Cleopatra's Needle, London
Cleopatra's Needle in London is one of a pair of obelisks, together named Cleopatra's Needles, that were moved from the ruins of the Caesareum of Alexandria, in Egypt, in the 19th century. Inscribed by Thutmose III and later Ramesses II of the Egyptian New Kingdom, the obelisk was moved in 12 BC to Alexandria, where it remained for over 1,800 years.
This article is about the obelisk in London. For the article describing the original pair, see Cleopatra's Needles.Location
London
Obelisk
1450 BC
It was presented to the United Kingdom in 1819 by the ruler of Egypt and Sudan Muhammad Ali, in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Although the British government welcomed the gesture, it declined to pay to move the obelisk to London. It was subsequently erected in the West End of London on the Victoria Embankment in Westminster, in 1878.
