Editing Mersa Matruh (section)

== History ==
Mersa Matruh began as a small fishing town but was important enough to host an [[ancient Egyptian religion|Egyptian]] [[ancient Egyptian temple|temple]] under [[Ramesses II]] {{c.|1200}}{{nbsp}}BC. It prospered as the port for the 8th-century BC [[oracle]] of [[Amun Ra]] at the [[Siwa Oasis]]. 

It became known as '''Ammonia''' ({{langx|grc|Ἀμμωνία}}, {{italics correction|''Ammōnía''}}){{fact|date=March 2024}} after the [[Alexander's conquest of Egypt|conquest]] of [[Persian Egypt|Egypt]] by [[Alexander the Great]] of [[Macedonian Empire|Macedon]] in the 4th century BC. Under the [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] [[dynasties of ancient Egypt|dynasty]] and [[Roman Egypt|Romans]], it was also known as '''Paraetonium'''<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0064%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DP%3Aentry+group%3D3%3Aentry%3Dparaetonium-geo Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), Paraetonium]</ref><ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0239:book=17:chapter=1 Strabo, Geography, 17.1]</ref> ({{langx|grc-x-koine|Παραιτόνιον}}, ''Paraitónion''; {{Langx|cop|ⲧⲡⲁⲣⲁⲧⲟⲛⲓⲟⲛ}}, ''Tparatonion'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=George of Cyprus |title=Georgii Cyprii Descriptio orbis romani |publisher=B. G. Teubneri |year=1890 |location=Cornell University |pages=142}}</ref> It served as a major transit port for [[cura annonae|Egyptian grain]] to [[ancient Rome|Rome]]. [[Ovid]] wrote that its patron goddess during his era was [[Isis]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://topostext.org/work/141#9.764|title=ToposText|website=topostext.org|access-date=2019-12-30}}</ref>

The city was [[Christianization of the Roman empire|Christianized]] by the 6th century, when a chapel was built in the [[Byzantine architecture|Byzantine style]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Goodchild |first=R. G. |date=1991 |title=A Byzantine Chapel at Marsa Matruh (Paraitonium) |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40000580 |journal=Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt |volume=28 |pages=201–211 |doi=10.2307/40000580 |jstor=40000580 |issn=0065-9991|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

After the 7th-century [[Islamic conquest of Egypt|conquest]] of [[Byzantine Egypt|Egypt]] by the [[Caliphate]], it became known as '''Baritun''' ({{Langx|ar|البارتون}}, ''al-Bāritūn''). The city also bore other names from at least the beginning of the 20th century: Berek Marsa, Port Mhaddra (Mithr), and Port Bardiah.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N2tvuRaSPzAC&pg=PA164 |title=Geographical Dictionary Of The World In The Early 20th Century With Pronouncing Gazetteer (in 2 Vos.)|last=Raza|first=Moonis|date=1990|publisher=Concept Publishing Company|isbn=978-81-7268-011-4|language=en}}</ref>

During [[World War II]], the [[British Army]]'s [[Baggush Box]] was located to the east of the city. Starting with the completion of an extension from the previous railhead at Fuka in February 1936,<ref>Playfair, Vol. I, page 3.</ref> Mersa Matruh was the terminus for a single-track [[railway]], which passed through [[El Alamein]]. Mersa Matruh served as a vital British military base during [[World War II]] and was a major objective of [[Erwin Rommel]]'s [[Afrika Korps]], which captured it during the [[Battle of Mersa Matruh]].

During the [[Arab Spring]] in early 2011, protests broke out in the city. On the evening of 2 October 2023, during the lead up to the [[2023 Egyptian presidential election]], a [[Nation's Future Party]] (Mostakbal El-Watan) rally in support of [[Abdel Fattah El-Sisi]] turned into Anti-Sisi protests with protesters burning photos of El-Sisi and chanting chants against him.{{fact|date=February 2024}}