akritas
04-24-2006, 05:44 PM
As you know Great Alexander foundings some cities, others new, others upon olds and named as Alexandria (Greek Αλεξάνδρεια )
I want your help to found informations and for the other cities
I will start with the famous Alexandria of Egypt (Greek Αλεξάνδρεια, Coptic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_language) Rakotə, Arabic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language): الإسكندرية, tran: Al-Iskandariya),
Long before Alexander the Great (http://www.wallop.demon.co.uk/alexander/index.htm) visited the site of Alexandria, Homer wrote the above paragraph in his Odyssey (http://the-tech.mit.edu/Classics/Homer/odyssey.sum.html). Only remains of the prehistoric harbor have been found off the shores of the island of Pharos, now the peninsula of Ras-El-Tin.
Opposite of Pharos, on Egypt mainland, was a small village centered around the area where "Pompey's Pillar" (http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/Gallery/pompey.jpg) now stands. It was called Rhakotis. Archeological evidence suggests that it existed as long ago as the 13th Century BC. Because the Ancient Egyptian civilization thrived mainly along the Nile River, very little is known about both Pharos and Rhakotis at that time. Was it a strategic defense base to repel raiders from the West? Was it an important city during the reign of the XXXth Dynasty where King Nectanebo II was planning to be burried? Probably throughout most of its ancient history, Rhakotis was merely a fishing village.
The arrival of Alexander the Great in 332 BC was not the close of an epoch, and nor did his heirs, the Ptolemies, cause a social revolution. The so-called "conquest" was a mere episode in Egyptian history, as there had been a blending of Egyptian and Greek cultures in Egypt long before Alexander's arrival. From the sixth century BC Greek traders and sailors had established communities in Egypt and worshipped Egyptian gods under Greek names.
As well as having these close ties with Greeks, the Egyptians welcomed Alexander because Egypt and Greece shared a common enemy: Persia. When Alexander, after vanquishing the Persians, arrived at the Nile he stopped in Memphis to pay homage at the temple of Ptah, one of the "great gods" of Egypt, but did not waste time going to Thebes (Luxor), the southern capital and the centre of the cult of Amun-Re (that gesture of respect could wait until he went to Siwa). Instead, he sent his officer Apollonius south as his envoy while he himself marched down the Canopic branch of the Nile towards the Mediterranean.
He reached its outlet east of the cape of present-day Abu Qir, a long limestone spur about 45 kilometres west of Alexandria where a port had existed as far back as the reign of Ramses II. This great New Kingdom Pharaoh had built fortresses all along the Mediterranean coast, and numerous statues of him found at Canopis are now in the Graeco-Roman Museum.
Continuing his march westwards, Alexander reached a long, narrow sandy ridge where a series of islands separated the Mediterranean from Lake Maryut (Mareotis). Pharos, the largest of the offshore islands, protected a natural bay, and tradition holds that Alexander immediately perceived a site on the mainland opposite as an ideal location for his new city.
In fact, its strategic importance had been recognised much earlier. A community which existed nearby was probably founded in the 18th dynasty, about 1567 BC. This town was known as Rhakotis, a name it retained in the Egyptian community until the 12th century AD. This community grew, and two centuries later Ramses II built a temple there in honour of Osiris to cater to the people's spiritual needs. In the Saite Dynasty, six centuries before the arrival of Alexander, a military garrison was established at Rhakotis.
So it is clear from the above that alongside the site chosen by Alexander for his new capital there was already a large town with a temple, and there is indication, but no conclusive proof, that it was important enough for Nektanebo II, the last native Pharaoh before the Greek conquest, to consider being buried there.
Rhakotis was clearly not the insignificant village peopled by nomadic pastoralists and their flocks alluded to in classical sources, nor "the wretched fishing village" described by Idris Bell in his Egypt from Alexander the Great to the Arab Conquest.
The Greek Foundation
Designed by the Greek architect Dinocrates, the city plan was not creative, yet it was practical. Like most ancient Greek cities, the plan consisted of orhtogonal streets, with the sea being the main landscaping element.
The main street, the "Canopic" (now Fouad Street) connected the Gate of the Moon to the West with the Gate of the Sun to the East. It then extended eastward (http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/Gallery/canopic.jpg), along a possibly ancient road, up to Canopus (now Abou Qir). Orhtogonal to the "Canopic", was the "Street of the Soma" (now Nebi Daniel Street). The intersection known as the Soma was the city center, and is believed to be Alexander's burial place.
The Heptastadion (seven stades long) dyke was built to connect the Island of Pharos with Alexandria. Initially, it was merely a narrow structure, but later silted and formed the land area now occupied by Mansheya neighborhood.
