Bibliotheca Polyglotta

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(131)THE EGYPTIANS

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How [the history of] the Ethiopians is included in the chronology of the Egyptians, and [the times when] the Ptolemaei ruled over Egypt and Alexandria.

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How the Egyptians have kept records of their dates.

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After the chronology of the Chaldaeans, the Assyrians and the Hebrews, it it time to move on to the records of the Egyptians.

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Diodorus, in the first book of his historical library [ 1.44 ], writes as follows: “Some of them tell the story that the first rulers in Egypt were gods and heroes, who ruled for slightly less than sixteen thousand years; the last of the gods who ruled there was Horus the son of Isis. Then men became kings of the country, in the time of Myris, and have continued for slightly less than five thousand years, until the 180th Olympiad [60-57 B.C.], when I visited Egypt, in the reign of Ptolemy, who was called the New Dionysus.

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(133) “For the great majority of that time, the country has been ruled by native kings; but for short periods it was ruled by Ethiopians, by Persians and by Macedonians. There were only four Ethiopian kings, and they did not rule in a single sequence, but at separate times; in total, they ruled for slightly less than 36 years. During the supremacy of the Persians, which was established when Cambyses conquered the [Egyptian] people by force, and which lasted for 135 years, the Egyptians rose in revolt, because they could not endure the harsh government and the impiety [of the Persians] towards the native gods. Then the Macedonians and their descendants became kings, for 276 years. For the whole of the rest of the time, [Egypt] was governed by native rulers, who consisted of 470 kings and 5 queens.

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"Records about all of these rulers have been kept by the priests in their sacred books, which have been continuously handed down from one [generation] to another, since the most ancient times. These books tell about the character of each king, their virtue and their bravery, their spirit and their nobility, as well as the achievements of each of them in their reigns. However it is unnecessary, and moreover worthless, for us to write down the deeds of each of them; especially since many of them were judged to be insignificant even in their own times.” That is what Diodorus says.

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And now it is right and fitting for us to add to this Manetho's account of the Egyptians, which seems to be a reliable history.

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From the Egyptian records of Manetho, who composed in three books commentaries about the gods, demi-gods, spirits, and the mortal kings who ruled over the Egyptians, up until the time of Dareius the king of the Persians.

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The first man amongst the Egyptians was Hephaestus, who discovered fire for them; he was the father of Sol [the Sun]. After him came [(?)Agathodaemon; then] Cronus; then Osiris; then Typhon the brother of Osiris; and then Horus the son of Osiris and Isis. These were the first rulers of the Egyptians. (135) After them, one king succeeded another until the time of Bidis, for a total of 13,900 years - calculated by lunar years, which lasted for 30 days. That is the period which we now call a month, but the men of that time called it a year.

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After the gods, a race of demi-gods ruled for 1,255 years. After them, other kings ruled [the country] for 1,817 years. After them, 30 kings from Memphis [ruled] for 1,790 years; and then another ten kings from Thinis ruled for 350 years. And then the shades and demi-gods were kings, for 5,813 years. The total for all of these is 11,000 years - which are lunar years, or months.

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The total time, which the Egyptians assign to the gods and demi-gods and spirits is 24,900 lunar years - which is the equivalent of 2,206 solar years. If you compare this figure with the chronology of the Hebrews, you will find almost the same number of years. For Aegyptus is called Mizraim by the Hebrews; and he was born many years after the time of the flood. It was after the time of the flood that Ham the son of Noah became the father of Mizraim, who was also called Aegyptus; and when the nations were scattered around the earth, Mizraim set off for Egypt to live there. According to the Hebrews, there were 2,242 years in all from Adam until the flood.

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So let the Egyptians boast of their antiquity, in the ancient times which preceded the flood. They say that they had some gods, demi-gods and shades. If the years which are recorded by the Hebrews are converted to months, the total is over 20,000 lunar years, so that there are about the same number of months as are contained in the years recorded by the Hebrews, when we count the years from the first-born man up until Mizraim. Mizraim was the patriarch of the Egyptians, and the first dynasty of the Egyptians was descended from him.

