Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-07-20
ANCIENT ALEXANDRIA,.
A Condensed Description Ofthat Historic City which
IL Again AN Subject OF Prominence.


A Condensed Description Ofthat Historic City which
is Again an Subject OF Prominence.
The original city of Alexandria was
founded by Alexander the Great, 81
b. c. Ut had circumference of fifteen
miles and 80 b. G. contained popula-
ton of 800, 600 freemen and about an
equal number of slaves. Lake Mareotis
was on its south and the Mediterranean
on the north, with the Metropolis on the
west and the Hippodrome on the south.
In 80 b. c. Ptolemy Alexander bequeath-
ed the city to the Romans but OWING
to civil disturbances in the empire into
which Alexandria was drawn, it was 80
B. c. before the city submitted to Aug
ustus 1t was made an imperial city,
governed by project appointed by the
Roman Emperor, in which condition it
continued until 1876 A. d., when Severui
restored it TO municipality. 1t rcgained
its old prosperity, until 215 A. d.,
when Emperor Carrecalla ordered the
murder of all youths capable of bearing
arms, an order which resulted in a gen
eral massacre of the inhabitants. This
disaster was soon overcome, however,
and Alexandria again fiourished as the
first city IN the world, aside from the
Roman capital itself. A number of in
surrections, however, reduced its i'm
portance, and in GIG was taken by the
Persians, and again in $40 by the Ara
bians, after a siege of fourteen months.
Anna, the Arabian commander, wrote
the Cahph Omar that he had taken Il
city containing 1000 palaces, 1000 baths,
$4,000 dealers in fresh oil, 10000 gard
eners and 40, 900 Jews who pay tribute
and 400 theaters." 1t was at this time
that John. the grammarian and philOso-
pher, requested the Arabian comman-
der for the Royal Library. The matter
was submitted to Omar, who ordered it
destroyed on the ground that if the
books contained anything contrary to
the Koran they ought to be put out of
the way, and if they did not they were
useless, as the Koran contained all nee
essary truths. For six months there
after the valuable books were used as
fuel for the public baths until the whole
were destroyed. The city was shortly
after taken by the Greeks, but soon re-
gained by the Arabians. Contantine,
the Greek Emperor, taking advantage of
revolt among the inhabitants over the
removal of Amru, the Governor, cap
tured the city. The Caliph, however,
restored Amru to power, who with an
army drove the Greeks within the walls
and 1t was not until the city was nearly
demolished that it surrendered From
this time forward the place declined
until its ruin was completed in 800 by
the founding of Cairo, and the discovery
of the route to the East by the Cape of
Good Hope in 1897 ruined its commerce
and it sunk out of sight until the begin
ming of the present century. Its site in
the meantime has been changed. The
new city stands partly on what was the
island of Pharos, now Il peninsula, but
mostly on the isthmus by which it is
connected with the main land. The an
cicnt city was on the main land adjacent
to the modern town. 1t was formerly
surrounded by a strong wall, but this
has gone to ruins or been torn down to
make way for improvements. In the
Turkish quarter the city is irregular
and dirty, and its general appearance
as n whole is anything but inviting. The
principal hotels and shops are in the
great square, the center of which is
planted with trees and provided with
seats
The city is indebted for its prosperity
to the advantage of its position for trade.
The position was lost by the discovery
of the Cape of Good Hope route TO the
East, and its population dropped down
to 5000 from coo, 900 1t obtained a
new start in 1920 by the construction of
the Mahmondiel canal, at cost of ST.
500, 600, and lis becoming the centre of
steam navigation and the principal sta
ton ON the overland route to India In
1856 a railroad was built between Alex
andria and Cairo, and extended to the
Suez and the cotton districts of the
Dalta. Alexandria has two ports, one
on the east, and the other on the west.
The population is of mixed character,
numbering in 1871 2l9,062, of whom
50, 500 We're foreigners. Cause of the
trouble. The real bone of contention in
the Egyptian muddle for which England
is preparing to demolish the city OF
Alexandria and subdue Arab Bey is the
control of the SueZ Canal. The work of
uniting the waters of the Mediterranean
and Red Sea was completed by Count
de Lesseps in August, 1869 Lord
Beaconsiield, the English premier, with
an eye to the interest of the British ma
ton, and with the characteristics of his
race, secretly purchased the stocks, I'M
til. in November, 1870; her Majesty's
Government held nee rly 200, 900 Of the
100000 shares, paying the Khedive
$50, 400, 600 therefor In 1870 but 1876
vessels passed through the canal, and
the receipts were but 81 ,631 500. But
in 1875 the number of vessels was 1891,
and the receipts were S5,777, 200. Last
year the number of vessels was 2727,
and the earnings $40, 254, 500 And of
the 5,794,000 tonnage of the traffic of
1881, not less than 81 per cent. belonged
to England. She must, it will be seen,
maintain a certain degree of power in
the government of Egypt, which the
movement of Arab Bey threatened, or
lose the immense revenue derived from
this investment made by Beaconsfield,
as well as the great highway to her In
dian possessions.