Al-Qalqashandī
Daybreak for the Night-Blind Regarding the Composition of Chancery Documents
c. 1412 CE
translated by Jason Colavito
2026
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NOTE |
The medieval Egyptian encyclopedist al-Qalqashandī (1355-1418) wrote a 14-volume guide to the history, geography, governance, and administration of Egypt entitled Ṣubḥ al-Aʿshá fī Ṣināʿat al-Inshāʾ (Daybreak for the Night-Blind Regarding the Composition of Chancery Documents), which was completed in 1412. Although the material on the ancient history of Egypt contained within it is not original to him, its value lies in the sources he used. Writing before al-Maqrizi, al-Qalqashandī is therefore an independent witness to the lost Egyptian history of Ibrāhīm ibn Waṣīf Shāh. The similarity in detail between the antediluvian pharaohs given by al-Qalqashandī and those in al-Maqrizi, both of which differ from the older Akhbār al-zamān, shows the connection and that the lost work of ibn Waṣīf Shāh is not the Akhbār al-zamān itself. Sometime after publication, selected sections of the the Daybreak were abridged and excerpted for a shorter guidebook to Egypt, and this volume was translated into German in 1879 by Ferdinand Wüstenfeld. I have excerpted from this sections regarding the ancient history of Egypt and translated them below. The inconsistencies in the references to spelling of the names of the kings and their genealogies are present in the original.
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DAYBREAK FOR THE NIGHT-BLIND
REGARDING THE COMPOSITION OF CHANCERY DOCUMENTS
In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate! In Him is my trust. Praise be to God, the One! And blessings and peace be upon Him after whom no prophet will come, and upon His pious family and His faithful followers!
This is the knowledge of the Egyptian land from the book Daybreak for the Night-Blind Regarding the Composition of Chancery Documents, written by the learned imam and astute thinker Ahmad al-Qalqashandī. May God the highly praised have mercy on him. Amen!
This is the knowledge of the Egyptian land from the book Daybreak for the Night-Blind Regarding the Composition of Chancery Documents, written by the learned imam and astute thinker Ahmad al-Qalqashandī. May God the highly praised have mercy on him. Amen!
The Second Treatise, Third Chapter:
On the Egyptian land and what is connected with it, in two divisions.
FIRST DIVISION.
On the Egyptian Land and What Relates to It, in Two Parts.
On the Egyptian Land and What Relates to It, in Two Parts.
FIRST PART. On the Egyptian Land, in Twelve Aspects.
[…]
The eleventh aspect. Concerning the capital cities with their grand ancient structures that have survived the ages, and the newly founded capital cities with their beautiful buildings. The ancient capital cities are of two kinds; the first encompasses those from before the Flood, of which only two are currently known.
1. The city of Amsus. This is the first city built in Egypt before the Flood, by Naqrawush ibn Misrim ibn Baragim ben Razail ibn Garban ibn Adam, the first king of Egypt before the Flood. Its location is outside Alexandria, beneath the Greek Sea, as one of the historians recounts. He diverted a river from the Nile to connect it to the city.
2. The city of Barzan was also built by the aforementioned Naqrawush for his son Misrim, for whom he designated it as a residence. I was unable to determine where it was located.
[…]
As for the great structures that have survived from earlier times, the earlier Egyptian kings accomplished more in terms of building than others. They sought pride in ensuring that, even after a long time, people would still be talking about the grandeur of their empire and their power, which no one else could match.
Among their greatest structures are the pyramids. These are tombs to which they gave the utmost strength in order to preserve their bodies, and they devoted the greatest care to their construction. They built several on the mountain west of the Nile opposite Fustat, others at Būṣīr al-Sidr, Saqqara, and Dahshur in the province of Giza, and still others at Meidum in the province of Bahnesa. The largest and most famous of these are the two pyramids opposite Fustat, each said to be 317 cubits high; the base has four equal sides, each 160 cubits long. Abul-Salt says: There is no other structure on earth built by human hands, stone upon stone, of such scale. They have entrances through arched gateways, which are 150 cubits high above the ground. The gateway of the eastern pyramid is on the north side, the gateway of the western pyramid on the west side. The Sabian people make pilgrimages to these two pyramids and say that one is the tomb of Idris and the other the tomb of his father Sabi, after whom they are named. There are different opinions about the builder; most historians state that the builder was Surid ibn Shaluq, one of the Egyptian kings before the Flood, who designated them as tombs for their bodies and treasuries for their treasures, after his astrologers and priests told him what the observation of the stars had revealed to them about events that would befall the inhabitants of the earth. Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Abd al-Hakam adds the further consideration that if the pyramids had been built after the Flood, knowledge of them would have survived among the people. Ibn ‘Ufair, according to his teachers, narrates that the builder was Gannad ibn Mayyad ibn Shamr ibn Shaddad ibn ‘Ad ibn ‘Us ibn Iram ibn Sam ibn Noah; however, the Egyptian scholars have always maintained that Shaddad ibn ‘Ad built them. The opinion of al-Masʿūdī and others is that Joseph was the builder, and Ibn Shubruma says they were built by the Amalekites when they ruled Egypt. All agree, however, that they are among the largest and oldest monuments and among the most famous and enduring structures, and may God reward the poet who says:
Look at the two pyramids and listen to what they tell you about the past.
If they could speak, they would tell you what happened in that time, from beginning to end.
When al-Ma‘mun, one of the Abbasid Caliphs, came to Egypt in 216 AH [831 CE], he intended to destroy them, but was unable to do so. He then attempted to open a breach in one of them to gain access to the entrance. They ascended to a free chamber at the top of the pyramid, where they found a stone sarcophagus. Beneath this sarcophagus lay an underground well, the contents of which could not be further explored. It is said that he found a treasure at this height, the value of which, according to calculations, was exactly equal to the costs he had incurred, no more and no less. Over time, the outer stones have crumbled considerably since the capstones were removed, and if this continues, it will not be long before they are destroyed like other structures. May God reward Mutanabbí if he asks:
Where is he who has built the two pyramids?
Who were his people? When did he live? When did he die?
The monuments survived those who lived among them
Then, struck by their annihilation, like them they disappear.
Ibrāhīm ibn Waṣīf Shāh says in the Book of Wonders: Hargib, also one of the Egyptian kings before the Flood, is said to have built the great pyramid that stands at Dahshur, and the second was built by Qaftor ibn Qift ibn Qobṭīm ibn Misr ibn Baīṣar ibn Ham ibn Noah after the Flood. Al-Quḍā'ī says: As for the pyramid at the Monastery of Abu Hermes, namely the stepped pyramid (he means the one north of the pyramids at Dahshur), it is the tomb of Qarias, an Egyptian rider who was esteemed as equal to a thousand horsemen among them; When he died, his king mourned him, built this pyramid for him, and buried him in it. He continues: The king’s own tomb is the large pyramid among those that stand west of the monastery of Abu Hermes, and at whose entrance is a slab of hard stone, a cubit square, with an inscription in the style of monuments.
