Tareekh Masr Wa Al Alam Al Kadeem (History of Egypt and the old world) by Hanna Al-Nikosi, documented and edited by Abdel Aziz Kamal El-Din, Cairo: Dar Al-Thaqafa Al-Jadida, 2011. pp.310

The incidences, events and details associated with Arab entry into Egypt, known as Al-Fath (the opening) in 639 AD were not entirely known to a great extent. Although Arab and Roman historians tackled the topic, most of them did so from the outside, not as witnesses, but rather copied the account from contemporaries whose works are now lost.

However, the Egyptian historian, Hanna Al-Nikosi’s manuscript is quite different, for the writer was not only Egyptian but he was close to the events, therefore more capable of recording and commenting on them.

Hanna Al-Nikosi was responsible for supplying and managing the monasteries of Wadi Hebeeb (now called Wadi Natroun) during the time of Patriarch Simon I, around 694 AD, and died early in the eighth century.

As explained by Abdel Aziz Kamal El-Din in the introduction to the investigation of the manuscript, Al-Nikosi held a reputable post in the clergy, where he played a role in such important events as the election of the 41st Pope of Alexandria, Isaac (686-689 AD) after the Omayyad Ruler of Egypt rejected the choice of Gerga for a post as deacon. When the dispute intensified a hasty, small meeting of clergymen was called, lead by Al-Nikosi, to resolve the matter. This confirms Al-Nikosi’s importance and adds weight to his account of this historic change in Egypt.

Similar to historians of his time, such as Al-Tabari and Ibn Katheer, Al-Nikosi starts his manuscript with the beginning of creation as per the Old Testament goes through the story of the Hebrews and their life in Egypt and their exodus from it. He then continues to describe the history of Christianity and its doctrines and internal battles, until he reaches the arrival of Egyptian Pope Benjamin I to Alexandria, fleeing from the Romans.

What's most important in this account is the recording of the Arab invasion of Egypt and all its incidences, including the large uprising and various forms of resistance to injustices, high taxation and other pressures on Egyptian peasants.

Although he’s a historian inspired to write on the Egyptian struggle for independence, Al-Nikosi, similar to Muslim and European historians of the middle age, mixes history and religion.

Unfortunately, the original manuscript was lost completely and there's only an Ethiopian translation of it, later on translated to French and published first by the scientist Zutenberg in a complete French edition in 1883, then was translated to English by Charles Eye in 1916. The translator, Kamel Saleh Nakhla, published selections from the French edition in 1948-49 and later on Liza Aziz Iskander, together with Bishop Bishoy Abdel-Messih published a full translation from the French in 1996. Finally, Omar Saber Abdel-Gelil had his translated version, where he added his historical and linguistic research published by Darl Ain Al-Kahereya in 2000.

This book, as is described on the front page, was mainly documentation not made by Gamal Al-Din himself, but rather depended on the previous translations and their documentation and checking.

He explained in the introduction that he "Edited and checked the text of the book and its footnotes, depending on the English, French, Egyptian and Arabic translations, in addition to specialised references of this era, such as the History of Patriarchs by Sawiris Ibn Al-Mokafaa and Fath Egypt by Alfred Butler, among others.

Although Gamal El-Din made sure to add notes, footnotes and references to help shed light on the era and the events from other angles, he lacks some details in his citations. For example, in the annex he indicates the details of every resource he used in each chapter, without mentioning where each was used. He refers, for example, to First Council of Nicea 325 AD, Council of Milan 355 AD) and although indicating that the text is taken directly from these resources, he doesn't indicate which is taken from where.

Tareekh Masr Wa A Alam Al Kadeem (History of Egypt and the Old World)
By: Hanna Al-Nikosi
Documented and edited by: Abdel Aziz Kamal El-Din
Dar Al-Thaqafa Al-Jadida, Cairo, 2011. pp.310

Aziz