Medieval Alexandria

Timeline

1. -331–641Alexandria · EgyptUnder the Ptolemies and Romans, Alexandria was one of the largest ports of the eastern Mediterranean; the Pharos lighthouse and the great canal to the Nile concentrated trade in Egyptian grain and eastern luxuries.
2. 641–1250Alexandria · EgyptAfter the Arab conquest, damage to the Pharos lighthouse and worsening silting reduced the port's scale, but it remained Egypt's main outlet to the Mediterranean, and under the Ayyubids links with Indian Ocean trade began to recover.
3. 1331–1340Alexandria · MediterraneanBetween 1331 and 1340 Italian merchant communities were active; the port handled spices, flax, and cotton arriving from the direction of Cairo, the Mamluks stationed a fleet and collected customs duties, and the city served as the gateway to Mamluk foreign trade.
4. 1517Alexandria · EgyptThe port's status continued under Ottoman rule; large-scale dredging and modernization in the nineteenth century under Muhammad Ali made Alexandria once again one of the main ports of the eastern Mediterranean.