Among their great structures, which also demonstrate their profound knowledge, are the Barabi monuments, that is, their temples of worship, in which they recorded their sciences and noted the reigns of their kings. At the same time, they depicted the figures of the surrounding peoples, and if one of these peoples wished to take action against them, they would immediately impose any punishment they wished upon the figures depicted therein; then that people, far away, would suffer the same fate they had imposed upon those figures. Furthermore, they had inscribed other sciences within these monuments and erected a talisman on their walls. Such monuments in Egypt are said to have been first built by the woman Dalūka, who ruled Egypt after Pharaoh. In The Paths of Insight, the author states: The scholar Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Saʿd al-Dimashqī told me that he had seen them and examined them closely, and it became clear to him that they could not have been built by a single scholar, but rather that one people after another must have worked on them until they were completed after a long time, namely thirty thousand years, because such works could only be executed according to calculations, and the calculation of the whole could not have been completed in less than that time. I note to this: It is possible that the calculations were made in the manner described, but recorded and written down in books, and when the builder wanted to erect these monuments, what had been written down in the books in earlier times was applied to them. It should also be noted that most of the monuments are located in southern Egypt; only a few are found in the north, but destruction has already befallen all of them, their traces have vanished, and of some, only ruins remain. The number of those I found in the chronicles... The number of sites mentioned, found, or whose remaining ruins and traces I have discovered is seven.
1. The Temple of Samannoud lay behind this city in the western provinces on the north side. Al-Kindi says: I saw it; an administrator had converted it into a hay barn. I saw that whenever a camel with its load came right up to the gate and tried to enter, it would always fall into the hay, and no animal could enter the temple. Al-Quḍā'ī adds: Later, around the year 350 AH [961 CE], it was destroyed.
2. The Temple of Tumei (Atum) in al-Murtahia (Tell el-Maskhuta?), on the north side near the city of Tumei, lies in ruins. The common people of that region call it the Temple of 'Ad. Remains of its walls and roof, made of the largest stones, are still present, and above the entrance is a section of brick and plaster. Inside are large cisterns of hard stone of remarkable quality.
3. The Temple of Akhmim, located behind this city on the north side, was one of the largest, most elaborate, and most prestigious, and remained in use until the middle of the eighth century. Then the preacher of Akhmim began to destroy it and use its stones for other buildings, so that only ruins remain; a portion of its walls still stands today.
4. The Temple of Dendera in the province of Qus is remarkable, as al-Quḍā'ī states, for having 180 windows. Every day, the sun enters one of these windows and then returns to its starting point. It is currently destroyed, and only ruins remain.
5. The Temple of al-Aksor (Luxor) was large, but it too is destroyed, leaving only ruins. Among the remaining ruins is a large idol carved from a solid, smooth black stone. It stands beside the door of Sheikh Abul-Haggag al-Aksori's tomb, still in its original state. He left it untouched throughout his life, and perhaps by leaving it there, he intended to remind the idolaters of their feeble minds, as they worshipped a stone like this.
6. The temple of Armant was small, and its remains have deteriorated to such an extent that only a few sturdy columns remain, no longer bearing any load.
7. The temple of Asna was of medium size, and a fairly substantial portion of it still survives, which has been converted into a storehouse for fruit. The people of Asna claim that mice cannot enter, and if they do, they die. Among the remarkable monuments in Egypt are the two misallat (needles) in 'Ain Shams (Heliopolis), near Mataria in the region of Khaira. They are made of solid, reddish stone and taper to a point at the top. Al-Quḍā'ī mentions that the sun rises from them in the south on the shortest day of the year and in the north on the longest, and that they have a pointed bronze finial at the top. During the Nile's swell, water drips from top to bottom, and buckthorn and similar herbs grow around them.
The Old Woman’s Wall was built of bricks by Dalūka, the queen of Egypt after Pharaoh, stretching from al-‘Arish to Syene. It encircles the lands of Egypt from east to west at the foot of its mountains. Every three miles, she had a watchtower built and diverted a canal from the Nile to the wall. Remnants of this canal still exist on the east and west sides.
[…]
[…]
The eleventh aspect. Concerning the capital cities with their grand ancient structures that have survived the ages, and the newly founded capital cities with their beautiful buildings. The ancient capital cities are of two kinds; the first encompasses those from before the Flood, of which only two are currently known.
1. The city of Amsus. This is the first city built in Egypt before the Flood, by Naqrawush ibn Misrim ibn Baragim ben Razail ibn Garban ibn Adam, the first king of Egypt before the Flood. Its location is outside Alexandria, beneath the Greek Sea, as one of the historians recounts. He diverted a river from the Nile to connect it to the city.
2. The city of Barzan was also built by the aforementioned Naqrawush for his son Misrim, for whom he designated it as a residence. I was unable to determine where it was located.
[…]
As for the great structures that have survived from earlier times, the earlier Egyptian kings accomplished more in terms of building than others. They sought pride in ensuring that, even after a long time, people would still be talking about the grandeur of their empire and their power, which no one else could match.
Among their greatest structures are the pyramids. These are tombs to which they gave the utmost strength in order to preserve their bodies, and they devoted the greatest care to their construction. They built several on the mountain west of the Nile opposite Fustat, others at Būṣīr al-Sidr, Saqqara, and Dahshur in the province of Giza, and still others at Meidum in the province of Bahnesa. The largest and most famous of these are the two pyramids opposite Fustat, each said to be 317 cubits high; the base has four equal sides, each 160 cubits long. Abul-Salt says: There is no other structure on earth built by human hands, stone upon stone, of such scale. They have entrances through arched gateways, which are 150 cubits high above the ground. The gateway of the eastern pyramid is on the north side, the gateway of the western pyramid on the west side. The Sabian people make pilgrimages to these two pyramids and say that one is the tomb of Idris and the other the tomb of his father Sabi, after whom they are named. There are different opinions about the builder; most historians state that the builder was Surid ibn Shaluq, one of the Egyptian kings before the Flood, who designated them as tombs for their bodies and treasuries for their treasures, after his astrologers and priests told him what the observation of the stars had revealed to them about events that would befall the inhabitants of the earth. Muhammad ibn Abdallah ibn Abd al-Hakam adds the further consideration that if the pyramids had been built after the Flood, knowledge of them would have survived among the people. Ibn ‘Ufair, according to his teachers, narrates that the builder was Gannad ibn Mayyad ibn Shamr ibn Shaddad ibn ‘Ad ibn ‘Us ibn Iram ibn Sam ibn Noah; however, the Egyptian scholars have always maintained that Shaddad ibn ‘Ad built them. The opinion of al-Masʿūdī and others is that Joseph was the builder, and Ibn Shubruma says they were built by the Amalekites when they ruled Egypt. All agree, however, that they are among the largest and oldest monuments and among the most famous and enduring structures, and may God reward the poet who says:
Look at the two pyramids and listen to what they tell you about the past.
If they could speak, they would tell you what happened in that time, from beginning to end.
When al-Ma‘mun, one of the Abbasid Caliphs, came to Egypt in 216 AH [831 CE], he intended to destroy them, but was unable to do so. He then attempted to open a breach in one of them to gain access to the entrance. They ascended to a free chamber at the top of the pyramid, where they found a stone sarcophagus. Beneath this sarcophagus lay an underground well, the contents of which could not be further explored. It is said that he found a treasure at this height, the value of which, according to calculations, was exactly equal to the costs he had incurred, no more and no less. Over time, the outer stones have crumbled considerably since the capstones were removed, and if this continues, it will not be long before they are destroyed like other structures. May God reward Mutanabbí if he asks:
Where is he who has built the two pyramids?
