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Pelusium

Pelusium is a city in the eastern extremes of Egypt's Nile Delta, 30 km to the southeast of Port Said. Alternative names include Pelousion (Greek), Sin (Chaldaic), Seyân (Aramaic), and Tell el-Farama (modern Arabic).

It is named (as "Sin, the strength of Egypt") in the Biblical book of Ezekiel, chapter 30:15.

It is also the seat of a metropolitan bishopric in the modern-day Eastern Orthodox church.

History

• 700s BC: The army of Sennacherib the Assyrian is struck down with rodent-borne disease here.
• 520s BC: The city is taken by Cambyses II of Persia – according to legend, without a fight, by the simple expedient of having the invading army drive cats (sacred to the local goddess Bastet) before them.
• 48 BC: Pompey is murdered in Pelusium.
• 55 BC: Pelusium falls to Marc Antony.
• AD 1117: Baldwin I of Jerusalem razes Farama to the ground, but dies shortly afterwards of food poisoning after eating a plateful of the local fish.