July 7 marks the establishment of Egypt’s Alexandria

CAIRO – 7 July 2021: On this day the city of Alexandria was founded.

Work began on the establishment of the city by Alexander the Great in 332 BC by filling in part of the water separating an island stretching in front of the main coast called “Pharos”, with an ancient port and a small village called "Raktos" or "Raquda" surrounded by other small villages that also spread between the sea and Lake Mariout.

Alexander the Great and his successors made it the capital of Egypt until the Islamic conquest of Egypt at the hands of Amr ibn al-Aas in the year 641.

So who is Alexander the Great who thought of establishing that city and was he buried there?

Alexander the Great is one of the Greek kings of Macedonia, and one of the most famous military leaders and conquerors throughout history. Alexander was born in the city of Pella around the year 356 BC. He was a student of the famous philosopher and scientist Aristotle until he was 16 years old.

By 30, he had established one of the largest and most powerful empires the ancient world had ever known, stretching from the coasts of the Ionian Sea in the west to the Himalayas in the east.

Alexander died in Babylon on June 10, 323 BC, at the age of 32. Historians have differed slightly in determining the causes of death. Alexander's body was placed in a golden coffin made in the form of a human.

During his funeral procession from the city of Babylon to Macedonia, Ptolemy intercepted it and diverted the path to Egypt, in which his body was embalmed, then the body was transported to Alexandria.

Alexander’s embalmed body was then transferred from the golden coffin to another glass coffin, with the aim of melting the gold, and minting gold coins from it.

Until now, scholars differ about the place of burial of Alexander the Great, but most of them confirm that he was buried in Egypt, specifically in the city he founded, Alexandria.