Pompey's Pillar

Pompey's Pillar, a celebrated column standing in the neighbourhood of Alexandria, on an eminence about 1800 feet south of the walls. It is a monolith of red granite, and of the Corinthian order, and stands upon a pedestal. Its total height is 98 feet 9 inches; shaft, 73 feet; 29 feet 8 inches in circumference. On the summit is a circular depression for the base of a statue. The name popularly applied to it is an erroneous appellation given by old travellers; the Greek inscription on the base shows that it was erected by Publius, prefect of Egypt, in honour of the Emperor Diocletian, 'the invincible;' and it is supposed to record the conquest of Alexandria by Diocletian, 296 A.D.