The Ptolemies Age

Alexander the Great, the king of Macedonia, founded Alexandria in 332 BC, While he was on his way from Memphis to the Oasis of Amon to consult the famous oracle at the temple of Jupiter-Amon in 331 BC, he was struck by the excellent position offered by the village of Rhakotis, with the island of Pharos opposite. It offered an Ideal site for the establishment of a port for trade between Egypt and the rest of the world. It was on that narrow strip of land, Situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the North and lake Mariotis to the south, that rose the city which carried the name of Alexander.

At the time of his death the work on the building was not very advanced, and in spite of the activity of Ptolemy I, the city does not seem to be completed till the time of Ptolemy II (285-246). The architect of the new city was Dinocrates. The main characteristic of his plan for the new city was the straight lines. As a rule the streets cut one another at right angles, and thus the city was divided into squares like a chessboard.

According to Philo the Alexandrine Historian of the first century, The city was divided into districts
named after the first five letters of the Greek alphabet. Unfortunately, we know very little about these
districts. We know that the Jews of the city lived in the Delta district. The Royal district occupied
nearly one third of the whole area of the city and looked on the eastern harbor. It contained royal
buildings, many places and gardens, the famous Museum with its Library and the royal cemetery. The Egyptians lived in Rhakotis to the west of the city.

Cleopatra, the queen of Egypt and last of the Ptolemies, ruled from Alexandria during the first century BC Her love affair with Mark Anthony, a Roman leader, led to civil war in Rome. In 31 BC, the Romans defeated the fleet of Anthony and Cleopatra in the battle of Actium, near Greece. Egypt
became a Roman province in 30 BC Alexandria was a major port in the Roman Empire.

BIBLEOGRAPHY:

1- World Book Encyclopedia
2-Alexandria, An Archeological Guide to the City