- PTOLEMY
After Alexander died, Ptolemy founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty in 323 BCE that lasted until the Romans took Egypt in 30 CE.
In Macedonia, Ptolemy was a page who hung out with Alexander. Alexander’s father, King Philip, exiled Ptolemy with Crown Prince Alexander’s other pals from Macedonia to forestall their potential challenge to Philp.
When Alexander had King Philip assassinated and took Macedonia’s Crown, Ptolemy joined Alexander’s bodyguard band from 336 to 335 BCE for conquests in Europe.
Alexander made Ptolemy his personal Bodyguard in 330 in Greece’s campaign against the Persian Empire. After the Greek victory over Persia, Alexander married Ptolemy to Persian Princess Artacama in the mass wedding of Greek generals to Persian Royals.
Before Alexander died in 323 BCE, he refused to designate a successor as Ruler of the new Hellenic Empire he had created, and instead, proclaimed that the strongest of his generals would inherit his empire. Ptolemy, at the Council of Alexander’s generals in Babylon, proposed they divvy up Alexander’s conquests among themselves into autonomous Provinces (Satraps). Ptolemy took Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Cyprus and Syria.
In 294 BCE Ptolemy took control over Cyprus, Tyra and Sidon and from 288 to 286 BCE joined Selecius, Lysimachus, and Pyrrhus to win control of a protectorate they called The League of Islanders–most of the Greek Aegean Isles, which Ptolemy’s Egyptian fleet controlled.
In 322 Ptolemy fought and killed Perdiccas, who controlled Alexander’s Asian provinces. Triparadisus, ruler of Alexander’s European provinces, took the title of Regent for the whole Alexandrian Empire and ratified Ptolemy as ruler of Egypt and Cyrene [Libya].
Ptolemy took Egypt, Libya, Arabia, Cyprus and Syria.
In 322 BCE Ptolemy fought and killed PERDICCAS, who controlled Alexander’s Asian provinces.
Triparadisus, ruler of Alexander’s European provinces became regent for the whole Alexandrian Empire, ratified Ptolemy as ruler of Egypt and Cyrene [Libya]. Ptolemy beat back Macedona’s King ANTIGONUS, who attacked Egypt.
Ptolomy decared himself King of Egypt in 306 BCE. He fought as savior (Soter) against the Macedonians, and in this role, he freed Rhodes from Macedon. In 301 BCE, Ptolomy quarreled but compromised with Alexander’s General Seleucus Nicator, Babylon’s ruler. Ptolomy ceded authortity over Syria but Seleucus gave Ptolomy control the Syrian ports that were the terminals of caravan routes to the Mediterranean.
Ptolemy beat back the attack of Antigonus, Macedonia’s King on Egypt and declared himself King of Egypt in 306 BCE and fought as savior (Soter) against the Macedonians to free Rhodes and in 301 BCE, quarreled over but compromised with Alexander’s General Seleucus Nicator, Babylon’s ruler over control of Syria in exchange for Ptolemy’s control the Syrian ports that were the terminals of caravan routes to the Mediterranean.
Ptolemy blended Egypt’s and Greece’s worship of Anunnaki god Zeus/Ra/Marduk, rebuilt the Egyptian temples Persia had destroyed, and in his great city of Alexandria, created there a workplace and library for scholars, scientists and artists.
He wrote a comprehensive account of Alexander’s conquests and invented a mathematics of epicycles to accurately predict the apparent planetary movements in the night sky. Egyptians considered Ptolemy to be a god.
2) SELEUCUS NICTOR
Seleucus I, a Macedonian Greek general, led Alexander’s elite Silver Shields Infantry. After Alexander died in 323 BCE, PERDICCAS, Regent of Alexander’s empire, made Seleucus Commander of Alexander’s Companions, but failed to help him in his struggle with Ptolemy.
Seleucus killed Perdiccas in 321 BCE and ANTIPATER, the new Regent, made Seleucus ruler of Babylon. Greek commander Antigonus chased Seleucus from Babylon, but Ptolemy brought Seleucus back to Babylon in 312 BCE.
Seleucus extended his rule and made himself Emperor of all of Asia Minor, Syria, Mesopotamia, and the Iranian Plateau. The Seleucid Empire was a power in the Greek world Rome and the Parthian Empire absorbed the Seleucid Empire in the late 2nd and early 1st centuries BCE.
Seleucus tried to take Alexander’s satrapies in Gandhara and in eastern India. But in the 305–303 BCE, Chandragupta Maurya defeated his invasion and Seleucus and Chandragupta signed a peace treaty.
In the treaty, Seleucus gave Chandragupta his daughter Helen as a wife and Chandragupta gave Seleucus 500 elephants and their keepers in exchange.
Seleucus used the elephants to defeat Antagonus in the 301 BCE battle of Ipsus and beat Lysimachus in the battle of Corupedium, which added Asia Minor to the Seleucid Empire.
Seleucus came to Thrace in 281 BCE to add it and Macedon to his Empire but Ptolemy Ceraunus killed him. Ptolemy Ceraunus took power in Macedon and in the Near East, Seleucus’s son Antiochus I took over rule of the Seleucid Empire.
 PTOLEMY & 2) SELEUCUS CONDITIONED EGYPT TO GREEK CULTURE "Pin It")