The Eras of the Ayyubids and the Mamluks

OBJECTIVE

Students should have a basic understanding of the state of the Coptic church under the changing Islamic regime and the consequences it had on Coptic Orthodoxy. This week presents the challenges the church faced under the governance of the Ayyubids and the Mamluks, and their long-lasting consequences.

INTRODUCTION & HOOK - 10 Minutes

Please review the previous week's lesson by asking them a couple of questions about the era, the major events and figures, and then start discussing today's lesson.

HOLY SCRIPTURE - 5 Minutes

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God." (1 Corinthians 1:18)

CONTENT (KEY POINTS) - 25 Minutes

Ayyubid History

Even though the Ayyubid rule was one of the most difficult in Coptic history, Coptic patronage peaked for both the restoration of ecclesiastical properties and the inauguration of major iconographic programs, such as the ones seen in the monasteries of St. Anthony and St. Paul. Following the Fatimid era, Salah al-Din, founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, restored the Sunni rule to Egypt while battling the crusaders. In pursuit of presenting the image of a pious Muslim and a defender of Islam, Salah al-Din removed the Christian and Jewish figures from the governing administration and reissued the dhull regulations. The harshness of the regime subsided eventually after the victory of the Arabs at the battle of Hattim and the recapture of Jerusalem in 1187. Even though their era did not last long, Ayyubids governance is fondly remembered in Islamic historiography.

Pope Cyril III and Simony

One of the lowest points for Coptic hierarchy was during the era of the Ayyubids under the papacy of Pope Cyril III. Cyril III Ibn Laqlaq, who had been seeking out the patriarchy since 1216, became the Coptic pope in 1235 by bribing several Muslim officials who had a major influence. Unfortunately, Pope Cyril practiced simony, which is the act of selling church offices and roles, at an unprecedented scale throughout his tenure. Coptic Christians, being a sect of the Orthodox church, always believed that the ultimate authority in the church does not belong to anyone bishop, not even the patriarch, but to the synod of bishops. To deal with Pope Cyril's abuse of power, an ecclesiastical council convened and passed several reforms that limited the patriarch's authority. Among these reforms was the appointment of Bulus al-Bushi, who was a well-renowned scholar, monk, and priest, as bishop of Egypt overseeing the activities of the patriarch.

Mamluks History

In 1250, a group of Kipchak Mamluks, who were considered the elite militia of the last Ayyubid ruler, al-Salih Ayyub, gained control of Egypt. When Louis IX of France captured Damietta and was preparing to take over the rest of the Delta as part of the Seventh Crusade, the Bahri (river) Mamluks (called Bahri due to the proximity of their camp to the Nile) stopped him and used their victory to boost their governance over the region. The more serious threat, however, was the Mongols, who had destabilized all of Asia. The caliphate, government under the caliph, suffered during Genghis Khan's Mongol conquests and was devastated by the second assault led by the Khan's grandson, Hulegu, who conquered Baghdad and killed the last caliph in 1258. In 1260, the Battle of Ayn Jalut took place in which the Mamluks handed the Mongols their first defeat. This victory brought the Egypt-governing Mamluks to the forefront of the Islamic world as the successors of the caliphate. They would later bring the crusader's presence in the Near East to an end and sign a treaty checking the advancement of the Mongo Ilkhans.

Coptic Christianity Under the Mamluks

The Bahri Mamluks, who were first-generation Muslim coverts, reinforced the Ayyubid policies in a more rigorous way, to prove their piety. Many of them, wondering how God could permit such persecution at the hands of pagans, interpreted it as divine chastisement due to the acceptance of un-Islamic innovations (bida) and dealing leniency with the People of the Book (Kuffar/"infidels"). Sentiments like these were initiated by the jurist Ibn Taymiyya, who inserted them into the legal system, which was more restrictive on non-Muslims than any previous code. Ibn Taymiyya was quite a polarizing figure since his hard-line often moved through interpersonal relations with ruling authorities, as well as bribes and fees. When it came to places of worship, even the right to repair existing structures was revoked; Christians had to request permission to repair their ancient churches, and governors were not obliged to grant such requests. According to Ibn Taymiyya, governors who chose to destroy all churches would still be acting within their legal rights.

