Roman Egypt

This article is about the Roman subdivision which was called "Aegyptus". For Deities in Greek mythology, seeAegyptus (mythology).

Roman Egyptwas animperial provinceof theRoman Empirefrom 30 BC to AD 641. The province encompassed most of modern-dayEgyptexcept for theSinai.It was bordered by the provinces ofCrete and Cyrenaicato the west andJudaea,laterArabia Petraea,to the East.

Province of Egypt Provincia Aegypti(Latin) Ἐπαρχία Αἰγύπτου(Koinē Greek)
Provinceof theRoman Empire
30 BC – 641 AD UnderPalmyrenerule; 270–273 Sasanianoccupation;619–628
Province of Aegyptus in AD 125
Capital	Alexandria
Population
• 1st century AD	4 to 8 million.
Historical era	Classical antiquity Late antiquity
• Conquest ofPtolemaic Kingdom	30 BC
• Formation of theDiocese	390
•Muslim conquest	641
Preceded by Succeeded by Ptolemaic Kingdom Sasanian Egypt Rashidun Caliphate
Today part of	Egypt

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 a major producer ofgrainfor the empire and had a highly developed urban economy. It was by far the wealthiest Roman province outside ofItaly.The population of Roman Egypt is unknown, although estimates vary from4 to 8 million.Alexandria,its capital, was the largestportand second largest city of the Roman Empire.

ThreeRoman legionsgarrisoned Egypt in the earlyRoman imperial period,with the garrison later reduced to two, alongsideauxiliaformations of theRoman army.The major town of eachnome(administrative region) was known as ametropolisand 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 theEgyptian language(which evolved from the Demotic Egyptian of theLateandPtolemaicperiods toCopticunder Roman rule). In each metropolis, the citizens spokeKoine Greekand followed aHellenisticculture. 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, theConstitutio AntoninianagaveRoman citizenshipto all free Egyptians.

TheAntonine Plaguestruck in the late 2nd century, but Roman Egypt recovered by the 3rd century.Having escaped much of theCrisis of the Third Century,Roman Egypt fell under the control of the breakawayPalmyrene Empireafteran invasion of EgyptbyZenobiain 269.The emperorAurelian(r. 270–275) successfully besieged Alexandria and recovered Egypt. The usurpersDomitius DomitianusandAchilleustook control of the province in opposition to emperorDiocletian(r. 284–305), who recovered it in 297–298.Diocletian then introduced administrative and economic reforms. These coincided with theChristianization of the Roman Empire,especially the growth ofChristianity in Egypt.AfterConstantine the Greatgained control of Egypt in AD 324, the emperors promoted Christianity.TheCoptic language,derived from earlier forms of Egyptian, emerged among the Christians of Roman Egypt.

UnderDiocletianthe frontier was moved downriver to theFirst Cataractof theNileat Syene (Aswan), withdrawing from theDodekaschoinosregion.This southern frontier was largely peaceful for many centuries,likely garrisoned bylimitaneiof thelate Roman army.Regular units also served in Egypt, includingScythiansknown to have been stationed in theThebaidbyJustinian the Great(r. 527–565). Constantine introduced the goldsolidus 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.TheFirst Plague Pandemicarrived in theMediterranean Basinwith the emergence of theJustinianic PlagueatPelusiumin Roman Egypt in 541.

Egypt was conqueredby theSasanian Empirein 618, whoruled the territory for a decade,but it was returned to theEastern Roman Empireby 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 theRashidun Caliphatefollowing theMuslim conquest of Egypt.

Formation

ThePtolemaic Kingdom(r. 305–30 BC,theThirty-first Dynasty) had ruled Egypt since theWars of Alexander the Greatthat overthrewAchaemenid Egypt.The PtolemaicpharaohCleopatra VIIsided withJulius CaesarduringCaesar's Civil War(49–45 BC) and Caesar's subsequentRoman dictatorship.AfterCaesar's assassinationin 44 BC, Cleopatra aligned Egypt withMark Antony,the Romantriumvirwho controlled the eastern Mediterranean. In thelast war of the Roman Republic(32–30 BC), Antony (with Cleopatra's support) fought againstOctavian.The decisive navalBattle of Actiumwas won by Octavian, who then invaded Egypt. Following theBattle of Alexandriathe defeated Antony and Cleopatra killed themselves.The Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt ceased to exist; Egypt was seized by Octavian as his personal possession.

The legal statuswas settledin 27 BC, when Octavian was granted the honorific name ofAugustusand Egypt became animperial provinceof the newly establishedRoman empire.Augustus (and succeedingRoman emperors) ruled Egypt as theRoman pharaoh.The Ptolemaic institutions were dismantled: the government administration was wholly reformed, as was the social structure, though some bureaucratic elements were maintained.The Graeco-Egyptian legal system of theHellenistic periodcontinued in use, but within the bounds ofRoman law.Thetetradrachmcoinage 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 Romandenarius.Augustus introduced land reforms that enabled wider entitlement to private ownership of land (previously rare under the Ptolemaiccleruchysystem of allotments under royal ownership) and the local administration reformed into a Romanliturgicalsystem, in which land-owners were required to serve in local government.The priesthoods of theAncient Egyptian deitiesandHellenistic religionsof Egypt kept most of theirtemplesand privileges, and in turn the priests also served theRoman imperial cultof thedeifiedemperors and their families.

Roman government in Egypt

Further information:List of governors of Roman Egypt

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 ofHellenismagainst 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 the function and administration would have changed.

TheRomansintroduced important changes in the administrative system, aimed at achieving a high level of efficiency and maximizingrevenue.The duties of the prefect of Aegyptus combined responsibility for military security through command of thelegionsandcohorts,for the organization of finance and taxation, and for the administration of justice.

A 1st-century AD Roman emperor wearingnemeswith auraeus,aspharaoh(Louvre)

The Egyptian provinces of the Ptolemaic Kingdom remained wholly under Roman rule until the administrative reforms of theaugustusDiocletian(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 inLatin:praefectus Alexandreae et Aegypti,lit. 'prefect of Alexandria and Egypt' and more usually referred to as the Latin:praefectus Aegypti,lit. 'prefect of Egypt' or theKoinē Greek:ἔπαρχος Αἰγύπτου,romanized:eparchos Aigyptou,lit. 'Eparchof Egypt'.The double title of the governor as prefect "of Alexandria and Egypt" reflects the distinctions betweenUpper and Lower Egyptand Alexandria, since Alexandria, outside theNile Delta,was not within the then-prevailing traditional geographic boundaries of Egypt.

From the 1st century BC, theRoman governorof Egypt was appointed by the emperor for a multi-year term and given the rank ofprefect(Latin:praefectus).Both the governor and the major officials were ofequestrian rank(unlike other Roman provinces, which had governors ofsenatorialrank).The prefect of Egypt had more or less equivalent civil and military powers (imperium) to aproconsul,since aRoman law(alex) granted him "proconsularimperium"(Latin:imperium ad similitudinem proconsulis).Unlike insenatorial provinces,the prefect was responsible for the collection of certain taxes and for the organization of the all-important grain shipments from Egypt (including theannona).Because of these financial responsibilities, the governor's administration had to be closely controlled and organized.The governorship of Egypt was the second-highest office available to theequestrian classon thecursus honorum(after that of thepraetorian prefect(Latin:praefectus praetorio), the commander of the imperialPraetorian Guard) and one of the highest-paid, receiving an annual salary of 200,000sesterces(a "ducenarian" post).The prefect was appointed at the emperor's discretion; officially the governors' status and responsibilities mirrored those of theaugustushimself: 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 first generations of the imperialSeveran dynastydepicted on the "Severan Tondo"from Egypt (Antikensammlung Berlin)

The governor's powers as prefect, which included the rights to makeedicts(ius edicendi) and, as the supreme judicial authority, to ordercapital punishment(ius gladii,'right ofswords'), expired as soon as his successor arrived in the provincial capital at Alexandria, who then also took up overall command of theRoman legionsof the Egyptian garrison.(Initially, three legions were stationed in Egypt, with only two from the reign ofTiberius(r. 14–37 AD).)The official duties of thepraefectus Aegyptiare well known because enough records survive to reconstruct a mostly complete official calendar (fasti) of the governors' engagements.Yearly inLower Egypt,and once every two years inUpper Egypt,thepraefectus Aegyptiheld aconventus(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 theRoman 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 subordinateprocuratorsfor the province, all of equestrian rank and, at least from the reign ofCommodus(r. 176–192) of similar, "ducenarian" salary bracket.The administrator of theIdios Logos,responsible for special revenues like the proceeds ofbona caducaproperty, and theiuridicus(Koinē Greek:δικαιοδότης,romanized:dikaiodotes,lit. 'giver of laws'), the senior legal official, were both imperially appointed.From the reign ofHadrian(r. 117–138), the financial powers of the prefect and the control of theEgyptian templesand priesthoods was devolved to other procurators, adioiketes(διοικητής), the chief financial officer, and anarchiereus(ἀρχιερεύς,'archpriest').A procurator could deputize as the prefect's representative where necessary.

Statue of an orator, wearing ahimation,fromHeracleopolis Magna,inMiddle Egypt(Egyptian Museum,Cairo)

Procurators were also appointed from among thefreedmen(manumittedslaves) of theimperial household,including the powerfulprocurator usiacus,responsible for state property in the province.Other procurators were responsible forrevenue farmingofstate monopolies(theprocurator ad Mercurium), oversight of farm lands (theprocurator episkepseos), of the warehouses of Alexandria (theprocurator Neaspoleos), and of exports and emigration (theprocurator Phari,'procurator ofthe Pharos').These roles are poorly attested, with often 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 officialpapyriwere very unfavourable at Alexandria.

