#TodayInHistory The Arabs under Amr ibn al-As of the Rashidun Caliphate, win a decisive battle at Heliopolis( now Ayn Shams near Cairo) in 640 CE, against the Byzantines, that launched the Muslim conquest of Egypt.
Though there were many other battles between the Byzantines and Arabs, Heliopolis decisively tilted the balance, and with the surrender of the Byzantine capital Alexandria by November, the Arab conquest of Egypt was complete.
Loss of Egypt was a major blow to the Byzantine Empire, as they lost one of their important revenue as well as food sources. It however managed to survive for some time, holding on to Anatolia and Constantinopole, unlike the Sassanids in Persia who collapsed.
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