Ptolemy I was the forefather of a dynasty in Egypt that lasted nearly 300 years, eventually ending with Cleopatra VII. Dr Charlotte Dunn, Lecturer in Classics, History & Classics, School of Humanities, University of Tasmania, returns to the show to speak about the period when the Ptolemys came into power.
Charlotte Dunn was previously on the podcast in the episode Succession After Alexander III’s Life w. Dr Charlotte Dunn (July 26, 2021)
Some topics explored
- Who the Ptolemys were
- What’s known about when and where Ptolemy I was born
- Ptolemy I writing a history on Alexander III (known to many as Alexander the Great)
- Ptolemy being made a Satrap (Governor) of Egypt
- What a Satrapy and Satrap are including their Persian descent
- Alexander III adopting administration practices from Persian bureaucracy
- Divisions of the empire and the inception of Kings in those states
- Perdiccus invasion of Egypt and it ending in a mutiny of his men and his murder
- Alexander’s sister Cleopatra, plans for her and Ptolemy to potentially marry, and her assassination
- Ptolemy’s historical writing of Alexander, it not being survived, but was a source of the historian Aryan, whose work does survive
- Cassander, Ptolemy, Antigonus, Seleucus, Lysimachus, Demetrius
- Ptolemy turning down the offer to be the regent of Alexander’s son, Alexander IV
- A coalition including a decisive battle and Antagonus’ defeat
- Ptolemy returns prematurely to Egypt before a decisive and controversy after
- By 305, Ptolemy being recognized as a Pharaoh / King of Egypt
- Coinage that Ptolemy produced for the Egyptian state
- His family life including official wives and children
- The four main kings that formed
- Ptolemy’s two prominent sons and succession
Listen to the episode
The episode can be streamed below and is also available on major podcast apps: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
Show Notes
- Dr Dunn is co-author of the monograph Demetrius the Besieger (Oxford University Press, 2020)
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