Pompey's Pillar is a celebrated column standing in the neighborhood of Alexandria, on an eminence about 18 feet south of the walls. It is a monolith of red granite, and of the Corinthian order, and stands upon a pedestal. Its total height is 98 feet 9 inches; shaft, 73 feet; 29 feet 8 inches circumference. On the summit is a circular depression for the base of a statue. The name popularly applied to it is a misnomer given by old travelers; the Greek inscription on the base shows that it was erected by Publius, prefect of Egypt, in honor of the Emperor Diocletian, "the invincible;" and it is supposed to record the conquest of Alexander by Diocletian, 296 AD.