Maged S. A. Mikhail obtained a PhD in the History of the Near and Middle East from the University of California, Los Angeles for which he received an Honourable Mention for the Malcolm H. Kerr Dissertation Award from the Middle East Studies Association of North America. He currently teaches at California State University, Fullerton.

'This is a tour de force of historical analysis...The data is meticulously analyzed and the conclusions drawn from it impressively documented. It is a rich and layered work that challenges some widespread and long-held views on the relationship between Christian and Muslim identity and community in Egypt.' Jamal J. Elias, Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the Humanities, University of Pennyslvania

• (Detailed and Annotated)ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiiCHAPTER ONECharting the CourseIntroduction………………………………………………………………………… 0Sources and their Limitations……………………………………………………… 0The Epistemological Problem……………………………………………………… 00The Doctrinal Labyrinth…………………………………………………………… 00Terms, Definitions, Transliterations, and Dates…………………………………… 00CHAPTER TWOReligious Conversion and Social CohesionOrigins to the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE)…………………………………….. 00From the Conquest to the ?Abb?sids………………………………………………. 00First Egyptian Converts to Islam…… …………………………………………... 00Post-Conquest Conversions……………………………………………................ 00From the ?Abb?sids to the Tenth Century CE. …………………………………….. 00A Prelude to Conversion………………………………………………………… 00Socio-Religious Catalysts……………………………………………………….. 00Concluding Observations….………………………………………………………. 00CHAPTER THREEThe Conquest: Event, Text, and MemoryThe Dominant Paradigm………………………………..…………………........ ….00Depictions of Patriarch Benjamin…………………………………………………..00Conquest through Elites……………………………………………………………. 00Table of Contents*????? (Detailed and Annotated)ABBREVIATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viiiCHAPTER ONECharting the CourseIntroduction………………………………………………………………………… 0Sources and their Limitations……………………………………………………… 0The Epistemological Problem……………………………………………………… 00The Doctrinal Labyrinth…………………………………………………………… 00Terms, Definitions, Transliterations, and Dates…………………………………… 00CHAPTER TWOReligious Conversion and Social CohesionOrigins to the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE)…………………………………….. 00From the Conquest to the ?Abb?sids………………………………………………. 00First Egyptian Converts to Islam…… …………………………………………... 00Post-Conquest Conversions……………………………………………................ 00From the ?Abb?sids to the Tenth Century CE. …………………………………….. 00A Prelude to Conversion………………………………………………………… 00Socio-Religious Catalysts……………………………………………………….. 00Concluding Observations….………………………………………………………. 00CHAPTER THREEThe Conquest: Event, Text, and MemoryThe Dominant Paradigm………………………………..…………………........ ….00Depictions of Patriarch Benjamin…………………………………………………..00Conquest through Elites……………………………………………………………. 00False Memories and Suppressed Narratives……………………………………….. 00Conquest and Memory…………………………………………………………… 00Political Ideology and Memory………………………………………………...... 00Between Texts and Memories……………………………………………………… 00CHAPTER FOURChristian Elites:And Dialectic between Confessional Bias and Government ControlShenoute the Duke of Antinoe……………………………………………………….00Early Post-Conquest Decades……………………………………………………... 000From ?Abd al-?Az?z to the ?Abb?sids……………………………………………… 000Provincial Notables………………………………………………………………… 000Eighth to Ninth Centuries CE………………………………………………………. 000Conclusions…………………………………………………………………………000CHAPTER FIVELanguage, Identity, and AssimilationThe Greek LanguageAmong Muslims ....................………………..…………………………………... 000Among Melkites ………………………………………………….……................ 000Among Copts ………………………………….………………………………… 000Bilingualism in Post-Conquest Egypt……………………………………………. 000From Coptic and Greek to Arabic………………………………………………….. 000The Delta…………………………………………………………………………. 000Teshlot Papyri……………………………………………………………………. 000Upper Egypt……………………………………………………………………… 000CHAPTER SIXThe Eighth Century:The Cultural Gateway from Late Antiquity to Early IslamIslamization………………………………………………………………………… 000Popular Revolts…………………………………………………………………….. 000The Shape and Meaning of