Ptolemy I: King and Pharaoh of Egypt

by Ian Worthington

When Rome defeated the forces of Antony and Cleopatra and annexed Egypt, the rule of the longest-lived of the Hellenistic dynasties and one of the most illustrious in Egyptian history came to an end. For nearly three hundred years, the Macedonian dynasty known as the Ptolemaic had controlled Egypt and its mixed population of Egyptians, Greeks, Macedonians, and Jews. The founder of this dynasty, Ptolemy I (367-283/2 BC), was a boyhood friend and eventually personal bodyguard of Alexander the Great, who fought alongside Alexander in the epic battles that toppled the Persian Empire, and brought about a Macedonian Empire stretching from Greece to India.

After Alexander's death, his senior staff carved up his vast empire, with Ptolemy gaining control of Egypt. There he built up his power base in Egypt, introduced administrative and economic reforms that made his family fabulously wealthy, and by extending Egypt's possessions overseas founded an Egyptian Empire. In addition to his political and military prowess, Ptolemy was an intellectual, who patronized the mathematician Euclid, wrote an important account of Alexander's campaign in Asia, and established the famous Library and Museum at Alexandria, which were the cultural heart of the entire Hellenistic Age. Ptolemy ruled Egypt until he died of natural causes in his early eighties.

Ian Worthington's Ptolemy I- -the first full-length biography of its kind in English--traces the life of Ptolemy from his boyhood to his reign as king and pharaoh of Egypt. Throughout, he highlights the achievements that profoundly shaped both Egypt's history and that of the early Hellenistic world. He argues that Ptolemy was by far the greatest of Alexander's Successors, and that he was a conscious imperialist who even boldly attempted to seize Greece and Macedonia, and be a second Alexander.

Genres: History, Biography, Egypt, Egyptology, Greece, Ancient History

280 pages, Hardcover

Published November 1, 2016

About the author

Ian Worthington has been Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University since 2017. Before then, he held an endowed chair as Curators' Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Missouri, USA. He hails from northern England, taking his B.A. at Hull and M.A. at Durham, before moving to Monash University to do his Ph.D.

Worthington specializes in Greek history and oratory. To date, he has written 9 sole-authored books, 1 co-authored book, edited 9 books, translated 2 volumes of the Greek orators (in the University of Texas Oratory of Classical Greece series), and written over 100 articles and essays on Greek history, oratory, epigraphy, and literature.

Reviews

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 3 out of 5]

En ok genomgång av Ptolemaios Soter liv, med förbihållet att författaren konstaterar att det inte finns speciellt mycket källmaterial. Även de övriga diadokernas krig och personligheter beskrivs i relation till Ptolemaios. Fokus ligger jämnt fördelat över hans liv, vilket innebär att större delen av boken handlar om tiden i Alexanders skugga, både under erövringarna och efter hans död.

[Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I appreciated the exhaustive & detailed references supplied by Worthington, I found very little real information about the life of Ptolemy here. Of course, it is not the author's fault that there is such a dearth of surviving information. However, it did make me wonder about his decision to write a history about someone whom so little is actually known? All I had known about Ptolemy previous to reading this book has come from the reading I have done on the history of Alexander. Unfortunately, I don't feel this book provided me with anything additional to round that picture out. It surprised me to learn that so little information about his life has come down to us. He was one of a very small number to not only live through the Succession wars but to prosper & found a dynasty. Though so much was lost with the destruction of the Library at Alexandria...such a great loss. At any rate, that lack of information is probably the reason that much of the book was spent simply retelling of the history of Alexander. While this is a topic I am very interested in, I was underwhelmed. I have read quite a few histories of Alexander & already have my own bias as far as sources & interpretation. While I do believe Arrian to be one of the most important sources I also think he needs to be very discerningly sourced. Although Worthington absolutely does include the other usual sources, I found that his overall interpretation was almost identical to Arrian. He also seems to have taken a cue from Arrian by using Ptolemy himself as a source. Worthington did note his skepticism regarding this but I found my own to be a bit stronger. Anyway...I did not come away from this with any more real knowledge of Ptolemy's later life in Egypt than I started with. But again, props to the author for the awesome amount of research & references cited after each chapter. If a reader is newly interested in Alexander the Great (not already biased, like me:)) & has a particular interest in how that chaotic & pivotal period in history affected Egypt & spawned the beginning of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, this may be a great read.

[M Arteaga · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt, a Macedonian by the name of Ptolemy. He accompanied Alexander the Great during the conquest of the Persian Empire, was one of his bodyguards, and would have stayed relatively obscure if it were not for Alexander’s death in 323 BC. His story is one of 'being in the right place, at the right time' but also of recognizing it and playing it strategically. I appreciate that, while much information is lacking about Ptolemy outright, the context of that time period is masterfully recounted.

[Inas · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was an improper decision to author a book about Ptolemy I Soter. As the information about the latter's life is really scarce. Resultantly, the book exhausted me by a very long diffusion out of the main context. If you really want to write about a "Pharaoh of Egypt" -as the book entitled-Why we have a detailed description about the Campaigns of Alexander in India and Afghanistan??!!!
While just the penultimate and last chapters are talking about Egypt!!

[Lantern of Diogenes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ian Worthington's book on Ptolemy sheds light on the life and accomplishments of an influential historical figure. With meticulous research and engaging prose, Worthington present a comprehensive and nuanced portrait of a character that made a lasting impact on the ancient world.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

for being about ptolemy an awful lot of this book focuses on alexander