Fragmented Geographies: The See of Alexandria, Its Following, and the Estrangements of ...

401 Pages·2015·17.73 MB·English

Fragmented Geographies: The See of Alexandria, Its Following, and the Estrangements of
Modernity

Joshua T. Georgy

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

2015
© 2015
Joshua T. Georgy
All rights reserved
ABSTRACT

Fragmented Geographies: The See of Alexandria, Its Following, and the Estrangements of
Modernity

Joshua T. Georgy

This dissertation focuses on the ecclesiastical formation of the Anti-Chalcedonian
Alexandrian See and its following, primarily during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. For
hundreds of years, this Christian Orthodox communion had a distinctive "geography" which, in a
sense, has been "carved up" in the modern period. Today, its territories are incorporated within
the boundaries of a number of national states, while the sweeping abstraction of "world regions"
has bisected the territorial reaches of communion, assigning one parcel to the "Middle East" and
the other to "Africa." This fragmentation is reflected in the scholarship, where the "parts" of this
geography have been scattered across multiple, and sometimes mutually isolated fields of
inquiry. In the coming chapters, we set out in search of an Alexandrian Orthodox Oecumeme
which modern discourses, constructs and analytical frames have concealed. We will shed light
on various dimensions of a formation which was constituted by myriad relationships and
characterized by nebulous frontiers. We will contemplate an arrangement in which "Egyptian"
Copts, "Ethiopian" Orthodox and others were linked in shared communion, while situating this
within the wider context of an ancien regime order. We will also explore the metaphorical
hinterlands of communion, where manifold relationships existed linking Christians and Muslims,
monks and bedouin and others, sometimes in most intimate ways. Over the course of these
chapters, we will follow processes, discourses and conceptual changes of the nineteenth century
that invaded the "hinterlands," severing and reordering relationships while gradually erecting an
edifice of boundaried constructs (territorial, institutional, communal.) The exploration of these
novelties, together with a host of starkly drawn binaries (among them "religious"/"secular" and
"spiritual"/"temporal") will provide insights into the emergence of modern nation-states, national
minorities and national churches. But the apparition of these restricting and fragmenting objects
coincided with an apparently paradoxical development; the so-called "globalization" of the
patriarchal see of Alexandria. This set of circumstances is inexplicable without a rigorous inquiry
into the profound transformations that have characterized the modern period. The coming
chapters constitute, collectively, a building block to this larger purpose.
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Glossary iii
List of Alexandrian patriarchs and abuns of Ethiopia iv
Acknowledgments vi

INTRODUCTION FRAGMENTED GEOGRAPHIES 1
The Anti-Chalcedonian Alexandrian See and Its Following 4
Relationships, Boundaries and Regional History 8
Alexandrian Orthodoxy, the Copts, Historiography 15
A Note on Sources 24
Chapter Summaries 27

CHAPTER 1 EXPLORING THE FRONTIERS OF ALEXANDRIAN ORTHODOXY
30
Coptic Christians: Condemned to Be the Scribes 31
“All the Preachings of Saint Mark” 51
“Saint Mark is Our Father, Alexandria Our Mother” 66
The Case of the Coptic Amir 84

CHAPTER 2 THE DESERTS AND BEYOND 95
Infested Deserts 96
"Most of the Lands are Possessed by Independent Arabs" 112
Constructed Parochialism? 122
Beyond the Deserts, Part One 130
Beyond the Deserts, Part Two 149
Conclusion 162

CHAPTER 3 OUT OF AFRICA? 164
Coptic Cameos; or Eunuchs, Slaves and Civilization 165
Egypt, the Sudan and Colonialism 178
The "Opening" of the Sudan 194
Colonizing the Sudan, Colonizing Egypt 204
Copts in the Sudan, Copts in Egypt; or Restoration and Loss 214
Conclusion, and Looking Forward 236

CHAPTER 4 ANCIENT TIES, MODERN STRAINS 242
Between Tradition and Change: The Case of a Failed Abun 243
Cracks in the Alexandrian Edifice: Jerusalem as Microcosm 253
"No One Better Qualified": An Abun is Found 273
"Abuna Salama of the Orthodox faith" 281
Possibility and Peril: Alexandrian Orthodoxy at a Crossroads 292
Prophesy Deferred? King, Abun, Patriarch and the Clash of Orthodoxies 302
Conclusion, and Looking Forward 316
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CONCLUSION ANTICIPATING NATIONS AND NATIONAL CHURCHES 324
Orthodoxy, Empire and Occupation 324
Nationalist Thought and Colonial Modernity 330
Nations and National Churches 344

