525 B. C.E.) Last ruler of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty He reigned only from 526 to 525 b. c.e. Within a year of his succession to the throne, Psammetichus III faced CAMBYSES (r. 525-522 b. c.e.) and the Persian army At PELUSIUM, the Egyptians fought bravely but were forced to retreat. Psammetichus III fled, intent on raising an army. He was caught and taken in chains to Susa, the Persian capital at the time, where he died. Psammetichus III was allowed to live in comparative freedom in his first days in the Persian capital but then was suspected of treachery and executed.
Psammetichus (4) (Usere’setepenptah) (fl. 393 b. c.e.) Usurper of the throne of the Twenty-ninth Dynasty He ruled only one year, 393 b. c.e. Setting aside the designated heir when nephrites i died, he carried out his predecessor’s policies. Psammetichus built in karnak and AKHMIN before being deposed by hakoris.
Psamtik (fl. sixth century b. c.e.) Official of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty
Psamtik served amasis (r. 570-526 b. c.e.) as chief steward. His tomb in saqqara contained a beautifully carved statue depicting him being protected by the goddess hathor in the form of a cow, a traditional theophany for this deity.
Psusennes I (’Akheperre’setepenamun) (d. 992 b. c.e.) Ruler of the Twenty-first Dynasty
He reigned from 1040 b. c.e. until his death. Psusennes I was the son of pinudjem i and Queen henuttawy, and his name meant “the Star Appearing in the City” Psusennes I became the ruler in tanis and refurbished the city, adding a tenemos wall and a sanctuary of amun.
His queens were mutnodjmet (2), wiay, and ta’apenes. His sons were amenemope and Prince ankhe-FENMUT, who appears to have been disgraced in some unknown fashion. Psusennes I’s daughter istemkhebe (2) was given in marriage to menkheperresenb (2), the high priest of Amun at Thebes.
This ruler also fostered a cult of mut and khonsu and erected a temple for the goddess Mut. Psusennes I ruled for 48 years and took Amenemope as his coregent. During his reign the Scythians stood poised to invade Egypt, and Psusennes offered a tribute and saved the nation.
When Psusennes died he was buried at tanis, and his mummified remains, badly decomposed, evidence his advanced age. He had bad teeth and arthritis and was possibly crippled in his last years. The mummy of Psusennes I was discovered in Tanis, painted red, and his exquisite silver and gold (electrum) coffin was recovered. This magnificent piece was apparently made for meren-PTAH in the Ramessid Period. A pink granite sarcophagus held the remains, and Psusennes I’s body was laid to rest with a mask of gold. His tomb also contained burial chambers for Queen Mutnodjmet, Prince Ankhefenmut (who had been removed from the succession), and General Wendjeba-en-Djed, a remarkable warrior who had served him well. Amenenope, the successor, was also buried in the tomb, as was shoshenq iii, who was interred there by osorkon i, about a century later.
Psusennes II (Titkhepure’setepenre) (d. 945 b. c.e.) Seventh ruler of the Twenty-first Dynasty, reigning in Tanis He ruled from 959 b. c.e. until his death. The son of the high priest pinudjem (2), Psusennes rescued royal graves and mummies while in Thebes and continued supervising reburial operations from tanis. His daughter became the wife of the Libyan military leader who succeeded Psusennes II as shoshenq i. Psusennes II was buried in Tanis.
Ptah The god of ancient Egypt in Memphis, called Ptah-Sokar in a double form and Ptah-Sokar-Osiris in the triune style, Ptah dates to the earliest dynastic periods of Egypt and perhaps earlier. A sophisticated theology made Ptah somewhat obscure to the average Egyptian. The
Memphite teachings concerning Ptah were discovered on a STELA, which explained the cosmogony and the cult of the region. According to these tenets, Ptah was the only true god, the creator, and all spiritual beings, divine or human, emanated from his will. The creation deities worshiped in other cities were supposed to have been devised by Ptah. This deity was also the source of the ethical and moral orders in the world, and he was called “the Lord of Truth” in all historical periods. He was deemed capable of bringing forth life with words, as the tongue announced what the god’s heart experienced.
