314 
EGYPT. 
for a baflcet of figs, which one of her fervants had brought 
her in the difguife of a peafant. Among the figs was 
concealed an afp, (fee the article Colu er, vol. iv. p. 
799,) which (lie applied to her left arm, and, finking im¬ 
mediately into a lethargy, (he expired in the arms of her 
attendants. OCtavius, on entering the queen’s apartment, 
found her lying dead on a golden bed ; one of her maids 
likewife dead at her feet, and the other expiring by her 
fide. Octavius tried all pofiible means to recover his fair 
prifoner; but, finding his attempts fruitlefs, he granted 
Iter laft petition, and caufed her to be buried with the 
litmoft pomp in the fame tomb with Antony. 
Thus died Cleopatra, .in the year before Chrifl 30, in 
the thirty-ninth of her age, and the twenty-fecond of her 
reign. She was a woman of extraordinary abilities, for 
file is faid to have been a perfect miftrefs of the Greek and 
Latin languages, and to have converfed fluently with 
Ethiopians, Troglodites, Jews, Arabians, Syrians, Medes, 
and Perfians, without the afliftance of an interpreter. Site 
retained, in the midft of her voluptuoufnefs, a take for 
polite learning, and erected a magnificent library, which 
ihe enriched with the two hundred thoufand volumes 
taken from Pergantus. She feems to have been capable 
of the mod ardent attachment’s ; but ambition was her 
ruling paflion, and to this fite facrificed her virtue, her king¬ 
dom, and her life. In her ended the family of Ptolemy 
Lagus, the founder of the Egyptian monarchy, after it 
had retained the feeptre' two hundred and ninety-three 
years from the death of Alexander the Great. 
From the CONCLUEST of EGYPT by the RO¬ 
MANS to the FALL of the EGYPTIAN CA¬ 
LIPHS. 
After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt was reduced to 
the humble ftate of a Roman province, and was, for fe- 
veral centuries, governed by praetors fent from Rome. 
This luxuriant country, however, was highly favoured 
by its conquerors, who delegated to the people the pri¬ 
vilege of fublifting under their ancient laws, and of exer- 
cifing uninterruptedly the functions of their religion. 
Even the gods Ilis and Serapis were naturalized at Rome ; 
and, though their temples were demolilhed in the year of 
Rome 701, by order of the fenate, yet 'they were after¬ 
wards reftored with Hill greater folemnity and magnifi¬ 
cence. Under the Roman government, the revenues of 
Egypt were eflimated at three millions fterling per an¬ 
num, having been greatly improved by the care and eco¬ 
nomy of the praetors, who literally made that province 
the granary and florehoufe of Rome. When Pro bus com¬ 
manded in Egypt, he executed many confiderable'works, 
which greatly contributed to the fplendour and benefit of 
the country. The navigation of the Nile, fo important 
to the Roman commerce, was highly improved ; and tem¬ 
ples, bridges, porticoes, and palaces, were conftruCted by 
the hands of the fiddlers, who acted by turns as archi¬ 
tects, as engineers, and as hufbandmen; all tending to 
the augmentation of this rich domain. Under the Rd- 
man jurifdiCtion, likewife, the light of the gofpel, and 
the bleflings of the Chriftian religion, made their firft en¬ 
trance into Eypt. It was firlt embraced by the Thera- 
peutEg, or Elfenians of the lake Mareotis, a Jewifti feCt, 
which had abated much of its reverence for the Mofaic 
ceremonies ; but it was in the febool of Alexandria, that 
the Chriftian theology appears to have affumed a regular 
and fcientific form; and, when Adrian vifited Egypt, he 
found a church compofed of converted Jews and of 
Greeks, fufficiently important to attraCt the notice of 
that inquifitive prince. 
