Ptolemaic Dynasty Research Articles

The ruler cult in the Ptolemaic army: the thiasos βασιλισταὶ (III-I BC)

The article deals with the thiasos of the basilistai (βασιλισταὶ), a cult community that revered the Ptolemaic dynasty. According to the unanimous opinion of researchers, the main role in this association was played by the soldiers and officers of the Ptolemaic army. The paucity and fragmentary preservation of sources determine the main difficulties for a comprehensive study of this religious organization. The author of the article, having summarized the source material, including new epigraphic finds from Lycian Limira, makes an attempt to determine the characteristic features of the community of the basilistai, expresses his point of view on the problem of the chronological framework of the existence of thiasos, and also suggests what could serve as a prototype - an organization that influenced the formation of a religious associations.

The Making of the Last Pharaoh

Historical writing about the last native pharaoh was a means of domination by the Ptolemaic royal family for political propaganda at the ideological level. In the official historical accounts, Nectanebo II of the Thirtieth Dynasty of Ancient Egypt has been regarded as the last native pharaoh. This paper re-examines the identity of the last native pharaoh of Ancient Egypt on the basis of excavating historical materials, explores the historical status of Nectanebo II and Khababash, confirms the real identity of Khababash as the last native pharaoh, and points out the shift in the historical writing about the last native pharaoh. At the same time, after analyzing the political propaganda color embodied in the shift of history writing, the reasons for the shift of history writing in this case are explored from the ancient Egyptian codified history tradition, the comparison of the two pharaohs' political achievements, and the demand of the Ptolemaic royal family's realistic rule. It can be seen that the creation of the last native pharaoh, from Khababash to Nectanebo II, is one of the important means of consolidating the rule of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and also an important symptom of the process of its "Egyptianization".

Community Translation and Modern Philosophy

The Rosetta Stele, an inscribed stone slab, was discovered in July 1799 near the town of Rashid, ancient Rosetta, which is situated in the western part of the Nile delta of Egypt, by soldiers of Napoleon Bonaparte’s invading army. After the French surrender of Egypt in 1801, the stele passed into British hands and is now in the British Museum in London. The commemorative stele contains three versions of the same text (in Egyptian hieroglyphic, Egyptian Demotic and ancient Greek script, representing two varieties of the ancient Egyptian language and the ancient Greek language). It recounts a decree issued on 27 March 196 BCE by Egyptian priests during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of Ptolemy V Epiphanes to commemorate his crowning. It took more than 20 years and various attempts by scholars to decipher the Demotic and hieroglyphic Egyptian texts. This was done by utilising the mechanisms of modern philology, which had been established as a field early in the 1800s. Standing on the shoulders of his predecessors, Jean-François Champollion was the first Egyptologist to crack the code of hieroglyphic writing by realising that some of the signs were alphabetic, some syllabic, and some determinative. The discovery and decipherment of the Rosetta Stele put multilingualism and the practice of translation and interpreting during the Ptolemaic reign over Egypt into focus. In this essay we describe the rediscovery, as well as the emergence and growth of new knowledge, that was unlocked by the decipherment of the Rosetta Stele, including its implications for African orthographies.

A Ptolemaic Stamped Amphora from Patara: Some Notes on Stamp Attribution and its Likely Implications

Located in ancient Lycia at the southwest corner of Asia Minor, excavations at the important port city of Patara shed new light on the city’s relations with Ptolemaic Egypt. The most significant finds concerning Patara’s connection with the Ptolemaic Dynasty have emerged from ongoing fieldwork at the Tepecik settlement, located on a natural hill just east of the ancient inner harbour. During excavations conducted there in 2019, an ancient dump of pottery was identified in the İ-20 trench. The focus of this study concerns a unique stamped Egyptian amphora found in this dump. The stamp records the name Ptolemaios alongside a regnal year, thus indicating that the amphora represents royal production during the third century BC. In this study, I suggest that the name on the stamp should be attributed to King Ptolemy III Euergetes (246–222 BC) and explore the likely implications of royal production. [Formula: see text]

Part of the economic policy of the Ptolemaic state Foreign Trade (323-222 BC)

The Ptolemaic family, also known as the Ptolemaic dynasty, arrived in Egypt in November 332 BC with an army led by Alexander the Great. The needs of domestic markets and win foreign markets. The Ptolemies became famous for their foreign trade, and one of the reasons for commercial activity was to control most of the countries located on the shores. Ptolemy the First took control of Syria, Palestine, Cyprus and the Aegean Sea. His policy then directed to control the Red Sea. They sent a series of scout studies to understand the beaches, peoples, and resources of wealth in the Red Sea region. In the Indian Ocean, the Ptolemies tried to fully control the trade of the East coming to the North. The Ptolemies also took care of trade with the Greeks and Romans, which gave much of their experience to the expansion of the Ptolemies in foreign trade. It became very popular, especially after the purification, and the influence of the Romans increased on the shores of the Red Sea and the industries that Egypt became monopolized by spread Such

Why was The Cult of Arsinoë II Philadelphus established in Egyptian Temples?

