Alexander chose the site in 331 BCE. After his death his general Ptolemy made it the capital of Egypt, and the Ptolemies built the Mouseion and the Great Library, which tried to collect every book in the world.
The Pharos lighthouse, finished around 280 BCE, stood over a hundred metres tall and was counted among the Seven Wonders. Earthquakes destroyed it in the Middle Ages, and the Citadel of Qaitbay was built on its foundations in 1477.
Cleopatra VII, the last Ptolemaic ruler, died here in 30 BCE. In 2002 the Bibliotheca Alexandrina opened as a modern tribute to the ancient library.
