2 - Egypt on the eve of the Muslim conquest

Summary

Egypt’s population in the early seventh century AD cannot be determined with any certainty, but it probably numbered less than the five million persons frequently attributed to the province at the height of the Roman Empire in the Early Principate. By the year 600, the population may have declined to three million; mortality resulting from plagues erupting during Justinian’s reign in the sixth century cannot be accurately estimated. Many Egyptians were designated “Chalcedonians” or “Monophysites,” but this distinction did not represent a genuine cleavage of ethnic identity in Egyptian society. An assumption that “Chalcedonian” referred exclusively to Greeks rather than to native Egyptians is erroneous. Greek remained an important spoken and written language in Egypt, although by the early seventh century Coptic was used increasingly in written records. Subliterary texts in Coptic dated back to the early third century.

Many other aspects of Egypt’s economy, social structure and spiritual outlook during Late Antiquity persisted into the early seventh century. But the privatization of public functions by owners of great estates intensified from the fourth century, a process that significantly altered institutional structures during the remaining periods of Byzantine administration. Members of the social elite could still acquire some familiarity with the repertory of Greek authors of antiquity, as testified by the writings of the poet Dioskoros of Aphrodito in the sixth century or the historian Theophylact Simocatta in the early seventh. Theatrical performances in Alexandria during the early seventh century continued to entertain audiences that included high officials.