The City of Alexandria in Ancient Egypt Full Cinematic Documentary

after conquering egypt in 331 bce alexander the great decided to build a new city which as per his habit he named after himself after his death alexandria quickly became the capital city of the ptolemaic kingdom and the most important city of the greek world the city was built between the mediterranean sea and lake mariotis which resulted in alexandria becoming a crucial cultural hub and trading center sumptuous buildings could be seen wherever one turned their gaze the royal palaces the many temples the gymnasium lush public gardens and large avenues with its incomparable beauty and advantageous geographic location alexandria attracted foreigners intellectuals and traders one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the ancient world alexandria supplanted even athens as the most important greek city in history egyptian obelisks were highly prized by roman architects while roman design previously favored the use of a single monument egyptian obelisks tended to come in pairs and were generally located at the entrance of temples several ancient egyptian obelisks are still in existence today though many are spread out across the world in locations such as paris rome new york and london all of this shows that alexandria was significantly influenced by the rich past of egypt alexandria had several main streets its most famous artery was the canopic way it was lined with sumptuous buildings houses and temples and was roughly eight kilometers in length this street was one of the most important shipping entrances to alexandria and often hosted processions and festivals the width of the street 30 meters was abnormally large even by greek standards this is likely because the canopic way was made in a short span of time and based on an urban plan as opposed to being slowly built over time as was usual for the era the canopic way originated in the western cemeteries skirted the gymnasium and then exited the city to head east through massive doorways towards canopus this structure was known as the canopic door alexander's plan to build his great city began with a verse from homer's odyssey there is in front of egypt in the sea with many swells an island called pharos guided by these clues alexander the great founded his future city at the western end of the nile delta though alexander considered this location ideal for his great city it presented considerable challenges too difficult to access during storms the surrounding swamps threatened disease and the limestone soil prevented the growth of healthy crops however due to the influence of his mentor aristotle alexander the great recognized that the true value was its strategic emplacement alexander knew that in controlling pollution to the east memphis to the south and his crowning glory alexandria to the west he would create a triangular stronghold allowing him to control the entire delta while giving him access to the mediterranean the great walls of alexandria had a humble beginning lacking chalk to outline the future city's foundations architects were forced to use flower instead clouds of migrating birds swept down and ate the flower erasing the plans this prompted alexander to seek guidance from the oracles who reassured him that his future city was destined to feed a large population excavations led by mahmoud bay alfa alfalaki in the 19th century revealed that the wall enclosure measured approximately 5.2 kilometers in length and 2.2 kilometers in width it was roughly 9 meters in height these formidable ancient walls would resist a number of attacks including fending off the king of syria in 169 bce it wasn't until 295 ce that they eventually fell to roman emperor diocletian and this only after eight months of relentless assault alexandria's principal architect denocrites chose a hippodymian grid plan the grid maximized functionality with wide straight roads and canals running beneath them alexander recognized the military value of the city's design the wide parallel streets gave him optimal surveillance of the city while allowing the unobstructed flow of troops a central corridor ran from the mediterranean's northport down to lake mariotas to the south this thoroughfare acted as an unobstructed link for commercial trade and travel between the two ports many of the streets were bordered with grand buildings and parks including canopic street with its impressive gate bordering the eastern end alexandria was most likely built upon an already existing egyptian village upon its completion the egyptians reviled the city refusing to call it by its founder's name instead they called it rockhead the building as a mark of disdain which was later hellenized into rakhotis despite this the name alexandria would remain the ports of alexandria were a major commercial hub effectively connecting egypt with the mediterranean regions and beyond a tremendous amount of materials and goods flowed through the city on a daily basis the large port market was called the emporian it was there that merchandise was traded by the ship owners called nakleros food and other artisan work streamed out of egypt ceramics glass golden rings and minted coinage the local potters using traditional egyptian techniques competed with those from abroad and the textile industry flourished what egypt did not produce itself was acquired through trade using local resources such as wheat and papyrus most sought after was pinewood from syria iron and marble from the greek islands gold from spain and exotic fruits from europe all this commercial activity contributed to the already decadent wealth of the city the wood imported to port mary otis through alexandria's seaward ports was used in the nearby shipyards where most of egypt's ships were built employing tens of thousands of shipbuilders the shipyards contributed to establishing the egyptian fleet as one of the mightiest of the era any wood not used in shipbuilding was further disseminated through egypt for various purposes the