Ptolemaic dynasty

[Neal Robbins]

Although Egypt managed to break away from Persian rule for a while, the Persians reconquered it. But the Persian domination ended when Alexander the Great took Egypt in 332 B.C. Alexander was king of Macedonia (near Greece) and he was able to conquer the Persian empire. When Alexander came into Egypt, he ordered that a great city be built on the coast. It was named Alexandria. Then Alexander marched out of Egypt to go and conquer Persia itself. Just before departing from Egypt, Alexander left a man named Cleomenes in charge as the governor. Cleomenes was not well like in Egypt. He was known to be corrupt and was involved in frauds and embezzlements. The Greek statesman of Athens named Demosthenes called Cleomenes "Ruler of Egypt and dishonest manipulator of the country's lucrative grain trade". The Roman historian Arrian (Arrian lived in later times.) also criticized Cleomenes and said that he was evil.
Ptolemy was one of Alexander's generals. He took over the position of governing Egypt and had Clemenes executed.
Ptolemy was a lifelong friend of Alexander. Ptolemy's father was a Macedonian nobleman named Lagus, who was from Eordaea in Macedonia. His mother is said to have been a woman named Arsinoe.
In 323 B.C. Alexander the Great died. He had made a large empire that stayed together so long as he was alive. But after he died, problems arose. Alexander's generals (known as diadochi) began claiming pieces of the empire for themselves. Perdiccas was suppposed to be the ruler of the empire as a whole. But it soon became obvious that he could not hold the empire together.
In the spring of 321 B.C. Perdiccas marched into Egypt with an army to try to bring it back under his control. He had a large army that consisted of 5,000 cavalry and 20,000 infantry.But Ptolemy defeated him near the Egyptian city of Memphis. Perdiccas was then murdered by his own officers.
Antigonus Gonatus was the commander of the Grand Army of the Empire and he was determined to hold it together. Three of the diadochi, Ptolemy, Lysimachus, and Cassander, formed an alliance against Antigonus. In 321 Antigonus was preparing to attack Cassander, who was in Macedonia. However, Ptolemy led an army against the son of Antigonus, whose name was Demetruis Poliorcetes. Ptolemy defeated Demetrius at Gaza. A peace treay was signed in the following year. It designated Ptolemy as the satrap (governor) of Egypt.
But the peace agreement did not turn out to be effective. More wars occurred. In 309 B.C. Ptolemy commanded a fleet that took Caria and Lycia from Antigonus. In 308 B.C. Ptolemy even landed in Greece and was able to take Corinth, Meagra and Sicyon.
Ptolemy was not yet officially the king of Egypt, but for all practical purposes, he was now ruling as the king. He and the other satraps fought some wars with Antigonus. In 306 B.C. the fleet of Antigonus won a critical battle at Salamis. Ptolemy's brother Menelaus was taken prisoner. However, Ptolemy won a land battle against the army of Antigonus at Gaza in that same year. In 305 B.C., Ptolemy was able to defend the island of Rhodes against the forces of Antigonus. The Rhodians gave Ptolemy the title Soter, which means "savior". In 301 B.C. Antigonus was killed at the battle of Ipsus. That broke up the empire for good. The three allies were able to divide the territory among themselves. Ptolemy became king of Egypt and also added Palestine and southern Syria to his domain.
Ptolemy I Soter officially became king of Egypt in 305 B.C. He took the Egyptian name Meryamun Setenpenre, which means, "Beloved of Amun, chosen of Re". He was Macedonian, but wanted to rule with the image of being an Egyptian pharaoh. This public image was important for keeping the support of the native Egyptian population. Ptolemy I is also believed to have married a daughter of the Egyptian Nectanebo II. It is likely that he did, but he certainly did not make her his main queen. He married a Greek lady from Athens named Thais and also a Persian princess named Artacama. Thais was the more important queen. She bore three children named Lagus, Leontiscus, and Eirene.
Ptolemy had another queen named Eurydice; he had married her in 323 B.C. She was the daughter of Antipater, who was regent of Macedonia. Eurydice bore a son named Ptolemy Ceraunus Ptolemais, a daughter named Lysandra, and possibly two other children named Meleager and Argaeus. There was one son whose name is not known.
Ptolemy I started a lot of construction projects, but he did not see all of them finished during his lifetime. In 290 B.C. he began the building of the Pharos lighthouse in Alexandria, but died before it was completed. Ptolemy I died in 283 B.C. at the age of 84 and his son Ptolemy II finished the construction of the lighthouse.
Ptolemy I was able to finish the Mouseion, which was the famous university in Alexandria, but his son was the only one who caused it to grow. Ptolemy II invited many scholars from various places to come there. Ptolemy I built a great library in Alexandria, which became famous in the ancient world. He instituted the worship of a god called Serapis and built a temple for the worship of Serapis in Alexandria. This temple was called the Sarapeion.
It is not known where the tomb of Ptolemy I is located. He was probably buried in the royal necropolis at Alexandria. His son Ptolemy II may have been a co-ruler with him in the last years of his reign.
Ptolemy I established the Ptolemaic dynasty that would rule Egypt until the Roman takeover. The Ptolemies were largely (though not completely) Greek and Macedonian, but they managed to rule Egypt for a fairly long time. One reason is that their rule was not as repressive as that of other foreigners, such as the Assyrians and Hyksos.

