ALE 



A L E 



t!ie Necropolis of Jofcplms and Strabo. The commander of 

 the Faithful, on this occafioii, rejetled the idea of pillage, and 

 diredled hia heutenant to refcrve the wealth and revenue of 

 Alexandria for the public fervice and the propagation of the 

 faith ; the inhabitants were ntinibercd ; a tribute was im- 

 pofed; the zeal and refeutnient of the Jacobites were curbed ; 

 and the Melchites, who fubmitted to the Arabian yoke, 

 were indulged in the obfcure but tranquil cxercife of their 

 worfhip. The intelligence of this difgraceful and calamitous 

 event affliftcd the declining health of the emperor, and Hera- 

 clius died of a dropfy about feven weeks after the lofs of 

 Alexandria. Under the minority of his grandfon, the cla- 

 mours of a people, deprived of their daily fuRenance, com- 

 pelled the By/.antine court toundertakc the recovci-)' of the 

 capital of Egypt. In the fpace ot four years the harbour 

 and fortifications of Alexandria were twice occupied by a 

 fleet and army of Romans. They were twice expelled by 

 the valour of Amrou. But the facility of the attempt, the 

 repetition of the infult, and the obllinaey of the relillance, 

 provolced him to fwear, that if a third time he drove the in- 

 fidels into the fea, he would render Alexandria as acceffible 

 on all fides as the houfe of a proiHtutc. Faithful to his pro- 

 mife, he difmantled feveral parts of the walls and towers, but 

 the people were fpared ; and the Mofch of Mercy was erefted 

 on the fpot where the viftorious general had flopped the 

 fury of his troops. For the fate of the library, fee Ale.^.\n- 

 DRIAN library. 



Under the domination of the Arabs, Alexandria gradu- 

 ally lolt its fplendour. In the year 924 it was taken by the 

 Magrebians, two years after the dellruflion by iire of its 

 great chnieh, called by the Arabs Al Ka'ifaria, or Crfiirea, 

 which had been foi-niei4y a Pagan temple, erefted by queen 

 Cleopatra, in honour oi fiatvnn. The city was foon aban- 

 doned by the Magrebians, and in 928 the poffefTion of it 

 was again refumed. But when their fleet was afterwards 

 defeated by that of the Caliph, the Magrebian general, 

 ylbii! Ktifem, retired from Alexandria, leaving in it a gar- 

 rifon of 300 men, who with the remaining inhabitants were 

 removed by the Caliph's admiral, Thinaal, to an ifland 

 in the Nile called Ahouhtr. According to Eutychius, 

 more thsji 7.00,000 of the wretched inhabitants perifhcd 

 this year. 



In the year S75 the old walls had been demolifhed ; its ex- 

 tent contrafted to half its ancient dimenfions, and thofe walls 

 were built which cxifl at the prefent day. This fecond 

 Alexandria, which may be called, fays Savary, that of the 

 Arabs, prefented by the difpofltion of its flreets the form 

 of a chequer. It had preferved a part of its public places 

 and of its monuments. Tiie Pharos fUll exifted ; and Alex- 

 andria in its decline flill prefented an air of grandeur and 

 magnificence tliat excited admiration. 



Of the profperity and wealth of Alexandria, as the em- 

 porium of commerce, we may form an idea by this fingle 

 circumflance ; that, after the defeat of Zenobia, a fingle 

 mei chant of this citv, undertook to raife and pay an army 

 out of the profits of his trade. Such were its refources, 

 and the advantages derived from its commerce, that notv.ith- 

 flanding the tributes that were exafted from it by the Greeks 

 and Remans, and the oppreffions it fuffered from the Sara- 

 cens, it fiiceeffively recovered its profperity ; and even in 

 the C3th centiuy, its old mart began to revive, and its port 

 became again the center of commerce. But the dominion 

 of the Turks, and the difeover\' of the Cape of Good Hope, 

 in 1499, completed its ruin, and from that time it has fallen 

 into decay. 'J'he Alexandria of the Arabs was miferably 

 depopulated. Its large buildings fell into ruins, and under 

 a guvetament which difcouragcd even the appearance of 



wealth, no pcrfon could venture to repair them ; and mfaa 

 habltatiuii'j were conftrutted, in lieu of them, on the lea 

 coafl. 



