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Alexandria is an Egyptian port on the Mediterranean. It was Egypt's seat of kingship before Fustat and stayed the home of learning and seat of wisdom until the Muslims opened it in the days of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him).
Alexandria is an Egyptian port on the Mediterranean. Al-Maqrizi reports that Alexander son of Philip the Macedonian renewed it, moving the royal seat from Memphis to make it the seat of kingship in Egypt; he quotes Abu al-Salt that it 'was the home of learning and seat of wisdom' until the Muslims opened it in the days of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him) — when Amr ibn al-As (may God be pleased with him) took it with the Muslim armies the seat of kingship moved to Fustat. He records, from Ibn Abd al-Hakam and Abu al-Fida, that it was a triple city, each quarter walled, its streets ordered like a chessboard; that the Romans resisted Umar nine months and retook it later; and that the Franks besieged it in 562 AH until Saladin and his uncle Asad al-Din Shirkuh repelled them after four months.
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Alexandria is an Egyptian port on the Mediterranean, Egypt's seat of kingship before Fustat, and it remained the home of learning and seat of wisdom until the Muslims opened it. Al-Maqrizi reports that Alexander son of Philip the Macedonian renewed it, the royal seat moving from Memphis to make it the seat of kingship in Egypt; he quotes Abu al-Salt Umayya ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Andalusi that it 'was the home of learning and seat of wisdom' until the Muslims opened it in the days of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him) — when Amr ibn al-As (may God be pleased with him) arrived with the Muslim armies and opened it the royal seat moved to Fustat, which became the seat of kingship in Egypt. From the geographers and historians: a triple city, each quarter walled, streets ordered like a chessboard; the Romans resisted Umar nine months then retook it after a time; and the Franks besieged it in 562 AH until Saladin with his uncle Asad al-Din Shirkuh repelled them after four months.
Overview
An Egyptian port on the Mediterranean. Before Fustat was founded it was the seat of rule in Egypt, and al-Maqrizi reports that it stayed a house of learning and seat of wisdom until the Muslims took it. 1
Alexandria in al-Maqrizi
Al-Maqrizi says that Alexander son of Philip the Macedonian renewed the city, and that the seat of the kingdom moved to it from Memphis, so that it became the seat of rule in Egypt. 2
He quotes Abu al-Salt Umayya ibn Abd al-Aziz al-Andalusi, who says that it was "the house of learning and seat of wisdom" until the Muslims took it in the days of Umar ibn al-Khattab (may God be pleased with him). 1
When Amr ibn al-As (may God be pleased with him) came with the Muslim armies and took Alexandria, the seat of the kingdom moved from Alexandria to Fustat in Egypt, and Fustat became the seat of rule of Egypt after Alexandria. 2
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Connections
- Birthplace of
- Abdullah al-Nadim· Ahmed Asmat Abdel-Meguid· Amr Khaled· Gamal Abdel Nasser· Nour El Sherbini· Qasim Amin· Waleed Ismail· Youssef Chahine
- Home of
- Abu al-Abbas al-Qurti· Ahmed Zewail· Sharaf al-Din Ibn al-Muqaddisiyya· مرثد بن عبد الله اليزني· Nour El Sherbini· Shukri al-Quwatli
- Place of death of
- ابن الحاجب· Ibn Jubayr, Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Kinani· Ibn Wathiq, shaykh al-qurra'· Muhammad Mustafa al-Maraghi· Mustafa Ismail· Salim al-Naqqash
- Burial place of
- ابن الحاجب
- Site of
- the Alexandria rising and its recovery (25 AH)· The Great Earthquake of 180 AH· Ibn Jubayr reaches Alexandria· The Revolt of Nizar ibn al-Mustansir at Alexandria and Its Suppression in 495
People and things also explored
Cairo· Muhammad Abduh· Ibn Jubayr reaches Alexandria· Ibn Jubayr, Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Kinani· Ibn Jubayr in Baghdad· Ibn Jubayr sets out from Granada· Ibn Jubayr's hajj, 579 AH· Ibn Jubayr visits Medina
Sources
- Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa-l-i'tibar bi-dhikr al-khitat wa-l-athar (al-Khitat al-Maqriziyya), ed. Muhammad Zaynhum and Madiha al-Sharqawi (Cairo: Maktabat Madbuli, 1998) , p.422
- Al-Maqrizi, al-Mawaiz wa-l-i'tibar bi-dhikr al-khitat wa-l-athar (al-Khitat al-Maqriziyya), ed. Muhammad Zaynhum and Madiha al-Sharqawi (Cairo: Maktabat Madbuli, 1998) , p.446
- GeoNames gazetteer
- al-Farghani, Elementa astronomica (Golius, Amsterdam 1669)
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “Alexandria”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/place/alexandria/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-26.