The military confrontation in the Egyptian capital between the forces of Ptolemy XIII and the Romans under the command of Julius Caesar. Following the battle of APHARSALUS in Thessaly on August 9, 48 B.C., the defeated Pompey the Great fled to Egypt, where he was treacherously murdered. Julius Caesar, in hot pursuit, arrived in Alexandria with only 4,000 men. There he became hopelessly embroiled in the dynastic dispute between Cleopatra and her brother, King Ptolemy XIII. Caesar sided with Cleopatra and subsequently found himself besieged by an army of over 20,000 Egyptians under the command of the Egyptian General Achillas.

With his men, Caesar faced one of the most desperate battles of his career. From late August of 48 B.C. to February of 47, the Romans fought a complicated series of engagements but proved victorious because of luck and the arrival of reinforcements from across the dying Republic. The Roman defenses extended only to the section of Alexandria that contained the royal palace. Various attempts were made to break the perimeters, and a large Egyptian fleet of 72 ships menaced Caesar from the sea. He set fire to these vessels, which inadvertently resulted in the burning of the Great Library. His position remained precarious.

With a small fleet Caesar tried to extend his influence, but the presence of another Alexandrian fleet prevented this. After two more bitter battles a stalemate existed. Caesar took the offensive and captured the island of Pharos. (Achillas, no longer in command of the Egyptian troops, had deserted to Cleopatra’s sister, Arsinoe, who poisoned him.) Caesar then assaulted the heptastadium, connecting Pharos and the mainland, but was beaten back with severe losses, having to swim for his life at one point.

By January victory seemed improbable, but news arrived that a large force of approximately 20,000 men had come from the north-eastern provinces, under the command of the mercenary, Mithridates of Pergamum. Caesar joined the new forces, leaving a detachment in Alexandria. In February 47 B.C., the battle of the Nile was won by the Romans and the mercenaries, and Caesar returned to the city in triumph, thus ending the siege. He had a free hand in Egypt from that point onward.

Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator

Son of Pharaoh Ptolemy XII of Egypt (80–58 BC and 55–51 BC), he succeeded his father in the spring of 51 BC as co-ruler of Egypt by his marriage and consummation of the marriage to his older sister Cleopatra VII of Egypt (69–30 BC). In October of 50 BC, Ptolemy XIII was promoted to senior ruler along with her, although the eunuch Pothinus acted as regent for him.

In the spring of 48 BC, Ptolemy XIII and Pothinus attempted to depose Cleopatra VII due to her increasing status as Queen. Her face appeared on minted coins, for example, while Ptolemy XIII’s name was omitted on official documents. Ptolemy intended to become sole ruler, with Pothinus acting as the power behind the throne. Ptolemy XIII reportedly drowned on January 13, 47 BC while attempting to cross the Nile.

LIBRARY OF ALEXANDRIA

One of the greatest and most legendary libraries in history, which reportedly contained the sum of ancient Egypt’s knowledge and lore. It was founded sometime after the birth of the Egyptian seaport of ALEXANDRIA in the 4th century B.C. and soon became an intellectual and scientific center for the ancient world. From all over the Mediterranean, scholars and scientists travelled to Alexandria to study its vast collection of books on astronomy, medicine, geography, biology, mathematics, architecture, philosophy and literature. Virtually every famous arcane or notable volume was stored on its shelves, available for research or reading. How many scrolls were available is difficult to determine (perhaps from 100,000-700,000), as is the exact design of the building itself. The library was located near the harbor and was reputed to have been beautiful, with columns, gardens, laboratories and study areas.

The choice of the harbor location was deemed beneficial, but such a site placed the institution in peril when Julius Caesar arrived in Alexandria in 48 B.C. Facing a desperate struggle with the Egyptians, Caesar’s defensive tactics caused a major fire in the harbor. The library was struck by flames and the scrolls vanished. Dio commented only that the institution contained many excellent books, a typical view given the prevailing ignorance concerning the severity of the loss. Few scrolls survived the disaster. Those saved were destroyed some 400 years later, when the Christians of Alexandria devastated all pagan cultural effects.