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158-410: In June 2009, governmental plans to develop an extension of Alexandria with an area of 390 acres (1.6 km) located to the west of the old city were revealed. It would be later known as "New Alexandria". The new city is planned to be linked to Borg Al-Arab airport via the ring road with an estimated travel time of 25 minutes. The President also inaugurated Borg Al-Arab International Airport as one of

316-422: A Hippodamian grid plan . Following Alexander's death in 323 BC, his general Ptolemy Lagides took possession of Egypt and brought Alexander's body to Egypt with him. Ptolemy at first ruled from the old Egyptian capital of Memphis . In 322/321 BC he had Cleomenes executed. Finally, in 305 BC, Ptolemy declared himself Pharaoh as Ptolemy I Soter ("Savior") and moved his capital to Alexandria. Although Cleomenes

474-464: A Roman triumphal column , is one of the best-known ancient monuments still standing in Alexandria today. It is located on Alexandria's ancient acropolis —a modest hill located adjacent to the city's Arab cemetery —and was originally part of a temple colonnade. Including its pedestal , it is 30 m (99 ft) high; the shaft is of polished red granite, 2.7 m (8.9 ft) in diameter at

632-554: A deme that both parents were Alexandrian citizens. Alexandrians were the only Egyptians that could obtain Roman citizenship. If a common Egyptian wanted to become a Roman citizen he would first have to become an Alexandrian citizen. The Augustan period in Egypt saw the creation of urban communities with " Hellenic " landowning elites. These landowning elites were put in a position of privilege and power and had more self-administration than

790-534: A hot steppe climate (Köppen climate classification: BSh ), virtually hot desert climate ( Köppen climate classification : BWh ). Like the rest of Egypt's northern coast , the prevailing north wind, blowing across the Mediterranean, gives the city a less severe climate than the desert hinterland. Rafah and Alexandria are the wettest places in Egypt; the other wettest places are Rosetta , Baltim , Kafr el-Dawwar , and Mersa Matruh . The city's climate

948-486: A proconsul , since a Roman law (a lex ) granted him "proconsular imperium " (Latin: imperium ad similitudinem proconsulis ). Unlike in senatorial provinces , the prefect was responsible for the collection of certain taxes and for the organization of the all-important grain shipments from Egypt (including the annona ). Because of these financial responsibilities, the governor's administration had to be closely controlled and organized. The governorship of Egypt

1106-402: A Greek unit of length measuring approximately 180 m or 590 ft). The end of this abutted on the land at the head of the present Grand Square, where the "Moon Gate" rose. All that now lies between that point and the modern "Ras al-Tin" quarter is built on the silt which gradually widened and obliterated this mole. The Ras al-Tin quarter represents all that is left of the island of Pharos,

1264-541: A Nile river delta, Alexandria is one of the most vulnerable cities to sea level rise in the entire world. According to some estimates, hundreds of thousands of people in its low-lying areas may already have to be relocated before 2030. The 2022 IPCC Sixth Assessment Report estimates that by 2050, Alexandria and 11 other major African cities ( Abidjan , Algiers , Cape Town , Casablanca , Dakar , Dar es Salaam , Durban , Lagos , Lomé , Luanda and Maputo ) would collectively sustain cumulative damages of US$ 65 billion for

1422-662: A Ptolemaic colonnade and streets in the north-east of the city, but little else. Hogarth explored part of an immense brick structure under the mound of Kom El Deka , which may have been part of the Paneum, the Mausolea, or a Roman fortress. The making of the new foreshore led to the dredging up of remains of the Patriarchal Church; and the foundations of modern buildings are seldom laid without some objects of antiquity being discovered. The most famous mosque in Alexandria

1580-527: A bishop decreed that Paganism must be eradicated. Beneath the acropolis itself are the subterranean remains of the Serapeum, where the mysteries of the god Serapis were enacted and whose carved wall niches are believed to have provided overflow storage space for the ancient Library. In more recent years, many ancient artifacts have been discovered from the surrounding sea, mostly pieces of old pottery. Alexandria's catacombs , known as Kom El Shoqafa , are

1738-479: A cemetery is 60 metres (200 ft) long and 20 metres (66 ft) wide. In the late 4th century, monastic churches differed from the other churches by building rectangular sanctuaries – rather than semi-circular ones – at their east ends where the altar stood, and in place of the apse was an aedicula or niche embellished with an arch and columns in applied in plaster. In the 5th century, regional styles of monumental church basilica with pastaphoria emerged: on

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1896-487: A city founded c.  130 by the emperor Hadrian ( r.  117–138 ). All these were sacred cities dedicated to particular deities. The ruins of these cities were first methodically surveyed and sketched by intellectuals attached to Napoleon's campaign in Egypt , eventually published in the Description de l'Égypte series. Illustrations produced by Edme-François Jomard and Vivant Denon form much of

2054-494: A fuel supply unit, a control tower , and a fire station available to cover emergencies on site. A parking area in front of the building provides space for 350 vehicles. [REDACTED] Media related to Borg El Arab Airport at Wikimedia Commons Alexandria Alexandria ( / ˌ æ l ɪ ɡ ˈ z æ n d r i ə , - ˈ z ɑː n -/ AL -ig- ZA(H)N -dree-ə ; Arabic : الإسكندرية ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ἀλεξάνδρεια , Coptic : Ⲣⲁⲕⲟϯ - Rakoti or ⲁⲗⲉⲝⲁⲛⲇⲣⲓⲁ)

2212-482: A major producer of grain for the empire and had a highly developed urban economy. It was by far the wealthiest Roman province outside of Italy . The population of Roman Egypt is unknown, although estimates vary from 4 to 8 million . Alexandria , its capital, was the largest port and second largest city of the Roman Empire. Three Roman legions garrisoned Egypt in the early Roman imperial period , with

2370-418: A record of soldiers' service history, six bronze Roman military diplomas dating between 83 and 206 are the main source of documentary evidence for the auxilia in Egypt; these inscribed certificates rewarded 25 or 26 years of military service in the auxilia with Roman citizenship and the right of conubium . That the army was more Greek-speaking than in other provinces is certain. The heart of

2528-407: A rival power base (as Mark Antony had been able to do), while the military legati commanding the legions were career soldiers, formerly centurions with the senior rank of primus pilus , rather than politicians whose military experience was limited to youthful service as a military tribune . Beneath the praefectus Aegypti , the overall commander of legions and auxilia stationed in Egypt

2686-402: A royal scribe ( βασιλικός γραμματεύς , basilikós grammateús , 'royal secretary'). These scribes were responsible for their nome 's financial affairs, including administration of all property, land, land revenues, and temples, and what remains of their record-keeping is unparalleled in the ancient world for its completeness and complexity. The royal scribes could act as proxy for

2844-464: A seawall, quays and a bridge. Near the beach side of the area, there are the remains of a tower built by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. The tower was an exact scale replica of the destroyed Alexandrine Pharos Lighthouse . Citadel of Qaitbay is a defensive fortress located on the Mediterranean sea coast. It was established in 1477 AD (882 AH ) by the mamluk Sultan Al-Ashraf Sayf al-Din Qa'it Bay . The Citadel

3002-429: A short distance southwest of the pillar, consist of a multi-level labyrinth, reached via a large spiral staircase and featuring dozens of chambers adorned with sculpted pillars, statues, and other syncretic Romano-Egyptian religious symbols , burial niches, and sarcophagi , as well as a large Roman-style banquet room, where memorial meals were conducted by relatives of the deceased. The catacombs were long forgotten by

