Ptolemaic period

Ptolemaic Kingdom
Πτολεμαϊκὴ βασιλεία Ptolemaïkḕ Basileía
305 BC–30 BC
Eagle of Zeus
The Ptolemaic Kingdom in 300 BC (in blue).
Capital		Alexandria
Languages		Greek (official) Egyptian (common)
Religion		Cult of Serapis
Government		Hellenistic monarchy
Pharaoh
•	305–283 BC	Ptolemy I Soter (first)
•	51–30 BC	Cleopatra VII (last)
Historical era		Classical antiquity
•	Established	305 BC
•	Disestablished	30 BC
Currency		Greek Drachma
Preceded by Succeeded by Macedonian Empire Late Period of ancient Egypt Egypt (Roman province)
Today part of		Cyprus  Egypt  Greece  Libya  Turkey  Israel  Palestine  Lebanon  Syria  Jordan  Sudan

Eagle of Zeus

The Ptolemaic Kingdom (/ˌtɒləˈmeɪ.ɪk/; Ancient Greek: Πτολεμαϊκὴ βασιλεία, Ptolemaïkḕ Basileía) was a Hellenistic kingdom based in Egypt. It was ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty which started with Ptolemy I Soter's accession after the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and which ended with the death of Cleopatra VII and the Roman conquest in 30 BC.

The Ptolemaic Kingdom was founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter, who declared himself Pharaoh of Egypt and created a powerful Hellenistic dynasty that ruled an area stretching from southern Syria to Cyrene and south to Nubia. Alexandria became the capital city and a major center of Greek culture and trade. To gain recognition by the native Egyptian populace, they named themselves the successors to the Pharaohs. The later Ptolemies took on Egyptian traditions by marrying their siblings, had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress, and participated in Egyptian religious life. The Ptolemies had to fight native rebellions and were involved in foreign and civil wars that led to the decline of the kingdom and its final annexation by Rome. Hellenistic culture continued to thrive in Egypt throughout the Roman and Byzantine periods until the Muslim conquest.