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But if, even so, the number of years is found to be too large, then we must investigate the reason for this. Perhaps it happened that there were many kings in Egypt at the same time. They say that some of them were kings of Thinis, some of Memphis, some of Sais, and some of Ethiopia; and there were yet others in other places. (137) And as it seems that these dynasties ruled each in its own (?) nome, it is very unlikely that they ruled in succession to each other. Rather, some of them ruled in one place, and others in another place. Therefore the increase in the number of years can be explained in that way. But we will leave this matter, and proceed to the details of the chronology of the Egyptians.

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After the demi-gods and spirits, they reckon that the first dynasty consisted of 8 kings. The first of these kings was Menes, who was an outstanding ruler. Starting from him, we will list the rulers of each generation. The succession of rulers was as follows.

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1st Dynasty. Menes and his seven descendants:

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Menes of Thinis, whom Herodotus [ 2.4 ] calls Min, ruled for (?) 60 years. - He led his armies beyond the borders of his kingdom, and he was held in high esteem. He was seized by a hippopotamus.

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His son Athotis ruled for 27 years. - He built a palace in the city of Memphis. He was skilled in medicine, and wrote books about anatomy.

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His son Cenchenes, 39 years

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Venephes, 42 years - In his reign there was a severe famine. He built the pyramids near Cocome.

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Usaphais, 20 years

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Niebais, 26 years

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Semempses, 18 years - In his reign there were many prodigies, and a great pestilence.

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Ubienthis, 26 years.

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In total: 252 years

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2nd Dynasty. 9 kings:

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Firstly, Bochus, in whose reign a chasm appeared in the ground at Bubastis, and many were killed.

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Then Caechōus, in whose reign Apis and Mnevis and the goat of Mendes were honoured as gods.

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(139) Biophis, in whose reign it was decided that women too could reign as monarchs.

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After him, there were three other kings, but nothing significant happened in their reigns.

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In the reign of the seventh king, there is a legend that the river Nile flowed for eleven days with honey mixed in its water.

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Then Sesochris [ruled] for 48 years. He is said to have been 5 cubits and 3 palms tall.

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Nothing worthy of mention happened in the reign of the ninth king.

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In total: 297 years

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3rd Dynasty. 8 kings of Memphis:

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Necherochis - In his reign the Libyans revolted from the Egyptians, but when the moon unexpectedly grew in size, they were moved by fear and surrendered again.

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Sesorthus - He was called Asclepius by the Egyptians because of his skill in medicine. He discovered how to make buildings out of hewn stone, and also gave some attention to writing.

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The other six kings achieved nothing worthy of mention.

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In total: 197 years

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4th Dynasty. 17 kings of Memphis, from another family:

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The third king was Suphis - He built the largest pyramid, which Herodotus [ 2.124 ] says was built by Cheops. He was disdainful towards the gods, but later he repented and wrote the sacred book, which the Egyptians hold in the highest regard.

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Nothing worthy of mention is recorded about the other kings.

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In total: 448 years

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5th Dynasty. 31 kings of Elephantine:

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The first king was Othoēs, who was assassinated by his bodyguards.

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The fourth king was Phiops, who became king at the age of six, and reigned until 100 years [old].

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[Eusebius does not give a total number of years for this dynasty]

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6th Dynasty.

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Queen Nitocris, who was the noblest and most beautiful woman of her time, with a fair complexion. She is said to have built the third pyramid. In total: [they ruled for] 203 years

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(141) 7th Dynasty. 5 kings of Memphis, who ruled for 75 (?) days.

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8th Dynasty. 5 kings of Memphis, who ruled for 100 years.

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9th Dynasty. 4 kings of Heracleopolis, who ruled for 100 years.

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The first king was Achthoēs, who was the most terrible of all the kings up to his time. He cruelly maltreated the inhabitants throughout Egypt, but later he fell into madness and was killed by a crocodile.

