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166-685: The Ptolemaic Kingdom ( / ˌ t ɒ l ɪ ˈ m eɪ . ɪ k / ; Koinē Greek : Πτολεμαϊκὴ βασιλεία , romanized:  Ptolemaïkḕ basileía ) or Ptolemaic Empire was an Ancient Greek polity based in Egypt during the Hellenistic period . It was founded in 305 BC by the Macedonian general Ptolemy I Soter , a companion of Alexander the Great , and ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty until

332-518: A ditch had been dug, and a large force was positioned in the area between the ditch and the city walls. The Muslims besieged the fort, a massive structure 18 m (59 ft) high with walls more than 2 metres (6.6 feet) thick and studded with numerous towers and bastions and a force of some 4,000 men. Early Muslim sources place the strength of the Byzantine force in Babylon at about six times

498-623: A stress accent system , and the monophthongization of several diphthongs: The Koine-period Greek in the table is taken from a reconstruction by Benjamin Kantor of New Testament Judeo-Palestinian Koine Greek. The realizations of most phonemes reflect general changes around the Greek-speaking world, including vowel isochrony and monophthongization, but certain sound values differ from other Koine varieties such as Attic, Egyptian and Anatolian. More general Koine phonological developments include

664-406: A Ptolemaic queen deified Arsinoe II as Hera. Coins from this period also show Arsinoe II with a diadem that is solely worn by goddesses and deified royal women. The Statuette of Arsinoe II was created c. 150–100 BC, well after her death, as a part of her own specific posthumous cult which was started by her husband Ptolemy II. The figure also exemplifies the fusing of Greek and Egyptian art. Although

830-761: A Roman woman). Their union produced three children; the twins Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios , and another son, Ptolemy Philadelphos . Mark Antony's alliance with Cleopatra angered Rome even more. Branded a power-hungry enchantress by the Romans, she was accused of seducing Antony to further her conquest of Rome. Further outrage followed at the donations of Alexandria ceremony in autumn of 34 BC in which Tarsus , Cyrene , Crete , Cyprus , and Judaea were all to be given as client monarchies to Antony's children by Cleopatra. In his will Antony expressed his desire to be buried in Alexandria, rather than taken to Rome in

996-476: A continuation of developments based on Egyptian art tradition from the Thirtieth Dynasty . Such behavior expanded the rulers' social and political capital and demonstrated their loyalty toward Egyptian deities, to the satisfaction of the local people. Temples remained very New Kingdom and Late Period Egyptian in style though resources were oftentimes provided by foreign powers. Temples were models of

1162-629: A decade by the Sasanian Empire in 618–629, before being recovered by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius . The Caliphate took advantage of Byzantines' exhaustion to invade Egypt. During the mid-630s, the Romans had already lost the Levant and its Ghassanid allies in Arabia to the Caliphate. The loss of the prosperous province of Egypt and the defeat of the Byzantine armies severely weakened

1328-460: A detailed report to Umar recommending ratification. He desired that as soon as the reactions of Heraclius were known, he should be informed so that further necessary instructions could be issued promptly. Upon hearing about this, Heraclius was furious and sent Cyrus a letter full of insults, calling him an abject coward and a heathen and asking whether 100,000 Romans were a match for 12,000 barbarians. The Byzantine commanders, knowing full well that

1494-402: A few days to evacuate so they might celebrate Easter. Many Copts who were imprisoned in Babylon, either for refusing to accept Chalcedon or on suspicion of treachery, were released from prison by the Romans, but Eudocianus, the brother of Domentianus, had them scourged and their hands cut off. The Siege of Babylon had lasted seven months. On 22 December, Cyrus of Alexandria entered a treaty with

1660-556: A general to seize such an asset, may have been a later embellishment in light of Amr's subsequent reputation as a stubbornly independent governor. According to Arab sources, In December 639, 'Amr ibn al-'As left for Egypt with a force of 4,000 troops. Most of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of 'Ak, but Al-Kindi mentioned that one third of the soldiers belonged to the Arab tribe of Ghafik. The Arab soldiers were also joined by some Roman and Persian converts to Islam. However, ' Umar ,

1826-619: A long but minor presence in Egypt long before Alexander the Great founded the city of Alexandria. It began when Greek colonists, encouraged by many Pharaohs, set up the trading post of Naucratis . As Egypt came under foreign domination and decline, the Pharaohs depended on the Greeks as mercenaries and even advisors. When the Persians took over Egypt, Naucratis remained an important Greek port and

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1992-450: A more open pronunciation than other Koine dialects, distinguished as open-mid /ɛ/ vs. close-mid /e/ , rather than as true-mid /e̞/ vs. close-mid /e̝/ as has been suggested for other varieties such as Egyptian. This is evidenced on the basis of Hebrew transcriptions of ε with pataḥ/qamets /a/ and not tsere/segol /e/ . Additionally, it is posited that α perhaps had a back vowel pronunciation as /ɑ/ , dragged backwards due to

2158-451: A palace built by Caesar in their honor. In 44 BC, Caesar was murdered in Rome by several Senators . With his death, Rome split between supporters of Mark Antony and Octavian . When Mark Antony seemed to prevail, Cleopatra supported him and, shortly after, they too became lovers and eventually married in Egypt (though their marriage was never recognized by Roman law, as Antony was married to

2324-468: A part of Khalid ibn al-Walid 's elite mobile guard , was appointed the supreme commander of the army. 'Umar had also offered Zubayr the chief command and governorship of Egypt, but Zubayr had declined. The column commanders included Miqdad ibn al-Aswad , 'Ubaidah ibn as-Samit and Kharijah ibn Hudhaifah . The reinforcements arrived at Babylon sometime in September 640, bringing the total strength of

2490-679: A practice that, while pleasing to the Egyptian population, had serious consequences in later reigns. The material and literary splendour of the Alexandrian court was at its height under Ptolemy II. Callimachus , keeper of the Library of Alexandria , Theocritus , and a host of other poets, glorified the Ptolemaic family. Ptolemy himself was eager to increase the library and to patronise scientific research. He spent lavishly on making Alexandria

2656-403: A puppet king. Philometor's younger brother (later Ptolemy VIII Physcon ) was installed as king by the Ptolemaic court in Alexandria. When Antiochus withdrew, the brothers agreed to reign jointly with their sister Cleopatra II . They soon fell out, however, and quarrels between the two brothers allowed Rome to interfere and to steadily increase its influence in Egypt. Philometor eventually regained

2822-533: A range from idealistic to realistic. An example of realistic portrayal is the Berlin Green Head, which shows the non-idealistic facial features with vertical lines above the bridge of the nose, lines at the corners of the eyes and between the nose and the mouth. The influence of Greek art was shown in an emphasis on the face that was not previously present in Egyptian art and incorporation of Greek elements into an Egyptian setting: individualistic hairstyles,

2988-478: A research centre located in the royal sector of the city. Its scholars were housed in the same sector and funded by Ptolemaic rulers. The chief librarian served also as the crown prince's tutor. For the first hundred and fifty years of its existence, the library drew the top Greek scholars from all over the Hellenistic world. It was a key academic, literary and scientific centre in antiquity. Greek culture had

3154-461: A series of civil wars and feuds between the members of the Ptolemaic dynasty started and lasted for over a century. Philometor was succeeded by yet another infant, his son Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator . But Physcon soon returned, killed his young nephew, seized the throne and as Ptolemy VIII soon proved himself a cruel tyrant. On his death in 116 BC he left the kingdom to his wife Cleopatra III and her son Ptolemy IX Philometor Soter II . The young king

3320-479: A typical Egyptian Pharaoh and actively supported the Egyptian priestly elite through donations and temple construction. Ptolemy III had introduced an important innovation in 238 BC by holding a synod of all the priests of Egypt at Canopus . Ptolemy IV continued this tradition by holding his own synod at Memphis in 217 BC, after the victory celebrations of the Fourth Syrian War. The result of this synod

