Pelusium

ancient Egyptian archaeological site

8 dated entries naming Pelusium, drawn from 8 separate years between 343 BCE and 1117 CE. Nothing here is written by us: each line is the sentence a Wikipedia year article used, and the link beside it opens the exact revision.

JSON Wikipedia article Wikidata Q1145715

4th century BC

343 BCEThe King of Persia, Artaxerxes III, personally leads the Persian forces invading Egypt. The Persians are keen to access Egypt's gold and corn supplies. The town of Pelusium in the Nile Delta puts up resistance, but Pharaoh Nectanebo II is forced to retreat to Memphis. As the situation deteriorates, Nectanebo II leaves for exile in Nubia. His departure marks the end of the 30th Dynasty, the last native house to rule Egypt.source

3rd century BC

202 BCEAgathocles rule provokes Tlepolemus, the governor of Pelusium (Egypt's eastern frontier city), into action. Tlepolemus marches on Alexandria, where his supporters rouse a mob, compelling Agathocles to resign.source

2nd century BC

170 BCEAntiochus IV decides to let Ptolemy VI continue as king of Egypt, but as his puppet. He does this to minimise any reaction from Rome towards his invasion. Antiochus IV then departs Egypt to deal with disturbances in Palestine, but he safeguards his access to Egypt with a strong garrison in Pelusium.source

1st century BC

30 BCESummer – Cornelius Gallus lands in Cyrene and occupies Paraetonium. Mark Antony storms the city walls and blockades the harbour, then retreats with his army (7 legions) to Egypt and receives the news that Pelusium has opened its gates to Octavian without resistance.source

6th century

541Plague of Justinian: Bubonic plague appears suddenly in the Egyptian port of Pelusium, spreading to Alexandria and, the following year, to Constantinople. This is the beginning of a 200-year-long pandemic that will devastate Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa.source

7th century

639Arab–Byzantine War: The Rashidun army (4,000 men), under the command of 'Amr ibn al-'As, invades Byzantine Egypt. They capture the strategic town of Pelusium (Nile Delta) after a two-month siege. Arab reinforcements led by Zubayr ibn al-Awwam are sent from Medina to assist Amr's army. The losses incurred by the Muslims are ameliorated by Sinai Bedouins, tribes of Rashida and Lakhm; they join the invaders in conquering Egypt.source

8th century

749Ḥawthara ibn Suhayl takes the Coptic patriarch, Michael I, hostage to Rosetta, and threatenes to have him killed if the Egyptian rebels did not lay down their arms. The Egyptians attacked Rosetta and sacked it, massacring its Arab inhabitants. There was an offensive as far as Pelusium against an Umayyad army. In response, Marwān ordered the pillaging and razing of Egyptian villages and monasteries throughout the Delta. His campaign was a failure and in 750 he was overthrown in the Abbasid Revolution.source

12th century

1117The Crusaders led by King Baldwin I of Jerusalem raid Pelusium in Egypt and burn the city to the ground. Baldwin marches back to Palestine and strengthens the fortifications of the southern frontier.source