Presentation of the department
The Byzantine section comprises a unique collection of daily
life used objects which clearly reveals the characteristics of the
Coptic art. This art, which is a popular Christian art restricted to
Egypt, is in principle a religious form of art that tends to be symbolic
and simple. The characters depicted are either inspired by the Holy
Bible or represent eminent local Saints. The Coptic art neglected the
third dimension, and human figures were portrayed in only two
dimensions. The use of geometric motifs, which have a symbolic
religious connotation, was quite popular. The triangle, for instance,
connotes the Holy Trinity. Animal figures, such as fish and floral
motifs as vine branches, were widespread.
Byzantine Period
The Byzantine era is closely related to Christianity. Christianity reached Egypt during the first century A.D. when The Apostle Mark the
Evangelist came to Alexandria in 61 A.D to spread the Gospel. In 68
A.D., Saint Mark decided to leave Alexandria and he therefore ordained
Anianus (Hanania) the first Bishop of Alexandria. Saint Mark is the
founder and Bishop of the first church in Alexandria which is situated
on the same spot ever since. It is where the current Saint Mark Church
(Morkosseya) is on the street called 'Kenisset El Aqbat' in downtown
Alexandria.
Up until the fourth century A.D., Christians were persecuted by the pagans, the worst persecution
being at the hands of Emperor Diocletian (284-305A.D.). In 303 A.D.
Diocletian issued a general decree for the persecution of Christians,
then three edicts to jail the Bishops and to torture them, as well as to
kill Christians if they refused to renounce their faith.
The Christians in Egypt suffered the most from persecution during
that time, more so than anywhere else in the entire Roman empire.
Tertullian is claimed to have said that "if all the martyrs in the world
were put on the plate of a scale, and the Egyptian martyrs on the
other, the latter would be heavier".
The Coptic Calendar in fact starts at the time of Diocletian, the era
of martyrs, its starting point being the year 284A.D. The most famous
martyr of that era is St. Mina The Miracle Worker (Mar Mina El Agaybi) who established a church in Mariout near Alexandria, now a famous Monastery by his Egyptian name.
Emperor Constantine Converts to Christianity
In the year 312 A.D., Emperor Constantine decides
to embrace Christianity after an incident, that he himself is said to
recount, according to Eusebius. Constantine was engaged in battle with
Emperor Maxentius which was fought on the Milvian bridge near Rome on
the river Tiber. It is said that Constantine saw a cross made of light
in the sky on which was written, you win, this is the sign. He then
asked his soldiers to make the sign of the cross on their arms and to
take it as their banner. Constantine won the battle, as Maxentius fell
into the river when the bridge collapsed and drowned. Constantine
entered Rome and the city greeted him and he became the sole ruler of
the Western provinces of the Roman empire.
The Edict of Milan (313 A.D.)
Constantine decided after his victory over Maxentius to give full
liberty to the Christians and to allow them to live according to their
own laws. He returned their properties and declared religious tolerance
for all faiths. This edict put an end to the torture and persecution
which had afflicted Christians heretofore.
First Council of Nicea (325 A.D.)
When the controversy between Arius and Bishop Alexandros reached
Emperor Constantine, regarding the nature or divinity of Jesus Christ,
the Emperor called a meeting to spell out the Christian creed. The
Council of Nicea was attended by 318 bishops in the company of many
priests, mostly from the eastern provinces. Pope Silvester the First,
Bishop of Rome, did not personally attend the council, but sent instead
some of his priests to represent him.
The Nicean council came up with the creed or profession of faith that
refuted the Arian theology. It was drafted by Pope Athanasius of
Alexandria.
Saint Pachomius Founder of Monasteries (323 A.D.)
Saint Pachomius was born in 290 A.D. and converted to Christianity
while serving in the army. He was 20 years old. When he was released
from the army, he chose the life of the ascetic which had been started
by Saint Paul of Thebes and later by Saint Anthony. However, it is
Saint Pachomius who is credited with establishing the strict rules for
communal monastic life, called Koinonia, which were translated into
Greek and Latin and adopted in Europe by Benedict, the father of western
monasticism.
Saint Pachomius initially lived his ascetic life in a deserted temple
of Serapis, and the first monastery he established was near Dendera.
