CEAlex, The fortifications of Alexandria from the Middle Ages to the present day. History of the fortifications

THE FORTIFICATIONS OF ALEXANDRIA from the Middle Ages to the present day

History of the fortifications

	K. Machinek, architect-archaeologist
	February 2008

The fortifications of Alexandria in the Mameluke period (1250-1517)

The medieval town was situated on a strip of rocky land between Lake Mariout and the Mediterranean Sea within the perimeter of the ruined ancient city. At that period Alexandria was a commercial centre for the East and on the frontiers of the Mameluke Empire, permanently exposed to dangers coming from the open sea. Therefore, the town required the protection of fortifications that were maintained, restored and gradually complemented by new works.LThe residential quarters were entirely enclosed by the Toulounid wall of the 9th century, and the authorities prohibited Alexandrians form lodging extra muros. The wall was punctuated with numerous large towers, certain of which played the role of fortlets. The two ports on either side of the isthmus were defended by separate-standing forts. To the north of the Western Harbour, the anchorage for Muslim vessels, stood a small fortress (M5) built in the 13th century. The Eastern Harbour had extra defences against any potential invaders: it’s entrance was overlooked by two facing fortresses, that of Pharillon (M7 – 14th century) to the east of the pass, and from the 15th century Fort Qaitbay (M9) stood opposite upon the ruins of the collapsed Pharos of the ancient city. This new fort was part of Sultan Qaitbay’s vast project to fortify the Egyptian littoral with a string of forts at Rosetta, Damietta and Aboukir.

Layout of Alexandria in the Mameluke period (1250-1517)
Map drawn by K. Machinek, © CEAlex archives

The fortifications of Alexandria in the Ottoman period (1517-1798)

After the victory of the Ottomans over the Mamelukes in 1517 and the inclusion of Egypt into the Turkish Empire, the country became a mere Ottoman province. Alexandria was no longer a frontier town nor a commercial centre. The eastern Mediterranean became an inland sea of the Ottoman Empire dominated by the Turks. At the beginning of the 16th century a fundamental transformation of the city began. The protection of the citizens behind the Arab wall having become obsolete, the Arab town intra muros was gradually abandoned in favour of the creation of a new town on the peninsula to the north. By the end of the 18th century the town had entirely shifted to the isthmus.
In the Ottoman period the situation of Alexandria’s defences was marked by the redevelopment of the extant fortifications, their re-use as civil structures and their abandon.

La ville d'Alexandrie à l'époque ottomane

Layout of Alexandria in the Ottoman period
Map drawn by K. Machinek, © CEAlex archives

The fortifications of Alexandria under Napoleon Bonaparte (1798-1801)

EIn July 1798, the French army under Bonaparte disembarked to the west of Alexandria. The troops took the town without the slightest difficulty, the fortifications being in a very poor state. Bonaparte stayed for some seven days and quickly ordered the repair of the fortifications and the removal of civilian occupants of the forts. He also ordered a precise survey of the town and its military buildings. Some of these drawings were published in the Description de l’Égypte, while other military surveys and numerous topographic charts are conserved in the military archives of the Chateau de Vincennes. The engineers established a number of modern defensive emplacements both extra and intra muros : batteries, forts, redoubts as well as new portions of the wall.

La ville d'Alexandrie sous napoléon Bonaparte

Layout of Alexandria after the developments of Napoleon Bonaparte (1801).
Map drawn by K. Machinek, © CEAlex archives

The fortifications of Alexandria in the modern era

In the middle of the 19th century, the viceroy Mohamed Ali set in motion a project of redevelopment for Alexandria. He called upon a French engineer, Barthélémy Gallice, and named him director of fortifications. This latter undertook the enormous task of fortifying the town according to the principles of Vauban. However, his great modernisation project clashed with a contradictory movement, that of demographic growth. The Turkish Town had become too small and the new and cosmopolitan Alexandria needed more land. The town was beginning to spread out from its Ottoman core on the isthmus towards the south and west, and then to the east. At the same time as Gallice Bey was erecting bastions in front of the Rosetta Gate (G3 and G4), the north-west section of the city wall was being demolished.

Urban evolution in the 20th century

The dismantling of the medieval city wall continued until its almost total disappearance at the beginning of the 20th century. The urban surface experienced a huge growth rate. Today, the city stretches some 30 km along the north coast, hemmed in to the south by Lake Mariout. The 20th century saw the birth of aerial warfare and the end of now outmoded traditional fortifications. Today the few remaining vestiges of Alexandria’s military past are listed as historic monuments.

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