribes of his soldiers journeyed with him on his campaigns. And every Christian (Nasrani) attached himself to the scribes of an amir of the amirs of his (Salah ad-Din’s) State and of his family and his relatives. And every one of them (the amirs) respected the wife of his scribe, and there was for every one of them elegance and wealth and dignity and an influential word and power. And through their patience and the prayers of their patriarch and their return to God and their obedience to their head, God turned their lowliness into power, and their humiliation into honour, and abhorrence of them into love, and their weakness into strength. And they multiplied (their) alms, and they persevered (in) prayers, and they imitated one another in hastening unto the doing of good. Then their fortune increased, and their bodies became sound, and their sons and their daughters multiplied, and their treasuries were filled with good things, and their affairs improved, and their hearts were cheered, and their breasts were expanded, and their word was influential with the Sultan. And they asked for the execution of the decisions from him (Salah ad-Din) and of the letters from him to the governors (Wulat) of the provinces for repairing their churches and

⁽²⁾I.e. the Christians.

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what was destroyed of their churches and the opening of them for the carrying out of their prayers and supplication to God for the safety of their Sultan. Then they repaired what was weakened, and they built what was demolished and they repaired what was destroyed. And affairs returned to what was better than before in the way of security. And prices became cheap, and fruit became good, and the Nile (an-Nil) flowed, and the rains descended. And this saintly Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus) went to his rest, and God was gracious to His people through his prayers, and they were preserved, and not one of them perished, except the son of perdition. «O brethren, we and you cease not (to be) preserved and in real safety and sufficiency from God, protected through the prayers of this Saint. Amen».

The saintly father Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), the second patriarch of the second series, (and he is) the seventieth-fourth of the number of the fathers the patriarchs.

And when the father Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus) Ibn Zara`ah the patriarch went to his rest — God grant to us the acceptation of the blessing of his prayers — on the sixth day (of the month) of Tubah (in the) year nine hundred and five of the Martyrs [1189 A.D.] which corresponds to (the) year five hundred and eighty-five of the Higrah, the Orthodox (ὀρθόδοξος) Christian (al-Masihi) people and the elders (as-Shiyukh) and the archons in the city of Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah), and those present from the fathers, the bishops, agreed on the consecration of the learned father, the virtuous, pure, saintly virgin of the Christian (al-Masihi) Religion, Abba (Anba) John (Yuhanna). And his name before his consecration was Abu’l-Magd Ibn Abu Ghalib Ibn Suris. Then they took him by force on Sunday, the eleventh (of the month) of Amsir (in the) year nine hundred and five of the Martyrs [1189 A.D.], and it is the year (in) which Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus) went to his rest, one month and five days after his (Abba Markus) going to his rest, and they consecrated him patriarch. And there were (as) assistant(s)

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for them at his consecration, on the part of the Sultan, the two judges Al-Maridi and Ar-Radl, his brother, the two sons of Al-Gabab. And this father was, as we have said, a virgin, learned by what he had read of the Old and the New (Testaments), perfect in his body and his stature, of cheerful countenance, of good disposition, of soft words, of good speech, regular at the times of the Prayers ⁽²⁾, of much almsgiving. He possessed wealth and means from his childhood, (and) this came to him from his father and his grandfather. And he had a Khan (Dar Wakalat) in the city of Cairo (Misr) in which he traded, buying and selling (various) sorts of goods; and he had a sugar factory for making sugar, and mills and property. And he was perfect in (this) world and (the) next world and without need of anything of the affairs of the world. He gave much alms in spite of his occupation with the affairs of the world. He did not neglect the Prayers of the Night and Day Hours. A lover of strangers and assiduous in hospitality towards them, and in the visitation of the sick and prisoners, and paying the tax (al-Gawali) on behalf of the poor of his relatives and the needy of his people. And he was very friendly to everyone, and doing good to everyone, so that his affair became manifest and his renown became famous. And when Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus) Ibn Zara`ah, the patriarch who was before him, went to his rest, the archonsdid not need to go up to the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar) or to another than it of the monasteries, as was the custom, to seek and to search for him who would be fit for this Christian (al-Masihiyat) headship and the Heavenly Kingdom and the spiritual service and the excellent Apostolic rank, according to what was correct with them. And they knew it and they verified it, as we have mentioned before, in the way of his qualities. They needed not testimony, and they did not ask for more than what we have described. Then they

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Canonical Hours.

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consecrated him through the constraint of God to them and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit Who chose him and willed him for pasturing His flock, as the Lord said to Peter (Butrus) «If you love Me, pasture My flock» And, likewise, when the Master Christ (al-Masih) knew that this father loved Him, He delivered to him His flock to pasture them, as it is said in the Psalm 79: «He pastured them with the purity of His heart, and with the gentleness of His hands He tended them and led them». And the Church had peace in his days, and the state of the people was good, and peace continued. And it was for connecting the narrative and explaining what occurred in the days of the State of Salah ad-Din (which) necessarily led us to the completion of his (Salah ad-Din’s) biography in the days of the patriarchate of the pure Saint Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus). And this father went to his rest four years before the decease of Salah ad-Din. And there ought to have been (mentioned) in this biography what occurred in these four additional years, but necessity led us to introduce it there, on account of his (Salah ad-Din’s) conquests and affairs and wars (which) were connected with one another until it (the biography) became divided by the truce and the peace, because after it he (Salah ad-Din) journeyed to Damascus (Dimask) and died, as we have explained before.

Al-Malik al-`Aziz `Uthman, his son. And there reigned after him (Salah ad-Din) his son Al-Malik al-`Aziz `Uthman (in) the Land of Egypt (Misr)

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and its provinces and Jerusalem and its districts, in (the) month of Rabi`a al-Awal (in the) year five hundred and eighty-nine of the Lunar (Year) [1193 A.D.]. And Salah ad-Din had made a truce with the Franks (al-Farang) before his decease, and they did not act treacherously with him after his death, and they did not break the truce, and no one of them moved from his place. And when the kings of the Franks (al-Farang) (and) England (al-Inkibar) and Germany (Alaman) and France (al-Farans) and others than they, returned to their lands, they appointed as king over the Littoral the Count Henri (al-Kundahar), and he was a brave champion (who) had come with all those who had undertaken the holy war (crusade) for God from the West, from beyond the sea; and on account of this the truce of Salah ad-Din was (made) with him and with the knights (horsemen) of the Littoral And when Al-Malik al-`Aziz reigned and there was the truce between the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the Franks (al-Farang), the soldiers were not crafty and they did not make journeys during the years of the truce, (and) they abstained from the sale of grain. And wheat was sold at one hundred and seventy dinars the hundred ardabs; and the price was not fixed for a single case, but it might increase above this total during a week, then it would return (and) become less, and so all the grains, an ardab for a dinar or less; and all leguminous plants doubled their price, and the people (who) dwelt in the Land of Egypt (Misr) suffered need for three years. Then Al-Malik al-`Aziz gathered the troops, and he journeyed from Egypt (Misr) to Damascus (Dimask) for the first time, on the twenty-fifth of (the month of) Gumada al-Awal (in the) year five hundred and ninety of the Lunar (Year) [1193-1194 A.D.] wishing to take it, but he could not prevail over it, and he returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah); and Al-Malik

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. Henri de Champagne, titular king of Jerusalem, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., pp. 206-207.

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al-`Adil pursued him, and Al-Malik al-`Aziz closed the gates of Cairo (al-Rahirah) in his face and Al-Malik al-`Adil besieged him in it for months. Then the Kadi al-Fadl came between the two of them, and they were reconciled. And Al-Malik al-`Adil entered Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he remained in it for four months. Then he returned to Damascus (Dimask) and with him Al-Malik al-`Aziz, and they besieged it, and they took it from Al-Malik al-Afdal `Ali, and Al-Malik al-`Aziz received it. And when it was in (the month of) Muharram (in the) year five hundred and ninety-four [1197-1198 A.D.], ships of the Franks (al-Farang) reached Acre (`Akka), and they broke the truce. And Al-Malik al-`Adil hastened towards them, at the beginning of their arrival, before they should multiply and enter the castles. And he descended on Jaffa (Yafa) and fought against it for three days, and he conquered it. And he killed in it many people, and he took captive more than those he killed. Then the ships of the Franks (al-Farang) arrived, and there disembarked from them on the Littoral many people. And many troops of them went (and) they descended on the Castle of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) named Toron (Tubnin). And Al-Malik al-`Adil wrote a letter to Al-Malik al-`Aziz informing him about this, and requesting him to cause to come to him the troops of Egypt (Misr). And Al-Malik al-`Aziz journeyed to Syria (ash-Sham) with the troops in (the) month of Rabi`a al-Awal (in the) year five hundred and ninety-four [1198 A.D.], and he fought the Franks (al-Afrang) and he straitened them. And rain and many torrents from the mountain came upon them and hail-stones, and they departed from Toron (Tubnin), after there had perished of them (many) of them and of their beasts and many things of their equipment (which) the torrent carried away in the water. And they departed, and they descended in

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the surroundings of the city of Tyr (Sur) and the city of Acre (Akka) and other cities than them of the cities of the Franks (al-Farang). And Al-Malik al-`Adil and Al-Malik al-`Aziz continued fighting with the troops. And when it was in the last decade of (the month of) Gumada al-Akhar (in the) year five hundred and ninety-four [1198 A.D.], Al Malik al-`Aziz returned and with him some of the troops to Egypt (Misr). And Al-Malik al-`Adil remained fighting them (the Franks), and he remained killing them for two months. Then he made a truce with them on land, hut not on sea, for a period of six years Then he left them, and he turned to Damascus (Dimask), because Al-Malik al-`Aziz had bestowed it on him. And he entered it, and he took possession of it, and he remained in it for the rest of the year five hundred and ninety-four. And when Al-Malik al-`Aziz returned from Syria (ash-Sham) to Egypt (Misr), he dealt justly with the subject(s) in the Land of Egypt (Misr), and he was good to them, and his affair became upright. And prices were uncontrolled, and good wheat was sold at four ardabs for a dinar, and barley and beans (al-ful) and the rest of the grains at ten ardabs for a dinar. And when it was in (the month of) al-Muharram (in the) year five hundred and ninety-five [1199 A.D.], Al-Malik al-`Aziz went out to the wilderness of the Fayum to hunt, and he found a gazelle, and he pursued it, and he had with him a dog of the hounds and the horse on which he was caught up with the hound, and the gazelle was

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overtaken And the horse trod with its fore-leg on the tail of the dog, and the dog turned round under the belly of the horse and bit its testicles, and it (the horse) was startled by it, and it threw him (the rider) with itself to the ground. And Al-Malik al-`Aziz fell from the top of it (the horse), and was under it, and the horse came above him and rolled over him with the saddle, and the pommel entered his breast and his viscera, and he returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah) carried. And the physicians were treating him, but no treatment availed for him, and he died in the night ⁽³⁾ of Sunday, the twenty-second (of the month) of al-Muharram (in the) year five hundred and ninety-five [1189 A.D.]. And of his reign there were completed five years ten months and twenty days. And praise be to God of Whose kingdom there is no extinction, and His judgment is inscrutable, and through Him (is) assistance!

Al-Malik an-Nasir Yusif ⁽⁵⁾. And there reigned after him (Salah ad-Din) his son Yusif, and they designated him with the designation of his grandfather, Al-Malik an-Nasir, and he was the third king from the descendants of Salah ad-Din. And he was Yusif Ibn `Uthman Ibn Yusif Ibn Aiyub, king of the Land of Egypt (Misr), and the Littoral, and Jerusalem, and what was in the hand of his brother (was) other than what was in the hand of the Franks (al-Afrang), as regards Acre (`Akka) and Tyr (Sur) and other places than these. And his reign began on Sunday, the twenty-second of (the month of) al-Muharram (in the) year five hundred and ninety-five [1198 A.D.]. And the truce between the Franks (al-Farang) and

⁽³⁾ I.e. Saturday evening.

⁽⁶⁾ A son of Salah ad-Din.

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the Muslims (al-Muslimin) continued, and not one of them moved from his position, and no one also from the Land of Egypt (Misr) moved, and there was not lost to anyone in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) anything, the value of which was a grain. And Yusif Ibn al-Malik al-`Aziz was a young man (and) could not achieve the management of the kingdom; and they made as permanent king (him who) was present and they designated him as Al-Malik az-Zahir, viceroy (naib) of him in the Sultanate. And he had not completed one month in it before Al-Malik al-Afdal Nur ad-Din `Ali, his uncle, arrived at Cairo (al-Kahirah) from the Fortress of Saint Gilles (Sangil) and he entered it (Cairo) on Thursday, the seventh of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Awal (in the) year five hundred and ninety-five [1199 A.D.].

Al-Malik al-Afdal `Ali reigned and was supreme, and he promoted and he dismissed (as he willed), and he remained to the last day (sulkh) of (the month of) Ragab of the mentioned year. Then he gathered the troops, and he journeyed to Damascus (Dimask) seeking to take it from his paternal uncle at the beginning of (the month of) Sha`ban of the mentioned year. And he found (that) his paternal uncle Al-Malik al-`Adil had preceded him, and had entered it (Damascus) two days before his arrival, and had fortified it with men and equipment, and he was not able to enter it. Then he sent to his brother, Al-Malik az-Zahir, lord of Aleppo (Halab) and son of Takl ad-Din, and to Muzaffar ad-Din Ibn Zain ad-Din. And he (Al-Afdal) gathered the troops of Syria (ash-Sham) and the troops of Egypt (Misr), and he remained besieging his paternal uncle Al-Malik al-Adil in Damascus (Dimask) from the beginning of (the month of) Sha`ban (in the) year five hundred and ninety-five [1199 A.D.] up to the last day (sulkh) of Safar (in the) year five

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hundred and ninety-six. Al-Malik al-`Adil hid in Damascus (Dimask) for the period of fifteen days, (and) no one of the people saw him, and news was spread concerning him that he had gone out to direct the Land of Egypt (Misr). Then there assembled Al-Malik al-Afdal Nur ad-Din `Ali and his brother Al-Malik az-Zahir Ghazi, lord of Aleppo (Halab), and Taki ad-Din and Muzaffar ad-Din Ibn Zain ad-Din, and they consulted as to what they should do, and they were decidedthat Al-Malik al-Afdal Nur ad-Din should return to the Land of Egypt (Misr) to guard it, and that if Al-`Adil came to him, the rest of them would meet him with troops from behind him, and he (Al-Afdal) with the troops in front of him, and he (Al-`Adil) would be in the midst. Then Al-Malik al-Afdal returned to the Land of Egypt (Misr), and he entered the city of Bilbais on the twentieth day of Rabi`a al-Awal (in the) year five hundred and ninety-six [1199 A.D.] and he evacuated it of the women and provisions, and there did not remain in it, except sellers and merchants. And Saif ad-Din Azkug the viceroy (naib) of him, went out to him, and he was in Cairo (Misr), and with him a company of soldiers. And after a few days, news arrived that Al-Malik al-`Adil had reached Kutaifah, and his (Al-Afdal’s) opinion and the opinion of Saif ad-Din Askug was in agreement to fight him and to make war against him. And he sent back all the heavy equipment to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he met him with troops and horses devoid of heavy equipment, and they fought in a place named As Shamikh and Al-`Arabi, and they are two dwelling-places on the outskirts of Bilbais, of the dwellings of the Arabs (al-`Arab), on Tuesday at noon, (on) the eighth of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Akhar (in the) year five hundred and ninety-six [1200 A.D.]. And the troops of Al-Malik al-Adil overcame the troops of Al-Malik al-Afdal, and God gave to him the victory on that day. And

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he took as spoil their riches, and he refrained from killing them, and Al-Malik al-Afdal himself escaped, and he entered Cairo (al-Kahirah), and there followed him those of his companions whose horses were swift. And when he entered Cairo (al-Kahirah) he fortified it with men and equipment. And Al-Malik al-`Adil pursued him, and he descended with his troops at Matariah and he sent his horses to the ferries of the river. They seized them so that none of the soldiers could pass over to him (Al-Afdal) (and) succour him or enter Cairo (al-Kahirah). Then Al-Malik al-Adil surrounded Cairo (al-Kahirah) with the troops in the half of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Akhar of the same year. And he sent to the prominent amirs who were inside Cairo (al-Kahirah), who (were) of the Asadis (Asadiah) and the Salahis (Salahlah), and a number of them we knew and we have given their names, and many of them we did not know. And those who were well-known of them (were) Saif ad-Din Azkug and `Alam ad-Din Kurgi and Ghars ad-Din Yaman and Saif ad-Din Sinkar ad-Diwadar and Nasir ad-Din Khudr Ibn Bahram, and the rest of the troops which (were) inside Cairo (al-Kahirah) with Al-Malik al-Afdal. And he was kind to them and they were disposed towards him and they refrained from fighting him, and they left Al-Malik al-Afdal alone in Cairo (al-Kahirah) with a small party of his companions. And a company of them went out to Al-Malik al-Adil, and they became reconciled to him, and they opened for him the gates of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he entered into it on Friday, the sixteenth of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Akhar (in the) year five hundred and ninety-six [1200 A.D.]. And he was present in it at the prayer of Friday in its mosque (Gami`). And when Al-Malik al-Afdal was assured (of this), he issued an order to the troops, and he commanded the government (Daulah) to go out from Cairo (al-Kahirah) (on) the morrow, Saturday, the seventeenth of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Akhar of the same year. And with him (were)

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eighty camels, wealth and vessels; and it is recorded by one who witnessed his departure, that none of his troops and his companions accompanied him, or the amirs of his State, except Daya’ ad-Din, brother of the jurisconsult `Isa and his mamluks (mamalik), about fifteen horsemen, and from the mamluks (mamalik) with Al-Afdal, about fifteen horsemen, the total being thirty horsemen And he went to the Fortress of Sarkhad, and he is dwelling in it up to the day this biography was compiled, in (the) year six hundred and three of the Lunar (Year) [1206-1207 A.D.]. And he (Al-Afdal) departed, deprived of the kingdom of the Land of Egypt (Misr) and Jerusalem and the Littoral and other places beside them, between noon and the afternoon of Friday, the sixteenth of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Akhar (in) the year five hundred and ninety-six [1200 A.D.]. And this same day was the last of the days of the reign of Al-Malik al-Afdal and the first day of the reign of Al-Malik al-`Adil (in) the Land of Egypt (Misr) of the mentioned year. And praise be to God, the Eternal, the Immortal King (Who) deposes kings and sets up kings, and grants wisdom to a little child, Whose Kingdom does not perish, and to Whose might there is no end! May He be honoured, and exalted! Praise be to Him the Exalted!

Al-Malik al-`Adil abu Bakr, and his entry (into) Cairo (al-Kahirah) was according to what we have said, (on) Friday, the sixteenth of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Akhar (in the) year five hundred and ninety-six [1200 A.D.]. Some people thought that he did not enter, except (on) Monday, the nineteenth of it (Rabi`a al-Akhar)⁽⁶⁾. And he descended at the House of the Wizarat, and the war came to an end, and the subject(s) were tranquillized, and the ways were safe. And Al-Malik al-Mustamir Khudr

⁽⁶⁾ Makrizi says ‘Saturday, the 18th of Rabi`a al-Akhar’, cf. E. Blochet, op. cit., p. 259.

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went out with his brother Al-Malik al-Afdal `Ali. And Al-Malik al-`Adil gave as a fief to Al-Malik al-Mustamir Khudr the Land of Suwafrom the provinces of Damascus (Dimask). And Al-Malik al-`Adil was established in the kingdom, after it had been arranged between him and the Asadis (Asadiah) and the Salahis (Salahiah) and all the troops, that the son of Al-Malik al-`Aziz should be Sultan of Egypt (Misr) and other than it from the kingdom of his father and his grandfather, and Al-Malik al-`Adil should be the administrator of the State until he ⁽⁵⁾should attain his majority; because Al-Malik al-`Aziz had caused the amirs and the soldiers to swear, before his death, that his son should be Sultan over Egypt (Misr) after him. And his name was Yusif, and they designated him as Al-Malik an-Nasir And Al-Malik al-`Adil left him in this condition for the month of Ragab of the mentioned year. Then he journeyed with troops to Damascus (Dimask), their leader(s) (being) `Izz ad-Din Usamah and Asad ad-Din, (going) secretly to Singar (Sinkar); and with the two of them (there was) a great company of soldiers, and they brought his son Al-Kamil ⁽¹⁰⁾ from it to the Land of Egypt (Misr), and he made him Sultan over it. And there was borne before him the saddle-covering ⁽¹¹⁾ and this is an ancient tradition of the kings of Persia (al-Furs) from the days of Chosroes (Kusra) and Sapor (Sabur) and Ardashin, kings of the dynasty of Chosroes (al-Akasirah). And he inscribed his name on the coinage of gold and

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the son of Al-Malik al-`Aziz.

⁽¹¹) A more or less richly decorated covering placed over the saddle. It was a sign of sovereignty, and was carried before the Sultan by an equerry, cf. R. Dozy, op. cit., vol. II, p. 214.

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silver which is used in the Land of Egypt (Misr). And he ordered that none of the preachers in the Land of Egypt (al-Misriyah) should mention Salah ad-Din nor any of his children, in a pulpit (minbar); but (that they should mention the Caliph (al-Khalifat) first, and Al-Malik al-`Adil, second, and his son, the heir apparent Al-Malik al-Kamil, third. And there should not be mentioned after this anything except the completion of the sermon (Khutbah), and the invocation, then the prayer. And he made a grant to the preachers of the frontiers and (the Provinces of) al-Gharbiah and Sharkiah and Kus and the great cities, to every preacher fifty dinars, the price of a robe of honour, and he made as wazir a man from the inhabitants of Damirah of the South, named `Abd Allah Ibn `Ali. (He had been) a just judge (Kadi) from his youth, (and he was) handsome of countenance, perfect in stature, a jurisconsult, learned in the memorizing of the Koran (Kuran), possessing knowledge of the are of writing and the collecting of wealth from where it was due, and conversant in accounts and in presenting compliments to those in high positions. And he designated him as al-Kadi Safi ad-Din, and he named him as «Companion)). And he delivered to him the two States, the Egyptian (al-Misriyah) and the Syrian (as-Shamiah), and he was zealous in both of them, and he acted independently in both of them, so that he began to employ (people) and to act and to order and to command and nothing small or great was to be done without his knowledge and with the confirmation of his signature, until it came about that Al-Malik al-`Adil did not do a thing alone apart from him. And he (Al-Malik al-`Adil) did not permit or forbid or approve of anything, except with his (Safi ad-Din’s) opinion and his pen, and he reached to what the Companion Ibn `Abad, wazir of the Caliph (al-Khalifat) at Baghdad (Baghdad) had not reached, that one who was named with his name ⁽⁶⁾. He (Safi

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. «Companion».

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ad-Din) was from the people known as Bani Shukr, and his achievements and his deeds passed from mouth to mouth and were witnessed by eyes. And if we undertook to explain them, so as to understand some (of the things) which occurred in the Land of Syria (as-Shamiah), paper would be exhausted, though it is inexhaustible, and all tongues and hands would not suffice; and the nearest and the strangest of them are what occurred in the Land of Egypt (Misr) in the year five hundred and ninety-seven of the Higrah [1200-1201 A.D.]. And as regards what had belonged to the Caliphs (Khulafa) of the Egyptian (al-Misriyah) State and its kings, they gave it away ⁽⁵⁾, and they assigned it in the way of alms to indigent people and allowances to relatives and strangers, by which there was, in the days of their State, equality between the poor and the powerful and the rich and the weak, because their favour and their goodness had reached to all people, their enemies and their friends. Then this wazir (Safi ad-Din) counselled to cut all this, and he cut (it), and God forbade the Nile (an-Nil) in that year to rise upon the Land of Egypt (Misr). And all of it dried up from the tower (pu/rgoj)of Aswan up to the tower of Damietta (Dumyat). And the amount of what occurred of it ⁽⁸⁾ according to the measure in that year was thirteen cubits and eight fingers. And the country dried up and was ruined and the subjects perished and were dispersed, and peoplewere separated and dispersed, and many people went from the Land of Egypt (Misr) to Syria (ash-Sham) with their wealth and their children, and they perished. And the Bedouins (al-`Urban) seized them on the way, and they died of cold and hunger, and from slaughter by the

⁽⁵⁾ For the distribution of the possessions of the Fatimids by Salah ad-Din, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 193.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the water of the Nile.

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Bedouins (al-`Urban), and the taking of souls and wealth, so that if a man of them died, his son or his brother or the dearest of people to him left him fallen, and went on, and did not wait, so that he might bury him in the sand, but saved himself with the people, and did not look behind him and did not separate from his companion, lest he should perish. And he who witnessed the decaying corpses of the dead people informed me that from the gate of Bilbais to the gate of Gaza (Ghazzah)they and their beasts and their cattle (were) one beside the other. And there were three tribulations which God brought upon the Egyptians (al-Misriyin): dearness, emigration and plague, and this was (the result of) the ambition of their Sultan and his wazir. Sifted wheat reached a dinar for a waibah, and bread (was) for a half and a quarter of a dirham the Cairene (al-Misri) ratl, and two dirhams and a warka quarter for the local ratl. And barley (was) at twenty-five dirhams for a waibah and beans (al-ful) at twenty dirhams for a waibah; and as regards chick-pea and lentils and rambling vetch, they were few, and he who found any of them would buy it for two dirhams and a quarter a pot, and lupines and trefoil at two dinars an ardab. Then soaked lupines reached a dirham a pot, and people sold of (their) furniture and possessions and dwellings and female slaves and male slaves, and what (had) a value of a dinar (was sold) for a dirham. And many people sold their sons and their daughters as slaves (Mamalik) for service, and they offered the excuse, saying: «We sell them to him who will feed them with bread, so that they may live by it better than that they should die of hunger». And a son would snatch away bread and other than it from the hand of his father, so that he might live by it himself, and the father would snatch away from his son, so that he might live himself. And they ate the flesh of dead animals, asses and mules and horses and dogs and cats, and all rodents and beasts, and living and dead birds. And nursing women were unable through hunger to suckle, (and) they cast away their children in the mosque (Gami`) of the village, and in others of the cities, in all the Land of

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Egypt (Misr). They would cast away the small children, a child of one month, two months and three (months) and above this, in the mosques (Gawami`) and the prayer-houses (Masagid) and the ways and the markets at night. Other women and men would come and would take them in their swaddling-clothes, (saying): «We will foster them for the sake of God», and they would eat them, and some people fostered them. And every day there used to be in the morning in the mosque (Gimi`) of the village a great multitude of them, and the evening had not come before they took them. And the guards used to catch many women and with them pots, and they found in them the flesh of people, small and great cooked, boiled and fried. And they led them to the governors (wulat), (and) they beat them, and some whom they found had slaughtered and killed, they would kill them. And there was a band of people, male youths, who used to stand in the markets, night and day, and they used to snatch away what the people bought, and to sum up things, they ate one another, and the strong would prevail over the weak and would eat him. And there did not remain any one to bury any one in the earth. And death was held of little account, so that (the dead) were thrown down in the streets and the lanes and the ways, and (on) the mounds. And no one wept over another and no woman mourned nor lamented, and pity was uprooted from the hearts of the people, and hope was cut off from life, and despair took place. And the people perished, and the cities were ruined, and the towns were deserted, because the inhabitants of the towns left for the cities to seek a means of livelihood, because no one remained to do any work or to erect a building. And the strength of the people was weakened through hunger and death, and none remained to beg, saying: «For the sake of God a morsel or a bite!» but would say «For the sake of God a crumb!». This was the saying of those who begged. And the notables of the people in Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah) of the military and the scribes and the generous people of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the Christians (an-Nasara) used to give alms to the poor, and everyone did according to the means of his ability. And these

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conditions continued to last (during the) year (five hundred and ninety-) seven and (five hundred and ninety-) eight [1200-1202 A.D.]. And when it was in (the) month of Rabi`a al-Awal (in the) year five hundred and ninety-nine [1202 A.D.], God beheld — His might be exalted — the ruin of the people, and He had mercy upon them, and prices became normal. And bread was sold at three ratls for a Cairene (Misri) dirham, and at the village ratl, a ratl for a dirham. And in (the month of) Rabi`a al-Akhar six (loaves) were sold for a dirham the Cairene (Misri) ratl, and at the village ratl, two ratls for a dirham. And the people returned little by little, and they began to (re)build, and the glazers and the weavers and the artisans began to work. And in (the year) (five hundred and ninety-) nine bread was sold, eleven ratls for a dirham at the Cairene (Misri) (ratl), and at the village (ratl) four ratls for a dirham. And prices diminished, and the ways became safe, and people journeyed on land and sea after the ways had been cut off, and no one had been able to journey alone, otherwise ghouls would have eaten him, who were ghouls of the sons of Adam ⁽⁵⁾. And I take refuge in God from the wrath of God! And this is what came to an end for us as regards information, and we wrote this biography. And the father, the patriarch, — may God grant to us acceptation of the blessing of his prayer! — was alive in (the month of) Shawwal (in the) year six hundred and three of the Lunar (Year) [1207 A.D.] which corresponds to the middle of (the month of) Bashuns (in the) year nine hundred and twenty-three of the Righteous Martyrs— may their prayers guard us and you! And there wrote with me Ibn Abu Makarim Ibn Barakat Ibn Abu’l-`Ula in his handwriting for himself; and he who is acquainted with the going to his rest of the father John (Yuhanna) and knows something (which) is new in his days, let him record it and complete thereby his biography. And glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, One God! And in the days

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the River Nile.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. human ghouls,

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of this father, it came to his knowledge that a priest from the inhabitants of Al-Bashmur dwelt in the city of Alexandria and its ⁽²⁾ priests used to press him to celebrate the Liturgy in its churches, and he continued on this wise for some time. Then there came a man who knew him, from the inhabitants of his town to the father, the patriarch, Abba (Anba) John (Yuhanna), and he made known to him that the wife of the mentioned priest had died, and (that) he had married a second (wife), and that he had violated the Canon of Holy Orders. And this was very difficult for him ⁽⁶⁾ to support, and he interdicted the mentioned priest, and he caused the churches to be closed in Alexandria. And he wrote to the priests a severe letter, and they came to him to Cairo (Misr). And he imposed hard conditions upon them, and this was very hard for them to support, and they besought him and importuned him through the archons of Cairo (Misr) until he forgave them. And he laid it down that no stranger should begin again to act (thus) among them; and he took their signatures for this, and this continued during all his days. And when God — His might and His greatness be magnified! — provided a calm period for your brother who concerned himself with this holy biography, he exerted himself in seeking it (the biography) from every place, and he collected it, and he wrote it with his hand for himself in his lifetime. He (your brother) was acquainted in the days of this venerable father with an affair (which) happened in the days of this patriarchate. And some of our forefathers from among the elders (as-Shiyukh) mentioned that the like of it had happened in the days of those who had preceded him from among the patriarchs. God grant to us and to you the acceptation of their

⁽²⁾ I.e. of Alexandria.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the patriarch.

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acceptable prayers, who were chosen by God and sustained by the Holy Spirit Who dwells in their hearts! +

And the King of Ethiopia (al-Habashah) and Nubia (an-Nubah) had sent messengers and they came to him (the patriarch) with a letter of the king, asking from him that he should consecrate for them a metropolitan (Mutran), because the metropolitan (Mutran) who was with them had gone to his rest. And (it was) a custom of the king that, if he sent messengers to the patriarch, he would send with them a splendid gift to the Sultan of Egypt (Misr) and a letter to him that he should request the patriarch to consecrate the metropolitan (Mutran). And when the messengers came to the patriarch, they stayed with him about three months. And he would send his disciples to the monasteries in Scetis (Wadi Habib) and to other than them, and he would consider whether (there was) with him in Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah) one who was fit for the metropolitanate. And he did not find one, and the messengers became impatient from the length of their stay with him, and they resolved that they would make known to the Sultan the story of their condition. And the kingdom of the Land of Egypt (Misr) belonged to the kings of the Ghuzz (al-Ghuzz) ⁽²⁾, and the king at that time (was) Al-`Adil Abu Bakr Ibn Aiyub. And at that time there was included in the Kingdom of Egypt (Misr) Jerusalem, and all the Littoral, except Acre (`Akka) and Tyr (Sur) and some of the fortresses and towns which remained to the Franks (al-Farang), and in his kingdom there was also Damascus (Dimask) and its provinces, and from beyond the River Euphrates (al-Furat) and Harran (Harran) and Minbig and Nisibis (Nasibin) and Edessa (ar-Ruha) and a number of places and towns the names of which are not known. And he was a king just, cautious, powerful, and (he had made) many raids against the Franks (al-Farang) and the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and he conquered cities and towns. And he had about fifteen children, and the number

⁽²⁾ The Ghuzz here mean «Kurds».

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of his troops was ten thousand, eunuchs and young male slaves, and mamluks (mamalik); he descended (and) he purchased them with his money. And when the letter came to him ⁽¹⁾ from the king of Ethiopia (al-Habashah), as we have said at the beginning, that he should request the patriarch to consecrate a metropolitan (Mutran), and that he should cause him to journey with the messengers of the king, he requested him concerning this. And the stay of the messengers was prolonged with him (the patriarch), and he did not find anyone. And he perceived that, if their stay continued longer, they would complain to the Sultan. And he turned his mind to think of the bishops, when he did not find one from among the monks and the laity who complied with his intention. He agreed with those who were present with him from among the companions and the archons and the priests on a man named Kil Ibn al-Malbas from the inhabitants of Tukh Muthur from the provinces of al-Gharbiah. He had consecrated him a bishop for the city of Fuah, and he was a virgin, learned in the Old and the New (Testaments), of cheerful countenance, tall of stature, with black eyes, brown in colour with redness, very handsome in appearance, with a lisp in his speech perfect in his members and his knowledge. And he took him and he consecrated him metropolitan (Mutran), and he caused him to journey with the messengers of the king. And those who journeyed with him and returned brought news, that the king had met him (at a distance of) three days’ journey from the city with robes of honour and marks of respect; and with him (were)

⁽¹⁾ I.e. Al-`Adil Abu Bakr Ibn Aiyub.

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priests and bishops and a great number of troops and many people. When he reached the city of the king, all who (were) in it came out to meet him, and they held over his head an umbrella woven with gold and crowned with jewels, and they rejoiced with him exceedingly. And when he celebrated the first Liturgy, they scattered over him much gold, and they burned very much aloe-wood and ambergris in the censer of the church. And they received him in the House of the Metropolitanate (al-Mutranah), and they appointed for him ten priests for his service and to guard what was in the way of supplies of the metropolitanate (al-Mutranah) in the way of gold and silver and clothing and books of the Church and other treasures, and stores in which were the kitchen utensils for food and wheat and grains. And the king and the amirs with him bore to him (the metropolitan) many horses and mules for his riding, and for his service slaves and female slaves. And the country had been deprived of rain, and when he (the metropolitan) arrived and had celebrated the Liturgy, God accepted his prayers, and He caused to descend the rain, and their joy in him increased, and they feared him and they revered him. And the king used to ride at all times to his house, and his (the metropolitan’s) esteem was magnified with them, and he remained with them on this wise for four years. And when it was in the fifth year, news of him (the metropolitan) reached the father, the patriarch Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), that he (the metropolitan) had departed from the city of the king, and (that) he had gone out from it to Egypt (Misr) to the Patriarchal Cell. And this was displeasing to the father, the patriarch, and (his) opinion continued to be divided and (his) heart was uneasy on account of it, until he (the metropolitan) came to Cairo (Misr), and was present before him. And he (the patriarch) asked him concerning the reason for his return. And he mentioned that the queen, the wife of the king, had a brother, his name (being) Khairun and that she did not cease to importune him

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and to trouble him and to intercede with him through the king, until he consecrated him bishop of the city of the king. And when he had consecrated him, he used to ride with the umbrellas as the metropolitan (al-Mutran), and he gained the priests over to him, and he began to judge among the people and to prevent the people from going to the House of the Metropolitan (al-Mutran), and they did not greet him (the metropolitan), and they did not obey him in anything. And the king had gone out from his city with his troops to war against his enemies; and Khairun made a plot to kill the metropolitan (al-Mutran). And some people from among those with him intrigued against him, and they climbed into the House of the Metropolitan (al-Mutran) at night to kill him, and he escaped from them. And there followed him about five hundred souls, companions of the metropolitan (al-Mutran), and slaves whom he had purchased, and intendants and others than them to the regions of the Cell of the metropolitan (al-Mutran), and their number according to what was mentioned, (was) about forty towns. And when he had gone out from the city of the king and had journeyed from it on the return to Egypt (Misr) for the space of three days, he commanded the priests and the people who had come to take leave of him to return, and they returned. And the company of his companions (was) about one hundred men, and they perished on the way from hunger and thirst, because, when they went out from the lands of the king, they came into lands other than his, from among the infidel kings. And they endured great hardship from them, and they used to forbid them transit through their lands, unless they took from them gold and other things beside it, and the metropolitan (al-Mutran) did not reach Egypt (Misr), except poor, and whatsoever was with him in the way of wealth and souls perished, and there arrived with him from all, two male slaves and one female slave and a civet-cat, and the rest had perished. And when the patriarch was informed of what we have mentioned before, he ordered that he (the metropolitan) should reside in some of the churches of Cairo (al-Kahirah), until he (the

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patriarch) should write to the king a letter enquiring into the truth of what he metropolitan (al-Mutran) had reported. And the metropolitan (al-Mutran) went to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he stayed at the Church of the Harat Zuwailah with some people of the archons who were called the Sons of Gamal al-Kafah. And the father, the patriarch, wrote to the king a letter and despatched it by the hand of the priest Moses (Musa) and with him (was) one of his disciples; and he was absent from him (the patriarch), going and coming, for the space of a year. Then the answer returned from the king, and it said concerning the metropolitan (al-Mutran) that he had killed a priest (who was) senior in his order (τάξις), chief of the ten priests who (was) in charge of guarding the treasury of the metropolitanate (al-Mutranah). And the reason for this (was), that he (the metropolitan) accused him that he had taken a bar of gold from the treasury of the metropolitanate (al-Mutranah). And he had him stretched out ⁽⁴⁾ and he ordered his slaves to beat him, and they beat him before him without mercy, and he continued to order them to beat him, until he (the priest) rendered his spirit. And a company of priests asked him about him (the priest), and he did not accept a question about him. And (it was) the relatives of the priest whom he had killed, who had climbed up to him to kill him in return for his killing of their companion. And as for Khairun whom the metropolitan (al-Mutran) had consecrated bishop, the messengers stated that he had died two months after the departure of the metropolitan (al-Mutran) from their lands. And in that year it had not rained in their lands, and, therefore, they had despatched the messengers with a request for a metropolitan (Mutran) other than him. And (they said) that he (the metropolitan) had built in the city which belonged to the king a dwelling-place in which he had planted trees, and caused water in it to penetrate into its court, and he expended

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. on the ground.

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on it much money, and he whitened it, and he made for it long corridors. He who enters them becomes weary before he reaches their lowest part and their highest part. And he fortified it, and he named it «The Castle» ⁽¹⁾. And he used to isolate himself in it from the people, and he did not go out, except from Sunday to Sunday, riding to the church (on) a high mule and the umbrella over his head and around him and behind him horsemen and his men, about five hundred men other than the priests and the people who followed him to the church. And he would change when he went up to the sanctuary, his robes for those woven with gold and ornamented with precious stones worth much money. And he (the king) mentioned many words about him with which I am not acquainted; and this is (only) something of what I heard from all the letter which reached the patriarch. And there arrived in company with the priest Moses (Musa) the messengers of the king, and there accompanied them a splendid gift and a crown of gold for the patriarch, and a splendid gift for the Sultan, including beasts, and they were an elephant, and a lion, and a giraffe and an onager; and (on) the day of their arrival there was a great rejoicing with the patriarch. And Al-Malik al-`Adil was Sultan of the Land of Egypt (Misr) in that year, and it was (the) year six hundred and six of the Lunar (Year) ⁽²⁾ which corresponds to (the) year nine hundred and twenty-six of the Righteous Martyrs. He (Al-Malik al-`Adil) was absent in warfare against the city of Singar (Singar) and was besieging it with his soldiers. And his son Al-Malik al-Kamil was his representative (naib) in the Land of Egypt (Misr). And the patriarch took the messengers and the gifts which arrived with them for him and for the Sultan, (and) he bore all to him (Al-Malik al-Kamil). And he admired the crown, and he said: «I did not think that with them (were) those who made (such as) this». And the messenger said to him: «O Sire King, we know the humility of the patriarch, and that he would not

⁽¹⁾ The large XIXth century building in the Monastery Al-Muharrak is called the ‘Pachomian Castle’, cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts, Cairo, 1961, p. 304.

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wear it; and if he (the King of Ethiopia) knew that he would wear it and sit with it, he would have ornamented it with jewels the value of which would be the tax: of all the Land of Egypt (Misr)». And Al-Malik al-Kamil marvelled at his speech, and he asked him concerning the king ⁽¹⁾ and his troops and his wars. Then the messenger took out a letter for him from the king to the Sultan, and he said to him: «If you read his letter, you will know how he is and how are his troops». And when he had read the letter of the king, he found from its contents that he was asking the Sultan to go to the venerable, great, notable patriarch, describing the virtues of the patriarch and saying ‘all the kings and all the world’ — and saying to the Sultan, ‘and your kingdom, O King, are preserved through his prayers, so guard him, and honour him, and propose to him that he should consecrate for us a metropolitan (Mutran) other than the metropolitan (al-Mutran) who was with us, and never to send him back to us’. And when Al-Malik al-Kamil learned of the contents of the letter, he proposed to the patriarch that he should consecrate for them a metropolitan (Mutran) other than him ⁽²⁾ speedily, and (that) he should not detain them (the messengers) with him. Then he turned to the messenger and he said to him: «I have read the letter of your king, and he is an intelligent man — hold! Inform me of your saying to me, ‘When you have read his letter, you will know who he is’. And the messenger said to him: «If I began to describe to you his virtues and his troops and his wars, and the support of God to him, and (His) granting victory to him over his enemies, the description would be drawn out, but I shall abridge (it) for you a little, that you may know from it the more. (It was) that, one day before my journey, the king reviewed the troops of one of the amirs, and I was standing in his retinue, and their complement was sixty-thousand horsemen other than their followers from among their youths and their hangers-on. And Al-Malik al-Kamil smiled at his saying, and he commanded (that) the gift should be delivered up and he said to the patriarch: «Take your gift. How is it, the king sets apart for you something, (and) you

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the king of Ethiopia.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the former metropolitan.

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bear it to us?» And be (the patriarch) swore (that) he would not take it, and he (the king) took an oath on the life of his father Al-Malik al-`Adil that he would accept it, and he accepted it. He commanded the withdrawal of the men of the messenger, and (he requested) that the patriarch should consecrate for them a metropolitan (Mutran) and not detain them (the messengers). And he (the patriarch) went out from the presence of Al-Malik al-Kamil and he returned to Cairo (Misr), and he caused to be brought the priests of Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah) and their archons, and he assembled a great assembly. And the Muslims (al-Muslimin) at Cairo (al-Kahirah) overheard what had happened to the patriarch with Al-Malik al-Kamil, and that he (the patriarch) had gone up to Cairo (Misr) to consecrate a metropolitan (Mutran). And they hired every beast at the Gate Zuwailahand other than it of the gates, and they went up to Cairo (Misr); and the hire of an ass from Cairo (al-Kahirah) to Cairo (Misr) reached three dirhams, so that they might go to view (the ceremony). And when the Church al-Mu`allakah was filled with people, Christians (Nasara) and Muslims (Muslimin), he stopped it (the ceremony), and he dismissed the people of both parties ⁽⁴⁾. The patriarch caused to be brought Kiil Ibn al-Malabas, the former metropolitan (al-Mutran), and he deposed him from the metropolitanate (al-Mutranah), and he was displeased with him, and he removed him. And it was, when the messenger of the king arrived, (that) there came two brothers, monks of the Monastery of Abba (Anba) Antony (Andunah), and he (the patriarch) delivered the two of them to the disciples. And they had reached to the limit of virtue and asceticism, renunciation of the world and solitude and isolation from the monks in the monastery, and assiduity in prayer, night and day, and humility and service for their brethren without complaint or weariness. One of the two of them (was) more learned

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Christians and the Muslims.

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than the other, (and) all who knew the two of them testified to their virtue. And the names of the two of them (were) Isaac (Ishak) and Joseph (Yusif), from the inhabitants of al-Bastamir And he (the patriarch) consecrated Isaac (Ishak), and he was the younger metropolitan (Mutran), and he ordained Joseph (Yusif), and he was the elder, a priest, and he caused him to journey with him. And this (was) on the second Sunday of the Holy Lent, the eleventh of (the month of) Baramhat (in the) year nine hundred and twenty-six of the Righteous Martyrs [1210 A.D.], which corresponds to the ninth of (the month of) the blessed Ramadan (in the) year six hundred and six of the Lunar (Year). As for Kiil Ibn al-Malabas, the excommunicated metropolitan, (al-Mutran), he descended from the Church al-Mu`allakah with great shame, and he was shrieking and putting dust on his head. And he went on his way thus; and he was deprived of the metropolitanate (al-Mutranah) and the episcopacy on account of the misuse of his stewardship. And as for the new metropolitan (al-Mutran) and his brother the priest, the messengers of the king took them, and they went with them with honour and peace to the city of `Arafah, the city of the king, for which he had been consecrated the metropolitan (al-Mutran), and over all Ethiopia (al-Habashat), and Joseph (Yusif), the brother of the metropolitan (al-Mutran) (was) the priest. And the name of the king at that time was Lalibala (Lalibalah) Ibn Shenouti (Shanudah), and its interpretation (is) «The Lion», and the name of his wife (was) Kebra Maskal (Masghal Kabra) of which the interpretation (is) «Great is the Cross». And the race of the king (was) the tribe called An-Nakbah, and

⁽¹⁾ In the Province of Dakahliah, cf. Omar Toussoun, op. cit., p. 300.

⁽²⁾ Cf. M. Chaine, La Chronologie des Temps Chretiens de l’Egypte et de l’Ethiopie, Paris, 1925, p. 268, line 2.

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he (the king) caused him the metropolitan (al-Mutran) to reside in the city of `Arafah. And he (the king) had two sons, the name of the elder was Yabarak, and the younger A..⁽¹⁾. And when it was the day of Monday, the fourteenth of Bashuns (in the) year nine hundred and twenty-seven of the Pure Martyrs which corresponds to the twenty-fourth of Dhu’l-Ka`dah (in the) year six hundred and seven [1211 A.D.], there arrived at Damietta (Dumyat) eighteen ships of the Franks (al-Afrang) (with) military equipment. And they descended at the Monastery of Jeremiah (Irmya) which belongs to the Melchites (al-Malakiyin), which is near to Damietta (Dumyat) the distance of a parasang (farasanh)⁽³⁾, on the side of the western shore, the shore of Burah and al-Hairah. And there was among all the ships, a large transport-ship, its crew (being) one thousand sailors and warriors, and two transport-ships for carrying the horses, in each transport-ship fifty knights (horsemen), and seven warships and eight fire-ships. They had been equipped from Acre (`Akka), and they came out from it, (and) they descended at the mentioned monastery. And their leader and their commander was a man called Count Aflank ⁽⁵⁾. And there disembarked from the ships one hundred knights (horsemen) and a thousand men. They divided into two halves: fifty knights (horsemen) and five hundred men went to al-Hairah. They killed and they took captives from its inhabitants, men and women, (and) they pillaged it and they burned it with fire. And fifty knights (horsemen) and five hundred men went to Burah, (and) they killed and they took captives from it, men and women; and they pillaged from it many objects, pieces of brocaded cloth (Sharb) ⁽⁶⁾ among

⁽¹⁾ This name is written without the diacritical points,

(³) = between 3 and 3.5 English miles.

⁽⁵⁾ The expedition which is described here is that which was undertaken by Gautier de Montbeliand, cf. E. Blochet, op. cit., p. 299. It cannot be that of Jean de Brienne who disembarked opposite to Damietta on May 29th, 1218 A.D., since in this expedition Damietta was not taken. Cf. R. Grousset, L’Epopee des Croisades, p. 296 sqq., et R. Grousset, L’Empire du Levant, pp. 254-255.

⁽⁶⁾ For a description of this brocade, cf. B.T.A. Evetts, The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt, pp. 62-63.

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which many belonging to the Sultan, their value (being) five thousand dinars, and (other pieces) belonging to a man, a judge (Kadi) called `Ali. They mentioned that he had resided in it (Burah) for two years. He used to manufacture and produce turbans, they said, for ten thousand dinars, and they said more than that. And as for the inhabitants of the town, it was not possible to know what they took belonging to them in the way of turbans goods, bags filled with dinars round the waists of their women. And among all of them (was) the wife of the Judge (Kadi) `Ali, judge of Burah, and there was around her waist a bag of one thousand dinars. And when they had pillaged the town and had killed and had taken captive those they could of it, they burned some of it with fire, (and) all this (was) on the Monday. And they disembarked from the ships tents, and they pitched them before their ships on the land, (and) among them was a red tent belonging to the king who was with them. And they began to pillage and to kill and to take captive every one whom they found on the Monday, the Tuesday and the Wednesday. And during this period no troops went out to them, and no one fought against them, because the troops of Egypt (Misr) were in Syria (ash-Sham) with Al-Malik al-`Adil. And Galdak, governor (wali) of Damietta (Dumyat) dared not cross over ⁽⁴⁾to them to fight them on account of the fewness of his soldiers, but he barred the gates of Damietta (Dumyat) and he manned the wall with the inhabitants of the town and his soldiers. And there was at Damietta (Dumyat) eight warships of the fleet with the commander Mansur. And he did not go out to them and he did not fight against them. And when they saw that no one fought against them, they became emboldened, and they knew that no one in the town would oppose them, some of them crossed over in the fire-ships to the land of Damietta (Dumyat), and they fought against it, and they did not prevail over it in any way, and they returned to their ships. And the

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the river Nile at Damietta.

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wind was favourable to them, and they returned to their land with their spoil. And the enemy had also invaded the Land of Egypt (Misr) in the days of this father once before from the side of Rosetta (Fum Rashid), and it did (the same) in it, and in Fuah, in Hairah, and in Burah, and both these times the enemy succeeded in them, and they took spoils from the frontiers of the land, and they returned safe; and (it was) the order of God — praised be He! what He wills He does. And after these things, the Sultan returned to the Land of Egypt (Misr) in (the) year six hundred and eight [1211-1212 A.D.], and he remained in it. And when it was in (the month of) Ragab (in the) year six hundred and nine [1212-1213 A.D.], he went out hunting in Gizah, and with him his son Al-Malik al-Kamil. And he journeyed on the paved way to Alexandria, and he entered it, and he examined its walls and arranged its affairs, and he went out from it, after he had stayed in it twenty days. He crossed over to the land of (the Province of) al-Gharbiah and passed through its towns and examined their causeways, and he crossed over from it to the eastern land (province). He went to Damietta (Dumyat) and examined its walls and its fortifications and its towers, and he bestowed robes of honour on the builders and the engineers. And he went out to Ashmun and descended at it, and his son Al-Mu`azzam came to him, and he informed him that he had sought to take the Fortress of Kaukab ⁽¹¹⁾ from `Izz ad-Din Usamah, because he had bought it from the mamluk (mamluk) of Usamah who (was) in it, for ten thousand dinars, and it was settled that he should deliver it up to him. And

⁽¹¹⁾ This is the stronghold Belvoir of the Crusaders,

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the mamluk (mamluk) of Usamah who was in the fortress revealed the case to his wife, and he said to her: «We will take this large sum of money, we shall live by it, and we shall purchase with it fiefs and property. And Al-Mu`azzam has sworn to me that he will not send me out from it; and that my rule shall be over it and over other than it of his fortresses, and that he will give to me a trumpet (buk) and a standard, and I shall be with him as his equerry». And his wife said to him: «Good, do what you will», and she knew how to write, and she rose up immediately, and she wrote to Ibn Usamah, and he was staying in the fortress of Safad, making known to him the case, and she said to him: «Hasten, and go in advance to the fortress, otherwise Al-Mu`azzam will precede you to it». And he rose up, on learning the contents of the letter, and he went in advance, going to the fortress, and he took the mamluk (mamluk), and he put fetters on him, and he cast him into the dungeon which is in it. And on the morning of the next day Al-Mu`azzam came to it, and Ibn Usamah greeted him from its ⁽³⁾summit, and he said to him: «Behold, our Sire has honoured us by his passing through our land». Al-Mu`azzam said to him: «I wish to hunt». Ibn Usamah said to him: «You have missed (the quarry)», and he laughed at him. And then instantly (he set out) for Egypt (Misr) until he met his father, and he informed him about the case. And when news reached `Izz ad-Din Usamah about what had occurred with Al-Mu`azzam, he took his troops, and the common people mentioned that three other amirs journeyed with him, and that he journeyed to Syria (ash-Sham) with about two thousand horsemen. And some people said that he was going to his fortresses, and some people said that he was going to Aleppo (Halab) to Al-Malik az-Zahir. And this (was) in (the) month of Sha`ban (in the) year six hundred and nine [1213 A.D.]; and they mentioned that Al-Malik al-Kamil journeyed in pursuit of him with troops and mangonels to besiege him in his fortresses. And when

⁽³⁾ I.e. of the fortress.

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Al-Malik al-`Adil was assured of his journey, he went from Asmum, and he descended at Al-`Abbassah,, and he summoned the soldiers that they should make ready their baggage to journey to Syria (ash-Sham). And Usamah journeyed with the Arabs (al-`Arab), and they betrayed him, and they delivered him up to Al-Malik al-Mu`azzam, and he delivered him to his father Al-Malik al-`Adil. And Al-Malik al-Adil had journeyed to seek him, as we have said before. And when God caused him to triumph over him, he went to the Fortress of Kaukab, and he descended at it, and he besieged it, and the mamluk (mamluk) of Usamah who (was) in it delivered it up; and he carried off all what (was) in it in the way of money and grain and arms to (a place) other than it. And he demolished it, and he carried away its stones to (a place) other than it, and it was the fortress (on) the mountain of Natrun (an-Natrun) (and) he (re)built it with them. And he turned to Damascus (Dimask) in (the) year six hundred and nine [1212-1213 A.D.], after he had taken Usamah and had taken the rest of his fortresses, and they were the Fortress of Safad and the Fortress of `Aglun and others than them (of) which we do not know. And statements about the affair of Usamah differed; some people said (that) he killed him, (and) some people said (that) he was confined in the Karak, in the days of this patriarch ⁽⁹⁾. And after these calamities, a monk from the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar), from the Cell of Batarirkhus, his name was John (Yuhanna), professed al-Islam before Al-Malik al-Kamil, and he paid

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. John VI. ‘in the days of this patriarch’ is added from MS. P.

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to him (as) his worth Minyat Ghamr. And he resided in it esteemed for three years, and he used to pray with the Muslims (al-Muslimin) in the mosque (al-Gami`) at it and the prayer houses (al-Masagid). And after this, he remembered his religion and his monkhood, and he repented. And he bought a piece of coarse cloth and a scarf (mandh/lion),and he took them and he went and he stood before Al-Malik al-Kamil, and he said to him: «These (are) my burial-clothes, whether you kill me or give back to me my religion». He signed a favourable decision for him to all the governors (al-Wulat) to give back to him his religion; and he (the monk) wore the garments of monasticism, and he manifested the religion of Christianity (an-Nasraniah), and he remained thus for a time, until it happened that a Christian (Nasrani) man from the inhabitants of Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id) professed al-Islam. Afterwards, he (the man) remembered his religion, and he repented, and he took his shroud, and he stood before Al-Malik al-`Adil, before his journey to Damascus (Dimask), and he said to him: «Give back to me my religion, as your son, Al-Malik al-Kamil, gave back to the monk his religion, and wrote for him that no one should oppose him». And when Al-Malik al-`Adil heard his speech, he commanded that he should be delivered up to the Governor (Wali) of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and that he should inflict punishment upon him until he died, or renewed his Islam. And he professed a second time al-Islam, and he did not endure the punishment. And Al-Malik al-`Adil caused to be sent immediately a mamluk (mamluk) to the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar), and he commanded that he should take John (Yuhanna), and if he professed al-Islam, (it was well), otherwise, he should behead him and bring it (the head) to him. And the mamluk (mamluk) went to the Monastery, and he took him and he said to him: «Choose what you will, either al-Islam or death», and he (the monk) professed al-lslam. And he went out from the Monastery with the mamluk (mamluk), and he brought him to the Sultan Al-Malik al-`Adil, and he renewed his Islam before him, and he (Al-Malik al-`Adil) returned to him (as)

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his worth Minyat Ghamr and he resided in it for a time, after the journey of the Sultan. Then he presented himself to Al-Malik al-Kamil, and he said that the monks had dug a well in the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar), and (that) they had found in it a treasure and vessels and much jewelry, and (that) the monks had brought a Muslim (Muslim) builder (who) built for them the well, and (that) it was he who had dug it. It was the aim of the monk John (Yuhanna) that Al-Malik al-Kamil should take all the vessels of the monasteries, when he had completed taking the vessels of the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar). And the Master Christ (al-Masih) manifested the virtues of the Saint Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar), and He repelled this shameless (one) from His beloved and His saints (as) despicable and vile. He did not reach his aim, and this (because) he said to Al-Malik al-Kamil that it was a treasure from the time of the Greeks (ar-Rum), and his saying thus was arranged by God to prove him a liar and for the sake of safety. And Al-Malik al-Kamil delegated with him three of his mamluks (mamalik) and with them witnesses, and they journeyed to the monastery in a great company. And the shameless (one) did not know the place of the vessels, because they (were) hidden under the ground, and (no one) knew their place, except the head of the monastery or another man of the trustworthy elders. Then John (Yuhanna) seized a group of monks in whose cell there was jealousy, and he chastised them. And when the head of the monastery knew that, if he delayed in revealing the vessels, he (John) would overcome the monks by chastisement, and would cause them to depart from their religion, he hastened and presented himself before the witnesses, (and) he said to them and to the soldiers who (were) with them that this man (John) had reported a lie to the Sultan and had altered

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the truth, thinking thereby that he (the Sultan) would agree to his oppression; and we have nothing of the vessels, except a chalice of silver or a paten of silver or a silk veil ⁽¹⁾ to cover with it the altar ⁽²⁾ at the time of the Offering (al-Kurban) ⁽³⁾, and all of them (are) for use at the Offering (al-Kurban). The Christians (an-Nasara) provided for them and sent them, and the name of every one of them is written on what he made And the witnesses said to him: «If it be true what you have said, then Al-Malik al-Kamil is just — may God perpetuate his kingdom! — and it appertains to his justice that he will take nothing of them. Quieten your heart and the hearts of your companions, and bring them (the vessels) so that we may see them and may know that your adversary has lied with regard to what he related concerning you, when what is in the way of writing on them has been read». And this happened through the design of God. And the head of the monastery arose from before the witnesses, and he disclosed the place, and he caused to be taken out the vessels, and the witnesses recorded them all on sheets of paper, and they bore them to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they brought them before Al-Malik al-Kamil, and he read all of them. And there was among all a fine crystal water-wheel (sakiah) of marvellous workmanship and a net of pearls. And al-Malik al-KAmil brought experts in jewelry and cloth-merchants, and they valued the jewelry and the silk veils and all the vessels. And he who was present recorded that they were valued at three thousand dinars in brief, and, perhaps, (their) worth surpassed that. And Al-Malik al-Kamil caused the patriarch Abba (Anba) John (Yuhanna) to be brought, and he delivered to him all the vessels, after he had said: «Seek a Christian (Nasrani) man who has professed al-Islam and has accepted the religion of al-Islam by consentment, and (who) is renowned in it for his trustworthiness

⁽¹⁾ This is the veil called «Προσφέρειν», cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, The Egyptian or Coptic Church, p. 23.

⁽²⁾ The term ‘ haikal ‘ is strictly applied to the sanctuary, but it is often extended to the altar.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Divine Liturgy.

⁽⁴⁾ The donor’s name is often inscribed on sacred vessels.

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and his religion and his faith, that he may read for us what is written on these vessels. And they caused to be brought a man from the inhabitants of Alexandria, his name (being) Peter (Butrus) Ibn John (Yuhanna), (who) had been a deacon in the Church of the Lady at it, and (who) had professed al-Islam. And he read to Al-Malik al-Kamil the Coptic which was on the chalices and the patens and the crosses and the spoons the name of every one who had done something on it ⁽²⁾. And Al-Malik al-Kamil was amazed at this, and he commanded that three elders (Shiyukh) of the monks should swore that these vessels were not found in a well, and they swore. And they caused to be brought the builder who had dug for them the well and built it, and he was a Muslim (Muslim) man. And he witnessed before the Sultan that (it was) he who had dug the well and had built it, and (that) there was nothing in it, and the Sultan believed him. And, thereupon, Al-Hakim Abu Sakir said to Al-Malik al-Kamil «O our Sire, there was a report to Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din — may God have mercy upon him! ⁽⁴⁾ — concerning these vessels, and he caused them to be brought, and he understood the falsehood of the reporter, and he returned them to their monastery. Thereupon, Al-Malik al-Kamil returned them, and he commanded them to be delivered to the patriarch. And he (the patriarch) took them, and he placed them on salvers on the heads of carriers, and he bought many candles, and he went round all the streets of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and its markets, and many people of the Christians (an-Nasara) surrounded them, and he went up with them to Cairo (Misr), and he went round its streets and its markets, and the Christians (an-Nasara) cried out with supplication for the Sultan, and it was a very great, celebrated day. And the procession with the Crosses in its markets and its streets was hard to bear for those

⁽²⁾ The name of the donor is often inscribed on the sacred vessels in the Coptic Church.

⁽⁴⁾ An expression which is used, when speaking of one who is deceased.

⁽⁵⁾ Cf. HPEC, vol. III, part I, p. 58.

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who (were) evil-disposed, but no one dared to utter a word nor stretch out his hand, on account of the fear of Al-Malik al-Kamil — may God perpetuate his days! And after this, there came a monk from the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar) from the Cell of Saksik, (and) he wrote to him (Al-Malik al-Kamil) a report concerning the patriarch, saying in it, that every year there was borne to the patriarch much money from the bishops; and (that it had been) the custom with the patriarchs who were before him to expend from their wealth on the ships of the fleet. And the most high judge (al-Kadi), possessor of the Diwam, took the report from him and submitted it to Al-Malik al-Kamil, and he said to the most high judge (al-Kadi): «O judge (Kadi), if another than we were oppressive, we ourselves shall not be like him. Let this monk go to his monastery until we send for him». And the most high judge (al-Kadi) went out to him, and he said to him what Al-Malik al-Kamil had said. And he (the monk) went out shamefaced, and God preserved the father, the patriarch, from his wiles. And there occurred in the days of the life of this father, in the way of difficult affairs, wars and dearness, and famine which we have mentioned before, and if we were to record what happened in the days of his leadership in all the lands of Egypt (al-Misriyah) we should not reach this, nor should we attain to it. However, we have included this biography which we took over from those who were before us, from our predecessors, and what came to our knowledge from hearing reports of our trustworthy elders (Shiyukh) (who came) to the city of Al-Mahallah, since we dwelt in it and we stayed in it. And apart from us, news was spread from our faithful brethren who resided at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), of what they had witnessed in truth, and knew of a certainty. Then the blessed father, the mentioned Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), went to his rest on Friday, the sixteenth of (the month of) Ramadan (in the) year six hundred and twelve which corresponds to the twelfth of

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(the month of) Tubah (in the) year nine hundred and thirty-two of the Pure Martyrs [1216 A.D.] — may his prayers protect us. Amen! And this father, the patriarch, heard, while he was alive, that Abba (Anba) Zacharias (Zakharias) the patriarch, when he went to his rest, had commanded that his (John’s) holy body should be buried in Hibis below the tomb of Zacharias (Zakharias) the patriarch, and he (John) was buried in the cemetery of Hibis in Cairo (Misr), and they (are) both in it up to the day of the writing of this biography; and peace (be to you), and glory to God always, for ever, eternally. Amen!

We begin with his aid and the excellence of his assistance to explain what occurred in the region (κλῖμαξ)of Egypt (Misr), and what befell the peoples who believe in Christ (Al-Masih) and who live in it, from the tower of Damietta (Dumyat) to the tower of Aswan (Aswan), after the decease of the blessed father, the pure virgin, Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) the patriarch — may God give rest to his soul with the righteous!

I recall what reached my knowledge of it in matters which were brought to me about this biography, and the duration of the remaining of the See without a patriarch, as Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) had prophesied concerning this. And when the time was prolonged, I feared that I might die without explaining this. And God accorded to me a respite until I heard it (the news), and I learned (it), and I saw (it). And I should be as though I forbade myself to record the mercy of God, and I should be parsimonious towards others than myself with regard to it (if I did not do so). And I gave priority to the goodness of God, and I sought from Him aid to me for this, relying on His forgiveness, and trusting in His favour, for He is over all things. And I mentioned at the end of the biography of Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), the

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patriarch, that he went to his rest on Friday, the twelfth of (the month of) Tubah (in the) year nine hundred and thirty-two of the Pure Martyrs [1216 A.D.]which corresponds to the sixteenth of (the month of) Ramadan (in the) year six hundred and twelve. And I began with the writing of this biography (on) Monday, the seventeenth of (the month of) Baramudah (in the) year nine hundred and thirty-seven [1221 A.D.] which corresponds to the eighteenth of (the month of) Safar (in the) year six hundred and eighteen. The See has remained vacant, without a patriarch, up to this date ⁽³⁾, five years and three months, and what will be in excess of this will be added to it at the time of the consecration of the patriarch whom the Master Christ (al-Masih) shall set up to pasture His people, as the saintly Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), the patriarch, prophesied. Likewise, it was my father (who) was among those of the elders (as-Shiyukh) of Cairo (Misr), who were present on the day of his ⁽⁴⁾ going to his rest, (who) informed me that, one day before his death, he ⁽⁵⁾ swooned for about three hours. Then he opened his eyes, and he conversed with those who were present with him, and he asked them concerning Mansur his disciple, and he was sick. And they said to him «He died». And he said to them: «Shroud him and bury him, for to-morrow I shall be with him». Then he swooned a second time. Then he opened his eyes, and he said to those who were present with him: «There will be between you after me a great dispute concerning whom you will set up ⁽⁶⁾, and the See will be without a patriarch for a long time, until Christ (al-Masih) will set up for you a man, whence he comes, you know not, and his day will be tranquil, and the Spirit of God will be in him». Then he went to his rest the next day, and they buried him in Hibisat Cairo (Misr) beside the tomb of Zacharias (Zakharias) the patriarch. The See was, and has remained vacant without a patriarch from the day

⁽³⁾ I.e. 1221 A.D.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the patriarch’s.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the patriarch.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. as patriarch.

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of the going to his rest up to the day of the writing of this biography, as said before. And this was by the order of God, as the father, Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) prophesied through the Holy Spirit Who spake through his pure month. And we shall explain here what occurred with regard to the dispute between the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) concerning whom they should set up as patriarch from among those who would be fit, fulfilling the qualities and conditions to which the patriarchal canon testifies. The first of them (is) that he should be a virgin, (and) that he should not have known the follies of youth, and that there should be no witness against him as regards frivolous speech, and that there should be testified for him chastity and religion and abundance of faith and learning and modesty, and that he should have read the Old and the New (Testaments). And they were assiduous in seeking one of this quality. And the Land of Egypt (Misr) was under the rule ⁽²⁾ of the Ghuzz (al-Ghuzz), and the king over it (was) Al-Malik al-`Adil Abu Bakr Ibn Aiyub. And there was in his kingdom the Land of Egypt (Misr) and its provinces, and Jerusalem and its provinces, and from beyond the River Euphrates (al-Furat), Harran (Harran) and Edessa (ar-Ruha) and Nisibis (Nasibin) and Minbig and Amid and Martyropolis (Maiyafarikin) and all their provinces. And he had many sons, and he gave the kingdom of the Land of Egypt (Misr) to his son Al-Kamil and his name (was) Muhammad, and he gave Damascus (Dimask) and Jerusalem to his son Al-Mu`azzam, and his name (was) `Isa al-Kuridi, and he gave Khilat ⁽⁶⁾ to his son Al-Ashraf Musa, and he distributed the cities which were in addition to them to the rest of his sons; and it is said concerning him that he had twenty sons, and he gave the Yemen (al-Yaman) to Akis, a son of his son Al-Malik al-Kamil. Then he died, after he had arranged affairs, and we shall

⁽²⁾ The Ghuzz here means the Kurds.

⁽⁶⁾ Situated at the north-west end of Lake Van, cf. R. Grousset, L’Empire du Levant, map facing p. 106.

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mention this in its place, if we reach to the end of it (the biography). And Al-Malik al-Kamil, the king of Egypt (Misr) had gone out from Cairo (al-Kahirah), wishing for recreation and hunting, and he crossed over to (the Province of) al-Gharbiah, and he journeyed in it making for Alexandria. And he crossed the river of Abiar, and he saw the hermitage of the hermit who was there. And he stood beneath it and he shouted to him, and he (the hermit) conversed with him from above it. And he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) made supplication to him and he complained to him of a pain in his viscera. And he (the hermit) prayed for him over good oil ⁽³⁾, and he gave it to him, and he said to him: «If you anoint the place of the pain, (you will be relieved), and God is the healer». And he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) anointed with it the painful (place), and he was relieved immediately. And he gave to him (the hermit) something as a gift from his hand, and there was affection for him in his heart. Then he returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he found a man of the Children of the Copts (al-Kibt), his name (being) Abu’l Fatuh, and he designated him as Nishu’l-Khilafat, known as Ibn al-Mikaz. And Al-Malik al-`Adil had employed him in the Diwan of the Army, and he drew him near to him. And he (Abu’l-Fatuh) used to give as alms all what he possessed, and he would not save anything, and he would do good to everyone who begged of him from among the Christians (an-Nasarah) and the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and all the people And he was never married, and he was perfect in every good work. And he gave hospitality to a man, a priest, his name (being) David (Dauud), known as Ibn Laklak ⁽⁴⁾ from the inhabitants of the Fayum (al-Fayum). And he was a virtuous, learned (man) (who) had read the Old and the New (Testaments), and he disputed with the opponents of his religion and he prevailed over them. And he became for Nishu’l-Khilafat Abu’l-Fatuh as a teacher, and he used to confess him. And as for Abu’l-Fatuh (he betook himself) to him, and news of him reached

⁽³⁾ I.e. olive oil.

⁽⁴⁾ He became Patriarch of Alexandria, 1235-1243 A.D.

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the father, Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) in his lifetime. He (Yu’annis) had an aversion for the priest David (Dauud) and he had an aversion for Abu’1-Fatuh because he dwelt with him, and he died without having been reconciled with them. And it was, when the metropolitan (al-Mutran) of Ethiopia (al-Habashat) died in the lifetime of Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), and their messenger came soliciting for them the consecration of a metropolitan (Mutran), and the priest David (Dauud) heard about this, (that) he bore to Al-Malik al-`Adil two hundred dinars, that he should command the patriarch to consecrate him metropolitan (Mutran) for Ethiopia (al-Habashat). And the Sultan caused the messenger to go to the patriarch, commanding him to consecrate him (David) metropolitan (Mutran) for Ethiopia (al-Habashat). And the patriarch said to the messenger of the king: «Say to our Sire, the Sultan, that this one is not fit, because his belief in God is corrupt, because he says concerning God what the Greeks (ar-Rum) say and if he went to the Land of Ethiopia (al-Habashat), he would corrupt them, and he would make them Greek (Rum), and they would depart from my obedience and the obedience of the Sultan, and, perhaps, he would incite them to fight the Muslims (al-Muslimin) who are neighbouring to them in the country, and much blood would be shed among them, and this would be on the conscience of the Sultan; but I and my people (are) innocent of it. And the messenger returned to the Sultan, and he informed him of what the patriarch had said, and he (the Sultan) did not press him (the patriarch) and he did not compel him to consecrate him (David), and God made void his affair, and he lost what he had borne. And some people said that the Sultan returned them (the two hundred dinars) to him at the prayer of Nishu’l-Khilafat and (with) the help of Fakhr ad-Din `Uthman. And straightway the patriarch consecrated a metropolitan (Mutran) other than him for Ethiopia (al-Habashat), and he caused him to journey with the messenger of the king to them. And when the father, the patriarch, Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) went to his rest, Nishu’l-Khilafat Abu’l-Fatuh Ibn al-Mikaz wished to aid the priest David (Dauud) with the Sultan and (with) the

⁽¹⁾ I.e. concerning the Two Natures of Christ, it would seem.

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people that he might be consecrated patriarch. And he made plans for this, and he assembled with a company of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) scribes and others than them to the end that they should set up the priest David (Dauud) over them as patriarch. A few of them agreed with him, and many disagreed with him, and he was not able to get together all to an agreement nor to one opinion about him (David). And he despatched his messengers to the sees of the fathers, the bishops, in Lower Egypt (al-Wagah al-Bahari) and to the bishop of Tambudi in Upper Egypt (al-Wagah al-Kibli), and he was a virtuous and leaned (man). And there assembled from them seven bishops, and he gave to them hospitality, and he honoured them, and he gave to them gifts, and he sought from them that they should write their signatures on a document (which) he had made for him (David), that he was fit (to be) a patriarch. And there were among them two poor bishops, the name of one of the two of them (being) Hadiah, bishop of Damirah and al-Baramun, and the name of the other (being) Stephen (Istafan), bishop of al-Banwan and the priest David (Dauud) paid to him something. And the two of them used to stand (in the way) of the Sultan when he rode, soliciting from him, that he should have consecrated for them David (Dauud) (as) patriarch. And they would say to the Sultan that the bishops and the assembly of the people had written their signatures that he was fit (to be) patriarch. And it was by a foreordaining of God what I mentioned before, with regard to the affair of the hermit of Abiar with Al-Malik al-Kamil. And when Al-Malik al-Kamil heard them soliciting for them a patriarch, he said to them: «I command that the hermit of Abiar be your patriarch, and I agree on him for you». And he wrote immediately a letter to Shams ad-Din……..⁽⁶⁾, and to the governor (wali) of (the Province of) al-Gharbiah that

⁽⁶⁾ Here there is a lacuna.

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he should go to Abiar and bring down with him the hermit from his hermitage, and (that) he should cause him to journey to Cairo (al-Kahirah); and he (the governor) brought him (the hermit) down from his hermitage, and he caused him to journey to Cairo (al-Kahirah). And when Nishu’l-Khilafat Abu’l-Fatuh heard this, he agreed with the amir Fakhr ad-Din `Uthman, the wazir of Al-Malik al-Kamil, that they should say concerning him to the Sultan that he (the hermit) asked our Sire, the Sultan, that he should not trouble him, and should not cause him to descend from his hermitage. And they despatched messengers, (and) they took him back, after he had reached Kaliub And the inhabitants of Abiar rejoiced at his return to them, and they went up with him to his hermitage. A man, a Jacobite (Ya’kubini) Christian (Nasrani) from the inhabitants of Cairo (Misr) known as Al-As`ad Ibn Sadafah, a surety of the Dar at-Tufah heard news of his (David), and he was zealous for God, as Phinehas (Finhas) was zealous. And he took with him a company of the people, and he stood before the Sultan, and he resisted Nishu’l-Khilafat Ibn Fatuh with regard to the consecration of David (Dauud), and he took as his support Al-Malik al-Kamil, and he said to him concerning David (Dauud) that he had bribed with money, so that he might gain an advantage over us, and we do not accept him. And he had paid to Al-Malik al-`Adil much money, so that he should command the patriarch to make him a metropolitan (Mutran) (He said): «It is not fitting (that) God permit you that you should make him patriarch over us to corrupt our religion and to make all the Copts (Kibt) of the Land of Egypt (Misr) Greek (Rum), and he will cause it to depart from the hands of the Muslims (al-Muslimin)». Al-Malik al-Kamil despatched (a messenger) to the governor (wali) of Cairo (Misr), saying to him: «If you enable Abu’1-Fatuh and his companions to set up for them a patriarch without my order, I shall hang you». And after a few days Al-Malik al-`Adil went out to Alexandria, and Abu’l-Fatuh asked permission from him for the consecration of David (Dauud).

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And he (Al-Malik al-`Adil) said to him: «Make him a patriarch and rejoin me in Alexandria, and tarry not». And when the priest David (Dauud) heard of this, he made two staffs, (and) on one of the two of them a cross ornamented with gold, and the other ornamented with lines of silver. And he caused robes to be cut and mantles of silk, and he prepared what he needed for his consecration. And Abu’l-Fatuh took him with the bishops, and he went up to Cairo (Misr) to the (Church) al-Mu`allakah to consecrate him as patriarch. And news of him reached the governor (wali) of Cairo (Misr) and he rode, and with him a company of his soldiers and his assistants and he came up to the Church al-Mu`allakah And he treated them ⁽²⁾as base fellows, and he caused them to be impaled, and David (Dauud) escaped, and the bishops departed from the church, taking to their heels from Cairo to their sees. And the affair of David (Dauud) was annulled up to the day of the writing of this biography, according to what was dated previously; and the priests of every place repulsed him, and Nishu’l-Khilafat did not resume speaking about the matter of David (Dauud) or other than him. And we return to the completing of the biography of Al-Malik al-`Adil Abu Bakr Ibn Aiyub, king of the Land of Egypt (Misr) and what (is) with it. And when it was Monday (in) the half of (the month of) Gumada al-Akhar (in the) year six hundred and fourteen [1217 A.D.], news reached him that a king from among the kings of the Franks (al-Farang) called the ‘Hankar’ ⁽⁵⁾ from the Island of Barsiliah ⁽⁶⁾had arrived at Acre (`Akka) in one hundred and sixty ships and transport-ships, and that he had descended at the marsh of Acre (`Akka)⁽, and (that) he had reviewed his troops, and (that) their complement was

⁽²⁾ I.e. those who had assembled.

⁽⁵⁾ The king referred to, it would seem, is Andrew II, King of Hungary, who disembarked at Acre in September, 1217 A.D., cf. R. Grousset, L’Empire du Levant, p. 254.

⁽⁶⁾ Unidentified.

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four thousand knights (horsemen) and ninety thousand foot-men. And Al-Malik al-`Adil gathered together his troops, and he journeyed through Egypt (Misr), and he descended at Shechem (Nablus), and he descended near to the Franks (al-Afrang), and he remained some days in Shechem (Nablus) until his troops were complete, and he journeyed to Acre (`Akka), and he descended at Toron (at-Tur) ⁽¹⁾ at the beginning of (the month of) Ragab (in the) year of its date. Then there arrived a ship and other transport-ships at Acre (`Akka) from other kings, until the marsh of Acre (`Akka) was full, and they descended at it in tents, so that the marsh became narrow for them. And Al-Malik al-Adil heard that they (the Franks) wished to overcome him by night, and he departed from Toron (at-Tur) and he descended at the streamsof Baisan at `Ain Galut on account of the abundance of the water there; and his troops had descended from Shechem (Nablus) to the Castle of Mu`ain ad-Din by the bridge of Asamah. And the King Hankar sent to seek a truce from the Sultan, and the king said to his messenger: «Say to him: ‘If he come out from Acre (`Akka) to the outside of it, I will make a truce with him’». And his messenger repeated to him what the Sultan had said, and he journeyed on the same day. And when he drew near to the troops of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), the Sultan saw what amazed him in the way of the multitude of the knights (horsemen) and the foot-men, because the King Hankar and the King of Acre (`Akka) and the lord of Gibalah and Tripolis (Tarabulus) and those who remained in the Littoral of the kings had come to an agreement, and they had sworn the one to the other one word, that none of them would abandon his companion, and they were of one heart to fight the Muslims (al-Muslimin). And when Al-Malik al-`Adil learned this, he departed from above Baisan, and he

⁽¹⁾ Mt. Toron, north-west of Acre.

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descended at `Akabah Fik. And everyone followed of his troops (who was) a Muslim (Muslim). And the Franks (al-Afrang) fell upon the rear of the troops, and him whom they overtook, they plundered, and they killed many people, and they took the tents and the beasts and all what was in the place. And they descended below to `Akabah Fik, to the resting-place of the Sultan. And he who reported the news mentioned that Al-Malik al-`Adil had despatched messengers to the sons of his brother Salah ad-Din and to others than them from the kings of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), that they should come to him with their troops and aid him against the Franks (al-Afrang), and not one answered him. And he turned to Damascus (Dimask), and he descended at the meadow as-Sa`ar, and he left with his son Al-Malik al-Mu`azzam, two thousand horsemen with a company of the amirs, to go down to Jerusalem (al-Kuds) to guard it. And on Saturday (in) the half of the month of Ramadan there arrived a letter (from) Galdak, governor (wali) of Damietta (Dumyat), (and) he gave news in it that the kings of the Franks (al-Afrang) had said to the Mibaznah and the Ganubiin: «Toron (at-Tur) (is) yours, go and attack it and take it». And there went out from the Franks (al-Afrang) four thousand men, because it (is) a castle on a high mountain, (and) no knight (horseman) is able to reach it. And there were with them Arabs (‘Arab) from the Sons of `Akabah (Bani `Akabah), allies of the Franks (al-Farang), and they were fighting the Muslims (al-Muslimin) with them. And Al-Malik al-Mu`azzam came to them, and with him two thousand horsemen, and they went up to Toron (at-Tur), and they penetrated into the fortress, and they were on the point of taking it, and night came upon them. And Al-Malik al-Mu`azzam sent to the Arabs (al-Arab), the Sons of `Akabah (Bani `Akabah), and he estranged them from the Franks (al-Farang), and he swore to them that he would pay to them the money (which) he had settled with them, and (that) he would give to them fiefs in the land, and he swore to them on this. And he said to them: «It is not

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permitted to you by God to shed the blood of Muslims (al-Muslimin) by the hand of the godless (the Franks) in the month of Ramadan, and they obeyed him, and they swore to his messenger that they would not fight together with the Franks (al-Farang), and that they would not be with them against the Muslims (al-Muslimin). And they said to him: «The Franks (al-Farang) sleep at night, and you can overcome them at midnight, and the signal between us and you (shall be), when we kindle a fire, then attack them». And he (al-Malik al-Mu`azzam) did as they had said to him, and he attacked them at midnight. And the Arabs (al-`Arab) deserted them, and he (Al-Malik al-Mu`azzam) conquered them, and most of them were killed or professed al-Islam, and he stayed at Toron (at-Tur), and he strengthened it with equipment and money and men. And in the beginning of (the month of) Gumada al-Awal (in the) year of its date, the people died in all the Land of Egypt (Misr) by an order of God, and they were cast out dead around their towns, and the stench from them (reached) to the borders of the land; and some people of the Bedouins (al-`Urban) and travellers mentioned that the wild cattle in the desert died and the grazing cattle died also. And I, the writer of this biography, saw the death of the cattle in the Land of Egypt (Misr) in (the) year five hundred and fifty-four of the Higrah [1159 A.D.] before this time, and ten years after that year the State of the Fatimids (al-Fatimiyin) Caliphs (al-Khulafa) passed away, and the Ghuzz (al-Ghuzz) ⁽⁵⁾ ruled the Land of Egypt (Misr) in (the) year five hundred and sixty-four of the Higrah [1168-1169 A.D.], and I lived until I saw it ⁽⁷⁾ this second time, after sixty years. And news arrived that, when the King of the Franks (al-Farang) returned from Toron (at-Tur) to Acre (`Akka),

⁽⁵⁾I.e. the Kurds.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the death of the cattle.

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he passed through one of the villages of Ghur (al-Ghur) ⁽²⁾, called Rahar an-Nasarah, in which are many people, Melkites (Malakiat) and Syrians (Surian), Christians (an-Nasara), and many Muslims (al-Muslimin). They went out to the King, and they met him with the Gospel and crosses and censers, and they stood before him And he thanked them and he said to them: «There remain among the troops four knights (horsemen) (who are) sick. Receive them among you and treat them, and when they are strong, cause them to journey to Acre (`Akka) with one who will conduct them to me», and he left them with them, and he went away. And the Muslims (al-Muslimin) of the town rose up against the Christians (an-Nasarah), and they took them (the knights) from them and they killed them; and the Christians (an-Nasarah) were unable to prevent them through fear of the Sultan. And news of them reached the king at Acre (`Akka), and he caused the troops to journey, (and) he killed all who (were) in Rahar, Christians (an-Nasarah) and Muslims (al-Muslimin), men, women and children, because he had said to them: «(Are there) with you Muslims (Muslimin)?». They said to him: «No». And when they returned, they (the Christians) excused themselves that the Muslims (al-Muslimin) had killed them (the knights), but their excuse was not accepted. And they killed the priest of the church of Rahar, and they ripped open his belly, and they inserted in it a dead dog, because he had sworn to them that there was not in the town a Muslim (Muslim). And after this affair, the King of the Franks (al-Farang) returned to Baisan, and he caused to be carried away all what was in it in the way of wheat to Acre (`Akka) on the heads of the inhabitants of the Ghur (al-Ghur): a strong lad carried half an ardab, and he who was less (strong) a third of an ardab from Baisan to Acre (`Akka) until they had carried away all what (was) in

⁽²⁾ Name of the depression through which the River Jordan flows south of the Lake Tiberias, cf. B. Meistermann, op. cit., p. 619.

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Baisan in the way of wheat. And if a lad became worn out and set down his load so that he might rest, they killed him, and they caused another one of the captives to carry it. And when they had carried the wheat to Acre (`Akka), they made captive from among the inhabitants of the Ghur (al-Ghur) those who had carried it (the wheat). And the kings divided them (the captives) with the King of Acre (`Akka), and the King of Acre (`Akka) took the half, and the King ‘Hankar’ (took the other) half, and the number of all (was) three thousand and six hundred souls. And as for the King of Acre (`Akka) he put fetters on those whom he had made captive and he did not kill them. And as for the King Hankar, he killed a group of them, and he cut off from every Muslim (Muslim) the palm of his right hand, and he caused the rest of them who lived to journey with the palms of the slain to his country in a ship to the Pope (Baba) of Rome (Rumiah). And he wrote to him, saying: «I have conquered the Land of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and I have caused to journey to you a few of the living together with the palms of the slain, so that you may see them. And as for their king, he does not wait for me, and if I seek a truce, he flees from me from place to place, and does not stand before me. And I am conquering what remains in the way of fortresses and castles, and I shall seek him wheresoever (he is) until I take him. As for Jerusalem, they have fortified it with men and walls, and you have said (that) not one of the kings of Christendom (an-Nasaraniah) should shoot an arrow, nor a mangonel, a stone into it. And how is it possible to take it from the Muslims (al-Muslimin) without fighting for it or marching on it. And they (the Muslims) did not take it except by vehement fighting and mangonels. And if you come to us, hasten to us, and may be God will give it (Jerusalem) to us, and we shall all celebrate the feast in it, if God wills». And this (is) the end of what reached us concerning the King Hankar. The Muslims (al-Muslimin) used to say that he was

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killed in the war, and (others) said that he was taken captive. And I did not make certain of anything concerning him, whether he was killed or made captive or returned to his country; and God knows what resulted from his affair, and He is my sufficiency and in Him I trust.

And when it was Monday, the third of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Awal (in the) year six hundred and fifteen [1218 A.D.], in the evening of the day, the watchman at Damietta (Dumyat) caught sight of many ships on the high sea. And when the morning of Tuesday, the fourth of it (Rabi`a al-Awal), dawned, the watchman looked out all that day, and the ships arrived one after the other, and they anchored at sea opposite to the towers. And the ships continued to arrive for the space of a week, until it was the tenth of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Awal. And when they were complete, they came up to the land, and all of them (the Franks) looked out from the prayer-house (al-Masgid) which was at Shat al-Birug, and it is known as the prayer-house (al-Masgid) of Ibn al-Khiar above Burali (Burah). And they dug opposite to them (the Muslims) a trench, its breadth thirty cubits and its depth fifty cubits, and its length (was) from the Nile to the Mediterranean, and they let into it the water from the Nile, and it was filled with fresh water, and it became for them a fortification and a source for drinking ⁽⁷⁾. And they erected with them a great mangonel on the mound (Kum) of al-Hairah opposite to Damietta (Dumyat). And stones used to reach inside Damietta (Dumyat) up to the house of the chief, and whatsoever it (the stone) fell upon was destroyed; if it were a man, it killed him, or a house or a wall, it demolished them, or on a roof, it caused it to collapse, and

⁽⁷⁾ What follows is another account of the expedition of Jean de Brienne against Egypt, cf. R. Grousset, L’Epopee des Croisades, p. 296.

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it killed those who were under it, and it plunged into the earth; it demolished many houses in it (Damietta), and it destroyed a great number of people And the Muslims (al-Muslimin) made from within Damietta (Dumyat) a mangonel, and they shot with it against the mangonel of the Franks (al-Afrang), (and) it broke it, and they shouted with a great shout at the Franks (al-Afrang), and the ropes slipped from it. And they (the Franks) made a mangonel larger than the first, and with it four other mangonels; and they shot with the larger against Damietta (Dumyat) and with the smaller (ones) against the tower of the chain. And when they did not reach their aim with the mangonels, they widened the trench which has been mentioned before, which they had dug, and it was widened so that it became a large river, and ninety warships and fire-ships entered from it into the River Nile. And when they were in the River Nile, they equipped their ships with men, and they attacked the inhabitants of Damietta (Dumyat) (on) Monday, the twenty-first of (the month of) Rabi`a al-Awal (in the) year of its date [1218 A.D.]. And there was severe fighting between them, and there was slaughter among the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and among them (the Franks), and many were wounded on both sides. And they separated when night came upon them, and when they did not reach their purpose, for the Muslims (al-Muslimin) were shooting against them with arrows from the tower, and they were hurling stones at their ships with a catapult on it (the tower). Some people mentioned that the king who was conducting them and their battles had the name Count (Kund) Feather (ar-Ris) ⁽⁵⁾, because there was on his head a gold crown adorned with jewels, (and) from its sides there protruded the likeness of a gold feather inserted in it; so they named him Count (Kund) Feather (ar-Ris); and other people said that their ships in which they arrived

⁽²⁾ For an account of this tower on an island in the Nile and the chains, cf. S. Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt, p. 219.

⁽⁵⁾ Cf. R. Grousset, L’Epopee des Croisades, p. 298. The knight mentioned here was Jean d’Arcis whose helmet was adorned with a peacock feather.

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(were) three hundred ships and transport-port ships, and they said that they were more than this, and their number was not certain. And some people mentioned that in them (the ships) were seven kings (and) with every king (were) a thousand knights (horsemen) and ten thousand foot-soldiers, the total (of which) was seven thousand knights (horsemen) and seventy thousand foot-men. And this was not made certain, but reported from hearsay, because no one was able to go to them nor to come from them. And as for the mangonel which they had set up on the mound (Kum) of al-Hairah they made at its head a lead box, its weight (being) two Syrian (Shami) kantars, and they named it ‘The Layer-bare’, and there were six hundred men beneath it, hauling it; and it used to shoot into the midst of Damietta (Dumyat), so that it demolished the house of the chief, and it laid bare what (was) around it. And the weight of the stone which went out from it-was a Syrian (Shami) kantar, and by it they killed many people during the period of their stay before Damietta (Dumyat). And among the troops of the Franks (al-Farang) (were) many Muslim (Muslimat) women from among the inhabitants of the Ghur (al-Ghur) and Frankish (Afrangiat) women from among the inhabitants of the Littoral, to grind for them the wheat and serve them, and there were with them many young children and cows and pigs and fowls. And there were on the sea many boats of those who caught fish to sell it to the troops of the Franks (al-Farang). And when they told the king Count (Kund) Feather (ar-Ris) about them, he seized them, and he made them responsible for the fish at fifty dinars every day. And we have said that they opened a riverfrom behind the tower, and they entered into it with warships and fire-ships to attack the Muslims (al-Muslimin); and every day they were attacking the inhabitants of Damietta (Dumyat), and there was much slaughter between them: then they would separate at night, and they

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remained on this wise (for the months of) Rabi`a al-Awal and Rabi`a al-Akhar. Then they took two large ships from their ships, and they nailed on them dry planks, and they erected in the middle of them four masts, and they joined the one to the other by their skill, so that they became one, and they called it ‘The Raft’. And every nail (with which) they nailed it (had) the length of three cubits or two cubits or one cubit and a half and a span; everything of them was in its place. And they constructed on the four masts a lower roof carrying one hundred and fifty men, and a roof above it carrying one hundred and fifty men, and they were three hundred warriors. And they advanced it to the tower which was in the river, and it (the raft) did not fasten on to it (the tower), because it had a glacis on every side projecting from it. And when they were not able to fasten it (the raft) on to the tower, the current prevailed over it and drove it back by the command of God. And the masts were broken from the transport of the men with arms, and a large company of them fell into the river, (and) they were drowned without fighting or attacking; and after this raft they did not resort to advance another raft. And when this happened to them with the raft, they set up two other mangonels against the tower which was in the middle of the river. And they used to attack (it) with them and with a catapult (Zanburak). And there was to it ⁽⁴⁾ from Damietta (Dumyat) wood ⁽⁶⁾ made with boats, and planks were nailed onto them, and they (the Franks) did not cease to hit the wood until they broke its boats and its planks and cut its ropes. And when it was Friday, the fifth of (the month of) Gumada al-Akhar, the Franks (al-Afrang) multiplied against the tower with ships and men, and they took it. And there were in it one hundred and fifty Muslims (al-Muslimin), (some) of them were killed, and (some) of them were drowned, and (some) of them escaped by swimming to Damietta (Dumyat), and

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the tower.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. a pontoon-bridge, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 221.

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they saved themselves. And sixty men of them were taken captive whom the Franks (al-Afrang) caused to journey to Acre (`Akka) and to other (places) than it of their land. And from the day they took the tower they did not resort to advance a raft. And it was mentioned by him who bore the news, that Al-Malik al-`Adil died in Damascus (Dimask) on Friday, the eight of (the month of) Gumada al-Akhar (in the) year of its date, and it was the day on which the Franks (al-Afrang) took the tower of Damietta (Dumyat). And it was mentioned by him who bore the news, that spies of the Sultan informed him that many ships of the Franks (al-Farang) were leaving and were going to Syria (as-Sham), and he crossed over to them with the troops and he took them. And when it was Tuesday, the eleventh of (the month of) Ragab (in the) year six hundred and fifteen [1218 A.D.], Al-Malik al-Kamil commanded the troops to cross over, and about three thousand foot-men hastened, and they crossed over to the encampment of the Franks (al-Afrang) before the troops crossed. And the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil had enjoined on all the troops, the horsemen and the foot-men, that they should not advance to the attack until the standard which was his should be raised for them on the tower in which he was from Damietta (Dumyat). And a company of the foot-men was roused to action, (and) they sought in their ignorance to overcome before the troops were completed, and they fell upon the tents of the Franks (al-Farang), and they killed and they overcame, and hope of victory carried them too far. And the Franks (al-Farang) looked, and they did not see behind them troops, and they returned to them (the Muslims), and they killed them in the tents, and they hurled their heads with a mangonel into Damietta (Dumyat) and a large company of them was known. And they threw themselves into the river ⁽⁵⁾ with their arms and their dress, and the Franks (al-Farang) drew them out with boats, and they

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Nile.

⁽⁵⁾ Lit. ‘ sea ‘.

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took what was on them, they being dead. And the Sultan grieved over them, and he commanded that the troops should return, and he reviewed the men, and he found (that) those who were killed of them (were) three thousand men, slain and drowned ⁽¹⁾. And while he was grieving over them, the news arrived of the death of his father Al-Malik al-`Adil in Damascus (Dimask) from an indigestion ⁽²⁾ which overtook him in the Tower of Safar, and he was borne to Damascus (Dimask), and he died in it, and they buried him beside Salah ad-Din, his brother, in the tomb, (on) Friday, the eight of (the month of) Gumada al-Akhar (in the) year six hundred and fifteen [1218 A.D.]. And he was at that time king of Egypt (Misr) and Syria (ash-Sham) and Jerusalem and the Littoral and the fortresses and Damascus (Dimask) and the Yemen (al-Yaman). And he gave Damascus (Dimask) and what (is) with it in the way of Syria (ash-Sham) and Jerusalem and the Littoral and the fortresses and what Salah ad-Din had conquered from the lands of the Franks (al-Farang) to his son Al-Malik al-Mu`azzam named `Isa, and known as the Kurd (al-Kuridi). And he gave Egypt (Misr) and its province to his son Al-Kamil Muhammad; and he gave Harran and Minbig and Akhlat and all what (is) beyond the River Euphrates (al-Furat) to his son Al-Asraf. And the duration of his reign was nineteen years and fifty-three days from the time of his entry into Egypt (Misr), and he died, and his troops (were) ten thousand eunuchs. And his son Al-Malik al-Kamil Muhammad ruled the lands of Egypt (Misr) and the Yemen (al-Yaman). And he caused to journey his son Aksis to the Yemen (al-Yaman), and he took possession of it, and he himself settled in the Kingdom of Egypt (Misr), and he executed his order alone, after

⁽¹⁾ It was Jean de Brienne who saved the situation for the Franks, cf. R. Grousset, L’Epopee des Croisades, pp. 297-298.

