Ptolemy I Soter (366 BCE – 282 BCE)

was one of the successor kings to the empire of Alexander the Great. He served not only as king of Egypt but also the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a dynasty which included the infamous Cleopatra VII.

Ptolemy was a Macedonian nobleman, son of Lagos. Rumors circulated, however, that he was actually the illegitimate son of Alexander’s father Phillip II, a possibility that would have made him Alexander’s half-brother. Although older than Alexander and many of the other generals who followed Alexander into Persia, he still became a close friend, advisor and later one of his seven personal bodyguards. Following Phillips II’s death at the hands of Pausanias, Alexander embarked on his quest to meet, defeat and conquer Darius III and the Persian Empire. Although historians are in disagreement concerning Ptolemy’s role in the Persian campaign, they do agree that he did participate in a number of battles. This disagreement stems from the fact that Ptolemy was also a historian of sorts and his biography of Alexander may have exaggerated his own contributions.

When Alexander died in 323 BC, the fate of the empire was left in the hands of Perdiccas, the cavalry leader, who had been handed Alexander’s signet ring on the king’s deathbed

Ptolemy was completely against this idea and led a campaign to divide the empire among the leading generals. He got his wish and received in the division his first choice – Egypt. The alliances that would be formed among these new satraps were tenuous and both war and peace would reign for thirty years. These battles became known as the Diadochi or Successor Wars.

Unlike the other generals, Ptolemy’s major concern and ambition did not go far beyond the borders of Egypt.  While he became involved in the in-fighting among the others and eventually acquired lands in the eastern Mediterranean, his major concern was Egypt.

During Ptolemy’s rule of Egypt, he put the country on sound economic and administrative footing. Since he didn’t want to fall under the influence of the priests and officials at Memphis, Ptolemy’s first decision was to move the country’s capital to Alexandria. He preferred the location of Alexandria: Since it was on the Mediterranean Sea, it was strategically better, providing easier access to both the sea and his homeland of Greece. Because of this move, Alexandria became more of a Greek rather than Egyptian city. Greek became the language of both government and commerce. Amazingly, the only member of the Ptolemaic Dynasty to ever learn Egyptian was Cleopatra VII.