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The Ptolemaic Period
Alexander the Great
When Alexander the Great arrived in Egypt (332 BC), communities of Greeks had been resident there since the Saite rulers had brought in mercenaries to establish their dynasty and to fight against the Persians. The Greeks had modernized the Egyptian army and introduced new fighting techniques. There was also a substantial community of Greek merchants who were established in their own Delta city of Naucratis. A period under Persian domination, interspersed by ineffectual native rulers, made the Egyptian people very receptive to Alexander the Great’s conquest. Alexander the Great was the son of Phillip II, the ruler of Macedon. When Phillip was assassinated supporters helped Alexander gain his throne, and from this base, he set out to conquer the known world. Under his brilliant leadership his forces were able to annex the lands of the Persian Empire, and the tribute which the subject peoples had formerly paid to the Persian king was now handed over to Alexander. His rapid conquests were, however, accompanied by a relatively benign rulership which brought long-term benefits to his empire. Common social and economic interests were developed alongside the freedom to practice individual religions and customs, and this unified the diverse peoples whom Alexander ruled. He also founded new cities to disseminate the Greek culture.
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CONQUEST OF EGYPT
After his conquest of Syria/Palestine and the
siege of Tyre, Alexander attacked Gaza before he reached Egypt in
332 BC. He was welcomed by the population as a liberator, and the
Persian satrap surrendered without opposition. He was invested by
the Egyptian priests as a pharaoh and spent six months in the
country, establishing important guidelines for the future government
of the people. A viceroy was appointed, together with six governors
(two Macedonians with military powers, and two Greeks and two
Egyptians with civil powers). Garrisons were placed at Pelusium and
Memphis, and Macedonian commanders were put in charge of the Nile
fleet. Military matters and finance were put under a Greek system of
control, and arrangements were made for the imposition and
collection of taxes. During his brief stay in Egypt Alexander
founded the new city of Alexandria, lying on the west mouth of the
Nile and the Mediterranean coast. Its position ensured that it would
become the great commercial center of the area. Planned and built as
a Greek city, Alexandria became Egypt’s new capital and a great
center of Hellenistic knowledge and learning. Alexander also paid
special attention to the Egyptian gods, and he was probably crowned
as king in a traditional ceremony at Memphis. He visited the famous
oracle of Jupiter Amun at the oasis of Siwa where legend claimed
that the god recognized him as his own son and promised him
rulership of the whole world. This seems to have been interpreted as
a form of personal deification for Alexander, which the Egyptians
accepted as a special divine recognition, according Alexander and
his successors, although foreign, the legitimate right to rule
Egypt. Alexander left Egypt to pursue further conquests but fell ill
on returning from India and died in Babylon in 323 BC. His empire
was now divided between his generals, and the Macedonian general in
charge of troops in Egypt, Ptolemy, son of Lagos, became satrap of
Egypt first under Philip Arrhidaeus, Alexander’s half brother, and
then under his son, Alexander IV. In 305 BC Ptolemy became
independent king of Egypt, taking the title Ptolemy I Soter (Savior)
and founding the Ptolemaic dynasty. Recent underwater archaeology is
producing new evidence about this period.
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The Reign of Ptolemy I
Ptolemy I was determined to establish himself as a regenerator of Egypt and to ensure the succession within his own family. He appointed his son as coregent and reintroduced the custom of royal brother-sister marriages. He reorganized the country and adopted the title and role of pharaoh. This allowed him to claim the religious right to rule Egypt and the political justification to own the country’s resources and impose heavy taxes. His role as pharaoh was further emphasized when he built temples to the Egyptian gods. Five examples survive at Edfu, Denderah, Esna, Philae, and Kom Ombo, where the Ptolemies are shown in the wall scenes as Egyptian kings performing the divine rituals. Ptolemy I also introduced the cult of a new hybrid deity, Serapis, who was worshiped as a combination of the Egyptian god Osiris and various Greek deities. At Alexandria he founded the cult of Alexander the Great, which laid the foundations for the later official state cult of the Ptolemaic dynasty. There was also a dedicated attempt at Hellenization by Ptolemy I and his successors. Large communities of Greeks were now established at Alexandria, Naucratis, Ptolemais, and also in country districts like the Fayoum where farming was developed. The Ptolemies actively patronized the arts, particularly at Alexandria where the Great Library and Museum were established, and foreign scholars were encouraged to come to the city. Greek language and culture now predominated in these new centers, although settlers in the country districts were more exposed to the continuing Egyptian traditions, and a degree of hybridization occurred in aspects of art, religion, and architecture. .
Changes under the Ptolemies
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 (207–206 BC) when rebels gained control over one district and ruled as a line of native “pharaohs.” This was only curtailed nineteen years later when Ptolemy V Epiphanes succeeded in subduing them, but the underlying grievances continued and there were riots again later in the dynasty. 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.
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Cleopatra VII
The final stages of this dynasty centered around the life and death of Cleopatra VII. She became joint ruler with her father Ptolemy XII Auletes in 51 BC and then ruled successively with her brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV to whom she was also married. Cleopatra, however, was ousted from the joint rulership in favor of her brother Ptolemy XIV. She seized her opportunity for power when Gaius Julius Caesar, Roman dictator from 49 to 44 BC, followed his enemy the Roman consort Pompey to Egypt. Pompey had been appointed by the Roman Senate as the guardian of Cleopatra and her brother when their father died, but Pompey was killed by some Egyptian courtiers. Caesar now spent time in Egypt (47 BC), and Cleopatra’s plea to him to restore her throne was granted. Her royal powers were reinstated, her brother drowned in the Nile, and her son by Caesar, Ptolemy XV Caesarion, was adopted as her coregent. Cleopatra and Caesarion appear together in a wall scene at the Temple of Hathor at Denderah. Cleopatra’s involvement with Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) ultimately led to the end of her dynasty. He was a Roman consul and triumvir whose early career at Rome had been supported by Julius Caesar. He had also married Octavia, the sister of Gaius Julius Octavianus, who was to become the first emperor of Rome and take the title of Augustus when he became sole ruler in 27 BC. Mark Antony may have initially intended to turn Egypt into a client state of Rome, but Cleopatra used her political and personal skills to persuade him to abandon this scheme. The couple spent time together at Alexandria, and Mark Antony made many gifts to the queen, incurring the displeasure of the Roman Senate. Their relationship aroused the displeasure of Augustus, Mark Antony’s brother-in-law, who also probably regarded Mark Antony’s base in Egypt as a threat to Rome. His verbal hostilities persuaded the Senate that Mark Antony was a traitor of Rome, and Augustus’s personal declaration of war against Mark Antony and Cleopatra resulted in their defeat at the Battle of Actium in western Greece in 51 BC. The queen, followed by Mark Antony, fled to Alexandria where for ten months they awaited the arrival of Augustus. Unable to bear the humiliation that Augustus would have imposed on them when he took Alexandria, they chose to commit suicide. Augustus was declared pharaoh of Egypt on August 31, 30 BC, when Egypt became a Roman province and lost all independence. .
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The Ptolemaic Period
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