other · Egypt, North Africa and Sudan

Sasanian Egypt

619 CE – 629 CE · capital Alexandria

Egypt's decade under Persian rule, when Khosrow II's armies took Alexandria during the last great Roman-Persian war.

Origins

During the war of 602 to 628 between the Byzantine Empire and Persia, the Sasanian general Shahrbaraz invaded Egypt and took Alexandria around 619, after a siege. The conquest of Egypt, with its grain and taxes, was a heavy blow to Roman Egypt and to Constantinople's food supply.

Rule and society

The Persians kept much of the existing administration but installed their own officials. Papyri in Middle Persian survive from this period, recording requisitions and military supplies. Coptic sources tell of massacres of monks at the start of the conquest, but the occupiers then tended to favour the Miaphysite church over the Chalcedonian clergy loyal to Constantinople.

Decline and legacy

After Heraclius defeated Persia and Khosrow II was overthrown in 628, Shahrbaraz agreed to withdraw, and Egypt returned to Byzantine rule by 629. The disruption weakened Byzantine control, and the Arab conquest followed little more than a decade later.

Connections (2)

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Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Sasanian Egypt. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sasanian-egypt
MLA
“Sasanian Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sasanian-egypt. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Sasanian Egypt.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sasanian-egypt.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Sasanian Egypt’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/sasanian-egypt (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