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Ptolemaic Kingdom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Ptolemaic Kingdom (/ˌtɒləˈmeɪ.ɪk/; Greek: Πτολεμαϊκὴ
βασιλεία, Ptolemaïkḕ Basileía)[1] was a Hellenistic kingdom in
Egypt. It was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty that Ptolemy I
Soter founded after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC
—which ended with the death of Cleopatra VII and the Roman
conquest in 30 BC.
The Ptolemaic Kingdom was founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I
Soter, who declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt and created a
powerful Hellenistic dynasty that ruled an area stretching from
southern Syria to Cyrene and south to Nubia. Alexandria
became the capital city and a center of Greek culture and trade.
To gain recognition by the native Egyptian populace, they named
themselves the successors to the Pharaohs. The later Ptolemies
took on Egyptian traditions by marrying their siblings, had
themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and
dress, and participated in Egyptian religious life. The Ptolemies
had to fight native rebellions and were involved in foreign and
civil wars that led to the decline of the kingdom and its
annexation by Rome. Hellenistic culture continued to thrive in
Egypt throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods until the
Muslim conquest.
Ptolemaic Kingdom
Πτολεμαϊκὴ βασιλεία
Ptolemaïkḕ Basileía
←
305 BC–30 BC
Ptolemaic dynasty, in blue.
Capital
Alexandria
Languages
Greek, Egyptian,
Berber
Religion
Ancient Greek
religion,
Ancient Egyptian
religion
Government
Pharaoh
- 305–283 BC
- 51–30 BC
Monarchy
Contents
1 History
1.1 Background
1.2 Establishment
1.3 Ptolemy I
1.4 Ptolemy II
1.5 Ptolemy III
1.6 The decline of the Ptolemies
1.7 The later Ptolemies
1.8 Cleopatra
1.9 Roman rule
2 Culture
2.1 Art
2.2 Social situation
2.3 Coinage
2.4 Military
3 Cities
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→
Ptolemy I Soter (first)
Cleopatra (last)
History
- Established
- Disestablished
305 BC
30 BC
Currency
Greek Drachma
Today part of
Cyprus
Egypt
Greece
Israel
Libya
Turkey
Palestine
Lebanon
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Syria
Jordan
3.1 Naucratis
3.2 Alexandria
3.3 Ptolemais
4 Demographics
4.1 Arabs under the Ptolemies
4.2 Jews under the Ptolemies
5 Agriculture
6 Ptolemaic rulers
6.1 List
6.2 Simplified Ptolemaic family tree
6.3 Other members of the Ptolemaic dynasty
6.4 Medical analysis
7 See also
8 References
9 Further reading
10 External links
History
The era of Ptolemaic reign in Egypt is one of the most well documented time periods of the Hellenistic Era; a wealth
of papyri written by Greeks and Egyptians of the time have been discovered in Egypt.[2]
Background
In 332 BC, Alexander the Great, King of Macedon invaded the Achaemenid satrapy of Egypt.[3] He visited
Memphis, and traveled to the oracle of Amun at the Oasis of Siwa. The oracle declared him to be the son of Amun.
He conciliated the Egyptians by the respect he showed for their religion, but he appointed Greeks to virtually all the
senior posts in the country, and founded a new Greek city, Alexandria, to be the new capital. The wealth of Egypt
could now be harnessed for Alexander's conquest of the rest of the Persian Empire. Early in 331 BC he was ready
to depart, and led his forces away to Phoenicia. He left Cleomenes as the ruling nomarch to control Egypt in his
absence. Alexander never returned to Egypt.
Establishment
Following Alexander's death in
Babylon in 323 BC,[4] a
succession crisis erupted among
his generals. Initially, Perdiccas
ruled the empire as regent for
Alexander's half-brother
Arrhidaeus, who became Philip
III of Macedon, and then as
regent for both Philip III and
Alexander's infant son Alexander
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ptolemaic_Kingdom
History of Egypt
This article is part of a series
Prehistoric Egypt pre–3100 BCE
Ancient Egypt
Early Dynastic Period 3100–2686 BCE
Old Kingdom 2686–2181 BCE
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IV of Macedon, who had not
been born at the time of his
father's death. Perdiccas
appointed Ptolemy, one of
Alexander's closest companions,
to be satrap of Egypt. Ptolemy
ruled Egypt from 323 BC,
nominally in the name of the joint
kings Philip III and Alexander IV.
However, as Alexander the
Great's empire disintegrated,
Ptolemy soon established himself
as ruler in his own right. Ptolemy
successfully defended Egypt
against an invasion by Perdiccas
in 321 BCE, and consolidated his
position in Egypt and the
surrounding areas during the
Wars of the Diadochi (322–301
BC). In 305 BC, Ptolemy took
the title of King. As Ptolemy I
Soter ("Saviour"), he founded the
Ptolemaic dynasty that was to
rule Egypt for nearly 300 years.
Ptolemaic Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1st Intermediate Period 2181–2055 BCE
Middle Kingdom 2055–1650 BCE
2nd Intermediate Period 1650–1550 BCE
New Kingdom 1550–1069 BCE
3rd Intermediate Period 1069–664 BCE
Late Period 664–332 BCE
Achaemenid Egypt 525–332 BCE
Classical Antiquity
Ptolemaic Egypt 332–30 BCE
Roman & Byzantine Egypt 30 BCE–641 CE
Sassanid Egypt 621–629
Middle Ages
Arab Egypt 641–969
Fatimid Egypt 969–1171
Ayyubid Egypt 1171–1250
Mamluk Egypt 1250–1517
Early Modern
Ottoman Egypt 1517–1867
French occupation 1798–1801
Egypt under Muhammad Ali 1805–1882
Khedivate of Egypt 1867–1914
Modern Egypt
British occupation 1882–1953
Sultanate of Egypt 1914–1922
Kingdom of Egypt 1922–1953
Republic 1953–present
Egypt portal
V · T · E (//en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:History_of_Egypt&action=edit)
All the male rulers of the dynasty
took the name "Ptolemy", while
princesses and queens preferred the names Cleopatra, Arsinoe and Berenice. Because the Ptolemaic kings adopted
the Egyptian custom of marrying their sisters, many of the kings ruled jointly with their spouses, who were also of
the royal house. This custom made Ptolemaic politics confusingly incestuous, and the later Ptolemies were
increasingly feeble. The only Ptolemaic Queens to officially rule on their own were Berenice III and Berenice IV.
