Money in ptolemaic egypt pdf

As manning 2008 has argued with regard to egypt, the imposed use of ptolemaic coinage may be read as code for the ptolemaic state. When cleopatra died he was still pharaoh and it is thought that he was killed by octavian. Money in ptolemaic egypt when alexander the great conquered egypt he introduced coinage into a country whose economy and administration had worked without it for millennia. Land tenure, rural space, and the political economy of. Her book is an important contribution to the literature and will hopefully entice others to attempt to push the analysis further. I examine the process of ptolemaic state formation from the point of view of the expansion and the settlement of the fayyum, the foundation of ptolemais in the thebaid, and from the point of view of new fiscal. After the conquest of egypt by alexander the great in 332 bc, the macedonian ptolemaic dynasty would rule the country until 30 bc, when octavian who was soon to be called augustus added egypt to the roman empire. Development of ptolemaic bronze coinage in egypt institut francais darchaeologie orientale. Egypts economy mainly relies on these sources of income. Ptolemaic kingdom coins for sale buy ptolemaic kingdom. The ptolemaic period 33230 bce brian muhs, university of chicago.

Money use among the peasantry of ptolemaic and roman egypt, in a. To the hoards cited by lorber, we can now add ch ix. The elephantine papyri in english society of biblical. The ptolemaic kings of egypt struck many series of coins. Apr 09, 2018 ptolemy xv caesar, nicknamed caesarion little caesar lived june 23, 47 to august, 30 bc. Ancient egypt macedonian and ptolemaic egypt 33230 bce. Money and prices in the papyri, ptolemaic period oxford. You can actually read the hierogplyhs, if you check out this answer. Coinage as code in ptolemaic egypt oxford scholarship. Heres a really graphic example of the complexities of ptolemaic egypt. The period was remarkable in the economic history of the mediterranean, when greek immigrants institutions.

Topics covered include the history of money in egypt, the ptolemaic economy, coin as code on ptolemaic egypt, and money and the ptolemaic state. Shipton eds, money and its uses in the ancient greek world oxford. Ptolemy i soter, the first king of ancient egypt s ptolemaic dynasty article by jimmy dunn in the ancient world, there is no surprise that military men often became rulers. Trade in ancient egypt ancient history encyclopedia. A wide variety of men with official titles and varying functions were active in this administration. The ancient egyptian economy by brian muhs august 2016. This standard, which was not used elsewhere in the hellenistic world, was smaller than the dominant attic weight. Maccoull, sarah clackson and contributions by simon hopkins ranon katzoff society of biblical literature atlanta. Temple festivals of the ptolemaic and roman periods. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. The purely egyptian type is defined by the use of traditional egyptian themes.

It was ruled by the ptolemaic dynasty, which started with ptolemy i soters accession after the death of alexander the great in 323 bc and which ended with the death of cleopatra and the roman conquest. Jun 15, 2017 goods and services were valued on a unit known as a deben. Money and prices in the papyri, ptolemaic period oxford handbooks. They did not have enough money to hire soldiers from outside, so they had to arm some 200,000 egyptian troops. Central to the administration was the assessment and collection of wealth, both in kind and in money, and the process of registering and documenting this. But you are now asking, which egyptian ruler was to take over, after cleopatras demise. Ancient greek coins from the ptolemaic kingdom, modernday egypt. Ptolemaic kings saw coinage as a way of controlling their people. In ptolemaic egypt, roman adventurers and veterans are found commonly serving under the ptolemies.

The ptolemaic empire were forced to arm some 200,000 egyptian troops without funds to hire mercenary cost of the war led to increasing money problems and peasant unrest. This chapter discusses the use of money in ptolemaic egypt in relation to the development of the state. Vi philometor might even go to rome to sollicit roman help. Egypt and how the population accounted for their daily lives within a constantly changing system. He and his descendants, the ptolemies, became the ruling royal family of egypt for the next three hundred years. These production and circulation patterns cast important light on the nature of the closed monetary zone and the ptolemaic state as a whole. For example, the faience sistrum inscribed with the name of ptolemy has some deceptively greek characteristics, such as the scrolls at the top. Greeks in ptolemaic egypt is a book which intends to bring and succeeds the hellenic population of the nile valley to life for us via eminently enjoyable style and masterful integration of original texts in translation into the body of the work. The cost of the war led to increasing money problems and peasant unrest. Ptolemaic egypt arthurverhoogt the administration of ptolemaic egypt was an amalgam of egyptian, saite, persian, and greek administrative practices. Like the earlier dynasties of ancient egypt, the ptolemaic dynasty practiced inbreeding including sibling marriage, but this did not start in earnest until nearly a century into the dynastys history. Ancient egypt ancient egypt macedonian and ptolemaic egypt 33230 bce. Numismatics and history in the archaic and classical periods 6th to 4th centuries bc silcoincy is conducted at the institute of historical research ihr, national hellenic research foundation nhrf, athens, greece and during the period january 2014 october 2015 it has been funded by the action aristeia ii.

