Roman Egypt

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During the era of the Roman Empire, most of modern-day Egypt, except for the Sinai, was ruled as the imperial province of Aegyptus, from the time it was conquered by Roman forces in 30 BC, to AD 642. The last few centuries of this period has been called late antique Egypt. The province was bordered by Crete and Cyrenaica to the west and Judaea, later Arabia Petraea, to the East. Egypt came to serve as a major producer of grain for the empire and had a highly developed urban economy. It was by far the wealthiest Roman province outside of Italy. The population of Roman Egypt is unknown, although estimates vary from 4 to 8 million. Alexandria, its capital, was the largest port and second largest city of the Roman Empire. Three Roman legions garrisoned Egypt in the early Roman imperial period, with the garrison later reduced to two, alongside auxilia formations of the Roman army. The major town of each nome (administrative region) was known as a metropolis and granted additional privileges...

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