Cura annonae in the context of Annona (goddess)

An aedile (English: /ˈiːdʌɪl/ EE-dighl) was a magistrate in the Roman Republic who had responsibilities for the upkeep of the city, such as its buildings, roads, and markets; the availability of grain at reasonable prices; and the holding of games. It also had some judicial functions, being able to issue fines and corporal punishments with an additional right to prosecute crimes before the assemblies, but by the middle republic was mostly an office used for distributing largesse to win the officeholder popular acclaim.

There were two kinds of aediles, plebeian aediles and curule aediles. The former were, according to Roman tradition, the first aediles created (c. 494 BC), initially as assistants to the plebeian tribunes, with the curule aediles created c. 367 BC. The plebeian aediles, even though originally tribunician assistants, assimilated with the curule aediles: by the middle republic, aediles were junior to praetors and senior to quaestors, with the tribunate usually held before an aedilate. The two types of aediles had largely the same duties.

Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (/əˈɡrɪpə/; c. 63 BC – 12 BC) was a Roman general and statesman who was a close friend, son-in-law and lieutenant to the Roman emperor Augustus. Agrippa is well known for his important military victories, notably the Battle of Actium in 31 BC against the forces of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. He was also responsible for the construction of some of the most notable buildings of his era, including the original Pantheon.

Born to a plebeian family c. 63 BC, in an uncertain location in Roman Italy, he met the future emperor Augustus, then known as Octavian, at Apollonia, in Illyria. Following the assassination of Octavian's great-uncle Julius Caesar in 44 BC, Octavian returned to Italy. Around this time, Agrippa was elected tribune of the plebs. He served as a military commander, fighting alongside Octavian and Caesar's former general and right-hand man Mark Antony in the Battle of Philippi. In 40 BC, he was praetor urbanus and played a major role in the Perusine war against Lucius Antonius and Fulvia, respectively the brother and wife of Mark Antony. In 39 or 38 BC, Agrippa was appointed governor of Transalpine Gaul. In 38 BC, he put down a rising of the Aquitanians and fought the Germanic tribes. He was made consul for 37 BC, despite being well below the usual minimum age of 43, in order to oversee the preparations for war against Sextus Pompey, who had cut off grain shipments to Rome.

Marsa Matrouh (Arabic: مرسى مطروح), also transliterated as Marsa Matruh (Standard Arabic Marsā Maṭrūḥ, [ˈmæɾsæ mɑtˤˈɾuːħ]), is a port in Egypt and the capital of Matrouh Governorate. It is located 240 km (150 mi) west of Alexandria and 222 km (138 mi) east of Sallum on the main highway from the Nile Delta to the Libyan border. The city is also accessible from the south via another highway running through the Western Desert towards Siwa Oasis and Bahariya Oasis.

Mersa Matruh was a major grain port under the Romans and a military base of the British Empire. During World War II, several battles were fought around its environs as the Italo-German Panzer Army Africa attempted to capture the port. It fell to the Axis during the Battle of Mersa Matruh but was recaptured following the Second Battle of El Alamein.