Local government in thehinterland(Koinē Greek:χώρα,romanized:khṓrā,lit. 'countryside') outside Alexandria was divided into traditional regions known asnomoi.Themētropoleiswere governed by magistrates drawn from the liturgy system; these magistrates, as in other Roman cities, practisedeuergetismand built public buildings. To eachnomethe prefect appointed astrategos(Koinē Greek:στρατηγός,romanized:stratēgós,lit. 'general'); thestrategoiwere civilian administrators, without military functions, who performed much of the government of the country in the prefect's name and were themselves drawn from the Egyptian upper classes.Thestrategoiin each of themētropoleiswere 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.Eachstrategoswas supplemented by a royalscribe(βασιλικός γραμματεύς,basilikós grammateús,'royal secretary').These scribes were responsible for theirnome'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 thestrategoi,but each reported directly to Alexandria, where dedicated financial secretaries – appointed for each individualnome– oversaw the accounts: aneklogistesand agraphon ton nomon.Theeklogisteswas responsible for general financial affairs while thegraphon ton nomonlikely dealt with matters relating to theIdios Logos.In 200/201, the emperorSeptimius Severus(r. 193–211) granted each metropolis, and the city of Alexandria, aboulē(a Hellenistic town council).

Bronze statue of a nude youth, fromAthribisinLower Egypt(British Museum,London)

Thenomoiwere grouped traditionally into those of Upper and Lower Egypt, the two divisions each being known as an "epistrategy"after the chief officer, theepistrategos(ἐπιστράτηγος,epistratēgós,'over-general'), each of whom was also a Roman procurator. Soon after the Roman annexation, a new epistrategy was formed, encompassing the area just south ofMemphisand theFaiyumregion and named "theHeptanomiaand the Arsinoite nome ".In the Nile Delta however, power was wielded by two of theepistrategoi.Theepistrategos's role was mainly to mediate between the prefect in Alexandria and thestrategoiin themētropoleis,and they had few specific administrative duties, performing a more general function.Their salary was sexagenarian – 60,000 sesterces annually.

Each village orkome(κώμη,kṓmē) was served by a village scribe (κωμογραμματεύς,kōmogrammateús,'secretary of thekome'), 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 thestrategoiandepistrategoiof the names of persons due to perform unpaid public service as part of theliturgysystem.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 homekome;they included thepractor(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 thedemos'), 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 ofTrajan(r. 98–117), though constant efforts were made by people eligible for such duties to escape their imposition.

A 2nd-century AD Roman emperor wearingnemes,as pharaoh (Museum Carnuntinum,Bad Deutsch-Altenburg)

The reforms of 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; thepraesesand thedux.The province was under the supervision of the count of the Orient (i.e. the vicar) of the diocese headquartered in Antioch in Syria.

Emperor Justinianabolished theDiocese of Egyptin 538 and re-combined civil and military power in the hands of theduxwith a civil deputy (praeses) as a counterweight to the power of the church authorities. All pretense of localautonomyhad by then vanished. The presence of the soldiery was more noticeable, its power and influence more pervasive in the routine of town and village life.

Military

EncausticandtemperapaintedFayum mummy portraitof a Roman officerc. 160– c. 170,with a greensagum,goldfibula,white tunic, and red leatherbalteus(British Museum)

TheRoman armywas among the most homogenous Roman structures, and the organization of the army in Egypt differed little from its organization elsewhere in the Roman Empire. TheRoman legionswere recruited fromRoman citizensand theRomanauxiliarecruited from the non-citizen subjects.

Egypt was unique in that its garrison was commanded by thepraefectus Aegypti,an official of 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 a rival power base (as Mark Antony had been able to do), while the militarylegaticommanding the legions were career soldiers, formerlycenturionswith the senior rank ofprimus pilus,rather than politicians whose military experience was limited to youthful service as amilitary tribune.Beneath thepraefectus Aegypti,the overall commander of legions andauxiliastationed in Egypt 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 theexercitus Aegyptiacus,'Army of Egypt'.

The Roman garrison was concentrated at Nicopolis, a district of Alexandria, rather than at the strategic heart of the country aroundMemphisandEgyptian 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 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 inMiddle 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 theRoman imperial period,since many are underwater or have been built over and becauseEgyptian archaeologyhas traditionally taken little interest in Roman sites.Because they supply a record of soldiers' service history, six bronzeRoman military diplomasdating between 83 and 206 are the main source of documentary evidence for theauxiliain Egypt; these inscribed certificates rewarded 25 or 26 years of military service in theauxiliawith Roman citizenship and the right ofconubium.That the army was more Greek-speaking than in other provinces is certain.

The heart of the Army of Egypt was the Nicopolis garrison at Alexandria, with at least one legion permanently stationed there, along with a strong force ofauxiliacavalry.These troops would both guard the residence of thepraefectus Aegyptiagainst uprisings among the Alexandrians and were poised to march quickly to any point at the prefect's command.At Alexandria too was theClassis Alexandrina,the provincial fleet of theRoman Navyin Egypt.In the 2nd and 3rd centuries, there were around 8,000 soldiers at Alexandria, a fraction of themegalopolis's huge population.

Initially, the legionary garrison of Roman Egypt consisted of three legions: theLegio III Cyrenaica,theLegio XXII Deiotariana,and one other legion.The station and identity of this third legion is not known for sure, and it is not known precisely when it was withdrawn from Egypt, though it was certainly before 23 AD, during the reign ofTiberius(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 atThebes.After August 119, theIII Cyrenaicawas ordered out of Egypt; theXXII Deiotarianawas transferred sometime afterwards, and before 127/8, theLegio II Traianaarrived, to remain as the main component of the Army of Egypt for two centuries.

After some fluctuations in the size and positions of theauxiliagarrison in the early decades of Roman Egypt, relating to the conquest and pacification of the country, theauxiliacontingent was mostly stable during thePrincipate,increasing somewhat towards the end of the 2nd century, and with some individual formations remaining in Egypt for centuries at a time.Three or fouralaeof cavalry were stationed in Egypt, eachalanumbering around 500 horsemen.There were between seven and tencohortesofauxiliainfantry, eachcohorsabout 500 hundred strong, although some werecohortes equitatae– mixed units of 600 men, with infantry and cavalry in a roughly 4:1 ratio.Besides theauxiliastationed at Alexandria, at least three detachments permanently garrisoned the southern border, on the Nile'sFirst CataractaroundPhilaeand Syene (Aswan), protecting Egypt from enemies to the south and guarding against rebellion in theThebaid.

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,andbeneficiariimaintained order in the Nile Valley, but about their duties little is known, as little evidence survives, though they were, in addition to thestrategoiof thenomoi,the prime local representatives of the Roman state.Archaeological work led byHélène Cuvignyhas revealed manyostraca(inscribed ceramic fragments) which give unprecedently detailed information on the lives of soldiers stationed in theEastern Desertalong theCoptos–Myos Hormosroad and at the imperial granite quarry atMons Claudianus.Another Roman outpost, known from an inscription, existed onFarasan,the chief island of theRed Sea'sFarasan Islandsoff the west coast of theArabian Peninsula.

As in other provinces, many of the Roman soldiers in Egypt were recruited locally, not only among the non-citizenauxilia,but among 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 theFlavian dynasty,with an even higher proportion – as many as three quarters of legionaries – under theSeveran dynasty.Of these, around one third were themselves the offspring (Latin:castrenses,lit. 'camp-men') of soldiers, raised in thecanabaesettlements 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 asCoptos,while others demonstrate that soldiers and centurions from elsewhere retired to Egypt:auxiliaveterans fromChiosandHippo Regius(orHippos) are named.Evidence from the 2nd century suggests mostauxiliacame from Egypt, with others drawn from the provinces ofAfricaandSyria,and from RomanAsia Minor.Auxiliafrom the Balkans, who served throughout the Roman army, also served in Egypt: manyDaciannames are known fromostracain the Trajanic period, perhaps connected with the recruitment ofDaciansduring and afterTrajan's Dacian Wars;they are predominantly cavalrymen's names, with some infantrymen's.Thracians,common in the army in other Roman provinces, were also present, and an auxiliary diploma from the Egyptian garrison has been found inThracia.Twoauxiliadiplomas connect Army of Egypt veterans with Syria, including one namingApamea.Large numbers of recruits mustered in Asia Minor may have supplemented the garrison after theDiaspora Revolt,a Jewish uprising in Egypt, Libya and Cyprus.

Society

The social structure in Aegyptus under 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.

1st-century AD mummy excavated byWilliam Flinders Petrie

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 the Egyptian monarchy.The division between the rural life of the villages, where theEgyptian languagewas spoken, and the metropolis, where the citizens spokeKoine Greekand frequented the Hellenisticgymnasia,was the most significant cultural division in Roman Egypt, and was not dissolved by theConstitutio Antoninianaof 212, which made all free Egyptians Roman citizens.There 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 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 the auxiliary forces and attain citizenship upon discharge.The different groups had different rates of taxation based on their social class.Roman citizensand citizens of Alexandria were exempted from thepoll 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 the classes.Within themētropoleisthere 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 was the appointment ofstrategoito govern the 'nomes', the traditional administrative divisions of Egypt.Boulai,or town councils, in Egypt were only formally constituted bySeptimius Severus.It was only underDiocletianlater 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 was based onporos(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 ofmētropoleis.The city ofOxyrhynchushad many papyri remains that contain much information on the subject of social structure in these cities. This city, along with Alexandria, shows 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 ademethat both parents were Alexandrian citizens. Alexandrians were the only Egyptians that could obtain Roman citizenship.

