v59_0146 - CYRÉNAÏQUE - CYRÈNE - SATRAPE PTOLÉMÉE Litra

CYRENAICA - CYRENE - SATRAP PTOLEMY

(323-306 BC)

Cyrene, a port city located in Cyrenaica, was founded by Dorian settlers from the island of Thera around 630 BC. They were headed by Battus, the mythical ancestor of the Battides who reigned over Cyrene for two centuries. The city was famous for the cultivation and harvesting of silphium, one of the most sought-after medicinal plants of antiquity, now extinct. The city, although independent, was in Egyptian orbit. When Alexander captured Egypt in 332/331 BC, he signed a peace treaty with Cyrene guaranteeing him relative autonomy. After the death of the conqueror, the region of Cyrene fell under Lagid rule. In 322 BC, the Cyreneans appealed to Ptolemy to rid them of the tyrant Tibron. The satrap sent his general Ophellas who conquered the country, put the tyrant to death and installed himself as a strategist in Cyrene. Ophellas was in turn overthrown in 313 BC. Ptolemy recovered Cyrene in 308 BC and installed his son-in-law Magas there (308-277 AC.).