- Pompey’s Pillar is a Roman Triumphal red granite column 90 ft (25m) high, standing in Alexandria, Egypt.
- It was named ‘Pompey’s Pillar’ by medieval historians because Pompey was executed in Alexandria in 48 BCE, and they believed his head was enclosed in the capital on top of the Pillar.
History
- The Column was raised in Alexandria in honour of Diocletian (284-305 CE), after he had besieged and re-captured the city in 298 CE.
- Originally, it was topped by a statue of Diocletian.
- The column was taken from the nearby Temple of Serapis, which was built by Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-222 BCE).
- It is the largest Monolithic Column to be erected in Egypt and the only one not composed of drums.
- The Pillar is 90 ft (xxm) high, while the column shaft is 67 feet (20m) high, with a diameter of 8ft 11 inches (2.71m)
Pompey’s Pillar, Alexandria