IFAO

This article is an attempt to place the history of the Copts into a broader context, that of Ottoman history and shows that Coptic history is closely linked to Egyptian history. Based on two sharia court cases, we can explain not only the period of transformation in Coptic history but also the history of Egypt at the end of the 16th century, which completed at the middle of 17th century. On the other hand, the article shows how the sources of the courts can be supplemented with Coptic sources, and that to better understand the 17th century, it would be necessary to use both of these sources. The two court cases studied here are only comprehensible when Coptic sources are taken into consideration.