The Roman Fort in Luxor Temple [7:14]

Transcript

Chapter 1: Introduction

Luxor temple in Luxor, Egypt, ancient thieves, is one of the great monuments of the Egyptian new kingdom. It was constructed in the 14th century BC by Amenhotep III, arguably the greatest builder in Egyptian history and enlarged a century later by Ramses II. Aside from its architectural splendor, the temple’s ancient significance derived from its close connection with the divinity of the pharaoh. It was here during the annual Opet festival that the pharaoh communed with Amon Ra, rejuvenating his vigor and authority. A famous sequence of reliefs in the inner sanctuary proclaims Amon Ra the father of Amenhotep. For well over a millennium, Luxor temple was one of Egypt’s most important sanctuaries. Nectanebo completed the avenue of sphinxes which runs all the way to Carne Temple. Alexander the Great ordered modifications to the Holy of Holies and is depicted as a pharaoh in the reliefs there. Members of the Ptolemaic dynasty restored it. The early Roman emperors were equally generous. Tiberius ordered its restoration after a serious flood. In front of the temple is this small brick shrine dedicated to the god Serapus by a former Roman soldier named Gaius Julius Antoninus.

Chapter 2: Temple of Serapis

The Greek inscription on the lintel informs us that it was dedicated on the birthday of Emperor Hadrien, January 24th, AD 126. It was peripheral, ringed by columns. The ledge at the back of the central cell supported statues of several deities, including the now headless Isis. To judge from graffiti, pilgrims continued to visit the temple through the second century. But by the end of the 3rd century, thanks to the gradual decline of Egypt’s traditional religion, Luxor temple had been largely abandoned. During the reign of Diocletian, when the region around thieves had become a separate Roman province, the temple was converted into the fortress of a newly raised legion, Legio Tertia Dioletsiana. A massive brick wall was built around the temple incorporating the pylon of Ramses II in front of us as the main entrance.

Chapter 3: Fort walls

The pylon is still almost intact, though one obelisk and two of its six colossal statues were moved to Paris in the 19th century. The reliefs show the famous Battle of Kadesh. You can make out the outlines of Ramses’ form as he confers with his generals and rides into battle on the right pylon. The left pylon shows the battle itself, the king’s chariot surrounded by dead and dying enemies. Although most of the Roman walls were leveled by the excavations that uncovered the Feronic temple, you can still see the base of one horseshoe-shaped tower to the left of the pylon. Part of the wall is also visible. Here it was almost 20 ft thick. Inside the pylon, we enter the great court that Ramses II added to Amenhotep’s temple.

Chapter 4: Court of Rameses II

Part of the court is an excavated, having been occupied since the Middle Ages by the mosque of Abu Alhaj itself built over an early Christian church. Although most of the Roman remains in this part of the temple were swept away by the excavators, a few traces remain. The great court of Ramses II was integrated into the street plan of the camp. One street led through the colonade toward the camp’s Nile gate. Here at the place where visitors from the river entered, a tetra stylon, a monument with four pillars, was erected. The columns carried statues of the tetrarchs, that is, of Dialesian and his three co-emperors. Returning to the court of Ramses II, we proceed into the original temple built by Amenhotep III.

Chapter 5: Colonnade

It was entered through this magnificent colonade, probably the prototype of the famous hypoyle hall at Carneak. Originally, and still during the Roman period. The hall was roofed and walls stood on either side. Light entered only through small clear windows. Imagine these columns wrapped in sacred gloom with a few shafts of sunlight kindling the brightly painted hieroglyphs and reliefs of the Opet festival.

Chapter 6: Sun Court

We enter the temple’s sun court, a legacy of Amenhotep’s close association with the god Aman Rah. The god’s light cascaded over the monumental columns with their papyrus bundle capitals. This space and the rooms behind it house the headquarters of the Roman camp. Soldiers assembled here for exercises and addresses and the legionary officers were quartered in the surrounding rooms.

Chapter 7: Hypostyle Hall

Behind the sun court, the hypo style hall of the temple was adapted to suit its new purpose. The central avenue was broadened which involved cutting away the columns on either side. Statues of the emperors were set up among the columns. The base of a statue for Constantius Chloris, one of the tetrarchs, remains in place. Behind the Hypostile Hall, the shrine of the Legion’s standards was established in one of the antichambers of the former Holy of Holies. The columns that originally filled the room were removed, and a doorway converted into a niche flanked by four granite columns, which probably supported a canopy over an altar to the emperors. The walls with their reliefs showing Amenhotep and Ammon were plastered over and covered with fresco now badly damaged which show the tetrarchs enthroned.

Chapter 8: Conclusions

Why did the Romans establish a camp in an ancient Egyptian temple far from any obvious military threat? It’s possible that they wanted to associate their legions and emperors with Luxor’s ancient tradition of revering royal power. The emperors had always been assimilated to the pharaohs. Perhaps this was the next logical step. The legions remained here for three centuries until the Persian conquest. After that, the fort fell into ruin. A church was established in the court of Ramses II and replaced in due course by the small mosque that still stands of the fort itself. Besides the few traces we’ve visited in this tour, all that remains is the name Luxor, an Arabic rendering of Castra, the camps. Check below for upcoming historical tours. Thanks for watching.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.