#romanegypt

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These Roman mummy masks come from ancient Egypt. They date from the 1st-2nd century CE, and they painted and made from plaster. (Pushkin Museum, Moscow)

[omniatlas]

NEW MAP: Europe 273: Revolt of Firmus (July 273) https://buff.ly/3ete3vW No sooner had Aurelian crossed into Europe after his defeat of Zenobia, than Palmyra rebelled again. Racing back east, the emperor sacked the city in retribution, only to face a pro-Palmyrene uprising in Egypt. This too Aurelian crushed, although in the fighting the Brucheion quarter of Alexandria, which housed the famous Great Library, was almost entirely destroyed. #thirdcentury #ancientrome #romanegypt #ancientegypt #aurelian #cartography #dacia #europe #europeanhistory #historia #historian #historic #historylesson #historylover #historymaker #historymatters #spqr #classicalera #map #mapping #maps #alexandria #palmyra #roman #romanempire #romanhistory #romans #romansyria #greatlibrary #newmap (at Alexandria, Egypt) https://www.instagram.com/p/CMT2eArgY9b/?igshid=fcuqbsbqgn9k

[egyptianphotographerblog]

Loads of questions concerning the mosaics of Ancient Alexandria, specially this one behind me. Location : Roman Villa -Alexandria ,Egypt Who is this human figure on its top?? Is it Dionysus?? And why Dionysus was one of favorite subjects to be modeled on Mosaics?decorating Greek and Roman houses floors ? What is the decorative element in the middle ?? Is it Cross? Or the guilloche motif which was so popular during Roman period?? Questions questions questions????? Is not a time to read more about Ancient Alexandria and its rich history of arts & architecture!!it is now your turn to share what you learn newly about this city ✍✍✍ #ancientegypt ,#ancientalexandria ,#mosaicart ,#romanmosaic ,#dionysus ,#guilloche ,#traveltoegypt ,#villaofbirds,#romanvilla ,#maisonromaine ,#romanegypt ,#historyofegypt ,#archaeologistlife ,#archaeologistatwork ,#archaeologistontour (at Ancient Roman Amphitheater) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByOZPiQA-3H/?igshid=4pironrj6zbx

[whencyclopedia]

Cleopatra VII: The Last Great Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

Cleopatra VII (69-30 BCE, reign 51-30 BCE) was the last ruler of Egypt before it was annexed as a province of Rome. Arguably the most famous Egyptian queen, Cleopatra was ethnically Greek as a member of the Macedonian Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE), which ruled Egypt after the death of Alexander the Great (356-323 BCE), but she was culturally Egyptian and presented herself as an Egyptian queen.

She is probably best known for her love affair with the Roman general and statesman Mark Antony (83-30 BCE), as well as her earlier affair with Julius Caesar (100-44 BCE), but was a powerful queen before her interaction with either and a much stronger monarch than any of the later rulers of the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

Cleopatra was fluent in a number of languages, was reported to have been extremely charming, and was an effective diplomat and administrator. Her involvement with both Caesar and Mark Antony came about after she had already successfully ruled and steered Ptolemaic Egypt through a difficult period.

Her affair with Antony brought her into direct conflict with Octavian (later known as Augustus, reign 27 BCE to 14 CE), who was Antony's brother-in-law. Octavian would defeat Cleopatra and Antony in the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE, ending her reign. She and Antony would then both commit suicide the following year, and Octavian would found the Roman Empire and relegate Cleopatra to a minor chapter in Rome's past. Scholar Stacy Schiff comments:

The rewriting of history began almost immediately. Not only did Mark Antony disappear from the record, but Actium wondrously transformed itself into a major engagement, a resounding victory, a historical turning point. It went from an end to a beginning. Augustus had rescued the country from great peril.

(297)

The Roman historians seized on the concept of the seductive woman from the East who had threatened Rome and paid the price. This image of Cleopatra has, unfortunately, remained through the intervening centuries, and only in the last century have scholarly attempts been made to portray her in a more realistic and flattering light.

