History of Alexandria

History of Alexandria

During his stay in Egypt in 332/331 BC, Alexander the Great founded Alexandria. An old Egyptian settlement called Ra-Kedet already existed on the site, situated on the promontory between the sea and the brackish lake of the hinterland, Lake Mareotis (modern-day Lake Mariyut). This lake was connected to the westernmost branch of the Nile. The island of Pharos, where the famous lighthouse was later built, lay just offshore. The island was connected to the mainland by a 1.3-kilometer-long causeway. Alexander's new cities were intended to serve as trading centers and bases, as well as attract people from the Greek-speaking and cultural sphere. Furthermore, Alexandria was conceived as a counterweight to the important trading and port cities of Phoenicia (Lebanon), where Alexander had recently encountered military conflicts on his way to Egypt, conflicts that led, among other things, to the destruction of Tyre. The city was designed in the spirit of the Hellenistic world. The most important city planner and architect was Deinocrates of Rhodes. His plans were implemented by Cleomenes of Naukratis (an existing Greek colony in the western Delta). Ptolemy, Alexander's former general, secured his rule over Egypt during the succession struggles for the inheritance of Alexander's empire and made Alexandria his capital and residence. Under the Macedonian Ptolemaic dynasty, Alexandria quickly became the largest and most important city in the country. Its spacious streets were laid out in a grid pattern. There were public squares, markets, a museum, a gymnasium, a stadium for athletic competitions, numerous theaters, several temples (including those dedicated to Serapis, Isis, Pan, and Poseidon), large harbor facilities, shipyards, warehouses and storehouses, market halls, and a royal palace complex. To the west of the city were extensive parks with necropolises for the burial of the dead and cult sites commemorating ancestors. To the east of the city, a peninsula jutted out into the sea: there stood the royal palace, protected by a barracks in front of it. The Lighthouse of Pharos, a powerful symbol of power, towered over the metropolis, visible from afar. All in all, it was a blend of typical Greek and Egyptian city characteristics. This was precisely Alexander's vision: a symbiosis of the cultures of Greece and the Near East to create a new world. The synthesis of ancient Near Eastern and Greek knowledge and cultural heritage laid the foundation for the tremendous progress made during classical antiquity. As the intellectual center of the Hellenistic period, hundreds of thousands of scrolls were archived in the libraries of the Museion and Serapeum. The port soon became the largest trading hub in the eastern Mediterranean. Alexandria became a global city – and remained the Egyptian capital and royal residence of the Ptolemies until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC. Neither the numerous wars with the Seleucid Empire, nor popular uprisings or dynastic struggles could permanently harm the Ptolemaic Empire or the wealth of Alexandria. Estimating the population of Alexandria is difficult because different sources provide conflicting figures. However, it is highly likely that several hundred thousand people lived in Alexandria during the Ptolemaic period. During the Roman era, the population may even have exceeded half a million. For its time, Alexandria was therefore a very large city. During the Ptolemaic dynasty, Alexandria, alongside Athens, was the most important and significant metropolis in the Hellenistic world. The Ptolemaic kingdom encompassed not only Egypt at times, but also parts of Libya and Palestine. Cyprus was also part of the Ptolemaic realm. The Ptolemies thus controlled the majority of maritime trade in the eastern Mediterranean. Alexandria was their hub and the most important trading center. Regarding the rule of Egypt, while the venerable city of Memphis (in the region of Cairo) was maintained as a kind of secondary residence and designated as the coronation site, particularly to honor Egyptian traditions, Alexandria concentrated everything that constitutes a typical capital city. Unlike most other cities, Alexandria had a particularly high proportion of Greeks. Many buildings were constructed in the Greek style. Hellenistic life dictated the rhythm of the city. In contrast, most other Egyptian cities retained their distinctly Egyptian character. Towards the end of the Ptolemaic era, Alexandria became the stage for world-historical events. Princess Cleopatra VII, daughter of the Egyptian King Ptolemy XII, assumed the office of regent after his death in 51 BC. She was officially only co-regent alongside her twelve-year-old brother, Ptolemy XIII. Two political factions faced each other: the supporters of Cleopatra and the opposing party on the side of the young Ptolemy. At the same time, a civil war raged in Rome between two factions, each led by Caesar and Pompey, respectively. Egypt initially supported Pompey. However, when Pompey came to Egypt in 48 BC to request aid, they switched sides and assassinated him. Caesar invaded Egypt with his soldiers, where Cleopatra won him over. Subsequently, the party of Ptolemy XIII entered Alexandria with an Egyptian army and besieged the port and palace district where Caesar was staying. Caesar took Ptolemy XIII hostage. The fighting in the city resulted in destruction and a fire in the Library of Alexandria. By the time Roman reinforcements arrived in Alexandria to support Caesar, the battle was over. Ptolemy XIII fled and drowned in the Nile. After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, another Roman civil war broke out, in which Cleopatra allied herself with Mark Antony. They lost the war against Octavian, the future Emperor Augustus. In 30 BC, Cleopatra committed