Pod Insights Short History Of... The Lighthouse of Alexandria About this episode The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a testament to human ingenuity and architectural brilliance. Built in the third century BC on the small island of Pharos, it was the first lighthouse in recorded history and the last of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Standing over 100 metres high, it provided a vital beacon for sailors navigating the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
But who built the lighthouse? How did it change during its 17 centuries overlooking the city? And, after its final collapse in the 1300s, how does its legend still endure?
This is a Short History Of The Lighthouse of Alexandria.
A Noiser Production, written by Nicola Rayner. With thanks to Professor Islam Issa, British-Egyptian historian, and the author of Alexandria: The City that Changed the World.
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1:02 Speaker 02 It is 1962. The waves off the Mediterranean coast of Alexandria in North Egypt are high, as usual. In the eastern harbor, a couple of young fishermen load up their small motorboat for a short trip and start up the engine.
1:22 Speaker 02 Their masks, snorkels, and spears rattle in the bottom of the boat as it slices through the waves. They speed out past the spit of land that is home to the citadel of Cape Bay, the massive 15th-century fortress which stands on the site of one of the most famous buildings in history, the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
1:46 Speaker 02 The men head for their usual spot, not too far from the citadel. As the driver cuts out the boat's engine, the fisherman pushes his feet into his flippers. He is a freediver, a risky business, but he knows these waters well, has dived them countless times.
2:05 Speaker 02 After pulling on his mask and snorkel, he nods at his friend and slips into the water.
2:17 Speaker 02 Though he usually has a knack for spotting fish hidden among the rocks and reefs, today, his prey eludes him. And though the currents are always strong, right now, they seem to pull him off course.
2:33 Speaker 02 He reemerges for a breath, then tries again.
2:37 Speaker 02 Finally, on his third dive, a huge fish darts in front of him. He gives chase, kicking hard, pushing himself deeper underwater. The visibility drops, and sand forms clouds before his eyes. The fish within reach, he glides just above the seafloor, his lungs beginning to burn.
3:00 Speaker 02 But then, he catches sight of something unusual. A shape that doesn't belong among the natural contours of the underwater landscape. An unusually shaped rock, perhaps? Curiosity peaked, he abandons his hunt and swims closer. He reaches out and brushes away the fine layer of silt that has settled.
3:23 Speaker 02 There, half-buried in the sand, are massive fragments of stone. Weathered, but unmistakably carved by human hands.
3:36 Speaker 02 Kicking back to the surface, the diver quickly locates the boat and swims over to his friend.
3:45 Speaker 02 The pair of them return to the shore, chatting excitedly.
3:52 Speaker 02 Days later, the fisherman boards a bus towards the harbor for his official meeting with a team of archaeologists.
4:01 Speaker 02 The vehicle creaks and groans through the traffic on the Cornish, the famous coastal road that runs along the Mediterranean shoreline.
4:10 Speaker 02 When he disembarks in the center to complete his journey on foot, Alexandria is bustling with life. Hawkers shout out their prices over the din of sputtering engines. The scent of street food drifts from stands, grilled fish, falafel, and the sharp tang of citrus. Old buildings, half-faded in color, recede behind him as he heads out towards the citadel. The Mediterranean glittering on either side of the avenue.
4:40 Speaker 02 As the huge stone castle looms up ahead, he spots some smart men in suits. These must be the curators he's come to meet. But as he calls out to greet them, he notices another crowd just beyond. Some holding notepads, others with cameras slung over their shoulders. He even spots a microphone or two. There is a crackle of anticipation in the air. The news has already spread. It's possible the remains of the ancient city's great lighthouse have been rediscovered.
5:16 Speaker 02 And everyone wants a piece of the action.
5:25 Speaker 02 The Lighthouse of Alexandria was a testament to human ingenuity and architectural brilliance. Built in the 3rd century B.C. on the small island of Pharos, which was linked to Alexandria by a causeway, it was the first lighthouse in recorded history and the last of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was one of the tallest man-made structures of its time, standing more than 100 meters high.
5:52 Speaker 02 Made of gleaming white limestone and crowned by a statue of Zeus, it stood as a beacon for sailors navigating the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean Sea into the key Egyptian port of Alexandria.
6:08 Speaker 02 Its bright light, visible for miles, was a symbol of the city's wealth and importance as a center of trade and as the home of the world's greatest library, also knowledge. But who built the lighthouse? How did it change during its 17 centuries overlooking the city? And after its final collapse in the 1300s, how does its legend still endure?
6:35 Speaker 02 I'm John Hopkins. From the Noiser Network, this is A Short History of the Lighthouse of Alexandria.
6:49 Speaker 02 It is 331 B.C. in Memphis, Egypt. A 25-year-old man with long hair styled in the image of his hero Achilles steps onto a barge on the Nile. At just five feet tall, he's not an imposing figure, but the expression on his face is one of steely determination.
7:09 Speaker 02 Officially, his title is Alexander III of Macedon, but today, he is better known as Alexander the Great. And when he steps on that barge, this leader of the Greeks is already on his way to conquering the great Persian Empire.