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10th Dynasty. 19 kings of Heracleopolis, who ruled for 185 years.

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11th Dynasty. 16 kings of Diospolis, who ruled for 43 years.

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After them, Ammenemes reigned for 16 years.

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At this point, Manetho finishes his first book, which contains 192 kings who reigned in total for 2,300 years [and 75 days].

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From the second book of Manetho:

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12th Dynasty. 7 kings of Diospolis:

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Firstly, Sesonchosis the son of Ammenemes, for 46 years

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Ammanemes, for 38 years - He was killed by his own eunuchs.

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Sesostris, for 48 years - He is said to have been 4 cubits, 3 palms and 2 digits tall. He conquered the whole of Asia in nine years, as well as Europe as far as Thrace. Everywhere he erected monuments to show his control over the nations; he depicted men's genitals on the columns for brave nations, and women's genitals for cowardly nations. Therefore the Egyptians gave him the first place of honour after Osiris.

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Lamares, for 8 years - He built the labyrinth in the Arsinoite [nome], as his own tomb.

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(143) His successors ruled for 42 years.

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In total: they ruled for 245 years

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13th Dynasty. 60 kings of Diospolis, who ruled for 453 years.

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14th Dynasty. 76 kings of Xois, who ruled for 484 years.

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15th Dynasty. [? 17] kings of Diospolis, who ruled for 250 years.

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16th Dynasty. 5 kings of Thebes, who ruled for 190 years.

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17th Dynasty. Shepherds. Phoenician brothers and foreign kings, who captured Memphis:

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Firstly, Saites, for 19 years - The Saite nome was named after him. They established a city in the Sethroite nome, and from there they advanced and conquered the Egyptians.

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Secondly, Bnon, for 40 years

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Archles, for 30 years

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Apophis, for 14 years

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In total: 103 years. Joseph seems to have (?) lived at the time of these kings.

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18th Dynasty. 14 kings of Diospolis:

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Amosis, 25 years

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Chebron, 13 years

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Ammenophis, 21 years

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Misphres, 12 years

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Misphragmuthosis, 26 years

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(145) Tuthmosis, 9 years

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Amenophis, 31 years - He is the one who is thought to be Memnon, the “singing” statue.

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Orus, 38 years

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Achencherses, 16 years - In his reign, Moses led the exodus of the Jews out of Egypt.

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Acherres, 8 years

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Cherres, 15 years

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Armaïs, who was also [called] Danaus, 5 years - After 5 years he was expelled from Egypt, and fled from his brother Aegyptus to Greece, where he captured Argos and became the king of the Argives.

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Rhamesses, who was also called Aegyptus, 68 years

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Amenophis, 40 years

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In total: 348 years

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19th Dynasty. 5 kings of Diospolis:

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Sethos, 55 years

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Rhampses, 66 years

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Amenephthis, (?) 40 years

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Ammenemes, 26 years

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Thuōris, 7 years - Homer [ Od_4'126 ] calls him Polybus, the husband of Alcandra, and in his reign Troy was captured.

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In total: 194 years

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This is [the end] of the second book of Manetho, which contains (?) 92 kings who reigned in total for 2,121 years.

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From the third book of Manetho:

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20th Dynasty. 12 kings of Diospolis, who ruled for 172 years.

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21st Dynasty. 7 kings of Tanis:

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Smendis, 26 years

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Psusennes, 41 years

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Nephercheres, 4 years

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Amenophthis, 9 years

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(147) Osochor, 6 years

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Psinaches, 9 years

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Psusennes, 35 years

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In total : 130 years

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22nd Dynasty. 3 kings of Bubastis:

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Sesonchosis, 21 years

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Osorthon, 15 years

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Tacelothis, 13 years

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In total : 49 years

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23rd Dynasty. 3 kings of Tanis:

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Petubastis, 25 years

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Osorthon, whom the Egyptians called Heracles, 9 years

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Psammūs, 10 years

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In total : 44 years

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24th Dynasty. Bocchoris of Sais, 44 years. In his reign, a lamb spoke.