Neal Robbins

[Neal Robbins]

A silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy I's rule can be seen on this link:


[Note - This particular coin was minted while Ptolemy was still satrap (governor) of Egypt. He had not yet officially become king, but in fact, was ruling in the capacity of a king.]

http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/egypt/ptolemy_I/BMC_26.jpg

Neal Robbins

P.S. The pattern of the coin is:

Obverse: Head of Alexander the Great with an elephant skin headdress.
Reverse: Athena facing right with a spear and shield. An eagle is at her feet. A shield is also in the field.

[Neal Robbins]

A coin of Ptolemy I's reign can be seen on this link:


http://www.wildwinds.com/coins/greece/egypt/ptolemy_I/AV_5Drachm.jpg

Neal Robbins

P.S. This coin is a gold pentadrachm. The pattern is:

Obverse: Diademed head of Ptolemy I right. A delta is behind the ear.
Reverse: An eagle standing left on a thunderbolt.

[Neal Robbins]

Ptolemy II was the second king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt. Ptolemy I, a general of Alexander the Great, had founded the dynasty.

Ptolemy II ruled 285-246 B.C. His parents were Ptolemy I and Berenike. Ptolemy II had two queens. The first was Arsinoe I. She was the daughter of King Lysimachus, who ruled Macedonia and Thrace. Ptolemy II and Arsinoe had three children. Their names were:

Ptolemy III (He was the successor.)
Lysimachus (another son)
Berenice (a daughter)

Ptolemy divorced Arsinoe I and married another woman, whose name was also Arsinoe. She is referred to as Arsinoe II.
Ptolemy II conducted many building projects during his reign. One was the completion of the Pharos lighthouse. It is one of the seven wonders of the world. Other things that he built included:

A temple at Pithon
A small chapel for Arsinoe II
A new pylon at Temenos
The Sobek temple at Shedyet
New main temple at Koptos
The enlargement of the shrine of Renemutet at Medinet Madi

Ptolemy II built a chain of towns along the Red Sea coast. He promoted trade with Arabia and India.
Israel was under the rule of Ptolemy II. He invited a group of Jewish scholars to come from Jerusalem to Egypt. They translated the Pentateuch (first five books of the Bible) into Greek. This translation was put in the library of Alexandria.
Ptolemy II died in 246 B.C. His queen Arsinoe II and his son Ptolemy III became co-regents.

Neal Robbins

P.S. Ptolemy II's full name was Ptolemy II Philadelphos. He was also given some Egyptian titles, which continued the Egyptian tradition. This was to get on the good side of the native Egyptian population. After all, the Ptolemies were foreign rulers. These titles were:

Horus name - Hunuqeni ("The strong youth")

Nebty name - Werphehti ("Whose might is great")

Golden Falcon name - Sebekhaensuitef ("Who his father has raised to the throne")

Prenomen - Weserkare Meryamun ("Who is made strong through the ka of Ra, beloved of Amun")

[Neal Robbins]

Ptolemy III Euergetes was the third king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt. He was the son of Ptolemy II. Ptolemy III ruled Egypt during the years 246-222 B.C. His wife was a woman named Berenike. She was the daughter of King Magas, the ruler of Cyrene, a country in the NE part of Libya. Berenike's mother Apana tried to get her to marry a young man named Demetrios, who was a son of Ptolemy I. This was when Berenike became queen of Cyrene. But Apana then fell in love with Demetrios. Berenike found out about it and had Demetrios executed. She spared her mother. Berenike then married King Ptolemy III. This marriage united Egypt and Cyrene. Ptolemy III and Berenike (called Berenike II) had three children. Their names were:


Ptolemy IV (He was the successor.)
Arsinoe III (a daughter)
Antialcidas (He was given authority to rule the internal affairs of Cyrene.)