7:26 Speaker 02 Egypt has been ruled by the Persians on and off since 525 B.C., but when Alexander arrives, the Persian ruler, or Satrap, surrenders. Alexander is greeted as a liberator of the Egyptians. He promises to respect local customs and religious traditions, unlike the oppressive Persians. Once he's crowned as the new pharaoh, he begins surveying Egyptian land.
7:53 Speaker 02 Traveling northwards up the Nile, he is keen to explore an island that appeared to him in a dream, inspired by a mention in Homer's Odyssey. Wherever he goes, Alexander carries a special scroll of Homer's poetry in a gold casket. It was a gift from his teacher, the philosopher Aristotle.
8:12 Speaker 02 But when he reaches his destination, the island of Pharos, it's not quite what he expects.
8:20 Speaker 02 Professor Islam Issa is a British-Egyptian historian and the author of Alexandria: The City That Changed the World.
8:29 Speaker 03 When he arrives in the 4th century B.C., he arrives at a series of fishing villages and a barren island. It's an island that was mentioned by Homer, called Pharos, where loud the bellows roar, Homer writes. So it was already in the Greek consciousness, but it was likely an anticlimax. It was likely just a barren island with not much on it.
8:57 Speaker 02 Though its surroundings are beautiful, standing in the crystal-blue waters of the Mediterranean just beyond the vast, sun-soaked Egyptian coastline, it's little more than a tiny hill of limestone.
9:11 Speaker 02 But if the island could be connected to the mainland by a causeway, Alexander can see there's some potential. He could create two harbors, one on either side. Located as it is at the crossroads of Africa, Asia, and Europe, the site is ideally situated for a city that could be a link between these regions. It is also the perfect place for a trading hub, and even a base for providing food and transport for his army as it expands eastwards.
9:42 Speaker 02 What's more, the site is close to the Nile, at the western edge of the delta, but not so close that it will be affected by the river's regular flooding.
9:51 Speaker 02 Fresh water isn't a problem with a lake a little further inland. A network of canals links the river to the lake, and the lake to the sea.
10:01 Speaker 02 Alexander acts swiftly. First, he orders the building of a temporary connection between the island and the coast. Then, a more solid, hourglass-shaped causeway is constructed, mainly from limestone. Stretching 1,300 meters in length, this causeway becomes known as the heptostadian, meaning "seven stadia," the Greek unit of measurement.
10:25 Speaker 02 Soon after being built, it is cut down the middle to create two channels with bridges above them, so ships can move from one harbor to the other without having to go all the way around.
10:36 Speaker 02 If Alexander notices the roughness of the waves and the potential danger to ships coming into these new harbors, he files it away as a problem to be solved at a later point.
10:50 Speaker 02 He gets to work on the design for his new city with his team, which includes the respected architect Dynocrates of Rhodes. One account of the planning process is written by the historian Plutarch some 300 years later. According to him, the excited Alexander starts mapping out his city by using whatever he can find close to hand, which happens to be some handfuls of barley. He sketches the layout of Alexandria with the grain, specifying places for a market square, temples, and a library dedicated to the Muses.
11:25 Speaker 02 But just as Alexander finishes his design, a flock of birds descend on the grain and gobble it down.
11:34 Speaker 02 He fears it is an omen, but is reassured by those around him that his new city will become "the nurse and feeder of many nations." Shortly after the plans are finished, the laying of the foundations gets underway.
11:49 Speaker 03 So Alexandria is built on an ambitious scale. It's immediately built with wide roads, so plenty of lanes for the carriages on the promenade. Its roads are built at an angle, so it can benefit from the breeze of the sea. So at the time, they believed there's a kind of good wind and a bad wind, but this can... the angle benefits from the good winds. And it's got sculptures in the roads, statues. There are reports even of perfumed roads around the royal quarter. There are five districts in the city as well, one of which is the royal quarter, one which was predominantly the Jewish quarter,
12:33 Speaker 03 trade quarter, and so on. And essentially, it's an ambitious project. And I think for many people who went to Alexandria at that time, even before the lighthouse is built, they're seeing a metropolis. They're seeing a kind of city of the future.
12:55 Speaker 02 But Alexander leaves Dionocrates in charge of his plans and rushes off to the next adventure. By October, he has defeated the great Persian Empire in what is today northern Iraq. Then, barely pausing for breath, he advances into Central Asia and invades India.
13:13 Speaker 02 In 325 B.C., he returns to Babylon, where he focuses on consolidating his vast empire.
13:21 Speaker 02 But a couple of years later, at just 32 and at the height of his powers, Alexander falls ill after a prolonged period of drinking with his generals and dies. Though it's never confirmed, some say he is poisoned by one of his rivals.
13:39 Speaker 02 It is said that in his last words, he declares that his empire should go to the strongest. But what follows is a period of chaos.
13:50 Speaker 02 The territory is sliced up between his friends and generals, with Egypt going to Alexander's friend Ptolemy.
