Mahomet, who was destined to subdue, by his arms and his religion,
half the globe as then known, had made himself master of Arabia.
His successors thought it their duty to extend his opinions and his
conquests. Amrou, the lieutenant of the caliph Omar, took possession
of Palestine, and entered Egypt. He employed thirty days in the siege
of Pelusium, and then advanced to the ruins of Heliopolis. Thence he
proceeded to ancient Memphis, called the Widow of her Kings, after she
was eclipsed by her rival Alexandria: her palaces and temples were
sinking into ruins. The two banks of the Nile, here three thousand
feet wide, were united by two bridges of sixty-three boats, connected
by the little isle of Honda, standing in the middle of the river,
and covered with gardens and delightful habitations. At the eastern
extremity of the bridge was the city of Babylon, and the camp of a
Roman legion defended the passage of the river and the second city of
Egypt. Amrou laid siege to this fortress, which might be considered
as a part of Memphis. After a siege of seven months, the place was
carried by assault. The Greeks, on retiring from Upper Egypt, occupied
all the important places of the Delta, but were driven out of them
in twenty-two days by Amrou. At length Amrou commenced the siege of
Alexandria. This first commercial city in the world was abundantly
supplied with all the means of defence and subsistence: the sea was
always open to it. If Heraclius could have been roused from his
lethargy, considerable reinforcements might have been sent to support
the besieged. Alexandria itself furnished excellent means of defence;
the two great sides of the long square which it forms being covered by
the sea and the lake Mareotis, the fronts of attack were narrow, and
easily defended. Amrou, however, never ceased to excite the courage of
the besiegers by sending them fresh reinforcements daily. The Egyptians
at the same time, tired of the domination of the Greeks, and believing
they should be better treated by new masters, devoted themselves to the
service of Amrou. The Saracens fought like lions. In every conflict
the scimitar and the banner of Amrou were in the first rank; he made
all the reconnaissances of the place with his own eyes, and planned
all the attacks. Approaching one day, accompanied only by a single
slave and one of his principal officers, too near the walls, he was
taken prisoner, and conducted to the presence of the prefect of Egypt.
This magistrate, on examining his haughty countenance and hearing his
audacious language, at first entertained a suspicion, which became a
certainty, that it was Amrou he had fortunately become possessed of,
and ordered him to be beheaded. This order was about to be executed,
when the slave, who understood Greek, gave him a box on the ear, and
told him that he, one of the meanest of Mussulmans, ought to know how
to behave more respectfully to his superiors. This extraordinary act
of presence of mind saved the life of Amrou. The Turkish officer,
taking his cue from the slave, then said that they were sent by their
general to demand an interview, and that if it could be granted the
next day, and the Romans would make any reasonable proposals, he had no
doubt peace might be brought about. The governor was the dupe of this
story. The prefect, being now persuaded that Amrou was no more than a
simple soldier, revoked his order, and sent back the Mussulmans, who
had come, he believed, with pacific dispositions. The Romans were soon
made aware of their folly by the cries of joy of the Mussulmans at the
safe return of their brave general. Instead of coming to the peaceful
appointment next day, Amrou appeared with all his troops at the foot
of the wall, and commenced the labours of the siege. Heraclius then
sent him an ambassador, to prevail upon him to leave Egypt, upon very
advantageous conditions. Amrou, who was superintending the construction
of machines to batter the great tower, surveyed the envoy with surprise
and contempt. After listening to him in profound silence, “Dost thou
see,” said he, “that column which stands before us? We will leave Egypt
when thou hast swallowed it.” On the instant he commanded an attack
upon the tower, and his soldiers entered it, in spite of the brave
resistance of the Romans. The governor, however, sent up such strong
reinforcements, that the Mussulmans were driven for the time from the
tower they were so anxious to obtain. During fourteen months, every
day was marked by combats or attacks upon the intrenchments. At length
Amrou gave a general assault, and his troops responded so well to his
expectations and generalship, that the Christians were beaten in all
quarters, and abandoned the place. The Turks lost twenty-five thousand
men before Alexandria. At the moment of their entry into the city, the
inhabitants, to escape their barbarities, endeavoured to gain their
vessels and get out to sea. Amrou pursued them, leaving only troops
enough in Alexandria for a common guard. Informed of this circumstance,
the Romans re-entered the port, surprised the city, and massacred the
Mussulmans. On learning this, Amrou returned, found the Romans masters
of the citadel, attacked them, and forced them, after a sanguinary
conflict. Such as escaped death then abandoned to its barbarous
conquerors this powerful city, the magazine of Constantinople, which
it fed, and the centre of the commerce of the East with Europe. Egypt
submitted to the conqueror. “I have taken,” said Amrou, in his despatch
to the caliph, “the great city of the West; it is impossible for me
to describe to you all its riches, all its magnificence; I shall
content myself with telling you that it contains four thousand palaces,
four thousand baths, four hundred theatres, twelve thousand shops for
vegetables and fruits, and forty thousand tributary Jews. The city
was taken by force, without either treaty or capitulation, and the
Mussulmans are impatient to gather the fruits of their victories.”
The commander of the faithful rejected with firmness all ideas of
pillage, and ordered his lieutenant to preserve Alexandria and its
wealth for the use and propagation of Islamism. Amrou asked him if he
must equally respect the famous library of Serapeon, containing more
than five hundred thousand volumes, the only archives of the learning
of the ancient Egyptians, and of the progress of human knowledge up to
the invasion of the Mussulmans. To this the caliph replied: “Either
that which the books of which thou speakest contain, agrees with the
Koran, or it does not agree. If it agrees with it, the Koran suffices;
if it does not agree, they are pernicious: burn them.” Amrou obeyed
with regret. During six months the fragments of these books served to
heat the baths of Alexandria. This irreparable loss deprived the human
race of a mass of useful knowledge, dried up an abundant source of
improvement, and contributed greatly to the spreading of the darkness
and ignorance in which Europe was plunged for six hundred years.