Egyptian Dynasty History

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History of Egypt
Prehistoric Egypt pre–3100 BC
Ancient Egypt Early Dynastic Period 3100–2686 BC Old Kingdom 2686–2181 BC 1st Intermediate Period 2181–2055 BC Middle Kingdom 2055–1650 BC 2nd Intermediate Period 1650–1550 BC New Kingdom 1550–1069 BC 3rd Intermediate Period 1069–664 BC Late Period 664–332 BC Achaemenid Egypt 525–332 BC
Classical Antiquity Ptolemaic Egypt 332–30 BC Roman and Byzantine Egypt 30 BC–641 AD 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
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The Ptolemaic Kingdom (/ˌtɒləˈmeɪ.ɪk/; Greek: Πτολεμαϊκὴ βασιλεία, Ptolemaïkḕ Basileía)^[2] was a Hellenistic kingdom based in Egypt. It was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty which started with Ptolemy I Soter's accession after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC- and 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 major 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 final annexation by Rome. Hellenistic culture continued to thrive in Egypt throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods until the Muslim conquest.

Contents

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• 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 Religion
  • 2.3 Social situation
  • 2.4 Coinage
  • 2.5 Military
• 3 Cities
  • 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[edit]

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 in Greek and Egyptian of the time have been discovered in Egypt.^[3]

Background[edit]

Alexander the Great, 100 B.C.E. – 100 C.E., 54.162, Brooklyn Museum

In 332 BC, Alexander the Great, King of Macedon invaded the Achaemenid satrapy of Egypt.^[4] 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 Macedonians 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