3160-415: A successful attempt to erect a 25-ton obelisk in 1999. This followed two experiments to erect smaller obelisks and two failed attempts to erect a 25-ton obelisk. "Pompey's Pillar" is a misnomer , as it has nothing to do with Pompey , having been erected in 293 for Diocletian , possibly in memory of the rebellion of Domitius Domitianus . The structure was plundered and demolished in the 4th century when

3318-479: A temple of Serapis and a tetrastyle at Diospolis Magna at Thebes , and, at Philae , a triumphal arch and temples dedicated to the worship of the emperor Augustus and the goddess Roma , the personification of Rome. Besides a few individual stone blocks in some mētropoleis , substantial remains of Roman architecture are known in particular from three of the mētropoleis – Heracleopolis Magna , Oxyrhynchus , and Hermopolis Magna – as well as from Antinoöpolis ,

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3476-444: A time. Three or four alae of cavalry were stationed in Egypt, each ala numbering around 500 horsemen. There were between seven and ten cohortes of auxilia infantry, each cohors about 500 hundred strong, although some were cohortes equitatae – mixed units of 600 men, with infantry and cavalry in a roughly 4:1 ratio. Besides the auxilia stationed at Alexandria, at least three detachments permanently garrisoned

3634-1219: Is Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque in Bahary . Other notable mosques in the city include Ali ibn Abi Talib mosque in Somouha, Bilal mosque, al-Gamaa al-Bahari in Mandara, Hatem mosque in Somouha, Hoda el-Islam mosque in Sidi Bishr, al-Mowasah mosque in Hadara, Sharq al-Madina mosque in Miami, al-Shohadaa mosque in Mostafa Kamel, Al Qa'ed Ibrahim Mosque, Yehia mosque in Zizinia, Sidi Gaber mosque in Sidi Gaber, Sidi B esher mosque, Rokay el-Islam mosque in Elessway, Elsadaka Mosque in Sidibesher Qebly, Elshatbi mosque and Sultan mosque. Egypt (Roman province) Roman Egypt

3792-550: Is a popular tourist destination and an important industrial centre due to its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez . The city extends about 40 km (25 mi) along the northern coast of Egypt and is the largest city on the Mediterranean, the second-largest in Egypt (after Cairo ), the fourth-largest city in the Arab world , the ninth-largest city in Africa , and the ninth-largest urban area in Africa . The city

3950-480: Is built up') existed since the 13th century BC in the vicinity and eventually grew into the Egyptian quarter of the city. Just east of Alexandria (where Abu Qir Bay is now), there were in ancient times marshland and several islands. As early as the 7th century BC, there existed important port cities of Canopus and Heracleion . The latter was recently rediscovered underwater. Alexandria was founded by Alexander

4108-596: Is in the Far West Nile delta area. It is a densely populated city; its core areas belie its large administrative area. Notes: 2020 CAPMAS projection based on 2017 revised census figures, may differ significantly from 2017 census preliminary tabulations. The 14 kisms were reported simply as Alexandria city by CAPMAS in 2006 but given explosive growth definitions, likely informal, may have changed or may be set to change. Same area with 12 kisms existed in 1996. Kisms are considered 'fully urbanised' Alexandria has

4266-545: Is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea , moderating its temperatures, causing variable rainy winters and moderately hot and slightly prolonged summers that, at times, can be very humid; January and February are the coolest months, with daily maximum temperatures typically ranging from 12 to 18 °C (54 to 64 °F) and minimum temperatures that could reach 5 °C (41  °F ). Alexandria experiences violent storms , rain and sometimes sleet and hail during

4424-664: Is known from other provinces of the empire, and little evidence exists of the military practices of the prefect and his officers. Most papyri have been found in Middle Egypt 's villages, and the texts are primarily concerned with local affairs, rarely giving space to high politics and military matters. Not much is known about the military encampments of the Roman imperial period , since many are underwater or have been built over and because Egyptian archaeology has traditionally taken little interest in Roman sites. Because they supply

4582-600: Is located on the eastern side of the northern tip of Pharos Island at the mouth of the Eastern Harbour . It was erected on the exact site of the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria , which was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World . It was built on an area of 17,550 square metres . Persistent efforts have been made to explore the antiquities of Alexandria. Encouragement and help have been given by

4740-581: Is not known precisely when it was withdrawn from Egypt, though it was certainly before 23 AD, during the reign of Tiberius ( r.  14–37 ). In the reign of Tiberius's step-father and predecessor Augustus, the legions had been stationed at Nicopolis and at Egyptian Babylon, and perhaps at Thebes . After August 119, the III Cyrenaica was ordered out of Egypt; the XXII Deiotariana was transferred sometime afterwards, and before 127/8,

4898-598: Is the second largest city in Egypt and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast . It lies at the western edge of the Nile River delta . Founded in c.  331 BC by Alexander the Great , Alexandria grew rapidly and became a major centre of Hellenic civilisation , eventually replacing Memphis , in present-day Greater Cairo , as Egypt's capital. Called the "Bride of the Mediterranean" internationally, Alexandria

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5056-527: The strategoi , but each reported directly to Alexandria, where dedicated financial secretaries – appointed for each individual nome – oversaw the accounts: an eklogistes and a graphon ton nomon . The eklogistes was responsible for general financial affairs while the graphon ton nomon likely dealt with matters relating to the Idios Logos . In 200/201, the emperor Septimius Severus ( r.  193–211 ) granted each metropolis, and

5214-460: The Idios Logos , responsible for special revenues like the proceeds of bona caduca property, and the iuridicus (Koinē Greek: δικαιοδότης , romanized:  dikaiodotes , lit.   'giver of laws'), the senior legal official, were both imperially appointed. From the reign of Hadrian ( r.  117–138 ), the financial powers of the prefect and the control of

5372-656: The Legio II Traiana arrived, to remain as the main component of the Army of Egypt for two centuries. After some fluctuations in the size and positions of the auxilia garrison in the early decades of Roman Egypt, relating to the conquest and pacification of the country, the auxilia contingent was mostly stable during the Principate , increasing somewhat towards the end of the 2nd century, and with some individual formations remaining in Egypt for centuries at

5530-571: The canabae settlements surrounding the army's base at Nicopolis, while only about one eighth were Alexandrian citizens. Egyptians were given Roman-style Latin names on joining the army; unlike in other provinces, indigenous names are nearly unknown among the local soldiers of the Army of Egypt. One of the surviving military diplomas lists the soldier's birthplace as Coptos , while others demonstrate that soldiers and centurions from elsewhere retired to Egypt: auxilia veterans from Chios and Hippo Regius (or Hippos ) are named. Evidence from

5688-532: The demos '), and cargo supervisors ( ἐπίπλοοι , epiploöi ). Other liturgical officials were responsible for other specific aspects of the economy: a suite of officials was each responsible for arranging supplies of particular necessity in the course of the prefect's official tours. The liturgy system extended to most aspects of Roman administration by the reign of Trajan ( r.  98–117 ), though constant efforts were made by people eligible for such duties to escape their imposition. The reforms of

5846-656: The Battle of Ridaniya in 1517, the city was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and remained under Ottoman rule until 1798. Alexandria lost much of its former importance to the Egyptian port city of Rosetta during the 9th to 18th centuries, and it only regained its former prominence with the construction of the Mahmoudiyah Canal in 1820. Alexandria figured prominently in the military operations of Napoleon 's expedition to Egypt in 1798. French troops stormed

