Alexander the Great | History of Egypt

Alexander III of Macedon or commonly known as Alexander the Great  Was the king of the great ancient Greek Kingdom of Macedon. He was born in Pella in 356 BC. Most of his role live was spent in military campaigns through Asia and Northeast Africa, he managed to form one of the most powerful empires in the ancient ages when he was only thirty, stretching from Greece to northwest India, he is considered as one of the history’s most successful military commanders. Alexander’s legacy includes the cultural diffusion that his conquests engendered. He established twenty cities that carry his name, the most popular is Alexandria in Egypt. His legendary as a classical hero in Achilles and he always featured importantly in the history of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. He became an icon for the military leaders to compare with his performance. Nowadays, the military academies all over the world still teach his tactics in wars thus he ranked among the most influential people in history.

Alexander The Great in Egypt

He arrived in Egypt in 332 BC. After defeating the Persian emperor Darius for control of Syria and the Levant, Alexander marched to Egypt. At the time, Egypt was a satrapy in the Persian Empire, held loosely under Persian control since the decline of the Ancient Egyptian Empire at the end of the 7th century BC. Alexander and his army of Greeks were regarded as liberators and to cement the Oracle of Amun at Siwa Oasis pronounced him the new ‘master of the universe and a descendant of the Egyptian god Amun. Alexander did not stay in Egypt long. By 331 BC he was on his way west to complete his conquest of the Persian Empire, but the impact of his conquest in Egypt was significant. Alexander respected Egyptian culture and religion, but he installed a Greek government to control his administration of Egypt. Greek influence in Egypt was reinforced by the settlement of Greek veterans throughout Egypt, where they became a privileged aristocracy that gradually assimilated with the Egyptians. Alexander also founded a new Greek capital, Alexandria, located on the Mediterranean at the mouth of the Nile. Although Alexander would never return to Egypt, dying in Babylon in 323 BC, the Greek rule that he established proved more enduring. In the crisis after Alexander’s death, Ptolemy, one of his generals, claimed Egypt as his kingdom and established hereditary rule. The Ptolemaic Dynasty would last until the Romans conquered Egypt in 32 BC. Alexandria emerged as a great city in the Mediterranean and a center of Hellenism, spreading Greek learning and culture. It was the site of the legendary Ancient Library of Alexandria and the Pharos Lighthouse, which was built on the site where Qaitbey Citadel stands today.