The End of Paganism (394 A.D.)
Emperor Theodosius forced the Roman Senate to abolish paganism in all
its forms throughout the entire empire, east and west, and to enforce
severe punishment to anyone embracing a religion other than Christianity
or reverting from it or denouncing it. He is therefore seen in history
as the man who made Christianity the official religion of the State.
In 324 A.D., Emperor Constantine had managed to unify the empire
under his aegis after defeating his co-regent Licinius and ruler of the
east. His victory was a welcome move for the Christians who had started
to suffer again at the hands of Licinius who reneged on the Edict of
Milan, and was punishing the Christians for supporting Constantine.
During the Byzantine era, many heresies appeared, the most famous
being the Arian heresy. Arius is believed to be of Lybian origin who
studied at Antioch. He became a Christian priest in Alexandria. The
heresy started in 318 A.D. which prompted Bishop Alexandros to convene a
council of Egyptian clergy to strip Arius from his priestly role.
Council of Chalcedon (451 A.D.)
The Council of Chalcedon, near Constantinople, was convened by the
emperor in order to settle organisational and theological matters
pertaining to the Christian Church. A great number of churchmen, around
632 including 370 bishops, attended this council.
This council represents a turning point in the history of the Church,
particularly Byzantine Rome, as Egypt and the Levant refused to adhere
to its decisions. The Church in the latter countries stood by the
Monophysite creed and split from the Old and New Rome (Constantinople).
Following that council, Egypt decided to stop using the Greek language
in its liturgy and to revert back to the ancient Egyptian language,
which from that time on was known as the Coptic language. The Coptic
language is the ancient Egyptian language written in Greek letters with
the addition of seven letters taken from the Demotic script which had no
equivalent sounds in the Greek alphabet.
Persian Invasion of Alexandria (501 A.D.)
The Persians invaded Syria then marched on to invade Egypt. They
were able to advance in the Delta, however, they were stopped at the
gates of Alexandria which became difficult for them to capture. It
would appear that the Persian army leader worried about the fact that he
was far away from his base and supplies and he therefore decided to
retreat.
The long siege of Alexandria resulted in a severe famine and Emperor
Anastasius (491 – 518 A.D.) endeavoured to revive the city and to
restore its buildings. The famous Alexandrian lighthouse had been
neglected for centuries by then. He therefore ordered its restoration
and care.
Invasion of Alexandria (642A.D. – 22 Hejira)
Soon after securing the Babylon Fort in Old Cairo, the Muslim armies
proceeded towards Alexandria. They were met by Roman garrisons on
several spots, but these were defeated. Alexandria, however, proved a
difficult city to besiege, as it is built along the sea and the Muslim
armies had no ships. Its fortified walls were also hard to penetrate,
which made it difficult to approach, let alone to capture the city.
Thousands of soldiers were stationed inside its walls and were using
mangonels to hurl projectiles at the invading army.
When Constantine III took over the rule of Egypt after the death of
his father Heraclius, he recalled Cyrus (who had previously negotiated
with the Arabs at Fort Babylon)from exile for advice regarding the
situation in Egypt and how best to defend it, but he died soon after.
His brother Heraclonas took the throne, together with his nephew
Constans II, son of Constantine III, as co-emperor. They decided to
send Cyrus back to Egypt as their envoy to negotiate another treaty with
the Arabs. Cyrus had no choice but to surrender Egypt to the Arabs and
to sign a treaty.
The new treaty was negotiated between Cyrus and the Arabs in November
641A.D. Unlike the Babylon treaty, the new treaty allowed the
Byzantines to completely withdraw from Egypt, carrying their soldiers,
their worldly goods and money and their subjects out of Egypt with the
proviso that the Muslims would not attack their churches. The departure
was to take place within eleven months of signing the treaty.
On 29th September 642 A.D. the Romans left Alexandria as agreed, and
the Muslims peacefully took over the city with great joy. Meanwhile,
Cyrus died after signing the treaty and before the complete withdrawal
of the Romans. The Byzantines reassembled a fleet to win back
Alexandria and in fact won it back in 645, but the Muslims captured the
city again in 646.