John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series EGYPT and the SAHARA www.johntyman.com/sahara |
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2.4 Greek and Roman Settlements : 097-113 |
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John Tyman's Cultures in Context Series EGYPT and the SAHARA www.johntyman.com/sahara |
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2.4 Greek and Roman Settlements : 097-113 |
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| .097. For two hundred years from 524 BCE onwards Egypt formed part of the Persian Empire, and when the Greeks replaced the Persians in 332 BCE, Alexander the Great was considered a liberator. During his conquest of Egypt he managed somehow to cross the desert west of the delta to reach the oracle of the god Ammon at Siwa -- supposedly led there by two ravens after he was lost in a sandstorm and had run out of water. (View from ruins of city of Aghurmi, home of the oracle, near Siwa) |
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| .098. Here he was proclaimed divine, the son of Ammon, the true pharaoh, and “master of the universe”. In 331 BCE he founded the city of Alexandria, which remained Egypt’s capital for almost a thousand years, till the Muslim conquest in 641 CE. (Restored section of building that housed the oracle of Ammon) |
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| .099. After Alexander’s death in 332 BCE Greek control over Egypt was maintained by Ptolemy 1st who declared himself pharaoh of Egypt in 305 BCE, with his capital in Alexandria. Pharaohs prior to Alexander and Ptolemy had ruled from Memphis. (“Ptolemy’s Column” at Alexandria) |
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| .100. Considering themselves to be rightful successors to the Pharaohs, Ptolemy’s descendants followed their example in marrying siblings, and they participated in Egyptian religious life, building great temples like that at Edfu to win support. Their kingdom ended with the death of Cleopatra VI and the Roman conquest in 30 BC. (In courtyard of the temple of Horus at Edfu) |
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| .101. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans did not settle in Egypt in large numbers, and though they introduced their emperor cult, they maintained Egypt’s religion and customs. They suppressed both Christians and Jews -- at least until Christianity was adopted as the official religion of their empire. Their main concern in North Africa was to ensure the safe delivery of grain to Rome. (Roman sarcophagus at the museum in Alexandria) |
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| .102. Though few Romans settled in Egypt, they did occupy a large area further west, along the Mediterranean coast, following their defeat of the Phoenicians at Carthage in 146 BCE. Their colonization was limited to the northern margins of the present desert, though they did actually cross the Sahara (the first Europeans to do so), reaching the banks of the Niger in the first century CE. (Tabarka, west of Tunis: one of the Phoenician ports captured by the Romans) |
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| .103. In Tunisia, and on the coast of modern-day Libya, the Romans built towns and cities and distributed farmlands among would-be settlers from Italy, including many soldiers opting for early retirement. (Remains of Roman settlement at Timgad, south of Constantine) |
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| .104. North Africa became the granary of the Empire, producing vast quantities of cereals for export to Rome, together with beans, figs, dates, olive oil and wine grapes: and great aqueducts were built to carry water to their fields. (Roman aqueduct north of Kairouan) |
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| .105. The area which was cultivated then it what is now Tunisia was almost twice what it is today, much arable land having been lost through the expansion of the Sahara due to desertification ... due not only to increasing aridity but also poor land use practices, including the cultivation of marginal lands and the exhaustion of existing fields, as well as overgrazing. (Farmland near Timgad today) |
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| .106. Rome’s African provinces were among the wealthiest in their empire, and the prosperity of agriculture then is obvious from their buildings. The amphitheatre at Djem (in the east of Tunisia, near Sousse) rivals the Coliseum in Rome and could seat 35,000 spectators. The amphitheatre at Timgad was very much smaller, and seated only 3,500. (Timgad) |
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| .107. Timgad is an example of a Roman military colony created ex nihilo by the Emperor Trajan in the year100. The streets were paved with large rectangular limestone slabs ... though even these were worn in time by the wheels of Roman chariots. (Timgad) |
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| .108. The productivity of agriculture then, and the wealth it generated, is obvious today from structures that remain. There are houses decorated with sumptuous mosaics and beautiful statuary. (Timgad) |
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| .109. And the scale of public buildings in Timgad is also impressive. There were 14 baths and a host of public conveniences ... of a standard that would not be matched for hundreds of years thereafter! (Timgad) |
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| .110. Buildings, constructed entirely of stone, were also restored regularly during the course of the Empire -- the Trajan Arch in the middle of the 2nd century, the Eastern gate in 146, and the Western gate under Marcus-Aurelius. (Timgad) |
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| .111. Carved headstones over Roman graves also offer clues to their wealth. This family’s prosperity seems to have derived from wool as well as wheat. (Timgad) |
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| .112. And the quality of the food they ate is revealed in the bases of headstones like this one -- suggesting a varied diet that included fish as well as breads, fruit, and olives; plus, of course, plenty of wine. (Timgad) |
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| .113. The area was overrun by Germanic Vandals from Europe in the 5th century CE. It was recovered in the 6th century, but lost again in 698 when Muslim armies ended Roman (and Christian) rule in North Africa. Timgad was abandoned and soon buried under sand, to be discovered and excavated in 1881. (Timgad: seating in the amphitheatre today) |
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