Cleopatra's Needles: Heliopolis to Alexandria to London and New York

Summary: Cleopatra's Needles first stood in Heliopolis, later were moved as a pair to Alexandria and then were transported separately to London and New York.

upright obelisk (center) destined for New York, horizontally felled obelisk (lower center) destined for London; "Cleopatra's Needle," by Scottish painter David Roberts (Oct. 24, 1796-Nov. 25, 1864); "London Published May 15th, 1856, by Day & Son, Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields"; David Roberts, The Holy Land: Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, vol. 3 [1856/], Plate 146: Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library

Ancient Egypt's pair of Cleopatra's Needles first stood in Heliopolis, later were moved as a pair to Alexandria and then, in the late 19th century, were transported to separate destinations in London and New York.

The obelisks known as Cleopatra's Needles date to the mid-15th century BCE, according to editor, writer and artist Martina D'Alton (Dec. 22, 1946-July 23, 2014) in "The New York Obelisk or How Cleopatra's Needle Came to New York and What Happened When It Got Here," published in the Spring 1993 issue of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin. Thutmosis ("Born of Thoth") III, known as Thutmosis the Great, is credited with ordering the creation of the two obelisks. They were formed from two immense blocks of pink granite extracted from the renowned quarries at Aswan (Arabic: أسوان, ʾAswān; Coptic: Ⲥⲟⲩⲁⲛ Souan), Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt). The great warrior king's third jubilee, held ca. 1443 BCE, occasioned the genesis of the celebratory monoliths (D'Alton, page 3). Thutmosis III reigned (1479-1425 BCE) as the sixth pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty (1550/1549-1292 BCE).

The obelisks were transported from Aswan on one or two towed barges via the northward-flowing Nile to Heliopolis (Ancient Egyptian: Jwnw, Iunu, "the Pillars"; Coptic: ⲱⲛ, On; Greek: Ἡλιούπολις, Helioupοlis, "City of the Sun"), cult center of ancient Egyptian mid-day sun deity Ra (Coptic: ⲣⲏ, Rē), in Lower Egypt (northernmost Egypt). They were installed as flanks of the portal to the Temple of the Sun, according to records in the tomb of Yamu-nedjeh, Thutmosis's First Herald (D'Alton, pages 4, 6). Of the pair, the obelisk now standing in New York's Central Park occupied an eastern position, according to U.S. naval officer Henry H. (Honychurch) Gorringe (Aug. 11, 1841-July 7, 1885) in Egyptian Obelisks (Cleopatra's Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks, Chapter II The Archaeology of the New York Obelisk -- Historical, page 68), published in 1882.

The "far-famed" Temple of the Sun was esteemed as a "most sacred place" from which "originated the profound learning of the Egyptians," explained Gorringe. Ancient Greek astronomer and mathematician Eudoxus (ca. 408-ca. 355 BCE), first Jewish prophet Moses, Athenian Greek Classical period philosopher Plato (428/427-348/347 BCE) and ancient Ionian Greek philosopher Pythogoras (ca. 580/570-495 BCE) numbered among knowledge-seeking visitors to Heliopolis (Gorringe, pages 68-69).

Thutmosis's third jubilean obelisks remained in Heliopolis for over 14 centuries. The construction of the Caesareum by Cleopatra VII Philopator (Ancient Greek: Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ, Kleopatra Philopator; ca. 69-Aug. 10 or 12, 30 BCE) purposed the pair's resettlement in Alexandria. The last Ptolemaic queen envisioned the obelisks as flanking the grand entrance to her memorial to Roman general and statesman Gaius Julius Caesar (July 12 or 13, 100-March 15, 44 BCE) after his assassination in Rome.

The mutilated claw of a bronze support crab discovered in 1877 at the base of the standing member (destined four years later for New York) of a pair of obelisks by John Dixon, civil engineeer in charge of London transport plan for the pair's fallen pair, bore Greek and Latin inscriptions identifying placement of two obelisks from Heliopolis at Alexandria's Caesareum as occurring during reign of Roman Empire founder Augustus (formerly Octavian); "The Crabs As Found," with Greek (left) and Latin (right) inscriptions, translated into English as "In the eighth year of Augustus Caesar Barbarus prefect of Egypt placed, Pontius architect"; Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks (1882), Plate V, opposite page 6: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive

The date of the placement of the obelisks at the Caesareum has not been determined definitively. Their installation either preceded Cleopatra's death, now seeming unlikely, or occurred, more likely, afterward as an achievement by her enemy, Julius Caesar's great-nephew, Octavian (Gaius Octavius; Sep. 23, 63 BCE-Aug. 19, 14 CE), who became Princeps Civitatis (First Citizen) Augustus in January 27 BCE.

