The Siege of Alexandria was a battle of Caesar's Civil War and the Alexandrine Civil War which occurred from 48 to 47 BC when the army of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt besieged Julius Caesar's two Roman legions at their encampment in the Egyptian capital of Alexandria.
Caesar had come to Egypt with 3,000 Roman legionaries and 800 Germanic cavalry auxiliaries both to pursue the fugitive Optimate leader Pompey following his defeat at the Battle of Pharsalus, as well as to mediate an end to the civil war between the sibling co-rulers of Egypt, Ptolemy XIII and Cleopatra, as the Egyptian civil war was disrupting Rome's grain supply. Caesar landed in Alexandria and arrogantly occupied parts of Alexandria's royal quarter before meeting with Pharaoh Ptolemy XIII, his chamberlain Pothinus, his general Achillas, and his palace official Theodotus of Chios. Caesar demanded a payment of 10 million denarii towards a debt of the late Ptolemy XII Auletes, as well as the return of Cleopatra to Alexandria to resume peaceful co-rule with the young Ptolemy. He was horrified when Ptolemy had his officials gift him the severed head and ring of Pompey, whom they had murdered upon his landing in Egypt three days earlier, hoping to avert Caesar's wrath.
Pothinus was angered by Caesar's brazen takeover of the royal quarter of Alexandria, his large monetary demand, and Caesar's opening of covert talks with Cleopatra, so he summoned Achillas' 20,000-strong army to Alexandria to besiege the Romans in the royal quarter. The Roman admiral Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa reported to Caesar that the Egyptian war galleys in the harbor had begun to take on large quantities of men and weapons, so Caesar ordered a surprise fire attack; the fire unintentionally spread to the Great Library of Alexandria and other limited parts of the city; the library suffered minimal damage. The fighting was initially fierce, but the Romans destroyed the Egyptian ballistae besieging the royal quarter after forming a testudo ("turtle") and charging out of the gates. After Caesar discovered that Pothinus was in communication with the besiegers, and that he had attempted to assassinate Cleopatra through poisoning, Caesar had Pothinus executed. Meanwhile, Cleopatra's younger sister Arsinoe IV escaped the capital and joined the Egyptian army, which proclaimed her queen, and she had Achillas murdered before assuming command of the army and renewing the siege. Caesar was in a desperate position until Caesar's Legio XXXVII arrived with supplies and artillery, and the Roman navy also established naval supremacy after a battle in the harbor. The Romans proceeded to repulse several strong enemy attacks, in spite of suffering over 800 losses in the defense of Pharos Island. Shortly after, an Egyptian delegation approached Caesar and offered to exchange Arsinoe for Ptolemy XIII, who was still in Caesar's custody; the army had grown tired of Arsinoe's despotism. Caesar released Ptolemy to rejoin his army, having him take Theodotus with him; he knew that they would soon be caught between his legions and Mithridates I of the Bosporus' army and crushed in the ensuing battle. When Mithridates' forces stormed Pelusium, Ptolemy was forced to lift the siege of Alexandria to confront him.
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