More Ptolemy I

Ptolemy I was a Macedonian and one of the generals and closest advisors of Alexander the Great, who conquered Egypt in 332 BCE. After his death, his empire was divided among his generals. But they all had their own ambitions, and the Greek world turned into a battleground for about forty years.

In 323, Ptolemy I became the satrap of EgyptA satrap was the governor of a province, a position he had chosen for himself. See: I. Worthington, Ptolemy I: King and Pharaoh of Egypt (Oxford University Press; New York, 2016), 112-115. Around 304 BCE, he dropped his title as satrap and adopted the title of king. Soon after that, the coins of Alexander the Great were replaced by coins of King Ptolemy (Fig. 5). At the same time, the regnal years of Ptolemy I are found on documents and inscriptions in both Greek and Egyptian. He fully presented himself as an Egyptian pharaoh and became the first pharaoh of the so-called Ptolemaic dynasty, consisting of a series of fifteen pharaohs who all called themselves Ptolemy. The dynasty ended in 30 BCE with the conquest of Egypt by the Romans and the death of Cleopatra VII.See: D. J. Thompson, ‘Ptolemy I in Egypt: Continuity and Change’, in P. McKechnie and J. A. Cromwell (eds), Ptolemy I and the Transformation of Egypt, 404-282 BCE, Volume 415 (Brill; Leiden, Boston 2018), 6-26.

Ptolemy I was seen as a cultured individual, who did not only care for the security of his base-power, but also for the economic wellbeing of his subjects. Central to Ptolemy’s success was his effort of promoting a broad sense of Egyptian and Greek culture in his new kingdom. Both Greeks and Egyptians played a role in the court and counsels of Ptolemy I. Although Egypt served under Ptolemy I in a Greek system, both Egyptians and Greeks were able to hold any position within the system, both high functions close to the king and lower, more local ones.See: D. J. Thompson, ‘Ptolemy I in Egypt: Continuity and Change’, in P. McKechnie and J. A. Cromwell (eds), Ptolemy I and the Transformation of Egypt, 404-282 BCE, Volume 415 (Brill; Leiden, Boston 2018), 6-26.