⁽²⁾ According to his biographer Ibn Khallikan, he could eat a roast lamb at a meal, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 221.

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the death of his father, up to the beginning of the month of Ragab (in the) year six hundred and fifteen of the Higrah [1218 A.D.].

The biography of Al-Malik al-Kamil Muhammad son of Al-Malik al-`Adil Abu Bakr Abu Aiyub.

And a letter from Al-Malik al-`Adil, before his death, reached Al-Malik al-Kamil, (saying): «The enemy has set out from Acre (`Akka) for Egypt (Misr) with many ships. Take heed to the harbours, and do not encounter him, and evacuate the cities before him for a distance of three days, for if he invades, he will cover a distance of four days in one day, slaying and taking captives and pillaging, and he will return to his tents for the rest of the day. And Al-Malik al-Kamil evacuated (the cities) of (the Province of) al-Gharbiah before him for a distance of four days, and he evacuated Al-Mahallah and all what (was) around it, and Singer and Sanhur and Fuah. And these cities were evacuated, and their gates were bolted and no one was able to depart with more than his garments which (were) upon him and that in which he slept; and they left all what (was) in their houses in the way of wheat and grain and wine and all the leguminous plants in them; and some of them were whole, and some were reduced in part, and some were completely taken. And people went to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and some people to Cairo (Misr) and to Syria (ash-Sham) and Damascus (Dimask), and they dispersed in all the world, and some of them returned, and some of them did not return. As for Samannud, it was not evacuated, and it remained inhabited, and many people of the inhabitants of the

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land dwelt in it. And its governor (Wali) was designated Nur ad-Din `Ali, and he was prudent. All night long he used to go round it (Samannud), and the people were sleeping in the ships and on the river, and no dread affrighted them, and no one went out from them (the ships). And when it was Tuesday, the seventeenth of (the month of) Dhu’l-Ka`dah, `Imad ad-Din Ibn al-Mastub bore tales between Al-Malik al-Kamil and his brother Al-Malik al-Faiz (which) corrupted their hearts, the one against the other. And it was mentioned concerning him (`Imad ad-Din) that he allied himself with Al-Malik al-Faiz to kill Al-Malik al-Kamil, and (that) Al-Malik al-Faiz should rule. And there was one of the soldiers of Al-Malik al-Kamil present with them, and he went to him (Al-Malik al-Kamil), and he informed him of all what had occurred, and he said to him: «Save yourself». And he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) arose from his tent, and he rode by night, and he pushed forward with his companions and his courtiers and his mamluks (Mamalik), and no one recognized him up to Ashmun ⁽⁵⁾, and he descended at it. And when it was morning, the confidents sought him, and they found him not, (and) the troops were troubled. And when they heard that he had descended at Ashmun, they followed after him; and there was an uproar among the troops so that they left their tents and their possessions and their beasts. And when the morning dawned (on) Tuesday, the seventeenth of (the month of) Dhu’l-Ka`dah, a fire-ship crossed over from the Franks (al-Farang) to attack ⁽⁶⁾. And no one went out to it, and it came to the land. And they (the Franks) did not see in the tents anyone and all the tents were set up, and the carpets in them were spread out, and the horses and the mules and the camels were tied up around them, and there was no man in them. The fire-ship

⁽⁵⁾ Ashmun (Ashmum) Tanah (al-Raman) in the Province of Dakahliah, cf. Omar Toussoun, op. cit., p. 244, and E. Amelineau, op. cit., pp. 170-171.

⁽⁶⁾ The following is a continuation of the account of the expedition against Damietta by Jean de Brienne.

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returned and brought news to the Franks (al-Farang), and they (the Franks) said: «This is a stratagem (which) the Muslims (al-Muslimin) have prepared for us». And some people of them went up to the mosque (Gami`) of al-Hairah to see if there was there an ambush, and they did not see anyone. And they descended (and) informed the king, and he commanded that a warship should be equipped with warriors, and should cross over to the tents to find out the news. And they crossed over, and they examined the tents from the first of them to the last of them, and they did not find in them anyone, and they returned, and they informed them (the Franks). And he (the king) caused the ships and the men to proceed, and they carried off the tents, and all what (was) in them in the way of possessions and vessels and beasts, and the garners of wheat and barley and grain, all of which (was) for the Sultan and the amirs and the merchants; and they took possession of countless wealth without the sword and without fighting, by the order of God and His will. They took of the valuables and the wealth and the beasts and the supplies and the weapons, the value of which cannot be estimated nor their number be counted, and they took it to their tents. And they took many captives from the Muslims (al-Muslimin), youths and others than them, apart from the many people whom they killed. And during the rest of the day they brought up transport-ships and great ships, and they crossed over with the horses and the knights (horsemen) to the land of Damietta (Dumyat). And the Franks (al-Farang) descended in the tents of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) at al-`Adliah, and they advanced to Damietta (Dumyat) and they descended at it, and they threw it into confusion. And the inhabitants of Damietta (Dumyat) cut the bridge ⁽⁵⁾ of the Bab ar-Rais, and they waged war with the Franks (al-Farang) until Al-Malik al-Mu`azzam `Isa arrived at Ashmun on Monday, the twenty-third of (the month of)

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the drawbridge.

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Dhu’l-Ka`dah, (in the) year of its date, and found the Franks (al-Farang) encircling Damietta (Dumyat). And his brother Al-Malik al-Kamil asked him about the situation, and he informed him that `Imad ad-Din Ibn al-Mastub had corrupted the troops against him, and (that) he had adjured the Kurds (al-Akrad) that they should kill him and make Al-Faiz king, and that he had fled from them at night, and had left everything to him (Al-Faiz), fearing for himself. And when he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) heard his words, he made ready thirty horsemen and thirty dromedaries with thirty men from the Arabs (al-`Arab), and he caused to be brought `Imad ad-Din Ibn al-Mastub. And when he was present before him, he said to him: «What are these deeds which you have done? You have sought to kill the Sultan and to be Sultan. And if you had known the measure of the grace of God upon you, you would have known that you were more at ease than the Sultan, and did enjoy life more than he and whatever you sought was (yours)». And he commanded the soldiers who were standing before him, and they beheaded him.

[Marginal Note]. There has come to an end what was found of the news of the fathers, the patriarchs of the See of Mark (al-Markusi) — may God the Exalted grant to us the acceptation of their righteous intercessions!

_____________________________________________

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume III, Part III

CYRIL III — CYRIL V (A. D. 1235-1894)

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE EGYPTIAN CHURCH
KNOWN AS THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY CHURCH
BY
SAWIRUS IBN AL-MUKAFFA`
BISHOP OF AL-ASHMUNIN

VOLUME III. PART III

CYRIL III — CYRIL V
(A. D. 1235-1894)

Cyril III. Ibn Laklak. (1235 – 1243 A.D.) – Cyril (Kirullus) the Patriarch, the seventy-fifth of (their) number.
Athanasius III. (1250 – 1270 A.D.) – Athanasius (Atanasius) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-six of (their) number.
Gabriel ??? (1262 – 1274 A.D.) – Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-seventh of (their) number.
John VII. (1271 – 1293 A.D.) – John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-eighth of (their) number.
Theodosius II. (1294 – 1300 A.D.) – Theodosius (Taudusius) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-ninth of (their) number.
John VIII. (1300 – 1320 A.D.) – John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eightieth of (their) number.
John IX. (1320 – 1327 A.D.) – John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-first of (their) number.
Benjamin ??? (1327 – 1339 A.D.) – Benjamin (Banyamin) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-second of (their) number.
Peter V. (1340 – 1348 A.D.) – Peter (Butrus) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-third of (their) number.
Mark V. (1349 – 1363 A.D.) – Mark (Markus) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-fourth of (their) number.
John X. (1363 – 1369 A.D.) – John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-fifth of (their) number.
Gabriel ??? (1370 – 1378 A.D.) – Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-six of (their) number.
Mathew I. (1378 – 1409 A.D.) – Mathew (Matta) the Patriarch, and he is the righty-seventh of (their) number, and he was known as the wretched (Al-Maskin).
Gabriel ??? (1409 – 1427 A.D.) – Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-eighth of (their) number.
John XI. (1479-1482 A.D.) — John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-ninth of (their) number.
Matthew II. (1451-1465 A.D.) — Matthew (Mattaus) the Patriarch, and he is the ninetieth of (their) number.
Gabriel ??? (1466-1475 A.D.) — Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-first of (their) number.
Michael III. (1476-1478 A.D.) — Michael (Mikhayil) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-second of (their) number.
John XII. (1479-1482 A.D.) — John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Nakkadi and he is the ninety-third of (their) number.
John XIII. (1482-1524 A.D.) — John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Misri, and he is the ninety-fourth of (their) number.
Gabriel ??? (1524-1569 A.D.) — Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-fifth of (their) number.
John XIV. (1570-1585 A.D.) — John (Yuhanna) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Manfaluti, and he is the ninety-sixth of (their) number.
Gabriel ??? (1585-1600 A.D.) — Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-seventh of (their) number.
Mark VI. (1601-1618 A.D.) — Mark (Markus) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-eighth of (their) number.
John XV. (1618-1634 A.D.) — John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-ninth of (their) number.
Matthew III. (1634-1650 A.D.) — Matthew (Mattaus) the Patriarch (surnamed) At-Tukhi, and he is the hundredth of (their) number.
Mark VI. (1650-1660 A.D.) — Mark (Markus). the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Bahguri and he is the one hundred and first of (their) number.
Matthew IV. (1660-1675 A.D.) — Matthew (Mattaus) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Miri, and he is the one hundred and second of (their) number.
John XVI (1676-1718 A.D.) — John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) At-Tukhi, and he is the hundred and third of (their) number.
Peter VI. (1718-1726 A.D.) — Peter (Butrus) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and fourth of (their) number.
John XVII (1726-1745 A.D.) — Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), and he is the one hundred and fifth of (their) number.
Mark VII (1745-1769 A.D.) — Mark (Markus) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and sixth of (their) number.
John XVIII (1769-1796 A.D.) — Abba (Anba) John (Yuhanna) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and seventh of the number of the Patriarchs.
John XIX (1796-1809 A.D.) — Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis), and he is the one hundred and eighth of the number of the Patriarchs.
Peter VII. (1809-1852 A.D.) — Abba (Anba) Peter (Butrus) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and ninth of the number of the patriarchs.
Cyril IV. (1854-1861 A.D.) — Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirillus) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and tenth of the number of the patriarchs.
Demetrius II. (1862 – 1870 A.D.) – Abba (Anba) Demetrius (Demitrius) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and eleventh.
Cyril V. (1874 – 1927 A.D.) – Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus) the Patriarch, the one hundred and twelfth of the number of the patriarchs.

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We begin with the help of the Lord — praised be He! — to explain what we found from the epitome of the news of our masters, the fathers, the patriarchs of Alexandria who sat on the Throne of my lord (Mari) Mark (Markus) the Evangelist (and) the Preacher; and this, (is) what we found in the books of history which have been gleaned in order to continue the number

Cyril (Kirullus) the Patriarch, the seventy-fifth of (their) number.

This father Cyril (Kirullus) Ibn Laklak was consecrated ⁽²⁾ at the city of Alexandria on Sunday, the twenty-second of (the month of) Bau’unah (in the) year nine hundred and fifty-one of the Martyrs [1235 A.D.]. And he remained patriarch for seven years and nine months, and he went to his rest on Tuesday, the fourteen of (the month of) Baramhat (in the) year nine hundred and fifty-nine of the Martyrs [1243 A.D.] at the Monastery of the Beacon at Gizah (al-Gizah), and he was buried in it. And he was a learned man (and) virtuous. He possessed a number of divers virtues, except that he was a lover of money. And he practisedsimony (xeiporoni/a), and there befell him adversities on account of it. And some people withstood and contemned him and held councils with regard to him in the presence of the viceroy (naib) of the Sultan and the arbiters (al-`Adul) and the wazir Ma`in ad-Din Ibn as-Sheikh ⁽⁸⁾, and they forced him to pay more than twelve thousand dinars. And the throne remained vacant after him for seven years and seven months.

⁽¹⁾ I.e. of the patriarchs.

⁽⁸⁾ Cf. G. Graf, Geschichte der Christlichen Arabischen Literatur, Zweiter Band, pp. 360-361 and O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, ‘The Canons of Cyril III Ibn Laklak. Part II’ in B.S.A.C., t. XIV, p. 114.

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And this father is he who drew up the Book of the Confession, the twenty-two sayings, and he called it the Book of the Teacher and the Disciple

Athanasius (Atanasius) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-six of (their) number.

This father Athanasius (Atanasius) the Patriarch, a son of the priest Makarim Ibn Kalil, was a deacon at (the Church) al-Mu`allakah, and he was chosen for the patriarchate. And he was consecratedon the fifth of (the month of) Babah (in the) year nine hundred and sixty-seven of the Martyrs [1250 A.D.]. And he remained patriarch for eleven years and fifty-six days, and he went to his rest on the first (of the month) of Kihak (in the) year nine hundred and eighty seven of the Martyrs [1270 A.D.].

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-seventh of (their) number.

This Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch (was) a nephew of the father Peter (Butrus) as-Sami, bishop of Tanbudi. This father was a priest at (the Church) al-Mu`allakah and he was chosen for the patriarchate, and he was ordained hegoumenos (Kummus). Then some of the archons (a1rxwn) at Cairo (Misr) agreed on John (Yu’annis) Ibn Abi Sa`id as-Sukari, and they cast lots in the sanctuary, and it revealed the name of Abba (Anba) Gabriel (Ghabryal). And the mentioned John (Yu’annis) Ibn Sa`id and those who were with him gainsaid him (Gabriel), and he was set aside. And John (Yu’annis)

— 229 —

was consecrated on the sixth of (the month of) Tubah (in the) year nine hundred and seventy-eight of the Martyrs [1262 A.D.], a month after the decease of Abba (Anba) Athanasius (Atanasius). And he remained patriarch for a period of six years and nine months. Then John (Yu’annis) Ibn Sa`id was removed, and they finished (the consecrating of) Abba (Anba) Gabriel (Ghabryal)⁽³⁾, and he was established in the patriarchate for a period of two years and two months from the twenty-fourth of (the month of) Babah (in the) year nine hundred and eighty-five of the Martyrs [1268 A.D.] up to the six of (the month of) Tubah (in the) year nine hundred and eighty-seven [1271 A.D.]. Then he was removed from the patriarchate and John (Yu’annis) was brought back by the command of the Sultan. And Abba (Anba) Gabriel (Ghabryal) continued set aside until he went to his rest at the Church of Abba (Abu) Mercurius (Markurah) in Cairo (Misr), and he was buried in it on the seventeenth of (the month of) Abib (in the) year nine hundred and ninety of the Martyrs [1274 A.D.]. And when he went to his rest, they placed his name before the name of Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) in the Church.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, the seventy-eighth of (their) number.

This John (Yu’annis) Ibn Sa`id as-Sukari was from the inhabitants of Cairo (Misr), and he was consecrated on the sixth of (the month of) Tubah (in the) year nine hundred and seventy-eight of the Martyrs, as we explained at first. And he was in the days of Al-Malik az-Zahir Beybars (Baibars). And in the year six hundred and sixty-two of the Higrah [1264-1265 A.D.], the Sultan commanded that they should dig a great pit, and they gathered together the Christians (an-Nasara) to burn them

⁽³⁾ Up to this time he had been ordained only hegoumenos.

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in it, and he sent for the patriarch, and he imposed on him (a fine of) fifty thousand dinars, and they set free the Christians (an-Nasara), and they remained two years exacting it (the fine). And many adversities befell the Christians (an-Nasara) in his days, the explanation of which would be lengthy. And the bishops suffered something, the explanation of which would be drawn out; and he (John) was removed from the patriarchate, as we have explained in the account of the aforementioned Abba (Anba) Gabriel (Ghabryal). Then he (John) returned, and the period of his patriarchate (was) twenty-nine years, and he went to his rest on the twenty-sixth of (the month of) Baramudah (in the) year one thousand and nine of the Martyrs [1293 A.D.], and he was buried in the Monastery of the Nestorians (an-Nastur); and the See remained vacant after him one year and (some) days.

Theodosius (Taudusius) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-ninth of (their) number.

Theodosius (Taudusius), son of Abu Makin al-Afarangi — his name was Christodulus (`Abd al-Masih) — (was) from the inhabitants of Minyat Bani Khasim. And he was at the Monastery of Saint Abba (Abu) Fana (Fana), and he was ordained a priest in his monastery. And he was consecrated on the tenth of (the month of) Abib (in the) year one thousand and ten of the Martyrs [1294 A.D.], in the days of Al-Malik an-Nasir Muhammad Ibn Kalauun ⁽⁶⁾. And the people remained for a period without commemorating his name, but they used to commemorate the name of him who was before him. And it was mentioned that he obtained the patriarchate by what is against the law (no/moj)and the precepts, and (that) he was a lover of taking bribes. And there occurred in his days mortality and great dearness, and the people ate the dead

⁽⁶⁾ 1290-1294, 1299-1309, 1310-1341 A.D.

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of one another. And he (Theodosius) went to his rest on the fifth of (the month of) Tubah (in the) year one thousand and sixteen of the Martyrs [1300 A.D.]. And the period of his occupation of the See (was) six years, and he was buried in the Monastery of the Nestorians (an-Nastur), and the See was vacant after him for (some) days.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eightieth of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, known as Ibn al-Kaddis, was chosen for the patriarchate, and he was consecrated on the nineteenth day (of the month) of Amshir (in the) year one thousand and sixteen of the Martyrs [1300 A.D.]. And there was in his days the wearing of the blue turbans and other happenings ⁽⁴⁾. And there occurred a great earthquake ⁽⁵⁾on Thursday (in the) half of the month of Misra (in the) year one thousand and nineteen of the Martyrs [1303 A.D.]. And he went to his rest on the fourth day of the month of Bau’unah (in the) year one thousand and thirty-six of the Martyrs [1320 A.D.], and he was buried in the Monastery of Shahran, and the duration of his patriarchate was twenty years and one hundred and five days. And this father was present at the funeral of the father, Saint Barsuma the Naked ⁽⁹⁾ on the fifth of (the month of) Nasi (in the) year one thousand and twenty-one of the Martyrs [1305 A.D.], and he prayed over him. The blessing of the prayer of all (the Saints) be with us for ever. Amen.

⁽⁴⁾ The wearing of blue turbans and the closing of the churches is mentioned in the colophon of a MS. dated 1024 A.M. (= 1307 A.D.) edited by G. Horner, The Service for the Consecration of a Church and Altar, London, 1902, p. 25 (translation), and S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 301.

⁽⁵⁾ S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 301 states that this earthquake occurred on August 8th, 1303 A.D.

⁽⁹⁾ Commemoration on Nasi 5th.

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John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-first of (their) number.

This father John (Yu’annis) the patriarch (was) from the inhabitants of the district of Nafiah in (the Province of) al-Manufiah. He was consecrated patriarch on the first of (the month of) Babah (in the) year one thousand and thirty-seven of the Martyrs [1320 A.D.]. And in his days many calamities befell the Christians (an-Nasara); some of them were killed, some of them were burned, some of them were nailed and paraded on camels, and they caused them to wear the blue turbans ⁽⁴⁾; afterwards, He (God) relieved the people through His mercy. And the duration of his patriarchate (was) six years and five months and a half. And he went to his rest on the second day of (the month of) Baramudah (in the) year one thousand and forty-three of the Martyrs [1327 A.D.], and he was buried at the Monastery of the Nestorians (an-Nastur) on the outskirts of Cairo (Misr), and the See was vacant after him for a few days.

Benjamin (Banyamin) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-second of (their) number.

This father Benjamin (Banyamin) was predicted by our father Saint Barsuma the Naked before his going to his rest. They consecrated him patriarch on the fifteenth of the month of Bashuns (in the) year one thousand and forty-three of the Martyrs. And this saintly father was from the inhabitants of Ad-Dimikarat in the Sa`id ⁽⁹⁾, and he was a devout monk living at the Mountain of Tura. And he went

(4) Cf. S. Lane-Poole, A history of Egypt, London, 1925, pp. 310-311, and B.T.A. Evetts, The Churches and monasteries of Egypt., pp. 328-340, where there is given Makrizi’s account of what occurred.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. Upper Egypt.

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to his rest on the eleventh day of the month of Tubah (in the) year one thousand and fifty-five of the Martyrs [1339 A.D.]. And in his days there was made governor Sharaf ad-Din an-Nashwa Ibn at-Tag. And there befell him (the patriarch) many adversities. And they insulted the women and their children and the monks and the nuns and the bishops. And An-Nashwa died under punishment through the blessing of the prayer of this father and his supplications, and retribution from God came down on all who wrought evil. And this father (re-)built the Monastery of Saint Abba (Anba) Pshoi (Ibshai) in Scetis (Shihat)⁽²⁾, and he expended on it from his own (money). And the period of his remaining patriarch (was) eleven years and eight months, and he went to his rest, and he was buried at the Monastery of Shahran.

Peter (Butrus) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-third of (their) number.

This virtuous father Peter (Butrus) was a chief at the Monastery of Shahran, (and) he was chosen to sit on the Throne of Mark (al-Markusi) the Evangelist. And he was consecrated on the sixth day of the month of Tubah (in the) year one thousand and fifty-six of the Martyrs [1340 A.D.]. And he remained patriarch for eight years and a half, and his days were peaceful. And he went to his rest on the fourteenth day (of the month) of Abib (in the) year one thousand and sixty-four of the Martyrs [1348 A.D.].

Mark (Markus) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-fourth of (their) number.

This father Mark (Markus) the Patriarch was from the inhabitants of the district of Kaliub. He was chosen for the patriarchate,

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and he was consecrated on the eighth (of the month) of Abih (in the) year one thousand and sixty-five of the Martyrs [1349 A.D.], and he remained patriarch for fourteen years and three months. And he went to his rest on the sixth day (of the month) of Amshir (in the) year one thousand and seventy-nine of the Martyrs [1363 A.D.], and his days were peaceful.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch and he is the eighty-fifth of (their) number.

This trustworthy father, known as As-Shami, was consecrated patriarch on the twelfth day of the month of Bashuns (in the) year one thousand and seventy-nine of the Martyrs [1363 A.D.]. And he remained patriarch for six years and two months. And he was learned (and) virtuous, and he went to his rest on the nineteenth day (of the month) of Abib (in the) year one thousand and eighty-five of the Martyrs [1369 A.D.].

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-six of (their) number.

This venerable, virtuous father Gabriel (Ghabryal) was from the Monastery al-Muharrak, and he was chosen for the patriarchate. And he was consecrated on the eleventh (of the month) of Tubah (in the) year one thousand and eighty-six of the Martyrs [1370 A.D.]. And he was learned, virtuous, devout (and) ascetic. And the period of his occupation of the Throne of Mark (al-Markusi) (was) eight years and four months. And he went to his rest on the third day of the month of Bashuns (in the) year one thousand and ninety-four of the Pure Martyrs [1378 A.D.].

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Matthew (Matta) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-seventh of (their) number, and he was known as the wretched (Al-Maskin).

And this saintly father was from the Sa`id of Egypt (Misr) from a small hamlet of the Province of Al-Ashmunain called Bani Ruh. And he was from his youth a shepherd in the house of his father; and God Who shows forth miracles in His Saints showed forth in him from his childhood, while pasturing, very wonderful deeds, one of which (was) that, when he used to stand playing with the children, he would place his hand on the head of one of the children, saying: «Worthy!» (a!cos) ⁽⁴⁾ thrice, and he would ordain a group of them priests, and others deacons, so that his blessed mother used to marvel at this, and she would point to the gathering saying: «This my son will become without fail patriarch. And this one (Matthew) did not continue a little child, so that he became big and grew up. And when he became fourteen years old, he thereupon left the house of his father, and he went to some monasteries in Upper Egypt (as Sa`id), and he worked as a shepherd according to his custom. And he used not to wear on his body a garment at all, but he was clothed with a cloak and a rope round his loins. And together with his contempt of himself he likewise possessed courage and amazing strength, so that on account of his great courage the shepherds who were older than he (was) would, if fierce hyenas entrapped them at night to devour their sheep, and they prevailed not over them, put this father to the test and send him to those hyenas. And it was (that), when he drew nigh to them and

⁽⁴⁾ In the ordination service of bishops, priests and deacons the final laying-on of hands is accompanied by the exclamation a!ctos, repeated thrice, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, The Egyptian or Coptic Church, Cairo, 1967, pp. 161, 164, 173.

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screamed at them with his voice, they would leap away from him and turn tail in flight, so that the shepherds who were older than he (was) used to marvel at his great courage. And the grace of God shone upon his face, for this father was handsome of countenance, very agreeable in form, figure and appearance, and it was (that) everyone who beheld him would love him on account of it. Once a woman beheld him, and she coveted the beauty of his eyebrows, and Satan (as-Shaitan) incited her, and she accosted him (Matthew) with evil (intention), and he went aside, and he took off his eyebrows with a razor, and he betook himself with the eyebrows to that woman, saying to her: «Take the hair of the eyebrows which you did covet». And when the woman beheld him, she grieved for that exceedingly, but she did not turn back from him, so that the father asked the bishop that he should let him go his way, for that woman (lived in) proximity to the dwelling-place of the bishop. And this father concealed her affair, and he did not wish to make it known to the bishop that she was increasingly incited towards him. And he asked the bishop that he should let him go his way, but he (the bishop) was not willing. Thereupon, he acted as if he were mad, and immediately he collected the robes of the bishop and his palliums (ballin), and he tore them all into little pieces, and he cast them in a heap as rags. And when the bishop beheld this, he rose up against this father and he rebuked him and drove him away to his monastery. And he (the bishop) did not know that he (Matthew) had done this on account of that woman, but (he thought) that a madness had come upon him. And God sent to the bishop a group of people who informed him of what had happened to him (Matthew) with the woman. And when he (the bishop) was assured of this, he regretted having driven him away. And the father, the bishop, began to seek an occasion to meet him (Matthew) until the time he met him. Thereupon, straightway he took hold of him, and he ordained him priest, and he was eighteen years old. And when the news of his ordination was made known to the spiritual, honourable father, who was the father

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Abraham (Ibrahim), the hegoumenos (al-Kummus) al-Fani ⁽¹⁾, he rose up straightway against the bishop, and he said: «How did you make bold, O our father, and ordain a young lad a shepherd, a priest, and he is eighteen years old?». And the bishop answered him, saying: «The young man is worthy to be consecrated patriarch by reason of what I know of him, for he fasts in the time of summer every two days, and in winter, every three days». And when our father, the hegoumenos (al-Kummus), heard what the bishop testified of him (Matthew), he marvelled and glorified God Who speaks through the mouth of His Saints. And as for him (Matthew), when he beheld the scandal which arose on his account, he went to the Mountain of Saint Antony (Antunius)⁽³⁾, and he did not show himself to anyone that he was a priest; but when it was his intention to serve, he did not serve except as a deacon. And lo, a divine hand came forth from the altar (haikal) and gave to him incense thrice at the reading of the Gospel; then it withdrew from him. And when some of the saintly elders (as-Shiyukh) beheld it (the hand) and were assured of it, they informed him that he would without fail become patriarch. And when he heard this from them, he grieved exceedingly, and he arose, and he went to the city of Jerusalem (Aurushalim), and he was a stranger there, and he used to work as a labourer and to eat from his toil. And it was from his great exertions in the day, (that) he passed all the night also awake in a cave, and he did not associate with anyone and he did not talk at all. And if an affair compelled him to talk, he used not to speak beyond seven words, and as for Friday, he would not talk on it, but he used to talk with the Master Christ (al-Masih) all the day. And thus this father did not cease (his) exertions in the city of Jerusalem (Aurushalim) until a monk of a foreign race (ge/nos) came to him and said to him: «O man

⁽¹⁾ I.e. he was a monk of the Monastery of Abu Fanah, cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Christian Egypt Ancient and Modern, Cairo, 1965, pp. 262-263.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Monastery of St. Antony, cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts, pp. 31-88.

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of God, have mercy upon me, for I had a supply of silver to be of use to me in my sojourning abroad, (and) they stole it, and I do not know who it is who stole it from me». And he who stole it, took it stealthily, and journeyed immediately to Bethlehem (Bait Lahm) intending to escape to his country. And when this father was informed by the Spirit of his affair, he left that monk in his place, and he went immediately to Bethlehem (Bait Lahm), and he took hold of him who had stolen the supply (of money), and he took it from him; and he did not spread abroad his affair, but he took it from him, and he returned it to that monk, its owner. And (it was) that the monk marvelled at this, and he published this miracle to everyone in Jerusalem (Aurushalim). And when this father was informed that his affair was spread abroad, he arose immediately, and he went to the Mountain of Antony (Antunius), and there befell him on his return many griefs and hardships among which (was) that the King of Egypt (Misr), by reason of what had happened from the Franks (al-Afrang)⁽³⁾, which had happened in the city of Alexandria, sent an officer (Ka’id) and soldiers from him to inflict punishment on the monks and to require from them the vessels of the monasteries. And when the soldiers took hold of this father, they inflicted on him heavy punishment, until the heart of the Blessed Mark (Markus)⁽⁵⁾ was pained for him, and he rebuked him, the officer (al-Ka’id) on account of him, saying to him: «Do you not fear God, for you hear the youth adjuring you for the sake of God through the suffering of the beating, and you do not have mercy upon him

⁽³⁾ This is the descent on Alexandria by Peter of Lusignan, king of Cyprus, in 1365. The Christians of Egypt had to pay the ransom of the many captives which he took, and also to contribute to the building of a fleet, cf. S. Lane-Poole, op. cit., p. 320.

⁽⁵⁾ The relics of the Blessed Mark are preserved in the church dedicated to him at the Monastery of St. Antony, cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Christian Egypt Ancient and Modern, pp. 354-355.

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and accept (it) for the sake of God». And when the officer (al-Ka’id) heard his words, he was exceedingly enraged, and he ordered that they should set free this father and should beat the Blessed Mark (Markus) in his stead. And the officer (al-Ka’id) wearied of punishing them, and he took them in fetters, wishing to journey with them to Cairo (Misr). God Who manifests His miracles in His Saints manifested at their (the monks’) hands a great miracle, so that the officer (al-Ka’id) marvelled and repented at having punished them. And this (was) that these Saints, when the suffering of the beating and the fetters grew intense for them, a great thirst came upon them on the way, until their livers were dissolved. And the Blessed Mark (Markus) asked the officer (al-Ka’id) that he should give to them a little water to drink, but he did not do (so); and the Blessed Mark (Markus) rebuked him, saying: «If you wilt not give to us water to drink, lo, the Lord our God will give to us water from the heaven to drink», and with (these) words of the Blessed Mark (Markus) to him, he (the Blessed Mark) prayed, lifting his face to the heaven; and immediately the cataracts of heaven opened, and rain fell heavily until the plains and the ravines were filled, and they all of them drank, and on account of the abundance of the rain they halted to rest. And a messenger from the King reached them to deliver them and to return them to their monasteries. And thus this father remained but a little at the monastery; afterwards, he took permission from the Blessed Mark (Markus), and he went to the Mountain of Kuskam at al-Muharrak. And this was by an economy of God for the profit of the brethren dwelling there, because there were among them those who did not continue fasting on every day up to the ninth (hour)⁽³⁾. And this father instructed them to continue the fast up to the ninth (hour) with the great striving with which he was wont to strive before them in order, that they might be instructed from him by seeing, for it is better than hearing. And sometimes he

(3) I.e. 3 p.m.

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used to carry away the ashes ⁽¹⁾ on his head, and to wash the vessels of the kitchen and the pots, and to serve the elders (as-Shiyukh) and the sick who (were) among them and the visitors. And he had no robe and no possessions and no cell (κέλλιον), but his dwelling was the hard lumpy ground in a cave in the mountain outside the monastery, and he would pray in it. And Satan (as-Shaitan) used to stir up against him in that cave many trials and fearful phantoms, among which was (that) he raged against him in the likeness of lions and fierce hyenas coming to him to devour him. And as soon as they saw him, they would become tame towards him and would be afraid of him. And this father informed us that the fierce wild beasts became tame towards him, so that the day on which they did not find food for their young, they would come and complain to him. And he would arise and give to them what was with him in the way of bread and leave himself hungry for some days without eating, until he returned to the monastery. And the wild beasts out of their love for him, when he journeyed on the way, would journey with him; and when he commanded them to return, they would return. And his manner of life was thus from time to time, until the patriarch who was before him was translated ⁽²⁾. And thereupon the assembly of the people called him, and they besought him to become patriarch over them, but he did not agree, and he arose and hid himself, and he descended into a ship sailing southwards. But God forbade the wind to blow, until a little child came and directed them to the hold of the ship. And the people went to him immediately, and they caused him to come up from the hold of the ship. And when he knew that there was no escape for him from their hands, he thereupon besought them with many prayers that two of their companions should accompany him to the Mountain of Saint Antony (Antunius) to ask the advice of his fathers, the elders (as-Shiyukh). And at the hour (in) which the elders saw him, they rose up towards him, and especially

⁽¹⁾ I.e. from the oven.

⁽²⁾ I.e. died.

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the Blessed Mark (Markus) and they advised him that he should not refrain from what was ordained for him, but (that) he should make ready for and accept the service and be appointed patriarch. And when he came to Cairo (Misr) and was assured that he would become patriarch, his heart was exceedingly grieved on account of it, so that from the abundance of his grief he took a pair of steel scissors, and he cut off the tip of his tongue and he cast it before the people; and they were exceedingly grieved; and they purposed to heal him and they could not, but the Lord Who loosed the tongue of Zacharias (Zakarya) after the dumbness, was He Who loosed his tongue, and they were assured that their shepherd (was) this (one) from God. Then they laid hold on him, and they consecrated him patriarch on the first day (of the month) of Misra (in the) year one thousand and ninety-four of the Martyrs [1378 A.D.]. And the total of the assembly of the bishops (who) laid hands on him in the city of Alexandria was eleven bishops. And he (Matthew) desired of Christ (al-Masih) that He should send to him the twelfth bishop; and he did not depart from Alexandria until Christ (al-Masih) sent to him the twelfth bishop. And they completed his enthronement as patriarch on the sixteenth day (of the month) of Misra⁽⁵⁾, out of his love for that day which is the commemoration of our Mistress the Virgin. And he did not change anything of his way (of life) or his humility during the days of his patriarchate, but he set up a copper bell at the Cell of the Patriarchate, and it was that all who heard that bell arose for the Prayer ⁽⁶⁾ at its (appointed) times. And (there was) fasting on every day up to the ninth (hour)⁽⁷⁾, and it was (that) together with his assiduity for the Prayers and vigils he did not neglect charity for the wretched. But it was, if he sat in his

⁽⁵⁾ This is the Feast of the Assumption of the All-Holy Virgin Mary.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Canonical Hours.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. 3 p.m.

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council, (and) then there came to him a starving man or a wretched (one), he used to leave what he had in hand in the way of givingjudgment, and he would attend to the state of that starving wretched (one), rather than to what he had in hand, because for this father there was not (anything) more (important) than caring for the wretched and giving alms to them. And from the superabundance of his care in alms-giving and charity it was (that) on the day on which there did not come to him a wretched (one), he used to arise and go round the houses of the widows and the wretched and visit them, and those who (were) in the prisons also, and he was a surety for every one of them. As for the convents which (were) for the nuns, the most important (thing) of all (was) that he used to go round every convent of their convents and see into their condition. And once he entered one of the convents, and he found an aged woman, a wretched nun, sitting at the time of the ninth (hour), eating bread and salt only. For this (reason) pain and grief of heart for the nuns took hold of him, so that it was (that) he did not neglect to visit them, but he used to appoint for them every month (a supply of) wheat and grains and oil and other things than these from the time of his (consecration to the) patriarchate up to the day of his translation ⁽⁴⁾. And likewise to those in the monasteries and the mountains ⁽⁵⁾ he used to send all what they needed, and from those in straitened circumstances and hardships he used to remove that hardship, and for those in the prisons he used, for the sake of their deliverance, to cast himself at the gates of the amirs and the governors and to spend for them much money, so that they might be delivered from that hardship. And he used to look for a recompense for this from the Master Christ (al-Masih); and it was (that) all what he did in the manner of these charities and gave to the wretched and those in poverty, Christ (al-Masih) gave to him the double of it. And

(4) I.e. his death.

(5) I.e. the deserts.

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it was (that) all what increased for him in the way of gifts of gold and silver, he used to spend it from the very beginning on the wretched. And his disciples counted what was left from the patriarch who (was) before him, and they found it (to be) more than one hundred thousand dirhams, (and) all of it was given in alms to the wretched. And when his disciples saw that all what (was) under his hand and all what was brought to him, he used to spend from the very beginning on the wretched, they spoke to him about this, and they counselled him to reserve something of the alms and other than that which came to him for some emergency. And when they importuned very much, he dug a hole in the earth, and he deposited in it six hundred dinars, and when he had deposited this, he thought about it and he said: «O Matthew (Matta), our Lord says in the Holy Book: ‘Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where the moth destroys and thieves using craft steal, and you have withheld this from the wretched, and treasured it up in the earth, and you have remained disobedient to the saying of the Gospel. Or do you not know that God — praised and exalted be He ! — will recompense in exchange for what you give to the wretched twofold?». And he repented and he wept, and he arose immediately to take out those six hundred dinars and, lo, he found at the side of them another six hundred dinars which the Lord revealed to him for the sake of charity for the wretched. And when he saw that, he marvelled, and he began to rebuke his disciples for the hardness of their hearts, saying: «Behold, O my sons, if the Lord has done this with him who succours and gives to the wretched, how, then, do you prevent me, I the miserable (one), that I give not to the wretched?» Then he immediately obtained for those thousand and two hundred dinars wheat and grain, and he distributed it all among the monasteries and the wretched and the necessitous and the widows and the orphans and the hidden poor ⁽⁴⁾. And once he said to his disciples: «Arise, O my sons, purchase one thousand ardabs

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. those who conceal their poverty.

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of corn for the wretched, because a great dearth will come upon the Land of Egypt (Misr), and many of the wretched and the poor will die». And his disciples said to him: «Whence, O our father, shall we purchase a thousand ardabs of corn, and we have not with us of its price, except the half of five hundred dinars and no more?» And he said to them: «O my sons, purchase and do not fear, the Lord will make ready for us another five hundred dinars for the sake of the wretched). And thus, scarcely were the words out of the mouth of this father, when there came to him two women from the notables of the people, (having) with them five hundred dinars, and they asked him to purchase with them wheat for the wretched. And when his disciples saw this, they marvelled at what had happened, and they arose immediately (and) they purchased those thousand ardabs of corn, as he had said. And after the corn had been purchased, affairs did not remain long before a severe dearth occurred in Egypt (Misr). And many people forsook their land and gathered about this father, so that the way to his cell was filled with the hungry and the cast down; and this father used to go round and see to every group of them, and his heart was pained for them, and he used to care for all according to what they needed day by day until this dearth was lifted, and this hardship was overcome. Thereupon, he called the strangers and he comforted them, and he gave to every one of them a garment and clothed him with it, and likewise the women, he gave to them what was needed to cover them. Then he gave provisions to them all, and he hired for them ships to carry them to their lands, and their number was eight hundred persons. And he used to provide also for the dead and to shroud them and to bury them; and he performed charity with all parties, Christian (Nasara), Muslims (Muslimin) and Jews (Yahud). And God the Exalted blessed all the crops and other things than them, as He had blessed the five loaves and the two fishes so that, when

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his (Matthew’s) disciples began to complain of the lack of corn, and that all what remained in the granaries did not suffice for the morrow, he used to say to them: «Distribute, O my sons, and fear not, because I have other granaries overflowing (and) full». And this father did not mean earthly granaries, but the heavenly granaries, because this father was wont to celebrate the feast of our Mistress the Virgin and the Archangel, the pure Michael (Mikhayil), the two feasts in every month And it was (that), if the granaries were empty, and he entered and he blessed them on those two feasts, the granaries would be filled and overflowing with heavenly blessing. And once I saw (that) this father had purchased beforehand for the monasteries and the mountains ⁽²⁾a thousand ardab of lupines (qe/rmoj)on account of the occurrence of that dearth. And when the occurrence of that dearth was retarded, some of the brethren, the monks, began to carry away part of these lupines to the fire, as refuse; and when that dearth happened and came to pass, those monks regretted much; but as regards those who had preserved what they had, whenever they became hungry and did not find anything, they used to nourish themselves with those lupines and give glory to God. And when the rich who were without charity saw the deeds of this father and the excess of his love for charity, they began to follow his steps and to do as he did, so that one of the rich (who) was named As-Sa`id Barakah Ibn Wagh al-Muhr, came and sought (from him), saying: «I beseech you, O my master, the father, to ask the Master Christ (al-Masih) to put charity into my heart, that I may love charity for the wretched, as you, and to bring about my translation ⁽³⁾ before your translation». And he (Matthew) said to him: «It shall be to you (according to) your faith, and it shall be given (to you) as your heart (desires)». And in that hour Christ (al-Masih) put charity in that (man) in his heart, according as he had sought, so that it was (that) he did not repulse anyone of those who

^(l) This is a commemoration of St. Michael the Archangel on the 12th of every month, and of the All-Holy Virgin Mary on the 21st of every month in the Coptic Church.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the cells of the hermits in the deserts.

⁽³⁾ I.e. death.

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asked him, and he did not cease to perform alms and to give, and the greater part of his alms-giving was for the convents ⁽¹⁾ until his almsgiving reached a thousand ardabs of corn every year. And when he pleased God by his works, and his hour drew near, Divine grace moved him, (and) he went up the same day to the cell⁽²⁾ to be blessed by this father according to his custom, and death overtook him in the presence of this father, as he had sought, so that he (Matthew) marvelled at his faith. And he shrouded him with his pure hand, and he wrote on⁽³⁾. . . «You did ask, (and) you were given: you did knock (and) it was opened to you», for God — praised and exalted be He! — hearkens to the merciful and the lowly. And as for the rich who were without charity, I saw this father asking one of the rich to give something from his gold and his silver to the wretched, and he did not do (so). And God sent to him an oppressive officer (Ka’id) before this father had departed from his house, and he laid his hand upon the treasures of that rich man, (and) he took his gold and his silver and his provisions. Then he died, (and) his death (was) evil (and) tormented, and his soul went to Hell, for thus is the miserable fate which descends upon the rich who are without charity. And this father desired (that) all people should be assiduous in charity out of his love for charity. And it was (that, on) the day in which he did not find anything to give as alms, he once gave as alms the carpet which (was) beneath him. And once he gave as alms his robe and his loin-cloth; and another time (he gave as alms) the copper (vessel) placed before him; and once a man, a scribe, came to him, and he was in need, (and) he gave to him his carpet. And also there came to him at eventide a man (who was) hungry, and he (Matthew) took his supper from before him, and he gave it to that hungry (one). Then he went out (and) he knocked at the doors, as a wretched (one) seeking a loaf. And when he knocked

⁽¹⁾ I.e. nunneries.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Patriarchate.

⁽³⁾ A word is missing here, perhaps it is ‘his tombstone’.

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at the door (and) they were assured that it was the voice of the patriarch, they came out, and they asked him to accept more than a loaf, but he did not do (so). And once he sent one of his disciples to bring to him food at eventide. And when the coming of that disciple was delayed, he began to rebuke himself, saying: «Why are you not satisfied with dust in place of food?» and he began to dip his bread into the dust and to eat until he was satisfied and he thanked God. And when the disciple came, he found him (Matthew) satisfied with the dust in place of food, and he marvelled, because he had no care for the needs of the body; even the garments and the mantles which were on his body, he did not pay attention to them, but was satisfied with a hair-shirt beneath his robe, and he would give all what he had to his sons, the bishops, and he did not keep with him except one phelonion (burnus) destined for the Service ⁽¹⁾. And once he asked his disciples to give that phelonion (burnus) to a needy bishop (whom) he had consecrated, but they did not do (so); and when they did not obey him, the Lord sent to him in that hour a new silk phelonion (burnus) as a gift, better than that one, and he gave it to that bishop. And when the disciples saw what had happened, they glorified God, and they grieved at their disobedience to him, and they no longer disobeyed him in anything. And he (Matthew) perfected charity with the virtue of humility; and he used to make with the labourers the puddle of mud ⁽³⁾ and to empty the tubs with the workers, and to carry the grain with the porters, and he used to run behind the asses ⁽⁴⁾ and with (all) this he was not lowered in his prestige and his respect in the eyes of the people. And as for the service of the priesthood ⁽¹⁾ when he was vested and went up to the altar, the colour of his face became as embers, and his eyes shone as one who beholds the Son of God standing upon the altar, (and the congregation) were in fear and awe of him. And the assembly of the priests used to ask him to sit on the throne, and he

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the Divine Liturgy.

⁽³⁾ I.e. for making bricks.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the asses were laden, and he drove them forward with a stick.

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would refuse this, and he answered them, saying: «How shall it be, O my sons, that, (when) Christ (al-Masih) is present, we do not show respect and forbid (not) sitting on the throne?» And he used to rebuke with his hand and reprove the priest who did not stand in fear at this Service ⁽²⁾. And he who despised his words, he would excommunicate him, and he would die in that hour. And once he saw a deacon (who) ventured on the Service with disrespect, (and) this father excommunicated him, and he fell down from a high ladder and was broken to pieces, and he died. And once I saw a deacon who concealed the correspondence about a garden for fatherless children. And when this father spoke to him concerning it, his answer to him was: «Your word would cut me off, O my father, if I had concealed from you the correspondence about the garden of those fatherless (ones)». And this father said to him in wrath: «From your mouth it shall be to you, as you have said», and that deacon had scarcely reached his house when he fell down and died. And they found what he had concealed in the way of the correspondence at the sides of his house, because it was none other than the Holy Spirit Who had judged (him). And he (Matthew) did not begin, at the commencement of his judgements, except that he called on those who were present for the judgment to say: ‘Our Father Who are in the heavens’. And as for his correspondence, he used to write in it, after the mention of the Holy Trinity ⁽³⁾, ‘Salvation belongs to the Lord’, meaning by this that it is Christ (al-Masih) our God Who gives judgment through his (the patriarch’s) mouth, in which is salvation for His slaves; and for this reason every judgment put aside by kings and governors, they would send it to him, and it would be solved immediately. And how many times was it (thus), that the King in Egypt (Misr), when a judgment was difficult for him in the way of the pilfering of goods which the porters used to pretend the Franks (al-Afrang) had carried off for themselves over the Mediter-

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Divine Liturgy.

⁽³⁾ I.e. ‘In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God. Amen’.

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ranean; and if the king were considering that judgment and did not recognize the oppressor from the oppressed, then he used to send it to this father to judge between them, and it would be solved immediately on account of his good moral character and his speech through the Holy Spirit Who dwelt in him. And the congregation of the Greeks (ar-Rum) by reason of the abundance of what they had witnessed in the way of the love of this father for them, and his soundness in judgment for them all, used not to trust anyone to judge among them except this father. And, also, the sect of the Franks (al-Afrang), when they witnessed the judgments, they glorified God, because news of this father had spread unto the borders of those lands. And the love and the friendship which was renewed during the time of this father, between the kings of Christendom (an-Nasraniah), we have never heard the like of it, or the gifts which the kings offered to one another, we have never heard the like of it. And it was when the King of Ethiopia (al-Habashah) heard of the love which the kings of the Franks (al-Afrang) (had) for this father, and their great gifts to him, he sent to them gifts which were greater than theirs, and he sent to the King of the Franks (al-Afrang), saying: «I have not sent to you these gifts to seek similar to them, except there be offered to me something in the way of relics of the Lord (as-Saidiyah) which are in your land». And when these gifts reached the King of the Franks (al-Afrang), he rejoiced at them exceedingly; and he sent to him what was more venerable and greater than they; and it was that he had among his treasures a fragment of wood from the wood of the Cross on which our Master Jesus (Yasu`) Christ (al-Masih) was crucified. And he brought it out immediately, and he placed it inside a hollow cross of gold ornamented with precious stones; and he brought out with it the body of a child from the bodies of the children whom Herod (Hirudus) the hypocrite had slain, and he placed them ⁽³⁾ inside a chest. Then he placed with them gold and silver vessels and magnificent copes which are for kings and priests

⁽³⁾ I.e. the fragment of the Cross and the body of the child.

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what it is not possible to describe. And he had designed on one of them the image of this father designed in glittering gold. Then he sent adjuring this father that he should not send these gifts to Ethiopia (al-Habashah), until he had celebrated the Divine Liturgy in that hieratical vestment on which his image was designed, and that he had impressed on it the kiss of the blessing of his pure mouth ⁽¹⁾ before its going there, because he had great faith in this father whom he had not seen or beheld. But when he heard of his virtues, and by reason of his great faith in him, he sent to him many requests asking for a piece of his turban, and he (Matthew) sent it to him, and he (the King) used to place it on the sick, and they recovered. And this father obeyed what the King had counselled, and he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in that vestment before us, and he called all of us, (and) he blessed us on that day with those relics of the Master (as-Saidiyah), and we marvelled the more when we beheld the good condition of the body of that child who was from the days of our Master Christ (al-Masih) up till now, and nothing of its members, or one of its fingers was decomposed; and we asked him that he should leave it for us in the Cell⁽³⁾ for a few days that we might be blessed by it, but he did not do (so). And in the hour in which the gifts reached the Land of Ethiopia (al-Habashah) and the righteous king beheld the relics of our Master Christ (al-Masih) together with that child, he marvelled, and he took off the crown from upon his head, and he remained for about an hour prostrate, worshipping those relics of the Master (as-Saidiyah). Then he raised his head, and he saw the hieratical vestment on which was designed the image of this father, and he became jubilant, and he rejoiced and he glorified God Who had made him worthy to behold the image of this father in his land before his translation ⁽⁴⁾, because the king was yearning to see the image of this father by reason of what he had done for him in the way of prophecy, for that king had not been king over Ethiopia (al-Habashah) at first, but his brother. And this father sent to him a letter from Egypt

⁽¹⁾ The celebrant kisses a vestment before putting it on.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the patriarchal residence.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. his death.

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(Misr) announcing to him in it that he would become king in place of his brother, because the King Barkuk ⁽¹⁾ in Egypt (Misr) had indicated to this father that he should write a letter to the king of Ethiopia (al-Habashah); and this father did not wish to be in correspondence with that king. And when he sat down to write, God spoke through his tongue, (and) he wrote the letter in the name of his brother David (Dauud)⁽²⁾, and he did not write it in the name of him who governed before him. And the messengers of the King in Egypt (Misr) disapproved of it, and they did not intend to bear that letter, but this father constrained them until they took that letter and departed. And they had not yet reached that land, when they found (that) by Divine Economy that king had been deposed by his troops from his kingdom by reason of the evilness of his designs, and (that) they had set up his brother David as king in place of him, when this father had written. And when the messengers of the King in Egypt (Misr) heard the news before their arrival in the land of the king, they glorified God and became amazed at the cognizance of the father. And when they arrived, they presented that letter with rejoicing to the King David in whose name our father had written the letter. And when the king broke the seal of the letter and found it written in his name, he marvelled, and he sent behind the messengers that they should give to him the cross of this father and his scarf (mandh/lion). And this father had given to the messengers together with the letter the cross. And when they had forgotten to give them to the king in that hour, and he had asked them about them, they marvelled, and they asked the king who had informed him about this. And he said to them: «The master, the patriarch, informed me about this before your arrival, and I have witnesses to witness about this». And he called immediately his wazirs (wuzara) and his troops and his soldiers and his blessed sister, and he began to relate to them what he had seen, saying: «I tell you, O (you) here, that before you seated me as king on the throne, I beheld this

^(l) Virtual ruler of Egypt from 1378-1399 A.D.

⁽²⁾ I.e. David I, 1382-1411 A.D. Cf. Jean Doresse, L’Empire du Pretre Jean, Paris, 1957, vol. II, pp. 112-114.

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father, the patriarch, in a vision; and he took off my brother from the throne, and he caused me to sit (on it) in place of him. And he said: ‘Thus God takes away the kingdom from him who does not walk with uprightness’. Then, after he had spoken this and had caused me to sit on the throne, he gave to me this cross in my hand, and he invoked upon me, that God should establish my throne as (that of) David, (Dauud) our father to judge among the peoples with justice. Then he blessed me and he departed from me. And I awoke and I was amazed, and I would have explained to you this vision at its time, but my blessed sister forbade me (to do) that, for fear of the king, my brother, lest he should learn (of it) and should kill me, and for this reason I have called her ⁽¹⁾ to witness to you what she heard from me before. And when the king had related this before the assembly, they all glorified God Who manifested His miracles at the hand of this father, while he was dwelling in Egypt (Misr) and beholding with the spirit what was taking place in the Land of Ethiopia (al-Habashah). And when the messengers returned from the Land of Ethiopia (al-Habashah), they informed the King in Egypt (Misr) about what had occurred from this father, and he marvelled; because he loved this father, and he (Matthew) loved him also, because he did not mount the throne until he had sent to ask him that he should take for him permission from the saintly elders (as-Shiyukh) in the Mountain of Saint Antony that he should ascend the throne. And God set him up as king and he remained all the days of his life, (and) he did not disturb this father, and he did not listen to any false calumny against him, because how many a time did the oppressors calumniate this father, and the king did not listen to them. And once I saw two defiled monks (who) sought the priesthood in vain, (and) they calumniated this father with that king and when he did not listen to them, they calumniated him (Matthew)

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the king’s sister.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Monastery of Saint Antony in the Eastern Desert.

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also with every governor, in Egypt (Misr), and to every governor to whom they went, they would speak concerning him the contrary of what they had accused about him with the other governors. And when the governors were assured of their falsehoods and had become impatient with them, they intended to punish them and to cast them into prison, but this father did not permit them, and he continued to bear with them, and his spirit endured them, but they did not turn away from their evil and Satan (as-Shaitan) filled their heart. And they assailed this father on a certain day, while he was seated judging, and they said to him: «Why is it that you do not arise and come down from your throne, for the time has come in which one of us should become patriarch and the other a bishop». And when he heard their speech, he smiled and he did not become violent with wrath, but he answered them with great humility, saying: «Do as you see (fit), O you here and I ask of you that you bear with me for a little, and I make an obeisance (meta/noia) to you that you accord me a delay of forty days only until I free myself from the attachments of the patriarchate and the deposits of the people which are under my hand. And after the completion of the forty days, come to me, and I will deliver up to you the throne of the patriarchate without an obstacle hindering me». And when this father had said this to them, they rejoiced, but with their rejoicing this father did not suffer them to depart until he had celebrated the Divine Liturgy and had communicated them from the Holy Mysteries. Then, after the Communion, they left him, and they went to some monasteries so that they might stay in them the forty days. And when thirty days had passed for them, the Lord took their souls, and they died the one after the other by reason of the powerful prayer of this father who bore with these monks to such an extent; and he did not entertain vindictive feelings against their evilness, but he gave to them of the Holy Mysteries before their death. And, likewise, a Syrian (Suryani) monk named Abraham, (Ibrahim) departed from the Faith before the King, and he enlisted and became a soldier, and he spoke against this father and against

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a company of the wandering monks in the deserts. And he took hold of a group of them, and he bound them and he carried them to Cairo (Misr), and he thought that he would find of these wandering (monks), and he did not find any except one monk, who was a wandering monk; he brought him bound in the company of the monks, and he received martyrdom. And as for that monk who became a soldier, he did not weary of opposing this father and of standing against him, until the people became impatient with him, and they asked this father that he should invoke evil upon him, but he did not invoke evil upon him, but he said to them: «Nay, O my sons, do not invoke evil upon him. But I shall invoke that God bring him back and give to him the crown of martyrdom». And that (monk) remained but a little before he repented, and he went to receive the crown of martyrdom, as this father had invoked for him. And once a trial befell this father from the amir Mintash because, when that amir made war against the king Barkuk and overcame him, and banished him to Karak (al-Karak) one of the opposers of this father arose, (and) he informed the amir Mintash that this father (had) under his hand wealth and treasures which the king Barkuk had deposited with him before he was banished to Karak, (al-Karak). And he (Mintash) summoned this father and he torturedhim, but he did not find under his hand anything at all. And he repented of torturing him, (and) afterwards he set him free. And another time an amir named Yalbugha as-Samli was incited against him (Matthew), and he purposed to arouse in the people evil practices and oppressive customs, and the father did not agree with him on this, and he opposed him; then that amir drew out his sword in wrath, wishing to behead him, and immediately he (Matthew) stretched out his neck to the sword and he asked him to behead him. And when the amir saw his courage and the strength of his heart, he was dismayed at him, and they set him free. And God did not forget him, but He delivered him into the hands of the King who caused him to stand, and he beat him,

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and he tortured him, and he sent him to the dungeon in the city of Alexandria. And whenever the people were apprehensive of his (Yalbugha’s) return, this father used to reassure them, saying: «Be not apprehensive, O my sons, and fear not, and think not that that amir will return again to Cairo (Misr), because I have charged the Four Living Creatures who bear up the Throne of God to keep him in prison. And that amir did not cease to be imprisoned in Alexandria until he died a most evil death. And the people marvelled and they glorified God. And once a group of the opposers endeavoured to demolish the Church of our Lady, the Mistress, at al-Mu`allakah. And in those days this father had gone out to the desert to pray there ⁽⁴⁾ and when the opposers heard (this), they calumniated (him) in his absence, and the King did not authorize them (to do) this ⁽⁵⁾, but (it was) more the powerful prayer (of the patriarch) (which) inspired him (the King), so that he designated four judges (al-Kudat) to examine that church, and they did not find anything of what the opposers had informed. Thereupon, they were overcome and were filled with wrath. And through the excess of their wrath they took a bowl of fire and left it under the foundations of that church, wishing to burn it entirely; but God Who hearkened to the Three Youths in the furnace of fire and extinguished it for them, hearkened to the prayer of this father, and He did not suffer the fire to mount to the upper part of the church. And when the disciples of this father were extinguishing the fire at the lower part, the Lord sent to them a cold rain from above (which) extinguished the flame of the burning fire, so that those who were present marvelled and glorified God. And once a group of the opposers

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. in a monastery in the desert.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. to demolish the church.

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were incited against the Monastery of Shahran to demolish it. And (it was) that they informed the King with many false words about the monks of the monastery, so that the King gave permission to them to demolish it. And when they gathered together to demolish it, this father did not let them (do so), for it was, on that day, (that) there had assembled many people, the number of whom was countless, and they thought that owing to their multitudinous gathering this father would be afraid of them, and would deliver up to them the monastery, so that they might demolish it. And this father was not afraid of them, but he ceased not to resist them and to withstand them, until he said to them: «Who of you, O you here, has the hand and the authority to draw his sword and to kill me? For while I continue alive, I shall not let you demolish (even) one brick of the monastery; but let me and you stand before the Sultan, and I shall show to him the falseness of what you have informed and the falseness of your words». And with (these) words this father left them, and he went to the Citadel, and he appealed for aid through the power of the King Barkuk. And when the voice of his crying reached the King, he sent immediately to investigate about that monastery according to custom. And when the four judges (al-Kudat) went, they investigated the monastery and they did not find anything of what the opposers had informed him, and they (the opposers) immediately hid themselves from the King. And once the Lord revealed to this father that the opposers out of their hatred of this father had prepared a dangerous trap for the people, and (that) they had come to an arrangement with the amir Sudun to drawthem without fail into this trap. And when the Lord revealed to this father what they had prepared in the way of a trap, he did not hesitate, but he arose immediately, and he went out secretly from his cell,

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and he did not inform his disciples, and he went to the Church of the Martyr Abba (Abu) Mercurius (Markurah)(and) he shut himself up there in a dark place ⁽²⁾; and he did not permit anyone that they should see him, and he commanded the man who shut him up, that he should not tell anyone about him. And he remained seven days and nights praying in that cell worshipping God and seeking aidthrough the intercession of the Lady, the Mistress, until she appeared to him and told him that God had received his supplication to save the people; and the evil plot of the opposers came to nought. Thereupon, the heart of this father was gladdened and he rejoiced exceedingly. And he came forth on the seventh day like an angel of the Lord; and by the economy of God the amir sent to seek him on that day, and he (Matthew) began to converse with him concerning what he (the amir) had harboured against the people in the way of burdensome, difficult matters, among all of which (was) that he had willed that the women should wear blue izars and other than that. And this father was stirred by the Spirit, and he said to him (the amir): «Who from among the amirs who preceded you did thus with the subjects? Or to whom of the patriarchs did it happen like this to expose the girls of his people that they should become a disgrace and a jest to the base classes of the people? But I shall tell you the truth, O Amir, should you expose one of the girls of my people, I shall not cease to spread devastation and defamation in your country from the limits of Ethiopia (al-Habashah) and to the ends of Egypt (Misr). And I tell you, O Amir, that the Christians (an-Nasara) are not without kings on the earth, or nations, such as that which you rule over, and they are not without sultans (who) observe your Sultanate. And there befell the amir

(2) Perhaps, the cell of Saint Barsum the Naked, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, op. cit., pp. 47-48.

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much apprehension from this, and he let the father go, and he did not revert to speak with him (Matthew) about anything, so that the people marvelled, and they glorified God and our Lady, the Virgin, who aided this father in all his movements. For this father used not to take any action until he had stood before the icon (ei1kwn)of our Lady, the Mistress, and had asked her about it. And she used to appear to him and to converse with him from the icon, according to the testimony of our saintly father Ruwais, when we asked him one day to remember us ⁽¹⁾. And he answered to us, saying: «Who am I, O my sons, that you ask me that I should remember you? Ask our saintly father, the patriarch, to whom our Lady, the Mistress, appears and converses with him from her pure icon, that he remember you; and she (the All-Holy Virgin) informs him of wondrous mysteries, and aids him in all his affairs. And we marvelled at his words and we glorified God. And once they came to this father with a young girl in whom (was) an unclean spirit tormenting her. And when the unclean spirit beheld him (Matthew) standing (and) praying, it fled away and did not return to torment her. And also there was a young boy from the suburbs of Cairo (Misr) who was possessed by an unclean spirit; and it was (that), whenever his family wished to bear him to this father, this spirit would cast him down and torment him, and it did not allow them to draw nigh to him. And God (Who is) of much mercy directed them to a paper of blessing ⁽²⁾ written in the hand-writing of this father, that they should place it on him, and when they placed it on him, he recovered immediately; and the inhabitants of his town marvelled and glorified God. And it happened that everyone among them whom an unclean spirit possessed, on whom they placed that paper in the handwriting of this father, recovered immediately. And once I saw a workman standing working in the Church which is in the Harat Zuwailah under the name of our Lady the Virgin. And he fell from the top of the scaffolding to the ground, (and) he was carried away (as) dead, because

⁽¹⁾ I.e. in prayer to God.

⁽²⁾ I.e. a phylactery.

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he was hearing a heavy stone, and when he fell, that stone came down upon him and crushed his ribs. And his companions intended to leave him and to run away; and this father did not allow them, but he withstood them, and he said to them: «Be quiet, and fear not, and think not that the workman is dead, because he is not dead, but I assure you by the mercies of Christ (al-Masih), that he is alive. And he caused him to be carried by four (of the workmen) and to be placed before the icon of our Lady, the Mistress, which is in the aisle of the church. Then he covered him with his own mantle for about three hours, from the sixth (hour) of the day to the ninth ⁽²⁾. Then he called for a little hot water, (and) he prayed over it and he washed his (the workman’s) limbs, and it was (that), whenever he washed one of the limbs of that workman, the limb moved immediately, until he (the workman) stood up alive on his feet. And when his mates, the workmen, saw this, they marvelled and they glorified God. And how many of the sick and numerous invalids I saw, (whom) this father healed and raised them up through the blessing of his prayer. Among them (the sick), he upon whom he (Matthew) placed his mantle, and would go among the dunghills and would beseech our Lady, the Mistress, for him, and would take off from him (the sick man) that mantle, he would find (that) he moved and rose from the agony of death immediately. And among them, he for whom he would beseech the glorious Angel Michael (Mikhayil), would rise immediately ⁽⁴⁾; and thus this father used to act with the sick whose families went to him and brought them to him in his cell. And a man named Fakhr ad-Daulah (who) informed me concerning this father, said to me: «In truth, I say to you, O my brethren, that, when the agony of death came upon me and I died, and I found not this father present with me at my death, I felt nothing until I beheld him in the place of fear and judgment, when the angels bore away my spirit and set me before the Throne of the

⁽²⁾ I.e. from 12-3 p.m.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. from his sickness.

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Master Christ (al-Masih). And I saw the Master Christ (al-Masih) — to Him be glory —and He was pointing to the angels who had charge of me that they should publish the book of my sins, and that every sin (which) I had forgotten and had not confessed, they should reprimand me for it without mercy. And I saw there fear and intense dread and unquenchable lire, so that by reason of the magnitude of what I saw, I fell down immediately terror-stricken, and I was seeking him who would raise me up, but I found none. And I saw (that) this father had raised me up, and (that) he besought the Master Christ (al-Masih) to restore my spirit to me, so that I might repent a second time of my sins which I had committed; and (that) the Master Christ (al-Masih) [hearkened] to this father concerning me, and (that) He did not refuse his request. And He said to him: ‘I have hearkened to you concerning this man —and I have granted him to you; make known to him, from now, that he return not to sin, lest worse evil befall him’. And when the Master Christ (al-Masih) had said this to this father, I regained my senses, so that I arose and I stood as I was, and I found (that) my spirit had returned to me, (and) I glorified God, and I was assured of the powerful prayer which this father possessed, who used to do thus with the sick, (and) Christ (al-Masih) would raise them up through his prayer, so that they might return to the repentance of their sins». And those who merited the judgment of death, he would serve at the bed of their suffering, until they went to their rest and he would beseech Christ (al-Masih) for the forgiveness of their sins; because among all the merits which he possessed there was none more meritorious or more upright than his service to the sick. And it was (that), when any sick man became diseased and people turned up their nose at him (the sick man), this father would take their place, until he (the sick man) was cleansed from all his filth and his ailments. And once I saw this father (who) passed by the door of the dwelling of a man of the wealthy, and he found at that door a slave of them cast down sick, and he had become putrified and was stinking from the abundance of his filthiness, and these was found none to treat him. And when this father saw him thus, he did not turn to cross over to those wealthy (persons), but he hastened at once, and he girded himself with a scarf (μανδήλιον),and

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he washed his filth and his sleeping-mat and his filthy garments which were soiled from the dirt and putrification of his smell. And the soul of that slave was rested, and he desired death in the presence of this father rather than the putrification of that smell which he used to inhale every day. And once he passed by a well of brackish running water and he found at it a murdered woman (who) had become putrified and was stinking, and not one of the people would come near to her, or would acknowledge her. And he descended into that well, and he lifted out that woman, and he did not turn up his nose at her, but with his pure hand he washed her, and he shrouded her, and he buried her. And those who had chronic diseases and infirmities, he used to cure them of them. They presented to him a virgin girl afflicted with ulcers in her eyes, and when he beheld her, he had pity on her, and he said to her mother: «From now on continue not to treat your daughter with kohl», but he counselled her that she should put in her eyes something of the simple medicines and her daughter recovered. And thus did our father, Barsuma the Naked⁽²⁾, and others than he, healing difficult diseases by the opposite of medicines, in order to teach that the matter is from God and to rely on Him through the powerful prayer which belongs to the righteous Saints, as says the Apostles James (Ya`kub): ‘Prayer with faith will save the sick man, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed a sin, it shall be forgiven him’. And among them (the deeds) they presented an infirm woman, the fingers of whose hands and the toes of whose feet had become dried up; and he (Matthew) took hold of her with force to open the fingers of her hand, and he caused thereby the joints of the toes of her feet to loosen, and immediately she arose speedily (and) she stood up and walked, and those who were present marvelled and glorified God. And once they presented to him a man bitten by a venomous snake, and he was in violent pain; and he (Matthew) took a small

⁽²⁾ This Saint is commemorated on the 5th of an-Nasi (= Sept. 10th, Gregorian Calendar).

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dog and he ripped open its belly and he placed in it the foot of that man who had been bitten. Then he called for a little milk and a colocynth, and he counselled him to use it, and he continued using it little by little, and he vomited it until he had ejected all that poison, and he arose whole immediately. And for those who fell into calamities he used to beseech Christ (al-Masih) for their deliverance, and they would be saved. And once a youth of the sons of the wazirs (wuzara) fell into a severe calamity with Al-Malik Barkuk [1382-1388 A.D.]in Cairo (Misr), and this father, on account of the magnitude of this calamity, took refuge in the great martyr Theodore (Taudurus) with regard to his deliverance, saying: «I know, O Martyr of God, that you, on account of the greatness of (your) courage, did save the sons of the widow from the mouth of that murderous dragon ⁽⁴⁾, and I bind you by the authority which has been given to me by our Lord Jesus Christ (al-Masih), and I shall not loose you from the bond, except that you hasten and deliver that man from the calamity in which he is». And the words were not finished from the mouth of this father before that man was delivered from that calamity. And he (that man) became amazed, not knowing how his deliverance had come about, and his amazement increased by reason of the honour and prestige with which the Saints and the Martyrs honoured him (Matthew). And he used to do this with many of the Martyrs and the Saints, and this (was) that, if some church had lost (its) vessels, he would bind him (the Saint or Martyr) with a prayer and he would not loose him, until he had revealed to him him who had stolen the vessels of the church. And once he bound the icon of Saint Abba (Abu) Shenouti (Shanudah) at Cairo (Misr),

⁽⁴⁾ A miracle of St. Theodore.

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and he did not loose him until he sent to him (one) who informed him of him who had stolen the vessels of his church; and he (the thief) had the custom to steal the vessels of the churches. And when this father took his (the thief’s) house by surprise and rose against him and rebuked him, he said to him: «How many times have I borne with you, and have I enjoined on you that you return not to the stealing of the vessels of the churches, and you have not desisted nor turned back? But from now there will come upon you a powerful vengeance, after which there shall not be for you life upon earth, but you shall die a most evil death». And after his speech to him thus this man remained but little before he fell into the hands of the officer of justice (al-Mutawali al-hukm) at Cairo (al-Kahirah) with vessels of gold and silver which had been lost from his (the officer’s) house. And when he was assured that he (the man) had dared to steal his vessels, he nailed him ⁽¹⁾ immediately, and the saying of this father was accomplished on him, and he died a most evil death. And once one of the amirs spoke with the King ⁽²⁾ and the judges (al-Kudat) that they should not let a Christian (Nasrani) remain upon the earth. And this father stood at the icon of the Martyr, my lord (Mari) George (Girgis) on account of him (the amir), and he said to him: «How long, O Martyr of God, my lord (Mari) George (Girgis) have I besought you to take vengeance on this amir, and you have not taken vengeance on him? But, lo, I shall bind you by the word and I shall not loose you, until you have hastened and taken vengeance on him for me». And he had not finished the speech from his mouth, before they presented to that amir on that day a cup full of deadly poison, (and) he drank it without knowing, and he died immediately. And once this father became greatly enraged with another amir of the amirs of Egypt (Misr), named Uz (Auz) Bey, and he remained six days and six nights beseeching the chief of the pure angels, Michael (Mikhayil), to destroy him. And when the sixth day was accomplished, and he did not hear (any) news about that amir, he thereupon sent

⁽¹⁾ A form of execution whereby the criminal was nailed to a plank which was attached to a camel, and was then paraded through the streets of the city until he was dead.

⁽²⁾ I.e. Al-Malik Barkuk.

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one of his disciples to enquire about the news of that amir. And he found the coffin (tabut) of that amir at the door, and the people were imploring help (from God), saying: «This amir has been tortured for six days by the stab of a jinn, and this day he has died». And when the disciple heard their words, he took back the news to this father, and he (Matthew) marvelled and glorified God and the chief of the angels, Michael (Mikhayil), who had heard his supplication, and had not disregarded his petition concerning that oppressive amir. And once there came to this father a deacon who had been beaten, and he said to him: «O priest of God, have mercy upon me; a certain one of the soldiers passed by me to-day, riding a white horse, and he chastised me very severely (and) painfully for my eating on Wednesday and Friday from early morning: for I used to eat in secret, and I do not know whom it is who informed that soldier about me, so that he came to me and chastised me. And every time he chastised me, he would say to me: «How is it that you being a deacon and a Christian (Nasrani) did eat on Wednesday and Friday from early morning?» Then, after he had spoken to me thus, he left me threatening me that I should not return to what I was doing, and I am afraid of this soldier, not knowing whom he is». And he (Matthew) said to him: «Fear not, O my son, for the soldier who chastised you I know; but if I go with you, will you repent before him?» And that deacon said to him: «Yes, O my father»; and he seized him by his hand and he caused him to stand before the icon of the chief of the angels, Michael (Mikhayil). And that icon which was of the Angel portrayed on it a rider on a white horse. And when that deacon looked at it attentively, he prostrated himself before it, and he said: «In truth, this is that soldier who chastised me; and I from now repent before him, for I am a deacon at his church, but heedlessness caused me to forget, and I did not remember that I am a deacon at his church, until he reminded me, and chastised me, that I should abandon what I had in the way of heedlessness, and should perform what was incumbent upon me in the way of his

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service». And he repented from that day, marvelling at the prayer of this father, and at his (Saint Michael’s) presence with men upon the earth, and at his perception of hidden secrets. And once I saw others from the notables of the people, and there befell them a severe calamity at Cairo (al-Kahirah); and when they wished to escape to this father at Cairo (Misr), they did not hasten, and thereupon night overtook them (and) they slept. And, in that hour, one of them saw this father standing before the icon of the Martyr, my lord (Mari) George (Girgis), supplicating for their safety, and striking the icon with his hand, and saying: «O Martyr of God, O my lord (Mari) George (Girgis), I know (of none) for their deliverance save you», and he (St. George) inclined his head from the icon, as one who says: «Yes, Yes, I shall deliver them». And when this father beheld what it was in the way of the humility of the Martyr, he cast (himself) down in prostration to him on the ground. And the act of his prostration to him was distressing to the Martyr, and he came forth from the icon,as a material horseman, and he grasped the skirt (of the robe) of this father and was blessed by it. Then this father did likewise, namely, they blessed one another. Then he (the notable) awoke from his sleep, and he related this vision to his companions. And they did not believe him, until news came to them in the early morning of the day. Their deliverance came forth from God and His Martyr, and the amir (St. George) delivered them without effort, and thus, when they were assured of their deliverance, they arose immediately, and they went to this father to thank him for what they had seen in the vision, without having come or having besought him concerning this, but they had been assured of it in their minds only. And the honoured father knew their inner thoughts without that they asked him, and all of them marvelled and glorified God. And once there came to him a scribe, and he was in a great calamity, and (he had) with him five hundred dinars. And he said to him (Matthew): «O man of God, accept from me these five hundred (dinars) and pray for me, for Al-Malik Barkuk [1382-1388 A.D.] this day

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wishes to kill me, and I know not how my deliverance will be». And this honoured father said to him: «Fear not, O so and so, and think not (that) by the gold which you have brought your deliverance will be, for prayer with gold will not (bring about) deliverance; but if you desire that you be delivered, take back the gold which you have brought to its place, and the Lord will deliver you without gold at all». And he (Matthew) arose, (and) prayed over him, and blessed him, and he sent him to Al-Malik Barkuk; and he gave to him his cross and his scarf, and he said to him: «Wear them concealed, and enter and fear not». And he (the scribe) refused, and he feared the more how he, being calumniated, should wear the cross, and (how) exposure would befall him, if anyone felt him. And the father said to him: «I have said to you, O so and so, wear the cross and the scarf concealed, and enter to the King, and I assure you by God the Exalted Whose Cross you wear, that the King will neither harm you nor hurt you». And he obeyed the word of the father and he wore the cross, and he entered to the King, and though the King was filled with wrath against him at that hour, the wrath of the King was changed into leniency and graciousness and mercy; and it was (that) every word which that man spoke before the King entered into the ears of the King like cool dew quenching what he had in the way of wrath. Then he departed from the presence of the King joyful, fortified (and) cheerful, according to his custom, so that that man marvelled at the powerful prayer by which this father had changed the wrath of the King and his ire into good pleasure, because he had entertained the idea that, whatever happened to him, he would be killed. And it was that this man, and everyone who heard glorified God. And thus this father redeemed the souls of those who came to him, and he saved them through his powerful prayer from troubles, afflictions and sins; as one of his sons, the learned priests, informed us of this who

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had fallen into a grave hidden sin. And when he presented himself to confess it to this father, fear seized him, and he was ashamed to confess it before him. And he revealed it to him of himself (Matthew), saying: «You have committed such and such a sin, and return not to commit it. And I say to you that from now your sins are forgiven to you». And when that priest heard his speech, he marvelled and glorified God, because that sin was not known except to Christ (al-Masih) alone, (and) when he (Matthew) revealed it to him, his astonishment increased, and he was assured that the sins of the people were revealed before him (Matthew), as oil in a glass-bottle. And he (Matthew) did not see (good) to expose them, but, if he wished to rebuke anyone for a sin, this would be in secret because sin also was multiplied among the people. And many of the people used to mix together, and they became defiled with the defilement of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin). And this father used to sigh and to weep for the evil which had befallen the Cairenes (al-Misriyin), so that from the excess of his weeping he began to admonish his people, saying «Be vigilant, O my sons, and beware of that day in which vengeance will come upon the Cairenes (al-Misriyin); because in that day there will descend fire from heaven burning all the dwellings of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin), so that the smoke of that city will rise up, and then they shall lament over it, saying: To-day is Babylon (Babil) the great, the mother of all the Cairenes (al-Misriyin), is fallen’» And whenever this father addressed (us) with this (word), we paid no heed, and we increased only in transgressions and shamelessness and without fear of God, and we did not hearken to him. And he (Matthew) used therefore to mourn and to sigh from the depth of his heart, and he ardently desired death for himself, until Satan (as-Shaitan) stirred up against the people an amir from among the great of the kingdom, named Gamal ad-Din, and he sought from the people what they were not able (to do). And it was (that), whenever this father pleaded for the people, he (the amir) was not persuaded, but he sought to find a fault against him to kill him. And he sent messengers in secret to the Land of the Hejaz (al-Hejaz), and the Yemen

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(al-Yaman) that they should write in those lands reports against this (father) and should write in them, that every day he (Matthew) would send his messengers to the Land of Ethiopia (al-Habashah) to incite the king ⁽¹⁾ to destroy Mecca (Makkah) and its surroundings. And when he (Matthew) learned through the Spirit that reports had been written concerning him, he prayed to God previous to their arrival, and he besought our Mistress, the Lady, according to his custom, that she should take his soul to her without the shedding of blood, and that his people should not receive by reason of him affliction or hardship. And our Lady, the Mistress, heard his supplication, and she did not let pass that day, before he was seized with a violent fever in his body, and he was prostrate, stricken (and) weak. And when news of him reached the amir who was seeking to kill him, his wrath abated a little, but he did not cease from disturbing (him), and he did not cease to send and to threaten this father and to menace him with regard to his people, until they bore to him (the amir) from the money of this father about five hundred thousand dirhams, and presented them to him, (that), perchance, he might be contented, and he might cease from seeking this father, but he did not cease, and he continued to seek this father up to the hour in which death approached. And he sent to him messengers to bear him and to come with him to him. And this father contented their hearts, and he said to them: «Accord to me a delay until to-morrow, Sunday, (that), perhaps, I may be rested a little, and (then) come and bear me wherever you wish». And he spoke with them calmly, knowing that his hour had approached to go forth from this world and to rest from the tyranny of that amir and his oppression. And the messengers went, as this father had said to them; and they came on the morrow, Sunday, and they found (that) this father had given up the spirit in the first watch of the eve of Monday ⁽³⁾before their coming, after the gracious respite. And when they saw what had happened, they marvelled; and the amir from whose hands God had saved this father without the shedding of blood, as had been

⁽¹⁾ I.e. of Ethiopia.

⁽³⁾ I.e. Sunday evening.

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his intention, marvelled the more. Then God did not accord a respite to this amir, but He stirred up against him a calumny with the King, and he (the King) seized him, and he rebuked him, and he straitened him, and he took from him instead of the amount which he had taken from this father, many times the double. Then he did not cease from the chastisement and the punishment, until he died a most evil death. And as for this father, before his death he sent after his disciples, and he informed them of his translation Then he sent them, (and) they brought to him all what was requisite for shrouding him, in the way of robes and phelonions (Baranis), and they were two robes and two phelonions (Burnisain) and two skhemas (Iskimain) and two cowls (Kalsuatain) and two veils and two palliums (Ballinain); even for the coffin (at-Tabut) which (was) for him, he indicated to them the manner how they should make it. Then he commanded them that, when they had enveloped him and had laid him in that coffin (at-Tabut), they should not uncover his face, except at the time of the funeral, as was the custom with the patriarchs, and that they should not allowanyone to kiss his feet, but that they should leave him enveloped in his woollen shroudings like the monks; and he impressed on them not to bury him, except among his sons, inside the Khandak ⁽³⁾. Then, after he had commanded them with these (words) he covered his body with his izarat, and he gave up the spirit at the first hour of the eve of Monday, the fifth of the month of Tubah (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and twenty-five of the Martyrs [1409 A.D.]. And his age at that time was seventy-two years, of which (he was) forty years a monk and thirty-two years a patriarch. Then there assembled for

(3) Cf. E. Amelineau, op. cit., pp. 220-221. This is the Moat of Cairo. The body of this patriarch is buried in the Church of Saint Ruwais, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Ancient Coptic Churches of Cairo, pp. 87-89. The new Cathedral of St. Mark is built here also.

(6) I.e. Sunday night.

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his funeral on that day, the priests and the deacons and the archons and all the Christian (an-Nasraniat) denominations, even the denomination of the Jews (al-Yahud), and others than they, and peopleof which the number was countless. And there was weeping and lamentation so that the columns of the church were weeping for his loss; and he was reposing, laid out, and his cross in his hand. And they were weeping and lamenting for the beauty of his appearance, and his awe, and his love, and his alms-giving, and his visitation of the wretched, and for his forbearance and his patience. And they lamented and they wept until they finished his funeral, as it behoved. Then they bore him with honour and respect and dignity, so that his conveyance in the coffin (at-Tabut) (was) as the conveyance of the Ark of the Covenant. Where was that strong man who was able to bear that coffin (at-Tabut) by reason of the multitude of the people who encompassed him and crowded round him? And the soldiers and the troops were (walking) before that coffin (at-Tabut) veiling it, until they came to the Monastery of the Khandak. Then they buried him in the place which he had chosen for his burial. Then, after his burial, God manifested a year of signs and miracles after his translation, among which (was, that on) the night in which he went to his rest, the bodies of his brethren, the patriarchs, lying in the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar) stirred, and the monks inhabiting the Monastery who heard the stirring of the bodies, (heard) a voice calling to them, saying: «Arise, go forth, open the gate, our father Matthew (Matta) has come, and he is standing (and) knocking at the gate». And when the brethren went forth to open, and they did not find anyone, they marvelled. And they did not learn what was the matter, until the news came to them from Cairo (Misr), that this father had gone to his rest

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on the night in which he had passed by them, for the sake of his brethren, the saintly patriarchs, so that the spirits might be blessed by one another; and for this (reason) those bodies had stirred, knowing that the world had lost on that day a great teacher, for from the greatness of the stirring of the bodies the lamp (κανδήλιον) which was burning above them fell upon the ground and was extinguished, but it did not break. And another time, after forty days, he appeared to three men wounded Bedouins (`Urban), (who) passed by the cemetery of the Khandak at the dawn of Sunday, and they found this father standing vested in a white phelonion (burnus), and he had been walking around among the dead at night, as he used to walk around among them in the day time.

And when those men saw him, they ⁽²⁾………….. concerning what they had seen, and we informed them that (it was) this father, and they marvelled, and they asked us to see his tomb, and they went and they received a blessing from him. And as for the third time, he (Matthew) had indicated to his disciples before his translation, that the father Abba (Anba) Gabriel (Ghabryal) would be patriarch after him. And some of the people did not believe, until this father appeared to them on the day on which they called him (Gabriel) to be ordained hegoumenos (Kummus). At the time when the people were assembled in (the Church) Al-Mu`allakah, lo! one of the saintly elders (as-Shiyukh) who were assembled on that day, saw this father in the spirit standing at the side of the altar, and he was laying his hand with the hand(s) of the fathers, the bishops, on the head of Abba (Anba) Gabriel (Ghabryal). And when the elder (as-Sheikh) saw this, he marvelled, and he resolved to be blessed by him before he vanished from him, (and) he (Matthew) blessed him. And he (Matthew) performed wonders and miracles (which) we are not able to describe. And the number of the martyrs who suffered martyrdom in his time (was) forty-nine martyrs. May the blessing of his prayer and the prayer of all (the Saints) be with us. Amen.

⁽²⁾ One and a half lines left blank.

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Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-eighth of (their) number.

This father Gabriel (Ghabryal) (was) from the Monastery Al-Qalamun (al-Kalamun) in the Fayum (al-Fayum) ⁽¹⁾. The father Matthew (Matta), the deceased, had given information concerning him, before his going to his rest. He (Gabriel) was consecrated (²⁾ patriarch on the twenty-sixth of (the month of) Baramudah (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and twenty-five of the Martyrs [1409 A.D.] and he remained patriarch till (the month of) Tubah (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and forty-three of the Martyrs [1427 A.D.].

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-ninth of (their) number.

This father John (Yu’annis) the patriarch was consecrated patriarch at Cairo (al-Kahirah) on the sixteenth of (the month of) Bashuns (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and forty-three of the Martyrs. And he remained patriarch for twenty-five years, and he went to his rest on the ninth of the month of Bashuns (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and sixty-eight of the Martyrs [1452 A.D.].

Matthew (Mattaus) the Patriarch, and he is the ninetieth of (their) number.

This father Matthew (Mattaus) the patriarch (was) from the Monastery Al-Muharrak ⁽⁷⁾. He was consecrated patriarch on the thirteenth of the month of Tut (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and

^(l) Cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts, Cairo, 1961, pp. 311-336.

⁽⁷⁾ Cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts, pp. 285-308.

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sixty-nine of the Martyrs [1451 A.D.], and he remained patriarch for thirteen years, and he went to his rest on the thirteenth of (the month of) Tut (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and eighty-two of the Martyrs [1465 A.D.].

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-first of (their) number.

This father Gabriel (Ghabryal) the patriarch (was) from the Monastery of Saint Antony (Antunius). He was consecrated on the twenty-sixth day of (the month of) Amshir (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and eighty-two of the Martyrs [1466 A.D.], and he remained patriarch for eight years and ten months. And he went to his rest on the twenty-sixth of (the month of) Amshir (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and ninety-one of the Martyrs [1475 A.D.]. May the blessing of his prayer be with us. Amen.

Michael (Mikhayil) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-second of (their) number.

This father was consecrated patriarch on the twenty-third of (the month of) Amshir (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and ninety-two of the Martyrs [1476 A.D.], and he remained on the Throne one year and three months. And he went to his rest in the month of Baramudah (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and ninety-four [1478 A.D.].

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Nakkadi ⁽⁹⁾ and he is the ninety-third of (their) number.

This father was consecrated patriarch on the twenty-third of (the month of) Baramudah (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and

⁽⁹⁾ From the Province of Kind.

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ninety-five [1479 A.D.], and he remained in the Throne three years and four months and nineteen days. And he went to his rest on the fifth of (the month of) Tut (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and ninety-nine [1482 A.D.]. And a missive came to this father from the Patriarch, from the Pope (al-Baba) of the City of Rome (Rumiah), and he returned to him the reply in a missive of three quires of paper, and in them (was) the matter of the discussion (which) included the abandonment of obstinacy, and reconciliation and peace among all the denominations of the Christians (al-Masihiyin).

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Misri ⁽³⁾, and he is the ninety-fourth of (their) number.

This father was consecrated patriarch on the seventeenth of (the month of) Amshir (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and ninety-nine and he went to his rest on the eleventh of (the month of) Amshir (in the) year one thousand, two hundred and forty [1524 A.D.]. And the duration of his occupation of the Throne (was) forty years and eleven months and twenty-six days. And during the time of this father there was the conquest of Egypt (Misr) at the hand of the Sultan Selim (Salim), a descendant of the House of Othman (`Uthmin), and this was from the Sultan Al-Ghuri, the last of the Circassian (al-Garakisah) kings, and he (it was) who constructed the Ghuriyah and the mosque (al-Gami`) which is known after him.

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-fifth of (their) number.

This father (was) from a hamlet of Al-Muharrak. He was con-

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Cairene.

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secrated in (the) year one thousand, two hundred and forty-one [1524-1525 A.D.], and he remained patriarch for forty-four years, and he went to his rest in (the) year one thousand, two hundred and eighty-five [1568-1569 A.D.].

John (Yuhanna) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Manfaluti ⁽⁴⁾, and he is the ninety-sixth of (their) number.

This father was consecrated patriarch on the eve of Easter Sunday(in the) year one thousand, two hundred and eighty-six [1570 A.D.]. He remained on the Throne for fifteen years. And a missive came to this father from the Pope (Baba) of Rome (Rumiah), and he returned to him a reply to it. And he went to his rest on the third of (the month of) An-Nasi (in the) year one thousand, three hundred and one of the Martyrs [1585 A.D.].

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-seventh of (their) number.

This father was before his consecration named Shenouti (Shanudah) from Al-Manbir ⁽¹⁰⁾, and he was a zealous monk in the Desert of Scetis (Shihat)⁽¹¹⁾. He was consecrated patriarch in (the) year one thousand, three hundred and two [1585-1586 A.D.], and he remained patriarch for fifteen years, and he went to his rest in the Desert of Scetis (Shihat) and was buried in it ⁽¹³⁾.

⁽¹⁰⁾ Kamil Salah Nakhlah, op. cit., p. 94, adds after Al-Manbir «Mir» The Dictionnaire Geographique de l’Egypte mentions on p. 378 a Mir in the Province of Asyut.

⁽¹¹⁾ Kamil Salah Nakhlah, op. cit., p. 94 says ‘the Monastery of Abba Pishoi (Bishui)’.

^(l3) Kamil Salah Nakhlah, op. cit., p. 95 says ‘the Monastery of the Syrians ‘.

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Mark (Markus) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-eighth of (their) number.

This father was from Al-Baiyadiah ⁽¹⁾ and he was consecratedpatriarch (in the) year one thousand, three hundred and eighteen [1601-1602 A.D.]. And he remained patriarch for sixteen years, and he went to his rest in peace.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-ninth of (their) number.

This father was from the district of Mallawi. He was consecratedpatriarch (in the) year one thousand, three hundred and thirty-five [1618-1619 A.D.]. He remained patriarch for fifteen years, and he went to his rest at the end of the year one thousand, three hundred and fifty [1633-1634 A.D.].

Matthew (Mattaus) the Patriarch (surnamed) At-Tukhi, and he is the hundredth of (their) number.

This father Matthew (Mattaus) was a monk, an ascetic, in the Monastery of the Mistress at Al-Baramus. And when he had been chosen for the patriarchate, he was consecrated in (the) year one thousand, three hundred and fifty-one [1634-1635 A.D.]; and he remained patriarch for fifteen years, and he went to his rest.

(1) There are four places of this name in Upper Egypt.

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Mark (Markus). the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Bahguri and he is the one hundred and first of (their) number.

This father (was) from the inhabitants of the district of Bahgura, and he was a devout ascetic in the Monastery of the great Saint Antony (Antunius). And when he had been chosen for the patriarchate, they consecrated him (in the) year one thousand, three hundred and sixty-seven [1650-1651]; and he remained patriarch for ten years, and he went to his rest.

Matthew (Mattaus) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Miri, and he is the one hundred and second of (their) number.

This father was a devout monk at the Monastery of the Mistress at Al-Baramus. And when he had been chosen for the patriarchate, he was consecrated on the thirtieth of (the month of) Hatur (in the) year one thousand, three hundred and seventy-seven [1660 A.D]. And he went to his rest on the twelfth of (the month of) Misra (in the) year one thousand, three hundred and ninety-one [1675 A.D.]; and he remained patriarch on the Throne for fourteen years and (some) months.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) At-Tukhi, and he is the hundred and third of (their) number. ⁽⁸⁾

This father was from the district of the inhabitants of Tukh an-Nasara ⁽⁹⁾,and before his patriarchate he was named Abraham (Ibrahim). And

⁽⁸⁾ Though not mentioned in this biography, there was likewise correspondence between the Pope of Rome and this patriarch, cf. J.P. Trossen, Les relations du Patriarche copte Jean XVI avec Rome, Luxemburg, 1948.

⁽⁹⁾ Otherwise called Tukh Dalakah, cf. Dictionnaire Geographique de l’Egypte, p. 523.

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this father (was) in his youth a collector engaged in the perception of money. And they mentioned concerning him that, when he was a collector, he owed an amount of money, and that he was made responsible regarding the remainder of the amount. And he placed first the decision of God the Exalted, and he went to the Mountain of the great Saint Antony (Antunius) seeking the salvation of his soul, and the more so, as he was averse to the responsibility of the work, for in it there are ways of conducting (it) and of experiences; because he who is in charge of this work harms himself for others than himself, and he takes something which is not his own, (and) places it in something which he owes. And he remained for a time in the monastery, and he merited to be clothed with the angelic habit⁽²⁾. And when the fathers, the saintly elders (as-Shiyukh), the monks in the monastery, saw his uprightness, they ordained him a priest, and he continued in the monastery in this priestly order until the father, the patriarch Abba (Anba) Matthew (Mattaus) who was before him, went to his rest. And a body of the archons from Cairo (Misr) went up to the monastery seeking one whom God would choose, to consecrate him patriarch over them. And the choice of all fell upon this father by the will of God and the knowledge of the elders (as-Shiyukh), the monks. And they took him from the monastery, and they came to Cairo (Misr), and they consecrated him patriarch in (the) year one thousand, three hundred and ninety-two of the Martyrs [1676]. And when he was established in the patriarchate and had celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the churches of Cairo (Misr) according to the custom, he put first the decision of God the Exalted, and he turned to Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id) intending to visit the holy places. And when he came from Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id), he went round also the northern districts, and he returned to Cairo (Misr) in safety. And there were in his days, teachers, Christian (Masihiyin) archons, perfect in performing good works and benevolence. And it was (that), before the patriarchate of this father,

(2) I.e. the monastic skhema.

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there were supervisors for the churches in Cairo (Misr) (who were) artisans. And when this father undertook the leadership, all supervision of the churches was transferred to the teachers, the archons,and they found what was necessary to be repaired and to be (re-)built in all the churches, and they were all zealous in good works and charity for the wretched and for clothing the poor at every feast. And their days were calm (in which was) abundance, liberality and profit. And this father (re-)built the Patriarchal Cell in the Harat ar-Rum, and he dedicated it to the Glorious Resurrection. And they (these conditions) continued thus up to the year one thousand, one hundred and six of the Tax (Year) which corresponds to (the) year one thousand, four hundred and nine of the Martyrs [1692-1693 A.D.], (when) the whole Land of Egypt (Misr) dried up, the south and the north, and the Nile (an-Nil) did not reach except to sixteen cubits. And the governor (Mutawali) of Egypt (Misr) at that time was the Commander (Kaimakam) Ismail (Yismail) `Ali Pasha; and there was at Cairo (Misr) also at that time one whose name was called Kuguk Muhammad ⁽⁴⁾Bas Audah Pasha Mustahfazam ⁽⁵⁾, and the (afore-)mentioned was the controller for the wheat, that the Cairene (al-Misri) ardab should not increase beyond sixty half-silver (coins). And he (Kuguk) did not remain, except for a little, and by the order of God Kuguk Muhammad, the (afore-)mentioned, was killed, and, on the day following his death, the wheat reached one hundred and twenty half-silver (coins) for the Cairene (al-Misri) ardab, and it did not cease mounting (in) price until it reached three hundred and sixty half-silver (coins). And as for the land of Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id), it became devoid of the poor, and the land of the Rif, and they (the poor) all came to Cairo (Misr)

⁽⁴⁾ Cf. Abd el-Rahman el-Djabarti, Merveilles Biographiques et Historiques ou Chroniques, Le Caire, 1888, t. I, p. 59.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Guards.

