COVENANT OF ‘UMAR, ascribed to the second Orthodox caliph, ‘Umar
ibn al-Khattab (634-644), and regarded as a document of primary
importance in regulating the relations between the Muslim
conquerors of the Middle East and their Dhimmi subjects, that
is, the Jews and the Christians, including the Coptic nation in
Egypt. The situation of the Copts vis-à-vis the Arab conquerors
under the leadership of ‘Amr ibn al-‘As was, however, a peculiar
one. Egypt had been under the Byzantine yoke at the time of the
advent of the Arabs. Since the Council of CHALCEDON in 451, the
Byzantine lords in Egypt were of the Melchite creed, which the
Copts disregarded as heretical. Cyrus al-Muqawqas, the Byzantine
ruler at the time of the Conquest, persecuted the Monophysite
Copts as heretical; the Copts in return accused him of heresy
and loathed the subjugation of their country to the Byzantine
empire. The result of this anomalous situation was that in 641
the Copts did not care who invaded their country, for their
position could be