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Unrest and seething hatred were a result of racial strife, but the intellectual environment of the city also
encouraged philosophical and religious upheaval. Christianity spread quickly here, aided by writers and
mystics of the time. By the 2nd century A.D., and in the early 3rd century, according to Eusebius in his
Ecclesiastical History, the Christian community was well founded. In time, persecution arrived in the
city, and many writers, such as Origen and Dionysius of Alexandria, were directly touched by the
imperial attempt to liquidate an increasingly troublesome sect. Under the Late Empire, the Alexandrian
Church was powerful and existed on a par with those of Antioch, Constantinople and even Rome. The
bishops appointed and consecrated their assistants in Alexandria, which brought about the jealousy of
Constantinople. Christianity survived, and the religion prospered until the coming of Islam into the
region.
The envy of Constantinople was understandable. Alexandria was the jewel of Egypt, and when
Diocletian reorganized the Empire c. 295, the city was the seat of the comes Aegypti, the praefectus
annonae and most of the other magistrates and officials. The trade that centered in and passed through
Alexandria was maintained and remained constant until the Moslems reoriented its economic focus.
Alexandria was planned by the architect Deinocrates and then by Cleomenes of Naucratis. Situated on the
extreme western end of the Nile Delta, the city contained a huge harbor and was flanked by the sea and by
Lake Mareotis. A bridge called the heptastadium connected the mainland with the island of Pharos, with
its mighty lighthouse. This construction created two harbors, the smaller Eunostos and the Great Harbor,
corresponding to the city sections of Rhacotis and Bruchion.
Although little evidence remains of the actual city plan, some ancient locations can be found. These
include the palace, with its own royal harbor, and, most importantly, the museum and library, which
reportedly contained all available knowledge of the ancient world, and which was destroyed by Julius
Caesar. The Jewish Quarter was in the far eastern part of the city, just within the walls. A little southeast of
the Jewish section were the stadium, theater and the Dicasterium, or Hall of Justice. The west
possessed only two notable edifices, the Temple of Serapis and the Canopic Gate. See also
ALEXANDRIA, BATTLE OF.
¤ ALEXANDRIA, BATTLE OF The military confrontation in the Egyptian capital between the forces
of Ptolemy XIII and the Romans under the command of Julius Caesar. Following the battle of
PHARSALUS in Thessaly on August 9, 48 B.C., the defeated Pompey the Great fled to Egypt, where he
was treacherously murdered. Julius Caesar, in hot pursuit, arrived in Alexandria with only 4,000 men.
There he became hopelessly embroiled in the dynastic dispute between Cleopatra and her brother, King