Augustus ordered the transport of the pair of obelisks away from Heliopolis ca. 12 or 10 BCE, according to Martina D'Alton (page 6). A Greek and Latin inscription discovered in 1877 by John Dixon (Jan. 2, 1835-Dec. 28, 1891), civil engineer in charge of the New York-designated obelisk, has been clarified as placing the arrival date in Alexandria in ca. 13 to 12 BCE, according to American classical philologist, archaeologist and epigrapher Augustus C. (Chapman) Merriam (May 30, 1843-January 1895) in "The Caesareum and the Worship of Augustus at Alexandria," published in the 1883 issue of the Transactions of the American Philological Association. The information was inscribed on the mutilated claw of a bronze support crab at the base of the New York-designated obelisk's companion (pages 5, 8).

Accordingly, the designation of the Caesareum's obelisks as Cleopatra's Needles may be misnomered. Yet, her involvement in their placement in Alexandria still may be possibilitized. "Tradition has associated them with that famous queen of Egypt . . . . Traditions cannot be disposed of by assumptions; there is every reason to believe that Cleopatra ordered the removal of the obelisks. Revolutions and invasions during the latter part of her reign probably delayed their re-erection. After her death there was no one but the conquerors of her kingdom to perpetuate her name. Considering the times and circumstances, it was natural that the Roman Prefect should have been silent as to their removal," suggested Gorringe (page 73).

Perhaps additional details may be discovered. "But it is probable that the other crabs bore inscriptions which recorded all the facts. Until some proof is offered that the tradition is without foundation, it would seem reasonable to accept it and pay our tribute to a beautiful and captivating woman by associating her name with two of the world's most interesting monuments," Gorringe observed.

Approximately 13 centuries after the installation of the pair of obelisks at the Caesareum, one of the obelisks toppled. An earthquake in 1301 was suggested as the precipitant, according to Sir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge (July 27, 1857-Nov. 23, 1934), Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities at the British Museum, in Cleopatra's Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks (Chapter VI The Obelisk of Thothmes III at Constantinople, pages 166-167), published in 1926.

The 1301 earthquake occurred during the second reign (Jan. 16, 1299-March 1309) of Al-Malik an-Nasir Nasir ad-Din Muhammad ibn Qalawun (Arabic: الملك الناصر ناصر الدين محمد بن قلاوون; March 24, 1285-June 7, 1341), known as an-Nasir, as Egypt's ninth Bahri Mamluk sultan. "In Colonel Howard Vyse's explorations and discoveries it is recorded that during the reign of En Nasir, A.D. 1301, an earthquake occurred, so severe that it is said to have nearly ruined Cairo, giving it the appearance of a city demolished by a siege. Other chroniclers give the dates as 1302 and 1304. The London obelisk was doubtless thrown down by this earthquake," reported Gorringe (page 108).

Perhaps the damage was caused by the Eastern Mediterranean earthquake that took place Aug. 8, 1303, according to Egyptian seismologist Ahmed Badawy in "Historical Seismicity of Egypt" (pages 122, 127), published in the March 1999 issue of Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica Hungarica. The earthquake also badly damaged the Lighthouse of Alexandria, also called the Pharos of Alexandria (Ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, ho Pharos tes Alexandreias), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

In the 19th century, voyagers to Alexandria from Great Britain and the United States noticed the pair of neglected obelisks located incongruously near the ancient city's seafront. The fallen obelisk found a new home in London in 1878 while New York City welcomed the standing obelisk in 1881.

Thutmosis III, who reigned in the 15th century BCE as sixth pharaoh of the New Kingdom of Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty (1550/1549-1292 BCE), is credited with ordering the creation of the two obelisks known as Cleopatra's Needles that were transported from Heliopolis to Alexandria for installation at the Caesareum, Cleopatra's memorial to first century BCE assassinated Roman statesman and militarian Julius Caesar, father of Cleopatra's first son; Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, image of Thutmosis III as alabaster sphinx, with human hands presenting vase to Amun-Re, from Karnak Temple Complex, near Luxor, Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt), displayed in Alexandria National Museum (ANM): Roland Unger (RolandUnger), CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

upright obelisk (center) destined for New York, horizontally felled obelisk (lower center) destined for London; "Cleopatra's Needle," by Scottish painter David Roberts (Oct. 24, 1796-Nov. 25, 1864); "London Published May 15th, 1856, by Day & Son, Gate Street, Lincoln's Inn Fields"; David Roberts, The Holy Land: Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia, vol. 3 [1856/], Plate 146: Not in copyright, via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57712169

The mutilated claw of a bronze support crab discovered in 1877 at the base of the standing member (destined four years later for New York) of a pair of obelisks by John Dixon, civil engineeer in charge of London transport plan for the pair's fallen pair, bore Greek and Latin inscriptions identifying placement of two obelisks from Heliopolis at Alexandria's Caesareum as occurring during reign of Roman Empire founder Augustus (formerly Octavian); "The Crabs As Found," with Greek (left) and Latin (right) inscriptions, translated into English as "In the eighth year of Augustus Caesar Barbarus prefect of Egypt placed, Pontius architect"; Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks (1882), Plate V, opposite page 6: Not in copyright, via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/n32/mode/1up; Public Domain, via Rijksmuseum @ https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/RP-F-2001-7-1549-4

