古埃及的紐約:亞歷山大

開羅并非一直是埃及的中心,在埃及艷后所在的托勒密王朝時期,埃及的中心是亞歷山大?Alexandria

圖片來源:Wikipedia

當時的亞歷山大不光是埃及的中心,它的規(guī)模和富裕程度在全世界都名列前茅,而且相當國際化,基本就等于現(xiàn)在的紐約。(托勒密王朝大約是公元前200年,也就是中國的西漢時代)

這里曾經(jīng)擁有上古時期的全球頂尖學術(shù)機構(gòu)——亞歷山大的大圖書館?The Great Library of Alexandria

很可惜,后來這個大圖書館被毀了,并沒有流傳下來,就和亞歷山大的絕大部分古跡一樣?,F(xiàn)在的亞歷山大已經(jīng)基本沒有古時候的遺產(chǎn)了,不過它仍是埃及第二大的城市,也是全球最重要的港口。

During the time of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, Alexandria was second only to Rome in size and wealth. But due to centuries of major battles in the city, very little of Alexandria is left. And what conquering armies didn’t demolish, earthquakes shook the ground and finished off the rest. Although Alexandria was an ancient version of New York City, after the capital was moved in 641, the city went into centuries of decline. When Napoleon arrived, he came upon little more than a small fishing village. Fortunately in the 19th century, it was revived as part of an industrialization program. And now it is the largest port in the country. The Western Harbor alone handles 60-70% of the entire country’s imports and exports.
在托勒密王朝時期,亞歷山大的規(guī)模和財富都傲視全球,僅次于羅馬。不過由于這個城市在幾個世紀中經(jīng)歷了許多大戰(zhàn),古亞歷山大留下來的遺產(chǎn)已經(jīng)很少了;即使是侵略者沒有毀掉的那些,也被地震毀掉了。雖然亞歷山相當于古代的紐約,但在公園641年埃及遷都后,這座城市經(jīng)歷了連續(xù)幾個世紀的衰退。當拿破侖來到這里的時候,他看見的已經(jīng)不比一個小漁村大多少了。好在到了十九世紀,它借由一個工業(yè)化計劃得到了復興?,F(xiàn)在亞歷山大已經(jīng)是全國最大的港口,其中西港一個港口就承擔了全國60%-70%的進出口。

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