But it has to be remembered that this currency was a forced one, with values fixed arbitrarily for the. Alexander was welcomed by the egyptians as a liberator and took the country without a battle. The ptolemaic kingdom was a hellenistic dynasty that ruled on egypt from 305 b. But a patronclient relationship begins to develop in the second century bc, with rome as the most powerful party. Magic in ancient egypt 4 opposite painted limestone stela dedicated by a theban artisan to the god ptah, c. Pdf alexander the great liberated egypt from persian rule in 332, facing no. The library and museum at alexandria, greece and rome, vol. View ptolemaic coinage research papers on academia. It argues that the introduction of coinage happened slowly, spreading gradually from alexandria into the chora.

The aim is to summarize some recent work and to set the process of monetization into a. These men, most of whom rose through the military ranks, usually had considerable administrative skills and had proved themselves to. Ptolemy i soter, the first king of ancient egypts ptolemaic. The elephantine papyri in english three millennia of crosscultural continuity and change second revised edition bezalel porten with j. Pdf bronze coinage of ptolemaic egypt in the second century bc. A history of egypt under the ptolemaic dynasty 1899 by j. Mahaffy with illustrations sharingebook download free pdf books legally.

This article examines developments in money and prices in egypt during the ptolemaic period based on numismatic and papyrological evidence. Coinage of the ptolemaic kingdom was in use during the last dynasty of egypt and, briefly, during roman rule of egypt ptolemaic coinage was struck in phoenician weight, also known as ptolemaic weight about 14,20 grams. A history of egypt under the ptolemaic dynasty 1899 by. Ptolemy who became the king of egypt and founded the ptolemaic dynasty. With regard to the three metals struck in the mint of alexandriathe only mint in the entire country for almost 300. The aim is to summarize some recent work and to set the process of monetization into a broader context of state development. Thompson, the deben functioned much as the dollar does in north america today to let customers know the price of things, except that there was no deben coin egyptian economy, 1. Ptolemaic egypt stands at the crossroads of egyptian and hellenistic history. When facing a struggle in 217 with the seleucid king, antiochus iii, the ptolemies found themselves in. I treat in this section money and prices, the taxation system, the role of social.

A comparative demographic perspective by walter scheidel and the oikos of alexandria by livia. Subcategories are rulers in chronological order, including ptolemy i soter, berenike i, ptolemy keraunos, ptolemy ii philadelphos, arsinoe ii, ptolemy iii euergetes i, berenike ii, ptolemy iv philopator i, arsinoe iii, ptolemy v epiphanes, cleopatra i syria, ptolemy vi philometer i. Ptolemy i soter, the first king of ancient egypts ptolemaic dynasty article by jimmy dunn in the ancient world, there is no surprise that military men often became rulers. What is the traditional view of the ptolemaic economy. King ptolemy i soter king ptolemy i tried to make the egyptians accept him as their king by adopting egyptian customs. In this paper i argue that statist or despotic assumptions of royal power does not adequately describe the nature of political power in the ptolemaic development of egypt. These men, most of whom rose through the military ranks, usually had considerable administrative skills and had proved themselves to be leaders. To access the full database of over 5 million records, please consult coinarchives pro. Art found outside of egypt itself, though within the ptolemaic kingdom, sometimes used egyptian iconography as it had been used previously, and sometimes adapted it. These are both cleopatra vii, the last queen of ptolemaic egypt.

