Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

eventually placed in a golden coffin in

Alexandria, Egypt. His generals divided

up his empire.

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Alexandria • Egypt, Ancient • Greece,

Ancient • Persia

Alexander, Lloyd

U.S. children’s author Lloyd Alexander

is probably best known for his Prydain

novels. This five-book series follows a

young hero named Taran from the lowly

status of assistant pig keeper to the

throne of the kingdom of Prydain.

Lloyd Chudley Alexander was born on

January 30, 1924, in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania. As a child, he enjoyed

fairy tales and mythology.

Alexander’s first published works were a

novel for adults and several books about

his own experiences. His first fantasy for

children was Time Cat: The Remarkable

Journeys of Jason and Gareth (1963). He

began the Prydain fantasies the following

year with The Book of Three. The

series also includes The Black Cauldron

(1965), The Castle of Llyr (1966), and

TaranWanderer (1967). The final book

of the series, The High King (1968), won

the Newbery Medal in 1969.

Alexander created the kingdom of Westmark

as the setting for another series of

novels: Westmark (1981), The Kestrel

(1982), and The Beggar Queen (1984).

Alexander’s later books include The

Illyrian Adventure (1986), and How the

Cat Swallowed Thunder (2000). He died

on May 17, 2007.

Alexandria

The city of Alexandria was founded by

Alexander the Great when he conquered

ancient Egypt in 332 BC. For hundreds

of years it was Egypt’s capital. Today it is

the country’s main seaport. It lies on the

Lloyd Alexander

One of the

cities that

Alexander

founded in

India was

Bucephala. It

was named

for Alexander’s

horse

Bucephalus.

74 Alexander, Lloyd BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

coast of the Mediterranean Sea northwest

of Cairo.

Alexandria has stone structures that date

back to when the city was part of the

Roman Empire. They include an amphitheater

and Pompey’s Pillar, which was

built in AD 297. There are also ancient

tombs called catacombs.

The chief economic activities of Alexandria

include shipping, banking, and the

manufacturing of cloth. The city

accounts for about a third of the industrial

products made in Egypt. Cotton is

the main export.

Alexander the Great, the Greek conqueror,

founded Alexandria as a naval

base and trade center. After his death in

323 BC, control of the city passed to one

of his generals, Ptolemy I Soter. Ptolemy

made Alexandria the capital of Egypt,

and it soon became the most important

city in the world. Greek scholars and

scientists went there to study in its great

library. The Pharos, a lighthouse built in

Alexandria’s harbor, was one of the

SevenWonders of theWorld.

Alexandria came under Roman rule in

30 BC and Arab rule in AD 642. The

Arabs built a new capital at Cairo and

neglected Alexandria. In 1517 Alexandria

was conquered again, this time by

the Turks. By the late 1700s it was just a

small fishing village. Alexandria revived

as a trade center in the 1800s after

canals were built to link the city to the

Nile River. Today Alexandria remains a

thriving port city.

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Alexander the Great • Cairo • Egypt

• Egypt, Ancient • Nile River

Alfred the Great

More than 1,000 years ago a king

named Alfred saved part of England

from falling under the control of Denmark.

At the time, England was divided

into several small kingdoms, andWessex

was one of those. Alfred was king of

Wessex. Although the other kingdoms

fell to the Danes, Alfred keptWessex

free. One of England’s best-loved kings,

he is known as Alfred the Great.

Battles Against the Danes

Alfred was born in 849. He was the

youngest son of Aethelwulf, king of

Wessex. Alfred’s older brother Aethelred

Few structures remain from Alexandria’s

early history. A monument

called Pompey’s Pillar and

a sphinx were once part of a

temple of a god called Sarapis.

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Alfred the Great 75

 

became king after Aethelwulf. When

Aethelred died in 871, Alfred became

king.

Alfred’s people were the Saxons. They

had come to Britain from Germany several

hundred years earlier, along with the

Angles and the Jutes. All were now

threatened by the Danes, who were

invaders from northern Europe. The

Danes were also called Vikings.

Several English kingdoms fell to the

Danes. In 871 and again between 876

and 878 Alfred’sWessex forces fought

against the invaders. In the end the

Danish king surrendered to Alfred.

In 886 Alfred went beyondWessex and

freed London. All the English people

who were not ruled by Danes then

accepted him as king. Alfred’s son and

grandsons eventually gained control over

all of England.

Role as a King

Alfred was not only a bold warrior. He

was also a smart organizer who knew

how to build forts, use ships, and

arrange alliances. In peace he was a wise

ruler who tried to protect the weak from

bad judges. He also gave his people better

laws.

Alfred loved learning. He read books in

Latin and hired scholars to translate

them into English. Sometimes he did

the translating himself. The Anglo-

Saxon Chronicle, a record of England’s

early history, was begun in his reign.

Alfred died in 899.

#More to explore

England • Vikings

Algae

Algae are organisms, or living things,