Whatever the terms of surrender were, a bloodbath followed the Muslim entry into Alexandria. They immediately “destroyed its walls and burnt many churches with fire,” note the Coptic annals, including the ancient church founded by and containing the remains of Saint Mark, author of the eponymous Gospel, who also brought Christianity to Egypt around 50 AD.53 According to Muslim and Coptic historians, the Arab invaders also burned the Great Library of Alexandria. Amr sent a message to Caliph Omar inquiring what he should do with the tens of thousands of books and scrolls found within this
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