King Ptolemy

The Macedonian of Ptolemy I was the Egyptian King, who in Alexandria established the dynasty of Ptolemy, and gave it the name of Poster or Savior.

King Ptolemy i Soter

King of Egypt Ptolemy, a somatophylax, one of the seven bodyguards who served as Alexander the Great's generals and deputies, was appointed satrap (governor) of Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 B.C.E. In 305 B.C.E., he declared himself King Ptolemy I, later known as "Soter" (savior).

ptolemaic dynasty

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 B.C.E. 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 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 suicide at the conquest by Rome marked the end of Ptolemaic rule in Egypt. Chauveau says that the "ever-increasing importance assumed by its women" was a distinctive feature of the Ptolemaic dynasty.