Bust of Roman Nobleman,c. 30 BC–50 AD,Brooklyn Museum

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 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 theephebus.There was also the council of elders known as thegerousia.This council of elders did not have a boulai to answer to. All of this Greek organization 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 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 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.

TheGnomon of the Idios Logosshows 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. TheGnomondemonstrates the social controls that the Romans had in place through monetary means based on status and property.

Economy

Roman trade with Indiastarted from Aegyptus according to thePeriplus of the Erythraean Sea(1st century).

The economic resources that this imperial government existed to exploit had not changed since thePtolemaic period,but the development of a much more complex and sophisticatedtaxation systemwas 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 ofAlexandriaand for export to 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 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 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 thecleruchysystem.

Roman mosaicshowing a boat on river Nile, 1st century AD

The Roman government had actively encouraged theprivatizationof 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 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 thevillagelevel, 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 the exploitation of the predominant agricultural base. The volume of trade, both internal and external, reached its peak in the 1st and 2nd centuries.

KushanrulerHuvishkawith seated Roman-Egyptian godSerapis(ϹΑΡΑΠΟ,"Sarapo") wearing themodius.

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 the main consumers, the army personnel. Local administration by thecouncilswas careless, recalcitrant, and inefficient; the evident need for firm and purposeful reform had to be squarely faced in the reigns ofDiocletianandConstantine I.

There are numerous indications ofRoman trade with Indiaduring the period, particularly between Roman Egypt and the Indian subcontinent.Kushan EmpirerulerHuvishka(150–180 CE) incorporated in his coins the Hellenistic-Egyptian godSerapis(under the nameϹΑΡΑΠΟ,"Sarapo" ).Since Serapis was the supreme deity of the pantheon ofAlexandriainEgypt,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.

Architecture

Roman emperorTrajanmaking offerings to Egyptian Gods, on the RomanMammisiat theDendera Temple complex,Egypt.

In the administrative provincial capitals of thenomoi,themētropoleismostly inherited from the Pharaonic and Ptolemaic period, Roman public buildings were erected by the governingstrategosand the localgymnasiarch.In most cases, these have not survived and evidence of them is rare, but it is probable that most were built in theclassical architectureof the Graeco-Roman world, employing theclassical ordersin stone buildings.Prominent remains include twoRoman theatresatPelusium,a temple of Serapis and atetrastyleat Diospolis Magna atThebes,and, atPhilae,atriumphal archand temples dedicated to the worship of the emperor Augustus and the goddessRoma,the personification of Rome.Besides a few individual stone blocks in somemētropoleis,substantial remains of Roman architecture are known in particular from three of themētropoleis–Heracleopolis Magna,Oxyrhynchus,andHermopolis Magna– as well as fromAntinoöpolis,a city foundedc. 130by the emperorHadrian(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 toNapoleon's campaign in Egypt,eventually published in theDescription de l'Égypteseries.Illustrations produced byEdme-François JomardandVivant Denonform much of the evidence of these remains, because since the 19th century many of the ruins have themselves disappeared.South of Thebes, themētropoleismay have been largely without classical buildings, but near Antinoöpolis the classical influence may have been stronger.Mostmētropoleiswere probably built on the classicalHippodamian gridemployed by the Hellenisticpolis,as at Alexandria, with the typical Roman pattern of theCardo(north–south) andDecumanus Maximus(east–west) thoroughfares meeting at their centres, as atAthribisand 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 the city, which was dedicated to themedjed,a sacred species ofMormyrusfish.Two groups of buildings survive at Heracleopolis Magna, sacred toHeracles/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 loverAntinous.The Napoleonic-era evidence is also important for documenting Hermopolis Magna, where more buildings survive and which was dedicated to the worship ofThoth,equated withHermes/Mercury.

The oldest known remains ofchurch architecturein Egypt are at the Roman village ofKellis;following thehouse churchof the early 4th century, a three-aisled,apsedbasilicachurch was built in the Constantinian period, withpastaphoriaon either side, while a third church was accompanied by a Christian cemetery.All these churches were built on an east-west axis, with the liturgical focus at the east, and thepastaphoria(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-Gedidain theDakhla Oasishad 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 a cemetery is 60 metres (200 ft) long and 20 metres (66 ft) wide.

North apse of theRed Monasteryof Sohag

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 thealtarstood, 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 withpastaphoriaemerged: on 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 continuousambulatoryby the addition of a transverse fourth aisle to the west of the other three.In eastern Egypt, the columns and colonnade were emphasized, and the sanctuary distinguished with atriumphal archin front of it.

A transept plan was adopted only in urban environments likeAbu MenaandMareain the western Nile Delta.In the middle 5th century, the Great Basilica, one of the largest churches in Egypt, was built at Hermopolis Magna at the central crossroads of the city.Unusually, the three-aisled transept basilica had semicircular extensions on the north and south walls.At the CopticWhite MonasteryatSohag,the 5th-century church was built with atriconchapse, an unusual design also found at Sohag's Dayr Anbā Bishoi; in theWadi El Natrunat Dayr as-Suyrān; in the Dakhla Oasis in the Western Desert at Dayr Abū Mattā, and at Dendera.The tomb-chapel of the White Monastery's founder,Shenoute,was also built with this triconch plan and was the first instance of a monastic founder's tomb built in a monastery.Some of the White Monastery's limestone ashlars werespolia;the stones were likely taken from the pharaonic buildings atUpper Egyptian Athribisnearby.The main church's interior is a three-aisled basilica with anambonand seat, and the usual Egyptian western transverse aisle, but its exterior resembles an Egyptian temple, withcavetto corniceson the roof.Unusually for the Coptic churches, the White Monastery's church has two narthexes, perhaps to accommodate worshippers from outside the monastic community.The affiliatedRed Monasterynearby preserves the most extensive painted decoration from Late Antiquity anywhere and is probably representative of the period's Egyptian churches' interior decoration.Besides the main monumental basilica at Antinoöpolis, there were two other cruciform churches built there in the later 5th century.

Religion

Imperial cult

Main article:Roman imperial cult

Possible personification of the province of Egypt from theTemple of Hadrianin Rome (National Roman Museum)

The worship of Egypt's rulers was interrupted entirely by the fall of thePtolemaic dynasty,who together with their predecessorAlexander the Greathad been worshipped with an Egypto-Hellenisticruler cult.After the Roman conquest of Egypt, Augustus instituted a new Roman imperial cult in Egypt.Formally, the "Roman people" (Latin:populus Romanus) were now collectively the ruler of Egypt; emperors were never crowned pharaoh in person in the traditional way, and there is no evidence that the emperors were systematically incorporated into the traditional pantheons worshipped by the traditional priesthoods.Instead, the image of Augustus was identified withZeusEleutherios(‹See Tfd›Greek:Ἐλευθέριος,lit."liberator" ), and modelled on the example of Alexander the Great, who was said to have "liberated" Egypt from the old pharaohs.Nevertheless, in 27 BC there was at Memphis, as was traditional, a high priest of Ptah appointed under Augustus's authority as the senior celebrant of the Egyptian ruler cult and referred to as a "priest of Caesar".Augustus had been honoured with a cult in Egypt before his death, and there is evidence that Nero was worshipped while still living, as was Hadrian in particular.While alive however, the emperor was usually honoured with offerings to the various gods "for his health" (Latin:pro salute); usually, only after the emperor's death was he deified and worshipped as a god.A letter of Claudius written to the Alexandrians in 41 AD rejects the offer of a cult of himself, permitting only divine honours such as statues and reserving cult worship for the deified Augustus.For juridical purposes, the imperial oath recalling Ptolemaic precedent had to be sworn in the name or "fortune" (tyche) of the emperor: "I swear by Caesar Imperator, son of God, ZeusEleutherios,Augustus ".

The official cult was superintended by thearchiereusfor Alexandria and All Egypt (ἀρχιερεὺς Ἀλεξανδρίας καὶ Αἰγύπτου πάσης,archiereùs Alexandrías kaì Aigyptou pásēs), who was procurator in charge of Egypt's temples and responsible for the worship of the imperial deities and of Serapis throughout the country.As with thepraefectus Aegypti,thearchiereusof Alexandria and All Egypt was a Roman citizen and probably appointed from theequestrian class.The official cult in Egypt differed from that in other provinces; the goddessRoma,closely associated with theRoman Senate,was not introduced by Augustus, since as an imperial province Egypt lay beyond the reach of the Senate's powers (imperium).Thearchiereusfor Alexandria and All Egypt was appointed by the emperor.The high priest's full title ( "high priest of the godsAugustiand the Great Serapis and the one who is responsible for the temples of Egypt and the whole country ") indicates that the cult of Serapis was closely connected with the worship of the emperors and that both were overseen by the same Roman official.

Nilus,theriver godof Egypt'sNile,withcornucopia,wheatsheaf,sphinx,andcrocodile(Braccio Nuovo). Sculpture from Rome'sTemple of Isis and Serapis.

