Ptolemy I, founder of the ancient state in Egypt
A Journey Through Time (Thebes Who Ruled the World) Publication No. (51) from the History of Ancient Egypt
A brief about Ptolemy I (Soter “the Savior”), the founder of the ancient state in Egypt
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After Alexander's death in Babylon, bloody clashes broke out between his leaders to control his vast kingdom. Egypt went to Ptolemy, Syria went to Seleucus, and what remained of Asia Minor went to Antigonus. Macedonia went to the leader Antipatros, and Thrace went to the leader Lucimachus. Historians consider Ptolemy I (Soter) the “savior” and the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He was raised in the palace of Philip II with the palace boys, which confirms that he was a descendant of a noble family, and explains the friendship that developed between him and Alexander. Ptolemy supported Alexander in the dispute that broke out between him and his father, and if that aroused the wrath of Philip II against him, it earned him Alexander’s recognition and appreciation, making him one of those close to him.
Ptolemy was more than ten years older than Alexander, as he was about thirty-three when Alexander the Great’s war against the Persians began, and about forty-four when he was appointed governor of Egypt. Ptolemy investigated the depths of wars in various fields, as it is very likely that he was known in the Greek arenas and the banks of the Tuna, during the campaigns carried out by Alexander in Europe to put things in order before he attacked the Persians. He rose to fame in 331 BC when he captured the impregnable Persian pass, known as the “Persian Gates,” where he commanded a force of 3,000 warriors, an important force in an army of approximately 30,000 men.
In the fall of 330 BC, he was promoted to the Council of Seven, which surrounded Alexander and made up his private guard and his supreme council, and from that time he was entrusted with dangerous tasks, In its course, he showed rare firmness, in its crises, he showed extraordinary calm, and in his positions, a courage worthy of Alexander himself. It seems to us that Ptolemy always had a lofty position in the hearts of the soldiers. They reciprocated love and respect for him, and felt in him what they felt in themselves: a strong adherence to Macedonian traditions behind the new customs that overwhelmed Alexander and some of his companions during the Asian conquests. Indeed, Ptolemy was loyal and obedient to his king to the utmost extent of loyalty and obedience, but he did not yield at all to the motive that attracted Alexander towards the Easterners.
If Ptolemy disobeyed the royal order and married Artakama, the daughter of the Persian governor, when Alexander himself married Rexana, the daughter of Darius III, in the spring of 324 BC, and ordered eighty of his companions to take Persian wives, then the actions of this monarch reveal a political genius with cunning, patience, determination, and determination. Ptolemy enjoyed the company of scholars and writers. He had realized that as much as force was necessary to defend the strength of his state, nurturing science and art was the most successful means of earning him and his lineage glory and immortality. He began to invite many Greek poets, writers, philosophers, and scholars to Alexandria, and among his guests was Demetrius of Flair, and it is possible that he was the one who inspired Ptolemy to establish the House of Knowledge and the Library.
She also enjoyed associating with women, as he had many concubines, perhaps the most famous of whom was an Athenian woman named Thaïs. Around the year 322 BC, Ptolemy concluded a political marriage with the great leader Antipatros by marrying Eurodike, the daughter of this leader. This woman bore Ptolemy at least two daughters and two sons. It is likely that the eldest of these two sons was the one who was later nicknamed Qaraunus al-Sa'iqa. Ptolemy married for the third time, but out of love, to Berenice, who was a lady of Macedonia who came to Egypt in a Eurodike retinue. She had previously been married and had three children from her first husband. Berenice gave birth to two children from Ptolemy, Arsinoe and Ptolemy, who later became Ptolemy II.
Before his third marriage, Ptolemy I had no legal wives in Egypt except for her. When Ptolemy landed in Egypt, he married an Egyptian woman in order to follow in the footsteps of the ancient pharaohs of Egypt, who founded new families by marrying a national woman whose origins were related to the country’s original kings, in order to imbue his rule with a legal character. In the eyes of the Egyptians,
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