B. C.E.) Ruler of Egypt and son of Alexander the Great He was the son of Alexander [iii] the great and Roxanne and ruled Egypt from 316 b. c.e. until his death. Alexander IV took the throne name Ha’a-ibre Setep-en-Amun, translated as “Re’s Heart Rejoices, chosen of Amun.” Alexander IV was born after the death of his father in 323 b. c.e. His uncle Philip iii arrhidaeus, reportedly a somewhat challenged half brother of Alexander the Great, ruled from 323 to 316 b. c.e., when he was murdered.
PTOLEMY I served as satrap or governor of Egypt for both Philip and Alexander. Roxanne, as queen, probably held the post of regent for her son. In 304 b. c.e., Cas-sander, the Macedonian “General of Europe,” murdered Alexander and Roxanne. Queen Olympias, the mother of Alexander the Great, fell to the henchmen of cassander at the same time. The royal house of Macedonia had been destroyed.
Alexander Aetolus (fl. third century b. c.e.) Greek poet of Alexandria
PTOLEMY II philadelphus (r. 285-246 b. c.e.) appointed Alexander Aetolus as an official of the great library of ALEXANDRIA. The library was an institution known for its vast archives that included centuries of world history and the cultural achievement of many peoples. His task was to list and catalog the tragic dramas housed in the library. Alexander Aetolus’s writings are lost, although the title of one of his plays, Astragalistae, or “The Dice Throwers,” has survived. Alexander’s shorter poetic works are known in modern times only by fragments that have survived over the centuries.
Alexander Balas (Ephiphanes) (fl. second century B. C.E.) King of Syria and Pergamum, modern Turkey He asked ptolemy vi philometor (r. 180-164/163-145 B. C.E.) to aid him in ruling the remains of the crumbled Macedonian Empire. Alexander Balas slew Demetrius I Soter, the heir of the Syrian Seleucid Dynasty. When DEMETRIUS II NICATOR, the son of Demetrius I, met Alexander Balas in battle, he avenged his father’s death. Alexander Balas had maintained Egyptian support and the approval of the Senate of Rome until the fateful battle that ended his life.
22 Alexander Helios
Alexander Helios (fl. first century b. c.e.) Son of Cleopatra VII (51-30 b. c.e.) and Marc Antony He was born in 40 b. c.e., the twin of cleopatra selene. Alexander Helios was designated the ruler of “Farther Asia,” an area that included Armenia, Medea, and the unconquered realms of the Parthians. He vanishes from the scene after the Battle of actium and the suicides of CLEOPATRA VII and Marc ANTONY.
Alexandria The capital of Ptolemaic Egypt, founded in 331 B. C.E. by ALEXANDER THE GREAT as the result of a vision, the conqueror chose the site of Rhakotis in the western Delta of the Nile. Rhakotis was an ancient town, dating to the New Kingdom (1550-1070 b. c.e.) and was located on the westernmost Nile tributary. Two limestone ridges run parallel to the coast of Alexandria, the outer one breaking the waves and the inner ridge protecting the city against shifting alluvium. Alexander ordered a causeway, called the Heptastadion, “seven stades long,” to link the ridges. Two ancient harbors were on either side: the Eunostos or Harbor of Safe Return on the west, and the Great Harbor on the east. A third harbor, on Lake mareotis, linked the city to the Nile.
Two suburban areas, Neopolis and the Island of Pharos, were included in Alexander’s original plans. He did not remain in Egypt, however, and never saw the city being constructed in his name. Alexander’s viceroy, CLEOMENES OF NAUKRATIS, was thus the actual creator of Egypt’s new capital, which was ideally situated for trade and commerce and expanded rapidly. Dinocrates, the Greek city planner from Rhodes, supervised the actual construction.
The center of the city was designed to provide trade centers, residences, sunken courts, and even catacombs. The SERAPEUM (2), the sacred burial site and shrine of the sacred apis bulls, was built on the hill of Rhakotis in the city’s oldest section. Royal residences, municipal buildings, and government seats were also introduced. Two other structures also brought acclaim to the new capital: the LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA and the LIGHTHOUSE at Pharos. The remains of Alexander the Great were reportedly placed in the Soma of the city after being restored to the capital by ptolemy i soter in 323 b. c.e. Ptolemaic mausoleums and the tombs of ANTONY and cleopatra vii have disappeared over the centuries, along with the conqueror’s body.
