Al Masudi's Golden Meadows
Since the learned men and those who used this writing have disappeared, and Egypt has been occupied by a succession of foreign peoples, the Greek alphabet and writing have prevailed. As the Copts became familiar with this writing, they used it and combined the letters with those of their own alphabet; from their contact with the Greeks, resulted in a writing related both to Greek and ancient Copt, and thus they lost the understanding of the writing of their ancestors.
Mas‘ûdi, Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems (Extract from Ref: 24). Quoted at http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/ghizahistoricaccounts.htm
The Akbar-Ezzeman MS, by Masoudi, in the Bodleian, at Oxford, was so much decayed, that recourse has been had to the works of other authors, who have given the same account in nearly the same words - namely, to Makrizi, who quotes from Usted Ibrahim Ben Wasyff Shah; to Soyuti; to a MS (No. 7503) in the British museum, entitled "The Odour of Flowers", or "The Wonders of Different Countries", by Mohammed Ben Ayas; to a Turkish "History of Egypt" MS. (7861) in the British Museum, written 1089 AH; and to Yakut, MS in the Bodleian Library.
