Rome 28 BCE           Obverse type (not shown): bust of Octavian Reverse TYPE: Crocodile LEGEND: AEGVPTO CAPTA

AEGVPTO CAPTA = Egypt captured! This visual message on this coin hardly needs further explanation. Consider the importance of Egypt, with its riches and its grain, to the people of Rome and you will get an idea of how much this victory may have meant to them in terms of assurance that they would enjoy 'plenty'.

• Octavian captured Alexandria in 30 BCE. Egypt was not, however, a normal province; it was governed by praefecti capable of safeguarding its annual grain harvest.