Alexander the Great arrived at the western edge of the Nile River Delta in April 331 BC to establish a new city. He chose the site of an ancient Egyptian fishing village named Rhacotis which had existed since the 13th century BC.
His architect Dinocrates of Rhodes designed the city using a Hippodamian grid plan with parallel streets and subterranean canals. A causeway connected the mainland to the nearby island of Pharos creating two great natural harbors.
The Library of Alexandria became the largest collection of knowledge in the ancient world during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus. This institution faced destruction during Caesar's siege of the city in 47 BC.
Arab forces under general Amr ibn al-As invaded Alexandria after a fourteen-month siege in 641 AD. The first Arab governor recorded visiting the city was Utba ibn Abi Sufyan who built a governor's palace there in 664, 665.
Due to its location on a Nile river delta Alexandria is one of the most vulnerable cities to sea level rise in the entire world. In 2025 more than 7000 buildings in Alexandria will be at risk of collapse due to these groundwater processes.