Cleopatra V did co-rule, but it was with another female, Berenice IV. Cleopatra VII officially co-ruled with
Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, Ptolemy XIV, and Ptolemy XV, but effectively, she ruled Egypt alone.
The early Ptolemies did not disturb the religion or the customs of the Egyptians, and indeed built magnificent new
temples for the Egyptian gods and soon adopted the outward display of the Pharaohs of old. During the reign of
Ptolemies II and III thousands of Greek veterans were rewarded with grants of farm lands, and Greeks were
planted in colonies and garrisons or settled themselves in the villages throughout the country. Upper Egypt, farthest
from the centre of government, was less immediately affected, even though Ptolemy I established the Greek colony
of Ptolemais Hermiou to be its capital. But within a century Greek influence had spread through the country and
intermarriage had produced a large Greco-Egyptian educated class. Nevertheless, the Greeks always remained a
privileged minority in Ptolemaic Egypt. They lived under Greek law, received a Greek education, were tried in
Greek courts, and were citizens of Greek cities.
Ptolemy I
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The first part of Ptolemy I's reign was dominated by the Wars of the Diadochi between the various successor states
to the empire of Alexander. His first object was to hold his position in Egypt securely, and secondly to increase his
domain. Within a few years he had gained control of Libya, CoeleSyria (including Judea), and Cyprus. When Antigonus, ruler of
Syria, tried to reunite Alexander's empire, Ptolemy joined the
coalition against him. In 312 BC, allied with Seleucus, the ruler of
Babylonia, he defeated Demetrius, the son of Antigonus, in the
battle of Gaza.
In 311 BC, a peace was concluded between the combatants, but in
309 BC war broke out again, and Ptolemy occupied Corinth and
other parts of Greece, although he lost Cyprus after a sea-battle in
Corinthian pillar of the Ptolemaic period,
306 BC. Antigonus then tried to invade Egypt but Ptolemy held the
Egypt.
frontier against him. When the coalition was renewed against
Antigonus in 302 BC, Ptolemy joined it, but neither he nor his army
were present when Antigonus was defeated and killed at Ipsus. He had instead taken the opportunity to secure
Coele-Syria and Palestine, in breach of the agreement assigning it to Seleucus, thereby setting the scene for the
future Syrian Wars.[5] Thereafter Ptolemy tried to stay out of land wars, but he retook Cyprus in 295 BC.
Feeling the kingdom was now secure, Ptolemy shared rule with his son Ptolemy II by Queen Berenice in 285 BC.
He then may have devoted his retirement to writing a history of the campaigns of Alexander—which unfortunately
was lost but was a principal source for the later work of Arrian. Ptolemy I died in 283 BC at the age of 84. He left
a stable and well-governed kingdom to his son.
Ptolemy II
Ptolemy II Philadelphus, who succeeded his father as King of Egypt in 283 BC,[6] was a peaceable and cultured
king, and no great warrior. He did not need to be, because his father had left Egypt strong and prosperous. Three
years of campaigning at the start of his reign (called the First Syrian War) left Ptolemy the master of the eastern
Mediterranean, controlling the Aegean islands and the coastal districts of Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lycia and Caria.
However, some of these territories were lost near the end of his reign as a result of the Second Syrian War.
Ptolemy's first wife, Arsinoe I, daughter of Lysimachus, was the mother of his legitimate children. After her
repudiation he followed Egyptian custom and married his sister, Arsinoë II, beginning a practice that, while pleasing
to the Egyptian population, had serious consequences in later reigns.[7] The material and literary splendour of the
Alexandrian court was at its height under Ptolemy II. Callimachus, keeper of the Library of Alexandria, Theocritus
and a host of other poets, glorified the Ptolemaic family. Ptolemy himself was eager to increase the library and to
patronise scientific research. He spent lavishly on making Alexandria the economic, artistic and intellectual capital of
the Hellenistic Greek world. It is to the academies and libraries of Alexandria that we owe the preservation of so
much Greek literary heritage.
Ptolemy III
Ptolemy III Euergetes ("the benefactor") succeeded his father in 246 BC. He abandoned his predecessors' policy
of keeping out of the wars of the other Greek kingdoms, and plunged into the Third Syrian War with the Seleucids
of Syria, when his sister, Queen Berenice, and her son were murdered in a dynastic dispute. Ptolemy marched
triumphantly into the heart of the Seleucid realm, as far as Babylonia, while his fleets in the Aegean made fresh
conquests as far north as Thrace.
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This victory marked the zenith of the Ptolemaic power. Seleucus II Callinicus kept his throne, but Egyptian fleets
controlled most of the coasts of Asia Minor and Greece. After this triumph Ptolemy no longer engaged actively in
war, although he supported the enemies of Macedon in Greek politics. His domestic policy differed from his father's
in that he patronised the native Egyptian religion more liberally: he has left larger traces among the Egyptian
monuments. In this his reign marks the gradual "Egyptianisation" of the Ptolemies.