The cult of Arsinoë II Philadelphus is considered one of the most significant cults in Hellenistic Egypt. It originated from the Greek oriented cult of Theoi-Adelphoi after Arsinoë’s death and soon became a vital part of both Greek and Egyptian religious life. What is even more important, Arsinoë became the first member of Ptolemaic dynasty to receive such a cult in Egyptian temples. Yet we still do not quite understand why was it so prominently established there. This article proposes a possible answer to this question. Based on the information from Sais inscription, a source from the reign of Ptolemy II, we can conclude that the main reason for the spread of the cult of Arsinoë in Egyptian temples was the natural conditions that developed in Egypt in the mid-260s. BCE. The text mentions a certain deficiency of the land during the king’s visit to Sais in 265/64 BCE. It seems that at this time Egypt faced low floods of the Nile, which could possibly lead to a lack of crops throughout the country. This in turn could threaten the legitimacy of Ptolemy II, who, as a king of Egypt, was viewed as the one responsible for the floods of the Nile river. Thus an event like this could become a cause for major instability in society or even a revolt. Under these circumstances the cult of Arsinoë II Philadelphus was used to promote royal legitimacy and bind part of the Egyptian priesthood to the ruling house of the Ptolemies.

Army of Hellenistic Egypt: organizational and historical-philosophical aspect

This article is devoted to the analysis of the formation and transformation of the organization of the army of the Ptolemaic power. The authors consider the mechanisms of the evolution of the army of Hellenistic Egypt and show the main directions of this process, its ideological justification – philosophical concepts that developed in the era of Hellenism. Rejecting the excessively strict classical assessments given to the military art of Hellenistic Egypt, the authors turn not only to historical but also to historical and philosophical argumentation. The conclusion is made about the sufficient effect of the army organization throughout the greater length of the history of the Ptolemaic state when the army acted as one of the main pillars of the Ptolemaic rule and a universal foreign policy tool. The decline of military affairs in Egypt, which occurred in the second half of the II – first half of the I century BC, was mainly caused by the changes that occurred in the system of international relations in the Mediterranean region and in the general crisis of the Ptolemaic dynasty and state. Despite all the shortcomings of the army of Egypt during the Hellenistic period, the army was one of the most stable institutions that slowed down the process of state collapse. The article is prepared based on materials announced during the round table “The Ancient World in the history of mankind”, dedicated to the memory of Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor Vyacheslav Gorovoy (1954–2020).

ЭПОНИМНОЕ ЖРЕЧЕСТВО ПТОЛЕМЕЕВСКОГО ЕГИПТА КАК ЭЛЕМЕНТ СИНКРЕТИЧНОЙ КУЛЬТУРЫ ЭПОХИ ЭЛЛИНИЗМА

The article is devoted to considering eponymous priesthood in the Hellenistic Egypt to be as a phenomenon, which was not only one of the methods of Greek and Egyptian religious cultures assimilation, but also a way of ideological propaganda of outstanding representatives in the new dynasty among the locals. The author gives a brief review of foreign and domestic scientific researches in the field of religious syncretism in the Hellenistic Egypt. The author concludes that in foreign works Ptolemy’s religious policy is analyzed from philosophical, anthropological and art points of view. Also it is pointed out that many works give mostly generalized information. The author points out, that domestic scientific works are focused on the research of religious interrelation between the Ptolemies and the locals from the political and economical points of view. The author reviews eponymous priesthood named after Alexander («deified Founder»), named after Arsinoe («athlophore») and named after Berenice («canephoroi»), which appeared under the first Ptolemies. The author notices, that eponymous priesthood of Alexander was integrated into eponymous priesthood named after Arsinoe and Berenice rather quickly. The author analyses the reasons of eponymous priesthood appearance, pointing out that they were of person-centered nature, but didn’t have political and economical basis. The author also reviews the matter of eponymous priesthood’s requirements and emphasizes the existence of gender criterion while gathering officers in eponymous cathedrals. The author analyzes the ethnic composition of eponymous priesthood and states that women of both Greek and Egyptian origin could become priestesses. The author notices, that the very significant condition was the origin of the candidate from well-to-do families, who also had to have a high social status. The author marks that women in eponymous cathedrals got the right to manage the cathedral for the first time. The author pays attention to occupation of eponymous priesthood and concludes that the main function of athlophore and canephoroi was in cult glorification of deified representatives in Ptolemaic dynasty

