chain of hills, from north to south, which rises in some
places to a height of 7,000 feet above sea level. The hills
provided Egypt with vast quarries and mining areas that
yielded granite, diorite, and other stones.
See also EGYPTIAN NATURAL RESOURCES.
Aramaeans A people from the Syrian desert region
who built enclaves in the area and in the modern Levant,
by 1069 B.C.E., the Aramaeans were a power, blocking
Assyrian advances to the Mediterranean and trading with
Renditions of the god Sobek and other deities
was Aramaic, which remained in use until 700 C.E., when
Arabic was adopted. In 1069 B.C.E., Adad-apla-iddina was
on the throne of Babylon. The last of the true pharaohs,
RAMESSES XI(r. 1100–1070 B.C.E.), had just ended his
reign on the Nile.
Archelaus Sisines(fl. first century B.C.E.) Last king of
Cappadocia (modern Turkey)
Archelaus was given his realm by Octavian, the future
Emperor AUGUSTUSof Rome, in 36 B.C.E. He had been an
ally of Marc ANTONYand had made peace with Octavian
after recognizing that Rome would prove successful in
the confrontation of military might. Ruling until 17 C.E.,
Archelaus was removed from power by the emperor
Tiberius.
Archimedes(d. 212 B.C.E.)Famous Greek scientist who
studied in Egypt
He was born c. 287 B.C.E. in Syracuse, Greece. Archimedes
studied in ALEXANDRIAand then returned to the service of
King Hiero II. He was a pioneer in geometry and mechan-
ics, inventing the Archimedean screw and developing the
principle concerning displacement of water. He also
devised war machines and discovered the relation
between the volume of a sphere and its circumscribing
cylinder. Archimedes, enthused by his discovery about
water displacement, is recorded as stating: “Eureka,”
which is translated as “I have found it.” He also boasted
that he, “given a place to stand, could move the earth.”
Archimedes was killed in 212 B.C.E. when the
Romans conquered Syracuse. He designed his own tomb,
forming a sphere inside a cylinder, to demonstrate his
theories.
Aristarchus of Samothrace(fl. second century
B.C.E.) Director of the Library of Alexandria
Aristarchus was appointed to that office in 153 B.C.E.in
the reign of PTOLEMY VI PHILOMETOR(180–164, 163–145
B.C.E.). He was a Greek critic and grammarian who had
studied with ARISTOPHANES OF BYZANTIUM. After serving as
director of the famed Alexandrian institution, he retired to
Cyprus. Aristarchus was known for his critical studies of
Homer, Pindar, Sophocles, Aeschylus, and Herodotus.
See also LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA.
Aristophanes of Byzantium(fl. third century B.C.E.)
Director of the Library of Alexandria and the founder of the
Alexandrian Canon
Aristophanes was born c. 257 B.C.E. and became famous
for his critical editions of the works of Homer and Hes-
iod. He also annotated the odes of Pindar and the come-
dies of the Athenian playwright Aristophanes. His system
of accents is still used in modern Greek.
In c. 195 B.C.E., he was named director of the LIBRARY
OF ALEXANDRIA in the reign of PTOLEMY V EPIPHANES
(205–180 B.C.E.). He established the Alexandrian Canon,
a selection in each genre of LITERATUREthat set standards
for excellence. He also founded a grammarian school and
gained worldwide fame for arranging the Dialogues of
Plato.Arius Didymus(fl. 1st century B.C.E.) Savior of
Alexandria after the fall of Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII
(d. 30 B.C.E.)
Arius was a student of Antiochus of Askalon and during
that scholastic period became a friend of Octavian (the
future emperor AUGUSTUS of Rome). Arius went to
ALEXANDRIAwith Octavian after the battle of ACTIUM.A
Stoic philosopher who was enraptured by the intellectual
status of Alexandria, Arius convinced Octavian to keep
his troops from harming the city.Arkamani(d. c. 200 B.C.E.) Ruler of Meroë, the Nubian
cultural capital
He ruled in his capital south of ASWANon the Nile (in
modern Sudan) from c. 218 B.C.E. until his death. Arka-
mani had good relations with PTOLEMY IV PHILOPATOR(r.
221–205 B.C.E.) and conducted TRADEand building pro-
jects with Egypt. He is recorded as having sponsored con-
struction at DAKKAin the period. He is also mentioned on
the temple of ARSENUPHISat Philae.Armant See ERMENT.Ar-Megiddo See TUTHMOSIS III’S MILITARY CAMPAIGNS.Arsamis(fl. fifth century B.C.E.)Persian satrap of Egypt
in the reign of Darius II (424–404 B.C.E.)
He was away from Egypt at the time when the priests of
the god KHNUM at the ELEPHANTINE Island, at modern
ASWAN, decided to harass the Jewish community there.
The priests bribed the local military commander, VIDA-
RANAG, and destroyed the Jewish temple on the Elephan-
tine. Arsamis punished Vidaranag, but no effort was
made to rebuild the temple. A petition was sent to Bago-
as, the governor of Judah, asking that the temple be
restored. That request was ultimately granted.Arsaphes See HARSAPHES.Arsaphes 45