Egypt, Ptolemaic Kingdom Ptolemy I Soter 1 Tetarte

History

1 Tetarte 294-285 BC, Svoronos# 223, Egypt, Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemy I Soter

Obverse. Photo © Sixbid.com

Description

The Ptolemaic Kingdom was an Ancient Greek state based in Egypt during the Hellenistic Period. It was founded in 305 BC by Ptolemy I Soter, a companion of Alexander the Great, and lasted until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC. Ruling for nearly three centuries, the Ptolemies were the longest and most recent Egyptian dynasty of ancient origin.

Obverse	Person (king, queen, tsar etc.) Ptolemy I Soter Depicts diademed head of Ptolemy I right, aegis tied around the neck. Ptolemy I Soter ("Ptolemy the Savior"; c. 367 BC – 282 BC) was an Ancient Macedonian general, historian and companion of Alexander the Great of the Kingdom of Macedon in northern Greece who became ruler of Egypt, part of Alexander's former empire. Ptolemy was pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt from 305/304 BC to his death. He was the founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty, which ruled Egypt until the death of Cleopatra in 30 BC, turning the country into a Hellenistic kingdom and Alexandria into a center of Greek culture.
Reverse	Animal (fish, bird, mammal etc.) Eagle Depicts eagle standing left on thunderbolt, wings opened; monogram left. A commonplace symbol of the Ptolemaic dynasty is an eagle standing on a thunderbolt, first adopted by Ptolemy I Soter. ΠTOΛEMAIOY-BAΣIΛEΩΣ
Edge	Plain