Buddhism in ancient Egypt
While researching my latest book (The Far Edges of the Known World, coming out early 2025) I found myself engrossed in the evidence for the presence of Buddhism in the ancient Mediterranean. I already knew about the blending of Greek and Indian cultures in the northwest of India but never really knew much more than that. So when it came to Buddhism spreading west, I suppose it was just not something I had ever thought about or considered. But I became rather obsessed with it for a few months and there is a lot of exciting new research coming out every year. Just after I had submitted my first round of book edits in 2023, a new archaeological discovery was announced which I just wish I could have spent more time writing about. So here is a little bit about it!
Buddha goes to Egypt
In 2022, researchers were excavating at the Greco-Roman town of Berenike in Egypt and found a small object that has caused real excitement in the world of ancient history. Click here for the original write up of the excavation season.
Situated on the coast of the Red Sea, Berenike has proven itself to be an amazing treasure trove of artifacts for modern archaeologists. The ancient town’s bustling life is on full display in the material record and it is clear just how central Berenike was to the wider trade networks of the world. Networks that used the Red Sea to connect the markets of East Africa, India, China, and southeast Asia with that of the Mediterranean and northern Europe.
While excavating the forecourt of an early Roman era temple to the goddess Isis , researchers found a small statue of the Buddha made from Mediterranean marble. The statue itself is about 72cm high and depicts the Buddha holding his clothing in his hand, with a radiant halo behind his head, and a lotus flower at his side. The craftsmanship is just exquisite and the detail is rather hypnotising the longer you look at it.
It is thought that the marble, which originated from an area just south of Constantinople (modern Istanbul), was most likely sculpted in Berenike around the turn of the 2nd century CE and then dedicated to the temple by a rich Indian benefactor - a merchant perhaps. Other interesting items have been found near to where the statue was located, including inscriptions in Sanskrit and two Indian coins. All of this confirms what scholars have long known from the written texts and other archaeological finds about the cultural and economic exchanges between ancient India and the Mediterranean.
More intriguingly, this would be physical evidence for a Buddhist person, family or maybe even a community living in ancient Egypt at this time. Especially if we consider the fact that the statue was likely made to order and was definitely not transported from India. We also know of one early-Christian writer who lived in Egypt called Clement of Alexandria (living in the 2nd-3rd centuries) who clearly knew about Buddhists:
Some, too, of the Indians obey the precepts of Buddha; whom, on account of his extraordinary sanctity, they have raised to divine honours.
So perhaps this find in Berenike will not just be a one off!