Anarchiereusexisted in each of thenomoi;drawn from the local elite through theliturgysystem, these high priests were responsible for the maintenance of the imperial temples and cults in theirmētropoleis.These officials, in place since the mid-1st century AD at latest, was each known as the "high priest of the LordsAugustiand all the gods "(ἀρχιερεὺς τῶν κυρίων Σεβαστῶν καὶ θεῶν ἁπάντων,archiereùs tōn kuríōn Sebastōn kaì theōn apántōn) or the "high priest of the city" (ἀρχιερεὺς τῆς πόλεως,archiereùs tēs póleōs), and was responsible mainly for the organization of the imperial cult, since the traditional local cults already had their own priesthoods.Though imposed by the Roman state and overseen from the provincial capital, the imperial cult was locally organized, though direct imperial control is also attested for the cult at Alexandria.Throughout Egypt, sacrificialaltarsdedicated to the worship of the deified emperor Augustus (Koinē Greek:Σεβαστός,romanized:Sebastós,lit. 'Venerable') were set up in dedicated temples (sebasteiaorcaesarea).Eachsebasteionorcaesareumhad administrative functions as well as organizing the local cult of the emperor.Nevertheless, there is scant evidence that the worship of the emperors was common in private settings, and the Alexandrians were frequently hostile to the emperors themselves.

The form of the imperial cult established in the reign of Augustus, which may have been largely focused on the deified first emperor himself, continued until the reign of Constantine the Great.The widow of the emperor Trajan, theaugustaPlotina,was deified after her death by Hadrian.At Dendera, in a temple dedicated toAphrodite,the late empress was identified with the Egyptian goddessHathor,the first instance of a member of the imperial family – besides the emperor himself – being integrated into the Egyptian pantheon.Unlike the royal cult of the Ptolemaic dynasty, whose festivals were celebrated according to theEgyptian calendar,the imperial cult days, such as the emperors' birthdays (Koinē Greek:ἡμέραι σεβασταί,romanized:hēmérai sebastaí,lit. 'venerable days'), fell according to theRoman calendar.

Cult of Serapis and Isis

Enthroned statue of the syncretic godSerapiswithCerberus,fromPozzuoli(National Archaeological Museum, Naples)

Serapis was asyncreticgod of abundance and the afterlife which united Hellenistic and Egyptian features and which had been instituted byPtolemy ISoter(r. 305/304–282 BC) at the beginning of the Ptolemaic period, possibly related to the cult ofOsiris-Apis.Serapis assumed the role of Osiris in the Egyptian pantheon as god of the afterlife and regeneration, the husband of the fertility goddess Isis, and the father of the child Horus, known to the Hellenistic world asHarpocrates.Emperors were sometimes depicted as Serapis, with their portraits bearing Serapis's distinguishing features, who, unlike most native Egyptian gods but in common with Osiris, was never depicted in animal or part-animal form.Caracalla took the title "Philosarapis" to indicate his devotion to the cult.Serapis was distinguished by his Greek-style clothes, long hair, and beard, as well as by his flat-topped crown, known as acalathus.TheMysteries of Isis,a mystery cult developed outside Egypt and reimported to the country from Roman territories elsewhere, were increasingly celebrated, and Isis was the supreme female deity and creator-goddess in the pantheon, incorporating the Ptolemaic queen-worship tradition.As Isislactans,'suckling Isis', she was an image of motherhood, feeding her infant Harpocrates; as Isismyrionymos,'themyriad-named', she was a goddess of magic and mysteries.

In Roman Egypt, the cult was superintended by thearchiereusfor Alexandria and All Egypt.Temples of Serapis (serapea) were found throughout Egypt, with the oldest serapeum atMemphisand the greatest theSerapeum of Alexandria.The holy family of Serapis, Isis, and Harpocrates was worshipped throughout the empire; by the 4th century, the cult had become, behind Christianity, the most popular religion in the Roman world.

Temples

The imperially-appointedarchiereusfor Alexandria and All Egypt was responsible for the administrative management of the temples, beyond those of the imperial cult, dedicated to Graeco-Roman deities and theancient Egyptian gods.He controlled access to the priesthoods of the Egyptian cults: the ritualcircumcisionof candidates was subject to his approval and he mediated disputes involving temples, wielding some judicial powers.As sponsors of temple cults, emperors appeared in traditional pharaonic regalia on carved temple reliefs.Similarly, Egyptian gods were sometimes shown wearing Roman military garb, particularly Anubis and Horus.

The history of Egyptian temples in Roman times can be studied particularly well in some settlements at the edges of theFaiyum:Archaeological evidence, along with lots of written sources on the daily life of the priests, are available from Bakchias,Narmouthis,Soknopaiou Nesos,Tebtunis,and Theadelphia. For instance, temples can be seen supporting each other by asking colleagues to assist when there was a shortage of staff, but also competing with each other for spheres of influence. When temples came into conflict with authorities, then mainly with lower administrative officials, who belonged to the local population themselves; the Roman procurators intervened in these conflicts, if at all, then in a moderating manner.

4th-century relief of the godHorusas a Roman cavalryman killing the crocodile,Setekh(Louvre)

TheJulio-Claudian emperorsTiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero all sponsored religious monuments and institutions at Coptos andDendera.Tiberius is known to have patronized monuments atArmant,Aswan,Athribis,Debod,Diospolis Parva,Edfu,Karnak,Kom Ombo,Luxor,Philaeand at theTemple of Shenhur.Claudius's patronage is recorded at Aswan, Athribis,Esna,Kom Ombo, and at Philae.Nero is recorded as having sponsored Egyptian elites at theDakhla Oasisin theWestern Desert,and atKaranisandAkoris,as well as at Aswan and Kom Ombo.During the short reigns ofGalbaand of the contestants in theYear of the Four Emperorsafter the fall of Nero, images of bothOthoand Galba were carved in reliefs atMedinet Habu,a Pharaonic temple dating from theEighteenth Dynasty,but no monuments toVitelliusare known.

TheFlavian emperorsVespasian, Titus, and Domitian are all known to have been responsible for works at Esna.Both Vespasian and his older son Titus sponsored work at the Dakhla Oasis, with Vespasian also the sponsor of work at Medinet Habu.Vespasian and his younger son Domitian were both credited with patronage of works at Kom Ombo andSilsila,and Domitian's sponsorship was also recorded atAkhmim,Armant, Dendera, and Philae.185 scenes in many temples show Domitian, concentrated in the oases and in Upper Egypt; his name was in some places removed as a result of hisdamnatio memoriae.

2nd-century relief of Anubis as a Roman infantryman in theCatacombs of Kom El Shoqafa

After Domitian's assassination, the emperorNerva's patronage of Egyptian temples is recorded only at Esna.Nerva's adoptive heirTrajancontinued to lend imperial sponsorship to Egyptian cults, with his patronage recorded at Dendera, Esna,Gebelein,Kalabsha,Kom Ombo, Medinet Habu, and Philae.DuringHadrian's tour of Egypt in 130–131, the emperor founded the new Hellenisticpolisof Antinoöpolis at the point whereAntinousdrowned in the Nile and instituted a cult of Antinous asOsiris,to whom a death by drowning was sacrosanct.Hadrian commissioned theBarberini obeliskto commemorate his late lover's funeral rites, including the Egyptianopening of the mouth ceremony;the obelisk was erected in Rome and the cult of Antinous was propagated throughout the provinces.Hadrian also sponsored building work at Philae, and both he and his successorAntoninus Piussponsored work at Armant, Dendera, and Esna.The reign of Antoninus Pius – also patron of building works at Coptos,Medamud,Medinet Habu, andTod– saw the last substantial building work on Egyptian temples.After those of Antoninus Pius found at Medinet Habu,Deir el-Shelwit,and Dendera, no further imperial cartouches are known from the regions of Thebes and the western oases.From the reign of Marcus Aurelius, who is recorded as having rededicated an offering to Hathor originally made byPtolemy VIIIPhyscon,the rate of new temple building and decoration slackened.Commodus was recorded as Pharaonic sponsor of temples at Armant, Esna, Kom Ombo and Philae, the last emperor to be widely honoured in this way in surviving monuments; a general lack of resources and the political turbulence after Commodus's assassination was probably responsible.The name of his successorPertinax(r. 193) is recorded at the Temple of Tutu atKellis.After inscriptions of Commodus, Greek inscriptions are no longer found in the temples of the Faiyum.It is possible that the reform of Septimius Severus at the turn of the 3rd century aggravated the decline of the Egyptian temples; themētropoleisnow given administrative control over the temples of theirnomoidid not prioritize their upkeep.

Copper-alloy statuettes of Egyptian gods Anubis (left) and Horus (centre) as Roman officers withcontrappostostances (National Archaeological Museum, Athens)

With a carved relief at Esna, Septimius Severus was commemorated, together with his son and co-augustusCaracalla,his wifeJulia Domnatheaugusta,and their younger sonGeta,on the occasion of the imperial tour of Egypt in 199–200.Caracalla's own titles are recorded at Philae, Ombos, in Middle Egypt, and in the Delta.After he murdered his brother and co-augustusGeta, his image was removed from their father's monument relief at Esna as part of thedamnatio memoriaeimposed by Caracalla.Caracalla's successor wasMacrinus,whose patronage is recorded only at Kom Ombo; evidence of his successorElagabalusin Egypt has not survived, and neither is the patronage ofSeverus Alexanderrecorded.