Who were his people? When did he live? When did he die?
The monuments survived those who lived among them
Then, struck by their annihilation, like them they disappear.
Ibrāhīm ibn Waṣīf Shāh says in the Book of Wonders: Hargib, also one of the Egyptian kings before the Flood, is said to have built the great pyramid that stands at Dahshur, and the second was built by Qaftor ibn Qift ibn Qobṭīm ibn Misr ibn Baīṣar ibn Ham ibn Noah after the Flood. Al-Quḍā'ī says: As for the pyramid at the Monastery of Abu Hermes, namely the stepped pyramid (he means the one north of the pyramids at Dahshur), it is the tomb of Qarias, an Egyptian rider who was esteemed as equal to a thousand horsemen among them; When he died, his king mourned him, built this pyramid for him, and buried him in it. He continues: The king’s own tomb is the large pyramid among those that stand west of the monastery of Abu Hermes, and at whose entrance is a slab of hard stone, a cubit square, with an inscription in the style of monuments.
Among their great structures, which also demonstrate their profound knowledge, are the Barabi monuments, that is, their temples of worship, in which they recorded their sciences and noted the reigns of their kings. At the same time, they depicted the figures of the surrounding peoples, and if one of these peoples wished to take action against them, they would immediately impose any punishment they wished upon the figures depicted therein; then that people, far away, would suffer the same fate they had imposed upon those figures. Furthermore, they had inscribed other sciences within these monuments and erected a talisman on their walls. Such monuments in Egypt are said to have been first built by the woman Dalūka, who ruled Egypt after Pharaoh. In The Paths of Insight, the author states: The scholar Shams al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Saʿd al-Dimashqī told me that he had seen them and examined them closely, and it became clear to him that they could not have been built by a single scholar, but rather that one people after another must have worked on them until they were completed after a long time, namely thirty thousand years, because such works could only be executed according to calculations, and the calculation of the whole could not have been completed in less than that time. I note to this: It is possible that the calculations were made in the manner described, but recorded and written down in books, and when the builder wanted to erect these monuments, what had been written down in the books in earlier times was applied to them. It should also be noted that most of the monuments are located in southern Egypt; only a few are found in the north, but destruction has already befallen all of them, their traces have vanished, and of some, only ruins remain. The number of those I found in the chronicles... The number of sites mentioned, found, or whose remaining ruins and traces I have discovered is seven.
1. The Temple of Samannoud lay behind this city in the western provinces on the north side. Al-Kindi says: I saw it; an administrator had converted it into a hay barn. I saw that whenever a camel with its load came right up to the gate and tried to enter, it would always fall into the hay, and no animal could enter the temple. Al-Quḍā'ī adds: Later, around the year 350 AH [961 CE], it was destroyed.
2. The Temple of Tumei (Atum) in al-Murtahia (Tell el-Maskhuta?), on the north side near the city of Tumei, lies in ruins. The common people of that region call it the Temple of 'Ad. Remains of its walls and roof, made of the largest stones, are still present, and above the entrance is a section of brick and plaster. Inside are large cisterns of hard stone of remarkable quality.
3. The Temple of Akhmim, located behind this city on the north side, was one of the largest, most elaborate, and most prestigious, and remained in use until the middle of the eighth century. Then the preacher of Akhmim began to destroy it and use its stones for other buildings, so that only ruins remain; a portion of its walls still stands today.
4. The Temple of Dendera in the province of Qus is remarkable, as al-Quḍā'ī states, for having 180 windows. Every day, the sun enters one of these windows and then returns to its starting point. It is currently destroyed, and only ruins remain.
5. The Temple of al-Aksor (Luxor) was large, but it too is destroyed, leaving only ruins. Among the remaining ruins is a large idol carved from a solid, smooth black stone. It stands beside the door of Sheikh Abul-Haggag al-Aksori's tomb, still in its original state. He left it untouched throughout his life, and perhaps by leaving it there, he intended to remind the idolaters of their feeble minds, as they worshipped a stone like this.
6. The temple of Armant was small, and its remains have deteriorated to such an extent that only a few sturdy columns remain, no longer bearing any load.
7. The temple of Asna was of medium size, and a fairly substantial portion of it still survives, which has been converted into a storehouse for fruit. The people of Asna claim that mice cannot enter, and if they do, they die. Among the remarkable monuments in Egypt are the two misallat (needles) in 'Ain Shams (Heliopolis), near Mataria in the region of Khaira. They are made of solid, reddish stone and taper to a point at the top. Al-Quḍā'ī mentions that the sun rises from them in the south on the shortest day of the year and in the north on the longest, and that they have a pointed bronze finial at the top. During the Nile's swell, water drips from top to bottom, and buckthorn and similar herbs grow around them.
The Old Woman’s Wall was built of bricks by Dalūka, the queen of Egypt after Pharaoh, stretching from al-‘Arish to Syene. It encircles the lands of Egypt from east to west at the foot of its mountains. Every three miles, she had a watchtower built and diverted a canal from the Nile to the wall. Remnants of this canal still exist on the east and west sides.
[…]
SECOND DIVISION.
The Rulers of Egypt, its Government and Administration, in Three Parts.
The Rulers of Egypt, its Government and Administration, in Three Parts.
FIRST PART. The Rulers of Egypt in Pagan Times and in Islam. Sultan ‘Imad ad-Din, Prince of Hamat (Abul-Fida), states in his annals: The Egyptian people possessed a great empire in past centuries and times and were a mixture of Copts, Greeks, and Amalekites. The Copts formed the largest part, and yet most of the rulers of Egypt were foreigners.
First Section. The Rulers Before the Flood. Few historians have focused their attention on this, but it has already been mentioned above that the first ruler before the Flood was Naqrawush ibn Misrīm ibn Baragil ibn Razāïl ibn Garyab ibn Adam. The name Naqrawush means “king of his people” in Syriac, and he is the one who built the city of Amsus, the first capital of Egypt, as mentioned above. After him, his son Naqrawush II reigned for 107 years, followed by his brother Misrām, son of Naqrawush I. Then Anakam the Soothsayer came to power for a short time; Idris (Enoch) is said to have ascended to heaven during his reign. He was succeeded by his son Garnaq, after whom a man from the Naqrawush family named Luyīm ruled, followed by a man named Khaslîm, who was the first to erect a Nile measurer. He was succeeded by his son Harṣāl, which in Syriac means "Servant of Venus"; he built a city on the east bank of the Nile and constructed a tunnel under it to reach it, and was the first to undertake this; he sat on the throne for 134 years, and it is said that Noah was born during his reign. After him reigned his son Badsan, then his brother Shamrūd, who is said to have been twenty cubits tall; after him, Farsidun ibn Badsan reigned for 100 years, then his son Sharnaq for 163 years, then his son Sahlūq for 169 years, then his son Suridin, who built the great pyramids at Misr, as mentioned above (I, 46). After him, his son Hargib reigned for 70 years and some time, who built the first of the pyramids at Dahshur (I, 47), then his son Manawus reigned for 73 years, then his son Akrush for 64 years; in his time there was great mortality, wild animals and crocodiles gained dominion over the people, and widespread infertility among women arose, so that the king is said to have married three hundred women in order to have just one son, but none was born to him, and this was the harbinger of the Flood. Then, after him, a man from the royal house named Armālīnūs reigned, and he was succeeded by his nephew Faryan, the first to receive the title of Pharaoh; he wrote to the king of Babylon to advise him to have Noah killed; in his time the Flood occurred, and he was among those who perished.
