The Architecture of Alexandria and Egypt, C. 300 B.C. to A.D. 700

Front Cover

This masterful history of the monumental architecture of Alexandria, as well as of the rest of Egypt, encompasses an entire millennium—from the city’s founding by Alexander the Great in 331 B.C. to the years just after the Islamic conquest of A.D. 642. Long considered lost beyond recall, the architecture of ancient Alexandria has until now remained mysterious. But here Judith McKenzie shows that it is indeed possible to reconstruct the city and many of its buildings by means of meticulous exploration of archaeological remains, written sources, and an array of other fragmentary evidence.

The book approaches its subject at the macro- and the micro-level: from city-planning, building types, and designs to architectural style. It addresses the interaction between the imported Greek and native Egyptian traditions; the relations between the architecture of Alexandria and the other cities and towns of Egypt as well as the wider Mediterranean world; and Alexandria’s previously unrecognized role as a major source of architectural innovation and artistic influence. Lavishly illustrated with new plans of the city in the Ptolemaic, Roman, and Byzantine periods; reconstruction drawings; and photographs, the book brings to life the ancient city and uncovers the true extent of its architectural legacy in the Mediterranean world.

 

Contents

How Ancient Alexandria Was Lost
8
the Archaeological Evidence
19
Introductory Summary
32
Cleopatras Alexandria and The Roman Conquest
75
Traditional Egyptian Architecture
119
Introductory Summary
148
Roman Alexandria
173
Second Century AD
192
Cyril of Alexandria AD 41244
248
The Arab Conquest and its Aftermath
256
Architectural Scholarship and Education in Alexandria
322
Influence of Alexandria on Byzantine Architecture Outside Egypt
329
Pictorial Tradition of Alexandrian Architecture in Byzantine and Early Islamic Art
351
List of Abbreviations
376
Bibliography
430
Glossary
445

Classical Architectural Style of Roman Alexandria and Egypt
221
Introductory Summary
230
the Written Sources with A T Reyes
236
Acknowledgements 459
Copyright

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About the author (2007)

Judith McKenzie is member of the sub-faculty of archaeology, Oxford University.

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