The decline of the Ptolemies
In 221 BC, Ptolemy III
died and was succeeded
by his son Ptolemy IV
Philopator, a weak and
corrupt king under whom
the decline of the
Ptolemaic kingdom
began. His reign was
inaugurated by the murder
of his mother, and he was
Ptolemaic Empire in 200 BC. Also showing
always under the influence
neighboring powers.
of favourites, male and
female, who controlled
the government. Nevertheless his
ministers were able to make serious
Statue of Ptolemy III in the
preparations to meet the attacks of
guise of Hermes wearing the
Antiochus III the Great on Coelechlamys cloak. Ptolemaic
Syria, and the great Egyptian victory of
Egypt.
Raphia in 217 BC secured the
kingdom. A sign of the domestic
weakness of his reign was the rebellions by native Egyptians that took
away over half the country for over 20 years. Philopator was devoted to
orgiastic religions and to literature. He married his sister Arsinoë, but was
ruled by his mistress Agathoclea.
Ptolemy V Epiphanes, son of Philopator and Arsinoë, was a child when
he came to the throne, and a series of regents ran the kingdom.
Antiochus III of The Seleucid Empire and Philip V of Macedon made a
compact to seize the Ptolemaic possessions. Philip seized several islands
Ring of Ptolemy VI Philometor as
and places in Caria and Thrace, while the battle of Panium in 198 BC
Egyptian pharaoh. Louvre Museum.
transferred Coele-Syria from Ptolemeic to Seleucid control. After this
defeat Egypt formed an alliance with the rising power in the
Mediterranean, Rome. Once he reached adulthood Epiphanes became a tyrant, before his early death in 180 BC.
He was succeeded by his infant son Ptolemy VI Philometor.
In 170 BC, Antiochus IV Epiphanes invaded Egypt and deposed Philometor, and his younger brother (later
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II) was installed as a puppet king. When Antiochus withdrew, the brothers agreed to reign
jointly with their sister Cleopatra II. They soon fell out, however, and quarrels between the two brothers allowed
Rome to interfere and to steadily increase its influence in Egypt. Eventually Philometor regained the throne. In 145
BC he was killed in the Battle of Antioch.
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The later Ptolemies
Philometor was succeeded by yet another infant, his son Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator. But Euergetes soon
returned, killed his young nephew, seized the throne and as Ptolemy VIII soon proved himself a cruel tyrant. On his
death in 116 BC he left the kingdom to his wife Cleopatra III and her son Ptolemy IX Philometor Soter II. The
young king was driven out by his mother in 107 BC, who reigned jointly with Euergetes's youngest son Ptolemy X
Alexander I. In 88 BC Ptolemy IX again returned to the throne, and retained it until his death in 80 BC. He was
succeeded by Ptolemy XI Alexander II, the son of Ptolemy X. He was lynched by the Alexandrian mob after
murdering his stepmother, who was also his cousin, aunt and wife. These sordid dynastic quarrels left Egypt so
weakened that the country became a de facto protectorate of Rome, which had by now absorbed most of the
Greek world.
Ptolemy XI was succeeded by a son of Ptolemy IX, Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos, nicknamed Auletes, the fluteplayer. By now Rome was the arbiter of Egyptian affairs, and annexed both Libya and Cyprus. In 58 BC Auletes
was driven out by the Alexandrian mob, but the Romans restored him to power three years later. He died in 51
BC, leaving the kingdom to his ten-year-old son, Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator, who reigned jointly with his 17year-old sister and wife, Cleopatra VII.
Cleopatra
When Cleopatra VII ascended the Egyptian throne, she was only
eighteen. She reigned as Queen "Philopator" and Pharaoh between 51
and 30 BC, and died at the age of 39.
The demise of the Ptolemies' power coincided with the rise of the Roman
Empire. Having little choice, and seeing one city after another falling to
Macedon and the Seleucid Empire, the Ptolemies decided to ally with the
Romans, a pact that lasted over 150 years. During the rule of the later
Ptolemies, Rome gained more and more power over Egypt, and was
even declared guardian of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Cleopatra's father,
Ptolemy XII, had to pay tribute to the Romans to keep them away from
his Kingdom. Upon his death, the fall of the Dynasty seemed even closer.
As children, Cleopatra and her siblings witnessed the defeat of their
guardian, Pompey, by Julius Caesar through civil war. Meanwhile,
Cleopatra and her brother/husband Ptolemy XIII were both attempting
to gain control of Egypt's throne.
Coin of Cleopatra VII, with her
effigy.
In the middle of all this turmoil, Julius Caesar left Rome for Alexandria in 48 BC. During his stay in the Palace, he
received 22 year old Cleopatra, allegedly wrapped in a rug. She counted on Caesar's support to alienate Ptolemy
XIII. With the arrival of Roman reinforcements, and after a few battles in Alexandria, Ptolemy XIII was defeated at
the Battle of the Nile. He later drowned in the river, although the circumstances of his death are unclear.
In the summer of 47 BC, having married her younger brother Ptolemy XIV, Cleopatra and Caesar embarked for a
two-month trip along the Nile. Together, they visited Dendara, where Cleopatra was being worshiped as Pharaoh,
an honor beyond Caesar's reach. They became lovers, and she bore him a son, Caesarion, who was later
proclaimed with many titles like king of kings. In 45 BC, Cleopatra and Caesarion left Alexandria for Rome, where
they stayed in a palace built by Caesar in their honor.
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In 44 BC, Caesar was murdered in Rome by several Senators. With his death, Rome split between supporters of
Mark Antony and Octavian. Cleopatra was watching in silence, and when Mark Antony seemed to prevail, she
supported him and, shortly after, they too became lovers.