6004-572: The Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria both lay claim to this ancient heritage. By 641, the city had already been largely plundered and lost its significance before re-emerging in the modern era. From the late 18th century, Alexandria became a major centre of the international shipping industry and one of the most important trading centres in the world, both because it profited from

6162-580: The Coptos – Myos Hormos road and at the imperial granite quarry at Mons Claudianus . Another Roman outpost, known from an inscription, existed on Farasan , the chief island of the Red Sea 's Farasan Islands off the west coast of the Arabian Peninsula . As in other provinces, many of the Roman soldiers in Egypt were recruited locally, not only among the non-citizen auxilia , but among

6320-523: The Egyptian temples and priesthoods was devolved to other procurators, a dioiketes ( διοικητής ), the chief financial officer, and an archiereus ( ἀρχιερεύς , 'archpriest'). A procurator could deputize as the prefect's representative where necessary. Procurators were also appointed from among the freedmen ( manumitted slaves) of the imperial household , including the powerful procurator usiacus , responsible for state property in

6478-822: The Mediterranean Basin with the emergence of the Justinianic Plague at Pelusium in Roman Egypt in 541. Egypt was conquered by the Sasanian Empire in 618, who ruled the territory for a decade , but it was returned to the Eastern Roman Empire by the defection of the governor in 628. Egypt permanently ceased to be a part of the Roman Empire in 641, when it became part of the Rashidun Caliphate following

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6636-661: The Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 AD, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (later absorbed into Cairo ). Alexandria was best known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria ( Pharos ), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ; its Great Library , the largest in the ancient world; and the Catacombs of Kom El Shoqafa , one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages . Alexandria was the intellectual and cultural centre of

6794-570: The Muslim conquest of Egypt . The Ptolemaic Kingdom ( r.  305–30 BC , the Thirty-first Dynasty ) had ruled Egypt since the Wars of Alexander the Great that overthrew Achaemenid Egypt . The Ptolemaic pharaoh Cleopatra VII sided with Julius Caesar during Caesar's Civil War (49–45 BC) and Caesar's subsequent Roman dictatorship . After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, Cleopatra aligned Egypt with Mark Antony ,

6952-495: The Ptolemaic period , but the development of a much more complex and sophisticated taxation system was a hallmark of Roman rule. Taxes in both cash and kind were assessed on land, and a bewildering variety of small taxes in cash, as well as customs dues and the like, was collected by appointed officials. A massive amount of Aegyptus' grain was shipped downriver (north) both to feed the population of Alexandria and for export to

7110-409: The Roman calendar . Evidence exists of more than 60 edicts issued by the Roman governors of Egypt. To the government at Alexandria besides the prefect of Egypt, the Roman emperors appointed several other subordinate procurators for the province, all of equestrian rank and, at least from the reign of Commodus ( r.  176–192 ) of similar, "ducenarian" salary bracket. The administrator of

7268-619: The Thebaid by Justinian the Great ( r.  527–565 ). Constantine introduced the gold solidus coin , which stabilized the economy. The trend towards private ownership of land became more pronounced in the 5th century and peaked in the 6th century, with large estates built up from many individual plots. Some large estates were owned by Christian churches, and smaller land-holders included those who were themselves both tenant farmers on larger estates and landlords of tenant-farmers working their own land. The First Plague Pandemic arrived in

7426-536: The augustus himself: his fairness ( aequitas , 'equality') and his foresight ( providentia , 'providence'). From the early 2nd century, service as the governor of Egypt was frequently the penultimate stage in the career of a praetorian prefect. The governor's powers as prefect, which included the rights to make edicts ( ius edicendi ) and, as the supreme judicial authority, to order capital punishment ( ius gladii , 'right of swords '), expired as soon as his successor arrived in

7584-610: The deified emperors and their families. As Rome overtook the Ptolemaic system in place for areas of Egypt, they made many changes. The effect of the Roman conquest was at first to strengthen the position of the Greeks and of Hellenism against Egyptian influences. Some of the previous offices and names of offices under the Hellenistic Ptolemaic rule were kept, some were changed, and some names would have remained but

7742-464: The "moderate" climate change scenario RCP 4.5 and US$ 86.5 billion for the high-emission scenario RCP 8.5, while RCP 8.5 combined with the hypothetical impact from marine ice sheet instability at high levels of warming would involve up to US$ 137.5 billion in damages. Additional accounting for the "low-probability, high-damage events" may increase aggregate risks to US$ 187 billion for the "moderate" RCP4.5, US$ 206 billion for RCP8.5 and US$ 397 billion under

7900-665: The 2nd century suggests most auxilia came from Egypt, with others drawn from the provinces of Africa and Syria , and from Roman Asia Minor . Auxilia from the Balkans, who served throughout the Roman army, also served in Egypt: many Dacian names are known from ostraca in the Trajanic period, perhaps connected with the recruitment of Dacians during and after Trajan's Dacian Wars ; they are predominantly cavalrymen's names, with some infantrymen's. Thracians , common in

8058-534: The 4th century AD. This underwater section, containing many of the most interesting sections of the Hellenistic city, including the palace quarter, was explored in 1992 and is still being extensively investigated by the French underwater archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team . It raised a noted head of Caesarion . These are being opened up to tourists, to some controversy. The spaces that are most open are

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8216-523: The Arabs under the general 'Amr ibn al-'As invaded it during the Muslim conquest of Egypt , after a siege that lasted 14 months. The first Arab governor of Egypt recorded to have visited Alexandria was Utba ibn Abi Sufyan , who strengthened the Arab presence and built a governor's palace in the city in 664–665. In reference to Alexandria, Ibn Battuta speaks of a number of Muslim saints that resided in

8374-594: The Army of Egypt was the Nicopolis garrison at Alexandria, with at least one legion permanently stationed there, along with a strong force of auxilia cavalry. These troops would both guard the residence of the praefectus Aegypti against uprisings among the Alexandrians and were poised to march quickly to any point at the prefect's command. At Alexandria too was the Classis Alexandrina ,

8532-641: The Christians of Roman Egypt. Under Diocletian the frontier was moved downriver to the First Cataract of the Nile at Syene ( Aswan ), withdrawing from the Dodekaschoinos region. This southern frontier was largely peaceful for many centuries, likely garrisoned by limitanei of the late Roman army . Regular units also served in Egypt, including Scythians known to have been stationed in

8690-669: The Demotic Egyptian of the Late and Ptolemaic periods to Coptic under Roman rule). In each metropolis, the citizens spoke Koine Greek and followed a Hellenistic culture. However there was considerable social mobility, increasing urbanization, and both the rural and urban population were involved in trade and had high literacy rates. In AD 212, the Constitutio Antoniniana gave Roman citizenship to all free Egyptians. The Antonine Plague struck in

8848-399: The Egyptian monarchy. The division between the rural life of the villages, where the Egyptian language was spoken, and the metropolis, where the citizens spoke Koine Greek and frequented the Hellenistic gymnasia , was the most significant cultural division in Roman Egypt, and was not dissolved by the Constitutio Antoniniana of 212, which made all free Egyptians Roman citizens. There

9006-451: The Egyptian population. Within the citizenry, there were gymnasiums that Greek citizens could enter if they showed that both parents were members of the gymnasium based on a list that was compiled by the government in 4–5 AD. The candidate for the gymnasium would then be let into the ephebus . There was also the council of elders known as the gerousia . This council of elders did not have a boulai to answer to. All of this Greek organization

