Roman Egypt refers to the Roman province of Egypt (Latin: Aegyptus; Greek: Αἴγυπτος Aigyptos [ɛ́ːɡyptos]) that was established in 30 BCE after Octavian (the future emperor Augustus) defeated his rival Mark Antony, deposed Queen Cleopatra VII, and annexed the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt to the Roman Empire. The Roman province encompassed most of modern-day Egypt except for the Sinai Peninsula (which would later be conquered by Trajan). Aegyptus was bordered by the provinces of Creta et Cyrenaica to the West and Iudaea (later Arabia Petraea) to the East.
The province came to serve as a major producer of grain for the empire and had a highly developed urban economy. Aegyptus was by far the wealthiest Eastern Roman province,[1][2] and by far the wealthiest Roman province outside of Italia.[3] In Alexandria, its capital, it possessed the largest port, and the second largest city of the Roman Empire.
References[]
- ↑ Publishing, Britannica Educational (2010-04-01). Ancient Egypt: From Prehistory to the Islamic Conquest (in en). Britannica Educational Publishing. ISBN 9781615302109.
- ↑ Wickham, Chris (2009-01-29). The Inheritance of Rome: A History of Europe from 400 to 1000 (in en). Penguin UK. ISBN 9780141908533.
- ↑ Maddison, Angus (2007), Contours of the World Economy, 1–2030 AD: Essays in Macro-Economic History, p. 55, table 1.14, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0-19-922721-1