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the protected. And wheat reached to eighty half-silver (coins) the waibah, and the price for grinding it fifteen half-silver (coins), the total being a dinar, because the value of the Cairene (al-Misri) dinar at that time was ninety-five half-silver (coins). And the dinar Abu Turrah had not appeared, neither the Zangir nor the Fundukli⁽³⁾, except the Muhammadi gold (coin). And a severe dearth occurred to the extent that the poor ate the dead (bodies) of asses and horses and cats and other than these — and we seek aid from God from those days — and the people were lying prostrate in the streets and the lanes and on the mounds by reason of hunger and pestilence, because God the Exalted had afflicted the Egyptians (al-Misriyin) with dearth and pestilence. And (if) a man passed by them in the evening, he would find the poor lying prostrate beside the walls, and when it was morning, and he passed by them, he would find them dead. And there governed at Cairo (Misr), at that time, one called Isma`il Pasha. And when he saw the great number of the poor who had died from hunger and eating the dead, he used to distribute among the amirs, the sanjaks (as-Sanagak) and the aghas (al-Aghwat), to each one according to his ability (a number) of the poor ⁽⁴⁾. They used to feed them, until God relieved His creatures, and the Nile (an-Nil) came up high in (the) year one thousand, one hundred and seven of the Tax (Year), and the people planted, and the creatures felt secure. And during the period of these two years of dearth, this father did not abandon charity, and also the teachers, the archons, at Cairo (Misr) were zealous in benevolence and charity, and especially, one archon named Al-Mu`allim David (Dauud) at-Tukhi, and the son of his brother, Al-Mu`allim George (Girgis), and they were dwelling at the Darb al-Ginainah in the Harat al-Arman ⁽⁶⁾.

⁽³⁾ Read … ‘a Venetian gold sequin’, cf. R. Dozy, op. cit., p. 118.

⁽⁴⁾ Cf. Precis de l’Histoire d’Egypte, t. III, p. 37, Le Caire, 1933, and Abd el-Rahman el-Djabarti, Merveilles Biographiques et Historiques ou Chroniques, Le Caire, 1888,t.1, pp. 62-63.

⁽⁶⁾ This was situated north-east of al-Muski, in proximity to the Sharia` Bain as-Surain.

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And the Mu`allim George (Girgis) had an only son whose name (was) Mansur (who) went to his rest in those days. And when this affair befell him, he took for himself a house in the Harat ar-Rum at the side of the church and he (re-)built it (the house), and he undertook the supervision of the church also. And, furthermore, on Sundays and feasts and fairs ⁽²⁾ and others than them, he used to bring with him to his house the father, the patriarch, and the priests and the poor and other than them, and they used to breakfast and drink coffee. And on the days of the feasts and the fairs there was invariably excellent food for all. And, in brief, there was not in his time anyone who resembled him in performing charity and benevolence, and it was he who (re-) built the upper church at the Harat ar-Rum, in the name of the great martyr, my lord (Mari) George (Girgis). And it was he also who provided for the making of the Holy Chrism in (the) year one thousand, four hundred and nineteen of the Martyrs [1702-1703 A.D.] which corresponds to (the) year one thousand, one hundred and sixteen of the Tax (Year). And he sent to bring all the fathers, the bishops, from their sees for the making of the Holy Chrism with the father, the patriarch. And after the making of the Chrism had been completed, he gave to each bishop a complete set of hieratic vestments and a complete set of vessels for the Holy Eucharist (al-Kurban), and they returned to their sees well-pleased and rejoicing. And there ruled over Egypt (Misr) in (the) year one thousand, one hundred and eleven of the Tax (Year) one whose name (was) Kira Muhammad Pasha ⁽⁶⁾, and he remained governor (Mutawali) over Egypt (Misr) for five years, and there occurred through him wrong to the Christians

⁽²⁾ A fair held in connection with the patronal feast of a church. Cf. the Arabic ‘mulid’ and the Greek πανήγυρις.

⁽⁶⁾ Cf. Abd el-Rahman el-Djabarti, op. cit., t. I, pp. 68, 70.

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(an-Nasara) in the year one thousand, one hundred and twelve of the Tax (Year) on account of the churches, but through the aid of God the Exalted and His mercy, and through the prayer of this father (John), no harm happened by reason of the presence of the teachers, the archons, who were undertaking the service of the great of Egypt (Misr), and they quashed the judgment against the Christians (an-Nasara) without difficulty at all. And nothing happened at the holy places, and the Divine Liturgy (Kuddas) did not cease on any day, and God — praised and exalted be He! — made void the power of Satan (as-Shaitan) and the opponents, and tranquillity did not cease to exist until (the) year one thousand, one hundred and seventeen of the Tax (Year), (when) again the Land of Egypt (Misr) dried up, and it was named the yellow drought. When the Nile (al-Bahr) ceased to rise, our father, the patriarch, went to the Church of our Lady the Virgin at Al-`Adawiyah, and with him a company of the priests; and he remained every day celebrating the Divine Liturgy, and he used to pray over a little water in a small earthenware vase and to sign it with the Holy Chrismand to cast it into the Nile (al-Bahr). And God the Exalted through His mercy had pity on His adorers, and the Nile (an-Nil) rose on the twelfth of (the month of) Tut ⁽⁴⁾, and the people were tranquil. And in thisyear wheat reached eight piastres (Kurus) the Cairene (al-Misri) ardab, the price of the waibah (being) forty half-silver (coins), and the peoplewere tranquil. And no calamity happened in it (Egypt) by reason of the great drought; and, also, our father, the patriarch, went to Alexandria, and he visited the Church of the father, the preacher, my lord (Mari) Mark (Markus) the Evangelist And when it was in (the) year one thousand, one hundred and twenty of the Tax (Year), this father went

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. September 22nd or 23rd according to whether the year is a Leap Year or not. Cf I also Abd el-Rahman el-Djabarti, op. cit., 1.1, pp. 70-71.

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on visit to (the Church of) the Glorious Resurrection ⁽¹⁾ with the archon Al-Mu`allim George (Girgis) at-Tukhi the (afore-)mentioned, and their companions were a company from the priests and the archons and the people; and their journey was by land, not by sea, and there was a great rejoicing, the like of which had not been seen nor heard of at all. And when it was in (the) year one thousand, one hundred and twenty-three of the Lunar (Year) [1711-1712 A.D.], there ruled in Egypt (Misr) one who was named Khalil Pasha. And the aforementioned caused a great sedition among the troops; and there was, at that time, one sanjak named Aiyub Bey had taken refuge at the Gate Al-Inkigariah, and an other sanjak named Ghaitas Bey had taken refuge at the Gate Al-Gharb; and each one of them had companies who were devoted to them and companions. And when the sedition occurred among them and became exceedingly serious and great, the markets were closed and selling and buying ceased, and Cairo (al-Kahirah) remained seventy days (with) the markets closed. And the cannons shot from the Gate Al-Inkigariah against the Gate Al-Gharb, and from the Gate Al-Gharb against the Gate Al-Inkigariah, and the houses of many people were burned, and, in brief, there was severe affliction and great hardship for the whole of the people, especially, the poor. And they used to drink the water of the wells by reason of the cutting off of the ways and the lack of water-carriers, because they were not able to go to fill (their skins) from Bulak by reason of the multitude of the Bedouins (al-`Urban) and the hostile troops. And, after seventy days, God the Exalted (so) willed and caused rejoicing to the adorers by reason of the flight of Aiyub Bey and some of the company of his companions to the Grecian (ar-Rumiah) Lands, and he died at Constantinople

⁽¹⁾ I.e. at Jerusalem.

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(al-Kustantiniah). And Khalil Pasha was deposed, and the subjects were in tranquillity, and contentment prevailed, and (there was) selling and buying and commercial dealings. And harm did not befall anyone of the Christians (an-Nasara) through the prayer of this father, because the favour and the gifts which God granted to this father did not happen to other than to him from the fathers, the patriarchs, from the time of Abba (Anba) Matthew (Matta), the eighty-seventh, up to this father, because he was assisted by God in all his works and deeds. And he consecrated a number of churches in Cairo (Misr) and the Rif ⁽³⁾, after their repair, and, also, he consecrated metropolitans (Matarinah) and bishops and priests and deacons. And he remained all his time in well-being and health and tranquillity; and he (re-)built the Monastery of the great Saint Abba (Anba) Paul (Bula) after it had been ruined for a time. And he went to it and visited it, and he consecrated the church, and he established in it monks, and he endowed (it with) its inalienable endowment from the inalienable endowment of Saint Antony (Antunius) And also he visited the Monastery of Saint Antony (Antunius) twice, once alone, and once with Al-Mu`allim George (Girgis) at-Tukhi the (afore-)mentioned. And when it was in (the) year one thousand, one hundred and twenty-seven of the Tax (Year), there happened again a sedition in Egypt (Misr), and it was at the time when `Abdi Pasha (was) governor (Mutawali) of Egypt (Misr). And he (`Abdi) killed the amir Ghaitas Bey, and he wished to kill the amir Muhammad Bey his subordinate, and he (Muhammad) turned in flight to the Grecian

(3) Cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, ‘The Rif of Egypt’ in Orientalia, vol. VIII, fasc. 1/2, 1939, pp. 96-119.

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And he (`Abdi) killed a great multitude in Egypt (Misr), but the sedition did not linger as the former sedition; and the evil ceased, and the subjects were in tranquillity and security and well-being and peace for the remainder of the days of his (the patriarch’s) life. And it was in (the) year one thousand, four hundred and thirty-four of the Martyrs [1717-1718 A.D.] (that there was) a pest in Egypt (Misr). And this father went to his rest on the tenth day of (the month of) Bau’unah (in the) year of its date ⁽³⁾ which corresponds to the sixteenth of (the month of) Ragab (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and thirty of the Lunar (Year); and he had remained forty-two years patriarch on the Throne. May the Lord have mercy upon us through his prayer! And Al-Mu`allim George (Girgis) went to his rest ten days after him. And the day of the translation of this father was a great day, and they performed his funeral service with great honour, and he was buried in the Church of Abba (Abu) Mercurius (Markurah) in Cairo (Misr). May the blessing of the prayer of all (the Saints) be with us!

Peter (Butrus) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and fourth of (their) number.

This holy father (was) from the district of the inhabitants of Siyut; and he went up to the Mountain ⁽⁷⁾ of the great Saint Abba (Anba) Paul (Bula), while a young man. And he remained for a time, and he was clothed with the holy skhema, and he merited to be a priest at the hand of the deceased Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), and he appointed him as head of the Monastery of the great Saint Abba (Anba)

⁽³⁾ I.e. of the aforementioned year.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. his decease.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the Desert.

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Paul (Bula). And he remained for a time, until the father Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) went to his rest. And none of the archons went to the monasteries, and no searching occurred, but the will of God the Exalted directed them to this father. And there was one archon who was assiduous in this, named Al-Muallim Lutf-Allah. He was married to the daughter of the brother of Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) the deceased ⁽²⁾ and he sent him to …….

And the Kaimakam sent to the district of Bus, (and) he seized this father and he sent him in fetters to Cairo (Misr). And they consecrated him patriarch at the Church of the Saint Abba (Abu) Mercurius (Markurah) in Cairo (Misr) on the seventeenth of the month of Misra (in the) year one thousand, four hundred and thirty-four of the Martyrs [ 1718 A.D.] which corresponds to the twenty-fourth of the month of Ramadan (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and thirty. And it was on that day (that) the Nile (an-Nil) rose in Egypt (Misr), and there was rejoicing and great gladness. And he (Peter) remained in Cairo (Misr) about the space of a week, and he went to the Patriarchal Cell in the Harat ar-Rum, according to the custom, and he consecrated our father, the honoured bishop Abba (Anba) Athanasius (Atanasius), for the See of Jerusalem (Aurushalim). And in those days, there came messengers from the king of Ethiopia (Al-Habashah) seeking for them a metropolitan (Mutran). And the father consecrated Abba (Anba) Christodoulus (Akhristutulu), former bishop of Jerusalem (Aurushalim), and he set out by sea, in the company of the messengers, from the chief-town of Suez (as-Suiz) to the city of Jedda ⁽⁸⁾. And this father (Peter) set out

⁽²⁾ I.e. the preceding patriarch.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the port of Mecca.

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for the northern regions, and he went round in them, and he intended to visit the Church of my lord (Mari) Mark (Markus) the Evangelist at Alexandria And a sedition occurred in Egypt (Misr) between a sanjak (Sangak) named Ismail Bey Ibn Iwaz, and a sanjak (Sangak) named Muhammad Bey Garkas, so he returned to Cairo (Misr), and he did not set out for Alexandria in that year. And the governor (al-Mutawali) in Egypt (Misr) at that time was named Ragab Pasha. A group calumniated Al-Mu`allim Lutf-Allah to him, that he had (re)-built the southern Church of the Angel (Mikhayll) and the Church of the martyr Abba (Abu) Menas (Mina) in Cairo (Misr), and, in truth, he had (re)built them from his (own) money, better than what they were at first; because (as regards) the Church of the martyr Abba (Abu) Menas (Mina), they were not able to enter through the door of the choir (xoro/s) in the daytime, except with a taper (futi/lion)and he (re)constructed it and (re)built it as a great light church, and he built in it cells for the poor and others than them; and Ragab Pasha the aforementioned pressed the demand on Al-Mu`allim Lutf-Allah with assiduity. And a group of the notables who were attached to Al-Mu`allim Lutf-Allah complied with the desire of the mentioned wazir with about forty purses. And he (Lutf-Allah) paid it from what he had of his money, as was (already) mentioned, and he did not take anything from the archons, and also the expenses which he expended on the setting up of this father as patriarch, he did not take anything from anyone; and all this (was) from his own (money), because there was not in his time he who was equal to him in wealth, and also in honour and strength of heart. And Satan

— 288 —

(as-Shaitan), the enemy of good — may God confound him ! — stirred up against him one who killed him, while he was going to his house, on Friday, at the time of dining; and this was in the month of Misra (in the) year one thousand, four hundred and thirty-six of the Martyrs [1720 A.D.] which corresponds to (the) year one thousand, one hundred and thirty-two of the Tax (Year) — may God give rest to his soul! And they shrouded him, and they buried him; and this father celebrated for him, in his name, one thousand Divine Liturgies. And when it was in the year one thousand, one hundred and thirty-three of the Tax (Year), this father set out for the city of Alexandria, and he visited the Church of the father, the preacher, my lord (Mari) Mark (Markus) the Evangelist. And he remained in it (Alexandria) about sixty days in joy and contentment and rejoicing; and he had brought with him a gift to my lord (Mari) Mark (Markus), a silver sanctuary lamp and about twenty ardabs of wheat. He visited it (Alexandria) and (his) desire was accomplished and he was satisfied the more with the archonswho were overseers in the diwan of Alexandria. He returned to Cairo (Misr) in safety, and all his days were peaceful, and his people (were) at rest through his prayer. And there was in the days of this father an archon named Al-Mu`allim Mercurius (Markurius), designated as ‘white cock’. He was at that time in the service of a certain Gurbagi, an elect of the notables of Egypt (Misr), named Abraham (Ibrahim) Gurbagi as-Sabungi `Azban, and the mentioned archon was overseer at the Church of the Mistress the Virgin, known as ‘at the Monastery of Al-`Adawiyah’. And the power of God the Exalted assisted him through the intercession of the Lady, the Mistress, and he (re)built the mentioned monastery completely, better than it was at first. And this father was called, and he consecrated the mentioned Church, and also he consecrated a Church other than it, and he ordained

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priests and deacons in number. And he (Peter) was generous with food and drink ⁽²⁾, (and) he resembled Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) who was before him. And he used to resemble him in all his deeds, and in charity and other than it. And all the people were in his days in welfare and good health and security; and they were zealous in charity and good works. And, especially, one archonnamed Al-Mu`allim George (Girgis) Abu Sihatah from the district of Abnub in Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id). And he came and he fixed his residence in Cairo (Misr), and he was a widower, and he married the sister of Al-Mu`allim Lutf-Allah. And he was a person of great charity, and he did many good things to the poor and the priests and other than them. And together with this, it was (that) his money was with the sanjaks (as-Sanagak) in Cairo (Misr), and the Aghas (al-Aghwat); and when he went to his rest, they found that he had many debts — may God give rest to his soul! And this father remained patriarch for eight years and (some) months, and he went to his rest in (the) month of Baramhat (in the) year one thousand, four hundred and forty-two of the Martyrs [1726 A.D.] which corresponds to (the) year one thousand, one hundred and thirty-eight of the Tax (Year), and there was in its days a pest. And he was buried in the Church of Abba (Abu) Mercurius (Markurah) in Cairo (Misr). May the Lord have mercy upon us through his prayer! And after him Abu Sihatah went to his rest during the mentioned pest. May the Lord give rest to the souls of all, and have mercy upon us through their prayers! Amen.

Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), and he is the one hundred and fifth of (their) number.

This father (was) from the inhabitants of the district of Mallawi

⁽²⁾ I.e. in entertaining guests.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. of the mentioned year.

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(Millawi), and he went up to the Monastery of the great Saint Abba (Anba) Paul (Bula), And he remained in it for a time, and he was clothed with the angelic form ⁽³⁾, and he merited that he should be a priest, and his name was `Abd as-Said. And when the father Abba (Anba) Peter (Butrus) who was before him, went to his rest, the choice fell on him, and they sent (and) they brought him to Cairo (Misr) and they consecrated him patriarch at the Church of the martyr Abba (Abu) Mercurius (Markurah) in the beginning of the year one thousand, four hundred and forty-three of the Martyrs [1726 A.D.] which corresponds to the year one thousand, one hundred and thirty-nine of the Tax (Year); and he remained the space of a week in Cairo (Misr), and he returned to the Patriarchal Cell at the Harat ar-Rum. And there occurred in his days an increase of the tax (al-Gawali) on Christians (an-Nasara), and Jews (al-Yahud) from the beginning of (the) year one thousand, one hundred and forty-seven of the Tax (Year). The highest (class) paid four hundred half-silver (coins) and sixty half-silver (coins) additional tax, and the middle (class) paid two hundred half-silver (coins) and thirty half-silver (coins) additional tax, and the lowest (class) paid one hundred half-silver (coins) and fifteen half-(silver coins) additional tax. And they took the tax (al-Gawali) from the fathers, the bishops, and the monks and the priests, and they exempted no one. And those who were appointed to collect this (were) a body of Bastaliah (who) used to come every year from Greece (ar-Rum) in the name of the Sublime Porte, being appointed to collect this. And they were days of affliction and mourning for all the poor and the master-craftsmen.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the monastic skhema.

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And also there occurred a severe dearth in the year one thousand, one hundred, and fifty-two (of the Tax Year) and the year one thousand, one hundred and fifty-three; and wheat was bought at six gold sequins (Mahbub) for the Cairene (al-Misri) ardab, every waibah for a sequin (Sarifi), a gold sequin (Mahbub). And the people endured hard affliction, especially the poor Christians (an-Nasara), partly from the dearth, partly from the demand of the tax (al-Gawali) without pity. And there were at Cairo (Misr) at that time archons beloved of Christ (al-Masih), Al-Mu`allim Nairuz and Al-Mu`allim Rizk-Allah al-Badawi and Al-Mu`allim Banub of Zifta (az-Ziftawi) and others than they. They used to buy the poor as a purchase from the prison of the tax (al-Gawali), and they delivered them. And also in (the) year one thousand, one hundred and fifty-five of Tax (Year) there occurred a sedition in Egypt (Misr) with one sanjak (Sangak) named `Uthman Bey from the notables of Egypt (Misr). And a part of the troops rose up against him, and he arose and fled to Upper Egypt (al-Wagah al-Kibli), and they pillaged his house, and after that he returned to the Grecian (ar-Rumiah) Lands. And Egypt (Misr) and its inhabitants did not cease (being) troubled and afflicted and in difficult hardships; and may the Lord God have pity upon them through His mercy! And this father remained patriarch for eighteen years and (some) months, and he went to his rest on the Monday of Holy Week (al-Baskhah), the thirteenth of (the) month of Baramudah (in the) year one thousand, four hundred and sixty-one [1745 A.D.] which corresponds to the seventeenth of (the) month of Rabi`a al-Awal (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and fifty-seven of the Lunar (Year); and he

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was buried in the Church of Abba (Abu) Mercurius (Markurah) in Cairo (Misr) May the Lord have mercy upon us through his prayer! Amen.

Mark (Markus) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and sixth of (their) number.

This father (was) from the inhabitants of the district of Kalusna of the regions of the wilayah of Al-Bahnasa, and his name (was) Symeon (Sampan). And he went up to the Monastery of the great Saint Abba (Anba) Paul (Bula), while he was a very young man, (and) he remained in it for a time, and he used to go frequently from the Monastery of the father Antony (Antunius)to the Monastery of the Saint Abba (Anba) Paul (Bula); and he was clothed with the angelic form, and he merited to be a priest. And when Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis) who was before him, went to his rest, the choice fell upon him, and they sent and they caused him to come to Cairo (Misr), and they consecrated him patriarch on the twenty-fourth day of (the) month of Bashuns (in the) year one thousand, four hundred and sixty-one [1745 A.D.] which corresponds to (the) year one thousand, one hundred and fifty-seven (of the Tax Year). And he remained two years, and the troops were quiet in Cairo (Misr), and after that, a great sedition occurred among the troops at Cairo (Misr). And in it were killed Khalil Bey, the Amir al-Hag, and `Ali Bey Al-Dumyati, the Defterdar, and `Umar Bey Ghitas and Muhammad Bey Dhadah. And a group of the amirs, the sanjaks (Sangak), fled to Upper Egypt (as Sa`id), and they (were) the amir `Umar Bey and his brother, and Hassan Bey, an adherent

— 293 —

of Ibrahim Bey. And `Umar Bey, the governor (Hakim) at Girga, rallied them, and they remained for a period of eight months in Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id), and that (was) in (the) year one thousand, one hundred and sixty-one of the Lunar (Year) [1748 A.D.]. And after that, Sheikh al-`Arab Hamam concerned himself and provided for them a shipment of wheat and flour and butter and honey and other than it, and he despatched them ⁽⁴⁾ to the Land of Al-Hejaz in ships from the chief city of Al-Kusair as-Sami ⁽⁵⁾. And after that, also, the sedition did not cease, until God had mercy on His adorers and removed this affliction. And (it was) on the blessed Thursday which was the twelfth of (the) month (of) the blessed Bashuns (in the) Coptic (Kibtiyah) Year one thousand, four hundred and eighty-five of the Pure Martyrs [1769 A.D.], which corresponds to the eleventh of the sacred month (of) Al-Muharram (in the) year one thousand, one hundred and eighty-three of the Lunar (Year), (that) the virtuous, honoured father Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus), patriarch of the great city of Alexandria, and Ethiopia (Al-Habashah) and Nubia (An-Nubah), went to his rest in the Church of the Lady, the Mistress, the Mother of the Salvation of the world, at the Monastery Al-`Adawiyah, at the second hour ⁽⁸⁾ on that day. And it was the feast of our lady, the chaste, the virtuous in honour, the lady Dimianah, and the commemoration of the Chief of the angels Michael (Mikhayil), Chief of the ranks of the heavens, and the falling-asleep of the great martyr John (Yuhanna) Chrysostom (Fam adh-Dhahab) ⁽¹⁰⁾. And in that hour, the

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the amirs.

⁽⁵⁾ A port on the Red Sea.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. 8 a.m.

⁽¹⁰⁾ The term ‘ martyr ‘ is often applied to Saint John Chrysostom on account of the fact that he was deliberately killed by enforced walking in severe weather. On this day the Coptic Church makes these three commemorations, cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Christian Egypt Ancient and Modern, p. 67.

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virtuous, honoured father, the patriarch, beheld at the going-forth of the spirit from the body, the two holy fathers, Antony (Antunius) and Abba (Anbd) Paul (Bula). And the father, the patriarch, was translated from the Church of the Lady, the Mistress, at the Monastery Al-`Adawiyah; and being gone to his rest, the Christian (al-Masihiyin) brethren bore him to the Monastery of the great martyr, the bright morning-star, the great among the martyrs, the courageous warrior, my master the king, my lord (Mari) George (Girgis), at the Convent of the nuns⁽²⁾. And the father, the patriarch, passed the night, being gone to his rest, beneath the icon of the great martyr ⁽³⁾, with readings and prayers and Gospel-lessons and the psalms of the great prophet David (Dauud). And in the morning of Friday which was the thirteenth of (the) month (of) Bashuns (in the) year one thousand, four hundred, and eighty-five [1769 A.D.], the fathers, the metropolitans (al-Matarinah) came to him: the honoured father, Abba (Anba) Yusa, metropolitan (Mutran) of Ethiopia (al-Habashah), and this mentioned father had been consecrated by the hand of the father, the patriarch, six months before his going to his rest. And the honoured father, Abba (Anba) Peter (Butrus), the metropolitan (Mutran) of Upper Egypt (al-Wagah al-Kibli) whom the father, the patriarch, had chosen, fearing for the flock, that he might pasture his good flock, fearing for them on account of the ravenous wolves. And all the hegoumens (al-Kamamisah) and the priests and the archons and the teachers, and the whole of the Christian (al-Masihiyin) people (were) walking on foot, and the priests (with) censers of fragrant incense in their hand, and excellent perfumes, and vested in phelonions (al-Baranus), from the Monastery of the great martyr, my lord (Mari) George (Girgis), to the Monastery of the great martyr Philopater ⁽⁷⁾ Mercurius (Markurius), father of the two swords

⁽³⁾I.e. Saint George.

⁽⁷⁾ The epithet ‘Lover of his parents’ is usually given to Saint Mercurius. For the Monastery, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Ancient Coptic Churches of Cairo, pp. 40-49.

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(Abu Saifain) And the fathers, the metropolitans (al-Matarinah), and the hegoumenoi (al-Kamamisah) and the priests performed for this father, the patriarch, what is fitting for the fathers, the patriarchs, and he was entombed at the second hour ⁽²⁾ of Friday. And the first consecration of this father was on the twenty-fourth day of (the) month (of) Bashuns (in the) year one thousand, four hundred and sixty-one of the Pure Martyrs [1745 A.D.], the day of the entry of the Master (into) the Land of Egypt (Misr) And his going to his rest (was) on the twelfth day of the month (of) Bashuns (in the) Coptic (Kibtiyah) Year one thousand, four hundred and eighty-five [1769 A.D.]; and the duration of the life of the father, the patriarch, on the Throne of Mark (al-Markusi) (was) twenty-four years and three months and fourteen days. And the father, the mentioned deceased patriarch, endured in these days intimidations, the number of which is not to be counted; sometimes from behind and sometimes from perverse disloyal people, and if we were to explain to you, the explanation would be drawn out. And we beseech God and the Agent of our salvation, through the intercession of the possessor of intercessions, the mine of purity and generosity and blessings, our illustrious Lady, the spotless Virgin, the Mother of the salvation of the world, (and) through the prayers of this father, for us and you, O my fathers and my brethren. Amen.

Abba (Anba) John (Yuhanna) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and seventh of the number of the Patriarchs.

Concerning him, he was a monk in the Monastery of the Saint Abba (Anba) Antony (Antunius). And when his predecessor, the

⁽²⁾I.e. 8 a.m.

⁽⁴⁾ On this day there is commemorated the entry into Egypt of the Holy Family, cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, In the Steps of the Holy Family, Cairo, 1963.

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father Mark (Markus) died, the opinion of the people was agreed upon to consecrate him patriarch, and he was consecrated (in the) year one thousand, four hundred and eighty-six of the Martyrs [1769 A.D.] which corresponds to the year one thousand, seven hundred and sixty-two of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Year)⁽²⁾. And ask not concerning what befell him and befell his people from the oppressive afflictions which drove him to hide and to conceal himself, fleeing from the oppression of the rulers and the iniquity of the governors (al-Wulat) who burdened the shoulders of the Christians (al-Masihiyin) and intensified the pressure, especially, by increasing the taxes; and we shall single out in the mentioning of these calamities what was in general. And when Ibrahim and Murad, seniors of the Mamluks (al-Mamalik) of Egypt (Misr), resolved to be independent in the government, without leaving a hand in it to the Sublime Porte namely, the Ottoman (`Uthmaniah) State, and had expelled the wazir of the Sultan, they perceived that the State would not remain silent, but would declare war against the two of them, they began to impose on the Egyptians (al-Misriyin) burdensome taxes in a form (which) resembled pillaging and robbing. And they (the people) were oppressed, and they sought aid, and the hour of aid lingered, but the enjoyment of oppression which the Mamluks (al-Mamalik) enjoyed did not equal to anything compared to what Hassan Pasha did, when he warred against them and conquered them and entered Cairo (Al-Kahirah) victorious. And his troops did what the soul loathes to mention and the mind abhors. And they violated the houses of the Christians (al-Masihiyin); and in addition to violation of the rules of decency and their infringement of

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

— 297 —

the law of humanity in wronging by their behaviour the Christians (an-Nasara), they took their chattels of different kinds and they sold them at the command of the Pasha referred to, in the sight of the people. And thereby how many houses became desolate, and how many houses and dwellings lamented their inhabitants on account of their forsaking them. And by reason of this (it was), that the troops seized the wife of the honourable Mu`allim Abraham (Ibrahim) al-Gawhari, treasurer of accounts of Cairo (Misr), and they compelled her to inform them concerning the hiding-places of the money and other than it of her husband, and she did this being forced, and they pillaged his house, and they left it razed to the ground. And to make things worse, the plague suddenly fell upon Egypt (Misr) with its horses and its armies, and it struck all its lands, towards the year one thousand, five hundred and seven of the Martyrs [1790-1791 A.D.]which corresponds to one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-three of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Incarnation (Year) ⁽⁵⁾, and (to) one thousand, seven hundred and ninety-one of the Frankish (Afrangiah) (Year) ⁽⁶⁾. And there used to die in Cairo (al-Kahirah) on a single day about one thousand, and this plague was known among the people as ‘ bubonic ‘ on account of its magnitude and its gravity, so that it annihilated the people. And from among them the plague struck down Ismail Beywho had been appointed governor by the Sublime Porte over Egypt (Misr), and he died from it, and another was set up in his place, and he died also on that same day, et caetera, until it (the plague) annihilated all the relatives of Ismail Bey. And Ibrahim and Murad seized this opportunity, and they returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they seized

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. A.D.

— 298 —

the reins of government, and the millstone of the two of them revolved on its former pivot, when they began to adopt ways of oppression with the Christians (al-Masihiyin) whose condition became such that it called for the occupation of the French (Faransa) of this country, as will follow. As for Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis), he died (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and twelve of the Martyrs [1796 A.D.] which corresponds to one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-eight of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Incarnation (Year) ⁽⁵⁾.

Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis) ⁽⁶⁾, and he is the one hundred and eighth of the number of the Patriarchs.

Concerning him, he was one of the monks of the Monastery of Saint Abba (Anba) Antony (Antunius). And when his predecessor died, the opinion of the priests and the heads of the priests ⁽⁹⁾ and the archons of the people was agreed upon for his consecration as patriarch, and he was consecrated (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and thirteen of the Martyrs which corresponds (to the) year one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-nine. And he beheld something of the calamities which beset his predecessor, and he shared with the faithful the misfortunes of that ill-omened, ill-starred generation. And his bowels were exhausted in grief, and he suffered through hearing of the ear and seeing of the eye those calamities which overburdened the backs of the Christians (al-Masihiyin). And it grew worse, and its severity became harder, and its bitterness (was) a

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

⁽⁶⁾ John was the name of this patriarch before his consecration, when he look the name Mark.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. the bishops.

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colocynth at the time, when the troops of Napoleon (Nabuliun) Bonaparte (Bunabarat) occupied this land, (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and fourteen of the Martyrs, that is, one thousand, seven hundred and ninety-eight of the Frankish (Afrangiah) (Year) ⁽²⁾. And (it was) that, when the feet of the French (Faransa) soldiers trod the land of Abu Kir ⁽³⁾ and Alexandria, the rabble of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) in Cairo (al-Kahirah) was inflamed, and they began to cause the Christians (an-Nasara) to drink the cup of bitterness, in spite of endeavours of their amirs who informed them that these Christians (al-Masihiyin) (were) among the subjects of the State, and that he who touches their honour touches the honour of the State itself. But this did not intimidate them, and they did not dread the assault of Bonaparte (Bunabarat) and his impetuous soldiers. And (it was) that, when these fought against the Mamluks (al-Mamalik) and conquered them and took possession of Cairo (al-Kahirah), the Christians (an-Nasara) thought that the troubled atmosphere had cleared for them; (but) there rose up the majority of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and the sheikhs (as-Shiyukh) of the Azhar Mosque (al-Gami`), and they assembled in it. And they sent the readers to go around the markets, proclaiming: «Let everyone who declares that there is only one God, go to the Azhar Mosque (al-Gami`). This is the day of the holy war (al-Jihad) in the fight against the godless and to take vengeance». And the city was stirred up thereby and agitated, and the Muslims (al-Muslimin) closed their shops, and they girded on their weapons, and they assembled, in the Azhar Mosque (al-Gami`). Then they went about pillaging the houses of the Christians (al-Masihiyin) of different races,

⁽²⁾ I.e. A.D.

⁽³⁾ On the coast 23 kilometres east of Alexandria.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. he who declares «There is no God but God».

— 300 —

and they killed all whom they encountered without distinction between a man and a woman and a child and an old man. And Upper Egypt (al-Wagah al-Kibli) which customarily was a refuge for every rebel and a retreat for every revolutionary was not with less violence for, when the Mamluks (al-Mamalik) escaped, they began to spread among the people oppression, and they pillaged the possessions of the Christians (an-Nasara). And scarcely did the Christians (an-Nasara) think that they had been delivered from that misfortune, when they fell into worse than it. And this (was) that, when the treaty was broken which was concluded between the French (al-Faransawi) Commander Kleber (Kalibar) and the Grand Wazir at the command of the Sublime Porte ⁽⁴⁾, the millstone of warfare revolved between the two parties at Al-Matariah. The Muslims (al-Muslimin) took advantage of the occasion of the departure of the troops of France (Faransa) from Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they rose against the Christians (an-Nasara). And Nassif Pasha was one of the commanders of the Ottoman (al-`Uthmani) army. He came to the city with a company of the Mamluks (al-Mamalik), and he proclaimed in it that they had overcome the Franks (al-Afrang), and he commanded the killing of the rest of the Christians (an-Nasara); and they began to slaughter them without discriminating between the Copts (al-Kibti) and the Syrians (as-Suri) and the Franks (al-Afrangi). And `Uthmam Bey, one of the officers of the Turks (al-Atrak), perceived their condition, and he came to Nassif Pasha , and he said to him: «It is not right that they shed the

⁽⁴⁾ The Grand Wazir was Yusif Pasha.

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blood of the subjects of the State, for this is contrary to the will of the Sublime Porte. And thereupon he commanded the hands of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) to cease from killing them (the Christians). And the last anguish (which) came to the Copts (al-Akbat) in the days of this father (was) the dismissing of the officials among them (who were) in the diwans of the government, and this (was), when the General (al-Giniral) Menou (Minu) (who) became Commander of the French (al-Faransawi) Army, after the death of Kleber (Kalabar) (who) was assassinated, embraced the Islamic Religion and called himself `Abd Allah and there was born to him an infant whom he named Sulaiman. And the Diwan of Cairo (al-Kahirah) was composed in those days of Copts (al-Akbat) and Muslims (al-Islam), and the former were dismissed, and the diwans were left to the latter, and the collecting of the tax was committed to them. And the duration of the French (al-Faransawiin) in Egypt (Misr) was three years; then they departed, and they were known among the people as the French (al-Faransis). As for the father Mark (Markus), he died (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and twenty-six of the Martyrs [1809 A.D.] which corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and two ⁽⁶⁾. And there was in the days of this father the amir ⁽⁷⁾, famous among the Christians (al-Masihiyin) notables, Abraham (Ibrahim) Al-Gawhari, head of the scribes of the Land of Egypt (Misr). The distinguished one, the perfect one, the possessor of prosperous deeds and praiseworthy acts, who has in every monastery and church a memorable work (for which) he is to be thanked. And to him is attributed the foundation of the Church of Al-Azbakiah, and the

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

⁽⁷⁾ Here, merely a title of courtesy.

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building of it to his brother George (Girgis). And this (was), that the Copts (al-Akbat) in latter times were (unable) to acquire the authorization from the Government to build a church, except with great difficulty. And it chanced that one of the ladies of the Sultan’s family came to Egypt (Misr), purposing (to make) the pilgrimage ⁽²⁾, and Abraham (Ibrahim) al-Gawhari being a superintendent in the Egyptian (al-Misriyah) Government, well-known for his precedence, undertook to arrange for her the service of going and returning, and he offered to her, magnificent gifts. And she wished to reward him for his service which he had undertaken, together with his renowned faithfulness in the Service of the Government, and she asked (him) concerning his wishes. And he begged of her assistance in the issuing of a firman of the Sultan for the permission to build a church at Al-Azbakiah, where his dwelling was established. She accepted his request, and the permission for this was issued to him though her mediation, though he died before he started the building. And when his brother George (Girgis) Effendi (Afandi) occupied his position ⁽⁴⁾ he agreed with the mentioned father Mark (Markus)⁽⁵⁾ and the notables of the denomination, and they built the church ⁽⁶⁾, whither they transferred the Seat of the Patriarchate ⁽⁷⁾to the property of the amir James (Ya`kub) and the Mu`allim Malati who had been officials of high rank at the time of the rule of Bonaparte (Bunabarat).

⁽²⁾ I.e. to Mecca.

⁽⁴⁾ For further particulars about George al-Gawhari, cf. Abd el-Rahman el-Djabakti, op. cit.,t. VII, pp. 393, 397, 400-401, 405.

⁽⁵⁾ This patriarch bore the name John before his consecration, when he changed it to Mark.

⁽⁶⁾ This church was subsequently demolished to make place for the present Church of Saint Mark.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. from the Harat ar-Rum, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Ancient Coptic Churches of Cairo, pp. 75 and 80.

— 303 —

Abba (Anba) Peter (Butrus) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and ninth of the number of the patriarchs.

This father was chosen for the patriarchate after the decease of the father Mark (Markus) his predecessor, and he was consecrated (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and twenty-six of the Martyrs [1809 A.D.] which corresponds to one thousand, eight hundred and two ⁽³⁾. As for him, he was one of the monks of Saint Antony (Antunius), and he had been chosen to he metropolitan (Mutran) over Ethiopia (al-Habashah), but his consecration had been deferred by the economy of God. Afterwards he was consecrated general metropolitan (Mutran) for the Preaching of Mark ⁽⁶⁾. And he remained in the patriarchate until the death of his predecessor. And all the people chose him to be partiarch, (as) a successor to him. And he was consecrated three days after the going to (his) rest of his predecessor. And among his praiseworthy qualities (was) that he was a lover of studying in the Divine Books ⁽⁷⁾, and assiduous in teaching the people; not a lover of coveting things,long-suffering, self-abased, humble, wise, a possessor of great sagacity and lofty intelligence and eminent direction of his flock of the people. And he composed a book by which he furnished proofs for the teaching of the Church ⁽⁸⁾. And in his time, Muhammad `Ali Pasha conquered the Sudan, and many of its inhabitants returned to the Christian (al-Masihi) Religion. And he consecrated for them two bishops in sucession; and of the bishops he consecrated about twenty-

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the See of Alexandria.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the Holy Scriptures.

⁽⁸⁾ Cf. G. Graf, Geschichte der Christlichen Arabischen Literatur, IV, Citta del Vaticano, 1951, pp. 143-144.

— 304 —

three bishops. And of what is worthy to be recorded of the miracles which took place at his hands, and in his time, (is) that the daughter of Muhammad `Ali Pasha, Zahra Pasha, the wife of Ahmad Bey the Defterdar, was possessed by an unclean spirit, and the doctors wearied themselves with tedious toil in treating her, and they were unable to heal her, since this was not a physical sickness. And the renown of Sarapamon (Sarabamun), bishop of Al-Manufiah, for what was given (to him) in the way of the power of casting out evil spirits, filled the Land of Egypt (Misr). And it was mentioned to Muhammad Ali Pasha concerning the possibility of the spiritual leaders (Immah) of the Christians (an-Nasara) with regard to healing his daughter, which caused him to call the father Peter (Butrus), the patriarch, to perform this. And the father, having been informed that his (Muhammad `Ali’s) daughter was possessed of an unclean spirit, called the father Sarapamon (Sarabamun), and he commanded him that he should go to the Palace, where Zahra Pasha dwelt. He (Sarapamon) responded to his call and he went to her, and the Palace was crowded with soldiers and multitudes, men and women. And when he commenced to pray over the princess (al-Amirah), the devil stirred in her, and cast her in convulsion on the ground, and she foamed and began to scream with screams which shook the Palace. And the father (Sarapamon) was terrified at this, and he feared an evil result, and he began to seek aid in the power of Christ (al-Masih), crying out with a sorrowful voice, shedding tears and saying: «Great (is) your sin, O Salib ! O Jesus (Yasu`), glorify Your right hand and cause Your Church to be victorious!» When he had completed the prayer and had signed the sign of the Cross over the water, and had sprinkled with it the face of the princess (al-Amirah), the devil cried out with a tormented voice, and he went out from her. And, thereupon, the princess (al-Amirah) arose sound, and she played the music joyfully. And the good news was announced to Muhammad `Ali concerning this, and he came to his daughter, and he found her cured. And he desired to reward the father Sarapamon (Sarabamun), and he tied up

⁽²⁾ The name which Sarapamon had before his elevation to the episcopacy.

— 305 —

in a purse money amounting to four thousand guineas, and he presented it to the father, but he declined to accept it. And he apologized to him, saying. «It is not the affair of my office, that I should profit by the gifts of the Lord for what is not necessary for me. My dress, as you see, (is) a robe of red ⁽²⁾ wool, and my food (is) bread and cooked lentils. And in place of this⁽³⁾, I beseech Your Excellency to extend your good-will towards the sons of the Coptic (al-Kibtiyah) people, and to employ its sons who have been dismissed. And he responded to this, but he insisted on his (Sarapamon’s) accepting that gift, so he took of it a little, and he distributed it, while passing among the troops. And among these ⁽⁴⁾ (was), that the Nile (an-Nil) did not come up in a certain year to its measure, and the people were afraid of a calamity of dearth and the misfortune of famine, and they sought aid from the Pasha, entreating him that he should command the spiritual chiefs, that they should raise supplications and prayers on account of the Nile (an-Nil), so that God might bless its waters and irrigate the land, and he did (so). And the Muslims (al-Muslimin) assembled first for the prayer, then the Jews (al-Yahud), then the Greeks (ar-Rum), then the Syrians (as-Suriun), then the Franks (al-Afrang), but the river did not change from its place. Then the Government asked of the father Peter (Butrus) that he should do according to what the rest of the denominations had done. And he (Peter) sent for a group of clerics and a company of the bishops, and he went forth with them to the bank of the river, and he celebrated the Offering of the Mystery of the Eucharist (εὐχαριστία).⁽⁶⁾. Then he finished this and he washed the vessels of the Service, and he cast their water with an antidoron ⁽⁷⁾ into

⁽²⁾ The word in common parlance is somewhat vague, and can extend even to the colour brown.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the money.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the miracles.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Divine Liturgy.

⁽⁷⁾ The blessed eucharistic loaves which the priest distributes at the end of the Divine Liturgy.

— 306 —

the river. And its waves were immediately agitated, and they were troubled, and they boiled up as a cauldron boils, and they overflowed. And the disciples of the patriarch hastened to take away the vessels of the Celebration, and scarcely had they finished this, when the water overtook them. And the dignity of the patriarch and his denomination became great with the Pasha, and he (Peter) increased in their esteem. And among these ⁽¹⁾ (was) what was spread abroad on the tongues of the people that Ibrahim Pasha, when he ruled the Land of Syria (as-Samiah) and ruled over Jerusalem (Aurushalim), called the father Peter (Butrus) to perform the Service of the Issuing-forth of the Light from the Tomb of the Master Christ (al-Masih), according to what the patriarchs of the Greeks (ar-Rum) do every year. But the patriarch (Peter) knowing that this would result in enmity between the Copts (al-Akbat) and the Greeks (ar-Rum) excused himself to the Pasha, and he accepted his excuse; and he besought him that the should be with the Patriarch of the Greeks (ar-Rum) and he (the Pasha) would be the third of them inside the Tomb. And the Pasha was doubtful about the truth of the Light, and the father Peter (Butrus) feared lest the appearance of the Light be delayed and the evil of the consequence. And he began to seek aid in the power of Jesus (Yasu`); and the Church of the Resurrection was overcrowded with multitudes, and the people were harassed from this overcrowding ⁽⁴⁾. And the Pasha commanded that the poor should go out to the outside of (the Church of) the Resurrection, where (there was) a large courtyard; and he entered into the Tomb and in company with the Patriarch of the

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the miracles.

⁽⁴⁾ This appears to have been in 1834, when, according to R. Curzon, Visits to Monasteries in the Levant, London, 1849, pp. 208-219, Ibrahim Pasha was present, though he occupied a gallery in the church. Curzon does not mention the presence of the Coptic Patriarch, but records the panic in which several hundred people lost their lives. Cf. also O.F.A. Meinardus, The Copts in Jerusalem, Cairo, 1960, p. 41.

— 307 —

Greeks (ar-Rum) and the Patriarch of the Copts (al-Akbat). And when the time arrived, the Light burst forth from the Tomb, so that the Pasha was terrified by it, and there came upon him confusion and astonishment, and he cried out, repeating this expression ‘Help Father (Baba)’, and he was about to fall on the ground, and the father Peter (Butrus) clasped him until he recovered. As for the wretched poor who (were) outside (the Church of) the Resurrection, they were more fortunate than those who were inside it, for one of the pillars of the door (of the Church) of the Resurrection split open, and the Light came forth from it, and they were blessed by it. And in his (Peter’s) days Muhammad `Ali Pasha endeavoured to unite the Church of Egypt (Misr) with the Church of Rome (ar-Rumiah), and this (was) that the new arrangements which took place in Egypt (Misr) were through the men of France (Faransa) and its scientists. And when Muhammad `Ali Pasha saw himself overwhelmed by the profuseness of their amiability, he wished to repay them with the like. And since he was at a loss what he should do equal to this, one of the commanders of the army who (was) a papist (Babawiya) counselled him that he should endeavour to unite the Christians (an-Nasara) of Egypt (Misr) to the Church of Rome (Rumiah), and the Franks (al-Afrang) would find this a good deed and a favour equal to their favour. And he called for Al-Mu`allim Ghali and his son Basil (Basilius) Bey, the head of finances; and he commanded both of them that they should do this, and they were in difficulties (about what to do), and they feared the occurrence of a sedition in the denomination. And they answered the Pasha, saying: «To bring over all the denomination to the belief of the Church of Rome (Rumiah) at one time would not be achieved without troubles and the shedding of blood of many. And we see (it) better that this should be done with diplomacy and skill, and this (is), that we ourselves should first adopt the papal (al-Babawi) creed, on the condition that we should not be forced to change our Eastern rites and customs,

— 308 —

and thereby we should be able to bring over gradually the individuals of the denomination». And the Pasha accepted this opinion, and he informed the Franks (al-Afrang), and they rejoiced, and they thanked him for what he had done And for that reason Al-Mu`allim Ghali and his son Basil (Basilius) Bey and a small group of their associates in Cairo (Misr) and Akhmim went over to the papalists (al-Babawiyin) in appearance, but they had in their mind that, after a while, they would return to the bosom of their Church, and notwithstanding this, they continued to show genuine respect to the Orthodoxpriests and to baptize their children with them. And as for Abba (Anba) Peter (Butrus), he died (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and sixty-eight of the Martyrs [1852 A.D.] which corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and forty-four of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Year) ⁽⁴⁾.

Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirillus) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and tenth of the number of the patriarchs.

Concerning him, he was head of the Monastery of Abba (Anba) Antony (Antunius). And when he was chosen for the patriarchate, there occurred a disagreement among the people, and some accepted him, and some rejected him, and his consecration was deferred. Then the opinion of the public was agreed upon him, and he was consecrated a general metropolitan (Mutran) (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and seventy of the Martyrs [1853 A.D.] which corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and forty-six. And he continued (thus) a year and two months, and he displayed a good conduct (which) made him worthy to be a patriarch. And he was consecrated (in the)

⁽⁴⁾I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

— 309 —

year one thousand, five hundred and seventy-one of the Martyrs [1854 A.D.] that is, one thousand, eight hundred and forty-seven of the Christian (Masihiyah) (Year)⁽²⁾. And to this father is due the refining of the Coptic (al-Kibti) people and their advancement in the stages of progress. And this (was) by what he effused with the utmost of his exertion in the way of educating its youth and teaching them knowledge. And he founded the great Coptic (al-Kibtiyah) School in the patriarchate ⁽³⁾, and he opened another school in the Harat as-Sakkayin and he renewed in it the teaching of the Coptic (al-Kibtiyah) Language at a time when its traces were about to be effaced, for at that time there was not anyone (who) used to speak it at all, but it was used only in all the churches of the Land of Egypt (al-Misri), and only a few people understood its meaning. And he introduced among these (studies) languages of the races, especially, the Arabic (al-`Arabiyah) Language. And he renewed a church in the Harat as-Sakkiyin ⁽⁶⁾. Then, at the end of his life, he began to build the present great Cathedral Church, after he had taken down the old church. And it was his earnest desire to see it, as it is, in its beautiful splendour and its present ⁽⁸⁾ fine appearance, but his absence in Ethiopia (al-Habashah) intervened, during which he met with terrifying dangers (which) almost ended his days. And this (was), that certain English (al-Inkliz) (people), after he had gone to Ethiopia (al-Habashah), calumniated him to the Negushe (an-Nagasi) Theodore (Taudurus)⁽⁹⁾, and they charged him with the firm resolve to make Ethiopia (al-Habashah) subject to the

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

⁽³⁾ This school is still existing.

⁽⁴⁾ This school is also still existing.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. of the races living in Egypt.

⁽⁶⁾ This is the Church of the Archangel Gabriel, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Ancient Coptic Churches of Cairo, p. 52.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. at the time of the writing of this biography.

⁽⁹⁾ For an account of Theodore, cf. E.A. Wallis Budge, A History of Ethiopia, vol. II, London, 1928, pp. 492-516.

— 310 —

Egyptian (al-Misriyah) Government, and that (therefore) he had journeyed to Ethiopia (al-Habashah), and (that) the troops of Egypt (Misr) were following behind him. The Negushe (an-Nagasi) flew into a passion ⁽¹⁾ at this news, and he commanded the patriarch to be burnt alive. But the Queen resisted him, and she dissuaded him by her prudence from his resolve, and she caused the patriarch to journey to Egypt (Misr) in safety. Then, he (the patriarch) died a little after that. And with regard to his qualities, he was learned, very severe on the ecclesiastics and the people, strict (in observing) the Canons of the Church and its belief. He was on friendly terms with all the denominations, in the good graces of the Government of Egypt (Misr), (and) honoured by the Sons of the Church. He consecrated six bishops including among them Abba (Anba) Basil (Basilius), metropolitan (Mutran) of Jerusalem (Aurshalim) and Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis), metropolitan (Mutran) of (the Province of) Al-Manufiah. And in his time a number of churches were built. And he died (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and seventy-seven of the Martyrswhich corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and fifty-three of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Year) [1861 A.D.], and one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-one of the Frankish (Afrangiah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Year) ⁽⁵⁾.

Abba (Anba) Demetrius (Dimitrius) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and eleventh.

And concerning him, he was the head of the Monastery of Saint Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar). And when he became patriarch (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and seventy-eight of the

⁽¹⁾ For Theodore’s fits of rage, cf. E.A. Wallis Budge, op. cit., p. 493.

⁽⁴⁾I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. A.D.

— 311 —

Martyrs [1862 A.D.] which corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and fifty-four of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Year) ⁽²⁾, he followed on the lines of his predecessors, and he followed in the trace of Abba (Anba) Cyril (Klrullus) his predecessor. He completed the building of the great Church ⁽³⁾, since it was lacking roofs and domes. Afterwards, Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus), the one hundred and twelfth, embellished the whole of its interior with painting and golden icons, especially, the screen ⁽⁴⁾ and he paved its pavement which went round it with marble; and it is the best and the broadest and the highest building, and the most magnificent of the churches of the Copts (al-Akbat) in the Land of Egypt (Misr) ⁽⁵⁾. And this father Demetrius (Dimitrius) stimulated also the schools and the elementary schools. And good fortune increased for him on presenting himself before the presence of the Shah, the Sultan `Abd al-`Aziz ⁽⁶⁾, when he honoured the Land of Egypt (Misriyah) and attended the celebration of the opening of the Canal of Suez (as-Suiz). The celebration of its opening (was) on the ninth of the month of Hatur (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and eighty-six of the Martyrs [1869 A.D.] which corresponds to the seventeenth of November of one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-nine of the Frankish (Afranglah) Christian (Masihiyat) (Year) ⁽⁸⁾, and to the year one thousand, two hundred and eighty-six of the Hegira (Higriah). And he received from the majesty of the Sultan great favour, and he (the Sultan) bestowed on him an amount of cultivated lands for the expenses of the Patriarchate and the schools of the nation ⁽⁹⁾. And in his days Isma`il Pasha ⁽¹⁰⁾ was Khedive, (Khidiwi) of

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Cathedral Church of St. Mark of al-Azbaktah.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the iconostasis.

⁽⁵⁾ Of course, the new Cathedral of St. Mark at Al-`Abbasiyah is now the largest Coptic Church.

⁽⁶⁾ Sultan of Turkey (1861 A.D.).

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. A.D.

⁽⁹⁾I.e. the Coptic nation.

⁽¹⁰⁾ From 1863-1879 A.D.

— 312 —

Egypt (Misr), and he was the first who received from the Sublime Porte the title of Khedive (Khidiwi). And among the memorable acts of Abba (al-Anba) Demetrius (Dimitrius) (was), that he journeyed through Upper Egypt (al-Wagah al-Kibli) on a steamship (which) the Government assigned to him. And he built the western wing of the Patriarchate, and he completed what he had left incomplete of the building at the farm of the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar)in Atris (Tiris), at the time of his headship. And it came about that he died on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany (al-Ghitas), the eleventh of the month of Tubah (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and eighty-six of the Martyrs [1870 A.D.] which corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-two of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Era) after he had remained patriarch for seven years and seven months and seven days. And on account of the tardiness of the Government to issue the order to consecrate a patriarch for the denomination, the Throne remained vacant after him for four years and nine months and seventeen days. And, at that time, it was Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus), the metropolitan (Mutran) of Alexandria and the administrator of the Preaching of Mark (al-Markusiyah) ⁽⁵⁾, (who) administered the affairs of the Patriarchate until there took place the consecration of the next father to be mentioned.

Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus) the Patriarch, the one hundred and twelfth of the number of the patriarchs.

And concerning him, (it was), that he was born at Tizmant in the mudiriah of Bani Suif, (in the) year one thousand, five hundred

⁽⁴⁾I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

⁽⁵⁾ ‘The Preaching of Mark’ is a term used for the whole extent of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.

— 313 —

and forty-eight of the Martyrs [1831-1832 A.D.] which corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and twenty-four of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Era)⁽²⁾. And he was named John (Hanna), and a short time after his birth, his parents migrated from their place of origin, and they both went to the mudiriah of as-Sharkiyah, and they settled at Kafr Sulaiman as-Sa`idi, and his kindred continued at that Kafr. And after a time (which) was not long, his parents were translated to the eternal abode, and his eldest brother who was called Al-Mu`allim Peter (Butrus) undertook his upbringing, and he took care of his education, and some priests assisted him with this. And he (John) was ordained a deacon at the hand of the father Abba (al-Anba) Abram, metropolitan (Mutran) of Jerusalem (Aurshalim), who was before Abba (al-Anba) Basil (Basilius) the aforementioned. And it was shown forth in this John (Hanna) from his earliest years, that he would become a model of Christian (al-Masihiyah) perfections. His character and instinctive nature were inclined to asceticism and mortification, and he scorned this world and its vanities, and he used to love solitude and the pursuit of learning and the restoring (of manuscripts), and he was given to the exercise of virtues. And he used to avoid the society of youths of his age, fearing lest something of their worldly inclinations might affect him, and (that) his disposition be nourished by their dispositions through the contact of his thoughts with their thoughts. And he was wont to honour his spiritual father, that is the hegoumenos (al-Kummus), to whom he used to confess with an honour surpassing description, and he held him in awe. And, finally, he left the house of his parents, and he went to the Monastery of the Syrians (as-Suryan), and it is one of the four monasteries existing

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

— 314 —

in the Western Desert. And he did not remain, except a few days, before his family took him back from the monastery through the medium of the priest who had helped in his upbringing, and he returned, but his spirit did not cease to be enamoured with monasticism. And the appeal of the people did not alter the calling of God — magnified and exalted be He! And he abode among his people for a short time, and they humoured him with every expedient, and they used to attract his attention to worldly affairs, and they embellished for him its delights, and they magnified to him the toils of the monks and their heavy yoke. But all these endeavours were of no (avail), except to increase in him an ardent love and passion for the monastic life. And he began to wait for an opportunity, so that he might be able to flee from his people; and he set off headlong for the Monastery of Al-Baramus in the Desert of Scetis (Shihat), and it is the furthest of the four monasteries of the Western Desert. And this (was) in (the month of) Tut (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and sixty-seven of the Martyrs [1850 A.D.] which corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and forty-three of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Era), and it was the twentieth year of his age. After about a month, he was madea monk, and this monastery was, at that time, in very great indigence, both economically and culturally. Its revenues were very low; they were not sufficient for the needs of its monks, and its lands were in the hands of others who took the proceeds for others than it. And its monks did not obtain the necessary food, except with extreme difficulty; but there used to pass days on which they did not feed on (anything) except the lupines which had been stored up in the monasteries

— 315 —

from the days of the late Abraham (Ibrahim) al-Gawhari the possessor of excellent deeds and noble actions — may God sanctify his spirit! — and for these reasons the number of its monks decreased, so that it arrived at four persons. And some people reported that the monastery contained once (only) one person, and he remained in it alone about three years. And this was some years before the monkhood of the possessor of this biography ⁽²⁾. And the possessor of this biographyconducted himself in the monastery in the best conceivable manner of asceticism. And when the monks saw this in him, their opinion was agreed upon with the father `Awad al-Barhimi, the steward at the monastery, at that time, for his advancement to the rank of the noble priesthood. And they wrote for him a testimonial letter (at-Tazkiyah), and they sent him to Cairo (al-Kahirah) (to) the Harat Zuwailah, in the first (days) of the year one thousand, five hundred and sixty-eight of the Martyrs [1851 A.D.], that is, one thousand, eight hundred and forty-four of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Era) ⁽⁵⁾. Then he returned to the monastery, and the monks chose him to be the intendant of their affairs, and he undertook the duties of monasticism, and he performed its obligations well. And I am not able to describe what he possessed in the way of virtues, chastity and faithfulness, and asceticism and surpassing humility and meekness and longsuffering, and sincerity in word and in deed with God and man; and his extreme love for the stranger and the neighbour, and his charity for the needy and his alms-givings to the monks from his personal income which he used to gain from copying manuscripts. And he was a great consolation to those who observed his sayings and his deeds. And the conditions of the monastery were ameliorated through his efforts, and the number of the monks increased in it, and they followed on his straight paths

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Patriarch Cyril V.

⁽⁵⁾I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

— 316 —

in the way of Christian (al-Masihi) perfection, and they used to scorn the vanities of this world. And the number of the monks after this reached up to thirty and above it, among whom several had migrated from other monasteries to it, by reason of the good conduct of this father and his good treatment. And this father continued to perform the affairs of his office with all his energy and ability, directing and teaching and instructing and discipling, carrying out the voice of the Apostle which says: «Let everyone be according to whatever gift he has received, ministering it among one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God; if anyone speaks (speaking) as (it were) the oracles of God, and if anyone ministers (ministering) as of the strength which God bestows; that He may be glorified in everything through Jesus (Yasu`) Christ (al-Masih)» — First Peter (Butrus) chapter IV, verses 10-11 — . And the saying of our teacher Paul (Bulus): «We were gentle in your midst, as the nurse fosters her children — First Thessalonians (Tasaluniki), chapter II, verse seven. In brief, he reached in the way of sanctity and good devotion the climax of what was possible in his generation. And, in the meanwhile, the distinguished hegoumenos (al-Kummus) `Abd al-Masih al-Mas`udi, son of George (Girgis), associated with him, and he was from the people who supported him and who helped him together with the mentioned father `Awad. Then (it was), that the patriarch Abba (Anba) Demetrius (Dimitrius) called the possessor of the biography, (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and seventy-nine of the Martyrs [1862-1863 A.D.] to the Patriarchal Residence, and he ordained him hegoumenos (Ighumanus), and he appointed him an assistant at the Cathedral Church at Al-Azbakiah. And his parting was very hard to bear for the monks, and they were not able to bear patiently his separation, and they wrote to the preceding patriarch, beseeching him to send him back to

⁽³⁾ I.e. the patriarch Cyril V.

— 317 —

administer their affairs, but he did not comply with their entreaty, and they reiterated the entreaty several times, and the patriarch accepted at the end of the affair their entreaty, and he sent him back to his place. And he remained undertaking the charge of his functions in the best way, so that the metropolitans (al-Matarinah) and the bishops and the notables of the Coptic (al-Kibtiyah) denomination chose that he should be patriarch. And the Government charged the governor (Mudir) of (the Province of) Al-Buhairah (to bring him) to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he came to it, willingly or unwillingly, and after some days, his consecration took place on Sunday, the twenty-third of (the month of) Babah (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and ninety-one of the Martyrs which corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-seven of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Era)⁽²⁾, and to the year one thousand, eight hundred and seventy-five of the Frankish (al-Afrangiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Era)⁽³⁾, with great celebrations by all of the denominations, with the name Cyril (Kirullus) the Fifth, as regards his name, and the one hundred and twelfth of the number of the patriarchs. And he commenced to undertake the charge of his office and its affairs, and he turned to the care, for example, of the management of the schools and their organization, and he multiplied the teachers in them, so as to hasten the progress of the scholars; and he introduced into them the Arabic (al-`Arabiyah) studies and mathematics, as arithmetic and algebra and geometry. And when he saw that the two schools, that is, the Patriarchal School and the school in the Harat as-Sakkayin were not sufficient for the teaching of the scholars of the children of the denomination, he established a new school in the Harat Zuwailah and another at Bulak. Then he turned his

⁽²⁾I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

⁽³⁾I.e. A.D.

— 318 —

care, for example, to the monasteries which (were) in the neighbourhood of Cairo (al-Kahirah). And he found them on the point of declining to extinction, and he commenced to exert his utmost care in repairing them and in renewing them. And these his memorable acts are in the Monastery of Saint Barsum (Barsum) the Naked in the way of a beautiful mansion (al-Kasr) which he constructed, and the beautiful garden which he planted on the right of the Monastery, and he planted in it all kinds of trees; and the graceful buildings which he erected at the Monastery of Saint Mercurius (Markurius) at the side of Tamwai, and the church and the mansion (al-Kasr) which he built at the Monastery of the Saint, my lord (Mari) George (Girgis), at Turah on the bank of the Nile (an-Nil), and the mansion (al-Kasr) which he constructed at the Monastery of Al-`Adawiyah And these are his memorable deeds in Cairo, (al-Kahirah), in the way of the screen of the great Cathedral Church, and the paintings and sculptures which gave to this church its splendour and its beautiful appearance; and the beautiful wing which he built on the southern side of the Patriarchate, and a school for girls which he built on the north-eastern side of the Patriarchate at the large street; and a school for boys which is in the Patriarchate of Alexandria ⁽⁸⁾, and other (things) than these, in the way of assisting in the building of churches, as the Church of the Harat as-Sakkayin and the Church of Al-Faggalah, and others

⁽⁸⁾ This school is still existing.

⁽¹⁰⁾ Church of the All-Holy Virgin Mary.

— 319 —

than these two. And, on the other hand, he took care of the affairs of the Church, and he commanded the propagation of religions books among its sons, and he urged the monks to study and to read the Holy Scriptures, and he opened for them schools in the monasteries. And the Western Monasteries⁽¹⁾ had a school at the Monastery of Al-Baramus, and the two Eastern Monasteries ⁽³⁾ had a school at the Monastery of Antony (Antunius) and at (the Monastery) Al-Muharrak(there was) a school. And he opened the Ecclesiastical School in Cairo (al-Kahirah) for students from among the youths and the priests of the churches and the monks. And in these his days there were published by the sons of the Coptic (al-Kibtiyah) community (millah) and its priests a quantity of books of sermons and books on religions instruction and scientific and historical works. And His Grandeur had a greathand in the publication of these books and, in his time, the standard of degree of the Clergy was raised somewhat in learning and knowledge. Also the knowledge of the Coptic (al-Kibtiyah) Language increased and spread; and it was, (that) many were able to speak in it, and they compiled in it a number of books for studying (it), and they printed them. And it was, (that) some (people) used to present to His Grandeur sometimes a petition or letter in Coptic (al-Kibtiyah), since he understood it well. And he himself visited Lower Egypt (al-Wagah al-Bahari) twice, and Upper Egypt (al-Wagah al-Kibli) once only. He received from the sons of the denomination the best of receptions, and intense satisfaction and the greatest joy and delight on his arrival, even as they found in him the greatest consideration for their interests. And he attended well to the Ethiopian (al-Habasiyah) Diocese (e0parxi/a),

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the monasteries in the Wadi ‘n-Natrun.

⁽³⁾ I.e. in the Eastern Desert.

— 320 —

and he consecrated for it a metropolitan (Mutran) and three bishops together, on account of its extent; and this was in the days of Tawfik Pasha ⁽¹⁾, the exalted Khedive (Khidiwi) of Egypt (Misr), and of His Majesty, the King John (Yuhanna) ⁽²⁾, Sultan of Ethiopia (al-Habas). And the name of the metropolitan (al-Mutran) (was) Abba (Anba) Peter (Butrus), and (those of) the bishops (were) Abba (Anba) Matthew (Mattaus) and Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus) and Abba (Anba) Luke (Lukas). And no matter what exaggeration (there be) in eulogizing the continence of the mentioned patriarch, and his asceticism and his endurance of hardships and his patience in afflictions, I am not able to complete the description of a part of the excellent features of his character and the praise of his sobriety, that is, his spiritual affairs, and, in short, he excelled others in the course of virtue, and his heart became a captive of compassion and pity, and he was moulded for the love of the needy and for assisting them. And all the sons of the denomination testified concerning him (that) he was wont to wipe away the tears of the widow and the tears of the aged by the hand of alms, and to feel for the bereaved, and to grieve for the dejected, and to exert himself and to labour to remove the anguish of the afflicted, and not to spare pains to find a livelihood for households which were crushed by the vicissitudes of the times (which) subjected by their destructive power the calamities of events. And the conduct of this good father towards God and the neighbour and himself doubled his esteem, and created for him a great place in the eyes of kings and rulers and governors, and they presented him with decorations. And the late Khedive (Khidiwi) Tawfik Pasha ⁽⁴⁾ conferred on him the Order of Al-Medjidi (al-Magidi), first class, and our beloved sovereign, the Khedive (Khidiwi) `Abbas Hilmi Pasha ⁽⁵⁾, the second son of Tawfik Pasha, conferred on him the same mentioned Order. And His Majesty, the

⁽¹⁾I.e. 1879-1892 A.D.

⁽²⁾I.e. John IV.

⁽⁴⁾ From 1879-1914 A.D.

⁽⁵⁾From 1892-1914 A.D.

— 321 —

Sultan `Abd al-Hamid Khan the Greatconferred on him the Ottoman (al-`Uthmani) Order of the first class, and the Muscovite (al-Muskub) Tsar (Kaisar) conferred on him an Order of the first class, and John (Yuhanna) Kasa, the aforementioned King of Ethiopia (al-Habas), presented him with a crown and a cross and magnificent gifts. And over and above this, the Egyptian (al-Misriyah) Government appointed him a member in the Advisory Council amongst the deputies of the nation. And up to the end of (the year) one thousand, six hundred and ten of the Martyrs [1894 A.D.] which corresponds to (the year) one thousand, eight hundred and eighty-six of the Coptic (Kibtiyah) Christian (Masihiyah) (Era), the number of those whom he elevated to the rank of the metropolitanate (al-Matraniah) and the episcopacy (was) nineteen, and they (were) from all the monasteries, and mostly from the two monasteries Al-Muharrak and Abba (Anba) Antony (Antunius). And there befell this father some reproaches in (the) year one thousand, six hundred and eight and one thousand, six hundred and nine of the Martyrs [1891-1893 A.D.] on account of disputes which occurred at that time. And this (was) that, when Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus), Metropolitan (Mutran) of Alexandria, was in charge of the direction of the affairs of the denomination, after the decease of Abba (Anba) Demetrius (Dimitrius), as was said before, he formed a council of twelve members, so that they might share with him in the work, and he acted on this wise, and the mentioned council lasted until the time of the father Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus); and sometimes during the years the council was in abeyance, and sometimes it held its sessions. Then (it was), that

⁽¹⁾ Sultan of Turkey, 1876 A.D.

⁽²⁾ Probably Alexander II.

⁽⁵⁾I.e. the Ethiopian Era.

— 322 —

the members of the council wished to look after the interests of the churches and their conditions, and after the schools and the inalienable endowments (al-Aukaf), and the ordination of the priests, and other (things) than these, with regard to setting right matters which (were) unbecoming. Especially, their purpose (was) to bring under their hands the inalienable endowments (al-Aukaf) of the monasteries and the churches and the cells of the bishops and the metropolitans (al-Matarinah), and to expend from them (the inalienable endowments) on them (the monasteries, etc.) money, besides taking salaries from them (the inalienable endowments) for those whom they used to employ to define their (the monasteries, etc.) limits, such as the scribe and the overseer. And this occasioned for the inalienable endowment (al-Wakf) a dispersal and a loss for its beneficiaries. And this father, the patriarch, and the bishops and the monks and others than they, did not wish for this. And the disagreement between the two parties continued, but the members of the council were supported by the Government, and they induced it to remove him (the patriarch) to the Monastery of Al-Baramus And he (the patriarch) journeyed from Alexandria on Friday, the twenty-eighth of (the month of) Misra (in the) year one thousand, six hundred and eight of the Martyrs [1892 A.D.]. Then it (the Government) brought him back with respect and honour, and he reached Cairo (al-Kahirah) on Saturday, the twenty-eighth of (the month of) Tubah (in the) year one thousand, six hundred and nine [1893 A.D.], as the writers of undoubted word have explained. And all the community (al-millah) and also the Government itself knew that the right lay in the hand of the father, the patriarch, and that he strove for it. As regards the Egyptian (al-Misriyah) Government in the days of this father — we have said that his consecration took place in the year one thousand, five hundred and ninety-one of the Martyrs [1874 A.D.], as

— 323 —

has been stated, and this (was) in the days of Isma`il Pasha ⁽¹⁾ Khedive (Khidiwi) of Egypt (Misr), son of Ibrahim, son of Muhammad `Ali Pasha the Great — there occurred on the nineteenth of (the month of) Bau’unah (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and ninety-five which corresponds to the twenty-fifth of the European(month of) Huzairan ⁽³⁾ (in the) Frankish (Afrangiah) year one thousand, eight hundred and seventy-nine, the abdication of the mentioned Khedive (Khidiwi). And his son, Tawfik Pasha ⁽⁴⁾governed, and hecontinued in the Khedivate (al-Khidiwiah) for twelve years and a half. And in the days of this Khedive (al-Khidiwi) an important event occurred which spread abroad in all the world. And this (was), that towards the end of the year one thousand, five hundred and ninety-eight [1882 A.D.] Ahmad `Urabi Pasha director of the Egyptian (al-Misriyah) military service, whose origin (was) from the Province (Mudiriah) of As-Sarkiah, rebelled against this Khedive (al-Khidiwl). And the two States, England (Inklitara) and France (Faransa), threatened him, and they commanded him to desist, and he did not desist. And they both sent their fleets to the harbour of Alexandria, and they threatened him with bombardment. And he began to fortify the forts and to raise armies. And the English (al-Inkliz) fought against him, and they routed him at Tall al-Kabir, on the fifth of (the month of) Tut (in the) year one thousand, five hundred and ninety-nine of the Martyrs which corresponds to the fourteenth of the European (month of) Ailul ⁽¹¹⁾ of the Frankish (Afrangiah) Year, or (Year) of the Incarnation, one thousand, eight

⁽¹⁾ From 1863-1879 A.D.

⁽³⁾ I.e. June.

⁽⁴⁾ From 1879-1892 A.D.

⁽¹¹⁾ = September.

— 324 —

hundred and eighty-two. And they dispersed the gathering of his troops, and their armies marched to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they entered it on the following day without the least resistance; and there did not occur from them the least harm to anyone, and not the least injustice to anyone, and this was marvellous to us. And they took the Citadel and they seized `Urabi and his company, and they proclaimed the supremacy of the Khedive (al-Khidiwi). And after they had judged them and had proved their treason, they exempted them from the death penality, and they exiled them to the Island of Ceylon (Silan) in India (al-Hind). And this is the cause of the entry of the English (al-Inkliz) (into) the Land of Egypt (Misr), and their interference in its administration together with the Khedive (al-Khidiwi), but it did not cease to be subject to the Ottoman (al-`Uthmani) State, as (it was) before. And, again, while the revolt of `Urabi (al-`Urabiah) was taking place in Egypt (Misr), there arose a man from the Arabs (`Arab) of the south of Africa (Afrika)⁽³⁾, whose name was Muhammad Ahmad (who) surnamed himself the Mahdi (al-Mahdi) And he gathered around him armies from among the people, and he advanced with them to the Sudanese (as-Sudaniah) lands which (were) under the rule of Khedivial (Khidiwiah) Egypt (Misr), and little by little he gained possession of these districts, and the furtherest rule of Egypt (Misr) to the south was up to Wadi Haifa. And the Egyptian (al-Misriyah) armies repulsed and overcame them there, and they took captive a great number of them; and, also, Suakin remained in the hand of Egypt (Misr). And on the twenty-ninth of (the month of) Kihak (in the) year one thousand, six hundred and eight of the Martyrs which corresponds to the year one thousand, eight hundred and ninety-two of the

⁽³⁾ The term ‘Afrikah’ was formerly applied to the northern littoral of the Continent of Africa, and, consequently,’south of Africa’ would be those districts bordering the Sudan.

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Frankish (Afrangiah) (Era) ⁽¹⁾, Tawfik Pasha died, and a few days after that his son, His Honour, the great Khedive (al-Khidiwi) `Abbas Pasha Hilmi the Second, governed in his stead. And Muhammad `Ali Pasha the Great was the head of this Muhammad (al-Muhammadiah) family, and he had made it a condition (that) after him the inheritance of the rule (should be) for the eldest of his family. And when the rule was confirmed for Ismail Pasha the aforementioned, he made it a condition (that) after him the inheritance of the rule (should be) in his own family, that is, for his first-born son, then for the son of his son in accordance with the European (al-`Urubiah) way, contrary to the aforementioned way. And in the matter of inheritance, the end aimed at is the benefit and tranquillity and uprightness of conditions for both the rulers and their subjects, in view of affairs to which a nation does not attain, (when) the rule of it is transferable, not hereditary, as is apparent to those who have intelligence and (are) statesmen. And among these matters (is that) he whose investiture is sought, being (already) designated, (there will be) no apprehension and no contention at the time of the investiture. Secondly, being brought up in the house of princedom, he will not be ignorant of the affairs of State and its laws and its politics. Thirdly, not being antagonistic to his predecessor, he will not reject his (the predecessor’s) lawsand his good regulations in which his experiences were put to the test, both he and his men, but he will walk according to them, and will increase them in goodness. Fourthly, all what belongs to his father being his, he will not oppress the subject, and he will not wrong him by amassing perishable money or other than this of good things which proceeds from the inheritance and passes away after it; and, in a word, we say that the Egyptian (al-Misriyah) State in the days of this father ⁽³⁾was at the highest degree of justice and good order and arrangement. And it removed religious fanaticism, and almost established equality

⁽¹⁾ I.e. A.D.

⁽²⁾ From 1863-1879 A.D.

⁽³⁾ I.e. Cyril V.

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between its subjects, Christian (Nasara) and Islam (Islam), and it eliminated most of the injustice, and it realized much in the way of beneficial works for the benefit of all the inhabitants. Among which the making of the railway and the telegraph and the post, and the creating of canals and causeways and dams for irrigating the lands, and the founding of paper and sugar factories; and there multiplied fire or steam machines, and enactments of regulations and lawsand severe control together with the generalization of personal and religions liberty, and the opening of schools and the diffusion of sciences and arts. And the conditions of the city of Cairo (al-Kahirah), the capital of this country, improved, its buildings extended and its streets were arranged and lighted by gas, and water-pipes were laid in them, and schools and printing-presses, besides other arrangements multiplied in it; and, likewise, the city of Alexandria. And, also, in these days relations and trade between the countries of the world multiplied, since journeys to them were facilitated on account of trains on land and steamships, and the transmission of news was facilitated on account of the telegraph and the post, and the multiplication of newspapers and printed books. And scholars multiplied greatly, especially, in Europe (Auruba), and the Europeans (al-Aurubiun) multiplied in the Land of Egypt (Misr), and by means of them, especially, the French (al-Faransawiyin) and the English (al-Inkliz), these engineering and scientific and political works have come into existence, in order to organize the country. The beginning of these organizations was in the days of Muhammad `Ali Pasha, and they have not ceased to increase up to our present time. And, in short, the Land of Egypt (Misr) was similar to the European (al-Aurubiah) kingdoms in organizations; and praise (be) to God for His graces! Now we turn to the mention of the monasteries in the days of this father ⁽¹⁾ and we say that from the study of Church histories it is learned that in the first generations of monasticism there were in the Land of Egypt (Misr) hundreds of monasteries inhabited by monks, but (that) after that, they became devastated, and they became few.

⁽¹⁾I.e. Cyril V.

— 327 —

And we know that some of them were rebuilt in the last generations, as the Monastery of Abba (Anba) Pishoi (Bishui) and the Monastery of Abba (Anba) Antony (Antunius) and the Monastery of Abba (Anba) Paul (Bula). And the monasteries of the monks which were in the days of this father ⁽⁴⁾ (are) seven, of which four (are) in the Desert of Scetis (Shihat) in the Western Desert. And the first (is) the Monastery of the Virgin, the Monastery al-Baramus, the place of origin ⁽⁶⁾of His Grandeur as has been stated, only it is called the Monastery Baramus, in the name of the sons of Rome (ar-Rum) ⁽⁷⁾, the Saints Maximus (Maksimus) and Dometius (Dumadius), and the second (is) the Monastery of the Virgin, known as the Monastery of the Syrians (as-Surian), and it is called by this name, because, formerly, it comprised a number of Coptic (al-Kibti) monks and Syrian (as-Surian) monks together, but, afterwards, not one of the Syrians (as-Surian) remained. And the third (is) the Monastery of Saint Abba (Anba) Pishoi (Bishui) in proximity to the mentioned monastery, and the two of them (are) to the south-east of the Monastery Baramus, at a distance of two hours. And the fourth (is) the Monastery of Saint Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar), father of the Western Desert, and it is to the south-east of the Monasteries of the Syrians (as-Surian) and Abba (Anba) Pishoi (Bishui), at a distance of two hours and three-quarters of an hour ⁽⁹⁾. And these four monasteries

⁽⁴⁾I.e. Cyril V.

⁽⁶⁾I.e. where the Patriarch was a monk.

⁽⁷⁾I.e. of the Roman Emperor Valentinian I, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Monasteries of the Wadi ‘n-Natrun, p. 8.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. on foot.

— 328 —

are situated west of the Province (Mudiriah) of Al-Bahairah, west of Bani Salamah and At-Tarranah and Kafr Dauud and they are termed the northern and the western monasteries. And two monasteries in the Eastern Desert, and they (are) the Monastery of the great Saint Abba (Anba) Antony (Antunius), father of the monks in all the world, and the Monastery of Saint Abba (Anba) Paul (Bula): and these two monasteries are next to the Province (Mudiriah) of Bani Suif, to the east, in the Eastern Desert and, therefore, they are termed the eastern monasteries. And one travels to the Monastery of Antony (Antunius) three days in the desert, and as for Abba (Anba) Paul (Bula), (it is) four days and a fraction, passing by the Monastery of Antony (Antunius). And the seventh (is) the Monastery Al-Muharrakin the Province (Mudiriah) of Asyut, at the foot of the western mountain, and it is now the most (populated) of the monasteries with regard to monks; and it is thought that it is (one) of the monasteries of Saint Abba (Anba) Pachomius (Bakhum), father of coenobitic life, and God knows (best). And in these seven monasteries (there are) about four or five hundred monks; and each of these monasteries has its own lands to cultivate from gifts and from purchase, in addition to the inalienable endowments. And of the devastated monasteries, traces of which remain to this our day, (there are) in proximity to the inhabited monasteries, the Monastery of Abba (Anba) Moses (Musa) the Black at the side of the Monastery Al-Baramus in the north, and the Monastery

— 329 —

of Abba (Abu) John (Yuhinnis) (which) is separated from the Monastery of the Syrians (as-Surian) and (that of) Abba (Anba) Pishoi (Bishui) by some distance to the south-east, and (there are) a group of monasteries near the Monastery of Saint Macarius (Makarius) Then the Monastery of Saint John (Yuhanna) Climax (ad-Daragi)near by the Gulf of Suez (as-Suiz), in the direction of the Monastery of Antony (Antunius), to the north of it. And, in addition to this, many monasteries are found in the Rif (which are) completely devoid of monks, but they are used as churches for prayer by the people of the district, such as the Monastery of (Barsum) the Naked, called also the Monastery of Shahran, and the Monastery of Mercurius (Markurius) Abba (Abu) Saifain at Tammuah, south of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and the Monastery of Abba (Anba) Shenouti (Shanudah) and the Monastery of Abba (Anba) Pishoi (Bishai) in the Province (Mudiriah) of Girga (Girga), and there are many others than these. Note: Know that the Monastery al-Muharrak was reduced in monks in the early part of the sixteenth century of the Martyrs, that is the nineteenth (century) of Christ (al-Masih) (14). And it was (that), at that time, a secular ⁽¹⁵⁾

⁽¹⁴⁾ I.e. A.D.

⁽¹⁵⁾ I.e. a priest who has the title «Kummus» though he is not a monk.

— 330 —

hegoumenos (Kummus) from Al-Kusiah, called Al-Kummus `Abd al-Masih, (who) used to serve it. And after this, the monks increased and multiplied little hy little, and they enlarged the place and multiplied its possessions. And since the Monastery was the sole one in Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id), (where there are) many Christians (an-Nasara), Copts (al-Kibt), and no other monasteries are neighbouring to it, therefore, it became the greatest of the monasteries (as regards the number of) monks. As for the convents of the nuns which were inhabited in the days of this father ⁽²⁾, there were five of them, three in Cairo (al-Kahirah and they are the Convent of my lord (Mari) George (Girgis) in the Harat Zuwailah, and the Convent of the Virgin mentioned and the Convent of the Harat ar-Rum; and two in Old Cairo (Misr), and they are the Convent of Saint Mercurius (Markurius), Abba (Abu) Saifain, and the Convent of my lord (Mari) George (Girgis); and in each of these five (convents) there is a number of nuns. And, in addition to this, nuns were found in the houses of their fathers from the beginning of their nunhood. As for the sees of the metropolitans (al-Matarinah) and the bishops, there were in the days of this father nineteen, and these are: the first (is) the See of the Metropolitan (Mutran) of Jerusalem (Aurushalim) who has greater and wider districts than (those) of the Land of Egypt (Misr), and he used to reside at Al-Mansurah or at other than it of the towns of Egypt (Misr), and, occasionally, at the noble Jerusalem (al-Kuds) or at Jaffa (Yafa). And the second (is) the Metropolitan (Mutran) of Al-Manufiah, and the third (is) the Metropolitan (Mutran) of Alexandria and vicar of the Preaching of

⁽²⁾I.e. Cyril V.

— 331 —

Mark (al-Markusiah)⁽¹⁾. And in the year one thousand, six hundred and ten of the Martyrs [1893-1894 A.D.], the See of Al-Manufiah was added to him, after the going to his rest of Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis) its metropolitan (Mutran). And the fourth (is) the bishop of Al-Fayum and the fifth (is) the bishop of Al-Bahnasah, and the sixth (is) the bishop of Bani Sulf, and the seventh (is) the bishop of Al-Minya, and the eighth (is) the bishop of Sanabu, and the ninth (is) the bishop of Manfalut, and the tenth (is) the bishop of Asyut, and the eleventh (is) the bishop of Abu Tig, and the twelfth (is) the bishop of Akhmimand the thirteenth (is) the bishop of Kina and the fourteenth (is) the bishop of Isna. All these (are) in the Land of Egypt (Misr), and the fifteenth (is) the bishop of Al-Khartum ⁽¹⁵⁾, who is the bishop of Nubia (an-Nubah), who, when the Sudan (as-Sudan) revolted against the Egyptian (al-Misriah) Government, as stated, and there befell the Christians (an-Nasara) affliction and fear, left his place and returned to Old Cairo (Misr) and resided at it. And the sixteenth up to the nineteenth (are) the Metropolitan (Mutran) of Ethiopia (al-Habashah) and his three bishops. Nevertheless, these sees are susceptible to increase and decrease, for instance, when the Metropolitan (Mutran) of Cairo (Misr), Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus) went to his rest, no one was consecrated in his stead, and other than what we have mentioned.

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the whole extent of the See of Alexandria.

⁽¹⁵⁾ The Capital of the Sudan.

— 332 —

Then, when Thursday the twenty-third of (the month of) Babah in the year one thousand, six hundred and eleven of the Martyrs [1894 A.D.] came, there was completed the twentieth year for the father, the patriarch, in his leadership. And, at that time, the vicar of the patriarchate, the hegoumenos (al-Kummus) Theodore (Tadrus) Menas (Mina), minister of the Church of my lord (Mari) Menas (Mina) published announcements in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and in all the churches in the Land of Egypt (Misr), so that all the priests and the rest of the Orthodox (ὀρθόδοξος)Christian (al-Masihi) people should observe the feast of the enthronement of the father, the patriarch, on the Apostolic Throne ⁽³⁾, on the twenty-third of (the month of) Babah ⁽⁴⁾ with festivities on this day, celebrating the Divine Liturgy (al-Karabin al-Mukaddasah) and prayers to the Divine Majesty in commemoration of the enthronement of His Exalted Eminence, the upholder of the succession ⁽⁵⁾, that He may bring back this day to the Patriarchal See for numerous years and long, peaceful times, happy and gladdened with health and soundness, (with) all his Orthodox Christian (al-Masihi) people, enjoying in his prosperous days good things and blessings and felicity and happiness, under the shadow of His Magnificent Khedival (al-Khidiwiah) Presence⁽⁶⁾; that He (God) may grant to all the great kings and the majestic sultans power and soundness and health. And thus it (the anniversary) became (a custom), especially, at the great Patriarchal Church, when the people of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and their notables and some of the heads of the monasteries and the priests celebrated it on the mentioned day. And after the Divine Liturgy, they congratulated His Lordship ⁽⁷⁾ and they pronounced speeches before him, and the rejoicing was general and universal.

Finished.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the See of Alexandria founded by Saint Mark.

⁽⁴⁾ = 1st November, 1874 A.D.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the succession of patriarchs from Saint Mark.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Khedive.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Cyril V.

_______________________________________

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume IV, Part I

History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic Church of Alexandria. Cyril Ibn Laqlaq

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God. We begin with the aid of the Lord and the excellence of His assistance to transcribe the history of the Holy Church, and this is to introduce (to us) (the) year nine hundred and thirty-two of the Righteous Martyrs ¹ [1216 AD], which corresponds to (the) year six hundred and twelve of the Arab Higira (al-Higrah), when the father, the saintly, the pure, the perfect, the spiritual, the ascetic (one), the declarer of hidden things, the immune from base things, Abba John ², patriarch of the great city of Alexandria and Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Egypt (Misr) and its provinces, and Ethiopia and Nubia and the Pentapolis, and Africa went to his rest in the daytime of Thursday, the eleventh of (the month of) Tubah (in the) year nine hundred and thirty-two of the Righteous Martyrs ³, which corresponds to the fifteenth of the month of Ramadan (in the) year six hundred and twelve of the Lunar (Year); and it (was) the day of the Holy Epiphany, for the loss of whom the world suffered, and affairs were agitated after him. And it was (that), before his death, he had commanded the sons of his sister, Abu Sa‘id and Abu’l-Makarim that they should not leave him in the church, and (that) they should not bury him in it, so that he might be translated to the holy monasteries according to the custom of the patriarchs, but to perform his funeral service and to bear him to al-Habas, and to bury him at it in the tomb which belonged to the members of his house there. And they both did this, and they caused him to pass the night in the Church Al-Mu‘allakah that night.

And they gave to him the |2 best of funerals, and the bishop of the Melkites was present, but not one of the bishops was present, and they went up with him on the next day, and it (was) Friday, to Al-Habas, and around him (were) crowds of people, not to be counted, and it was a famous day. And they dug for him (a place) in the middle of the tomb peculiar to his family, and it (was) near to the tomb of Abba Zacharias the patriarch ⁴ — may God grant to us the acceptation of their prayers! —, and they buried him there, and they made his tomb a raised platform (Mastabah), and the people were discussing at that time concerning him whom they would set up as patriarch. And (for) some people their preference (was) for the priest Paul al-Busi ⁵, and (for) some people their preference was for the priest David, son of John al-Fayumi ⁶, and some people preferred the elder Abba al-Karam, archdeacon (ἀρχιδιάκονος)of (the Church) Al-Mu‘allakahin Cairo (Misr); and the most exalted governor, the wazir, strongly supported his scribe, Sani ad-Daulah Abu’l-Fadail. And the opinion of the people was divided, and there was not among them he who attained to his purpose, except the companions of the priest David, son of John. The Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil ⁷ — may God exalt his victory! — had a personal doctor for him, known as Al-Hakim Abu Sakir Ibn Abu Sulaiman, and he was with the Sultan at Fakus; and with the Sultan Al-Malik al-Adil ⁸ —may God perpetuate his kingdom! — (there was) a scribe, known as Nis al-Khilafah Abu’l-Fatuh.

And Al-Malik al-‘Adil was at that time |3 at Jerusalem, coming from Damascus to Egypt. And both of these ⁹were, at their time, the nearest of the Christians to their Sultans. And a company gathered to the priest David, son of John on the day of the burial of the patriarch, and it was Friday, and they came to him in the evening, and they agreed that they should go round (among) the people that night, and (that) they should take their signatures with regard to his fitness ¹⁰. And they went to the house of one of the company, known as Sams ar-Riyasat Ibn Safi al-Malik Ibn al-Mirsifawi and they desired this of him. But he did not agree with them on him ¹¹, and he excused himself in that he said: «Who am I that I should set up the patriarch, (while there are) in the world such as Al-Hakim Abu Sakir and the elder Abu’l-Fatuh?» And there was in the company one who was enlightened and free from partiality, and he restrained them from going to another than him ¹², and they departed that night, alter they had taxed him with refuting their opinions, and (it was) he who supported this company from the beginning of the affair to its end. For, whenever a man used to make them understand an affair and to hinder them from going to extremes in endeavour and seeking, and to put them right, they used to charge him with turning against them, and they took him for an enemy, and they purposed to take matters by force. And there reached the company of the Cairenes what happened from this company, and. they were troubled and they rose up and they sat down. And the exalted judge, the wazir, sent for a company of (those) who (were) his scribes, and he discussed with them concerning As-Sani, his scribe, the aforementioned, but not one |4 of them agreed on him, and this was on the eve of Sunday ¹³, the fourth (day after the decease) of the patriarch.

And on the morning of the mentioned Sunday, the company of the priest David came to him (the wazir), and they took a letter from a man, an elder, a scribe known as Al-Mu‘tamad Ibn Hasis, to the distinguished elder Ibn al-Gindi, a scribe of the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil —may God cause him to be victorious! — because he had been with him at Fakus. The purport of the mentioned letter (was) that His Honour be informed of what is necessary concerning the venerable elder, the possessor, the head, the master, Nis al-Khilafah, and what the father, the priest David desires, and (that) the occasion has become possible; and (that) His Honour be informed of the position of the mentioned elder with regard to the Sultan — may God exalt his victory! — and (that) His Honour has him near to him; and (that) it is not sure what may happen to him who discusses another than him. And another letter from Al-Faris, brother of Al-Hakim Abu Sakir to him (his brother), saying in it, that the most exalted judge was partial to his scribe As-Sani Abu’l-Fadail, and, perhaps, the affair might succeed for him, in order to prompt him hereby, and that his son Abu ‘Ula was sick, in order to make him anxious to come, and (that) the company would discuss with him concerning the affair of the priest David. And they made clear his case, and they assembled that night with him, namely, the priest (David), and they ate and they drank; and As-Saigh, a friend of the mentioned priest David went with the mentioned letters in the daytime of Monday, seeking for the intended signatures; and the Gairenes sent a company of them ¹⁴to discuss concerning the elder Abu’l-Karam, known as Ibn Zeno (Zinun) the aforementioned.

And Al-Hakim Abu Sakir was with the Sultan, when the news of the decease of the patriarch reached |5 him, and he (the Sultan) said to him: «O Hakim, what do you do concerning the patriarch whom you will set up?» He said: «O our Sire, we choose three men, good, pious learned, concerning whom agreement has been reached, and their names are written on three pieces of paper, each piece the name of one, and we write on another piece of paper the name of the Master Christ, and all are left on the altar, and we pray (for) three days with many supplications and successive entreaties. And at the end of the three days, we bring a child before (the age of) puberty, and we leave him to take up one of the pieces of paper in the presence of all the people, and they read it; and if we find on it oneof the three selected names, we consecrate him patriarch publicly. And if the piece on which (is) the name of the Master Christ appears, we know that He does not accept one of these, and we annul them, and we return to choose three others, and we do not cease (to do) thus, until one of the names appears, and then we consecrate him. And the Sultan marvelled at this, and he said: «Act (according to) your custom)). And when the mentioned person arrived with the letters which (were) in his hands, he (As-Saigh) took the letter which concerned the notable Ibn al-Gindi to him (Ibn al-Gindi), and he read it, and he took it with him, and he entered to Al-Hakim Abu Sakir in his tent, and he acquainted him with the mentioned letter, and he (Al-Hakim) was extremely vexed, and he said: «Were patriarchs consecrated like this? And it is said that you (As-Saigh) knewest what is requisite concerning so and so, but that you desirest (that) we consecrate so and so, concerning: whom this is not to be heard of». |6

Then he (Al-Hakim) took the mentioned letter; and it was (that) the company of the Cairenes came to him, and they transcribed a number of copies of the letter. Then he (Al-Hakim) was apprised of the contents of the letter of his brother, which contained (news of) the sickness of his son, and so he was perturbed, and he took permission from the Sultan — may God exalt his victory! — and he came to Cairo (al-Kahirah). And he reported shameful things about the priest David, and he spoke about them, and he remained persistent as regards the matter of the pieces of paper, and the majority of the people agreed with him about them. And as for the priest David and his company, they did not agree to this, but they wished to take (the patriarchal throne) by force and authority, and they paid no heed to him who accepted or rejected. And I, John Ibn Wahib Ibn John Ibn Yahya Ibn Paul ¹⁵ met Al-Hakim on this entry of his into Cairo (Al-Kahirah), and I decided with him that the name of the mentioned priest ¹⁶should be among the three names, because he was my friend, and I know him as a learned, distinguished (man), and of good priesthood, and (with a knowledge) of the interpretation of tongues; but I abhorred in him his precipitance and his manifestation in seeking (the patriarchal throne) and his not-avoiding discoursing about this matter for himself, and I used to advise him about this, but he did not accept advice, and I used to say to him that this matter requires that a wiseman should show that he does not desire (it), and if there be a discussion of this in front of him, he should be displeased at the discussion, and he should rise up and sit down from the place in which he is ¹⁷, this (is) if he be not pious, and if he be pious, his inner and his outward (conduct) would be this, because in this matter (there must be) intrepidity in serious affairs, and he would be in charge of a numerous flock concerning whom a man would be judged. |7

And he (David) would take the matter from me as a restriction on him, and he would not withdraw from his position, and he would not rely on God in the bestowal of this office on him, but on his (own) efforts and attempts. Then I asked Al-Hakim to remain that Friday up to Sunday, and that he should assemble the bishops and should expose the case according to what he had in his mind concerning, the pieces of paper, but he did not do (so), and his opinion was clear; but when he knew that his son was well, he returned, as before, to the tent which was pitched. And after that the Cairenes drew up a signed report that the priest David, the aforementioned, had been interdicted by Abba Peter, bishop of the Fayum, who had ordained him priest, on account of the confession and the revolts (which) had occurred at the Fayum, and the divisions of the people, and that he had not departed from the Fayum, except after he had been expelled by the bishop; and the father, the patriarch, had interdicted him also, when it was evident to him regarding the corruption of his (David’s) belief and the disreputableness of his ways. And twenty-two priests from the priests of Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah) and its suburbs wrote concerning him, and the mentioned signed report was in the handwriting of Mustafa al-Malik Abu Joseph Ibn al-Khallab, and gossip multiplied, and the tribulation and the misfortune became great, and the people began to find fault with the mentioned priest (David).