9164-593: The Great in April 331 BC as Ἀλεξάνδρεια ( Alexandreia ), as one of his many city foundations . After he captured the Egyptian Satrapy from the Persians , Alexander wanted to build a large Greek city on Egypt's coast that would bear his name. He chose the site of Alexandria, envisioning the building of a causeway to the nearby island of Pharos that would generate two great natural harbours. Alexandria

9322-515: The Great Harbour. The names of a few other public buildings on the mainland are known, but there is little information as to their actual position. None, however, are as famous as the building that stood on the eastern point of Pharos island. There, The Great Lighthouse , one of the Seven Wonders of the World , reputed to be 138 m (453 ft) high, was situated. The first Ptolemy began

9480-530: The Greek cities in Egypt, it is clear that the other Greek cities, such as Antinoöpolis, enjoyed privileges very similar to the ones seen in Alexandria; for instance, like Alexandrians, Antinoöpolites were exempted from paying poll-taxes. All of these changes amounted to the Greeks being treated as an ally in Egypt and the native Egyptians were treated as a conquered race. The Gnomon of the Idios Logos shows

9638-561: The Hellenistic-Egyptian god Serapis (under the name ϹΑΡΑΠΟ , "Sarapo"). Since Serapis was the supreme deity of the pantheon of Alexandria in Egypt , this coin suggests that Huvishka had as strong orientation towards Roman Egypt, which may have been an important market for the products coming from the Kushan Empire. In the administrative provincial capitals of the nomoi , the mētropoleis mostly inherited from

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9796-565: The Latin: praefectus Aegypti , lit.   'prefect of Egypt' or the Koinē Greek : ἔπαρχος Αἰγύπτου , romanized:  eparchos Aigyptou , lit.   ' Eparch of Egypt'. The double title of the governor as prefect "of Alexandria and Egypt" reflects the distinctions between Upper and Lower Egypt and Alexandria, since Alexandria, outside the Nile Delta ,

9954-542: The Nile Valley, but about their duties little is known, as little evidence survives, though they were, in addition to the strategoi of the nomoi , the prime local representatives of the Roman state. Archaeological work led by Hélène Cuvigny has revealed many ostraca (inscribed ceramic fragments) which give unprecedently detailed information on the lives of soldiers stationed in the Eastern Desert along

10112-534: The Pharaonic and Ptolemaic period, Roman public buildings were erected by the governing strategos and the local gymnasiarch . In most cases, these have not survived and evidence of them is rare, but it is probable that most were built in the classical architecture of the Graeco-Roman world, employing the classical orders in stone buildings. Prominent remains include two Roman theatres at Pelusium ,

10270-403: The Ptolemaic cleruchy system of allotments under royal ownership) and the local administration reformed into a Roman liturgical system, in which land-owners were required to serve in local government. The priesthoods of the Ancient Egyptian deities and Hellenistic religions of Egypt kept most of their temples and privileges, and in turn the priests also served the Roman imperial cult of

10428-429: The Ptolemaic Kingdom remained wholly under Roman rule until the administrative reforms of the augustus Diocletian ( r.  284–305 ). In these first three centuries of Roman Egypt, the whole country came under the central Roman control of single governor, officially called in Latin : praefectus Alexandreae et Aegypti , lit.   'prefect of Alexandria and Egypt' and more usually referred to as

10586-408: The Roman triumvir who controlled the eastern Mediterranean. In the last war of the Roman Republic (32–30 BC), Antony (with Cleopatra's support) fought against Octavian . The decisive naval Battle of Actium was won by Octavian, who then invaded Egypt. Following the Battle of Alexandria the defeated Antony and Cleopatra killed themselves. The Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt ceased to exist; Egypt

10744-406: The Roman capital. There were frequent complaints of oppression and extortion from the taxpayers. For land management and tenure, the Ptolemaic state had retained much of the categorization of land as under the earlier pharaohs, but the Roman Empire introduced a distinction between private and public lands – the earlier system had categorized little land as private property – and a complex arrangement

10902-672: The Romans was both unique and complicated. On the one hand, the Romans continued to use many of the same organizational tactics that were in place under the leaders of the Ptolemaic period. At the same time, the Romans saw the Greeks in Aegyptus as "Egyptians", an idea that both the native Egyptians and Greeks would have rejected. To further compound the whole situation, Jews, who themselves were very Hellenized overall, had their own communities, separate from both Greeks and native Egyptians. Most inhabitants were peasants, many working as tenant-farmers for high rents in kind, cultivating sacred land belonging to temples or public land formerly belonging to

11060-400: The Rosetta Gate, but remnants of streets and canals were exposed in 1899 by German excavators outside the east fortifications, which lie well within the area of the ancient city. Alexandria consisted originally of little more than the island of Pharos, which was joined to the mainland by a 1,260 m-long (4,130 ft) mole and called the Heptastadion ("seven stadia"—a stadium was

11218-529: The Serapeum. Nearby, immense catacombs and columbaria have been opened which may have been appendages of the temple. These contain one very remarkable vault with curious painted reliefs, now artificially lit and open to visitors. The objects found in these researches are in the museum, the most notable being a great basalt bull, probably once an object of cult in the Serapeum. Other catacombs and tombs have been opened in Kom El Shoqafa (Roman) and Ras El Tin (painted). The German excavation team found remains of

11376-726: The Society for the Promotion of Hellenic Studies in 1895; and a German expedition worked for two years (1898–1899). But two difficulties face the would-be excavator in Alexandria: lack of space for excavation and the underwater location of some areas of interest. Since the great and growing modern city stands immediately over the ancient one, it is almost impossible to find any considerable space in which to dig, except at enormous cost. Cleopatra VII 's royal quarters were inundated by earthquakes and tsunami, leading to gradual subsidence in

11534-665: The Sultan of Egypt at the time, al-Nasir Muhammad . Ibn Battuta also visited the Pharos lighthouse on two occasions: in 1326 he found it to be partly in ruins and in 1349 it had deteriorated to the point that it was no longer possible to enter. During the Middle Ages , the Mamluk Sultanate provided amenities for European merchants to stay in the port cities of Alexandria and Damietta , so hotels were built and placed at

11692-518: The ancient Mediterranean for much of the Hellenistic age and late antiquity . It was at one time the largest city in the ancient world before being eventually overtaken by Rome . The city was a major centre of early Christianity and was the centre of the Patriarchate of Alexandria , which was one of the major centres of Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire . In the modern world,

11850-674: The army in other Roman provinces, were also present, and an auxiliary diploma from the Egyptian garrison has been found in Thracia . Two auxilia diplomas connect Army of Egypt veterans with Syria, including one naming Apamea . Large numbers of recruits mustered in Asia Minor may have supplemented the garrison after the Diaspora Revolt , a Jewish uprising in Egypt, Libya and Cyprus. The social structure in Aegyptus under

12008-449: The auxiliary forces and attain citizenship upon discharge. The different groups had different rates of taxation based on their social class. Roman citizens and citizens of Alexandria were exempted from the poll tax . Hellenized inhabitants of the nome capitals paid a low rate of poll tax, while native Egyptians paid a higher rate. Native Egyptians were barred from serving in the army, and there were other defined legal distinctions between

12166-513: The base, tapering to 2.4 m (7.9 ft) at the top. The shaft is 88 ft (27 m) high and made out of a single piece of granite. Its volume is 132 m (4,662 cu ft) and weight approximately 396 tons. Pompey's Pillar may have been erected using the same methods that were used to erect the ancient obelisks . The Romans had cranes but they were not strong enough to lift something this heavy. Roger Hopkins and Mark Lehrner conducted several obelisk erecting experiments including

