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Arsinoe (
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
: ) or Arsinoites or Cleopatris or Cleopatra, was an ancient city at the northern extremity of the Heroopolite Gulf (Gulf of Suez), in the
Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; ...
.


History

Arsinoe was the capital of the Heroopolite nome, and one of the principal harbors belonging to
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
. It appears to have been also denominated ''Cleopatris'' ( Strabo p. 780) and ''Arsinoites'' ( Plin. v. 9. § 9; Orelli, ''Inscr.'' 516). It is also conjectured to have stood on the site of the biblical Pi-hahiroth (Pihachiroth). Exodus ;
Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...
; Winer, ''Biblioth. Realwörterb.'' ii. p. 309. The modern Ardscherúd, a village near
Suez Suez ( ar, السويس '; ) is a seaport city (population of about 750,000 ) in north-eastern Egypt, located on the north coast of the Gulf of Suez (a branch of the Red Sea), near the southern terminus of the Suez Canal, having the same bou ...
, corresponds to this Arsinoe. It was seated near the eastern termination of the Royal canal, which communicated with the
Pelusiac The Nile Delta ( ar, دلتا النيل, or simply , ) is the River delta, delta formed in Lower Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. It is one of the world's largest river deltas—from Alexandria in ...
branch of the
Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest ...
, and which Ptolemy Philadelphus carried on from the
Bitter Lakes The Great Bitter Lake ( ar, البحيرة المرة الكبرى; transliterated: ''al-Buḥayrah al-Murra al-Kubrā'') is a large saltwater lake in Egypt that is part of the Suez Canal. Before the canal was built in 1869, the Great Bitter L ...
to the head of the Heroopolite gulf. Arsinoe (Plin. v. 12) was ca. 200 km from Pelusium. The revenues of the Arsinoite nome were presented by that monarch to his wife (who was also his sister), Arsinoe II of Egypt, after whom the city was named, and remained the property of successive queens or princesses of the Lagid family, including one of the Cleopatra's who changed the name into Cleopatris. The shortness of the road across the
eastern desert The Eastern Desert (Archaically known as Arabia or the Arabian Desert) is the part of the Sahara desert that is located east of the Nile river. It spans of North-Eastern Africa and is bordered by the Nile river to the west and the Red Sea an ...
and its position near the canal were the principal advantages of Arsinoe as a staple of trade. But although it possessed a capacious bay, its access from the south was difficult due to the prevailing northern winds. Arsinoe, accordingly, was less eligibly situated for the
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
n traffic than either
Myos Hormos Myos Hormos ( gr, Μυὸς Ὅρμος "Mouse's Haven") was a Red Sea port constructed by the Ptolemies around the 3rd century BC. Following excavations carried out recently by David Peacock and Lucy Blue of the University of Southampton, it is ...
or Berenice.


In popular culture

Arsinoe is depicted in the first DLC (The Hidden Ones) of the 2017 video game
Assassin's Creed Origins ''Assassin's Creed Origins'' is a 2017 action role-playing video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It is the tenth major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, following 2015's ''Assassin's Creed Syndicate''. ...
. It is shown as a town occupied by Romans, who tear down ancient Egyptian monuments for use as building materials in 38 BC.


References

Ptolemaic colonies Populated coastal places in Egypt Former populated places in Egypt Ptolemaic colonies in the Red Sea Lost ancient cities and towns {{AncientGreekWorld-stub