The Scribes from Alexandria :: Historical Background

The historical background to
The Scribes from Alexandria

When most people think of ancient Egypt, they think of pyramids, mummies and pharaohs. But the dynasties of the pharaohs are only one part of Egypt’s history.

Alexander the Great founded the capital of his empire there and his successors, the Ptolemies, ruled Egypt for 300 years. After the fall of Cleopatra in 30 BC, the Romans made Egypt a province. It became the main supplier of the grain needed to feed over a million Romans. Egypt also introduced exotic gods and goddesses to Rome, and even songs and dances.

In the first century AD, Alexandria was one of the most important cities in the Roman Empire, second only to Rome. And whereas Rome had grown up as a collection of crooked streets around seven hills, Alexandria was planned from the start. Its wide streets were laid out on a grid pattern designed to catch the cooling Etesian breeze. It

Alexandria boasted one of the Seven Sights of the ancient world, the great lighthouse, but also had world-famous buildings such as the Museum, the Serapeum, the Caesarion and the Soma, where Alexander’s body was on show in a clear sarcophagus. This cross-roads of the ancient world had a freshwater lake and five sea harbours to cope with the massive amount of trade that passed through it. Massive underground cisterns supplied water to almost every house in the ancient city. They still lie beneath modern Alexandria and are only now being investigated. Archaeologists are also bringing up statues and columns from the harbour, which was once part of the Brucheion, the royal quarter.

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below: Alexandria as it might have looked in AD 81
ancient alexandria