3486-460: A very important source of information on the ancient Koine is the modern Greek language with all its dialects and its own Koine form, which have preserved some of the ancient language's oral linguistic details which the written tradition has lost. For example, Pontic and Cappadocian Greek preserved the ancient pronunciation of η as ε ( νύφε, συνέλικος, τίμεσον, πεγάδι for standard Modern Greek νύφη, συνήλικος, τίμησον, πηγάδι etc.), while

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3652-646: Is Attic. In other words, Koine Greek can be regarded as Attic with the admixture of elements especially from Ionic, but also from other dialects. The degree of importance of the non-Attic linguistic elements on Koine can vary depending on the region of the Hellenistic world. In that respect, the varieties of Koine spoken in the Ionian colonies of Anatolia (e.g. Pontus , cf. Pontic Greek ) would have more intense Ionic characteristics than others and those of Laconia and Cyprus would preserve some Doric and Arcadocypriot characteristics, respectively. The literary Koine of

3818-520: Is a term used for present tense verbs that are used in some narrative sections of the New Testament to describe events that are in the past with respect to the speaker. This is seen more in works attributed to Mark and John than Luke . It is used 151 times in the Gospel of Mark in passages where a reader might expect a past tense verb. Scholars have presented various explanations for this; in

3984-515: Is made of Cleopatra and Antony's sons in the known historical texts of that time, but their daughter Cleopatra Selene was eventually married through arrangement by Octavian into the Mauretanian royal line, one of Rome's many client monarchies. Through Cleopatra Selene's offspring the Ptolemaic line intermarried back into the Roman nobility for centuries. With the deaths of Cleopatra and Caesarion,

4150-729: Is rendered in a reconstructed pronunciation representing a hypothetical conservative variety of mainland Greek Koiné in the early Roman period. The transcription shows raising of η to /eː/ , partial (pre-consonantal/word-final) raising of ῃ and ει to /iː/ , retention of pitch accent, and retention of word-initial /h/ (the rough breathing ). περὶ peri ὧν hoːn Θισ[β]εῖς tʰizbîːs λόγους lóɡuːs ἐποιήσαντο· epojéːsanto; Muslim conquest of Egypt The Levant Egypt North Africa Anatolia & Constantinople Border conflicts Sicily and Southern Italy Naval warfare Byzantine reconquest The Arab conquest of Egypt , led by

4316-483: Is separated from other scenes by two vertical columns of texts. The figures in the scenes are smooth, rounded, and high relief, a style continued throughout the 30th Dynasty. The relief represents the interaction between the Ptolemaic kings and the Egyptian deities, which legitimized their rule in Egypt . In Ptolemaic art, the idealism seen in the art of previous dynasties continues, with some alterations. Women are portrayed as more youthful, and men begin to be portrayed in

4482-886: Is sometimes used for the Greek written by the Greek Church Fathers , the Early Christian theologians in late antiquity. Christian writers in the earliest time tended to use a simple register of Koiné, relatively close to the spoken language of their time, following the model of the Bible. After the 4th century, when Christianity became the state church of the Roman Empire , more learned registers of Koiné also came to be used. Koine period Greek differs from Classical Greek in many ways: grammar , word formation , vocabulary and phonology (sound system). During

4648-662: The Hebrew Bible ), the Christian New Testament , and of most early Christian theological writing by the Church Fathers . In this context, Koine Greek is also known as "Biblical", "New Testament", "ecclesiastical", or "patristic" Greek. The Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote his private thoughts in Koine Greek in a work that is now known as Meditations . Koine Greek continues to be used as

4814-600: The Musaeum was supplemented by a second library built in the Serapeum . He was said to have had every book unloaded in the Alexandria docks seized and copied, returning the copies to their owners and keeping the originals for the Library. It is said that he borrowed the official manuscripts of Aeschylus , Sophocles , and Euripides from Athens and forfeited the considerable deposit he paid for them in order to keep them for

4980-470: The Roman Senate . The main Roman interest in Egypt was always the reliable delivery of grain to the city of Rome. To this end the Roman administration made no change to the Ptolemaic system of government, although Romans replaced Greeks in the highest offices. But Greeks continued to staff most of the administrative offices and Greek remained the language of government except at the highest levels. Unlike

5146-582: The Seleucid Empire when his sister, Queen Berenice , and her son were murdered in a dynastic dispute. Ptolemy marched into the heart of the Seleucid realm, as far as Babylonia , while his fleets in the Aegean Sea made fresh conquests as far north as Thrace . This victory marked the zenith of the Ptolemaic power. Seleucus II Callinicus kept his throne, but Egyptian fleets controlled most of

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5312-541: The Tsakonian language preserved the long α instead of η ( ἁμέρα, ἀστραπά, λίμνα, χοά etc.) and the other local characteristics of Doric Greek . Dialects from the southern part of the Greek-speaking regions ( Dodecanese , Cyprus , etc.), preserve the pronunciation of the double similar consonants ( ἄλ-λος, Ἑλ-λάδα, θάλασ-σα ), while others pronounce in many words υ as ου or preserve ancient double forms ( κρόμμυον – κρεμ-μυον, ράξ – ρώξ etc.). Linguistic phenomena like

5478-505: The battle of Panium in 200 BC transferred Coele-Syria from Ptolemaic to Seleucid control. After this defeat Egypt formed an alliance with the rising power in the Mediterranean, Rome . Once he reached adulthood Epiphanes became a tyrant, before his early death in 180 BC. He was succeeded by his infant son Ptolemy VI Philometor . In 170 BC, Antiochus IV Epiphanes invaded Egypt and captured Philometor, installing him at Memphis as

5644-526: The death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC. Reigning for nearly three centuries, the Ptolemies were the longest and final dynasty of ancient Egypt , heralding a distinctly new era for religious and cultural syncretism between Greek and Egyptian culture. Alexander the Great conquered Persian-controlled Egypt in 332 BC during his campaigns against the Achaemenid Empire . His death in 323 BC

5810-527: The jizya , or fight. They requested three days to reflect and then, according to Al-Tabari , requested two extra days. At the end of the five days, the two monks and the general decided to reject Islam and the jizya and fight the Muslims, thus disobeying Cyrus, who wanted to surrender and pay jizya. Cyrus left for the Babylon Fortress . The battle resulted in a Muslim victory during which Aretion

5976-720: The papyri , for being two kinds of texts which have authentic content and can be studied directly. Other significant sources are the Septuagint , the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible , and the Greek New Testament . The teaching of these texts was aimed at the most common people, and for that reason, they use the most popular language of the era. Other sources can be based on random findings such as inscriptions on vases written by popular painters, mistakes made by Atticists due to their imperfect knowledge of Attic Greek or even some surviving Greco-Latin glossaries of

6142-713: The Arab armies of the Rashidun Caliphate began expanding toward both Sasanian Persia and the Byzantine Empire . Neither of the two former powers was prepared for the aggressive expansion of the Arabs, as both largely underestimated Islam and its growing support; this is best depicted by the ambivalent views held by the Byzantines and the painstakingly slow reaction of the Sasanians. After defeating

6308-503: The Byzantines at Yarmuk (636) and the Persians at Qadisiyah (637), the gaze of the Arab generals turned towards the riches of Byzantine Africa . After the Siege of Jerusalem , it was Amr ibn al-As who suggested an invasion of Egypt to the Caliph, being familiar with the country's prosperity both from visiting it as a merchant and from leading the expedition to Gaza in 637. Appealing to

6474-420: The Caliph, he said "the conquest of Egypt will give great power to the Muslims and will be a great aid to them, for it is the wealthiest land and the weakest in fighting and war power." After being convinced by Amr to proceed with the invasion, the caliph Umar is said to have had "an eleventh-hour change of heart", but too late to stop it. This element of the story, which conveys the caliph's wariness at allowing

6640-633: The Common Greek dialect had been unclear since ancient times. During the Hellenistic period , most scholars thought of Koine as the result of the mixture of the four main Ancient Greek dialects, " ἡ ἐκ τῶν τεττάρων συνεστῶσα " (the composition of the Four). This view was supported in the early twentieth century by Paul Kretschmer in his book Die Entstehung der Koine (1901), while Ulrich von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff and Antoine Meillet , based on

