Road station

Spelci

Dakka Eg.: Pselqet (Barrington)

Spelci is a garbled spelling of Pselkis, the Greek form of an Egyptian name, at Dakka in Nubia. Ptolemy the Fourth built a temple of Thoth here, and later the kings of Meroë added much to its sanctuaries. In 25 BC the Roman prefect of Egypt, Publius Petronius, defeated a Meroitic army here, and Rome gained the land up to the second cataract. Papyri show a garrison in the town from the first to the third century; the last receipts for wine delivered to its soldiers date from the 210s, and soon afterwards the Roman units withdrew.

Find Spelci on the interactive Roman map →

Auf Deutsch anhören · All place stories · More places in Egypt