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25th Dynasty. 3 Ethiopian kings:

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Sabacon, who captured Bocchoris and burnt him alive, ruled for 12 years

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Sebichos, his son, 12 years

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Taracus, 20 years

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In total : 44 years

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26th Dynasty. 9 kings of Sais:

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Ammeres the Ethiopian, (?) 12 years

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Stephinathis, 7 years

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Nechepsos, 6 years

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Nechao, 8 years

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Psammetichus, 44 years

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Nechao II, 6 years - He captured Jerusalem, and took king Jehoahaz back as a prisoner to Egypt.

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Psammuthes (sammetichus) II, 17 years

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Vaphres, 25 years - The remaining Jews fled to him after Jerusalem had been captured by the Assyrians.

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Amosis, 42 years

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In total : 167 years

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27th Dynasty. 8 Persian kings:

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(149) Cambyses, in the 5th year of his reign, ruled the Egyptians for 3 years

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the magi, 7 months

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Dareius, 36 years

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Xerxes, the son of Dareius, 21 years

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Artaxerxes, 40 years

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Xerxes II, 2 months

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Sogdianus, 7 months

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Dareius, the son of Xerxes, 19 years

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In total : 120 years and 4 months

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28th Dynasty. Amyrtaeus of Sais, 6 years.

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29th Dynasty. 4 kings of Mendes:

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Nepheretes, 6 years

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Achoris, 13 years

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Psammuthes, 1 year

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Muthes, 1 year

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Nepherites, 4 months

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In total : 21 years and 4 months

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30th Dynasty. 3 kings of Sebennytus:

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Nectanebis, 10 years

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Teōs, 2 years

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Nectanebus, 8 years

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In total : 20 years

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31st Dynasty. 3 Persian kings:

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Ochus, in the 20th year of his reign, ruled over Egypt for 6 years

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Arses, the son of Ochus, 4 years

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Dareius, who was killed by Alexander the Macedonian, 6 years

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All of the above is contained in the third book of Manetho.

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What follows will be taken from Greek writers, because the kingdom of the Egyptians came to an end at this point. But as Flavius Josephus has produced evidence from the books of Manetho, in his history of the ancestors of the Hebrews, I think that it is right to record his words, which appear in the first [book of] his Antiquity of the Jews, as follows.

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(151) Josephus, [quoting] from the books of Manetho

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I shall begin with the writings of the Egyptians; not indeed of those that have written in the Egyptian language, which it is impossible for me to do. But Manetho, who was by birth an Egyptian, had some knowledge of Greek learning, as is very evident; for he wrote the history of his own country in the Greek language, by translating it, as he says himself, out of their sacred records; he also finds great fault with Herodotus for his ignorance and inaccuracy about Egyptian history. Now this Manetho, in the second book of his Egyptian History, writes concerning us in the following manner. I will set down his very words, as if I were to bring the very man himself into a court as a witness: “Tutimaeus. In his reign it happened, I know not why, that God was angry with us, and there came, unexpectedly, men of ignoble birth from the east, and they were bold enough to make an expedition into our country, and easily subdued it by force, because we did not even hazard a battle with them. So when they had overpowered our rulers, they afterwards burnt down our cities, and demolished the temples of the gods, and treated all the inhabitants in the most barbarous manner. Some of them they slew, and led their children and their wives into slavery. At length they made one of themselves king, whose name was Salitis; he also lived at Memphis, and he made both the upper and lower regions pay tribute, and left garrisons in places that were the most suitable for them. He chiefly aimed to secure the eastern parts, because he foresaw that the Assyrians, who were the most powerful people of that time, would want to seize his kingdom, and invade it. He found in the Sethroite nome a city very suitable for this purpose, on the east side of the Bubastic channel of the river, which for theological reasons was called Avaris. He rebuilt it, and made it very strong by the walls he built around it, and put in a very large garrison of two hundred and forty thousand armed men, to guard it. (153) Salitis came there in summer time, partly to gather his corn, and pay his soldiers their wages, and partly to exercise his armed men, and thereby to intimidate foreigners. After this man had reigned nineteen years, another, whose name was Bnon, reigned for forty-four years; after him reigned another, called Apachnas, thirty-six years and seven months; after him Apophis reigned sixty-one years, and then Jannas fifty years and one month; after all these, Assis reigned for forty-nine years and two months. And these six were the first rulers among them, who were all along making war with the Egyptians, and wanted gradually to eradicate them. This whole nation was styled Hyksos, that is, 'shepherd-kings': for the first syllable hyk, according to the sacred dialect, denotes 'a king', and sos is 'a shepherd', according to the ordinary dialect; and of these is compounded Hyksos: but some say that these people were Arabians.” Now in another copy it is said that this word does not denote 'kings', but, on the contrary, denotes that the shepherds were 'captives'. For hyk, as well as hak with an aspirate, in the Egyptian language expressly denotes 'captives'; and this to me seems the more probable opinion, and more in accordance with ancient history.

