Universal History, Ancient and Modern (Volume 1); From the Earliest Records of Time, to the General Peace of 1801 - Softcover

Book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1804. Excerpt: ... _ From this time Egypt was a province of Persia, till that monarchy was subverted; B' Cand Alexander the Great was received . with open arms by the Egyptians, as their deliverer from the Persian tyranny. CHAP. IV.; The History of Egypt, from the Foundation of the Jirst Monarchy, by Ptolemy Soter, to its Reduction into a Roman Province. T TPON the division of the Macedonian empire, after the death of Alexander, Ptolemy * Lagus was invested with the government of Egypt, Lybia, and part of Arabia; provinces which he retained during his life, and transmitted, with some new acquisitions, as an hereditary kingdom, to his * Historians differ materially in their assertions respecting the extraction of this prince ; some affirming that he was a native of Eordea, a small place in the province of Mygdonia, and that he was called Lagides, or the son of Lagus, though he was commonly believed to be an illegitimate son of king Philip; others supposing him to have been of the royal family of Macedon, not by the father, but his mother Arsinoe, who was nearly related to Philip; and others assuring us that he was of a mean descent, and that he served in the Macedonian army as a common soldier, till his gallant behaviour induced Alexander to honour him with a chief command. Ptolemy himself seems to have preferred the name of I .agides to any other appellation, as he transmitted it to all his descendants; and Epiphanius tells us, that he instituted a military order in honour of his father, calling it from his name Lageion. But whatever was his real extraction, it is certain that he was equally beloved by Alexander, and the army ; and all the ancients have given him a most extraordinary character' his descendants. He chose the city of Alexandria for the usual place of his residence, and granted many priv...