After the death of Alexander the Great’s heirs, his conquests were divided among his generals. The Ptolemaic dynasty begins in 305 B.C.E., when one of Alexander’s generals became Ptolemy I of Egypt.
332 - 30 B.C.E.
All works | Ptolemaic
Decoding the Rosetta Stone
What does the Rosetta Stone say? Why is it written in three scripts and two languages?
Multilingualism along the Nile
When we think of the language of ancient Egypt, the first thing that springs to mind is hieroglyphs carved on temple and tomb walls, yet this could not be further from the truth.
Egyptian mummy portraits
Ancient Egyptians made little use of naturalistic portraits, but this changed following capture by Rome.
Faiyum mummy portraits
These mummy portraits are unlike anything from ancient Egypt, combining Roman naturalism with Egyptian function.
The Rosetta Stone
The key to ancient Egyptian language, the Rosetta Stone allowed scholars to unlock the secret of hieroglyphs.