Summary

• Pompey’s Pillar is a monumental column in Alexandria, Egypt, built around 298-302 AD to honor Roman Emperor Diocletian for his victory over an Alexandrian revolt.
• The pillar, including its base and capital, is 26.85 meters (88.1 feet) tall and is made from a single piece of red granite quarried in Aswan.
• The original statue of Diocletian, estimated to be around 7 meters (23 feet) tall, once stood at the foot of the pillar but is now lost.
• It is situated near the ruins of the Serapeum, a temple complex dedicated to the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis, adding historical depth to the site.
• Pompey’s Pillar is a key attraction in Alexandria, offering visitors a glimpse into the grandeur of the Roman period.

Pompey’s Pillar is a legendary element of power and greatness that conveys the most magnificent facts about the epic Roman period, which innovated and enlarged the radiating city of Alexandria to new heights that are able to captivate the minds and souls of all travelers. On a rocky hilltop in the middle of Alexandria lies the biggest memorial column in Egypt, “Pompey’s Pillar“. It is famous for being the only known free-standing column in Roman Egypt and one of the largest monolith columns ever erected.

Pompey’s Pillar is 28m tall and 2.7 m wide of pure red granite, and on its western upper side is a Greek inscription dedicated to Emperor Diocletian. This tremendous wonder is by far one of the most exotic monuments across the lands of Alexandria that will surely make every single exploration tour something worthy of cherishing, filled with phenomenal glimpses of one of the grandest empires ever created in existence.

Pompey’s Pillar History

The Roman ruler Diocletian constructed this column between 284-305 AD to commemorate Diocletian’s victory in ending the people’s revolt to be freed from the Roman rule, saving the public of Alexandria from famine, exempted the public from paying tax so a memorial column was created to show gratitude to what Diocletian achieved in this harsh times. The pillar was nicknamed Pompey’s pillar, and in the Middle Ages, the Crusaders mistakenly believed that the remains of the great Roman general Pompey were in a pot at the very top of the pillar.

The location of Pompey’s Pillar is surrounded by many who remain to see the conflicts of ancient times unfold in front of its eyes. During the first centuries, the patron pagan god of Alexandria was the Serapeum (a symbol of ancient tradition), and his temple was located near the pillar also; it was a time of religious conflict as the ideas of Christianity began to gain popularity, which led to the destruction of many pagan temples & statues to the god Serapis dating back to the reign of Ptolemy II and Ptolemy III in 391 AD.

Location And How To Get Pompey’s Pillar

The Roman Triumphal Column of Pompey’s Pillar is located at the Serapeum of Alexandria, Al Karah WA, Toubageyah WA Kafr Al Ghates, Karmouz, Alexandria. You can reach Alexandria and all of its monuments by air, train, and car from anywhere in Egypt.

It is advised to book with a travel agency that will provide a seasoned travel guide, a private vehicle, and 24/7 customer service, which will be with you every step of the way.

Architecture of Pompey’s Pillar

Pompey’s Pillar stands at an impressive height of 26.85 meters (88.1 feet), including its marvelous base and epic capital. It was originally designed to support a towering statue that reached 7 meters (23 feet) in height. It is renowned as the only monolithic column in all of Roman Egypt and was crafted from a single piece of stone rather than individual drums. It was constructed from Lapis syenites, a type of pink granite sourced from the ancient quarries at the same place of modern Aswan; the column stands as a remarkable example of ancient engineering, with a shaft towering 20.46 meters (67.1 feet) high and a diameter of 2.71 meters (8 feet 11 inches) at its base. The column shaft’s weight is known to be 285 tonnes (314 short tons).

The surviving four-line inscription in Greek on the column’s socle called Publius reveals that it was dedicated to the Roman Emperor Diocletian. The two papyri from Oxyrhynchus place the completion of the column and the stylite statue of Diocletian between 297 & 303 AD. Some damage to the inscription confused the data by showcasing a dedication to the earlier Republican general Pompey due to similar Greek spellings, but the monument’s dedication to Diocletian remains very evident.

The original porphyry statue of Diocletian is depicted in armor that stood at the foot of the column. Fragments of this grand statue, including portions exhibiting the thighs, suggest a total height of approximately 7 meters (23 feet). While a number of fragments were known to exist in European collections during the 19th century, their whereabouts became unknown by the 1930s and are now considered to be lost. Historical speculation suggests that Pompey’s Pillar may have been accompanied by additional columns carrying statues of Diocletian’s co-emperors that commemorate the Tetrarchy put in motion during Diocletian’s reign.

Facts about Pompey’s Pillar

• Pompey’s Pillar is not related to the Roman general Pompey, who was killed in Alexandria in 48 BC.
• It was built around 298-302 AD in honor of the Roman emperor Diocletian, commemorating his victory over an Alexandrian revolt. Inscriptions on the base commemorate Diocletian and his victories.
• The pillar is one of the only ancient monuments in Alexandria that still stands in its original location.
• It is a single, monolithic column made of red granite quarried in Aswan, making it one of the largest ancient monoliths in the world.
• The column shaft is 20.46 meters (67.1 feet) tall and 2.71 meters (8.9 feet) in diameter at the base.
• The entire structure, including the base and capital, stands at 26.85 meters (88.1 feet) tall.
• Pompey’s Pillar supported a colossal statue of Diocletian, which was estimated to be around 7 meters (23 feet) tall.
• Steps beneath the pillar lead to the ruins of the Serapeum, including the site of the “Daughter Library” of the Great Library of Alexandria.
• It stands on the site of the ancient Serapeum, which has a temple complex dedicated to the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis.