Listed 3 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "ARSINOI Ancient city EGYPT" .
ARSINOI (Ancient city) EGYPT
Arsinoe. A city at the northern extremity of the Heroopolite gulf,
in the Red Sea. It was the capital of the Heroopolite nome, and one of the principal
harbours belonging to Egypt. It appears to have been also denominated Cleopatris
(Strab. p. 780) and Arsinoites (Plin. v. 9. § 9; Orelli, Inscr. 516). It is also
conjectured to have stood on the site of the ancient Pihachiroth (Exod. xii. 2,
9; Numb. xxxiii. 7; Winer, Biblioth. Realworterb. ii. p. 309). The modern Ardscherud,
a village near Suez, corresponds to this Arsinoe. It was seated near the eastern
termination of the Royal canal which communicated with the Pelusiac branch of
the Nile, and which Ptolemy Philadelphus carried on from the Bitter Lakes to the
head of the Heroopolite bay. Arsinoe (Plin. v. 12) was 125 miles from Pelusium.
The revenues of the Arsinoite nome were presented by that monarch to his sister,
and remained the property of successive queens or princesses of the Lagid family.
The shortness of the road across the eastern desert and its position near the
canal were the principal advantages of Arsinoe as a staple of trade. But although
it possessed a capacious bay, it was exposed to the south wind, and the difficulties
which ships encountered from reefs in working up the gulf were considerable. Arsinoe,
accordingly, was less eligibly situated for the Indian traffic than either Myos
Hormos or Berenice. In common, however, with other ports on the Red Sea Arsinoe
improved in its commerce after the conquest of Egypt by the Romans. One hundred
and twenty vessels annually sailed from Egyptian havens to bring from western
India silk, precious stones, and aromatics (Gibbon, D. and F. ch. vi).
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
In the Nomos Heroopolites in Lower Egypt, near or upon the head of the Sinus Heroopolites, or west branch of the Red Sea (Gulf of Suez). It was afterwards called Cleopatra.
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