of Egypt. The Christian population of Egypt, however, remained divided between the Copts, Melkites, and other groups after the Arab conquest. Benjamin did however eventually prove successful in restoring a degree of unity to his fragmented population. Several Copts who had fled to the Libyan Pentapolis returned. A number of those who had left the Coptic church under duress for the Melkite church during the occupation, including the bishops Cyrus of Nikiou and Victor of Phiom, returned to the fold. He also exercised his new legal and judicial functions, even in accord with the Byzantine legal system, to the satisfaction of the new Islamic authorities. Benjamin engaged in pontifical visitations to the dioceses and monasteries of the church, restoring properties wherever necessary. One of his more remarkable feats during this period was the recovery of the head of Saint Mark, which the Melkites had intended to try to smuggle back to Byzantium. The head was probably left in the sanctuary of the Monastery of Saint Macarius the Great in 645 or 647. Benjamin at the time also issued his canons to the monks of Saint Macarius. Benjamin helped guide and comfort the Coptic community during the early days of Islamic rule. 'Amr's successor, 'Abdallah ibn Sa'd ibn Abī-al-Sarḥ ibn al-Ḥārith al-"Āmirī, demanded large amounts of money from the native Egyptian people whose resources were depleted. Benjamin's effort and intercession brought comfort to oppressed Copts. Benjamin spent the last two years of his life encumbered by severe illness. After enduring a prolonged period of great sufferering, he died on 3 January 661. Veneration He is regarded as a saint by the Coptic church, and is commemorated in the Coptic Synaxarion on the 8th day of Toba. Benjamin is widely celebrated for his role in guiding the Coptic church through the turmoil and upheaval of the Islamic conquest. His contemporaries' regard for him was so high that a legend was widely circulated after his death that Benjamin's soul was not only carried to heaven by angels, but also escorted by Athanasius of Alexandria, Severus of Antioch, and Theodosius I of Alexandria. Notes References Atiya, Aziz S. The Coptic Encyclopedia. New York:Macmillan Publishing Company, 1991. Pope Benjamin I and the Islamic Conquest 590 births 661 deaths 7th-century Coptic Orthodox popes of Alexandria Coptic Orthodox saints 7th-century Christian saints Christians of the Rashidun Caliphate