The prefent flate of Alexandria affords a feenrofniag- 

 nifiecnt ruin and dei'olation. In the fpact of two leagues, 

 enclofed by walls, nothing is to be I'ceu but the remains of 

 pilaflers, of capitals, and of ubelilks, and whole mountains 

 of Hiattered cohiinns and monuments of ancient art heaped 

 upon one another, and accumulated to a greater height than 

 that of the houles. The famous tower of Pharos has been 

 long fince demoliOied, and a tquarc calUe, witliout taile, 

 ornament, or flrength, called Farillon, ereCled in its place. 

 The mole which joined the continent to the ifle of Pharo* 

 is enlarged, ami is now become a part of the main land. The 

 ifland of Anti- Rhodes is in the middle of the prefent town, 

 and is difcoverable only by an eminence covered with ruins. 

 The harbour Kibolos is choakcd up.' The canal which con- 

 veved the waters of lake Mareotis has diftppeared. This lake 

 ilfelf, through the negligence of the Turks in preferving the 

 canals which conveyed the waters of the Nile, is no longer 

 in exiftence, but is entirely occupied by thefandsof I.ybia. 

 The CANAL of Faouc, the only one which at prefent com- 

 municates with Alexandria, and without which that town 

 could not fubfilf, fince it has not a drop of freffi water, is 

 half filled witli imid and fand. Under tlie Roman empire, 

 and even under the domination of the Arabs, it was navi- 

 gable all the year, and fcrved for the conveyance of mer- 

 chandize. Its banks were Ihaded with date trees, covered 

 with vineyards, and adorned with countr)- houfes. At pre- 

 fent it has no water till about the end of Augufl, and its 

 fiipply is hardly fnfficicnt to fill the cifterns of the town. 

 The fields adjoining to it are dcferted ; the groves and gar- 

 dens that furrounded the ancient city have difappeared, and 

 without the walls there are only a few feattered trees, fome 

 fycamores and fig-trees, fome date and caper trees, and kali, 

 that hide the burning fands, which would be otlierwife in- 

 fuppoitable to the fight. Neverthelefs, even/ trace of ancient 

 magnificence is not obliterated. Some parts of the old walls 

 are yet flanding ; and they are flanked with large towers, at 

 the diilance of about 200 paces from each other, and with 

 fmaller intermediate ones. Below are magnificent cafematcs, 

 which may ferve for galleries in which to walk. In the 

 lower part of the towers is a large fquarc hall, whofe rocff 

 is fupported by thick columns of Thebaic fhme ; and above 

 this are feveral rooms, over which are platforms more than 20 

 paces fquare. The refervolrs, vaulted with much art, and 

 extending under the whole town, are almofl entire at the 

 end of 2000 years. Of C-efar's palace there remain only a 

 few porphyry pillars, and the front, which is almofl eiitirc, 

 and appears veiy beautiful. The palace of Cleopatra was 

 built upon the walls facing the port, having a galler)' on the 

 outfide, fupported by feveral fine columns. Towards the 

 eailern part of the palace are two obehflcs, vulgarly called 

 Cleopatra's Needles. They are of Thebaic ftone, and co- 

 vered with hieroglyphics ; one is overturned, broken, ami 

 lying under the fand ; the other is on it5 pedefUl. Thcfe 

 two obclifks, each of them of a fingle ftune, are abinit 60 

 feet high, by fevcn feet ftjuare at the bale. Towards the 

 gate of Rofctta are live columns of marble, on the place for- 

 merly occupied by the porticoes of the Gymnahunu The 

 reil of the colonnade, the defign of which was difcoverable 

 100 years ago by Maillet, has been fiuce delhoyed by the 

 barbarifm of the Turks. Pompey^s pillar, and the Calacumbs, 

 at half a league diftant to the fouihward of the town, flill 

 engage the attention of travellers. The canal of the Nile, 

 already mentioned, is about 70 paces from Porr.j-cy's piUar ; 

 and on the top of the hill is a t,ower, in whiv^h * ceotincl i*- 

 4 M 2 placcdi 



