Tale of Two cities: Alexandria and Nalanda

Recently, I found myself drawn into the stories of two great ancient places of learning: Alexandria in Egypt and Nalanda in India. One book told of a city that tried to gather all knowledge under one roof; the other described a place where knowledge was lived—where students stayed, debated, meditated, and grew together.

In a curious turn of history, Alexander the Great has connections to both cities.

In 331 BCE, after conquering Egypt, Alexander chose a modest coastal settlement and imagined something far larger—a cosmopolitan capital that would bind cultures together. Under Ptolemy I and especially his son, Ptolemy II, the Library of Alexandria became a bold experiment: to collect the world’s scrolls, to translate them, to preserve them, to expand them. At its height, it contained 400,000-700,000 scrolls. Scholars from distant lands arrived to study, translate, and exchange ideas. 

In 48 BCE, during the military campaign of Julius Caesar, fire swept parts of the city and destroyed the library. The great library continued in a lesser way for a while. 

Alexandria was a commercial port in ancient times and was a bridge between the Mediterranean and India. When the Ottoman Empire controlled the traditional trade routes, Europe searched for another way to India. In 1498, Vasco da Gama rounded the Cape of Good Hope and altered the course of global history.

I visited Alexandria in 2023. There is a new great library, Bibliotheca Alexandrina (assumed to be in the same area as the original library).  

Nalanda

After Alexander invaded India in 326 BCE, there was growing resistance in the northwest against foreign invaders. With the help of Chanakya, Chandragupta Maurya established the Maurya Empire.

His grandson, Ashoka, after converting to Buddhism, supported Buddhist institutions across his empire in the 3rd century BCE. However, there is no firm evidence that Nalanda was formally established in his time. It likely began as a modest monastic center. Only in the 5th century CE did Nalanda rise to prominence as a Mahavihara — a great seat of learning.

That is the connection to Alexander (indirect, but a historical overlap).

At its height, Nalanda housed around 8,000–10,000 students and about 1,500 teachers, according to historical accounts. Besides students from India, many international scholars from China, Korea, Tibet, and Southeast Asia came to study. Records suggest that the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang studied and later taught there, carrying its intellectual spirit back to China. Another monk, Yijing, also left detailed accounts of Nalanda.

Wu Zetian of China was a strong supporter of Buddhism and sponsored translation projects of Buddhistscriptures, further strengthening the intellectual links between India and China.

Nalanda continued its prominence until the late 12th century and then started to decline due to invasion and the loss of support. Nalanda gradually declined and faded by the 14th century, until it was discovered in the 19th century by Alexander Cunningham, a British archaeologist. I plan to visit Nalanda in 2027. 

Both are good books worth reading.

Feb 2026