6806-422: The Egyptian custom of marrying their sisters, with many of their line ruling jointly with their spouses, who were also of the royal house. This custom made Ptolemaic politics confusingly incestuous, and the later Ptolemies were increasingly feeble. The only basilissa - regnant or female Pharaohs to officially rule on their own were Cleopatra II , Berenice III and Berenice IV . Cleopatra V did co-rule, but it

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6972-483: The Egyptian gods Apis and Osiris with the Greek deities Zeus, Hades, Asklepios , Dionysos, and Helios; he had powers over fertility, the sun, funerary rites, and medicine. His growth and popularity reflected a deliberate policy by the Ptolemaic state, and was characteristic of the dynasty's use of Egyptian religion to legitimize their rule and strengthen their control. Koin%C4%93 Greek language Koine Greek included styles ranging from conservative literary forms to

7138-567: The Egyptian or the Hellenistic style, but over time, these characteristics began to combine. The continuation of the Egyptian art style evidences the Ptolemies' commitment to maintaining Egyptian customs. This strategy not only helped to legitimize their rule, but also placated the general population. Greek-style art was also created during this time and existed in parallel to the more traditional Egyptian art, which could not be altered significantly without changing its intrinsic, primarily-religious function. Art found outside of Egypt itself, though within

7304-432: The Egyptian people and recognized the importance of their religion and traditions. During the reign of Ptolemies II and III, thousands of Macedonian veterans were rewarded with grants of farm lands, and Macedonians were planted in colonies and garrisons or settled themselves in villages throughout the country. Upper Egypt , farthest from the centre of government, was less immediately affected, even though Ptolemy I established

7470-553: The Egyptians by the respect he showed for their religion , but he appointed Macedonians to virtually all the senior posts in the country, and founded a new Greek city, Alexandria , to be the new capital. The wealth of Egypt could now be harnessed for Alexander's conquest of the rest of the Achaemenid Empire. Early in 331 BC he was ready to depart, and led his forces away to Phoenicia . He left Cleomenes of Naucratis as

7636-546: The Emperor would send reinforcements to Egypt. Constantine had been preparing a fleet to send to Egypt, but died on May 25 after a reign of just 100 days. With Heraclonas as sole emperor, Martina gained complete control over the government. She had Heraclonas give Cyrus express permission to make peace at any price with the Arabs, but also gave him reinforcements and a new general named Constantine to replace John. After Theodore and Cyrus' left for Egypt with reinforcements, Martina

7802-506: The Greek colony of Ptolemais Hermiou to be its capital. But within a century, Greek influence had spread through the country and intermarriage had produced a large Greco-Egyptian educated class. Nevertheless, the Greeks always remained a privileged minority in Ptolemaic Egypt. They lived under Greek law, received a Greek education, were tried in Greek courts, and were citizens of Greek cities. The first part of Ptolemy I 's reign

7968-419: The Greeks, the Romans did not settle in Egypt in large numbers. Culture, education and civic life largely remained Greek throughout the Roman period. The Romans, like the Ptolemies, respected and protected Egyptian religion and customs, although the cult of the Roman state and of the Emperor was gradually introduced. Ptolemy I, perhaps with advice from Demetrius of Phalerum , founded the Library of Alexandria ,

8134-524: The Hellenistic Greek ideology of the victorious king and his ruler cult. Misrule by the Pharaoh in Alexandria led to a nearly successful revolt, led by a priest named Hugronaphor . He proclaimed himself Pharaoh in 205 BC, and ruled upper Egypt until his death in 199 BC. He was succeeded by his son Ankhmakis , whose forces nearly drove the Ptolemies out of the country. The revolutionary dynasty

8300-510: The Hellenistic age resembles Attic in such a degree that it is often mentioned as Common Attic . The first scholars who studied Koine, both in Alexandrian and Early Modern times, were classicists whose prototype had been the literary Attic Greek of the Classical period and frowned upon any other variety of Ancient Greek . Koine Greek was therefore considered a decayed form of Greek which was not worthy of attention. The reconsideration on

8466-425: The Library rather than returning them. The most distinguished scholar at Ptolemy III's court was the polymath and geographer Eratosthenes , most noted for his remarkably accurate calculation of the circumference of the world . Other prominent scholars include the mathematicians Conon of Samos and Apollonius of Perge . Ptolemy III financed construction projects at temples across Egypt. The most significant of these

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8632-468: The Muslim caliph , reconsidered his orders to Amr and considered it unwise to expect to conquer such a large country as Egypt with a mere 4,000 soldiers. Accordingly, he wrote a letter to 'Amr ordering him to "return with all haste to the court of the Caliph, so that his soldiers might join additional campaigns being planned elsewhere", however there was a provision in the letter stating that 'Amr's first duty

8798-519: The Muslim advance to Alexandria was blocked by a Byzantine force about 20,000 strong. The resulting action remained indecisive for ten days. However, on the tenth day, the Muslims launched a vigorous assault, forcing the defeated Byzantines to retreat to Alexandria. With the way to Alexandria clear, the Muslims reached the capital's outskirts in March. Heraclius died in February 641, two months before

8964-464: The Muslim army reached Pelusium. The siege of the town dragged on for two months. In February 640, an assault group, led by the prominent Huzaifah ibn Wala, successfully captured the fort and city. The losses incurred by the Muslim army were ameliorated by the number of Sinai Bedouins , who, taking the initiative, had joined them in conquering Egypt. The Bedouins belonged to the tribes of Rashidah and Lakhm. The ease with which Pelusium fell to

9130-466: The Muslim force to 12,000 (and likely far less, given losses incurred), still quite modest. It is said that a Coptic soldier, seeing the size of the Muslim force, expressed amazement that such a small force could stand against the Emperor's army, whereto another soldier replied that Arabs could not yield, and had to either emerge victorious or die to the last man. In another anecdote, some Roman soldiers refused to fight, saying 'We have small chance against

9296-464: The Muslims and the lack of Roman reinforcements during the month-long siege is often attributed to the treachery of Cyrus, who was also the Greek Patriarch of Alexandria (not the one recognised by most of the population, who was Pope Benjamin I ). After the fall of Pelusium, the Muslims marched to Belbeis , 65 km (40 mi) from Memphis via desert roads, and besieged it. Belbeis

9462-425: The Muslims' next target was Alexandria, set out to repel the Muslims through continued sallies from the fort or, at least, to exhaust them and erode their morale in a campaign of attrition. In February 641, 'Amr set off for Alexandria from Babylon with his army, encountering defending regiments all along the route. On the third day of their march the Muslims' advance guard encountered a Byzantine detachment at Tarnut on

9628-457: The Muslims' victory at Heliopolis reached Fayoum, its governor, Domentianus, and his troops fled without informing the people of Fayoum and Abuit that they were abandoning their cities to the enemy. When news reached 'Amr, he sent troops across the Nile to invade Fayoum and Abuit, capturing the entire province of Fayoum with practically no resistance. Fayoum's population was enslaved , and the city

9794-500: The Muslims, recognizing Muslim sovereignty over the whole of Egypt and effectively over Thebaid , and agreeing to pay Jizya at the rate of 2 diners per male adult. The treaty was subject to the approval of the emperor Heraclius, but Cyrus stipulated that even if the emperor repudiated the treaty, he and the Egyptians , would honour its terms. Cyrus asked Heraclius to ratify the treaty and offered an argument in support. 'Amr submitted

9960-498: The Muslims, but Theodore fought 'Amr there and defeated him, inflicting many casualties on the Muslims. Unable to damage any cities in the Nile Delta , they retreated back to Babylon. However, Theodore was unable to follow up this victory by recapturing Babylon. The final assault of the Muslims was on Good Friday , April 6 641, and by Easter Monday the Roman troops had evacuated and began marching to Nikiû . The Romans were given

10126-496: The New Testament , W.F. Howard argues that the heavy use of the historical present in Herodotus and Thucydides , compared with the relatively infrequent usage by Polybius and Xenophon was evidence that heavy use of this verb tense is a feature of vernacular Koine, but other scholars have argued that the historical present can be a literary form to "denote semantic shifts to more prominent material." The term patristic Greek

