TheHistoryofEgyptUndertheRomans 10019768

H i st o r y of E gypt
F RO M 33 0 B . C . TO TH E PR E S E NT TI M E
BY 8 0 R A PP Q P O R TD D o c to r o f P hil o so p h y , B as e l ;
M e m be r o f the E co e l L an gu e s O rie n tales P a ris ; ,
R u ss i a n , G e rm a n , F re n c h O ri en t alis t a n d P h il ol o gi s t
CO N TA INI NG O V ER T WE L V E H U ND R ED
CO L O R E D PL A TE S A ND IL L U S T R A T IO NS
V O L U M E II .
L O N DO N
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BY TH E G R O L IE R S OC I E TY
C O N TE N TS
CH A P TE R I .
E G Y PT U ND E R TH E RO M AN E MP I RE
P GE
A
Th e Rom n D om i n i on th N il
a on e e S e tt l e m e n t of t h e E gyp ti a n F r on
t i s —R li g i ou s D v l o p m n t s
er e e e e R b lli on s
e e
C H A P TE R II .
TH E C H R I S TI AN PE R IO D IN E G Y PT
Th e A sc n d n y f th N w R li g i on Th A i n C on t o v si s Th
e e c o e e e e r a r er e e
Z n ith
e f M on s t icis m — T h
o a Fi n l St ugg l of P g n is m — Th
e a r e a a e
D cli n
e f Al x n d i
e o e a r a
CH A P TE R I II .
E G Y PT D URI NG TH E MUH AMM E D AN PE RI O D
Th e Ri se of Mu h a m m e d a n i sm Th e A r ab i c C on q ue st of E gyp t — Th e
O m m ay a d a n d A bb a s i d Dy n sti s
a e
L IST O F I L L U S TR A TI O N S
E gy p ti a n S lave
O n m t f o th
r a en r m e M or i sta n of K i l aw u n
C o i n f Augu st u s
o
Th e N I l om eter at E leph a nti ne

O n th e e dg e of th e D ese t r .
A K p ti M i d n
O c a e
F ra gm n t s st on d w oo d p i nt d
e In e an ,
a e
T m pl t T nty n l g d by Rom n chit cts

e e a e ra, e ar e a ar e
O n t h B n k s O f th N i l
e a e e
B d ou i n T nt i n th D s t
e e e e er
A R li f f om S qqa
e e r a ra
E g yp t i n T h shi ng M chi n
a re a e
An E gyp ti n P o st m n a a
An A b G i l ra r
F ar m i ng i E g ypt n
M lt s C o i n
a e e
C o i n Of C y oss r a
C oin f N o o er
E t hi o pi n A b a ra s
E g y pt i n C o i n f G l b
a o a a
S c n i n S p lch l Ch m b
e e a e u ra a er
H ar poc t s ra e
C o i n s Of D om iti n a
C oin f N o er v a
T i n ity O f I i H o u s d N ph th y
r s s, r , an e s
C o in s f T j n o ra a
E gyp t i n Wi g ( B i t ish Mu s
a m) r eu
A t i i
n T pl n S i n i
on n a n em e ea r a
C omm mo t iv C o i n f A ti nou s
e ra e o n
vi i i LI ST O F ILLU STR A T I ON S
R os c o l o d L o tus
e -
ur e
V o c l S t tu
a f A h Ot ha e o m en es
E g yp t i n O cl a ra e
K p ti Ch m
o c d Sc b us ar an ar a ae
G no s tic G em
G m s sh o w i ng s y m b o l f D t h d t h Wo d I A Q ( J v h
e
) O ea an e r a e
H d i n s E gy p t i n C o i n s
’
a r a a .
C o i n s of Ant on i nu s P i u s
S t t u of t h N il
a e e e
C o i n s of M c u s Au li u s ar re
Th H e b ou f Al x nd i
ar r o e a r a
A l x n d i n fo m s I W i ti ng
e a r a r O r
A S n k Ch m a e -
ar er
Th S i gn of N o b ili ty
e
C t ou ch f C ommo d u s
ar e O
Th Anub is S t ff
e a
C no pic J s
a ar
R li g i ou s P o c ssi on
e r e
Sh in r e
H i og l yphic H i
er tic dD mo ti c w i ti ng
,
er a , an e r
A N t iv of A sw n
a e a
P i n t i ng t t h
a n t n c tot h F ift h T i b of th Ki ngs
a e e ra e e o n e
h b s
T e e
A Mo d n Sc i b er r e
S y m b o l of E gyp t
A H m Wi n d o w
are
C o i n f Z ob i O en a
C o i n of A t h d en o or u s
C o i n O f D m i ti wi th L ti n I n sc ipti on
o an u s a r
C o i n of S v i n e er a
C o i n of T j s Se c on d L g i on r a an
’
e
S y m b o l of M i th ra
D om P l m f U ppe E gyp t
e a O r
An An ci n t E gyp ti n N ckl cee a e a
Th P p y u s F l o w
e a r er
Th I sl nd f R h o d a
e a O
H ou s s b u il t on Pil s a t P n t
e e u
T m pl of A b u S i m b l i n N ub i
e e e a
C o i n f C on st n ti u s
O 347 a ,
A . D .
A Y oung E gypti n w ing th e Ro y l L o ck a e ar a
An E gyp ti n W t C i a a er -
a rr e r
R m i s of Ch i t i n Ch u ch n t h e T
e a n e m pl r s a r I e at L uxo r
T m pl C o t y d M d i n et A b u
e e ur ar ,
e
LI ST O F I LLU STR A T I ON S ix
Ch isti
r n Pic t u t Ab u S i m b l
a re a e
M f l t sh o w i ng th H i g h t f th N il
an a oo ,
S umm e e o e e m er
Qu i s tT
ar r e h O n t h N il
a o or a e e .
S t t d M o sq u O f M h dj i
ree an e a ar
R ms s II
a e d St P t . an . e er
Th P p y u s P l n t
e a r a
A b s sti ng i n t h D s t
ra re e e er
I sis t h D og S t
as e ar
S t t Sp i n kl
r ee t Al x nd i
r er a e a r a
I ll u st t i on f om c o p y f D i o sc o i d s
ra r o r e
F o t ss
r re M oun t S i n i
n ea r a
P y m i d f M d um
ra o e
A M o d n H ou s th D lt t Ro s tt
er e In e e a a e a
C o i n s f Ju sti n i n
o a
O n m n t f om th P o ch f th S u l t a
r a e r n H ss n e r o e a a
O n m n t f om t h M o sq u
r a e f B k k
r e e o ar u
C o i n f A lio
C o in f O o m ar
O l d C i o ( F o s tat)
a r
A M o d n K opt er
M o sq u fA e o m r
C o in Of Ab u B k e r
C o i n f O th m n
o a
C o i n f M lik
o a
Cit d l f C i o ( F o stat)
a e o a r
A C o c o dil u s d
r T lis an
e e as a a m
D oo f A b i n H ou s
r o an ra a e
A V il d B uty
e e ea
Tom b Of S h ik h a e
Th M o sq u
e f i b n Tu l un C i o
e o , a r
S n c tu y O f th M o sq u O f i b n Tu l un
a ar e e
M o sq u f A h m d i b n T l un
e o e u
C o i n f Ab u B k
o e r
M o sq u Tom b e S y en e n e ar
M o sq u f H ki m
e o a
M t i G t t C i o
’
u s a n ss r s a e a a r
TH E R O MA N, CH R I S TIA N, A ND A R A BI C
PE R I O D S
TH E R O MA N AD MI N IS TR A TION I N EG Y P T — TH E R IS E OF CH R I S TI A NITY
TH E A R IA N CONTR O V ER S Y TH E G R O WT H OF MO N A S TI CI S M TH E
D E CL IN E OF AL E XA N D R I A TH E ARAB IN V A S ION A ND TH E E
S PR A D
OF MU H A MME D A NI S M TH E A R A B D Y N A S TI S E .
A ug u s tu s re models th e g o v er n m ent of E gyp t A n ew ca lenda r intr o

d u c ed E gyp t s ur v ey ed D iss en si on b etw een J ew s a n d Gr eeks a t
A l ex a ndr ia S tr a b o s visi t
’
Th e E gyp ti a n r eligion a t R om e Wis e
a dm i n is tr a ti on of T i b e r i u s T h e r is e of th e Th er a eu tce
p L a ke
Moer is des tr o y ed Th e o r ig in of Ch em is tr y Th e f a b l e of th e P h oenix

Ch r isti a n ity i ntr odu c ed F i sca l r ef o r m s under G a l b a V esp a si a n
in E gyp t — E a l l of J er u s a lem Th e Nile Ca n a l r esto r ed H a dr i a n s

’
v oy age up th e N ile D ea th of A ntinou s Chr is tia n s a n d Gn os tics

s
A tr o l ogy a n d A s tr onom y — R om a n r o a ds in E gyp t Comm er ce a n d
S p o r ts T h e G r o w t h o f C h r is ti a n i ty S e v er u s visi ts E gyp t Th e
m a ss a cr e of th e A lexa ndr ia ns A m m on i us S a c ca s a n d th e A lexa ndr ia n

P l a t on is ts T h e S ch oo l of O r ig n R is f
e e o C on tr o v er s y D e clin e f
o
Comm er c e Z eno b i a i n S y r ia Gr o w ing i mp o r ta n ce of th e A r a b s

Re v o l t a n d r e c ap tu r e of A l ex a nd r i a P er s e c u ti on of th e Ch r is ti a n s
under D i o cletia n I ntr odu ction of th e Ma nich ea n h er esy
-
.
2
Con s ta n tine th e G r ea t conv er ted — P r ivileges of th e clergy D og

m a tic disp utes Coun cil of l Vi c oea a n d th e fir s t N ic en e C r eed A th a
na sia n a n d A r ia n contr o v er sies —F ounding of Con sta ntinop le D ecline
of A l ex a ndr ia I m p er i a l app o in tm e n ts i n t h e C h u r ch R e lig i ou s
r io ts Tr iump hs of A th a n a siu s P er s ecu ti on by B ish op G eo rge
of C a pp a do ci a E a r ly m issi on w o r k — D ev e l op m e n t of th e m on a s tic
sy stem Text of th e B ib le Th e m onks a n d m ilita r y s er vic e S ara
cenic en cr o a ch ments Th eodo siu s o v er thr ow s P ag a nis m D es tr u ction
of th e G r ea t L i b r a r y P a g a n a n d C h r is ti a n li ter a tu r e S t or y of
H yp a tia Th e A r a b s d efea t th e R om a n s Th e K op ti c N ew Tes ta
—
m en t E gyp t s ep a r a ted fr om R ome Th e Coun cil of Ch a lcedon
P a g a n is m r es to r e d in Upp er E gyp t Th e H en oti c on Th e w r iting s
of I T i er l e s
oc — R e la ti on s w i th P er si a I n r oa ds f o t h e A r a b s — Ju s
ti n i a n s fisc a l r ef or m s Coin a g e r es tor e d Th e P er si a n s en ter E gyp t
’
.
Th e L if e of Mu h a m m ed — A m r c on qu er s E gyp t Th e l eg end of
O m a r a n d th e G r ea t L ib r a r y Th e f ound ing of F ostd t Th e Ch r is

t i a n s ta x e d — Mu h a mm ed a n opp r essi on in E gyp t Th e 0 m m a y a d
a n d A bb a si d dy n a s ti es Ca lip h H a r u n er R a shi d -
Tu r kish b ody
gu a r ds — R is e of th e Tu l u n i te D yn a s ty Ofi ce of P r in c e of P r in ces
R eig n of M u h a mm e d c l I ks h i d -
Wa r w i th y n ium F a timite
B za t —
Ca lip hs Th e I sm a ili a n s a n d M h d is m a — R eig n of Mu sta n ssi r
Tu r kish R ap a ci ty E n d of th e F a tim i te R u le .
OR NA M EN T F ROM T HE M O R I S TA N O F K I L A WUN .
CH A P TE R I
E G Y PT U N D E R T H E RO MA N E M P IR E
Th e Ro n d o i n i on th N il S ttl m nt of th E gypti n f on ti
m a m on e e e e e e a r er s
R lig i ou s d v l o p m n ts R b llion s
e e e e e e .
U G U S TU S
began hi s r eign
in Egypt in B C 30 by . .
ordering all th e statu e s O f A n

ton y O i whi ch th ere w ere ,
C O IN O F A U G USTUS .
more than fifty ornam enting
the various public buildings
o f the city t o b e broken t o piec e s ; and it is said he
had the meanness to receiv e a brib e of on e thousand tal
e nts from A r c h i bu s a friend O f Cleopatra that the
, ,
qu e en s statu e s m i ght b e left stan di ng It s e ems to hav e

’
.
b ee n part O f his kingcraft t o give th e O ffices O f great e st

t rust to men O f l ow birth w h o wer e at the sam e time w ell
,
3
4 EG YP T U N D ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
aware that th e y ow e d th eir employm ents to their s eem
ing want Of ambition Thus the gov ernment O f Egypt
.
,
the greatest and richest Of the provinces was given to ,
Corneliu s Gallus .
B e for e the fall of the republic the s enate had giv e n

the command Of the provin c e s to memb ers Of th e ir ow n
body only ; and therefore A ugustus not wishing to alt e r ,
the law Obtain ed from th e senate for hi ms elf all those

,
governm ents whi ch h e m e ant to give to men O f low e r

rank By thi s l e gal fiction these equestrian pr e fects
.
,
w e re answerable for their c onduct to nobody but th e

emperor on a petition and th e y co ul d n ot be sued at law
,
b efor e the s enate for their m i sde e ds But he made an .
exception in the case Of Egypt Wh ile on the one hand

.
’
in that province h e gave to th e pr e fect s e di cts the force
Of law on the other h e allow e d him to b e cited b efore th e
,
s enate though appoint e d b y h i ms elf Th e power thus

,
.
giv e n to th e s e nat e th ey never v entured to use and the ,
prefect O f Egypt was nev e r punished or r emov e d but by

the emp eror Und e r th e pr efe ct was th e chi e f justi c e
.
of th e provinc e who heard hims elf or by d e puty all

, , ,
caus e s e x c ept those which wer e r e s e rved for th e d e cision

Of the emp e ror in p e rson Thes e last were d e c id e d by a
.
second judg e or in mod e rn languag e a chanc ellor as

, ,
they were too num e rous and t oo trifli ng to b e tak e n to

Rome Under th e s e judg e s w e r e num e rous fre e dme n O f
.
the emperor and cl erks e ntrusted with affairs of gre at e r

,
and l e ss weight O f the nativ e magistrat e s the chi ef

.
w er e the ke e per Of the r e cords th e police judg e th e

, ,
pr e fect O f the ni ght and the E cc eg etes or interpret e r

, ,
THE JULIA N YEA R 5
Of the Egyptian law w h o was allowed to wear a pur ple

,
robe like a Roman magistrate But these Egyptian mag .
i s tr a t e s were n e v e r treat e d as c itiz ens ; th e y w e re bar

b a r i a n s little b e tter than slaves and only raised to the
, ,
’
rank of the emperor s freedmen .
A u gustus showed not a little j ealo u s y in the rest Of

the laws b y which hi s new provinc e was to be governed .
While other con qu e red cities usually had a senate or

municipal form O f government granted to them no city ,
in Egypt was allowed that privilege whi ch b y teaching , ,
the citizens the art Of governing them selves and th e

advantages Of union might have made them less at the
,
merc y O f their m asters He not only gave the com m and

.
Of the kingdom to a man b elow the rank Of a senator ,
but ordered that no senator should even b e allowed to

s et foot in Eg y pt witho u t lea v e from himself ; and cen
tu r i e s lat e r when the weakness Of the country had l e d

,
the emperors to soften some Of the oth er stern l aws Of

A ugustu s thi s was still strictl y enforc e d
,
.
A mong other changes then bro u ght in b y the Romans

w a s the u se O f a fixed y ear in all civil reckonings Th e .
Egyptians for all the common p urposes O f life called

, ,
the da y O f the heliacal rising of the dogstar abou t ou r ,
1 8 th Of Ju l y their new y ear s da y and the hu sbandman

’
, ,
marked it with religious ceremonies as the time wh e n the

Nile began to overflow ; whil e for a l l civil pur poses and ,
dates Of kings reigns they us e d a y ear Of th r ee h un dred

’
,
and sixty fiv e da y s whi ch Of course had a movable n ew

-
, , ,
y ear s day But by the orders Of A u gu stus all public

’
.
deeds were henceforth dated b y the new y ear O f three

6 EG YP T U N D ER THE R O MA N EMPI RE
hun dr ed and sixty fiv e days and a quarter which w a s
-
nam e d aft e r Jul ius C aesar th e Jul ian year The years
, ,
.
from B c 24 were made to begin on the 29th Of A ugust,

. .
th e day on whi ch the movabl e n e w year s day then hap

’
p ened t o fall and were nu mber e d from the year follow

,
ing the last Of Cl e opatra as from th e first y e ar Of the

,
reign Of A ugustus But notwithstandi ng the many a d

.
vantages O f th e Jul i an y ear whi c h was us e d throughout

,
Europe for sixte en c enturi e s till its faultin e ss was ,
point e d ou t by P ope Gregory K I L L th e Egyptian as ,
tr on om e r s and mathematicians di strust e d it from the

first and chos e to stick t o their O l d y e ar in which th e re
, ,
c ould b e n o m istake about i ts l ength Thus there w ere .
at th e same time three y e ars and three n e w year s days ’
in use in Egypt : on e about th e 1 8 th Of Jul y us e d by ,
th e common p e ople ; on e on the 29 th O f A ugust used by ,
ord e r Of th e emperor ; and on e movable used by the ,
astronomers .
By the conquest Of Eg ypt A ugustus was also able to ,
extend anoth e r O f the plans Of h i s late un cle Jul ius .
C aesar whose powerful mi nd found all sciences within

,
its grasp had ordered a sur vey to b e taken Of the whole

,
of the Roman provinces and the l e ngth Of all the roads

,
to b e measur ed for the u s e Of the tax gatherers and Of -
the army ; and A ugustus was now able t o add Egypt to

the sur v e y P olyclitus was employed on this southern
.
p ortion Of th e empire ; and aft e r thirty t w o years

, from -
its b e ginning by Jul ius the m e as u rement Of nearly the

,
whol e known world was finished and reported to the

s enate .
HERO D AT A L E XA N D R I A
A t Al exandria A ugustus was visit e d b y Herod who ,
hastened to beg Of h i m thos e portions Of his kingdom

whi ch A n ton y had given to Cleopatra A ugustus r e .
c ei v e d h i m a s a friend ; gave him back the territory which
A ntony had taken from hi m and add e d th e province O f

,
Samaria and the free cities on th e coast H e a l s o gav e .

o
to him the body Of fo ur hundred Gauls w h o formed part ,
Of the Egyptian a r my and had be e n Cl e opatra s body ’
guard He thus remo v ed from A lexandria the last r e

.
L au ri ”
P L A N O F A LE XAND R IA .
mains Of the Gallic m ercenari e s Of whom the P tol em i es

,
had usuall y had a troop in their servic e .
A ugustus visited the ro y al burial place to s e e the -
body Of A lexander and devoutly added a golden crown

,
and a garland Of flowe rs to the other ornaments on the

sarcophagus Of the Macedonian But he wou ld take no
.
pains t o pleas e ei th e r the A lexandr ians or Egyptians ;

h e despised them both When a sked if he would not like
.
to see the A lexandrian monarchs lying in their m u mmy

cas e s in the same tomb he answ ered :
,
N O I came to ,
”
s e e the king n ot d e ad m e n
,
His contempt for Cleopatra
.
and her father mad e him forg e t th e gr e at qualities of
P tol emy Soter S O when he was at M emphi s he refused
.
to humour the national preju di ce of two thousand y ears ’
standin g by visiting the b ul l A pis O f the former con .
q u e r o
,
r s Cambyses had stabbed the sacred bull Al ex ,
and e r had sacrific e d to it ; had A ugustus had the v iolent

t emp e r of eith e r he would hav e c opied Cambyses Th e
, .
Egyptians always found th e tr e atm e nt of th e sacred bull

a foretaste of what the y w e r e th emselves to receive from
their sov e reigns .
The Gr e e ks O f A l e xandria who had for some time

,
past very unwil lingly yi elded to th e Je ws the right of

c itizenship now ur ged upon A ugustus that it should no
,
longer b e granted A ugustus how e v e r had r e ceived

.
, ,
gre at s e rvi c e s from th e J e ws and at onc e r e fus e d th e

,
pray e r ; and he s et up in A lexan dri a an inscription

granting to th e J e ws th e full privil e g e s of Mac e do ni ans ,
which th e y c laim e d and had hith e rto e nj oyed und e r

the P tol emies They wer e allow e d their ow n magis
.
trat e s and cour ts of justic e with th e fr e e e x ercise of

,
th e ir ow n r eligion ; and s oon a fte r w a r d s when their

‘
high pri e st di e d they were allow e d as usual to choos e

,
his suc c e ssor Th e Gr e ek J e ws of A l e xandria were i n

.
d e e d v ery important b oth from their numb e rs and th e ir

,
l e arning ; th e y spr e ad ov er S y ria and A sia Minor : th e y

had a s ynagogu e in Je rusal em in c omm on with th e Jews
of Cyr e n e and L ibya ; and w e fin d that on e of the chief
tea ch ers of Christian i ty aft e r th e apostl e s was A pollos ,
the A lexan dr ian w h o pr e ached the new religion i n

,
Eph e sus in Corinth and in Crete

, ,
.
A U G U ST U S D ES P O IL S EG Y P T 9
O n hi s retur n to Rome A ugustus carried with hi m the

,
whole of the ro y al treas u re ; and though perhaps there

mi ght h a v e been less gold and silver than usual in the
palace O f the P tolemies, still it w a s so large a s um that
when upon the establishment of peace over all the world
, ,
the rate of interest u pon loans fell in Rome a n d the pric e ,
of land rose the change was tho u ght to hav e been caus e d
,
b y the mone y from A lexandria A t the same time were

.
carried awa y the v alu able j ewels fur nitu re and orna , ,
ments which had been handed down from father to s on

, ,
w ith the crown Of U pper and L ower Egypt These w e r e .
drawn in w aggons through the streets of Rome in tri

umph ; and with them were shown in chains to the
wondering crowd A lexander Helius and Cleopatra Se
lene the chil dr en of Cleopatra and A ntony
,
.
A u gustus threatened a se v ere p u nishment to the

Al exandrians in the buil di n g of a new capital O n l y fo u r .
m iles from the Canopic or eastern gate of Al exandria
he laid ou t the plan of hi s new cit y of Nicopolis on the ,
spot where he had routed Mark An tony s forces Here ’

.
he began se v eral large temples and removed to them the

,
pub l ic sacrific e s and the priesthood from the temples of

Al exandria But the work w a s carried no farther and
.
,
soon abandoned ; and the onl y change made b y it in

,
A lexandria was that the temple of Serapis and the other

temples were for a tirn e deserted .
T he rest of the world had long been u sed to s ee the ir

finest work s of art carried awa y b y their conqu erors ;
and the Egyp tians soon learned that if an y of the monu ,
ments of which the y were so j u stl y proud were to b e

left to them it would only be because they were too heav y
,
t o be moved by the Roman engineers Beside man y .
other smaller Egyptian works two of the large obelisks , ,
which even n ow ornament Rome wer e carried away by ,
A ugustus that of Th fitm osi s I V

, whi ch stands in th e .
,
Piazza del P opolo and that of P sa m m eti ch u s on Mont e

, ,
Ci tor i o .
Corneli u s Gall u s the pref e ct of Egypt seems eithe r

, ,
to have m is u nderstood or soon forgotten the t e rms of h i s

, ,
appointment He s et up statu e s of hi m self in the citi e s

.
of Eg ypt and cop ying the kings of the country h e

, , ,
carv e d hi s name and d e e ds upon the pyramids O n this .
A ugustus recalled him and h e killed hi mself to avoid

,
punishment Th e emperor s wish to c heck the t yr anny

.
’
of th e prefects and tax gather e rs was strongly mark e d-
in th e cas e of th e champion figh ti n g cock The A lexan -
d r i a n s br e d these birds with great care and e ag e rly ,
wat ch e d their battles in the theatre A pow e rf ul cock .

,
that had hi therto slain all its rivals and always strutt e d
ov e r th e tabl e unconquer e d had gain e d a gr e at name in
,
th e city ; and t h is bird Eros a tax gath e r e r roast e d and

, ,
-
a te . A ugustus on h e aring of this insult t o the people

, ,
sent for the man and on his owning what he had don e
, , ,
order e d hi m to b e cruci fie d Thr e e l e gions and nin e .
cohorts w e re found force e nough to k ee p thi s gr e at king

d om in qui e t ob e di e n c e t o th eir n ew masters ; and wh e n
H e r oop ol i s revolt e d and afterwards when a r eb ell ion
,
brok e ou t in the Thebaid against the Roman tax gath er -
ers th e se risings wer e easily cru sh e d Th e spirit of th e

,
.
nation both of the Gr e eks and Egyptians s e ems to have

, ,
I RR I GA T I ON W ORK S 11
been wholly broken ; and P etronius who s u cceeded Cor

-
n e l i u s Gallus fo un d no di fficult y in putting down a risin g

,
of the A l e xandrians .
The canals through which the overflowing waters of

,
the Nile w ere carri e d t o the more distant fields w er e , ,

fi
of course each year more or less blocked up b y th e same

,
mud which made the fields frui tful ; and the clearing
of the se canals was on e of the greatest boons that the
m onarch could bestow u pon the till
er s of the soil This had often been

.
n eglected by th e less powerful and
less prudent kings of Egypt in ,
whose reigns the husban dm an b e

l i e v e d that Heaven in its displeasure
withheld part of the wished for o v er -
fl ow ; but P etronius emplo y ed the

leis u re of his sol di ers on th i s wise
and benevolent work In order
.
better to understand the rise of the

Nile to fix the amount of the land
,
tax and more fairly t o regul ate the

,
ov e rflow through the canals the ,
N i l om e ter on the I sland of E l ep h a n

M
E E TE E E
TH E
tine was a t thi s time made . E L E .
It was under ZE l i u s Gallus the thi rd prefe ct that

, ,
Eg ypt was visited by Strabo the most careful and judi,
c i ou s of all the ancient travellers ; He had come to study
mathematics astronom y and geography in the mus eum

, , ,
under the successors of Euclid Eratosthenes a n d Hip , ,
p a r c h u s He
. accompanied the pr e fect in a march t o
12 EG YP T UN D E R THE ROMAN EMPI RE
S y én é ( swan ) ,
A the bord e r town and h e has left u s a
,
valuable account of th e stat e of the co un try at that ti me .
Al e xandr ia was th e c hi e f Obj e c t that e ngaged his atten

tion I ts two harbour s h eld mor e ships than were to be
.
s e e n in any oth e r port in the world and its e xport trade

,
w a s thought great e r than that of all Italy The docks on .
e ach side of the causewa y and the ship canal from the
, ,
harbour of E un os tu s to the Mareotic L ake w ere ful l of ,
bustle and activit y The palace or citadel on the p r om on

.
t ory of L ochias on on e side of th e gr e at harb o u r was as

s triking an Obj ect as th e lighthouse on the oth e r The .
templ e s and palaces cov ered a space of ground e qual to

more than on e fourth part Of the city and the suburbs
-
r e ached e ven b e yond the Mareotic L ak e Am ong the .
c hief buildi ngs w e re the Soma which h eld the bodie s of

,
A l e xander and of th e P tol emi e s ; the court of j ustic e ;

th e mus e um of philosophy which had b e e n r ebuilt since
,
the burning b y C aesar s soldi ers ; th e exchang e crowded

’
,
with m e rchants th e t empl e Of N eptun e and Mark A n

, ,
tony s fortress c all e d th e Timonium on a point of land

’
, ,
which jutt e d into the harbour s the Caes a r i um or n ew ,
palac e ; and the great t emple of Serapis which was on ,
th e western side O f the city and w a s the larg e st and most

,
ornamented of all these buildings F arth e r O ff was th e

.
b e autiful gyn m a s i um for wrestlers and boxers with i ts ,
porti c oes of a sta di um in l ength wh e re th e citizens us e d

,
t o m e et in pub l ic ass embly From th e top of th e t emple

.
o f P an which ros e lik e a sugar loaf in the middl e of th e

-
c ity and was mo un ted by a win di ng staircas e the whol e

, ,
o f this remarkable capital might b e seen spread ou t b e fore

A L E XA N D R I A D ESC RI BE D 13
e y e O n the east of th e city was the circ u s for chariot

th e .
,
rac e s and on the west lay the public gardens and pale
,
g reen palm grov e s and the

-
Necropolis
, ornamenting the
roadsid e with tombs for miles along th e s e ashore O ther .
tomb s w e r e in the catacombs underground on the same

side of the city The banks of th e Mareotic L ake were
.
f ringed with vine y ards which bore the famed wine of the
,
s ame name and which formed a pl e asant contrast with

,
the burning whiteness of the desert beyond The canal .
from the lake to the Nile marked its co ur se through the

p lain b y the greater freshness of the gr e en along i ts
bank s In the distance were the n ew b ui ldings of A ugus
.
t u s cit y of Ni c op ol i s
’
The arts of Greece and the w e alth
.
of Eg ypt had united to adorn the capital of the P tolemi es .
Heliopolis th e ancient seat of Egyptian l earning had

, ,
n e v er been who ll y r e paired since its siege by Camby ses ,
a n d was then a l most a deserted cit y Its schools were

.
e mpt y i ts teachers silent ; but the houses in which P lato

(
a n d hi s friend Eudoxus were said to have dwelt and
s t u di ed were pointed ou t to the traveller to warm hi s ,
love of knowl e dge and encourage him in the pursuit of

v irtu e Memphis w a s the second city in Egypt while
.
,
T hebes and A b y dos the former capitals had fallen to

, ,
t h e size and rank of v illages A t Memphis Strabo saw

.
the b ul l figh ts in the circus and was allow e d to look at

-
the b ull A pis through a window of his stable A t Croco .
d i l op ol i s he s a w the sacred croco di l e caught on the banks

of the lake and fed with cakes and wine Ptolemais , .
which w a s at first onl y an encampment of Greek sol di ers ,
had risen u nder the sov ereigns to w hom it owed its name
14 EG YP T UN D ER THE R OMAN EMPI RE
to be the largest city in the Thebaid and scarcely les s ,
than M emphis I t was buil t wholly b y the Greeks and

.
, ,
like Al exan dr ia it was un der Gr e ek laws whi le the othe r

, ,
c ities in Egypt were un d er Egyptian laws and magis

trat e s I t was situated b e twe e n P anopolis and A bydos ;
.
but while the temples of Thebes which w ere built so

, ,
many centuries earlier are still stan di ng in awful gran

,
d e ur scarcely a trace Of this Gr e ek city can be fou nd in

,
the villages of El Menshieh and G i r g eh ( Cer k a s or os ) ,

which n ow stand on the spot Strabo and the Roman .
gen e rals di d n ot forg e t t o visit the broken colossal statu e

of A m en h Oth e s near Th e bes which sent forth its musical
, ,
sounds e very morn i ng as the sun rising over the A r a

, ,
bian hi ll s first shone upon its face ; but this inquiring

,
trav ell e r could n ot make up his mind whether the music

c ame from th e statue or th e base or the p e ople around
, ,
it H e ended his tour with watching the sunshine at th e

.
bottom of the astronomical w ell at S y én é which on th e , ,
longest da y is exactly under the s un s northern edg e

,
’
,
and with admiring the skill of the boatm en w h o shot

down the cataracts in th eir wicker boats for the amuse ,
ment of th e Roman generals .
In the earli er periods of Egyptian history Ethiopia

was peopl e d or at l e ast gov erned by a race of men
, , , , ,
whom as th e y spoke the sam e language and worshipped

,
th e sam e gods as their neighbours of Upp er Egy pt w e ,
must call the K op t s But the Ar ab s under the name of

.
,
Tr ogl ody tae a n d oth e r trib e s had made an early settl e

, ,
m ent on the A frican sid e of th e R e d S e a S O numerous .
were the y in Upp e r Egypt that in the time of Strab o

E A R LY A R A B I AN IN RO A D S 15
h alf the population of the cit y of K op tos were A rab s ;

th e y w ere th e came l drivers and c arri ers for the Th eban
-
m e rchants in th e trade across the de sert Som e of th e .
conquests of Rams e s had be e n ov e r that nation in south
e r n Ethiopia and the A rab pow er must have furth e r

,
ris e n after the d efeat of th e Ethiopians by Eu erg e t e s I .
Ethiopia in the time of A ugustus was held by Arabs ; a

r a c e w h o thought p e ace a state of disgrac e ful idl e n e ss
,
and war the onl y employment worthy of m e n ; and w h o

made fre quent hast y inroads into Nubia and som e tim e s ,
into Egypt Th e y fought for plund er n ot for c on

.
,
qu e st and usually retr e at e d as qui ckly as th e y came with

, ,
such booty as th e y laid their hands on To u s e words .
which were prov e rbial whil e the Nile swarm e d with c ro c

o di l e s
, They did a s the dogs do th ey drank and ran ,
awa y ; and the Romans found it necessary to plac e a

b ody of troops n e ar th e cataracts of S y én e to stop th e ir
marching northward and laying waste th e Th ebaid .
While the larger part of the Roman legions was with

drawn into A r abia on an unsuccessful quest for tre asur e ,
a bod y of thirt y thousand of these m en whom w e may ,
call either A rabs from th e ir blood and languag e or Ethi

, ,
O pi an s from th e ir country marched northward into

, ,
Egypt and overpow e red the three Roman cohorts at

,
Elephantine S y é n é and P hilae Badly armed and ba dl y

, , .
trained th e y w e re led on by the g en erals of Candac e

, ,
Q ueen of N a p a t a t o the fourth,

cat aract Th e y wer e .
,
however easily driven back when Gallus l e d against

,
th em an army of ten thousand men and drove th em t o ,
Ethiopian P s el ch i s now remaining as the mod ern villag e

,
16 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMA N EM PI RE
of D a kk eh
Th e re h e d efeat e d th em again and took th e
.
,
c ity b y storm From P s el c h i s h e mar ch e d across th e

.
Nubian d e s e rt two hundr e d and fifty mil e s to P r em n i s ,
on the north e rly bend of th e riv e r and then made hi ms e lf

,
master of N a p a ta ,
the capital A .
guard was at the

moment left in the
coun try t o ch e ck
any fu ture i n
roads ; but the R O
m ans mad e n o a t
t empts to hold it .
O f th e stat e
the Ethiopic
ON T HE E D GE OF T HE D E S E RT .
A rabs nder Queen Candace we learn but little from

u
this hasty inroad ; but some of the tribes must have b e e n

v ery far from th e barbarians that from th eir ignoranc e
ROMA N T O U RI STS IN EG YP T 17
of the arts of war th e Romans judged them to be Thos e

, .
nearest to th e Egyptian fronti ers the Tr ogl ody tae and ,
Blemmy es w ere u nsettled w a n d er I n g and plun dering ;

, , ,
but th e inhabitants of Mero e were of a more civilis e d rac e .
The J e ws had settl e d in southern Ethiopia i n larg e num

b e rs and for a long time ; Solomon s trade h ad mad e
,
’
them acquainted with A dule and A u xu m ; some of th em

w ere emplo y ed in the high e st o ffic e s and must hav e ,
brought with them the arts of civilis e d lif e A fe w year s .
later ( A cts V I I I 27 ) we me e t with a JeWI sh e unuch th e

.
,
treasurer of Queen Candac e travelling with some pomp

,
from Ethiopia to the r e ligious f e stivals at Jerusal em .
The Egyptian coins of A ugustus and his su c c e ssors

are all Gre e k ; th e conquest of th e country by the Romans
made n o chang e in its lan guage Though th e ch i ef part .
of the population spoke K op ti c it was still a Gr e e k prov

,
ince of the Roman empire ; the decrees of the pr efects

of A lexandria and of the upper provinces w e re writt en
in Gree k ; and every Roman traveller who like a school , ,
bo y has scratched his name upon th e foot of the musical

,
statue of A m en h Oth e s t o let the world know the e xtent

,
of h i s travels has helped to prove that th e R oman go v

,
e r n m e n t of the countr y w as carried on in the Greek lan
guage The com s Often b ear the e agle and thun derbolt
.
’
on on e side while on the other is th e emperor s head
,
,
with his name and titles ; and after a few y ears the y are
, ,
all dated with the year of the em peror s r eign In the ’

.
e arliest he is style d a Son of God in imitation O f th e

,
Egyptian titl e Of S on of the Sun A fter Egypt lost i t s

.
lib erty we n o l onger fin d an y gold coinage in the

,
co untry ; that m etal with e v erything e lse that w a s most
,
c ostly w a s carri e d away to pay the Roman tribute This

,
.
was chiefly tak e n in mon e y exc ept ind e ed the tax on , , ,
grain which th e Eg yptian kings had always receiv ed in

,
kind and which was still gathered in th e same wa y and

, ,
e a c h y e ar shipp e d to Rome to be di stribut e d among th e ,
idl e poor of that gre at city A t thi s tim e it amounted t o .
tw ent y millions of bush els which was four tim e s what ,
was levi e d in the r eign Of Philadelphus Th e trade to th e .
e ast was incr e asing b ut as y e t n ot larg e

,
A bo u t on e .
hundred and tw enty small vessels sail e d ev e ry year to

India from Myos Hormos which w a s n ow the chief port
-
on the R e d S ea .
N 0 c hang e was made in the Eg yptian religion by this

chang e of mast e rs ; and though th e m e ans of the priests
,
w e r e l e ss en e d th ey still carried forward th e buildi ngs

,
whi c h w e re in progre ss and e v e n b e gan n e w ones Th e

,
.
small t emple of I sis at Tentyra b ehind th e great templ e

, ,
of H a thor was e ither built or finished in this r e ign and it

, ,
was d e di cat e d to the goddess and t o th e honour of th e ,
e mp e ror as Jupiter L ib e rator i n a Gr e ek inscription on

‘
—
th e c orn i c e in the thi rty fir s t year of the reign when
, ,
P ublius O ctavius was pr efe ct of th e pro vinc e Th e larg e .
t empl e at Talm i s in Nubia was also th e n built though

, , ,
n ot wholly fin i shed ; and we fin d the nam e of A ugustus
at Phil ae on som e of th e additions to th e temple of I sis

, ,
whi c h had b e en built in th e reign of P hiladelphus I n .
th e hi erogl yphical inscriptions on th e se temples A ugu s ,
tus i s call e d A utocrator C aesar and is styled Son of the ,
Sun King of Upper and L ower Eg ypt with the oth e r

, ,
A K O P TI C MA ID N
E .
THE D OCTRIN E O F THE RES U RRECT I ON 21
titles which had alwa y s be e n given by th e pri e sts to th e

Ptolemies and their own native sovereigns for s o many
centuries These claims were evidently u nknown in
.
Rome where the modest y of A ugustus was al most

,
pro v erbial .
The Greeks had at all times been forward in bw ni n g

the Egyptians a s their teachers in rel igion ; and i n the
d og Cerberus the j u dge Minos the boat of Charon and
, , ,
th e riv er St y x Of their my thology we se e a cl e ar proof

,
that it was in Egypt that the Greeks gained their faint

glimpse of the im m ortalit y Of the soul a day of j u dg ,
ment and a futu re state of rewards and punishments ;

,
and n owthat Rome was in close intercourse with Egypt

, ,
the Romans were equally ready to borrow th ence their

reli gious ceremonies The y brought to Rome th e E gy p
.
tian opinions with the statues of th e gods Th e y ran into .
the new superstition to avoid the painful uneasiness of

beli e v in g nothi ng and tho u gh the Romans ridiculed their
, ,
own gods the y b elieved in those of Egypt S O fashion

,
.
ab le was the worshi p of I sis and Serapis b e coming in

Italy that A ugu stu s made a law that no Egyptian cer
,
e
monies should enter the cit y O r e v en the suburbs of
Rome His subj ects might cop y the lux ries the fol es
.
u li , ,
and the v ices of the A l exandri ans bu t n ot the gloomy ,
de v otion of the Egy p ti ans B u t the spread .

of opinions
was not s o ch eck ed ; e v en Virgil tau ght th e doctrine o f
the Egyptian millennium or the resu rrection from the

,
d e ad when the tho u sand y ears were ended ; and th e crip

ple asking for alms i n the streets of Rome woul d beg in
the name of the hol y O siris .
22 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
Egypt felt n o change on the death of A u gu stu s The .
province was well governed duri ng the whole of th e reign

of Tiberius and the Al exan dr ians completed the bea u
,
’
tiful temple to hi s honour named the S ebaste or C aesar s
, ,
T emple I t stood b y the side of the harbo u r and was

.
,
surro un ded with a sacred grove It was ornamented .
with porticoes and fitted up with libraries paintings

, ,
and statu e s and was the most lofty buil di ng in the city
,
.
In front of thi s temple they s et up two ancient obelisks

whi ch had b e en made by Th fitm osi s II I and carved by .
Rams e s I L and which like th e other monuments Of the

, ,
Th e ban kings hav e outlived all th e t emples and palac e s

,
of their Greek and Roman successors These ob elisks are .
”
n ow g e nerall y known as Cl e opatra s N ee dles O ne of ’
.
them in 1 8 7 8 was taken to L ondon and s et u p on the

, ,
Thames Embankment ; the other was soon afterward

brought to Ne w Y ork and is now in Central P ark in that
,
city I t is sixty seven fe e t high to its sharpened apex

.
-
and seven feet seven inch e s in di ameter at its b ase O n

, .
i ts face a r e deeply incised i nscriptions in h i e r ogl y ph i

charact e r giving the names Th fitm osi s I II Ramses II
,
,
and S e ti I I .
Th e harsh justice with which Tiberius b egan his reign

w a s at Rome soon changed into a cruel t yrann y ; b ut in
th e provinces it was onl y felt as a check to the inj u stice

of th e prefects O n one occasion when [E m i l i u s Rectus
.
,
sent home from Eg ypt a larger amou nt of tax e s than was

usual he hoped that his zeal wo ul d b e praised b y Tiberius
, .
’
But the emperor s messag e to the prefect was as stern
a s it was hu mane I sho ul d wi sh my shee p to b e
°
B U I LD IN GS U N D ER T I BER IA S 23
sheared bu t not to b e fla y ed
, O n the death of on e of
.
the prefects there w a s fo u nd among his property at

,
Rome a stat u e of Menelau s carved in Ethiopian obsidian

, ,
which had been u se d in the religiou s ceremonies in th e

t emple of Heliopolis and Tiberius retu rn ed i t to th e
,
p riests of that cit y as its rightfu l owners A n other proof .
of the e qu al j u stice with which this province was gov
erned w a s t o be seen in the b uildi ngs then carried on b y

the priests in Upper n t We fin d the name of Tibe
.
rius carv ed in hieroglyphics on additions or repairs made

t o the temples at Thebes at A ph r oditopolis at Berenic e
, , ,
on the Red Sea at Phi l ae and at the Greek cit y of P arem

, ,
bole in Nubia The great p ortico was at this time ad ded

, .
to the temple at T ent yra wi th an inscription de di cating

,
it to the goddess in Greek and in h i eroglyph i cs A s a .
b il ding i s often the work of y ears whil e sculptu re i s

u
,
on i v the wor k of wee k s s o the fashion of the former is

,
alwa y s fa r l ess ch a ngin g than that of the latter Th e .
scu lpt ur e s on the w al l s of thi s beau tifu l portico a r e

[
crowded and graceless ; whil e on the other hand th e , ,
b uil di ng i tsel f has the same grand si mplicity and massiv e

strength th at w e fin d I n the o l der templ es of Upper
Egypt .
We c an n ot but a dmi re the zeal of the Egyptians b y

whom th is work w as then finished The y were treated .
as sl a v es b y Ub e i r Gree k fel l o w co un trymen ; their houses

-
were ransack ed ever y third y ear b y mil itary authorit y

in search of arms ; the y coul d hav e had no help from
their Roman masters who onl y drained the province of
,
its weal th ; and the templ e had perhaps ne v er been

heard of by th e emp eror who co ul d hav e b e en little aware
,
that the most lasting monum e nt of his re ign was b eing

raised in the di stant provin c e of Egypt Th e priests of .
TE M P LE A T TEN T Y RA ENL AR GE D
,
BY ROM AN A R C HI T E C T S .
the other parts of th e co u ntry s e nt gifts ou t of their

po v ert y in aid of thi s pious work ; and among th e figur e s
on the walls we s e e those of fort y citi e s from S em n eh at , ,
P O P ULA R I T Y OF GE RMA N I C U S 25
the second cataract to Memphis and Sai s in the D elta

, , ,
each presentin g an offering to the god of the temple .
In the third year of this reign Germanicus C aesar who , ,
m u ch against h i s will had b e en s ent into th e East as

,
go v e rnor found time t o leave hi s ow n provinc e and to

,
,
s natch a hasty v iew of the time honoured b

ui ld ings of
-
Egypt D escending the riv er to Thebes and whi l e gazing

.
, ,
on the huge remains of th e templ e s h e asked the pri e sts

,
t o read to h i m the hi eroglyphi cal writin g on the walls .
He w a s told that it recounted the greatness of the country

in the t i me of King Ramses when there w ere se v en h un ,
dr ed thousand Eg y ptians of an age to bear arms and

;
that w ith these troops Ramses had conqu ered th e Lib
y ans Ethi opians Medes P ersians Bactrians Scyth ians
, , , , , ,
Syrians A rmenians Cappadocians Bithynians and L yc

, , , ,
ians He w a s also told the trib u tes laid upon each of

.
t hose nations ; the weight of gold and silv e r the numb er ,
of chariots and horses the gifts of ivory and scents for

,
th e temples and the q uantit y of grain which the con

,
q uered pro v inces sent to feed the population of Thebes .
A fter l istening to the musical statu e of A rn en h Oth e s

Germanic u s w ent on to El e phantine and S y én e; and on ,
his return he turned aside to the pyramids and the L ak e

,
of M oeris which reg ul ated the overflow of the Nile on

,
the neighb ouring fields A t Memphis Germanicus con .

,
s ul t e d th e sacred b u l l A pis as t o his future fortu ne and ,
m e t with an unfa v o u rab l e answe r The manner of con .
s u l ti n g A pis was for the visitor to hold out some food
in his hand and the answer was understood to b e favour

,
able i f the b ul l turned his head to eat bu t un favourable ,

if he l ooked another way When Germanicu s accord
.
i n gl y held ou t a handful of grain the well fed animal

,
-
turned hi s head s ul lenly towards the other side of h i s

stall ; and on the death of thi s yo ung prince whi ch shortly ,
followed the Egyptians di d not forget to praise the b ul l s

,
’
foresight This blameless and seemingly praiseworth y

.
visit of Germanic u s di d not however escape the notice

, ,
of the j ealous T iberius He had been guil ty of gaining

.
the love of the people b y walkin g about without guards ,
in a plain Greek dr ess and of loweri ng the price of grain

,
in a famine by opening the pub li c granaries ; and Tiberius

sternl y reproached h i m with breaking the known law
Of A ugu stus by which no Roman citizen of consular or
,
even of equestrian rank might enter Al exandr ia without

l e ave from the emperor .
There were at thi s tim e about a mil l ion of Jews in

Eg ypt In A l exandria the y seem to have been about on e
.
thi rd of the population as they formed the maj ority in

,
tw o wards ou t of the fiv e into whi ch the cit y was di v ided .
The y lived under their ow n elders and Sanhedr im going ,
up at their solemn feasts t o w Or shi p in their ow n temple

at O nion ; but from their mixing with the Greeks they
, ,
had become less strict than their Hebrew brethren in

their observance of th e tra di tions Some few of th em
.
,
however held themselves in obe di ence to the Sanhe dr im

,
in Jeru salem and looked upon the temple of Jeru salem

,
as the onl y Jewish temple ; and these men were in the

habit of sending an embassy O n the stated solemn feasts
of the nation to offe r th e appoint e d sacrifices and prayers
t o Ja h v eh in th e holy cit y on their behalf B u t though .
JE W I SH MONK S 27
the decree by C aesar which declared that the Je w s w ere

,
Al exandrian citizens w a s engraved on a pillar in th e

,
cit y y et th e y w e re by n o m e ans treat e d as such eith e r

,
,
by the government or by the Greeks or by the Egyptians

, , .
When du ring the fami n e the pub li c granaries seemed

, ,
unab le to supply the whole city with food e v e n th e ,
humane Germanic u s ordered that the Jews like th e ,
Egyptians sho ul d hav e no share O f the gift The y were

, .
ON T HE B AN K S OF THE NILE .
despised e v en b y the Egyptians themselv es w h o to insult , ,
them said that the w icked god Typ hon had two sons
, ,
H i er os ol y m u s and Ju d aeu s and that from these the Je w s

,
were descended .
In the nei ghb ou rhood of A lexandria on a hill near ,
the shores of the L ak e Ma r e oti s was a little colony

,
o f
Jews who j oining their ow n religion with the my stical

, ,
opinions and gloomy habits of the Egyptians hav e left ,
us on e of the earl i est known examples Of the monastic

life They b ore the name of Th erapeu t ae The y had left
. . ,
'
sa y s P hilo their worldl y wealth to their families or
,
28 EG YP T U N DE R THE R OMA N EMPI RE
friends ; the y had forsak e n wives chil dr en brethren , , ,
par ents and the soci e ty of men to bury thems elv e s in

, ,
solitude and pass their l ives in the contemplation of the

divine essence Seized by this h e avenly lov e th ey w er e
.
,
e ager t o e nter upon th e n e xt world as though th e y w e r e ,
a lr e ad y d e ad to thi s Ev ery on e wh e ther man or woman

.
, ,
lived alon e in his c e ll or monast e ry caring for n e ith e r ,
food n or raiment but having hi s thoughts wholly turn e d

,
to the L aw and th e Prophets or to sacred hymns of th eir ,
o w n composing They had their God always in th eir

.
thoughts and even th e brok e n s entenc e s which th ey

,
utter e d in their dreams w ere tr e asur e s of religious wis

dom Th e y prayed e v e ry morning at sunris e and th en
.
,
sp ent the day in turning over th e sacred vol ume s and ,
th e co m m entari e s which explain e d the all e gories or

, ,
pointed ou t a secondary m e aning as hidd en b en e ath th e

s u rface of even the historical books of th e O ld T e stam e nt .
A t sun set they again pray e d and then tasted th eir first ,
a n d only meal S elf d eni al inde e d was the foundation

.
-
o f all th e i r virtues Some m a d e o n l y thr e e meals in th e

.
w e ek that their me di tations m i ght be more fre e ; whil e

,
oth ers e ven attempted to prolong th eir fast to the sixth

day D uring six days of the w e ek th e y saw nobody not
.
,
e v e n on e anoth e r O n th e s e v enth day th ey met tog eth er

.
in the synagogu e Here they s a t e ach ac c ording to his

.
,
a ge ; the women s eparat e d from th e m en Each wor e .
a plain modest rob e which cov e r e d th e arms and hands

, , ,
and they s a t in silence whi le one of the eld e rs preached .
A s th e y studi e d the mystic powers of num b e rs th e y ,
t hought the numb er s e ven was a holy num ber and that ,
THE TH E R A P E U TZE A ND ESSEN ES 29
s even tim e s s e v e n mad e a gr e at w eek and henc e th e y ,
kept th e fiftie th da y as a sol emn festival O n that day .
the y di ned togeth e r th e men on on e side and the wom e n

,
o n the oth e r Th e rushy papyrus formed the couch e s ;

.
bread was th e ir only m e at wat e r th eir drink salt th e

, ,
seasoning and cresses th e delicacy They w ou l d k e ep no

,
.
slav e s saying that all men were born e qual Nobody

,
.
s pok e u nless it was t o propos e a question ou t of the O ld

,
BE D OU IN T EN T IN T HE D E S E RT .
T estament ,
to answ e r th e question of another The
or .
feast ended with a hym n of praise .
The asc e tic Jews of P alesti ne th e Essenes on th e ,
banks of the D ead Sea b y no means accordi ng to Philo

, , ,
thus quitt e d the activ e duties of life ; and it would s e em

that th e Th e rapeut ae rath e r b orrowed th eir customs from
th e country in which the y h a d s e ttled than from any ,
s e cts of the Jewish nation Som e classes of the Egyptian

.
priesthood had alway s held th e same views of th eir r elig

ious duties These Egyptian monks slept on a hard
.
bed of palm branches with a still

,
hard e r wood e n pillow
for the head ; the y w ere plain i n their dress slow in wal k ,
%
i n g spare in diet and scarcel y allowed themselves t o

, ,
sm il e They washed thrice a day and pra y ed as Often ;

.
,
at s u nrise at noon and at sunset Th ey Often fasted

, , .
from animal food and at all tM es refused many meats

,
as un clean The y passed their lives alone either in stu dy

.
,
or wrapped in r e li gious thought They never met on e .
another but at set tim es and were seldom seen by stran ,
gers Thus leaving to others the pleasures wealth and

.
, , ,
lesser prizes of thi s life they received from them in r e ,
turn what most men value hi gher namel y hono ur fame , , , ,
and power .
The Romans like the Gr e eks feelin g but little par

, ,
ti a l i ty in favour Of th e ir ow n gods were rar e l y guilt y ,
o f in tol e rance against those of oth e rs

; and would hardl y
have checked the introduction of a n e w r e ligion u nles s
it made i ts followers worse citizens But in Rome wher e .
,
e very act of its civil or m i litary authorities was a e com
p a n i e d with a religious rite any slight towards the god s

,
was a sli ght towards the magistrate ; man y devout R o

mans had begun to keep hol y the seventh day ; and Egyp t
was now s o closel y j oined t o Italy that the Roman senat e
made a new law against the Egyptian and Jewish super
s ti ti on s and in A D 1 9 ba ni shed t o Sardinia fo u r tho u
, ,
. .
,
sand men who were fo un d guilt y of bei ng Jews .
Egypt had lost with its l iberties its gold coinage and , ,
it was n ow made t o f e el a further proof of being a c on

quered country in havin g its silver much alloyed with
c opper But Tiberius in the tenth y ear of hi s reign
.
, ,
altogether stopp e d the A lexandrian mint as well as thos e ,

ROMAN P RE FECTS 31
the other cities whi ch occasionally co i ned ; a n d after

O f
this year we fin d no more coins bu t the fe w with th e head ,
and nam e of A ugustus C aesar which s e em hardl y to have,
been meant for money but to co m m emorate on some

,
pecul iar occasions the emperor s adoption b y his step ’
father The Nu bian gold mines were probably b y this

.
t ime wholly deserted ; they had been s o far worked ou t

a s t o be n o longer pro fitable F or fifteen hundred y ears
.
,
e ver since Ethiopia was conquered b y Thebes wages and

,
p rices had b een higher in Egypt than in the neighbouring

c ountries B u t thi s was n ow no longer the cas e Egypt
. .
had b een getti ng poorer during the reigns Of the latter

‘
P tolemies ; and by this time it is probable that both

“
w ages and prices were higher in Rome

”
It seems to hav e b een u su al to change the prefect of

E gypt ever y few y ears and the pr efect el e ct was Oft e n
,
-
s ent t o A lexandria t o wait till his predecessor s t e rm Of

’
y e ars had ended . T h u s in this r e ign Of twent y thr e e -
y ears E m i l i u s Rect u s was succeeded b y V e tr a s i u s P ollio ;

and on his death T iberius gave the government t o his
free dm an I b er u s D uring the last fiv e y e ars Egypt was
.
under the able but stern go v ernment of F l a c cu s A v i l l i u s ,
whose name is carv ed on the temple of Tentyra with

“
t hat of the emperor He was a man w h o united all those

.
q
(
ualities Of pr u dent forethought with prompt ,exec u tion
and attention to b u siness which was s o necessary in con

,
trolling the irritable A l exandrians w h o were liable to b e ,
fired into reb ellion by the smallest spark Justice was .
adm i ni st ered fairl y ; the great were not allowed to t yran

n ise over the poor n or the people to meet in
,
“
t u rn u l tu ou s
32 EG YP T U N DE R THE ROMAN EMPI RE
mobs ; a n d the legions wer e r e gul arly paid s o that the y ,
had no excuse for pl un dering th e Egyptians .
O n the death of Tib erius in A D 37 th e Old qu arr e l ,

. .
,
again broke ou t b etw e en J ews and Gr e eks The Al ex .
a n d r i a n s w e r e not slow in l e arnin g th e f e elings of h i s
successor Caius or Caligula towards the Je ws nor i n

, , , ,
turn ing against th em th e n ew law that the emperor s ’
statu e should b e honoured in every temple of the empir e .
They had very unwillingly yielded a half obe di ence to the -
law of A ugustus that th e Jews should still b e all owed

the privil e ges of citizenship ; and as soon as they h e ard ,
that Caligul a was t o be worshipped in e very temple

of the empir e th e y denounced th e J e ws a s traitors and
,
rebels w h o refused so t o honour the emp eror in their

,
synagogues It happ ened unfortunately that their

.
, ,
country m an King A grippa at thi s time came to Al ex

, ,
andria He had ful l leave from th e emperor t o touch

.
ther e as being the quickest and most certain way of

,
making the voyage from Rome to the seat of his own

government Inde e d the A lex andrian voyage had a n
.
,
other m e rit in the eyes of a Jew ; for whereas wooden ,
water vessels were d e clared b y the L aw t o be unclean

-
an exception was made b y their tra di tion in favour of th e

larg er siz e of the water wells in th e A l e xandri an shi ps
-
A grippa had se e n Egypt before on his way t o Rome and , ,
h e meant to mak e no stay th ere ; but though he land e d ,
purposel y after dark and wi th no pomp or show he s e em s

, ,
t o have rais e d th e ang e r of the pref e ct F l a c c u s who f e lt ,
j ealous at any man of high e r rank than hi m s elf coming

into his provin c e The Gre eks fell into the prefect s
.
’
THE JE W S O PP RESSE D 33
hum our and during the stay of A grippa in Al exandr ia

,
they lampoon e d h i m in songs and ballads of whi ch the ,
raillery w a s n ot of th e most delicate kind Th ey mock e d

.
him by lea di ng about th e stre ets a poor idiot dre ss e d

up with a pap er crown and a r e ed for a sc eptr e in ridicule ,
of his rath e r doubtful right t o the styl e of ro ya lty .
A s these insults towards the emperor s fri end pass e d

’
wholl y uncheck e d b y th e prefect th e Gr e eks n e xt as

,
s a ul t e d the Jews in the streets and mark e t place at -
tack e d th eir houses rooted up the groves of tr e es around

,
their synagogues and tore down the decree by whi c h

,
the privileges of citizenship had been confirmed to th em .
Th e Greeks then proceeded to set up by force a statu e

of the emperor in each Jewish synagogue as if the n ew ,
decr e e had included those places of worship among the

temples and n ot finding statu es enough the y made use
, , ,
of th e statu e s of the P tolemi e s which th e y carried awa y

,
from the gym n asium for that purpose D uring the last
.
reign under the stern government of Tiberius F l a c c u s

, ,
had gov e rned with justice and prudence but un der Ca ,
ligul a he seemed to have lost all j u dgment in his z e al

against the Jews Wh e n the riots in the streets could
.
n o longer be overlooked instead of defending the injured

,
party he issued a decree in whi ch he styled th e J ews

,
foreigners ; thus at on e word robbing them of their priv

i l e g e s and condemning them un heard B y this the Gre eks
.
were hurri e d forward into further acts of injustice and ,
the Jews of resistance But the Jews were the weak e r

.
party : the y were overpowered and all driven into on e

,
ward and four hun dr ed of their houses in the other wards

,
34 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMAN EM PI RE
w ere plundered and the spoil di vided as if taken in
,
war They were stoned and even b urnt in the streets

.
, ,
if the y ventured forth to buy food for their fam i lies .
F l a c c u s seized and scour ged in the theatr e thirty e ight -
of their venerable councillors and to show them that

, ,
they were n o longer citizens the punishment was infli ct e d

,
by the hands of Eg yptian executioners While th e city .
w a s in this state of riot the Greeks gave ou t that the

,
J e ws were concealing arms ; and F l a c cu s to give th em ,
a fresh proof that the y had lost the rights of citiz enship ,
ordered that their hous e s should be forcibly e nt er e d and

s e arch e d b y a centurion and a band of soldiers .
D ur ing their troubles th e Jews had n ot been allowed

t o complain to the emperor or t o send an embassy to ,
Rome to make kno w n their grievanc e s But the Jewish .
King A grippa who was on hi s way from Rome to his

,
kingdom forwarded t o Caligula th e complaints of hi s

,
countrym e n th e Je ws with an account of the reb ellious

, ,
stat e of A l exandria The riots it is tru e had b e en wholly

.
, ,
rais e d b y the prefect s zeal in setting up the emp eror s

’ ’
statue in the synagogues t o b e worshi pp e d by the Jews ,
and in carrying into e ffect the emperor s decre e ; but ’

,
as he had not b e en able t o keep hi s province quiet it ,
w a s necessary that he sho ul d be r e call e d and punished ,
for h i s want of s u ccess To have found it necessary to

.
call out the troops w a s of course a fault in a gov e rnor ;

but doubly s o at a time and i n a province where a su c
c es s ful g e neral might s o easily b e come a form i dable r eb el .
A ccor di ngly a c e nturion with a trusty cohort O f soldi e rs

, , ,
was s e nt from Rom e for th e r e call of th e pr ef e c t O n .

TH E F EA ST O F T A BE RNA C L ES 35
a pproaching th e flat c oast of Egypt they k ept the v essel ,
in deep water till suns e t and th en ent er e d the harbour

,
of A l e xandria in th e dark Th e c enturion on lan di ng

.
, ,
m e t with a free dm an of the emp e ror from whom he ,
l e arned that th e pr e fe ct w a s then at supp er entertain ,
ing a larg e company of fri ends Th e fr e e dm an l e d th e

.
c ohort qui e tly into th e palac e into th e v e ry room wh er e

,
F l a c c u s was sitting at tabl e ; and th e first ti di ngs that

h e h e ard of hi s gov e rnm e nt b eing disapproved of in Rom e
was h i s fin di ng hims elf a prison er in his own palac e .
Th e fri e nds stood motionless with surpris e th e c enturion ,
’
produ ced th e e mperor s order for what h e was doing ,
and a s n o r e sistance was att empt e d all passed off qui e tly ;
F l a c c u s was hurried on board the vessel th e n at an c hor
i n the harbour on the same eveni ng and imm e di at ely
taken t o Rome .
I t s o happened that on the ni ght that F l a c c u s was

seized th e Je ws had met tog e ther t o cel ebrat e th eir a u
,
tum n a l feast th e feast of the Tabernacl e s : not as in

,
form e r y e ars with j oy and pomp but in f e ar in gri ef , , ,
and in prayer Th e ir chi e f m en w e r e in prison th eir

.
,
nation smarting under its wrongs and in daily f e ar of

fresh cru elties ; and it was not without alarm that th ey
h e ard th e noise of sol di ers moving to and fro through
th e city and th e h e avy tread of th e guards marching
,
by torchlight from th e camp to th e pal ace But th eir .
f e ar was soon turn e d into j oy wh e n th ey heard that

F l a c c u s the author of all th e ir wrongs was already a
, ,
p ri son e r on board the v e ssel in th e harbour ; and th ey

gav e glory to G od not sa y s Philo that th e ir en emy w a s
, , ,
going to b e punished but because their ow n sufferings
,
were at an end .
The Jews then having had leave given them b y the

,
prefect s ent an embassy to Rome at th e head of wh i ch

, ,
was Phi l o th e platoni c philosopher who was to lay th e ir

, ,
gri e vances before the emp eror and to beg for r e dress ,
.
Th e Greeks also at the sam e tim e s e nt th e ir embassy

at th e h e ad of whi ch was the l e arn e d gram m arian A pion
who was to accuse the Jews of n ot worshipping th e statue
of the e mperor and t o argu e that th e y had n o right to
,
the same privil e g e s of citizenshi p with those who boast e d

of their Mac e donian blood But as th e J e ws di d n ot
.
,
d eny the charge that was brought again st th em Caligula ,
would hear nothing that th ey had to say ; and Philo

withdrew with th e remark Though the emperor is
,
”
against u s G od will b e our friend
,
.
’
We learn the s a d tal e of th e Jews sufferi ng under
Cali gula from th e pag e s of their ow n hi storian only
But though Philo may have felt and written as on e of
the suffe r ers his truth is undoubt e d H e w a s a man Of
,
.
un blemish e d character and th e writer of gr e atest l e arn

,
ing and of th e gr e at e st note at that tim e in Al exandria ;

b e ing also of a gr e at a ge h e w e ll deserved the honour
,
of b e ing s e nt on the embassy to Calig ul a He was in .
r eli gion a Jew in hi s philosophy a platoni st and b y birth

, ,
an Egyptian : and in h i s num e rous writings we ma y trace

th e three sources from whi ch h e d r e w hi s opinions He .
is always d e votional and in earnest ful l of pur e and loft y ,
thoughts and often eloqu ent H i s fon dn e ss for the mys

,
.
tical properties Of numbers and for finding an allegory

,
THE D OCTR IN E O F TH E TRIN I T Y 87
or secondary meaning in the plainest narrativ e seems ,
borrowed from the Eg yptians A ccordi ng to the Eastern

.
prov e rb e very word in a wise book has sevent y tw o mean -
ings ; and thi s mode of interpretation w a s called into u s e

b y the necessit y which the Jews felt of m a k i n g th e O ld m
Testament speak a meaning more agreeable to their

modern v iews of religion In Philo s speculativ e theol
.
’
o gy he seems to have borrowed less from Moses than
from the ab stractions of P lato whose shadow y h i n ts he

,
h a s embo di ed in a mor e solid form He w a s the fir st .
Jewish writer that applied to the D eity the my stical

notion of the E g yptians that e v erything perfect was of
,
three parts P hilo s writings are valu able as showing

.
’
the steps b y which the philosophy of Greece may be

traced from the writings of Plato to those of Ju stin
Marty r and Clemens Al exandrinu s The y giv e u s the .
earliest example of h ow the my stical interpretation of

the Scriptures w a s formed in to a s y stem b y whi ch e v ery ,
text was made to u nfold some im portant phi losophi c or

religio u s tru th to the learned stu dent at the same firm ,
that to the u nlearned reader it conv ey ed only the si mpl e

hi storic fact .
T he Hell enistic Je w s wh i l e su fferi ng u nder sever e

,
political di sabil ities had tak en u p a high literary position

,
i n A l exan dria and had forced their opinions into the

,
notice of the Greeks The glowing earnestness of their

.
phil osoph y n ow put forward in a platonic dr ess and

, ,
their impro v ed st yle approach i ng e v en classic elegance

, ,
placed their writin gs on a loft y emi nence far ab o v e any

thin g which the c ol d l i fel e s s grammarians of the mu seum
,
38 E G YP T U ND ER THE R O MA N EMPI RE
wer e then producing A pion who w ent to Rome to pl e ad
.
,
again st Phi lo w a s a native of th e Gre at O asis but as

, ,
h e was born of Gr e ek par e nts h e cla i m e d and re c e iv e d

,
th e title and privil e g e s of an Al e xandrian whi ch h e ,
d eni e d t o th e Je ws who w e r e born in th e c ity H e had .
stu di e d und e r D idymus and A pollonius and E u p h r a n or ,
and was on e of the most lab orious of th e gram m arians

and editors of Homer A l l his writin gs a r e n ow lost
. .
Som e of them w e r e attacks upon th e J e ws and th e ir

religion calling in qu e stion the truth of th e Jewish his
,
tory and th e j ustic e of that nation s claim to high a n ’
ti qu i ty ; and to th e s e attacks we o w e Jos e phus A n s w e r ’

,
in which s ev e ral valuabl e fragm e nts of history a r e sav e d

by b eing quot e d against th e pagans in support of the
O ld T e stam ent O n e of his works was his E g y p ti a c a
.
,
an a cc ount of what h e thought most c urious in Egypt .
But his l e ar n e d trifl i ng is now lost and nothi ng r emains ,
of it but hi s account of the me e ting betw ee n An dr oclus
and th e lion whi c h took plac e in th e amphith e atr e at

,
Rome when A pion was the r e on hi s embassy A n dr oclu s .
was a runaway slav e w h o wh en r e tak en was brought to

, , ,
Rome to be thrown b e for e an A frican lion for the amus e

m e nt of the citiz ens and as a punishm ent for hi s flight
, .
But the fierce and hungry beast inst e ad of tearin g h i m ,
to piec e s wagg e d hi s tail at him and licked hi s feet

, , .
I t s e ems that th e slave when h e fl e d fr om his mast e r

,
'
had gai ned the friendshi p of the lion in th e L ibyan d e sert

first by pulling a thorn out of his foot and then by living ,
three y e ars with him in a cave ; and wh e n both we re ,
brought i n chains to Rome A ndroclus found a gratefu l

,
THE LA ST O F THE P TO LEMI ES 39
friend in th e
amphitheatre where he thought to hav e met
with a cruel death .
We ma y for a moment leav e our hi story to bid a last ,
far e w e ll to th e family of the P tol emi es A ugustus after .

,
l e ading S e l ene th e daught e r of Cleopatra and A ntony

,
,
through the streets of Rome in his triumph h a d giv e n ,
h er in marriag e to the young e r Juba

th e historian of ,
A frica ; and about the sam e tim e h e gave to

th e husband
th e kingdom of Mauritania th e inh eritanc
e of h i s fath e r
, .
H i s s on P tolemy succeeded him on the throne but was

,
A R ELI E F F ROM SA QQARA .
soon t ned ou t of h i s kingdom We trac e th e last of

ur .
the P tolemies in his travels through Gr e e ce and A sia

Minor by th e ins c riptions remaining to his honour Th e .
citiz ns of Xanthus in L y c ia s e t up a monument to hi m ;

e
and at th e ns his statue was placed b e sid e that of Phil

A
adelphus in th e gymnasium of P tolemy near th e templ e ,
of Theseus wh e r e h e was honoure d as

of found e r s kin
’
, .
He was put to death by Caligul a D rusilla another .

,
grandchi ld of Cl e opatra and A ntony married A ntonius ,
F lix the procurator of Ju daea aft er th e death of hi s

e ,
,
40 EG YP T U N DER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
first wife who was also named D ru silla Th e se are the
, .
last noti c e s that we meet with of the ro y al fami ly of

Egypt .
A s soon as the n e ws of Caligula s d e ath ( A D 41 )

’
. .
r e ach e d Egypt th e j oy of the Je ws kn e w no bo u nds

, .
The y at onc e fl ew t o arms to r evenge themselv e s on th e

A lexandrians whose str e ets w e r e again the s e at of civil
,
war Th e gov e rnor di d what he could to qui e t both

.
parti e s but was not wholly succ e ssful till th e decr ee of

,
th e n e w e mp e ror r e ached A l e xandria In this Claudius

.
grant e d to th e Je ws th e full rights of citiz enshi p whi c h ,
th e y had enj oyed under the P tol emies and which had ,
been allowed by A ugustus ; h e left them to c hoose th e ir

own high pri e st to enj oy th eir own religion without
,
hindr ance and h e repeal e d th e laws of Caligula und e r

,
which th e y had b e en groaning A t this time the Jewish.
alabarch in Egypt was D em e trius a man of w e alth and ,
high birth who had married Mariamn e th e daught er of

, ,
th e e ld e r A grippa .
Th e gov e rnm e nt und e r Clau di us was mild and just ,
at least as far as a gov e rnment could be in which e v e ry

tax gath e re r e very military governor and e v e ry s u b
-
, ,
pr e fect was suppos e d to enrich him self by his appoint

m ent Ev ery Roman o ffic er from th e g eneral down to
.
,
th e low e st tribun e claimed th e right of trav e lling through

,
th e country fr ee of e xpens e and s eizing the carts and

,
c attl e of the villag ers to carry him forward to the next

town und e r th e pr e t e nc e of b e ing a co ur ier on th e publi c
,
service But w e have a decr ee O f the ninth year of this

.
r e ign carv e d on th e t empl e in th e Gr e at O asis in whi ch

, ,
W EA K N ESS OF AN A BSO LU TE RUL E 41
Capito the prefect of Egypt endeavours to put

Cn ei u s , ,
a stop to thi s injustice He orders that no trav eller shall

.
have the privileg e of a courier unle ss h e has a prop er

warrant and that then he shall only clai m a fre e lodging ;
,
that clerks in the villages shall keep a r e gist e r of all that

is taken on accoun t of the public s ervic e ; a n d th a t if o
a n ybody make an u n just claim he shall p a y four ti mes
the amo u nt to the informer and six times the amo un t to

the emperor But royal d e crees could do little or nothi ng
.
wh e re there were n o judges to enforce them ; and th e
p e ople of Up per Egypt must have felt this l a w as a cruel

insul t when they were told that the y might take up
their complaints to B a s il i d e s at A lexandria Th e em
,
.
ployment of the inform e r is a full acknowledgm ent of

th e weakness of this absolute governm e nt and that the ,
pr efect had n ot the po w e r to e nforce his ow n d e cr e e s ;

and when we compare this law with that of Al e xander
,
42 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMAN EMP I RE
on hi s conquest of the c ountry we have no di fficul ty i n
,
s e ei ng why Egypt ros e un der the P tolem i es and s unk

und e r th e s elfish poli cy of A ugustus .
Claudius was som ewhat of a scholar and an au thor ;

h e wrot e s e v e ral volum e s both in Gr e e k and i n L atin .
Th e forme r h e m i ght p erhaps think would be chi e fly

valu e d in A l e xandria ; and wh en h e found e d a new c ol
l e g e in that cit y c alled aft er himself the Claudian Mu
,
s eum he ord e red that on giv e n days ev e ry y e ar his his

,
tory of Carthag e should be publicly r e ad in on e mus e um ,
and his history of Italy in the oth e r ; thus s e curing dur

i n g hi s reign an attention to his writings which th e ir
merits alone would n ot have gained .
Und er th e gov ernment of Claudius th e Egyptians

w e re again allow e d to coin money ; and in his first y e ar
b e gins that historically important s eri e s in which e v e ry
coin is dat e d with th e year of the emp eror s reign Th e
’
.
c oins of the P tol emi e s w ere strictly Gr e e k in th eir work

manship and th e fe w Egyptian chara c t e rs that we s e e
,
upon th em a r e so much al te r ed by th e classi c tast e of

th e d i e e ngrav e r that w e hardly know the m again
-
But .
it i s far oth e rwis e with the coins of th e emperors wh i ch ,
a r e c ov e r e d with th e ornam e nts c hara c t e rs and r e ligious

, ,
c er e moni e s of th e native Egyptians ; and though th e ,
styl e Of art is oft e n bad th ey a r e scarc ely e quall e d by

,
any s eri e s of c oins what e v er in the s e rvice the y r ender

to the historian .
It was in this r eign that th e rout e through Egypt to

In di a first b e cam e r e ally known to the Gre eks and R O
mans The historian Pliny who died in 7 9 A D has l e ft
.
, . .
,
PLIN Y ON TH E VO YA GE To INDI A 43
us a cont emporary account of these early voyages It .
”
will not b e amiss h e says in his N a tu r a l H i s tor y
,
to ,
s e t forth th e whol e of the rout e from Egypt whi ch has ,
b e e n stat e d to us of late ; upon information on whi c h r eli

ance may be placed and is here publish e d for the first
tim e The subject is on e well worthy of ou r no ti c e s e e
.
,
ing that in n o year do e s India drain ou r empire of l e ss

than fiv e hundr e d and fifty millions of sesterces [or two
m illion dollars % giving back h er ow n war e s in e xchang e
, ,
which a r e sold among u s at fully on e hun dred times th eir

cost pric e .
Tw o miles di stant from A lexandria is th e town of

H e liopolis Th e distanc e th ence t o K op t os up the Nil e
.
, ,
is thre e hundr e d and eight miles ; th e voyage is p er

formed when th e Et e sian winds are blowing in tw elv e
, ,
days F rom K op t os the j ourney is made with th e aid

.
of cam e ls stations being arranged at intervals for th e

,
suppl y of fresh water The first of th e s e stations is call e d

.
—
H y dr eum a and is di stant twenty two miles ; the s e cond
,
i s situate on a mo u ntain at a distance of on e day s

’
j ourne y from the last ; th e th i r d is at a s e c ond H y dr eum a ,
distant from K op tos nin e ty fiv e miles ; th e fourth is on a

-
mo un tain ; th e next to that is another H y dr eu m a that ,
of A pollo and is di stant from K op t o s on e hundred and

,
e ighty four mil e s ;

-
after which there is anoth er on a

mountain ; there is then another station at a pla c e c all e d
th e New H y d r eum a distant from K op t os two hundr e d
,
and thirty miles ; and next t o it there is anoth er call e d

th e O ld H y dr eu m a where a detachm ent is always on
,
guard with a caravansary that affords lodging for two

,
44 EGYP T UN D ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
tho u sand persons The last is di stant from the Ne w
.
H y d r eu m a s e v e n m i l e s A fter l e aving it we com e to .

,
the city of Berenic e sit u at e upon a harbo ur of the Red ,
—
S e a and distant from K O p tos two hu n dr e d and fifty s e v e n
,
miles The greater part of thi s di stance is g e n erally

.
travelled b y night on account of the extr eme he at the

, ,
da y being spent at the stations ; i n consequenc e of which

it takes twelv e day s to perfor m the whole j o urne y from
K op to s to Bereni c e .
P asseng ers gen erally set sail at midsummer before

the rising of the D og star or els e imm e di at ely after -
, ,
and in about thirty days arriv e at O cel i s in Ar abia or ,
e lse at Cane in the region whi ch b e ars frankincense

,
.
To those who are b o u nd for In di a O c el i s is th e best place ,
for embarkation If the win d calle d H i p p ol u s happens

.
to be blowing it is possible to arrive in forty days at

,
the n éa r e s t mart of In dia Muziris by nam e [the modern ,
Mangalore %Thi s however is not a v ery des i rab l e plac e

.
, ,
for di sembarkation on account of th e pirat e s whi ch fr e

,
quent its vicinity where they o cc upy a place Ni tr i a s ;

, ,
n or ,
in fact is it v e ry rich in ra r ticl e s Of merchan di se
,
.
Besides the roadst e ad for s hi pping is a considerable dis

,
tance from the shor e and th e cargo e s have t o be conve yed

,
in boats either for loadi ng or di schargi n g A t the mo

, .
”
ment that I am writing these pages continu e s Pliny , ,
the nam e of the king of the place is Cael ob otr a s An .
other part and a much more convenient on e is that whi ch

, ,
li e s in the territory of th e peopl e call e d Ne a c y n di Barace ,
by name He r e King P andian used to r e ign dw elling

.
,
at a considerable distance from th e mart i n the in t erior ,

TRA D E W I TH I N DIA 45
at a cit y known as M odi er a The di strict from whi ch .
pepp e r i s carried down to Barace in boats hollowed ou t

o f a single tre e is known as COtt on a r a
, None of these .
names of nations ports and cities are to be found in

, ,
any of the former writers from whi ch circumstance it ,
would appear that the localities hav e sin ce changed their

n ames . Travellers s et sail from Indi a on their return
t o E u rope at the begin ning of the Egyptian month Ty
,
bus which is ou r D ecember or at all events before the

, , , ,
s ixth da y of the Egyptian month Mechir the same as ,
o ur ides of Januar y : if they do thi s they can go and ,

.
r e tur n in the same ye ar They set sail from In di a with

.
a south east wind and upon entering the Red Sea catch
-
, , ,
”
the so u th west or south
-
The places on the Indian coast which the Egyptian

merchant v essels then reached are v erified from the coins
found there ; and as we know the course of the trade
w ind b y which the y arrived we also know the part of ,
A frica where they left the shore and bra v ed the dangers
of the ocean A hoard of Roman gold coins of these
.
reigns has b e e n dug up in ou r own day s near Cali cut ,
u nder the roots of a ban y an tree It had b e en there -
b uried by an A lexan dr ian merchant on his arrival from

this vo yage and left safe u nder the cover of the sacred
,
tre e t o await his return from a second j our ne y But h e .
di e d b e fore his retur n and his secret di e d with hi m

,
.
The products of the Indi an trad e were chiefly silk dia ,
monds and other preciou s stones ginger spices and

, , , ,
s ome scents T he state of Ethiopia was then such that

.
n o trade came down the Nile to Sy e n e ; and th produ c

e e
46 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMA N EM PI RE
of so u thern A frica was brought b y coasting v essels to
Beren i c e Th e s e products w ere ivory rhi noceros teeth
.
, ,
hi ppopotamus sk i ns tortois e sh ell apes monkeys and

, , , ,
slaves a li st whi c h throws a sidelight both on the p ur

,
i
s ts of the natives and the tastes of the ultimate
u
pur chasers .
Th e Romans in most cases collected the r evenu e s of

a province by m e ans of a publican or farmer to whom ,
the tax e s w ere l e t by au c tion ; but such was th e im por

tance of Egypt that th e sam e j e alousy whi c h made th em
think its government t oo great t o be trust e d to a man
Of high rank made them think its r e venu e s too larg e
,
t o be trust e d to on e farm er The smaller branches of th e

.
Egyptian r e v e nu e w er e how ev er let ou t as u sual and

, , ,
e ven the coll e ction of th e c ustoms of the whol e of th e
R e d Sea was n ot thought t o o m u ch to trust to on e citiz en .
A n n i u s P l o c a m u s who farm e d th em in this r e ign had

, ,
a little fl e e t und er his comm and t o coll e ct th em with ;

and tempt e d e ith e r by trad e or pl u nd e r his ships wer e
, ,
som e tim e s a s far ou t as th e so u th c oast Of Ar abia O n .
on e occasion on e of his fr e e dm e n in the command of a
v e ss e l was carri e d by a north wind into th e op en oc e an ,
and aft e r b eing fift e en days at s ea found hims elf on th e

c oast of C eylon Thi s island was not then wholly n ew t o
.
the geograph ers of Egypt and Europ e I t had b een heard

.
of by the pilots in th e voyage of A lexand e r the Gr e at ;
Eratosth en e s had giv e n it a place in his map ; and it

had oft e n b e e n re ach e d from A fri c a by th e sailors of th e
R e d Sea in wi c k erwork b oats mad e of papyrus ; but thi s
was th e first tim e it had be en visited by a European .
THE OR I GIN O F CHEM I STR Y 49
In the neighb ourhood of

the above mentioned road -
from K op tos t o Berenic e were the porphyritic quarri e s

and th e emerald mines whi ch were briskly work e d und e r
,
the Emperor Claudius The mountain was n ow named

.
the Clau di an Mo u ntain .
A s this rout e for trade became known th e g e ogr a ,

o
p h e r s b egan to understand the wide spac e that s e parat e s

In di a from A frica Hitherto notwithstanding a few
.
,
voyages of di scovery it had be e n the common opinion

,
that P e rsia was in the neighbourhood of Ethiopia Th e .
Greeks had thought that the Nile ros e in In di a in oppo ,
sitiou to the J e ws w h o said that it was th e riv e r Gihon

,
of the gard e n of Eden which made a circui t ro u nd th e

,
whole of the land of Cush or Ethiopia The names Of ,

.
these co un tries got mi sused accordi ngly ; and even aft e r

the mistake w a s cl eared u p we sometimes fin d Ethiopia
call ed In di a.
The Egyptian che m i sts were able to produ ce very

bright dy es b y methods then unknown to Gre ece or Rome .
The y dipped the cloth first into a liquid of on e colour ,
called a mordant to pre pare it and then into a liquid

, ,
of a second colour ; and it came ou t dyed O f a third colour ,
unli ke either of the former The ink with which th e y .
wrote the name of a deceased person on the mum my

cloth like our ow n mark ing i n k was made with nitrate
,
-
of silver . Their knowledge of chemi stry w a s far gr e at e r

than that of their neighbours an d th e science is e v en ,
n ow nam e d from the co u ntr y of its birth Th e lat e r .
A rab s called it A l ch em i a th e E g y p ti a n a r t and h ence

, ,
ou r words alchemy and chemistr y S O also Naphtha .