Monumental temple-building and decoration among the Egyptian cults ceased altogether in the early 3rd century.AfterPhilip the Arab'scartouchewas added to the temple wall at Esna, his successorDecius's cartouche was carved into it, the last known instance of this long-established practice of usurping pharaohs' erasure of their predecessors' dynastic legacy.Philip the Arab's reign saw the last Roman inscription found in the Temple of Kalabsha; at some time thereafter the site was abandoned by the Romans.AtTahtainMiddle Egypt,the cartouche ofMaximinus Dazawas added to a since-ruined temple, along with other additions; he is the last Roman emperor known to have been recorded in official hieroglyphic script.The lastBuchis bullofHermonthis(Armant) was born in the reign ofLiciniusand died in the reign ofConstantius II;the cartouche on its funerarystela,dedicated in 340, is the last of all.Under theTheodosian dynasty,during the joint reigns ofTheodosius the Greatand his sonsArcadiusandHonorius,an inscription at Philae's Temple ofHarendotescommemorated the birthday of Osiris in the 110thanno Diocletiani(24 August 394), the latest hieroglyphic inscription to be dated securely.

Caligula allowed the worship of Egyptian gods in Rome, which had been formally forbidden since Augustus's reign.In Rome, and at Beneventum (Benevento), Domitian established new temples to the Egyptian gods Isis and Serapis.A general "Egyptomania"followed Hadrian's tour of the country, andHadrian's Villaat Tibur (Tivoli) included an Egyptian-themed area known as the Canopus.Hadrian may have been advised on religious matters by Pancrates, a poet and priest of Egypt.

5th-century Christianrelief(Staatliche Sammlung für Ägyptische Kunst)

Christianity

Main article:History of Christianity in Egypt

The authors of theNew Testamentdo not record any missions of theapostlesto Alexandria or anyepistlesto the Egyptians, though Egyptian and Alexandrian Jews inJerusalemare mentioned in theBook of Acts.(Acts 2:10and6:9.) An Alexandrian Jew,Apollos,is recorded in theBook of Actsas speaking in the synagogue atEphesus,and because of an interpolation toActs 18:24current by the 5th-century – e.g. in theCodex Bezae– which suggested Apollos had been converted to Christianity in Egypt (Biblical Greek:ἐν τῇ πατρίδι,romanized:en tēi patrídi,lit. 'in his country'), Christianity's arrival has been dated to the 1st century, but there is no sure evidence of this, as Apollos may have been converted elsewhere.ThepseudepigraphicalSecret Gospel of Mark,of dubious authenticity, is the first text to claimMark the Apostlevisited Egypt.The 3rd-centurySextus Julius Africanus's chronology was probably the source of the 4th-century bishopEusebius of Caesarea's narrative of Mark's arrival in Egypt, which conflicts with that of theSecret Gospel of Markand is the earliest history of Alexandrian Christianity, including the names of the ten bishops who supposedly succeeded Mark before the late 2nd-century episcopate ofJulian of Alexandria.The drive to connect Alexandria with the lives of New Testament characters was part of a desire to establish continuity andapostolic successionwith the churches supposed to have been founded bySaint Peterand the other apostles.Christianity probably arrived in Egypt among the Hellenized Alexandrian Jews, from Palestine's communities of Jewish Christians.

A possible 2nd-century papyrus fragment of theGospel of Peter,from theOxyrhynchus Papyri(P.Oxy.LX 4009,Sackler Library)

The earliest evidence of Christianity in Egypt is a letter written in the first half of the 3rd century and mentioning the gymnasiarch and theboulē(thereby indicating the author and recipient were of the upper class) uses the Christiannomina sacraand the Biblical Greek:ἐν κυρίῳ,romanized:en kyrίōi,lit. 'in the Lord', drawn from thePauline epistles.Another papyrus from the same period records the names of candidates for liturgy service "supervision of the water-tower and fountains of the metropolis" of Arsinoë (Faiyum); among the names is one "Antonios Dioscoros son of Origen, Alexandrian", against whose name is noted in Koinē Greek:ἔστ(ι) ∆ιόσκορος χρηστιανός,romanized:ésti Dióskoros chrēstianós,lit. 'he is the Dioscoros (who is a) Christian'.With Alexandrian citizenship and a Romannomen,Antonios (Latin:Antonius) was likely of higher social status than the other candidates on the list, and is the first named Egyptian Christian for which evidence exists.In theChorabeyond Alexandria, there is no evidence at all for Christianity in the 2nd century, excepting some ambiguous letters, besides some papyrus fragments of scriptures among theOxyrhynchus Papyriand among the papyri found atAntinoöpolisand Hipponon (Qarara) in the HeracleopolitenomearoundHeracleopolis Magna.Many of these are in the form ofcodicesrather than scrolls, the codex being preferred by Christian scribes.Among the 2nd-century New Testament papyri areRylands Library Papyrus P52andOxyrhynchus Papyrus 3523– fragments of theGospel of John–, andOxyrhynchus Papyrus LXIV 4404a fragment of theGospel of Matthew.It is not known whether these indicate a Christian presence outside the capital in the 2nd century, whether these papyri, dated subjectively bypalaeography,are as old as has been proposed, or whether they were in Egypt when newly made or arrived in later times as already old books.

Bishops often named their successors (e.g. Peter, his brother, by Athanasius in 373) or the succession was effected by imposing the hands of a deceased bishop on the one chosen to follow him. By 200 it is clear that Alexandria was one of the great Christian centres. The ChristianapologistsClement of AlexandriaandOrigenboth lived part or all of their lives in that city, where they wrote, taught, and debated. With theEdict of Milanin 313,Constantine Iended the persecution of Christians. Over the course of the 5th century, paganism was suppressed and lost its following, as the poetPalladaspointedly noted. It lingered underground for many decades: the final edict against paganism was issued in 435, but graffiti atPhilaein Upper Egypt proves worship ofIsispersisted at its temples into the 6th century. Many Egyptian Jews also became Christians, but many others refused to do so, leaving them as the only sizable religious minority in a Christian country.

No sooner had the Egyptian Church achieved freedom and supremacy than it became subject to aschismand prolonged conflict which at times descended into civil war. Alexandria became the centre of the first great split in the Christian world, between theArians,named for the Alexandrian priestArius,and their opponents, represented byAthanasius,who became Archbishop of Alexandria in 326 after theFirst Council of Nicaearejected Arius's views. The Arian controversy caused years of riots and rebellions throughout most of the 4th century. In the course of one of these, the greattemple of Serapis,the stronghold of paganism, was destroyed. Athanasius was alternately expelled from Alexandria and reinstated as its Archbishop between five and seven times.

Coptic crossandchi-rhocarved into older reliefs at theTemple of Isis at Philae

Patristic authorship was dominated by Egyptian contributions: Athanasius, Didymus the Blind and Cyril, and the power of the Alexandrian see embodied in Athanasius, Theophilus, his nephew, Cyril and shortly by Dioscuros.

Egypt had an ancient tradition of religious speculation, enabling a variety of controversial religious views to thrive there. Not only did Arianism flourish, but other doctrines, such asGnosticismandManichaeism,either native or imported, found many followers. Another religious development in Egypt was themonasticismof theDesert Fathers,who renounced the material world in order to live a life of poverty in devotion to the Church.

Egyptian Christians took up monasticism with such enthusiasm that the EmperorValenshad to restrict the number of men who could become monks. Egypt exported monasticism to the rest of the Christian world. Another development of this period was the development ofCoptic,a form of the Ancient Egyptian language written with the Greek Alpha bet supplemented by several signs to represent sounds present in Egyptian which were not present in Greek. It was invented to ensure the correct pronunciation of magical words and names in pagan texts, the so-calledGreek Magical Papyri.Coptic was soon adopted by early Christians to spread the word of the gospel to native Egyptians and it became the liturgical language of Egyptian Christianity and remains so to this day.

Christianity eventually spread out west to the Berbers. The Coptic Church was established in Egypt. Since Christianity blended with local traditions, it never truly united the people against Arabian forces in the seventh and eight centuries.Later on in the seventh and eighth centuries, Christianity spread out to Nubia.

Thefall of the Western Empirein the 5th century further isolated the Egyptian Romans from Rome's culture and hastened the growth of Christianity. The success of Christianity led to a virtual abandonment of pharaonic traditions: with the disappearance of the Egyptian priests and priestesses who officiated at the temples, no-one could read thehieroglyphsof Pharaonic Egypt, and its temples were converted to churches or abandoned to the desert.

Roman-era Christian-themed wool-and-linen Egyptian textile (Louvre)

Cyril,thepatriarch of Alexandria,convinced the city's governor to expel the Jews from the city in 415 with the aid of the mob, in response to the Jews' alleged night-time massacre of many Christians.The murder of the philosopherHypatiain March 415 marked a dramatic turn in classical Hellenic culture in Egypt but philosophy thrived in sixth century Alexandria.Another schism in the Church produced prolonged disturbances and may have alienated Egypt from the Empire. The countlesspapyrusfinds mark the continuance of Greek culture and institutions at various levels.

The new religious controversy was over theChrist's human and divine nature. The issue was whether he had two natures, human and divine, or a combined one (hypostatic unionfrom his humanity and divinity). In an intensely religious age, it was enough to divide an empire. TheMiaphysitecontroversy arose after theFirst Council of Constantinoplein 381 and continued until well after theCouncil of Chalcedonin 451, which ruled in favour of the position that Christ was "one person in two natures" as opposed to Monophysitism (a single nature).

Monophysite belief was not held by the 'miaphysites' as they stated that Jesus was out of two natures in one nature called, the "Incarnate Logos of God". Many of the 'miaphysites' claimed that they were misunderstood, that there was really no difference between their position be the Chalcedonian position, and that the Council of Chalcedon ruled against them because of political motivations alone. The Church of Alexandria split from the Churches of Rome and Constantinople over this issue, creating what would become the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, which remains a major force in Egyptian religious life today.Egypt and Syria remained hotbeds of Miaphysite sentiment, and organised resistance to the Chalcedonian view was not suppressed until the 570s.

