Ancient Alexandria and Modern LA: Riotous Behaviors

We compare and contrast riots in Ancient Alexandria with modern Los Angeles, including the current unrest.  

Transcript

Ancient Alexandria and Modern LA: Riotous Behaviors 

June 2025

The limitation of riots, moral questions aside, is that they cannot win, and their participants are aware of this. Hence, rioting is not revolutionary but reactionary because it invites defeat. It involves an emotional catharsis, but it must be followed by a sense of futility.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Rioting is a childish way of trying to be a man, but it takes time to rise out of the hell of hatred and frustration and accept that to be a man, you don't have to riot. 

Abraham Maslow

The fun of writing history is that you start with a question (not a statement) and then let the facts or information be your guide.  My questions: What were some significant riots throughout history, and what commonalities did they share?  I wanted to provide a historical view of the current riots taking place in LA.  My original podcast was about riots throughout history.  I had some ancient ones from Athens, Rome, and Constantinople.  In the modern era, events range from the Haymarket Riot in Chicago in 1886 to the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989.  However, as often happens, the research journey opened up something else.  For reasons we will explore in this podcast, Alexandria has experienced numerous riots throughout its 500-year history.  And though we have seen riots in the United States in New York, Chicago, and Detroit, Los Angeles seems to be far more susceptible to riots than other cities.  

After conducting the research, commonalities not just between the various riots but these two cities in and of themselves came to the fore.  

Alexandria is currently the second-largest city in Egypt and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile River Delta. It is in lower Egypt.  This can be confusing because Westerners tend to equate 'upper' with 'North' and 'lower' with 'South'.  Egypt is the opposite; therefore, Alexandria is located in the north of the country, as is the Delta.  Founded in 331 BC by Alexander the Great, Alexandria grew rapidly and became a major center of Hellenic civilization, eventually replacing Memphis, near present-day Cairo, as the capital. It retained this status for almost a millennium, through the periods of Roman and Eastern Roman rule, until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 AD, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (later absorbed into Cairo).

One of the distinguishing aspects of Alexandria, when compared to other ancient cities such as Jerusalem, Athens, or Rome, was its intentional planning to make it a great city.  Whereas Rome grew from a farming village along the Tiber River, Alexandria was a preconceived project.  Unlike RRome'swinding streets and haphazard buildings, Alexandria was built on a grid with specific quarters laid out.  For example, there was a place for native Egyptians, Greeks, and Jews.  If a Roman wanted to find a bunch of Jews, he had to go searching for pockets of them. An Alexandrian Greek knew just where to find them.  

Alexandria was the intellectual and cultural center of the ancient Mediterranean for much of the Hellenistic age and late antiquity. It was once the largest city in the ancient world before eventually being overtaken by Rome. The city originated as the capital of the Ptolemaic Dynasty following Alexander's death in 323 BC.  Later, it was a major center of early Christianity and was the location of the Patriarchate of Alexandria in the Eastern Roman Empire. 

I will not delve into the convoluted politics of the later Ptolemaic dynasty, but in a series of riots, the Alexandrian mob intervened in various succession plans.  In 88 BC, the Alexandrians expelled Ptolemy X and restored his older brother, Ptolemy IX, to the throne. He reigned alone until 81 BC, when he appointed his daughter Berenice III as co-regent shortly before his death. She succeeded him as ruler. A will required Ptolemy XI to marry Berenice, who was his stepmother, cousin, and possible half-sister. Nineteen days after the marriage, Ptolemy murdered his bride for unknown reasons, an unwise move since Berenice was very popular. Ptolemy was soon lynched by a rioting group of citizens in Alexandria.

Ptolemy XI was succeeded by a son of Ptolemy IX (remember how I described all of this as convoluted?), Ptolemy XII, nicknamed Auletes, the flute player.  In 58 BC, Auletes was driven out by another Alexandrian mob, but the Romans restored him to power three years later.   And later, Julius Caesar, in support of Cleopatra VII, faced another Alexandrian mob, this one backed by an Egyptian army.  Caesar, being Caesar, prevailed over both the military and the mob but wrecked much of the city in the process.   

After Octavian acceded to total power, he formally annexed Egypt into the Roman Empire. Following the suicide of Cleopatra VII and the mysterious disappearance of Ptolemy XV, Cleopatra's son by Caesar, the Ptolemies ceased to exist.  The rioting, however, continued.  

