It was when he was succeeded as governor by his son, al-Asbagh, that the full scale of Coptic subjection seriously began to be felt. An insatiable thirst for money, abetted by a Coptic quisling named Benjamin who revealed all places where Copts had concealed their wealth, led to extraordinary taxation, confiscation of treasure and the extension of the jizyah to monks. A levy of 2,000 dinars was imposed onto the existing land tax (kharaj) for all bishops. This heavy imposition led to the first serious wave of conversions by Coptic notables anxious to escape such burdens. Yet finance was not al-Asbagh’s only motivation as it is recorded that he reviled Christ and spat at the ikon of Our Lady when it was carried in procession at Helwan.
When the Copts complained to the Umayyad Caliph ‘Abd al-Malik (685-705) he arrested their spokesmen, confiscated their wealth and sent an even more disastrous governor. On going to greet him, Pope Alexander II (705-730) was abruptly arrested and a ransom of 3,000 dinars set for his release. Churches and monasteries were pillaged, sacred vessels despoiled and monks carried away as slaves to either serve in the Caliph’s navy or to erect palaces for his governors. Those who did not convert fled their homes to avoid the crippling taxes but were brutally treated when apprehended, being flogged and branded, returned in chains, their limbs amputated and property subject to confiscation. The heirs of those who died were disinherited. Even short periods of respite under moderate caliphs were cut short by the rapacity of local governors anxious both to enrich themselves and gratify the caliph during their brief tenure of office. Outbreaks of plague and ruinous taxes to finance the war with Byzantium brought Egypt to the verge of ruin. The Copts had profound grievances but a number of Muslims were also among the rebels.
Insurrection was inevitable and between 725 and 832 Copts rose against their oppressors on several occasions but were speedily crushed. Only in al-Bashmur, in the marshlands of the northern Delta, were they able to resist pacification and engage in periodic attacks on the Muslim army. In 749 the last Umayyad Caliph Marwan II (744-750) brought an army to support the forces already engaged under his governor and carried away in irons Pope Kha’il I (744-767) to Rashid (Rosetta) as a hostage. Undaunted the Copts defeated his forces and destroyed Rashid. In the resulting chaos of the Abbasid overthrow of the Umayyads the caliph fled and the Pope and other imprisoned clergy gained their freedom. In 767 an expedition against the rebels was defeated and the government retreated. It was not until 830 that the Caliph al-Ma’mun (813-833) despatched an army under al-Afshin to subdued them and sought the assurance of Pope Yusab I (830-849) that he would act as a mediator for peace. His efforts were to no avail and a further army under the caliph himself finally prevailed amidst great slaughter, wholesale deportations and wasting of entire villages. Describing the Copts, the Muslim historian al-Makrizi wrote:
“From that time they were in subjection throughout the Egyptian territory, and their power was definitely crushed. None of them had the power to revolt or even resist the government; the Muslims were in the majority in the villages.”