13:58 Speaker 03 Ptolemy I is a fascinating character in that his story begins alongside Alexander the Great. So they are friends from a young age. They attend the same school. They're taught by none other than Aristotle. And it's actually really a fascinating lineage of scholars that teach them. I mean Aristotle is taught by Plato and Plato is taught by Socrates. It doesn't get much better than that in terms of knowledge lineage. And so it makes sense that Alexander and Ptolemy want their city to be a knowledge base as well.
14:30 Speaker 02 But to legitimize his rule over Egypt, Ptolemy takes a bold step. He seizes Alexander's corpse as it is being transported from Babylon to Macedonia.
14:45 Speaker 02 Ptolemy brings the body to Egypt and continues the construction of the city of Alexandria around it. The tomb of Alexander becomes one of the key cults and attractions of the city. Ptolemy also moves the capital of Egypt from Memphis to Alexandria and establishes his residence there. The city becomes a labor of love.
15:08 Speaker 03 He prioritizes the city's interests, so he doesn't wage wars like Alexander. He stays neutral in many wars around the region with the intent of making Alexandria a great city. So Ptolemy does a lot for the city. In many ways, Alexander is founder, but Ptolemy really does build Alexandria.
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18:15 Speaker 02 Under the rule of Ptolemy I, Alexandria develops into a major centre of trade and commerce. And the heptastadium to the island of Pharos means that the city has two ports, one on each side of the causeway, just as Alexander planned. Located on the east side, the great harbour is the larger and more prominent of the two ports, a hub for international commerce. The western port of Eunostos, meaning "safe return", is used for local and regional trade, as well as ship repairs. These two ports allow Alexandria to manage a vast amount of trade. It has the potential to become one of the most prosperous cities in the ancient world, but for this to happen, ships must be able to dock safely.
19:00 Speaker 02 And right now, that is far from guaranteed.
19:05 Speaker 03 Alexandria is positioned in such a way that there are really quite severe winds, especially in the winter, but also really striking waves. Even today, if you go to the city, you'll recognise how high the waves are, how loud the waves are. So it's not the safest place for boats and ships and so on. And there are other natural issues as well. So, for example, the Egyptian coastline has very few contours. The coastline there is rather broad, it's rather featureless. And also, once you arrive, you want to make sure you arrive at the right place. And the issue with the shore like that is you could find yourself in a desert upon arrival.
19:51 Speaker 03 So you've got all these issues, and that's not mentioning the night time. So at night, you navigate without light, that can be very difficult, it's like pitch black.
20:02 Speaker 02 Adding to the danger are so-called wreckers. Essentially, land pirates who purposely bring about shipwrecks. They create so-called "false fires" near jagged rocky coastlines that give the illusion of a safe place to land.
20:18 Speaker 02 The unfortunate sailors who fall for these traps crash on the rocks, where their vessels are then looted.
20:26 Speaker 02 Fires are used to guide ships in for legitimate purposes too. But in response to the proliferation of land pirates and the coastline's dangerous waves, Ptolemy I decides to take the matter further. Around 290 B.C., he commissions the building of a lighthouse, the first in recorded history.
20:48 Speaker 03 We don't know too much about how it's built, but we do know that there were lots of jobs available. So the city needed a population, needed to attract people. And one of the things that attracts people to move is work. And so it's likely that it had a huge workforce. We don't have evidence of slavery being a very common thing in Alexandria, so they were likely paid for their work in the construction of the lighthouse. And we do know as well that it took 14 years to build at a huge cost as well.
21:24 Speaker 02 Finished during the reign of Ptolemy II, the building costs 800 talents, today the equivalent of 16 million pounds. The lighthouse is made from gleaming white limestone, which glows in the strong Egyptian sun. It is known in Alexandria as the Pharos, named after the island on top of which it stands. The word will endure in Greek and many other languages to mean "lighthouse."
21:53 Speaker 02 The structure comprises three tiers. The lowest and largest is rectangular and forms almost half the total size of the structure. The second tier is octagonal. On top of that is the third layer, a hollow cylinder encircled by pillars, which contains a furnace and a mirror to reflect the light. Weary donkeys make endless trips to supply firewood and fuel on their backs to feed the furnace. Even animal dung is said to fuel its famous light. A long, arched ramp provides access to the lowest tier of the lighthouse, from which stairs connect to around 70 rooms in the bottom two tiers, including one room that leads down to the sea.
22:39 Speaker 02 The rooms are constructed with vents and windows to allow wind to pass through, helping protect the lighthouse from the force of strong gusts. On the second and third floors, galleries offer visitors the chance to take in views from an elevation that dwarfs the rest of the city. For particularly distinguished guests, special suites are available for lavish entertainment. At the very top of the lighthouse stands a statue of Zeus, the god of sky and thunder, who has a special link to the city. In some versions of ancient mythology, Helen of Troy, the daughter of Zeus, is linked to the island of Pharos. Indeed, Alexandria's founder himself had a special connection to the king of the gods,
23:24 Speaker 02 claiming to be his descendant.
23:28 Speaker 02 At more than 100 metres in height, the lighthouse is one of the tallest buildings in the world, rivaling the great pyramid of Giza.