Ptolemy III encountered problems with Syria, which was ruled by the Seleucid king Seleucus II. Seleucus II had married Ptolemy III's sister Berenike. The wedding had taken place to seal a peace pact during the reign of Ptolemy II.
Berenike wished for her son to become heir to the Syrian throne. Seleucus II opposed this, and to make matters worse for Berenike, war broke out between Egypt and Syria. Seleucus murdered Berenike before her brother could rescue her.
Ptolemy III won several battles against Syria, though he did not conquer the country. His naval supremacy enabled him to control much of the eastern Mediterranean coastline.
Ptolemy III conducted a number of building projects. For example, he rebuilt the Serapeum in Alexandria and had a second one constructed in Canopus. Ptolemy also laid the foundation for a Horus temple at Edfu; the completion would take place in later times. He also had a small Isis temple made at Aswan. In addition, eleven gates were built at Karnak. One of the streets there was lined with sphinxes which had a unique element to their design. They were ram-headed sphinxes. A Khons temple was built at Qasr El-Gueda.
In the 9th year of his reign, Ptolemy III approved the Decree of Canopus. It was formulated by the Egyptian priests. This decree called for a calendar readjustment. An extra day was to be added to the year every fourth year.
Ptolemy III died in 222 B.C. His son Ptolemy IV became king.

Neal Robbins

P.S. Ptolemy III had two Horus names. They were:

"Who pleases gods and men for receiving the kingdom for his father"

"Whose might is great, who slaughters his enemies"

Other titles of Ptolemy III were:

"The heir of the sibling loving gods, who is the chosen of Re, the living example of Amun"

"Ptolemy, living forever, beloved of Ptah"

Neal Robbins

[Neal Robbins]

Ptolemy IV Philapator was the fourth king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt. He ruled during the years 22-205 B.C. His father was Ptolemy III.
Ptolemy IV was married to a woman named Arsinoe III. They had a son named Ptolemy V, who was the successor.
Ptolemy IV was not as good a ruler as the previous Ptolemaic kings. He lived a life of debauchery at the palace. Drinking and womanizing were his favorite pastimes. And he was very blatant about it; for example, he had a mistress named Agathoclea (sister of an official named Agathocles). Ptolemy made no secret of the relationship.
There were two officials who heavily influenced him. Their names were Sosibius and Agathocles. They were definitely not honest or trustworthy. As a result, the army and navy declined. This brought severe trouble and a challenge to Ptolemy IV's reign. The Seleucid ruler of Syria, Antiochus III, invaded Egypt.
Not enough Greeks or Macedonians were willing to volunteer for the army. Ptolemy IV knew he had to do something or the Seleucids would conquer Egypt. So he decided to recruit native Egyptians for the army. The plan worked; many Egyptian men volunteered and Ptolemy IV now had a sizeable army. He personally led the troops and showed his capability. Ptolemy IV defeated the Seleucid invaders at Raphia in 217 B.C
But arming Egyptians had a side effect to it. The southern part of Egypt (called Upper Egypt) revolted and that cost Ptolemy IV a substantial amount of territory.
Ptolemy went back to boozing it up and cavorting around with Agathoclea (and probably some other women). He did a few noteworthy things, such as building a temple dedicated to the Greek poet Homer. Ptolemy wrote a play and Agathocles added a commentary to it.
In 205 B.C. Ptolemy IV died and his wife Arsinoe III became regent, since his son Ptolemy V was only five years old at the time.