Mark Antony's alliance with Cleopatra angered Rome even more. The senators called her a sorceress, and accused
her of all sorts of evil. The Romans became even more furious as Antony was giving away parts of their Empire - at
the donations of Alexandria ceremony in autumn 34 BCE - Tarsus, Cyrene, Crete, Cyprus, and Israel - one after
the other to Cleopatra and her children. Octavian was able to somehow gain possession of Mark Antony's will,
which expressed his desire to be buried in Alexandria, rather than taken to Rome in the event of his death.
It was the boiling point when Octavian declared war on the "Foreign Queen", and off the coast of Greece in the
Adriatic Sea they met in at Actium, where the forces of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa defeated the Navy of Cleopatra
and Antony.
Octavian waited for a year before he claimed Egypt as a Roman province. He arrived in Alexandria and easily
defeated Mark Antony outside the city, near present day Camp César. Following this defeat, and facing certain
death at the hands of Octavian, Antony committed suicide by falling on his own sword.
Octavian entered Alexandria in 30 BC. Cleopatra was captured and taken to him, but Octavian had no interest in
any relation, reconciliation, or even negotiation with the Egyptian Queen. Realizing that her end was close, she
decided to put an end to her life. It is not known for sure how she killed herself, but many believe she used a
venomous snake as her death instrument.
With the death of Cleopatra, the dynasty of Ptolemies came to an end. Alexandria remained capital of Egypt, but
Egypt became a Roman province.
Roman rule
Main article: Aegyptus (Roman province)
In 30 BC, following the death of Cleopatra VII, the Roman Empire declared that Egypt was a province
(Aegyptus), and that it was to be governed by a prefect selected by the Emperor from the Equestrian and not a
governor from the Senatorial order, to prevent interference by the Roman Senate. The main Roman interest in
Egypt was always the reliable delivery of grain to the city of Rome. To this end the Roman administration made no
change to the Ptolemaic system of government, although Romans replaced Greeks in the highest offices. But
Greeks continued to staff most of the administrative offices and Greek remained the language of government except
at the highest levels. Unlike the Greeks, the Romans did not settle in Egypt in large numbers. Culture, education and
civic life largely remained Greek throughout the Roman period. The Romans, like the Ptolemies, respected and
protected Egyptian religion and customs, although the cult of the Roman state and of the Emperor was gradually
introduced.[citation needed]
Culture
Ptolemy I, perhaps with advice from Demetrius of Phalerum, founded the Museum and Library of Alexandria[8]
The Museum was a research centre supported by the king. It was located in the royal sector of the city. The
scholars were housed in the same sector and funded by the Ptolemaic rulers.[9] They had access to the Library. The
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chief librarian served also as the crown prince's tutor.[10] For the first hundred and fifty years of its existence this
library and research centre drew the top Greek scholars.[11] This was a key academic, literary and scientific
centre.[12]
Art
Further information: Hellenistic art
Hellenistic art is richly diverse in subject matter and in stylistic
development. It was created during an age characterized by a strong
sense of history. For the first time, there were museums and great
libraries, such as those at Alexandria and Pergamon. Hellenistic artists
copied and adapted earlier styles, and also made great innovations.
Representations of Greek gods took on new forms. The popular image
of Aphrodite, for example, reflects the increased secularization of
traditional religion. Also prominent in Hellenistic art are representations of
Dionysos, the god of wine and legendary conqueror of the East, as well
as those of Hermes, the god of commerce. In strikingly tender depictions,
Eros, the Greek personification of love, is portrayed as a young child.
Greek culture had a long but minor presence in Egypt long before
Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria. It began when
Greek colonists, encouraged by the many Pharaohs, set up the trading
post of Naucratis, which became an important link between the Greek
world and Egypt's grain. As Egypt came under foreign domination and
A detail of the Nile mosaic of
decline, the Pharaohs depended on the Greeks as mercenaries and even
Palestrina, showing Ptolemaic Egypt
advisors. When the Persians took over Egypt, Naucratis remained an
circa 100 BC.
important Greek port and the colonist population were used as
mercenaries by both the rebel Egyptian princes and the Persian kings,
who later gave them land grants, spreading the Greek culture into the valley of the Nile. When Alexander the Great
arrived, he established Alexandria on the site of the Persian fort of Rhakortis. Following Alexander's death, control
passed into the hands of the Lagid (Ptolemaic) dynasty; they built Greek cities across their empire and gave land
grants across Egypt to the veterans of their many military conflicts. Hellenistic civilization continued to thrive even
after Rome annexed Egypt after the battle of Actium and did not decline until the Islamic conquests.
Social situation
The Greeks now formed the new upper classes in Egypt, replacing the old native aristocracy. In general, the
Ptolemies undertook changes that went far beyond any other measures that earlier foreign rulers had imposed. They
used the religion and traditions to increase their own power and wealth. Although they established a prosperous
kingdom, enhanced with fine buildings, the native population enjoyed few benefits, and there were frequent
uprisings. These expressions of nationalism reached a peak in the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator (221–205 BC)
when others gained control over one district and ruled as a line of native "pharaohs." This was only curtailed
nineteen years later when Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205–181 BC) succeeded in subduing them, but the underlying
grievances continued and there were riots again later in the dynasty.
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Family conflicts affected the later years of the dynasty when Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II fought his brother Ptolemy
VI Philometor and briefly seized the throne. The struggle was continued by his sister and niece (who both became
his wives) until they finally issued an Amnesty Decree in 118 BC.
Coinage
Ptolemaic Egypt was noted for its extensive series of coinage in gold, silver and bronze. It was especially noted for
its issues of large coins in all three metals, most notably gold pentadrachm and octadrachm, and silver
tetradrachm, decadrachm and pentakaidecadrachm. This was especially noteworthy as it would not be until the
introduction of the Guldengroschen in 1486 that coins of substantial size (particularly in silver) would be minted in
significant quantities[citation needed].
