U.S. Copts Association

 Al-Maqrizi (1364-1442): A witness & chronicler from the late medieval ages

by Ed Rizkalla

Over the past 50 years or so many Copts emigrated from Egypt to other nations such as the USA, Canada, Australia, and countries of the European Union. The vast majority of the Copts became successful in their new adopted countries. The very same Copts, who were discriminated against and denied opportunities in their own land, Egypt, became a success in a free marketplace unconstrained by the dark biases against their religious belief and ethnic background. First and foremost I believe that God has granted his grace to the Copts, which enabled their success. The Lord in his grace granted a forward-looking culture to the Copts that enhances the opportunities of their success.

Throughout the history many historians wrote about the Copts, and their historical and cultural history. Among these historians is the well-known and prolific writer Taki al-Din Ahmed ibn ‘Abd al al-Qadir ibn Muhammad Al-Maqrizi, (1364-1442 A.D.), commonly known as Macrizi or Al-Maqrizi. In fact the German scholar Fred Wustenfeld wrote a book titled “Macrizi’s Geschishte der Copten” (1) or “Macrizi’s History of the Copts” in 1845. Most of Wustenfeld’s work was based on Al-Maqrizi’s chronicles known as al-Khitat (2). In his chronicles Al-Maqrzi, a keen observer, noted some of the Copts cultural attributes, though he did not recognize them as such. It is beyond the scope of this article to write about al-Maqrizi. The interested readers may want to refer to a brief online write-up (3) for an introduction to his life and work. Al-Maqrizi lived in perilous times, at which Egypt suffered from wars, continued power struggles among the ruling Mamlukes, famines, and epidemics. The population of Egypt suffered, both Copts and Muslims, however the Copts suffered even more from both the calamities that befell Egypt and the persecution and oppression perpetrated by Muslim extremists of the time. Al-Maqrizi’s introduction to Al-Khitat shows his pride as an Egyptian. He chronicles regarding his time and history since the Arabs conquest are marked by candor and include the atrocities committed by several Arab rulers in Egypt, which some of the modern apologists and history revisionists tend to discount, revise, and/or deny to suit their ideological purposes. Among other things he wrote about the destruction of the ancient library of Alexandria by Amer ibn al-A’as at the orders of the Caliph Omar ibn Al-Khatab, destruction of several small pyramids by Baha’a al-Din Karakoush during the rule of Saladin, and the failed attempt to destroy the large pyramids of Giza by Al-Aziz Osman ibn Salah Al-din ibn Ayoub, and the attempt to destroy the sphinx in Al-Maqrizi’s time by sheikh Mohamed Sa’em Al-Daher. In Al-Khitat, Al-Maqrizi used the Arabic word “Copt” to describe both the ancient Egyptians and his contemporary Christian Egyptians. For example he described the ancient Egyptians under the title “The religion of the Copts before their conversion to Christianity”, under which he wrote that “they were polytheists who worshiped the stars….Other wise men and philosophers were eager to know them as they possessed knowledge of magic, engineering, astrology, mathematics, and chemistry.” He also wrote about the Copts of his time under the title “The Monasteries of the Nazarenes” and described them as علم اهل , people of knowledge. For example he wrote about the monastery of Odronka and its village at southern Egypt, and noted that its Copts are knowledge people. He further noted that the monastery of Agriphona included many نساخ, scribes who wrote down the knowledge of the Copts. He also wrote that Coptic women and their children from southern Egypt could barely speak Arabic, they spoke Coptic with a Sahidic dialect and were also well versed in Greek. Al-Maqrizi keen sense of observation led him to chronicle the Copts cultural trait that respected education, knowledge and wisdom. These observations were clear as they were in line with his prior knowledge about the Copts of ancient Egypt. Al-Maqrizi also chronicled another Coptic cultural trait, as he observed the tendency of Coptic men of his time to defer decisions to allow them the opportunity to discuss with their wives. Al-Maqrizi could not comprehend this behavioral pattern and from a perspective of Arabic culture found it odd. As knowledge about ancient Egypt was limited in his time, he couldn’t relate his observations to the culture of respect, participation and equality among men and women, which they represented. Accordingly he attributed the observation to the lack jealousy among Coptic men. He attempted to explain it through suppositions based on the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. He supposed that all Coptic men have perished in the sea, as they pursued the Israelites. He further supposed that as all free men have perished, women were faced with a dearth of males, and ended up having to manumit and marry their male slaves, who in turn agreed not to do anything without consulting the women. This supposition provided an explanation for what he considered as an odd behavior. For the credit of Al-Maqrizi he had no knowledge of ancient Egyptian literature, which might have shed some light on the behavior of the Copts. This knowledge had to wait for the mid to late 19th century after the decipherment of hieroglyphics.
Al-Maqrizi was a good student and scholar of history, a prolific writer who attempted to chronicle Egypt’s history to benefit future generations. His keen sense of observation led him to note some of the Coptic cultural attributes, some of which he recognized namely the Copts respect for education, knowledge, and love of wisdom; and some which he could not comprehend, namely the Copts respect for women, their role in the family and society at large, and the equality of men and women. I should add that careful study of Al-Maqrizi’s chronicles provides a wealth of information about Egypt’s history in the medieval ages.
The genesis of the Coptic culture goes way back to the mythology and history of ancient Egypt. This culture was further modified, enhanced and rejuvenated by the advent of the Christian faith in Egypt. The Coptic culture is a major component of the attributes that define the Coptic identity. It is a forward-looking culture that helped enhance the prospects of the Copts in times past, and continue to propel them to new horizons in our day and age. The peace of the Lord be with you all. Irene Passe.
1) Macrizi’s Geschichte der Copten, by Fred Wustenfeld, dritten Band der Abhandlungen der Koniglichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften zu Gottigen 1845, Herstellung: Fotokop Wilhelm Weihert KG, Darmstadt, Germany.
2) لبنان, الشياح, الجنؤبي الساحل, العلؤم احياء مكتبة, المقريزية الخطط كتاب
The Book of Al-khitat by Al-Maqrizi, printed by Ihiaa’ al-‘eloum bookstore, Southern Coast, al-shiah, Lebanon, 1959.
(3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Maqrizi
Acknowledgements: The writer would like to extend his appreciation and thanks to the staff of the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, for their assistance with the research for background material for this article.
Ed Rizkalla is a management consultant and a freelance writer. He is the founder of Pharos on the Potomac Group (POPG), a non-profit organization at Alexandria, VA. POPG was established to provide cultural services to the local communities of the Washington, DC metropolitan area.