And some people were saying this (one is) from the Fayum and the Fayum is within the limits of Upper Egypt, and his consecration is not lawful, and some people were saying this (one) |8 had sought, in the lifetime of the patriarch, the metropolitanate of Ethiopia, and the patriarch had not responded favourably to it, but he had refused this absolutely, and some people were saying the patriarch had found this (one) worthy, because he (David) was staying at the Monastery Al-‘Arabah ¹⁸, for he (the patriarch) had gone up to it and had come down with him from it. And what was the more impressive for them (was) that he (David) had not enquired about the patriarch in his sickness, and had not attended his funeral, and other repulsive things, the mention of which is not becoming in this account. And when it was the end of the month, there assembled five of the bishops, and they were Abba Menas, bishop of Abusir-Bana, and he was the senior ¹⁹ of the bishops at that time, and his brother Abba Mark, bishop of Lakanah, and Abba Michael, bishop of Taikha, known as Hadiah, and Abba Gabriel, bishop of Atfih and Abba Mark, (bishop) of Malig, and they prayed for the patriarch Abba John — may God give rest to his soul! — at the end of the month, and they celebrated the Divine Liturgy for him on Saturday, the fourth (of the month) of Amsir of the aforementioned year ²⁰, and they returned to the Church of the two Saints Sergius and Bacchus, because they were residing at it.

And, on their return, messengers of the amir Amin ad-Din, governor of Cairo (Misr), came to bring them, |9 and they came before him (the governor) and he said to them: «You have prayed for your patriarch — let everyone of you depart to his diocese and not remain (here) for one hour». And they said: «O our Sire, we shall stay no more than to-morrow, so that we may pray at his tomb, and (then) depart». And it is mentioned that he who induced the governor to do (this), (was) his scribe (who) was near to the heart of Nis al-Khilafah, because he apprehended that they (the bishops) might agree on the consecration (of one) other than the priest David, and he (the scribe) forestalled this, and they (the bishops) returned to their place grieved. And the priest Abu Mansur, priest of the Church of Abba Sergius,and the elder As-Sani Abu’l-Magd, son of the priest Abu’l-Farag mentioned to me that they all assembled in front of the sanctuary, with the exception of the bishop of Malig and they interdicted the priest David, and they suspended him, and they imprecated him, and they sware that they would never lay hands on him by reason of what had befallen them from soreness of heart on account of him. Then they prayed at the tomb of the patriarch, and each of them turned to his see. And the Sultan, Al-Malik al-‘Adil —may God perpetuate his reign! — arrived, and the elder Nis al-Khilafah with him, and all entered Cairo (al-Kahirah); and the elder Al-Hakim Abu Sakir — may God have mercy upon him! ²¹ — mentioned to me that he (al-Hakim) assembled with the elder Nis al-Khilafah at the time of his arrival, and he discussed with him (Nis al-Khilafab) concerning the affair of the priest David, and he (al-Hakim) said: «He is not worthy». And two other times he (al-Hakim) visited him (Nis al-Khilafah) in his house at Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he (al-Hakim) mentioned to |10 him that he (David) was not worthy.

And the quarrel continued in this way, and animosity and the discussion of the people one against another, and the emerging of their calumnies and their oppositions. And the blessed Fast began and the elder Nis al-Khilafah assembled with the elder Nis al-Imam Ibn ‘Izz al-Kufah Ibn Joseph, and he desired of him that he should write a letter of testimonial for the priest David, and he refused it to him, and he separated from him, being angry. And after that the priest David assembled with me, and he recalled to me what was between us in the way of friendship, and he asked me about writing a letter of testimonial, and I said to myself, this is a piece of paper, and I have no responsibility for it towards God; if the people are agreeable and are agreed, I am agreeable, but if they do not write for him, I am not acting blameworthily, but I have approved of a person of whom I was bound (to approve). And I wrote for him (David) four copies, one for the bishops, and one for the priests, and another for the archons (a!rxwn), and another for the monks. And after this, we wrote another for the Alexandrians, and the elder Nis al-Khilafah despatched the priest Mark Ibn Ragal to Lower Egypt and with him a letter of testimonial to the bishops and the monks. And he came, and with him twelve bishops from the bishops of Lower Egypt, after they had written their signatures on the letter of testimonial, of whom three (were) those we have previously mentioned, among them the bishop of Lakanah, and his senior brother, and the bishop of Talkha. And the bishop of Tambadi, Abba |11 Peter arrived, and they became thirteen bishops, and the last (of Tambadi) wrote his signature on the letter of testimonial, and there was brought the letter of testimonial of the monks, in which about forty monks wrote. And in the letter of testimonial of the priests a group of the priests of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Lower Egypt wrote.

And as for the priests who had written a signed report objecting to him (David), not one of them wrote for him at all. And in the signed report of the archons a large group wrote, but there remained a group who objected. And when Al-Hakim and a group of the Cairenes saw the arrival of the bishops and what had occurred, they feared lest the affair should be accomplished, and Al-Hakim was exceedingly enraged. And a great company of the Christians assembled and they stood before the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil, and they withstood the consecrating of this priest (David) over them. And they mentioned that they did not agree to him, and that he was opposed to their belief and their opinion. And he (the Sultan) said to them: «Quieten your hearts, there shall not be consecrated for you, except he whom you desire». And the elder Nis al-Khilafah continued to visit frequently Al-Hakim Abu Sakir, lest he (the Sultan) should ask about him, and he (Al-Hakim) did not say to him anything, but that there were letters between them. And al-Hakim did not consent to the priest (David), and the elder Nis al-Khilafah did not yield in his choice, and disorders occurred between the people. And alter this, the Sultan — may God exalt his victory! — delegated the most exalted judge, the wazir, to come to Cairo (Misr), and he (the Sultan) assembled the Christians, and he listened to their discourse. And he (the wazir) came to Cairo (Misr), and Al-Hakim Abu Sakir came with him, and he sat in the House of the Hostel (al-Wikalah) of ‘Adil (al-‘Adiliyah), and he brought a group of the Cairene notables, and he questioned them, and they said: «This (one) we do not desire at all», and they mentioned concerning him ignoble things, |12 the mention of which is not fitting.

And he (the Sultan) said to them: «Whom do you desire?» And they said: «We have a good, aged man named As-Shaikh Abba al-Karam mentioned before, and As-Shaikh as-Sanfah Ibn as-Sukkari, and this (one) was a scribe of the Treasury of ‘Adil, and he is (one) of the notables of the inhabitants of Alexandria, and the noble member (is) with him (the Sultan), and they mentioned a group of the monks, among whom (was) the hermit of Abyar. And the opinion of them all was agreed on the pieces of paper. And they wrote a signed report of their approval of this, and the majority of the people wrote in it; and the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil took it, and he submitted it to his father. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah had said to Al-Malik al-‘Adil, when mention of the lot occurred: «O our Sire, this is the rule of the Franks, and it is not our rule ». And when he (the Sultan) was apprised of it, he said: «Then (there shall be) no lot and no headache; you shall choose one, and we will make him (patriarch) for them». And the Christians returned, and they stood before the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil two other times, (protesting) that they did not desire this David. And he (the Sultan) appeased their hearts, and he said to them: «There shall not be appointed over you, except he whom you desire)). And the condition continued to languish until the seventh week ²² came, and the bishops departed to their sees, after eight of them had written their signatures to withhold themselves, if they (the hierarchy) consecrated other than him; and the condition remained as before, and dissension and scandal remained.

And when it was Good Friday, the Sultan Al-Malik al-‘Adil transferred As-Sanfah Abu Ghalib Ibn as-Sukkari, the aforementioned to be in charge of the diwan of the port of Alexandria. And he (the Sultan) commanded him to come out to him, and he employed with him an overseer known as the |13 judge Al-Akram Ibn Nahar. And the elder Alu’l-Fatuh gave a testimonial which (was) specially for the Alexandrians, to the mentioned judge, so that he might take in it the signatures of the inhabitants of Alexandria; and the mentioned (person) departed to the harbour ²³. And this (was) the first of what strengthened the soul of Nis al-Khilafah, because this As-Sani‘ah was similar to him. And when he went, he alone overlorded the affair, and the people celebrated the feast ²⁴, divided in opinions, with much hatred and ribaldry. And after some days, the choice of the elder Nis al-Khilafah fell upon an anchorite in the deserts of Atrib, known as Peter al-Mirsad, and the company agreed with him on him, and he (Nis al-Khilafah) did not abide by this opinion, but it was in the way of testing some people. And the case continued as it was before until Paschaltidewas completed. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah indicated to the company who agreed with him — and the majority of them (were) scribes —that they should stand before the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil and should entreat of him to appoint (as patriarch) this David. And they assembled and they stood before him at the House of the Sultan, at his passing by on the service of his father (Al-Malik al-‘Adil). And he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) said to them: «Where is this one whom you have chosen? Bring him». And their gathering dispersed thereupon. And they returned after this, and they stood before him (Al-Malik al-Kamil) another time, at the House of the Sultan again. And he said: «Bring hither the signed reports», and he passed on to the house of his father. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah sent the mentioned signed reports to him (Al-Malik al-Kamil), to the interior of the house with one of the servants of the Sultan. And the signed report of Alexandria had come, and he sent it with them ²⁵. |14

Then Al-Malik al-Kamil went out from the presence of his father, and the company stood before him, and they enquired of him (concerning) the answer. And he said: «Your answer (is) with Abu’l-Fatuh». And the elder Al-Fatuh entered to the Sultan Al-Malik al-‘Adil, and he said; «O our Sire, our Sire Al-Malik al-Kamil said to the Christians thus and thus. How shall I, thy slave, answer them?» And he (Al-Malik al-‘Adil) said: «He who brings to me a thousand dinars, I shall appoint him (as patriarch)». And he (Abu’l-Fatuh) went out and he informed the company of this. And Al-Hakim Abu Sakir had already finished the letter of the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil to the governor of (the Province of) Al-Gharbiah, that he should assemble the bishops, and (that) the hermit of Abyar should descend, and (that) he should send him with them (the bishops) to the harbour of Alexandria, in order to consecratehim patriarch. And when he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) went out on that day, from the presence of his father, after the standing before him of the Christians, he went down to Cairo (Misr), and he went to the belvedere on the Island ²⁶, (and) the Cairenes stood before him, and they said:«O our Sire, you did grant to us a patriarch, and we crave for the fulfilment of the grace». And he said: «What we have said to you. Go, do your work». Then he put his mark for them on the letter and he gave it to them. And the priest Abu’l-Mansur Ibn al-Kis Abu’l-Mu’ani, who had been ordained for the Church of the Saints Sergius and Bacchus at Kasr as-Sam‘ in Cairo (Misr), took it, and As-Sa‘d Hibbat Ibn Saddakah, the deacon |15 at the Church Al-Mu‘allakah the surety of brokerage in both parts of the orchards in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr). And they went, after they had taken with the two of them garments from the robes of the patriarch; and al-Hakim Abu Sakir gave to both of them something for the consecration-expenses of the hermit, and their journey was on the evening of Tuesday.

And when it was morning, and (news of) what had happened reached the elder Abu’l-Fatuh, he was troubled, and all who were agreed on his opinion. And he crossed over to the Sultan Al-Malik al-‘Adil, and he informed him of the affair. And the Sultan wrote a letter to the governor of (the Province of) Al-Gharbiah, that the hermit should not come down from his place, and (that) he should not be changed with regard to his state. And a letter to the governor of Alexandria that he should not appoint(anyone) except him who has with him our letter, and he despatched an express messenger with both of them (the letters). And when the news reached Al-Hakim, he acquainted the Sire, Al-Malik al-Kumil, with it, and it was distressing to him. And he wrote a second letter that the hermit should come to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he sent it with one of his servants. And as for those ²⁷, they reached Al-Mahallah in the daytime of Thursday, and they assembled with the Amir, and he welcomed them, and he caused them to stay with his scribe. And straightway he wrote to bring the bishops, and in what remained of the night there arrived the letter of the Sultan Al-Malik al-‘Adil to cancel (the command). And on the morning of Friday there arrived the letter of Al-Malik al-Kamil to bring him (the hermit). And the amir commanded this (to be done), and he despatched with them him who would aid them in this.

And |16 when they reached the hermit, and it was a Friday, they did not arrive until the evening of the day. And he (the hermit) let down ²⁸ to them what they might eat; and he was a man known for liberality and benevolence. And they spent the night near him, coaxing him. And when it was morning, they tried to make him descend. And there was present there the bishop of Abyar and he said to him: «The command of the Sultan is not to be disobeyed». And he said to him: «O my father, write for me thy signature that you hast permitted me to descend, and that this hermitage (shall be) for me, when I return to it, (that) I may dwell in it without hindrance». And he (the bishop) wrote for him his signature for this. Then the priest Abu Mansur celebrated the Divine Liturgy on the altar which was there, and they raised up to him the Offering, and he communicated according to custom. And he let down a plaited palm-basket from his abode, and he sat in it, and he descended, weeping, and those who were present of the inhabitants of the town were sorrowing on account of his departure, acknowledging his blessing. And they took him, and they departed; and he was unshod, and the governor of Abyar removed his sandals from his feet, and he asked him (the hermit) to wear them, but he did not do (so). And there was the servant of the Sire, Al-Malik al-Kamil guarding him, preventing anyone to approach him. And they arrived at Kalyub on the morning of Sunday, and they entered into the church, and a great multitude assembled with them, so that, (as) the priest Abu Mansur related to me, he celebrated the Divine Liturgy that day, and that he bore thirteen eucharistic loaves, and (that) he gave the Communion with small particles, and the people |17 rejoiced exceedingly, and they entertained him in Kalyub with much hospitality. Then they went forth until they arrived beneath the Citadel.

And the amir Sams ad-Din, the brother of the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah) came to them, and he took away the hermit from them, and he said to them: «O Christians, the requirement of the Sultan has been carried out: go your way». And they left him and they went away; and after their going, he (the amir) caused him (the hermit) to mount upon a mule, and he commanded the messenger who (was) with him, that he should return him immediately to his place. And he took him in that hour, and he went back with him, and he returned him, and he went up with him to his hermitage. And the people were quietened, and the talking about the patriarch ceased for a time. And during this period (certain) affairs occurred, among which one of the amirs,known as Baha’d-Din Sariha, had a scribe known as As-Sani Abu’1-Magd Ibn Sani’d-Daulah. And this amir had gone to the Yemen, and he had had there a favourite female-slave, and this wretched man (As-Sani) used to forbid her going to extremes in the adornment (of herself), and doing: what was not becoming. And she detested him, and Satan instructed her to go to the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah). And she related that he (As-Sani) had seduced her, and he (the governor) commanded his imprisonment, and he consulted the Sultan concerning him, and hardship befell him. And after this, God was gracious to him, and he was delivered; and this (amir), his master, was on journey. And when he (the amir) arrived at this time, he (As-Sani) went out to him, and he met him at Helwan, and he walked in front of him. And he (the amir) overtook him, and he struck him with the sword, and he cut off his turban, and |18 he split open his head. And he struck him another blow (which) he received on his hand and his hand was wounded.

And he (As-Sani) was entrusted to one who brought him to his (the amir’s) house, and he entered Cairo (al-Kahirah) with his companion. And he (the amir) kept him captive in his house, and he straitened him, and he remained with him for a time, until he made for him (the amir) an account, and he obtained from him what he desired. And after this, he forbade those who used to visit him frequently from seeing him for two or three days. Then, after this, they came to him with something to eat according to the custom. And the servants of the amir every day used to take from them this, so that they might take it up to him; but that day they did not take it from them, but they said to his son and his servant: «Your master died two days ago, come take him», and they both returned (in) sorrow and desolation. And his brother and his sons and a company of the Christians assembled and they stood before the Sire, Al-Malik al-Kamil, at his arrival from the service of his father, on the evening of Thursday. And he did not answer them a word, and they remained at the House of the Sultan until he came out. And they returned and they stood before him and he said: «You have the law», and they persisted, and he said: «Bury your dead one». And some of the company and those who were compassionate went out, even though it was night, and they obtained for him a coffin, and they brought the carriers, and they went to the place in which he was. And they found him, the wretched man, and he was swollen, and his face was black, and his tongue hanging out on his breast, and there was no doubt that he had been strangled. And they carried him after great effort, and they went out as they were to Al-Habas, and they buried him.

And his |19 relatives went frequently after this to the Sultan, and he did not send them away from the court, and they deemed it (his death) for the sake of God, and they gave thanks to God Who is praiseworthy in every circumstance, and they became silent; but God does not deprive us of His assistance and He does not bring us into temptations. And during this time, there was a young man, a Christian, a Saidian, working in certain hot oil presses, and a man of the Muslims accused him (of sodomy) with his son, and he was a young boy. And he related that he (his son) had come to him, and (that) he was indisposed, and that he had related that the doer of this (was) this person. And he (the young man) was put under arrest for some days, and al-Islam was offered to him ²⁹, but he refused. And they asked the jurisconsults concerning him, and they gave the verdict to stone him, and that a circle of the people should be made round him. And that they should make in it an opening and (that) if he emerged and was safe, he should not be resisted, and if he died, he would deserve it, and they did this. And he was not able to escape, but a slave belonging to the father of the young boy struck him with a stone and crushed his jaw, so that he fell down senseless, and the stoning of him continued until he died; and he was borne away and buried in al-Habas. And, after a little while, the young boy went up to the house-top for some affair of his, and he fell from the stair-way, and a crate of corn-cobs stuck in his ribs, and he fell down dead. And it is related that that Christian was innocent, and that the doer of the abomination (was) the slave who had killed him, and that he (the slave) met with a great calamity and he perished. And the elder As-Sani Abu’l-Magd Ibn al-Kassis Abu’l-Farag journeyed to Kus because he was its tax-collector, and he was the greatest of the adversaries of the priest David who strove on account of him.

And the judge |20 Al-‘Az, the wazir, was arrested, and he was put in a stock, and he was confined at the House of the Sultan. And Abu Sa‘id son of the sister of the deceased patriarch was taken, and he was brought in to the Sultan Al-Malik al-‘Adil. And he (the Sultan) said to him: «I desire of thee the inheritance of the patriarch for he was without heirs». And he (Abu Sa‘id) said: «O my Sire, he had nothing, and he testified (to this) regarding himself, before his death». He (the Sultan) said: «This (is) idle talk. I wish for thirty thousand dinars», and he commanded to confine him (Abu Sa‘id) in the House of the Sultan; and the souls of the people became apprehensive. And the affair ³⁰ was assured for the elder Nis al-Khilafah, and those who had not written for him, wrote a testimonial for the priest David, and there did not remain of the group who did not write for him except a very few people (who) could be counted. And after this, there arrived the priest Nusair ar-Rahib whom the patriarch Abba, John ³¹had sent to the Land of Ethiopia with his letter recommending to him the Muslims who (were) there, and those who visited (it) often, according as the Sire, Al-Malik al-Kamil, had commanded him. And with him (Nusair ar-Rahib) (there was) an Ethiopian messenger, a bishop from their land, and a man from the inhabitants of Akhmim accompanied the bishop with the letter, known as Abu’l-Fadl Ibn Abu’l-Mansur. And in their hand a gift with the mark of the Sultan, and another gift with the mark of the patriarch — may God have mercy upon him! ³². As for the gift of the Sultan, they delivered it, and as for the gift of the patriarch, nothing is known of it. And the mentioned (persons) descended at a house by the river, and they remained for a time, and they did not acquire much advantage, and they did not find acceptance, and they departed to their country, after they had witnessed the disagreement of the people, and the division |21 of their opinions, and the occurrence of agitation among them, which had reached a limit. And the Nile reached in this year up to ……….³³.

Then there entered the season of the autumn, and all the people fell sick, and it was a severe season, as the season which had been before it, and more severe, and there entered the year nine hundred and thirty-three of the Pure Martyrs ³⁴ [1217 AD]. And Al-Hakim Abu Sakir had to stay at the Citadel,passing the night at it, on account of the sickness of those who (were) in the House of the Sultan ³⁵.And he had a high rank and great esteem, so that he used to enter through the gate of the Citadel, riding up to the Bab al-Gauwani ³⁶; and no one used to enter riding, except the Sultan himself. And sometimes he used to meet the brothers of the Sultan, and the notables of the amirs, and the judge of the judges, and the honourable jurisconsults walking, while he was riding, and he did not dismount; and they used to excuse him, because the command had been issued to him for this. And as for this period, the period of sickness, he used to ride into the court of the Inner Hall, and to go round the prohibited (places) from hail to hall. And he fell sick in the hall which had been assigned to him in the Citadel; and he remained for some days, and he passed away into the mercy of God. And he was borne on the bed on which he was to Al-Khandak, and the funeral was performed there; and he was buried beside his brother Abu Sa‘id in a church at the mentioned monastery. And the Sultan overwhelmed with favours the son of his brother and his grandson, and he commanded both of them to be present with him, and he set them both in his (Abu Sakir’s) post, |22 because he (Abu Sakir) had instructed them both, and had intended them both for this (post) before his death.

Afterwards, the condition (of affairs) remained as it was before until (the month of) Tubah ³⁷; and the elder Nis al-Khilafah summoned me and he said: «We wish for a document for the Sultan concerning the patriarch, and we have decided (to make) a rough copy of the document which contains (a statement) that our Sire has favoured all people and has corrected all what was corrupted, and the slaves ³⁸ remain unsettled (in) their affairs without a patriarch, and they beseech (him) to see into their condition». And he (Nis al-Khilafah) took it and he submitted it to the Sultan, and it was before the Lesser Bairam (‘Aid al-Fitr). And he (the Sultan) said: «After the feast we shall examine into their condition». And when it was Friday, the eighteenth of (the month of) Tubah ³⁹, which corresponded to the third of (the month of) Sawwal, he (Nis al-Khilafah) presented himself to the Sultan, and he said: «O our Sire, the Christians seek the pity of the Sultan, according to what he promised them with regard to examining into their condition». And he said: «Yes, assemble them, so that we may consider their condition». And he (Nis al-Khilafah) said: «O our Sire, who am I? These are heads of houses, and they will not pay heed to me, but by the command of our Sire, the governor of Cairo (Misr) and the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah) shall notify them to present themselves before our Sire on the day which he shall appoint». And he (Nis al-Khilafah) went out from his (the Sultan’s) presence on the business which he had sought from him, and he found the governor of Cairo (Misr) at the Gate; and he returned to him (the Sultan) and he said: «O our Sire, lo the governor of Cairo (Misr) (is) outside. If our Sire (desires to) command him (to do) anything, he is there». He said: «Yes, call him». And he summoned him (the Wali) |23 and he (the Sultan) commanded him to assemble the Christians and to bring them in company with him on Monday, the twenty-first of (the month of) Tubah ⁴⁰, that they might come to an agreement on the patriarch whom he (the Sultan) would set up for them.

And he caused to be brought the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he commanded him in the same manner. And they notified the people on the eve of Saturday and on the eve of Sunday and on the eve of Monday ⁴¹, and they instructed the priest of every church to inform his congregation, and to take them and to be present on the morning of Monday. As for the governor of Cairo (Misr), he despatched his scribe and his usher to the notables of the inhabitants of Cairo (Misr) to inform them of this. And the Cairenes assembled at the house of Amin ad-Din, the governor of Cairo (Misr), and the Cairenes (assembled) at the gate of the House of the Sultan. And the governor of Cairo (Misr) went up with the Cairenes, and they assembled with the Cairenes, and they were about a hundred men or more, and all of them entered into the House of the Sultan, and they found the two governors on a dais in it. And they (the two governors) summoned a company of their notables and they said: «Whom do you wish that he should be for you a patriarch?» And they said: «The priest David for whom we wrote our signatures». And they ⁴² delegated one of the Cairenes, called Abu’l-‘Izz Ibn Wakil al-Ganah, and he was one of the deacons of (the Church) Al-Mu‘allakah. And he said: «O our Sire, we do not agree», and another (person) known as Abu’r-Rida, son of the priest of the church of Abba Shenouti at as-Sahal ⁴³, supported him, and they both caused confusion, |24 and none beside them spoke.

And the elder Nis al-Khilafah sent to Abu’l-‘Izz to bring him to the flourishing Treasury, and he humoured him, but he held fast, and Abu’r-Rida remained as before. And the two governors entered to the Sultan, and they made known to him the disagreement of the congregation. And he (the Sultan) said: «Bring to me a company of these and a company of those, so that I may hear their words». And a company of those who did not wish for the priest David said: «(There is) among our companions an elder, and he is our senior, a priest at the Harat ar-Rum (at) Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he is named Joseph. Order to bring him to Cairo (al-Kahirah)». And he was brought, and he was taken in unto the Sultan, and he was an archpriest (ἀρχιπαππᾶς) of the priests at Cairo (al-Kahirah); and (there was) the priest Barakat, archpriest of the priests at Cairo (Misr), and a company of the priests and other than they. And everyone of them reflected (on the matter) before the Sultan, and (words) increased and decreased, and he (the Sultan) reproved them, and, at the end of their arguments, it was decided that the Cairenes (al-Misriyun) should agree to the priest Barakat, and the Cairenes (al-Kahiriyun), to Joseph, and they acknowledged that both of them (were) their representatives. And the Sultan retained the two priests, and he commanded the rest of the company to go out, and they went out. And he (the Sultan) turned to the two priests, and he said to both of them: «How much is collected for the patriarch each year?» And they both said: «Four hundred dinars a year». And he said: «And what does he do with them?» And they both said: «He spends them on himself and he distributes alms with them». He said: «And what was he ⁴⁴ before his patriarchate?» They both said: «A merchant». He said: «And who succeeded him in the way of inheritance?» They both said: «His sister». He said: «And how much does she receive of the inheritance?» They both said: «The half».

And they both erred |25 in this, because they were weak in ecclesiastical lore, because the Christian religious law requires for the sister all the inheritance, if none other than she succeeds. And they both spoke according to the religious law of the Muslims. He said: «And the other half is for whom?» They both said: «For thee, O our Sire». He said: «I require of you both my share, because you both are the leaders of the congregation». They both said: «We did not have much to do with him (the patriarch), and we do not know anything of that which concerned him». And he said: «This does not concern me»; and he impressed (this) upon them both. And they both said: «O our Sire, the children of his sister (are) the first (to be questioned) about this, rather than us». And he said: «Did he have a number of children of his sister? ⁴⁵ We do not know of (any) except one who is with us». They both said: «O our Sire, there remains another named Makarim, and he is living in Cairo (Misr)». And he (the Sultan) turned to the governor, and he said: «Let him (Makarim) come straightway», and he was brought at once, and he was left with his brother in the place in which he was confined at the House of the Sultan. Then he (the Sultan) turned to both of them and he said: «Whom do you wish that he should be for you a patriarch?» They said: «O our Sire, we have a custom that we cast lots, and we write three names, and he who is revealed to us we make him (patriarch)». And he (the Sultan) said: «And this (is) he who is in the reports». And the Sultan had sent to bring the reports. And they both said: «O ourSire, it is not permitted with us to consecrate him, because he was interdicted by our leader ⁴⁶». He (the Sultan) said: «And who (are) the three whom you designate?» And they both said: «As-Sani‘ah, that is, Ghalib Ibn |26 as-Sukkari».

And he (the Sultan) said: «That (is) our scribe; there is no discussion for you about him ⁴⁷, and who besides him?» And they both said: «The elder Abu’l-Karam, a man aged (and) learned from Cairo (Misr)». He said: «And who (else)?» And they both said: «The hermit who (is) at Abyar». And he said: «Write their names in your handwriting», and we wrote. And he said: «And who (is) the third?» They both said: «The person who is mentioned inthe reports». He said: «And now you nominate him, and you said he is not fitting!» They both said: «O our Sire, (as regards) these pieces of paper, we believe that there will not be revealed from them except he whom God chooses, and we pay not heed to him whom we write, and we do this to avoid evil, lest there remain anything in the heart of one of the company». And he (the Sultan) turned to the two governors and he said: «Bring to me five of the notables of the Cairenes and five of the notables of the Cairenes ». And the two governors went out, and they chose five from each category, (and) I ⁴⁸ was among the best of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin), and the company passed into his (the Sultan’s) presence, and they sat on both sides before him. And he raised his head to them, and he said: «Are these two (groups) your leaders?» They said: «These two (groups) (are) leaders of their churches». He said: «Are you not agreed on what they have decided?» They said: «(Not) until we know what it is». He said: «They have recorded names for whom the lot should be cast». They said: «And who are they (as regards their) names?» The Sultan said to the two priests: «You know them». They both said: «We have chosen the elder Abu’l-Karam». The company said: «O our Sire, (he is) a decrepit, old man, he (can) not undertake this affair».

The Sultan said: «And where is he?» They said: «In Cairo (Misr)». The (other) company said: «O you two priests, who (is there) |27 besides Abu’l-Karam?» They both said: «The hermit of Ahyar». And they (the former company) said to them: «You both know him, that you testify for him?» They both said: «Al-Malik al-Kamil knows him, and it is he who chose him». And the Sultan said: «A1-Malik al-Kamil does not enter into this matter: leave him out». And vocification multiplied, and the Sultan commanded them to be silent. Then he said: «Bring the reports», and they were brought. And he said to the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah): «Give them to them», and he began to give them to the Cairenes (al-Kahiriyin). And the Sultan said: «I do not give them to those who are in disagreement, that is, the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) ». And not one of those who had entered to him this time had disagreed about the priest David, but all of them had written for him. However, the Sultan was convinced that all the Cairenes were in disagreement about what was taking place when the majority of them assembled and stood before Al-Malik al-Kamil. And we took the reports. And he (the Sultan) said: «What say you about these?» We said: «We are agreed about this man, and these are our signatures». He said: «What is your signature alone, or even the signature of the bishops and the monks?» We said: «Yes, O our Sire». And he turned to the Cairenes (al-Kahiriyin) and he said: «And you, what do you say?» They said: «We are agreed on this man». And he said to the two priests: «And you, what do both of you say?» And the priest Barakat was silent and the priest Joseph said: «If these and these are agreed upon anything, we shall speak». And the Sultan said: «Go forth and come to an agreement with your companions who are outside, and propose your patriarch. And by the life of my head, and the tomb of the Sultan ⁴⁹,if you do not come to an agreement, I shall never appoint for you a patriarch». And they arose (and) they went out, and a vocification was raised by reason of the fact that the priest David had achieved his purpose.

And those who opposed him were |28 disappointed, but the majority of them returned to the agreement. And the people entered to the elder Nis al-Khilafah to congratulate him, and they departed from him to the house of the priest David, to wait upon him and to congratulate him, so that the house did not hold them. And people were going, and others coming, and no one doubted that he would be the patriarch, and that he would be consecrated on the Sunday which is between the two carnivals ⁵⁰, and (it was) the twenty-seventh of (the month of) Tubah ⁵¹. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah sent to bring the bishops, and the priest (David) met me and he said: «Do you wish to write the Letter of Introduction » And I said: «O my Sire, this (is) the function of Fakhr ad-Daulah Abu. Sa‘id, the scribe of the Cell (κέλλιον) ⁵², and he was a relative of mine and a friend and a kinsman, and he had good likingfor this affair. And he (David) said: «At present, (there is) no way to Fakhr ad-Daulah, and, perhaps, he would not do (it)». And I said: «I will do this on the condition that (I am) as the representative of him, and on the condition that the father (David) does not alter any thing of it». And he (David) said: «I accept». And I drew up a copy of the Letter of Introduction in Arabic, and I named him Abba Cyril, and I made a fair copy of it, and they translated it into Coptic, and I wrote the copy of the Coptic on it.

And I had the robes cut and the tiara (made), |29 and a throne was brought (which) from former times had been assigned to the patriarchs, and it was polished. And I caused to be brought the pastoral staffs, and I caused to be purchased beasts of burden, and the priest (David) and his companions made ready to go to the port of Alexandria, after the hegoumenate ⁵³. And in the meanwhile, the Sultan went out to (his) private property at ‘Ain Sams, going towards the port of Alexandria, and the people thought that the elder Abu’l-Fatuh had obtained his (the Sultan’s) order for the consecration of the priest David. And there arrived the bishop of Lakanah who came after the archbishop,and he announced that his senior brother was sick. And there arrived with him, after him, three other bishops, and they were the bishop of Asmum and the bishop of Malig and the bishop of Satanuf; and the people were certain that his (David’s) affair had been settled. And those who were in opposition to him (David) continued to say: «We shall do and make things», which they would not have been able (to do), if the order had gone forth. And when it was the evening of Saturday, the eve of the Sunday mentioned before, there assembled the bishops and the congregation, and they began conversations, and they said: «We (shall be) to-morrow in Cairo (Misr)», and he (Abu’l-Fatuh) said to them: «And what then?» They said: «How? Shall we not consecrate the patriarch?» He (Abu’l-Fatuh) said: «No, to-morrow there shall be no consecration for him, because we have not yet consulted the Sultan, and we have not received a letter to the governor of Alexandria», and they kept silent. And the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) began to go up to Cairo (al-Kahirah) to enquire into the truth of it; and they were informed of this, and they returned, and the bishops remained at Cairo (al-Kahirah).

And when it was the daytime of Tuesday of the week of |30 the Carnival (ar-Rifa‘) ⁵⁴, there assembled a company of the priests of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin) and select people and people who did not wish for the priest David, and they went out wishing (to meet) the Sultan to inform him that they did not wish for David. And on Wednesday, the elder Nis al-Khilafah sent after them a company of those who were with him (David) to stand before him (the Sultan), and to say that they wished for him (David). And these and those went out, and the Sultan had departed. And as for the company of the Cairenes, they persisted in seeking the Sultan, and as for the companions of the elder Abu’l-Fatuh, they met on their way the bishop known as Hadiah at Kalyub coming for the consecration of the patriarch. And they made known to him the affair, and he (the bishop) returned with them, and there was with him a company, and they became numerous, and they journeyed, and they overtook the Sultan at the ferry of Dagwah in the daytime of Thursday, and there was rain. And they stood before him (the Sultan), and he said: «What do you wish?», and he caused the bishop to be brought. And he (the bishop) said: «O our Sire, you have vouchsafed to us the appointment of a patriarch, and when I arrived, I did not find with them the signature of our Sire, and nothing is done for us without a signature, and I entreat the favour of our Sire that he may write for us his signature». He said: «Yes, come to the halting-place, and we shall satisfy your need», and he journeyed (on); and the other company met him, and he said: «What about these?». And they said: «O our Sire, you have commanded that we should come to an agreement, and (as for) us, we are not satisfied with this man (David)». And he (the Sultan) said: «He who brings ten thousand dinars, we shall make him patriarch». And they stood before him another time (and) another (time), and he did not send them away on account of this, and they returned.

And the other (company) continued journeying with the |31 Sultan, looking unto him for what he had promised to them. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah was still at Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he did not go out from it. And when it was the Sunday of the Carnival ⁵⁵, he and the bishops communicated at the Church of the Potters at Cairo (al-Kahirah), and after the Communion he (Nis al-Khilafah) took the bishops with him, and they went to the house of Al-Kadi al-Asraf Ibn al-Kadi al-Fadil, and he caused them to enter to him. And he (Al-Kadi) said to them: «What is the matter with you?» They said: «O our Sire, our conditions have deteriorated without a patriarch, and we were satisfied with this man (David)». And he said: «Be assured. I shall go out to the Sultan, and I shall inform him of what I have heard from you, and I shall settle for you the affair», and they called down blessings upon him, and they went out from his presence, and he (Al-Kadi) and the elder Nis al-Khilafah departed during the remainder of the day. And the Sultan journeyed (on), and the company with him, and other bishops joined them (and) they were standing before him time after time, and he did not dismiss them without promises, until they reached the port of Alexandria. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah arrived, and they assembled there, and they continued thus, until the Sultan was about to depart from the port at the end of the sixth week of Lent, and had resolved upon going to the port of Damietta. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah presented himself to him (the Sultan) and he said: «O our Sire, (for) these Christians thetime has been prolonged, and our Sire is the proper (person) to fulfil their need». And the Sultan commanded that a letter should be written for them for his (David’s) consecration for them, and it was written, and there did not remain except the signature.

And a man of the scribes of the Sultan, known as |32 Ar-Radi Abu’r-Rida Ibn Durak heard (of this), and he wrote a paper to the Sultan that this man (David) was not fit, and that all who wrote for him, wrote, indeed, out of fear; and (as regards) the bishops, it was he (David) who had charged them (to do) what had happened without paying heed to them. And he entered with it (the paper) intending (to find) him who would submit it to the Sultan. And lo, the Sultan (was) at the door of the Hall alone, and he (the Sultan) said: «What dost you desire, O Abu’r-Radi?» And he delivered to him (the Sultan) the paper, and he perused it. Then he commanded the letter to he cancelled, and he said: «We are going to Cairo (Misr), and we shall examine his (David’s) condition). And as for what was in the way of the discussion of the two sons of the sister of the patriarch ⁵⁶, the Sultan had, before his setting out, handed both of them over to As-Samsam, superintendent of the Diwans, and he tortured both of them, and he menaced them, and he punished them, and he continued (this) with both of them, until they made themselves responsible for three thousand dinars; and he required a surety for both of them, and he set them free, and they carried it out ⁵⁷. Then the Sultan departed from Alexandria, and he went back on his opinion about going to Damietta, and he came to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he entered it in the daytime of the Friday of the seventh week of the Holy Lent ⁵⁸. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah entered with him and the company, and in the daytime of Saturday which is the Saturday of Lazarus (al-‘Azar) ⁵⁹, the elder Nis al-Khilafah caused the bishops to come before |33 the Sultan, and they were seven, the four who were residing in Cairo (al-Kahirah) in the house of the elder Nis al-Khilafah with the priest David, and the three who had journeyed behind the Sultan from place to place.

And he (the Sultan) enquired of them concerning the priest David. And they said: «We are agreed to him, and we shall not depart from what we have written for him (with) our signatures». And he said to them: «Go forth and seek testimony to yourselves concerning this». And they went forth to the Diwan, and they wrote for them a testimony to their agreement concerning the priest David, and their approval of him as being lit to be a patriarch. And the eider Nis al-Khilafah went with it to the Sultan, and his mark was affixed on it immediately. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah took the writing, and he went with it to the governor of Cairo (Misr) in the evening, so that he might notify the people, that they should go in the morning to meet their patriarch, and to illuminate the church Al-Mu‘allakah and to adorn it. And he sent it (the writing) to the priests of (the Church) Al-Mu‘allakah, and he laid this before them. And the affair was noised abroad, and As-Sa‘d Hibat Allah Ibn Sadakah, mentioned formerly, went out, and it was he who roused the people to stand before the Sultan at that time, and assembled them; and he began to go from church to church until there assembled with him people. And they went up to Cairo (al-Kahirah) thereupon, and with them all the priests of the churches, with the exception of the priests of the church of Abba Mercurius, and they lighted candles, and they betook themselves to the Citadel at night. And they jabbered and they shouted and they cried out and they appealed for help until Al-Malik al-Kamil heard them. |34

Then they returned to enter Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they found the Gate Zuwailah had already been shut, and they laid down at the Gate. And on that night, all the churches of Cairo (Misr) annulled the psalmodyand the procession of Olives ⁶⁰. And when it was morning, they betook themselves to the house of the judge Al-Asraf Ibn al-Fadil, before he rode out. Then they went to the House of the Sultan, and some of them crossed over (to it), and some of them remained outside, crying and shouting, and some of this company went in to the judge ‘Imad ad-Din, son of the brother of Al-‘Alam, the possessor of the Diwan: and they mentioned to him that the patriarch ⁶¹had died, and that there (is owing) to him on the part of the bishops the yearly contribution ⁶²,and that this is a year after his death, and (that) the Sultan was his heir; and he (the judge) sought it from them, and it was two thousand, two hundred dinars, and he sent to them, and he set guards over them. And they (the bishops) were determined on going down to Cairo (Misr) to consecrate the patriarch. And he (the judge) wrote a paper to the Sultan that such and such had happened. And the Sultan said:«If any resist them (the bishops), he shall be beheaded. This is nonsense! What thing made them silent all this time? They are not to be depended upon!» And they (the bishops) rode in security, and there rode with them the priest (David), and there assembled with them people, the number of whom was countless, and it was a remarkable day. And a crowd came, and they gave to them something and they sent them away. And news spread quickly to Cairo (Misr), that the affair was settled, and the markets became (so crowded) that one (could) not make way (through them). And as for the (church) Al-Mu‘allakah, |35 there was not a foot-span in it for anyone on account of the multitude of the people.

And they went up with a bundle in which (were) his (David’s) robes and with them his staff ⁶³ to the Church Al-Mu‘allakah. And the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah) had already gone to Al-Malik al-Kamil, and he had made known to him what had happened. And he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) said: «Whatsoever the Sultan (Al-Malik al-‘Adil) has commanded, you (must) obey». And when the Christians clamoured that night, he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) sent to summon him (the governor), and he charged him with a letter to his father ⁶⁴. And the priest (David) and the company had gone out by the Wicket Gate, purposing (to go) to Cairo (Misr); and they reached al-Maimunah, and with them (was) the deputy of the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah). And the son of the governor of Cairo (Misr) met them there. And lo, messengers had come running to take back the bishops. And they said: «The Sultan requires them»; and thereupon Sahim ad-Din, governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah) came running, and he took back the writing on which was the sign of the Sultan, and he took the bishops with him, and he returned. And. when he arrived at the Gate of the House of the Sultan, the people were about to stone the bishops, but Sahim ad-Din protected them, and he said: «By God, if anyone interfers with them, his hand shall be cut off». And hands were kept off them, but they (the people) slandered them with (their) tongues; and they insulted them, and they reviled them and they taunted them; and they (the bishops) crossed over to the House of the Sultan, and they were retained at it. And as for the priest (David) and some of the company, they entered into the Church of Harat ar-Rum al-Hamra, |36 and some of them remained outside in the street, and some of them, or rather the majority of them dispersed, and there remained those who remained in expectancy, their hope not being cut off.

And as for those who were standing at the Gate of the House of the Sultan, when Al-Malik al-Kamil went in, on the service of his father, they stood up, and he observed them, and when he went out, they stood up, and they made supplications for him. And the state was protracted, and the ninth hour ⁶⁵ arrived. And I was (present) at all what happened on this day, staying at the Church of Abba Sergius. And when it was said to me that he (David) had arrived at Al-Maimunah, I said (that) I would arise to meet him at the head of the lane; and I arose and I rode, and I said (that) here I may meet him (or) there I may meet him, until it was said to me that the company had descended at Al-Hamra. And I was amazed, and I hastened to learn the news, and I came and I found our companions sitting, and they informed me of the situation, and I sat with them. And when the ninth hour was passed, I said: «To-day is a great (feast) ⁶⁶, and it is not requisite that we should miss on it the Divine Liturgy. And there was there a priest of the inhabitants of Damirah, named Apa Noub, and I took him with me and a group of our companions who were in agreement with me, and we came to the Church of Gabriel,and they had celebrated the Divine Liturgy in it before that. And we asked for a Eucharistic Loaf, and it was brought, and there was brought a vestment and vessels, and we celebrated the Divine Liturgy and we communicated. And I returned to the Church of Abba Sergius at which I was staying during Lent.

And some |37 of our companions remained in expectancy, (where) they were. And as for those Cairenes, they remained at the Gate of the House of the Sultan until the evening, until the hishops departed, and the majority of them passed the night in Cairo (al-Kahirah). And as for the priest David, he stayed at the Church of the Harat ar-Rum al-Hamra until the evening of the day; then he returned to his house. And the churches of Cairo (Misr) annulled on the day the Divine Liturgy, and it was Palm Sunday. And when it was morning on the day of Monday which was the first day of Holy Week, and it was the Feast of Al-Adha, the people assembled, and they were awaiting the Sultan with gospels and censers and crosses, supplicating for him. And the hishops departed on that day, each of them to his See, and the people returned to their churches, and they remained in them, and they celebrated the Feast ⁶⁷. And idle talk among them was fabricated. And as for what happened to the Church, in these days, the deputy of the Sultan came to the Castle of Babylon and he valued all of it. And the people began to pay for every dwelling something as rent of the ground, and he (the deputy) obtained (it) from many of them, and he fixed for them the ground-rent at double. And he deducted from the inalienable endowments of the churches which belonged to the Dhimah ⁶⁸ five dinars for every dwelling. And there befell the people from this great hardship, and procuration (was given) to the priests at all times for this reason, and they discharged part of the amount, and the two churches Al-Mu‘allakah, and Abba Sergius were mulcted of about fifty dinars; and when the Sultan arrived, they ceased demanding (the money).

And after that, the news arrived of the |38 rise (of the price) of corn in Syria and especially in the Land of Jerusalem and the Littoral ⁶⁹; it was even mentioned that water was lacking in them, and that the Pool of Siloam was exhausted, so that it became a way, and nothing had been heard like this. And the prices in Cairo (Misr) went up to thirty-five dinars for a hundred ardab of wheat; then they went down to twenty-seven dinars. And a bridge of boats was made from Al-Gazirah (Rodah) to Al-Gizah, and the beginning of it was from before the new workshop, and the number of the boats of which it was composed (was) fifty-three boats; and it was finished on the day of Thursday, the ninth of (the month of) Abib (in the) year nine hundred and thirty-three ⁷⁰. And it was open to the people without payment being demanded for it. And the Sultan employed under his seal men to repair what might be spoilt of it, and to open passages for the ships which ascended and which descended, because they had made in it places for this purpose by opening the boats, and (then) they returned (them) to their position. And the people began to go to Al-Gizah and to come (from it) mounted and on foot, and they rejoiced greatly at this, and they made supplications for the Sultan for this reason. And there was made on it (the bridge) a handrail of wood on either side to prevent that anyone should fall into the river at some time, and the people found by it great convenience. And the water (of the Nile) in this year reached to twenty-two fingers above seventeen cubits, then it decreased.

And the price of corn went up until wheat reached fifty dinars the hundred ardabs, then it went down to |39 twenty-five dinars. And they (the officials) returned to repeat the demand on the priests, regarding the demand of the amount which they deducted from the inalienable endowments, and they (the priests) did not cease exerting themselves, until they had paid it off, after exertion and hardship, and the monks were constrained by the Church. And in this year, the Sultan Al-Malik al-‘Adil went out from Cairo (al-Kahirah) to the Lake known as the Lake of the Ethiopians, going in the direction of the Syrian Land, when there reached him news of the Franks and their multitude; and he stayed at it ⁷¹ for a period.

Then he betook himself to Bilbais, (when) the year nine hundred and thirty-four ⁷² [1218 AD] opened. Then he turned towards Syria, and he descended at Baisan unassembling his troops and his soldiers, and he stayed at it for a long time. And there reached the Franks a king from beyond the sea, known as the King Hankar ⁷³. And it was said that they had assembled four thousand knights (horsemen) and a hundred thousand foot-men, and they came upon the troops of Al-Islam at Baisan. And they (the troops) did not stand against them, but they were routed, and the Franks pursued them for four or five days until they drove them away from the Littoral; and they pillaged the corn and arms, and they killed and they took captive a great many people. Then they returned and they descended at Tiberias for some days; then they returned to Acre, and they remained at it making instruments |40 for a siege.

Then they went out to attack Thabor, and it is a great fortress, and Al-Malik al-‘Adil had renewed it, (as) being near to Acre; and they attacked it for ten days and they killed its commander. Then they departed from it without a known cause, and they returned to Acre, and it was before the Feast of the Holy Nativity. And in these days the Sultan — may God empower his victory! —commanded a display of the prisoners, and they were displayed before him. And there was among them a man named Asad, and he was a tailor, and he had quarrelled with his wife, and she had brought him before the law, and a chance utterance dropped by him bore witness against him that he had adopted Al-Islam and had denied it, and he was put under arrest, and he remained under arrest for the space of a year up to this time. And the Sultan caused him to be brought, and he enticed him and he promised to him money and raiment, if he remained in Al-Islam, but he refused. And he said: «I am nothing else save a Christian, and in my Christianity shall I die». And he (the Sultan) said to him: «Woe to thee, you did utter the profession of Al-Islam before me, and wherever you desire, go. Do you, then, deceive thyself?» He (Asad) said: «This was never so». And the state of revendication did not cease between them until the day of the Glorious Epiphany (al-Ghitas), and he commanded him to be beheaded. And the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah) caused him to be brought to the Gate Zuwailah, and he caused the witnesses to come, and he offered to him Al-Islam before them, but he refused. And he (Asad) said: «Finish me, I conjure you by God, but do not take me back to the prison». And one of his (the governor’s) slaves (Mamaluk) advanced towards him and prodded him with the sword until four fingers of it penetrated into him. And he (Asad) said to him: «Finish!» |41

And the slave (al-Mamluk) said to him: «Stretch out thy neck!» and he stretched it out, and he struck him with a blow by which his head flew from his body; and his trunk was hanged on the Gate Zuwailah, and the people glorified God for the endurance of this man and the beauty of his faith. And he remained hanging for three days, and after this, they took him down, and they went out with him outside the city, and they began to burn him, but they did not cast what was sufficient of fuel upon him to burn him, and his body remained intact. And there assembled a body of the blessed Christians, and they besought the governor for it (the body), and he gave it to them, and they took it and they buried it in the Church of the Melchiteswhich (is) in the Harat ar-Rum al-Hamra, and they gave thanks to God Who confirms His Saints in faith in His Name to the last breath. And at this time, the Sultan — may God preserve him! — commanded tbat a wall should be made at Cairo (Misr) on the side of the river, and that it should be extended along the length of the Canal up to Cairo (al-Kahirah). And they began this, and they started it from the House of the King, and they dug the foundations, and they started on the building. And in those days a command of Al-Malik al-Kamil went out to Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), that they (the inhabitants) should go out every night and that they should split (stones), and they did this, and it happened (that) there fell of them those who were killed and those who were wounded and those who were injured by the stones. And all of the inhabitants of the two cities had in their hands tools. And the inhabitants of Cairo (Misr) stopped, but the inhabitants of Cairo (al-Kahirah) continued on this wise, and at every time they were increasing.

And after that, Lent began,and the archons, the friends of the priest David, began to take him every Sunday to a church |42 and he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in it, and they (the people) were delighted with him, because he was a good priest, learned instructed (and) beloved of those who feared God. And as for those who were opposed to him, they were not opposed to him, except for various, partial reasons. Some of them (his opponents) envied him, and some of them were afraid of his consecration on account of things which they had committed, or (because) they had done something detestable to him, and they feared to be punished for it. And some of them were not acquainted (with the matter), and they thought by reason of the abundance of slander that the matter was right, and that he (David) was unworthy, and they opposed him on religious grounds. And when it was the third Sunday ⁷⁴, some of the group preceded him to the Church of Abba Sergius in Cairo (Misr) with the agreement of the priest of the mentioned church. And he (David) came, and there came with him a company of the archons and many people. And the priest of the church made an obeisance, and he (David) celebrated the Divine Liturgy. And when they had reached the Pauline Epistle, lo, a man known as Ibn Sadakah, the aforementioned, entered and with him young male slaves of the governor, and he caused a tumult and he vociferated and he calumniated the priest of the church, and he wished to stop the Divine Liturgy, after the Offering had been borne; and a great crowd of the people assembled at the door of the church to see what would happen. And much discussion took place, the end of which (was) that the priest David should complete the Divine Liturgy; and the governor of Cairo (Misr) was seated on his account in the middle of the church on a bench, in order to protect the priest David from those who opposed him, because Ibn Sadakah and his companions wished to stone him (David) while |43 he was at the altar; and he completed the Divine Liturgy of Cyril, according to what was his custom, and nothing was changed in the way of his acknowledged priesthood.

Then he departed, and there rode with him the governor of Cairo (Misr), mounted with him in his attendance, until he brought him to the neighbourhood of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he went to his house in safety. And there assembled the Sa‘idian, sellers of linseed oil and fuller’s earth, who believed that that which they were doing (was) religion, by reason of their being incited and their being dupes and their ignorance; and they went up under the Citadel on the second day, and they purposed to stand before the Sultan. And they wrote pieces of paper, and no answer came out to them; but they returned disappointed, and these are matters belonging to God in which there is mystery and design, and He is aware of what is good in everything; and the people remained as they were before. And when it was Tuesday, the fourth of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁷⁵ of the mentioned year, the Franks arrived at the harbour of Damietta ⁷⁶ with great equipment, and they descended on the land of Al-Hairah. And they pitched their tents, and they advanced to the Tower of the Chain, and they shot at it with mangonels, and they fought against it, and they crossed over with boats and war fire-ships to the fresh water, |44 and they were south of the Chain, and provisions were cut off from Damietta with regard to the sea, and nothing was transported to it except by land on camels.

And the situation became serious for the people, and there were evacuated the two Damirahs and Al-Mahallah and Sanhur and Sakha and the majority of the northern towns, and the inhabitants of Cairo (Misr) transferred to Cairo (Al-Kahirah). And troops arrived from Syria to Damietta, and there went out from Cairo. (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah) a great (number of) people for the holy war ⁷⁷. And some of them (were) those for whom the Sultan paid, and some of them (were) those for whom the notables of the two cities ⁷⁸ paid, and some of them (were) those who went out of themselves for the sake of religion. And news began to increase and to decrease, and people took into their houses grinding-stones, and they stored up wheat and flour and cakes (al-Ka‘k) and rice and other things than these in the way of instruments of siege. And Al-Malik al-Kamil himself went out to the borders ⁷⁹, and he stayed at Sarimsah. And the Franks set up at Damietta, at the Tower of the Chain which was opposite to them, eight mangonels, and their stones used to reach up to middle of the city, and their arrows did not abate night and day, together with the mangonels continually, and the slain and the wounded were very numerous.

And when it was in the daytime of Friday, the |45 twenty eighth of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁸⁰, they (the Franks) sailed in about seventy or eighty ships, after they had plated them and covered them, and they proceeded with, them against the city, and they fought a great battle, and it was a hard day. Then they returned to their camp, and the condition was as before, as regards striking with the mangonels and shooting with the arrows up to Sunday, the seventh of (the month of) Abib ⁸¹. And they made on four ships four towers, and they proceeded with three of them to the Tower, and one to the harbour. And they fought and they strove in the fight, and they dominated the Tower, and they set up ladders to ascend to it. And they were on the point of taking it; and they were all leaning in the direction of the Tower, and they were heavy with armour, and the mast broke into two, and all of those who were on the ladders fell into the river with their chain-mail and their weapons, and all of them were drowned; and the Muslims rejoiced at this greatly, and the two cities ⁸² were decorated. And those of them (the Franks) who were safe, returned to their camp, and the condition was as before, as regards striking with the mangonels and shooting with the arrows. And after some days news arrived that one of the sons of the Sultan had entered into the city of Acre, and (that) he had taken from it a tower named «Dahuk» in which there were thirty souls. And also outworks were thrown up at Cairo (al-Kahirah), and there was made at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) a great chain ⁸³, in order to strengthen (them) by it. The weight of that chain (was) one hundred and thirty Cairene (al-Misri) kantars. |46

And the state of shooting with arrows and striking with mangonels continued. And (some) of the Franks rode horses and made a raid into parts of Al-Dangawiah, and they took from it corn and chopped-straw, and they returned back, and they slew whomsoever they met on the way. And the Sultan sent to burn the towns neighbouring to the place to which they (the Franks) had reached; and the raids continued on land and by sea, and the fighting did not abate. And there was opposite to them in the Bar al-‘Arab a large body of Bedouins close upon three thousand horseman and with them two amirs from the notables of the Arabs. And there rode from the Franks two thousand knights (horsemen), and there was between them a distance of one day. And they rode forward swiftly until they reached them (the Bedouins), and when they attacked them, they (the Bedouins) were overthrown before them, and there were slain of them many people; and there were captured and taken by the hands of the Franks horses, (the number of which) was not known. And they overcame them to the extent that they passed (beyond) their tents, and they took them, and they took all what was in them, and they took the provisions which were with them and the camels, and they returned to their camp. And as for the Arabs who were overthrown, some of them were from the Fayum, and some of them were from Upper Egypt, they continued on their course, (and) they pillaged what remained in the Arab (lands), and they dispersed to their lands. And during this, the exalted king, Sultan of Syria, destroyed the fortress of Thabor which the Franks had assailed, and he transferred all that was in it to Jerusalem.

And they (the |47 Franks) continued this state of affairs with marchings every two or three days, and the shooting with great, gigantic mangonels, one stone of which was weighed and it was three hundred and fifty Cairene (al-Misri) ratls, and huge arrows which were of (different) sorts and kinds. And they prepared boats which they called «The raft», and they were two boats, and they brought the two of them together, and they fastened the two of them with timber and nails until the two remained as one. And they made on it four masts, and they constructed on the masts a tower of wood, and they made round it a wall like the wall of cities with battlements, and they made a great covered staircase ⁸⁴ with ropes and pulleys (which) lowered and raised (it). And they advanced to the Tower ⁸⁵ in the daytime of Friday, the first of (the month of) an-Nasi of the year nine hundred and thirty-four ⁸⁶ [1218 AD]. And there were three hundred warriors of the Muslims on it. And they (the Franks) lowered the covered staircase onto the Tower,and they descended to it, and they gained possession of the upper storey, and they slew those who were on it. And as for those who (were) on the middle storey they cried for mercy,and they took them captives, and the bridge ⁸⁷ was cut, and no one of them escaped except he who threw himself into the river, and it was a great day. And they set up on the Tower the standard and crosses, and they blocked up its door which (was) on the side of Damietta,and they opened the door which (was) towards their land, and they set up their bridge from them towards it (the land). And they took from it in the way of arms and naphthaand provisions what could not be counted, and they rejoiced greatly; and indications multiplied of the kindness of our Master for this religion and His good-pleasure in its people.

And with regard to what the |48 priest Panub — and he was a virtuous, true christian man —related to me, he said: «I celebrated the Divine Liturgy in this year at the Church of Smr..h ⁸⁸ of the Province of Al-Gharbiah, on the day of the Feast of the Three Youths,and it is the tenth of the days of (the month of) Basuns. And when, it was the time of the Aspasmos, which is the (Prayer) of Consolation, there appeared above on the dome of the altar a person seated on a throne, and in front of him a person standing: before him, and in his hand a censer, and he was incensing him, and a flame of fire arose from the censer. Then there appeared at the back of all the dome riders on horses like the pictures of the Saints which are in the churches, and they were turning about the dome, and the tails of their horses were swishing, and all of them, namely the people, witnessed them. And when they reached the throne, they bowed in greeting, and they passed by, and they continued thus up to the time of the Communion, (and) they departed. And the like of this had appeared in the Church of Hanut, a long time ago, and it was noised abroad, and also in the Church of Sabas, and in the Church of the Mistress ⁸⁹ on the outskirts of Mintat Amru, and in the Church of the Martyr Abba |49 John at Subra’l-Khimah, and the Muslim inhabitants of the town testified to all this. And this priest informed me also, that he had seen in his sleep, as if he were standing in a church praying, and (it were) as if a Cross appeared in the cast, a cubit in size in its appearance, and as if (it were) all burning fire, and in the middle of it a picture of the Master, and (it were) as if he were prostrating himself before Him, and trembling and exclaiming «Kyrie eleison»; and he raised his head and he saw (that) the Cross had spread in four directions until it filled the horizon and covered entirely the earth, and on that he woke up. And he related to us also, that he saw on another night, as it were, (that) an insurrection had broken out, and (that) the people were afraid; and it was as if he were in a church, and as if a man came to him and said to him:«Speak with the ‘Hankar’»⁹⁰. And he came before him, and he (the Hankar) said to him: «Go to our brethren, the Christians, appease their hearts and quieten them, and inform them that we have not come, except to avenge (them) of their enemies. We have not come to harm them and that they shall remain in their churches and according to their religious law», and on that he awoke from his sleep. And the rise of the Nile was delayed in this year up to the sixth of (the month of) Tut ⁹¹, and the Nilometer rose spontaneously, and the Canal was cut on it ⁹², and it was announced concerning the water (that it had reached) in a second four fingers above seventeen cubits.

And the year nine hundred and thirty-five of the Pure Martyrs ⁹³ entered, and, after this, the news of the death of Al-Malik al-‘Adil Abu Bakr |50 Muhammad Ibn Aiyub arrived. And he was the grand Sultan and the great king, and his kingdom (was) from the Yemen up to Khilat, and he established every one of his sons in a kingdom. Al-Malik al-Kamil, and he was his heir-apparent, in Egypt, and it was he ⁹⁴ who conquered the Yemen and had set up a son of his called Al-Malik al-Mas‘ud, and in Syria Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam, and in the East and Khilal, Al-Malik al-Asraf, and at Edessa (ar-Ruha), Sihab ad-Din Ghazi, and in the Fortress of Ga‘bar, Al-Malik al-Hafiz, and in the Fortress of Bosra, and its districts, Al-Malik as-Salah, and in the Fortress of…. and Hunain and As-Sakif and Paneas, Al-Malik al’Aziz. And the people took the oath to Al-Malik al-Kamil, that (he should be) the Sultan who (was) after him, and (he was mentioned) in the sermon (Khulbah) from the pulpit, and the coinage was struck in his name, while he was opposing the Franks at Damietta.

And the Nile reached in this year up to seven fingers above seventeen cubits, and it was the year nine hundred and thirty-five of the Coptic (Year) ⁹⁵ [1219 AD], and it decreased rapidly, and the majority of the Land of Egypt was dried up, and the price of corn went up. And there came upon the people in this year three things: the death of the Sultan and the descent of the enemy on the land, and the lowness |51 of the Nile; and the Church, was widowed of a patriarch.

Then (it was), that the Muslims agreed in their opinion, that they should go against the Franks and should move towards them. And there crossed over of their cavalry some four thousand horsemen, and of the infantry the same. And they made ready from fifty to sixty boats, transport-ships and fire-ships, and they proceeded on the river. And as for the cavalry, their advance was from the south, and they reached to the entrenchment of the Franks, and they found it impregnable, and behind it a guard of warriors, and they (could) not pass over it. And as for their infantry, they proceeded along the river, on the east of the camp of the Franks. And the Franks abandoned to them the extremities of the camp,and they gave way before them, and they pretended to them weakness and fewness, until they were in the midst of their camp. Then they (the Franks) cut them off on the south, and they slew the majority of them, and there did not escape of them except he who threw himself into the river; and the majority of those who threw themselves into the river were drowned, because among them were those who did not know how to swim, the men of Syria. And of those who knew swimming, (he who) hastened without removing his clothes, and jumped with them into the river was drowned. And as for those who (were) in the ships, when they saw what had happened with the infantry, they remained in their place, and they (could) not return, and it was a great battle in the daytime of Tuesday, the eleventh of (the month of) Babah ⁹⁶. And the Sultan turned back, (and) he commanded the troops which had crossed over to return to the land of Damietta, and he began mobilizing and collecting. |52

And when it was in the daytime of Friday, the twenty-seventh of (the month of) Babah, the Franks marched towards the troops of the Muslims who had crossed over to the Bar al-‘Arab, and they were about a thousand horsemen, because they were the entire body-guard of Al-Malik al-Kamil, and there was added to them from the Arabs and the Maghaziz. And they (the Franks) overcame them all, and they drove them to the river, and they took their horses and their equipment, and they slew a company of their champions, and none of them escaped, except a small number who threw themselves into the river and were experienced in swimming. And terror waxed great, and the souls of the people were fearful, and the awe of the Franks was magnified, and the resolve to meet them collapsed, and the condition continued thus. And the winter entered, and the Franks passed the winter dominating the land. And when it was in the beginning of (the month of) Kihak there came a great tempest and stormy weather, and the lake was flooded by what was carried to it from the Mediterranean Sea, and the camps of the troops were submerged from Damietta up to al-‘Adilliah, and it is the village which was renewed in the land of Damietta opposite to Burah after the Franks had taken Burah. And on this occasion, numerous people and beasts of burden perished, and the loss in the way of possessions, equipments and arms was beyond counting.

And the river overflowed, and the rains fell, and (it was) cold and the |53 wind was on the point of shaking the mountains, and there was great affliction, the like of which had not been witnessed. And the riverbore the raft which the Franks had constructed on six big transport-ships, and had made in them ladders and towers and passages of which the description is not possible, and it (the wind) cast it on to the shore of the Muslims. And in it were sixteen men of whom fourteen fought until they were slain, and two threw themselves into the river and they returned to the other shore ⁹⁷. And the king ⁹⁸ took the two of them, and he hanged them both, (saying): «How (was it that) they were not slain and did not endure the fight as the rest?» And the Muslims crowded at this raft, and they saw that they had not strength for it, and that they could not understand its arrangement, and that they were not sure whether the Franks might multiply against them and take it from them, so they burned it, and it was a marvellous thing not to be described. And the Franks had ships at sea coming from Acre and other (places) than it, because, since they had descended at this camp, the ships did not cease (to come) to them. And all of it (the raft) was broken up and dragged to the banks, and something of it was taken to Gaza and Al-‘Aris and (to) other (places) than them. And they (the Franks) had dug a watercourse, it was known as the Canal Az-Za‘afaran, in order to pass their ships through it, because the Sultan had made rough ⁹⁹ what (was) between the two towers, fearing their (the Franks’) passing-through with their big ships.

And when the rains came and the great river became high, it filled the canal which they had dug, and they had made their digging nearer to the river; and they began to load |54 their ships on asses, and they launched them in that river, and they had in it a quantity of ships, and the condition continued thus for a period. And the Sultan came back, (and) he sank ships before the place to which they had ascended, and he placed them in three rows, and he set up on them masts, and be nailed upon them other masts broadwise. And when it was the Saturday which is between the two Carnivals ¹⁰⁰,the Franks prepared their ships, and they ascended with them with their implements and their tents and their equipment and their arms, and the wind was favourable for them, and tbis day was the eighth of (the month of) Amsir ¹⁰¹. And they sailed as one body, and all the Muslims were summoned to the bank, their infantry and their cavalry, in the belief that they (the Franks) would reach to those masts and stop. And when they reached those masts, God made them for them like grass, and they snapped off all of them, and they accomplished ascending to the place to which they wished (to go), and it was the narrows of the river,and the Muslims marvelled at this, and it was for them a severe day. And all the Franks and the Muslims remained on Saturday and Sunday and Monday on watch against one another. And when it was on the eve of Tuesday ¹⁰², the eleventh of (the month of) Amsir ¹⁰³, there occurred a disaccord between the Sultan and one of the greatest of the amirs known as Ibn al-Mastub, in spite of their being in confusion and adversity, and this brought about the departure of them all by night and their leaving their tents and all their equipment and their implements. And in the morning, the Franks were astonished (and) believed that it was a stratagem, because they had been willing to suffer loss of the majority of them, so as to get |55 possession of a part of the eastern bank and nothing else.

And it happened for them that they got possession of it, favoured in the way of good things and benefits, the value of which was not to be described nor defined nor counted. And they went up to the mentioned shore on Tuesday the aforementioned, and they took the tents with all what (was) in them, and the towers and the mangonels and the equipments and the chain-mail armour, the quantity of which was not to be counted. And they slew all whom they found who remained behind in the camp, because the people thought that their (the Franks’) coming up to it would be slow, so they remained in it through greediness of what they could take away of their goods, and they were about three thousand souls. And they (the Franks) encompassed Damietta on all sides, and they set up against it mangonels, and they strove in fighting against it. And as for the Sultan, he planted his standard at Asmun, and all who saw it from among the eminent amirs rallied around it. And as for the Magharibah ¹⁰⁴ and the eunuchs, they dispersed into the lands, and the majority of them passed over to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and the people remained confused and their souls were in great despair. And detractions multiplied against the Christians, and some of the common people became violent towards them. And in these conditions the Muslims resolved and decided to survey for increase of taxation properties in Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah), to take their rent for two months, and for helping the Sultan thereby, and they surveyed for increase of taxation Cairo (Misr), and they did not get anything out from it, and it (the taxation) was annulled. Then they returned to collect taxes from the Muslims in proportion to their conditions, in two ways, until they finished by taking from five dirhams upwards, and this was not found profitable, and |56 nothing useful was reached.

And two or three days after this defeat mentioned before, Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam, the Sultan of Syria, reached his brother Al-Malik al-Kamil at Asmun. And they agreed in their opinion, and they arrested ‘Ali Ibn al-Mastub who was the senior of the amirs, of whom it was related that he was the cause of the defeat, and they put fetters on him, and they journeyed with him to the Fortress of Al-Karak fettered. Then it was related that he was exiled to the lands of the East. And there was much talk,and some people said that every Christian in Damietta had been killed, and some people said that none had been killed, except the captives, because they found them remaining and wishing to escape to their companions. And as for the inhabitants of Miniat Ibn Salsil, its inhabitants rose up against the Christians, and they destroyed a group of them. And as the time passed, it became more severe, and the intrigues multiplied as time passed. Then he (the Sultan) ordered the surveying for increase of taxation of the properties of the people in Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah), and to collect from them the tax for two months. And the notables of Cairo (Misr) began to collect from its inhabitants something in proportion to their conditions, and they despatched it (as) an aid to the Sultan and the Muslims, and they collected by two collections about three thousand dinars. And when Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam, the king of Syria, arrived and met his brother, they agreed in their opinion that they should pass over to the western bank (of the Nile), because the crossways of the Franks were at it. And they passed over with the troops and the soldiers. And they ¹⁰⁵ commanded the building of a wall from Cairo (Misr) to Cairo (al-Kahirah) to join together the two cities.

And |57 they commenced the building of it from Cairo (Misr) at the House of the King, and from Cairo (al-Kahirah) from the Pearl (Palace). And they made its foundations of stone and the remainder of it with earth, the work of the Magharibah. Then they exacted the tax (Gawali) of the Dhimah for the year six hundred and sixteen ¹⁰⁶ [1220 AD], on Monday, the eighteenth of (the month of) Dhu’l-Higgah of the year six hundred and fifteen ¹⁰⁷ [1219 AD]. Then their opinion changed concerning the building of the wall with earth, and they demolished what the Magharibah had made, and they started building with sun-dried bricks. Then the order came to take away the bricks of the properties ¹⁰⁸ of all the people in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and he (the Sultan) began with taking away the bricks. And as for what was in the way of the order to the troops to pass over to the western bank, they arrived near to the camp of the Franks, on Sunday, the seventh of (the month of) Baramhat ¹⁰⁹. And God sent a stormy wind and rains, and the riverbecame agitated and rose up to them ¹¹⁰, and if they had not succeeded in retreating, they would have been drowned. And they returned, and they did not achieve (their) purpose, and they passed over to the eastern bank, and they descended at Faraskur and what was neighbouring to it. And in this year there was a winter, the like of which had not been witnessed in the Egyptian lands, so that there occurred in them, from the eighth of (the month of) Baramhat up to the fifteenth |58 of it ¹¹¹, in the way of winds and rains and severe cold, the like of which had never been witnessed, and the conditions of this year were all of them amazing: (and) strange.

And after this, an order of the Sultan came to send out half of the inhabitants of Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah) to the fight, voluntarily or by compulsion. And the majority of the people went out, and the privileged for whom it was not becoming to go out used to buy themselves offwith the price at which they were estimated, in the way of gold, everyone of them according to his condition. And as for the Christians who were in Cairo (al-Kahirah), they collected a tax from them, together with those who had means of livelihood, everyone who was earning a livelihood, with people of means; and they were not imposed upon, nor anyone of the inhabitants of Cairo (al-Kahirah). And, finally, they collected in tax from the scribes who resided in it, and they favoured some and they exempted some. And as for Cairo (Misr), its governor was guided by the jurisconsults, and he brought the priests of the churches which (belonged) to the Copts and to the Melkites ¹¹², and he said to them: «Go out!»¹¹³, and he threatened them, and he said: «You, go you out with the Muslims, but you will not reach with them to the gate of the city before they will kill you». And no one was able to say to them (the Muslims) at this time anything. And the tendency of the saying was chiefly for the Melkites, because they used to spread evil reports about them, that they loved the Franks, and that they (acted) according to their ¹¹⁴ law in the arrangement of the hair and the omission of circumcision, and what is similar to that. And fear worked in them, and one of them hastened and he said: «We have a thousand dinars». And they said: «It is a blessing, arise, fetch the thousand dinars!»

And they said to |59 those who were present of the Coptic priests: «These ¹¹⁵ (are) a handful (compared) to you. We shall make them a tenth, (so) give to us ten thousand dinars», and, finally, they settled for them three thousand dinars. And all of them went out under guard, and a rope was hung in the Church Al-Mu‘allakah, and a rope in the Church of the Melkites,and a rope in the Synagogue of the Jews, because the last had weighed out the first time, when something was sought from the Christians five hundred dinars, and they settled for them this time six hundred dinars. And there occurred scourging among the people and hanging and arrests and affronts. And it was the priests who were those who called out the names of the people, and they apportioned to them the portions, and it was the days of Holy Lent, and they were days of severe handship and great persecution. And as for the Melkites ¹¹⁶, they collected from their people what they were able, and there remained an amount owing by them, and they caused to be taken out the silver vessels which they possessed, and they pawned them at one of the Muslims, a jurisconsult, called the juristconsult Nasr, for two hundred dinars against two hundred and fifty dinars, and they delivered them. And as for the Copts, they fleeced the people entirely, and it is not conceivable that anyone remained without a mulct, except only a few, and the total which was collected for them (was) one thousand, one hundred dinars. And some of them used to prosecute others, and it was (that) everyone who wished to relieve himself, undertook a lawsuit and became an extortioner.

And they assembled with the governor |60 and they used every means until they made it one thousand, two hundred dinars; and they returned to what was (still) remaining, and they imposed it on the churches, every church according to its capability, until they reached to the outer monasteries, such as the Monastery of Tammuh and the Monastery of the Beacon, and others beside them, and they took from them the portion. And they went up to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they asked help from its inhabitants, and not one of them gave to them anything, and they returned disappointed, because they were those who had opposed in the affair of the priest David in the matter of the patriarchate. And they did not cease (this), until they had paid off the mentioned amount. And they did not sell vessels nor buildings nor did they pawn (anything), but they were hard days, and many of the churches were closed for many days on account of this portion. And he (the Sultan) had taken into service from Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) ten thousand men, and he caused them to journey, and the majority of them were the Magharibah, and they destroyed every church which they found on their way until they reached the camp. And the march was arranged that it should be on Palm Sunday, and they marched to the Franks, and there was slain the majority of those men who destroyed the churches, and he who escaped from the slaughter fled away, and a company of them reached Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), ships full of them.

Then they made another march, and they did not attain to (their) goal, because the Franks had made against them an |61 entrenchment on both the banks and both the causeways at the river, and they had erected at the entrenchment towers and barrels like the wall of a city, and they placed behind it archers and warriors, and they became (such) that no one was able to approach them. Then the opinion of the Muslims was agreed upon to dam the river of the east at Zifta ¹¹⁷ that all the water should be borne to the river of the west; and they began on this, and they took for it ships and equipment and implements, and its damming was completed in the daytime of Friday, the fifteenth of (the month of) Basuns ¹¹⁸ (in the) year nine hundred and thirty-five ¹¹⁹ [1219 AD], after great toil and much expenditure, so that it became a way, and the ships no longer ascended nor descended in it. And it (the dam) was cut on the same night, and all the toil on it was lost; and it was related that he (the Sultan) had lost on it one thousand, seven hundred dinars, and the water flowed to its place, and he despaired of darning it a second time, and he left it in its state. And he (the Sultan) demolished Jerusalem in Baramudah ¹²⁰ of the aforementioned year, after he had evacuated it of its inhabitants; and there did not remain in it except (the Church of) the Holy Resurrection and the Tower of David and the Prayer-house of the Rock and the Mosque known as Al-Aksa.

And he demolished the remainder of its walls and its houses and its hosteleries, and there befell the people by reason of its demolition a |62 great fear and anxiety for Syria on account of it, and prices became high in it. And as for the lands of Egypt, the prices in them were low during all these days. Then (it was) that the Franks made ready great rafts and large towers, and they advanced towards Damietta by land and by sea for seven successive days in the middle decade of (the month of) Abib ¹²¹,and the Muslims advanced to them, and they remained fighting night and day. Then (it was) that the Franks postponed (to bring up) their engines against Damietta, and the Muslims returned to their camp, and the affair remained as it was before. And they (the Muslims) before that had stirred up trouble about the Church of Saint Mark which (was) on the outskirts of Alexandria, known as Al-Kamha, and the order was issued to demolish it ¹²². And the Christians offered two thousand dinars for it to be spared, but it was not accepted, and it was said that it was necessary to demolish it, since this (church) was a danger to the port, because it was provided with a tower over-(looking) it, and the enemy might attack the port from it, if they descended upon it. And the greater part of it (the church) was demolished by the command of the Sultan, so that there did not remain of it, except one kamat ¹²³. And when it was the Friday which followed its demolition, the Muslims prayed the prayer of Friday, and they went out to it, and they demolished the remainder of it to the ground. And there was great grief for the denomination ¹²⁴, and continuous dejection and manifest affliction, and this was in the beginning of (the month of) Abib.

Then (it was) that the water (of the Nile) delayed (in rising) in this year, so that it came at the end of (the month of) Abib, and it was about six cubits, and the |63 price of wheat increased until it reached sixty dinars for the hundred ardabs. Then (it was) that the Nile remained stationary ¹²⁵, and the price fluctuated. And when it was Thursday, the sixth of (the month of) An-Nasi ¹²⁶, because it was a Leap-Year ¹²⁷, the Franks advanced against the Muslims on land and by sea, and they were defeated before them. And the Franks had thought that the water which (was) in the entrenchment of the Muslims was fresh, but when they reached the aforementioned entrenchment from the sandy side, and it was a place distant from the sea, they tasted the water and they found it salty, and they turned back on their traces of their own accord without that anyone had defeated them. And when the Muslims saw them (that) they retreated, they pursued them, and they were emboldened against them, and there was a great defeat for them (the Franks). And there were taken of their cavalry about four hundred knights among whom there was a group of Counts and leaders, and there were slain of the men and of the knights to the number of two thousand souls. And there arrived letters concerning this, and birds ¹²⁸ were flown, and Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) were decorated, and the Muslims rejoiced exceedingly on account of this. And there entered the year nine hundred and thirty-six of the Martyrs ¹²⁹ [1220 AD] and the Nile was low, and the maximum which it reached (was) fifteen cubits, and it did not remain stationary at it ¹³⁰, but it decreased and continued its decrease.

And the Canal of Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected was |64 opened on Thursday, the fourteenth of (the month of) Tut ¹³¹, and it (the Canal) dried up on the Thursday which followed it ¹³², and people walked in the middle of it. And the Bahr Abu’l-Managga was opened (on) the Sunday which was the Feast of the Holy Cross ¹³³.And at that time, the water decreased a whole cubit, and it was of no use, and it did not carry water into the Birkit al-Habas, except streamlets. And as for the Ard at-Tabbalah, it was not watered at all; and there was not irrigated of the lands in this year, except a few, such as the Fayum and the district of Abusir, and of Dingawiah and of Al-Basmur and what was similar to them of the lands of (the Province of) Al-Gharbiah. And he (the Sultan) bore the majority of the captives who were taken at this defeat to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected, and he paraded the city with them, and he retained the leaders from among them with the troops so that they might fix terms for the truce. And they deliberated about it, until it was almost decided that they (the Franks) should take Jerusalem, after it had been (re)-built for them, and all that was in their hands of what Al-Malak an-Nasir had conquered, and the affair remained undecided between them. And the price of corn rose, until wheat was sold at two dinars and a half for the ardab, and it was not possible (to obtain) it, except with extreme difficulty.

Then news arrived that succour had reached the Franks and that the truce had |65 been cancelled. And the order of the Sultan came that all who (wore) at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) should go out to the invaders. And the bells were rung for it, and the majority of the people went out in haste, and he closed the two cities. And the price of wheat returned to a low level on account of the anxiety of the people for themselves, so that every ardab reached one dinar and a half and one dinar and a quarter, and it did not find a buyer. And there was great affliction and severe hardship, except that, at first, they did not harm the Dhimah, but after that, the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah) seized the Christians, and he hanged them on the doors of their houses, and he caused them to turn the mills. And he said to them: «I wish from you money», and he took from them what they were able and what they were not able (to pay), so that the weavers alone of the Christians in Cairo (al-Kahirah) are recorded to have paid one thousand, three hundred dinars, and the matter became severe for the people. And as for the governor of Cairo (Misr), when he saw what the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah) had done, he caused to be brought the priests of the Christians, and he said to them: «You have heard what the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah) has done, and I advise you that you gather together with one another and that you collect among you a thousand dinars, and that you bring them, otherwise, I shall extract them, and I shall not take, except five thousand.». And they complained to him, and they expressed (their) grievance, and he reduced (the amount) to eight hundred dinars, And they went out, (and) they sat in the churches, and they began to extract (the amount). And there were hard days for all the world, and among all what happened in them (was) that the Sultan had, during the time mentioned, marched towards the Franks. And he descended at the side of their entrenchment on the western bank, and Al-Malak al-Faiz descended at the side of their entrenchment on the eastern bank, |66 and they besieged them on both banks.

And the Sultan sent to the two cities ¹³⁴ to seek for empty jars and all empty earthenware vessels, in order to fill them with sand and to fill up with them the entrenchment. And this was proclaimed in Cairo (Misr), and there was collected on the bank of the river, in the way of jars and pots, countless thousands, and most of them were brought to the camp. And they returned to discuss about the truce, and the Franks complied with it to some extent, so that the two kings withdraw from their (the Franks’) entrenchment on both the banks. Then they (the Franks) returned and they widened the entrenchment and they strengthened the towers, and they renounced the truce. And al-Malik (al-Kamil) was angered, and he sent his brother, Al-Malik al-Faiz, to the East to seek help, and he caused him to dress in mourning, and he caused him to journey in a litter. And the troops of the Franks divided into two parts, a part marched to Damietta by turns night and day, and a part guarded the side of the entrenchment opposite to the troops of the Muslims. And the condition continued thus, giving and taking; and the news came afterwards that the port ¹³⁵ had become weak, and (that) the majority of those in it had died. And the Sultan prepared seven hundred fighting footmen, and he gave to them a gratification, and he arranged with them that they should make a single attack by night, and should enter with impetuosity into the port. And they did this, and the majority of them was slain, and a few of them surrendered and they passed over (to the Franks).

And it was only a night or two, after their passing over, that the Franks conquered the port of Damietta in the night (which) was unveiled by the morning of the daytime of Tuesday, the eight of (the month of) |67 Hatur ¹³⁶,(in the) year nine hundred and thirty-six the aforementioned ¹³⁷, which corresponds to the twenty-fifth of (the month of) Sa‘ban (in the) year six hundred and sixteen ¹³⁸. And it was a great night and a remarkable day, and the Muslims did not perceive this ¹³⁹, until they saw the standards of the Franks and the crosses on the towers and the watch-tower, and, thereupon, they knew that the port ¹⁴⁰ was taken. And the kings of the Muslims departed straightway, and they left the merchants and the common people in the camp.And it was (that every) man of them had no interest except to save himself, and they left all their wealth and their merchandise; and, on this occasion also, there was lost in the way of wealth what was not to be counted. And the Sultan came and he descended opposite to Talkha at the head of the river of Asmum on the south. And as for Al-Malak al-Mu‘azzam, the Possessor of Syria, he turned to his lands, and he descended at Gaza. And the reports were contradictory about the conquest of the port ¹⁴¹; some people said (that) it was not conquered except with the collusion of its inhabitants, on account of what they suffered in it in the way of hardship, and some people said (that) it was not conquered except by the sword (and) by force. And it was said that they (the Franks) found in it, in the way of wealth, kantars and kantars of gold and silver.

And as for the weapons and the chain-armour of the kings and the amirs and the soldiers, he (the Sultan) had made all what was costly in it, that is, Damietta, because it was |68 strongly fortified, and no one thought that it would be taken, And it was said that they (the Franks) found in it six thousand men, and it was said (also) eleven thousand; however, they took captive all whom they found in it, except the Christians. And as for the Muslims, they said that there did not remain in it, except six hundred souls, but this was not correct. And those who were trustworthy related that the gate of the port was closed against forty-six thousand men, apart from women and children. And the Franks fixed their residence in the port ¹⁴², and they established their base in it. And it was after the departure of Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam that the Sultan sent to summon the Companion Safi ad-Din ‘Abd Allah [I]bn ‘Ali who had been the wazir of his father, whom he had entrusted with the administration of his kingdom. And he carried this out with circumspection against a group of scribes, Muslims, Christians and Jews; and he inflicted on them punishments, and he demanded from them money, and the prisons were filled with them, and (there were) some of them who departed from their belief through the hardship and the punishment, and (there were) some of them of whom some members were maimed, and they were most unbearable days. And during that time they surveyed the buildings of the people and their properties in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and they exacted their revenues for two months and they were hard days for the people, and they did not come out from anything, except to enter into what was worse than it. And they suppressed the halls of the hostelsaltogether and all the inns in which there were sold goods such as linen and other than it. And it was ordered that nothing should be sold, except in the hall of the hostel of the Sultan which (was) in the House of the King, and that the brokerage should be for the Sultan. And they inspected the papers of the people and what (was) in their hands; and the time became hard for the people, and if they had been able to go out, no one would have remained in the land. |69

And as for the Franks, news of them used to be brought, concerning (their) justice and clemency and fair-dealing which were not to be described. And the black dirhams which they had, reached (in value) one hundred dirhams for one dinar on account of the abundance of them which they found at the port ¹⁴³, and because they did not deal with them. And when it was the daytime of Tuesday, the sixteenth of (the month of) Amsir ¹⁴⁴, in the second week of the Holy Fast ¹⁴⁵, there occurred great rains, and they continued to the eve of Wednesday, and Wednesday and the half of the eve of Thursday; and in the second half (of it) there came forth a great wind, and it did not cease until the noon of Thursday, and it demolished many places, and many died under the debris, and it was a wonderful occurrence, the like of which had not been witnessed. Then, after that, the order went out to collect the diyariah ¹⁴⁶ which the patriarch used to exact from the dioceses and the churches, and there was delegated for every affair one for this. And he (the Sultan) wrote to the governor of Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah) to collect what belonged to each of them. And the governor of Cairo (Misr) caused to be brought the priests of the churches, and he said to them: «Give to us what the patriarch used to take from you». And they said: «The custom of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) was not that he (the patriarch) should take anything from them (the churches)». He (the governor) said: «Write for us a certificate that you never paid anything to the patriarch», and one of them hastened and said: «O my sire, we will bring the due of the patriarch, and he who is guarantor in his name for anything, let him discharge (it)». He (the governor) said: «And where (is) the due of the patriarch?» They said:«It is with [I]bn Sadakah», meaning him who has been mentioned before.

And he (the governor) caused him to be brought, and he |70 said: «I desire the due of the patriarch», and he caused it to he brought straightway. And it was a former due, and in it (were) old things before the dearth, and things (which) the patriarch used not to exact, but their mention in the due (was) to preserve their amount, and they transferred them ¹⁴⁷ as they were, and they sent a copy to the Sultan. And his order went out to the governors to exact what it (the copy) contained. And all of them began to aim at getting the better of and justifying himself above the other, and they exacted double the amount, and (as regards) all these days, nothing was seen in time more difficult than they. And there were delegated (people) to extract the money of the diyariat, and the surveying and a sixth of the cost of the fruit of the gardens in Upper Egypt; because they had made this obligatory in all the Land of Egypt (Misr), and they marked the date-palms also; every date-palm five dirhams, besides the customary tax. And there was an amir called Al-Makram [I]bn al-Lamali, and he was a Maghrabian man, and that which was abhorrent to him (were) the Christians. And he arrived in Cairo (Misr), and a group of those of whom he was, attached with ropes some of the Christians and the Jews , and he inflicted on them punishments and scorn, until he took their signatures for an amount of eleven thousand dinars, every one of them according to what was allotted to him, and he despatched it (the amount) with his letter to the Sultan. And he (the Sultan) regarded this as too much, and he disapproved of it, and he ordered that the signatures should be returned to those who signed. And this was a rarity, the like of which did not occur in these days, and the signatures were returned. And [I]bn al-Lamali turned to Upper Egypt (as-Sa‘id) for the taxes of the surveying and the diyariat and the sixth of the cost of the fruit and the plantations of date-palms; every upright date-palm, five dirhams, and this was in all the lands of Egypt. And the condition continued thus, and affliction increased on the people, so that a number |71 hanged themselves, and a number departed from their faith, but this did not avail them.

Then, when it was towards the Holy (Feast of) Easter — and this was the end of (the month of) Baramhat ¹⁴⁸ — there came upon the land in the way of locusts something the like of which had never been seen in the lands of Egypt, so that they filled the open space and veiled the heaven and devoured everything green. And the people feared from this, and they understood that it was a chastisement from God for the successive oppression, and they (the locusts) (were) on everything, so that they destroyed almost (everything). And on the eve of Monday which was (after) the morning of Easter Sunday which corresponds to the eleventh of (the month of) Baramudah ¹⁴⁹, there came a black wind, so that the people thought that the resurrection ¹⁵⁰ had begun, and they thought that no wall would remain standing on the earth; and there fell down of the date-palms many, and there appeared fires in the sky, and it was a great night, and no one could sleep on it. And when it was morning, this disturbance and confusion abated, and they found (that) some places had fallen down, and some of them were safe. And the demand and the confiscation remained as before, and the bishops (were) as agents, and (they were) beaten, and the Christians of the land also.

And the year nine hundred and thirty-seven ¹⁵¹ [1221 AD] entered, and the Nile reached in this blessed year to two fingers above seventeen cubits, and it the year nine hundred and thirty-seven corresponds to the year six hundred and seventeen of the Islamic Higrah. And the prices remained as before, increasing and decreasing. Very excellent wheat for one hundred and fifty dinars the hundred ardabs, and barley and beans for a hundred dinars for a hundred ardabs; as for |72 chickpeas there were few at two dinars the ardab. And more was irrigated in the lands than what was irrigated in the past year, and seeds were exhausted through the need of the people and their fear ¹⁵². And he (the Sultan) commanded that the grains of the merchants should he taken and an advance ¹⁵³ should be made (for sowing) the lands. And documents with the price should be written to the account of the military and their subalterns till a prosperous time (arrived). And they did this in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and all the lands of Egypt, so that it would happen (that) they would enter into a house, and (if) they found in it wheat, were it but a waibah, they would take (it), and they would leave (the house) without anything. And when they planted, God sent at the end of (the months of) Babah ¹⁵⁴ and Hatur ¹⁵⁵ locusts, the like of which with regard to abundance and greatness had never been seen in the lands of Egypt. And they were red, but those which came in the Tax Year were yellow; and they devoured most of what was planted, and they went up especially to the places which (were) around the two cities ¹⁵⁶, and the Fayum. Then price(s) fluctuated in (the month of) Tubah ¹⁵⁷, and wheat reached a hundred dirhams the ardab, and barley and beans sixty dirhams the ardab; and corn was scarce in the hands of the people, and famine spread, and the poor of the people multiplied, and the wretched and the beggars (were) at the doors. And as for the affair of the enemy (the Franks) in this long period it was in (the same) state. Sometimes, the fleet of the Muslims went out on the sea, and (if) they chanced on ships with provisions and reinforcements, they would take them; and sometimes they (the Franks) would go out to |73 some of the ports and the Egyptian or Syrian coasts, and they would pillage and take captives and return.

And the tribulation became intense in the way of dearness and fear and oppression; and good oil ¹⁵⁸ reached three dirhams the ratl, and the Church was without him who pastures her and directs her. Then prices increased also until (it was) that wheat reached three dinars the ardab, and it did not cease thus until the Feast of Easter. And it (the wheat) went down (in price), and the people became optimistic, and it did not cease to go down, until wheat reached one dinar the ardab, and barley and beans, half a dinar the ardab. And the news arrived of the coming out of a king from the East, called King of China (as-Sin) ¹⁵⁹, and with him people from the Turks, the Kata and the Kipchaks, and that he had overcome Khwarzim Shah, King of Persia. And he conquered Khwarzim, and Bukhara, and Al-Maraghah and many cities from the Land of Persia, and had made captive their inhabitants. And he reached to the Kurds, and he overcame them, and he came to the Land of Arbela (Irbil); and the lands were afraid of him, because it was related that with him (were) many thousands of soldiers and people, a hundred thousand or more. And Al-Malik al-Asraf, son of Al-Malik al-‘Adil, the Possessor of Khilat and Martyropolis and Harran and Singar and what is with them up to the Land of Mosul, arrived.

And the intention of the |74 mentioned enemy was (to capture) the Possessor of Arbela, and they found that he had arrived at ? Sahrur, and he did not meet with them, hut he returned immediately without fighting and without defeat. And Al-Malik al-Asraf returned to Harran, and his brother Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam, Possessor of Syria, journeyed to him and they both met there. And he assembled the troops, and they both raised an army, and they set out for Egypt to aid their brother Al-Malik al-Kamil against his enemy who were the Franks, the possessors of Damietta.And there had reached the Franks succour also by way of the sea. And they gathered together, and they mobilized, and they went out from Damietta by land and on the river, moving slowly from campto camp, until they reached opposite to the camp of the Muslims at the head of the river at Asmum on the north, and the river remained a separation between them. And the lands were troubled on account of their going forth, and the Sultan sent (an order) to march to all the Muslims to go out to them. And the governors gathered them, and they appointed at every market a group of men to incite them and to take them away; and they collected a multitude, and they sent to them (the Muslims) a great number and well armed. And, in the meanwhile, the Sultan had despatched the amir Husam ad-Din Yunis, governor of Alexandria, to Cairo (al-Kabirah) and Cairo (Misr) to evacuate from them all without exception, and he sent to every work an amir to do thus. And the common of the people and the majority of them (the inhabitants) went out, so that there did not remain, except for a decrepit old man or a child (who) had not reached puberty.

And the two cities were closed in the daytime of Sunday, the eighteenth of (the month of) Gumada |75 al-Akhar, (in the) year six hundred and eighteen ¹⁶⁰ [1221 AD] which corresponds to the fifteenth of (the month of) Misra ¹⁶¹. And they remained closed for the rest of Monday, so that nothing was found to be eaten, and the people did not trade on these two days; but the bells were rung in the two cities. (And) of all the groups of the Muslims he who spent this night in the city would be hanged. And the governors on horseback rushed upon the people in their houses, and they took them out from them, and he whom they found who did not journey, was pierced through and burned in it, so that there did not remain, except the women. And these were days, the like of which in the way of fear and hardship and anxiety for all the people, had not been witnessed; and they were the days of (the rise of) the Nile, but none paid attention to it nor went up to it. Then there arrived Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam, Sultan of Syria, and Al-Malik al-Asraf, Sultan of the East, and some other kings with them, such as the Possessor of Emesa (Hims) and the Possessor of Hamah, and the troops and the armies; and they crossed over from Asmun, and. they cut off the Franks and they were between them and Damietta by land. And the fleet of the Muslims went out from the mouth of the river Al-Mahallat al-bahari, and it cut off (communications) between the ships of the Franks and the port (of Damietta). And they were (in such a position) that provisions could not come to them either by land or by river, and news could not come to them concerning Damietta, and news could not come to it concerning them, and they continued thus for some days. |76

And the Muslims, as time passed, became stronger, and they (the Franks) became weaker, and their supplies were exhausted and they faced destruction. And they came to an agreement regarding their affair on the eve of the day of Friday ¹⁶², the fourth of (the month of) An-Nasi ¹⁶³, that they should kindle fires and abandon some of the tents of which they had no need, and that they should depart and attack the troops of the Muslims which were between them and Damietta; for there was no strength in them to join the port (of Damietta) and to defend the wall, for if they defended it, they would gain no advantage. And their plan was denounced to the Sultan on the same night, and he rode and the troops rode, and it was the time of (the inundation of) the Nile, and they (the Franks) were inexperienced with regard to the country. And the Sultan commanded to open the canals which were on their (the Franks’) way and to break the causeways and their channels on alt sides. And they (the Franks) retreated until they reached Al-Baramun, and they saw themselves in the midst of the inundation without a way for them. And they assembled in one place, and the fighting was fierce for the rest of the eve of Friday, and the day of Friday and the eve of Saturday ¹⁶⁴ until it was the morning of Saturday, and messengers were coming frequently. And the Sultan discussed the matter with the company, and he informed them that these companies of the Franks were doomed to extermination, but that (their) extermination would not be until (there was) a like extermination of the Muslims. Then Damietta would never surrender, because there were in it ninety thousand warriors, besides those who had left (it).

And they had made |77 around it seven moats, and the people would become weak at looking at it (Damietta), much less besieging it, because they would not (be able) to annihilate this garrison, except its double were annihilated (of the Muslims), and their opinion was agreed upon for a truce, and messengers were passing frequently between them. And a truce was arranged that they should deliver up Damietta, and (that) each side should give back what it had of the captives of the other from the beginning of the time (of the war) up tell now; and the truce was arranged for eight years. And the king ¹⁶⁵and the two kings ¹⁶⁶and the leaders stayed with the Sultan, until they ¹⁶⁷ delivered up Damietta. And the Franks took with them hostages, for fear that Al-Malik as-Salih, son of the Sultan, and Kulb ad-Din, his brother, and Sams ad-Din, the son of his sister, and a group of the notables of the amirs should prove false to them. And they left them (the hostages) in a ship at the shore of the Salt Sea ¹⁶⁸. And the Sultan showed kindness to the king (of the Franks) and to those who were with him, the like of which is not to be told. And he provided them with all what they needed, and he honoured them with great honour, and he commanded that there should be borne to their camp bread, and pomegranates and melons which were not to be counted. And he commanded the people that they should cross over to their ¹⁶⁹ camp to trade with them, and their tents became, as it were, a market of the Muslims, and they sold and they bought.

