The Ptolemaic Kingdom
The Egyptian kingdom of the Ptolemies at its greatest extent, with Alexandria as its capital and intellectual centre.
The Ptolemies ruled Egypt for nearly three centuries as Macedonian kings of a country whose language most of them never learned. Their capital, Alexandria, became the wealthiest scholarly centre in the Mediterranean — the Library and Museum were state projects, funded from Egyptian grain revenue, that bought prestige as surely as a fleet did. Read the full story in our article on Patrons of Genius: The Ptolemaic Dynasty and the Flourishing of Alexandria’s Intellectual Life.
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