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Pompey’s Pillar is a Roman triumphal column located in Alexandria. The pillar is 28 metres high. It is made of red granite. The pillar was erected in the fourth century A.D. in honour of Emperor Diocletian to commemorate his victory over the Alexandrian revolt. Referring to the English name, the crusaders believed that the pillar's capital was the container for Pompey’s head. The column was named Amoud Al Sawary in Arabic because it was the tallest of the court's 400 columns. Most of these columns were thrown into the sea by the governor of Alexandria to fortify the city.
The Serapeum lies in the Fifth District of Alexandria. The area is located on the hill of Bab Sedra, between the Necropolis of the Muslims and Kom El Shoqafa. Ptolemy I Soter built the temple to merge the ancient Egyptian religion with the Hellenic one. The god Serapis, a fusion between Osiris and Apis, was selected as the god of the new religion. During Emperor Trajan's reign, the Serapeum was destroyed during the Jewish revolution in Alexandria. Emperor Hadrian rebuilt the temple in the fourth century A.D. The Serapeum was demolished again by the Christians who fought paganism.