The Ptolemaic Kingdom is a Macedonian royal dynasty, founded in 305 BC. They ruled Egypt until 30 BC, after the death of Alexander the Great. Alexander had conquered Egypt and added it to his world empire. Ptolemy I Soter succeeded in becoming Alexander’s successor in Egypt. This Ptolemaic dynasty is also the last Pharaonic dynasty. They fell when Cleopatra VII and Mark Antony were defeated by a Roman army led by the young Octavian.

Basically, the Ptolemaic Kingdom was an ancient Hellenistic state based in Egypt, founded by Ptolemy I Soter, companion of Alexander the Great. The Ptolemies were the longest and most recent Egyptian dynasty of ancient origin.

After Alexander the Great conquered Persian controlled Egypt in 332 BC during his campaigns against the Achaemenid Empire, he ruled Egypt until his death in 323 BC. His world empire unraveled quickly. Ptolemy, a Macedonian who was one of Alexander’s most trusted generals and confidants, won control of Egypt and declared himself pharaoh. To legitimize their rule and gain recognition from native Egyptian, the Ptolemies adopted the title of the pharaoh. They had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress. The monarchy maintained their Hellenistic character and traditions.

Alexandria, founded by Alexander, became the capital and a major center of Greek culture, learning, and trade for the next centuries. Following the Syrian Wars, the Ptolemaic Kingdom expanded its territory. The kingdom had a complex government bureaucracy that exploited the country’s vast economic resources to the benefit of the Greek ruling class, which dominated military, political, and economic affairs.

Native Egyptians maintained power over local and religious institutions. Provided they Hellenized, they gradually accrued power in the bureaucracy. The Ptolemies began to adopt Egyptian customs, such as marrying their siblings, and participating in Egyptian religious life. New temples were built, older ones restored.

From the mid 3rd century BC, Ptolemaic Egypt was the wealthiest and most powerful of Alexander’s successor states. They were a leading example of Hellenistic civilization. The kingdom weakened due a series of foreign wars and dynastic strife in the mid of the 2nd century BC. It became increasingly reliant on the Roman Republic. Cleopatra VII sought to restore the Ptolemaic power. Egypt became entangled in a Roman civil war, which ultimately led to its conquest by Rome as the last independent Hellenistic state. Roman Egypt became on of the richest provinces of Rome and a center of Hellenistic culture, with Greek remaining the main language of government until the Muslim conquest in 641 AD.