Mahallat Al-Amir

              (CE:1511a)
MAHALLAT AL-AMIR, town located in the Delta province of Beheira some 5 miles (8 km) southeast of Rashid.
The HISTORY OF THE PATRIARCHS relates that during the patriarchate of CHRISTODOULUS (1047-1077) the Muslim authorities ordered that Christian churches and monasteries were to be closed and a special tax for Christians was to be assessed. However, al-Mu’ayyad, the amir of Alexandria, was favorably inclined toward the Christians. He warned them in advance of the impending order and admonished them to take all the valuables from their churches before they could be confiscated. In addition he returned 200 dinars that had been collected from the Christians in Rashid, Idku, al-Jadidiyyah, and Mahallat al-Amir. This story suggests that Mahallat al-Amir was the home of a well-to-do Christian community in the eleventh century.

RANDALL STEWART