Thousands of new residents flocked to Alexandria, and grants of property, called a cleruchy, were given to foreign mercenaries who resided in the city and made themselves available for military service. A Greek elite moved from naukratis (el-Nibeira), the original Hellenic outpost, and special laws and regulations were passed to protect their unique status.
Sphinxes and other monuments displayed in Old Alexandria. (Hulton Archive.)
Suggested Readings: Empereur, Jean-Yves. Alexandria Rediscovered. Trans. Margaret Moehler. (New York: George Braziller, 1998); Fraser, P! M. Ptolemaic Alexandria: Text, Notes, Indexes (London: Clarendon Press, 1985); La Riche, William. Alexandria—The Sunken City (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1996); Vrettos,
Theodore. Alexandria: City of the Western Mind (New York: Free Press, 2001).
Alexandria, Battle of The military campaigns between Julius caesar and the forces supporting ptolemy XIII (r. 51-47 B. C.E.) in Egypt’s capital. Caesar was under siege in Alexandria from August 48 B. C.E. to February 47 B. C.E. after placing Cleopatra vii on the throne and exiling Ptolemy to the desert. The Romans defended the royal residence at ALEXANDRIA from land forces and an Egyptian naval force. setting fire to these ships, Caesar inadvertently engulfed the library of Alexandria in flames as well. Caesar also took Pharos Island, the site of the LIGHTHOUSE of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
By January 47 B. C.E., Caesar was thoroughly surrounded by Egyptians, but Mithridates of Pergamum arrived with 20,000 men. Caesar had sent for him at the start of the campaign. When the new allies entered the conflict, Caesar went out to confront Ptolemy XIII in the desert region. The battle of the Nile ensued, with Caesar victorious.
Altar Called a khat by Egyptians, this was a table of offerings in temples and tomb chapels, in use from the earliest eras on the Nile. An altar fashioned out of travertine alabaster was included in the sun temple of niuserre (r. 2416-2392 b. c.e.) at abu ghurob. tuthmosis iii (r. 1479-1425 B. C.E.) presented the great religious complex of KARNAK at THEBES with a pink granite altar. The New Kingdom (1550-1070 b. c.e.) altars had evolved into vast stone tables with ramps and steps that added to their dominance. The limestone altar of the god Re-Horakhte at DEIR EL-BAHRI, on the western shore of Thebes, had ten steps leading to its dais. The aten altars at ’amarna were designed with ramps and courtyards. In the Late Period (712-332 B. C.E.), altars with horned designs were used, made of stone or brick blocks with raised corners.
See also temples.
Amada A site in nubia, modern Sudan, Amada was where a temple dedicated to the gods amun and Re Horakhte was started by tuthmosis iv (r. 1401-1391 B. C.E.) and decorated by amenhotep iii (r. 1391-1353 B. C.E.). Tuthmosis IV extended the shrine during his reign. The shrine is noted for fine reliefs in color and for images of messuy, the viceroy of Kush, as Nubia was called. MERENPTAH’s cartouches are also preserved there. Messuy’s depiction at Amada led to his identification in some eras with Amunmesses, a usurper following Merenptah’s reign (1224-1214 b. c.e.).
The great temple at Amada was erected by ramesses II (r. 1290-1224 b. c.e.) with pillared halls and Osiride statues of that pharaoh. Two stelae, one dedicated to Amun-Re and the other announcing the arrival of a hit-TITE princess as Ramesses Il’s bride, were found there. Elaborate paintings, vestibules, a sanctuary, and a chapel to the god THOTH complete the temple design. Two more stelae, honoring various officials of the eras, were also discovered on the site. The temple of Amada was moved when the ASWAN High Dam was constructed.
Amara A fortified site near wadi halfa on the Nile in NUBIA, modern Sudan, Amara was founded by seti i (r. 1306-1290 B. C.E.). There are two settlements involved in Amara, on the eastern and western banks of the river. Amara West was a vast fortress complex with enclosing walls and defenses. Amara East dates to the Meroitic Period (c. 300 B. C.E.-350 a. d.). The remains of a Rames-sid temple, probably erected by ramesses ii (r. 1290-1224 B. C.E.), and a necropolis were discovered here.
World History
