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Acta Alexandrinorum

The acts of the Pagan Martyrs, otherwise known as the Acta Alexandrinorum, is a collection of about a dozen fragments of Alexandrian literature, found on papyri mostly written between the 2nd and 3nd century A.D. The earliest embassy, however, is associated with emperor Caligula and Claudius. In these fragments, the story of Alexandrian ambassadors is told who travelled to Rome and, on arrival, face a hostile emperor who has allied himself with their enemies, usually the Jewish community resident in Alexandria. Usually, the stories about these embassies ends with at least some part of the Alexandrians being taken away to execution, while claiming their place in line of Alexandrians before them who had undergone a similar fate. At the time of publication of these papyri, in the 19th century, they were believed to be official Roman documents, written in protocol form. With the publication of additional fragments, however, this view was modified, and it is now widely accepted that they are of literary nature disguised as official documents. The Acta Alexandrinorum, as the title might suggest, is based solely on the embassies sent from Alexandria to the Roman emperor. It is important to underline the significance of the city in the Roman empire, as Alexandria shared a special place in the Roman world, being the seat of Roman government in Egypt. It was known as ‘Alexandria ad Aegypto’ rather than ‘in Aegypto’, emphasizing the special nature of the city in relation with the rest of the province. Its citizens were exempt from taxes, while at the same time, the emperor upheld the importance and exclusivity of Alexandrian citizenship. Even still, the hostility which some Alexandrians felt towards the Romans was probably intensified by the abuses of the Roman administrators during the Principate, while at the same time, the Alexandrians were forbidden to convene a city council. Augustus imposed a social hierarchy in Egypt with political, administrative, fiscal and legal privileges for the highest social classes. Jews enjoyed Alexandrian citizenship and were therefore among the highest social group in the province, invoking anger with less fortunate Greek settlers.

The Acta Alexandrinorum record diverse traditions, emphasising the cultural superiority of the Alexandrian Greeks who bravely oppose Alexandrian Jews and tyrannical Roman emperors on behalf of their beloved fatherland. The Acta show the righteous embassies who, even while presenting the good cause, are overthrown and condemned by the Roman superpower who has no interest in acting up against the Jews residing in Alexandria. Because of this, it is believed that the Acta Alexandrinorum promote anti-Roman feelings in the city, as well as anti-semitic sentiments. Moreover, anti-Egyptian sentiment seems to show that the Acta are actually against all non-Greeks.