Egypt Timeline
323
BCE (Before Common Era) to Present |
Detailed Egypt Timeline
323: Death of Alexander
the Great
323 - 273: Wars
of the Successors
The death of Alexander the Great resulted in the break-up of his
empire as his generals and regional governors broke into open hostilities.
From the outset, Ptolemy, a general, began asserting control
over Egypt. He is appointed satrap, arranges to have Alexander's
body laid in a magnificent tomb in Alexandria, and carefully steers
Egypt through the tumultuous period. [^ TOP ]
306: Beginning
of the Ptolemeic Dynasty
Ptolemy declares himself king of Egypt. He and his descendants
rule as pharaohs. [^ TOP ]
306 - 218: Early
Empire
Alexandria becomes the center of culture and learning in the Mediterranean,
as well as a critical trading center. Egypt holds Rhodes as
a vassal, reducing the demands of maintaining a large navy and profiting
from the increasing importance to regional trade of the island.
Egypt remains largely aloof and apart from the conflicts in the
Mediterranean and the Near East, aside from intermittent skirmishes
with Syria. [^ TOP ]
212 - 202: The
First Syrian War
With Syria occupied by campaigns in Asia Minor, Egypt begins to
quietly build its forces along the Syrian border in preparation
for expansion. Alarmed by this, Syria quickly moves its armies
south to counter Egypt's attacks. Egypt successfully expands
along the Mediterranean coast up to Phoenicia, but can press no
further. These newly acquired territories are taken as vassal
states, not formal parts of the empire. [^ TOP ]
188 - 170: The
Libyan Campaigns
With a heavy focus of efforts along the border with Syria and some
skirmishes in the south against Kush, Egypt found itself suddenly
faced with a rebellion by Cyrene, an important port which lay to
the west, across the Libyan Desert. Control over Rhodes, which
had been slowly fading for some time, fell completely when Egypt
demanded Rhodes' naval support to reclaim Cyrene.
Egypt had to rely upon its own small navy to transport armies
and blockade the rebel province. These first efforts failed,
and were followed by an attempt to send an army across the desert.
This, too, failed. It fell to Ptolemy VI to do what
his father, Ptolemy V, could not and reassert Egyptian control.
Ptolemy VI embarked upon a massive military build-up and enlisted
the aid of Rome. Both efforts paid off. Egypt reclaimed Cyrene
and absorbed all of Libya into its empire. [^ TOP ]
168 - 165: The
Second Syrian War
Syria attempted to take advantage of Egypt's preoccupation with
Cyrene by launching an attack into Phoenicia. However, the
military build-up Ptolemy VI had used to put down the Cyrene rebellion
served well against the Syrians. Whole Syrian armies were
annihilated by the Egyptians. This dismal defeat ultimately
paved the way for the collapse of the Syrian Empire and the Persian
Restoration. [^ TOP ]
164 - 50: The
Civil Wars
Dynastic disputes, which had long caused problems for the Ptolemeic
rulers, worsened following the defeat of Syria. Rulers and
co-regents were deposed and reinstated with jarring frequency. This
instability proved an insurmountable obstacle to Egyptian ambitions
to expand the empire. Moreover, it ensured the continued presence
and intervention of Rome. Though not capable of outright conquest
of Egypt, Rome was not inclined to allow rivals to do so either.
More than one king of Egypt was instated by decree of the
Roman senate and by force of Roman arms when need be.
Egypt's enemies took advantage of the troubles. The Persians
recaptured Syria and Phoenicia during their westward advances in
82 - 76 BCE, though they would soon lose these new acquisitions to
Rome. The former Kushite kingdom of Meroe in the south managed
to seize some small territories along their common border with Egypt.
Cyrene again rebelled, only to be put down and made a Roman
province. Nonetheless, Egypt remained a wealthy kingdom, and
its capital remained a principal center of trade, art, and learning.
[^ TOP ]
69: Birth of Cleopatra
(Cleopatra VII)
50: Destruction
of the House of Al Khemi
Reeling from the still unexplained destruction of the House of Al
Khemi, Egypt was forced to release embargos on trade that were placed
on Greece due to their unspoken alliance with Rome. Roman
goods, which once added to their surplus stockpiles in Al Khemi,
just weren't enough to completely replace them after their destruction.
A trade route between Egypt's capital of Alexandria and Athens'
port city of Piraeus was established to help remedy this situation.
[^ TOP ]
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