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Cambridge Ancient Hi.. - Index of

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egypt 623<br />

Fig. 20 Fragment <strong>of</strong> a papyrus codex with illustration <strong>of</strong> five charioteers<br />

(and part <strong>of</strong> a sixth) wearing jackets in the colours <strong>of</strong> three <strong>of</strong> the four circus<br />

factions. Antinoopolis, c. 500. (Photo: courtesy <strong>of</strong> the Egypt Exploration Society)<br />

the original editor and those who have followed him assume that the prisoners<br />

in question were persons kidnapped by desert nomads, especially the<br />

Blemmyes, in raids on the Nile valley. Toward the close <strong>of</strong> the third century<br />

Diocletian had secured Egypt’s southern frontier, 42 but there were later<br />

break-throughs, and the full length <strong>of</strong> the Nile valley could not, in any<br />

event, always be safeguarded. The Thebaid was especially vulnerable to<br />

attack, and there are indications that the second quarter <strong>of</strong> the fifth century<br />

42 Procop. Wars i.19.27–37.<br />

<strong>Cambridge</strong> <strong>Hi</strong>stories Online © <strong>Cambridge</strong> University Press, 2008

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