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02 February 2008 05:00 PM
This event began 02/02/2008 and repeats every year until 02/02/2018
On this day in 332 B.C.E. , Alexandria was founded by Alexander the Great (there had been a small Egyptian fishing village on the site for some time). Designed to be a center of commerce between Greece and Egypt, the Ptolemies used it as a capital for their Egyptian based empire.
Alexandria quickly became the largest port in the Eastern Mediterranean. With its dynasty funded Library and Museum, and as the home of the largest temple of Serapis in the world, the city became the cultural Mecca of the Hellenistic realms. Greeks, Macedonians, Egyptians, Jews and others mingled in a cosmopolitan atmosphere (though not without occasional incidents). Cultures and religions mixed. It was in Alexandria that the Jewish Bible was translated into common Greek (to the point where some Jews became so Hellenized thay had forgotten how to read their native Hebrew).
Under the early Roman Empire, Alexandria was second only to Rome in size, culture and economic clout. The equestrian prefect in charge of Egypt was stationed in Alexandria. Alexandria became a center of early Christianity, with infamous clashes between Pagan and Christian.
As the Western Empire collapsed, the grain supplies of Egypt that poured through Alexandria were shifted from Rome to the new capital of Constantinople.
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