Polity · 331 BCE – 28 BCE
Ptolemaic Kingdom
- Peak recorded area
- 4,829,300 km²
- 326 BCE
- Rulers on record
- 1
- from 282 BCE
- Data series
- 20
- 300 BCE–31 BCE
Overview
The Ptolemaic Kingdom or Ptolemaic Empire was an ancient Greek polity based in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 305 BC by the Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy I Soter, a companion of Alexander the Great, and ruled by the Ptolemaic dynasty until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
30 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before 28 BCE, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Largest Settlement Pop3 obs · 300 BCE–90 BCE | 500Kpersons90 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Polity Population3 obs · 300 BCE–100 BCE | 6.51score100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Population3 obs · 300 BCE–91 BCE | 4Mpersons91 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Economy
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Agricultural Sophistication3 obs · 300 BCE–100 BCE | 1.4score100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Monetary Complexity3 obs · 300 BCE–100 BCE | 0.8333score100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Military
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Sophistication3 obs · 300 BCE–100 BCE | 1score100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Military Levels2 obs · 300 BCE–217 BCE | 7.5levels217 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Territory & resources
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Territory km²5 obs · 300 BCE–50 BCE | 107Ksq km50 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Polity Territory3 obs · 300 BCE–100 BCE | 5.57score100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Governance
| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Admin Levels2 obs · 300 BCE–217 BCE | 6levels217 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Religious Hierarchy2 obs · 300 BCE–217 BCE | 1levels217 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Development
6 of 9 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Known Ancient Places6 obs · 282 BCE–31 BCE | 3,077places31 BCE · Pleiades Gazetteer |
| Known Ancient Settlements6 obs · 282 BCE–31 BCE | 1,653settlements31 BCE · Pleiades Gazetteer |
| Government Complexity3 obs · 300 BCE–100 BCE | 0.8182score100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Hierarchy Levels3 obs · 300 BCE–100 BCE | 6.5score100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Information Complexity3 obs · 300 BCE–100 BCE | 0.9769score100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
| Infrastructure3 obs · 300 BCE–100 BCE | 0.9167score100 BCE · Seshat Equinox 2020 |
Rulers
1 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Ptolemy II PhiladelphusHead of State282 BCE – 246 BCE
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Pleiades Gazetteer2024 snapshot
Bagnall, R. et al. (eds.). Pleiades: A Gazetteer of Past Places.
CC BY 3.0
Seshat Equinox 2020Equinox 2020
Turchin, P. et al. Seshat Global History Databank, Equinox 2020 release.
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
Ptolemaic Kingdom is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.