ALEXANDRIA. 



ALEXANDRIA. 



riniTiil MM wlenta, about a million storting, a* port-dues 



A eonmderabU pert at the *He of the ancient city 1* now surrounded 

 by a douhU well fsanked with lofty towers and pierced by five gate- 

 MMMW, end preeent* generally an almost shapeless maa* of rubbish, 

 in whieh we seen fragments of broken cojiimns and capitals, pieoe* of 

 wall count half ehoked up with earth, bite of pottery, gla**, and all 

 the sign* of onmplet* desolation. Borne of the mound* are covered 

 with the villas and gardens of th* wealthy inhabitant* of modern 

 Alexandria. Of the obelisks, commonly called Cleopatra's Needle*, 



Clropstra'i Nredle. 



one i* still standing ; the other is lying near It on the ground. The 

 whole height of the erect obelisk, including the pedestal and the 

 three atop* i* about7 fcet ; the obeluk itself is 78 feet long, and ha* 

 iti*m*tsr at the baee of 7 feet 7 inches. T he proetrate obelisk which 

 < mutilated and not quite so long a* th* other was presented to 

 England by Mehem. t AH ; no step* however have been taken for its 

 removal. These two oboUska, which are of red granite, were brought 

 by one of the Koman emperor* from Heliopolis, and set up in front of 



the (was re The Arabs, who ascribe to Cleopatra all the great 



of her oapiul. call the** obelisks Meeelleh, which means both 

 ting-needle ' and an obelisk ;' hence the origin of the common 



.... . 



The oval* of Thothme* III., Hamoses III., and 

 ihios upon them. Near 

 e Tower of the Roman*,' 



CWrUlf, 



UM two ob*llsk* i* part of a tower called 



aad probably U may b* coireotly named. 



New the centre of the inclosure stands th* mosqii* of St Atha- 

 MsftM, on th* lite of a CbrUtUo church ejected by this patriarch 

 during OM 4th century. In thi* mosque the French discovered 

 UM beautiful aaroopbagus of Egyptian broocia, which is now in <> 

 . The cU 



British MUMUB. The cUtem* for keeping th* Nile water are still in 

 mat part prexrvsd. They consist of vaulted ohamber* lupported 

 by oolnmna, which form arcades of two or three stories. Th* interior 

 walla are covered with a thick red plaster that I* not permeable to 

 water. The water wa. reached by means of step* in the aides, or 

 through aa opening U the roof for a bucket and rope. At the 

 time of the rVench occupation of Alexandria, there were about 808 

 of these cbtera* known to exist, and many more are doubtless buried 

 beneath the rubbish : the number In use at that time was 207. 



The only remarkable monument between the wall and the lake i* 



he column eommonly called Pompey's Pillar. It stands on a mound 



I earth about 40 feet high, which contains remains of former oon- 



**. The abaft, whtoh oombU of a single piece of red granite, 



! .*"* ^ W *"* ' tooh< " ln ** d weigh, at least 

 [*? k oe height, with the capital, which I* in bad teete, 

 *ee and pedeetal, which are no bettor, I* 03 feet inch**. 

 <* Inscription on the plinth of the Due, on the 

 i .."f" * * *>> erected by a prefect of Egypt in 

 the Eor WecUtiwi, who toot tbe dty aftoT eight 

 *> Th, foundation of thl* pillar ha* evidently 

 . ^*^ rf .. P"*My wHh the hope of finding tenure. ; 

 (to thi. disturbance that it i* inclined about 

 oth we*. Amldt the broken material* around 

 MM the eentn stone on which It reeta : thi* U a piece of 



yellowish breccia, with hieroglyphic* on It, in which the name of 

 Paammetichus occurs. The vulgar name of the pillar would imply 

 that it had aom* connection with Pompous ; but it ought rather to 

 be called Diocletian's Pillar : a statue of that emperor long surmounted 



I'orapej-'i Pillar. 



it The common name in supposed to be a corruption of the Greek 

 word iropirafoi, ' conducting,' applied to this pillar from the circum- 

 stance of its serving as a landmark. Pompey s Pillar stands near the 

 site of the Serapeion ; according to Arab tradition it was one of the 

 400 columns that formed tbe peristyle of that celebrated temple. 



About -[ miles from Pompoy's Pillar are the catacomb*, cut in a small 

 elevation consisting of a sandy calcareous (tone ; and in the calcareous 

 rock that faces the sen are found almost countless excavations, in the 

 side* of which niche* are out : these formed part of the Necropolis. 

 The most spacious of these excavation*, all of which communicated 

 with the sea by a narrow passage, is about 3830 yards south-west from 

 Pompey's Pillar; near it are several other tombs called )>y tliu inap- 

 propriate name of Cleopatra's Baths. In the interior we find a great 

 number of chambers and passages cut in tbe rock in such a style of 

 decoration as proves their Greek origin. 



The history of this city is as remarkable as it* monument* once 

 were. We can here only indicate its great epochs. From IM . :;.:( to n.o. 

 SO, when it fell into the hands of the Romans, it was the residence of 

 the Oreek kings of Egypt, the resort of commerce, and of many foreign 

 nation*, especially Jews ; and also the centra of the scientific knowledge 

 of that day. In tbe campaigns of Julius Ctoear at Alexaudreia, B.C. 48, 

 the place sustained much damage. 



From B.C. 80 to the Arab conquest under Omar, A.D. 640, Alexandreia 

 was still a flourishing city under the Roman emperor*, and afterwards 

 under the Eastern empire. Alexandreia early adopted the Christian 

 religion, and became one of the stronghold* of the true faith. It was 

 also the theatre on which the Christians showed their most determined 

 hostility to all the works of Pagan art The Christians of Aloxandreia 

 were the first victims of the persecuting rescript of Diocletiai 

 suffered terribly. In the feuds between the Catholics and the Arian* 

 in the 4th century the streets of tbe city were often deluged with blood, 

 and many of it* finest building* were destroyed. When tbe Arabs 

 took Alexandreia the Brucheiou was in ruins, and nearly deserted. 



In fi th* Fatemite khalifs selied mi K/vpt, mid built New Cairo, 

 from which time Alexaudreia declined still more, and sunk to the rank 

 of a secondary Egyptian city j tho discovery of the route round tlir 

 Cape of Good Hope in 1407, tended still further to diminish the 

 commercial importance of Alexaudreia, which at that period had a 

 population of only about 6000. 



iKor more i uformation on the history and antiquities of Alexandreia, 

 see Diodorus, lib. xvii. ; Strabo, lib. xvii. ; D'Anville, Egyptt; JJetcrt>i- 

 tian dt tKgypte, and the plates, vol. v. ; Smith's Dictionary ofGrecJc 

 and Koman Otograpky ; Sir Gardner Wilkinson's TwoyraphyvfTliebtt; 

 Murray's J/mullivokfvr TnmUin in JSj/yK) 



ALEX A N|i|;i:iA, surnamed Troat, from ita position on the coast 

 of the Troad, opposite the Isle of Tenedos, was founded by Antigonus, 

 on* of Alexander's successors, and named Antigoneia ; but the name 

 was afterward* changed by Lysimachua, king of Thrace, who improved 

 the town. It was a flourishing place wider the Romau empire. In 



