The Rise and Fall of Alexandria and Its Iconic Lighthouse

charge time and actual results will vary. The lighthouse continues to stand proudly as the centuries pass, while the city over which it towers undergoes many changes. Alexandria flourishes as a center of learning and culture under the Ptolemies, from its founding in 331 BC until the reign of Cleopatra VII, which begins in 51 BC. Known for her political acumen, intelligence, and charm, Cleopatra is most famous for her alliances with two of Rome's most powerful men, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Raised in Alexandria, aside from a brief spell in Rome, Cleopatra is tutored privately in the royal palace, which is close to the harbor overlooked by the lighthouse. At just 21, following the death of her father, she finds herself in a power struggle with her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, for the throne of Egypt. Meanwhile, in 48 BC, Rome is engulfed in its own turmoil. Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, the two surviving members of the allegiance known as the First Triumvirate, are at war. Caesar arrives in Alexandria seeking his rival Pompey, who has fled there. But he is greeted with a grim gift from Ptolemy XIII's Egyptian forces, in the form of Pompey's severed head. Disturbed rather than pleased by this brutal display, Caesar then occupies the royal palace, barring the warring siblings Ptolemy and Cleopatra from their former home. But the wily young queen arranges for herself to be smuggled into Caesar's quarters, rolled up in a carpet. When she appears, as if by a magic trick before the 52-year dictator, he is captivated. The two become lovers, and Caesar supports Cleopatra in her quest for the throne. In the ensuing conflict with her brother's forces, a great fire engulfs Alexandria, and the library is badly damaged. But the lighthouse stands strong, even as the island on which it stands is captured by the Romans. Eventually, the rest of the city falls, and Ptolemy XIII is drowned in the Nile. Cleopatra's younger sister, Arsinoe IV, who sided with her brother, is taken as a captive to Rome, where she is paraded in chains alongside a burning effigy of the Pharos lighthouse. Caesar returns to his own capital, leaving Cleopatra to give birth to his son. But before long, the great Roman leader is assassinated in the Senate. After his death, his old ally, Mark Antony, takes the Eastern Roman territories, while Octavian rules the West. But Antony's growing relationship with Cleopatra alienates him from Rome, and soon the arrangement dissolves into conflict. In 31 BC, Antony and Cleopatra are defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium. And as Octavian closes in, they both take their own lives, ending the Ptolemaic dynasty and marking the start of Roman rule in Egypt. Alexandria endures as a key city in the Roman Empire, not least by connecting the largest supply of grain to Rome. And the lighthouse continues to play an important role in overseeing ships arriving and departing from its harbors. But during the Byzantine era, when the Eastern Roman Empire holds sway from 330 AD onwards, the city's prominence starts to wane. centuries later, the Muslim world begins a period of rapid expansion after the death of Muhammad. Alexandria falls once more in an invasion in 641 AD. While it remains a significant port under Islamic rule, it gradually loses its status to Cairo, 140 miles southeast, on the banks of the River Nile. The lighthouse, once a symbol of the city's prowess, begins to deteriorate after a series of earthquakes, including a major one in the 8th century. Meanwhile, the city is governed by various caliphates, a form of Islamic government.

The Lighthouse of Alexandria

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