Cleopatra’s Alexandria

Alexandria was founded around 332 BC by Alexander the Great. It became an important center of Hellenistic civilization and remained the capital of Ptolemaic Egypt and Roman and Byzantine Egypt for almost 1,000 years, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in AD 641.

Alexandria was best known for

• the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; 
• its Great Library (the largest in the ancient world; and 
• the Necropolis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages.

Alexandria was at one time the second most powerful city of the ancient Mediterranean region, after Rome.

Alexandria Today

Sunken Treasure

In 1998 a French archeologist, Franck Goddio found the remains of the ancient city and Cleopatra’s spectacular palace at the lost, sunken island of Antirhodos.

Why was Cleopatra’s palace submerged?

Scientists believe a few centuries after Cleopatra’s reign (1400 years ago) there was a terrible earthquake and a huge tsunami in Egypt, which hit the coast of Alexandria. It is this natural disaster, they believe, which resulted in the island of Antirhodos sinking with the, once great, royal harbor, palace and lighthouse.

Further Info

• Alexandria (Wikipedia)
• Underwater Heritage in Alexandria: The Lost Palace of Cleopatra
• How Alexandria laid foundations for the modern world