Legendary Egyptian Queen Cleopatra in Murudj al-Dhahab wa Ma‘adin al-Djawhar by al-Mas‘udi (10th century)

Cleopatra (69–30 B. C.) is the last of the sovereigns (51–30 B. C.) of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, that was ruling Egypt in the 4th–1st centuries B. C. As early as in the writings of the authors of Antiquity, she acquired fame as an irresistible and voluptuous beauty. But most of all she became famous for having courageously put an end to her life through a bite of a poisonous snake, as she hated to fall prey to the first Roman Emperor Octavian August (63 B. C. – 14 A. D.; since 31 B. C. — the individual ruler of the Roman State). The fate of the Egyptian Queen was inspiring many European creators of culture in different eras: at the dawn of Modern Times, during the epoch of Romanticism and in the 20th century. The great Arab-Muslim traveler, geographer, historian and belletrist al-Mas‘udi (d. 956) was informed about Cleopatra. He installed into his main surviving work “The Meadows of Gold and the Mines of Germs” the story of the death of the Royal Beauty, which bears a most tragic character. In the version of al-Mas‘udi justice is triumphant, as cruel August (Ughustus) suffers due punishment. While publishing the academic translation of the story about the death of the Egyptian Queen the author of the present lines hopes that it would be interesting both for the academic experts and for the general reader. As a supplement the translation of the life of Ughustus (Octavian August) is attached, which is made on the basis of the same source.

Triumphal Inscription of Ptolemy III at Adulis

The complex triumphal inscription of King Ptolemy III of Egypt (246-222/221 BC) ‘Great King descended from Heracles and Dionysus’ stands out among the great epigraphic documents of the Ptolemaic dynasty. It includes the official genealogy of the sovereign, a panorama of the territories inherited from Ptolemy II and, above all, the list of the conquests of the first phase of the Laodicean war (246-245 BC), which culminated in an anabasis up to Central Asia. We know this historical and meta-historical document only through the autopsy of the Alexandrian merchant Cosmas Indicopleustes, who saw it in Adulis (Kingdom of Axum), in the heart of ancient Aithiopia, in 547-549 AD. The inscription raises numerous questions, and must be examined keeping in view the concepts of memory and tradition. Added to this is the fascinating intellectual history of his reception, which played a role in the birth of the concept of ‘Hellenism’ itself.

Apocalyptical Vision Dan 10-12: Analysis of Martin Luther's Interpretation

The apocalyptic book of the prophet Daniel attracted the special attention of Christian scholars, both in the early centuries and in the Reformation era. The famous reformer Martin Luther wrote an introduction-commentary to this eschatological book. This article demonstrates Martin Luther's interpretation of the prophetic passage Dan 10-12. In order to better understand why there is such diversity in the interpretations of apocalyptic symbols in Dan 10-12, it is important to pay attention to the history of the interpretation of these chapters, in particular how they were interpreted by the Reformers. Despite the fact that there are many works dedicated to Martin Luther's eschatology and his interpretation of the apocalyptic books, there are still no studies that would deeply analyze the interpretation of Dan 10-12. Therefore, the purpose of this work is a comprehensive analysis of the reformer's interpretation of the apocalyptic passage Dan 10-12. It has been found that Luther used the historicist method in his interpretation of the book of Daniel, but in relation to Dan. 10-12 his approach is more in line with the futurist school of interpretation. It is investigated that Martin Luther considered Dan 8 and Dan 11 parallel sections that talk about the same events. Commenting on Chapter 11, Luther devotes a fairly extensive part of his interpretation to Antiochus IV Epiphanes (215-164 BC), whom he considered a symbol of the papacy. The reformer wrote that the antichrist in Dan 11:36-45 is the papal system. The identification of the papacy as the antichrist was commonplace for many reformers in the context of interpreting apocalyptic symbols. It is found that the presence of Antiochus in the prophecy of Dan. 11, as presented by the theologian, does not find an exegetical basis. Arguments are shown that the prophet Daniel did not mean King Antiochus IV in Dan. 11: 21-45. It has been studied that Luther interpreted the king of the south as the kingdom of Egypt, where the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled, and the king of the north as the Syrian kingdom, where the Seleucid dynasty ruled. The Reformer used the books of the Maccabees in his interpretation. Martin Luther believed that he was living in the last days provided by the prophecies of the book of Daniel, when at the time of the Second Coming of Christ all the righteous will be saved. It was found that the theologian emphasized that the book of Daniel strengthens the faith of Christians and is important for spiritual growth.