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"These people, whom we have before named kings, and called shepherds also, and their descendants,” as he says, “kept control of Egypt for five hundred and eleven years.” After this, he says, “The kings of Thebais and the other parts of Egypt rebelled against the shepherds, and a terrible and long war was fought between them. - A king, whose name was Misphragmuthosis, subdued the shepherds, and after driving them out of the other parts of Egypt, he shut them up in a place (155) that contained ten thousand arourai; this place was named Avaris.” Manetho adds, “The shepherds built a large and strong wall round all this place, in order to keep all their possessions and their prey within a place of strength, but Thummosis the son of Misphragmuthosis made an attempt to take them by force and by siege, surrounding them with an army of four hundred and eighty thousand men. But, despairing of taking the place by siege, he came to an agreement with them, that they should leave Egypt, and go, without suffering any harm, wherever they chose; and, after this agreement was made, they went away with all their families and possessions, not fewer in number than two hundred and forty thousand, and travelled out of Egypt, through the wilderness, towards Syria. But as they were in fear of the Assyrians, who were then the rulers of Asia, they built a city in that country which is now called Judaea; the city was large enough to contain this great number of men, and they called it Jerusalem.” Now Manetho, in another book of his, says that this nation, thus called 'shepherds', were also called 'captives', in the sacred books of his country. And this account of his is true; for feeding of sheep was the employment of our forefathers in the most ancient ages, and as they led such a wandering life in feeding sheep, they were called 'shepherds'. Nor was it without reason that they were called 'captives' by the Egyptians, since one of our ancestors, Joseph, told the king of Egypt that he was a captive, and afterwards brought his brothers into Egypt with the king's permission. But as for these matters, I shall give a more detailed account of them elsewhere.

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But now I shall produce the Egyptians as witnesses to the antiquity of our nation. I shall therefore bring in Manetho again, and what he writes about the sequence of dates. - He says: “When this people or shepherds left Egypt and went to Jerusalem, Tethmosis the king of Egypt, who drove them out, reigned for another twenty-five years and four months, and then he died; (157) after him his son Chebron took the kingdom for thirteen years; after whom came Amenophis, for twenty years and seven months; then came his sister Amesses, for twenty-one years and nine months; then came her son Mephres, for twelve years and nine months; after him was Mephramuthosis, for twenty-five years and ten months; after him was Thmosis, for nine years and eight months; after him came Amenophis, for thirty years and ten months; after him came Orus, for thirty-six years and five months; then came his daughter Acenchres, for twelve years and one month; then was her brother Rathotis, for nine years; then came his son Acencheres, for twelve years and five months; then came another Acencheres, for twelve years and three months; after him Armais, for four years and one month; after him was Ramesses, for one year and four months; after him came Armesses Miamūn, for sixty-six years and two months; after him Amenophis, for nineteen years and six months; after him came Sethosis, also called Ramesses, who had an army of cavalry, and a strong navy. This king appointed his brother, Armais, to be his deputy over Egypt. He also gave him all the other authority of a king, except that he instructed him, that he should not wear the diadem, nor do any harm to the queen, the mother of his children, and that he should not meddle with the other concubines of the king. Then he made an expedition against Cyprus, and Phoenicia, and besides against the Assyrians and the Medes. He subdued them all, some by his arms, some without fighting, and some by the terror of his great army; and being puffed up by the great successes he had had, he went on still more boldly, and overthrew the cities and countries that lay in the east. But after some considerable time, Armais, who was left in Egypt, recklessly did all those very things, which his brother had forbidden him to do. He used violence against the queen, and continued to make use of the rest of the concubines, without sparing any of them. At the persuasion of his friends he put on the diadem, and set up in opposition to his brother. But then the chief of the priests in Egypt wrote letters to Sethosis, and informed him of all that had happened, and how his brother had set up in opposition to him. - Sethosis therefore returned back to Pelusium immediately, and recovered his kingdom again.” The country was called Egypt from his name; for Manetho says, that Sethosis was himself called Aegyptus, (159) and his brother Armais was called Danaus.

