A new study suggests that Alexandria on the Tigris was more than a regional city; it functioned as a capital of ancient global trade, linking India, Mesopotamia, and the Mediterranean for more than five centuries.
Founded by Alexander the Great, the city stood at a strategic junction where sea routes met inland river systems. Its location allowed ships arriving from the Persian Gulf to transfer goods directly onto river transport moving north through Mesopotamia. Scholars say the model resembled Alexandria, which was also built to connect maritime and inland trade networks.
The research is led by Stefan Hauser of the University of Konstanz, working with British archaeologists Jane Moon, Robert Killick, and Stuart Campbell. Since 2016, the team has used geophysical scanning, thousands of drone images, and systematic surface surveys to map the buried city without large-scale excavation.
A planned metropolis at the edge of the empire
The findings show that Alexandria on the Tigris was a carefully designed urban center. Evidence points to a structured layout, likely built on a grid plan. Public buildings appear concentrated in central zones. Residential quarters are spread outward in organized districts.
Wide streets and open spaces suggest strong administrative oversight. The scale of construction indicates access to significant resources and labor. Researchers say the city was built not only as a commercial port but as a seat of authority at the eastern edge of Alexander’s expanding empire.
The settlement later became known as Charax Spasinou (Greek: Σπασίνου Χάραξ). For more than 550 years, it served as a political center and trade hub in what is now southern Iraq. Its position near the head of the Persian Gulf allowed it to regulate traffic between maritime trade and inland markets.
A gateway for Indian and Asian luxuries
Material evidence reveals the city’s global reach. Surface finds include pottery and imported goods tied to distant regions. Researchers say spices, exotic woods such as palisander, and semi-precious stones from India passed through the port. Evidence also suggests that Chinese silk and other luxury commodities circulated through the city.
Merchants transported these goods north along the Tigris and Euphrates toward major urban centers in Babylonia. Some products likely continued west toward Mediterranean markets.
The diversity of artifacts points to a cosmopolitan population. Traders, officials, and craftspeople from different regions likely lived and worked side by side. Scholars say the city operated as a key transfer point in ancient long-distance trade.
Environmental change and modern rediscovery
Researchers believe geological shifts contributed to the city’s eventual decline. Changes in river channels and sediment buildup may have limited access to navigable waterways. As trade routes shifted, the city’s strategic advantage likely weakened.
For decades, the site remained largely unexplored. The location, now known as Jebel Khayyaber, lies about 9 miles (15 kilometers) from the Iranian border. During the Iran–Iraq War, the region became a battleground, and military installations were built on parts of the ruins.
When researchers began fieldwork, large areas of northern Iraq and Syria were still under the control of the militant group Islamic State. Strict security measures limited access to the landscape.
Despite these challenges, modern survey technology has revealed the scale of the buried metropolis. Scholars now argue that Alexandria on the Tigris was not a peripheral settlement. It was a deliberate imperial foundation that controlled the movement of wealth between Asia and the Mediterranean world — a lost capital of ancient global trade.