History

Early Roman Egypt (30 BC–4th century)

The province was established in 30 BC after Octavian (the futureRoman emperorAugustus) defeated his rivalMark Antony,deposed PharaohCleopatra,and annexed thePtolemaic Kingdomto theRoman Empire.

Maps of Roman Egypt

Northern Africa under Roman rule

The Roman Empire during the reign ofHadrian(117–138). Twolegionswere deployed in theimperial provinceof Aegyptus (Egypt) in the year 125.

Trilingualstelaof G. Cornelius Gallus from Philae (Egyptian Museum)

The first prefect of Aegyptus,Gaius Cornelius Gallus,brought Upper Egypt under Roman control by force of arms, and established aprotectorateover the southern frontier district, which had been abandoned by the later Ptolemies.

The second prefect,Aelius Gallus,made an unsuccessful expedition to conquerArabia Petraeaand evenArabia Felix.TheRed Seacoast of Aegyptus was not brought under Roman control until the reign ofClaudius.The third prefect,Gaius Petronius,cleared the neglected canals for irrigation, stimulating a revival of agriculture. Petronius even led a campaign into present-day centralSudanagainst theKingdom of KushatMeroe,whosequeenImanarenathad previously attacked Roman Egypt. Failing to acquire permanent gains, in 22 BC he razed the city ofNapatato the ground and retreated to the north.

The reigns ofTiberius,Caligula,andClaudiuswere mainly peaceful in Egypt, with intermittent civil strife between Greeks and Jews in Alexandria.According to the Latin historianTacitus,Germanicusvisited Egypt without the permission of Tiberius and caused a rift with his uncle, the emperor.Claudius refused Alexandrian demands for self-government under their own senate, and attempted to quell the unrest between Alexandrian Greek and Jews.Under Nero, perhaps influenced byChaeremon of Alexandria– an Egyptian priest and the emperor'sStoictutor – an expedition toMeroëwas undertaken, though possible plans for an invasion of the southern kingdom was forestalled by the military demands of theFirst Jewish–Roman War,a revolt inJudaea.

The firstpraefectus Aegyptiof Alexandrian origin wasTiberius Julius Alexander,who was governor through theYear of the Four Emperorsand who eventually proclaimed the generalVespasian,victor in the Jewish War, emperor at Alexandria in July 69 AD.This prefect was himself of Hellenized Jewish descent and related toPhilo of Alexandria.The importance of the Egyptian grain harvest (Latin:claustra annonae,lit. 'key to the grain supply') to Rome helped Vespasian assert control over the whole empire.

From the reign ofNeroonward, Aegyptus enjoyed an era of prosperity which lasted a century. Much trouble was caused by religious conflicts between the Greeks and theJews,particularly inAlexandria,which after the destruction ofJerusalemin 70 became the world centre of Jewish religion and culture.

Vespasian was the first emperor since Augustus to appear in Egypt.At Alexandria he was hailed as pharaoh; recalling the welcome ofAlexander the Greatat theOracle of Zeus-Ammonof theSiwa Oasis,Vespasian was proclaimed the son of the creator-deityAmun(Zeus-Ammon), in the style of the ancient pharaohs, and an incarnation of Serapis in the manner of the Ptolemies.As Pharaonic precedent demanded, Vespasian demonstrated his divine election by the traditional methods of spitting on and trampling a blind and crippled man, thereby miraculously healing him.(This Egyptian tradition of healing is related to thehealing the man blind from birth,one of themiraclesofJesus of Nazareth.)

In 114, during the reign ofTrajan(r. 98–117), unrest among the Jews of Alexandria broke out after the coming of aMessiahwas announced atCyrene.The uprising that year was defeated, but between 115 and 117 a revolt continued in the countryside in the absence of the armies away onTrajan's Parthian campaign.ThisDiaspora Revoltmeant that the Greeks and the Egyptian peasants took up arms in the fight against the Jews, which culminated in their defeat and the effective destruction of the Alexandrian Jewish community, which did not recover until the 3rd century.The city of Oxyrhynchus, by contrast, celebrated their survival of the rebellion with annual festivals for at least eighty years.

Hadrian and Antinous
(Graeco-Roman Museum)

Bronze portrait head of Hadrian

Marble statue of
Osiris-Antinous

In the reign of Trajan's successorHadrian(r. 117–138), an Egyptian revolt was instigated on the occasion of a new Apis bull's identification in 122; this rebellion was soon suppressed.Hadrian himself toured Egypt with his court for eight to ten months in 130–131, embarking on a Nile cruise, hunting lions in the desert, and making the dawn visit to theColossi of Memnon.Hadrian founded the city ofAntinoöpoliswhere his loverAntinousdrowned in the river; thepolisjoined the other threepoleisas a city with Hellenic citizenship rights, and he commissioned theVia Hadriana,connecting Antinoöpolis withBerenice Troglodytica,on the Red Sea.

In 139, at the start of the reign ofAntoninus Pius(r. 138–161), theSothic cyclecame to its end, meaning that for the first time in 1,460 years, theheliacal risingofSiriuscoincided with theEgyptian calendar's New Year.The emperor's coinage commemorated the good fortune this was expected to portend with images of the millennialphoenix.At some time during his reign, Antoninus Pius visited Alexandria and had new gates and a new hippodrome built, but in 153, a riot in Alexandria killed thepraefectus Aegypti.

The destructiveAntonine Plagueepidemic affected Egypt from 165 to 180; evidence of mass graves from that time has been discovered by archaeological excavation in theValley of the Queens.A revolt of the nativeEgyptiansfrom 171 was suppressed only in 175, after much fighting.This "Bucolic War",named for the native" herdsmen "(‹See Tfd›Greek:Βουκόλοι,translit.Boukóloi,lit."cattlemen" ) was led by oneIsidorusand had defeated the Roman garrison of Egypt.Control was re-established byAvidius Cassius,the governor ofRoman Syriaand son of an erstwhilepraefectus Aegypti,who then declared himself emperor in 175, being acknowledged by his own armies and the Army of Egypt amid rumours that the emperorMarcus Aurelius(r. 161–180) was dead.On the emperor's approach, Cassius was deposed and killed after three months' rule, and the clemency of Marcus Aurelius restored peace as he visited Alexandria in 176.

Marcus Aurelius's successorCommodus(r. 176–192) overturned his adoptive father's pardon of Avidius Cassius's family by having them all murdered at the beginning of his reign.After Commodus's own murder,Pertinaxwas appointed emperor on 1 January 193, but this was only officially noticed in Egypt in early March, shortly before Pertinax's murder; news of this did not become known in parts of Egypt until late May.Pescennius Niger(r. 193–194), who had commanded a garrison at Aswan and the army in Syria, was recognized as the reigning emperor of Egypt by June 193, with Egypt ignoring the claims made in the brief reign ofDidius Julianusat Rome.

Granite statue of Caracalla wearingnemesanduraeuscobra headdress (Alexandria National Museum)

Following Hadrian's route, Septimius Severus made a tour of Egypt in 199–200, visiting theColossi of Memnonand ordering the statues repaired, which resulted in the natural "singing" phenomenon reported by visitors to the Colossi for centuries ceasing to be heard.A series of administrative reforms, probably intended to improve revenue collection, included a newboulē(a local council or senate) for Alexandria, and for themētropolisof eachnome,instituted in 200/201.

Caracalla(r. 198–217) grantedRoman citizenshipto all Egyptians, in common with the other provincials, with the 212Constitutio Antoniniana.As a consequence, many Egyptians adopted the emperor'snomen gentilicium,"Aurelius" (after his imperial predecessor Marcus Aurelius) as their name according toRoman naming conventions,though citizenship's entitlements were less valuable than in past centuries and carried a tax burden.Caracalla murdered his brother and co-augustusGeta not long after their father's death, claiming self-defence and imposing adamnatio memoriae;this excuse and other defects of the emperor's character were mocked by the Alexandrians as he approached Egypt in 215, angering Caracalla.The emperor massacred Alexandria's welcoming delegation and allowed his army to sack the city; afterwards, he barred Egyptians from entering the place (except where for religious or trade reasons) and increased its security.

Macrinus(r. 217–218), having assassinated Caracalla, assumed power and dispatched a newpraefectus Aegyptiand, breaking precedent, a senator to govern Egypt. When the deaths of Macrinus and his co-augustusDiadumenian(r. 218) after theBattle of Antiochwere announced in Alexandria, the Alexandrians rose up, killed the senator, and forced out the prefect.The victor in the civil war wasElagabalus(r. 218–222), himself succeeded bySeverus Alexander(r. 218–222) after the former's murder, but even though Severus Alexander may have visited Alexandria, neither emperor is much recorded in Egyptian sources.

After Decius died,Trebonianus Gallus(r. 251–253) was recognized as emperor; in 253 an embassy fromMeroëto the Romans is attested from agraffitocarved at Philae.Both Trebonianus Gallus andAemilianus(r. 253) had coins issued in their names at Alexandria.During the reigns ofValerian(r. 253–260) and his sonGallienus(r. 253–268), the empire's instability was compounded by theValerianic Persecutionand the unprecedented total defeat and capture of Valerian by theSasanian Empire'sShapur I(r. 240–270) at the 260Battle of Edessa.After this humiliation, the armyacclaimedthe brothersQuietusandMacrianus(r. 260–261)augusti;they were the acknowledged emperors in Egypt.When they were overthrown, the Alexandrians acclaimedLucius Mussius Aemilianus,thepraefectus Aegyptias their new emperor.He enjoyed successes against theBlemmyesattacking the Thebaid, but by August 262 Alexandria was devastated and had lost two thirds of its inhabitants amid street fighting between the loyalists of Aemilianus and Gallienus; Aemilianus was defeated.

