Founding of Alexandria

Timeline

1. -332–-331Memphis · Lower EgyptDuring his eastern campaigns Alexander marched south into Egypt; the Persian satrap surrendered without a fight. At Memphis he was crowned pharaoh by Egyptian priests and, acting as liberator, integrated local religious and administrative resources, laying the foundation for founding the city and ruling Egypt.
2. -331Alexandria · AlexandriaAlexander personally directed the city's planning; according to classical authors he traced the street grid with chalk and planned the harbor and lighthouse site. The city was named for the monarch himself, intended as a new metropolis linking Greece and Egypt.
3. -331–-283Alexandria · AlexandriaAfter Alexander continued his eastern campaigns, his successor Ptolemy made the city his capital; the harbor, lighthouse, and later the library made Alexandria one of the most important commercial and intellectual centers of the Hellenistic age.