The first Syriac Orthodox church in Jerusalem was probably built between the Sasanian conquest (614) and the Islamic conquest (637). The Patriarch Michael the Syrian (died 1199) implies that the church torn down by Harun al-Rashid in 806/807 predated the Islamic conquest. It was soon rebuilt by an Egyptian named Macarius of Naburwah. Since almost all of the known bishops were monks, there must also have been at least a rudimentary monastic community.