There was a series of revolts, both military and civilian, through the 3rd century. UnderDecius,in 250, the Christians again suffered from persecution, but their religion continued to spread. The prefect of Aegyptus in 260,Mussius Aemilianus,first supported theMacriani,usurpers during the rule of Gallienus,and later, in 261, became ausurperhimself, but was defeated by Gallienus.

During the existence of the break-awayPalmyrene Empire,Egypt came under the rule ofZenobia.Under her control, the Palmyrene state went to war with Rome, holding Egypt againstAurelian(r. 270–275); his forces, led by his eventual successorProbus(r. 276–282), captured Egypt by the end of 271.In 272 however, both Alexandria and Palmyra were again in revolt, at the instigation ofFirmus,an Alexandrian with connections to the Blemmyes.Aurelian besieged Alexandria and Firmus killed himself.The reign of Aurelian's successorMarcus Claudius Tacitus(r. 275–276) left no known surviving mark on Egypt, and his brotherFlorianus(r. 276) was overthrown by Probus with the support of the Army of Egypt.The Blemmyes attacked Coptos and Ptolemais with incursions into Upper Egypt; Probus defeated them.

"Pompey's Pillar",a monument erected byDiocletian(r. 284–305) in theSerapeum of Alexandria,represented in amosaicfromSepphorisinRoman Palestine

Later Roman Egypt (4th–7th centuries)

Further information:Diocese of Egypt,Augustamnica,Arcadia Aegypti,andThebaid

Coptos revolted in 293 and was destroyed by theaugustusDiocletian'scaesar(junior co-emperor) and future successor,Galerius(r. 293–311).Diocletian's reforms subdivided the empire into more numerouslate Roman provinces;these were grouped into thirteenRoman dioceses,and these into fourpraetorian prefectures.The old province of Aegyptus was divided, with theThebaidbecoming its own province. Financial and tax reforms were implemented in Egypt in 297, and Egyptian currency was brought into line with the rest of the empire's monetary reforms.The role of thepraefectus Aegyptiwas divided between apraeses– a civilian governor – and a militarydux.

In 297,Domitius Domitianusled a revolt and made himself emperor, assisted byAchilleus.Diocletiancaptured Alexandria from them after an eight-month siege and "Pompey's Pillar"was erected in his honour in the Serapeum of Alexandria.Diocletian then travelled through Egypt as far asPhilae,where new gates were constructed for the occasion.Diocletian is also known to have visited Panopolis in 298.He ceded theDodekaschoinos,upstream of theFirst CataractinLower Nubia,to theNobapeople, who were subsidized by the Romans to defend the frontier, now at Syene (Aswan), from attack by the Blemmyes.Diocletian's second visit to Egypt, in 302, involved distributions of bread to the Alexandrians and actions taken against adherents ofManichaeism;the following year, Diocletian instituted theDiocletianic Persecutionagainst Christianity.The persecution was remembered as particularly intense underSatrius ArrianusandSossianus Hierocles,thepraefectibetween 304 and 307 and in 310 respectively.TheEdict of Serdicapublished by Galerius, the senior emperor in 311, ended the Diocletianic Persecution.

4th-century pendant with portrait of Alexander the Great as Zeus-Ammon withrepousséborder (Walters Art Museum)

In 313, having defeated their rivals, the co-augustiLicinius(r. 308–324) andConstantine the Great(r. 306–337) issued theirEdict of Milan,giving Christianity official recognition among the Romans' other religions.The tax system was reformed, and new fifteen-year cycles (back-dated to 312) ofindictionswere instituted for revenue purposes.The former soldierPachomius the Greatwas baptized into Christianity in 313.Constantine may have planned a visit to Egypt in 325, since preparations were made for an imperial reception at Oxyrhynchus, but these plans would have been forestalled by the convocation of the ChristianFirst Council of Nicaea.TheNicene Creedunited most of theChristian Churchagainst theArianismpromoted by the Egyptian bishopAriusand in favour of the doctrines of another Egyptian bishop,Athanasius of Alexandria.In 330, the Christian monasticMacarius of Egyptestablished his monastery atScetis(Wadi El Natrun) in theNitrian Desert.

On 24 February 391, the emperorTheodosius the Great(r. 379–395), in the names of himself and his co-augusti(his brother-in-lawValentinian II(r. 375–392) and his own sonArcadius(r. 383–408)) banned sacrifices and worship at temples throughout the empire in a decree addressed to Rome'spraefectus urbi.On 16 June, writing to thepraefectus augustalisand thecomes Aegypti,Theodosius and his imperial colleagues reissued the ban on temple worship and sacrifices for Alexandria and Egypt specifically.

Folio6versofrom theGolenischev papyrusof theAlexandrian World Chronicle,showingTheophilus of Alexandriastanding triumphantly on top of the Serapeum with its bust of Serapis

Unrest was fomented against the pagan inhabitants by the bishop,Theophilus of Alexandria,who provoked riots by attempting to convert a temple into a church and staging the discovery of Christian relics.These were processed through the streets and the pagans were forced to take refuge in theSerapeum,with the philosopher Olympius at their head.The Christian mob loyal to Theophilus sacked the Serapeum, and ultimately it was rededicated as a church toJohn the Baptist.The Serapeum ofCanopus(Abu Qir) was looted at the same time, becoming first a monastery and then a church dedicated toCyrus and John.Ammonius Grammaticus– a priest of Thoth – and the Alexandrian poetClaudianboth subsequently fled Egypt, for Constantinople and Rome respectively.

Arcadius' son and successorTheodosius II's long reign (r. 402–450) saw the unrest generated by the bishopCyril of Alexandria;he was opposed to the doctrines ofNestorius,bishop of Constantinople, in relation to the title Mother of God (Theotokos).The faction of Cyril, aided byShenoute,prevailed, and Nestorius, having been denounced at the 431Council of Ephesus,was banished in 435 to theKharga Oasisin the Western Desert.The see of Alexandria's bishop reached the zenith of its influence in 449, when underDioscorus I(r. 444–454/458) it successfully defended the doctrines ofEutychesat theSecond Council of Ephesusagainst the positions of Dioscorus' rival bishops,Leo Iof Rome andFlavian of Constantinople.

The Blemmyes continued to attack Roman Egypt, though they were romanticized by pagans for their resistance to the Christians.Olympiodorus of Thebeswrote a positive account of them after a visit inc. 425.In 451, the emperorMarcian(r. 450–457) arrived at a peace treaty with the Blemmyes which allowed them the use of the temple at Philae annually and permitted them to use (and return) the temples' cult statues for oracular purposes.

Marcian however, convened the 451Council of Chalcedon,overturning the conclusions of the Second Council of Ephesus, condemning Dioscorus and sending him into exile.The resultant, and lasting,schismbetween theCoptic Churchand thestate church of the Roman Empiredates from this time.Proteriuswas appointed bishop in Dioscorus' stead.When the Alexandrians heard of the accession of Marcian's successorLeo I,they tore apart the hated Proterius and replaced him with their own nomination,Timothy II,whose election was not recognized by either Leo or his successor and son-in-lawZeno.When Leo's brother-in-lawBasiliscusseized Zeno's throne in 475, hismonophysitismenabled a thaw in relations between Alexandria and the eastern imperial capital, but Zeno's recovery of Constantinople the following year resumed the hostility.Zeno's attempt to repair relations between Rome, Constantinople and Alexandria resulted in his own excommunication by the bishop of Rome,Felix III,and beginning theAcacian schism.

TheCarmagnola,an Egyptian porphyry head on Venice'sSt Mark's Basilicathought to represent Justinian I

The Sasanian Empire invaded the Nile Delta in the reign ofAnastasius I(r. 491–518), though theSasanian armyretreated after they failed to capture Alexandria or make significant gains.In the early 6th century and in the reign ofJustin I(r. 518–527), the Blemmyes again made attacks on Upper Egypt.Justin's successorJustinian I(r. 527–565) and his wife, theaugustaTheodora,both sought to convert theNobato Christianity; envoys of Justinian promoteddyophysitismbut the Noba were persuaded to adopt the monophysitism of the Coptic Church by emissaries of the empress.Newly converted, they assisted the Roman army in its conquest of the pagan Blemmyes, and the generalNarseswas in 543 sent to confiscate the cult statues of Philae (which were sent to Constantinople), close the temple, and suppress its priesthood by imprisonment.In 577, during the retirement of Justinian's successorJustin II(r. 565–574) and the start ofTiberius II Constantine's reign (r. 574–582), the defences at Philae had to be rebuilt to repel attacks by the Blemmyes.

A map of the Near East in 565, showing Byzantine Egypt and its neighbors.

The reign ofConstantine the Greatalso saw the founding ofConstantinopleas a new capital for the Roman Empire, and in the course of the 4th century, the Empire was divided in two, with Egypt finding itself in the Eastern Empire with its capital at Constantinople. Latin, never well established in Egypt, would play a declining role with Greek continuing to be the dominant language of government and scholarship. During the 5th and 6th centuries theEastern Roman Empire,known historiographically as theByzantine Empire,gradually transformed itself into a thoroughly Christian state whose culture differed significantly from its pagan past.