And the Sultan and the Muslims rejoiced exceedingly, because they were expecting that they would be overcome and (that) the lands would pass out from their hands. And they |78 would have given Jerusalem, and the Littoral and another fief in exchange for Damietta, and the Franks did not do (this), but they gave it thus, and it was a subject of joy and exultation for them ¹⁷⁰. And there entered the year nine hundred and thirty-eight ¹⁷¹and during this there arrived forty-five galleys of the troops of the Emperor ¹⁷² which were coming for relief to Damietta. And when they heard what had happened in the way of the truce and that the kings (were) hostages, they returned. And the Sultan began to equip the Franks for departure. And among them (were) those who went by sea, and he caused to be given to them provisions and supplies. And he made ready with them his brother, the Possessor of the Fortress of Ga‘abar ¹⁷³, until he sent them off. And for some of them he extended the causeways to the western bank, so that they might pass over on their way to Damietta, because the eastern bank was not bound to them by oath ¹⁷⁴. And the large raft which belonged to them and their ships around it (was) opposite to them on the river, and they continued for some days until they arrived. And the majority of them journeyed, and those who remained at Damietta went out to its vessels. And Damietta was surrendered in the first decade of (the month of) Tut ¹⁷⁵.

And the Sultan journeyed to it, he and the troops, and he remained at it until the rest of the Franks had journeyed, and he took leave of the Frankish king at the |79 sea; and he returned to Asmum, and he remained at it until he took leave of his brothers and the troops of Syria and the East. And he returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he crossed over to it in the daytime of Friday, the eighth of (the month of) Ramadan, (in the) year six hundred and eighteen ¹⁷⁶ [1221 AD] and his crossing over (was) a remarkable day and the two cities were decorated, the like of which was not told (before), and the people rejoiced and were in safety. And the Nile reached in this year up to…….¹⁷⁷. And there was formed between the Sultan and the King of Acre ¹⁷⁸ a great confirmed friendship, and gifts were borne from the one to the other, and suppositions became numerous. And some people said that he ¹⁷⁹ was in collusion (with the Muslims), and that (it was) he who had done this deed with the Franks, and some people said (that) it was not of his (own) consent, but (it was) the Legate who had advised the going out ¹⁸⁰, and (that) it was not possible that he should disagree with him, lest he (the Legate) should accuse him of collusion ¹⁸¹. And he ¹⁸² had said to him (the Legate):«We must not go out from this our city, namely, Damietta, until the Emperor ¹⁸³ come to discuss with us; and it is certain that if we remain behind our entrenchments a thousand years, we shall not pay heed to anyone, even if they come as the number of the sands.

And these troops of whom you hearest, they |80 are of no account to us, because (there is) not one of them but has his work to do, and he has an enemy. And their intention is besiege us for a month or two or three (months), but they will not obtain any advantage over us, and everyone will return to his place; and we shall grow stronger, and our wills will grow stronger, and our enemy will become less and will be weakened, and if we get possession of Egypt in twenty years, we shall have made haste». And be (the Legate) did not accept (this) from him, but he said: «You are a dissembler». He said: «I shall go out with thee, and it shall be according to the will of the Lord». And. they went out until they came to Sarimsah, and he (the king of Acre) said to him (the Legate): «We ought to stay here this year, and we should dig an entrenchment round us, and we should sow (the land) from here up to Damietta, and our ships will come to us, and birds will not be able to fly between us and Damietta. And if this crowd (of Muslims) depart, and reinforcements come to us, Cairo (Misr) will be two days within our reach without hindrance». And he (the Legate) said: «You are a dissembler, I shall not take Cairo (Misr) except in these days».

And they went on until they reached opposite to the mouth of the river Al-Mahallahwhich was before Al-Baramun from which the ships of the Muslims went out. And he (the king of Acre) said to him (the Legate): «Nothing (is) more dangerous for us than this river. Give to me this great ship which is with thee, we will place it at the mouth of this river, and we will place with it ten galleys, (and) the wind will |81 he prevented from passing by here, and we shall be safe from its ¹⁸⁴ harm». And he (the Legate) said: «By the troth of my religion, I shall not place these crosses which (are) at the top of this mast, except on the wall of Cairo (al-Kahirah)». He (the king of Acre) said to him (the Legate): «Journey on, and we shall see what will happen», and if he had not done this, the Franks would have destroyed him. Then the Sultan departed to Abyar at which he stayed during the summer. Then he came down to Damietta,and he commanded that a causeway should be made on the bank of the lake ¹⁸⁵ from Burah to the Mediterranean Sea to prevent the water of the river from overllowing into the lake. And he imposed on the amirs and the soldiers, every possessor of a thousand dinars, (the obligation to provide) two fire-ships, and they did this. And the causeway was completed. Then he began with the construction of a fortress on the bank of the lake near to the Mile, and he made in it eleven towers. And he imposed (the cost of) the towers on the amirs according to their means. On some of them he imposed (the cost of) one tower only, and on some of them (the cost of) a tower for two amirs, and (on) others (the cost of) a tower for three or four (amirs).

And the year nine hundred and thirty-nine of the Pure Martyrs ¹⁸⁶ [1223 AD] entered, and the Nile rose in this year to seven fingers above eighteen cubits, and prices became cheap and the land was prosperous. And in this year Al-Malik al Asraf, Sultan of the East, came to the Land of Egypt for the purpose of pleasure and service to his brother, the Sultan Al-Malak al-Kamil. And he received him with hospitality and provisions at Rami, and he passed over to Cairo |82 (al-Kahirah) on Thursday, the tenth of (the month of) Tubah ¹⁸⁷ of this year.

And it (Cairo) was finely decorated, the like of which was not told, and this day was among its great, famous days. And Al-Malak al-Asraf went out into the Land of Egypt from Cairo (al-Kahirah) to Al-Kharakamah to Asmum, to Abyar, to the Island of Egypt (Misr). And his descent at the Island was in the days of (the inundation of) the blessed Nile, and illuminations were lit on every night with the product of wax and oil, and (such) care had not been witnessed. And as for the night of the measuring of the Nilometer (al-Mikyas), they added to the combustibles of the two banks ¹⁸⁸ the fuei of rafts of wood, and they had found them in the river, and the fuel of boats and fire-ships with their furnishings in the middle of the river. And all the days of it were feasts. And prices became cheap to an extreme so that wheat was sold at thirty dinars the hundred ardabs, and barley and beans at twenty dinars the hundred ardabs, and bread (was) ten ratls for a dirham, and meat for half a dirham and an eighth the ratl, and fowls for five dirhams the ten, and nothing was expensive. And clover during the days of the increase of the Nile was twenty-five dirhams the ardab; and, when the Nile decreased, clover was sold for sixty-six (dirhams) the ardab, and clover, for fifty-four dirhams the ardab, and this (was) a thing of wonder, because the Nile was not high; |83 however, (these) affairs (are) in the hand of God the Exalted.

And some of the archons discussed with As-Sahib the wazir concerning the consecration of the patriarch, and he ordered that the hermit who (was) at Abyar should be sought, and that he should be consecrated in his (David’s) place for five hundred dinars, (and he should pay them) to the Treasury; and they began to seek the mentioned sum and spread it over the churches ¹⁸⁹.And he (the wazir) was not able (to do) it, and he did not continue thus with it, and the affair stopped and discussions were broken off. And Al-Malak al-Asraf departed from the belvedere of Saif al-Islam which was at the Pool of the Elephant, in the daytime of Saturday, the eleventh of (the month of) Sa‘aban, (in the) year six hundred and twenty ¹⁹⁰ [1223 AD], which corresponds to the eleventh of (the month of) Tut ¹⁹¹, and the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil went out to bid him farewell. And the confiscations were as before, and the armies were full of scribes and possessors of diwans, and the wazir knew of nothing, except to collect for the Sultan from all sides.

And there entered the year nine hundred and forty ¹⁹² [1223 AD], and the Nile in this year reached up to twelve fingers above seventeen cubits, and prices decreased, and things were many and available, and the world was at peace from sedition, and nothing was expensive except gold and wax. And the exchange reached forty-three dirhams for a dinar, and wax (was) eight dirhams and a half the ratl, and the conditions remained as before.

And at the end of (the month of) Kihak ¹⁹³ in this year the |84 news arrived that the king Al-Mas‘ud, the Possessor of the Yemen, the son of the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil, had come to the Land of Egypt and that he had reached ‘Aydhab ¹⁹⁴. And the Sultan sent out his son, Al-Malik as-Salih, and the son of his brother Al-Malik al-Muzzafar, Taki ad-Din, and the son of his brother Sams al-Miluk, son of Al-Malik al-‘Azz son of Salah ad-Din, and those who were with them in the way of amirs and of soldiers to meet him, and they met him near to Kus. Then he reached Cairo (al-Kahirah) in (the month of) Amsir ¹⁹⁵ of the mentioned year, bearing gifts great and many, and a quantity of money. And among all what arrived with him in the way of wonders, (were) three elephants, two of which no greater than they had ever been seen, (they were) like a great island; and it was related that the age of each of them (was) under twenty years, and (there was) another small (one), its age (being) eight years. And the elders and the writers of histories related that nothing bad been brought to the lands greater than they, and his (al-Mas‘ud’s) crossing over (was) a remarkable day. And there had been despatched to the Higaz ¹⁹⁶, before that, troops to attend on him together with the son of his uncle Al-Malik al-Gawad Muzzafar ad-Din, son of Maudud. And he (Al-Mas‘ud) took a contrary way to them, and they went to Yanbu‘ ¹⁹⁷, and it is an impregnable fortress of the lands of the Higaz, and it was barred to Al-Malik al-Mas‘ud. A company had assembled at it, and they had revolted against him, and they conquered it by the sword, and they took captive everyone who (was) in it, and they left at it their vicegerent, and they returned. And Al-Malik al-Mas‘ud remained at Cairo (al-Kahirah), residing at the Castle, and conditions continued as they were; and as-Sahib Safi ad-Din had all things in his hands. And prices (remained) as they were throughout the year, and things increased in cheapness, |85 and the Nile reached in this year to four fingers above eighteen cubits.

Then there entered the year nine hundred and forty-one ¹⁹⁸ [1224 AD], and the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil was residing in his prosperous Citadelat Cairo (al-Kahirah), and Al-Malik al-Mas’ud was residing (there) also. And as-Sahib Ibn Sukr, the administrator of affairs, (was) occupied, and the Church (was) without a patriarch, and prices (were) as before. And when, in the course of the year, news reached the Sultan from some people concerning some of the amirs about a suspicious affair, he fettered some of them, and he banished some of them and he sequestered their property and cut off their means of living, and he demanded from some money. And during the blessed Lent the collectors approached As-Sahib, and they said to him: «Thou hast done every thing well, except the affair of the Christians for they are without a patriarch, and they have suffered harm, and their lawshave been weakened». And he said to them: «Something ¹⁹⁹ is necessary for the Sultan»; and they agreed with him on five hundred dinars. And he wrote to the Sultan and he sought his permission. And his (the Sultan’s) answer came that they should choose (a patriarch); and the collectors together with a group of the common people and they chose a monk called Paul al-Busi. And he had come at that time from his monastery to be treated, because he was (sick) of hepatic fever, and As-Sahib assisted them in this. And some of the people chose the priest David [I]bn John known as Ibn Laklak, but they did not venture to manifest this, because the mentioned priest (David) (was) well-known (to be) a friend of the elder Nis al-Khilafah [I]bn al-Munkat; and the mentioned elder was an enemy of As-Sahib, not going to him in (his) house, contrary to everyone in the land.

And everyone of |86 whom he heard that he had greeted him (Nis al-Khilafah) in the way, he would work to destroy him, especially he who was his (Nis al-Khilafah’s) friend or his companion; and so everyone who wished for the priest David would conceal it and not manifest it out of fear of As-Sahib. And the case of Paul al-Busi became difficult, and he ²⁰⁰ hastened, and he brought the bishops, and they wrote for him a written testimony in which the majority of the people wrote approving of him out of consideration for As-Sahib. However, some people without importance stood before the Sultan, and they said: «O our Sire, we shall never agree to this Al-Busi, and we have him who is more fit than he». And he (the Sultan) said: «And who is he?» They said: «David Ibn Laklak, and we beg of our Sire that he bring the two of them before him and hear the discourse of both of them and their learning. And he whom he prefers, him we would accept, for our Sire is the representative of God on His earth», and he (the Sultan) settled to bring them both. And the elder Nis al-Khilafah had a discussion with the Sultan concerning this. And he (the Sultan) established the elements, and the terms were arranged between the friends of both (parties), so that they made the amount one thousand dinars. And as for the friends of David, they said that they would borrow it and would arrange for it, and they would not impose it on anyone. And as for the friends of Paul, they had agreed with As-Sahib that they should exact it from the Christians in both Upper and Lower Egypt and all the people without exception. And the Sultan intended to bring them both on an appointed day, because they were both in the district of Cairo (Misr), and that the Patriarch of the Melchites should come with both, and that they should all be present. And the Sultan caused to be brought the jurisconsults and the notables of the people; and there crossed over with David two of his friends, and as for Paul, they did not leave anyone to cross over with him.

And David came out preferred, but the |87 matter came to a standstill on account of what Fakhr ad-Din Uthman had said to the Sultan concerning the offer of As-Sahib. And the people found two parties, and they returned to what they had of hatred and enmity, and the making of false written testimonies against the priest David, and the hearing of them to the Sultan, until they wore out his favour in the case. And the time was short and the days were passing and the Feast ²⁰¹came, and conditions remained as before. And, at the end of this year, there died As-Sahib the wazir, and he was buried at Cairo (al-Kahirah) in a place near to his house which he had constructed for himself. And he had a great bearing forth and a great funeral. All who came from the two cities witnessed it, and the Sultan sent his sons and his relatives, (and) they prayed over him.

Then there entered the year nine hundred and forty-two ²⁰² [1225 AD] in (the month of) Sa‘ban, (in the) year six hundred and twenty-two ²⁰³, and the Nile did not come up fully and did not reach the tax-level ²⁰⁴, and prices fluctuated. And on the eve of Wednesday ²⁰⁵, the sixth of (the month of) Tut ²⁰⁶, the Canal was cut ²⁰⁷ before the time secretly, and no one knew about it, and the price of corn soared, and people sought for it, and the Sultan forbade anyone to sell anything of it at all. Then it (the Nile) reached the tax-level on the mentioned day, and the people were quietened, and they hoped that the water would increase, but the condition continued (thus). And the water decreased, and corn was in this year in great quantity, and the highest price of first class wheat was fixed at twenty dirhams the ardab, and barley, at thirteen dirhams, and beans, at fourteen dirhams, and all (was) at the rate, and nothing was dear, |88 neither meat nor other than it. And the extreme limit to which it (the Nile) reached in this year (was) sixteen fingers above sixteen cubits, and it did not come to completion, and the Nilometer was not completed in this year, and it was not proclaimed. Then (it was) that the Sultan became very suspicious with regard to the amirs, and he fettered another group. Then he seized the sons of As-Sahib and the male slaves, and he punished them, and he demanded from them money. And this time was a time of hardship, because the Sultan demanded the remainder (of the tax) from the people, and he ordered to tax the successors ²⁰⁸, and to demand (from them) money. And he was residing at the protected Citadel, and his son, the Possessor of the Yemen, (was) with him at Cairo (al-Kahirah). And all the troops, after they had gone out, at the end of the Tax Year, to the outskirts of Cairo (al-Kahirah), lived under tents for some days, and all of them were wearing their equipments and their trappings, and they were reviewed, every amir according to his order, and it was a remarkable day, the like of it had not been seen. Then he (the Sultan) commanded that none of them should go out to the Rif, and (that) they should remain at Cairo (al-Kahirah), both the small and the great of them. And gold was during these days unobtainable, so that the exchange reached to forty-four dirhams and a half the dinar, and it continued thus. And the Sultan ordered that a mint should be opened at the Citadel, and another mint at Cairo (Misr), beside the mint which was at Cairo (al-Kahirah). And the mint which was at the Citadel was opened, and round dirhams were struck at it, and gold became extremely dear until it was exhausted, and the dirhams were sold at fifty dirhams for a dinar, and the minimum (was) at forty-seven dirhams for a dinar.

Then the mentioned dirhams were issued, and it was ordered to sell them at thirty-seven dirhams for a dinar, and that the old should be at forty-two |89 dirhams for a dinar, and the people were at this time in great distress and confusion. And the Sultan was demanding the money, and he was collecting it by every means. And the sons of As-Sahib and the male-slaves (were) tortured and punished, and they were selling, and reimbursing. Then (it was) that the water (of the Nile) came up to what was mentioned before, and it was not completed, and it decreased to thirteen cubits. Then it (the water) returned, (and) it increased at the end of (the month of) Babah ²⁰⁹, until it reached some fingers above fifteen cubits. Then it decreased, until it returned to thirteen cubits. Then it returned to increase, until it reached what it had been at first, and it inundated all what the people had sown. And it returned to pass over the Canal, and boats crossed over on it, in the half of (the month of) Hatur ²¹⁰, after it ²¹¹ had become dry and people had walked in it,and everyone marvelled at this affair. And in these days, one of the monks of the Monastery of Abba Macarius ²¹²embraced al-Islam, and he caluminated the monks to the Sultan, and he mentioned that among them (were) those who sought refuge in monasticism from the burden of the tax, and that they had debts and inheritances ²¹³ to the Diwan. And the Sultan ordered that one of the amirs should go out with him to find out about them.

And an amir known as Ibn Sirwin went out with him ²¹⁴, and he reached the monasteries in the Wadi Habib ²¹⁵, and he did not make an investigation, but he |90 seized the monks, and he beat them, and he hanged them, and he punished them, until he imposed on them six hundred dinars. And he extracted from them (the dinars) four hundred dinars, and he brought them with him; and he came to an agreement with them (the monks) that they should collect the other two hundred (dinars) before he returned to take them from them; and he bore the mentioned amount to the Sultan, and it was four hundred dinars. And he said to him: «I went to the monasteries, and I said to the monks: Swear that there is not with you a debt to the Sultan, and they compounded for their oath for six hundred dinars, and I have brought from them (the dinars) four hundred dinars, and the rest I shall bring. And I did not separate from them, until they had collected them». And a group of the chiefs of the monks came, and they stood before the Sultan — may God magnify his victory! — and they complained to him of their affair. And when he understood their affair, he commanded that what had been carried away from them should be returned to them. And. they received it, and they placed it on a dish, and they lighted candies, and they went round all Cairo (al-Kahirah) with it; and it was an affair which amazed everyone, and (it was) a miracle which was manifested on behalf of the fathers of the monasteries. Then he (the Sultan) commanded that they (the people) should not deal with the old dirhams at all, but he who had anything of them, should go with it to the money-changer, and he would receive gold at the rate of forty-five dirhams a dinar, and should return to exchange the gold for the new dirhams at the rate of thirty-seven dirhams for a dinar. And this was in name only, because the gold was not pure, being unobtainable, and everyone who had anything (of it) would not offer it. However, it was in name only, so that their transaction might be justified according to their religion, because they (the Muslims) say that to sell silver for silver is not sanctioned, but forbidden, and likewise gold for gold, and everything like it. And the people were dealing with them ²¹⁶, but in secret; every ten old dirhams they calculated |91 at eight dirhams and a quarter for a new (dirham).

And they used to reduce every dirham by three kharaib ²¹⁷. And the dirhams which were collected at the money-changer were borne to the Citadel ²¹⁸, and they were the very coins which had been struck; and these round dirhams were made without increase or decrease. And there was a gain for the Sultan from them of one hundred and seventy-five dinars for every thousand dinars, and the mint used to make every day one hundred thousand dirhams, the profit of which every day (was) almost five hundred dinars, and conditions continued thus. And the people murmured, and they sustained loss, and they asked help from God the Exalted, but He did not help them. And gold completely disappeared, so that the dinar began to be exchanged at fifty old dirhams, and its possessor would not accept to sell it, and there was not found one to offer it, and the people sustained by this a clear loss, because every dirham (which) the people had went down to a half and a quarter and the half of a quarter, certainly not more. And after this, they struck small coins and they sold them, every four small coins at a quarter of a dirham, and the people were optimistic with them, more than with the new dirhams; and the people remained in this condition perplexed. And messengers of Khawarizm Shah, king of Persia, came and it was not known for what reason they came. And in the Holy Lent of this year the friends of the priest David were stirred to seek the patriarchate for him, and they assembled with a Greek (Rumi) man, a merchant, (who) used to visit frequently the lands from Acre and other than it, and his name was Mufarrag, and he was near to the Sultan — may God magnify his victory! — and to the amir Fakhr ad-Din, equerry of the House ²¹⁹, and they were agreed to pay to the Sultan —may God perpetuate his kingdom! — two thousand dinars for the |92 consecration of David, and he (the Sultan) required one thousand of them in advance, and the other thousand, when the affair of the consecration should be accomplished.

And seven persons of his (David’s) friends assembled, and they went to a man, a merchant, called Al-Hilli, and they borrowed from him a thousand dinars at one thousand two hundred dinars for two months, and they delivered them to Mufar-rag. And the matter was postponed, and the adversaries of David heard of this, and they came together. And they were irate, and they wrote to the Sultan that they were of a different opinion, and the affair between them became serious according to the usual custom. And they accepted (to pay) the two thousand dinars, and they apportioned it over the churches and the Christians, on the condition that David should not be mentioned. And they submitted the affair to the Sultan, and he did not accept (it), but he said to them: «Agree with your companions, and the affair continued thus, and the document of the thousand dinars (was) with Mufarrag. And the Sultan did not return it ²²⁰and he did not accept it, because he was waiting, for their agreement. And during this, he (the Sultan) seized some of the controllers who were hostile to David; and in the end it was decided that there should be written four pieces of paper among all of which (should be the name) David, and that they should be placed on the altar, and (that) he whose name should come out, should be consecrated.However, the friends of David did not agree to the lot ²²¹ because they said: «We have not (another) than our companion and who is like unto him, so that we may associate him with him, and (that) a lot be made between them». And the dispute and the scheming and the strife was very strong, and (there was) a hard time for the people, and especially for the scribes.

And when he (the |93 Sultan) seized those controllers, everyone was fettered by himself, and the discussion (concerning) the patriarchate ceased. And for some of them (the controllers) he took their signatures for ten thousand dinars, and from some of them he took their signatures for live thousand dinars, and from a few three thousand dinars. And the time for the people was hard and severe, though there was cheapness (of prices) in spite of the hardness of the heart of the Sultan towards them. And in this period there arrived the messenger of the Amir of the Faithful Abu Nasr, az-Zahir bi ‘Amr Allah, who had succeeded his father, An-Nasr, because he had died in this year, from Baghdad, and with him splendid robes of honour, black (and) gold embroidered, and there arrived among them those which were tailored with gold, as prescribed for the riding out of the great Sultan. And the Sultan and his sons wore the robes of honour together with the turbans. And he caused his notables and the great ones of the amirs to be clothed with robes of honour less rich; and to him among them who wore the turban, he gave a turban, and to him among them who wore a high head-dress ^(:!), he gave a high head-dress, and all this (was) from what came from Bagdad (Baghdad). And that day was a remarkable clay. And there arrived after that a messenger of the King of ar-Rum ²²², the Possessor of Iconium and Philomelion, and a messenger of the Kurd, and many messengers from every place; and alarming news was spread after that, that the Khawarizm Shah had overcome the troops of the Kurd and had conquered Tiflis and ? Ancyra, and the news concerning this spread.

And after this, the delaywas drawn out for the friends of the priest David, and the owner of the thousand dinars demanded it together with its interest from them, because they had taken it from him for two months for |94 one thousand two hundred dinars. And when the two months were passed, they gave to him another interest ²²³. And they consulted the Sultan, and they took back the mentioned thousand dinars, and they returned it to its owner with its interest; and the crowds kept silent and idle talk ceased. Then the Nile came, and it flowed well, then it decreased from the sixteenth of (the month of) Abib ²²⁴ up to the twentieth of it, (to) the extent of ten fingers. Then the decrease was regained, and it increased to the normal increase. And in these days the news arrived that Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam, Sultan of Syria, had departed from Damascus, making for Hamab, and that he ⁵ had stirred up Khawarizm Shah against the Land of Khilat which is a possession of Al-Malik al-Asraf, the Possessor of the East, and the Sultan, the Possessor of Egypt, (who was) before him ²²⁵. And he commanded the Egyptian troops to go out to the Land of Jerusalem and the Littoral and what bordered Damascus, and they pillaged and they burned and they took captives, and they had equipped for this. And the people after this (were) in straits and ruin on account of the dirhams and their differences, and the word of the Sultan not to use the old dirham. And it was abundant in the hands of the people, and also for their detestation of the new dirham, because they used to lose by it the fourth of their money, because they used to come to the money-changers or to the Mint, and for forty-five old dirhams they would be given thirty-seven new dirhams. And value for value and standard for standard, their loss would be the quarter or less than it.

And the proclamation continued that he who dealt with it ²²⁶ should lose his wealth and his blood ²²⁷, and (that) that which was found with him should |95 be burned with him, and (it should be) a warning; and gold was very scarce. And the Sultan ordered that the exchange of the dinar with the new (dirhams) should be forty dirhams for a dinar. And if a man came to a money-changer to seek from him a dinar for dirhams, he (the moneychanger) would not take less than forty-three and a half new dirhams, otherwise, he would deny that he had any gold at all. And the people were in this manner in great hardship, though prices were cheap and things were to be found, and the reason of it (was that) poverty and distress overpowered the people. And the tax ²²⁸ was exacted in this year from the Dhimah ²²⁹, two dinars for every head ²³⁰ (who) exchanged forty-eight old dirhams for one dinar; (and) the tax amounted to one hundred dirhams in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and as for the towns outside, the tax amounted to one hundred and twenty dirhams. And people were delegated from the Sultanic Highness, called surveyors and inspectors, (who) went out to the southern and the northern districts, and they imposed on the people taxes, among which (was) that they demanded from them the dues of the cemeteries and the graves, and the value of the bricks and the stones with which they built their houses. And they laid claim to the property of the houses, and they demanded of them (the possessors) a proof (of possession), and they said: «All lands are the property of the Sultan, and you from whence have you possessed this? Prove (it) by the law (as-Sharia’) otherwise, everything (is) the property of the Sultan. And begin (to pay) the rent from the time you have dwelt (there) and up to now». And they revised for them the surveyance for the rent and other than it, and they increased it for them; and those who evaluated multiplied, and the doors were opened to them, and a great amount was collected in this manner which impoverished all the people.

And there was in |96 Cairo (Misr) a man called ‘Abd al-Kadr and he had guaranteed the tribute of the Dhimah ²³¹ in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr). And they suffered great harm from him, and he used to oppress them exceedingly, and he would stop their work and he would take their female slaves and their male slaves (Mamalik) by forced, and he would shut them up in confinement, and he would say: «These (are) Muslims, and you have corrupted them and have prevailed over them. And either you pay extra for them or their work will be stopped». And the lords of the State used to aid him in this to inform them of their ²³² origin. And in this year the canal of Adh-Dhikr which (is) from the bridge of Maqs was opened, and it penetrated to the canal of Cairo (al-Kahirah) known as Al-Hakimi, and there was made at its month a dam which was joined to the usual dam. And in this year the two rivers ²³³met in the day-time of Friday, the seventh of (the month of) Misra ²³⁴ which corresponds to the fourth of (the month of) Sa‘ban of the year six hundred and twenty three ²³⁵ [1227 AD], and the price(s) were cheap and things were to be found, except that wages were very miserable. Then (it was) that the Sultan — may God empower his victory! — resolved to set out for Syria on account of a dispute which had occurred between him and his brother, the Possessor of Damascus. And he ordered the amirs and the soldiers to make preparations for their affairs, and the movement concerning this was strengthened, and the people prepared themselves as they could, and they went out to the Lake ²³⁶.

And on Wednesday, the twenty-six of (the month of) Misra ²³⁷, |97 which corresponds to the twenty-third of (the month of) Sa‘ban (in the) year six hundred and twenty-three ²³⁸ there arrived a solitary from Upper Egypt and he announced that the Nile would come to its measure on……..²³⁹; and the Nile was at that time at Cairo (Misr) at one finger above sixteen (cubits), and it became on the twenty-seventh of (the month of) Misra ²⁴⁰increased by three fingers, and on the twenty-eighth by three fingers, and on the twenty-ninth by one finger, and it stayed at eight fingers above sixteen cubits. Then it stopped at the end of (the month of) Misra ²⁴¹ and the beginning of (the month of) an-Nasi ²⁴², and maybe it fluctuated. And on this day there arrived the news of the death of the Imam Az-Zahir Abu Nasr Muhammad, the new caliph, and he did not (reign) more than six months. And the immolation ²⁴³ for him was made at the Birkat al-Hubb ²⁴⁴ on the mentioned day, and it was Monday, the first of (the month of) An-Nasi, and the Sultan was departing, purposing (to march to) Syria. And the prices were cheap, and things were available, except that the people were weak in the extreme, and the State was harsh on them.

Then the year nine hundred and forty-three of the Martyrs ²⁴⁵ [1227 AD] entered, and the water (of the Nile) did not fluctuate. Then it increased, and the dam of the two canals of Al-Manga were opened, the first on Tuesday, the fourth of (the month of) Tut ²⁴⁶, and the measure reached its normal on Wednesday, the fifth ²⁴⁷, and the Canal ²⁴⁸ was |98 opened according to the custom on Thursday the sixth ²⁴⁹. And as for the New Canal from Al-Maks, from the canal known as the canal of Adh-Dh k r, it had been opened before. Then the canal Al-Hakimi rejoined it, and there was made for it a dam at the Bab al-Kantarah at the side of the square (al-Maidan) which (is) there. And the increase of the Nile continued up to the fourteenth of (the month of) Babah ²⁵⁰, and it reached twelve fingers above eighteen cubits. And it was among the wonders of the world, because it was not related (that) a Nile had stopped at such a stopping, and had come to such a coming up; (and) then had decreased to such a decrease slowly from two fingers and from three, and all things became cheap. And Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam, the Possessor of Syria became reconciled to Al-Malik al-Asraf, the Possessor of the East, (and with) his brother, the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil — may God empower his victory! — and the hatred which was between them vanished; and our Sire, Al-Malik al-Kamil, returned with his troops from Al-‘Abbasah to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected. And condition(s) became settled in his noble kingdom, and he extended justice to the subjects, and he dispensed goodness to them; and they were days of abundance and of many good things. Then the news arrived concerning the caliph Al-Imam Al-Mustansir Abu Ga’far Al-Mansur, and prayers were said for him, and the coinage was struck in his name, and he was the son of Al-Imam Az-Zahir Abu Nasr Muhammad the deceased. And in these days, the Sire, Al-Malik al-Mas‘ud, the Possessor of the Yemen prepared to go to his land, and he despatched most of his goods by sea, and he also was resolved to go by sea. Then he changed his opinion about this, and he caused his camp to go out to the Birkat, and his resolution was |99 strengthened to travel by land.

Then (it was) that the Sultan — may God empower his victory! — began to descend frequently at the belvedere of the Birkat known as the Belvedere of Saif al-Islam. And he would command the inhabitants at it to illuminate it on the nights on which he descended there; and he launched on the Birkat boats and fire-ships, and he used to sail in them (the boats) every night, and to go round under its houses, and to give presents to the people, bestowing on them dinars and dirhams and food and drinks and fruits beside these, and he would drew nigh to the people and he would converse with them. And the people used to show ingenuity in what they did in the way of illumination and other than it. And these days were days of pleasure and entertainment and enjoyment and. abundance and security. (And) the Sultan —may God perpetuate his kingdom! —used to go frequently from the Birkat to the Island ²⁵¹, and from the Island to the Birkat, and the nights of the Birkat were marvellous and wonderful to an extreme. And al-Malik al-Mas^cud made efforts to journey to the Yemen, and he returned ²⁵² with military equipment, and he took for him from all the artisans him who would travel with him to his land, and he prepared himself for (travel on) land and sea, and he journeyed to the Yemen over Mecca on land. Then (it was) that the crops were excellent and good things were abundant, and the prices became cheap, and affairs were quiet, and the world under the shadow of the Sultan was secure. And Al-Malik al-Mas’ud in this year sent a man from the inhabitants of India. His form (was) the form of human beings, but on all his face and his body (there was) hair, and wool like the wool of a bear so that his beard was not distinguished from the hair of his face; and with him (there was) an interpreter (who) spoke with him in Indian. And he (the hairy man) related that (he was) from the inhabitants of a house, all of them thus, the men and the women of them.

And the Sultan gave to |100 him a lodging, and he was generous towards him, and he appointed for him and additional allowance to support him. And the blessed Lent came, and no talks took place concerning the affair of the patriarchate or other than it. And there occurred in it ²⁵³ an evil occurrence, and it happened that one of the scribes known as Al-As^‘ad Ibn al-Kardus was serving as a scribe in the prosperous Treasury, and he had brought from the port of Alexandria merchandise according to the custom, and the evening came upon them before they had examined it, and they left it in the outer boxes. And when it was morning, they controlled by the list the merchandise, and the found (that) the Sousan linen was missing from it. And they said: «Who was in the Treasury yesterday, while the cloth was being placed in it?». And some of them mentioned this Al-As^‘ad the scribe. And [I]bn Ramadan, the possessor of the Diwan, wrote to the Sultan an account of what had happened. And the Sultan commanded to seize all of them and to take precautions against then. And he seized all of them, and. a guard was set over their womenfolk. And the mentioned Al-As^‘ad was the intended (person) among them, and his son was seized, and he was punished, and he bore witness against his father that he had taken it. Then the Sousan linen was produced after that by a person, an assessor in the Treasury. He mentioned that a woman had cast it down for evidence, and with it a piece of paper, and she left them and she fled; and that (when) they looked at it, (they recognized) that it was from the house of Al-As^‘ad [I]bn al-Kardus, and that the piece of paper was from them. And on it (was): «Conceal what God hath concealed, and have mercy, (and) you shall find mercy», and something (like) this.

And he bore it straightway to the Sultan together with what had been submitted in the way of the witnessing of his son against him (Al-As^‘ad). And the Sultan commanded that his |101 (Al-As‘ad’s) right hand he cut off; and every amir in the State interceded for him, but he (the Sultan) did not accept, and his (Al-As‘ad’s) hand was cut off on Sunday, and he died on the following Sunday; and he was patient satisfied, and thankful to God the Exalted, and he did not confess anything at all. And hardship and persecution befell the denomination for a number of days, especially, the scribes. Then the corn ripened, and prices became cheap, so that wheat was sold in the land of the Sa‘id (Upper Egypt) for four dirhams and a half the ardab, and the barley for three dirhams the ardab and likewise the rambling vetch and the lupines, and as for the turnips and the linseed, they were sold for eight dirhams the ardab; and it was something the like of which had not been heard. And linseed-oil, for thirty dirhams an oil-measure, and the water-melons, for a dirham the kantar, and grapes, for seven dirhams the kantar, and all eatables of this kind. And there were good things, the like of which had not been related since a number of years, only the amount of the provisions was little, and the earnings were small. And the people were complaining of their stagnant conditions, so that a group of the grain-merchants left their shops and deserted the markets on account of the stagnation. And the exchange of gold declined until it reached forty-one dirhams and a half for a dinar. And the time of the blessed Nile came, and it (the flood-water) stopped at first, then it flowed swiftly, then it stopped for some days in the (month of) Misra ²⁵⁴, and it decreased one or two fingers, then it regained them and increased.

Then there entered the year nine hundred and forty-four ²⁵⁵ [1228 AD], and the water had not reached its plenitude. Then its increase continued, and it reached its plenitude on Thursday, the fourth of (the month of) Tut ²⁵⁶, and it increased until it reached ten lingers above seventeen cubits on the eighteenth of (the month of) Tut ²⁵⁷, and it decreased from the nineteenth of it (Tut) ²⁵⁸ considerably, and the |102 fields came forth, and the prices fluctuated somewhat, then they decreased to their limit. And the Sultan ordered the amirs and the soldiers to go forth to the outskirts of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and to be dressed and ranged in ranks so that he might go out to review them on horses in the desert. And they did this, and all of them went out with those who collected with them in the way of Bedouins and companions and foot-soldiers. And it was a great assembly and a remarkable day, and they were in their uniforms, rank by rank, on the right and the left and in the centre, from the Gate of Cairo ²⁵⁹ to the Birkat al-Gubb. And the Sultan passed by them on horseback, inspecting rank by rank, and checking all of them, and he numbered them and he left them. And he passed from one to another rank on Tuesday, the fourteenth of (the month of) Sawal of the year six hundred and twenty-four ²⁶⁰. And he (the Sultan) commanded them to return from the desert’, and (that) every amir and his company should pass the night in his home, not in the tents; and (that) when it was morning they should pass by him. And there did not remain to any amir in his camp, except one tent according to his order, no more. And they passed the night, and when it was morning, they passed by the tent which the Sultan had erected on a mound near to the Gate an-Nasr, and around it wooden gratings, and its roof was nailed; and he (the Sultan) was sitting behind the grating with his intimates and the learned men from the servants of his State.

And the amirs began |103 to pass by him (the Sultan), every amir in the order arranged for them, according to the paper that such a one (should come) after such a one, and such a one, after such a one, and no one might transgress this. And the first of those who passed was the Sire, Al-Malik as-Salah, son of the Sultan, because he was the head of the right (wing). And the amirs continued to pass on Wednesday, the fifteenth of (the month of) Sawal the aforementioned, from the prayer of the morning to the cry of the muezzin of the evening, rank after rank, so that there was no interruption of the passing by for one moment, except at the end of one rank and the beginning of that one which (was) after it; the wings (of the army), and the dromedaries, and the troops and the chain-mail men, and those with the trappings, and the drummers, and the trumpeters, so that the earth quaked, and there were troops the like of which had not been related. Then the Sultan passed by in the evening, after the passing-by of them all. Then he ordered them that they should girth (their horses), and should ride in the daytime of Sunday, the nineteenth of (the month of) Sawal which followed the aforementioned Wednesday, on account of the presentation of the Sire, Al-Malik al-‘Adil, his youngest son; and they dressed, and they rode, but not as on the first two days, but they were more limited than that, and they went forth in the direction of the Mosque (Gama‘) [I]bn Tulun under the Citadel, and they pranced, and a banquet was made at the square which (is) there. And the Sultan descended from the Citadel on horseback, and he passed by the ranks, and he passed by the banquet, and the commanded it (to commence), and the people snatched away it (the food) according to the custom, and he went up to the protected Citadel.

Then his |104 son was presented, and he caused to be circumcised with him a crowd of the sons of the people and of the beggars who had no means of support, in order to receive through them the forgiveness of God. And the affair took place, when he (the Sultan) descended at the Birkat al-Fil, and he drank at it, and (there were) gifts and presents and favours and fuel of the two banks and garments for the people; and he launched boats and fire-ships on it (the lake), as had taken place in the past year. And after that, the Sultan — may God empower his victory! — went out to the port of Alexandria to examine its conditions and to see after its affairs, because there was a rumour that the enemy ²⁶¹ was active. And the news arrived in (the month of) Dhu’l-Higgah (in the) year six hundred and twenty-four ²⁶² concerning the death of Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam, Sultan of Damascus and Jerusalem, and of the enthronement of his son Al-Malik an-Nasr after him in his kingdom. And the affair was settled for him, and condolence was offered at Alexandria by the presence of the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil. And conditions remained as they had been before, and the prices were low and things were abundant and good (and) available, only the people were complaining of the insufficiency of the means of livelihood, and the lack of profit and the scarcity of the dirham and the dinar.

And in these days, at the end of (the month of) Kihak ²⁶³, the Sultan, Al-Malik al-Kamil returned from the port of Alexandria, and he made his way by the monasteries, the Monastery of Abba ([A]bu) Macarius in the Wadi Habib,²⁶⁴ |105 and he descended at it, and the monks entertained him and all who were with him, and they multiplied for them good things of what was found with the monks. And the Sultan was gracious to them, and he signed (an order) for them for five hundred ardabs of corn, three hundred of wheat and barley, and one hundred of beans and a hundred of chick-peas. And he honoured them and he drew them nigh to him, and he protected them, and he wrote for them an announcement, that he who became a monk should not be forced (to pay) a tax, and (that) he should not be requested (to do) it; and that whatsoever monk died, his inheritance (should be) for the monastic community, and (that it should) not (be) for the heirs according to the flesh who belonged to him, and (that) there (should be) no vexation for it (the monastic community) from the diwans of the Sultan. And they spoke with him about the affair of the patriarch and they said to him: «O our Sire, we are without a patriarch, and our conditions have deteriorated, and there were at this monastery over eighty priests who (were) in it, and to-day (there are) only four, because there is not found he who has been ordained in place of them». And he said to them: «Choose him whom you will, and I shall advance him for you». They said: «O our Sire, we have no money, and the patriarch is asked (to pay) money». And he said to them: «Agree on him whom you wish, and no one shall demand of you anything». And their decision was not confirmed for anyone. And the Sultan departed from them, and he was grateful to them, and thus the rest of the troops. Then (there occurred) the arrival of the messenger of the Sultan who had gone with the messenger of the Emperor ²⁶⁵, who had arrived in the Tax-Year, and there arrived with him another messenger on the part of the mentioned Emperor, except that he was not like that messenger in his honours, but he was below him; and he brought with him gifts of horses and cloths and jewels, and carnivorous animals ²⁶⁶, and he stayed according to the custom. And |106 the Sultan —may God empower his victory! —started to journey to Syria, he and his troops, and he set out from Cairo (al-Kahirah) on Sunday, the twenty-ninth of (the month of) Abib ²⁶⁷ of the mentioned year. And he journeyed directly, and he descended at Tall al-‘Aglul; his dwelling ²⁶⁸, between Daron and Gaza, after he had appointed as his representative in Egypt his son, Al-Malik as-Salah, and had established him as Sultan in it, and had made him vicegerent in it.

And there entered the year nine hundred and forty-five ²⁶⁹ [1229 AD]. Then the Sultan transferred from Tall Al-‘Aglul from dwelling to dwelling, until he reached Sichem (Nablus), and he stayed in it, and his armies went on directly to the castle of [I]bn Mu‘in ad-Din, and he passed by Jerusalem, and the Littoral from Daron up to the mentioned Castle. And, in the meantime, there arrived the Emperor ²⁷⁰from the West in Cyprus, and from Cyprus (he went) to Acre, and his messengers came to the Sultan with precious gifts and a great suite. And they were two distinguished persons, one of the two of them was the Possessor of Sidon, and the other, the Count Thomas, viceroy of the King ²⁷⁰, and the Sultan received them with a great reception; and all the troops rode on the day of their arrival, and they were accorded |107 great honours, and messengers returned from the Sultan to them, and from them to the Sultan. And this Emperor was a wise man, gracious, of good intention, and praiseworthy in reputation ²⁷¹, and the condition continued thus. And the Sultan —may God empower his victory! —bestowed on him gifts of precious stones and mules and dromedaries and camels and cloths, and besides this rarities of kings. And after that the Sultan departed from Sichem. and he returned to Magdalia, (and) he descended at it, and he transferred from the camp to villages in the neighbourhood of Ascalon, and there, there reached him his brother, Al-Malik al-Asraf, the Possessor of the East, on the day of the Feast of ‘Aid al-Adhaof the year six hundred and twenty-five ²⁷², and it was a remarkable day. And the messengers of the Emperor did not interrupt (coming), and the Sultan — may God empower his victory! — sent to bring from Egypt the elephant which Al-Malik al-Ma‘sud, the Possessor of the Yemen and the Higaz had brought in company with a number of elephants, and there had not remained of them except it, because all of them had died. And he sent the mentioned elephant to the Emperor and the Emperor departed from Acre, and he descended at Jaffa to rebuild it, after the building of Caesarea. And the Nile of Egypt reached in this year to twenty fingers above seventeen cubits. And prices were very slack in it (the year), and Syria (was) the contrary of this. And the troops were in straits, and (there was) dearth, so that they sold their horses and their equipment. |108

And the Sultan departed (and) he descended at Tall al-‘Aglul, (and) he stayed in it, and Al-Malik al-Asraf with him. And Al-Malik an-Nasir, son of Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam, Possessor of Damascus returned to deliver up his land from Ghor to Gaza, and there did not remain in the hand of the Sultan (anything) of Syria, except Gaza and Daron. And there reached the Sultan at this dwelling ²⁷³ Al-Malik al-Mugahid ²⁷⁴, the Possessor of Emesa (Hims), (and) he stayed with him for a time. And the messengers of the Emperor ²⁷⁵ were coming and going, and he was at Jaffa, and the messengers of the Sultan were coming and going to him also. And, in the meantime, Al-Malik al-Asraf departed, and there departed with him the Possessor of Emesa. And confidents from the troops of Damascus used to come frequently for the service of the Sultan, and he would welcome them and would give to them (gifts); and he would bestow on them robes of honour and he would give to them fiefs. And a number did not come, and the last of those who came was ‘Izz ad-Din Aidmar, and he was the noblest of their amirs, and he held the rank of equerry of the House and more than that. And the Sultan gave to him in the way of favours what is not to be described, and he was generous to him, and he brought him nigh to him, and he raised his rank, and he gave to him, among all of what he gave to him, the house of the Companion Sukr in Cairo (al-Kahirah) for a dwelling, and he treated him with great kindness.

And at this time, corn fluctuated at Cairo (Misr), and wheat reached fifty dinars for one |109 hundred ardabs and barley like it, or a little less; then it decreased a little, and the wheat became eighteen dirhams the ardah and the barley, thirteen dirhams. And it was spread abroad that the Sultan —may God empower his victory! —had made peace with the Emperor, on the terms that he (the Sultan) would give to him (the Emperor) Jerusalem and some towns of his (the Sultan’s) districts, and they were those which are on the way from Acre to him (the Emperor), and Bethlehem (was) among all these. Then the rumour was confirmed, and the Emperor received the city of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and Lydda, and what came after that from Jerusalem up to Acre, and Jaffa. And it was in the course of this time that he (the Emperor) had (re-)built Caesarea, and Jaffa. And the affair was confirmed between him (the Emperor) and the Sultan — may God perpetuate his kingdom! And the Emperor passed over to Jerusalem at the beginning of the Noble Fast ²⁷⁶ of this year, and it was a great day, and they (the Muslims) received the (Dome of) the Rock. Then the Emperorstayed in Jerusalem two days, not more, and he went out from it to Acre, and he remained at it until the completion of the Feast ²⁷⁷, and he appointed in the lands deputies whom he trusted, and he travelled by sea to his land.

And the Sultan, Al-Mulik al-Asraf, |110 had taken some of the troops, and he turned to Damascusto descend on it; and the great Sultan, Al-Malik al-Kamil, joined him, and they all descended together on it. And the troops from Syria and the East assembled with them, and they straitened it, and they besieged it and they fought against it. And, in the meantime, news arrived of the death of Al-Malik al-Mas‘ud, the Possessor of the Yemen and the Higaz, at Mecca, because he had departed from the Yemen, making for the Land of Egypt. And he brought with him all what he found, and all his rarities, and all what he had acquired, and (what) his predecessor had acquired in the course of time, and he despatched it by land and by sea, and he died at Mecca. And his possessions and his treasures reached Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected, and it was a great collection, not to be described. And praise (be) to the Living (One) Who dieth not! And there arrived his wives and his family and his male-slaves after that. And prices became cheap in Egypt, and they returned to their limits. And the besieging and the fighting continued at Damascus, and messengers were coming and going between the Sultan and the son of his brother, until it was decided that he should deliver up Damascus, and should be satisfied with Al-Karak ²⁷⁸ and Sichem and Ghor and Al-Balka, and the rest of the land of Jerusalem. And the Sultan received it on the eighth of (the month of) Sa‘ban (in the) year six hundred and twenty-six ²⁷⁹.

And it was decided, that Al-Malik al-Asraf should give it (Damascus) on the condition, that there should be delivered to him Edessa (Ruha) |111 and Harran and Sarug and the fortress and what comes after it, and the amirs of the Sultan and his confidents went to deliver those. And when they delivered up these lands, (then) Al-Malik al-Asraf would deliver up Damascus. And the Sultan (Al-Malik al-Asraf) transferred from it (Damascus) to other than it. And the Nile stopped (rising) in this year considerably, at its beginning, so that the twenty-fifth of (the month of) Abib ²⁸⁰ came, and it was at live cubits. Then it flowed very much from the twenty-sixth of it ²⁸¹. And the wheat and the corn were both of them expensive, and the wheat was sold at twenty dirhams the ardab in secret, because its sale was forbidden, except to those who were in need among the millers, at sixteen dirhams the ardab. Then the Nile rose considerably from the twenty-six of (the month of) Abib ²⁸², so that it used to increase daily twenty fingers or about that. And the two rivers ²⁸³ met on the night ²⁸⁴ of Thursday, the ninth of (the month of) Misra ²⁸⁵. And the prices decreased and the people were assured, and it (the river) reached the measure in the daytime of Tuesday, the twenty-first of the mentioned Misra ²⁸⁶, and cheapness increased, and the people were assured in the way of food and what resembled it.

And, in these days, the news arrived that the Sultan had levied troops and had despatched them from Damascus to Hamah to take it and to deliver it up to the son |112 of his brother, Al-Malik al-Muzaffar [I]bn al-Malik al-Mansur [I]bn Taki ad-Din, because it was the promise to him from his father that it (should be) for him after him. And the death of his father occurred, and he was with the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil in the Land of Egypt, at the time when the Franks (were) at Damietta. And he prevailed over him, as regards the right (of succession), and a blood brother to him, called Al-Malik an-Nasir, took precedence over him, and he remained at it (Damascus) for a period, and Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam used to support him. And when Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam died, and Damascus had been conquered, the Sultan —may God empower his victory! — wished that every one should obtain his rightful due. And he gave orders to the troops, and they marched with the mentioned Al-Malik al-Muzzafar, and they descended on Hamah, and they attacked it, and they beseiged it, but Al-Malik an-Nasir who was in it fortified the fortress and strengthened it. And it was an impregnable fortified fortress, and he stored up in it in the way of provisions what was sufficient for many years; and the town remained besieged, and (there was) fighting at it. And the Nile ²⁸⁷ at Cairo (Misr) stopped, and it decreased a few fingers, after it had reached the tax level ²⁸⁸, and tbe people distrusted it.

Then the year nine hundred and forty-six ²⁸⁹ entered [1230 AD], and the Nile came up to sixteen cubits at the beginning of (the month of) Tut ¹⁰, and it reached its measure a second time in the daytime of Thursday. And the Canal was cut on the mentioned day, and it was a great day; and prices were lowered and |113 they decreased, and good things and provisions were plentiful. And Hamah surrendered peacefully, because its Possessor had departed from it, seeking the service of the Sultan, and that he might be conciliated with him, and precautions were taken against him. And those who remained behind him in the fortress saw that (there was) a separation between them and him, and (that) there was nothing for them (to do) except to enter into communication with his brother, Al-Malik al-Muzzafar, and to cause him to come up to the fortress. And they delivered up to him the kingdom, at the beginning of (the month of) Sawal of the mentioned year. And the Egyptian troops returned, and their leader (was) the amir Fakhr ad-Din, equerry of the House, and they descended on Ba‘albekk, and they besieged it, but they did not remain at it, except for a few days, until they took the city, and it was a protection to the fortress for a long time, because its possessor was an elderly governor. And Al-Malik al-Asraf caused the troops to descend on the mentioned fortress to besiege it, and to prevent him who would go up to it, or (that) provisions should be borne to it. And the troops in the service of the Sultan proceeded to Harran, because the Sultan had gone before, at the time of the descent of the troops on Hamah, and the Sultan had taken from Al-Malik al-Asraf Harran and Edessa and Sarug and Raqqah and Raz al-‘Ain. And he (the Sultan) stayed in the mentioned lands to guard them, and he directed their conditions.

And Khwarizm Shah came, and he was the greatest king of Persia, and he descended on Khilat, and he besieged it and he cut off from it provisions, and he took precautions against it. And he had, as regards armies, an incalculable (number), and he passed the winter at it, and its possessors were holding it tenaciously, until |114 the winter had passed. And he (Khwarizm Shah) advanced to it, and he fought against it, and he took it with the sword, and he killed in it a great company of soldiers and of the inhabitants of the town. Then he ceased killing them, and when the Sultan learned of this, he returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected, in (the month of) Bau’unah ²⁹⁰ which corresponded to the month of Ragab of the mentioned year, and he entered into it on the eighteenth day of it ²⁹¹. And his son, during the period of his absence, had been harsh on the common people, and he had oppressed the subjects, and he had begun to employ them on forced labour without wages in a garden and on a belvedere which he was building. And when the Sultan learned of this, he removed him, and he took those who were around him and those who were making this seem good to him. Some of them he fettered and some of them he beat, and he expropriated them, and some he exiled. And he caused to return to the diwans the employees, and he punished them for the acquittance of the money and the exaction of the rest of the affairs, and no one was in (such) affliction as they were. And he cast the elder Nis al-Khilafat [A]bu’l-Fatuh into a dungeon a second time, because he had commanded him that he should go out to Alexandria and examine it. And he excused himself and he sought exemption from this, and he (the Sultan) was enraged against him, and he commanded him to be cast into the dungeon. And the Nile ²⁹² stopped up to the end of (the month of) Abib ²⁹³, and the price of corn fluctuated until it reached twenty dirhams the ardab of wheat, and of barley, ten dirhams and a half the ardab, and the people were alarmed at this. Then the Nile stopped until the tenth of (the month of) Misra ²⁹⁴ came, and it was at four cubits. And wheat was sought for, and twenty-six or twenty-seven dirhams the ardab was paid for it. Then it was cried, and it was priced |115 at twenty dirhams the ardab, and the barley at twelve dirhams the ardab, and likewise the beans. And the Sultan took a decision about this, a decision the like of which had not been seen.

Then God the Exalted was gracious, and He gave the Nile a great, uninterrupted, drive from the eleventh of (the month of) Misra ²⁹⁵ up to the twentieth of it ²⁹⁶; and it increased in ten days seven cubits, and the two rivers ²⁹⁷were joined on Wednesday, the twenty-first of (the month of) Misra ²⁹⁸. And it was the third (day) of the Feast of the Muslims, which was the Lesser Bairam, and the people rejoiced at this with a great rejoicing, and the prices decreased, and the people were happy, and they were optimistic for good things. And the Nile rose after this until the twenty-fifth of (the month of) Misra ²⁹⁹, and it used to increase every day half a cubit. Then its increase decreased till Sunday the second of the Intercalary Month (an-Nasi) ³⁰⁰, and it was the fourteenth of (the month of) Sawal (in the) year six hundred and twenty-seven ³⁰¹, and it (the Nile) stopped, and it had reached some lingers above fourteen cubits. And the news arrived concerning the defeat of Khwarizm on Tuesday, the sixteenth of (the month of) Sawal of the mentioned year, which corresponded to the fourth of the Intercalary Month ³⁰², and the good news about this was proclaimed for three days. And there was bestowed upon the messenger who arrived from Damascus with the news, splendid robes of honour, and he was given a mare with a leathern apron and gold |116 sequins and a thousand dinars in a purse, and he rode with that, and he went round Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr).

And there entered the year nine hundred and forty-seven of the Righteous Martyrs ³⁰³ [1231 AD] in the daytime of Thursday, the twelfth of (the month of) Sawal (in the) year six hundred and twenty-seventh of the Lunar (Year) ³⁰⁴. And the Nile had stopped, and the people were distressed at that, and wheat was priced at twenty dirhams the ardah, and it was not sold, except to the millers according to the quantity they were wont to use, or by an allowance from the governor. And (as regards) grain, its price fluctuated, and bread was eight ratls a dirham. And the Canal was cut, without (the river) being full, on Wednesday the seventh of (the month of) Tut ³⁰⁵ which corresponded to the twenty-fourth of (the month of) Sawal (in the) year six hundred and twenty-seven, and it (the Canal) remained up to two days before it reached the Bab al-Khark, and after three days it reached up to the Wicket Gate, and it stopped there. And the water reached up to twenty-three fingers above fourteen cubits; and no one drank in this year from the Canal, and. no water-carrier drew water from it, and no ferry-boat was required on it, because it could be waded; and it decreased from the seventeenth of (the month of) Tut ³⁰⁶ which was the Feast of the Cross. And there came in the mentioned (month of) Tut a heat, the like of which had not been seen.

Then the Nile recovered some of the deficiency on the twenty-fourth of (the month of) Tut ³⁰⁷ up |117 to its end, some fingers which were of no avail for it, and the prices rose. And the Sultan ordered a price-control and that the wheat should not be sold, except at twenty dirhams the ardab, and he allotted to every granary a limited amount for the sake of the millers. And the people refrained from selling and procuring corn, and the affair became oppressive for the people, and bread became unobtainable in the markets; and if it were found, there would be in it, in the way of impurities, what is not to be described; afterwards, the taste and the smell were altered, because the people were not wont to sell the wheat, except the old and weeviled, and the millers were not wont to find other than it. And they used to make (it) secretly in this state and weeviled; and they were not able to buy anything, because the allottment (of the wheat was) for the millers, and they did not give anything of it to anyone. And the possessors of the wheat would not accept to sell anything at this price, except under constraint; and this state remained till the beginning of (the month of) Hatur ³⁰⁸, and wheat was lacking. And the Sultan ordered to set free the price, and on the day of its setting free it (the wheat) was sold for sixty dirhams the ardab. Then it (the price) went back to forty (dirhams), and it continued thus for a period. And as for linseed-oil, it reached to one hundred and two dirhams a jar, and then it went down to ninety (dirhams) and below this, and it continued thus, and it was the most profitable of the merchandise in this year; and likewise what regards grains and turnips. And in (the month of) Tubah ³⁰⁹ of the mentioned year, he (the Sultan) ordered to dig out the Canal of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he imposed (this) on the possessors of houses and gardens which (were) at it, and the people accepted that and they suffered thereby much loss.

And the House ³¹⁰ used to impose a fine of thirty dirhams and below it according to the value of the house and |118 its width. And, likewise, he ordered in all the lands that their canals should be dug out and their causeways should be strengthened, and (that) there should be opened for them (the lands) new channels which would provide irrigation from the small branches of the Nile; and all this (was imposed) on those who had fiefs and the inhabitants of the lands. Then he (the Sultan) ordered towards the end of (the month of) Amsir ³¹¹that the Canal of Cairo (Misr) should be dug out from the side of the House of the King up to the mouth of the Canal of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he imposed this on the possessors of houses in Cairo (Misr) and Roda which (were) at the canal. And they imposed this as a duty on the people, and they made it with measuring-rods, the measuring-rod being seven cubits long, to the width of four or five rods, according: to the distance of the place from the canal or its nearness, with a depth of fifteen cubits exactly; and the measuring-rod represented ten dinars and more. And the price(s) fluctuated, and wheat reached to sixty dirhams the ardab, and barley, to thirty dirhams, and all the cereals in proportion. And the river ³¹² dried up, the like of which had not been related, and the boulders in it appeared from (the month of) Amsir ³¹³, and they scraped the small boats; and it was said that these (the boulders) which (were) at the bottom of the river ³¹⁴at the time mentioned, (were) three and three-quarter cubits. And the condition continued thus, and the prices (were) high, and the people (were) in great affliction, because their conditions were straitened to an extreme.

And the twenty-fifth of (the month of) Bau’unah ³¹⁵ came in which the conditions of the Nile are forecast; and at the bottom (there was) one and three-quarter |119 cubits ³¹⁶, and it was little, the like of which had not been related, and the water stopped all (the month of) Abib ³¹⁷. Then it increased in (the month of) Misra ³¹⁸, and it came to fifteen cubits; then it stopped (during) the Intercalary Month (an-Nasi) ³¹⁹, and the people despaired of it.

Then there entered the year nine hundred and forty-eight of the Righteous Martyrs ³²⁰ [1232 AD] and the two canals of Al-Manga were cut for fear of the decrease of the water ³²¹, and likewise all the large canals ³²². And God permitted its ³²³ increase, and it increased in (the month of) Tut ³²⁴, a thing (which) had not been known at all. And it (the Nile) came up to its measure on the ninth of it (Tut) ³²⁵, and its increase was completed at ten fingers above seventeen cubits. And all the lands were irrigated, because the Sultan had arranged the lands with an arrangement (which) no one had arranged. And the people of every occupation began to construct their causeways and to dig out their watercourses and to bring the water into them from distant places through the causeways which were made over them. And all the lands were irrigated, and there was not dried up of them except the high banks to which no attention is paid; and with that, (it was) that there was irrigated by this water what was not wont to he irrigated, except by eighteen cubits (or) nineteen cubits (of water), and all this was by the management of our Sire, the Sultan, and his good supervision. And (as for) the coinage, there was much falsification and deterioration in it, and it happened (that) in Upper Egypt there were those who struck it (the |120 coinage) outside the Mint, (and) this was frequent and widespread.

And it was exchanged, every sixteen coins for one black dirham, and there was not (a difference) between them and the exchange in gold with dirhams, except half a dirham per dinar or three-quarters (of a dirham), and the people were satisfied with them, and no one returned them. And the Sultan commanded that it should be proclaimed that they should not deal except with the coinage of the Sultan, and what appeared other than that would be clipped and rejected; and he appointed for this money-changers, and thereby there was much loss for the people. Then (it was) that its exchange became cheaper, and the dinar became forty-five silver dirhams. Then it advanced gradually until it reached on the day of writing it ³²⁶, and it was the twenty-six of (the month of) Abib ³²⁷, to eighty silver dirhams for a dinar. And (as for) the black dirhams, every ten dirhams (was) for eighteen silver dirhams— the Egyptian dirhams being thirty silver (coins). And as for the silver dirhams they were worth, every dirham, six dirhams and a quarter in silver. And there did not remain in the hands of the people except silver (dirhams), because the Diwan of the Sultan would not accept them in any dealings, nor as a rent for property, nor as a surety, nor for selling and buying. And the work (of making) coinage in the Mint ceased, and as time passed, they became cheap.

Then (it was) that there occurred in this year a marvellous happening, and this (was) that (there was) a man, a priest, an instructed monk, known as Abu Sa‘id [I]bn al-‘Afif, whose brother’s wife had purchased a Greek (Rumiah) female-slave from a Frankish man, (and) then she had sold her to a man of the itinerant merchants from the lands of the Franks. And when this (affair) reached our Sire, the Sultan, he disapproved of it |121 to an extreme, and he commanded that the priest and the wife of his brother and her sister should be sold. And they were cried in the market of the slaves; and it was an affliction, the like of which had not been heard of. And a blessed man bought them, in origin a Christian from Syria from the Maronites, and he had professed Al-Islam; and he bought them for sixty dinars, and the people departed from them, and they collected it (the money) for them, and they redeemed them. And this man (the Maronite) was good to them to an extreme. And as for the priest, he went out to the Monastery of ‘Arabah ³²⁸ and he remained in it; and (as for) the two women, one of the two of them was a nun, and both of them were saintly, and they were set free. And the Sultan journeyed with the troops to Al-Mansurah on the Feast of Easter of this year, and it was in Gumada al-Akhar (in the) year six hundred and twenty-nine of the Lunar (Year) ³²⁹, and he went to Damascus and from Damascus to the East, because an enemy had gone forth against the lands of Persia and the ‘Irak, known as Kay-Kubad in a great number, the number (of which) could not be counted; and he had defeated Khwarizm Shah and he had captured his lands and had ruined them, and he had reached to the limits of the lands of Baghdad.

And the Caliph, the Imam al-Mustansir Abu Ga‘far al-Mansur, sent from Baghdad to the Sultan two messengers of high rank, one of the two of them was turbaned, and the other (was) with a triangular headdress, from his most confidential mamluks, and they had a suite and honour, the like of which for a messenger was |122 not known. And the Sultan provided for them, with analogous solicitude, and he appointed for them in the way of residence and treatment what was beyond description. And the two of them had brought with them the robes of honour of the illustrious caliphate for the Sultan — may God empower his victory! — and for his relatives and his intimates, and the promise of the rule of the lands and of the mamluks which (were) in the hands of our Sultan. And their arrival was the cause (and) the reason of the journey of the Sultan — may God empower his victory! — and the reports of this Caliph were the best of reports in the way of justice and benevolence and avoidance of oppression and blame, and his restoration of what had been ruined from past time(s). And he surpassed in merit all men, so that gold multiplied in the hands of the people, and there came of it (the gold) to Egypt a great quantity on account of the abundance of his generosity and benevolence to all his subjects and his intimates. Then (it was) that the Sultan, Al-Malik al-Kamil, journeyed to protected Syria in (the month of) Baramudah ³³⁰ of this year which corresponded to Gumada al-Akhar (in the) year six hundred and twenty-nine ³³¹, according to what has been mentioned before. And he made for the East and he made for Kay-Kubad,and he was repulsed before him, and he did not resist at all, and he departed from the lands. And the Sultan — may God empower his victory! — descended on Amid and he besieged it. And the blessed Nile fulfilled its promise on the second of (the month of) An-Nasi ³³² after it had stopped for many days, for the flood-water had reached it on the sixteenth of (the month of) Misra ³³³, and the completion was delayed after it up to this date. And money multiplied very much, and it cheapened until |123 the dinar reached to ninety silver dirhams, and the silver dirhams to seven dirhams, and the people suffered from this.

Then the year nine hundred and forty-nine ³³⁴ [1233 AD] entered, and the Nile came up until it reached eighteen cubits, and its increase extended to the seventh of (the month of) Babah ³³⁵, and it increased in this month, (and) the like of its increase had not been witnessed. And this (was) that it increased on the second and the third and the fifth of it ³³⁶ two fingers, two fingers every day, and it was the cubit of the eighteenth on the sixth, and the seventh of it was the last of its increase, every day three fingers. And the prices became cheap, and the wheat was sold at twenty dirhams the ardab of silver (money), and the barley at ten dirhams the ardab, and all things became cheap, except that the silver (coins) became much cheaper, and they reached to one hundred and twenty dirhams for a dinar, and the silver dirhams for nine silver dirhams. And the affair(s) became oppressive for the people, because the Diwan of the Sultan did not extract from the people in all their dealings, except gold or black dirhams ³³⁷, and there did not remain in the hands of the people, except silver (coins), and they were in great affliction for this reason. And the news arrived that the Sultan —may God empower his victory! —conquered Amid and all its fortresses, and they were seventy-two fortresses, and there did not remain of them, except one fortress named the Fortress Kaifa. And there died in the beginning of this year Sams al-Miluk, son of the sister of the Sultan, and the Amir Fakhr ad-Din ‘Uthman, equerry of the House, and a group of senior amirs. And they (the people) experienced a dearth to an extent not to be described; bread at three |124 silver dirhams the ratl, and a basket of barley for two silver dirhams, and chaff for forty silver dirhams the camel-load, and it was not available; and the majority of the troops arrived on foot and naked to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected.

Then there arrived the command of the Sultan, on the date of Sunday, the end of (the month of) Kihak ³³⁸ which corresponded to the twelfth of (the month of) Rabi‘ al-Awal (in the) year six hundred and thirty ³³⁹, to stop the striking of silver (coins) and the dealing with them; and it was cried concerning them on Monday which followed the mentioned day. And they were sold from that day by the ratl in the Coppersmiths Market for two and a half dirhams and two and a quarter dirhams the rail, and the money became a quarter (of its value), and a large amount was lost to the people. Then they were sold after that for one dirham and a quarter the rail and a large amount (of money) was lost to the people; but they were happy at their abolition, so as to see the end of what had gone before. Then the news arrived of the capture of the Fortress of Kaifa and of its surrendering to the Sultan. Then (it was) that he appointed as deputy in place of him in the lands of the East, and Amid and its districts, and Harranand what was neighbouring to it, and Serug and what was with it, his son, Al-Malik as-Salih Aiyub, who was his heir-apparent in Egypt. And he (the Sultan) arrived at Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected, in (the month of) Gumada al-Akhar (in the) year six hundred and thirty, and there arrived after him in his service al-Malik al-Mas‘ud who had been the Possessor of Amid, and with him his intimates and his family and his wealth and his harem.

And our Sultan accorded to him unprecedented favour, and he gave to him in the way of wealth |125 and vesture and vessels which had not been given to anyone. And he gave to him as fief lands yielding forty thousand dinars a year for his intimates, besides the produce, and he added to it the bread for two hundred horsemen, and he lodged him in a quarter of the House of the Wazirate (al-Wazarah), known as the Secret Gate; and all kings on the earth thanked him for this, and they acknowledged the goodness of his time and the correctness of his engagements. And a group of our companions were stirred up, and they assembled with the monks of the Monastery of Abba ([A]bu) Macarius, because it was Lent, and they agreed on the choice of the elder John [I]bn al-Mu’taman [I]bn Abu’1-Badr, deacon of the Church Al-Mu‘allakah, who was religious, ascetic and of noble works. And they wrote for him reports, and all of them wrote their signatures in them. And they presented them to our Sire, the Sultan —may God empower his victory! — and he ordered through the mouth of the amir As-Salah, that, if they agreed on him, he would be consecrated for them. Then they disputed about it among themselves, and they did not do anything, and the matter broke up; and the monks went out to their monastery ³⁴⁰, and the condition remained as it had been, except that these days were blessed days. The churches were repaired in the daytime by the permission of our Sire, the Sultan, and the legal decisions of the jurisconsults and the Christians (were) honoured (and) upheld; (and the Christians) were riding on horses and mules, and no one demanded of them the contrary.

And the Sultan had esteem for the monks, and he was gracious and good towards them; |126 and (as regards) the inheritance from one another, no interfering hand might come between them. And, likewise (as regards) the Christians and the Jews , the pronouncements of their leaders were accepted regarding their lineage, and to him whom they mentioned that (he was) of the family, there should not be opposition. Then the blessed Nile came up, and something appeared the like of which had not been known, and this was that the two rivers ³⁴¹ met below Rodah on the twenty-fourth of (the month of) Abib ³⁴²and the water reached the dam of the Canal ³⁴³on the twenty-ninth of it ³⁴⁴. And it reached its flood-measure on the six of (the month of) Misra ³⁴⁵, and the increase stopped, and it fulfilled its promise, and it reached the measure on Friday, the nineteenth of (the month of) Misra ³⁴⁶, which corresponded to the third of (the month of) Dhu’l-Ka‘dah (in the) year six hundred and thirty ³⁴⁷. And the Canal was cut on the day after that mentioned, and there had not been seen a Nile more marvellous than it; and among its marvels was (that) it increased on the twenty-sixth of Misra ³⁴⁸, at the seventeenth cubit ten fingers, and it became seventeen out of seventeen (cubits), and on its second (day) seven fingers, and seventeen cubits were completed; and there entered the year nine hundred and fifty of the Righteous Martyrs ³⁴⁹. [1234 AD]

Then it (the Nile) increased towards eighteen cubits on the |127 twelfth of (the month of) Tut ³⁵⁰ four fingers, and it became nine (fingers) above eighteen cubits, and it increased on the sixteenth of (the month of) Tut ³⁵¹ four fingers, (and) it became over seventeen out of eighteen cubits, and it increased on the seventeenth of (the month of) Tut ³⁵², and it is the day of the Feast of the Cross, seven fingers, and it was completed at eighteen cubits. And it increased on the eighteenth (of the month) ³⁵³six fingers towards nineteen cubits, and its maximum increase was ten fingers above nineteen cubits. And it became stabilized on the land at the end of (the month of) Babah ³⁵⁴, so that it was thought that it would not decrease. Then it decreased by one (cubit), and the people sowed, and they were optimistic, after it had flooded many lands and had ruined extensive cultivations. And it was a magnificent Nile, and prices became cheap, and first-class wheat was sold at nine dirhams the ardab, and the barley at five (dirhams) and less, and below that, and all the cereals were in proportion; and nothing, at that time, was expensive, except meat and poultry, and this was through the cutting: off of the ways, because the Nile had flooded all the land. And in this year, the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil — may his victory be empowered! — prepared for departure to the East, and he expended on the troops a great amount of money, so that dirhams passed through Cairo (al-Kahirah) in the baskets of the carriers to the houses of the amirs. To each amir in proportion to his equipment, because, if there were with the amir one hundred horsemen, the hundred were given two thousand dinars, to every horseman twenty dinars, and the amir a thousand dinars, and to all of them in this proportion. And among them (were) those for whom he (the Sultan) marked out more than this, such as his personal circle and others than they, though not less, and there did not remain he who did not receive this provision, except those |128 who were unarmed at the Higaz ³⁵⁵, and the governors of the provinces, and those who had been delayed on account of travelling, and none other.

And he (the Sultan) went out from Cairo (al-Kahirah) on the eleventh of (the month of) Basuns ³⁵⁶ of this year, and his brother, Al-Malik al-Asraf Musa, had preceded him by some days. Then he ordered that his youngest son, Al-Malik al-‘Adil, should be viceroy for him, and he made him governor. And he rode with swords and the standard after his (the Sultan’s) journey on Monday, the twentieth of (the month of) Basuns ³⁵⁷ the aforementioned. And the group was discussing about the affair of the patriarch through the mouth of an amir called As-Salah al-Irbili, and he demanded from them five thousand dinars, and he promised them that he would deduct for them something of it. And he did not stir up their abilities by that, and the affair was not resolved; but they said that he (the Sultan) had recommended to his son Al-Malik al-‘Adil, that if they produced the amount (of money), you mayest consecrate for them him whom they choose. And some of the people continued (to hold) this opinion, but some said (that) it was not suitable, because (it would become) an innovation for the Church, and there would never be a change again; and their intentions were not sincere, and (there was) not agreement among them, except outwardly. And cheapness and safety continued, except that fruit in this year was very scarce on account of the flooding and the remainig of the water on the land for a long time. Then (it was) that the water increased in (the month of) Bau’unah ³⁵⁸ with a visible increase of two cubits, and there was at the bottom (of the river) a measure of six cubits. And there came the time for taking the standard of the bottom ³⁵⁹ at the blessed Nilometer, and it was the twenty-fifth of (the month of) Bau’unah ³⁶⁰, |129 and it (the measure) was at the beginning of nine cubits.

Then it decreased in the measure of half a cubit, and it stopped, and the price of corn went up to four dirhams the ardab. And there occurred in the evening of the day of Saturday, the twenty-fourth of (the month of) Abib ³⁶¹, which corresponded to the ninth of (the month of) Sawal (in the) year six hundred and thirty-one ³⁶², much cloud, and the sky became yellow, and it rained for a good hour, and the cloud remained the whole night; and this was among the strange things the like of which had not occurred. And the blessed Nile fulfilled its promise on Wednesday, the twenty-third of (the month of) Misra ³⁶³, and the increase was completed in the mentioned daytime, in the presence of Al-Malik al-‘Adil, son of the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil — may God empower his victory! — and the prices became cheap and they returned to their limits, except that produce was little; and all the fruits decayed because the past Nile had flooded them and its weeds bad smothered them, and it (the inundation) had spoilt the fruits more than it had improved them, and it caused more losses than profits. And grapes were sold in this year for fifty dirhams the kantar, and sugar candy, at four dinars and a half the kantar, and different kinds of sweets in the same proportion. And there was no pressing out (of grapes) by the people in this year, except by a very few. And he who used to do anything (of this) was content with the half on account of the dearness of the products. And the news arrived that the Sultan — may God empower his victory! — had entered into the Grecian (ar-Rum) Lands ³⁶⁴, and the good tidings were proclaimed at the Citadel, concerning the victory and the conquest, and that he had taken from the Grecian Lands a fortress called the |130 Fortress of Mansur.

Then he had passed by a hamlet called Ra‘aban and he had passed from it to Ad-Darabindat which the Arabs name the mountain-passes, and he had arrived at the third mountain-pass with the troops and the crowds. And the troops were a large number, the like of which had not assembled; and it was said that he (the Sultan) reviewed about twenty-seven thousand soldiers, apart from those who followed them in the way of youngmen, attendants and Bedouins. And thing(s) were very expensive for them (the troops), because the Grecian Lands did not provide anything for them, and the Lands of Syria were remote from them. And the Sultan saw that the affair had become difficult, and that the troops of the Rum (were) before him, and he returned from there, and he crossed over from a place known as Gisr al-Khasab ³⁶⁵, making for the East. And the Possessor of Kharpout (was) among those who were with him, and he had informed him that the way from his lands to the Grecian Lands was easy, but he who guided the Sultan on this way misled him; and the Sultan — may God empower his victory!— had purposed to cross over to the Rum from there.

And the year nine hundred and fifty-one of the Righteous Martyrs ³⁶⁶ [1235 AD] entered, and the blessed Nile increased, and it reached up to eleven fingers above nineteen cubits, and the people were assured and good things multiplied and the prices became cheap. Then (it was) that the King of the Rum, and he was a Muslim, the Possessor of Iconium and Coloneia, was informed of the intention of the Sultan at Kharpout and |131 (that) he had come to it with immense riches. And the Sultan —may his victory he empowered! —dispatched the son of his sister Al-Malik al-Muzzafar [I]bn Taki ad-Din, Possessor of Hamah, as a relief to the Possessor of Kharpout, and with him a company of the most eminent of the amirs such as Al-Banyasi and Sawab al-Khadim, et caetera; and they came to the city before the arrival of the Rumians at it, and they made it their rear. And the Rumians came, and they fought a most severe and bitter fight against him (the Possessor of Hamah). Then the company multiplied against them, because they did not have with them more than about three thousand horsemen. And they were routed and they returned to the city ³⁶⁷. And as regards the Possessor of Hamah, and the amirs, and those of the amirs who were with him of the amirs, they sought refuge at the fortress. And as regards the soldiers and. the young male slaves and the company, some of them were made captive, and some of them escaped, and some of them were killed, and they passed over to the fortress, and with them the Possessor of Kharpout; and he had promised to them that at the fortress there was all what they needed, but they did not find at it anything. And it was said that it was a trick by him; and they endured and were patient in intense distress and great hardship for days, close on twenty days. And when they were convinced of perishing, they sent from their company an amir called Baha ad-Din [I]bn Malkisu who had been the governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah) to the King of the Rum to seek for them the safety of their lives, and that they would, deliver up the fortress. And he gave to them safety for their lives, especially; and they went out being in a most evil condition. And he did not bestow |132 a robe of honour on anyone except Al-Malik al-Muzzafar and Sawab al-Khadim, and he gave to each of them a mare to ride to the troops of the Sultan.

And there was, on their way, the Monastery known as the Monastery of Barsuma ³⁶⁸ and the Syrian monks went out to them, (and) they received them with provisions and good things, and they bore them on mules of the Monastery until they brought them to the troops. And there was for the monks from this affair great commendation with all the Muslims. And the Nile decreased in time, and the people were optimistic that it would be a prosperous year, and that the plantations in it would be excellent, because in the past year cultivation in it had not been successful. And the price of wheat was from thirteen dirhams the ardab down to seven dirhams the ardab, according to the high grade and the inferior (grade), and barley, at five dirhams the ardab, and beans, at six (dirhams) and rambling vetch like it, and linseed, at ten dirhams the ardab, and turnips and clover in proportion, and all eatables and food-stuff (were) very cheap, and nothing was expensive at all. And the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil — may his victory be empowered! — returned to the Egyptian Lands, and he went up to the protected Citadel on Monday, the eighth of (the month of) Gumada al-Awal (in the) year six hundred and thirty-two ³⁶⁹ which corresponded to the fourth of (the month of) Amsir (in the) year nine hundred and fifty-one ³⁷⁰, and it was the first day of the Fast of the Inhabitants of Nineveh, and the people were tranquil. And the news was good, except that the people ³⁷¹met in this journey with great distress, and they suffered hardship on |133 the way; and the fingers of many people fell off by reason of the frost, and people absolutely died, and among them Al-Akram [I]bn Zanbur.

And (it was) that the fingers of his hands and (the toes of) his two feet fell off on account of the frost, and he died at Harran on the eve of the Nativity ³⁷², and many like him of those who were not known and those who were known. And there befell the monks a strange tribulation, and it was that a group of young men began to wear the woolen robes and to don the monastic dress, and they were employed in the cities, in order to escape from the poll-tax. And their affair came to the knowledge of the Sultan, and he ordered that from any monk (who) did not remain in the monastery, cut off in the desert, (and who) had a certificate of this, his poll-tax should be taken. And the officials and the employees did not need more than this word, and they stretched out their hands against the monks, and they began to seize the good and the bad, and to take the elders who had spent fifty years in the desert. And they took from their ³⁷³ poll-tax a great sum exceeding a thousand dinars, and, especially, in (the Province of) Al-Gharbiah, because there was in it a man, an overseer, from the inhabitants of Alexandria, called Ibn al-Karmasini, and he was detested among the Christians. And he made the monks his preoccupation, and the majority of them (were) in (the Province of) Al-Gharbiah, and it was the district of their poll-tax and their monasteries at that time. And he afflicted them with great affliction, and this was a chastisement from God, because they had not remained upright. And as regards the young monks, all of them returned to what they had been, and they removed the woolen robes since they did not dispense them from paying the poll-tax.

And when the Sultan came — may his victory be empowered! — a company of the monks of the monasteries assembled, and they came to the Gate of the Sultan with |134 a present according to the measure of the condition which befitted monks, and he wrote for them one hundred and fifty ardabs of corn, and the monks of the Melchite Monastery of Al-Kusair ³⁷⁴ heard of their news, and they brought another gift of like kind, and he (the Sultan) commanded for them a hundred ardab of corn. And the monks remained in attendance at the Gate of the Sultan for a time, and after that, an order went forth that there should be written for them that they should conform to their custom on condition that they should not conceal with them anyone of those upon whom the poll-tax was incumbent, and (that) they should not make anyone a monk, except after having registered him in the Diwan, and from those who were worthy of monasticism and (who) enter into it for the sake of God the Exalted, not on account of the poll-tax nor of a calamity which has befallen him. And they took the mentioned letter ³⁷⁵, and they went with it to (the Province of) Al-Gharbiah,but it did not avail them anything. And Ibn al-Karamsini continued as before, and the monks (were) in great affliction, and this trial was from God the Exalted (who) brought it upon them on account of the evilness of their conduct in monasticism. And when it was the tenth of (the month of) Bau’unah ³⁷⁶, there arrived the letter of the Sultan — may his victory be empowered! — to the Amir Gamal ad-Din [I]bn Yaghmur, his deputy in Cairo (al-Kahirah), from the port of Alexandria the protected, because the Sultan had gone out to the mentioned port at this time on account of the agreeableness of its air and the mildness of its climate.

And his mentioned letter arrived, requiring the priest David [I]bn Laklak to go to him; and no one knew who was the cause of this — because they had been informed that he had been summoned for the patriarchate — if not, that a monk, a ghostly father, a young man from the inhabitants of Upper-Egypt |135 (as-Said) had gone with the elder ‘Imad ad-Din, an elder of the elders, to the port of Alexandria, and the mentioned elder was solicitous for the priest David, and he used to go to him frequently to the monastery at which he (David) was staying. And this monk, the ghostly father, was he who brought to him the letter referred to, and it was said that it was he who had made endeavours (for him), and that he had declared (that) the money (would be paid) by the patriarchate. And it was the intention of the priest David that he should be made hegoumenos in Cairo (Misr) before his departure to the port ³⁷⁷, because he had a great eagerness in this matter, and he used not to conceal nor hide it. And a group of intelligent people pointed out that this was not expedient and, perhaps, it might be prejudicial to what he (David) wished to achieve, because the Sultan had ordered only his journey, nothing more, and the matter was agreed upon thus. And there did not remain in the sees, in the way of bishops, except five, three in Upper Egypt: the bishop of Taha, and the bishop of Armant, and the bishop of Isna, and he was old and aged, and he had become as a dead man. And in Lower Egypt: two bishops: the bishop of Malig, and he was the senior ³⁷⁸ of the bishops at that time, and the bishop of Damanhur. And he (David) had brought the bishop of Malig that he might make him (David) a hegoumenos. And the bishop of Armant was at Cairo (Misr), because he had been at Jerusalem and had arrived. And there occurred a tumult by a group of the Cairenes (al-Misriyin), and there was much talking, but no one ventured to manifest anything.

And there was at Cairo (Misr), |136 at the Church of Abba ([A]bu) Sergius, a man, a monk, known before his monasticism as As-Sani Abu’l-Magd, son of the priest Abu’l-Farag, from the house of [I]bn Ghalil. And he had become a monk at the Monastery of Antony, and he had returned from it, when the Sultan had summoned him and had employed him in the Diwan of Superintendence of the Land of Egypt, and he had remained for some years, being a monk. Then he resigned from it (the Diwan), and he resided at the mentioned church, because he had been a deacon at it before his monasticism. And he was a man of high esteem, (and his) words were hearkened to by the Muslims on account of what he had previously done for them in the way of good in the days of his superintendence, and because he was continent (and) ascetic, and he had indeed become like a patriarch. And the people used to take him as an arbitrator, and his command was carried out in the church (and) in the monasteries, and it was obeyed by the monks and other than them, and his decision concerning inalienable endowments circulated. And he had made endeavours for the (re)building of many of the churches and for the fructification of their inalienable endowments, and this matter was hard for him to support and he was greatly angered by it. And he began to suspect everyone whom he knew and all who approached him and thought that he was in secret for the consecration of David. And the matter was the contrary of this, to the extent that out of his rage he reached to (a point) that he began to insult and to revile and to speak what was not befitting an intelligent layman, especially an elder (and) a monk such as he. And it was he who had returned to the discussion concerning the question of Abu’l-Badr [I]bn al-Mu’taman who has been mentioned before.

And he wrote a scroll receiving on it the signatures of the group for what ³⁷⁹ everyone was going to do in helping in the setting up of the patriarch, because |137 he knew that after matters had reached this point, the patriarch could not be set up, except with something ³⁸⁰, and a group agreed with him on this. And the majority of them wrote their signatures for what was in easy reach for them (to pay); and among them (were) those who had at the appropriate time doubled what they had written with their signature. And this matter was a reason for David and his companions to renew the discussion and to expose it and (also) the payment in advance and the expending of large amounts and prompt, specific payment. And among those who agreed on Ihn al-Mu’taman and (who) rejected David completely were the elder Nis al-Khilafah [A]bu’l-Fath and Al-Hakim ar-Rasid [A|bu’l-Wahs [I]bn al-Faris. And when there occurred what occurred with regard to David, the two of them were accused that they wore secretly with him (David), as others than the two of them, were accused, so that, (when) the elder [A]bu’l-Fatuh went up to him on the day of the Nativity of John the Baptist, the thirtieth of (the month of) Bau’tinah ³⁸¹ to visit him, there befell him from him (David) in the way of insolence and reviling and defamation with obscenity what was not fitting that a man should think of them ³⁸², much less that he should utter them. And this was in the presence of a company of priests and of others than them, and the prelude to his speech with him (was) that he said to him: «This is Musailimah the false one» ³⁸³; then he (David) proceeded from this to what was too much to mention. And this Musailimah was a man (whom) the Muslims thought that he was a man who laid claim to prophecy after their Prophet, and. his falsehood was manifested. Yet, the elder Abu’l-Fatuh held his tongue more than the monk. And after that, no sooner had they separated, than they were reconciled, and each of them made an obeisance to the other.

And as for the priest David, he turned to Alexandria on Thursday, the third of (the month of) Bau’unah ³⁸⁴, |138 and with him the bishop of Malig; and as for the bishop of Armant, he excused himself on account of illness, and he did not depart, because he feared that nothing would be achieved for him (David). And the priest David arrived at Alexandria on Monday, the seventeenth of (the month of) Bau’unah ³⁸⁵, and he met the Sultan — may his victory he empowered! —on Tuesday at a place known as Abu Kir, and the patriarchate was assured to him. And he undertook (to pay) a thousand dinars, and to bear them to the Treasury speedily; and he had not them (the dinars), but he arranged for them through a loan and other than it, and he wrote his signature for another two thousand dinars after two months. And he was ordained hegoumenos on Saturday, the twenty-second of (the month of) Bau’unah ³⁸⁶ in the Church of [A]bu Shenouti known as the Church of the Lions outside the city; and he was made patriarch on Sunday at the Church of the Saviour. And the Sultan sent to him a beautiful robe of honour, and it was a violet robe with gold embroidery and with gold cord, and a head-dress. And he who was present related that it was a remarkable day, and that the majority of the young male slaves of the Sultan and his servants were present, and that it was a glory, the like of which had not been seen for a long time. And on Monday, the twenty-fourth of (the month of) Bau’unah ³⁸⁷, he (the patriarch) rode, and he went out to the house of Ibn as-Sukkari in which (was) the |139 head of Mark the Evangelist.

And it was said that it was the head of Peter the beatified martyr ³⁸⁸, because the head of the Apostle, the Evangelist, was with his body, when the Venetians transported him to Venice ³⁸⁹. And it was brought out for him according to the custom. And, as regards this head, it was forty-eight years (that) it had not been taken out, the period of the occupation (of the Throne) of Abba John — may God give rest to his soul! —twenty-eight years, and the period of the vacancy after him, (passed) in falsity and division and contriving, twenty years ³⁹⁰. And it (the head) was placed in a room, and he (the patriarch) enveloped it in a new covering according to the custom; and the mentioned patriarch remained at Alexandria for a time. Then he departed from it to the Monastery of Abba ([A]bu) Macarius, and he ordained in it priests and deacons, and he made in it some arrangements; and he stayed in every monastery a day or two. Then he came to the Monastery of Nahya on Thursday, the twelfth of (the month of) Abib ³⁹¹.

Then he arrived at the Monastery of the Beacon on Friday, a second time, and he celebrated the Divine Liturgy in it and he came |140 on Saturday to the Church of Michael at the head of the Canal in Cairo (Misr), and I, the wretched one ³⁹², met him at it, and I greeted him, and I received his blessing. And he remained at the mentioned church that day, and he passed the night at it, and the congregation of the mentioned church took great care of him, and they were all of them from the inhabitants of Al-Bahnasa. And when it was the morning of Sunday, he (the patriarch) rode from the aforementioned church; and there came to him from Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) and what (was) around them countless people, and there gathered from the alien nations, the Muslims and the Jews great multitudes, so that they were spread along all the way, and at the shops and the open spaces and the house-tops from (the Church of) Michael up to the (Church) Al-Mu‘allakah. And the crosses were carried before him on staffs and the Gospels in the fold of the Prospherein veils, and the deacons and the priests were assembled in groups of fifty and more than this. And he came, (and) they were reciting before him hymns and praises, and the archons were riding on mules and horses before him, and the representative of the governor of Cairo (Misr) and the majority of his companions with them before him. And there came drums and trumpets, and flutes were playing before him (the patriarch). And there were before him about one hundred lighted candles or more, and it was a remarkable day, the like of which had not been related in our generation. And when he |141 (the patriarch) came, they did not pass with him by the ruins at the two lanes, but they came with him towards the hostel of the King’s House (Dar al-Malik), and they walked with him from the top of the Great Market to the Castle ³⁹³.

And he went up to it on Sunday, the twenty-first of (the month of) Abib ³⁹⁴, the aforementioned, and he was consecrated at it. And he ascended the synthronus, and he read the Gospel appointed for patriarchs, and it is that in which (there is) «I am the Good Shepherd», and it is from John ³⁹⁵. And I, the sinner, read the interpretation of it ³⁹⁶, and it was (one) of the remarkable, famous days. Then, after that, there assembled a group of the Muslims, and they disapproved of what had been done, and they found unsightly the carrying of the crosses in full view, in the middle of the daytime, in the markets, and they discussed about this, and they multiplied (their words), and they compelled a distinguished jurisconsult known as ‘Awad al-Busi to write a paper to the Sultan, and they complained in it about what had happened, and our Sire, the Sultan, appended his signature to it, (and sent it) to the governor of Cairo (Misr), that he should bring the patriarch and cause him to put his signature to the contents of the paper, and order him not to transgress the law ³⁹⁷, and that he should return to his place; and the governor did this, and he caused him (the patriarch) to come. And there was with him (the governor) a man, a teacher, (who) had been in one of |142 the prayer-houses which was on the way by which the patriarch had passed by. And he had murmured and had shouted and had made an uproar, and the young boys had risen up (and had come) towards him (the teacher) with the writing-tablets which (were) in their hands, and on them (the writing-tablets) (were verses of) the Kuran, so that they might rouse (the people) and stir up a quarrel, but this produced no effect, because the crowd was immense, and the awe of the Sultan was great, especially (as) the representative of the governor and the young male slaves (were) before the patriarch.

And when the patriarch came to the governor, the mentioned teacher spoke to him and said: «It was you (who) did cause the crosses to be carried and you did it and arranged it. And he (the patriarch) said: «I knew nothing of what was done, and I was borne through the multitude of the people, and I did not know what happened». Then he (the patriarch) returned to the (Church) Al-Mu‘allakah with honour and respect. And that night was the night of the feast of Saint Macarius (Markurius) ³⁹⁸, and they provided for him (the patriarch) in his (the patriarch’s) church on the shore ³⁹⁹, according to what was requisite for the feast and the patriarch. And he (the patriarch) refused to go at the beginning of the night, because news had reached him that a group was standing at the door of the church and was treating with disdain the Christians who were passing by to it, and some of them pelted them with stones and some of them threw dirt on their robes. And when it was after the final supper, there came the priests of (the Church of) Abba Mercurius and with them the young male slaves of the governor, and they prayed him (to come) to the mentioned church, and the young male slaves said to him: «The |143 amir did not send us, except for thy service. Arise, and we (shall go) before thee, and he who opposes in anything, we shall punish him».

And I ⁴⁰⁰ was with him at that time, and I advised him that he should not go, and he dismissed the young male slaves of the governor, after he had thanked him and had thanked them. And I remained before him, until he came to the Church of Abba ([A]bu) Sergius, and he went up to the Cell of the father, the monk, Abba Peter who was known before his monasticism as As-Sani [A]bul-Magd; and he (the patriarch) appeased his heart and he removed what was in his soul in the way of cheerlessness, and he displayed extreme favour in this. And he returned after that to (the Church) Al-Mu‘allakah, thanked and recompensed. Then (it was) that the elders of the Church of Abba ([A]bu) Mercurius came to him thereupon, and they took him, (he being) unwilling, to their church, and he passed the night at it, and he celebrated the feast on the next day, and it was a magnificent feast, according to what reached me, for I was not present, and nothing occurred, — praise be to God! — of what was anticipated, and nothing spoiled the least, and that day was Thursday. And it was the custom of the jurisconsults that they should be present with our Sire, the Sultan —may his victory be empowered! —on the eve of Friday, and they assembled with him according to the custom. And they made mention of the Christians and their riding mules ⁴⁰¹ and the affair which had occurred from the conversation of the patriarch, but he (the Sultan) did not listen to anything of this. And when it was Saturday, the governor of Cairo (Misr) was present before him (the Sultan), and he (the Sultan) pretended not to know about it (the affair).

And he (the |144 Sultan) said: «News reached me that the inhabitants of Cairo (Misr) acted against the patriarch and his churches», and he (the governor) sware by God that nothing of this had happened, and (that), if anything of this had happened, he (the doer) would have paid for it with his life. And this matter became known to everyone, and the souls of the faithful were reassured, and it strengthened the soul of the patriarch. Though among the Muslim lords there were not except those who aided and were good intermediaries, this (hostility), however, was from the common people and from some of the jurisconsults. Then he (the patriarch) came to the Church of the Harat ar-Rum at Cairo (al-Kahirah) in the daytime of Sunday, the twenty-eight of (the month of) Abib ⁴⁰², and its archdeacon, the elder Fakhr as-Sa‘d Ibn Zanbur, provided for him, and it was also a remarkable day. And the people thought that he would take simony from all whom he ordained, on account of the amount (of money) which was fixed for him; but he did not carry out this matter concerning this as a rule or as a condition, and he used to collect from the people according to their ability without injustice or oppression.