Second Section. The Rulers after the Flood until the Islamic Conquest. Among the historians, there is a great diversity of accounts on this matter, which I have compiled from the works on it, of which I I have obtained and united them. They are divided into six classes.
First Class. The Coptic Kings of Egypt.
Above, where the beginning of the cultivation of the land was mentioned (I, 38), it is stated that the first to cultivate it after the Flood was Paisar ibn Ham ibn Nuh. Paisar was already very old and weak, so it was not long before he died and was buried on the site of the Monastery of Abu Hermes, west of the pyramids. Al-Quḍā'ī says that this was the first tomb in which someone was buried in Egypt. After him, his son Mir came to power; he reached a great age and reigned for a long time, and during his time the land was cultivated and its prosperity increased. When he died, his son Qoptim came to power, after whom the nation called itself Copts. He is said to have witnessed the confusion of languages that occurred after Noah, namely, a wind swept over them and separated them, then each of them began to speak in a different language, and he departed with the Coptic language. After him reigned his son Qift, who built the city of Ashmunein (Hermopolis) on the southern side; he lived a very long time, so much so that it is said he reached 800 or even 830 years. Then he was succeeded by his brother Atrib, who built the city of Atrib on the northern side of Egypt. After him came his brother, who also built the city of Sâ on the northern side. Thereupon, Qaftorim ibn Qift reigned; In his later years, the ‘Adites in the land of al-Ahqaf are said to have perished due to a windstorm. He is also said to have laid the foundations for the pyramids of Dahshur, distinct from the first pyramid built by Dendera in Upper Egypt; the remains of the former still exist today. He was succeeded in government by his son Budashir, who improved both banks of the Nile through his architectural expertise. Then came his son Adim, followed by Adim’s son Shaddad, who completed the pyramids of Dahshur, whose foundations had been laid by Qaftorim. The city of Shutb, near the city of Usyut, is also said to have been built during his reign, and its ruins still remain today. He was the first among the Egyptian kings to practice hunting, using birds of prey and Salukic dogs, and to practice veterinary medicine. He died at the age of 440 and was succeeded by his son Manqāūs, for whom the baths in Misr are said to have been built first. After him, his son Manoūsh reigned for a very long time, some say 800 or 830 years, followed by Manoūsh ibn Ashmun for 40 or more or 60 years; he was the first for whom a riding arena was built in Misr and the first to build a hospital for the healing of the sick, and during his reign the city of Santaria was built in the oases. After him, his son Marqurā reigned for 30 or more years; The Coptic records state that he was the first to tame lions and ride them. His son, Lâțus, reigned for 25 years after him, followed by Tadura, one of Atrib’s daughters, for 35 years; she was the first woman to rule in Egypt. After her, her brother, Qalimun, reigned for 90 years; during his reign, the city of Dimyat was built and named after one of his pages, whose mother was his soothsayer; the city of Tinnis was also built during his reign. Then, after him, his son Farsūn reigned for 260 years, followed by three or four kings whose names are not mentioned; then Marqūnos the Soothsayer for 73 years, after him Absar for 75 years; then his son, or, as most Copts claim, his brother Sa for 30 years and some years; then his son Tadaras, who had the Sakha Canal dug, as mentioned above in the ancient canals; then his son Malik, who is said to have abandoned the religion of his fathers and idolatry and to have professed the worship of one God; When he felt death approaching, he built himself a tomb monument, had great treasures brought into it, and added the inscription that only the people of the Prophet, who would be sent last, would retrieve them. Then, after him, his son Harya (called Haraba in some chronicles) reigned for 95 years, followed by Kalkan (called Kalka in some chronicles), who reigned for about 100 years. He was the first to make the science of alchemy widely known in Egypt, as until then it had only been a written science. During his time, Nimrod lived in the land of Babylon in Iraq. After him, his brother Maliya reigned, followed by Garbiya ibn Malik, then Tutis ibn Maliya (Tuliya in some chronicles), who reigned for 10 years. According to some chronicles, he succeeded his father Malija. The Copts claim that there were seven pharaohs, of whom Tutis was the first. He was the one who gave Hagar to Abraham as a gift. Then, after him, his sister Guriya reigned; she is the one for whom Hazum the Sodomite, ruler of Syria, built the city of Alexandria when he courted her, according to one of the various accounts of its construction, to give it to her as a dowry. Then, after her, reigned the daughter of her uncle Zulfā or Dsulfā, the daughter of Mamum; after her reigned Amin, the last Coptic king. Al-Quḍā'ī and others give the following order of kings: After the death of Baisar, his son Misr reigned, then Qift ibn Misr, then his brother Ashmun, his brother Atrib, his brother Said, his son Bardas, his son Malik, his son Harba, his son Kalkan, his brother Maliya, then Harbiya, Tutis ibn Maliya, then his daughter Harūya, the first wife to come to power, then the daughter of their uncle Zalfa, from whom the Amalekites seized power.
Second Class. The Amalekite Kings from Syria.
The first of their kings was al-Wālīd ibn Daumag al-‘Amlikí; al-Suheilí calls him al-Wālīd ibn Amr ibn Arāsha, who seized the land from the last Coptic king, Atmīn (so it is called here). He is the second pharaoh among the Copts, or according to others, the first to be called pharaoh, and he reigned for 120 years. He was then succeeded by his son, al-Rayyan, who reigned for 120 years; the Copts call him Nahrawus, and he is their third pharaoh. He settled in the city of Ain Shams, whereas the kings before him had resided in Memphis. During his reign, Joseph came to Egypt, whose story is told in the Quran, and is said to have converted to the faith of Joseph. After him, his son Dārim (or Darius), the fourth Coptic pharaoh, reigned. During his reign, Joseph died, and a silver mine was discovered in Egypt three miles from the Nile. Then his son Madan (or Ma‘ādiūs), the fifth Coptic pharaoh, reigned for 31 years. He was succeeded by his son Aqsāmis, the sixth Coptic pharaoh. Some claim that the Tower of Alexandria was built during his reign, and historians refer to him as Qasim, sometimes also as Qamis. He was succeeded by his son Lāṭis, then came a man named Dhalma, who was one of his administrators, rebelled against him, killed him, and took over the government in his place; he is the seventh pharaoh of the Copts and the pharaoh in the time of Moses. Al-Masʿūdī calls him al-Walid ibn Mus‘ab ibn Amr ibn Mu‘awia ibn Arāsha, so that in the genealogy he meets with al-Walid ibn Daumag in Arāsha, and he was the last king of the Amalekites. Some call him Dhalma ibn Fumis, a descendant of Ashmun, one of the Coptic kings. According to this, the pharaoh of Moses would have been from the Copts, and this is also a statement as the Copts make and present it in their books. Others classify him as one of the Lachmites from Syria, but the first opinion is the generally accepted one. He was the first to teach people divination, and in his time the Canal of Sardis was dug; he is said to have lived a long life, never been ill, and never felt pain, until God caused him to perish by drowning.
