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A towering 27-metre Roman column of red granite — standing on the hilltop ruins of the ancient Serapeum, the great temple of Serapis that once crowned Alexandria.عمودٌ روماني شاهق بارتفاع 27 مترًا من الجرانيت الأحمر — يقف على أنقاض تلّة المعبد القديم، السيرابيوم، معبد سيرابيس العظيم الذي توّج الإسكندرية يومًا.
Rising high above the rooftops of Alexandria stands a single, magnificent column of red granite — Pompey's Pillar. Despite its name, it has nothing to do with the Roman general Pompey; it was raised in honour of an emperor around 298 AD. It crowns the hilltop ruins of the Serapeum, once one of the greatest temples of the ancient world, dedicated to the god Serapis, and an annex of the legendary Library of Alexandria. Today it is the city's tallest ancient monument.
يرتفع عاليًا فوق سطوح الإسكندرية عمودٌ واحد فخم من الجرانيت الأحمر — عمود السواري. ورغم اسمه الإنجليزي «عمود بومبي»، لا علاقة له بالقائد الروماني بومبي؛ فقد أُقيم تكريمًا لإمبراطورٍ نحو 298 للميلاد. ويتوّج أنقاض تلّة السيرابيوم، الذي كان يومًا من أعظم معابد العالم القديم، المكرّس للإله سيرابيس، وملحقًا بمكتبة الإسكندرية الأسطورية. وهو اليوم أطول أثرٍ قديم في المدينة.
A Towering Roman Column · عمودٌ روماني شاهق
A giant monolith of granite.كتلةٌ عملاقة من الجرانيت.
The pillar is a single shaft of polished red Aswan granite standing around 27 metres tall — one of the largest ancient monolithic columns ever erected outside the great imperial capitals. It was raised around 298 AD to honour the Roman emperor Diocletian. Its popular name, "Pompey's Pillar," is a medieval mistake, given by Crusaders who wrongly linked it to the general Pompey. By whatever name, it is a striking survivor of Roman Alexandria, towering over the modern city.
The Serapeum · السيرابيوم
A vanished wonder of the city.عجيبةٌ مندثرة من المدينة.
The pillar stands amid the ruins of the Serapeum, the great temple of the god Serapis, a deity who fused Egyptian and Greek traditions. In its day, this was one of Alexandria's most important religious sites and among the most magnificent temples of the ancient world. It is also believed to have housed a "daughter library," an annex of the famous Library of Alexandria. Though the temple itself was destroyed in antiquity, its hilltop site and underground galleries remain, with the great pillar as their crowning survivor.
Visiting the Site · زيارة الموقع
Ruins, sphinxes, and tunnels.أنقاضٌ وأبو الهول وأنفاق.
The site, known in Arabic as Amud el-Sawari ("the Pillar of Columns"), sits on a low hill in the city. Around the great column stand a pair of granite sphinxes and the scattered remains of the temple complex, while beneath are ancient underground galleries once used in the cult and for storage. Compact and atmospheric, it pairs naturally with Alexandria's other ancient sites, such as the nearby Catacombs of Kom el-Shoqafa, for a journey into the city's Graeco-Roman past.
Quick Facts · حقائق سريعة
Sources include standard histories of Graeco-Roman Alexandria. Some details are approximate.