By Auguste Meyrat.

In any discussion about the foundational cities of Western civilization, most scholars would name Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome. Jerusalem was the birthplace of the great monotheistic religions that defined the West's spirituality, morality, and civic culture. Athens was the origin of the West's intellectual and artistic traditions. And besides being the exemplar of law, governance, and secular virtue, Rome was also the home of the Catholic Church, which repurposed many of these human pursuits to foster God's Kingdom on earth.

There are some scholars, however, who would like to add Alexandria, Egypt to this list. Not only is it a city that has endured for millennia, but it has arguably played a large role in forming and inspiring Western Civilization throughout the ages.

One writer trying to make this case is the British-Alexandrian historian Islam Issa. His latest book Alexandria: the City that Changed the World ardently tries to prove that Alexandria "is neglected in comparison to other centres of antiquity" despite being "a megalopolis without which Judaism, Christianity, and Islam would be unrecognisable." In support of this thesis, he gives a comprehensive history of the city, starting from its founding by Alexander the Great in 331 BC up to the current day.

As Issa (somewhat tediously) lists each and every famous monument (like the Great Library or Lighthouse of Pharos), scholar (like Euclid and Origen), and political leader (the Ptolemies, Cleopatras, Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Muhammad Ali), it's fair to declare that Alexandria is undoubtedly a great city with a rich history. Located next to the Nile and the Mediterranean near the intersection of Europe, Asia, and Africa, nearly everything and everyone at one point or another made its way through Alexandria.

For all this, however, Issa's history ironically reveals why Alexandria was only a great city and not an iconic and foundational one. At no point in its history does the city ever become more than the sum of its parts. Unlike Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome, Alexandria has always been a house divided.

Since its founding, the city has seen one protracted struggle after another: Greeks against Egyptians, Western Christianity against Eastern Christianity, Christians against Muslims, Abbasids against Mamluks, Europeans against Ottomans, and Westernized Liberalism against Socialist Nationalism. Of course, this is no accident since the city was founded on cosmopolitanism, always catering to different cultures and demographics. This meant it remained ideologically and philosophically diverse, never committing to any particular worldview or tradition.

In effect, this left the city without a soul or much of an identity beyond being an overgrown melting pot. Contrary to Issa's subtitle, "The City that Changed the World," Alexandria was continually changed by the world, not vice versa. Every political and cultural movement, along with every plague, war, or personal vice, would cycle through Alexandria, leaving its mark on the city.

Far more than its dazzling monuments and famous individuals, Issa inadvertently illustrates how Alexandria was characterized by its mob violence, tyrannical (and sometimes incestuous) rulers, civil wars, and booming sex trafficking.

Reflecting today's common belief that multiculturalism is an unalloyed good, Issa relentlessly spins these darker consequences into positive developments. In his view, these are not the obvious signs of division, degeneracy, and corruption, but of tolerance and progress.

For Issa, the real villains are the non-Muslim outsiders who cast judgment and try to change Alexandria. He'll spend several pages on Christians persecuting the Alexandrian female philosopher Hypatia, yet remain utterly mum about the periodic massacres of Christians during the centuries of Muslim occupation. And for good measure, he includes extensive details about the British writer E.M. Forster having a homosexual affair w...