Third Class. The Coptic Kings after the Amalekites.
After this Pharaoh, Dalūka reigned first, and her rule lasted a long time, so that she became known as “the old woman,” and the Old Woman’s Wall, which was built of bricks around Egypt at the foot of the two mountains, the eastern and western, is named after her; remnants of it are still present on the southern side. She is also said to have built the monuments in Misr. After her, a man from a noble Coptic family named Darkūn ibn Batlūs or Darkūs ibn Maltūs ruled, then a man named Būdas, then his son Laqash, about 50 years old, then his son Marina ibn Laqash, about 20 years old, then his son Baltus or Balūtes ibn Mayaqil, 40 years old, then Malus or Falus ibn Mūtīs for 20 years, then Mayaqil, i.e., according to al-Masʿūdī, Pharaoh the lame, who went to war against the Israelites and destroyed Jerusalem; then Pola, who went to Syria against Rehoboam, the son of Solomon; others say that the one who went against Rehoboam was called Shishak; Sultan ‘Imad ad-Din, Prince of Hamat, says that this is correct and he then continues: After Shishak, no one is known beyond Pharaoh the Lame, whom Nebuchadnezzar fought against and had crucified. Al-Masʿūdī, on the other hand, mentions: after Mayaqil, Marinus reigned, then his son Baqash for 80 years, then his son Fuqis for 20 years, then his son Kamabil, and, Al-Masʿūdī adds, it was this one whom Nebuchadnezzar defeated and crucified, whereupon he devastated Egypt, leaving it in ruins for 40 years.
Fourth Class. The Persian Kings.
The first to rule Egypt on behalf of the Persian Empire was Farasp, with Nebuchadnezzar as his deputy. Once Nebuchadnezzar had conquered the land, he appointed governors while he himself was in Babylon for 57 years and one month, as the Prince of Hamath mentions, until his death. After him, his son Evilaq ruled for a year, followed by his brother Baltash, son of Nebuchadnezzar. After that, Egypt and Syria remained under the rule of governors appointed by the Persian kings. When Farasp died, Qai Bustasp came to power, followed by Ardashīr-Bahman ibn Isfendiar ibn Qai Bustasp, whose power extended so far that he ruled the seven climates (the whole earth). He was succeeded by Darius, and in his time Alexander, the son of Philip, ruled over the Greeks; against him, he went to war, but when he had come close, some of his own men killed him and defected to Alexander. He was the last king of Persia to rule Egypt, and I have not found a more precise account of the Persian governors in Egypt, except that the Persian Kashargūsh (Khshayarsha?) was among them, who built the Castle of Lights in Fustat, as mentioned above, and he was succeeded by Tucharest, in whose time the physician Hippocrates lived.
Fifth Class. The Greek Kings.
The first of them was Alexander, son of Philip, after he defeated the Persian King Darius and took possession of everything that had been under Darius's control. His seat of government was Macedonia in ancient Greece, and he united under his rule Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Mauritania. When he died, his kingdoms were divided among several kings, and in Egypt and the western lands, the Ptolemies, Greek kings, came to power, each of whom bore the name Ptolemy. The first of them, Ptolemy Logicus, reigned for 20 years; he is said to have been the first to play with falcons and train them for hunting. After him, Ptolemy Philadelphus reigned for 40 or 38 years; he was the one who had the Torah translated from Hebrew into Greek, and it was during his time that the worship of images and idols arose. Then Ptolemy Euergetes reigned for 25 or 26 years, followed by Ptolemy Philopator for 17 years; then Ptolemy Astronomus, 24 years, and it was he who wrote the book Almagest; then Ptolemy Philometor, 27 years; then Ptolemy Euergetes II; then Ptolemy Soter, 16 or 17 years; then Ptolemaeus Alexandrinus, 9 or 12 years; then Ptolemaeus Alexandros, 3 years; then Ptolemy Philadelphus II, 8 years; then Ptolemy Dionysus; then his daughter Cleopatra, 22 years, with whose death the rule of the Greeks came to an end.
Sixth Class. The Roman Emperors.
The first of them was Augustus, spelled with two s’s, with the epithet Caesar, which he was the first to use and which all Roman rulers after him received. He marched against the aforementioned Cleopatra, and when she saw him approaching, she withdrew to her chamber and placed fragrant flowers and poison there. She had gone to great lengths to obtain a snake whose bite instantly kills a person without changing their appearance, and she now brought her hand near it so that the snake would transfer its poison into it. The snake then slipped into the flowers. Now Augustus came and reached for the flowers, and the snake bit him. He lived for another day, then died, having ruled the Roman Empire for 43 years. During his time, Christ was born. After him, Tiberius reigned for 22 years; al-Masʿūdī says that during his time Christ was taken up to heaven, and then continues: when Augustus died, the Romans became divided and fought amongst themselves for power for 298 years without a clear succession and without a ruler to unite them. Then Gaius came to power; the prince of Hamath says that during his time Christ was taken up to heaven, which contradicts Al-Masʿūdī’s account. Then Claudius reigned for 14 years, followed by Nero, who had the two apostles Peter and Paul killed and crucified in Rome. After him, Vespasian reigned for 10 years; then Titus for 17 years; then Domitian for 15 years, who was devoted to idolatry and persecuted and killed Jews and Christians. After him, Hadrian reigned for 36 years; he contracted elephantiasis and traveled to Egypt to seek a cure, but did not find one and died of the disease. Then Antoninus reigned for 23 years; he was the one who rebuilt Jerusalem after it had been destroyed a second time and named it Aelia, that is, House of the Lord; he was the first to give it this name. After him, Marcus reigned for 19 years; then Commodus for 13 years; in his time the Christian religion spread and the physician Galen lived. After him, Pertinax reigned for 6 months; then Severus for 18 years; and Antoninus II for 4 years. Alexander, 13 years: Maximinus, 3 years: Gordianus, 6 years; then Decianus or Decius, one year; he killed the Christians and restored idolatry, and before him the young men (Seven Sleepers) fled into the cave, whose story God tells in the holy book. After him, Gallus reigned for 3 years, then Gallienus and Valerian jointly, followed by Valerian alone for 15 years, then Claudius for one year, Aurelian for 6 years, and Probus for 2 years.