Military
Main article: Ptolemaic
Army
Ptolemaic Egypt, along with
the other Hellenistic states
outside of the Greek mainland
after Alexander the Great, had
Hellenistic soldiers in tunic, 100 BC,
its armies based on the
detail of the Nile mosaic of Palestrina.
Macedonian phalanx and
featured Macedonian and
native troops fighting side by side.
Bronze allegorical group of a Ptolemy
(identifiable by his diadem)
overcoming an adversary, in
Hellenistic style, ca early 2nd century
BC (Walters Art Museum)
The Ptolemaic military was filled with diverse peoples from across their
territories. At first most of the military was made up of a pool of Greek
settlers who, in exchange for military service, were given land grants.
These made up the majority of the army.
With the many wars the Ptolemies were involved in, their pool of Greek
troops dwindled and there was little Greek immigration from the mainland
so they were kept in the royal bodyguard and as generals and officers.
Native troops were looked down upon and distrusted due to their disloyalty and frequent tendency to aid local
revolts. However, with the decline of royal power, they gained influence and became common in the military.
The Ptolemies used the great wealth of Egypt to their advantage by hiring vast amounts of mercenaries from across
the known world. Black Ethiopians are also known to have served in the military along with the Galatians, Mysians
and others. Jews were particularly imported as military settlers and made up as much as twenty percent of the
military.
With their vast amount of territory spread along the Eastern Mediterranean such as Cyprus, Crete, the islands of the
Aegean and even Thrace, the Ptolemies required a large navy to defend these far-flung strongholds from enemies
like the Seleucids and Macedonians.
Cities
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While ruling Egypt, the Ptolemaic Dynasty built many Greek settlements throughout their Empire, either Hellenize
new conquered peoples or reinforce the area. Egypt had only three main Greek cities—Alexandria, Naucratis, and
Ptolemais.
Naucratis
Of the three Greek cities, Naucratis, although its commercial importance was reduced with the founding of
Alexandria, continued in a quiet way its life as a Greek city-state. During the interval between the death of
Alexander and Ptolemy's assumption of the style of king, it even issued an autonomous coinage. And the number of
Greek men of letters during the Ptolemaic and Roman period, who were citizens of Naucratis, proves that in the
sphere of Hellenic culture Naucratis held to its traditions. Ptolemy II bestowed his care upon Naucratis. He built a
large structure of limestone, about 330 feet (100 m) long and 60 feet (18 m) wide, to fill up the broken entrance to
the great Temenos; he strengthened the great block of chambers in the Temenos, and re-established them. At the
time when Sir Flinders Petrie wrote the words just quoted the great Temenos was identified with p91the Hellenion.
But Mr. Edgar has recently pointed out that the building connected with it was an Egyptian temple, not a Greek
building. Naucratis, therefore, in spite of its general Hellenic character, had an Egyptian element. That the city
flourished in Ptolemaic times "we may see by the quantity of imported amphorae, of which the handles stamped at
Rhodes and elsewhere are found so abundantly. "The Zeno papyri show that it was the chief port of call on the
inland voyage from Memphis to Alexandria, as well as a stopping-place on the land-route from Pelusium to the
capital. It was attached, in the administrative system, to the Saïte nome.
Alexandria
Main article: Alexandria
A major Mediterranean port of Egypt, in ancient times and still today, Alexandria was founded in 331 BC by
Alexander the Great, one of the many Eastern Macedonian cities that he established. Located 20 miles (32 km)
west of the Nile's westernmost mouth, the city was immune to the silt deposits that persistently choked harbors
along the river. Alexandria became the capital of the Hellenized Egypt of King Ptolemy (1) I (reigned 323—283
BC). Under the wealthy Ptolemy dynasty, the city soon surpassed Athens as the cultural center of the Greek world.
Laid out on a grid pattern, Alexandria occupied a stretch of land between the sea to the north and Lake Mareotis
to the south; a man-made causeway, over three-quarters of a mile long, extended north to the sheltering island of
Pharos, thus forming a double harbor, east and west. On the east was the main harbor, called the Great Harbor; it
faced the city's chief buildings, including the royal palace and the famous Library and Museum. At the Great
Harbor's mouth, on an outcropping of Pharos, stood the lighthouse, built ca. 280 BC. Now vanished, the lighthouse
was reckoned as one of the Seven Wonders of the World for its unsurpassed height (perhaps 460 feet); it was a
square, fenestrated tower, topped with a metal fire basket and a statue of Zeus the Savior.
The Library, at that time the largest in the world, contained several hundred thousand volumes and housed and
employed scholars and poets. A similar scholarly complex was the Museum (Mouseion, "hall of the Muses").
During Alexandria's brief literary golden period, ca. 280–240 BC, the Library subsidized three poets—
Callimachus, Apollonius, and Theocritus—whose work now represents the best of Hellenistic literature. Among
other thinkers associated with the Library or other Alexandrian patronage were the mathematician Euclid (ca. 300
BC), the inventor Archimedes (287 BC – c. 212 BC), and the polymath Eratosthenes (ca. 225 BC).[13]
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Cosmopolitan and flourishing, Alexandria possessed a varied population of Greeks and Orientals, including a
sizable minority of Jews, who had their own city quarter. Periodic conflicts occurred between Jews and ethnic
Greeks.
