Alexandria in Late Antiquity: Topography and Social Conflict (Ancient Society and History)

Rating:
Summary: Alexandria: Second City of the Roman Empire
Review: In this well organized and information filled study on Late Antique Alexandria, Haas presents a city second only to Rome in population(probably) which surpassed Rome in education and perhaps culture. While his title would lead you to believe that there are a lot of maps, most of the topographical references deal with intercoommunal conflict and travel systems within the city. He admits that no one really knows exactly what the city looked like since archaelogical excavations are very difficult to undertake in modern day Alexandria.
The strengths of the book are in the vast amount of knowledge presented on the christian community and also in shedding new light on the intercommunal conflict. He does not take the position that intercommunal violence was the norm. My only criticisms of the book are a lack of a true bibliography, though there are extensive endnotes and also that he does not do enough with Paganism and especially Judaism in late antique Alexandria although that is mostly due to the lack of primary sources. Do not expect this book to talk about Alexandria in the wider context of Late Antiquity. Although there is some mention of Alexandria's extensive shipping industry and trading connections, most of the work deals with events that took place within Alexandria. A must have book for those interested in Late Antiquity, Roman Egypt, or Roman cities.