23:37 Speaker 03 The lighthouse goes well beyond practical purposes because it's a symbol of power. It's imposing, it's grand, it's tall, it's strong, so it suggests all of those things about the leaders of the city, about the Ptolemies, that they have this kind of supremacy. I would say it also has a symbolic importance, that it's spreading light, and we see that as a city that becomes a knowledge capital of the world, spreading light of knowledge far and wide. And Alexandria, to a large extent, becomes defined by this famous building. It's a rich city at the time, it's a new capital city, so it's undergoing this constant
24:17 Speaker 03 renovation and it's undergoing lots of migration, because Alexandria starts with nobody there, so they have to basically attract people to come. They attract people through things like jobs, through low taxation, through freedom of worship. So the lighthouse is a symbol of this power, it's a symbol as a grand entrance to a city that's trying to say that it's the world's most impressive city. And it's a kind of new world feel, I think. It's dazzling, it's supposed to be dazzling. It's a welcome to those who are coming for a better life in Alexandria, and I call that the Alexandrian dream in its early days.
24:59 Speaker 03 And I guess the lighthouse could be something of a Lady Liberty at the time.
25:08 Speaker 02 But who is responsible for designing this majestic structure? Historians can't be sure, but it's possible that credit should go to Sostratus of Nidus.
25:20 Speaker 02 According to different reports about this man, Sostratus is either the benefactor who pays for the lighthouse to some extent, or the architect who designs it.
25:30 Speaker 02 In one version of the story, which comes from the Syrian writer Lucian in the 2nd century AD, Sostratus inscribes his own name on the lighthouse.
25:40 Speaker 03 Lucian writes that Sostratus wrote his name on the lighthouse, covered it, and then inscribed the name of Ptolemy, knowing that before long, those letters would fall away from the plaster and his name would be revealed. And the claim is that it said, "Sostratus of Nidus has dedicated this, to quote it, 'for the sake of them that sail at sea.'" So the claim here is that there was a dedication made behind the king's back that changed the dedication from Ptolemy to Sostratus. Al-Masoodi, who's a 10th-century historian,
26:23 Speaker 03 he writes that he saw an inscription in large lead letters. And he says that each one's about a cubit, so that's about half a metre in size, so that everybody could see this dedication as they were arriving into the city. And recently, some lead has been found in the sea under where the lighthouse would have been, so it's quite exciting that that might be part of the dedication.
26:48 Speaker 02 The lighthouse becomes the last of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
26:54 Speaker 02 A list that begins taking shape in the 5th century BC, with the final, widely-recognised version emerging a few hundred years later.
27:03 Speaker 02 It is a status symbol for the city to be proud of. The Roman poet Lucan celebrates it as a beacon for salvation. Historians and travellers from all over the world praise its height and grandeur. Replicas begin to be built around the region and beyond.
27:21 Speaker 02 Meanwhile, the lighthouse stands proud, visible from more than 30 miles away.
27:29 Speaker 02 The mirror at its apex, made from polished metal and burnished bronze, reflects the strong sunlight during the day when maritime traffic is heaviest. But sometimes nighttime journeys are unavoidable, and then, the lighthouse's fire comes into its own.
27:50 Speaker 02 It is 240 B.C. In the dead of night, an ancient Greek ship, known as a hippos, carves its way through the ink-black sea.
28:02 Speaker 02 A merchant vessel from the island of Rhodes, with neat square sails and a broad rounded hull. Right now, it is loaded with olive oil, wine, and pottery from the Aegean Islands.
28:16 Speaker 02 The captain stands at the helm, his weathered hands steady on the wheel.
28:22 Speaker 02 His crew have been traveling for almost six days. They're not far from their destination: the Egyptian port of Alexandria.
28:32 Speaker 02 So far, the winds have been steady and favorable, so they've decided to push on through the night. After all, the city is protected by the light of the famous Pharos.
28:45 Speaker 02 But now, at the final hour, the breeze turns capricious, tugging at the sails and forcing the captain to tighten his grip on the wheel. The ship's timbers begin to creak.
28:59 Speaker 02 Overhead, clouds shroud the moonless sky. Alexandria is close now, but not yet in sight.
29:09 Speaker 02 By day, the city is a trader's paradise, a glittering jewel. But by night, this coastline can become a graveyard for the unwary.
29:20 Speaker 02 The usual banter among the crew fades to urgent instructions as the storm picks up. The seasoned sailors man the ropes as their ship's bow dips perilously, sending spray shooting across the deck.
29:35 Speaker 02 The captain squints into the blackness, searching for that beacon of hope. They're approaching from the east, hugging the invisible coastline on their port side. Now, a younger sailor shouts over the wind of the appearance of light. Following his gaze, the captain sees it too, a weak flicker in the distance.
29:57 Speaker 02 But it's not right. It's too low, too faint. Wreckers trying their luck.
30:06 Speaker 02 He shakes his head, keeping his hand steady on the wheel. The ship rocks again, dipping low. The wind whistles loudly as waves slap against the hull.