,
EG YP T U N D ER THE ROMAN EMPI RE
o r r o c k oi l , from the coast of th e R e d S e a ; and A nthra
c it e O r r o c k fu el from the coast of Syria both bear E gy p
, , ,
tian names To some Egyptian ston e s the Romans gave

.
th e ir ow n nam e s ; as th e bla c k glassy obsidian from

Nubia th e y call e d aft e r O b s i d i u s who fo un d it ; the black
,
Tib e rian marbl e with whit e spots and th e A ugustan ,
marble with r e gular wavy v eins were both nam e d aft e r,
th e emp e rors P orphyry was n ow us e d for statu e s for

.
th e first tim e and som e t i m e s to mak e a kind of patch

,
work figur e i n whi c h th e clothed parts w e re of th e col

,
ou r e d stone whil e the h e ad hands and f e et w e re of whit e

, , ,
marble A n d it was thought that diamonds were nowh e re

.
t o b e found but in th e Ethiopian gold min e s .
S e v e ral kinds of win e w er e mad e in Egypt ; some in

th e A r s i n oi t e nom e on the banks o f the lake M oeris ; and
’
a poor L ibyan wine at A n ti p h r ae on the c oast a hun dred ,
mil e s from Al exandria Win e had also b e en made in

.
Upp er Egypt in small quantiti e s a v ery long tim e as w e ,
l e arn from the monum ents ; but it was produ c e d with

difficulty and cost and was n ot rgood ; it was n ot valued
“
by th e Gr e e ks It was poor and thin and drunk only

.
,
by those w h o w e re f ev erish and afraid of anythi ng

stronger T hat of An th y l l a to the e ast of Al exandria
.
, ,
was v ery mu c h b e tter But bett er still were the thick

.
luscious Taeni oti c and the mi ld d elicate Mar e otic win e s .
Thi s last was first gro w n at P l i n th i n e but afterwards ,
on a ll the banks of th e lake M a r e oti s The Mareotic .
wine was white and sw ee t and thin and very little heat ,
ing or intoxicating Horace had carelessl y said of Cleo

.
patra that she was dr u nk with Mareotic wine ; but

EG YP T I AN WIN ES 51
L can w h o b etter knew its qu alit y say s that the head

u , ,
s trong lad y drank w 1n e far strong e r than th e Mareotic .
Near S eb en n y tu s three kinds of wine were made ; on e

bitter named P eu c e a second sparkling named ZE th a l on
, ,
a n d the third Thasian from a vin e import e d from Th a s u s

, .
But none of thes e Egyptian wi nes was thought e qual

to tho se of Gre ece and Italy Nor w er e th e y made I n .
quantities larg e enough or cheap enough for the poor :
F A RM ING IN EG YP T .
an d here as in oth e r countries the common people for

, ,
the ir intoxicatin g drink used beer or spirits made from

b arle y. The Egyptian so ur win e how e ver made v ery , ,
g ood vinegar and it

,
was then exported for sale in Rom e .
D ur ing this half c e ntury that great national work

-
t h e lake of M oeris by which thousands of acres had be e n

,
flooded and mad e fertile and the watering of the low er ,
coun try regulat e d w a s thro u gh the neglect of th e em

, ,
b a n km en ts at once destro y ed The latest traveller who

,
.
mentions it is Strabo and the latest geographer P om

,
'
p on i u s Mela B y.i t s m e ans the province Of A rsino e was

made on e of the most fruitful and beautiful spots in
Egypt Here o nl y does th e Olive grow wild H e r e the
. .
vine will grow An d b y th e h elp of thi s embanked lake

.
th e province w a s mad e y e t mor e frui tful But b efor e .
Pliny wrote the bank had giv en way th e p ent u p waters

, ,
-
had made for thems elv e s a chann e l into th e lak e now

c alled Birket el Ku run and th e two s mall pyramids
, ,
whi ch had hith e rto been surrounded by water th en stood ,
on dr y ground . Thus was th e country slowly going to

rui n by th e faults of the governm ent and ignoranc e in ,
the for eign rul e rs But on the oth e r hand th e b e autiful

.
, ,
t emple of L atopolis wh i ch had b e e n begun under the

,
P tolemi e s was finish e d in this r eign ; and b ears th e nam e

,
of Claudius with those of some lat e r e mp e rors on its
portico and walls .
In th e Egyptian languag e the word for a y ear is B a i t ,
whi ch is also the nam e of a bird In hi erogl yp hi cs this

.
word i s spelt by a palm branch B a i and the letter T fol

-
lowed someti m e s by a circl e as a picture of the year .
Henc e arose among a p e opl e fond of myst ery and all e gory
a mode of sp e aking of th e y e ar und er the nam e of a pal m
branch or Of a bird ; and th e y formed a fabl e out of a mere
c onfusion of words Th e Gr e eks who were not slow to
.
,
copy Egyptian mysticism call e d this fab ul ous bird th e

,
P h oen i x from their own nam e for the pal m tree Th e -
e n d of any long p e riod of tim e they called th e ret u rn
of th e ph oeni x to earth The Romans b orrowed the fabl e

.
,
though perhaps without understandi ng th e all egory ; and

in th e s e venth year Of thi s reign wh en the emp eror c el e
,
b r a t e d th e secular gam e s at Rome at the end of th e ,

THE STOR Y OF THE P H CE N I X 53
e ighth centu ry since the city was built it was said that ,
the ph oenix had come to Egypt and w a s thence brought

to Rome Thi s was in the consulshi p of Plautius and
.
Vitellius ; and it would seem to be only from m i stak e s

in the name that Plin y places the event el ev erf y ears
earlier in the consul ship of Plautius and P a p i n i u s and
, ,
that Tacitus places it thirteen y ears earlier in the con

s ul sh i p of F abiu s and Vitellius This fable is connected
.
with some of the remarkable epochs i n Egyptian hi story .
The story lost nothing by travelling to a distance In .
Rome it was said that this wonderful bird w a s a native

of A rabia where it lived for fiv e hundr ed y ears that
, ,
on its death a grub came ou t of i ts body whi ch in due
time became a perfect bird ; a n d that the new ph oenix

brought to Eg ypt the bones of i ts parent in the nest of
spices in which it had died, and laid them on the altar
in the templ e of the s un in Heli opolis It then returned
.
t o A r abia to live in i ts turn for fiv e hu ndred y e ars and ,
di e and giv e l ife again to another as before The Chr is .
tians s a w in thi s story a t ype of the resurrection ; and

Clement Bisho p of Rome qu otes it a s su ch in h i s Epistle
, ,
to the Corinthians .
W e fin d the name of C l au di us on sev eral of the tem

ples of Upper Egypt partic ul arl y on that of A pollinopolis
,
Magna and on the portico of the great temples of L ato

,
polis whi ch were being b u ilt in this reign

,
.
In the beginning of the reign of Ne ro 55 A D an ,

. .
,
Egyptian Jew who claimed to b e l istened to as a prophet

, ,
raised the m i nds of his co u ntrymen into a ferment of
rel igi ou s zeal by p reaching about the sufferi ngs of their

54 EG YP T U N D ER THE ROMA N EM PI RE
brethren in Ju d aea ; and he w a s able to get togeth e r a
body of men call e d in r eproa ch th e Sicarii or r u ffi a n s
, , ,
whos e numbers a r e variously stated at four thousand

and thirty thousand whom he led ou t of Egypt to fr e e
,
th e holy cit y from th e bondage of th e h e ath en But .
F elix th e Roman gov e rnor l e d against th em th e garrison

, ,
of Je rusalem and easily scatt e red th e ha l f arm e d rabbl e

,
-
.
By such acts of religious zeal on the part of th e Jews

th e y wer e again brought t o blows with th e Gre e ks Of
Al e xan dr ia . The Mac e doni ans as the latter still call e d
,
themselves had m e t in publi c ass embly to s end an e m

,
bassy to Rom e and some Jews w h o e nt e red th e m e eting

, ,
which as citiz ens they had a full right t o d o w er e s e iz e d

,
—
and ill tr e at e d by them as spi e s Th e y would perhaps
.
hav e even b e en put to d e ath if a larg e body of their coun

tr y m en had not run to th e ir rescu e Th e Jews attack e d
.
th e assembled Gr e eks with stones and lighted torches ,
and would have burned the amphith e atre and all that
were in it if th e prefect Tiberius A l e xander had n ot
, , ,
sent some of the eld ers of th e ir own nation to calm th e ir

angry fe elings But though th e misch i ef was stopped
.
,
for a time it soon broke ou t again ; and the pref e ct was

,
forced t o call ou t the garrison of two Roman l e gions and

fiv e thousand L ibyans before he could r e establish p e ace
-
in th e city The Je ws were always the greatest sufferers

.
in these civil broils ; and Josephus says that fifty thou

sand O f his co un trymen were left dead in the stre e ts of
A lexan dr ia . But this num b e r is v ery improbable as ,
th e pr e f e ct was a fri e nd to th e Jewish nation and as ,
the Roman legions were not withdrawn to th e c amp till

A L E XA N D R I AN SE A MA N SH I P 55
the y had gu arded the Jews in carrying away and burying

the bodies of their friends .
I t was a natural polic y on the part of the emp erors

to change a prefect whenever hi s province w a s disturb ed
b y rebellion as we have seen in the cas e of F l a c cu s who
, ,
w a s r e called b y Caligula I t was easier to send a n ew

.
governor than t o in qui re into a wrong or to re dr ess a

grievanc e ; and accor di ngly in the next year C B a l bi l l u s .
was sent from Rome as prefect of Egypt He reached .
Al e xandr ia on the sixth da y after leaving the Straits of

Si c ily which was spoken of as the qui ckest v oyag e
,
known The A lexan dr ian ships were better b u ilt and

.
bett e r manned than an y others and as a gr e ater number , ,
of vess e ls sailed e v er y year between that port and P ute
Oli on the coast Of Italy than between any other tw o

places no v oyage was b etter understood or more qui ckly
,
performed The y were ou t of sight Of land for fiv e hun

.
dred m i les b etween S yracuse and C yrene Hence we s ee .
that the quickest rate of sailing with a fair wind was , ,
at that time about on e hu n dr ed and fift y m i les in th e

twent y four hours B u t these ships had very little power
-
of b earing up against the wind ; and if it were contrary
the vo y age became tedio u s If the captain on sailing .
ou t of the port of Al exandria found th e wind w esterly ,
and w a s u nable t o creep along the A frican coast to Cy

r en e h e stood over to the coast of A sia Minor in hopes
, ,
of there finding a mor e favo u rable wind If a storm .
arose he ran into the nearest port perhaps in Cret e

, , ,
p e rhaps in Malta there to wait the retu rn of fair weather

,
.
If winter then came on he had to lie b y till spring Thus

,
.
56 E G YP T U N D ER TH E ROMA N EMPI RE
a v essel lad e n with Egyptian wheat l e aving A lexan dr ia,
i n S e ptemb e r aft e r th e harvest had b e e n brought down

,
to the coast wo ul d someti m e s spend fiv e months on its

,
voyage from that port to P uteoli Su ch was the case .
with the shi p b e aring th e children of Jove as its figur e

h e ad which pi c k e d up the A postle P aul and the historian
,
Josephus wh e n th e y had be e n wr e cked together on the

island of Malta ; and su c h perhaps woul d hav e been the
EG YPT I A N T H R E S HING M A C HINE .
case with th e ship whi ch th e y b e fore found on the coast

of L ycia had it been able to reach a safe harbour and
, ,
not be en wr e ck e d at Malta .
The rocky island of Malta with th e largest and safest

,
harbour in th e Mediterran e an was a natural place for

,
s hi ps to touch at betw e en A l e xandr ia and Italy Its .
pop ul ation was made up of thos e rac e s whi ch had sail e d

upon its waters fir st from Carthag e and th en from A l e x
andria ; it was a mixtur e of Ph oeni c ians Eg yptians and , ,
EG YP T I A N IN F LU E N CE IN MA L T A 57
Greco Egyptians To j udg e from the skulls t ur ned up

-
in the burial places th e Egyptians w er e the most n um er

-
ou s
, and h e re as els e w here the Egyptian sup e rstitions
conquered and put down all th e othe r sup e rsti tions .
Wh i le the island was under the Phoenicians the coins ,
had the head of th e Sicilian goddess on one si de and ,
on the other the Egyptian trinity of I sis O siris and , ,
Ne p th y s When it was un der th e Gre ek rule the h e ad

.
on the coins r e ceived an Egyptian head dress and became -
that of th e goddess I sis and on the other side of th e ,
coin was a winged fig

u r e of O siris I t was .
at thi s time go v e rned b y

a Roman governor The .
larg e temple built with ,
b arbarian rudeness and ,

M A L T E S E C O IN
ornamented with the
.
Ph oenician palm branch was on som ewhat of a Roman

-
plan with a circ ul ar end to every room But it w a s

, .
dedicated to the chief god of Egypt and is even y e t ,
called by its Greek name Hagia Chem th e tem p l e of ,
C h em The little n eighb ouring island of Cos sy r a b e

.
,
tween Sicily and Carthage also shows upon i ts coins ,
clear traces of its taste for Egyptian c ustoms .
The fir st fiv e years of this reign th e qu i n qu en n i u m ,
N e r on i s while the emperor was und e r the tutorship of

,
the philosopher Seneca became in Rome proverbial for ,
good government and on the coinage we s e e marks of

,
Egypt being equally well treat e d In the third y e ar .
w e s e e on a coin the qu een sitting on a throne with

58 EG YP T UN DER THE ROMA N EMP I RE
’
the word a g r eem en t a s if to prais e the young emp eror s
,
good feeling in following the advice of h i s mother A gr i p

pina O n anoth e r the emperor is styled th e y oun g g ood
.
g en i u s and
,
h e i s r e pres e nted by the sacred basilisk
c rowned with the doubl e crown of Egypt The new pre .
fe c t B a l bi l l u s was an A siatic Gre ek and no doubt r e

, , ,
c ei v e d his Roman names of Tib e rius Claudius on being
made a freedman of the late emperor He gov erned the .
c ountry mil dly and justly ; and the grateful inhabitants

d e clared that under h i m the Nil e was more than usually
bountiful and that i ts wat ers always rose t o their just
,
h eight But in the latter part of the r e ign the Egyptians

.
smarted s everely und e r that cruel principl e of a d e spotic

monarchy that every prefect every s ub pr efect and ,
-
e ven ever y deput y tax gather e r might b e equally d e s

-
poti e in his ow n depart

ment O n a coin of the thir
.
te en th year of the reign of

this ruler we s ee a shi p ,
w ith th e word em p er or
c O IN O F bea r er b eing that in Wt II
CO S S Y B A . ,
h e th en sail e d into Gr e e ce ,
or in whi c h th e A lexandrians thought that h e would
visit th e ir c ity But if th e y had r e ally hop e d for his

.
visit a s a pl e asur e th e y must have thought it a danger

,
e scaped wh e n th e y learn e d his chara c t e r ; th e y must have
b een und e ceiv e d wh en the pr ef e ct Caec i n n a Tu s c u s was

punish e d with banishment for v enturing t o bath e in the
bath which was m e ant for the e mp eror s use if h e had ’
come on his proj e cted visit .

LI TERA T U RE U N D ER N ERO 59
D urin g the first c entury and a half Roman swa y of
in Egypt the school of Al exan dr ia was n early silent We .
hav e a few poems by L eonides of A l e xandria on e of ,
which is addre ss e d t o the Empress P opp aea as th e wife ,
of Jupiter on his presenti ng a celestial globe to h er on

,
her birthday P a m p h i l a wrote a misc e llaneou s history

.
of entertaining stories and her livel y simple styl e mak e s

, ,
us v e ry much regret its loss Ch ae r em on a Stoic philos

.
,
opher had been during the last reign at the head of

, , ,
th e Al exandrian library ,
but h e was remov e d to

Rom e as on e of the tutors
to the y o u ng Nero He is .
”
ridiculed b y Martial for
writing in praise of death m N RO ,
co OF E .
when from age and po v ert y he was less able to enj o y

, ,
life W e still possess a most curious though short a c

.
count b y him of the monastic habits of the ancient E gy p

tians He al so wrote on hieroglyphics and a small
.
,
fragment containing hi s O p inion of the meanings of nine

teen characters still remains to us But he is not always .
right ; he thinks the characters were used allegorically

for thoughts n ot for sounds ; and fancies that the priests
,
used them t o keep secret th e real nature of the gods .
H e was succeeded at th e museum by his pupil

D ionysius w h o had the charge of the library till
,
th e reign Of T rajan D iony siu s was also emplo y ed by

.
the prefect as a secretary Of state or in the language , ,
of the day secretary to the embassies epistles and a h

, , ,
s w er s He was the author of the P er i eg es i s and aimed

.
,
60 EG YP T U N D ER THE ROMAN EM PI RE
at the rank of a poet b y writing a treatise on geography
in heroic verse From thi s work h e is named D ionysiu s
.
P e r i e g e tes Whi l e car eful to remind us that his birth

.
place Al exandria w a s a Macedonian city he gi v e s due ,
honour to Egypt and the Egyptians There i s no riv e r .

,
says he equal to the Nile for carrying fe rtility and add

,
ing to th e happin e ss of the land It di vides A sia from

.
L ib ya fall ing between rocks at S y en e and then passing

, ,
by the ol d and famous cit y of Thebes where Memnon ,
every morn i n g salutes his b eloved A urora as sh e ris e s .
O n i ts banks dwells a rich and glorious race of men who ,
were th e first to cultivat e th e arts of life ; the first to

make trial of the plo u gh and s ow th e ir s e e d in a straight
furrow ; and th e first to map the heav e ns and trace the
sloping path of th e sun .
A c cor di ng t o th e tra di tions of the church it w as in ,
this re ign that C hr istianity was first brought into Egypt

by th e Evangelist Mark th e discipl e of th e A postle P et er
,
.
Many were already craving for r eligious food more real

than the ol d superstitions Th e Egyptian had been
.
shaken in hi s attachment to the sacred animals b y Greek

ridi c ul e Th e Greek had been weaken e d in his b eli e f
.
O f ol d Hom e r s gods by living with men who had never

’
h e ard of th em Both wer e dissatis fied with the sch eme

.
of explaining the actions of th eir gods by means of all e g
or y . Th e crumbling away of the Old opinions left men

mor e fitted to r e c eiv e th e n e w r eligion from Galil e e .
’
Mark s pre aching conv e rted crowds in A lexandria ; but
.
,
aft e r a short stay h e r eturn e d to Rome in about th e

, ,
e l e ve nth y ear of this r e ign l e aving A n n i a n u s to wat c h

,
CHR I ST IAN I T Y IN TRO DU CE D 61
o v er the growing church . is usually call ed th e

A n n i an u s
first bishop of A lexandria ; and Eusebius who li ved two ,
hundr ed y ears lat er has giv en us the names of hi s s u c

,
c e s s or s in an u nbroken chain If we wo ul d I n qui r e

.
whether the early converts to Christianity I n Al exandria

were Jews Gre eks or Egyptians we have no th i ng to
, , ,
g uide ,
u s but th e nam e s of these bishops A n n i a n u s o r .
,
A n n a n i a h as hi s nam e was writt e n by th e A rabic his

,
t or i a n s was v ery lik el y a J

,
e w ; ind e ed th e Evang e list ,
Mark wo ul d begin by addr e ssing hi ms e lf to th e J e ws ,
and wo u ld l e ave the care of th e infant chu rch to on e of

h i s own nation In the platonic Je ws Christianity found
.
,
a soil s o exactl y suited t o i t s r e c e ption that it is o nl y by
the dates that the Therapeut ae of A l exan dr ia and their

historian Phi lo are pro v ed not to be Christian ; and agai n , ,
it w a s in the clos e union between the platonic Jews and

t h e platonists that Christianity found its easiest path
to the ears and hearts of the pagans The bishops that .
f ollowed seem to have been Gre ek converts B efore the .
death of An n a n i a h Jerusal em had been destroyed by

,
.
th e Roman armi e s and the Je ws sunk in th eir ow n eyes

,
a n d in thos e of th e ir f e llow citiz e ns throughout the e m

-
pire ; hence the s e cond bishop of A l e xandria w a s l e ss

lik e l y to b e of Hebrew blood ; and it was long b efor e
any Egyptians aimed at r ank in th e church But though .
the spread of Christianity was rapid both among th e ,
Greeks and the Egyptians w e must not hope to fin d any

,
e arl y traces of it in the historians I t was at

. fi rst e m
b raced b y th e unlear n ed and the poor whos e d e eds and

,
o pinions are seldom mentioned in h i story ; and we may

62 EG YP T U N D ER THE ROMAN EMPI RE
r e adily beli eve the scornful r eproach of the u nbeli evers ,
that it was chi e fly r e c e ived by the unfortunate the un ,
happ y th e d e spis e d and th e s i nful Wh e n the whit e

, ,
.
robed pri e stess e s of C e res carried the sacred bask e t ,
through the stre e ts of Al exan dr ia the y cried ou t

,
Sin ,
n ers awa y or keep y our eyes to the gro un d ; k e ep your

,
e yes to the gro un d % When the cri er stan di ng on th e ,
steps of the portico in front of the gre at templ e call e d ,
upon the pagans to come near and j oin in the celebration

of th e ir mysteri e s h e c ried ou t
,
A l l ye who are clean
,
of hands and pure of heart come t o the sacrifice ; a ll ye

,
w h o are guiltl e ss i n thought and d e e d com e to th e sa c

,
”
rific e. But many a repentant sinner and humble spirit .
must have dr awn back in distrust from a s um mons which

to hi m was s o forbidding and b e en glad t o hear the good
,
tidings of mercy O fi er e d by Christianity to those w h o

labour and a r e h e avy lad en and t o the brok en h e arted
,
-
w h o would turn away from th e ir wi c kedn e ss Wh il e such .
w er e th e c hi e f follow e rs of th e gosp el it was not lik ely

,
t o b e much notic e d by th e historians ; and we must wait

till it forc e d its way into th e s chools and th e palac e b e
fore we shall fin d many traces of th e rapidi ty with which
it w a s spr e ading .
D uring th e se r eigns the Ethi opian A rab s k ept up :
th e ir irr e gular warfare against the southern fronti er .
Th e trib e most dr e aded w e re the Blemm y es an u ncivil ~

,
is e d p e ople described by the affrighted neighb ou rs a s

,
having o heads but with e yes and mouth on the b reast ;

n ,
and it was u nder th at n ame that the A rab s spread durin g

e ach century farther and farther i nto Egypt
s eparatin g ,
P U N I T I VE E XP E DI T I O N U P THE N IL E 65
the pro vi n ce from the more cultivated tribes O f Upper

Eth i opia or M e ro e The citi e s along the banks of th e
.
Nile in L ower Ethiopia b etween Nubia and M e ro e wer e

, ,
rui ned b y be i ng in the debatable land betw e en the tw o

nations Th e earl y Greek travellers had cou nt e d about
.
twenty cities on each side of the Nile b e tween s ye n e and

Mero e; but when in a moment of leisure the Roman
, ,
government proposed to punish and stop th e inroads of

these troublesome neighbours and sent forward a trib un e
,
with a gu ard of soldiers h e reported on his return that

,
th e whole co u ntr y was a desert and that there was ,
scarcel y a cit y inhabited on either sid e of the Nile beyond

Nubia But he had not marched v ery far The interior
. .
of A frica w a s little known ; and t o s e e k for the foun
tain of the Nil e was another name for an i mpossibl e

or chimerical u ndertaking .
But Eg ypt itse l f w a s s o qui et as not to need the pres

ence of s o large a Roman force a s usual to keep it in
obedience ; and when Vespasian who commanded Nero s ,
’
armies in S yria fo un d the Jews more ob stinate in their

,
reb ell i on and less easily crushed th an he expected th e ,
e mperor sent the y o u ng T itus to A lexandria to lead to ,
hi s father s assistance all the troops that could be spared

’
.
Titus l e d into P alestine th r o u gh A rabia tw o legions th e ,
F ifth and the T enth whi ch were then in Egypt

,
.
W e fin d a temp l e of t h i s reign in the oasis of D akleh ,
or the W estern O as i s wh ich see m s to have been a mor

,
e
flouri sh i ng spot i n the ti me of the Romans than wh n e
E gypt i tsel f was b etter go v erned It is so far remov d .

e
from th e citi es i n the valle y Of the Nile that its position ,

66 EG YP T U ND ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
and ven existence was long unknown to Europeans
e , ,
and —
t o such hi di ng plac e s as this many of the Egyptians
fl e d to be farther from the t yrann y of th e Roman tax
,
gath er ers .
H ith erto the Roman empire had descended for j ust

on e hun dr ed years through fiv e emperors like a fam
ily inh e ritance ; but on th e d e ath of Ne ro th e Julian

, ,
and Clau di an fam ilies w e r e at an end and Galba who

, ,
was rais e d t o th e purple b y the ch O I c e of th e soldiers ,
e nd e avoured t o persuad e the Romans and th e ir d e pend
e n t provinc e s that they had r e gained th e ir lib e rti e s .
Th e Eg yptians may have be e n puzzl e d by th e word fr ee

d om th en struck upon the coins by their for eign masters
, ,
but must hav e been pl e ased to fin d it accompanied with

a redr e ss of grievances .
Galba began hi s reign with the praiseworthy en

d e a v our of repairing th e in justice done by his cru el p r e
d e cessor He at once recalled the prefe ct of Egypt and
.
,
appoint e d in his place Tiberius Julius A lexand er an ,
A l e xandrian a s on of th e form er prefect of that nam e ;

,
and thus Egypt was und e r th e gov e rnment of a na

tive pr e fect The peac e able situation of the Gr e at
.
O asis has sav e d a long Gre ek inscription of the decr e e

which was now issued in redress of th e grie v ances suf
fe r e d und e r Nero It is a proclamation by Jul ius
.
D emetrius th e com m ander of th e O asis quoting th e

, ,
d e cree of Tib erius Jul ius Al exander th e n ew pr ef e ct of

,
E gypt
The prefect acknowledg e s that the l oud complaints
w ith which he was met on ent e ring upon hi s governm e nt
F I SC A L RE F ORMS 67
were well fo u nded and he promises that the u njust taxes

,
shall cease ; that nobody shall b e forced to act as a pro

v i n c i a l tax gath e r e r ;
-
that n o d e bts shall be canc e ll e d

o r sales made void un der the plea of mon e y owing t o
the re v enue ; that no freeman shall be thrown into

prison for debt u nless it b e a debt due to the royal
,
“
r e venu e and that no priv ate debt shall be made ov er

,
to the tax gath erer to be b y h i m collected as a public

-
d ebt ; that n o propert y settled on the wife at m a r r l a g e

s hall b e s e ized for taxes d u e from th e husband ; and that
a l l n e w charg e s and cla i m s which had grown up within
the last fiv e years shall be r epeal e d In order to dis .
courage informers whom the pre fects had much em

,
ploy e d and by whom the famil ies in A lexan dr ia we r e

,
much harassed and to wh om he laid th e great falling

,
O ff in the pop ul ation of that city he orders that if any , ,
body should make three charges and fail in proving th em ,
h e shall forf e it half his property and lose the right of

bringing an action at law The land had always paid .
a tax in proportion to the num ber of acres ov er fl ow e d

and manured by the waters of th e Nile ; and the husband
m en had latt e rly been frightened b y the double thr e at
of a new measurement of the land and of making it at ,
t h e same time pa y accor di ng to th e ancient registers

of the o v erflow when the canals had been more op en and
more acres flooded ; but the pre fect promi s e s that th er e

shall b e no new measurements and that they shall only b e ,
t axed accor di ng to the act u al overflow In 69 A D Galba . . .
was mu rdered after a reign of s e ven months Some of his

,
.
c oins however are dated in the second y ear of his r e ign

, , ,
68 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMAN EMPI RE
accordi ng to th e A l e xandr ian c ustom of cou nting th e
y e ars Th e y c all e d th e 29 th of A ugust the first n ew
.
,
y e ar s day aft er th e sover eign came to the throne th e

’
,
first day of his s e c ond year .
O tho w a s th en acknowledg e d as emp eror by Rome

and the East whil e the hardy l e gions of G e rmany
,
thought th ems elv e s e ntitl e d

to choos e for thems e lv e s .
Th ey s e t up th eir own
gen e ral Vit ellius The tw o
,
.
legions in Egypt sided with

E G YP T IAN C O IN OF G A LBA
th e four l e gions in Syria
.
un der M u c i a n u s and the thr ee l e gions which under V e s

, ,
pasian w e re carrying on th e memorabl e war against th e

,
Je ws ; and all took the oaths to O tho We fin d no hi e ro .
l
g yp h i c a l inscriptions durin g t hi s short reign of a f ew
w ee ks but th er e a r e many A l e xan dr ian coins to prov e

,
the truth of the historian ; and som e of th em like thos e ,
of Galba b e ar th e un l ooked for word fr eed om

,
-
In th e .
few we eks whi ch th e n p a s s e d b e tw e en the news of O tho s ’
d e ath and of V e spasian b eing rais e d to th e p ur ple in

Syria Vit e lli us was a cknowledg e d in Egypt ; and th e
,
Al e xandrian mi nt struck a few coins in his nam e with th e

figur e of Victory But as soon as th e l e gions of Egypt
.
h e ard that th e Syrian army had mad e choi c e of anoth er

emp e ror th e y with dr e w th e ir all e gianc e from Vit e llius
, ,
and promis e d it t o his Syrian rival .
V e spasian was at C aesar e a in com m and of th e arm y,
employ e d in the Je wish war wh en th e n e ws r e ach e d him

,
that O tho was dead and that Vit ellius had b e en rais e d
,
VES PA S I A N IN EG YP T 69
to the purple b y the Ge rman l e gions and acknowl e dged ,
at Rome ; and without wasting more tim e in r efusing

,
the honour than w a s necessary to prove that hi s sol di ers

w e re in e arnest in Offering it he allow e d hi mself t o b e
,
proclaim e d emp eror a s the su ccessor of O tho He wo ul d

, .
n ot how e ver then risk a march u pon Rom e but l fe s ent

, , ,
t o Al exan dr ia to te ll Tiberius Al exand e r the governor ,
of Eg ypt what he had done ; h e ordered h i m to claim

,
in his name the allegiance of that great pro vinc e and ,
adde d that he should soon b e there hi m self The two .
Roman legions in Egypt much preferred the choice of the

Eastern t o that of the W estern army and the Al exan ,
d r i a n s who had only just acknowledged Vite l li us readily

, ,
took the oath to be faithful to Vespasian Thi s made it .
less necessary for hi m to hast en thither and he only ,
reached A lexandria in time to hear that Vitelli u s had

been murdered after a reign of eight months and that he ,
hi mself had b een acknowledged as emperor by Rome and

the Western legions His Egyptian coins in the first
.
y ear of his reign b y the word p ea c e point to the end

, ,
of the civil war .
Wh en Vespasian entered A lexandria he was met by ,
the philosophers and magistrat e s in great pomp The .
philosophers indeed in a cit y wher e b e side th e o ffic ers

, , ,
of go v ernment tal e nt formed the only aristocrac y w e r e

, ,
a very important body ; and D ion E u phrates and A poll o

, ,
nius had b e en us e ful in securing for Ve spasian th e all e

g i a n c e of th e A l e xan dr ians D ion was.an orator who ,
had been professor Of rhetoric but he had given up that

,
study for philosoph y His orations or declamations

.
, ,
gained for hi m name of Chrysostom or g ol d en
th e ,
m ou th e d Euphrates h i s frie nd was a platonist who

.
, , ,
aft erwards marri e d th e daught e r of th e prefect of Syria ,
and r emo v ed to Rome A pollonius of Tyana th e most

.
,
c el ebrated of th e s e philosophe rs was on e of the first ,

.
who gain ed hi s emi n e nc e from th e stu dy of Eastern phi

l os op h y whi ch was th e n rising in the Opinions of th e
,
Gr e eks as highly worth the ir notic e H e had be en trav .
e llin g in the East ; and boasting that h e was alre ady

,
mast e r of all th e fabl e d wisdom of th e Magi of Babylo n

and of th e G yrn n os op hi s ts O f India h e was come to Egypt,
to compar e this mystic philosophy with that of the her

rn i t s of Ethiopia and th e Thebaid A dd r es s m g hi mself
.
as a pupil to the pri e sts he willingly yielded hi s beli e f

,
to their mystic claims ; and wheth e r from being deceiv e d

,
or a s a d e c e iver wh e ther as an enthusiast or as a ch e at

, ,
h e pr e tended to hav e learn e d all th e supernatural knowl

e dge which they pr e t e nd e d to teach By th e Egyptians .
h e was looked upon as th e favourite of Heaven ; h e

claim e d the pow er of working m i racl e s b y his magical
arts and of for e telling e v e nts by his knowledge of astrol
,
ogy In th e Th ebaid he was s o far honoured that at th e

.
bidding of th e pri e sts on e of th e sacred trees spoke to

him a s had been their custom from of old with favourites
, ,
and in a cl e ar and rath e r womanly voice ad dr e ssed hi m

as a t e acher from heaven .
It was to witn e ss su ch practices as these and to learn ,
th e art of de c e iving their followers that the Egyptian ,
pri e sts w e re n ow consult e d by th e Greeks The oracl e .
at D elphi was silent but the ora cl e of A mmon continu e d

,
PR I ESTC RA F T 71
to r e turn an answer The mystic phi losophy Of the East

.
had c ome into fashi on in A l e xandria and the priests were ,
mor e c e lebrated a s magicians than as philosoph e rs Th ey .
’
would t e ll a man s fortune and th e y e ar that he w a s to die
by examining th e lines of his foreh e ad Some of th em .
e ven undertook for a s u m of money t o raise the dead

, ,
to life or rather to r e call for a tim e to earth th e u n

, ,
will ing spirits and make th em answer any questions that

,
might be put t o th em Ve ntriloqui sm w a s an art often

.
practised in Egypt and perhaps invented th ere B y this

, .
the pri e sts gained a power over the minds of the listeners ,
and could mak e th e m beli eve that a tree a statu e or a , ,
dead body was speaking to them

,
.
The A l e xandrian men of letters s eldom erred b y wrap

ping thems e lv e s u p in pride to avoid the fault of mean
n e ss ; the y usually cringed to the great A pollo ni us was .
wholly at the service of Vespasian and the emperor ,
repaid the phi losopher b y flatt e ry as well as b y more

solid fav ours He kept him always b y hi s side durin g
.
hi s sta y in Eg ypt ; he acknowledged his rank as a proph e t ,
and tried to make further u se Of him in persuading th e

Egyptians of his ow n divine right to the thr one V e s .
pasian begged h i m to make use of his prayers that h e

might obtain from God the empire which he had a s y et
hardly grasped ; but A polloniu s claim i ng even a high er,
mission from Heaven than Vespasian was granting to

h i m answered with as much arro gance a s flatt e ry
, ,
I ,
”
have my self alr e ady made y ou emperor With the l n .
ti m a c y b e tween V e spasian and A pollonius begins th e

use of gnostic emblems on the A lexandrian coins Th e .
imperial pupil was not slow in l e arning from su ch a
m aster ; and th e p e opl e w e r e as r e ady to b e li e ve in th e
’ ’
e mperor s rru r a c l es as in th e philosoph e r s A s V e spa .
s ian was walking through th e str e e ts of A lexandria a ,
man w e ll known as having a dis e as e in h i s e yes thr e w

hi ms e lf at hi s f e et and b e gg e d of h im to h e al his blind
ness H e had b ee n told by th e g od S erapis that he should
.
regain hi s sight if th e emperor would but d eign to spit

upon his ey elids A noth er man who had lost the u s e
.
,
of a hand had b e en told by th e sam e god that he sho ul d

,
b e h e al e d if th e emp e ror would but trampl e on him with

his f e e t Ve spasian at first laugh e d at th em and thrust
.
them O ff ; but at last he s o far yi eld e d to their pray e rs ,
and to th e flatt e ry of his fri ends as to hav e th e physicians

,
of A l e xandria cons ul t e d wh e th e r it was in his power to
h e al th e se un fortunat e men Th e physi c ians like good

.
,
c ourti e rs wer e not s o un wis e as to think it impossibl e ;

,
b e sides it se em e d meant by th e god as a public proof

,
of Vespasian s right to th e t h r on e ; if h e w e r e successful

’
t h e glory would b e h i s and i f h e failed th e laugh would

,
r
b e against th e crippl e s Th e two m en wer e ther efor e

.
brough t b efore him and in th e face of th e assembl e d

,
c itizens he trampl e d on one and spit on th e oth er ; and

his fl a tter er s d e clar e d that h e had healed the maimed and
given sight to th e blind .
Ve spasian m e t with furth er wond e rs wh en he e nt e r e d

the t empl e of S erapis to consult th e god as to the stat e
and fortun e s of th e empire H e w ent into th e inn e r sanc
.
t u a r y alon e and to hi s surpris e ther e h e b eh eld the Old

, , ,
B a si l i d e s the freedman of Claudi us on e of the chi e f m en

, ,
JOSE P H U S A ND THE JE WS 73
of A lexandria , whom he knew was then l ying danger

o u s l y ill and sev e ral days
, j ourn e y from the city He ’
.
inquire d of the pri e sts wh e the r B a s i l i d es had been in the

t emple and was assured that h e had not He then ask e d
, .
wh e th e r he had been in Al exandria ; but nobody h ad se en

him there L astly on s e n di ng messeng e rs he l e arned
.
, ,
that h e was on his de ath bed eighty m i les O ff With thi s

-
m i racle before hi s e y es he could not di strust the answers

,
which the priests gave to his questions .
From A lexandria Vespasian s ent back Titus to finish

th e si e g e of Je rusalem Th e Jewish writer Joseph the
.
,
s on Of Matthi as or F lavius Josephus as he called hims elf

, ,
wh e n he entered the s er v I c e of the emperor was th en in ,
A lexandria He had been taken prisoner by Ve spasian

.
,
but had gain ed his freedom by the betrayal of his coun

try s cau s e He j oined the army of Titus and march e d
’
.
t o the overthrow of Jerusalem Notwithstan di ng th e .
obstinate and heroic stru ggles of the Jews Judac a was ,
wholly conquered b y the Romans and Je rusalem and its ,
oth e r fortresses e ither received Roman garrisons or w ere

‘
di smantled The Templ e w as overthrown in the month

.
of Septemb er A D 7 0 ,
Titus made slaves of ninety sev en
. . .
-
thousand men man y of whom he l e d with him into Egypt

, ,
and then sent them to work in the min e s Th e se w ere .
soon followed by a crowd of other brave Jews who chose ,
rath e r to qui t their homes and live a s wanderers in Egypt

than to ow n Vespasian as th e ir king They kn e w n o lord .
but Ja h v eh ; to tak e the oaths or to pay tribut e to C aesar

was to reno un ce the faith of their fath ers But th ey .
fo und no safet y in Eg ypt Their Greek brethren tu rned .

74 EG YP T U N D ER THE ROMAN EMPI R E
against them and handed si x hun dred of them up to
,
L upus the governor of Egypt to b e p u nished ; and th eir

, ,
countryman Jos ephus brands th em all with the nam e of

Sicarii The y tried to hide themselves in Thebes and
.
other citi e s l e ss un der th e e y e s of th e Roman governor .
Th e y w ere howev e r followed and taken and th e c ourage

, , ,
with which th e b oys and m er e childr e n bor e th eir suffer

in gs soon e r than acknowl e dg e Vespasian for th e ir king
, ,
drew forth th e prais e of even the tim e s erving Josephus

-
Th e Gre e k J e ws of Egypt gained nothing b y this

treach e ry towards th eir Hebr e w br e thren ; the y w e r e
thems elv e s looked down upon by the Al e xandrians and ,
distrust e d by th e Romans The emperor order e d L upus

.
t o shut up th e temple at O nion n e ar Heliopolis in whi ch

, , ,
during th e last three hun dr ed y ears they had b e en ,
allow e d to have an altar in rivalry to the T e mple of

,
J e rusal em Even Josephus whose betrayal of his coun

.
,
tr ym en might have saved hi m from their e n em i e s w a s ,
s ent with many others in chains t o Rome and was only ,
s e t fr ee on hi s making hi msel f known to Titus Inde e d .

,
when th e H ebr e w J e ws lost th e ir c apital and their rank

as a nation th e ir br e thr en felt lower e d in th e e yes of
,
th e ir fellow citiz ens in whatev er city th ey dw elt and in

-
, ,
A l e xandria th e y lost a ll hop e of k e eping their privil e g e s ;

although th e emp eror r efus e d t o r ep e al th e e di ct which
granted th em th eir citiz enship an e di c t to whi ch th e y
,
always app e aled for protection but Often wi th v ery littl e

,
su c c e ss .
Th e Al exandrians w e r e sadly di sappointed in Vespa

sian Th e y had be en among the first to acknowledge
.
MEDI A T I O N O F T I T U S 75
him as emperor wh i le hi s power was yet doubtful and ,
the y looked for a s u m of mon ey as a larg e ss ; but to

h —
their sorrow e increased the taxes and r e e stablish e d ,
som e whi ch had fallen into di suse They had a j ok e .
against him about hi s claiming from on e of his friends

,
th e trifli ng debt of s i x oboli ; and upon hearing of thei r

“
,
witticisms he w a s s o angry that h e ordered this sum of

,
s i x o boli t o b e levi e d as a poll tax upon e v e ry man in -
th e city and he only remitted the tax at th e r e qu e st of

,
h i s s on Titus He went to Rome carrying with hi m the

.
,
nickname of Cy bi os a cte s th e s c u l l i on which the A lexan

, ,
d r i a n s gav e h i m for his stingin e ss and gr ee diness and ,
which the y had b efore giv en to S ele u cus who robb e d ,
th e tomb of A lexand e r th e Great at A lexandria Of its , ,
famous golden sarcophagu s .
Titus sa w the im portance of pleasing the people ; and

his wish to hum our th e ir ancient prejudic e s at the c e r e ,
mony of consecrating a new bull as A pis brought som e ,
blame upon hi m He there a s became the occasion wore

.
, ,
the state crown and dazzled th e p e opl e of Memphis

,
with his regal pomp ; but while thus endeav o uring to

,
str ength e n hi s father s throne he was b y some accus e d

’
,
of grasping at it for hi mself .
Th e great temple of K n ep h at L atopolis whi ch had , ,
b een the work of many r eigns and perhaps many c en

tur i e s was finished und e r Vespasian
,
It is a building .
worthy of the b e st times of Egyp tian archit e cture It .
has a grand portico uph e ld by fo ur rows of massive col

,
umu s with capitals in th e form of papyrus flowers O n

,
.
the ceiling is a zodi ac like that at T entyra ; and though

, ,
many othe r kings names are c arv e d on th e wall s that
’
,
o f Vespasian is in th e dedication ov er th e e ntrance

'
.
O f the r e ign of Titus in Egypt we fin d no trac e b e

y ond hi s coi ns struck each y e ar at Al e xan dr ia and hi s ,
name carv e d on one or tw o temples whi ch had been b ui lt

in form e r reigns .
f —
O f the reign o D om i tian ( 8 1 9 6 A D ) w e learn som e
. .
thing from the poet Ju v en al who then h eld a military

,
post in th e provin c e ; and h e giv e s us a s a d accou nt of

th e state of lawl e ssness i n whi ch the troops l iv e d und e r
his commands . Al l quarrels between sol di e rs and
citizens were tried by th e o ffice rs according to martial
law ; and justic e was v e ry far from being e ven hand e d -
b e tw e en the Roman and th e poor Egyptian N O witness .
was bold enough to come forward and s a y anything

against a soldier whi le e v e rybody was b elieved who
,
spoke on his b ehalf Ju v en a l was at a gre at a g e when h e

.
was sent into Egypt ; and he fe lt that th e comm and of

a c ohort on th e v e ry borde rs of th e d e s ert was a cruel
banish m ent from th e literary so c iety of Rom e His d e ath .
in th e c amp was hast ened by hi s wish to r e turn hom e .
A s what Ju v en a l chi e fly aim e d at in hi s writings was

to lash th e folli es of the a ge h e of course found pl e nty
, , ,
of amus ement i n the s u perstitions and sacred animals of
Egypt But h e som e ti mes takes a poet s liberty and

.
’
,
’
when he tells us that man s was al m ost th e o nl y flesh that
th e y a te without sinning w e n e ed not b e lieve him to the
,
l e tter H e giv e s a liv ely pi c tur e of a fight which h e s a w

.
b e tw e en th e citizens of two towns The towns of O mbos .
and T entyra though about a hun dred m il es apart had

, ,
R I VA L GO D S 77
a long standing quarrel about their gods A t O mbos th e y

-
worshipped the croco di l e a n d the crocodil e headed god -
Savak while at T e ntyra th e y worshipp e d the godd e ss

,
H a thor and were c e lebrated for their skill in catchi ng

,
and killing crocodiles So taking advantag e of a feast or

.
,
holiday the y marched ou t for a fight The ih en of

, .
O mbos wer e beaten and put to fli ght ; b u t one of th em ,
stum bling a s h e ran away w a s caught and torn to piec e s , ,
and as Ju v en a l adds eaten by the m en of T e ntyra Th eir

, , .
worship of beasts birds and fishes and e ven growing

, , ,
their gods in th e garden are pleasantly bi t off by h i m ; ,
th e y left nothi ng said he without worship but the god

, , ,
d e ss Of chastit y The mother godde ss I sis the qu e e n

.
, ,
of hea v en w a s the deit y to whom they bowed with th e

,
most t e nder devotion and to swear by I sis was th eir

,
favourite oath ; and hence the l eek in th eir own language ,
nam e d I s i was no doubt the veg e tabl e called a g od b y

,
the satiric Ju v en a l .
A t the same time also th e towns of O xy r r h yn ch os and

C ynopolis in th e H ep ta n om os had a littl e civil war about
, ,
the animals which the y worshipped Som ebody at Cyn .
opolis was said to have caught an oxy r r h y n ch u s fish in

th e Nil e and eaten it ; and s o the peopl e of O xy r r h y n ch os ,
in re v eng e made an attack upon the dogs th e gods of

, ,
Cynopolis They caught a nu mber of th em kill e d th em

.
,
in sacrific e to their offe nded fish god and ate th em The -
,
.
two parti e s then flew to arms and fought s e veral battles ;

th e y sack e d on e anoth e r s citi e s in turns and th e war was
’
,
not stopp e d till th e Roman troops marched to the spot

and punished them both .
But w e gain a mor e agr e e able and most likely a mor e
tru e notion of the mystical r eligion and philosophy Of
the Egyptians in th e s e days from the serious enqui ries
o f P lutarch w h o instead of looking for what he could
, ,
laugh at was o nl y too r e ady to believe that he saw wis

,
d om hi dden under an all e gory in all their superstitions .
Many Of the habits of the pri e sts such as shaving the ,
whole body wearing linen instead of cotton and refusing

, ,
some m e ats as imp ure seem to hav e aris en from a love

,
of cleanliness ; their religion ordered what was useful .
A n d it also forbad e what was hurtful ; s o t o stir th e

fir e with a sword was displeasin g to th e gods becaus e ,
it spoilt th e t emp e r of the m e tal Non e but the vulgar .
n o w looked upon th e anim als and statu e s as gods ; the

priests b eli e v e d that the unse e n gods w h o acted with on e ,
mi nd and with on e providence w er e th e authors of all ,
good ; and tho u gh these like th e sun and moon w er e

, ,
called in each co untry by a di fier en t name y e t like thos e , ,
lum inaries they were the same ov e r all the world O ut

,
.
ward ceremonies i n r el i gi on w er e no long e r thought

’
enough without a good lif e ; and as the Gr e eks said that , ,
beard and cloak did not make a p hi losoph er s o th e E gy p ,
tians said that whit e l inen and a tons u r e would not

make a foll ow er of I sis A l l th e sacrific e s t o the gods had
.
a secondary m e aning or at least they tri e d to j oin a

, , ,
moral aim t o the outward act ; as on the tw entieth day

of the month wh e n th e y a te honey and fig s in honour of
,
’
” l
Th e Eg yptians lik e
“
Thot th e y sang Sw e et is truth
,
.
,
most oth er East e rn polytheists held th e doctrin e which ,
w a s afterwards called Manich e ism ; the y b elieved in a

B ut
tru e
the
l al
do
St
S C E NE IN A SE PUL C H R AL C H A MB E R .
CH A N GES IN RE LI G I ON 79
g ood and in a wicked god w h o gov e rned th e world , be

twe e n th em [O f thes e the form er mad e hims elf thr e e
.
fold b e cause thre e is a perfe ct numb er and th e y adopt e d

, ,
into th e ir r e ligion that c ur ious m etaphysi c al opinion that

e v e rything divine is form e d of thr e e parts ; and accord
i n gl y on th e Th eban monuments w e oft e n s e e the gods

,
‘
in groups of thr e e Th e y worshipp e d O siris I sis and

.
, ,
H oru s under the form Of a right angled triangl e in which -
Horus was the sid e Opposit e to th e right angle Th e .
f avourite part of their mythology was the lam e ntation

o f I sis for th e d e a th of h er husband O siris
(B y anoth e r
f
c hange th e god Horus who us e d to b e a crowned king ,
of manl y stat u r e was n ow a child holding a fing e r t o his

,
mouth and thereby marking that h e had not yet learn e d

,
t o ta l k r t
h e Romans who did not understand this Egyp
,
tian s ymbol for y outhfulness thought that in this char ,
act e r h e was commanding silenc e ; and they gave th e

n ame of Harpocrates H or u s th e p ow er fu l to a god of
, ,
'
s il e nce . Horus was also oft e n plac e d as a ch i l d i n the
arms of his mother I sis ; and thus by the loving nature
f
of the group w e re awak e n e d th e mor e tender f eelings of
t h e worshipper The Egyptians like the Greeks had

.
, ,
alway s been loud i n d e claring that they w er e b elov e d

b y their gods ; but they received th eir favours with littl e
ratitude and hardly profess e d that they f e lt an y lov e
g ,
towards the gods in return But after th e time of th e

“
C hristian era we meet with more kindly fe elings e v en

,
a mong th e pagans We fi n d from. t h e Gr ee k nam e s o f
persons that the y at least had begun to think th eir gods

d eserv ing of lo v e and in this group of th e m other and
,
80 EG YP T UN D E R THE R OMA N EMPI RE
chi ld such a favourite also in Christian art we se e i n
, ,
what di r ection th e se more kin dl y feeli ngs found an en

trance into th e Egyptian religion A s fast a s Opinion
.
w a s raising th e gr e at god S e rapis above his fellows and
maki ng th e wrathful judge into the rul er of th e world ,
s o fast was the same opinion creating for itself a harbour
of refuge in th e child Horu s and its mother .
IThe d ee p e arnestness of the Egyptians in the beli ef

of their ow n religion was the chi e f cause
of its being adopted by oth e rs

’ The .
Greeks had borrowed much from it .
Though in Rome it had b e en forbidden

by law it w a s much c ultivated th er e in
,
privat e ; and the engrav e d rings on the

fing e rs of the w e althy Romans which b or e H A R PO C RA TE S .
the figures Of Harpocrat e s and oth e r

Egyptian gods e asily e scap e d th e notic e of the magistrate .
But th e superstitious D omitian who was in the habit O f

,
consulting astrologers and Chald aean fortune t ellers a l -
lowed th e Egyptian worship H e built at Rome a t emple

.
to I sis and another to Serapis ; and such was th e eag er

,
n e ss of th e citiz e ns for pictur e s of th e moth er goddes s

with h er child in her arms that according to Ju v en a l
, ,
the Roman painters all liv e d upon th e goddess I sis F or .
h er t emple in th e Campus Martius holy water was even,
brought from th e Nil e to purify the b ui lding and the

votari e s ; and a r e gular c oll e ge of priests was maintain e d
there by th eir z e al and at their cost with a splendour ,
worthy of th e Roman c ap ital D omitian also was some

.
, ,
what of a scholar and h e sent to A l e xandria for copi e s

,
THE C L EMEN CY O F N ERVA 81
Of th e ir b ooks to r e stor e the pub li c library at Rome

,
wh i ch had b e e n lately burnt ; whil e his gard en on the

banks of th e Tib e r was rich e r in th e Egyptian wint er rose
than ev e n the gardens of M emphis and A l e xan dr ia .
D uring this c e ntury th e c oinag e c ontinues on e Of the

subj ects of chief interest to the antiquary In 9 2 A . .
in the e leventh year of h i s reign wh en D omitian took ,
upon hims elf the tribunitian power at Rome for a second

p e riod of ten y ears the e v ent was celebrated in Al ex
,
andria with a trium phal procession and games in th e

hippodrome of all whi ch we s e e clear traces on the
,
Egyptian coins .
C O IN S OF D OM I T IA N .
The coinage is al m —
ost the only trac e of Nerva ( 9 6 9 8
A D ) having reigned in Eg ypt ;
. . but it i s at the sam e
tim e enough to prove the m i ldness of his government .
Th e Jews who by their own law were of Old re qui red

to pay half a shekel or a di drac h m t o t h e service of ,
,
their temple had on their conquest be en made to pay

,
that s u m as a y early tribute to th e P tol emies and aft er ,
wards to th e emperors It was a pol tax l vi d

. l e e on ev ry
e -
Je w h r
t oughout the empire But Nerva . had th e h u man
ity t o r e li e v e th em from this insul ting tribut and w ll
e e
,
did he d e s e rv e th e honour of having it recorded on th e
c oins str uck in his reign .

82 EG Y P T UN D E R TH E R OMA N EMPI RE
Th e coinag e the ele v e nth year of his successor
of
—
Traj an ( 9 8 1 1 7 A is very r emarkabl e for its beauty
.
its t e chnical skill and vari e ty e v e n , ,
mor e so than that of th e elev e nth

y ear of D omitian The coins hav e .
hi th erto proclaim e d in a manner u n ,
mistakably plain to thos e who study

num ismatics the games and con ,
qu e sts of th e e mperors the bountiful ,

C O IN OF NE R A
V .
ov erflow of th e Nil e and som e tim e s ,
the worship of Serapis ; but we n ow e nter upon th e

most brill iant and most i mportant p eriod of th e Egyptian
coinag e and fin d a rich vari e ty of fabl e s tak e n both from
,
Egyptian and Gr e e k mythology Th e coins of Rome in .
this and th e following r eigns show th e w e alth good tast e , ,
and l e arning of the nation but the y are s urpassed b y ,
th e coins of Egypt Wh il e history is n early sil ent and

.
,
th e buil di ngs and oth er proofs of Roman good gov e rn

m ent hav e perish e d th e coins alon e a r e quit e enough
,
t o prov e th e w e ll b eing of the p e ople A m ong th e E gy p

-
tian coins thos e of Trajan Hadrian and th e A ntonin e s , ,
e qual in numb e r thos e O f all the other emp e rors tog e th e r ,
whil e in b e auty th e y far surpass th em Th e y a r e mostly .
o f copp e r of a small size and t h i ck w e ighing ab out on e

, , ,
hundr e d and ten grains and some larger of tw o hun dr e d

,
and tw enty grains ; the silv e r coins are less comm on ,
and of mix e d m e tal .
Though th e Romans whi l e admiring and copying ,
e v e ry thing that was Gr e e k affe c t e d to look upon th e

,
Egyptians as savag e s who w e r e only known to be human

,
C I T I Z EN SH IP AND F REE D OM 83
beings by their power of speech still the Egyptian phy ,
s i c i a n s were held b y them i n the highest r eput e Th e .
more wealthy Romans often sail e d to

A lexandria for the bene fit of their a d
vice Plin y the Elder howe v er thought
.
, ,
that of the invalids who w ent to Egypt

for their health more were cured b y the
s e a v o y age than b y the phy sicians on
their arrival O ne of Cicero s physi

.
’
ci a n s was an Eg yptian Pliny the TR INIT Y I S I S

.
O F ,
H O
Y ounger repaid his Egyptian oculist NE P H T H Y S R U S , A ND .
Harpocrates b y getting a rescript from the emperor to

,
mak e him a Roman citizen But the statesman di d not .
know un der what harsh laws his fri end was born for th e ,
grant was void in the case of an Egyptian the emp eror s ,

’
rescript was bad as being against the law ; and Pliny

had again t o beg the greater favour that the Egyptian
might first b e made a citizen of A lexandria without ,
whi ch the former favour was useless Thus even I n .

,
Al exandria a conquer e d province governed b y th e d es

,
poti e will Of a m i litary emperor there were still som e ,
laws or principles which the emperor fo un d it not e asy

to break The co u rts of justice those to whom the edicts
.
,
were addressed and b y whom the y were to be explained

and carried into effect claimed a power in some cas e s
,
abo v e the emperor ; and the first article in the Roman

code w a s that an i mperial rescript , b y whomsoever or
howsoever obtained was void if it was against the l a w
,
.
A s the lawy ers and magistrates formed part of th e body

of citizens the A lexandr ians had s o far a share i n th e
,
84 EG YP T U N D ER TH F ROMA N EMPI RE
governm e nt of their own affairs ; but thi s was an a dv an
tag e that the Egyptians lost b y bein g u nder th e pow e r
of the Greek magistrates .
Traj an always k ept i n the pu blic granari es of Rom e

a supply of Egyptian grain equal to seven ti mes th e
c a n on
,
or y early gift to th e poor citizens ; and in this
prudent cour s e he was follow e d b y all his successors ,
C O IN S OF TRA JA N
’
r
.
the store was squand er e d b y the worthless Ela

b a l u s O n e y e ar wh e n th e Nil e di d not ris e to its usual
g a .
,
h eight and much of the grain land of th e D elta inst e ad

, ,
of b ein g moist ened by its waters and e nrich e d by its mud ,
was left a dr y sandy plain the granari e s of Rome w e re

, ,
un lock e d to f e ed the city of Al e xandria The A l e xan

.
d r i a n s th en s a w th e unusual sight of ships unloa di ng

th eir cargoes of wh e at in th eir harb our and the Romans ,
boast e d that they took the Egyptian tribut e in grain ,

COSM O P O LI TA N A L E XA N D R I A 85
n ot because they coul d not feed themselv e s but becaus e ,
the Egyptians had nothing else to send them .
A lexandria u nder the Romans was still the centr e

of the trading world n ot onl y having i ts ow n gr e at trad e,
in grain but being the port through which the trade of

,
In di a and A rabia passed t o Europe and at whi ch th e ,
Syrian v essels touched in their way to Italy Th e har .
bour was crowd e d with masts and strange prows and

uncouth sails and the quays always busy with loading
,
and unloa di ng ; whi l e in th e stre e ts might b e s e e n men

of all languag e s and all dresses copp e r colo ur ed E
gy p
-
tians swarthy Jews lively bustling Gr e eks and haughty

, , , ,
Italians with A siatics from th e n eighbour ing coasts of

,
Syria and Cilicia and e v e n dark Ethiopians paint e d, ,
A rab s Bactrians Sc y thians P ersians and Indians all

, , , , ,
ga y with their national costum e s A l e xan dr ia w a s a spot .
in whi ch Europe met A sia and each wondere d at the ,
strang e n e ss of the oth e r .
O f the A lexan dr ians themselves we receive a v ery

unfavo u rable account from th eir c ountryman D ion ,
Chrysostom With their wealth they had those vic e s

.
,
which usually follow or cause the loss Of national ind e

p e n d e n c e Th e
. y were eager for nothing but food and
horse races The y were grave and qui e t in their sacri
-
fic e s and listl e ss in b u siness but in the theatre o r in th

,
e
stadium men women and children were alik e heat e d into

, ,
passion and overcom e with eagerness and warmth of fe el

,
'
ing A scu rrilo u s song or a horse race would so rous
.
e -
th em into a quarr el that th e y could not hear fo r th ir

e
ow n noise nor s ee
,
fo r the dust raised by their ow n bustle
in the hippo dr ome ; while all thos e acts of their rul ers ,
whi ch in a mor e whol e some stat e of society wo ul d hav e

c alled for notic e pass e d by unhe e ded The y cared mor e
,
.
for the t um ble of a favo urite chariote e r than for the

sinkin g state Of the nation Th e ready emplo yment of
.
EG YP T I AN WIG (B R I T I S H MUS E UM ) .
ri di c ul e in the place of argument of wit instead of graver

,
r e ason of ni cknames as their most powerful weapon was

, ,
on e of the worst p oI n t s in the Al exandrian charact e r .
Frankness and manlin e ss are har dl y to b e l ooked for

un d e r a despotic gov e rnment wh e r e m en are forbidd e n
t o S peak th e ir minds openly ; and th e A l e xandrians made

P O PULA R A MU SEMEN TS 87
u s e of s u ch checks upon their rul ers as the law allowed

them The y lived under an ab solute monarchy t emp ere d
.
on l y b y ri di cule Though their city was fo ur hun dr ed

.
y e ars ol d th e y were still colonists and without a moth er

,
co un try Th e y had very little faith in anythi ng gr e at

.
(%
or good wheth e r human or di vine

, They had fe w ch er .
i s h e d prejudic e s n o honoured tra di tions sadl y little love

, ,
of fame and th e y wrote no histories

, But in luxury and .
delicac y th e y s e t the fashion to their conquerors Th e .
wealthy A l exandrian walk e d about Rome in a scarl e t

robe in summer fanning himself with gold and di splay
, ,
ing on h i s fingers rings carefully s ui t e d to the season ;

as his hands were t oo delicate t o carry his heavier j ew els
i n the warm weather A t the supp e r tables of the rich
.
,
the Al exandrian singing b oys were much valu ed ; the

smart y o u ng Roman walked along th e Via Sacra h um
m ing an Al exandrian t u ne ; the favo ur ite comi c actor ,
the delight of the city whose j okes s et the theatre in a

,
roar was an A lexandrian ; the R e tiarius who with no

, , ,
weapon b ut a net fought against an armed gladiato r

,
in the Roman forum and came O ff conqu eror in twenty

,
s i x such battles was an A lexandrian ; and no breed of

,
figh ti n g cocks was thought equal to those reared in th e

-
suburbs of A lexan dr ia .
In the reign of A ugustus the Roman generals had

b e en def e ated in th eir attacks on A rabia ; but und er
Trajan when the Romans were ma sters O f all the c oun
,
tries whi ch s u rro u nd Ar abia Nabat aea and wh en Egypt ,
was s o far quiet that the legions co ul d b e wi thdrawn

without danger to the provinces the A r abs coul d hol d ,
ou t no longer and the rocky fastn e ss of P e tra was forced
,
to r e c e ive a Roman garrison Th e ev e nt w a s as usual

.
comm emorated on th e coins of Rome ; and for the next

four hun dr ed y e ars that r emarkable A rab city forme d
part of the Roman empire ; and Europ e ans n ow trav e l
li ng through the desert from Mo u nt Sinai to Jerusal e m
a r e agr e eably s ur prised at coming upon t e mpl e s c arv e d ,
o u t of the solid rock , ornam e nt e d with Corinthi an col
um n s of the age of th e A ntonines .
In the tw elfth year O f this reign when L uciu s Sul ,
p i c i u s Sim i us was pr e fect som e ad di,

tions w hi ch had
b ee n mad e to th e temple at P anopolis in th e Thebaid
w e re d e di cat ed in th e name of the emp eror ; and in th e
nin e te enth year when Marcus R u ti l i u s L upus was p r e
,
f e et a n e w portico in th e oasis of Th eb e s was in th e

,
same mann e r d e dicat e d to Serapis and I sis A small .
temple which had b e e n b e fore b ui lt at D enderah n e ar

, ,
the gr e at templ e of Ve nus was in the first year of this

,
'
reign dedicated to the Empress P lotina u nder the name ,
of th e great goddess the Y oung e r Venus

, .
The canal from th e Nile n e ar B u b a s ti s to the Bitter

L akes whi ch had been first mad e by Ne cho had b e en
, ,
e ith e r fin i shed or a second tim e mad e by P hiladelphus ;
and in this re ign that gr e at und e rtaking was again r e

newed But the stream of the Nile was d e serting the
.
Bubastit e branch which was less na vigabl e than for

,
merly ; and the engin e ers now chang e d th e greater part

of th e canal s b e d
’
They thought it wis er to brin g wat e r
.
from a high er part of th e Nil e S O that the cu rrent in

,
the canal might run into the Red Sea instead O f ou t ,

R I S IN G O F THE JE W S 89
an d i ts wat e rs might still be fr e sh and useful to a gr i c ul

ture I t n ow b e gan at Babylon Opposite M emphis and
.
e nter e d th e R e d S ea at a town which taking its name

,
from the lo c ks was called Cl y sm on about ten m i l e s to

, ,
the south of A r sino e .
T hi s latter town was no

long e r a port having ,
b een s eparated from the

s e a b y the continual a d
vance of th e sands W e .
h av e no knowl e dge of
h ow long the car e O f the
imperial prefe cts k e pt
thi s new canal open a n d
i n use . It was perhap s
on e of the fir st of th e
Roman works that went

t o decay ; and when w e
T E M P LE NE R S IN A I
A N TO N I N I A N A .
fin d the Christian pilgrims sailing along it s e v e n c en

t uries later on their wa y from England to the hol y
,
s epulchre it had been again opened b y the M uh amm e dan

.
conquerors of Egypt .
Writings which some n ow regard as literary forgeries

appeared in A lexandria about this time Th ey p r op h e .
s ied the r e establishment of the Jews at J e rusal em and

-
, ,
as the wish e d for time dr ew near all the east e rn prov

-
i n c e s of th e Roman empire were di sturbed by r eb ellious

risings of th e Jews Mov e d by the religious enthusiasm
.
which gav e b irth to the writings th e Jews of Egypt in ,
t h e eighteenth y ear of this reign ( 1 1 6 A D ) w e re again . .

roused into a quarr el with their Gr e ek f ellow citizens ; -
and in the next year the last of th e r eign they rose

, ,
against their Roman gov e rnors in open r eb ellion and ,
they were n ot put down till th e pr efect L upus had

brought his forces against them A fter this the Jews
.
Of C yre ne marched through the desert into Egypt u nder ,
the com m and of L u c u a s to h elp their br ethr en ; and the

,
r ebellion took the r e gular form of a civil war with all ,
its usual horrors The emperor sent against the J e ws

.
an arm y followed by a fleet which after numerous skir

, ,
m i s h e s and battles routed them with great slaughter

, ,
and dr o v e nu mbers of them back into the desert whence ,
th ey harassed the village as robbers B y thes e un .
successful appeals t o force the Jews lost all right t o

,
those privileges of citizenship which the y alway s claimed ,
and whi ch had been granted by the emperors though ,
usuall y refused b y the Al exandrians The d e spair and .
di sappo i ntm e nt of the Jews seem in man y cases to hav e

turned their m i nds to the Christian view of the O ld
Testament propheci e s ; henc eforth say s E u sebiu s th e
, ,
Jews embrac e d the Chr istian religion more readil y and

in greater numbers .
In A D 1 22 th e sixth y ear of the reign of Ha dr i an

. .
, ,
Egypt was honour ed by a visit from the emp eror He .
was led to Egypt at that time b y some riots of a character

more serious than usual which had arisen b e twe en two
,
cities probably Memphis and Hel iopolis about a bull as

, , ,
t o whether it was t o b e A pis or Mnevis Egypt had been .
for some years without a sacr e d bull ; and when at length

the priests fo und on e marked with the mystic spots the
, ,
H A D RI A N E XPL O R ES THE N IL E 91
inhab itants of those tw o cities flew to arms and the pea c e ,
Of the provinc e was di sturb e d by their r eligious z e al e ach ,
cl a iming the b ul l as their ow n .
Ha dr ian also un dertook a voyage up the Nile from

A l e xandria in order t o explore the wond ers of Egypt .
This was the fashion then for the ancient m on iim en ts ,
and the banks of thi s mysterious riv er offered just as

man y attractions at that time as th ey hav e done to all
nations since the expe di tion of Napoleon That anim al .
worship which had remained unchanged for centuries

, ,
a riddle of hum an religion was bound to excite the curi ,
os i ty of strangers In this di vinisation of animals lay

.
the greatest contempt for human und erstan di ng and it ,
w a s a bitter satire on the apotheosis of kings and em
p e r or s F or what. was the divinit y of Sesostris o f Al e x ,
and e r of A ugustus or Hadrian compared with the

, ,
h e av enly maj esty of the ox A pis or the holy cats dogs , , ,
kit e s crocodiles and god ap e s ? Egypt was at thi s epoch

, ,
-
already a muse um of th e Pharaoh time and its en b a l -
sam e d culture Strange buildings rare sculptur e s hi er

.
, ,
o gl yp hi c s and pict ur es still fill e d the ancient towns e ven

, ,
though these had lost th eir splendour Memphis and .
'
H eliopolis B u b a s ti s A bydos S a l s T anis and the hun
, , , , ,
dr e d gated Thebes had long fallen into ruin although still

-
inhabited .
The emperor s escort must hav e been an ’

e xtr a or d i
nary sight as i t steered up the stre am on a fl e et of daha

b i eh s The. emperor was accompani e d b y students of th e
museum interpreters pri e sts and astrologers Am ongst

, , ,
.
his followers were V e rus and the b e autiful A ntinous .

The Emp ress Sabina also accompanied h i m ; sh e had the
po et e ss Jul ia B a l bi l l a amongst her court la di es The y .
landed wher e v e r th e re was anything of inter e st to be

s e en and th e r e w a s more in thos e days than there is n ow
, .
Th e y admir e d the gre at pyramids the colossal sphinx , ,
and the sacre d town of Memphis This city the ancient .

,
royal seat of the Pharaohs and even in Strabo s time the ,

’
s e c ond town in Egypt was not y et buri e d und e r th e sand

,
Of the desert ; its disappearance had howev e r already , ,
begun Under th e P tolem ies it had given mu ch of th e

.
material of her temples and pala c es for th e building O f

A l e xandria The great palace of th e Pharaohs had long
.
b ee n destroyed but there still r emain e d many notable

,
monuments such as the temple of P htah th e pyramids

, , ,
th e necropolis and the Serape um and they r e tained th e ir

, ,
anci e nt cult Th e town was still the chief seat of the

.
Egyptian hi erarchy and th e residence of A pis ; for thi s

v e ry reason th e Roman gov e rnm ent had destin e d it to
b e on e of her strong mi l itary stations for here a l e gion ,
w a s quarter e d The em p er or c oul d walk thr ough th e

.
r
e
time worn av e nues of sphi nxes whi ch led to the wonder

-
ful vaults where th e long succession of di vine animals

was b u ried each lik e a Pharaoh in a magni ficent granite
, ,
sarcophagus Hadrian could adm ire the beautifully

.
scul ptured tomb of D i an Egyptian O fficer of the fifth

,
dynasty with less trouble than w e must experience now ;

,
for now th e palaces the pi c tur e s of the gods and al m ost

, ,
a ll the pyramids are swallow e d up in sand Mis erable .
A rab villag e s su ch as Saqq a ra hav e fixed th emselv e s

, ,
in th e ruins of Memphis and from a thi ck pal m grov e

,
D E A TH O F A N TI N OU S 93
on e can look with a s ton i sh m m t upon the torso of th e

p ow e rf ul Ramses II lying solitary
. th e r e the last witn e ss ,
t o the glory of th e t e mple of P htah b e for e wh i ch this ,
colossus onc e had its stand In th e n e ighbourhood of .
Memphis lay H e liopolis th e town of th e s u n god with

,
-
its anci ent templ e and a school of Egyptian Wi sdom

, ,
in whi ch Plato is suppos e d to have studie d .
In H eliopolis the worship of the god Ra was p r e

served the centre of whi c h was th e holy animal Mnevis
, ,
a rival or comrade of A pis Cambyses had partly d e s .
tr oy e d th e t e mpl e and ev e n the ob elisks which the

Pharaohs had in the cours e O f c enturie s er e c t e d to th e
sun god ; nowhere in Egypt exist e d s o many of thes e
-
monum ents as her e and in Th eb e s Hadr ian s a w many .
of them l ying half burnt on th e gro un d just as Strabo

-
had done O n the site of H eliopolis n ow green with

.
,
wheat fiel d s onl y a single ob elisk has remain e d upright

-
, ,
which is considered as the oldest of all and w a s erect e d ,
in the twelfth dynast y by Usi r ta s en I .
The ro y al ass emblag e had arrived in the cour s e of

their j o urney at Besa a place on the right bank of the
,
river opposite H e rmopolis wh en a strange ev ent o c

, ,
’
c ur red This was th e d e ath of Hadrian s favourit e
.
,
A n tinous a young Greek from Clau di opolis who had

, ,
b e e n degraded to the position of Ganymede to the em

p e r or o n account of his b e auty I t is not known wh e
. r e
th e emp eror first cam e across th e youth ; possibly in

his nativ e land Bithynia N ot till he cam e to Egypt
, .
di d h e b e com e his inseparable companion and this must ,
hav e be en a d e ep offence to his w ife Th e unfortunate .

