Presenting the History of the World Through the Eyes of Alexandria

A sweeping and illuminating biography of one of the world’s great cities, ‘Alexandria’ is nothing less than a literary triumph.

This enjoyable read is incredibly informative.

Some ancient cities that have survived to modern day are so wrapped in mythology that it is hardly worth the time to consider whether their origin stories are founded in reality. The origin story of Rome is the most popular. There is, however, another ancient city ensconced in myth that has endured through time, but with a better recorded and more believable origin story. Despite being founded by arguably the closest person to ever represent a demigod—Alexander the Great (a name given to him posthumously)—the origin story of Alexandria has endured and been accepted through the millennia. In Islam Issa’s latest work, “Alexandria: The City That Changed the World,” the author admits that “Alexandria is certainly an extension of such active myth-making, its founding story, like its founder, is inevitably full of legends, beginning at Alexander and extending over time, forcing us to compete with doubts and contradictions.”

It is less in spite of and more because of these “legends” and even “doubts and contradictions” that “Alexandria” is such a triumph. “Alexandria” is the biography of the Egyptian city that began as a Macedonian conquest and resulted in a great cosmopolitan metropolis. The book is not solely the history of the city, but also the history of the world from the time of the Alexandrian Empire to the modern day. And with those histories comes the myths. As the author notes in his introduction, “Alexandria is living proof of the kaleidoscopic relationship between history and cultural mythology.” Rarely has such a relationship been presented so clearly and exhaustively, while simultaneously being so wholly readable.

The Lure of Alexandria

Mr. Issa begins with Alexandria’s founder. He briefs the reader on how Alexander rose to lead the Macedonians after his father’s assassination, and why he chose to found Alexandria. The city was first on the island of Pharos (the book’s maps show how the city grew over time). The island had been mentioned by Homer in the “Odyssey.” Alexander had even dreamed of it before he had seen it. Although he never saw it built, he did receive a prophecy that he would never leave the city. This prophecy was fulfilled when his general, Ptolemy, stole his body and his descendants buried it in Alexandria (the location of his body remains one of the world’s great mysteries).