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Facts about Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria Egypt

Facts about Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria Egypt

The oldest pyramid column, the oldest memorial column in the world, and the highest monument, One of the few surviving Roman artifacts is Pompey’s Pillar, which is located in Alexandria, Egypt. you can also see some historical information about the column.

Who built Pompey’s pillar?

Facts about Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria Egypt
Commander Domitian who built Pompey’s Pillar

Commander Domitian with the people of Alexandria.

When was Pompey’s pillar built?

Facts about Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria Egypt
Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria Egypt

This column was erected in 292 AD on the hill of Bab Sidra.

What are the reasons for the construction of Pompey’s Pillar?

Facts about Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria Egypt
Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria

It was erected in honor of Emperor Diocletian in the third century AD and is the last surviving monument from the Temple of the Serapeum erected by Postumus.

What are the reasons for naming Pompey’s pillar this name?

Facts about Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria Egypt
Pompey’s Pillar

The column’s name dates back to the Arab era, where it is believed that it came as a result of the height of this towering column among 400 other columns, similar to the masts of ships. This error is because some Europeans thought that the head of the Roman leader Pompey, who fled to Egypt to escape from Julius Caesar and was killed in Egypt, had been placed in a precious funerary urn and over the crown of the column.

What is the description of Pompey’s pillar?

Facts about Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria Egypt
Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria Egypt

The body of the column is one piece, with a diameter of 2.70 meters at the base and 2.30 meters at the crown. The total column height, including the bottom, is about 26.85 meters. On the western side of the column are two bases that an underground ladder can access. There are also two statues similar to the Sphinx made. It is made of pink granite, dating back to the era of Ptolemy VI. One of them is an inscription of King Horemheb of the Eighteenth Dynasty.

Facts about Pompey’s pillar:

Facts about Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria Egypt
Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria Egypt
  • Pompey’s pillar, the pole of the pole The pillar was built in 292 AD to glorify the Roman Emperor Diocletian and was created by the people of Alexandria at the time. The column is located in the middle of the Serapeum temple on the hill of Bab Sidra and between the Muslim tombs and the Kom Al-Shaqaqa plateau.
  • The story began when the people of Alexandria passed against Roman rule. A great revolution occurred, prompting Emperor Diocletian to attend the army, besiege the city, and surrender to the lack of food and extensions. Still, the emperor distributed wheat for free to the people of Alexandria instead of killing or punishing them.
  • He also fully pardoned detainees and rioters and lifted the siege, so the people of Alexandria built this column in gratitude for what he had done, as Commander Domitian or Achilles built it.
  • The length of Pompey’s pillar is approximately 27 meters, the diameter of the column from the bottom is about 270 cm, the available diameter is 230 cm, and the top is in the Corniche style. In addition, it was made of pink granite.
  • The pillar was erected as a massive memorial on the Bab Sidra hill in the Serapeum temple lobby, west of Alexandria.

Facts about Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria Egypt

  • The Serapeum Temple, called the Alexandria Palace during the Arab era, was utterly demolished in the twelfth century, leaving only the rocks of its foundations.
  • The pillar was in the middle of an entrance in the “Serapeum” temple, which included 400 columns thrown into the sea, one of the Nubian trustees of Sultan Salah al-Din in 1167 AD to increase the city’s fortifications.
  • It was called the pillar of the pillar in the Arab era and came as a result of the height of this towering pillar among the four hundred pillars that resemble the pillar
  • In the past, it was called Diocletian’s Pillar because this pillar was erected by the Alexandrians for the Roman Emperor “Diocletian” as an expression of the Alexandrians’ thanks to him.
  • The pillar is considered the highest monument in the world, and to the west of this pillar, two bases can be reached by an underground staircase.
  •  To the north of the column, there are two sphinxes made of pink granite, dating back to the era of Ptolemy VI.

Where is Pompey’s Pillar located?

Facts about Pompey's Pillar in Alexandria Egypt
Pompey’s Pillar in Alexandria

Pompey’s Pillar is located in Alexandria, a seaside city in Egypt. One of the most significant ancient monuments is this one. It was a prehistoric Greek temple constructed under the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt and devoted to the god Serapis, who was regarded as Alexandria’s guardian.

In summary 

In Egypt, specifically in the Bride of the Mediterranean, Alexandria, the “Pillar of the Pillar” stands at about 27 meters, making it the highest monument in the world.
The pillar of the pillar is one of the most famous monuments in Alexandria, and it stands out among the monuments above Bab Sidra hill, in the lobby of the “Sarabium” temple

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