Thirty-Third Dynasty

The Ptolemaic Dynasty

305 to 30 BC

The Ptolemaic Dynasty lasted just short of 300 years, but was one of Egypt’s most complex historical periods due in no small part to the growing influence of foreign powers.  The Macedonian and Roman empires were larger and more cosmopolitan than any previous hegemony, and as a result Egypt experienced unprecedented cultural intersections.  Greek and Roman values, religions, and traditions came together into the Egyptian melting pot, sometimes with remarkable philosophical, scientific, and architectural results.

Ptolemaic pharaohs all took the name Ptolemy, and their queens took the names Cleopatra, Arsinoe, or Berenice.  The timeline of the Ptolemaic Dynasty is as difficult to follow as the Intermediate Periods because there are frequent co-regencies, kings and queens sometimes fall out of power only to regain it, and several kings come to violent ends very early in their reign.  But it is also a period of cultural growth and some of Egypt’s most beautiful temples and monuments are either constructed or restored during this time.

Women wielded a great deal of power in the Ptolemaic Period, with queens ruling as both co-regent and independently.  The most well-known is Cleopatra VII, who became politically and romantically embroiled with the two most powerful men in Rome, Julius Caesar and Mark Antony.  Things did not end well for any of those involved.

The Ptolemaic Dynasty ended with the suicide of Cleopatra VII.  Around 30 BC, Emperor Octavian makes Egypt a Roman province, and for the next 400 years Egypt is ruled from Rome.  In the year AD 395 the Roman Empire is divided and Egypt falls under the control of the Byzantine Empire, ruled from Constan-tinople.  In AD 640 the armies of Amr ibn al-‘As invade Egypt, heralding in the Islamic Age. 

Thirty-Second Dynasty

The Macedonian Dynasty

332 to 305 BC

Having defeated the Persian Empire, Alexander of Macedonia assumed control of Egypt in 332 BC, reportedly much to the pleasure of the Egyptians.  He was crowned at the Temple of Ptah at Memphis and paid homage at the Oracle of Amun soon thereafter.  In 331 BC he founded the northern city of Alexandria then left Egypt to resume his conquest of the Mediterranean world. 

Alexander was succeeded by his half-brother Philip III, who never ruled on his own due mental and physical disabilities, possibly as a result of an assassination attempt before Philip II’s death.  The actual affairs of state were carried out by a series of regents—Perdiccas, followed by Antipater, who was succeeded by Polyperchon.  Philip III was eventually assassinated on the orders of his grandmother, Queen Olympias, and Alexander’s son, Alexander IV, became the new emperor.

Alexander IV never actually visited Egypt.  During the entire Macedonian Dynasty Egypt was actually ruled locally by Ptolemy Soter, a trusted general and friend of Alexander the Great.  Ptolemy Soter continued to rule Egypt as governor for five years after the death of Philip III, finally declaring himself pharaoh in 305 BC, thus becoming Ptolemy I, founder of the Thirty-Third Dynasty.