94 EG YP T U N D ER TH E ROMA N EMPI RE
qu e en w a s deliver e d in B e sa from his hat e d pre sence for ,
A ntinous w a s drown e d th ere in the Nile .
H i s death was surround e d b y mystery Was it acci .
dent ? Was h e a v i c ti m Z Hadrian s humanit y protect s

“
.
’
.
hi m from th e suspicion that h e sacri fic e d his victim in

cold blood, as Tiberius had onc e sacrificed the b e autiful
H yp a tu s i n Capri . Had th e fantastic youth sacrificed
himself of his ow n fre e will to th e death diviniti e s i n
order to save the emperor s lif e ? Had th e Egyptian
’
priests fores e en in the stars some danger thr e atenin g

Hadrian only t o b e av erted by th e d e ath of his favourit e
,
Such an idea comm ended its elf t o th e sup erstition of

the time e sp e cially in this land and by th e mysterious
,
Nile It corr e spond e d too with th e emp eror s astrolog

.
, ,
’
i c al arts Was A ntinous c ertain wh en h e plunged int o

.
the waves of th e Nile that h e would arise from th em a s

a god ? Ha dr ian asserts in hi s memoirs that it was a n
accid ent but no on e b elieved h i m Th e divine honou rs
,
.
%
whi ch he paid t o th e d e ad youth lead us to suppose that

they form e d th e reward of a sel f s a cr i fic e which accord
-
, ,
i n g t o th e custom of those times constituted a highl y,
moral action and was looked upon as h eroic d e votion

,
.
A t any rat e w e will ass um e that this sacrifice sank into

,
’
the Nile without Hadrian s will Hadrian mo urned for
.
”
An tinous with un sp e akabl e pain and womanl y tears .
N ow he was A chilles by the corpse of P a tr ok l u s or A lex ,
and e r by th e pyre of the dead H ep h a i stu s H e had th e .
y outh spl endidly buried in Besa This most e xtr a or di

.
n ary intermezzo of a l l N ile j o u rn e y s s u ppl ied dyin g
heathendom with a new god and art with i ts last ideal

,
H A D R IA N S TO U R TO THEBES
’
95
form Pr obably also during

.
,
bur ial far sighted court
,
th e ,
-
i e r s alr e ady s a w th e star of A ntinous shining in Egypt s

’
m i dnight s k y and th en Hadrian saw it him s elf

, .
In the mysti c al land of Egypt life might still b e ,
po e tical ev e n in th e c l e ar daylight of Roman univ ersal

hi story in th e r eign of Hadrian Th e d e ath of th e yo u ng .
Bithynian s e ems to hav e o c curr e d in O c tob er 1 30 Th e , .
e mp e ror continu e d his j ourn e y as soon as h e had giv e n
o rders for a splendid town t o b e e r e cted on the S ite of
C OMM E MOR A T I V E O
C IN OF AN T IN OUS .
Besa in honour of his friend In November 1 30 th e

‘
, .
, ,
ro y al company is to be found amongst the ruins of Theb e s .
Thebes th e old e st town in Egypt had b e en first put

, ,
in the shad e by M emphis and th e n de stroyed by Cam ,
b y s e s Sinc e the tim e of th e P tol e mies it had been call e d

.
,
D iospolis and P tolemais had taken its place as capital

,
Of the Thebaid A lr e ady in Strabo s tim e it was spli t up

.
’
.
I t formed on either side of the Nil e groups of gigantic

temples and palaces monu ments and royal graves sim
, ,
i l a r to those scattered to day am ongst L uxor Karnak -
, ,
- —
M edinet Habu D eir el Bahari and Kurna -
.
, ,
In Hadrian s time the Rameseum th e s o called grav e

’
,
-
o f O s y m a n di a s on the west e rn bank of the Nil e

,
the ,
96 EG YP T U N D ER THE R O MA N EM PI RE
wonderful b ui ldin g of Rams e s IL must still have be e n ,
in good r epair Th e s e pylons pillars arcades and courts

.
, , , ,
—
thes e S plen di d halls with their scul ptur e covered walls ,
appear even to have influenced the Roman art in th e

ti me of the emperors Th e ir reflex influence has b e e n
.
e v en seen in Traj an s forum in whi ch the chi ef thin g

’
,
’
was the emperor s tomb .
In A lexandria the emperor m i xed freely with th e

prof e ssors of th e mus e um asking them questions and
,
answ ering theirs in retu rn ; and h e dropped h i s tear of

pity on th e tomb of the great P omp ey in the form of ,
a Gr e ek e pigram though with very little point He laid

,
.
out larg e sums of mon ey in buil di ng and ornam enting

the city and th e A l e xandrians wer e mu ch pl e ased with
,
hi s b ehaviour A m ong other honours that they paid hi m

.
,
th e y chang e d th e name of the month D ecember calling ,
it the month Hadrian ; but as they w e r e not follow e d

by th e r e st of th e empire th e nam e soon w ent ou t of use .
The emp e ror s patronag e of p h i l os op h y was rather at

’
_
th e cost of the A l e x a n dr i a ri mus eum for h e enroll e d ,
among its paid prof e ssors m en w h o w ere t e aching from

school to school in I taly and A sia Minor Thus P ol em on .
of L aodi c e a who taught oratory and philosophy at Rom e

, ,
L ao di cea and Smyrna and had th e right of a free pas

, ,
sage for hi ms e lf and hi s servants in any of the public

ships wh e n ever he chose to move from city to city for
th e p u rpos e s Of study or t e achin g had at the same tim e ,
a salary from the A l e xandrian muse um D ionysius of .
Mil e tus also r e c e iv e d his salary as a professor in the

mus eum while t e aching philosophy and mn emonic s
PA N CRA TES F LA TTERS H A D RI AN 97
at Miletu s and Ephesus P a n cr a te s the A lexan dr ian

.
,
po e t gain e d his salary in the muse um by the e asy task

,
’
of a little flatt e ry O n Hadrian s r e turn t o A l exan dri a
.
from the Thebaid the po e t presented to him a rose c ol

,
-
ou r e d lotus ,
a flower w ell known in India th pu gh l e ss ,
comm on in Egypt than e ith e r the blu e or white lotus ,
and assu red him that it had

S prung ou t of th e bl oo d of ,
the lion slain b y hi s ro y al

j av e lin at a li on hun t in -
L ib ya The emperor was

.
pl e ased with the compli

ment and gave h i m a place
,
in the mu se u m ; and P an
crates in return named the
plant the l otus of A ntinou s .
P a n c r a tes w a s a warm a d ROS E C O L-

OUR L OTUS “
mir e r of the mystical opinions of th e Egyptians which ‘
wer e then coming i nto note in A l exandria He w a s sa i d .
to have lived und e rgro u nd in hol y solitude or converse

with the gods for twent y three y ears and du ring that
-
tim e to have been taught magic by the goddess I sis and ,
thus to have gai ned the power of working miracles He .
l e arned t o call upon the queen of darkness b y h er E gy p

tian name Hecate and when driv ing ou t e vil spirits t o
,
sp e ak to them in the Egyptian language Whether these .
Greek stu d ents of the Eastern my sticism were deceiv ers

or dec e iv e d wheth e r they w e r e led by a love of notoriet y
,
or of knowledge is in most cases doubtful b u t the y were

, ,
surro u nded by a crowd of credu lo u s admirers who ,

formed a strange contrast with the sceptics and critics
O f the mus e um .
Am ong the A lexandrian gram m arians of this reign

w a s A poll onius D y s c ol u s s o call e d p erhaps from a mo
,
r os e n es s of mann e r who wrote larg e ly on rhetoric

,
on ,
th e Gr ee k dialects on acc e nts prosody and on other

, , ,
branch e s of grammar In th e fe w pages that remain

.
o f hi s num e rous writings we trac e the love of th e mar

,
v e l l ou s whi ch was then growing among some of the
philosophers He tells us many remarkable stories which

.
,
he collected rather as a judicious inquir er than as a

credulous believer ; such as of se c ond sight ; an account
of a lad w h o fell asleep in th e fie ld whil e watching his
she ep and then slept for fifty s e ven y e ars and awoke to
,
-
wonder at the strangeness of th e changes that had tak e n

place in the meanwhile ; and of a man who aft e r d e ath
us e d from time to time to leav e his body and wande r ,
over the earth as a spirit till his wife tire d of his com
, ,
ing back again s o often put a stop t o it by having his

,
mum m y burnt He gives u s for the first time Eastern

.
tal e s in a Greek dress and w e thus l e arn the source from

,
which Europe gained much of its literatu re in th e Middle

A ges. Th e A l e xandrian author of gr e atest note at this
ti rn e was the hi storian A ppian who tells u s that he had ,
spent some y e ars in Rome practising as a lawy er and ,
return e d to Egypt on be in g appointed to a high post in

th e government of his nativ e city There he wrote his .
Roman history .
In th i s r eign th e Je ws forgetful of what they had just

,
suffe r e d under Trajan again rose against the pow e r O f

,
THE VOC A L ST A T U E 99
Rome ; and when Jud ac a r ebelled again st its pref e ct

, ,
Ti n n i u s Rufus a littl e army of Je ws mar c h e d ou t of

,
Egypt and L ibya t o h elp th e ir breth r en and to fre e the

,
holy land ( 1 30 A But th e y w e re ev e rywhere rout e d

.
a n d put down with r e solute slaught e r .
Trave llers on r e aching a distant point of a j ourne y

, ,
V O C A L ST A TU E OF A M E N H O TH E S .
or on viewing any remarkabl e Obj e c t of their curiosity ,
hav e at all times been fond of carving or s c ribbling th eir

names on th e spot to boast of th eir prow e ss t o aft e r
,
comers ; and n e v e r had any plac e b e e n more favour e d

with memorials of this kind than th e gr e at statu e of
Am en h Oth e s at Th e bes This colossal statue fifty thr e e
.
,
-
f ee t hi gh was fam e d a s long as th e Egyptian pri e sthood

, ,
last e d for s ending forth musical so u nds e v ery morning

,
a t sunris e wh e n first tou ch e d by th e sun s rays ; and

,
’
1 00 EG YP T U N D ER THE ROMAN EMPI RE
no traveller e v er visited Theb e s without listening for
these remarkable notes Th e j ourn ey through Upp e r
.
Egypt was at thi s time perf e ctly open and saf e and th e ,
legs and feet of th e statue are covered with names and ,
inscriptions in prose and verse of trav e l l e rs wh o had

,
vi sited it at sunrise during the reigns of Hadrian and
the An tonines From th e se curious m emorials w e learn

.
that Ha dr ian visited Th ebes a second time with his que en ,
Sabina in the fifteenth year of hi s reign Wh en the

,
.
empress first visited the statue s h e was disappoint e d at

n ot hearing the musical sounds ; but on her hinting ,
th r eats of th e emperor s di spleasure h er curiosit y was

’
,
gratified on the following morning Th i s gigantic statue.
of hard gritston e had form e rly b e e n broken in half across
the waist and the upp e r part thrown to th e gro un d

, ,
either by the shock of an earthquake or the ruder shock

of P ersian zeal against the Egyptian religion ; and for
some centuries past the musical notes had issued from the
broken fragments Such was its fallen state wh en the
.
Empr e ss Sabina s a w it and when Strabo and Ju v en a l

,
and P ausanias list ened to its so un ds ; and it was not till

after th e reign of Ha dr ian that it was again raised up
right lik e its companion as trav ell ers now s e e it
, .
From this s e c ond visit and a longer acquaintance

, ,
Ha dr ian se ems to have formed a very poor opinion of

th e Eg yptians and Egyp tian Jews ; and th e foll owi n g
curious letter written in 1 34 A D to hi s friend S er v i a n u s
, . .
,
th r ows much light upon their religion as worshippers of

Serapis at the same ti me that it proves how num ero u s
,
the Christians had become in A lexan dr ia e v en withi n ,

HA D R IAN S I M P RESS I ON S O F EG YP T
’
1 01
sevent y y ears of the period during whi ch th e evangelist

Mark i s b e li e v e d to have preached there
Hadrian A ugu stus t o S er v i a n u s , the consul greet ,
A S for Egypt which y ou were praising to me , d e ar

,
est S er vi a n u s I hav e found its p e ople wholly light

, ,
wav e ring and fl ying after ev ery breath of a report

,
.
T hos e who worship Serapis are Chr istians and those ,
w h o call th ems e lves bishops Of Christ are devot e d to

Serapis Th e re is no ruler of a Jewish s yn agogue no
.
,
Samaritan no presb y ter of the Christians who is not a

, ,
mathematician an augur and a soothsayer The v e ry

, , .
patriarch hims e lf when he came into Egypt w a s b y

, ,
some said t o worship Serapis and b y othe rs to worship ,
Chr i st A s a race of men the y are s e ditious vain a n d

.
, , ,
S piteful ; a s a bod y wealthy and prosp e rous of who m

, ,
nobody l iv es in idleness Som e blow glass som e make .

,
paper and others linen There is work for th e lam e a n d

,
.
work for the blind ; e v en thos e who have lost th e u s e

of their hands d o not li v e in idleness Th e ir on e g od .
i s nothing ; Christians Jews and all nations worship , ,
hi m. I wish this b ody of men was b ett e r b ehav e d and ,
worthy of th eir number ; for as for that th e y ought t o

hold the chi ef place in Egypt I hav e granted ev ery .
thi ng un to them ; I have r e stor e d th ei r Old privil e g e s ,
”
and hav e made them grateful b y ad di ng new on e s .
Am ong the crowd of gods that had for merl y b e en

worshipped in Egypt Serapis had latterl y been risin g
,
1 02 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMAN EMPI RE
abo v e the rest He was the god of th e dead who in th e
.
,
n e xt world was to r e ward the good and punish th e

wick e d ; and in th e growing worshi p of this on e all
seeing judge we cannot but trac e th e downfall of some
of th e evils of polyth e ism A plurality in u nity was
.
anoth e r m e thod n ow us e d to explain away the poly

theism Th e oracle wh e n consult e d about the divine
.
natur e had answe red I am Ra and , ,
Horus and O siris ; ,

or as the Gr eeks ,
translat e d it A pollo and L ord and Bac

, , ,
chus ; I rul e the hours and th e S easons ,
th e wind and th e storms th e day and the ,
night ; I am king of th e stars and m y self

an im m ortal fir e Henc e arose th e opin
.
ion which se ems t o hav e b e e n giv e n to

Ha dr ian that th e Egyptians had onl y
,
on e god and his m i stak e in thinking that

,
s en m n th e worshi ppers of S e rapis wer e Chris

as s et s .
tians The emperor ind e ed himself

.
, , ,
though a polytheist was v er y little of an idolater ; for

, ,
though he wish e d to add Chr ist to th e number of the

Roman gods he on the other hand order e d that the
,
t empl e s b ui lt in his reign shoul d have no i mages for

worshi p ; and in aft e r ag e s it was comm on t o call all
t emples without statu e s Hadrian s t empl e s But there ’
.
w e re other and stronger r e asons for Hadrian s classing ’
the Christians with the Egyptian astrologers Al Chris .
tian h eresy was then rising into notice i n Egyp t in that

v ery form taking its Opinions from the philosophy
,
on whi ch it was engraft e d Before Christianity w a s .

R I SE O F GN OST I C I SM 1 03
p reached in A l exandria ther e were already three r elig

,
ions or forms of philosophy belongin g to the thr ee rac e s

of men w h o p e opl e d that busy city ; first th e Gr e ek ,
phi losophy whi ch w a s chi e fly platonism ; s e con dl y th e

, ,
mysticism of the Eg yptians ; and lastly the r e ligion of ,
the Jews Thes e w ere Often more or l e ss mixed : as w e

.
s ee th em all united in the works of P hil o Jud sens ; and -
in th e writings of the e arl y converts we usually fin d

Christianity cloth e d in on e or other of these forms a c ,
cordi ng to th e opinions held b y th e writer s b efore th e ir

conversion The first Christian teachers the apostolic
.
,
fathers as th e y are call e d because they had b e e n hearers

,
of the apostles thems e lves were mostl y Jews ; but among

,
th e Egyptians and Gr e eks of A lexandria th e ir r eligion

lost much of its p ur ely moral cast e and b e came with
, ,
th e former an astrological mysticism and with the lat

, ,
t e r an ab stract S p e c ul ative th e olog y It is of th e E gy p

.
tian Jews that Hadrian sp e aks in h i s l e tter just quot e d °
many of them had b e en already conv e rted to Christianity ,
and th eir religion had taken th e form of Gnosti cism .
Gnosticism or Sci ence for the nam e means n o more

, ,
was n ot th e n new in A lexandria n or w e r e i ts follow e rs

,
originally Christian s It was the proud name claimed

.
for th e ir opinions by those w h o stu di ed th e East e rn phi

l os op h y of th e Magi ; and Egypt s e ems to have b e e n as
much its nativ e soil as In di a The nam e of Gnostic says
.
,
Web e r was g en erally giv e n to th ose who distinguished

,
b e tw e en b eli e f on authorit y and gn osI s i e b e tween th e

,
. .
,
ordinary c ompr eh ension and a higher knowl e dg e onl y

grant e d to a few gift e d or chosen on e s Th e y w er e split
.
1 04 EGYP T UN D ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
up into diffe r ent sects, accordi ng a s the y approach e d
more nearly th e Eastern theosophy or th e platonic p hi
l O S O p h y ; but in g e n e ral th e East e rn conc eption with ,
its symbols and unlim it e d fantasy r emain e d dom i nant

,
.
Th e cr e ed O f thos e who know nev e r r e ached actual

monoth eism the conc e ption of one p ersonal god who
, ,
c reat e d ev e rythi ng ac c ordin g to his ow n fre e will and

rul es ov e r everything with unlimit e d wisdom and lov e .
Th e god of the Gnosti c s is a dark myst e rious b em g ,
whi ch c an onl y arrive at a consciousness of its e lf th rough

a mani fold descending scale of forces which flow from ,
the go d hi mself The visible world was created out of

.
dead and evil matter b y D em i urgos th e di vine work ,
mast er a production and subordi nate of the highest god

,
.
Man too is a produ ction of this subordi nate creator

, , ,
a production subj e ct to a blind fat e and a pre y to thos e

,
powers whi ch rul e b e twe e n heaven and earth without ,
fre e will th e only thing which makes the ideas of s i n

-
and r e sponsibility possibl e Matt er is th e s e at of e vil

.
,
and as long as man stands unde r the influenc e of thi s

matt e r h e is in th e hands of evil and knows no freedom
,
.
R e d emption can only r e ach h i m through thos e high er

b e ings of light whi ch fr e e man from the power of matt e r
,
and translat e him into the kingdom of light A ccording .
to th e Gnosti c t e a ching Chr ist is on e of th e se b ei ngs of

,
light ; h e is on e of th e high e st who appeare d on e arth ,
and i s transfo r m e d into a mythi c al all e gorical b eing , ,
with his human nature his sufferings and d e ath c om

,
p l e t e l y suppr e ss e d T h e r e
. d ee m e d soul is th e n as a kind
of ang e l or id e al b eing brought in triumph into th e
, ,
GN OST I C GEMS 1 05
ideal istic realm of light as soon as it has purified itself

to the nature of a spirit b y means of penitence chas
, ,
ti s em en ts and final l y the death O f the phy sical body

,
.
H e nce the Gnostics attach e d little importance to the

means of merc y in the Church to the Bible or the sacra , ,
ments ; the y allow e d the Chu rch teaching to e xi st as a

necessary conception for the people but the y placed their ,
'
ow n teachi ngs far abo v e it as my sterio u s or secret teach
i ngs . A S regards their morals and mode Of life the ,
Gnostics generall y went to extremes I t was due to .
Gnosticism that art and science fo un d an entrance into

the Chu rch I t preserved the Church from becom i ng
.
s tereot y ped in form ; but built u p e ntir e ly on ideas and

,
n ot on hi storical facts , it died from i ts ow n hollowness
a n d eccentricit y .
We still possess the traces of the Gnostic astrology

i n a numb er of amul ets and engraved gems with the ,
w ord A br a xa s or rather A br a s a x and oth er emblems of

their s u perstition which the y kept a s charms against
,
diseases and e vil spirits The word A br a s a x ma y b e

.
-
translated H u r t m e n ot To their my stic rites we may

.
trace man y of the reproach e s th r own upon Christian i t y ,
such as that the Christians worshipped the head of an

ass u sing the animal s K op ti c name E eo to represent
,
’
,
the name of I A Q or Ja h v eh T o the same so urce we may

, .
also trace some Of the peculiarities of the Christian

“
fath ers s u ch as St Am brose calling Jesus the good
,
.
scarab aeu s who ro l l ed up before him the hitherto u n

,
shapen m u d of our bodi es ; a tho u ght which seems to

hav e b een b orrowed as much from the hierogl yphics as
1 06 EG YP T U N D ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
’
from the ins e ct s habits ; and p erhaps from the Egyptian
pri e sts in som e c as e s using th e s c arab aeus to d enote the
,
g o d Horus -
R a
, and som e tim e s the word on l y beg o tt en -
We trace thi s thought on th e Gnostic gems wh ere we s ee

a win ge d griffin rolling before h i m a
whe el th e embl em of eternity He
, .
sits lik e a c onqueror on horseback ,
tramp li ng und er foot the s e rp e nt of

ol d the spirit of S in and d e ath
, His .
horse is in th e form of a ram with ,
AND ’
an e agle s h e ad and the crown e d
a s p or basilisk for its tail Before .
h i m stands th e figur e of victory giving him a crown ;

ab ove a r e written the words Al pha and Omega and ,
b e low perhaps th e word I A Q Jahveh ,

.
S o far we have seen the form which Christianit y at

first took among the Egyptians ; but as fe w writings ,
by thes e Gnostics have come down to our time we chi e fl y ,
know their op i nions from the r eproach e s of th e ir e nemi e s .
It was not till the s e cond gen er ation of Gnostic t e ach ers
w e re spreading th eir heresies that th e Greek philosoph e rs
b e gan to embrac e Christianity or th e C h r istians to stu dy
,
Gre e k lit e rature ; but as soon a s that was th e case we

hav e an unbroken chain of writings in which we fin d ,
Christianity mor e or less mix e d with the Al exandrian

form of platonism .
Th e philosoph e r Justin after thos e who had talked

,
with th e apostl e s is the earli e st Christian writ e r whose

,
works hav e rea ch e d us He was a Gre ek born in Sama

.
,
ria ; but h e studi e d many y e ars in A lexan dr ia und e r

JU ST IN ON CHR I ST I A N I T Y 1 07
ph i losophers O f all opinions He did not however at .

, ,
once fin d in th e s chools th e wisdom h e was in search

for. The Stoic could t e ach him nothing about God ; the
P eripatetic wish e d t o be paid for h i s l e ssons befor e he
gave them ; and th e Pythagor e an propos e d t o b e gin with
music and mathematics N ot content with thes e,Ju stin
.
turne d t o the platonist whose p ur er philosophy seem e d

,
to add wings to his thoughts and taught h i m to mount ,
aloft towards true wisdom Wh ile turning over in his

. ,
mind what he had thus learned in the several schools ,
’
di ssatisfied with the philosopher s views he chanc e d ,
on e da y to meet with an Old man walking on the s e a
shore near A lexandr ia to whom he unbosomed his

,
thoughts and b y whom he was convert e d t o Christianity

,
Justin tell s us that there w ere no people whether ,
G reeks or barbarians or e v en ,
dwel lers in tent and waggons ,
among whom prayers were not

offered up t o the heavenly father
in the name of the cruc ified
Je sus The Christians met every
.
S un day for public worship ,

N ST I C M G O GE
which began with a reading
.
from th e prophets or from the memoirs of the apostle s

,
called the gospels This was followed b y a sermon a

.
,
prayer the bread and wine and a second pra y er Ju s

, ,
.
’
tin s quotations prove that he i s speaking of the New
T e stament which within a hundred years of the cruci
,
fixi on w a s read in all the principal cities in which Greek

was spoken Justin died as a martyr in 1 63 A D
. . .
1 08 EG YP T UN D ER TH E ROMA N EMPI RE
Th e platonic profe ssorship in Al exandria had u sually
been held b y an A th eni an and for a short tim e A th e
,
n a g or a s of A thens taught that branch of phil osophy in
the museum ; but he afterwards embraced the Christian

religion and then taught Christi anity openly in Al e x
,
andria He enj o y s with Justin the honour of being one

.
of the first men of learning who were converted and ,
like Justin hi s chief work is an apology for the Chris

,
tians addressed to the emperor Marcus A u reliu s A th e

, ,
.
n a g or a s co n fines himself in h i s defence to the r es u r r e c
G MS S H OW IN G S YM B O L
E OF DE AT H A ND TH E W OR D I AQ (JA V E H ) .
tion from the dead and the un ity of the D eit y the points ,
chiefl y attacked by th e pag ans .
Ha dr ian s Egyptian coins are remarkable both for

’
number and vari e ty In the sixth y ear of the reign we

.
s ee a s hi p with spread sails mo s t likely in gratitude

,
for the emp eror s safe arrival in Egypt In the eighth

’
.
year we s e e th e head of the favourit e A ntinous who had ,
been plac e d among th e gods of the country In the .
elev e nth year wh e n th e emp e ror took u p the tribunitial

,
power at Rome for a s e cond p eriod of ten y e ars we fin d ,
a s eri e s of coins each b e aring th e nam e of th e nome or

,
di strict in which it was coined This inde e d i s th e most

.
THE SOTH I C P ER I O D 1 09
r emar k able y ear of the most remarkable r e I gn I n th e
Whole history Of coinage ; we hav e numerous coins for

e v er y y ear of thi s reign and in this y ear for nearly
, , ,
e very nome in Eg ypt Some coins a r e strongly mark e d

.
with the favourite opinion of the Gnostics as to th e

opposition between good and e vil O n one we h av e th e
.
w a r between the serp ent of good a n d the serpent O f e v il
H A DR IAN S G YP T I AN C O IN S
’
E .
d istingu ished by their different forms and b y the em o
bl em s Of I sis and S erapis ; others the heads of I sis

on
and Serapis the principles of lo v e and fear ; while on a

,
thi rd these two are un ited into a trinity b y Ho r u s who ,
’
is stan di ng on an eagle instead of having an e agle s h e ad
as represented on previous coins .
The beginning of the reign Of An toninus P iu s ( A D . .
1 38 ) was remarkable as being th e end of the Sothi c
p eriod o f one thousand fo u r h u ndr e d and sixty years ;

t h e movable n e w y ear s day of the cal e ndar had com e
’
ro u nd to the place in th e natur al ye ar from which it fir s t
t o mov e in th e r eign of M en op h r e s or Th l i tm osi s
’
began
I L L ; it had com e round t o th e day wh e n the dog Star -
ros e h e lia c ally If th e y e ars had b e en count e d from th e

.
beginning of thi s gre at y e ar there could hav e been n o ,
doubt when it cam e t o an en d , as from the want of a leap

y ear the n e w y e ar s day must hav e been always movin g
’
one day in four years ; but no satisfactory r e ckonin g of

the years had be e n k e pt and as the en d of th e p eriod w a s
, ,
only known by obs ervation there was some little doubt ,
about th e e xact y e ar Indeed among th e Greek astron

.
,
om ers D os i th eu s said the dog star rises helia c ally

,
-
tw e nty three da y s after mids um m e r Meton tw e nty

-
e ight days ,and Euctemon thirty one day s ; th e y thu s -
l eft a doubt of thi rty two y e ars as to when the p eriod

-
should end but the stat e smen placed it in th e first y e ar

,
of the r e ign of A ntoni nus Thi s en d of th e Sothic p eriod

.
was call e d the r e turn t o the ph oenix and had b e en look e d ,
forward to b y the Egyptians for many y e ars and is w e ll ,
marked on the coins of this r eign The coins for th e first .
e ight years t e e m with astronomy Th ere a r e s e veral with .
the godd e ss I sis in a boat which we know from th e zodia c

, ,
in th e M emnonium at Thebes w a s m e ant for the h e lia c al ,
rising of th e d o g star In th e s e cond and in the sixth y e ar

-
w e fin d on the coins th e r e markabl e word A I O N th e a g e or

“
p e r i o d ,
and an ibis with a glory of rays round its head ,
m e ant for th e bird ph oenix In th e s e v enth ye ar we s e e

.
%
O rph e us playing on his lyr e whil e all the animals of the

for e st a r e list e ning thus pointing ou t the retur n of th e
,
gold e n a g e In th e e ighth y e ar w e have th e head of

.
H I S TOR Y F ROM THE CO IN S 111
S ci rcled by the seven planets and th e whol e within

er a p l s ,
th e tw e lv e signs of th e zodiac ; and on anoth er coin w e

hav e the s un and moon within the signs of the zodiac A .
s e ri e s of tw e lv e coins for the same y e ar tells us that th e

h ouse of th e sun in the languag e of the astrologers I s
, ,
i n the lion that of th e moon in th e crab the h ous e s O f

, ,
Venus in the scal e s and th e b ul l thos e of Mars I n th e ,
s corpion and th e ram thos e of Jupit e r in th e a rch e r and

,
,
—
the fishes thos e of Satu rn in th e s e a goat and aquarius ,
thos e of M ercury in th e virgin and th e twins O n th e .
c oms of the sam e y ear we hav e th e e agl e and thund e r

bolt the S phinx th e b ul l A pis th e Nil e and cro c odi l e
, , , ,
—
I sis nursing the chi ld Horus th e hawk he ad e d A r oer i s , ,
and th e winged sun O n coins of oth er y e ars w e hav e a

.
,
—
c amelopard Horus sitting on th e lotus fl ow e r and a ,
s acrific e to I sis which was celebrated on the last day

,
o f th e y ear .
Th e coins also tell u s of the bo u ntiful o v erflow of

the Nile and of the goo dn e ss of th e harv e sts that fol
,
l owed ; thu s i n the ninth t e nth thirt e enth and s e v e n

, , , ,
t een th years we see the riv e r Nile in the form of an ol d

,
m a n l e aning on a cro c o di l e po u ring corn and fruit ou t ,
o f a cornucopia whil e a child b y his sid e with th e figur e s

, ,
1 6 tells u s that in those y e ars th e wat e rs of th e Nil e ros e

,
a t Memphis t o the wished for h e ight of sixteen cubits -
F rom these latt e r coins it would seem that but littl e

change had taken place in the S oil of th e D elta by th e
y early deposit of mud ; Herodotus says that S ixt e en
cubits was th e wished for ris e of the Nile at M emphis-
when he was th ere A n d we should almost think that

.
112 EG YP T UN D ER TH E R OMAN EMPI RE
the seasons w e re more favo ur able to the husbandman
dur in g the reign of an A ntoni ne than of a Caligula di d ,
we n ot s et it down to the canals bein g better cleansed

by the care of th e prefect and t o the mildness of the
,
go v ern m e nt leavin g the p e ople at libert y to enj o y the

boun ties of nature and at th e same time making them
,
more grateful in acknowl e dging th em .
Th e my stic emblems on the coin s are onl y what we
C O I S O F AN TO NIN US P I US
N .
'
f
m i ght look for from th e spre ad of the Gnostic opinions ,
and th e eagerness with which the Greeks were copying the

superstitions of the Eg yptians ; and whi le astrology w a s ,
thus coun t enan c e d by th e state of co u rse it was n ot l e ss

,
foll owed by th e peopl e The poor Je ws took to it as a

.
trade I n A lexan dr ia the Je w e s s half b e ggar half for

.
, ,
t un e teller would stop p e ople in th e stre ets and interpr e t

-
dr e ams by th e h elp of th e Bible or S it under a sacred

,
tree li ke a sibyl and prom is e w e alth to those w h o con

,
s u l t e d her duly proportioned to the size of the coin by

,
A STRO L OG Y AND A STRON OM Y 113
whi ch s h e w a s paid We fin d among the Theban ruins

.
pieces of pap yrus with inscriptions describin g the posi ,
tions of the heav ens at particul ar hours in thi s r eign for ,
the astrologers therewith to calculat e the nativiti e s of

the persons then born O n on e i s a c ompl e t e horoscope
.
,
m
containing the places of the s un moon and e v ery plan e t

, , ,
noted down on the zo di ac in d e gre e s and m i nut e s of a

d e gre e ; and with these particulars the mathematician
un dertook to foret e ll th e marriag e fortun e and death , ,
Of the person w h o had been born at th e instant when the

h e av e nly bo di es were s o situated ; and a s the horosc op e ,
w a s buried in the tomb w ith th e mum m y we mu st s u p ,
pose that i t was thought that the prognostication woul d

hold good ev e n in the next world .
But astrology was not the onl y end to which math e

mati e s were then turned Clau di us P tolemy the astron
.
,
omer and geographer was at that ti me the ornament of

,
the mathematical school of Al exan dr ia In h i s writings .
he treats of the earth a s the centre of the heav ens and ,
the s un moon and planets as moving in circles and epi

, ,
c y cles ro un d it T his had been the opinion Of some of

.
the early astronomers ; but S ince this theory of th e

heav ens received the stamp of his au thorit y it is n ow ,
alway s called the P tolemaic s y stem .
I n this reign was made a n e w survey of all the militar y

roads in th e Roman empire called the I ti n er a r y of A n
,
ton i n u s
. It included th e gr e at roads of Egypt which ,
were onl y S ix in num ber O ne w a s from Contra P s el ci s

.
-
in Nubia along the east bank of the Nile to Babylon ,
opposite Memphi s and there turn ing eastward through

,
1 14 EG YP T U N DER THE R O MAN EMPI RE
Heliopolis and the di strict of the Je ws to Cl y s m on wh e re ,
’
Traj an s canal ent ered the R e d S ea A second from .
,
M emphis to P el u s i um made use of thi s for about thirt y

,
mil e s j oining it at Babylon and leaving it at S c en ae

, ,
V e t er a n or um By th e s e two roads a trav ell er co ul d g o

.
from P el u s i um to th e h e ad of th e R e d S ea ; but th er e
was a S horter road through th e d e sert which j oin e d th e
first at S erapion about fifty mil e s from Cl y s m on inst e ad
, ,
o f at S c e n ae V e t e r a n or um which was th e refor e about a

,
‘
hundr e d mil e s short e r A fourth was along the w e st

.
bank of th e Nil e from Hi era S y c a m i n on in Nubia to A l e x

an dr ia l e aving th e riv er at A n dr opolis about sixt y miles
, ,
from th e latter city A fifth was from Pa l e stine to A l e x

.
an dr ia run ning along the coast of the M e diterran e an

,
from Raphia to P el u s i um and thence leaving the c oast

, ,
to avoid the flat co un try whi ch was und er wat e r during

,
th e inundation ; it j oined th e last at A n dropolis Th e .
S ixth road was from K op tos on the Nil e to B er enic e on

th e Red Sea Th e s e S i x w er e probably the onl y roads
.
und er the car e of th e pre fect : Though Sy en e was the

b oundary of the province of Egypt th e Roman pow e r ,
w a s f elt for about on e hun dr ed mil es in to Nubia and ,
w e fin d th e nam e s of th e emp erors on s e v e ral t e mpl e s

b e tw ee n Sy en e and Hi e ra S y c a m i n on But be y ond this .
,
though w e fin d inscriptions l eft by Roman trav e ll ers ,
th e emp e rors s e e m n e v e r to have aimed at making mili

tary roads or hol di ng any citi e s against the inroads of
,
the Bl emmy e s and oth er A r abs .
To thi s surv e y we must add the valuable geographical

knowl e dg e giv e n by A r r i a n in his voyage round th e
I N TERN A T I ON A L COMMERCE 11 5
shores of the Red S ea whi ch h a s come down to us in an

,
interesting doc ument wh erein he me ntions th e sev e ral

,
seaports and their di stanc e s with th e trib e s and citie s

,
n e ar the coast Th e trad e of Egypt to India Ethiopia

.
, ,
and Ar abia was then most valuabl e and carrie d an with ,
gre at activit y ; but as the m e rchandis e was in each cas e

,
carried onl y for S hort distanc e s from city to city th e ,
traveller co u ld gain but little knowledge of where it came

from or e v en som e ti mes of where it was going The
, .
Egyp tian s s ent coarse l inen glass bottles braze n v essel s

, , ,
S A TU E OF T HE NIL
T E .
brass for mone y and iron for weapons of war and hunt
,
ing ; and th e y receiv e d back ivory rhinoceros te e th ,

’
,
I n di an steel I n di an ink sil ks slaves tortoise shell

, , , ,
-
myrrh and oth e r scents with many other Eastern arti c l e s

, ,
of hi gh price and littl e w e ight Th e pr e sents which th e .
m erchants made to the petty kings of A rabia were chi e fly

horses mul es and gold and silver vases B e sid e this
, ,
.
,
th e ports on the Red Sea carried on a brisk trad e among

th emselves in grain expr e ss e d oil wicker b oats and
, , ,
sugar O f sugar or hon e y from th e can e this is p erhaps

.
, ,
th e earli e st mention found in history ; but A r r i a n do e s

n ot S peak of the sugar cane a s then new nor does h e tell
-
,
us where it was grown Had sugar been then seen for
.
the first tim e h e wo ul d c ertai nly hav e said s o ; it must

have been an arti cl e well known i n the In di an trade .
Wh ile passin g through Egypt on hi s travels or whi l e ,
l iving there and hol di n g som e post u nd e r the pref e ct the ,
historian A r r i a n has l eft u s his name and a few lines of

poetry carved on the foot of the great S phi n x near the
p yramids .
A t thi s ti me also the trave ll ers continued to carve

their nam e s and their f e elings of wond er on the foot of
the musical statu e at Thebes and in the d e ep empt y
tomb s of the Th eban kings Th e se inscriptions are full
.
of c ur ious information F or exampl e it h a s been doubt e d

.
,
wheth e r th e Roman ar my was provided with me di cal

o fficers Their writ ers hav e not m entioned th em But
. .
part of th e Second L egion was at this time stationed at

Th e b e s ; and on e A sclepiades whi l e cutting his nam e in
,
a tomb whi ch once held some O l d Theban has cleared ,
up the doubt for us by saying that he w a s physician to

,
the Second L egion .
A n toni nus made a hippodrom e or r ace course for ,

-
th e amusement of the citiz ens of Al e xandria and b uil t ,
two gates to the c ity call e d the gat e of th e s u n and the

,
gate of th e moon the former fronting th e harbour and

,
th e latter fronting the lake M a r e oti s and j oined by the ,
gr e at street which ran across the whol e width of the

city But this r e ign was not wholly without troubl e ;
.
th er e w a s a r eb ellion in which the prefect D i n a r ch u s lost

hi s life and for whi ch the Al exandrians were sever ely
,
p un ished b y the emperor .

PR OS P ER I T Y U ND E R MA R C U S A U RE LIU S 1 17
The coins of Marcu s A ur eli u s , the su ccessor of A n

t om n u s P iu s , ha v e a rich v ariet y of sub j ects , falling not
far short of those of the last reign O n those Of the fifth .
year the bountiful o v erflo w of the Nil e i s grat e fully

,
acknowledged b y the figure of th e god hol di ng a cornu “
copia and a troop of S ixteen children playin g round

,
him I t had b een n ot u nu sual in hieroglyph i cal writing

.
to express a thought b y means of a figure whi ch in the

K op ti c language had nearl y the same sound ; and we
have seen thi s copied on the coins in the case of a Greek
word when the bird ph oenix w a s u sed for the pal m
,
C O IN S O F M A R C US A URE L I US .
b ranch ph oen ix or the hi erogl yphical word y ea r and a

, ,
striki ng instance ma y be noticed in the cas e of a L atin

word as th e S ixteen children or c u p i d s mean sixte en
,
c u bi ts the wished for height of the Nile s o v erflow

’
,
-
The .
statue of the Nil e which had been carried by Vespasian

,
to Rome and placed in the temple of P eace was s ur ,
rounded b y the same S ixteen chil dr en O n the coins of .
h i s twelfth year the sail held up by the goddess I sis is

blown towards the Pharos lighthouse as if in that y ear ,
the emp eror had been expe c t e d in A lexan dr ia .
We fin d no coins in the e l e v e nth or fourte enth y ears

of this reign which makes it probable that it was in the
,
118 EG YP T UND ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
.
e leventh y e ar ( A D 1 72) that the r ebell ion of the nativ e

. .
sol di e rs took pla c e Th e se w e re v ery lik e ly A rab s who

.
had been adm i tt e d into th e ranks of th e l e gions but ,
having withdrawn to the desert th ey n ow harass e d th e

towns with th eir maraudi ng inroads and a considerabl e
,
time elapsed b e for e th ey w ere wholly put down by A v i

di u s Cassius at th e h e ad of th e legions But Cassius
.
hims e lf was unabl e to r e sist th e t emptations whi ch

always bes e t a succ e ssful g e n e ral and aft e r this victory
,
h e allow e d hi ms e lf t o be declar e d emp e ror by the legions

of Egypt ; and this seems to hav e b e en the cause of no
c oins being struck in A l e xandria in th e fourt e enth y ear
of the reign . Cassius left his son M ae c i a n u s in Al e x
andria with the titl e of P re torian Pr ef e c t whi l e he him
,
s elf marched into Syria to secure that pro vin c e Th ere .
th e l e gions followed the exampl e of th e ir br e thr e n in

Egypt and th e Syrians were glad to a c knowledge a gen
,
e ral of the East e rn armi e s as their sov e reign But on

.
Marcus leading an army into Syria h e was met with the

n e ws that th e reb els had repent e d and had put Cassius
,
to d e ath and he th e n moved his forc e s towards Egypt ;

,
but b efore his arrival the Egyptian legions had in the

sam e mann e r put M aec i a n u s to death and all had returned
,
to th e ir all e giance .
Wh e n Marcus arrived in A lexan dri a th e citizens were

agre eably s ur prised by th e mildn e ss of his conduct H e .
at once forgave his enemi es ; and no O fien der s w e re

put to d e ath for ha ving j oined in th e r ebellion Th e .
s e ver e st punishm ent e v e n to th e childr en of Cassius

, ,
was banishment from the provinc e but without restraint

, ,
no him
Th er e
L OST LI TERA T U RE 119
and with the forfeiture of less than half their patrimony .
I n A lexandria th e emp eror laid aside th e s ev erity of th e

soldi e r and mingl e d with the people as a fellow citiz en
,
-
in th e templ e s and public places ; whil e with the p r o

fe s s or s in th e museum h e w a s a philosopher j oining them
,
in th e ir stu di es in th e schools .
Rom e and A thens at this time alike looked upon Al ex

andria as the centre of the world s l e arning The library
’
.
w a s th e n in its gr e atest glor y ; th e read e rs we r e numer

ou s and Christianit y had as y e t rais e d no doubts about
,
th e v alue of i ts pagan tr e asur e s A l l the wisdom of

.
Gr e ec e written on rolls of brittl e pap yrus or tough parch

,
m ent was rang e d in b oxes on the S helv e s O f th e se

,
.
writin gs the few that have be e n saved from th e wre ck

of time are n o doubt some of th e b e st and th e y are p er
,
haps enough to guide our less sim pl e taste towards th e

unornamented grace Of the Gre ek model But w e oft e n .
fanc y those treasures most v aluable that are b e y ond ou r

reach and hence when we r un o v e r the names of th e
,
authors in this library we think p erhaps too much of

those which are now missing The student in the mus e um
.
could ha v e read the l yric poems of A lc aeus and St er

s i ch or u s which in matter and style were exc e llent enough
,
to b e j u dged n ot qui te s o good as Homer ; the t e nd e r

lamentations of Simonides ; the warm breathings of
Sappho the t e nth mus e ; th e pith y iamb ics of Ar chil
,
oc h u s full Of noble flights and b ra v e irreg ul arities ; the

,
comedies of Menand e r containing e v ery kind of excel

,
lence ; those of E u p ol i s and Cr a ti n u s which wer e e qual

,
to A ri stophanes ; the histories of Th e op om p u s wh i ch in ,

the speech e s w e re as good as Thuc y di des ; th e lively ,
agre e abl e orations of H y p er i d es th e accuser of D emos ,
th en es ; with the books of trav els ch r onologies and , ,
co u ntless others of less merit for style and geniu s but ,
which if the y had been sa v ed wo uld not hav e left Eg ypt

, ,
W holl y witho u t a history .
The trade of writing and making copies of the old

authors emplo y ed a gr e at many hands in the n e ighbour
hood of the mu se um Tw o kinds of handwriting were
.
i n u s e O ne was a runn in g hand with the letters j oined

.
,
L x as N N I K oY ( m
a
y
K NO V
V
'
K s IO M O A o ro Y M G N O) C M eI A
om N e g 61 nO N o
RF
I Ic a ba N -
r dm dl c e n
A L E X A ND R I AN F ORMS O F W R IT ING .
together in rather a slovenly mann e r ; and the other a

neat regul ar hand with the rletters squ are and larger
, , ,
written more slowl y b u t read more easily Those that .
wrote the first were call ed qu i c k w r i ter s those that wrot e-
th e second were cal l ed book w r i ter s If an au thor was

-
not S kill ed in the u se of the pen he emplo y ed a qui c k ,
w r i te r to write down h i s words as he delivered them But .
in order that his work m i ght b e pub l ished it was hande d

o ver to the book w r i ter s to be copied ou t more neatly ;
-
and num bers of young women skil l ed in penm anship , ,
were employed in the trade of cop yi n g books for sale .
F or this p ur pos e parchment w a s co m ing into u s e tho u gh ,

SOC I ET Y SC AN DA L S 1 21
th e Old pap yrus w a s still used a s an i n exp en sI v e though,
l ess lasting writing material .
A th e n aeus if we ma y j udge from hi s writings was

, ,
then the brightest of the Al exan dr ian wits and men of

l e arning We learn from h i s ow n pages that he wa s born
.
at Na u c r a ti s and w a s the frie nd of P a n cr a te s who lived

, ,
und e r Hadrian and also of O ppian who di e d in the reign

, ,
of Caracalla H i s D ei p n os op h i s t or table talk of th e

.
,
-
philosophers is a large work ful l of pleasing anecdotes

,
and curious in formation gath ered from com i c writ e rs

,
and au thors without number that have long sin c e been

lost But it i s put tog e th e r with v e ry littl e skill His
. .
industry and m emo r y are more remarkabl e than hi s j udg

ment or good taste ; and the table talk is t oo Often turned -
towards eating and dr i n k ing His amusing work i s a .
picture of societ y I n A l exan dr ia W here everythi ng fr i v ,
ol ou s was treated a s grave and e v er y thi ng serious was

,
laughed at The w i t sinks into scandal the hum our is

.
,
at the cost Of morali t y and the numerous quotations are

,
chosen for th eir point not for any loft y thoughts or noble
,
feeling A lexandria was then as much the s e at of literary

.
w i t as it w a s of dr y critici sm ; and Martial the livel y ,
author of the E p i g r a m s had fift y years before remarked

,
that there were few places in th e world wh e re he would

m ore wish his v erses to b e repeated than on the b ank s
o f the Nil e .
Nothing could be lower than the poetic taste in Al ex

a ndria at this time The museum was giving birth to a
.
race of poets who instead of b ri nging forth thou ghts

,
o u t of their ow n minds fo u nd them in the storeho u se

,
1 22
“
EG YP T UN DER THE R O MAN EM PI RE

of the memory only The y wrot e th eir patchwork poems
.
b y the help of Homer s lin e s whi ch the y pick e d from all

’
,
parts of th e I liad and O dyss e y and s o put tog e ther as

to make them t ell a new tal e The y called themselv es
.
Homeric poets .
A S NA E C HARM E R
K .
( L
ucian th e author of th e D i a l og u es w a s at that ti me
,
secr e tary to th e pr efe c t of Egypt and this phi losopher

,
found a broad mark for his hum our in the religion

of th e Egyptians the i r worshi p Of animals and wat e r
,
j ars th eir lov e of magic th e g ene ral mourning th r ough

, ,
th e land on th e d e ath of th e b ul l A pis th e ir fu neral ,
ceremoni e s th eir placi ng of th e ir mumm ies rou nd the

,
di nn e r tabl e a s s o many gu e st s and

-
or a brother when in want of mon e y .
customs change d that the y oung Egyptians of high birth

THE S P REA D O F CHRI ST IAN I T Y 1 23
still wore their long hair tied in on e lo ck and hanging ,
ov e r th e right e a r as we s e e on the Th eban s c ulptur e s fif

,
t e en c e nturi e s e arli e r I t was th en a mark of royalty

.
,
but had S ince b e en adopt e d by many families Of high

rank and c ontinues to b e us e d even in the tw enti e th
,
c entury .
B efore th e e n d of this r e ign we m ee t with a strong

proof of th e S pread of Christianity in Egypt The num .
ber of b eliev e rs made it nec e ssary for th e

Bishop of A l e xandria to appoint three
bishops under him t o look after th e
,
church e s in th r e e other cities ; and a c

c or d i n gl y D em e trius who th e n h eld that
,
O ffic e took upon hi mself the rank if not

, ,
the name of P atriarch Of Al exan dr ia

, .
A s e cond proof of th e spr e ad of Chris S IGN OFTH E
ti a n i ty is the pagan phil osoph e rs think

N O B I L I TY .
ing it necessary t o write against it C elsus an Epicu rean

.
,
of A lexandria w a s on e of the first to attack it

,
O rigen .
answered the several argum e nts of Celsus with skill and

candour . He challenges his re a d e rs to a compariso n
b e tween the Chr istians and pagans in point of morals ,
in A l e xandria or i n any other city He argue s in th e

.
most forcible wa y that Christianity had ov e rcom e all

di fficulti e s and had spread itself far and wide against
,
the pow e r of kings and emp e rors and h e says that no

,
body but a C h ri stian e v e r di e d a m artyr to th e truth

of his r eligion H e makes good use of the Jewish
.
proph e ci e s ; but h e brings forward no proofs in support

of the truth of the gospel history ; th e y were not wanted ,
1 24 EG YP T U N D ER THE R O MA N EMPI RE
as Celsus and th e pagans had not considered it necessary
to call it in to question .
A nother proof of the number of Egyptian Christians

is s e en in th e lit e rary frauds of which their writers wer e
gui lty most lik ely to satisfy th e m i nds of those pagan
,
converts that they had alr e ady mad e rather than from
a W ish to make n ew b eli ev ers A b out thi s time was
.
writt en b y an u nknown Chr istian author a poem in eight

books named the S i by l l i n e V e r s es which must n ot be
,
m i staken for the pagan fragm e nts of the same name .
It is writt en in the form of a prophec y in the style ,
used by the Gnostics and is ful l of dark sentences and

,
half expressed hints

-
A n other spur ious Chr istian work of about the same

time is the Cl em en ti n a or the R e c og n i ti on s of Cl em en s
, ,
Bishop Of Rome It is an account of th e travels of th e

.
A postle P eter and his conversation with Simon Magus ;

but the author s knowledge of the Egyptian my thology
’
,
of the Opin ions O f th e Gr e ek phi losophers and of the

,
a strological rul es by whi ch f ort un es are foretold from

’
the plan e ts places amply prove that he w a s an E gy p
,
tian or an A lexandr ian N O name ranked higher among

.
th e C h ri stians than that of Cl emens Romanus ; and this

is only on e ou t of several cas e s of Christian authors
w h o wish e d to give weight to their own opinions b y
p assing them upon the world as hi s writings .
Marcus A urelius who died in 1 8 1 A D had pardoned

,
. .
,
t h e childr e n of the r e bel general A v i di u s Cassius but ,
Commodus b e gan his reign by putting them to d e ath ;

an d ,
whi le thus disregardi ng the example a n d advic e
D EC LIN E O F UPP ER EG YP T 1 25
of hi s father he paid hi s memory the idle complim ent

,
o f continuing his series of dates on h i s ow n coins But .
the Eg yptian coinage of Comm odus clearly betra y s th e

s a d change that w a s graduall y taking place in th e arts
O f th e co u ntry ; we no longer s e e the

former b e auty and variet y of s u bj ects ;
a n d th e silv e r which had before been
,
v er y mu ch m i xed with copper was under ,
Commodus har dl y to b e known fro m

b rass . Comm odus was very partial to
F
the Egyptian s u perstitions and he ,
adopte d the tonsure and had his head ,
shaven li ke a priest of I sis that he might more properl y

,
carry an A n ubis sta fi in sacred processions which con ,
ti n u ed to b e a feature of the religio u s activities of the age .
Upper Egypt had l atterl y been falling O R in p op u

lation It had b een dr ained of all its hoarded wealth
. .
Its carrying trade th r ough K op tos to the Red Sea was

much l essened A n y tribute that i ts templ e s received
.
from the piet y of the neighbo u rhood was small Nubia .
w a s a desert ; and a few sol di ers at S ye n e were eno u gh

to gu ard the po v ert y of the Thebaid from the inroads
Of the B l emmy es I t was no longer necessary to send
.
cri mi nal s to the O asis ; it was enough to banish them

to the n e i ghbo ur hood of Thebes Hence w e l earn but .
little of the stat e of the co u ntry N ow and then a tra v

.
eller after measuring the p y ramids of Memphis and

,
the u nderground tomb s of Th ebes might v entur e as far ,
as the cataracts and wat c h the s u n at noon on th e

,
longest da y shi ning to the bottom of the sacred well at

1 26 EG YP T U N D ER THE R OMA N EMPI RE
S y én e, li k e th e orator A ristides and his friend D ion .
But such travellers were few ; the maj ority of those

w h o made this j ourney have left the fact on record .
The celebrat e d museum which had held the vast

,
li brary of th e P tolemies had been b u rnt by the sol di ers

,
of Jul i us O n sar in on e of their battl e s with the Egyptian
army in the streets of Al exan dr ia ; but the loss had b ee n

in part repaired b y Mark A ntony s gift of th e library ’
from P ergamus to the templ e of Serapis The n ew .
library however wo ul d seem to have been placed in a

, ,
bui ldin g somewhat separat e d from the temple as when ,
the temple of Serapis was b ur nt in the r eign of Marcus

A urelius and again wh en it was in part d e stroyed by
,
fir e in the second y ear of this reign we h e ar of no loss

of b ooks ; and two hundred years later the
library of the S er a p i um it is said had risen , ,
t o the number of s e ven hu ndred thousand

volumes The temple keeper to the great god
.
-
Serapis or on e of th e temple keepers at this

,
-
tim e was A sclepia d e s a noted boxer and ,
wr e stler who had been made chief of the

,
wr e stling groun d and had r e c e iv e d the high

-
’
rank Of the emperor s fr e edman He s et up .
TH E s a statu e to hi s father D emetrius an equally

as set
,
'
S TA F F
noted box er and wrestler w h o had been chi ef ,
—
pri e st of th e wr e stling ground and of the emp eror s baths ’
in the last r eign A nother favourite in the theatre was

.
A p ol a u s tu s of M emphis w h o remov e d to Rom e where

, ,
he w a s crowned as conqueror in th e games and as a ,
r eward made priest to A pollo and emperor s freedman

’
.
A RT I ST I C DEC A D EN CE 1 27
The cit y of Canopus was still a large mart for mer

c h a n di s e as the shallow but saf e e ntranc e to its harbour
,
mad e it a favourite with pilots Of the small tradi n g

v e ssels who rath e r dreade d the rocks at the mouth of
,
t h e harbour of A lexan dr ia A templ e of S er a p i s whi ch

.
o
had lately b ee n built at Canopus was d e dicat e d to the

god in t h e nam e Of the Emperor Com m odus ; and th e re
some of th e grosser sup e rstitions of th e polytheists fl e d
b e fore the spread of Christianity and platonism I n Al ex -
andria The Canopic j ars which h eld thos e parts of

.
,
the bod y that coul d n ot b e made solid in the mum my ,
a n d whi ch had the heads of the four l e sser gods of the
dead on their lids , r e ceived th e ir name from thi s city .
Th e sc ul ptures on the b eautiful temples of Contra L a -
t op ol i s were also finished in this r e ign and the emp e ror s

’
,
n ames and titl e s were carved on th e w alls in hieroglyph
i c s with those of the P tolemies under whom the temple

, ,
itself had been built Comm odus may perhaps not have
.
b een the last emperor whose nam e and praises w e re

carved in hi eroglyphics ; but all the gre at buildings in
t h e Thebaid which add such value to the early history
,
of Egypt had ceased before his reign

, O ther buil di ngs
.
o f a less lasting form were n o doubt being built such ,
as th e Gre e k temples at An ti n oop ol i s and P tolemais ,
which have long S ince been sw e pt away ; but th e E gy p

tian priests with their gigantic undertakings th eir noble
, ,
plan of working for after ages rather than for themselves ,
w e re nearly rui n e d and we fin d no anci e nt building n ow

,
standi ng in Eg ypt that was raised after the time of the

dynast y of the An tonines .
EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
But the poverty of the Egyptians w a s not the onl y
cause why the y built no mor e templ e s ) Though th e .
colossal statue of A m en h Oth es utt e r e d i ts musical not e s

every morning at sunris e still tuneful am i d th e deso
,
lation with which it was surroun ded and th e Nil e was ,
still worshipp e d at midsumm e r by the husban dm an t o

s e cure its f e rtilising overflow ; nev erth el e ss th e r eligio n ,
its elf for which the temples had b e e n built was fast
giving way before th e silent S pread of Christianity Th e .
re li gio n of the Egyptians un l ike that of the Greeks w a s

, ,
C AN OP I C JA R S .
no longer uph eld by th e magistrate ; it r e st e d solel y on

the b eli e f of its follow e rs and it may have merged int o
,
Christianit y the faster for th e greater num b er of truths

which were contained in it th an in th e paganism of oth er
nations The scanty h i eroglyphical r e cords t ell us littl e
.
of thoughts f ee lings and opinions

, ,
Inde ed that cum b er
.
som e mode of wr iting whi ch alon e was used in religiou s

,
matters was littl e fitt e d for anything beyond th e mos t

,
mat erial parts of th eir mythology Henc e we must not .
b eliev e that th e Egyptian polytheism was quite s o gross

as would app e ar from th e sculptures ; and ind e e d w e
th ere l e arn that th e y b eliev e d e ven at the earli e st times
, ,
in a resurre ction from the tomb a day Of judgment and

, ,
a futur e stat e of r ewards and punishm ents ) .

P R I EST LY L E A RN I N G 1 29
The priests mad e a gr e at boast of their learning and

phi losophy and coul d each repeat by h e art those books
,
Of Thot whi ch b elonged to his own order The sing er .

,
who walk e d first in the sacr e d processions b e aring th e ,
symbols of music could rep e at th e books of hym n s and

,
the rules for the king s life Th e soothsayer w h o fol ’

.
,
lowed carrying a clock and a palm branch th e embl e m

,
-
of the y ear co ul d repeat the f our astrological b ooks ;

,
on e on th e moon s phas e s on e on the fixed stars and

’
, ,
two on their heliacal risings The scribe who walk e d .

,
next carrying a book and the flat rule which held the
,
ink and p en w a s acquainted with the geography of the

,
world and of the Nile and with those books wh i ch de ,
scribe the motions of the s un moon and planets and , , ,
th e furnitur e of the temple and consecrated places The .
mast er of the robes understood the ten b ooks relating

t o education to the marks on the sacred heifers and to
, ,
the worship of the gods embracing the sacrifices the , ,
fir s t fruits the hym n s the pra y ers the processions and

-
, , , ,
fe stivals The prophet or preacher who walk ed last

.
, ,
carrying in his arms the great water p ot was th e pr e si -
d e nt of the temple and learned in the ten books called

, ,
hi eratic relating to the laws the gods the management

, , ,
Of the temples and the re v enue Thus of the fort y two

, .
,
-
chi ef b ooks of Thot thirt y six were learned by these

,
-
priests while th e remaining si x on the bod y its di seas e s

, , ,
and me di cin e s were learned b y th e P a stop h or i pri e sts

, ,
who carried the im age of the god in a small shrin e .
These books had been written at v arious times : som e

may ha v e been v ery O l d but some were un doubtedly ,
new ; the y together formed the Eg yptian bible A pol .
l on i u s or A p ol l on i d e s H or a p i s an Eg yptian priest had

, , ,
lately publish e d a work on th e se matters in his ow n lan

guage named S h om en u thi th e book of th e g ods
, ,
.
But the priests w e re no long e r the earnest sincer e ,
teachers as of old ; they had invent e d a system of s ec

on d a r y meanings , by whi c h they explained awa y the
coarse religion of their stat u es and sacred an imals .
R ELIGI OUS PRO C E SS I O N .
They had two religions on e for the many and one for
,
th e fe w ; on e mat e rial and visible for the crowds in

, ,
th e out e r courtyards in which the hero was made a god

,
and every attribut e of d e ity was mad e a person ; and a n

other spiritual and inte ll e ctual for the learned in th e
, ,
J
s c hools and sacr e d c ol l e ge s Ev e n if we were not told ,
we could hav e no doubt but th e main point of secret

knowledge among the learn e d w a s a disb eli e f in thos e
v e ry doctrin e s whi c h they wer e t e aching to the vul gar ,
and whi c h th e y now explain e d among th emselves by

saying that th ey had a second m e aning This perhaps .
, ,
THE WA NIN G O F PA G A N I S M 1 31
w as part of th e great secret of the godd e ss I sis the ,
s e cret of A bydos the b e trayer of which w a s mor e g ui lt y

,
than he w h o sho ul d try to stop the ba r i s or sacr e d barge

in the proc e ssion on the Nil e Th e worsh i p of gods.
,
b e for e whos e statu e s th e nation had bow e d with un chang

ing d e votion for at least tw o thousand years was now
drawing t o a close Hi therto th e pri e sts had
.
b e e n able to r es I s t all n e w opinions The .
nam e of Am on R a had at one ti m e been c u t

-
ou t from the Th e ban monuments to make
wa y for a god from L ow e r Egypt ; but it had

b e en cut in again wh e n th e storm pass e d b y .
Th e J e wish monotheism had left the cro w d

of gods un lessened The P ersian efforts S H R N
.
I E .
h a d o v erthrown statu es a n d broken ope n

t emples but had n ot been able to introduce their w or
,
ship of the sun The Greek conquerors had yielded to

.
th e Eg yptian mind without a stru ggle ; and Al exand e r

had humbl y begged at th e door of the t emple to b e
a cknowledged as a s on of A m on But in the ful n e ss of
.
tim e th e s e Opinions whi c h seemed a s firm l y bas e d as th e

,
m onuments which represented the m sunk before a r e ,
l i gi on whi ch s et up no n ew statues and coul d command ,
no force to br e ak Open t emples .
Th e Egyptian priests who had been pro u d of the

,
superiority of their ow n doctrin e s ov e r the paganism of

t heir neighbour s mourned the o v erthro w of their national
,
”
r eligion. O ur land say s the author of Hermes Tris
,
m e gi s tu s,
is th e t emple of th e world ; but as wise m en ,
s hould fores e e all things y ou S ho u l d know that a time i s

,
1 32 EG YP T U ND ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
com i ng when it will seem that th e Egyptians hav e b y an
un fail ing piet y served God in vain F or when strangers
.
shall possess thi s kingdom re ligion will be n e glected and ,
laws made against p iety and divine worship with pun ,
i sh m en t on those who favour it Then th i s holy s e at will

.
be full of idolatry idols temples and d e ad men s tombs

,
’
,
’
.
0 Egypt Egypt there S hall remain of thy religion but

, ,
vague stories which posterity will r efus e to b eli ev e ,
an d words graven in stone recounting thy pi e ty Th e .
Sc ythian th e Indian or some other barbarous n e ighbour

, ,
S hall dwell in Eg ypt The D ivinit y shall r e ascend into

.
the heaven ; and Egypt Shall be a desert widowed of men ,
”
and gods .
Th e S pread of Christianit y among the Egyptians was

such that their teachers fo un d it nec e ssary to s u pply
them with a life of Jesus writt e n in th eir ow n language
, ,
that the y might the more rea di ly explain to th em his

clai m to b e ob e y e d and the nature of his comm ands
,
.
The Gospel according to the Egyptians for s u ch w a s the ,
nam e this work bor e has lon g since been lost and was
, , ~
little quoted by th e Al e xandrians It was most likel y .
a translation from on e of th e four gosp els though it had ,
some di fferent r e adings suit e d to its own chur ch and ,
c ontained some praise of c elibacy not found in th e New

Testament ; but it was n ot valued by the Greeks and ,
was lost on th e spr e ad of the K op ti c transl ation of the

whol e N ew Testame nt .
Th e grav e serious Christians of Upper Eg ypt were

,
v e ry un like th e lively A l e xandrians But though the .
d i fi er en c e arose from pecul iarities of national character ,

ECC LES I A ST I CA L D I FFERE N CES 1 33
it w a s only spoken of as a difference of opinion Th e .
Egyptians form e d an ascetic s e ct in th e church who w ere ,
c all e d heretics by the A lexandrians and name d D oc e t ae, ,
b e cause th e y taught that the Saviour was a god and ,
did n ot really suffer on the cross but was crucifie d only

,
i n a p p ea r a n c e
. The y of necessity used the Gospel a c
cordi n g to the Egyptians which is quoted b y Ca s si a n u s
, ,
on e of their writ e rs ; man y of them reno un ced marriage
with the other pl e asures and duties of s ocI a l life and ,
placed their chi e f virtue in painful s elf denial ; and -
ou t of them S prang that r e markable class of hermits ,
monks and fathers of the des e rt who in a few centuries

,
cov e red E u rope with monast e ri e s .
It is r emarkable that the translation of a gospel into

K op ti c introduced a Gre e k alphabet into the K op ti c
language Though for all religious p ur poses the scribe s
.
continued t o u s e the ancient h i eroglyphi cs in whi c h w e ,
trace the first steps b y which pictures are made to rep

resent words and s yllables rather than l e tters yet for ,
the common purpos e s of writing th ey had long sinc e

made u s e of the en c h or i a l or com m on hand in which the ,
e arlier s y stem of writing is improved b y the characters
r epresenting onl y letters though sadly too numerous for

,
each to hav e a fixed and well known for ce But as the

-
.
,
hi erogl yphi cs were also alwa y s used for carved writing

on all subj ects and the com m on hand onl y used on
,
papyru s with a reed pen the latter became wholly an

,
in di stinct run ning hand ; it lost that beauty and r e gu

l a r i ty whi ch the hieroglyphics like the Greek and Roman
,
characters k e p t b y being carved on ston e and h enc e

, ,
1 34 EG YP T U ND ER THE R O MA N EMPI RE
it w oul d seem arose the want of a new alphabet for the
New T e stament This was made b y merel y addin g to
.
the Gre ek alphabet six n e w letters borrowed from the

hieroglyphi cs for thos e sounds wh i ch the Gre eks did not
u s e ; a nd the writing was then written from left to right
like a E u ropean language inst e ad of in e ither dire ctio n

accordi ng to the skil l or fancy Of the scribe .
It was only upon the anci ent hieroglyphi cs thus fall

ing into di suse that the Greeks of A lexandria almost ,
for the fir st t i me had the curiosit y to study the prin

,
c i p l e s on which they were written Clem ens Al exan

.
d r i n u s who thought no branch of knowledge u nworthy

,
of hi s attention giv e s a S light account of them n e arl y

, ,
agreeing with th e results of ou r modern discoveries .
He m entions the thr ee kinds of writing ; first the h i er o ,
l
g yp h i c ; secon dl y the h i e,
r a ti c w hi ch is,
nearl y the same ,
but w ritten with a pen and l e ss ornamental than the

,
carved figures ; and thi r dl y th e d em oti c or com m on

, ,
alphabetic writing He then di vid e s the hieroglyphi c

.
into the alphabetic and thre symbolic ; and lastl y h e ,
divides the symbolic characters into the imitativ e the ,
figu rative and those formed lik e riddl e s

, A s instances
.
of th e se last we ma y quot e for th e first the th r ee zig

, ,
zag lin e s which by simpl e imitation mean water ;

for th e second the oval which mean a name because
, ,
’
kings names w e re wri tt e n withi n ovals ; and for the
third a cup with th r e e anvils whi ch mean L ord Of
,
”
Battl e s b e cause cup and lord have nearly the
,
sam e sound n e b and , anvils and battles have

nearly the same sound m es h e .
R I SE O F CHRI STI A N P H IL OSOP H Y 1 35
I n thi s reign P a n taen u s Of A thens a Stoic ph i l osopher, ,
held the fir st place among the Chr istians of Al exandr ia .
He is cel ebrated for uni ting the study of heathen learn

ing with a r eli gious zeal which led h i m to pre ach Chris
ti a n i ty I n A byssinia He introduced a taste for p hilos
.
O p h y among the C h r istians ; and though A thenagoras ,
rather d e serves that honour, he was called the fo u nder

of the c at e c h e ti c al s chool wh i c h g a v e bir th t o the series
' '
d l i s I; F T
t
li d 0; e
I
H
I
V ?
z it u ) um (24 -
1
)
HI RO GLYPHI C HIE R A T I C
E , ,
A ND D E MOT I C WR I T ING .
of l earnedC h r istian writers that flourished in Al exan

dr ia for the n e xt century T o hav e b een a learned man
.
and a Christian and to have encouraged l e arning among

,
the catechist s in hi s school s ma y s e em d e s e rving of no

great praise Was the religion of Jesus to spread i gn o
.
rance and darkness over the world ? But we must r e

member that a n e w religion cannot be introduced without
some danger that learning and scienc e ma y get forbidd en ,
together with the ancient superstitions which had be en

taught in the same schools ; we shall hereafter s ee that
13 6 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
in th e quarrels between pagans and C h r istians and again ,
betwe e n the s e veral sects O f Christians learning was ,
often reproach e d with be i ng unfavourable to true r elig

ion ; and th e n it will be grant e d that it was no small
m e rit to have founded a school in which learning and
Chr istianity went hand in hand for n e arly two centuri e s .
P a n taen u s has l e ft no writings of hi s ow n and i s best ,
kno w n thr ough hi s pupil or fellow student Clemens -
,
.
He is said to have brought with hi m to Al e xan dr ia from ,
the Jewish Chr istians that he met with on hi s travel s ,
a copy of St Matthew s Gospel in th e origi nal H e br e w

.
’
,
a work n ow un fortunat ely lost whi ch if we poss e ssed , ,
it wo ul d settl e for us th e di sput e d point whether or

, ,
’
no it contained all that n ow b e ars that A postle s name
in the Greek translation .
The learn e d industrious and pio u s Clemens who to

, , , ,
distingui sh him from Clemens of Rom e is us u ally call e d ,
Cl eme ns A lexandri nus succeed e d P a n taen u s in the cat e

,
c h e ti c a l school and was at th e sam e time a voluminous

,
writ e r H e was in h i s philosophy a platonist though

.
,
sometimes called of th e Eclectic school He has l e ft .
an A d dr e ss to the Gentiles a treatis e on Christian b e ,
haviour call e d P e d a g ogu s and eight books of Stromata

, ,
or c ol l e c ti on s
,
whi ch h e wrote to describe the perfe c t
Christian or Gnostic to fur nish th e believer with a mod e l
,
for hi s i m i tation and to save hi m from b e ing led astray

,
”
by the sects of Gnostics fals ely so called By h i s .
advic e and by th e im i tation Of Christ th e C hri stian is

, ,
to step forward from faith through lov e to knowledg e ; , ,
from being a slav e h e is to becom e a faithful servant

,
M Y ST I C NU MBERS 1 37
and then a s on ; he i s to become at l ast a god w al k ing

in the flesh .
Clemens w a s not wholly free from the my sticism

which w a s the chi ef mark of the Gnostic sect H e .
th ou ght mu ch of the sacred power of num bers A br a .

a
ham had thr ee hun dr ed and eighteen serv ants when he

rescu e d L ot which when written in Greek num e rals
, ,
thus , I B T formed the sacred S ign for the name of Je sus .
Ten was a perfect nu mber and is that of the com m and

,
ments giv en to Moses Se v en was a glorio u s num b e r

.
,
and there are se v en Pleiades seven planets se v en day s, ,

'
in th e w eek ; and the two fishes and fiv e barle y loav e s ,
with which the mu ltitu de were miraculously fed to ,
gether make the number of y ears of plent y in Egypt

u nder Joseph Clemens also qu otes several lines in
.
praise of the se v enth da y which he say s were from ,
Homer Hesiod and Cal li machu s ; but here there is rea

, ,
s on t o believe that he was deceived b y the pio u s fraud
of some zealo u s Jew or Christian as no s u ch lines are ,
now to be fo u nd in the pagan poets .
D uring the reign of P ertinax whi ch lasted only three ,
months ( 1 94 A D ) we fin d no trace of hi s power in Egypt

. .
,
e xcept the mone y which the A lexandrians coined in his
name I t seems to hav e been th e dut y of the prefe ct

.
of the mint as soon as h e h e ard of an e mperor s d e ath

’
, ,
to lose no time in issui ng coins in the name of hi s s u c

c e ssor It was on e of the means to proclaim and s e cure
.
the allegiance Of the provin c e for the n e w emperor .
D uri ng the reign of Commodus P e s c en n i u s Nig e r ,
had been at the head of th e l e gion that w a s employed in

13 8 EG YP T U N D ER TH E R O MA N EMPI RE
Upper Egypt in stoppi ng the inroads of th eir trou ble
some neighbours who alr e ady some tim e s bor e the nam e
,
of Sarac e ns . H e was a hardy soldi e r and strict in his ,
dis c iplin e whil e h e shar e d th e labours of th e field and

,
of th e camp with th e men und er h i m H e would not .
allow th em th e u s e of win e ; and onc e when the troop s ,
that guarded the fronti e r at Sy en e ( A swan ) sent to ask

for it h e bluntly answ er e d
,
Y ou hav e g ot the Nile t o
,
”
drink and cannot possibly want mor e
,
O nce when a .
,
c ohort had b e e n rout e d by th e Sarac ens th e men com ,
plain e d that th e y co ul d n ot fight without win e ; but h e

would not r elax in his di s c iplin e Thos e who hav e
”
just now b e aten you said Nig er ,
drink nothing but
,
”
wat e r. H e gain e d th e lov e and thanks of th e p e opl e
of Upp e r Egypt by thus bridling th e lawl e ssn e ss of th e
troops ; and they gave hi m his statu e cut in black basalt ,
in allusion to his nam e Nig e r T hi s statu e was plac e d

.
in his Roman villa .
But on th e d e ath of P ertinax wh en S eptimus Sev e

,
r
rus declared hims elf emperor i n P annonia Nig e r w h o , ,
was th en in the province of S yria di d the same Egypt

, .
and th e Egyptian l e gions r e adily and h e artily j oined his

party which made it unnec e ssary for hi m to stay in that
,
part of th e empir e ; so h e mar ch e d upon Greec e Thr a c e , ,
and Mac e donia But there aft er a fe w months h e was

.
, ,
m e t by th e army of his rival w h o also s e nt a s e cond

,
army in to Egypt ; and h e was d efe at e d and slain at

Cyzicus in Mysia aft er having b e en acknowl e dged as
,
y
emp e ror in Eg pt and Syria for p e rhaps a year and a
fe w months . We fin d n o A l exandrian coins of Niger ,

A N A T I E O F SW A N
V A .
THE RE F ORMS O F SEVER U S 1 41
altho u gh w e cannot allow a short er space of time to hi s

reign than on e whole y ear together with a few months ,
of the prece di ng and following years Within that tim e .
Se v eru s had to march Upon Rome against h i s first rival ,
Jul i an to punish the praetorian guards and aft er wards

, ,
t o conqu e r Niger .
A ft e r th e death of his rival when Severus was th e ,
un disput e d master of the empire and was no long e r ,
wanted in th e other provinc e s he found leis ur e in A D , ,

. .
1 9 6 to visit Egypt ; and lik e other a c tive mind e d travel

, ,
-
l ers he examined th e p y ramids of Memphis and the tem

,
'
ples a t Th eb e s and laughed at the worship of Serapis and
,
t h e Eg yptian animals H i s v isit to Al exan dr ia was

.
marked b y many n ew laws Now that the Greeks of .
that cit y crushed b eneath two centuries of foreign rule

, ,
had lost any remains of cou rage or of pride that coul d

mak e th e m fear e d b y their Roman master he relaxed ,
part of the strict polic y of A ugu stus He ga v e them a .
s enate and a municipal form of government a privilege ,
t hat had hitherto been refused in di stru st to that gr e at

c ity
,
though f reel y granted in oth e r provinces where
r ebellion was less dreaded He also ornamented the cit y
.
w ith a t empl e t o Rhea and with a public bath which

, ,
was named after hi mself the Bath of S e v e rus .
Sev e rus made a law say s the pagan historian for

, ,
bid di ng anyb ody u nder a severe punishment from b e

, ,
coming Jew or Christian But he who giv es the blow

.
is likely to speak of it more lightl y than he who smarts

under it ; and we learn from the historian of the Church
that in the tenth y ear Of this reign the Christians
, ,
EG YP T U N D ER THE ROMAN EMPI RE
s n fi er e d p ersecution from their gov ernors and th eir
f ellow citizens Am ong others who then lost their liv es
-
.
for th e ir r e ligion w a s L eo ni des the father of O rig e n ,

.
H e left seven orphan chil dren of whom the eldest that , ,
justl y cel ebrated writer was onl y sixte en y e ars ol d but

, ,
was alr e ady d e eply read in th e Scriptur es and in th e ,
great writ ers of Greece A s the prop e rty of L eonid e s

.
w a s forfeited his children were left in poverty ; but th e

,
youn g O rigen was adopted by a wealthy lady zealou s ,
for th e n e w r eligion by whose h elp h e was enabl e d to

,
c ontinue his studi e s under Cl emens In order to r e ad .
the O ld T e stam ent in th e original he made him s elf ,
mast e r of Hebre w which w a s a study then very unusual

,
among the Gr e e ks wh e th e r Je ws or Christians

, .
In thi s persecution of th e Chur ch all public worship

was forbidden to th e C h r istians ; and T ertullian of
Carthage eloqu e ntly complains that whi le the emp eror ,
allowed the Egyptians to worshi p cows goats or croco , ,
diles or ind e ed any animal they chose he o nl y punish e d

, ,
those that bow e d down b efor e th e Creator and Governor

r
of the world O f course at this time of trouble the cat e

.
,
c h e ti ca l school w a s broken up and scatt e r e d S O that ,
th ere was n o public teachi ng of Christianity in A lex

andria But O rig en v enture d to do that privat ely whi ch
.
was forbidd e n to be don e openly ; and wh e n th e storm ,
had blown ov er D em e trius th e bishop appoint e d him

, , ,
to that o ffice at the h e ad Of th e s chool which h e had

a lr e ady s o brav ely taken upon him self in the hour of
d an ge r O rig en could boast of s ev eral pupils w h o add e d

.
their nam e s t o th e noble list of martyrs w h o lost th e ir

A L E X A N D R I A N S A T I RE 1 43
l i v esfor C h r istianit y among whom the best known was

,
P lutarch the brother of H er a cl a s O rigen aft erwards

,
.
r emo v ed for a time to P alestine and fell under th e dis

,
pl e asure of his ow n bishop for being there ordain e d a

presb yter .
In Egypt Severu s seems to have dated the y e a r s of

his r eign from the death of Nig e r though h e had reign e d
,
in Rome s i nc e the deaths of P e rtinax and Jul ian His .
Eg yptian co i ns are eith e r copp e r or brass plated with ,
a li ttle s il ver ; and after a few reigns e ven those last

traces of a silver c oinage are lost in this falling country .
In tracing the hi story of a word s me aning w e oft e n ’
thro wa light upon the customs of a nation Thus in .

,
Rom e gold was s o far comm on that avarice was call e d

,
t h e love of gold ; while in Gr e ec e wher e silver was th e,
m e tal most in use mon e y was c alled a r g u r i on In th e

, .
sam e way it is c u riously shown that silv e r w a s no long e r

us e d in Eg ypt b y our finding that th e brass coin of on e
hundred and ten grains weight as being the only pi e c e
,
of money seen in circulation w a s nam e d an a r u r i on

, g .
Th e latter years of the reign O f Caracalla w e re S pent

in visiting the provinces of his wide empire ; and aft e r ,
he had passed through Thrace and A sia Minor Egypt ,
had th e misfortune to be honoured by a visit from its

emperor The satirical A lexandrians who in the midst
.
,
of their own follies and vices were always clever in lash
ing those of their rul ers had latterly been turning th e ir

,
un seemly j okes against Caracall a They had laugh e d .
at his dressing lik e A chill e s and A lexand e r th e Gre at ,
whi le in hi s person he was below the usual height ; a n d

1 44 EG YP T U N D E R THE R OMA N EMPI RE
they had n ot forgotten his murder of h i s brother and ,
his talking of marrying h i s own mother Some of th e se .
dangero u s witticisms had reach e d h i s ears at Rom e ,
and the y wer e n ot forgotten But Caracalla n e ver

.
showed h i s di spl e asure ; and as h e passed through A n

,
ti och he gav e ou t that he was going to visit the city

,
founded b y Al exander the Great and to consult the ,
oracle in the temple of Serapis .
The Al exandrians in their j o y got ready the heca

tomb s for hi s sac ri fices ; and the emperor entered th eir
c it y through rows of torches to the sound of soft music ,
whi le the air was sweet ened with costly scents and th e ,
road scattered with flowers A fter a few day s he s a c

.
r i fic e d in the temple of Serapis and then visited th e

,
tomb Of Al exander where he took O ff his scarlet cloak

, ,
h i s rings and his gir dl e covered with pr e cious stones

, ,
and dutifully laid them on the sarcophagus of the hero .
The A lexandrians were delighted with th eir visitor ; and

crowds flocked into the city to witness the dail y and
nightl y shows little aware of the un forgiving malice that
,
was l urking in his m i nd .
The emperor then issued a decree that all the y ouths

of A lexan dr ia of an age to enter the army should m ee t
h i m in a plain on the outside of the city ; th e y had alr e ady

a Macedonian and a Spartan phalanx and h e was going ,
to mak e an A l e xan dr ian phalanx A ccor di ngl y the plain

.
was fill ed with thousands of young men w h o were range d ,
in bodi e s accor di ng to th eir h e ight th eir age and th eir , ,
fitness for b e aring arms whil e their friends and r elations

,
came in equal numb ers t o b e witnesses of their honour .

REVEN GE O F C A RA C A LLA 1 45
The emperor mov e d thr ough their ranks and w a s loudl y ,
gr e et e d with their cheers whil e th e army which encircl e d

,
th e whole plain w a s gradually closing round th e crowd

and l e sseni ng the circle When the ring was form e d
.
,
Caracalla withdrew with his guards and gave the lo c ked

for S ignal . The sol di e rs then lowered their s p e ar s a n d
charg e d on the unarm e d crowd of whom a part wer e
,
butchered and part driv e n hea dl ong into the ditches and
canals ; and such was the slaughter that the waters of
the Nile which at midsum m er a r e always red with the
,
mud from the upper coun try were said to have flowed
,
colou r ed to the s e a with the blood of the sufferers C ara .
calla th e n return e d to An tioch congratulating hi m s elf

,
on the reven ge that h e had taken on the Al exandri ans
for th e ir j okes ; n ot however till he had consecrated in

the t emple of Serapis the sword with which he boasted
that he had Slain h i s brother Geta .
Caracall a also punished the A lexandrians b y stopping

the public games and th e allowance of grain to the citi
z ens ; and to lessen th e danger of their reb elli ng he had
, ,
the fo r tifications carried between the rest of the city

and the great palace quarter the B r u chi um thu s di vid
-
, ,
i n g Al exan dr ia into two fortifie d cities with towers on,
the walls between them Hitherto u nder the Romans

.
,
as un d e r the P tolem i es the Al exandrians had b e en the

,
trust e d favourites of their ru lers who mad e u s e of th e m

,
t o keep the Egyptians in bondage . But under Caracalla

that policy w a s changed ; the Al e xandrians were tr e at e d
as enemi es ; and w e s e e for th e first time Egyptians
taking their seat in th e Roman senate and the Egyptian ,
r e ligion op enly cul tivat e d by th e emp eror who then ,
b ui lt a templ e in Rome to th e goddess I sis .
O n the murd e r of Cara c alla in A D 21 7 M a cr i n u s . .