12324-462: The centre of the city, close to the point where the Sema (or Soma) of Alexander (his Mausoleum ) rose. This point is very near the present mosque of Nebi Daniel ; the line of the great East–West "Canopic" street is also present in modern-day Alexandria, having only slightly diverged from the line of the modern Boulevard de Rosette (now Sharae Fouad). Traces of its pavement and canal have been found near

12482-516: The citizens until they were discovered by accident in 1900. The most extensive ancient excavation currently being conducted in Alexandria is known as Kom El Deka . It has revealed the ancient city's well-preserved theater, and the remains of its Roman-era baths . The temple was built in the Ptolemy era and dedicated to Osiris, which finished the construction of Alexandria. It is located in Abusir,

12640-400: The city of Alexandria, a boulē (a Hellenistic town council). The nomoi were grouped traditionally into those of Upper and Lower Egypt, the two divisions each being known as an " epistrategy " after the chief officer, the epistrategos ( ἐπιστράτηγος , epistratēgós , 'over-general'), each of whom was also a Roman procurator. Soon after the Roman annexation, a new epistrategy

12798-570: The city on 2 July 1798, and it remained in their hands until the arrival of a British expedition in 1801. The British won a considerable victory over the French at the Battle of Alexandria on 21 March 1801, following which they besieged the city , which fell to them on 2 September 1801. Muhammad Ali , the Ottoman governor of Egypt, began rebuilding and redevelopment around 1810 and, by 1850, Alexandria had returned to something akin to its former glory. Egypt turned to Europe in their effort to modernise

12956-456: The city's only operational airport. A brand new airport terminal was opened in February 2010, which consisted of a new passenger building and an administration building. The passenger terminal is designed in the shape of a boat and consists of three floors: The terminal contains a duty-free shop , a franchise food court, an area dedicated for travel offices and other travel-related services,

13114-489: The city, which was dedicated to the medjed , a sacred species of Mormyrus fish. Two groups of buildings survive at Heracleopolis Magna, sacred to Heracles / Hercules , which is otherwise known from Jomard's work, which also forms the mainstay of knowledge about the architecture of Antinoöpolis, founded by Hadrian in honour of his deified lover Antinous . The Napoleonic-era evidence is also important for documenting Hermopolis Magna, where more buildings survive and which

13272-522: The city. One such saint was Imam Borhan Oddin El Aaraj, who was said to perform miracles. Another notable figure was Yaqut al-'Arshi, a disciple of Abu Abbas El Mursi . Ibn Battuta also writes about Abu 'Abdallah al-Murshidi, a saint that lived in the Minyat of Ibn Murshed. Although al-Murshidi lived in seclusion, Ibn Battuta writes that he was regularly visited by crowds, high state officials, and even by

13430-438: The classes. Within the mētropoleis there was a Hellenic socio-political élite, an urban land-owning aristocracy that dominated Egypt by the 2nd and throughout the 3rd centuries through their large private estates. The social structure in Aegyptus is very closely linked to the governing administration. Elements of centralized rule that were derived from the Ptolemaic period lasted into the 4th century. One element in particular

13588-471: The climate of Alexandria in the year 2050 would most closely resemble the current climate of Gaza City . The annual temperature would increase by 2.8 °C (5.0 °F), and the temperature of the warmest and the coldest month by 2.9 °C (5.2 °F) and 3.1 °C (5.6 °F). According to Climate Action Tracker , the current warming trajectory appears consistent with 2.7 °C (4.9 °F), which closely matches RCP 4.5. Due to its location on

13746-483: The coast of the Mediterranean and throughout the northern part of the country the churches were basilicas of three or five aisles, but in Middle Egypt and Upper Egypt the basilicas were often given a colonnade all the way around the structure, forming a continuous ambulatory by the addition of a transverse fourth aisle to the west of the other three. In eastern Egypt, the columns and colonnade were emphasized, and

13904-520: The connection between law and status. It lays out the revenues it deals with, mainly fines and confiscation of property, to which only a few groups were apt. The Gnomon also confirms that a freed slave takes his former master's social status. The Gnomon demonstrates the social controls that the Romans had in place through monetary means based on status and property. The economic resources that this imperial government existed to exploit had not changed since

14062-493: The cooler months; these events, combined with a poor drainage system, have been responsible for occasional flooding in the city in the past though they rarely occur anymore. July and August are the hottest and driest months of the year, with an average daily maximum temperature of 30 °C (86  °F ). The average annual rainfall is around 211 mm (8.3 in) but has been as high as 417 mm (16.4 in) Port Said , Kosseir , Baltim , Damietta and Alexandria have

14220-675: The count of the Orient (i.e. the vicar) of the diocese headquartered in Antioch in Syria. Emperor Justinian abolished the Diocese of Egypt in 538 and re-combined civil and military power in the hands of the dux with a civil deputy ( praeses ) as a counterweight to the power of the church authorities. All pretense of local autonomy had by then vanished. The presence of the soldiery was more noticeable, its power and influence more pervasive in

14378-481: The country. Greeks, followed by other Europeans and others, began moving to the city. In the early 20th century, the city became a home for novelists and poets. In July 1882, the city came under bombardment from British naval forces and was occupied. In July 1954, the city was a target of an Israeli bombing campaign that later became known as the Lavon Affair . On 26 October 1954, Alexandria's Mansheya Square

14536-595: The course of Roman rule in Egypt , the city's name was Latinised as Alexandrēa ad Aegyptum . After the capture of Alexandria by the Rashiduns in AD 641, the name was Arabicised : initial Al- was re-analysed into the definite article ; metathesis occurred on x , from [ks] to [sk] ; and the suffix -eia was assimilated into the feminine adjectival suffix -iyya ( ـِيَّة ). Radiocarbon dating of seashell fragments and lead contamination show human activity at

14694-402: The distinction of its population's three largest ethnicities: Greek, Egyptian and Jewish. By the time of Augustus , the city grid encompassed an area of 10 km (3.9 sq mi), and the total population during the Roman principate was around 500,000–600,000, which would wax and wane in the course of the next four centuries under Roman rule. According to Philo of Alexandria , in

14852-478: The diverse set-up of various institutions that the Romans continued to use after their takeover of Egypt. Just as under the Ptolemies, Alexandria and its citizens had their own special designations. The capital city enjoyed a higher status and more privileges than the rest of Egypt. Just as it was under the Ptolemies, the primary way of becoming a citizen of Roman Alexandria was through showing when registering for

15010-400: The early 4th century had established the basis for another 250 years of comparative prosperity in Aegyptus, at a cost of perhaps greater rigidity and more oppressive state control. Aegyptus was subdivided for administrative purposes into a number of smaller provinces, and separate civil and military officials were established; the praeses and the dux . The province was under the supervision of

15168-469: The easy overland connection between the Mediterranean and Red Seas and the lucrative trade in Egyptian cotton . Alexandria was located on the earlier Egyptian settlement, which was called Rhacotis ( Ancient Greek : Ῥακῶτις , romanized :  Rhakôtis ), the Hellenised form of Egyptian r-ꜥ-qd(y)t . As one of many settlements founded by Alexander the Great, the city he founded on Rhacotis

15326-404: The elites per aroura of land in tax-rates, and about 4–5 times more than Alexandrians per aroura of land in tax-rates. These privileges even extended to corporal punishments. Romans were protected from this type of punishment while native Egyptians were whipped. Alexandrians, on the other hand, had the privilege of merely being beaten with a rod. Although Alexandria enjoyed the greatest status of

