Poole, Reginald S.: The cities of Egypt (London, 1882)

182 CITIES OF EGYPT.

and so long as invasion was attempted by land, before
the days of great naval expeditions, Egypt could not be
subdued as easily as before. It were useless to march
on Memphis while the capital remained untouched in
the rear of the enemy and could draw supplies of men
and munitions from the sea, for the Ptolemies maintained
a fleet, and Cyprus was to them a place of arms.

The interest of Alexandria is not so much political as
literary, yet a few words must be said of her place in
history during the nine centuries and a half of her great-
ness. To tell the story in detail would be to relate that
of Egypt. The capital of the Ptolemies, and till near
the time of the Arab conquest the seat of the Roman
governor, the one great centre of Greek life, was the
very heart of whatever lands she ruled. Here Ptolemy
fixed his seat of government, and he or his successor
with great solemnity brought the body of Alexander in
a golden coffin to rest in the city he had named. Here
he began to carry out the great schemes which Alexander
only lived long enough to plan. The Pharos was then
built to light the way into the harbour. The palace, the
arsenal, the docks, the temple of Sarapis, then rose from
the ground ; it may be that the old king witnessed the