, ,
who w a s thought to b e the author of hi s death was a c ,
knowl e dged as emp eror ; an d though h e only reigned

for about two months y et as th e Egyptian n ew y e ar s
, ,
’
day fe ll withi n that time w e fin d A l e xandr ian coin s for

,
th e first and second y ears of his reign Th e Egyptians .
pr e t e nded that the death of Caracalla had b e en foretold

by signs from heaven ; that a ball O f fir e had fall e n on the
t empl e of Serapis which de stroy e d nothing but the
,
sword with which Caracalla had slain his brother ; and

that an Egyptian named S erapion w h o had b e en th r o wn ,
into a lion s den for nam i ng M a c r i n u s as th e futu re

’
e mperor had escaped unhurt b y the wild beasts

, .
M a cr i n u s recalled from Al exandri a Julian the pre ,
f e et of Egypt and appointed to that post his friend

,
B a s i li a n u s with Marius S e cundus a senator a s second

, , ,
in c ommand who was the first senator that had ever held
,
c omm and in Egypt He was himself at An tioch when

.
”
B a s si a n u s a Syrian pretending to b e the s on of Cara

, ,
c alla Offere d hi m s elf to th e l e gions a s that emperor s

,
’
suc c e ssor When the news r e ached Al exandria that the

.
Syrian troops had j oined the pret ended A ntoninu s the ,
pref e c t B a s i l i a n u s at once put t o d e ath the public c ou

ri e rs that brought the unwelcome tidings But when a .
,
fe w days afterwards it was known that M a c r i n u s had

,
be en defeated and killed the doubts ab out hi s successor

,
l e d t o serious struggles b e tween th e troops and the A lex

a n dr i a n s . The Al e xandri ans could have had no love for
FA CT I ON S IN A L E XA N D R I A 1 47
a s on of Caracalla ; B a si li a n u s and Secundus had before

declared agains t h i m ; but on th e other hand the choice
, ,
of the sol di ers was g ui ded by their brethr e n in Syria .
The citizens fl ew to arms and day aft er da y was th e,
battl e fought in the streets of A l exan dr ia betwe n two

e
parties neither of whom was strong enough even if
, ,
s uccessful to have any weight in settling the fate of the

,
Roman empire Marius Secundus lost hi s life I n the

.
struggle The prefect B a si l i a n u s fled to Ital y to escap e

.
from hi s own sol di ers ; and the provinc e of Egypt then

followed the example of the rest of the East in a c kn ow l
e d gi n g th e n e w emperor .
F or fo u r y ear s Rome was disgraced b y the s ov er

e i gn ty of Elagabalus the pretended son of Caracall a
, ,
and we fin d h i s coins each y ear in A lexandria H e was .
s u cceeded b y the yo u n g A lexander whose am i able vir ,
tues however coul d not gain for h im the respect which

, ,
he lost b y the weakness of h i s government The A lex .
a n dr i a n s alwa y s read y to lampoon their rul ers laughed

, ,
at hi s wish to b e tho u ght a Roman ; the y called him th e

Syrian the hi gh p ri est and the rul e r of the synagogu e
, ,
.
A n d well might they think slightl y of his governm ent ,
when a prefect of Eg ypt owed his appointment to th e

emperor s want of power to punish h i m E p a ga th u s had
’
.
headed a mutin y of the praetorian guards in Rome in ,
whi ch their general U lpian was ki lled ; and Al exander ,
afraid to p un ish the mu rderers made the ringleader of ,
the rebels prefect of Egypt in order to send him ou t of

the way ; s o little did it th e n s eem n e c e ssary to follow th e
cautious policy of A ugustus or to fear a rebellion in that
,
1 48 EG YP T U ND ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
pro vi n ce But after a short tim e when E p a ga th u s had
.
,
been forgott e n by the Roman legion he w a s remov e d ,
to the go v ernm ent of Crete and then at last p u nish e d,
with death .
In thi s reign A m m on i u s S a cca s became the found er

of a new and most important school of phi losoph y that ,
of th e Al e xandrian platonists He is onl y known to u s

.
th r ough h i s pupil s in whose writings we trace the mind

,
and system of th e teacher The most celebrated of th e s e

.
pupils w e re P lotinus H er en n i u s and O rigen a pagan

, , ,
writer tog e ther with L onginus the great mast e r of th e

, ,
”
sublime who owns him h i s t e acher in elegant li ter
,
ature A m m on i u s was un e quall e d in the variet y and

.
depth of hi s knowl e dge and was by hi s followers call e d

,
h e av en taught H e aim e d at putting an end to the

-
tr i fl i n g s and quarr els of the philosophers by showing

that all th e gr e at truths w er e th e same in each syst em ,
and by pointing ou t wh ere Plato and A ristotle agre e d

inst e ad of where th ey di ffe red ; or rather by culling
Opinions ou t of both schoolsr of philosophy and b y gath ,
e ring tog e ther th e scatt e r e d li mbs of Truth whose lov ely ,
form had b e en hewn to piec e s and thrown to the four

winds lik e th e mangl e d body of O siris .
O rig e n in th e tenth y e ar of this reign ( A D 231 ) with . .
dr ew to C aesar e a on fin ding him s elf mad e uncomfortabl e

,
at Al e xandria by th e displ e asur e of D em e trius the bishop ;

and h e l eft the car e of th e Christian school to H er a cl a s ,
who h ad be e n on e of his pupils O rigen s opinions m e t .

’
with no blame in C aesar e a wh ere Christianity was n ot

,
y et s o far remov e d from its e arly simpli c ity as in Egypt .

THE FI RST P O P E 1 49
Th e Christians of Syria and P al e stine hi ghly priz e d his

t e aching when it w a s no long e r valued in A l exandria .
H e di ed at T yre i n the reign of Gallus .
O n th e death Of D em e trius H er a c l a s w h o had just

, ,
befor e succ e e d e d O rig e n in th e charg e of th e Christian

school, w a s chosen Bishop of Al exandria ; and Chri stian
A MOD E RN S C R IBE .
ity had by that time so far S pr e ad through th e cities of

Upp e r and L o w e r Egypt that h e found it n e cessary to
ordain twenty bishops un d e r him while thr e e had b een
,
found enough by hi s pr e d e cessor From hi s b eing th e

.
head of the bishops w h o w e r e all styl ed fath ers H er a c l a s

, ,
r e c e ived th e title of P a p a pop e or grandfather the title

, ,
afterwards us e d by the bishops of Rom e .

Am ong th e
presbyters ordained by H er a cl a s was
A m m on i u s S a c c a s th e fo u nder of the platonic school ;
,
but h e aft e rwards forsook the religion of Je sus ; and w e

must not mi s tak e him for a s e cond Al e xandr ian Christian
of the nam e of A m m on i u s who can hardly hav e be e n th e
,
same p e rson as th e form e r for h e n e ver changed his

,
r eligion and was th e author of th e E va n g e l i c a l Ca n on s

, ,
a work aft e rwards continu e d by Eus ebius of C aesarea .
O n the death of th e Emp e ror A le xand e r in A D 235 ,

. .
,
whil e Italy was torn to pi e c e s by c ivil wars and b y its

’
g enerals rival claims for th e purple th e Al e xandrians ,
s e em to have tak en no part in th e struggles but to hav e ,
acknowl e dg e d e ach emp eror as soon as the n e ws r e ach e d

th em that h e had tak e n th e title In on e y e ar w e fin d .
A l e xandrian coins of M a xi rn i n and his s on Maximus ,
with those of the tw o Gor di ans who for a fe w w e eks ,
r eign e d in Carthag e and in th e n e xt year we again have

,
coins of Ma xi rn i n and Maximus with those of B a l bi n u s

,
and P u p i en u s and of G or di a n u s P ius

,
.
Th e P ersians takin g advantag e of the weakness in

,
th e empir e caus e d by thes e civil wars h a d latt e rl y bee n ,
harassing the east e rn fronti e r ; and it soon b e came th e

duty of th e young Gor di an to march against them in
p erson Hith erto the Roman arm i e s had usuall y b e e n
.
suc c e ssful ; bu t u nfortunat ely th e P ersians or rath e r , , ,
th e ir Syrian and Ar ab all ie s had latterly risen as much

,
a s th e Romans had fallen off in courage and warlik e skill .
Th e ar my of Gor di an was rout e d and the e mp e ror him ,
s e lf slain e ith e r by traitors or by th e e n emy H ereaft e r

,
.
w e shall s e e the Romans paying th e just p enalt y for

CHR I ST I A N P ERSEC U T I O N S 1 51
the example that the y had s et to th e surro u nding nations .
The y had taught them that conquest sho ul d be a people s ’
chi e f aim that the great use Of strength was to crush

,
a n eI gh b ou r ; and it was n ot long b efor e Egypt and th e

oth e r Eastern provinces suffer e d under th e samg tr e at
ment So little had d e f e at been exp e cted that the philo
.
sopher Plotinus had left hi s S tudi e s in A lexandria t o

j oin the army in hopes of gaining for hims elf an insight
,
into the Eastern philosoph y that was s o much talked of

in Egypt A fter the rout of the army he with di fficult y
.
e scaped to A ntioch and thence he removed to Rome

, ,
where he taught the new platonism to scholars of all

,
n ations including Serapion the celebrat e d

, ,
rhetorician and E u s toch i u s the phy sician

, , ,
from A lexandria .
Philip who is ac cu s e d by the hi storians of

,
’
being the author of Gordian s d e ath succe e d e d,
h im on the thr on e i n 244 ; but he i s onl y

known in the history of Egypt b y his A l e x
andrian coins whi ch w e find with the dat e s
,
of each of the seven y e a rs of his reign a n d ,
S YM B O L OF these seem to pro v e that for on e y e ar he had

EGYP T ' been associated with Gordian in the purpl e .
I n the reign of D ecius wh i ch b e g an i n 249 the Chris

, ,
tians of Egypt w e re again harassed b y the zeal with

whi ch the laws against their religi on were p u t in forc e .
The persecution began by their f ellow citizens informing

-
against them ; but in the next year it w a s foll ow e d up

by the prefect ZE m i l i a n u s ; and s ev eral Christians w er e
s um moned b e fore the magistrate and put to death Many .
1 52 EG YP T U N D ER THE R O MA N E MPI RE
fled for saf e ty to th e d e s er t and to Mount Sinai where ,
the y fe ll into a dang er of a di ffer ent ki nd ; th e y w e re

tak e n prison e rs by th e Sara c ens and carri e d away as
slav e s D ionysius th e Bishop of A l e xandria hims elf
.
, ,
fled from th e storm and was then banish e d to the village

,
of Cep h r o in th e des e rt But hi s flight was not without

.
some scandal to the C h urch as th ere were not a few ,
who thought that he was call e d upon by h i s rank at l e ast

to await if not to court th e pains of martyrdom Indeed
, ,
.
,
the p ersecution w a s l e ss r emarkable for th e sufferings

of th e Christians than for the numbers who failed in their
courage and re nounc e d Christianity und e r the th r eats

,
of the magistrat e D ionysius the bishop who had shown

.
, ,
no co ur age hims elf was willing to pardon their w e ak ness

, ,
and aft e r fit proof of sorrow again to receiv e them as

bre thr e n But hi s humanity offend e d the zeal of man y
.
whose distance from the danger had sa v ed them from

temptation ; and it w a s found necessary to s um mon a
co uncil at Rome to settle th e di sput e In this assembl y .
the moderate part y prevail e d; and some who refus e d

to receive back those who had once fallen away from the
faith w e re themselves tur n ed out of the Church .
D ionysius had succeede d H er a cl a s in the bishopric ,
having b efore succeeded hi m as h e ad of the catech e tical

s chool H e was th e author of several works wr itt e n in
.
,
defenc e Of th e trin i tarian opinions on the on e hand ,
against th e Egyptian Gnosti c s w h o said that th er e wer e ,
e ight and e ven thirt y persons in the Godh e ad and on

, , , ,
t h e Other hand against th e Syrian bishop P aul of Samo

, ,
S ata on th e Euphrates who said that J e sus was a man

, , ,
D O GMA A ND MY ST I C I SM 1 53
an d that th e Word and Holy Spirit were not person s but ,
a ttribut e s of G o d
,
.
But while D ionysius was thus engaged i n a c ont ro

v e r s y with such opposite opinions Egypt and L ibya w e r e ,
giving birth to a n e w vi e w of th e trinity S a b el l i u s .

,
Bishop of P tolemais n e ar Cyr e ne w a s putti ng f8r th th e

, ,
opinion that th e F ath e r Son and Holy Spirit w ere only

, ,
thr ee names for th e on e God and that the c r e ato r of th e

,
world had himself appear e d upon e arth i n the form of

J e sus A gainst thi s opinion D ionysius again e ngag e d in
.
controv e rsy argui ng against S a b el l i u s that Jesus was not

,
th e c re ator but the first of cr e at e d beings

, .
The Christians were thus e ach g e n eration changing

m or e and mor e somet i mes l e aning towards Greek poly
,
t h e ism and someti mes towards Eg yptian mysticism As .
i n each quarr e l th e most myst e rious opinions w e re

thought the most sacred e ach g eneration add e d n e w
,
myst e ries to i ts r eligion ; and the progre ss w a s rapid ,
from a practical pi e ty to a profe ssion of opinions whi ch

,
they did not pretend to un de rstand .
D u ring the reigns of Gallus of ZE m i l i u s ZE m i l i a n u s

, ,
a n d of Val e rian ( A D 25 1 . . the Al exandrians coin e d

mon e y in th e nam e of e a ch emperor as soon as the n ews
r e ach e d Egypt that he had made Italy acknowl e dge his
titl e Gallus and hi s s on r e igned two y e ars and four
.
m onths ; ZE m i l i a n u s who r e b e ll e d in P annonia re i gn e d

, ,
t hr e e months ; and Valerian reigne d about s i x y e ars .
Egypt as a trading co un try n ow suffered sev er ely

, ,
from the want of ord e r and qui e t gov ernment ; and in

p articular since th e r e ign o f Al e xand e r Sev e rus it had
1 54 EG YP T U N D E R THE ROMA N EMPI RE
b e en kept in a fev e r by re b ellions p ers e c utions and thi s
, ,
unceasing change of rulers Change brings the f e ar of

.
chang e ; and thi s fear ch e cks trade throws th e lab our er ,
ou t of employm ent and l e av e s the poor of the citi e s

,
without wages and without food F amin e is followed .
by di seas e; and Egypt and A l e xandria w er e visit e d in

the reign of Gallus b y a dr e adful plague on e of those ,
scour ges that force themselves on th e notice of the hi s

torian I t w a s probably the same di seas e that in a less
.
frightful form had been not uncommon in that country

and in the lower parts of Syria Th e phy sician Ar et aeu s
.
describes it und e r the name of ul cers on the tonsils I t .
s e ems by the letters of Bishop D ionysius that in A lexan

dria the population had s o much fallen off that the i n
habitants b e tween th e ages of fo ur te en and eighty wer e
not mor e than those betwe e n forty and seventy had b een
form e rly as app e ared by ol d records then existing The
,
.
misery that th e city had su fier e d may be measured b y

its l e ss ened numb ers .
D uring th e se latter years th e east ern half Of the em

”
pire was chi efly guarded by O d en a th u s of P almy ra th e ,
brave and fai thful ally of Rome und er whose wi se rul e

,
his country for a short time h eld a rank among the em

pires of th e world which it nev e r could hav e gained but
,
for an un i on of man y favourable circum stances Th e .
cit y and little state Of P almyra is situated about m i d

wa y b e tw e en the cities of D amascus and Bab ylon S e pa .
rat e d from the rest of the world b e tw e en the Roman ,
and the P arthi an empir e s P al m yra had long k ept its

,
freedom whi le each of thos e great rival powers rather

,
P ERS IA N A TTA C K S 1 55
cour ted its fri e ndship than aim e d at conquering it But .

,
as the c aus e of Rome gr e w We ak e r O d e n a th u s wis ely

,
threw hi s w e ight into th e light er s c al e ; and latt e rly ,
without aim i ng at conque st h e fo un d himself al m ost th e

,
sov ere ign of thos e provinc e s of th e Roman empir e which

w e re in dang e r of b eing ov e rrun by th e P e rsians Val e
O
.
rian hi mself was conqu ered tak en prisoner and p u t to

, ,
A H AR E M W IN D OW .
death b y Sapor King of P e rsia ; and Gallienu s hi s son

, , ,
who was i dl i ng away his lif e in di sgraceful pl e asur e s

in the West wisely gav e th e title of emperor to O dena
,
thus and d e clared him his colleague on the throne

,
.
N O sooner was Val e rian tak e n prison er than ever y

province of the Roman empir e fe elin g the sword pow e r
,
l e ss i n the w e ak hands of Galli enus de clar e d its own

,
general emperor ; and when M a c r i a n u s w h o had been ,

156 EG YPT UN D ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
l e ft in command in S yria gathered tog e ther the scattere d
,
forc e s of the East e rn army and made hims elf emperor ,
o f the East the Eg ptians owned hi m a s the ir sov e r e ign

y
, .
A s M a c r i a n u s found hi s a g e t oo gr e at for th e activit y

requi re d of a reb e l emp e ror h e made his tw o sons Mac , ,
r i a n u s junior and
, Qui,e tus h i s c oll e agues ; and,w e fin d
their nam e s on the coins of A l e xandria dat e d the first ,
and s e c ond years of the ir re ign But M a c r i a n u s was .
d e fe ated by D om i ni ti a n u s at the h e ad of a part of the

army of A ur e ol u s who had made hi mself emp e ror i n
,
Ill yricum and h e lost his li fe together with on e of hi s

, ,
sons whil e the oth e r soon afterwards met with the same
,
fate from O d en a th u s .
A ft e r thi s Egypt w a s governed for a S hort ti m e in

,
the name of Galli enus ; but th e fickle Al e xandrians soon

mad e a reb el emperor for themselves The Roman r e .
public says the hi storian w a s often in dang er from the

, ,
h e adstrong gid di n e ss of th e Al exandrians A n y civil it y .
forgotten a plac e in the baths not yield e d a heap of

, ,
rubbish or ev e n a p a l r of O l d shoes in th e stre ets w a s

, ,
often e nough to throw th e state into the greatest danger ,
a n d mak e it necessary to call ou t the troops to put down
the riots Thus one day on e of th e prefect s slaves was

.
, ,
’
b e at e n by th e soldi e rs for say ing that hi s S ho e s w er e

,
bett er than theirs O n this a riotous crowd gather e d

.
round th e house of ZE m i l i a n u s to complain of the conduct

of h i s soldiers H e was attack e d with stones and such
.
w e apons as a r e usually w ithin th e reach of a mob He .
had no choi c e but to call ou t th e troops who wh e n th e y , ,
had qui e ted the city and w e re intoxicat e d with their

I N F LU EN CE O F CHR I ST IA N I T Y 1 57
s uccess salu ted h i m with th e titl e of emp e ror ; and hatre d

,
of Galli enus made the rest of the Egyptian army agr e e

to their choice .
Thi s w a s in the y ear 265 The n ew emperor called.
hi mself Al exander and was even thought to des e rve th e

,
name H e gov e rned Egypt during his short r ei gn with

.
great vigour He led his army through th e Th ebaid and

.
,
drove back th e barbarians with a c o urag e and activity

which had latt e rly be e n uncom mon in th e Egyptian army .
Al exandria th e n sent no tribut e to Rom e We ll %can .
not we live without Egyptian l i n en Z was the forced “

.
j oke of Galli e nus when the Romans w e re in alarm at

,
the loss of the usual supply of grain But ZE m i l i a n u s .
w a s soon beat e n by Theodotus th e g e n e ral of Gallienus, ,
who b esie ged h i m in th e strong quart e r of Al e xan dr ia

called the B r u c h i um and then took him prisoner and
,
strangled h i m .
D ur ing this siege the m inist e rs of Christiani ty were

able to lessen some of the horrors of w a r b y pers u ading
the besi e g e rs to allow th e us e l e ss mouths to quit th e
blockaded fortre ss Eusebius afterwards Bishop of
.
,
L aodi c ea was without th e tr en ch e s trying to l e ssen th e

,
crueltie s of the siege ; and A n a tol i u s the Chr istian p eri ,
p a t e ti,
c was with i n th e walls end e avouring to p
,
e rsuad e
th e r eb els t o surr e nd e r Galli en u s in gratitude to his

.
g en eral would hav e grant e d him the honour of a pro

consular triu mph to dazzl e the e y e s of th e A l e xandrians ;
,
but th e policy of A ugustus w a s not wholly forgott en and ,
th e e mp e ror was r e mind e d by th e pri e sts that it was

un lawful for th e consular fasc e s to e nt e r A l e xandria .
The late Emperor Valerian had begun his reign with
mild tr e atm e nt of the Ch r istians ; but h e w a s ov er p er
S u a d e d b y the Al e xandrians . He then allowed the powe r
of the magistrate to be used, in order to check the C h r is
tian religion But in this w eakness of the empire Gal

.
l i en u s could no long e r with safet y allow the Christian s

to be p e rsecuted for their reli gion Both their num bers .
and their station made it dang erous to treat them as

enem i es ; and the emperor orde re d all p ers e cution to b e
stopped Th e i mp erial rescript for that p ur pose was
.
e ven addressed to D iony sius Pinna D em etrius and the

, , ,
other bishops ; it grants them full indulg ence in th e

ex ercis e of th e ir r eligion and by its v e ry addr e ss a h n os t
,
a c knowl e dges their rank in th e stat e By this e di ct of .
Gall i e nus th e Christians w er e put on a better footin g

than at any tim e S ince their numbers bro u ght them un der
the notice of the magistrate .
Wh en the bishop D ionysius returned t o Al e xan dr ia ,
h e found th e place sadl y ruined by the late si e g e The .
middle of the city was a v ast waste It was e asi er he .

,
says t o g o from on e en d of Egypt to the other than t o

,
cross the main str ee t which di vid e d the B r u ch i u m from

the west e rn en d of Al e xandria The place was still
.
’
marked with all th e horrors of last week s battl e Then .
,
as usual di sease and fam ine follow e d upon war Not a

,
.
hous e was without a fun e ral D e ath was e v erywhere t o

.
b e seen in its most ghastly form Bo di e s were l e ft u n

.
buri e d i n th e stre ets to b e e aten by th e dogs M en ran .
away from th e ir S ick enin g friends in fe ar A s the su n .
s et the y felt in doubt whether the y S hould be ali v e to

QU EE N Z E N O B IA 1 59
it rise in the morning Cowards hi d their alarms in

s ee .
nois y amus em e nts and laughter Not a fe w in v e ry d e

.
s pair rushed into riot and vice But the Chr istians c lung
.
to on e anoth er in brothe rly lov e ; they visit e d th e si c k ;

th e y laid out and buri e d th eir de ad ; and many of th em
the reb y caught the dis e as e th ems elv e s and died its mar
,
t yrs to the strength of th eir faith and lov e .
A s long as O d e n a th u s liv e d th e victories of th e P al

,
m y r en es w e re always over th e e nemies of Rome ; but on
h i s assass i nation together with hi s s on Herodes tho u gh

, ,
th e arm ies of P almyra were still l e d to battl e with e qual

“
c o ur age its counsels w e re no longer guid e d with th e sam e

,
moderation Zenobia the widow Of O d en a th u s seiz e d

.
, ,
t h e co m m and of the arm y for h e rs e lf and her infant sons ,
H er enn i u s and Ti m ol a u s ; and her masculine courag e and

s tern v irt u es well qualified her for the bold task that
S he had und ertaken She thr e w .
off the friends hi p of Rom e and ,
routed the armies which Galli e

nus sent against h er ; and claim ,
C O IN OF EN O BIA
Z .
ing to b e d e sc end e d from Cleo

p atra , s h e marched upon Egypt in 268 A D ,
to s e iz e
. th e .
,
t hrone of her ancestors and to add that kingdom t o Syria

,
and A sia Minor which sh e al ready possess e d

, .
Z en obi a s arm y w a s l e d by h e r g e neral Zabda who

’
, ,
was j oined by an Egyptian nam e d Ti m ogen es ; and with ,
s e vent y thousand P almyrenes S yrians and oth e r bar

, ,
b a r i a n s th e y routed the Roman arm y of fift y thousand

,
E gyptians u nder P r ob a tu s The unfortu nate Roman

.
general put an end to his ow n life ; but n e v e rthel e ss th e

1 60 EGYP T U N D ER THE R OMA N EMPI RE
P almyre nes w ere unsu c cessful and E gypt follow e d
,
th e
e xample of Rome, and took the oaths to Claudi us F or .
thr e e y e ars th e coins of Al exandria bear the nam e of that

e mperor .
O n the death of Clau di us h i s brother Qu intillu s

,
assum ed the purpl e in Europe ( A D and though

. .
he only r eign e d for sev e nt e e n day s the A l e xandr ian mint

found time to engrave new di e s and to issue coined mon ey
in his nam e .
O n th e d e ath of Claudius also the Palmyrenes r e

, ,
new e d th eir attacks upon Eg ypt and thi s second tim e ,
with su c c e ss Th e whole kingdom acknowledg e d Zeno

.
bia as the ir qu e en ; and i n the fourth and fifth years of

h er r eign in P almyra w e fin d h er name on the Al exan
drian coins Th e Gr e eks who had be e n masters of Egypt
.
,
for si x hun dr e d years e ither in their ow n name or in

,
that Of the Roman e mp e rors w er e th e n for the first

,
tim e gov e rn e d by an A siati c P almyra in the desert was

.
th en ornam ented wi th th e S poils of Egypt ; and travell ers

y e t admir e the r e mains of e ight large colu m n s of r e d
porphyry e a ch thirty fe e t high whi ch stood in front of
, ,
the two gat e s to th e gr e at t empl e Th ey sp e ak for them

.
s e lv e s and t e ll th eir O w n history From th e ir mat e rial

,
.
and form and siz e w e must suppos e that th e se column s

w er e quarri e d b e tw e en Th ebes and th e R e d S e a w ere ,
cut into shape by Egyptian workme n under th e guidance

of Gre e k artists in th e s e rvi c e of the Roman emp e rors ;
and w e re th enc e carrie d away by the Syrian qu e en

—
to th e oasis c ity in th e d e s ert b e tw een D amascus and
Babylon .
ZE N O B IA CO N Q U ERS EG YP T 1 61
Zenobia w a s a handsome woman of a dark compl e x

i on with a n aquil ine nose qui ck piercing e y e s and a
, , , ,
mascul i ne voice S h e had th e comman di n g qualiti e s of

.
Cl e opatra from whom h er fl a tter er s traced h er desc ent

, ,
and She was without h er vic e s Whil e Syriac was h er .
native tongu e s h e w a s n ot ignorant of L atin w l i i ch sh e

, ,
was car eful to have taught to her chi l dr e n ; sh e carri e d

on h er government in Greek and could sp e ak K op ti c ,
with the Egyptians whose h i story sh e had stu di e d and

,
written upon In her dress and manners sh e j oined th e

.
pomp of th e P ersian court to th e self de nial and m i litary -
virtues of a camp With these qualities follow e d by

.
,
a suc c ess in arms which th e y seemed to deserv e th e world ,
co ul d not help remarking that whi le Gallienus was wast ,
ing hi s time with fid dl er s and play ers in i dl eness that ,
would hav e disgraced a woman Zenobia was gov ern ,
ing her half of the empire li k e

a man .
Zenobia made A ntioch and

P al myra the capitals of h er
c om m or A m empir e and Egy pt became for
on on v s
,
the ti me a province of Syria Her r e ligion lik e h er lan .
guage was S yriac The name of her husband O dena

. ,
thus means sacred to the goddess A d on eth and that of

, ,
h er s on V a b a l l a th u s m e ans sacr e d to th e godd e ss Baal

, ,
eth But as her troops were many of th em Sarac ens

.
or A rab s a people nearl y the sa e

,
m a s the Bl my s
e m e ,
who already formed part of the people of Upper E gyp t ,
thi s conquest gav e a new rank t o that part of the p p

o u
lation ; and had the further result import ant in aft e r ,

1 62 EG YP T U N D ER TH E ROMAN EMPI R E
y ears Of causing th em to be l e ss qui et in their slavery
,
to the Greeks of A l e xan dr ia .
But th e sceptre of Rom e had lat e ly b e en grasp e d by

the firmer hand of A ur elian and the r eign of Zenobia ,
dr e w to a clos e A ure lian at first grant e d h er th e titl e

.
o f h i s coll e agu e in th e empir e and we fin d A l e xan dr ian

,
coins with her h e ad on on e side and h i s on the oth e r But .
h e lost n o tim e in l e ading his forc e s into Syria and aft e r , ,

’
routi ng Z en obi a s army in on e or two battl e s h e took ,
h e r prison e r at Em e ssa H e th e n led h er to Rom e wh e r e

.
, ,
aft e r b eing made the ornament of his triumph s h e was ,
allowed to spend th e rest of h er days in qui e t having ,
r e igned for fo ur y e ars in P almyra though o nl y for a ,
fe w months in Egypt .
O n th e defeat of Zenobia it would s e em that Eg ypt

and Syria wer e still l eft und e r th e gov ernm ent of on e of
h e r sons with th e titl e of c oll e agu e of A ur elian
,
The .
A l e xan dr ian coins are th e n dated in the first year of

A ur elian and the four th of V a b a l l a th u s or according , ,
to the Gre e k translation of th i s name of A th en od or u s , ,
who coun ted his y e ars from th e d e ath Of O d en a th u s .
The young H erod e s who had been kill e d with his

,
fath e r O d e n a th u s was not th e s on of Z e nobia but of a

, ,
former wif e and Zenobia always acted towards hi m with

,
th e unkindn e ss unfortunat e ly t oo comm on in a st e p

moth e r S h e had claim e d th e throne for h er infant sons
.
,
H e r en n i u s and Ti m ol a u s ; and w e a r e left in doubt by

th e historians about V a b a l l a th u s ; V op i s c u s who calls ,
him th e s on of Z e nobia does not t ell us who was his

,
father We know but littl e of him b e yond his coins ; but

.
GRO WI N G I MP ORT AN CE O F THE A R A BS 1 63
from these we learn that after reigni ng one y e ar with,
A u relian he aimed at reigning alon e took the titl e of

, ,
A ugustus and dr opp e d th e nam e of A ur elian from hi s

,
coins Th i s step was very lik e ly th e caus e of hi s ov e r

.
th row and d e ath whi ch happ ened i n th e y e ar 27 1

, .
on the overthrow of Z e n ob i a s family Egypt W hi c h

’
, ,
had be e n s o frui tful in reb els submitt e d to the Emp eror ,
A ur elian but it w a s onl y for a fe w months Th e Gre eks

,
.
of Al exan dr ia n ow less e ned in nu mbers w e r e found to

, ,
b e no long e r masters of the kingdom F orm e r r e b e llions .
in Egypt had been caused by the tw o Roman legions and

t h e Greek mercenaries someti mes claiming the right to
a ppo i nt an emp e ror to the Roman world ; but Z en ob i a s
’
conquest had raised the Egyptian and A rab popul ation

i n their own Opinion and they were no long e r willing
,
t o b e governed b y an A lexandrian or E u rop e an mast e r .
In 272 A D th e y s et up F i r m u s a native of Seleucia w h o

. .
, ,
took the title of emperor ; and resting his power on that ,
part of the population that had been treat e d as slav e s

or barbarians for s i x hu ndred y ears he a i med at th e ,
conqu e st of Al exan dr ia .
F i r m u s was a man of great size and bo di l y strength ,
a n d of course barbarian mann e rs

, ,
He had gained gr e at .
r iches by trade with In di a ; and had a pap e r trade s o
pro fitable that he u sed to boast that he could f e ed an army

on papyrus and glue His house was fu rnished with
.
g lass windows a lux u ry th e,

n but l l ttl e known and th e ,
squar e s of glass were fastened into the fram e s b y m e ans

of bitum e n His chi e f strength w a s in the A rabs or
.
B l emmyes of U pper Egypt and in the Saracens who had ,

1 64 EG YP T U N D ER THE RO MA N EMPI RE
lately been fighting against Rome under the standard of
Zenobia F i r m u s fix e d h i s gov e rnm e nt at K op tos and
.
P tolemais and h eld all Upp e r Egypt ; but h e e i ther n ev er

,
conquered Al e xandria or di d not hold it for many

,
months a s for e v ery y e ar that h e r e igne d in th e Th ebaid

,
we fin d A l e xan dr ian c oins b e arin g the name of A ur e lian .
F i r m u s was at last conqu e r e d by A ur elian in p erson ,
who took him prison e r and had hi m tortured and th e n

,
put to d e ath D uring th e s e troubles Rome had b e e n

.
thr own into alarm at th e thoughts of losing th e usual

supply of Egyptian grain as S inc e the reign of E l a ga
,
balus the Roman granari e s had never held more than was
wanted for th e y e ar ; but A urelian hasten e d to send
word to th e Roman p e ople that the country was again
qui e t and that the yearly supplies which had be en d e
, ,
lay e d by the wickedness of F i r m u s would soon arriv e,

.
Had F i r m u s rais e d the Roman l e gions in reb ellion he ,
would have been honoure d with the title of a reb e l em

p e r or ; but as his pow
,
e r rest e d on th e Egyptians and
A rabs A ur eli an onl y boast ed that he had rid the world
,
of a robb e r .
A noth e r reb el emperor about t hi s time was D om i tius

D om i ti a n u s ; but w e have n o c e rtain knowl e dg e of th e
y e ar in whi ch h e r eb ell e d nor ind e ed without the h elp
, , ,
of th e coins S hould we know in what pro vinc e of the
whole Roman empire h e had assum e d th e purple Th e .
historian only t ells us that i n the reign of A ur e lian the

g en eral D om i ti a n u s was put to d e ath for a i m m g at a
change We learn however from the coins that he
.
, ,
r eign e d for part of a first and a second y ear in Egypt ;

D EBA SE D C U RREN C Y 1 65
but th e subj ect of his reign i s not without its di fficul ties ,
as w e fin d A l e xan dri an coins Of D om i ti a n u s with L atin

inscriptions and dat e d in the third y e ar of his r e ign
, .
Th e L atin languag e had not at this tim e b e e n us e d on

th e coins of A l e xandria ; and h e co ul d not hav e h e ld
(
Al e xandria for any on e whol e y e ar as th e s eri e s of A ur e ,
lian s coins is n ot broken It is possible that th e L atin

’
.
coins of D om i ti a n u s may belong to a second and later

usur per of th e same name .
A u relian had r e ign e d in Rom e from the d e ath of

Claudius ; and notwithstanding th e four r eb els to whom
,
w e have giv e n th e title of sovereigns of Egypt mon ey w a s ,
coin e d in A l e xandria in his nam e during e ach of thos e

y e ars His coinag e how e v e r r eminds us Of the troubl e d
.
, ,
and fallen stat e of th e country ; and from this time for

ward copper O r rath e r brass i s th e only m e tal us e d
, , , ,
.
A ur elian left P robus in

th e command of th e E gy p
tian army and that g en
,
er a l s skill and a c tivity

’
foun d full e mplo ym e nt in

C O IN OFM D O W I T H L A T IN
I TI A N U S
driving back th e barba
IN S C R I P T I ON .
rians who press e d upon

the province on each of the th r e e sides on which it was
open t o attack His first battl e s w er e against th e A fri
.
cans and M a r m a r i d ae w h o were in arms on the sid e of

,
Cyren e and h e next took the field against the P almy

,
renes and Saracens w h o still claim e d Egypt in th e nam e

,
of the family of Z e nobia H e employ e d th e l e isur e of

.
his sol di ers in many useful works ; in r epairing bridg e s ,

1 66 EG YP T U N D ER THE R O MA N EMPI RE
t empl e s and portico e s and mor e partic ul arly in wide ning
, ,
th e tr e nch e s and ke e ping op e n the c anals and in such ,
other works as w e re of u s e in raising and forwarding th e

y e arly supply O f grain to Rom e A ur e lian in cre as e d th e
.
amount of the Egyptian tribut e which was paid in glass

, ,
pap e r linen h emp and grain ; th e latt e r h e in c r e as e d

, , ,
by on e tw e lfth part and h e plac e d a larg er numb e r of

-
shi ps on the voyag e to mak e th e supply c e rtain .
Th e Chr istians w er e w e ll tr e at e d during thi s r e ign ,
and th e ir patriar ch Ne ro so far took c ourag e as to build

th e Church of St Mary in A l e xandria
. This was prob .
ably th e first church that was built i n Egypt for th e

publi c s e rvi c e of Chr istianity whi ch for two hun dr e d
,
y e ars had b e en pre ached in privat e rooms and v ery oft e n ,
in se cr e t Th e s ervic e w a s in Gree k as ind e e d i t was

.
, , ,
in all parts of Egypt : for it do e s not appear that Chris

tian prayers were publi cly re ad in th e Egyptian languag e
b efore the quarr el b etw ee n the two churches made th e
K op ts unwilling to u s e Gr ee k pray e rs Th e li turgy th ere .
r e ad was probably v e ry n e arly th e sam e as that after

wards known as th e L i tu r g y of S t M a r k This is among . .
the old e st of the Chr i stian liturgi e s and it shows its ,
country by th e pray er that th e wat e rs of th e riv e r ma y

ris e to th e ir just measure and that rain may be sent
,
from heav en to th e co un tri e s that n e ed it .
We l e arn from the historians that e ight months wer e

a llow e d to pass b e tween th e d e ath of A ur elian and th e
choi c e of a suc c essor ; and during thi s time th e pow e r

r e st e d in the hands of his widow Th e sway of a woman .
was never openly acknowl e dged in Rome b ut th e ,

EG YP T CHOOSES AN EMP EROR 1 67
A lexan dr ians and Egyptians we re used to female rul e ,
and from cont emporary co i ns we l e arn that in Egypt th e

government w a s carried on in the name of th e Empr e ss
S ev e rina The last coins of A urelian b e ar th e dat e of
.
th e sixth y e ar of hi s reign and th e coins of S e v e rina are

,
dated in the sixth and seventh y e ars But aft e r Tai ci tu s

.
w a s chos e n emperor by his coll e agues of th e Roman

s e nate and during his short reign of S I x months ( A D
,
. .
his authority was obe y ed b y the Egyptian legions

und er P robus as is fully proved by th e Al exan dri an coins
,
b e arin g his name all dated in th e first y ear of his reign

,
.
O n the d e ath of T acitus hi s brother Florian hoped to

,
su c c e ed to the i mperial power and was acknowl e dged

,
in the same y ear b y the senate and troops of Rome .

But wh e n the news reached Egypt it w a s at onc e felt
by the legions that Probus both b y his ow n personal
,
qualities and b y the hi gh state of discipline of the army

un der hi s command and b y ,
his succ e ss against th e E gyp

tian reb els had a b e tter claim
,
to the p ur ple than any oth e r

general A t first the opinion
.
C O IN OF S E E R INA
V .
ran round the camp in a

whisper and at last the arm y spoke the gen e ral wish
,
aloud ; th e y snatched a purpl e cloak from a statue in

on e of the temples to throw over hi m the y plac e d him
,
on an earth e n mound as a tribunal a n d against his will

,
saluted him with the title of emp eror The choic e of th e .
Egyptian l e gions was soon approv e d of by A sia Minor ,
Syria and Italy ; Florian was put t o death and P robus

, ,
1 68 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMA N EM PI RE
shortly aft e rwards march e d into Gaul and Germany to ,
qui et thos e provinces .
A ft e r a y e ar or tw o Probus was r e call e d int o Egypt

,
by h e aring that th e Blemmy e s had ris en in arms and that ,
Upp er Egypt w a s again ind ep endent of th e Roman

pow e r Not only K op t os whi ch had for centuri e s b e e n
.
,
an A r ab city but e v e n P tol emais th e Gre e k capital of

, ,
the Th ebaid was n ow peopled b y those barbarians and

, ,
th e y had to be re conquered by Probus as fore ign citi e s ,
and k ept i n obe di ence by Roman garrisons ; and on

his r e tur n to Rome he thought his victori e s over th e
Bl emmyes of Upp e r Egypt not unworthy of a triumph .
By these unc e asing wars th e Egyptian l e gions had ,
lat ely b e e n brought into a high stat e of di scipline ; and ,
c onfid e nt in their str ength and in th e su c cess with which

,
they had made th ei r lat e ge n e ral emp e ror of th e Roman

world th e y n ow att empt e d to rais e up a rival to him
,
in the p erson of th eir pres e nt gen e ral S a tu r n i n u s Sat .
u r n i n u s had be e n mad e g e neral of th e East e rn fronti e r
by A ur elian who had gi v e n h i m strict orders never to

r
”
e nt e r Egypt Th e Egyptians
. says th e historian , ,
me aning howev e r th e A l e xandrians

, ,
are boastful v ain , , ,
S piteful li c entious fond of change cl e ver in making

, , ,
songs and e pigrams against th e ir rul e rs and much giv e n ,
to soothsaying and augury A ur elian w e ll knew that

.
th e loyalty of a succ e ssful g eneral was not to be tru st e d

in Egypt and du ring his life tim e S a tu r ni n u s nev e r e n
,
t e r e d that provinc e But aft e r his d e ath when P robus

.
,
w as called away to th e oth e r parts of the empir e th e ,
gov e rnm ent of Egypt was add e d to th e oth e r duti e s of

A REBE L R UL ER 1 69
S a tur ni n u s ; and no s o oner w a s h e seen there at the h e ad ,
of an a r my that se e med strong enough to enforce hi s
wishes than the fickle A lexandr ians saluted h i m with

,
th e title of emperor and A ugustus But S a tu r n i n u s was

.
a wise man and shun ned the dang erous honour ; he had
,
hitherto fought always for his country ; he had S aved

th e provinces of Spain Gaul and A frica from the e n e my
, ,
or from reb ellion ; and he knew the value of h i s rank and
character too well to fling it away for a bauble To .

_
escape from further difficulties he withdrew from Egypt ,
and mov e d his headquarters into Palestin e But the .
treasonable cheers of the Al exandrians CO Il l d neith e r b e

forgott e n b y himself nor b y his troops ; he had withstood
the cal ls of ambition but he yielde d at last to his fears ;
,
he becam e a rebel for fe ar of being thou ght on e and h e ,
d e clare d himself emperor a s the safe st mode of e scaping

p u nishment But he w a s soon afterwards d e feated and
.
strangled against the will of ,
the forgiving Probus .
O n the death of P robus in ,
A D 28 3 the empir e fell to

. .
,
C O IN
OF TR AJA N S S E C OND LEGI ON 0 3 11 1 8 a n d h i s S O Il S Num eri
’
.
anu s and Ca r i n u s whose names are found on the Al ex

,
andrian coins but whose short r eigns hav e l e ft no oth e r

,
trace in Egypt A t this time also we fin d u pon the coins

.
the name of Traj an s second Egyptian l e gion which was

’
,
at all tim e s station e d in Egypt and which acting upon , ,
an authority that was usu all y granted to the Roman

legions in the vari o u s provinces coin e d mone y of several ,
kinds for the ir own pay .

The reign Of D iocletian beginning in A D 28 5 w a s on e
,
. .
,
of sufferin g to th e Egyptians ; and in the fourth y e ar

th e p e opl e ros e against th e Roman government and gave ,
th e titl e Of emp e ror to A c h i l l e u s th e ir l e ad e r in the r e

,
bellion G a l er i u s th e Roman g en eral led an army again st

.
, ,
th e r e b els and mar ch e d through the whol e of th e The

,
baid ; but though th e Egyptians w e r e routed whenev e r

,
they wer e bold enough to me e t the l e gions in battle y et ,
th e r eb ellion w a s not very easily crushed Th e Romans.
w er e scarc ely obeyed beyond th e spot on which th eir

arm y was encamped In the fourth y e ar Of th e r eb e llion
.
,
A D
. 29 2 D io c letian came t o Egypt and the citi e s of
.
, ,
K op tos and Busiris wer e besieged b y the emp eror in

person and wholl y destroy e d after a regular si e g e
, .
Wh en D iocletian reached the southern limits of Egypt

he was able to judge of the difficul ty and ind e ed the ,
us elessness Of trying to hold any part of Ethi opia ; and

,
h e found that th e tribute levied there was less than the

cost of the troops requi r e d to collect it H e th e refore .
made a new treaty with the N ob a tae as the people b e ,
tw e en the first and second cataracts w ere n ow call e d .
H e gave up t o th e m th e whol e of L ower Ethiopia or the ,
province call e d Nubia The vall e y for sevent y m i les

.
above Sy en e which bore the name of the D od e ca s ch oen os

, ,
had been h eld by A ugustus and his succ e ssors and thi s ,
was now giv en up to th e original inhabitants D iocl e tian .
str ength ened the fortifications on th e isle of Elephantin e ,
to guard what was thenceforth the uttermost point of

d e fence and agr ee d to pay to th e N ob a tae and Bl emmy e s
,
a yearly s um of gold on th e latter promising no longer

DI OC L ET I AN S H U MA N I T Y
’
1 71
to harass Upp er Egypt with th eir marau di ng inroads ,
and on th e form e r pro m i sin g to forbid th e Blemmyes

from doing s o What remains of th e Roman wall b ui lt
.
against th e inroads of th e s e troubl e som e n e ighbours run s

along the e dg e of th e c ultivat e d land on th e e ast sid e of
th e river for som e di stanc e to the north of th e ca taract .
But s o much was th e str ength of the Gre ek party

less e n e d and s o d e e ply rooted among th e Egyptians was
,
th e ir hatr e d of th e ir rul ers and th e b elief that th e y S hould

th e n be abl e to throw off the yok e that soon aft e rwards
,
Al exandria declared in favo u r of A ch i l l e u s and D i ocl e

,
tian was again called to Eg ypt to r e gain the capital .
Such was th e stre ngth of the rebels that the city could
n ot b e taken without a regular siege D iocl e tian s u r
.
roun ded i t with a di tch and wall and tur n e d asid e the
,
canals that supplied the citizens with water A ft er a .
tedious S iege of eight months A lexandria was at last

,
taken b y storm in 29 7 and A chi l l eu s w a s put t o death

,
.
A large part of the city was burnt at th e storm i ng nor ,
would the punish m ent of the citizens have there e nd e d ,
but for D iocletian s hum ane interpretation of an accident

’
.
Th e horse on which he s a t stum bled a s h e entered th e

city with his troops and he had the humanit y t o und er
,
stand i t as a command from heaven that he should stop

th e pillage of the cit y ; and the citizens in gratitude
e r e ct e d near th e S pot a b ronze statue of the horse t o
which the y owed S O mu ch This statue has long sinc e

.
b e en lost bu t we cannot b e mistaken in the place where

,
it stood Th e lofty colum n in th e centre of the templ e

.
Of Serapis n ow well known b y the name of P omp ey s

,
’
Pillar once held a statue on the top and on the base
,
1
,
it still b e ars th e ins c ription of the grat eful citiz e ns To ,
th e most honoure d emp e ror the saviour of Al exandria , ,
th e un c onqu e rabl e D iocl e tian .
This r eb e llion had last e d more than nin e y e ars and ,
th e Egyptians s e em e d n e v e r in want of mon e y for th e

purposes O f the war D iocl e tian was struck with th e ir
.
riches and h e ordered a careful search to be made through

,
Egypt for all writings on alch emy an art whi ch the ,
Egyptians studied togeth e r with magic and astrology .
Th e se books he ord e red to b e b u rnt un der a b e li ef that ,
th e y were the gre at sourc e s of th e ri ch e s by whi c h his

o w n power had b e en resist e d Want and mis e ry no doubt
.
caused thi s rebellion but the r e b ellion c e rtainly caused

,
mor e want and mis e ry Th e navigation of the Nile was

.
stopped the canals w e r e n o long er k ept c l e ar e d th e fiel ds

, ,
w ere ba dl y tilled trad e and manufactur e s w e re ruin e d

,
.
Since th e rebellions against th e P e rsians Egypt had ,
n ev e r suffe r e d s o much It had b e en sa dl y changed by

.
th e troubl e s of th e last S ixty ye ars during which it had ,
b ee n s i x tim e s in arms against Rom e ; and when th e

r eb e llion was put down by D io cl etian it was no long e r ,
th e same co un try that it had b ee n under th e An tonin e s .
Th e fram e work of soci e ty had b e e n shak e n th e Gr e e ks ,
had l e ssened in numbers and still more in w e ight Th e

,
.
fall of th e P tol emi e s and th e conqu e st by Rome di d not

, ,
mak e so gr e at a chang e Th e bright days of Egypt as

.
a Gre e k kingdom b e gan with th e building of A l e xandria

and th ey ended with the r ebellions against Gallienus ,
1
S ee V o l um e X, . p a g e 317 .
CHRI ST IA N P ERSEC U T I ON S 1 73
A ur el i a n and D iocletian T he native Egyptians both

.
,
K op t s and A rabs n ow rise into mor e noti c e as th e Gr ee k

, ,
c ivili sation S inks around th em A n d soon the upp e r

.
c lasses among th e K op t s to avoid th e duty of maintain

,
ing a fam i ly of childr e n in such troubl e d tim e s rush by ,
thousands into monast e rie s and conv ents and further ,
less e n the pop ul ation by th e ir r eligious vows of c eliba cy .
In the tw elfth y e ar of th e r e ign that in whi ch Al e x,
a n dr ia r e belled and th e siege was b e gun th e Egyptian ,
coinage for the most part c e as e d Henceforth though .

,
money w a s often coin e d in A l e xandria as in ev e ry oth er

great cit y of the empire th e ins criptions w e re usuall y
,
in L atin and the d e signs th e sam e as thos e on the c O I n S

,
o f Rome . In taking leav e of thi s long and valuable seri e s

O f coins with dates ; which has b e e n our guid e in the
chronology of these reigns we must n ot forget to a c

,
knowl e dg e h ow much we ow e to th e labours of the learn e d

Z o e ga . In hi s N u m i zE gy p ti I m p er a tor i i the m ere d e ,
s c r i p ti on s al most without a remark speak the very

, ,
w ords of history .
The re ign of D iocletian is chi efly remarkabl e for th e

n e w law which was th e n mad e against th e Chr istians ,
and for the cru el severity with whi c h it was put into
force The issui ng of this e dict in 304 A D which was
.
. .
,
to root out Chr istianity from th e world took place in ,
th e tw e nti e th y e ar of th e r e ign according to the Al ex

,
a n dr i a n s or in the n i neteenth y e a
’
,
r aft e r the emp eror s
first installation as cons ul as y e ars w e re r e ckon e d in
,
th e oth e r parts of th e e mpir e T h e chur

. c h e s whi c h S in c e ,
the reign of Gallienus had b ee n e v erywh e r e rising w e r e ,

1 74 EG YP T UN D E R THE ROMA N EMPI RE
ordered to be destroyed and the Bibles to be b ur nt whi l e ,
banishm ent slavery and d e ath wer e the punish m ents

, ,
threatened against those who obstinately clung to their

religion In no province of the empir e w a s the p e rse
.
c u ti on more sever e than in Egypt ; and many C h r istian s
fled to Syria wh ere the law though th e same was mor e

, , ,
m i ldly carried into ex e cution But the Christians w ere .
t oo num e rous t o fly and too few t o resist Th e eccl e sias .
tical writ ers pr e sent us with a sad tale of tortures and

of d e ath borne by those who refus e d t o r e nounce th e ir
—
faith a tal e whi ch is only mad e l e ss s a d by the doubt
,
h ow far th e writ e rs fe elings may have misl e d th e i r

’
judgment and mad e th em ov e rstate the numb ers

,
.
But we may saf ely r ely upon the account which E u s e

b i u s gives us of what h e hims elf saw in Eg ypt Many .
w e re put to death on th e same day some beheaded and ,
som e burn t The execution e rs w e re tir e d and th e h e art s

.
,
of th e pagan judges melt e d by the un flinchi ng firmness
of the Christians Many who w e r e emin ent for w e alth

.
,
rank and learning chos e to l a y down th eir lives rath e r

,
than throw a few grains of wh e at upon the altar or c om ,
ply with any ceremony that was r e qui r e d of th em as a

r eligious t e st Th e judg e s begg e d them to think of th e ir
.
wiv e s and childr en and point e d ou t that the y w er e th e

,
c aus e of th eir ow n death ; but th e Christians w er e usually

fir m and w e re b ehead e d for th e r e fusal to tak e th e t e st
,
.
Am ong th e most c el e brat e d of th e Egyptian martyr s .
w e re P et e r Bishop of A l e xandria with F austus D i u s

, , , ,
and A m m on i u s pr e sbyt ers unde r him ; th e l e arn e d Phi

,
l e as Bishop of Th m u i s H es y ch i u s th e e di tor of th e
, , ,
MA RT Y RD OM O F P H I L O R O MU S 175
S eptuagint and the Bishops P achom i us and Theodorus ;

,
though the pagans must have b ee n still more s u rpris e d

a t P h il or om u s th e r e c e iv e r g e n e ral of th e tax e s at A l ex
,
-
andria Thi s man aft e r th e pr efect O f Egypt and th e

.
,
g en e ral of th e troops was p e rhaps th e high e st Roman

,
offic e r i n th e provin c e He s a t in public as a j udg e in

.
A l e xan dri a sur rounded by a guard of sol di e rs dail y d e

, ,
ci di ng all caus e s re lating to the taxes of Egypt He was .
accused of no crime but that of b e ing a Christian whi ch ,
he was e arn e stly entreat e d to d e ny and was at lib e rty ,
in di re c tly to disprove by j oining in some pagan sacrific e .
The Bishops of A lexandria and Th m u i s may have b een

stre ngth ened under their trials by th eir rank in th e
church by having themselves urg e d oth ers to do their
,
duty i n the same case but th e r e c eiv e r g e n eral of th e

,
-
taxes could hav e had nothi ng to encourage him but th e

strength of his faith and a nobl e s c orn of fals ehood ; h e
was r e proach e d or ri di cul e d by all around h i m but he ,
r e fused to deny his r eligion and was b ehead e d as a ,
common criminal .
The ready ministers of thi s persecution w ere Cul ei

anus th e pr e fect of the Thebaid and H i er oc l e s th e p r e
, , ,
f e et of A l e xandria Th e latter was peculiarl y w ell

.
chosen for the task ; h e added the z e al of the th e ologian

to th e r e ady Obe di e nce of the soldi e r H e had writt en .
against th e Christians a work nam e d P h i l a l e th es ( th e

lover of truth ) whi c h we n ow kn ow only in the answ e r
,
by Eus ebius of C ae sar e a In this h e deno u nced th e

.
apostl e s as impostors and the Christian mira cl e s as

,
trifli ng ; and comparing th em with the pretende d

,
1 76 EG YP T UN D ER THE ROMA N EM PI RE
m iracles of A pollonius of Tyana h e pronounced the latt e r
,
more num erous mor e i mportant and better a u th en ti

, ,
c a t e d than the form e r by the evangelists ; and he ridi
c ul e d the C h r istians for call ing J e sus a god whi le th e ,
pagans di d not raise A pollonius hi gher than a man b e

lo v ed b y the gods .
Thi s persecution under D iocletian w a s on e of the

most severe that the Christians ever un derwent from
th e Romans It did n ot how e v er wholly stop the r elig
.
, ,
ious services nor break up th e r e gul ar governm ent of

,
the Church In the cat e chetical school P i er i u s whom we

.
, ,
have befor e spok e n of as a man of learning was s u c ,
c ee d e d by Th e o gn os tu s and th e n by Serapion whose ,
nam e remin ds u s that the Egyptian party was gaining

weight in th e A lexandrian church I t c an har dl y hav e .
been for hi s su p erior learning it may hav e been because

,
his opin ions were becom ing more popular than those
of the Greeks that a professor with an Egyptian name
,
was placed at the head of the catech e tical school S e .
rapion was succeeded by P eter w h o aft erwards gained

,
the bishopric of A l e xandria and a martyr s crown But ’

.
these m en were little known be y ond their lectur e room -
In the twentieth y e ar of th e reign on the death of P eter

, ,
the Bishop of A l e xandria who lost hi s life as a martyr

,
the presbyt ers of the chur ch met to choose a s u ccessor .
A mong their num ber was A rius whose name afterwards

,
became s o famous in eccl e siastical hi story and who had ,
already even b efore he was ordained a priest O fi en d e d

, ,
man y b y the bold manner in whi ch he stated his religious

op i nions . B u t upon him if we ma y be l ie v e a p artial
,
THE E RA O F THE MA RT Y RS 1 77
hi storian the maj orit y of vot e s fell in the choice of a

,
patriarch of A l exandria and had he not him s elf mod

,
e s tl y given way to the more ambitious A l e xander he ,
might p e rhaps hav e been saved from th e treatment which

h e aft e rwards suffered from his rival .
.
When in the y e ar 305 D iocletian and his col l é a gu e
, , ,
Val erius M a xi m i a n resigned the purple Egypt with the

, ,
r e st of the East was given t o G a l er i u s who had al so as ,
C aesar been named M a xi rn i a n on his Egyptian coins ,
whi le Constantius Ch l or u s ruled the West G a l er i u s in .
307 granted some slight indulgence to the C h ri stians

without wholly stopping the persecution But a l l favou r .
w a s again withdrawn from them by his successor Max
imin w h o had inde e d misgoverned Egypt for some y e ars

, ,
under the title of C aesar before the rank of A u gu st u s

,
was granted to h im He encouraged private inform ers

.
,
he s et to wnsman against townsman ; and as the wishes ,
of the emperor are q uickl y und e rstood b y all un der h i m ,
those w h o wished for his favour courted it b y giving

him an excu se for his cruelties The citi e s sent u p peti
.
tions to hi m b egging that the Christians mi ght not b e

,
allowed to have churches within their walls The his .
tory of these r eigns indeed is little more than the hi story

of the persecutions ; and when the A lexandrian astron
omers dr opping the era of A ugustu s began to date from

, ,
the first y ear of D iocletian the Christian writers in the

,
sam e way dated from the Era of th e Martyrs .
It can be no matter of surpris e to us that in a p er ,
s ec u ti on which threatened all classes of society there

S ho ul d hav e b een many w h o when the y were acc u sed of
,
b e ing Chri stians wanted the courage to un dergo th e
,
pains of martyrdom and e sc ap e d th e punish m ent b y

,
j oining In a pagan sacrifice When th e storm was blown

.
ov er th e se men again asked to be rec e ived into the

,
Chu rch and their conduct gav e rise to th e very same

,
quarrel that had di vided th e Christians in th e reign of

D e cius Meletius a bishop of th e Thebaid was at the
.
, ,
head of the party who would make no allowance for the

w e akness of their bre thren and who r efused to grant
,
t o th e repentant th e forgiven e ss that they ask e d for He .
had hims elf borne the same trials without ben di ng he ,
had been sent as a cri mi nal to work I n the Egyptian

m i nes and had ret ur ned to Al exandria from hi s banish
,
m ent pro u d of his sufferi ngs and fur ious against those
,
who had escaped through cowardic e But the larger part .
of the bishops were of a more forgiving nat ur e ; th e y

c ould n ot all boast of the same constanc y and the r e ,
p e n t a n t Christians were r e ad m i tted into commu ni on

with the faithful while the followers of Meletiu s were
,
brand e d with the name of heret ics .
In Al exandr ia Meletiu s soon found another and a s

, ,
it pro v ed a more memorable occasion for the display

,
of his zeal He has the unenviable hono u r of being the

.
author of the great A rian quarrel by accusing of heres y ,
Ar ius at that time a presb y ter of th e chu rch of B a u ca l a

,
near Al exandria and b y calling upon A l e xander the

, ,
bishop to in qui re into hi s b elief and to conde m n it if

, ,
found unso u nd A riu s frankl y and openly acknowledged

.
his opinions : h e thought Je sus a cr e ated being and ,
would speak of him in no hi gher terms than thos e u s e d

THE W O R SH IP O F M I THR A 1 79
in the New Testament and A postles Creed and defended

’
,
hi s Opin ions b y an appeal to the Script u res But he soon .
found that hi s defence was thought weak and without , ,
waiting to be condem n ed, he with dr ew b e fore the storm

to P alestine wh e re he remaine d till s um moned b efor e
,
the cou nc il of Nic aea in the comi ng reign .
It was during these reigns of trouble abo u t whi ch ,
hi stor y is sadly s il ent when Greek learni ng was sinkin g

, ,
and aft e r the country had been for a year or two in the
power of the S yrians that the worship Of Mithra w a s
,
brought into A lexandria where sup erstitio u s ceremonies

,
and phi losophical subtleties were equall y welcom e .
Mithra Wa s the P ersian god of the s un ; and in the

system of two gods on e good and the other wicked he
, ,
was the god of goodn e ss .
The chief s ymbol in his wor

shi p was th e figure of a
y o ung hero in Phrygian cap
and trousers mounted on a ,
sinking bull and stabbing it

,
in sacrifice to the g od In .
a deserted part of A l e xan

dria called the Mi th r i um
, ,
SYM BO L M ITH RA
es . his rites were cel ebrat e d
among ruins and rubbish ;
and hi s ignorant fol lowers were as ignorantl y accused
of there sla ying their fellow citizens on his altars
-
.
It was about the same tim e that the e astern doctrine

of Man i cheism was said to have been brought into Egypt
b y P a p u s and Thomas or Hermas Thi s sect if s e ct

, .
,
18 0 EGYP T U N D ER THE ROMA N EMPI RE
it ma y b e called owed i ts origi n to a certain Majus Mani
, ,
banished from P ersia und e r th e Sassanides ; thi s Mani

was a tal e nt e d man highly civilis e d through his studies
,
and vo y ag e s in distant lands In his e xil e he conc e ived

.
th e id e a of putting hi ms e lf forward a s th e r e former of

th e r eligions of all th e p e opl e s h e had visit e d and of ,
r e ducing them all t o on e universal r eligion Banished .
by th e Christians to whom h e r epres ent e d h i m s elf as

,
the di vin ely inspir e d apostle of Je sus in whom th e ,
Comfort er had app e ared h e r e turn e d to P e rsia taking

, ,
with him a book of the Gosp els adorned b y extraor di nary

paintings Her e he obtain e d at first th e favour of the
.
king and the people till finally aft er many chang e s of

, ,
fortun e he was pur sued by th e magi and convi c t e d in

, ,
a sol emn disputation of falsifying r eligion ; he was con

d em n e d to th e t e rribl e punishm ent Of b e ing flay e d aliv e ,
aft e r which hi s skin was to b e stuffed and hung up ov e r

th e gat e s of th e royal city His t e a ching con sist e d in a
.
mixture of P e rsian and Christian Gnostic views ; its -
middle final point was th e du alism of good and evil which

rul e s in the world and in th e hum an breast .
’
A ccording to Mani s cre e d th ere wer e originally two ,
principl e s God in His kingdom of light and th e demon

, ,
with his kingdom of darkn e ss and th e se two principles ,
exist e d ind epend e ntly of e ach oth er Th e powers of .
e vil f ell into strif e with each oth e r until hurl e d away , ,
by their inward confusion th e y r e ached th e out ermost

,
e dge of th e ir ow n kingdom and from th e r e b e h e ld th e

,
kingdom of light in all its glory Now th e y c e as e d th e ir .
strife among thems elv e s and united to do b attle to the

THE TE A CH IN G O F MA G U S MA N I 1 81
kingdom of light To meet them G od cre ated the or I g

.
,
”
inal man, who armed with the fiv e pur e e leme nts light
, , ,
fir e a i r wat e r and earth advanced to meet th e hostil e

, , , ,
powers He was defeat e d though finally saved ; but a

.
,
part of hi s light had thus made i ts way into th e realm

Of darkness In order gradually to r e gain thi s l i ght
.
,
God caus ed the mother of lif e to creat e th e visible world ,
in which that light lies hidden as a living p ower or world

soul awaiting i ts deliverance from the bonds of matt e r .
In order to accomplish this red emption two new b eings ,
of light proc e ed from G o d viz : Christ and th e Holy ,

.
Ghost of whom the former Christus Mithras has h i s

, , ,
abod e in the su n and moon the latter in the eth er ,
di ffused around the e ntire world Both attract the pow .
er s of light which have sunk into the material world in
order to lead them back finally into the e verlasting , ,
re al m O f light To Oppose them how e v er th e d emons

.
, ,
cre ated a new be in g viz : man aft er the e xample of the

,
.
,
”
original man and united in h i m the clearest light and
,
the darkness pecu liar to themselves in order that the ,
great strife might b e renewed in his breast and s o man ,
became the point of union of all th e forces in the uni

verse the m i crocosm i n whi ch two prin ciples ev e r strive
,
for the mastery Through the enticem ents Of th e ma

.
t er i a l and the illusions of th e d emon th e soul of light w a s ,
h eld in bondage in spite of its indw elling capacity for

freedom s o that in h e athenism a n d Judaism th e son
,
of e v e rlasting light as the soul of the univers e w a s

, ,
chain e d t o matt e r In ord e r to accomplish this work

.
of redemption mor e quickly Christ finall y leav e s his ,

th r one at God s right hand and appears on earth truly
’
, ,
in hum an form but only with an appar e nt body ; hi s

,
sufferin g and d e ath on the cross are but illusions for th e

multitude although historical facts and th e y serve at
, ,
the same tim e as a symbol of th e light imprison e d in

matter and as a t ypical expression of th e suffering
, ,
pour ed ou t over the whole of natur e ( e specially in th e

plant world ) of th e gr e at physical w e l ts c h m er z Christ
-
, .
,
through hi s teaching and pow e r Of attraction b e gan th e ,
d eliv e rance of th e li ght s o that on e can trul y s a y that

,
th e salvation of th e world proceeds from rays which

stream from the Cross ; a s howev e r his teachings w e re
, ,
conceived by the apostles in a Je wish s e nse and th e ,
Gosp els were disfigur e d Mani appeared as the comfort e r

,
promis e d by Christ to accomplish the victory In his .
writings only is th e pur e truth pr e served F inall y th ere .
will b e a complete s eparation of th e light from th e dark

n e ss and then the powers of darkness will fall u pon each
,
other again .
The ignorant in al l ag e s bf Christianit y seem to hav e

h e ld n e arly th e same opinion in on e form or othe r think ,
ing that sin has arisen eith e r from a wicked being or

from th e wickedness of the flesh its elf Th e Jews alone .
proclaim e d that God cr e at e d good an d G od created evil .
But w e know of few writ e rs who have ever owned th em

s elv e s Manicheans though many hav e b e e n reproached
,
as such ; th eir doctrin e is now known only in th e works

writt e n against it O f all h eresies among the Christians
.
this is the on e most d enoun c e d by the ecclesiastical

writ ers and most severely thr e atened by the laws when
,
THE D OGMA OF THE RES U RRECT I ON 183
the law makers became C h ristian ; and of all the accu

s a ti on s of the angry controversialists this was the most
r eproachful We might almost think that the nu mero u s

.
fath e rs w h o hav e written against the Manicheans must

have had an easy v ictory when the enemy never app ear e d
in the field when their writings were scarcel y answered
, ,
or their arg um ents deni ed ; but perhaps a j u ster view
wo ul d lead u s t o remark how mu ch the writers as well ,
a s the readers must ha v e felt the di ffic u lt y of acco u nting

,
for the origin of e vil since men ha v e r un into s u ch wild

,
opinions to explain it .
A n other heres y which for a time made e v en a s mu ch

,
noise as the last w a s that Of H i er a c a s of L e on top ol i s

, .
Even in Egypt where for two thousand y ears it had been

,
the custom to make the bo di es Of the dead into mum m ies ,
to embalm them against the da y of resurrection a cu stom ,
which had been usuall y practised b y the Christians thi s ,
nativ e Egyptian ventu red to teach that nothing bu t th e

soul w oul d rise from the dead and that we mu st look ,
forward to onl y a spiritual res u rrection H i er a c a s was a .
man of some learn ing and much to the vexation of thos e

, ,
who O pposed hi s arguments he co ul d repeat nearl y th e ,
whole Bible b y heart .
The Bishop H e s y ch i u s the martyr in the late perse

,
c u ti on
,
was on e of the learned men of the tim e H e .
had published a new e di tion of the S ept u agint O ld Tes

tament and also of the New Testament Thi s e di tion
,
.
was valued and chiefly used in Egypt whi le that by ,
Lucianu s w h o suffered in the same persecu tion was

, ,
read in A sia Minor from Constantinople to An tioch ,

and the older e di tio n b y Origen remained in u s e in
Pale sti ne But such w a s th e c re di t of A l exandria as
.
,
the chief seat of Christian learning that distant church e s

,
s e nt there for copies of th e Scriptures for eign tr a n s l a

,
tions were mostly made from Al e xandrian c opies an d ,
the gr e ater num ber of C h r istians e ven now read the

Bible accor di ng to th e e di tion by H e s y ch i u s We must
.
,
however fear that these e di tors were by no means j udi

,
c i ou s in th e ir labo u rs .
F r Om the text itself w e

can learn that the e arl y
Copiers of the Bible
thought those manu
s c ripts most valu able
whi ch were mos t ful l .
Many a gloss and mar

g i n a l note got written
into the text . Their
d ev o tional fe elin g s
blinded their critical
j udgment ; and the y
n e ver ventured to p ut
aside a modern ad di
tion as spur iou s Thi s
.
mistaken view of th eir

duty had O f ol d guided
th e Hebr e w copiers in
D OM E P A L M OF UPPE R EGYP T
.
Je rusal em ; and though

in Al exan dr ia a juster criticism had be en applied to the
copies of Homer it was not thought prop er to u s e th e
,
V ERS I ON S O F THE B I B L E 185
same good sense wh e n maki ng copies of the Bible S O .
strong was the habit of grafting the additions into th e

t e xt that th e Gr e e k translation became more c opious
than the Hebr e w original a s the L atin soon aft erwards
,
b e came more copious than the Gre ek .
It was about thi s ti m e at least after Th e od oti on s

,
’
translation of D ani el had r e c e i v e d the sanction of the

A l e xandrian c hur c h and when the teachers of Chr i stian
,
ity found wil li ng h e ar e rs in every city of Egypt that the ,
Bible was translated into the language of the country .
We hav e n ow parts of several K op ti c v e rsions Th e y .
ar e translated closel y and n e arly word b y word from

,
the Gr e e k ; and bein g meant for a people among whom

,
that language had been spoken for centur ies about on e ,
word in fiv e is Gree k The Thebaic and Bashmuric

.
v ersions may have b een translated from the e di tion by

H e s y c hi u s ; but th e K op ti c v ersion seems older and its ,
value t o th e Biblical critic is very great as it helps us , ,
with the quotations in O rigen and Clemens to di stin ,
gui sh the e di tion of the sacred text whi ch was then used
in A l exan dr ia and is shown in the c e lebrated Vatican
,
manuscript from the later e di tions used afterwards in

,
Constantinopl e and Italy when C h ri stian l iterature

,
flouri shed in those coun tries .
Th e Emperor Maxi m i n di e d at Tars u s in A D 31 3 . .

,
after b eing defeated by Licinius who li k e himself had ,
b e e n rais e d to the rank of A ugustu s by G a l er i u s and t o ,
whom the empire of Egypt and the East then f ell whi l e ,
Constantine the s on of Constantius go v e rned Italy and

, ,
th e W est L icinius held hi s empire for ten years against

.
the gro win g strength of his colleague and riv al ; bu t
the ambition of Constantin e incr e as e d with hi s power,
and Licini us w a s at last forced t o gather together his

army in Thrace to defend hi mself from an attack His
, .
forces consisted of one hundr ed and fifty thousand foot ,
fifte e n thousand horse and three hundred and fifty

,
triremes of whi ch Egypt furnished e ight y He was

,
.
d efeated near A drianople ; and then upon a prom i se

,
that his life shoul d be spared he surrendered to Con

,
s ta n ti n e at Nicome di a
‘
. But the promi se was forgotten

and L icini us hanged and the Roman w orld w as onc e
,
more go v erned b y a S ingle emperor .

AN A NC IEN T EG YP T I A N NE C LA C K E .
CH A P TE R II
TH E C H RIS T IA N P E R IO D I N E G Y PT
Th e A sce n d en c y of th e n ew re li gi on : A i n c ont o v si s Th Z n ith

Th e r a r er e : e e
of m o n a s t I CI s m : Th e fin a l st r uggl f P g n is m Th d cli n f
e o a a : e e
Al x n d i
e a r a.
e o
O O MI NG under the
Roman sway
the Greek world underwent
n ot onl y politically but also i n
tel l e c tu a l l y a complete change , .
A s the Roman conquest had worn

away all political di fferences and
national di vergences and by un it , ,
ing the various races u nder the

rule of the empire was bringing
to its cons ummation the work
b e gun by th e Ma c edonian c on
u e r o r it could not fail to i nfl u
q ,
THE PA PY RUS F OW E R L
ence the train of thought O n
.
th e on e hand th e political and ideal structur e of Gr e e k

life was crumbling and bringing down the support and
18 7
188 THE CHR I ST IA N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
gu iding principle suppli e d b y the duti e s of citizenshi p
and th e d e votion to th e commonwealth Man was thrown .
upon hi ms elf to fin d th e principl e s of conduct The .
customary morality and re ligion had been S haken i n

the ir foundations The b e li e f in th e O l d gods and the
.
ol d r e ligion was u ndermin e d Philosophy e ndeavoured

.
to oc c upy the place left va c ant by th e gradual decay of

the national religion Th e in di vidual s e ekin g for sup
.
,
port and S piritual guidanc e found it or at l e ast i m a g

, ,
i n e d h e had found it in philosophy,

Th e condu c t of .
life b e c am e th e fun damental problem and phi losophy ,
assum e d a practical asp e ct It ai me d at fin di ng a com

.
p l e t e art of living I t had

. a thoroughly ethical stamp ,
and becam e more and mor e a rival of and opposed to

religion Such w er e th e tende ncies of th e Stoi c and Epi
.
cureau schools Th e Roman rule w a s greatly favou rable

.
t o such a d e v e lopment of thought Th e Romans w e re .
a practical nation had no conc e ption of nor appre ciation

,
for pur ely th e ore tical problems and d emanded practical

,
l e ssons and philosophi cal i nve stigations whi ch woul d

s e rve as a gui de for life Thus the political tendency
.
of th e t i m e towards practical wisdom had i mparted a

n e w di r e ction to philosoph i cal thought Y et as time .
,
went on a de e p fe eling of dissatisfa c tion s e iz e d the

,
ancient world in th e midst of all th e glori e s of the Roman

rul e This hug e empire co ul d Offe r to the peoples which
.
,
it had w e lde d into on e mighty unit no compensation ,
for the loss of th e ir national independence ; it offe red

th em no inner worth nor out er fortun e There was a .
complete di scord running through the e ntire civ ilisation

P H IL OSO P H Y ETH I CS , , A ND RE LI G I ON 189
of the Grac co Roman world Th e social con di tion O f th e

-
empire had brought with it ext rem e contrasts in th e

daily life Th e contrasts had b e c ome more prono u n c e d
. .
A bundanc e and luxury exist e d sid e by side with mis ery

and starvation Mi llions were e xclude d from th e v ery
.
necessaries of exist e nce With the sense of i ii j u s ti c e

.
and r evolt against the existing in e quality of th e stat e

Of society the hope for some futur e comp e nsation aros e
,
.
The mi llions excluded from the worldly possessions

turned longingly to a b e tter world Th e thoughts of .
m a n were t u rn e d to som e thing b e yond t e rr e strial lif e ,
to heaven instead of earth Phi losophy too had fail e d .

, ,
to give complete satisfaction Man had re alised h i s .
utter inab il i ty to fin d knowl e dge in himself by his u n

aided efforts He despaire d to arriv e at it without th e
.
help of some transcendental power and its kind assist

’
ance Salvation w a s n ot to be fo und in man s ow n na
.
ture but in a world beyond that of th e senses P h il o s o

,
.
phy co ul d not satisfy the cul tur e d man by the pres enta
tion of its ethical ideal of life could not sec u re for him ,
the prom ised happiness Philosophy th er efore tu rn e d

.
, ,
to religion for help A t A lexandria where in the activ e

.
, ,
work of its museum all treasures of Grecian cultur e w ere

,
garnere d all religions and fo r ms of worship crowded

,
tog e ther in the great throng of the commercial m etr op

olis to seek a scientific clarification of the f eelings that
surg e d and storm e d within them The cosmopolitan .
spirit and broad mind e dn e ss which had brought nations

-
togeth e r under the Egyptian go v ernment which had ,
gath e red scholars from all parts in the library and th e

1 90 THE CHRI ST IA N P ERI OD IN EG YP T
mus eu m w a s favo ur able also to th e fusion and r e con
,
ciliation in the evolu tion of thought .
If A lexandria w a s th e birthplac e of that intellectu al

movement whi c h has be e n described this was not only ,
the res ul t of the prevailing spirit of the a ge but w a s ,
due to the influence of ideas ; salvation co ul d only b e

found in the reconciliation of ide as The g e ographical .
centre of this movement of fusion and reconciliation

w a s howev e r in Al exandria
, ,
A fter havin g been th e
.
town of the museum and the library of criticism a n d ,
literary erudition A lexandria b e came once again the

,
meeting place of philosophical schools and r eligiou s

-
sects ; c ommu nication had become e asier and various ,
fundamentally di fferent inhabitants belonging to di s

tinct social groups m et on the banks of the Nile N ot .
onl y goods and products of th e so il were ex changed ,
but also ideas and thoughts The mental horizon w a s

.
widened comparisons ensued a n d new ideas were su g

, ,
gested and formed This m i xtu re of ideas n e cessarily

.
created a complex spirit where two cu rrents of thought r

,
of critical scepticism and superstitious credul ity mixed ,
and mingled A noth er pow e rful factor was th e c lose

.
contact in which O ccidentalism or Greek culture found

its elf with O rientalism Here it was wher e th e Gr e ek
.
and O riental S pirit mixed and mingl e d producing doc ,
trines and r eligious systems containing g e rm s of tra

dition and scienc e of inspiration and r efl e ction Images
,
.
and formulas m e thod and ecstasy wer e interwo v en and

, ,
intertwined The bril liant qualities of the Greek spirit

.
,
its sagacit y and subtlet y of intelligence its lu cidity and ,

OCC ID EN T A L AND O R I EN T A L THO U GHT 1 91
facili t y of expression w e re animat e d and v i v i fie d by

,
t h e O riental spark and gaine d n e w lif e and vigour

, On .
the oth e r hand the contemplativ e spirit of th e O rient

, ,
whi ch is characterised by its aspiration towards th e i n

visible and my sterious would nev e r hav e produ c e d a ,
c oherent s y stem or theory had it n ot been ai ded by

G reek science It w a s the latter that arranged and
.
explained the O riental traditions loosed their tongues , ,
and produ ced those r e ligious doctrines and philosophical

systems which culm inated in Gnosticism Neo P lato ,
-
nism the Judaism of Phi lo and the P olytheism of Juli an

, ,
t h e A postate .
I t was th e contemplative O riental m i nd with its ,
t endenc y towards the supernat u ral and miraculous with ,
its my sticism and religion and Greece with her subtle ,
s crutini sing and in v estigating spirit which gave rise to ,
the peculi ar phase of tho u ght prevalent in A l exandria

duri ng the first centuries of ou r era It was tinctur e d .
with idealistic m y stic and y et speculative and sci entific

, ,
colours Hence the religious spirit in phi losophy and

.
the phi losophi c tendenc y in the r eligio u s system that

”
are the characteristic featur e s East and W e st say s .
,
B aldwin met at A lexan dr ia The c o operative id e as

,
1
.
-
of civi l isations cultures and religions of Rome Gr e ec e

, , , ,
Palestine and the farther East found themselves in

,
j uxtaposition Hence arose a n ew problem developed

.
,
partly by O ccidental tho u ght partl y b y O riental aspira ,
tion. Religion and phi losoph y b ecam e inextricably

m i xed and the res ul tant doctrines consequently belong
,
1
B a l d wi n : D ic ti on a r y of Philo s o ph y .
1 92 THE CH RI ST IAN P ER I OD IN EG YP T
to neith e r sph ere proper but a r e rath er witness e s of an
,
att empt at combining both Thes e e fforts naturally

.
cam e from two sid e s O n the on e hand th e J e ws tri e d

.
,
t o accommodate th eir faith to the r e s ul ts of W e st e rn

c ul tur e i n whi c h Gre e k culture predominated O n th e
, .
other hand thi nk ers whose main i mpuls e cam e from

,
Greek phil osophy att empted t o accommodat e th eir d oc

trine s to the distinctiv ely r e ligious problems whi ch th e
East ern n ations had brought with th em From which .
ev er side th e c ons e qu enc e s b e vi e w e d th ey are to be ,
chara cteris e d as th e osophical rather than purely philo

sophi cal purely r e ligious or pur e ly th e ological
, ,
.
The r e ign of Constantine the Great w h o b e cam e sol e ,
rul e r of th e East and We st in 323 aft e r ten y e ars j oint ,

’
gov e rnme nt with L icini us is remarkabl e for th e chang e

,
whi ch was then wrought in th e r eligion and philosophy

of the empir e by the emp eror s embra c ing th e Christian
’
faith H i s conversion occur re d in 31 2 and on his com i ng

.
,
to th e unit e d sov e reignty th e Ch r i s ti a n s wer e at onc e

,
/
r el e as e d from e very punishment and di sability on a c

count of th e ir r eligion wh i ch was then mor e than tol er
,
at e d ; they wer e put upon a n e arly e qual footing with

th e pagans and e v e ry min ist e r of th e Chur ch was r e
,
;
l e as e d from th e burd en of civil and m i litary duti e s .
Wh e th e r th e emp e ror s conv e rsion aros e from e ducation

’
,
from c onviction or from stat e poli c y w e hav e no m e ans

, ,
of knowing ; but Christianity did n ot rea c h the thron e
b efore it was th e r eligion of a most important class of

his subj e c ts and th e Egyptian Christians soon found
,
th ems elv e s num erous e nough to call th e Gr e ek Chr istian s

EA STERN M Y ST I C I SM 1 93
h e retics as the Greek Christians had already begun to

,
d e sign at e the Jewish .
Th e Gr e e ks of Al e xandria had formed rather a school

Of philosophy than a r e ligious s e c t Befor e A l e xand er s
.
’
conqu e st th e Gr e e k s e ttl e rs at N a u c r a ti s had th ought it

n e c e ssary to have th eir ow n t emple s and sacrific e s ; but
since th e b ui lding of A l e xandria th ey had be e n smitt e n
with th e lov e of East e rn mysticism and cont e nt t o wor
,
shi p i n th e templ e s of S e rapis and Mith r a and to re c eiv e

,
instruction from the Egyptian priests Th e y had s u p .
port e d th e religion O f the conqu ered Egy ptians without

wholly be li eving it ; and had shaken b y th e ir ridicule the
respect for the very ceremoni e s which th e y upheld b y
law P olyth e ism among the Gre eks had been further
.
shaken by the platonists ; and Christianity spr e ad in

about equal proportions among th e Gr e e ks and the
Egyptians . B e fore the conversion of Constantin e the
Egyptian church had already spread into every city of
the province and had a regular e piscopal gov e rnment
, .
Till th e tim e of H er a cl a s and D ionysius the bishops ,
had been always chosen by the votes of the presbyters ,
as th e archde acons were by th e deacons D iony sius in .
his public epistles j oins with himself h i s fe llow pr e sby -
t ers as if he were only the first among e quals ; but aft e r

that tim e some irregul arities had cr ept into th e el e ctions ,
and latterl y th e Church had becom e more monarchi cal .
Th ere was a patriarch in A lexandria with a bishop in ,
e ver y other larg e cit y each assisted by a bod y of priests

,
and deacons Th e y had b een clad in faith holiness h u

.
, ,
m i l i ty
,
and charity ; bu t Constantine robed them in
1 94 THE CHR I ST IA N P ER I O D IN EG YP T
hono ur wealth and power ; and to thi s many of them
, ,
soon added pride avarice and ambition

, ,
.
Thi s reign is n o l e ss remarkabl e for th e religious

quarrel which th en di vided th e Christians which s e t ,
church against church and bishop against bishop as soon ,
as the y lost that great b ond of union the fe ar of th e ,
pagans Jesus of Nazar e th was acknowledged by Con

.
s t a n ti n e as a di vine p e rson ; and in the attempt th en,
made b y the A lexan dr ians to arrive at a more e xact

de fin i tion of hi s nature whil e the emperor was willing
,
t o b e gui ded b y the bishops in his th e ological opinions ,
he was ab l e to instruct them all in the more valuabl e

lessons of mu tu al toleration and forbearance Th e fol .
lowers of earl y re li gions held di ffe rent opin ions b u t ,
di stinguished thems e lves apart only by outward modes

of worship s u ch as b y sacrifices among the Greeks and
,
Romans and among the Jews and Egyptians by cir cum

,
c i s i on and ab stin e nce from certain m e ats

,
When Jes u s .
of Nazareth introduced his s pi ritual r e ligion of repent
ance and amendment of l ife he taught that the test b y

,
which his di sciples were to be known was th e ir love

t o on e another A fter his d e ath however the Christians
.
, ,
gave more importance to opinions in religion and towards ,
the end of the third century the y proposed to dis

ti n gu i sh th e ir f ellow worshippers in a mode hitherto
-
unknown to th e world nam ely by the profession O f

, ,
b elief in certain Opinions ; for as y e t ther e w a s no diffe r

e nce in th e ir be li ef of historic facts This gav e ris e to .
numerous metaphysical dis c ussions particularl y among ,
the more speculative and mystical .

