Berenice Troglodytica
| Βερενίκη | |
Satellite image of Berenice Troglodytica, on Red Sea coast
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 Shown within Egypt
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| Alternate name | Berenice Troglodytica, Baranis, Berenike |
|---|---|
| Location | Red Sea Governorate, Egypt |
| Region | Upper Egypt |
| Coordinates | 23°54′38″N 35°28′34″E / 23.91056°N 35.47611°ECoordinates: 23°54′38″N 35°28′34″E / 23.91056°N 35.47611°E |
| Type | Settlement |
| History | |
| Builder | Ptolemy II |
| Founded | First half of the 3rd century BC |
| Abandoned | After the 6th century AD |
| Periods | Ptolemaic Kingdom to Byzantine Empire |
Berenice (Berenike) or Berenice Troglodytica (Greek: Βερενίκη), also known as Baranis, is an ancient seaport of Egypt on the west coast of the Red Sea. It is situated about 825 km south of Suez and 260 km east of Aswan in Upper Egypt.
It was founded in 275 BC by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BC), who named it after his mother, Berenice I of Egypt.Troglodytica refers to the aboriginal people of the region, the "Troglodytai" or "cave dwellers". Although the name is attested by several ancient writers, the more ancient Ptolemaic inscriptions read Trogodytai (which G.W.B. Huntingford has speculated could be related to the same root as Tuareg). It is possible that later copyists confused this name with the more common term Troglodytai.
Built at the head of a gulf, the Sinus Immundus, or Foul Bay, of Strabo, it was sheltered on the north by Ras Benas (Lepte Extrema). A lofty range of mountains runs along this side of the African coast, and separates Berenice from the Nile Valley. The emerald mines of Zabara and Saket are in its neighbourhood. The harbour is indifferent, but was improved by art. Berenice stood upon a narrow rim of shore between the hills and the Red Sea. The harbor of Berenice was sheltered from the northeast wind by the island Ophiodes (Ὀφιώδης νήσος, Strabo xvi. p. 770; Diod. iii. 39), which was rich in topazes.
Berenice was quite famous and prosperous in antiquity. The city is noted by most ancient geographers, including Strabo, Pliny the Elder (vi. 23, 26, 29, 33), and Stephanus of Byzantium (s. v.). Its prosperity after the third century was owing in great measure to three causes: the favour of the Macedonian kings, its safe anchorage, and its being a terminus of the great road from Coptos (now Qift) on the Nile, which rendered Berenice and Myos Hormos the two principal emporia of the trade between Aethiopia and Egypt on the one hand, and Syria and Tamilakkam on the other. The road across the desert from Coptos was 258 Roman miles long, or eleven days' journey. The road was provided with watering stations (Greek hydreumata, see Hadhramaut); the wells and halting places of the caravans are enumerated by Pliny (vi. 23. s. 26), and in the Itineraries (Antonin. p. 172, f.). Belzoni (Travels, vol. ii. p. 35) found traces of several of these stations.
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