Roman Egypt

Roman Egypt was an <a href="/facts/Imperial_province/yNFRdIHD">imperial province</a> of the <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">Roman Empire</a> from 30 BC to AD 642. The province encompassed most of modern-day <a href="/facts/Egypt/8Ttg0JwB">Egypt</a> except for the <a href="/facts/Sinai_Peninsula/SEyERdHm">Sinai</a>. It was bordered by the provinces of <a href="/facts/Crete_and_Cyrenaica/qnMFcAIc">Crete and Cyrenaica</a> to the west and <a href="/facts/Judaea_(Roman_province)/QPVlNrrv">Judaea</a>, later <a href="/facts/Arabia_Petraea/1HI6pBUx">Arabia Petraea</a>, to the East.
Egypt was conquered by Roman forces in 30 BC and became a province of the new Roman Empire upon its formation in 27 BC. Egypt came to serve as a major producer of <a href="/facts/Grain/C00uWDPs">grain</a> for the empire and had a highly developed urban economy. It was by far the wealthiest Roman province outside of <a href="/facts/Roman_Italy/ATT6F4dQ">Italy</a>. The population of Roman Egypt is unknown, although estimates vary from 4 to 8 million. <a href="/facts/Alexandria/hdg1twWA">Alexandria</a>, its capital, was the largest <a href="/facts/Port/4Uuw6Fec">port</a> and second largest city of the Roman Empire.
Three <a href="/facts/Roman_legions/qdmdg3Vb">Roman legions</a> garrisoned Egypt in the early <a href="/facts/Roman_imperial_period/AzbaEq3V">Roman imperial period</a>, with the garrison later reduced to two, alongside <a href="/facts/Auxilia/dr6wwSQU">auxilia</a> formations of the <a href="/facts/Roman_army/f6IYbVcR">Roman army</a>. The major town of each <a href="/facts/Nome_(Egypt)/As2FAcJB">nome</a> (administrative region) was known as a <a href="/facts/Metropolis/s0mIpkgD">metropolis</a> and granted additional privileges. The inhabitants of Roman Egypt were divided by social class along ethnic and cultural lines. Most inhabitants were peasant farmers, who lived in rural villages and spoke the <a href="/facts/Egyptian_language/mSqys6jC">Egyptian language</a> (which evolved from the Demotic Egyptian of the <a href="/facts/Late_Period_of_ancient_Egypt/JYkHXHvu">Late</a> and <a href="/facts/Ptolemaic_Kingdom/sAg88Lvs">Ptolemaic</a> periods to <a href="/facts/Coptic_language/EzDloWDH">Coptic</a> under Roman rule). In each metropolis, the citizens spoke <a href="/facts/Koine_Greek/StKuT1sY">Koine Greek</a> and followed a <a href="/facts/Hellenistic/q6BgQsaF">Hellenistic</a> culture. However, there was considerable social mobility, increasing urbanization, and both the rural and urban population were involved in trade and had high literacy rates. In AD 212, the <a href="/facts/Constitutio_Antoniniana/dHu9KXMp">Constitutio Antoniniana</a> gave <a href="/facts/Roman_citizenship/ag80U8GM">Roman citizenship</a> to all free Egyptians.
The <a href="/facts/Antonine_Plague/xpJfA06l">Antonine Plague</a> struck in the late 2nd century, but Roman Egypt recovered by the 3rd century. Having escaped much of the <a href="/facts/Crisis_of_the_Third_Century/3sXmaNCD">Crisis of the Third Century</a>, Roman Egypt fell under the control of the breakaway <a href="/facts/Palmyrene_Empire/LLduYyEE">Palmyrene Empire</a> after <a href="/facts/Palmyrene_invasion_of_Egypt/0CnFIyse">an invasion of Egypt</a> by <a href="/facts/Zenobia/B1ufdPE8">Zenobia</a> in 269. The emperor <a href="/facts/Aurelian/cVWGJJeP">Aurelian</a> (r. 270–275) successfully besieged Alexandria and recovered Egypt. The usurpers <a href="/facts/Domitius_Domitianus/hfRszL2P">Domitius Domitianus</a> and <a href="/facts/Achilleus_(Roman_usurper)/PC931cUF">Achilleus</a> took control of the province in opposition to emperor <a href="/facts/Diocletian/l4Inf5wa">Diocletian</a> (r. 284–305), who recovered it in 297–298. Diocletian then introduced administrative and economic reforms. These coincided with the <a href="/facts/Christianization_of_the_Roman_Empire/QrNwmgPM">Christianization of the Roman Empire</a>, especially the growth of <a href="/facts/Christianity_in_Egypt/2L0a26Bt">Christianity in Egypt</a>. After <a href="/facts/Constantine_the_Great/jW1q8TPp">Constantine the Great</a> gained control of Egypt in AD 324, the emperors promoted Christianity. The <a href="/facts/Coptic_language/EzDloWDH">Coptic language</a>, derived from earlier forms of Egyptian, emerged among the Christians of Roman Egypt.
Under <a href="/facts/Diocletian/l4Inf5wa">Diocletian</a> the frontier was moved downriver to the <a href="/facts/First_Cataract/cedENCx8">First Cataract</a> of the <a href="/facts/Nile/vGoXVUFH">Nile</a> at Syene (<a href="/facts/Aswan/gI6G1Ho5">Aswan</a>), withdrawing from the <a href="/facts/Dodekaschoinos/3vpSwesu">Dodekaschoinos</a> region. This southern frontier was largely peaceful for many centuries, likely garrisoned by <a href="/facts/Limitanei/AvJLYb6J">limitanei</a> of the <a href="/facts/Late_Roman_army/YRRo5vmA">late Roman army</a>. Regular units also served in Egypt, including <a href="/facts/Scythian/gWMVEnJs">Scythians</a> known to have been stationed in the <a href="/facts/Thebaid/2Vp5PcMY">Thebaid</a> by <a href="/facts/Justinian_the_Great/6wl5Ivh7">Justinian the Great</a> (r. 527–565). Constantine introduced the gold <a href="/facts/Solidus_(coin)/CwJjrjg6">solidus</a> coin, which stabilized the economy. The trend towards private ownership of land became more pronounced in the 5th century and peaked in the 6th century, with large estates built up from many individual plots. Some large estates were owned by Christian churches, and smaller land-holders included those who were themselves both tenant farmers on larger estates and landlords of tenant-farmers working their own land. The <a href="/facts/First_plague_pandemic/zDVbzax8">First Plague Pandemic</a> arrived in the <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_Basin/azjFD5mW">Mediterranean Basin</a> with the emergence of the <a href="/facts/Justinianic_Plague/srTzssYm">Justinianic Plague</a> at <a href="/facts/Pelusium/PkVKM3Kx">Pelusium</a> in Roman Egypt in 541.
<a href="/facts/Sasanian_conquest_of_Egypt/gqkNzhGc">Egypt was conquered</a> by the <a href="/facts/Sasanian_Empire/JvbRevkA">Sasanian Empire</a> in 618, who <a href="/facts/Sasanian_Egypt/5VjDsg41">ruled the territory for a decade</a>, but it was returned to the <a href="/facts/Eastern_Roman_Empire/njEELXWF">Eastern Roman Empire</a> by the defection of the governor in 628. Egypt permanently ceased to be a part of the Roman Empire in 642, when it became part of the <a href="/facts/Rashidun_Caliphate/UBtWHvDj">Rashidun Caliphate</a> following the <a href="/facts/Muslim_conquest_of_Egypt/N3yQclzX">Muslim conquest of Egypt</a>.

Roman Egypt open-in-new

Roman Egypt