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Roman Egypt
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When Cleopatra and Mark Antony died, Egypt was
annexed by Rome. It became the personal estate of the Emperor Octavian - who
later became Augustus - and the granary of the Roman Empire. Roman emperors
after Augustus styled themselves like pharaohs just to maintain the appearance
of being legitimate Egyptian kings. The true Egypt of the pharaohs had vanished
with the last native pharaoh, Nectanebo II, in 343 B.C.
Annexed by Rome, Egypt became a prosperous
part of the Roman Empire. It had indeed become a wealthy province, and many new
cities had been founded. Some monuments from the Roman period still stand in
Egypt. One of the best-known buildings from Roman Egypt is called Pharaoh’s
Bed, or Trajan’s Kiosk. It was built on the Philae Island by Trajan, a Roman
ruler from A.D. 98 to 117.
Egypt continued to enjoy its wealth until the
end of the 2nd Century. After this period, however, during the reign of
Commodus, from A.D. 180 to 192, Egyptian supplies had to be supplemented from
North Africa. In addition, during that period the coins used in Egypt dropped
in value.
Later, the Roman Empire was divided into east
and west. Under the rule of Emperor Diocletian, Egypt was not administered as a
separate province, but was made part of the eastern empire, and it was split
into three provinces: the Thebaid, Aegyptus Jovia, and Aegyptus Herculia. About
A.D. 341, a new province named Augustus was formed, and later Herculia was
renamed Arcadia. At that time Egypt had a civil administrator as well as a
military one. Egypt also used the same coins that were used in the Roman
empire. Things remained much this way for several centuries
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