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Egypt PTOLEMAIC, ROMAN, AND BYZANTINE EGYPT, 332 B.C.-A.D. 642
The Alexandrian Conquest
The Persian occupation of Egypt ended when Alexander the
Great defeated the Persians at the Battle of Issus (near presentday Iskenderun in Turkey) in November 333 B.C. The Egyptians, who
despised the monotheistic Persians and chafed under Persian rule,
welcomed Alexander as a deliverer. In the autumn of 332 B.C.,
Alexander entered Memphis, where, like a true Hellene, he paid
homage to the native gods and was apparently accepted without
question as king of Egypt. Also like a true Hellene, he
celebrated the occasion with competitive games and a drama and
music festival at which some of the leading artists of Greece
were present. From Memphis, Alexander marched down the western
arm of the Nile and founded the city of Alexandria. Then he went
to the oasis of Siwa (present-day Siwah) to consult the oracle at
the Temple of Amun, the Egyptian god whom the Greeks identified
with their own Zeus.
Data as of December 1990
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