During the reign of Abd-el-Melek (705-708) an attack was directed against the convent of Sinai, where many of the slave population, who had been settled there by Justinian, were slain, others fled, others became Moslim,—“whose descendants to this day remain in the monastery and are called Benu Saleh, being reckoned their descendants,—from them sprang the Lachmienses.” The monks themselves destroyed the houses of the slaves, lest anyone should dwell there and they are in ruins at the present day (c. 930).[217]
It is related in an appendix to the stories of Anastasius how the Christian Saracens, who dwelt near the tower of Pharan and the Holy Bush, sought refuge in the holy mountain, but could not resist the numerous invaders, and therefore decided to accept the faith of the Prophet. One man was about to fly, when his wife begged him to kill her and the children rather than leave them at the mercy of the barbarians. He did so, and then fled to Horeb, where, like Elijah, he dwelt with wild beasts till he felt the approach of death. Then he repaired to the Holy Bush, where he lay in the guest-house, and where “some of the monks, still among the living,” saw him and heard him describe the shining figures which he saw approaching as he lay on the point of death. “They were, I believe, the angelic bands of the martyrs who came forth to greet him” (no. 45).
In Egypt itself, the Christians continued to be oppressed. A government survey, undertaken by the minister of finance, Obeidallah Ben Hab-Hab, resulted in a poll-tax being levied on them in addition to the usual land-tax. Again, Osanna ben Said el Tanuchi confiscated the property of the Christians, branded each monk with a sign on the hand, and he who had no sign forfeited his hand. Hence the Copts of Egypt to this day are marked with a cross on the hand. Moreover, every Christian who had no legitimation papers was mulcted ten dinars. In 737, in 750, and again in 831 or 852 the Copts of Egypt were in revolt.[218]
In spite of the Arab conquest, Sinai, like Jerusalem and Rome, continued to stand out as a goal of Christian pilgrimage. According to the account of a monk of Redon in Brittany, a certain Fromont and his brother, men of high standing, went there. They had murdered their uncle, an ecclesiastic, and repented, and went before King Lothair (855-859). His bishops decreed that the brothers should be chained and bound together and should do penance by going to Rome, Jerusalem and Sinai. In Rome they were received by Pope Benedict III (858-888), who gave them his blessing, and they took boat for Jerusalem, where they spent several years. From there they went into the Thebaid, where they fasted with the monks, and they finally reached Sinai, where they spent three years. Still wearing the chains that bound them together, they returned by way of Rome to Rennes, where the one brother died. Fromont then went to Redon, and once more started for Rome. But he returned to Redon where, his penance being at an end, his chain was taken from him, and where he died.[219] Bishop Pococke was shown a cell some way up the Gebel Musa where two brothers dwelt who were chained together.[220] The brothers from Rennes are probably meant.
Another account which seems to date from the first half of the ninth century described the Houses of God, and thus described Sinai. “In holy Mount Sina there are four churches, one where the Lord spoke to Moses on the summit of the mountain; one dedicated to St. Elijah; another dedicated to St. Elisæus; and a fourth in the monastery of St. Mary. The abbot is Elias, who has under him thirty monks. The steps that lead up and down the mountain are 7700 in number.”[221]
A list of the “archbishops” of Sinai was compiled at the convent in the seventeenth century, which begins with Marcus, whose date is given as 869.[222] But the official report of the Fourth Synod held at Constantinople, in 869-870, contains the signature of Constantine, bishop of Syna.[223] Another bishop was Jorius, who died and was enshrined in Bethune in Belgium in the year 1033. A hymn there written in his honour described him as “bishop of Sinai.”[224] He was probably travelling for the purpose of collecting alms for his convent.
From the historian Rodolfus Glaber (c. 900-1044) we hear that the dukes of Normandy, more especially Duke William (927-942) and his successors, were liberal in their gifts to churches and convents, and that monks from Mount Sinai came every year to Rouen, from where they departed loaded with gifts (exenia) in gold and silver.[225] It was in connection with these grants that the fame of St. Katherine of Alexandria spread to Europe in the course of the eleventh century.
The cult of St. Katherine, virgin saint and martyr, is among the curious developments of legendary history, for her name appears for the first time about three hundred years after her reputed existence. She is first named in the Life of Paulus Junior († 956), who was called a Latro from Mons Latrus, where he dwelt. The account of his life was written by a contemporary.[226] It describes how three hundred monks from Sinai and Raithou sought refuge in Mount Latrus in Karia from the persecutions of the Saracens (c. 8).
The monks continued in close connection with Sinai. Gabriel sang the Psalms of David as he had done at the Bush, and when a pilgrimage was undertaken to pray for rain, Gabriel obtained the desired result (c. 18). The fame of the monks of Sinai as rain-makers was noted by Robinson and by Prof. Palmer.[227] Paulus himself was devoted to various saints, among whom was the martyr Aekatherina; the thought of her filled him with joy, and gave him a special power. One day the monks were sitting down to a meal in the open air when a rain cloud came up. Paulus bade them remain seated, and not a drop of rain fell until they had finished their meal, when it poured.
Direct information on St. Katherine, in this case called Aekatherina, stands in the Menology of Basileus which is dated between 957-1027. It stated that the saint dwelt at Alexandria, and was the daughter of a wealthy king. She was dignified in appearance and learned in Greek letters, philosophy, and language. After witnessing a festival of the Greeks, she approached the emperor Maximianus (a.d. 307) and blamed him for ignoring the living God and adoring lifeless idols. The emperor summoned fifty learned men to meet her in argument, threatening them with death if they failed to confound her. But the learned men were convinced by the lady and accepted baptism, whereupon they were put to death. Aekatherina was beheaded.[228]