Bucolic War

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Bucolic War
Datec. 172-175
Location
Result Roman victory
Belligerents
Bucoli herdsmen

Roman Empire

Commanders and leaders
Isidorus Avidius Cassius

The Bucolic War was an armed uprising in 2nd century Roman Egypt between native Egyptian herdsmen (called "Bucoli" or "Boukoloi") and the Roman military, possibly caused due to increased taxation in the region.

Background

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The Bucoli lived on the Nile Delta.

The war

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The primary account of the uprising comes from Greco-Roman historian Cassius Dio's Roman History, in which he describes the Bucoli disguising themselves as women to get close to Roman soldiers. They come close to capturing Alexandria, but were deterred by Avidius Cassius. Dio remarks on Isidorus's courage in the war, but also describes cannibalism perpetuated by the Bucoli during the war. [1]

Aftermath

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The agriculture of Egypt was harmed after the war, the effects of which were characterized as "far more serious than...the Jewish revolt under Trajan" by British historian Joseph Grafton Milne.[2]

References

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  1. ^ Dio, Cassius. Roman History. Translated by Cary, Earnest. Harvard University Press.
  2. ^ Milne, Joseph (1898). A History of Egypt under Roman Rule. Methuen & Company. p. 66.