Neal Robbins

[Neal Robbins]

Ptolemy V Epiphanes Eucharistos was the fifth king of the Ptolemaic dynasty of ancient Egypt. He ruled from 205 B.C. to 181 B.C. His reign had trouble from the start. He was only five years old when his father died, so his mother Arsinoe III began ruling as regent. The officials Agathocles and Sosibius murdered his mother and he was constantly under the influence of government ministers.
Revolts broke out in the delta region of Egypt and Ptolemy V had to put them down. Additional problems arose when Philip V of Macedon took territory which had been under Ptolemaic rule. These possessions were islands in the Mediterranean, Thrace, and Caria.
The Seleucid ruler Antiochus III went to war against Egypt. He took Palestine and defeated Ptolemy V in the battle of Panion in 200 B.C. Ptolemy V made peace with the Seleucids and married Cleopatra I, daughter of Antiochus III. This wedding took place in 191 B.C.
Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I had three children. Their names were:

Ptolemy VII Euergetes II (a successor)
Ptolemy VI Philometer (also a successor)
Cleopatra II

During the reign of Ptolemy V, Egypt became very much weakened. He died in 181 B.C. and Cleopatra I began ruling regent.

Neal Robbins

P.S. The Rosetta Stone gives a trilingual inscription that tells of the coronation of Ptolemy V.

P.P.S. The Horus name of Ptolemy V was Hwnw xaj-m-nsw-Hr-st-jt. It means "the god who has appeared as king in place of his father".

His Golden Horus name is Wad-anx-n-Hnmmt nb HAbw-Sd-mj-Ptah-Tatnn jty-mj Ra. It means "Who has caused the life of the people to prosper, Lord of the years of jubilee like Ptah-Tennen, King like Ra".

The throne name of Ptolemy V was jwa-n-nTrwj-mr(wj)-jt stp-(n)-Ptah wsr-Ka-Ra sxm-anx-n Jmn. It means "The son of the father loving gods, whom Ptah has chosen, to whom Ra has given the victory to the living image of Ammon".

Cleopatra, his queen, also had a Horus title. I shall skip the transcription and go to the translation, which is:

"The young girl, daughter of the ruler, created by the ruler, beloved of the gods of Egypt, adorned by Khmun, the regent of Thoth, whose might is great, who pleases the two lands, who gives the people in perfection to the two ladies, who Neith, the lady of Sais makes strong, who Hathor praises for her popularity".

[Neal Robbins]

I have chosen to include both of these Ptolemies in the same message, since they were co-rulers for a while. Ptolemy VI Philometer became king of Egypt in 180 B.C. His wife (and sister) was Cleopatra II. They had two daughters whose names were Cleopatra Thea and Cleopatra III Euergetes. Cleopatra was obviously a popular name for females in the Ptolemaic royal court. Ptolemy VI also had a son who was named after him. Ptolemy VI's brother was Ptolemy Physcom.
Ptolemy VI had many problems during his reign. At the start he was under the control of his guardians. In 170 B.C. the Seleucid ruler of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes IV invaded Egypt. This campaign was called the Egyptian War. Egypt no longer had effective military leadership. Antiochus conquered Egypt and set up a triumvirate for governing the internal affairs. Ptolemy VI, his queen Cleopatra II, and his brother Ptolemy VII were to do the administration. In 168 B.C. Antiochus IV had himself crowned as king of Egypt. The Ptolemies did not like this arrangement.
However, things started to take a turn for the better. Rome intervened and sent word to Antiochus that he had to give up the royal title. Antiochus had not desire to get into a fight with Rome.
Ptolemy VI wanted more power. In 168 B.C. he went to Rome to get help. And he got it; the influential Roman senator Cato gave him backing. In 163 B.C. Ptolemy VI returned to Egypt. He and his brother divided up the kingdom. Ptolemy VI got to continue ruling Egypt. His brother became king of Cyrene, which had been a province.
Ptolemy VI did some noteworthy things. He implemented some building projects. They included:

Temple of Horus at Tanis
Birth House of Isis at Dendarah
Double Temple at Kom Ombo
Temple of Onias at Tell el-Yahudiah (This was a Hellenistic Jewish temple.)
Pronaos for Nemty Temple at Qaw el-Kebir