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10292-495: The Nile while attempting to flee with his remaining army. In the summer of 47 BC, having married her younger brother Ptolemy XIV , Cleopatra embarked with Caesar for a two-month trip along the Nile. Together, they visited Dendara , where Cleopatra was being worshiped as pharaoh, an honor beyond Caesar's reach. They became lovers and had a son, Caesarion . In 45 BC, Cleopatra and Caesarion left Alexandria for Rome, where they stayed in

10458-575: The Ptolemaic Kingdom, sometimes used Egyptian iconography as it had been used previously, and sometimes adapted it. For example, the faience sistrum inscribed with the name of Ptolemy has some deceptively Greek characteristics, such as the scrolls at the top. However, there are many examples of nearly identical sistrums and columns dating all the way to Dynasty 18 in the New Kingdom. It is, therefore, purely Egyptian in style. Aside from

10624-402: The Ptolemaic claim to rule the whole of Nubia. The aforementioned inscription regarding the priests of Mandulis shows that some Nubian leaders at least were paying tribute to the Ptolemaic treasury in this period. In order to secure the region, the strategos of Upper Egypt, Boethus , founded two new cities, named Philometris and Cleopatra in honour of the royal couple. After Ptolemy VI's death

10790-464: The Ptolemaic empire. During the reign of Ptolemy II, Arsinoe II was deified either as stand-alone goddesses or as a personification of another divine figure and given their own sanctuaries and festivals in association to both Egyptian and Hellenistic gods (such as Isis of Egypt and Hera of Greece). For example, Head Attributed to Arsinoe II deified her as an Egyptian goddess. However, the Marble head of

10956-449: The Roman period, e.g.: Καλήμερον, ἦλθες; Bono die, venisti? Good day, you came? Ἐὰν θέλεις, ἐλθὲ μεθ' ἡμῶν. Si vis, veni mecum . If you want, come with us. Ποῦ; Ubi? Where? Πρὸς φίλον ἡμέτερον Λύκιον. Ad amicum nostrum Lucium. To our friend Lucius. Τί γὰρ ἔχει; Quid enim habet? Indeed, what does he have? What is it with him? Ἀρρωστεῖ. Aegrotat. He's sick. Finally,

11122-479: The Romans in order to regain and secure his throne following the rebellion and brief coup led by his older daughters, Tryphaena and Berenice IV . Both daughters were killed in Auletes' reclaiming of his throne; Tryphaena by assassination and Berenice by execution, leaving Cleopatra VII as the oldest surviving child of Ptolemy Auletes. Traditionally, Ptolemaic royal siblings were married to one another on ascension to

11288-516: The Sun Temple of the Pharaohs and grandiose monuments and learning institutions. There was the danger that forces from Heliopolis could attack the Muslims from the flank while they were engaged with the Roman army at Babylon. There was a cavalry clash near the current neighbourhood of Abbaseya . The engagement was not decisive, but it resulted in the occupation of the fortress located between

11454-612: The above imply that those characteristics survived within Koine, which in turn had countless variations in the Greek-speaking world. Biblical Koine refers to the varieties of Koine Greek used in Bible translations into Greek and related texts. Its main sources are: There has been some debate to what degree Biblical Greek represents the mainstream of contemporary spoken Koine and to what extent it contains specifically Semitic substratum features. These could have been induced either through

11620-475: The army of 'Amr ibn al-'As , took place between 639 and 642 AD and was overseen by the Rashidun Caliphate . It ended the seven-century-long Roman period in Egypt that had begun in 30 BC and, more broadly, the Greco-Roman period that had lasted about a millennium. Shortly before the conquest, Byzantine (Eastern Roman ) rule in the country had been shaken, as Egypt had been conquered and occupied for

11786-422: The astronomer Aristarchus . Ptolemy is thought to have commissioned Manetho to compose his Aegyptiaca , an account of Egyptian history, perhaps intended to make Egyptian culture intelligible to its new rulers. Ptolemy's first wife, Arsinoe I , daughter of Lysimachus , was the mother of his legitimate children. After her repudiation he followed Egyptian custom and married his sister , Arsinoe II , beginning

11952-467: The attacks of Antiochus III the Great on Coele-Syria, and the great Egyptian victory of Raphia in 217 BC secured the kingdom. A sign of the domestic weakness of his reign was the rebellions by native Egyptians that took away over half the country for over 20 years. Philopator was devoted to orgiastic religions and to literature. He married his sister Arsinoë , but was ruled by his mistress Agathoclea. Like his predecessors, Ptolemy IV presented himself as

12118-399: The backpillar and the goddess's striding pose is distinctively Egyptian, the cornucopia she holds and her hairstyle are both Greek in style. The rounded eyes, prominent lips, and overall youthful features show Greek influence as well. Despite the unification of Greek and Egyptian elements in the intermediate Ptolemaic period, the Ptolemaic Kingdom also featured prominent temple construction as

12284-412: The body of John, which had been thrown in the Nile, to be found. It was retrieved with a net, embalmed with honour and sent back to Heraclius . As Theodore was commander-in-chief, Heraclius blamed him for John's death. Feeling that he was blamed due to negative reports from Theodosius and Anastasius, Theodore formed an enmity with them. In July, 'Amr wrote to 'Umar requesting reinforcements, but before

12450-517: The bureaucracy, provided they Hellenized . Beginning with Ptolemy I's son and successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus , the Ptolemies began to adopt Egyptian customs, such as marrying their siblings per the Osiris myth and participating in Egyptian religious life . New temples were built, older ones restored, and royal patronage lavished on the priesthood. From the mid third century BC, Ptolemaic Egypt

12616-448: The caliph's letter from him when the army had halted after the day's journey. 'Uqbah, unaware of the contents of the letter, agreed and marched along with the army. The army halted for the night at Shajratein, a little valley near the city of El Arish , which 'Amr knew to be beyond the Egyptian border. 'Amr then received and read 'Umar's letter and went on to consult his companions as to the course of action to be adopted. The unanimous view

12782-525: The captain of the ship claimed the wind was contrary to him, and Theodore was stuck with Cyrus. They returned to Alexandria on September 14, 641, the Feast of the Cross . Meanwhile in Egypt, Anastasius had been appointed temporary prefect of Egypt , and during his time the Muslims captured both Babylon and Nikiu . Domentianus and his soldiers were guarding Nikiu. When he saw the enemy approaching cravenly fled

12948-475: The citizens offered allegiance on the usual terms. According to tradition, Cyrus of Alexandria had a beautiful daughter named Armenousa, who he desired to marry to Heraclius Constantine . Constantine accepted the marriage proposal, so in late 639 Armenousa left Babylon in a grand marriage procession which included two thousand horsemen, along with slaves and a long caravan laden with treasures that served both as dowry and tribute. On her way to Constantine, who

13114-400: The city in a small boat, leaving his soldiers to their fate. They attempted to follow him, but in the panic the boatmen fled to their home provinces, leaving many of the soldiers stranded. When the Arabs arrived, the soldiers threw their weapons into the water before their enemies, hoping to be spared, but instead they were all massacred. According to John of Nikiu, the only man who lived to tell

13280-482: The city was captured. According to John of Nikiû , "they compelled the city to open its gates, and they put to the sword all that surrendered, and they spared none, whether old men, babe, or woman." The Arabs then noticed that John, with a small group of 50 men, had been following them. John and his men ran retreated to their base at Abûît , but their hiding place was betrayed by a Bedouin chief and they were all killed. When news of John's death reached Theodore , who

13446-562: The city. Facing certain death at the hands of Octavian , Antony attempted suicide by falling on his own sword, but survived briefly. He was taken by his remaining soldiers to Cleopatra, who had barricaded herself in her mausoleum, where he died soon after. Knowing that she would be taken to Rome to be paraded in Octavian's triumph (and likely executed thereafter), Cleopatra and her handmaidens committed suicide on 12 August 30 BC. Legend and numerous ancient sources claim that she died by way of

13612-423: The coalition against him. In 312 BC, allied with Seleucus , the ruler of Babylonia , he defeated Demetrius , the son of Antigonus, in the battle of Gaza . In 311 BC, a peace was concluded between the combatants, but in 309 BC war broke out again, and Ptolemy occupied Corinth and other parts of Greece, although he lost Cyprus after a naval battle in 306 BC. Antigonus then tried to invade Egypt but Ptolemy held

