Alexander’s Legacy: The Ptolemaic Era of Greek Rule in Egypt

Alexander’s Legacy: The Ptolemaic Era of Greek Rule in Egypt

Hellenistic soldiers in tunic, 100 BC, detail of the Nile mosaic of Palestrina. Credit: Askelladd, Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain When Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BCE, he signaled the beginning of the era of Ptolemaic rule. His general Ptolemy established the Ptolemaic dynasty that would govern the vast lands of Egypt for the next 300 years. The Ptolemies became the rulers over a complex fusion of Greek and Egyptian cultures. Th…