emperor zara yaqob also continued as the defender of the patriarch of alexandria. when he heard in 1441 of the destruction of the egyptian monastery of debre mitmaq by sultan az-zahir sayf-ad-din jaqmaq, he called for a period of mourning, then sent a letter of strong protest to the sultan. he reminded jaqmaq that he had muslim subjects whom he treated fairly, and warned that he had the power to divert the nile, but refrained from doing so for the human suffering it would cause. jaqmaq responded with gifts to appease zara yaqob's anger, but refused to rebuild the coptic churches he had destroyed.