Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manch ...

city of the

Nile Delta The Nile Delta (, 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 larger deltas—from Alexandria in the west to Port Said in the eas ...

, east of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, in

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Beheira governorate Beheira ( ', , "the governorate of the Lake") is a coastal governorates of Egypt, governorate in northern Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, its capital is Damanhur. Overview Beheira Governorate enjoys an impo ...

. The

Rosetta Stone The Rosetta Stone is a stele of granodiorite inscribed with three versions of a Rosetta Stone decree, decree issued in 196 BC during the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt, Egypt, on behalf of King Ptolemy V Epiphanes. The top and middle texts ...

was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, Rosetta boomed with the decline of Alexandria following the

Ottoman conquest of Egypt Ottoman may refer to: * Osman I, historically known in English as "Ottoman I", founder of the Ottoman Empire * Osman II, historically known in English as "Ottoman II" * Ottoman Empire 1299–1922 ** Ottoman dynasty, ruling family of the Ottoman Em ...

in 1517, only to wane in importance after Alexandria's revival. During the 19th century, it was a popular

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

tourist destination, known for its Ottoman mansions, citrus groves and relative cleanliness.

Etymology

The name of the town most likely comes from an Arabic name '' Rašīd'' (meaning "guide") and was transcribed and corrupted in numerous ways – the name ''Rexi'' was used by the Crusaders in Middle Ages and ''Rosetta'' or ''Rosette'' ("little rose" in Italian and French respectively) was used by the French at the time of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

's campaign in Egypt. The latter lent its name to the

(), which was found by French soldiers at the nearby

Fort Julien Fort Julien (or, in some sources, ''Fort Rashid'') (Arabic: طابية رشيد) is a fort located on the left or west bank of the Nile about north-west of Rashid ( Rosetta) on the north coast of Egypt. It was originally built by the Mamluks ...

in 1799. Some scholars believe that there is no evidence that the city's name comes from

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

, and the Coptic form is just a late transcription of the Arabic name. Some argue that it could be derived from and that the name is ancient.

History

Because of the proverbial phrase in , researchers believe that Bolbitine was celebrated for its manufactory of

chariots A chariot is a type of vehicle similar to a cart, driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Ru ...

in antiquity. The city was near the mouth of a branch of the Nile that was called the Bolbitine mouth (τὸ Βολβίτινον στόμα).

Herodotus Herodotus (; BC) was a Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus (now Bodrum, Turkey), under Persian control in the 5th century BC, and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria, Italy. He wrote the '' Histori ...

wrote that the Bolbitine mouth was not a natural but an excavated channel. Iban Haqal mentioned it and said that it is a city on the Nile, close to the salt sea from a crater known as Ashtum (). Also mentioned in the Al-Mushtaq excursion, it was described as a civilized city with a market, merchants and workers, and it has farms, yields, wheat and barley, and it has many good words, and it has many palm trees and wet fruits, and it has whales and fish species from the salty sea and many indigo fish. Despite the similarity of Rashid and

Damietta Damietta ( ' ) is a harbor, port city and the capital of the Damietta Governorate in Egypt. It is located at the Damietta branch, an eastern distributary of the Nile Delta, from the Mediterranean Sea, and about north of Cairo. It was a Cath ...

in their geographical and administrative position throughout the ages and as an important coastal city, Rashid did not play a clear, influential role compared to Damietta's role in the beginnings of Arab Islamic rule, especially for Rashid's proximity to the location of Alexandria, which is the first coastal city in Egypt and primarily affected Rashid and its position. Likewise, the agricultural area in Rashid is very limited, and the spread of sand formations to the west of the city and its urbanization has a greater impact on the city and its agriculture; As a result, Rashid was deserted several times by its residents and they took refuge in

Fuwwah Fuwwah (; ) is a city in the Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, Egypt. Name The name of the town is attested in and , although it's also claimed that the name is derived from the Arabic word for saffron, ''fuwa''. History Medieval Fuwwah grew to be ...

, in the south. What is now known today as Rosetta was an

Umayyad The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...

stronghold in 749, when it was sacked during the

Bashmuric Revolt Bashmurian revolts (; ) were a series of revolts by the Copts in the Bashmur region in the north of the Nile Delta against the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates in the eighth and ninth centuries. Exactly how many revolts there were cannot be determ ...

. In the 850s, the

Abbasid The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

caliph

Al-Mutawakkil Ja'far ibn al-Mu'tasim, Muḥammad ibn Harun al-Rashid, Hārūn al-Mutawakkil ʿalā Allāh (); March 82211 December 861, commonly known by his laqab, regnal name al-Mutawwakil ala Allah (), was the tenth Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid caliph, rul ...

ordered a fort to be built on the site of the Ptolemaic city of

Bolbitine Rosetta ( ) or Rashid (, ; ) is a port city of the Nile Delta, east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate. The Rosetta Stone was discovered there in 1799. Founded around the 9th century on the site of the ancient town of Bolbitine, Ro ...

, and the medieval city grew around this fort. Following the establishment of the Fatimid state in 969, and the establishment of the city of Cairo as the new capital of the country, foreign trade was active that was no longer limited to Alexandria only. Rather, Rashid and Damietta participated in it, especially in the beginnings of the Fatimid state, which made urbanism restart. In the era of the Ayyubid state, neighboring Alexandria witnessed extensive commercial activity as a result of the concessions granted by the Ayyubids to Italian merchants, and before the Bay of Alexandria was re-cleared in 1013 in the Fatimid era by order of

Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah Abu Ali al-Mansur (; 13 August 985 – 13 February 1021), better known by his regnal name al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (), was the sixth Fatimid caliph and 16th Ismaili imam (996–1021). Al-Hakim is an important figure in a number of Shia Ism ...