BIBLIOGRAPHY 355

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GLOSSARY

abun Literally "our father." Historically, this was one of the primary titles for the metropolitan
archbishop in Ethiopia.
aqalim districts (plural of iqlim)
arkhon (pl. arakhina) Term for high ranking Coptic notables. Derived from the Greek "arkhōn."
dayr monastery
defterdar senior official, sometimes referring to a chief treasurer
dejazmach Traditional Ethiopian military title. Literally "commander of the gate," but used as an
honorific for provincial rulers (a rank below "ras"
echage the head of the Ethiopian monastic system. He ranked second to the abun in the church
hierarchy.
Fetha Nagast traditional Ethiopian religious/civil law code
Galla - dated term for the Oromo, a Cushitic-speaking ethnic group, inhabiting regions of
modern Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
gult term for non-heritable grants in traditional Ethiopian land tenure, often awarded by the
crown in exchange for some service.
hukumdar title of the governor-general of the Sudan provinces during most of the period of
Turco-Egyptian rule.
iltizam tax farm
itege empress
ka'aba Islamic sacred site at Mecca
kashef district governor
kiswa The ornamental covering for the Ka'aba in Mecca.
feddan measure of land, only standardized during the nineteenth century. Approximately
equivalent to an acre.
mahmal palanquin used during the Islamic Hajj. This was a central feature of the pilgrimage,
and a sign of sultanic authority.
makanent (makwanint) appointed nobility, frequently of humble origins.
mesafint hereditary princes.
millet lit. "nation." The "millet system" refers to the pluralistic system whereby various religious
confessions were granted a degree of legal autonomy in matters related to personal status law.
miri tax reserved for the state treasury.
mu'allim title for prominent Copts in areas of finance and administration
mubashir "steward." Title for high-ranking Coptic officials.
multazim tax farmer.
mutran metropolitan (archbishop).
negus Ethiopian title for king or emperor.
Pseudo-canons of Nicaea
qadi judge in Islamic legal system
qa'immaqam "sub-governor"
Qibla direction of prayer in Islam.
ras powerful regional
rist heritable usufruct rights in traditional Ethiopian land tenure.
ruznamgi The official who oversaw the ruzename
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ruzname the primary administrative bureau for the treasury of Misr to which all the other
divisions of the treasury were subordinated.
sarraf money changer, collector of taxes
sharif In Islam, one who is recognized as a descendent of the prophet. Pl. ashraf.
sudd massive swamplands along the White Nile in the Sudan which hindered navigation
tanzimat "reorganization." Ottoman term for the programs of modern "reforms" initiated during
the nineteenth century, beginning in 1839.
tariqa generic term for a specific Sufi order; lit. "path."
'ulema Term for Islamic scholars, in the collective.
wakil agent or steward
waqf Pious foundation
Zemene Mesafint "Era of the Princes," often used to describe the period in Ethiopian history
between 1769 and 1855, when the central authority was weak and multiple provincial grandees
competed for ascendancy

LIST OF ANTI-CHALCEDONIAN PATRIARCHS OF ALEXANDRIA, 1676-PRESENT

Yuannis XVI (1676-1718)
Butrus VI (1718-1726)
Yuannis XVII (1727-1745)
Murqus VII (1745-1769)
Yuannis XVIII (1769-1796)
Murqus VIII (1796-1809)
Butrus VII (al-Gawali) (1809-1852)
Kirulus IV (1854-1861)
Demetrius II (1861-1870)
Kirulus V (1874-1927)
Yuannis XIX (1928-1942)
Makarius III (1944-1945)
Yusab II (1946-1956)
Kirulus VI (1959-1971)
Shenuda III (1971-2012)
Tawadros II (2012-)

LIST OF ABUNS OF AL-HABASH, 1635-1959

Murqus VIII (1635-1672)
Krestodolos II (1640-1672)
Shenuda (1672-1687)
Murqus IX (1689-?)
Murqus X (1694-1716)
Krestodolos III (1718-1745)
Yohannes XIV (1747-1770)
Yusab III (1770-1803)
Makarius (1808)
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Kirulus III (1816-1828/9)
Salama III (1841-1867
Atnatewos II (1868-1876)
Butrus VII (1876-1889)
Matewos X (1889-1926)
Kirulus IV (1926-1936) - deposed by the Italians
Abraham (1936-1939)
Yohannes XV (1939-1945)
Kirulus IV (1945-1950) - restored
Basilius (1951-1959)

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This dissertation is the product of many years of study, research and mentorship. It would
not have been possible without generous academic funding and support, first from the Center for
Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Chicago, and later from the Department of History
and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University and the United States
Department of Education. I am grateful for the many professors whom I have encountered over
the years, and whose commitment to their students and to scholarship has been an inspiration and
a guiding light for me. I am indebted to A. Holly Shissler for her kindness and dedication. She
opened the first door for me in my pursuit of graduate studies, and for this I will always be
exceedingly grateful.
It is with deep respect and gratitude that I thank the members of my dissertation
committee, in the first place my supervisor Rashid Khalidi, whom I first met at the University of
Chicago. It was because of his efforts on my behalf that I had the opportunity to undertake
doctoral studies at Columbia University. As I look forward to my own career, I will always hold
him up as the gold standard for teaching excellence. He is among the most dynamic and inspiring
lecturers I have known, and it was a pleasure to work with him, first as a student, and later as a
teaching assistant. As my dissertation supervisor, he was always on hand to advise, to guide, to
encourage and to challenge. Despite his busy schedule, he never tired in offering any kind of
assistance that I needed. I am thankful to Richard Bulliet, who served as the second reader, and
whose creativity, quit wit and love for history have been a constant source of inspiration to me. I
am also indebted to Marcia Wright who offered a number of insights during my first years at
Columbia that profoundly influenced my research plans. Many of the ideas that I pursued in this
dissertation began with my fortuitous encounter with her. Paul Sedra has contributed immensely
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