The city enjoyed a calm political history under the Ptolemies. It passed, with the rest of Egypt, into Roman hands in
30 BC, and became the second city of the Roman Empire.
Ptolemais
Main article: Ptolemais Hermiou
The second Greek city founded after the conquest in Egypt was Ptolemais, 400 miles (640 km) up the Nile, where
there was a native village called Psoï, in the nome called after the ancient Egyptian city of Thinis. If Alexandria
perpetuated the name and cult of the great Alexander, Ptolemais was to perpetuate the name and cult of the
founder of the Ptolemaic time. Framed in by the barren hills of the Nile Valley and the Egyptian sky, here a Greek
city arose, with its public buildings and temples and theatre, no doubt exhibiting the regular architectural forms
associated with Greek culture, with a citizen-body Greek in blood, and the institutions of a Greek city. If there is
some doubt whether Alexandria possessed a council and assembly, there is none in regard to Ptolemais. It was
more possible for the kings to allow a measure of self-government to a people removed at that distance from the
ordinary residence of the court. We have still, inscribed on stone, decrees passed in the assembly of the people of
Ptolemais, couched in the regular forms of Greek political tradition: It seemed good to the boule and to the demos:
Hermas son of Doreon, of the deme Megisteus, was the proposer: Whereas the prytaneis who were colleagues
with Dionysius the son of Musaeus in the 8th year, etc.
Demographics
The Ptolemaic kingdom was diverse in the people who settled and made Egypt their home on this time. During this
period, Greek troops under Ptolemy I Soter were given land grants and brought their families encouraging tens of
thousands of Greeks to settle the country making themselves the new ruling class. Native Egyptians continued
having a role, yet a small one in the Ptolemaic government mostly in lower posts and outnumbered the foreigners.
During the reign of the Ptolemaic Pharaohs, many Jews were imported from neighboring Palestine by the hundred
thousands for being renowned fighters and established an important presence there. Other foreign groups settled
during this time and even Galatian mercenaries were invited. Of the aliens who had come to settle in Egypt, the
ruling race, Greeks, were the most important element. They were partly spread as allotment-holders over the
country, forming social groups, in the country towns and villages, side by side with the native population, partly
gathered in the three Greek cities — the old Naucratis, founded before 600 BC (in the interval of Egyptian
independence after the expulsion of the Assyrians and before the coming of the Persians), and the two new cities,
Alexandria by the sea, and Ptolemais in Upper Egypt. Alexander and his Seleucid successors were great as the
founders of Greek cities all over their dominions.
Greek culture was so much bound up with the life of the city-state that any king who wanted to present himself to
the world as a genuine champion of Hellenism had to do something in this direction, but the king of Egypt, whilst as
ambitious as any to shine as a Hellene, would find Greek cities, with their republican tradition and aspirations to
independence, inconvenient elements in a country that lent itself, as no other did, to bureaucratic centralization. The
Ptolemies therefore limited the number of Greek city-states in Egypt to Alexandria, Ptolemais, and Naucratis.
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Outside Egypt, they had Greek cities under their dominion—including the old Greek cities in the Cyrenaica, in
Cyprus, on the coasts and islands of the Aegean—but in Egypt no more than the three. There were indeed country
towns with names such as Ptolemais, Arsinoe, and Berenice, in which Greek communities existed with a certain
social life; there were similar groups of Greeks in many of the old Egyptian towns, but they were not communities
with the political forms of a city-state. Yet if they had no place of political assembly, they would have their
gymnasium, the essential sign of Hellenism, serving something of the purpose of a university for the young men. Far
up the Nile at Ombi was found in 136–135 B.C. a gymnasium of the local Greeks, which passes resolutions and
corresponds with the king. And in 123 B.C., when there is trouble in Upper Egypt between the towns of
Crocodilopolis and Hermonthis, the negotiators sent from Crocodilopolis are the young men attached to the
gymnasium, who, according to the Greek tradition, eat bread and salt with the negotiators from the other town. All
Greek dialects of the Greek world gradually became assimilated in the Koine Greek dialect that was the common
language of the Hellenistic world. Generally the Greeks of the Ptolemaic Egypt felt like representativec of a higher
civilization yet were curious about the native culture of Egypt.
Arabs under the Ptolemies
Arab nomads of the eastern desert penetrated in small bodies into the cultivated land of the Nile, as they do today.
The Greeks called all the land on the eastern side of the Nile "Arabia", and villages were to be found here and there
with a population of Arabs who had exchanged the life of tent-dwellers for that of settled agriculturists. Apollonius
tells of one such village, Poïs, in the Memphite nome, two of whose inhabitants send a letter on September 20, 152
B.C. The letter is in Greek; it had to be written for the two Arabs by the young Macedonian Apollonius, the Arabs
being unable apparently to write. Apollonius writes their names as Myrullas and Chalbas, the first probably, and the
second certainly, Semitic. A century earlier Arabs farther west, in the Fayûm, organized under a leader of their
own, and working mainly as herdsmen on the dorea of Apollonius the dioiketes; but these Arabs bear Greek and
Egyptian names.
In 1990, more than 2,000 papyri written by Zeno of Caunus from the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphus were
discovered, which contained at least 19 references to Arabs in the area between the Nile and the Red Sea, and
mentioned their jobs as police officers in charge of "ten person units", while some others were mentioned as
shepherds.[14]
Arabs in Ptolemaic kingdom had provided camel convoys to the armies of some Ptolemaic leaders during their
invasions, but they didn't have allegiance towards any of the kingdoms of Egypt or Syria, and also managed to raid
and attack both sides of the conflict between Ptolemaic Kingdom and its enemies.[15][16]
Jews under the Ptolemies
The Jews who lived in Egypt had originally immigrated from Israel. The Jews absorbed Greek, the dominant
language of Egypt at the time, while heavily mixing it with Hebrew[17] It was during this period that the Septuagint,
the Greek translation of the Jewish scriptures, appeared. Jewish legend has it that the Septuagint was written by
Seventy Jewish Translators under royal compulsion during Ptolemy II's reign.[18] However, the translation of the
Old Testament was more probably written over time in Egypt during the last three centuries before the Christian
era.