, which contributed to linking Alexandria to the city of

, south of Rashid and overlooking the Nile. And from it to Cairo and the rest of the cities of Egypt, and this led to the flourishing of the commercial activity of

, which affected the movement of trade Rashid, so that in the era of the Mamluks Fuwwah became the base of the trade networks in the region. During the

Seventh Crusade The Seventh Crusade (1248–1254) was the first of the two Crusades led by Louis IX of France. Also known as the Crusade of Louis IX to the Holy Land, it aimed to reclaim the Holy Land by attacking Egypt, the main seat of Muslim power in the Nea ...

Louis IX of France Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis VI ...

briefly occupied the town in 1249. Following the destruction of Damietta during the crusade, Al-Zahir Baybars built it again in 1250. However, due to the huge costs of protecting it with strong walls and an impenetrable castle, he built a fortress in 1262 to monitor any possible upcoming invasion. During the reign of Al-Nasir Muhammad, the Gulf of Alexandria was re-excavated, so the commercial movement flourished more in Alexandria and was uttered so much that it became the mouth of Egypt's most important commercial city after Cairo. This had a more negative impact on Rashid, to the point that Abu al-Fidaa noted in the thirteenth century that the city was smaller than his mouth. Rashid contributed to the launching of the naval campaigns during Sultan Barbsay reign to invade the island of

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

and bring it under Egyptian control in 1426. Rashid also suffered from the attacks of the Christian knights who lived on the island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

during the reign of the sultan Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq. Sultan Jaqamq sent a large garrison to protect Rashid's beach. and ordered its reinforcement in the following years. Then the throne came to

Qaitbay Sultan Abu Al-Nasr Sayf ad-Din Al-Ashraf Qaitbay (; 1416/14187 August 1496) was the eighteenth Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt from 872 to 901 A.H. (1468–1496 C.E.). He was Circassian by birth, and was purchased by the ninth sultan Barsbay ( ...

and renewed the Rashid Towers in 1479 and renewed the castle, which was named after him so far, and built a wall to protect the city from raids. Generally, Rashid had a defensive role with a little commercial role.جمال الدين أبي المحاسن يوسف بن تغري بردي الأتابكي، النجوم الزاهرة في ملوك مصر والقاهرة: الجزء 15، الهيئة العامة لقصور الثقافة، القاهرة، صـ: 334. Under the

Mamluks Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-sold ...

, the city became an important commercial center, and remained so throughout Ottoman rule, until the eventual resurgence of the importance of

following the construction of the Mahmoudiyah canal in 1820. Rosetta witnessed the defeat of the British Fraser campaign, on 19 September 1807.

Geography

The city is located 65 km (40 mi) east of Alexandria, in Egypt's Beheira governorate.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh), but blowing winds from the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

greatly moderate the temperatures, typical to the Egypt's north coast, making its summers moderately hot and humid, with winters that are mild and moderately wet when sleet and

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailsto ...

are also common.

Rafah Rafah ( ) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. Due to the Gaza war, about 1.4 million people from Gaza C ...

Abu Qir Abu Qir (, ''Abu Qīr'', or , ), formerly also spelled Abukir or Aboukir, is a town on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, near the ruins of ancient Canopus and northeast of Alexandria by rail. It is located on Abu Qir Peninsula, with Abu Qir ...

, Rosetta,

Baltim Baltim ( ) is a city in the Kafr El Sheikh Governorate, in the north coast of Egypt. History The second part of the town's name preserves "end, furthest part (of Egypt)". Baltim was the beneficiary of a tax reduction under the reign o ...

, Kafr el-Dawwar and

Mersa Matruh Mersa Matruh (), also transliterated as Marsa Matruh ( Standard Arabic ''Marsā Maṭrūḥ'', ), is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located west of Alexandria and east of Sallum on the main highway from the Nile ...

are the wettest places in

Population

The population of Rosetta has increased since the 1980s, as follows: * 1983: 36,711 (approximate) * 1986: 51,789 * 1996: 58,432

Gallery

File:Historical cannons in Rosetta.JPG, An identical copy of the Rosetta Stone File:Rashid For Wiki-45.jpg, Abou Mandour Mosque File:المعالم الاثرية من رحلة رشيد 5.jpg, Rashid old walls File:المعالم الاثرية من رحلة رشيد 10.jpg, Rashid Fort File:المعالم الاثرية من رحلة رشيد 23.jpg, Old houses indoors File:Ramadan house (16).jpg, Beit Ramadan File:Rashid 8.jpg, Playing Dominoes

Notes

References

Bibliography

* "Rosetta", ''

Encyclopaedia Britannica An encyclopedia is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge, either general or special, in a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article (publishing), articles or entries that are arranged Alp ...

'', Chicago, 1983.

External links

* Thomas Brinkhoff: City Populatio
''Egypt statistics''
* Detailed map of Egypt (with many ancient temples)

{{authority control Medieval cities of Egypt Populated coastal places in Egypt Populated places established in the 1st millennium Populated places in Beheira Governorate Ports and harbours of the Arab League Tourism in Egypt Transport in the Arab League