13778-510: The coasts of Anatolia and Greece. After this triumph Ptolemy no longer engaged actively in war, although he supported the enemies of Macedon in Greek politics. His domestic policy differed from his father's in that he patronised the native Egyptian religion more liberally: he left larger traces among the Egyptian monuments. In this his reign marks the gradual Egyptianisation of the Ptolemies. Ptolemy III continued his predecessor's sponsorship of scholarship and literature. The Great Library in

13944-581: The colonist population were used as mercenaries by both the rebel Egyptian princes and the Persian kings, who later gave them land grants, spreading Greek culture into the valley of the Nile. When Alexander the Great arrived, he established Alexandria on the site of the Persian fort of Rhakortis. Following Alexander's death, control passed into the hands of the Lagid (Ptolemaic) Dynasty; they built Greek cities across their empire and gave land grants across Egypt to

14110-545: The cosmic world with basic plans retaining the pylon, open court, hypostyle halls , and dark and centrally located sanctuary. However, ways of presenting text on columns and reliefs became formal and rigid during the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Scenes were often framed with textual inscriptions, with a higher text to image ratio than seen previously during the New Kingdom . For example, a relief in the temple of Kom Ombo

14276-447: The country became a de facto protectorate of Rome, which had by now absorbed most of the Greek world. Ptolemy XI was succeeded by a son of Ptolemy IX, Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos , nicknamed Auletes, the flute-player. By now Rome was the arbiter of Egyptian affairs, and annexed both Libya and Cyprus . In 58 BC Auletes was driven out by the Alexandrian mob, but the Romans restored him to power three years later. He died in 51 BC, leaving

14442-533: The current neighborhoods of Abdyn and Azbakeya . The defeated Byzantine soldiers retreated to either the Babylon Fortress or the fortress of Nikiû. Zubayr and some of his handpicked soldiers scaled the Heliopolis city wall at an unguarded point and, after overpowering the guards, opened the gates for the army to enter the city. After the capture of Heliopolis, 'Amr returned to Babylon. When news of

14608-401: The day-to-day vernacular . Others chose to refer to Koine as "the dialect of Alexandria " or "Alexandrian dialect" ( ἡ Ἀλεξανδρέων διάλεκτος ), or even the universal dialect of its time. Modern classicists have often used the former sense. Koine Greek arose as a common dialect within the armies of Alexander the Great . Under the leadership of Macedon , their newly formed common variety

14774-476: The death of their father, Cleopatra VII and her younger brother Ptolemy XIII inherited the throne and were married. Their marriage was only nominal, however, and their relationship soon degenerated. Cleopatra was stripped of authority and title by Ptolemy XIII's advisors, who held considerable influence over the young king. Fleeing into exile, Cleopatra attempted to raise an army to reclaim the throne. Julius Caesar left Rome for Alexandria in 48 BC in order to quell

14940-539: The discovery of a wealth of papyri and ostraca written in Koine Greek and Egyptian . In 332 BC, Alexander the Great , King of Macedon , conquered Egypt, which at the time was a satrapy of the Achaemenid Empire later called Egypt's Thirty-first Dynasty . He visited Memphis , and travelled to the oracle of Amun at the Siwa Oasis . The oracle declared him to be the son of Amun. Alexander conciliated

15106-622: The dynasty of Ptolemies and the entirety of pharaonic Egypt came to an end. Alexandria remained the capital of the country, but Egypt itself became a Roman province. Octavian became the sole ruler of Rome and began converting it into a monarchy, the Roman Empire . Under Roman rule, Egypt was governed by a prefect selected by the emperor from the Equestrian class and not a governor from the Senatorial order, to prevent interference by

15272-537: The early 20th century some scholars argued that the use of the historical present tense in Mark was due to the influence of Aramaic , but this theory fell out of favor in the 1960s. Another group of scholars believed the historical present tense was used to heighten the dramatic effect, and this interpretation was favored in the New American Bible translation. In Volume II of the 1929 edition of A Grammar of

15438-534: The economic, artistic and intellectual capital of the Hellenistic world. The academies and libraries of Alexandria proved vital in preserving much Greek literary heritage. Ptolemy III Euergetes ("the Benefactor") succeeded his father in 246 BC. He abandoned his predecessors' policy of keeping out of the wars of the other Macedonian successor kingdoms, and began the Third Syrian War (246–241 BC) with

15604-456: The empire, resulting in further territorial losses in the centuries to come. In 640, Heraclius was the Byzantine emperor , Cyrus of Alexandria was both the governor of Egypt ( praefectus Aegypti ) and the government-appointed Patriarch of Alexandria , and Theodore was the commander-in-chief of the Byzantine army in the province. Following the death of Muhammad in 632 AD,

15770-649: The end of his reign as a result of the Second Syrian War . In the 270s BC, Ptolemy II defeated the Kingdom of Kush in war, gaining the Ptolemies free access to Kushite territory and control of important gold deposits south of Egypt known as Dodekasoinos. As a result, the Ptolemies established hunting stations and ports as far south as Port Sudan , from where raiding parties containing hundreds of men searched for war elephants. Hellenistic culture would acquire an important influence on Kush at this time. Ptolemy II

15936-489: The event of his death, which Octavian used against Antony, sowing further dissent in the Roman populace. Octavian was quick to declare war on Antony and Cleopatra while public opinion of Antony was low. Their naval forces met at Actium , where the forces of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa defeated the navy of Cleopatra and Antony. Octavian waited for a year before he claimed Egypt as a Roman province. He arrived in Alexandria and easily defeated Mark Antony's remaining forces outside

16102-468: The fall of the Babylon Fortress , and was succeeded by his two sons Constantine III and Heraclonas as co-emperors. Heraclonas' mother, Martina , ruled through Heraclonas because of his young age and consistently opposed Constantine. Constantine, following his father's wishes, summoned Cyrus and Theodore to Constantinople to discuss the invasion. Cyrus was in favour of surrendering to the Muslims, whereas Theodore wanted to continue fighting them and hoped

16268-435: The family of Theodorus there, killed all of them. Now 30 km (19 miles) from Tarnut, the Byzantine detachment that had withdrawn from Tarnut the day before joined another that was already at Shareek, and both attacked and routed the Muslim cavalry. The next day, before the Byzantines could annihilate the Muslim advance guard completely, the main Muslim army arrived, prompting the Byzantines to withdraw. The following day,

16434-521: The following morning with tactics similar to those that had been used by Khalid ibn Walid at Damascus. However, Theodore and his army managed to slip away to the island of Rauda during the night, whence they continued to fight the Muslims. During this time, Theodore assembled an army in the Nile Delta and put two generals in charge of defending Samannud . Hearing of this, 'Amr went north to destroy this army. The two generals in Samannud refused to fight

16600-487: The forces of disorder led by the god Set . In return, the priests undertook to erect a statue group in each of their temples, depicting the god of the temple presenting a sword of victory to Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III. A five-day festival was inaugurated in honour of the Theoi Philopatores and their victory. The decree thus seems to represent a successful marriage of Egyptian Pharaonic ideology and religion with

16766-472: The frontier against him. When the coalition was renewed against Antigonus in 302 BC, Ptolemy joined it, but neither he nor his army were present when Antigonus was defeated and killed at Ipsus . He had instead taken the opportunity to secure Coele-Syria and Palestine, in breach of the agreement assigning it to Seleucus, thereby setting the scene for the future Syrian Wars . Thereafter Ptolemy tried to stay out of land wars, but he retook Cyprus in 295 BC. Feeling

16932-591: The governor of Faiyum was Domentianus, while Anastasius was the prefect of its province, Arcadia Aegypti , and Theodosius was the prefect of Alexandria . The defence of Arcadia Aegypti was entrusted to a certain John, who Hermann Zotenberg identifies with the John, Duke of Barca or Barcaina mentioned by Nicephorus . He had brought the Ecthesis and a portion of the True Cross from Patriarch Sergius to Cyrus, and

