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Ptolemaic dynasty facts for kids

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Ptolemy I Soter Louvre Ma849
Ptolemy I Soter.

The Ptolemaic dynasty, also known as the Lagids or Lagidae, was a Macedonian Greek royal family who ruled over Egypt. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC. They were the last dynasty of ancient Egypt.

Ptolemy, was one of Alexander the Great's generals and deputies. He was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In 305 BC, he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as "Soter" (savior). The Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent Egypt. Unlike their previous rulers under the Achaemenid Empire, they usually lived in Egypt. Ptolemy's family ruled Egypt until the Roman conquest of 30 BC.

All the male rulers of the dynasty took the name Ptolemy. Ptolemaic queens, some of whom were the sisters of their husbands, were usually called Cleopatra, Arsinoe or Berenice. The most famous, was the last queen, Cleopatra VII. She was involved in the Roman political battles between Julius Caesar and Pompey, and later between Octavian and Mark Antony. Her death marked the end of Ptolemaic rule in Egypt.

Ptolemaic rulers and consorts

Dates in brackets represent the ruling dates of the Ptolemaic pharaohs. They often ruled jointly with their wives, who were often also their sisters. Several queens exercised royal authority, but the most famous and successful was Cleopatra VII (51–30 BC), with her two brothers and her son as successive nominal co-rulers. Several systems exist for numbering the later rulers; the one used here is the one most widely used by modern scholars.

Other members of the Ptolemaic dynasty

  • Ptolemy Keraunos (died 279 BC) - eldest son of Ptolemy I Soter. Eventually became king of Macedon.
  • Ptolemy Apion (died 96 BC) - son of Ptolemy VIII Physcon. Made king of Cyrenaica. Bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome.
  • Ptolemy Philadelphus (born 36 BC) - son of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII.
  • Ptolemy of Mauretania (died AD 40) - son of Juba II of Mauretania and Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony. King of Mauretania.

Gallery of images

  • Susan Stephens, Seeing Double. Intercultural Poetics in Ptolemaic Alexandria (Berkeley, 2002).
  • A. Lampela, Rome and the Ptolemies of Egypt. The development of their political relations 273-80 B.C. (Helsinki, 1998).
  • J. G. Manning, The Last Pharaohs: Egypt Under the Ptolemies, 305-30 BC (Princeton, 2009).

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Dinastía ptolemaica para niños

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