Youth & Succession

In June of 323 BCE, Alexander the Great died, and his vast empire was divided among his generals in the War of the Diadochi. One of these generals was Ptolemy I Soter (reign 323-282 BCE), a fellow Macedonian, who would found the Ptolemaic Dynasty in ancient Egypt.

The Ptolemaic line, of Macedonian-Greek ethnicity, would continue to rule Egypt until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BCE, when it was taken by Rome. Ptolemy I, Ptolemy II (reign 285-246 BCE), and Ptolemy III (reign 246-222 BCE) governed Egypt well, but after them, their successors ruled poorly until Cleopatra came to the throne. In fact, the difficulties she had to overcome were primarily the legacy of her predecessors.

Cleopatra VII Philopator was born in 69 BCE and ruled jointly with her father, Ptolemy XII Auletes. When she was 18 years old, her father died, leaving her the throne. Because Egyptian tradition held that a woman needed a male consort to reign, her 12-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII, was ceremonially married to her. Cleopatra soon dropped his name from all official documents, however, and ruled alone.

The Ptolemies, insisting on Macedonian-Greek superiority, had ruled in Egypt for centuries without ever learning the Egyptian language or fully embracing the customs. Cleopatra, however, was fluent in Egyptian, eloquent in her native Greek, and proficient in other languages as well. Because of this, she was able to communicate easily with diplomats from other countries without the need of a translator and, shortly after assuming the throne, without bothering to hear the counsel of her advisors on matters of state. Schiff notes how "Cleopatra had the gift of languages and glided easily among them" (160). Plutarch, from whose works Schiff draws this observation, writes:

It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another; so that there were few of the barbarian nations that she answered by an interpreter.

(Lives, Antony and Cleopatra, Ch. 8)

Her habit of making decisions and acting on them without the counsel of the members of her court upset some of the high-ranking officials. One example of this was when Roman mercenary lieutenants employed by the Ptolemaic crown murdered the sons of the Roman governor of Syria to prevent them from requesting her assistance. She immediately arrested the lieutenants responsible and turned them over to the aggrieved father for punishment.

In spite of her many achievements, her court was not pleased with her independent attitude. In 48 BCE, her chief advisor, Pothinus, along with another, Theodotus of Chios, and the General Achillas, overthrew her and placed Ptolemy XIII on the throne, believing him to be easier to control than his sister. Cleopatra and her half-sister, Arsinoë IV, fled to Thebaid for safety.

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⇒ Cleopatra VII: The Last Great Pharaoh of Ancient Egypt

[whencyclopedia]

Soldier and Society in Roman Egypt: A Social History

This is a highly recommended book for anyone who wants to learn more about Roman Egypt. It examines the role a Roman soldier played in Egypt from the reign of Augustus to Diocletian.

For many years, there have been many studies done on the Roman army. Many of the general studies have been popular, however, the more narrowly focused aspects of the Roman army have not gained as much attention. This book focuses on what it was like to be a soldier in Roman Egypt. Richard Alston, Professor of Roman History at the University of London, explores the cultural, economic, and legal aspects of a soldier’s life in this province. It gives readers a new insight into Roman Rule in Egypt after the time of the Pharaohs had long since passed. It is targeted at scholars and general readers alike.

This book is a good overview of the Roman army in Egypt from Augustus to Diocletian. In the first chapter, the author introduces the current state of the field. Roman military historians like Spiedel and Bierly have assumed the goals and ultimate role of militaries have been constant throughout history. Richard Alston criticizes this assertion and reminds us that we cannot assume that the Roman army behaved like modern armies. Alston seeks to identify “what the army was for, what the soldiers did, who the soldiers were and how the army related to the civilian population” (6). He argues that the Roman army in Egypt was organized similarly to other provinces. Furthermore, to a degree, every province had an exclusive cultural record. Chapters Two through Six examine aspects such as where the Roman legions were stationed in Egypt, how soldiers were recruited and how they retired, soldiers’ and veterans’ legal status in Roman Egypt, their daily activities, and how this impacted the Egyptian economy. Each chapter outlines the scholarship for these issues and how they can be improved. In the seventh chapter, Alston focuses on how soldiers interacted with civilians in the village of Karanis in the Fayum. He chose Fayum in northwestern Egypt because it was there that many veterans and soldiers settled. Generations of military families trace their ancestry there, too. Roman soldiers and veterans enjoyed a privileged lifestyle and belonged to the upper level of society. They interacted with the civilians and even married into their families. Alston concludes with the claim that the veterans stationed in Karanis were not the foremost in Romanization. However, it remained a relatively large village despite the minority of Romans.

