Story of the Ptolemaic era: What did the Macedonians do in Egypt?

CAIRO – 20 January 2021: Egypt became part of the Macedonian Empire after the victory of Alexander the Great over the Persian king Dara III in 332 BC.

After the death of Alexander in 323 BC and the division of his state of provinces among his commanders, Egypt came under the rule of Ptolemy the First, Soter, who made Egypt an independent kingdom known as the Ptolemaic State.

Ptolemy I completed the construction of the new capital of Egypt, Alexandria. He also began building the lighthouse of Alexandria and gathered both Egyptian and Greek priests in order to establish a new belief that unites Egyptians and Greeks.

During the reign of his successor Ptolemy II, arts and sciences flourished, and the ancient Library of Alexandria was established, which was the largest library of the ancient world.

This led to the influx of Greek scholars and thinkers into Egypt, multiculturalism heightened, and the new civilization of the Greeks merged with the ancient Egyptian civilization.

Various Greek settlements were established in Egypt during the Ptolemaic era to be central areas for Greek citizens who came to Egypt with their culture and traditions, such as Ptolemaic in Upper Egypt, Philadelphi in Fayoum, and Naqratis, which was established in the Late Age and was the first Greek settlement and a center for trade between Egyptians and Greeks in the Delta.

In the ancient capital of Memphis, the Greek settlers established their settlements around the main temple of Ptah in the early Ptolemaic period.

The rule of the Ptolemies in Egypt came to a tragic end when the Romans defeated them in the Battle of Actium 31 BC, which led to the suicide of Queen Cleopatra VII and the killing of her son, Ptolemy Caesarion XV.