Sasanian conquest of Egypt

Template:Short description Template:Campaignbox Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 The Sasanian conquest of Egypt took place between 618 and 621 CE, when the Sasanian Persian army defeated the Byzantine forces in Egypt and occupied the province. The fall of Alexandria, the capital of Roman Egypt, marked the first and most important stage in the Sasanian campaign to conquer this rich province, which eventually fell completely under Persian rule within a couple of years.

Background

The Persian shah, Khosrow II, had taken advantage of the internal turmoil of the Byzantine Empire after the overthrow of Emperor Maurice by Phocas to attack the Roman provinces in the East. By 615, the Persians had driven the Romans out of northern Mesopotamia, Syria, and Palestine. Determined to eradicate Roman rule in Asia, Khosrow turned his sights on Egypt, the Eastern Roman Empire's granary.Template:Sfn

Fall of Egypt

The Persian invasion of Egypt began either in 617 or 618, but little is known about the details of this campaign, since the province was practically cut off from the remaining Roman territories.Template:Sfn The Persian army headed for Alexandria, where Nicetas, Heraclius' cousin and local governor, was unable to offer effective resistance. He and the Chalcedonian patriarch, John V, fled the city to Cyprus.Template:Sfn According to the Khuzistan Chronicle, Alexandria was then betrayed to the Persians by a certain Peter in June 619.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The Persians also sacked the monastic centre at the Enaton, nine miles west of Alexandria along the coastal road.Template:Sfn

After the fall of Alexandria, the Persians gradually extended their rule southwards along the Nile.Template:Sfn Sporadic resistance required some mopping-up operations, but by 621, the province was securely in Persian hands.Template:Sfn

Aftermath

Egypt would remain in Persian hands for 10 years, ruled by general Shahrbaraz from Alexandria.Template:Sfn As the Roman emperor, Heraclius, reversed the tide and defeated Khosrow, Shahrbaraz was ordered to evacuate the province, but refused. In the end, Heraclius, trying both to recover Egypt and to sow disunion amongst the Persians, offered to help Shahrbaraz seize the Persian throne for himself. An agreement was reached, and in the summer of 629 and the Persian troops began leaving Egypt.Template:Sfn An account of the event is given by A. J. Butler.

Sources

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