30:22 Speaker 02 And then it appears, a faint but steadily strengthening gleam on the horizon. As the ship draws nearer, the glow intensifies, becoming a pillar of fire against the night. The captain exhales. The Pharos.
30:42 Speaker 02 The word echoes around the ship. There it is, the great lighthouse of Alexandria. Even from miles away, the flame at the top of the towering structure is unmistakable, a signal that safety is close. And, as if by magic, the wind seems to drop. The worst of the storm seems to be over.
31:09 Speaker 02 As they approach, the younger sailors fall silent in awe at the scale of the lighthouse. It is gigantic, dwarfing the ships that pass beneath its gaze with its three-tiered design. And there is Zeus with his thunderbolt at the top.
31:30 Speaker 02 The crew adjusts the sails and prepare for the final approach, the mood on board becoming one of relief, celebration almost. Soon, they will be unloading their goods from roads and refilling the ship with silks from the east, spices from Arabia, and grain from the Nile. And there should even be a little time to enjoy the bustling streets of the city, where merchants haggle and scholars debate, and the great library is said to hold every book in the world. But for now, the captain says a prayer of thanks as they sail into the harbor, the lighthouse bathing them in its warming glow.
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35:03 Speaker 02 The lighthouse continues to stand proudly as the centuries pass, while the city over which it towers undergoes many changes. Alexandria flourishes as a center of learning and culture under the Ptolemy's, from its founding in 331 B.C. until the reign of Cleopatra VII, which begins in 51 B.C. Known for her political acumen, intelligence, and charm, Cleopatra is most famous for her alliances with two of Rome's most powerful men, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony. Raised in Alexandria, aside from a brief spell in Rome, Cleopatra is tutored privately in the royal palace, which is close to the harbor overlooked by the lighthouse.
35:49 Speaker 02 At just twenty-one, following the death of her father, she finds herself in a power struggle with her younger brother, Ptolemy XIII, for the throne of Egypt.
36:00 Speaker 02 Meanwhile, in 48 B.C., Rome is engulfed in its own turmoil. Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, the two surviving members of the allegiance known as the First Triumvirate, are at war. Caesar arrives in Alexandria, seeking his rival Pompey, who has fled there. But he is greeted with a grim gift from Ptolemy XIII's Egyptian forces, in the form of Pompey's severed head. Disturbed rather than pleased by this brutal display, Caesar then occupies the royal palace, barring the warring siblings, Ptolemy and Cleopatra, from their former home.
36:39 Speaker 02 But the wily young queen arranges for herself to be smuggled into Caesar's quarters, rolled up in a carpet. When she appears, as if by a magic trick, before the fifty-two-year-old dictator, he is captivated. The two become lovers, and Caesar supports Cleopatra in her quest for the throne. In the ensuing conflict with her brother's forces, a great fire engulfs Alexandria, and the library is badly damaged. But the lighthouse stands strong, even as the island on which it stands is captured by the Romans. Eventually, the rest of the city falls, and Ptolemy XIII is drowned in the Nile.
37:22 Speaker 02 Cleopatra's younger sister, Arsinoe IV, who sided with her brother, is taken as a captive to Rome, where she is paraded in chains alongside a burning effigy of the Pharos Lighthouse. Caesar returns to his own capital, leaving Cleopatra to give birth to his son. But before long, the great Roman leader is assassinated in the Senate. After his death, his old ally, Mark Antony, takes the eastern Roman territories, while Octavian rules the west. But Antony's growing relationship with Cleopatra alienates him from Rome, and soon the arrangement dissolves into conflict.
38:03 Speaker 02 In thirty-one B.C., Antony and Cleopatra are defeated by Octavian at the Battle of Actium. And as Octavian closes in, they both take their own lives, ending the Ptolemaic dynasty and marking the start of Roman rule in Egypt. Alexandria endures as a key city in the Roman Empire, not least by connecting the largest supply of grain to Rome. And the lighthouse continues to play an important role in overseeing ships arriving and departing from its harbors. But during the Byzantine era, when the Eastern Roman Empire holds sway from 330 A.D. onwards, the city's prominence starts to wane.
38:46 Speaker 02 Three centuries later, the Muslim world begins a period of rapid expansion after the death of Muhammad. Alexandria falls once more in an invasion in 641 A.D.
39:00 Speaker 02 While it remains a significant port under Islamic rule, it gradually loses its status to Cairo, one hundred and forty miles southeast on the banks of the river Nile.
39:10 Speaker 02 The lighthouse, once a symbol of the city's prowess, begins to deteriorate after a series of earthquakes, including a major one in the eighth century. Meanwhile, the city is governed by various caliphates, a form of Islamic government.
39:26 Speaker 03 Alexandria has many different caliphates take charge of it over the years. The Abbasids, one of them, they sent somebody called Ahmed ibn Tullun to Egypt as a governor. He went with his army and he decided to make use of the splits in the caliphate at the time to take Egypt for himself. And so he establishes the Talunid dynasty in the ninth century. And Ibn Tullun makes Egypt an independent power again for the first time since the Ptolemies. So with the Romans and with the Islamic annexation, they are ruling from other cities, whether that's Rome or Mecca or Baghdad.