The Eastern Empire became increasingly "oriental" in style as its links with the old Græco-Roman world faded. The Greek system of local government by citizens had now entirely disappeared. Offices, with new Greek-Byzantine names, were almost hereditary in the wealthy land-owning families. Alexandria, the second city of the empire, continued to be a centre of religious controversy and violence.

Egypt nevertheless continued to be an important economic center for the Empire supplying much of its agriculture and manufacturing needs as well as continuing to be an important center of scholarship. It would supply the needs of the Byzantine Empire and the Mediterranean as a whole. The reign ofJustinian(527–565) saw the Empire recapture Rome and much ofItalyfrom the barbarians, but these successes left the empire's eastern flank exposed. The Empire's "bread basket"now lacked protection.

Augustan-erakraterin Egyptianalabaster,found in a Roman necropolis atSan Priscoin 1897 (National Archaeological Museum, Naples)

Episcopal sees

Ancient episcopal sees of the Roman province ofAegyptus Primus (I)listed in theAnnuario Pontificioastitular sees,suffragans of the Patriarchate of Alexandria are enumerated in the following. The list here, however, does not cover other provinces such as Augustamnica, Arcadia and Thebais.

• Agnus
• Andropolis(Khirbita)
• Butus(near Desuq? Com-Casir?)
• Cleopatris(Seresna)
• Coprithis(Qabrit)
• Hermopolis Parva
• Letopolis(Ausim)
• Phatanus(El-Batanu, El-Batnu)
• Mariotes(Lake Mariout)
• Menelaite(Idku)
• Metelis(Fuwwah)
• Naucratis(An Nuqrash)
• Nicius(Zawyat Razin)
• Onouphis(Minuf)
• Petra in Aegypto(Hagar-En-Nauatiyeh)
• Sais(San Al Hajar)
• Taua(Thaouah? near Ebiar?)
• Terenuthis(Al Tarranah)
• Thois(Tideh)

Ancient episcopal sees of the Roman province ofAegyptus Secundus (II)listed in theAnnuario Pontificioastitular sees:

• Busiris(Abu-Sir)
• Cabasa(Chahbas-Esch-Choada)
• Cynopolis in Aegypto(Banâm Benâ)
• *Diospolis Inferior(*Tell el-Balamun)
• Pachnemunis(Kom el-Khanziri)
• Phragonis(Tell-El-Faraïn, Côm-Faraïn)
• Schedia
• Sebennytus(Sebennytos)
• Xois

Sassanian Persian invasion (619 AD)

TheByzantine Empirein 629 afterHeracliushad reconquered Syria, Palestine and Egypt from theSassanid Empire.

Main articles:Roman–Persian WarsandSasanian Egypt

TheSasanian conquest of Egypt,beginning in AD 618 or 619, was one of the lastSassanidtriumphs in the Roman-Persian Wars againstRoman Empire.From 619 to 628,they incorporated Egypt once again within their territories,the previous longer time being under theAchaemenids.Khosrow IIParvêz had begunthis waron the pretext of retaliation for the assassination of EmperorMaurice(582–602) and had achieved a series of early successes, culminating in the conquests ofJerusalem(614) andAlexandria(619).

A Byzantine counteroffensive launched by EmperorHeracliusin the spring of 622 shifted the advantage, and the war was brought to an end by the fall of Khosrow on 25 February 628.The Egyptians had no love of the emperor in Constantinople and put up little resistance. Khosrow's son and successor,Kavadh IIŠêrôe (Šêrôy), who reigned until September, concluded a peace treaty returning territories conquered by the Sassanids to theEastern Roman Empire.

The Sassanian conquest allowedMiaphysitismto resurface in the open in Egypt, and when imperial rule was restored by Emperor Heraclius in 629, the Miaphysites were persecuted and their patriarch expelled. Egypt was thus in a state of both religious and political alienation from the Empire when a new invader appeared.

Arab Islamic conquest (639–646 AD)

The Mediterranean world in 650, after the Arabs had conquered Egypt and Syria from the Byzantines.

Main article:Muslim conquest of Egypt

An army of 4,000Arabsled byAmr Ibn Al-Aaswas sent by theCaliphUmar,successor toMuhammad,to spread Islamic rule to the west. Arabs crossed into Egypt from Palestine in December 639,and advanced rapidly into theNile Delta.The Imperial garrisons retreated into the walled towns, where they successfully held out for a year or more.

The Arabs sent for reinforcements, and in April 641 theybesieged and captured Alexandria.The Byzantines assembled a fleet with the aim of recapturing Egypt, and won backAlexandriain 645. The Muslims retook the city in 646, completing theMuslim conquest of Egypt.40,000 civilians were evacuated to Constantinople with the imperial fleet, thus ending 975 years ofGreco-Romanrule over Egypt.

Gallery

• 
  Mummy Mask of a Man, early 1st century AD, 72.57,Brooklyn Museum
• 
  Canopic jarfrom the 3rd or 4th century (National Archaeological Museum, Florence)
• 
  Funerary masksuncovered inFaiyum,1st century.
• 
  2nd-century statuette of Horus as Roman general (Louvre)
• 
  1st–4th-century statuette of Horus as a Roman soldier (Louvre)
• 
  2nd-century statuette of Isis–Aphrodite (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
• 
  2nd-century statuette of Isis–Aphrodite from Lower Egypt (Louvre)
• 
  1st–4th-century statuette of Isislactans(Louvre)
• 
  Isislactans:the mother goddess sucklesHarpocrates(Pio-Clementino Museum)
• 
  1st/2nd-centuryParian marblestatue of Anubis (Gregorian Egyptian Museum)
• 
  TheBerenike Buddha,discovered inBerenice,Egypt, 2nd century CE.
• 
  2nd/3rd-centurymosaicof Anubis fromAriminum(Museo della Città, Rimini)
• 
  6th- or 7th-century Christian sandstone gravestela(Luxor Museum)
• 
  6th- or 7th-century Christian sandstonestela(Luxor Museum)
• 
  6th- or 7th-century Christian sandstonerelief(Luxor Museum)
• 
  Hadriancoin celebrating Aegyptus Province, struckc. 135.In the obverse, Egypt is personified as a reclining woman holding thesistrumofHathor.Her left elbow rests on a basket of grain, while anibisstands on the column at her feet.
• 
  Zenobiacoin reporting her title as queen of Egypt (Augusta), and showing her diademed and draped bust on a crescent. The obverse shows a standing figure of Ivno Regina (Juno) holding apaterain her right hand and a sceptre in her left hand, with a peacock at her feet and a brilliant star on the left.

See also

• Roman pharaoh

Further reading

• Angold, Michael(2001).Byzantium: the bridge from antiquity to the Middle Ages.New York:St. Martin's Press.ISBN978-0-312-28429-9.
• Bowman, Alan K.(1996).Egypt after the pharaohs: 332 BC-AD 642; from Alexander to the Arab conquest(2. ed.). Berkeley, Calif.:University of California Press.ISBN978-0-520-20531-4.
• Bowman, Alan K.;Rathbone, Dominic(November 1992). "Cities and Administration in Roman Egypt".Journal of Roman Studies.82:107–127.doi:10.2307/301287.ISSN0075-4358.JSTOR301287.
• Chauveau, Michel(2000).Egypt in the age of Cleopatra: history and society under the Ptolemies.Cornell paperbacks. Translated byLorton, David.Ithaca; London:Cornell University Press.ISBN978-0-8014-8576-3.
• El-Abbadi, M. A. H.(December 1964). "The Gerousia in Roman Egypt".The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.50:164–169.doi:10.2307/3855750.ISSN0307-5133.JSTOR3855750.
• Ellis, Simon (1992). Adams, Barbara G. (ed.).Graeco-Roman Egypt.Shire Egyptology. Princes Risborough:Shire Publications.ISBN978-0-7478-0158-0.
• Annotated Translation of the Chapter on the Western Regions according to theHou Hanshu.Translated by Hill, John E. (2nd ed.). September 2003.
• The Peoples of the West from the WeilueNgụy lượcby Yu HuanCá hoạn:A Third Century Chinese Account Composed between 239 and 265 CE.Translated by Hill, John E. (Draft translation ed.). September 2004.
• Kelly, Paul V. (2023).The financial markets of Roman Egypt: risk and return.Liverpool:Liverpool University Press.ISBN978-1-837-64718-7.
• Peacock, David (2003). "The Roman Period (30 BC–AD 311)". InShaw, Ian(ed.).The Oxford history of ancient Egypt(New ed.). Oxford:Oxford University Press.pp. 422–445.ISBN978-0-19-280458-7.
• Riggs, Christina,ed. (2012).The Oxford handbook of Roman Egypt.Oxford handbooks in archaeology (1st ed.). Oxford:Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-957145-1.
• Rowlandson, Jane(2002).Landowners and tenants in Roman Egypt: the social relations of agriculture in the Oxyrhynchite nome.Oxford classical monographs (Repr ed.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.ISBN978-0-19-814735-0.
• Rowlandson, Jane,ed. (1998).Women and society in Greek and Roman Egypt: a sourcebook.Cambridge, U.K.; New York:Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-58212-4.
• Sippel, Benjamin (2020).Gottesdiener und Kamelzüchter: das Alltags- und Sozialleben der Sobek-Priester im kaiserzeitlichen Fayum.Philippika (in German). Wiesbaden:Harrassowitz Verlag.ISBN978-3-447-11485-1.OCLC1224479323.

External links

• Detailed Map of Aegyptus