Outline for 3/24-26
The Golden Age of Ptolemaic Egypt

NB: University College London has a good web site for Ptolemaic Europe well worth spending a few minutes exploring!

I. Introduction

A. The Land (see Map 5)

1. divisions
a. Upper Egypt = up-river or south!
b. Middle Egypt
c. Lower Egypt (the Delta, from Cairo/Memphis to the coast)

2. most densely settled areas

a. delta
b. Lake Meiotis and the Fayoum

3. harbors

a. Red Sea
b. delta

B. The Nile

1. 800 km. from the coast to Aswan

C. Population
D. History

1. kingdom since 3000 BC
2. Greeks and Egypt
a. Greek emporion (trading center) at Naukratis (mid-7th century BC)
b. Greek mercenaries (mid-7th century BC)

3. part of the Persian empire: 525-404 BC, 341-323 BC

E. Egyptian Papyri

II. Historical Overview (323-ca. 150 BC)

A. Introduction (cf. throughout with Seleucid Kingdom)
B. Ptolemy I Soter (r. 323-283 BC)
C. Ptolemy II Philadelphus (r. 283-246 BC)

1. 278 BCE Ptolemy divorced his wife, Arsinoe I, the daughter of Lysimachus, and married his sister, Arsinoe II
2. First Syrian War (274-271 BC) vs. Antiochus I
3. Second Syrian War (260-253 BC) vs. Antiochus II

D. Ptolemy III Euergetes (r. 246-222/1 BC)

1. Third Syrian War (or Laodicean War) (246-241 BC) vs. Seleucus II

E. Ptolemaic Overseas Conquests

1. Ptolemaic naval bases (Austin no. 223)
  • Cyrene
  • Coele Syria
  • Thera
  • Methana
  • Keos
  • Maroneia
  • Samos
  • Kos
  • Cyprus
  • Itanos etc.

2. purpose

F. Ptolemy IV Philopator (r. 221-204 BC)

1. Fourth Syrian War (219-217 BC) vs. Antiochus III
a. 20,000 Egyptian machimoi
b. battle at Raphia (217 BC)
i. Austin nos. 224-225

2. Nubia secedes (206-185 BC)
3. Second Punic War (218-202 BC) Carthage vs. Rome

G. Second Century BC

1. kingdom breaks up into its contituent parts several times
a. lower Egypt
b. upper Egypt
c. Syria
d. Cyrene

2. Sixth Syrian War (170-168 BC) vs. Antiochus IV

II. Ptolemaic Administration

A. General
B. Central Administration

1. king and court
a. Alexandria = Ptolemaic capital
b. dioiketes

2. temples and priesthoods

a. Thebes vs. Ptolemaïs

C. Nomes

1. strategos
2. basilikogrammateus
3. 2 or more toparchies
a. toparchos
b. topogrammateus

4. komos

a. komarchos (village headman)
b. komogrammateus (= Menches, Austin no. 260)

D. Goal: Economic Exploitation

1. Crown Lands
2. Cleruchic Land
3. Sacred Land
4. Crown monopolies (Austin no. 236)

III. Extent of Hellenization in Egypt

A. Politics
B. Language

1. Greek
2. Egyptian Hieroglyphics
3. Demotic Egyptian (alphabetic)

C. Social Customs (mixture of Egyptian and Greek)

1. marriage laws (Egyptian customs survived)
2. Greek 'cult 'of physical exercise transplanted to Egypt

D. Religion

1. cult of the Royal House
a. Ptolemaia (Austin nos. 218 & 219)

2. Egyptian cults

a. Isis (mystery goddess)
b. Sarapis (healing god)

E. Relations between the Races

IV. Kerkeosiris

A. Vital Statistics

1. village in the Fayoum basin 50 miles southwest of Cairo
2. Arsinoite nome (named after the sister/wife of Ptolemy II Philadelphus
3. Polemon toparchy
4. archive of the topogrammateus, Menches (late 2nd century BC), was used to wrap the mummies of the sacred crocodiles which were buried nearby at Tebtunis

B. Material Remains of Settlement
C. Population

1. 1520 souls
2. status
a. 163 Crown Cultivators on 52% of the land
b. 81 Cultivators of Sacred Lands on 6% of the land
c. 102 Cleruchs and Officials on 42% of the land (Cleruchic holdings are larger than Crown and Sacred holdings)
d. 26 cultivators of Cleruchic lands
e. 8 others (scribes, traders, shopkeepers, minor officials)

3. nationality

a. Greco-Macedonian to Egyptian names = 5:7
b. other nationalities include:
  • Persian (1)
  • Thracian (8)
  • Italian (1)
  • Lycian (1)
  • Syro-Palestinian (17)
  • Jewish (1)
  • north Africans (12)

4. one family group

census: Year 7, Choiak 4. Asklepiades, his wife Patrophilia, his son Apollophanes of about 15 years, Apollodorus about 13, Artemidorus about 5, the nurse Kosmia, hired farmers Chazaros, Ragesobaal, Ieab, Krateros, Sitalkes, Natanbaal, the shepherd Potamon, the cowherd Horos. 15 persons.

last modified 3/13/03 by P. Perlman