40:14 Speaker 03 Ibn al-Tulun renovated a lot of the city, and one of the things he renovated was the lighthouse. But he also added a dome at the top of the lighthouse, where Zeus used to be. And whether Zeus had already gone or was replaced isn't clear, but in the ninth century did have a dome at the top.
40:35 Speaker 02 The new version of the lighthouse doesn't last for long, and an earthquake in the 10th century causes further structural collapse.
40:42 Speaker 03 By the 1270s, we know that the Sultan Bebors orders its restoration. So we know that it's obviously been in a bad state, but that it's still standing. And then in 1303, and this is a really tough century for Alexandria, we have an earthquake again that seems to collapse some of its key structures. And then another earthquake, just a couple of decades later, is probably when it suffered the most damage.
41:12 Speaker 02 The explorer Ibn Battuta visits a few years after the disaster and reports on the state of the lighthouse.
41:19 Speaker 03 He's struck by its height, but he does also say that it's disintegrated. But then when he travels there in 1349, he says it's completely ruined, and he couldn't go into the lighthouse. And he says that they're now using a redemptory hill instead of the lighthouse.
41:43 Speaker 02 By the end of the 14th century, the lighthouse is gone. For the best part of two millennia, it has endured earthquakes, floods, and conflicts that changed the lives of the city's people.
41:56 Speaker 02 But eventually, it falls bit by bit into the sea.
42:04 Speaker 02 Some of the remaining rubble is recycled in the building of the city's Citadel of Kate Bay, a sturdy fortress built by Mamluk Sultan to protect Alexandria from invasion by the Ottomans. But though the citadel endures, it's not enough to keep them at bay for long. In 1517, the city is conquered yet again, this time by the Ottoman Empire as part of their larger invasion of Egypt. Earthquakes and rising sea levels claim many remnants of the ancient city. However, reminders of the lighthouse still turn up in the most unexpected of places.
42:41 Speaker 02 In seventeen ninety-eight, Napoleon Bonaparte embarks on an expedition to Egypt, and his scholars begin documenting the country's ancient treasures. What follows is an international craze for Egyptian art, architecture, and artifacts, known as Egyptomania.
43:08 Speaker 02 It is nineteen oh three. Three tomb raiders, in well-worn khaki, shuffle along a cramped tunnel cut into rock, an Egyptian tomb just south of Cairo.
43:22 Speaker 02 The flickering glow of their kerosene lanterns casts shadows against the ancient stone walls.
43:30 Speaker 02 The boss, a man with a bushy beard and sun-wethered skin, leads the way, holding the lantern.
43:38 Speaker 02 Experience has taught him that this tunnel should lead to a burial chamber, but they've yet to find it, or the treasures it could hold.
43:47 Speaker 02 The flame sputters, and the men glance nervously at each other. Even the leader is jumpy.
43:55 Speaker 02 Strictly speaking, his line of work is illegal, and there are whispers of curses that follow those who disturb the sleep of the dead.
44:09 Speaker 02 The tunnel twists again, but just as the bearded raider is starting to worry, the passageway opens out into a chamber.
44:20 Speaker 02 He holds up his lantern.
44:23 Speaker 02 There, in the center of the rectangular room, is an ornately carved sarcophagus, the stone coffin of an unknown ancient Egyptian. The man exhales, and turns to his younger companions, raising a finger to his lips in warning.
44:41 Speaker 02 He can see they're excited, but they must stay silent. He places the lamp carefully on the ground, then gestures for the others to position themselves on either side of the coffin. With a low grunt of exertion, they begin to lift its heavy lid. The sound of stone grating against stone echoes in the confined space.
45:04 Speaker 02 Though they pause intermittently to check no one's coming, eventually they get the lid off.
45:11 Speaker 02 All three gasp as they take in what's inside.
45:16 Speaker 02 A mummified body tightly bound in linen wrapping, undisturbed for millennia.
45:23 Speaker 02 But there's still more to do to get at the stuff that fetches the real money. Once the lid has been placed to one side, the older man leans in and begins to carefully peel away the fragile bindings. Each layer reveals more of the desiccated form beneath. The linen crackles softly in the silent chamber, falling away in strips.
45:44 Speaker 02 This raider knows something of the mummification process, how the organs are removed and dried, the body rinsed with wine and spices and covered with salt. Then, at around the fortieth day, the corpse is stuffed with fabric, sand, or sawdust. Later, it is wrapped with yards of linen, like the pieces coming away in his hands. But now, he feels something unexpected. There's a crackle beneath his fingers.
46:14 Speaker 02 He beckons to his friend to bring the lamp closer.
46:19 Speaker 02 There, in the chest cavity of the mummified body, is a rolled piece of papyrus. And there is writing on it. He peers closer, trying to decipher the lettering. He has a little ancient Greek, but he will need the help of an expert.