Carus and his co-rulers ruled for 2 years, then Diocletian for 21 years. He was the last idolater among the Roman emperors, and Christians still count from his reign to this day. The inhabitants of Egypt rebelled against him, so he marched there from Rome, killed a great number of them, and these are now considered martyrs by Christians. After him, Constantine the Victorious reigned for 31 years; he marched from Rome to Constantinople, built the city walls, and made it the permanent seat of government; he spread Christianity and persuaded people to embrace it. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine, who strengthened Christianity and built many churches. After him, Julian reigned for one year; he was Constantine’s nephew, renounced Christianity, and returned to idolatry. After his death, Constantine’s descendants lost the government, and one of the Roman patricians named Jovianus came to power for a year; he restored the Christian religion and forbade idolatry. After him, Valentinian ruled for 14 years, then Gratian for 3 years, Theodosius the Great for 49 years, Arcadius in Constantinople, and his co-regent Honorius in Rome for 13 years. Marcianus for 7 years, who built the monastery of Maron in Emessa: Valentinus one year; Leder [Leo] the Great, 7 years; Zeno, 18 years; Anastasius, 27 years, who built the walls of the city of Hamath; Justinian, 9 years; Justinian II, 32 years; Tiberius, 3 years; Tiberius II, 4 years; Mauritius, 8 years; Mauritius II, 12 years; Phocas, 8 years; then, in Roman terms, Heraclius, to whom the Prophet wrote to urge him to embrace Islam; the Prophet’s flight was in the twelfth year of his reign. The authors of the biographies [of Muhammad] say that the Messenger of God fled when Casar ibn Nik ruled in Greece; he was succeeded by Caesar ibn Caesar under the caliphate of Abu Bakr, and it was he whom the emirs of Islam fought in Syria and from whom they wrested Syria. What the author of the Instruction mentions, on the occasion of a letter from Alphonsus, ruler of Toledo, one of the Frankish kings in Andalusia, is that Heraclius, in whose time the Prophet fled and to whom he sent a letter, was not the emperor himself, but the governor in Syria for the emperor, while the emperor had not left Constantinople, and that the Prophet only wrote to Heraclius because he was closest to the Arabian Peninsula in Syria, and that the administrator of Bosra was appointed by him. And it follows that the other emperor he mentions must have been the one whose governor in Egypt was Mukaukis. It is said that Mukaukis received Egypt from Heraclius to administer for 17,000 dinars. The circumstances would necessitate saying something about the earlier governors of Egypt under the Roman, Greek, and Persian rulers, but historians have not concerned themselves with such matters, and scholarship must excuse itself accordingly; when the general circumstances are given, one must be content with that and forgo the specifics.
Al-Quḍā'ī recounts: After Egypt was rebuilt following its devastation by Nebuchadnezzar, the Greeks and Persians subjugated the other kings in central Egypt. The Greeks were hostile to the Egyptians for three years until they made peace on the condition that the Egyptians pay an annual tribute to the Greeks, who in return would take them under their protection and defend them against the Persian kings. Thereupon, the Persians defeated the Greeks, drove them out of Syria, and threatened Egypt with an attack. However, it was agreed that Egypt’s revenues would be divided annually between the Persians and Greeks, and this continued for nine years. Then the Greeks gained the upper hand over the Persians, drove them out of Syria, and the tribute with which the Egyptians had purchased peace accrued entirely to the Greeks. This was the situation when Islam arrived.
First Section. The Rulers Before the Flood. Few historians have focused their attention on this, but it has already been mentioned above that the first ruler before the Flood was Naqrawush ibn Misrīm ibn Baragil ibn Razāïl ibn Garyab ibn Adam. The name Naqrawush means “king of his people” in Syriac, and he is the one who built the city of Amsus, the first capital of Egypt, as mentioned above. After him, his son Naqrawush II reigned for 107 years, followed by his brother Misrām, son of Naqrawush I. Then Anakam the Soothsayer came to power for a short time; Idris (Enoch) is said to have ascended to heaven during his reign. He was succeeded by his son Garnaq, after whom a man from the Naqrawush family named Luyīm ruled, followed by a man named Khaslîm, who was the first to erect a Nile measurer. He was succeeded by his son Harṣāl, which in Syriac means "Servant of Venus"; he built a city on the east bank of the Nile and constructed a tunnel under it to reach it, and was the first to undertake this; he sat on the throne for 134 years, and it is said that Noah was born during his reign. After him reigned his son Badsan, then his brother Shamrūd, who is said to have been twenty cubits tall; after him, Farsidun ibn Badsan reigned for 100 years, then his son Sharnaq for 163 years, then his son Sahlūq for 169 years, then his son Suridin, who built the great pyramids at Misr, as mentioned above (I, 46). After him, his son Hargib reigned for 70 years and some time, who built the first of the pyramids at Dahshur (I, 47), then his son Manawus reigned for 73 years, then his son Akrush for 64 years; in his time there was great mortality, wild animals and crocodiles gained dominion over the people, and widespread infertility among women arose, so that the king is said to have married three hundred women in order to have just one son, but none was born to him, and this was the harbinger of the Flood. Then, after him, a man from the royal house named Armālīnūs reigned, and he was succeeded by his nephew Faryan, the first to receive the title of Pharaoh; he wrote to the king of Babylon to advise him to have Noah killed; in his time the Flood occurred, and he was among those who perished.
Second Section. The Rulers after the Flood until the Islamic Conquest. Among the historians, there is a great diversity of accounts on this matter, which I have compiled from the works on it, of which I I have obtained and united them. They are divided into six classes.
First Class. The Coptic Kings of Egypt.
Above, where the beginning of the cultivation of the land was mentioned (I, 38), it is stated that the first to cultivate it after the Flood was Paisar ibn Ham ibn Nuh. Paisar was already very old and weak, so it was not long before he died and was buried on the site of the Monastery of Abu Hermes, west of the pyramids. Al-Quḍā'ī says that this was the first tomb in which someone was buried in Egypt. After him, his son Mir came to power; he reached a great age and reigned for a long time, and during his time the land was cultivated and its prosperity increased. When he died, his son Qoptim came to power, after whom the nation called itself Copts. He is said to have witnessed the confusion of languages that occurred after Noah, namely, a wind swept over them and separated them, then each of them began to speak in a different language, and he departed with the Coptic language. After him reigned his son Qift, who built the city of Ashmunein (Hermopolis) on the southern side; he lived a very long time, so much so that it is said he reached 800 or even 830 years. Then he was succeeded by his brother Atrib, who built the city of Atrib on the northern side of Egypt. After him came his brother, who also built the city of Sâ on the northern side. Thereupon, Qaftorim ibn Qift reigned; In his later years, the ‘Adites in the land of al-Ahqaf are said to have perished due to a windstorm. He is also said to have laid the foundations for the pyramids of Dahshur, distinct from the first pyramid built by Dendera in Upper Egypt; the remains of the former still exist today. He was succeeded in government by his son Budashir, who improved both banks of the Nile through his architectural expertise. Then came his son Adim, followed by Adim’s son Shaddad, who completed the pyramids of Dahshur, whose foundations had been laid by Qaftorim. The city of Shutb, near the city of Usyut, is also said to have been