1st-century Buddha statue from ancient Egypt indicates Buddhists lived there in Roman times

Two views of a broken standing Buddha statue carved out of white stone. One view is the profile. The other is a frontal image, showing Buddha dressed in robes with halo-like circle behind his head.

A 1,900-year-old statue of the Buddha — discovered at the ancient Egyptian port city of Berenike, on the coast of the Red Sea — likely belonged to a transplant from South Asia, according to archaeologists. 

The Buddha statue depicts Siddhartha Gautama, who lived in South Asia around 2,550 years ago. Born a prince, he would later renounce his worldly wealth and seek out enlightenment, eventually becoming the Buddha, a Sanskrit-derived word that means "the enlightened one," according to Buddhist tradition. The religion he founded gradually spread around the world.