THE A R IA N CON TROVERS Y 1 95
At about this tim e the chi e f controvers y w a s as to

whether C hr ist was of the s a m e or of s i m i l a r substance
,
w ith G o d th e F ather thi s b e ing th e di sput e which divided

,
Christendom for c e nt ur ies This di spute and oth ers not

.
q uit e s o metaph y sical w e re brought t o th e ears of th e

”
e mperor by A lexand e r Bishop o f Al e xandria and A rius

, , ,
the presbyter The bishop had be en e nquiring into th e

.
b e lief of the presbyter and the latt er had argu e d against

,
hi s sup e rior and against th e doctrin e of the c on s u bs ta n

ti a l i ty of the F ather and the S on Th e emperor s l e tt e r
’
.
t o the theologians in this first e cclesiastical quarrel that

,
was ever brought before a C h r istian monarch is a d ,
dressed to A lexander and Ar ius and he therein t ells th em

,
t hat the y a r e rais i ng usel e ss questions which it is not ,
n e cessary t o settle and whi ch though a good ex e rcise

, ,
f or the understanding only breed ill will and should

,
-
be k e pt by each man in his ow n bre ast He regr ets .
the religious madne ss which has seiz e d all Egypt ; and

lastly h e ord e rs th e bishop not to qu e stion the priest
as to hi s belief and ord e rs the pri e st if questioned n ot
, , ,
to r e turn an answer But this wise letter had no w eight

.
with the A lexandrian divines Th e quarrel gained in .
importance from being noticed by th e emperor ; the civil

government of th e co un try was clogg e d ; and Constan
tin e aft er having once interf e re d w a s pers u aded to call
, ,
a council of bishops to settl e th e Christian faith for th e

f uture . Nic aea in Bithynia was chosen as the spot most
conv e nient for East e rn Christendom to meet in ; and
t w o hundred and fift y bishops followed by crowds Of ,
p ri e sts ,
there met in council from Greece T hrace A sia , ,
1 96 TH E CHR I ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
Minor, S yri a A rabia Egypt and L iby a with on e or two
, , , ,
from Western Europe .
A t th i s s ynod held in the year 325 A thanasius a

, , ,
yo un g deacon in the A lexandr ian church c ame for the ,
first tM e in to notice as the champion of A l e xand e r

agai nst Ar ius w h o was then pla c ed upon his trial A l l
, .
th e authorit y el oqu en pp and charity of the emperor w e re

, ,
needed to quell the tumul tuous passions of the assembly .
It ended i ts stormy l a b our s by voting what w a s called

th e Homoo u sian doctrin e that Jesus w a s of on e substance
,
with God They put forth to the world the celebrat e d

.
creed named from the cit y in which the y met the

, , ,
Ni c ene creed and they excomm u nicated A r ius and h i s

,
followers who were then all banished by the emperor

, .
The meeting had afterwards less di fficu lt y in coming

to an agreement about the true time of Easter and in ,
excom m un icatin g the Jews ; and all except the Egyptian s

r e turned home with a wish that the qu arrel should b e
forgotten and forgiven .
This first attempt among the Christians at settli n g

the true faith by putting fetters on the m i nd b y draw ,
ing up a cre e d and puni shn those that di sbelieved it ,
w a s b u t the beginning of th e ological di fficulties These .
in Egypt arose as much from the difference of blood

and language of the races that inhabited the country
as from th eir religious beli ef ; and Constantine mu st soon
have seen that if as a theologian he had decided right ,
y e t as a statesma n he had b een he l ping the Egyptian s
against the friends of hi s ow n Greek g overnm ent i n

A l e xandria .
A THA N A S I U S BA N I SHE D 1 97
A fter a reasonable delay A r ius addressed to the

,
emperor a letter either of explanation or apolog y ass ert ,
ing hi s ful l be li ef in Christianity e xplaining his faith ,
by using the words of the A postles Cr e e d and b e gging ’

,
t o b e r e admitted into th e Church

-
Th e e mp e ror e ither .
,
from a rea di ness to forgive or from a chang e of policy

, ,
or from an ignorance of the theological controversy was ,
satis fied with th e apolog y and th ereupon wrot e a mild

,
conciliatory lett e r to A thanasius who had in the mean ,
time b e en made Bishop of A lexandria expressing hi s ,
wish that forgiv e n e ss Should at all times be Offered to

—
the rep e ntant and ordering him to r e adm i t A r ius to
,
his rank in th e Church But th e young A thanasius who

.
,
had gained his favour with the Egyptian clergy and h a d ,

.
been raised to his high seat b y his zeal S hown against

A rius refused to obe y the commands of the emperor
, ,
alleging that it w a s unlawful to r e a dm it into the Church -
anyb ody w h o had once been excom m un icated Constan .
tine co ul d har dl y be expected to listen to thi s excus e ,
or t o overl ook thi s di rect refusal to ob e y his orders The .
r ebellious A thanasius w as ordered into the emperor s ’
presence at Constantinople and soon afterwards in 335

, , ,
called b efore a coun cil of bishops at Tyr e where h e ,
was deposed and banished A t the same council in

.
,
the thi rtieth year of this reign A rius was r e a dm i tt e d

,
-
into com m union with the Church and after a fe w month s ,
he was allowed to return to A l e xandria to the in di gnation ,
of the pop ul ar part y in that cit y while A thanasius r e ,
mained i n b anishment durin g the rest of the reign a s ,
a punishment for hi s di sob edience .

1 98 THE CHR I ST I A N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
This practic e of j udging and cond emn i ng op i nions
gav e pow e r in the Church to m en w h o would othe rwis e
have b e en l e ast e ntitle d to w eight and influ enc e A tha .
n a s i u s ros e to his high rank ov e r th e h e ads of th e e ld e r
pre sbyters b y his fitn e ss for th e harsh e r duti e s th en r e

qui r e d of an archbishop The ological opinions b e c ame
.
the watchwords of tw ogn on ten di n g parti e s ; r eligion lost

much of its empire o v er th e h e art ; and th e m i ld spirit
of Christianit y gav e wa y to angry quarr els and cru el
pers e cutions .
A n other remarkable event of this r e ign was th e fo un

dation of the new city of Constantinople to whi ch the
,
e mperor r e moved th e seat of hi s gov e rnm e nt Rome .
lost much by th e building of the new c apital although ,
the emp erors had for some tim e past c e ased to liv e in
Italy ; but A lexan dr ia lost th e rank whi ch it had long
held as the centre of Greek l e arning and Gr e ek thought ,
and it felt a blow from which Rome was sav e d by th e

d i fie r en c e of languag e . The patriarch of A lexan dr ia
was no long e r the h e ad of Gre e k Christendom That .
rank was granted to the bishop of th e imp e rial city ; man y

of th e philosophers who hung ro un d the palac e at Con
t a n ti n op l e would oth e rwise have studied and taught in

th e mus eum ; and th e Greeks by whose sup e riorit y
,
Egypt had so long be en k e pt in subj e c tion gradually ,
b e came th e weaker party In th e op i nion O f th e his

.
torian as I n th e map of th e geo grapher A l e xandria

, ,
had formerly b e en a Greek stat e on th e borders of Egypt ;

but since the r eb ellion in th e re ign of D io cl e tian it was
b e coming mor e and more an Egyptian c ity ; and thos e
GREE K D EGEN ERA C Y 1 99
who in religion and politics th ou gh t and felt a s E gy pU
tians soon form ed the larg e r half of the A l e xandrians .
The climat e of Egypt was hardly fitt e d for th e Greek

race Th eir numbers never co ul d hav e b een kept up by
.
births alon e and th e y n ow b e gan to less e n as the a ttr a c

,
tion t o n e wcom ers c e ased Th e p ure Gre ek names h ence

.
T HE I S LAN D OF RH OD H A .
forth become less common ; and among the monks and

writ ers w e n ow meet with those named after the old gods
of th ecountry .
Constantin e r emoved an ob elisk from Egypt for the

ornam ent of h i s new c ity and he brought down anoth r
,
e
from H eliopolis t o A l e xan dr ia ; but h e di e d befor e the

second left th e country and it was aft erwards taken
,
by h i s s on to Rome These obelisks were co v ered with

.
200 THE CHRI ST I A N P ER I O D IN EG YPT
hi eroglyphi cs as usual and we have a translation said
, ,
to be mad e from the latt e r b y H er m a p i on an Egyptian ,
priest In order to tak e away its pagan character from

.
the reli gious ceremony with whi ch the y early ris e of th e

Nile w a s celebrated in A lexandria Constantine removed
,
th e sacr e d cubit from th e temple of Serapis to one of the

Christian churches ; and n oth w i th s ta n di n g the gloomy
forebo di n gs of th e p e ople the Nile rose as usual and the
, ,
clergy afterwards celebrated the ti me of i ts o v erflow as

a Christian festival .
The pagan phi losophers un der Constanti ne had bu t

fe w pupils and met with but little e ncouragement Al y .
pius Of Al exandria and his fri e nd I a m bl i ch u s how e ver , ,
still taught th e philosophy of A m m on i u s and Plotinus .
The onl y writings by A l y p i u s n ow r emaining are his

I n tr od u c ti on to M u s i c ; in which h e explai ns the nota
tion Of the fifteen modes or ton e s in their r e spective kinds
of diatonic chromatic and e nharmonic
, ,
His signs are
.
said to b e Pythagorean Th e y are in pairs of which

.
,
on e is thought to represent th e note str u ck on the l yre ,
and th e oth e r the tone of the voice to be s u ng thereto .
Th e y thus impl y accord or harmony Th e same signs .
a r e found in some manu scripts w ritt e n o v er the s yllabl e s
of ancient poems ; and ther e by scholars l e arned a t once,
in the Greek language in th e art of d e ciphering si gns

, ,
and in th e science of music n ow chant the odes of P indar

,
in strains n ot dissim i lar to mod e rn cath e dral p s a h n ody .
S op a tor succeeded I a m bl i ch u s as professor of pla

t on i sm in A lexandria with the proud titl e of successor to
,
P lato F or some time he enj oyed th e friendship of

.
D EC LIN E O F A L E XA N D R I A 201
Constanti ne ; bu t, when r e ligion made a quarrel between

th e friends the phi losoph e r w a s put to death by the
,
emp e ror. The pagan account of the quarr e l was that ,
when Constantine had kil led hi s s on h e applied to Sopa ,
t or to be purified from his guilt ; and whe n the p l atonis t

answered that he knew of no ceremony that could absolve
a man from s u ch a crime the emperor appl ied to the ,
C h r istians for baptism Thi s story may n ot be tru e and

.
,
th e ecclesiastical historian remarks that Constantine had

prof e ssed Christianity several years b e fore the murder
of his s on ; but then as after his conv e rsion h e had got
,
S op a tOr to consecrate his n e w cit y with a variety of pagan

ceremo ni es he ma y in the same way have asked hi m
,
to absolve him from the guilt of mu rder .
O n the death of Constantine in 337 his three sons , , ,
without entirel y di smembering the empire di vided th e ,
provinces of the Roman world into thre e shares Con .
s t a n ti n e II the eldest s on who succeeded to th e throne

, ,
of h i s father in Constantinople and Constans th e , ,
y oung e st who dwelt in Rome divided Europe between

, ,
them ; whi le Constantius the second s on held Syria , , ,
Mesopotami a A rmenia and Egy pt of whi ch poss e ssions

, , ,
A n tioch on the O rontes was at that time the capital Thus .
Al exandri a was doomed to a fu rther fall Wh en go v .
ern e d by Rome it had stil l b een the first of Gre ek cities ;

afterwards when the seat of th e empire was fix e d at
,
Constantinopl e it b ecame the second ; b u t on this di vi

,
sion Of the Roman w orl d when the seat of government

,
cam e still nearer to E gypt and A ntioch rose as the capital

,
of the East Al exandri a fell to b e the thi rd among Gree k

,
202 THE CHRI ST I AN P ER I O D IN EG YP T
cities Egypt qui e tl y receiv e d its political orders from
.
An tioch I ts Opinions also in some cases followed those

.
of the capital and it i s c ur ious to remark that the A l ex

,
an dr ian writers when dating b y the er a of the creation

, ,
were n ow willing to consider the world ten y ears l e ss

ol d than the y used because it w a s s o thought at A ntio c h
, .
But it was n ot s o with th eir r eligious op i ni ons and as ,
long as A ntioch and i ts emp e ror undertook to gov e rn

th e Eg yptian church there was li ttle peace i n the
province .
The thre e emperors di d n ot take the same side in the

quarr e l which unde r the name of religion was then un
settling the Obe di ence of the Egyptians and e v en in some ,
d e gree troubling the rest of the empir e Con s tantius .
h e ld the A rian opinions of Syria ; bu t Constanti ne II and .
Constans op e nl y gav e th eir coun tenance to the part y

of the rebellious A thanasius w h o un der their favour
,
ventured to retur n to A lexan dr ia where after an absen c e

, ,
of tw o y ears and four mon ths he was received in th e

,
warmest mann er b y his admi ring flock But on the death .
of Constantin e I I who was S hortly afterwards k ill ed i n

.
,
battle by h i s brother Constans Constantius felt hi mself

,
more master of h i s ow n kingdom ; he deposed A thanasiu s ,
and s um mon e d a cou ncil of bishops at A ntioch to el ect

a new patriarch of A lexandria Christian bishops
.
,
though the y had l atterl y ow e d their ordination to the

au thorit y of their equ al s had always receiv ed their
,
bishoprics b y th e choice of their presbyters or of their

flocks ; and though the y were gl ad to r e c e iv e the s u pport
of the emperor the y were n ot willing to ac k nowledge
,
I MP ER I A L IN TERVEN T I ON 203
hi m as their head Hence when the co un cil at A ntioch

.
,
fir st elected Eusebius of E m i s a into the bishopric of

A lexandr ia he chose t o refuse the hono ur which the y
,
had only a doubtful right to b estow rather than to ven ,
ture into the city in th e face of hi s popular riv al The .
coun cil then elected Gregory whos e greater cou rage and ,
ambition l e d him t o accept th e o ffice .
The co un cil of A ntioch then made some changes in

the cre e d A few y ears later a second co un cil met in
.
,
the same place and drew up a creed more near to what

,
we now call the A thanasian ; but it w a s fir m l y rej ect e d

b y the Egyptian and Roman chur ches Gregory was .
n o sooner elected to the bishopric than he iss u ed his
comm ands as bishop tho u gh if he had the cou rage he

, , ,
had not at the time the power to enter A lexandria But .
S y r i a n u s the general of the Eg yptian troops w as soon

, ,
afterwards ordered b y the emperor t o place hi m on his

episcopal throne ; and he led h i m into the cit y s u r ,
rounded b y the spears of fiv e thou sand sol di ers and ,
followed by the smal l b od y of Al exandrians that after

this inv asion of the i r ack nowl edged rights stil l call ed
themselves A rians Gregory entered A lexan dr ia i n the
.
e v e ning meani ng to ta k e hi s seat in the chu rch on the

,
next da y ; bu t the people in their zeal di d n ot wait qui etl y

for the dreaded morning The y ran at once to the church
.
,
and passed the night there with A thanasius in the great

est anxiet y In the morn i ng when Gregory arri v ed at
.
,
the chu rch accompanied wi th the troops he fou nd the

, ,
doors b arricaded and the b ui l di ng full of men and

women deno u ncing the sacrilege a n d th r eatening
, ,
204 THE CHR I ST IAN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
resistance But the general gave orders that the church
.
sho ul d b e storm e d and the new bisho p carried i n b y

,
force of arms ; and A thanasius seein g that all resistance

,
was u seless ordered the deacons to give ou t a psalm

,
and the y a ll marched ou t at the opposite door singing .
A f ter these acts of vi olence on the part O f the troops ,
and of resistance on the part of the people the whole ,
c it y w a s thr own into an uproar and the prefect was

,
hardly strong enough to carry on the governm ent ; the

reg ul ar suppl y of grain for the poor citizens of A lexan
dri a and for Constantinople was stopped ; and the blam e
, ,
of the whole thrown u pon A thanasius He was a second

.
time ob li ged to leave Egypt and he fled t o Rome wh e re

, ,
he was warm l y received by th e Emp eror Constans and

the Roman bishop But th e zeal of th e A thanasian p arty
.
woul d n ot allow Gregory to keep possession of the chu rch

whi ch he had gain e d onl y b y forc e ; the y soon afterwards
s e t fir e to it and burned it t o the ground choosing that ,
there sh oul d b e n o chur ch at a ll rath er than that it should

b e in the hands of the A rians ; and the A rian cl ergy and
b ishops though supported by the favour of the emp eror
,
a n d the troops of the prefect were everywhere th r ough

,
ou t Egypt dr iven from their churches and monasteri e s .
D uring this quarrel it seems to hav e been felt b y both

p arties that the choice of the people or at least of the ,
cl erg y was necessary to make a bishop and that Gregory

, ,
had very little clai m to that rank in A l exandria Juliu s .

,
th e Bishop of Rome warml y espoused th e cause of A tha

,
n a si u s and he w rote a l e tt e r t o the A lexandri an c hurch

, ,
praising their zeal for their bishop and ordering them ,

A THAN A S IU S RESTORED 2 05
to r e adm i t him to his former rank from whi ch h e had

-
been deposed b y the co u ncil of A ntioch bu t to which ,
h e had been restored b y the W estern bishops A thanasius .
was also warm l y supported by Constans the emp e ror ,
o f the W est who at the sam e t i me wrote to his broth e r

,
Constantius begging hi m to replace th e A l e xandr ian

,
bisho p and making th e additional threat that if he would

,
not reinstate hi m he S ho u ld be made to do s o b y forc e

o f arms .
Constantiu s after taking the advice of his own

,
bishops thought it wisest to yield t o th e wish e s or rath e r

,
the co m m ands of hi s broth e r Constans and he wrote ,
to A thanasius calling him into his presence in Constan

,
t i n op l e But the rebellio u s bishop was not willing to

.
trust hi mself withi n the reach of hi s offended sovereign ;

and it was not till after a second and a third letter press ,
‘
i n g hi m to come and promising him his safety that he ,
v entur ed withi n the limits of the Eastern emp i re Strong .
in his high character for learning firmn ess and political , ,
s k i ll carr ying with him the allegiance of the Eg yptian

,
nation which was yi elded to hi m much rath e r than to the

,
e mperor and backed by the threats of Constans A tha

, ,
n a s i u s was at least a match for Constantius A t Con .
S ta n ti n O p l e the emperor and his subj e ct the A l e xan dr i an

:
bishop made a formal treat y by which it w a s agreed

, ,
t hat if Constantiu s wo ul d all ow the Homoo u sian cl e rgy

,
thr oughout h i s domi nions to retur n to their chur ches ,
A thanasiu s wo ul d in the same wa y throughout Egypt

r e store the Ar i an cl ergy ; and u pon thi s agreement A tha
n a si u s hi mself ret urn ed to A l exandria .
2 06 TH E CH R I STI AN P E RI O D IN EG YP T
Among the followers of A thanasius w a s that i mpor
tant mi xed race with whom the Eg yptian civil isation
chi efl y rested a race that may b e call ed K op ti c but half
, ,
Greek and half Egyptian in their language and r eligio n

a s in their forefathers But in feelings the y were wholly
.
opposed to the Greeks of Al exan dr ia Never S ince the .
last N ec ta n eb o was conquered b y the P ersians eight ,
hun dr ed y ears earlier did the Eg yptians seem so near

,
t o thr owing O ff the foreign y oke an d rising again a s an

independent nation But the Greeks who had tau ght
.
,
them S O much had n ot taught them the arts of war ; and

,
the nation r emained enslav ed to those who could wield

the sword The return of A thanasius however was onl y
.
, ,
the signal for a fresh uproar and the A r i an s complain e d

-
that Egypt was kept in a constant tur moil b y h i s zealou s

activity N or were the A rians his onl y enem i es H e
. .
had offended many others of his clergy by his overbear

ing manners and more particul arly by his following in
,
th e steps of A l e xander th e lat e bishop in claiming n ew

, ,
and higher powers for the o ffice of patriarch than had

e v e r been yielded t o the bishops of Al e xan dr ia befor e
th e ir spiritual rank had been changed into civil rank

by the emperor s adoption of their r e ligion Meletiu s
’
.
headed a strong party of bishops pri e sts and deacons in

, ,
opposing th e new claims of th e archi episcopal s e e of

A l e xandria His followers differ e d in n o point Of doc
.
trine from th e A thanasian party but as the y sided with

,
the A rians th e y w e re usually called h e r e tics .
By this tim e th e statesm e n and magistrates had

gained a cl ear vi e w of th e chang e which had come over
E PI SCO PA L P O WE R 207
the political state of the empire fir st b y the spread of ,
C h r istianity and secondly b y th e emperor s embracing

,
’
it B y supporting C h r istianit y the emp e rors gave rank

.
in the state to an organised and w e ll trained body whi ch -
i mmedi ately found itself in possession of all th e civil

power A bishopric which a fe w years before was a
.
,
post of danger w a s n ow a place of gre at pro fit and

, ,
s ecured to its possessor every worl dl y advantage of
wealth honour and power A n archbishop in th e cap

, ,
.
ital obe y ed b y a bishop in ev ery city with numero u s

, ,
H OUS S B U I T O N P ILE S A T P UN T
E L .
priests and deacons under th em w a s usually of more ,
weight than the pre fect Wh i l e A thanasius was at th e

.
height of h i s popularity in Egypt and was support e d ,
by the Emperor of the We st th e Emperor Constantius ,
was very far from being h i s master But on the death .
of Constans when Constantius became soverei gn of the

,
whol e empire he once more tried to make A lexandria

,
a n d the Egyptian church obe di ent to his wishes He was .

,
howev e r still doubtful how far it was pru dent to measur e

,
his strength against that of th e bishop and h e chos e ,
rather to begin privatel y with threats before u sing his

208 TH E CHR I ST I AN P ER I O D IN EG YP T
power openly He fir st wrote word to A thanasius a s
.
,
if in answer to a request from the bishop that h e was ,
at liberty i f he wished to visit I taly ; but he sent the

, ,
le tter b y the hands of the notary D iogenes who added , ,
b y word of mouth that the perm i ssion was meant for

,
’
a com m and and that it was the emperor s pleas ur e that
,
he S ho ul d im m e di ately qui t h i s bishopric and the prov

ince But thi s un derhand conduct of th e emperor o nl y
.
S howed hi s ow n weakness A thanasius stea di l y refused .
to ob ey any un written orders and held h i s bishopri c ,
for upwards of two years long e r b efore Constantius f elt ,
strong enough to enforc e hi s wishes Towards th e end of .
that ti me S y r i an u s the general of the Egyptian army to

, , ,
whom th i s delicate task was entrust e d gathered tog e ther ,
from other p arts of the province a b ody of fiv e thou sand

chosen men and with these h e marched quietl y into Al e x
,
an dri a to o v erawe if possible the r ebell i ous bishop He

, , ,
.
gave ou t n o reason for h i s conduct ; but the A ri ans who ,
were in the secret openl y b oasted that it wo ul d soon

,
be their turn to possess the ch u rches S y r i a n u s then .
s ent for A thanasiu s and in the presence of Maxi mus the

,
prefect again del i vered to him the com m and of Con

s t a n ti u s
,
that he shoul d quit Eg yp t and retire into
banish m ent and he thr eatened to carry this com m and
,
into execution by the hel p of the troops if he met with

any resistance A thanasi u s without refu sing to ob e y
. , ,
’
b e gged to b e S hown the emp eror s orders in writing ; but
this reasonab l e requ est w a s refused H e then entreated .
them even to giv e h i m in th ir e o w n handw iting an

,
r ,
order for his banishm ent ; b ut this was also refused and ,
A THAN A S IU S A TT A C K E D 209
the citizens w h o were made ac quainted with the em

,
’
p e r o r s wishes and the bishop s fi r m n ess waited
’
in ,
dreadful anxiety to s e e whether the prefect and the gen

eral w ould v entur e to enforce their orders The presb y .
t er y of the church and the corporation of th e cit y went

up t o S y r i a n u s in solem n procession to b e g h i m eith e r
t o S how a written authorit y for the banish m ent of their
bishop or to write to Constantinople t o learn the em
,
p e r or s
’
pleasure To t hi
. s request S y r i a n u s at last y ielded ,
and gave his word t o the friends of A thanasius that h e

wo ul d take no fur ther steps till the return of the messen
gers which h e then sent to Constantinople .
But S y r i a n u s had before received h i s orders which ,
were if possible to frighten A thanasius into Ob edience

, , ,
and if that co ul d not be done th e n to emplo y force but

, , ,
’
n ot t o expose the emperor s written co m m ands t o the
danger of bein g successful l y resisted He therefore o n ly .
waited for an opportunit y of carr ying them into effect ;

and at m i dn ight on the ninth of F ebru ary A D 356
, ,
. .
tw e nt y three days after the promi se had been given

-
S y r i a n u s at the head of his troops armed for the assault

, , ,
surrounded the church where A thanasius and a crowd e d

assembly were at pra y ers The doors were forcib l y and
.
sudde nl y broken O pen the ar med sol diers ru shed forward

,
t o seize the bishop and nu mbers of his faithful friends

,
were S lain in their efforts to save him A thanasius how .

,
e v er escaped i n the tumul t ; but though the general was

,
un successful the b odies of the slain and the arms of the

,
sol di ers foun d scattered th r o u gh the chu rch in the morn

ing were full proofs of h i s u n h ol v attempt Th e friends .
21 0 THE CHRI ST I AN P ER I O D IN EG YP T
Of the bishop dr ew up and signed a public declaration
d e s c rib i ng the outrag e and S y r i a n u s sent to Constan
,
ti n O p l e a counter prot e st declaring that there had been no

-
disturbanc e in the city .
A thanasius with nearl y the whole of the nation for

,
his fri ends easily e scaped the veng e ance of the emperor ;
,
and withdrawing for a thi r d ti me from pub li c li fe he

, ,
passed the remaind e r of this r e ign in concealment He .
di d n ot however neglect the int e rests of hi s flock

, ,
He .
e nco u raged them with h i s letters and even privat el y,
visited hi s friends in Al exandri a A s the great e r part .
of the pop ul ation was e ager t o befriend h i m he was ,
th e re abl e t o hi de himsel f for s i x years D isregar di n g .
the scandal that might arise from it he lived in the ,
house of a young woman who conc e aled hi m in her cham

,
b e r and waited on him with untiring zeal

, S h e was .
then in the flower of her y outh o nl y tw enty y ears of age ;

,
and fift y years afterwards i n the reign of Theodosius I L

, ,
when the name of the archbi shop ranked with those of

the apostles thi s woman used to boast among the monks
,
of Al exandria that in her yo u th S he had for s i x y ears
concealed th e great A thanasius .
But though the g eneral was n ot whol l y successful ,
yet the A thanasian party was for the tim e crushed Se .
b a s ti a n u s the new pr e fect w a s s e nt into Egypt wi th

, ,
orders to seiz e A thanasius dead or alive wher e v e r h e ,
should b e found within the provinc e ; and un der hi s

p rotection the A rian party in Al exan d r ia again v e ntur e d
t o m e et in pub li c and proceede d to choose a bishop Th e y
,
.
e lected t o this high position the c el ebrated G e org e of

ST GEORGE O F C A PP A D OC I A
. 21 1
Cappadocia a man who whi le he equ alled hi s more pop

, ,
ul ar ri v al in learning and in ambition fell far behind ,
hi m in coolness of j udgment and in that poli tical S kill

,
which i s as much wanted in the g ui danc e of a re l igio u s

party a s in the governme nt of an empire .
George was born at Epiphani a i n Cilicia and w a s the ,

'
s on of a c l oth i er but h i s ambition led hi m into the Chu rch

, ,
a s b e ing at that time the fairest field for the di spla y of
talent ; and he rose from on e station to another til l he

re ached the high post of Bishop of Al exandria The .
fickl e irritable A lexan dr ians needed no such firebrand

,
t o light up the flames of di scontent George took no

.
pains to conceal the fact that he held h i s bishopric b y

the favo ur of the e mperor and the power of th e army
against the wishes of his flock To support hi s authorit y
.
,
h e opened his doors to informers of the worst d e s c r i p

tion ; anybody who stood in the wa y of his grasp at
power was accused of being an enemy to the emperor .
He proposed t o th e emperor to la y a ho u se tax on A l e x -
an dr ia thereb y to repay the expense incurred b y Al exan

,
der the Great in b ui ldi ng the cit y ; and he made the

imperial govern m ent mor e unpopular than it had e v er
been S ince A ugustus landed in Egypt He used th e arm y
.
as the means of terrifying the Homoo u sians into an

acknowl e d gm e nt of th e A rian opinions He banished .
fifteen bishops to th e Gr e at O asis b e side s others of lower

,
rank H e beat tortured and put to d e ath ; the perse

.
, ,
c u ti on w a s more cru el than any suffe red from the pagans ,
e xcept perhaps that in th e r e ign of D iocletian ; and t hi rt y
Egyp ti an bishops are said to have lost their lives whi le

21 2 THE CHR I ST IAN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
George was patriarch of Al exandri a Most of these .
accusations however are from the pens of hi s enemi e s

, ,
.
A t thi s t i me the countri e s at th e southern end of the

Red Sea w e re becomi ng a little more known t o Al ex
andria M er op i u s trav e lli ng in the reign of Constantine
.
,
for curiosit y and the sak e of knowl e dge had vi sited ,
A u xu m the capital of the H e xum i tm in A b y ssin i a H i s

, ,
.
c ompanion Frum entius undertook to conv ert the people

to Christianity and persuade them to trade With Egypt ;
and as he found them will i ng to listen to hi s argum ents
, ,
he came home to Al e xandria to tell of hi s su ccess and

ask for support A thanasius readily ent er e d i n to a plan
.
for sprea di n g the blessings of Christianit y and the power

’
of the Al exandrian chu rch To increase the m i ssionary s
.
weight he consecrated hi m a bishop and sent him back ,
to A u xu m t o continue his good work His progress how .

,
ever was somewhat checked b y sectarian j ealo u s y ; for

, ,
when A thanasius was deposed by Constantius F r um en ,
tius was recall ed to receiv e again his ord ers and h i s

opinions from the new patriarch Constantiu s also sent .
an embassy t o the H om er i tae on the opposite coast of

Ar abia un der Theophil u s a monk and deacon in the
, ,
Chu rch The H om er i tae were of Je wish blood though of

.
gentile faith and were readily converted if not t o Chr is

, ,
ti a n i ty at least t o fri endship with the emperor

, A fter .
consecrating th e ir churches Theophil us crossed over to

,
th e A frican coast to th e H e xum i tae to carry on the

, ,
work which Fru mentius had b egu n There he was .
equally successful in the object of hi s embass y Both in .
trade and in religion the H exum i tae who were also of ,

TH E ETH I O PI C BI B L E 21 3
Jewish blood were eager to be connected with the E u ro

,
peans from whom the y were cut off by Ar ab s of a W ilder

,
race He found also a little to the south of A u xu m a

.
settlement of S yrians w h o were said to hav e been placed

,
there b y A lexand e r the Great Thes e trib e s spoke the

.
l anguage call ed Ethi opic a dialect of A r abic which was

,
TE M P LE OF A B U S I M BEL IN N U BI A .
n ot used in the country whi ch we hav e hitherto called

Ethiopia The Ethi opic version of the Bible was about
.
thi s tim e made for their u s e I t was translated ou t of

.
the Greek from the Al exandrian copies a s the Greek ,
v ersion was held in su ch value that it was not thought

necessary to look to the Hebrew origin al of the Old
21 4 THE CHR I ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG Y PT
T estame n t . B ut
these well meant efforts di d little at
-
the time towards making the H e xum i tae Christians D is .
tance and the Ble m m y es checked the ir intercourse with

A l exan dr ia I t w a s n ot t il l tw o hu ndred y ears later that
.
th e y co ul d be said in the slightest sense to be converted to

Christiani t y .
Though the origi n of monastic li fe has sometimes been

claim ed for the Essenes on the shores of the D ead Sea ,
y et it was in Egypt that it was framed into a s y stem and ,
became the model for the C h ri stian world It took its .
rise in the serio u s and gloomy views of religion whi ch

alwa y s formed part of the Egyptian polytheism and ,
whi ch the Greeks remarked as very un l ike their own

ga y and tast e ful modes of worship and which w er e , “
rea dil y engrafted b y the Egyptian converts into their

ow n Chr istian be li ef In the reigns of Constantine and
.
hi s sons hu n dr eds of C h ristians both men and wom en

, , ,
qui tting the pleas ur es and trials of the busy world with ,
drew on e b y on e into the E g yptian desert where th e ,
sands are a s bo un dl ess as the ocean, where the sunshi ne

is less cheerful than darkness to spend th eir lonely days
,
and watchful ni ghts in religious me di tation and in prayer .
The y wer e l e d by a gloomy vi e w of their duty towards

God and b y a want of f ellow feeling for th eir neighbour ;
,
-
and they seemed to thi nk that pain and misery in thi s

world wo ul d save them from p u nish m ent h e reafter Th e .
lives of many of th e se F ath ers of th e D e sert wer e written

by th e Christians who lived at the same time ; but a ful l
accou nt of th e miracles which w ere said to have be e n
w or k e d '
i n th e ir favo u r or by
,
their means wou l d now ,
E A R LY CHR I S TIA N A SCET I C I SM 21 5
only call forth a sm i le of pity or perhaps e v en of ,
ri di cule
.
Prosperit y and peace say s Gibbon introdu ced , ,
the di stinction of the vu lgar and the asc e tic Chri stian s .
The loose and imp e rfect practice of religion sati sfied the
conscience of the multitude The prince or magistrate .
,
soldier or merchant reconciled their fervent zeal and

, ,
implicit faith with the exercise of their profession the

, ,
p urs ui t of their interest and the indulgence of th eir p a s

,
sions ; but the ascetics who obe y e d and abused the rigid
,
precepts of the gospel were inspired by the severe en

,
th u s i a sm which represents man as a crim i nal and G od

as a tyrant The y seriousl y renounced th e business and
.
the pleas u res of the age ; abj ur ed the use of wine of ,
flesh and of marriage chastised th e ir body mortified

, , ,
th e ir affections and embrac e d a lif e of misery as the

, ,
price of eternal happiness The ascetics fled from a pro .
fane and degenerate world to perpetual solitude or ,
religious societ y L ike the first Chr i s tians of Jerusalem

.
,
th e y resigned the u s e or the property of their temporal

, ,
possessions ; establish e d regular comm un ities of the same

s e x and a S imilar di sposition and assum ed the names ,
of herm i ts monks or anchorites expressive of th eir

, , ,
lonely r e tr e at in a natur al or artificial des e rt The y soon .
acquired th e respect of the world which they despised , ,
and th e loud e st applause w a s b estowed on this divine

phi losoph y wh i ch s u rpassed without the aid of science
, ,
or r e ason the laborious virtues of the Grecian schools

, .
The monk s might indeed contend with the Stoics in

the contempt of fortune of pain and of d e ath ; the , ,
21 6 THE CHRI ST I A N P ER I O D IN EG YP T
P ythagorean silence and submi ssion were revived in
their s ervile di sciplin e ; and the y di sdained as fir m l y as ,
the Cynics thems e lv e s all th e forms and decencie s of civil

,
socie ty But the votaries of this di vin e philosophy as

.
p i r e d t o im i tate a pur e r and mor e p e rf e ct model They .
trod i n the footst e ps of th e prophets who had retired ,
to the des e rt ; and th ey restored th e de vout and con

tem p l a ti v e lif e which had b ee n institut e d by the Esse
,
n i a n s in P alestine and Egypt

, The philosophi c ey e of
.
P liny had surveyed with astonishment a solitary people

w h o dwelt among the pal m tr ee s near th e D e ad Sea ; who
subsisted without mon e y who were propagated without
,
wom en and who derived from the disgust and repentance

,
of mankind a perpetual supply of volun tary associates .
A nton y an illit e rate youth of th e low e r part of The

,
baid di stributed his patrimony deserted his family and

, ,
native home and ex e cuted hi s monastic penance with

,
original and in tre pid fanaticism A fter a long and pain

.
ful novitiate among th e tom bs and i n a ruined tow er ,
he boldl y advanced into the des e rt three da y s jo urne y ’
to the eastward of the Nile ; discov ere d a lonely spot ,
which possessed the advantages of S hade and water and ,
fixed his last residence on Mo u nt Col zi m near the Red

Sea where an ancient monastery still pr e serves the name
,
and memory of th e saint Th e curious d e votion of the

.
Christians pursu e d him to the des e rt ; and when he was ,
ob l iged to appear at Al exandria in the face of mankind

, ,
he su pported his fame with discretion and dignit y He .
enjoyed the friendshi p of A thanasius whose doctrine

, ,
h e approv e d ; and th e Egyptian peasant r e spectfull y

ORI G IN O F MO N K I SH C U STOMS 21 7
d e clined a resp e ctful invitation from th e Emperor Con

s ta n ti n e
. The v en e rabl e patriarch ( for A ntony attai n e d
the age of 1 05 years ) beheld the num erous prog e ny whi c h
had b ee n forme d by his example and hi s lessons The .
prolific coloni e s of monks mul tiplied on the sands of

L ibya upon th e rocks of the Th ebaid and in the c ities
, ,
of th e Nile To the south of A le xan dr ia the mountain

.
,
and adjacent desert of Ni tr i a w e r e peopled b y fiv e thou

sand anchorites ; and th e trav e ll e r may still inv e stigat e
the ru in s of fifty monasteri e s which were plant e d in that
,
barren soil by the di sciples of A ntony I n the Upp e r .
Thebaid the vacant island of Ta b en n a was occupi e d by

,
P achomi us and fo ur teen hundred of hi s breth r en That .
hol y abbot successivel y foun ded ni ne monasteri e s of men

and on e of women ; and th e festival of Easter some times
collected fift y thousand religious persons who followed ,
hi s angelic r ul e s of discipline Th e statel y and populous

.
cit y of O xy r r h y n c h os the seat of Chr istian orthodox y

, ,
had devoted the temples the public edi fic e s and even the
, ,
ramparts to pio u s and charitabl e uses and th e bishop

, , ,
who m i ght preach in twelve churches computed t en thou

,
sand femal e s and twent y thousand males of the monastic

profession .
The monks borrowed many of th eir customs from the

ol d Eg yptian pri e sts such as shaving the h e ad ; and
,
A thanasiu s in hi s charge to th em ord e rs them n ot to

adopt th e tonsure on th e head nor to shave the b eard
,
.
He forbids their employ ing magic or incantations to

assist their prayers He e ndeav ours to stop the i r emu
.
l ation in fasting and ord e rs those whose strength of

,
body e n ab led them to fast longest not to boast of it .
But he orders them not even to speak to a woman and ,
wish e s them n ot to bathe, as b e ing an im m odest act .
The e arly Chr istians a s being a sect of Jews had fol

, ,
low e d many Jewish customs such as obs erving the Sab

,
bath as well as the L ord s day ; but latterl y the li n e

’
between the tw o r eligions had been growing W id e r and ,
A thanasius orders the monks not to ke e p hol y the Jewish

Sabbath A fter a few y ears their religious duties were
.
clearl y laid down for them in several well dr awn codes -

.
O ne of the earl iest of these ascetics was Am m on who ,
on the morn i n g of hi s marriage is said t o have pers u aded

hi s y o un g wife of the superior holin ess of a S in gle l i f e ,
and to have agreed with her that they sho ul d devote

“
themselves apart to the honour of G od in the desert .
But in thu s avoi di n g the pleasures the duties and the

, , ,
temptations of the world A mm on lost many of the vi r

,
tu e s and e v en the decencies of society ; he nev er washed

hi mself or changed hi s garments beca u se he thought
, ,
it wrong for a religious man even to s e e hi mself un

dr essed ; and when he had occasion to cross a canal hi s ,
biographer tells u s that attendant angels carried h i m

ov e r the water in their arms l e st whi le keeping hi s
, ,
v ows he should be troubled by wet clothes

, .
In the religious controversie s whether pagan or ,
Chri stian Rome had often looked to Eg ypt for its O pin
,
ions ; Constans when wanti ng copies of the Greek Scrip

,
t ures for Rome had l atel y sent to Al exan dr ia and had

, ,
recei v ed the approved text from A thanasiu s The two .
coun tri es hel d nearl y the same opinions and had th e

THE ROMA N AN D EG YP T IA N CHU R CHES 21 9
sam e di slike of the Gree k s ; so when Jerom e vi sited

Egypt he fo u nd the Chur ch hol di n g he said the tru e
, ,
Roman faith as taught b y the apostles Under D idymu s .

,
w h o was then the head of the catechetical school , Jerome

p u rs u ed hi s stu di es ha ving the same religiou s opinions
,
with the Eg yptian and the same dislike to Ar ianism

,
.
B u t no dr ead of heres y stopped Jerome in h i s search for

knowledge and for books He obtained copies of the
.
whole of O rigen s works and read them with the great

’
,
e s t adm iration
. I t is tru e that he finds faul t with man y
of hi s opinions ; b ut no a dm i r er of O rigen cou ld sp e ak
in hi gh e r terms of praise of his virtues and his learnin g ,
of the qualities of his head and of his heart than Jerome ,
u ses while he tim i dl y pretends t o thi n k that he h a s done
wrong i n rea di ng hi s work s .
—
A t thi s t i me the end of the el e v enth centur y after
—
the buil di n g of the cit y the emperor h i mself di d not
refu se to mark on hi s Roman coins the h a p p y r en ew a l
of th e y ea r s b y the ol d Eg yptian astrolo gi cal fab l e of
the return of the ph oenix .
From the treatise of Jul iu s F er m i c u s against the

pagan superstitions it wo ul d seem that the sacred a n i
,
mals of the Egyptians were n o longer k ept in the se v e ral

cities in whi ch the y used to be worshipped and that man y ,
of the ol d gods had been gradu all y dropped from th e
mythology which w a s then chiefly co nfined to the w or

,
ship of I sis and O siris The great wee k of the y ear w a s

.
the feast of I sis when the priests j oined the goddess in

,
her gri ef for the l oss of the good O siris who had b een ,
killed throu gh j ealous y by the w ick ed T yphon The .

2 20 THE CHRI ST I A N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
pri e sts shaved their heads beat their br e asts tore the
, ,
skin O ff th eir arms and Op e n e d up the O l d wounds of

,
fo r mer years in grief for the death of O siris and i n

, ,
honour of the widowed I sis The .
riv e r Nile was also still wor

shipped for the bl e ssings whi ch
it scatt e rs along its banks but ,
w e hear n o more of A m on R a -
C O IN
O F C O N STA N T I US
, A . 3 47
D
,
Chem Horus A r oé r i s and the

, , ,
other gods of th e Thebaid W hose worshi p ceased with the

,
fall of that part of the co u ntry .
But great changes often take place with very l ittl e

i mprov e ment ; the fall of idolatry onl y mad e wa y for
th e rise of magic and astrolog y A bydos in U pper Eg ypt
.
had latterly gain e d great renown for the temple of B i s fi,

whose oracle was much cons ul ted not o nl y b y the E gy p ,
tians bu t by Greek strangers and b y others who sent

,
th e ir questions in writing Some of these letters on

.
parchm ent had been taken from the t emple b y informers ,
and carried to the emperor whose ears were never deaf

,
to a charge against the pagans O n thi s acc u sation n um

.
bers of all ranks were dragged ou t of Eg y pt to be tried ,
and p un i shed in Syria with torture and forfeiture of

,
goods Such indeed w a s the nation s belief in these

.
’
oracles and prophecies that it gave to the priests a greater

power than it was safe to tru st them with B y prophes y .
ing that a man was to be an emp eror they co ul d mak e ,
him a traitor and perhaps raise a vil lage in reb ellion

,
.
A s the devotedn e ss of their followers made it dangero u s

for the magistrates to p unish the mi schi ef makers the y -
,
THE CRI ME O F P A TRONA GE 2 21
had no choice but to p u nish those who cons ul ted them .
Witho u t forbidding the di vine oracl e to answer they ,
forbad e anybody to question it P a r n a s i u s who had been

.
,
a prefect of Egypt a man of spotless character was

, ,
banished for thus illegally seeking a knowledge of the

future ; and D emetrius Cy th r a s an aged philosopher
, ,
w a s put to the rack on a charge of having sacri ficed to

t h e god and o nl y released beca u se h e persisted th r o u gh
,
his tortures in asserting that he sacrificed in gratitude

a n d not from a wish thu s to learn hi s futur e fate .
In the falling state of the empire the towns and vil

lages of Egypt found their ru lers too weak either to guard
t hem or to t y ranni se over them and the y sometimes ,
formed themselv es into small societies and took means ,

i
for their ow n defence The law had s o fa r allowed thi s

.
a s in some cases to grant a corporate constitution to a
city B u t in other cases a cit y kept in i ts pa y a courtier

.
or go v ernm ent serv ant powerf ul enough to gu ard it

a gainst the extortions of the provincial tax gatherer or -
wo ul d p u t itsel f u nder the patronage of a neighbour rich

e nough and strong enough to guard it T hi s howe v er .
, ,
co ul d not be al l owed e v en if n ot u sed as the means of

,
thr owing O ff the au thorit y of the provincial govern m ent ;

and accor di ngl y at this time we b egin to fin d laws against
t h e new crime of p a tr on a g e These associations gave a
.
place of refuge to criminal s the y stopped the worshi pper

,
in hi s wa y to the temple and the tax gatherer in collect

,
-
i n g the trib u te
. But n ew l aws have little weight when
t here is no power to enforce them and the orders from ,
C onstantinople w e re little heeded in Upper Egy pt .

222 THE CHRI STI AN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
B ut thi s p a tr on a g e wh i ch the emp eror wished to put
down w a s weak compared to that of the bisho p s and
clerg y, whi ch the law allow e d and even upheld and whi ch ,
was the great check to the tyrann y of the civil governor .
While the emperor at a di stanc e gav e orders thr ough

hi s prefect the people looked up t o the bishop as th eir
,
head ; and hence the power of each w a s checked b y the

other The emperors had n ot y et made the terrors of
.
religion a tool in the hands of the magistrate ; nor had

the y y et learned from the pontifex and au gurs of pagan
Rome the secret that civil pow er is ne v er s o strong as
when based on that of the Church .
O n the death of Constantius in 361 Jul ian was at

, ,
once acknowl e dg e d a s emperor and the Roman world

,
was again but for th e last tim e governed by a pagan

, ,
.
The Christians had been in power for fifty fiv e years -
un der Constantine and his sons during which time the

,
pagans had b een made to feel that their enemies had got
the upper hand of them But on the acc e ssion of Julian
.
their places were again chang e d ; and the Egyptians

among others crowded to Constantinopl e to compl ain of
injustice done by the Chr istian prefect and bishop and ,
t o pra y for a redress of wrongs They were howe v er

‘
.
, ,
sadly disappointed in their emperor ; he put them off

with an unfe eli ng j oke ; he ord ered them to meet him
at Chalcedon on the other S ide of the straits of Constan
ti n O p l e and inst e ad of following them accor di ng to his
, ,
prom i se he gave orders that no vessel should bring an

,
Egyptian from Chalcedon to the capital ; and the E gy p

tians after wastin g their time and mone y retu rned
, ,
CONT IN U E D CHR I ST IAN P ERSEC U T I ON 223
home i n despair B u t tho u gh their complain ts were

.
laughed at the y were not overlooked and the author

, ,
of their grievances was pun i shed ; A r tem i u s the prefect ,
of Egypt ,
w a s s um m oned to Chalcedon and not being
,
abl e to di sprove the cri mes laid to hi s charge b y th e

A le xandrians he paid hi s lif e a s the forfeit for hi s mis
,
gov e rnment during the last reign .
Wh i le A r tem i u s was on h i s trial the pagans of A lex

andria remained quiet and in daily fear of h i s return
,
to power for after their treatment at Chalcedon they

,
b y no means felt sur e of what would be the emperor s ’
po l icy In matters of religion ; but the y no sooner heard

of the death of Ar t em i u s than th e y took it a s a S ign
that th e y had ful l leave to r evenge th emselv es on the

Christians The mob rose first against the Bishop
.
G e orge w h o had latel y been carel ess or wanton enough

,
publicl y to declare his regre t that any of their temples

should be allowed to stand ; and they seiz e d hi m in the
streets and trampled him to death The y next slew .
D r a c on ti u s the prefect of the Al e xandrian mint whom

, ,
th e y acc u sed of o v erturning a pagan altar within that

b ui l di ng Their anger was then turned against D i od or u s
.
,
who was emplo y ed in buil ding a church on a waste spot

of groun d that had onc e been sacred to the worship of
Mithra bu t had since b e en given b y th e Emperor Con
,
s t a n ti u s to the Christians In clearing the gro u nd th e

.
,
workmen had tur n ed u p a nu mber of human bones that

had b e en buried there in forme r ag e s and these had been
,
brought forward by the Christians in reproach against

the pagans as s o man y proofs of hum an sacrifices In hi s .
224 THE CH RI S TIA N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
C h r istian zeal D i od or u s also had wo un ded at the same
,
ti me their pride and sup erstition b y c u tting off the single

lock from the heads of the y oun g Egyptians This lock .
had in the time of Ramses been the mark of y outhful

ro y alt y ; u nder the P tolemies the mark of hi gh rank ;
but was now common to all D i odor u s treated i t as an .
Offence against h i s religion F or thi s he was attacked .
and killed with George and D r a c on ti u s The mob car

,
.
ried the bodies of the thr ee murde red men u pon camels to
the side of the lake and there b u rned them and threw
, ,
the ashes into the water for fear as the y said that a , , ,
chur ch sho ul d be b uilt o v er their remains as had been ,
sometimes don e e v en at that earl y date o v er the b o di es

, ,
'
of m a r ty r s .
When the n ews of thi s ou trage against the laws was

bro u ght to the phi losophi cal emperor he contented h i m ,
self with threatenin g b y a n imperial edict that if the

offence were repeated he would visit it with severe pun
,
i sh m en t But in every act of Jul ian we trace the scholar

.
and the lo v er of learn i ng George had emplo y ed his .
wealth in getting together a large library rich in his ,
t or i a n s rhetoricians and philosophers of all sects ; and

, , ,
on the mu rder of the bishop Jul ian wrote letter after ,
l e tter t o A lexandria to beg the prefect and his friend

,
P orphyr ius to save these books and send them to hi m ,
in Cappadocia He prom i sed freedom to the librarian if

.
he gave them u p and tortur e if he hid them ; and fur

,
th e r be gged that no books in favou r of Christianity

Should be destro y ed lest other and better books shoul d
,
b e lost with them .

A Y OUNG G YP T I A N W E A R ING T HE RO YA L O C
E L K .
22 8 THE CHR I ST IAN P ER I O D IN EG YP T
out of the city withi n twenty four hours of the command -
r e achin g A l exandria Th e prefect of Egypt was at first

.
unable or unwill i ng to e nforc e th e s e ord ers against th e

, ,
wish of th e inhabitants ; and A thanasius was not driven

into banishm ent till Julian wrot e word that if th e r e ,
b e ll i ou s bishop w e r e t o b e fo un d in any part of Eg ypt

aft er a day th en nam e d h e wo ul d fin e the pre fe ct and th e
,
o fficers under h i m on e h un dr e d p ou n d s we ight of gold p

.
Thus A thanasius w a s for th e fourth time banished from

A l e xandria .
Though the Christians were out of favour with th e

emperor and never were emplo y ed in any office of trust
, ,
y e t they were t oo numerous fo r him t o v e ntur e on a

p e rsecution But Julian allowed th em to b e il l tr e ated
.
-
by hi s prefects and took n o notic e of their complaints

,
.
H e mad e a law forbidding an y Christians b e ing e ducat e d

,
in pagan lit eratu re believing that ignorance would stop

,
th e spread of th e ir religion In the chur ches of Greece

.
,
A sia Minor and Syria this Wa s f elt as a heavy grievanc e ;

, ,
but it was less thought of in Egypt Sci ence and learn .
ing were l e ss cultivat e d by th e Christians in Al e xandria

since the ov erthrow of th e A rian party ; and a little lat e r ,
to charge a writ e r with Gr aecizing was the same as sa yin g

that he want e d orthodoxy .
Julian was a warm fri end t o l earn ing and phi losoph y
among the pagans H e r e call e d to A l e xandria the physi
.
eian Z e no who in th e l ast r eign h a d fl e d from the G e or

,
gian faction a s the Christians w er e then cal led H e

,
.
founded in th e sam e c ity a coll e ge for music and ord er e d ,
the Pr e fect E c di ci u s to look ou t for some y o un g men

OVERTHRO W O F EG YP T I A N PA GA N I SM 229
of S kill in that science, particul arl y from among th e

pupils of D i os c or u s ; and he allotted them a maint e nan c e
from the treasury with rewards for the most skilful
,
.
A t Canopus a pagan philosopher A n tonin us the s on

, , ,
“
of E u s ta thi u s taking advantage of the turn in public

,
opinion and Cop ying the Christian monks of th e Th e

,
baid drew round h i m a crowd of followers b y hi s s e lf

,
denial and painful tortur e of the body The A lexan .
d r i a n s flocked in crowds to h i s dwelling ; and such w a s

h i s character for holiness that h i s death in the beginni ng ,
of the reign of Theodosius was thought b y the Eg yptians

,
to be the cau se of the overth r ow of paganism .
But Egyptian paganism which had slum b ered for

,
fifty y ears un der the Christian emperors w a s n ot again ,
to be awaked to its former l ife Though the wars b e.
tween the several cities for the honour of their gods ,
the bull the crocodile or the fish had never ceas e d all
, , , ,
reverence for those gods was dead The sacred anim als .
,
in partic ul ar the bulls A pis and Mnevis were again ,
waited upon b y their priests as of ol d ; but it was a vain

attempt N ot onl y was the Egyptian r e ligion ov e r
.
thrown b ut the Thebaid the country of that religion

, , ,
was fallen too l ow to b e raised again Th e peopl e of U p .
p e r Egypt had l ost all h e art not more from

,
the t y rann y
of th e Roman govern ment in th e north than from the
attacks and s e ttlement of the A rabs in th e south A l l .
changes in the country whether for the better or the

,
worse were laid to the charg e of these latter unw e lcome

,
neighbours ; and when th e inquiring traveller asked to

b e shown the crocodile the riv e r horse and the oth e r
,
-
,
ani mals for whi ch Egyp t had once been noted he w as ,
told with a sigh that they w e re s eldom t o be se e n in the

D elta sinc e the Thebaid had b e en peopl e d with th e
Blemmy e s F alsehood the usual vice of slave s had
.
, ,
tak e n a de e p hold on th e Egyptian charact e r A d enial .
o f their wealth was the m e ans b y whi c h they usually
tried to save it from th e Roman tax gathere r ; and an -
Eg yptian was ashamed of hims elf as a coward if h e could

not show a back cov e r e d w ith stripes gained in th e a t
t empt to save his mone y P e c ul iariti e s of charact e r
.
often descend unchanged in a nation for man y centuri e s ;

and aft er four t e en hu ndr e d years of th e same slav e ry
, ,
the same strip e s from the lash of the tax gatherer still -
used to be the boast of the Egyptian p e asant Cy r ene .
was alr e ady a d e sert ; th e only cities of not e i n Upp e r

Egypt were K op tos Hermopolis and A n ti n oop ol i s ; but
, ,
A lexandria was still th e qu e en of citi e s though the larg e ,
quarter called the B r u chi um had n ot be e n r ebuilt ; and

the Serapeum with its l i br a fy of seven hun dr ed tho u sand
,
v olum es was aft e r the capitol of Rome the chief b ui ld

, , ,
ing in the world .
This t empl e of Serapis was situated on a rising

ground at th e west end of th e city and though n ot b uilt, ,
lik e a forti fication was som e tim e s called th e citad el of

,
A lexandr ia It was ent er e d by two roads ; that on on e

.
sid e was a slope for carriages and on th e oth e r a grand

,
flight of a hundred st eps from th e str e e t with e a ch step ,
wid e r than that b elow it A t th e top of this flight of

.
st e ps was a portico in th e form of a c ircular roof uph e ld

, ,
by four col u mns Through this was th e e ntran c e into

.
THE A L E XA N D R I A N LI BR A R Y 231
the great courtyard in the middl e of which stood the

,
r oofless hall or temple surround e d by columns and porti

,
coes insid e and ou t In some of th e inn er porti c o e s were

,
.
the bookcas e s for the library which made A lexan dri a
A N EGYP T I A N W A T E R C A RR IE R .
the v ery temple of sci enc e and l e arning while other ,
porticoes w e re dedicate d to th e s e rvic e of the ancient

religion The roofs w e r e ornam e nted with gil di ng th e
.
,
capitals of the columns wer e of copper gilt and the wall s ,

232 THE CHRI ST I A N P ER I O D IN EG YP T
w e re covered with paintings In th e m i d dl e of th e inner .
area stood one lofty col um n whi ch co ul d be se en by a l l ,
th e country round and e v e n from s hi ps some di stan c e

,
ou t at s e a . Th e gr e at statu e of S e rapis whi c h had b e e n ,
made under th e P tol emi e s havi ng p erhaps marbl e f e et , ,
but for the rest built of wood c lothe d with drap e ry and , ,
glitt ering with gold and S ilver stood i n on e of th e c ov ,
e r e d c hamb e rs which had a small wi ndow so contriv e d

,
as t o l e t the sun s ray s kiss th e lips of the statue on th e

’
appointed occasions This was on e of th e tricks em .
ployed in th e sacred myst e ries to dazzle th e worsh ipp er ,
by th e sudden blaze of li ght whi ch on the proper occa

sions was l et in to the dark room The t emple its el f .
,
with its fountain its tw o obelisks and its gi lt , ,
ornam ents has long since b e en destroy e d ; and the col

,
um n in the centre under the nam e of P ompey s Pil l ar

’ 1
, ,
alone remains to mark th e spot wh er e it stood and is ,
on e of the fe w works of Gre e k art whi ch in size and
strength vie with the old E gyptian monuments .
The reign of Jul ian instead of rais i ng paganism to ,
its former str e ngth had only shown that i ts life was ,
—
spent ; and un der Jovian ( A D 363 364) th e Christians . .
were again brought into pow er A Christian emp eror .

,
however would have been but li ttle w e l c ome to th e

,
Egyptians if lik e Constantius and e v en Constantin e in

, ,
his latt e r y e ars h e had l e an e d to th e A rian party ; but

,
Jovian soon S how e d his atta chm e nt t o th e Nicen e cr ee d ,
and h e r e appointed A thanasius to th e bishopri c of

-
A l exandria But though A thanasius regained his rank

.
,
S ee V o l um e X , p a g e 3 17 .
DI FF EREN CES OF CREE D A ND RA CE 233
y e t the A rian bishop L ucius was not deposed Each .
party in A l e xandria had i ts ow n bishop ; those who

thought that th e Son was of th e s a m e substanc e with th e
F ath e r look e d up to A thanasius whi l e thos e w h o gav e,
t o Je sus th e low e r rank of b e ing of a s i m i l a r substanc e

to th e Cr e ator ob e y e d L ucius .
This c ur ious m e taphysical proposition was not how ,
ev e r th e onl y c ause of the quarr e l whi c h di vid e d Egypt

,
i n to such angry parties Th e cre e ds w er e made u s e of

.
a s the watchwords in a political struggl e Blood lan .

,
guage and g e ographical bo u ndari e s divid e d th e parti e s ;

,
and re ligious Opinions seldom cross these unchangi ng

and infl e xible lines .
Every Eg yptian believed in the Nicene creed and

the incorruptibility of th e body of Jesus and hat e d ,
th e A l exan dr ian Greeks ; wh i le th e mor e re fin ed Gr e e ks

w e r e as uni ted in e xplaini ng away the Nic e ne cr e e d by
the doctrine of th e two natur e s of Christ and in d e spising ,
th e ignorant Egyptians Chr istianity which speaks s o

.
,
forcibl y to th e poor the unl earn e d and th e slave had

, , ,
e du c ated the Eg yptian population had rais e d th e m in ,
th e ir ow n e y es ; and as th e popular part y gain e d

,
s tr e ngth the A rians lost ground in A l e xandri a

,
A t th e .
sam e tim e th e Gre e ks were falli ng O ff in l e arnin g and

in s c i ence and in all thos e arts of civilisation which had
,
giv e n th em the sup eriority Like oth e r great politi c al

.
chang e s this may n ot have b e en un derstood at th e tim e ;

,
but in l e ss than a hundred y ears it w a s found that th e

Egyptians were n o longer the slaves nor the Gr e eks th e ,
masters .
O n the death of Jovian, when Valentin i an di vided the
Roman empire with his broth e r h e took Italy and the ,
W est for his own kingdom and gav e to Val ens Egypt ,
and the Eastern provinces in whi ch Greek was the lan

,
guage of the governm ent Each e mperor adopt e d the

.
r eligion of h i s capital ; Val entinian held the Nic ene

faith and Valens the Ar i an faith ; and un happ y Egypt
,
was the only part of th e empir e whose r eligion di ffered

from that of its rul ers Had th e cre e ds mark e d th e
.
limits of the tw o empires Egypt wo ul d have belonged

,
t o Rome ; but as geographi c al boundari e s and languag e

,
form y et strong e r ti e s Egypt was given to Constan

,
ti n op l e or rather to A ntioch , th e nearer of the tw o

,
Ea st e rn capitals .
By Valens A thanasiu s was forced for the fifth tim e

,
to fly from Al exan dr ia to avoid the displeas ur e whi ch

,
his di sobe di en c e again dr e w down upon him But hi s .
flock agai n ros e in reb ellion in favour of th eir popular

bishop ; and the emperor w a s ei th er persuad e d or fright
e ned into allowing him t o return to his bishopric where ,
h e sp e nt th e fe w r emaining years of his lif e in peac e .
A thanasius di e d at an advanc e d a g e l e aving a name ,
mor e famous than that of any on e of the emp erors u nd e r

whom h e lived H e taught th e Christian world that th ere
.
was a power gr e at er than that of kings nam el y the ,
Church He was often b e at en in th e struggle but every

.
,
victory over him was follow e d by the d efe at of th e civil

pow e r ; he was fiv e times banished but fiv e times he ,
r e turned in triumph The temporal power of the Church

.
was in its infancy ; it only rose upon th e conv ersion

THE IN F LU E N CE OF A TH AN A S IU S 235
of Constantine and it was weak compared to what it

,
becam e in after ages ; but when the Emp eror of G er

,
many did p e nance barefoot b efor e P ope Hild ebrand and ,
a king of England w a s whi pped at B e ck e t s tomb w e onl y ’

,
witness the full grown str ength of th e infant pow er that

-
was being re ared by the Bishop of A l e xan dr ia H i s .
writings are num e rous and wholly controv e rsial chi efl y ,
against the A rians The A thanasian cr e e d seems to have

.
b ee n s o named onl y b ecause it was thought t o contain

his opinions as it is known to b e by a lat e r author
, .
O n the death of A thanasius th e Homoousian party ,
chose P eter as h i s suc c essor in the bishopric overlooking ,
Lucius the A rian bishop whose ele c tion had b e en a p

, ,
proved by th e emperors Julian Jovian and Valens But , ,

.
as the Egyptian chur ch had lost its gre at champion the ,
emperor ventur ed t o r e assert hi s authority

-
He sent .
P eter to prison and ord e r e d all th e chur ch e s to be giv e n

,
up to the Ar i ans th r eatening with banishment from

,
Egypt whoever disob e y ed hi s edict Th e persecution .
whi ch the Homoousian part y throughout Upper Egypt

th e n suffered from the A rians e quall e d says the eccl e ,
s i a s ti c a l historian an y thing that th e y had b efore s u f

,
fe r e d from the pagans Every monastery in Egypt was

.
broken open by L ucius at th e h e ad of an arm e d forc e

‘
and the cru elty of the b ishop surpassed that of th e

sol di e rs Th e br e aking open of th e monast eries s e ems
.
t o have b e e n for the purpos e of making th e inmat e s b e ar

their share in the military servi c e of th e stat e rath e r ,
than for an y religious reasons Wh en Constantine em .
brac e d Christianit y he imme di ately recognised all the

,
religious s crupl e s of its profe ssors ; and not only bishops
a n d presbyt e rs but all laymen who had e nt e r e d the
monastic ord ers we re fr e e d from th e duty of s e rving in

th e army But under the growi ng di slike of military
.
service and th e di fficulty of findi ng sol di ers whe n to

, ,
e scap e from th e army many call e d th ems elv e s C h ristian
monks thi s e xcus e coul d no longer b e li sten e d to and

, ,
Val ens made a law that monasti c vows S ho ul d not save

a man from enl istme nt But thi s l a w was not e asily
.
c arri e d into forc e in the monast eri e s on the bord ers of

th e d e s e rt whi ch were oft e n w ell b ui lt and w ell guard e d
,
- -
fortr e sses ; and on Mount Ni tr i a in particul ar many , ,
monks lost the ir lives in their resistance to the troops

that w e re sent to fe tch r e crui ts .
Th e monastic institutions of Eg ypt had a l rea dy

r e ach e d their fu l l growth They w ere acknowledged b y
.
th e laws of the empir e as e ccl e siasti c al corporations ,
and allow e d to hold prop erty ; and by a n ew l a w of thi s

r eign if a monk or n un di e d wi thout a will or an y known
,
kindred th e propert y went to the monastery as h eir

,
a t l aw O n e of th e most c e lebrat e d of th e se monast e ries

.
was on Tab ou na wh ere P achom i us had gath e r e d round

,
him thi rt e e n hundr e d foll owers who own e d h i m as the

,
f ound e r of th e ir order and gav e hi m cre dit for the gift

,
of prophecy His di sciples in th e oth e r monast eri e s of

.
U pper Egypt amounted to six thousand mor e A n u p h .
was at the head of another ord er of monks and he b oast e d ,
that h e c ould by pray e r obtain from heaven what e v e r

h e wish e d Hor was at th e head of another monast ery
.
,
w h er e though wholly unabl e to r e ad or write he spent

, ,
M O N A S TI CI S M 239
hi s life i n singing psalms and as h i s followers and, ,
p erhaps he hi mself believed i n working m iracles, Sera .
pion was at the h e ad of a thousand monks in the A r

''
s i n oi te nome who raised th e ir food by their ow rf labour
, ,
and shared it with th e ir poorer n eighbours N e ar Nitria .

,
a place in the Mareotic nome which gave its name to the

ni tre springs there were a s many as fifty cells ; but thos e
,
who aimed at greater solitude and severer m or ti fic a ti on

withdrew farther into the desert t o S c eti s in the same ,
n ome a spot alread y sancti fied by the trials and triu mphs
,
o f St A n thon y
. Here in a monastery surro u nded by the
.
,
san ds b y the side of a lak e W hose waters are salter than

,
the brine of the ocean with no grass or trees to rest

,
th e aching eye where the dazzli n g s k y is seldom relie v e d

,
with a cloud where the breezes are too often laden w ith
,
d r y dust these monks culti v ated a gloomy rel i gi on with

, ,
hearts painfull y attun ed to the scenery around them .
H ere dwelt Moses w ho in his y o u th had b een a remark

,
a ble sinner ,
and in h i s old age became e v en more r e
markable as a saint It was said that for six y ears
.
he spent every night in pra y er witho u t once closing his ,
eyes in sleep ; and that on e night when hi s cell was ,
a ttacked by fo u r robbers he carried them all off at once

,
on h i s back t o the neighbouring monastery to be pun

i sh e d because he would himself hurt no man Benj amin
,
.
also dwelt at S c eti s ; he consecrated oil to heal the

di seases of those who washed with it and du ring the ,
e ight months th at he was himself d ying of a dr ops y he ,
touched for their diseases all who came to the door of .
hi s ce l l to b e heal ed Hel las carried fir e in hi s bosom

.
240 THE CHRI ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
without burning h i s clothes Elias spent s eventy y ear s
.
in solitude on the bord ers of th e A r abian de s ert near

A n ti n o op ol i s A p el les was a blacks m i th near A c h or i s ;
.
h e w a s tempted b y the devil in the form of a beautiful

’
woman but he scorched the t empter s fac e with a r e d
,
h ot iron . D or oth e u s w h o though a Theban had s e ttl e d

,
n e ar A l exandri a mortified h i s fl e sh by trying to live

,
without sleep He n ev er willi ngl y la y down to rest n or

.
,
indeed ever slept till the weakness of the body sun k

und e r the efforts of the S pirit P aul w h o dw elt at
.
,
P h er m a r e peat e d th r e e hun dr e d pra y ers every day and

, ,
k ept three hundr e d pebbles in a bag to h elp him in hi s

r e ckoning H e was the fri end Of An thon y and wh en
.
,
dying b e gged to be wrapt in the cloak giv e n hi m by that

holy monk who had hims elf rec eived it as a pre s ent
,
from A thanasius His friends and admirers claimed for

.
P aul the honour of b eing the first Chri stian hermit and ,
th ey maintained their i mprobabl e opinion b y asserting

that he had b e en a monk for nin e ty s e ven y ears and -
that he had retired to the d eSer t at th e age of sixt e en ,
when th e Chur ch was persecut e d in th e reign of Val erian .
A ll Egypt b eli e ved that th e monks w e re the especial

favourit e s of H e av en that th e y work e d miracles and
, ,
that divine W isdom flowed from th eir lips witho u t the h elp
or hindran c e of h um an l e arning Th ey were a l l H o
.
m o ou s i a n s b elieving that th e S on was of one substanc e

,
with th e F ath e r ; som e as trinitarians holding the opinions .
of A thanasius ; some a s Sab ellians believing that J e sus
was the cr e ator of th e world and that his body th er efore

,
was n ot liable to corruption ; some as anthropomorphit e s

THE H IPP O D ROME 241
b eli e vin g God w a s of hum an form like Jesus ; but all

warmly attached to th e Nicene cre e d denying the two ,
natur e s of Ch ri st and hating the A r ian Gr e eks of A l e x

,
an dr ia and th e oth e r cities Gr e gory of N a zi a n zum

.
r emarks that Egypt w a s the most Chr ist loving of coun -
tri e s and adds with tru e S i mplicity that wond e rful to

‘
, ,
say after having s o lat ely worshipped bulls goats and

, , ,
crocodiles it w a s now teachi ng the world the worshi p

,
of the Trinit y i n the truest form .
The pagans who were n ow no longer able to worship

,
publicly a s th e y chos e took care to proclaim their opi n

,
ions in di rectly in s u ch wa y s a s the law could not reach

,
.
In the hi ppodro me which was the noisiest of th e place s

,
wh e re th e people met in public they made a prof e ssion ,
of their faith b y the choice of which horses they b e t on ;
and Christians and pagans alike showed their zeal for

religion b y hooting and clapping of hands P rayers and .
superstitious ceremonies were used on both sides to add

’
to the horses speed ; and the monk Hil arion the pupil ,
of A n thon y gained no little credit for sprinkling hol y

,
water on the horses of his part y and thu s enabling ,
Christiani t y to ou tru n paganism in the hippodrome at

Gaza .
D uring these reigns of weakness and mi sgovernment ,
it was no doubt a cru el polic y rather than hu manity that

led the tax gatherers to coll e ct the tribute in kind More
-
coul d be S queez e d ou t of a ru ined people b y taking what

the y had to give than b y requiring it to be paid in copper
coin Hence Valens made a law that no tribute through
.
ou t the empire sho u l d be taken in mone y ; and h e laid

a n ew land tax upon Egypt t o the amo u nt of a sol di er s
-
,
’
clothi ng for e v e ry thir ty acres .
The Sarac ens had for som e ti me past been encroach 1
ing on th e East e rn frontie rs of th e empir e and had o nl y ,
b e e n k ept ba c k by tr e ati e s whi ch prov e d th e w e akn e ss

o f th e Romans as the armi e s of Constantinople w e r e
,
still call e d and which encourag e d th e barbarians in th e ir

,
attacks O n the death of th eir king the c om m and ov e r

.
,
th e Saracens fell to th e ir Qu e e n M aevi a who broke the ,
last tre aty laid waste P alestin e and Ph oenicia with h e r

,
arm ies conquered or gained over the A r abs O f P e tra

, ,
and pressed upon the Egyptians at the he ad of the R e d

S ea O n this Valens renewed th e truce but on terms
.
, ,
still more favourable to the invaders Many of the .
l
‘
Sarac e ns were Christians and by an article of the tr ea ty ,
th e y were to have a bishop grant e d them for their church ,
and for this purpos e th e y sent Moses to A l e xandria to

b e ordained But the Sara c e ns sid e d with the Egyptians
.
,
in r e ligion as w ell as policy against the A rian Greeks , .
H ence Mos e s r e fused to be ordain e d by L ucius th e p a ,
triarch of A lexan dr ia and chos e rath er to re c eiv e his ,
appointm ent from some of th e Homoousian bishops who

w e re living in banish m e nt in the Th ebaid A fter this .
advance of th e barbarians the int er e sting city of P etra ,
wh i c h sin c e th e time of Trajan had b e en i n the power

or th e fri endship of Rome or Constantinople was lost ,
t o the civilised world T his rocky fastness which was .

,
1 n m STh e i w g iv n by th G k s d Rom n s t th nom d ic

a e a r a c en as e e r ee an a o e a
A b s wh o liv d on t h b o d s f th d s t D u i ng th M i ddl Ag s th
ra e e r er O e e er . r e e e , e
M u h mm d n s c om i ng f om pp
a e a nt l y th s m l o c liti s w
,
r ls o c ll d
a ar e e a e a e , e re a a e
S c ns
ar a e .
CHRI ST IA N I T Y D ECREE D 243
ornamented with temples a triu mphal arch and a

, ,
th e atr e and had been a bishop s s e e was h e nc eforth

,
’
,
closed against all travellers ; it had no plac e in th e map

till it w a s di scov ered by Burckhardt in ou r own days
without a human being dw e lling in it with oleand ers ,
and tamarisks choking up its entranc e thr ough the cl iff ,
and with brambles trailin g their branch e s ov e r the rock

hewn t emple s .
Th e reign of Theodosius w hi ch extended from 379

,
T E M PLE C OURT YA RD M E D INE T A B U

,
.
to 395 i s remarkable for the blow then giv e n to paganism

, .
The ol d religion had b e en sin king e ven before Chris

ti a n i ty had becom e the r e ligion of th e emp e rors ; it had
been di scourag e d by Constantin e who had clos e d man y
,
of th e temples ; but Th e odosius mad e a law in th e first

y e ar of his reign that th e whol e of th e empire should
b e Christian and should r e ceive th e trinitarian faith
,
.
H e soon afterwards ord e r e d that S un day should b e k e pt

holy and forbade all work and law proc e edings on that
,
-
day ; and h e sent Cy n e gi u s the prefect of the palac e

, ,
244 THE CH RI ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
into Egyp t , to s ee these law s carried into effect i n that
pro v ince .
The wi shes of the emp eror were abl y fo ll owed u p b y

Theoph ilus Bishop of A lexan dr ia He cleansed the
, .
temple of Mith r a and overthr ew the statu es in the cel e

,
b r a t e d temple of Serapis which seemed the v ery citad e l

,
of paganism He also exposed t o public ri di c ul e the

.
mystic ornaments and statues wh i ch a large part of his

fell ow citizens still r e garded as sacre d I t was n ot how
-
.
,
e v er to be s u pposed that thi s could be peaceably borne b y

,
a people s o irri table as the A lexan dr ians Th e stud e nts

.
in the schools of phi l osophy put themsel v es at the head

of the mob to stop the work of d e struction and to r e ,
v e nge themselves upon their assailants and se v eral ,
battles were fought in the streets b etween th e p a gans

and the C h r istians in whi ch both parties lost many lives ;
,
but a s th e C h r istians w ere supported by the power of

the pref e ct the pagans were routed and many whose
, ,
rank would hav e made them obj ects of p uni shment w ere
forced to fly from A lexandria .
N o soon e r had the troops u nder the command of the

prefe ct put down th e pagan opposition than the work
of destruction was again carried forward by the zeal
of the bishop The temples were broken open their orna

.
,
ments destroyed and th e statues of the gods m elted

,
for the u s e Of the Al exandrian chu rch O ne statue of an

.
Egyp tian god was al one saved from the wreck and was ,
set up in mock ery of those who had w orshi pped it ; and

this ridi cul e of their rel igi on w as a cau se of greater
anger to the p agans than e v en the destru ction of the
THE LI B RA RY D EST R O Y ED 2 45
o ther statu es The gr e at statue of Serapis whi ch was

.
,
m ade of wood covered with plates of metal w a s kn ocked ,
to piec e s by the axes of the soldiers The head and limb s .
w ere broken off and the wooden trunk was b u rnt

,
“
i n the amphi theatr e am i d the shouts and j eers of the
bystand ers A conj ectured fragm ent of this st a tu e i s
.
now i n the British Museum .
In the plu nder of the temple of Serapis the great ,
library of more than s e ven hun dr ed tho u sand v olu mes

was wholl y brok e n up and scatt ered O rosius the .
,
Spaniard w h o visited A lexandria in the next r e ign may

, ,
be tru sted when he says that he s a w in the temple the

empty shel v es whi ch within the memory of men
, ,
then living had been plunde red of the books that had
,
fo rm erl y been got together after the library of the

B r u c h i um was burnt by Julius C aesar In a work of su c h .
lawless plu nder carried on b y ignorant zealots many of

, ,
these monum ents of pagan genius and learning must

have been wil full y or accid e ntally destroyed though the ,
larger nu mber ma y have b een carried off by the Chris

tians for the other public and priv ate librari e s of the
cit y H ow man y oth er libraries this cit y of science may
.
hav e p ossessed we are n ot told but there were no doubt

,
many Had A lexandria during the next two centuries

.
given b irth to poets and orators their works the off , ,
spri ng of native genius might perh aps hav e been written

,
without the help of librari es ; but the labo u rs of the

mathematicians and grammarians prove that the city
was stil l well furnished wi th b oo k s, b es i de those on th e
Christian contro v ersies .
246 THE CH RI ST I A N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
When the Chr istians were persecuted b y the pagans ,
none but men of un blemished lives and u nu s u al str ength

of m ind stood to their religion in th e day of trial and s u f ,
fer e d the penalties of the l a w ; the weak the ignorant and , ,
the vicious readily j oined i n the sup erstitions r e quir e d

of them and embracing th e rel igion of the strong e r
, ,
part y easily escap e d pun i sh m ent So it was when the

,
.
pagans of Al e xandria were persecuted b y Theophil us ;

the chi ef sufferers were the men of learn ing in whose ,
m i n ds pagan i sm was a pur e deism and w h o s a w nothi ng

,
but ignorance and superstition on the side of th eir op

pressors ; who thought thei r worshi p of the Trini ty onl y
a new form of polytheism and j okin gly declared that
,
they were not arithm e ticians e nough t o understand it .
O l ym p i u s who was the priest of Serapis when the t emple

,
w a s sacked and as such the head of the pagans of Al ex

,
andr ia was a man i n every respect the opposite of th e

,
Bishop Theophilus He was of a frank open c oun te

.
,
nanc e and agreeable manners ; and though hi s age m i ght

have al lowed h i m to sp e ak among hi s followers in the
tone of command he chose rather in hi s moral lessons
,
to use the mi ld persuasion of an equal ; and few hearts

were s o hardened as n ot to be led into th e paths of duty
by hi s exhortations Whereas the fur ious monks say s
.
,
the indignant pagan were men only in form but swine

, ,
in mann e rs Wh o ever put on a black coat and was not

.
,
asham e d to b e seen with di rty linen gained a t yrannical ,
power o v er th e minds of the mob from th eir b eli ef in ,
his holiness ; and thes e m en attack e d the t empl e s of th e

gods as a propitiation for th e ir ow n enormous S ins Thus .
CHRI ST IAN I T Y IN THE TEM PL ES 247
each part y reproached the other, and oft e n unjustly .
A m on g other religious frau ds and pretended m i r acles of

whi ch the pagan priests were accus e d was that of having ,
an ir on statue of Serapis hanging in the air in a chamb e r

O f the temple b y means of a loadstone fixed in the ceil
,
i n g The nat ur al di ffic ul ties shi e ld them from this charge

.
,
bu t other accusations are n ot s o e asily rebutt e d .
A fter this attack upon the pagans their religion was ,
no longer ope nl y taught in Al exan dri a Some of the .
more zealou s p rofessors with dr ew from the capital to

Canop u s abou t ten miles di stant where the ancient
, ,
priestly learning was still taught unpersecu ted because,
un noticed ; and there u nder the pretence of stu dying

,
hieroglyphi cs a school w a s opened for teachi n g magic

,
and other forbidden rites Wh en the pagan worship

.
ceased throughout Eg ypt the temples were v ery much

,
'
used as churches and i n s om e cases r e ceived in their

,
ampl e cou rtyard a smaller chu rch of Greek architecture ,
as in that of Me di net A bu In other cases Christian

.
ornaments were added to the O l d walls as in the rock ,
temple of K n ep h opposite to A b l i Simb el wh ere the

’
, , ,
figur e of the Sav iour with a glory ro u nd his head has

b een painted on the ceili ng The Chr istians in order
.
,
to remo v e from b efore their e y es the memori als of the

ol d superstition co v ered up the scu lpture on th e walls
,
with m u d from the Nil e and white plaster This coating .
we n ow take awa y at a time wh en the idolatrous figures

,
are no l ong er dangerous to religion and we fin d the ,
s c ul pt u re and painting fresh a s when co v ered u p fo u r
t een hu n dr ed years ago .

