Ptolemaic Kingdom

The Ptolemaic Kingdom was a Hellenistic state established in Egypt in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter, a companion of Alexander the Great who took control of Egypt after Alexander's death and the subsequent division of his empire among his generals. Ruled from the newly built Mediterranean capital of Alexandria, the kingdom combined a Greek-Macedonian ruling class with the older administrative traditions of pharaonic Egypt, and its rulers adopted the traditional role and titles of pharaoh alongside Greek royal styling. Alexandria became one of the preeminent centers of Greek scholarship and culture in the ancient world, home to the Great Library of Alexandria and the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The kingdom's power declined through the second and first centuries BC amid dynastic strife and growing Roman influence, and it ended in 30 BC when Rome annexed Egypt following the defeat of Cleopatra VII, the last active Ptolemaic ruler, and Mark Antony by Octavian at the Battle of Actium.