Creating A Successful Dynasty

Arsinoe II was a very powerful Egyptian queen who set the tone for future women in the Ptolemaic dynasty. Her individual agency allowed her to establish an image for herself encompassing militaristic leadership, her own religious cult, and involvement in internal and external affairs which solidified her as a rightful and divine ruler during the tumultuous Hellenistic era. Appealing to three different cultures, the Macedonians, the Greeks, and the Egyptians, Arsinoe II crafted aspects of her image that would legitimize her rule throughout a period of unrest as well as lay the foundation for the Ptolemaic dynasty alongside her brother-husband, Ptolemy II.

The Destruction of the Serapeum in 391

This article reconsiders the destruction of the Serapeum in Alexandria by Christian militants in 391 within the context of Christianization in the late fourth century. The attack on the Serapeum was a deliberately staged, high-profile act of religious violence designed to demonstrate to the wider imperial community that the Roman state was no longer interested in protecting targeted cult sites from Christian militants, and that the perpetrators of such violence would suffer no negative consequences for their actions. The Serapeum, dedicated to the worship of the gods Serapis and Isis, was traditionally associated with the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt and with the pharaonic and later Roman Imperial cult. The destruction of this religious and cultural complex by a Christian mob, acting under the direction of the local bishop Theophilus, was a deliberate act of vandalism intended to demonstrate the greater power of the Christian God over his spiritual competitors. In addition, the destruction of this famous sanctuary was undertaken with the approval of the reigning emperor, signaling a change in the locus of sacral authority in the Roman world as Roman emperors were now abandoning traditional pharaonic and Hellenistic models of divine kingship by ceding spiritual authority to Christian bishops.

Toxicology and snakes in ptolemaic Egyptian dynasty: The suicide of Cleopatra.

The decadent Lagids'dynasty was especially interested in drugs and poisons meanwhile Alexandria became a prestigious center of learning and the first medical center of the ancient world. Scholars dedicated to toxicology would research in the famous Museion and the Hellenistic rulers of Alexandria and other kingdoms had court physicians specialized in pharmacology and venoms. As the last member of Ptolemaic Dynasty, Cleopatra VII inherited the throne and also the great inclination of Ptolemies towards medicine and science. In this city toxicological education seems to have had its most systematic development, and for Galen [1] "human and prompt executions' were made in Alexandria with the intervention of cobras". Attracted by the knowledge of venoms and poison, Cleopatra began to test them on condemned prisoners to see the different reactions produced in the body and found toxic limits. When she decided to commit suicide, the use of poison would make sense given the possibility to choose the best one to get a quick and relatively pain free death. Knowing that oral poisons would cause disturbances as painful spasms, nauseas, abdominal cramps and slow end, she presumably compared the major effects of venemous snakebites caused by the various species living in Egypt, specially three families: vipers, hydrophids and elapids. Cleopatra probably realized that viper bites generally produce violent local pain with inflammation, oedema, skin discoloration, pustules, vomiting and blood loss. With the cobra venom, hemotoxic or neurotoxic, instead, death could happen within half an hour, by respiratory failure and general paralysis without leaving any trace on the flesh, though. It has been said that Cleopatra used the cobra to kill herself because it would also make sense in terms of Egyptian mythology, being associated with the sacred uraeus worn by the pharaohs. However, there are several problems with this theory and some scholars recently argue it's more likely she would drank a cocktail of drugs or applied a toxic ointment, as Strabo suggested. Studying the different poisons and the snakes that she could have selected and the symptoms and consequences that they could produce in her body, we'll try to delve into her possible lucubrations and reflexions, weighing the difficulties in each case. Undoubtedly, the mysterious end of Cleopatra remains unsolved, offering a constant source of legends and theories. Keeping this in mind we will try to present the pros and cons of each of her possible decisions.

How does a Goddess of the Earth became the Mistress of the Sea?