Chapter Eight is brief and talks about the army reforms of Diocletian and the impact it had on the Roman army in Egypt. Chapter nine is a final chapter that summarizes Alston’s conclusions about Roman Egypt with how the army had an impact compared to other provinces such as Britain. He analyzes this from the evidence at the Vindolanda fort near Hadrian’s wall.

There are two detailed appendices, one offering a significant evaluation of the documentary evidence for each cohort and legion stationed in Egypt and the other reviewing the archaeological evidence for the Roman army stationed in Egypt. The illustrations of five forts in this section provide the reader with helpful visuals of Roman architecture.

This is a seminal work and is highly recommended. The conclusions in each section of the book vary depending on the available evidence. Military historians and general audiences alike will benefit from it. This book is different from other works on Roman Egypt because it focuses on the role of the Roman army in that time. Roman Egypt gives us insight into how the land of the Nile changed after the pharaohs, and this book is a perfect addition.

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⇒ Soldier and Society in Roman Egypt: A Social History

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Kingdoms and Periods of Ancient Egypt

The kingdoms and periods of ancient Egypt are modern-day designations for the history of the civilization. The people themselves did not refer to these eras by their modern terms but, instead, dated their history by the reign of a king or a dynasty or event. The modern terms are simply used for ease in studying Egyptian history.

The first Egyptian chronology was created by the Egyptian priest and scribe Manetho in the 3rd century BCE. After hieroglyphics were deciphered in the 19th century, archaeologists then developed his dating system. Scholars proposed different systems for the chronology of ancient Egypt with many agreeing on so-called Middle Chronology. The dates below follow this chronology as proposed by Egyptologist Ian Shaw in 2000, with slight modifications by later scholars. There is no "right chronology" for the Near East (including Egypt) as each dating system provides sound reasons for acceptance.

Predynastic Period in Egypt: c. 6000 to c. 3150 BCE

Early Dynastic Period in Egypt: c. 3150 to c. 2613 BCE

Old Kingdom: c. 2613-2181 BCE

First Intermediate Period: 2181-2040 BCE

Middle Kingdom: 2040-1782 BCE

Second Intermediate Period: c. 1782 to c. 1570 BCE

New Kingdom: c. 1570 to c. 1069 BCE

Third Intermediate Period: c. 1069-525 BCE

Late Period of Ancient Egypt: 525-323 BCE

Ptolemaic Period: 323-30 BCE

A "kingdom" refers to a time of unity and strong central government; a "period" to a time of disunity and decentralized government, with the exception of the Ptolemaic Period. After the fall of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, Egypt was annexed by Rome, entering the period known as Roman Egypt (30 BCE to 646 CE). This period is not always included in lists of Egyptian chronology as it was no longer an independent nation but a province of the Roman Empire until it was taken by the Muslim Arabs in the 7th century.

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[whencyclopedia]

Alexandria, Egypt

Alexandria is a port city on the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt founded in 331 BCE by Alexander the Great. It was the site of the Pharos (lighthouse), one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and the legendary Library of Alexandria and was once the most vital cultural center of the ancient world, rivaling even Athens, Greece.

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[whencyclopedia]

Naukratis

Naukratis (also spelled Naucratis, and known as Nokraji to the ancient Egyptians) was a city in Lower Egypt, located in the Canopic (or western) branch of the Nile delta, which became a powerful trading port between the Egyptians and the rest of the Mediterranean world. It was the first permanent Greek settlement in Egypt, and its name translates to "naval command" from Greek.

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