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This is Manetho's account. And it is clear from the number of years allocated by him to this interval, if they are all added together, that these shepherds, as they are here called, were no other than our forefathers, who were delivered out of Egypt, and came from there to inhabit this country, three hundred and ninety-three years before Danaus came to Argos; although the Argives look upon Danaus as their most ancient king. Manetho, therefore, provides evidence from the Egyptians records for two points which are of the greatest consequence to our purpose. In the first place, that we came out of another country into Egypt; and secondly, that our departure from Egypt was so ancient in time as to have preceded the siege of Troy by almost a thousand years. As to those things which Manetho adds, not from the Egyptian records, but, as he confesses himself, from some stories of an uncertain origin, I will disprove them later in detail, and shall demonstrate that they are no better than incredible fables.

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That is what Josephus says in the book which we referred to. He [? Manetho] describes the kings of the Egyptians from the beginning until the end, up until one of the kings that they appointed, called Nectanebus. I have already mentioned Nectanebus earlier on, at the appropriate point in the list of kings. After Nectanebus, Ochus the king of the Persians gained control of Egypt, and ruled over it for 6 years. After him, his son Arses [was king] for 4 years. After him, Dareius [was king] for 6 years. Then Alexander the Macedonian killed Dareius the Persian, and ruled over both the Asians and the Egyptians. Alexander founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt in the sixth year of his reign. After the death of Alexander, his empire was divided between many different rulers, and the Ptolemaei became kings of Egypt and Alexandria. The dates of these kings are as follows.

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The kings of Egypt and the city of Alexandria after the death of Alexander of Macedonia, from the writings of Porphyrius:

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Alexander of Macedonia died in the 114th Olympiad [324 B.C.], after reigning for a total of 12 years. He was succeeded by Aridaeus, also called Philippus, who was a brother of Alexander, but by a different mother; for he was the son of Philippus and Philinna of Larissa. Aridaeus ruled for 7 years, before he was killed in Macedonia by Polysperchon the son of Antipater.

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(161) A year after Philippus became king, Ptolemy the son of Arsinoe and Lagus was sent to be satrap of Egypt. He was satrap for 17 years, and then he was king for 23 years; so altogether he ruled for 40 years, until his death. However, while still alive he abdicated in favour of his son Ptolemy, called Philadelphus, and he lived for a further two years after his son had taken over as king; so we reckon the reign of this first Ptolemy, called Soter, to be 38 rather than 40 years long.

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He was succeeded by his son Ptolemy, who as we said was called Philadelphus. The son reigned for two years while his father was still alive, and then for a further 36 years after his death, so that we reckon the length of his reign to be 38 years, the same as for his father.

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After him, the third Ptolemy, called Euergetes, reigned for 25 years.

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After him, the fourth Ptolemy, called Philopator, reigned for 17 years.

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After him, the fifth Ptolemy, called Epiphanes, reigned for 24 years.

