Editing Alexander the Great (section)

===Egypt===
{{Further|Siege of Gaza (332 BCE)}}
[[File:Name of Alexander the Great in Hieroglyphs circa 330 BCE.jpg|thumb|Name of Alexander in [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]] (written from right to left), {{circa|332&nbsp;BC}}, Egypt. [[Louvre Museum]].]]

When Alexander destroyed Tyre, most of the towns on the route to [[Egypt]] quickly capitulated. However, Alexander was met with resistance at [[Gaza City|Gaza]]. The stronghold was heavily fortified and built on a hill, requiring a siege. When "his engineers pointed out to him that because of the height of the mound it would be impossible... this encouraged Alexander all the more to make the attempt".<ref>{{harvnb|Arrian|1976|loc=II, 26}}</ref> After three unsuccessful assaults, the stronghold fell, but not before Alexander had received a serious shoulder wound. As in Tyre, men of military age were put to the sword, and the women and children were sold into slavery.<ref>{{harvnb|Arrian|1976|loc=II, 26–27}}</ref>

Egypt was only one of a large number of territories taken by Alexander from the Persians. After his trip to Siwa, Alexander was crowned in the temple of Ptah at Memphis. It appears that the Egyptian people did not find it disturbing that he was a foreigner – nor that he was absent for virtually his entire reign.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Strudwick|first=Helen|title=The Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt|publisher=Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.|year=2006|isbn=978-1-4351-4654-9|location=New York|pages=96–97}}</ref> Alexander restored the temples neglected by the Persians and dedicated new monuments to the Egyptian gods. In the temple of Luxor, near Karnak, he built a chapel for the sacred barge. During his brief months in Egypt, he reformed the taxation system on the Greek models and organized the military occupation of the country, but in early 331 BC he left for Asia in pursuit of the Persians.<ref name=":0" />

Alexander advanced on Egypt in later 332 BC where he was regarded as a liberator.<ref>{{harvnb|Ring|Salkin|Berney|Schellinger|1994|pp=49, 320}}</ref> To legitimize taking power and be recognized as the descendant of the long line of pharaohs, Alexander made sacrifices to the gods at Memphis and went to consult the famous oracle of Amun-Ra at the [[Siwa Oasis]] in the [[Ancient Libya|Libyan]] desert,<ref name=":0" /> at which he was pronounced the son of the deity [[Amun]].{{sfn|Bosworth|1988|pp=71–74}} Henceforth, Alexander often referred to [[Zeus-Ammon]] as his true father, and after his death, [[Horns of Alexander|currency depicted him adorned with horns]], using the [[Horns of Ammon]] as a symbol of his divinity.<ref>{{harvnb|Dahmen|2007|pp=10–11}}</ref> The Greeks interpreted this message – one that the gods addressed to all pharaohs – as a prophecy.<ref name=":0" />

During his stay in Egypt, he founded [[Alexandria]], which would become the prosperous capital of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom]] after his death.<ref>{{harvnb|Arrian|1976|loc=III, 1}}</ref> Control of Egypt passed to Ptolemy I (son of Lagos), the founder of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (305–30 BC) after the death of Alexander.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=616}}