17098-547: The growing dominance of the Roman Republic . With one empire after another falling to Macedon and the Seleucid empire, the Ptolemies had had little choice but to ally with the Romans, a pact that lasted over 150 years. By Ptolemy XII's time, Rome had achieved a massive amount of influence over Egyptian politics and finances to the point that he declared the Roman senate the guardian of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. He had paid vast sums of Egyptian wealth and resources in tribute to

17264-407: The historical and linguistic importance of Koine Greek began only in the early 19th century, where renowned scholars conducted a series of studies on the evolution of Koine throughout the entire Hellenistic period and Roman Empire . The sources used on the studies of Koine have been numerous and of unequal reliability. The most significant ones are the inscriptions of the post-Classical periods and

17430-457: The initial stage in the fortition of the second element in the αυ/ευ diphthongs) and the loss of vowel-timing distinctions are carried through. On the other hand, Kantor argues for certain vowel qualities differing from the rest of the Koine in the Judean dialect. Although it is impossible to know the exact realizations of vowels, it is tentatively argued that the mid-vowels ε / αι and η had

17596-477: The intense Ionic elements of the Koine – σσ instead of ττ and ρσ instead of ρρ ( θάλασσα – θάλαττα , 'sea'; ἀρσενικός – ἀρρενικός , 'potent, virile') – considered Koine to be a simplified form of Ionic . The view accepted by most scholars today was given by the Greek linguist Georgios Hatzidakis , who showed that despite the "composition of the Four", the "stable nucleus" of Koine Greek

17762-431: The kingdom to his ten-year-old son and seventeen-year-old daughter, Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator and Cleopatra VII , who reigned jointly as husband and wife. Cleopatra VII ascended the Egyptian throne on 22 March 51 BC upon the death of her father, Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysos. She reigned as queen "philopator" and pharaoh with various male co-regents from 51 to 30 BC. The demise of the Ptolemies' power coincided with

17928-464: The kingdom was now secure, Ptolemy shared rule with his son Ptolemy II by Queen Berenice in 285 BC. He then may have devoted his retirement to writing a history of the campaigns of Alexander—which unfortunately was lost but was a principal source for the later work of Arrian . Ptolemy I died in 283 BC at the age of 84. He left a stable and well-governed kingdom to his son. Ptolemy II Philadelphus , who succeeded his father as pharaoh of Egypt in 283 BC,

18094-497: The language. The passage into the next period, known as Medieval Greek , is sometimes dated from the foundation of Constantinople by Constantine the Great in 330 AD, but often only from the end of late antiquity . The post-Classical period of Greek thus refers to the creation and evolution of Koine Greek throughout the entire Hellenistic and Roman eras of history until the start of the Middle Ages. The linguistic roots of

18260-478: The last independent Hellenistic state . Roman Egypt became one of Rome's richest provinces and a center of Greek culture. Greek remained the language of government and trade until the Muslim conquest in 641 AD. Alexandria remained one of the leading cities of the Mediterranean well into the late Middle Ages . The Ptolemaic reign in Egypt is one of the best-documented time periods of the Hellenistic era , due to

18426-515: The letter reached him, the caliph had already dispatched 4,000 men, mostly veterans of the Syrian campaigns , to bolster Amr's strength. Even with the reinforcements, 'Amr was unsuccessful and so, by August, 'Umar had assembled another 4,000-strong force, consisting of four columns, each of 1,000 elite men. Zubayr ibn al-Awwam , a renowned warrior and commander, veteran of the Battle of Yarmouk and once

18592-697: The liturgical language of services in the Greek Orthodox Church and in some Greek Catholic churches . The English-language name Koine is derived from the Koine Greek term ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος ( hē koinḕ diálektos ), meaning "the common dialect". The Greek word κοινή ( koinḗ ) itself means "common". The word is pronounced / k ɔɪ ˈ n eɪ / , / ˈ k ɔɪ n eɪ / , or / k iː ˈ n iː / in US English and / ˈ k ɔɪ n iː / in UK English. The pronunciation of

18758-399: The looming civil war, as war in Egypt, which was one of Rome's greatest suppliers of grain and other expensive goods, would have had a detrimental effect on trade with Rome, especially on Rome's working-class citizens. During his stay in the Alexandrian palace, he received 22-year-old Cleopatra, allegedly carried to him in secret wrapped in a carpet. Caesar agreed to support Cleopatra's claim to

18924-761: The main of the Greek language. S. J. Thackeray, in A Grammar of the Old Testament in Greek According to the Septuagint (1909), wrote that only the five books of the Pentateuch , parts of the Book of Joshua and the Book of Isaiah may be considered "good Koine". One issue debated by scholars is whether and how much the translation of the Pentateuch influenced the rest of the Septuagint, including

19090-640: The men who have conquered Chosroes and Caesar in Syria.' When Zubayr arrived, he pointed out to ‘Amr that the Roman-garrisoned city of Heliopolis was a short distance away, and that troops from there could relieve the Siege of Babylon. To remove this threat, ‘Amr went with about half of his men there. The Muslim army reached Heliopolis, 15 km (10 mi) from Babylon, in July 640. The city boasted

19256-612: The military commander of the garrison and exiled him from the city, replacing him with Menas, who was a non-Chalcedonian Copt and popular with the army. Menas held a grudge against Domentianus' brother Eudocianus for Eudocianus' torture of the Coptic prisoners in Babylon . Theodore was angry with Domentianus for his cowardly flight from Nikiu and took Menas' side in their quarrel. Despite being brothers-in-law, Domentianus also disrespected Cyrus and showed him unreasonable hatred. He enlisted

19422-461: The monarchy otherwise rigorously maintained its Hellenistic character and traditions. The kingdom had a complex government bureaucracy that exploited the country's vast economic resources to the benefit of a Greek ruling class, which dominated military, political, and economic affairs, and which rarely integrated into Egyptian society and culture. Native Egyptians maintained power over local and religious institutions, and only gradually accrued power in

19588-406: The name of the king, there are other features that specifically date this to the Ptolemaic period. Most distinctively is the color of the faience. Apple green, deep blue, and lavender-blue are the three colors most frequently used during this period, a shift from the characteristic blue of the earlier kingdoms. This sistrum appears to be an intermediate hue, which fits with its date at the beginning of

19754-585: The next several centuries. Following the Syrian Wars with the Seleucid Empire , a rival Hellenistic state, the Ptolemaic Kingdom expanded its territory to include eastern Libya , the Sinai , and northern Nubia . To legitimize their rule and gain recognition from native Egyptians, the Ptolemies adopted the local title of pharaoh , alongside the Greek title of basileus , and had themselves portrayed on public monuments in Egyptian style and dress; however,

19920-426: The notion of meeting and gathering of men, without any particular character. Therefore, etymologizing this word could be needless, or even misleading, when it could guide to false meanings, for example that ἐκκλησία is a name used for the people of God, Israel. The authors of the New Testament follow the Septuagint translations for over half their quotations from the Old Testament. The " historical present " tense

20086-457: The opening of ε . Influence of the Aramaic substrate could have also caused confusion between α and ο , providing further evidence for the back vowel realization. The following texts show differences from Attic Greek in all aspects – grammar, morphology, vocabulary and can be inferred to show differences in phonology. The following comments illustrate the phonological development within

20252-448: The outposts of Pelusium and Belbeis, the Muslims had met stiff resistance, with sieges of two and one months, respectively. As Babylon, near what is now Cairo, was a larger and more important city, resistance on a larger scale was expected. The Muslims arrived at Babylon some time in May 640. Babylon was a fortified city, and Theodore had indeed prepared it for a siege. Outside the city,

20418-431: The oval face, "round [and] deeply set" eyes, and the small, tucked mouth closer to the nose. Early portraits of the Ptolemies featured large and radiant eyes in association to the rulers' divinity as well as general notions of abundance. When Ptolemy I Soter made himself king of Egypt, he created a new god, Serapis , to garner support from both Greeks and Egyptians. Serapis was the patron god of Ptolemaic Egypt, combining

20584-400: The panic the boatmen fled to their home provinces, leaving many of the soldiers stranded. When the Arabs arrived, the soldiers threw their weapons into the water before their enemies, hoping to be spared, but instead they were all massacred. According to John of Nikiu , the only man who lived to tell the tale was a “gallant warrior” named Zacharias. The Muslims then passed by Sais and, finding