And he began with the consecration of the bishops of the vacant sees, and he consecrated on Sunday, the fifth of (the month of) Misra ⁴⁰³, in the Church of Abba Mercurius, four bishops, for the See(s) of Samannud and Isna and the Oases and Al-Banawain. And he continued with the consecrating of bishops and (the ordination of) priests and deacons and monks and the laity. And the rule was established that he would not consecrate anyone, except with simony, |145 and there were among the bishops those who would weigh out two hundred dinars, and the least (was) up to one hundred dinars, and the poor and the companions, fifty dinars; and those who (were) of this category (were only) two or three, otherwise, all (were) of the major category. And not one of the bishops was consecrated without simony except the metropolitan of Damietta, who had been made a monk, and was known before his monasticism as Al-‘Amid Ibn ad-Duhairi. And he had come from Syria, and he had lived with the mentioned patriarch before his patriarchate at the Monastery of Saint Philotheus, known as the Monastery of the Nestorians,and (it was) that he (the patriarch) did not take from him anything. And as regards the priests, there were among them, those who would weigh out five dinars and downwards, and (as regards) the deacons, if one of them had been adverse or antagonistic to him, he would pay ten dinars, and the majority of them (paid) from three dinars downwards, and it was a disgraceful affair, nevertheless, it became common and widespread and known and usual. Then (it was) that he allowed some of the children of second and third (marriages) (to be ordained) ⁴⁰⁴, and he furnished an excuse for their affair, and this came together with simony. And the monk, Abba Peter, known as As-Sani before his monasticism, turned away (from the patriarch), (and) he was not present again with him in his church, and he did not accept a blessing. Even the elder Nis al-Khilafat Abu’l-Futuh, known as Ibn al-Mikaat, changed his heart towards him (the patriarch), and it was (that) he did not go to him and did not greet him after what had happened between them,in the way of what has been explained before.

Then the year nine hundred and fifty-two ⁴⁰⁵[1236 AD] entered, and the mentioned patriarch had consecrated since his patriarchate |146 and up to the beginning of the Lent of this year what exceeded forty bishops, and as for the deacons and the priests, they were not to be counted. And the excuse for taking simony (was) what the Sultan had fixed for him; and what (was due) to the Sultan was completed, and he (the patriarch) bore the whole three thousand dinars (to the Sultan), and conditions were as before. And news reached the Sultan — may God empower his victory! — of the coming out of some troops of (the Sultan of) the Rum, and the Muslims set out for the borders of his (the Sultan’s) lands in the East. And he (the Sultan) departed to Syria with the troops and great armies. And as for those ⁴⁰⁶, they descended at Amid and they remained before it for the space of a week, and they did not obtain any advantage from it, and they departed from it, except that they burned its plantations and they burned its surrounding villages. Then they came to Suwaida, and they took it through treason from him who was in it, because he sold it to them. Then they proceeded to Edessa, and they took it by the sword, and they slew the majority of those who were in it, and they took prisoners and they made captives, and the majority of them were wretched (people), Syrian and Armenian Christians. And they besieged the fortress for some days, and they took it by treaty from one of the young male slaves of the Sultan called Kuih. It is said that he made peace with them concerning it, because there was at it great wealth and arms and vesture, approaching one hundred thousand dinars.

And they took it |147 and they took him ⁴⁰⁷ with them. Then they betook themselves to Harran; they took it and they took its fortress by treaty. Then (it was) that the Sultan —may God empower his victory! —passed over the Euphrates; and they left in every fortress him who should guard it, and they turned to their lands, alter they had taken prisoners and killed and devastated, as God willed. And the Sultan sent troops to D….ir ⁴⁰⁸ and the land of Mardin, because their possessors were with the Rum. And they devastated the lands and they took captive the people, and they took in the way of booty what could not be counted, so that a beautiful woman was sold for fifty silver dirhams, and an excellent mule for thirty dirhams, and a sheep for one dirham; and their captives arrived at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr). Then the Sultan returned to Harran, and he descended at its fortress, and he besieged it for some; days, and it resisted, and he set up a Western mangonel, and he took it by the sword, and he took captive all who were in it. And their number was more than seven hundred men, and they were sent to Cairo (al-Kahirah) in fetters and shackles. And he (the Sultan) betook himself to Edessa, and he descended at its fortress, and it was more fortified and more impregnable, than the fortress of Harran, but it did not withstand the Western mangonel, for it demolished of it its curtain, the day it was set up against it, and it (the fortress) was also taken by the sword. And there were taken from it captives, and they arrived also in Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they were nearly a thousand men. And the Nile had reached in this year up to eighteen cubits and eleven fingers, and the prices were cheap and things were found, and nothing in the city was expensive, except sugar, for it cost three dirhams the ratl.

And |148 there happened in this year that there occurred in the Land of Egypt a great plague, and particularly at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) and their suburbs, so that there were taken out every day from the city what exceeded two hundred dead. And this continued from the half of (the month of) Babah ⁴⁰⁹ up to the end of (the month of) Amsti ⁴¹⁰; and it was something the like of which had not been witnessed, and there were few who (were) not sick in this year, and there was not in the two cities a house from which no dead person went out. Then God. removed this from the people, but there remained traces of the sickness. And there was at the side of the Church Al-Mu‘allakah a prayer-house (Masgid), and at it a high minaret, and it was adjacent. to the storey ⁴¹¹ on which the father, the patriarch was dwelling, and it was the cell of Abba Mark [I]bn Zara‘ah ⁴¹² —may God give rest to his soul! And there was at it (the prayer-house) a muezzin (Mu’adhdhin) named Salim, and there was not a doubt that he was unjust with regard to those who were managing the affairs of the patriarch.

1. 1 =1216 A.D.

2. 2 I.e., John VI, 1189-1216 A.D.

3. 4 = 1216 A.D.

4. ⁴ LXIV patriarch, 100A-1032 A.D.

5. ⁵ A famous Coptic theologian.

6. ⁶ This person eventually became the patriarch Cyril III Ibn Laklak.

7. ⁸ 1218-1238 A.D.

8. ¹⁰ 1200-1239 A.D.

9. ³ I.e. the doctor and the scribe.

10. ⁵ I.e. David’s fitness to be patriarch.

11. ⁶ I.e. David.

12. ⁷ I.e. Sams ar-Riyasat.

13. ¹ Lit. ‘ the night of Sunday ‘ i.e. Saturday night.

14. ⁵ I.e. the Cairenes.

15. ² The writer of this part of the biography is consequently Yuhanna Ibn Wahib Ibn Yuhanna Ibn Yahya Ibn Bulus, though the compiler is ‘Alam al-Malik Ibn al-Hag Sams ar-Riyasat, cf. page 139, note 9.

16. ³ I.e. David.

17. ⁴ I.e. to show his annoyance.

18. ² I.e. the Monastery of St. Antony, cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts, Cairo, 1961, pp. 31-88.

19. ⁴ I.e. as regards the date of his consecration as bishop.

20. ⁹ I.e. 1216 A.D.

21. ⁷ This indicates that the said person was dead.

22. ⁴ I.e. Holy Week.

23. ¹ I.e. Alexandria.

24. ² I.e. Easter.

25. ⁷ I.e. the other signed reports.

26. ⁵ I.e. the Island of Rudah, opposite to Old Cairo.

27. ⁶ I.e. the priest and the deacon sent with the letter to the governor of the Province of Al-Gharbiah.

28. ¹ The hermit was living in a cave, access to which was possible only by means of a rope and a basket.

29. ² I.e. he was given the choice of Al-Islam or death.

30. ² I.e. the affair with the priest David.

31. ³ I.e. John VI, 1189-1216 A.D.

32. ⁵ This is said of a person who is dead.

33. ² There is a blank here in the line of the MS.

34. ³=1216 A.D.

35. ⁵ This would imply that Abu Sakir was a doctor, as may be understood from the term «al-Hakim».

36. ⁶ I.e. the inner gate.

37. ¹ = December-January, Julian Style.

38. ³ I.e. the Christians.

39. ⁴ = January 13th (14th), Julian Style.

40. ¹= January 16th (17th), Julian Style.

41. ² I.e. Friday night, Saturday night and Sunday night.

42. ³ I.e. the opponents of the priest David.

43. ⁶ The reference may be to the Church of Saint Shenouti in Old Cairo, which before the Nile retreated was close to the bank of the river, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Ancient Coptic Churches of Cairo. pp. 40, 49-52.

44. ² I.e. the patriarch John VI, 1189-1216 A.D.

45. ³ I.e. his nephews.

46. ⁸ I.e. the bishop.

47. ¹ I.e. there is no question about this person.

48. ⁵ I.e. the narrator of this part of the History.

49. ⁴ I.e. the tomb of Salah ad-Din at Damascus.

50. ¹ The First Carnival is the Sunday before the Fast of Nineveh (Jonah) and the Second Carnival is the Sunday before Lent which begins on a Monday. The period therefore, between these two Sundays is thirteen days. Cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, The Egyptian or Coptic Church, p. 13.

51. ² = January 22nd (23rd), Julian Style.

52. ⁴ I.e. The Patriarchate.

53. ¹ I.e. after David had been made a hegoumenos.

54. ¹ I.e. the week before the Fast of Nineveh (Jonah).

55. ¹ I.e. the Sunday preceding the Fast of Nineveh (Jonah).

56. ² I.e. the patriarch John VI, 1189-1216 A.D.

57. ⁴ I.e. they paid the sum of money.

58. ⁶ I.e. the Friday before Palm Sunday. The fasts of Jonah and Heraclius have been added to Lent thus making the seventh week, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, The Egyptian or Coptic Church, p. 13.

59. ⁷ In both the Greek and the Coptic Church the Saturday before Palm Sunday is known as the Saturday of Lazarus, since at the Divine Liturgy the Gospel which is read gives the account of the raising: of Lazarus.

60. ² I.e. the procession on Palm Sunday.

61. ³ I.e. the patriarch John VI, 1189-1216 A.D.

62. ⁴ This is the yearly contribution made to the patriarch by the bishops and the monasteries.

63. ² I.e. the episcopal staff.

64. ⁴ I.e. Al-Malik al-ldil.

65. ¹ I.e. 3 p.m.

66. ⁵ I.e. Palm Sunday.

67. ² I.e. Easter.

68. ⁴ A term used for Christians or Jews living in a Muslim State and liable to a special tax.

69. ¹ I.e. the stretch of coast along Palestine and Syria.

70. ⁶ =1217 A.D.

71. ² I.e. the Lake of the Ethiopians.

72. ⁴ = 1217 A.D.

73. ⁷ Probably, Andrew II, King of Hungary. Cf. H.P.E.C, vol. III, Part II, pp. 210-212, 215.

74. ² I.e. of Lent.

75. ⁵ = May 29th, Julian Style.

76. ⁶ Cf. E. Amelineau, op. cit., pp. 116-117. This is the expedition of Jean de Brienne, cf. R. Grousset, L’Epopee des Croisades, p. 296 sqq. An account of this expedition is also given in H.P.E.C, vol. III, Part II, p. 216 sqq. In the margin of 296^v° there is the following remark. «Note. He who swore on his behalf was the elder ‘Alam al-Mulk ibn al-Hag Sams ar-Ri’asat, the compiler of this biography».

77. ⁷ I.e. the Gihad, a war in defence of Al-Islam.

78. ⁸ I.e. Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah).

79. ⁹ The word can also mean ‘harbour’, and in this case, it would be the harbour of Damietta.

80. ¹ = June 22nd, Julian Style.

81. ⁵ = July 1st, Julian Style.

82. ⁹ I.e. Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr).

83. ¹¹ I.e. across the River Nile.

84. ¹ I.e. a scala ambulatoria.

85. ² I.e. the Tower of the Chain.

86. ³ = 1218 A.D.

87. ⁵ Probably, a drawbridge.

88. ¹ The diacritical points on the two letters preceding the «h» are missing.

89. ¹¹ I.e. the All-Holy Virgin Mary.

90. ² Cf. page 39. This name, it seems, was later applied to any leader of the Crusaders.

91. ⁴ = the 3rd September, Julian Style.

92. ⁷ I.e. the 6th Tut.

93. ⁸ = 1218 A.D.

94. ³ I.e. Al-Malik al-Kamil.

95. ¹¹ = 1218-1219 A.D.

96. ⁷ I.e. the 8th October, Julian Style.

97. ² I.e. that held by the Franks.

98. ³ I.e. Jean de Brienne, titular king of Jerusalem.

99. ⁸ Probably, by strewing rocks.

100. ¹ The First Carnival is the Sunday before the Fast of Nineveh (Jonah) and the Second Carnival is the Sunday before Lent which begins on a Monday. The period, therefore, between these two Sundays is thirteen days.

101. ² = February 2nd, Julian Style.

102. ⁵ I.e. Monday evening.

103. ⁶ = February 5th, Julian Style.

104. ⁵ I.e. the Berbers.

105. ⁷ I.e. the two Sultans.

106. ⁴ = 1220 A.D.

107. ⁵ = 1219 A.D.

108. ⁶ I.e. buildings.

109. ⁸ = April 2nd, Julian Style.

110. ¹⁰ I.e. the troops.

111. ¹ = April 10th, Julian Style.

112. ⁴ I.e. the Greek Orthodox.

113. ⁵ I.e. to the digging.

114. ⁶ I.e. the Franks’.

115. ¹ I.e. the Melkites.

116. ⁵ I.e. the Greek Orthodox.

117. ² A place four or five miles north of Mansura, where the Nile divided.

118. ³ =May 10th, Julian Style.

119. ⁴=1219 A.D.

120. ⁸ = March 27th-April 25th, Julian Style.

121. ² The month of Abib is from June 25th to July 24th,Julian Style.

122. ⁴ i.e. the church.

123. ⁵ A kamat is a measure of the height of a man.

124. ⁶ I.e. the Copts.

125. ¹ I.e. the waters of the Nile did not increase.

126. ³ = August 29th, Julian Style.

127. ⁴ In Leap Years the month of An-Nasi has six instead of five days.

128. ⁶ I.e. pigeons.

129. ⁸ = 1219 A.D.

130. ¹⁰ I.e. at fifteen cubits.

131. ¹ = September 11th, Julian Style.

132. ² I.e. the preceding Thursday.

133. ⁴ I.e. September 14th, Julian Style.

134. ¹ I.e. Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr).

135. ⁶ I.e. of Damietta.

136. ¹ = November 4th, Julian Style.

137. ² = 1219 A.D.

138. ³ I.e. Era of the Higrah.

139. ⁴ I.e. the capture of Damietta.

140. ⁵ I.e. of Damietta.

141. ¹¹ I.e. Damietta.

142. ¹ I.e. of Damietta.

143. ¹ I.e. of Damietta.

144. ² = February 11th, Julian Style.

145. ³ I.e. Lent.

146. ⁴ I.e. the yearly contribution given to the patriarch from churches and monasteries.

147. ¹ I.e. the old things.

148. ¹ = March 7th-April 5th, Julian Style.

149. ³ = April 6th, Julian Style.

150. ⁴ I.e. the general resurrection on the Last Day.

151. ⁷ = 1220 A.D.

152. ¹ I.e. of a famine.

153. ² I.e. to the farmers.

154. ³ = October 8th-November 6th, Julian Style.

155. ⁴ = November 7th-December 6th, Julian Style.

156. ⁵ I.e. Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr).

157. ⁷ = January 6th-February 4th, Julian Style. These dates must be advanced by one day in a Leap Year.

158. ¹ I.e. olive oil.

159. ² I.e. Ghengiz Khan.

160. ¹ I.e. of the Higrah =1221 A.D.

161. ² = August 8th, Julian Style.

162. ¹ I.e. Thursday night.

163. ² =August 27th, Julian Style.

164. ⁷ I.e. Friday evening.

165. ² I.e. the Frankish king.

166. ³ I.e. the Muslim kings.

167. ⁴ I.e. the Franks.

168. ⁵ I.e. the Mediterranean Sea.

169. ⁶ I.e. the Franks’.

170. ³ I.e. the Muslims.

171. ⁴ = 1221 A.D.

172. ⁵ I.e. Frederick II.

173. ⁶ A fortress on the Euphrates.

174. ⁸ I.e. with regard to the truce.

175. ¹² =August 29th-September 7th, Julian Style.

176. ² I.e. of the Higrah = 1221 A.D.

177. ⁴ There is a lacuna here in the MS.

178. ⁷ I.e. Jean de Brienne.

179. ⁹ I.e. Jean de Brienne.

180. ¹¹ I.e. from Damietta.

181. ¹² I.e. with the Muslims.

182. ¹³ I.e. the king of Acre.

183. ¹⁵ I.e. Frederick II.

184. ¹ I.e. the river’s.

185. ⁴ This, it would seem, must be the Lake Al-Manzalah, since the Burah mentioned here must be the Burah near the Lake Al-Manzalah, and not the Burah on the shore of the Mediterranean.

186. ⁸ = 1222 A.D.

187. ¹ January 5th, Julian Style.

188. ⁸ I.e. of the Nile.

189. ⁴ I.e. every church had to contribute a determined amount.

190. ⁷ =1223 A.D.

191. ⁸ = September 8th, Julian Style.

192. ¹¹ 1223 A.D.

193. ¹² Kihak ended in this year on December 26th, Julian Style.

194. ¹ A port on the Red Sea.

195. ³ = January 26th-February 24th, Julian Style.

196. ⁵ District on the eastern shore of the Red Sea.

197. ⁷ In Arabia Felix.

198. ¹ = 1225 A.D.

199. ⁷ I.e. an amount of money.

200. ¹ I.e. As-Sahib.

201. ² I.e. the Feast of Easter.

202. ⁴ = 1225 A.D.

203. ⁵ I.e. of the Higrah.

204. ⁶ I.e. the level at which taxes could be imposed.

205. ⁷ I.e. Tuesday night.

206. ⁸ = September 3rd, Julian Style.

207. ⁹ I.e. the Khalig al-Masri, for the usual ceremony, cf. S. Lane-Poole, The Story of Cairo, pp. 145-146, and D. Russell, op. cit., pp. 81-82 and 108.

208. ² I.e. heirs.

209. ² = September 28th-October 27th, Julian Style.

210. ⁴ = October 28th-November 26th, Julian Style.

211. ⁵ I.e. the Canal.

212. ⁷ Cf. H.G. Evelyn White, The Monasteries of the Wadi ‘n-Natrun, Part III, O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Monasteries of the Wadi ‘n-Natrun, pp. 28-40, O. Meinardus, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts, pp. 161-210.

213. ⁸ I.e. inheritances on which they should have paid the tax to the government.

214. ¹⁰ I.e. the monk.

215. ¹¹ I.e. the Wadi ‘n-Natrun.

216. ² I.e. the old dirhams.

217. ¹ A very small coin.

218. ² I.e. to the mint at the Citadel.

219. ⁷ I.e. the Palace.

220. ³ I.e. did not allow it to be returned.

221. ⁷ I.e. the altar-lot.

222. ⁴ I.e. the Sultanate of Rum in Asia Minor.

223. ¹ I.e. in addition to the interest agreed upon.

224. ² = July 10th, Julian Style.

225. ⁵ I.e. Al-Malik al-Mu‘azzam.

226. ⁸ The old dirham.

227. ⁹ I.e. his life.

228. ¹ I.e. the capitation tax.

229. ² I.e. Jews and Christians subject to a special tax in a moslem state.

230. ³ I.e. the head of a family.

231. ¹ I.e. Jews and Christians living in an Islamic state and subject to a special tax.

232. ⁴ I.e. the origin of the slaves.

233. ⁶ I.e. the two canals or watercourses in question.

234. ⁷ = July 31st, Julian Style.

235. ⁸ = 1227 A.D.

236. ¹¹ Probably, the Birkat Al-Fil.

237. ¹² = August 19th, Julian Style.

238. ¹ I.e. of the Higrah.

239. ² There is a blank space here in the MS.

240. ³ = August 20th, Julian Style.

241. ⁴ = August 23rd, Julian Style.

242. ⁵ = August 24th, Julian Style.

243. ⁶ The sacrifice of animals at funerals, cf. S. Blackmann, The Fellahin of Upper Egypt, London, 1927, p. 110.

244. ⁸ The MS. reads thus. Is Hubb an error for Habas?

245. ⁹ 1227 A.D.

246. ¹¹ = September 1st, Julian Style.

247. ¹² = September 2nd, Julian Style.

248. ¹³ I.e. the Canal of Cairo (Khalig al-Masri).

249. ¹ = September 3rd, Julian Style.

250. ⁵= October 8th.

251. ³ I.e. the island of Raudah.

252. ⁴ I.e. from his camp at the Birkat.

253. ² I.e. Lent.

254. ¹ = July 25th-August 30th, Julian Style.

255. ² = 1228 A.D.

256. ³ = September 1st, Julian Style.

257. ⁴ = September 15th, Julian Style.

258. ⁵ = September 16th, Julian Style.

259. ⁴ I.e. the Bab Zuwailah.

260. ⁷ = 1228 A.D.

261. ⁵ I.e. the Franks.

262. ⁶ = 1228 A.D.

263. ¹⁰ The last day of Kihak in this year was December 27th, Julian Style.

264. ¹² I.e. the Wadi ‘n-Natrun.

265. ⁴ I.e. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1194-1250 A.D.

266. ⁵ This word can also mean ‘blades, knives ‘.

267. ¹ = July 23rd. Cf. R. Grousset. L’Epopee des Croisades, p. 318.

268. ³ I.e. his camp.

269. ⁷ 1228 A.D.

270. ¹⁰ I.e. Frederick II.

271. ² Certainly not in the West. He was twice excommunicated.

272. ⁶ = 1228 A.D.

273. ⁶ I.e. the camp.

274. ⁷ I.e. Al-Mugahid Sirkuh II.

275. ⁹ I.e. Frederick II.

276. ⁹ I.e. Lent.

277. ¹¹ I.e. the Feast of Easter.

278. ³ I.e. the Crac des Chevaliers.

279. ⁸ =1229A.D.

280. ⁶ = June 19th, Julian Style.

281. ⁸ I.e. Abib.

282. ¹⁰ = June 20th, Julian Style.

283. ¹¹ I.e. the Nile and the Canal of Cairo.

284. ¹² I.e. Wednesday evening.

285. ¹³ = August 2nd, Julian Style.

286. ¹⁴ = August 14th, Julian Style.

287. ⁶ I.e. the rising of the Nile.

288. ⁹ =1230 A.D.

289. ¹⁰ Tut 1st = August 29th, Julian Style.

290. ² = May 26th-June 24th, Julian Style.

291. ³ I.e. Ragab.

292. ⁴ I.e. the rising of the Nile.

293. ⁵ =June 25th-July 30th, Julian Style.

294. ⁶ = August 3rd, Julian Style.

295. ¹ = August 4th, Julian Style.

296. ² = August 13th, Julian Style.

297. ³ I.e. the two branches of the Nile formed by the Island of Roda.

298. ⁴ =August 14th, Julian Style.

299. ⁶ = August 18th, Julian Style.

300. ⁷ = August 25th, Julian Style.

301. ⁸ I.e. A.H. = 1230A.D.

302. ⁹ = August 27th, Julian Style.

303. ² = 1231 A.D.

304. ³ = 1231 A.D.

305. ⁶ = September 4th, Julian Style.

306. ⁹ = September 14th, Julian Style.

307. ¹¹ = September 21st, Julian Style.

308. ³ = October 28th-November 26th, Julian Style.

309. ⁴ = December 27th-January 25th, Julian Style.

310. ⁶ I.e. the Government.

311. ² = January 26th-February 24th, Julian Style.

312. ⁴ I.e. the Nile.

313. ⁶= February 8th-March 9th, Gregorian Style.

314. ⁷ I.e. the Nile.

315. ⁹ = June 19th, Julian Style.

316. ¹ I.e. the water.

317. ³ = June 25th-July 24th, Julian Style.

318. ⁴ = July 25th-August 23rd, Julian Style.

319. ⁵ = August 24th-29th, Julian Style.

320. ⁶ = 1232 A.D.

321. ⁸ I.e. of the Nile.

322. ⁹ I.e. the Niles.

323. ¹⁰ I.e. the Nile’s.

324. ¹¹ = August 30th-September 28th, Julian Style.

325. ¹² = September 7th, Julian Style.

326. ⁵ I.e. this account.

327. ⁶ = October 24th, Julian Style.

328. ⁴ I.e. the Monastery of Saint Antony.

329. ⁶ = 1232 A.D.

330. ² March 27th-ApriI 25 Julian Style.

331. ³ I.e. A.H.= 1232 A.D.

332. ⁶ = August 25th, Julian Style.

333. ⁷ = August 9th, Julian Style.

334. ² = 1233 A.D.

335. ³ = October 4th, Julian Style.

336. ⁴ = September 28th and 29th and October 2nd, Julian Style.

337. ⁶ The black dirham had the value of three nasri dirhams.

338. ² Kihak = November 27th-December 26th, Julian Style.

339. ³ I.e. of the Higrah, and = 1233 A.D.

340. ⁹ I. e. the Monastery of Saint Mararius.

341. ³ The Island of Rodah causes the Nile to divide into two arms which meet again below it.

342. ⁵ = July 18th, Julian Style. All the following dates are according to the Julian Style.

343. ⁶ I.e. the Canal of Cairo.

344. ⁷ = July 23rd.

345. ⁸ = July 30th.

346. ⁹ = August 12th.

347. ¹⁰ = 1232 A.D.

348. ¹² =August 19th.

349. ¹³ = 1234 A.D.

350. ¹ = September 9th, Julian Style.

351. ² = September 13th, Julian Style.

352. ³ = September 14th, Julian Style.

353. ⁵ September 15th, Julian Style.

354. ⁶ = September 28th-October 27th, Julian Style.

355. ¹ Province of Arabia.

356. ² = May 16th, Julian Style.

357. ³ = May 25th, Julian Style.

358. ⁶ = June 5th-July 4th. Julian Style.

359. ⁷ I.e. the height of the water at the bottom of the Nilometer.

360. ⁸ = June 29th, Julian Style.

361. ¹ = July 28th, Julian Style.

362. ² = 1234 A.D.

363. ³ = August 16th, Julian Style.

364. ⁵ I.e. the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in Asia Minor.

365. ⁴ I.e. the Wooden Bridge.

366. ⁶ = 1235 A.D.

367. ⁴ I.e. Kharpout.

368. ¹ This is probably the Monastery of Barsuma, the site of which has been discovered at Borsum Kalesi in Turkey, cf. J. Leroy, Moines et Monasteres du Proche-Orient, Paris, 1958, p. 210.

369. ³ I.e. of the Higrah.

370. ⁴ = Jan. 29th, 1235 A.D. Julian Style.

371. ⁶ I.e. the returning troops.

372. ³ I.e. the Nativity of our Lord.

373. ⁵ I.e. the monks ‘.

374. ² I.e. the Greek Orthodox Monastery of Saint Arsenius at Tura.

375. ³ I.e. the order of the Sullan.

376. ⁶ = May 28th, Julian Style.

377. ² I.e. Alexandria.

378. ⁷ I.e. with regard to the date of his consecration.

379. ⁵ I.e. what amount of money.

380. ¹ I.e. a sum of money.

381. ² = June 24th, Julian Style.

382. ³ I.e. such expressions.

383. ⁴ Cf. P.K. Hitti, History of the Arabs, p. 141.

384. ⁵ =May 28th. Julian Style.

385. ³ = June 11th, Julian Style.

386. ⁶ = June 16th, Julian Style.

387. ¹¹ = June 18th, Julian Style.

388. ² Cf. G. Graf, Verzeichnis Arabischer Kirchlicher Termini, Louvain, 1954, p. 21 — ὁσιομάρτυρ. This Saint is Peter, the Crown of the Martyrs, Patriarch of Alexandria from 300-311 A.D.

389. ³ The two Venetian merchants who removed the body of Saint Mark from Alexandria to Venise were Buono di Malamoceo and Rustico di Torcello, in 828 A.D. Cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Christian Egypt Ancient and Modern, first edition, p. 114.

390. ⁴ 1189-1216 A.D.

391. ⁸ = July 6th, Julian Style.

392. ² This is most probably the Yuhauna Ibn Wahib Ibn Yuhanna Ibn Bulus, a friend of David, who is mentioned on p. 6.

393. ⁴ I.e. the Kasr as-Sam‘ on two of the bastions of which is built the Church Al-Mu‘allakah.

394. ⁵ = July 15th, Julian Style.

395. ⁷ I.e. John x, 1-16.

396. ⁸ According to the rubric, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Bukmester, op. cit., p. 90, this Gospel is read first in Greek and then in Coptic.

397. ¹⁰ I.e. the Islamic religious law.

398. ⁵ Markurius (Mercurius) must be a scribal error, since this day, the 22nd Abib, = July 16th, Julian Style) is the feast of Saint Macarius.

399. ⁶ This must have been the Church of Saint Mercurius, as is shown later.

400. ¹ I.e. the writer.

401. ⁷ At various periods the Christians were forbidden to ride horses and mules.

402. ³ = July 22nd, Julian Style.

403. ⁴ = July 29th, Julian Style.

404. ³ According to the Canon Law of the Coptic Church, children of a second or third marriage are excluded from ordination.

405. ⁵ = 1236 A.D.

406. ⁴ I.e. the troops of the Sultan of the Rum.

407. ¹ I.e. The young male slave.

408. ⁴ Sic. lege? Dyarbekir.

409. ¹ = September 28th-October 27th, Julian Style.

410. ² = January 26th-February 24th, Julian Style.

411. ⁵ Since the Church Al-Mu‘allakah is built on two bastions of the Roman Castle at Babylon (cf. O.H.E. KES-Burmester, A Guide to the Ancient Coptic Churches of Cairo, pp. 14-15, 23), the storey in question would have been at about the same level as that part of the minaret from which the muezzin calls for prayer.

412. ⁶ Mark III. Patriarch of Alexandria, 1166-1189 A.D.

___________________________________________

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume IV, Part II

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE EGYPTIAN CHURCH

KNOWN AS THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY CHURCH

CYRIL III, IBN LAKLAK
(1216-1243 A.D.)

PUBLICATIONS DE LA SOCIETE D’ARCHEOLOGIE COPTE
TEXTES ET DOCUMENTS XV

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE EGYPTIAN CHURCH
KNOWN AS THE HISTORY OF THE HOLY CHURCH
ACCORDING TO
MS. ARABE 302 BIBLIOTHEQUE NATIONALE, PARIS FOLL. 287^v° —- 355^r°

VOLUME IV. PART II

CYRIL III, IBN LAKLAK
(1216-1243 A.D.)

TRANSLATED AND ANNOTATED

ANTOINE KHATER O.H.E. KHS-BURMESTER

LL. D., PARIS PH. D., CANTAB.

LE CAIRE —- IMPRIMERIE DE L’lNSTITUT FRANCAIS D’ARCHEOLOGIE ORIENTALE.

And there was among the rights of the mentioned storey a terrace at the side of the prayer-house (al-Masğid), and it was exposed to the prayer-house (al-Masğid). And the patriarch wished to make a covering over it, and the mentioned muezzin (al-Mu’adhdhin) forbade him. And when it (the covering) was made, he (the muezzin) went up (and) he demolished it and he removed (it), and they did not remain on good terms. And it happened that the patriarch went out to Miniat Surad⁽²⁾to celebrate at it the feast of the Mistress ⁽³⁾ on the twenty-first day of (the month of) Tubah And the mentioned storey was unoccupied, and, in the morning, he who had with him the keys of the cell (κελλίον), went up to it, and he found the doors were locked from the outside (and) secure, but the upper door had been broken, and another place had been broken through, and the door of the wardrobe was deprived of its panel, and there was there much raiment. And the patriarch came and he did not find missing (anything), save a silver paten and a silver cross in which was a piece of the True Cross ⁽⁵⁾; and all the raiment was safe, and it had value. And the door-keepers came, and they testified that this breaking through ⁽⁶⁾ was not made, except from the side of the prayer-house (al-Masğid), and they informed the governor (al-Wali) about this. And he (the governor) took the muezzin (al-Mu’adhdhin) and he

⁽²⁾ This place was in the district of Cairo and had a celebrated church dedicated to the All-Holy Virgin Mary. It is mentioned by Al-Makrizi, cf. B.T.A. Evetts, The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt, p. 3A5. This may be the modern town Musturud which is 3 km. west of Al-Matariah, where there is a celebrated church dedicated to the All-Holy Virgin, cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Christian Egypt Ancient and Modern, 1st ed., pp. 176-177.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the All-Holy Virgin Mary.

⁽⁴⁾ = January 16th, Julian Style. This day is the Feast of the Falling-asleep of the All-Holy Virgin, and it is distinct from the Feast of her Assumption on Masri 16th August 9th, Julian Style.

—- 150 —-

imprisoned him; and intercession came from some of the notables of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) to the patriarch on his account, but he (the patriarch) refused to have him brought out. And the muezzins (al-Mu’adhdhinun) of the old mosque (al-Ğama`) at Cairo (Misr) banded together and they (were) a great multitude. And they began to gather in groups and to come to the mentioned prayer-house (al-Masğid), and they called to prayer altogether, so that the quarter was troubled by them, and complaint of their action was made to the judge Ğamal ad-Din [I]bn al-Mathli, the possessor of the Diwan of Imprisonment (al-Ahbas). And he ordered that no (one) should call to prayer in the prayer-house (al-Masğid), except one muezzin (Mu’adhdhin), and the affair resulted in the closing of the mentioned prayer-house (al-Masğid). And the common Muslims (al-Muslimun) gathered together, and they came in an innumerable crowd to the door of the prayer-house (al-Masğid), and they broke the locks which were on it, and they ascended to the minaret, and they shouted for assistance⁽¹⁾ and they jabbered; and there assembled at the door of the Church Al-Mu`allakah a crowd not to be counted, and the souls of the faithful were afraid. And it was the first Sunday of Lent, and the patriarch was vested, and he was at the Divine Liturgy (al-Kuddas), and he celebrated the Liturgy (Kuddas) of Cyril (Kirullus) ⁽⁴⁾ and the governor came, and he sent away the people, and the affair ended well. And the majority of the crowd went to the Amir Ğamal ad-Din [IJbn Yaghmur, the representative of the Sultan, and they complained to him and they said: «O our Sire, the prayer-houses (al-Masağid) are closed, and the churches are open!» And he said: «This conversation is not to be heard, but all must be open; and he who desires the prayer-house (al-Masğid), let him go up to it, and he who desires the church, let him go up to it, only none should be harmed

⁽¹⁾ I.e. from God.

⁽⁴⁾ Cf. E.F. Brightman, Liturgies Eastern and Western, pp. 144-188. This Liturgy, though extremely rarely celebrated nowadays, is used especially in Lent.

—- 151 —-

and no one should oppose another —- these are subject(s) of the Sultan and you know (it), and if this prayer-house (al-Masğid) is poor, I will support it, only violation by anyone of another’s rights is not permitted». And the Muslims (al-Muslimun) went away and they gathered among them something and they whitened the prayer-house (al-Masğid), and they made at it a stone-bench (Mastabah) and they whitened it, and nothing happened from them except good. And the Christians (an-Nasara), during all this period, were (living) with the Muslims (al-Muslimin) in great equity and considerable respect and. common good-feeling, and may God —- praised be He! —- preserve their days and make victorious their Sultan, and he in our Sultan, and their Imam, and he is our shepherd. And after this, the father, the patriarch turned to the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar) ⁽²⁾ in the sixth week of the Holy Lent, and with him a body of the bishops of Lower Egypt (al-Wağh al-Bahart), and of the priests and of the deacons, and a great multitude. And he (the patriarch) had obtained release by the Sultan Al-Malik al-`Adil, of some of the ointment of balsam⁽⁴⁾, and he (the Sultan) commanded it for him. And he (the patriarch) took it with him, and he went to the Monastery, and he celebrated the Divine Liturgy on Maundy Thursday according to the rule and the custom. And there was with him a great company of the priests of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and the districts. And he wished to appease their hearts by consecrating them (the Holy Oils) in the Sanctuary of

⁽¹⁾ I.e. some money.

⁽²⁾ Cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, Monks and Monasteries of the Egyptian Deserts, pp. 160-210 and O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Monasteries of the Wadi ‘n-Natrun, pp. 28-40.

⁽⁴⁾ For the balsam-trees which once grew at Al-Matariah (Cairo), cf. O.F.A. Meinardus, In the Steps of the Holy Family, Cairo, 1963, pp. 8 and 32-35. balsam is one of the essential ingredients in the preparation of the Chrism, cf. Arn, van Lantschoot, ‘Le MS. Vatican Copte 44et le Livre du Chreme (ms. Paris arabe 100)’, in Le Museon, t. XLV, pp. 181-234.

—- 152 —-

Benjamin (Banyamin)⁽¹⁾. But the monks became enraged at this, and they came with the crutches ⁽²⁾ and they broke some of the lamps (κανδήλιον) of the church, but the patriarch did not pay any attention to them, and he completed his work, and he went out to his cell (κελλίον) in which he passed the night. And when it was morning, he prayed in it (the cell) the Prayer of the First Hour of Good Friday. And when the monks had assembled and had come to him, they made an obeisance (μετάνοια) to him, and they besought that he should forgive to them their error, and they submitted to every condition (he might lay) upon them, and they had habits from which he removed them. And he came to the church, and he rejoiced, and he accomplished the Feast ⁽⁴⁾, and he ordained him who wished to be ordained, only the ordination (fee) was a necessity on account of what remained of the sum owing to the Sultan. Then he (the patriarch) turned to the port of Alexandria, and he stayed at it for a time, and there occurred for him in it what had occurred in the Monastery with its priests. Then they returned to obedience and to what was agreed on by the group. And this patriarch had strength of soul and patience and forbearance, and he did not pay attention to anything of what occurred. Then he returned to Cairo (Misr), after he had passed through the towns of (the Province of) Al-Gharbiah, and most of Lower Egypt (al-Wağh al-Bahari), and had visited its churches. And the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- was staying in Syria (aš-Šam). And the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani, the monk, (was) with

^(l) For the Sanctuary of Benjamin at the Monastery of Saint Macarius, cf. H.G. Evelyn White, The Monasteries of the Wadi ‘n-Natrun, vol. II, pp. 300-301 and vol. IIII, pp. 41-45, and O.H.E. KHS-Burmesteu, The Egyptian or Coptic Church, pp. 220-234.

⁽²⁾ These are placed under the arm by the monks to obtain support during the long hours of the Office.

⁽⁴⁾ Le. Easter.

—- 153 —-

them ⁽¹⁾ at the Church of Abba (Abu) Sergius (Sarğah) in Cairo (Misr), and he used not to obey the patriarch nor to assemble with him nor to agree to anything of his works. And the patriarch used not to come to the mentioned church, and there was nothing in it for him, except the mention of his name in the Divine Liturgies and the Prayers and nothing-else. And he (As-Sani) used to say: «If it were not for the order of the Sultan, I would forbid him who mentions his name in this church (to do so), because this one is not a patriarch, but he is a lessee of the patriarchate from the Sultan, and the Sultan is not to be opposed», and he used to mention things by which he criticized adversely and menaced (the patriarch). And in these days, he (the Sultan) ordered to be dug the side of the river, at the bank, that he might lay in it the foundations of the wall which he had ordered to be built at Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah). And he sent to the patriarch, and he ordered him that he should bring his companions and dig with the people. And he set apart for him a place amounting in length to one hundred cubits for the depth of the foundations. And all the people had come, the amirs and the notables and the governors (al-Wulat) and the rest of the people; and (as regards) the Jews (al-Yahud), they brought them out with the bringing out of the Christians (an-Nasara). And the people became ashamed, and they came from every place, and they dug, and they remained thus nearly a month; then they finished the work and they rested. And the patriarch used to provide for them with regard to what they ate and they drank; and he ceased taking simony (xeirotoni/a),or it was little and rarely. And the prices decreased and things were to be found, and safety was general in the lands. And as for the elder (aš-Šaikh) Niš al-Khilafat Abu (Aba) ‘l-Fatuh, (it was) that the patriarch had gone to his dwelling at night and had passed the night with him, and this had made an impression on him, and he became neither a friend

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the group which was opposed to the patriarch Cyril III.

—- 154 —-

nor an enemy, but he remained aside, except that he multiplied visits to the church of Abba (Abu) Sergius (Sarğah) and to meetings with the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani, the monk. And the patriarch had forbidden that a monk should reside in a city or in the Rif ⁽²⁾, except during the days of harvesting, not otherwise; and the conditions continued thus. Then the news arrived that the troops of the Rum (ar-Rum) ⁽³⁾ had gone out and had come to Harran (Harran) ⁽⁴⁾ and (that) they had burned the hostel which (was) on its outskirts, and (that) they had taken captives and had pillaged; and (that) they had returned and had descended at Amid ⁽⁵⁾ (and) had besieged it. And the blessed water (of the Nile) increased, and the people were assured thereby. And the command of the Sultan came to bring out the troops, and there were not present of them, except a few of the soldiers and some amirs, since all were in the service of the Sultan at Damascus (Dimašk)⁽⁶⁾. And they were equipped, and they went out marching in succession in tens and fifteens, and more or less, and they were weak, (and) they had nothing (to eat) through the deficiency of their bakeries. And the price of cereals diminished, and the situation continued thus. And there entered the year nine hundred and fifty-three ⁽⁷⁾, and the blessed Nile (an-Nil) reached to eighteen cubits and eight fingers, and the prices decreased and good things were found in abundance. Then (it was) that a group of the archons (ἄρχων) assembled, and they went up to the father, the patriarch, at the Church Al-Mu`allakah, and they said to him: «Until when will you do these things by which you have made us an opprobrium among the nations and the peoples?». He said to them: «What are these (things)?»

⁽²⁾ Cf. O.H.E. KHS-Buhmesteb, ‘The Rif of Egypt’, in Orientalia, vol. VIII, fasc. 1-2, pp. 96-119.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Seljuk Sultanate of Rum in Asia Minor.

⁽⁴⁾ Cf. P.K. Hitti, History of Syria, map on page 165.

⁽⁵⁾ Cf. R. Grousset, L’Empire du Levant, Carte 7.

⁽⁶⁾ Cf. B. Meistermann, Guide de Terre Sainte, pp. 578-597.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. 953 A.M.= 1237 A.D.

—- 155 —-

They said to him: «Your taking simony for the priesthood. And he said: «We have to acquit the money of the Sultan». And they said to him: «And what compelled you to be under obligation for the money to the Sultan?» He said: «(It was) you who decided the money for the king». They said: «It was not specified for you to incur it, nor what the patriarchate forced upon you, but you did exert yourself for it, and you did solicit it, and up to to-day you have striven for it twenty years, and you have ruined our Church». He said: «I have not ruined your Church, but I have built it up; and there did not remain in it a bishop, and there are in it to-day fifty bishops, and of priests, their number is not to be counted». And the conversation increased, and decreased between them, (and) the end of the affair (was) that he (the patriarch) swore that the sum which (was due) to the Sultan had not been paid off till now, and that there remained of it up to that hour three hundred dinars. They said to him: «And other bishops take simony». He said: «And who approves of this for the bishops? By God, it has not reached me that any bishop has taken simony, and these my letters go through the land to this (effect)». They said: «And you ordain the children of a second (marriage)». He said: «Show me a canon (kanw/n)in which they are excluded from the priesthood». They said: «(It is) the custom of our church and what is followed by the tradition of our fathers». He said: «I am in agreement with you about this, that it is a custom for you, not a divine law or a legislation». They said: «And we desire letters (to be sent) to the two districts, the southern and the northern ⁽⁵⁾ to forbid simonyand to stop the ordination of children of a wife of a second husband». He said: «I will write them and will send them to you». And the council separated without anything (having been done), and he (the patriarch)

⁽⁴⁾ In the Coptic Church the children of a second marriage are excluded from ordination.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Upper and Lower Egypt.

—- 156 —-

did not write the letters, and he did not do anything. Then sickness befell the people and death, as in the Tax (year) ⁽¹⁾, and more severe, and this continued, and many people died, and the patriarch became seriously sick and he drew nigh in it (the sickness) unto death, and God granted to him health. Then (it was) that the Sultan —-may God empower his victory! —- returned from his journey to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected on the twenty-second of (the month of) Kihak ⁽²⁾, triumphantly supported, and he went out to the port of Damietta (Dumyat) the protected on the twentieth of (the month of) Amšir at which he stayed for a time. Then he transferred to the port of Alexandria, and he remained at it for a while, and it was his purpose to remain at it for a long time, because it is nice in summer, (and) he had arranged in it a house, the like of which not one of the kings had seen; but an affair occurred, and it compelled him to depart from it and to come to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected. And it was that his brother Al-Malik al-Ašraf, Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk) and Sinğar (Sinğar) ⁽⁶⁾, changed his heart (towards him) and hatred occurred between them, and he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) returned to arrange this affair. And a messenger of the Caliph (al-Khalifat) had arrived from Baghdad (Baghdad), and he was a jurisconsult of its notables, and he came to the Sultan to Damietta (Dumyat). And he assembled with him with the object of making peace with the King of the Rum ⁽⁹⁾ between both of whom there was warfare. And the Sultan sent with him a messenger on his behalf, and they both journeyed until

⁽¹⁾ Cf. P. Casanova, ‘Makrizi: Description Historique et Topographique de l’Egypte, chapter entitled «Concordance de l’Annee Kharadji (Fiscale) des Coptes avec l’Annee Hilali (Lunaire) des Arabes», in Mem. Inst. Franc. Arch. Orient. du Caire, t. III, pp. 66-101.

⁽²⁾ = December 18th, Julian Style.

⁽⁴⁾ = February 14th, Julian Style.

⁽⁶⁾ For Sinğar, cf. S. Lane-Poole, Saladin, p. 165.

⁽⁹⁾ This would be Kay-Kubad, Seljuk Sultan of Rum (Asia Minor), cf. S. Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt, p. 229.

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they reached Caesarea (Kaisariah) ⁽¹⁾ and it is the seat ⁽²⁾ of the kingdom of the Rum ⁽³⁾ for the Muslims (al-Muslimin). And it happened on their arrival, that the mentioned King of the Rum (ar-Rum) ⁽⁴⁾ died, and they did not assemble with him, and there sat on his throne his son, and he set free the captives who were with him of the troops of Egypt (Misr) and Syria (aš-Šam) whom his father had taken captive at the mentioned time. Then (it was) that our Sire, the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- released the captives who were with him, all of whom he had taken from the fortresses which he had taken back from the Rum (ar-Rum). And the news was confirmed about the opposition of Al-Malik al-Ašraf to our Sire, the Sultan, and there agreed with him on this the Possessor of Emesa (Hims) and the Possessor of Hamah (Hamah) and the majority of the kings of the East to the extent that he (Al-Malik al-Ašraf) expelled his (the Sultan’s) representatives who were at Damascus (Dimašk), and he took his stores which were in it and the stores of the son of his brother Al-Malik an-Nasir, the Possessor of Le Crac de Moab (al-Karak), because he was under obedience to the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil; and he (the nephew) came to serve him in Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected on Friday, the second of (the month of) Abib ⁽⁹⁾ of this year. And the day of his passing through was a remarkable day, because the two cities ⁽¹⁰⁾ were decorated, and the walls from the Bab an-Nasr up to the Citadel the protected. And every amir took

⁽¹⁾ In Cappadocia.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the capital.

⁽³⁾ This would be Kay-Kubad, Seljuk Sultan of Rum (Asia Minor), cf. S. Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt, p. 229.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Seljuk Sultan of Rum (Asia Minor).

⁽⁹⁾ = June 26th, Julian Style.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I.e. Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr).

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a tower and two or three curtains, and among them (were) those who took two towers according to their ability, and they decorated them with their equipment and their banners and their weapons and wonderful pictures and strange machines. And everyone was wishing to excel the other, and it was an admirable, wonderful affair. And as for the Citadel no one decorated it, except the Sultan and his attendants and his servants who were dwelling (there). And the enclosure of the church of the Island ⁽²⁾ had fallen down, and the river had taken away the garden which it had and some of the chapels of the upper part, and there was fear for the mosque (al-Ğama`) which was at it, and it is the Nilometer (al-Mikyas) And the order of the Sultan went out to the governor (al-Wali) of Cairo (Misr) that he should authorize the patriarch to build them. And he descended at them and he provided for them and (re-)built them. And it was said that he spent on them a thousand dinars, and their building (was) by his (the patriarch’s) order; (and) a hall at the river with windows, and (it was made) with great eagerness, (and) we shall not see better than it. And he (the patriarch) celebrated the Divine Liturgy at it (the church), and he sat on the synthronus (σύνθρονος) and there was read on it the Prologus (πρόλογος) and he took it (the church) from the bishop of Gizah (al-Ğizah), and it became the patriarchate, and he resided at it. And, likewise, the monasteries in all the lands of Egypt (al-Misriyat), he made them all patriarchal, and he did not give to a bishop jurisdiction, except in the churches of the cities alone. Then (it was) that he consecrated a metropolitan (Mutran) for

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Island of Rodah.

—- 159 —-

Jerusalem, and the Littoral and Syria (aš-Šam) up to the districts of the Euphrates (al-Furat), and he despatched him thither. And some of the archons resented this, and they said: «This is what is not allowed, because these lands belong to the Throne of Antioch (Antakiah), and the two Sees⁽³⁾ (are) one, and there will occur through this a division and it will not conform to custom». And the patriarch did not pay heed, but he consecrated him, and he gave to him jurisdiction in all those lands, even in the lands of the Franks (al-Afranğ), and he sent him. And when it was the Feast of the Holy Resurrection ⁽⁶⁾, Abba (Anba) Ignatius (Aghnalius), Patriarch of the Syrians (as-Suryan) ⁽⁷⁾, arrived at Jerusalem and the Catholicos, Patriarch of the Armenians (al-Arman). And when this news arrived, the patriarch⁽⁹⁾ prepared for the Patriarch of the Syrians (as-Suryan) a gift of Egypt (Misr), and he sent with it the Bishop of Al-Khandak and one of the priests of Egypt (Misr). And when they reached Jerusalem the news came to the Patriarch of their arrival and he went out to meet them with gospels and censers and crosses, and he received them with him. And the Bishop of Al-Khandak went to the Patriarch of the Syrians (as-Suryan), (and) he assembled with him and he greeted him, and he gave to him the letter of the father, the patriarch ⁽⁹⁾, and his present. And it was aloe-wood incense and two hand-towels (μανδήλιον) and an ebony staff. And he kissed them, and he drew nigh to them ⁽¹³⁾, and he said to them: «The father, the patriarch

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Monophysite Sees of Antioch and Jerusalem.

⁽⁶⁾I.e. Easter.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Ignatius II, Patriarch of Antioch, 1222-1253 A.D.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. the Patriarch Cyril III.

⁽¹³⁾ I.e. the bishop of Al-Khandak and the priest.

—- 160 —-

Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus), (is) my brother, but this devil ⁽¹⁾ has cast (dissension) between us and he has divided the Church, and he has nothing to do with me», meaning the metropolitan (al-Mutran). And they departed from him, and he sent to them, and he asked them to lodge with him. And the bishop refused, and he said: «I am staying with the metropolitan (al-Mutran), and I am unable to depart from him, except with his permission». And the Patriarch of the Syrians (as-Suryan) was angered at this, and he returned the gift, and he interdicted the metropolitan (al-Mutran), and he did not see the bishop again face to face. And as for the metropolitan (al-Mutran), (it was) that he sought help from the Franks (al-Afranğ), and he made friends with a group of them, and he ministered in the churches of the Copts (al-Kibt), he and his people. And it was said that the Franks (al-Afranğ) obtained his signature that his confession (was) their confession and his creed (was) their creed, and that this was a custom for them, that no one of the races should minister except after this. And the Bishop of Al-Khandakand those who were with him separated themselves (from him) on bad terms. Then (it was) that the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- equipped the troops in succession, and he began to send out troops and to follow them with others. And, in these days, news arrived that the Tartars (at-Talar) had descended upon Arbela (Irbil) and had taken it by the sword; and it is said that they slew in its mosque (Ğama`) seventy thousand souls, but the fortress remained impregnable for them. And they marched to the Possessor of Mosul (al-Mausil)and its possessor yielded to them, and he bore to them the ransom and supplies and provisions, because between them there was a distance of not less than a day. And the news from the East and the West indicated that conditions were confused. And the blessed Nile (an-Nil), came up to its

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the metropolitan consecrated by the patriarch Cyril III.

—- 161 —-

measure, in this year, in the daytime of Thursday, the thirteenth of (the month of) Misra ⁽¹⁾, and it was the Feast of the Transfiguration on Mount Thabor (Tur Thabur)⁽²⁾. And it was an early Nile (an-Nil), and its increase came in succession, and prices were cheap and things were to be found and (they were) cheap to an extreme, and the people (were) in great prosperity with abundant good things. Then the year nine hundred and fifty-four ⁽³⁾ entered, and the water increased until it reached twenty-three fingers above ninteen cubits. And it was, when it reached eighteen fingers above nineteen cubits, (that) the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- ordered that it (the news) should not be proclaimed, but individuals knew this from the reports which were sent to the Sultan every day. And the news arrived from Damascus (Dimašk) that Al-Malik al-Ašraf had died, but this was not authenticated until they came to offer condolence for him, and there was made for him a repast in his memory, and the affair was noised abroad. Then (it was) that `Imad ar-Rahib al-Miršad who was the cause for the consecration of the patriarch ⁽⁸⁾ and had become an enemy to him, when he dismissed him, assembled with a person called Al-Asa`d [A]bu ‘l-Karam, the grandson of the sister of the late patriarch ⁽¹⁰⁾. And this patriarch had chosen him, and had made him his confident, and all what he ⁽¹¹⁾ used to receive (was) through his ⁽¹²⁾ hand, and he acknowledged before the assembly several times that (he was) satisfied with his⁽¹²⁾ words, and that all what he had received (was) through his ⁽¹²⁾ hand, and that there

⁽¹⁾ = August 6th, Julian Style.

⁽²⁾ The traditional site of the Transfiguration of Our Lord, cf. B. Meistermann, Guide de Terre Sainte, pp. 510-518.

⁽³⁾ I.e. 954 A.M. = 1237 AD.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. Cyril III.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I.e. John VI, 1189-1216 A.D.

⁽¹¹⁾ I.e. Cyril III.

⁽¹²⁾ I.e. Al-Asa`d Abu ‘l-Karam.

—- 162 —-

remained owing by the patriarch three hundred gold dinars. And Al-Asa`d was informed of this and a quarrel occurred between the patriarch and him on account of a matter (which is) not known. And he agreed with this monk, and he made detailed lists, with the names of those from whom the patriarch had taken simonyand other than it through his (Al-Asa`d’s) own hand during the period of his companionship with him up till he separated from him; (and) they (the lists) included (a statement of) nine thousand and two hundred dinars. And both of them took them (the lists), and they went up with them to the Citadel, and there were copies (of them). And the amir Nur ad-Din [I]bn al-Amir Fakhr ad-Din Uthman, the equerry of the House, received a copy and the judge Al-Asa`d al-Faizi, the wazir, received a copy. And both of them sent to bring the patriarch into the presence of Ar-Rahib and Al-Asa`d, and they set them face to face. And the matter was agreed on that the patriarch should arrange (to pay) a thousand dinars to the prosperous Treasury. And while he was arranging (to pay) it, (it happened that) there was a man, a goldsmith, known as Baha, and he was of the companions of the patriarch, and he (it was) who used to serve him and give hospitality to him in the days when he was a layman; and he had a shop in the Bazaar of the Goldsmiths in Cairo (al-Kahirah). And it happened that a slave stole from the Citadel gold, and he went down with it to the shop of this Baha, and he delivered it to him, and he received for it a sum (of money). Then (it was) that this mentioned goldsmith dealt with some of the gold and melted it down. And when it was known in these days about the slave that he had received the money, he was seized and he was beaten and he was put to the torture, and he confessed with regard to the mentioned Baha. And he (Baha) was taken, and he was put under surety, and he was dishonoured thereby, and the greater part of the gold was recovered from him; and he lost all what he had possessed, as a compensation for what was missing

—- 163 —-

of it. Then, after that, they returned to the patriarch with the demand ⁽¹⁾, and they said: «This ⁽²⁾ (was) your companion and you knew of that ⁽³⁾and did approve (of it)». And the end of the matter (was) that they imposed on him five hundred dinars more. And it resulted (that) there was claimed from him one thousand, five hundred dinars, and he paid them off. And as for Baha, he remained under arrest for some days, until he should pay off what was claimed from him, so that (it was) that he, the wretched man reached the condition that he sought (money) from the people. And after that, when it was known that there did not remain to him anything, he was cast into the dungeon; and as for the slave, his hand was cut off. Then (it was) that our Sire, the Sultan, departed from Cairo (al-Kahirah), going towards Damascus (Dimašk), on Thursday, the eighteenth of (the month of) Babah ⁽⁶⁾ in this year, and he reached it, and he descended at it, and he besieged it, and the fighting was fierce for it from within and from without for some days. And the messenger of the Caliph (al-Khalifat) was a man called Ibn al-Guzi, and he mediated between the Sultan and ⁽⁷⁾ his brother who was in it ⁽⁸⁾, and he was Al-Malik as-Salih Ghazi. And they became reconciled on the condition that he (the Sultan) should give to Al-Malik (as-Salih Ghazi) together with Busra, his fortress which he had at Ba`albek (Ba`alabakk), and other lands. And he delivered up to the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil the city of Damascus (Dimašk) and he passed over to it in the daytime of Wednesday, the fourth of (the month of)

⁽¹⁾ I.e. for the thousand dinars.

⁽²⁾ I.e. Baha.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the theft.

⁽⁶⁾ = October 15th, Julian Style.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. Damascus.

—- 164 —-

Kihal ⁽¹⁾and Emesa (Hims) and Aleppo (Halab) did not enter into the oath. And sickness again spread among the people, as in previous years, and many people died. And the Sultan resided at Damascus (Dimašk), and his power became great, and he resolved to go out to take Aleppo (Halab), and he equipped the troops for this, and he fell sick in the meanwhile, and he died on the eve of Thursday ⁽⁷⁾ the fifteenth of (the month of) Baramhat ⁽⁸⁾ which corresponded to the twenty-fourth of (the month of) Ragab exactly of the year six hundred and thirty-five ⁽¹⁰⁾. And the period of his sojourn at Damascus (Dimašk) was one hundred and one days. And the ministers were in charge of his affair and not one of his kinsfolk nor his associates of the amirs passed to him, and he did not bequeath anything. And they kept secret the matter of his death, and they feigned that he was sick, and that he had ordered that the amirs should swear allegiance to his son, and that the Sultanate (should be) for him after him. And he was the youngest son⁽¹¹⁾ who (was) in Egypt (Misr), and they all swore. And when their (swearing) allegiance was finished, they divulged the news of his death, and some of them repented. And he who did not swear allegiance, did not swear allegiance, and he was Al-Malik an-Nasir Ibn al-Mu`azzam who had been Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk), whom the sultan had caused to ride in Cairo (al-Kahirah) (in) the retinue of the Sultanate, (as) a commander (Atabak). And this (was) his son to whom allegiance had been given, and whom he (Al-Malik al-Kamil) had caused to ride in Damascus (Dimašk) after

⁽¹⁾ —- November 30th, Julian Style.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Wednesday night.

⁽⁸⁾ = April 10th, Julian Style.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I.e. of the Hiğrah = 1237-1238 A.D.

⁽¹¹⁾ I.e. Al-`Adil II, 1238-1240 A.D.

—- 165 —-

its conquest, likewise; and this affair was painful for him ⁽¹⁾. And the inhabitants of Damascus (Dimašk) loved him out of their loyalty to his father, but this did not avail anything. And the senior amirs and the ministers took Al-Malik al-Ğawad Muzzafar ad-Din [I]bn Mamdud [I]bn Abi Bakr [I]bn Aiyub, and he was the son of the brother of the deceased Sultan, and they delivered up to him Damascus (Dimašk), and they made him a commander (Atabak) of Al-Malik al-Adil, Possessor of Egypt (Misr), in it ⁽³⁾. And they delivered up to him the treasures, and he gave both robes of honour and gifts, and he allotted fiefs. And he was generous (and) of good character, and he gained the hearts of the amirs and the soldiers, and the people loved him, only there was dearness at Damascus (Dimašk). And it was (that), when the news of the death of the Sultan reached Egypt (Misr), and the people were assured of it, everyone sought corn, and he was sparing of it, and they imagined that afterwards there would occur a siege. And prices rose, until the ardab (of corn) reached thirty dirhams, and barley, eighteen dirhams, and beans (al-Ful) like it. And the sale of corn was completely forbidden, except to the millers, according to the quantity of their grain. And the people remained in affliction, and wheat was not obtainable nor bread, and at every shop there was a crowd, so that no one was able to pass to it. And the bodyguards of the governors (al-Wulat) (were) at the shops of the bakers, and bread was not sold to anyone, except by ration, and this continued for the space of a week, until the corn was released for the people, (and) they bought it, and it became cheap; and imported merchandise multiplied, and the people were tranquillized from what they had been. And the patriarch had turned to Alexandria during Lent, some days before the arrival of this news. And after this, the troops from Syria (aš-Šam) arrived in succession, one after the other, and the treasures came with the ministers, after that Malik al-Ğawad

⁽¹⁾ I.e. Al-Malik an-Nasir.

⁽³⁾I.e. Damascus.

—- 166 —-

had taken from them what he needed. And the troops were completed in the lands of Egypt (al-Misriyah), and there did not remain at Damascus (Dimašk)except a few amirs whom Al-Malik al-Ğawad had chosen for his assistance and his attendance. And the Sultan Al-`Adil had caused to he brought the Bedouins (al-`Urban), in order to take from them oaths and fealty; and they had multiplied at Cairo (al-Kahirah) to such an extent that they were in it about two thousand horsemen, and the people were in dread of them until the troops arrived. And he (Al-`Adil) gave to them robes of honour and they swore and they departed. And he gave robes of honour to the amirs who arrived, and they arrived with the wealth, and engines of war in their divisions. And the people, after the death of the Sultan, detested the money and transactions with it, and in the two cities ⁽³⁾ there were two rates, a rate for the silver (dirhams) and a rate for the (paper) money, and this condition ended, that every paper dirham (was) at two dirhams (in) coinage, and the silver dirham (was) at six dirhams (in) coinage. And (some) of them (the people) were beaten and paraded ignominously, but they did not desist. Then, after this, they began to sell them (the dirhams) by the ratl at one paper dirham and a half paper dirham every ratl. And there occurred in the evening of Wednesday, the first of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁽⁵⁾, a great rain, the like of it had not been seen at such a time of the year, and it continued for a period of the night, and there was with it lightning and fearful thunder, and this was among all its wonders. Then (it was) that they returned to begin completing the construction of the wall at the two cities from the side of the river and the Canal, and they returned to force all the people to dig the foundations, from among the

⁽³⁾ I.e. Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr).

⁽⁵⁾= May 26th, Julian Style.

—- 167 —-

Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the Christians (an-Nasara) and the Jews (al-Yahud). And they began to seize the priests who (were) in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), those who (were) priests of the churches in it. And these wretched ones undertook to be either overseers or chiefs (of crews) of the fleet. And they used to take with them bodyguards from the overseers, and they used to come to the wretched owners of handicraftsmen and workers, and they caused them to go out to dig from early morning till night, and he who had a wage weighed out for himself (a sum of money) for the right of a substitute for the person who would dig for him according to what was stipulated for him, from three dirhams upwards. And there was a man, from the inhabitants of Tambadi, and he was an agent of the patriarch for the buildings of the inalienable endowments, and what was the worst for the Christians (an-Nasara) was because he excited the governors (al-Wulat) and the superintendents against them, so that he might cut off good relations with the Christians (an-Nasara), because he made it a livelihood. And the patriarch was absent, and the people (were) in affliction, and it fell on the lowly especially, because (as regards) the scribes and the notables, no one gainsaid them, and among them there was not he who had courage to help them (the lowly), nor he who had the power to deliver them, and they remained in this condition. And as for the Jews (al-Yahud) they formed a league, according to their custom, and their rich helped their poor, and he who was unable to dig provided a substitute for himself, and they achieved what was assigned to them and they devoted themselves to their works. And the elder (aš-Šaikh) as-Sani ar-Rahib, the aforementioned, was dismayed and pained by what had befallen the priests, and he did not find him who would support him nor him who would assist him, because he secluded himself at the Church of Abba (Abu) Sergius (Sarğah), and had left the services of the Sultan on account of Tahir Bey (Bek). And had he been employed, nothing of this would have

—- 168 —-

happened, and he would have carried out (his) intention. Then (it was) that the monk `Imad al-Akhmimi who was the cause for the consecration of the patriarch, and it was he who had arranged with the Sultan for the three thousand dinars (to be paid) by the patriarchate, did not cease to seek pretexts, so that he might carry out the letter of the Sultan Al-Malik al-`Adil to the governor (Wali) of Alexandria to deliver up to him the patriarch, and to do with regard to him what the monk had said. And he carried out the letters from the notables of the State to the governor (Wall) of Al-Buhairah that he should despatch with him the bishop of Damanhur and the bishop of Fuah. And it was his purpose to prove against him (the patriarch) things (which) would necessitate excommunication with the presence of the two bishops. And the governor (al-Wali) did not permit him (to do) this, only that he should take with him mounted two sentries and two bodyguards with the letters which were with him, and he passed over to Fuah and Damanhur. He took the two bishops with him, and he entered the port (of Alexandria), and he delivered the letter to the governor (al-Wali), and the governor (al-Wali) commanded that the patriarch and his companions mentioned in the letters should be delivered up to him. And it was the night of Sunday ⁽⁸⁾, and the patriarch had finished the Prayer ⁽⁹⁾, and the people went out from the church, and the patriarch was borne to a storey at which he had descended ⁽¹⁰⁾. And he (the monk) took his companions (and) he committed them to the prison, and he purposed to make an assembly at the port (Alexandria), but he did not manage this, because the notables of the

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. Saturday night.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. the Canonical Hours and the Service of the Evening Offering of Incense.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I.e. he lodged.

—- 169 —-

city were friends of the patriarch. And they assembled with the governor (al-Wali), and they said: «The Sultan did not order, except with regard to his (the patriarch’s) sending, (that) he should be sent to him, and he (the Sultan) will decide about him there». And he (the governor) took him (the patriarch), and he departed, and he caused to be taken out his (the patriarch’s) companions in wooden fetters, and they were the scribe and the two disciples, and one of the two of them (had been) his slave whom he had made a monk and had ordained him a deacon at the Monastery of the Beacon (aš-Šama`). And he (the governor) arrived at Cairo (al-Kahirah) in the evening of Friday, towards the end of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁽³⁾. And the monk (`Imad al-Akhmimi) went up to the Citadel, and he announced that the patriarch had arrived. And he (the Sultan) ordered that he should be imprisoned, he and his companions, in the prison of the Citadel, and they passed that night in it. Then (it was) that a group of the controllers gathered on the next day, and it was Saturday, and they assembled with the amir As-Sarim, because he was the equerry of the House at that time; and they did not rest until they caused him (the patriarch) to be brought out from the prison, and they caused him to descend at the Church in the Harat Zuwailah at Cairo (al-Kahirah). And the monk (`Imad al-Akhmimi) came to As-Sarim, and he said to him: «The amir has been deceived, and this man (the patriarch) is sought for by the Sultan, bear him (to him)» ⁽⁷⁾. And he (the patriarch) sat, he and his companions, eating and drinking, and I went ⁽⁸⁾ to them, and they (the guardians) beat me and they vilified me. And As-Sarim sent to the governor (Wali) of Cairo (al-Kahirah) that he should take him (the patriarch) and should imprison

⁽³⁾ = May 26th-June 24th, Julian Style.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. to the Sultan.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the writer of this part of the biography.

—- 170 —-

him. And the monk (`Imad al-Akhmimi) came from the governor (al-Wali) with a great multitude and tumult, and he took the patriarch barefooted, and he seized all whom he found with him. And he (the monk) rode his mule, and the patriarch was walking, and they calumniated him. And when they reached to the governor (al-Wali) on this wise, —- and he was a very good man —- this was too much (for him), and he honoured the patriarch, and he set free those who had been seized of the people, except the companions of the patriarch. And he ordered that he (the patriarch) should stay in a storey at the new building which (was at) the Bain al-Kasrain, under which were the counters of the changers, he and his companions, and with him guards (sent) from him, and he rebuked the monk and he disapproved of him. And the patriarch remained there, and as for the two bishops, they descended at the Church of Abba (Abu) Sergius (Sarğah) and the monk with the two of them at (the cell of) the elder (aš-Šaikh) as-Sani the monk. Then (it was) that the monk As-Sani agreed with the bishop of Fuah about the documents which they had prepared for obtaining the signature of the patriarch to them, if they kept him in the patriarchate ⁽⁷⁾. Among them the belief of the Copts (al-Kibt), and that he (the patriarch) should not take a gift for ordination (xeirotoni/a) to any of the orders of the priesthood, and that he should not give authority to the Metropolitan (al-Mutran) in Syria (aš-Šam) in the See of Antioch (Antakiah), but that it (the authority) should be confined to Gaza (Ghazzah) and what (is) in its neighbourhood of the districts of Egypt (Misr), and that he

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. as patriarch.

—- 171 —-

should excommunicate the children of a second wife ⁽¹⁾ whom he had ordained to the rank of the priesthood, and likewise the slave whom he had ordained, and that he should restrict (himself) as regards dress according to what was the custom of the Copts (al-Kibt), and that he should not wear dresses which are the emblem of royalty, and that he should devote the rents of the inalienable endowments to the places to which they were endowed, and that he should begin with the erection of the mentioned buildings, then with the church and the poor of its priests. And from what was left over after that to make another new inalienable endowment, and that he should not take the contributions of the feasts which he receives from all the lands of Egypt (al-Misriyat), but he shall devote them to the upkeep of the churches which have the feasts and to him who has a share in them, such as a bishop or a head or other than these two, (and) what was left over should be for the poor and the wretched; and likewise the contributions (Diyariat) of the monasteries which he had created and made for himself in the lands of Egypt (al-Misriyat), he should devote them to the monasteries for their edifice(s), and to the monks for their needs. And that he should take from the contributions (Diyariat) for the tax on the lands, according to the custom, what was sufficient for his expenses, and it (should be) fifteen dinars every month, and that he should leave the remainder of it to him who was needy, not able (to pay) his tax, and that he should weigh it out for him, and that he should purchase therewith his religion ⁽⁴⁾; or (as regards) him who is deprived of his strength ⁽⁵⁾ and his clothing, let him (the patriarch) relieve him and clothe his body, or if a calamity occur such as an infiltration of the river and what is like it, let him (the patriarch) remove the burden of it from the paupers. And that he

⁽¹⁾ According to Coptic custom children by the wife of a second marriage are excluded from ordination to the priesthood. .

⁽³⁾ I.e. the patronal feasts of churches.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. to prevent him from apostatizing.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. who is an invalid.

—- 172 —-

should defrock the priests who had become again slaves (mamalik), and that he should buy every year from the money of this church ⁽¹⁾ a hundred ardab of wheat for the use of the nuns who resided at the Convent Al-Mu`allakah and that he should preserve their persons from apostasy and their condition from penury, and that his (the patriarch’s) scribe should be an elder (Šaikh), a bishop without blame or affairs of this kind. The documents were despatched to him (the patriarch), and they were read to him, and he did not answer to anything of them. And the monk `Imad, who was mentioned before, was remaining at the Gate of the Sultan, endeavouring to form an assembly against the patriarch. And the collectors did not cease to aid in his (the patriarch’s) affair until the amir Ğandar took him (the patriarch) (and) beat him atrociously and threw him into the special prison, and he made a collar for his throat and a fetter for his leg, and he was deprived of bread, and he encountered great affliction, to such an extent that they prevented him who would come into contact with him in the prison, and they sought for pretexts until they brought out the patriarch from the chamber. And they caused him to descend at the Church of the Harat Zuwailah at which he resided, and the condition did not cease to be thus until the twenty-fourth of (the month of) Abib ⁽⁹⁾; and the notables of the State became mediators, and they discussed concerning his (the patriarch’s) deliverance, and he was delivered. And it was the eve of the Feast of Abba ([A]bu) Mercurius (Markurah), and he descended as he was to his church which (was) at Cairo (Misr). And in the morning, he vested according to his custom, and they took him in procession in the middle

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the Church of Saint Sergius, cf. page 153, note 2.

⁽⁹⁾ = July 18th, Julian Style.

—- 173 —-

of the church, and they set a throne for him, and he sat on it, and he was acclaimed, and it was a great, noteworthy day, and there assembled on it people not to be counted. And he (the patriarch) frequently visited the churches, and he acted according to his former practice. And as for `Imad, (it was) that he had taken his (the patriarch’s) signature to pay to the prosperous Treasury four thousand, eight hundred dinars which he mentioned that he would reveal them with the companions of the patriarch. And the elder (aš-Šaikh) as-Sani and those who were associated with him did not cease to make endeavours until he was released and his signature was removed. Then (it was) that the patriarch did not cease to entreat until he passed over to the Sultan, and he presented to him a present, and he (the Sultan) accepted it; and he (the patriarch) heard from him that which strengthened his heart and released his tongue, and he prevailed thereby over the Christians (an-Nasara). And as regards what occurred in these days in the way of calamities (was) that Al-Malik an-Nasir [I]bn al-Mu`azzam repaired to the lands of the Littoral, and he reached to Gaza (Ghazzah) and he allotted as fiefs the lands, and he levied soldiers, and all his intention was Damascus (Dimašk). And he sent to the Sultan Al-Malik al-`Adil to inform him that the Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk) (was) with him ⁽⁶⁾, and that he had summoned him to his obedience, and that they should be together (as) one body, and he despatched his letters to him about this; and news of this reached the Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk). And Al-Malik al-Ğawad Muzzafar ad-Din [I]bn Mamdud had taken into his service a numerous, powerful army together with the troops winch were with him from Egypt (Misr), and he went out to him, in number and equipment, and they met in the neighbourhood of Ghorr (Al-Ghurr),

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. on his side.

—- 174 —-

and An-Nasir was defeated, and none escaped except himself, and he went to the Crac (al-Karak). And there were taken all his companions and his baggage and his provisions and his sentinels. And he (Al-Malik Ğawad) took as great booty the troops of Damascus (Dimaški), and his (An-Nasir’s) flags were sent to Cairo (al-Kahirah) and they went around with them. And the blessed Nile (an-Nil) flowed impetuously in this year from the beginning of it ⁽³⁾. Then it stopped after that, and it came up on Saturday, the end of (the month of) An-Nasi ⁽⁴⁾ and on it the measure was completed and the Canal was cut. And in this year there happened wonders out of their time ⁽⁶⁾. An evident earthquake occurred (which) was felt by everyone in (his) house; and it rained during the days of (the month of) An-Nasi ⁽⁷⁾, and it was said that it did not occur except in a year of insufficiency of the Nile (an-Nil). Then there entered the year nine hundred and fifty-five ⁽⁸⁾, and in it the water reached to sixteen cubits and eight fingers. And most of the causeways were broken, because they had been cared for in the days of Al-Malik al-Kamil, but when he died, that fear (of him) ceased, and avarice entered the hearts of the governors (al-Wulat) and the administrators, and their neglected their state, and the majority of them was broken, and among them the causeway (which) was at Al-Gizah. And there was a large causeway (which) retained the water from the lands of Al-Bahnasa, and it was broken. And the amir Ğamal ad-Din [I]bn Yaghmur, the head of the prosperous diwans, went out to it, and he stayed at it for a period, and he spent on it a sum of money and material, but he was not able to dam it. And there befell the people in this blessed year an insufficiency of the Nile (an-Nil)

⁽³⁾ I.e. the coming of the flood waters.

⁽⁴⁾ August 24th-29th (30th), Julian Style.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. unexpected.

⁽⁷⁾ = August 24th-29th (30th), Julian Style.

⁽⁸⁾ = 1239 A.D.

—- 175 —-

and a breaking of the causeways. And the lands were sucked dry on account of the Bedouins (al-`Urban), because they frequented Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id), and they plundered the people, and they took captive the inhabitants of some of the lands. And the prices became low, and wheat was sold for a dinar the ardab, and barley near to it, and it was never related (that) barley was at the rate of wheat, except in this year. And everything rose in price, and gold went down in price so that the exchange of the dinar into a silver (dirham) (was) twelve dirhams and a quarter and an eighth, and into paper, thirty-live dirhams and a quarter. And the cause for this was the abundance of what the Sultan had issued in the way of money, and had distributed among the amirs and the soldiers; and it was the major cause for the rise of prices, because the people had an abundance of money, and especially the soldiers. And they felt confident, so that (it was) that old wine was sold at four silver dirhams the jar on account of the great demand of the people for it; and fruit became dear, and clothing and jewelry and property also. And they were days (which) the people likened to the days of Al-Malik al-`Aziz —- may God have mercy upon him! —- in their goodness. Then (it was) that the bishops came from Lower Egypt (al-Wağh al-Bahari), and their number was fourteen bishops, and they assembled in the Church of the Harat Zuwailah and they discussed about the affair of the patriarch, and they mentioned that they did not approve of the things (which) resulted from him, and they enumerated them, and they confirmed them in a script (which) they wrote in his stead, and his signature was written at the head of it in the manner of what is above the «In the Name»⁽²⁾, and his mark between the initial lines.«The brethren, the bishops —- may the Lord bless them and their people and their sees! —- write their agreement to this document and what is confirmed in it of the Faith, approved conduct and Church customs. And he who departs from it or deviates from its conditions is anathematized and rejected by the mouth

⁽²⁾ I.e. «In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, One God».

—- 176 —-

of the Holy Trinity, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and by the mouth of the three hundred and eighteen (Fathers) assembled at Nicaea (Nikiah) ⁽¹⁾, be he patriarch or bishop, I or my bishops, and he shall have no lot with the Faithful —- may God preserve us from this!» And among its conditions were (as follows): after the Confession of the Orthodox Faith which was established at the Council of Nicaea and at the two holy Councils which assembled at Constantinople (Kustantiniah) ⁽²⁾ and Ephesus (Aufsis) ⁽³⁾, then the confession which is proper to the Jacobite (al-Ya`kubiah) Church, in the way of what we received from the father Cyril (Kirullus) the Great and the two Orthodox (ὀρθόδοξος) Fathers Severus (Sawirus) ⁽⁴⁾ and Dioscorus (Diskurus) ⁽⁵⁾; and it is the belief that Christ, God made man, (is of) One Nature, One Hypostasis, One Will, and (that) He is God the Word, and (that) He is man born of Mary (Mariam) the Virgin, and (that) thus it is right to predicate of Him all attributes divine and human. Then, after that, there is binding what is contained in the Divine Scriptures and the Canons of the Apostles, and the accepted Councils and the customs which are established in the Jacobite (al-Ya`kubiah) Coptic (al-Kibtiah) Church upon which (is) our reliance in our religion. And as for the sections which time has called for the mention of them with the object of preserving the peace of the Church, the first (is): a bishop shall not be consecrated from henceforth, except he who is educated, and a psephisma (Tazkiah) has been made for him, and his people have agreed to him. And simony shall not be taken from him, nor shall the Holy Spirit be sold nor bought. And, likewise, this injunction shall be executed with regard to the ordination of priests and deacons and of all the ranks of the priesthood. And none of the judges shall

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the First Oecumenical Council in 325 A.D.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Second Oecumenical Council in 381 A.D.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Third Oecumenical Council in 431 A.D.

⁽⁴⁾ Patriarch of Antioch, 512-538 A.D.

⁽⁵⁾Patriarch of Alexandria, 516-527 A.D.

—- 177 —-

accept a bribe or what is equivalent to it in any judgment of all the judgments, be he patriarch or bishop or a deputy of either of them, nor show partiality in judgment on account of respect or mediation, and he who does this shall be suspended. Secondly, that the patriarch shall agree with the learned bishops to compile an epitome of the canons concerning what is unlawful and what is lawful with regard to marriages and other things besides them, and concerning inheritances and the orders of the ranks of the priesthood ⁽¹⁾. And copies (of it) shall be written, and in them the signatures of the patriarch and the bishops with (their) approval, and they (the copies) shall be preserved in the sees; and any judgment which deviates from them (the rules) shall be null and void. Thirdly, (that) the bishops shall assemble at the cell ⁽²⁾ once in the year, and it shall be from the beginning of the third week of Paschaltide (al-Khamasin) and up to the end of the fourth week of it. And that rules established in the Coptic (al-Kibtiah) churches shall not be changed, such as circumcision before baptism, unless necessity prevents it, and such as the exclusion from ordination of children of concubines and slaves, with the exception of captives from the lands of Ethiopia (al-Habasah) and Nubia (an-Nubah), if their manner of life be good and they are fit for the priesthood. And he who is not a captive, but a son of a prostitute slave girl who has not been crowned, shall not be ordained to any of the degrees of Holy Orders, and likewise the children of women who have gone back to their families ⁽⁶⁾, from henceforth, shall not be ordained to any degree of Holy Orders, and likewise the children by a third marriage, even if she (the woman) was a virgin, shall not be ordained to any of the degrees of Holy Orders. And

⁽¹⁾Cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, ‘The Canons of Cyril III Ibn Laklak, 75 Patriarch of Alexandria, A.D. 1235-1250 in BSAC vol. XII, pp. 81-130 and vol. XIV, pp. 113-150.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the patriarchal residence.

⁽³⁾ I.e. unmarried.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. women whose husbands have died.

—- 178 —-

he shall be excluded who has been crowned ⁽¹⁾ secretly in houses, outside the church, and without the Eucharist (al-Kurban); and entrance of menstruous women into the churches shall be forbidden at the time of their menstruation. And that the scribe of the Cell ⁽²⁾ shall be he whom the patriarch shall choose, be he a bishop or a man of esteem. And that the signature of the Metropolitan (Mutran) of Gaza (Ghazzah), and what is contiguous to it (shall be required) for conformity to the aforementioned belief of the Jacobite (al-Ya`kubiah), Church, and for (his) conformity with him who conforms to it, and (that) he rejects those whom the Councils reject, and that, if he does not conform to this, let him be excommunicated. And that the rank (ta/cij) of the Metropolitan (Mutran) of Damietta (Dumyal) who now occupies it, shall be established according to the custom of those who preceded him at it. And that neither the patriarch nor the bishops shall ordain in other than their sees at all, nor shall they confer a rank ⁽⁵⁾ on anyone, except with the consent of the inhabitants of his see or of the majority of them, and with the consent of his bishop who ordained him. And the bishop of another see shall not accept him, except with the consent of thebishop who is in his see, even if he were living with him. And anyone who has transferred from his town and his church without a necessary reason to another see or to another church, let him be excluded from them both. The patriarch shall not interdict anyone of the people of the sees of the bishops, except for a legal reason, if it has been established by his bishop that he has not interdicted him. And the patriarch shall send to order him to interdict him, and if the bishop refuse for a reason which is not, and he persists in this, the patriarch shall interdict him. And that the patriarch shall not absolve him whom his bishop has interdicted,

⁽¹⁾ I.e. married.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the patriarchal residence.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. of Holy Orders.

—- 179 —-

except if it has been established concerning him that he (the bishop) interdicted him out of caprice and without a legal reason. And the patriarch shall write to him once and twice on account of him; if the bishop persists in this, he (the patriarch) shall summon both of them, and both of them shall be judged according to what the law requires. And he who has been consecrated to a see of the bishops and its district, there shall not be taken away from him of it (any) town; and he who is established in a see with its towns up to the day of writing this, he shall not be removed from it. And as for the diyariyat ⁽²⁾ which is exacted by the bishops, which is for the patriarch, it shall not be exacted by means of compulsion nor (otherwise than) according to the ability of their sees and according to what is easy for them by way of a blessing. And that the patriarch shall not oblige the bishop to bestow a rank in his see or to ordain him to whom the bishop of the see or the majority of his congregation does not consent. And he (the patriarch) shall be impartial among the bishops with regard to what is free and forbidden to all of them. And that the patriarch shall not interfere with the income of the churches on their feast-days and their dues and their inalienable endowments, but they shall be under the supervision of the bishop and they shall not go out of his hands, unless it had been made a condition for him before his consecration that the income of the church should be in exchange for the diyariah of the see. And nothing shall go out from their hands from the monasteries of their (the bishops’) sees, unless any (of them) undertook (to do) this before his consecration. And that the complaints of monks, one against another, shall not be accepted, except after a strict investigation and the taking (into consideration) of the report of the upright majority. Monks shall not be expelled from their monasteries without evident necessity; and people of the laity shall not be delegated to judge between the monks, but the heads of the monasteries and those who take their place among those who are esteemed (and) learned of the Faithful. A bishop shall not be interdicted

⁽²⁾ I.e. the contributions of sees and monasteries to the Patriarchate.

—- 180 —-

for trifling causes by the Cell ⁽¹⁾ and when he commits that which is necessary for interdiction, the patriarch shall write to him once and twice, and he shall warn him about this, and after this he shall cause him to come to the Cell and he (the bishop) shall justify himself before his interdiction, if the interdiction be necessary for him. The hegoumenos (ἡγούμενος)—- his rank (is) the rank of archpriest (ἀρχιπαπᾶς) of the priests —- shall have (the right) to say the Absolution over the celebrating priest and to offer incense after him, and he shall communicate after him and before the rest of the priests below him (in rank) who are not celebrating. And if he be present with the bishop, it shall be he who receives incensing from the hand of the bishop, and none of the priests shall receive incensing from his hand; and he shall not have (the right to do) anything other than this. And he of the Faithful who wishes to go to a festival of a church of any see whatsoever, his bishop shall not interdict him for this reason. And it was a document of lengthy explanation, and this is the essence of its contents, and we have abridged them for fear of prolixity. And its date (was) on the sixth of (the month of) Tut of the year nine hundred and fifty-five ⁽³⁾. And an abridgment of the Canons was made with regard to indispensable matters which occur in marriage, and their conditions, and inheritance and its divisions; and it is in the hands of the Faithful in a number of copies; and the patriarch and the bishops signed; then the bishops departed to their sees and they were contented thereby. Then (it was) that the Sultan ⁽⁶⁾despatched an amir of his intimate friends, and he sent him away to Damascus (Dimašk) to Al-Malik al-Ğawad, son of his paternal uncle,

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the patriarchate.

⁽³⁾ = September 3rd, 1239 A.D., Julian Style.

⁽⁶⁾I.e. Al-Malik al-`Adil II.

—- 181 —-

summoning him to come to Egypt (Misr) and to take for himself whatsoever fief he wished, and he gave to him a choice in this, and (that) he should relinquish Damascus (Dimašk). And this was pleasing to him, hut he was suspicious that, if he reached Egypt (Misr), the choice would be against him and not for him. And he (Al-Malik al-Ğawad.) wrote to Al-Malik as-Salih, the Possessor of the East, Amid (Amid), and the fortress of Kaifa and Sinğar and other than these of what is beyond the Euphrates (al-Furat), to inform him that he was submissive to him, and that he would give to him Damascus (Dimašk) if he gave to him (parts) of the lands of the East which he prosposed to him. And he swore to him with regard to Sinğar and other lands with it. And when he had made sure of him, he sent to him that he should come. And it was said that both of them met in the desert, and they swore an alliance, and Al-Malik as-Salih Aiyub, son of Al-Malik al-Kamil, passed over to Damascus (Dimašk)and he received it. And Al-Malik al-Ğawad Muzzafar ad-Din departed to Sinğar and he received it. And Al-Malik as-Salih was established at Damascus (Dimašk), and there were with him troops called the Khawarizms (al-Khawarizmin). And the people were afraid of them, because they are corrupt upon the earth, of the raceof the Tartars (at-Tatar); only (it was) that they did not come with him to Damascus (Dimašk)but they were staying in the desert in the direction of the lands of Aleppo (Halab) and what is after it. And it was (that), before the entry of Al-Malik as-Salih into Damascus (Dimašk) he sprang upon the messenger of the Sultan Al-Malik al-`Adil ⁽⁶⁾, who has been mentioned before, and he was `Imad ad-Din, elder (Šaikh) of the elders (aš-Šiyukh), son of the elder (Šaikh) of the elders (aš-Šiyukh), and he was killed at the House of the Sultan at Damascus (Dimašk) And it was an innovation, the like of which had not been heard; and

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. Al-`Adil II.

—- 182 —-

(he was) the first messenger to be killed, only that they mentioned that he was not killed, except through guile (which) the Possessor of Emesa (Hims) wrought against him, and he killed him. And after that the Khawarizms (al-Khawarizmin) lorded over the lands of Syria (aš-Šam) and they ruined them. And they descended on Emesa (Hims) and they besieged it, and the Possessor of it gave to them much money, so that they departed from it. And Al-Malik as-Salih sent to the Littoral (and) he apportioned it in fiefs. And there was a dearth in Syria (aš-Šam); wheat reached to two hundred and thirty dirhams the measure, and the majority of the inhabitants of the lands departed to Egypt (Misr), although (prices) were high (there); yet they were less in proportion. And he (Al-Malik al-`Adil) ordered the departure of the troops to Bilbais and their remaining at it until they were commanded (to do) what they were intended (to do); and a group of them went out to spy on them, and they remained at it (Bilbais). Then (it was) that some people of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) (who) were staying at the prayer-house (al-Masğid) which (was) at the side of the Church Al-Mu`allakah, came to a wall between them and the church, (and it led) to a reception-room which the patriarch had made for his receptions beneath his upper Cell, and they destroyed of it (the room), the windows and the panels of the doors, and they claimed that it was a right of the prayer-house (al-Masğid); and there was agitation in the churches, because this was in the middle of Holy Lent, and at the Church Al-Mu`allakahmost of all, and it was deprived of the Divine Liturgy (al-Kuddas) and the Prayers ⁽⁸⁾ for many days in Lent. And the Muslims (al-Muslimin)

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the Evening and Morning Offering of Incense and the Canonical Hours,

—- 183 —-

used to mount by the steps to the terrace of the upper Cellof the patriarch, and they called for prayer and they cried «Allah Akbar» ⁽¹⁾ and they used to mention what they mention, according to what is accustomed to them. And thereby there occurred serious matters, and an amir of the bodyguards was sent. He caused to be brought some people of them, and he beat them with a severe beating and the governor (Wali) of Cairo (Misr) imprisoned twice a group of them, but this had no effect upon them. And the architects came, and they wrote a report that this wall belonged to the church and had nothing to do with the prayer-house (al-Masğid) nor with the reception-room which was contiguous to it. And the Possessor of the Diwan of the Ahbas entered into this (affair), and they discussed about placing half of a date-palm one side of the wall, and that the wall should be separated by (the other) half of the date-palm between the two places ⁽³⁾, but our friends ⁽⁴⁾did not agree with anything of this. Then they discussed about filling up the wall which had been demolished at its extremity, according to what it had been before, and (that) the upper layer should be demolished. And the people of the Church refused this, and the affair remained for that period, and the Feast ⁽⁵⁾ came, and the affair (was) as before. And there entered the month of Ramadan of the year six hundred and thirty-six ⁽⁷⁾, and our friends did not suffer in this period a fine of great amount. And in these days, the Possessor of Amid (Amid) was brought out from confinement, because he had been in the Citadel, and he had been a long time (there), and he was given a robe of honour and there was

⁽¹⁾ I.e. ‘God is greater’. Cf. A. de Biberstein Kazimirski, Dictionnaire Arabe-Francais, vol. IV, p. 6.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Church Al-Mu`allakah and the prayer-house.

⁽⁴⁾ Probably, an ironical term.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Feast of Easter.

⁽⁷⁾= 1238 A.D.

—- 184 —-

returned to him all the cloths (which) had been taken from him, because they had been kept, deposited in security. And he was equipped together with his family and his company, so that he might go by sea to Antioch (Antakiah) to the service of his relative the King of the Rum ⁽²⁾, the Possessor of Iconium (Kuniah) and Coloneia (Aksara) ⁽⁴⁾ and this decision was among the great noble actions which this Sultan initiated. Then (it was) that corn decreased a little in its price, and wheat was from thirty to twenty-four dirhams the ardab, and barley from twenty-eight dirhams the ardab downwards, and beans (al-Ful) at twenty dirhams the ardab, and the people were contented by this decrease of prices, because corn yielded in this year a yielding, the like of which had not been heard of. And there was much rain, not as the custom is in Egypt (Misr) ⁽⁶⁾, and a great cold followed for a long time, and nothing in the two cities ⁽⁷⁾ was expensive, apart from cloth, except chopped-straw, and it was for six silver dirhams the loaded ⁽⁸⁾ rope-net, and fire-wood reached to ten silver pieces the load, and linseed oil was for fifteen dirhams the ten rails. Then he (the Sultan) ordered the departure of some troops to Bilbais and their stationing at it, and a group of the amirs. They were about three thousand horsemen, and among them was a senior amir known as Nur ad-Din [I]bn Fakhr ad-Din `Uthman. And it happened that there occurred an incidence between him and the governor (Wali) of Bilbais. And he began to write about him (the amir) to the Sultan, and he mentioned that he was corresponding with Al-Malik as-Salih, and (that) the messengers of Al-Malik as-Salih and his scribes were coming (to him), and there arose then suspicion of him, and the order

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Seljuk Sultanate, cf. R. Gkousset, L’Empire du Levant, p. 596.

⁽⁴⁾Can also be Caesarea, cf. R. Grousset, op. cit., Cartes 1 and 21.

⁽⁶⁾ ‘Misr’ can also he read as ‘ Misr (Cairo) ‘.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Misr (Cairo) and Al-Kahirah (Cairo).

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the amount that a camel can carry.

—- 185 —-

was issued that he should go to Rosetta (Rašid), and should be stationed at it alone. And this port ⁽²⁾ was among what was in the bounds of the mentioned amir, and he suspected that his despatch thither was because he wished to harm him, and that he would be seized and imprisoned. And he refrained from going, and he corresponded with the notables of the State, and he was dispensed from this, and there remained in the hearts what was in them. And a group of the amirs was in agreement with his opinion, and they (were): `Izz ad-Din Aibak the Kurd (al-Kurdi), and `Izz ad-Din Aibak al-Hamdu’l-illah known as Kadib al-Ban, and Saif ad-Din ad-Dinisri, and Sair al-Khawarizmi and his brother, and `Ala’ ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šihab Ahmad, and Nur ad-Din `Ali [I]bn al-Akta`, and `Izz ad-Din Tilban al-Muğahidi, and Al-Rukn `Umar al-Faniri, and Iidkin al-`Azizi, and `Alam ad-Din Sahr al-Yamani. And they were dwelling all together in one dwelling, and their opinion (was) one and their word (was) one, and their affair was noised abroad and was divulged, and the Sultan sent to them the amir Fakhr ad-Din Ibn aš-Šaikh to appease their hearts and to assure them. And he wrote to them a letter in his hand-writing mentioning in it that he had no information of what they imagined about him, and that he would swear to them for all what they wished. And their hearts were appeased thereby, and they wrote a copy of the oath, and the amir Fakhr ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh received it; and he returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah), so that the Sultan might swear to it, after the mentioned amirs had sworn to him, that they were in obedience to him, unless he should change anything against them, and unless he displayed anything unfavourable towards them. And the Sultan swore on the copy, and it came with the amir Šuğa` ad-Din [I]bn Abu Dhikri. Then (it was) that one of the mentioned amirs was detained at Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he was Tilban al-Muğahidi who was the governor (Wali) of Al-Bahnasa. And he departed from it, namely Cairo (al-Kahirah) without permission, and he came to this group,

⁽²⁾The port of Damietta at this period stood further to the north than the present town.

—- 186 —-

(and) he descended at them, and the suspicion persisted also, and the oath did not avail anything. And Fakhr ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh returned, (and) he went out to the troops, and there went out with him the amir Baha ad-Din Ibn Malkisu who had been once the governor (Wali) of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and had also been appointed once govenor (Wali) of Damascus (Dimašk). And they assembled with the amirs, and they talked much about this matter, and that the departure of Tilban al-Muğahidi without permission was not correct, and that «You agreed to this, and it was a breach of faith». And that day was Wednesday, the twenty-first of the month of Ramadan (in the) year six hundred and thirty-six ⁽²⁾ which corresponds to the second of (the month of) Bašuns ⁽³⁾. And it occurred on that day that a company of the men of the chain-mailed (soldiers), and they were Turks (al-Atrak), agreed that they should go out and encounter the aforementioned amirs, and they were about two thousand horsemen, and they assembled, and they dressed, and they departed from Cairo (al-Kahirah). And the amirs had scouts to inform them of the news, and a horseman came to them galloping, and he informed them that the chain-mailed (soldiers) had come out to seize them, and that the cavalier Khatulbah (was) their leader. And the mentioned cavalier Khatulbah had gone out to the mentioned group to bring them back himself, and another amir (was) with him, known as As-Sarim al-Mas`udi, and they (the amirs) seized both of them and they bound both of them with them. And the amirs had scouts and a horseman came galloping to Bilbais to the tents, (and) he informed that the chain-mailed (soldiers) had gone out to seize them (the amirs); and they arose and they dressed and they rode. And Ar-Rukn al-Hiğawi and the Kurds (al-Akrad), another group, heard about this, and they rode also, dressed in armour and with the equipment of war, and they attacked, and the aforementioned amirs were driven back before the group which was on the side of the Sultan, and they continued thus

⁽²⁾ I.e. of the Hiğrah = 1230-1231 A.D.

⁽³⁾ =May 26th-June 24th, Julian Style.