But, notwithftanding the wifdom and mildnefs of the 
Roman jurifprudence over every part of Egypt, yet this 
grand acceflion to their dominions could not be governed 
■ without frequent infurreCtions and rebellions of the peo¬ 
ple. About the year of Chrift 296, five Moorifii nations 
iflued forth from their deferts to invade the neighbour¬ 
ing provinces; they feized upon Egypt, and, being joined 
by the natives, affumed the reins of fovereignty in Alex¬ 
andria. Diocletian, apprifed of thefe meafures, loft no 
time in punifhing the infurgents. He opened the cam¬ 
paign in Egypt by the fiege of Alexandria, cut off the 
aquedudfs which conveyed the waters of the Nile into 
every part of the city ; and, rendering his camp impreg¬ 
nable to the dallies of the befieged multitude, he pufhed 
bis attacks with caution and vigour. After a fiege of 
eight months, Alexandria, wafted by the /’word and by 
fire, implored tire clemency of the conqueror ; but it ex¬ 
perienced the full extent of his feverity. Many thou- 
fands of the citizens perifited in a promifeuous (laughter, 
and there were few obnoxious perfons in Egypt who ef- 
caped a fentence either of death, or of exile. The fate 
of Etifiris and of Coptos was ftili more melancholy than 
that of Alexandria ; tliofe famous cities, tire former dif- 
tinguiflied by its vaft antiquity, the latter enriched by the 
paflage of the Indian trade, were utterly deftroyed by the 
arms and by the fevere order of Diocletian. The cha¬ 
racter of the Egyptian nation, infenfible to kindnefs, but 
extremely fufceptible to fear, could alone juftify this 
excellive rigour. The feditions of Alexandria.had often 
aftefled the tranquillity of Rome; and the province of 
Upper Egypt, ince-flantly relapfing into rebellion, had 
embraced the alliance of the favages of Ethiopia. Even 
the Blemmyes, fcattered between the i !1 and of Meroe 
and the Red Sea, were fubfidized by the Egyptians ; and 
thefe favage barbarians, whom antiquity, (hocked with 
the deformity of their figure, had almoft excluded from 
the human race, prefumed to rank themfelves among the 
enemies of Rome. Such had been the unworthy allies 
of the Egyptians, who now fuffered in turn from the un¬ 
relenting rigour of the Roman arms. But at the fame 
time that Dioclefian chaftifed the pad; crimes of the 
Egyptians and their allies, he provided for the future 
fafety and happinefs of the country, by many wife regu¬ 
lations, which were confirmed, and enforced, under the 
fucceeding reigns. 
Egypt continued under the Roman yoke, not without 
occafional ftruggles for the recovery of its liberty, .and 
ftili more ferious quarrels' with the praetors aud Greek 
Chriftians, until the reign of the emperor Meraclius, when 
the Saracen forces, in the caliphate of Omar, bore down 
the kingdoms of the eaft, conquered Pale (line, and re¬ 
duced Syria under the Mohammedan power. After fel¬ 
ting out from Medina, to vifit the holy city of Jerufa- 
lem, and review his victorious troops, A. D. 638, Omar 
directed his general Yezid to remain in Paleftine, Abu 
Obadiah to march again!! Antioch and Aleppo, and Am- 
rou, otherwife Amru Ebn A 1 As, to invade Egypt. The 
intrepid Amrou, at the head of only four thoufand Arabs, 
haftened from his ftation at Gaza, and continued his route 
by forced marches, until his tents were pitched on Egyp¬ 
tian ground. He aflembled his forces before Pelufium, 
and took pofleflion of that key to Egypt, as it is ufuaily 
called, in only thirty days, which unlocked the entrance 
of the country as far as the ruins of Heliopolis, and the 
neighbourhood of Memphis, or the modern Cairo. In 
the age of Auguftus, and even in that of Conftantine, 
Memphis ranked among the greateft and mod populous 
of the Roman provincial cities. The banks of the Nile, 
in this place of the breadth of three thoufand feet, were 
united by two bridges of lixty and of thirty boats, con¬ 
nected in the middle dream by the fmall ifland of Rouda, 
which was covered with gardens and habitations. The 
eaftern extremity of the bridge was terminated by the 
town of Babylon and the camp of a Roman legion, which 
protected the paflage of the river and the fecond capital 
of Egypt. This important fortrefs, which might fairly 
be deferibed as a part of Memphis or Mifrah, was foou 
inverted by the arms of the valiant Amrou : a reinforce¬ 
ment of four thoufand Saracens arrived in his camp ; and 
the military engines, which battered the walls, may be 
imputed to the art and labour of his Syrian allies. Yes 
the liege was protracted to feven months; and the ra(h 
invaders 