Memphis, the cult center of Ptah, was called Hiku-Ptah, or Hat-Ka-Ptah, the mansion of the soul of Ptah. Statues and reliefs depicting the god showed him as a man with very light skin, sometimes green, mummy wrappings, and an immense collar with the menat. Most depictions of Ptah were designed as pillars, emblems of justice. Called the First of the Gods, Ptah was a patron of the great architectural monuments of the Old Kingdom (2575-2134 b. c.e.).
As TATENEN he was revered as the creative urge, both for the world and for the individual works of art. Also called Hetepi and Khnemi, Ptah was associated with the chaos that existed before the moment of creation, and was then called Ptah-Nun. When associated with the Nile, the deity was worshiped as Ptah-Hapi; with the earth as Ptah-Tenen; and with the solar disk, called Ptah-Aten. The deity was also honored in the great complexes of AMUN in THEBES.
Ptah-hotep (1) (fl. 24th century b. c.e.) Vizier of the Fifth Dynasty
Ptah-hotep served IZEZI (r. 2388-2356 b. c.e.) as vizier. He was buried alone in a tomb in saqqara, north of the STEP PYRAMID of DJOSER. His grandson was ptah-hotep (2), the celebrated sage.
Ptah-hotep (2) (Tehefi) (fl. 24th century b. c.e.) Official and a famous sage of the Fifth Dynasty He served Unis (r. 2356-2323 b. c.e.) with his father, Ak-hethotep, as a vizier, but he was also esteemed as a popular sage in his era. The MAXIMS OF PTAH-HOTEP are found in the PRISSE PAPYRUS. One copy is in the Louvre in Paris, and a second copy is in the British Museum in London.
He exhorted his fellow Egyptians to conduct their affairs with quietude and righteousness. Ptah-hotep also urged them to be truthful and to treat their neighbors and fellow countrymen with kindness and tolerance. He was especially concerned with the weak and oppressed. Ptah-hotep’s Maxims remained popular in all ages of Egypt’s history as they provided demonstrations of the spirit of ma’at, the cohesive social and ethical standards that maintained order and stability.
He was buried in the mastaba of his father in SAQQARA. His tomb had pillared halls, corridors, and separate burial chambers. Ptah-hotep is depicted there wearing the panther skin of a high priest. Other paintings portray an entire day’s activities, including children at play An anonymous mummy shared Akhethotep’s tomb as well.
Ptahshepses (1) (fl. 25th century b. c.e.) Official of the Fourth Dynasty
He served shepseskhaf (r. 2472-2467 b. c.e.) in varying court roles. Ptahshepses was raised in the royal palace and married KHAMA’AT, the daughter of Shepseskhaf. He was buried in saqqara, and the false door of his mastaba gives an account of his career.
Ptahshepses (2) (fl. 25th century b. c.e.) Official of the Fifth Dynasty
He served sahure (r. 2458-2446 b. c.e.) as superintendent of royal works. Ptahshepses’ mastaba was discovered in ABUSIR, near Sahure’s pyramidal complex. This tomb had an entryway, a colonnaded court with 20 pillars, a portico, and a hall with niches. Portraits of Ptahshepses and his wife are part of the decorations. Two officials in the 50th year of the reign of ramesses ii (1290-1224 b. c.e.) entered this tomb and left graffiti on the walls.
Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figurines They were tomb images prized for magical powers and designs and used as SHABTIS. Fashioned normally out of wood, the figures were painted or gilded and then fastened to rectangular bases. These bases had two cavities, one in front and one at the side. The front cavity held a small piece of the deceased, which was then covered by the hawk-like SOKAR figure. The side cavity held written prayers. The god PTAH was the guardian of all created substance, and OSIRIS and Sokar were patrons of the deceased of Egypt.
