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===The Ptolemies Make Alexandria the Jewell of the Hellenistic World===
Ptolemy Lagus assumed the throne of Egypt in 305, becoming Ptolemy I (ruled 305-282 BC) and establishing the Ptolemaic Dynasty that would rule Egypt until 30 BC. Ptolemy I and his son and successor, Ptolemy II (reigned 284-246 BC), are the two kings who initiated most of the ambitious building programs that made Alexandria the great city that it became, but perhaps Ptolemy I’s most important, and mysterious, project was the tomb of Alexander the Great. According to the first century BC Greek geographer and historian, Strabo, Ptolemy I constructed a grand tomb for the founder of Alexandria.
In an effort to bring the elites of the Greek and Egyptian communities closer, the Egyptian priest and historian Manetho, along with other Egyptians and Greeks, devised a new god known as Serapis. <ref> Verbrugghe, Gerald P., and John M. Wickersham. <i>Bersossos and Manetho, Introduced and Translated: Native Traditions in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt.</i> (Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2001), p. 97</ref> The god Serapis was a conscious syncretism of the Greek god Zeus with the sacred Egyptian Apis bull, which was meant to provide a source of unity and common ground among the Greek and Egyptian elites. Construction of the Serapeum, the temple of Serapis, probably began during Ptolemy I’s rule, but was more than likely completed during Ptolemy III’s reign (ruled 246-221 BC).
Although Ptolemy I intended to bring the Greek and Egyptian <i>elites</i> together through the Serapis cult, Alexandria was built to segregate the different ethnic communities. Alexandria was built with five distinct residential quarters, named for the first five letters of the Greek alphabet, with the native Egyptians dominating the western portion of the city, Jews being numerically superior in the east, and Greeks dominating most of the other quarters. Other ethnic groups from around the region – including Syrians, Romans, Ethiopians, and others – eventually comprised large enough numbers to create their own neighborhoods. <ref> Bowman, p. 209</ref> Almost as soon as Alexandria was built, it was truly a cosmopolitan city and arguably the world’s first global city.
===Conclusion===
