Alexandria Alexandria, AEgyptus, The City of Alexander the Great, son of Philip the Macedonian and Olympias his mother. Alexandria, the City of Alexander bears his name and was measured and her boundaries laid by the hand of Alexander himself on April 7th, 331 BCE. Alexander the Great's name-sake was established around the fishing village of Rhakotis. The archeological record suggests that Rhakotis dates back to the 13th century BCE. Rhakotis seems to have risen in importance during the reign of King Nectanebo II in the XXth Dynasty. "Now off Egypt, About as far as a ship can sail in a day With a good stiff breeze behind her There is an island called Pharos. It has a good harbor From which vessels can get out into open sea. When they have taken in water" Now these lines where written by the poet Homer in the “ODYSSEY”;(IV:355) in aprox. 800 BCE of the island across the was from the village of Rhakotis that was to become the great city of Alexandria about 469 years before Alexander The Great would sleep and dream of his city. Alexandria, The City of Alexander marked and lain out by his own hand was designed by the Greek architect Dinocrates of Rhodes. During this time the Nile was connected to the Red Sea through a canal, making Alexander’s command to establish a new regional city a strategic move. Alexandria was to serve as his new capital to mediate between Egypt and Greece as it was in the middle of his new and growing kingdom. Alexander the Great was only 25 at his arrival when he reached the Egyptian city of Menphis. Alexander the King of Macedon swept through Greece, Asia Minor, and Syria sweeping the forces of both the Greek and the Persian away before him. Celebrated as a conquering hero as he destroyed the hated Persian rule and lifted the yoke of off the necks of the Egyptian people. In the city of Memphis, Alexander was received as a God-King by the High Priests of the Temples of Menphis. Now set in the hearts of the people and the Priesthood of Egypt behind him it was ordained that Alexander would travel to meet the Holy Oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwia before his plans to journey into Persia, Central Asia, and India. Alexander the Great never saw a single building rise in Alexandria. Alexander was to die in a far off land of India and not to see Alexandria’s glory but this is not the story of Alexander the Great but of his city and name-sake Alexandria. It is thought upon his death that Alexander was returned to be buried in the city of his name-sake. “Street of the Soma” (now present day Nebi Daniel Street ) is intersected By the Main street “Canopic” ( now present day Faoud Street) that is connected to the Gate of the Moon to the West and extends to the Gate of The Sun in the East. The intersection of the streets of “Street of the Soma” and the main street “Canopic” is known as the Soma was the center of the city of Alexandria, and it is said that this intersection called the Soma is the burial place of Alexander The Great. The final resting place of the young Macedonian King but the story of Alexandria is really the story of The Ptolemys but to it Alexander gave his name and in the end its heart and soul. Upon the death of Alexander, June 10/11 323 BCE there was no clear ruler to fill the void left at his death. His wide spread kingdom was to be divided among several different rulers. Egypt was to fall to the hands of one of Alexander the Great's favored generals and childhood friend: Ptolemy, a veteran soldier and trusted commander who had served Alexander faithfully. A Macedonian by birth as his king Ptolemy, son of Lagos, laid claim to the territories of AEgyptus and became the Satrap or Viceroy of AEgyptus under the hand of Philip Arrhideus 323 - 317 BCE with Cleomenes Naukratis of as civil assistant (hyparchos) Ptolemy, son of Lagos, Satrap of Egypt (a title adopted by Alexander from the Persian rule), now in a bold stroke of cunning seized the body of his king. Removing the body of Alexander from the funeral train’s formal cortege headed to Macedonia brought his body first to Memphis to receive their fallen Pharaoh and Savior as proclaimed by the Oracle of Ammun at the Oasis of Siwa and the Priesthood of Memphis and then to Alexandria where his body was displayed in a coffin of gold. This bold move was not lost on the either the Egyptians themselves or the Macedonians to both whom kingship meant the burying of your predecessor. Ptolomy, son of Lagos, Satrap of Egypt, trusted general of Alexander the Great and veteran of the wars and exploits of “the Macedonian” a Macedonian himself November 7th 305 BCE declares himself king as Pharaoh Ptolomey I Soter or savior. Ptolomey I Soter c.372-283 BCE Macedonian General of Alexander the Great seized Egypt as his prize from a divided empire and founded a the Ptolemaic Dynasty that was to rule Egypt for 300 years and spawn the later Queen Cleopatra ,Queen of Kings; Egypt’s Last Pharaoh, Ptolomey was to birth Alexandria made it his capital and establish the Royal Museum and the Great Library in that city of Alexander who now lay entombed at its heart. Ptolomey I Soter (the Savior) Pharaoh of Egypt, moved the capital city from Memphis to Alexandria and set out to building an empire. Ptolomy I also known as Soter I ran his new country like a business for profit. The new capital was Alexandria ad AEgyptum ("Alexandria out from Egypt") was not a part of Egypt herself but separate, aloof, above but never really part of Egypt. The Greek architect Dinocrates built the city of Alexandria on the walls marked out by Alexander’s own hand. The city plan was not creative but was meant to be utilitarian. The sea was the prominent element in the landscape. Alexandria was laid out by Dinocrates with orthogonal streets according to the Greek grid system with streets that accommodated the driving of chariots and the city was divided in to five sectors. Our knowledge of Alexandria is left to us in the accounts of Strabo , who arrived in Egypt with the Roman Prefect, Aelius Gallus in 24 BCE.

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