Satan has moved a group of villains called the Berbers to destroy these monastic communities. The Berbers are savage people who used to worship the sun and lived in the mountains, and they belonged to the “Amazigh” tribes, and their original home is in North Africa (Libya – Algeria – Morocco).
They attacked the desert of Wadi Al-Natrun five times over a period of 400 years, from 407 AD to 840 AD, and each time they killed a number of monks, destroyed monasteries and burned the monks cells. The reason for the Berbers attacking Wadi al-Natrun region in particular is that this region is the closest they meet when they leave their countries.
The first attack took place in 407 AD, and because of this attack, St. Bishoy left Al-Askeet and went to Mount Ansena. St. John the Short went to Mount Al-Qalzam (in the Red Sea region next to Mount Anthony), and St. Moses the Black was martyred during this attack.
The second attack occurred in 434 AD, and because of this raid, St. Arsanius, the teacher of the children of kings, left Al-Askeet and went to the area of Tora, near Helwan.
The third attack occurred in 444 AD. During this raid, the Berbers killed 49 monks in the monastery of Anba Makar, then they came to the monastery of Anba Bishoy and washed their swords stained with the blood of the martyrs in the well located in front of the ancient church of Anba Bishoy. That’s why this well is called “the well of the martyrs.”
The fourth attack occurred in 620 AD and was very fierce and more difficult than the previous ones. At that time, Al-Askeet was completely ruined, and the monastery of Anba Bishoy was completely demolished. During this attack, the Berbers captured Saint Samuel the Confessor and tortured him severely. But God wanted to rebuild Al-Askeet, so Pope Benjamin I, the thirty-eighth Patriarch, built it.
The fifth attack occurred in 840 AD and was also very fierce, and the Berbers killed large numbers of monks and destroyed Al-Eskeet. But God wanted to write an end to this persecution and remove the sword of the Berbers from the necks of the monks. The end of the Berbers was by the hands of Ahmed bin Tulun, who felt that they were posing a threat to the western borders of Egypt. Therefore, he gathered his army commanders, moved with the army and came to the area of Wadi Al-Natrun, where a fierce battle took place, led by Ahmed bin Tulun himself. In the end, Ibn Tulun’s army was victorious, and the Berbers did not exist after that in the Wadi Al-Natrun region.
