Little is known of the life of Appian of Alexandria. He wrote an autobiography that has been almost completely lost.Appian Proem. 62 Information about Appian is distilled from his own writings and a letter by his friend Cornelius Fronto.Michael Petrus Josephus Van Den Hout, A Commentary on the Letters of M. Cornelius Fronto, Volume 190 of Mnemosyne (Brill, 1999) However, it is certain that Appian was born around the year AD 95 in Alexandria, the capital of Roman Egypt. Since his parents were Roman citizens capable of paying for their son's education, it can be inferred that Appian belonged to the wealthy upper classes.
