In BC 525, the Persian warrior Cambyses, son of Cyrus the Great, led an invasion force that dethroned the last pharaoh of the 26th dynasty.The country remained a Persian province until the conquest of Alexander the Great in BC 332.This legendary figure founded and gave his name to Alexandria,the port city that became one of the great centers of the Mediteranean world. Located there was another "wonder"-the lighthouse at Pharos-and the largest libraries of the ancient world. With a population of 300,000, the city was a center of Hellenistic and Jewish culture. After Alexander's death in BC 323, the Macedonian commander, Ptolemy,
established personal control over Egypt, assuming the title of pharaoh in BC 304. The Ptolemaic line ended in BC 30 with the suicide of Queen Cleopatra. The Emperor Augustus then established direct Roman control over Egypt, initiating almost seven centuries of Roman and Byzantine rule. According to tradition, St. Mark brought Christianity to Egypt in AD 37. The church in Alexandria was founded about AD 40, and the new religion spread quickly,
reaching Upper Egypt by the second century.