Ptolemy I Soter, (323 BC—283 BC).

Ptolemy I Soter (son of Lagus) was a general of Alexander the Great and as speculated by some, his possible half-brother.^[1] After Alexander's death he received the Satrapy of Egypt during the regency of Pediccas. After the Battle of Salamis with Antigonus, he proclaimed himself king of Egypt, thereby establishing the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

Titles[edit]

After assuming the purple, Ptolemy clad himself with the vestments of Egypt's traditional customs and religion bearing the title of Pharaoh. While the colloquial "Soter" (saviour) was coffered after a military victory.

Wars of the Successors[edit]

Following Alexander's death in 323 BC, he by martial art ceased the funeral train headed for Macedonia and "brought his body with him to be buried in Alexandria, reuniting the famed conqueror with the city that bore his name. For the next two-and-a-half centuries, the Ptolemaic dynasty of the Greeks would successfully rule Egypt, mingling Hellenic traditions with the mighty legacy of the Pharaohs."^[2]

Family[edit]

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Great Library[edit]

In his old age Ptolemy I ceded the throne to his son Philadelphus and dedicated the remainder of his years to the construction of the Great Library of Alexandria which came to supersede the library at Pergamos. As part of this project he wrote his own history on the life of Alexander, which Quintus prized as the "most trustworthy"^[3] source on the history of Alexander the Great.

Further Study[edit]

See also[edit]

• Alexander the Great
• Cleopatra

External links[edit]

• The Ptolemaic Dynasty

References[edit]

1. ↑ The Complete Works of Arrian, translated by Robison, E. Iliff, Anabasis of Alexander, Preference, Delphi Classics, 2014
2. ↑ The Ptolemaic Dynasty
3. ↑ Quintus Curtius Rufus, History of Alexander, 1.1, translated by J.C. Rolfe