Ptolemaic script It was the hieroglyphic form (demotic) used in the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 b. c.e.), instituted by that dynasty. The form was characterized by letters or signs well shaped and placed in the epigraphic or inscription style.
See also language.
Ptolemais (1) (fl. fourth century b. c.e.) Royal woman of the Thirtieth Dynasty
She was the consort of nectanebo i (r. 380-362 b. c.e.) and the daughter of an Athenian mercenary general named khabrias, who was in Egypt serving Hakoris (r. 393-380 b. c.e.). Ptolemais probably married Nectanebo I when he was a general of Egypt’s armies, known then as Nakhtnebef. She was the mother of TEOS.
Ptolemais (2) An ancient coastal city of Cyrenaica, now modern Libya, ptolemy iii euergetes i (r. 246-221
B. C.E.) named the site when the area was taken by Egypt. Ptolemais served as a port for trading ships and flourished throughout many historical periods until the 14th century c. e.
Ptolemy, Claudius (fl. second century b. c.e.) Alexandrian scholar
He served in the reign of ptolemy vi philometor (180164, 163-145 B. C.E.). Claudius Ptolemy is famous for the map that he made of the known world.
Ptolemy I Soter (d. 284 b. c.e.) Founder of the Ptolemaic Period
He ruled from 304 b. c.e. until his death. Ptolemy I was the son of lagus, a Macedonian military companion of ALEXANDER [III] THE GREAT. His title Soter, meaning Savior, was bestowed upon him by the city of Rhodes when he relieved that small state during a siege.
When Alexander died in 323 b. c.e., Ptolemy I served as satrap of Egypt for PHILIP III arrhidaeus (r. 323-316 B. C.E.) and ALEXANDER IV (r. 316-304 b. c.e.). He ruled as well over parts of Libya and the adjacent Arabian regions. When the body of Alexander the Great was being transported in a giant, mobile sarcophagus to Vergina, Macedonia’s necropolis, Ptolemy took an army and intercepted the funeral cortege. He stole the body of Alexander the
An engraving of Ptolemy I, founder of the Ptolemaic Period in Egypt, c. 304-30 b. c.e. (Hulton Archive.)
Great and returned to Egypt, stating that the conqueror had expressed the desire to be buried in the SIWA Oasis. The remains were displayed at MEMPHIS and then buried in ALEXANDRIA.
The SATRAP STELA, inscribed in 311 b. c.e., proclaims Ptolemy I’s role in defeating the Persians. Following a war against perdiccas, another heir to the empire of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy I owned Egypt and Cyrenaica. In 304 B. C.E., resisting an attack by Antigonus, he assumed the title of pharaoh. He married eurydice, the daughter of King Antipater of Macedonia, having set aside the daughter of Nectanebo or some other ruler of the Thirtieth Dynasty Later on, he also married Queen BERENICE (1).
Ptolemy I then joined lysimachus and Cassander against antigonus i monophthalmus. He marched on Antigonus’s son, Demetrius i poliorcetes, at Gaza and defeated him. That campaign and victory set the seal upon Ptolemy I’s claim upon Egypt. He fought as well at SALAMIS and lost; but ultimately, he repelled Antigonus, who was killed at Ipsus in 301 b. c.e. Ptolemy I added Palestine and southern syria to his domains.
In Egypt, Ptolemy I built a shrine to thoth in Tuna el-Gebel. He founded a museum at Alexandria, called “the Shrine of the Muses,” to house sages and ancient papyri. This became the famed library of Alexandria and research center. He built a temple to serapis and a mausoleum and also planned the Pharos, the famed LIGHTHOUSE. Ptolemy I had four children by Queen Eurydice, and three by Queen Berenice. He set aside Queen Eurydice and disinherited her children in favor of Berenice’s son, ptolemy ii philadelphus, who served as coregent for a year.
