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Dynasty Notes

The Ptolemaic dynasty (prety much called that becuae we have a series of sixteen of them with thes ame name!) is one of the best known in Egyptian history. It is comparatively recent, and much more a "greco-roman" kingship than Egyptian. The greeks keep pretty good records, so we have more information from Alexander the Great on than on nearly any pharaoh before.

Even with all the information -- or perhaps because of it -- the chronology for this dynasty is very confusing. There are many co-regencies, and in some cases the reign of a single pharaoh is broken up by usurpers, contemporary challengers, or war. Frequent palace coups occured during the dynasty, which confuse thing even more.

Egypt was considered powerful and stable through the reign of all the Ptolemies thorugh Cleopatra (she is Cleopatra VII, by the way), at which point, Egypt was subsumed into the Roman empre and overpowered. The power Egypt welded during mjost of this dynasty rivalled that with the height of the Egyptian empire in the 18th Dynasty, 19th Dynasty, and 20th Dynasty.

Buildling reached new hieghts in this dynasty, rivalling the monumental building projects of the New Kingdom -- temples at Edfu, Esna, Kom Ombo, Dendera, Phile, Elephantine are all Ptolemiaic creations.

The well-accepted chronology is as follows:

Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Ptolemy III Euergeter
Ptolemy IV Philopater
Ptolemy V Epiphanes
Cleopatra I
Ptolemy Eupator
Ptolemy VI Philometor
Cleopatra II
Ptolemy VII Neos Philpator
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II
Cleopatra III & Ptolemy IX Soter II
Cleopatra III & Ptolemy X Alexander
Cleopatra Berenice
Ptolemy XI Alexander
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos
Berenice IV
Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra VII & Ptolemy XIII
Cleopatra VII & Ptolemy XIV
Ptolemy XV Cesarion

 

 

pharaohs

Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Ptolemy III Euergeter
Ptolemy IV Philopater
Ptolemy V Epiphanes
Cleopatra I
Ptolemy Eupator
Ptolemy VI Philometor
Cleopatra II
Ptolemy VII Neos Philpator
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II
Cleopatra III & Ptolemy IX Soter II
Cleopatra III & Ptolemy X Alexander
Cleopatra Berenice
Ptolemy XI Alexander
Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos
Berenice IV
Cleopatra VII
Cleopatra VII & Ptolemy XIII
Cleopatra VII & Ptolemy XIV
Ptolemy XV Cesarion