With the coming of the Ptolemaic dynasty to the Egyptian throne, the goddess Isis goes through a series of changes that will turn her into a very different divinity. This new Hellenistic or Greco-Roman Isis not only stands out for the degree of expansion attained throughout the Mediterranean world but also for displaying a series of attributes, among which we highlight one in particular: Her role as goddess of the Sea. This not only changed the attitude of her devotees but also entailed deeper ritual implications, festivities and iconographic motifs. There are innumerable variations that brought about her “metamorphosis” into a maritime deity, especially since this was one of the most popular facets of Isis that penetrated the Roman Empire.

Ptolemaic political activities on the west coast of Hellenistic Asia Minor had a significant impact on the local spread of the Isiac cults: A spatial network analysis.

During the reign of the first Ptolemaic kings in Egypt, mainly in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, the Egyptian cults related to the divine couple of Isis and Sarapis (i.e. the Isiac cults) spread successfully from Egypt to ports and coastal cities of the ancient Mediterranean. The discussion on the topic of the factors involved in the process of the early spread of these cults outside Egypt is still open and, so far, the research in this area has been conducted mainly by using established historiographical methods. However, these methods are limited when dealing with the interplay among different variables involved in complex historical processes. This article aims to overcome these limits by using a quantitative spatial network analysis. The results of our previous published research, which focused on a quantitative evaluation of the impact of individual factors on the early spread of the Isiac cults across the ancient Aegean Islands, suggest that the process was promoted by military and commercial activities of the Ptolemaic dynasty, and that the Ptolemaic military operations were the most influential factor. Following these results, this article focuses on the early spread of the Isiac cults on the west coast of Hellenistic Asia Minor, i.e. the region which the Ptolemies attempted to control in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE. The statistically significant results presented in this article support the hypothesis that the Ptolemaic political engagement in Asia Minor had a positive impact on the early spread of the Isiac cults. The results also suggest that the activities of the Seleucid dynasty, a political rival of the Ptolemies, in the area of interest could have constituted an immunological factor limiting the spread of the Isiac cults further to the eastern parts of Asia Minor.

A Die Study of the Gold and Silver Coinage of Berenike II, with Numismatic and Historical Commentary

Coinage produced bearing the image of Berenike II, an early queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty, has become a source of contention for modern historians and numismatists. This coinage included denominations that were much larger than those previously or subsequently produced by the Ptolemies, and, since its categorization by Svoronos in 1904, the question of why has remained unanswered. This article will explore the results of an extensive die study completed on the gold and silver denominations of the Berenike coinage. The study analyzed 127 gold and 45 silver coins, the largest corpus of her coins ever collected. The results of the study allow several pertinent questions surrounding the reign of Berenike II and Ptolemy III to finally be confidently addressed, including where the coins were minted, possible reasons why they were minted, and the volume of the mintage. The confusion surrounding which standard these coins were minted on, Attic or Ptolemaic, is also analyzed.

Transmission of Cleruchic Land: A Model to Describe the Procedure

Abstract The first rulers of the Ptolemaic dynasty granted cleruchic land to their soldiers. The process by which this category of land was transmitted from one holder to the next was strictly controlled. The precise procedure of transfer can be reconstructed on the basis of documents dating from the Ptolemaic and Roman period. An attempt is made here to provide a synthetic model for this procedure, and to highlight the difference between the Ptolemaic and Roman periods.

Kin Endogamy and the Blood Taint in Ancient Egypt and Nigeria

Kin Endogamy, marriage between siblings, has been a practice among several cultures of the world. This is a deviation from positions of sociologists, anthropologists and psychologists on a universal incest taboo even as they premised it on four theories; the demographic, indifference, repression and evolution theories. Several scholars have discussed kin endogamy in the pre-Christian and Christian eras of the Greco-Roman societies citing evidences; explaining that indication of close-kin marriage could have been adoption rather than incest; and noting that royal incest may have been occasioned by the quest for ultimate power, even in the Ptolemaic dynasty. This paper took an in-depth study of sibling marriage in Ptolemaic Egypt and in some communities in Nigeria, with a view to understanding the rationale behind this socio-cultural practice and its effects on inbred children. The paper argues that it is highly probable that this consanguineous marriage even among the Ptolemies of Egypt may have resulted in genetic/biological and psychological setbacks among inbred descendants such that assassinations among siblings for power became the order of the day. The study further argued that kin endogamy was practiced due to, among others, the ideology of the blood taint or pure blood. Further studies that may examine exogamous culture in the Greco-Roman world and Nigeria were recommended.Key words: Endogamy, Blood taint, Inbreeding depression, Ptolemaic Egypt, Nigeria.

Художественные коллекции династии Птолемеев (205–30 гг. до н. э.)

Художественные коллекции династии Птолемеев (205–30 гг. до н. э.)