20750-399: The period generally designated as Koine Greek, a great deal of phonological change occurred. At the start of the period, the pronunciation was virtually identical to Ancient Greek phonology , whereas in the end, it had much more in common with Modern Greek phonology . The three most significant changes were the loss of vowel length distinction, the replacement of the pitch accent system by

20916-534: The period of Koine. The phonetic transcriptions are tentative and are intended to illustrate two different stages in the reconstructed development, an early conservative variety still relatively close to Classical Attic, and a somewhat later, more progressive variety approaching Modern Greek in some respects. The following excerpt, from a decree of the Roman Senate to the town of Thisbae in Boeotia in 170 BC,

21082-505: The practice of translating closely from Biblical Hebrew or Aramaic originals, or through the influence of the regional non-standard Greek spoken by originally Aramaic-speaking Hellenized Jews . Some of the features discussed in this context are the Septuagint's normative absence of the particles μέν and δέ , and the use of ἐγένετο to denote "it came to pass". Some features of Biblical Greek which are thought to have originally been non-standard elements eventually found their way into

21248-455: The reliefs on the great pylon were finished in the reign of Ptolemy XII . In 221 BC, Ptolemy III died and was succeeded by his son Ptolemy IV Philopator , a weak king whose rule precipitated the decline of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. His reign was inaugurated by the murder of his mother, and he was always under the influence of royal favourites , who controlled the government. Nevertheless, his ministers were able to make serious preparations to meet

21414-441: The ruling nomarch to control Egypt in his absence. Alexander would never return to Egypt. Following Alexander's death in Babylon in 323 BC, a succession crisis erupted among his generals. Initially, Perdiccas ruled the empire as regent for Alexander's half-brother Arrhidaeus, who became Philip III of Macedon , and then as regent for both Philip III and Alexander's infant son Alexander IV of Macedon , who had not been born at

21580-429: The spirantization of Γ , with palatal allophone before front-vowels and a plosive allophone after nasals, and β . φ, θ and χ still preserve their ancient aspirated plosive values, while the unaspirated stops π, τ, κ have perhaps begun to develop voiced allophones after nasals. Initial aspiration has also likely become an optional sound for many speakers of the popular variety. Monophthongization (including

21746-469: The spoken vernaculars of the time. As the dominant language of the Byzantine Empire, it developed further into Medieval Greek , which then turned into Modern Greek . Literary Koine was the medium of much post-classical Greek literary and scholarly writing, such as the works of Plutarch and Polybius . Koine is also the language of the Septuagint (the 3rd century BC Greek translation of

21912-418: The strength of the Muslim force. For the next two months, fighting remained inconclusive, with the Byzantines repulsing every Muslim assault. Realising that Babylon was too strong to take, 'Amr sent a detachment to raid the city of Faiyum . The Byzantines had anticipated that and so had strongly guarded the roads that led to the city and had fortified their garrison in the nearby town of Lahun . At this time,

22078-531: The surrounding areas during the Wars of the Diadochi (322–301 BC). In 305 BC, Ptolemy took the title of basileus and pharaoh . As Ptolemy I Soter ("Saviour"), he founded the Ptolemaic dynasty that was to rule Egypt for nearly 300 years. All the male rulers of the dynasty took the name Ptolemy, while princesses and female rulers preferred the names Cleopatra , Arsinoë and Berenice. The Ptolemies also adopted

22244-577: The tale was a "gallant warrior" named Zacharias. The Muslims then passed by Sais and, finding relatives of Theodore there, killed them. John of Nikiu also says that "Egypt also had become enslaved to Satan. A great strife had broken out between the inhabitants of Lower Egypt , and these were divided into two parties. Of these, one sided with Theodore, but the other wished to join the Moslem." The Muslims had also begun their Siege of Alexandria . When Theodore returned to Alexandria, he dismissed Domentianus as

22410-460: The term koine to refer to the Proto-Greek language , while others used it to refer to any vernacular form of Greek speech which differed somewhat from the literary language. When Koine Greek became a language of literature by the first century BC, some people distinguished two forms: written as the literary post-classical form (which should not be confused with Atticism ), and vernacular as

22576-525: The throne. In 145 BC, he was killed in the Battle of Antioch . Throughout the 160s and 150s BC, Ptolemy VI has also reasserted Ptolemaic control over the northern part of Nubia . This achievement is heavily advertised at the Temple of Isis at Philae , which was granted the tax revenues of the Dodecaschoenus region in 157 BC. Decorations on the first pylon of the Temple of Isis at Philae emphasise

22742-434: The throne. Ptolemy XIII and his advisors fled the palace, turning the Egyptian forces loyal to the throne against Caesar and Cleopatra, who barricaded themselves in the palace complex until Roman reinforcements could arrive to combat the rebellion, known afterward as the Siege of Alexandria . Ptolemy XIII's forces were ultimately defeated at the Battle of the Nile and the king was killed in the conflict, reportedly drowning in

22908-399: The throne. These marriages sometimes produced children, and other times were only a ceremonial union to consolidate political power. Ptolemy Auletes expressed his wish for Cleopatra and her brother Ptolemy XIII to marry and rule jointly in his will, in which the Roman senate was named as executor, giving Rome further control over the Ptolemies and, thereby, the fate of Egypt as a nation. After

23074-468: The time of his father's death. Perdiccas appointed Ptolemy , one of Alexander's closest companions, to be satrap of Egypt. Ptolemy ruled Egypt from 323 BC, nominally in the name of the joint kings Philip III and Alexander IV. However, as Alexander the Great's empire disintegrated, Ptolemy soon established himself as ruler in his own right. Ptolemy successfully defended Egypt against an invasion by Perdiccas in 321 BC, and consolidated his position in Egypt and

23240-480: The translation of Isaiah. Another point that scholars have debated is the use of ἐκκλησία ekklēsía as a translation for the Hebrew קָהָל qāhāl . Old Testament scholar James Barr has been critical of etymological arguments that ekklēsía refers to "the community called by God to constitute his People". Kyriakoula Papademetriou explains: He maintains that ἐκκλησία is merely used for designating

23406-437: The venomous bite of an asp , though others state that she used poison, or that Octavian ordered her death himself. Caesarion, her son by Julius Caesar, nominally succeeded Cleopatra until his capture and supposed execution in the weeks after his mother's death. Cleopatra's children by Antony were spared by Octavian and given to his sister (and Antony's Roman wife) Octavia Minor , to be raised in her household. No further mention

23572-596: The veterans of their many military conflicts. Hellenistic civilization continued to thrive even after Rome annexed Egypt after the battle of Actium and did not decline until the Islamic conquests . Ptolemaic art was produced during the reign of the Ptolemaic Rulers (304–30 BC), and was concentrated primarily within the bounds of the Ptolemaic Empire. At first, artworks existed separately in either

23738-450: The west bank of the Nile . The Byzantines failed to inflict heavy losses but were able to delay the advance by a full day. The Muslim commanders decided to halt the main army at Tarnut and send an advance guard of cavalry forward to clear the path. The Muslims came to Kebrias of Abadja, where Domentianus and his soldiers were. He cravenly fled the city in a small boat, leaving his soldiers to their fate. They attempted to follow him, but in

23904-434: The whole army marched forward without an advance guard. The Muslims reached Sulteis, where they encountered another Byzantine detachment. Hard fighting followed, but the Byzantine resistance soon broke down and they withdrew to Alexandria. The Muslims halted at Sulteis for a day, still two days' march from Alexandria. After another day's march, the Muslim forces arrived at Kirayun, 20 km (12 miles) from Alexandria. There,

24070-669: The word koine itself gradually changed from [koinéː] (close to the Classical Attic pronunciation [koi̯.nɛ̌ː] ) to [cyˈni] (close to the Modern Greek [ciˈni] ). In Modern Greek, the language is referred to as Ελληνιστική Κοινή , "Hellenistic Koiné", in the sense of "Hellenistic supraregional language "). Ancient scholars used the term koine in several different senses. Scholars such as Apollonius Dyscolus (second century AD) and Aelius Herodianus (second century AD) maintained

