Country Guide

Meanwhile outside of Egypt, the Macedonian king Alexander the Great had become an unstoppable conqueror. His campaign against the Persians undermined their power in Egypt, and by 332 he had chased them out, and added the country to his vast Hellenistic empire. Alexandria became the new Egyptian capital.

When Alexander the Great died just 11 years later, his general Ptolemy took charge of Egypt and became king. Ptolemy's successors maintained control of Egypt for another three centuries. The story of their defeat is legendary, and involves the famous Egyptian ruler Cleopatra.

Cleopatra was the daughter of Ptolemy XII Auletes, and controlled Egypt from 47 B.C. until 30 B.C. from Alexandria. She's best known as the lover of the Roman ruler Julius Caesar and was said to have had a child with him. After Caesar's assassination, Cleopatra married his commander-in-chief Mark Anthony. Although things were harmonious between Egypt and Rome for a while, Mark Anthony eventually clashed with Caesar's successor Octavian and went to war with him with help from Egypt. Roman forces defeated Mark Anthony and Cleopatra at Actium in 31 B.C., and they both committed suicide in Alexandria the following year. Egypt then became a Roman province.

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