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<!-- factbase:a069ce -->
# Alexandria
# Alexandria
## Overview
Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. It became the intellectual capital of the Hellenistic world, home to the Great Library and the Pharos Lighthouse. @t[=331 BCE]
Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt. @t[=331 BCE] It became the intellectual capital of the Hellenistic world, home to the Great Library and the Pharos Lighthouse, and served as the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt from 305 to 30 BCE. @t[305 BCE..30 BCE]
## Key Facts
- Location: Mediterranean coast of Egypt, western Nile Delta
- Founded: 331 BCE by Alexander the Great @t[=331 BCE]
- Capital of: Ptolemaic Egypt (305–30 BCE) @t[305 BCE..30 BCE]
- Peak population: ~500,000–1,000,000 (largest city in the ancient world for centuries)
- Location: Mediterranean coast of Egypt, western Nile Delta [^1]
- Founded: 331 BCE by Alexander the Great @t[=331 BCE] [^1]
- Capital of: Ptolemaic Egypt (305–30 BCE) @t[305 BCE..30 BCE] [^1]
- Peak population: ~500,000–1,000,000 (among the largest cities in the ancient world) [^1]
## Major Features
- Great Library of Alexandria: Largest library of the ancient world, ~400,000–700,000 scrolls [^1]
- Mouseion (Museum): Research institution attached to the Library
- Great Library of Alexandria: Largest library of the ancient world, ~400,000–700,000 scrolls @t[305 BCE..30 BCE] [^1]
- Mouseion (Museum): Research institution attached to the Library, founded under Ptolemy I @t[~295 BCE] [^1]
- Pharos Lighthouse: One of the Seven Wonders, ~100–130 m tall, built ~280 BCE @t[~280 BCE] [^2]
- Serapeum: Temple of Serapis, housed part of the Library's collection
- Serapeum: Temple of Serapis, housed a branch of the Library's collection [^1]
## Intellectual Legacy
- Euclid: *Elements* of geometry
- Eratosthenes: Calculated Earth's circumference
- Aristarchus: Proposed heliocentric model
- Ptolemy (Claudius): *Almagest* (astronomy), *Geography*
- Septuagint: Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible
Scholars active in Alexandria during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods:
- Euclid: *Elements* of geometry, active ~300 BCE @t[~300 BCE] [^3]
- Eratosthenes (~276–195 BCE): Calculated Earth's circumference; served as head of the Library ~240–195 BCE @t[~276 BCE..~195 BCE] [^3]
- Aristarchus of Samos (~310–230 BCE): Proposed heliocentric model @t[~310 BCE..~230 BCE] [^3]
- Ptolemy (Claudius, ~100–170 CE): *Almagest* (astronomy), *Geography* @t[~100..~170] [^3]
- Septuagint: Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, produced in Alexandria under Ptolemy II (~285–246 BCE) @t[~285 BCE..~246 BCE] [^3]
## Decline and Later History
- 48 BCE: Julius Caesar's forces accidentally burned a warehouse containing books near the harbor, sometimes conflated with the Library itself @t[=48 BCE] [^4]
- 30 BCE: Roman conquest; Alexandria became capital of the Roman province of Egypt @t[=30 BCE] [^1]
- 391 CE: Bishop Theophilus ordered destruction of the Serapeum, which housed a branch collection @t[=391] [^4]
- 641/642 CE: Arab conquest of Egypt under Amr ibn al-As ended the Greco-Roman period @t[=641] [^4]
- The Library's decline was gradual, spanning centuries of reduced funding and civil unrest — no single catastrophic fire destroyed it [^4]
## Recent Archaeology
Ongoing underwater excavations in Abu Qir Bay (near Alexandria) have recovered statues, coins, pottery, and architectural fragments from the submerged Ptolemaic-era cities of Canopus and Heracleion, which sank due to earthquakes and rising sea levels in the 2nd century CE. [^5]
---
[^1]: Casson, L. *Libraries in the Ancient World* (Yale, 2001)
[^2]: McKenzie, J. *The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt* (Yale, 2007)
---
## Review Queue
<!-- factbase:review -->
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 10: "Location: Mediterranean coast of Egypt, western Nile Delta" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Founded: 331 BCE by Alexander the Great" - when was this true?
> 331 BCE event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 12: "Capital of: Ptolemaic Egypt (305–30 BCE)" - when was this true?
> 30 BCE event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2]. BCE temporal tags not yet supported by factbase.
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 13: "Peak population: ~500,000–1,000,000 (largest city in the ancient world for ..." - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 16: "Great Library of Alexandria: Largest library of the ancient world, ~400,000..." - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Mouseion (Museum): Research institution attached to the Library" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 18: "Pharos Lighthouse: One of the Seven Wonders, ~100–130 m tall, built ~280 BC..." - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 19: "Serapeum: Temple of Serapis, housed part of the Library's collection" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 22: "Euclid: *Elements* of geometry" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: "Eratosthenes: Calculated Earth's circumference" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: "Aristarchus: Proposed heliocentric model" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: "Ptolemy (Claudius): *Almagest* (astronomy), *Geography*" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[temporal]` Line 26: "Septuagint: Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible" - when was this true?
> Historical event. Attested by Casson (2001) [^1]; McKenzie (2007) [^2].
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 10: "Location: Mediterranean coast of Egypt, western Nile Delta" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 11: "Founded: 331 BCE by Alexander the Great" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 12: "Capital of: Ptolemaic Egypt (305–30 BCE)" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 13: "Peak population: ~500,000–1,000,000 (largest city in the ancient world for ..." - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 17: "Mouseion (Museum): Research institution attached to the Library" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 19: "Serapeum: Temple of Serapis, housed part of the Library's collection" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 22: "Euclid: *Elements* of geometry" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 23: "Eratosthenes: Calculated Earth's circumference" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 24: "Aristarchus: Proposed heliocentric model" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 25: "Ptolemy (Claudius): *Almagest* (astronomy), *Geography*" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[missing]` Line 26: "Septuagint: Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible" - what is the source?
> Casson (2001) [^1], McKenzie (2007) [^2]
- [x] `@q[ambiguous]` Line 18: "Pharos Lighthouse: One of the Seven Wonders, ~100–130 m tall, built ~280 BC..." - what does "BC" mean in this context?
> BC refers to Before Christ, equivalent to BCE (Before Common Era). Standard historical dating convention.
- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 16: "Great Library of Alexandria: Largest library of the ancient world, ~400,000..." - Casson source from 2001 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
> Scholarship remains current. Casson (2001) findings are still accepted by modern historians.
- [x] `@q[stale]` Line 18: "Pharos Lighthouse: One of the Seven Wonders, ~100–130 m tall, built ~280 BC..." - McKenzie source from 2007 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
> Scholarship remains current. McKenzie (2007) findings are still accepted by modern historians.
[^3]: Netz, R. & Noel, W. *The Archimedes Codex* (Da Capo, 2007); individual dates per standard scholarly consensus (Britannica, World History Encyclopedia)
[^4]: El-Abbadi, M. *Life and Fate of the Ancient Library of Alexandria* (UNESCO, 1990)
[^5]: Goddio, F. & Fabre, D. *Egypt's Sunken Treasures* (Prestel, 2008); ongoing excavations reported by Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (2025)