built during his reign, and its ruins still remain today. He was the first among the Egyptian kings to practice hunting, using birds of prey and Salukic dogs, and to practice veterinary medicine. He died at the age of 440 and was succeeded by his son Manqāūs, for whom the baths in Misr are said to have been built first. After him, his son Manoūsh reigned for a very long time, some say 800 or 830 years, followed by Manoūsh ibn Ashmun for 40 or more or 60 years; he was the first for whom a riding arena was built in Misr and the first to build a hospital for the healing of the sick, and during his reign the city of Santaria was built in the oases. After him, his son Marqurā reigned for 30 or more years; The Coptic records state that he was the first to tame lions and ride them. His son, Lâțus, reigned for 25 years after him, followed by Tadura, one of Atrib’s daughters, for 35 years; she was the first woman to rule in Egypt. After her, her brother, Qalimun, reigned for 90 years; during his reign, the city of Dimyat was built and named after one of his pages, whose mother was his soothsayer; the city of Tinnis was also built during his reign. Then, after him, his son Farsūn reigned for 260 years, followed by three or four kings whose names are not mentioned; then Marqūnos the Soothsayer for 73 years, after him Absar for 75 years; then his son, or, as most Copts claim, his brother Sa for 30 years and some years; then his son Tadaras, who had the Sakha Canal dug, as mentioned above in the ancient canals; then his son Malik, who is said to have abandoned the religion of his fathers and idolatry and to have professed the worship of one God; When he felt death approaching, he built himself a tomb monument, had great treasures brought into it, and added the inscription that only the people of the Prophet, who would be sent last, would retrieve them. Then, after him, his son Harya (called Haraba in some chronicles) reigned for 95 years, followed by Kalkan (called Kalka in some chronicles), who reigned for about 100 years. He was the first to make the science of alchemy widely known in Egypt, as until then it had only been a written science. During his time, Nimrod lived in the land of Babylon in Iraq. After him, his brother Maliya reigned, followed by Garbiya ibn Malik, then Tutis ibn Maliya (Tuliya in some chronicles), who reigned for 10 years. According to some chronicles, he succeeded his father Malija. The Copts claim that there were seven pharaohs, of whom Tutis was the first. He was the one who gave Hagar to Abraham as a gift. Then, after him, his sister Guriya reigned; she is the one for whom Hazum the Sodomite, ruler of Syria, built the city of Alexandria when he courted her, according to one of the various accounts of its construction, to give it to her as a dowry. Then, after her, reigned the daughter of her uncle Zulfā or Dsulfā, the daughter of Mamum; after her reigned Amin, the last Coptic king. Al-Quḍā'ī and others give the following order of kings: After the death of Baisar, his son Misr reigned, then Qift ibn Misr, then his brother Ashmun, his brother Atrib, his brother Said, his son Bardas, his son Malik, his son Harba, his son Kalkan, his brother Maliya, then Harbiya, Tutis ibn Maliya, then his daughter Harūya, the first wife to come to power, then the daughter of their uncle Zalfa, from whom the Amalekites seized power.
Second Class. The Amalekite Kings from Syria.
The first of their kings was al-Wālīd ibn Daumag al-‘Amlikí; al-Suheilí calls him al-Wālīd ibn Amr ibn Arāsha, who seized the land from the last Coptic king, Atmīn (so it is called here). He is the second pharaoh among the Copts, or according to others, the first to be called pharaoh, and he reigned for 120 years. He was then succeeded by his son, al-Rayyan, who reigned for 120 years; the Copts call him Nahrawus, and he is their third pharaoh. He settled in the city of Ain Shams, whereas the kings before him had resided in Memphis. During his reign, Joseph came to Egypt, whose story is told in the Quran, and is said to have converted to the faith of Joseph. After him, his son Dārim (or Darius), the fourth Coptic pharaoh, reigned. During his reign, Joseph died, and a silver mine was discovered in Egypt three miles from the Nile. Then his son Madan (or Ma‘ādiūs), the fifth Coptic pharaoh, reigned for 31 years. He was succeeded by his son Aqsāmis, the sixth Coptic pharaoh. Some claim that the Tower of Alexandria was built during his reign, and historians refer to him as Qasim, sometimes also as Qamis. He was succeeded by his son Lāṭis, then came a man named Dhalma, who was one of his administrators, rebelled against him, killed him, and took over the government in his place; he is the seventh pharaoh of the Copts and the pharaoh in the time of Moses. Al-Masʿūdī calls him al-Walid ibn Mus‘ab ibn Amr ibn Mu‘awia ibn Arāsha, so that in the genealogy he meets with al-Walid ibn Daumag in Arāsha, and he was the last king of the Amalekites. Some call him Dhalma ibn Fumis, a descendant of Ashmun, one of the Coptic kings. According to this, the pharaoh of Moses would have been from the Copts, and this is also a statement as the Copts make and present it in their books. Others classify him as one of the Lachmites from Syria, but the first opinion is the generally accepted one. He was the first to teach people divination, and in his time the Canal of Sardis was dug; he is said to have lived a long life, never been ill, and never felt pain, until God caused him to perish by drowning.
Third Class. The Coptic Kings after the Amalekites.
After this Pharaoh, Dalūka reigned first, and her rule lasted a long time, so that she became known as “the old woman,” and the Old Woman’s Wall, which was built of bricks around Egypt at the foot of the two mountains, the eastern and western, is named after her; remnants of it are still present on the southern side. She is also said to have built the monuments in Misr. After her, a man from a noble Coptic family named Darkūn ibn Batlūs or Darkūs ibn Maltūs ruled, then a man named Būdas, then his son Laqash, about 50 years old, then his son Marina ibn Laqash, about 20 years old, then his son Baltus or Balūtes ibn Mayaqil, 40 years old, then Malus or Falus ibn Mūtīs for 20 years, then Mayaqil, i.e., according to al-Masʿūdī, Pharaoh the lame, who went to war against the Israelites and destroyed Jerusalem; then Pola, who went to Syria against Rehoboam, the son of Solomon; others say that the one who went against Rehoboam was called Shishak; Sultan ‘Imad ad-Din, Prince of Hamat, says that this is correct and he then continues: After Shishak, no one is known beyond Pharaoh the Lame, whom Nebuchadnezzar fought against and had crucified. Al-Masʿūdī, on the other hand, mentions: after Mayaqil, Marinus reigned, then his son Baqash for 80 years, then his son Fuqis for 20 years, then his son Kamabil, and, Al-Masʿūdī adds, it was this one whom Nebuchadnezzar defeated and crucified, whereupon he devastated Egypt, leaving it in ruins for 40 years.
Fourth Class. The Persian Kings.
The first to rule Egypt on behalf of the Persian Empire was Farasp, with Nebuchadnezzar as his deputy. Once Nebuchadnezzar had conquered the land, he appointed governors while he himself was in Babylon for 57 years and one month, as the Prince of Hamath mentions, until his death. After him, his son Evilaq ruled for a year, followed by his brother Baltash, son of Nebuchadnezzar. After that, Egypt and Syria remained under the rule of governors appointed by the Persian kings. When Farasp died, Qai Bustasp came to power, followed by Ardashīr-Bahman ibn Isfendiar ibn Qai Bustasp, whose power extended so far that he ruled the seven climates (the whole earth). He was succeeded by Darius, and in his time Alexander, the son of Philip, ruled over the Greeks; against him, he went to war, but when he had come close, some of his own men killed him and defected to Alexander. He was the last king of Persia to rule Egypt, and I have not found a more precise account of the Persian governors in Egypt, except that the Persian Kashargūsh (Khshayarsha?) was among them, who built the Castle of Lights in Fustat, as mentioned above, and he was succeeded by Tucharest, in whose time the physician Hippocrates lived.
