The Conquest of Alexandria
فتح الإسكندرية
c. 21 AH
In al-Baladhuri on Ibn Lahia's chain from Yazid ibn Abi Habib: the Muqawqis compounded with Amr ibn al-As — that those Romans who wished might depart, those wishing to stay remain on a stated footing, and two dinars be laid on the Copts; when word reached the king of the Romans he grew most wroth, sent hosts who shut Alexandria's gate and declared war on Amr, whereupon the Muqawqis came out to him saying 'I ask three things of you: offer the Romans nothing like what you offered me, for they have deceived me; do not break with the Copts, for the breach came not from them; and if I die, have me buried in a church in Alexandria that he named' — and Amr answered 'it is yours'. Amr then took Alexandria by force, writing to Umar ibn al-Khattab: 'To proceed — God has opened Alexandria to us by force, violently, with neither covenant nor contract' — though in Yazid ibn Abi Habib's reading it was all treaty.
At a glance
- Era
- The Rashidun Caliphate
- Region
- Egypt & Nile
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
The long-form text for this entry has not been written yet. The facts and connections below come from the museum's data.
Connections
- Had participant
- The Muqawqis· Mu'awiya ibn Khudayj al-Kindi· Amr ibn al-As· Heraclius· Kharija ibn Hudhafa al-Adawi· Abdullah ibn Hudhafa al-Sahmi
- Occurred at
- Alexandria· Al-Kiryawn
People and things also explored
Amr's Four Lieutenants Carry the Fustat Terms through Egypt· The Roman Recapture of Alexandria and Its Recovery from Manuel· فتح مصر والإسكندرية· The Letters to Rulers and Kings· Muhammad· Amr's Dismissal and Ibn Abi Sarh's Sole Charge of Egypt· The Battle of Ajnadayn· The Battle of Dathin
Sources
- Futuh al-Buldan — al-Baladhuri (Mu'assasat al-Ma'arif edition)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Conquest of Alexandria”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/event/conquest-of-alexandria/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Accessed 2026-10-13.