southern port of lake mariotis was the biggest in alexandria save for a branch angling westward the lake size in the ptolemaic era was roughly 40 to 50 kilometers from north to south its waters were maintained by a steady runoff from the nile in addition to the lake a man-made canal was created to assist in the transfer of goods from the city to the port using barges though it is not represented in the game due to its size banking was one of the most distinctive innovations brought by the greeks to egypt the centerpiece of alexandria's wealth was the royal systematization of taxes on almost everything basic items such as salt oil beer wheat and linen were heavily taxed as a result the royal treasury of alexandria was able to ensure the economic stability of most of the administrative areas of egypt by the late 12th century the channel feeding the lake from the nile silted up lake mariotis lost its connection to the mediterranean as well as most of its water as the lake slowly evaporated to a fraction of its former size in modern times lake mariotis is being kept alive through irrigation however only about 17 percent of its original size remains the hepta stadium was a bridge-like causeway connecting the island of ferris to mainland alexandria its name is based on the greek terms of measurement hepta meaning seven and stadion which is a measure of length of roughly 180 meters since its construction would separate the grand port to the east and the port of unostos to the west it was designed with channels at each end these openings allowed passage from one port to the other along with creating separate harbors for the commercial and military shipping the causeway served as a main aqueduct for the island's inhabitants its presence also helped protect the island and its ports from rough wind and sea currents at the end of antiquity the heptastadian disappeared under layers of silt and soil which formed an important sedimentary deposit while the serapion was the most celebrated of the temples in alexandria many other temples were built within the city most of these structures have been completely erased over time and there is no way to discern how many existed however research of ancient papyri offered tantalizing hints as to the possible location of at least some of the temples both papyri and coins reveal evidence of many temples built for the gods poseidon the god of the sea likely had an edifice in his honor west of this island as well as on the mainland this temple next to you is dedicated to isit feria the divine protector of the lighthouse this location hosted annual celebrations in the month of april known as the sacrum feria in connection to the lighthouse in her incarnation as ice at fortuna the goddess carries a rudder and a cornucopia both symbols of good luck for navigators considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world the lighthouse of alexandria was a source of great pride for the inhabitants of the city construction began under ptolemy the first reign and lasted 15 years it was completed during his son's rule once completed the lighthouse was dedicated to the gods for the salvation of those who sail the sea built on the island of ferris the stone structure was three tiers set on top of one another in a step formation the second floor consisted of an octagonal tower and the top floor was a cylindrical tower topped by a statue the interior provided space for staff rooms and a ramp which allowed the transport of fuel to the upper floors essential to safe navigation through the rifts and shallow waters the ferris was a functioning lighthouse with a beam reportedly visible 50 kilometers away it's unclear what kind of fuel was used or how much any other details of how the light worked remain a mystery for several centuries the ferris was one of the highest monuments ever built by man it measured roughly 110 meters in height compared to the pyramid of giza which was around 140 meters tall gradually the structure was eroded by earthquakes and then completely destroyed in 1480 ce when a fort was built over it archaeological excavations on the seabed have uncovered many blocks from the ancient building like most greek cities alexandria offered multiple forms of entertainment most were related to cults religious practices and the festivities surrounding those practices among those festivities the most important ones were the dynastic celebrations instituted in honor of the deified ptolemaic kings and queens these celebrations could go on for many days and included sacrifices offerings processions and public banquets games and competitions were organized whenever possible in locations such as the stadium the hippodrome and the gymnasium the residents of alexandria favored such events where athletes poets and musicians from egypt and other cities of the greek world competed like all good greek cities alexandria had a theater the architecture of this structure is roman in style this is because the team duplicated a theater from cyrene roman theaters were usually semi-circular and built from scratch on a flat area with structures designed to enhance oration greek theaters were more oblong in shape similar to a horseshoe and favored the slopes of natural hills to support their acoustics [Music] at the theater one could witness the plays of contemporary comic and tragic authors the play you are witnessing below is menander's disclose more commonly known as the grouch a late and popular entry in the greek comedies the main hippodrome of the city was called the legaeon in honor of lagos the ancestor of the ptolemies alexandrians were great lovers of horse racing they were fascinated by the rivalry of these races the argonne as it was said at that time that every competition brought it was a struggle for glory [Music] the most important chariot race was the tethrapon using four horses with the quickest harness to the front right the charioteer would race for 12 laps with sharp turns at either end of the hippodrome the victors were crowned with garlands