Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria rose to prominence as a major center of Hellenic culture and the Egyptian capital, taking the place of present-day Greater Cairo’s Memphis.
Home to the legendary Lighthouse of Alexandria – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – and the legendary Library of Alexandria, the city has seen a rebirth in the disc-shaped, ultramodern Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
The city’s Qaitbay Citadel – a 15th century fortress – is now a museum, and is affectionately referred to as the “Bride of the Mediterranean” by the locals.
Extending roughly 40 kilometers along Egypt’s northern coast, Alexandria is the Mediterranean’s largest city, the second-largest in Egypt after Cairo, the fourth-largest in the Arab world, the ninth-largest in Africa, the ninth-largest urban area in Africa, and the 79th-largest urban area on the planet.
In its initial stages, Alexandria was situated near the Egyptian settlement of Rhacotis and held this status until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 AD. After the conquest, Fustat, now part of Cairo, was made the new capital.
The city of Alexandria was most well-known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos) – one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – its renowned Library, which was the largest in the ancient world, and its Necropolis, another one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Alexandria served as the intellectual and cultural hub of the ancient Mediterranean, and at one point it was the biggest city in the world, until it was ultimately outdone by Rome.
The city was also a central location of early Christianity and the Patriarchate of Alexandria, a key Christian hub in the Eastern Roman Empire. Both the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria today share in this remarkable ancient history.
Alexandria experienced a period of decline and disuse following the 641 AD conquest, before it reemerged in the modern era.
The 18th century saw the city become a major shipping centre and a major trading hub thanks to its easy connection between the Mediterranean and Red Seas, as well as its profitable trade in Egyptian cotton.