Renske Janssen, a researcher for Leiden University, writes in the Latin Society, "In 38 CE, large-scale riots broke out between Greek and Jewish Alexandrians, and while the exact causes of these disturbances remain the subject of extensive debate to this day, it is nonetheless possible to trace the course of events by studying the writings of the contemporary author Philo of Alexandria, who was a member of the Jewish community and experienced the riots in person.  From Philo's writings, we get the impression that the riots were the result of deeply rooted dissatisfaction, which had been building up for years before finally erupting into the open during the early years of Caligula's reign." And, of course, when the rioting began, the Jewish quarter was targeted.  

Matters soon escalated, and after the synagogues of the city had been desecrated or destroyed, Jewish inhabitants were rounded up into a single district of the city and exposed to violence. Meanwhile, the Roman prefect Flaccus chose the side of the Greek rioters and formally declared the Jews aliens and foreigners. Later, another riot in 66 saw thousands of Jews dead. 

In 391, Theophilus, the patriarch of Alexandria, was encouraged to suppress paganism in Alexandria by edicts issued from the Roman Empire, which called for the strict enforcement of Christianity as the official religion of the empire. He first took the cult objects from a pagan temple to parade them on the street in an insulting manner. This resulted in a riot that caused Christians to lose their lives. This then resulted in a counter-riot of Christians against the Pagans, who learned the hard way that they were not outnumbered.  Four months after publicizing his first edict, the Roman emperor Theodosius I felt obliged to repeat his prohibition against pagan worship, this time addressing it to the military governor and prefect in Egypt.

The pagans of Alexandria resolved to take refuge in the Serapeum and fortify it against attack; captured Christians were forced by the pagans to sacrifice there and were tortured if they refused to do so. Theodosius stated that the slain Christians were to be considered martyrs, but he also wanted to pardon the pagans who barricaded themselves in the Serapeum. The pagans were later released, but their temple, and ultimately their religion, was obliterated. 

There were other riots. 

In a piece by Stephanie Hinnershitz for the National World War II Museum, the author describes one of Los Angeles' first big riots in 1943.  

"thousands of Angelenos turned out for a mass lynching," he reported. "mob of several thousand soldiers, sailors, and civilians" stopped streetcars carrying patrons throughout the metro area, jerked "Mexicans, and some Filipinos and Negroes . . . out of their seats," and beat them "with sadistic frenzy." McWilliams was stunned as the mob continued to move through downtown Los Angeles, wreaking havoc and seemingly unstoppable. McWilliams soon learned that the attackers that night were looking for "very zoot-suiter they could find."

Hinnershitz adds, "Or the hundreds of predominantly Mexican American victims of what became known as the Zoot Suit Riots, a jacket and a pair of pants marked them as criminals for white servicemembers and civilians searching for someone to blame for the inability to keep up with its growing population. The violence that beset Los Angeles was the product of rising racial tensions brought on by a variety of wartime factors across the United States in 1943."

1965

The Watts Riots, a major civil disturbance, erupted in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles on August 11, 1965, and lasted for six days. Sparked by a police arrest of a black motorist, the riots resulted in 34 deaths, over 1,000 injuries, nearly 4,000 arrests, and $40 million in property damage (almost half a billion in today's dollars). The incident highlighted deep-seated racial tensions and socioeconomic inequalities in the community. 

1968 – Two major riots

The LA riots of 1968 primarily refer to the East Los Angeles Walkouts (also known as the Chicano Blowouts), which were a series of protests by Chicano students against inequities in the Los Angeles Unified School District. These protests, which began in March 1968, involved thousands of students and were sparked by issues such as overcrowded classrooms, a lack of college preparation courses, and systemic discrimination. While the protests initially focused on educational issues, they quickly escalated into a broader movement for civil rights and social justice. 

In April of 1968, with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, many cities across the United States erupted in violence. Ironically, though there were several disturbances in LA, experience with the Watts riots probably averted something far more destructive.  Los Angeles Police Department and community activists averted a repeat of the 1965 riots that devastated portions of the city. Several memorials were held in tribute to the King throughout the Los Angeles area on the days leading up to his funeral service.

Los Angeles – 1992

The city of Los Angeles again descended into widespread unrest on April 29, 1992, after a jury acquitted four white police officers who were videotaped beating Rodney King, a black man. Over several days, more than 60 people died, while another 2,000 were injured. More than 1,000 buildings were defaced, resulting in damages that totaled approximately $1 billion (equivalent to nearly $2.2 billion today).   

