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The Memorial Of Diocletian (Pompey’s Pillar)
The so-called “Pompey Pillar” is the biggest
memorial column in Egypt. It is a huge
column of red granite, its total height is
about 28 m with a diameter at the base of
2.7 m, and towards the capital at the top it
tapers to 2.3 m.
On the upper part at the western side is an
inscription in Greek, which reads:
“To the most just Emperor, tutelary of
Alexandria Diocletian, the invincible, Postumus, the Prefect of Egypt (has erected
this monument)”.
The Roman ruler of Egypt, during the reign
of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, erected
this memorial column between 284-305A.D in honour of the Roman Emperor, as a sign of
gratitude. A serious revolt in the city took
place and Diocletian came himself, ordering
the city to be besieged. After 8 months of
resistance, the city finally surrendered. As
a result of the siege, there was famine in
the city; therefore the Emperor ordered that
a portion of the corn, which was sent to
Rome annually, be given to the people of
Alexandria. He exempted them from paying
taxes during these hard times. For that they
erected, in his honour, this memorial
column. In the middle ages the Crusaders
believed, mistakenly, that the ashes, or the
remains, of the great Roman general Pompey
were in a pot at the top of the column. Thus
today it is called
“Pompey’s Pillar”.
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Around the commemorative Column of
Diocletian there are some monuments that can
be seen. On the backside, there is the
remains of a Serapium, or a temple of the
God Serapis, now badly damaged. It was built
during the reigns of Ptolemy II and Ptolemy
III, but was damaged due to the revolts of
the Jewish population in Alexandria, during
the reign of the Emperor Trajan (89-118 A.D).
It was rebuilt again during the reign of
Hadrian (117-137 A.D). It was likely was
destroyed, once more, after the appearance
of Christianity. It consisted mainly of a
high platform accessed by a staircase of 100
steps.
At the side of the platform there was a
basin, which was used for purification.
There were 2 galleries at the back of the
temple, cut completely into the rock.
In the 1st gallery a black statue of basalt,
dating back to the reign of Hadrian, was
discovered. It represents the God Serapis,
in a shape of a bull, and it is now
exhibited in the Greco-Roman Museum in
Alexandria. The 2nd gallery is known
mistakenly as the Daughter Library, but it
seems that it was an Anubidiun, or a burial
for the mummies of Anubis, which was
considered until the a reign of Ptolemy IV,
a member of the Pantheon of Alexandria. |
