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REVIEW BY SARAH GRIFFITHS
Students of Egyptian history have been denied books on the Ptolemaic rulers as, according to Guy de la Bédoyère, ‘some Egyptologists visibly wince when pressed by publishers to include a section on Ptolemies’. This has been partly rectified by a spate of new books in the last two years (see previous AE reviews), and de la Bédoyère’s new work is one of the best.
Following a precis of Egyptian history leading up to the arrival of Alexander the Great (in 332 BC), the book is split into three sections: six chapters dealing with the ‘Rise’ of the dynasty (Ptolemies I to IV), and eight chapters on ‘Ruin’ (Ptolemy V to Cleopatra VII), separated by a four-chapter interlude exploring general life in Ptolemaic Egypt (including ‘A Town Like Alex’, royal imagery, taxation, ethnic identity, and Ptolemaic temples and funerary practices). The author explores the manoeuvrings of Alexander’s successors, and how Ptolemy I was able to turn Egypt into a major power in the Hellenistic world, protected by a series of buffer zones that even exceeded the territorial expansion of Thutmose III. However, according to de la Bédoyère, this ‘empire’ was based on a fragile network of alliances with client kings, rather than territorial gain by conquest, and would prove difficult to hold together.
The story of the Ptolemaic Dynasty is one of constant family strife; internal rebellions; a relentless struggle between the major powers of Egypt, Macedon, and Seleucid Syria; and the dramatic rise of Roman power, which ‘had been so sudden and unexpected that every other state in the region was caught off guard’. Best known as a Roman historian, de la Bédoyère believes that the modern-day obsession with the Romans has overshadowed the Hellenistic kingdoms. However, Ptolemaic Egypt is an ‘essential part of understanding the Roman story while at the same time being a remarkable tale of its own’. He intertwines the histories of Egypt and Rome, leading up to the death of Cleopatra VII and Octavian’s annexation of Egypt, but has time to include smaller stories of individuals such as Apollodorus (and his complaint about contraband oil), reflecting the daily lives of ordinary Egyptians and Greeks living under the Ptolemies.
This is an ideal introduction to the period, illustrated with colour plates, and accompanied by notes, maps, and very useful family trees. The extensive bibliography includes ancient sources, modern scholarship, and websites giving access to otherwise difficult-to-find texts.
Win a copy of this book in our competition here.
THE FALL OF EGYPT AND THE RISE OF ROME
by Guy de la Bédoyère
YALE UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2024
ISBN 978-0-3002-7552-0
Hardback, £25