Suggested Readings: Chauveau, Michel, and David Lor-ton, transl. Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society under the Ptolemies. Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press, 2000; Ellis, Walter M. Ptolemy of Egypt. New York: Routledge, 1994; Holbl, Gunther, and Tina Saavedra, transl. A History of the Ptolemaic Empire. New York: Rout-ledge, 2000.
Ptolemy II Philadelphus (d. 246 b. c.e.) Second ruler of the Ptolemaic Period
He reigned from 285 b. c.e. until his death and was the son of PTOLEMY I SOTER and Queen Berenice (1). Ptolemy II married arsinoe (1), the daughter of Lysimachus of Thrace, but exiled her to koptos when his sister, another ARSINOE (2), returned to Egypt from Thrace. When he formally married his sister, he received the title Philadel-phus, meaning “Brother-Sister Loving.”
From 274 to 271 b. c.e., Ptolemy II had to defend Egypt from the Syrians, but he achieved power and lands from alliances with other Greek states. During his reign, ALEXANDRIA became a leading center for the arts and sciences. Ptolemy II also aided irrigation projects throughout the land. He celebrated a festival every four years in honor of Ptolemy I Soter, whom he deified, and completed his great building projects, including the Library of Alexandria and the lighthouse of Alexandria. He added theaters, gardens, zoological displays, and gymnasiums to various sites as well.
Ptolemy II was called “the best paymaster, a freeman could have” by the Greek poet Theocrites. He even com-
A portrait of Ptolemy II, called Philadelphus, the second ruler of the Ptolemaic Period. (Hulton Archive.) missioned an expedition south into Africa’s heartland to bring back elephants and other animals, as well as incense. He then sent a delegation to Rome and brought 70 Jewish scholars to Alexandria from Jerusalem to transcribe the Pentateuch accurately. A banquet reportedly lasted for seven nights upon the arrival of these scholars.
Ptolemy II was depicted in philae offering incense and ointments to the gods. He erected a gate in the Philae temple. A stela was also mounted at Tell el-Maskhuta to commemorate his journey to Persia to reclaim religious masterpieces taken by past rulers of that nation. Ptolemy II also rebuilt a canal linking the Nile to the Gulf of Suez, a waterway renovated centuries later by Emperor Trajan. His children were ptolemy iii euergetes, Lysimachus, and Berenice, who married Antiochus of Syria in 252. Ptolemy III Euergetes succeeded him.
See also canal of necho ii.
Ptolemy III Euergetes (d. 221 b. c.e.) Third ruler of the Ptolemaic Period
He reigned from 246 b. c.e. until his death and was the son of PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHUS and Queen arsinoe (2). BERENICE (3), the daughter of Magas, the king of Cyrene, was his consort. His sister, Berenice (2), was slain in Syria, and Ptolemy III invaded that land to avenge the murder. The Egyptian navy advanced against Seleucus Ill’s forces in Thrace, across the Hellespont, capturing lands in Asia Minor. Ptolemy III led an army to Seleucia on the Tigris River but had to return to Egypt because of a low Nile inundation and famine. He faced an alliance of Seleucid Syria, Macedonia, and Rhodes but was joined by the ACHAEAN LEAGUE. A peace was organized in 242-241 B. C.E.
In Egypt, Ptolemy III colonized the faiyum and reformed the calendar with the canopus decree. He received the title Euergetes, meaning the Benefactor, as a result of these efforts. His campaigns in Syria took approximately five years, and Berenice stood as regent during his absence with success. During the remaining years of his reign, Ptolemy III built Minsha’a, near Sohag in Upper Egypt, as a sister city to Alexandria. Two offering tables, a limestone wall, and a pillar capital were found there. The site served as a trading center with NUBIA (modern Sudan) and the Red Sea.