Fifth Class. The Greek Kings.
The first of them was Alexander, son of Philip, after he defeated the Persian King Darius and took possession of everything that had been under Darius's control. His seat of government was Macedonia in ancient Greece, and he united under his rule Iraq, Syria, Egypt, and Mauritania. When he died, his kingdoms were divided among several kings, and in Egypt and the western lands, the Ptolemies, Greek kings, came to power, each of whom bore the name Ptolemy. The first of them, Ptolemy Logicus, reigned for 20 years; he is said to have been the first to play with falcons and train them for hunting. After him, Ptolemy Philadelphus reigned for 40 or 38 years; he was the one who had the Torah translated from Hebrew into Greek, and it was during his time that the worship of images and idols arose. Then Ptolemy Euergetes reigned for 25 or 26 years, followed by Ptolemy Philopator for 17 years; then Ptolemy Astronomus, 24 years, and it was he who wrote the book Almagest; then Ptolemy Philometor, 27 years; then Ptolemy Euergetes II; then Ptolemy Soter, 16 or 17 years; then Ptolemaeus Alexandrinus, 9 or 12 years; then Ptolemaeus Alexandros, 3 years; then Ptolemy Philadelphus II, 8 years; then Ptolemy Dionysus; then his daughter Cleopatra, 22 years, with whose death the rule of the Greeks came to an end.
Sixth Class. The Roman Emperors.
The first of them was Augustus, spelled with two s’s, with the epithet Caesar, which he was the first to use and which all Roman rulers after him received. He marched against the aforementioned Cleopatra, and when she saw him approaching, she withdrew to her chamber and placed fragrant flowers and poison there. She had gone to great lengths to obtain a snake whose bite instantly kills a person without changing their appearance, and she now brought her hand near it so that the snake would transfer its poison into it. The snake then slipped into the flowers. Now Augustus came and reached for the flowers, and the snake bit him. He lived for another day, then died, having ruled the Roman Empire for 43 years. During his time, Christ was born. After him, Tiberius reigned for 22 years; al-Masʿūdī says that during his time Christ was taken up to heaven, and then continues: when Augustus died, the Romans became divided and fought amongst themselves for power for 298 years without a clear succession and without a ruler to unite them. Then Gaius came to power; the prince of Hamath says that during his time Christ was taken up to heaven, which contradicts Al-Masʿūdī’s account. Then Claudius reigned for 14 years, followed by Nero, who had the two apostles Peter and Paul killed and crucified in Rome. After him, Vespasian reigned for 10 years; then Titus for 17 years; then Domitian for 15 years, who was devoted to idolatry and persecuted and killed Jews and Christians. After him, Hadrian reigned for 36 years; he contracted elephantiasis and traveled to Egypt to seek a cure, but did not find one and died of the disease. Then Antoninus reigned for 23 years; he was the one who rebuilt Jerusalem after it had been destroyed a second time and named it Aelia, that is, House of the Lord; he was the first to give it this name. After him, Marcus reigned for 19 years; then Commodus for 13 years; in his time the Christian religion spread and the physician Galen lived. After him, Pertinax reigned for 6 months; then Severus for 18 years; and Antoninus II for 4 years. Alexander, 13 years: Maximinus, 3 years: Gordianus, 6 years; then Decianus or Decius, one year; he killed the Christians and restored idolatry, and before him the young men (Seven Sleepers) fled into the cave, whose story God tells in the holy book. After him, Gallus reigned for 3 years, then Gallienus and Valerian jointly, followed by Valerian alone for 15 years, then Claudius for one year, Aurelian for 6 years, and Probus for 2 years.
Carus and his co-rulers ruled for 2 years, then Diocletian for 21 years. He was the last idolater among the Roman emperors, and Christians still count from his reign to this day. The inhabitants of Egypt rebelled against him, so he marched there from Rome, killed a great number of them, and these are now considered martyrs by Christians. After him, Constantine the Victorious reigned for 31 years; he marched from Rome to Constantinople, built the city walls, and made it the permanent seat of government; he spread Christianity and persuaded people to embrace it. He was succeeded by his son, Constantine, who strengthened Christianity and built many churches. After him, Julian reigned for one year; he was Constantine’s nephew, renounced Christianity, and returned to idolatry. After his death, Constantine’s descendants lost the government, and one of the Roman patricians named Jovianus came to power for a year; he restored the Christian religion and forbade idolatry. After him, Valentinian ruled for 14 years, then Gratian for 3 years, Theodosius the Great for 49 years, Arcadius in Constantinople, and his co-regent Honorius in Rome for 13 years. Marcianus for 7 years, who built the monastery of Maron in Emessa: Valentinus one year; Leder [Leo] the Great, 7 years; Zeno, 18 years; Anastasius, 27 years, who built the walls of the city of Hamath; Justinian, 9 years; Justinian II, 32 years; Tiberius, 3 years; Tiberius II, 4 years; Mauritius, 8 years; Mauritius II, 12 years; Phocas, 8 years; then, in Roman terms, Heraclius, to whom the Prophet wrote to urge him to embrace Islam; the Prophet’s flight was in the twelfth year of his reign. The authors of the biographies [of Muhammad] say that the Messenger of God fled when Casar ibn Nik ruled in Greece; he was succeeded by Caesar ibn Caesar under the caliphate of Abu Bakr, and it was he whom the emirs of Islam fought in Syria and from whom they wrested Syria. What the author of the Instruction mentions, on the occasion of a letter from Alphonsus, ruler of Toledo, one of the Frankish kings in Andalusia, is that Heraclius, in whose time the Prophet fled and to whom he sent a letter, was not the emperor himself, but the governor in Syria for the emperor, while the emperor had not left Constantinople, and that the Prophet only wrote to Heraclius because he was closest to the Arabian Peninsula in Syria, and that the administrator of Bosra was appointed by him. And it follows that the other emperor he mentions must have been the one whose governor in Egypt was Mukaukis. It is said that Mukaukis received Egypt from Heraclius to administer for 17,000 dinars. The circumstances would necessitate saying something about the earlier governors of Egypt under the Roman, Greek, and Persian rulers, but historians have not concerned themselves with such matters, and scholarship must excuse itself accordingly; when the general circumstances are given, one must be content with that and forgo the specifics.
Al-Quḍā'ī recounts: After Egypt was rebuilt following its devastation by Nebuchadnezzar, the Greeks and Persians subjugated the other kings in central Egypt. The Greeks were hostile to the Egyptians for three years until they made peace on the condition that the Egyptians pay an annual tribute to the Greeks, who in return would take them under their protection and defend them against the Persian kings. Thereupon, the Persians defeated the Greeks, drove them out of Syria, and threatened Egypt with an attack. However, it was agreed that Egypt’s revenues would be divided annually between the Persians and Greeks, and this continued for nine years. Then the Greeks gained the upper hand over the Persians, drove them out of Syria, and the tribute with which the Egyptians had purchased peace accrued entirely to the Greeks. This was the situation when Islam arrived.
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Source: Ferdinand Wüstenfeld (trans.), Die geographie und verwaltung von Agypten (Göttingen: Dieterichschse Verlags-Buchhandlung, 1879).
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