Latin Background Information

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  • Created by: Ls
  • Created on: 18-05-14 18:51

Location of Alexandria: 

  • had 3 harbours: the Great harbour, Western Harbour and Lake Harbour. 
  • Lake Harbour: goods were brought by a further canal, or overland, to the Red Sea; this was the route that led to India 
  • city was chosen by the Greek king, Alexander the Great, when he came to Egypt in 331 BC; was to be the new centre of trade and civilisation
  • excellent agricultural land, fine harbour, good anchorage, healthy climate and fresh water, and limestone quarries
  • by the 1st century AD, Egypt had become part of the Roman empire
  • excellently placed for trading on large scale: stood at meeting place of great trade routes
  • good for merchants and businessmen: safe harbour for their ships, large number of dock-workers to handle their cargoes, huge warehouses for storage and busy market for buying and selling
  • import: luxury goods (bronze statues from Greece, fine Italian wines) and raw matirials (wood and marble)
  • export: wheat, papyrus, glassware...

Alexandria - inside the city: 

  • streets set out in a grid system, crossing each other at right angles
  • the main street, Canopus Street was more than 30m wide
  • some houses were several storeys high
  • many public buildings were built of marble
  • by the Great Harbour was Royal Quarter: ara containing places…

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