Sasanian Egypt (known in Middle Persian sources as Agiptus) refers to the brief rule of Egypt and parts of Libya by the Sasanian Empire following the Sasanian conquest of Egypt. It lasted from 618 to 628 until the Sasanian general Shahrbaraz allied with the Roman-Byzantine emperor Heraclius to have control over Egypt returned to him.
History of Sasanian Egypt
Egypt was conquered in 618 by the prominent Sasanian military leader Shahrbaraz, who governed the province briefly until he appointed Shahralanyozan as the new governor. Sahralanyozan was the karframan-idar (“steward of the court”) and Egypt’s most influential Iranian. Besides being governor of Egypt, he was also the tax collector of the province and most likely resided in Faiyum. In Middle Persian texts, the country is known as Agiptus and is described as follows: agiptus būm kē Misr-iz xwānēnd ‘the land of Agiptus, which is also called Misr’. The Nile is termed rōd ī nīl. Several cities of the country are mentioned, such as Touphis, Kynon, and Babylon, including others that display the Sasanians’ subjugation in the area.
Although Egypt suffered much damage during its invasion by the Sasanians after the conquest, peace, tolerance, and rehabilitation followed. Furthermore, the Sasanians retained the same administrative structure as the Byzantine Empire. The Sasanians did not try to force the population of Egypt to renounce their religion and practise Zoroastrianism. However, they persecuted the Byzantine Church whilst supporting the Monophysite Church. The Copts took advantage of the circumstances and obtained control over many Orthodox churches.
There were numerous Sasanian stations in the country, which included Elephantine, Herakleia, Oxyrhynchus, Kynon, Theodosiopolis, Hermopolis, Antinopolis, Kosson, Lykos, Diospolis, and Maximianopolis. The assignment of those stations was to collect taxes and get supplies for the military. Several papyrus papers mention the collection of taxes by the Sasanians, which shows that they used the same method as the Byzantines for collecting taxes. Another papyrus mentions an Iranian and his sister, indicating that some families and soldiers had settled in Egypt.
In 626, Shahrbaraz quarrelled with the Sasanian king Khosrow II (r. 590–628) and rebelled against him. It is unknown whom Sahralanzoyan supported since he is not mentioned in any source after that, and Shahrbaraz is described as the province’s ruler. Following the end of the Byzantine–Sasanian war in 628, by 630/1, Egypt had returned to Byzantine hands. Although Sasanian rule in Egypt wasn’t long compared to that of the Byzantines, some marks of their influences are still present today: the Coptic New Year celebration called Nayrouz, where martyrs and confessors are honoured stems from the Iranian New Year celebration Nowruz. Another commemoration related to the Sasanians is Holy Cross Day, which celebrates the discovery of the cross that Jesus was crucified on and its homecoming to Jerusalem in 628. Furthermore, Sasanian influence on Coptic art is also apparent.
List of governors
- 618-621 Shahrbaraz
- 621-626(?) Sahralanyozan
- 626(?)-628 Shahrbaraz