15484-478: The emperor or to wealthy private landlords, and they were relatively much more heavily burdened by rentals, which tended to remain at a fairly high level. Overall, the degree of monetization and complexity in the economy, even at the village level, was intense. Goods were moved around and exchanged through the medium of coin on a large scale and, in the towns and the larger villages, a high level of industrial and commercial activity developed in close conjunction with

15642-404: The equestrian order, rather than, as in other provinces, a governor of the senatorial class. This distinction was stipulated in a law promulgated by Augustus, and, because it was unthinkable that an equestrian should command a senator, the commanders of the legions in Egypt were themselves, uniquely, of equestrian rank. As a result of these strictures, the governor was rendered unable to build up

15800-403: The evidence of these remains, because since the 19th century many of the ruins have themselves disappeared. South of Thebes, the mētropoleis may have been largely without classical buildings, but near Antinoöpolis the classical influence may have been stronger. Most mētropoleis were probably built on the classical Hippodamian grid employed by the Hellenistic polis , as at Alexandria, with

15958-451: The exploitation of the predominant agricultural base. The volume of trade, both internal and external, reached its peak in the 1st and 2nd centuries. By the end of the 3rd century, major problems were evident. A series of debasements of the imperial currency had undermined confidence in the coinage, and even the government itself was contributing to this by demanding more and more irregular tax payments in kind, which it channelled directly to

16116-442: The function and administration would have changed. The Romans introduced important changes in the administrative system, aimed at achieving a high level of efficiency and maximizing revenue . The duties of the prefect of Aegyptus combined responsibility for military security through command of the legions and cohorts , for the organization of finance and taxation, and for the administration of justice. The Egyptian provinces of

16274-428: The garrison later reduced to two, alongside auxilia formations of the Roman army . The major town of each nome (administrative region) was known as a metropolis and granted additional privileges. The inhabitants of Roman Egypt were divided by social class along ethnic and cultural lines. Most inhabitants were peasant farmers, who lived in rural villages and spoke the Egyptian language (which evolved from

16432-401: The government of the country in the prefect's name and were themselves drawn from the Egyptian upper classes. The strategoi in each of the mētropoleis were the senior local officials, served as intermediaries between the prefect and the villages, and were legally responsible for the administration and their own conduct while in office for several years. Each strategos was supplemented by

16590-529: The governors' engagements. Yearly in Lower Egypt , and once every two years in Upper Egypt , the praefectus Aegypti held a conventus (Koinē Greek: διαλογισμός , romanized:  dialogismos , lit.   'dialogue'), during which legal trials were conducted and administrative officials' practices were examined, usually between January ( Ianuarius ) and April ( Aprilis ) in

16748-488: The high-end ice sheet instability scenario. In every single estimate, Alexandria alone bears around half of these costs. Since sea level rise would continue for about 10,000 years under every scenario of climate change, future costs of sea level rise would only increase, especially without adaptation measures. Greek Alexandria was divided into three regions: Two main streets, lined with colonnades and said to have been each about 60 m (200 ft) wide, intersected in

16906-479: The largest cities ever built before the Industrial Revolution and the largest pre-industrial city that was not an imperial capital. Due to the constant presence of war in Alexandria in ancient times, very little of the ancient city has survived into the present day. Much of the royal and civic quarters sank beneath the harbour and the rest has been built over in modern times. " Pompey's Pillar ",

17064-549: The largest city in the world and, for some centuries more, was second only to Rome. It became Egypt's main Greek city, with Greek people from diverse backgrounds. The Septuagint , a Greek version of the Tanakh , was produced there. The early Ptolemies kept it in order and fostered the development of its museum into the leading Hellenistic centre of learning ( Library of Alexandria , which faced destruction during Caesar 's siege of Alexandria in 47 BC), but were careful to maintain

17222-531: The late 2nd century, but Roman Egypt recovered by the 3rd century. Having escaped much of the Crisis of the Third Century , Roman Egypt fell under the control of the breakaway Palmyrene Empire after an invasion of Egypt by Zenobia in 269. The emperor Aurelian ( r.  270–275 ) successfully besieged Alexandria and recovered Egypt. The usurpers Domitius Domitianus and Achilleus took control of

17380-482: The least temperature variation in Egypt. The highest recorded temperature was 45 °C (113 °F) on 30 May 1961, and the coldest recorded temperature was 0 °C (32 °F) on 31 January 1994. A 2019 paper published in PLOS One estimated that under Representative Concentration Pathway 4.5 , a "moderate" scenario of climate change where global warming reaches ~2.5–3 °C (4.5–5.4 °F) by 2100,

17538-533: The legionaries as well, who were required to have Roman citizenship. An increasing proportion of the Army of Egypt was of local origin in the reign of the Flavian dynasty , with an even higher proportion – as many as three quarters of legionaries – under the Severan dynasty . Of these, around one third were themselves the offspring (Latin: castrenses , lit.   'camp-men') of soldiers, raised in

17696-499: The liturgical focus at the east, and the pastaphoria (side-rooms) were a common mark of churches in the country. Churches were built quickly after the victory of Constantine over Licinius, and in the 4th century even towns like ‘Ain el-Gedida in the Dakhla Oasis had their own churches. The earliest known monumental basilica of which remains survive is that at Antinoöpolis; a five-aisled, apsed basilica facing east and set in

17854-478: The local Archaeological Society and by many individuals. Excavations were performed in the city by Greeks seeking the tomb of Alexander the Great without success. The past and present directors of the museum have been enabled from time to time to carry out systematic excavations whenever opportunity is offered; D. G. Hogarth made tentative researches on behalf of the Egypt Exploration Fund and

18012-516: The location during the period of the Old Kingdom (27th–21st centuries BC) and again in the period 1000–800 BC, followed by the absence of activity after that. From ancient sources it is known there existed a trading post at this location during the time of Rameses the Great for trade with Crete , but it had long been lost by the time of Alexander's arrival. A small Egyptian fishing village named Rhakotis ( Egyptian : rꜥ-qdy.t , 'That which

18170-399: The low grounds to northeast and southwest, where it is practically impossible to get below the Roman strata . The most important results were those achieved by Dr. G. Botti, late director of the museum, in the neighbourhood of "Pompey's Pillar", where there is a good deal of open ground. Here, substructures of a large building or group of buildings have been exposed, which are perhaps part of

18328-453: The lowest class. In between those classes was the metropolite, who was almost certainly of Hellenic origin. Gaining citizenship and moving up in ranks was very difficult and there were not many available options for ascendancy. One of the routes that many followed to ascend to another caste was through enlistment in the army. Although only Roman citizens could serve in the legions, many Greeks found their way in. The native Egyptians could join

18486-514: The main consumers, the army personnel. Local administration by the councils was careless, recalcitrant, and inefficient; the evident need for firm and purposeful reform had to be squarely faced in the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine I . There are numerous indications of Roman trade with India during the period, particularly between Roman Egypt and the Indian subcontinent. Kushan Empire ruler Huvishka (150–180 CE) incorporated in his coins

18644-526: The merchants' disposal so that they could live according to the pattern they were accustomed to in their country. Alexandria lost much of its importance in international trade after Portuguese navigators discovered a new sea route to India in the late 15th century. This reduced the amount of goods that needed to be transported through the Alexandrian port, as well as the Mamluks' political power. After