248 THE CH R I ST I AN P ER I O D IN EGY P T
It would be reasonable to s uppose that the E gy p
un
tians u pon embracing Christianit y at onc e thr ew off

, ,
all of th eir pagan rites Am ong other customs that .
the y still clung to was that of making mum m i e s of th e

,
bo di es of th e dead St A n thony had tried t o di ssuade

. .
the Christian converts from that practice ; not becau s e

the mum m y cas e s w er e covered with pagan in scriptions
-
C H R IS T I A N P I C TUR E AT ABU S IM BEL .
bu t he bol dl y asserted what a very little readi n g wo ul d

,
hav e di spro v ed that e v ery mode of treating a dead body

, ,
b eside bur ial was forb idden in the Bible St A ugu stin e
,
. .
,
on the other hand we ll u nderstan d ing that the i mmortal

,
i ty of the so ul w ithout the body was little li kel y to b e un

d er s tood or val ued b y the ignorant praises the Egyptians ,
for that very practice and say s that the y were the onl y
,
C h r istians who r e all y belie v ed in the res u rrection from

the dead The tapers b u rnt before the altars were from
.
C L ERG Y AN D L A IT Y 249
the earl iest times u sed to light up the splendo u rs of the

Egyptian altars in the dark ness of their temples and
, ,
had b e en b ur nt in still great e r num bers in the y early

festiv al of the candles The playful custom of giving
.
away sugared cakes and sw e etmeats on th e tw e fity fifth -
day of Tybi ou r twentieth of January was then changed

, ,
to be kept fourteen da y s earlier and it still marks the ,
Fe ast of Epiphan y or Twel fth night The di vision of -
the people into clerg y and lait y which was unknown to ,
Greeks and Romans w a s introduc e d into C hr istianit y

,
in the four th c e ntur y b y the Egyptians Wh i le the r e st .
of Chr istendom were clothed in woollen linen the com , ,
m on dress of the Egy ptians was universally adopted

,
by the clergy as more becomi ng to the p u rity of their

manners A t the same time the clergy copied the E gyp
.
tia n priests in the c u stom of sha ving the cro w n of the

-
head bald .
T he new law in fa v o ur of trinitarian Christianit y w a s

enforced with as great strictness against the Ar i ans as
agai n st the pagans The bishops and priests of that
.
‘
part y were every where tur ned ou t of their c hurches ,
whi ch were then giv en up to the Homoo u sians Theo .
d osi u s s umm oned a co un cil of one hundred and fift y

bishops at Constantinople to r e enact the Nicene creed ;
,
-
and in the future rel igio u s reb elli ons of the Eg yptians
the y alwa y s qu oted against the G reeks thi s coun cil of
Constantinopl e with that of Nic aea as the fo un dation
, ,
of their faith B y thi s re l igious policy Theodosius did

.
,
much to dela y the fall of th e empire He won the friend .
sh i p of hi s Egyptian s u bj ects as wel l as of their Saracen

,
25 0 THE CHRI ST IA N P ER I O D IN EG YP T
neighb ours all of whom as far as the y were C hri stian
, , ,
held t o th e Nicene cr e e d Eg ypt became the safest of

.
his provinc e s ; and when hi s armi e s had been recrui t e d

,
with S O many barbarians that the y could no longer b e

trust e d th e s e new l e vi e s wer e marche d into Egypt u nder
,
th e command of Hormisdas and an e qu al n u mber of ,
Egyptians w e re dr afted out of the arm y of E gypt and ,
led into Thessaly .
When the season came for the o v erflow of the
M A N F A L O O T, S H OW ING T HE H IGH T O F TH E NILE I N SUMM R

E E .
in th e firstsum m er aft er the destruction of the temples ,
th e waters happened to rise more S lowly than u sual ; and

the Egyptians laid the blame upon the Christian emperor ,
who had forbidd en th eir sacrificing th e usual Offerings in

honour of the river god The alarm for the loss of their
-
crops carried more weight in the religious controvers y

than any arguments that could be brought against pagan
sacrific e s ; and the anger of the peopl e soon threatened a
s erious rebellion E v a gr i u s the pr efect b e ing disturb e d
.
,
for th e peace of th e c ountry sent t o Constantinople ,
for orders ; but the emperor r emain e d fir m ; he would

MA THEMA TI CS 25 1
make n o c hang e i n the law against paganism and the ,
fears O f th e Eg yptians a n d A lexandrians were soon put

an end to b y a most plenteou s overflow .
Since the ti me of A thanasius and the overth r ow of ,
th e Ar ian party in A l e xandria the learning of hat cit y

,
t
was wholly i n the hands of th e pagans and was chi e fl y ,
mathematical D iophantus of Al e xandria is the e arliest

.
writer on algebra whose works are now remaining to

u s and has given hi s name t o the D iophantine problems
, .
P appu s wrot e a description of the world and a com ,
mentary on P tole my s A l m a g es t beside a work on geom

’
,
e tr y p u bl i s h e d u nd e r the name of h i s M a th em a ti c a l Co l
,
~
l ec ti on s Theon a professor in the mu se um wrote on

.
, ,
—
the smaller astrolab e the instrument then u sed to meas
u r e the star orbits — and on the rise of the Nile a ,
subj ect alwa y s of interest to the mathematicians of

Egypt from its importance to the husban dm an F rom
,
.
Th e on s astronomical ob servations we l e arn that th e

’
Al exan dr ian astronomers still mad e u s e of the ol d E gy p

tian movable year of three hu ndred and S ixty fiv e day s -
only and without a leap y ear Paul the A lexandrian

,
-
astrologer on the other hand uses the Julian y ear of

, ,
thr e e hun dr ed and S ixty fiv e days and a qu arter and he

-
dates from the era of D iocl e tian His rules for telling .
the da y of the week from the da y of the month and for ,
telling on what da y of the w e ek e a ch year began teach ,
us that our present mode of di vi di ng time w a s u sed in

Egypt H or a p ol l o the grammarian w a s also then a
.
, ,
t e acher in the schools of A lexandria He wrote in the .
K op ti c language a work in explanation of the ol d

hi eroglyphics whi ch has gained a notice far be y ond its
,
d e s erts b e cause it is the only work on the subj ect that

,
h a s come down t o us .
Th e o nl y Christian writings of this t i me that we ,
k now of are the paschal lette rs of Theophi lus Bishop of

, ,
Al e xan dr ia whi ch w e r e much praised by Jerom e and by

, ,
him translated into L atin The y are fu l of bitter r e

l .
p r oa c h es against O rigen and h i s writi n gs and the y ,
charge hi m with having tre ated Jesus more cruell y than

Pilat e or the Jews had done John the famous monk .
,
of th e Thebaid was no writ e r though b el ieved to have

, ,
th e gift of proph e cy H e was said to have for e told the

.
victory of Theodosius ov e r th e r eb el Maximus ; and wh e n ,
th e emp e ror had got togeth e r his troops to march against

Euge nius anoth e r rebel who had s e iz e d the passes of t h e
,
Julian A lps he sent hi s trusty eunu ch E u tr op i u s to fetch

,
th e holy Egyptian or at least to l e arn from hi m what

,
would b e th e e v e nt of th e war John r efus e d to go to .
Europ e but he told the m e ss eng e r that Th e odosius would

,
conqu e r th e reb el and s oon a ftefw a r d s d i e ; both of whi ch

,
cam e to pass as might easily have been gu essed .
O n the death of Theodosius in 39 5 the Roman empire , ,
w a s again divid e d A rcadius his elder son rul e d Egypt

.
, ,
and th e East whi l e Honoriu s the y o u nger held th e

, , ,
We st ; and the reins of govern ment at once passed from

th e ablest to th e weakest hands B u t the change was .
little f elt in Egypt which continued to b e governed b y

,
th e patriarch Th e ophilus without the name but with ,
very nearly the power of a prefect He was a b ol d and .
wicked man b ut as his religio u s opinions were for the

,
THE OR I GEN I ST CO N TROVERS Y 253
H omoo u sians as against the A rians , and h i s political feel

ings were for the Egyptians as against th e Gre e ks h e ,
r allied to hi s gov e rnment the chi e f strength of th e prov
i nce. A S the pagans and A ri ans of A l e xan dr ia w e r e no

longer worthy of his enm i t y he fanned in to a flame a
,
n e w quarr e l which was th e n br e aking out in the Egyptian
c hu rch . The monks of U pper Eg ypt who were mostly ,
i gnorant and u nlettered men w e re anthropomorphit e s

, ,
or belie v ers that G o d was in outward shape lik e a man .
The y qu oted from the Jewish Scriptur e s that he mad e

man in his ow n image in support of their o pinion They
, .
h el d th a t he w a s of a strictl y hum an form lik e J e sus

'
, ,
whi ch to them seemed full y asserted in th e Nicene cre ed .
I n thi s opinion the y were opposed b y those who were

b etter edu cated and it s u ited the polic y of Theophi lus
,
to side with the more ignorant and larger party H e .
branded w ith the name of O rigenists those who argued

that God was without form and who quoted the writings
,
o f O rigen in s u pport of their opini on Thi s natur all y

.
l e d to a dispute about O rigen s orthodox y ; and that

’
a dm i ra b le writer w h o had been praised b y a l l parties

,
f or two hu ndred y ears and who had b een qu oted as

,
authorit y as mu ch by A thanasiu s as b y the A rians was ,
decl ared to b e a heretic by a co u ncil of bishops The .
w ritings of O rigen w ere accor di ngl y forbidden to be

r e ad b ecau se the y contradicted the anthropomorphi te
,
Opinions .
The qu arrel b e tw een the O ri geni sts and the anthro

p om or p h i t es di d not end in wor d s A proposition
. in
t heol og y or a d o ub t i n metaph y s i c s w as n o b etter cau se
, ,
254 THE CHR I ST I AN P ER I O D IN EG YP T
of civil war than th e ol d quarrels about the b ul l A pis
or th e crocodile ; but a chang e of r e l igion had not chang e d
th e national character The patriarch fin di ng hi s party

.
,
th e strong e r atta c k e d th e e n emy in th ei r ow n monas

,
t e r i e s ; h e marched to Mount Ni tr i a at th e he ad of a
strong body of sol di ers and enroll i ng unde r his bann ers
, ,
th e anthropomorphit e monks atta c ked D i os c or u s and th e

,
O rig enists s et fir e to thei r monast e ries and laid waste

, ,
th e place .
Th e oph i lus next qu arrelled with P eter the chi ef of the ,
Al exan dr ian presb y ters W hom he accused of adm i tting

,
to the sacram e nts of the church a woman w h o had n ot

reno un c e d th e Mani ch ean h eresy ; and h e th e n quarrelle d
with I sidorus who had th e charg e of the poor of the
,
chur ch b e c ause h e bore witne ss that P e ter had the

,
ord ers of Theophi lus hi m self for what h e di d .
In this c entur y th ere was a gen eral di gging u p of

th e bo di e s of th e most c el e brat e d C h r istians of form e r
ag e s to heal th e di s e as e s and str ength en the faith of the
,
living ; and Constantinopl e whi ch as the capital of th e,
e mpire had been ornamented b y th e spoils of i t s subje c t
provin c e s had latterly b e en e nri ching its chu rches with

,
th e r e mains of num erous Christian saints The tomb s .
of Eg yp t crowd e d with mum mies that had lain ther e

,
for cent u ries c ould of course furnish r elics more easil y

,
than most coun tries and in this reign Constantinopl e

,
r e c e iv e d from A lexandria a quantity of bon e s whi ch wer e

supposed t o be thos e of th e martyrs slain in the pagan
pers e cutions Th e archbishop John Chrysostom receiv e d
.
them grat e fully and though him self smarting u nder th e

, ,
DEGEN ER A T I O N O F A L E XA N D R I A 255
r e proach that h e was not orthodox enough for the s u per

s ti ti ou s Egyptians he thanks God that Eg ypt whi ch
, ,
s e nt forth i ts grain to feed its hungry neighbour s co u ld ,
also send the bo di es of s o many martyrs to sanctify th e ir

churches .
We have traced the fall of the Greek p a r ty i n Al ex

an dr ia in th e victori e s ove r th e A r ians during the r elig
,
ious quarrels of the last hundred y ears ; and in th e

laws w e now read the city s loss of w e alth and power
’
.
Th e corporation of A lexandria was no long e r able to b e ar

th e e xpense of cleans in g th e riv e r and ke eping open th e
—
canals ; and four hundr ed s o l i d i about twelv e hundred
—
dollars were e ach year set apart from th e custom hous e -
duties of th e cit y for that useful work .
The arrival of new settl e rs in A l e xandria had been

very mu ch checked by the less prosperous stat e of th e
co un try S ince the reign of D iocletian We stil l fin d .
,
however that many of the men of not e w e re not born

,
in Eg ypt P aul us the ph y sician was a native of ZE gi n a

.
, ,
.
He has l e ft a work on diseases and their rem e di e s Th e .
chief man of learning was S y n e s i u s a platonic p h i l os o

,
pher whom the patriarch Theophilus p ersuade d to j oin

the Christians A s a platonist he naturall y lean e d
.
towards many of the doctrines of the pop ul ar religion ,
but he could not believe in a resurr e ction ; and it was

not till after Theophilu s had ordain e d him Bishop of
P tolemais n e ar C yrene that he acknowledg e d the tru th
of that doctrine Nor would h e th en put away or dis
.
ow n h i s wife as the custom of the Church requi red ; i n

,
deed he accepted the bishopric very u nwillingl y H e was

, .
25 6 THE CH RI ST I AN P E RI OD IN EG YP T
as fond of pla yful sport as he was of books and very ,
much di sliked b u siness He h a s left a volum e of writ

.
in gs whi ch has sav ed the names of tw o prefects of

,
Cyrene ; the one A n y s i u s under whose good di scipli ne ,
e ven the barbarians of Hungar y behaved like Roman
l e gionaries and the other P aeoni u s who c ultivated

, ,
science in this barren spot To enco urage P aeoni u s i n .
h i s praise w orth y stu di es he made h i m a present of an

astrolabe to measure the di stances of the stars and
,
plan e ts an i nstrument wh i ch was constru cted u nder

,
th e gui dance of Hyp atia .
Trade and in dustry were checked b y the u nsettl ed

state of the cou ntry and mi sery and famin e were S pread
,
ing ov e r the land The A frican tribes of M a zi c e s and

.
A u xor i a n i leavi ng the desert in hope of pl u nder ove r ran

, ,
th e province of L ibya and laid wast e a large part of th e

,
D elta The barbarians and the sands of the desert wer e

.
ali ke encroach i ng on the cul tivated fields Nature .
seemed changed The v al l e y of the Nil e was growing

.
narrower Ev en withi n the v al l ey the retreating waters

.
l e ft behind them harvests less ri ch and fever more putrid ,

.
The quarries w ere no longer worth working for their

b ui lding S tone Th e mi n e s yiel ded no more gold
. .
O n the death of A r ca di us his s on Theodosius was ,
o n l y eight y e ars ol d but he was qui etly acknowledge d as

,
Emp eror of th e East in 408 and he left the go v ernment ,
of Eg ypt as h e retofore ver y mu ch i n the hands of the

, ,
patriarch In th e fifth year of his reign Theophi l u s di ed ;

.
and as might b e supposed a successor was not appointed

, ,
without a struggle for the double hono u r of Bishop of

THE CO N SECRA T I ON O F C Y RIL 25 7
Al exandri a and Go v ernor of Eg ypt The remai ns of the

.
Gr e ek and A rian part y proposed Timotheus an arch ,
deacon in the church ; bu t the Egyptian part y were

un i ted in favour of C yri l a y oun g man of learning and
,
talent w h o had the adv antage of b eing th e n eph e w of

,
the late bishop Whatev er were the forms b y whi ch the

.
QU A RR IE S A T TOOR A
K ON T H E NI L E .
election shoul d h av e been go v e rned it w as i n realit y

,
settled b y a b attl e b e tween the two parti e s in the streets ;

and thou gh A bun da n ti u s the mil itary prefect gav e the
, ,
weight of his name if not the strength Of h i s cohort to

, ,
the part y of Tim othe u s y et his riv al con qu ered a n d

, ,
Cyril was carried into the cathedral with a pomp more

l ike a pagan tri u mph than the modest o r di n atio n of a
bishop .
25 8 THE CHRI ST I AN P ER I O D IN EG YP T
C yril w as not less tyrannical in hi s bishopric than
his un c l e had been before hi m H i s fir st care w a s to put a
.
stop to a ll h e r e sy i n Al e xandria and hi s second to bani sh

,
the Jews Th e th e atre was th e spot in whi ch the riots

.
between Jews and Chr istians usuall y b e gan and the ,
Sabbath w a s the time as b ein g the day on which the

,
Je ws chiefl y crowded in to s ee the danci ng O n on e .
occasion the quarrel in th e theatre ran s o hi gh that the

pref e ct w ith hi s cohort was scarc ely abl e to keep them
from blows ; and the Chr istians r eproached the Je ws
with plotting to burn down th e chu rch e s But the Chri s .
tians w e re thems e lves gu il ty of the very crimes of whi c h

th e y accused th e ir e nemies The next morni n g as soon
.
,
as it w a s light Cyri l headed the mob in their attacks

,
upon the Jewish s ynagogues ; the y broke them ope n and

plunde r e d them and in on e day dr ove every Jew ou t
,
of th e cit y No Jew had b e e n allowed to li v e i n Al ex

.
andria or an y other city without paying a poll tax for -
leave to worshi p hi s God accor di ng to the mann er of h i s

forefathers ; but r eligious zeal is strong er than the love
of mon e y ; the Je w s were dri v en ou t, and the tax lost
to th e city .
O restes the prefect of A l exandria had before wished

, ,
to che ck the power of the bishop ; and he in vain tri e d

to save the Jews from Oppression and the state from ,
the loss of s o many good citizens But it was us eless

.
to quarrel with th e patriarch who was supported by th e

,
r eligious zeal of the whol e population Th e monks of .
Mount Ni tr i a and of th e n e ighbourhood b urned with a

holy zeal to fight for Cyril as the y had before fought
,
C I V IL AN D ECC L ES I A ST I C A L STRI FE 259
for Theophilus ; and when they heard that a j e alousy

had sprung up between the civil and e c c l e siastical a u
th or i ti e s more than fiv e hun dr ed of th em marched into
,
Al e xandria to avenge th e a ffronted bishop The y m et .
th e prefect O restes a s he w a s passing through the streets

i n h i s O pen chariot and began r eproachi n g hi m with
,
b ei ng a pagan and a Greek O rest e s answered that he .
w a s a Christian and he had b een baptis e d at Constanti

,
n op l e
. But thi s only cl e ared him of th e lesser charge ,
he was c e rtain ly a Greek ; and on e of th e se Egyptian

monks taking up a stone thr e w it at his h e ad and th e ,
blow c ov e red hi s face with blood Th e y then fled from .
th e guards and p e opl e w h o came up t o h elp the wound e d

pre fect ; but A m m on i u s who threw the stone was taken
, ,
and put to death with torture Th e grat e ful bishop .
b ur ied hi m in the church with much pomp ; he declared

h i m to b e a mart yr and a saint and gav e him the name ,
of St . Th a um a s i u s But the Christians were ashamed

.
of the n e w martyr : and th e bishop who co ul d not with ,
stand the ri di c ul e soon afterwards withdrew from him

,
th e title .
Bad as was this b e haviour of th e bishop and h i s

friends the most di sgraceful tal e still remains to be told
,
.
The beautiful and l e arn e d Hypatia th e daught e r of ,
T h e on the math ematician was at that time the ornament

,
of Al exandria and th e pride of th e pagans S h e taught .
phi losophy p u blicl y in the platonic school which had

b e en fo un ded by Am m on i u s and which boast e d of P 10
,
tinus as its pupil S h e was a s mod e st as she was graceful

. ,
eloqu ent and learned ; and though being a pagan sh e

, , ,
260 TH E CHRI ST I A N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
belonged to neither of the rival Chr istian parties y et , ,
a s s h e had more hearers among the Greek friends of
the pr e fect than among the i gnorant followers of the

bishop S he became an obj ect of j ealo u sy with the H o
,
m oou s i a n party A body of these C h r istians sa y s the

.
,
orthodox hi storian attacked thi s a dmirabl e woman in the

,
str e et ; the y dr agged h er from h er chariot and hur ried ,
h e r ofi into the chur ch named C aesar s temple and th e re ’

,
stripped her and mur d er e d her with some broken tiles .
S h e had written commentaries on the mathematical

works of D iophantus and on the co ni c sections of A pollo
,
nius Th e story of her li fe h a s be en related in the ni ne

.
t een th centur y b y Charles Kingsle y in the no v el whi ch

bears her name .
A rian i sm took refuge from th e Egyptians with i n th e

camps of the Greek soldiers O ne church was dedicated
.
t o the hono u r of St George the late bishop withi n th e

.
, ,
loft y towers of the citadel of Bab ylon whi ch w a s th e ,
strongest fortr e ss in E gy p t n and a s e cond i n the cit y

of P tolemais whe re a garrison was stationed to coll e ct
,
the toll of the Th ebaid St G e orge became a favo ur ite

. .
sain t with the Greeks in Egypt and in thos e spots where ,
the Greek sol di ers w ere masters of the churches this

A r ian and un popular bishop was oft e n painted on the
walls riding trium phantly on hors eback and sla ying the
dragon of A thanasian error O n th e other hand in .
,
’
A l e xandria wher e hi s rival s politics and opini ons h eld
,
th e upper hand the monastery of St A thanasius was

,
.
built in the most public S pot in the city probably that ,
fo rm erly held b y the Soma or royal burial place ; and -

CHR Y SOS TOM A ND PA L L A D I U S 261
in Theb es a cathedral church de di cated to St A tha

was .
n a s i u s within the great co u rtyard of M e din et A b u wh e re -
the small and paltry Greek colum n s are in strange c on

trast to the grand archi tecture of Ramses II I wh i ch .
surro un ds them .
In former reigns the Al exan dr ians had been I n the

habit of sending embassies to Constantinople to complain
of tyrann y or m i sgo v ernment and t o b e for a redr e ss
g ,
of grievances when they thought that justice co ul d be

,
there obtained wh en it w a s r e fused in Al e xan dri a But .
this practice was stopped b y Theodosius who made a ,
l a w that the Al exandrians S hould never send an e mbass y

t o Constantinople u nl ess it w e re agreed to b y a decr e e
,
of the town co u ncil and had the approbation of the

,
prefect The weak and idle emperor would all ow no

.
appeal from the t yranny of hi s ow n go v ernor .
W e ma y pass over the banishment of John Ch r ys

os t om
, Bishop of Constantinople as having less to do ,
with the history of Eg ypt though as in the cases of

, ,
A r ius and Nestorius the chief mo v er of th e attack u pon

,
him was a bishop of Al exan dr ia w h o accused him of ,
heresy because h e did n ot come up to th e Egyptian

,
standard of orthodox y But among th e bishops who

.
were deposed with Chry sostom was P a l l a di u s of Galatia ,
w h o was sent a prisoner t o S ye n e A S soon as he was .
r eleased from his b onds instead of b eing cast down by

,
.
hi s m i sfortunes he proposed to take advantage of the

,
place of h i s banishment and he s et forward on his trav els

,
through Ethiopia for In di a in search of the wisdom of

,
t h e Brahmi ns . He arrived in safet y at A dul e the port ,

262 THE CHR I ST I A N P ER I O D IN EG YP T
on the Red S ea in latitud e n ow known as Zul a wher e ,
he mad e acquaintanc e with Moses the bishop of that city , ,
and p ersuaded h i m to j oin hi m in h i s distant and di fficult

v o yag e
.
F rom A dul e th e tw o s e t sai l in on e of the vessels

employed in the Indi an trad e ; but they were un able to
'
a c complish their pur pos e and P a l l a di u s returned to
,
Egypt worn out with heat and fatigu e having scarcely ,
touch e d the shore s of I n di a O n hi s r e turn through

.
Thebes h e met with a traveller w h o had lat ely re tur n e d

from the sam e j ourney and w h o consoled hi m u nd e r
,
hi s di sappointment by recounti ng hi s ow n failur e i n th e

same undertakin g H i s n e w friend had hi m s elf b e e n a
.
m er chant in the I ndi an trade but had given up business

,
b e caus e h e w a s not successful in it ; and having taken ,
a pri e st as his companion had set ou t on the same voyag e

,
in s e arch of East ern wisdom They had sail e d t o A dul e

.
on the A byssini an shor e and the n trav elled to A u xum

, ,
th e capital of that country From that coast th ey s et

.
sail for th e In di an ocean a n d r e ached a coast wh i ch th ey

,
thought was Taprobane or C e ylon But there they w e r e .
take n prisoners and after spen di n g six y e ars in slavery

, , ,
and l e arning but l ittle of the phi losophy that the y wer e
in search of were glad to take th e fir st opport u ni ty of
,
escaping and r e turnin g to Egypt P a l l a di u s had trav e ll e d

.
in Egypt b e fore he was sent th er e into banishment and ,
h e had sp ent many y ears in e xamining th e monasteries

of th e Th e baid and th e ir rules and h e has l e ft a history of
,
th e liv e s of m any of those hol y men and woman ad dr essed ,
t o his friend L a u s u s.
THE EG YP T IAN M ON K S 263
When Nestoriu s wasdeposed from the bishopric of

Constantinople for refusing to u s e the words Mothe r of
G od as the title of Jesus mother and for fall ing short
’
,
in other points of what was th e n thought orthodoxy h e ,
w a s banished t o Hi be in the Gr e at O asis Wh i l e h e was

.
v
living there the Gr e at O asis w a s overrun by the Bl em

,
myes the Roman garrison was d efeated and those that

, ,
resisted were put to the sword The Blemm y es pillag e d

.
the place and then withdrew ; and b e ing themselves at

,
war with the M a zi c es another tribe of A r abs they kin dl y

, ,
sent th eir prisoners t o the Th ebaid lest the y should fall

,
into th e hands of the latter Nestorius then went to

.
P anopolis to show hi mself to the governor lest he shou ld ,
be accused of running away from hi s place of ban i sh m ent ,
and soon afterwards he di ed of the sufferings brought on

b y these forced and painful j ourn eys th r ou gh the desert .
A bout the same time Eg ypt was visited b y O a ssi a n u s ,
a monk of Gaul in order to study the monastic i n s ti tu

,
tions of the Thebaid In hi s work on that subj ect h e

.
has described at length the wa y of life and the se v ere

rul es of the Egyptian monks and has recommended them
,
to the imi tation of his countrymen But the nativ e s of

.
Ital y and the West d o n ot seem to hav e been cont e nted

with cop yin g the Theban monks at a distance Such was .
the fame of the Egyptian monasteries that many zealots

from Ital y flocked there t o pl ace t hemselves u nd e r the
,
se v ere discipline of those holy men A s these L atin .
monk s di d not u nderstand either K op ti c or Gre ek they ,
fo u nd some difficulty in regulating their liv es with the

wi shed for exactness ; and the rul es of P achomi u s of
-
,
264 THE CH RI ST I AN P ERI OD IN EG YP T
Theodorus and of O r esi e s i s th e most celebrated of the
, ,
found e rs w e re actually s ent t o Jerome at Rom e to b e

, ,
by h i m translated into L ati n for th e use of th e s e s e ttl ers

in the Thebaid The se L atin monks mad e St P et er a
. .
pop ul ar saint in some parts of Egypt ; and i n th e t empl e

of A s s eb ou a in Nubia when the Chr istians plast ere d
, ,
ov e r th e figure of on e of th e ol d gods th e y paint e d in ,
its place the A postl e P eter holding the k ey in hi s hand .
Th e y di d not alter th e r e st
of th e sculpture ; so that
Rams e s I I is th er e n ow se en
.
presenti ng hi s offe ring to

the Christian saint The .
m i x e d group giv e s us proof
of th e nation s de c line i n art

’
rather than of its i mprove

ment in religion .
A mong the monks of

R A MS E S II A ND ST P E T E R
Eg y pt ther e were also som e
. . .
men of learni ng and indu stry who i n thei r cells in the

,
desert had made at least thr e e translations of the N e w

Testament into the thre e dialects of th e K op ti c language ;
namely the Sahi di c of Upper Egypt the Bashmuri c of
, ,
the B a sh m ou r provi nce of the east e rn half of th e D elta ,
and the K op ti c proper of M emphi s and the western half

of the D e lta To th e s e were afterwards added th e A cts
.
of the counc i l of Nic aea the li v es of the saints and mar

,
t yrs the w ritings of many of th e Christian fathers th e

, ,
rituals of the K op ti c church and various tr e atis e s on

,
r eligion .
CO PI ES O F THE B I B L E 265
O ther monk s were b u s y i n making co p ies of the

as
Greek manuscripts of the O ld and N ew T e stame nt ; and ,
as each copy must hav e n e eded th e painful labour of

months and often y e ars the ir industry and z e al must
, ,
hav e b e e n gr e at Most of thes e manuscripts gve re on

.
papyrus or on a manufactured papyrus whi ch might b e

,
c alled pap e r and hav e long sinc e been lost ; but th e thre e
,
most ancient copi e s on parchm e nt whi ch are the pride

of the Vatican the P aris library and the British Muse um
, , ,
are the work of the A l e xandrian penmen .
Copi e s of the Bibl e were also made in Al e xandria for

sale in western Europe ; and all ou r oldest manuscripts
show their origin by the Egyptian form of sp ell ing in
some of the words The Beza manuscript at Cambridge
.
,
and the Cl e rmont manuscript at P aris whi ch hav e Greek ,
on one side of the page and L atin on the other were writ ,
ten i n Al exan dr ia Th e L atin is that more ancient version

.
which was in use before the time of Jerome and whi ch he ,
corrected to form what is now called the L atin Vul gate

,
.
This ol d v ersion was made b y changing each Greek word

into its corresponding L atin word with very l ittle r e ,
gard to th e different characters of the two languages I t

. .
was no doubt made by an A l e xan dr ian Greek who had ,
a very slight knowledge of L atin .
Al ready th e papyru s on which books were writt e n

was for the most part a manufactured article and m i ght
, ,
clai m the nam e of paper In the ti me of Pl iny in the

.
fir st cent ur y th e sheets had been made in the ol d way ;

th e slips of th e p l ant laid on e across th e other had b ee n
h eld together by their own sticky s a p witho u t the h elp
2 66 TH E CHR I ST IAN P ER I O D IN EG YP T
of glue I n the reign of A u reli an in the thi r d centur y,
.
,
if not earli e r glue had b een larg ely us e d in the manu

,
factu re ; and it i s probabl e that at thi s time in th e fif th ,
centur y the manufa c ture d article al most des e rv e d the

,
name of paper But thi s manufactur ed papyrus was

.
much weaker and less lasting than that made aft e r the
ol d and more sim pl e fas hi on N o books writt e n upon it .
r emain to us A t a lat er p e riod th e strong e r fibre of

.
,
flax was used in the manu factur e but the date of thi s ,
i mprovem e nt is also un kn own b e cause at first the pap e r ,
s o mad e like that made from th e pap yrus fibre was

, ,
also t oo weak to last I t was doubtless an Al e xandrian .
improvem ent Fl ax was an E gyptian plant ; pap er mak

.
-
i n g was an Eg yptian trade ; and Theophilus a Roman ,
writer on manu factur es when speaking of paper ma de ,
from flax clearl y poin ts to its A l exandrian origin b y

, ,
givin g it the name of Greek parchm ent B e tw e en the .
pap yru s of the thi rd century and the strong paper of the ,
eleventh century no b ooks remain to u s bu t those written

,
on par c hm e nt
I
.
Th e monks of Mount Sinai suffered much duri n g these

reigns of weakness from th e marau di ng attacks of the
Ar abs . Th e se men had no strong monastery ; bu t hun
dr e ds of th em lived apart in si ngl e c ells in the side of the
mountains round the valle y of F ei r a n at the foot of ,
Mount Serbal and th ey had nothi ng to protect th em

,
but their povert y The y w ere not protected b y Eg ypt

.
,
and th e y made treati e s with th e n e ighbour ing A r ab s ,
like an indep end ent r epublic of which the town of F ei r a n ,
w as the capital The A rabs from the Jordan to the Red

.
,
SA CRED IN SCR IP T I ON S 267
Sea made robbery the emplo y

,
ment of their lives and the y ,
added much to the v oluntary

sufferings of the monks Nilus .
,
a monk who had l eft hi s fam i l y

in Egypt t o spend hi s life in
,
prayer and study on the spot

wher e Moses was appointed the
legislator of I srael descri bes,
these attacks upon hi s brethren ,
and he boasts over the I sraelites

that notwi thstanding their s u f
,
fer i n g s the monks sp e nt th e ir

,
whole lives ch e e rfully in those

v ery deserts whi ch God s chosen ’
people coul d not even pass

through witho u t mu rmur ing .
Nilus has left some letters and

exhort ations It was then prob
.
,
abl y that the num ero u s i n s cr i p

,
tions were made on the rocks at

the foot of Mo u nt Serbal and on ,
th e path towards its sacred peak ,
which have gi ven to one spot the

name of M ok a tteb or th e va l
,
l ey of w r i ti n g A few of these
.
inscriptions are in the Gree k

language .
TH E P A RU S LAN
PY P T.
The E gyptian physicians had
of ol d always formed a part of
2 68 THE CHR I ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
the priesthood and the y s eem to have done much the
,
same aft e r the spr e ad of C h r i stianit y We fin d some .
'
monks named P a r a ba l a m w h o owned the Bishop of Al ex
,
an dr ia as the i r head and w h o uni t e d the o ffic e s of phy si

,
c i a n and n ur s e in waiting on the sick and dyi ng A s the y .
profe ss e d povert y they were maintai ned b y the stat e and

had oth er privi l e ge s ; and h e nc e it was a place much
sought after and even b y the w e althy But to lessen thi s
,
.
abus e it was ordered by an i mperial rescript that none

but poor people who had been rat e pay e rs sho ul d b e -
P a r a ba l a n i ; and th e ir number was limi ted fir st to fiv e ,
hun dr ed but afterwards at the r e quest of th e bishop to

, , ,
six hundred A second charitabl e institution in A l e x

.
an dr ia had the care of strangers and the poor and was ,
also managed b y on e of the priests .
Al exandria w a s fast sinki ng in wealth and p op ul a

tion and sev e ral new laws were now made t o lessen its
,
di ffic ulti e s O ne was t o add a hun dred and ten bushels

.
o f gra i n t o the dail y a l im on y of the cit y the supply on

f ,
whi ch the riotous citizens were fed in i dl e ness By a s ec .
on d and a third law the fiv e chi e f men in th e corporation ,
a n d every man that had fil l ed a civic o ffice for thi r t y
y ears w er e fr e ed from all b o di ly p un i sh m m t and onl y

, ,
to b e fin ed when convicted of a crim e Theodosius b ui lt .
a larg e chur ch in A l e xandria whi ch was called after hi s

,
name ; and the provincial judg e s wer e told i n a lett er

’
t o the pr e fect that if th e y wish e d t o e arn the e mp e ror s
,
praise they must not only r e store those b u ildings whi ch

,
wer e falli ng thr ough a ge and neglect but mu st also b ui ld

n e w ones .
THE P ERIP A TET I CS 269
Tho u gh the pagan p hi losophy had been mu ch dis

c our a g e d at A lexandria b y the destruction of the templ e s
a n d the cessation of the sacrifices yet the p hi losophers

,
w e re still allowed to teach in the schools S y ri a n u s was .
a t the head of the P lato ni sts and he wrote largely on

,
the O rp hi c Pythagorean and Platoni c doctrines In his

, , .
Comm entary on Ar istotle s Metaph y sics he aims at show ’
ing h ow a Pythagorean or a P lato ni st wo ul d successfull y

a nswer A ristotle s obj ections
’
He seems to look upon
.
the writings of P lotinus P orphyry and I am bl i ch u s as

, ,
the true fo u ntains of P latonic wisdom qui te as much as ,
t h e works of the great phi losopher who gave his name

t o the sect S y r i a n u s afterwards removed to A thens
.
,
t o take charge of the P latonic school in that cit y and

’
,
A thens became the chi ef seat of Al exandrian P lato n i sm .
O l y m p i od or u s w a s at the same ti me u ndertaki ng the

t as k of form ing a P eripat e tic school in Al exandria in ,
opposition to the n ew Platonism and he h a s left som e ,
of the frui ts of hi s labo ur in his Comm entaries on A ris
t otl e
. But the P eripatetic philosophy was no longer
a ttractive to the pagans though after the fall of the cat e
,
c h eti ca l school it had a strong follow i ng of Christian
disciples O l ym p i od or u s also wrote a hi story but it

. ,
has long sinc e been lost with other works of a sec ond
,
rate m erit He was a native of the Th ebaid and trav ell e d

. ,
ov e r his coun try H e describ e d the Gre at O asis as still

.
a highl y cul tivated spot wh e re the husbandman wat e red

,
his fields every third day in sum m er and every fifth da y ,
in winter from wells of tw o and three hun dred fe e t in

,
d epth and th e r e by raised two crops of barle y and often

, ,
27 0 THE CHRI ST I A N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
thr e e of mill e t in a y e ar O l y m p i od or u s also travelle d
, .
b eyond Sy en e in to Nubia with some danger from th e ,
Bl em m y e s but h e w a s n ot abl e to s e e th e emerald min e s

, ,
whi ch wer e work e d on Mount Smaragdus in th e Ar abian

d e sert betw e en K op tos and B e r e ni c e and whi ch seem ,
to have b ee n the chi ef obj e ct of hi s j ourne y .
Proclus came to A lexandria about th e end of thi s

r eign and stu di e d many years un d er O l ym p i od or u s but
, ,
not to the neglect of the plato ni c phi losophy of which ,
he afterwards b e came such a di stingui shed ornam ent and

support The other A l e xandrians und e r whom P roclus
.
studied were He ro th e math ematician a devout and

, ,
r eli gious pagan L e onas the rhetori cian who introduced

, , ,
him to all th e chi ef men of learning and O rion the gram , ,
mari an who boasted of hi s desc ent from the rac e of

,
Th e ban pri e sts Thus the pagans still h eld u p their heads
.
in the schools N or were the ceremoni es of their relig

.
ion though un lawful wh oll y stopped I n th e twent y

, ,
.
e ighth year of this r e ign wh e n the p e ople were assembled

,
in a theatre at Al exandria to celebrate th e midni ght

f e stival of th e Nile a sacrific e which had been forbidden
,
by Constantin e and th e co un cil of Nic aea the buil di n g ,
f ell beneath the weight of the crowd and upwards of fiv e ,
hun dred persons were killed b y the fall .
It will b e of some interest to review here the ma

chinery of o fficers and deputies civil as wel l as mil i tary , ,
by which Egypt was governed under the successors of

Constantine Th e whole of th e Eastern empir e was placed
.
under tw o pr efects the pretorian pr efect of th e East

,
and the pretorian prefect of I llyr icum who living a t , ,

C I V IL AND M ILI T A R Y GO V ERN MEN T 27 3
Constantinople like modern secretaries of state made

, ,
e di cts for the governm ent of the provinces and h e ard
th e app e als . Under the pr efect of th e East w er e fif

te e n consular provin ces together with Egypt whi ch
, ,
was not an y longer under on e pr ef e ct There was no .
consul ar governor in Egypt b e tween the prefect at Con

s ta n ti n op l e and the s i x pr e f e cts of th e small e r provinc e s .
Th e se provin c e s were Upper L ib y a or Cyre n e L ow e r ,
Libya or th e O asis the Th e baid ZE gyp ti a c a or the w e st

, ,
ern part of th e D elta A u gu s ta n i c a or the eastern part

,
of the D elta and the H e p ta n om i s now named A rca di a

, , ,
aft e r th e l ate emperor Each of these was und er an

.
A ugustal pr e f e ct attended by a P r i n c ep s a Cor n i c u l a

, ,
r i us
,
an A dj u tor and others and was assist e d in civil
, ,
matters b y a Com m en ta r i en s i s a corresponding s e cre ,
tary a secretary a b a c ti s with a crowd of n u m er a m i or

’
, ,
clerks .
The m i litary go v ernment was u nder a co u nt with tw o

du kes with a num ber of legions cohorts troops and
, , , ,
wedges of cav alry stationed in about fifty citi e s whi ch

, , ,
if th ey had looked as w ell in the field as the y do upon

paper would have made Theodosius I I as pow erful as
,
.
A ugustus But the number of Gre ek and Roman troops

.
was small The rest were barbarians who h eld their ow n

.
lives at small price and the li ves of the un happy E gy p

,
ti ans at still less The Greeks w er e only a part of

.
the fifth Macedonian legion and Traj an s s e cond legion ,

’
,
which were stationed at Memphi s at P a r em b ol e and , ,
at A pollinopolis ; whi le from the names of the other

c ohorts we l earn that the y were F ranks P ortugues e , ,
27 4 THE CHRI ST IAN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
G e rmans Quadri Spani ards Britons Moors Vandals
, , , , , ,
Gaul s S a r m a ti A ssyrians Galatians A f ricans Num i d

, , , , ,
ians and oth ers of l e ss known and more r emote plac e s

,
.
Egypt its elf furnished th e Egyptian legion part of whi ch ,
was in M e sopotami a D iocl e tian s third legion of The ,

’
bans th e first M a xi m i n i a n l e gion of Thebans whi ch was

,
station e d in Thr ace Constantin e s s e cond F lavian l e gion ’
of Thebans Valens s e cond F elix l e gion of Th e bans and

, ,
the Jul ian A le xandrian legion station e d in Th r ace B e ,

.
side thes e there were sev e ral bodi e s of nativ e militia

, ,
from A bydos Sy e n e and othe r c ities whi ch w ere not

, , ,
formed in to le gions The Egyptian cavalry were a fir st.
and second Egyptian troop sev e ral bodi e s of native arch ,
e r s mount e d three troops on drom e dari e s and a body of

, ,
’
D iocletian s thi rd l e gion promoted to the cavalry Th e se .
Egyptian troops were chi efly A rab settl e rs in the Th e

baid for the K op ts had long sinc e lost th e u s e of arms
,
.
The K op ts were weak enough to be trampled on ; but

the A rab s were worth bribing b y admission into the
l e gions Th e taxes of the pro
. vince were coll e ct e d b y a
num b e r of c oun ts of th e sacr e d large ss e s who w er e und er ,
th e orders of an o fficer of the same titl e at Constantinople ,
and were h elped by a body of coun ts of the e xports and

imports pr e fe cts of th e treasury and of the mints with
, ,
an army of clerks of all titles and a ll ranks F rom this .
governm ent th e Al e xandrians w e re e xempt living u nder ,
th e ir own m i litary pr e fe ct and corporation and instead , ,
of paying an y taxes beyond th e custom hous e duties at -
th e port they received a bounty in grain ou t of th e taxes

,
of
P O LI T I C A L DI V I S I ON S 27 5
Soon after thi s we fin d the p olitical di vision of Eg ypt

slightly altered I t is then di vided into eigh t govern
.
ments ; the Upper Thebaid with eleven cities un der a

duke ; the L ower Thebaid with ten cities includi ng the ,
Great O asis and part of th e H ep ta n om i s under a general ; ,
Upper L ibya or Cyrene under a gen e ral ; L ower Lib y a

or P ar aetonium under a gen e ra l ; A rcadia or the remain ,
der of the H ep ta n om i s under a general ; ZE gy p ti a c a or

, ,
the western half of the D elta u nder an A u gu s ta l i a n p r e

,
fec t ; the first A ugustan government or the rest of th e ,
D elta u nder a Cor r ec tor ; and the second A u gu stan go v

,
e r n m en t from B u b a s ti s to the R e d Sea under a general

, ,
.
We al so meet with several military stations named after

the late emperors : a M a xi m i a n op ol i s and a D i ocl e s i a n
opo li s in the Upper T hebaid ; a Th eod osi a n op ol i s in the
L ower Thebaid and a second Th eod osi a n op ol i s in A r
,
ca di a But it i s not eas y to det e rm i ne what villages wer e

.
meant by these high soun di ng names which w e re per

-
haps onl y us e d in o fficial documents .
The empire of the East was gradu all y sinking in

power during this long and qui e t reign of Theodosiu s II
but the empire of th e W e st was being hu rried to its fall
by the revolt of the barbarians in e very on e of its wide
spread provinces Henc eforth in th e w e akness of th e
.
two co un tries Egypt and Rome are wholl y separat e d .
A fter having influenced on e another in politics in lit e ra

.
t u re and in religion for s e ven centuri e s th e y wer e now

, ,
as little known to on e another as th e y were before the

da y when F abius arrived at A l e xan dr ia on an embass y
from the senate to P tolemy P hilad elphu s .
27 6 TH E CH R I ST I A N PE RI O D IN EG YP T
Theological and political quarrels u nder the name ,
of the Homoousian and A r ian controversy had nearl y ,
separated Egypt from the rest of the empire dur ing the
reigns of Constantius and Valens bu t the y had been ,
h e al e d by the wisdom of the first Th e odosius who gov ,
ern e d Egypt by means of a popular bishop ; and th e

polic y which he s o wis ely began was continued b y hi s
successors through weakness B ut in the reign of Mar .
c i a n ( 45 0 — 457 ) the ol d qu arrel again brok e ou t and ,

,
though it was under a new name it again took the form ,
of a r eligious controvers y Cyril the Bishop of Al e x

.
,
an dr ia di ed in th e last r eign ; and as he had succ e ed e d

,
his uncle s o on hi s death the bishopric f ell to D i os c or u s

, ,
a relation of his ow n a man of equal religious violence

,
and of less l e arning who di ffered from h i m only in th e

,
poin ts of doctrine abou t which he should quarrel with

his f ellow Chr istians A b out th e same time E u ty ch e s
-
.
,
a priest of Constantinople had been conde m n ed by hi s

“
sup eriors and e xpelled from th e Church for denying th e

tw o nat ures of Christ and for maintaining that he was
,
trul y G od and in no respect a man This was the opi nion

,
.
of the Eg y ptian church and therefore D i os c or u s the

, ,
Bishop of A lexan dr ia who had no right what ev e r to med

,
d l e in the quarr els at Constantinople y et acting on th e , ,

’
forgotten rule that each bishop s power e xtende d ov er
all Christendom un dertook of his ow n authority to a b
,
solv e E u ty ch e s from his excommunication and in r e turn ,
t o e xcommunicate the Bishop of Constantinople who had

cond emn ed him To s e ttl e this quarrel a g eneral council
.
,
w a s s um m oned at Chalcedon ; and there six hundred a n d

EG YP T E K G O M MU N I CA TE D 27 7
th i rt y tw o bishops met and condemned the faith of E u ty

-
ches and fu rther e xplain e d th e Nic ene cree d to which

, ,
E u ty ch es and the Eg yptians alwa y s appeal e d The y ex .
co m m unicated E u ty c h e s and h i s patron D i os c or u s who ,
were banished b y the emp eror ; and they el e cted P rote

o the then vacant bishopric of A l exan dr ia .
thus condemn ing the faith of E u ty ch e s the Greeks ,
were excommunicating the whole of Egypt The E gy p .
tian belief in the on e nature of Christ which soon aft e r

,
w ards took the name of the Jacobite faith from on e of

its popular support ers m i ght perhaps be distingui she d
,
b y the m i cr os c 0 p i c e y e of the controversialist from the

faith of E u ty ch e s ; but the y'e qually fell under the c on
d em n a ti on of the co u ncil of Chalcedon Egypt w a s no
.
longer divided in its r eligious opinions There had been

.
a part y who though Egyptian in blood h eld the Ar ian

, ,
and half A rian opinions of the Greeks but that part y

-
had ceased to exist Their religion had pulled on e wa y

.
and their political fe elings another ; the latter were foun d

the stronger as b eing more closely root e d to the soil ;
,
and their religious opinions had by this time fitted them

sel v es to the geographical b oundari e s of the coun try .
H ence the decrees of the coun cil of Chalc e don w ere r e

j ec t e d b y the whole o f Eg y pt ; and the qu arrel between
the Chalcedonian and Jacobite party like the former ,
qu arrel between the A thanasians and the Ar ians was ,
l ittle more than another name for the unwilli ngness of

the Egyptians to be govern ed b y Constantinopl e
P r oter i u s the new bishop entered Al exandria s u p
.
)
, ,
p orted b y the prefect Florus at the head of the troops .

27 8 THE CHR I ST I A N P ER I O D IN EGYP T
But this w a s th e signal for a r evolt of th e Egyptians ,
who ove rpow e red th e cohort with darts and stone s ; and
the ma gistrates were driven to sav e their li v e s in th e
c elebrat e d templ e of Serapis But th ey found no saf e ty
.
there ; the mob surrounde d th e building and s e t fir e to

it and b urn e d alive th e Gre ek magistrates and frie nds
,
of the n ew bishop ; and th e city remained in th e pow e r

o f th e rebellious Egyptians When the n e ws of thi s r i s
.
ing reached Constantinople the emperor sent to Egypt

a fur th e r force of two thousand men w h o storm e d A l e x ,
andria and sacked it li k e a conquered city and estab ,
l i sh e d P r ot er i u s i n the bishopric A s a p un i s h m ent upon

.
the city for its re b e llion the prefe ct stopped for some
,
time the pub l ic games and the allowance of grain to th e

citizens and only restored th em after the return to peace
,
and good order .
In the w e ak state of the empire the Blemmyes and , ,
Nu b a d es or N ob a tae had latt e rl y been r e newing th e ir

, ,
inroads u pon Upp e r Egypt ; the y had ov e rpow e red the

Romans a s th e Gr e e k and b arbari an troops of Constan
,
ti n O p l e were always call e d and had carri e d off a larg e

,
booty and a num b er of prison e rs M a xi m i n u s th e imp e

.
,
rial g en e ral th en l e d his for c e s against th em ; h e d ef e at e d

,
them and made th em beg for p e ac e Th e barbarians

, .
then propos e d as th e terms of th eir surr end er n ev e r t o

, ,
e nter Egypt while M a xi m i n u s comm anded the troops in
the Th ebaid ; but th e conqu eror was not cont e nt e d with

such an unsatisfactory submission and woul d mak e no ,
treaty with th em till they had r el e as e d the Roman pris

oners without ransom paid for the boot y that th e y had
,
TREA T Y WI T H THE NU BIA N S 79
taken and given a number

, of the nobles as hostag e s .
O n thi s M a xi m i n u s agreed to a truce of a hundred

years .
The people now called the Nubians living on both ,
sides of the cataract of Sy en e declared themselves of

,
th e true Egyptian race b y th eir religious practices Th e y .
had an ol d custom of going each y ear to the temple of

I sis on the isl e of El ephantine and of carrying away
,
on e of the statues with them and r e
tur ning it to the temple when the y had

consulted it But as they were n ow being
.
dr iven ou t of the province th e y bargain e d,

;
with M a xi m i n u s for perm i ssion to visit

the temple each y ear without hindrance
’
m
: from the Roman guards The tr e aty was .
written on pap yrus and nailed up in this

temple But friendship in th e d e sert say s the prov e rb
.
, ,
is as weak and wavering as the shade of the acacia tree ;

thi s truce was n o sooner agreed upon than M a xi m i n u s
fe ll ill and di ed ; and the Nu b a d e s at once brok e th e
treat y r e gained by force their hostages w h o had n ot y et
, ,
been carrie d ou t of the The baid and overran the pro v ince
,
as the y had done b efore their defeat .
B y this succ e ss of the Nubians Christianity w a s

,
largely driven ou t of Upp er Eg ypt ; and about seventy

y ears after the law of Th e d os i u s by which paganism
was supposed to b e crushed the r eligion of I sis and
,
S erapis was again openly profess e d in the Th ebaid wher e ,
it had perhaps alway s been cultivated in secret A c er .
tain master of the robes in on e of the Egyptian temple s

280 THE CH R I ST IA N P ER I O D IN EG YP T
came at this t i me to the temple of I sis i n the island of
Phi l ae and hi s votive inscription th ere declares that h e
,
was the s on of P achomius a proph e t and successor by

, ,
direct descent from a y e t more famous P achomius a ,
p rophet who w e may easil y b elieve was th e Chr istian

,
prophet who gathered together s o many follow ers in the

island of Ta b en n a n e ar Theb e s and th er e founded an
, ,
ord e r of Chr istian monks These Chr istians n ow all

.
r e turned to th e ir paganism N e arly all the remains of

.
Christian ar c hitectur e which w e m e et with in the The

baid were built dur ing the hundr e d a nd sixt y y ears b e
tween the d e feat of the Nu bi a n s by D iocletian and their ,
victori e s in the reign of Marcian .
Th e Nubians were far more civilised than th eir n e igh

bo urs the Ble m m y e s whom they w ere usuall y abl e to
, ,
dr ive back into their native d e serts We fin d an i n s cr i p.
tion in bad Greek in th e great templ e at Talm i s now

, ,
the vil lage of K a l a b s h e whi ch was probably written

,
about this time A conqueror of the name of Sil co there

.
declares that he is king of th e Nubians and all the Ethi

op i a n s ; that i n the upper part of his kingdom he is ca ll ed
Mars and in th e low er part L ion ; that h e is as great as

,
any king of his day ; that he has d ef e at e d the Ble m myes

in battle again and again ; and that h e has made him
self mast e r of the country betw e en Tal m is and Primis .
Whil e such wer e the n eighbours and inhabitants of the

Thebaid the fields were only half tilled and the d e sert
,
-
was encroachin g on the paths of man The sand was .
filling up the temples covering the overthrown statues

, ,
and blocking u p the doors to the tomb s ; b u t it was at

JA CO B I TE REBE LLI O N 28 1
the same tim e saving to be dug ou t in after ages those

, ,
records whi ch the living no long e r valued .
O n the d e ath of the Emperor Marcian the Al exan ,
dr i a n s taking advantag e of th e absenc e of the military

,
pr e fect D ionysius who was then fighting against the

,
Nu b a d e s in Upp e r Egypt renew e d th e ir attack upon th e

,
Bishop P r oter i u s and deposed him from his offic e To

, .
fil l h i s place th e y made choice of a monk nam e d Timo

the us E l u r u s w h o held th e Jacobite faith and having
, , ,
among them two deposed bishops th ey got th e m to or,
dain him Bishop of A lexan dr ia and th e n l e d him by force

,
of arms into the gre at church which had form erly b e en

call e d C aesar s temple Upon he aring of the rebellion
’
.
,
th e prefect return e d in haste to A l e xandria ; but hi s a p

proach was only the signal for greater viol en c e and th e ,
e nraged people murdered P r oter i u s in the baptist e ry ,
and hun g up his body at the Tetrapylon in mockery .
T hi s w a s not a rebellion of the mob Tim othe u s was .
supported by the men of chief rank in the city ; the

H on or a ti who had borne state o ffic e s the P o l i ti c i who
,
had borne civic o ffic e s and the N a vi c u l a r ri or contractors

’
, ,
for th e freight of the Egyptian tribut e wer e all oppos e d

,
t o the emperor s claim to appoint th e o fficer whos e duties

’
were much more those of prefect of the cit y than patri

arch of Egypt With such an Opposition as thi s the
.
,
emp e ror would do nothing without th e greatest caution ,
for he was in danger of losing Egypt altog e th e r But .
s o much w e re th e minds of all m e n th e n e ngrossed in
e c c lesiastical matt e rs that this political struggle wholl y
took the form of a di spute in controversial divinit y and ,

28 2 TH E CH R I S TI A N PE R I O D IN E G YP T
the emperor wrote a letter to the chi ef bishops in Chr is
t en d om t o ask th e ir advi c e i n hi s di fficulty These theo .
l ogi a n s were t oo busil y engaged in their controversies

t o take an y notice of the danger of Egypt s re v olting ’
from the empire and j oining the P e rsians ; s o they

strongly advised L eo not to depart from the decrees of
th e council of Chalcedon or t o acknowl e dge as Bishop ,
of Al exan dr ia a man w h o denied the two natures of
Christ A ccordingly th e emp eror again risked breakin g

.
,
the slender ties by which he h eld Egypt ; he banished

the popular bishop and forc e d th e A l exandrians t o r e
,
c ei v e in his place on e w h o h eld th e Chalc e do n i an faith .
O n the death of L eo he was succe e ded by hi s grand

,
s on L eo the Y oung e r who di ed i n 47 3 after a reign of

, , ,
on e year and was succe e d e d by his father Zeno th e s on

, ,
i n law of the elder L eo

-
Zeno gav e hi m s elf up at once

.
to debauchery and vic e while the empire was harassed

,
on all sides by the barbarians and the provinces w ere ,
roused into rebellion by the cruelty of the prefects The .
rebels at last fo un d a head i n Basilicus the broth er i n “
,
-
law of L eo He declar e d hi m self of the Jacobite faith

.
,
which was the faith of the barbarian enemies of the ,
barbarian tr 0 0 ps and of th e barbarian alli es of th e em

,
pire and proclaiming himself emperor made him s elf

, , ,
master of Constantinople without a battl e and dr ove ,
Z eno into banishment in th e third year of his reign .
The first step of Basili cus was to r e call from banish

ment Timotheus E l ur u s the late Bishop of A l exandria
, ,
and to restore him to the bishopric ( A n He then . .
addressed to him and the other recalled bishops a cir

C I V IL AN D ECC LES IA ST I CA L DI S P U TES 28 3
on lar l e tt er in whi ch he r e peals the decr e es of the council

,
of Chalc e don and r e estab l ish e s the Nicene creed d e c l a r

,
-
ing that Jesus was of on e sub stance with the F ath e r and ,
that Mary was the mother of God The march of Tim o .
th e us to th e s e at of h i s ow n gov ernm ent from Constan ,
'
ti n op l e whither h e had b e en s um m on e d was mo fe like ,
that of a conqu e ror than of a pr e a che r of p e ace H e .
d eposed some bishops and r e stor e d others and as the , ,
d e cre e s of the council of Chalc e don were the particular

obj e cts of h i s hatr e d he r e stor e d t o the city of Ephesus
,
th e patriarchal power which that synod had taken awa y

from it Basilicus reigned for about two years when
.
,
h e was de feated and put t o death by Zeno who regained ,
th e throne .
A s soon as Zeno was again master of the empire he ,
r e established the creed of the council of Chalcedon and

-
drove away the Jacobite bishops from their bishoprics .
D eath however removed Timotheus E l ur u s before the

, ,
’
emp eror s orders were put in force in A lexandria and ,
the Egyptians the n chose P eter M on gu s as his successor ,
in di rect opposition to the orders from Constantinople .
But the emperor was r e solved n ot to b e b eaten ; the bish

op r i c of A lexandr ia was s o much a civi l o ffice that to
have given up the appointment to the Egyptians would

have been to allow the people to govern themsel v es ; s o
he banished P eter and recall e d to the head of the Church
,
Timoth e us S a l op h a ci ol u s who h a d been living at Cano

,
pus ever since his loss of the bishopric .
But as the patriarch of A lexandria enj o y ed the eccle

,
si a s ti ca l re v enu es and w a s still in appearance a teacher

,
of rel igion th e A l e xan dr ians in r e coll ection of the former
, ,
rights of the Chur ch stil l claimed the appointment ,

.
The y sent Jo h n a priest of their own faith and dean of

,
th e c hurch of Jo h n th e B a ptist as th ei r ambassador ,
to Constantinople not t o r emonstrat e against the late

,
acts of the e mperor but to b e g that on futur e occasions

,
th e A lexandrians might b e allow e d the old priv il e ge of

choosi ng their ow n bishop Th e Emperor Z eno s e ems .
’
t o hav e s e e n through the ambassador s earnestness and ,
h e first bo un d hi m b y an oath not to accept the bishopric

if h e should even b e hi m self chos e n to it and h e then ,
sent hi m back w ith th e prom i se that th e Al e xandrians

should be allowed to choos e their ow n patriarch on the
’
n e xt vacancy But unfortun ately John s ambition was

—
.
’
t oo strong for hi s oath and on the death of Timoth e us , ,
which happened soon afterwards he spent a large sum ,
of mone y in bribes among the clerg y and chi ef men of
th e city and th e r e by got hi mself chosen patriarch

,
On .
thi s the emperor seems to h ave thought only of puni sh

,
ing John and he at once gave up the struggle with the

,
Egyptians B elieving that of the tw o patriarchs who

.
,
had been chosen by the people P eter Mon gu s who w a s , ,
living in banishment woul d be found more dutiful than

,
John w h o was on the episcopal throne he banished John

, ,
and recall e d P et e r ; and the latter agreed to the terms

of an imperial e di ct which Zeno then put forth to heal ,
th e di sputes in the Eg yptian church and to recall th e ,
province to obedience This c elebrated peace making .

-
e dict us u ally called the H e n oti c on

,
is addressed to the ,
clerg y and lait y of Al exandria Egypt L ib ya and the , , ,

THE H E N OT I CON 28 5
P e ntapo l is and is an agreement betw e en the emp eror

,
and the bishops who countersigned it that neither party ,
should ever mention the decrees of the council of Chal

c e don which wer e th e gr e at stumbling block with the
,
-
Eg yptians But in all other points the H en oti c on i s li ttle

.
STR EE T S R IN L E R A T A L E XA N DR I A
P K .
short of a surrend e r to the p e ople of th e right to choose

their ow n creed ; it styles Mary th e moth e r of G od and ,
a llows that the decrees of the council of Nic aea and Con
s ta n ti n op l e contain a ll that is important of th e true faith .
John when bani shed by Z eno like man y of the former

, ,
28 6 THE CHR I ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
d eposed bishops fled to Rome for comf ort and for help
, .
Th ere h e met with the usual s upport ; and F elix Bishop ,
of Rome , wrote to Constantinople remonstrating with ,
Zeno for di sm i ssing the patriarch But thi s was o nl y a .
small part of the emperor s want of success in hi s a t

’
tempt a t peace making ; for the crafty P eter w h o had

-
gained the bishopric b y subscribing to the peace mak -
ing e di ct was no sooner safel y seated on hi s ep i s c o

,
pal th r one than he denounc e d the council of Chalcedon

and its decrees as heretical and dr ove out of their m on
,
a s ter i e s all those w h o st il l adher e d t o that faith N ep h a .
lius on e of these monks wrote to the emperor at Con

, ,
s ta n ti n op l e in complaint and Zeno s e nt Cosmas to the

,
bishop to threaten hi m with h i s imp erial di spleasur e ,
and to try to r e establish peace in the Church But th e

-
.
“
arguments of Cosmas were wholly unsuccessful ; and

Zeno then sent an incre ase of force to A r s eni u s the mil i ,
tary prefect who settled the quarrel for the ti me b y

,
s en di ng back the most r ebell ious of the Al exandrians as

prisoners to Constantinople .
Soon after thi s di sput e P eter M on gu s di ed and for ,
tu n a tel y he was succeeded in the bishopric by a peac e

mak er A thanasius the new bishop very un l ike his
.
, ,
great predec e ssor of the same nam e di d hi s best to heal ,
th e angry di sputes in the Church and to reconcile the ,
Egyptians to the imperial government .
H i er oc l es the A l e xandrian was at thi s ti me teach

, ,
ing philosophy in his native city where hi s zeal and ,
eloqu enc e in favour of Platonism drew upon hi m the

anger of the Christians and the notice of the government .
H I E R O CL E S THE PLA TO N I ST 28 7
He was sent to Constantinople to be p un i shed for not

believing in Christianity for it does not appear that
, ,
l ike the former H i er o cl e s h e ever wrote against it Th e re

, .
he bor e a public scourging from his Christian tortur e rs ,
with a courage equal to that formerly shown b th e ir I
forefathers when tort u red b y hi s When som e of the .
blood from his sho ul d e rs fl e w into his hand h e held it ,
ou t in scorn to the judge sa y ing with U lysses

,
C y clops , ,
s i nc e human flesh has been thy food now taste thi s wine ,
.
’
A ft e r h i s p u nishment he was banished but was soon ,
allowed to retu rn to A lexandria and there he again ,
taught openly as before P aganism ne ver wears s o fair

.
a dress as in the writings of H i er ocl e s ; his com m entary

on the Golden Verses of the P ythagoreans is full of the
lofti e st and pur e st moralit y and not less agre e able are
,
th e fragments that remain of his writings on our du ties ,
and hi s beautiful chapt e r on the pleasures of a married

life In the F acetiae of H i er ocl e s we hav e on e of the
.
earliest j est books that has been saved from the wreck
-
of t i me
. It i s a c ur ious proof of the fallen state of learn
ing ; the Sophists had long since made themselves r i di c
ul ou s ; books alon e will not make a man of sense ; and
in the j ok e s of H i er ocl es the blunderer is alwa y s called a

man of l e arning .
ZE ti u s the A lexan drian physician has l eft a large

, ,
work containing a full account of the state of Eg yptian

me di cine at this time H e d e scrib e s the di se a ses and
.
their rem e dies quoting th e r e cipes of numero u s authors

, ,
from the Ki ng N e ch ep s u s Galen Hippocrates and D ios

, , ,
c or i d e s down to A rchbishop C yril

,
He is not wholl y free
.
from superstition a s when making u s e of a green j asper
,
s et in a ring ; but he observes that the patients recovered
a s soon when the stone was plain as when a dragon was
engraved upon it accor di n g t o the recommendatio n o f
Nech ep su s I n Nile
. water he fi n ds ever y vi r tue and doe s ,
not forg e t dark paint for the la di es e y ebrows and Cleo ’

,
patra wash for the face

-
.
A nastasius the n e xt
,
emperor s u cceedi n g in 49,
1 fo l ,
lowed the wise policy wh i ch Zeno had entered upon in

the latter y ears of his reign and he strictl y adhered to
,
the terms of the peace making edict The fo u r patriarchs

-
.
of Al exan dr ia who were chosen during thi s reign Joh n , ,
a second Joh n D i os c or u s and Ti motheus were a ll of the

, , ,
Jacobite faith ; and the Egyptians rea di l y beli eved that

the emperor was of the sam e opin i on When called u pon .
by the quarrelling theologians he woul d neither rej ect ,
nor receive the decrees of the council of Chalcedon and ,
b y thi s wise conduct he governed Egypt withou t an y

reli gious rebellion durin g a long reign .
Th e e lection of D i os c or u s however the thi rd patri

, ,
arch of thi s reign was not brought ab out peaceably He

,
.
was the cousin of a former patriarch Timotheu s ZE l ur u s , ,
whi ch if we view the bishopric as a civil o ffice might

, ,
’
be a reason for the emperor s wishi ng h i m to have the
appointment But it w a s no good reason with the Al e x
.
a n dr i a n s who declared that he had not been chos e n ac

,
cor di ng to the canons of th e apostl e s ; and the magis

trates of the cit y w ere forc e d to employ the tro ops to lead
h i m in safet y t o hi s thron e A fter the fir st ceremon y
.
,
he went as was usual at an installation to St Mark s

, , .
’
THE IN STA LLA T I O N O F D I O S CO R U S 28 9
Church and there the clerg y robed hi m in the patriarchal

,
state robes The grand procession then moved through

.
the streets to the church of St John where the new .

,
bishop w ent through the comm union s e rvice B u t the .
city was much di sturb ed during the whole day and in ,
the riot Theodosius the son of Ca l l i op u s a man of A u

, ,
g u s ta l i a n rank was killed

,
b y the m ob The A lexandrians .
treated the affair as mu rder and p un ished with death

,
those w h o wer e thought guilt y ; but the emperor looked

upon it as a rebellion of the citizens and the bishop ,
was obliged to go on an embass y to Constantinople to

appease hi s just anger .
A nastasius w h o had deserved th e obe di ence of the

,
Egyptians by h i s moderation pardoned their ingratitu de

,
when the y offended ; but he w a s the last B y zantine em

p e r or w h o govern e d Eg y pt with wisdom and the last ,
who failed to enforce the decrees of the co u ncil of Chal

cedon I t ma y well be doubted whether an y wise c on
.
duct on the part of the rulers coul d hav e healed the

quarrel between the tw o co u ntries and made the E gy p ,
tians forget the wrongs that the y had s u ffered from the
Greeks .
In the tenth y ear of the reign of An astasiu s A D 501 ,

. .
,
the P ersians after o v errun ning a large part of Syria

,
and defeating the Roman generals passed P el u si u m and ,
e ntered Eg ypt Th e arm y of K ob a d e s laid waste the

.
whole of the D elta up t o the very walls of Al exandria .
E u statius the m il i tary prefect led ou t h i s forces against

, ,
the invaders and fought many battles with doubtfu l su c

cess ; bu t a s the capital was safe the P ersians were at
29 0 THE CH R I ST I A N P ER I O D IN EG YP T
last obliged to retire l eaving the people rui ned as mu ch
,
by the loss of a harv e st as b y the sword A l exan dr ia .
suffered severely from fam i n e and the di seases whi ch

followed in its train ; and hi story has grat e ful ly recorded
the name of U r bi b a Christian Jew of great wealth who
, ,
relieved the starving poor of that city with hi s bounty

Three hundred p ersons were crushed to d e ath in the
c hu rch of A r ca di us on Easter Sunday in the press of the
crowd to receive hi s alms A s war brought on di s e ase
.
and fami ne they also brought on rebellion The p e ople

,
.
of Al exandria in want of grai n and oil rose against th e

, ,
magistrates and many lives were lost in the attempt to

,
quell the ri ots .
In the earl y part of this hi story we have seen ambi

tious bishops qui ckly di sposed of by banishm ent t o
the Great O asis ; and again a s th e country b e cam e mor e
,
d e solate criminals were sufficientl y separated from th e

,
rest of the e mpire b y being sent to Thebes Al exan dria .
was then the last plac e in the world in which a pret e nder
to the throne would be allow e d to live But Egypt was .
n ow r ui ned ; and A nastasius began his reign by banish
ing to the fall e n Al exan dr ia L onginus the broth e r of

, , ,
th e late king and h e had him ordained a presb y ter to

, ,
mark hi m as unfit for th e thron e .
Ju l i a n u s who w a s during a part of thi s reign the

,
pre fe ct of Egypt was also a poet and h e has l eft us a

, ,
num b er of short e pigrams that form part of th e volume

of Gree k A n thology which was published at Constan
ti n op l e soon aft e r this tim e Ch r i s to d or u s of Th ebes
.
was another poet who j oined with Jul i a n u s in praising

ILL UM IN A TED BOO K S 29 1
the Emperor A nastasius He also remove d to Constanti .
n op l e the seat of patronag e ; and the fifth book of the

,
Greek A n thology contains his epigrams on the winners

in th e hors e race in that city and on th e statues which
-
stood around the public g ym n asium The poet s song .

’
(
,
’
lik e the traveller s tale often related th e wond e rs of the
,
river Ni le Th e overflowing waters first manured the

.
fields and then watered the crops and lastl y carried the
, ,
I LLU S TR A T I ON S FROM C O P Y O F D I OS C OR I D E S .
grain to mark e t ; and one writ e r in the A ntholog y to ,
describe the country life in Egypt tells the story of a ,
sail or who to avoid the dang ers of the ocean tu rn e d

, , ,
husban dm an and was th e n shipwrecked in his ow n

,
meadows .
The book writers at this time som etimes illu minated

-
th eir more valuable parchments with gold and silver

l e tt ers and sometim e s employ e d painters to ornament
them with small paintings The beau tiful copy of the .
29 2 THE CHR I ST I A N P ER I O D IN EG YP T
work of D ioscorid e s on P lants in the library at Vi e nna
was mad e in thi s reign for th e Princ e ss Jul iana of Con
s ta n ti n O p l e.In on e painting th e figure of science or
invention i s hol di ng up a plant while on on e side of her
is the painter drawing it on hi s canvas and on the other ,
side is the author describing it in his book O ther paint .
ings are of the plants and animals mentioned in the book .
A cop y of the Book of Genesis also in the library at

,
Vienna is of th e sam e class and date A large part of

, .
it is written in gold and s il ver ; and it has eighty eight -
small paintin gs of various historical subj ects In th e se .
the story is well told though the drawing and p er s p e c

,
tive are bad and the figur e s crowde d But these Al exan
.
drian paintings are b e tter than those made in Rome or

Constantin ople at this time .
With th e spread of Christianity theatrical representa

tions had been gradually going ou t of use The Greek .
—
trage di es as we see in the works of ZE s ch y l u s Sophocles
, , ,
and Euripid e s those models of pure taste in poetry are

, ,
founded on the pagan mythology ; and i n many of them

the gods are made to walk and talk upon the stage .
Hence they of necessit y f e ll under the ban of the clergy .
A s the Christians became more powerful the sev e ral

cities of th e empire had on e b y on e discontinued these
popular spectacles and horse rac e s usually took their
,
-
place But the A lexandrians w e re the last peopl e to

.
give up a favourit e amusem ent ; and by the end of thi s

r eign A lexandria was the only city in th e empire where
tragic and comic actors and Eastern dancers were to be
s e en in the theatre .
THE LA ST OF THE P HA ROS 293
The tower or lightho u se on the island of Pharos the ,
work of day s more prosperous than these had latterl y ,
been sa dl y neglected with the other bui l dings of the

coun try F or more than seven hun dr ed y ears the pilot
.
,
on approachi ng t hi s flat shore after dark had p oi n ted
ou t t o h i s shipmat e what seemed a star on the horizon ,
and com forted hi m with the promise of a safe entrance

into the haven and told him of A lexander s tower B u t
,
’
.
the wav es breaking against its foot had long since car
ried awa y the outworks and laid bare the foundations ;
,
the wall was undermined and its fall seemed close at

hand The care of A nastasiu s however surrou nded it
.
, ,
again with piles and buttresses ; and this monum ent of

wisdom and science which deserved to last for ever was
, ,
for a little while longer sav ed from ru in A n epigram .
in the A ntholog y informs u s that Am m on i u s was the

name of the b ui l der w h o performed thi s good work and ,
to him and t o Neptune the grateful sail ors then raised

their hands in pray er and praise .
In 51 8 Justin I succeeded A nastasiu s on the th r one

.
of Constantinople and in the task of defen di ng the em

,
pire against the P e rsians An d this task became ev ery

.
year more difficult as the Greek population of his E gy p

,
tian and A siatic provinces f ell off in num bers F or some .
y e ars after the division of the empire und er the sons of

Constantine A ntioch in S yria had been the capital from
,
’
which A l e xandria received the emperor s commands .
The tw o cities became very closely united ; and n ow that

the Greeks were deserting A ntio ch a part of the S y rian
,
church b egan to adopt the more sup erstitiou s creed of

2 94 THE CH R I ST IA N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
Egypt Severus Bishop of An tioch was s u ccessful i n
.
, ,
persuadi ng a large party in the S yrian church to deny

the humani ty of Chr ist and t o style Mary th e mothe r
,
O f God But the chi ef pow e r i n An tioch rest e d with the

.
Opposit e party They answer e d hi s argum ents by thr e ats

.
of violenc e and he had to l e ave the cit y for s afety He

, .
fl e d to Al exan dr ia and with hi m began the friendshi p

,
b etween the two churches whi ch lasted for several cen

tu r i e s .In A le xandria he w a s received with the honour
due to his religious zeal But though in A ntioch hi s
.
Opinions had been too Egyptian for th e Syrians in Al e x ,
andria they were too S yrian for the Egyptians The .
Eg yptians who said that Jesus had been crucified and

,
died only i n appearance always denied that hi s body

,
was liable to corruption S e verus howeve r argued that

.
, ,
it w a s liable to corruption before the r e sur r e ction ; and

thi s led him into a n ew controversy in which Timotheus , ,
the A lexan dr ian bishop took part against his ow n more

,
s up e rs titious flock and s i d e d w i th his friend the Bisho p

, , ,
of A ntioch Sev e rus has l eft us i n the Syriac languag e

.
, ,
the baptismal servic e as p erform e d in Egypt The priest .
breathes thre e tim e s into the basin to make the water

hol y he makes thr ee cross e s on the child s for ehead h e
,
’
,
adjures the demons of wi c k e dn e ss to quit him he again ,
makes th r e e cross e s on his foreh e ad with O il h e again ,
blows three ti m e s into th e water in the form of a cross ,
he anoints his whole body with oi l and then plung e s ,
h i m in th e water Many oth e r natives of Syria soon fol

.
low e d S everus to Al e xandria ; s o many ind e e d that as

Gr ee k lit erature decayed in that city Syriac lit erature ,
ECC L E S I A S TI CA L ST R IF E 2 95
r ose Many S yrians also c ame to study the religiou s

.
life i n the monasteries of Egypt and after some time ,
the books in the library of the monast ery at Mount Nit

r i a were found to be half A r abic and half Syriac .
Ju stin the new emperor again lighted up in Al e x

, , m
an dr ia the flames of di scord whi ch had been allowed to

slumber since the publication of Z e no s peace making ’
-
edict But in the choice of the bishop he w a s not ab le

.
to comm and witho u t a struggle In the second y ear of

.
hi s reign on the death of Timotheus the tw o parties

, ,
again found themselves nearl y e qual in strength ; and

A lexandria w a s for several y ears k e pt almost in a state
of civil war between those w h o thought that the body
of J e sus had been liable to corruption and those who ,
thought it incorruptible The former chose G a i a n a s

.
,
whom his adversaries called a Manichean ; and the latter

Theodosius a Jacobite w h o had the support of the pre
, ,
fe et ; and each of th e se in h i s tur n was able to dr ive

h i s rival ou t of A lexandr ia .
Those P ersian forc e s whi ch in the last reign o v erran

the D elta were chiefly A r ab s from the opposite coast of
the R e d S e a To make an en d Of these attacks and to
.
,
e ngage th e ir attention in anoth e r quart e r was the nat ,
ural wish of the stat e smen of Constantinopl e ; and for

this purpose A nastasius had sent an embass y to the
H om er i tae on the southern coast of A rabia to persuad e .
,
th em to attack their northern neighb ours The Homer .
i t ae held the strip of coast now called H a dr a m ou t The y .
were enriched though hardly civilis e d by b eing the

, ,
channel along whi ch mu ch of the Eastern trade passed

29 6 THE CH R I ST I AN P ER I O D IN EG YP T
from Indi a to the Nile to avoid the di fficul t navigation
,
of the ocean The y were Jewish A rabs who had little

.
,
in common with the A r abs of Y em en but had fr e quent ,
interco ur se wi th A b y ssinia and the m erchants of the

Red Sea P art of the trade of Solomon and the T yrians
.
was probably to their coast To thi s distant and littl e

.
trib e the Emperor O f Constantin opl e n ow sent a s e cond

pr e ssing embassy Ju l i a n u s the ambassador went up
.
, ,
t h e Nil e from A lexandri a and th e n crossed the R e d Sea

, ,
o r In di an Sea as it w a s also called to A r abia He was ,

.
favourably receiv e d by the H om er i tae A r e thas the kin g .

