The Rise of Cleopatra
The Ancients
00:00
Cleopatra and Alexandria
At the heart of Cleopatra's Ptolemaic world was a city, a wealthy metropolis that at the time was a shining light of the Mediterranean. We're very fortunate when it comes to Alexandria that we have some quite detailed descriptions of what it was like. Obviously it's an Egyptian city, it's an Egypt, but it's not like any other Egyptian city. First of all it's really new, it's founded by Alexander the Great but basically built by the PtoleMAic. So everything's new in it. Unlike, let's say, Thebes and Memphis which are the traditional cities of Egypt, the traditional capitals, they're very well established,
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