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This Ptolemy had two sons, the elder called Philometor and the younger called the second Euergetes, who ruled after him for a combined total of 64 years. We have counted their years together, because they were constantly fighting against each other and alternately gained and lost control of the kingdom, which makes it difficult to calculate their years separately.

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Philometor first ruled on his own for 11 years; but when Antiochus invaded Egypt and removed him from the throne, the inhabitants of Alexandria put the younger brother in charge. Then they forced Antiochus out of Egypt, and freed Philometor. They called that the 12th year of Philometor, and the first year of Euergetes. After that the two kings ruled jointly until the 17th year, but from the 18th year onwards Philometor ruled on his own.

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At that time the elder brother, who had been deposed by the younger brother, was restored by the Romans. (163) So he ruled in Egypt, and made his brother ruler of Libya instead, and after that Philometor ruled as sole king of Egypt for 18 years. When he died in Syria, which was also under his control, Euergetes was called back from Cyrene and proclaimed king. Euergetes counted his years from the time when he first became king, so that he seems to have reigned for 25 [29?] years after his brother's death, but officially he reigned for 54 years. The 36th year of Philometor should have been called the first year of his reign, but instead he ordered it to be written as the 25th year of his reign. So the combined length of both their reigns is 64 years, 35 years under Philometor and the rest under Euergetes; but to split it up into separate reigns would lead to confusion.

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Ptolemy the second Euergetes had two sons by Cleopatra, the elder called Ptolemy Soter and the younger called Ptolemy Alexander. The elder son was appointed by his mother to reign first; she thought he would obey her, so favoured him for a time. But in the tenth year of his reign he murdered his parents' friends, and was deposed by his mother because of his cruelty, and fled to Cyprus.

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His mother summoned her younger son from Pelusium, and appointed him to be king along with her. So the younger son ruled jointly with his mother, and the country was governed in both their names; this year was called the 11th year of Cleopatra and the 8th year of Alexander, because Alexander counted his years from the 4th year of his brother's reign, which was when he started to rule over Cyprus. This state of affairs continued until the death of Cleopatra; after she died, Alexander ruled on his own, and he reigned for 18 years in all after he returned to Alexandria, though officially he reigned for 26 years. In the 19th year, after a dispute with his soldiers, he went away to collect an army to bring to Egypt against them. - However they followed him, and under the leadership of a relative of the kings called Tyrrus, (165) they defeated him in a naval battle. Alexander was forced to take refuge with his wife and daughter in Myra, a city of Lycia; from there, he crossed over to Cyprus, where he was defeated by the admiral Chaereas, and died.

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After his expulsion, the inhabitants of Alexandria sent envoys to the elder brother, Ptolemy Soter, and established him as king again, when he had sailed back from Cyprus. Soter lived for another 7 years and 6 months after his return, and the whole period after the death of the brothers' father was counted in his name, which was a total of 35 years and 6 months. But if we split the period up according to the actual course of events, Ptolemy Soter ruled at two different times for a total of 17 years and 6 months, and in between the younger brother, Ptolemy Alexander, ruled for 18 years. The inhabitants of Alexandria were unable to completely delete Alexander's reign from the records, but as far as was in their power they erased all mention of it, because Alexander had assaulted them with the help of some Jews. So they do not count the years of his reign, but attribute the whole 36 years to the elder brother.

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Similarly, they do not attribute the next 6 months after the death of the elder brother, which make up the complete 36 years, to Cleopatra, the daughter of the elder brother and wife of the younger brother, who took over control of the kingdom after the death of her father. Nor do they formally attribute to Alexander the 19 days in which he jointly reigned with her.

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This Alexander was the son of the younger Ptolemy, who was also called Alexander, and the stepson of Cleopatra. He was staying in Rome, when he was summoned back to Alexandria because there were no men of the royal family left in Egypt. He married the aforesaid Cleopatra, and when she had willingly handed over power to him, after an interval of 19 days he murdered her. Then he himself was seized and killed by the armed men in the gymnasium, because of the foul murder which he had committed.