President George H.W. Bush called up the National Guard under the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the President to deploy the typically state-controlled military force in certain situations involving invasions or insurrections, on the third day of the riots, at the behest of both the governor of California and the mayor of Los Angeles.

"That followed WWednesday'sjury verdict in the Rodney King case was a tragic series of events for the city of Los Angeles: Nearly 4,000 fires, staggering property damage, hundreds of injuries, and the senseless deaths of over 30 people," Bush said in an address at the time. He went on to announce the commitment of thousands of additional troops to the city "to help restore order" at the behest of the governor and mayor, and the federalization of the National Guard.

The riots we are now seeing in LA are both different and the same. They are the same because the targets tend to be, almost to a person, those hailing from South American countries, especially Mexico. There is, therefore, an ethnic element to this, as there was in almost all the other riots.  The key differentiator is that this is around a more specific issue, the deportation of illegal immigrants, rather than the wholesale dissatisfaction among African Americans with the justice system, as was the case in 1992.  

Additionally, during that year, both the governor of California and the mayor of LA asked the President for National Guard troops.  Sadly, because Newsom wishes to be President in 2028, he cannot be seen on the side of TTrump'sice nor seen to be assisting in any way the carrying out of a clear law; if you are here illegally, you are, by that fact, committing a crime and subject to deportation.  Newsom already put his progressive bona fides on the line by condemning men/boys playing in women/girls sports.  He will never go that far.  Stating the Democratic line was newly minted California Senator Adam Shiff.  "violence is never the answer. Assaulting law enforcement is never okay." So far, so good, but there is always the but, "Indeed, doing so plays directly into the hands of those who seek to antagonize and weaponize the situation for their gain." So, basically, the second part negates the first.  So rioting is bad, but doubly so because it helps Trump?  

Several large city mayors have expressed hostility to the removal of illegal aliens, including those presiding over Boston and Chicago.  However, it is once again Los Angeles that has the riot.  

This comes down to four factors, all of which are mirrored in the history of Ancient Alexandria.  

Ethnicities

Many riots throughout history have been centered on fundamental issues, such as food shortages and social class disparities.  The Richmond Bread Riot occurred on April 2, 1863, in the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia. It was a large and destructive protest by working-class women fueled by food shortages, rising prices, and the ongoing war.   One based on class involved a riot in Rome in 52 BC upon the murder of Publius Clodius, a champion of the poor in Rome.  During his funeral, the mob began to riot and eventually burned parts of the city, including the 400-year-old Senate house.  However, as we have seen in both Alexandria and Los Angeles, ethnicity — specifically Greek, Egyptian, and Jewish — played a significant role in Alexandria, while in modern-day Los Angeles, it is represented by white, black, and Hispanic communities.  

Big and Cosmopolitan

As noted, Rome grew from a minor Latin trading center to emerge as the preeminent power for Millennia.  But that was it.  Its cosmopolitan stature grew out of its imperial conquests.  Alexandria was dedicated by a Macedonian General, ruled by Macedonian descendants, and modeled on a Greek city, immediately hosting the largest number of Jews outside of Jerusalem.  And it was located in Egypt. Unlike the previous Pharaonic capitals of Memphis and Thebes, it was situated directly on the Mediterranean, with two massive harbors and a lighthouse so large that it was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world.  Because it was so open to shipping, it attracted a multitude of people who came to trade. There was no greater cosmopolitan city in the ancient world than Alexandria.  

In my January podcast on the History of LA, I noted that in 1892, a small agricultural village became a boomtown nearly overnight when oil was first discovered by sinking a well with a pick and a shovel. Since then, numerous additional oil discoveries have been made, and the city has grown in tandem with the oil industry, integrating it into the urban landscape.  Add to those other industries, such as entertainment and aeronautics, and that tiny 1890s frontier town boasted two million residents, including 340000 African Americans, just four decades later.  In contrast, New York City in 1830 was already a large city, with a population of 250,000, which grew to 818,000 by 1860 and to 2 million by 1900.  

