Alexandria
Subtitle: city of gifts and sorrows : from Hellenistic civilization to multiethnic metropolis
By: A.J. Polyzoides
Publisher: Sussex Academic Press
Published: 2014
Place of publication: Brighton; Chicago
Language: eng
Number of pages: 164
ISBN-13: 9781845196677
Subjects: History
Description: Alexandria: City of Gifts and Sorrows is a historical journey from the third century to the multiethnic metropolis of the 20th century, bringing together two diverse histories of the city. Ancient Alexandria was built by the Greek Ptolemies who completed the grand library and museum, which functioned as a university with the emphasis on science. The city was known as the birthplace of science, and this book contains stories about the scientists, poets, and religious philosophers responsible for influencing the Western mind with their writings. Modern Alexandria was rebuilt in 1805 by multiethnic communities who created a successful commercial city and port. In 1952, a coup to free the country from the monarchy and British domination was masterminded, and in 1956, the socialist regime under Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser closed the Suez Canal, resulting in the Anglo-French-Israeli invasion. This outburst of Egyptian nationalism and military revolution included the confiscation of property belonging to foreigners and the subsequent mass exodus of business and artisan classes that had made the city so successful. The author was an eye-witness to these events, and he sets out the political errors and failures of both Egyptian and Western leaders.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 147-150) and index.
Table of contents: title: Alexandria in the early 1950s --; title: Modern Alexandrian authors --; title: Reflections on ancient Alexandria --; title: Alexander III the Great --; title: The quest for the elusive tomb of Alexander the Great --; title: Alexandria the great --; title: The collapse of ancient Alexandria --; title: Rebirth of Alexandria, 1805-1952 --; title: Foreign communities --; title: Four years of uncertainty and anxiety, 1952-1956 --; title: The Suez Canal war --; title: The decline of modern Alexandria.