Rosetta

For other uses, see Rosetta (disambiguation).

Rosetta رشيد Rashid
Rosetta Location in Egypt
Coordinates: 31°24′16″N 30°24′59″E
Country	Egypt
Governorate	Beheira
Founded	800
Population (1996)
• Total	58,432
Time zone	EST (UTC+2)

Rosetta (Arabic: رشيد‎ Rašīd, French: Rosette) is a port city on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. It is located 65 km (40 mi) east of Alexandria, in Beheira governorate. It was founded around 800 AD.

With the decline of Alexandria following the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517, Rashid boomed, only to wane in importance after Alexandria's revival. During the 19th century it was a popular British tourist destination, known for its charming Ottoman mansions, citrus groves and cleanliness.

The town of Rashid came to be known in the West as Rosette (Rosetta), the name by which it was referred to by the French during Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in Egypt. Rosetta gave its name to the Rosetta Stone (French: Pierre de Rosette) which was found by French soldiers at the nearby Fort Julien in 1799.

History

Rosetta is the modern representative of the ancient Bolbitine, which lay a little farther north. In the Middle Ages Rosetta was a place of considerable commercial importance, and it continued to flourish until the construction of the Mahmudiyeh Canal and the improvement of the harbour at Alexandria diverted most of its trade to the latter city.

Rosetta also witnessed the defeat of the 1807 British Fraser campaign, on September 19. The British were trying to occupy Egypt after the French army had left the country. September 19 later became the national day of the town. Al-buhaira celebrates that year..

Population

The population of Rashid has increased since the 1980s, as follows:

• 1983: 36,711 (approximate);
• 1986: 51,789; and
• 1996: 58,432

Gallery

• 

  Pea-green boats in Rosetta

• 

  An identical copy of the Rosetta Stone

References

Bibliography

• "Rosetta," Encyclopaedia Britannica, Chicago, 1983.

External links

• Thomas Brinkhoff: City Population, http://www.citypopulation.de Egypt statistics
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Gilman, D. C.; Thurston, H. T.; Moore, F., eds. (1905). "^{article name needed}". New International Encyclopedia (1st ed.). New York: Dodd, Mead. 
• Detailed map of Egypt (with many ancient temples): UniMaps-Egypt.