Who was Ptolemy, the close friend of Alexander the Great who became Pharaoh of Egypt?
The life of Alexander the Great was full of battles and enemies, but also of his friends who accompanied him like Ptolemy who became Pharaoh of Egypt.
Alexander the Great, one of the most famous conquerors in history, was born in 365 BC. At the age of 20, after the death of his father who was king of Macedonia, a region in the north of Greece, Alexander the Great took power and began an expansion that gave rise to one of the greatest empires in history.
Although he was only king for less than 13 years, he died in 323 BC, the Greco-Macedonian empire he led made great territorial conquests that extended from the eastern Mediterranean to northern India. His most astounding accomplishment was to destroy the Persian Empire, one of the most powerful at the time, where he defeated King Darius III, the toughest enemy he encountered along the way and throughout his life.
He has gone down in history as one of the greatest conquerors, an elite strategist whose audacity and intelligence led him to become a practically invincible figure for a decade. At his side he had great men who helped him in his success, as was the case of Ptolemy I.
Who was Ptolemy, the close friend of Alexander the Great who became Pharaoh of Egypt?
Ptolemy I Soter was a Greco-Macedonian general born in 367 BC, eleven years before his good friend Alexander the Great, whom he would accompany in the great conquests at the head of his armies. His loyalty to the emperor was demonstrated in events such as the brief exile of Alexander the Great in which he accompanied the then heir, in the year 337 BC.
Since the year 330 BC he served as Alexander the Great’s bodyguard and was the one who captured the murderer of Darius III of Persia. He ended up being promoted to commander and decorated several times for his services and honorability in battle.
After the death of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy was one of those who disputed control of the great empire established by the emperor. He became ruler of Egypt and starting what was known as the Ptolemaic Dynasty, which lasted for three centuries ending with Cleopatra. Egypt thus became one of the centers of Greek culture, although he assimilated some aspects of Egyptian culture and was crowned pharaoh in 305 BC. He died in 283 BC.