Michael I (or Khaʾil I) was the 46th Coptic Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria from 743 to 767. Bishop Moses of Awsim was instrumental in arranging the election of Michael as patriarch in a compromise between northern and southern factions., p. 20. In 748, when Pope Michael was thrown into prison by Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn

Musa bin Nusayr Musa ibn Nusayr ( ar, موسى بن نصير ''Mūsá bin Nuṣayr''; 640 – c. 716) served as a Umayyad governor and an Arab general under the Umayyad caliph Al-Walid I. He ruled over the Muslim provinces of North Africa ( Ifriqiya), and dire ...

, King Kyriakos of Makuria marched north into

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

at the head of an army said to number 100,000 men to free the

Pope of Alexandria The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ, translit=Papa; ar, البابا, translit=al-Bābā), also known as the Bishop of Alexandria, is the leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church, with ancient Christian roots in Egypt. The ...

. However, once the Makurian army reached Egypt, the Pope was released from prison. In 749, the governor of Egypt, Hawthara ibn Suhayl, held Michael hostage in

Rosetta Rosetta or Rashid (; ar, رشيد ' ; french: Rosette ; cop, ϯⲣⲁϣⲓⲧ ''ti-Rashit'', Ancient Greek: Βολβιτίνη ''Bolbitinē'') is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Ro ...

in an effort to force the rebelling Bashmurites to surrender. The Bashmurites instead attacked Rosetta, sacking the city. Pope Michael opposed the enthroning of the Bishop Isaac as a

Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch The Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch ܦܛܪܝܪܟܐ ܕܐܢܛܝܘܟܝܐ is the bishop of Antioch, and head of the Syriac Orthodox Church ( Syriac: ܥܺܕܬܳܐ ܣܽܘ̣ܪܝܳܝܬܳܐ ܬܪܺܝܨܰܬ ܫܽܘ̣ܒ̣ܚܳܐ). He is the Head of the Hol ...

after the death of Iwanis I because he was already the bishop of the eparchy of

Harran Harran (), historically known as Carrhae ( el, Kάρραι, Kárrhai), is a rural town and district of the Şanlıurfa Province in southeastern Turkey, approximately 40 kilometres (25 miles) southeast of Urfa and 20 kilometers from the border cr ...

References

8th-century Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria Christians from the Umayyad Caliphate 767 deaths {{OrientalOrthodox-clergy-stub