suicide. With her death, Egypt's history as an independent state came to an end. From then on, Egypt was part of the Roman Empire. But even after Egypt's incorporation into the Roman Empire, Alexandria remained one of the most important metropolises and trading cities in the Mediterranean, alongside Rome and Athens. From here, the enormous quantities of Egyptian grain that Rome so desperately needed were shipped. Egypt was rich in resources, and Rome made use of them. The city continued to expand, new buildings were added, and more theaters and baths were built. Once, in 69 AD, the Roman emperor was even proclaimed in Alexandria: It was Vespasian who, during his campaigns in the Near East, had himself crowned emperor in the presence of the Alexandrians. Christian communities formed very early in Alexandria. However, under the Roman emperors Decius and Valerian, Christians were persecuted. During his visit to Egypt, Emperor Caracalla (reigned 211-217 AD) had numerous Alexandrians killed and parts of the city plundered – in revenge for anti-Roman statements and insults directed at the emperor. Around 269 AD, Alexandria was conquered by the army of Queen Zenobia, the ruler of Palmyra. Palmyra was an important trading city in the Syrian desert. But just three years later, the Roman emperor Aurelian (reigned 270-275 AD) was able to recapture Alexandria. However, this resulted in widespread destruction. After the division of the Roman Empire in 395 AD, Alexandria and Egypt fell to the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantium). Under the Byzantine rulers, Christianity became the dominant religion. Alexandria had become one of the most important episcopal cities. Even in Christian times, there were periods of religious intolerance. Patriarch Theophilus ordered the destruction of numerous pagan temples, including the Serapeum. Later, in 415, the Jewish quarter was destroyed in a campaign of persecution. During this campaign, the famous Alexandrian philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer Hypatia was murdered. Conflicts within Christianity also led to violence. One example is the dispute that erupted after the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Egyptian Christians were Monophysites, who rejected the Byzantine Orthodox doctrine of the two natures of Christ. This led to constant conflicts and, on one occasion, even a full-blown manhunt by Egyptian and Greek supporters of the Monophysite bishop Theodosius, who had retreated to a particular quarter of Alexandria. The Byzantine Empress Theodora subsequently ordered the entire quarter burned to the ground. With the spread of Christianity, numerous churches were built. For example, the basilicas of Saint Athanasius and Saint Mark were erected. Many pagan temples were converted into churches. The Temple of Kronos/Chronos became the Church of Saint Michael, and the Serapeum, after being destroyed by the Christians, became the Church of Saint John the Baptist. The Caesarion, a temple that Cleopatra had built for Antony (and whose former obelisks, the "Needles of Cleopatra," now stand in London and New York), was also converted into a church. In the years 619–622 AD, Alexandria and large parts of Egypt were conquered by the Sassanids. The Sassanids were a ruling dynasty from Persia. The Persian king Khosrow II Parvez expanded his empire far beyond the borders of Persia, conquering Palestine and Egypt. After a counter-offensive by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius in 630, the Persians were forced to retreat. In 641, Arab troops appeared before the gates of Alexandria. In the two preceding years, they had already brought large parts of Egypt under their control. Due to the strong fortifications and the stationed Byzantine troops, the siege lasted six months. Finally, the city was captured. In 645, the Byzantines attempted to recapture Alexandria. Initially, their plan seemed to be successful. However, by 646, Alexandria had once again fallen into Arab hands. The Arabs were impressed by the city's wealth and its countless buildings and theaters. During the Islamic period, Alexandria's importance declined. Cairo, first Fustat (Old Cairo), then al-Qahira (New Cairo), became the political, economic, and intellectual center of the country. Alexandria's population shrank considerably. Trade was increasingly conducted via caravan routes. Seafaring played a subordinate role in Egypt during this period. When Napoleon landed in Egypt with his troops in 1798, Alexandria had only around six thousand inhabitants. It was not until the early 19th century, under Muhammad Ali, that Alexandria was revitalized and expanded. The development of industry and the strengthening of foreign trade, particularly cotton exports in the second half of the 19th century, allowed the port of Alexandria to regain its importance. It is remarkable how Egypt's renewed connection to global trade fostered Alexandria's resurgence, and how the city's population increased from fewer than ten thousand to more than four million in just two hundred years. The destruction that repeatedly befell the city throughout its two and a half thousand-year history was not always due to war. and uprisings. Indeed, Alexandria has often been shaken by earthquakes. Sea tsunamis, with their high tidal waves, have also repeatedly caused destruction. Many historical buildings were so badly damaged in this way that it was preferred to use the stones from the ruins for new constructions rather than rebuild the old ones. When the population dwindled in the Middle Ages and the ruins of the former temples stood empty, the city, as so often happened with ancient Egyptian sites, was used as a quarry for the surrounding areas. Particularly during the Islamic Middle Ages, ancient buildings were systematically dismantled to build new fortresses and mosques.