, ,
gave him an au di e nce in grand barbaric state H e was .
standing in a chariot drawn b y four elephants ; h e wor e

no clothing but a cloth of gold around h i s loins ; his arms
were laden with costly armlets and bracelets ; h e h eld “
a shield and two spears in his hands and hi s nobles stood ,
around him armed and singi ng to hi s hono u r Wh e n

, .
the ambassador delivered the emperor s letter A r e thas ’

,
kissed th e seal and th en kissed Ju l i a n u s h i msel f H e

, .
accepted the gifts which Ju i n had sent and promised ,
to move his forces northward again st the P ersians as

requested and also to keep the route open for the trade
,
to Al exandria .
Justinian the successor of Justin in 527 settle d th e

, ,
quarrel between the tw o A lexandr ian bishops by s um

moning th em both to Constantinople and then s ending ,
them into banishment But this had no e ffect in h e al

.
ing the di visions i n the Eg yptian church ; and for the

next half century the two parties ranged thems elv e s in
-
th eir theological or rather political quarrel un der th e ,

JU ST IN I A N AND TH E JA COB I TES 29 7
names of their former bishops and called themselves

,
G a i a n i tes and Th e od osi a n s Nor did the meas u res of

.
Justinian tend to l e ssen the breach b e tween Egypt and

Constantinople H e appointed P aul to the bishopric
.
,
and required the Egyptians to receive the decrees of

the co un cil of Chalc e don .
A fter two y ears P aul was di splaced either b y the

emperor or b y h i s flock ; and Zoilus was then seated on
the episcopal thr one by the help Of the imperial forces .
He maintained his dangero u s post for about six years ,
when the Al e xan dr ians rose in open r eb e llion ov er p ow ,
ered the troops and forced him to seek safety in

,
fli ght ; and the Jacobite part y then turned ou t a l l the

bishops who held the Greek faith .
When Justinian heard that the Ja c obi tes were mas

ters of Egypt he appoint e d A p ol l i n a r i u s to the j oint
o ffic e of prefect and patriarch of Al exandria and sent ,
h i m with a large force to take possession of his bishopric .
A p oll i n a r i u s marched into A lexandria in ful l m i litar y

dr ess at the h e ad of his troops ; bu t when he entered the
church he laid aside h i s arms and p u tting on the p a
,
tr i a r c h a l robes began t o celebrate the rites of hi s r e lig

ion The A lexandrians were b y n o means overawed by
.
the force with which he had e ntered the city ; the y pelted
hi m with a shower of stones from every corner of th e
chur ch and he was forced to withdraw from the build
,
ing in order to save hi s lif e But thre e days afterwards

.
the bells were rung through the cit y and the people w er e ,
summoned to meet in th e church on th e follo w ing S u nday ,
to hear the emperor s letter read Wh en S unday came

’
.
29 8 TH E CH R I ST I AN P E R I O D IN EG YP T
the whole city flocked to hear and to disobe y Ju s
A p ol l i n a r i u s began h i s addr ess b y
’
ti n i a n s orders .
th r eate ni n g his hearers that if the y continu ed ob stinate

,
in their opinions their chil dr en should b e made orphans

,
and their widows given u p to the sol di ery ; and he was

as before stopped with a shower of stones But thi s .
t im e he was prepared for the attack ; th i s C h r istian

bishop had placed hi s troops in ambush round the church ,
and on a signal given the y rushed ou t on hi s un armed

flock and b y hi s orders the crowds withi n and without
,
the church were put to rout by the sword the sol di ers ,
waded up to their knees i n blood and the cit y and whole ,
country yielded its Obe dience for the time to bishops

w h o held the Greek faith .
Henceforth the Melchi te or ro y alist patriarchs who ,
were appointed by the emperor and had the authority

of civil prefects and were supported by the power of
,
the militar y pr e fect are scarcely mentioned b y the h i s

,
torian of the K op ti c chur ch They were too much en

.
gaged in civil affairs to act th e part of m i nist ers of

reli gion The y collected their revenues p ri ncipall y in
.
grain and carried on a large e xport trade transportin g

, ,
their stores to those parts of Eur ope where the y woul d

bring the best price O n on e occasion we hear of a small
.
fleet b elonging to the church of Al exandria consisting ,
of th i rteen shi ps of about thirt y tons burden each and ,
bearing ten thousand bushels of grain b eing overtaken ,
by a storm on the coast of Italy Th e prin cel y incom e .
of the later patriarchs rais e d from the churches of a l l

,
Egypt under the name of the Offerings of the pio u s som e ,

THE K O P TI C LI T U RG Y 29 9
times amounted to two thousand po un ds of gold or fou r ,
hundred thousand dollars B u t whi le these Melchi te or

.
r o y a l ist bishops were enj o ying the ecclesiastical revenu es ,
and adm i n i st e rin g the civil affair s of the di ocese and of

the great monasteries there was a second bishop who
,
held the Jacobite faith and w h o having been el ected

, ,
b y the people according to the ancient forms of the

Chur ch equally bore the title of patriarch and a dm in
, ,
i s ter e d in h i s more hum b l e path t o the spiritual wants

of his flock . The Jacobite bishop w a s always a monk .
A t his or di nation he was declared to be elected b y the

popular voice b y the bishops priests deacons monks
, , , , ,
and all the p e ople of L ower Egypt ; and pray ers were
offered u p through the intercession of the Mother of
G od and of the glorio u s A postle Mark The tw o chur ches
,
.
no longer used the same pra y er book The Melchite -
chur ch continued to u s e the ol d litur gy which as it , ,
had been read in A lexandria from tin l e im m emorial was ,
called the litur gy of St Mark altered however t o declare

.
,
that the Son was of the same sub stance with the F ather .
But the K op ti c chu rch made use of the newer liturgie s

b y their ow n champions Bishop C y ril Basil of C aesarea
, , ,
and Gregory N a zi a n zen These three liturgies were all

.
in the K op ti c l a n gu a g e and more clearly denied the tw o

,
n a tu res of Christ O f the two churches the K op ti c had

.
l ess l earning more bigotr y and Opinions more remo v ed

, ,
from the teachings of the New Te s tament ; but then the

K op ti c bishop alone had any moral power to lead the
m i nds of his flock towards piet y and religion Had th e .
emperors been at all times either humane or p olitic

300 THE CHRI ST I A N P ER I O D IN EGYP T
eno u gh to emplo y bisho p s of the same religion as the
people the y wo ul d perhaps have kept the good wil l of
,
-
their s u bj ects ; but as it was the K op ti c church smart

, ,
ing under i ts ins ul ts and forgetti ng the greater e vils

,
of a foreign conquest would sometim e s look with longing

,
e y es to the condition of th eir n e ighbours their breth r en

,
in faith the A rabic subj e cts of P ersia

,
.
The Chr istianity of th e Egyptians was mostl y super

s ti ti on ; and as it spread ov e r th e land it embraced th e
whole nation withi n its pal e n ot s o much by p urifying

,
the pagan opinions as by lowe ring itself to th e ir l e v el ,
and fitting itself to their corporeal notions of the Cre ator .
Thi s was in a large measur e induced by the custom of

u sing the O l d temples for Chr istian chur ches ; the form
of wors hi p was in part g ui ded by the form of the b ui l d
ing and even the O l d tra di tions were engrafted on the

,
n e w religion Thus the traveller An tonius aft e r visit

.
,
ing the remarkable places in the Holy L and came to ,
Eg ypt to search for the chariots of the Eg yptians who

r
p ursued Moses petrified i n to r ock s at the bottom of the

,
Red Sea and for th e footst eps l eft in the sands by the
,
infant Jesus while he dwelt in Eg ypt with his parents .
A t Memphis h e enqui red why one of the doors in the

gre at t emple Of P htah then used as a chur ch was alway s
, ,
clos e d and he was told that it had been ru del y shut

,
against th e infant Jesus fiv e hu ndred years before and ,
mortal strength had never since been abl e to open it .
The records of the empire declared that the first

C aesars had kept s i x hundre d and forty fiv e thousand -
men under arms to guard Italy A frica Spain and Egypt

, , , ,
P O LI C Y O F JU S TIN I AN 301
a number p erhaps mu ch larger than the truth ; bu t Ju s

tini an co ul d with di ffic u lt y maintain one hu ndred and
fift y thousand ill di sciplined troops a force far from larg e
-
e nough to hold even those provinc e s that remained to
him D ur ing the latter half of his reign the e ast ern
.
frontier of this falling empire was sor ely haras se d by

the P ersians un der th eir king Ch osr oe s They ov e rran .
S y ria defeated the army of the empire in a pitched battl e

, ,
and then took An tioch By these defeats the m i l itary

.
roads were stopped ; Eg ypt was cut O ff from the rest of

the empire and co ul d be reached from the capital only
b y s ea Hence the emperor was dr iven to a change in
.
hi s religious polic y He gave over the persecution of

.
the Jacobite opini ons and even went s o far in one of

,
his decrees as to call the body of Jes u s incorruptible as ,
he thought that these were the onl y means of keeping

.
the all egiance of h i s subj ects or the friendshi p of hi s

A rab neighbo ur s all of whom as far as the y were Chr is
'
, ,
tians held the Jacobite view of the Nicene creed and

, ,
denied the two natures of Christ .
A s the forces of Constantinople were dri v en back b y

the v ictorious armies of the P ersians the emperors had ,
l ost among other fort resses the capital of Ar abia Naba

, ,
t aea that c urious rock y fastness that well deserved the

,
name of P e tra and whi ch had been garrisoned by Romans

,
from the reign of Trajan till that of Valens O n this loss .
it became necessary to fortify a n ew frontier post on

the Egyptian side of the E l a n i ti c Gul f Justinian then .
b ui lt the fortifie d monastery near Mount Sinai to gu ard ,
the onl y p ass b y whi ch Egyp t co ul d be entered wi thout

3 02 THE CHR I ST IA N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
the help of
a fleet ; and when it was found to be com
m a n d e d b y on e of the hi gher points of the moun ta i n he
b eheaded the engin e er w h o bui lt it and remedied the ,
faul t as far as it co ul d be done b y a small fortress on the

, ,
hi gher gro u nd This monastery w a s held b y the E gy p

.
tians and maintained ou t of the Egyptian taxes Wh en

, .
the Eg yptians were formerl y masters of their ow n coun

try b efore the P ersian and Greek conquests the y w e re
, ,
gov e rned b y a race of priests and the temples were their

,
F R TR E SS NE A R M O UN T S N A
O I I.
only fortresses The temples of Thebes w e re the citadels

.
of the capital and the temples of Elephantine gu arded

,
the frontier So now wh en the mil itary prefect is too

.
,
weak to make himself ob ey e d the emperor tries t o govern

,
through means of the Christian priesthood ; and when

it is necessary for the Egyptians to def end their ow n
frontier he builds a monastery and garrisons it with
,
monks .
P art Of the Egyptian trad e to the East was carried on

through the islands of Ceylon and Socotra ; but it was
chiefly in the hands of u neducated A r ab s of Ethi opia ,
THE H E XU MI TE 303
who were little able to commun i cate to the worl d mu ch

knowledge of the co u ntries from which the y bro u ght their
high l y valued goods A t Ce ylon the y met with traders
.
from beyond the Ganges and from Chi na of whom the y ,
bought the silk which E u ropeans had formerly thought

a product of Ar abia A t Ce ylon w a s a Chr istian chu rch
.
,
with a priest and a deacon frequ ented b y the Chr istians

,
from P ersia while the nativ es of the place were pagans

,
.
The coin s there used were Roman borne thither b y th e ,
co ur se of trade wh i ch dur ing s o many centuries carri e d

,
the gold and s i lver eastward The trade was lately turn e d
.
more strongly into this channel because a war h ad sprung

up between the two tribes of Jewish A rabs the Hex ,
u m i tae of A b y ssinia on the coast of the Red Sea near
A dule and the H om er i tae who dwelt in Ar abia on th e

,
opposite coast at the so u thern end of the Red S e a

,
.
The H om er i tm had qu arrelled with the Al exandrian mer

chants i n the Indi an trade and had killed some of th em
,
as the y were passing their mountains from India to the

country of the H e xu m i tae .
Immediately after these mu rders the H e xum i tae fo u nd

the trade injured and they took up arms to keep the
,
passage open for the merchants Hadad their king .
crossed the Red Sea and conquered his ene m i es ; he put

to death D a m i a n u s the King of the H om er i tae and mad e
, ,
a n ew treaty with the Emperor of Constantinopl e The .
H e xu m i tm promised to become Christians The y sent .
to A lexan dr ia to b e g for a priest to baptise th em and ,
to ordain their preach ers ; and Justinian sent John a ,
man of piet y and high character the dean of the chu rch ,
304 THE CHRI ST I A N P ERI O D IN EG YP T
of St John who returned with the ambassadors and be
.
,
came bishop of the H exum i tae .
It was possibly this conquest of the H om eri tae b y

Hadad King of the H exum i tae which was re corded on
, ,
the monument of A dul e at the foot of th e inscription set

,
up eight centuries earli e r b y P tolemy Eu erg et e s Th e .
monument is a thr one Of white marble The conqueror .

,
whose name had been broken awa y b efore the i nscription

was copied there boasts that he crossed over the Red
,
Sea and made the A r abians and Sab aeans pay hi m tribute .
O n hi s ow n continent he defeated the trib e s to the north

of him and Opened the passage from hi s ow n co un tr y
,
t o Eg ypt ; he also marched eastward and conquered the ,
tribes on the A frican incense coast ; and lastly he crossed ,
th e A s ta b or u s to the snow y mo u ntains in whi ch that

branch of the Nile rises and conquer e d the tribes between
,
that stream and the A sta p u s Thi s valuable inscription

.
,
whi ch tells us of snowy mo u ntains withi n the tropics w a s ,
copied b y Cosmas a merchant of Al e xan dr ia who passed

, ,
through A dule on his wa y to %I ndia .
F ormer emperors An astasius and Justin had sent

, ,
several embassies t o these nations at th e southern end

of the Red Sea ; t o the H om er i tae t o persuade them t o ,
attack th e P ersian forc e s in A rabia and to the H e xum i tae

, ,
for th e encouragement of trade Justinian also sent an .
e mbassy to the H om er i tae under A bram ; and a s he w a s ,
successful in his Obj e ct he entrusted a second embass y

,
to A bram s s on N on n osu s landed at A dule on th e

’
.
A byssinian coast and then trav elled inward for fifteen

,
day s to A u xum the capital This country was then call ed

,
.
TR A D E RESTR I CT I ON S 3 05
Ethiopia ; it had gained the name whi ch before belong e d

to the vall e y of the Nile b e tween Egypt and Mero e O n .
his way to A u xum he s a w troops of wi ld elephants

, ,
t o the numb e r as he supposed of fiv e thousand

, ,
A ft e r .
delive ring his message to E l e sb a a s then Ki n g of A u xu m , ,
h e crossed th e R e d Sea t o Ca i s u s King Of the H om er i tae

, ,
a grands on of that A r ethas to whom Justin had sent

his embassy Notwithstan di ng the natural di fficulties of
.
th e j ourney and those arising from the trib e s th r o u gh

,
whi ch h e had to pass N on n osu s performed hi s task suc

,
c es s fu l l y and on hi s ret u rn home wrote a hi stor y of h i s

,
embassies .
The advantage gained to the H exum i tae by their inva

sion of the H om er i tae was soon lost probably a s soon ,
a s their forc e s were withdrawn The trade through the

.
co u ntry of th e H om er i tae w a s again stopped ; and such

was the di fficulty of navigation from the incense coast
of A f rica t o the mouths of the I ndus that the loss was ,
s e verely felt at A u xum E l esb a a s therefore undertook

.
to r epeat the p un ishment which had been before infli cted

on his less civilis e d n e ighb ours and again t o open the
,
trade to th e m erchants from th e Nile It was while he .
was pre paring his forces for this invasion that Cosmas ,
the A lexandrian traveller pass e d through A dul e ; and

,
h e copi e d for the King of A u xu m the inscription above

spok en O f which re corded th e victories of his prede
,
c essor o v er the enemies he was h imself preparing to

atta c k.
Th e invasion by E l e sb a a s or E l e s th aeu s as he is al so
,
nam e d was immedi ately successful The H om eri tae were

,
.
3 06 THE CHR I ST I AN P ER I O D IN EGYP T
conquere d their rul e r was overth ro w n ; and to secure
, ,
th eir future obedience the conqueror s et ov er these

,
Jewish A r abs an A byssinian Christian for th e ir king .
E s i m a p h aeu s was chosen for that post ; and his first duty
was to convert his n ew subj ects to Chr istianity P olitical .
reasons a s w ell as religious zeal would ur g e hi m to thi s

undertaking to make th e conquere d b ear the badge Of
,
th e conqueror F or this p urpose he engaged the assist

.
ance Of G r e gen ti u s a bishop who was to emplo y hi s

, ,
l e arning and eloquence in th e cause A ccor di ngly in the .

,
palace of Th r el l etum in th e pre s e nce of th e ir new king

, ,
a public disput e was held betw e en the Christian bishop

and H er b a n a learned Je w G r e gen ti u s has left us an
,
.
account of the controversy in which h e was whol ly s u c

,
c e s s ful,
be i ng helped p erhaps by the threats and prom
, ,
i s e s of the ki ng The arguments used were not qu ite the

.
same a s they would be now The bishop e xplained th e .
Trinity as the Hol y Spirit procee din g from the Mind or

F ath er and resting on th e Word or Son which was then
, ,
the orthodox view of this my sterious doctrine O n the .
oth er hand the Jew quoted the Old Testament to show

,
that th e L ord th eir God was one L ord It is relat e d that .
suddenly th e Jews present were struck blind Th eir .
sight however was restored to them on the bishop s

, ,
’
praying for th em ; and th e y w ere th en all thereby con

v e rted and baptised on th e spot The king stood god .
fath er to H er b a n and reward e d h i m with a high Office

,
unde r his gov e rnm e nt .
E s i m a p h aeu s did not long remain King of the H O

m er i tae . A rebellion soon broke out against him and he ,
K IN G BE I Z A N A S 3 07
was deposed E l esb a a s Ki ng of A u xu m again sent an

.
, ,
army to re call the H om er i tae to th eir ob e di e nc e but this ,
time the army j oine d in t h e r volt ; and

e E l es b a a s th n
e
made peac e with th e en emy in hop e s of thus gaining

,
th e advantages which h e was unabl e to grasp b y forc e
of arms F
.
rom a Gr e e k inscription on a m on u n ie n t at
Au xum we l e arn th e name o f ZE i za n a s anoth e r king
, of
PY RAM I D OF M E D U M .
that country who also call e d himself ither tr y

, ,
e ul or
boastful l y king of th e opposite coast He s et up the

,
.
monument t o record his victories over the B ou gaetae a ,
people who dw elt b e tw e en A u xum and Egypt and h e ,
styles hi mself th e invincibl e Mars king of kings King , ,
of the H e xum i tae of th e Ethiopians of the S ab m a n s and

, , ,
of the r i
H om e tae Th.e s e kings o f the H e xu m i tae orna
m en t e d the cit y of A u x u m w ith se v eral b ea u tif u l and
3 08 THE CH R I ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
lofty ob elisks each made of a single block of grani t e
,
like those in Egypt .
Egypt in its mismanaged state seemed to be of little

v alue to the empire save as a means of enrichi n g the
prefect and the tax gatherers ; it yielded very littl e
-
tribute to Constantinople be y ond the supply of grain and ,
that by no means regularl y T o remedy these abus e s .
Justinian made a new law for the gov e rnment of th e

province with a view of bringing ab out a thorough r e
,
form By thi s edict the di stricts O f M en el a i te s and

.
M ar e oti s t o the west of Al exandria were separated from

, ,
the rest of Egypt and the y were given t o the prefect

,
of L ib y a whose seat of govern m ent was at P ar aetoniu m

, ,
because his province was too poor to pay th e troops r e

quired to gu ard it The se v eral governments of Upper
.
Eg ypt of L ower Egypt of Al exandria and of the troops

, , ,
were then given to on e prefect The two cohorts the .

,
A u gu sta l i a n and the D ucal into whi ch the two Roman

,
legions had graduall y d w i n dl gd were henceforth to b e ,
united u nder the name of the A u gu sta l i a n Cohort which ,
was to c on ta i n s i x hu ndred men who were to secu re the

’
obedience and put down any rebellion of the Egyptian

and barbarian sol di ers The somewhat high pay and priv
.
i l e ges of this favoured troop were to b e increas e d ; and ,
to secure its loyalt y and t o k e ep ou t Egyptians nobody ,
was to be a dmitted into it till his fitness had been inquired

into b y the emperor s examiners Th e first duty of th e
’
.
cohort was t o col l ect the suppl y of grain for Constanti

n op l e and to s e e it put on b oard the shi ps ; and as for
the suppl y which was promised to the A l exandrians th e ,

THE L E V Y O F GRA IN 309
magistrates were to coll e ct it at their ow n risk and b y ,
means of their ow n cohort The grain for Constantinople

.
was requi red t o be in that city b e fore the end Of A ugust ,
or wit hi n four months after the harvest and the supply ,
for Al exandria n ot more than a month lat e r The p r e f e ct .
was made answerable for the ful l collection and whateve r ,
was wanting of that quantity was to b e levied on h i s

property and h i s h eirs at the rate of on e s ol i d u s for thre e
,
a r ta baz of grain or ab out thr e e dollars for fifteen bushels ;

,
whi le I n ord er t o help the collection the export of grain ,
from Egypt was forbidden from every port but Al exan

dria except in small quantities Th e grain required for
,
.
A lexandria and Constantinople to be distribut e d as a

,
free gift among the idle citizens was eight hun dred ,
thousand a r ta bw or four millions of b u sh els and the cost

, ,
of co l lecting it was fixed at eight y thousand s o l i d i or ,
about thre e hundred thousand dollars The prefe ct w a s .
orde red to assist the collectors at the head of his cohort ,
and if h e gave cre dit for the tax e s which he was to collec t .
he was to b e ar the loss himself If th e archbishop i n

.
t er fer e d to give credit and scre en an unhappy Egyptian

, ,
then h e was to bear the loss and if his property w a s

,
n ot enough the propert y of th e Chur ch w a s to make it .
good ; but if any other bishop gav e c redit not only w a s ,
his property to b e ar the loss but he was himself to b e

,
deposed from h i s bishopric ; and l astly if any riot or ,
reb ellion should arise t o cause the loss of the Eg yptian

tribute th e tribun e s of the A u gu s ta l i a n Cohort were t o
,
be punished with forfeiture of all propert y and the cohort ,
was to be removed to a station beyond the D anube .

Such was the n ew l a w whi ch Justinian the great ,
Roman lawgiver proposed for the futur e government of

,
Egypt The Egyptians w er e tr e at e d as slav e s whose

.
,
duty was to raise grai n for th e u s e of their masters

at Constantinopl e and their taskmast ers at A l e xandria
, .
Th e y did not even rec e ive from th e gov e rnment th e

usual ben efit of prot e ction from th e ir en em i e s and they ,
felt bound to th e emperor b y no tie either of love or

interest The imperial ord ers were v e ry little obey e d
.
beyond those places wh er e th e troops wer e encamped ;

the A rabs were e ach y e ar pr e ssing closer upon the
v alley of the Nil e and h e lping the sands of th e desert
,
t o defeat the labours of th e disheartened husbandm en ;

and th e Greek language which had hith e rto follow e d
,
and marked the route O f commerce from Al exandria

to S ye n e and to th e island of Socotra was now but
, ,
seldom heard in Upper Eg ypt The A lexan dri ans were .
sorely harassed by H aep h aes tu s a lawy e r who had risen, ,
by court favour to the chie f post in the city H e made .
monopol i e s i n his ow n favo u r of all th e nec e ssaries of

li fe and secured hi s ill gotten gains by ready loans of
,
-
part of it to Justinian His zeal for the emperor was

.
at the cost of the Al exandrians and to save the public ,
granari e s he l e ssened the supply of grain which th e citi

zens look e d for as a right Th e city was sinking fast ;
.
and th e citizens could ill b e ar this loss for its pop ul ation , ,
though lessened was still too larg e for the fal le n state
,
of Egypt .
Th e grain of th e m e r chants was shipp e d from Al e x

andria to the chi ef ports of Europ e b e twe e n Constan ,
EG YP T I AN TRA D E WI TH BR I TA IN 31 1
ti n op l ein the east and Cornwall in the west Britain had .
been l eft b y th e Romans as t oo remote for them to hold

,
in their weakened con di tion ; and the native Britons were

then struggling against their Saxon invaders a s i n a ,
di stant corn e r of th e world b e yond th e knowledg e of the

, .
hi storian But to that r emote co untry the A lexan dr ian

.
merchants sailed ev e ry y ear with grain to p ur chase tin ,
enlightening the natives while the y onl y meant t o enrich

,
themselves Under the most favourable circumstances

.
they s om e ti rn e s p erformed the voyage in tw e nty days .
The wheat w a s sold in Cornwall at the price of a bushel

for a p l ece Of silver perhaps worth about twent y cents
, ,
or for the same weight of tin as th e tin and the silver ,
w e r e n e arl y of e qual worth T his was the longest of the .
anci e nt vo y ages being longer than that from the Red

,
Sea t o the island of Ceylon in the In di an O c e an ; and it

had been regularly p erformed for at least eight centur ie s
without ever teaching the British to v entur e s o far from
th e ir native shores .
The suffering and riotous citizens made A lexandria a

very un pleasant place of ab ode for the pr e fe ct and magis
trates Th ey ther e fore built pala c e s and baths for th eir
.
’
ow n use at th e public cost at Ta p os i r i s ab out a day s
, , ,
j ourn ey t o th e w e st of the city at a spot y e t marked by ,
th e r emains of thirt y six marble col umns and a lofty

-
tow e r once p e rhaps a lighthouse A t the same time it

,
.
b e came necessary to fortify the public granaries against

th e rebellious mob The grain was brought from the Nile
.
by barg e s on a canal to the village of Ch aer eum and th ence ,
to a part of A lexandria nam e d Phi al ae or Th e B a s i n s , ,

31 2 THE CHR I ST I A N P E R I O D IN EG YP T
where the public granaries stood . In
all riots and re
b el l i on s thi s place had been a nat ural po i nt of attack ;
and often had the starving mob broken open these b u il d
ings and seized the grain that was on its way to Con
,
s t a n ti n op l e. B u t Justin i an surro un ded th e m with a

strong wall agai nst such attacks for th e future and at ,
the same time h e r ebuil t the aqueduct that had been

destroyed in one of th e si e g e s of the cit y .
In civil suits at law an appeal had always been a l

lowed from the prefect of the provinc e to th e emperor ,
or rather t o the pref e ct of the East at Constantinople ;
but as thi s was of co ur se expensive it was found n e c es

,
sary to forbid it when the sum of money in dispute was

small Justinian forbade all Egyptian app e als for sums
.
less than ten po u nds w e ight of gold or abo u t two thou

,
sand fiv e hundr e d dollars ; for smaller s um s th e j udg

ment of the prefect was to b e final lest the exp e ns e ,
should swallow up the amount in di spute .
In this reign the Al e xandrians for the first time

,
within the records of history felt the shock of an earth

,
quake Th e ir natur ali sts had v ery fairly supposed that

.
th e loose alluvial natu re O f the soil of th e D elta was the

reason why earthquakes were u nknown in L ower Egypt ,
and b eli eved that it wo u ld always save th em from a mis

fortune which Often overthr e w cities i n other countries .
P l in y thought that Egypt had be en always free from

earthquak es But this shock was f elt by everybody in the
.
city ; and A ga th i a s th e Byzantine historian who after

, , ,
reading law in the universit y of B eirut was finishi ng hi s ,
studies at Al exandria says that it was strong enough to

,
TH E E ND O F THE PA GA N SC H OO L S 13
make th e i nhabitants all r un into the street for fear the

hous e s should fall upon them .
Th e reign of Justinian i s remarkable for another blow

the n given t o paganism throughout the empire or at ,
l e ast through those parts of th e empire whe re th e em

p e r o
’
r s laws were obey e
. d U nd e r Justinian the pagan
schools w ere again and from that
tim e forward closed . I sidorus
the platonist and S a l u sti u s the
C ynic were among the l e arned
m e n of gr e at e st not e w h o then
withdr e w from A lexandria I si .
dorus had been chosen b y Marinus

as h i s succ e ssor in the platonic
chair at A thens to fil l the high
,
post of the platonic successor ; but

he had l e ft the A thenian school
to Z e n od otu s a pupil of P roclus
,
and had r emoved to A lexan dr ia .
S a l u s ti u s th e Cynic was a S yrian

who had r emove d with I sidoru s
A MO D E RN H O U S E IN
TH E DE LTA from A th e ns tO A lexandria H O .
A T ROS E TT A
‘
was virtuous in hi s morals tho u gh
j oc ul ar in hi s manners and as r e ady in his witty attacks
upon the speculative Opinions of his broth e r philosoph ers
as upon the vic e s of th e A l e xandrians Th e s e l e arned
.
m en ,
with D a m a s ci u s and others from A th ens w ere ,
kin dl y receiv e d by th e P ersians who soon afterwards

, ,
wh e n th e y made a treaty of peace with Justinian gen ,
e r ou sl y bargain e d that these men the last teachers of

,
31 4 TH E CHR I ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
paganism sho ul d be allowed to retur n home and pass
, ,
the rest of their day s in qui e t .
A ft e r th e fl i ght of the pagan phi losophers but little ,
learni ng was l eft in Al e xandria O ne of th e most r e .
markabl e m en in thi s a ge of ignoranc e was Cosmas an ,
A l e xandrian m e rchant who wished that th e world should

,
n ot o nl y b e e nr iched but e nlightened by hi s trav els .
A ft e r making many voyag e s through Ethi opia to India

for th e sak e of gain he gave up trad e and became a monk
,
and an author Wh e n he writes as a trav ell er about the

.
C h r istian church e s of In di a and Ceylon and the i n s cr i p ,
tions whi c h he copied at A dul e in A byssin i a e v erythi n g ,
that he tells us is valuabl e ; but wh en h e reasons as a

monk th e case is sadl y chang e d He is of the dogmatical
, .
school whi ch forbids a l l inqui ry as heretical He fights .
the battle whi ch has b e en so often fought before and

since and is even still fought s o resolut ely the battle
, ,
of r e ligious ignoran c e again st sci entific knowledge H e .
sets the words of th e Bible against the results of science ;

h e d eni e s that the world is a s pher e and quot e s th e O ld ,
Testament against the pagan astronom ers to show that ,
it is a plane cov er e d by th e fir m a m en t as by a roof above

, ,
whi ch h e plac e s th e kin gdom of h e aven H i s work is .
nam e d Ch r i s ti a n Top og r a p h y and h e is h i m s elf usuall y

,
call e d Cosmas I n di c op l eu ste s from the co un try whi ch

,
h e visited .
D uring the latter years Of the governm ent of A poll i

n ar i u s su ch was h i s unpopularity as a spiritual bishop
,
that b oth th e rival parti e s th e G a i a n i te s and the Th e o d o

,
sians had been buildin g places of worshi p for thems elves

, ,
CO IN S O F JU ST IN I A N 31 5
and the more zealo u s Ja c obi te s had qui etly left the
c hu rches to A p ol l i n a r i u s and the Royalists But on the .
death of an archdeacon the y again came to blows with

the bishop ; and a monk had h i s b e ard torn O ff h i s chi n
by the G a i a n i te s in the stre e ts of Al e xandr ia The em .
p e r o r was obliged to interfer e and h e ,sent the A bbot

P h oti n u s to Egypt to put down this reb e llion and heal ,
th e quarrel in the Chur ch A p ol l i n a r i u s di ed soon after

.
wards and Justinian then appointed John to the j oint

,
O ffice of prefect of the city and patriarch of the Church .
Th e new archbishop was accused of being a Manichean ;

but thi s se e ms t o m e an nothing but that he was too much
of the Eg y ptian part y and that though he was the i m
, ,
perial patriarch and n ot acknowledg e d by the K op ti c

,
church y et h i s Opinions were di slik e d by the Greeks

,
.
O n his death whi ch happen e d in about thre e y ears the y

, ,
chose P eter who held the Jacobite or Egyptian opinions

, ,
and whose name is n ot mention e d in the Greek lists of

the patriarchs P eter s death occu rred in the same y ear
.
’
as that of the emperor .
Under Ju stinian we again fin d some small traces of a

national coinage in Egypt Ever since the reign of D io
.
cl e ti a n the ol d Eg yptian coinage had been stopped and

, ,
the A lexandrians h a d us e d mone y of the same weight ,
and with the same L atin inscriptions as the rest of the ,
empire B u t under Ju stinian though the inscriptions on

.
,
the coins are still L atin the y hav e the nam e of the cit y
,
in Greek letters L ike the coins of Constantinople th e y

.
,
have a cross the emblem of Christianity ; but while the

,
other coins of the empire hav e the Greek numeral letters ,

316 THE CHRI ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG YP T
E ,
I, K , A , or M
d enot e the value m e ani ng 5 1 0 20
, to , , , ,
30 or 40 th e c oins of A l e xandria hav e th e l e tters 1 B

, ,
for 1 2 showing that th ey w e r e on a di fi e r en t syst em of

,
w e ights from those of Constantinople O n th e se th e head .
of th e emperor is in pro fil e But lat e r in his re ign th e .
styl e was chang e d th e coins were mad e larger and the , ,
head of the emperor had a front fac e O n thes e larg er .
‘
coin s the numeral lett ers are A I for 33 We thus learn .
that the Al exandrians at thi s tim e paid and rec eived

money rather by weight than b y tale and avoided all ,
C O INS OF JU ST INIAN .
depreciation of the currency A s the earl y coin s marked .
12 had become light e r by wear those whi ch were meant ,
to b e of about thre e th es their value were mark e d 33 .
D uring th e p eriod from 566 to 602 Justin I I reigned .
tw elve y e ars Tib erius r eign e d fo u r y ears and M a ur i c i u s

, , ,
hi s s on i n law tw ent y ; and under these sov e reigns the

- -
empir e gain e d a little rest from i ts enemi e s by a r eb ellion

among the P ersians which at last overthrew their k ing ,
Ch os r o e s He fl e d to M a ur i c i u s for h elp and was b y

.
,
him restor e d to his th r one aft e r which the two kingdoms ,
remain e d at p e ace to the end of his reign .
The Emperor M a u r i c i u s was murd e red by Phocas ,
who in 602 succeed e d him on the throne of Constan

, ,
ti n O p l e N o sooner di d the news of his death reach

.
R E I GN O F HE R A C LI U S 317
P ersia than Ch osr oe s the s on of Hormu z who had mar

, ,
ried Maria the daughter of M a u r i ci u s declared the

, ,
treat y with the Romans at an end and moved hi s forces

,
against the n e w emperor the murderer of his father i n

,
-
l aw. D uring the whole of hi s reign Constantinople was

kept in a state of alarm and almost of siege by th e P er
s ians ; and the crimes and mi sfortu nes of P hocas alike
p repared hi s subj ects for a revolt I n the

. seventh year
A lexandr ia rebelled in favour of the y oung Heraclius ,
s on of the late prefect of C yrene ; and the pat r iarch of
E g ypt w a s slain in the stru ggle Soon afterwards Hera

.
c l i u s entered the port of Constantinople with hi s fleet ,
a n d P hocas was p u t to death after an un fort un ate reign
of eight years in which he had lost ever y pro v ince of

,
t h e empire .
D uring the first thr ee y ears of the reign of Heracliu s ,
T heodoru s was Bishop of A lexandria ; but u pon his death

t h e wishes of the A lexan dr ians so strongly pointed t o
John the s on of the prefect of C ypru s that the emperor
, , ,
y ielding to their re q uest appointed

,
hi m to the bishopric .
Al exandr ia w a s not a place in which a good man could

e nj o y the pl eas u res of power without feeling the weight
of i ts du ties It was then s u ffering u nde r all those evils

.
whi ch u suall y befall the capital of a sinking state I t .
had l ost much of its trade and its poorer citizens no

,
longer received a free s u ppl y of grain The u nsettled .
'
state of the co u ntry was s ta r v i n g th e larger cities and ,
t h e pop ul ation of A lexandria was s u ffering from want of

e mpl o yment . The civil magistrates had removed their
p alace to a distance B
. u t the n e w bishop seemed formed
31 8 THE CHRI ST I A N P ERI O D IN EGYP T
for these u nfortunate times and though appointed b y
, ,
the emperor he w a s in every respect worthy of the fr e e

,
choice of the citizens He was foremost in every work of

.
benevolence and charity The fiv e y ears of hi s govern

.
ment w e re spent in li ghtenin g the sufferin gs of the peo

ple and he gained the truly Christian name of John th e
,
A lmsgiver Beside hi s private acts of kindness he estab

.
l i sh e d throughout th e city hospitals for the sick and

alm shouses for the poor and for strangers and as man y ,
as seven ly ing i n hospitals for poor women Joh n w a s

-
not less active i n outrooting a ll that he thought heres y .
The first y ears of the reign of Heraclius are chi efl y

marked by the suc cesses of the P ersians Wh ile Chos .
roes their ki ng was hi ms elf attacking Constantinople

, , ,
on e general was besieging Jerusalem a nd a second over
runnin g L ower Egypt Crowds fled before the invadin g

.
army to Al exandr ia as a place of safety and the fam i ne ,
increased as th e province of the pref e ct grew narrower

and the population more crowded To add to the di s .
tress the Nile rose t o a less h ei ght than usual ; the s e a

sons seem e d to assist the enemy in the destruction of
Egypt The patriarch John who had be en sending
.
,
money grain and Egyptian workmen t o assist i n the

, ,
pious work of r ebuil di ng the church of Jerusalem which

th e P ersians had d e stroyed im m e diat ely found all his
,
m e ans n e e d e d and far from enough for the poor of A l e x

, ,
andria O n his appointment to th e bishopri c he found

.
in its treasury eight thousand po un ds of gold ; he had

in the c ourse of fiv e y e ars r e ceived ten thousand more
from the ofier i n g s of the pious as his princely e c cl e si
,
PER S I A N INV A S I O N 3 19
re v enu e was named ; but thi s large s um of fo ur

a sti c a l
million doll ars had all been spent in deeds of generosity

or charity and the bishop had no resourc e but borrow
,
ing to reliev e the mi sery with which h e w a s surro u nde d .
In the fifth year the u nbeliev ers were masters of Jeru

salem and in th e eighth the y entered A lexandri a, an d
,
soon held all the D e lta ; and in that y ear the grain which
had hi therto been given to the citizens of Constantinopl e
was sold to them at a small price and before the end ,
of the year the suppl y from Egypt was wholl y stopp e d .
When the P e rsians entered Egypt the patrician ,
Nicetas havi ng n o forces with whi ch he could withstand

,
th e ir advance and knowing that no succo ur w a s to b e

,
looked for from Constantinople and finding that the ,
Al exandrians were u nwilling to s u pport hi m fled with ,
the patri arch John the A l msgiv er to Cypru s and left ,
the pro v ince to the enem y A s John denied that the Son
.
of God had s u fie r e d on the cross hi s opinions would s e em

,
not to hav e been ver y u nl ike those of the Egyptians ;

but as he was appointed to the bishopric by the emperor ,
though at the request of the people he is not counted ,
among the patriarchs of the K op ti c church ; and on e of

the first acts of the P ersians was to appoint Benj am i n ,
a Jacob ite priest who al ready performed the spi ritual

,
o ffice of Bishop of A lexandria to the pub l ic exercise of

,
that du t y and to the enj o yment of the civi l di gnit y and

,
revenu es .
The troops wi th whi ch Ch os r oe s conquered and held

Egypt were no doubt in part Syrians and A rabs people ,
with whom the fellahs or lab o ur ing class of Egyptians

320 THE CHR I ST I AN P ER I O D IN EG YP T
were closel y allied i n blood and feelin gs Hence arose .
the rea di ness with whi ch the whole country yielded when
the Roman forces were defeated But hence also arose .
the weakness of the P ersians and their speed y loss of ,
thi s con quest when the A rabs rebelled Their rule how .
,
ever in Egypt was not quite un marked i n the hi story

,
of these dar k ages .
A t thi s time Thomas a S yrian bishop came to Al ex

, ,
andr ia to correct the Sy riac version of the New T esta

ment whi ch had been made about a centur y b efore b y
,
P h i l oxen u s He compared the Gospels A cts and Epistles

.
, ,
with the Greek manuscripts in the monastery of St A n .
th on y in the capital ; and we still possess the frui ts of

h i s learned labour in which he altered the ancient tex t
,
to make it agree with the newer A l exandrian manu

scripts From hi s cop y the Phi loxeni an version i s n ow
.
printed A Syriac manuscript of the New Testament

.
written b y A lexan dr ian penmen in the sixth y ear of

Heraclius is n ow to be seen in the library of the A u
,
/
gustan friars i n Rome A t th e s a m e ti me another Syrian

.
scholar P aul of Tela in Mesopotam i a was bus y i n the

, , ,
A lexandrian monastery of St Zacch aeus in translatin g .
th e O ld T e stament into Syriac from the Septu agint ,
Greek ; and he closes his labours with b egging the reader

to pray for the soul of his fri e nd Thomas Such was .
n ow the reputation of the A l e xandrian edition of the
Bible that these scholars preferred it both to the orig

,
inal Heb rew of the O ld and to the earlier manuscripts

of th e New T estament A mong other work s of this tim e
.
w ere the medical writings O f A aron the phy sician of

THE P ERS IA N S D E F E A TE D 3 21
A lexandria , formerly written in S yriac and afterwards ,
much valu e d b y the Ar abs Th e Syrian monks in n um

.
bers s e ttled in the monastery of Moun t Ni tr i a ; and in

that s e cluded spot there r emained a colony of these
monks for several centuries k ept up by the occasional,
arrival of newcom ers from the chur ches on the e astern

side of the Euphrat e s .
F or ten y ears the E gyptians were governed b y the

P ersians and had a patriarch of their own religion and
,
of th e ir own choice ; and the building of the P e rsian

palac e I n A lexandria prov e s h ow quietly they lived u nd e r
their new mast e rs But Heraclius w a s not i dl e under his
.
m i sfortun e s The P e rsians had been weakened by the

.
great re volt of the A rabs w h o had formed their chi ef

,
str ength on the side of Constantinople and Egypt ; and

H eraclius l e ading his forces bravely against Ch os r oe s
, ,
drov e him back from Syria and became in his turn the
invad er and he then reco v ered Egypt The Jacobite
,
.
patriarch B enj ami n fled wi th the P ersians ; and Her

a c l i u s appointed George to the bishopric which was ,
declared to hav e been empt y since John the A l msgiv er

fl e d to Cyprus .
Th e revolt of the A rabs which overth r ew the power

,
of the P ersians in their western provinces and for a time
restored Egyp t to Constantinople was the fo u ndation ,
of th e mighty empire of the caliphs ; and the Hegira ,
or flight of Muhammed from which the A r abic historians

,
count the ir lunar y ears took plac e in 622 the twelfth

, ,
year of Heraclius The vigour of the A rab arms rapidl y

.
broke the P ersian y oke and the Moslems then overran

,
3 22 THE CHRI ST I AN P ERI O D IN EG Y PT
e very province in the n e ighbo urhood This was soon .
felt b y the Romans who fo u nd the A rabs even in th e

, ,
thi r d year of th eir freedom a mor e formi dable enemy

,
than th e P ersians whom th e y had overthrown ; and after ,
a short stru ggle of o nl y tw o years Heracl ius was forced

,
t o pa y a tribute t o the Moslems for the ir forb e arance

in not conqu e ring Egypt F or eight years he was willing
.
to p urchase an i nglorious peace by paying tribut e t o th e

caliph ; but when hi s tre as ure fai led hi m and the pay
ment was di scontinued the A rabs marched against the
,
nearest provinces of the empire offering to the inh abit

,
ants their choic e O f either pa ying tribute or r e ceiving

the Muhammedan religion ; and they then began on th e ir
western frontier that rapid care er of conquest whi ch
they had already begun on the eastern frontier ag a inst
their late masters the Pe rsians
,
.
ORNA M EN T FR O M THE ORC H O F TH EP S U L TA N H A SS AN .
CHA P TER II I
E G Y P T D U R ING TH E M U H A M M E D A N P E R IO D
Th e Ris e of Muh am m eda n i s m : Th e A b ic C on q u st Of E gypt

ra e
Th e 0m m ay a d an d Ab b si d Dy n sti s
a a e .
HE co u rse of history n ow fol

l ows the somewhat u n ev en t
ful p e riod which introduced
A rabian rul e into the vall e y of
the Nil e It i s only n e cessary .
to remind the reader of th e strik

ing incidents in the lif e of Mu
OR N A M EN T F R OM T HE M Q hammed H e was born at M e cca
OS UE .
,
°F “ m “
in A rabia in Ju ly 571 and spent , , ,
his e arliest years in the desert A t the a ge of twelv e h e .
travelled w ith a caravan to Syria and probabl y on this ,
occasion first came into contact with the Jews and Chris
tians A fter a few y o u thful advent ures his poetic and
.
,
323
3 24 THE MU H A MMEDA N P ERI O D
r e ligious feelings were awak e n e d by study He gave hi m .
s elf u p to profound medi tation upon both the Jewish and

Christian id e als and subs e quently beholdi ng th e arch
,
ang el Gabrie l i n a vision h e proclai m e d hi m self as a

,
prophet of G od A ft e r preachi ng hi s doctrine for th r ee

.
y e ars and gaini n g a fe w conv e rts ( the fir st of whom was

,
h i s wife K h a d i j a ) th e p e opl e of M e cca rose against him

, ,
and he was forced to fl e e from th e cit y in 61 4 New .
visions and sub sequent conversions of infl u ential A r abs

str e ngth en e d his cause esp e cially in M e di na wh i ther
, ,
M uh amm e d was forc e d to flee a second tim e from M e cca

in 622 thi s s e cond fl i ght bein g known as the Hegir a from
, ,
which dat e s the Mu ham m edan era In the next y e ar .

,
at Medi n a he built hi s first mosque and married A yesha

, ,
and in 624 was compelled to defend hi s pre tensions by

an app e al to arms He was at fir st su c cessful and there
.
,
upon appoint e d F riday as a day of public worshi p and , ,
b e ing embitt ere d again st the Jews ord er e d that the ,
attitud e of pray er sho ul d n o longer be towards Jeru

sal em but towards his birthplac e Mecca I n 625 the
, ,
.
Muh amm e dans wer e d efeat e d by the Meccans but on e ,
trib e aft e r anoth er submitt e d to him and aft er a s eri e s

,
of victo ri es M uh amm e d prepared in 629 for further

, ,
c onque sts in Syria but he died in 632 before they co ul d

,
be accomplished H i s succ e ssors w e re known as caliphs

.
,
but from th e v ery first his discipl e s quarrell e d about

th e l e ad e rship som e affirmin g the rights of A l i who
, ,
had m a r r I e d Mu h a m m e d s daughter F atima and others

’
, ,
supporting the claim s of A b u Bekr his father i n law ,

- -
There was also a r eligious quarrel concerning c e rtain

S U NN I TES AN D SH II TES 325
oral tra di tions relating t o the Koran or the Muh a m ,
m e dan sacred scriptur es Those w h o accepted the tra di

.
tion were known as Sunn it e s and those who rej ected,
it a s Shiites th e latter being the supporters of A l i both

, ,
s e cts however being known as Mosl ems or I slam i tes

, ,
.
O mar a S un nite Obtained the leader

, ,
shi p i n 634 and proce e ded to carry

,
’
ou t the prophet s ambitious sch emes
of con q uest H e subdued succes .
s i v el y Syria P alestine and P h oe , ,
nicia and i n 639 di r ected operations

,
O N OF A L I
C I
against
.
Egypt T h e general in .
charge of thi s expe di tion w a s A m r ,
who l ed fo u r thousand men against P el u si um which ,
sur rendered after a si e ge of thirt y days This easy .
victory was crowned b y the capture of A l e xandria A m r .
entered the city on D ecember 22 640 and h e s e ems to , ,
have been su rprised at hi s ow n success He im m e di atel y .
wrote to the caliph a letter in whi ch he says :

I have conquered the town of the West and I can ,
not recount all i t contains within its walls I t contains .
four thousand baths and twelve thousand venders of

gr e en v e ge tables four thousand Jews who pay tribute
, ,
”
and four thousand musicians and mountebanks .
Am r was anxious to conciliate and gain the affection

’
of the new subj ects he had added t o th e caliph s emp i r e ,
and during his short stay I n A lexandria received them

with kindn ess and personally heard and att e nded to th eir
demands It is comm onl y believed that in this period
.
th e Al exan dri an L ibrary was di smantled ; but a s w e ,

3 26 THE MU H A MM E DA N P ER I O D
have already seen th e books had be e n destro y ed b y the
,
zeal of conten di n g Chr istians The story that attribut e s

.
t h e destruction of thi s world famous institution to the-
A rabian conquerors i s s o much a part O f hi story and ,
has been s o g e n e ral ly acc e pt e d as corr e ct that th e tra ,
di ti on a l version sho u ld b e given h ere .
A m ong the inhabitants of A l e xandria whom A m r had

s o well r e ceived sa y s the monkish chro ni cler was one
, ,
John th e Gram m arian a learn e d ,
Gr e ek di scipl e of the Jacobite s e ct

, ,
w h o had been imprisoned b y its

persecutors Sinc e his disgrac e h e.
,
had given himself up e ntirel y to

stu dy and was one of the most
,
assiduous r e aders in the fam ous

C O I OF OM A R
N .
l ibrary With the chang e of mast e rs

.
he believed the rich treasure would be speedily di spers e d ,
and he wished to obtain a portion of it hi ms elf So .

,
pro fiti ng by the sp e cial kin dne ss A m r had shown hi m ,
and th e pl e asur e he app e ared to take in h i s conv e rsation ,
he ventured to ask for the gift of sev eral of the ph i lo

sop hi c books whose removal would put an end to hi s
learned research e s .
A t first A m r granted this r e qu e st without hesitation ,
but in hi s gratitude John the Grammarian expatiat e d

s o un wisely on th e extrem e rarity of the manuscripts
and th eir in e stimable valu e that A m r on refl e ction

, , ,
f e ared he had ov e rst epp e d his pow e r in granting th e

learn e d man s r e qu e st
’
I will r efer th e matt er to th e
.
c aliph h e said and thereupon wrote immediat ely to

, ,
TH E F O U NDIN G OF F os TAT 327
O mar and ask e d th e caliph for hi s c omm ands concerning

the di sposition of the whole of the precious contents of
the library .
The caliph s answer came quickl y

’
If he wrote .
, ,
the books contain only what is in the book of God

( the Koran ) it i s enough
,
for u s and these book s are ,
us eless If the y contain anything contrary to the holy

.
”
book they are pernicious In an y cas e burn them
,
.
,
.
A m r wished to organise his n ew government and , ,
having l eft a sufficient garrison in Al e xan dr ia he gave ,
ord e rs to the rest of hi s arm y t o l e ave the camp in

the town and to occup y the int e rior of Egypt Wh ere .
shall we pitch our new camp ? the soldi ers asked each
oth e r and the answer came from all parts
, Roun d the ,
’ ”
g e neral s tent The army in fact did camp on the
.
, ,
banks of the Nile in the vicinity of the mod e rn Cairo

, ,
wh ere A m r had ordered his tent to be l eft ; and round

this tent whi ch had become the c entr e of reunion the
, ,
sol di ers built t emporary huts which wer e soon changed

into solid p ermanent habitations Spacious houses were
,
.
b ui lt for the leaders and palac e s for the gen e rals and
, ,
thi s collection of b u ildings soon became an important

mi litary town with strongly mark e d Muham m edan
,
charact eristics It was called F ost a t ( tent ) in memory

.
of the ev e nt otherwise u nimportant which was the

, ,
origin of its cre ation A m r d e termined to make his new

.
town th e capital of Egypt ; whilst still preserving the

—
name of F ost a t he add e d that of Misr a title alway s ,
,
borne by th e capital of E gypt and which Memphis had ,
hitherto preserved in spite of th e rivalry of A lexandria .

DI VA N S ESTA B LI SHE D 3 31
ancient Egypt and whi ch the P tolemies had scrupul ously

,
pres erv e d a s di d also the first governors under the

,
C aesars .
A fter all these improvements in the internal admi n

i s tr a ti on the governor turned hi s att e ntion t o the ques
,
tion of justic e whi ch until that mom ent had b e en s ub j e ct

,
to the decision of financial ag e nts or of the sol di ers ,
of the Gr e ek government A m r now created perm anent

.
and regul ar tribunals compos e d of honourable inde ,
pendent a n d enl ightened m en w h o e nj oyed public

, ,
respect and esteem To Am r dates back the first of those

.
d i v a n s chosen from the el i t e of th e population as sureties

, ,
of the fairn ess of the c a d i s which received app e als

,
from first judgments to confirm them or in the case , ,
of wrongful decisions to alter them The decrees of

, .
the A rab judges had force onl y for those Mussulm ans
who formed a part of the occupying army Whene v e r a .
K op ti c inh abitant w a s a part y in an action the K op ti c ,
authoriti e s had th e right to int ervene , and the parties

w ere judg e d b y th e ir equals in race and religion .
O ne striking act of justice succeeded in winni ng for

A m r the hearts of all D espite the t error i nspired b y
.
th e religious persecutions which Heraclius had carri e d on

with s o much en erg y on e man th e K op ti c patriarch
, ,
B enj ami n had brav ely kept hi s faith intact He b elong e d

,
.
t o th e Jacobite s e ct and abandoned none of its dogmas ,
and in th eir intolerance the all po we rful M elchi t e s di d

-
not hesitate to choos e him as th e ir chi ef victim B en .
j am i n was di spossessed of his patriarchal th r one h i s ,
liberty and life were threat e ned and he onl y succeeded

,
3 32 THE MU H A MM E D A N P ER I O D
in savi ng both by taking flight He lived thus forgott en
.
i n th e various refuges that the des e rt monast e ri e s

afforde d h i m while H e raclius replac e d h i m by an arde nt
,
support e r of th e Opinions favour e d at court Th e whol e .
of Egypt was then divide d into tw o chur c hes s eparat e d

from each other b y an i mplacabl e hatr e d A t th e head of
.
the Melchi tes w a s the n e w patriar ch who was follow e d

,
b y a few priests and a small numb e r of partisans who

w e r e more attach e d to him b y fear than by faith Th e .
Ja c obi te s on the other hand compris e d th e immens e ma

, ,
j o r i ty of the pop u lation who look

,
e d upon t h e patriarch
as an intruder chosen by th e emp eror The church stil l.
acknowledged a s its real he ad B enj amin the patriarch ,
who had been for thirteen years a wanderer and whose ,
r e turn w a s ard e ntly desir e d T hi s wish fo u nd public

.
expression as soon as th e downfall of the imperial power

in Egypt permitt e d its free manif e station A m r li st en e d.
t o th e supplications that w e r e addressed t o hi m and , ,
turning out th e usurp e r in his turn r e called B e nj amin

,
from his long exile and replac e d him on the patriarchal

throne .
’
But even here A m r s protection of the K op ti c religion
di d not en d He opened th e door of his M u s s u h n a n town
.
,
and allowed th em to liv e in F ost at and to build churches

there in th e mi dst of th e Mu s s u h n a n soldi e rs e v e n when ,
I slamism was still without a temple in the city or ,
a cons e crated place worthy of the religion of the

conque rors .
A m r at length resolved to b u ild in hi s n ew capital a

magni ficent mosque in i mitation of the one at Mecca .
TH E M OS QU E OF A MR 333
D esigns were sp ee dily drawn up th e location of th e n e w

,
t empl e being a c cording to A rab authors that of an

, ,
anci ent pyr e cons e crat e d by th e P ersians and which had

,
b e e n in ruins sinc e th e time of th e P tol em i e s Th e .
monuments O f Memphis had oft en b e en pillaged b y
Gre e k and Roman emperors and n ow the y w ere once

,
again despoiled to fu rnish the mosque of A m r with th e

‘
beautiful colonnad e s of marble and porphyry which

adorn th e walls and on whi ch th e A rab hi storians
, ,
assur e u s the whole Koran was written in letters of

,
gold.
334 TH E MU H A MME D A N P E R I O D
Omar di ed in and u nder hi s s u ccessor O thman ,

644, ,
the A rabian con quests were extended in Northern Af rica .
O thm an dy ing in 656 the claims of A l i were warm l y ,
supported but not universally recogn i sed many lookin g

, ,
to Mu a w i a a s an acceptable candidate for the caliphat e .
This w a s esp e ciall y the view of the Syr ian M uh am

m e d a n s and in 661 Mu a w i a I was elected caliph
, He . .
promptly transfe rred the capital from Medina t o D amas

cus and became in fact the founde r of a d ynast y known
,
as the O m m a y a d s the new caliph be i ng a descendant of

,
the famous A r abian chieftain 0 m m a y a d Eg ypt a o .
knowledged the new authority and remained qui et and

sum s sw e It furnished A b d el Malik who b ecame
.
-
caliph in 68 5 not only with rich subsi di es and ab u ndant

,
provisions but also with part of his troops

, .
The attachment of the Eg ypti ans to their new mas

t e rs w a s chiefl y ow m g to the gentleness and w isdom of
A b d el A ziz ibn M er wa n who administered the country
-
after Am r was put to death in 68 9 He visited all the .
provinc e s of Egypt and arrivi ng at A lexandr ia he or

, , ,
d ered the buil di ng of a bridge ov e r the canal recognising ,
th e importance of this com m u nication between the town

and country .
B e n efiting by the r eligious lib e rt y that Mussul man

sovereignship had secured th em the K op ts no long e r ,
attended to the quarr els of their mast ers They onl y .
occupied themselves in maintaining th e quiet peac eful

ness the y had Obtain e d b y regular payment of th eir
taxes and b y supplying men and commoditi e s wh e n
,
occasion d emanded it D uring the reign of A b d el Malik.

-
3 35
THE K O P TI C CHU RCH
remarkable event ther e was the el c e
i n Egypt the onl y
tion in 68 8 of th e Jacobit e I saac as patriarch of lex A
, ,
andria T.
h e K op ti c cl e rg y giv e him no other claim to
rem mb r ance than the formulating of a decre e
historical e
M O S QU E O F A MR .
that the patriarch c an only b e ina u g ur ated

ordain i ng
”
on a Sunda y .
I saac was suc c e e de d b y Simon th e S yrian whom the ,
K o ti c
chur c h looks upon as a saint and for whom
, is
p
33 8 THE MU HA MMED AN P ERI O D
M a sl a m a to la y fresh si e g e to Constanti nople O n h i s .
accession to the thron e Sul eiman placed the governm e nt

of Egypt in the hands of A ssama ibn Y azid with the ,
title of agent general of fin ances

-
The K op ti c clerical historians accor di ng to th eir ,
usual habit portray th is governor as still worse than

,
hi s pr e decessors but in this case the Muss ul man a u

,
th or i ti es are in agreement in accusing h i m of the most

iniqui to u s extortions and most barbarous massacre s .
Th e gravest reproach the y bri ng against him is that ,
call ing all the monks together h e told them that not ,
only di d he intend to
maintai n the O l d regul a
tions of A b d el A ziz b y -
whi ch they had to pay an ,
ann ual tax of on e di nar

O N OF MAL
C I IK .
but also that the y

woul d be obliged to receive y early from hi s agents a n
iron ring b e aring their name and the date of the fin a n
c i a l transaction for which rin g th e y wer e to make per
,
sonal contribution H e forced th e wearing of thi s ri ng

.
cont i nually and the hand found without thi s strange

,
form of receipt was to be cut ofi S e veral monks who .
e nd e avoured to evade this strict order wer e pitil e ssly
mutilat e d whil e a numb e r of th em rebelli ng agai nst

, ,
the payment of th e tax r e tired into c onvents think

, ,
ing th e y could safely de fraud the tr e asur y A ssama .

,
however sent his sol di ers to search these retreats and

, ,
all th e monks fo un d without rings were beheaded or

put to death b y the bast i nado .
A NE W N IL O METER 339
Careful about all that r elated to the Egyptian rev

en u es A ssama command e d th e k ee ping up of th e vari
,
ou s Ni l om ete r s which still s e rv e d to r e gulate th e assess

,
ment of th e ground tax I n th e y e ar 7 1 8 h e l e arn e d

.
that th e Nilomet e r e stablish e d at Helwan a little b elow ,
F ost a t had fallen in and hastened to report the fact ‘

, ,
C I TA DE L O F C A I RO (E O S TAT
) .
to the caliph By the ord e rs of this prince the ruin e d

.
Nilometer was abandon e d and a n e w one built at th e

,
m eri di onal point of th e island now call e d R h odh a j ust ,
b etween F ost a t and Gizeh But of all th e finan c ial trans

.
actions of A ssama th e one that ve x

, e d most th e i n h a b
i ta n t s of Egypt and which brought down on him th e

,
most violent and implacabl e hatred w a s the or di nance ,
by which a ll asc ending or d e sc ending the Nile were

340 THE MU H A MME DAN P ERI O D
ob l iged to provide themselves with a passport bearing
a tax This exorbitant claim was carri e d ou t with a n
.
abusive and arbitrary sternness A poor widow the .

,
O riental writers s a y was travellin g up the Nil e with

,
her s on having with her a correct passport the paym ent

, ,
of whi ch had taken nearly all s h e poss e ssed The youn g .
man whi le stretched along the boat to dri nk of th e

,
riv er s water w a s seized by a crocodil e and swallowed

’
, ,
togeth e r with the passport he carried in h i s breas t Th e

treasury officers insisted that the wretched widow shoul d
take a fresh on e ; and to obtain payment for it sh e sol d
all sh e had even to the very clothes sh e wore Such
,
.
intolerable exactions and excesses ended b y thoroughl y

rousing the indi gnant Egyptians The malcontents as .
sembled a n d a general revolt would have been the r es ul t

,
but for the news of the death of the Caliph S ul ei m an

whi ch gave birth to th e hope that j u sti ce might
be obtain e d from his successor .
The next caliph w a s O mar II a grandson of M er w a n .

,
fi
I who had been nominated a s hi s successor b y Sul e i man

.
,
.
In his reign the Muham m edans were r epul sed from Con
s ta n ti n O p l e and the political movement began whi ch
,
finally established the A bbasid d ynast y at Baghdad .
O mar dying in the y e ar 7 20 Y azid II a s on of A bd el,

.
,
Malik s u cceeded to the caliphate and r eigned for four

, ,
years history being for the most part silent as t o the

,
general con di tion of Egypt under these tw o caliphs .
It is recorded that in the year 720 on e of Y a zi d s broth ,

’
er s b ,
y name M uh a m m ed ibn A b d e l Malik ruled over -
E g y pt T he K
. op t s complained of his rul e and declare d ,
CO N STA N T CH A N GE O F GO V ERN ORS 34 1
that during the whole reign of Yazid ibn A b d el Mali k -
the Christians w ere persecuted crosses overthrown and, ,
church e s d e stroy e d .
Y azid was succeeded in 724 A D by his brother

, . .
,
Hisham surnam e d A bu l Walid the fourth s on of A b d

,
’
-
el Malik to occupy th e throne

-
of I slam w h o having been a p

, ,
pointed b y hi s brother as his

s u ccessor took possession of
,
the th r one on the very da y of

hi s death M uh amm ed was r e
.
placed i n Egypt by his cousin ,
Hassan ibn Yusuf who onl y ,
held o ffice for three y ears r e ,
signing volun tarily in the y ear

730 A D
. or 1 08 of the Hegira
.
,
.
The Caliph Hisham replaced

him by Hafs ibn Walid w h o ,
A C RO O D I L E U SE D A S A TA L I S M AN
C .
was deposed a y ear later and ,
in the y ear 109 of the Hegira

the caliph appointed in his place A b d el Malik ibn Rifa -
who had alr e ady governed Egypt dur ing the caliphat e
of Walid I . Hisham made man y changes in the gov
e r n or s h i p of Eg y pt ,
and am i d a succession of rul er s
appointed H a n dh a l a to the post He had already be en .
governor of Egypt under Y azid II He administered . ,
the province for another s i x y ears and according to the , ,
Christian historians of the East pursu ed the same cour se

,
of intol e rance and t yrann y that he had adopted when
he go v erned Egypt for the first time under Y azid .

34 2 THE MU H A MM EDA N P ERI O D
The Caliph Hisham enj oined H a n dh a l a to be gentl e
with his subj e cts and to tr e at the Ch r istians with kind
ness but far from conformi ng with these wise and kindly
,
i nt e ntions h e o v erwh el med them with vexations and

,
tyrannous acts He doubled the taxes by a general

.
census subj e cting not o nl y men but also th e ir ani mals

,
t o an impost The receipts for the n ew duty had to b e

.
stamped with the impression of a li on and every Chris ,
tian found without one O f these documents was deprived

o f one of hi s hands .
In th e y e ar 746 ( A H on b e i ng informed of th e se
. .
ab u ses the caliph deprived hi m of the gove rnm ent of

,
Egypt and giving him the a dm i ni stration of Mau ritania

, , ,
appoi nted as hi s successor Hafs ibn Walid who accord , ,
in g to some acco u nts had previously gov e rn e d Eg ypt for

“
sixteen years and who had left pleasanter recollections

,
behi nd h i m Hafs however now onl y held o ffice for a

.
, ,
y ear .
Nothi ng of pol itical i mportance happened i n Egypt

un der the long reign of Hi sham the o nl y e vents noticed ,
by the C hr istian historians b e ing those which relate

sol ely to their eccl e siastical history The 1 08 th y e ar .
of the Hegira s a w th e death of Al exander the forty third ,

-
K op ti c P atriarch of Al exandria Since the conqu e st of

.
Eg ypt by O mar for a period of about tw enty four y e ars

,
-
th e patriar c hat e had b een in the hands of the Ja c ob i te s ;

all th e bishops in Egypt belonged to that sect and th ey ,
had established Jacobite bishops even in Nubia whi c h ,
they had converted to their religion Th e orthodox Chris .
tians el e cted Kosmas as th eir patriarch A t that tim e .

THE A BB A S ID S 343
th e h ere tics had tak e n possession of all the churches in

Egypt and the patriarch only retained that of Mar Saba
,
-
o r the Hol y Sabbath Kosmas b y hi s solicitations ob

.
, ,
ta i n e d from Hisham an order to his financial a dm i n i s

trator in Egypt A b d Al lah ibn e s Sakari to s e e that all
,
-
,
0
th e churches were ret u rned to the sect to whi ch the y

belonged .
A fter occ u p y ing the patriarchal th r one for onl y fif

t e en months Kosmas died In the l 09th year of the
,
.
—
Hegir a ( A D 7 27 28 ) Kosmas was succeeded b y the
. .
patriarch Theodore He occupied the seat for eleven .
y ears His patriarchate was a period of peace and qui et

.
for the chu rch of A lexandria and caused a temporar y ,
cessation of the quarrels between the Melchites and th e

Ja c obi te s A vacanc y of s i x years followed h i s death
.
until in the y ear 1 27 of the Hegira ( 749 A

,
Ibn Khalil .
was promoted to the o ffice of patriarch and held h i s seat ,
for twenty three years -
Walid II succeeded to the caliphate in the y ear 7 49

. .
O ne of h i s first acts w a s to take the government of Egypt

from Hafs in spite of the kindness of h i s rule the wis
, ,
d om and moderation of which had gained for him the

affe ction of all th e provinc e s which he governed He .
was r eplaced by I s a ibn A bi A tta who soon created a ,
universal discontent as hi s administrativ e measu res ,
were oppressive .
In the y e ar 7 50 the O m m a y a d s were supplanted by

th e A bbasids who transferred the capital from D amasc u s
,
t o Baghdad The first A b basid caliph w a s A b u l A bbas

.
’ -
w h o claimed descent from A bbas the u ncle of Muh a m ,

3 44 THE MU H A MM E DAN P ER I O D
med The caliph M er w a n I I the last of th e O m m a y a d s
. .
, ,
in hi s fli ght from hi s en emi es came to Egypt and sent

troops from F ost a t to hold Al exandria He was n ow .
pur sued to hi s death b y the A bbasid general Salih ibn

A l i w h o took possession of F ost a t for th e n e w dynasty
,
in 7 50 The change from the 0 m m a y a d to the A bbasid

.
cali phs was effected with little di ffic ul ty and Egypt con ,
ti n u e d to be a province of the caliphate and was rul ed

b y governors who were mostl y A rabs or members of the
A bbasid famil y .
’
A b u l A bbas after being ina u gurated began hi s rul e
-
, ,
b y recalli ng all the provincial governors whom he r e ,
placed b y his kinsmen and partisans He e ntrust e d the .
go v ernment of Egypt to h i s paternal un cle Sali h ibn A l i , ,
w h o h a d Obtained the province for h i m Salih however

’
, ,
.
did not r ul e in person bu t was represented b y A b u A un ,
A b d el Malik ibn Y azid whom he appointed vic e gov

-
,
-
e rn or The duti e s of patriarch of A l e xan dr ia were th e n

.
perfor med by Michel comm onl y called K hail by the ,
K op ts Thi s patriarch was of the Jacobite sect and the

.
fort y fifth s u ccessor of St Mark : he h eld the o ffice abo u t

-
.
three y ears H e in turn w a s succeeded by the patriarch

.
Myna a native of S em enn u d ( the anci ent S eb en n y tu s )

,
.
In the y ear 7 54 A bu l A bbas di ed at the age of thi rty ’

-
tw o a fter reigni ng fo ur y ears eight months and twent y

, , ,
s i x da y s the Ar abian historians being always very

,
precise in recordi ng the duration of the reign of the

caliphs He was the first of the cal iphs to appoint a
.
vizier the 0 m m a y a d caliphs employing onl y secretaries

,
during the i r administration The s u ccessor of A bu l .

’
I N CREA SE D T A XA T I ON 345
A bbas was hi s brother A b u Jafar surnamed E l Man — ,
su r
. Thr ee years after hi s accession h e took the govern
ment of Egypt from hi s uncl e and in less than seven ,
y ears Egypt passed successively through the hands of '
s i x di fferent governors These changes were instigated

.
b y the mistru stful disposition of th e caliph w h O s a w

’
in every man a traitor and conspirator dism i ssing on

,
,
the slightest provocation his most d e voted adherents ,
some of whom were even put to death by hi s orders H i s .
last choice Yazid ibn Hatim governed Eg ypt for eight

, ,
years and th e cali ph bestowed the title of P rince of

,
Egypt ( E m i r Misri ) u pon h i m whi ch titl e was als o ,
borne b y hi s successors .
These continual changes in the go v ernment of Egyp t

had not furthered the prosperity and well be i ng of the -
inhabitants Each rul er certain of speed y dismissal

.
, ,
busied hi m %l f with h i s personal affairs to the detriment

of the co un try anxious onl y to amass b y every possible
,
means sufficient money to compensate him for his ine vi

table deposition Moreo v er each gove r nor incre ased the
.
,
taxation levied by hi s predecessor S u ch was the greed .
and rapacit y of these go v e rnors that every industry was

continu ally subj ected to increased taxation ; the work
ing brickla ye r the vender of vegetab les the camel dri v er
, ,
-
the grave di gger all callings even that of mendicant

, , ,
were taxed and the lower classes were reduced to eating

,
dog s flesh and human remains A t th e moment when

’
.
Egypt unable to support such oppression l onger was

, ,
on the v erge Of ins u rrection the w e l come ti di ngs of the ,
death of E l Mansur arriv ed -
.
34 6 THE MU H A MM EDA N P ERI O D
M uh am m ed el Mahdi s on of E l Mansur s u cce e ded
-
,
-
his fath er and w a s th e thi rd caliph of th e house of A bbas .
H e was at Baghdad when his fath e r e xpired near Me c ca ,
but d e spite h i s abs ence was i m m e di a tel y proclaimed

, ,
cali ph E l M ah di betra y ed in h i s d e eds that same fick l e

‘
-
n e ss which had signalised the caliphate of his father ,
E l Mans ur
-
H e appoint e d a different governor of Eg ypt

.
n e arly e v ery y e ar Th e se many changes resulted prob

.
ably from the political vi e ws held by the caliph or p er ,
haps h e alr e ady perceiv e d the t e ndency shown by each

of his provinc e s to separate itself from the centre of
I slamism P erhaps also he alr e ady foresaw those di

.
visions which d e stroyed the empire about half a centur y

lat e r Thus h i s prudence sought in allowing but a short
.
,
p e riod of power to e ach gov ernor to prev e nt their ,
str engthening themselves sufficiently i n their pro vinces

to become independent .
Egypt remained calm and subdued un der these con

stant changes of governm ent Syria and the neighbo ur .
ing provinces follow e d suit and the Caliph el Mah di ,

-
profited by this peaceful stat e of things to attack the

Emp eror of th e Greeks His second s on Harun un der
.
, ,
took the continu ation of this war and the y o u ng prince ,
displayed such talent and bravery that he gained brilliant

victories and r eturned to Baghdad after having cap
,
tu r e d se v eral cities from the Gree k s overthrown th eir ,
g enerals and forced Constantinople to pay an annual

,
tribute of se v enty thousand dinars ( ab out

The Caliph el Mahdi reward e d Harun b y solemnl y nam
-
ing him th e future successor Of his eldest s on Musa ,

H A R U N ER RA SH ID 347
el Hadi whom h e had just d efinit e ly declared h i s heir

-
to th e thron e Shortly aft er this d e c ision el Mahdi di ed

.
,
-
in th e y e ar 78 5 having re igned ten y e ars and tw o months

,
.
Musa el Hadi his eldest s on su c c e eded him b eing

-
, , ,
th e fourth caliph of th e race of A bbasids O n ascending .
th e thron e he withdrew the gov e rnment of Egypt from

,
F adl ibn Salih appointing ,
in his place A l i ibn S ul e i

man also a d e scendant of
,
A bbas —
E l Hadi plotted
.
against th e clai ms of H a
r un to the succession but ,
h e died b e fore his plans

had matured and Haru n ,
b e came caliph in the

y e ar 7 8 6 .
Th e reign of Haru n
e r Rashid was the most
-
brilliant epoch of the em

pire of I slamism and hi s ,
glory p e n e trat e d from the

far East to the western D OO R OF A N A R A BI A N H O U S E .
c o u n t ri e s o f Europe ,
wh er e his nam e is still c elebrated Harun s e ems to have .
b een as r eluctant as h i s fath e r and grandfather w ere

befor e him to l e ave a provin c e to o long in th e hands of
a gov e rnor and he ev en surpass e d th em in his p r ec a u
,
ti on a r y measures In the year 1 71 of th e H e gira h e

.
,
re c alled A l i ibn Sul eiman and gav e the gov e rnm ent of ,
Egypt to Musa ibn I s a a descendant of th e Caliph A l i ,

.
348 TH E MU H A MME DAN P ERI O D
Thereafter the governors were changed on an average

O f once a y e ar and their financial duti e s w e re s e paratel y
,
a dministered Musa ibn I sa however h eld th e appoint

.
, ,
ment of Governor of Egypt on three separat e occasions ,
and of h i s thi rd period Said ibn B a tr i k tells the following

anecdote
Wh il e O b a i d A llah ibn el Mahdi was rul ing in -
”
Egypt he relat e s
,
he sent a b e autiful y o ung K op ti c
,
s l ave to his broth e r the caliph as a gift The Egyptian

, ,
.
odal isk s o charm e d the caliph that he fell viole ntly in

love with her Sudde nly how e ver the favourit e was
.
, ,
laid prostrate by a malady which th e court physicians

could neither cure nor ev e n diagnose The girl insisted .
that bein g Egyptian only an Egyptian physician could

, ,
cure her The caliph instantly ord ered his brother t o

.
send post haste the most skilful doctor in Egypt This .
prov e d to be the Melchite patriarch for in those days ,
K op ti c priests practised me di cine and cultivated oth e r

sci e nces The patriarch set out for Baghdad restor e d
.
,
the favourite to he alth and in re ward r e c eived from the

,
caliph an imperial diploma which restor e d to the ortho ,
d ox Christians or Melchites all those privil e ges of whi c h

the y had been depriv e d by th e Jacobit e h e retics sinc e
”
their un ion with the conqueror Am r ibn el A s i -
If thi s story be tru e one cannot but perc e ive th e plot

,
skilfully laid and carri e d out by the powerfu l clergy ,
to whom any means even the sen di ng of a concubin e to

,
the caliph s e emed legitimate to procure th e restoration

,
of their s u premac y and the hum iliation of their a dv er

s ar i es .
THE S H A F I TE S 349
The y ear 204 of the H e gira was memorable for the

death of th e Iman Muh ammed ibn I dris surnamed esh ,
S h afi Thi s c el ebrat e d doctor w a s the found er of on e

.
of the four orthodox sects which re c ognised the Mosle m
reli gion and whos e followers take the name S h a fite s

,
from their chi ef The .
I man esh S h a fi di ed at
-
F ost a t when bu t fort y

three y ears ol d H i s dog .
m a s are more especiall y fol
l owed i n Eg ypt where hi s ,
s ect is still re presented and

presided over by on e of the
fo ur Imans at the head of
the famous Mos qu e Jam el
A zar or mos que of flowers
,
A E LE D B EA UT
.
V I Y .
The di stance of Eg yp t
,
from Baghdad the caliph s capital w a s the cau se of

,
’
,
the neglect of many of h i s comm ands and upon more ,
than on e occasion was his authority slighted Thu s it .
happened that for more than fiv e y e ars the governm ent

of Eg ypt was in the hands of A b d A llah ibn es Sari -
whom the soldiers e lected but whos e appointm e nt was

,
nev e r confirm ed by the caliph A b d A llah ibn Tahir the .