—- 187 —-

wavering one side and the other, until the hour of sunset, and they had reached up to the neighbourhood of Al-`Abbasah and night came ⁽²⁾between them. And the troops of the Sultan returned to their position, and the amirs remained on guard, and there did not join them of their companions except a few, because the majority of them had returned to the service of the Sultan, on account of their houses and their fiefs. And it was (that) an amir of the group of the amirs, known as Ibn al-Akta`, fell, and he was taken captive. And the amir Fakhr ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh and Ar-Rukn al-Hiğawi and those who (were) with them had won him over, and they mentioned that he had done this intentionally for the service of the Sultan. And he was brought to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he was clothed with a robe of honour, and he was confirmed in his rank of informer. And as for the chain-mailed (soldiers), they did not overtake the amirs, and they did not pass by Bilbais but they leftit on their left, and they took (the direction) on its east leading to the desert, and the two captive amirs (were) with them. And they (the chain-mailed soldiers) agreed to release the two mentioned amirs; and they despatched from among their notables five men to the Sultan, that they might be reassured by him and cause him to swear, and (that) they should be returned to their fiefs, because for all there was nothing except fear for themselves and nothing else. And the two mentioned amirs came, and the five notables, and they discussed with the Sultan concerning what related to them, and he acceded to their supplication, and he bestowed robes of honour on the five, and he conferred favours on them, and he equipped them. And he sent with them one of his servants, and he was named Banan ⁽⁷⁾, and they went out until they reached to

⁽²⁾ I.e. intervened.

⁽⁷⁾ This name is written without diacritical dots.

—- 188 —-

Ad-Darum, but they did not find them (the two amirs); but there was not a doubt that, in they meantime, they met the amirs, and they became reconciled to them, and they took them with them, and they journeyed, and the servants and the five returned, and they did not do anything. And there was in the lands trouble and agitation and fear, and a guard was set over the wealth of the amirs and their houses a second time, because they had released them, when they imagined that they (the amirs) would return. And, after some days, there arrived at Cairo (al-Kahirah) the Protected, Al-Malik an-Nasir, son of Al-Malik al-Mu`azzam, on Saturday, the nineteenth of (the month of) Bašuns ⁽³⁾ which corresponds to the eighth of (the month of) Sawwal (in the) year six hundred and thirty-six ⁽⁴⁾. And Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) and the Citadel were decorated for him, and he descended at the Government House (Dar al-Wizarah). Then (it was) that he interceded for the amirs and the men of the chain-mailed (soldiers), and it was arranged that he should journey to them, and that he should appease their hearts, and should bring them back. And his son arrived after a few days, and the decorations continued to be hung, but they were increased before he arrived. And after this, information reached them that Al-Malik as-Salih had gone out from Damascus (Dimašk). And the Sultan gathered together the amirs, and he caused to be brought Al-Malik an-Nasir, and he caused them to swear that they would be submissive (and) staunch, and that they would fight for him until they died before him, and the oath was the fourth. Then (it was) that two tribes of the Bedouins (al-`Urban), one of the two of them named Ğudham and the other, Tha`labah, and they were in the districts of (the Province of) aš-Šakiah, and there was an ancient

⁽³⁾ = May 14th, Julian Style.

⁽⁴⁾= 1238 A.D.

—- 189 —-

blood-feud and hatred between them. When this trouble occurred there was envy between the one and the other, and from time to time they fought, and a great number among them was killed. And the Tha`labah were in favour of the King of Egypt (Misr) and the Ğudham, in favour of the King of Syria (aš-Šam). And the Tha`labah sought assistance from Sinbus, and he came to them from the land of the Arabs (al-^cArab), and the Ğudham sought assistance from Mazatah and Zunarah, and they came from (the Province of) Al-Buhairah ^tlJ; and they were days of fear and Avar, and the roads were cut off. And the Sultan despatched a group from the amirs and the soldiers to settle Avhat (was) between them, and they made use of staves between them for a certain time, after there had been killing among them. Then a man, a servant, called Šibl ad-Daulah, a servant of the Prophet, and he separated himself from the people, and he pretended that he had seen their Prophet in a dream, and he (the Prophet) had said to him: «Take the Dhimmi (²⁾, change their adornments, for they have overpassed their limits». And he began beating the people and he dishonoured them from among the Christians (an-Nasara) and the Jews (al-Yahud). And (as for) the Christians (an-Nasara), (he said): «We shall take them, (and) shall remove the fringes (of the turbans), and bind (on them) girdles, and (as for) the Jews (al-Yahud), make a yellow sign (on them)». And a certain group began to bind themselves with a girdle and to remove the fringes. And it ended that he cut off the fringe of a priest, a scribe of the Merchandise of the Inns (Khanah), because he had let it (the fringe) down and had bound on the girdle. And it was (that), if he did not find with anyone a girdle, he would cut off his turban and bind his waist with it. And it was proclaimed thus publicly at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), on Saturday, the fifteenth of (the month of) Abib ⁽³⁾; and there befell the people affliction on account of this, and (it was) a burden upon them, because (it was) something (which was) twenty years distant from their time. And the majority of them who were able to remain in their houses, kept at home. And as for the high

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Christian and Jewish minorities in an Islamic State.

⁽³⁾ = July 9th, Julian Style.

—- 190 —-

officials, it was commanded not to apply it to them, and they remained in their condition. And without fail, the mentioned servant, if he met them, would follow them and dishonour them with words; and there adopted Al-Islam for this reason a man of the best Christians (an-Nasara), called An-Nifah [I]bn aš-Šamas, and he was possessor of the diwan of the Merchandise of the Inns (Khanah) and of the houses and the stables, and the Diwan of the Suite. And there gathered against him the servants, and they constrained him to bind on the girdle, and he bound it, and they constrained him to remove the fringes (of his turban) and he refused; and they multiplied against him, and they pressed him, and he threw away the girdle. And they said: «Adopt Al-Islam», and they testified against him, and he adopted Al-Islam. And the Christians (an-Nasara) were at this time in great tribulation and distressing contempt; and whosoever met them of the common people and the low classes insulted them and reviled them. Then (it was) that the order was revoked concerning the matter of fringes (of the turbans), and some people began to lower them; however, by the order of the Equerry of the House, there were (only) three persons who were ordered to lower the fringes and to bind on the girdle. Then (it was) that they assembled and wrote for a decision, and they took for it the signatures of the jurisconsults concerning the matter of the fringes of the turbans. And all of them gave a legal opinion that it was not necessary to remove them, but to bind on the girdle, especially for distinguishing between them (the Christians) and the Muslims (al-Muslimin). And among those who wrote for them ⁽²⁾ thus were: Aš-Šarif Šams ad-Din, judge of the troops, and he was the chief of the notables, and Baha ad-Din Ibn al-Humairi, the orator of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and Ğamal ad-Din [I]bn al-Buri who had been appointed wazir in the days of the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil, and Mubarak known as Ibn at-Tabbakh; and after this, they did not lower them (the fringes) for fear of the servant. Then (it was) that the Nile (an-Nil) rose and increased, and it reached the full measure on Saturday, the

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Christians.

—- 191 —-

twentieth of (the month of) Misra ⁽¹⁾, and prices diminished, and wheat was sold at twenty dirhams the ardab and less than this, and barley, at sixteen dirhams, and the rest of the cereals in proportion. And the Sultan Al-Malik al-`Adil had gone out to Bilbais with his troops and his soldiers, when news came to him (that) his brother, Al-Malik as-Salih had advanced from Bilbais (and) he reached him. And he (Al-Malik al-`Adil) departed (and) he descended at Al-`Abbasah. And some of the group undertook an advantageous course with regard to the matter of lowering the fringes of the turban; and it was ordered to lower them on the condition that the girdle was bound on; and the majority of the people lowered (them). And the blessed Nile (an-Nil) came up (to its measure) on Saturday, the twentieth of (the month of) Misra; and the Sultan Al-Malik al-`Adil had entered the city on account of the level. And when it was the day of the level (of the Nile), it happened that the servant referred to was at the river, and it happened that some people of the Christians (an-Nasara) were in a boat on the river, and among them were those who were bound with the girdle, and those who (were) without the girdle. And the servant recognized them, and he went to them, and he bore them to the amir Ğamal ad-Din, the Equerry of the House. And he sent them to the Commander-in-chief at Cairo (Misr), and the accusation against them (was) that they were all without a girdle; and they were beaten, and they were led ignominously, through all Cairo (Misr), And it was a distressing affair for the Christians (an-Nasara), and the common people overpowered them, and there was a great tumult. And this (was) a judgment from God the Exalted, first, in leaving off the girdle and concealing (their) religion, and the other, that the mentioned group was deacons, and it does not behove

⁽¹⁾ = August 13th, Julian Style,

—- 192 —-

deacons to witness this spectacle, and they should not be present at places of diversion, nor at assemblies outside the Christian (al-Masihi) Faith; except that they were enduring, and they gave thanks, and this was counted unto them for righteousness. Then (it was) that the Sultan, on the occasion of his entry into Cairo (al-Kahirah), received news that the troops were agitating against him, and that they had become a faction. And he went out at once, and he caused to be seized three amirs, one of them (was) Fakhr ad-Din [I]bn Šaikh aš-Šiyukh, and there was not among the amirs greater than he, and the other (was) Fath ad-Din Sulaiman, son of the brother of Aš-Šahab Ahmad, and he was the most intimate in the household of this Sultan, and God had given to him a great charge; and the third (was) Zain ad-Din Ghar. And as for Ibn aš-Šaikh Fakhr ad-Din, he was placed in a tower at the Citadel and this tower (was) that in which was the Possessor of Amid (Amid); and as for the two others, he caused them to be lowered into the dungeon which (is) at the Citadel. And the people were in these days in fear and expectancy and many vile things. And wheat and barley and grains were at their medium price, and (as for) wheat, its highest price was at thirty dirhams the ardab, and its lowest (was) at twenty dirhams the ardab, and barley and beans (al-Ful) (were) at nineteen dirhams the ardab, and chick-peas at forty dirhams the ardab, only that everything in the way of food and drink was expensive; and (as for) clothing and implements and building tools and other things beside them, they and all eatables were high in price. And wine (was) at four silver dirhams the jar, and wax for eight dirhams and a half the ratl, and nothing in the two cities ⁽³⁾ was cheap except sugar, and it was at a dirham and a half the ratl and it was cheap compared to other foods. Then (it was) that the Bedouins (al-`Urban) were emboldened, and they began to devastate the lands, and they would take all what (was) in them, and they would kill and take captives. And in these days they devastated twenty-five

⁽³⁾I.e. Misr and al-Kahirah.

—- 193 —-

towns in the (Province of) al-Gharbiah And the Sultan caused an amir called the cavalier Khatulba to set out for them, and with him a thousand merciless horsemen and fire-ships on the river. And they set out for the Bedouins (al-`Urban), and they found that they had already departed to the desert, and had anticipated them. And they ⁽³⁾ came to the towns, and they began to pretend that (they were) the Children of the Bedouins (al-`Urban), and they began to pillage the property of the people and to take their women and their off-spring, as if they were people of the Bedouins (al-`Urban), and the matter was not thus, and the lands were ruined a second time. And the inhabitants of the lands came, (and) they stood before the Sultan, and he commanded the restitution to them of what had been taken from them. And they remained in uncertainty from whom they should take and to whom they should apply, and what happened to their womenfolk they do not know; however, the Nile (an-Nil) was increasing and conditions were in a good state. Then the year nine hundred and fifty-six ⁽⁵⁾ entered, and the patriarch (was) Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus), known as David (Daud) Ibn Laklak, and he was the seventy-fifth ⁽⁶⁾. And the Sultan (was) Al-Malik al-`Adil Abu Bakr ⁽⁷⁾, son of Al-Malik al-Kamil Muhammad, and the judge (was) Šaraf ad-Din al-Iskandari, known as Ibn `Ain ad-Daulah, and the master of the affairs of the Sultan (was) Badr ad-Din Yunis amir Ğandar. And the Sultan had gone out to Al-`Abbasah with the troops and the soldiers. And the Nile (an-Nil) reached to fifteen fingers above eighteen cubits. Then (it was) that the men of the bodyguard who had been dissemblers, turned towards Syria (aš-Šam) to the service of Al-Malik as-Salih, brother of the Sultan. They wrote to the Sultan

⁽³⁾ I.e. the thousand horsemen.

⁽⁵⁾ = 1239 A.D.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. of the number of the patriarchs of Alexandria.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Al-`Adil II.

—- 194 —-

Al-Malik al-`Adil, and they sent their chiefs informing him that the reason of the war against his brother necessitated for him to send to seek for the troops which were at Gaza (Ghazzah) with his two uncles Muğbar ad-Din and Taki ad-Din, but they ⁽²⁾ refused to go with them ⁽³⁾, and they implored him to come. And they (the chiefs) sought troops to go to Gaza (Ghazzah) to take possession of it, because those ⁽⁴⁾ had left and had gone away. And the Sultan gave robes of honour to their messengers who were from them, and he gave a grant to them and gifts; and they began to arrive from fifteen to twenty, and everyone who arrived was given a robe of honour and a grant, until they were completed. And Al-Malik an-Nasir Ibn al-Mu`azzam, and he was the son of the uncle of the Sultan, had taken troops, about a thousand horsemen, and among them amirs, leaders such as Ibn Kalh and others than he. And he (Al-Malik an-Nasir) went to Karak ⁽⁵⁾, his fortress, and in the meanwhile, Al-Malik as-Salih Isma`il who (was) the brother of Al-Kamil (and) who was representative of Al-Malik al-Ašraf, governed in Damascus (Dimašk). And when Al-Malik al-Ašraf died, Al-Malik al-Kamil departed to Damascus (Dimašk)and he took it from him (As-Salih Isma`il), and he gave to him Ba`albek (Ba`alabak) with Bosra (Busra), because it had belonged to him. And he governed with its chiefs at Damascus (Dimašk) because he was beloved of them. And there was in the Citadel the son of Al-Malik as-Salih Aiyub Ibn al-Kamil, and the mentioned Al-Malik as-Salih was at Sichem (Nablus), and he was stationed at it, and he sojourned at it, and the amirs who had come to him and the chiefs of

⁽²⁾ I.e. the two uncles.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the troops.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the first troops.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Crac of Moab, cf. R. Guousset, L’Empire du Levant, Carte 5 and B. Meistermann, op. cit., p. 392.

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Damascus (Dimašk) delivered up the mentioned city to Al-Malik as-Salih Isma`il who had been with them at first. And the son of Al-Malik as-Salili Ai-yub, and he was the son of the son of his brother, departed from the Citadel in flight. And Al-Malik as-Salih Isma`il remained at Damascus (Dimašk), and the good news came to Al-`Abbasah to the Sultan, Al-Malik al-`Adil, about this. And the good news about this was proclaimed among the troops, and in Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) and at the Citadel and the two cities ⁽⁵⁾ were decorated for many days. And the troops which were with Al-Malik as-Salih disbanded until there did not remain with him except his confidants, and until the Arabs (al-`Arab) were on the point of plundering him. And he sought protection with Al-Malik an-Nasir, the Possessor of the Crac of Moab (al-Karak) and he protected him, and he caused to be borne to him provisions and rations. Then he caused him to be borne to the Crac of Moab (al-Karak) and he remained at it, because he was the son of his uncle. Then (it was) that the Franks (al-Afranğ), when the days of the truce were accomplished, evacuated the Noble Jerusalem (al-Kuds), so that there did not remain at it except one knight and seventy foot-men (who) dwelt in the Tower of David (Daud). Then (it was) that the Sultan collected about two thousand horsemen from a number of amirs, and he despatched them to Gaza (Ghazzah) to guard the lands. And the Franks (al-Afranğ) had departed to Ascalon (`Askalan) and had descended upon it (and) they had intended to rebuild it. And they rode, and they assembled, and they came to Furbia and they fought with the troops of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) who were at Gaza (Ghazzah), and they prevailed against

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr).

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them from the beginning of the day until noon. Then the troops of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) revived according to their custom. And the infantry of the Franks (al-Afranğ) became weary, and they (the Muslims) charged at them again, and they took captive a group of them. And the Franks (al-Afranğ) had also killed a group of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and they had taken captive a group among whom (were) amirs and leaders. And the two parties ⁽¹⁾ became equal. And as for the Sultan, he returned with the remainder of the troops to Cairo (al-Kahirah). Then he went out hunting, after he had commanded that the possessions of the amirs who had been dissimulators should be taken and their houses pillaged; and he who had anything belonging to them it should be taken from him. And the people began to lie to one another, and the people on account of this fell into severe calamity, and they demanded what they did not have, and some of them were mulcted and some of them were imprisoned. And as for prices, they became cheap and they decreased, and everything returned to its limit, with the exception of olive-oil and linseed-olive and sesame-oil and meat and poultry and eggs and chick-peas and rambling-vetch. And olive-oil, because of the cutting off of the ways, was at three dirhams the ratl, and linseed-oil at a dirham and a quarter the ratl, and sesame-oil at a dirham and a half, and meat at one dirham and a half, and poultry at two dirhams for a chicken, and chick-peas for fifty dirhams the ardab, and rambling-vetch for twenty-five dirhams, and wax at eight dirhams and a half the ratl, and bees-honey at two dirhams the ratl, because all the bees had perished in this year. And as for wheat, it decreased to fifteen dirhams the ardab, and barley to nine dirhams the ardab. Then after that, the conflict between the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the Franks (al-Afranğ) came to a close by reason of the overcoming of the Franks (al-Afranğ) by the Muslims (al-Muslimin). And this (was) that those who went out with the Franks (al-Afranğ) were from the Arabs (al-`Arab) who did not know the locality of the land nor the ruse of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) in fighting nor their stratagems. They (the Franks) set out and they separated and they went deep into the lands,

⁽¹⁾ Lit. ‘tribes’. I.e. the Franks and the Muslims.

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because they pushed forward from Ascalon (`Askalan) towards Gaza (Ghazzah). And no one of the inhabitants of the Littoral who were accustomed to the lands accompanied them, but they ⁽⁴⁾ left them as food, according to their custom of treason and collusion with their enemies to the people of their faith. And the Muslims (al-Muslimin) had rushed on before them and had drawn them into an ambush, until they became bold and they dispersed. And the Bedouins (al-`Urban) surrounded them (the Franks) on all sides, and a great Count (Kund) of theirs was taken from them, and about fifteen knights, and of the infantry what was over five hundred men, and the double of them was killed. And there was not killed of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) troops, except Ibn Khalkan and those of no importance. And the mentioned captives arrived at Cairo (al-Kahirah), and the day of their arrival was a notable day ⁽⁵⁾. And the Count (al-Kund) and the horsemen rode on mules, and the infantry on camels, and there was with them a priest, and he rode a mule also. Then (it was) that the Sultan showed kindness to the Count (al-Kund), and he did not fetter him, but he left him in a tower alone, and he allowed to him all what he needed. And as regards the priest and the horsemen, they fastened on their legs fetters (attached) to iron balls. And as for the infantry, they fettered them, and they employed them at the Citadel. And Al-Malik an-Nasir, the Possessor of the Crac of Moab (al-Karak), descended to Jerusalem (al-Kuds) after this defeat, and he took it, and he slew all who were remaining in it of the Franks (al-Afranğ) ⁽⁸⁾. And he preached in it a magnificent sermon

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Arabs.

⁽⁵⁾This was an incident in the Crusade of Thibaut IV, Count of Champagne, cf. R. Grousset, L’Empire du Levant, pp. 260-261 and L’Epopee des Croisades, pp. 345-346.

⁽⁸⁾ This occurred about three years later, on August 23rd, 1244 A.D. Cf. R. Grousset, L’Empire du Levant, p. 261, L’Epopee des Croisadcs, p. 348, and S. Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt, p. 231.

—- 198 —-

according to the direction of the Coran (al-Kur’an). And Al-Malik as-Salih, son of Al-Malik al-Kamil, remained under the protection of the son of his paternal uncle, this Al-Malik an-Nasir, at the Crac of Moab (al-Karak) And the conditions were unsettled, and the Khwarizmians (al-Khawarizmiah) returned, and they crossed over the Euphrates (al-Furat), and they came to Emesa (Hims), (and) they besieged it for some days, and they devastated its lands, and they took from its Possessor money, and they returned. And the Bedouins (al-`Urban) in Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id) (were) as before, as regards discord and dissimulation, on the plea of what (was) between the one and the other. Then (it was) that corn again fluctuated (in price), and wheat of excellent quality reached to thirty dirhams the ardab, and barley, to thirteen dirhams the ardab. And there was not in these days anything cheap, neither corn nor other than it, nor clothing, nor implements, because the soldiers had been enriched by the gifts of the Sultan, and they caused everything to be expensive. And in this year most of the wine of the people spoiled, so that there was not found a house in which there was not spoiled fermented-wine or (that) sun-exposed. Then (it was) that the monk `Imad al-Miršad who had made endeavours for the consecration of the patriarch by a gift ⁽⁴⁾, and had trampled on the Canons of the Church, and had done that alone, without (that) the opinion of anyone participated with him in it, either bishop or archon, God caused enmity between them⁽⁵⁾, because the intention was corrupt. And the patriarch began to persecute him (the monk) in every place, and he interdicted him, because he was a priest, and he used to oppose the declarations of the patriarch; and he (the monk) used to follow up his ⁽⁶⁾ faults and to oppose him. at every time, and he wished to excommunicate him, as has been explained before. And he (the priest) came at this time and he made

⁽⁴⁾ i.e. a bribe.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the monk and the patriarch.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the patriarch’s.

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endeavours until an order of the Sultan was issued to one of the amirs called As-Sarim al-Mas`udi, that he should see into the affair of the patriarch and hold a Council for him with the Christians (an-Nasara) in the presence of prominent Muslims (al-Muslimin) and their judges and their governors and their reliable witnesses, and this was begun. And the patriarch had gone up to the Church Al-Mu`allakah at Cairo (Misr) to consecrate a nun at it. And it was a long time (that) he had not gone up to it, since he had departed from it, when the Muslims (al-Muslimin) had taken possession of a part of it, on account of what had happened between him and them in the way of strained relations and on account of the belvedere ⁽⁴⁾ of which he had determined the limits, and it had been arranged according to what was said before. And when he was vested and had gone out into the middle of the church, with candles before him and priests chanting eulogies for him according to the custom, there was there an insane man known as Israel (Israyil) [I]bn al-Muhandis, dwelling at the top of the church. And when he heard about this, he came to a place overlooking the place in which (was) the multitude; and he insulted and he uttered obscenities, and he said: «Take him away! Take him away!» and he did what did not befit a sane man, but he was deprived of reason. And some of the multitude became furious, and they went up to him, and they beat him, and they broke open his head, and his blood flowed upon his garment. And he went out to the Minister of Works seeking shelter, and he (the Minister) was from among the mamluks (Mamalik) of the Sultan. And the monk `Imad had come to him (the minister), and he had come with an order of the amir As-Sarim to seek the patriarch. And the patriarch went out, and with him (was) the warrant, and ho delegated (his affairs) to the son of his brother and to the treasurer whom he had, and he was known as Abu’l-Farag [I]bn Khalbus. And they came with the patriarch to the

⁽⁴⁾A large room, generally on the upper storey of a house, in which the master of the house sits during the daytime and receives guests.

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house of the amir As-Sarim, and with him (were) two bishops, Abba (Anba) Joseph (Yusab), bishop of Fua (Fuah) and Abba (Anba) Paul (Bulus), bishop of the Fayum (al-Fayum), and they caused them to descend in a chamber at the side of the house of the mentioned amir. And he (the amir) had a Christian (an-Nasrani) friend known as An-Nağib, a scribe of As-Salah, and he conversed with the amir and he (An-Nağib) transferred them to his house, and they remained thus from the sixth Sunday of Lent until the Wednesday of the seventh week ⁽⁵⁾, and this was the ninth of (the month of) Baramudah ⁽⁶⁾ of the mentioned year ⁽⁷⁾. And the Council was held on the mentioned day, and there was present a group of the notables of the Christians (an-Nasara) of those who were summoned, and among those who were summoned not one of them was present by intention, and some, on account of work. And there was present at the mentioned Council As-Sarim as representative of the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- and the judge, the jurisconsult Ğamal ad-Din [I]bn al-Buri, administrator of the prosperous Egyptian (al-Misriyah) diwans, and the judge Al-Muhri, representative of the honorable judge at Cairo (al-Kahirah) the protected, and the jurisconsult Šaraf ad-Din as-Sabki, the inspector of weights and measures at it. And he was the spokesman at the Council, and fourteen assessors according to what was reported by those who were present of the trustworthy ones of our friends. And the patriarch and `Imad came forward and they sat in front of the presidents of the Council. And they (the presidents) said: «He who has a word (to say) or a plaint to bring against his companion, let him speak». And `Imad came forward and he said: «I bring a plaint against this David (Daud) that he gave

⁽⁵⁾I.e. Holy Week.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. April 4th, Julian Style.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. 1238 A.D.

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bribes for the consecration, and he has taken them, from him whom he has consecrated from the ranks of the priesthood, and it is contrary to our religious law. And they said to the patriarch: «What do you say?» He said: «I did not take (bribes)». `Imad said: «And did you not order anyone to take (bribes) for you?» He (the patriarch) said: «I did not order anyone to take (bribes) for me». They said: «And who will witness for you to the taking (of bribes)?», speaking to `Imad. He said: «These two bishops». And they both said: «We shall not witness to anything, and we have not seen anything.», for the two latter (were) of those who had given the bribe at his consecration; because there was not anyone of all these bishops who had been consecratedin the time of this patriarch, who had not given a bribe, except two, and they (were) the metropolitan (Mutran) of Damietta (Dumyal), and the bishop of Al-Khandak, and none other. And all the rest of them had given (the bribe) in advance, and had written their signatures for a deferment until they had departed to their sees, and they greeted him and they screened him. And their bribe was from two hundred dinars —- and they were the majority —- down to fifty dinars, and they (were) the minority, and this was beside what used to be paid to the son of the brother of the patriarch, and it (was) a fixed amount and (was) beside the gifts in the way of goods and beasts of burden and other than these, of kinds particular to the various districts. And it was said to `Imad: «Whom have you to witness beyond these two?» And he said: «These priests of the Mu`allakah (Church)». And there was summoned the priest Abu’l-Makarim, because he was the senior in rank and age. And he arose, and it was said to him: «What will you witness?», and he hesitated and he was dilatory in the matter, (and) he said: «He (the patriarch) took (a bribe) out of necessity», and he was disconcerted,

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and it was said (to him): «Sit down», and he sat down. And there was summoned the surnamed «Coffer of learning», the priest Abu’l-Ma`adi [I]bn as-Sani, his companion. And he witnessed and he said: «I testify-that this patriarch gave bribes for the priesthood, and he took them himself from those whom he consecrated; then he sat down. Then they began with a monk known as the father Michael (Mikhayil), and he was known before his monasticism as Fakhr ad-Daulah Marga, and he was dwelling with this patriarch for thirteen years. And he arose, and they said: «What will you witness?» He said: «I testify that this patriarch took bribes for ordination and gave them». And the patriarch said: «This is a single monk: his word against me is not to be accepted». And the patriarch, when the priests were summoned to witness against him, had said: «Their word against me is not to be accepted». It was said to him: «They (are) just (witnesses)». He said: «Just (witnesses), except against me, because for the patriarch there is not accepted, except the words of the bishops». They said: «Write (this)», because all what occurred they wrote in due form, and they wrote all what occurred. Then, after this, the judges said to the patriarch: «And if the bishops witness against you?» He said: «If two bishops were to witness against me that I have taken a bribe from him whom I consecrated to one of the ranks of holy orders, or (that) I ordered anyone to take it (for me), I should be excommunicated from holy orders». And the monk said: «Will you swear?» The patriarch said: «I am not able to swear, because, if patriarchs were to swear, they would be deprived of their rank». They (the judges) said to him: «If an accuser were to accuse you of what you have not (done), would you remain quiet and not swear?» He said: «I would suffer loss or be imprisoned, but I would not swear, and the rule is established that he (the patriarch) should not swear under any circumstance». He (the president) said: «Let him (the patriarch) swear by the munificence of the Sultan —- may

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God perpetuate his kingdom! —- that, if two bishops witness against him that he has taken a bribe for a consecration, or (that) he permitted anyone to take it (for him), he should be cut off from his holy orders», and they wrote this down. Then the judges said to `Imad: «Is there another accusation?» He (`Imad) said: «Yes. This David (Daud) consecrated for Jerusalem (al-Kuds) and the lands of the Franks (al-Afranğ)⁽⁵⁾ a metropolitan (al-Mutran) (who) has hindered the Copts (al-Kibt) from (observing) their religious practices and has prevented them from circumcision and the marriage of near relatives ⁽⁶⁾, and letters of the Franks (al-Afranğ) have begun to come to him, and his letters to go to them, and this is not according to custom». The patriarch said: «I did not consecrate him, except for Gaza (Ghazzah), and not other than it, and if he (the metropolitan) has encroached on other than it, I have not ordered him (to do) this». And it was said to him (the patriarch): «Did those who preceded you do this?» He said: «They had there priests». `Imad said: «There were priests when Jerusalem (al-Kuds) was in the hands of the Muslims (al-Muslimun), but you did make the metropolitan (Mutran) while Jerusalem (al-Kuds) (was) in the hands of the Franks (al-Afranğ), and the metropolitan (al-Mutran) (is) other than the priests. And here (is) one who will witness that this metropolitan (al-Mutran) used to go about in the Frankish (al-Afranğiah) lands ⁽⁹⁾ by your command, and his belief has become their belief». And they said: «And who is he?» And there was summoned the priest, the monk, Gabriel (Ghabryal), the son of the priest Makarim [I]bn Kalil. And he arose and he witnessed that he had separated from him (the

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Littoral of Palestine.

⁽⁶⁾ Marriage between first cousins is allowed and is also frequent.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. the Littoral, cf. page 182, note 2.

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metropolitan) at Acre (`Akka)and this was written down. Then there was said: «Is there another complaint?» And `Imad arose and he said: «Yes, he ⁽²⁾ took a Muslim (Muslim) man known as Abu’l-Fakhr al-Kala, since he was selling fuller’s-earth with which linen is bleached, and he gave to him the Holy Communion». And the patriarch denied (this), and there was one among the group to witness, and he was restrained, and he forbore, and no one witnessed against him (the patriarch) concerning this. And they wrote all this in order that they might inform the Sultan about it and extract his injunction on which they could rely. And mention was made of the inalienable endowments of the churches, and that he (the patriarch) receives their revenue, and (that) he does not deliver to the owners of the inalienable endowments anything of them. And the talk concerning it increased and decreased, and the final decision was written down, and the Council broke up, and the Muslims (al-Muslimun) had no praise for the Christians (an-Nasara) nor for their chief. As for their chief, how was it that he had not sufficient control that he might dominate their minds and endear their hearts to him. And as for the Christians (an-Nasara), how (was it that) they conducted themselves with their chief to this extent. And as for the intelligent Christians (an-Nasara), they did not consent to this Council nor did they approve of what occurred at it, and they said: «It was requisite to gather together the bishops and the archons, and that they should assemble with the patriarch and should reprove him among themselves with regard to all what they abhorred in him in the way of what was contrary to their religious law and disagreed with their judgments. And if he desist from this, it will be the goal, but if he persist in it, it will be for them not to follow him nor mention him in their Liturgies, on the condition that all of them are agreed on this, or most of them. And after this the talk was stopped, and of the document about this no trace appeared and no information was known about it. And the order against the patriarch and his companions was lifted, and it was said that he was mulcted on

⁽²⁾ I.e. the patriarch.

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this occasion of three hundred dinars. And as for `Imad, (it was) that, when he saw that nothing would be done for him, he departed immediately from the house of the amir As-Sarim, and he followed the patriarch to the places in which he was, and he kept close to him, but nothing occurred from him. And the patriarch had sent to the bishops that they should come to hold a Council, thinking that he might delay till they came. And they reached Kaliub after the Council, on the Saturday of Lazarus ⁽²⁾. And the patriarch wrote to them that they should return to their sees, and that God had dispensed them from their trouble, and that it was the turn of him who had stirred up trouble for him and had opposed him. And they returned, because he had sought them for something which concerned him and nothing else. And there were among them, as was mentioned, those who wished to witness against him that he had taken bribes. However, they did not find a way, and they did not meet with an opportunity. And the patriarch remained neither well-disposed to the assembly, nor were they well-disposed to him, either outwardly or inwardly. Then (it was) that the patriarch went at the Feast of Olives ⁽³⁾ to the church of Saint ([A]bu) George (Girg) of Al-Hamra and there was staying at it an elder, an archon, known as As-Sanfah, brother of As-Sani, and he was an accountant of the Diwan of the prosperous Treasury, to whom all the diwan had recourse. And it was the intention of the patriarch to appease his heart, because he was a learned man, intelligent, influential and free from caprice, and he passed the night with him, the night of the Olives ⁽⁵⁾. And he wrote for him (As-Sanfah) his signature that he would deliver up the inalienable endowments which belonged to the churches to a good man from among those whom the assembly should select, and that

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Saturday before Palm Sunday. So called in both the Creek and Coptic Churches from the fact that on this day there is made commemoration the raising of Lazarus, cf. Jh. xi, vv. 17-44.

⁽³⁾ I.e. Palm Sunday.

⁽⁵⁾ This would be the night of the Saturday preceding Palm Sunday.

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their ⁽¹⁾ revenue should be spent first on their ⁽²⁾ repair, then on the repair of the churches and their combustibles ⁽³⁾ and their oblations (Karabin)⁽⁴⁾, and what remained over from them should be distributed to the poor, and (that) he (the patriarch) had nothing (to do) in this, except the supervision and nothing else, and he should not receive from them a dirham. And that he should establish for Cairo (Misr) a bishop, and likewise for Al-Khandak, and likewise for all the vacant sees, from among those to whom the congregation should consent and witness to his being upright. And that he should establish at Cairo (Misr) a teacher, and at Cairo (al-Kahirah) a teacher, who should instruct the people in what escapes their understanding, and should explain to them what is complicated for them, and should write the books and the commentaries, so that nothing in them should cause him who reads them to pause. And that any monastery, the chiefs of which desire that it should be under the supervision of the bishop of that see in which is that monastery, should be placed (under) his supervision on the condition that he (the bishop) should bear the contributions (Diyarat) of the mentioned monastery to him (the patriarch). And (there were) many things of this kind among which that he (the patriarch) should appoint with him two bishops to be present with him for all judgements and decisions, and (that) no order should be issued without them. And the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani`ah took the mentioned document, and he came with it to the Church of Abba (Abu) Sergius (Sarğah) to the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani, the monk, because he was residing at it. And he informed him of it, and there was with him a group of the priests and

⁽¹⁾ I.e. that of the inalienable endowments.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the buildings belonging to the inalienable endowments.

⁽³⁾ I.e. oil, candles and charcoal.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the bread and wine for the Holy Eucharist.

—- 207 —-

the archons, and he (As-Sani) did not assent to it, and he said: «If he (the patriarch) consecrate a bishop for Cairo (Misr), the Church of Abba (Abu) Sergius (Sarğah) shall not be his, and I desire that he (the patriarch) write a copy of this document». And he brought out a copy of a document with the signature of Abba (Anba) John (Yuhanna) Ibn Abu Ghalib, the deceased ⁽³⁾, —- and in it (there was) an exposition of the Faith and the blessing of the Fourth Council ⁽⁴⁾, and many chapters about the matter circumcision and the arrangement of the hair and such like things. And the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani`ah said: «Let us write this document, for (there is) nothing wrong in it». He (As-Sani) said: «And I desire that he (the patriarch) should write that he will send away the monks in the towns and the Rif, and that he should discontinue to marry a bride on the Carnival (ar-Rifa`) of (the Fast of) Nineveh (Ninawa) ⁽⁷⁾, and not on the Carnival (ar-Rifa`) of Lent ⁽⁸⁾ on account of the beginning of the fast for them; and that he should (re-)build the Church al-Mu`allakah and the Monastery of Abba (Abu) Macarius (Makar), and things resembling these matters». And the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sanfah took a copy of these (things), and he guaranteed that he would do them, and he departed, and this was on the Sunday of Olives ⁽¹²⁾. And after this, an order was issued to demolish

⁽³⁾ I.e. the preceding patriarch.

⁽⁴⁾ This is the Council held at Ephesus in 449 A.D. and known among the non-Monophysites as the Latrocinium.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Septuagesima Sunday.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. Sexagesima Sunday.

⁽¹²⁾I.e. Palm Sunday.

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the mansion of the amir Nur ad-Din [I]bn al-amir Fakhr ad-Din `Uthman, which (was) at the mansion of Ad-Dibag. And he was the chief of the amirs who had acted hypocritically, and had gone to Syria (aš-Šam) to Al-Malak as-Salih Isma`il in the preceding year. And a start was made on its demolition in the middle decade of (the month of) Baramudah ⁽¹⁾of the mentioned year, and they were on the point of demolishing the other mansion of [I]hn aš-Šaikh which was in the Lane Mulukhiah, and they did not do this, hut (it was) that its marble and weapons were stripped off and borne to the protected Citadel. And in these days there arrived the messengers of the Commander of the Faithful, the Calif (Khalifat) of the period, who resided at Bagdad (Baghdad) at the Mosque (al-Gama`), and the investiture of the ministry for the Sultan Al-Malak al-`Adil —- may God empower his victory! —- and with them (was) the messenger of the Sultan referred to, whom he had sent thither sometime before. And the Sultan wore them ⁽³⁾on Friday, and it was Good Friday, the eighteenth of (the month of) Baramudah⁽⁵⁾ of this year ⁽⁶⁾. And he went up to his protected Citadel and it was a remarkable day, and all the denominations went out in his honour, the Christians (an-Nasara) and their patriarch, and others beside them. And on Wednesday, the twenty-third of the mentioned (month of) Baramudah ⁽⁸⁾, there rode out the son of the mentioned Sultan with the robe of honour of the Caliph (Khalifah), the heir-apparent after his father, and he was a young child of three years of age, to the surroundings of it (the Citadel), and there was a servant riding behind him. And the robes of honour were all black, because this was the distinctive mark of the

⁽¹⁾ I.e. April 6th-April 15th, Julian Style.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the robes of investiture.

⁽⁵⁾ April 13th, Julian Style.

⁽⁶⁾ Probably 1240 A.D.

⁽⁸⁾ April 18th, Julian Style.

—- 209 —-

`Abbasid State and its banner. And it was a remarkable day, except that it was inferior to the first day, because the Great Sultan did not ride, neither (did) the messengers of the Diwan, but the amirs were walking in his train. And, after this, the patriarch discarded a man, a priest, known as Al-Makin, namely Al-Baha from the inhabitants of Miniat `Umar ⁽²⁾, and he was of the companions of the patriarch, and he used to go for him to collect (the contributions) of Lower Egypt (Al-Wağh al-Bahari). And the patriarch had ordained him priest for the port of Alexandria, and he had become angered with the patriarch on account of what he used to see of his sayings, his judgments and his conduct. And he went to As-Sarim al-Mas`udi who had been charged with the affair at first. And he said to him, that the patriarch says that you took money from him, and (now) you abandon him, and that, if this news reaches the Sultan, we shall not be safe from him ⁽³⁾. And the Council did not separate, except disgusted at the coming of the bishops and their testimony. And the bishops had arrived at Kaliub, and the patriarch sent them back with his letters. And he ⁽⁵⁾ stirred him ⁽⁶⁾ up against the patriarch, and he dismissed him ⁽⁵⁾ until he had caused the patriarch to be brought again, and he appointed a guarantor for him (the patriarch), and he caused him ⁽⁷⁾ to reside in the Church of the Harat Zuwailah. And he ⁽⁵⁾ caused to be brought the son of his ⁽⁶⁾ brother, Abu Sa`id and his ⁽⁹⁾ agent Abu’l-Farag [I]bn Khalbus, and his ⁽¹⁰⁾ scribe, the priest Simeon (Sama`an),and he confined them. And he sent and he caused to be brought Abba (Anba) Joseph (Yusab), bishop of Fua (Fuah),

⁽²⁾ Unidentified.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the patriarch.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the priest Al-Makin.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. As-Sarim al-Mas`udi.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the patriarch.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. As-Sarim al-Mas`udi.

⁽¹⁰⁾I.e. the patriarch’s.

—- 210 —-

because they had produced his signature against the patriarch for acts which were proved true with regard to him. He had written it in the days of his quarrel with him, when he (the patriarch) took from him the hamlet known as the D—-⁽¹⁾; and he confined the latter with them.

And As-Sarim sent his letters to the bishops that they should be present, and eleven of them, the bishops, came, and among them (were) nine who had written their signature. And they (were): Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis), bishop of Samannud, and Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus), bishop of Talkha, and Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis), bishop of Bana and Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis), bishop of Lakan, and Abba (Anba) Michael (Mikhayil), bishop of Al-Baramun, and Abba (Anba) Gabriel (Ghabriyal), bishop of Sanhur, and Abba (Anba) Michael (Mikhayil), bishop of Sanša, and Abba (Anba) Ephraem (Afraham), bishop of Nastarau, and Abba (Anba) Mark (Markus), bishop of Sinğar. And among them (were) two (who) had observed (this), and they were the bishop of Fua (Fuah) and the bishop of Ašmun. And all of them had written their signatures that the patriarch had taken gifts for the orders of the priesthood and had given them. And among them (was) he who had written that he had come under excommunication, because he had written his signature to stipulations, but had departed from them. And there did not remain among them of those who had not written their

⁽¹⁾ The word following ‘known as’ is written without the diacritical points.

—- 211 —-

signature, except the Metropolitan (Mutran) of Damietta (Dumyat), and the bishop of Ašmun. And (it was) that they did not agree to anything of this, and there occurred disputes between the patriarch and this priest. And he (the priest) enumerated to him things among which (was) that he had excommunicated the bishop of Al-Khandak ⁽⁴⁾for having taken six dinars as the price of a tomb at the Monastery of Al-Khandak, (and) afterwards he took it from him for himself. And that he had given judgment against a woman, that she should restore the bridemoney (al-Mahr) to its owner in double, if she wished (to become) a nun, (and) afterwards he contradicted the judgment for others than her; and (that) he had ordained the sons of slaves priests, and things, the explanation of which and the explanation of their meaning would be long. And he (the patriarch) would say: «I did not do this, except for the sake of God and in the interest of the Church of God». And the affair did not cease to vacillate and hatred was confirmed. And the scribe of the patriarch wrote his signature giving in detail the names, (and) that which reached the patriarch in the way of gifts (to obtain) holy orders, and such like things, (and) that it ⁽⁹⁾ (was) seventeen thousand dinars, and it was said fifteen thousand dinars and fractions. Then (it was) that the elder As-Sani, the aforementioned, was among those who supported the priest Abu’l-Baha, because he considered (that) this was among the causes of righteousness and divers recompenses.

⁽⁴⁾ Cf. E. Amelineau, op. cit., pp. 220-221, and O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Ancient Coptic Churches of Cairo, p. 87. The new Cathedral of Saint Mark, the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, the Church of Anba Ruwais, the Coptic Patriarchate, the Coptic Orthodox Theological College, the Coptic Institute and the Society for Coptic Archaeology are all built on this site which was formerly a cemetery.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. the amount of money received.

—- 212 —-

And he sent to him and he requested of him that he should write his signature on a copy of a document found with the signature of Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis) [I]bn Ghalib who had been before this patriarch ⁽¹⁾. He ⁽²⁾ had written it at the beginning of his patriarchate in his (declaration) of the Orthodox Faith, and he excommunicated him who takes anything in the way of gifts for any order of the orders of the priesthood or (who) gives it; and the chapters of the sentences (judgments), and the repudiation of the Council of Chalcedon (Khalkiduniah) ⁽⁵⁾, and he wrote all in the handwriting of his scribe, and he wrote his signature to it, and that it was issued from him ⁽⁶⁾, and that he accepted what was in it, and that he agreed to it. And the mentioned elder (As-Sani) said that he (the patriarch) should not write anything at all, except with his ⁽⁷⁾ signature, and (that) we should add to it that the children of second marriages ⁽⁸⁾ should not be ordained, and (that) a woman shall not enter the church, except five days after her purification from menstruation; and he wrote all with his signature, and he wrote the additions which he had added. Then (it was) that an affair constrained the Sultan to go out, and he went out to Bilbais, and the amir As-Sarim went out with him, and he terminated that Council. And the bishops assembled with the patriarch, and they expressed their excuses, but he (the patriarch) did not speak to them a word, only (it was) that their signatures to what they had written were in the hands of the people, (in) a number of copies. And after the departure of the Sultan Al-Malik al-`Adil to Bilbais, the troops agreed

⁽¹⁾ Patriarch of Alexandria from 1189-1216 A.D.

⁽²⁾ I.e. Abba John.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Fourth OEcumenical Council.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the patriarch.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the patriarch’s.

⁽⁸⁾ For ordination in the Coptic Church the candidates must be children of a first marriage only.

—- 213 —-

on seizing him, and that they should send to his brother Al-Malik as-Salih, that he should come and take possession of the kingdom. And they assembled in the night, the dawn of which started the day of Friday, the ninth of (the month of) Dhu’l-Ka`adah (in) the year six hundred and thirty-six of the Lunar (Year) ⁽³⁾ which corresponds to the seventh of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁽⁴⁾ of this year. And those who assembled were men of the guards, and their leaders (were) three of the ministers Šams al-Hawas Masrur and Šibl ad-Daulah Kafur and As-Safi Ğahar the Nubian (an-Nubi) and the notables, and their leader was the mamluk known as Atabak al-Asmar. And they marched round the tent of the Sultan, dressed in chain-mail (and with) arms, from the evening until the morning. And when it was the morning of the day, they entered to him, and they took him out, and they placed him in a pavilion, a fine tent, and they entrusted him to men of the guards to protect him night and day. Then they went round the camp of all the amirs of the Kurds (al-Akrad) and those of mixed race, and they pillaged it, and there were pillaged many dwellings in the city of Bilbais. And the scribes and the judges and the jurisconsults and the masses were pillaged, and it was a great calamity, except that no blood was shed in it. Then they turned to the intimate companions of Al-Malik al-`Adil, and they put a guard over them and over their possessions. And they wrote to the Sultan Al-Malik as-Salih Aiyub ⁽⁷⁾ that he should come, and their messenger reached him, and he was at Jerusalem (al-Kuds), (and) was resolved on returning to Al-Karak, because he was too weak to remain at Gaza (Ghazzah), since the troops of Egypt (Misr) (were) in front of

⁽³⁾ = 1239 A.D.

⁽⁴⁾ June 13th, Julian Style.

⁽⁷⁾ 1239-1249 A.D.

—- 214 —-

him, and behind him (were) the Franks (al-Afranğ), and with them the Possessor ⁽¹⁾ of Damascus. And the intention of Al-Malik an-Nasir, the son of his uncle, (was) that, if they returned to Al-Karak, he would place a guard over them, as it was at first, and there came to him relief, or rather a kingdom from where it was not expected. And he rode, and he came to the troops at Bilbais, and he reached (them) on Monday, the nineteenth of (the month of) Dhu’l-Ka`adah (in the) year six hundred and thirty-seven ⁽⁵⁾ which corresponds to the seventeenth of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁽⁶⁾. And he gave to the leaders considerable wealth and he vested them with robes of honour, and he crossed over to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the Protected in the daytime of Saturday, the twenty-fourth of the mentioned (month of) Dhu’l-Ka`adah which corresponds to the twenty-first of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁽⁷⁾. He passed through the city, and he went up to the protected Citadel. And he removed the amir Ğamal ad-Din [I]bn Ba`ur ⁽⁹⁾ from the office of equerry, and he made him governor (Wali) of the Port of Alexandria, and he removed Badr ad-Din Yunis. from the military amirs, and he made him governor (Wali) of Cairo (al-Kuhirah) the Protected, and he employed Al-Mu`ain [I]bn aš-Šaikh (as) his wazir, and he delivered to him (the Ministry) of Finance. And he levied troops for Upper Egypt (as-Said) on account of the Bedouins (al-`Urban), and he set over them the amir Zain ad-Din [I]bn Abu Dhikri. And there were among them amirs and notables, and a number of amirs and a company of the bodyguard which exceeded a thousand horsemen. Then (it was) that a group of Christians (an-Nasara) hastened to appose their signature to a document of theirs, that the Church

⁽¹⁾ I.e. As-Salih Isma`il.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. of the Hiğrah, = 1239 A.D.

⁽⁶⁾ June 23rd, Julian Style.

⁽⁷⁾ June 27th, Julian Style.

⁽⁹⁾ The first letter of this name is without diacritical points.

—- 215 —-

Al-Mu`allakah should return to what it was (before), and they came to the governor (al-Wali) to consult him, and he commanded them (to do) this. And they arose at night, (and) they closed up the doors which the Muslims (al-Muslimin) had opened, and they acted as though they were the occupiers of it ⁽²⁾. And they had an enemy called [I]bn Haulah, and he was a mu’ezzin (al-Mu’adhdhin) in the locality, and he came to the places which had been closed up, and he opened them, and he restored them to what they were (before). And he went up to the jurisconsult `Abbas, the preacher at the Citadel, and he charged him with the case, and he said to him: «This (is) a prayer-house (Masğid), and the Christians (an-Nasara) have taken possession of it, and they have annexed it to their Church». And he took with him `Alam ad-Din Šama’il, amir of the bodyguard, and he came to the church; and there came with them of the mob of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), multitudes not to be counted, and there came with them the architects, and they were not able to say the truth which they knew, on account of the multitude. And they departed on the assumption that they would inform the Sultan of what they had seen, and this (was) Thursday. And when it was Friday, at the time of the Prayer ⁽⁵⁾, and they stood in the middle of the mosque (al-Ğama`), he ⁽⁶⁾ said: «O Muslims (Muslimin), he who (is) of Islam and (who is) fervent in his belief, let him come (on) the morning of the morrow to the Church Al-Mu`allakah». And when it was morning, they went up to it, and they broke its sanctuary lamps and the screens of its sanctuaries ⁽⁷⁾, and they took all the vessels (which) were in it. And it is said that they found under one of the altars ⁽⁸⁾

⁽²⁾ I.e. the place.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the general reunion for prayer in the mosque on Fridays.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the preacher of the Citadel, `Abbas.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the wooden screen which separates the sanctuary from the nave. For examples, cf. the plates in O.H.E.KHS-Burmester, A Guide to the Ancient Coptic Churches of Cairo.

⁽⁸⁾ The word ‘haikal ‘ is strictly applied to the sanctuary, but, sometimes, also

—- 216 —-

ancient vessels from the days of old, of which none of the people of this ⁽¹⁾ time had (any) knowledge, and they had great value. And they passed beyond in the direction of the sanctuary of Severus (Sawirus), and all that western side was in their possession. And the Church remained closed, and neither was the Divine Liturgy celebrated in it, nor were the Prayers ⁽²⁾ (recited). And as for Al-Malik al-`Adil, his brother Al-Malik as-Salih went up with him to the Citadel, and he placed him in a place, where no one could reach him, and no one saw him again. And the Christians (an-Nasara) remained undecided about going up to the Citadel or standing before the Sultan, and nothing was done for them. And there entered the year nine hundred and fifty-seven ⁽⁴⁾ on the day of Wednesday, the ninth of the reckoning of (the month of) Safar, (in the) year six hundred and thirty-seven of the Arabs ⁽⁵⁾. And the Sultan (was) Al-Malik as-Salih Aiyub, and the wazir (was) Mu`ain ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh, and the kadi (was) Šaraf ad-Din [I]bn `Ain ad-Daulah of Alexandria, and the governor (Wali) of Cairo (al-Kahirah) (was) Badr ad-Din Yunis who had killed the military amir, and the governor (Wali) of Cairo (Misr) (was) `Izz ad-Din Muhammad, son of the wife of Aš-Šihab Ahmad, and the patriarch (was) Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus) known as Ibn Laklak. And the rise of the water ⁽⁶⁾ in it ⁽⁷⁾ reached to twenty-three fingers above seventeen cubits. And the water had ceased rising from the Feast of the Cross ⁽⁸⁾, and the people were troubled at

to the altar. Here it seems that we must understand the meaning ‘altar’, and that the vessels in question were concealed in the cavity which is found in many ancient Coptic altars, cf. O.H.E.KHS-Burmester, The Egyptian or Coptic Church, p. 22.

⁽¹⁾ I.e. at the time when this history was composed.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Canonical Hours and the Service of the Evening and Morning Offering of Incense.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. 1241 A.D.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. of the Hiğrah.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Nile.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. this year.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. September 27th, Gregorian Style.

—- 217 —-

this. And wheat reached to thirty dirhams the ardab, and barley, to twenty, and beans (al-Ful), to seventeen, and clover (Birsim), to sixty dirhams the ardab. And the rise regained to two fingers, and price(s) lessened a little, and the people were reassured, and most of the lands were watered. And the news arrived that the Franks (al-Afranğ) had gone out to Sichem (Nablus) and Ghor (al-Ghurr), and they had come to Gaza (Ghazzah), (and) they had besieged it, and they had taken the Noble Jerusalem (al-Kuds) ⁽⁴⁾ and they had begun on the building of Ascalon (`Askalan) ⁽⁵⁾, and that this (was) with the approval of Al-Malik as-Salih Ghazi, the Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk), paternal uncle of the Sultan. And (it was) that he had given to them (the Franks) a pledge to the effect that he would be in agreement with, and would aid them. And the Sultan levied about four thousand horsemen to go to Gaza (Ghazzah), and they departed, and they were seen at Bilbais. Then (it was) that the Christians (an-Nasara) returned to what they had been (before), with regard to the dispute about the patriarch. And some of them submitted an account to the Sultan, that he (the patriarch) intended (to do) what was not becoming to him and to depart from the religious law, and (it was) that he was in debt to the Sultan for a large sum (of money) which he had taken in his name; and that if he ⁽⁸⁾ brought the bishops and held a Council with regard to him ⁽⁹⁾, he would be assured about (this) report. And he (the Sultan) ordered that the bishops should be brought from the Lower (al-Bahari) and the Upper (al-Kibli) Lands,

⁽⁴⁾ Jerusalem had been in the possession of the Franks from 1229 A.D. by reason of the treaty signed by the Emperor Frederick II Hohenstaufen and Al-Malik al-Kamil, cf. S. Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt, pp. 226-227.

⁽⁵⁾ This relates to the Crusade of Thibaut IV, cf. R. Grousset, L’Empire du Levant, pp. 260-261.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the Sultan.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. the patriarch.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I.e. Upper and Lower Egypt.

—- 218 —-

and he sent an order to the patriarch, and he ⁽¹⁾ was staying at the Church of the Harat Zuwailah according to the usual custom. Then the Council was held before Al-Mu`ain, the wazir, and those who addressed him were the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani, the monk, (and) Abba (Anba) Peter (Butrus) and the bishop of Fua (Fuah) who was known before his monasticism as the continent Joseph (Yusif), and the bishop of Asyut, and the bishop of Samannud, and a body of the bishops. And there occurred between them serious troubles and disputes, the last of which (was) that they said: «We have for the Sultan three thousand dinars, and he shall make a patriarch in place of him ⁽⁷⁾». Then the wazir said to certain of those who were present: «Is this permitted with you?» (One) said: «No, O our sire, it is not permitted». He (the wazir) said: «But we shall not do what is not permitted, only (it is), that this one (the patriarch) has taken a considerable amount of money (which is due) to the Sultan, and he has not conveyed it to him, and I desire it of him». And they discussed about what they should do, and they reached to the amount of one thousand, five hundred and ten dinars, and the sons of the brother of the patriarch and the sons of his sister wrote their signatures for it. And they departed, and the heart of the patriarch was embittered against the bishops, and the hearts of the bishops against him. And he (the patriarch) began to occupy himself with raising the sum of money, and the bishops departed to their sees. Then (it was) that the Sultan levied troops to go to the Yemen (al-Yaman), and their strength (was) one thousand horsemen, and among them (was) the majority of the important (and) notable amirs, and they provided themselves with camels and

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the patriarch.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Ibn Laklak.

—- 219 —-

dromedaries and banners and water-skins. And he (the Sultan) provided for them on the sea warships about forty units made in the shipyardsat Cairo (Misr), and they were mounted and carried on the backs (of camels) up to Al-Kalzam to be assembled there, and they journeyed from there. And their crews were taken from Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) the Protected and their regions. And the prisons and the hostels at Cairo (Misr) were full of men of the fleet, and a great sum of money was spent on them, and he (the Sultan) gave magnificent robes of honour to the leading amirs, and the Sultan comforted their hearts to an extreme degree, and he bestowed on them every good thing. Then (it was) that Al-Malik al-Ğawad Muzaffar ad-Din [I]bn Maudud —- and it was he who was the Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk) and had delivered it up to the Sultan Al-Malik as-Salih, and he ⁽⁶⁾ had given to him Sinğar, and there is no doubt that, with regard to it, he was overcome by a ruse which the Possessor of Mosul (Mausul) had planned against him, and had taken it from him, and there did not remain to him except `Anah, and he had sold it to the Caliph (Al-Khalifat) —- reached the dwellings of Egypt (Misr) through the desert, because he was not able to pass through the lands of Syria (aš-Šam) on account of the Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk), and the Possessor of Karak (al-Karak). And he was not able to cross over to Cairo (al-Kahirah), but he remained at Al-Abbasah, and there was with him, according to what was reported the young son of the Possessor of Emesa (Hims), and the son of the Possessor of the Fortress of Ğa`abar And they were provided with

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Sultan.

—- 220 —-

provisions and money and clothing and live-stock and horses and mules, and all what they were in need of. And he (Al-Malik as-Salih) ordered them to go to Montreal (Šaubak), and they went towards Syria (aš-Šam) in the direction of Gaza (Ghazzah) and its surroundings. And prices were high, and wheat reached to forty dirhams the ardab, and barley exceeded thirty dirhams the ardab, and meat and poultry and oil and sesame oil and all kinds of eatables (were) expensive, as was mentioned before, and nothing in the lands was cheap at all of any kind. And as for buildings, they multiplied to a limit which allowed of no increase, until the wages of the builder were for four silver dirhams every day, and plaster (was) at a dirham and a half the waibah, and lime at six dirhams the kantar-ardab, and no one was able (to obtain) it. And the multitude of buildings was on account of the many comers from Syria (aš-Šam) and the East; because there came from them in these days ⁽⁴⁾ people not to be counted, and they built for them many dwellings outside the city, and in all places and ways, so that the city became as regards capacity like ten cities, and this was the reason for the dearncss of things and the wages of the workers. And the dearness, outside Cairo (Misr), was more than double the double that of Cairo (Misr). And the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- had set up a place, and he called it the House of Justice, and he appointed in it three persons of the army, known as Al-Iftakharia Kut al-Ğamali al-Yamani, and the noble judge of the troops, and he was of the chief of the people, and another man known as the jurisconsult `Abbas, and he was the preacher at the Citadel. And the people used to submit to them their wrongs, and they signed for them for the governors (al-Wulat), and the place of the signing was for the names of the three of them, and by this the Sultan was relieved. And he gave himself up to his pleasures

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. at the time in question.

—- 221 —-

and his rides and his hunting and what was related to it. Then (it was) that the messengers of the Franks (al-Afranğ) came frequently to our Sire, the Sultan, to seek for a treaty for keeping the lands which Al-Malik an-Nasir [I]bn al-Mu`azzam had given into their hands, and that they ⁽¹⁾should deliver up their captives whom they had taken in the recent conflict, on condition that they ⁽²⁾ should return to them also the Muslim (al-Muslimin) captives who (were) with them. And the wazir Kamal ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh, the elder of the elders, went frequently to them (the Franks) for this purpose, and the affair was decided between them concerning this. And they swore to the Sultan and the Sultan swore to them, and he released the Count (Kunt) who had been taken captive and the knights (horsemen) who were with him ⁽³⁾, and he gave to them all robes of honour, and they passed through Cairo (al-Kahirah) riding, and they returned to their lands in (the month of) Baramhat of this year. And the news arrived that the judge of Sichem (Nablus) had received the Muslim (al-Muslimin) captives and that robes of honour were also bestowed on them, and they were treated well. And the lands which the Franks (al-Faranğ) had retaken were the Noble Jerusalem (al-Kuds), and Bethlehem (Bait Lahm), and Ascalon (`Askalan) and its districts, and Eleutheropolis (Bait Gibril), and its districts, and the district of Gaza (Ghazzah) except for the city, and Tiberias (Tabariah)and its districts, and Magdala (Magdaliana), and its districts, and Mount `Amalah, and Safad, and Beauvoir (Kaukab) and Tor (at-Tur),

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the Muslims.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Christians.

⁽³⁾The reference is, it seems, to the captives taken in the campaign of Thibaut IV.

⁽⁴⁾ = 27th March-25th April, Julian Style.

—- 222 —-

and Toron (Tibnin), and Chateau-Neuf (Hunin), and As-Sakikan. And, in general, all the lands of the Littoral ⁽³⁾, (and) of these nothing was taken away from them (the Franks), except Sichem (Nablus) and Hebron (Al-Khalil), and the city of Gaza (Ghazzah), and nothing else. And it was said, that the treaty was only between the Arabs (al-`Arab) and the Asnariah, nothing else, and that the Templars ⁽⁸⁾did not swear. And in those days, the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- ordered that all the houses and what was with them and all what (was) on the Island of Cairo (Misr) ⁽⁹⁾ should be demolished, and that a fortress should be built; and he ordered to be bought from their owners the houses which were in it, and to be demolished, and to be built in their place towers and a wall. And he began on this, and he caused the foundation to be dug, and the work was arranged with regard to it, and the price of materials and the wages of the workers doubled for this reason. And it was recorded that, what was decided on to do with regard to these buildings, (was) seventeen towers, and every tower needed twenty-one piles besides shafts to be nailed and to be rammed down (and) afterwards built upon. And the Frankish (al-Afranğ) captives were sent to Egypt (Misr) to work on the mentioned fortress, and they caused them to lodge in the Church of Saint Mercurius (Abu Markurah) which is on the bank ⁽¹²⁾, because it was near. And the Christians (an-

⁽³⁾I.e. the Plain of Palestine, cf. R. Grousset, op. cit., Carte 9.

⁽⁸⁾I.e. the Knights Templar, a military order.

⁽⁹⁾I.e. Rodah.

⁽¹²⁾ Since this period the Nile has retreated some 600 metres, cf. O.H.E. KHS-Burmester, op. cit., pp. 40-4l.

—- 223 —-

Nasara), on account of this, fell into affliction and. cares, and they were, because there had happened (to) the Church Al-Mu`allakah what had happened; and this Church ⁽²⁾ (was) in this state, although ruin had fallen upon it. And (as for) the Church of the Island ⁽³⁾ we did not learn what became of it with this new wall in it. And all these churches (belonged) to the patriarch which he had chosen, and (they were) the places of his dwelling and rest. And, in these days, the bishop of Sandafaembraced Al-Islam, and he was called Ibn as-Sandubi, and he was taken round Al-Mahallah, riding on a horse. And the governor (al-Wali) vested him with a fur-mantle (Farut) and a triangular cap (Surbus), and (it was) something new, the like of which had not been witnessed; and the reason of it was that he had departed from what was obligatory, and he had fallen into the sin of fornication. And the patriarch wished to interdict him, (but) the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sanfah, the chief of the State accountants, did not allow him (to do this), for fear of what had happened. And the cause for this was (that) a man, a deacon of the church of Sandafa, had been interdicted by the bishop, and he had been prevented from acting (as deacon). And he did not cease to watch him (the bishop), until the sinful woman, and she was a Muslim (Muslimah entered to him. And he went to the governor (Wali) of Al-Mahallah (and) he informed him of this, because Sandafa was in the neighbour hood of Al-Mahallah, nothing separated them except the riverAnd it was then (that) the governor (al-Wali) sent two witnesses with male slaves, and they brought the bishop with the woman, and he was beaten very severely until it resulted that he departed from his belief.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the church Al-Mu`allakah.

⁽³⁾ I.e. of Rodah.

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And (as for) these crimes, these (are) their results, because they alienate from Christ entirely, and assistance is removed from those who commit them, and they fall into these difficult traps; and we ask God the Exalted that He may guard us against such things, and not to withdraw from us His assistance, for we have nothing beyond it. And, in these days, there came a woman from the East, and with her her husband, and she had a round beard and a moustache, like the beards of men, and she mentioned that she had children, and that they were in her country. And all the people used to visit her and see her, and she did not refuse (to be seen) by any, either men or women, except (it was), that no one was able to enter to her until he had given to her husband something, and he obtained in this way a great sum. And the Bedouins (al-`Urban) who had come from the Upper Sa`id (as-Sa`id al-A`la) ⁽¹⁾with the troops which had gone to them, fixed eighty thousand dinars as a ransom which they would bear to the Prosperous Treasury for the crime of their transgression; and they departed to their lands, that they might collect the money and bear it. And the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- had exacted a considerable sum of money, and he had delivered it to jurisconsult Baha ad-Din [I]bn al-Ğumaizi for the purpose of repairing the prayer-houses (al-Masağid) at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr) the Protected and what (was) between them. And he (the jurisconsult) occupied himself with them, and they were well repaired, and they were whitewashed, and there was engraved over their doors the name of the Sire, the Sultan, Al-Malik as-Salih Aiyub, and the date of their renewal and their (re-)building, and it was the year six hundred and thirty-eight ⁽⁴⁾. And the Sultan had ordered to build a bridge over the Canal ⁽⁵⁾ in place of the dam, so that he might pass over it in the days (of the inundation) of the Nile (an-Nil) to his garden known as the Bustan al-Khaššab. And it was made and finished before the days (of the

⁽¹⁾I.e. from the southern part of Upper Egypt.

⁽⁴⁾ = 1240 A.D.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Canal of Cairo, cf. S. Lane-Poole, The Story of Cairo, pp. 145-146.

—- 225 —-

inundation) of the Nile (an-Nil), and he (the Sultan) passed over it. And the prices were in all these days high, (and) they did not diminish at all. Wheat did not go down more than a dinar the ardab, and barley (was) for thirty dinars the ardab, and nothing was more expensive than linseed-oil, and it was for two dirhams the ratl and two dirhams and a quarter the ratl. And as for wax, (it was) that it reached eleven dirhams the ratl, and fuel (was) for ten dirhams the load ⁽¹⁾, and the people were in affliction on account of this and on account of the building of the fortress of the Island ⁽²⁾, when all kinds of building became expensive. And the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- had learned of a conspiracy by Atabak al-Asmar and Kafur al-Faizi the minister, and Atabak was at Alexandria and Kafur (was) in Bilbais unarmed; and he sent to each of them an amir, and he seized both of them, and he placed a guard over the possessions of both of them. And he imprisoned Atabak al-Asmar at the Port ⁽⁴⁾, and (as for) Kafur, he went up with him to the Citadel, (and) he imprisoned him in it. Then he (the Sultan) pursued everyone whom he suspected of the bodyguards and the soldiers, and he seized them and he imprisoned them. Among them wore those at Alexandria, and among them were those at Cairo (al-Kahirah), and among them were those at the Citadel, and the majority of these were of those who had conspired against Al-Malik al-`Adil and had removed him. Then (it was) that a body of the Turks (al-Atrak) who were called «The Most Noble», bound themselves on oath that they would pillage the Kurds (al-Akrad) who had been levied for the Yemen (al-Yaman), and would take their possessions and would kill them and would decamp, because they (the Kurds) were staying altogether at the Pool (Birkat) known as the Birkat al-Hubb ⁽⁸⁾. And the

⁽¹⁾ I.e. a camel-load.

⁽²⁾ I.e. Rodah.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. Alexandria.

⁽⁸⁾ the MS. reads thus. Cf. page 97, note 8.

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Kurds (al-Akrad) were warned of this, and they sent to the Sultan to inform him, and he commanded them to cross over to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and they came at night. And when it was morning, the gates of Cairo (al-Kahirah) were closed, and the reason was not known, but the reason was to seize «The Most Nobles», and they were seized everywhere And some of them were dressed with the dress of women, and when he went out, he was recognized and seized. And among them (were) those who placed themselves in sacks of onions and carrots and what was like to them, (and) they were not afraid, because there was at every gate an amir with his companions and his large sacks. And Cairo remained thus for some time, and the first day and the second was the most severe of them; and this was in the seventh week of the Holy Lent ⁽⁴⁾, and it was at the very end (of the month) of Baramhat. Then the case of seizing everyone who was suspected continued. And the prisoners of the amirs, great and small, and the soldiers multiplied, and, for the most part, (they were) Turkish (al-Atrak) mamluks (al-Mamalik). And the Sultan seized Badr ad-Din Yunis whom he had made governor of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and the other two great ministers, and they were Masrur and Ğauhar the Nubian (an-Nubi). And. they were unarmed at the Port of Damietta (Dumyat) the Protected, and he brought them both to the Citadel, and he imprisoned them in it, and he placed a guard over the possessions of both of them. And in these days the Franks (al-Afranğ) departed from the Church of Saint Mercurius ([A]bu Markurah), when the majority of them went to their lands, and they were those who had been taken in this recent time with the Count (al-Kunt); a few people of them remained, (and) they were transferred

⁽⁴⁾ = 27th March-25th April, Julian Style.

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to another place. And troops were despatched to Gaza (Ghazzah) and Alexandria and Damietta (Dumyat), and they departed one by one, and the detachment for the Yemen (al-Yaman) was disbanded completely. And there did not journey, except three or four hundred horsemen of the Turks (al-Atrak) whom they sent to Mecca (Makkah) ⁽³⁾, with the intention to isolate them. And it was said that, when they departed to the desert, they seized the Arabs (al-`Arab) who were with them, (and) they bound them, and they said to them: «If you do not show to us the way to Syria (aš-Šam) and depart with us to them ⁽⁴⁾, then we shall kill you», and (it was) that they did this. Then (it was) that the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- prepared the troops for Syria (aš-Šam), and it was their intention, (as regards) Sichem (Nablus), to take it from Al-Malik an-Nasir [I]bn al-Mu`azzam. And they departed to Gaza (Ghazzah), and they were about three thousand horsemen, and their leaders (were) Kamal ad-Din [I]bn Šaikh and `Ala ‘d-Din Karasankar as-Saki, and with them was a large group of the Arabs (al-`Arab). And Al-Malik al-Ğawad Muzzafar ad-Din [I]bn Mamdud who had been at first Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk), and had delivered it up to the Sire, the Sultan Al-Malik as-Salih Aiyub, (who) gave to him in exchange Sinğar and he sold it to the Caliph (al-Khalifat), had readied to Al-`Abbasah, in the service of our Sire, the Sultan Al-Malik as-Salih, and he purposed crossing over to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and to meet with our Sire, the Sultan, and to take with him troops and to go Damascus (Dimašk) to conquer it. And he was not able to cross over to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he did not meet the sultanate dignity. And there was with him his young son, the Possessor of Emesa (Hims), and the son

⁽³⁾ Sa`udi `Arabi.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Turks.

—- 228 —-

of the Possessor of the Fortress of Ğa`bar And he (the Sultan) caused to be sent out to them cattle, money, robes of honour, horses and provisions, and he ordered them to stay in their place. And it coincided with the going out of the troops, and they (the troops) suspected that (it was) with the object to seize them. And they decamped, and they progressed with difficulty on the way until they met with Al-Malik an-Nasir; and they agreed with him that they were of one accord with those who were friendly to them and against those who were hostile to them. Then (it was) that the Egyptian (al-Misri) troops were emboldened against those who (were) in front of them, and they rode, after they had put on their cuirass, and they sought the troops of Al-Malik an-Nasir, and their leader was Al-Ğawad, and they were, according to what was mentioned, three hundred horsemen, not less. And they had taken the route of the troops of Egypt (Misr) which was difficult. And they (the Egyptian troops) preceded them to Ras al-`Akabah which is in the districts of Jerusalem (al-Kuds), which was on the way to Bait Tubah. And the skirmishers came up to the troops of Egypt (Misr), and their leader (was) `Alam ad-Din Sinğar al-Fakhri and with him (was) the courageous al-Akta`and the amir Ahri and Al-Masa Bak, and these (were) amirs. And as regards those of their soldiers, they were many, and they(the Syrian troops) captured all of them, after the slaying of those who were slain. And when this was seen by those who were behind them, of those who were seeking (them), they did not resist them, but they turned back in rout, and they did not go up to Al-`Akabah ⁽⁵⁾, but they continued in (their) route up to Gaza (Ghazzah), and they did not remain in Gaza (Ghazzah), but they went out from it, making for Egypt (Misr). And when the troops of Al-Malik an-Nasir learned of this, they pursued them. And the

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Al-`Akaba, a port on the Red Sea.

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Bedouins (al-`Urban) who had Been with them and others than they, came out upon them, and they pillaged them, and nothing was left to them; and he who saved himself from them returned headlong on foot. And the troops of Syria (aš-Šam) reached to the place of the treasury, and Kamal ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh was at it, and the treasury was taken in its entirety, and Kamal ad-Din was taken prisoner, and he was led to Al-Malik an-Nasir, and it was a defeat, the marvel of which had not been seen, that three hundred defeated three thousand or more. And the troops of Egypt (Misr) reached to Bilbais, and there was sent out to them rations and provisions. And it was ordered that they should cross over to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and the Sultan did not blame them for anything of what had happened, and they retained their bread-supply, and likewise for those who were captives, their bread-supply was retained for them, and there was not cut off, except the bread of Fakhr ad-Din [I]bn Ğaldak, and of none other. And it was said that it was on account of injustice towards the soldiers together with his flight without fighting. And, after that, there occurred between Al-Malik an-Nasir and Al-Malik al-Ğawad a difference, and he suspected him of a plot against him, and he was afraid of him for himself. And he commanded him (al-Ğawad) to be arrested, and he was arrested. And he (Al-Malik an-Nasir) wished to turn to Al-Karak to imprison him (al-Ğawad) in it, and he was counselled that this one was a courageous king and of the family of their house, and that it was necessary that he should exile him from the lands and drive him into the desert which goes towards the East and Bagdad (Baghdad), and that he should go with his goods and his luck. If he were saved, it was to be, if he perished, Al-Malik an-Nasir would not be blamed for it in anyway, and he commanded this. And when he (al-Ğawad) went towards the desert, he directed his return towards Syria (aš-Šam), and it is said that he (al-Ğawad) supplicated the Bedouins (al-`Urban) who were with him, until they conducted him

—- 230 —-

(thither). And it is said that, when they left him, he was released, and he went to Syria (aš-Šam), and he met Al-Malik as-Salih, his paternal uncle, the Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk), and they came to an agreement. And messengers travelled between our Sire, the Sultan Al-Malik as-Salih, Possessor of Egypt (Misr) and Al-Malik an-Nasir ⁽³⁾, and they were reconciled, and each of them swore to his companion. And Al-Malik an-Nasir sent the captives who were with him, Kamal ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh and the amirs who were with him, after he had bestowed on them robes of honour and had treated them well. And before this, they had been in disgrace and intimidation and abasement; and there was not put to death of them except the courageous al-Akta`. It was said that he killed him because he had acted hypocritically towards him and had played him false twice. And it was said that he placed him in a dungeon in Al-Karak, and God knows (best). Then (it was) that Al-Malik as-Salih, the Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk) went out with him who was his host, and he came to an agreement with the kings of the parties, such as the Possessor of Emesa (Hims) and the Possessor of Sarkhad ⁽⁷⁾ and Al-Malik al-Ğawad who had sought refuge with him, and he came to Sichem (Nablus). And he provisioned himself there, and he fell upon a band of the troops of An-Nasir, and he overcame them, and he took captives from them, and he pillaged. And they arrived at Gaza (Ghazzah), and the Egyptian (al-Misri) troops decamped from it, but they delayed. And the Franks (al-Afranğ) departed with them, because they had given to them all the Littoral, and had promised to them something else, if their purpose succeeded. And our Sire, the

⁽³⁾ I.e. Al-Malik an-Nasir Ibn al-Mu`azzam.

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Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- began again to equip the troops, and he took out his tent and his audience-tent, and he set them up at Al-Khandak, and he provided for the journey, and the troops went out singly, and some of them arrived at Al-`Abbasah. Then (it was), that the news came that the Syrian (aš-Šami) troops had delayed (from departing) from Gaza (Ghazzah). Then the news arrived that they had returned and had stopped their march, and that our Sire, the Sultan, had become reconciled with Al-Malik an-Nasir. And in these days the Nile (an-Nil) increased greatly, and it went up to the building which was constructed at the Island, and the work at it ceased, except for the house and the new apartments of the Sultan, and the building of them continued. And, in these days, a man from the soldiers, and he was an inspector of works of the Island, lodged in the hall which the patriarch had built at the church of the Island, and he remained at it for some days. And the patriarch was pained on account of it, and he spoke with the people, (saying), that this was what he feared and had taken precautions against, because, if this (hall) had been, as it should have been, in the interior of the church⁽⁷⁾, it would have been a place to which no attention would have been paid to it, and no one (would) have been opposed to it. And (now) it was a matter (which) would lead to the destruction of the church, and pave the way to other hands to it. Then (it was), that the mentioned man departed from it (the hall), and he was known as Saif ad-Din Burna as-Sahmi. Then (it was) that the blessed Nile (an-Nil) reached to sixteen cubits in the daytime of Monday,

⁽⁷⁾ If this hall had been within the enclosure of the church, it would not have been considered a new building, and, consequently, have been allowed. A case of this is recorded by B.T.A. Evetts, The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt, p. 106.

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the nineteenth of (the month of) Misra ⁽¹⁾ which corresponds to the third of (the month of) Safar (in the) year six hundred and thirty nine of the Lunar (Year) ⁽²⁾. And there was an order to construct a bridge from Cairo (Misr) to the Island, and it was constructed, and there were in it twenty-one boats; and its width was large enough for two loaded camels, one of them coming and the other going, and they would not press together, and the people found in this great facility. And when the days of the new year (an-Nairuz) ⁽⁴⁾ drew nigh, our Sire the Sultan, came to the Island, and he stayed at it, he and his attendants. And there was above the building of the Nilometer a chamber which was borne beyond it on columns, and it was he who made it, and it was not before, because there was not there (anything) except a upper court, and the chamber was within it. And this Sultan made this chamber, and it turned out a fine innovation, and of all what he —- may God perpetuate his days! —- was wont to do or to suggest nothing could turn out in the world more successful than it, or finer or more balanced. And one of the ministers, known as Rašid as-Saghir, lodged in the hall which belonged to the patriarch, which was at the church of the Island mentioned before; and the patriarch had departed from it, and had gone to the Monastery of the Beacon ⁽⁵⁾, and it was a chance coincidence. Then he (the Sultan) ordered to construct a bridge on the water from the Island to Al-Gizahand he provided for it. And he who was in charge of all the constructions (was) the amir Ğamal ad-Din [I]bn Yaghmur. And the mentioned minister departed from the hall, and he did not pass in it except one night. Then the mentioned bridge was cancelled through lack of boats which were suitable for it; and it was said, that it was delayed until the blessed Nile

^(l) = August 12th, Julian Style.

⁽²⁾= 1241 A.D.

⁽⁴⁾ This is the name given to the first day of the Coptic year. It is August 29th, Julian Style and September 11th, Gregorian Style. It is one day later in Leap Years.

⁽⁵⁾ For this monastery, cf. B.T.A. Evetts, The Churches and Monasteries of Egypt, pp. 192-196.

—- 233 —-

(an-Nil) decreased, and what would he needed for it in the way of boats would (then) be less. And the Nile (an-Nil) was increasing, and price(s) were increasing, and (there was) dearness for all (what was) on earth ⁽¹⁾. And Egypt (Misr), as regards scarcity, suffered less than (countries) other than it, and it was better, because it was mentioned that wheat at Damascus (Dimašk) cost three hundred silver dirhams a bag, and it (the bags) (was) of two Egyptian (al-Misri) ardabs, and the cost of the grinding (was) sixty silver dirhams, because its ⁽⁵⁾ rivers had dried up. And the majority of the people from among the wage-earners and the wretched and others than them of the East and Syria (aš-Šam) and the rest of the confines had left for Egypt (Misr); and there was in it, in the way of people, what was not to be counted and not to be described, and this was the chief reason for the dearness. Then there entered the year nine hundred and fifty-eight ⁽⁷⁾, and (at that time) the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom and empower his victory! —- (was) Al-Malik as-Salih, and the wazir, Mu`ain ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh, and the judge, Šaraf ad-Din [I]bn `Ain ad-Daulah al-Iskandari, and the patriarch, Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus) known as Ibn Laklak. And the water (of the Nile) increased, and the prices were soaring, and the news arrived (that) the troops of Syria (aš-Šam) had been overcome, and (that) they had returned to Damascus (Dimašk) defeated, (and) the troops of Al-Malik an-Nasir [I]bn al-Mu`azzam had overcome them. And messengers of the Franks (al-Afranğ) came to seek a truce from our Sire, the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- and they were the messengers of the Templars ⁽⁹⁾, apart from the Westerns, the possessors of Ascalon (`Askalan), and

^(l) I.e. the part of the world known to the writer.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Syria’s.

⁽⁷⁾ = 1242 A.D.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. the Knights Templar, a military order.

—- 234 —-

others besides them from the notables of the Franks (al-Afranğ). They made a truce with our Sire, the Sultan, and those who were with the Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk) when they saw their defeat and the victory of the Possessor of Egypt (Misr) over them, (and) they returned to submission and peacefulness, and a truce was sought with regard to what (was) in their hands. Then (it was), that our Sire, the Sultan —- —- may God empower his victory! —- discovered treason on the part of some of the amirs —- may God thrust their plot in their throats! —- and he seized one of them called Ibn Falah, and he was of the nobles. And our Sire, the Sultan, had shewn extreme goodness, but he had repaid him with what was evil. Then he seized two senior amirs of the Kurds (al-Akrad), and they (were) Baha ad-Din [I]bn Malkisu and Nasir ad-Din [I]bn Burlas, and he caused the three to be sent to the Fortress of Sadr under guard, after he had taken possession of all their wealth. And the blessed Nile (an-Nil) reached in this year to eighteen fingers above eighteen cubits, and it came (up) very well, and it was stabilized on the lands with good stability, only that prices were increasing for every thing in the way of eatables and other (things) than them, even clothing and buildings. And people were multiplying in the Egyptian (al-Misri) lands from Syria (aš-Šam) and the East and the Irak (`Irak) on account of the dearth which (was) there. Then (it was), that our Sire, the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- seized a senior amir of the Turks (al-Atrak) of the mamluks (Mamalik) of his father, known as Sinğar al-Yamani, and it was said, that he exiled him from the lands, and a group of the bodyguard known and unknown, and he dismissed Al-Kadi Šarif ad-Din, the judge of the judges, from the jurisdiction of Cairo (Misr), and he restricted him to the jurisdiction of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Lower Egypt (al-Wağh al-Bahari), and he employed for the jurisdiction of Cairo (Misr) together with Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id) a man (who) had

—- 235 —-

been judge at Sinğar, and he was of the companions of the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- and he had sent to him a letter to bring him, because he had served the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- in the days, (when) he was at Sinğar, and he had expended effort in his service. And prices rose until wheat reached to fifty dirhams the ardab, and barley, (to) thirty-five dirhams the ardab, inferior linseed, (to) eighty dirhams the ardab, and turnips like it, and linseed oil, (to) eighty-eight dirhams the jar, and all in this proportion; in general, there was nothing in the lands really cheap, and also any kinds of buildings, they were impossible for them (the people). Though the people, even with the dearness, did not cease from (erecting) buildings, together with the buildings of the Sultan, the like of which had never been. And the sun was eclipsed at the ninth hour of the daytime of Sunday, the ninth of Babah ⁽²⁾ of this year, and the eclipse hid it to such an extent that the stars appeared at that time, and the people lighted lamps in the shops and the baths. Then, after that, the eclipse cleared away gradually, until the sun returned to its condition, and the light appeared as it had been. And it was said, that (as regards) this eclipse, no one could recall the like of it; and some of the aged people said that the like of it had occurred in the days of Al-Malik an-Nasir Salah ad-Din, (in the) year (when) Jerusalem (al-Kuds) was taken from the Franks (al-Afranğ) ⁽³⁾; and for this event fifty-five years had passed ⁽⁴⁾, and the people were greatly awed by this event of to-day, and they said: «What will result from this event?» And the messenger of the Emperor ⁽⁷⁾ arrived at Alexandria, and with him a great (sum of) money and considerable merchandise and precious gifts. And it was said, that the ship in which he arrived held a hundred sailors, and that its name (was) ‘Half the world’, and his

⁽²⁾ = October 6th, Julian Style.

⁽³⁾ I.e. October 2nd, 1187 A.D.

⁽⁴⁾I.e. from 1187-1242 A.D.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, 1194-1250 A.D.

—- 236 —-

(the messenger’s) arrival at Cairo (al-Kahirah) was postponed. Then it was permitted to him to come, and he was brought by land, and he was delayed on the way, and he was made to go round by the Fayum (al-Fayum) and he came to the Pyramids, and he crossed over (the river) from Gizah (al-Ğizah). And he had with him about one hundred men, and the day of his arrival was a great (day), and the two cities were decorated for him. And all the troops rode (out), and they received him, and all the people went out. And the mentioned messenger and his companion were both on mares from the horses of Nubia (an-Nubah) which belonged to our Sire, the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- And they came with both of them, and they caused both of them to lodge at the Sultan’s Palace which (is) in the vicinity of the House ad-Dibag ⁽⁴⁾ known as the dwelling of As-Sahib [I]bn Šukr. And the elder of the two of them, on whose body, it was said, (was) a robe of wool, in the Large Palace, and the younger, in the Palace which is at the Gate (al-Bab) of the Barb aš-Šaikh, known as the dwelling of `Izz ad-Din Ibn as-Sahib the aforementioned. And he (the Sultan) bestowed on them in the way of grants, and gifts of hospitality and liberalities and benefits, the like of which had not been heard of. And the two messengers remained for some days without meeting with our Sire the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- Then he (the Sultan) summoned both of them, and he sent to both of them horses of Nubia (an-Nubah), but to their companions (he did not send, because) they were not riding, for they had arrived by river. And the day of their going up to the protected Citadel was as the day of their arrival. And they remained in the country on account of the winter, with hospitality and honour and invitations and joy and hunting and the shooting of the arbalest. Then (it was), that the news arrived, that the troops which had been

⁽³⁾I.e. Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr).

⁽⁴⁾ Merchants of coloured silk stuffs, cf. R. Dozy, op. cit., vol. I, p. 241.

—- 237 —-

levied at Kos (Kus) and they were Turks (al-Atrak), and their leader (was) a man called Tafarbal al-Hağafi az-Zahid, had revolted, and they made this Tafarbal a sultan, and they seized the governor (Wali) of Kos (Kus)and they exacted the import duties, the capitation taxes and the tribute, and they made free us of the stores. Only none of the Bedouins (al-`Urban) followed them in this through fear of the Sultan. And he (the Sultan) levied about two thousand horsemen against them, and their leader (was) Ar-Rukn al-Hiğawi on the eastern bank, and he (the Sultan) sent the notables on the western bank, and they gathered from their clans and their tribes what exceeded two thousand horsemen, and they journeyed until they arrived at Miniat Bani Khasib. And there arrived a man from Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id), continent, (and) extolled among the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and it was said, that he possessed prestige. And he had arrived at Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he was honoured by the Sultan and the wazir and the rest of the Muslims (al-Muslimin). And he came now to seek security for this dissembling: group and to close the door of sedition, and to spare blood-shed. And his dwelling (was at) Damamin ⁽⁴⁾ of Upper Egypt (as-Sa`id), and he was known as Aš-Šaikh Mufrag, and he came in a fire-ship in four days, and he came together with ⁽⁵⁾our Sire, the Sultan, and he obtained security for them ⁽⁶⁾, and he returned at once in his fire-ship. And the troops had reached to the boundaries of Akhmim, and he gave to them security. And they desisted from what they had been, and they obeyed, and they entered the service of the amir Ar-Rukn al-Hiğawi, and all returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah) the Protected. And when they arrived, they did not see the face of our master, the Sultan. And, after some days, he ordered to be seized a certain group of them; and it was said that they remained

⁽⁴⁾ Read, perhaps, Damamil, cf. Dictionnaire Geographique de l’Egypte, p. 160. It is at distance of 1 hour and a half from Kus.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. he met.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the troops which had mutinied.

—- 238 —-

(free), and it was said, on the contrary, that they were imprisoned in some cities. And as for the remainder, he ordered them to go out to the Rif to dwell in it, on condition that none of them should have a mare nor bear arms, but should be a husbandman or a merchant, and, if he wished for his family, they should go out to him, and this was not forbidden to him. And they dispersed in the lands, and our master the Sultan, spared their lives, although the jurisconsults had given the decision that the killing of them was licit because they had revolted, and had broken their oath, and had proved themselves treacherous to their Sultan and had raised a sedition, and he pardoned them for all this. Then (it was), that he (the Sultan) ordered the departure of the troops to Syria (aš-Šam), and they equipped themselves, but they did not depart. And the news arrived that Al-Malik al-Ğawad [I]bn Mamdud had come to terms with the Franks (al-Afranğ), and had descended with them, and that they had come to Gaza (Ghazzah) and had taken all what was in it. And they returned (and) descended at Caesarea (Kaisariah), and they remained unsettled in the Littoral, (going) from place to place, and Al-Malik al-Ğawad (was) with them. And after the departure of the Franks (al-Afranğ) from Gaza (Ghazzah), there came Al-Malik an-Nasir [I]bn al-Malik al-Mu`azzam, and he descended at it, he and his troops. And, in these days, there was at the prosperous Treasury a man, an overseer, known as Šihab ad-Din, judge of Darau, and he was prompt in what he dealt with, (and) very assiduous in the service of the Sultan, and he discovered that there remained of the sum (with) the signature of the patriarch ⁽⁸⁾ five hundred and ten dinars; either (it was) that he had come to know of it by himself, or (that) it

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. acknowledging his debt.

—- 239 —-

had been reported to him. And he sent to summon the son of his (the patriarch’s) brother and the son of his sister in whose names was the signature, and he demanded from both of them the amount, and he enjoined on them (the payment). And the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani`ah who was called chief surveyor of state accounts was he who had full authority, and in him (was) the fear of God. And he was from among those who detested the patriarch; but he contrived to charge some senior soldiers (with collecting) this amount, and he succeeded with them to reconcile them about it; and it was said, that the patriarch did not weigh out of this sum beyond three hundred dinars. And he (the patriarch) took the receipts and his relatives were saved. Only (it was) that there occurred for him (the patriarch) affliction on this occasion and straitening of breast and complaint of the lack (of money), the like of which had not occurred, and had not been heard of in the time of the great imposed tax. And he (the patriarch) went to the Harat Zuwailah, (and) he took what (was) at it in the way of wax and other things beside it, and he asked help from a priest at it, and he was named Abu Šakir, and he used to serve at the single Gate (Bab) al-Maisim for civil and military appointments (Ğamkiat al-Bardariat). And he was prosperous, and it was said that he had taken the price of a mill which was inalienably endowed to the church ⁽⁴⁾, and God knows (best). And he (Abu Šakir) wrote to Upper and Lower Egypt (al-Wağhain al-Kibli wa’l-Bahari) for this reason, and he asked help from the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani`ah, the aforementioned archon, to the same effect. And he (As-Sani`ah) wrote for him (Abu Šakir) to the representatives and the employees for help. And as regards the prices, they rose greatly: wheat reached to seventy-five dirhams the ardab, and barley, (to) forty-two dirhams the ardab, and poultry (was) at one silver dirham the hen, and meat,

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Church at the Harat Zuwailah.

—- 240 —-

at one dirham and a half and an eight the ratl, and sugar, at three dirhams the ratl and wax, at a dirham the aukiah ⁽¹⁾, and honey from bees, at three dirhams the ratl, and olive-oil, at three dirhams the ratl, and all what (was) in the land was in this proportion. And there was affliction, no greater and no stranger than which had been related, because the water (of the Nile) in this year reached to eighteen fingers out of eighteen cubits, and these prices (were) in this manner. And it was the usual custom that, if the crops were productive every thing was cheap, such as Hour and live-stock and cloth and furniture. And in these days all what (was) in the land (was) expensive, even building-tools and the wages of craftsmen. And as for the fortress of the Island, the work on it was continuous, and (there was) effort and perseverance to complete it. And every house (which) was in it was demolished, and the building reached to the places which were before the church and the mosque (al-Ğama`), and they were demolished, and the place became a great square and an open space. And one of the companions of the Sultan came, and he was Master of the Ceremonies (al-Mihmandar), and he was known as Akhi Al-Hağib `Ali, (and) he descended at the hall of the patriarch which was at the side of the church of the Island, and he placed in it his baggage, and he took the key of it. And the patriarch came, (and) he descended at the room which he had built out from the side of the church, (and) he had made it at the side of this hall, intending thereby to protect it (the hall). And (it was), that, when this man went out from this hall, he (the patriarch) returned to it, and there befell him through this place soreness of heart and evil trouble. And as regards the pavilion which was constructed on the platform of the Nilometer

⁽¹⁾ = 1,321 ounces.

—- 241 —-

(al-Mikyas) which everyone approved of, it was demolished and there was built in its place a great tower (pu/roj) at the head of the apex (of the Nilometer). And as for the western side, all of it was completed (as) a belvedere for our Sire, the Sultan, gardens and reception rooms, from the church to the end of the building. Then (it was), that the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- levied troops for the Yemen (al-Yaman), their number (being) two thousand horsemen, and among them a company of the amirs and the leaders, such as As-Sarim al-Mas`udi, and the nobles and `Alam ad-Din Sama’il and others besides them. And he spent for every eunuch thirty dinars, and he gave to the amirs according to the number of the eunuchs, for every eunuch, ten dinars. To him who had with him fifty, he gave five hundred dinars apart from what the eunuchs took for themselves; and he ordered them to equip and to journey to the Yemen (al-Yaman), and they started on this. And they began to sell the horses and the cows and the water-buffaloes (al-Ğamus) and the sheep. And they journeyed with the camels and the dromedaries and the equipment of the water-carriers and the objects for travelling to the Higaz (al-Hiğaz) and the Yemen (al-Yaman). And horses became cheap to an excessive degree, and camels became very expensive as well as the pots and the large water-skins and the water-skins , and buckets and all things of this kind. And Mosol (Mausili) thin unleavened bread was bought at fifty dirhams the kantar and at fifty-five, and ring biscuits (al-Ka`k) the same, because it happened in (these) days that the price fluctuated, and wheat reached to seventy dirhams the ardab, and bread (was) at a quarter and an eighth of a dirham the ratl. And the condition was serious, and the crews of the fleet were seized by command of the ships for the Yemen (al-Yaman); and importation was little, and the times were hard to an extreme. Then (it was), that the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- levied other troops for Gaza (Ghazzah) of

—- 242 —-

about three thousand horsemen, and their leader was Ar-Rukn al-Hiğawi, and among them was a group of the amirs; and they departed, and they descended at Gaza (Ghazzah). They assembled with Al-Malik al-Ğawad Muzzafar ad-Din [I]bn Maudud, and the intention was to reconcile him and to journey to Damascus (Dimašk) to take it. And they remained there, and the troops for the Yemen (al-Yaman) were preparing for departure, and there did not remain among them except those who resolved on this. And, lo, news arrived that Fakhr ad-Din, son of the messenger of the Possessor of the Yemen (al-Yaman) had come to Mecca (Makkah), (and) had taken it by ruse from the troops which were in it; and the resolution to occupy the Yemen (al-Yaman) weakened and came to an end. And barley went down on Holy Saturday, and it reached to forty dirhams the ardab, and bread (was) at six ratls a dirham, and flour, at sixty-five dirhams the measure; and the people rejoiced at this exceedingly, and it was a blessed Feast. And the troops levied for the Yemen (al-Yaman) rejoiced at the cancelling of the resolution (to go) there. And they sold again what they had bought, and the greater part of the provisions was lost for them. Such as the ring biscuits (al-Ka`k) and the thin unleavened bread and the fat and what was like it; and the prices for horses again became expensive, because they returned to buy them. And the news arrived that Ar-Rukn al-Hiğawi who was the leader of the troops of Gaza (Ghazzah) had left the troops, and had separated himself from them, he and Al-Malik al-Ğawad, for a matter which they both suspected. And as regards Al-Malik al-Ğawad, he joined the Franks (al-Afranğ), because they were in alliance with him; and as for Ar-Rukn,

—- 243 —-

he turned to Damascus (Dimašk). And it was said, that he did not go there, except to arrange an affair and to settle a dispute, though his departure was out of fear for his life, but deceit and treachery and breach of faith were not known to him at all. Then (it was), that the Franks (al-Afranğ) began to sally out from Bethlehem (Bait Lahm) and other (places) than it, and they pursued people to kill them on the way and to confiscate their wealth. And news reached Al-Malik an-Nasir [I]bn al-Mu`azzam, and he was the Possessor of the Karak (al-Karak) and Sichem (Nablus) and the Mountain of the Friend (Hebron) and Beisan (Bisan) about this, and he marched against Bethlehem (Bait Lahm), and he killed all who (were) at it of the Franks (Farangi) and the Christians (Nasrani), and he took their possessions, and he took captive the guards, and they were days of trials, troubles and fears. And some of the pilgrims who had gone to Jerusalem, departed from it to Acre (`Akka); among them (were) some who went on business, and among them (were) some who went to their relatives there; and they were seized on the way, and a group of them were killed, men and women. And as for the patriarch, his principal place (of residence) was at the Monastery of the Beacon (Dair aš-Šama`), because there did not remain for him a place to reside in, except it. And when it was in the daytime of Friday, the twelfth of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁽¹¹⁾, and it was the Feast of the glorious angel Michael (Mikhayil), which corresponded to the fifth of (the month of) Dhu’l-Hiğğah (in the) year six hundred and thirty-nine of the Islamic (Year) ⁽¹²⁾, there stood up a

⁽¹¹⁾ = June 6th, Julian Style.