He also constructed a temple in edfu, restoring treasures stolen by the Persians centuries before. Ptolemy III built at the serapeum, adding another library to accommodate an overflow of books, and borrowing more volumes to have them copied. Actually, the original manuscripts of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripedes arrived in Alexandria on loan from Athens. Ptolemy III made copies and sent them back to Athens, keeping the originals. He forfeited an amount of silver, given in surety, as a result. During his reign, Ptolemy III and Queen Berenice were deified as “Benevolent Gods” by
Egypt. The priests at Canopus declared their status in 238 B. C.E.
Ptolemy IV Philopator (d. 205 b. c.e.) Fourth ruler of the Ptolemaic Period
He reigned from 221 b. c.e. until his death. The son of PTOLEMY III EUERGETES and Queen Berenice (3), he was controlled by sosibius Alexander, a Greek counselor. Ptolemy IV is believed to have poisoned his mother and scalded his brother, magas, to death. Because of his dissolute ways, Ptolemy IV could not maintain the loyalty of the various court officials.
Sensing this weakness, antiochus iii, the Seleucid king, threatened the Egyptian vassal territory of Caele Syria, some distance from Egypt’s military defenses. Arabs in the region and defecting Egyptians joined Antiochus, but in 217 b. c.e., using phalanx maneuvers skillfully, the armies of Ptolemy IV defeated Antiochus at Raphia in southern Palestine. Ptolemy IV however, did not follow up on his military advantage but made peace.
Called Philopator, “Lover of His Father,” Ptolemy IV married his sister, arsinoe (3), and she bore him PTOLEMY V EPIPHANES. In time, however, Ptolemy IV was controlled more and more by Sosibius and other counselors, including agathocles (2), and his sister, Agatho-clea. They aided him in his excesses.
Native Egyptians in the Delta rebelled against him as a result, and by 205 b. c.e., the revolt was nationwide. Restoring order, Ptolemy IV refrained from all foreign interventions and began good relations with meroe in Nubia (modern Sudan). A PHILAE inscription lists the cooperation between Ptolemy IV and King arkamani of Meroe in building a temple for the Nubian deity ARSENUPHIS at Aswan. He also received ambassadors from Rome who were seeking grain. When Ptolemy IV died from his excesses, Sosibius and his confederates did not allow the news to be made public. To safeguard their own lives, they murdered Queen Arsinoe and installed Ptolemy V on the throne before announcing the royal death. Riots followed the announcements.
Ptolemy V Epiphanes (d. 180 b. c.e.) Fifth ruler of the Ptolemaic Period
He reigned from 205 b. c.e. until his death. The son of PTOLEMY IV PHILOPATOR and Queen arsinoe (3), Ptolemy V was only five years of age when the court counselor SOSIBIUS and his allies crowned him as king. These conspirators then murdered Queen Arsinoe. At the coronation, Sosibius issued writs of exile in the ruler’s name against prominent Egyptians who opposed his powers. Sosibius, however, was soon forced to retire, and agatho-cLES (2) became the young ruler’s master.
General TLEPOLEMUS, the governor of Egypt’s frontier city, PELUSIUM, did not intend to allow Queen Arsinoe’s murderers to go unpunished. He rode into Alexandria with a small force and gathered the people of the city behind his impromptu army as he demanded that Ptolemy V be brought before the people. Agathocles had to allow the young ruler to appear in the arena, and there Tlepolemus accused the courtiers of murder. The Alexandrian people swept through the city when they heard the names of the criminals. Agathocles, Agathoclea, and their allies died at the hands of the outraged populace.
Freed of the courtiers, Ptolemy V Epiphanes was crowned again in MEMPHIS in a grand ceremony. Epiphanes meant “God Manifest.” The event was accompanied by a decree remitting debts and taxes, releasing prisoners, benefiting temples, and pardoning rebels who had submitted. The nation rejoiced at the fall of the evil courtiers.
