Ptolemaic Dynasty
Country	Ancient Egypt, Macedonia, Mauretania
Founded	305 BC
Founder	Ptolemy I Soter
Final ruler	Ptolemy XV (Egypt), Cleopatra VIII (Cyrenaica, Libya)
Titles	Pharaoh, King of Macedonia, King of Mauretania
Estate(s)	Egypt, Cyrenaica, Cyprus, Canaan

Ptolemy I Soter

The Ptolemaic dynasty (/ˌtɒlɪˈmeɪɪk/; Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαῖοι, Ptolemaioi), sometimes also known as the Lagids (/ˈlædʒɪdz/) or Lagidae (/ˈlædʒɪdi/; Λαγίδαι, Lagidai, after Lagus, Ptolemy I's father), was a Macedonian Greek^{[1][2][3][4][5]} royal family, which ruled the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 to 30 BC.^[6] They were the last dynasty of ancient Egypt.

Ptolemy, one of the seven somatophylakes (bodyguards) who served as Alexander the Great's generals and deputies, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In 305 BC, he declared himself Ptolemy I, later known as Sōter "Saviour".

The Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the pharaohs of independent 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 regnant, some of whom were married to their brothers, were usually called Cleopatra, Arsinoe or Berenice. The most famous member of the line was the last queen, Cleopatra VII, known for her role in the Roman political battles between Julius Caesar and Pompey, and later between Octavian and Mark Antony. Her apparent suicide at the conquest by Rome marked the end of Ptolemaic rule in Egypt.

Ptolemaic rulers and consorts[edit]

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

Most likely a posthumous painted portrait of Cleopatra VII of Ptolemaic Egypt with red hair and her distinct facial features, wearing a royal diadem and pearl-studded hairpins, from Roman Herculaneum, mid-1st century AD^[7][8]

A seated woman in a fresco from the Roman Villa Boscoreale, dated mid-1st century BC, that likely represents Berenice II of Ptolemaic Egypt wearing a stephane (i.e. royal diadem) on her head^[9]

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  Ptolemy I Soter (303–282 BC)^[10] married first Thaïs, then Artakama, then Eurydice, and finally Berenice I
  


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  Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BC)^[11] married Arsinoe I, then Arsinoe II; ruled jointly with Ptolemy Epigonos (267–259 BC)


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  Ptolemy III Euergetes (246–221 BC) married Berenice II
  


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  Ptolemy IV Philopator (221–203 BC) married Arsinoe III
  


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  Ptolemy V Epiphanes (203–181 BC) married Cleopatra I Syra
  


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  Ptolemy VI Philometor (181–164 BC, 163–145 BC) married Cleopatra II, briefly ruled jointly with Ptolemy Eupator in 152 BC


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  Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator (never reigned)

Sardonyx cameo of a Ptolemaic prince as the Greek god Hermes, Cabinet des médailles, Paris

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  Ptolemy VIII Physcon (170–163 BC, 145–116 BC) married Cleopatra II, then Cleopatra III; temporarily expelled from Alexandria by Cleopatra II from 131-127 BC, then reconciled with her in 124 BC.


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  Cleopatra II Philometora Soteira (131–127 BC), in opposition to Ptolemy VIII Physcon
  


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  Cleopatra III Philometor Soteira Dikaiosyne Nikephoros (Kokke) (116–101 BC) ruled jointly with Ptolemy IX Lathyros (116–107 BC) and Ptolemy X Alexander I (107–101 BC)


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  Ptolemy IX Lathyros (116–107 BC, 88–81 BC as Soter II) married Cleopatra IV, then Cleopatra Selene; ruled jointly with Cleopatra III in his first reign


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  Ptolemy X Alexander I (107–88 BC) married Cleopatra Selene, then Berenice III; ruled jointly with Cleopatra III till 101 BC


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  Berenice III Philopator (81–80 BC)


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  Ptolemy XI Alexander II (80 BC) married and ruled jointly with Berenice III before murdering her; ruled alone for 19 days after that.


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  Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos (Auletes) (80–58 BC, 55–51 BC) married Cleopatra V Tryphaena
  


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  Cleopatra V Tryphaena (58–57 BC) ruled jointly with Berenice IV Epiphaneia (58–55 BC) and Cleopatra VI Tryphaena (58 BC)


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  Cleopatra ("Cleopatra VII Philopator", 51–30 BC) ruled jointly with Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator (51–47 BC), Ptolemy XIV (47–44 BC) and Ptolemy XV Caesarion (44–30 BC).


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  Arsinoe IV (48–47 BC), in opposition to Cleopatra

Ptolemaic family tree[edit]

Other notable members of the Ptolemaic dynasty[edit]

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  Ptolemy Keraunos (died 279 BC) - eldest son of Ptolemy I Soter. Eventually became king of Macedonia.


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  Ptolemy Apion (died 96 BC) - son of Ptolemy VIII Physcon. Made king of Cyrenaica. Bequeathed Cyrenaica to Rome.


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  Ptolemy Philadelphus (born 36 BC) - son of Mark Antony and Cleopatra VII.


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  Ptolemy of Mauretania (died 40 AD) - son of King Juba II of Numidia and Mauretania and Cleopatra Selene II, daughter of Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony. King of Mauretania.

Medical analysis[edit]

Contemporaries describe a number of the Ptolemaic dynasty members as extremely obese,^{[citation needed]} whilst sculptures and coins reveal prominent eyes and swollen necks. Familial Graves' disease could explain the swollen necks and eye prominence (exophthalmos), although this is unlikely to occur in the presence of morbid obesity.^{[citation needed]} This is all likely due to inbreeding within the Ptolemaic dynasty.^{[citation needed]}

In view of the familial nature of these findings, members of this dynasty likely suffered from a multi-organ fibrotic condition such as Erdheim–Chester disease or a familial multifocal fibrosclerosis where thyroiditis, obesity and ocular proptosis may have all occurred concurrently.^[12]

Gallery of images[edit]

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  Ptolemy of Macedon founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty.
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy II
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy III
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy IV
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy V
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy VI
  

  
  

  
  


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  Cleopatra II (right)
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy VIII
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy IX
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy X
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy XI
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy XII
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy XIII and Isis
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy XIV
  

  
  

  
  


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  Cleopatra VII
  

  
  

  
  


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  Ptolemy XV, commonly called Caesarion.
  

  
  

  
  

See also[edit]

• List of Seleucid rulers


• Hellenistic period


• History of ancient Egypt


• Donations of Alexandria


• Ptolemaic Decrees


• List of Ptolemaic pharaohs


• 
  On Weights and Measures - contains a chronology of the Ptolemies

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

• 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).

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ptolemaic dynasty.

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  Livius.org: Ptolemies — by Jona Lendering.