ABSTRACT

Alexandria is located on a narrow isthmus separating Lake Maryut from the Mediterranean Sea. The north-western coastal ridges became directly linked to the expanding Egyptian landmass on both sides of Lake Maryut. Since the silting-up of the Canopic branch, the city has depended upon the state-supported maintenance of a canal linking the coastal zone to the Nile, and thus to the rest of the country. The complete obstruction of the ancient Canopic branch of the Nile around the twelfth century by alluvial deposits has presumably slowed the silting of Alexandria's harbor even further. The necessity for diligence in maintaining the canal also evokes a theme in the history of Alexandria since about the twelfth century: the city's isolation from the rest of Egypt and dependence upon the artificial supply of water. The city of Alexandria was thus in a double sense artificial.