But Ptolemy then pulled a goof. He got involved in a civil conflict that was going on in Syria. Two men named Demetrius and Alexander Balas were rivals for the Seleucid throne. Ptolemy would have done better to have stayed neutral and let them slug it out.
There is a certain irony to the background of this conflict. Alexander Balas had claimed to be the son of Antiochus Epiphanes IV. The Roman Senate, Ptolemy VI, and others had recognized this claim. Thus Alexander Balas had managed to defeat Demetrius I and take the throne of Syria. But Alexander then began living a life of debauchery and was not too popular a ruler. Demetrius II (son of Demetrius I) went to war against Balas. This time Ptolemy VI supported Demetrius II, one reason being that Demetrius II was his son-in-law. Demetrius had married Ptolemy's daughter Cleopatra Thea.
Ptolemy VI won a major battle and defeated Alexander Balas. But Ptolemy VI was mortally wounded in the fighting. Alexander Balas fled to Nabataea, but a prince had him executed.
Ptolemy VI's son who was also named Ptolemy, was named as the new king. But his uncle had him executed. Ptolemy VII then became king and ruled as an autocrat. He married his widow Cleopatra II. Then he repudiated her and married her daughter Cleopatra III Euergetes. Naturally this did not set too well with Cleopatra II. She managed to oust Ptolemy VII from Egypt in 130 B.C., but he returned in 127 B.C. He died in 116 B.C. Both queens outlived him.

Neal Robbins

P.S. Ptolemy VI's son is referred to as Ptolemy VII by some historians. These scholars call Ptolemy VI's brother Ptolemy VIII. Giving Ptolemy VI's son the title of Ptolemy VII is dubious, since he never actually ruled. However, he morally deserved to rule; his uncle had no right to put him to death.

[Neal Robbins]

In this posting I will discuss the 8th and 9th Ptolemies. Egypt went through some traumatic times with them.
Ptolemy VIII Lathrys actually had more than one reign. The first was 116-110 B.C. Ptolemy VIII was officiallly ruling, but his mother was calling the shots. In 110 B.C. his mother Cleopatra III forced him to accept his brother Ptolemy Alexander as his co-ruler. Therefore this reign was in terms of joint kingship. Ptolemy Alexander had been ruling as governor of Cyprus before becoming a co-ruler. Ptolemy VIII did not like this joint kingship. And for that matter, neither did his brother. In 107 B.C. Ptolemy Alexander (Ptolemy IX) drove him from the throne. Ptolemy VIII went into exile in Cyprus. He was angry about it, but was determined to once again rule Egypt. Ptolemy VIII was not a quitter, as many would find out.
Ptolemy VIII had complete control of Cyprus. He had an army of considerable size and had every intention of using it. A civil war broke out in Seleucid ruled Syria. Antiochus VIII Gryphus and Antiochus IX Cyzicenus were fighting each other for control of the kingdom.
Meanwhile Ptolemy Alexander decided to attack the Judean city of Ptolemais. A Seleucid leader named Zoilus came to try to break the siege, but was unsuccessful. The people of Ptolemais appealed to Ptolemy VIII for help. He came from Cyprus with an army and landed at Gycamia, which was near Ptolemais. The residents of Ptolemais had second thoughts about it and tried to call off his intervention, but it was too late. He was determined to get into the act.
Ptolemy Alexander quit the siege and appealed to his mother for help. He then proposed an alliance with his brother Ptolemy VIII and had the intention of betraying him. But Ptolemy VIII found out about his brother's treacherous plans. He crossed the Jordan River and defeated Ptolemy Alexander's army at Asophon. Then Ptolemy VIII overran Judea. He took the city of Ptolemais.
The queen sent reinforcements led by two Jewish generals named Chelkias and Ananias. Ptolemy VIII tried to take Egypt, but his army was pushed back. He returned to Cyprus, determined to fight another day.
Ptolemy Alexander launched an invasion of Syria. He took Gadra and Amathus. But a Seleucid general named Theodorus ambushed Ptolemy Alexander's army and killed 10,000 of his troops.
Ptolemy Alexander decided that Syria was too tough an egg to crack. He returned to Egypt. His reign continued and it was not always popular. For example, at the Festival of the Tabernacles, some celebrants pelted him with kitions. He had several hundred of them killed.
Ptolemy Alexander also got into a war with Nabataea. He lost a major battle with the Nabataean king Obedas at the village of Garuda Gaulanais.
Egypt had a ferocious civil war and Ptolemy Alexander's enemies appealed to Demetrius II Philapator, the Seleucid ruler, to come to their aid. Both armies had a mixed composition of Greek and Jewish soldiers. Demetrius defeated Ptolemy Alexander. So Ptolemy Alexander fled to the mountains. However, some who had been opposing him, decided that they would do better to side with him. With renewed strength, Ptolemy Alexander managed to win some battles and turn the tide. He was ruthless with the Jews in Judea who had opposed him. Ptolemy Alexander took 800 Jews with him to Jerusalem and had them crucified.
During the civil war, Ptolemy Alexander had to give back Nabataean territory that he had taken. This was to insure that the Nabataean king would not intervene in the civil war.
Ptolemy Alexander suffered from an illness and his drinking did not help things. He died while besieging Ragaba in the territory of Gerasenes. His queen Alexandra became ruler of Egypt. She pulled Egypt out of the fighting with the Seleucids and did things to bring peace on the domestic front. For example, she made peace with the Pharisees. The Armenian king Tigranes threatened to invade Egypt, but Alexandra forestalled an invasion. Then Tigranes heard that a Roman army led by Lucullus had invaded Armenia. He hurried back to Armenia with his troops.
Alexandra was a good ruler. She appointed her eldest son Hyrcanus as high priest. She also followed the policy of not getting Egypt bogged down in wars.
Her son Aristobolus took over several fortresses and recruited an army of mercenaries. He intended to become ruler of Egypt.
Alexandra detained Aristobolus's wife and children as hostages in the Baris fortress. But she died before she could completely neutralize the threat of Aristobolus.
Ptolemy VIII now saw his chance. He returned to Egypt with an army and took over the country. Most of his second reign was peaceful, though he had to put down a revolt in Thebes. This took two wars.
Ptolemy VIII died in 81 B.C. He left two heirs, one of which was an illegitimate son named Auletes. The other was a daughter named Bernice. I will discuss them in another posting.