⁽¹²⁾I.e. 1241 A.D.

—- 244 —-

man of the Sufis (as-Sufiah) who were named Calandars (al-Kalandariah) ⁽¹⁾in the mosque (al-Ğama`) at Cairo (Misr), after the prayer of Friday, and after the end of the sermon, and he cried out at the top of his voice: «O Muslims (Muslimin), he among you who desires the holy war (al-Ğihad) for the sake of God, the Church Al-Mu`allakah is your concern». And all who were in it went out from the mosque (al-Ğama`), and they (were) people not to he counted, and they came to the church. And the governor (Wali) of Cairo (Misr) was in the mosque (al-Ğama`), and he was a man well-informed, learned, and having experience, (and) he was called Al-Muğahid Sulaiman. And he heard the tumult, and he despatched his slave (Mamluk) and ten of the captains to protect the church. And he (the Mamluk) came to it, and he found (there) peoplewhich (were) not to he counted. And some of them had gone up to the prayer-house (al-Masğid) adjoining it which had been taken from it; and if salt had been thrown, it would not have fallen on the ground ⁽⁴⁾. And he (the Mamluk) bore down upon these people with an iron-headed club and the ten captains with staves, and great fear of the Sultan arose, (and) they were dispersed from the door of the church, and the door which was at it was closed, and it was one of the doors of the Fortress of Babylon (Kasr aš-Šama`), and it was known as the Lane of the Mu`allakah. And he (the Mamluk) called for the heads of the sedition, and they had gone up to the prayer-house (al-Masğid), and their number was five or six souls, the Calandar (al-Kalandri) and those who agreed with him on this. And he began to beat everyone of them in turn a number of times with various instruments of chastisement of which

⁽¹⁾ There is also the spelling (Karandaliah). A monastic order founded by the Šaikh Karandal, cf. R. Dozy, op. cit., vol. II, p. 340.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the people were so densely packed together.

—- 245 —-

there was not mentioned what he found, then (with) staves and rods and various instruments of degradation. Then he took them, after this, bound with ropes, and he went with them to the house of his companion, and he was dwelling in the neighbourhood of the Hamman al-Far. And the governor (al-Wali) took them, and he renewed for them chastisement and degradation, and he ordered them (to be sent) to the prison, and this was for them an ignominy to them. And the city calmed down, and the insurgents were repressed. And the wise of the nobles of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the whole of the Christians (an-Nasara) and the Jews (al-Yahud) invoked (blessings) upon this governor (al-Wali), because he had put an end to matters which were about to ramify, and he bit the leaders of the sedition, while the people were looking on. And the judge Šaraf ad-Din of Alexandria known as Ibn `Ain ad-Daulah who had been appointed specifically for judging Cairo (al-Kahirah) and what comes after it of Lower Egypt (al-Wağh al-Bahari) died, after he had been a judge of all the districts, and he was replaced by the judge Badr ad-Din, judge of Sinğar, who had been a judge of Cairo (Misr). And Cairo (Misr) remained for some days without a judge, until the affair of judging, was entrusted to a man from the inhabitants of Damascus (Dimašk) known as [I]bn `Abd as-Salam. And he was chief of the preaching in Cairo (Misr) before that; and preaching and judging were combined for him, and he was a good man, of good reputation (and) magnanimous. And the prices were fluctuating, and wheat (was) on the increase rather than on the decrease, from fifty dirhams the ardab and thereabout, and everything (was) expensive. Then (it was), that some factors concealed in the judge [I]bn `Abd as-Salam, the mentioned, were made manifest, and he rejected the witnesses brought against him, and. he pursued the traces of the deceased judge. And he summoned his son, Muhi ad-Din,

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the son of the deceased judge.

—- 246 —-

and he wished to demolish a storey (which) he ⁽¹⁾ had built over a prayer-house (Masğid) in Cairo (Misr) in the quarter of the Bab al-Kantarah, and As-Sahib Mu`ain ad-Din withstood him as regards this. And he straitened the people in divers matters, and he was severe in judgments, and he summoned the copyists from the shops ⁽³⁾, and he ordered them to sit before him in the portal which (was) at the mosque (al-Ğama`). Then (it was), that the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- ordered that a college (Madrasah) should be built at Cairo (al-Kahirah) in front of the Goldsmiths’ (Bazaar), in the place in which were dwelling the farriers, in front of the Palace (Kasr) ⁽⁶⁾, and he (the Sultan) began on this, and he transferred the farriers from there. And they were removed to the neighbourhood of the Bab al-Bahr, in the direction of the Bukn al-Muhalak, and he demolished that side of the Palace (Kasr), and it was that which comes after the Bab az-Zuhumah ⁽⁸⁾, towards the north, for a length of a hundred cubits, doing the same in width. And he (the Sultan) provided for this, continuing (also) his solicitude for the building of the fortress of the Island and its belvederes and the building of the Fortress at the Mountain ⁽¹⁰⁾, and the building of the belvederes at the Bustan al-Khaššab and others than them of the buildings of the Sultan. And building-materials became unobtainable and

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the deceased judge.

⁽³⁾I.e. the shops which sold books which were copied there.

⁽⁶⁾ This would have been what remained at this time of the Fatimid ‘Western Palace’.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. ‘ of bad smells ‘. This gate was near the kitchen wing of the ‘Western Palace’, cf. D. Russell, op. cit., p. 154.

⁽¹⁰⁾ This would most probably have been the Kal`at al-Kabs, ‘Castle of the Ram’, built at this period, cf. S. Lane-Poole, The Story of Cairo, p. 90, note 1 and the illustration on p. 177.

—- 247 —-

craftsmen were not to be obtained: the builder, (except) at ten dirhams every day and a dirham for his food, and the labourer, at four dirhams and three-quarters, (and) a dirham for his food, and the rest in this proportion. And bread was not found, except with ration; nevertheless, people used to build, and buildings multiplied and ramshackle houses were (re-)built, and the wealth of the people was increasing, in spite of the dearness, and it was in contradiction. And the beginning of the blessed Lunar Year came, and it was the year six hundred and forty of the Hiğğah ⁽²⁾ and he (the Sultan) ordered the extraction of the taxes, and they were extracted with an extraction of great harshness. And a man had been appointed for them (who) was called [I]bn Ğaradah, and he did what none had done, and he incited the mobs against the people; and he did not confine himself to the taxes of Cairo (Misr) and Cairo (al-Kahirah), but whatsoever he found, he weighed out, and he made the heads of the master-craftsmen bring those who were under their hands of every craft, and the owners of the quarters would take those who were dwelling in their district for collecting the tax. And in these days it was proclaimed in Cairo (Misr) that which said, (that) the religious law ordered that the Christians (an-Nasara) should bind the girdles, (zwna/rion) on their waists ⁽³⁾. And it was said, that the cause for this (was) from [I]bn Ğaradah, the aforementioned, because he had insinuated to the judge that the Christians (an-Nasara) were no longer distinguished from the Muslims (al-Muslimun), because they did not bind on the girdles, and that the tax-collectors, perhaps, seized the Muslims (al-Muslimin) for the tax. So he (Ibn Ğaradah) ordered this proclamation, and the people began to bind the girdles on their waists: the elders (aš-Šaikh) among them, and those who feared for their honour; and the mobs showed effrontery according to their custom. Then the Sultan ordered that the troops should depart towards Syria (aš-Šam), because the messenger of the Caliph (al-Khalifah) had

⁽²⁾ = July 1st., 1242 A.D.

⁽³⁾ A distinguishing mark frequently imposed on Christians.

—- 248 —-

arrived at Tall al-Agul; and the troops were equipped, and they departed successively, and they descended at the outskirts of Cairo (al-Kahirah), from the prayer-house of At-Tib to the Lake Al-Hubb. And there arrived the messenger of the Caliph (al-Khalifah) who had been sent from Bagdad (Baghdad), and he crossed over to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he descended at the House of the Wizarah, and the Sultan had gone out to receive him, because he was a distinguished man, a chief, of rank and dignity. Then (it was) that a body of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) known as Ibn Hainan and Ibn Sabbah, and a group which took their part —- and it was they who rose up in the affair of the Church Al-Mu`allakah and (who) did in it what was mentioned before —- came against the Church of Saint (Abu) Sergius (Sarğah) ⁽⁵⁾ in Cairo (Misr), and they came to two houses of the houses of its inalienable endowments, which were adjoining to it (the church). One of the two of them (was) at the east of it, its street (being) at the highway, and the other on the west of it, inside the lane in which are the gates of the church. And they claimed that each of the two houses had been a prayer-house (Masğid), and that they knew it, since a period passing forty years. And the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani, the monk, known as Ibn al-Tha`ban, was staying at the mentioned Church, and (he was) an overseer of its affairs. And he had (re-)built it, and had built its dwelling-places, and he had renewed a number of places in place of the dwelling-places which he added to its alienable endowments, and he acted therein after the manner of the angels. And these mischievous claimants raised up some people from among those who brought an action against the mentioned elder (aš-Šaikh) before the religious law, before this judge [I]bn `Abd as-Salam, after they had met him, and he had arranged with them what

⁽⁶⁾I.e. the Church of Saint Sergius.

—- 249 —-

they should do, and had made known to them the way they should take. And one of them, a Muslim (Muslim), known as Abu’l-Hasan [I]bn Makin al-Kazzaz, made a claim against (the elder), and there was between him and the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani a dispute, because he had lodged in a chamber of the buildings of the church, and he did not pay rent for it. And the elder (aš-Šaikh) used to demand it from him, because he did not consider that he should leave it to him, and there was not a reason for leaving it. And this person was blameworthy in his way(s), deviating from the truth. And he (the Muslim) claimed against the elder (aš-Šaikh) that he should deliver up the single external house and what was due from its rent for more than forty years. And he (the elder) denied it, and he (the Muslim) demanded of him an oath, and the judge said to him: «Swear», and he (the elder) said: «Yes». And he (the judge) said: «Say: ‘By the truth of Him Who caused to descend the Gospel on the heart of Jesus (`Isa)’»⁽²⁾. The elder said to him: «This is not my belief nor my religious conviction, and a man does not swear, except according to his religious conviction, even as those who were before of the judges accustomed us». And he (the judge) said to him: «If you do not swear according to what I have said to you, I shall punish you», He (the elder) said: «Whatsoever you will, do. We have never heard of a judgment of this kind». And he (the judge) was wroth with him, and he punished him in front of him, and he ordered him to be imprisoned, as it happened to the pure Apostles. Then (it was), that the biased Muslims (al-Muslimin) made a written report with the opinion of the judge, that this place (had been) one of the prayer-houses (Masağid) of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and that the Christians (an-Nasara) had encroached upon it, and had made it a house from the days of the dearth in the year five hundred and ninety-seven ⁽⁴⁾. And they summoned the elder (aš-Šaikh) from (his) imprisonment on the third day, because the beginning of his being brought ⁽⁵⁾ was the afternoon of the daytime of

⁽²⁾ Cf. The Noble Kuran, Surat of the Iron, 27.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. of the Hiğrah, = 1200 A.D.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. before the judge.

—- 250 —-

Tuesday, the nineteenth of (the month of) Misra ⁽¹⁾ of this year, and they renewed the case against him, and he denied (it). And they produced the written report, and eight of this group witnessed to it, and they testified; and among them (was) one who had not reached to forty years, and his witnessing (was) to more than forty years. And the mentioned judge accepted it, and he sanctioned two of them, and they were Ibn Haulah and Ibn Sabah, because they were two personalities, but (they were) as the two elders (Šaikhain) of Susanna (Susannah). And he confirmed the written report, and he returned the elder (aš-Šaikh) to imprisonment, after the discussion had taken place between himself and him (the elder). And he said to him: «If you have a proof, bring it». He said to him (the judge): «O my sire, whence have I a proof, being in imprisonment?» And he (the judge) said to him: «Charge one for you». He said to him (the judge): «O my sire, I have not an agent; leave the order with me until I bring my proof». He (the judge) said to him: «This is not allowed», and he commanded him (to be taken) into prison, on the eve of Friday ⁽⁴⁾, the twenty-second of (the month of) Misra ⁽⁵⁾. And after that, they made a written report about the other house which (was) inside the lane. And the priest al-Mu`tamud [I]bn al-Kasis Ma`ani, priest of the mentioned church ⁽⁶⁾, was dwelling in the house concerned; and they summoned him, and they claimed against him that he should deliver it up. And they did with him, as they had done about the first house, and he made known that he had inhabited it for a period of twenty years. And he (the judge) commanded him to evacuate it immediately, in that hour, and a guarantor was appointed for him for the rent of the twenty years, and he commanded the other external house to be evacuated of its dwellers, because there were dwellers in it, and they (the houses) fell into the hands of the adversaries. And

⁽¹⁾ = August 12th, Julian Style.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. Thursday evening.

⁽⁵⁾ = August 15th, Julian Style.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Church of Saint Sergius.

—- 251 —-

he (the judge) was informed that the priest Al-Mu`tamud was poor and was not able (to pay) anything. And he (the judge) said: «We shall set up for him a guarantor, and there shall be made a written report about his indigence»; (and) his people guaranteed him, and he went out on account of the written report. And when it was the eve of Monday ⁽¹⁾, the twenty-fifth of (the month of) Misra ⁽²⁾, the judge summoned the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani, because he used to summon him every three days, and he said to him: «What have you done?» He said to him: «O my sire, what (is it) that I (can) do, being in prison, and I have no one?» He said to him: «Find a guarantor for you, and go and see to it for yourself». And a group came, and they guaranteed his person. And he came to the church, to the cell (kelli/on) which belonged to him; and the group came to him, and they made efforts, except that they had no power, because the notables of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and their elders (Šiyukh) and their chiefs were certain that this testimony was false, and that this matter had never been, only they were not able to testify, and their satellites and the followers of them who know this, were afraid of the judge. However, the written report which (concerned) the first house near to the lane, contained (the statement) that this prayer-house (al-Masğid) had three doors, (and) their intention thereby (was) that they should take in its place two other houses. And these two houses were shared with a Muslim woman (Muslimah) who had a quarter (share), and the church had three-quarters. And this woman came with her documents to the judge, and she made an uproar and she shouted, and she was a Muslim woman (Muslimah). And he (the judge) ordered that there should be no interference in the two houses in which the woman had a share. And they confined themselves to the one house which was adjoining the Church, to the intent to dominate the church, and to take what was neighbouring to its mentioned houses, in the measure that they were able, as they had done concerning (the Church) Al-Mu`allakah. And there were in the lane Muslims (al-Muslimin)

⁽¹⁾ I.e. Sunday evening.

⁽²⁾ = August 18th, Julian Style.

—- 252 —-

neighbours, and they had property neighbouring to the external house, and (there were) with them the documents, the date of which (was) from ninety years, which testified that the limits of one of them ⁽¹⁾ reached as far as this house, and they testified that the house was an inalienable endowment for the Christians (an-Nasara). And if it ⁽³⁾ had been a prayer-house (Masğid), as they mentioned, it would have been mentioned. And another, a Christian (Nasrani), known as Abu Isaac (Ishak) [I]bn al-A`ma, had a house within the lane opposite to the other house about which was the dispute; and with him (were) documents of its date, one hundred and thirty-one years, and he testified to the limits likewise, and the limit which reached to this house mentioned in it ⁽⁴⁾ that it reached to the house (which was) an inalienable endowment to the Christians (an-Nasara), the dwelling-place of the elder (aš-Šaikh) Abu Ghalib. And the mentioned documents were brought to the judge, and he read and understood them, but he did not pay heed to them. And the mentioned elder (aš-Šaikh) continued making endeavours at Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Cairo (Misr), and seeking proofs, on Tuesday and Wednesday, and nothing was done for him. And when it was the eve of Thursday ⁽⁵⁾, the twenty-eighth of (the month of) Misra ⁽⁶⁾, the judge came to the church, and with him a group of witnesses, and others than they, and the governor (Wali) of Cairo (Misr), and he entered into the external house, and he caused As-Sani to be brought, and he said to him: «What thing have you done?» He said to him: «O my sire, I have done nothing». He (the judge) said to him: «O elder (Šaikh), this house has been proved to me to have been one of the prayer-houses (Masğid) of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and you have not renovated (it) and have not changed (it),

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the houses.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the house.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the documents.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Wednesday evening.

⁽⁶⁾ = August 21st, Julian Style.

—- 253 —-

but it was Ibn Abu Giialib ⁽¹⁾ who was patriarch (who did this). And as for you, there will not be charged to you, except for the period of the thirteen years which you have acknowledged that you have made use of it in this place, its rent being incumbent on you». He said: «O my sire, this rent I have spent for the taxes of the Christians (an-Nasara) and on its ⁽²⁾ alms, as a condition of the inalienable endowment. He (the judge) said: «This is of no use». He said to him: «O my sire, if this place had been according to what was said, a prayer-house (Masğid), whence are these buildings for it and this storey, and these objects which have given to it this value?» He (the judge) said: «Evaluate the rent of the place (as) a prayer-house (Masğid) from a period of thirteen years, and the value of these timbers and the objects and the buildings which (are) at it now». And they said: «There will remain to the elder (aš-Šaikh) eleven dinars». And he (As-Sani) said to them: «You are dispensed from them», and they departed on this wise. And he (the judge) moved to the other house, and there was not in it except the higher (storey) in which the priest was dwelling, because its lower (storey) was a store. And the elder (aš-Šaikh) had closed up its door on the side of the lane, and he had opened it on the side of the church, (and) he had made it a store for esparto-grass ⁽³⁾. And it was neighbouring to the offices of the Church, and he (the judge) passed over to the church, and he entered from the door of the offices, and it was the door of the offices and the stairway, and he came to the place of the latrines and the lamps (fana/rion), and they said: «This is the place of the prayer-niches (al-Maharib)». He (the judge) said: «It has been proved to me that this also was a prayer-house (Masğid). Seek the priest who dwells in it». The elder (aš-Šaikh) said to him: «O my sire, what do you desire of him? I am his guarantor». He (the judge) said: «We desire the rent». He said to him: «O my sire, whatever is incumbent on him (we shall pay). Either he should prove his indigence, or he should pay». And

⁽¹⁾ John VI, 74th, Patriarch of Alexandria, 1189-1216 A.D.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the church’s.

⁽³⁾ Haifa-grass which is used for making mats, etc.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. As-Sani.

—- 254 —-

he (the judge) went out on this wise. And when it was Sunday, the first of (the month of) An-Nasi ⁽¹⁾, he (the judge) sent the witnesses and the architects, and they went over to the external house, and they set about to evaluate (it), and they began with demolishing the closed door, thinking thereby that it led to the church, and to take by it a part of it (the Church). And they finished (the demolishing) from the bottom to the top, but they did not find behind it, except earth from ancient years. Then they betook themselves to the internal house, and they came to the place of the latrines, and they said to us: «The bottom and the top of this place (are) four cubits in circumference, apart from the ten by ten (cubits) which we have in the store». And they had not mentioned at first, except the ten by ten (cubits), because they had measured it from the outside. And it was, (that) the elder (aš-Šaikh), while they were measuring and evaluating, had gone to the judge, and had sat with him. And they went out and they fixed for the two places (the sum of) three hundred and forty dinars, and he (the judge) accepted it. And the judge arose, and the elder (aš-Šaikh) came to the church without procuration, only affairs (were) confused. And when it was the end of the daytime, he (the judge) summoned him (As-Sani), and he spoke with him kindly, and he appeased his heart and he said to his representative: «Read and understand these documents, and inform me of what is in them». And he (the judge) went up to Cairo (al-Kahirah), and when it was in the morning of Monday, the representative sent to him (As-Sani) a messenger whom he had sought, and he went to him (As-Sani) and with him the aforementioned documents. And he (the messenger) said to him: «These (are) useless tombs» ⁽²⁾. And he said to him (As-Sani): «What is it that you have done?» He (As-Sani) said: «O my sire, I have done nothing»; and he (the messenger) appointed for him a guarantor for the sum, and he caused him to pass the night under watch. And when it was on the morrow of that day, he (the messenger) sent (and) he summoned him. And he (As-Sani) said: «I am sick, I am not able to move». He (the messenger) sent and he

⁽¹⁾ = August 24th, Julian Style.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the documents are without value.

—- 255 —-

said: «Let him be borne in a cage of a camel-driver and he brought». And there was brought to him a cage (made) from sleeping-beds ⁽¹⁾ and he was borne in it, and they brought him to him. And he (the messenger) said: «O Sani, what thing have you done?» He said: «O my sire, there is nothing that I can do». He (the messenger) said: «They shall bind you immediately». He said: «O my sire, do as you wish». He (the messenger) said: «Let him be led to confinement», and he (the messenger) went with him to the confinement. And he became indebted for what was necessary for the two houses, on account of his guarantee for the priest, and the priest had concealed himself. Then there entered the year nine hundred and fifty-nine ⁽²⁾ on Friday, at the beginning of Rabi` al-Akhar (in the) year six hundred and forty ⁽³⁾. And the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- (was) Al-Malik as-Salih, and the judge of Cairo (al-Kahirah) (was) Badr ad-Din who had been judge of Sinğar and the judge of Cairo (Misr) (was) `Izz ad-Din [I]bn `Abd as-Salam, and the patriarch (was) Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus), known as [I]bn Laklak. And the Nile (an-Nil) came up in this year to eight fingers above seventeen cubits, and the completion of its increase (was) on Monday, the fourth of (the month of) Tut ⁽⁵⁾. And it began increasing and decreasing, but it did not increase anything more beyond the eight above seventeen. And the prices fluctuated, and they rose, and wheat was sold at seventy dirhams the ardab, and barley, at forty dirhams the ardab. And as for clover (al-Birsim), (it was) sought to the last degree on account of the scarcity of water and the few crops which are reserved for Spring, and it (clover) was sold at ninety dirhams the ardab, and linseed oil rose in price also, and there was not anything cheap in the lands at this period. And the patriarch was abiding at the Monastery of the Beacon, and he did not have anything to do with

⁽¹⁾ I.e. a bed made from the split branches of the palm-tree.

⁽²⁾ I.e. A.M. = 1242 A.D.

⁽³⁾I.e. A.H. = 1242 A.D.

⁽⁵⁾ = September 1st., Julian Style.

—- 256 —-

the people in the way of their affairs and he was, as if he were not one of them. And he had come at the outset, and he had passed one night at the Church of Saint (Abu) George (Ğurğ) of Al-Hamra, and some of the group had advised him to return to his place, and he returned to the Monastery of the Beacon and he did not come back from it during this period; and he was to be excused, because he was fearful. Then (it was) that the judge at Cairo (Misr) sought for the priest Al-Mu`tamad until he found him, and he committed him to confinement, and it was (that) he and the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani were in the prison. And the group had written the legal decision to the jurisconsults, that they might ask their legal opinion concerning the Muslim (al-Muslimin) people, (and) they signed the testimony against a right of the rights of God —- praised be He! —-from a long period. Then they took it at once, (asking) if the delay of the mentioned testimony would be harmful for the justice of their case or not. And they all gave their legal decision that their casewas invalidated by reason of the delay of the testimony of the petition. And some of them were excepted, those who said that they had a valid excuse, and those against whom it was protested that they had made it clear that the excuse was unacceptable in a land in which the rule of Al-Islam was established, and governors (al-Wulat) and judges. This also availed nothing, and it was not approved, though it was a rule of their religious law and was the practice of that time. And after this, the elder (aš-Šaikh) Šams ar-Riasat Ibn Hiblan wrote a document to our Sire the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- concerning the Christians (an-Nasara), entreating him therein that he should convoke a council with their opponents ⁽⁶⁾ in the Council of Noble Justice, and that the monk should be present to defend himself. And he (the Sultan) commanded this by the tongue of an amir called Badr ad-Din, brother

⁽⁶⁾I.e. those who testified against them with regard to the two houses.

—- 257 —-

of the chamberlain `Ali. And the council was held on Monday, on the morning of the Feast of the Cross And there was present a group of the notables and the chiefs, and the presidents of the Council were Aš-Šarif al-Armawi, judge of the troops, and Badr ad-Din, the judge of Cairo (al-Kahirah) and Lower Egypt (al-Wağh al-Bahari), and the jurisconsult `Abbas, and the governor (Wali) of Cairo (Misr), and the representative of the judge of Cairo (Misr), because he was not present, and there was a group of witnesses. And there were brought Ibn Haulah and Ibn Sabah, and the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani and the priest from the prison, and they came with their written reports. And the speaker was the judge of Cairo (al-Kahirah), and he called for the written reports, and he read and understood them. And he said to those witnesses: «What delayed you with regard to the testimony, and it is a testimony of the rights of God the Exalted, for the period of fifty years?» They said: «We have said it». He (the judge) said: «To whom did you say it?» They mentioned a dead person. He (the judge) said: «This is a pretence of yours and a non-existing matter». And many discussions occurred, the last of which (was) that they said to As-Sani; «Have you an evidence?» He said: «Yes». They said: «Produce it». He said: «O my sire, (and I am) in prison?» They said: «No, but permission may be asked for him from the judge and a surety for him, and he should go out (from the prison) and bestir himself». And they asked permission for him of the judge. And he said. «There is no way for this, unless it be without my command». And he (As-Sani) was returned to the prison, he and the priest. And the group had made a written report testifying that these two houses (were) an inalienable endowment for the Christians (an-Nasara), and had been in their hands for a period of more than fifty years up till now. And an honourable man, esteemed, a leader in the mosque (al-Ğama`), wrote for them in it ⁽²⁾. And a body of his honourable companions, companions of the judge, learned of it ⁽²⁾, (and) they came upon him with threats and reproaches and intimidations and impulsion, until

⁽¹⁾ 17th Tut = 14th September, Julian Style, 27th September, Gregorian Style.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the written report.

—- 258 —-

they brought witnesses against him (to say that) he renounced his testimony. And there had testified also a man from the neighbouring lane, an esteemed elder (aš-Šaikh) known as Ibn Abu’t-Tayib, and he had become aged, and he had not the power to act. And two upright witnesses were charged (to go) to him, who had heard his words, and they testified on his behalf. And after this, they went to the latter ⁽¹⁾, and they chided him and they intimidated him, (saying): «You have been dwelling in a prayer-house (Masğid) for a period of years, and go out from it immediately, and you will be required (to pay) the rent for these years». And they caused witnesses to testify against the other ⁽²⁾, that he had renounced the testimony. Then (it was) that these opposers took builders and workmen and plaster, and they came one night to the mentioned houses, and they purposed to build in them prayer-niches ⁽⁴⁾; and some of the group went to the governor (al-Wali) and they informed him about this, and he sent (and) he forbade (it). And on the morrow, there assembled a large group, and they stood before our Sire, the Sultan. And he commanded that there should be no opposition to this place until judgment had been established. And the two priests, the elder (aš-Šaikh), the saintly As-Sani Abul-Ma`ani known as Ibn Kams, and the elder (aš-Šaikh) Ar-Radi [I]bn Abu’t-Tayib, both occupied themselves with this affair, (and) who paid all attention to it; and they were in great toil and strenuous efforts, (and) they did not separate by day nor rest by night, and they would pay from their money; and may God —- praised be He! —- do good to them both and reward them both with a like reward. And they ⁽⁵⁾ brought to the Council of Justice witnesses, other than those, and they (were) the judge Al-Mu`ain `Abd al-Hakam, [I]bn Muhammad [I]bn Abd al-Hakam and the judge Al-As`ad [I]bn Maisar and the elder (aš-Šaikh) Al-Hakim Abu Sa`id

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the priest Al-Mu`tamad, cf. page 256.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the aged man.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the mihrab or kiblah which indicates the direction of Mecca to which a Muslim must turn, when praying.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. As-Sani and the other priest.

—- 259 —-

[I]bn Tammam, and they gave the testimony at the Council of Justice, according to what was contained in the written report, and they remained on the roll of those who approved, because the witnesses were not just. And during the long period they used to bring a witness of these who approved, but they wished for four, not two as those ⁽¹⁾ had done, and the period was prolonged, and the judge sent to bring the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani from the prison. And he said to him: «Until when will you endure? If you do not pay the amount, then I shall punish you with a punishment of the religious law». He said to him (the judge): «O my sire, whatsoever God has directed you, do it». He (the judge) said: «Did you do nothing?» He said: «O my sire, is there not then any delay?» He (the judge) said: «Two or three days». The elder (aš-Šaikh) said: «Five or six», and he was standing. And he said: «O my sire, I cannot stand». He (the judge) said: «Sit down», and he sat down for a while. Then he said: «O my sire, I will not go to my place!» He (the judge) said: «Go!», and he returned to the confinement. Some days after that, those crowds spread a false report on Friday that the judge used to bring out As-Sani and to parade him publicly with ignominy and this (report) reached him (the judge), and he was greatly troubled And a man, a Christian (Nasrani) known as Ibn al-Haša went to the Citadel and he informed the group concerning this. And as for Al-Hakim ar-Rašid known as Abu Khalifah, he assembled with Badr ad-Din, brother of the chamberlain `Ali, and he sent two of the bodyguard from him to the governor (Wali) of Cairo (Misr), saying to him: «Have you not learned that our Sire, the Sultan —-may his victory be empowered! —- has held for the Christians (an-Nasara) a council, and the affair concerning it concluded in confirming (their rights). And they brought their evidences, and they (were) those who approved it. And God does not empower anyone (to act) against this man, (As-Sani)

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the other party.

—- 260 —-

nor against the places». And as for the revenue officers —- may God preserve them! —- they wrote a document to our Sire, the Sultan —- may his victory he empowered! —- about the matter of the case, and they sent it by the hand of the chamberlain. And his (the Sultan’s) order went out that he (the chamberlain) should go to the governor (al-Wali), and should disapprove of his negligence in such (a matter) as this; and beware and beware lest anyone oppose this monk or disturb the peace in these places. And another of the bodyguard from the Sultan went concerning this, and the people of obstinacy who endeavoured (to make) disorder in the world were repelled. And as for the judge, he denied that this (thought) had come to his mind or (that) a conversation about this had taken place. And the governor (al-Wali) said to him: «Then write your signature to this (effect) to the Sultan, otherwise, I shall lose my life». And the judge wrote a document, saying in it: «the Christians (an-Nasara) have grossly defamed me with regard to what I have not said nor intended; however this man (As-Sani) is imprisoned on account of a right of the religious law». And it was despatched to our Sire, the Sultan, and he read it, and he left it, and he did not answer it. And there had occurred to this judge before this a case with a man, a Christian (Nasrani), a drunkard, of the inhabitants of Miniat Ghamr, called Makram [I]bn Mahasin. And this (was) that his (the judge’s) son had raised a dust over his (Makram’s) kitchen, and he (Makram) was standing without a girdle, and he was quarrelling, he and a man, a seller of esparto-grass. And the seller of esparto-grassmade a complaint to him (the judge) that this Christian (Nasrani) would not go with him to the court. And Makram did not know

—- 261 —-

that he (the boy) was the son of the judge. And he ⁽¹⁾ had said to his young male slave: «Go over and take him (Makram) away». And the young male slave struggled with the kitchen-workers, and the son of the judge went over to the kitchen, riding, and he beat the lads, and he stood at this place. And he sent to his father, and he (his father) rode himself, and he came to the kitchen which (was) at the Dar al-Fadil opposite to the date-factory. And he took out this wretched man dragging him on the ground, bareheaded, his garments torn; and there gathered against him people beyond count, none of whom but did beat and revile him, and he was patient. And the news reached the governor (al-Wali), and he came and he said: «Let him be imprisoned until the command of the Sultan comes». And he (the governor) imprisoned him, and he wrote to our Sire, the Sultan, concerning what had occurred. And the judge did not wait patiently until the answer of the Sultan came; but he (the governor) said: «Send to me the Christian (an-Nasrani), so that I may do with him what is necessary», and he sent him to him. And he (the governor) said to him (the judge): «Will you cause this one to ride among these crowds, and (he may be) killed, and you do not know what (answer) will come from the Sultan?» And he took him (the Christian) and he did not cause him to ride, but he treated him ignominously by walking, he being reviled until he passed through the city, and he brought him to the prison of the governor (al-Wali), he being patient, thankful and committed to God. And he was wealthy, and he was of high esteem, and he remained in the prison for some days. And the governor (al-Wali) took him out, after he had written as regards himself a declaration that he would not go out from his house, except with a girdle. And if he had been in the prison of the judge, perhaps, it would have been difficult for him to go out. And as to what was concerning the affair of the Church Abba ([A]bu) Sergius (Sarğah), since the case was delayed for the judge, he was assured that

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the son of the judge.

—- 262 —-

nothing would be done for the Christians (an-Nasara) and that no one would be approved, because he had closed the ears of everyone for them; and whomsoever he heard that he would witness or approve of a witness, he would send to threaten him and to menace him. And the wretched ones ⁽²⁾ were in severe affliction, and how could they withstand the judge, except with the aid of the Creator. And he (the judge) sent to the governor (al-Wali) in the evening of Wednesday, the fourth of (the month of) Babah ⁽³⁾, (a message) with a man from his witnesses, called Ibn Zidan, and he said to him (the governor): «I have met with the Sultan, and he ordered me, that we should do about these two places ⁽⁴⁾, according to what is required by the religious law ». And it resulted that he helped these people ⁽⁵⁾ in the subject under discussion. And the governor (al-Wali) said to him: «Whatever you desire, do (it)». And he (the judge) enabled them (to do) all what they wished. And they arranged by night with the workers and the surveyors and for pick-axes (TWRI). And when it was morning, at dawn, (they went) to the internal house, and they demolished its facade and the balcony of the storey on which the priest used to dwell. And it resulted in frustration for our companions ⁽⁶⁾, and they were (there) on this day, namely on Thursday, the fifth of (the month of) Babah ⁽⁷⁾, and it corresponded to the fifth of (the month of) Rabi` al-Akhar (in the) year six hundred and forty of the Lunar (Year) ⁽⁸⁾. And they had taken with them Ibn Tammam to call for prayer for them, because his son had written on his behalf, with his permission, his inability to write on account of his great (age), and (that) he did not understand (the matter). And after this affair (which) occurred, it displayed their mind and darkened their sight, until God the Exalted vouchsafed that

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Christians.

⁽³⁾ = October 1st, Julian Style.

⁽⁴⁾I.e. the two houses.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the Muslims.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Muslims.

⁽⁷⁾ = October 2nd, Julian Style.

⁽⁸⁾= 1242 A.D.

—- 263 —-

the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —-rode on that day and went to Cairo (Misr). And the governor (al-Wali) assembled with him, and he (the Sultan) said to him, at the very beginning, words not to be understood, except that they indicated that the governor (al-Wali) had gone to the House of Justice and had assembled secretly with the notables who (were) at it and had said: «Find for me a messenger to go immediately to Cairo (Misr) to prevent the demolition, and to say to them: «Do not do anything, until I come». And he called the Christians (an-Nasara) and said: «Carry out your work to-day, for the Sultan has ordered this». Then (it was) that when he did not find a messenger to send, he sent his son Aš-Šarif to Cairo (Misr) with haste, and he stopped the demolition. And here came Ibn Tamam and he produced his testimony, and Al-Hakim Ibn az-Zubair came, (and) he confirmed him in the council. And the Public Prosecutor for the other side came, and he confirmed Ibn `Abd al-Hakam. And the people took courage, and the matter became easier, and there remained the need for two other witnesses to complete the vindication of the evidence of the written report, and it would be confirmed. And they returned to Cairo (al-Kahirah), alter they had asked permission of the group, to the effect that the vindication should be completed in the house of the judge at Cairo (al-Kahirah), since they could not assemble at the House of Justice, except on a Monday and a Thursday, and it would be difficult on these two days to find witnesses, and time would be lacking and drawn out; and they gave permission that the vindication should be completed in the house of the judge at Cairo (al-Kahirah). And a witness, a physician, known as Ğamal ad-Din ar-Razi, went over to the judge at Cairo (al-Kahirah), early in the morning of Friday, the sixth of (the month of) Babah ⁽²⁾, and he vindicated Ibn `Abd al-Hakam, and the vindication of him was completed by two just witnesses, and there remained Ibn Tammam (who) was in need of another witness not more, and the written report would be confirmed. And in the middle of the day-time of Friday it was rumoured

⁽²⁾ = October 3rd, Julian Style.

—- 264 —-

that the judge [I]bn `Abd as-Salam had been dismissed, and some people said (that) he himself had resigned on account of the affair of the Christians (an-Nasara), and (that) his judgment had been invalidated. And in the early morning of Saturday, the seventh of (the month of) Babah ⁽¹⁾, another witness, an arbitrator known as Ğamal ad-Din `Abd ai-Mu`ti, and he was a preacher of the Citadel for a time, vindicated Ibn Tammam, and the written report was completed. And the news was confirmed that the judge of Cairo (Misr) had resigned from the office of judicature, and it was testified against him to this effect; and there was written on account of it a document to our Sire, the Sultan, and an answer was not given to it. And it was in these days (that) a wonderful change ⁽⁶⁾ occurred, and it was that, when it was on the eve of Saturday ⁽⁷⁾, the end of (the month of) Tut ⁽⁸⁾, there came a mighty wind, so that it rooted up the palm-trees by their roots and cast them down on the ground, and many houses fell down, and there died beneath them many people. And it was a disturbing night, and the sun was eclipsed from the eve of the mentioned Friday ⁽⁹⁾, from the end of the eve, and it rose eclipsed, except that it did not appear eclipsed, because it was under the aurora. And it was not like (that of) the Tax Year, because that eclipse was greatly terrifying at the time of the afternoon, as has been explained before. And in the daytime of Saturday, the seventh of (the month of) Babah ⁽¹⁰⁾, it was verified that the judge [I]bn `Abd as-Salam had resigned from the judicature, and there testified against him to this

⁽¹⁾ = October 4th, Julian Style.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. a change in the weather.

⁽⁷⁾ i.e. Friday night.

⁽⁸⁾ The last day of the month of Tut is September 27th, Julian Style.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. Thursday evening.

⁽¹⁰⁾ = October 4th, Julian Style.

—- 265 —-

effect a number of just witnesses. And Cairo (Misr) remained without a judge or a delegate, because the delegates had resigned on account of the resignation of their chief. And it was the Feast of Saint Bacchus (Wakhus), Sunday, the eighth of (the month of) Babah ⁽³⁾ which is the day of his martyrdom; and Tuesday, the tenth of it ⁽⁴⁾ (is) the Feast of Saint Sergius ([A]bu Sarğah). And that which happened was a wonderful sign of these two Saints on their feasts, because it was something not in the power of anyone of the Christians (an-Nasara) to do it, and he would have been unable to do it. And everyone began to say (that) this (was) for the sake of the Christians (an-Nasara) and their uprightness; and it was a miracle the like of which had not been related. Then (it was) that the two priests mentioned before came to the House of Justice on Thursday, the twelfth of (the month of) Babah ⁽⁵⁾, and with the two of them (was) the written report and a copy of it which had been transcribed from it by the order of the judge, because he had written in the written report to copy (it). And they came to the House of Justice, and they besought the judge that he should write in the written report an affirmation, and (that) it should be registered with a written report of the group who (were) at the House of Justice. And he (the judge) refrained from this, and he said: «Your written report has been confirmed, only haste is not good; wait until we see if your opponents have an objection against the witnesses or a plea to which to have recourse». And some of those present from among those who had knowledge and sagacity said: «O our master, these have not opponents, but those ⁽⁶⁾ used to say that they had a testimony of a right of religion, (as) they said, and the contrary of what they said was proved». And he (the judge) said: «It is disgraceful for a judge that his signature should be put to something, and then to be cancelled», and this speech was

⁽³⁾ = October 5th, Julian Style.

⁽⁴⁾ = October 7th, Julian Style.

⁽⁵⁾ = October 9th, Julian Style.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the opponents.

—- 266 —-

definite. Then he turned to the governor (Wali) of Cairo (Misr), and he said to him: «Tell these that the written report of the Christians (an-Nasara) has been confirmed, and if you have a protest, bring it, or a refutation, produce it», and upon this the Council separated. Then (it was) that the group of the Christians (an-Nasara) assembled and stood below the Citadel for three consecutive days, the first of which was Saturday, the fourteenth of (the month of) Babah ⁽³⁾, waiting for the riding out of our Sire, the Sultan —-may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- and he did not ride out on Saturday nor on Sunday, but they used to meet every day the judge Badr ad-Din, the judge of Cairo (al-Kahirah); and he used to say to them: «Your right has been confirmed, and I shall make this known to the Sultan». And when it was Monday, the sixteenth of (the month of) Babah ⁽⁴⁾, the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- rode out, and there rode out the judge [I]bn `Abd as-Salam, and he assembled with the Sultan; and it was said that he supplicated and asked forgiveness from God the Exalted for what had happened. And it was that the son of the judge of Sichem (Nablus) had spoken against him, and he had disapproved that a judge like the supreme judge ⁽⁶⁾ of Cairo (Misr) should be dismissed in two months. And he was reinstated in the judicature, and there were laid upon him stipulations, according to what he who heard mentioned, but he did not record them. And the judge returned joyful and glad, and likewise (were) his companions. And he descended on Tuesday, in the morning of the mentioned day, at Cairo (Misr), and he resumed his judging, after Cairo (Misr) had remained without a judge for eleven days; except that he did not return to and begin (again) the affair of the houses which he had claimed that they had been prayer-houses (Masağid); but he did not cease to go from witness to witness of the witnesses to the written-report of the Christians (an-Nasara). (To) some with threats and to some with persuation, so

⁽³⁾ = October 11th, Julian Style.

⁽⁴⁾ = October 13th, Julian Style.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. Chief Justice.

—- 267 —-

that he caused all to renounce their testimony. And he caused witness to he taken against them thereby, although the written-report had been confirmed, and the judge of Cairo (al-Kahirah) had written a confirmation of it in the House of Justice, after he had refrained from writing for some days. And he wrote from the House of Justice an official communication on Thursday, the nineteenth of (the month of) Bubah ⁽¹⁾, and all the overseers interpreted it at the House of Justice according to theircustom. And its contents were that it was confirmed in the Council of Judgment at Cairo (Misr) that the two prayer-houses (Masğidain) were of the prayer-houses (Masağid) of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and (that) the Christians (an-Nasara) had made them houses for dwelling since a period of forty-three years. Then a written-report (which) the Christians (an-Nasara) had drawn up at the honoured House of Justice was confirmed (which said) that these two places claimed to be prayer-houses (Masağid) had been an inalienable endowment for the Christians (an-Nasara) from a period more than fifty years: and by virtue of this, the testimony of the Christians (an-Nasara) was of more weight, unless it were contradicted by the evidence of the witnesses. And the reportremained with the chamberlain for some days, (who) was waiting, that the Sultan should ride out or should be unoccupied, to submit it to him and to talk it over, but he did not ride out, nor was he unoccupied, and the matter concerning it was prolonged until Monday, the twenty-third of (the month of) Babah ⁽⁵⁾. And there assembled with him (the chamberlain) the chiefs of the House of Justice, and they said (that) the delaying of the submitting of this report (is) prejudicial to us and to the Christians (an-Nasara), and (that) if this should reach the Sultan, or someone should write to him, he would say: «For what reason did you not inform me?» And (that) we should send it to the Sultan in this hour in a report from you. And they dictated to him what he should write

⁽¹⁾ = October 16th, Julian Style.

⁽⁵⁾ = October 20th, Julian Style.

—- 268 —-

in the report and he wrote it in their presence; and he caused it to be borne to our Sire, the Sultan, by the hand of some of the ministers, and no answer was issued to it. And the Christians (an-Nasara) continued to assemble and to go up to the Citadel on Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday; and the Sultan did not ride out, and, in the daytime of Friday, he did not ride out, and he continued thus. And they did not stand before our Sire, the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- but (it was) that the judge Badr ad-Din judge of Cairo (al-Kahirah) used to say to them: «I have said to our Sire, the Sultan, that your written-report has been confirmed, but if you are able to add a witness, do it, because (it is) that your witnesses have withdrawn from (their) evidence. And the group persevered in vindicating the two witnesses who had written for them in the written-report of those who had not yet been vindicated. And one of them had given (his evidence) in the Council of Justice, and he was Al-As`ad [I]bn Maiser, and the other wrote, but he did not testify, and he was Al-Muwaffak [I]bn an-Nahhas. And they wished that, if they were unable to vindicate the two of them, perhaps, they might (vindicate) one of them; and the affair became difficult, because the people feared Ibn `Abd as-Salam. And in this period the news arrived that the Franks (al-Afranğ) had departed from Jaffa (Yafa), and had come to Sichem (al-Nablus) and they had killed all who were in it from among the Muslims (al-Muslimin) and the Christians (an-Nasara), and they had demolished the mosque (al-Ğama`) down to the ground, and they had burnt the trees and they had ruined the houses. And it was recounted that when they (the Franks) had encircled the people and had gathered them together, they said: «He who is a Christian (Nusraniah), let him stand apart, so that we may save him». And the Christians (an-Nasara) rejoiced at that, and they had an advantage over the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and when they had separated themselves, they (the Franks) returned to them and killed them all. And as

—- 269 —-

for the Muslims (al-Muslimin), (it was) that they (the Franks) killed some of them and made prisoner some of them, and the slaughter was general for women and children, small and great, and they (the Franks) stayed in it ⁽¹⁾ for three days. Then they returned with the captives and the booty. And there was a sedition, the severity of which had not been related. And the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- ordered the departure of the troops to Syria (aš-Šam); and about two thousand horsemen went out, their leader (being) a mamluk (Mamluk) called Šams ad-Din Sira Sinğar, who was equerry of the House. And they arrived at Gaza (Ghazzah), and they assembled with the troops which were there, and Al-Malik an-Nasir was with them. And they became an immense troop, and they were completed, and they descended at the camp named Al-`Auga, opposite to Jaffa (Yafa) and they wished to besiege Jaffa (Yaha), and the Franks (al-Afranğ) made ready for this, and they remained for a long time. And, after that, the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- sent to Šams ad-Din Sira Sinğar, the aforementioned, and he commanded him that he should take the troops which had gone out with him, and (that) he should come; and they struck their tents and they departed. And when Al-Malik an- Nasir saw this, he bore away what he was able in the way of his cloths, and he burnt the rest, and he departed, and he went to the Crac des Chevaliers (al-Karak). And as for the troops which remained there, and they were the notables and As-Sarim al-Mas`ud and Šama’il and men from the bodyguards of whom their leader was Rihan as-Sahibi, (it was) that they returned to Gaza (Ghazzah). And as for the conditions of our friends, the Christians (an-Nasara), in which they were, (it was) that they made mention of the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani to our Sire, the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- and he said: «I know him. Say to the judge that he should set him free». And a chamberlain called

^(l) I.e. Sichem.

—- 270 —-

Badr ad-Din, brother of the chamberlain `Ali, wrote to the judge a report in which he informed him that our Sire, the Sultan, had ordered the setting-free of As-Sani, the monk, known as Ibn ath-Tha`ban, who was imprisoned on legal grounds, and this is my ⁽²⁾ signature in the presence of our master about this. And a bodyguard went with it to him ⁽³⁾; and it was Friday, and he was in Cairo (Misr), and he excused himself, and he said: «(Wait) until I assemble with our Sire, the Sultan». And he (the chamberlain) wrote a second report to him, and he said: «This (is) my signature, and the responsibility (is) on me», but he refused, and he said: «This (one is) in the prison of God ⁽⁴⁾for a legal right, and he is not in my prison so that I may release him». And no one informed anymore the Sultan that the judge had given his answer. And it happened (that) before this, a dispute had occurred between the judge and the governor (Wali) on account of this affair; and it was that the judge had sent witnesses to the inner place ⁽⁶⁾, so that he might make a new delimitation ⁽⁷⁾, and it was their intention to adjoin to it what was not in it before, so that they might add to it other places. And the governor (al-Wali) had sent to them the leader of his bodyguard and had said to them: «By whose order have you done this delimitation after the first delimitation?» And they came to the judge, (and) they informed (him), and the judge took the mentioned leader, and he beat him and he imprisoned him; and the governor (al-Wali) sent and took the two witnesses, and he beat them and he imprisoned them. And each of them ⁽⁸⁾ wrote to the Sultan; and there remained between the two of them enmity, and there was no doubt that the Sultan preferred the judge. And the governor (al-Wali) reflected, and he inclined towards kindness to the judge, and he released the two witnesses; and the judge released the

⁽²⁾ I.e. chamberlain’s.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the judge.

⁽⁴⁾ For offences against the religious law.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the two houses.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the extent of the two houses.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the governor and the judge.

—- 271 —-

leader whom he had imprisoned and the affair remained as it was. And the group was endeavouring to vindicate two other witnesses. And it was in these years, namely, this year and the two years which preceded it, (that) there appeared in the Fayum (al-Fayum) a great lake, and there was in it, in the way of bulti, something not to be counted, and they (the fish) were borne from it to Cairo (Misr) every day a load, the number of which was not to be counted, so that (it was) that a certain one of the companions mentioned that he betook himself one day from Cairo (al-Kahirah) to Cairo (Misr), and (that) he met on the way along that distance what surpassed twenty loads, over and above what was borne by that way, and (beyond) what was borne during all the day; and what was sold in Cairo (Misr) and Gizah (al-Ğizah) because it used to be borne from the Fayum (al-Fayum) to Gizah (al-Ğizah) on camels, and there was a market at Gizah (al-Ğizah)for selling it ⁽⁴⁾, and the Sultan was assured of sixty dinars. And from there the people used to buy it,and it was distributed to the districts. And among them (the fish) there were the big and the medium, and the medium contained among them what weighed four ratls the bulti, and every ten bultiwere sold for nine dirhams and below this, and bigger than this weight, for ten dirhams the ten, and the big which were much bigger than this weight, at fifteen dirhams the ten. And they used to bring among them what was estimated to weigh each bulti ten rails; and more than (that) was sold at a silver dirham and downwards. And I ⁽⁵⁾ made sure from the fishmonger who was selling them at Gizah (al-Ğizah) that what used to reach of them every day was a hundred loads, (which) might increase and decrease. And (it was) that on most days there could reach (the market) one hundred and thirty loads, and for every load two hundred bulti, and the number according to this estimation was twenty-six thousand bulti. And the people found in it great relief, and for the

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the fish.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the writer.

—- 272 —-

majority of the people there remained nothing for them to eat except it; and had it not been for them (the fish), meat would not have been possible, because meat in these days (had become) expensive to an extreme, so that the ratl reached two dirhams and more, although prices were reasonable. And the wheat went down until the best (quality) reached to fifty dirhams the ardab and downwards, and the barley, to seventeen dirhams and about it, and the beans (al-Ful) the same, and bread was sold at five rails a dirham and an eighth, only meat (was) very expensive. And as for the bulti, there was no lack (of them) all the year, and by reason of their abundance they used to be sold not only at the fishmongers, but in the rest of the markets. And fish used not to lack at all on account of the finding of these bulti, but (it was) distasteful by reason of its abundance. And the majority of the people used not to eat it anymore, but they used to regard it of no account, expecting to chance on a chicken or barbel to eat. Then the matter concerning the affair of the church was drawn out till the beginning of the month of Ramadan of this year. And the judge Ibn `Abd as-Salam assembled with our Sire, the Sultan, —- may God empower his victory! —- and he (the judge) said to him that these places which the Christians (an-Nasara) claimed that they were inalienable endowments for them, have been proved to me that they were prayer-houses (Masağid); and (for) the Christians (an-Nasara) nothing has been proved for them, because their witnesses renounced their testimonies. And the Muslims (al-Muslimin) have desired to renew these prayer-houses (Masağid) in the days of our Sire. And he (the Sultan) said to him: «Whatever has been proved according to the religious law, do it». And he (the judge) went down to Cairo (Misr), and he sent to the governor (al-Wali) saying to him: «The Sultan has ordered me that I should demolish these places, and that I should make them again as the prayer-houses (Masağid) as they had been, and I desire your help and your support». And the governor (al-Wali) sent to our Sire, the Sultan, —- may his

—- 273 —-

victory be empowered! —- a report with the purport, and no answer came forth for it. And the judge came to the places himself, and he ordered their demolition, and they were demolished, because no one could prevent that except the governor (al-Wali). And when he (the governor) did not find support from the Sultan, he desisted, and he suggested to a group of people that no help remained, except to stand before the Sultan. And a group of the Christians (an-Nasara), the priests and the Sa`idians ⁽²⁾, assembled and they stood (before the Sultan) several times, and sometimes their report was found ⁽³⁾ and sometimes they did not receive an answer, and the last time, as the Sultan was at Rodah (Raudah), some of the chamberlains came to them, and they said to them (the group). «Our Sire, the Sultan, said to you, do not stand anymore (before me), because I shall not listen to any words from you». And the judge [I]bn `Abd as-Salam, had gone on that day to those places, and he was looking repeatedly at them , after the demolition of some. And the governor (al-Wali) came and he said to him: «O our master, I was just with our Sire, the Sultan, —- may his victory be empowered! —- and the Christians (an-Nasara) had stood before him concerning the matter of the church, and he ordered them to be driven away, and he increased in anger and fury, and he commanded to demolish all the places. And he (the judge) added to them other places, and he went further into the lane, and he demolished (part) of the southern wall of the Church up to the top of the lane which leads from it to the house of the priest Ma`ani and the houses which (are) there. And he took into this limit three houses upwards and downwards from this house which was on the east of the Church, and the storey of the elder (aš-Šaikh) as-Sani which he had built in the place of the old bakehouse ⁽⁶⁾, and he ended

⁽²⁾ I.e. the inhabitants of Upper Egypt.

⁽³⁾ I.e. after it had been mislaid.

⁽⁶⁾ Lit. ‘ over’. I.e. the bakehouse attached to a Coptic Church in which the Eucharistic Loaves are baked.

—- 274 —-

at its ⁽¹⁾base which looked to the height of the church and the annexes; and the demolition continued, and the lane of the church remained impassable by reason of the demolition and the rubble and the bricks and the timber. And the judge began to visit every day the church, and to strengthen the hearts of that group who were the cause of the troubles, the claimants and the witnesses and the bigoted. And during this affair there came a person called Abu’l-Hasan [I]bn Makin al-Kazzaz Muslimani, and he was of that group mentioned before, and it was he who had claimed against the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani at first. And he repaired to an aperture in one of the storeys which had been demolished, and it was in the wall of the church, and it was one of the groups of apertures around its wall. And he came to this aperture which was on the southern side, according to their claim; and though there were with it numerous apertures in this limit, (it was) only this (one) which he singled out, and he wrote on it the two professions ⁽³⁾ with red ochre, and he rubbedon it dirt so that it might appear that it was old, and he stuck on it a piece of whiting from what had been demolished; and there was a woman of the Christian (an-Nasara) inhabitants (who) saw him, and he passed the night in the place to guard it. And when it was morning, he went to the judge and he said to him: «O our master, the truth has appeared to us, and we have found the prayer-niche and in it the two professions are written from old time. And the judge came and people of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) beyond counting, to the extent that, if salt were cast upon them, it would not descend to the ground. And he saw the place, and he made a written-report about it, and he caused a group of just witnesses to testify in it that it was found so and so, and he despatched it to our Sire, the Sultan. And he (the judge) related that, when the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- saw this, he said: «This

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the storey’s base.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the profession of the Islamic Faith: «There is no god except God, and Muhammed is the Prophet of God».

—- 275 —-

man is of the holy ones, and it is not appropriate that we reason with him about anything», and there was not on earth a case more wonderful than this case, that there should be (such) impossibility and unreasonableness and bigotry. And every intelligent person and elder (aš-Šaikh) of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) testified that this was impossible and something which had never existed, and after this, shall we persist in this persistence. And there was fulfilled in it the like of which had not been fulfilled in any time only that this was a forsaking of the Creator —- praised be He! —- and a chastening for the people of this church, of the number of whom I am. And as regards the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani, (it was) that this was for him an increase of righteousness and a doubling of recompense and a testimony and a combat and precedence, because he did not deserve what befell him in the way of trials, but for this matter, not other than it. Then (it was) that the judge came to the church ⁽²⁾, and he entered it, and he took in his hand an adze, and he began to demolish with his hand. And they demolished the wall in which were the apertures, in which they stated that they had found the niche, and it was not the niche, but it was an aperture of a number of apertures; and they testified that this prayer-house (al-Masğid) was on the ground-floor, and the outer house remained suspended with this niche which they claimed on the storey. And this wall led to a wide arcade in which were three sanctuaries, one of them, and (it was) the principal one (was dedicated) to the name of the Saint Abba (Abu) Victor (Fuktur), and the second, to the name of John (Yuhanna) the Baptist, and the third, to the name of our father Abba (Anba) Antony (Antunius); and this place was the place of the ancient baptistery which the elder (aš-Šaikh) As-Sani had changed and made it in the church of Stephen (Istafanus), and the mentioned church was at the back of this arcade; and they demolished the latter church ⁽³⁾, and they demolished the steps and the ramp, and they replaced the outer place for the inner, and nothing remained in the church except the three

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Church Al-Mu’allakah.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the church of Saint Stephen.

—- 276 —-

arcades, nothing else. And no bakehouse remained at it nor an annex, and there did not remain for anyone (a means) to reach up to its summit which was above the two arcades which (were) at the two sides. And as regards the summit of the places, it was demolished together with its base. And that which was destroyed of the Church ⁽²⁾ was four churches and seven sanctuaries and the bakehouse and the annexes and the ramps and five dwellings. And the Christians (an-Nasara) remained in grief and sadness, the like of which they had not seen for a (long) time, and this was for the wise among them and those of religion and discerning. And during this affliction the patriarch was sick for a week, and he died on Tuesday, the fourteenth of (the month of) Baramhat ⁽⁴⁾ of this year which corresponded to the eighteenth exactly of the month of Ramadan (in) the year six hundred and forty ⁽⁵⁾ at the Monastery of the Beacon. And, thereupon, some of the Christians (an-Nasara) came, who (were) in name Christians, in particular, and they (were) `Imad ar-Rahib al-Miršad, the aforementioned, and the priest Simeon (Sama`an) who was the scribe of the Cell ⁽⁸⁾, and there happened from him what was mentioned before; and it was mentioned that with them (was) Abba (Anba) Joseph (Yusab), bishop of Fuah. And they informed the Companion (as-Sahib) Mu`ain ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh that the patriarch had died, and that he had left an amount of money; and he sent to guard it and all hisbelongings, and he sealed the Keep in which he (the patriarch) was (lying) dead, and he (the patriarch) passed the night thus. And when

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Coptic Church.

⁽⁴⁾ = March 10th, Julian Style.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. 640 A.H.= 1242-1243 A.D.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the Patriarchate.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I.e. the patriarch’s.

—- 277 —-

it was the second day, and it was a Wednesday, the governor (Wali) of Giza (al-Ğizah) —- and he was an amir called As-Šams ad-Din at-Tanbu`a, and he had been the governor (Wali) of Al-Gharbiah before this for a long period —- despatched with him the agent of the Sultan, and he was Kamal ad-Din [I]bn al-Fakiah Nasr. And both came to the Monastery ⁽³⁾, and with them witnesses; and the Christians (an-Nasara) brought out the corpse, after it had passed that night in the darkness without a lamp to burn over it ⁽⁴⁾. And they recorded the belongings, and it was said that they found with him sixteen mantles (Ghaffarah)of wine-colour and other than them, and forty precious veils; and as regards clothing and turbans and baggy-trousers and palliums (al-Balariat) and amices (al-`Aradi) and hypogonation (al-Hağur)which (belong) to the vestments; and of those which (were) for the head there (were) many, but I am not certain of their number. And some of the group related to me that the number of baggy trousers was forty, and the responsibility is theirs; and they found with him, according to what was mentioned, sixteen boxes of sweets, and they were spoilt, and some of them were decayed, and six pots Fo of old dried dates, and other than that which was like them. And they put guards over all, and they recorded it with the vessels of the churches and their vestments which he had, and the books which he had, and (those of the) churches, and they were books (which) had value because they were choice and valuable ⁽⁹⁾. Then they said to the son of his ⁽¹⁰⁾ brother, Abu Sa`id, and to his ⁽¹⁰⁾ agent and treasurer, and he was a youth known as Abu’l-Farağ [I]bn Khalbus al-Bana: «Where is the money?»

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Monastery of the Beacon.

⁽⁴⁾It is a rule to have a light burning before a dead person.

⁽⁹⁾This may point to the existence of a library at the patriarchate.

⁽¹⁰⁾I.e. the patriarch’s.

—- 278 —-

He said: «We know nothing». And the amir was severe on them, and the son of the brother of the patriarch said to him: «I am a stranger, I was not with these people, this treasurer and this dealer». And the amir said to him: «The money, or I shall squeeze your temples ⁽²⁾ in this hour». And he ⁽³⁾ went into a place, and he brought out from under a tile a thousand dinars and some fractions (of it); and he brought out in the way of silver and black dirhams, what was reported that the total (was) over two thousand dinars; and they took the sum in a leather bag well-made (and) of value. And they sealed the places and they left; and they took with them the son of the brother of the patriarch and Abu’l-Farag, the aforementioned. And as regards the Christian (an-Nasara), group, they assembled around the patriarch with the bishops who were present. And they were Abba (Anba) Joseph (Yusab), bishop of Fuah, and the bishop of Abu Tiğ, and As-Sanduni and his son, and Abba (Anba) Poemen (Bimin), bishop of Atfih, and a group of the priests and the deacons and a large group of the people, and they made a funeral for him according to the custom. And it was said that his smell was changed to such an extent that they were sprinkling over him rose-water in order to remove the loathsome smell from the people. And he was buried in the evening of Wednesday, the fifteenth of (the month of) Baramhat ⁽⁸⁾, in the chamber which he had constructed at the Monastery of the Beacon, and the people returned to their places. And as regards the son of the brother of the patriarch and Abu’l-Farag the treasurer, (it was) that, when they reached the Companion (as-Sahib) Mu`ain ad-Din, he ordered them to be delivered up to Al-Muğahid Sulaiman, the governor (Wali) of Cairo (Misr), and he said to him: «Take from

⁽²⁾ A form of torture.

⁽³⁾I.e. the Patriarch’s nephew.

⁽⁸⁾ = March 11th, Julian Style.

—- 279 —-

me these two, and I desire of you twenty thousand dinars of what he ⁽¹⁾had and of what he was afraid might be heard of». And the governor (al-Wali) took them both, and he imprisoned them and he straitened them. And as for the monks of the Monastery ⁽²⁾, the governor (al-Wali) sent for them, and he brought them to him, and he took surety for them, and he left them with him, and the Monastery remained without either the Divine Liturgy or the Prayers ⁽³⁾. And the door of the chamber in which the patriarch was buried was closed, and a group wished to visit him, and they did not find a way. Then (it was) that our Sire, the Sultan —- may God empower his victory! —- ordered that a bridge should be made to Gizah (al-Ğizah), and the boats which were on the river of the Island were transferred to the other side on the west, and the bridge ⁽⁷⁾was made from the Island to Gizah (al-Ğizah) and the people walked on it; and the way had gone (before) from Cairo (Misr) to the Island by the bank on the other side of the Island, according to the custom every year. And the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- ordered that some people should transfer from every market to Gizah (al-Ğizah) and should dwell in it, because his intention (was) to rebuild it; and it was said that he had measured for its rebuilding the extent of Alexandria in length and in breadth. And he ordered that the store-houses should be transferred to the district of Gizah (al-Gizah) and he constructed there, and that the amirs should build for themselves houses there, that the residence of the Sultan might be in the castle of the Island, and the amirs in Gizah (al-Ğizah), and the various dockyards of the warships and the Nile ships should be transferred from the workshops at Cairo (Misr) to the workshops which he

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the Patriarch.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Monastery of the Beacon.

⁽³⁾ I.e. The Evening and Morning Office of Incense and the Canonical Hours.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. a bridge of boats.

—- 280 —-

had planned at Gizah (al-Ğizah). And work continued at the Island, and its eastern towers rose up, and they began on the northern towers by digging the wells and making the openings and the constructions over them and their loop-holes, as was done in the eastern towers and curtains. And there had risen in the river of the Island two large islands. And he (the Sultan) commanded their removal, and to transfer their earth in boats to the bank of Gizah (al-Ğizah) and to fill it up there, because there were at that bank ships which had sunk; and his whole intention thereby was to make the river incline to the eastern side, and to remain below the Island on the east, winter and summer, and, may be, to remain in the Canal of Cairo. And he ordered to purchase cows and to multiply them; and there was purchased and brought of these cows what was above one thousand and five hundred head. And they were used to work on the bank of Cairo (Misr), at the embankmentfrom the House of the King to the Fum ai-Khaliğ ⁽⁷⁾. And (he ordered) to transfer the market for corn and the dealers in corn, possessors of the sites who were at the shore, and the dwellings of the houses in which were melons (al-Batikh) and squirting-cucumbers and cucumbers and what was like them to Kum al-Ahmar, south of Cairo (Misr), except the dwellings towards Gizah (al-Ğizah), when he purposed to dig these places. Then (it was), that he (the Sultan) ordered the vacating of the church of the Island and the mosque (Ğama`) of the Nilometer (al-Mikyas), and (that) those ⁽¹¹⁾at them should go out. And there was

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the mouth of the Canal.

⁽¹¹⁾ I.e. the people.

—- 281 —-

at the church a man, a priest, advanced in age, weak in eyesight, called Ephraem (Afraham), and he had been in the mentioned church for sixty years. And he was sent out of it, and its door was nailed up; and Ibn Abu’r-Radad was sent out of the mosque (Ğama`) of the Nilometer (al-Mikyas) and the reason for this was not known. Some people said that the Sultan desired to make from the side of the church a way to the towers which he had made at the Nilometer (al-Mikyas); and some people said that he detested the passing-by of the people by the door of his mansion. And the condition remained thus, and the prices of corn descended and became low. And the Christians (an-Nasara) (who) were in Cairo (Misr) were in straits by reason of the judge, because he imposed on the people that he whose robe was white should wear a blue or black girdle, or a colour different from white, and if his robe were black or blue, his girdle should be white, and a group (of people) accepted this. And the common people were more severe on the people than all these things, and nothing of this was in Cairo (al-Kahirah) at all. And there had happened to the Jews (al-Yahud) in this period a strange affair, because they were without a head. And some people of them were violent, known as the «Children of the divided beard», and they endeavoured (to be) heads. And it happened that two of them, and they were senior among the brethren, came to the synagogue which was theirs on one of the Sabbaths and they went up on the ambon (minbar), and they read the Ten Words ⁽³⁾ which are in the Law (Turah). And there was among the Jews (Yahud) he who hated the two of them, and he went to the governor (Wali) of Cairo (Misr), and he said to him that the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- ordered that there should not be a head for the Jews (al-Yahud), except that he pay a thousand dinars to the Treasury. And it was that two of the «Children of the divided beard» had taken illegally the presidency, and they had gone up on the ambon (minbar) and they

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Ten Commandments.

—- 282 —-

had read what the head used to read, and they had not weighed out anything ⁽¹⁾, and the governor (al-Wali) caused them to he brought, and he took against them a testimony, and (it was) that they (the two of them) had read the Ten Words ⁽²⁾; and he (the governor) took surety for them, and he sent to inform our Sire, the Sultan. And the order went out to him that he should imprison them until they weighed out the thousand dinars which was fixed for the presidency, and he imprisoned them. And the name of one of the two of them was Aba’l-Baha, and he was the learned man of the two of them, and the other was Aba’n-Nağm, and he used to journey with the Sultan Al-Malik al-Kamil, and he used to serve the great of the State. And as regards Abu’l-Baha, (it was) that he embraced Al-Islam, and he was delivered, and as for Abu’n-Nağm, he remained in the prison. And in these days there died the bishop of the Melchites (al-Malakiah) ⁽³⁾ who was at Cairo (Misr), and there was not found for him what (was required) for his shrouding. And these were days of wonder: the Coptic (al-Kibt) Christians (an-Nasara) (were) without a patriarch and the Melchites (al-Malakiah) likewise, because their patriarch ⁽⁴⁾had died before Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus), and the Jews (al-Yahud) (were) without a head. And as for the companions of the patriarch who were imprisoned, and they were the son of his brother and his disciple and his young male slave, (it was) that they were pressed ⁽⁵⁾, time and again, but they did not admit to anything. And the pressure ⁽⁶⁾ was greatest on Abu’l-Farag [I]bn Khalbus who was the disciple and the agent for the money; and he was pressed ⁽⁷⁾ until he was nigh unto death, but nothing resulted, and they remained imprisoned. And in these days, the Companion Mu`ain ad-Din [I]bn aš-Šaikh had built belvederes

⁽¹⁾ i.e. of the amount of money to he paid for becoming president of the Jewish Community.

⁽²⁾ I.e. the Ten Commandments.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Greek Orthodox.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. Nicolas I, 1210-1243 A.D. This statement confirms the date 1243 A.D. as that of the decease of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria, Nicolas I.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. they were tortured.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. torture.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. he was tortured.

—- 283 —-

at the river at Cairo (Misr) at the side of the Gate of the Bridge and the judge Ibn `Abd as-Salam, the judge of Cairo (Misr) had crossed over to this place at a certain time. And he said to some of the agents who were in charge of the building: «Do not build (on) this place. I have been convinced that it was a prayer-house (Masğid) and in it ⁽⁴⁾(were) corpses». And they made this known to the Companion, but he did not pay heed to him (the judge); and there was at the side of this place a prayer-house (Masğid). And it was (that) the son of the judge of Alexandria who had been before this judge, had built at it a beautiful storey which he had made magnificent and had expended on it a large sum. And this judge had purposed to demolish it (the storey), because he said that the inalienable endowments must not be changed from their forms, neither by additions nor by omissions. But the Companion obstructed him (from doing) this, and he (the judge), insisted. And when there was done for him in the church of Abba (Abu) Sergius (Sarğah) what was done, he thought that all places (would be) thus. And he took with him a group of witnesses and a multitude of the demolishers, and there assembled with him in the way of onlookers and loafers, a great number of people. And he went up to the storey, and he began on its demolition. And it was his purpose that after its demolition he would demolish the place to which he referred that he had been convinced that it had been a prayer-house (Masğid). And the Companion had made it a passage to his house. And news of this reached the Companion, and he was at the Island, and he came to the place on a Friday, with his young male slaves and those who were partial to him, and the governor (Wali) with him. And he sent to Ibn `Abd as-Salam,

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the place in question.

—- 284 —-

and he said to him: «By the order of whom have you done this? If it be by the order of the Sultan —- may God perpetuate his kingdom! —- let us know by the tongue of whom did the message come to you, and we (shall he) the first to carry out the order of the Sultan. And if it be by your order, this is not yours (to give). He (Ibn as-Salam) said: «By the command of God». And the Companion said: «We know that God the Exalted has not inspired you with this, and we forbid you (to do) it, so that you may see, if this be by the command of God». And it was that they had demolished from the storey two covered parts at the side of the way, not other than them. And the Companion sent his young male slaves and those who were partial to him, and they punished the witnesses with a great punishment, and they beat them almost to death. And they beat the demolishers and disgraced them and that assembly dispersed and fled. And as for the judge, he remained in the storey alone, and his she-mule was at the door, and the young male slaves beat it and annoyed it, and they broke the hand of the groom. And it was a remarkable day, there had not been seen more wonderful than it. And after some time, the judge went out walking to the outside of the gate, and he went down into a ship, until he reached his house. And he had desired of the governor (al-Wali) that the should assist him, and he did not assist him in anything; and he (the judge) swore that he would not judge nor act, unless he removed the governor (al-Wali). And he ceased from coming down to Cairo (Misr) and from judging at it, only (it was) that his representatives remained in their state and they acted. Then (it was) that the order went out to sell the inheritance of the patriarch, and it was displayed at Cairo (Misr) and sold on Tuesday, the twenty-six of (the month of) Baramudah ⁽²⁾. And the people beheld thereat rare articles and strange things, the like of which had not been seen; so that it was said that the cloth of his vestments amounted to four hundred dinars, though I was not assured of this, though (it was) that it was sold for a large sum (of money), and the made-up woolen robe

⁽²⁾ = April 21st, Julian Style.

—- 285 —-

was sold for two hundred dirhams, and the mantle of old broad-cloth for one hundred and fifty dirhams. And I was informed that a person bought a piece of the auctioned cloth, and he took it out to the market and he displayed it, and it was worth half of its ⁽¹⁾ price, and likewise all what was sold, because the auction had a reputation, especially by reason of the awe of the Sultan. And as for the vessels of the churches, such as patens for the Eucharist (al-Kurban) and chalices and coverings which belong to the sanctuaries and so on, they were set aside until they consulted about them. And when it was in the beginning of (the month of) Bašuns ⁽³⁾, [I]bn `Abd as-Salam, the judge of Cairo (Misr) went out to the prayer-house (al-Musala) which was in the cemetery, and he gathered a group of witnesses, and he removed his son and the son of Al-Baha [I]bn Banna who was the son-in-law of As`ad al-Faizi. And while he was (doing) this, the governor (al-Wali) sent to him the son of his brother, and he said to him: «This is not a place of judgment; what is this gathering?» And the judge insulted him and he calumniated him, and the son of the brother of the governor (al-Wali) said to him: «I will not have a discussion with you; but these witnesses are instructed in what has been dictated to them», and they were about thirty men. And all of them desisted, and they arose, and the judge recalled them, and he said to them: «Be witnesses for me, that I have withdrawn myself from judgment at Cairo (Misr) and its districts, and I have dismissed my representatives, and I have sent away the wazir Ibn aš-Šaikh from being overseer of the Šaffi and the eldership (aš-Šiukhah) of the Sufis (as-Sufiah) ⁽⁵⁾, and from being overseer of the inheritance of his brother `Imad ad-Din and his heirs; and I have removed him (from pronouncing) justice. And they heard this, and everyone of them went to his house, and the judge departed alone, (and) he went to Cairo (al-Kahirah), because he was dwelling at it. And the condition remained

⁽¹⁾ I.e. it had been auctioned at a higher price.

⁽³⁾ = April 26th —- May 25th, Julian Style.

⁽⁵⁾ The Sufis are Islamic mystics and ascetes.

—- 286 —-

thus until Friday, the sixth of (the month of) Bašuns ⁽¹⁾, and it was the feast of the martyr Abba (Abu) Isaac (Ishak) of Tiphre (Difri). And the elder (aš-Šaikh) Abu Mağd al-Akhmimi was ordered to return to preaching, as his position was at first. And this was the first service of Ibn `Abd as-Salam, and he preached on the mentioned day at the mosque (al-Ğama`) of Cairo (Misr), and it was for him a remarkable day. And the people received him with lighted candles and elevated Books ⁽²⁾, and they rejoiced greatly in him. And the court remained without a judge at Cairo (Misr). And the affair was suspended about this until the Sultan rode one day in the district of Giza (al-Ğizah), and Ibn `Abd as-Salam overtook him, and he came to him to the belvedere at Miniat `Ukbah, and he asked permission (to go) over to him, and he (the Sultan) gave to him permission to pass, and he passed over to him. And he honoured him, and he rose up for him, and he ate with him. And he (Ibn `Abd as-Salam) asked permission to be relieved from performing justice, and he (the Sultan) gave to him permission, and this had not been thought of. Then he (Ibn `Abd as-Salam) asked of him permission to depart, and he gave to him permission (to go) wherever he wished. Then he departed from him (the Sultan), and he was cut off from judging and preaching. And all his representatives were retained in their places as before, but by the authority of the Sultan, not by the authority of the judge of Cairo (Misr), as was the custom. And the judge of Cairo (Misr) was also among the group of the representatives who remained as before; and none of the representatives was changed, except the judge of Kus. And this was an economy of God the Exalted, because he had oppressed the Christians (an-Nasara) and had wronged them, and had caused to happen to them things which ought not to have happened, so that every slave (Mamluk) of theirs adopted Al-Islam. And he forbade that any of the

⁽¹⁾ = May 1st, Julian Style.

⁽²⁾ I.e. Noble Kurans.

—- 287 —-

imported merchandise (of slaves) he sold to one of the Christians (an-Nasara). And he said that these imported slaves (were) all Muslims (Muslimun), and (that) they pass through Dhlk ⁽¹⁾, and `Aidab, and the lands of the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and they enter the prayer-houses (al-Masağid) and pray in them; and (that) they should not he sold to the Christians (an-Nasara), and many things like this. Among (these was) that the grandson should follow the grandfather, if he had been a Muslim (Muslim), even if the son ⁽⁴⁾ had been a Christian (Nusrani), because he was grown up at the time his father, (who) was the grandfather, had adopted Al-Islam. And he ⁽⁵⁾ was dismissed, apart from their group, and he (the Sultan) confirmed all the representatives in their districts. And the people were appeased a little from what they had endured, only (it was) that the church of the Island was demolished to the ground, and other things beside it in the buildings of the fortress, and it was among them. And it was m this year (that) the news arrived that the Caliph (al-Khalif) Al-Mustansir bi’llah had died at Bagdad (Baghdad), and God had mercy on him among the legitimate califs (al-Khulafa) who set up the beacon of truth ⁽⁸⁾, and wrought justice among the people, and brought near (to them) the upright and repudiated those who sowed dissension; and he died, and his son Al-Musta`sim bi’llah, the Commander of the Faithful, ruled after him. And they gave to him this title ⁽¹²⁾, because the `Abbasid (al-`Abbasiyin) Califs (al-Khulafa) had

^(l) The name is written without diacritical points.

⁽⁴⁾I.e. the son of the grandfather, and hence father of the man.

⁽⁵⁾I.e. the judge of Kits.

⁽⁸⁾I.e. the teachings of the Sunna, as opposed to those of the Shiites.

⁽¹²⁾I.e. “He who takes refuge in God».

—- 288 —-

exceeded forty, and they had exhausted the majority of the names, and (it was) one of their stipulations (that) a Caliph (Khalifah) should not be called by a name by which other than he had been called. And it is said that they remained for a time searching until this name occurred to them. And his messengers came to our Sire, Al-Malik as-Salih, and he was proclaimed, and coinage was struck in his name. Then (it was) that our Sire, the Sultan —- may his victory be empowered! —- despatched to his intimate amirs who were at Gaza (Ghazzah)and they were the noble amirs, Children of Ta`lab, that they should come to Cairo (al-Kahirah) to make a review for him. And they came, and during their coming the Franks (al-Afranğ) had come in vessels to Al-Waridah, (and) they pillaged it, and they took from it a group ⁽²⁾. Then they came to Ka(iah⁽³⁾, and during their coming to it the notables descended at it, and they did not know. And, lo, the Franks (al-Afranğ) descended from the ships, at the beginning of the night, and they came to the market, and they pillaged it, and they seized all whom they found, and they bound them with them in chains. And when the news reached the notables, they rode, and they were few, because their companions had dispersed; and they were weak at the beginning, because their soldiers were very close together, only (it was) that they were not remiss. And they (the notables) surprised them (the Franks), and they fought against them from the beginning of the night until the sun rose, and they delivered the Muslims (al-Muslimin) from them whom they had captured; and they took from them ⁽⁴⁾three souls alive and killed of them about twenty souls, (and) they came with their scalps with them on spears. And it was said that the majority of them ⁽⁴⁾were wounded, and some of them died after their separation from them ⁽⁴⁾. And they did not go, except with difficulty, and it was said that (they were) about three hundred archers, and this (was) a great amount in comparison to this small group, and

⁽²⁾ I.e. of prisoners.

⁽⁴⁾ I.e. the Franks.

—- 289 —-

the noble amirs were thanked by our Sire, the Sultan, and by everyone. And our Sire gave to them magnificent robes of honour; and they were three amirs, kinsmen, and they were Hisn ad-Din, and he was the youngest of them in years and the highest of them in rank, and Šaraf ad-Din and Taki ad-Din. Then, after this, the Syrian (aš-Šami) troops moved with the Franks (al-Afranğ) towards the neighbourhood of Gaza (Ghazzah). And the news arrived that Al-Malik an-Nasir [I]bn al-Malik al-Mu`azzam, the Possessor of the Crac (al-Karak) ⁽⁴⁾ had come to an agreement with them, and the troops which were at Gaza (Ghazzah)returned to Fakus. And our Sire, the Sultan —- may his victory he empowered! —- ordered the troops to go out, and he expended on them for every amir according to the number of his bodyguard, for every soldier ten dinars. If there were with him a hundred soldiers, he would give to him a thousand dinars; and (as for) the soldiers, (he gave) to every soldier twenty dinars. And as regards the men of the bodyguard, everyone would have forty dinars. And it was said that what was issued ⁽⁷⁾was two hundred thousand dinars. And there came the days, for taking the depth (of the Nile) by the Nilometer (al-Mikyas) and its reading, and it was the twenty-fifth of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁽⁹⁾, and the depth on that mentioned day (was) four cubits and fourteen fingers, and it was in the past year, on a similar day, four cubits and twenty fingers the difference between them (being) six fingers. And the prices abated wheat (was) from fifty dirhams the ardah to thirty, barley (was) from twenty-two dirhams the ardab to twenty, and beans (al-Ful) like this.

⁽⁴⁾ Fortress near the Dead Sea.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. from the Treasury.

⁽⁹⁾ = June 19th, Julian Style.

—- 290 —-

And as regards meat and poultry, and all the rest of the sorts of eatables and what was like that, (remained) in its state as regards dearness. And it was (that) our Sire, the Sultan, had ordered to be exiled a group of the confined amirs, and he took for them galleys, and they sailed in them, and they went with them to the lands of the West, to an island in which (was) a group of Jews (Yahud), called Talmašah, and they left them in it And there was a man of the Children of the Christians (an-Nasara) known as Abu’l-Mağd [I]bn al-Mu’taman [I]bn Abu’l-Badr, and his mother was the daughter of the sister of the patriarch Ibn Zara`ah ⁽²⁾. And it was, that there happened to him the mishap of having become drunk twenty-eight years before; and it was, that he quarrelled with some people, while he was drunk, and he spoke against Al-Islam, and they retained the words against him. And they went with him to the college of the jurisconsult At-Tusi, and they compelled him to pass the night in a house alone. And when he recovered from his drunkenness, he cast himself down from the Gate of Rih into the street in the direction of the river and he departed thereupon, (and) he hid himself with some Christians (an-Nasara) until he had completed his affair, and he turned to the east, and he remained there this period ⁽⁵⁾, and he married and was given children and wealth. Then (it was) that he was cast down through time by events (which) took away his wealth and caused him to lose some of the children. And he returned to Cairo (Misr) in the hope that his affair had been forgotten and that his condition would prosper, and that he might reside in the lands and carry on his affairs as a Christian (Nusrani). And he was caused to be afraid of this, and it was said to him that his was not possible, and ‘you will renew the troubles which have passed’, and he hid himself with his brethren. And he had a

⁽²⁾ I.e. John VI, 1189-1216 A.D. who preceded Cyril III on the Throne of Alexandria.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the period of twenty-eight years,

—- 291 —-

blessed upright brother named As-Sani`ah Aba Budr Yuhanna, and he was nominated for the patriarchate, and there was discussion with him about it once, before the consecration of Abba (Anba) Cyril (Kirullus). He was toiling and selling and borrowing until he obtained something for him ⁽¹⁾to take and to travel. And while they (were) thus, on the seventeenth of (the month of) Bau’unah ⁽²⁾, lo, his ⁽³⁾ viscera suffered for one night, and in the morning of the mentioned day he died. And he had agreed to be taken out to the Monastery of Šahran, so that, if he died, he would be buried there, but time did not give to him an opportunity, and his wretched brother remained consumed with grief and fear. And he went up to the Citadel, and he informed the group about this, and they counselled him that he should not bury him ⁽⁶⁾, except as a Muslim (Muslim), and that in this way (there would be) for him deliverance from a great jeopardy, and there was no sin in it for the dead or for the living. And as a dead man, he did not die except in his faith, and this would not deprive him of it; and as regards a living man, no distinction or contempt is intended thereby, nor negligence of his due, but as a means of a remedy which would be used for his benefit, though it might be bitter. And he went to the officials of the inheritance, and he wrote his signature for them by which he might be released from them; and he bore him out as a Muslim (Muslim), and he was buried with the Muslims (al-Muslimin), and this was among all the trials with which this saint ⁽⁸⁾ was tried. Then (it was) that the news arrived that the Tartars (at-Tatar) had turned towards the Rum Kingdom of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) ⁽⁹⁾, and there are the districts of Iconium (Kuniah) and

⁽¹⁾ I.e. the Christian man.

⁽²⁾ = June 11th, Julian Style.

⁽³⁾ I.e. the Christian man’s.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the Christian man, his brother.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. the brother of the Christian man.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. the Seljuk Kingdom of Rum.

—- 292 —-

Caesarea ⁽¹⁾ and Sebaste (Suwas) and Melitene (Malafiah), and they are important lands possessing numerous troops, and they are of the provinces of the great Constantinople (al-Kustantiniah) which a Turkoman (Turkmani) called Kiliğ Arslan (Raslan) had taken by a ruse, and that its king had expended great expenditure and had struck dinars, the like of which had not been heard of. And merchants came from there, and they brought with them some of them ⁽⁵⁾, and there were among them what weighed four hundred and fifty mithkals ⁽⁶⁾ and below it up to fifty mithkals; and they were of gold of very high (percentage), (and) they diminished until (it was) that they were sold at Cairo (al-Kahirah) at one dirham less for every weight of Egypt (Misr), not more. And the debasement did not cover in Egypt (Misr) (the cost of) its striking, and it denoted its debasement; but, that it would be better than other, if it were melted with it. And, in these days, there arrived at Alexandria from the lands of the Franks (al-Afranğ) much corn, and it was among the strange wonders, to the extent that their wheat was sold in Alexandria for thirty-six dirhams the ardab. And it was choice, sound (and) strong, and its bread was the best of that which there was. And there was, in these days, concentration on the departure of the troops, and the expenditure (was) continued, and (there was) the digging at the river to surround the Island, and building at the fortress of the Island, and the building of the new collegiate college (al-Madrasah) ⁽⁹⁾ at Cairo (al-Kahirah). And, in these days, there was an order to make a bridge over the Canal ⁽¹⁰⁾ at the Gate Al-Khark, and there was provided for it; and there was for the

⁽¹⁾ [Arabic] may be cither Caesarea or Coloneia both of which are in Cappadocia.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. the dinars.

⁽⁶⁾ a weight for precious metals = 4,68 grammes.

⁽⁹⁾ This word also means a collegiate mosque.

⁽¹⁰⁾ I.e. the Canal of Cairo, cf. D. Russell, op. cit., pp. 279-280.

—- 293 —-

people a great rejoicing, because it brought relief ⁽¹⁾ for them. And the blessed Nile (an-Nil) came to its measure of sixteen cubits on Sunday, the twenty-third of (the month of) Misra ⁽²⁾. And the people rejoiced that it was a blessed Nile (an-Nil), only that the prices were maintained; wheat of good (quality) at forty-five dirhams the ardab, and the inferior at twenty-five dirhams the ardab, and flour at eighty-live dirhams the measure (al-Ğumlah), and bread (at) four rails for one dirham, and all what (was) in the lands (was) expensive in the way of eatables and drinks and clothing and riding-animals and building materials, and the wages of the craftsmen. And there arrived from the Land of the Rum of the Muslims (al-Muslimin) with the merchants dinars from it which (were) less than the dinar ⁽⁶⁾, and (those) of four hundred and fifty mithkals and what weighed two hundred and five mithkals, but I did not see either of these, but I heard about them. However, I saw a dinar the weight of which (was) a hundred mithkals and two mithkalsand a half ⁽⁸⁾; and on one face (was) the belief of the Muslims (al-Muslimin)⁽⁹⁾and the name of the Caliph (al-Khalifat), and on the other face (was) the name of their king, and he was the greatest Sultan, the succourer of the world and religion, Kaykaus, son of Kay Kubad (Kinkabad). And the date of its striking at the House of the King at Iconium (Kuniah) (was) six hundred and thirty-five ⁽¹²⁾. And, in these days, the news arrived that the Tartars (at-Tatar) had descended on the land of this Rum,

⁽¹⁾ I.e. it facilitated the people the crossing of the Canal.

⁽²⁾ = August 16th, Julian Style.

⁽⁶⁾ I.e. the dinar of Egypt.

⁽⁸⁾ I.e. 102% mithkals.

⁽⁹⁾ I.e. ‘There is no god but God and Muhammad is the Apostle of God’.

⁽¹²⁾ I.e. of the Hiğrah, = 1238 A.D.

—- 294 —-

and they had defeated them, and they had taken from them many cities among which (was) Sebaste (Suwas). And the people were troubled by this, because they had approached Syria (aš-Šam), and between them and between Aleppo (Halab) there was a short distance. And a detachment of them turned to the lands of the German (Allaman) Swabian (Suab) Emperor ⁽⁵⁾, and they did not gain anything, and there were killed of the Tartars (at-Tatar) and the Franks (al-Afranğ) a great number of people. And the defeat was for the Tartars (at-Tatar), and there did not escape of them, except a small part because they had crossed over the river ⁽⁷⁾. And, in these days, the news came from Alexandria of the arrival of a messenger from the Emperor to our Sire, the Sultan Al-Malik as-Salih; and he had chosen a vessel (bats) ⁽⁸⁾ named ‘Half of the world’, and the people were amazed at its size, and it was said that there were in it three hundred sailors in particular, apart from the passengers. And there was in it as regards merchandise an abundance which could not be counted, in the way of olive-oil and wine and cheese and bees-honey and goods and other than this. Then it was that the news arrived that Al-Malik an-Nasir [I]bn al-Malik al-Mu`azzam, Possessor of the Crac of Moab (al-Karak) had come to agreement with his paternal uncle Al-Malik as-Salih, the Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk), and with the Possessor of Emesa (Hims) and with Al-Malik al-Ğawad who was with the Franks (al-Afranğ), and he took troops, and he

⁽⁴⁾ The mediaeval name for German, ‘Alman’, ‘Almain’.

⁽⁵⁾ I.e. Frederick II, 1194-1250 A.D. Holy Roman Emperor.

⁽⁷⁾ I.e. the Euphrates.

⁽⁸⁾ A warship or transport ship, cf. A. de Biberstein Kazimirski, Dictionnaire Arabe-Francais, t. I, p. 175.

—- 295 —-

descended on Aš-Šaubak ⁽¹⁾ to besiege it; and the Egyptian (al-Misri) troops which were at Gaza (al-Ghazzah) returned, and conditions remained thus for a period. And the son of Al-Malik an-Nasir who had been at Cairo (al-Kahirah) in the Citadel was released, but all his companions were surrounded and were imprisoned, and their allowances were cut off. And Kai which had been given to the son of Malih was taken back, because he had been among the Companions of Al-Malik an-Nasir, and he was the Possessor of the Citadel of `Aglun. Then the news arrived that Al-Malik as-Salih, Possessor of Damascus (Dimašk) and the Possessor of Emesa (Hims) had come to an agreement about Al-Malik al-Ğawad. And he was with them, and they seized him and they sent him to Damascus (Dimašk), and they departed, making for Damascus (Dimašk).And (it was) that, when Al-Malik an-Nasir was informed of this, he departed from Aš-Šaubak, after he had been on the point of its capture, and he went up to the Crac of Moab (al-Karak). And the Sultan —- may God empower his kingdom! —- again raised considerable troops and he despatched them to Gaza (Ghazzah).

Finished is the Fourth Part.

⁽¹⁾ I.e. Mons Regalis (Montreal), cf. P.K. Hitti, History of Syria, pp. 596 and 606, and S. Lane-Poole, A History of Egypt, p. 257.

5 Comments leave one →

Hrundi permalink

March 5, 2023 2:06 pm

Hello,
Is volume 2.3 of the Société d’archéologie copte available?

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Reply
- Dioscorus Boles permalink*
  
  March 5, 2023 2:27 pm
  
  Yes, it is available in Arabic but a poor English translation. You can access it Wikipedia: History of the Patriarchs of Alexandria: Part 7
  
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  Reply
  - Hrundi permalink
    
    March 5, 2023 3:32 pm
    
    Thank you for your reply! I couldn’t find the arabic text. Can you please provide the link or website? (it’s not on wikipedia)
    
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  - Dioscorus Boles permalink*
    
    March 5, 2023 3:51 pm
    
    The English translation is available online, but the Arabic you can find in central libraries. I don’t think it’s available online.
    
    LikeLike
  - Dioscorus Boles permalink*
    
    March 5, 2023 6:32 pm
    
    You can also find the Arabic version sold in many Coptic churches.
    
    LikeLike

THE BLOG OF COPTIC LITERATURE, CULTURE & POLITICS

HISTORY OF THE COPTIC PATRIARCHS

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

I

S. MARK TO THEONAS (300)

FIRST PREFACE

SECOND PREFACE 2

THIRD PREFACE

FOURTH PREFACE

THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST 10

PART I

CHAPTER I. – SAINT MARK.

CHAPTER II. – SAINT MARK.

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

II

PETER I TO BENJAMIN I (661)

CHAPTER VI (Contd)

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER X

CHAPTER XI

CHAPTER XII

CHAPTER XIII

CHAPTER XIV

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

III

AGATHON TO MICHAEL I (766)

CHAPTER XV

CHAPTER XVI

CHAPTER XVII

CHAPTER XVIII

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

IV

MENNAS I TO JOSEPH (849)

CHAPTER XIX

CHAPTER XX

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume II, Part I

Severus of Al’Ashmunein, History of the Patriarchs of the Coptic church of Alexandria Part 5: Khael II – Shenouti (849-880 AD).

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume II, Part II

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Part II, Part III

CHRISTODOULUS – MICHAEL (A. D. 1046 – 1102)

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume III, Part I

Sawirus Ibn Muqaffa`, History of the Church: Volume III, Part III

CYRIL III — CYRIL V (A. D. 1235-1894)

Cyril (Kirullus) the Patriarch, the seventy-fifth of (their) number.

Athanasius (Atanasius) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-six of (their) number.

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-seventh of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, the seventy-eighth of (their) number.

Theodosius (Taudusius) the Patriarch, and he is the seventy-ninth of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eightieth of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-first of (their) number.

Benjamin (Banyamin) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-second of (their) number.

Peter (Butrus) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-third of (their) number.

Mark (Markus) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-fourth of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch and he is the eighty-fifth of (their) number.

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-six of (their) number.

Matthew (Matta) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-seventh of (their) number, and he was known as the wretched (Al-Maskin).

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-eighth of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the eighty-ninth of (their) number.

Matthew (Mattaus) the Patriarch, and he is the ninetieth of (their) number.

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-first of (their) number.

Michael (Mikhayil) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-second of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Nakkadi (9) and he is the ninety-third of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Misri (3), and he is the ninety-fourth of (their) number.

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-fifth of (their) number.

John (Yuhanna) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Manfaluti (4), and he is the ninety-sixth of (their) number.

Gabriel (Ghabryal) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-seventh of (their) number.

Mark (Markus) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-eighth of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch, and he is the ninety-ninth of (their) number.

Matthew (Mattaus) the Patriarch (surnamed) At-Tukhi, and he is the hundredth of (their) number.

Mark (Markus). the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Bahguri and he is the one hundred and first of (their) number.

Matthew (Mattaus) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Miri, and he is the one hundred and second of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) At-Tukhi, and he is the hundred and third of (their) number. (8)

Peter (Butrus) the Patriarch, and he is the one hundred and fourth of (their) number.

Abba (Anba) John (Yu’annis), and he is the one hundred and fifth of (their) number.

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE
COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

SECOND PREFACE ²

THE PRIESTHOOD OF CHRIST ¹⁰

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS OF THE
COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS
OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS
OF THE COPTIC CHURCH OF ALEXANDRIA

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Nakkadi ⁽⁹⁾ and he is the ninety-third of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Misri ⁽³⁾, and he is the ninety-fourth of (their) number.

John (Yuhanna) the Patriarch (surnamed) Al-Manfaluti ⁽⁴⁾, and he is the ninety-sixth of (their) number.

John (Yu’annis) the Patriarch (surnamed) At-Tukhi, and he is the hundred and third of (their) number. ⁽⁸⁾

Abba (Anba) John (Yuannis) ⁽⁶⁾, and he is the one hundred and eighth of the number of the Patriarchs.