Geschichte des römischen Ägypten

The province of Egypt was a special case with an equestrian prefect, no access for senators, Ptolemaic titles, a lack of municipal structures and its own calendar and currency, which were only assimilated by Diocletian. Historically, Egypt benefits from unique sources such as papyri and ostraca, but it remained a peripheral region as can be seen from the rarity of visits by emperors and the fact that it never became the scene of fighting over the throne. On the other hand, the country wholly organised around the annual Nile flood was of outstanding economic significance as a granary and trading hub. Its Roman period can be divided into four stages of different duration, the Julio-Claudian and Flavian dynasties, the 2nd century with the Adoptive Emperors and Commodus, the Severan dynasty of A.D. 193-235, and the phase of the Barracks Emperors and the Tetrarchy with the brief, but momentous occupation by the Palmyrene Empire around 270 and the big revolt of 297/8. The latter was owed to economic crisis, heavy tax burdens, liquidity problems in the aftermath of the monetary reform, and a reduced military presence. It ended with the recapture of Alexandria by Rome.