Neal Robbins

P.S. Ptolemy VIII's first wife was his sister Cleopatra IV. However, their mother Cleopatra III decided to break up the marriage. She made Ptolemy VIII mary Cleopatra Selene. Bernice Philadelphius was the daughter of Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra Selene. There were two sons that Cleopatra Selene bore, but both died at early ages.
It is not known who the mother of Auletes was. She may have been an Egyptian mistress of Ptolemy VIII.

P.P.S. After Ptolemy VIII divorced Cleopatra IV, she went to Cyprus with the intention of marrying Ptolemy Alexander. This was while he was governor of Cyprus. However, he refused to marry her. She then went to Syria and married Antiochus IX Cyzicenus.

[Neal Robbins]

After Ptolemy VIII died in 81 B.C. his daughter Cleopatra Berenice became queen. She was married to Ptolemy X. He died and she married her stepson Ptolemy XI. But soon an angry mob in Alexandria lynched him for his crime. Cleopatra Berenice had been a popular queen.
Ptolemy XII came to power. He was an illegitimate son of Ptolemy Lathyros.
Ptolemy XII's subjects referred to him by a couple of nicknames, one of which was uncomplimentary. It was "the bastard". The other nickname was "the flute player".
Ptolemy XII was married to Tryphaena. Ptolemy XII and Tryphaena were the parents of Cleopatra VII, who was the last of the Ptolemies. She was the one who has been portrayed in movies, first by Elizabeth Taylor and later by Leonor Varela. I have seen both of these movies about Cleopatra VII.
Another child of Ptolemy XII was Berenice IV. In 58 B.C. Ptolemy XII was exiled to Cyprus. Tryphaena died and Berenice became the only regent. She was about to marry a Seleucid prince named Seleucus Kybiosaktes, but decided that she did not like him. So she had him strangled. Then Berenice married a man named Archelaus.
But Ptolemy XII returned to Egypt in 55 B.C. He defeated the army of Archelaus and is said to have had him and Berenice IV executed. The Romans had some influence in the return of Ptolemy XII to Egypt. Pompey urged him to do so.
Ptolemy XII ruled until his death in 51 B.C. On his deathbed he decreed that his daughter Cleopatra VII was to succeed him.
So Cleopatra VII became the reigning queen of Egypt. She was not only the last Ptolemy, but also the last pharaoh to rule Egypt. The Romans would take control of Egypt during her lifetime.

Neal Robbins