46:38 Speaker 02 Days later, the raider enters the study of an archaeologist he knows in Cairo. The room is a clutter of ancient artifacts and leather-bound books. The archaeologist closes the heavy oak door to ensure they're alone, then nods, signaling for the tomb raider to proceed. With a cautious hand, he removes the fragile scroll of papyrus from his worn leather satchel, laying it gently on the desk.
47:07 Speaker 02 The archaeologist adjusts his pince-nez and bends over the scroll, reading in silence.
47:14 Speaker 02 His eyes widen as he deciphers the faded Greek characters.
47:20 Speaker 02 He can't be sure what the raider has discovered, but it seems to be a collection of poems, and he has seen at least one mention of the great lighthouse of Alexandria.
47:38 Speaker 02 In fact, these tomb raiders have uncovered our sole contemporary source on the lighthouse. But it isn't until many decades later that the papyrus becomes available to the public.
47:49 Speaker 03 Lots of the tomb raiders were obviously doing illegal activity, so once they find something, they don't distribute it, they don't sell it for a while. And so we don't know what happens to this papyrus for the next few decades. What we do know is that it appears in 1992 on the grey market. The grey market's not illegal like the black markets, but it's also not an official market. And it's purchased by the University of Milan.
48:20 Speaker 02 The papyrus, which was inscribed in Ptolemaic Alexandria, features writing on both sides. On one, there are more than 100 poems written by a man called Posidippus, a courtier of Ptolemy I and II.
48:36 Speaker 03 We know he was a member of the courts of the first two Ptolemies, so right at the beginning of its history. It turns out that he had written a poem about the lighthouse, and possibly at its founding, actually, at its inauguration by Ptolemy II. So it's the earliest and only piece of writing on the lighthouse from the period of its inauguration.
49:00 Speaker 02 It is in this poem that Posidippus calls to our attention Sostratus of Nidus by thanking him. Initially, it was thought that the poem was addressed to the lighthouse itself. But a more recent theory makes the case that the poem might have been dedicated to the statue of Zeus at the top of the lighthouse, and not the Pharos itself.
49:22 Speaker 03 I think that Sostratus may have been the one who designed the sculpture of Zeus, or if he is a wealthy courtier, then he's the one who paid for the sculpture of Zeus at the top. Because I don't think that the lighthouse would have been funded by anybody but the state. It was far too expensive and far too much of a power move.
49:46 Speaker 02 Another key discovery about the lighthouse occurs in 1962, when a local fisherman spots some unusual-looking rocks on the seabed. The archaeological investigation that ensues uncovers a six-meter-long fragment of the statue of Zeus.
50:02 Speaker 02 Further dives in the 1990s uncover the piece of another figure, this time female.
50:09 Speaker 03 The first item that was fished out of the sea was a torso, and it turns out that it's an unidentifiable goddess. It's not the only such statue that's been found in that region. There was another one earlier in the 20th century, where they managed to raise a statue of a queen who seemed to have the features of Isis, so it was likely to be Ptolemy's wife. So it suggests that the area around the lighthouse and near the royal quarter had these magnificent statues and sculptures,
50:51 Speaker 03 both of gods and goddesses, but also of the royal family.
51:00 Speaker 04 You know, it's the time of the year when I'm always on the lookout for fresh fall options for my wardrobe. And I think I just found my new favorite sweater at Quince. It's the Cotton Fisherman Crew. It's relaxed, it's cozy, but yet still polished. It's one of those versatile pieces you can wear everywhere, to the office, out running errands, or a night out with friends. And as we head into the holiday season, this is definitely one I'll be adding to others on my list. See, Quince focuses on high-quality staples made with premium materials like 100% Mongolian cashmere, 14 karat gold, and Italian leather. All timeless, versatile pieces that feel special to unwrap and become everyday favorites long after the holidays. Their cashmere sweaters start at just $60, and the lineup doesn't stop there.
51:41 Speaker 04 They have premium down jackets, wool outerwear, and cashmere accessories. Everything you and your loved ones need to stay warm and look put together all season long. And when it comes to gifting, Quince has a lot more than clothing. Think fine jewelry, leather bags, hotel-quality bedding, chef-grade cookware, and five-star luggage. Basically, plenty of ways to find something special for everyone on your list. So give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to quince.com and get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. It's now available in Canada and the UK, too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know what short history of it's the best way to support the show.
52:22 Speaker 00 Shop Black Friday appliance savings and get up to an extra $1,250 off select appliance purchases like GE Profile. Plus, free delivery on appliance purchases of $398 or more. Make life easier with the fridge that doubles as your personal kitchen assistant. Or upgrade your laundry room with the Ultra Fresh Vent System Plus Front Load Washer. So your clothes stay fresh after every single wash. Shop Black Friday appliance savings with fast free delivery at The Home Depot. Offer valid November 4 through December 2 at participating stores and at homedepot.com. U.S. only. See store online for details.