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(167) This Alexander was succeeded by Ptolemy, called the new Dionysus, who was the son of Ptolemy Soter and the brother of the aforesaid Cleopatra. He reigned for 29 years.

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His daughter Cleopatra was the last of the dynasty of the Ptolemaei. She reigned for 22 years.

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These reigns also did not follow an continuous sequence from start to finish, as laid out in the records, but each of them had some interruptions in the middle of it. In the reign of the new Dionysus, a three year period was ascribed to the rule of his daughters Cleopatra Tryphaena and Berenice, one year as a joint reign and the following two years, after the death of Cleopatra Tryphaena, as the reign of Berenice on her own. Because Ptolemy had gone off to Rome, and was spending a long time there, his daughters took over the rule of the kingdom, as if he was not going to return, and Berenice took on some men of the royal family as co-rulers. But when Ptolemy returned from Rome, he forget all affection towards his daughter, and in his anger at what she had done, he put her to death.

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In the first years of Cleopatra's reign, she shared power with her elder brother Ptolemy and then with others, for the following reasons. When the new Dionysus died, he left four children, two sons called Ptolemy and daughters called Cleopatra and Arsinoe. He handed over power to the two eldest children, Ptolemy and Cleopatra, who reigned jointly for 4 years. And this state of affairs would have continued, if Ptolemy had not wanted to seize sole power for himself, in contravention of his father's orders. However he was fated to die soon afterwards, after being defeated in a naval battle by Julius Caesar, who intervened on behalf of Cleopatra.

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After Ptolemy's death, Cleopatra's younger brother, who was also called Ptolemy, became joint ruler with his sister, as proposed by Caesar. - The next year was called the fifth year of Cleopatra and the first year of Ptolemy, and so it continued for the following two years, (169) until he died. He was plotted against and killed by Cleopatra, in his 4th year, which was Cleopatra's 8th year. From then onwards Cleopatra ruled on her own, up until her 15th year. However, her 16th year was also called the first year, because after the death of Lysimachus the king of Chalcis in Syria, the Roman general Marcus Antonius gave Chalcis and the surrounding regions to Cleopatra. And from then onwards for the remaining years up until the 22nd year, which was the last of Cleopatra's reign, the years were counted in the same way, so that the 22nd year was also called the 7th year.

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Octavius Caesar, also called Augustus, conquered Egypt in the battle of Actium, and succeeded Cleopatra as ruler of Egypt in the second year of the 184th Olympiad [43 B.C.]. From the first year of the 111th Olympiad [336 B.C.], when Aridaeus Philippus became king, until the second year of the 184th Olympiad [43 B.C.], is 73 Olympiads and one additional year. So the total duration of the rule of all the kings of Alexandria, down to the death of Cleopatra, is 293 years.

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So the reign-lengths of the Ptolemaei are as follows:

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Alexander the Macedonian began his reign in the first year of the 111th Olympiad [336 B.C.]. He founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt, and ruled for 12 years and 7 months. After him, the kings of the city of Alexandria and the whole of Egypt were:

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Ptolemy the son of Lagus - for 40 years

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Ptolemy Philadelphus - for 38 years

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Ptolemy Euergetes - for 24 years

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Ptolemy Philopator - for 21 years

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Ptolemy Epiphanes - for 24 years

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Ptolemy Philometor - for 31 years

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(171) Ptolemy the second Euergetes - for 29 years

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Ptolemy Physcon, or Soter - for 17 years and 6 months

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Ptolemy Alexander, after the expulsion of [Soter], his predecessor - for [10] years

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Ptolemy Philadelphus, returning from exile after the expulsion of Alexander - for 8 years

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Ptolemy Dionysus, called Philadelphus - for 30 years

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Cleopatra the daughter of Ptolemy - for 22 years

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In her reign, Gaius Julius Caesar became the first Roman emperor. The next emperor, Octavius Caesar Augustus, called Sebastos in Greek, killed Cleopatra and put an end to the dynasty of the Ptolemaei, who had ruled for 295 years.

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