The city of Phoenix, AZ, has grown exponentially in the past 40 years, partly due to the widespread adoption of Air Conditioning in most homes.  This technology is related to a city where the high temperature in April can routinely reach the 90s.  Ethnically, Phoenix is divided into two groups, with a population comprising over 82% White (41.8%), Hispanic (41.1%), and the remainder divided among Black (7.4%), Asian (4.0%), and Native American/Other (2.3%). Fellow California city San Francisco's White population makes up 50.8% of the population, while Asians account for 37.2%.  

Contrast this with LA. Though Phoenix and San Francisco are by no means white enclaves, they do not contain the mix of LA: 46.9% Hispanic or Latino, 28.9% White (alone, not Hispanic or Latino), 11.7% Asian, 8.3% Black or African American, 3.3% Two or more races, and 0.7%. Instead of two groups, you have four dominant ones, and even among these.  

Diverse peoples are kept diverse.  

One of the first comparisons that makes sense is that the melting pots never melted.  In the case of Alexandria, it was by design.  The Greek, Egyptian, and Jewish populations each had distinct living areas, although there is some debate about the exact locations and the degree of separation between them. Philo states that two of the five districts were inhabited mainly by Jews, while Josephus seems to limit them to the Delta quarter. Either way, Alexandria featured segregation not as an organic occurrence but rather as part of the plan.  

Not that the segregation in LA is enforced, but it has evolved that enclaves are both distinct by income and ethnicity.  Note the large Asian population in San Francisco.  Asian populations tend to integrate better than any others, and when one looks at per capita wealth or per capita income measures, they are the only group to exceed whites.  They are, in fact, the leading group economically in the United States.  Integration has not gone well in Los Angeles.

Jeremy Divinity wrote in 2020, "The public school system in Los Angeles isn't a system of equal opportunity, but instead is a system of haves and have-nots. It's as if two separate school systems support two different opportunity systems. One system is for the lower-income minority population, and the other is for the affluent." And when black and brown students are overlaid economically, it is a close match.  

Divinity adds, "You see the differences in schools that are just freeway exits apart. These differences are by design and not accidental but rather systemically engineered. In the LA school system, zip code and socioeconomic status determine the quality of education Angelenos receive."

Second Cities 

Those demographics?  No city in the US (with the possible exception of Miami) is more diverse than New York City. The largest racial groups are White (Non-Hispanic) (30.9%), Hispanic or Latino (28.3%), Black or African American (Non-Hispanic) (20.2%), and Asian (Non-Hispanic) (15.6%).  And to be sure, New York has had its troubles, including the Stonewall riots of 1969.  However, that one was kept localized, and there is no similarity to the Watts or Rodney King incidents. For whatever reason, there is an onus to keep New York as riot-free as possible, which is not unlike LA.  

Rome also experienced a lot of unrest, but with the emperors (and their Praetorian Guard on hand), it was different from what was happening in Alexandria.  

Class Distinctions 

All large cities have class differentiations, but Los Angeles has both Bel Air and Watts, Pacific Palisades and South LA, Anaheim, and Compton.  New York, too, has class distinctions, and in 1863, this led to a riot during the Civil War.  But even that was also about the draft.  The very glitziness of LA lends itself to comparisons not as stark as in other American cities.  

Since this is, after all, the Conservative Historian, you will be astonished to learn I believe riots are never okay, regardless of the outcome, in a representative Republic such as ours.  And I find this latest unrest puzzling.  It is against the law to be here without permission. It is illegal to burn cars or throw rocks at the police.  It is also unlawful and highly irritating to block traffic for busy Angelenos who are just trying to go about their business.   Which brings me to the point that Martin Luther King jr was trying to make.  What did the riots in Alexandria do? Weaken the Ptolemaic dynasty to the point where it was even easier for Rome to take over? Be one of the hundreds of groups, like Hamas today, to persecute Jews?  Did the rioting pagans help themselves by assaulting the more numerous Christians? Did the Christians betray the tenets of their faith by behaving like the worst of barbarians?  

And what have the riots in LA wrought?  Are African Americans better off through the auspices of the Watts and Rodney King riots?  And will the cause of immigrants, whom I firmly believe are a necessary part of the future of this Republic?  We live in a giant Ponzi scheme where the old take from the young in the form of social security and Medicare. We need more, young workers to make our current system work regardless of what MAGA meatheads claim.  All the rioters did this week, by torching cars, blocking traffic and assaulting police, and mostly by flying not American but Mexican flags, is to set back the plight of all immigrants.  Ultimately, please heed King's words.  Riots only exacerbate the situation.