We are familiar with some of the invading forces that took control of Egypt during its long history, among them the Hyksos, the Persians, and the Romans, but less well-known is the annexation of Egypt by the Palmyrene Empire in AD 270, and the repeated incursions of the Blemmyes.
Rome in crisis
During the middle of the 3rd century AD, the Roman Empire was experiencing major problems which threatened to destroy it. This period is known as the ‘Crisis of the 3rd Century’ or the ‘Military Anarchy’. There were huge tribal migrations and invasions from the north and from the east, peasant revolts, an epidemic of plague and famine, and a quick succession of emperors, leading to instability and currency debasement. Egypt was no longer a major supplier of corn to Rome following the Boucolic Marshes revolt in AD 172, when the priest Isidorus led a rebellion in the Nile Delta against the oppressive taxation of Marcus Aurelius; although the revolt was eventually put down, it left much of rural Egypt outside Rome’s control and severely damaged the Egyptian economy. In addition, the southern Roman frontier was under constant threat from an Eastern Desert people called the Blemmyes, who established a kingdom above the First Cataract (in Lower Nubia), threatening the Thebaid (the 12 southernmost nomes).
There were now three main states within the Roman Empire: Gallic (Gaul and Britannia), Palmyrene (mainly Syria), and the Italian-based empire itself.