Agriculture
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The early Ptolemies increased cultivatable land through irrigation and introduced crops such as cotton and better
wine-producing grapes. They also increased the availability of luxury goods through foreign trade. They enriched
themselves and absorbed Egyptian culture. Ptolemy and his descendants adopted Egyptian royal trappings and
added Egypt's religion to their own, worshiping Egyptian gods and building temples to them, and even being
mummified and buried in sarcophagi covered with hieroglyphs.
In his lifetime Strabo made extensive travels to among others Egypt and Ethiopia.
Ptolemaic rulers
Main article: List of Ptolemaic rulers
The Ptolemaic dynasty, (Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖοι, sometimes also
known as the Lagids or Lagides, Ancient Greek: Λαγίδαι, from the name
of Ptolemy I's father, Lagus) were the Macedonian Greek[19][20][21][22][23]
descendants of Ptolemy I Soter, one of the six somatophylakes
(bodyguards) who served as Alexander the Great's generals and deputies
and was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In
305 BC, he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as "Soter"
(saviour). The Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to
the pharaohs of independent Egypt. Ptolemy's family ruled Egypt until the
Roman conquest of 30 BC.
All the male rulers of the dynasty took the name Ptolemy. Ptolemaic queens,
some of whom were the sisters of their husbands, were usually called
Cleopatra, Arsinoe or Berenice. The most famous member of the line was
the last queen, Cleopatra VII, known for her role in the Roman political
battles between Julius Caesar and Pompey, and later between Octavian and
Mark Antony. Her apparent suicide at the conquest by Rome marked the
end of Ptolemaic rule in Egypt.
Ptolemy I Soter of Macedon
founded the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
List
Dates in brackets represent the regnal dates of the Ptolemaic pharaohs. They frequently ruled jointly with their
wives, who were often also their sisters. Several queens exercised regal authority, but the most famous and
successful was Cleopatra VII (51 BC-30 BC), with her two brothers and her son as successive nominal co-rulers.
Several systems exist for numbering the later rulers; the one used here is the one most widely used by modern
scholars. Dates are years of reign.
Ptolemy I Soter (303 BC-285 BC) married first (probably) Thaïs, secondly Artakama, thirdly Eurydice and
finally Berenice I
Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285 BC-246 BC) married Arsinoe I, then Arsinoe II Philadelphus; ruled jointly
with Ptolemy I Epigone (267 BC-259 BC)
Ptolemy III Euergetes (246 BC-221 BC) married Berenice II
Ptolemy IV Philopator (221 BC-203 BC) married Arsinoe III
Ptolemy V Epiphanes (203 BC-181 BC) married Cleopatra I
Ptolemy VI Philometor (181 BC-164 BC, 163 BC-145 BC) married Cleopatra II, briefly ruled jointly with
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Ptolemy Eupator in 152 BC
Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator (never reigned)
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (Physcon) (170 BC-163 BC, 145 BC-116 BC) married Cleopatra II then
Cleopatra III; temporarily expelled from Alexandria by Cleopatra II between 131 BC and 127 BC,
reconciled with her in 124 BC.
Cleopatra II Philometora Soteira (131 BC-127 BC), in opposition to Ptolemy VIII
Cleopatra III Philometor Soteira Dikaiosyne Nikephoros (Kokke) (116 BC-101 BC) ruled jointly with
Ptolemy IX (116 BC-107 BC) and Ptolemy X (107 BC-101 BC)
Ptolemy IX Soter II (Lathyros) (116 BC-107 BC, 88 BC-81 BC as Soter II) married Cleopatra IV then
Cleopatra Selene; ruled jointly with Cleopatra III in his first reign
Ptolemy X Alexander I (107 BC-88 BC) married Cleopatra Selene then Berenice III; ruled jointly with
Cleopatra III till 101 BC
Berenice III Philopator (81 BC-80 BC)
Ptolemy XI Alexander II (80 BC) married and ruled jointly with Berenice III before murdering her; ruled
alone for 19 days after that.
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (Auletes) (80 BC-58 BC, 55 BC-51 BC) married Cleopatra V Tryphaena
Cleopatra V Tryphaena (58 BC-57 BC) ruled jointly with Berenice IV Epiphaneia (58 BC-55 BC) and
Cleopatra VI Tryphaena (58 BC)
Cleopatra VII Philopator (51 BC-30 BC) ruled jointly with Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator (51 BC-47 BC),
Ptolemy XIV (47 BC-44 BC) and Ptolemy XV Caesarion (44 BC-30 BC).
Arsinoe IV (48 BC-47 BC) in opposition to Cleopatra VII
Simplified Ptolemaic family tree
Many of the relationships shown in this tree are controversial. The issues are fully discussed in the external links.
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Other members of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemy Keraunos (died 279 BC) - eldest son of Ptolemy I Soter. Eventually became king of Macedon.
Ptolemy Apion (died 96 BC) - son of Ptolemy VIII Physcon. Made king of Cyrenaica. Bequeathed
Cyrenaica to Rome.
Ptolemy Philadelphus (born 36 BC) - son of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII.
Ptolemy of Mauretania (died AD 40) - son of Juba II of Mauretania and Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of
Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony. King of Mauretania.
Medical analysis
Contemporaries describe a number of the Ptolemaic dynasty as extremely obese, whilst sculptures and coins reveal
prominent eyes and swollen necks. Familial Graves' disease could explain the swollen necks and eye prominence
(exophthalmos), although this is unlikely to occur in the presence of morbid obesity.