of olive and received prize money but the most sought-after reward was to be acclaimed by the works of poets such as calemicus and pender he hymns that ruled the liar what god what hero i and what man shall we loudly praise verily zeus is the lord of pisa and heracles established the olympic festival while theron must be proclaimed by reason of his victorious chariot with its four horses thiran who is just in his regard for guests and he was the bulwark of acrogas the choicest flower of an auspicious line of sires whose city towers on high bringing wealth and glory to crown their native merits the panelian was a temple built in honor of the god pan divinity of nature this greek god often represented as a half-man half-goat with a beard horns and goats hooves was considered the protector of shepherds and herds pan's attribute was his namesake musical instrument the pan flute his temples were usually located in caves and on high mountains and were frequented by shepherds it is likely that mediterranean cults adopted the imagery of pan to symbolize the christian devil to give proper honor to the god alexandrians built an artificial hill upon which they housed his temple to compensate for the flat relief of the city the artificial mound had the shape of a spinning top or a pine cone which was accessed by a spiral staircase the top had a panoramic view of the entire city only such heights would be fitting for a mountain god in a city of numerous magnificent attractions the serapien was considered to be the most beautiful temple of alexandria located southwest of the city on a small hill known as the acropolis the sanctuary was constructed during the reign of ptolemy iii upon foundations which had existed since the reign of ptolemy the first soter visitors of the seraphian climbed a hundred steps to reach the courtyard libraries were installed in the porticos surrounding the square building with its roof and columns adorned with gold and gilded bronze pharaohs were generous to the temple as were several roman emperors after egypt's conquest an inner temple housed the statue of serapis dedicated to healing the sick [Music] since the 26th dynasty greeks in egypt had gradually integrated the egyptian cult of the office bull to their own rituals with the establishment of the ptolemaic dynasty the cult of office was further integrated into greek religion during his role ptolemy the first chose to merge egyptian and hellenic gods into a syncretic divinity named therapist this name was the result of the amalgamation of osiris and opus with this new deity the ptolemaic dynasty managed to accommodate similar belief sets for two different cultures bringing about a new dynastic cult therapist was also associated to other deities including asclepius a greek god of healing it is possible that as with the therapist temple of canopus the sick would visit this sanctuary sleeping there overnight in the hopes of being healed within its hallowed halls the most saiyan was a sector of the city commissioned by ptolemy the first to rival athens academy as an institute of intellectual pursuit dedicated to the nine inspiring muses the mossayan became a great center for philosophical and scientific enlightenment it welcomed scholars from many kingdoms inviting them to share knowledge in literature science and geography the museon was designed so that its buildings and grounds would accommodate free thinking debate and presentation meeting spaces and theaters surrounded a main courtyard expansive gardens were filled with exotic plants that aided in the study and supply of herbs and medicines a zoo offered the study of animal behavior and physiology also among the mosseon's many star attractions was its astronomical observatory herophilus was a physician who lived most of his life in alexandria he was able to perform the dissection of human cadavers on a large scale due to the permissiveness of the city in such matters among many other discoveries he learned that the brain was central to the human nervous system he also extensively mapped the blood system and measured the pulse with the aid of a water clock it is reported that in his thirst to understand human anatomy he performed 600 vivisections on live prisoners in order to be free to pursue their research scholars were fed and housed at the mossayon at the government's expense this freedom provided alexandria scholars a meeting space for intellectual pursuits and a haven for spiritual peace though nothing remains of the original mossey on it lives on as the legacy of our modern museums near the district of royal palaces and within the mossayan was the most famous library of all antiquity the library of alexandria was built to house all of human knowledge at its pinnacle the library was believed to contain over 700 000 parchments throughout the centuries fires and wars between christianity and paganism destroyed the library leaving nothing behind the loss of the building and more importantly its vast collection is immeasurable as no descriptions are available the team's rendition of the library of alexandria was inspired by the visuals of the library of calculus at ephesus [Music] while much of the collection was purchased at the government's expense the library also obtained books through other means any books owned by travelers coming through the city were seized to be copied for the library the copy would then be returned to the owner and the original entered into the library's collection [Music] alexandria offered unrivaled intellectual and cultural attractions eminent scholars from athens rhodes and other greek centers traveled to the city to learn and engage with other free thinkers both the most saiyan and the library were at the center of groundbreaking ideas and creative expression the great minds of antiquity were usually well-versed in many disciplines which were often associated to specific schools of thought the parapathetics the stoics and the cynics were among the most well-known schools of the time it is clear that alexandria