The Ptolemies

The Ptolemies Were Greek Rulers in Egypt

The large empire Alexander the Great of Macedonia had conquered was too big for one successor. One general was entrusted with Macedonia, another Thrace, and a third Syria. One of Alexander's favorite generals, Ptolemy, was made governor of Egypt. The esteem was mutual as can be seen in Ptolemy's having Alexander's body brought for burial to Egypt where it was permanently interred at the city Alexander had founded and named after himself. It is possible to view this gesture more cynically, as a way for Ptolemy to grab power.

Alexandria was the Egyptian city Ptolemy made his capital. There he founded a museum and started collecting books for a library.

For more than 350 years the Ptolemies ruled Egypt. Ptolemy's son Ptolemy Philadelpus ruled after Alexander's general. It was Ptolemy Phladelphus who made the library at Alexandria the best in the world. Its books, made of papyrus, were in Greek or Latin. Ptolemy Philadelphus had the Jewish Bible translated into Greek for his library. He is also known for re-opening a canal between the Red Sea and the Nile providing access between the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. This was important for the wheat trade that enabled Alexandria to become the richest city in the world.

The Ptolemies encouraged erudition. One of Alexandria's students first taught that the earth is round and another determined almost the exact diameter of the earth.

The most famous Ptolemy was Cleopatra. With the death of Cleopatra, the dynasty of the Ptolemies came to an end and Egypt became part of the Roman Empire.

Ptolemy Soter
Alexander the Great appointed Ptolemy governor of Egypt.

The large empire Alexander the Great had conquered was too big for one successor. Instead, the empire was split among competitors called diadochi of epigoni. One general was entrusted with Macedonia; another Thrace; and a third Syria. One of Alexander's favorite generals, Ptolemy Soter, was made governor of Egypt. The esteem was mutual as can be seen in Ptolemy Soter's having Alexander's body brought for burial to Egypt, where it was permanently interred at the city Alexander had founded and named after himself -- Alexandria. It is also possible to look at this gesture as politically motivated. The same can be said of Ptolemy Soter's marriage to the daughter of the most recent Egyptian pharaoh, Nectanebo II.

Alexandria
Ptolemy Soter established his capital at Alexandria, founded a museum, and started collecting books for a library which, under his successors, became the center for scientific research and the best collection of Greek and Roman papyri in the world. He also initiated what was to become one of the wonders of the ancient world, the lighthouse off the coast of Alexandria on the island of Pharos.

Ptolemy Soter's rule of Egypt lasted from 332-283 B.C. The son of Ptolemy Soter, Ptolemy II Philadelphos, co-ruled for the last two years of the reign of Ptolemy Soter and then succeeded him. Cleopatra was a descendant of the Macedonian general Ptolemy Soter.

More about the Ptolemaic Dynasty
The large empire Alexander the Great had conquered was too big for one successor. One of Alexander's generals was entrusted with Macedonia; another Thrace; and a third Syria. [See Diadochi - The Successors of Alexander.] One of Alexander's favorite generals and possibly a relative, Ptolemy Soter, was made governor of Egypt. Ptolemy Soter's rule of Egypt, the start of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, lasted from 332-283 B.C. It was in this period that Alexandria, named for Alexander the Great, became a major center for learning in the Mediterranean world.

The son of Ptolemy Soter, Ptolemy II Philadelphos, co-ruled for the last 2 years of the reign of Ptolemy Soter and then succeeded him. The Ptolemaic rulers adopted Egyptian customs, like marriage to siblings, even when they conflicted with Macedonian practices. Cleopatra, the only one of the Ptolemies known to have learned the language of the subject people -- Egyptian -- was a direct descendant of the Macedonian general Ptolemy Soter and a daughter of Ptolemy Auletes 'flute-player'.