The history of Roman Egypt began with the defeat of Egypt in 30 BC by Octavian (later Emperor Augustus Caesar) after defeating Mark Antony and the Ptolemaic Queen Cleopatra VII at the Battle of Actium.
Egypt then became a province of the Roman Empire and included most of modern Egypt, with the exception of the Sinai Peninsula. Both provinces, Cyrenaica to the west and the Arab countries to the east, bordered Egypt. Egypt played the role of the main producer of grain for the empire.
The first Roman emperor was "Augustus", and he issued a special commemorative coin to mark Egypt's accession to his rule with a picture of a crocodile, the most famous of the indigo animals. Underneath it was written the phrase "Aegypto Capta", meaning the discovery of Egypt, and Egypt was coveted by the Romans economically. Egypt was financially rewarded and a certain tax on wheat and crops had to be sent to Rome each year; that is, much of the Egyptians' income and agricultural produce went to Rome unaccounted for.
Many rulers succeeded each other on the throne of Rome from 30 B.C. to A.D. 396. - 396 CE. From about 300-400 CE, most Egyptians converted to the Coptic religion.
Alexandria, which Alexander the Great built on the Mediterranean coast, remained the capital of the country as the Library of Alexandria was built during the time of the Ptolemies. The Romans built the Roman Amphitheater in it, as it was home to about 300,000 people at the time. You can visit these monuments during your Egypt tours with Cairo Top Tours with Egypt tour packages.
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