Isidorus

Isidorus (c. 139) was a native ancient Egyptian priest in the second century AD during the Roman rule in Egypt. He led the native Egyptian revolt against roman rule during the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius [ [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/72*.html Dio Cassius Epithome 72] ] . According to the Roman historian Dio Cassius, Isidorus surpassed all his contemporaries in bravery while leading the Egyptians in this revolt in 139 which broke out as a result of oppressive taxation. The revolt occurred in the Boucolia marshes of the Nile Delta, it lasted from 172-173, and become known as a Bucolic War and was suppressed only after several years of hard fighting. At first the Egyptians were successful, having defeated the Romans in Egypt in a pitched battle. After this victory, they came near capturing Alexandria, and probably would have taken the city if Avidius Cassius, the governor of Syria, had not been sent against them from the place he governed. Cassius did not dare to attack the rebels while they were united, knowing that they were too numerous and powerful to be defeated, and thus, managed to destroy them by separating them from one another. Indeed, the rebels were finally subdued only when they fell to quarreling.

The revolt had bad consequences for Egypt: it caused great damage to the Egyptian economy and marked the beginning of Egypt's economic decline.

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