By Robert Garland, Ph.D., Colgate University
Alexandria continued to be the magnificent city in the world even after the death of Alexander. Alexandria was the melting pot of different cultures, but there were some racial tensions within the society. What were the reasons for these tensions? Who all settled in the city after Alexander’s death? Let us try to find the answers to these questions.
The First Settlers in Alexandria
As per the historical accounts, the first settlers in Alexandria were the retired soldiers who had participated in Alexander’s campaigns. However, pretty soon, Greeks from all over the Greek-speaking world started getting attracted to this settlement, primarily Macedonians in the initial phase. A person of Greek nationality could become the city of Alexandria.
The city of Alexandria attracted a lot of Jewish residents also. During that period, the Jewish community occupied one of the five main districts of Alexandria city. Many of these Jews adapted the Hellistinistic culture so well that they even forgot how to speak Hebrew. As a result they got their biblos, their sacred writings, translated into Greek. The Jews named the translation Septuagint, it is a Greek word for 70. They called it Septuagint because they claimed that more than 70 scholars were employed to translate biblios from Hebrew to Greek.
This is a transcript from the video series The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World. Watch it now, on The Great Courses Plus.
Racial Tensions in Ancient Alexandria
At that time, people from different cultural backgrounds were living in Alexandria. There were clear-cut tensions between the Greeks and the free, but deprived Egyptians. Greeks considered all non-Greek people as inferior to them. However, there was an exception in Alexandria’s history. It was the founder of the city, Alexander the Great. He was fully aware of local sensibilities. There was an Egyptian village named Rhakotis, which occupied the site of Alexandria prior to its foundation. Alexander was careful not to destroy it. He incorporated it into the southwest quarter of his new city so as to avoid hurting the emotions of the Egyptians.
Then there were some tensions between Greeks and Jews also. Jews believed that there was only one god, the one they believed in. The Jews despised all other gods. They refused to participate in any civic rituals of Greeks. They went so far as to condemn the gymnasia of Greeks. Their claim was that to exercise naked was immoral. However, the Greeks believed it was not. On the contrary, they took pride in not being ashamed of their nakedness. Due to this reason Greeks lived in separate districts from Jews and Egyptians.
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Administration of Alexandria
Alexandria had its own laws, its own magistrates, its own council, and its own assembly like any other Greek city. The bureaucracy was top-heavy and it was largely due to the Egyptian influence. Every citizen had to pay taxes.
Alexandria was an oddity, a kind of cultural non sequitur—a Greek city run by Greeks, set in an alien cultural landscape with which it had little in common. We’ve no way of knowing to what extent the Greek population penetrated into the hinterland, although we do know that Egypt was divided into regions known as nomes each with its own capital. Although, these capitals were not poleis or city-states, they did have many of the urban features of city-states, including agoras, temples, theaters, baths, and so on.
Alexandria was a highly sophisticated and cultivated city. It continued to prosper under Roman rule, due to its important location for trade. It became the port from which huge cargo vessels laden with grain would set out from Egypt to feed the population of Rome. In late antiquity it remained a center of learning, particularly of the Neo-Platonist school of philosophy. It was the birthplace of the great geographer and astronomer Ptolemy. It became home to an important Christian community. It was still an important city in Byzantine times and remained so until the Arab conquest in the 7th century A.D.
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Common Questions about Alexandria: the Greatest City in the Ancient World
As per the historical accounts, the first settlers in Alexandria were the retired soldiers who had participated in Alexander’s campaigns.
In ancient Alexandria, the Jews condemned the gymnasia of Greeks. Their claim was that to exercise naked was immoral. However, the Greeks believed it was not. Also, the Jews refused to participate in any civic rituals of Greeks.
Alexandria had its own laws, its own magistrates, its own council, and its own assembly like any other Greek city. The bureaucracy was top-heavy and it was largely due to the Egyptian influence. Every citizen had to pay taxes.
