Athanasios 4 was the son of Gumaye ('tn'syws br Gwmy'); he was a native of Edessa who achieved fame during the caliphate of `Abd al-Malik (Abdulmalik 1) (685-705); his reputation for learning came to the attention of the caliph ("he was a man endowed with reason and instructed in the skill of scribes") and he was entrusted with the care of Abdulmalik 1's young brother, `Abd al-`aziz (Abdul Aziz 2), who was made emir of Egypt; Abdul Aziz 2 exercised nominal power while the government was in the hands of Athanasios 4; the caliph "commanded him to be his scribe and guardian, and commanded that all authority and leadership be Athanasios's, and only the name of the kingdom would be Abdul Aziz's. In this way he went to Egypt and was given authority over it, he himself governing and assigning taxes over Egypt"; his sons also held posts of authority, governing "the land of Gunada" (presumably part of Egypt, see below); Athanasios 4 was the father of Petros 48, his eldest son, who was sent back to Edessa to manage the family properties; he and his sons governed Egypt for twenty one years and became very wealthy; Athanasios 4 himself already had great wealth, owning four thousand slaves and numerous estates, as well as three hundred market stalls and nine inns in Edessa; he was a zealous Christian, honouring bishops and making generous charitable donations for orphans and widows; he built churches, including two at Fustat in Egypt, and restored a church of the Theotokos at Edessa and a baptistery, which he furnished with ample reservoirs of water and decorated with marble, gold and silver; when Abdul Aziz 2 died in Egypt, Athanasios 4 returned to Damascus with his family; he was criticised by Sergios son of Mansour (Sergios 5) for carrying off all the wealth of Egypt; after a meeting with Abdulmalik 1 he gave the caliph a large proportion of it, but kept most of it for himself: Chron. 1234, §149 (pp. 294-295), cf. Mich. Syr. II 475-477 and Bar Hebr., pp. 104-105 (the same story, taken from Dionysios of Tell Mahre). Sergios 5 is characterised as a Chalcedonian, and so Athanasios 4 was evidently a monophysite Christian. His period in Egypt apparently covered virtually the whole of the reign of the caliph Abdulmalik 1, from 685 to 705.

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