CITY OF BLOOD

Evening Star, Issue 22229, 6 January 1936, Page 10

CITY OF BLOOD

ALEXANDRIA’S ANCIENT HISTORY ENDLESS RIOTS AND REVOLUTIONS Alexandria was founded after a storm of bitter wars in Asia Minor, Syria, and other parts (says a writer in the Melbourne i Age When Alexander the Great reached Egypt the Ptolemaic period came to an end, and the country greeted him as a deliverer. He founded Alexandria in 331 n.c., and was buried in it in 323 b.c. Until now the nations that conquered Egypt had themselves become Egyptianised, but Greek civilisation gained the upper hand. The massiveness of Egyptian architecture was mellowed by the lighter grace of the Grecian types. Alexander had himself proclaimed son of the god Amen, and so delighted were the priests with this compliment to their faith that they threw the whole weight of their influence into the Greek scale. One of the visible and permanent marks of Alexander’s presence is the city of Alexandria, though the modern city lias shifted from the original site anil has suffered architecturally at the hands of time and still more at the hands of man. “ The original foundation was laid out like a modern town,” says Balls, “ on a systematic plan, the main thorough fares being 100 ft in width and with colonaded walks on cither side. The harbour was the smaller bay lying to the east of the headland promontory now known as Ras-el-Teen, whereas the modern harbour lies under its western shelter.” Like our own Queen Elizabeth, the great conqueror had appointed no heir to the throne. When asked who should inherit his dominions, he answered enigmatically: “The most worthy.” His empire rapidly broke up, and Egypt fell to the Ptolemies. The first of them founded the famous library which at his death contained 400,000 volumes. His successor, Ptolemy 11., increased it to 700,000, all of which were burned during the siege of Julius Caesar. Another library was destroyed bv Kalif Omar in a.d. 64.

One Egyptian custom' was followed by the Ptolemies, the marriage of brother and sister. The inrpelling idea was that of her kings being half-divine, and it followed that this kind of marriage prevented contamination of the sacred royal strain. The arrangement suited the long, long views of Egypt, but did not always work out well with the Ptolemies. When Ptolemy XIII. died, after a life of debauchery, he left the kingdom to Cleopatra and to her brother, Ptolemy XIV., who were to marry to reign together. They quarrelled, and Caesar sent troops to support' Cleopatra. Ptolemy was drowned and Cleopatra married her second brother, then 11 years of age.. After two years she murdered him, so that her son by .liilius Caesar might rein with her. At this point Marc Antony appeared upon the scene, and his story needs no retelling. Cleopatra could speak eight languages. On her death Egypt become a Roman province.

EXPULSION. It will be remembered that Cleopatra’s friendship with Pompey’s son caused her brother to expel her from Egypt, and he defeated the army she raised. Shortly thereafter came Caesar to settle matters between brother and sister, and it was at this juncture that the great romance began. Alexandria was even then the scene of plot and counterplot. How could Caesar adjudicate impartially when he was head over ears in love with one of the parties in the case? She was about twenty years ■ of age, and though she married Ptolemy XV, she was presently off to Rome with Caesar, where she lived with him until he was assassinated. She bore a son to Caesar and twins to Antony, failed, to captivate Octavius and died by her own hand at the age of 34. The books of the Roman period in Egypt are little else than a history of endless riots and revolutions in Alexandria. It seemed to be in the blood of the people, and the microbe has not yet been eradicated. There were gods of the three countries, Egypt, Greece and Rome, and there were cultures of all three nations, so that some kind of eclecticism was inevitable. Alexandrine philosophy bears this feature. Apart from this witch’s cauldron of theology and nationality, it must be said that Alexandria had reached the summit of her glory when, the Roman domination began in 31 b.c. Greeks and Jews formed a considerable part of the population, and the Ptolemy’s policy was reversed by the Romans, who raised the Jews to equal privileges with the Greeks. Riots between the two races were frequent in Alexandria, and the Jews must have been pretty confident of their power when they_ sent an expedition to recover Palestine from the Romans. Naturally it failed. Jewish revolts went on from time to time, varied by similar revolts on the part of the Egyptians. Farmers joined in them, thinking they could starve Rome, but supplies of corn were found in other countries, land went out of cultivation, and the farmers became brigands. CAPITAL TRANSFERRED. Constantine and his new faith hit Alexandria heavily, and the Emperor, ignoring its claims as the principal Greek city, transferred his capital to the Eastern Empire. Arians and Athanasians fought with each other, and both suffered under Julian. Squabbling and rioting went on interminally in the city of Euclid, Archimedes and other sages. , In 632 the Arabs conquered Egypt, and since then Egypt has been under Mahometan influence. When the Arabs invaded Alexandria they were awed by its magnificence, its walls and towers, its domes and pediments, obelisks, statues, temples and palaces. Many describe it as the greatest city of the East, and the most beautiful in all the world. Napoleon thought Egypt the most important country on earth. The importance of Alexandria, however, ceased when the new route to India via the Cape was discovered, and America came upon the horizon. To-day Alexandria is a centre of the cotton trade.

The Turks ruled it from 1517 until 1914. The French held it from 1798, but the Turks again got possession in 1801. In 1806 Mohammet Al! secured a practical independence for Egypt. He had helped the British to drive out the French, mastered the mamelukos, and brought Western civilisation into Egypt. Disraeli’s historic purchase of Suez Canel shares introducel a new element into Egyptian politics. The Egyptian soldiers under Arabi Pasha proposed to rule the country, and when British lives were' in danger, Britain bombarded Alexandria, and since then has been in some kind of control. The bombardment continued for ten hours on July 11, 1882, and a British force occupied it on July 14. The occupation of Egypt by Britain, while it was nominally under Turkey, created a difficult situation, but patience, tact, and skill worked wonders. Rulers and commissioners toiled terribly, and sometimes only to find their health wrecked by their labours. Kitchener’s policy, which was a blend of autocracy and tact, had just begun to work when the Great War brolfe out, and he was needed olsewherej Turkish suzeranity ended in 1914,