18802-417: The most recent in a series of new airports and development of old ones with the purpose of serving development. Borg El Arab Airport had a major expansion in terms of the airport's passenger and cargo handling capacity in response to growing demand and the new facilities were inaugurated in February 2010. The airport has the capacity to handle 1.2 million passengers per year, becoming an adequate replacement to

18960-572: The names of persons due to perform unpaid public service as part of the liturgy system. They were required to be literate and had various duties as official clerks. Other local officials drawn from the liturgy system served for a year in their home kome ; they included the practor ( πράκτωρ , práktōr , 'executor'), who collected certain taxes, as well as security officers, granary officials ( σιτολόγοι , sitologoi , 'grain collectors'), public cattle drivers ( δημόσιοι kτηνοτρόφοι , dēmósioi ktēnotróphoi , 'cattleherds of

19118-507: The only surviving information beyond the names of the offices is a few names of the incumbents. In general, the central provincial administration of Egypt is no better-known than the Roman governments of other provinces, since, unlike in the rest of Egypt, the conditions for the preservation of official papyri were very unfavourable at Alexandria. Local government in the hinterland (Koinē Greek: χώρα , romanized:  khṓrā , lit.   'countryside') outside Alexandria

19276-414: The project, and the second Ptolemy ( Ptolemy II Philadelphus ) completed it, at a total cost of 800  talents . It took 12 years to complete and served as a prototype for all later lighthouses in the world. The light was produced by a furnace at the top and the tower was built mostly with solid blocks of limestone. The Pharos lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake in the 14th century, making it

19434-590: The province in opposition to emperor Diocletian ( r.  284–305 ), who recovered it in 297–298. Diocletian then introduced administrative and economic reforms. These coincided with the Christianization of the Roman Empire , especially the growth of Christianity in Egypt . After Constantine the Great gained control of Egypt in AD ;324, the emperors promoted Christianity. The Coptic language , derived from earlier forms of Egyptian, emerged among

19592-406: The province. Other procurators were responsible for revenue farming of state monopolies (the procurator ad Mercurium ), oversight of farm lands (the procurator episkepseos ), of the warehouses of Alexandria (the procurator Neaspoleos ), and of exports and emigration (the procurator Phari , 'procurator of the Pharos '). These roles are poorly attested, with often

19750-414: The provincial capital at Alexandria, who then also took up overall command of the Roman legions of the Egyptian garrison. (Initially, three legions were stationed in Egypt, with only two from the reign of Tiberius ( r.  14–37 AD ).) The official duties of the praefectus Aegypti are well known because enough records survive to reconstruct a mostly complete official calendar ( fasti ) of

19908-623: The provincial fleet of the Roman Navy in Egypt. In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, there were around 8,000 soldiers at Alexandria, a fraction of the megalopolis 's huge population. Initially, the legionary garrison of Roman Egypt consisted of three legions: the Legio III Cyrenaica , the Legio XXII Deiotariana , and one other legion. The station and identity of this third legion is not known for sure, and it

20066-439: The routine of town and village life. The Roman army was among the most homogenous Roman structures, and the organization of the army in Egypt differed little from its organization elsewhere in the Roman Empire. The Roman legions were recruited from Roman citizens and the Roman auxilia recruited from the non-citizen subjects. Egypt was unique in that its garrison was commanded by the praefectus Aegypti , an official of

20224-503: The second longest surviving ancient wonder, after the Great Pyramid of Giza . A temple of Hephaestus also stood on Pharos at the head of the mole. In the 1st century, the population of Alexandria contained over 180,000 adult male citizens, according to a census dated from 32 AD, in addition to a large number of freedmen, women, children and slaves. Estimates of the total population range from 216,000 to 500,000, making it one of

20382-462: The site of the actual lighthouse having been weathered away by the sea. On the east of the mole was the Great Harbour, now an open bay; on the west lay the port of Eunostos, with its inner basin Kibotos, now vastly enlarged to form the modern harbour. In Strabo 's time (latter half of the 1st century BC), the principal buildings were as follows, enumerated as they were to be seen from a ship entering

20540-623: The southern border, on the Nile's First Cataract around Philae and Syene ( Aswan ), protecting Egypt from enemies to the south and guarding against rebellion in the Thebaid . Besides the main garrison at Alexandrian Nicopolis and the southern border force, the disposition of the rest of the Army of Egypt is not clear, though many soldiers are known to have been stationed at various outposts ( praesidia ), including those defending roads and remote natural resources from attack. Roman detachments, centuriones , and beneficiarii maintained order in

20698-566: The state and forming most of its revenue; and the "gifted land" (Koinē Greek: γή εν δωρεά , romanized:  gḗ en dōreá , lit.   'land in gift'; Δωρεά , Dōreá , 'gifts') leased out under the cleruchy system. The Roman government had actively encouraged the privatization of land and the increase of private enterprise in manufacture, commerce, and trade, and low tax rates favored private owners and entrepreneurs. The poorer people gained their livelihood as tenants of state-owned land or of property belonging to

20856-431: The then-larger El Nouzha Airport , which shut down in summer 2010; at the time, that airport's facilities were planned to be overhauled. After economic woes plagued the country following the 2011 Egyptian Revolution , the renovation of El Nouzha Airport was put on hold, leaving Borg El Arab as the only airport serving Alexandria. As of late 2020, there are no plans to finish El Nouzha's refurbishment, leaving Borg El Arab as

21014-456: The typical Roman pattern of the Cardo (north–south) and Decumanus Maximus (east–west) thoroughfares meeting at their centres, as at Athribis and Antinoöpolis. Vivant Denon made sketches of ruins at Oxyrhynchus, and Edme-François Jomard wrote a description; together with some historical photographs and the few surviving remains, these are the best evidence for the classical architecture of

21172-472: The western suburb of Alexandria in Borg el Arab city. Only the outer wall and the pylons remain from the temple. There is evidence to prove that sacred animals were worshiped there. Archaeologists found an animal necropolis near the temple. Remains of a Christian church show that the temple was used as a church in later centuries. Also found in the same area are remains of public baths built by the emperor Justinian,

21330-531: The year 38 AD, disturbances erupted between Jews and Greek citizens of Alexandria during a visit paid by King Agrippa I to Alexandria, principally over the respect paid by the Herodian nation to the Roman emperor , which quickly escalated to open affronts and violence between the two ethnic groups and the desecration of Alexandrian synagogues. This event has been called the Alexandrian pogroms . The violence

21488-474: Was a vital part of the metropolis and the Greek institutions provided an elite group of citizens. The Romans looked to these elites to provide municipal officers and well-educated administrators. These elites also paid lower poll-taxes than the local native Egyptians, fellahin . It is well documented that Alexandrians in particular were exempted from paying poll-taxes, and were able to enjoy lower tax-rates on land. Egyptian landholders paid about 3 times more than

21646-594: Was an imperial province of the Roman Empire from 30 BC to AD 641. The province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai . It was bordered by the provinces of Crete and Cyrenaica to the west and Judaea , later Arabia Petraea , to the East. Egypt was conquered by Roman forces in 30 BC and became a province of the new Roman Empire upon its formation in 27 BC. Egypt came to serve as

21804-447: Was based on poros (property or income qualification), which was wholly based on social status and power. The Romans also introduced the poll tax which was similar to tax rates that the Ptolemies levied, but the Romans gave special low rates to citizens of mētropoleis . The city of Oxyrhynchus had many papyri remains that contain much information on the subject of social structure in these cities. This city, along with Alexandria, shows

