The New Student's Reference Work/Alexandria

Alexan'dria, a city of, founded by , 332 B. C. Its site is near one of the mouths of the , between the and Lake Mareotis. About a mile out in the sea is the island of Pharos, connected with the land by an enormous mole, on which Ptolemy built the famous, 400 feet high, which was called one of the. He ordered as inscription on the lighthouse, the words: "King Ptolemy to the Gods, the Saviours, for the Benefit of Sailors." But the architect, Sostrates, put another inscription on the wall, covering it with mortar on which he wrote the words of the king. In later years the mortar fell off, and the hidden inscription appeared: "Sostrates, the Cnidian, son of Dexiphanes, to the Gods, the Saviours, for the Benefit of Sailors." The city was laid out in squares, with the tomb of Alexander the Great in the center. It was divided into the quarters of the, of the Egyptians and of the Greeks. In the latter were most of the beautiful buildings for which the city was famous, the palace of the Ptolemies, of ancient times, the museum, the court of justice and the temple of the Cæsars. This temple adorned with the two "," which he brought from, and which have been given to  (1877) and to  (1880). Alexandria has been a great center of trade at different times in its history. The rise of and the discovery of the passage to  by the  took away its importance; but the opening of the  has renewed its prosperity, and it is now growing rapidly. The city fell at various times under the power of the, the , the Arabs and the Turks. It was largely rebuilt under (who reigned from 1811 to 1848). In 1882 it was bombarded and held for a time by the English. It is now under English government. The modern city is built on the ancient mole. The population is 332,246, made up of a large number of nationalities.