,
s on of the successful g e n e ral had in th e y e ar A H 21 0

, ,
. .
,
settled at B el b ey s in Egypt With a large number of .
partisans h e assume d almost re gal privil e ges In 21 1

,
.
A H
. he proceede d to F ost a t and the re dismiss e d A b d
.
A llah ibn es Sari and replac e d him by A yad ibn Ibrahi m

-
whom he also dismissed the following y ear giving th e ,

g overnorshi p t o I sa ibn Yazid s ur named , el -
Jalud . In
the y ar e 2 1 3,
the Caliph el Mamun ordered A b d A llah -
ibn Tahir t o r e tire and confided th e governm ent of Egypt

,
and also that of Syria to his ow n brother el M u ta si m -
thi rd s on of the Caliph Harun er Rashid -
In the year 21 8 of the Hegira ( A D Muhamm ed . .
e l M u ta s i m
-
succe e d e d h i s brothe r el Mamun He was -
the fir st caliph who brought th e name of G od into hi s

surname O n ascending the thr on e h e ass um e d the titl e
.
,
”
el M u ta s i m b I l l a h that is
’
-
str ength ened by God a n d

, ,
h i s example was followe d b y all his succ e ssors .
From the comm encement of this r eign el M u ta si m — ,
’
b I l l a h was forced to d efend hi ms elf against insurgents
and a spirants to th e caliphate In the y e ar 21 9 of th e .
He gira Kin di , th e Gov ernor of Egypt di e d and th e

, , ,
caliph name d his s on Mu dh a ffa r ibn Kin di as his s u c

, ,
c e ssor Mu dh a ffa r ibn Kindi dying th e following year

.
, ,
was succeeded by Musa son of A bu l A bbas surname d ,

’
-
esh S h i r b a n i by som e writ ers e sh Shami ( th e Syrian )

-
,
-
by others In th e year 224 Mu sa was r e call e d and his

.
plac e tak en by Malik surnam e d by som e el Hindi ( the

,
-
Indi an ) by oth ers ibn el Kindi A y e ar lat er th e c aliph

,
-
dismissed Malik and s ent A shas to E gypt in his place

,
.
This was th e last gov e rnor appoint e d by el Mu ta s i m —
b I l l a h for the c a liph di e d of f e v er in the year 227 of

’
,
the Hegira .
O ri ental historians have noticed that th e num eral

e ight affe ct e d this caliph in a singular mann e r B e tw e e n .
hi ms elf and A bbas th e h e ad of his hous e th er e w e r e

, ,
eight g en erations ; h e was born in the month of Shaban ,

THE LIF E O F M U TA M M A 35 1
th e ighth month of the M u ssulman y ear ; he w a s the

e
e ighth A bb a s i d i a n c aliph and as c ended the throne i n

,
th e y e ar 21 8 ag e d thirty e ight y e ars and eight months ;

,
-
h e r e ign e d eight y e ars e ight months and e ight days

, , ,
and di e d in th e forty e ighth y e ar of his a ge l e aving e ight

-
sons and eight daughters He fought in e ight battles

.
TOM B OF A S HEI H K .
and on his d e ath eight million dinars and e ighty thousand

dirhems w e re discov er e d in his private tr e asury It is .
this singular coincidence which gave him the name

M u ta m m a .
But a sadd e r fatality exercised its influ e nc e ov e r th e

Caliph M u ta m m a for from him dat e s the b e ginning of
,
th e d e cad e nc e of his dynast y and to him its fir st cause

,
may be ascribed The fact is Mu ta si m w a s un edu cated
.
, ,
without ability and lacki ng i n moral principles ; he

,
was un able e v en to write Endowed with remarkable .
strength and muscles of iron he was able s o A r ab hi s , ,
t or i a n s relate t o lift and carry exceptionall y h e av y

,
weights ; to this strength was added indomitable cour age

and love of warfare fin e weapons hors e s and warriors
, , ,
.
This taste led h i m e v en before the death of hi s father

, ,
to organise a picked corps for which he selected th e ,
finest handsomest and strongest of the y o un g Turkish

, ,
slaves taken in war or sent a s tri bute t o the c aliph

,
.
The vast nation sometimes called Turks sometimes

, ,
Tat a rs was di stributed accor di ng t o all O riental geog

, ,
raph e rs over all the coun tries of Northern A sia from

, ,
th e river Jihun or O xus to K a th a y or China That th e .
T ur ks and the A r ab s both bent upon a persistent polic y

,
of conquest should come into more or less hostile contact

,
was ine vitable The struggle was a long one and dur ing
.
,
th e numerous engagem ents man prisoners were tak e n

y
on b oth sides Those Turks w h o fell in to the hands of
.
the Ar ab s were sent to the di fferent provinces of their

domain where th ey b ecame slaves of the chi ef emir s
,
and of the caliphs them se lves where finding favour in , ,
the eyes of the caliphs the y were soon transferred to ,
th e ir personal retinue The di strust whi ch the caliphs .
f elt for the emirs of their court whose clai ms the y were ,
only ab l e to appease b y m ak ing v assals of them caused ,
them to com mit th e grave error of c on fidi n g i n these alien

slaves who barbaric and illit erat e as they were n ow
, , ,
living in the m i dst of princes soon ac qu ired a knowl edge ,

T U LU N 35 3
of M uh am m ed an i sm , the sciences and abo v e all the

, , ,
politics of the co un try .
I t w a s n ot long before the y were able to fil l the most

re sponsibl e positions and giv en th eir fr e edom by the
, ,
caliphs were e mplo y ed b y th e govern ment acc ording

,
to th eir abilities N ot o n l y w ere they given the chief

.
positions at co ur t but the government of the principal

,
provinces was entrust e d t o th em The y r e paid th e se .
favo ur s later b y the black e st ingratitude especiall y ,
when the formation of a Turkish guard brought a number

of th e ir ow n countrymen un d e r th eir influence Ever .
anxious to au gm ent his ow n body guard and fin ding the -
num b er of Turks he annually re c eived as tribute i n su f

fic i e n t el M u ta s i m purchased a gr e at man y for the p ur
,
-
pos e of training th em for that particul ar s ervice But .
th e se youths spee di l y ab u sed the confid ence shown the m

by th e caliph who perceiving that their insolence was
, ,
daily growing more in supportabl e t o the inhabitants of

Ba ghdad resolved to l e ave the capital rebuild the a n
, ,
cient c it y of Samarrah and again make it the seat of

th e empire .
A t thi s time the captain of the caliph s guard was

’
one Tulun a fr e edman whom fate would seem to have

, ,
r e duc e d to s ervitud e for th e purpose of showing that

a slave mi ght found a dynasty destined to rul e over
Egypt and Syria Tulun belonged to the Togh u s ghur
.
-
on e of th e tw e nty four tribes composing the pop ul ation

-
of Turk e stan His fam i l y dwelt n e ar L ake L op in L ittle

.
,
Bukhara He was taken prison er in battle b y Nuh ibn

.
A ssad e s S am am i then in comm and at B u khara

-
,
Thi s .
35 4 THE MU H A MM ED A N P ER I O D
prince w h o was subj ect to the Caliph Mamun paid an
, ,
annual tribute of slav e s Turkish horses and oth er val , ,
u a bl e s In the y e ar 8 1 5 A D Tulun was among the slav e s

. . .
,
sent a s tribut e t o th e caliph w h o attract e d b y his b e ar , ,
ing enroll e d him in his own body guard

,
-
’
B efore long he had so gain e d th e caliph s confidence
that Mamun gav e h i m his fr e e dom and the com m and
of the guard at the same time appointing him Emir
,
es s i tr i prince of the veil or curtain

-
,
This post whi ch .
,
was a mark of the greatest esteem compris e d the charg e ,
of th e personal safety O f the sover e ign by continually ,
ke eping watch without the curtain or rich drap e ry whi ch

hung befor e th e private apartm e nts and adm i tting no ,
on e without a special ord e r Tulun sp ent tw e nty y e ars .
at the court of el Mamun and of hi s successor M u ta s im -
, ,
and became the father of sev eral chil dr e n on e of whi ch , ,
A hmed ibn Tulun known later as A b u l A bb a s was ,

1 ’
,
the fo u nder of the Tu l un i d e dynasty in Egypt and Syria .
Before A hmed ibn Tulu n had r e ache d an a ge to tak e

part in political affairs tw o cali phs succe e de d M u ta s i m ,
’
b I l l ah The first was hi s son Har un abu Jafar who
.
, ,
upon his accession ass um ed the surname el Wa th i k ,

-
b I ll a h ( tru sting in G o d )
’
Wa th i k carri e d on the tra .
A h m d i b n Tu l un w
1
cc o d ing t s om histo i n s b o n t B gh d d i n th
e a s, a r o e r a , r a a a e
y 220 of th H g i i n th thi d y
e ar e f th e i gn f l M t i m b I ll h
ra , e r ear o e re O e -
u as
’
a .
O t h s cl i m S m
er h his b i thpl c H i mo th
a a arr a y oung Tu k i s h sl v
as r a e . s er , a r a e,
w as n m d K im h a e s om y H h i h S om hi s to i n s h v d n i d
a ss e , or e sa , ac m e . e r a a e e e
th t A h m d w
a th s on f T u l un
e as f th S y ti i n
e m nu sc ipt b
O , on e o em , u u , a a r e
l ong i ng t M c l quo t s Ab u A k i n c on fi m t i on of t his ss ti on w h o

o ar e ,
e sa ar r a a er ,
p t nd s h w t o l d by
re e l d E gyp t i n th t A h m d w
e as th s on of Tu k
an O a a e as e a r
n m d M h d i d of K i m h th sl v of Tulun S y ti d d s th t Tul un
a e a an a ss e , e a e . u u a a
a do pt d th chil d on cc oun t of hi s goo d q u liti s b t this st t m n t is

e e a p a e , u a e e un s u
p o t d d s m s c on t d ic t d by sub s q u nt v n ts
r e an ee ra e e e e e .
THE K N I GD O M D I V ID ED 355
di ti on a l polic y of continuall y changing the governors

of the provinces and dying in the year 8 47 was s u c
, , ,
c ee d e d b y hi s half broth e r M u t a w a k k i l In the following

-
y ear the n e w caliph confid e d th e governm ent of Egypt

to A n b a s a but dismi ssed him a fe w months lat e r in
,
—
favour of hi s own s on el M u ntasir ibn el Mu ta w a kk i l -
f
whom two y ears afterwards the caliph nam e d as hi s s u c

c e ssor to the thron e E l Muntasir was to b e imm e diat e l y
.
-
succeeded by his tw o y o un ger brothers el Mu ta zz b I l ,

-
’
’
l a b and c l Mujib b I l l a h
-
Mu ta w a kk i l th en proceeded to divide his kingdom ,
giving A frica and all his Eastern possessions from the ,
frontier of Egypt to the eastern boundary of his states ,
to hi s eldest s on His second s on el Mu ta zz rec e ived

.
,
-
Khorassan Ta b a r i s ta n P ersia A rmenia and A d er b a i j a n

, , , ,
as hi s portion and to el Mujib his third s on he gave

,
-
, ,
D amascus H em es sa the b asin of the Jordan and P al

, , ,
e s ti n e .
These meas u res b y which the cal iph hoped to satisfy

,
the ambitions of his sons did not have the desired effect ,
.
D espite the imm ense concessions he had received el ,
Muntasir anxious to commence his rule over the whole

,
of the I slam empire secr e tly conspired against hi s father

,
and meditat e d taking his lif e Finding that in Egypt .
he was too far from th e scen e of his intrigues he d eput e d ,
the governm e nt of that country to Yazid ibn A b d A llah ,
and return e d to his fath er s court toencourage the mal ’
cont e nts and w e ave fr e sh plots His e vil sch emes soon .
b e gan to bear fruit for in th e year 244 of the Hegira

, , ,
hi s agents stirred u p the Turkish soldier y at D amasc u s

356 THE MU H A MME DA N P E R I O D
to ins urrection on the gro und of deferred payment .
Wh er eupon the caliph paid th em the arrears and left ,
D amascus to retire to Samarrah .
TH E MOS QU E O F IBN T ULU N C A IR O

,
.
length in the year 8 61 ( A H

At ,
Mu ta w a kk i l . .
discovered the scarcel y concealed treachery of hi s s on ,
and r eproved h i m publicl y Some days later th e caliph

.
was murd ered at night b y the captain of his Turkish

Guard and M u ntasir who is commonly supposed to hav e
, ,
TH E NE W N I L O ME TE R 35 7
instigated the crime was imme di ately proclaimed as hi s

,
successor in the government .
Th e most important ev e nt in Egypt d ur l n g the reign

of M u ta w a k k i l was the falling in of the Nilometer at
F ost a t Thi s di saster was the resul t of an earthqu ak e

.
of consid e rable violence whi ch was felt th r oughout

,
Syria The caliph ordered the reconstruction of the

.
Nilometer whi ch was accomplished the same y ear and

, ,
the Nilometer of the I sland of R h odh a w a s then called

Magaz el j e di d or the New Nilometer
-
, .
A fter r e igning scarcely a y ear Muntasir hi mself s u c ,
c u m b e d most probably t o poison and his cousin A hmed

, ,
was elected to the caliphate by the Turkish sol di ery with ,
the title of Mu stain D u ring hi s brief reign the Moslems

.
were defeated by the B y zantines at A w a si a and in 8 66 ,
the Turkish soldiers revolted against the caliph and

elected his brother Mu ta zz in his place Mu stain w a s .
,
however allowed to retir e to M a s zi t H e was perm i tted

,
’
.
to take an attendant with him and his choice fell upon ,
A h m w the s on of Tulun already mentioned

,
A hmed
, .
served the dethroned prince truly and had no part in ,
the subsequent murder of this unhapp y man .
In th e meantime the mother of A hmed had married

the i nflu e ntial G eneral Baik Be y and when the latter -
was given the rul ership of Egypt in the y ear 8 68 A D . .
( 2 54 A . he sent his stepson as proxy accor di ng to ,
the custom of the time O n the 23d Ramadhan 254 ( 1 5th

.
S eptemb er A h med ibn Tulun arrived at F ost a t

, .
He encountered great difficul ties and di scovered that a t ,
A lexandria and also in other di stricts there were inde

35 8 THE MU H A MME DAN P ERI O D
pendent emirs who were not directly under the rul er
, .
Soon after hi s arrival an insurrection broke out in Upper

Egypt A h m w showed hi ms elf born to the place ; he
.
crushed the uprisin g and also suppr e ssed a second revolt

that w a s thr eat e ni ng By degre es he cleverly u nder
.
mined the power of hi s colleagues and made hi s own ,
position in F ost a t secure .
When Mu a ffik was nomi nated com m ander i n chi ef of - -
the West b y hi s brother Mu s ta m i d ( elected cali ph in

A hmed managed to sec u re the good will of the vizier -
of the cali ph and thu s to Obtain the command in Egypt .
He kept the regent in Baghdad in a state of compla

c en c y
, occasionally sending h i m trib u te ; b u t as war s ,
w ith the Sinds b egan to tro u ble the cal iphate he di d n ot ,
think it worth whil e to trouble hi mself further abo u t

Baghdad and decided to keep hi s mone y for hi mself
,
.
M u a ffik was not the man to stand thi s and prepared ,
to attack A h med but the di sastrou s results of the last

,
war had not y et passed away When the arm y intended

.
for Eg ypt was camping in M h s op otam i a ther e was not ,
e nough mone y to pa y the troops and the u ndertaking

,
had to b e d ef e rred .
A hm ed had a free hand over the enormo u s produ ce

of Egypt The compulsory lab o ur of th e industrious
.
Kopt brought in a y early income of four million gold

dinars and y et these people felt them
s elv e s better off than formerly on account of the greater
order and peace that existed und e r his en ergetic gov
ern m en t It cannot b e denied that A hmed in the co urse
.
of years b ecame much more extravagant and l u x u rious ,

THE M OS QU E O F T U L U N 359
but he used hi s larg e m e ans in some me asure for the

bett er ment of th e coun try H e gav e large sums n ot on l y
.
for the erection of palac e s and barracks but also for h os,
i t a l s and educational advanc ement T o this da y is to

p .
S AN C T U A RY OF T HE MOS QU E OF IBN T ULU N .
be seen the mosque of Ibn Tulu n b ui lt by hi m in the

,
n e w er part of F ost a t a di strict which was later a n

—
,
n e xe d t o the town of Cairo .
The numerous wars in which Mu a ffik was involved

gave Ah m e d the Opportunity of extending hi s pow e r
3 60 THE MU H A MME DA N P ER I O D
b e yond the boundarie s of Egypt Th e rul er of th e c a .
l i p h a t e of D amascus di e d in the year 8 9 7 and soon aft er ,
A h m ed march e d into Syria and with th e exc eption of

, ,
A n tioch which had to b e tak e n by force th e whol e co un

, ,
try f ell into th e hands of the mighty emir Th e c om .
manders of isolated di stri c ts di d not f e el th ems elv e s

e n c ourag e d t o Offe r any r e sistanc e for they had n o fe e l
,
ing of faithfulness for th e gov ernm ent nor had they ,
any hop e of assistanc e from Baghdad .
Th e triumphant march of Tulun was hind e red i n th e

y e ar 8 79 by bad news from F ost a t O n e of his sons .
,
E l A bbas had quarrell e d with his father and had

-
, ,
marched to Barca with troops whi ch h e led aft erwards

,
t o di saster and had tak e n with hi m money to th e amount

,
of di n ars H e thought hi mse lf

saf e from hi s enraged fath e r the re but th e latter qui c kly
,
r e turned to F ost a t and th e n e ws of the ample prepara

,
tions which h e was hast eni ng for th e subj e ction of his

—
r eb e l s on caused E l A bbas to plac e him s elf still farther
ou t of his reach He sudd enl y atta c ked the state of
.
Ibrahim I I ( th e A ghl abite ) and caus e d s erious troubl e

.
,
with his sol di ery in the east ern districts of Tripolis .
The neighb ouring B e rbers gav e Ibrahi m th e ir assistance

and A bbas was de feated and r e treat e d to Barca in 8 8 0 .
H e remained th e r e some t i me until an army s ent by

A h m w annih ilated h i s troops and he himself was tak e n
prison er .
The r eb ellion of his s on was th e turni ng point in -
A h rn e d s car e er : L ulu his g en e ral in Mesopotamia d e

’
, ,
s e r te d him for M u a ffik and an endeavour to c onqu er

,
D E A TH O F T U L U N 361
M e cca was frustrated by th e un e xpected resistance of

numbers of newly arrive d pilgrims Ah m m n ow caus e d .
th e r e port t o b e spr e ad that M u a ffik was a c onspirator

against th e r epr e s entativ e s of th e Proph e t thus d ep r i v ,
ing him of his dignity Th e emir had also b e si e ged in

.
vain at Tarsus hi s form er g eneral Jasman w h d had ,
become presumptuous on account of hi s victory over th e

B y zantines He wo uld eventually hav e mad e up for this
.
TH E MOS QU E OF IB N T ULU N .
defeat bu t an illness ov ercam e him while encamped

,
’
b efor e Tarsus He obey e d his doctor s orders as littl e
.
as the caliph s and his malady aggravated b y improp e r

’
, ,
diet caus e d his death in his fifty fir st ye ar at F ost a t

,
-
in 8 8 4 whither he had withdrawn H e l eft sevent e en

,
.
—
sons enough to assure a dynasty of a hundred y e ars
, .
K h u m a r a w a i h w h o inh erit e d th e kingdom had not

, ,
many of his father s characteristics He was a good

’
.
362 THE MU HA M M E DA N P ER I O D
natur ed pleas ure loving y o ung man barely twenty y ears
,
-
old and with a marked di stast e for war He di d how

, .
,
ever notwithstan di ng hi s peace loving procl ivities fight

,
-
the caliph s forces near D amascu s and defeat them

’
, ,
never having seen a battle before The e m ir fled from .
the scene in a panic .
Wh en M u a ta di d became caliph in 8 92 he offered hi s ,
daughter Katr en Neda ( D ewdrop ) in marriage t o the

-
’
caliph s s on The A rabic historians relate that Khuma
.
r a w a i h was fearful of assass i nation and had hi s couch ,
guarded by a trained lion but he was final l y p u t to death ,
( A
. H . accor di ng t o some acco un ts b y women and ,
accor di ng to others b y hi s e un uchs The death of K h u .
m ar a w ai h was the virtual downfall of the Tul u ni d

“
dynas ty .
The o fficers of the army then at first made G a i sh

—
A bu l A sakir ( one of K h um a r a w a i h s sons ) emir ; but
’ ’
,
when this fo ur teen y ear old boy seemed incapable of - -
anythi n g but stupid j okes they put hi s brother Haru n ,
on the t h r one Every com m andi ng officer how e ver di d

.
, ,
as he liked Rajib the comm ander of the army of de

.
,
fence declared himself on the side of the cal iph and

, ,
the Syrian em i rs gav e themselves up to his general ,
M uh ammed ibn S ul eiman without any r e sistance A t , .
the close of the y ear he was before F ost a t and at the ,
same time a fl e et appeared at D amietta A quarr el arose .
—
amongst H a r un s body gu ard in which the unlucky
’
,
prince was kill e d H i s un cle S h a i b a n a worthy ,
s on of Ah m w made a last stand but was obliged to gi v e

, ,
in to the superior force .

THE I K S H I D I TE DYN A S TY 3 63
M uh am m ed behav ed with hi s T urks in the most ou t

rageous wa y in F ost a t : the plun dering was unrestrained ,
and that part of F ost a t which A hmed had b ui lt w as

almost entirely destro y ed The a dh erents of the reign .
ing fami ly were grossly maltreated many of them kill ed , ,
and others sent to Baghdad The governors changed in .
rapid succession ; disorder want and wretchedn ess ex , ,
i s te d th r oughout the entir e country west of the caliph s

’
kingdom A t this period the pro v inces of the empire

.
had already fallen into the hands of the numerous minor

princes w h o pres um i ng on the caliph s weakness had
, ,
’
,
declared themselves independent sovereigns Nothi ng .
remained to the A bbasids but Baghdad a few neigh ,
b ou r i n g provinces and Egy pt ,

.
Unde r the Caliphs Mu k ta di r Kahi r and R a h di , , ,
Egypt had an almost constant change of go v ernors O n e .
of them A bu Bekr Muham med ultimat ely b e came the

, ,
— —
founder of a new dynasty the I k sh i di t e destined to , ,
rule over Egypt and Syria A bu Bekr Muhammed was .
the son of Ta k a dj then governor of D amascus His

,
.
father had been chi ef emir at the court of the Tu l un i d

princes and after the fall of this d ynast y r emained in
, , ,
Egypt where he occupied a post under the government

,
.
Intrigu e s however dro v e him to Syria whither h i s

, , ,
partisans followed him He first entered the army of .
the caliph and captu ring th e town of Raml eh was given

, , ,
the governorshi p of D amascus as r e ward His son A b u .
Bekr Muhammed did not go to Egypt to fulfil the du ties

with whi ch he had been invested and onl y retained the ,
title for on e month He was su bsequently reinstated and

.
,
364 THE MU HA MM E DA N P ER I O D
thi s tM e repaired thither But Ah med ibn K i gh l a gh
.
,
who was then governing Egypt refused to retire and was ,
o nl y def e ated after s everal engag ements when he and ,
his followers proceeded t o Barca in A frica .
I n the y ear 328 of the Hegira the caliph Ra dhi b e ,
stowed the hono u r of Emir el Umara ( Princ e of Princes )

-
upon M u hammed ibn Raik Thi s o fficer di scontented

.
,
with the government of P al e stine led an army into Syria ,
and expelled Badra th e lieutenant of M uha mm e d el

,
I k shi d . The latter l eft Eg ypt at once entru sti ng th e ,
governm ent of that country to hi s brother el Hassan ,

-
and brought hi s forces to F a r a m ah wh ere the troops of ,
Muhamm ed ibn Raik were already stationed Thanks .
t o the me di ation of several e m i rs matters were c on ,
cluded peacefully and M uh am m e d el I kh shi d retur ne d

,
-
to F ost a t Upon hi s arrival however he learnt that

.
, ,
Muham med ibn Raik had again left D amascu s an d was

preparing to march upon Eg ypt .
This int ell igence obliged Muhamm ed el I kshi d to -
retur n at onc e to S yria He encount er e d the advance

.
guard of the enem y and promptl y led the attack ; his

right wing was scattered but the centre comm anded b y
, ,
hi mself remained fir m
,
and Muhammed ibn Raik r e
,
.
—
treat e d towards D amascu s Husain brother of el I k sh i d , ,
lost hi s life in the combat D espite the enm i ty betw e en

.
them Muhammed ibn Raik sent his ow n son to el I k sh i d

,
-
charged with messages of condol ence for the loss h e had

sustained and bearing proposals of peace Muhammed el .
I k sh i d received the s on of his enemy with much respect ,
and invested h i m with a mantle of honour He then .

DA MA SC U S C A P T U RE D 3 65
consented to cede D amascus in consideration of an a n ,
nu al tribute of pieces of gold and th e restoration ,
of all that portion of P alestine between Raml e h and the
frontiers of Egypt A fter having concluded all the ar

.
rang ements relative to thi s tre aty M u hamm ed el I k sh i d ,

-
re turned to Egypt in the year 329 of th e Hegira .
The C aliph R a h di di e d in th e sam e year ( 940 A .
He was thi rty y ears of a ge and had reigned s i x years , ,
t e n months and ten da y s

,
His brother A bu I shak
.
,
Ibrahim succeeded him and

, ,
w a s henceforth known by th e
name of Mu tta k i A year later
.
Muhammed el I k shi d was a c

-
knowledged P rince of Eg ypt

C O IN OF A B U BE R K .
by the n e w caliph Shortly .
after he learnt that his form e r enemy Muhamm e d ibn

, ,
Raik had been killed by th e H a m d a n i tes ; h e there upon

s eiz e d the Opportunit y to recov er thos e provinc e s he had
grant e d him and marchi ng into Syria captur ed D amas
, , ,
cus and all the possessions he had relinquishe d upon th e

conclusion of th e ir treaty F eeling n ow that his position
.
was s e cure he cau sed h i s son Kasim to be recognis e d

,
by th e emirs and th e entire army a s his succ e ssor .
Th e year 332 of th e Hegira was a di sastrous on e in

Baghdad The o ffice of Princ e of P rinces b estowed
.
,
accordin g to the caprice of the Turkish o fficers upon

an y of their leaders was n ow become a position superior
,
even t o that of caliph I t was held at thi s time by a

.
Turk named Turu n w h o s o oppressed the caliph Mu tta k i

,
that the latter w a s forced to fl y from his capital and

3 66 THE MU H A MME DA N P ER I O D
r etire to Mos ul He then besought help from the Ham
.
danites who im m e di ately rallied th eir forces and ac

, ,
companied by the caliph marched upon Baghdad Th e y , .
were however completel y routed by T u run and obliged

, ,
t o r e treat M u tta k i showed his gratitude to the two

.
princes b y conferring a mantle of honour upon them ,
which for som e time past had been the onl y gift that
, ,
I slam sovereigns had been able to bestow .
L eaving Mosul the caliph proceeded to Rakkah and

, ,
there was invited by Turun to return to Baghdad See .
ing that his adherents the H a m d a n i tes were greatly , ,
di scourag e d b y their recent reverses M u tta k i resolved ,
t o accept the offe r When Muhamm ed el I k shi d heard

.
-
this he hastened to Rakkah and offered the caliph refuge

,
in Egypt But the caliph refused agreeing however

‘
.
, , ,
as Muham m ed el I k shi d promised to supply him with

-
the necessary fun ds not to re turn t o Baghdad and place

“
himself in the power of Turun In spite of his prom i se .

,
when Turun feari ng that the caliph had found powerful

,
f
fri e nds came to him and ca sti n g h i m s el f b efore M u tta k i

, , , ,
paid him all th e homage due to an I slam sovereign he ,
allowed himself to b e overruled and accompanied Turun ,
back to Baghdad Hardly had the unfortunate caliph

.
s e t foot in his capital when he was murder e d after r e ign ,
ing four y ears and eleven months Turun now p r o .
claim ed A b d A llah A bu l Kasim son of M u tta k i caliph

’
, , ,
w h o after a short and uneventful reign was s u cceeded

, ,
by hi s uncle A bu l Kasim el F adh l who was the last of

,
’ -
the A bbasid caliphs whom Egypt acknowledged as s u ze

r al n s .
B A TT L E O F MA A R R A H 367
A fter M u tta ki ’
return to Baghdad M uhammed el
s
,
I k s h i d remained for som e tim e in D amascus and then ,
s e t ou t for Egypt His return was signalised b y the war

.
with Saif e d D owlah P rinc e of Hamdan The campaign

-
, .
w a s of varying success A fter a di sastrous battle in

.
,
which the Egyptians lost four thousand men as prisoners ,
M uh amm ed el I k shi d l e ft Egypt with a num erous army

-
and arrived at Maarrah Saif e d D owlah determ i ned to .

-
decide the war with on e d e sp e rate effort and fir st s e ,
c u r e d the safety of hi s treasure hi s baggage and his h a , ,
rem b y sending them to Mesopotamia Th en he marched .
u pon el I k s h i d who had taken his position at K in e s r i n

-
,
.
Muhamm ed divided h i s forces into two corps plac ,
ing in the vanguard all thos e who carried lances ; he

hi mself was in the rear with ten thousand picked men .
Saif e d D owlah charged the v anguard and routed it but

-
the rear stood fir m ; this resistance saved el I k shi d from -
total d e feat The tw o armies separated after a some

.
what indecisive engagement and Saif e d D owlah who ,

-
could claim no advantage save the capture of hi s a dv er

saries baggag e went on to M a u b ej wh er e he destroy e d
’
, ,
the bridge and e nt e ring Mesopotamia proceed e d

, , ,
towards Rakkah ; but Muhamm e d el I k sh i d was already -
stationed th e re and th e hostil e armie s s e parated onl y

, ,
by the Euphrates faced on e anoth e r for several days

,
.
Negotiations were then op ene d and peac e was con ,
cluded The conditions w er e that H em e s s a A leppo

.
, ,
and Mesopotamia should belong to Saif e d D owlah and -
all th e country from H em es s a to the fronti e rs of E gypt

remain in the possession of Muhammed el I k shi d A -
.
3 68 THE MU H A MM ED A N P ERI O D
trench was dug between D j ou ch n a and L eb ou a h in thos e ,
places where there were n o natur al boundaries to mark ,
the separation of the tw o states To ratify thi s solemn .
—
peace Saif e d D owlah married the daughter of M uh a m
,
m e d el I k shi d ;
-
then each prince retur ned t o hi s ow n
province T he treat y was however almost i m m ediatel y
.
, ,
s e t aside b y the H a m d a n i t es and el I k shi d forced to ,

-
retrace h i s steps defeated them in several engagement s

,
and se i zed the town of A leppo .
Thu s we s e e that the y ear 334 of the Hegira ( A D 9 46) . .
was full of important events to whi ch was soon adde d ,
the death of Muh amm ed el I k shi d He di ed at D amas -
,
—
cus in the last month of the year ( D hu l Kada ) aged ’
,
sixty and had reigned elev en years three months and

, , ,
two day s He was buri e d at Jerusalem Muh amm ed

. .
el I k s hi d was a man possessing man y excellent tal ents

-
and chi e fly renowned as an a dm i rable soldier Brave .

,
without being rash qui ck to calcul ate h i s chances he

, ,
was able always t o seize the advantage O n the other .
'
hand how e ver he was so di str ué tfu l and timid in the
, ,
privacy of hi s palac e that he organised a guard of eight

thousand armed slav e s on e thousand of whom kept c on
,
stant watch He never sp ent the entire night in the

.
same apartment or tent and n o on e was ever perm i tted

,
to know the place where he slept .
We a r e told that this prince co ul d muster fo u r h un

dred thousand men ; although historians do not definitely
specify the b o undaries of hi s empire whi ch of course , , ,
varied from time to ti rn e we may nevertheless b eli ev e

,
that hi s kingdom as that of h i s predecessors the Tulun

, ,
H IDD EN TREA S U R ES 36 9
ites extended o v er Egypt P alestin e S yria and Meso

, , , ,
potamia as far as th e Euphrates and even included a

, ,
larg e portion of A r abia The Chri stians of the East .
charg e him with supporting h i s im m ense army at their

exp ense and persecuting and taxing them to such an
,
ext e nt that th e y w e re forced to sell many po ssessions

b elonging to their Chur ch before the y coul d pay the
r e quired sums .
But if we ma y cre di t a contemporary hi storian mor e

,
worthy of b eli e f these expenses were covered b y the

,
tr e asure Muham m ed el I k sh i d himself di scovered In -
fact el M a ssu di w h o died at Cairo in the y ear 346 of

,
-
the Hegira relates that el I k sh i d knowing mu ch treas

,
-
u r e t o b e buried there was greatly interested in the

,
e xcavation of the subterraneous tomb s of the ancient

”
Egyptian kings The prince he adds was for tu , ,
nate enough to come across a portion of those tombs ,
consisting of vast rooms magnificentl y decorated There .
he found marvellously wrought figur e s of Old and y oung

men women and children having e y es of preciou s stones
, , ,
”
and faces of gold and silver .
Muhamm e d el I k sh i d was su c ceeded b y hi s s on A bu l

-
,
’
Kasim Muhamm e d surnamed Ungu r The prince b eing

, .
only an infant Kafur the favouri te minister of the late

, ,
caliph was appoint e d r e gent This Kafur was a black

,
.
slave purchas e d by el I k sh i d for the trifling s um of

-
twenty pieces of gold H e was int elligent zealou s and

.
, ,
faithful and soon w on the confidence of his master

,
.
Nobility of ra c e in the East app ertains onl y to the de

s c en d a n t s of the P roph e t but merit whi ch ma y b e found
, ,
370 THE MU HA MME DA N P ERI O D
in prince and s u bj e ct ali k e Often s e cures the hi ghest
,
positions and even th e th r one itself for those of the

,
humblest origin Such was th e fat e of Kafur H e

. .
showed taste for th e sciences and e ncourag e d scholars ; ,
h e loaded the poets with bene fits and they sang h i s ,
praises without m e asure so long as h e continu e d hi s

favours but satiris e d hi m with equal vigo ur as soon as
,
hi s m un i fic e n c e diminish e d Invest e d with suprem e a u

.
th or i ty Kafur served th e young prince with a devotion

,
and fidelity worthy Of the hi ghest praise His first step .
was to dismiss A b u B e kr Muham m e d the receiv e r of ,
the Egyptian tributes against whom he had r e ceiv e d

,
well m e rit e d complaints In his place he appointed a

-
nativ e of Mardin also called Muham m ed of whose hon

, ,
esty a n d kindliness he w a s well aware He then took his .
pup il to Egypt which country they reached in the month

,
of Safar in th e year 335 of the Hegira .
Saif e d D owlah hearing of the death of Muhammed

-
el I k s h i d
-
and th e d eparture of Ungu r deemed thi s a

, ,
favourabl e opportunity to despoil his brother i n law ; — -
h e ther e for e march e d upon D amascus which he cap ,
tu r e d ; but th e faithful Kafur promptl y arrived upon

th e sc e ne with a pow e rful army and routing Saif e d , ,
D owlah w h o had advanced as far as Raml eh drove him

, ,
back to Rakkah and relieved D amascus Th e r emai nd e r

,
.
of the reign of U ngur passed p e ac e fully thanks to the ,
watchfulness and wis e government of Kafur .
In the year 345 of the Hegira the King of Nubia ,
invaded th e Egyptian t erritories advancing to S y é n é , ,
which he pillaged and laid waste Kafur at once des .

D E F E A T O F THE N UBI A NS 37 1
patched hi s forc e s overland and along th e Nil e a n d ,
s i multaneously ordere d a detachment embarking from

the Red Sea to proce e d along th e south ern coast attack ,
the enemy in th e re ar and compl etely cut off th eir retreat .
The Nu bi a n s thus s ur prised on all sid e s w e re de f e ated

, ,
and forced to retreat leaving the fortr e ss of Rym n ow

, ,
known as Ibri m and s i tuated fifty mil e s from S y en e

,
MOS QU E TOM B NE A R S ENE

Y .
in the hands of the Egyptians No oth er events of note

.
too k place duri n g the l if eti me of Ungu r who having , ,
reigned fourteen y ears and ten da y s di e d in the year ,
349 of th e He gira l e a ving his brother Al i s ur n am e d

, ,
’
A bu l Hasan as hi s s u ccessor
-
,
.
—
The reign of A bu l Hasan Al i the second son of
’
,
Muhammed el I k sh i d lasted but fiv e years H i s nam e

-
,
.
,
as that of h i s brother Ungur ( A bu Hurr ) is but little ,

37 2 THE MU H A MM EDAN P ER I O D
known in hi story Kafur was also regent dur ing the .
’
r eign of A bu l Hasan A l i -
In th e y e ar 352 of the Hegira Egypt was stricken ,
with a di sastrous famin e The ris e of the Nile whi ch .

,
th e previous year had b e en but fift e e n cubits was thi s ,
y e ar even l e ss and sudd enl y the wat ers fell without

,
irrigating the coun try Egypt and the d ep endent prov .
i n c e s were thus a ffl ict e d for ni ne cons e cutive years D ur .
ing thi s tim e whi lst the people were agitat e d by f e ar

,
for the fu ture a ruptur e took place between A bu l Hasan

,
— ’
A l i and Kafur Thi s in ternal disturbance was soon fol

.
lowed by war ; and in the year 354 the Greeks of Con

s ta n ti n O p l e led by the Emperor Ni c ep h er ou s P hocas
, ,
advanced into Syria The y took Al eppo then in the .

,
possession of the H a m d a n i tes and encount e ring Saif , ,
—
e d D owlah overthrew h i m also The governor of D a
, .
m a s c u s D alim e l U k a zl y
,
and ten thousand men came
-
to th e r e scue of th e H a m d a n i te s but Phocas beat a r e ,
treat on h e aring of h i s approach .
'
A bu l Hasan A l i died in th e y e a r 355 of the Hegira

’ r
-
The regent Kafur then ascended the thron e assuming ,
the surname el I k sh i d He a c knowledged th e paramo un t

-
authority of the A bbasid caliph Muti and that poten , ,
tate recognised his suprem e pow er in th e kingdom of

Egypt D uring the r eign of Kafur whi ch only lasted
.
,
tw o y e ars and four months the great e r portion of Said ,
was seized by th e F atimit e s already mast e rs of F ayum ,
and Al exandria and the conqu erors were on the point

,
of encroaching still farther wh e n Kafur di e d in the y e ar ,
A hmed surnamed A bu l F awaris the son of

’
357 A H
. .
, ,
AD VE N T O F THE F A T I MI TES 37 3
’ —
A b u l Hasan Al i and conse quentl y grandson of Mu
,
hamm ed el I k shi d succe e ded Kafur

-
, .
The prince w a s onl y elev e n years ol d , and therefore

in c apable of properly controlling Egypt S yria and hi s , ,
other domains Husain on e of his r el atives i n v a ded

.
, ,
o
Syria but in hi s turn driven back b y the K a r m a tes

, ,
r e tur ned to Egypt and strove to depose A hmed These .
divisions in the reigning family sev e red th e ties which

united the provinces of the Egyptian kingdom To ter .
mi nate the di sturbances the emirs resolved to seek the

,
protection of the F atimites The latt e r anxious to s e cu re

.
,
the long coveted priz e gladly rendered assistance and

-
, ,
Husain was forced to return t o Syria where he too k ,
possession of D amascus and the unfortunate Ah m ed lost

,
the throne of Egypt .
With him perished the I k sh i d dyn ast y which more , ,
ephemeral e v en than that of the Tu l u n i d flourished onl y ,
thirty fo ur y ears and twenty fo ur days

- -
The period upon whi ch thi s h i story is n ow abo u t to

ent e r i s of more than usual interest for it leads i m m e di ,
atel y to the centuries during which the A rabic forces

came into contact with the forces of Western Europe .
The town and the coast of Mauritania wer e then ruled

by the F atimites a d ynasty inde pendent of the A bbasid
,
caliphs of Baghdad Th e F atimites belonged to the

.
tribes of K or a m a h w h o dwelt in t h e mountains situated

,
near the town of F e z in the extreme west of A frica .
In the y ear 269 of the Hegira they b egan to ext e nd their

,
swa y in the w e stern re gions of A frica p ur suing their ,
conquests farther east The F atimite caliph O b a i d A llah

.
3 74 THE MU H A MME DA N P ERI O D
an d his son A bu l Kasim cherished designs not only upon
’
Egypt but even aim e d at th e destruction of the A bbasid

,
caliphate th e se plans b e ing so far su c cessful as to l e ave

,
th e F ati mites in secure possession of A lexandr ia and ,
more or less in power in F ayum .
The F atimite caliphs had lofty and pretentio u s claims

to the all e giance of the Mosl em world Th e y traced th e ir .
descent from F atima a daught e r of th e Prophe t whom

, ,
Muhamm e d hims elf regard e d as on e of th e fo u r p erfe ct

women A t the age of fifte en sh e marrie d Al i of whom
.
,
she was th e onl y wife and the partisans of A l i as we

, ,
have se e n disput e d with Omar the right t o the l e ade r

,
ship of I slam upon the P rophet s death Critics a r e not ’

.
wanting w h o di spute the family origin Of O b a i d Al lah ,
but hi s claim app e ars to have been unh esitatingly a d

m i tte d by his ow n im m ediate followers Th e F atimite .
successes in th e M e dit e rranean gave them a sub stantial

basis of political power and doubtless this outward and
,
mat e rial success was more important to th em than th eir

claim to both a physical and mythi cal d e scent from the
fo un de r of th eir r eligion .
Some acco u nts trace the descent of O ba i d from A b d

A llah ibn Maimun e l Kaddah the founder of the I smail
-
ian sect of which the Ca r m a th i a n s wer e a branch Th e

,
.
I smailians may b e b e st r e garde d as on e of the several

sects of Shiites who originally wer e simply th e parti
,
sans O f A l i against O mar but by d e gre e s they became

,
identified as th e uphold ers of th e Koran against the

v alidity of the oral tra di tion and wh en lat er the whole
, , ,
of P ersia e spoused th e cause of Al i the Shiit e belief ,

THE I S MA ILIA N S A ND THE I MA N S 37 5
became tinged with all kinds of mysticism The I smail .
ians believed for instan c e in the comi ng of a Messiah

, , ,
to whom the y gave the name Mahdi and w h o wo ul d on e ,
da y appear on earth t o e stablish the r eI gn of j ustice ,

and revenge the wrongs done to the family of Al i The .
I smailians regarded O b a i d hi m % l f as the Mahdi and ,
the y also believed in incarn ations of th e u niversal

”
soul which in former ages had appeared as the H e
,
brew P rophets but which to the Muham m e dan mani

,
fe s te d itself as im ans The iman is properly the leade r

.
of public worship b u t it is not s o much an office as a

,
seership with my stical attributes Th e Muham m edan .
imans s o far have num bered e lev en the twelfth and , ,
greatest ( E l Mahdi ) b e ing y e t to come The I smailians

-
, .
also introduced mysticism into the interpr e tation of the

Koran and even taught that i ts moral precepts were
,
n ot to be taken in a literal sense Thus the F ati m i te .
caliphs founded their authority upon a combination of

political power and su perstition .
A bu l Kasim w h o ruled at A lexandria was suc

’
, ,
c e e d e d in 9 45 by h i s s on E l Mans ur Under h i s reign

,
-
th e F atimites were attack e d by A b u Y azid a Berber , ,
who gathered around him the Sunnites and the re vo ,
l u ti on a r i es succeeded in taking the F atim i te capital

Kairwan E l Mansur however soon defe ated A b u Y azid
.
-
, ,
'
in a decisive battle and r ebu i l t a new city Mansur ia , ,
on th e site of the modern Cairo to commemorate the ,
event D ying i n 953 he was succeeded bv M u i z a d D in

.
,
-
Mui z came to the throne just at the time when di ssen

sions as to the su ccession were undermining the I k sh i d
37 6 THE MU H A MME DA N P ERI O D
dynast y Seiz i ng the opportun ity in the y ear 969 M ui z
.
,
equipped a larg e and well arm e d for c e with a for n n d a bl e

-
body of cavalry the whol e unde r th e command of A bu l

,
’
Husain Gohar el Kaid a native of Gree c e and a slave

-
o f hi s father E l Mansur -
This general on h i s arrival

.
,
n ear Al e xandria received a d e putation from th e i n h a b

,
i ta n ts of F ost a t charged to negotiate a treat y Th e ir .
o vertures were favo ur ably entertain e d and th e conqu e st ,
o f the co un tr y seemed probable without bloodsh e d But .
whi le the conditions were b eing ratified the I k shi di te s ,
prevail ed on the people to revoke their offer and the ,
ambassadors on their return were themselves compell e d

, ,
to seek saf e t y in flight .
Gohar el Kaid in curred no delay in p u shi ng his troops

-
forward He forced the passage O f the Nile a fe w m i l e s

.
—
south of E l Gi zeh at the head of his troops and th e ,
I k shi di tes suffere d a di sastrous de feat T o the honour .
of th e A frican general it is r elated that the inh abitants

,
of F ost a t w ere pardoned and th e cit y was peaceably
occupi e d The submission of the rest of Eg ypt to M u i z

.
w a s secured by this victory In the ye ar 359 A H Syria

. . .
was also add e d to his d om a l n s but shortly after was ,
ov errun by th e Ca r m a th i a n s The troops of Mui z met .
with several revers e s D amascus was taken and thos e

, ,
lawless fre ebooters j oined by th e I k sh i di te s advanc e d

, ,
to Ai n Shems In the meanwhil e Gohar had fortifie d

.
,
Cairo ( th e new capital which h e had founde d i m m e di

ately north of F ost a t ) and taken every precaution to
r ep el the invaders ; a bloody battle was fought in the
year 361 b efore th e city walls without any decisiv e r e ,
THE U N I VERS I T Y O F C A I RO 3 77
s ul t L ater howev e r Gohar obtained a victory ov e r the

.
, ,
e nem y which proved to b e a d e cisiv e one .
M ui z subsequently removed hi s co ur t to hi s n e w
kingdom In Rama dh an 362 he entered Cairo bringing
.
, ,
with h i m the bodies of his three pre decessors and vast

tre as ur e M u i z reigned about two y e ars in Egy pt d y I n g
.
,
in th e y e ar 365 A H H e is d e scribed a s a warlik e and

. .
ambitious prince but notwithstan di ng he was especially

, , ,
distingui shed for justice and was fond of learni ng H e .
showed great favour to th e Christians especiall y to ,
,
—
S e verus Bishop of E l A sh m unein and the patriarch ,
Ephrem ; and un der h i s orders and w i th h i s assistance ,

'
,
’
the church of the Mu allakah in O ld Misr was rebui lt , ,
.
H e executed many us e ful works ( among oth e rs r e nder

ing navigabl e the Tanitic branch of the Nile whi ch is ,
still call e d the canal of Mui z) and occupied hi mself in ,
e mbellishin g Cairo Gohar when he fo u nded that cit y

.
, ,
b ui lt the great mosque nam e d E l A zhar the u ni versity -
of Egypt whi ch to this day is crowded with students

,
from all parts of the Moslem world .
—
A ziz A b u Mansur Nizar on coming to the throne of ,
his father immediat ely despatched an expe dition against

,
th e Turkish chief E l E ft ek e en who had taken D amascus

-
a short time pre viousl y Gohar again com m anded th e .
ar my and pressed th e sieg e of that city s o vigorously

,
that the enemy called to their aid the Ca r m a thi a n s .
Before this united army he w a s forced to retire slowly

to A scalon where he prepared to stand a siege ; but
, ,
being reduced to gr e at straits he purchased his liberty ,
with a large s um of mone y O n hi s retu rn from this .

37 8 THE MU HA MM EDAN P ERI O D
di sastro u s campaign A ziz took command in person and
, , ,
meeting the enemy at Ramleh w a s victorious after a ,
—
bloody battle ; while E l E ftek e en being b etray e d in to ,
his hands w a s with A r ab magnani mi ty receiv e d with

,
hono ur and confidence and end e d hi s days i n Egypt in ,
a ffl uence A ziz follow e d hi s father s example of li b

.
’
e r a l i ty . It is even said that he appointed a Jew his

vizier in S yria and a C h r istian to the same post i n Eg ypt
,
.
These acts however nearly cost him hi s li fe and a pop

, , ,
ul ar t um ult oblig e d h i m to disgrace both these o fficers .
A fter a reign of twent y on e y ears of great internal pros -
p e r i t y, he di ed ( A H 38 6) in a .bath at
. Bil b eis whi l e ,
preparing an expe di tion against the Greeks who were

ravaging hi s possessions in S yria A ziz was distin .
g u i s h e d for moderation and m i l dness but hi s s on and ,
successor rendered himself notorious for very opposite

qualities .
Haki m A bu A l i Mansur com m enced hi s reign a c ,
cordi n g to Mosl em hi storians with much wisdom but , ,
afterwards acquired a reputation for i mpiet y cru elt y , ,
and unr easo ni ng extravagance b y whi ch he has be en ,
rendered odious t o post erity He is said to hav e had .
at the same time co urage and bol dn ess cowar d ic e ,
and timorousness a love for learning and v in di ctiven e ss

,
towards the learn ed an incl in ation to right e ousness and

,
”
a di sposition to sla y the righteous He also arro .
gated to hi mself di vinity and commanded hi s subj e cts ,
to rise at the mention of his name in the congregational

prayers an e di ct whi ch w a s obeyed even in the holy
,
cities Mecca and Me di na He is most famous in c on

,
.
TH E C A LIP H HA K I M 37 9
n e c ti on with the D r u ses ,

a s e ct whi ch he fo un ded and
which still holds h i m in ven eration and bel ieves i n h i s
futur e return to the e arth He had made hi mself ob
.
noxious to all classes of his subj ects wh en in th e year ,
39 7 .A H
.
he
,
nearly lost hi s throne b y foreign i n vasion .
MO S QU E OF H A M KI .
Hisham surnamed A bu R ek w eh a descendant of the

,
-
,
'
house Of Omm aya I n Spain t ook th e province of Barca

,
with a considerable force and subdued U pp r gypt

e E .
Th e caliph aware of his danger immediatel y collected

, ,
his troops from ev ery quarter of the kingdom and ,
marched against the invaders whom after sev ere fighting

, , ,
38 0 THE MU HA MME DA N P ERI O D
he defeated and put to fli ght Hisham hi mse l f was .
taken prisoner paraded in Cairo with e very aggravation

,
of cruelty and put to death Hakim having thus by

,
.
vigorous me asur e s avert e d this danger Egypt continued ,
to groan under h i s tyranny until the year 41 1 A H when . .

,
h e fell by domestic treachery His sister Sitt el

.
Mulk had in com m on with the r e st of h i s subj ects

, ,
incurred his displeasure ; and being f e arful for her life

, ,
s h e secr e tly and by night conc e rted m e asures with the
—
emir Saif e d D owlah chief of the guard who very read
, ,
ily agreed to h er plans Ten slaves brib e d by fiv e hun

.
,
dred dinars each having received their i n s tr u c

tions went forth on the appointed day to the desert tract
,
southward of Cairo where Hakim unattended was in

, , ,
the habit of riding and waylaid him near the village

,
of Helwan where the y put him to death

, .
Within a w e ek Haki m s s on A l i had been raised t o

’
the caliphate with th e title of D hahir at th e command ,
of Sitt el Mulk A s D hah i r w a s onl y eight e e n years

-
Old and in n o way educat e d for the governm e nt Sitt

, ,
el Mulk took the r e ins of gov e rn m e nt

-
and was soon ,
’
look e d upon as the instigator of Hakim s de ath This .
suspicion w a s str e ngthen e d by th e fact that his sist e r

—
had the heir to th e thron e who was at that ti me gov
e r n or of Al eppo —murd ered and also the ch i ef who had
,
conspired with her in assassinating Hakim She sur .
v i v e d her broth e r for about four y ears but the actual ,
rul e r was the Vizier A l i el Ja r j a r -

.
D h a h i r s r e ign Offe rs many points of interest

’
P e ace .
and contentment reigned in the interior and Syria ,

M U S TA N S S I R 38 1
continued to be the chi ef point of interest to the Egyptian

politics Both Lul u and hi s son Mans u r who rec e ived
.
,
princely titles from Hakim recogni sed the suzeraint y of

,
the F atim i tes L ater on a di sagr e ement aros e between

.
'
L u l u s s on and D hahir O ne of the form e r s slave s con
’ ’
.
spired against h i s master and gav e A l e ppo into th e

,
'
hands of the F a ti m i te s w h os e governor maintai ned him

,
s e lf there till 1 023 In this year how e ver A leppo f e ll

.
, ,
into the pow e r of the Benu Kilab who defended the town
,
w ith gr e at success against Romanus in 1 030 Not till .
D h a h i r s successor came to th e throne in 1 036 was Al eppo

’
reconquere d by the F atimites but onl y to fall after a

, ,
few ye ars again into the hands of a K i l a bi te whom

, ,
the caliph was obliged to acknowledge as governor u ntil

he of his ow n fr e e will exchanged the city for several
other towns in Syria ; b u t even then the strife about the
possession of Al eppo w a s not yet at an end .
Mu sta n s si r ascended the throne at the age of four

y ears H i s mother although black and once a slave had
.
, ,
great influence in the choice of the viziers and oth er

O fficials and e ven when th e caliph became of age he
, ,
showed very fe w signs of indep e ndence H i s reign .

,
whi ch lasted sixt y y ears Offers a constant alternation of

,
success and d efe at A t on e time h i s dominion was l im

.
i te d to the capital Cairo at another time he was r e cog

,
n i s e d as lord of A frica Sicil y A rabia Mesopotamia

, , , ,
and even of th e A bbassid capital Baghdad A few days

,
.
later hi s dominion w a s again on the point of being ex

ti n gui sh e d
. The murde r of a Tur k by the negroes led
to a war between the T urkish mercenaries and the blacks
38 2 THE M U H A MM E D A N P ERI O D
who formed the caliph s body guard The latter were

’ -
.
j oined b y many of the other slaves bu t the Turks were ,
supported b y the Ketama Berb ers and some of th e Bed

—
o ui n tribes and also the H a m d a ni te Nasir e d D owlah ,
,
w h o had long b e en in the Egyptian service The blacks .

,
although supported b y the caliph s mother were c om ’

,
l t l def e at e d and the caliph was forced to a c k n ow l

p e e y ,
edg e the authority of Nasir ed D owlah He ther eupon -
th r e atened t o ab di cate but when he learn e d that hi s

,
palace with all its treasu res would then be given u p to

plun der he refrained from ful filling his threat The
,
.
power of the H a m d a n i te s and the T urks increased with

every victory over the negroes w h o finall y coul d n o ,
longer maintain themselves at a l l in Upper Egyp t The .
caliph w a s tr e ated with contempt and had to give up ,
h i s numerous treasures on e b y on e to satisfy the a v arice

, ,
of his troops . Even the graves of h i s ancestors were

at last robbed O f all the y contained and when at last , , ,
everything had been ransack ed, even hi s l ibrary whi ch ,
was one of the largest and fin est was n ot spare d Th e , .
b e st m anuscripts were di spersed som e went to A fri ca , ,
oth e rs were d e stro y e d many were damaged or p ur posel y

,
mutilated by the Sunnites simply because they had b een

,
written b y the Shiit e s ; still others were b urn t by th e

Tu rks a s worthless material and the l eather b an ds which
,
held them made into sandals .
M e anwhi le war betw ee n M u s ta n ssi r and Nasir e d

D owlah continued to b e wag e d in Eg ypt and Syria until ,
at last the latter b e came master of Cairo and d epriv e d

the caliph once more compl e tely of hi s indep end ence .
’
M U S TA N S S I R S G ATE AT C A I RO .
CO M P E TI N G V I Z I ERS 385
Soon aft e r a conspiracy with I l d e ghi z a T ur kish g en

, ,
e ral at its h e ad was form e d against Nasir e d D owlah

-
, , ,
and h e tog e th er with his relations and followers w a s

, ,
brutally mur d ered I l d e gh i z b ehav e d in th e same way

.
as his pr e d e c e ssor had don e towards the caliph and the ,
latt er app e al e d to B e d r el Jem a l i for h elp B edr pro

-
c e e d e d t o A cre with his best Syrian troops landed in ,
th e n e ighbourhood of D ami e tta and proceed e d towards

th e capital which he e nter e d without di ffic ul ty ( January
, ,
H e was appointed gen e ral and first vizi e r so ,
that h e now held both the highe st m i litary and civil

authority .
In order to strengthen h i s position h e had all the ,
c ommanders of th e troops and the highest officials m ur

d ered at a ball Under his rule peace and order were
.
,
at last restored to Egypt and th e incom e of the state

,
was increas e d und er his e xc ell ent gov e rnment .
B e dr r emained at his post till hi s death and h i s s on ,
E l A fdh a l was appointed by M u s t a n s si r to succeed him

-
Upon th e de ath of M u s ta n s si r his successor

E l Mustali A bu l Kasim r e tain e d E l A fdh a l in office
-
’
-
H e was aft erwards murd e r e d und e r Emir ( D ec e m

b er 1 1 21 ) b e c ause according t o some h e was not
, , ,
a z e alous enough Shiit e but according t o oth ers b e

, , ,
caus e the caliph wish e d to gain poss e ssion of the enor

mous treasures of th e vizi e r and to b e absolutel y inde
p endent Emir was also mur d ere d ( O ctober 7 1 1 30)
.
,
and was succe e d e d by his cousin who asc end e d the ,
thron e under th e nam e of Hafiz and appoint e d a son of ,
E l A fdh a l as vizi e r who just as his father had done

-
, , ,
38 6 THE MU H A MMEDA N P ER I O D
soon became the real ruler and di d not even allow th e
,
caliph s name to be m ention e d in th e prayers ; where

’
’
upon he also was murdered at the caliph s instigation .
A fter oth e r viziers h a d m e t with a similar fate and ,
amongst them a s on of the caliph hims elf at last Hafiz ,
r u l e d alone. H i s s on and succ e ssor D h a fir ( 1 1 49 ,
also frequentl y chang e d his viziers b e cause th ey one

and all wish e d to obtain too much influence The last .
, , ,
—
vizier A bbas murdered th e c a l i p h ( March A pril ,
and placed E l F aiz the fiv e y e ar Old son of th e d e ad

-
,
- -
caliph on the thr one but the child di e d in h i s elev e nth

, ,
year ( July ,
Salih the n vizi er raised A di d a de
, , ,
s c en d a n t of Al h a gi z to the caliphate and gave h i m his

,
daught e r to wife for which r e ason h e was murdered at

,
the d esire of the har em His s on A dil maintained h i m

.
self for a short time and then E l D h a r gh a m and Shawir

,
-
fought for the post ; as the form e r gained the victory ,
Shawir fled to Syria called Nu r e ddi n to his aid and

, ,
their army und e r Shirkuh and Saladin put an end in

, ,
f
1 1 7 1 to the rule of the F a ti rn i te s
E ND OF VOL . XI .
IND E X
And oclus 38 r
J E lius G llu s 1 1 a Anim l w o ship 7 7 9 1 220 229

,
a
,
r , , , ,
E m il i 1 56 157
a n us , A i (A i h ) 61 n n a n us n n an a
A bb sids 343
a Anth c it 50 ,
ra e,
,
Ab d All h ibn Ab d l M lik — a 337

,
Antinou 93 94 108 e a s,
Ab d l Aziz ibn M w 334 337 Antio ch 201 202 293 294
-
, , ,
o er an
Ab d l M lik c liph 334 Anth opomo p hit s 253
-
, , , , ,
e a a r r e
Ab s x 105 Antoninus P ius 109

-
, , ,
ra a
Ab u B k M uh mm d 363 e
,
r Antony S int 2 16 2 17 a e a
,
Ab u l Abb s c liph 343 344

’
Apion 38
a a
, , , ,
Ab u J f (E l M nsu ) c liph 345 A pis 92

, , , ,
a ar a r a
A b u l H s n Ali c liph 37 1 Apis bull 8 25 75 90
-
, ,
’
a a a
A b u l K sim c liph 374 375
-
, , , , , ,
’
a Ap l 1 26 a o a u s tu s ,
Ab u l K sim M uh mm d U ng l iph A p l l i i B ishop 3 14 315
, , ,
’
a a e ur , c a o n ar u s ,
369 3 7 1 Apollonius D y l 98 — ,
s c o us ,
, ,
A by dos 1 3 Apollonius of Ty n 70 72 176

-
a a,
Aby ssini 2 12 ,
a, Apollos 8 ,
Adul 304 e, App ls 312 ea

,
J E i
t us, 28 7 Appi n 98 a
,
Ag ipp 32 34
r a, A bi 8 7 ra a,
,
Ahm d Ab u l F w is c liph 372 373 A b s E nt E gy pt 14—1 7 62

e
,
’
a ar a ra er
Ahm d i b n Tul un (Ab u l Abb s ) 354 P s c ut M on ks 2 66 267
, , , , , ,
’
e a er e e
357 361 M h d i mon g 32 1 322
,
u am m e a n sm
,
a
,
Ahm d M ust in c liph 357 C on q u E gy pt 325—33 1

-
, ,
e a a er
Al ch my 49 1 72
e C ont st w ith Tu ks 352
, ,
e
,
r
Al x nd h G t 7 144
e a er
,
A c dius E mp o 252
t e
,
r ea r a er r,
,
Al x nd E mp o of R om 147
e a er , A chit ctu 75 76 er r
, ,
e, r e
,
r e,
Al x nd i D sc iption of 12 13 8 5 8 7 A th s 296
e a r a, e r re a
,
A i nism 1 78 179 195 260 276

-
, , , , ,
r a
P hilosoph s o f 69 7 1 A ius 122 1 76 178 , , , , ,
er r
C nt of l ning 1 19—122 190—192 A my R om n i E gy pt 273 274 300
-
, , , ,
e re e ar ,
r ,
a n , , , ,
, ,
198 30 1
C c ll puni sh s 144 145
ar a a a A i 1 14 1 15 e rr a n ,
D clin 1 98 201 244 246 255 268 As c ti c ism 2 15
, , ,
e e, e
As cl pi d s 126
-
, , , , , ,
2 77 31 7 e a e
Alg b 251
e ra ,
,
A i b Y zid 338 339 s sa m a n

,
a
Ali 324 325 Ast ol b 256
r
, ,
r a e,
Alph b t 133 134
,
a e
,
Ast ology 105 1 12 1 13 r
A lypi 200
us ,
,
Ast onomic l w ll 14 ,
r
,
a
,
e
,
S t tu 14 99 128 Ast onomy 1 10 251 ,
A m en hO h t es , a e, r
Ammon O cl of 70 — Ath n sius Oppos s A i 196 197
ra e
, ,
a a
, ,
e r as ,
Ammoni s S c 148 1 50 ,
a M d b ishop 19 7 205 22 7 232

a oes ,
,
a e
, ,
Amon R —1 31 a, D pos d 202—204 2 10 228 e e

, , , ,
R b ls 208—2 10 227 234

-
, , ,
Am r, 325 334 e e
An st sius E mp o 28 8—293
a a ,F m o f 2 34 2 35 260 er r , a e
,
, ,
,
,
,
IN D E X
Ath n us 121 e ae C hu c h g o v nm nt 193 202 203
r er e
Ath n g o s of Ath ns 108
e a ra
,
e C hu ch f S t M y 166
r O ar
, , ,
C l udi n M us um 42
, .
,
A h d (
t en o or us V b l l h ) 1 61 a a at us 1 62 a a e
Augustus 3 5 1 8 2 1 C l udius 40 41
, , ,
a
C oho t 308 C l udius P tol my 1 13
, , , , , ,
A g u li u s ta an r a e
Au li n 162 1 67
re a
,
C l m ns Al x nd inus 131 1 36 137

e e e a r
,
C l m ns R om nus 1 24
-
, , , ,
A uxu m2 12 e e a
Avidi s C ssius 1 1 8
n
,
a C l m nt B ishop o f R om 53
e e
,
e,
Aziz Ab u M nsu Niz c liph a
,
r ar , a 3 77 , 378 C l op t s N dl s 22
e a ra
,
’
ee e
C o ck figh ti g 10
-
, ,
n
C od R om n 8 3
-
B e, a
C oins E gy pti n 1 7 30 31 42 58
,
a 68
B by lon F o t ss
, , , , , , ,
a ,
r re ,
260 69 , 7 6, 8 1 , 1 08 1 12 , 1 17 , 1 25, -
1 37
B l b il i
a 55 58 us, 143, 150, 1 51 , 1 53, 1 65, 1 67 ,
B ptism 2 94
,
a 316 ;
R om n
,
B a s i l i a n u s , 1 46, 1 47 a , 45 , 5 8 , 66, 1 1 7
B a s i l i d es , 72 , 73 lt s
Ma e e, 5 7
B eer , 5 1 C oll g of si c
e e M u , 228 , 229
B nj min p t i c h 331 332
e a a r ar C ommodus 124, 125 , 12 7
B i b l E ditions of 1 8 3 C onst ns
, , , ,
e, a 20 1 , 202 , 204, 205

C opi s o f 1 8 4 C onst ntius —
, ,
e a 2 01 2 0 2 205 208
V sions of 1 8 5 2 13 C onst ntin G t
, , , ,
er a e th e r e a , 1 92
M nus c ipts o f 265 320 C onst ntin II

, ,
a r a e 2 01 , 202
B i k t l K u un 52 C onst ntinopl
, , , .
r e e r a e , 19 8
B i fi T mpl C o n lius G llu
,
s 220 e e, r e a s , 10
B l mmy s inv d E gy pt 62 168 C o n w ll
,
e e a e 263, r a , 31 1
C osm s
, , , ,
2 78 a , 3 14
D io cl ti n t ts w ith 1 70 1 71
e a r ea C os s y r a , 5 7
B ookm k ing 120 12 1 C o c il of Antio ch
, ,
a un 203
B ook s 29 1 292 C o c il o f C onst ntinopl
, , ,
un a e 249
B ss mon y 143 165 C ou ts
, , .
ra e r 8 3, 33 1
B it in 31 1 C d
, , ,
r a r ee , 2 33
C o c odil w o ship
,
r e r 1 3, 7 7
C o c odilopolis
,
, 13
r
C ush thiopi
S ee E a
s Julius 6 C ustoms st b ility
.
C ae a r , a of, 1 22, 123

l nd 1 10 , ,
C a e ar , Cy b i osac tes , 75
C li c ut 45 —
a C y polis , 77
C ligul 32 36
a
,
a, C y l b i shop
ri , , 2 57, 258 , 2 76
C m by s s 93
a e
C n ls 1 1 8—8 8 9
a a
,
C nd c 1 5 17
a a e,
, , ,
D
C nopi c j s 127
a ar
C nopus 127
a
,
D kl h o sis f 65
a e a o
c ll v isits E gy pt 143 D moti c w iting 1 34 135
, , ,
C ar a a a, e r
V g n c on Al x nd i 144 146 D h hi c liph 38 0 38 1

, , ,
en ea e e a r a, a r, a
D io cl ti n 1 70—1 77
-
, ,
Ch 59
aer em on , e a
C h ity 268 D ion 69 70
,
ar
C h mist y 49 D ion C h y sostom 8 5
, , ,
e r r
C y lon (T p o b n ) 46 262 303 D ionys i s b ishop 152 1 53 1 58

, ,
e a r a e u
317— D ionys ius of M il tus 9 6
, , , , , , ,
Ch osr oes , 319 e

C h isti nity b ought to E gy pt 60 D iony sius P i g t 59 60
,
r a r er e e es ,
Sp d o f 6 1 62 90 106—108 123
, , ,
r ea D i 28 8
os c or us ,
D o c t 133
, , , , , ,
1 24 1 3 1 149 e ae ,
H d i n on 101
, ,
a r a D d
o ec a s h 1 70 oen os ,
P s c ut d 141— 1 43 1 73— D o g m 1 94
,
er e 178 e a,
T iumph o f 1 92 1 93 207 D g st
, ,
r o 5 1 10 ar ,
D omiti n 76 80
, , , ,
Ch i d
r s to 2 90 or u s , a
C h istus M ith s 1 8 1 D omitius D i ti
, ,
r ra 164 om a n us ,
C h onology 251 D m 2 92
,
r ra a,
,
IN D E X
H i n v isits E gy pt 90
a dr a
Asc nds Nil 9 1 94
e e,
,
th u k Opinion of C h isti n s 101

-
E a r q a e , 3 12 r a
cc l si sti c l u l s H g i C h m 57
,
E e a a q arr e , 1 9 5 1 98 a a e
E l Abb s a , 360 H i d s s in g 123 224
a r re
,
l g b lus H kim A b u A l i M n u c liph 378 380

- -
, ,
E a a a 1 47 a a s r, a
hdi
-
E l—
,
Ma , 3
75 H dh l
an 341 342 a a,
E l Ma mu c liph
n, a , 3
50 H nd w itin g 120
a r
,
n su Ab u J f po c t s 79
-
E l Ma r S ee a ar H ar ra e
unt si i bn c liph un b J f l l W h i k b I l l h
-
.
,
Rl M a r el M u ta w a kk i l , a -
H ar a u a a e at
’
a
c liph 354
-
-
355—
, ,
35 7 a
E l M ust li b u l sim c liph
a A ’
Ka a , 38 5 H un R shid c liph 346 347
ar er
,
a a
m ld min s H atho
- -
, , , ,
E er a e , 49 77 r,
E mi is i
r M r , 345 H c t
e a e S Isis ee
ncho i l w iti g H gi
.
E r a r n , 1 33 e 32 1 324
ra ,
E piph y f st of
an , ea 2 49 H liopolis 1 3 9 3
e
,
Ess n s
e e , 29
,
H i 2 8 4 28 5
e n ot con ,
, ,
clius E mp o 3 1 7 321
,
E s i m ap h aeus , 306 H er a er r,
us bius si s 1 80 1 8 3
-
E e 1 5 7 1 74 1 75 H er e e
b ishop m s T ism gistus 131
-
, , , ,
E u ty c h es , 2 76, 2 7 7 H e r e
xplo tions
er
od 7
, ,
E ra 2 62 H er
Ethiopi C ush
a (
,
) , 14 1 7 , 49 , 65 H od s 1 62 1 63 —
er
,
e
B ishop 1 83 18 5
-
, ,
H y hi
es c us,
— —
H exum i tae , 2 12 2 14, 303 305
,
H i er a c h a s , 1 8 3
H er a i ti c w itin g 1 34, 1 35
timit s —
r ,
F a e , 3 73 3 7 5 H i e r oc l e s , 1 7 5 , 1 76, 2 86, 2 8 7
P ri mus ,
1 63 ,
1 64 H er i oglyphic s ,
2 5, 52 , 59 , 1 1 7, 128 , 1 33
F l a c c u s A vi l i u s , 3 1 , 33 36 1 35
ippod om
-
lx
F a , 266 H r e , 1 16
—
F ost ta , 32 7 , 328 H ish m Ab u l W lid c liph
a (
’
a ) a 3 41 3 43
F r um ntiu s
e ,
2 12 H om i c po ts
er e , 1 22
,
H om er i tae , 2 12 , 2 13, 29 5, 296, 303 305

omoousi n do c t in
-
H a r e , 1 96
G l b 66 67
a a, H r e rao s c ing 241
G lli nus 1 55 156 o us
-
, ,
a e H r 7 9 1 0 9
G o g o f C pp do c i m d bishop
e r e
,
a
,
a a, a e 210 H r o us
, ,
R a , 1 06
C u lty 2 1 1 y p ti
-
r e H a a , 2 59 , 260
D th 223
,
ea
L i b y 224
,
r ar I
C noniz d 260
,
a e
G m ni c us 25 26 Illumin tion s 29 1 292
,
er a a
G ihon iv 49 Indi 43—45
, , , ,
r er , a,
G l ss w indow s 163 I n f o m s 41
,
a r er
Gnosti c ism 103—106 1 52 1 53 Ink 49
, ,
G old min s 31 In sc iptions 8 18 22 23

, , , ,
e r 66, 67, 1 1 6,
G o di n 150
, , , , , ,
r a 17 2 26 7 2 80 304 307
di g to th E gy pti n s I i s ( H c t ) 2 1 7 7 7 9 80
, , , , ,
1é
G osp e ac cor n e a ,
1 32 s e a e , , , , ,
9 7 , 1 09 , 1 1 0,
g 1 46 220
G ov nm nt 2 70 273 274 I tin y of Antoninu s 1 1 3
,
er e erar 1 14
G in t d 84 8 5 308 309
, , , , ,
ra ra e,
G n i s 3 1 1 3 12 J
, , ,
ra ar e
G k lph b t 133 134
, ,
r ee a a e
G k m y thology 2 1 J bi t 297 299
, ,
r ee ac o es ,
G k w o ld c h ng s in 1 8 7 1 92 J h h 26 73 106
-
r ee r a e a ve
J om 2 19
-
, , , , ,
G g ti
re 306 en us, er e,
G go y XIII P op 6
re r e, J su 105 1 37
e s
G go y B ishop 203 204 J ws p iv il g s 8 8 1
.
, , ,
re r , , e r e e
, , , ,
IN D E X
I n E thiopi 1 7 a, M ar k Anton y , 2 , 1 26
In Al x nd i 26—30 40 e a r a, 54 M ar k , th e E v a ge 60, 61 n list
P s c ut d 32— mp o
, , ,
er e 3 7 7 3 74 e 258 M a ur i c i us , E er r , 3 1 6
R b llion f 8 9 90 u it ni
, , , ,
e e O M a r a a , 3 73
H d i n on 99— ximin
, ,
a 10 1
r a Ma 177
John bishop 31 7 3 19 ,
di in
M e c e , 28 7
,
John C h y sostom 261 din t A u

-
b 261
,
r Me e
John th G mm i n 326 l hit s
-
M e c e , 2 99
,
e ra ar a
Jos phu 56 73 74
e s,
,
Me el tius 1 78 , 206
Jov i n E mp o 232
a
,
er r,
,
Me mnon st tu,
a e , 99, 100
J l i n 222—232
u a
,
Me mphis ,
1 3, 92
J li II liph
, ,
u 2 90
an u s, M er w a n c a , 344
Juli n y 6 in ls
.
,
a ear , M er a 50
J li s F i 219
u u er m c us, M inin g, 31 , 49
,
J l ius P ollux—122
u i ls
M r a c e , 70, 72
Justin I 293 296 ,
ith o ship
M ra , w r of, 1 79
Justin IL 3 16 n i
.
,
M ev s , 9 3
Justin 106 107 ,
o is l o
M er , ak e f , 1 3 51 , 52
Justini n E mp o 296
,
a
,
er r , on t i s
M as er e 2 35, 2 36, 239, 240, 263, 264
,
J l 76
u ve n a
,
30 1 302
, ,
M on sti c ism 2 8— 30 2 14—

, ,
K a 21 8
M on k s 253 2 63—
, ,
2 67 32 1 336 338
fu c liph 369—372 M os q u 332 333 359
, , , , ,
Ka r el I k sh i d ,
a e,
c liph 361 362 d i d c liph 362
-
, , ,
K h um ar a w a th ,
a M u ata a
K n ep h , e e
,
t mpl
,
of 7 5 7 6 M w i I c liph 334
ua a
,
a
,
M uh mm d 323 324
.
, , , ,
K op ts , 14, 11 7 , 1 33, 1 73, 206, 264, 334 a e

o n M uh mm d l Ik h h i d 364 369
, ,
K r a , 32 5 a e e s
M uh mm d l M hdi c liph 346
- -
L a e e a a
M uh mm d l M
-
, ,
i b I l l h (M u ta s m
’
u ta m
L ng u g E gy pt 1 7 1 33—
a e e a
—
-
a a e, 1 36 m a ) 3 50 352
L topolis t mpl 52 M uh mm d i b n I d i s (E h S h fi) 349
, , ,
e e, a e r s a
c liph 375—
a
L w s 41 8 3 141 228 268 308
-
a M i
u z a d D i 377 n, a
E mp o M ummi s 248 254
-
, , , , , , ,
Leo, 2 8 1 28 2 er r, e
L onid s of Al x nd i 59 M us um 12 6
, , ,
e e e a r a, e
L i b y Al x nd i n 59 1 19 M us l H di 34 7
,
r ar e a r a a e a
M us i b n I
-
, , , , ,
245, 325— 327 a 348 sa ,

R om e, 8 1 M usi c 200
Of G o g C pp do c i M usi c l st tu 128
,
e r e of a a a, 224 a a e,
Of M u st a n s s i r , 382 M usi c c oll g o f 22 8 e e
L i c inius c liph 38 1—38 5
, ,
1 8 5 1 8 6 M i
u s ta n ss r , a
L ightho s M uh mm d l M
, , ,
u e, 29 3 M ut a m m a S i ee a e e uta s m
L in n w k k i l c liph 3 55 357
-
.
e , 249 M u ta a a
L itu gy k i c liph 365 366
, , ,
r 1 66, 299 M u tt a a
L on ginus M uzi is (M n g lo ) 44
, , , ,
14 8 r a a re
L otos My sti c i s m 1 37 1 53 1 93
,
97
Luci n
, , , ,
a , 1 22
M N
N p
a ata , 16
M ac r i a n us , 1 55, 1 56 N phth 49
a a,
M a c r i n u s 146 N si d D w l h 382 38 5
a r e
’
o a
i
M a g , 103
,
N o 53
er
, ,
i
M a g c , 70, 7 1 N v 81
er
,
a,
ist t s ostum
Mag r a e , c e, 5 N sto ius bi shop 263
e r
Ma hdi t h e , 3 75 N w Y
e sd y 5 6
ear
,
’
a
,
lt ,
M a a , 56 57 Ni copoli s 9 , ,
n lo
M a ga r e i is
S ee M uz r
,
Nil o v fl o w 5 84 1 11
e, er
,
2 50
ni , , , ,
.
,
M a , 1 8 0, 1 8 2 3 72
Ma c eni h ism 78 7 9 1 7 9 1 8 3 S ou c 49 r e,
nus ipts Wo ship 200 220 60 9 1 256 29 1
-
cr , 265, 266
, , ,
Ma r ;
M ar c us Au lius
re ,
1 1 7 —1 1 9 Nilom t 1 1 339 357
e er ,
,
, ,
, , ,
IN D EX
Nilus monk a 2 6 7 t
P e er S t 264
,
t , .
, ,
Non n os u s , 304, 305 P e r a 8 8 301

Nob at ae (Nub ad es ) , 170, 2 78 , 279 t onius
Pe r 11
, ,
Nub ia , 1 70, 2 7 9 , 2 80 h os
P ar 2 93
,
P hilo 6 3 7 , 61
, 3 ,
,
0 P h il 1 75
or om u s ,
P hilosoph y 18 8— 1 92
O s i s G t 269 2 70 P ho c s E mp o 3 16
,
a r ea a er r,
Ob di a All h ,
c liph 3 73—375 a
,
a
,
P h nix f b l o f 52 53 1 10 1 1 7
oe
,
a e 21 9
O b lis ks 10 22 93 1 99 308 P ht h 92 93
, , , , , , , ,
e a
O d en a th us
,
Pa of lmy
,
r a , 154 1 56
, , ,
— P h y si c i ns 8 3 267 268
,
a
,
P l g u 1 54
, , ,
O l y m p i od or u s , 269, 2 70 a e,
O l y m p i us , 246 P l to 1 3
a
Om P l tonists 148
,
ar , 32 5
Plin y 42—
a
O m II c liph
,
ar a 340 45
O m b os P lotin 8 8 1 51
.
, , ,
76, 7 7 a,
0 m m a y add y n st y
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H i st o r y of E gypt

E G Y PT D URI NG TH E MUH AMM E D AN PE RI O D

Th e N I l om eter at E leph a nti ne

T m pl t T nty n l g d by Rom n chit cts

An An ci n t E gyp ti n N ckl cee a e a

A Y oung E gypti n w ing th e Ro y l L o ck a e ar a

A ug u s tu s re models th e g o v er n m ent of E gyp t A n ew ca lenda r intr o

Moer is des tr o y ed Th e o r ig in of Ch em is tr y Th e f a b l e of th e P h oenix

in E gyp t — E a l l of J er u s a lem Th e Nile Ca n a l r esto r ed H a dr i a n s

v oy age up th e N ile D ea th of A ntinou s Chr is tia n s a n d Gn os tics

m a ss a cr e of th e A lexa ndr ia ns A m m on i us S a c ca s a n d th e A lexa ndr ia n

Comm er c e Z eno b i a i n S y r ia Gr o w ing i mp o r ta n ce of th e A r a b s

Con s ta n tine th e G r ea t conv er ted — P r ivileges of th e clergy D og

O m a r a n d th e G r ea t L ib r a r y Th e f ound ing of F ostd t Th e Ch r is

ordering all th e statu e s O f A n

qu e en s statu e s m i ght b e left stan di ng It s e ems to hav e

b ee n part O f his kingcraft t o give th e O fﬁces O f great e st

the greatest and richest Of the provinces was given to ,

B e for e the fall of the republic the s enate had giv e n

the law Obtain ed from th e senate for hi ms elf all those

governm ents whi ch h e m e ant to give to men O f low e r

w e re answerable for their c onduct to nobody but th e

b efor e the s enate for their m i sde e ds But he made an .

exception in the case Of Egypt Wh ile on the one hand

s enate though appoint e d b y h i ms elf Th e power thus

giv e n to th e s e nat e th ey never v entured to use and the ,

prefect O f Egypt was nev e r punished or r emov e d but by

of th e provinc e who heard hims elf or by d e puty all

caus e s e x c ept those which wer e r e s e rved for th e d e cision

second judg e or in mod e rn languag e a chanc ellor as

they were too num e rous and t oo triﬂi ng to b e tak e n to

the emperor and cl erks e ntrusted with affairs of gre at e r

and l e ss weight O f the nativ e magistrat e s the chi ef

w er e the ke e per Of the r e cords th e police judg e th e

pr e fect O f the ni ght and the E cc eg etes or interpret e r

Of the Egyptian law w h o was allowed to wear a pur ple

robe like a Roman magistrate But these Egyptian mag .

i s tr a t e s were n e v e r treat e d as c itiz ens ; th e y w e re bar

A u gustus showed not a little j ealo u s y in the rest Of

While other con qu e red cities usually had a senate or

in Egypt was allowed that privilege whi ch b y teaching , ,

the citizens the art Of governing them selves and th e

merc y O f their m asters He not only gave the com m and

Of the kingdom to a man b elow the rank Of a senator ,

but ordered that no senator should even b e allowed to

tu r i e s lat e r when the weakness Of the country had l e d

the emperors to soften some Of the oth er stern l aws Of

A mong other changes then bro u ght in b y the Romans

Egyptians for all the common p urposes O f life called

the da y O f the heliacal rising of the dogstar abou t ou r ,

1 8 th Of Ju l y their new y ear s da y and the hu sbandman

marked it with religious ceremonies as the time wh e n the

dates Of kings reigns they us e d a y ear Of th r ee h un dred

and sixty ﬁv e da y s whi ch Of course had a movable n ew

y ear s day But by the orders Of A u gu stus all public

deeds were henceforth dated b y the new y ear O f three

from B c 24 were made to begin on the 29th Of A ugust,

th e day on whi ch the movabl e n e w year s day then hap

p ened t o fall and were nu mber e d from the year follow

ing the last Of Cl e opatra as from th e ﬁrst y e ar Of the

reign Of A ugustus But notwithstandi ng the many a d

vantages O f th e Jul i an y ear whi c h was us e d throughout

Europe for sixte en c enturi e s till its faultin e ss was ,