Rise of Arabic and Decline of Coptic

By the fifteenth century, Coptic Arabic literature was quite common and older texts continued to be copied and translated through the two projects discussed the previous week: the project focusing on translating Coptic literature to Arabic and the project translating Sahidic Coptic liturgical and literary texts to the Bohairic dialects. Among those texts, and arguably the most important is al-tartib al-taqsi (The Ritual Order) by Pope Gabriel V which, along with Ibn Sabba's al-Jawhara al-nafisah (The Precious Pearl), have had significant influence on the way we celebrate the Coptic liturgical services until this day.

Development of the Synaxarium and the Antiphonarium

The Coptic Synaxarium is a liturgical book containing short narratives of the lives of church saints, along with expositions for fasts, feasts, and significant events in church history, arranged by the days of the Coptic calendar, and read every liturgy throughout the year, except the joyous fifty days. The Coptic Antiphonarium (Difnar) contains hymns that are either in honor of the saints and angels or in commemoration of the feasts of the church; the theme of those hymns is the eulogy of the saint, with brief remarks on their lives and works. These books were developed in the Middle ages, and prior to that, the lives of the saints were kept separately and read on the feasts of the saints if they were available. The compilation of the Coptic Synaxarium is attributed to the 13th-century cleric, Bishop Michael (Mikhail) of Atrib and Malij. Other contributors include Bishop Peter (Botrous) al-Jamil of Malij and Bishop John (Yohanna) of Burullus (Parallos).

Burji Mamluks and the "New Age of Martyrdom"

Over the 1380s, the Bahri Mamluks were overcome by their own Circassian Mamluks, who were descendants of the European Ethnic group native to the Northwest Caucasus (modern-day Russia). They were housed in a tower in the citadel at first, gaining the name Burji (tower) Mamluks, these Mamluks ruled until the Ottoman conquest of Egypt. Their rule was one of the worst documented and studied both in Egyptian and Coptic Christian history. It seemed that everything that could go wrong, did: the plague hit, the economy contracted, and the political transitions were very volatile and were accompanied by riots. These factors harmed all Egyptians, but often initiated outbursts of violence that targeted Coptic Christians, their homes, churches, and monasteries. Sadly, for the Coptic community during the "long century" of Burji rule, conversion to Islam was very common. Coptic elites continued to play a crucial role in government, and while the regime employed some Christians, the most powerful and renowned officials were families of Coptic converts to Islam the Banu al-Haysam, Banu Katib Jakam, and Banu al-Jian. This led to a "new age of martyrdom", which included many instances of Coptic Christians who, after converting to Islam, attempted and returned to the Christian faith. The Christians, who were returning from Islam to their Christian faith, either privately did it and fled to other districts or to monasteries, or publicly proclaimed their faith; the individual who publicly proclaimed their Christian faith and did not flee were executed. Among those martyrs of that era is Salib (Pi-stavros/Cross), the new martyr, who was martyred in 1512.

DISCUSSION (Challenge) - 5 Minutes

  • What were some of the challenges the church faced under the governance of the Ayyubids and the Mamluks?
  • What can we take away from the eras of the Ayyubids and Mamluks as Coptic Christians living today?

LIFE APPLICATION - 5 Minutes

Coptic Christians were farmers, merchants, scribes, artisans, and officials, and they remained a crucial part of Egypt's socio-cultural fabric, but their greatest achievement of the era was "simply" surviving. Mere survival is usually not noteworthy, but every generation owes its very existence to its predecessors. All of the Coptic Christians's achievements following the Islamic era, whether under the Ottomans or in our modern-day, are in part due to the resilience of our ancestors who held on to the faith in an unimaginable way. Today, we get to practice our faith in a free land, which we take for granted more often than none; let us never forget that Coptic Christian blood was shed for us to enjoy the riches and mysteries of our church. We also learn that God doesn't leave Himself without a witness even if some practices by leaders are improper. Also, no matter how dark periods of history may seem, we always find saints. Furthermore, the church books (esp. lives of the saints) can provide light in dark times.

ACTIVITY - 10 Minutes

Split the class into a couple of groups and have them present the role of the major figures during the era: Pope Cyril III, Pope Gabriel V, Bishop Michael, and Salib the new martyr.

SERVANT RESOURCES

PARENTS CORNER/HOMEWORK

Students should ask their parents what they know about the Ayyubids and the Mamluks, and if they cannot recall any pieces of information, both students and parents can do further research on the topic.