Rosetta
Encyclopedia
Rosetta is a port
city on the Mediterranean
coast of Egypt
. It is located 65 km (40 mi) east of Alexandria
, in Beheira
governorate
. It was founded around AD 800
.
With the decline of Alexandria following the Ottoman
conquest of Egypt in 1517, Rashid boomed, only to wane in importance after Alexandria's revival. During the 19th century it was a popular British
tourist destination, known for its charming Ottoman mansion
s, citrus
groves and cleanliness.
The town of Rashid came to be known in the West as Rosette (Rosetta), the name by which it was referred to by the French during Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt
. Rosetta gave its name to the Rosetta Stone
which was found by French soldiers at the nearby Fort Julien
in 1799.
Rosetta was a place of considerable commercial importance, and it continued to flourish until the construction of the Mahmudiyeh Canal and the improvement of the harbour at Alexandria
diverted most of its trade to the latter city.
Rosetta also witnessed the defeat of the 1807 British Fraser campaign
, on September 19. The British were trying to occupy Egypt after the French army had left the country. September 19 later became the national day of the town. Al-buhaira celebrates that year.
Port
A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....
city on the Mediterranean
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
coast of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. It is located 65 km (40 mi) east of Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, in Beheira
Beheira Governorate
Beheira Governorate is a coastal governorate in Egypt. Located in the northern part of the country in the Nile Delta, its capital is Damanhur.-Overview:Beheira governorate enjoys an important strategical place, west of the Rosetta branch of the Nile...
governorate
Governorates of Egypt
Egypt is divided for administrative purposes into 27 governorates . Egyptian governorates are the top tier of the country's five-tier jurisdiction hierarchy. A governorate is administered by a governor, who is appointed by the President of Egypt and serves at the president's discretion...
. It was founded around AD 800
800
Year 800 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. It was around this time that the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years, so from this time on, the years began being known as 800 and onwards.- Europe :* December 25 - Pope Leo III...
.
With the decline of Alexandria following the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
conquest of Egypt in 1517, Rashid boomed, only to wane in importance after Alexandria's revival. During the 19th century it was a popular British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
tourist destination, known for its charming Ottoman mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
s, citrus
Citrus
Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...
groves and cleanliness.
The town of Rashid came to be known in the West as Rosette (Rosetta), the name by which it was referred to by the French during Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Rosetta gave its name to the Rosetta Stone
Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is an ancient Egyptian granodiorite stele inscribed with a decree issued at Memphis in 196 BC on behalf of King Ptolemy V. The decree appears in three scripts: the upper text is Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs, the middle portion Demotic script, and the lowest Ancient Greek...
which was found by French soldiers at the nearby Fort Julien
Fort Julien
Fort Julien was a fort in Egypt, originally built by the Ottoman Empire and occupied by the French during Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt and Syria between 1798-1801. It stood on the left bank of the Nile a couple of miles north-east of Rashid on the north coast of Egypt...
in 1799.
History
Rosetta is the modern representative of the ancient Bolbitine, which lay a little farther north. In the Middle AgesMiddle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
Rosetta was a place of considerable commercial importance, and it continued to flourish until the construction of the Mahmudiyeh Canal and the improvement of the harbour at Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
diverted most of its trade to the latter city.
Rosetta also witnessed the defeat of the 1807 British Fraser campaign
Fraser campaign
The Alexandria expedition of 1807 or Fraser expedition was an operation by the Royal Navy and the British Army during the Anglo-Turkish War of the Napoleonic Wars to capture Alexandria in Egypt with the purpose of securing a base of operations against the Ottoman Empire in the Mediterranean Sea...
, on September 19. The British were trying to occupy Egypt after the French army had left the country. September 19 later became the national day of the town. Al-buhaira celebrates that year.
Population
The population of Rashid has increased since the 1980s, as follows:- 1983: 36,711 (approximate);
- 1986: 51,789; and
- 1996: 58,432
External links
- Thomas Brinkhoff: City Population, http://www.citypopulation.de Egypt statistics
- Detailed map of Egypt (with many ancient temples): UniMaps-Egypt.