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The Diocese of Egypt (Latin: Dioecesis Aegypti, Greek: Διοίκησις Αἰγύπτου) was a diocese of the later Roman Empire, incorporating the provinces of Egypt and Cyrenaica. Its capital was at Alexandria, and its governor had the unique title of praefectus augustalis (Augustal Prefect, of the rank vir spectabilis) instead of the ordinary vicarius. The diocese was initially part of the Diocese of the East, but in the year 370, it became a separate entity, which lasted until its territories were finally overrun by the Muslim conquest of Egypt in the 640s.
The diocese was included in the Praetorian prefecture of the East and included originally five provinces:
Attributes Iovia and Herculia were related to the tetrarchs Diocletian and Maximian respectively, and were later changed to remove the pagan connotations.
By the early 6th century, the provinces had increased with the creation of:
During the reforms of Justinian I in the late 530s, the administrative structure changed again. The post of Augustal Prefect (vicar of the diocese) was abolished, and five independent governors (duces), who combined military and civilian authority, were appointed instead. Two of them, the dux Alexandriae and the dux Thebaidos also held the title augustalis (dux et augustalis).[1]
Taken from the Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire (except for Theognostus):