Alexander's general, founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemy I
He secured Egypt after Alexander's death and probably allowed the Jews of Judea to regulate many matters according to their ancestral laws. Coins from Jerusalem bear his portrait.
What the sources say
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3 statements
Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals, secured Egypt and founded a dynasty that continued until Rome's conquest in 30 BCE. Judea remained under Ptolemaic rule until 200 BCE. The book's timeline records that, upon Alexander's death, Ptolemaic control extended over Egypt and Judea.
Coins minted by the Jerusalem authorities between 300 and 250 BCE bear the image of Ptolemy I and his wife Berenice, a sign that Jerusalem itself was tightly linked to Ptolemaic rule.
Tradition or narrative
The Letter of Aristeas claims that Ptolemy I took 100,000 Judean captives to Egypt and placed 30,000 of them in forts. The figures are probably exaggerated, but they point to one of the processes that enlarged Egypt's Jewish community.