24236-443: Was "obese in person, quite without energy and unacquainted with warlike affairs". When he arrived, he found Theodore and his troops there already making sorties every day against the Arab base at Bahnasa. Judging that Amr would soon be defeated, Leontius left only half of his men there, going back to Babylon with the other half. The Arabs eventually gave up on attempting to take Faiyum and returned northwards. Theodore gave orders for

24402-617: Was a peaceful and cultured pharaoh, though unlike his father was no great warrior. Fortunately, Ptolemy I had left Egypt strong and prosperous; three years of campaigning in the First Syrian War made the Ptolemies masters of the eastern Mediterranean, controlling the Aegean islands (the Nesiotic League ) and the coastal districts of Cilicia , Pamphylia , Lycia and Caria . However, some of these territories were lost near

24568-422: Was an eager patron of scholarship, funding the expansion of the Library of Alexandria and patronising scientific research. Poets like Callimachus , Theocritus , Apollonius of Rhodes , Posidippus were provided with stipends and produced masterpieces of Hellenistic poetry, including panegyrics in honour of the Ptolemaic family. Other scholars operating under Ptolemy's aegis included the mathematician Euclid and

24734-440: Was commanding the garrison at Babylon , 'his lamentations were more grievous than the lamentations of David over Saul when he said: "How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!"' as John of Nikiu puts it. Theodore hurried his troops up the Nile while Anastasius and Theodosius rushed from Nikiû to Babylon to strengthen it, while a further force was sent from Babylon to Abûît to strengthen it under Leontius, who

24900-417: Was deposed by Valentine , who sent envoys to Rhodes with a message to Cyrus' troops, telling them to return to Constantinople and not to side with Cyrus. He also sent a letter to Alexandria telling the defenders not to obey Martina, and to keep fighting. Theodore was pleased to hear this, and without telling Cyrus or anyone but the captain, he secretly attempted to sail from Rhodes to Pentapolis . However,

25066-401: Was dominated by the Wars of the Diadochi between the various successor states to the empire of Alexander. His first objective was to hold his position in Egypt securely, and secondly to increase his domain. Within a few years he had gained control of Libya , Coele-Syria (including Judea ), and Cyprus . When Antigonus , ruler of Syria , tried to reunite Alexander's empire, Ptolemy joined

25232-444: Was driven out by his mother in 107 BC, who reigned jointly with Euergetes's youngest son Ptolemy X Alexander I . In 88 BC Ptolemy IX again returned to the throne, and retained it until his death in 80 BC. He was succeeded by Ptolemy XI Alexander II , the son of Ptolemy X. He was lynched by the Alexandrian mob after murdering his stepmother, who was also his cousin, aunt and wife. These sordid dynastic quarrels left Egypt so weakened that

25398-511: Was finally defeated in 186, and a stele celebrating this event was historically significant as the famous Rosetta Stone . Ptolemy V Epiphanes , son of Philopator and Arsinoë, was a child when he came to the throne, and a series of regents ran the kingdom. Antiochus III the Great of The Seleucid Empire and Philip V of Macedon made a compact to seize the Ptolemaic possessions. Philip seized several islands and places in Caria and Thrace , while

25564-505: Was followed by rapid unraveling of the Macedonian Empire amid competing claims by the diadochi , his closest friends and companions. Ptolemy, a Macedonian who was one of Alexander's most trusted generals and confidants, won control of Egypt from his rivals and declared himself its ruler. Alexandria , a Greek polis founded by Alexander, became the capital city and a major center of Greek culture, learning, and trade for

25730-526: Was in Caesarea , she heard of the Arab army approaching Egypt and dispatched a regiment of her guards to defend Pelusium , a garrison city considered to be the eastern gateway to Egypt at the time, while she herself remained in Belbeis with more of her guards and sent warnings to her father Cyrus. However, Alfred J. Butler dismisses Armenousa's story as a myth. In December of 639 or early January 640,

25896-421: Was killed and Armenousa was captured, but sent back to Cyrus. 'Amr ibn al-'As subsequently attempted to convince the native Egyptians to aid the Arabs and surrender the city, based on the kinship between Egyptians and Arabs via Hajar . When the Egyptians refused, the siege resumed until the city fell around the end of March 640. Amr had assumed that Egypt would be a pushover but was quickly proven wrong. Even at

26062-515: Was likely on a direct commission from Emperor Heraclius . When the Muslims realised that Faiyum was also too strong for them to take, they headed towards the Western Desert , where they looted as many cattle and animals as they could. They subsequently headed to a town in the Faiyum district named Bahnasa (not to be confused with Oxyrhynchus 50 miles further south), which was defeated and

26228-407: Was looted (the traditional fate of cities that had resisted). Emissaries were exchanged between Theodore and 'Amr, leading to 'Amr meeting Theodore in person. Then, with negotiations stalled, during the night of 20 December, a company of handpicked warriors, led by Zubayr, managed to scale the wall, kill the guards, and open the gates for the Muslim army to enter. The city was captured by the Muslims

26394-564: Was spoken from the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt to the Seleucid Empire of Mesopotamia . It replaced existing ancient Greek dialects with an everyday form that people anywhere could understand. Though elements of Koine Greek took shape in Classical Greece , the post-Classical period of Greek is defined as beginning with the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, when cultures under Greek sway in turn began to influence

26560-411: Was that as they had received the letter on Egyptian soil, they had permission to proceed. When 'Umar received the reply, he decided to watch further developments and to start concentrating fresh forces at Madinah that could be dispatched to Egypt as reinforcements. On Eid al-Adha , the Muslim army marched from Shajratein to El Arish , a small town lacking a garrison. The town put up no resistance, and

26726-481: Was the Raphia Decree , issued on 15 November 217 BC and preserved in three copies. Like other Ptolemaic decrees , the decree was inscribed in hieroglyphs , Demotic , and Koine Greek . The decree records the military success of Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III and their benefactions to the Egyptian priestly elite. Throughout, Ptolemy IV is presented as taking on the role of Horus who avenges his father by defeating

26892-484: Was the Temple of Horus at Edfu , one of the masterpieces of ancient Egyptian temple architecture and now the best-preserved of all Egyptian temples. Ptolemy III initiated construction on it on 23 August 237 BC. Work continued for most of the Ptolemaic dynasty; the main temple was finished in the reign of his son, Ptolemy IV, in 212 BC, and the full complex was only completed in 142 BC, during the reign of Ptolemy VIII , while

27058-403: Was the first place in Egypt that the Byzantines showed some measure of resistance towards the Arabs. Two Christian monks, accompanied by Cyrus of Alexandria and the famous Roman general Aretion, came out to negotiate with 'Amr ibn al-'As. Aretion had been the Byzantine governor of Jerusalem and had fled to Egypt when the city fell to the Muslims. 'Amr gave them three options: convert to Islam, pay

27224-474: Was the protection of his troops, and if he found himself on Egyptian soil by the time he received the letter, the Caliph would leave overall strategic command of movement to him, so as to not unduly burden troops already in the field. The messenger, 'Uqbah ibn 'Amr, caught up with Amr at Rafah , a little short of the Egyptian frontier. Guessing what might be in the letter, 'Amr ordered the army to quicken its pace. Turning to 'Uqbah, 'Amr said that he would receive

27390-444: Was the wealthiest and most powerful of Alexander's successor states , and the leading example of Greek civilization. Beginning in the mid second century BC, dynastic strife and a series of foreign wars weakened the kingdom, and it became increasingly reliant on the Roman Republic . Under Cleopatra VII , who sought to restore Ptolemaic power, Egypt became entangled in a Roman civil war , which ultimately led to its conquest by Rome as

27556-431: Was with another female, Berenice IV. Cleopatra VII officially co-ruled with Ptolemy XIII Theos Philopator , Ptolemy XIV , and Ptolemy XV , but effectively, she ruled Egypt alone. The early Ptolemies did not disturb the religion or the customs of the Egyptians . They built magnificent new temples for the Egyptian gods and soon adopted the outward display of the pharaohs of old. Rulers such as Ptolemy I Soter respected

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