History Of Alexandria
History Of Alexandria: Egypt has long viewed Alexandria as a distinct metropolis, second only to Cairo in terms of size and prominence. In late antiquity, Alexandria became known as a Mediterranean city rather than an Egyptian one; the phrase Alexandria ad Aegyptum (Alexandria next to, or adjacent to, Egypt) exemplifies this sense of isolation. Alexandria has a rich history, perhaps best recognized today for its beaches, flourishing port, and industries. Alexander the Great established the city in 332 BCE, after seizing Egypt from Persian authority. Alexander envisioned a new capital city that would connect Egypt to the Mediterranean.
Alexander founded Alexandria as Egypt’s new capital, a position it held until the Arab conquests of the mid-seventh century. Alexander also intended the city to serve as his naval base for controlling the Mediterranean. Less than a century after its creation, Alexandria had established itself as a center of learning, science, and research. The city thrived under the Ptolemaic dynasty (which governed Egypt from 305 BCE until Cleopatra VII’s death in 30), earning the appellation “the center of the world.” Ptolemy I, also known as Ptolemy Sater (savior), who ruled Egypt from Alexander’s death in 323 BCE until his official coronation in 305 BCE, began building Alexandria’s famous library.
Founded to gather all Greek knowledge, the Library of Alexandria became the most renowned library in the ancient world. The Library of Alexandria collected and held works of literature, poetry, medicine, science, and philosophy, among other subjects on papyrus scrolls and vellum; Ptolemy I added his own narrative of Alexander’s wars to the hundreds of thousands of volumes kept there. Ptolemy I established a larger complex, which included the Mouseion, or museum, as the city’s research center. This center welcomed luminaries such as Euclid, Archimedes, Herophilus, Erasistratus, and Eratosthenes.
The Septuagint, a translation of the Old Testament from Hebrew to Greek, is believed to have originated in Alexandria, which also became a center of Jewish study. Under Ptolemy II, the city obtained one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the Pharos, or Alexandrian lighthouse. The approximately 350-foot-high lighthouse was a technological marvel for its day. Sostratus of Cnidus built the lighthouse on the island of Pharos in the city’s harbor, which has endured for centuries.
According to records, the lighthouse existed until the twelfth century, but by the mid-fifteenth century, it had deteriorated to the point where Mamluke sultan Qait Bey erected a castle on top of the remains. The Mouseion and the library, like the lighthouse, did not survive to current times. Under the rule of the Roman Emperor Aurelian, civil unrest resulted in the destruction of the Mouseion complex, which included the library, while in 391, Christians destroyed a different building’s companion library.
Alexandria is particularly well-known for its link with Cleopatra VII, the Egyptian queen and last of the Ptolemies, who wooed and won Julius Caesar in Alexandria, claiming to have given him a son. Cleopatra and Marc Antony plotted against Caesar’s grandnephew, Octavian, following his death. The failed conspiracy ended in 30 BCE, when Octavian took control of Alexandria and Egypt, bringing them into the Roman civilization, and Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide. Alexandria saw significant changes during the Roman period (30 BCE-313), the most notable of which was religious turmoil.
Alexandria was considered to be one of the cities where Saint Mark preached in the first century; as a result, it was a Christian stronghold in the region, and both Christian and Jewish populations rejected Rome’s attempts to impose its own pagan religion on it. The persecution of Christians in Alexandria peaked during the reign of Emperor Diocletian, who is thought to have killed almost 150,000 Christians. Even after Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, religious struggles persisted in the city.
This time, the fight was over doctrine, specifically Jesus’ nature and place in the Trinity. The Alexandrian church used religious theory to maintain its independence from Constantinople. The Alexandrian church declared its conviction in monophysitism (the doctrine that Jesus had a single divine nature despite taking on human form), which it maintained even after the Council of Chalcedon condemned it in 451. This culture of unhappiness with Byzantine rule contributed to the ease with which Arab troops captured the city in 642. Alexandria’s importance diminished following its takeover by Arabs.
The Arab conqueror Amr ibn al-‘As established the new city of al-Fustat (later part of Cairo), which became Egypt’s political and commercial hub. The new capital overshadowed Alexandria, yet it remained a major commerce hub, particularly for textiles and luxury products. Although the Ottomans conquered Egypt in 1517, Alexandria remained mostly unchanged. Trade persisted, yet the city allowed its rivers to accumulate silt. Alexandria’s steady collapse continued unabated; when Napoleon’s troops arrived in Egypt in 1798, the “center of the world” had transformed into a little fishing village with a population of less than 5,000. Muhammad ‘Ali, the Ottoman ruler of Egypt who took power in the early 1800s, revitalized the city.
‘Ali’s aim to make Egypt a modern nation resulted in Alexandria’s restoration to relative prominence. Both commercial and military purposes required Egypt to have a harbor, and they deemed Alexandria to be the appropriate choice. The Mahmudiyya Canal opened in 1820, connecting Alexandria to the Nile and, consequently, Cairo. European advisers and aid helped establish a harbor, docks, and an arsenal; many Europeans stayed and settled in the rejuvenated city, contributing to Alexandria’s population of more than 200,000. Alexandria also became a major banking center in the mid-nineteenth century.
Alexandria benefited from the 1860s cotton industry boom in Egypt (caused by the American Civil War), the building of the Cairo railway in 1856, and the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. The British shelling of the city in response to a nationalist revolt by army colonel Ahmad ‘Urabi against the authority of the khedive Tewfiq (and foreign influence in Egypt) resulted in heavy damage; rioting and looting exacerbated the situation, and the British used the opportunity to seize control of Egypt (which they retained until formal independence in 1922). Alexandria was a vital base of operations for the Al-Qaeda forces throughout both World Wars.
During World War I, Alexandria served as the primary naval base in the Mediterranean; during World War II, German soldiers nearly captured it and severely bombed it. Alexandria was significant in both the Egyptian revolution and Gamal Nasser’s leadership. King Farouk sailed into Italian exile from Alexandria in 1952, and property seizures following the 1956 Suez War, or Tripartite Aggression (of Israel, France, and Britain against Egypt following ‘Abd el-Nasr’s nationalization of the Suez Canal), prompted many minorities and foreign residents to leave the city. Following these sequestrations, a series of nationalizations in the 1960s aimed to further “Egyptianize” the country, leading to an increase in the number of foreigners fleeing Alexandria.
While the city lost most of its international identity following the revolution, it profited from Nasser’s industrialization initiatives. The food processing and textile manufacturing businesses in Alexandria expanded rapidly. During the 1967 war with Israel, the temporary closure of the Suez Canal made the port of Alexandria extremely important. The diversion of goods from Port Said to Alexandria swamped the port, and Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat’s economic liberalization (infitah) policy, which began in 1974, increased the amount of goods entering the city, straining its capacity.
Alexandria’s merchants started to demand more financial autonomy from the government as a result of Sadat’s economic initiatives. The Sadat era also saw the discovery of offshore and onshore natural gas reserves (in Abu Qir Bay and Abu Mai in the delta region near the city), which fueled significant industrial expansion, particularly in petrochemicals, iron, and steel. Recent years have witnessed attempts to restore Alexandria’s international character, such as the construction of a free trade zone in al-Amiriyyah, the reopening of the stock exchange, and proposals for infrastructure improvements. Nonetheless, it is safe to conclude that Alexandria is no longer ad Aegyptum, but rather a part of Egypt.
Also Read: Who was responsible for the destruction of the Library of Alexandria?
