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[German Version] I. General – II. History and Society – III. Religion and Culture I. General 1. Name/Designations In Egyptian-Coptic, Egypt is “the black (i.e. land)” (Egyptian *Kū́mut, Coptic Kēme, etc.) after the dark soil, in Semitic languages, generally, Miṣr-, etc., in Hebrew also מָצוֹר / Māṣôr (“border,” i.e. “borderland”?), in Greek after a sanctuary of the god Ptah as a designation for the old capital city Memphis, Aígyptos, i.e. Aígupto-s (in contemporary Egyptian perhaps *Hekoptáḥ). 2. Geography The central area of the country is the river oasis of the lowe…

[German Version] The Ptolemies were the dynasty of Ptolemy I (376/366–282 bce; son of Lagos, hence also called the Lagids), a friend and general of Alexander the Great; they ruled Egypt (II, 1.g; III, 2) from Alexander’s death in 323 bce until its conquest by the Romans in 30 bce (Ptolemy received the satrapy of Egypt in June of 323). The founder of the dynasty, on whose initiative the museum and library of Alexandria (I) were established, was followed by his son Ptolemy II Philadelphus (“Sister-loving”; c. 308 bce, Cos – 246 bce; made co-regent in 285, became king in 283), the actual …