Thutmosis III, who reigned in the 15th century BCE as sixth pharaoh of the Egypt's Eighteenth Dynasty (Dynasty XVIII, 18th Dynasty, Dynasty 18; 1550/1549-1292 BCE), is credited with ordering the creation of the two obelisks known as Cleopatra's Needles that were transported from Heliopolis to Alexandria for installation at the Caesareum, Cleopatra's memorial to first century BCE assassinated Roman statesman and militarian Julius Caesar, father of Cleopatra's first son; Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005, image of Thutmosis III as alabaster sphinx, with human hands presenting vase to Amun-Re, from Karnak Temple Complex, near Luxor, Upper Egypt (Southern Egypt), displayed in Alexandria National Museum (ANM): Roland Unger (RolandUnger), CC BY SA 3.0 Unported, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AlexNatlMusSphinx.jpg

For further information:

Badawy, A. (Ahmed). "Historical Seismicity of Egypt." Acta Geodaetica et Geophysica Hungarica, vol. 34, issue 1-2 (March 1999): 119-135.
Available @ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/283839188_Historical_seismicity_of_Egypt

Budge, E.A. (Ernest Alfred) Wallace, Sir. "Chapter II How Cleopatra's Needle Came to London." Pages 51-75. Cleopatra's Needles and Other Egyptian Obelisks: A Series of Descriptions of All the Important Inscribed Obelisks, With Hieroglyphic Texts, Translations, Etc. London: The Religious Tract Society, 1926.
Available via Google Books Read for free @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Cleopatra_s_Needles_and_Other_Egyptian_O/V0tCAAAAIAAJ?hl=en
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/cleopatrasneedle0000budg/page/51/mode/1up

D'Alton, Martina. The New York Obelisk; or How Cleopatra's Needle Came to New York and What Happened When It Got Here. Adapted from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 50, no. 4 (Spring, 1993). New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1993.
Available via MetMuseum @ https://www.metmuseum.org/art/metpublications/The_New_York_Obelisk_or_How_Cleopatras_Needle_came_to_New_York_and_what_happened_when_it_got_here

Elliott, Chris (Christopher Niall). Needles from the Nile: Obelisks and the Past as Property. Liverpool: Liverpool University Press, 2022.
Available via Google Books @ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Needles_from_the_Nile/OG9vEAAAQBAJ

Gorringe, Henry H. "Chapter I Removal of the Alexandrian Obelisk, 'Cleopatra's Needle,' to New York." Pages 1-58. In: Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/1/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. "Chapter II The Archaeology of the New York Obelisk." Pages 59-76. In: Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/59/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. "Historical." Pages 68-76. Egyptian Obelisks. Chapter II The Archaeology of the New York Obelisk, pages 59-76. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive 2 https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/68/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Gorringe, Henry H. "Record of the London Obelisk." Pages 108-109. Egyptian Obelisks. Chapter IV Removal of the Fallen Obelisk of Alexandria to London, pages 96-109. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/108/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf

Merriam, Augustus C. "The Caesareum and the Worship of Augustus at Alexandria." Transactions of the American Philological Association (1869-1896), Vol. 14 (1883): 5-35.
Available via JSTOR @ https://www.jstor.org/stable/2935824

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Egyptian Obelisk, 'Cleopatra's Needle,' in Alexandria, Egypt. Attributed to Francis Frith British ca. 1870." The Metropolitan Museum of Art > Art > The Met Collection.
Available via Met Museum @ https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/285424

Roberts, David. "Cleopatra's Needle." The Holy Land: Syria, Idumea, Arabia, Egypt & Nubia. After Lithographs by Louis Haghe From Drawings Made on the Spot by David Roberts. With Historical Descriptions by the Rev. George Croly, L.L.D. Vol. 3. New York: D. Appleton & Co., n.d. [1856?].
Available via Biodiversity Heritage Library @ https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/57712168

Schroeder, Seaton, Lieutenant. "Chapter IV Removal of the Fallen Obelisk of Alexandria to London." Pages 96-109. In: Henry H. Gorringe, Egyptian Obelisks. New York: Published by the Author, 1882.
Available via Internet Archive @ https://archive.org/details/egyptianobelisks00gorruoft/page/96/mode/1up
Available via Internet Archive @ https://ia902904.us.archive.org/31/items/EgyptianObelisksGorringeHenryHBySamy/Egyptian%20obelisks%20%20Gorringe%2C%20Henry%20H%20By%20Samy.pdf