lived up to its fundamental role as a city for intellectuals nurturing many great minds whose impact reverberates through our modern world hypatia of alexandria was a greek mathematician philosopher astronomer and inventor though born in greece she eventually migrated to alexandria like many great minds of the time it is there that she became the head of the neoplatonist school of alexandria from most accounts she was highly respected by her fellow alexandrians both as a teacher and a philosopher with her death the age of great ancient scientific discoveries came to an end polemicus was born in cyrene and educated in athens after his studies he moved to alexandria to work in the great library a poet and a critic he strongly rejected the epic format of homeric poems and instead fervently supported a shorter more judiciously formulated style of poetry his epigrams and elegiac poems were emulated by later poets his work was extremely popular second only to homer's own works [Music] it was in alexandria that mathematician euclid the father of geometry wrote the elements laying out the foundational work of what would become modern algebra and number theory euclidean geometry would become one of the most influential systems in the evolution of mathematics how do you calculate the circumference of the earth with a camel two sticks and shadows cast by the sun this is what erithostanis of cyrene described in his principle work geography while he was director of the great library of alexandria he is credited for the invention of the armillary spear around 250 bce the earliest known and most complete armillary sphere of antiquity was the meteoroscopian of alexandria with an imposing nine rings compared to the three or four of most other astrolabes known as the zodiac cricket toy amongst the greeks the meteoroscopian was used to determine the location of celestial bodies around the earth every self-respecting astronomer of antiquity would have sought to use this tool to better understand the celestial movements was a well-known and respected philosopher and mathematician he is best known for the pythagorean theorem however there is proof that the theorem existed in babylonia and india long before pythagoras was born casting some doubts as to who exactly originated the theorem among the collection of writings attributed to julius caesar are his descriptions of the siege of alexandria the gallic wars and the commentaries on the civil war these archives contain information on different campaigns the wars of alexandria africa and spain each of them recounts caesar's military activity from 58 bce to 45 bce though caesar's documents remain a main source of information it's important to note that the perspective is limited it is necessary for other historical documents to be taken into consideration to provide a better understanding of events the siege of alexandria closely relays the events of the civil war that led up to the event and describes how caesar was besieged in the palace of the ptolemies other ancient authors have left equally valuable and sometimes contradictory information in the events leading up to the siege of alexandria cleopatra the seventh and her brother were fighting over control of egypt young king ptolemy the 13th regent pothinus had firm control over the young pharaoh and an outmaneuvered cleopatra soon went into hiding this set the stage for pompeii's arrival in alexandria having lost his battle against caesar in 48 bce the roman general turned to his allies the egyptians for safe harbor but on the advice of pothinus ptolemy the 13th had pompe assassinated in the hopes of earning caesar's favor this would turn out to be a most unfortunate decision upon his arrival in alexandria caesar was presented with pompeii's head the site of a roman murdered by egyptians did not sit well with him caesar made his displeasure clear ordering the return of cleopatra and for the siblings to resolve their differences and resume their co-rule of egypt as per the will of their father neither pothinus nor ptolemy the 13th wish to exceed to this demand while doing his best to aggravate caesar pothina secretly plotted against the roman ruler and sent word for egyptian general achilles to bring his twenty thousand men to fight on his behalf while poffin is plotted against caesar cleopatra made a bold move there are various descriptions of the encounter between cesar and cleopatra one report states that she snuck into the palace alone at night another account claims she was accompanied by an ally and was brought inside the palace wrapped in a carpet bag though exactly what happened at this fateful meeting is up for debate what is known is that cleopatra met with caesar and earned his approval pothinus and ptolemy xiii were most vexed with this turn of events [Music] with cleopatra finally present caesar chose to act as mediator between the siblings in the hopes of a peaceful resolution it did not take long for things to sour during a banquet given to celebrate the reconciliation there was an assassination attempt on caesar it was the roman leader's own barber who thwarted the attack once it was revealed that the king's regent poffinus had ordered the attack caesar had him executed he then placed the young king under guard [Music] caught within the palace with roughly 4 000 troops and with the knowledge that the arrival of enemy forces was imminent caesar sent for help from syria rhodes and cilicia he ordered his men to dig a ditch around the palace and build a wall leading to the harbor this would ensure caesar's access to the sea when egyptian general achilles arrived in the city with 20 000 men the battle for alexandria began with so few men at his disposal caesar could not risk a battle just yet he sent ambassadors to achilles in the name of ptolemy to propose a truce knowing that the orders did not come from the young king and angered by the pharaoh's imprisonment achilles had the messengers assassinated with caesar confined within the palace achilles positioned his troops