The traditional interpretation of a legendary, though controversial, fourth century text of Ammianus Marcellinus is that an earthquake-generated tsunami hit Alexandria on 21 July 365. The causative earthquake is usually associated with the Aegean Arc, and it has been modeled through elastic dislocation of the up to 9 m uplift of Crete which occurred in ca. 365. A rather steep, intra-plate fault was inferred, and this predicts a regional tsunami, with about 0.6-m-high waves just offshore Alexandria. However, modeling does not reproduce the tsunami polarity clearly described by Ammianus, first major retreat of the sea and then flooding; this polarity can better be explained by a slump-generated tsunami in the eastern part of the Nile Delta. On the other hand, analysis of historical and archaeological evidence excludes the possibility of a major destruction of Alexandria in 365. The possible explanation for this puzzle is that Ammianus mixes at least two events: a slump-generated, locally impressive tsunami to east and a regional tsunami from Crete. None of these events produced significant destruction in Alexandria, which was protected by fortification walls and by an islet to the north, and in addition, it was exposed mostly to longshore waves of the 365 tsunami. These results do not mean that Alexandria has not been affected by other historical tsunamis and that the modern town is not exposed to earthquake and tsunami hazards.

中文翻译：

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埃及亚历山大港和克里特岛的公元365年海棉海啸。365断层和海啸

传统的关于Ammianus Marcellinus的四世纪传奇文本（尽管有争议）的传统解释是，地震引发的海啸袭击了365年7月21日的亚历山大。原因地震通常与爱琴海弧有关，并且它是通过对大约在9月发生的克里特岛9 m隆起。365.推断出板块内有一个相当陡峭的断层，这预示着区域性海啸，亚历山大海域附近海浪约有0.6m高。但是，建模无法重现Ammianus清楚描述的海啸极性，即先是大海的大撤退，然后是洪水。这种极性可以用尼罗河三角洲东部坍塌引起的海啸来更好地解释。另一方面，对历史和考古证据的分析排除了在365年亚历山大大毁灭的可能性。这个难题的可能解释是，Ammianus至少混合了两个事件：坍塌产生的，东边的局部海啸和克里特岛的局部海啸。这些事件都没有在亚历山大大帝造成严重破坏，亚历山大大帝受到设防城墙和北部小岛的保护，此外，大部份暴露于365海啸的长岸海浪中。这些结果并不意味着亚历山大没有受到其他历史海啸的影响，也不意味着现代城镇没有遭受地震和海啸的危害。东部地区发生局部海啸，克里特岛发生地区性海啸。这些事件都没有在亚历山大大帝造成严重破坏，亚历山大大帝受到设防城墙和北部小岛的保护，此外，大部份暴露于365海啸的长岸海浪中。这些结果并不意味着亚历山大没有受到其他历史海啸的影响，也不意味着现代城镇没有遭受地震和海啸的危害。东部地区发生局部海啸，克里特岛发生地区性海啸。这些事件都没有在亚历山大大帝造成严重破坏，亚历山大大帝受到设防城墙和北部小岛的保护，此外，大部份暴露于365海啸的长岸海浪中。这些结果并不意味着亚历山大没有受到其他历史海啸的影响，也不意味着现代城镇没有遭受地震和海啸的危害。