332-30 B.C.
The large empire Alexander the Great had conquered was too big for one successor. One of Alexander's generals was entrusted with Macedonia; another Thrace; and a third Syria. [See Diadochi - The Successors of Alexander.] One of Alexander's favorite generals and possibly a relative, Ptolemy Soter, was made governor of Egypt. Ptolemy Soter's rule of Egypt, the start of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, lasted from 332-283 B.C. It was in this period that Alexandria, named for Alexander the Great, became a major center for learning in the Mediterranean world.The son of Ptolemy Soter, Ptolemy II Philadelphos, co-ruled for the last 2 years of the reign of Ptolemy Soter and then succeeded him. The Ptolemaic rulers adopted Egyptian customs, like marriage to siblings, even when they conflicted with Macedonian practices. Cleopatra, the only one of the Ptolemies known to have learned the language of the subject people -- Egyptian -- was a direct descendant of the Macedonian general Ptolemy Soter and a daughter of Ptolemy Auletes 'flute-player'.
- Map of Macedonian North Africa - Map shows major cities in Egypt with their Greek names
