Alexandria, called by the Arabs and Turks Iskanderîeh, the second town of Egypt, strongly fortified, and one of the most important trading places on the Mediterranean, lies in 31° 11′ N. lat. and 29° 53′ E. long., at the W. end of the Nile Delta (p. [418]), on a strip of land separating Lake Mareotis from the sea. The population is about 377,000, incl. 48,000 Europeans (‘Franks’), chiefly Greeks and Italians, but many French and Austrians and a lesser number of English and Germans. The Moslems live mostly in the N. and W. quarters (comp. p. [434]), the Europeans chiefly in the E. quarter or in Ramleh (p. [436]).
Alexandria was founded in 331 B. C. by Alexander the Great, who endeavoured to blend the land of the Pharaohs with his new Greek empire. His Egyptian governor and successor, Ptolemy I. Soter (323–286), made Alexandria a centre of art and science. He founded the Museum, an institute for the promotion of science and poetry, to which the famous Alexandrine library was attached. The highly advantageous position of the town, which was connected, through Lake Mareotis, with the Nile by several navigable channels, and whose harbour (unlike the other older seaports at the mouth of the Nile) was protected by marine currents from being silted up, led to the surprisingly rapid development of its trade and prosperity under the Ptolemies. Alexandria had attained its zenith when, in 48 B. C., the Romans intervened in the quarrels between Cleopatra and her husband Ptolemy XIV. Both Caesar, who entered Alexandria in triumph after the murder of Pompey at Pelusium, and Antony were ensnared by Cleopatra. After the defeat of Antony’s partisans Augustus founded the large E. suburb of Nicopolis. When at its prime the city is said to have had a population of half-a-million inhabitants. The Greek element predominated, after which came the Egyptian, while a Jewish community had existed here ever since the time of Ptolemy I. Christianity also took root in Alexandria at an early period, having been first proclaimed here, according to tradition, by St. Mark the Evangelist.
In the time of Trajan (96–117) the revolt of the Jews, who then composed one-third of the population, gave rise to terrible bloodshed and disaster. A century later the emperor Caracalla (211–7) paid a fateful visit to the city, and, to punish the citizens for their contumacy, ordered many of them to be massacred and the famous academy to be closed. The city suffered even more severely from the persecution of the Christians under Decius (250) and Valerian (257), from the plague in the reign of Gallienus, and from its battles with the Palmyrenes (260–8). Having become, like Carthage, a stronghold of Christian erudition, Alexandria afterwards became the chief scene of the embittered controversies between Arius (d. 336), a presbyter of the city, and the ‘orthodox’ bishops Alexander and Athanasius (328–78). Even after the victory of the Athanasians at the councils of Nicæa (325) and Constantinople (381) the Arian heresy, which admitted the divine nature of Christ but denied his identity with the Father, subsisted for centuries among the Germanic tribes.
Under Theodosius I. (379–95) paganism received its death-blow, when the patriarch Theophilus waged war against all heathen temples and monuments. But the material prosperity of the city declined at the same time. The citizens were no longer able to pay for the cleansing of the Nile and the maintenance of the canals, and they were further impoverished when the patriarch Cyril banished the Jews. In 619 the Persian Chosroes made Alexandria his base for the conquest of Egypt. The country was next overrun by the hordes of caliph Omar, whose general Amr ibn el-Âsî captured Alexandria in 641. Its importance now declined still further in the same proportion as Cairo, the new capital of the conquerors, rose to wealth and importance. In 1303 and 1326 a great part of the city, with the Pharus (p. [434]), was destroyed by earthquakes. Lastly, the discovery of America and of the sea-route to India completed the ruin of its trade.
About the year 1800 the population of Alexandria had dwindled to about 5000, but Mohammed Ali (p. [414]) wisely laid the foundations of a new era of prosperity. He improved the harbours and constructed canals. His great work was the Mahmûdîyeh Canal (p. [434]), begun in 1819, which fertilized anew the environs of the city and again connected it with the interior of Egypt, which had long been obliged to export its produce by way of Damietta and Rosetta. Subsequent rulers also were zealous for the welfare of Alexandria. During the revolt of the national party under Arâbi Bey (1882) Alexandria was bombarded by the British fleet and the European quarter was burned down, but since then the city has resumed its steady and vigorous career of progress.
The old town of to-day lies partly on the Heptastadion, the embankment ‘seven stadia’ (about 1430 yds.) in length, which ever since the time of the Ptolemies has connected the mainland with the island of Pharos, but which in the course of centuries has been greatly widened. At the E. extremity of the island, now peninsula, rises the picturesque Fort Kâït Bey (Pl. D, E, 1), on the site of the famous ‘Pharus’, a lighthouse erected under Ptolemy II. Philadelphus by Sostratus of Cnidos, in 280–279; it was originally 400 ells (590 ft.) in height, and was deemed one of the seven wonders of the world; it is supposed to have been the prototype of the Egyptian minaret (comp. p. [445]). The main or ‘great’ harbour of that period, protected by a huge embankment, is now the Port Est, the new quays of which afford a pleasant seaside walk and are being completed as a fashionable boulevard.
The Port Ouest, the ancient Eunostos (‘haven of happy return’), was little used till the later Roman age. Improved since 1871 it now consists of an inner basin of 475 acres, and a new outer harbour of 1750 acres (p. [418]). From the beginning of the Gabbari Mole extend quays with warehouses along the E. side of this harbour to the Naval Arsenal (Pl. C, D, 3). Of the 2000 steamers entering the port annually more than half are under the British flag. The inner harbour is connected with the Mahmûdîyeh Canal (p. [435]) by means of locks. The chief exports are cotton, cotton-seed, grain, beans, rice, sugar, onions, and tomatoes.
The Rue de la Marine (Pl. E, D, 5, 4; tramways, see p. [431]) and its continuation the Rue Moutouch Pacha (Pl. D, 4, 3) form one of the chief approaches to the peninsula of Pharos (see above). Between the viceregal Palace of Râs et-Tîn (Pl. A, B, 3) and the Port Est lies the Turkish Quarter, with its pretty houses and a few gardens.
The Rue Râs et-Tîn, the main street of the N. quarters, leads past the Government Buildings (Pl. D, E, 3), to the S.E., to the Arab Quarter, lying on the ancient Heptastadion (see above) and containing several Sûks or markets, which present an interesting picture of Oriental life.
The Rue de France (Pl. E, F, 3, 4), the S.E. prolongation of the Rue Râs et-Tîn, leads to the Place Méhémet Ali (Pl. F, 4), the focus of European life, planted with trees and adorned with a Statue of Mohammed Ali (p. [444]) on horseback. The chief buildings here are the Palais de Justice, the Bourse, and the English Church. The last is adjoined by St. Mark’s Building, belonging to the British community and used as a school and for official purposes. From the W. harbour the Place Méhémet Ali is reached by the Rue Bab el-Karasta (Pl. E, 5) and Rue Anastasi (Pl. E, F, 5, 4), skirting the lofty Fort Cafarelli or Napoléon (Pl. E, 5; signalling station).