ABSTRACT
The history of Alexandria and its relationship to Cairo thus illustrates a theme in the history of the Ottoman Arab provinces during the eighteenth century. With the general decline of irrigation works in Buhayra province, which lies to the southeast of Alexandria, Bedouin tribes began to dominate the area. After 1619, the majority of the population of Alexandria moved its residence to the open land on the peninsula, abandoning the enceinte and establishing an entirely new core of settlement. An inventory of urban space in 'Alexandrie Nouvelle' reveals several significant features of the town's socioeconomic character and functions. The map of Alexandria done for the French expedition shows roughly several hundred discrete blocks of buildings grouped densely and irregularly on the mid-section of the peninsula. Social organization was, as in virtually all pre-industrial cities, ethno-confessional and residential in character. Many of the leading merchants, shaykhs, and officials were from areas outside Egypt, and were conscious of their own distinct ancestry.