Cambridge university press cambridge, new york, melbourne, madrid, cape town, singapore, sao paulo, delhi, dubai, tokyo cambridge university press. It argues that the introduction of coinage happened slowly, spreading gradually from alexandria into the. Portraits of cleopatra can be divided into three distinct types. During the beginning of their kingdom, by the end of the third century b. By using this service, you agree that you will only keep articles for personal use, and will not openly distribute them. Which is a flawed question due to the implicating that cleo7 was egyptian.

Its development was a slow, continuous, and flexible process in which the main actors were the regional and local state representatives rather than the central state itself. Jul 25, 2018 the chief economic minister in ptolemaic egypt was the dioiketes, who was appointed by the ruling monarch to set egypt s economic policies. Consequentially, ptolemaic coins are smaller than other. In this paper i survey the use of money in ptolemaic egypt with a particular focus on the introduction of coinage by the ptolemies. The seven ears may be shown to magically compel the god to hear the donor, or serve as an expression of faith in the gods willingness to listen. Egyptian temples of the ptolemaic and roman periods provided the setting for the dramatic performance of various cultic activities, such as festivals.

Mahaffy with 79 illustrations a history of egypt under the ptolemaic dynasty 1899 by j. It then discusses the administration of coinage in ptolemaic egypt, from the reduction of the weight. Magic in ancient egypt isbn 0292765592 paula daunt. The economy of ptolemaic egypt ancient history encyclopedia.

Reconsidering the impact of the ptolemaic closed monetary. If there is a central thesis to this book, it is that monetization was a statedriven process that entailed comprehensive topdown reform. The coinage of the ptolemies in cyprus olivier, julien. Erskine, a 1995, culture and power in ptolemaic egypt. Ptolemys family ruled egypt until the roman conquest of 30 bc.

After alexander left egypt, grecomacedonian soldiers stationed in the egyptian capital of memphis and in the. Drawing primarily on hoards, but also on metrological and metallurgical analyses, the authors propose a relative chronology and classification for egyptian bronze coinage of the second century bc. Ptolemaic egypt stayed friendly with rome during the roman wars with carthage. Until the day when he openly assumed an independent kingship as ptolemy i soter, on november 7, 305 bce, ptolemy used only the title satrap of egypt, but the great hieroglyphic satrap stela, which he had inscribed in 311 bce, indicates a degree. Money in ptolemaic egypt when alexander the great conquered egypt he introduced coinage into a country whose economy and administration had worked with. The question was, wasnt cleopatra the last ptolemaic ruler in egypt. Available formats pdf please select a format to send.

Pdf bronze coinage of ptolemaic egypt in the second. Romans are found in ptolemaic service as early as 2521 bc. After ptolemy soter took possession of egypt, he soon installed a closed currency system, at that scale, a novelty in ancient coinage. I asked a question about the ptolemies over on raskhistorians and was recommended egypt in the age of cleopatra by michel chauveau it was a good read as well as the last pharaohs.

Soldiers were given land in return for military service. In the autumn of 332 bce alexander the great invaded egypt with his mixed army of macedonians and greeks and found the egyptians ready to throw off the oppressive control of the persians. The research project the silver coinage of the kings of cyprus. From the macedonian conquest to the end of the third century bc. In preptolemaic egypt, our documentation of fiscal matters paying taxes, lending money, accepting payments is patchy, but we have a wealth of such documentation for the ptolemaic period, recorded in both greek and egyptian. This book explores the impact of alexander the greats introduction of coined money on the economy and society of egypt and its political implications for the formation of the ptolemaic state.

Pdf money use among the peasantry of ptolemaic and. All of the offices dealing with finances, agriculture, and recordkeeping were under his auspices. Until the day when he openly assumed an independent kingship as ptolemy i soter, on november 7, 305 bce, ptolemy used only the title satrap of egypt, but the great hieroglyphic satrap stela, which he had inscribed in 311 bce, indicates a. An overview of this field that is short, to the point, and can help collectors become quickly familiar with the themes, types, sizes, and history of ptolemaic bronzes. It first considers the introduction, spread, and circulation of coinage in egypt and how money and coins were used for transactions throughout the country. Scholars have disagreed on whether this is a magical or a religious object. How much of the land at kerkeosiris was owned by cleruchs in 118 bc. The museum and library of alexandria by andrew erskine within the palace complex in alexandria, the city founded by alexander in egypt, a community of scholars was established in what was known as the museum or mouseion.