around the city skirmishes broke out throughout the streets of alexandria and went on for several days and nights though they were outnumbered caesar's men were able to hold the enemy back this prompted achilles next move capture the roman fleet stationed in the harbor although the palace offered protection losing the port meant the end of help and supplies caesar knew he had to protect the fleet while he and his troops succeeded in regaining control of the port he knew it would be impossible to sustain caesar ordered the burning of the ships with passage back to the palace closed off he headed for the lighthouse of alexandria [Music] fighting their way through the egyptian troops caesar and his men eventually reached ferris island there they took refuge within the lighthouse with easy access to the open sea caesar was able to send messages to his allies requesting reinforcements and more supplies the island fort also allowed him to control access to the harbor by relying on the chains used by the egyptians to control ship traffic to and from alexandria's docks the exact chronology of events during the war in alexandria remain imprecise conflicting accounts raise questions as to when and even if the great library of alexandria was burned down at all one account states that during the fighting docs and warehouses were burned and this was the fire that spread to the library in another account when achilles cut off the harbor caesar had to leave the safety of the palace to defend his ships as the enemies battled across the port their arsenal set ships ablaze and this destruction spread to the library in either case the great library was not completely destroyed experts point out that its location was too far from the harbor and much later texts refer to the great library as being intact warehouses near the harbor contained manuscript copies awaiting export and it is more likely that these documents were destroyed than the great library itself the destruction of the great library may have been due to a number of fires over the ages its end was probably closer to the 4th century ce when the christian emperor theodosius the first ordered the closure of all pagan temples while some documents survived after being moved away it remains unclear just what knowledge may have been lost [Music] where there are accounts of achilles being in control of the battle against caesar it appears that instead cleopatra's sister siding with her brother had him killed and put her ally ganymedes in his place ganomedes proved a valuable tactician for the egyptian side it was his idea to cut caesar's access to the harbor thus trapping caesar at the palace [Music] during the time of ptolemy the first canals had been dug throughout alexandria to provide fresh water ganymedes had his men take control of these canals after isolating their own water supply he had his men pour salt water into the canals in cisterns that led to caesar's camp panic erupted in caesar's men they wouldn't last long without fresh water recognizing that the porous limestone could help them caesar and his men dug wells to restore their water supply days later the 37th legion comprised of pompeii soldiers arrived by ship unable to come ashore due to the winds caesar risked going out to meet them on the peninsula cape carsoni's when the enemy learned caesar's location they rushed to intercept despite an obvious advantage for the alexandrians caesar with a rhodian ship full of skillful sailors emerged victorious with help from the allied ships caesar's victory enabled him to push the egyptians back and secure the lighthouse gaining control of ferris island sent the alexandrians into the sea and swimming back to the city however caesar's fortification of the island didn't last long the enemy regrouped and were set to storm the island panic-stricken in spite of caesar's encouragement many of his men then fled their posts either by ship or jumping into the sea caesar attempted to retreat but port eunostos's harbor was overrun with enemy ships preventing escape reportedly caesar gathered his papers and leapt overboard in an attempt to swim to an allied ship farther out historian cassius dio claimed that caesar would have drowned if he hadn't been able to remove his purple garment still he managed to swim the distance and survive the alexandrians recovered the cloak and used it as a trophy to commemorate the roman debacle unhappy with ganymedes and wanting their king restored the alexandrians approached caesar with a compromise caesar agreed to release ptolemy the 13th after entreating him to spare the kingdom and remain loyal to rome once freed however the king defied the agreement and continued the war by this time a faithful ally of caesar's mithridates arrived in egypt clashing with ptolemy's troops at pelusium outnumbering the enemy mithridates secured the region between pelusium and alexandria ptolemy warned of caesar's ally marching on alexandria sent his troops to prevent passage over the river mithridates warned caesar in time and the two groups confronted the armies of ptolemy in the delta in the battle of the nile the romans gained the upper hand sending the egyptians fleeing in the chumultan panic king ptolemy xiii drowned in the nile [Music] after the siege ended cleopatra vii married her younger brother ptolemy xiv enabling her to reign over egypt until 30 bce under her rule alexandria settled into its position within the roman empire and eventually surpassed athens as one of the most important cities in the roman empire julius caesar remained in egypt for a short time he and cleopatra would later have a son named caesarean

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Keywords: #PS4share, PlayStation 4, Sony Interactive Entertainment, SHAREfactory™, {f478c96d-0621-4b1f-b934-5f9eda5c0bf6}, Alexandria in ancient Egypt, Alexandria, Ancient Egypt, Egypt, Documentary, History, Learning, House_Barzini_YT

Id: NBkCG13qwpU

Length: 38min 4sec (2284 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 03 2021