Ptolemy I: King and Pharaoh of Egypt

When Rome defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra and annexed Egypt, the rule of the longest-lived of the Hellenistic dynasties and one of the most illustrious in Egyptian history came to an end. For nearly three hundred years, the Macedonian dynasty known as the Ptolemaic had controlled Egypt and its mixed population of Egyptians, Greeks, Macedonians, and Jews. The founder of this dynasty, Ptolemy I (367-283/2 BC), was a boyhood friend and eventually personal bodyguard of Alexander the Great, who fought alongside Alexander in the epic battles that toppled the Persian Empire, and brought about a Macedonian Empire stretching from Greece to India. After Alexander's death, his senior staff carved up his vast empire, with Ptolemy gaining control of Egypt. There he built up his power base in Egypt, introduced administrative and economic reforms that made his family fabulously wealthy, and by extending Egypt's possessions overseas founded an Egyptian Empire. In addition to his political and military prowess, Ptolemy was an intellectual, who patronized the mathematician Euclid, wrote an important account of Alexander's campaign in Asia, and established the famous Library and Museum at Alexandria, which were the cultural heart of the entire Hellenistic Age. Ptolemy ruled Egypt until he died of natural causes in his early eighties. Ian Worthington's Ptolemy I--the first full-length biography of its kind in English--traces the life of Ptolemy from his boyhood to his reign as king and pharaoh of Egypt. Throughout, he highlights the achievements that profoundly shaped both Egypt's history and that of the early Hellenistic world. He argues that Ptolemy was by far the greatest of Alexander's Successors, and that he was a conscious imperialist who even boldly attempted to seize Greece and Macedonia, and be a second Alexander.

About the Author :
Ian Worthington is Curators' Distinguished Professor of History and Adjunct Professor of Classical Studies at the University of Missouri. He is the author of numerous books about ancient Greece, including, most recently, By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire and Demosthenes of Athens and the Fall of Classical Greece.

Review :
"This book ... can be read as an introduction to the narrative history of the period, from the rise of Philip of Macedonia to the solidification of the Hellenistic kingdoms, in which the main features and developments of the period are presented." --Charlotte Van Regenmortel, Bryn Mawr Classical Review "Ptolemy I: King and Pharaoh of Egypt is a welcome addition to Ian Worthington's many distinguished contributions to the history of late fourth century BC Greece. Ptolemy I was the most successful of Alexander the Great's Successors, the founder of the longest lived Egyptian dynasty and the author of a history that is the ultimate source of most of our knowledge of Alexander's reign. Now, finally, readers have a vividly written biography of the king that is firmly based on current scholarship." -Stanley M. Burstein, author of The Reign of Cleopatra "This new biography of Ptolemy I is fitting tribute to a unique ruler it rightly describes as 'one of a kind.' Bringing him out of the shadows of his contemporaries and placing him center-stage in the dramatic events of the late fourth century BC, Ptolemy emerges as the ultimate survivor in a dangerous world, his life story combining daring adventure with consummate statecraft. As 'a sterling example of a king, soldier, statesman and intellectual, ' Ptolemy laid solid foundations for the Ptolemaic dynasty named after him and whose three centuries' rule over Egypt and much of the ancient world would culminate in the great Cleopatra herself."-Joann Fletcher, author of The Story of Egypt and Cleopatra the Great "Ptolemy I is a much needed new biography of one of the most underrated figures of antiquity--polymath, historian, general, king, and nation builder--thanks to the accustomed erudition, scholarship, and engaging prose of Ian Worthington, who is becoming one of our most trusted and interesting biographers of the ancient Greek world." --Victor Davis Hanson, author of The Savior Generals