52:54 Speaker 02 Alexandria's National Museum is now home to many items that have been found under the water in such dives. But it is estimated that only 3% of these submerged artefacts have been found. Earthquakes and rising water levels over the centuries mean that many remains of the ancient city endure in the depths of the sea. Though there has been talk of an underwater museum, it looks unlikely to be constructed any time soon. Plans to rebuild the lighthouse itself were approved in 2015, but those too are on hold because of financial constraints. So what is the legacy of the lighthouse today?
53:35 Speaker 03 Several centuries after the lighthouse, we have Napoleon and Admiral Nelson, and we have all sorts of people who want a piece of Alexandria going forward. And so that keeps the lighthouse in the popular imagination because it's a part of Alexandria. It holds a prominent place. We could say also that it starts a kind of trend. The word pharaoh is the word for lighthouse in many languages. The way in which it was built is taken to become a standard way of building a lighthouse, both east and west of Alexandria. It affects some of the architecture that follows in Alexandria and the region as well.
54:17 Speaker 03 So you have mosque minarets, for example, in Egypt that look like the lighthouse. So it's got an enduring influence architecturally. But today it holds a prominent place in terms of the city as a kind of emblem for the city. It's on the flag. You'll find graffiti of the lighthouse around Alexandria, so it still feels like an important part of the city.
54:44 Speaker 02 Replicas of the lighthouse endure, notably the pharaohs of Abu Sia. Built in the 13th century, 30 miles south-west of Alexandria, it's a fifth of the size of the original, and recent excavations have suggested that it may be the burial site of Antony and Cleopatra.
55:04 Speaker 02 Perhaps the great lighthouse lingers in the collective imagination as a testament to our obsession with wonder, with buried treasure and lost cities. But it is far from the only mystery that lives on in Alexander's dream city.
55:21 Speaker 03 The lighthouse is one of the many fascinating aspects of Alexandria's history. It's an ancient wonder, but also there are other aspects of Alexandria that are equally wondrous and wonderful, whether that's the great library of Alexandria or the museum, which was opposite it, in which many discoveries were made and many advances in science and philosophy took place. And there are other legends in Alexandria as well, things that have been lost. We don't know where Alexander's tomb is, despite the fact that many Roman emperors record visiting it. We don't know where Cleopatra and Antony's tomb is. And there was a caesareum as well,
56:06 Speaker 03 built in honour of Caesar by Cleopatra. So there is lots in Alexandria that we're still looking for or that we keep thinking about as part of our imagined city.
56:23 Speaker 02 Next time on Short History, we'll bring you a short history of Isaac Newton.
56:27 Speaker 06 People who don't know much about Newton let all know about the apple story. So what he said was that he was sitting under the apple tree and he saw an apple fall towards the ground. He thought to himself, "Why is that apple going down? Why isn't it going up or sideways?" So perhaps there's a force throughout all the universe that brings things together. So for instance, the sun and the earth are attracted to each other, the moon and the earth are attracted to each other, and that's the same force, the same power of gravity that obliges the apple to fall down towards the surface of the earth.
57:10 Speaker 02 That's next time.
57:18 Speaker 02 If you can't wait a week until the next episode, you can listen to it right away by subscribing to Noiser Plus. Head to www.noiser.com/subscriptions for more information.
57:30 Speaker 04 You know, it's the time of the year when I'm always on the lookout for fresh fall options for my wardrobe. And I think I just found my new favorite sweater at Quince. It's the Cotton Fisherman Crew. It's relaxed, it's cozy, but yet still polished. It's one of those versatile pieces you can wear everywhere. To the office, out running errands, or a night out with friends. And as we head into the holiday season, this is definitely one I'll be adding to others on my list. See, Quince focuses on high-quality staples made with premium materials like 100% Mongolian cashmere, 14-karat gold, and Italian leather. All timeless, versatile pieces that feel special to unwrap and become everyday favorites long after the holidays. Their cashmere sweaters start at just $60, and the lineup doesn't stop there. They have premium down jackets, wool outerwear, and cashmere accessories.
58:15 Speaker 04 Everything you and your loved ones need to stay warm and look put together all season long. And when it comes to gifting, Quince has a lot more than clothing. Think fine jewelry, leather bags, hotel-quality bedding, chef-grade cookware, and five-star luggage. Basically, plenty of ways to find something special for everyone on your list. So give the gift of quality this holiday season. Download the Quince app for app-exclusive offers, or go to quince.com and get free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Style available in Canada and the UK, too. And when Quince asks where you heard about them, let them know Short History of. It's the best way to support the show.
58:52 Speaker 00 Shop Black Friday appliance savings and get up to an extra $1,250 off select appliance purchases like GE Profile. Plus, free delivery on appliance purchases of $398 or more. Make life easier with the fridge that doubles as your personal kitchen assistant. Or upgrade your laundry room with the Ultra Fresh Vent System Plus Front Load Washer. So your clothes stay fresh after every single wash. Shop Black Friday appliance savings with fast free delivery at The Home Depot. Offer valid November 4th through December 2nd at participating stores and at homedepot.com. U.S. only. See store online for details.
Next The Gladiators (Repeat) Page updated November 7, 2026 · transcript and summary are machine-generated