Ptolemy V eventually had to put down other revolts throughout Egypt, however. A battle with antiochus iii, the Syrian Seleucid king, was also fought in Ptolemy V’s name in 201 b. c.e. Antiochus III continued to harass Egyptian lands until the Romans intervened in 194-193 B. C.E. Within Egypt Ptolemy V fought battles against rebels in 197 b. c.e. In order to quell the revolts in Upper Egypt, he invested the governor of Thebes with juridical powers. Peace was insured with Syria when Ptolemy V married Cleopatra (1), the daughter of Antiochus III the Great. She bore him two sons, including ptolemy vi PHILOMETOR, and a daughter.
Ptolemy V also erected a stela on the elephantine Island, at ASWAN, describing the famine and pious activities of the Old Kingdom pharaoh djoser (r. 2630-2611 B. C.E.). He slowly regained control of Upper Egypt and erected a temple of imhotep, Djoser’s gifted architect, at Philae. He also provided endowments for the cults of APIS, MNEVIS, and other animals, erecting a temple for Apis and equipping shrine and cult centers. Cleopatra poisoned Ptolemy V, and when he died, she stood as regent for Ptolemy VI Philometor.
Ptolemy VI Philometor (d. 145 b. c.e.) Sixth ruler of the Ptolemaic Period
He reigned from 180 to 164 b. c.e. and then from 163 B. C.E. until his death. Ptolemy VI was the son of ptolemy V EPIPHANES and Queen Cleopatra (1), and when his father was poisoned, his mother stood as regent until her death in 176 b. c.e. Then two courtiers, Eulaeus and Lenaeus, became his self appointed guardians.
Ptolemy VI married his sister Cleopatra (2) and began to plan an invasion of Coele-Syria. In 170 b. c.e., he raised up his brother, ptolemy viii euergetes ii, to rule with him and Cleopatra. The attempt to regain Coele-Syria was unsuccessful, as antiochus iv defeated the Egyptian forces and took pelusium, the frontier city. Antiochus had other ambitions, but he withdrew when the Roman legate Papillius LAENAS and his legions persuaded him that any further assault would be met with a Roman response.
In 164 B. C.E., Ptolemy VI was expelled by his brother and fled to Rome, where he pleaded for aid. Ptolemy VIII was sent to Cyrenaica as a result but placed his case before the Roman Senate and received approval. He planned to return to Egypt but came face to face with his brother in a battle over Cyprus and lost. Ptolemy VIII was given Cyrenaica as part of the peace terms and the hand of one of Ptolemy VI’s daughters in marriage.
In 155 B. C.E., the Seleucid Syrians tried to take Cyprus, but a rebel pretender arose to threaten the Seleucid throne. Alexander balas, the rebel, was aided by Egypt and given the hand of Cleopatra thea, Ptolemy VI’s sister, in marriage. Cleopatra Thea appealed to Ptolemy VI to visit her because she was unhappy, and he went to Syria. Alexander Balas tried to assassinate him in order to take the Egyptian throne, and Ptolemy VI gave Cleopatra Thea to a new pretender to the Syrian throne, Demetrius II. The Syrians offered Ptolemy VI the throne, but he declined the honor. Alexander Balas was killed in a subsequent battle. During that confrontation Ptolemy VI also fell off his horse, fracturing his skull, and died.
He built the gate of the temple of ptah at karnak, as well as figures at the entrance to the main temple of hathor in philae. He was also in the temple of kom OMBO. His contemporaries described Ptolemy VI as pious and generous.
Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator (d. 145 b. c.e.) Seventh ruler of the Ptolemaic Period
He reigned only during 145 b. c.e. The son of ptolemy vi PHILOMETOR, and Queen Cleopatra (2), he was called “the New Father Loving.” Ptolemy VII served as a coregent with his father as early as 147 b. c.e., and there is an indication that yet another brother shared the throne briefly When Ptolemy VI died in Syria, the Egyptians asked ptolemy viii euergetes ii, Ptolemy Vll’s uncle, to take the throne. He married Cleopatra (3), Ptolemy VI’s widow, and put Ptolemy VII aside. The young ruler was then executed.
World History
