Page:William Muir, Thomas Hunter Weir - The Caliphate; Its Rise, Decline, and Fall (1915).djvu/191

 162 the fort called Babylon was situated, fell into ʿAmr's hands, and the whole of Lower Egypt would have been at once overrun had not Nature come to the help of the vanquished. The Nile, which begins to rise early in June, in those days by the middle of August transformed the whole Delta into one vast lake, rendering military operations impossible. ʿAmr therefore made use of the period of inundation, which lasts till near the close of the year, by investing the fort of Babylon, which was considered impregnable. The siege, begun in September 640, lasted some eight months. As in the case of Damascus, the fortress was taken both by capitulation and by assault. Whilst Az-Zubeir with desperate valour had successfully scaled the walls, a deputation from the garrison obtained terms from ʿAmr (Ṭab. i., 2588 f.). The fortress of Babylon fell on Easter Monday, 9th April 641. The Emperor Heraclius had died, whilst the siege was in progress, on the 11th February of the same year.

Opposition was now almost at an end. The Greeks, whom Gibbon scruples to call Romans, fallen now to the level of those over whom they used to domineer, and hated by them, were glad to make their escape towards the sea-coast. The Copts now began actively to take sides with the Arabs and massacre the Imperial soldiery. ʿAmr's first care was to secure the Faiyūm, his next to throw a bridge of boats across the Nile, and this not only facilitated the transport of his own followers, but cut the stream of fugitives from Upper Egypt, which was constantly flowing down the valley towards Alexandria. Taking full advantage of the rivalries of Roman and Copt, ʿAmr, leaving a garrison in Babylon, lost no time in marching with mounted troops upon Alexandria, where the Imperial commander-in-chief, Theodore, had his headquarters, so as to reach it before the Greek troops could rally there for its defence. On the way he captured Nikiu, in which many fugitives, amongst others the governor of the Faiyūm, had taken refuge, on the 13th of May 641 (John of Nikiu, p. 568). Although the fugitive governor of the Faiyūm, who was in command of the town, had fled and the garrison had, with one exception, laid down their arms, the