ABSTRACT
This chapter surveys the varied histories of the old Egyptian temples, the Graeco-Roman civic élite, and the Christian institutions which dominated the city in Egypt from the Roman conquest to the end of Byzantine rule.2 One of the paradoxes of ancient history is that although it is generally acknowledged that the majority of the population of the ancient world lived in non-urban settlements, the centrality of the city to Classical society is a notable feature of ancient and modern literature. In the industrialized world, the centralization of production and consumption in the city has transformed the demographic pattern and made the cities centres of power. The predominance of the ancient city is, however, seen primarily as institutional or political, and not resting on economic functions.3 The changes in the rela tive power of these various institutions should, therefore, have had fundamental effects on the ancient city, but, as we shall see, the level of continuity is surprising.