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/Gallery/old_map.gif
sources:
Al-Ahram, Jim Kamil,Alexandria Before Alexander (http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/605/hr1.htm)
The Alexandria History Guide (http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/history/index.html), University of South Florida
Alexandria,Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria)
I want your help to found informations and for the other cities
I will start with the famous Alexandria of Egypt (Greek Αλεξάνδρεια, Coptic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coptic_language) Rakotə, Arabic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arabic_language): الإسكندرية, tran: Al-Iskandariya),
Long before Alexander the Great (http://www.wallop.demon.co.uk/alexander/index.htm) visited the site of Alexandria, Homer wrote the above paragraph in his Odyssey (http://the-tech.mit.edu/Classics/Homer/odyssey.sum.html). Only remains of the prehistoric harbor have been found off the shores of the island of Pharos, now the peninsula of Ras-El-Tin.
Opposite of Pharos, on Egypt mainland, was a small village centered around the area where "Pompey's Pillar" (http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/Gallery/pompey.jpg) now stands. It was called Rhakotis. Archeological evidence suggests that it existed as long ago as the 13th Century BC. Because the Ancient Egyptian civilization thrived mainly along the Nile River, very little is known about both Pharos and Rhakotis at that time. Was it a strategic defense base to repel raiders from the West? Was it an important city during the reign of the XXXth Dynasty where King Nectanebo II was planning to be burried? Probably throughout most of its ancient history, Rhakotis was merely a fishing village.
The arrival of Alexander the Great in 332 BC was not the close of an epoch, and nor did his heirs, the Ptolemies, cause a social revolution. The so-called "conquest" was a mere episode in Egyptian history, as there had been a blending of Egyptian and Greek cultures in Egypt long before Alexander's arrival. From the sixth century BC Greek traders and sailors had established communities in Egypt and worshipped Egyptian gods under Greek names.
As well as having these close ties with Greeks, the Egyptians welcomed Alexander because Egypt and Greece shared a common enemy: Persia. When Alexander, after vanquishing the Persians, arrived at the Nile he stopped in Memphis to pay homage at the temple of Ptah, one of the "great gods" of Egypt, but did not waste time going to Thebes (Luxor), the southern capital and the centre of the cult of Amun-Re (that gesture of respect could wait until he went to Siwa). Instead, he sent his officer Apollonius south as his envoy while he himself marched down the Canopic branch of the Nile towards the Mediterranean.
He reached its outlet east of the cape of present-day Abu Qir, a long limestone spur about 45 kilometres west of Alexandria where a port had existed as far back as the reign of Ramses II. This great New Kingdom Pharaoh had built fortresses all along the Mediterranean coast, and numerous statues of him found at Canopis are now in the Graeco-Roman Museum.
Continuing his march westwards, Alexander reached a long, narrow sandy ridge where a series of islands separated the Mediterranean from Lake Maryut (Mareotis). Pharos, the largest of the offshore islands, protected a natural bay, and tradition holds that Alexander immediately perceived a site on the mainland opposite as an ideal location for his new city.
In fact, its strategic importance had been recognised much earlier. A community which existed nearby was probably founded in the 18th dynasty, about 1567 BC. This town was known as Rhakotis, a name it retained in the Egyptian community until the 12th century AD. This community grew, and two centuries later Ramses II built a temple there in honour of Osiris to cater to the people's spiritual needs. In the Saite Dynasty, six centuries before the arrival of Alexander, a military garrison was established at Rhakotis.
So it is clear from the above that alongside the site chosen by Alexander for his new capital there was already a large town with a temple, and there is indication, but no conclusive proof, that it was important enough for Nektanebo II, the last native Pharaoh before the Greek conquest, to consider being buried there.
Rhakotis was clearly not the insignificant village peopled by nomadic pastoralists and their flocks alluded to in classical sources, nor "the wretched fishing village" described by Idris Bell in his Egypt from Alexander the Great to the Arab Conquest.
The Greek Foundation
Designed by the Greek architect Dinocrates, the city plan was not creative, yet it was practical. Like most ancient Greek cities, the plan consisted of orhtogonal streets, with the sea being the main landscaping element.
The main street, the "Canopic" (now Fouad Street) connected the Gate of the Moon to the West with the Gate of the Sun to the East. It then extended eastward (http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/Gallery/canopic.jpg), along a possibly ancient road, up to Canopus (now Abou Qir). Orhtogonal to the "Canopic", was the "Street of the Soma" (now Nebi Daniel Street). The intersection known as the Soma was the city center, and is believed to be Alexander's burial place.
The Heptastadion (seven stades long) dyke was built to connect the Island of Pharos with Alexandria. Initially, it was merely a narrow structure, but later silted and formed the land area now occupied by Mansheya neighborhood.
http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/Gallery/old_map.gif
sources:
Al-Ahram, Jim Kamil,Alexandria Before Alexander (http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2002/605/hr1.htm)
The Alexandria History Guide (http://ce.eng.usf.edu/pharos/alexandria/history/index.html), University of South Florida
Alexandria,Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandria)