Editing Ancient Egypt (section)

===Roman period (30 BC – AD 642)===
{{Main|Roman Egypt}}
[[File:Fayum-22.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Fayum mummy portraits]] epitomize the meeting of Egyptian and Roman cultures.]]

Egypt became a province of the [[Roman Empire]] in 30{{nbsp}}BC, following the defeat of [[Mark Antony]] and [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic]] Queen [[Cleopatra VII]] by [[Octavian]] (later [[Roman emperor|Emperor]] Augustus) in the [[Battle of Actium]]. The Romans relied heavily on grain shipments from Egypt, and the [[Roman army]], under the control of a prefect appointed by the emperor, quelled rebellions, strictly enforced the collection of heavy taxes, and prevented attacks by bandits, which had become a notorious problem during the period.{{sfnp|James|2005|p=63}} Alexandria became an increasingly important center on the trade route with the orient, as exotic luxuries were in high demand in Rome.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|p=426}}

Although the Romans had a more hostile attitude than the Greeks towards the Egyptians, some traditions such as mummification and worship of the traditional gods continued.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|p=422}} The art of mummy portraiture flourished, and some Roman emperors had themselves depicted as pharaohs, though not to the extent that the Ptolemies had. The former lived outside Egypt and did not perform the ceremonial functions of Egyptian kingship. Local administration became Roman in style and closed to native Egyptians.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|p=422}}

From the mid-first century AD, [[Christianity]] took root in Egypt and it was originally seen as another cult that could be accepted. However, it was an uncompromising religion that sought to win converts from the pagan [[Ancient Egyptian religion|Egyptian]] and [[Hellenistic religion|Greco-Roman]] religions and threatened popular religious traditions. This led to the persecution of converts to Christianity, culminating in the great purges of [[Diocletian]] starting in 303, but eventually Christianity won out.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|p=431}} In 391, the Christian emperor [[Theodosius I|Theodosius]] introduced legislation that banned pagan rites and closed temples.{{sfnp|Chadwick|2001|p=373}} Alexandria became the scene of great anti-pagan riots with public and private religious imagery destroyed.{{sfnp|MacMullen|1984|p=63}} As a consequence, Egypt's native religious culture was continually in decline. While the native population continued to speak [[Egyptian language|their language]], the ability to read [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyphic writing]] slowly disappeared as the role of the Egyptian temple priests and priestesses diminished. The temples themselves were sometimes converted to [[church (building)|churches]] or abandoned to the desert.{{sfnp|Shaw|2003|p=445}}