Family Tree of the Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt (305-30 BCE)

An illustration following the evolution of the Ptolemaic Dynasty (also called Lagides, for Lagos, the father of Ptolemy I Soter) in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. This family tree reveals one of the most important distinguishing features of the Ptolemies compared to the other monarchies of antiquity – the importance of the queen in the representation of the ruling family (from the 2nd century BCE onward, some queens even ruled alone). By chance and historical circumstance, the Ptolemies gave the world the last king of Egypt, ruling queens of Syria and the Seleucid Empire, and the last kings of Cyprus, Cyrene, and Mauretania.