123 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
123 lines
6.9 KiB
Markdown
<!-- factbase:a069ce -->
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# Alexandria
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## Overview
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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]
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## Key Facts
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- Location: Mediterranean coast of Egypt, western Nile Delta [^1]
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- Founded: 331 BCE by Alexander the Great @t[=331 BCE] [^1]
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- Capital of: Ptolemaic Egypt (305–30 BCE) @t[305 BCE..30 BCE] [^1]
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- Peak population: ~500,000–1,000,000 (among the largest cities in the ancient world) [^1]
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## Major Features
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- Great Library of Alexandria: Largest library of the ancient world, ~400,000–700,000 scrolls @t[305 BCE..30 BCE] [^1]
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- Mouseion (Museum): Research institution attached to the Library, founded under Ptolemy I @t[~295 BCE] [^1]
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- Pharos Lighthouse: One of the Seven Wonders, ~100–130 m tall, built ~280 BCE @t[~280 BCE] [^2]
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- Serapeum: Temple of Serapis, housed a branch of the Library's collection [^1]
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## Intellectual Legacy
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Scholars active in Alexandria during the Ptolemaic and Roman periods:
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- Euclid: *Elements* of geometry, active ~300 BCE @t[~300 BCE] [^3]
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- Eratosthenes (~276–195 BCE): Calculated Earth's circumference; served as head of the Library ~240–195 BCE @t[~276 BCE..~195 BCE] [^3]
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- Aristarchus of Samos (~310–230 BCE): Proposed heliocentric model @t[~310 BCE..~230 BCE] [^3]
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- Ptolemy (Claudius, ~100–170 CE): *Almagest* (astronomy), *Geography* @t[~100..~170] [^3]
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- Septuagint: Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, produced in Alexandria under Ptolemy II (~285–246 BCE) @t[~285 BCE..~246 BCE] [^3]
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## Decline and Later History
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- 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]
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- 30 BCE: Roman conquest; Alexandria became capital of the Roman province of Egypt @t[=30 BCE] [^1]
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- 391 CE: Bishop Theophilus ordered destruction of the Serapeum, which housed a branch collection @t[=391] [^4]
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- 641/642 CE: Arab conquest of Egypt under Amr ibn al-As ended the Greco-Roman period @t[=641] [^4]
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- The Library's decline was gradual, spanning centuries of reduced funding and civil unrest — no single catastrophic fire destroyed it [^4]
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## Recent Archaeology
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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]
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---
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[^1]: Casson, L. *Libraries in the Ancient World* (Yale, 2001)
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[^2]: McKenzie, J. *The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt* (Yale, 2007)
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[^3]: Netz, R. & Noel, W. *The Archimedes Codex* (Da Capo, 2007); individual dates per standard scholarly consensus (Britannica, World History Encyclopedia)
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[^4]: El-Abbadi, M. *Life and Fate of the Ancient Library of Alexandria* (UNESCO, 1990)
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[^5]: Goddio, F. & Fabre, D. *Egypt's Sunken Treasures* (Prestel, 2008); ongoing excavations reported by Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (2025)
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---
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## Review Queue
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<!-- factbase:review -->
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 8: "Location: Mediterranean coast of Egypt, western Nile Delta [^1]" - when was this true?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 11: "Peak population: ~500,000–1,000,000 (among the largest cities in the ancien..." - when was this true?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 17: "Serapeum: Temple of Serapis, housed a branch of the Library's collection [^1]" - when was this true?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 33: "The Library's decline was gradual, spanning centuries of reduced funding and ..." - when was this true?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 23: Malformed temporal tag @t[~-276..~-195] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 24: Malformed temporal tag @t[~-310..~-230] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 25: Malformed temporal tag @t[~100..~170] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 26: Malformed temporal tag @t[~-285..~-246] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 31: Malformed temporal tag @t[=391] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[temporal]` Line 32: Malformed temporal tag @t[=641] — see docs for valid syntax
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>
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- [ ] `@q[ambiguous]` Line 16: "Pharos Lighthouse: One of the Seven Wonders, ~100–130 m tall, built ~280 BC..." - what does "BC" mean in this context?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[ambiguous]` Line 24: "Aristarchus of Samos (~310–230 BCE): Proposed heliocentric model @t[~310 BC..." - what does "BC" mean in this context?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 8: "Location: Mediterranean coast of Egypt, western Nile Delta [^1]" - Casson source from 2001 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 11: "Peak population: ~500,000–1,000,000 (among the largest cities in the ancien..." - Casson source from 2001 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 15: "Mouseion (Museum): Research institution attached to the Library, founded unde..." - Casson source from 2001 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 16: "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?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 17: "Serapeum: Temple of Serapis, housed a branch of the Library's collection [^1]" - Casson source from 2001 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 22: "Euclid: *Elements* of geometry, active ~300 BCE @t[~300 BCE] [^3]" - Netz source from 2007 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 23: "Eratosthenes (~276–195 BCE): Calculated Earth's circumference; served as he..." - Netz source from 2007 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 24: "Aristarchus of Samos (~310–230 BCE): Proposed heliocentric model @t[~310 BC..." - Netz source from 2007 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 25: "Ptolemy (Claudius, ~100–170 CE): *Almagest* (astronomy), *Geography* @t[~10..." - Netz source from 2007 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 26: "Septuagint: Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, produced in Alexandria und..." - Netz source from 2007 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 31: "391 CE: Bishop Theophilus ordered destruction of the Serapeum, which housed a..." - El-Abbadi source from 1990 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 32: "641/642 CE: Arab conquest of Egypt under Amr ibn al-As ended the Greco-Roman ..." - El-Abbadi source from 1990 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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- [ ] `@q[stale]` Line 33: "The Library's decline was gradual, spanning centuries of reduced funding and ..." - El-Abbadi source from 1990 may be outdated, is this still accurate?
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>
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