During the Al-Hakim reign, many churches and monasteries were destroyed and Christian were severely and violently persecuted. In the Fatimid period. Egypt enjoyed a great era of prosperity and the Coptic church flourished. The Fatimid's sympathetic attitude toward the Copts was expressed among other things in the employment of Copts in the government and their own participation in the Christian feasts. But more significant is the reconstruction and adornment of Churches and Monasteries in Fatimid times and new heights in Coptic a artistic expression were reached, especially in monastic centers in middle and Upper Egypt.
Coptic art owes a great debt to two main sources, the classical and ancient Egypt.
Old Cairo was inhabited exclusively by Copts. Arabs recruited local labor from their ranks. The Coptic artist disguised crosses and symbols from the Old and New testament on the walls and wood carvings which would only be discernible to Copts. Christianity declined with the coming of the Mamluks and artistic expres- sion seemed drained of its strength. During medieval times, churches and monasteries were plundered and destroyed by Bedouin raids.