21962-419: Was called Alexándreia hḗ kat' Aígypton ( Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ κατ' Αἴγυπτον ), which some sources translated as "Alexandria by Egypt", as the city was, at that time, in the periphery of Egypt proper (the area beside the Nile ). Some of the Alexandrian and Greek populaces, e.g., Hypsicles , also referred to the city as Alexándreia hḗ prós Aígypton ( Ἀλεξάνδρεια ἡ πρός Αἴγυπτον , "Alexandria near Egypt"). In

22120-487: Was concentrated at Nicopolis, a district of Alexandria, rather than at the strategic heart of the country around Memphis and Egyptian Babylon . Alexandria was the Mediterranean's second city in the early Roman empire, the cultural capital of the Greek East and rival to Rome under Antony and Cleopatra. Because only a few papyri are preserved from the area, little more is known about the legionaries' everyday life than

22278-412: Was considerable social mobility however, accompanying mass urbanization, and participation in the monetized economy and literacy in Greek by the peasant population was widespread. The Romans began a system of social hierarchy that revolved around ethnicity and place of residence. Other than Roman citizens, a Greek citizen of one of the Greek cities had the highest status, and a rural Egyptian would be in

22436-533: Was dedicated to the worship of Thoth , equated with Hermes / Mercury . The oldest known remains of church architecture in Egypt are at the Roman village of Kellis ; following the house church of the early 4th century, a three- aisled , apsed basilica church was built in the Constantinian period, with pastaphoria on either side, while a third church was accompanied by a Christian cemetery. All these churches were built on an east-west axis, with

22594-607: Was devastated by a tsunami ( 365 Crete earthquake ), an event annually commemorated years later as a "day of horror". In 619, Alexandria fell to the Sassanid Persians . The city was mostly uninjured by the conquest and a new palace called Tarawus was erected in the eastern part of the city, later known as Qasr Faris, "fort of the Persians". Although the Byzantine emperor Heraclius recovered it in 629, in 641

22752-474: Was developed consisting of dozens of types of land-holding. Land's status was determined by the hydrological, juridical, and function of the property, as well as by the three main categories of ownership held over from the Ptolemaic system: the sacred property belonging to the temples (Koinē Greek: Ἱερά γη , romanized:  Hierā́ gē , lit.   'holy land'); the royal land ( Βασιλική γη , Basilikḗ gē , 'royal land') belonging to

22910-482: Was divided into traditional regions known as nomoi . The mētropoleis were governed by magistrates drawn from the liturgy system; these magistrates, as in other Roman cities, practised euergetism and built public buildings. To each nome the prefect appointed a strategos (Koinē Greek: στρατηγός , romanized:  stratēgós , lit.   'general'); the strategoi were civilian administrators, without military functions, who performed much of

23068-663: Was formed, encompassing the area just south of Memphis and the Faiyum region and named "the Heptanomia and the Arsinoite nome". In the Nile Delta however, power was wielded by two of the epistrategoi . The epistrategos 's role was mainly to mediate between the prefect in Alexandria and the strategoi in the mētropoleis , and they had few specific administrative duties, performing a more general function. Their salary

23226-420: Was founded originally in the vicinity of an Egyptian settlement named Rhacotis (that became the Egyptian quarter of the city). Alexandria grew rapidly, becoming a major centre of Hellenic civilisation and replacing Memphis as Egypt's capital during the reign of the Ptolemaic pharaohs who succeeded Alexander. It retained this status for almost a millennium, through the period of Roman and Eastern Roman rule until

23384-409: Was intended to supersede the older Greek colony of Naucratis as a Hellenistic centre in Egypt and to be the link between Greece and the rich Nile valley. A few months after the foundation, Alexander left Egypt and never returned to the city during his life. After Alexander's departure, his viceroy Cleomenes continued the expansion. The architect Dinocrates of Rhodes designed the city, using

23542-513: Was mainly in charge of overseeing Alexandria's early development, the Heptastadion and the mainland quarters seem to have been primarily Ptolemaic work. Inheriting the trade of ruined Tyre and becoming the centre of the new commerce between Europe and the Arabian and Indian East, the city grew in less than a generation to be larger than Carthage . In one century, Alexandria had become

23700-484: Was not within the then-prevailing traditional geographic boundaries of Egypt. From the 1st century BC, the Roman governor of Egypt was appointed by the emperor for a multi-year term and given the rank of prefect ( Latin : praefectus ). Both the governor and the major officials were of equestrian rank (unlike other Roman provinces, which had governors of senatorial rank). The prefect of Egypt had more or less equivalent civil and military powers ( imperium ) to

23858-570: Was quelled after Caligula intervened and had the Roman governor, Flaccus, removed from the city. In 115 AD, large parts of Alexandria were destroyed during the Diaspora revolt , which gave Hadrian and his architect, Decriannus , an opportunity to rebuild it. In 215 AD, the emperor Caracalla visited the city and, because of some insulting satires that the inhabitants had directed at him, abruptly commanded his troops to put to death all youths capable of bearing arms. On 21 July 365 AD, Alexandria

24016-416: Was seized by Octavian as his personal possession. The legal status was settled in 27 BC, when Octavian was granted the honorific name of Augustus and Egypt became an imperial province of the newly established Roman empire . Augustus (and succeeding Roman emperors ) ruled Egypt as the Roman pharaoh . The Ptolemaic institutions were dismantled: the government administration was wholly reformed, as

24174-431: Was sexagenarian – 60,000 sesterces annually. Each village or kome ( κώμη , kṓmē ) was served by a village scribe ( κωμογραμματεύς , kōmogrammateús , 'secretary of the kome '), whose term, possibly paid, was usually held for three years. Each, to avoid conflicts of interest, was appointed to a community away from their home village, as they were required to inform the strategoi and epistrategoi of

24332-576: Was styled in Latin: praefectus stratopedarches , from the Greek: στρατοπεδάρχης , romanized:  stratopedárchēs , lit.   'camp commander', or as Latin: praefectus exercitu qui est in Aegypto , lit.   'prefect of the army in Egypt';. Collectively, these forces were known as the exercitus Aegyptiacus , 'Army of Egypt'. The Roman garrison

24490-443: Was the appointment of strategoi to govern the ' nomes ', the traditional administrative divisions of Egypt. Boulai , or town councils, in Egypt were only formally constituted by Septimius Severus . It was only under Diocletian later in the 3rd century that these boulai and their officers acquired important administrative responsibilities for their nomes. The Augustan takeover introduced a system of compulsory public service, which

24648-449: Was the second-highest office available to the equestrian class on the cursus honorum (after that of the praetorian prefect (Latin: praefectus praetorio ), the commander of the imperial Praetorian Guard ) and one of the highest-paid, receiving an annual salary of 200,000 sesterces (a "ducenarian" post). The prefect was appointed at the emperor's discretion; officially the governors' status and responsibilities mirrored those of

24806-401: Was the site of a failed assassination attempt on Gamal Abdel Nasser . Europeans began leaving Alexandria following the 1956 Suez Crisis that led to an outburst of Arab nationalism . The nationalisation of property by Nasser, which reached its highest point in 1961, drove out nearly all the rest. Alexandria is located in the country of Egypt, on the southern coast of the Mediterranean. It

24964-507: Was the social structure, though some bureaucratic elements were maintained. The Graeco-Egyptian legal system of the Hellenistic period continued in use, but within the bounds of Roman law . The tetradrachm coinage minted at the Ptolemaic capital of Alexandria continued to be the currency of an increasingly monetized economy, but its value was made equal to the Roman denarius . Augustus introduced land reforms that enabled wider entitlement to private ownership of land (previously rare under

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