In view of the familial nature of these findings, members of this dynasty likely suffered from a multi-organ fibrotic
condition such as Erdheim–Chester disease or a familial multifocal fibrosclerosis where thyroiditis, obesity and
ocular proptosis may have all occurred concurrently.[24]
See also
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Hellenistic period
Antipatrid dynasty
Antigonid dynasty
Kingdom of Pontus
Seleucid Empire
Indo-Greeks
Greco-Bactrian Kingdom
History of Egypt
Library of Alexandria
Lighthouse of Alexandria
References
1. ^ Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca historica, 18.21.9
2. ^ Lewis, Naphtali (1986). Greeks in Ptolemaic Egypt: Case Studies in the Social History of the Hellenistic World.
Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. 5. ISBN 0-19-814867-4.
3. ^ Department of Ancient Near Eastern Art. "The Achaemenid Persian Empire (550–330 B.C.)". In Heilbrunn
Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/acha/hd_acha.htm (October 2004) Source: The Achaemenid Persian Empire
(550–330 B.C.) | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
4. ^ Hemingway, Colette, and Seán Hemingway. "The Rise of Macedonia and the Conquests of Alexander the Great".
In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/alex/hd_alex.htm (October 2004) Source: The Rise of Macedonia and the
Conquests of Alexander the Great | Thematic Essay | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History | The Metropolitan Museum
of Art
5. ^ Grabbe, L. L. (2008). A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period. Volume 2 – The Coming
of the Greeks: The Early Hellenistic Period (335 – 175 BCE). T&T Clark. ISBN 978-0-567-03396-3.
6. ^ Ptolemy II Philadelphus [308-246 BCE (http://virtualreligion.net/iho/ptolemy_2.html). Mahlon H. Smith. Retrieved
2010-06-13.
7. ^ "Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt" (http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/PtolemyII.html). Ancient Egypt Online.
Retrieved May 22, 2013.
8. ^ F.E. Peters, "The Harvest of Hellenism" p. 193
9. ^ ibid
10. ^ ibid p. 194
11. ^ ibid
12. ^ ibid p. 195f
13. ^ Phillips, Heather A., "The Great Library of Alexandria?". Library Philosophy and Practice, August 2010
(http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/phillips.htm)
14. ^ Arabs in Antiquity: Their History from the Assyrians to the Umayyads, Prof. Jan Retso, Page: 301
15. ^ A History of the Arabs in the Sudan: The inhabitants of the northern Sudan before the time of the Islamic
invasions. The progress of the Arab tribes through Egypt. The Arab tribes of the Sudan at the present day, Sir
Harold Alfred MacMichael, Cambridge University Press, 1922, Page: 7
16. ^ History of Egypt, Sir John Pentland Mahaffy, Pages: 20-21
17. ^ Solomon Grayzel "A History of the Jews" p. 56
18. ^ Solomon Grayzel ibid pp. 56-57
19. ^ Jones, Prudence J. (2006). Cleopatra: A Sourcebook. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 14. "They were
members of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Macedonian Greeks, who ruled Egypt after the death of its conqueror,
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20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
Ptolemaic Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alexander the Great."
^ Pomeroy, Sarah B. (1990). Women in Hellenistic Egypt. Wayne State University Press. p. 16. "while Ptolemaic
Egypt was a monarchy with a Greek ruling class."
^ Redford, Donald B., ed. (2000). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press. "Cleopatra
VII was born to Ptolemy XII Auletes (80–57 BCE, ruled 55–51 BCE) and Cleopatra, both parents being
Macedonian Greeks."
^ Bard, Kathryn A., ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge. p. 488. "Ptolemaic
kings were still crowned at Memphis and the city was popularly regarded as the Egyptian rival to Alexandria,
founded by the Macedonian Greeks."
^ Bard, Kathryn A., ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge. p. 687. "During the
Ptolemaic period, when Egypt was governed by rulers of Greek descent..."
^ Ashrafian, Hutan (2005). "Familial proptosis and obesity in the Ptolemies". J. R. Soc. Med. 98 (2): 85–86.
Further reading
Bingen, Jean. Hellenistic Egypt. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2007 (hardcover, ISBN 0-74861578-4; paperback, ISBN 0-7486-1579-2). Hellenistic Egypt: Monarchy, Society, Economy, Culture.
Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007 (hardcover, ISBN 0-520-25141-5; paperback, ISBN 0520-25142-3).
Bowman, Alan Keir. 1996. Egypt After the Pharaohs: 332 BC–AD 642; From Alexander to the Arab
Conquest. 2nd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press
Chauveau, Michel. 2000. Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society under the Ptolemies.
Translated by David Lorton. Ithaca: Cornell University Press
Ellis, Simon P. 1992. Graeco-Roman Egypt. Shire Egyptology 17, ser. ed. Barbara G. Adams. Aylesbury:
Shire Publications, ltd.
Hölbl, Günther. 2001. A History of the Ptolemaic Empire. Translated by Tina Saavedra. London:
Routledge Ltd.
Lloyd, Alan Brian. 2000. "The Ptolemaic Period (332–30 BC)". In The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt,
edited by Ian Shaw. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 395–421
Susan Stephens, Seeing Double. Intercultural Poetics in Ptolemaic Alexandria (Berkeley, 2002).
A. Lampela, Rome and the Ptolemies of Egypt. The development of their political relations 273-80
B.C. (Helsinki, 1998).
Peters, F.E. 1970 The Harvest of Hellenism. New York: Simon & Schuster
J. G. Manning, The Last Pharaohs: Egypt Under the Ptolemies, 305-30 BC (Princeton, 2009).
External links
Map of Ptolemaic Egypt (http://www.unc.edu/awmc/downloads/aegyptusPtolSml.jpg)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ptolemaic_Kingdom&oldid=562682203"
Categories: Former monarchies of Africa Former countries in Africa
States and territories established in 305 BC States and territories disestablished in the 1st century BC
305 BC establishments in Egypt 30 BC disestablishments in Egypt Ptolemaic Kingdom Ptolemaic dynasty
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