Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1882-07-18
ALEXANDRIA A
HISTORY OF THE CITY WHICH NOW LIES
HEAP OF JTN,DrSTrNGrrTsHARIER RITINa


HISTORY OF THE CITY WHICH NOW LIES
HEAP OF UNDIsIINGUIsHABLE RUINS.
The history of Alex andria, the city the
English have been bombarding and now oc-
cupy together with the Americans and Ger
mans, is one of great interest, and includes
the events of twenty-five centuries, and with
it is connected some of the greatest names In
classic and early christian history, including
those of Alexander the Great, the Ptolemies,
Jrsip Cesar, Anlonysand Cleopatra, Dio-
el]tisn, Cyril, Athanasius. 0si<en, St George
Of CappSdocia, Iypatia, Chosroes, the con-
qaering Amrou, Nspoleon-these are but
few of the strangely mingled names. The
history of Alexandra is older than its name,
for the island of Phares was from very
early period the refuge of Greek and Phoe-
nician sea-rovers; while upon the main
land the rude village of Rhacotis ex-
isted long before the beginning of the
city. 1t was not until the advent of
Alexander, who discerned with strategic eye
the fitness OF its location for trade, that the
Ale1andria- of Esyrt-~ss founded, in the
year 332 BIC. The modern Alexandria
stands partly on what was the island of
Pharos, now peninsula, but mostly on the
isthmus extending to the mainland. Ancient
Alexandria was upon the mainland adjacent
to the modern town. fThe dIvination of
Alexander's genius was shown in the imme-
dis;e and rapid growth of the city, which
soon became the ruler and queen of Eastern
commerce. Its development in other direc-
tions was greatly aided by the enlightened
Iiberality of the earlier Ptolemies, who had
Egypt after the death of Alexander.
Under their rule the population in
creased to at least 100000, and the
city was made glorious with monuments,
palaces, and other public buildings, among
them the Pharos, the wonder of the world"
The Ptolemies were patrons of literature,
and the Alexandrian schools have made the
city as famous in letters as its position and
wealth have made it in commerce. 1t had
children and vast numbers of slaves. Here
converged the traffic of Persia and the far
East, and that of Europe and the Meditcr-
ranean. Here gathered Jews and Greeks,
Zoroastrians and Buddhists, Brahmins and
Ethiopians. Julius Caesar took it by SIEGE
The cruel Emperor Caracalla butchered it
because it satirized him. Aurelian sacked
it; 30 did Diocletian. 1t received and sur
vived every indignity, and when Amru,
with his Mohammedan army, entered il
in the seventh century, AID, after four
teen months siege, he wrote to Omar that he
had taken city containing 1000 palaces,
1000 baths, II 900 dealers in fresh ell, IL, 600
gardeners, 10000 Jews who pay tribute, 400
theaters or places of amusement. The city
was then almost 1000 years old. A few years
later it was captured By The Greek Emperor
Constantine, but he was speedily driven out
by the Moslems. Constantinople superseded
| II as an intellectual aud commercial center,
and the Indian trsde found in the fifteenth
century the Cape route, and Alexandra
dropped out of history till the rise of Me-
| hemet Ali, the grandfather of Khedive Tew-
fix. Under Mehemet Ali Alexandria began
to revive. 1t grew in thrse-quarters of q
nhah ,to
TO 219,602 in 1871. The modern city
keeps up the reputation of the ancient as a
cosmopolitan center. In its streets you can
meet citizens of almost every nation, and
more than one-fourth of the population is
foreign. Greek, Turk, Armenian, Arab,
French, English, Persian and every other
sort of humanity crowd its thoroughfares or
sit smoking in the bazars and cafes. The
city will survive both the bombardment and
the confagration. Too much money has
been spent in improving-the harbor to per-
uif ifa abandonment